For St Patrick’s Day, I thought I would explore another hymn, one of my favorites – Be Thou My Vision.  St Patrick was born in 373 in Scotland.  At 16 he was captured and taken to Ireland as a slave.  He eventually escaped and returned home.  But then God called him to return to Ireland as a missionary.  Though opposed by the druids, he preached and evangelized, ultimately planting 200 churches and baptizing thousands.  The new Irish church endured, and in the 8th century, Be Thou My Vision was written:

Rop tú mo baile, a Choimdiu cride:

ní ní nech aile acht Rí secht nime.

Rop tú mo scrútain i l-ló ‘s i n-aidche;

rop tú ad-chëar im chotlud caidche.

At least those are the first lines in Old Irish according to Wikipedia.  They were translated to English in 1905 by Mary Elizabeth Byrne to yield:

Be thou my vision O Lord of my heart

None other is aught but the King of the seven heavens.

Be thou my meditation by day and night.

May it be thou that I behold even in my sleep.

You can read the rest at the Wikipedia link above.  Later Eleanor Hull took Byrne’s translation and crafted it into the verses we are familiar with.  The tune is from a traditional Irish folk song from the area of Ireland where St. Patrick challenged the Druids with the gospel. 

The verses of the hymn are below.  Notice that the hymn is essentially a prayer that one’s mind and heart would be set completely on Christ.  In Sunday School we have been discussing lately the reality that our actions are based on what we desire in our hearts, and what we desire is based on what we believe in our minds.  So if our minds and hearts are completely set on Christ – what a difference that would make in our lives.  May Christ indeed be our Wisdom and Treasure!

As you look at the words below, notice also the middle verse missing from every hymnal I’ve ever seen.  You can listen to the hymn with the five verses in the video above.  For another devotional thought and more history, see this link.

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, 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.

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 art.

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.