Last year Sandra McCracken used the words of the Psalms to work through a difficult season in her life. Her album, simply titled Psalms, was a brilliant and heartfelt expression of words that God’s people have used over centuries for comfort, hope, and praise. Her excellent follow-up album, God’s Highway, shows that while McCracken continues to work through these difficulties, she can look back in gratitude and see how far she’s come.
The album opens with two songs that speak directly of God’s faithfulness. In “Steadfast” she sings, “By the word you spoke/all the starry host/are called out by name each night. /In your watchful care/I will rest secure/as you lead us with your light.” This sets the theme for the album: God keeps us in his care.
Not every song speaks directly to this theme, but time and again she comes back to the idea of comfort and being under God’s protection. As she sings in “Love Will Bring You Home,” “You’ve come so far, how far you’ve come./Go the distance/into the arms where you belong.” (Towhee Records)
About the Author
Robert J. Keeley is a professor of education emeritus at Calvin University and leads music at 14th St. Christian Reformed Church in Holland, Mich.
