圣哉三一歌

The lyrics draw directly on the heavenly worship of Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4: the threefold "Holy," the saints casting down their crowns, the sea of glass, and "who was, and is, and is to come" all have scriptural sources. "罪人不能仰视" ("sinners cannot look upon you") accurately expresses God's holiness and human sinfulness. It praises God as "全权又全爱，全善全能" ("all-powerful and all-loving, wholly good and almighty") and gives glory to the triune God, which is within the creedal baseline. The poetic imagery all has biblical grounding and causes no substantive error.

This is a pure hymn of praise, pointing to God's attributes and glory from beginning to end. The congregation, the saints, the heavenly host, and sea, sky, clouds and mountains are all summoned to worship God; "I" is just one worshiper among many. All four questions have answers that clearly point to God.

The object of praise (the Almighty, the triune God), the worshipers (we, the saints, the host), and the relationship between humanity and God ("罪人不能仰视", "sinners cannot look upon you") are all stated clearly. Words such as "妙身" ("wondrous being"), "真原" ("true source") and "晶海" ("sea of glass") are somewhat elegant and archaic, but their reference is clear in context; by the rubric, linguistic difficulty does not affect clarity. The hymn could not be transplanted into a secular setting.