"The Heavenly Vision", also known as "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" (the first line of its chorus), is a

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

written by Helen Howarth Lemmel. It was inspired by a tract entitled
Focused
', written by the missionary Isabella Lilias Trotter. The chorus is widely known, and has become a standard reprinted in many hymnals. Lemmel first published the hymn in England as a pamphlet in 1918, and then included it in a 1922 collection called ''Glad Songs''. It was included in a 1924 American collection entitled ''Gospel Truth in Song'' and was widely reprinted in other collections.

Versions

In 1989, Christian singer-songwriter

Russ Taff Russell Taff (born November 11, 1953) is an American gospel singer and songwriter who grew up in Farmersville, California. He has sung a variety of musical styles throughout his career including: pop rock, traditional Southern gospel, contempora ...

sang it as part of a medley with " Near the Cross" and "

My Jesus I Love Thee My Jesus I Love Thee is a poem written by William Ralph Featherston in 1864 when he was 16 years old, although one source says he could have been just 12 years old. The first two lines of this poem are nearly the same as a hymn wri ...

" on the various artists album ''

Our Hymns ''Our Hymns'' is a compilation album released in 1989 on Word Records. It features well-known church hymns each done by CCM artists' interpretation and styles of music from pop ("Holy, Holy, Holy" by Michael W. Smith) to rock ("Onward, Christian ...

''. In 1992 the Christian band

Newsboys Newsboys (sometimes stylised as newsboys) are a Christian rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia, by Peter Furler and George Perdikis. Now based in Nashville, Tennessee, the band has released 17 studio albums, 6 of which ...

included the song (combined with "Where You Belong") on their album ''

Not Ashamed ''Not Ashamed'' is the fourth studio album by Australian CCM band Newsboys, released in 1992. The album was the Newsboys' first commercially successful album, with "I'm Not Ashamed" becoming a hit on Christian radio. With this album, producer S ...

'' and released a video of the song. In 1999, Hillsong recorded the song and a video live in their album ''The Secret Place''.

Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when "Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the ''B ...

features the song on his 2001 live worship album ''

Worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...

''. Country artist

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

's recording of this song for his father-in-law's funeral in 2005 became the inspiration for his 2006 gospel album '' Precious Memories''.John Gerome
"Gift of gospel: Alan Jackson's family Christmas present turns into new CD"

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

in ''

The Columbian ''The Columbian'' is a daily newspaper serving the Vancouver, Washington, and Clark County, Washington area. The paper was published for its first decade (1890–1900) as a four-page daily that was meant as a counterweight to the local Republic ...

'', March 5, 2006 . In 2018, the Christian singer

Lauren Daigle Lauren Ashley Daigle () (born September 9, 1991) is an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter. After being signed to the label Centricity Music, she released her debut album, '' How Can It Be,'' in 2015. It reached No. 1 on ...

recorded "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus", on her

Look Up Child ''Look Up Child'' is the third studio album by American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter Lauren Daigle. It was released on September 7, 2018, through Centricity Music. The album received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Chr ...

album. In 2019, the Christian group Passion released "Fade Away" on their album "Follow You Anywhere (Live)", which uses the chorus from this song as an outro. Also in 2019, Sovereign Grace Music released the modern hymn "Turn Your Eyes" based on Helen Lemmel's chorus on their album The Glorious Christ (Live).

References

English Christian hymns British poems Year of song missing 20th-century hymns 1922 songs {{christian-song-stub