Be Thou My Vision

I have a kids Hymnal the church bought for use in the children's program. In it are many of the old hymns and Christian songs. For many of them there is an explanation of the song and a challenge on the opposite page. The one's I have read are pretty good. There is also a picture illustration of the truth of the song. Very nice for kids, even some of us older kids.

Like everything else, man from time to time misreads what is there. In the case of the explanation of the hymn Be Thou My Vision this is exactly what happened. Though the explanation is a truth one ought to heed, it is not the expression of the hymn itself. It does, in fact, completely miss it. The words of the hymn are:

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.

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 heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

The children's hymnal gives the explanation that this song is a prayer asking the Lord to help us see the right way to go. I find that quite weak. The hymn is not about gaining the wisdom from God that will help us down the right path, though that would be a natural result. It is about Him being one's all in all, the singular focus of one's life. It is not about living life but having a thoroughgoing relationship with Him. It is the expression of several of the Psalms of Scripture where the psalmist expresses his longing for God's presence, to be in an indissoluble union with Him. For instance,

Psalms 42:1 ¶ As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. (NASB), and,

Psalms 27:4 ¶ One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple. (NASB)

John 17:21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. (NASB)

I am in desperate need of the heart of this hymn. I need Him to be my vision, my sole desire and focal point. Dear Lord, BE THOU MY VISION today and always. Amen.