Day 18 - How Great Thou Art (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 power throughout the universe displayed.
Chorus: Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art. Then sings my soul, My Saviour 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.
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing; Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; That on a Cross, my burdens 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 then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
‘Consider’ … What a rich and wonderful word that stops you in your tracks!
This old hymn is one that I love and will sing at the top of my voice when gathered with others to worship the King of Kings. It reached number 2 in the top ten favourite hymns in Britain at one point, behind Amazing Grace, so I know I am not alone in loving it.
It may not be modern but artists throughout the recent centuries have recorded it. The old English language adds depth and respectful awe as the words declare God’s power, the work of the cross and the eternal hope of being led home with Him.
When the family was young and I was in the church worship team, or singing in a mission tent during summer camp I would launch into this chorus at our sound check. I usually sang with more passion than ability ‘then sings my soul, My Saviour God to Thee’. It would be a declaration. That the evidence was around me that He was there and had done everything for me to show His love, whatever I had done or faced that day.
The words shift my gaze to consider Him, to be more aware, and to turn my focus onto Him and not myself. It is a very God honouring song. My attention can be distracted so easily but when I stop and consider: (to think carefully about (something), typically before making a decision or look attentively at) I feel secure in the knowledge of His greatness and mighty power, whatever circumstances I am facing.
"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 men are without excuse."(NIV) Romans 1:20
Think about / To consider:
What is grabbing your attention at the moment? Does your gaze need to shift?
Have you stopped to think carefully about God today?
How do you choose to respond?
Listen to the song here, sung by Don Moen and guest: https://youtu.be/v_rWMQp2Hho
Written by Deborah Gill