213. Open My Eyes, That I May See

The Story Behind the Hymn

Clara H. Scott was an American music teacher and hymn writer, notable for being one of the first American women to publish a book specifically devoted to music theory instruction, and she wrote both the words and music of this hymn in 1895, part of a considerable body of hymn writing she produced primarily for use in Sunday school and general congregational settings.

The hymn's structure moves systematically through several distinct physical senses in turn — eyes, ears, mouth, and finally heart — treating spiritual receptivity as something that engages the whole person across multiple specific faculties rather than as a single, undifferentiated general openness, each verse asking that a particular sense or capacity be specifically opened and consecrated for a distinct purpose: seeing truth, hearing truth, speaking truth, and finally loving others.

The hymn's repeated chorus, describing the singer as waiting 'silently' for God's illumination, reflects a devotional emphasis on quiet, receptive waiting rather than active striving or effort, treating spiritual insight as something given by the Holy Spirit in response to patient, attentive stillness rather than something the believer can produce or achieve through their own initiative alone.

Scott died in 1897, only two years after writing this hymn, in a road accident, cutting short what might otherwise have been a longer career producing further hymns and educational music materials; this hymn, along with her earlier work in music education, remains the primary basis for her lasting reputation, valued particularly for its careful, deliberate structure moving methodically through each of the specific human faculties it asks God to open and use.