Twenty-nine
year old Englishman William Chatterton Dix lay ill and depressed in his home in
Glasgow, Scotland (see its coat of arms here from about 1866, as Dix would have
seen it), and somehow this state drew him toward a child -- the child-God. Dix was
an insurance salesman by trade, and could a bit of insurance of the spiritual
kind have been on his troubled mind as he suffered physically and emotionally? “What
Child Is This?” he asked rhetorically, for he already knew the answer, one that
prompted him reportedly to write multiple poem texts for hymns that would come
to life in the aftermath of his illness. William Dix searched for an answer to
help mend his own body and mind, and the answer he found apparently was indeed
one that drew him into a deeper connection with the one he called God.
Looking at
the words he wrote, one can assume that William Dix was crafting the words to his
musical question around Christmas time, but with a poignancy indicative of his recent
circumstances. William makes all three of his three poetry verses conclude with
the answer to the question that his song’s title poses. ‘The Babe the son of
Mary’, he declares. But, that identity would not be complete, if Dix did not
also call Him ‘Christ the King’ (v.1), and ‘Christ’ and ‘King of kings’ (v.3),
too. William’s assertions do not emerge until he has first asked his questions,
however. He asks not only about the identity of the child, but also about how
He could be the focus of angel worship – ‘…angels greet with anthem sweet?’
(v.1). And, he vocalizes the skepticism that must have occupied the minds of
the first century contemporaries of this baby: How could a baby in a manger, a ‘mean
estate’ (v.2), be the Messiah, the God-King? Moreover, though he does not present
it in the form of a question, William notes the eventual crucifixion of this baby
(v.2), the decisive issue that confronts would-be believers. Is it logical that
our God would occupy so many roles counter to what expectations we think he should
meet? A baby, really? Laying where animals sniff and search for their food? How
can a king reign if He’s to be killed in ignominy? We might therefore see ‘What
Child…’ as something like a window into the author’s illness cycle, perhaps–
the hurting and questioning (depression) fellow, and then as the understanding
and rejoicing believer who’s come through the dark tunnel into the light.
Perhaps we
should see the verses he penned were part of the medicine, the prescription
that William Dix needed to overcome the unspecified illness he suffered in
1865. Many sufferers ask ‘Why me?’. Yet, how many eventually come to a point
where they can answer positively the way William did? He might say whatever
afflicted him was a blessing, compelling some introspection and poetry in many forms
that have articulated what otherwise he might have not spoken. William must
have thought it was OK to ask his questions, looking in hindsight, since he
found answers that left him filled. He may have also concluded that God is not hostile
to our inquisitive nature. Keep asking Him!
See more
information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of
Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J.
Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; and Amazing
Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck,
Kregel Publications, 1990.
Also see this link, showing all three original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/w/h/a/t/c/whatcist.htm
Biography of the writer is here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/d/i/x/dix_wc.htm
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