O Lord, Our Fathers Oft Have Told

54 O Lord, Our Fathers Oft Have Told

1 O Lord, our fathers oft have told,
   In our attentive ears,
   Thy wonders in their days perform'd,
   And in more ancient years.

2 ’Twas not their courage, nor their sword,
   To them salvation gave;
   ’Twas not their number, nor their strength
   That did their country save.

3 But thy right hand, thy pow'rful arm;
   Whose succor they implor'd—
   Thy Providence protected those,
   Who thy great name ador'd.

4 As thee, their God, our fathers own'd,
   So thou art still our King;
   O therefore, as thou didst to them,
   To us deliv'rance bring.

5 To thee, the glory we'll ascribe,
   From whom salvation came;
   In God our shield we will rejoice,
   And ever bless thy name.
                         Tate and Brady 1696
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Note that Tate and Brady refers to the Psalter collection of Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady, which they published in 1696. Quite a few of their adaptations of the Psalms are still in use today.
</idle musing>