Author: Isaac Watts Hymnal: Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts, The #Ps.111 (1806) Meter: 8.8.8.8 First Line: Why do the proud insult the poor Lyrics:
Why do the proud insult the poor,
And boast the large estates they have?
How vain are riches to secure
Their haughty owners from the grave!
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.
There the dark earth and dismal shade
Shall clasp their naked bodies round;
That flesh, so delicately fed,
Lies cold and moulders in the ground.
Like thoughtless sheep the sinner dies,
Laid in the grave for worms to eat:
The saints shall in the morning rise,
And find th' oppressor at their feet.
His honors perish in the dust,
And pomp and beauty, birth and blood:
That glorious day exalts the just
To full dominion o'er the proud.
My Savior shall my life restore,
And raise me from my dark abode;
My flesh and soul shall part no more,
But dwell for ever near my God.
Topics: Resurrection of the saints; Death of saints and sinners; Despair and hope in death; Hope and despair in death; Envy and unbelief cured; Prosperous sinners cursed; Mortality of man; Death and pride; Death and the resurrection; Life and riches, their vanity; Pride and death; Resurrection and death; Riches Their Vanity; Vanity of life and riches Scripture: Psalm 49 Languages: English
Psalm 49