Easter is fast approaching, so I thought I’d post the only Easter song that I’ve written – Cross Of My Lord – before the season of Lent is over and the Easter celebration is completed.  The lyrics are really quite powerful, in a reflective, introspective and personal way, as we examine our own personal relationship with Jesus and the cross.

The song tells the entire Easter story through the eyes of an eye witness observer of the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  In verse one, the crucifixion of Jesus is over, the crowds have dispersed and all gone home, and it is the next morning as the sun rises and a “new day dawns.”  From the lyrics we understand that the observer followed Jesus, observed his triumphant Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem, knew his teachings, watched the crucifixion with the crowds, and has now returned the next morning to contemplate the meaning of the empty cross.  The crowds have all gone home, and he finds himself alone, face to face with the cross of his Lord – trying to understand the events of the day before and what the empty cross means to him personally.

In verse two, the observer and eye witness looks upon the tomb of Jesus, with the stone rolled away.  Again, the observer has arrived after the crowds have departed as the sun “dawns on a new day.”  He or she searches their heart for the meaning of the empty tomb and steps inside to see where Jesus defeated death and walked away.  The observer notes that “death lost its power that day” as Jesus rose from and defeated death once and for all.

Verse three describes the events observed by many eye witnesses after the resurrection of Jesus – walking along the road with Jesus, blessing and breaking bread with Jesus, conversing with and being enlightened by Jesus, displaying the wounds on His hands and feet, eating fish and ascending to Heaven – all as a “new day dawned.”

The chorus echoes the reflective, introspective and personal relationship the observer has with Jesus.  The cross remains and the fear is gone, because Christ died for him and “death has no power over me” – Jesus died to save his soul and wash his sins away.  As the song ends it slowly fades into a refrain that asks for Jesus and God the Father to return and for the Holy Spirit to descend upon us – Hallelujah.

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s only appropriate that I’m posting the only Easter song I’ve written here on Easter, 2014. This song is from Set 2 and I play my Fender Strat run through an effect that I liked at the time. The song is about the impressions of an eye witness to the events leading up to and after Easter Sunday. The singer returns to the site of the empty cross and tomb long after the crowds have left and reflects on what has happened ~ and what it all means… Easter Blessings to you all! ♡ 🙂 Mark

 

Cross Of My Lord

“Three Chords and a Prayer”, Collected Works Volume VI, Copyright 1991, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved

Verse One:

       F                                       G

The cross of my Lord stands on Calvary’s hill

       F                             G

The wind is calm and the silence still

           F                           G

As the sun comes up from behind the hill

          C           D

And a new day dawns

        C           D

As a new day dawns

   F                               G

I look to the cross and I stand alone

       F                            G

The crowds have left and all gone home

   F                             G

I search myself as I’m standin’ there

                 C                    D

For they’ve taken my Lord away

            C                    D

They’ve taken my Lord away

Chorus:

  G               Em            C                     D

I look to the cross and I have nothing to fear

           G                  Em           C          D

For my Lord died for me on the cross of Calvary

         G                  Em        C                                   D

But it stands empty now and death has no power over me

            F            C                    G

For my Lord rose again from the grave

     F                C                  G

He died so my soul would be saved

     F               C                              G

He died so my sins would be washed away

Ending (after last chorus):

     F               C                   G

He died so my soul would be saved

      F                                       G

The cross of my Lord stands on Calvary’s hill

      F                             G

The wind is calm and the silence still

          F                           G

As the sun comes up from behind the hill

         C           D

And a new day dawns

       C           D

As a new day dawns

C                D        C           D

Come, Lord Jesus…Hal-le-lu-jah

C                 D         C           D

Come, Jesus Christ…Hal-le-lu-jah

C                D        C          D

Come, Holy Spirit…Hal-le-lu-jah

C                     D         C           D

Come, God the Father…Hal-le-lu-jah

C               D

Come, Lord Christ

Verse Two:

       F                                   G

The stone from the tomb was rolled away

      F                     G

My Lord got up and walked away

        F                G

And death lost its power today

         C            D

And a new day dawned

       C            D

As a new day dawned

  F                                G

I look in the tomb and I stand alone

       F                             G

The crowds have left and all gone home

   F                             G

I search myself as I’m standing there

           C                   D

For my Lord has risen today

           C                   D

For my Lord has risen today

Verse Three:

     F                               G

My Lord walked along the road today

     F                               G

He blessed the bread and broke it today

     F                           G

He talked to many and showed us the way

       C            D

As a new day dawned

       C            D

As a new day dawned

     F                                     G

He showed the wounds on His hands and feet

                     F                                   G

When He was hungry He had a piece of fish to eat

     F                         G

He rose to Heaven to take His seat

C               D

Beside God today

          C                         D

To the right of the Father today