Tag: redeemer

There is a Redeemer

Today’s song from Sing Praise is ‘There is a redeemer’ by Keith and Melody Green. Dated 1982 on the copyright, I’ve known this song since probably not long after that. 

The song praises Jesus by several of his Biblical titles: Son of God, Lamb of God, Messiah (Christ), Holy One, Redeemer, Name above all names, King for ever.  The chorus invokes all three persons of the Trinity: ‘Thank you O my Father for giving us your Son, and leaving your Spirit till the work on earth is done’.

My only criticism would be that there is an inconsistency whether we are singing to God (‘Jesus my Redeemer’, ‘Thank you O my Father’) or about him (‘There is a Redeemer’, ‘I will see his face’).  It’s an inconsistency that we have found in other songs, but I prefer it if a song or hymn is clearly one or the other: are we encouraging our fellow singers in the faith or expressing a personal faith directly to God? The style of the music suggests the latter. So why not reword it ‘You are the Redeemer’, ‘I will see your face’?

Tell all the world of Jesus

Today’s hymn from Sing Praise is “Tell all the world of Jesus” by James Seddon. The theme is obvious from the first line – the command to spread the Gospel. The three verses cover, roughly speaking, his mission for the redemption of all creation, his gifts to the individual and his eventual triumph over sin and death. 

We have here Jesus as Redeemer of the World, Jesus as personal Saviour, and Jesus as King of the Universe.  However it passes over his suffering on the cross, which may be intended to make it a ‘nice’ hymn to sing, but of course misses the vital historical and theological point of sacrifice being necessary for redemption.  It also makes him a rather ‘cuddly’ saviour (offering forgiveness, peace, care, love and mercy), without any of the demands of discipleship.  This is salvation-lite.

The suggested tune, Thornbury by Basil Harwood, is better known to the words “Thy hand O God has guided”.  Thornbury is the adjacent parish to Eccleshill: I wonder whether Basil Harwood had any connection with that part of Bradford?

The Bible in a Year – 10 August

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

10 August. Job chapters 17-20

We now observe perhaps Job’s lowest point. In chapter 17 he feels not only punished by God but forsaken by other people, and ready for the welcome darkness of death.  Bildad (who in chapter 8 had accused Job of impurity before God) claims in chapter 18 that it is only the wicked who suffer sudden calamity, disease and homelessness, as Job has experienced.  Zophar makes a similar point in chapter 20. Job’s reply to Bildad in chapter 19 is essentially that even if it is true, even if he is being punished for wrongdoing, then it is God’s judgement and not man’s, and so there is no excuse for his friends to criticise him.  That is an important lesson for everyone – being critical of someone’s wrong actions is one thing, but being critical of the suffering that results from it (whether ‘natural law’ such as cancer resulting from smoking tobacco), or the judgement of human courts, or punishment by God as Job’s friends understood his troubles) is another matter, and should be avoided. Job’s rejection by his family, servants and friends is worse for him than the physical torment of his sores.

 

In 19:25-26 we have what seems like a ray of sunshine amid the gloom. “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God”. These words are familiar to anyone who knows Handel’s Messiah, as they start part 3 of the oratorio, following the triumphant Hallelujah chorus at the end of part 2.  They appear to refer to the general resurrection of the dead at the end of time, at least that is the context within Handel’s arrangement of Scripture.   In this original context they probably mean, rather, that unlike the false accusations of men, after death Job himself will at least meet with God and receive a fair judgement of his life.