Who is He in yonder stall, At whose feet the shepherds fall?
Refrain
’Tis the Lord! oh wondrous story!
’Tis the Lord! the King of glory!
At His feet we humbly fall,
Crown Him! crown Him, Lord of all!
Who is He in deep distress, Fasting in the wilderness?
Who is He the people bless For His words of gentleness?
Who is He to whom they bring All the sick and sorrowing?
Who is He that stands and weeps At the grave where Lazarus sleeps?
Who is He the gathering throng Greet with loud triumphant song?
Lo! at midnight, who is He Prays in dark Gethsemane?
Who is He on yonder tree Dies in grief and agony?
Who is He who from the grave Comes to succor, help, and save?
Who is He who from His throne Rules through all the worlds alone?
* Benjamin Russell Hanby (July 22, 1833 – March 16, 1867), was an American composer, educator, pastor, and abolitionist who wrote approximately 80 songs. Hanby was born in Rushville, Ohio. He moved to Westerville, Ohio in 1849, at the age of sixteen, to enroll at Otterbein University. He was involved in the Underground Railroad with his father, Bishop William Hanby. After graduation in 1858, Hanby briefly taught school and then became a minister in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. In 1860, he became principal of Seven Mile Academy in Seven Mile, Ohio. In 1864, Hanby was minister of a church in New Paris, Ohio, but by Christmas 1864, he was no longer working as a pastor, but operating a singing school in New Paris. At age 33, Hanby died from tuberculosis in Chicago on March 16, 1867.
