Filled with Astonishing Gratefulness

 

Thomas Chisholm (1866-1960) was born in the tiny town of Franklin, KY. When he was 27, he attended a revival service led by Dr. H. C. Morrison and gave his heart to Christ. He was never in good health. During his lifetime he wrote over 1200 poems. In 1923, he sent a batch of poems to William Runyan, a musician who served at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

One of the poems impressed Runyan so much that he set it to music. He published it privately, little knowing it would become one of the most beloved hymns of the 20th century.  The hymn is known as “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”Runyan 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.

Late in his life, Thomas penned these words of personal testimony: My income has not been large at any time due to impaired health in the earlier years which has followed me until now. Although 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.

We tend to sing Thomas hymn “Great is thy faithfulness” at moments when we have experienced God’s blessings and at the end of a year as we look back and see how God’s hand has led us day by day. However, this beautiful hymn, which has been sung by God’s people for many years, is based on a text written during Israel’s lowest moment. A phrase in Lamentations 3:22-23 provides a basis for the refrain.

The book of Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah in response to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. As Jeremiah went up on the hillside and sat overlooking the desolate city, he uttered these lamentations. For most of the book, there is not one ray of light. It tells us of horrible destruction. But in the middle of the book there are some of the sweetest words about God.

Jeremiah says, “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion...therefore I hope in Him!” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord (Lam. 3:21-26).

Jeremiah declares that the Lord is his hope amid hopelessness; his light when all around is darkness; his reason for living when he would rather give up. God’s compassions never fail” (Lam. 3:22) God’s compassion is plural. It rolls down in waves from heaven. God is a consuming fire (Deut. 4:24). The Israelites had done many bad things, but because of his compassions they were not consumed.

David knew that God was merciful. He had seen God performing "all things” for him. Faced with danger, he reflected on what God had done for him in the past.  When Saul asked him why he thought he could slay the giant, the young David recalled God’s faithfulness during his days as a shepherd. That faithfulness gave him courage to believe God would deliver once again. He said “The Lord who delivered me ... will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Sam. 17:33-37).

Later, when he was hiding from Saul in a cave David wrote Psalm 57. He wrote “O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in you and in the shadow of your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by. I will cry out...to God who performs all things for me... God shall send forth His mercy … My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise (Ps.57:1-3, 7-10).

God was always able to deliver David. He can deliver his children from any calamity if he chooses to because he is wise in heart and mighty in strength (Job 9:4).  To him belong wisdom and power...strength and insight...he makes fools of judges, he takes off shackles put on by kings... silences the lips of trusted advisers...disarms the mighty and brings utter darkness into light (Job 12). Not only does the Lord “performs all things” for David, he also does all things well” (Mark 7:37).  

One would have thought David would say, "My heart is shaken”; but no, his heart is calm, resolute and steadfast. He says and repeats “my heart is steadfast”. His heart has taken rest in the God “who performs all things for him”; in him his entire reliance has been fixed. As he looks back upon his life, he is wonderfully struck with the way in which God performed everything for him.

In Psalm 40 David says “I waited patiently for the Lord... He lifted me out of the slimy pit...he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him…  Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done.... were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips... I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly. Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me …may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say,“ the Lord is great!”

In Psalm 89 the psalmist says “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known your faithfulness to all generations... Your faithfulness also surrounds you…You have a mighty arm; Strong is Your hand... Blessed are the people who ... walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance. In Your name they rejoice all day long…For you are the glory of their strength.

my servant David; with whom my hand shall be established...The enemy shall not outwit him…my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him…my mercy I will keep for him forever …“If his sons ... do not keep my commandments, Then I will punish their transgression...Nevertheless my lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow my faithfulness to  fail...nor alter the word that has gone out of my lips.

Gods mercies are new every morning” (Lam. 3:23). When God provided his children with manna in the wilderness his instructions were clear “Everyone is to gather as much as they need. No one is to keep any of it until morning”.  However, some of them kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots. Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed (Ex. 16:16-21).  

In the same way God’s mercies are appointed day by day. They come when we need them, not earlier and not later. Today’s mercies are for today’s burdens. They are not designed to carry tomorrow's burdens. There will be mercies tomorrow for that. God not only limits the trouble for each day, but also gives the mercies which are tailor-made to carry that day's trouble only (1 Cor. 10:13).

God gives the mercy we need today. The strength to live tomorrow will be given tomorrow, not today. So we must not compound today's load with fretting over tomorrow's (Matt.6:34) Today's mercies do not include strength for tomorrow's burden. What you need today is not tomorrow's strength but faith that there will be new mercies for tomorrow and they will be enough .

I Corinthians 10:13 says “no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. What you are going through is not new. Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 says “What has been will be  again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, Look! This is something new" ? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.

It’s beautiful to see how saints of old found comfort in God. When storms came they, unlike Peter, focused on the Lord and not the storm. To them God was a present reality; a very present help in time of trouble (Ps. 46:1). We can learn a valuable lesson from them. God is as faithful today as he was then. His faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 119:90). What a consolation it is that our God never changes! (Heb 13:8).

Moses commanded the Israelites not to forget how the Lord led them through that great and terrible wilderness (Deut. 8:14-16). The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud by day to guide them and at night a pillar of fire gave them light so they could travel day and night. Neither of the pillars left its place (Ex. 13:21-22). The pillars reminded them that God was right there with them, both day and night. In the day and night seasons of life our Lord is always there.

Psalm 136 is one of the hymns sang by God’s people. It contains no petitions and no complaints. Instead it contains a list of moments where God worked in history, each answered by the refrain “his love endures forever.” The psalm contains a survey of God’s faithfulness beginning with creation (vv. 5-9) and ending with Israel’s entry into the Promised Land (vv. 10-26).

How do you handle your troubles? Does your faith stand the test? Can you see God’s hand even when its wrapped in clouds. Can you submit to his will without murmuring? Can you say the Lord gave the Lord has taken away blessed be the name of the Lord? (Job 1:21) Can you say “though he slays me, yet I will trust in him?(Job 13:15) When life begins to tumble in around you  reflect on his mighty deeds and you will see how faithful God is.

Are you lamenting because things are not perfect? However deep your affliction is, if it were not for God, things would be worse. Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise is beautiful (Psalm 147:1). We live in faith and die in hope precisely because our God is faithful. Though we live in a faithless world, we have a faithful God. Thomas Chisholm words “filled with astonishing gratefulness” should be the testimony of every child of God”.