All Creatures by Josh Garrels
All Creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and let us sing
O Praise Him! O Praise Him!
Alleluia
Creation sent to me the centipede
to witness the complexity
of one hundred legs that were moving unexpectedly
ironically
just as they were meant to be,
they’re fearfully and wonderfully made;
An organism praised in circadian rhythms:
the sun will rise and then the sun will set, and then the sun will rise again,
so lift up your head!
this is life: not a static object preserved and displayed like a relic from the dead
You are not a fruitless tree with a rootless disease
growin’ in a bucket in a rich man’s home
next to the TV tamed and alone
learnin’ to lust for the things you don’t own
like an arm chair warrior who’s been dethroned
Declawed and fixed
fighting for you life with unattended slit wrists.
Don’t let your name get intermingled with the number cause its time to awaken from the devilish slumber,
to freely follow the Forerunner
to the fatherland and rally round the renaissance man
and the wisdom of His ways
and all the work of His hands
catch come as catch can
concentrating on the good words of the Son of Man,
the plan is to withstand the demands of a confused oppressor:
a wolf in sheep’s clothes
with monotonous lectures
and questionable gestures
unequal measures
cultural pressures
and synthetic textures
force fed instead of the most beautiful architecture
of our long lost, forgotten origins:
Unseen fiber in the blood of my King
And that old rock where we confessed our sins
Oh, my God, fellow man
in this great land they all cry out for
full restoration
and this will take
patience
AND THIS WILL TAKE THE TRIBES
AND THE TONGUES OF ALL THE NATIONS
and all of creation groans in anticipation
Waitin’ for the Son of God to be manifest
I can feel it burnin’ in my chest
The liberation for the oppressed
And it’s beautiful like the feet that bring good news…
Its beautiful like this freedom tune
Its beautiful like the power to choose…to change
Beautiful like the long awaited rain
Beautiful like the healing pains
Beautiful like the holy flames…coming down!
All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing
O Praise Him! O Praise Him!
Alleluia….
⠁⠇⠁⠝ 
Thank you for posting these. I just found out about Josh Garrels from my sister and we’ve been looking for the lyrics for this song. Grace & peace abound to you!
i’m sure of it now…. “catch come as catch can”
Great to find these, just googled it and found your blog. Funny thing is I’m in Africa too, doing your same job!
Did you get these lyrics from somewhere or were you just listening? I’d always thought I heard a couple different things, but I don’t have any authority. I thought he sang “relic of the dead” instead of “day” and instead of “declogged” I hear “declawed”. But you got lots that I hadn’t heard! Glad to know there’s another Josh Garrels fan on this continent (I’m trying to tell as many of my friends as I can, too, this guy is amazing!)
I’ll agree with you, Heidi, on the “dead” and “declawed”. It definitely sounds like he says “dead” and “declawed” makes more sense even though I’m not hearing it. Thanks for the suggestions! 4 (or 6 really since Naomi helped me out too) are always better than 2. PtL for Josh Garrels!
After reading this, I do hear “declogged” but it doesn’t make as much sense! Wish he would post his lyrics for this album on his blog like he did the others.
Yes, yes! It’s “relic of the dead” and “declawed and fixed” Thanks for doing the leg work and getting these transcribed! I may copy and paste and post them on my own blog also, for I’ve been meaning to make the lyrics available for some time now. Thanks for listening guys!
Josh
Thanks for the music to listen to, Josh! If you ever get the urge to visit the DRC you are welcome here. Also, if you and Trace Bundy ever happen to release an Advent album together, I’ll buy it, no question.
hello jg. thanks for good music.
unreal, alan.
I’ll buy the Trace Bundy/Josh Garrels CD too!
thanks for posting these lyrics. was looking for them. josh garrels is the crazy-coolest music find i’ve found in quite some time.
I was very happy to see the lyrics. I love the song. I knew the lyrics were amazing, and now I have more than a phrase here and there. And most amazing of all….Josh Garrels, himself writes a message here for us to see. Too cool!
“An organism praised in circadian rythms”
Would i be right in thinking that this is another lyrically great way of saying how all creation is a great big harmony declaring the glory of God?
I guess only Josh can answer that but what do others think?
“An organism praised in circadian rhythms”
I read something about circadian rhythms, elsewhere. It is the mechanism within us and other creatures that is tied to the movement of the sun and earth. It regulates us to eat, grow tired, sleep regularly at the same time everyday. The creations of God are so awesome. Lately, I have been wondering, where did dirt come from? I mean, rocks, I can understand that, coming from lava. But dirt, how was it made? Such a simple thing, dirt, I always took it for granted. But, lately, it seems to me to be a miracle, too.