Lyrics to who am i by rusty goodman

Who Am I?

When I think of how He came so far from Glory, came and dwelt among the lowly such as I,
To suffer shame and such disgrace on Mount Calvary take my place: then I ask myself the question,
Who am I?
When I’m reminded of His words, “I’ll leave thee never,” just be true I’ll give to you a life forever,
I wonder what I could have done, to deserve God’s only Son, fight my battle till they’re won…
Who am I?
Chorus:
Who am I, that a king would bleed and die for?
Who am I that He would pray, “not my will, but thine” for?
The answer I may never know,
why He ever loved me so,
That to an old rugged cross He’d go,
For who am I?

Rusty Goodman penned this wonderful song that has no doubt touched many lives. The Goodman’s claimed this was one of their most popular songs requested at their concerts. In Vestal Goodman’s autobiography simply titled, Vestal, she shares about the time when Rusty brought this song to her and Howard. She claimed that there was a hidden message that her brother-in-law weaved in the lyrics – he never thought he was good enough of God’s love and forgiveness.

I’ve been noticing that even in Scripture, there were many men of God who didn’t feel worthy of their call either. A little Bible trivia for you, there are places in the Word where men have actually spoken the exact words “WHO AM I,” when speaking to the Lord! The first one I’ve encountered was Moses in Exodus, when God called him to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. God says….

Exodus 3:10-11
“Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou might bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

And King David, in 1 Chronicles 29, prays this prayer after he gathered all the things needed to build the Temple, the house of God. He says…

1 Chronicles 29:14-16
“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.
O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee a house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.”

You would think that Moses, raised in royalty by PHARAOH’S daughter – would have some self confidence! And David – a KING of Israel! What happened to these men that they did not feel worthy of the call God gave them? A king, and a man educated in all the schools of Egypt – surely they had what it took to be used of God, right? Yet, in comparison to the awesomeness of God, we too can say, who am I? In the presence of the Almighty, not one person has anything to boast of. I get the feeling that Moses and David knew a lot about unworthiness. Moses fled Egypt when he slew an Egyptian, and we are all familiar with the story of David and Beer-Sheba. Everyone can relate to the feeling of unworthiness when you think of our sins and what Christ endured on Calvary to pay for them.

Yet, when I think of this song, and Moses, David, and Rusty, I think of God’s grace. That He would save us, and use us in a way to bring glory to Him. It’s a well known fact that the Lord doesn’t need any help doing anything. (After all, He’s the One that spoke our world into existence and parted the Red Sea!) No, He doesn’t need us, yet somehow, He wants us!

It’s still early in the year, and as the months progress, Satan will try to bring us down, there will be discouragements, and trials. But when these things pop up, we can say “who am I?” Remember that the Lord has a plan for you, one that Jeremiah 29:11 says…
“For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
And another promise from Romans 8:32…
“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

To paraphrase those two verse together, it’s like God is saying, “I have made a plan for you beyond your wildest dreams and if I didn’t hold back my Son from dying, I’m definitely not going to withhold anything good from you!”

There we have it! For all the “who am I’s” in life, God gives us a plan, peace, and provision!

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief (1 Timothy 1:15).

Have you ever thought about why Jesus would come, be born among us, and then give His life on a cruel cross for you? I have. God loves me, and you, far more than we can imagine. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). [Jesus Christ] Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Phil 2:6-8).

Nothing that I had or may have would be sufficient to merit His love or to gain His salvation. It is only through His loving grace that I can accept His free gift ( Eph 2:8-9). Who am I that I should receive eternal life? I can only point to Christ’s love me. But God commendeth his love toward us (me), in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (me) (Rom 5:8).

We Christians should serve God, not out of responsibility but love. We love him, because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (Matt 16:24). Read more about this in Lay Them Down.

I first heard Who Am I at Trinity Baptist Church in the mid-1970s. I have heard the song many times since, and it never gets old as I am reminded of my insignificance and the mighty love of God. Rusty Goodman wrote the lyrics and music to Who Am I in 1965 (Copyright 1965, renewed 1993 by Playin’ TAG Music). Rusty Goodman is now with his Savior but his words live on and bless us.

When I think of how He came so far from glory,
Came to dwell among the lowly such as I,
To suffer shame and such disgrace
On Mount Calvary take my place,
Then I ask myself this question
Who am I?

Chorus: Who am I that The King would bleed and die for?
Who am I that He would pray not my will, thine Lord?
The answer I may never know,
Why He ever loved me so.
But to that old rugged cross He’d go
For who am I?

When I’m reminded of His words
I’ll leave Him never.
If you’ll be true I’ll give to you life forever.
Oh I wonder what I could have done
To deserve God’s only Son,
To fight my battles until they’re won
For who am I?