THE BALLAD OF THE CROSS

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The Ballad of the Cross
Copyright © 1997 Elton Smith and Larry Holder
http://songsofpraise.org/song.php?songid=34
CCLI Number: 2449647

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(INTRODUCTION)
Dm  

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(VERSE 1)
   Dm  
By the prophets, God foretold
   G  
of the sending of His Son
   Bb  
Who would give His life
   C  Dm  
to set the captive free.
   Dm  
Stepping down from His throne
   G  
and the glory He had known,
   Bb  C  Dm  
Jesus came to give His life for you and me.
   Dm  
Though He knew well the cost,
   F  
He was pre-pared to suffer loss
   G  A  A7  
and give Himself as ransom for us all.
   Dm  F  
Into our hopeless world He came,
   C  G  
Endured the suffering and the shame,
   Bb  C  Dm  
Every moment staying faithful to the call.

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(VERSE 2)
   Dm  
Yet the One who spoke of love
   G  
was re-jected and despised;
   Bb  C  Dm  
He knew all too well the sinful heart of men.
   Dm  
Those with eyes refused to see;
   G  
Those with ears refused to hear,
   Bb  C  Dm  
as they sought a way to bring Him to an end.
   Dm  
By a friend He was betrayed,
   F  
By soldiers, led away,
   G  A  A7  
Yet for this very hour He had come.
   Dm  F  
They did not take - He freely gave;
   C  G  
For those He came to save,
   Bb  C  Dm  
the road to the cross He walked a-lone.

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(CHORUS 1)
Bb  C  F  
He could have called a million angels to His side,
   G  A  A7  
Or stepped down from the cross and walked a-way.
   Dm  F  
Yet His love held Him there,
   C  G  
Through the pain and de-spair,
   Bb  C  Dm  
To free us from the debt we could not pay.

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(VERSE 3)
   Dm  
In His suffering and pain
   G  
Took the guilt and the shame
   Bb  C  Dm  
As He hung between the heavens and the ground.
   Dm  
Every nail, every thorn,
   G  
Every stare, every scorn
   Bb  C  Dm  
pierced the One who so freely laid it down.
   Dm  
With His face to the sky,
   F  
"It is finished!" was His cry
   G  A  A7  
The words that broke the gates of hell.
   Dm  F  
When His final words were said,
   C  G  
Breathed His last, bowed His head,
Bb  C  Dm  
Darkness o'er the land so quickly fell.

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(CHORUS 2)
Bb  C  F  
Yet death and darkness could not stand against His power:
   G  A  A7  
He rose, victorious o'er the grave.
   Dm  F  
In His light we now may live,
   C  G  
By the grace He came to give
   Bb  C  Dm  Dm/C  
All who call upon His name are surely saved!
   Bb  C  Dm  
All who call upon His name are surely saved!