Holy Holy Holy (Bedroom Demo #254) (Patreon)

Holy Holy Holy

words: Reginald Heber (1783-1822)

melody: “Nicaea” by John Backus Dykes

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!

Holy holy holy! Angels adore Thee

Casting down their bright crowns around the glassy sea

Thousands and ten thousands worship low before Thee

Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be

God in three persons, blessed Trinity

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, blessed Trinity

guitar and vocal: T.S. Taylor

note:

Nope, this isn’t “The Swirling Eddies” song by the same name (which, btw, is among my top five favorite Eddies songs). Instead, our series of hymns continues with yet another classic; one that is among those very rare hymns which appears in just about every denominational hymnal. In fact, it is so familiar that if you’ve never sung this one before, then I have no choice but to question your salvation. Well…..maybe I’m overstating this a bit. Let’s just say that I highly recommend that you immediately stop reading this, and, if you haven’t done so already, play my version of this hymn and sing along to it with all the passion you can muster; I’m fairly certain that until you do the Lord will not be pleased with you.

Anyway, this one was written by an Anglican Bishop in 1861 and was intended for use on Trinity Sunday. The text invites the worshipper to join in praising the Trinity, paraphrasing Revelation 4:1-11, and reflecting St. John’s vision of unending worship in heaven. The composer, Heber, is said to have “dutifully attempted to avoid emotionalism” and to write a hymn which “does not initiate praise, but is rather an invitation to join in an endless song.” It should be noted that the text of of Holy Holy Holy has a wide scope, successfully including humans, saints, angels, and living creatures. Also noteworthy is that the song cleverly begins with an ascending major third, which can be seen as symbolizing the Trinity.

In modern times, ‘Holy Holy Holy’ has been recorded by artists such as Sufjan Stevens, (I love this guy!), The Choir of King’s College at Cambridge, and The 2nd Chapter of Acts, and even though the efforts by these artists pale in comparison to my own, I just thought I’d give them a shout out anyway; they deserve at least some credit for having given it their best shot. Nice try, kids!

All kidding aside, the line in this hymn which particularly resonates with me is this one: “Holy, Holy, Holy, though the darkness hide thee…” The time in which we now live seems to me to be the darkest I’ve experienced in my 72 years on the planet. Where we are headed is anyone’s guess. Never have I felt such intensity in the need to have faith in the sovereign will of our heavenly Father; to say along with Job “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”