Lyrics
O God, our Help in ages past,
Our Hope for years to come,
Our Shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal Home!
Under the shadow of Thy throne
Still may we dwell secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the op'ning day.
O God, our Help in age past,
Our Hope for years to come,
Be Thou our Guide while life shall last,
And our eternal Home.
Devotional Thought
In our worship, we come to both recognize and profess who God is. And the two are directly correlated—our recognition leads to our profession. Once we become more aware of all that God is, we can't help but share this awareness with others through "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" (Ephesians 5:19). Isaac Watts wrote the text for "O God, Our Help in Ages Past," and his awareness of God is at once obvious. In the first verse alone, Watts professes that God is our Help, our Hope, our Shelter, and our eternal Home. And just as He has been all of these things in the past, He will continue to be all of this—and more—through all of our years. What comfort, assurance, and hope we have in Him! No matter our situation or circumstances, no matter our struggles and fears, we can move forward with courage and confidence knowing that "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1)
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