Class Overview and How Great Thou Art: TSMS 2012–09–09
Class Introduction
- Go around the room and briefly discuss spiritual background and tradition.
- Go over Class Objectives posted in last week’s blog
Lyrics for How Great Thou Art (O Store Gud — Oh Mighty God)
- Play Mormon Tabernacle Choir version
- Distribute copies of lyrics
PCUSA Blue hymnal #467
Tune: Swedish Folk Melody (harmonization by Stuart Hine, 1949)
Swedish lyrics: Poem by Carl Gustav Bobert, 1885 (9 verses)
English paraphrase: Stuart Hine, 1953 (from Russian version, which was derived from German version
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds [works] Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling [mighty] 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 see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
Chorus
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.
Chorus
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 then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
- Are there Bible verses this song reminds you of?
- What are the key messages that this song generates for you?
- Are there particular parts that resonate for you?
- What do you make of the wording changes (in brackets above)?
Note wording changes made by Manna Music in the early 1950’s.
Some relevant Bible verses:
(At least ones that come to my mind and in a bit of my own searching)
4 For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
5 How great are your works, Lord,
how profound your thoughts!
6 Senseless people do not know,
fools do not understand,
Psalm 92:4–6
Who among the gods
is like you, Lord?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?
Exodus 15:11 (Song of Miriam; NIV)
Who is like unto thee,
O Lord, among the gods?
who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Exodus 15:11 (KJV)
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1 Thes 4:17
Key messages
Kenneth Osbeck (American hymnologist): This great hymn teaches us three essential truths: the greatness of God’s creation, the greatness of Christ’s redemption and the greatness of our future inheritance. [1]
Other relevant resources for this hymn [2] [3]
Some history (adapted from Wikipedia[2] and Then Sings My Soul[4]
The original poem was written in 1885 in Swedish, by Carl Boberg, and was inspired by a storm and the subsequent calm. It was subsequently set to a Swedish folk hymn independent of Boberg, translated to German (Wie groß bist Du), and then translated to Russian (Великий Бог - Great God).
It was translated to English first in 1925 by E. Gustav Johnson and titled “O Mighty God”. See http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/o/m/i/omightyg.htm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Great_Thou_Art_Hymn for versions of this. Note that the refrain is pretty different: With rapture filled, my soul thy name would laud, O mighty God! O mighty God! (repeat).
British evangelist Stuart Hine heard the Russian version and was inspired by it. He created an English paraphrase of parts of it and extended it with what we currently have as verses 3 and 4. According to Morgan, Hine said the verses were inspired by the Carpathian Mountains, with the first when Hine was caught in a storm in a Carpathian villiage, the second as he heard the birds sing near the Romanian border, and the third when he witnessed mountain dwellers coming to Christ. The final verse was written after Hine returned to England. Hine later published two additional verses that aren’t normally included, but which he indicated were more direct translations of the Russian version:
O when I see ungrateful man defiling
This bounteous earth, God's gifts so good and great;
In foolish pride, God's holy Name reviling,
And yet, in grace, His wrath and judgment wait.
When burdens press, and seem beyond endurance,
Bowed down with grief, to Him I lift my face;
And then in love He brings me sweet assurance:
'My child! for thee sufficient is my grace'.
The song apparently came to the attention of Dr. J. Edwin Orr when he heard a version sung by Naga tribesman (from Assam, near Burma/Myanmar) at a village near Deolali, India. George Beverly Shea, of the Billy Graham Crusades, got a pamphlet of Hine’s work, popularized partly by Orr’s work and subsequent publication by Manna Music, and this became the signature song of the Graham Crusades in the 1950’s.
Personally, I think it’s cool that a poem written by a Swede was translated to German, then to Russian, came to the attention of a British Missionary in Russia and Romania, translated into English, made it’s way to India and Myanmar areas, came to America in Minnesota, and then out to California, and came to the attention of the Graham crusades while in Harringay, England to become what some have labeled the most popular Gospel Song in the World (Manna Music, as referenced in Wikipedia).
Lots of recordings
In searching, I found recordings of this hymn by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, The Statler Brothers, Sandi Patty, Anne Murry, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, George Beverly Shea, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Marie Osmond, Andy Griffith, Loretta Lynn, The Oak Ridge Boys,
iTunes lists at least 50 different versions, just under the title “How Great Thou Art”, with Elvis in the list at least 5 different times (sounded like the same recording for at least 3 of these). The Rock version by Dichotomy (Becoming the Archetype album) is definitely different from what I’m at least used to hearing. The wikipedia page [2] links to a version by Yolanda Adams, performed at the White House celebration of music from the civil rights movement (2010).
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http://www.hymnlyrics.org/mostpopularhymns/howgreatthouart.html ↩
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Then Sings My Soul, Volume 1, Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers: 2003, ISBN 0–7852–4939–7. http://www.robertjmorgan.com/bookstore/hymn-stories/then-sings-my-soul/. How Great Thou Art is on page 212. Note: The name for this class is an independent inspiration from the same basic source. There is no direct connection between this class and Dr. Morgan, apart, I presume, from a similar love of Christ and music. ↩
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