Holy Holy Holy

Psalms 77:11-19

For the last five weeks we have been exploring the God of Wonders through the eyes of the Psalmists.  We started by looking at His creation and marveled at Him as the creator.  We then looked at out He interacts with humanity as our redeemer and judge.  And last week we looked at his omni attributes and marveled at how different He is from us His creation.  All of that was explored so that when we came to today, we would be prepared to encounter His holiness with the awe and reverence that He deserves.  It was to elevate our awareness that we live in the presence and under the authority of the one true God who is above all of His creation.  It was to prepare us to understand what it means when we say our God is Holy.

Holy is and interesting word.  It connotates the image of the magnificence of God’s glory. Of His power and might.  It carries with it the idea of goodness and righteousness.  And in some ways that is accurate, but that is not really what holy means.  You see, the Hebrew word for holy is “qodesh” (ko'-desh) and it means “apartness and sacredness”.  It refers to his otherness, to His transcendence above His creation. When we say that God is holy, we are saying that He is totally other; separate and set apart from every created thing.  That is what holiness means.  It means that God is set apart.  Not because He is so far from us in distance but because He is so much more than us.

We talked about that a length last week when we talked about God being omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and omnitempus.  We talked about this vast separation between humanity and God.  How God is supreme power and authority, who can, at will, break into time and space within His creation.  But resides outside of the time and space in His authority over creation.

There is something about God’s holiness that draws us to it.  That creates this overwhelming desire to bridge this vast difference, to draw close to our creator.  Yet, at the same time, makes us want to hide, to flee in our sinful nature in the presence of our perfect and righteous redeemer and Judge. God’s holiness elicits at the same time both adoration and dread. 

We see that today as the Psalmists reflects on both the wonder of God as he remembers Gods promise to Jacob and Joseph and the terror of God’s hand in the delivering of Israel from bondage in Egypt.  So turn with me to Psalms 77:11-19.

I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.  I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

The waters saw you, God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. The clouds poured down water, the heavens resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. (Psalms 77:11-19)

He is a God of Wonder; of adoration and dread.

Prayer

Often times in a times of personal loss or in times of religious strife, you will hear people say that when they get to heaven, they are going to tell God this or ask God to explain that.  And when I hear that I listen, because usually what people really need at that point in time is to just express their feelings and thoughts.  it to somebody who will listen.  But in my mind, I think.  “No, you won’t.” 

Do you remember the prophet Habakkuk’s lament, where he saw all of the wickedness in Judah? He was so upset by what he saw that he complained to God:

Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.  Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? (Habakkuk 1:13).

He then declared:

I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the watchtower; And I will keep watch to see what He will say to me, and how I may reply when I am reprimanded. (Habakkuk 2:1)

And you remember what happened. When God appeared to Habakkuk, he said:

I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. (Hab. 3:16a).

In Revelation we see John’s reaction to experiencing the presence of God.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. (Revelation 1:17)

When Ezekiel saw a vision of the Lord he said:

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking. (Ezekiel 1:1, 26-28)

Genesis 17:3 records that Abram collapsed when God spoke to him.

Joshua 5:14,15 tells us that Joshua collapsed when he experienced the presence of the Lord.

Daniel 8:17 and 10:15 state that Daniel collapsed on the ground when he encountered the glory of God.

Matthew 17:6 records that when God’s glory was manifested to Peter, James, and John, all three of these men collapsed to the ground.

Acts 9:4 and 26:14 reveal that Paul collapsed to the earth when he saw Christ on the road to Damascus.

Do you see a pattern here?

There is a song by Mercy Me, (I Can only Imagine) that envisions what it will be like to be in God’s presence in Heaven.

Surrounded by Your glory

What will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you Jesus?

Or in awe of You be still?

Will I stand in Your presence?

Or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing Hallelujah?

Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine

I can only imagine

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We can only imagine what it will feel like to face the Holiness and righteousness of God because we have nothing on Earth to compare it too.  But the Bible is very clear that when we come into His holy presence, we will do one thing and one thing only.  Fall at His feet in worship. 

RC Sproul tells the story of a woman whom he encountered who said she was angry with her pastor.  RC asked her why and she said: “I get the feeling that, for some reason, my minister every Sunday morning is doing everything that he can to conceal the true identity of God from the congregation. I come to church, and I long to have an opportunity to worship, to have my soul experience reverence for God and adoration. But the God that I’m hearing about is a God that has been defanged—he’s been tamed. He has become innocuous, and I’m sure that the reason the minister does this is because he doesn’t want to frighten people by explaining the true character of God.”

And that is a very real issue within many of our churches today.  Pastors soft-pedal the biblical portrait of God for one simple reason, the holiness of God is traumatic to unholy people. And we are all unholy people at some level.  When we stand in the presence of a holy and righteous God and are confronted by His word it offends us in one of two ways.  We are either offended by our actions and convicted of our sinful nature.  Or we are offended by God and what He has called us to be.  Either way we people uncomfortable.  So we water down the gospel.  Make our churches into social clubs.  And focus our teachings on prosperity, love, social justice and political agendas.  And the holiness of God becomes a footnote or catch phrase within the message we deliver.  And the result is insidious.

A recent Barna group study asked why people are leaving church.  The top 4 reasons were this:  Church is irrelevant, God is missing in church, legitimate doubt is prohibited, and they’re not learning about God. 

If the church is to be relevant, we must let God offend us.  We must let the holiness of God change us.  We must teach God in terms that challenge our convictions, that embrace our doubts, that manifests His holiness in worship, and sets us apart from the world.  We must remove the blinders that sin has placed on our hearts to God’s holiness.  Because God has said:

“You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Pet 1:15-16)

“’Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Lev 19:2). 

And we can’t begin to be holy, to be set apart from this world of sin, unless and until we first understand the holiness of God.  Then and only then are we able to grasp the standard which we are to live by. God is that standard.

****

About 30 years ago Cindy and I had the opportunity to host a dinner with a pastor from Uganda by the name of Peterson Sozi.  Peterson was the pastor of the Redeemed Church in Uganda during the reign of Idi Amin.    The Redeemed Church had survived the Amin years as an underground movement. They met secretly under penalty of death in a garage in Kabowa. Amin’s soldiers had orders to raid their services and kill everyone.  They especially had orders to find and kill Peterson Sozi. Nevertheless, the church survived and many of Amin’s soldiers were converted as a result of Peterson’s ministry.

Peterson’s story of unwavering faith in the face of adversity is inspiring, and hearing Peterson tell of God’s grace and the leading of the Holy Spirit throughout those years was convicting and transformative in my own Christian walk.  But what I remember most about that evening was a comment he made when I asked how hard it must have been to be a Christian under such oppressive conditions; facing death every day.

He said that as hard as it was, it is so much harder to be a Christina in the United States.  He said that in Uganda they had nothing, and so when they found Christ they realized that He filled perfectly a God shaped hole in their heart; that regardless of what might happen to them that God was all they needed.  God was plugged in right where he belonged and they would not unplug Him for any reason, not even threat of death.

He said in the United States you have filled that hole with so many other things that you don’t even realize that God isn’t there.  Or that you need God at all.

We are so caught up in the values of this world and concerned about offending others have lost our capacity to be amazed by the presence and holiness of God.

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So lets do something about that this morning.  Let’s look at a couple of examples from the scriptures that paint a picture of the holiness that is evidenced in the presence of God.  Daniel was given a vision of God as he slept.  In the vision he sees four great beasts representing the rulers of four world empires come out of a stormy sea. And as Daniel keeps looking: thrones are set up and the Ancient of Days take His seat. Listen to his description found in Daniel chapter 7

“As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him… (Daniel 7:9-10)

In Daniel’s vison we see God as dressed in brilliant white with white hair.  And when combined with the use of the term ancient of days it is easy to let our mind wander into envisioning God as old and wise; But what Daniel is seeing is that God has always been and that the purity of His clothes and his hair denote His uncorruptable nature. He is perfectly pure in thought word and action in contrast to our sinful nature.  It is his holiness on display.

Daniel goes on to describe His throne was like the fiery flame; Again this is a description of God’s presence but this time expressing his judgement on sin as dreadful and severe as a consuming fire; and the wheels of his throne; denoting the power and providence of God everywhere.

And Thousands upon thousands attended Him. And ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.

In a similar fashion Isaiah glimpsed the holiness of God and described Him this way:

I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:1b-5)

In Isaiah’s vision we see God once more seated on His throne and Isaiah tells us that God’s robe filled the temple.   In ancient days, the length of the train a king’s robe was the measure of his greatness; and in this case, God’s train fills the whole temple signifying there is none greater.  Above Him were the seraphim angels each with six wings proclaiming “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

Let me stop there for a minute because this is a really significant verse. God has many attributes, He is all powerful, He present everywhere in time and space, He is all knowledge and truth, but the only attribute of God that is mentioned three times in succession anywhere in scripture is His holiness.  He is never described as righteous, righteous, righteous.  He is never characterized as Loving, loving, loving.  He is not merciful, merciful, merciful.  He is not thrice omnipotent, or omniscient.  He is only holy, holy, holy. 

And why is that significant.  Because in Jewish expression, when something is incredibly important, it is mentioned twice.  We see this in Jesus’ teaching when He starts “verily, verily” I say unto you.  He is saying listen up this is very important.  Or when God repeats someone’s name like Moses, Moses; Abraham, Abraham; or Saul, Saul he is expressing a greater sense of intimacy with the person. 

But here we see holy repeated not twice but three times which indicates this is of the utmost importance.  God is holy, holy, holy.  It is the greatest emphasis that can be put on anything or anyone in Scripture and this is telling us that this is the most important thing about God.  God is holy, holy, holy.  He is set apart, set apart, set apart.  He is indescribably different from us. His holiness is the gathering together of all of his attributes, each one of which sets him apart from humanity and all creation. And together reveal a God whom is so different from us that we as sinful beings cannot even look upon His glory and live.

Do you remember the story of Moses when he prayed that God would reveal Himself to him.

Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory." 19And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." 21Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen." (Exodus (33:18-23)

In His holiness we cannot look upon His glory.

Going back a couple of verses, we see the significance of God’s glory in His holiness in the description of the seraphim. They had six wings; with two of them they flew, with two of them they covered their face and with two of them they covered their feet. 

Why cover their feet and their face?  Because God is holy, holy, holy.  He is too holy, to set apart, for even the sinless heavenly angels to look upon.  Much less us as sinners.  So even in the mist of their worshipping God, two of the seraphim’s six wings had to cover their face (and eyes) or else in glimpsing God’s glory they would die. 

The other two wings covered their feet because they were on holy ground.  You might remember when Joshua encountered the pre-incarnate Christ and when Moses approached the burning bush, they were told to remove the sandals from their feet because they were on Holy ground.  (Ex 3:5; Joshua 5:15).  That’s not because their sandals were dirty.  I mean the angels were flying not even standing on the ground.  No, their feet represented their earth-bound nature.  Their bondage to the sin of the world.  And the very presence of God’s holiness set apart the ground around Him from the fallen world on so Moses and Joshua took off their sandals and the angels covered their feet as they sang Holy Holy Holy.

And finally we have the description of God found in John’s vision as recorded in the book of Revelation:

and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures… And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

 (Revelation 4:2b-6a, 8)

Here John, like Isaiah and David, gets a heavenly vision of God.  He sees a vision of the person of Christ and His glory and once again, we see God’s threefold holiness, we see God’s omnipotence (Almighty; all powerful, all authority) and we see He is the eternal one  “who was, and is, and is to come”.

We see in this one short verse a summary of the God of wonder.

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

He is set apart, set apart, set apart. He is All Powerful with all Authority.  He is eternal.  He is God.

And how should we respond to the Glory of the holiness of the one true God?  In our reading from the Psalms this morning we saw the Psalmist both glorifying God, and trembling before Him as he pondered God’s holiness and wonderous works.  RC Sproul calls this “Holy Dread”.  It is a sentiment we see once more in Psalms 96:9 where he sings out:

Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth! (Psalm 96:9)

As we conclude this series I pray that we will all step back for a moment and ponder the God of wonder and marvel at His holiness.  I pray that any thought of God as being too small or irrelevant will have been swept from our minds.  That when we look to the heavens we will recognize the grandeur of His creation.  When we look at the cross we will be humbled by his sacrifice as our redeemer.  When we face temptation that we will remember His ultimate authority as a perfect and righteous judge. And as we encounter the trials of this world that we will remember that God is all powerful, all knowing, all truth, all places and all time.  That He never changes and never will.  And that we will lift our voices with the angelic Chorus saying:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

Amen