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Blest Are the Humble Souls That See in parallel with The Beatitudes

Isaac Watts
(1674-1748)

The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12)
The Words of the King James Bible and Isaac Watts
Presented in Parallel


Verse
What Saith the Scripture?
What Singeth the Poet?

3
Blessed are the poor in spirit:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blest are the humble souls that see
Their emptiness and poverty;
Treasures of grace to them are giv’n,
And crowns of joy laid up in heav’n.

4
Blessed are they that mourn:
for they shall be comforted.
Bless’d are the men of broken heart,
Who mourn for sin with inward smart;
The blood of Christ divinely flows,
A healing balm for all their woes.

5
Blessed are the meek:
for they shall inherit the earth.
Bless’d are the meek, who stand afar
From rage and passion, noise and war;
God will secure their happy state,
And plead their cause against the great.

6
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled.
Bless’d are the souls that thirst for grace,
Hunger and long for righteousness;
They shall be well supplied, and fed
With living streams and living bread.

7
Blessed are the merciful:
for they shall obtain mercy.
Bless’d are the men whose bowels move
And melt with sympathy and love;
From Christ the Lord shall they obtain
Like sympathy and love again.

8
Blessed are the pure in heart:
for they shall see God.
Bless’d are the pure, whose hearts are clean
From the defiling pow’r of sin;
With endless pleasure they shall see
A God of spotless purity.

9
Blessed are the peacemakers:
for they shall be called
the children of God.
Bless’d are the men of peaceful life,
Who quench the coals of growing strife;
They shall be call’d the heirs of bliss,
The sons of God, the God of peace.

10
Blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness’ sake:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Bless’d are the suff’rers who partake
Of pain and shame for Jesus’ sake.
Their souls shall triumph in the Lord;
Glory and joy are their reward.
11
Blessed are ye, when men
shall revile you, and per­se­cute you,
and shall say all manner of evil
against you false­ly, for My sake.
12
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad:
for great is your reward in heaven:
for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you.

 

View the standalone version of the hymn
(without the parallel verses from Matthew 5).

[Note: This hymn was originally #102 in Book I of Watts’
Hymns and Spiritual Songs in Three Books.
I have taken the words from my personal copy
of an 1826 edition printed in Concord, New Hampshire, USA.]

 

To discover more hymns, visit our growing list of Powerful Poetry.

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