HYMNS FOR HOLY WEEK

As we enter Holy Week I thought we'd take a look at some of my favorite hymns and how they came to be. I almost saved the best for last but decided to tell you about my most favorite first. I'm not really sure when it became my Number One. It's just always been there. The words are so special to me.

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 has been, Thou forever wilt be.

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.

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.

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy had hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.



Unlike most hymns, "Faithfulness" did not come about as a result of a deep personal experience. Thomas Chisholm was a Methodist minister who was eventually forced to give up his profession as a result of ill health. He wrote the words of this hymn simply as a realization of God's faithfulness in his life. The hymn became the unofficial "school hymn" of the Moody Bible Institute. It was first introduced to all of us in a 1954 Great Britain meeting of the Billy Graham Crusade.

There are some interesting websites to visit and some of them have music. Youtube is always a favorite and if you go there, check out Bob Swift and the Metropolitan Baptist Church (I wish our choir would do this version: hint, hint). One other good site is:
http://www.namethathymn.com/2005/08/great-is-thy-faithfulness.html