Stephen the Martyr (5.5 remix)

"Brothers… fathers… hear me…" The word was carried far and wide And many came from every side Yet in those days of rising flame The weak were left without a name The widows cried, their needs unheard Amid the preaching of the word The twelve then spoke, with solemn grace “We must not leave our sacred place” So seven men were chosen there To serve with wisdom, faith, and care And Stephen, filled with fire inside Stood firm, no truth he would deny With signs and wonders he proclaimed A truth they feared, yet could not tame So falsehood rose to take its stand With lying tongues and violent hands Before the council, brought to stand Condemned by those who would not understand Yet in his face a light did shine A peace no hatred could confine You stiff-necked men, so blind to see You turn from truth yet claim to be The keepers of the sacred way While casting righteousness away "Stephen testified" The God of glory called afar To Abraham beneath the stars “Leave all you know, your land, your kin And walk the path I set within” No ground was given to his hand Yet promise stretched across the land Through Isaac’s birth and Jacob’s line The twelve were formed by grand design But Joseph, sold and cast aside Was taken far, yet God would guide Through famine’s grasp and darkest hour He rose to stand in saving power When famine spread through every land His brothers came at God’s command And Israel dwelt in Egypt’s care Until a darker time was there A king arose who knew no past And bound the people hard and fast He decreed that every newborn son should die Yet one was spared beneath a watchful eye In Pharaoh’s courts the child was raised In strength of word and deed ablaze Yet when he struck for justice sake His own refused the stand he’d make “Who made you ruler over men?” So he fled far from them again For forty years in desert land Till fire revealed the great I AM He led them out with mighty hand Through sea and waste to promised land Yet still their hearts were drawn away To lifeless gods of stone and clay They bore the tent through desert wide Till Joshua brought them to reside And kings would rise with fleeting claim Yet none could bind the Holy Name Though Solomon would build in stone No house could hold Him there alone For heaven stands His throne on high And earth beneath His feet does lie You stiff-necked men with hardened hearts You tear the truth and law apart The prophets slain throughout your days Now stand fulfilled before your gaze The Righteous One you have betrayed Delivered up and cast away The law you held you cast aside And crucified the Holy guide They closed their ears… refused to hear… And rushed on him in rage and fear… They cast him out beyond the walls Where stones became his final call The witnesses laid garments down At Saul’s feet on the blood-stained ground He raised his eyes through pain and sky And saw the glory shining high “Lord Jesus, take my soul,” he cried “Forgive them…”—and he died Behold the heavens opened wide The Son of Man at God’s right side No death can hold, no grave contain The one who walks through faith and pain Though Stephen sleeps, his voice remains A living fire through time and flame The martyr’s cry will never fade Its echo stands, unafraid