Be Thou My Vision -- a Hymn for my Every Day

For years this hymn has been my go to song…from the time I was “in the convent” back in the late 1960’s to this very day no matter my Christian context. And recently it has been my morning song as I awaken the dawn walking in my area — even as the darkness is departing and my neighborhood owl is singing out the final hoo-hoo of his “day.”

And so I sing…even aloud…despite the high school young people passing me by on their way to the bus stop, wondering about this weird, white haired woman softly singing.

I love the focus of the song. I love the plaintive melody. I love my indwelling God who draws me toward thoughts of HIM Alone!

And I love the story behind the song:

…“Be Thou My Vision” [is] a powerful and profound hymn, on account of both its tune and its text. The tune, called “Slane,” is a traditional Irish ballad melody, first transcribed in the early 20th century but likely much older. The text is a translation of a medieval text attributed to St Fallan, a 6th century Celtic monk, poet, and follower of St Columba (his feast day is January 29th). The text and the tune were combined in the Irish Church Hymnal in 1919, and it has spread round the world since. At the bottom of this post are two videos with good recordings.

St Fallan went blind in the middle of his life, and the opening verse of the the hymn poignantly draws upon his experience:

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.

Though Fallan must have suffered much from his loss of sight, the effect of this forced darkness was to drive him back to God, his “best thought,” and, whether “by day or night,” his only remaining “light.” When we sing the hymn, we might try closing our eyes; perhaps by sharing just a taste of Fallan’s experience we will experience more deeply his reliance upon God.

The second verse expands on the discussion of God’s identity and his presence:

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.

The focus seems to be the unity between God and us, between the Father and his son. In fact, there’s some half-hidden Trinitarian theology going on here, since “Word” is a designation of Jesus, and one who is “dwelling” in us is the Holy Spirit. So after the first verse, which calls out to God, this second verse draws us into the relational dynamic of Trinitarian love and indwelling.

There is a middle verse, not normally sung, which provides a lovely request of God to be a defensive and offensive support, evocative of Ephesians 6:10-20:

Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight
Be thou my armor, and be thou my might
Thou my soul’s shelter, and thou my high tow’r
Raise thou me heav’nward, o pow’r of my pow’r

The third verse (fourth when the middle verse is sung) introduces the idea of God as an “inheritance” and a “treasure”:

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.

Because God is already present, we who sing realize we are rich! With the riches of God already in hand, we need no longer be anxious for the “riches” of the world, nor for the vanity of “man’s empty praise.”

The final verse draws out the implications of all that has come before, and ends with a restatement of the opening theme:

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.

Because the “High King of Heaven” is a treasure that we already have, our “victory” is already won. The only lasting thing that we lack is to finally “reach Heaven’s joys.” The reference to “bright heaven’s Sun” puts us in mind of the eternal “Son,” and “heart of my own heart” recalls the Spirit. Finally, as this song-and-trinitarian-dance comes to its ending, there is a return to the theme of Vision. When we come off the spiritual high of transporting moments of worship, still we look to God to rule and lead us in our everyday walk of faith.

Two versions of the hymn are included below. The first is a congregational setting with organ. It is sung in an Anglican parish, St. Columba’s in Drumcliffe, Ireland, and lead by a student choir. Notice that in this version the congregation sings the less common third verse. The second is a more contemporary recording by a new band, “Celtic Worship,” also out of the UK. Instrumentation includes guitar, bass, violin, recorder, and drums. [http://trinitylafayette.com]

And one of my own: