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
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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Everyone enjoy this podcast and transcript below! It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures and reflections shared.
Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.
We began our journey through another great hymn this week. In the first half of this stanza, we reminded ourselves of Who God is and committed to come early and often to give Him praise. In the second half we consider how He mingles mercy and might, and acknowledge the mystery of the Trinity. Let’s think about this.
Mercy and Might
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
Because He is perfect in every way, His might is genuinely no surprise to most. Just look at the wonder of creation, His power and glory on full display. In yesterdays Wednesday Wandering we considered the force of a river and compared it to His holiness. In our Tuesday Tuning we considered the advantages of coming early and often to One so worthy of our praise. Today we are marveling at how He mingles that might with unparalleled mercy.
He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. Psalm 33:5 ESV
That Scripture sets our context, and gives expression to the image above. In it we see depicted Lady Justice with her scales and Moses with the Ten Commandments. One is from the ancient world, and another from God’s inspired word. We introduce justice with that image simply to remind us that God balances His righteousness with justice.
He revealed His righteousness and our inability to mirror it in the Ten Commandments. After all, Moses did not even get down the mountain before the Israelites had found a very obvious way to disobey God. If we had been there we would have been just as guilty, for we certainly have been at other moments when we have allowed other things to draw our hearts from God.
But it is justice that is intriguing to me. The image of Lady Justice with the scales in one hand, a sword in the other and the blindfold is a striking one. Justice weighs between right and wrong and rules accordingly. Justice speaks with authority. Justice sees no favorites. The Lady is a nice symbol, but God is the source of justice, setting what is right and also measuring each of us against it.
And here is where the mercy flows. None of us can keep His just commands. Weighed down with our wrongs not one of us is righteous. He sees no favorites and those wrongs condemn us all equally. Still He provides a way for us out from under the sword of justice. That way is the greatest expression of mercy the world has ever known.
He sent His Son into a broken world to put it back together by satisfying justice with His sacrifice. Jesus mingled mercy and might by becoming sin for us, then overcoming it. He sends the Holy Spirit to bind up the bruised and worn. Give the Father praise for His mercy and His might!
Mystery and Certainty
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Who is this holy God? He is at once Father, Son and Spirit. The Godhead, three-in-one.
This is a glorious mystery. But it is equally a certainty. We can not really fathom how God can be three distinct Persons, and yet One. Our feeble minds can not really conceive of how that happens. Mystery.
We use illustrations like the fact that one person can be a father, a brother, and a son. But they are the same person in different roles, whereas God is distinctly three Persons somehow united as One. Certainty.
The Father speaks. The Son is the Incarnate Word, the Word made flesh. The Spirit teaches or imparts that Word to human hearts. Three distinct roles, One God. Mystery.
Though the Scripture never uses the word Trinity, verses like this among others demonstrate the veracity of this truth. Certainty.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV
Though the thrice repeated holy from our hymn is sometimes explained as being a literary device to communicate the certainty of a point, emphatically declaring it three times, there is another explanation I believe. One could just as well say, Holy Father, Holy Son, Holy Spirit, God is three Persons. Give Him thanks thanks for His grace, love and fellowship woven together perfectly for you everyday and forever.
Jesus, thank You for not only balancing mercy and might, but also mystery and certainty. There is truly no one like You. Help me to live with mystery and certainty, even as I marvel at how You are both mighty and merciful to me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Awe-filled Thinking!
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Podcast 14.1 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! Lord God Almighty!
And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” Revelation 4:8 ESV
Isaiah 6 also echoes this eternal refrain, and you are welcome to join it as well. He was holy and Almighty, He is, and He always will be. Lift your voice with the living creatures and give praise to our Lord God now, and forevermore.
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. Psalm 59:16a ESV
Singers will tell you it is not easy to sing in the morning, but once you have warmed up you are good to go. Consider that early morning praise to be your warmup for the day. It is not meant to suffice, but simply to get you started, so you can praise all day. What are you waiting for?
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. Psalm 33:5 ESV
It is amazing to me how our Lord blends these two characteristics, mercy and might. There is none so mighty, yet there is also none so merciful. What do you need from Him today? Mercy or might. Ask Him now, then give Him praise for His ability to give it, no matter what you need.
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV
Holy Father, holy Son, Holy Spirit, three distinct persons, one God. We marvel at the certainty and mystery of the Trinity. Give Him thanks thanks for His grace, love and fellowship woven together perfectly for you everyday and forever.
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! 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!
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 Mercy or Might, Mystery or Certainty? Yes He Is! appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions
Justice and Rightesouness – https://pixabay.com/photos/justitia-goddess-goddess-of-justice-2638651/
Merciful God – https://pixabay.com/photos/harmony-world-peace-dove-hope-3788209/
Trinity – https://pixabay.com/photos/bible-holy-spirit-jesus-hope-29894
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