I understand that I say this a lot, but it’s true. This Sunday we’re singing one of my favorite worship songs! It is called Only A Holy God, words and music by Michael Farren, Jonny Robinson, Dusti Smith and Rich Thompson, and sung by CityAlight, a worship team from St. Paul’s Castle Hill, Sydney, Australia. I first heard this song when the YouthQuest team came to our church from Liberty University back in 2019. This song is a winner all the way around – the lyrics are solid, the melody is strong and easy to sing, and the harmonies are beautiful. However, I believe that the lyrics are the most important part of any song, and these are so good! They cover quite a bit of Scripture (the best source for worship lyrics!) – Psalm 148:2, Psalm 29:3-9, Psalm 27:4, Psalm 104:1-2, Deut. 4:35, 1 Peter 1:15-16 and more.

If you go to almost any worship conference or seminar these days they will tell you that a true worship song says more about God and His worthiness than it says about either the composer or the singer. There are a lot of “worship” songs circulating today, but not all of them are focused on God, the only One worthy of worship. This song does! In all four verses and the chorus only one of the words is “me.” The rest of the song shines a spotlight on the amazing attributes of our God – His command over all of Heaven’s hosts, the power of His awesome voice, His beauty and splendor, His majesty and justice, and the glory of His mighty Name. To every question asked there is only one possible answer, “only a holy God.” 

The last verse is my favorite part of this beautiful song. After spending three verses and a chorus talking about God’s amazingness (is that a word?) the final questions are asked. Who else could rescue me from my failings? Who else would offer His only Son? Who else invites me to call Him Father? You’ve heard of the gospel “in a nutshell?” Well, this is the gospel in three questions. Only God could rescue a sinner like me. He did it by offering His Son Jesus as a substitute sacrifice. When I accept Jesus as my Savior by faith, I become a part of His forever family, and He says I can call Him “Father.” What a great teaching tool for sharing our faith! 

I hope you will make time to listen and learn Only A Holy God this week so we can sing it together

with poweron Sunday morning. CityAlight makes all their music and lyrics available to churches everywhere, free of charge, so you can also visit their website (CityAlight.com) and see what other

songs they have available. 

See you on Sunday!