How Great Thou Art!

“Oh 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 Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!”

This hymn was written by Carl Boberg in 1886 and was translated from the German translation of “O Store Gud”. The beautiful lyrics convey a glimpse of the splendor and majesty of God.

Trying to write about the greatness of God is indeed a daunting task. It’s like trying to describe the magnificence of the Universe through our myopic view. However, we must not shy away from such a grandiose assignment, as the greatness of God needs to be magnified and shared with other believers.

The greatness of God is definitely awe inspiring, and we can appreciate God’s greatness through the works of his hands. They are visible to the human eye, and even though most people will never see a lot of this spectacular beauty in real time, we can put on our television or computers and enjoy the splendor of God as seen and recorded by more adventurous men and women.

Several years ago, the Discovery Channel released a DVD titled” Planet Earth”. It had several videos on different aspects of the Planet, like Deserts, Jungles, Mountains, Deep oceans, Shallow seas, Great Plains, Fresh waters, Forests, Caves, Pole to Pole, Ice Worlds and a projection of what the Earth will look like in future. Through recorded works like these, we can experience the works of God as a Master Creator.

The Almighty God is the Greatest Artist in Creation. There, you will see and appreciate the beautiful hues of the different colors. You will see the beautiful pink colors of a thousand flamingoes, as they gather at watering holes at sunset. You can see millions of different types of fishes teeming in the oceans and the seas. You can see the beautiful land animals, like the Lion, king of the Jungle, the Elephant, majestic in nature, the Giraffes, tall creatures with incredibly long necks. You can see the Zebras, with their beautiful stripes markings. For both Giraffes and Zebras, no two have the same patterns. Despite the fact that there are thousands of these creatures, each has its own unique markings. This is similar to the fingerprints of human beings. Over 6 Billion human beings live on Earth, yet, no two fingerprints are the same! When you think of how thoughtful God is in creation, you just cannot but exclaim in awesome wonder:

“How Great Thou Art!”

The Mountains are another work of God that fascinates man. They are so tall and majestic, not one is the same as the other. What of Volcanoes that sometimes lie dormant for years and suddenly explode in one day, spewing lava, ash and smoke and destroying everything in the path of molten lava? The Polar Regions of the world are “nature’s freezers”, with Polar bears and other creatures that God has placed in these remote locations.

What about the Deserts? These extremely hot places on earth are not very friendly to human beings, yet, God has placed different creatures to live there, and they have learned to adapt to the harsh climate of the desert. When rain falls in the desert, sometimes after many years, the dry land is transformed into a blooming Garden of Eden!

Rainforest are rich in flora and fauna. The Amazon rainforest remains an enigma, yet it is one of the many forests that God has created for the enjoyment of Man. There are several thousands of different species of plants and animals, and God made them all!

What of the Oceans? It is teeming with so many creatures. Whales are so huge that Man seems very small when he stands beside one of these. What of the Sun, the Moon and the Stars? They all declare the glory of God each day (Psalm 19:1).

Who knows what lies in Outer Space?

Finally, what of God’s special creation?

Man was formed in the image of God and He gave us dominion over all the works of his hand. The Psalmist confirms this in Psalm 8:

“Lord, our ruler,

Your name is famous all over the world.

The sky above shows how great you are.

2 You have taught children and babies to praise you.

You do that to show your enemies how strong you are.

Anyone who turns against you has to be quiet.

Your cruel enemies can do nothing!

3 You made the skies with your own hands.

When I look up, I see the moon and the stars.

You have put them all in their right place.