This Day God Gives Me, St. Patrick's Breastplate
The hymn "This Day God Gives Us" has a wonderful lyric that draws us into a meditation of the moment, a gratitude for all things, and the safety of the divine embrace. It is a modern take on the ancient Celtic writing St. Patrick's Breastplate.
it is the tune that we commonly know as ‘morning has broken’. But this adaption of the famous St. Patrick’s Breastplate is taken from the Celtic Christian tradition, which is an Irish tradition. It also reflects the simple bumper sticker from Goethe, the German statesmen and theologian, ‘Nothing is worth more than this day.” Goethe.
“I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.”
“Nothing is worth more than this day.”