Singing the Bible, old school

I HAD A SEMINARY PROF who kept his mouth shut during parts of some hymns. He didn’t agree with the theology of the songwriter, so he didn’t sing that part of the song.

I do believe the prof was odd that way. Odd because he was thinking about the words he was singing. I’m not sure most people do that. And least not all of the time.

I know sometimes I don’t.

Take the hymn “Be Thou My Vision.”

I’d sing it with gusto. Even the second line, when I had no idea what the monk dude writer was talking about when he wrote it:

“Naught be all else to me, save that thou art.”

I wouldn’t have bothered researching it. But I had agreed to teach our group’s Bible study session on the topic of worship music. I picked out several popular worship songs, contemporary and ancient. We listened to them and talked about them: the tune, the feelings and memories they generate, the Bible truths they teach.

“Be Thou My Vision” was one of the songs I picked. Because I like it.

Now, after researching it and translating it into a version of English I understand, I like it even more.

As legend tells, the tune comes from an Irish folk song called “Slane,” named after Slane Hill. That’s where St. Patrick in the AD 400s defied the Irish king’s decree not to light any fires on Easter Eve before pagans had a chance to light the fire to launch their spring festival.

Centuries later, in about AD 600, an Irish monk named Dallan Forgaill is said to have written the words to a poem. Mary Elizabeth Byrne translated that poem from Old Irish into English in 1905: “Be Thou My Vision.”

The poem was a tribute to the faith of St. Patrick. So goes the legend.

Writing 400 years before the Crusades, what did that monk poet…or that British translator…mean by “Naught be all else to me, save that thou art.”

Here’s my translation:

“Don’t be anything to me, except who you are.”

Wow. That caught me off guard.

Then the monk went on a praise binge, thanking God for who he is:

• The best thought that has ever come into my head, whether I’m awake or dreaming
• My inspiration, and my vision for the future
• My Wisdom
• My guiding Word
• My Father
• The Spirit within me
• My protective shield when I face struggles
• My sword when I need it
• My dignity
• My delight
• My shelter in a storm
• My tower and lookout guard
• My inheritance now and forever
• My greatest Treasure
• High King of Heaven
• A God after my own heart

You know something? Considering God’s long list of attributes,  I’m cranking it up a notch next time I sing:

“Naught be all else to me, save that thou art.”

Thou art plenty.

——-

PS. Interested in hearing the song? Her’s one of many YouTube versions.