Great is Thy Faithfulness

Thomas Chisholm

Thomas Obediah Chisholm was born in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky in 1866. He received his education in a little country schoolhouse, and at age 16 began teaching at the same school. He became a Christian at age 27, and with no college or seminary training was ordained to the Methodist ministry at age 36. Chisholm served as a Methodist minister for a year, but ill health made it impossible for him to continue. He moved to Vineland, New Jersey, where he opened an insurance office.

He suffered ill health most of his adult life and therefore had a smaller than average income. Of this circumstance he said, “God has given me many wonderful displays of his providing care, which have filled me with astonishing gratefulness.”

He suffered ill health most of his adult life and therefore had a smaller than average income. Of this circumstance he said, “God has given me many wonderful displays of his providing care, which have filled me with astonishing gratefulness.”

Lamentations is a book of somebody “Lamenting”

Lamenting is to cry out… not just being depressed, but to voice the struggle as well

to wail, weep, sob, crying or complain

18 Then I thought, “My future is lost,

as well as my hope from the Lord.”

ז Zayin

19 Remember my affliction and my homelessness,

the wormwood and the poison.

20 I continually remember them

and have become depressed.,o

21 Yet I call this to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

ח Cheth

22 Because of the Lord’s faithful love

we do not perish,

for his mercies never end.

23 They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness!

Because of sin… we live in a lost and broken world

there will be consequences to sin that will have a ripple effect like a rock in a pond...

no matter how big the rock, there are still ripples

Sometimes we throw the rocks… our own sin and we must repent of that sin

to God because all sin is against him regardless of who it hurts

we must apologize to those who have been caught up in our ripples…

Sometimes others throw the rocks… we have been wronged, we are owed an apology

we can get mad, sad, we can lament “Why is this happening to me!

Sometimes it is just general sin…

I spoke with a man this week about his failing kidneys…

he told me that he tried to serve God, why would his kidneys be failing… I told him that our bodies begin to fail at one time or another because we live in a broken and fallen world!

This is where Thomas Chisholm was… He grew up, heard the gospel of Jesus and became a minister…

one year later, because of his health, could not remain a pastor and had to leave the ministry…

Chisholm also wrote poetry and he wrote a song, a hymn that we sing all the time in churches across our country… Based on Lamentations 3:22-23

Great is Thy Faithfulness

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 will be

A very important truth to know during difficult times

God does not change…

God does not move away…

He is in the same place, always loving you and always desiring you to come to him

Great is Thy faithfulness Great is Thy faithfulness Morning by morning new mercies I see And all I have needed Thy hand hath provided Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me

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

I love this because he knows that ultimately what we need is a healing for our sin… not just medicine to make us feel better

to often what we look for is something to make us feel good in a world that is constantly farther away from being godly

Pardon for sin… I love it, why do we need a pardon?

because we have been found guilty

It is not enough to acknowledge you are a sinner, God wants repentance

to turn away from what it not godly and turn to him

When you do, he promises his love and mercy… not just then, but everyday.

Great is Thy faithfulness Great is Thy faithfulness Morning by morning new mercies I see And all I have needed Thy hand hath provided Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me

Chisholm wrote hundreds of poems during his lifetime. In 1923, he was inspired by to write the text for the hymn, “Great is thy Faithfulness.” Those verses are as follows, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

He suffered ill health most of his adult life and therefore had a smaller than average income. Of this circumstance he said, “God has given me many wonderful displays of his providing care, which have filled me with astonishing gratefulness.”

Chisholm sent the words to one of his poems, “Great Is thy Faithfulness” to his friend, William Runyan, and Runyan wrote a musical setting.

Runyan was born in 1870, in Marion, New York. As a youth, he served as a church organist. Runyan was ordained as a Methodist minister at age 21 and then pastored various congregations in Kansas.

Runyan was a friend of Dr. Will Houghton, the president of Moody Bible Institute, and “Great is thy Faithfulness” soon became Houghton’s favorite. He invited George Beverly Shea, an unknown singer at the time, to sing hymns on the Institute’s radio station. Shea, of course, included Houghton’s favorite hymn in his repertoire.

“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.

“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.”

Through those radio broadcasts Billy Graham, then a student at Wheaton College, became familiar with George Beverly Shea and the song, “Great is thy Faithfulness.” Graham asked Shea to become part of his ministry of evangelism. It was through their crusades that this hymn became internationally popular.

Even though he suffered ill health for most of his adult life, Chisholm lived to the ripe old age of 94 and wrote more than 1,200 poems. During his later years, he lived in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, a Methodist camp meeting town, where he passed away in 1960.

“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.” -