Song 4: Sanctus: “Holy, Holy, Holy”

Four days before the first Passover, an Israelite slave in Egypt sets apart his family’s lamb. When the time comes, he will brush the animal’s blood onto the doorframe of his home. The Lord is promising freedom for each family that trusts him enough to follow his instructions. For generations to come, the slave’s descendants will remember this night of rescue and praise God for it.

A taste of heaven

More than 1,500 Passovers later, the world’s Messiah rides into Jerusalem on a donkey as prophesied. The anticipation of the Israelite crowds is palpable. They shout a word of praise from one of their Passover psalms: “Hosanna! Lord, save us!” (see John 12:13; Psalm 118:25,26). Do they know how the Messiah will save them? This is the world’s Passover Lamb. The Lord has set him apart for sacrifice.

By God’s grace, we know how the Messiah saved us. By the blood of God’s Lamb, we’ve been freed from sin and death.

When you sing Sanctus, sing it with all the joy of a freed slave.

We’ve just begun the Holy Communion portion of the liturgy, and it’s time for another canticle. We know what’s going to happen at the Lord’s Table. Under the bread and wine, we will receive his true body and blood, the price he paid to free a world of slaves. Each of us will hear his words: “for you.” Here is the answer to every bit of guilt we carry, all the shame, all the fear. We are at peace with God. We’re about to get a taste of heaven.

An angel song

Which canticle shall we sing? We reach for another angel song, this time from Isaiah’s vision of God’s throne room: Sanctus (SAHNK-toos) or “Holy, Holy, Holy” (see Isaiah 6:1-3). The glory of those six-winged seraphs can’t match the majesty of the triune God we all praise.

But one song isn’t enough. Our glorious king is coming to commune with us at his Table. We reach for the famous anthem of Palm Sunday: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

In both songs, we do more than quote Scripture. The blood of the Lamb has been painted on our hearts. Our captivity to sin has come to an end. The specter of death cannot haunt us. In spirit, we’re there with the angels, that place where one day we will be in the flesh.

So when you sing Sanctus, sing it with all the joy of a freed slave.

Song 5: Agnus Dei: “O Christ, Lamb of God”

Andrew and his friend have been following John the Baptizer, the forerunner of the Savior. John points them to Jesus, and they spend the day with Jesus in a small-group Bible study. They listen. They discuss. They learn. At the end of the day, they say, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41).

A glorious proclamation

Still today, there’s no source material more worthy of group study than the Word of God. We ask questions and hear answers, and by the time it’s finished, a good Bible study will leave us in thesame place as Andrew and his friend: We have found the Messiah!

But what is it that leads Andrew and his friend to follow Jesus in the first place? When John points them to Jesus, he doesn’t ask an agree-or-disagree question. He simply proclaims the truth they need to hear: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

It’s not so much a Bible study. It’s proclamation. It’s praise. It’s worship.

It’s not so much a Bible study. It’s proclamation. It’s praise. It’s worship. John is doing what high priests had been doing in the Lord’s temple for centuries. They offered slaughtered animals on the Lord’s altar. They sprinkled sacrificial blood on the ark of the covenant. They pointed to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

A humble prayer

The final song of the liturgy, Agnus Dei (AHN-yoos DAY-ee) or “O Christ, Lamb of God,” is the one we sing just before we receive Holy Communion. Other times are set apart for studying the Scriptures in depth, all the glorious teachings the Lord has laid out for us. But here, in this moment, our sin needs Christ’s blood covering it. We sing John’s proclamation. Three times we sing it. Three times we add our humble prayer of faith: “Have mercy on us. Have mercy on us. Grant us peace. What you did for the world, Jesus, do that for me.”

We often need to wait to learn the Lord’s answers to our prayers. But the answer to this prayer is revealed within minutes as the minister approaches each of us with the host and cup: “Take, eat, drink, the body, the blood of the Lord, given, poured out for you.”

This is the final article in a four-part series on the songs of the Ordinary. Read parts one, two, and three.

The Five Songs service

Wherever the five songs of the liturgy—Kyrie, Gloria in Excelsis, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei—are used in worship, it’s good for all who gather to consider each songs’s Christ-centered message. What a blessing it is to join with fellow believers to proclaim with one voice the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9).

One way for worship planners to help a congregation grow in its appreciation for these five songs of the Ordinary, as well as experience some of our hymnal’s musical variety, is to make use of The Five Songs, a special order of service found in Christian Worship: Service Builder. Located under Occasional/Seasonal Services, The Five Songs incorporates the brief devotions from this Forward in Christ series interspersed with the singing of the five songs in one or two locally selected musical styles. The service begins with a brief devotion on 1 Peter 2:9,10.

Learn more about Christian Worship: Service Builder, including how to access a free trial.

Author: Jon Zabell
Volume 112, Number 06
Issue: June 2025