How Great Thou Art

 "Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name, because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing."  Isaiah 40:26

How Great Thou Art

Carl Boberg (1859-1940)
Translated by Stuart K Hine (1899-1989)
Copyright © 1953, renewed 1981 by Manna Music, Inc., 35255 Brooten Rd., Pacific City, Or 97135. International copyright secured. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Outside USA: Copyright © 1953 Stuart K. Hine/Kingsway's Thankyou Music, P.O. Box 75, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NM, UK.

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!

When through the words 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,

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,

When Christ shall come with shout of acclimation

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!

.....

Although this hymn is often associated with the crusades of Billy Graham, it originated in nineteenth-century Europe.  In 1886 Swedish pastor Carl Boberg was caught in a sudden thunderstorm whilst visiting a beautiful country estate.  As the storm passed, giving way to the sweet songs of birds and a green countryside glistening in sunlight, 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 the Russian and Hine himself added a fourth.

.....

George Beverly Shea: How Great Thou Art [Live], 1957. - YouTube (That choir! That piano!) #SomedayInHeaven 

How Great Thou Art | Hymnary.org

"How Great Thou Art" - Handbell Choir Ensemble - YouTube  (The bells! The chimes! I've played in quite a few handbell choirs.)