Blest Are They
Blest are they, the poor in spirit,
"Blest Are They" functions as a direct proclamation of the Beatitudes, the charter of the Kingdom of God in Matthew's Gospel. Theologically, the text occupies fascinating territory: the Beatitudes themselves resist simple Law/Gospel categorization because they are neither commands (in the strict imperative sense) nor merely indicative promises—they are eschatological declarations that describe those who belong to God's coming Kingdom. In Lutheran hermeneutics, the Beatitudes are best read as Gospel proclamation: Jesus declares blessing over those whom the world counts as losers—the poor in spirit, the sorrowful, the persecuted—and announces that the Kingdom is already theirs. Haas's setting honors this by keeping the declarations in the third person ("Blest are they") before shifting to the intimate second person in the final stanza and refrain ("Blessed are you"), drawing the assembly into the promise. The refrain—"Rejoice and be glad! Blessed are you, holy are you!"—is a direct echo of Matthew 5:12 and carries strongly doxological energy. In Lutheran worship, this functions as an assurance of grace: the holiness ascribed to the congregation is not achieved holiness but declared holiness, consistent with Luther's theology of the alien righteousness of Christ imputed to the believer. The call to "shine for all to see" in stanza five connects to Matthew 5:16 and the theology of vocation—those who have received blessing become bearers of light in the world, a theme resonant with Lutheran understandings of the Christian life as response to Gospel. For Lutheran ecumenical worship planning, this text works well as a meditation on sainthood broadly understood—not the formal canonized saints of Catholic tradition, but all the baptized who live under the promises of God. Its use at funerals and on All Saints Sunday (a feast celebrated with increasing enthusiasm in Lutheran congregations) is theologically apt: the Beatitudes declare blessing over those who mourn and those who have suffered, and in the context of commemorating the faithful departed, the eschatological dimension of these promises takes on pastoral immediacy. Planners should note that the text does not address atonement or justification directly, so it pairs well with preaching that supplies those foundations explicitly.
History & Background
"Blest Are They" was composed by David Haas in 1985 and published by GIA Publications. It is a direct, lyrical paraphrase of the Beatitudes from Matthew 5:3–12, the opening of the Sermon on the Mount, set to Haas's own original tune BLEST ARE THEY. The text emerged during a period of remarkable creative productivity in post-Vatican II Catholic liturgical music, when composers associated with GIA and OCP were developing an accessible, congregationally singable repertoire rooted in Scripture. Haas drew the Beatitudes into a refrain-based structure—common in the responsorial style he helped popularize—so that congregations could participate even when the stanzas were sung by a cantor. The hymn rapidly became one of the most frequently sung settings of the Beatitudes in English-language Catholic worship and was adopted broadly across ecumenical and mainline Protestant communities throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. Its inclusion in numerous hymnals beyond the Catholic sphere—including the Evangelical Lutheran Worship and several ecumenical collections—reflects how thoroughly it crossed denominational lines. It is particularly associated with funerals, memorial services, and All Saints observances, where the Beatitudes' promises of comfort and divine reversal speak directly to grief and hope. The text has remained in continuous liturgical use for four decades and is considered a signature work of the contemporary Catholic liturgical music movement. While Haas's personal conduct became the subject of serious controversy in 2020—leading some parishes and publishers to reconsider his works—the text itself continues to be used widely, and GIA Publications has continued to make it available. Hymnologists continue to assess the text on its own merits as a scriptural paraphrase of enduring quality.
Hymnal Appearances
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 728
- Gather 3rd Edition — 658
- Gather 4th Edition — 707
- Glory to God — 172
- Worship IV — 821
Bulletin Note
Text and music by David Haas, © 1985, GIA Publications. Based on Matthew 5:3–12. Used with permission.
Preaching Connection
When preaching on the Beatitudes, "Blest Are They" can serve as a sung sermon—its stanzas walk the congregation through each blessing so that the text is not only heard but embodied in song. On All Saints Sunday, the hymn's promises of consolation and divine reversal anchor the commemorated dead in the same Kingdom announced to the living.
Themes
Beatitudes Kingdom of God blessing sainthood consolation mercy peacemaking persecution eschatological hope All Saints grief and comfort purity of heart poverty of spirit justice vocation