BE THOU MY VISION
Translator: Mary Byrne; Versifier: Eleanor Hull
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.
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.
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Hymn Story: Slave to Missionary
When just 16 years old, Patrick watched from the bushes as raiders torched his childhood home where he lived with his devout family. But it wasn't until the raiders spied Patrick in his hiding place, seized him and took him to Ireland as a slave when Patrick finally gave his life to the Lord.
He later wrote "The Lord opened my mind to an awareness of my unbelief in order that I might remember my transgressions and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God."
Eventually God allowed Patrick to escape his captors and return home to his family in Scotland. But only for a while.
One night Patrick saw an Irishman in a dream, begging him to come back to Ireland as an evangelist.
Patrick chose to return to Ireland as a missionary, armed with but one book –– the Latin Bible.
Throngs of Irish men and women came to hear St. Patrick preach powerful sermons and God used Patrick to plan 200 churches and to bring over 100,000 converts to Christ.
As a result of St. Patrick's missionary work, the Irish church produced many beautiful hymns and prayers of devotion including one prayer from an unknown poet asking God to be his vision.
Mary Elizabeth Byrne, an Irish scholar, translated the ancient Irish poet into English in 1905 and Eleanor Hull, an English scholar, versified Byrne's translation into the hymn we know and sing today.
