The truths expressed in the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”
are comforting and encouraging to us – especially in these
challenging and confusing times.
This is the first verse:
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.
The hymn is based on Scripture.
Lamentations 3:21-24 (KJV) reads as follows:
21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed,
because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning:
great is thy faithfulness.
24 The Lord is my portion (inheritance), saith my soul;
therefore will I hope in him.
Interestingly, those words were not written in good times.
They were not even written in difficult times like we are in.
They were written by Jeremiah in the very worst of times.
The whole book is one long lament over the destruction of
Jerusalem and the Temple – Many of the Israelites had been
exiled to Babylon, many had been killed, and others had
starved to death. (I am not saying that the pandemic we are
facing is some kind of judgement from God, as the destruction
of Jerusalem was.)
The bottom line: Our God was faithful in the past and he will
continue to be faithful, both now and in the future. Because of
that we have hope. As the hymn says, we have “strength for
today and bright hope for tomorrow”.
[JULY 2020 BH]
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Written in 1923 by Thomas Chisholm (1866–1960)
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.
[Chorus]
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!
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.
[Chorus]
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.
