Let Justice Sing—Hymnody and Justice

Let Justice Sing begins with a survey that shows how justice is an urgent concern of recent hymn writers. To discover if twentieth-century Christians are the first to sing about justice, past hymnic repertoires from the psalms to African-American hymns are analyzed along with a couple related excursions. The broader context for hymnody is then addressed, especially in relation to worship, art, sentimentality, and culture. A final chapter suggests that Christians have always sung about justice, that the message transcends the messengers, that the most potent singing about justice keeps the whole Christian song intact, and that removing justice from the whole loses it.

Paul Westermeyer, Ph.D. is professor of church music at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota.