Hymn Stories: Water as a Symbol in Holy, Holy, Holy
“Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea”
The Bible is full of symbolism. From the garden in Genesis to the great throne in Revelation, interconnected threads are woven into the fabric of Scripture. The study of these threads, collectively known as Biblical Theology, is a fascinating field in itself. As a subsequent field, I have also grown to love the study of how biblical theology and symbolism intersect with song and worship.
Holy, Holy, Holy is one of the most famous hymns of all time. Its base text was used for centuries in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew worship. Nevertheless, one of the most profound examples of biblical imagery is left untapped by the average worshiper, that is the depiction of water.
Water as a Hebrew Symbol
Water is a common symbol in the Bible. Many times it is used to convey a state of chaos and opposition.
- In the creation account of Genesis 1, God’s Spirit hovers over the deep, foreshadowing the creation of order out of the chaos.
- When the Israelites fled Egypt, they were stopped at the Red Sea until God pushed it back, allowing them to pass.
- Jonah likewise was thrown into a raging and chaotic sea, which symbolized death, only to be “resurrected” by God after three days. (This foreshadows Christ’s resurrection.)
- The Psalmist sings of God’s mastery over the elements in Psalm 24 when he declares “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it…for he founded in on the seas and established it on the waters.”
Jesus himself walked on waters in the New Testament, demonstrating not only his power over nature, but his power over the chaos that it so often symbolizes.
The disciples, who were observant jewish men, knew the Hebrew Scriptures backward and forward. When they asked in Matthew 8:27, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”, they knew that historically, only God had calmed waters.
Waters In Revelation
Throughout the Old Testament and much of the New, water symbolized chaos. And it is out of the chaotic sea that the beast of Revelation arrives. Revelation 13 says “And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.”
The apostle John did not write down the above vision in a vacuum. All too often we try to read Revelation on its own, outside the context of the rest of scripture. Because water imagery abounds elsewhere, and because scripture interprets itself, it only makes sense to read the chaotic sea the way first century jews would have read it, that is, as a symbolic force against God.
It is only against this background that the sea of glass in Revelation 15, and thus “Holy, Holy, Holy” make any sense.
Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.
And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire-and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.
“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
Revelation 15:1-4 (esv)
God’s Victory
In the above passage, the sea that spawned the beast calmed to the degree that the waters are as still as glass. This indicates God’s total victory over the beast and the system that generated him. The turbulent waves which at one time were tossed by the winds of sin and rebellion are now gone.
We should remember that this passage is not a sweet little story about God gently calming storms. The calmness of this sea is the result of God’s poured out wrath on the earth. Further more, the hymn that the saints sing after the violence of God has abated, praises him for the destruction of the unrighteous. His saints vindicate him by declaring that his “deeds are great” and that “all nations will worship you.”
Back to the Hymn
It may be uncomfortable to read of God’s wrath when we so often would prefer to dwell on God’s love. But we should always remember that God’s wrath is justified because of his holiness. Not only is his wrath justified, it is good.
And far from being a simple doctrinal statement that God is holy, “Holy, Holy, Holy” is a victory chant rejoicing over God’s final triumphant conquest.
The total destruction of his enemies is lauded in the final verse of the hymn.
“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy name, in earth and sky and sea;”
In wording that recalls Psalm 24, this verse declares that “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” Like a conquering king, he has destroyed his enemies and taken the spoils.
Given the eschatological nature of the text, christians should sing this hymn not only from a heart of adoration, which is obvious, but from a position of hope and faith. One day, God will show that he is both “merciful and mighty”, in the final victory over the waves of sin and rebellion. On that day, the “sea” will become as still as glass, as we, his saints sing “God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.”