How Great Thou Art is a wonderful and familiar hymn, humbly singing the praises of God and inviting us into that same place which inspired the author, Carl Boberg, in the 19th century. Upon gazing at creation, the author describes the “awesome wonder” of God in all of His creation.
Listen to the hymn here:
This is my own recording of the hymn above.
What We See in the Lyrics
This beautiful hymn, likely made popular by its English version that accompanied a lot of the Billy Graham and other crusades, is an unguarded expression of love and appreciation for the beauty and grace of God for Who He is. It echoes St. Paul’s admonition that the natural proclaims the existence and power of God, and our necessary humility before that proclaimed reality. In response, we sing to Him in gratitude:
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.
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!
Eventually, from that outward focus, it ties this fascination and delight in the natural world to His even greater greatness in the love of coming in the incarnation as Jesus Christ, dying for our sins, and inviting us into eternal salvation. It becomes deeply and beautifully personal:
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.
As this attention moves inward, toward belief, response, and something both more personal and profound, we are invited into something deeper.
The transition sweeps the singer or listener up into the glorious reality of salvation by a God who poured Himself out both in creation and in His life in history and beyond.
Why It Doesn’t Feel Overdone
Like all great and classic hymns, it balances singable simplicity with enough complexity in poetic language and melodic variance that it remains accessible and memorable while carrying a depth that continually moves the heart toward God. It is joyous but appropriately restrained, allowing itself to be contained in humble verse.
As a result, large congregations with all kinds of variation in musical skill can sing it in unison, echoing the grand reality of the praises of Heaven, but without compromising on theological value. It bears fruit both corporately and individually, allowing the realities contained to permeate the heart and make a home there.
It remains a humble expression of the truth of God’s natural creation as well as our story with Him, and the glory and joy we anticipate in Heaven through His great gift of grace.
What the Music Is Doing Underneath
The melody opens gradually and gently in the verses, but lifts into exuberance at the chorus which repeats many times: how great Thou art! The soul truly sings this praise, and as the song continues, one feels the heart lifting with the lifting chorus melody.
How Great Thou Art begins with attention to the natural world and gradually becomes a personal response, using a repeated refrain that stays unchanged while the perspective around it shifts.
Catholic Kind: Catholic Music & Culture Resource 
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