Be Thou My Vision
One of the 94 hymns we sing together at Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church on the Gold Coast. Browse the full hymnbook.
Lyrics
Verse 1
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.
Verse 2
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.
Verse 3
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.
Verse 4
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.
Verse 5
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.
Behind the Hymn
"Be Thou My Vision" is one of the oldest hymns still sung in Christian worship, originating as an Old Irish poem called "Rop tú mo Baile" attributed to the sixth-century Irish monk Dallan Forgaill. Forgaill was a scholar who reportedly went blind from excessive study and was later killed by pirates raiding the monastery at Innisfallen around 598 AD. The poem survived in Irish manuscripts for centuries before being translated into English by Mary Byrne in 1905 and versified by Eleanor Hull in 1912. The hymn is traditionally sung to the tune "Slane," named after the Hill of Slane in County Meath, Ireland, where Saint Patrick is said to have lit a Paschal fire in defiance of the pagan High King. The prayer-like text — asking God to be one's vision, wisdom, and true Word — reflects the deep Celtic Christian spirituality that flourished in early medieval Ireland. It has endured for nearly 1,500 years as a deeply personal prayer of surrender and devotion.