Great Is Thy Faithfulness
The author of this hymn, Thomas Obediah Chisholm, was born in a log cabin in Kentucky. At age 16, he began teaching school, despite the paucity of his own education. He came to Christ at age 27 under the ministry of evangelist H.C. Morrison. But Chisholm's heath was unstable, and he alternated between bouts of illness and gainful employment in which he did everything from journalism to insurance to evangelistic work. Through all the ups and downs, he discovered new blessings from God every morning. The third chapter of Lamentations 3 became precious to him: His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is Your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Thomas later admitted there was no dramatic story behind the writing of "Great is Thy Faithfulness." While serving the Lord in Vineland, New Jersey, Thomas sent several poems to his friend, musician William Runyan, who was so moved by this one that he prayed earnestly for special guidance in composing the music. Runyan was in Baldwin, Kansas, at the time, and the hymn was published in 1923 in Runyan's private song pamphlets.
"It went rather slowly for several years," Thomas recalled. Then Dr. Will Houghton of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago discovered it, and would say in chapel, "Well, I think we shall have to sing 'Great is They Faithfulness." It became an unoffical theme song for the Institute; and when Houghton died, it was sung at his funeral.
Still, it remained relatively unknown until popularized around the world by George Beverly Shea and the choirs at the Billy Graham Crusades.
Thomas spent his retirement years in a Methodist Home for the Aged in Ocean Park, New Jersey, where he was frequently seen walking by the ocean and along town streets. Tom Rich, a resident of Ocean Park, recalls his pleasant demeanor as he dropped by the diner, sat on park benches, and fellowshipped with friends at Ocean Park's summer Bible conferences.
Thomas died in Ocean Park in 1960. During his lifetime he wrote 1,200 poems and hymns. In addition to "Great is Thy Faithfulness," he is the author of the well-known "O To Be Like Thee," and the hymn "Living for Jesus."
Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing to me.
Excerpt from "Then Sings My Soul" by Robert J. Morgan
Thomas Nelson Publishers
Nashville |
|
|
