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How Great Thou Art
Author: Carl Bobert
Date Written: 1886
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 Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour 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 Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour 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 Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
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Story:
A young minister’s two-mile walk in the rain provided the inspiration for “How
Great Thou Art.” The Reverend Carl Boberg of Monsteras, on the southeast coast
of Sweden, was 25 years old when he wrote the lyrics of this song after trekking
through a thunderstorm from a church meeting two miles away
This great hymn has a history that stretches back over a hundred years. The
original song was written by a young Swedish preacher, Carl Boberg, and first
published in 1886, under the title O Store Gud. Boberg wrote a poem, not meaning
to write a hymn, but later heard it being sung to an old Swedish tune.
More than forty years later, an English missionary, Stuart Hine, first heard the
song in Russia. He and his young wife were missionaries to the Carpathian area
of Russia, then a part of Czechoslovakia. There, they heard a very meaningful
hymn that was a Russian translation of Carl Boberg’s O Store Gud (O Great God).
While ministering in the Carpathian Mountains, Hine found himself in the midst
of a threatening storm. The thunder, as it rolled through the mountain range,
was so awesome that it reminded Hine of the beautiful Russian hymn that had
already become so dear to him. English verses began to form in his mind, verses
that were suggested by portions of the Russian translation.
How Great Thou Art is probably the all-time favorite hymn today. Although its
origin had roots in Europe, it was not widely known until 1957, when the Billy
Graham Crusade in New York City launched it on a never-ending spiral around the
world. It was performed nearly a hundred times during those meetings and
countless times ever since.
One cannot sing this majestic hymn of praise and adoration without realizing
anew the omnipotence of the Creator who did it all.
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Original Swedish Lyrics
O store Gud, när jag den värld beskådar,
Som du har skapat med ditt allmaktsord,
Hur där din visdom leder livets trådar,
Och alla väsen mättas vid ditt bord.
Då brister själen ut i lovsångsljud:
O store Gud! O store Gud!
Då brister själen ut i lovsångsljud:
O store Gud! O store Gud!
När sommarvinden susar över fälten,
När blommor dofta invid källans rand,
När trastar drilla i de gröna tälten,
Vid furuskogens tysta, dunkla rand;
När jag i bibeln skådar alla under,
Som Herren gjort se’n förste Adams tid,
Hur nådefull Han varit alla stunder,
Och hjälpt sitt folk ur livets synd och strid;
När slutligt alla tidens höljen falla,
Uti åskådning byter sig min tro,
Och evighetens klara klockor kalla,
Min frälsta ande till dess sabbatsro;
Då brister själen ut i lovsångsljud:
Tack store Gud! Tack store Gud!
Då brister själen ut i lovsångsljud:
Tack store Gud! Tack store Gud!
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Bible Verses
"Who is like You among the gods, O LORD?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in praises, working wonders?"
Exodus 15:11
"There is no one like You among the gods,
O Lord, Nor are there any works like Yours."
Psalm 86:8
"Herein is love, not that we loved God,
but that he loved us, and sent his Son
to be the propitiation for our sins."
1John 4:10
"Jesus said to him,
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father
but through Me."
John 14:3
"Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds, to meet the Lord
in the air: and so shall we
ever be with the Lord."
1 Thes 4:17
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