Today is Remembrance Day. This morning in our prayers we gave thanks for those who have served to preserve freedom and after our service observed one minute’s silence. Tonight our corporate prayer also gave thanks and then we sang O God Our Help In Ages Past.
This is a staple hymn of Remembrance Services. Sadly the singing of it is usually led at a low volume and crowds don’t sing much anymore, so it hardly gets a flattering rendition. I’m always happy to help sing, but on Sunday mornings I’m engaged at church.
Isaac Watts’ lyrics, combined with William Croft’s tune St Anne continue to provide a link between the generations present and those absent. The lyrics paraphrase Psalm 90 with the same new covenant lens which Watts applied to many other compositions.
Like most other contemporary settings, we sang a version based on these six of the hymn’s original nine verses.
1.
O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home.
2.
Under the shadow of thy throne,
still may we dwell secure;
sufficient is thine arm alone,
and our defense is sure.
3.
Before the hills in order stood,
or earth received her frame,
from everlasting, thou art God,
to endless years the same.
4.
A thousand ages, in thy sight,
are like an evening gone;
short as the watch that ends the night,
before the rising sun.
5.
Time, like an ever rolling stream,
bears all who breathe away;
they fly forgotten, as a dream
dies at the opening day.
6.
O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come;
be thou our guide while life shall last,
and our eternal home.
Here’s a powerful version from Westminster Abbey.
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