This beautiful piano instrumental of “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” will lift your spirit and bring a gentle peace to your heart. As you listen to each keystroke, take in the slow beauty of the moment. Just play the video to begin.
Pianist Jason Coleman is a master of his craft. He presses each key timely and with intention, and it’s wonderful to hear. His chosen piece brings to mind the lovely hymn’s lyrics:
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.
The classic hymn was written in 1923 by Thomas Obediah Chisholm. Thomas wrote over 1200 poems and hymns by the time he was of retirement age. Thomas was a humble man who described himself as “just an old shoe.”
He had sent “Great is thy Faithfulness” and a number of other poems to Rev. William H. Runyan of Chicago’s Hope Publishing Company. The reverend was impressed by Thomas’s work and quickly set the tune to the lyrics.
William said of “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” “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. It was written in Baldwin, Kansas, in 1923, and was first published in my private song pamphlets."
Later, in 1954, George Beverly Shea introduced the hymn in evangelistic meetings in the UK. And the hymn grew popular. It’s a beautiful song, even without the lyrics, which Jason Coleman highlights in this video.
“Be certain, then, that the Lord your God is God; whose faith and mercy are unchanging, who keeps his word through a thousand generations to those who have love for him and keep his laws,” Deuteronomy 7:9