Lord’s Day, Vol. 5 No. 04
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 3:22-23, “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.”
James, the servant of God wrote, James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Centuries later Thomas Chisholm was reading these passages and felt inspired to put them into verse. The result of it, the hymn “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 wilt be.
Refrain
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, 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.
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!
He calls on all nature to witness to God’s faithfulness in all circumstances, in all seasons, and in all ages. He cites, pardon of sin, peace that endures, the divine presence to cheer and to guide, and daily strength and hope.
Feeling hopeless to enumerate all of God’s blessings, Chisholm ends his prayer – praise on a personal note: “Blessings all are mine, with ten thousand beside!”
At the age of seventy-five Chisholm wrote to a friend, saying, “…I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God and that He has given me many wonderful displays of His providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness.”
On this occasion of the Church’s Third Anniversary, we echo our blessed affirmation of “amen” and “amen” to the words of Chisholm’s hymn – Great indeed is the faithfulness of our God in keeping, sustaining and guiding us. We come before Him with praise, thanksgiving and adoration.
What is our response to God’s faithfulness? May God’s people at Blessed Hope BP Church be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that our labour is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58) as we see His return draweth nigh! May God’s Name be highly exalted. Amen.
Yours lovingly,
Pastor Lek Aik Wee