A word fitly spoken is like APPLES OF GOLD in a setting of silver [Proverbs 25v11]
One of the great hymns begins with 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. The doctrine of the Trinity or God in three persons is difficult for us to understand especially since the word Trinity does not appear in the Bible. However, it is clear from many verses that God does exist in 3 distinct persons as we read in 2 Corinthians 13v14: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all”.
The characters and personalities of the 3 persons of the Godhead are described in different ways: Jesus Christ displayed Grace when He came to this earth to die for our sins – a simple acronym for Grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. The love of God the Father is highlighted in the well-known verse found in John’s Gospel chapter 3v16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” and in Romans 5v8: “God showed His love towards us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us”. And the Holy Spirit by His very nature of indwelling every believer and is in Fellowship with us. His very name in Greek is Paraklesis or the one who walks alongside us. That is why every day, despite what life throws at us, we can praise God as the hymn says: “Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee”. Grace, love and fellowship – truly a blessed Trinity.
The hymn writer also repeats the word Holy three times, once for each person of the Trinity, but what does holy mean? Simply stated it means absolute perfection or separate from sin and when we sing “Holy” we affirm what Deuteronomy 32v4 says: “His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and just is He”.
In conclusion, we are also to strive for holiness as we read in 1 Peter 1v15: “Like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behaviour; because it is written: “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Obviously, we can never attain to the absolute perfection of the Trinity, but Christians are expected to strive for holiness in their behaviour. But take care that the talk should match the walk or else we are guilty of hypocrisy!
Amen, Graeme Greenwood