How Great Thou Art

The next entry for my Blog is How Great Thou Art, which was written by Karl Gustav Boberg and was modified by Stuart Hine.  The song was initially released Mar 13, 1886.  A link to Carrie Underwood performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

How Great Thou Art

Oh 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 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 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 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 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
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Well, I have finally selected a song that has been on my heart for a very long time.  I have always been hesitant to take on this song since it is so powerful and so well known. 

I believe that most of us have at sometime in our life, stopped to admire a stunning sunset, a stream gurgling its way through the woods, and maybe a glorious sunrise as we awaken to a new day.  Unfortunately, we rarely take the time to take in everything that has happened in our lives and how we have been positively impacted by others.  How many times have you stopped and just thanked God for everything he has done?  Many times, we think about family, friends, possessions, and maybe places we have been; but we don’t take the time to thank God for all he has done for us.  In this song, I believe the writer has taken the time to think about all that God has done and he is blown away.  He is not just thinking about what is going on around him, but all of creation and how God created the entire universe, the stars, the planets and even the sheer power of a thunderstorm.  All of this created by the hand of God!

As the writer thinks about this great power, he starts singing from deep inside.  He is not talking about singing along with others in church or singing along with the radio, but it is a voice from deep within; a voice from his very soul that is worshipping our Lord and Savior.  Such a powerful and moving chorus.  It is as if he is finally realizing how great and powerful our God is and that nothing is impossible for him.  This powerful refrain occurs three times in the song and it seems as if it builds in strength and power throughout the song.

God created this world for mankind and it was a perfect world with everything we could ever need.  Unfortunately, mankind started listening to the temptations offered by the devil and lost their perfect place on earth.   They traded their perfect lives for an imperfect world that was overcome with sin.  Many people totally turned their backs on God and lost their relationship with him.  Over time, as God watched his creation continue to wander away from him, he knew it was time to take action to bring his people back.  He wanted us to sense his presence always, no matter where we were or what we had done.  To accomplish this objective, God sent a piece of himself, his only son, to come to earth.  This son, named Jesus, came to show God’s love; and then had to suffer and die on the cross so that all of us could restore our relationship with God.  Jesus was nailed to the cross as the ultimate sacrifice for all of our sins; and this was done just so we could once again have a harmonious relationship with God.  This is the real definition of true love.  The only action required of us to rebuild our relationship with God and secure eternal life with him in heaven, is to accept Jesus as our personal savior and recognize that his earthly death secured our eternal life in heaven.  God loved us enough to give us his only son so that all of our wrongdoings would be erased for eternity.  John 3:16 tells us of God’s love; “For this is how God loved the world, He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

The even better news is that the story has not ended, we are still waiting for God’s next step; which he has promised.  Jesus, the son of God, who died on the cross for our wrongdoings; is coming back one more time!  We are told that the trumpets will sound as Jesus and the angels come back to earth.  Everyone alive who has yet to accept Jesus as their personal savior will get one more chance for eternal life and a reunion with friends and family who are already in heaven.  We find this in 1 Thes 4:16-17: “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. ¹⁷ 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.”   I can’t even imagine what that moment will be like for those who are alive when it happens.  I envision everyone who accepts Jesus at this time, will be falling to their knees in adoration and wonder and then be swept away into heaven with him. 

My God, how great thou art!