[2] "How Great Thou Art" was ranked second (after "Amazing Grace") on a list of the favourite hymns of all time in a survey by Christianity Today magazine in 2001 and in a nationwide poll by Songs Of Praise in 2019.
"[7] The author, Carl Boberg himself gave the following information about the inspiration behind his poem: It was that time of year when everything seemed to be in its richest colouring; the birds were singing in trees and everywhere.
Instrumentation for both piano and guitar was provided by Adolph Edgren (born 1858; died 1921 in Washington, D.C.), a music teacher and organist, who later migrated to the United States.
När jag betraktar himlens höga under,Der gyllne verldsskepp plöja etern blå,Och sol och måne mäta tidens stunderOch vexla om, som tvänne klockor gå:Refrain When I consider the high wonders of heaven, Where golden vessels plow the ether blue, And sun and moon measure the moments of time And alternate, as two bells go: Refrain När jag hör åskans röst i stormen brusaOch blixtens klingor springa fram ur skyn,När regnets kalla, friska vindar susaOch löftets båge glänser för min syn:Refrain When I hear the voice of thunder in the storm roaring And the blades of lightning run out of the sky, When the cold, fresh winds of the rain whistle And the bow of promise shines in my sight: Refrain När sommarvinden susar över fälten,När blommor dofta omkring källans strand,När trastar drilla i de gröna tältenUr furuskogens tysta, dunkla rand:Refrain When the summer wind blows over the fields, When flowers scent the spring's shore, When thrushes trill in the green tents From the silent, dark edge of the pine forest: Refrain The first literal English translation of "O store Gud" was written by E. Gustav Johnson (1893–1974),[12] then a professor of North Park College, Illinois.
However, economics settled the issue inasmuch as we were unable to pay the exorbitant price requested by the publishing house that owned the copyright despite the fact that the original belonged to the Covenant.
[14] The version that appeared in the 1973 edition of The Covenant Hymnbook was: O mighty God, when I behold the wonder Of nature's beauty, wrought by words of thine, And how thou leadest all from realms up yonder, Sustaining earthly life with love benign,
When I behold the heavens in their vastness, Where golden ships in azure issue forth, Where sun and moon keep watch upon the fastness Of changing seasons and of time on earth.
When crushed by guilt of sin before thee kneeling, I plead for mercy and for grace and peace, I feel thy balm and, all my bruises healing, My soul is filled, my heart is set at ease.
And when at last the mists of time have vanished And I in truth my faith confirmed shall see, Upon the shores where earthly ills are banished I'll enter Lord, to dwell in peace with thee.
"[14] However, according to Glen V. Wiberg: While there was sympathy on the commission for retaining this older version, a compromise led to preserving it in printed form on the opposite page of How Great Thou Art, hymn 8.
[14]Plymouth Brethren missionary Stuart Wesley Keene Hine (25 July 1899 – 14 March 1989)[16][17][18] was dedicated to Jesus Christ in The Salvation Army by his parents.
[16] Hine first heard the Russian translation of the German version of the song while on an evangelistic mission to the Carpathian Mountains, then of the Soviet's Ukrainian SSR, in 1931.
So the Hines heard people calling out to God, saying how unbelievable it was that Christ would die for their own sins, and praising Him for His love and mercy.
Stuart wrote down the phrases he heard the Repenters use, and (even though this was all in Russian), it became the third verse that we know today: "And when I think that God, His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in.
His concern for the exiled Polish community in Britain, who were anxious to return home, provided part of the inspiration for Hine's final verse.
[9] Hine and David Griffiths visited a camp in Sussex, England, in 1948 where displaced Russians were being held, but where only two were professing Christians.
These words again inspired Hine, and they became the basis for his fourth and final verse to 'How Great Thou Art': "When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation to take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Hine finalised his English translation in 1949,[21] and published the final four-verse version in his own Russian gospel magazine Grace and Peace that same year.
[16] A program note from a Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota, concert tells listeners that J. Edwin Orr (15 January 1912 – 22 April 1987) of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, discovered the song being sung in a small village near Deolali, India, by a choir of the Naga tribe from Assam near Burma.
Orr was so impressed with the song that he introduced it at the Forest Home Christian Conference Center in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California founded in 1938 by Henrietta Mears (23 October 1890 – 19 March 1963) in the summer of 1954.
[24] Their father was Vernon 'Tim' Spencer (13 July 1908 – 26 April 1974),[25][26] a converted cowboy, and former member of The Sons of the Pioneers, who had founded the newly established Manna Music of Burbank, California in 1955.
"[28] The first time "How Great Thou Art" was sung in the United States was at the aforementioned Forest Home conference in 1954, led by Dr. Orr.
This plaque hangs on the wall of Hormel Hall at Forest Home to this day, enabling people to sing it at any time and to help in learning the song.
The hymn was translated in 1957 for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship by Joseph T. Bayly (5 April 1920 – 16 July 1986), and set to the music of Josephine Carradine Dixon.
The eminent British hymnologist Erik Routley (born 31 October 1917; died 1982)[39] so disliked both the hymn and its melody, he wrote a new text, "O Mighty God", and re-harmonised the Swedish tune in 1982.
[43] The hymn was popularised by Sir Howard Morrison, who sang it at the Royal Command Performance in 1981 upon the occasion of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to New Zealand.
[44] When Morrison released it as a single in 1982, "Whakaaria Mai" spent six months in the New Zealand national charts, including five weeks in the number one position.
It has been covered by numerous New Zealand artists, including Prince Tui Teka, Eddie Low, Temuera Morrison and the Modern Māori Quartet, Stan Walker, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, TEEKS and Hollie Smith.
[52][53][54] Swedish gospel singer Per-Erik Hallin has credited Elvis Presley's rendition of "How Great Thou Art" as a major factor in the revival of "O Store Gud" in Sweden.
When I hear the voice of thunder and storms and see the blades of lightning striking from the sky when the cold rain and fresh showers whirl and the arc of promise shines before my eyes.