Hymns #2: I Scarce Can Take It In

Hymns #2 “I Scarce Can Take It In”
How Great Thou Art by Carl Boberg
Psalm 86:8-17

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Introduction:
I’m returning to the subject of Hymns this morning. Last time I preached on this topic I introduced the hymn “At the Cross” by Isaac Watts. I argued from Colossians 3:16 that it is biblical to worship God using Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual songs and that the pervasive antagonism towards the hymns from Evangelicalism betrays the anti-intellectualism that permeates Evangelicals.

Today I want to introduce the hymn “How Great Thou Art.” It was written in 1885 in Sweden by the Reverend Carl Boberg. I also want to propose to you, based upon our text, that the goal of missions is worship and worship is done in spirit and in truth, with God as it’s object and subject. So, let’s see if I can bring this all together:

Look at verse 9 of our text, it says that all nations, whom God made, shall come and worship Him and glorify his name. 1 Corinthians tells us that whatever we do, do it for the glory of God (10:31) and in Revelation the twenty four elders fell before God and worshipped him saying,
You are worthy O Lord,
To receive glory and honour and power
For you created all things… (4:11)
Ps. 48:1 says it like this, “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised…”
That’s why the Westminster shorter catechism answers the question, “Why did God make us?” saying that God made us… that is, our chief end is “to exalt God and to enjoy Him forever.” That sounds like worship to me- the exaltation and enjoyment of God; we do both when we worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Worship is not the exaltation and enjoyment of worship- whether it’s the old hymns or the contemporary choruses. When we talk about what we got out of the worship or how we enjoyed it, we are committing the sin of idolatry and replacing God with self as the object of worship. We should ask, “what did God get out of my worship?” Did I make much out of him I my attitudes and thoughts while I was exalting and enjoying him, or did I much of myself?

John Macarthur writes this,
The [Westminster] catechism is right in declaring that the pinnacle of man’s being is glorifying and enjoying God. The highest purpose any individual can have is to be totally absorbed in… God, and to view all of life through eyes filled with His wonder and glory. That is the perspective of the true worshiper, the one who truly glorifies God.[1]


In fulfilling our ultimate purpose to glorify God and enjoy him forever by worshipping in Spirit and Truth, we become most like the image of God, which was His original purpose for us and can only be restored by the gospel. Hence missions, because only a believer can worship in Spirit and Truth.

What I mean when I say that by worshipping God we come closest to being like God is this: not only is humanity’s ultimate purpose to exalt and enjoy God, but God’s ultimate purpose, or chief end, is also to exalt and enjoy Himself. John Piper says, “God is the most God centered being in the universe.”

Just so you don’t think this is my opinion, or John Piper’s opinion, listen to how Jesus explains it in His prayer in John 17:4-5, “I have glorified You on the earth…. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

You will recall at his baptism, as well as at the mount of transfiguration, that the Voice of God the Father from heaven was heard to say, “Behold my son, in whom I am pleased… in whom I delight.” Read that, ‘thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.” The pleasure that God has for Himself is an eternal pleasure that has no beginning or end.

So God the Father had perfect, reciprocating, and complete exaltation and enjoyment of God the Son long before he created humanity for the same purpose. And that’s why He made us, to exalt and enjoy him- to worship him in Spirit and truth. So I can say we’re most like God when we are worshipping Him.

But the problem is that sin has replaced God as the center of humanity’s purpose and replaced him with idolatry; the idolatry of self, the idolatry of others, the idolatry of creation and created things. Paul explains what happened:
…although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God… their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. (Romans 1:21-23).

So sin has darkened our minds and made it impossible for us to fulfill our original purpose. But God has not left us without a testimony,
…because  what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world  His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made… so that they are without excuse (vv. 19-20).

David wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge….” (Ps 19:1-2)

But in spite of their own consciences bearing witness they exchanged truth for a lie. And this has been going on for centuries. Even the church which bears the name of Christ is not immune. Church history is riddled with revivals and reformations that degrade into apostasy and false worship.

I believe it’s happening in the church today and I’m not talking about the Liberal churches; Evangelicalism has become enamoured by its own success desperately courting the world’s favour. Listen to what John MacArthur writes,
Churches plan their worship services to cater to the “unchurched.” Christian performers ape every worldly fad in music and entertainment. Preachers are terrified that the offense of the gospel might turn someone against them; so they deliberately omit the parts of the message the world might not like.[2]

That’s why I believe that seeker driven churches and meaningless worship go hand in hand. Jesus said, “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

Maybe it is because of the churches susceptibility towards false and idolatrous worship that God has left a testimony to Himself in His creation: with the heavens declaring the glory of God.

I think that’s what happened one Sunday afternoon after church in the majestic hills and valleys of Sweden where Carl Boberg conceived the words which are translated into English as,
O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonderConsider all the worlds Thy hands have made,I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,Thy power throughout the universe displayed,
The heavens declare the Glory of God! His invisible attributes are clearly seen.

When through the woods and forest glades I wanderAnd hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;When I look down from lofty mountain grandeurAnd hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;
The Firmament shows His handiwork.

But that is not enough to cause his soul to sing, “How Great Thou Art.” If not for the gospel, those words too would be idolatry because they run the risk of being directed at creation, the firmament and the starry hosts. What is needed is for Boberg to know and believe that
…God, His Son not sparingSent Him to die…That on the cross, [his, my, our] burden gladly bearing,He bled and died to take away our sin;

When we hear and believe the gospel, then he can become most like God. Then we can worship in Spirit and Truth singing,
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee;How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamationAnd take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!Then I shall bow in humble adorationAnd there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!

Boberg’s poem was published and later put to a popular Swedish folk melody- the one we hear today. Eventually the song was translated to German and Russian and was translated into English by missionaries who learned it while on missions to the Ukraine.

The song spread around the world, but did not receive the kind of popularity it enjoys today until it was discovered by George Beverly Shae while on an evangelistic crusade in England with Billy Graham in 1954. Shea fell in love with the piece immediately and introduced it for the first time at the Billy Graham Crusade in Toronto, Canada the next year.

The song captures beautifully and in almost inspired poetry the overwhelming meaning of the gospel and the impact it has on us when we meditate upon the solemn and weighty significance of Christ’s incarnation.
And when I think that God, His Son not sparingSent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,He bled and died to take away my sin;

Conclusion

So let me bring this back to my original proposition: The goal of missions is worship because worship is the end for which God made us and only the gospel can enable us to truly say, “Great is the Lord and worthy to be praised.” Without it, all worship is idolatry.
[1]MacArthur, J. 1996, c1984. 1 Corinthians. Includes indexes. Moody Press: Chicago
[2]MacArthur, J. 2002. Why one way? : Defending an exclusive claim in an inclusive world. W Pub. Group: Nashville