A Screen Capture From The Video Below: Audrey Assad — Be Thou My Vision
Hi!
According to wikipedia—The hymn "Be Thou My Vision" has a LONG history.
It apparently began life as a 6th century Irish melody.
Then, in 1912, Elanor Hull translated and published the most well known English version—and in 1919 the lyrics were set to a Irish folk tune.
This is the version that most people are familiar with today.
Recently I heard a beautiful version of this song by Christian Recording Artist Audrey Assad and have posted a video of that below.
I've included the lyrics under the video as well.
I pray this song Blesses you and fills your heart with God's unfailing Love!
Be Thou My Vision - Lyrics
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 Heav’n’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whate’er befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
Heart of my own heart, whate’er befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
Sometimes searching for great music to post here results in finding very little that really speaks to my heart and tastes—(keeping in mind that I've already posted 100's of GREAT songs—it's becoming more challenging for sure).
But recently it's like the floodgates have been opened—and everyday I find several more I want to add here.
The other morning I awoke with a melody playing in my head and heart—and it was like I was hearing it with new ears.
I marveled at how beautiful the melody was—and though I couldn't recall the lyrics well—those I did spoke deeply to me.
Today I went searching for the song and fortunately (or was it something else) remembered the singers name: Darlene Zschech.
In short order I found the song too: Everlasting.
I'm not sure why it didn't impact me as strongly when I first heard it—but now I've fallen in love with it.
The lyrics are posted below the "music-only" video embedded here.
I hope it Blesses you as much as it does for me—and that it leads you also to the "Way EVERLASTING!"
Exactly a month ago, I posted about finding a unique YouTube channel by Destiny Cross — who also goes by the YT handle Shadowca7 — and shared her lovely version of the hymn, Come Unto Me.
I've been happy to discover since my last post about her — I now know for sure she is a Christian — and have listened to other songs she's posted and found another favorite — her cover of For Those Tears I Died - Come to the Water (by Marsha Stevens).
Sung sweetly and gently, accompanying herself with guitar and her own multi-layered angelic harmonies — it leaves me feeling peaceful and Blessed.
And I'm not the only one. James Muecke posted his testimony in the comments below Destiny's video — and I asked him for permission to publish it here — and you'll find it — and the lyrics to the song just below the video.
James Muecke's YouTube Comment and Testimony
Sweet Spirit: I could listen to you sing forever.
Even though I am a southerner, in the sixties
I was hiding
from the draft by drifting up and down the coast of
California.
I was without hope, lost and
in despair.
Friends I loved had died.In my sorrow, and with no god, I was
pushed to the point of realizing
that caring, and any sense of the
value and meaning in life, died with you when
you died. Value,
and the meaning is
seemed to give to life, had proven to be only
illusions. In the end, death had become my master and
sorrow
my ever-present companion.
I knew of no way to be relieved of this sorrow. Drugs were only
a temporary placebo. Then, in the summer of ’68, while grieving
in
an old VW van, I came to see that my world view just did not
add up.
For the appearance of value, and the appearance of meaning,
to
be so prevalent, yet not to exist, was a state of things that just
did not
balance out. But I did not know. . .
I called out through my tears, “If there is more to life
than what
I can see, I want to know. But
it’s going to have to find me, because
I can’t find it—and I want it to.”
I remember those exact words nearly fifty years later. This was as
close to a prayer as was in me.
I realized I had gone as far as I could go. If there was meaning to life,
I could not
find it. So, what-ever gave meaning to
life—if anything—
would have to find me.
I did not know what to expect. I could sense my lifelong search was
over,
but I did not “wait” with expectation for an answer. I did not
know if anything was there. If it was there, I did not know whether
it
could hear me. If it could hear me, I
did not know whether it was
predisposed to answer me, or even whether it could
answer me.
Everything was now out of my hands.
Within the day, I unexpectedly met Jesus. I never imagined that He was
really God. What a wonderful surprise.
I was given a peace I never dreamed existed. The turmoil in my
heart was gone. I read later Jesus said, “Peace I leave with
you;
My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.
Do not
let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
Only a real God could have made such a promise—and be able
to
keep it. Only a real God could have
known how much I needed that peace.
I also read, “He has given you the whole world to use; life
and
even death are your servants, He has given you all the present a
nd all the
future, all are your and you belong to Christ. . .”
So, when I was laying in the back of that VW van I was in a
condition where death was my master, and I realized it. Jesus
tells me even death is my servant.
Not long after these things, I found myself at Calvary
Chapel in
Costa Mesa. Chuck Smith was still a young man. I heard the
Children of the Day singing
Marsha’s new song, “For Those Tears
I Died”.
It quickly became my favorite song of the Jesus Movement. It still
is my favorite song, capturing my
life experience.
You have sung it the most beautifully I have ever heard.
---------------------
For Those Tears I Died - Come to the Water - Lyrics
You said You'd come and share all my sorrows,
You said You'd be there for all my tomorrows;
I came so close to sending You away,
But just like You promised You came there to stay;
I just had to pray!
And Jesus said, "Come to the water, stand by My side, I know you are thirsty, you won't be denied; I felt ev'ry teardrop when in darkness you cried, And I strove to remind you that for those tears I died."
Your goodness so great I can't understand,
And, dear Lord, I know that all this was planned;
I know You're here now, and always will be,
Your love loosed my chains and in You I'm free;
But Jesus, why me?
And Jesus said, "Come to the water, stand by My side, I know you are thirsty, you won't be denied; I felt ev'ry teardrop when in darkness you cried, And I strove to remind you that for those tears I died."
Jesus, I give You my heart and my soul,
I know that without God I'll never be whole;
Savior, You opened all the right doors,
And I thank You and praise You from earth's humble shores;
Take me, I'm Yours.
And Jesus said, "Come to the water, stand by My side, I know you are thirsty, you won't be denied; I felt ev'ry teardrop when in darkness you cried, And I strove to remind you that for those tears I died."
Reverend Lee Stoneking was visiting Australia in 2003 and suffered from a massive heart attack and was clinically dead for 45 minutes — with no breath or heartbeat.
Even if he would have come back to life in the first 6 minutes or less — without oxygen getting to his the brain — there would have been irreparable damage done.
But 45 minutes later in an ambulance — after being pronounced DOA — Rev. Stoneking says that Jesus stepped on board and raised him from the dead.
Later, back home in the US, he underwent some medical testing and blood tests revealed how COMPLETE his healing was — even to the cellular level
In the video below Rev. Stoneking addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York City, and told his story.
