Be Thou My Vision

But my eyes are fixed on You, O Sovereign Lord;

In You I take refuge.

Psalm 141:8

St. Patrick was born in 373 in an area now called Scotland.  When he was 16, he was abducted by raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland.  He escaped and returned home, much to the joy of his family.  When he was about 30, he felt the call of the Lord to go as a missionary – back to his captors - to Ireland. He traveled the Irish countryside, and throngs came to listen.  He planted 200+ churches and baptized 100,000 converts.  St. Patrick left behind a rich culture of worship and music.

I have sung the hymn Be Thou My Vision for as long as I can remember, and never realized that it was an ancient Irish poem by an eighth century unknown poet.  In 1905, a scholar in Dublin translated it into English.  A British scholar then crafted the English words into verses with rhyme and meter, and combined it with a traditional Irish folk song.

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart.

Not 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.

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