STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

Let mortal tongues attempt to sing The devil vanquished; or, Michael's war with the dragon, Rev. 12. 7

Isaac Watts printed it in 1707 in Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Book I, no. 58, under Revelation 12:7.

WRITTEN BY

Isaac Watts 1674–1748

PRINTED

1707 Hymns and Spiritual Songs · no. 58

METRE

Long Metre 8.8.8.8 · 6 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Revelation 12:7 the verse printed above it

The hymn, and the Scripture in it

All 6 stanzas as Watts printed them, with the verses their lines echo beside them. Point at a line to join it to its verse; click to read the passage.

SHARED WORDSthe verse shares the line's wording ECHOproposed by an AI model, confirmed by a separate check Not the author's own notes

AMONG THE SCRIPTURES

The stanzas at the centre; around them, every book its heading and its echoes come from, Old Testament on the left and New on the right. Choose a stanza or a book.

a line echoes this verse its heading or an echo comes from here

STANZA I

Let mortal tongues attempt to sing

The wars of heaven, when Michael stood

Chief general of th' Eternal King,

And fought the battles of our God.

Where Watts found it

Watts printed the hymn under Revelation 12:7. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

Then a war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. REVELATION 12:7 · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ REVELATION 12

Let mortal tongues attempt to sing The wars of heaven, when Michael stood Chief general of th' Eternal King, And fought the battles of our God. STANZA I

Its place in the book

Book I of the hymn book, “Collected from the Holy Scriptures”, holds these hymns in this order: 179 hymns. This is number 58. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.

NO. 58 · ISAAC WATTS · THIS HYMN Let mortal tongues attempt to sing

Rooted in Scripture. Open for discovery.

A place to read slowly, ask deeply, and follow the connections. Scripture, study and the voices of Christian history, brought together for a lifetime of learning.

SPEND TIME IN THE WORD

  • Open the reader
  • Books & reading progress
  • Compare Scripture editions
  • Find a passage

FOLLOW YOUR QUESTIONS

  • Study collections
  • People & places
  • Faith & apologetics
  • Stories of faith

A library with a paper trail.

Meet the authors. Explore the collection. Trace each work to its source.

Download the code.

Open source on GitHub.