Thursday Hymn Reflection: “Be Thou My Vision”

[Each Thursday, we “reflect” on a hymn suggested by our readers. If you would like to add your favorites to our list, leave a comment with no more than 3 suggestions.]

Outside of the songs that come directly from the pages of Scripture, “Be Thou My Vision” is one of the oldest songs still in regular use among Christians. The words come from an old Irish hymn, and are estimated to be from the 8th Century. This history suggests why you will often hear the tune played in Celtic instrumentation, and will sometimes still hear it in movies and TV shows.

“Be Thou My Vision” is a song of deep trust in God. It is written in the form of a prayer, both asking God for guidance and praising Him for His leadership. As far as I can tell, the song originally had 16 couplet verses (please let me know if this is not correct). Most song books put some of these together and made 5 verses, while most print four. One of the amazing features of the song is that, while it is 12 centuries old, it is still “understandable” in its language. It is, in many ways, timeless in its praise and prayer.

There is simply no way for me to select my favorite phrase from this song, but I’ll share one (among many) that I think are powerful. The song states, “Riches I heed not, no man’s empty praise; Thou mine inheritance, now and always.” That line stands out for me because of the simple worrd “empty.” The praise of men only lasts so long, but, when our faith and trust are in God, that is an eternal bond, and one that provides true hope.

Before printing the lyrics, I thought you might find it interesting to know that Van Morrison recorded the song in 1991 on his album Hymns to the Silence.

Here are the five verses we most often see in our song books:

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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Enjoy this beautiful recording of the song while you share your thoughts on the song in the comments: