Behind The Hymn: Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Not all hymns are birthed out of extraordinary loss. Sometimes a simple truth can resonate to many generations and be a source of great encouragement, hope, and peace. The circumstances behind the hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness" aren't outstanding, exceptional, or unusual. On the contrary--the words of this great worship song came from very ordinary means, and from a very ordinary man.

Thomas Chisholm was born in 1866 in a log cabin just outside of Franklin, Kentucky. He had no formal education, yet became a teacher in his late teens and eventually an editor of the local newspaper. He was led to Christ and eventually became the editor of a larger newspaper. Even with these humble beginnings, Chisholm stepped into ministry and became a pastor for only a few years. Tragically, he became ill and had to step out of ministry, eventually selling insurance in New Jersey. By the time he retired, Chisholm had written over 800 published poems. Some of these poems had been sent to William Runyan--an accomplished musician with Moody Bible Institute. Runyan held one of Chisholm's poems in a deeper regard, and prayed that he would be able to set it to music one day, which he did.

Eventually, George Beverly Shea--the famous Canadian-born singer of the Billy Graham Crusades--introduced Chisholm's hymn to those attending the evangelistic meetings in Great Britain in 1954. It immediately became a favorite, and was a defining mark of the entire crusade that year. Today, Great is Thy Faithfulness remains one of the most popular hymns sung in the world and is consistently in the CCLI top 100 worship songs (at the time of this writing it was #38!).

The words of this hymn are rooted in a place of great agony for Israel. Lamentations 3:21-23 says:

21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

It is believed that Jeremiah wrote these words as Jerusalem was sacked in the summer of 586-587 B.C. by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Seeing the children and nobles carried away captive, and Solomon's temple left in ruins, Jeremiah would have observed the complete destruction of the city as the cruel Babylonians razed it to the ground. Tradition holds that he sat under the hill of Golgotha as he wept--the same place that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to redeem us from the curse of the law.

In this place of utter despair, Jeremiah recalls to mind the unrelenting, covenantal love of God for His people. He reminds himself of the limitless compassion of a God who doesn't treat us as our terrible sins deserve--that greets us with each and every sunrise. Jeremiah fixes his mind on the boundless fidelity of God to His people that can never be doubted because it has never wavered. 

Jeremiah says, "I call this to mind." He brings up an active, willful, intentional thought to meditate on who God is--and therefore he had hope in the midst of calamity. What was the source of Jeremiah's hope in this moment when life had all fallen apart? It was the character of God. Chisholm's hymn captures this lyric beautifully, as he writes:

"Great is Thy faithfulness, " O God my Father,There is no shadow of turning with Thee;Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail notAs 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!

Today, as you consider the great and loyal love of God, has He ever failed you? As a new morning dawns, are you considering His character and nature? Is He sufficient for all the trials, sorrows, struggles, and sin that you are facing today? No matter who has let you down and been unfaithful, has God ever turned back on His promise? This song--as well as the text in Lamentations upon which it is based--reminds us that no matter how unfaithful we are in our rebellion, God has provided a means of our salvation through the finished work of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross. The cross of Christ reminds us that judgment does not have the final word--God's loving, saving grace reaches to the lowest hell to save the vilest of sinners. Our God never changes--His love that was enough yesterday will be enough to sustain you today--and even tomorrow. Great is His faithfulness!