"How Great Thou Art"
I think many of us may have experienced a summer thunderstorm that suddenly formed, with wind, lightening, and thunder. And then, as quickly as it came, it was gone, with the sun peeking out, and a possible rainbow.
Such was the scene in the beautiful countryside of Sweden in 1885. It prompted 26-year-old Carl Boberg to write a nine stanza poem titled "O Store Gud"--which translated means "O Great God." Two years later, a Swedish melody was matched to it.
The song spread to different countries with each translation adding it own flavor. In 1920, an English translation was given by Stuart K. Hine, who was an English missionary in Western Ukraine, and later in Sub-Carpathian Russia. Stuart wrote, "God put me amid unforgettable experience in the Carpathian Mountains," causing him to relate to Carl Boberg's poem. The third stanza developed as he worked with a couple who studied the Bible, and read about the crucifixion.
Some years later, in 1948, Stuart added stanza four as he worked with many World War II refuges in Britian. The first question they would asked was, "When are we going home?"
The words to the hymn are:
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 pow'r throught the universe displayed.
When thru the woods and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountains gradeur
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,
And there proclaim, "My God, how great Thou art!"
Chorus:
Then sings my soul, My Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, My Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!