O God, Our Help in Ages Past, ELW 632
Devotion
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 your throne
your saints have dwelt secure;
sufficient is your arm alone,
and our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood
or earth received its frame,
from everlasting you are God,
to endless years the same.
A thousand ages in your 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 our years away;
they fly forgotten, as a dream
dies at the op'ning day.
O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
still be our guard while troubles last
and our eternal home.
Taken from Psalm 90, Isaac Watts penned the beautiful words of trust which have been a reoccurring theme through this past week’s readings. I will never forget watching President Eisenhower's funeral on television as the community gathered at the National Cathedral and sang the words of this hymn. In a time when national pageantry was at its most formal display, music and words of faith filled the soundwaves for all to hear. Our trust is in the God who was our help in ages past and our hope for years to come.
We can take comfort in knowing that the ones who have come before us placed their trust in God—and the church we have been given, while not perfect, is a gift for us to steward and to pass on to the next generation of the faithful. Can we place our bold trust in God, as the saints who have gone before us? Yes we can. And finally, at the end of our time and at the ends of time, our hope and faith is placed in the God who created time and space and who will indeed raise us all to our eternal home.
Prayer
As you were called upon by the saints of old, Lord God, be the rock on whom we call upon today as we steward the faith and the church, passing them on to the next generation. Remind us daily that you are our creator, redeemer, and sanctifier, and you are our eternal presence and hope. Amen.