[Intro - twin fiddles and steel, a warm swung mid-tempo lilt]

[Chorus]
Counted righteous, counted righteous,
Hear the gavel of the Judge above.
It is God Himself who justifies,
And the verdict came back love.

[Verse 1 - the charge]
The charge was read, it bore my name,
And every word of it was true.
I had no plea, I had no answer,
Nothing I could say or do.

[Chorus]
Counted righteous, counted righteous,
Hear the gavel of the Judge above.
It is God Himself who justifies,
And the verdict came back love.

[Verse 2 - the verdict]
Then the Judge looked down and gave the verdict,
And it did not match the crime.
He said, not guilty, counted righteous,
Clean for all of time.

[Verse 3 - the verdict was not new]
Then I learned a thing far stranger,
The verdict was not new.
He had never seen me guilty,
The whole long ages through.

[Bridge - why it was love]
He did not count me righteous
Because He found me good.
He looked at me and saw His Son,
He saw the cross, the blood.
The Lamb was slain before the world,
The verdict sealed above.
That is why He never saw me lost,
That is why it came back love.

[Final Chorus x2]
Counted righteous, counted righteous,
Hear the gavel of the Judge above.
It is God Himself who justifies,
And the verdict came back love.

[Outro]
Counted righteous, counted righteous,
The verdict came back love.
Counted righteous, counted righteous,
Sealed in heaven up above.