"Brothers… fathers… hear me…" The word was carried far and wide And many came from every side The widows cried, their needs unheard Amid the preaching of the word So seven men were chosen there To serve with wisdom, faith, and care And Stephen, filled with fire inside Stood firm, no truth would he deny With signs and wonders he proclaimed A truth they feared, yet could not tame So falsehood rose with lying tongues And brought him before the council 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 to Abraham: "Leave your land and follow My command" No ground was given, yet God had sworn A promise through the line unborn Isaac came, then Jacob's line Twelve sons formed by God's design Joseph was sold, yet God would guide Through famine, he was raised on high His brothers came when famine spread And Israel dwelt where Joseph led Then came a king who knew not him And bound God's people under him He ordered every son to die Yet Moses lived beneath God's eye Raised in Pharaoh's courts, he grew Then fled when his own denied him Forty years in desert land Till fire revealed the great I AM God led them out with mighty hand Through sea and waste toward promised land Yet still they turned to lifeless gods And broke the covenant of God The prophets came, the people strayed Kings rose and fell, yet God remained Though Solomon built a house of stone No earthly house could hold Him alone Heaven is 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 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 No grave can hold the faithful slain Though Stephen sleeps, his voice remains A living fire through time and flame The martyr's cry will never fade Its echo stands, unafraid
