After being published in a local newspaper, an unknown Swede
put “O Store Gud” to the tune of a Swedish folk song, whose name has
also been lost to history. In the late 1800s several versions were published,
but it wasn’t until the early 1900s that “O Store Gud,” which translates
literally to “O Mighty God,” hopped the Swedish border.
In the first decade of the 20th century the song was
translated into German. A handful of years later a Russian version appeared.
The first English language version wouldn’t be penned until 1925. But this
English iteration, translated by the Swedish-American, E. Gustav Johnson, is a
far cry from the song we know today. It took another quarter century, a British
missionary, and a new translation before the song developed into its now
recognizable form.
In the early 1930s, Stuart K. Hine, an English missionary,
first heard the Russian version of “O Store Gud” while in the Ukraine.
For years he and his wife sang the song with locals before he finally sat down
and translated it into English. Translation is of course more art than science,
and Hine took some liberties, most particularly with the title, which in 1949
he rechristened “How Great Thou Art.”
Hine published his English translation alongside the Russian
version in Grace and Peace, a magazine that he published and was
circulated to missionaries in over 15 countries. The story of “How Great
Thou Art” might have ended here, in relative obscurity, were it not for a
British-American theologian traveling to India, a singing cowboy, and a popular
American evangelist on a self-described crusade.
When J. Edwin Orr, a British-American theologian and
evangelist, travelled to India in 1954, music was the farthest thing from his
mind. He was there to preach. But while there he heard an English version of “How
Great Thou Art” sung by a Naga choir from the state of Assam in
north-eastern India. He was so impressed by the song he brought it back to
America and had it performed at a conference for college students where he was
speaking.
In attendance at that fateful conference were the children
of Tim Spencer, a singing cowboy and actor, who had found fame singing in the Sons
of the Pioneers alongside Bob Nolan and Roy Rogers. At that time, Spencer
owned Mana Music, Inc, a publisher of Christian music. He quickly
arranged to buy the rights to the song and then did what all good publishers
do—he started pushing the song.
As late as 1954, “How Great Thou Art” remained all
but unknown in the U.S., but with Mana Music’s backing the song
eventually landed in the hands of George Beverly Shea, famed soloist in Billy
Graham’s travelling crusade. Graham reportedly loved the song and quickly made
it his evangelical crusade’s signature song. Given Graham’s reach, Shea all but
introduced the song to the nation. He sang it live on radio, before stadiums
filled with thousands of people—and during nationally televised events like the
1957 Madison Square Garden Crusade, which ran for 16 weeks and was
viewed by an estimated 96 million people.
People began to hear it who had never heard it before and
began to request the song. It soon spread across the country and world and
became a favorite hymn of the church.
Carl Gustav Boberg, 1859-1940, was a Swedish poet, preacher,
government official and member of parliament. He was born in Monsteras,
Smaland, Sweden. Boberg was the son of carpenter, Nils Petter Jonsson Boberg and
Hedvig Gustava Jonsdotter. The religious revival movements of the time
strongly affected him as a young man. He worked briefly as a sailor and
served as a lay minister in the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden.
E. Gustav Johnson, 1893-1974, emigrated to America with his
family when he was 10 years old, settling in Hartford, Connecticut. He learned
the craft of a printer, but at age 30 took up studies at North Park, Chicago,
Illnois, where he earned degrees at the academy college, and seminary. He went
on to graduate from the University of Chicago and Duke University. He made the
first literal English translation of “O Store Gud.”
Plymouth Brethen missionary, Stuart Wesley Keene Hine,
1899-1989, was dedicated to Jesus Christ in The Salvation Army by his parents.
Hine was influenced greatly by the teachings of British Baptist evangelist
Charles Spurgeon. Hine and his wife, Mercy, learned the Russian translation,
and started using it in their evangelistic services. Hine also started
re-writing some of the verses and writing new verses as events inspired him.
James Edwin Orr, 1912-1987, born in Ireland
(present-day Northern Ireland), of American-British parentage. He was one of
the five children of William Stewart Orr and Rose Orr (nee Wright). He studied
at the College of Technology, Belfast. Orr was influential in Campus
Crusade for Christ from its founding in 1951. Orr became a professor at the
School of World Missions, in Fuller Theological Seminary, California. He
remained a professor there until 1981, and was a professor emeritus thereafter.
Of him Billy Graham wrote, "Dr. J. Edwin Orr, in my opinion, is
one of the greatest authorities on the history of religious revivals in the
Protestant world."
Godsbless.ing: This verse speaks to the Christian belief of life after death and the hope of being reunited with God in heaven. The apostle Paul expresses his confidence in the promise of eternal life and his desire to be with the Lord. This verse highlights the Christian belief that our true home is not in this earthly body but in the presence of God . . . As Paul continues to share about the eternal home that awaits believers in Christ, a sense of peace and joy fills the hearts of those present. The words resonate deeply with them, reminding them of the temporary nature of this world and the promise of a glorious future in the presence of the Lord. The scene captures a profound sense of unity and faith as the group finds comfort and encouragement in the truth of God’s Word.
Refrain
How astonishing that this song, recorded over 1,800 times in
the last 50 years, had its origins as a poem in a small town in Sweden, written
by a sailor turned lay-minister, and somehow wound its way around the globe. Carl
Boberg would never know the influence of his poem.
Psalm 145:2-3: “Every day I will praise you and
extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and
most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.”
Take time to think once again about the unfathomable
greatness of God and His wonderful redeeming love for each of us and let your
soul sing: How Great Thou Art!
