Saturday, July 15, 2023

Holy, holy, holy

1 Nicaea. 11. 12. 12. 10.

1 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!

2 Holy, Holy, Holy! All the saints adore Thee,
   casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
   cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
   which wert and art and evermore shalt be.

3 Holy, Holy, Holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
   though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see,
   only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
   perfect in pow'r, in love, and purity.

4 Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!
   All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea.
   Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and mighty!
   God in three persons, blessed Trinity.
                         Reginald Heber
                        
The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
How well I recall this hymn. One year, don't remember which one, my Sunday School class met in the sanctuary. Sunday School was in between the two services. We went to the first service, so I would just stay in the sanctuary and move up to the right front row of pews, closest to the piano. We would begin Sunday School singing a few hymns. This one, being number 1 in the hymnal, was used frequently and so became an early favorite—and remains so even today, some sixty years later.
</idle musing>

No comments: