Song: How Great Thou Art
Then sing my soul, my Savior God to Thee:
How great Thou art! how great Thou art!
Then sing my soul, My Savior God to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Verses:
1. 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.
2. When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the tree,
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.
3. 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.
4. 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!
Carl Boberg (1859-1940)
Translated by Stuart K. Hine (1899-1989)
Dorothy: Tony often sang this chorus, How great Thou art! Have you ever wonder who wrote this song and where did the song came from? I discovered this from the book called, The One Year Book of Hymns, 365 Devotional Readings based on Great Hymns of the Faith. Wow! 365 days of songs and devotional readings about who wrote the songs and how they were inspired to write those words into songs.
Note: In 1886 Swedish pastor Carl Boberg was caught in a sudden thunderstorm while visiting a beautiful country estate. As the storm passed, giving way to the sweet songs of birds and a green countryside glistening in sunlight, Carl Boberg composed the nine original stanzas of this hymn.
In time the hymn was translated into German and Russian. It was noticed by a British missionary who was serving in the Ukraine. That missionary, Reverend Stuart K. Hine, often sang the song with his wife as they ministered there. Later they translated three stanzas into English from Russian and Hine himself added a fourth.
