Men's Moments
By Bob Wilson
“How great is the Lord and how we should praise Him.”
Psalm 48: 1.
Sometimes after an inspirational worship service like Sunday’s Easter Service and hearing so many wonderful hymns, I ask myself, “If I were to choose one song over the years that is my favorite, which one would I choose?” It would have to be “How Great Thou Art.” I have sung it at a grave side funeral as a solo, at a Promise Keepers conference with hundreds of men singing it loudly, and at our church with the congregation singing.
To me it’s the complete Gospel in a song. The first verse starts with the realization that God is the Creator of the world. The next verse reminds us as we walk through His creation we can only wonder how awesome God is. Next we sing about God sending Jesus to come and die for our sins. Finally, we sing about Christ coming back and taking us to be with him and the joy we will experience.
I did some research on who wrote this wonderful hymn. Swedish pastor Carl Boberg wrote the words to this beautiful song in 1886. It immediately became a favorite of the people eventually finding its way into Swedish hymn books. Eventually the song was translated into English.
This is how the song was introduced to America by George Beverly Shea:
One March afternoon, I was given a copy while on a Billy Graham Crusade in London. Cliff Barrows also received a copy and we both realized what a gift we had been given. I sang along with the crusade choir with Cliff directing it that evening. It was received with joy. In 1957 at New York’s Madison Square Garden Crusade, people asked to hear “How Great Thou Art” every night for sixteen weeks. What a blessing. In 1966, at the request of the U.S.A. military, we traveled to Vietnam. It was a tour of nine different bases. We arrived at Tan Son Nhut Airport in South Vietnam. From there we went by military helicopter to different compounds. It was the week before Christmas. At one Compound when we arrived we saw a huge Christmas tree held up by guy wires. Some GIs had just come off the line for haircuts. One of them yelled “Hey Shea, sing us “How Great Thou Art.” I cupped my hands and sang it as loud as I could. As I finished I heard voices shouting out, “Thank you, thank you!” What a privilege to sing praises to God standing by a Christmas tree in Vietnam.
(I sang it at Long Binh when Billy Graham came back to Vietnam in 1967.)
Even if most of us have sung this song many times before, the next time you have the privilege of singing it again, sing the words from the heart and not just recite them from memory. Sing it as your gift to God. Amen.
