He came because the Father willed

I
He came because the Father willed,
And from the midst of heaven’s renown,
The promise to our world fulfilled,
And won a kingdom for His crown.

II
He came because He willed to bear
The burden that His love imposed;
And all our lot of sorrow share,
Until the day in darkness closed.

III
Ah! angels hailed that morning bright,
And in the heavens their carols sung;
But God Himself was hid in night,
When sin and death their arrows flung.

IV
But not to sink beneath their power,
The God-man girt Him for the fray;
And from the darkness of that hour,
There sprang the light of endless day.

V
And wounded souls the triumph knew;
Fresh courage to the faint was given;
And e’en the dead to life anew,
Rose in the glorious might of heaven.

VI
For sin was crushed, and death was slain;—
All hail, the great victorious Son,
Who mounts the throne of heaven again,
To rule the kingdom He has won.

Hymns from the Morningland, 1911