For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth.” -‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV

A Psalm-like song inspired by Abigail’s story in 1 Samuel 25. A reflection on faith, justice, and our God who sees and answers.

[Verse 1]
The shepherd boys came trembling near,
With tidings sharp as rain,
“Our master mocked the wilderness men,
And wrath rides hard this plain.”
I gathered bread with steady hands,
Two skins of wine and grain,
For long I have borne a fool man’s storm
And walked beneath its strain.

[Verse 2]
Beneath the shadow of the ridge,
I rode where anger stayed,
The hill kept counsel with the dark,
And every hoofbeat prayed.
I did not ride to praise a fool,
Nor ask to be remade,
I rode because the Judge of all
Still weighs what men have made.

[Chorus]
Under cover of the hill,
I bowed before the blade,
“The Lord will keep His anointed clean,
Do not let wrath be paid.”
Better mercy in the dust
Than wine in a foolish hall,
For the God who sees the hidden wrong
Will answer to it all.

[Verse 3]
I touched my forehead to the earth,
And begged his hand be still,
“Not for the sake of Nabal’s name,
But lest you break God’s will.
The Lord shall keep your life with His,
And build by His own hand,
Bound in the bundle of the living,
So let your mercy stand.”

[Verse 4]
I named the fool for what he was,
For folly wore his face,
I would not gild the crooked reed,
Or call his evil grace.
I asked no swift deliverance then,
No secret royal door,
I only feared the Holy One
Who keeps the Word He swore.

[Chorus]
Under cover of the hill,
I bowed before the blade,
“The Lord will keep His anointed clean,
Do not let wrath be paid.”
Better mercy in the dust
Than wine in a foolish hall,
For the God who sees the hidden wrong
Will answer to it all.

[Verse 5]
I came again to Carmel’s feast,
Where laughter stained the hall,
He sat as though a little king
Beneath his painted wall.
I kept the matter through the night,
Till morning left the wine,
For truth must enter sober flesh
When judgment gives its sign.

[Verse 6]
His heart went cold within his chest,
Like stone before the sun,
No hand of mine unmade his breath,
No vengeance, my tongue spun.
The Lord had heard the silent years,
The burden and the bruise,
And where I stood in faithful dust,
He called the captive from the bruise.

[Chorus]
Under cover of the hill,
I bowed before the blade,
“The Lord will keep His anointed clean,
Do not let wrath be paid.”
Better mercy in the dust
Than wine in a foolish hall,
For the God who sees the hidden wrong
Will answer to it all.

[Verse 7]
His mercy found me by the road,
When judgment had been done,
And I who bowed in dust before
Stood open to the sun.
No cry of mine had forced the door,
No scheme had won the day,
The God who sees the hidden wrong
Casted the long night away.

[Verse 8]
Blessed the Lord who pleads the cause
Of those the proud treat in spite,
He hears the lowly at the gate
And keeps their tears in sight.
Though I had dwelt with grief too long,
I was not lost at all,
For the God who sees the hidden wrong
Still answers when we call.

[Final Chorus]
Under cover of the hill,
I bowed before the blade,
“The Lord will keep His anointed clean,
Do not let wrath be paid.”
Better mercy in the dust
Than wine in a foolish hall,
For the God who sees the hidden wrong
Has answered to it all.

[Outro]
He will answer when I call.