Theological Song Review: Rejoice by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Rend Collective – 82/100
This tune and its album (Christ Our Hope In Life And Death) was released very recently, and the song is at the top of praisecharts.com’s “Top New Praise and Worship Songs.”
Note: For a full explanation of the rubric and a primer on our scoring methodology, click here.
Doctrinal Fidelity and Clarity: Taking its cue from Philippians 4:4, every phrase in this song can be directly traced back to the Bible. While the overall song is a general expression of praise, phrases like “We gather in His goodness, a family of grace” and “His peace will fall upon us to guard our hearts and minds, in Christ who reigns eternal the Shepherd of our lives” make reference to specific doctrinal teaching on the nature of the church as the Body of Christ and Jesus as a protecting Shepherd who provides true peace for his flock. While references to fire and spiritual benefits “falling” on believers are common phraseology in charismatic circles and lyrics “His peace will fall upon us” and “The hope that burns within us” could possibly be winking at charismatics, in the context of a plain reading of Philippians 4:7 the lyrics are generally sound. 20/25.
Doctrinal Specificity: The song is a general proclamation of praise, but does contain specific references to Christ reigning, God as the giver of life, and references our call to proclaim the works of the Lord. The lyrics are not as descriptive and poetic as many older hymns, nor are they generalized and emotionalized like so many recently-composed worship songs. The particulars of salvation are not referenced, but specifying Christ and New Testament teachings positively identifies the object of worship to be the God of the Bible. 17/20.
Focus: God is certainly the focus of the song, and in no way is validated by the personal experience or feelings of the worshipper. The only first-person reference in the entire song is “I am sure we have every reason to praise the Lord,” which is an expression of assurance in God rather than validation of Him by the worshipper. 20/20.
Association: The Gettys generally associate with orthodox churches and pastors, and have a reputation for writing songs that are good alternatives to the vast array of garbage that passes for worship music these days. As with most musical artists, they are relatively tolerant and non-confrontational in their public interactions but are not known to partner with obviously heretical churches or movements. Rend Collective has partnered with artists and movements that have known theological errors like Kari Jobe and IHOP, and Rend’s lead singer Chris Llewellyn recently deleted a post where he said that “calling a trans woman a man is hateful,” which demonstrates problems with Llewellyn’s understanding of both God’s created order and the biblical command to not bear false witness. His error does not manifest in the song, however. 10/20.
Musical Value: “Rejoice” is an upbeat waltz, typical for Irish songwriters. The melody is accessible and the chord structure is standard. The arrangement tastefully drops a measure at the end of the chorus into the interlude which provides a nice variation. Interludes have shout-style “oh” melodies, but these are not overused. There are no mindlessly repeating phrases or breakdown-buildup sections for the purpose of manufacturing an emotional response. Great arrangement for corporate worship. 15/15.
Total score: 82/100. If you like it, sing it.
Bonus: Practice applying this rubric to David’s song here:
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That was a great song, David!
Thank you!
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I still prefer the old time hymns in the Trinity hymnbook like “great is thy faithfulness,” “A mighty Fortress,” “and can it be,” and “rock of ages,” “all praise to God who reigns above,” “How great thou art,“ etc.
Yes, these time-tested hymns are wonderful! Our Protestia LIVE Morning Hymns feature our favorites.