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Our God, Our Help in Ages Past

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Description

This Isaac Watts hymn is a setting of Psalm 90, which opens with the famous line, "Lord, you have been our dwelling place through all generations.... from everlasting to everlasting, You are God." The hymn is about the eternality of God and, in contrast, the finite and fleeting nature of man. As we meditate on days and years gone by, particular when a new year is approaching, may the conclusion of Psalm 90 be our hope: "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom... Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days."

This adaptation is a re-harmonization of the traditional tune with an added chorus whose lyrics are simply the first verse.

Lyrics

(Show Original Wordings)

Verse 1:
Our 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 Your throne / Under the shadow of thy throne
Your saints have dwelt secure; / Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Your arm alone, / Sufficient is thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

Chorus:
Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

Verse 2:
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting You are God, / From everlasting thou art God,
To endless years the same.

A thousand ages in Your sight / A thousand ages in thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

Verse 3:
The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downward by Your flood,
And lost in foll'wing years.

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come:
O be our guard while troubles last, / Be thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.

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