Celtic Cross

July 7, 2010
8:19 AM

Our Hymn of the Month for July is Be Thou My Vision. It is one of my favorite hymns, one that I sing with deep passion and conviction. It is a prayer, written over 1200 years ago by an Irish Christian brother or sister. It captures so much that is true and ought to be true about a maturing follower of Jesus Christ. Although the language is a bit archaic, each phrase unfolds beautifully and presents an authentic hunger and thirst for righteousness; an unquenchable appetite to know and follow Christ. The original Celtic hymn writer is unknown but was thought to write this sometime between the 6th and 8th centuries. It had 16 couplets each prayerfully inviting Christ to be all and was used in Irish monastic tradition for centuries. You can read the original English 1905 translation by Mary E. Byrne on Wikipedia. Seven years later it was organized by Eleanor Hull into the 5 verses we now sing. The beautiful Irish folk melody is called "Slane."

Some nice recordings to check out are by Jars of Clay, Fernando Ortega, Selah, and an Irish version by Maire Brennan.

As you sing, I encourage you to meditate on the rich phrases and allow these to challenge your current way of thinking and living, and hopefully to become your own prayer of praise and desire to know God, allowing him to truly be the "Lord of your heart." It is inspiring to know that the same passion that Paul expresses in this statement below was in the writer of this hymn, in thousands of believers since then, and is growing in me nearly 2000 years later.

"What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ..." (Philippians 3:8-10 NIV)

Be Thou My Vision
Author Unknown

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

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 heav'n's Sun
Heart of my own heart
Whatever befall
Still be my vision
O ruler of all