Hymns and Devotions for Daily Worship ‎#268

268. Be Thou My Vision

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 and by night;
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

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 dear child;
Thou in me dwelling, with thee reconciled.

3. Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight;
Be thou my dignity, thou my delight.
Thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tow'r;
Raise thou me Heav'nward, O Pow'r of my pow'r.

4. Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise;
Thou mine inheritance, now and always.
Thou and thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my treasure thou art.

5. High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven's joys, O bright Heav'ns Sun!
Heart of my heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

Text Information

• First Line: Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
• Title: Be Thou My Vision
• Irish Title: Rop tú mo baile
• Translator: Mary Byrne (1905)
• Versifier: Eleanor Hull (1912)
• Meter: 10.10.10.10
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 2024
• Scripture:
  Ephesians 6:11-12
• Topic: Ordinary Time: Week 16
• Notes: Irish text, “Rop tú mo baile,” 10th or 11th cen., trans. by Mary Byrne in Ériu, Vol. 2 (1905), versified by Irish scholar Eleanor Hull in Poem Book of the Gael (1912), alt.

Tune Information

• Name: SLANE
• Arranger: David Evans (1927)
• Meter: 10.10.10.10
• Incipit: 11216 65561 123
• Key: E♭ Major
• Notes: Irish tune SLANE, from the folk song “With my love on the road,” arr. by David Evans as in The Church Hymnary (1927).