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 the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

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.  Words: Dallan Forgail (8th Century)

We sang these majestic, soul-stirring words yesterday in chapel at school. I sat looking at the students as they sang - their heads hanging down over the papers in their hands - the words printed on them. They appeared to be going through motions. Such wonderfully rich words .......... I couldn't let them pass so I began each class yesterday with a question about "High King of Heaven."
Not one single student had any clue what the words meant. I knew they all knew the land of Narnia so I started there.
Narnia - 

• the land where it is always winter but never Christmas, the land frozen under the witch's spell 
• the land where the Great Lion Aslan shakes his shaggy mane and begins his move across the land bringing the thaw of winter into spring and life to all its inhabitants
• the land beyond the lamp post where the woodland creatures talk and live beside other wonderful mythological creatures
• the land created by C.S. Lewis to enchant children and adults alike

Peter Pevensie is the oldest brother who shares his adventures in Narnia with Susan, Lucy and Edmond. Peter is eventually crowned High King of Narnia which gives him authority over all the other Kings and Queens that country will ever have.


Since the name Narnia probably comes from the Italian town Nami (or Narnia in Latin), it seemed appropriate to take advantage of the teachable moment to make the connection in my Latin classes yesterday.

Of course, Jesus is the High King of Heaven! He is our Treasure! He is our Victory won - the conquering, Risen Christ! He is the King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords!

 

And, best of all, He is the Risen Christ who took all my sin and who made the awful trade giving me, His orphan daughter now adopted into the High King's forever family, His righteousness in return.
He gives me radical, astonishing, amazing grace! Just because He can!
HE is the High King of Heaven!