by Rev. Rob Schenck

“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!”

Gospel legend Yolanda Williams performed at the White House in honor of Black History Month

Gospel singing legend-in-her-own-time Yolanda Adams “preached it” at the White House yesterday during a Black History Month concert hosted by the President and First Lady. During her opening set of the show, her second piece was How Great Thou Art. The distinctly evangelical hymn was made famous in the U.S. a half-century ago by Billy Graham evangelistic team soloist George Beverly Shea. It was not the evening’s only song with a Christ-centered theme. The event, entitled “A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement,” included other numbers with lyrics that convey clear Christian truths. In my estimation, though, none contained as much Truth as this one. Consider the third stanza,

“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.”

And the last,

“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 then proclaim: “My God, how great Thou art!”

This is true GOSPEL. The fact that Ms. Adams chose to read most of it made it all the more powerful. Even USA Today (not generally considered a religious publication!) referred to the moment as “Having a little church.”

After 16 years in Washington, I believe it’s always better TO hear the Gospel proclaimed–whether in speech or song–than it is NOT to hear it. This was one of those times. Whether or not the listeners respond as we would hope and pray they would–or whether or not the performers believed what they communicated–is beyond my or anyone’s control. God’s Word does its own work through His Holy Spirit. We should rejoice any time it is proclaimed in any way. Should those who listened at the White House yesterday open their hearts to the message they heard, they’ll be able to say with even greater gusto, “Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, I’m free at last!”