A story of the hymn, “How Great Thou Art” by William Petersen

In 1885, Carl Boberg, a twenty-six-year-old preacher, wrote a poem titled in Swedish, “O Store Gud.” Translated into English, it’s “O Great God.” Boberg had no thought of his poem’s becoming a hymn, so a few years later he was surprised to hear his poem sung to the tune of an old Swedish melody.

A generation later, in the early 1920s, English missionaries Stuart Hine and his wife were ministering in Poland, where they learned the Russian version of Boberg’s poem sung to the Swedish melody. Later, Hine created English words for it and arranged the Swedish melody to fit. This is the hymn we now know as “How Great Thou Art.”

The first three stanzas were inspired by an experience Stuart Hine had as he ministered in the Carpathian Mountains and heard the mighty thunder echoing all around him. As he pushed on, he was deeply impressed by the beauty of the woods and forest glades as well as the singing of the birds. The fourth stanza came after he returned to England.

The song became popular in America in the 1950s, and before long it was the number-one hymn on both sides of the Atlantic.

Scriptures: Deuteronomy 3:24; Job 38:1-7; Psalm 8:1-4; Isaiah 40:26; Romans 1:20
Themes: Worship, Creation, Praise

Lyrics of the Hymn:
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 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,

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 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!

By STUART K. HINE (1899–1989) © 1941, 1953, 1955 Stuart K. Hine Renewed 1981 Manna Music, Inc. ARR UBP of Manna Music, Inc. (35255 Booten Rd. Pacific City, OR 97135) All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Reference for the Hymn:
Petersen, William. The Complete Book of Hymns (pp. 34-35). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.