Down through the shadowed gates He came

1
Down through the shadowed gates He came,
The Love who would not yield;
He bore no sword, He spoke no blame,
But light rose where He healed.
Like dawn along the Antrim coast
Where basalt cliffs stand near,
The dark gave way, and death its boast,
As Christ the Lord drew near.

2
He gathered Adam from the dust,
And Eve from bitter night;
He raised the lost, restored the crushed,
And clothed the dead with light.
As glens receive the wandering streams
Through valley, cleft, and fall,
So mercy flowed beyond our dreams
To reach the depths of all.

3
Where Slemish holds its buried fire,
A mountain stilled and scarred,
So Christ went down through wrath and pyre
With mercy as his guard.
As Patrick learned on Slemish’ height
A mercy fierce and mild,
So Christ went down through death’s long night
To seek His wayward child.

4
“O Judas, friend,” he softly cried,
“I know the path you trod;
No treachery can turn aside
The seeking heart of God.”
And like the curlew’s lonely call
Across the northern swell,
His voice rang out through every hall
Within the depths of hell.

5 
So still on Holy Saturday
We wait in silent trust;
For Love descends to every grave
And lifts us from the dust.
All glory to the Father’s love,
And to the risen Son,
And to the Spirit, breath of life—
The Ever‑Three‑in‑One.

Hymn information

First line: Down through the shadowed gates he came
Text: Michael McFarland Campbell
Metre: DCM
Tune: Third Mode Melody or Kingsfold
Theme: Harrowing of Hell

Copyright

© Michael McFarland Campbell. 2026. 
Permission granted for local church or parish use with attribution. Not for commercial reproduction.

Written recently and shared here as part of the NeuroDivine hymn collection.