Musical Notes

Hello OCBC family!
Let me open this article with the words of the book of Lamentation 3:22-23, “It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” I quoted this passage from the lovely King James Version of the bible, because this perhaps was the version that Thomas O. Chisholm used to have inspiration to write his famous hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.”

Thomas Obediah Chisholm was born in Kentucky and at the age of sixteen years old he was teaching school. He came to Christ at age of twenty-seven and served as an evangelist. But his health was not good, and he worked in many places, depending on his health. Through ups and downs he found the blessings from God every day, especially in God’s word. And he wrote this hymn.

“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.”

Chisholm shared once that it was not a dramatic story behind the writing of this hymn; it just came as a poem from his quite time. He sent these words to a good musician friend, William M. Runyan, and he was very touched by this poem, and composed the melody that we are very familiar with. This hymn was published in 1923. It became popular around the world when George Beverly Shea and the choirs at the Billy Graham Crusades sang it in their revival meetings.

“Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!”

Let us always remember the words of our brother Paul to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:13, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.”

“Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”
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In His service,
Israel