Be Thou My Vision (Fernando Ortega)

Lyrics

Be Thou my vision oh 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, and I Thy true son

Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one

Riches I heed not nor man's empty praise

Thou mine inheritence 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 oh Bright Heaven's Sun

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall

Still be my vision oh ruler of all. 

Discussion

Before you make assumptions, like I tend to do, I am not a hymn guy. I am not trying to bring back the "glory" and scritpural inerrancy  of the old timey songs. This blog will not tend toward that, in fact, I really want it to tend toward newer, more undiscovered music. However, I do think that the age of a lyric shouldn't be a reason for discounting it. Also, I do like Fernando Ortega's rendition of this song. So now, on to our first hymn. 

This is a pretty old Hymn, so I cannot resist the gravity of sinking a tiny bit into it's history.  The tune is attributed to a defiant act by St. Patrick, when the then Thane ordered that no flame be lit in order to do observance to a pagan holiday, St. Patrick lit a massive fire on a promenatory so all could see that the glory of God would not be dimmed. Years later, the tune was composed in rememberance of that occurance and named "Slane," Slane, being the name of the hill that it is traditionally thought that the occurance took place on.  

The lyrics are nearly as old as the tune, some dating them all the way back to the sixth century (although there is some debate with many holding to the 10th.) The lyrics, as so often the case, were written as a poem, and the poem, as so oft the case with old Irish poetry, was spoken as a ward. Wards were prayers derivative of even older incantations, that offered protection to the speaker. These were very common in Celtic history, and the blending of paganism and Christianity wasn't as forbidden as in other cultures, so the incantations are easily seen in many of the old Irish hymns we have now. This is one of the things that I love about Celtic Christianity, it was never sterilized, it is as much a derivative of the culture of the people as it was a purposing of the Bible. One good example of these wards would be the Prayer of St. Patrick himself, "Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ Benath me, Christ above me" etc. These can be seen not only as the speaker/prayer, attesting to their desire to be like Christ, but also, embuing God's power, encasing the reciever in a bubble of holy protection. Our hymn has lines that have been lost to time that tie strongly to that tradition. "Be Thou my battle shield, Be Thou my sword." (from the 1905 translation of the original Old Irish text) 

I actually tend to shy away from hymns such as this, as my modern mind, and personal experience doesn't lead me to prayers of this sort often. Let me be forthright though is saying that I have in times of deep fear, prayed in such a way and don't look down on those that do out of need or grief. I believe that God hears us in all of the odd angles that we take to attempt to make ourselves heard. And so, although there are echoes of that magical type of praying showing up in these lyrics, they aren't what draws me to the song. 

The reason that I thought to include this hymn here, and the reason that I find the hymn so beautiful, is the writer's insitance of relationship poking through the lyrics. The first line addresses God as the "Lord of my heart." The words insist on the tie that binds the speaker to God, the connection is there, stretched taught between holy and the mundane. The next line agrees with the first, that God is indeed vital and formost. Interestingly, the 1905 version has a slightly different take on this addressing God as the "King of the Seven Heavens," a much more militaristic title, which holds more strongly to the original poem and the use of the words as protection in battle. The words were changed only seven years later, in 1912 to the modern wording. The next two lines, the final in the first stanza, harken back again to the warding nature of the poem. Be my thoughts, be my light. 

The second verse is my favorite, it is here that you can feel the warmth and intended closeness between the singer/writer and Christ. The first line, as if in a brief bit of fear over what is coming next, invokes  God's wisdom and words. It was is if the writer were trying to make sure that the listener would know for sure that what was said next was ok. Then the next three lines unfold, like a plea, full of hope and love. "I ever with Thee and Thou with me Lord." The first line is bold, claiming that not only is God with me, but I am with Him." This could be seen as done in arrogance, but I choose to see it as being informed by the next two lines, not done in arrognance, but in relationship. 

The next line may be one of the boldest lines I have ever heard in a worship song. In fact, I would assume that it would most likely be stricken from anything that would be attempted to be published through contemporary Christian music companies for it's nearly heretical claim. "Thou my great father, and I Thy true son." There is no closer relationship to be had here, and it is in light of that statement that we can see the intention of the preceeding line and the following. It isn't by our greatness that we draw near to God. It isn't in our vanity that we make claims such as these. It is only in the ridiculous love of God for us that we are able to make the claim that we are true children of God, a relationship that was gained by His own sacrifice and intention. This claim, spoken in innocence and love, like a child would speak to their parent, full of naïveté, and power, is the heart of this hymn and the reason that I love it. The last line of this verse makes no doubt of the bond in this relationship; "Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one." 

The next stanza feels almost like an afterthought. It makes its claim toward heavenly treasure, echoing Mathew's wisdom in Mathew 6:19-21; "Do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth" a plea to see the world for the transient thing that it is. This advice is echoed in places like Luke and 1 Timothy, in fact, it is echoed throughout much of the word, constantly reminding us that there are bigger things at play here than our own immediate desires and our own passing life on Earth. The verse ends by addressing God again in milatristic style, as the High King of Heaven. 

The final verse in this hymn seems to look back at itself and realize the audacity of what the hymn has claimed. It starts by claiming ultimate victory and continues to explain that even if things in mortality fall strongly against us, our victory has already been won by Christ. The next line makes a plea that the singer would be in heaven, a question that is much more uncertain in the original, it's words almost begging. "Beloved Father, hear my lamentations; Timely is the cry of woe of this miserable wretch." Both the origninal and the modern next throw back to the first stanza by the emotive claim, calling God "heart of my heart." and then finally ending by echoing the first line, "Still" and the word here is heavy, even if everything here falls apart, "Still be my vision of ruler of all" 

 Acutally, in writing this,  I am struck by the similarity of the E.E. Cumings poem "[I carry your heart with me (I carry it in]" Both of these internalize the love one has for another as being so near that it has become a part of oneself. This is why I love this hymn. The intensity of love, the nearness and intimacy of the words, and the desperation and foolishness of the claims; "I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart).