STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

Why doth the man of riches grow First Part. C. M Pride and death; or, The vanity of life and riches

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 49:6–14, printed in 1719 in The Psalms of David Imitated, where he set the psalms "in the language of the New Testament".

WRITTEN BY

Isaac Watts 1674–1748

PRINTED

1719 The Psalms of David Imitated · no. 1

METRE

Common Metre 8.6.8.6 · 10 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 49:6–14 the verse printed above it

The hymn, and the Scripture in it

All 10 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

Why doth the man of riches grow

To insolence and pride,

To see his wealth and honours flow

With every rising tide?

No line of this stanza quotes a verse closely; it is the hymn's own confession.

The psalm it sets

Watts made this hymn from Psalm 49:6–14, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

6They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches. 7No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God. 8For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice, 9that he should live on forever and not see decay. 10For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others. 11Their graves are their eternal homes— their dwellings for endless generations— even though their lands were their namesakes. 12But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish. 13This is the fate of the self-confident and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah 14Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode. PSALM 49:6–14 · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 49

Laid in the grave like silly sheep, Death feeds upon them there, Till the last trumpet break their sleep In terror and despair. STANZA X

Its place in the book

Watts's psalms run from Psalm 1 to Psalm 150, several settings to many psalms: 367 hymns. This is number 1. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.

NO. 1 · ISAAC WATTS · THIS HYMN Why doth the man of riches grow

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