Matthew Ward was born on February 15, 1958 in Grand Forks,
North Dakota. He was a member of the
popular CCM trio 2nd Chapter of Acts from 1973 to 1988, along with
his sisters Annie Herring and Nellie (Ward) Greisen. They had great success, even singing back-up
for Barry McGuire. Matthew released his
first solo album TOWARD ETERNITY in 1979.
He has sung backing vocals for the likes of LeAnn Rimes and Twila
Paris. MY REDEEMER (1997) was his
seventh solo effort if you include his 1992 best-of project. Ward produced MY REDEEMER himself.
`I See the Lord` is a majestic worship song: “I see the Lord
seated on the throne exalted/And the train of His robe fills the temple with
glory/And the whole earth is filled (3X)/With His glory/Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy,
Holy is the Lord (2X)”. Tim Sheppard
wrote the next song, ‘This is my Offering’.
It has a chorus of willing spiritual submission: “This is something I
can do/I give my everything to You/This is my offering/More than the praise I
bring/I give my everything/My hopes and dreams to You/This is my offering/More
than the praise I bring/I give my everything/My heart and soul to You/This is
my offering”.
‘To The King’ was a #1 hit nationally. It is a beautiful piano based ballad of
reverence that begins with these words: “To the King who gave everything for
me/Who’s body crucified, high on Calvary’s tree/Who’s redemptive blood makes
way for me/I now give everything/To the King who came in the form of a
child/All powerful God, and yet, so mild/Who’s obedience shows the way for me/I
humbly come to Thee”. ‘Psalm 61’ is a
light rock ballad of sorts with Ward and Richard Souther writing the
music. The song is addressed to our
Maker: “Hear my cry O God, give heed to my prayer/From the ends of the earth I
call to Thee/When my heart is faint/Lead me to the Rock that is higher than
I/For Thou hast been a refuge for me/And a tower of strength against the
enemy/A tower of strength against the enemy”.
Annie Herring wrote the title track, ‘My Redeemer’. It is an easy listening song of personal
testimony: “When with His words of light/He spoke and pulled my dark soul from
the night/How can I repay my Redeemer?/With His wounded hands He held my broken
heart to understand/I never can repay my Redeemer.../Here I go again/I’m
thinking of the time when I will stand and look into the eyes of my
Redeemer”. ‘Drink Deep’ was a #1
hit. It is a nice adult contemporary
song of spiritual contentment: “How excellent is Your unfailing love/In the
shadow of Your wings/We feast on the abundance of Your house, oh God/And drink
from the river of Your delight/In Your light, we see light/For with You is the
fountain of life/So, drink deep/Drink deep/Drink deep from the fountain of
life”.
A traditional cover of Melody Green’s early 1980’s classic
‘There is a Redeemer’ follows. It
expresses gratitude: “When I stand in glory, I will see His face/And there I’ll
serve my King forever/In that Holy place/Thank You, O my Father for giving us
Your Son/And leaving Your Spirit till the work on earth is done”. These lyrics from ‘God Almighty’ admit that
life can at times be very difficult: “Overwhelmed with sorrow, broken by the
pain/I could hear the doubt falling like rain/This time it is over, this time
you won’t win.../Loneliness would cry out, keeping your heart bound/I would
ache inside/To hear heaven’s sound”.
‘Our Master’, a duet with Rita Baloche, is a simple love
song to God: “Our Master, Our Savior/You are Lord, our King/Our Master, our
Savior/We give our praise/To our King (2X).../You’re the everlasting Father,
The beginning and the end/There is no one that can take Your place/There is no
other name”. Last up is Graham
Kendrick’s wonderful 1993 composition ‘Knowing You (All I Once Held
Dear)’. It conveys heartfelt feelings
and desires: “Knowing You, Jesus/Knowing You/There is no greater thing/You’re
my all, You’re the best/You’re my joy, my righteousness/And I love You,
Lord/Oh, to know the power of Your risen life/And to know You in Your
sufferings/To become like You in Your death, my Lord/So with You to live and
never die”.
The strength of MY REDEEMER is most definitely Matthew
Ward’s vocal performance. He has one of
the best male voices in CCM history.
Unfortunately, the lyrics, for the most part here, are pretty
generic. There doesn’t seem to be much
depth to them or thought put into them.
They lack creativity. However,
these songs are good for devotional use or just meditating on God. Musically, the album is a mix of praise and
worship, inspirational, and easy listening.
I’m rating MY REDEEMER 85%. For
more info visit: www.matthewward.com.