THERE IS JOY IN THE LORD-THE WORSHIP SONGS OF CHERI KEAGGY
(1999, Sparrow) was her fourth album.
Cheri wrote all twelve songs. On
the back of the CD package Cheri writes: “You hold in your hands a collection
of contemporary praise and worship music.
Many of these songs were my very first expressions of love to the
Lord. What a privilege it is to
re-record them here with a band in a worship team style as originally
intended”. This album was produced by
Bill Batstone, Tommy Coomes, and Eddie Keaggy.
Grant Cunningham served as executive producer.
First up is ‘We Have Come to Worship Him’, one of three
tracks from 1994’s CHILD OF THE FATHER.
It is a cheerful pop song of spiritual intent and declaration: “We have
come to worship Him, to lift His Name on high/He is worthy of our praise, so
let us lift Him to the sky.../He is my Father/He is the Prince of Peace/He is
the Risen Lord/And of His awesome deeds we sing/And our highest praise to Him
we bring”. ‘Reign on Me’ is one of three
new songs from 1999. It converses with
Christ: “When my heart is empty You will fill my cup/When I’m feelin’ weary You
will lift me up/In my time of weakness You will be my strength/Touch me with
Your power/Lord, I welcome You to reign”.
The title track ‘There is Joy in the Lord’ is next. It’s an upbeat encouraging song all around:
“There is joy in the Lord/There is love in His Spirit/There is hope in the
knowledge of Him/There’s a fountain that flows/Like a river from
heaven/Abounding in love to my soul”.
‘Glory Be’ is one of 2 songs from 1997’s WHAT MATTERS MOST. It offers these words of praise: “Sweet Lamb
of God/O Holy God/A brilliant light surrounds You/For without blame/Our Jesus
came/And we are changed forever/Gory be, glory be/Glory be Your own/Oh, glory
be, glory be/Glory be to the Throne.../No other Name will I proclaim/Your
Kingdom reigns forevermore”.
‘You, Oh Lord, Are My Refuge’ is the only song over five
minutes. It is a calming ballad: “You,
oh Lord, are my refuge/It is You I will trust/You’re my light in the darkness/You,
oh Lord, are my refuge/By Your mercy, You cover me/Under the shadow of Your wings/Lord,
in Your presence, I will remain/You are forevermore the same/You are my refuge,
my only refuge”. ‘Humble Me’ is a quiet
prayer: “Humble me/Help me be in a right place with You/Where I look in Your
face/And I’m touched by Your grace/And I see You for who You are/Humble me,
help me be in a right place with You/Where my heart can rejoice/At the sound of
Your voice/And I know You for who You are”.
‘We All Need Jesus’ is one of three songs from Cheri’s 1996
album MY FAITH WILL STAY. It is a good
song for Sunday mornings: “We come to this place of worship/We come with a
heart of praise/We know that the Lord is with us/We’ve come to hear what He
might say/He’s calling us, can’t you hear it?/The angels rejoice above/He’s
sending His Holy Spirit/And opening His arms of love/He’s opening His arms of
love”. ‘His Banner Over Me’ is a happy,
celebratory pop song: “His banner over me is love (2X)/And He takes me to His
table of love/And He takes me to His banqueting table of love/Surely His goodness
and mercy shall follow me/All of my life I will dwell in the house of the Lord,
of the Lord”.
‘Heavenly Father’ is a ballad of spiritual admission: “I
love You/I need You/I know I would be lost without Your love/Father, You are my
God/You are my God/Heavenly Father, be God again today”. ‘Pour out Your Love’ offers these words of
prayer: “Pour out Your love to me/Let it fill my heart to the deepest part/Pour
out Your love so that You might see/A reflection of Yourself in me”.
Tom Howard arranges The Nashville String Machine on ‘In
Remembrance of Me’ which includes these lines of gratitude to Jesus: “I will
remember the cross that You bore for me/I will remember the crown that You wore
for me/I will remember the reason You suffered and died”. ‘I Want to Follow You’ is, again, a prayer:
“Lord, I want to follow and serve You alone/Lord, help me to live right and
bring glory to Your Throne/Lord, I am willing to be Your servant, faithfully/Oh
Lord, I want to follow You”.
Musicians used on THERE IS JOY IN THE LORD-THE WORSHIP SONGS
OF CHERI KEAGGY include: Blair Masters (keyboards), Tom Hemby (electric and
acoustic guitars), Brent Milligan (bass), Steve Brewster (drums), and Eric
Darken (percussion). Vocalists used
include: Lenny LeBlanc, Michael O’Brien, Gary Sadler, Lisa Bevill, and Nicol
Smith. This album comes across
beautifully as intimate journal entries Cheri has written to her Father
God. These are songs from the heart,
soul, and spirit. The overarching theme
is one of willing and complete surrender to Jesus Christ. Another theme is that of joyful praise and
worship unto the Lord. Fans of the early
works of Amy Grant and Sandi Patty should buy this retro project. I’m rating it a perfect 100%. For more info visit: www.cherikeaggy.com.