A few weeks ago, my son William preached a sermon during our Nashville office devotions on the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” and the texts it was based on—Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4.
Together these texts teach us about the nature of God and the nature of worship. In exploring the lyrics of this great hymn, William identifies three problems we all have as worshipers:
- The problem of space and time: Can we sing this song here and now?
- The problem of humanity and divinity: Can we (sinful humans) sing this song?
- The problem of worship and mission: How can everyone sing this song?
Whenever we sing the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy,” we are reminding ourselves that this is true in every time and every place. We are reminding ourselves that unholy people can join in this song because of the atoning work of Jesus. And we are reminding ourselves that the goal of mission is for everyone in every nation to sing this song.
