Hidden in the Hymns

The Church has a rich history of music and hymns. But many mainstream congregations have thrown out the older hymns. Why?

Archaic. Antiquated. Obsolete. The wording in the old hymns is deemed too out-of-date to be worthwhile to the modern Church.

To which Hidden in the Hymns says, “Hogwash.”

It’s true that phrases like “raise my Ebenezer” and “round it has cast, like a mantle, the sea” are fuzzy to modern ears. But what isn’t archaic is the subject matter of these old hymns. And the plain fact is that many older hymns dive deeper into comforting truths than most Christian pop songs do. These old hymns are full of Scripture and rich insights. What better music could your children have stuck in their heads?

But in order for children—and adults—to love these old hymns as they deserve, they’ll need to know what the hymns are talking about.

Enter Hidden in the Hymns.

In order to help children see why the old hymns are worth holding on to, Rivers Houseal has paraphrased eighty classic hymns into words that a middle-grader can understand. The paraphrase is presented stanza by stanza—first, a vocabulary “translation” is given, immediately followed by the original hymn lyrics. This allows children to grasp the meaning in the hymn stanza they are about to read, then see that meaning in its original wording. The result: children realize what powerful teaching and beauty is hidden in these hymns.