I'm sorry I missed this discussion earlier. I got an email about it today:

Hi Joe,
Is this a question for you? I asked mudcats earlier.

Which wheel runs by faith and which by the grace of god? I see singers have little consensus on this. And in my limited theological understanding I can see each choice has validity. But why?
Ted



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Hi, Ted -
Gee, I'm sorry I missed that thread, and I'm very glad you called it to my attention. My answer is: Neither, or both.

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Pete from seven stars link gives a pretty good answer above: neither. In Chapter 1 of Ezekiel, Ezekiel describes the vision that started him off on his career as a prophet. As with many mystical experiences, Ezekiel's vision is very graphic, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It is not meant to be interpreted literally - perhaps it is not meant to be interpreted at all. It is Ezekiel's attempt to describe his experience of the divinity. The main part of the vision is Ezekiel 1:15-21:

¹⁵ Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. ¹⁶ As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of a chrysolite; and the four had the same likeness, their construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. ¹⁷ When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went. ¹⁸ The four wheels had rims and they had spokes; and their rims were full of eyes round about. ¹⁹ And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. ²⁰ Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹ When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

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You can see above that Frank Staplin posted two very legitimate texts for the song. One says:

An' de little wheel run by faith,
An' de big wheel run by de grace ob God.

And the other one says:

De big wheel run by faith,
Little wheel run by de grace of God

And as you can see from the actual text of Ezekiel, the prophet doesn't talk about faith or the grace of God at all in this passage. I wouldn't even try to go to the source of 19th-century "Negro spirituals." Most of these are true folk songs, and it's well-nigh impossible to trace their origins because they didn't start out as published songs. I usually go to my Fisk Jubilee Singers songbook to find at least a common text for spirituals because the Jubilee Singers were the ones who popularized so many spirituals - but this one isn't in their songbook.

So, the answer is that there is no answer, But hey, it's a fascinating question to explore; and it takes us to one of the most colorful passages in the Bible.

-Joe-