Family Corner
Year 1-10
Year 11-15
“Lord of the Sabbath
Hear Us Pray”
“Be Thou My Vision”
Ancient Irish poem, ca. 8th cent.
Tr. By Mary E. Byrne, 1905
Versified by Eleanor H. Hull, 1912
Philip Doddridge, 1737
alt. by Thomas Cotterill, 1819, and others; mod.
based on The Psalter, 1912
Lord of the Sabbath, hear us pray,
In this your house, on this your day;
And own, as grateful sacrifice,
The songs which from your temple rise.
Now met to pray and bless your name,
Whose mercies flow each day the same,
Whose kind compassions never cease,
We seek instruction, pardon, peace.
Your earthly Sabbaths, Lord, we love,
But there’s a nobler rest above;
To that our lab’ring souls aspire
With ardent hope and strong desire.
In your blest kingdom we shall be
From ev’ry mortal trouble free;
No sighs shall mingle with the songs
Resounding from immortal tongues;
No rude alarms of raging foes;
No cares to break the long repose;
No midnight shade, no waning moon,
But sacred, high, eternal noon.
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 my 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.
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 heav’n’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
TUNE: SLANE 10.10.10.10
Traditional Irish melody
Arr. by David Evans, 1927
(#642)
O long e xpected day, begin,
Dawn on these realms of woe and sin!
Break, morn of God, upon our eyes;
And let the world’s true Sun arise!
TUNE: GERMANY L.M.
William Gardiner’s Sacred Melodies, 1815
(#390)
MESSENGER
SEPTEMBER 2018
PAGE 5