Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule:
Deuteronomy 10-13
We often sing one of the great hymns of the faith entitled “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” We may have sung this hymn without realizing that the writer did not invent those phrases; he was merely quoting Scripture… quoting the prophet Jeremiah, in fact. What is noteworthy about those words is that when Jeremiah wrote them he was not celebrating a great victory of the people of God but reflecting on the greatest defeat in the nation’s history. He was looking at the city of Jerusalem as it lay in ruins following the terrible destruction brought on it by the army of Babylon. He wrote, “Because of the Lord’s mercy we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness” (Lam. 3;22-23).
The walls were broken down, the gates and the homes were burned, the people had been carted off into servitude, and Jerusalem lay in ruins. The temple of God was destroyed and its furnishings were taken away to Babylon to be used in drinking parties to honor pagan deities. Yet Jeremiah could muse on the faithfulness of God through it all.
It is a faithful God who chastens and disciplines His people when they need it. Man may vacillate, but the God of heaven is always faithful, and His faithfulness doesn’t depend on us. We may do our worst, but He remains faithful to His own character. God’s faithfulness to Israel was exhibited as much by their removal to Babylon as by their return seventy years later.
Interestingly, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” was written not by a pastor or evangelist but by an insurance salesman, Thomas Chisholm. His writing was not provoked by any great crisis in his life, as many hymns are; he simply was overwhelmed one day as he sat meditating on the unfailing kindness of God in his life. He wrote the words to the hymn and sent them to a friend, William Runyan, who set them to music. The church has been singing this great expression of faith ever since.
Prayer Requests:
Personal
- Lord, please help me to appreciate your faithfulness, and may it be manifested in a greater desire to be faithful to you.
- Lord, please help me to express your faithfulness even in chastening.
- Lord, please help me to embrace the abundant mercy from a merciful God.
Political
- Senator Aric Nesbitt – District 26 – Lawton
- Senator Jack O’Malley – District 101 – Benzie County
- Senator Rick Outman – District 33 – Six Lakes