O God our help in ages past

533 St. Anne. C. M.

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 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.
                         Isaac Watts
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
A nice rousing Isaac Watts hymn! I didn't realize that there were so many different variations in this hymn. As usual, Cyberhymnal has the most:

4. Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,
   Return, ye sons of men:
   All nations rose from earth at first,
   And turn to earth again.

6. The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
   With all their lives and cares,
   Are carried downwards by the flood,
   And lost in following years.

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

8. Like flowery fields the nations stand
   Pleased with the morning light;
   The flowers beneath the mower’s hand
   Lie withering ere ‘tis night.

</idle musing>