Brothers & Sisters: A Lamentation

A cry for help, from the shackles of empire


LORD your people perish down in Egypt
In the land of the mighty river
The priests and princes of the land
Cared nothing for the poor who served them
When the river rose and consumed the weak
The poor were made food for dogs
Leviathan feasted on their flesh
Ransom your people from Egypt
o LORD hear our cry

Now the princes laugh at the slaughter
They say, "Open the treasury, that we may rebuild"
But take the money for themselves
And build their own houses bigger
Seeing the plight of your people, LORD
They exploit their workers the more
Ransom your people from Egypt
o LORD hear our cry

"Let us all bow down to Pharaoh!"
The priests tell the people;
A pampered son of privilege
Who thinks he is a god.
Ransom your people from Pharaoh
o LORD hear our cry.

LORD let your truth wash over the people of Pharaoh
Like raging floodwaters, unstoppable
Lend your strength to the widows and orphans,
To those who have lost children
Let them rise up and return
Turn their sorrow into action
Ransom your people from Egypt
o LORD hear our cry

The invisible hand of want
Is master here in Egypt
Yet those who trust in God
Will eat manna in the desert
Let justice be for all, LORD
Bring us to the land overflowing
Ransom your people from Egypt
o LORD hear our cry

You are the God who surely hears the cries of orphans
And widows, and all the sojourners in foreign places
Ransom your people from Egypt
o LORD hear our cry