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The Man Behind 'Holy, Holy, Holy': Reginald Heber's Story · Traveler’s Tales

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  Before a single word is preached, before a sermon ever reaches the heart, there is something
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  powerful about a song.
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  A song can lift the weary.
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  A song can steady the struggling.
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  A song can turn our eyes away from ourselves and fix them on God.
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  And few songs have done that more faithfully, more powerfully, than the hymn, Holy, Holy,
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  Holy.
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  But behind that hymn is a man, a man whose life was as full of devotion as the words
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  he wrote.
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  You're listening to Traveler's Tales, produced by Enjoying the Journey.
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  I'm your host, Greg Dowdy.
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  As we sing the hymns we love, it's worth remembering the stories behind them.
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  Hymn histories help us see that these songs were born out of real lives, real struggles,
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  real devotion to God.
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  And when we understand that, the words we sing will take on an even deeper meaning and
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  have greater power.
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  Reginald Heber was a man deeply in love with the truth of God's Word, known as the man
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  of letters.
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  He was constantly writing, encouraging others, strengthening believers, and pointing hearts
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  back to Scripture.
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  His pen moved because his heart burned.
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  Born in 1783, he studied at Brasenose College in Oxford, where his gifts in poetry and song
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  quickly distinguished him.
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  But his greatest work would not be found in academic halls.
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  It would be found in faithful ministry.
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  When he became pastor in the small village of Hodnet, he gave himself completely to the
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  work.
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  He loved his people.
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  He walked with them through their sorrows.
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  He labored for their souls.
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  But more than anything, he understood this.
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  The greatest gift he could give them was the truth of God's Word.
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  Each day began with family devotions, followed by hours, seven or eight, spent alone in study.
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  Scripture, history, culture, he dug deep.
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  And from that deep well came words that would nourish others.
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  While serving in Hodnet, Heber took on a remarkable task, writing a hymn or a poem for every Sunday
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  of the year.
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  At a time when the church lacked rich doctrinal songs, he believed God's people needed truth
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  they could sing.
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  And for Trinity Sunday, he wrote what would become one of the most beloved hymns in Christian
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  history, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty.
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  Those words were not just poetry.
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  They were theology set to music.
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  They lifted the focus off man and fixed it on a thrice holy God, Father, Son, and Holy
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  Spirit.
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  But Heber's passion did not stop with writing.
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  His heart burned for a world that had never heard the gospel.
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  In another one of his hymns, From Greenland's Icy Mountains, you can feel his burden for
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  the lost, and that burden moved him to action.
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  Despite fragile health, he answered the call to serve as bishop in Calcutta, India.
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  For three intense years he poured himself into the work, preaching Christ, training
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  men and laboring in difficult conditions, until his body could go no further.
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  At just 42 years of age, he entered the presence of the very God he had so faithfully exalted.
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  And here is the lasting message of his life.
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  It is not enough to sing about a holy God.
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  We must live in surrender to Him.
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  Heber reminds us that true worship is not confined to a hymn.
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  It flows from life devoted to truth.
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  The songs we sing should reflect the lives we live.
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  So when we lift our voices and sing, Holy, Holy, Holy, let it be more than words.
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  Let it be a declaration, a surrender.
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  Let it be a life yielded to the God who alone is worthy.
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  Because the greatest hymn you will ever offer is not just sung with your lips.
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  It is lived with your life.
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  We're grateful that you've joined us today, and pray that this small piece of history
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  will spark a greater love for the Lord in your own life.
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  Enjoying the journey is a ministry that seeks to preach the gospel, teach the Word of God,
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  and reach this generation for Christ.
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  Visit us at etj.bible to learn more about the ministry of Scott Pauling, and also find
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  a vast array of free resources that will help you follow God's Word and find Christ's joy.