Seek Ye First

Karen Lafferty's 1971 chorus sets Matthew 6:33 to music almost without alteration: "seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." The verse comes from the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus's own answer to worry about food and clothing — priority, not scarcity, as the actual argument.

The second verse turns to Matthew 4:4, quoting Jesus's reply to the wilderness temptation — "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." The third draws from Matthew 7:7's triple promise, "ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened for you." Three separate passages from the same sermon, set end to end, with nothing added — the chorus's entire appeal is built on letting scripture stand as its own lyric.