Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty
Reginald Heber
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty Lyrics
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 wert and art and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye made blind by sin 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!
The Story Behind Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty
Reginald Heber was born in 1783 to a wealthy family in west England. Reginald attended Oxford and won several awards for poetry before he became rector for his father's church. Reginald become Bishop of Calcutta in 1823 and served his people for three years before dying of stroke. "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty," read Reginald Heber's widow. Among her dead husband's papers she found the words of one of the most powerful and beautiful hymns ever written. But years would pass before the lines took their place in worship services around the world.
In 1861, a publisher rediscovered the words. He asked John Bacchus Dykes to furnish him with a tune. It made sense for him to turn to John who had a natural aptitude for music (he graduated with a music master that same year). John had been a church organist since he was ten-years-old and was co-founder and president of the Cambridge University Musical Society.
John accepted the words. Within thirty minutes he wrote the tune "Nicea," which carried the praise of the Trinity.
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