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Every morning, 365 days a year, our family's devotional routine kicked off with a hymn, followed by a reading from Genesis to Revelation, and wrapped up with prayer, including the Lord’s Prayer. Despite the occasional early morning sleepiness and the sometimes monotonous scripture reading, the hymn we sang each morning remains a cherished memory. Even with occasional mistakes singing the notes, I'm convinced that the hymn, more than anything else, enriched my spiritual growth.
Carl Boberg, a sailor turned lay minister in his native Sweden, found inspiration in the sound of church bells during a wild thunderstorm in 1885, leading him to write the poem “O Great God”. Three years later, someone liked it enough to set the words to a traditional Swedish melody. Boberg quickly published the poem once again in his own newspaper in 1891, this time with musical notation added.
In 1954, the song caught the attention of George Beverly Shea, who sang it nearly 100 times during Billy Graham’s 1957 New York crusade. By 1959, it had become the theme song for Billy Graham’s weekly radio broadcast, “How Great Thou Art” to national fame.
A poem from a small town in Sweden, written by a sailor turned lay minister, has inspired countless people worldwide. Boberg died in 1940, over a decade before “How Great Thou Art” gained fame at the Billy Graham crusade in New York City. “It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up in its glowing.” We never know which of our words or actions will influence those around us like this. The song offers a glorious meditation on the wonders of the natural world and God’s glorious acts of creation, as well as a reflection on the awesomeness of God’s work in every area of our lives.
Pastor Seok-Hwan
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