HYMN STORIES: The Songs We Sing

“Holy, Holy, Holy”

This Sunday we will be singing Holy, Holy, Holy whose words were written by Reginald Heber (1783–1826), an English clergyman.  The text is heavily inspired by Revelation 4:6-8, which depicts the heavenly worship of the triune God.

His hymn mentions The Trinity by addressing God as "God in three Persons, blessed Trinity".  It stresses God’s holiness, power, and mercy, presenting a view of an omnipotent, sovereign Creator. And it echoes the worship of cherubim and seraphim ("casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea").  The renowned tune, "Nicaea," was composed by John Bacchus Dykes in 1861, pairing perfectly with Heber’s profound lyrics.  The tune name pays tribute to the First Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) and its role in defining the Trinity.

In the everyday English, exclamation points are used to emphasize the importance of something. In the Jewish language repetition is used. The best example of this is when Jesus used “truly truly” to drive His points home. So, if a repetition of two is equivalent to an exclamation point, a repetition of three is equivalent to someone waving their arms and screaming at you. Of all God’s attributes, there is only one in the Bible where repetition of three is used.

After completing his education, Reginald was ordained into the Anglican Church and became a minister in a tiny church in the little village of Hodnet, England. Within his congregation, Reginald had a reputation for two things: being a man of God and being a poet; the perfect recipe for a legendary hymn.

While ministering in Hodnet, Heber decided to write a hymn or a poem for every Sunday of the year. This was significant in his day because of the lack of hymns in the Anglican Church. Heber believed that the church needed more hymns and, throughout his life, would see many introduced into corporate worship. Of course, his church benefited the most from this work. As He prepared for the Sunday known as “Trinity Sunday” he produced the mighty Hymn Holy, Holy, Holy.

This man’s passion for Christ was not merely in word.  In 1823, Reginald was called to serve in India. He was still young – only 40 years old – and the responsibility was greater than his years. His title was Bishop of Calcutta, which made him leader over missions in India, the Island of Ceylon, and even all of Australia.  Over the years, the climate and even more responsibility wore on Reginald’s health. One Sunday, directly after an outdoor sermon to a large group of Indians, Reginald dropped dead from heatstroke.

In death, his work carried on, for it turned out that during his time at the tiny church in Hodnet, Reginald had written many hymns. He never sought publication; perhaps too humble or perhaps thinking his work not good enough. But his wife saw the beauty in her husband’s work, and she put a collection of her husband’s hymns together and had them published. Fifty-seven hymns made up the collection, and all fifty-seven are still being used to this day. Of the collection, one stood out far above the others: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!  Truly, his life serves as a great reminder to not simply love God in word but also in deed. Let us all labor for our holy, holy, holy God today! 

Shared by Lindrew Johnson, Director of Worship