They took their cues from what the seraphim had to say (see the image of two of them around the divine throne in this 14th Century artwork, God Surrounded by Seraphim). The seraphim sang about a holy God (Isaiah 6), and Michael Farren, Jonny Robinson, Dustin Smith, and Rich Thompson thought about scoping that out some more. ‘In what ways is He holy?’, is the question they really wanted to answer. And so, they pursued their response with a set of still more questions, and the result of their interrogation was the title words of this song – “Only a Holy God”. What other beings do what He’s done, appear as He has, exert themselves the way He’s shown, or choose willingly to sacrifice the way He did? Why would such a unique being relate to us in all of these ways? He could be confounding to you if you really gotta have tangible, earthbound answers. This God doesn’t answer all my whys?, as Job discovered (Job 38-41). His only answer really is Himself, something that Jesus tried to tell a group of followers once (John 14:9).
These four musicians – Michael, Jonny, Dustin, and Rich (hereafter referred to as MJDR) – come from the City Alight music ministry in an Anglican church in Sydney, Australia, where they were engaged in 2016 in an ongoing project to develop songs that communicate bible truths via simple and yet meaningful lyrics and music. Each of the four verses of ‘Only a Holy God’ focuses on a different aspect of God’s character through three penetrating questions in each verse, answering each time with the song’s title words. True to their mission-vision, MJDR went straight to the bible as they began their quest; Isaiah’s vision gave them the spark they needed to launch their own exploration and portrayal of Him. They first centered on His authority over all creation, those in heaven and the earthbound ones, too – ‘hosts of heaven’, ‘king(s)’, and even the ‘darkness’. In verse two, they marveled at His ‘glory’, ‘beauty’, and ‘majesty’, and how he nevertheless rules with divine ‘justice’. His omnipotence, in verse three, might be terrifying to some because He can ‘consume like fire’, and yet He ‘can raise the dead’, underscoring that His omnipotence is infused not with a thirst for punishment, but rather invigoration of His image-bearers. Finally, His personal action to ‘rescue’ me (verse four) and draw me to Himself through ‘His only Son’ is so magnetic – who wouldn’t want to call such a One ‘Father’? Only a Holy God answers all 12 of MJDR’s questions. Are there others that could be asked? Certainly. And, we could then try looking at all the various rhetoric that God throws at Job’s feet, and answer Him with the same degree of humility. He’s already answered in the way that is most meaningful to me personally. He is the answer.
Does knowing He’s the answer make things simpler for me? Or, does it make my journey less rough? Honestly, Job still had to navigate through all the potholes and questions, and was still afflicted without really finding much solace. He just had to endure. Maybe that’s the point, in God’s plan. I don’t really discover Him without some pain; otherwise, He’s just a vending machine for my pleasure, which can be fickle. And, He’s not just sitting on a throne watching and waiting for my devotion. MJDR includes the most important part of knowing who He is. And that’s realizing that He decided to become like me, a human. And yet, He, though God, astounded His companions and enemies to become so very much more human and remain Divine simultaneously, in order to accomplish His purpose. He chose human pain and disappointment, invited rejection and suffering, and died in a way that was considered the worst a human could endure in the 1st Century. Was he merely curious and passionate about going to the nth degree of human-ness? Why’d you do this, God? It’s a question that takes a lifetime – His and mine, joined together – to pursue. Musing about Him and myself is the point of life. That seems like what MJDR was doing for all of us.
Read the story behind/comments about the song here: https://cornerstonerbc.com/worship/only-a-holy-god
Read about the CityAlight ministry in Australia here: About | CityAlight
See information on the image here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seraphim_-_Petites_Heures_de_Jean_de_Berry.jpg... This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. .. {{PD-1996}} – public domain in its source country on January 1, 1996 and in the United States… found inside this document -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seraph
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