Stuart K. Hine: ‘How Great Thou Art’

Sometime about 1977, when this chaplain was still in the U.S. Army Chaplaincy and was stationed in Michigan, my wife and I attended an evening church service in Detroit.

It was during that evening service that a gentleman by the name of Stuart K. Hine was introduced to the congregation as a former English missionary to the Ukraine, then a republic within the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), who translated into English the majestic hymn “How Great Thou Art.”

Hine walked to the center of the platform and sang to the glory of God and majestic  hymn of faith.

The original poem was written by a 26-year-old Swedish pastor named Carl Boberg (1859-1940), who in 1886, found himself caught outside in a violent thunderstorm. 

He took refuge under a tree until the storm passed by.

Then, as he observed the bright sunshine, the beauty of the earth, and the singing of the birds, he fells on his knees in adoration and penned the poem that was first named “O Store Gud” (“O Mighty God”).

An existing Swedish folk song became the melody for his poem, and a wonderful hymn was born.

The hymn was translated into German, then into Russian, and then into English by Hine and his wife who were serving as English missionaries in Russia at that time.

He expanded and modified the poem, wrote a fourth verse in 1948, and made his own arrangement of the original Swedish folk melody.

In 1954, during a Billy Graham Evangelistic Crusade in England, this poem with music was handed to the beloved evangelistic singer George Beverly Shea, who showed it to the evangelistic team.

In 1955, during the evangelistic crusade in Toronto, Canada, “How Great Thou Art” was sung by Bev Shea and thus introduced to multitudes on this side of the Atlantic.

In the New York crusade in 1957, he sang this magnificent hymn 99 times!

It became then, and remains so today, a favorite song of faith throughout all of Christendom.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee,

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

“Thank You, Lord, for inspiring men and women to write the words and music to songs and hymns of faith, all of which warms our hearts whenever we hear them or sing them. Thank You for the gift of music … especially the music of faith. God, You are always, always worthy to be praised. Amen.”

Peace!