Day Eighteen – The kingdom of God is justice and joy

1 The kingdom of God is justice and joy,

for Jesus restores what sin would destroy;

God’s power and glory in Jesus we know,

and here and hereafter the kingdom shall grow.

2 The kingdom of God is mercy and grace,

the captives are freed, the sinners find place,

the outcast are welcomed God’s banquet to share,

and hope is awakened in place of despair.

3 The kingdom of God is challenge and choice,

believe the good news, repent and rejoice!

His love for us sinners brought Christ to His cross,

our crisis of judgement for gain or for loss.

4 God’s kingdom is come, the gift and the goal,

in Jesus begun, in heaven made whole;

the heirs of the kingdom shall answer His call,

and all things cry, ‘Glory!’ to God all-in-all!

Words by Bryn Rees Words © Alexander Scott

Bryn Austin Rees was a Congregational Minister who was born in Chelsea (1911), educated in Neath, and ordained in 1935. He held several pastorates, including some for the URC. The hymn was written in 1973 and published in 1974.

There is a probable link to Proverbs 21:15, ‘When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.’ This is echoed in verse one, ‘The kingdom of God is justice and joy.’

We are bombarded with calls for justice. These range from adverts, ‘get the justice you deserve’ to street protests, ‘What do you want? Justice. When do you want it? Now.’ But what does justice mean to you? Do you think of criminal justice where the alleged is found guilty then fined or sentenced? Perhaps you think more about civil justice where you are recompensed for a loss? Maybe, just maybe, you think of social or biblical justice. Finally, you may focus on injustices and how to put these right.

Christine Erickson, Director, Children-at-Risk (Ministry Grace Church) defines justice as a,’...means to set everything right.’ Christine goes on to ask, ‘Yet, how do we know what is right? Who defines “right”?’ This is a form of social justice derived from the norms, customs and practices of a local community or shared values across several communities. There is nothing wrong with this type of justice and most of us will support the principles of equality of opportunity, fairness and so on. However, the hymn talks about the kingdom and biblical justice. We must remember, ‘social justice focuses on a temporal view of addressing injustices in society, biblical justice starts with the eternal in mind.’ Final justice is for the Lord to deliver but where we see injustices, we can act to support those suffering. As Bryn penned, ‘the captives are freed, the sinners find place, the outcast are welcomed, God’s banquet to share, and hope is awakened, in place of despair.’

So, how do you see social and biblical justice, does this distinction matter and what can we do about inequalities and reconciling of souls? I think we can do three things; maintain our support for the community (such as a Foodbank), pray for those suffering injustices and prepare for the time when we can help those suffering. You may be wondering why I have not talked about helping others right now? Well, that would be great, but we must continue to observe social distancing. I know that some of us will feel guilty about this lack of activity, but the devil can use this guilt against us and turn this into sin. We should do what we can freely and openly under God’s direction and not be reckless because offsetting our guilt is not the main aim. As the prophet Micah wrote,

“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8) NIV.

Amen

Michael Rolton