On Sunday, September 7, 2025, the final hymn at Pender UMC was “Blessed Be Your Name” by Matt Redman. This modern hymn of praise and trust was sung by the choir and congregation, led by Patrick King on keyboards and accompanied by Heidi Jacobs on piano and Kenneth Carr on percussion.
This powerful worship song reminds us to bless God’s name in every season—both in times of abundance and in moments of trial—echoing Job 1:21: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Matt Redman is known for hymns such as “Better is One Day” (1995), “The Heart of Worship” (1999), “You Never Let Go” (2005), “10,000 Reasons” (2013), and the subject of this article, “Blessed Be Your Name.” Penned in 2001, “Blessed Be Your Name” was co-written by Matt Redman and his wife, Beth, in part as a response to the tragedy of the September 11th attacks in the United States. While in California shortly after the attacks, the Redmans observed that among PEC hymn repertories, there was not enough language to grapple with grief. The Redmans write,
“Where were the musical poets and prophets to help the people of God find a voice in worship at this tragic time? The truth was, in most places we visited (or led worship in), there was a distinct lack of songs appropriate for this time…when it came to expressions of pain and lament, we had very little vocabulary to give voice to our heart cries.”1
“Blessed Be Your Name” is one approach to grief and lament, a theme that to this day remains underdeveloped in PEC hymns. However, the song does not focus on lament, but instead takes the worshiper on a journey. Stanzas one and two bless God’s name in times of abundance and in times of wilderness. Similarly, stanzas three and four echo this balance of blessing God in good times and bad.
In all seasons of life, the hymn calls us to bless the name of God. Though unproblematic when life is going well, it is certainly a tall order to bless God for many who have experienced intense grief or the loss of a loved one. The bridge reinforces this call to bless God in all circumstances:
You give and take away;
My heart will choose to say,
“Lord, blessed be Your name.”
“Blessed Be Your Name” was one of the hymns recently vetted by Discipleship Ministries’ CCLI Top 100 Vetting Team for Wesleyan theology, language, and singability. Though this was not a hymn commended explicitly for having “Strong Wesleyan Theology,” its understanding of time was positively noted as dynamic: God is present in all seasons of life. The hymn also draws on strong covenantal language for God, namely all the references to “Lord.” Interestingly, this hymn is addressed to the first person of the Trinity with no mention of the Son or the Holy Spirit. This is peculiar among PEC songwriters, who nearly universally address Jesus Christ at some point in the hymn. God is primarily addressed in the second person as “you,” so there is nothing problematic in terms of masculine-gendered language.
