I Bind Unto Myself Today (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 450)
1 I bind unto myself today
the strong name of the Trinity
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One and One in Three.
2 I bind this day to me forever,
by power of faith, Christ’s incarnation,
his baptism in the Jordan river,
his death on cross for my salvation,
his bursting from the spiced tomb,
his riding up the heavenly way,
his coming at the day of doom,
I bind unto myself today.
3 I bind unto myself today
the virtues of the starlit 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.
4 I bind unto myself today
the power of God to hold and lead,
God’s eye to watch, God’s might to stay,
God’s ear to hearken to my need,
the wisdom of my God to teach,
God’s hand to guide, God’s shield to ward,
the word of God to give me speech,
God’s heavenly host to be my guard.
5 Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
6 I bind unto myself the name,
the strong name of the Trinity
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One and One in Three,
of whom all nature has creation,
eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation;
salvation is of Christ the Lord!
Text: Patrick, paraphrase Cecil Frances Alexander; Music: Irish; Public Domain
Devotion
“I bind unto myself today, the strong name of the Trinity, by invocation of the same, the Three in One, and One in Three.”
To bind oneself to a person or a thing might seem restricting and not free to do what we want to do. Yet, here’s where the biblical world view runs counter to our thinking about “free will.” Martin Luther argued in his treatise “The Bondage of the Will, that because we are sinners, our will is bent towards sin and “free will” is an illusion. The 1st Commandment is about graven images, and how physical things so easily become idols, or, substitute gods, that promise a “good life”, but steal our life. Bob Dylan had it right in his song: “you’re gonna have to serve somebody. It may be the devil, or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” Bind yourself to the love of God, others, yourself, and this created world. In the power of the Trinity there is true freedom.
Prayer
Jesus, thank you that, in the cross, you demonstrated that giving one’s life to God is resurrection freedom. Amen.