Crying Holy

Aaron Keyes' “Crying Holy” is a worship song that starts before time began. The opening says God was there before the world began to be, called the singer from eternity and fashioned him, and loved him as the apple of his eye.

The lines about angels follow, singing an endless grace in love with everything that is and ever was. The chorus is their cry, holy, holy, Lord, and names him the Savior of the world. The congregation promises that they will never stop, for he is God, forevermore. The second verse becomes personal. God is described as merciful and tender to the singer's tears, one who has carried all his cares and felt all that he feels. When the singer falls back into a troubled soul, God reminds him who he is and comes close. He then joins the endless song of grace and love, and the bridge invites the whole earth, from its corners, to hear the song ringing out and to give the worship God deserves. The song moves from the grand scale of eternity to the small scale of a single tear and keeps both in view, which gives it range. It works as a call to worship at the start of a service, and the chorus is easy for a congregation to pick up after hearing it once.

The seraphim's cry of holy is Isaiah 6:3. The living creatures who never stop are in Revelation 4:8, and the apple of his eye appears in Psalm 17:8.