O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed,
Refrain:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;
And when I think that God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin;
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
In Psalm 19, verse 1, David tells us 'The heavens declare the glory
of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork.' This great truth is
elaborated in the words of the now famous hymn "How Great Thou Art".
It has become one of the most popular spiritual songs of our time, and
I suppose could rightly be described as a Christian classic.
Although it has only become popular in the last thirty years, the
origins of this hymn go back to the last century; to the majestic
hills and valleys of Sweden. It was there, around 1885, that the
Reverend Carl Boberg, a well known Lutheran minister wrote the
original, stirring words.
Interestingly enough the Reverend Mr. Boberg's talents stretched not
only to preaching and poetry. He also had political abilities for he
served as a senator in the Swedish parliament for fifteen years.
In writing "How Great Thou Art", he was 'inspired', some would say, by
the natural beauty of his homeland - especially after a summer
thunderstorm. Arriving home he penned three verses on the same theme
and entitled this new song "O Great God".
Over the years translations were made into German and Russian, and
English; but the hymn never enjoyed the immense popularity which it
does today.
However, In 1927, the Russian translation came into the hands of an
English missionary couple, Mr. and Mrs. Stuart K. Hine, who were
serving in the western Ukraine.
Mr. Hine sang it in Russian for a number of years and then translated
three verses into English.
Surely he has vividly captured the original mood of the author with
those words.
O Lord my God when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the works Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed,
Then sings my soul my Saviour Gad to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
When the Second World War broke out, the Hines' returned to England
bringing "How Great Thou Art" with them.
A fourth verse was added in 1948, and the next year the entire hymn
appeared in a gospel magazine which Mr. Hine published. It was
immediately popular and soon reprints were being requested by
missionaries all over the world.
The final thrust which was to give "How Great Thou Art", the worldwide
popularity it deserved came a few years later, in 1954 to be exact.
Through the good offices of Scottish publisher, Mr. Andrew Gray, a
copy of Mr. Hines' leaflet carhe into the hands of the famous gospel
singer George Beverly Shea.
It would appear that Bev. Shea fell in love with the piece immediately
for he introduced it to the people of Toronto, Canada, at a crusade
the next year; and then began to sing it regularly. In the New York
Crusade if 1957, for example, it was sung a staggering 99 times.
No doubt the music also played a large part in making this hymn so
popular with old and young. It really is something special and the
simple two line melody of the beautiful tune is the perfect vehicle
for those lovely words. One verse, more than all others, sums up the
gospel message superbly:
And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, scarce can take it in.
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Then sings my soul my Saviour God to thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
