He is Holy!

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.

Revelation 4:8

We are told of a fantastic scene in heaven by John. He says that there are “four living creatures, each one of them having six wings,”  and their responsibility is to say day and night without ceasing: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.

From the prophet Isaiah, we know why these angels have six wings, “with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.” John Macarthur writes the following about the purpose of the wings: “Four of their six wings related to worship; with two they covered their faces, since even the most exalted created beings cannot look on the unveiled glory of God without being consumed. They also used two wings to cover their feet, since they stood on holy ground. Worship is thus their privilege, calling, and permanent occupation.”

God is not described in any other manner using the same word three times. He is not love, love love, or wrath, wrath, wrath, or mercy, mercy mercy. But, He is holy, holy, holy. Why is He described this way?

John Macarthur writes:

God’s holiness is His utter and complete separation from evil in any and every form. He is absolutely untainted by any evil, error, or wrongdoing—unlike angels (some of whom sinned) or humans (all of whom sinned). In 1 Samuel 2:2 Hannah declared, “There is no one holy like the Lord,” because He alone is “majestic in holiness” (Ex. 15:11). The prophet Habakkuk praised God because “[His] eyes are too pure to approve evil, and [He] can not look on wickedness with favor” (Hab. 1:13). “God sits on His holy throne,” declared the psalmist (Ps. 47:8), while Psalm 111:9 adds, “Holy and awesome is His name.” In 1 Peter 1:16, God Himself declared, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

But on this occasion, the praise is for God’s holiness specifically exhibited through judgment. Being holy, God hates sin, and pours out His wrath on it. “Will not His majesty terrify you?” Job asked his would-be counselors (Job 13:11). After God executed some of the men of Beth-shemesh for irreverently peering into the Ark, the survivors exclaimed, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God?” (1 Sam. 6:20). After Uzzah was executed for touching the Ark, “David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, ‘How can the ark of the Lord come to me?’ ” (2 Sam. 6:9).

Overwhelmed by his vision of God’s majestic holiness Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5).

As believers in Christ, we must understand the holiness of God. If we do not fully comprehend that He is holy, holy, holy, we can fall into the trap of thinking He is just like us. Job was quick to find out that God is not like us.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy? “Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band, And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop’? (Job 38:4-11).

We can only truly worship God when we understand that he is perfectly holy and we are not. He is not the old man upstairs or our co-pilot. He is God, creator of heaven and earth, and the author and finisher of our salvation, and because He is God we sing:  

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!

—Reginald Heber (1826)

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark