Paramaecium Exhumed of the Earth 1. The Unnatural Conception In Two Parts: The Birth And The Massacre Of The Innocents [Music by A. Tompkins, J. Sherlock and J. De Ron] The embryo implants the uterine lining, folding within its amniotic abode The gut and neural tubes forming in conjunction Cardiac impulse with foetal brain function The journey was harsh, days on the road in the dirt The young couple compelled by the census taker to reach the City of David The time came for the birth of her firstborn but no lodgings were found So, wrapped in strips of cloth, the child was placed in an animal feeding trough In the absence of relations The human paternal genome left in want The Word became flesh and blood through the unnatural conception The uterine contractions are a source of pain The agonising passage through cervix dilating Vacating the endometrium the child emerges, afterbirth, initial respiration Infanticide has gripped Ephrath, mothers cry as their children die His Highness, his wickedness, Herod the Great Has slaughtered the innocents for his excruciating jealousy The Magi had informed Herod of the birth of a king His unbridled ambition was crushed by the arrival of the Christ He consulted the chief priests and scribes as to the place of birth Then, with his throne in thought, the ugly violence of the murders were wrought But too late for the child of promise had fled to western lands The Word became flesh and blood through the unnatural conception Thus the Christ of prophecy was born 2. Injudicial [Music by J. De Ron, J. Sherlock and A. Tompkins] Darkness in the garden The prayers of the Desired of Nations are spent As the blood drips from His flesh Treachery The traitor's kiss of love was active malignity As his hanging and disembowelment would testify He had betrayed innocent blood With torches and weapons They came to take Him away The High Priest's servant, Malchus, his ear severed From his head by the sword of Cephas Was healed instantly by the touch of Christ They took Christ to Caiaphas, He went resigned to die The death sentence wielding Such was denied Sanhedrin Pilate unyielding save to the political will Clenching a mandate in one hand Reluctance in the other The latter of small consequence With the former beholden His wife was plagued by nightmares Whilst he was haunted by The nightmare of insurrection The crowd outside was gathering "Crucify" was the refrain Of their liturgy of death Pilate claimed innocence of this man's blood Just before he sentenced Him to die in agony They abused the boundaries Of their temporal jurisdiction Unbeknownst to them establishing The eternal kingdom 3. The Killing [Music by J. Sherlock, A. Tompkins and J. De Ron] He was led to the place Which was called Skull Driving nails Into His wrists and heel Pain The Christ of prophecy Hung there until dead Blood shed He gave up His spirit And such was the end The corpse still warm Was removed the tree And sent to its burial Hewn in rock This deep, silent tomb 4. Untombed [Music by A. Tompkins and J. Sherlock] At the dawning of the second morning from the execution day Women approached the private sepulchre where the dead Messiah lay They queried amongst themselves as to who would roll the stoneaway But then when they looked up they saw that providence held sway On entering the sepulchre where the Son of God had lain There were strips of cloth, garments of death, but no bodily remains The angel questioned "Why seek the living among the dead? He is not here, He is risen, just as He had said." They killed the author of life but God has raised Him from death He was not abandoned to the grave, nor did His body see decay After He had died He rose from the grave, untombed Now it came to pass as two men walked along Emmaus road The risen Himself drew near to them, was invited to their abode And it came to pass as He reclined with them He broke bread as day found night Their eyes were opened and they knew Him well Then He vanished from their sight Whilst the disciples assembled behind locked doors because they feared the Jews The risen Christ stood in their midst and He uttered "Peace to you." Filled with fear they trembled thinking Him to be a ghost But they clearly saw that He was flesh and bone Killed was the author of life but God has raised Him from death He was not abandoned to the grave, nor did His body see decay After He had died He rose from the grave, untombed [Forty days later] Then as He was speaking before the eleven He raised His hands in blessing and ascended to Heaven Where He is seated at the right hand of God 5. The Voyage Of The Severed [Music by A. Tompkins, J. De Ron and J. Sherlock] The disciples, they were crucified, burned alive, decapitate Those of the Reformation rejected the establishment of Rome The likes of Luther at the diet of Worms Others put to death in utter cruelty for failing to submit to a church of corruption Denying transubstantiation| But they overcame them by the blood of the Lamb And the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death That church, you think you're right all the time You think you know what life means Silence, see your crime, for things are seldom what they seem As though to breathe were life Darkness begins to rot your mind, putrefaction has left you blind Your traditions and lies have left you less than whole For what will it profit a man if he gains the world but loses his soul 6. Haemorrhage Of Hatred [Music by A. Tompkins, J. De Ron and J. Sherlock] If prolonged hatred breeds it will devour your mind Animosity will annihilate sobriety Insalubrious emotions can extirpate your existence Agonised respiration, immersion in hatred Internal haemorrhage of hatred Exudation of hatred from within Internal haemorrhage of hatred Spreading writhing mass of vermicular sin Suppress the grudge preempting its maturity Destroy the enmity even before its inception Seek extrication from the doctrines of this world" Attain the love from the shed blood of God's Right Hand Internal haemorrhage of hatred Exudation of hatred from within Internal haemorrhage of hatred Spreading writhing mass of vermicular sin We are to follow the ways of Christ Be ready to obey the preparation which God has set Harbour nothing against your fellow man Except the love from the shed blood of God's Right Hand Of God's Right Hand 7. Removed Of The Grave [Music by J. De Ron, A. Tompkins and J. Sherlock] Within the grave the body lies still beneath the soil Aimless roots invade the casket as the body begins to spoil Bereft of life, this rotting flesh, once nurtured in the womb From uterine to pine it rots inside its silent tomb Demon cry "With howls of laughter we saw them die The life was ripped from them in days gone by We watched the carcass go down, lowered into the ground And we saw the dirt fall, now they lie there of no use to Him at all." At the advent of the firstborn of the dead The Spirit gives life to that which was mortal Rent from the soil, exhumed of the earth Life is restored when removed of the grave Within the grave the body stirs as remains are realigned The cadaver sown in weakness finds it can forsake the pine Cervical meets thoracic as it claws its way through earth Then the slab is rent asunder by a child of the rebirth Demon cry "They're disinterred to seize the sky Raised to life and thence to never die We saw their eyes, they have power, their frailties are gone We thought that we would have more time Before they would be rent from the soil." Exhumed of the earth, life is restored when removed of the grave At the advent of the firstborn of the dead The Spirit gives life to that which was mortal Death has been devoured All lyrics written by Andrew Tompkins Produced by Paramaecium. Recorded and mixed at Toybox Studios, Melbourne.