If You Race with Footmen” — Jeremiah 12
Verse 1 — The Honest Question
Righteous are You, O Lord, I know
Yet still I ask what troubles so
Why do the faithless walk secure?
Why does the traitor still endure?
You plant them deep, they take their root
Their lips confess, their lives refute
Your name is near their spoken breath
But far from hearts that deal in death
Chorus — The Cry of the Faithful
Pull them out like sheep for slaughter
Set the day their lies are caught, Lord
How long will land and fields all fade
For deeds the wicked ones have made?
The birds are gone, the beasts have fled
Yet still they say, “He does not see ahead”
Verse 2 — God’s Hard Answer
“If you race with footmen, worn and torn
How will you stand when horses storm?
If peace exhausts you where you stand
What will you do in Jordan’s land?
Even brothers you thought were true
Have turned their backs and followed you
Though smooth their words and kind their tone
Do not trust what they have shown”
Chorus — The Cost of Calling
If you grow weary in the plain
How will you bear the flood and flame?
If comfort shakes your steady breath
How will you face what’s coming next?
Stand firm now, learn to run
The race is not yet done
Bridge — God’s Grief Over the Land
I have left My house, My home
My treasured vine stands overgrown
Shepherds trampled what I loved
The field became a desert of dust
They made My portion desolate
A wasteland mourning at My gate
Because no one took it to heart
The sword has torn the land apart
Verse 3 — Judgment and Promise
Many shepherds spoiled the way
Each claimed the land, then walked away
From end to end it lies in pain
Sown in thorns, no harvest gain
Yet hear this word I speak again
I will uproot the wicked men
But if they learn My people’s ways
They too may live before My face
Final Chorus — Hope After Judgment
If you race with footmen now
I will teach your feet somehow
To stand when floods around you rise
To run with strength beyond your size
For I will build what I remove
And heal the land when hearts are true
Outro — Persevering Faith
I will not flee, I will not fear
Your righteous word is sharp and clear
Though answers wound before they heal
I’ll trust the truth You now reveal
