Written for FAWM 2026, this is the biblical story of David and Goliath
The Philistines gather, that place upon the hill The Philistines gather, we bear them no ill will The Philistines gather, for us it is no thrill The Philistines gather The Philistines gather The Israelites together, on another hill We'll face them all together, a victory fulfill Together we will face them, this time it's not a drill We are all together We are all together The valley lies between us, our safety is ensured The valley is our defense, vict'ry is secured The valley is our stronghold, we can and must endure The valley lies between us The valley lies between us
Mountain to mountain The valley below The battle engages Animosities grow Where is our champion Who will he fight? A warrior so daring A warrior of might We'll clothe him in armor Protect at all costs The best of all weapons We can't bear a loss Who stands among us In this army of Saul? Who will now lead us? Who answers the call? Attackers retreating They cannot advance We've established our stronghold They don't have a chance We'll teach them a lesson They'll never forget Our forces are mighty And that is our threat
Goliath was a big man Nearly ten feet tall No one could have met him Eyeball-to-eyeball Could have weighed a half-ton Maybe a lot more No one dared to fight him He would win the war Clad he was in armor strong His fearsome spear was twice as long As any other in the throng Such a mammoth man Head protected, helmet on Body covered, bulging brawn Weapon carried, armed and drawn So it all began
I'm Goliath, here's the plan. Why an army against one man? You are Saul's, declare the one Bring him here, or turn and run. Fight me, kill me, we'll be slaves Lose and no one will be saved I cannot see a champion there Who will you pick to meet my glare? I see you shiver in your tracks I see it's courage that you lack You're nothing but a losing force Inaction will be your great remorse Is there not one among you still Who could come down from you little hill? And fight with me, though you will die To take up now the battle cry? A horde of cowards, all I see I soon expect you all to flee You cannot face this champion I now declare, I've already won
The Lord told Sam, "I'm sick of Saul. I need him out, he has to fall You'll find his heir in Jesse's son Go meet him and I'll pick the one." Then Samuel shook, and pleaded thus "It's Saul I fear, he'll rid of us!" The Lord said, "There's no need to fear. Just take a calf, it will be clear." So Samuel met with Jesse's sons Met Eliab, cried "He's the one! Handsome guy, a King he'll be!" He then began to take a knee But the Lord said... "He has such a silly name. That is just the thing. There's no chance of real fame. He just can't be king." Samuel then was at a loss "Bring out your next, your number two. Abinadab could be the boss!" The Lord said "Clearly, he won't do." And the Lord said... "He has such a silly name. That is just the thing. There's no chance of real fame. He just can't be king." Now Samuel began to fret He wringed his hands, began to sweat The next one up was brave Shammah The Lord let out a great guffaw Then the Lord said... "He has such a silly name. That is just the thing. There's no chance of real fame. He just can't be king." So one by one, he met them all And all of them the Lord appalled "Is there no one left here to wield?" "Only David out in the field." "Bring him here," a spent Sam cried. "I came to pick, I thought I'd die. Bring the youngster out to me. Oh, to hope a King he'll be." And the Lord said... "He has not a silly name He is just the thing He will have the real fame He will be the king."
We seek our prayers, we cannot fight The demon comes out from the night To us he issues horrid threats He wants to take us all in death The day at end, he comes again We cannot pray, we're filled with pain The giant's presence we can't abide We only know God's on our side Day after day, the jeers renew These kind of threats we must eschew The constant beating of his chest We cannot bow to his request Another night and day ensue We cannot bear to see this through The giant's boldness tests our resolve We cannot let our hopes dissolve For forty days he wears us down Our leader's not worthy of the crown Who will in fact meet in the fight And return us all to the great light?
David, son of Jesse, had a message to repeat Gathered up some loaves of bread, someone to tend his sheep. "Find your brothers, check their health, but do not linger long. There can still be hope for us if nothing else goes wrong." Rising at the crack of dawn, he brought the bread and cheese. He found the company in prayer, bended on their knees. The fiend, as daily, still assaulted all of them with threats. They couldn't muster, to a man, and sat in their cold sweat. Who will meet him, in this battle, who will save the day? But the soldiers, feigning bravery, only showed dismay. "Who will gain, that once defeated, he lies down in death? Whom among you will now face him, taking his last breath?" No one dared to answer swiftly, no one took the call No one dared to show their faces, no one, none at all Even with the king's reward, his daughter for a bride No one dared to step up swiftly, to take on a free ride David's brother then berated David standing there "You do not belong in this camp, you don't even care. All you're here for is to dawdle, watching for the fight Go and tend your silly sheep and leave here for the night."
David didn't feel defeated David vowed to fight David knew to beat Goliath Had to show his might Saul had heard of David's questions So he sent for him "What is it that you are planning? Is it just a whim?" David told Saul "I will fight him. I will defeat the beast. Let me at him, I will conquer. I'll restore the peace." Saul intrigued, still had some doubts. "You are just too young. Have you seen him, he's a terror. You are just not strong." David said, "There is hope Master. I'll fight this Philistine. He'll no longer be a terror. All will be serene." "He's a soldier, you're a shepherd, Already outclassed. Any effort to try and take him Easily suppressed." "As a shepherd, I have faced much A lion and a bear. I defeated them easily Dispatched without a care. "With God behind me, I have power He'll deliver me. Goliath will be soundly defeated. Brought down to his knees."
[Saul] If you plan to fight this giant You must depend on this reliant Helmet, armor, and our best sword You'll be protected, that's my word! [David] I can't move, it's too excessive How then can I be aggressive" Every step a stumbling block How can I fight if I cannot walk? I tell you, I have got this thing A few small stones, my trusted sling I will return the victor yet I will overcome the giant's threat [Saul] Then go with God, right at your side Your victory cannot be denied Bring back your prize and you'll receive Your faith in God makes me believe
The Philistine paced back and forth He knew his might, he knew his worth A shield bearer stood in front But Goliath knew just what he'd want [Goliath] Am I a dog, you with your stick? You'd be a fool, you're not that quick. I'll take you down, right to the ground You'll wonder why you came around. Nothing but for the birds to feed Your little self but just a weed The buzzards will have a field day There's nothing more that I can say [David] You come at me with sword and spear You battle-axe I do not fear I come as soldier of my God I declare you as just a fraud The very God you curse and mock Will strike you down on the path you walk You'll lose your life, you'll lose your head The Philistines will crawl in dread They cannot stand up to our God They'll fail and die as we maraud Bravado will not let you win I'm ready, I will do you in
The Philistine began to run David did not back down He, in fact, too moved ahead Fighting for the crown He grabbed a stone and filled his sling Gave it a mighty whirl The stone set off at frightening speed The mightiest of hurls The giant stayed and stood his ground "What sort of trick is this?" He saw it come at its top speed "There's something here amiss" The stone, it struck the giant down He fell down to the ground The body fell with such great force It made a dreadful sound The death was quick, but to make sure He grabbed the giant's sword He cut clean off the giant's head Was the victor's reward
The battle over, the victory sure The aftermath quickly became a blur The losers retreated, but none too quick They thought the victory was a trick He showed the head, they began to scatter The hope of victory, soundly shattered Their wounded bodies, strewn on the road While David returned with his heavy load The victors remained, and raided the camp They made it sure that they left their stamp No trace remained of the Philistines Nothing but trauma behind the scenes As David returned he unburdened himself The head on the ground, weapons on the shelf To Saul he presented the victor's prize He marveled and could not believe his eyes
I didn't fight for a reward But for the glory of my Lord I only saw the giant's threat And ended him in a great upset I'll sing of this, the victory sweet There is in me no great conceit The fight was fought by God alone It was He who guided the stone I will keep the weapons found With them perhaps I'll be renowned The sword did claim my conquered's head That final cut, and he was dead
Saul, a witness to David's deeds Wondered now about David's needs He offered him riches beyond compare The total treasure he was willing to share But David refused, as was his wont And told the King he had no wants Saul, surprised, asked "Who are you?" No lesser man could I construe "I am but a simple shepherd, sir My needs are few, of that I'm sure I come from your servant, my father Jesse He comes from Bethlehem, you see "I am the youngest of his sons I work all day under the sun I tend the sheep, I watch the flocks My victory must seem like a paradox" Saul now thoroughly impressed Offered up armor in which David dressed But David's success caused a bit of a grate And Saul's mood turned from joy to hate
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