You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you. (Psalm 63:1-3. NIV)
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. (1 Chronicles 16:10 NIV)
I’ve been teaching a group of young people the hymn “Be Thou My Vision.” When I did a bit of research, I found that Mary Elizabeth Byrne (1880 – 1931) was an Irish historian who translated the Old Irish Hymn, “Bí Thusa ‘mo Shúile,” into English as “Be Thou My Vision” in 1905. Subsequently, this poem was attached to the tune SLANE, an old Irish folk tune, and has become one of the Church’s best loved hymns. Today, let’s make it our prayer:
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 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 inheritance, now and always;
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart;
O King of glory, my treasure Thou art.
O King of glory, my victory won;
Rule and reign in me ’til Thy will be done;
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall;
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
High King of Heaven, be our Vision, our Wisdom, our Father, our Victory, the First in our hearts, we ask in Jesus’s name, AMEN.
https://hymnary.org/text/be_thou_my_vision_o_lord_of_my_heart