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The
First Sunday of Advent, December 3
HOLY,
HOLY, HOLY, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY
Revelation
4
A
mother, discovering her children whispering as they were
playing, asked them what they were doing. They said
without hesitation, "We are playing 'church'."
To which their mother responded, "But people shouldn't
whisper in church." "Oh, we know that, Mom,"
they replied, "but we're in the choir." As
though that makes it OK. Actually, if they had been
singing this glorious hymn, I wonder if they could
have been whispering. The author of these words, Reginald
Heber, as a young child, began writing poems and songs—not
just playing church, but in true worship. When he
received thunderous applause at his commencement service
for his poem "Palestine," his mother wondered if it
would all go to his head. On the contrary, looking
for him after the service, his mother slowly pushed open the
door to his room, only to find him on his knees in a prayer of
gratitude—in awe of the greatness of His Holy God!
His
hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy," is a very powerful
illustration of just how big his God was. It may
seem odd to begin this devotional book with a text from the last
book of the Bible, but we must begin with a vision of an awesome
God. In Revelation 4, John the gospel writer is given such
a vision—glorious heavenly worship. In the first
chapter, he had seen the glorified Christ, but now he is
actually enveloped by heaven and he sees the entire Trinity and
all of the heavenly host. These worshipping beings,
as well as the 24 elders casting down their own crowns,
represent all of creation. Not resting night or
day, they were proclaiming, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come."(vs.8)
These words are actually the first of twenty heavenly hymns that
can be found in the Book of Revelation. This "holy",
in the Greek, is "hagios"—literally, an awful
thing; separated from all sin and darkness, and yet, it is that
very darkness that hides Him from us—"Though
the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see."
Isaiah, in his 6th chapter, found that even God's
people need His cleansing touch of the white-hot coal from the
altar to be truly holy!
This
is holiness! In this hymn's 3rd verse, it
declares of God, "Only thou art holy, there is none
beside thee." But God Himself says in 1 Peter
1:16, "Be ye holy; for I am holy." What
is true of God, will be true of His people, for ever
since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has been poured out to live the
life of God within His people. This can only be
accomplished by His Spirit, who cleanses our souls, spirits, and
bodies from sin through the blood of Jesus on the Cross;
conforms us into the image of Christ; and enables us, by the
infusion of grace, to obey God according to His Holy Word.
So it isn't just for God and His prophets; it will be received
by all who see their need for the Lord's perfect power,
love, and purity. You know, come to think of it—maybe
this beautiful hymn can be sung in a whisper, as we stand
in awe of His holiness and His desire to fill us with Himself.
So, actually, He alone is holy, for our holiness
must be from Him. Oh, this Advent Season, catch this
vision, and sing!
~ Rev. Roy
D. Warren, Jr.
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