Reginald Heber – Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!

Reginald Heber was an English Bishop, poet, and a hymnist.  He went to Oxford, where he gained fame in his poetic abilities.  He was ordained in 1807, aiming is to improve the livelihood and spiritual condition of those under his care.  He moved about through Scandinavia, Russia, and Central Europe.  He took the position of Bishop in 1823, holding the position for three years before he died at the age of 42.  He suffered a stroke after taking a cold bath after spending time in the scorching heat, shocking his body.

His most famous work, Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!, was originally used for Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday after Pentecost.  It was published posthumously in A Selection of Psalms and Hymns for the Parish Church of Banbury (Third Edition) in 1826 and took the world by storm, with many variants and changes to suit the needs of others.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

Heber proclaims several attributes of God:

• Completely other than us
• Surpreme
• Compassionate
• Exists as a trinity
• Endless
• Without flaw

He also spends time discussing man’s response to God:

• We sing to Him in the early morning
• We show deep love and respect to God
• We cast our crowns before God’s throne
• Sinful people who don’t follow God will not see His glory
• All creation, which are the work of God, will bow and confess Jesus as lord.

Finally, Heber states that angelic creatures such as chrubim and seraphim worship God.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

The entire song is Biblical.

This song is public domain.

[Verse 1]

Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!

This threefold repetition of God’s holiness shows up in Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8. It also repeats throughout these lyrics.

It also says in Leviticus 11:44-45, Leviticus 19:2, Leviticus 20:7, and 1 Peter 1:15-16 that God is holy.  There are also 48 references in the Old Testament and 10 in the New Testament that says God is almighty.

Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;

Possibly a reference to Psalm 59:16, where David expresses his desire to joyfully sing in the morning.

Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and Mighty!

God shows mercy (Exodus 33:19, Psalm 86:5, Psalm 145:9, Lamentations 3:22-23, Luke 6:36, Romans 9:15-16, Ephesians 2:4-5, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 4:16, and 1 Peter 1:3).  Since God is almighty, it stands to reason that He is also mighty (see line 1).

God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!

That is, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The trinity chart provides Scriptural justification for this doctrine.

[Verse 2]

Holy, Holy, Holy! All the saints adore Thee,

That is, we deeply love and respect God.  We show love by obeying God (Matthew 25:34-40, John 14:15, John 14:21-24, John 15:10-14, 1 Peter 1:14-15, 1 John 2:3-5, 1 John 4:19-20, 1 John 5:2-3, and 2 John 1:6).  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of:

1. Wisdom (Job 28:28, Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 9:10, Proverbs 15:33, and Isaiah 33:6)

2. Knowledge (Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 2:5, and Isaiah 33:6)

3. Prolonged life (Psalm 34:8-14, Proverbs 10:27, Proverbs 14:27, and Proverbs 19:23)

4. Salvation (Isaiah 33:6)

5. Confidence (Job 4:6 and Proverbs 14:26)

6. Blessing (Psalm 112:1 and Psalm 128:1-4)

7. Hatred of evil (Proverbs 8:13)

8. Cleansing from sin/Righteousness (Exodus 20:20, Psalm 19:9, Proverbs 14:2, and Proverbs 23:17)

9. Wonder (Psalm 33:8-9)

10. Obedience (Deuteronomy 14:23 and Colossians 3:22)

Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;

The twenty-four elders cast their crowns before God’s glassy throne (Revelation 4:5-6 and Revelation 4:9–11).  It seems reasonable to think all other saints will follow suit.

Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,

Both the Seraphim and the Cherubim worship God (Isaiah 6:1-7 and Revelation 4:6-9).

Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Ye Olde English for “God was, and is, and evermore shall be”.  In other words, God is eternal (Deuteronomy 33:27, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Job 36:26, Psalm 48:14, Psalm 90:2-4, Psalm 102:12, Psalm 102:26-27, Proverbs 8:23, Isaiah 40:28, Isaiah 41:4, Habakkuk 1:12, John 17:5, Romans 1:20, 1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 1:4, Hebrews 1:11-12, 1 Peter 1:20, 2 Peter 3:8, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 11:17, and Revelation 22:13).

[Verse 3]

Holy, Holy, Holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man, thy glory may not see:

That is, the darkness hides God from us, not us from God (John 3:20).

Only Thou art holy, there is none beside Thee,

God is holy (Leviticus 11:44-45, Leviticus 19:2, Leviticus 20:7, and 1 Peter 1:15-16) and we are not (Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, Job 15:14, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and 1 John 1:8-10).

Perfect in power in love, and purity.

Only God is perfect in all His ways (Leviticus 11:44-45, Leviticus 19:2, Deuteronomy 32:4, 2 Samuel 22:31, Psalm 12:6, Psalm 18:30, Psalm 19:7-11, Psalm 25:8, Psalm 92:15, Isaiah 26:7, Matthew 5:48, Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19, Romans 12:1-2, and 1 Peter 1:16).

[Verse 4]

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

Repeats Verse 1, line 1.

All thy works shall praise thy name in earth, and sky, and sea;

That is, all of creation will bow the knee to God (Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10-11).

Holy, Holy, Holy! merciful and mighty,

Repeats Verse 1, line 3.

God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Repeats Verse 1, line 4.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Despite its Ye Olde English presentation, unbelievers will comprehend the majority of it.  The following requires deeper study to understand:

• Darkness hiding God’s glory from sinful man.
• The concept of sin as lawbreaking rather than making mistakes.
• Works of God praising Him meaning creation worships God.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God through accurately describing His attributes and our response in worship.  All mankind will eventually bow the knee and confess Christ as Lord.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Reginald Heber’s Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! is a worthy hymn.  It elevates God’s attributes, including His holiness, might, eternality, and grace.  We as Christians respond in worship, bringing glory to God.

I highly recommend this for corporate worship churches that can handle solid meat.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! (listen to the song by King’s College Choir)

Artist: Reginald Heber

Album: N/A

Genre: Hymn

Release Year: 1826

Duration: N/A

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Updates:

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.