By Guest Writer
Few hymn writers have had a greater impact on Christian worship than Isaac Watts. With more than 750 hymns to his name, Watts has been dubbed the Father of English Hymnody for good reason, penning some of the most beloved worship refrains in the English-speaking world.
From the triumphant “Joy to the World,” celebrating the Savior’s birth, to the moving “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” reflecting on the Savior’s death, Watts packs profound gospel truths into memorable poetic phrases with every lyric he writes.
Watts’ gospel truth packed into poetic phrase is on bright display in today’s hymn. As the title indicates, Watts wanted to deepen our worship of God by growing our understanding of true blessing and reflecting on the nature of repentant faith.
“Blessing” is a word we throw around a lot. We get a promotion at work, or a new healthy baby is born, and we say we are blessed. As a kid in Sunday School, I remember having to list out my blessings: my baseball bat, hot dogs, the swimming pool, and yes, even my sister. I was taught that every good thing in my life was, in some way, a blessing from God.
What I didn’t understand then was that the concept of “blessing” is far more than physical or material favors from God. In fact, blessing lies at the center of God’s redemptive purpose. In Genesis 12:3, God tells Abraham that through him the blessing of salvation will extend to all the families of the earth. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul tells us this blessing to Abraham extends to us through the person and work of Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:13-14).
Watts, in this hymn, reflects on the blessing of salvation and how we receive it through repentant faith in Jesus Christ. Repentant faith begins when “sins with sorrow are confessed.” When truly grieved and broken over our sin, we come out of hiding. We must step out from behind the trees and the fig leaves (Genesis 3) and acknowledge our sin before God (Psalm 32:5).
If we do this, scary as it is, God will give us grace. We will be “covered with the Savior’s blood.” In a paradox that lies at the heart of the gospel, Watts teaches us that we must disrobe in order to be robed. We must own our guilt before God in order to know “how glorious is that righteousness that hides and cancels all my sin.”
When we begin to experience the power of God’s grace covering our shame and guilt, a new life takes hold. We become new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) and “the bright evidences of grace” begin to “appear and shine” in every facet of our lives. This is what it means to be blessed.
Blest is the man who knows the grace of our God.
Written By Nate Shurden
Blest is the Man, Forever Blest
Isaac Watts, 1719
Blest is the man, forever blest,
Whose guilt is pardoned by his God,
Whose sins with sorrow are confessed
And covered with his Savior’s blood.
Blest is the man to whom the Lord
Imputes not his iniquities;
He pleads no merit of reward
And not on works but grace relies.
From guile his heart and lips are free;
His humble joy, his holy fear,
With deep repentance well agree
And join to prove his faith sincere.
How glorious is that righteousness
That hides and cancels all his sins,
While bright the evidence of grace
Thro’ all his life appears and shines!
For an added layer of worship during reading plan, we’ve created a Spotify playlist for Hymns. You can find the complete HRT Hymns Playlist here, or listen to the first track on the player below. Enjoy!
101 thoughts on "Blest Is the Man"
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Braden Mcalister says:
This teaches me that the gospel is truly the real deal and that I can’t be blessed for only the good things
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I will be blest because I know God and share that blessing with others.a
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I will pray for boldness to share the blessing
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Letto says:
Repentance. Prayer. Worship.
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That the holy spirits conviction of sin leads to our repentance. And through repentance comes grace and mercy which we in turn worship. Gods love for us leads to our love for Him.
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It’s beautiful, and the more we comprehend it the more we will worship Jesus Christ.
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Men are dirty and sinful and we need a reason to worship and a hope to hold onto. Both of those are found in God the father.
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Without ceasing and with thanksgiving.
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Jantzen says:
It’s our instructions. We find our answers there. We should faithfully look there to be shown the way to go. It will be what we need because it’s God breathed.
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God’s grace is for all and never runs out. He will clean you and make you in right standing if you’ll repent.
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We are flawed and will always need a savior but if we’re truly His we have to return to Him and ask for forgiveness to receive his blessings.
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Repent and stay broken before God. Stay humbled and reminded of my need for God, his blessing and his word. I cannot do this alone.
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Help me stay disciplined, wholly and holy for you.
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Isaac Jones says:
We are blessed if we bring forth all our iniquities by faith and look with hope upon the sacrifice of Jesus. If we can follow the commands of Christ and uphold the message of the Bible with joy, then we are blessed indeed in the favor of God.
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Salvation brings joyful obedience and bears fruit of a renewed mind of honesty and faith. Belief in Jesus changed every aspect of ourselves; we go from slaves of sin bearing punishments for our iniquities, to slaves of Christ brought into Sonship seeing our sinfulness and accepting forgiveness for our sins before God. We are able to acknowledge our deep transgression and cease hiding from God. In forgiveness we serve and love.
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God has brought blessing in Jesus Christ, the redeeming messiah, and the savior of the world. God desires willful obedience not stubbornness that has to be continually goaded into action.
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I will believe in the gospel and seek to face my sins and confess them to God.
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Father,
I am a sinner in need of grace. I have been impatient and irreverent. I know others love me, but I withhold myself from them. I know I should be a student of the Word, yet I slack off. Father, I have been lazy and self-centered. Please forgive me for my sin and renew my faithful obedience to you. May I not transgress against your word, and may I forgive as I have been forgiven. Thank you for the cross and the gift of the Holy Sprit. Protect me from the evil one, because I am your servant and no others. You are worthy of all praise God, and I desire to obey you. My Spirit is willing but my flesh is so weak. Free me from my foolish pride and deliver me to humility of Spirit; amen. -
Matt Rouse says:
Man wants control of his salvation. He is always looking for that thing that will justify his existence. We will only find rest in Christ!
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God is prepared to fight against all sin. He know that we would struggle with feeling like we need to earn the salvation that he has freely given. He gently explains the truth! We have one hope and that’s Jesus. Our efforts are pitiful and fall woefully short. How much better to hold onto the finished with if Christ!!
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