Last Sunday I was
blessed.
I attend a church that still sings the classic hymns. Though
we loosen up occasionally and partake in some modern upbeat praise music, we
usually stick to the regular songs in our hymnals.
If you are Lutheran I know the question on your mind. Not
which hymn, but which hymnal. The cranberry one- Lutherans will understand. But
I digress.
My daughter, son-in-law and three perfect grandchildren sit
with church with us each Sunday.
Now there is a blessing, though noisy at times. Kyla is three and the
boys (yes twins) are perpetual motion 14 month olds. More on Kyla and this song
later.
How Great Thou Art:
I love this song and it draws me into worship every time I sing it. Powerful
words:
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made...
Ready for its story?
How Great Thou Art
begins with Carl Gustaf Boberg (1859-1940). He was a Swedish pastor, editor,
and member of the Swedish parliament.
Boberg was enjoying a nice walk when a thunderstorm
suddenly appeared out of nowhere. A severe wind began to blow. After the storm
was over, Mr. Boberg looked out over the clear bay. He then heard a church bell
in the distance. And the words to How Great Thou Art begin to form in his heart
--
O Lord, my God, When
I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands hath made. . .
Can you imagine what Boberg felt as he formed these words?
There was such calmness after the fierce storm he could only utter those words
of peace. He published his poem, titled O Store Gud (O Great God) in 1891 in
the weekly newspaper that Boberg edited.
Several years later he was surprised and delighted to hear
his poem being sung by a church congregation, to the tune of an old Swedish
folk melody.
In 1933, English missionaries to the Ukraine, Reverend and
Mrs. Stuart K. Hine heard the song for the first time, fell in love with it and
sang it often throughout their missionary journeys. As they traveled the
Carpathian Mountains, the couple was inspired by the incredible beauty to
translate the first three verses of the song into English. When WWII broke out
in 1939, the Hines returned to England carrying How Great Thou Art to its new
home. After the war they wrote the fourth verse and arranged the original
Swedish folk tune to be published in English hymnals.
In the 1950 the song grew in popular around the world,
especially when George Beverly Shay sang it during the Billy Graham Crusades.
There have been over seventeen hundred documented recordings
of “How Great Thou Art.” It has been
used on major television programs, in major motion pictures, and has been named
as the favorite Gospel song of at least three United States’ presidents.
Last Sunday I was
blessed. Blessed by living in a country where we are free to worship.
Blessed to know and love a Savior and a loving God. Blessed to worship surrounded by family.
Our service closed last week with this great hymn. I was
swept up in adoration with its music, words, and meaning. And then God surprised me even more:
Three-year-old Kyla stood on the pew right in front of me. She
held the hymnal (upside down and turned to the wrong page - she is only three
you know) but singing in her sweet
angel voice with all her heart:
How great thou art;
how great thou art.
Tears gathered in my eyes - from worship, from love, from
seeing the devotion of a child - this was an awesome wonder.
Last Sunday I was
blessed. And I am so grateful
to my Savior Lord - how great thou art!
“Those who sing, pray twice.” - St. Augustine.
Sing and pray with me this wonderful hymn:
How Great Thou Art – The Lyrics
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.
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 see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
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!
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.
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 Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
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!
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