How Great is our God (The Splendour of a King) - Tomlin

This is a soft-rock style worship hymn about God's greatness. The words have been said to be based on several psalms, but are not exactly from any one psalm.

It was written by American contemporary-Christian musicians, songwriters, performers and sometimes worship leaders, Chris Tomlin (b. 1972), Jesse Reeves and Ed Cash. It was first released in 2004, originally featured on Tomlin's album Arriving.

The song has been translated into Spanish (Cuán grande es Dios). In 2012, Tomlin introduced a world-edition recorded with sections in Hindi, Indonesian, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Zulu, Africaans, and Mandarin.

Hymn-books which it has been published in include:

Baptist Hymnal LifeWay Worship, Nashville, USA 2008
Contemporary Songs for Worship, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship/Faith Alive Christian Resources, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, 2008
Celebrating Grace Hymnal, Celebrating Grace, Inc., Macon, Georgia, USA, 2010
Singing the Faith, Hymns Ancient & Modern for the Methodist Church, London, England, 2011
Total Praise, GIA Publications/Sunday School Publication Board, Chicago/Nashville, USA, 2011
Worship and Song, Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, 2011
Lift Up Your Hearts, Faith Alive Christian Resources, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA 2013
Praise y Adoración, Multilingual Church Media, Old Bridge, New Jersey, USA, 2016
Santo, Santo, Santo / Holy, Holy Holy, GIA Publications, Inc., Chicago, 2019
Voices Together, MennoMedia, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA, 2020
Our Great Redeemer's Praise, Seedbed Publishing, Franklin, Tennessee, USA, 2022.

Sheet music is also widely available.

It is set to an unnamed tune, also by Tomlin, Reeves and Cash. This has a 4/4 time signature. In the key of Bb, the first few notes of the melody are F B F F_ D F_ with accompanying chords Bb.

It is not similar to the folk-style hymn, author unknown, with the same name

Image adapted from The Sun Breaks Forth CC4.0

Downloads

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Downloadable sheet music, arranged for guitar and voice with piano

Downloadable beginner piano arrangement with chords, in key of C

Examples

Worship leader and congregation with piano-led band - on-screen words, professional recording

Singer with band - official music video by Chris Tomlin

Duet with keyboard, words on-screen

Don Moen with band, professional recording

Singer and band, at a large worship-event

Multi-language "Nations Sunday" version

Singers with band, world-edition

Instrumental - organ

Organ accompaniment to the backing track

Piano instrumental, words on-screen

Lyrics

The lyrics are copyright so cannot be reproduced here. But they are currently available on this website. A rough outline is:

1. The splendour of the King,
clothed in majesty;
let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice.
He wraps himself in light
and darkness tries to hide,
and trembles at his voice, and trembles at his voice.

Chorus:
How great is our God,
sing with me: how great is our God.
And all will see how great, how great is our God.

2. And age to age He stands,
and time is in His hands;
beginning and the end, beginning and the end.
The Godhead, Three in One,
Father, Spirit, Son,
the Lion and the Lamb, the Lion and the Lamb,
How great is our God…

Bridge:
Name above all names, worthy of all praise;
my heart will sing: how great is our God.
How great is our God…