Two of David von Oheimb's Favorite Christian Songs

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Lord, I see your awesome world

Often when I stand on a mountain top and can see the wonderful creation around me, I sing this song or at least think about it. Admiring the landscape he has made and thanking him for his love to us human beings, it expresses very well my feelings of God in this moment.

1.
Lord, I see your awesome world, the starry skies above, the wonders of creation.
All this has been made by you, both day and night are yours, and therefore I praise you.
Mountains, lakes and little streams, the valleys and the hills, are symbols of your love, Lord.
Ocean, sand, the clouds and sun, they glorify your name, they praise your mightiness.
Refr.
Thus I worship you my God, I can't keep still oh Lord, as joy has filled my singing.
With amazement I've found out: I'm in your loving hand, and you won't let me fall.
2.
People's origin is you - we live our lives on earth just through your loving kindness.
Feelings, will and intellect are products of your hand, resulting from your plan.
Though man has deformed himself, for he has chosen sin, you do not want to wreck him.
Your love truly sets him free from every tyranny, if he puts faith in you.
3.
Lord, since you are majesty and oversee the world, I'm sheltered in your presence.
From the smallest things on earth, up to the endless space, your hand encloses all.
You reign even our times, and soon you will be here, so everyone can see you.
All creation in the world is longing here for you and your magnificence.
Text & Melody: Peter Strauch. © Hänssler-Verlag.
This is my own translation from German. Well, the phrases are a bit bumpy, and I did not even try to rhyme, but at least I managed to preserve the rhythm meter.

How Great Thou Art

The theme of the next song is the same as above. Its language may sound a bit antiquated, but it is more expressive and poetic. I like its melody even more than of the song above. I invite you to listen to this very ceremonial recording or this modern recording.

1.
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 pow'r throughout the universe displayed,
Refr.
Then sings my soul, my Saviour 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!
2.
When through the woods and forest glades I wander and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur and hear the brook and fell the gentle breeze,
3.
And when I think that God, his Son not sparing, sent 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.
4.
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation and take me home, what joys shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration and there proclaim, my God, how great thou art!
Original Swedish version by Carl Boberg, English translation by Stuart K. Hine.

Some serious personal thoughts

These two songs have several topics in common. Here are some of my thoughts and attitudes on them.

Creation (vs. Macroevolution)
As long as I can recall, I have been believing that all this magnificent world around us has been made by God. I consider it absolutely foolish to assume that this enormously complex well-structured system called nature should have emerged simply by chance. Even though part of it is affected by stochastic processes, where should the information, energy and the laws of logic and physics governing nature come from? Of course, almost anyone (at least in the Western world) tries to persuade us that everything is due to some (senseless, aimless and therefore hopeless) nothing.
Sin and Hell
People seem to be inclined to accept such nonsense because the alternative would be to acknowledge that there is a superior being that we all owe our lives to and are responsible to. Yet this would mean giving up our highly regarded (yet merely putative) sovereignty. The Bible calls such attitude pride and rebellion, or in short: sin (i.e., missing the goal). God has made man for community with him, but one may decide not to fulfill this destiny. God respects such a decision since he does not want to have puppets as his friends. Since God is holy and does not allow any uncleanliness in his vicinity, a decision against him will have inevitable eternal consequences - namely to be trapped in a horrible world far away from God, also known as hell. I tried to live without God for almost twenty years, even though I knew of the consequences.
God's Love and Salvation
Fortunately, God does not want to us to be condemned, but on the contrary loves everyone unconditionally - even though we're not always lovable, are we? Even if one tries hard to live a good life and please God, I do not know anyone who is really successful with this. Thus there is a problem: How can God accept a person that wants to be with him, but cannot be as sinless as he or she should be, and therefore should be taken away from him?
God's genius solution, according to the Bible, is substitution: someone else who is sinless may take over sin and be punished instead. That was the mission of Jesus Christ, God's son, coming to the earth as a man, dying on the cross, and finally defeating death by reviving! If a person wants to live according to God's will and accepts this substitution personally, as I did some day in June 1990, he or she is saved.
Gratitude and Reverence
Being saved is a wonderful experience and state, so being thankful about it is the natural answer. I thank God for my eternal salvation, but also for many other things he has given me: my life at all, healthiness, a loving family, good friends, enough money, an interesting job, and so on. Still I have problems and make mistakes, but God helps me to cope with them.
Gratitude and honor for the great things he has done, as expressed in the above songs, is two of the few things we are able to give God and which really please him. One further thing is a life devoted to him, powered by his natural and supernatural gifts. In these ways we can express our love to God, in response to his love for us.

If you have any questions or comments on this, do not hesitate to contact me.

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