LYRICS

1. The wise man built his house upon the rock (3 times)
   And the rains came tumbling down.
2. The rains came down and the floods came up (3 times)
   But the house on the rock stood firm.
3. The foolish man built his house upon the sand (3 times)
   And the rains came tumbling down.
4. The rains came down and the floods came up (3 times)
   And the house on the sand fell splat.
5. So build your lives on the Lord Jesus Christ (3 times)
   And the blessings will come down.
6. The blessings come down as the prayers go up (3 times)
   So build your life on the Lord.

Great is Thy Faithfulness
(1923)

“Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” – Psalm 36:5

Hymn Background:

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 health was unstable, and he alternated between bouts of illness and gainful employment in which he did everything from journalism to selling insurance to evangelistic work.  Through all the ups and downs, he discovered new blessings from God every morning. The 3rd chapter of Lamentations 3 became precious to him:  His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

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 in1923 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 Thy Faithfulness’”.  It became an unofficial theme song for the Institute; and when Houghten died, it was sung at his funeral.

Still, it remained relatively unknown until popularized around the world by Goerge 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 hymns “O To Be Like Thee” and “Living for Jesus”.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness
LYRICS:

1. 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!

2. 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.    
Refrain

3. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! 
Refrain

Christians, We Have Met to Worship