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,” says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!”

- Lamentations 3:22-24

You don’t need to be rescued from life-threatening danger or see God’s miraculous provision in the direst of financial crises to truly know the faithfulness of the Lord. God remains faithful day in and day out in the largest and smallest of circumstances.

Thomas Chisholm wrote “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” as a testament to God’s faithfulness through his very ordinary life. Born in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky, Chisholm became a Christian when he was twenty-seven and entered the ministry when he was thirty-six, though poor health forced him to retire after just one year. During the rest of his life, Chisholm spent many years living in New Jersey and working as a life insurance agent. Still, even with a desk job, he wrote nearly 1,200 poems throughout his life, including several published hymns.

Chisholm explained toward the end of his life, "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."

At last year's Gospel Coalition Women's Conference, John Piper closed the conference with a message from Deuteronomy 29–30. Knowing that the worship band would be closing with "Great is Thy Faithfulness" he looked over the lyrics and realized, "That’s a great hymn. I love it. But it did not hit the nail of my message on the head. And one of my poetic bents is to like coherence between message and music.”

He tried to think of another song to suggest, but “the extent of my music awareness is not large,” he said. “I couldn’t think of one.”

So he wrote his own. Here are two new verses Dr. Piper wrote for the song:

I could not love Thee, so blind and unfeeling

Covenant promises fell not to me

Then without warning, desire, or deserving

I found my Treasure, my pleasure, in Thee

I have no merit to woo or delight Thee

I have no wisdom or pow’rs to employ

Yet in thy mercy, how pleasing thou find’st me

This is Thy pleasure: that Thou art my joy

V1

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 will be

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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

V2

I could not love Thee, so blind and unfeeling

Covenant promises fell not to me

Then without warning, desire, or deserving

I found my Treasure, my pleasure, in Thee

V3

I have no merit to woo or delight Thee

I have no wisdom or pow’rs to employ

Yet in thy mercy, how pleasing thou find’st me

This is Thy pleasure: that Thou art my joy

V4

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

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Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me