Great is Thy faithfulness

with FAITHFULNESS

I. Origins

The text of this hymn is by Thomas O. Chisholm (1866–1960). In a letter to hymnologist William Reynolds, 9 June 1955, Chisholm said the hymn did not have any special circumstances behind it, but he did offer these details:

I sent it with a number of lyrics to Rev. W.M. Runyan, and he used several, among them this one. This was in 1923, and I was living in Vineland, New Jersey. It went rather slowly for several years, but was taken up by Dr. Houghton, then president of Moody Bible Institute, and began its wider usefulness there. He once wrote me that, while it was not the official theme song for the Institute, it was by long odds the most popular.[1]

The composer, William M. Runyan (1870–1957), also corresponded with William Reynolds, and in a letter dated 3 August 1954, he said:

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 answered prayer. It was written in Baldwin, Kansas, in 1923, and was first published in my private song pamphlets.[2]

The hymn’s first appearance in a hymnal or songbook was in Runyan’s Songs of Salvation and Service (Chicago: Runyan Music Publishing, 1923 | Fig. 1). The hymn also appeared in Chisholm’s career-spanning collection, Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Vineland, NJ: Glendale Press, 1956). The tune is usually dubbed FAITHFULNESS, a name given to it for the 1956 Baptist Hymnal, at the suggestion of William Runyan.

II. Analysis

The chorus of the hymn, the main thrust of its message, is based on Lamentations 3:22–23 (KJV):

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.

The first stanza includes allusions to James 1:17 (“shadow of turning”) and parts of Revelation 1:4, 1:8, and 4:8 (“was and is and is to come”), or Hebrews 13:8 (“Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever”). In the second stanza, the image of nature joining in witness comes from passages like Psalm 19:1 and Psalm 98:7–8. In the third stanza, the concepts are more generalized. Regarding the overall theme of God’s faithfulness, pastor Robert Cottrill offered these supporting Scriptures:

As we look to Him in faith, He is faithful to protect us from the attacks of the devil (2 Thess. 3:3), faithful to give us the means to deal with temptation (1 Cor. 10:13), and faithful to forgive us, when we confess our sins to Him (1 Jn. 1:9). Again and again we’re assured of God’s faithfulness to His Word. When God says it, we can count on it. “He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23). “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). And Christ Himself is “called Faithful and True” (Rev. 19:11) and described as “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness” (Rev. 1:5).[3]

Kwame Davis, a writer who was born in Ghana, raised in Jamaica, and later became Professor of English at the University of Nebraska, saw the song as being both individual and communal, even though the refrain is first-person singular:

In this song, the audience is, first and foremost, God. The song addresses him. And the speaker is a singular speaker—it is the “I,” the “me.” Hence the song makes sense to the evangelical mind—the mind that seeks to articulate an intimacy with the deity to whom one speaks. Yet the shared sentiments of the song, the shared awareness of what God’s faithfulness has ensured, is decidedly one of the critical ways in which the song becomes a communal one, one in which all the singers are at once affirming a deeply personal relationship with God and at the same time, a communal affirmation of that relationship with those within earshot.[4]

Literary scholar Leland Ryken admired the way the hymn’s opening line framed the song as a whole:

Opening lines count for a lot in poetry, and this poem runs true to form. The opening line here sets up the entire remainder of the poem. It announces that the unifying theme will be a specific attribute of God. Because the speaker addresses his assertion directly to God, we also know that the genre of the poem is a prayer. Further, because the entire poem is structured as a rehearsal or inventory of ways in which God has been faithful, we understand that the poem is a statement of praise and thanksgiving directed to God, who does not need to be informed of what he has done.[5]

The music by William Runyan shows noticeable skill in the craft of composition. The first two measures alone include an augmented chord and a major seventh chord, with smooth voice leading that sounds natural and timeless. The melody and harmony rise and fall with good shape and direction. Both the text and the tune have aged well, rarely altered in hymnals. Some newer settings adapt the music to be fitting for modern bands.

III. Legacy

Singer George Beverly Shea (1909–2013), a longtime colleague of evangelist Billy Graham, was among those who learned “Great is Thy faithfulness” through its popularity at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Shea and the rest of Billy Graham’s music team introduced the hymn to Christians in Great Britain during their services there in 1954. Regarding this hymn, Shea wrote:

Through his dealings with mortal men, we have learned that God is faithful. He has promised in His Word to forgive our sins and to give us peace of mind and heart; when we accept Christ His Son as our Lord and Saviour, He fulfills His pledge. Morning by morning, day after day, we feel His presence in our hearts. Surely we can look forward with hope to His presence, even at the end of life’s journey.[6]

by CHRIS FENNER
for Hymnology Archive
9 October 2018
rev. 13 September 2023

Footnotes:

1. William J. Reynolds, Hymns of Our Faith: A Handbook for the Baptist Hymnal (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1964), p. 56.

2. William J. Reynolds, Hymns of Our Faith: A Handbook for the Baptist Hymnal (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1964), pp. 56–57.

3. Robert Cottrill, “Great is thy faithfulness,” Wordwise Hymns (8 April 2019): https://wordwisehymns.com/2019/04/08/great-is-thy-faithfulness-2/

4. Kwame Dawes, “Great is thy faithfulness: A meditation,” Stars Shall Bend Their Voices: Poets’ Favorite Hymns & Spiritual Songs, ed. Jeffrey L. Johnson (Asheville, NC: Orison, 2018), p. 51: Amazon

5. Leland Ryken, “Great is thy faithfulness,” 40 Favorite Hymns of the Christian Faith (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2022), p. 19: Amazon

6. George Beverly Shea, “Great is thy faithfulness,” Crusade Hymn Stories, ed. Cliff Barrows (Chicago: Hope Publishing, 1967), p. 32.

Related Resources:

Joseph F. Green, “Great is thy faithfulness,” Church Musician, vol. 30 (May 1979), pp. 18–20.

“Great is thy faithfulness,” Hymnary.org:
https://hymnary.org/text/great_is_thy_faithfulness_o_god_my_fathe

J.R. Watson & Carlton Young, “Great is thy faithfulness,” Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology:
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/g/great-is-thy-faithfulness

C. Michael Hawn, “History of Hymns: Great is thy faithfulness,” UMC Discipleship Ministries:
https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-great-is-thy-faithfulness