"BE THOU MY VISION"
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me,
save that Thou art
Thou my best thought by day
or by night
Waking or sleeping Thy
presence my light
Be thou my wisdom and Thou my
true word
I ever with Thee and Thou
with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I, Thy
true son
Thou in me dwelling and I
with Thee one
Be thou my battle shield, sword for the fight
Be thou my dignity, Thou my delight
Thou my soul's shelter, Thou my high tower
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Be thou my battle shield, sword for the fight
Be thou my dignity, Thou my delight
Thou my soul's shelter, Thou my high tower
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not nor man's
empty praise
Thou mine inheritance now and
always
Thou and thou only first in
my heart
High King of heaven my
treasure Thou are
High King of heaven my
victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, O
bright heaven's Sun
Heart of my own heart
whatever befall
Still
be my vision O Ruler of all
This is one of my all time favorite hymns. There's so much truth in this hymn and it moves me, every time I hear it. My heart's desire. My want. The relationship and the dependency I want to have on my Heavenly Father. Brings me to tears almost every time.
I looked up the history of this hymn and this is what I found from "Then Sings My Soul" which is a book with 150 of the world's greatest hymn stories (which is awesome).
"Only one missionary is honored with a global holiday, and only one is known by his own distinct color of green--St. Patrick, of course, missionary to Ireland.
Patrick was born in A.D. 373, along the banks of the River Clyde in what is now called Scotland. His father was a deacon and his grandfather a priest. When Patrick was about 16, raiders descended on his little town and torched his home. When one of the pirates spotted him in the bushes, he was seized, hauled aboard ship, and taken to Ireland as a slave. There he gave his life to The Lord Jesus. "The Lord opened my mind to an awareness of my unbelief," he later wrote, "in order that I might remember my transgressions and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God."
Patrick eventually escaped and returned home. His overjoyed family begged him to never leave again. But one night, a dream reminiscent Paul's vision of the Macedonian Man in Acts 16, Patrick saw an Irishman pleading with him to come evangelize Ireland.
It wasn't an easy decision, but Patrick, about 30, returned to his former captors with only one book, the Latin Bible, in his hand. As he evangelized the countryside, multitudes came to listen. The superstitious Druids opposed him and sought his death. But his preaching was powerful, and Patrick became one of the most fruitful evangelist of all time, planting about 200 churches and baptizing 100,000 converts.
His work endured, and several centuries later, the Irish church was still producing hymns, prayers, sermons, and songs of worship. In the eighth century, an unknown poet wrote a prayer asking God to be his vision, his wisdom, and his best thought by day or night.
In 1905, Mary Elizabeth Byrne, a scholar in Dublin, Ireland, translated this ancient Irish poem into English. Another scholar, Eleanor Hull of Manchester, England, took Byrne's translation and crafted it into verses with rhyme and meter. Shortly thereafter, it was set to a traditional Irish folk song, "Slane," named for an area in Ireland where Patrick challenged local Druids with the gospel."
And there you have it. Oh I love hymns and I love them so much more when I know the meaning/history of them! I'm going to have to buy all 3 volumes of that book for myself!
A previous youth director of mine once said that most all hymns end with verses on heaven--either literally or metaphorically. But WOW! What a testament and what a reflection of the hope we have as we fight through this life. Thank God that we have Him to lead us, guide us, comfort us, and remind us that we've won! We win and have a never ending hope that's coming! Praise be to my God that loves me enough to bring me to Him! May He always be my vision, my ruler of all!
This is one of my all time favorite hymns. There's so much truth in this hymn and it moves me, every time I hear it. My heart's desire. My want. The relationship and the dependency I want to have on my Heavenly Father. Brings me to tears almost every time.
I looked up the history of this hymn and this is what I found from "Then Sings My Soul" which is a book with 150 of the world's greatest hymn stories (which is awesome).
"Only one missionary is honored with a global holiday, and only one is known by his own distinct color of green--St. Patrick, of course, missionary to Ireland.
Patrick was born in A.D. 373, along the banks of the River Clyde in what is now called Scotland. His father was a deacon and his grandfather a priest. When Patrick was about 16, raiders descended on his little town and torched his home. When one of the pirates spotted him in the bushes, he was seized, hauled aboard ship, and taken to Ireland as a slave. There he gave his life to The Lord Jesus. "The Lord opened my mind to an awareness of my unbelief," he later wrote, "in order that I might remember my transgressions and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God."
Patrick eventually escaped and returned home. His overjoyed family begged him to never leave again. But one night, a dream reminiscent Paul's vision of the Macedonian Man in Acts 16, Patrick saw an Irishman pleading with him to come evangelize Ireland.
It wasn't an easy decision, but Patrick, about 30, returned to his former captors with only one book, the Latin Bible, in his hand. As he evangelized the countryside, multitudes came to listen. The superstitious Druids opposed him and sought his death. But his preaching was powerful, and Patrick became one of the most fruitful evangelist of all time, planting about 200 churches and baptizing 100,000 converts.
His work endured, and several centuries later, the Irish church was still producing hymns, prayers, sermons, and songs of worship. In the eighth century, an unknown poet wrote a prayer asking God to be his vision, his wisdom, and his best thought by day or night.
In 1905, Mary Elizabeth Byrne, a scholar in Dublin, Ireland, translated this ancient Irish poem into English. Another scholar, Eleanor Hull of Manchester, England, took Byrne's translation and crafted it into verses with rhyme and meter. Shortly thereafter, it was set to a traditional Irish folk song, "Slane," named for an area in Ireland where Patrick challenged local Druids with the gospel."
And there you have it. Oh I love hymns and I love them so much more when I know the meaning/history of them! I'm going to have to buy all 3 volumes of that book for myself!
A previous youth director of mine once said that most all hymns end with verses on heaven--either literally or metaphorically. But WOW! What a testament and what a reflection of the hope we have as we fight through this life. Thank God that we have Him to lead us, guide us, comfort us, and remind us that we've won! We win and have a never ending hope that's coming! Praise be to my God that loves me enough to bring me to Him! May He always be my vision, my ruler of all!
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