Brian Doerksen Holy God SONGBOOK

As I withdrew to pray for direction in the first days of the year I was surprised by a strong and burning desire for the holiness of God that filled my heart. I was drawn to the book of Revelations where it describes the worship that is going on constantly in heaven and in the centre of this worship is the declaration that is going on forever, the 'Holy, Holy, Holy'. It's as if the angels, saints and all the heavenly creatures know that at the very core of who God is is his holiness. As I meditated on the scriptures I realised that I wanted to sing it - actually 'want' is too weak a word; I had to sing it! And so I spent some time singing every 'Holy' song I could think of and they all were good but they didn't quite satisfy my hunger to sing the 'holy, holy, holy' and so I walked over to my piano and began to sing those words with a new melody, like a simple chant. And pretty soon I was in tears as I sensed the presence of God. For the first few days all I sang was the chorus part just the 'holy, holy, holy God' and it was all I needed. Then after a few days, I realised that I wanted to declare the core of his character and answer the question; What are the actions of a Holy God?

When we think of a 'Holy God', we would think he would keep his distance from us and our world . . . Polluted with sin and impurities as it is. I think one of the most amazing things about God is that this God who is perfect and holy, draws near to us to forgive, redeem . . . Even to the point of sending his only Son, the nail scarred Lamb to pay the price for our rebellion. But he doesn't stop there! His goal is not just our forgiveness, so we can become his loyal subjects and servants. Brian Doerksen