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.
Holy, Holy, Holy
By: Reginald Heber 1783–1826
Listen to this simple piano version as you read. Please make certain to enjoy the podcast below.
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Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.
We continue our journey through this great hymn. In the first half of this stanza, we consider a couple of the reasons why we often struggle to see God clearly. Through darkness without and within, we are impaired to make out His work and ways, but there is purpose even in that. Let’s tune our hearts.
Darkness Without
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,
Sometimes it is difficult to make out where God is and what He is doing in our circumstances. We have all experienced this, but praise His name, it is sometimes a bit easier than others. Still, in those moments when it is difficult to trace His hand, our faith has the opportunity to do one of two things: shrink back in His apparent absence, or enlarge to take in His bigger purposes. Each has an impact on our journey. It is up to us to choose.
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Psalm 97:2 ESV
The darkness at times is actually clouds or vapors that impair our vision, but often they take different forms. Illness, victory, tragedy, triumph, apathy, complacency, defeat, ease. They are not all bad, at least they do not feel bad, but their effect can be, if we are not careful. What is keeping you from seeing God clearly today?
Some unexpected turn of events. An expected trouble finally coming into the light. Your own weakness, or someone else’s. The disappointment of a friend or someone else close to you. Someone not keeping their promise. You failing to keep yours.
These things put our faith to the test because they put our concept of God on trial. And for many of us, our concept of God is lacking, and the trial reveals that. But the problem is not with God, but our view of Him. He is the thrice holy God, without fault or blemish, perfect in all of His ways, which we will examine in our Thursday Thoughts this week.
How often, though, do we pretend that God is the problem when, in fact, it is our poor image of Him? God is not the problem. Our ability to see Him clearly, and so dismiss the reality of Who He is, is the real problem. And even if you pray for the clouds to be removed and the thick darkness to part so you may see Him clearly, He does not often oblige, knowing full well it will profit you more if you press through it ever trusting and allow Him to do His work on His timetable.
He is God and that is His prerogative. Do not fight it. Rest in it.
So I ask again. What is keeping you from seeing God clearly today? What is that darkness without? It is important to identify it, but even more important is your intention to trust Him through it. Ask Him for the resolve and the courage to do so. The answer to those prayers will benefit you far more than the clouds parting.
Darkness Within
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
As much trouble as the darkness without can be, the darkness within is far more insidious. The darkness around us, we can see and even feel. But that which is within is much more challenging to identify, and can make our seeing God clearly exceedingly more difficult. Ask Moses.
He had already had a number of encounters with God of Biblical proportions. Those encounters left him longing for more. He was on the mountain with God for weeks on end and still wanted more. He was feeling especially close to God through all that access and flat-out asked to see the glory of God, and God obliged. Well, sort of.
And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’…But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” Exodus 33:19a-20 (ESV)
Moses had spent so much time in God’s presence he failed to realize the great disparity between himself and the Most High. He had become too casual. But the opposite can also be true.
Sometimes we can have such a low view of God that our contempt for Him mars our ability to see clearly. Both are dangerous and an expression of the sin which impairs our sight. They are dangerous, not because we get to see Him and are undone, but because they tend to keep us unaware of just how near He is, which is equally tragic.
Maybe you are on the mountain with God and that has kept you from approaching with appropriate reverence. Darkness within.
Maybe you harbor a quiet resentment toward God for some time He “failed” you. That is in quotes because He never does. Darkness within.
Maybe (101 other reasons, you fill in the blank) ________. Darkness within.
We are new creations in Christ and so have a new nature, but the residue of that old nature remains. That is how I like to refer to the flesh. That residue houses the darkness within and can create all kinds of problems, but God can certainly help with that, as well, and create ways for us to see the extent of His glory we can handle, and need, in any and every moment.
What darkness within may be impairing your ability to encounter the holiness of God? He does not want to keep Himself from you, but may be sparing you an undoing if you are asking for something you are not ready to handle. Ask the Spirit to reveal any darkness within. Then ask Him to help you deal with it so you may see God’s radiant transforming glory again, and soon.
Jesus, thank You for being Light in my darkness. Give me faith to believe even when it is difficult to see and even more difficult to acknowledge. Illumine my heart with Your light, and help me to be dissatisfied when I can not see it and prompted to pursue You anew. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
Illuminated Tuning!
Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence. We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.
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Podcast 14.3 Transcript
Welcome to Thursday Thoughts at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s think about this.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Psalm 97:2 ESV
We can not see Him face-to-face right now. He is veiled by clouds and darkness somehow. And that is probably a good thing, for seeing His glory would cause us to be undone or disintegrated in the light of His integration or wholeness. Thank Him that His glory is veiled.
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’…But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” Exodus 33:19a-20 (ESV)
Moses asked to see God’s glory and this was the Lord’s response. His goodness would pass before Moses, and he would only see God after He had passed, otherwise he would have died. That is how holy our God is. Seeing His holiness would consume us. Thank Him for His holiness.
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
“There is none holy like the Lord; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.” 1 Samuel 2:2 ESV
This is from Hannah’s prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of her son Samuel after long being barren. She had experienced the truth of these words and earned the right to speak them. Have you experienced this truth in your life? If not, ask Him for it. If so, ask for it again.
Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…Hebrews 1:3 ESV
This verse speaks of the perfection of Jesus Christ. He upholds the universe by His power. His sacrifice of love is the most selfless act in history, and by it He purifies us from our sins. Give Him praise!
Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has come to your mind, or listen to what He is saying to you, then I will read our text once more.
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.
Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond. Until next time, be Resonant.
The post Identifying the Darkness Which Hides God appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions
Clouds and thick darkness – https://pixabay.com/photos/storm-cloud-stormy-thick-3677717/
Eye of Sinful Man – https://pixabay.com/photos/face-portrait-man-elderly-984031/
Glory Passes By – https://pixabay.com/photos/sun-nature-scenic-india-forests-365981/
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