Hymns by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette
God, may your justice roll down like the waters you send here,
And may your righteousness flow like a stream without end here!
Praying this prayer, many have struggled and dared,
All for the world you intend here.
Christ, we give thanks for past saints who renewed education,
Freed the oppressed, brought your healing and fought segregation.
Savior and Lord, great were the risks they endured,
Bearing your hope and salvation.
We as your church now remember these stories of others
And pray your Spirit will send us, as your sons and daughters.
Show us the way we, too, can serve you each day
Till justice rolls down like waters.
Hymn Use Permission: Songs of Grace: New Hymns for God and Neighbor by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (Upper Room Books, 2009) includes a permission note for those who own this book to use this hymn (along with the 76 other new hymns in the book) in their local church's worship services. People who do not own Songs of Grace are asked to contact Carolyn (bcgillette@comcast.net) for permission to use the hymn and to get a copy of the hymn formatted for worship bulletin use.
This hymn was commissioned by the Presbyterian Historical Society to go with the theme of Presbyterian Heritage Sunday in 2001. It was mailed out to all the PC(USA) churches for their use on the Presbyterian Heritage Sunday, and has been used by many churches since that time. See Amos 5:24.
"God, May Your Justice Roll Down" is based on Amos 5:24: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Through the centuries, countless Christians have done just that. They have worked for reforms in education, sought to end oppression, worked in ministries of healing, and struggled to bring civil rights to all people.
Who are the saints of old who have inspired you? Are they famous people you read about in books and learned about in school? Are they your grandparents and great-grandparents who worked in communities you know and care about? How has justice rolled down like waters — waters that can't be stopped — because of the work and witness of the saints that you know?
Copied from Songs of Grace: New Hymns for God and Neighbor by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (Upper Room Books, 2009).
- Check out the rest of this web site for other wonderful hymns.
- Consider buying Carolyn's two books of hymns that give permission to use the book's hymns in a local church: Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today's Worship by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (Geneva Press, 2000) and Songs of Grace: New Hymns for God and Neighbor by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (Upper Room Books, 2009)
- Share the hymn and her hymns web site with people in your church and other online friends in other churches.
- Check out A Dozen Ways to Support Carolyn's Hymn-writing (including hymn use permission).