Worship Through the Ages
Well, if you want to take your device or your Bible and go ahead and be ready to where we're going to go in a moment, turn to Psalm 8. Psalm 8. The notes are on the app, as always. And I need you to do me a favor. We have men and women who are incarcerated that are watching our services all over America on the Pando app.
Would you welcome them this morning? We want to welcome all of you. Amen.
Praise God. It was back in 1885. There was a guy by the name of Carl Boberg. He was a Swedish editor and a future politician. And he was walking home one day in the town of Monsteras.
It's a town in Sweden that's located on the southeast coast. And as he's walking along, this massive thunderstorm comes up. And, I mean, it had all of the elements of a classic thunderstorm. Lightning flashing in the sky and thunder booming in the heavens and torrential rain. So Carl Boberg ran for shelter, and he found a place that he could just kind of hide out until the storm passed.
And then once the storm passed, he made his way on home. And as he got home, he opened the windows, and the fresh bay air came in through the windows. And there was this vision, tranquility that greeted him, and it stirred something deep in his soul. And he sat down and he began writing, and he wrote a poem that he entitled O Stor Goode. That poem would later become a song.
In the early 1930s, there was an English missionary by the name of Stuart Heine, and he and his wife were in Ukraine, and they heard the Russian version of Ostorgut, and they sang that for years with the locals there. And then in 1949, Stuart Hein decided to translate it into English. And he took some liberties with the old poem that had become a song, Old Store Goode, particularly with the title, and he renamed it. And the name that Stuart Heine gave to it was How Great Thou Art. Now, even as late as 1954, that hymn that we just sang a moment ago was relatively unknown in the United States.
It fell into the hands of a guy by the name of George Beverly Shea, the soloist for a young evangelist who had sprung up in America by the name of Billy Graham. Billy Graham liked the song so much that he decided he would make it the signature song of the Billy Graham Crusades. And so George Beverly Shea, the soloist, sang that song on the radio live. And he sang it in Crusades, where there would be thousands of people in stadiums. And really, the moment that put it on the Map more than any other moment was in 1957, Billy Graham held a crusade in Madison Square Garden and it was broadcast network television across America.
And the Crusade went for 16 weeks. 96 million people that viewed that crusade and that heard that song, How Great Thou Art. It hit another realm of popularity in February of 1967 when a young singer by the name of Elvis Presley released a brand new album. It was a gospel album and he titled the gospel album How Great Thou Art. And it sold 3 million copies.
And then in 2014, this country singer, blonde headed country singer by the name of Carrie Underwood, released a version of How Great Thou Art. And if you've not seen it, I encourage you go on YouTube, but not right now, and watch Carrie Underwood's version of How Great Thou Art. It will stir your soul. So we're beginning this brand new series today for the next several weeks, where we're going to be examining some of the great hymns of the church. We're going to be studying the stories and the theology behind some of these.
And really what started this, I think, for me was back during Christmas time when I was talking about some of the great Christmas carols with some of my kids or grandkids, and they had never heard them before. And I realized what a shame it was that some of the greatest Christmas carols that we grew up on, singing that contained such rich theology in them that they never heard those. And then it made me wonder how many of the generation coming up behind us have never sung some of the old hymns that I grew up on. And I thought, man, what a tragedy that they would miss out on some of the rich and deep theology of some of these great hymns. So for the next several weeks, that's what we're going to be doing.
And today we're taking a look at this great hymn that really became so popular in the 50s and 60s in America, entitled How Great Thou Art. Psalm 8, Psalm 8. Would you stand to honor the word of God this morning as we read the first nine verses beginning in Psalm 8? Now listen, I know you got one hour less sleep last night, but I need you to fake it until you make it. I need you to act like you have downed about three monster energy drinks this morning.
Need you to help me Preach today. Psalm 8. The Psalmist writes, O Lord our God, your majestic name fills the earth. Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.
When I look at the night sky and see the Work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you set in place. What are mere mortals that you should think about them? Human beings that you should care for them. Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them charge of everything that you made, putting all things under their authority.
The flocks and the herds and the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea and everything that swims the ocean currents. O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth. Let's make some declarations before you're seated this morning. Even those watching online. You ready?
Go. I will hide this word in my heart that I might not sin against God. This word is life to my body.
I will be a doer of the word and not a hearer only. And I am confident of this will complete it. In Jesus name, amen. You can be seated. The greatness of God.
The greatness of God I want to examine first as we look at this great hymn. God's greatness is in creation. Verse 3 says, When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you set in place, what are mere mortals that you should think about them? Human beings that you should care for them? Most likely we've all had a moment when the beauty of creation has taken our breath away or caused us to be speechless.
Last year Melanie and I had the opportunity to go to Yellowstone national park and Glacier national park for the first time ever. And it was just moment after moment of breathtaking beauty that we beheld on that trip. I've seen the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. I been on a safari in the crater of an old volcano in Africa. I've gazed over the vastness and the beauty of the Grand Canyon.
I've stood atop snow covered mountains in Colorado and had my breath taken away by the majesty and the beauty of God speaking. And with a word, majesty became reality. I've had many people ask me what was some of the highlights of riding a bicycle all the way across America. And I have to say there were many. But I have to say one of the highlights was seeing the vast beauty and the variety of beauty of america pedaling across 10 states.
And I rode through the desert of California and through the mountains of Arizona and the rock formations of New Mexico and the plains of Texas and the great forest of northern Alabama and just so many other things with the rivers that I crossed and the oceans beginning with the Pacific and ending at the Atlantic. And there was so many moments as I was pedaling across America, that I just was in awe of the majesty and the power and the beauty of God's creation. To think of the creativity of a giraffe, the beauty of a peacock, the awkwardness of a sloth, the strength of an elephant, the fierceness of a lion and the grace of an eagle in flight, or the weaving of a spider's web. It has to make one ponder the greatness of God. Psalm 104, beginning in verse 5, says, you placed the world on its foundation so it would never be moved.
You clothed the earth with floods of water, water that covered even the mountains. At your command, the water fled. At the sound of your thunder, it hurried away. Mountains rose and valleys sank to the levels that you decreed. Then you set a firm boundary for the sea so they would never again cover the earth.
You make springs, pour water into the ravines, so streams gush down from the mountains and the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds nest beside the streams and sing among the branches of the trees. You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home, and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor. In verse 24 of that same psalm, the psalmist writes, o Lord, what a variety of things that you have made. In wisdom, you have made them all.
And the earth is full of your creatures. And perhaps the greatest of his creation, his masterpiece, mankind, you and I. How can you hold a newborn baby in your arms, not contemplate the greatness of who our God really is? The first verse of the hymn that we're examining today says, 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 and if you know it, sing it with me. Then sings my soul My savior God to thee Come on, Church.
How great thou art how great thou Then sings my soul My savior God to thee Come on, let it ring. How great thou art yeah, how great thou art the greatness of God in his creation, the majesty of God that's on full display around us every single day of our lives. And that's what Carl Boberg was talking about after that thunderstorm in 1885. When I see the rolling thunder, I hear the rolling thunder and the power that's displayed throughout the universe. He was marveling at the greatness of God.
Secondly, I want us to look at God's greatness and redemption because the song says this. And when I think that God, his son, not sparing, sent him to die, I scarce can take it in that on that cross my burden gladly bearing, he bled and died to take away my sin. Listen. While creation reflects God's power, redemption reflects his deep and great love for us. John 3:16.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that anybody who would believe in him would not perish, but have eternal life. Psalm 8, that we read a moment ago, verse 4 and 5. What are mere mortals that you should think about them? Human beings that you should care for them, yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. Listen.
While nature provides the ultimate display of God's greatness through creation. Listen to me, Church. The cross provides the ultimate display of God's greatness through redemption. Romans, chapter 5, verse 8. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this.
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The apostle Paul writes in Galatians, chapter 3, verse 13 and 14. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole or on a tree. He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
Come on. Are you thankful for the promise that comes, the redemption, the shed blood of Jesus, the finished work on the cross that causes us to. To go from darkness into light, that though our sins be as scarlet, that because of his work on the cross he's made us as white as snow? Can anybody just say Amen and thank God for that? Today when we think of Jesus in all of his holiness and purity, taking all of our pride, our sinfulness, our selfishness, our dishonesty, our lust, our addictions and our anger, and putting all of that upon himself, then being hung on a cross as the final sacrifice for our sins.
It should make us say, then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee. How great Thou art, how great Thou art. The greatness of God that we see in his redemption for us. And then lastly. And we're going to close in just a moment, but I want us to look at the God's greatness in his promised return.
Revelation chapter 21, verse 1. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven. And the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. And then I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, look, God's dwelling place is now among the people.
And he will dwell with them. They will be his people. And God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
Listen to me. God has promised that there will come a moment, there will come a day. There's going to be a sounding of a trumpet. There's going to come a moment where he's going to return for his bride. He's coming back for us.
It's not some fairy tale. It's not some mythology. It's the reality and the truth of who God is. And he said, there will come a moment that he will come back for us.
There will come a moment that he'll return and those who remain. He's going to snatch us from the earth. It's a promise from him. The song How Great Thou Art says, when Christ shall come with shout of acclamation and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart. And then I shall bow in humble adoration and then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art, My God, how great Thou art.
Heard somebody say that praise is what we'll do when we first step in through the gates of heaven. But worship is what we will do when we first see his face. And we'll fall, lift our voices with the angels who right now are circling around his throne, declaring his greatness for all of eternity, declaring, there is nobody like you, God. You're worthy. You're worthy.
Lord, there's coming a time when he takes us to that place that he's been preparing for us. And we'll join and blend our voices with Him.
Imagine a place, if you can, of no pain, of no blindness, of no paralysis, of no traumatic brain disorders, of no diabetes, of no cancer, of no arthritis, of no kidney disease, of no aging, of no heart disease. Imagine a place of no migraines. Imagine a place with no depression, no sleep disorders, no shame, no addiction, no abuse, no sadness, no fear, no worry, no doubt, no anxiety and no selfishness. One day, and I believe it will be soon, we'll step into glory. We'll hear those angels worshiping.
We'll see the brilliance beaming from his eyes. We'll hear the roar of his voice, and we'll fall on our faces and say, oh, my God, how great Thou art.
Going to ask you just to stand to your feet.
We're going to sing Together. We're going to worship together. And here's what I want you to do this morning. The message I intentionally made a little shorter so we could just have a moment of gazing on the awesomeness and the beauty of who he is. We could have a moment that we remind ourselves there's nobody like him, there's nobody worthy of our worship.
That so many times we come in, we sing, we go out and really. We don't take the time to really gaze on who he is or to think and ponder the majesty and the power, the supremacy, the awesomeness of who our God is. I think contained in this old hymn that came from Sweden all the way to the shores of America. Contained in that hymn are reminders of the greatness of God in creation, of the greatness of God in redemption. Come on.
Are you thankful for what he did on the cross? For you, the greatness of God and His promise. This is just a temporary home for us. He's prepared a place for us. He's going to take us home to be with him forever and forever.
Can you take a moment today, remind yourself how great he's been in your life. The time that he healed your body. The time that he saved a family member. The time that he set you free from addiction. The time that he provided when you had no more money and you had a stack of bills and you didn't know how you were going to feed your.
And God stepped in and provided and he flexed his arm and showed his greatness in your life. Can you just begin to lift your hands and just before we even sing, just lift your voices and begin to declare, my God, how great you are. My God, thank you for sending your son Jesus to die for me. God, thank you for redeeming me. Thank you, God, that even while I was still an addict, you sent Jesus to die for me.
When I was still hooked on pornography, you sent Jesus to die for me. Thank you, God, that when I was worthless, you saw great value in me.
Come on, he deserves your worship. Right now, he deserves your worship.
Come on, church, just lift your voice.
Come on. I talked a few weeks ago about loving him. Well, through our worship. It's not just some Sunday thing that we do. It's the breath that he's put in our lungs being returned to him in adoration, saying, oh, God, we can't even breathe without you.
You're worthy. Then sings my soul, My Savior, God, to thee. Come on, church, lift your voice and let's just sing this great hymn together. Ponder the greatness of God, my savior God to thee how great Thou art.
How great Thou art Then sing Sings my soul My savior God to thee how great Thou art.
How great Thou art.
Thank you. Thank you. Lord.
O lord, my God.
When I in awesome wonder Come see.
The worlds Thy hands have made.
I see the stars I hear the rolling thunder Thy power throughout the universe display Then sings my soul My savior God to thee how great thou.
How great Thou art Then sings my song My savior God to thee how great Thou art.
How great Thou art.
Went through the wood.
And for Escalades I won't and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees When I look down When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze Then sings my soul My savior God to thee how great Thou art how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul My saviour God to thee how great Thou art.
How great Thou art.
And when I I think that God his Son not sparing Sent him to die I scarce can take it in that on the cross that on the cross.
My burden gladly buried he bled and died to take away my sin thank you, Lord Then sings my soul My Savior your God to thee how great Thou art.
How great you are.
Then sings my soul My soul cries out My Savior God to thee how great Thou art.
How great Thou art.
How great you are how great you are When Christ shall come with shout with shout of acclamation and take me home Such joy shall fill my heart and I shall bow in humble adoration and then proclaim My God how great Thou art.
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 the how great thou.
How great Thou.