Reviewed by Tom Lennie

Hope and justice are two elements at the core of Christian belief and practice. Many are the worship songs that focus on hope, but those that centre around godly justice are much rarer. This lavish double recording from Kingsway picks out a choice set of 30 contemporary songs of praise and worship whose lyrics contain elements of either or both themes. It's a remarkable get-together containing loads of first-rate songs - many of them already well-known - by a veritable who's who of contemporary worship musicians. Various singers appear more than once (usually singing their own songs), notably Cathy Burton, Delirious?, Brenton Brown and Stuart Townend. A good number are upbeat in pace, though as many are gentler and more ponderous. Josh Rumble's take of "Jesus, Messiah" stands out; interesting, too, is Rend Collective's "You Bled" and "Coming My Way" from Canadian team The City Harmonic. Thankfully, all lyrics are included in the appealing sleevenotes, so that the cries of all songwriters that this world be filled with God's love, accompanied by a real hope for the future and an abiding sense of justice, can be considered at length.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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