[INTRO — SPOKEN, DARK AND DELIBERATE] You say we didn’t know? But the law was already written. The weights. The measures. The judgments. The Sabbath. How to treat your brother. How to treat the poor. How to govern. How to live. The instructions were there. But somewhere along the way… we decided our way was better. [VERSE 1 — CONTROLLED STORYTELLING RAP] False weight sitting underneath the merchant’s hand, Changing up the measure just to cheat another man. Selling to your brother while you’re plotting on the gain, Knowing that the balance isn’t measuring the same. Poor man at the gate and the judgment can be bought, Silver changes hands and suddenly the truth is lost. Widow needs protection, orphan crying to be heard, But money speaks much louder than the justice in the Word. Field upon field, taking everything you can, Moving ancient boundaries just to add another span. Brother needs assistance, but your heart is getting cold, Everything becomes a price when righteousness is sold. We had statutes for the wealthy. We had statutes for the poor. Had commandments for the judges. Had instructions at the door. It wasn’t that we didn’t know. The standard wasn’t disguised. We knew exactly what was written… then did what was right in our own eyes. [CHORUS — MELODIC, LAYERED] We always trust in the Most High, Even when the road gets hard, we keep our heads high. Through the tears, through the years, through the long nights, We always trust in the Most High. We always trust in the Most High, When everything around us says we won’t rise. We remember the covenant, get our hearts right. We always trust in the Most High. [VERSE 2 — DARKER] Then corruption left the marketplace and walked into the home. Men were spilling innocent blood, then standing there like nothing’s wrong. Adultery and whoredom. Idols standing in the land. Hands created for obedience now building what He banned. Rulers taking bribes. Judges twisting what was right. Prophets bringing warnings, people pushing back the light. Brother against brother. Neighbor lying to his friend. Everybody wants his own way, never asking where it ends. We wanted other nations. Wanted everything they had. Wanted worship like the nations. Wanted rulers just as bad. Every compromise got easier. Every warning sounded old. Until commandments became burdens and rebellion became bold. And still the Most High warned us. Turn back. Put away the wickedness. Execute righteous judgment. Protect the fatherless. Defend the poor. Stop shedding innocent blood. But when everybody becomes their own measure of righteousness… who corrects anybody? [BRIDGE — DRUMS DROP OUT] The commandments were written. The warnings were given. So what happens when everybody decides… “My way is right”? My business. My money. My body. My desire. My judgment. My truth. My revenge. My way. Everybody doing what is right… in their own eyes. [VERSE 3 — GIBEAH / BENJAMIN STORY] Then look at Gibeah. Look how far the nation fell. A Levite traveling through the land, then darkness turned the city into hell. A woman left abused and dead. A nation forced to see. Her body divided, pieces sent through Israel’s territory. Every tribe received the message. Everybody felt the shame. Israel gathered asking, “How did we ever reach this place?” But wickedness produced more wickedness. Now brother drew the sword. Benjamin stood against the tribes, and Israel went to war. Israelite against Israelite. Brother fighting brother. Men descended from one family now slaughtering each other. Thousands falling in the battle. Families disappearing fast. Anger burning hotter with every body on the grass. Benjamin nearly disappeared. One tribe. Almost gone. And after all the killing, Israel finally saw what it had done. They wept. A tribe of Israel was almost erased… by Israel. [BREAK — ALMOST SILENT] Was that righteousness? Or had we become so broken that even when confronting wickedness… we created more wickedness? Look at the blood. Look at the families. Look at the tribe nearly gone. This is what happens when everybody becomes a law unto himself. [CHORUS — STRONGER] We always trust in the Most High, Even when the road gets hard, we keep our heads high. Through the tears, through the years, through the long nights, We always trust in the Most High. We always trust in the Most High, When everything around us says we won’t rise. We remember the covenant, get our hearts right. We always trust in the Most High. [VERSE 4 — THE CASE AGAINST US] False balances. Bribes in judgment. Poor being crushed while the wealthy kept collecting. Blood in the streets. Whoredom in the land. Idols on the hills made by Israelite hands. Sabbaths forgotten. Covenant ignored. Brother cheating brother while we’re calling on the Lord. Kings became corrupted. People followed in their ways. Prophets stood among us, warning generation after generation: Change. But pride said no. G
