What Child Is This? -- William Chatterton Dix

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