STUDY / LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE / HYMNS

Why do the proud insult the poor The rich sinner's death, and the saint's resurrection

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 49, 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. 3

METRE

Long Metre 8.8.8.8 · 6 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 49 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

The psalm it sets

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

1Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all inhabitants of the world, 2both low and high, rich and poor alike. 3My mouth will impart wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding. 4I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp: … 16 more verses PSALM 49 · ITS FIRST VERSES · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 49

They can't redeem one hour from death, With all the wealth in which they trust; Nor give a dying brother breath, When God commands him down to dust. STANZA II

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 3. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.

NO. 3 · ISAAC WATTS · THIS HYMN Why do the proud insult the poor

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