(Bold words are included in the vocal version)
1. O store Gud, när jag den verld beskådar
Som du har skapat med ditt allmaktsord,
Hur der din visdom leder lifvets trådar,
Och alla väsen mättas vid ditt bord;
Refrain:
|: Då brister själen ut i lofsångsljud:
O store Gud! O store Gud! :|
2. När jag betraktar himlens höga under,
Der gyllne verldsskepp plöja etern blå,
Och sol och måne mäta tidens stunder
Och vexla om, som tvänne klockor gå;
Refrain:
3. När jag hör åskans röst i stormen brusa
Och blixtens klingor springa fram ur skyn,
När regnets kalla, friska vindar susa
Och löftets båge glänser för min syn;
Refrain:
4. När sommarvindar susa öfver fälten,
När blommor dofta omkring källans strand,
När trastar drilla i de gröna tälten
Ur furuskogens tysta, dunkla rand;
Refrain:
5. När jag i bibeln skådar alla under,
Som Herren gjort sen förste Adams tid,
Hur nådefull han varit alla stunder
Och hjälpt sitt folk ur lifvets synd och strid;
Refrain:
6. När jag hör dårar i sin dårskaps dimma
Förneka Gud och håna hvad han sagt,
Men ser likväl, att de hans hjälp förnimma
Och uppehållas af hans nåd och makt;
Refrain:
7. Och när jag ser hans bild till jorden sväfva
Och göra väl och hjälpa öfverallt,
När jag ser satan fly och döden bäfva
För Herren i förklarad korsgestalt:
Refrain:
8. När tryckt af syndens skuld jag faller neder
Vid nådens tron och ber om nåd och frid
Och han min sjä på rätta vägen leder
Och frälsar mig från all min synd och strid;
Refrain:
9. När slutligt alla tidens höljen falla,
Och i åskådning byter sig min tro,
Och evighetens klara klockor kalla
Min frälsta ande till dess sabbatsro;
Refrain:
English
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 through-out the universe displayed.
Refrain:
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!
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:
Refrain:
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:
Refrain:
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!
Refrain:
My father, Oliver Nasman, a proud first generation Swedish American, enjoyed this song a great deal. He was fond of pointing out to anyone within hearing that How Great Thou Art was originally Swedish. I never knew the details until I started doing a little Internet research. Using the Internet makes it pretty easy to discover that Oliver was correct in his claim. How Great Thou Art indeed began it’s journey in Sweden, and has traveled around the World, becoming one of the most popular hymns ever! Here is one version of the story, and the surprising travels, of this song.
This is a fine twentieth century hymn of praise that has become a favorite with God's people during the last three decades. Its popularity is due in large part to its wide use by favorite gospel singers, notable George Beverly Shea. Although introduced to American audiences when Mr. James Caldwell sang "How Great Thou Art" at Stony Brook Bible Conference on Long Island in 1951, it was not until Cliff Barrows and Bev Shea of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Team used it during the famed London Crusade in Harringay Arena that "How Great Thou Art" started to become universally well-known.
The original Swedish text was a poem entitled "O Store Gud," written by a Swedish pastor, the Reverend Carl Boberg, in 1886. In addition to being one of the leading evangelical preachers of his day, Boberg was also the successful editor of the periodical Sanningsvittnet. His inspiration for this text is said to have come from a visit to a beautiful country estate on the southeast coast of Sweden. He was suddenly caught in a midday thunderstorm with awe-inspiring moments of flashing violence, followed by a clear brilliant sun. Soon afterwards he heard the calm, sweet songs of the birds in nearby trees. The experience prompted the pastor to fall to his knees in humble adoration of his mighty God. He penned his exaltation in a nine-stanza poem beginning with the Swedish words "O Store Gud, nar jag den varld beskader."
Several years later Boberg was attending a meeting in the Province of Varmland and was surprised to hear the congregation sing his poem to the tune of an old Swedish melody.
The subsequent history of this hymn is most interesting. It is thought that soon after Boberg's version, the text was translated into German by Manfred von Glehn and entitled "Wie gross bist Du." Later in 1925 the Reverend E. Gustav Johnson of North Park College, Chicago, Illinois, made the first literal English translation from the Swedish text. This translation is quite different from the text that we know today but may still be found in some hymnals. Johnson's literal translation of the Swedish text is entitled "O Mighty God, When I Behold the Wonder." In 1927 I. S. Prokhanoff came upon the German version and translated it into the Russian language.
In 1933 the Reverend S. K. Hine and his wife, English missionaries, were ministering to the people of the Ukraine. It was there they learned the Russian translation of "O Store Gud" from a congregation of Ukrainians. They remember singing it as a duet in dark, unevangelized places and the telling effect it had on the unsaved. The thought of writing original English lyrics to this song did not then occur to them -- that was to await their crossing into Sub-Carpathian Russia, where the mountain scenery was to play its part. The thoughts of the first three verses in English were born, line upon line, amid unforgettable experiences in the Carpathian mountains. (The fourth verse was written later in England.) Thus, inspired partially by the Russian words, partially by the awesome wonder at the sight of "all the works thy hand hath made," the thoughts of the first two verses sprang into life in English. As Reverend Hine and his wife continued their evangelizing in the Carpathian mountains and distribution of gospels in village after village, verse three came into being.
When war broke out in 1939, it was necessary for Reverent Hine and his wife to return to Britain; now armed with these three verses, the writer continued his gospel campaigns during the "Blitz years." The fourth verse did not come until after the war.
The tune for this hymn is an arrangement made of an old Swedish folk melody. It is typically characteristic of many other tunes, i.e., "Day by Day" with its lilting, warm, singable simplicity. With his original English lyrics and his arrangement of the Swedish folk melody, Mr. Stuart K. Hine published what we know today as the hymn "How Great Thou Art." Assignments of copyrights and publication rights to an American publishing firm in 1954 helped spread the popularity of this hymn. In April of 1974 the Christian Herald magazine, in a pole presented to its readers, named "How Great Thou Art" the No. 1 hymn in America.
Here are some of the traces this song has left as it has traveled around the world.
German
1. Du großer Gott,
Wenn ich die Welt betrachte,
Die du geschaffen
Durch dein Allmachtswort,
Wenn ich auf alle
Jene Wesen achte,
Die du regierst
Und nährest fort und fort.
Refrain:
|: Dann jauchzt mein Herz
Dir, großer Herrscher, zu:
Wie groß bist du,
Wie groß bist du! :|
2. Blick ich empor
Zu jenen lichten Welten
Und seh der Sterne
Unzählbare Schar,
Wie Sonn und Mond
Im lichten Äther zelten,
Gleich gold'nen Schiffen
Hehr und wunderbar.
Refrain:
Wenn mir der Herr
In seinem Wort begegnet,
Wenn ich die großen
Gnadentaten seh,
Wie er das Volk
Des Eigentums gesegnet,
Wie ers geliebt,
Begnadigt je und je:
Refrain:
Und seh ich Jesum
Auf der Erde wandeln
In Knechtsgestalt
Voll Lieb und großer Huld,
Wenn ich im Geiste
Seh sein göttlich Handeln,
Am Kreuz bezahlen
Vieler Sünder Schuld.
Refrain:
8. Wenn schwerer Bürden
Last mich niederbeuget,
Wenn meine Seel
Betrübt ist bis zum Tod,
Und er in Lieb
Und Huld sich zu mir neiget,
Mich tröstet und
Errettet aus der Not.
Refrain:
Und wenn der Herr
Von hinnen mich gerufen,
Wenn ich von seinem
Glanz geblendet steh',
Anbetend niederfall
Zu seinen Stufen,
Den König dort
In seiner Schöne seh':
Refrain:
Japanese
Kagayaku hi wo aogu toki,
Tsuki hoshi nagamuru toki,
Ikazuchi nari-wataru toki,
Makoto no Mikami wo omo.
Chorus:
Waga tama, iza tataeyo!
Sei-naru Mikami wo,
Waga tama, iza tataeyo!
Sei-naru Mikami wo.
Mori nite tori no ne wo kiki,
Sobiyuru yama ni nobori,
Tani-ma no kiyoki nagare ni,
Makoto no Mikami wo omo.
Chorus:
Mikami wa yo-bito wo ai-shi,
Hitori no Miko wo kudashi,
Yobito no sukui no tame ni,
Jujika ni kake-tamaeri.
Chorus:
Ame-tsuchi tsukurishi Kami wa,
Hito wo mo, tsukuri-kaete,
Tadashiku kiyoki tamashii,
Motsu mi to narashime-tamo.
Chorus:
Ma mo naku Shu Yesu wa kitari,
Warera wo mukae-tamawan,
Ikanaru yorokobi no hi zo,
Ikanaru sakae no hi zo?
Chorus:
Musik från Sibirien
Vjelíkij Boch! Kagdá na mir smatrjú ja,
Na fsjo shto Ty sazdál rukój Tvartsá.
Na fsjech sushéstf, kavó svoj svjet darúja,
Pitájesh Ty, ljubóviju Atsá.
Tagdá pajót moj duch, Gaspót, tjibjé:
Kak Ty vjelík, kak Ty vjelík!
Tagdá pajót moj duch, Gaspót, tjibjé:
Kak Ty vjelík, kak Ty vjelík!
Kagdá smatrjú ja k njébu, k zvjózdam mlétshnym,
Gdje dívna svjétlyje mirý tjikút.
Gdje sólntse i luná v efírje vjétshnam
Kak v okeánje karablí plyvút.
Tagdá pajót moj duch, Gaspót, tjibjé:
Kak Ty vjelík, kak Ty vjelík!
Tagdá pajót moj duch, Gaspót, tjibjé:
Kak Ty vjelík, kak Ty vjelík!
Kagdá vjisnój priróda rastsvjetájet
I slýshu v dálnje róshe salavjá.
I aramát dalíny grut vdychájet,
I sluch laskájet zvónkij shum rutshá.
Tagdá pajót moj duch, Gaspót, tjibjé:
Kak Ty vjelík, kak Ty vjelík!
Tagdá pajót moj duch, Gaspót, tjibjé:
Kak Ty vjelík, kak Ty vjelík!
Hawaiian
E ke Akua nani kamaha'o
Nau no i hana ka honua nei
Me na hoku, ka ui'la ke hekili
Hoike ana i Kou mana e
Refrain:
E mele au I ka Ho'ola e,
He nani no, He nani no
E mele au I ka Ho'ola e
He nani no, He nani no
Ua ana Oe i ka waonahele,
A me na manu o ka lewa pu;
Na kahawai, na mauna ki'eki'e
Hoike ana i Kou nani e
Ua make no ke Keiki hiwahiwa,
No ko ke ao nei hewa no apau
Ua ala hou Oia mai ka make
I kalahala no kakou apau
Ke kulou ha'aha'a nei makou,
Imua Ou, e ka Ho'ola e,
A ho'onani aku ia Oe,
E ke Ali'i nani o ke ao
One thing I have not been able to find is a copy of the original 1925 English
translation by Reverend E. Gustav Johnson of North Park College, Chicago,
Illinois. If anyone comes across it, I would appreciate a copy. [LON]
More sacred songs and their history can be found in Stories Behind the Music (with a CD of the songs recorded by Len). It is available through the author: <len@lenshamn.com>
