EYES, EARS, MOUTH

Guess which "eye-glasses"
the grandkids like to wear!

When my children and grandchildren were babies, I'd ask them to point to their eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and a few other parts, ending with the laughable “belly button.” It was so fun to watch them name their body parts and smile over that accomplishment! Probably every mom (or dad) has done that—and that might include the author of a hymn of “spiritual senses”-- “Open My Eyes, That I May See.”

Her name was Clara Scott (born 1841 in Illinois to a farmer's family) and she received her music training at the newly opened Chicago Music Institute. She married a man in the crockery business, and they had two daughters, Medora and Mary, living near Chicago. She was known in the late 1800s as a music teacher, composer, hymn-writer, and the first woman to publish a volume of anthems, titled The Royal Anthem Book (1892).

In mid-life, her husband became an invalid. So when she wanted to attend a funeral in DuBuque, Iowa, he stayed home. While traveling by horse and buggy, with two friends aboard with her, the buggy's hold-back strap broke, spooking the horse. It raced forward, hitting the buggy against a stone wall. Clara and one friend were thrown out, dying instantly. The other passenger had severe injuries. Clara was only 56. Music writers, teachers, professors, publishers and friends attended her funeral, which included a quartet of friends singing two of her compositions.

As for “Open My Eyes That I May See,” it's still found in many hymnals. Written to a 6/8 meter, it has a gentle, lullaby rhythm as it relates how parts of the body (eyes, hands, ears and mouth) can be used for God's glory. The only “not visible” body part in the hymn is the heart:

Open my heart, and let me prepare

Love with Thy children thus to share....

Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine.

The lyrics naming “body parts” may bring to mind scriptures like these:

“O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.” (Psalm 51:15)

“One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see.” (The blind man who was healed, John 9:25)

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:15)

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

And this scripture also carries on the pairing of the physical and spiritual:

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)

To recall this hymn to mind, enjoy this YouTube version:

Open My Eyes That I May See | Lyric Video - YouTube