WE ARE GOD’S PEOPLE
- 5 days ago
- 1 min read
WE ARE GOD’S PEOPLE, was first published in the hymnal entitled "Hymns for the Family of God," in 1976. It was written by Bryan Jeffery Leech who was born in 1931 and died in 2015.
The tune, called "Symphony," is an arrangement of the opening theme from the fourth movement of Johannes Brahms symphony no. 1 in C minor. Composer Fred Bock did the actual arrangement of the tune. Another of Mr. Leech’s well-known hymns still being sung today is ‘Come, Share the Lord.’ Here is Leech’s own account of writing the hymn, WE ARE GOD’S PEOPLE.
“We had very few popular hymns relating to the church at that time. So, I decided to work towards a remedy by writing one of my own. The day was the 4th of July, 1975. I sat at a typewriter and did not get up until I had written all four verses. The result was ‘WE ARE GOD’S PEOPLE’. It turned out to be the favourite of all my hymn texts. I loved singing it!”
As The song says, “We are God’s People, the chosen of the Lord,” Through God’s mercy, His gift of salvation is open to all. The Church are God’s people. If we are His people…made in His image…then we need to value all human life…in the same way that God wanted for us and in the way that Jesus demonstrated when He was on earth. We are obligated to share His gospel to the world.