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
Great Is Thy Faithfulness (1923)
By: Thomas Chisholm (1866–1960)
Listen to this version in a gospel style as you prepare to ponder this hymn. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.
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Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.
We begin our journey through this popular hymn which declares the faithfulness of our God, true in every season, experienced by hearts of faith. Let’s think about this.
Tender Compassion
- No shadow of turning
- Thou changes not
- As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be
Three different ways to say the same thing. The writer could just have easily said something far less poetic.
- You don’t change
- You don’t change
- You don’t change
But the word choices of the hymn are far more interesting while driving that repeated point home. Still, nestled amongst those three different declarations of His unchanging nature is this little nugget: Thy compassions they fail not. And how thankful we are, like all the people of God, for that truth.
Thou changest not
Thy compassions they fail not
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. Malachi 3:6 ESV
It is one thing for us to declare God does not change. It is quite another when He declares that about Himself. In this verse He plainly states He does not change, and that His unchanging nature is what keeps us from being consumed.
Like Jacob, and the children who bear His name, we too often forsake God’s ways and choose our own. Yet He is compassionate and does not consume us in our rebellion. We are often self-reliant and treat Him in ways that demand His compassion. Fortunately for us it never fails.
Like the strong hand in the image above God is always ready to take our hand when we offer it to Him in need of compassion. We simply fail to invoke His compassion over some situations. By doing so we rob God and ourselves of the opportunity to feel His compassion. Take some time to rest in His compassion right now.
RESONATE!
Think about your words, thoughts and actions and search them for a time you know you rebelled against God’s will and ways. Place that before God and consider His compassion. Have you received it for that situation? If so, thank Him. If not, do so now. Simply ask for Him to be compassionate with you as you confess it and request His compassion. Then just rest in it for a few moments.
Eternally Constant
God is in those moments of compassion, because He is eternally constant. He was, and is, and is to come. The magnitude of His presence is frankly beyond of ability to grasp.
As you stand at the edge of eternity and look into what may seem like at first glance the swirling chaos of forever, you may by His grace come to realize there is a constant. That constant in the bright presence of our God. Amidst the darkness without and within, He is. And He always will be. Compassionate.
As Thou hast been
Thou forever wilt be
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 ESV
Nothing we do changes God. Or simply, nothing changes God. He is ever the same. He was, and is, and is to come, in every way, in every moment, everywhere. So even when we are not faithful, that’s right, He still is.
He has been faithful and He will continue to be faithful. What He has been, He will be forever. Everything in life changes, except God. He is the One constant on which we can depend. His faithfulness does not depend on us.
RESONATE!
Take a moment and in one spot try to imagine all the moments in forever past, present and future that have and will occur just in that one spot. It is more than our feeble minds can conceive. Now try to wrap your mind around every moment, every where. Now imagine being in control of all of it, and always showing compassion. WOW!
Jesus, thank You for being the same yesterday, today and forever. Thank You that Your faithfulness flows out of who You are and that you deal with us eternally with compassion. We never deserve it, but You always give it. Hallelujah! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Instructed Thinking!
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Podcast 23.1 Transcript
Welcome to Thursday Thoughts at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s think about this.
Great is Thy faithfulness
O God my Father
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV
We can learn something when we acknowledge these words emerge from a book of lament. Even in his great distress the prophet pens these common phrases. Whatever you are facing today, recall God’s great faithfulness and declare it once again amidst your laments.
There is no shadow
Of turning with Thee
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17 ESV
Light creates shadows. Shadows move either as the lights move or as the object creating the shadow does. But our Father never changes like those shadows because He is the source of Light and every good thing. Thank Him today for being that source for you.
Thou changest not
Thy compassions they fail not
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. Malachi 3:6 ESV
Here He plainly declares He does not change, and that unchanging nature is what keeps us from being consumed. Like Jacob, we too often forsake God’s ways and choose our own. He is compassionate and does not consume us in our rebellion. Praise Him for that kindness.
As Thou hast been
Thou forever wilt be
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 ESV
He has been faithful and He will continue to be faithful. What He has been, He will be forever. Everything in life changes, except God. He is the One constant on which we can depend. His faithfulness does not depend on us. Ask Him to help you rest in His faithfulness.
Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has come to your mind, or listen to what He is saying to you, then I will read our text once more, with the Refrain.
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
Take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond. Until next time, Be Resonant.
The post Receive Unfailing Compassion appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions
Thy Compassions They Fail Not – https://pixabay.com/photos/hands-compassion-help-old-care-699486/
Thou Forever Wilt Be – https://pixabay.com/photos/search/infinity/
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