Thursday, April 18, 2024  

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Today's Hymn
“Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord God Almighty!”

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! all the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

by Reginald Heber
Hymn 1, Glory to God
verse 1–2

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Reflection

Reginald Heber, an Anglican vicar, wrote this hymn in the early 1800s, a time when the Anglican church frowned on music in worship that was not attached to the psalms. How fortunate we are that he persisted with his musical writing as he advocated for more music in church services.

This hymn was written to celebrate Trinity Sunday, offering praise to the triune God all Christian churches revere. Think of that for a moment. Of all the divisions and arguments Christians have been able to concoct in their theologies, this mystery is something we all still celebrate. The doctrines that threaten to separate us seem puny in the face of the glorious fanfare the hymn describes. Imagine the blinding light from the glassy sea (a reference to Revelation). Imagine the whole of the heavenly host singing praise to the Three-in-One. Imagine the unity and the exultant feeling of being aligned with all that exists.

It makes me eager to join the heavenly choir just to be part of this glory. We will be enjoying our true nature, free from questions, free from deliberations, free from the human habit of separating one’s crowd from another. We will be doing what God created us to do. How will it feel when we are in the place we are all meant to be?

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Prayer
Dear God, we are limited in understanding and timid in the face of your glory. Please help me keep my faith clear and my path straight, so that I might one day exult you with the whole of my being. Amen.

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Written by Jim Garner, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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