How Great Thou Art

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psalm 19:1 —

I was preaching in Canada and had the chance to visit Niagara Falls. While I was enjoying the grandeur and beauty of God’s creation, I suddenly heard the sound of a violin playing the hymn “How Great Thou Art.” I looked around to see a middle-aged man playing the tune. Then suddenly from nowhere people began to gather and started singing, “O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the works thy hand hath made …” People were singing in English, Chinese, French, Dutch, Spanish, and other tongues.

I found that my feet started navigating toward the group, and my lips began to join in singing.

I do not think we were much in unison, and the violin was a bit out of tune. We did not know each other and could not understand most of each other’s words, but we were all singing out loud from our hearts.

We sang and sang as if we were never tired of praising God; we used all our might as if trying to overcome the noise of the water falling at about 100,000 cubic feet per second.

It’s natural for God’s creatures to sing praises to their Creator. Will you do that today in church, at home, or in a park?

Declare this day the glory and love of God to the people around you.

Almighty God, we want to praise you with our songs, our words, and our deeds. May they be pleasing in your sight. Help us to tell of your glory and love to others. Amen.

Rev. Jimmy Lin is the Chinese ministry leader of The Back to God Hour. With his staff in Palos Heights and Hong Kong, Rev. Lin has ministered to over 1.3 billion Chinese-speaking people around the world for 16 years through radio, literature, CD/DVD, Internet, and text message. His wife, Doris, is one of the translators of Today into the Chinese language, which now has a circulation of more than 45,000 copies.