Proverbs 29.11: A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

‘But what does it mean?’ has been the litany of every church interpreter who has ever had to decipher the archaic language of some of the most popular hymns sung throughout the world. Many of these hymns were written hundreds of years ago, and many struggle to understand what they mean.

My goal is to research the origins and meanings of the lyrics of hymns and attempt to provide church interpreters with some background and suggestions for concepts that might help them render a meaningful interpretation. It’s not enough to just throw out words when interpreting music (unless the Deaf for whom you interpret prefer a word-for-word transliteration, which is their decision; it’s important to ask). We should always strive to interpret the meaning of songs when appropriate. 

I’m starting with my favorite hymn ‘Be Thou My Vision’, which contains a number of phrases and concepts that can be challenging for an interpreter.

(The hymn is in the public domain, so I have the entirety of the lyrics below.)

Be Thou My Vision

1. Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart; 
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art. 
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

2. Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word; 
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord; 
Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son; 
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

3. Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight; 
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight; 
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower: 
Raise Thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.

4. Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise, 
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always: 
Thou and Thou only, be first in my heart, 
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

5. High King of Heaven, my victory won, 
May I reach Heav’n’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun! 
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, 
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Words: Attr. Dallan Forgaill, 8th Century. Translated by Mary Byrne, 1905 and Eleanor Hull, 1912.

There is some debate over the origins of this hymn, but the consensus seems to be that the words were originally written in Irish as a poem over a thousand years ago. 

The entire hymn speaks of God’s sufficiency for all of our needs and desires, that He is to be our focus, and that He gives us wisdom and defends us.

A couple of possible meanings for the first line of the hymn are: asking for God to be visible, or asking God to be our way of seeing the world. Either makes sense and could be a valid choice for your interpretation. Another possibility that is woven throughout this first verse is that of vision and light as understanding.

The second verse gives us a hint of the trinity: God gives us wisdom through His Word (Jesus) and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Thou in me dwelling…). 

Most have never heard of the third verse as shown above. This oft-skipped verse gives a hint of the Irish nature of the hymn, describing God as the ‘chieftain’ or ‘high king’ protecting His people. It’s my favorite verse of the song, but it definitely can be a challenge to interpret without being extremely literal. Using comparisons between God and the various elements mentioned would be a good strategy – a great place to use classifiers!

The next verse is a little more straightforward, stressing the idea that we value God above material things, or above the praise and pleasures of the world. Note that in the last line, some versions change ‘High King of Heaven’ to ‘Great God of Heaven’, perhaps to eliminate repetition as that phrase is used in the first line of the next verse.

The final verse speaks to believers’ blessed hope for an eternity spent in joy, where we will see God, with ‘bright heaven’s Sun’ bringing it back around to the concepts in the first verse. It ends with a final prayer that God would continue to give us understanding, or be the filter through which we see the world.

I hope this explanation is useful. You will still have to do some of your own legwork! This is by no means a fully-fleshed interpretation of the song, but I hope it will help clarify concepts and make it easier for you to come up with your own interpretation of this beautiful, ancient hymn.