"I arise today..." the Lorica of St. Patrick

I will admit it... the commonly sung St. Patrick's Breastplate has always made me a little nervous. The opening line "I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity" always seemed inappropriate as a baptismal hymn. The action in baptism is exactly the opposite, God in Jesus Christ binds himself to us. I see a large number of people quoting snippets from this hymn all over Facebook and I figured I would quote the actual source material.

Patrick's Lorica (the Latin word meaning "breastplate") is one of three surviving writings of his: Patrick's Confession, this Lorica, and The Letter to Coroticus. The last of these is a denunciation of the British king who raided the Irish coast and slaughtered a number of Christian converts as they were being baptized. Patrick lived and served in dangerous times. Numerous times he was jailed. He faced opposition from druids as well as Pelagian heretics. His Lorica is then an invocation seeking God's protection in his work. This invocation seems much more appropriate for a baptism than the hymn version. I will grant however, that the invocation of God, seeking his protection is in fact a "binding" of God as one would bind a breastplate upon one's body.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation

From Lives of Saints, ed. Joseph Vann, 1954, John J. Crawley & Co. pp 119-121