"Holy, Holy, Holy" -- A Hymn Love Story

Polyphonic Hymns of Costanzo Festa, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Recently, I observed the results when a dear friend of mine opted to lead "Holy, Holy, Holy" as a devotional hymn, not knowing it had already been selected as the congregational hymn of the morning. The results were striking, and actually typical; some people relished the opportunity to sing the hymn over again, and other people were completely upset by the idea of "dragging the service down" by singing the same hymn twice.

Take a moment and think -- what would your reaction have been? Depending on your answer, you may not like the rest of this page -- consider fair warning given, for you are either on the side of the angels or against them on this one!

The Prophet Isaiah recorded, in the sixth chapter of his book, what he saw in a vision during troubled times in his home country of Judah (the southern kingdom of the people of Israel at that time):

Isaiah 6:1-3

1. In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

2. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3. And one cried to another, and said, "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory."

Notice that while Isaiah saw the Lord, the seraphims -- spirit beings that we generally lump under that very large class known as "angels" -- were too overawed to look upon the Lord, for they covered their faces, and too overawed to show their feet, instruments of service that could never be adequate to render the service due their Lord. Note further: these are the holy angels, those that did not join Satan in his rebellion -- these angels never sinned, and from our perspective have nothing to be ashamed of. But here they are, showing a reverence and humility toward and awe for God that rarely enters into our sinful hearts -- and that, of course, is the crux of the matter, for sin has messed up our perspective.

Before getting to Isaiah's reaction, it should also be pointed out that the activity of the seraphims was not something that was put on for Isaiah's benefit; the seraphims were not putting on a heavenly show, but merely going about their business -- daily business, nightly business, and every-hour-in-between business for a whole lot of spirit beings, apparently:

Revelation 5:8 -- And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come."

Putting these passages down as a yardstick leads to some fascinating interpretations of the little event I described . . . if God has been listening to spirit beings crying "Holy, Holy, Holy" from eternity past until now, and has not made any objection, it stands to reason that He might not mind hearing a church change up their service ideas a little bit and sing that great praise and worship in "Holy, Holy, Holy," to Him twice in a row.

But there is a definite reason some of us human beings night be opposed to singing that hymn even one time, suffer through it how we might; most of us are not ready to respond as Isaiah did to his vision of our holy, awesome God:

Isaiah 6:5 - Then said I, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."

Basically, Isaiah's reaction is, "I see now that God is holy; I am a sinner in the midst of sinners, and I am not worthy to live in the presence of so holy a God -- I'm finished!" And there is the crux of the matter; when we get a true sense of the holiness and perfection of God, our own sense of our self-worth and the importance of our ego-centered agendas is completely destroyed in the overwhelming force and perfection of His presence.

Collapsed Building in Mexico City, 1985, courtesy of the USGS and Wikimedia Commons

If you are a proud person, "Holy, Holy, Holy" is not going to make it into your iPod, your tape deck, or that thing that holds 50 CDs . . . it is a hymn that can divide those that are worshipping God and those that are worshipping themselves as readily as anything in the universe does. If you really have "high self-esteem" and low "God-esteem," (and the two estimations of worth ARE mutually exclusive, make no mistake) "Holy, Holy, Holy" is simply not going to make you feel all that good for whatever brief length of time you go along with the crowd and sing it:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,

Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee.

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,

God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.

But there is another side to this thing, for the same holy God is a forgiving, merciful, loving God. Given that Isaiah lived to write about His experiences, we know even without reading further that God did not atomize him for looking upon His glory. But God did more than spare Isaiah's life; the rest of the chapter describes how God cleansed Isaiah from his sin and readied him for His service . . . and some of us that have known the Lord a long time know precisely the order in which our loving God works. God is holy, and separate from sin; He will not use dirty tools and dishes. But He is willing to clean up anyone who comes to Him in faith . . .

I Corinthians 15:3-4

3. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;

4. And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures.

. . . and He will keep us clean . . .

I John 1:9 -- If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

. . . and allow us the privilege of serving Him forever, both in this life and beside the angels in the next.

Now of course we all struggle with the decision to serve God or serve ourselves (again, the choice is mutually exclusive -- make no mistake!), on a thousand levels big and small, daily -- Christian or not, there is a part in every one of us that wants to see ourselves "upon a throne, high and lifted up." But, "Holy, Holy, Holy" leaves us no doubt on Who that throne belongs to, forever:

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,

Casting down their goldern crowns around the glassy sea.

Cherubim and seraphim, falling down before Thee,

Which wert and art and ever more shall be.

To the self-centered, that is an offense . . . to those who are conscious of our position in Christ (Christ-centeredness, if you will) and our worthlessness outside of Christ, it is a truth that is our passionate and endless delight, for we revel in knowing that God has chosen to share His holiness, His love, and even His throne, in Christ, with us forever, and we shall have the glorious privilege of joining with the cherubim and seraphim in His worship, forever.

Holy, Holy, Holy
Words by Reginald Heber (in 1829), music by John B. Dykes (in 1861)

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!