Seven Thousand Stand
Lord— I need a word. Things are awful bad down here. The wealthy sell their souls for power, fame, and gold, while my neighbors have to hide away in fear.
Elijah said: “Lord — I need a word
“Things are awful bad down here.
The people worship Baal,
And throw good folk in jail,
And I have had to run away in fear.”
Just then the wind blew cold,
The mountains shook and rolled,
And a raging fire tore apart the night.
At last a still small voice
Said, “I gave them all a choice,
And seven thousand faithful still do right —
“Refuse to bend the knee,
Defy idolatry.
Seven thousand people choose the light.”
• • • • •
Then I said: “Lord— I need a word.
“Things are awful bad down here.
The wealthy sell their souls
For power, fame, and gold,
While my neighbors have to hide away in fear.”
Just then I heard a shout,
As deadly shots rang out,
And I watched Good and righteous people fall.
The acrid air grew thick,
And poisonous and sick,
But through it came an answer — still and small.
“Seven million strong
Still refuse the wrong.
Seven million faithful still resist —
Refuse to bend the knee
To hate and tyranny.
Just look at Minneapolis.
• • • • •
In the heat and cold,
Their love stays bold
In Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
1 Kings 19 • with thanks to my Brother, Norman
Notice: I, Ann L Jarnes Randall, author of “Seven Thousand Stand” hereby retain the copyright to these lyrics. However, I freely share these lyrics to be set to music, performed, rearranged, edited, or recorded, with this stipulation: its use is not to be for profit. Any arrangements or derivatives of this song must also be shared freely and not distributed or performed for profit. This retention of ownership is sometimes referred to as copyleft. These restrictions also may be defined as an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Creative Commons license.