O Lord My God, When I in Awesome Wonder
Consider all the world's Thy Hands Have Made..."

These are the opening words of "How Great Thou Art," the wonderful hymn
that is heard on most Sundays in many churches around the world. I
know that Elvis Presley recorded several albums of religious songs, one
of which was titled "How Great Thou Art." From its title track to its
hit "Crying In The Chapel," it's a gem of inspiration for all.
This song is based on an old Swedish melody called "O Stode God," which
was composed by Carl Boberg, a musician and composer of great talent in
his native Sweden. It was translated into English by Stuart K. Hine in
1899, and it has been a stalwart in church music circles ever since.
The singer reflects on how God's power has made the universe,
completely displayed in all of nature-the forests, the sky, rolling
thunder, the chanting birds...
But when he reflects on the wonder of Jesus's dying and rising again,
he "can scare take it in," for that is the wonder of the hymn itself.
Especially when he looks forward to seeing Christ himself in Heaven and
proclaim his greatness through all eternity. And of course, its
refrain which is repeated twice confirms the beauty and majesty of
Jesus's power throughout the universe we live in.
"Then Sings my Soul, My Savior God to Thee,
How Greeat Thou Art! How Great Thou Art!"

Information on this poem was gathered from a How Great Thou Art page on
Tripod. It can be found at this address:
http://members.tripod.com/~rosemck/hgta.htm

Well, Holy Week is coming up this week, so I'll be focusing on some
music for this special occasion in my next email. The first of these
will be "Pange Lingua," the glorious hymn sung at the Eucharistic
Processions on Holy Thursday & the Corpus Christi feast.