Sun. Jan. 23, 2011 (J. Evan Kreider)

J. Evan Kreider led the group in a study of worship with the Psalter, an in-depth study of the history and meaning behind the Psalms, and the particular ways in which modern hymns bring the ancient texts to life, particularly in the rhythm of modern music, which is an exceedingly difficult thing to do well. Yet many writers have mastered it, and we heard some of the best. Evan lined up side-by-side the texts of eight hymns, such as #556; Lord Thou Has Searched Me; with the words of the appropriate Psalm - in this case, Ps 139 - and showed how the writers traced a path of imagery through the hymn just as it was in the Psalm, in some cases, line for line. Evan’s vast storehouse of historical knowledge brought out hidden detail in each hymn, and each of the arrangements had so much more meaning when the group finally sang in parts. The closing hymn’s gentle repetition of Scripture evoked the beauty and care of God in everyone who sang it. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, January 23rd, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.