Holy, Holy, Holy

In 1823, Reginald Heber was sent to India to serve as Bishop of Calcutta. While he was in India, Heber, an Oxford scholar, became the first person to create a hymn book which organized hymns according to the church calendar. It was after he died in 1826 that this book was published.

One of the hymns he wrote was for Trinity Sunday, which is celebrated today by many Christians throughout the world. This hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” expressed Heber’s grasp of the holiness of God and the importance of the Trinity.

Heber’s hymn was based on a study of Isaiah’s vision in which he saw “the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted.” It was a life-changing picture of God’s holiness. Overwhelmed, Heber described how, “Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee.” God was both “merciful and mighty.”

He spoke of saints who adore God, “casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea,” and “cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee.” God was eternal; He “was, and is, and evermore shall be.” Heber realized that no sinful man could see God’s glory. “Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee, perfect in power, in love, and purity.” He wrote that “all Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea.”

Today, allow the Spirit of God to fill your heart with wonder at His majesty. Worship and adore God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. “Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!”