Blessed is the Man Whose Bowels Move

Posted by Michael K. | Filed under Just for Fun

Yes, this is by that Isaac Watts. Pretty sure “bowels” meant something different to him than me.

Blest is the Man Whose Bowels Move
Isaac Watts, 1674-1748 

1.Blest is the man whose bowels move,
And melt with pity to the poor;
Whose soul, by sympathizing love,
Feels what his fellow saints endure.

2. His heart contrives for their relief
More good than his own hands can do;
He, in the time of gen’ral grief,
Shall find the Lord has bowels too.

3. His soul shall live secure on earth,
With secret blessings on his head,
When drought, and pestilence, and dearth
Around him multiply their dead.

4. Or if he languish on his couch,
God will pronounce his sins forgiv’n;
Will save him with a healing touch,
Or take his willing soul to heav’n.

(HT: Z)

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Permalink | Comments (3) | Sep 29, 2009

3 Responses to “Blessed is the Man Whose Bowels Move”

  1. Rob Kuefner Says:
    September 29th, 2009 at 3:42 pm

    While my Hebrew’s pretty rusty, I know that in the Middle East, the bowels are the seat of emotion, not the heart, so perhaps his focus is on the emotion and empathy that one feels for those in need. It sounds strange to our Western ears, but would be normal to someone from long ago.

  2. Michael K. Says:
    September 29th, 2009 at 7:07 pm

    You’re right on that, Rob, as far as I know, too.

    Still, something about reading about bowels…

  3. Rob Kuefner Says:
    September 30th, 2009 at 7:37 pm

    Michael,
    Oh yeah… don’t think it’s one I’ll be suggesting to my music director! Interesting I was remembering a friend of mine from camp years ago who wrote a love song called “My Bowels Are in An Uproar Over You!” it was a stitch. Here’s the interesting part.. he’s an excellent student of Hebrew, in fact he’s now a professor at a Lutheran seminary and I believe in the exegetical area for Hebrew. It just dawned on me after all these years that it might be the impetus of his song! To give you a sense, the next line of the song goes, “on account of you my intestines got the blues!” Well hope that gives you a good laugh. Blessings!

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