O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you! Jeremiah 32:17 (NLT)
In 2013, Songs of Praise conducted a nationwide survey in the UK. Tens of thousands of people voted for their favourite hymn. The hymns which ranked in the top ten were:
- How Great Thou Art;
- In Christ Alone;
- Be Still, For The Presence Of The Lord;
- Dear Lord And Father Of Mankind;
- Here I Am, Lord;
- And Can It Be;
- Abide With Me;
- Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah;
- Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace;
- The Day Thou Gavest Lord Is Ended.
How Great Thou Art has its origins as a poem in a small town in Sweden. It was written by a sailor-turned-lay-minister by the name of Carl Boberg (1859-1940). Boberg tells us how it came about:
It was in 1885, and in the time of year when everything seemed to be in its richest colouring; the birds were singing in trees and wherever they could find a perch. On a particular afternoon, some friends and I had been to Kronobäck where we had participated in an afternoon service. As we were returning a thunderstorm began to appear on the horizon. We hurried to shelter. There were loud claps of thunder, and the lighting flashed across the sky. Strong winds swept over the meadows and billowing fields of grain. However, the storm was soon over and the clear sky appeared with a beautiful rainbow… After reaching my home, I opened my window toward the sea. The church bells were playing the tune of a hymn. That same evening, I wrote a poem which I titled, ‘O Store Gud,’ (How Great Thou Art).
Boberg would never know the influence of his poem. He died in 1940, over a decade before How Great Thou Art began its orbit around the world by way of the Billy Graham New York City Crusade where it was sung ninety-nine times.
I love the references in it to creation, to salvation and especially to the coming of Christ. You cannot sing this majestic hymn of praise and adoration without realising anew the omnipotence of the Creator who did it all. The song has become synonymous with trusting in the Divine power of God.
This reminds me of today’s passage. God merely spoke the universe into being, a universe that astronomers estimate contains more than a hundred billion galaxies. But all the power contained in this entire universe is but a small representation of the unlimited power of God. No task is too big for Him. Nothing is too hard for Him. No need is too great for Him to meet. No problem is too complicated for Him to solve. No foe is too strong for Him to conquer. No prayer is too difficult for Him to answer. He longs to exhibit His power in our lives.
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. 1 Chronicles 29:11 (ESV)
Take time today to behold the wonder of God’s creation and the evidence of His power and be amazed at the awesomeness of God. Allow your soul to sing. As the refrain says,
Then sings my soul
My Saviour, God, to Thee,
How great thou art,
How great thou art.