AcWriMo 3: “Farringdon”

Here’s the third tune, to this text by Alex Klages:

Behold your King is coming!
So prophets spoke of old,
The blessèd birth foretelling
As ages did unfold,
The Lord of all creation,
His perfect promise made;
To bring the world salvation
His plans, in order, laid.

Behold your King is coming!
So sang the joyous throng!
As Jesus, lowly, riding
A donkey heard the song.
The greater son of David
Into Jerusalem
Now comes, His way bepavèd
With palms and cloaks from them.

“Behold your King is coming!”
Now Pilate calls aloud;
A wicked man’s betraying
Now brings a different crowd.
The robe, Jesus, adorning
Mocks Him, and denigrates,
Messiah true they’re scorning,
As He His sentence waits.

Behold, your King is dying,
Proclaims the cross’s sign.
The thorn-crown His brow stinging
Now mars His face so fine.
The King of earth and heaven
Enthroned upon His cross
Now speaks, His last words seven
As darkness speaks sin’s cost.

Behold your king, all people!
Behold, your king, and sigh!
For it is for this sinful
World that He came to die.
There on that cross extended
He earns the victory.
Here Satan’s pow’r is ended—
He’ll rise, life’s guarantee.

I’ve changed the word order in the second line of the first verse, as the emphases were on the wrong syllables before.

I’m not entirely happy with the tune: It’s all right for the first few verses but altogether too cheerful for the fourth one, and that detracts from the victory of the fifth, I think. I might have another go. In the meantime, though, here’s the first draft:

AcWriMo 3 — Farringdon — PDF
AcWriMo 3 — Farringdon — MIDI