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Exegeting the Hymns #81 - How Great Thou Art

3/26/2019

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Picture
How Great Thou Art
w/m - Stuart K. Hine

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

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

This is one of the most popular hymns in history. It was written, in its current form by Stuart Hine, a Methodist missionary who was greatly influenced by the “Prince of preachers”, Charles Spurgeon. 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. The curse of spiritual blindness, that every man is born into, is never more clearly on display than when man looks at the beauty, creativity, and incredible detail of nature and comes to the conclusion that all of this happened by chance from nothing.  

Romans 1 says, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.” If not for the grace of God, we would all still be radically depraved and without excuse. Without excuse, because “The heavens declare the glory of God.”

Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee, “How great Thou art, How great Thou art”. Once we are made alive, regenerated by God, we can truly see what we couldn’t see in our sin, and marvel at how great He is.

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…This verse continues the look at the amazing design and plan in nature, and concludes that it must take a great and powerful Creator to bring about such a stunning creation.

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. Now here is where the song takes an even more gripping turn. For all the power it took to create the universe, the most amazing miracle in our history is when God sent His Son to this created earth, to die for this created mankind. Speaking the world into existence was nothing compared to the grace shown when God poured out His wrath on His Son to save a created man.

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. This fourth verse was added to the song later, but brings the story full-circle. There is no mention of a resurrection in the song up to this point, and without it and it leaves the story with Christ in the tomb. Here we see Christ alive and coming on the clouds to gather His church and take them home to heaven. Our joy will be complete and everlasting when we are home, in our new bodies, standing before the throne singing, “How Great Thou Art!”

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    Author

    Bill Itzel has been a worship leader and singer/songwriter for over 30 years and is based in Westminster, MD.  His family tours and leads worship around the country.  Bill and his family attend Belcroft Bible Church in Bowie, MD.  This is a blog about congregational worship and the latest news in the The Itzel's ministry.

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  • Home
  • Tours
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  • Projects
    • 2003 to Current >
      • Pilgrim's Song >
        • Leaving the City of Destruction
        • The Time Is Short
        • Evangelist
        • It Would Be Me
        • The Wicket Gate
        • Miracle
        • This Is Life
        • Apollyon's Challenge
        • I Will Go (Vanity Fair)
        • Walking with Hopeful
        • Champion of the People (View from the Spyglass)
        • Remember Me (River of Death)
        • Places
        • The Celestial City
      • Sweeter >
        • Christ Is Sweeter
        • With My Last Breath
        • I Have Seen The Lord (Job 42)
        • Oh My Soul
        • Sweet Are All Your Words To Me (Psalm 119)
        • Jesus Is Mine
        • By His Wounds (Isaiah 53)
        • All My Ways Are Known To You
        • O Lord, My Rock And My Redeemer
        • Finish Strong
      • Timeless - Hymns of Bill & Karen Itzel >
        • Give Thanks to the Lord Our God
        • Year's End
        • Sovereign Ruler of the Skies
      • 30 Live >
        • I Am A Christian
        • Mountain Climber
        • How Much More Glory
        • Mercy Rained Down
        • Step By Step
        • At The Cross (Love Ran Red)
        • He Is Risen, Hallelujah
        • Jesus Is Enough
        • There is Hope
        • Burn the Ships
        • Last Man Standing
        • This is Your Life
        • Dead Man Walking
        • Jerusalem
      • Gift of Faith >
        • You Amaze Me
        • I Got Saved
        • Gift of Faith
        • May The Peoples Praise You
        • Why Was I A Guest?
        • Lord, We Remember
        • A Mighty Fortress
        • His Love Runs Deep
        • Lord, Save Me From Me
        • Jesus, Thank You
        • Jerusalem
      • Hope >
        • Brethren We Have Met To Worship
        • Firm in the Faith
        • There is Hope (Siri's Song)
        • Lord, I Adore You
        • The Sovereign God of Love
        • The Solid Rock
        • He Will Hold Me Fast
        • Get To Work
        • Our Great God
        • At Calvary
        • I Will Sing of My Redeemer
        • Give Me Jesus
      • The Glorious Trial >
        • He is Risen Hallelujah
        • The Glorious Trial
        • Because You Love Me
        • Power of the Cross
        • How Firm a Foundation
        • Don't Be Afraid
        • Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
        • A Light In The Dark
        • Band of Brothers
        • Grace Greater than our Sin
      • XXV >
        • All Hail The Power
        • How Long?
        • Truth Is The Way
      • Sovereign >
        • Come Thou Fount
        • Almighty
        • In Christ Alone
        • At The Cross
        • All I Have Is Christ
        • Come As You Are
        • Amazing Grace
        • Behold Our God
        • Whom Shall I Fear
        • Sovereign
        • It Is Well
      • The New Life >
        • Burn The Ships
        • Draw The Line
        • Slow Fade
        • Thank You God For Saving Me
        • Miraculum
        • Jekyll & Hyde
        • Blessed Be Your Name
        • Believe
        • It Is Finished
        • The Gift
      • I Am A Christian >
        • When You Forgive
        • Write My Hurts In The Sand
        • I Am A Christian
        • But for the Grace of God Go I
        • My God Is Bigger
        • Investing in Gold
        • Saving My Best for First
        • Roots
        • Don't Water Down The Gospel
        • Defenders of the Faith
      • Live It Up >
        • Power and Might
        • Psalm 100
        • Plastic People
      • Revolutionary War >
        • Revolutionary War
        • Rebelling Against the Weather
        • Chained to a Lie
        • Always Singing
      • UP >
        • Power and Might
        • Step by Step
        • Love The Lord
        • I'd Rather Have Jesus
        • Psalm 100
        • When I Survey
        • You are There
        • Names
        • Let Everything That Hath Breath
        • Weak
      • Throwback >
        • The Hard Way
        • Mercy Rained Down
        • Free
        • Sweet Sacrifice
      • Mountain Climber >
        • Mountain Climber
        • Fly Free
        • Cries of the Forgotten
        • Champion of the People
        • Hide Me in Your Hand
        • Look to the One
        • Can You Hear Me Now?
        • Great is Thy Faithfulness
      • Misfit Family Christmas >
        • Hark The Herald Angels Sing
        • Mary Did You Know?
        • Emmanuel
        • Island of Misfit Toys
        • Sharing
        • Love Was Born Christmas Night
      • Last Man Standing - 2008 >
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        • Minute Man
        • Think On These Things
        • Do Hard Things
        • Break The Chain
        • Roll Call of Faith
        • Beautiful Day
        • How Much More Glory
        • Great Expectations
        • You are There
      • Flawed - 2007 >
        • War Fatigue
        • My Burden
        • One of Those Days
        • Save Me From Myself
        • Create in Me a Clean Heart
        • An Inconvenient Truth
        • At World's End
        • I've Got No Problem With That
        • Jesus is Enough
        • Weak
        • Pray
      • Soldiers - 2006 >
        • This is Your Life
        • God is Still God
        • Soldier
        • Stand Up
        • Follow Me
        • Barbarians at the Gate
        • Forgotten
      • Guns Blazin' - 2005 >
        • Guns Blazin'
        • When the Rubber Meets the Road
        • Words of Love
      • It Takes a Family - 2004 >
        • A Closed Mouth Gathers No Foot
      • Return of the King - 2003 >
        • Return of the King
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        • Dead Man Walkin'
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      • The Test - 2000 >
        • This is Just a Test
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        • Beware of the Dogs
        • The War
      • Praise Soup >
        • I Will Praise and Worship
        • It Mattered To This One
      • Play by Play >
        • This is my Son
      • Held For Ransom >
        • Politically Incorrect
      • Christmas
      • The Live Experience >
        • I Believe in You
        • Hero
      • Game Over >
        • How Much More Glory
        • The Lion's Coming Back
      • Family Values >
        • Where the Soul Never Dies
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