Monday 21 March 2011
Be Thou my vision O Lord of my heart
Be Thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart
Nought be all else to me, save that Thy art
Thou my best thought in the day and the night
Waking or sleeping, Thou presence my light
Be Thou my wisdom, be Thou my true word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me Lord
Thou my great Father and I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one
Be Thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight
Be Thou my armour and be Thou my might
Thou my soul shelter, and Thy my high tower
Raise Thou me heavenwards, oh power of my power
Riches I need not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance through all of my days
Thou and Thou only though first in my heart
High king of heaven my treasure Thou art
Oh high king of heaven, when battle is done
Grant heaven's joy to me, bright heaven sun
Christ of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, though ruler of all
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Be Thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart
Nought be all else to me, save that Thy art
Thou my best thought in the day and the night
Waking or sleeping, Thou presence my light
What a great Irish hymn this is!In many ways if we lived our lives by the teaching of this hymn we would not go far wrong in the Christian life.
In fact how often we hear at a football or a rugby match the experts saying that the top teams are the ones that get the basics right. How true it is that if we as Christians got the basics right we would do well. But what then are the basics?
Here the writer declares that it is the Lord God of his heart who he wants to be both his vision as well as his greatest and best thought throughout the day. If we manage just that we will be doing well due to the fact that there are many thoughts and temptations that will try to oppose this. Without a doubt the many idols of this world will seek to put their pennys worth into our imaginations-
worry ,stress, pleasurable thoughts, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life will indeed do their utmost to set us off course. Again like the Lord's prayer this is a prayer to help us live the christian life and must be prayed through and lived out DAILY.
The great thing about this however is that it will force us to develop that intimate close relationship with the Master.If on the other hand we don't, we are ,as they say ,on a beaten docket!
Keep short accounts with God, call upon Him while He is near, and if He doesn't seem to be near-seek Him till we find Him.
In each line of this great hymn it proclaims something of a Christian's relationship with his God.
1st line 2nd verse Speaks of God being their wisdom and true word. In other words his words can be trusted because they are not only wise but also true.
2nd line.
Here it speaks nof intimacy-not only for a season but for eternity.
3rd line.
This relationship is an intimate family one between that of a powerful Father and a son-a true son-born of the Spirit of God.
4th line.
Again the power and preciousness of this line only concurs with Scripture. The Father in us ( we might also add the Son in us and the Spirit in us)and our oneness. 'He who joins himself to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him.'
Be Thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight
Be Thou my armour and be Thou my might
Thou my soul shelter, and Thy my high tower
Raise Thou me heavenwards, oh power of my power
Here again the hymn brings up the Biblical concept of spiritual battle. Paul tell us to 'put on the Lord Jesus Christ' and also 'the whole armour of God' that we would be able to stand in the evil day (Ephes. 6). This hymn states that it is indeed God who is our battle shield, sword for the fight,armour,might, and then as described in the Psalms and Proverbs God is also our soul's shelter and high tower. Psalm 18:2states , “Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my HIGH TOWER.”
How important this is for those involved in spiritual warfare.We need somewhere to find shelter in the midst of the battle when we are tiring and under pressure.
Again the prayer that God would raise us heavenward so that we can gain strengeth from Him who is sovereign and the all powerful One.
BE THOU MY VISION, OH LORD OF MY HEART (God ... would you please be my eyes today? I have so much sin in me that the way I see things is skewed. Let me see life, the world, myself, and people the way you do.)
'NAUGHT BE ALL ELSE TO ME, SAVE THAT THOU ART, (Please do not let anything else in me matter compared to you! Not my wants and desires, not my opinions and thoughts. Nothing.)
THOU MY BEST THOUGHT, BY DAY OR BY NIGHT, (God, nothing enters my mind that is worth anything at all compared with my moments of meditation upon You.)
WAKING OR SLEEPING, THY PRESENCE MY LIGHT. (It matters not what my condition. If I am awake You are my light. If I am asleep You are my light. It is all You, oh God!)
BE THOU MY WISDOM, AND THOU MY TRUE WORD; (My best ideas are foolishness next to your most simple idea's, Father. Every word You speak is greater than my greatest utterance.)
I EVER WITH THEE AND THOU WITH ME, LORD. (What can seperate us? Nothing. Nothing! Because You, oh Lord, will not let it!)
THOU MY GREAT FATHER, I THY TRUE SON; (Our relationship is real. It is deep. It is everlasting. You are my Father. I am Your son. Legally. Eternally. Really.)
THOU IN ME DWELLING, AND I WITH THEE ONE. (When I feel empty You are still inside of me. My feelings mean nothing. It is all about fact. And the fact is that You are in me. We are so closely intertwined that we are one!)
BE THOU MY BATTLE SHIELD, SWORD FOR THE FIGHT; (When evil attacks, Father, You alone shield me. And I can counter attack because You are my Sword in this spiritual battle.)
BE THOU MY DIGNITY, THOU MY DELIGHT; (I have no dignity on my own. You give me worth and integrity. And that makes me delight in You all the more!)
THOU MY SOUL'S SHELTER, THOU MY HIGH TOWER; (In You do I hide, my God. You shelter me from life's storms. I need not worry about anything sneaking up on my or anybody bigger than I am picking on me because You are the biggest, tallest tower around. I can trust You!)
RAISE THOU ME HEAVENWARD, O POWER OF MY POWER. (I get spunky and feel powerful sometimes. But when I wise up I realize that You are the power that powers my power! Pick me up, Abba! Hold me in Your arms! Lift me high toward heaven!)
RICHES I HEED NOT, NOR MAN'S EMPTY PRAISE, (Money has come to mean nothing to me. Stuff is simply ... stuff. I pay no attention to them. The same is true of the words men speak of me when they are being kind. I pay no attention to it. I live to hear Your voice, oh Abba.)
THOU MINE INHERITANCE, NOW AND ALWAYS, (You give me all that is Yours. You love me. I am never broke. I am never hopeless or helpless. My Father is always rich.)
THOU AND THOU ONLY, FIRST IN MY HEART, (You have no competition with me, oh God. You have won my heart. The fight is over. The contest has been decided. I forsake all others for You alone.)
HIGH KING OF HEAVEN, MY TREASURE THOU ART. (You are the pearl of great price. You are the treasure above all treasures. No diamond, no gold, no check or money order, no power-ball victory can come close to being Your's and having You!)
HIGH KING OF HEAVEN, MY VICTORY WON, (It's over! I marched under the banner of my King and I ... WE ... won! The dragon has been slain. Yes, his tail still swishes sometimes but he's down for the count. The victory is won!)
MY I REACH HEAVEN'S JOYS, O BRIGHT HEAVEN'S SUN! (I may have won and I may reign with You on high but right now my body and my soul are right here on earth. It's still muddy and foggy and polluted. It is still dangerous. Please, Abba, bring me home! Let me enter Your presence soon!)
HEART OF MY OWN HEART, WHATEVER BEFALL, (My heart beats to the rhythm of Yours. Your heart defines my heart. No matter what! Forever! You, oh God, are the very heart of me!)
STILL BE MY VISION, O RULER OF ALL. (The enemies darts still come blazing at me, Father. I walk with You and the victory is assured. But battles still rage. The enemy has not conceded. And so even if his fiery darts should pierce my heart, oh great God, keep my vision on You. For You are ruler of all that is!)
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Riches I need not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance through all of my days
Thou and Thou only though first in my heart
High king of heaven my treasure Thou art.
The original is of course 'riches I heed not' as opposed to 'need not'!
The original version I think implies that riches, money etc are not even brought into consideration because of the superiority of our relationship with God, compared with worldly goods. Likewise 'man's empty praise' is treated with the same contempt compared again with our life in God.Wesley even went as far as saying that we should treat the praise of men as deadly poison.
'Thou and Thou only though first in my heart
High king of heaven my treasure Thou art'.
The final two lines sum up why riches and the praise of men are of no account - the High King of heaven is first and foremost ( or at least should be) the treasure of the Christian's heart!
van's the man
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