O God, Our Help in Ages Past

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 throneThy saints have dwelt secure;Sufficient is Thine arm alone,And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stoodOr earth received her frame,From everlasting Thou art God,To endless years the same.

A thousand ages in Thy sightAre like an evening gone;Short as the watch that ends the nightBefore the rising sun.

Thy word commands our flesh to dust:“Return, ye sons of men!”All nations rose from earth at firstAnd turn to earth again.

Time, like an ever-rolling stream,Bears all its sons away;They fly forgotten, as a dreamDies at the opening day.

Like flowery fields the nations stand,Pleased with the morning light;The flowers beneath the mower’s handLie withering ere ’tis night.

O God, our Help in ages past,Our Hope for years to come,Be Thou our Guard while troubles lastAnd our eternal Home.