The lyrics to this hymn were written by British pastor and poet, Reginald Weber. Weber was born in Cheshire, England, in 1783. He was a “preacher’s kid,” and later succeeded his father in the church his father once pastored. He later felt God’s calling to the mission field and in 1822, at the age of 40, he was appointed to oversee the Church of England’s ministries in India. While in the village of Trichinopoly on April 3, 1826, he preached to a large crowd in the hot sun, and after trying to cool off in a pool, suffered a stroke and died.

It was later that same year after his death, that his widow found 57 hymns he had written among his belongings that had never been published. Among them was “Holy, Holy, Holy,” which she had published along with her husband’s other hymns.

In Isaiah chapter six, the Lord gave the prophet a revelation of His holiness. We can understand what it means that God is holy.