Sunday, August 19, 2007

be Thou my vision ...

cyber hymnal states that this hymn was first begun in the 8th century, then completed in 1912 ... the sentiments have stayed true over a 1000 years ... the poet and composer have long been with the Lord - delighting in the Vision which is now their reality ...

if our eyes are focused on Him who has saved us ... won't that help us see our daily trials and tribulations in proper perspective? it's something i try to practise ... knowing that " ... all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." ...






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.

16 comments:

daisymarie said...

I love this hymn.

Ginger said...

I first heard this hymn when I was 13 or 14 years old, and was enchanted both by the words and the tune.

Cathy said...

That is just beautiful, Saija. :-) It is wonderful to just keep our eyes on Jesus. I have something for you over at my blog. :-)

Saija said...

tina ... me too - it's so hopeful!

ginger ... i love hearing about how a hymn came to be, and it blesses my heart, that the long ago man who first penned it - has the same desire for God that we do even no win the 21st century!

cathy ... that was such a neat little name tag ... loved it! thank you ... :o)

Anonymous said...

Saija...you will never belive this...I have been singing that song ALL week, and thinking, "I should put it up on Pals to encourage them," and then I see you have it here!!!! Isn't that funny? Well, since you posted it first, do you mind putting it over there on Pals, too?! I have two versions of it on a CD I made and I have been playing them on repeat lately...I can't get enough of the beautiful words!

Lil Pilgrim pal

Saija said...

heb 11:1 ... that's the way God works! i've experienced it so many times in my life too ... and i posted over at pals for ya ... :o)

Vicki said...

Dropping by to say hello and thank you for posting this at Pals...it blessed me. I love this hymn!!

Anonymous said...

One of my favorite hymns, both the words and music! Thanks for the reminder of it!

Cindy Swanson said...

I love that song!

Saija said...

vicki ... seems like we were all singing from the same hymnal this weekend! :o)

elizabeth ... this hymn happened to cross my path this weekend and i just had to share it ... the thoughts in it are inspiring ...

cindy ... me too! :o)

Pat said...

"High King of Heaven,
my Treasure Thour art". Amen and amen.

Sista Cala said...

Thanks for the background info. Absolutely beautiful hymn. The cyber-hymnal is a great link.

Anonymous said...

Hello,

Just wanted you to know that I've been reading your blog for a year or so now. So enjoy your pictures and testimonies. Feel like I've found a cyber friend and I should stop hanging around the edges and finally say Hello. Thanks for sharing God's grace with me on a regular basis. :-)

-gina-

Saija said...

pat ... i love the way this hymn speaks from a heart which loves & longs for God ...

sista cala ... i so enjoy the cyber hymnal as well!

gina ... hello! ... i'm so glad if some posts have been able to bless your heart ... and thank you so much for taking the time to post a note ... i really appreciate the encouragement!

Unknown said...

I love the old hymns, they have so much to say & are the foundation of our faith. Some of the new praise & worship songs are just repeats of a few nice words over & over...I like some of the new stuff too but the old ones speak to the heart....I'm showing my age I think

Saija said...

nancy ... and the old hymns show that the foundation of our faith has remained the same ...