There’s a saying among church musicians: A good hymn-writer can teach us plenty of things, but George Herbert teaches us that good hymns can also be good poetry. Indeed, look up his name in an English hymnal, and you’ll find the pages to his hymns more worn out than others.

There is a ton of great music written for Easter – no surprise there. But like hymnody, it’s hard to find music that captures the joy of the season without going overboard into a sea of shallowness. The “Hallelujah Chorus” is just too much for me. Thank goodness for George Herbert’s poetry, set by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Happy Easter!