O Qedosh Yisrael,
Holy One of Israel,
You are high and lifted up.
You are pure in justice, blazing in holiness, perfect in glory.
“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer,
the Lord of hosts I am the first and I am the last;
besides Me there is no god.’” (Isaiah 44:6)
You are not like us.
Your thoughts are not our thoughts.
Your ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8–9).
You are majestic, radiant, beautifully righteous, and yet… still tender in mercy.
Still faithful to a people who forget You.
Still near to the brokenhearted.
O Holy One,
My lips are unclean.
My heart is wayward.
My love is half hearted.
How can I even dare to approach You?
But still, You call.
Still, You say
“Return to Me, for I have redeemed you” (Isaiah 44:22).
You are holy yes
but also full of compassion.
You are the consuming fire who descended in a whisper (1 Kings 19:12).
The Sovereign One who chose to dwell in flesh and bleed on a cross for a rebel like me.
Qedosh Yisrael,
Holy One of Israel,
Your name drips with awe,
and I want to tremble rightly before You again.
Tear down my casual faith.
Burn away my shallow praise.
Teach me to fear You not with terror, but with reverence.
With wonder.
With surrender.
“Woe is me, for I am lost!
For I am a man of unclean lips…
and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5)
Still, You touch the unclean.
Still, You cleanse.
Still, You send.
So here I am, Lord
Undone.
Unworthy.
And yet Yours.
You are the Holy One who never breaks His covenant,
even when I do.
You are the One who says,
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are Mine” (Isaiah 43:1).
And that changes everything.
I don’t come with strength only surrender.
Not with answers only need.
You are Qedosh Yisrael set apart, yet near.
Burning in purity, yet clothed in mercy.
So take my life.
Make it holy because You are holy.
Not by my goodness,
but by Your grace.
Let me live in the light of Your holiness
not hiding from it,
but changed by it.
Let Your name be high and lifted up:
Qedosh Yisrael the Holy One who is my Redeemer, my God, my King.
In the name of the Righteous One, Jesus the Messiah,
Amen.