We have two worship services on Sunday mornings at our church, each with its distinctive type of music. The 9:15 service is “contemporary” with full-volume band and drums, hand clapping, and songs often heard on current Christian radio. I love that service; so do a lot of other people. Yes, it’s our more highly attended service. We could never do away with that service in that style. God uses it in a mighty way.
Our 11:15 service is “traditional” and what we Lutherans call “liturgical.” We have a brand new Allen digital “pipe” organ and we sing many parts of the liturgy. And, of course, we sing the beautiful and majestic hymns of the church. I love this service; and so do the many people who come to be inspired and fed through this “old-is-new-again” worship. We could never do away with this service. God uses it in a mighty way.
As we sing those beautiful and majestic hymns of the Church, I am reminded that each of them has a story, a heritage. Many people search for their family stories and history on places like Ancestry.com. Well, we can search the history of the great old hymns, and those histories and stories add to the depth and inspiration of the “old friends” we sing each week.
There are much older hymns and much longer stories, but the hymn story I’d like to share with you today is that of “How Great Thou Art.” Have you ever heard this story before? I rely on one of my favorite books to share this story with you. The book is Then Sings My Soul – 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories by Robert J. Morgan.
Morgan reports it like this (with some editing for flow and clarification):
“Carl Boberg, a 26-year-old Swedish minister, wrote a poem in 1885 which he called ‘O Store Gud — O Mighty God.’ The words translated to English said:
“‘When I the world consider
“‘Which Thou has made by Thine almighty Word
“‘And how the webb of life Thou wisdom guideth
“‘And all creation feedeth at Thy board.
“‘Then doth my soul burst forth in song of praise
“‘Oh, great God, Oh, great God!’
“His poem was published and forgotten — or so he thought. Several years later, Carl was surprised to hear it being sung to the tune of an old Swedish melody; but the poem and hymn did not achieve widespread fame.
“Hearing this hymn in Russia, English missionary, Stuart Hine, was so moved he modified and expanded the words and made his own arrangement of the Swedish melody. He later said his first three verses were inspired, line upon line, by Russia’s rugged Carpathian Mountains.
“The first verse was composed when he was caught in a thunderstorm in a Carpathian village:
“‘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 …’
“The second verse he composed as he heard the birds sing near the Romanian border:
“‘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 grandeur and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze …’
“The third verse he composed as he witnessed many of the Carpathian mountain-dwellers coming to Christ:
“‘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 …’
“The final verse was written after Dr. Hine returned to Great Britain:
“‘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! ‘
“Some time later, Dr. J. Edwin Orr heard ‘How Great Thou Art’ being sung by Naga tribespeople in Assam, India, and decided to bring it back to America for use in his own meetings. When he introduced it at a conference in California, it came to the attention of music publisher Tim Spencer, who contacted Hine and had the song copyrighted. It was published and recorded in 1953.
“During the 1954 Billy Graham Crusade in Harringay Arena in London, George Beverly Shea, the great and inspiring baritone, was given a leaflet containing this hymn. He sang it to himself and shared it with other members of the Graham team. Though not used in London, it was introduced the following year to audiences in Toronto.
“In the New York Crusade in 1957, it was sung by Bev Shea 99 times and thousands of times thereafter, with the choir always joining the majestic refrain after each verse:
“‘Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,
“‘How great Thou art! How great Thou art!’”
If you’d like to sing this and the other great hymns of The Faith, join us at 11:15 on Sundays.
[Find Kollmeyer at princeofpeacefayette.org]
