Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning
our song shall rise to thee.
(“Holy, Holy, Holy,” Heber, R., 1826)
If you’re like me, you’ve sung this hymn thousands of times, usually as opening praise in a worship service. The choir processes down the aisle, with all the organ stops pulled on the last verse, and our song rises to our thrice holy Lord. Sometimes, it’s the last rousing hymn before we walk out the door into the world.
What does God’s holiness mean for us, when we’re praising our holy Lord, into our suffering? What does this mean for us when trials in this earthly life threaten to stifle our faith?
Maybe today it’s our hymn sung to God in hushed voice, through released tears, into pain and fear and sorrow. Let’s praise our holy, holy, holy Lord with a quiet “praise interruption.”
You are set apart in perfection, Lord
God tells us He is holy, holy, holy. He is set apart in essence, separate from evil, from sin. In His perfection and purity, He is unique, unlike us and unlike gods of all other religions.
Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? (Ex. 15:11 ESV)
Through Scripture’s glimpses of His throne in heaven, we hear unending song lyrics. Worship is the natural response to God’s holiness, in awe and reverence. He’s calling us to worship and honor Him as holy…even as we suffer. Maybe this suffering time is God’s uniquely designed opportunity for us to come into His presence and intimately learn more of Him as the One who is set apart from this world.
Perhaps it’s a chance for our gaze to lift to His perfection, in our humbled weakness, sinful imperfection, and desperate need.
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! (Rev. 4:8 ESV)
Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed (Rev. 15:4 ESV).
The Holy One asks us, “To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him?” (Is. 40:25 ESV)
God is making us more holy, as we suffer
In our suffering, our holy God must be calling us to something new, because He promises that He is always setting us apart as His redeemed children in Christ.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
In this sanctifying time of suffering, He’s already given us a new self to put on! It looks like His holy self! By the Holy Spirit’s indwelling power, He’s now making us more holy, less like our sin natures and more like our holy Jesus. Why? Until we enter His holy presence for eternity, He says it’s “in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Col. 1:22). One glorious day, this will be our song!
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 wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
Worship of our holy God
How could this time be one of “spiritual worship” as He transforms you “by the renewal of your mind” (Rom. 12:1-2)? What Scriptures lift your heart into quiet and settled praise of our Lord’s eternally vast holiness and complete perfection? Could praying His Word back to Him be a special practice for you? How could you personalize these words?
The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
The LORD is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name!
Holy is he! (Ps. 99:1-3 ESV).
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 pow’r, in love, and purity.
For me, daily realizing that our holy Lord is always at work, from all of His set-apart and unchanging being, fills my soul with awe and wonder, a reverent “fear” of worship. I can then trust that this time of suffering is His loving work to help you and me “cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1 ESV). Our suffering holds His perfecting purposes!
The Holy Spirit is working to…
Singing praise to our holy, holy, holy Lord
Somehow, quiet praise into suffering becomes joyful praise when we remember what our thrice holy God has done for us in and through Jesus Christ! Do you see, beloved?
God is the source of any holiness established in our hearts!
Somehow, this suffering is all part of that setting-apart journey. As He brings us to the cross daily, in our earthly need, our holy God meets our deepest need…as sinners. So, we come to our holy Lord, through His indwelling Holy Spirit who is transforming us, in and through this suffering.
Our holy, holy, holy Lord…
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, blessed Trinity!
Material adapted from Near to God: A Devotional Bible Study of God’s Character in Our Suffering, Lauri A. Hogle. Copyright © 2022, Singing Christ’s Hope.
A playlist to sing to our holy, holy, holy Lord
I went looking for YouTube videos of quiet praise of God’s holiness. I was more successful in finding exultant praise videos when artists seek to help us praise our thrice holy Lord. But that was just right! In the very act of singing praise with these videos, my exhausted heart rose with joy! The songs helped me remember His holy perfection, looking forward with great hope to the day when we will join in the unending hymn of praise at His holy throne, on the beautiful day when God has perfected His work of holiness in us as believers in Jesus Christ!
If this playlist would be a blessing to you as well, I’d love to send it to you, as you seek to worship our holy, holy, holy Lord, into your own suffering. Just sign up here and it will come to your email this week.
