Nearly 50 people gathered at St Paul's on Sunday evening 27 March for our second "Songs of Praise." It was an enjoyable opportunity to worship God, but also to learn why particular Christian Songs and Hymns had become especially memorable to different members of the church during their walk with Christ. Several of the hymns were based on the oldest Christian/Jewish songs, the Psalms. This included the very popular hymn: "O Lord my God! when I in awesome wonder..." For some reason the hymnbook we use, like many others, record this as a Russian hymn. In fact, we discovered that it was written by the Swede Carl Boberg in 1885 after a walk in which he had seen many of the wonders of God manifest in nature – sunshine, storm, lightning, rainbow, birdsong and many others. On his return home, he was reminded of Psalm 8 which begins: "O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens." Boberg's hymn was sung to a traditional Swedish tune and rapidly became popular in Swedish nonconformist churches.
From Swedish, it was translated into German and Russian and then, in the 1920s into English, in a translation which never became popular. The translation we know is by Stuart Hine and dates from 1953. It was used at the Billy Graham Rallies, which made it well known.
Stuart Hine also composed two additional verses, which we sang as well.
O when I see ungrateful man defiling
This bounteous earth, God's gifts so good and great;
In foolish pride, God's holy Name reviling,
And yet, in grace, His wrath and judgment wait.
When burdens press, and seem beyond endurance,
Bowed down with grief, to Him I lift my face;
And then in love He brings me sweet assurance:
'My child! for thee sufficient is my grace'.
Many of the other seven songs and hymns that we sang would also merit discussion in detail, as this is just one example. Sunday evening was a great time, worshipping a Great God.
Nearly 50 people gathered at 
