Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty…” — Isaiah 6:3

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” — Revelation 4:8b

The angels’ cry, “Holy, holy, holy,” appears in both Isaiah’s vision of the throne room and John’s vision in Revelation. In Scripture, repetition is one of God’s ways of adding emphasis. Saying something three times seizes our attention and impresses its importance upon our hearts. 

Oddly enough, it reminds me of a famous scene from The Brady Bunch. Frustrated that she lived in the shadow of her older sister, Jan blurts out, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” The situations could not be more different, but the effect is the same. Nearly fifty years later, millions of people still remember that line because repetition made it unforgettable.

Scripture never says God is “love, love, love,” or “powerful, powerful, powerful,” even though He is both perfectly loving and infinitely powerful. Holiness is the one attribute elevated in this unique way, underscoring its foundational role in all the others. His love is a holy love. His justice is holy justice. His mercy is holy mercy. 

We join the angels in this unforgettable praise, grateful that the Holy One calls us to bear His likeness: “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).

Prayer: 

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;

Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.

Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak.

Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek 

-From Hymn, Take time to be Holy, by Wm. D. Longstaff, 1832