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Jeremiah 1:1-19

Before I Formed Thee

Lyrics · Jeremiah

Before I Formed Thee

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Lyrics

About this song

About this song

This song belongs to the Jeremiah collection. One recording is available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.

Bible book
Jeremiah
Collection
Jeremiah
Musical styles
Uncategorized
[Downbeat Hook] Before I formed thee, the calling stood, Before the faces, the word was good. [Verse 1] Before the breath, before the name, A word had marked the road I never chose. I said, I am young; my mouth is small, But fear was not accepted as a wall. [Chorus] Before I formed thee, the calling stood, Before the faces, the word was good. A hand touched speech where silence had been, Root out the lie, then build again. [Verse 2] An almond branch watched winter’s delay, A boiling pot leaned northward toward the day. Kings would resist, priests sharpen the blame, Yet bronze does not bow when God gives the frame. [Bridge] They fight the messenger, not the source of the flame, Before I formed thee, I knew thy name. [Final Chorus] Before I formed thee, the calling stood, Before the faces, the word was good. Root out the lie, then build again. Before I formed thee, I knew thy name.

About the passage

Jeremiah 1: A mouth appointed before a city falls

The Book of Jeremiah begins by placing Jerusalem’s captivity in the heading before Jeremiah’s own call is narrated, so the ending shadows the beginning. The prophet’s authority does not arise from priestly ancestry or confidence in his own ability. He objects that he cannot speak, and God answers by touching the very mouth Jeremiah considers inadequate. Two visions then define the commission: an almond branch signals that God is watching over his word, while a boiling pot points toward disaster from the north. The chapter closes by turning Jeremiah himself into the imagery of defense. He becomes a fortified city, iron pillar, and brasen walls against kings, princes, priests, and people. Opposition is not removed from the promise. It is built into it: they will fight, but they will not prevail.

Study Jeremiah 1 in depth