Thomas Obadiah Chisholm was born in a log house in Lake Spring (marked by the present Lake Spring Road) near Franklin, Kentucky, in 1866 – just after the Civil War. His boyhood was spent on a farm – and then at 16 he started teaching in the country schoolhouse he had attended. and in teaching district schools until he was 21. He was for five years assistant editor of the local paper – the Franklin favorite.
In 1893, he attended a revival meeting led by Evangelist Henry Clay Morrison (pioneer of the Holiness movement, and later president of Asbury College). He was converted at that meeting at age 26, called to the ministry, and began pastoring in Scottsville, Kentucky in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Suffering from poor health he resigned from the pastorate – and would work in insurance for a while.
Along the way he would return to the newspaper business – although this time a Christian newspaper – as business manager and office editor of Henry Clay Morrison’s “Pentecostal Herald” of Louisville, KY.
Life would find him in the conference grounds of Winona Lake, Indiana, and later to Vineland, New Jersey.
Prior to conversion he had done versifying, contributing to the Louisville Courier-Journal, and was chosen poet for the Kentucky Press Association.
Image Credit: Jun 27, 1890, Page 2 – Hopkinsville Kentuckian at Newspapers.com. www.newspapers.com/image/173773873/?match=1&terms=%22Capt.%20Lee%20Hathaway%22.
Over his lifetime he would write more than 1,000 poems – many published in his Franklin Favorite.
Image Credit: May 08, 1913, Page 1 – the Franklin Favorite at Newspapers.com. www.newspapers.com/image/486499860/?match=1&terms=%22T.%20O.%20Chisholm%22%20%22Could%20We%22.
His first hymns were sent to Fanny Crosby for criticism, who returned them with kindly suggestions and such words of commendation as to encourage him in the work. His first success was “O, To Be Like Thee.”
1. Oh! to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.2. Oh! to be like Thee, full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand’ring sinner to find.3. Oh! to be like Thee, lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer, others to save.4. Oh! to be like Thee, Lord, I am coming,
Now to receive th’ anointing divine;
All that I am and have I am bringing,
Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.5. Oh! to be like Thee, while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love,
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.Refrain:
Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
Chisholm’s aim in writing is to magnify the Word, incorporating as much Scripture, either literally or in paraphrase, as possible, and to avoid any flippant or sentimental themes, choosing subjects from the inexhaustible storehouse of the Bible.
Chisholm said, “Having been led, for a part of my life through some difficult paths, I have sought to gather from such experiences material out of which to write hymns of comfort and cheer for those similarly circumstanced.”
In 1917 he wrote with C.H. Lowden, “Living for Jesus”
Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do,
Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.Living for Jesus Who died in my place,
Bearing on Calv’ry my sin and disgrace,
Such love constrains me to answer His call,
Follow His leading and give Him my all.Living for Jesus, wherever I am,
Doing each duty in His holy Name,
Willing to suffer affliction and loss,
Deeming each trial a part of my cross.Living for Jesus through earth’s little while,
My dearest treasure, the light of His smile,
Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem,
Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.Refrain:
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me,
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne,
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.
In 1923 he wrote Great is Thy Faithfulness, and sent it to a William Runyan, who was working for the Moody Bible Institute at the time.
“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.Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.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!“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!
He died February 29th, 1960 in Ocean Grove, NJ and is buried in Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania.
T.O. Chisholm Memorial (Image Credit: Jun 04, 1960, Page 3 – the Daily Journal at Newspapers.com. www.newspapers.com/image/280535469/?)
Featured Image Credit: Prolificdigital. “Birthplace of T.O. Chisholm Historic Marker.” Kentucky Music Trail, 16 Oct. 2024, kymusictrail.com/venue/birthplace-of-t-o-chisholm-historic-marker.
