Theology in Hymns

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Hopefully when one sings or hears a hymn or praise chorus they will be able to recognize biblical and theological themes. In the two songs that I have chosen the imagery is present and powerful. These two songs are among my favorites and hopefully I will do them justice within this paper.

The words to "How Great Thou Art" are about experience and events; past, present, and future. It tells of what God has created and sustained, how salvation comes about, and what will happen in the end. This hymn starts on earth and ends in heaven. It is truly about God, and not about us.

Through the first two verses one cannot help but know that God exists and that he created all things. If one were to be high on a mountain top, looking at the starts, hearing birds sing or thunder roll, they cannot help but think that it was not an accident that this was created. In the beginning, there was God and all things were made by Him and through Him. God created it and it was good. To be able to walk trough the woods and forest glades and know that God created it can be attributed to natural theology. Natural theology is theology deriving its knowledge of God from the study of nature independent of special revelation.

The third verse, along with the resurrection, is what Christianity hinges on. It is because of God sending his Son, Jesus, to die a horrible death so that we may have life. Jesus being 100% God and 100% man lived a perfect life, free of sin. He died for a world of sinners, a world that doesn't accept him or want to hear about him. There is nothing that we can do except to accept him and have faith in him. We should have to pay, but Jesus took are place willingly so that we could have communion with God.

Whenever it is that end happens Jesus will come and take us home. What a glorious day that will be. Every knee shall bow and tongue confess.

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If one was to consider "Awesome God" a praise chorus they would only sing the chorus. The chorus goes like this;

Our God is an awesome God

He reigns from heaven above

With wisdom, power, and love

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