The Kingdom of God Is Justice and Joy
- Metre
- 10.10.11.11
- Written
- 1973
- Copyright
- In copyright
Lyrics
The words of this hymn are still in copyright, so we can't reproduce them here. You can hear them sung in the recording above.
History
"The kingdom of God is justice and joy" is a twentieth-century hymn by Bryn A. Rees (1911-1983). The text is still in copyright, so it is not quoted here. The Methodist Church's Singing the Faith lists it under the themes Christ the Saviour, the Ministry of Jesus, and Justice and Peace.
Rees was born in London and grew up in Neath, South Wales, where his father was a minister. He trained at New College, London, was ordained as a Congregationalist minister in 1935, served as an RAF chaplain in the Second World War, and after 1972 was a minister in the United Reformed Church. He also wrote poetry and collaborated with William Lloyd Webber on anthems and a cantata. The hymn dates from 1973; it has appeared in some two dozen hymnals, and the copyright is listed as held by Alexander Scott.
Hymnals pair the words with several tunes, so no single melody belongs to the text. They include LAUDATE DOMINUM by C. Hubert H. Parry (taken from his 1894 anthem "Hear My Words, O Ye People"), TETHERDOWN, HANOVER (William Croft) and others, including PADERBORN. TETHERDOWN is said to have been written for these words by the organist of a north London church where Rees served for twelve years. In the Methodist Singing the Faith, TETHERDOWN is the main tune, with PADERBORN as an alternative.
Performance
This recording is credited in its video description to St Martin's Voices and runs for about 2 minutes 42 seconds.
Sources: hymnary.org · methodist.org.uk · stgeorgescathedral.ca
About St Martin's Voices
The recording on this page is sung by St Martin's Voices, the professional vocal ensemble based at St Martin-in-the-Fields, the church on Trafalgar Square in London. One of the UK's most versatile professional choirs, they sing for services, concerts and broadcasts — including on BBC radio and Classic FM — and have released a number of acclaimed recordings.
Their hymn recordings are made freely available to Anglican parishes through the Church of England's A Church Near You Resource Hub, produced by Andrew Earis, Director of Music at St Martin-in-the-Fields, in collaboration with the Royal School of Church Music.