“God in three Persons, blessed Trinity”

In college, I had to take a broad introduction to theology course. I don’t even remember the exact name of the class, but I do remember one specific assignment. In this class, we were asked to analyze a hymn. There was a list of hymns given to us, and I picked one I recognized—Holy, Holy, Holy. I remember this project because I was very confident in my ability to analyze the hymn, because afterall, it was music!. I also remember it because, when I got my paper back, the amount of red ink my professor used to correct it showed that my confidence was very, very misplaced.

To show just how far off I was: when asked why the author wrote Holy, Holy, Holy as the opening line of the hymn, I wrote something along the lines of, “Because it fit the time signature.” (If I could put a facepalm emoji in these devotions, I would insert it here.)

In the Old Testament, words are repeated to show intensity. Isaiah 6:3 says: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

God isn’t just holy. He’s not just really holy. He is holy beyond measure, beyond compare.

His holiness is a reason to praise. This hymn is full of lyrics of praise:

• “Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee”
• “All the saints adore Thee”
• “Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee”

Our sermons over the past two weeks have focused on praise. If I could summarize two weeks’ worth of material into one sentence, it would be this: We praise God because we are commanded to, and we have endless reasons to sing praises—not the least of which is His holiness.

There is also another deep theological truth at the end of the first and fourth verses of this hymn. Both end with the lyrics: “God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.”

I’m not going to attempt to explain the Trinity in this devotional. If you want that, you’ll have to listen to Pastor’s sermon on Sunday. But if you’re ever struggling with the Trinity, I think the ending of verses 1 and 4 of Holy, Holy, Holy gives a beautiful description:

“God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.”

This week, we’ll be introducing a song called King of Kings. The chorus goes like this:

“Praise the Father
Praise the Son
Praise the Spirit, three in one
God of glory
Majesty
Praise forever to the King of kings”

This song lists the three Persons of the Trinity—the Father, Son, and Spirit. In it, we see each Person’s role in God’s redemptive plan for creation:

• We see God’s plan for salvation (v.1).
• We see Jesus’ obedience to that plan through His death and resurrection, serving as the perfect sacrifice for our sins (vv.2–3).
• We see the Spirit establishing the church to carry on God’s redemptive plan for creation (v.4).

What does all that mean for us?

If we can get past the hurdle of trying to comprehend the Trinity, we see that we have a personal God who went to great lengths to redeem His creation—and who continues to do so today.

• God did not just show up at creation and then leave.
• He did not leave His creation hopeless, with no path back to Him after His creation turned away from Him in disobedience.
• He did not leave future generations alone after Christ’s resurrection.
  
  

No! He has been and will continue to be present and faithful!  — and that is reason to praise.

“God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!”