O God, Our Help In Ages Past (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 632)
1 O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And out eternal home:
2 Under the shadow of your throne
Your saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is your arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
3 Before the hills in order stood
Or earth received its frame,
From everlasting you are God,
To endless years the same.
4 A thousand ages in your 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,
Soon bears us all away;
We fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the op’ning day.
6 O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Still be our guard while troubles last
And our eternal home!
Text: Isaac Watts; Music: William Croft; Public Domain
Devotion
This hymn by Isaac Watts beautifully summarizes the readings of this past week. It reminds me of my first course in seminary when the professor asked the class a question which changed my life: “Where is the past?” I still remember where I was sitting as I breathlessly awaited the answer. “The past,” he finally revealed, “is with God.” Hearing this, a burden suddenly lifted as I sensed the continuity of time—of past, present, and future all being held by God. In the midst of anxieties in our daily lives and in the wrestling with the unknown in our nights, the words of this hymn become a prayer and a reminder that all time is God’s time. In the present, I am not resenting the past nor am worrying about fixing or controlling in the present. I am being in the present. I am safe to live and rest in God’s presence, assured that all time is held in his hands.
Prayer
Gracious God, keep us in your care and guide us that we may be counted among your faithful and live all the days of our lives in witness to your justice, love, and hope. Amen.