How Great Thou Art

This morning in the small chapel of the Presbytery office of Butare, with wooden benches, some with backs and some without, the small congregation of 50 people, mostly Rwandan students of PIASS, and four lecturers and their family, belted out the hymn “How Great Thou Art.” The praise to God for his greatness was accompanied with clapping and drums, the beat of which was a bit irregular to an American ear, but heartfelt. The pronunciation was with a strong Kinyarwandan accent but the emotions were so pure and powerful.

As we began the fourth verse, I was mentally transported to another worship service. As we sang, “When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation/ And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!/ Then I shall bow in humble adoration/ And there proclaim, my God how great Thou art!” I saw in my mind’s eye the majestic stone cathedral of First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh with its vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows. I heard in my ear the mighty pipe organ and the voices of 2,000 congregants praising God. This was my home congregation as I was growing up, both physically and spiritually. The words of the familiar hymn became part of my life there.

The chorus and the drums brought me back to Rwanda -"Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee: How great Thou art, how great Thou art!" With a Kinyarwandan accent, I was overwhelmed as I had been as a young Christian by the power and majesty of God. It is the truth and power of the words, not the accent or the accompaniment that draws us into God’s presence in praise. I know that. But what a wonderfully powerful experience and reminder this was. It seemed to me today like a foretaste of heaven when we will sing God’s praise in all our accents and with the instruments of heavenly worship.