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Habakkuk 1:1-4

How Long Shall I Cry?

Lyrics · Habakkuk

How Long Shall I Cry?

Habakkuk 1:1-4

[Invocation] The burden came without a map, A weight no shoulder chose to bear. Habakkuk looked across the city, And asked why heaven seemed unaware. [Verse I] How long shall I cry of violence, And hear no answer in the night? Why show me grief and make me witness The strong devouring what is right? [Refrain] Spoiling and violence stand before me, Strife and contention rise. Law grows numb in the gate of judgment, Truth is surrounded by lies. [Chorus] How long shall I cry? How long will justice wait? The wicked circle round the righteous, And judgment leaves the gate. How long shall I cry? The burden will not move. When silence hangs above the violence, What can the watcher prove? [Verse II] The scroll of law remains among them, But hands refuse its living claim. The sentence twists toward those with power, The poor leave carrying the blame. [Broken Bridge] No thunder answers, No army turns, No courtroom straightens, The city burns. [Final Chorus] How long shall I cry? How long will justice wait? The wicked circle round the righteous, And judgment leaves the gate. How long shall I cry? The prophet stays awake, Holding the question before the LORD Until the silence breaks. [Outro] The first prayer ended Without an answer yet.