The King of Upside-Down

Behold the King without a crown

Who’s turned the whole world upside-down!

Now first is last, and last is first,

And cursed is blessed, and blessed is cursed,

And even death can be reversed.

 

Why have you served the best wine last?

The bridegroom’s come –we cannot fast!

The children see the wisest men

Missing what is plain to them,

And grown-ups must be born again!

 

The lying cheat is right with God,

The pious man is found a fraud;

The wise are blind while blind men see,

The free are slaves, the slaves are free,

And good things come from Galilee.

 

The prostitutes have entered in

Before the ones who have no sin.

Now least is most, and most is least,

And five small loaves are quite a feast–

The King has washed His servants’ feet.

 

Now low is high, and high is low;

The one who’d rise must downward go;

The life that’s lost is life that’s found

And living plants will soon abound

From seeds that died and hit the ground.

 

The one who’s last receives full pay

The same as him who worked all day,

And mountains jump into the sea

By order of the mustard seed,

And light has dawned in Galilee!

 

His demands leave us aghast–

The pharisees must be surpassed!

Our finest cannot pass His test,

And when He’s shredded all our best

He says He wants to give us rest!

 

We’ll give this king a thorny crown–

We do not want things upside-down!

And maybe if we kill Him, then

We can turn them back again,

Where last is last and first is first

And best is best and worst is worst

And blind is blind and we can see

And slaves are slaves and we are free

And dead is dead and tough is tough

For human good is good enough!

 

Still reigns the King we thought a clown

Who turned the whole world upside-down.

He turned on death when He was dead

And now He is alive instead!

He’s blessed the world by being cursed

He gave His best and took our worst

And lived our life and died our death

And loved us to His final breath

And when we thought He’d lost, He won!

 

Now soon He’ll turn the world around

Until the sky’s below the ground

And shake and shake ‘til all things fly

Off loose and fall into the sky,

And only what was not in vain

And can’t be shaken will remain.

And in that kingdom, He will crown

All who loved Him upside-down.