Profile and Lyrics

I composed the four songs and wrote the book associated with this site. Know me for a considerable length of time and you’re sure to be disappointed. I take credit for everything bad about me and for the good I give complete credit where credit is due, to Jesus Christ who has produced whatever measure of goodness and virtue I possess. It is He who pursued me, not the other way around. And as a result, I have found in Him, not only a deliverer from the punishment of my sins which I so richly deserve, but a faithful friend whom I will soon see.

Simul justus et peccator—this expression sums up who I am. It was coined by Martin Luther as a condensed expression of the great doctrine of justification. What he said is that believers in Jesus Christ are “simultaneously saint and sinner.” That’s me and that’s you if you are now in a new covenant relationship with Jesus. The sinful nature still clings to me and sometimes wins my consent in varying degrees, but then there’s also within me a measure of the divine nature which competes for control and, praise be to God, helps me win more than I lose in my efforts to live like a believer.

The songs were written while incarcerated in the federal prison in Big Spring, Texas. I performed all vocals with exceptions duly noted below and used Logic Pro to produce the accompaniment tracks in my basement. Thanks to Jessika and Dave who lent me their guitars. Thanks also to Cas who composed the melody, chord progression, and a lyric phrase used on the verses of I’ll Forever Praise

I’LL FOREVER PRAISE

I don’t know how you do all the wondrous things that you do,

Hearing all your people pray and answering,

Lifting up those who fall, casting down those who stand tall,

Fathering the fatherless, helping the helpless.

I’ll forever praise, your name, O Lord, forever and ever,

For you are worth to be praised.

I’ll forever praise, your name. O Lord, forever and ever,

For dying on the cross, for saving those you call,

For canceling the curse of Adam’s fall.

If the truth has set you free, sing your praises with me, singing:

Cantare de ti, mi gran salvador (I will sing of you, my great Savior),

Crucificado en el arbol, tu tomaste mi castigo (Crucified on the tree,

You took my punishment).

Sufiste y moriste, mi pecado es quitado (you suffered and died, my sin is cancelled).

Me das vida y justica, totalmente inmerecida (you give me life and righteousness, totally undeserved).

Me das paz bendita, direccion, y esperanza (you give me blessed peace, direction, and hope).

If the truth has set you free, sing your praises with me, singing:

Cantare de ti, mi gran salvador (I will sing of you, my great Savior),

Crucificado en el arbol, tu tomaste mi castigo (Crucified on the tree,

You took my punishment).

Sufiste y moriste, mi pecado es quitado (you suffered and died, my sin is cancelled).

Me das vida y justica, totalmente inmerecida (you give me life and righteousness, totally undeserved).

Me das paz bendita, direccion, y esperanza (you give me blessed peace, direction, and hope).

THE GREATEST MAN

Big man, strong hands, handshake of a carpenter,

Drivin’ nails, cuttin’ wood, workin’ hard and doin’ it good,

He never said, “Sorry, I’m late,” he never took no girl out on a date,

Living in Nazareth incognito, eatin’ lots of fish burritos.

Jesus, greatest man I know, Jesus, the star of heaven’s show,

Givin’ life that never ends, turnin’ sinners into His friends, Jesus.

Big man, strong hands, (they) didn’t like the carpenter,

Arrested Him for no good reason,

Said he was guilty of the crime of treason.

They tied Him up to the rack, with 39 lashes they whipped His back,

Surrounded Him, moved in for the kill,

But they could not break the strength of His will.

Not Mohammed or Dalai Lama and not even the Buddha or Guru Nanak,

Joseph Smith or Helena Blavatsky, not Hare Krishna nor Mahatma Gandhi,

Not Maimonides, Edgar Cayce and not even Confucius or Baker Eddy,

St. Assisi not Rishabhanatha and not even the Swami Vivekananda!

Hands up to the King of Kings! Hands up!

TO HEAR HIM SING

Hear them sing, laboring for the praise of men?

Hear the crowds applauding when their performance ends?

Adoring fans they all try very hard to win,

But when God’s curtain closes, their vainglorious game will end.

There’s a sound, holy sound, I’d prefer to hear,

Of angels singing within the hev’nly spheres,

Though they sing earnestly and strong,

That’s not the sound for which I long.

For when at last I’m home to see the Lamb enthroned,

What a joy to my heart it will bring to hear Him sing,

To hear Christ Jesus sing.

On the night of his betrayal, Jesus sang a hymn,

And it is written in the prophets (Zeph.3:17b),

The Lord will rejoice over His people with singing.

So until life has flown, patiently I wait,

Enduring the testing of my faith,

Step by step, even through the night,

Guided by His Word, my lamp, mylight.

For when this life is o’er, and safe on heaven’s shore,

What a joy to my heart it will bring to hear Him sing!

HE WHO IS TO COME

(with Jessika, soloist, and Christi, choral soprano and alto)

He’s alive eternally, He’s the infinite Diety,

As He was He will always be, unending God.

The Alpha and Omega, as He was so He is, who He is, is to come.

The eternal Three in One, Father, Spirit, and the Son,

Long before ever time began, foreknown to God was,

Everyone whom He would save, predestined by His grace,

Though undeserving one and all, yet saved by the Father’s call.

When the fulness of time was come,

God sent His Son like a shining star, light of all the universe,

Now I look to Him in awe, greatest hero of all,

Sing in one accord, Jesus is Lord.

See the Victim innocent, great reward of the penitent,

Who are given eyes to see, faith to believe that...

From the dead, resurrected! First from the dead, resurrected!

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!

Who was and is and is to come!

Soon expected, resurrected, Christos vive (Christ lives)!

This is He who is to come!