Jimmy
Owens wrote the song, “HOLY! HOLY!”
in 1972. He wanted to create something
that could be easily learned and sung by a church congregation.
(Now there’s a general attitude among many
traditionalists, that modern worship songs are too
repetitious, and they lack depth. This
song might seem that way at first, but it
really is rich and profound in doctrine.)
Lyrically,
there are two things going on simultaneously. The author makes several declarations about the nature of God, (His attributes)
and then he instructs us about the attitudes of our worship.
The
first, characteristic or attribute of God, that we encounter, is in the title
and the opening lines. Our God is
Holy! And His holiness is expressed
here, in three couplets (Holy, holy; Holy, holy; Holy, holy).
Of all God’s attributes, His holiness
is the one that is uniquely and superlatively emphasized is scripture. In
the book of the Revelation, John saw four living creatures surrounding God’s
throne, and honoring Him by crying out continuously, day and night forever,
“Holy, Holy, Holy!” And that is what we, His Church will do
also. We will worship Him in His holiness forever as we bow before His
throne and cry out, “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor
and power, for You created all things, and by Your will, they existed and were
created.” (Rev.
4:11)
But why the three-fold repetition, "Holy. Holy, Holy?"
In addition to holiness, the author introduces another of God’s attributes; His tri-unity. Our God is One holy God in three holy persons.
I am disturbed by how many biblically
ignorant Christians, today, are so quick to embrace heretical beliefs. One of them, which is rapidly gaining in
popularity, is the denial of the Trinity.
But God's Word is clear. The Father is God, the Son
is God, and the Spirit is God. And these
three persons are One God. The Father is not the Son and He is not the
Spirit. The Son is not the Father and He
is not the Spirit. The Spirit is not the
Father and He is not the Son. I don’t
understand that and there are NO known analogies
to accurately explain it. But that is how God
has revealed Himself and so, that is all we can know.
In this song, as worshipers, we
approach God with our offerings of praise; we “lift up,” to Him, our hearts,
our heads, our hands, and our voices.
In verse One, our praise is directed to the Triune God, and it emanates from
our surrendered hearts. Our hearts are
the seats of our desires. And God wants
us to seek Him, desire Him, and love Him above all other things.
In
verse Two, our praise is directed to
God, our Father. We lift our heads to
Him for life and sustenance. He wants
our attention; He wants our thoughts and our understanding to be influenced by the
Truth of His Word.
In
verse Three, our praise is directed
to Jesus, our Savior, and Redeemer. We offer Him our hands. This is NOT about just raising our hands
while we sing.
When my mother used to call her children to supper, we all came
running to the table. And before we
could sit, she would ask, “Did you wash your hands first?”
My little brothers would threw their open hands up toward her to
show her their clean hands. That is the same
kind of reaction we should have before coming to worship.
Jesus’
blood has cleansed us from the penalty of
our sins but, while we are still in this world, we
continue to sin and so, before we approach Him with our worship, we must
confess our sins. He expects us to come to
Him with clean hands.
In
verse Four, our praise is directed
to the Holy Spirit; our Comforter and Guide. We have been redeemed and we have Life. So, we offer our sacrifices of praises; that is, the fruit of our lips
giving thanks. (Hebrews
13:15)
“Great is
the Lord; and greatly to be praised” (Ps.145:3). The song ends
with a continuous string of Hallelujahs - “Praise the Lord!” He is worthy to be praised.
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