Melody and Keith Green – There Is A Redeemer

Keith Green was a Jewish Contemporary Christian and Rock artist.  He began his career at 11 years old, signing a five-year contract with his father, Harvey, with Decca records.  He helped produce Girl Don’t Tell Me (1965) and Home Town Girls (1966), catapulting him into a short-lived teen idol.

Green married Melody when he was 19 and converted Christianity in 1975 after finding that his drugs,  marijuana, and human philosophy didn’t help him cope with his lost musical career.  His Jewish wife joined him shortly thereafter.

Green released several albums, including:

• For Him Who Has Ears to Hear (1977)
• No Compromise (1978)
• So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt (1980)
• The Keith Green Collection (1981)
• Songs for the Shepherd (1982)

Greens’ life abruptly and tragically ended in a plane crash in 1982, at the age of 28.  Two of his children were on board and lost their lives, leaving his pregnant wife, Melody, to take care of his other one-year-old daughter.

Normally, I would title only the earliest artist who releases songs regardless of author; However, I’ve made an exception for Melody, since she was Keith’s wife and wrote There Is A Redeemer.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

Jesus, the Son of God, the Name above all names, is the slain Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.  Melody and Keith Green respond by thanking the Father for Christ and the Holy Spirit as their guide.  After they die, they will see God face to face.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

All of these lines align with God’s inspired Word.

This song does not contain a Verse/Chorus/Bridge structure.  Therefore, I will assign stanzas to each paragraph.

This song is posted with permission.*

[Stanza 1]

There is a redeemer

Stanza 2 explicitly names this person as Jesus.  He is the One who paid the penalty for our lawbreaking (Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 19:30, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).

Jesus, God’s own Son

“Son of God” is one of many titles of Jesus (Matthew 11:27, Matthew 14:33, Matthew 16:15–17, Matthew 27:43, Matthew 27:54, Mark 1:11, Mark 3:11, Mark 9:7, Mark 15:39, Luke 1:35, Luke 4:41, Luke 22:29, John 1:14-18, John 1:34, John 3:16-18, John 11:27, John 19:7, John 20:31, and Acts 9:20).

Precious Lamb of God, Messiah

Jesus is the lamb that was slain (Isaiah 53:7, John 1:29, John 1:36, 1 Peter 1:19, Revelation 5:12, and Revelation 13:8) and the promised Messiah that would come.

Holy One

Jesus is also holy (Mark 1:24, Luke 4:34, Acts 3:14, Acts 4:27-30, 1 John 2:20, Hebrews 7:26, and Revelation 4:8).

[Stanza 2]

Jesus my redeemer

See commentary on Stanza 1, line 1.

Name above all names

Another title that was given to Jesus by the Father in Philippians 2:9.

Precious Lamb of God, Messiah

Repeats Stanza 2, line 3.

Oh, for sinners slain

See commentary on Stanza 1, line 1.

[Stanza 3]

Thank you, oh my father
For giving us Your Son

Melody and Keith Greens’ response of gratitude in accordance with John 3:16.

And leaving Your Spirit
‘Til the work on Earth is done

The Father also gave us the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:5, Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:16-19, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 5:18, and 2 Timothy 1:14).

[Stanza 4]

When I stand in Glory
I will see His face

Considering that Jesus’ body is no longer in the tomb (Matthew 28:1-20, Mark 16:1-20, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29 Acts 1:3, Acts 3:15, Acts 4:33, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8) and that if we’ve seen Jesus, we’ve seen the Father (John 14:9), it seems logical that we will see the face of the Father through Jesus post-death.

And there I’ll serve my King forever
In that Holy Place

That’s what Revelation 22:3, that we will be God’s servants.

[Stanza 5]

Thank you, oh my father
For giving us Your Son
And leaving Your Spirit
‘Til the work on Earth is done

Repeats Stanza 3.

[Stanza 6]

There is a redeemer
Jesus, God’s own Son
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah
Holy One

Repeats Stanza 1.

[Stanza 7]

Thank you, oh my father
For giving us Your Son
And leaving Your Spirit
‘Til the work on Earth is done

Repeats Stanza 3.

[Stanza 8]

And leaving Your Spirit
‘Til the work on Earth is done

Repeats Stanza 3, lines 3 and 4.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Those outside Christianity will likely see this song as Christian given the explicit references to God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.  Despite its massive Christianese language, Melody and Keith Greens’ message is simple and easy to comprehend for unstudied unbelievers:  Jesus is a redeemer who died for sinners and the Greens’ thank God for it.  Perhaps they won’t understand that Jesus has many titles or that “stand in Glory” means “in God’s Heavenly Kingdom”, but should have an overall picture of what the Greens’ communicate.

Score: 8/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God through the Greens’ gratitude for what Jesus did for them, looking forward to eternal and abundant life with Him post-death.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Melody and Keith Greens’ There Is A Redeemer is simple but not simplistic.  Its message is that Christ removes sins, that we should be grateful to the Father for His gifts of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and that we can look forward to spending eternity with God, all of which bring Him glory.  This overall outlook will not be lost on unbelievers, even if some of its details require further study.

I highly recommend this for corporate worship.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: There Is A Redeemer (listen to the song)

Artist: Melody and Keith Green

Album: Songs for the Shepherd

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 1982

Duration: 3:09

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

*Copyright © 1982 Birdwing Music (ASCAP) Ears To Hear Music (ASCAP) Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Publ. (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates:

09/21/2021 – Corrected grammar on the word “Green’s” to “Greens'”.  Thanks to Marianne Kelly for pointing this out!

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.

06/28/2020 – Steve Witwicki gave me a quick lesson in English, correcting me in my usage of the word “corporal” when I should have stated “corporate” in my closing arguments.