As I have grown older I have had to embrace the fact, reluctantly I might add, that my eyesight is not as good as it once was. Even now, as I write this, I am wearing my readers, +2.75. This number has increased over the years as the functional aspect of making out letters on a page has decreased. However, I don’t want to talk about vision concerning physical eyesight, I’d like for you to see the importance of another kind of vision. The vision or reality of who God is.

There is an old Irish hymn, which you are probably familiar with, it is titled Be Thou my Vision. No one knows who wrote this 8^th-century text, its writer remains anonymous. Scholars believe that it was originally written as a prayer titled Rop tú mo baile. The original Old Irish was translated into English in 1905 by Mary Elizabeth Byrne (1880-1935), which is much different than what we sing today.

English translation of the Old Irish by Mary Byrne (1905)

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 ever in my sleep.

Be thou my speech, be thou my understanding.
Be thou with me, be I with thee

Be thou my father, be I thy son.
Mayst thou be mine, may I be thine.

Be thou my battle-shield, be thou my sword.
Be thou my dignity, be thou my delight.

Be thou my shelter, be thou my stronghold.
Mayst thou raise me up to the company of the angels.

Be thou every good to my body and soul.
Be thou my kingdom in heaven and on earth.

Be thou solely chief love of my heart.
Let there be none other, O high King of Heaven.

Till I am able to pass into thy hands,
My treasure, my beloved through the greatness of thy love

Be thou alone my noble and wondrous estate.
I seek not men nor lifeless wealth.

Be thou the constant guardian of every possession and every life.
For our corrupt desires are dead at the mere sight of thee.

Thy love in my soul and in my heart —
Grant this to me, O King of the seven heavens.

O King of the seven heavens grant me this —
Thy love to be in my heart and in my soul.

With the King of all, with him after victory won by piety,
May I be in the kingdom of heaven, O brightness of the sun.

Beloved Father, hear, hear my lamentations.
Timely is the cry of woe of this miserable wretch.

O heart of my heart, whatever befall me,
O ruler of all, be thou my vision.

 

 

This translation was altered by Eleanor Hull (1860-1935) and placed in the Poem-Book of the Gael in 1912. Years later the poem was arranged to be sung as a hymn by Norman Johnson (1928-1983). Yet the words penned so long ago express the timeless need of humankind to have a correct vision of who God is and to experience His saving grace and personal presence throughout our time here on earth. Titles such as Vision, Lord, Best Thought, Wisdom, Word, Great Father, High King of Heaven, Inheritance, Treasure, Sun, Ruler, Heart give evidence that the writer possessed a high view of God.

I was just thinking, how neat it would be if we knew who wrote this, and the circumstances that were surrounding the author when it was written. What was driving the author to write down this vision of the Lord God Almighty!

Perhaps an insight into what was going on in the authors’ life can be found in a verse that is often omitted in the old hymnals and many of the modern renditions.

Be Thou my breast-plate, my sword for the fight
Be Thou my armour, and be Thou my might
Thou my soul’s shelter, and Thou my high tower
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my Power

Just like believers today, the author desperately needed guidance and direction to live with an eternal purpose in a world that seems at times to have no purpose.

As David Hamrick puts it “It is “vision” in the sense of a guiding inspiration that directs the actions of today toward a desired and anticipated future outcome.”

How is your “vision” today? How do you see your need for God today?

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23-24

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, and I thy true son
Thou in me dwelling and I with thee one

Riches I heed not, nor vain, 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
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O ruler of all 

(Bock, F. (1976). Hymns for the family of god. In Hymns for the family of God. Nashville, Tennesse: Paragon Associates.)