I've had church people tell me that the hymn Saint Patrick's Breastplate is wicked, pagan, and superstitious. Thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case in my current church, where we sang it the last 3 Sundays in the lead up to St. Patrick's Day, today.
Here's a verse by verse defense of this hymn.
1. I bind unto myself to-day 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 for ever, By pow’r of faith, Christ’s Incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river; His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb; His riding up the Heav’nly way;
His coming at the day of doom; I bind unto myself to-day.
3. I bind unto myself the power Of the great love of Cherubim;
The sweet “Well done” in judgment hour; The service of the Seraphim,
Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word, The Patriarchs’ prayers, the Prophets’ scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord, And purity of virgin souls.
There's nothing much controversial in these first three verses, though the third starts to get at the issue. Is there power in the service of the Seraphim, or the Patriach's prayers for us? Yes, there is. Not automatic divine power, but encouragement for us as we consider them, which is spiritual power and strength.
4. I bind unto myself to-day The virtues of the star-lit 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 enduring rocks.
This is the most controverted verse. Do the sun and moon have inherent powers to move us? This is not really the point. It's a poetic reference to Psalm 19 - the heavens declare the glory of God! All creation sings His praise, and this points us to God's creation as a pointer to Him. We can take encouragement from His sun, moon, lightning, ocean, and rocks as a sign of His limitless power to take us by the hand and guide us to His course. Those who lack a poetic sense most object to this verse. The point isn't that the stars have virtues in themselves, but that God has made them as pointers to Himself. We look to creation as a source of strength to hold on to God's power in our lives.
5. I bind unto myself to-day The pow’r of God to hold, and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay, His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach, His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech, His heavenly host to be my guard.
Wonderful verse - nothing objectionable here - much like "Be Thou My Vision."
6. Against the demon snares of sin, The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within, The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh, In every place, and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility, I bind to me these holy powers.
7. Against all Satan’s spells and wiles, Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles, Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the wizard’s evil craft, Against the death-wound and the burning,
The choking wave, the poison’d shaft, Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.
These verses articulate what few other hymns do. We have enemies within and without that are seeking to do us in. Our own temptations, and those hostile to the faith that are trying to take us out - spiritually and physically. The last two lines of verse 7 refer to various methods of killing Christians, in martyrdom. We seek protection from Christ against these acts.
8. 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.
9. 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 hath creation: Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation, Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
8-9 are a wonderful paean of praise to our Savior who is with us, and also the eternal Trinity.