Thomas Chisholm, author of “Great is Thy Faithfulness” led a pretty ordinary life. He did not write this hymn during a period of intense grief or after encountering God in a profound way. Instead, he found truth in the words he encountered in Lamentations 3:22-23: “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Jeremiah, on the other hand, was in tumultuous circumstances when writing Lamentations. The people to whom he prophesied did not listen, and he was ostracized and completely alone because of what God called him to do. He also lamented the consequences of their faithlessness. God allowed them to be conquered by the Babylonians, resulting in their entire world being laid to waste. But in the midst of that utter devastation, Jeremiah still offers them hope on the horizon: they are not completely destroyed because of the LORD’s compassion and faithfulness, and in the morning, after this “dark night of the soul,” things will be better. So whether we are at a place in our lives where everything is pretty ordinary, or whether we are in a period of grief: no matter what our circumstances, God never changes and is faithful to us, sustaining us in his compassion and faithfulness each and every day.
Text:
This hymn was written in 1923 by poet Thomas Chisholm, author of more than 1,200 poems during his lifetime. He mailed it to his friend William Runyan, who set it to music.
The text of the hymn is consistent to what was originally written, other than one minor change in the third stanza from “thy” to “thine” by the United Methodist Hymnal (1989) and Baptist Hymnal (1991) which is just a matter of tradition and preference. The New Century Hymnal (1995) completely modernizes all direct addresses to You and Your. The drawback to this is that, in order to complete the rhyme in stanza one, they modify “with thee” to “we see,” which changes the meaning slightly from complete emphasis on God to the agency of those speaking. The NCH also changes “Father” to “Creator,” which actually helps the transition to stanza two because of its focus on creation (and occasionally is not sung because it does not seem to fit with the other stanzas).
Tune:
Sung to the tune FAITHFULNESS by William Runyan, written specifically for this poem and published by Hope Publishing Company. Runyan wrote: “This particular poem held such an appeal that I prayed most earnestly that my tune might carry over its message in a worthy way, and the subsequent history of its use indicates that God answers prayer.”
The tune has a wide appeal across diverse congregations who prefer different musical styles. It has a repeated refrain similar to the repetition in modern praise songs, but retains the structural elements of a traditional hymn.
When/ Why How:
Although sung at any time of the year, it is often chosen for both funerals and weddings as a testament to God’s unchanging nature no matter the circumstance. It could be sung with songs of hope, such as “Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus,” or hymns of grief and comfort such as “Be Still My Soul.” If one wants to focus on the greatness of God, John F. Wilson created a medley in which he paired this hymn with “Great is the Lord.” Cindy Berry also has a creative medley of “Great is Thy Faithfulness” partnered with “My Jesus, I Love Thee” in 4/4 time.
Jasmine Smart,
Hymnary.org
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Thomas O. Chisholm was born in Franklin, Kentucky in 1866. His boyhood was spent on a farm and in teaching district schools. He spent five years as editor of the local paper at Franklin. He was converted to Christianity at the age of 26 and soon after was business manager and office editor of the "Pentecostal Herald" of Louisville, Ky. In 1903 he entered the ministry of the M. E. Church South. His aim in writing was to incorporate as much Scripture as possible and to avoid flippant or sentimental themes.
Dianne Shapiro, from "The Singers and Their Songs: sketches of living gospel hymn writers" by Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (Chicago: The Rodeheaver Company, 1916)… Go to person page >
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