Be Thou My Vision, O Lord of My Heart
- Candyce Carden
- May 29, 2024
- 2 min read
I believe contemporary worship music has its place. I do. My radio is tuned to it frequently. The lyrics comfort me and fill my heart with praise.
However, I am a bigger fan of old church hymns. They are a big part of my spiritual DNA. Besides communicating biblical truth, theology, and teaching doctrine, they unite a church congregation in worship and praise.
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16).
We sang “Be Thou My Vision” in church recently. I hadn’t heard it in years and probably haven’t sung it since childhood. Yet, the tune and lyrics were there, lying dormant in my heart and brain all these years later. The words sprang to mind after only a few notes by the pianist.
Be Thou My Vision
As I sang this ancient Irish hymn, it became a tender love song to my Savior. By the time we finished, tears spilled from my eyes. So moved was I by this mountaintop experience, I wanted to learn more about the anthem.
The hymn is based on a beautiful 6th century poem by Irish poet Dallan Forgaill and reads like a prayer of supplication. The hymn beseeches God to be our Everything. Below are four lines of the hymn with links to Scripture which support their biblical soundness. (A few of the many.)
“Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart”(Psalm 119:130; Matthew 4:16)
“Be thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true word” (Proverbs 9:10; (James 1:5); (John 1:1; Romans 11:33)
“Be Thou my great Father, I Thy true son” (Ephesians 1:5); (Romans 8:14-17)
“Be Thou my battle shield, sword for the fight” (Psalm 3:3); (Ephesians 6:17); (Hebrews 4:12)
Since the Sunday I rediscovered that old hymn, my aim has been to start each day with the prayer: “Be Thou my vision as I go through this day.” Sometimes I forget amid the rush of life. That’s why the words are printed in my prayer journal, on a notecard stuck to my desk, and the refrigerator.
Many, many old great church hymns are in use today and I hope our younger generations get to know some of them. I’d love to hear your favorite(s) in the comments section below.
Enjoy the entire hymn here: Be Thou My Vision
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