Hey Church!

Did you know the hymn “How Great Thou Art” began as a Swedish poem in 1885?* 

The story goes that one day in 1885 a Swedish pastor named Karl Boberg was walking home from his bay-side church when he was caught in a terrible thunderstorm. He ran for shelter and waited out the storm. When it had passed, he opened the windows and saw the sun glistening on the bay. He heard the birds “sing sweetly in the trees” and felt “the gentle breeze” on his face. This dramatic change in weather inspired him to write a poem about God’s power over creation that very night. 

Boberg submitted his nine-verse poem under the title “O Store Gud” (meaning “O Great God” in English) to a local newspaper, which published it. He had no reason to believe his work would go any further than that. A few years later, he was astounded when a conference full of people began singing the words of his poem to a Swedish folk tune!** 

Unbeknownst to the author, his hymn had gained popularity throughout Sweden. By 1907 it had made its way to Estonia, where it was translated into German as “Du Großer Gott” (“Great God”). Twenty years later, in 1927, it was translated and imported into a Russian-language Protestant hymnbook. From there, “Velykiy Bog” (its Russian title) continued to gain popularity throughout the continent.

In the late 20s and early 30s, a British missionary couple, Stuart and Edith Hine, heard the hymn while traveling along the border of Ukraine, Romania, and Poland. They translated it into English and started using it in their worship services. Stuart even took the liberty to edit the verses and write some new ones. At that time, Bobert’s original poem still lacked the verses we know today as stanzas three and four: (3) “And when I think that God His Son not sparing…” and (4) “When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation…” 

The Hines visited one village in Ukraine where it was said that only one Christian couple lived, Dmitri and Lyudmila. When the Hines approached that couple’s house, they heard Lyudmila reading the Gospel of John about the crucifixion of Christ to a house full of guests, and the sound of those guests loudly repenting of their sins. Among those who were crying out to God, Hine heard one voice say, “And when I think that God, His Son not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in!” 

In 1939, the War drove Stuart and Edith Hine back home to London, where they ministered to displaced Eastern European refugees. One refugee had been separated from his wife while she was a Christian but he was not. After he came to faith, he told the Hines that his greatest desire was to be reunited with his wife so they could share a life of faith. Unsure whether or not that day would ever come, he spoke instead of the day when they would be reunited in heaven and joy would once again fill their hearts. This inspired Hines to write the fourth and final verse, “When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart…”

In 1949, Hine renamed the hymn “How Great Thou Art.” Following are the verses that have continued to be sung by generations of Christians. And it will be our privilege to join with their voices–even with those who now sing it before the throne in heaven–this Sunday morning. 

How Great Thou Art
Verse 1
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 pow’r thru’out
The universe displayed

Chorus
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

Verse 2
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 hear the brook
And feel the gentle breeze

Verse 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

Verse 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