How Great Thou Art
Music is such a relevant part of worshipping God. Whether we are singing with others, or in our personal devotional time, praising God with our voice and lung-power is a beautiful way to connect our souls to our Creator’s heart. We find praise to be encouraged time and again throughout Scripture: “Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints” (Psalm 149:1). Psalm 150 goes on to describe how we should praise God everywhere we go, and with a variety of musical instruments, then verse 6 concludes – “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”
I’m thankful to have grown up in a church that sang both hymns as well as modern praise songs, as we still do at various Horizons campuses today. Not only are hymns nostalgic to many believers, but the lyrics offer theological punch.
Surprisingly, the hymn-writers of the last two centuries were often put down by more traditional contemporaries as peddling tunes only fit for a saloon. The upbeat tempos and catchy tunes were strategically written -- to reach the common man for Christ, and to inspire all towards choosing righteousness.
HOW GREAT THOU ART
I find so many hymns meaningful and fulfilling – but one in particular stands out. About fifteen years ago, I was a dad in my mid-thirties, selling real estate in a metropolitan Midwestern city. My wife and I went to a NewSong (Christian contemporary music) concert, and they sang a modern rendition of “How Great Thou Art” which blew me away with its power.
Originally, the hymn was a Swedish folk song in the late 1800s, but was re-written by English missionary Stuart Hine in 1949, and the Billy Graham Crusades of the 1950s through 1990s propelled its popularity throughout America and the rest of the Christian world.
Allow these lyrics stir your soul, as they do mine:
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 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
And when I think of 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 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
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And lead me home, what joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow with humble adoration
And then proclaim, my God, how great thou art
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
FROM CREATION TO CONSUMMATION
How does one hymn cover so much wonderful theological ground?
With awe, we admire God’s incredible creation which we find in nature, in space, and in his control of the very weather. It’s so foundational as humans to embrace the Intelligent Design we see unfold in Genesis 1-2.
With reverence, we consider the great love God the Father has for us all – to send his Son Jesus to this sinful world – that through his sacrifice on that cross we might be saved. “For God so loved the world, that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
With eager anticipation, we look forward to Christ’s return for the saints and the heavenly home that awaits us. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever!” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).
In heaven, and then in the new heavens and new earth, we will finally have the privilege of praising God face to face, humbly proclaiming his greatness – loudly, without any inhibition, without a care, without any pain, in complete submission to his mighty power – How Great Thou Art!
