I sing the mighty power of God, that made the mountains rise,
That spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at God’s command, and all the stars obey.
I sing the goodness of the Lord, who filled the earth with food,
Who formed the creatures through the Word, and then pronounced them good.
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye,
If I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky.
There’s not a plant or flower below, but makes Thy glories known,
And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne;
While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care;
And everywhere that we can be, Thou, God art present there.
Words by Isaac Watts, 1715
Music by Anonymous, ca. 1784
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.”
Genesis 1:31
A couple of my favorite activities are camping and hiking. Among the reasons is that I love the outdoors. I love to see the scenery. I love to get away from the business of daily life and spend time out in nature, even if only for a couple of days.
This change of pace and being surrounded by nature has another benefit as well. I begin to fully appreciate God’s creation. While, yes, I can consider creation in other settings, there is something about taking the time away from everything else and loosing all the distractions that allows me to fully consider Genesis 1.
It is at these times that the words of Issac Watts hymn, “I Sing The Mighty Power Of God” gain some of their fullest meaning. The concept of God as the creator of everything becomes more than simply an intellectual belief, it becomes tangible. And so I join my voice with so many who have come before declaring, “Lord, how thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye.
This is my Father’s world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas–
His hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father’s world:
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world:
He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.
This is my Father’s world:
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad!
Written by Maltbie D. Babcock, 1901
Music by Franklin L. Sheppard, 1915 (based on a traditional English tune)
“Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:19 – 20
This world can really seem messed up when we look around. Take a look at the evening news and you will see what I am talking about. It seems that most, if not all of the stories are about something going wrong. War, murder, crime, famine, disease and more. These are what we are so often presented with. Why should it then surprise us when people do not believe that there is any hope out there.
But when we take an honest look at the world around us, we can begin to see something different. We see majestic mountains. We see the beautiful colors of the fall foliage. We hear the sweet song of birds in the early morning hours.
As we look at the incredible existence of this world we are struck by the incredible balance of our world in the cosmos. A world that is kept in balance. It sits close enough to the sun to provide warmth for life, but it sits far enough away to not burn up. It contains all that is needed for life. The seasons flow from one to another without fail.
When we look a the inhabitants of this world, we may see the problems that are listed, but we also begin to see compassion for one another. With this deeper look, we begin to see not just the ugliness, but a beauty that comes from it’s creator.
This is the message found in “This is My Father’s World.” The world in it’s beauty and majesty stands forth as evidence that God is in control. As Paul wrote in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
Yes, at first look we seem to see the ugliness stand out as though it was the norm, but as Babcock writes, “O let me ne’er forget, that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.”
So I choose not to simply see the ugliness of the world, but to be moved with compassion for a world crying out for it’s creator. And so, I declare, “This is my Father’s world: why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! God reigns; let the earth be glad!”
Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.
Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He whose name is Counselor and Power;
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid; As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,
This the pledge to me He made.
Help me then, in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.
Written by Karolina Sandell-Berg, 1865
Music by Oskar Ahnfelt, 1872
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:33 – 34
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.
Psalm 68:19
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
2 Corinthians 4:16 – 17
I have had those moments when I wake up in the middle of the night, and it seems my mind kicks into overdrive. I begin thinking about all the things I have to do. I begin to think how am I going to get all of these things done. And I know I am not alone.
It seems all of us find ourselves caught up in worrying about what is to come. Whether it is everything we have to do, how we are going to make ends meet, or concern about friends and family. In each of these the worry about the problems seem to begin to dominate our lives. But the worry gets us no where.
Jesus told us in Matthew 6:34, to “not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Now I am certainly not one to start spouting platitudes like, “let go, let God.” Honestly, these drive me up a wall. I remember, a few years ago, when I was laid off that this is the kind of thing I would hear from people. Now, their intentions were good enough but frankly, it was the last thing I wanted to hear.
In my mind I knew that God was there and would take care of me, but I certain did not want people who appeared to have it all together telling me how things weren’t so bad.
But, after some serious prayer and thought I came to a realization. What I found was that it was not a case of letting go of the problem, it’s a case of holding onto God. I learned that first and foremost, it was a matter of turning things over to God. You see, It was placing my trust in God first that allowed me to move beyond the stress and anxiety of my situation. When I moved beyond this, it was then that I learned to let go. This is the message of “Day by Day.”
The fact is that we will face worry and stress. We will face troubles that will come our way. But God is there for us. He knows what we need and waits only for us to turn to Him, that we might find the peace that is only available through Him.
So I find truth and solace in the words of Karolina Sandell-Berg when she writes, “Every day, the Lord Himself is near me with a special mercy for each hour.”
O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home:
Under the shadow of thy throne, thy saints have dwelt secure; sufficient is thine arm alone, and our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood, or earth received her frame, from everlasting thou art God, to endless years the same.
A thousand ages in thy sight are like an evening gone; short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun.
Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away; they fly, forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.
O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, be thou our guide while troubles last, and our eternal home!
Words by Isaac Watts, 1719 Music by William Croft, 1708
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 11:18-19
Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors? Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. Joel 1:2-3
But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, Psalm 103:17
It seems that many Christians and many churches today seem to think they live in a vacuum. We come together and sing our contemporary songs about what Jesus has done for me and how I feel about Him (I am not criticizing contemporary music simply making an observation). We look at what does the Bible say to me in my situation. But we fail to realize an important truth. We are not the first generation of believers.
Now this may seem obvious to us, but stop and think about it. For two-thousand years, Christians have worshiped God and followed Christ. We can then stretch beyond this to thousands of years before as the nation of Israel worshiped God.
Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, Paul, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, Billy Graham and the list can go on. Generation after generation of those who had turned to God. A God who saw them through times of struggle and remained a constant hope.
So, when we forget those who have come before, what happens when we find ourselves facing problems. Many times we feel that we are alone and do not know where to turn. It is especially at these times, that it becomes important that we remember. Remember that the world did not start with our earliest memories. Remember that the God we can turn to is the the God that has been worshiped for years before. The God who is “from everlasting to everlasting.”(Psalm 103:17)
This is the essence of the message of Isaac Watts’ famous paraphrase of Psalm 90, “O God, Our Help In Ages Past.”
You see nothing that we face is new. As Solomon wrote, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) And, if there is indeed nothing new, than God, with whom there is “no shifting shadow” (James 1:17) can be our one true source of hope. For He was before all. When compared with God, “a thousand ages” are as “an evening gone.”
So when troubles come, the words of Isaac Watts ring true. “O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, be thou our guide while troubles last, and our eternal home! ”
Children of the heav’nly Father
Safely in His bosom gather;
Nestling bird nor star in Heaven
Such a refuge e’er was given.
God His own doth tend and nourish;
In His holy courts they flourish;
From all evil things He spares them;
In His mighty arms He bears them.
Neither life nor death shall ever
From the Lord His children sever;
Unto them His grace He showeth,
And their sorrows all He knoweth.
Though He giveth or He taketh,
God His children ne’er forsaketh;
His the loving purpose solely
To preserve them pure and holy.
Words by Karolina W. Sandell-Berg Music: Traditional Swedish Melody
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:9 – 11
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! I John 3:1
We have all been raised with lullabies. Those comforting melodies that we use to put children to sleep, to drive away bad dreams and to let them know they are loved. That in many ways is what we have in “Children of the Heavenly Father.”
Now in the interest of full disclosure, I come from a strong Swedish heritage, and take great pride in it. And this beloved Swedish hymn is tied to that heritage.
A few years ago, I had the privilege to sing this hymn at my Grandfathers funeral, and in true Swedish tradition, I sang it in the original language. Now in all honesty, I don’t speak Swedish. But that did not take away from the beauty of this traditional Swedish melody. When I combine this beautiful relaxing melody, with the meaningful words (in English of course) I begin to see the real beauty of this piece.
You see, one of the real keys to a powerful piece of music is that the music and the words each, individually, communicate the same message. That is the case with “Children of the Heavenly Father.”
As I said, the melody has the rolling feel of a lullaby seeking to sooth a scared child. In this case, we are those scared children, and we need to be reminded that our peace can be found in our Heavenly Father. As we look at the words we see this message revealed.
We see a Heavenly Father who watches over and protects us. We see a Heavenly Father who provides all that His children need. We see a Heavenly Father who can not be separated from His children and knows all they face.
And so I peacefully come to rest in the final words of this hymn, “His loving purpose solely, to preserve them pure and holy.”
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.
Refrain
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Refrain
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Refrain
Words by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923Music by William M. Runyun, 1923
Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers And is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently
For the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:19 – 26
It is said that the one constant in the world is change. We grow, we move, people come into our lives, people leave, jobs come and jobs go, nothing remains the same. It has been this way for time in memorial, but lately it seems as though things have gotten even worse. With the fast pace speed of society and the disconnect that have grown between people with the advancement of technology, we often feel alone. We are unsure of where to turn and we desperately search for something to hold onto.
Well there is something, … someone, that we can hold onto. In Deuteronomy 31:6 Moses tells the people of Israel, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” The writer of Hebrews repeats this point in chapter13 verse 5 where we read, “because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
You see in a constantly changing world God is there. He will always show himself faithful. And should we begin to doubt the faithfulness of God, we need only look around us. The evidence is everywhere. As Chisholm writes, “Summer and winter and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon and stars in their courses above Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.”
Yes the seasons changes, but there is an order to everything. Night follows day and day follows night. Spring follows winter, summer follows spring, fall follows summer, winter follows fall, and it starts over again. Yes, in an ever changing world, God remains faithful.
So, if God is faithful, then we can trust in his word. We know that his promise in 1 John 1:9, “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sin and purify us from all unrighteousness.” can be trusted. We can believe Jesus in John 14:1 – 3 when he states “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
And so the words of this hymn ring within my heart:
“Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.
Words and Music by Martin Luther, 1529
“‘I love You, O Lord, my strength.’
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.”
Psalm 18:1 – 3
You know there are days when everything seems to go perfect and it seems nothing can go wrong. Then there are the others. Those days when it seems that nothing is going right. Those days when it seems the whole world is set against you. This is where David found himself just prior to 2 Samuel 22, in danger from enemies and pursued by Saul. It is here that he utters the words found in Psalm 18, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.”
Martin Luther, the author of “A Might Fortress”, as well found himself hunted and persecuted by the leadership of the church, but God delivered him. It is here that Luther writes the words to one of the most powerful hymns of all time.
A Mighty Fortress lays out, from beginning to end a clear portrayal of God’s ultimate victory over Satan and how no matter what struggles and threats we may feel, God is our refuge and strength to face whatever may come.
What I find really interesting, however, is how Luther chooses to end this hymn. “Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; The body they may kill.”
A hymn that starts with the phrase, “A might fortress is our God” comes to a conclusion not that we will come safely through everything, but that we may lose everything (belongings, family and even life). How does this seem a victorious song? Because Luther ends with these words, “God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.”
God has not guaranteed that we will not suffer loss, simply that His truth and kingdom will last forever and there is nothing Satan can do to stand in the way. What is this truth? I think it is best summed up in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” It is because of this that we can declare with Luther, “We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us.”
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, thy great Name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life thou givest—to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish—but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render: O help us to see
’Tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.
Words by Walter C. Smith, 1876
Music by John Roberts, 1839
It seems that everyone these days wants to sing about the love of God, about how what he has done personally affects “me.” Now while there is nothing wrong with recognizing the love of God. After all , it is the love of God that led Him to send His son to save the world. What is more, it would be ridiculous to ignore how I have been personally effected by this great gift. But sometime, God simply needs to be worshiped for who He is.
This is the entire theme of Immortal, Invisible. It does not focus on Love as demonstrated through Christ. It does not focus on how God cares for us. It does not focus on our response to God’s reaching out to us. It plainly and simply worships God for who He is. In the verses of this song we find some 20 different attributes of and descriptive terms for God. Let’s take a walk through the hymn.
Immortal, invisible – These words draw us to 1 Timothy 1:17 where Paul writes, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
God only wise – Again we are drawn to the writings of Paul, but this time in Romans 16:27 where we read “to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.”
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes – Bringing us back to 1 Timothy we read in chapter 6, verse 16 that “He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable (inaccessible) light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.”
Most blessed – God is the most blessed and so in Psalm 103:1 we read “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
most glorious – We go on in 1 Corinthians 29:13 to read “Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.”
the Ancient of Days – The ancient of days, a term we find three times in the book of Daniel. Daniels 7:9-10 says “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
Almighty – A term we are all familiar with for God and the term he ascribes to himself in Genesis 17:1 where God declares, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.”
victorious – God is the ultimate victor which we find in 1 Corinthians 15:56 – 57 were we read “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
thy great Name we praise – It is in response to this in Psalm 148:13 that we read “Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.”
Unresting – God does not slumber, he is always present and watching over. Psalm 124:3 – 4 tells us, “He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.”
unhasting – God does not simply rush in but acts with deliberation in all that he does. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love. – God’s justice and love are immeasurable reaching to the highest points. Psalm 26:5 – 6 read “Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.”
To all life thou givest—to both great and small; In all life thou livest, the true life of all; – God is the only source of life. We find this declared in 1 Corinthians 8:6 where it says “yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.”
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree, And wither and perish—but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light– It is James who presents us with the image of God as the Father of lights. We read in chapter 1 verse 17 that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight – One of the greatest images of God’s holiness is found in Isaiah 6:1 – 3 were we read “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’”
All laud we would render – It is for this reason that God alone is worthy of praise and worship, so we join with David when he writes in Psalm 117, “Praise the Lord, all nations;Laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!”
O help us to see
’Tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.
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:
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!
Written by Carl Gustav Boberg, 1885
Music traditional Swedish melody
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.
Psalm 95:1-7
There are certain hymns that everyone knows, often whether you are a Christian or not. This is one of them. How Great Thou Art seems as though it has been around forever, but the reality this hymn, as we know it, has only been around for 60 years. While the original swedish poem was written in 1885, the english version we now know was published in 1954.
But it is the words of this song, set to a traditional swedish melody, that stir people’s hearts to make what is in many ways a relatively recent addition to hymnals one of everyone’s favorites.
It starts with words that set the stage. “Oh Lord my God.” These words say it all. To often today we get caught up in the mentality that Jesus is my buddy. While it is true that He is described as one who is closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), he is more. He is the almighty creator of the universe. We are not simply talking about our good, or even best, friend. We are talking about God. And so these words stir me every time I sing them, “Oh Lord My God.”
But this is again, just the beginning, for the next line opens the door for all that is to come, “when I in awesome wonder.” I am astounded by the size and majesty of the universe that He has created. I see His awesome power revealed in the powers of the storms. And the power and beauty of his creation is further developed in verse two.
In verse three I am moved from considering the awesomeness and beauty of his creation, to considering the unfathomable gift of forgiveness that He has given through Jesus. He sent His very son to die on the cross that I might be forgiven of my sins.
This is the truth that we to often forget. God is to be revered and worshiped above all. He is worthy of this worship both because of who He is and what He has done. It is before this God that we can not even stand, but in awe of His greatness we are driven to our knees in worship.
This is where we find ourselves in verse four. “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!”
And so, in a powerful voice, I declare with so many others, “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!
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Written by Robert Robinson, 1758
Music by John Wyeth, 1813
Of the many hymns I have known and sung over the years, this is one that routinely comes to mind. I will often find myself singing these words, sometimes without even knowing it.
But as I sing these words, it is the third stanza that makes me stop and think.
“O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.”
I have been a christian for as long a I can remember. I was raised in a Christian home. I attended church regularly. I accepted Christ as my personal savior when I was very young. I studied youth ministry in college and earned a Masters of Divinity degree. But that is in the past and means little to nothing when it comes to living my life now on a daily basis.
You see, when I rest in these events of the past, when I trust in my own strength I find myself doing exactly this. I find myself “prone to leave the God I love.” As Paul writes in Romans 7:19 “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” I am a Christian, how can this be the case?
I remember a few years ago when I was thinking about the phrase “there, but for the grace of God, go I” that it suddenly hit me what that meant. I, like all of us, am a sinful being and my nature is to seek after that. To seek those things that simply serve me, to seek after my own pleasure, and to not care about anyone else. Yes, left to my own devices, I fear to think where I would be.
But thanks be to God that I do not have to face this alone. For I can find strength in the words of Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” It is in Christ that I can find the strength to stand firm. It is because of this that I find the deepest meaning in the first part of this stanza:
“O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.”
My debt is to Christ and the grace of God. And , O how great a debt. A debt, I can not repay, but a debt I freely owe. It is not a debt that God lords over me. Rather, it is a debt he gives in love and so, it is this love that binds me to Him. It is because of this that I joyfully declare the last phrase of this stanza, “Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.”
So, “here I raise my ebenezer” (helper stone). A reference to a monument that stands as a reminder to God’s help. (I Samuel 7:12). And I stand fixed on the “mount of God’s redeeming love.”
You can read the full text of Robert Robinson’s poem by clicking “Come Thou Fount.”
Brian Olson - Christian Speaker, Bible Teacher and Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ 