Common Ground Song 53 ‘How great Thou Art’
Words / Music arrangement: Stuart K Hine © Kingsway’s Thankyou Music
YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdE_NKyY_o0
Featured image: ‘Cumbria Hills’ © estate of Linda Craven
Where do I start? This is probably one of the best known of Christian hymns, certainly among the best known of the 150 in the Common Ground book. It was also one of Linda’s favourite hymns, which is why, when setting out a schedule for the year, I allocated it to 12th September. September, as the season of creation; the 12th, as we were married on the 12th April and always marked our ‘monthiversary’ on the 12th of every month in some small way. Today would have been our 281st.
The first verse sets out to give an impression of the vastness and awe of God’s creation. The incalculable quantity and distance of the stars, and the power of thunder (thought by many of our ancestors to be the voice of God). That alone gives rise to praise for the being who can create such vastness.
The second verse drills down into the detail: woods, forest glades, birds, mountains and brooks. The ecosystem of Northern Europe. The original words of this hymn were either in Russian (where it is knowns as Kak Ti Velik) or Swedish - I have seen claims for both - so think birch forests rather than English oak. The book I mentioned in my last post, ‘Not the end of the world’ by Prof. Hannah Ritchie, looks at deforestation (among other issues). The loss of the world’s ancient forests for agriculture, which although reduced in its rate thanks to campaigning in recent decades, still continues, with an associated loss of biodiversity (here represented by birds, but think also of insects, plants and fungi that only live in certain complex habitats). This year we have also seen extensive loss of forest to wildfires across the Northern hemisphere, and El Niño threatens the same in the South.
The message to us today, perhaps, is to enjoy the forests while they are still here, and the mountains while we can still climb them. Linda certainly did: walking in nature as I wrote earlier this week, was her great pleasure. The featured photo, which she titled ‘Cumbria Hills’, was taken on a walk six years ago in the valley leading to Cautley Spout waterfall. Even then, she knew the climb to the falls would be too much of a challenge and stayed at this ‘base camp’ while I went on further. But after she could no longer climb hills, she enjoyed our local green spaces, and was a supporter of the Quiet Garden movement that promotes gardens as a place of spiritual renewal.
The third and fourth verses turn from the created order to the one whom Christians regard as the actor through whom the Creator achieved all this: the Word of God, made flesh in Jesus Christ. This is not the place to discuss ‘theories of the atonement’ (a rabbit hole from which few escape), but suffice to say that we believe that somehow his death and subsequent resurrection started the process of restoring a guilty and failing world to its loving creator. That can be hard to believe when we see nature falling apart all around us, and more hate than love in the news. But if we look around us, we see many small acts of care for creation and love for humanity in our communities, and it is through these that we remain faithful to Christ.
Which brings us to the fourth, triumphant verse.’ When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation, and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart’. This ‘taking home’ is, of course, for most of us when we reach the end of our earthly lives, though Christians continue to look for a day in the future when Christ will return to complete his work of redemption by making ‘a renewed heaven and a renewed earth’.
We sang this, Linda’s favourite hymn of creation, worship, forgiveness and ultimate redemption, as the last rites were said over her in hospital. We sang it again at the crematorium. Christ has taken her home. I may never be able to sing it without tears now, but that is fine. And I will continue to praise Christ for the created order, walk in it, work to sustain it, until he calls me home.