Day 4: How Great Thou Art

Years ago I attended a mennonite wedding held in a rural church with no electricity. There was a large crowd packed into the tiny building with no organ, piano, guitar, or any other instrument. An elderly man stood up at the front of the gathering and blew a pitch pipe finding the first note and suddenly the entire congregation burst into what seemed like seven part harmony! Each note rang out as tears formed in many eyes. I don't actually recall whether the song that day was How Great Thou Art or another great old hymn. But, I do know that every time I hear this hymn I am transported back to that moment.

Historical Background

Mr. Carl Gustav Boberg was a Swedish pastor, editor and member of parliament in the late 1800s. Boberg was caught in a thunderstorm outside with severe winds and almost died. When the storm calmed, he looked out over a clear bay and the words of How Great Thou Art began to come to him in his heart... "O Lord, My God, When I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands hath made..." He then penned this into a poem and published it under the title O Store Gud (Oh Great God) in 1891. Years later while at a conference he heard a group singing an old Swedish folk tune, but with words that sounded extremely familiar to him. It was his poem set to music and the hymn was born.

Translated Around the World

The song How Great Thou Art was translated into German then Russian then Romanian then Polish. When Ukranians had to flea to England during the reign of Stalin, the song was brought to England and was translated into English, but the wording at the time was different than what we have today.

In the 1950s, the song was translated again from the original Swedish into English by the Billy Graham Crusade Team. This version was then sung by George Beverly Shea hundreds of times at countless revivals. Today millions throughout the world continue to sing this beautiful song to the glory of God. How interesting it is to consider the humble beginnings of a man glorifying God after that storm.

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!

Abundant Life Fellowship Version

Elvis Presley Version -weeks before his death

Billy Graham Crusade Version -George Beverly Shea

Final Thoughts

I am humbled by the thought of how much impact saying glorifying God in the storm and after the storm can have on so many people around the world and across generations if we will only share it with others. With that in mind, there's a comment section below. Share your bucket of grace with me today. What storm in your life can you look back on and say "How Great Thou Art?"

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Check out my analysis of these other hymns, if you're interested:

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