Musical Notes

Hello OCBC family,
“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

This loved passage is in the middle of the book of Lamentation, where the author, under the inspiration of the Holy spirit, is sharing to believers that it is just because of the Lord’s mercies that we aren’t consumed. His compassions, or mercies in ESV, never come to end. And it is very interesting that every day comes to an end, but the next day, we can experience, again, his compassion. Yes, every day presents us with a new opportunity to discover more of God’s love. The author of the book of Lamentations was suffering great sorrow, but he also was looking for signs of mercy.

This passage was the inspiration to Thomas O. Chisholm, who was born in a log cabin in Kentucky in 1866. He became a school teacher at the age of 16 and became a Christian at the age of 26. He had problems with his health, and he had to jump from work to work; he did everything from journalism to insurance to evangelistic work.

Thomas Chisholm loved to write poems, and many of his poems became hymns, and his famous one is “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” We love to sing this hymn, the words are powerful, but Thomas himself confessed that there is not a dramatic story behind the writing of this hymn. He just loved to write poems, and this one was sent to his friend William M. Runyan, a musician who was moved by this poem. According Runyan, he prayed to God for guidance to compose a right melody for Thomas’ lyrics, and God answered his prayer. The hymn was published in 1923.

The popularity of the hymn was very slow at the beginning, until George Beverly Shea introduced it during one of the Billy Graham’s crusades, and then “Great is Thy Faithfulness” became the beloved hymn for many. It has been translated into several languages, and it is one of the few hymns that can be used for regular services, Thanksgiving service, weddings and funerals.

Thomas died in Ocean Park in 1960, and he wrote more than 1,200 poems and hymns.

1. 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.

2. Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

3. 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!

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!

We just started a new year, 2026; 2025 is gone, but the mercies of our Lord are new every morning.

Let us repeat with the prophet, “great is Your faithfulness.”
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In His service,
Israel