How great thou art

July 16, 2014 · 0 Comments

The contemporary Christian music scene has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years but I still enjoy singing and contemplating the words of some of the older well known hymns as well. One of these is “How Great Thou Art”. The first verse starts out with the author considering God’s handiwork. “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.” When you go outside on a clear night and look up it’s easy to get caught up in the immenseness of the universe. Even with the naked eye, we can see hundreds and hundreds of stars. With a little research I found out that it is estimated that there are between 100 billion and 200 billion or more galaxies in the universe. It is also estimated that each galaxy has at least five hundred thousand million stars. The earth is just a speck in relation to it. And to think – scripture tells us that God made it all! This indeed is an awesome thought! “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 tells us that when we look at nature and all its attributes we can’t help but come to the conclusion that God made this earth and everything on it. We see the patch of red on the back of a flickers head. We see the pattern of colour on a butterfly’s wings. We see the different species of animals – different shapes and sizes. All the colours, all the patterns and all the beauty tells us of a Creator. “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.” This third verse tells us of a God who loved us so much that He sent His only Son down to this earth, to walk this earth, and to eventually go to the cross and shed His blood on our behalf. The wrong things that we have done separate us from God. All we have to do is acknowledge our own sin, and truly believe that Jesus shed His blood for you. When this happens we are then brought into God’s family to experience all He has for us. “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!” We have a hope and that hope is to be with Jesus in Heaven when our life is over. If we accept His gift of salvation, believing Jesus died on our behalf, then that’s exactly where we’ll be. How exciting!! Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee; How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Jim Rintoul Bethel Bible Chapel Shelburne