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!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.
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 power, in love, and purity.
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!
About the writer: Reginald Heber, a bishop of the Church of England, was born in Malpas, England in 1783. He was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he early took the prize for both Latin and English poems. Ordained in 1807 he became the Missionary Bishop of Calcutta from 1823 until his death in 1826. His hymns were collected and published the year after his death under the title Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Church Service of the Year.
Key Verse: In a great chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” –Isaiah 6:3