by Edwin Tam
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
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defence 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
Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
6
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while life shall last,
And our eternal home1.
This summer, the first Cantonese Sunday School talked about the traditional hymns, our Sunday School teacher, Mr. Hing Watts, illustrated Isaac Watts’ classical hymn” O God, our help in ages past” (Photo 1 & 2) as the first hymn to discuss and appreciate. Since I attended Diocesan Boys’ School, an Anglican Church school, in Hong Kong, this hymn was sung many times in our school assembly, it was also listed in our school hymn book. At that time, I was not a Christian, so it was not just the melody that attracted me to this hymn, but the song itself also calmed and comforted me. Today as I looked back at these words, it gave me a more appreciation of how powerful and meaningful these words are.
How Important Is This Hymn Throughout History?
When Isaac Watts wrote this hymn, his inspiration came from the Bible, you can almost paraphrase Psalm 90, especially verse 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6. This hymn, “Our God, our Help in Ages Past,” has been sung so often on Sunday Service as well as many public occasions, here are some examples 2:
- In May 20, 1910, the hymn was sung at the Funeral of King Edward VII in England.
- In 14 April 1912 – this was the last hymn sung at a church service in the morning before the Titanic sank.
- In August 14, 1941, on board HMS Prince of Wales at a religious service attended by Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, as part of the conference creating the Atlantic Charter to lay out plans after the war (Photo 3).
- On January 30, 1965, this hymn was sung at Winston Churchill’s funeral.
- On September 14, 2001, after 9/11 terrorists attacked, it was the first hymn sung at the National Prayer Service held at the Washington National Cathedral (Photo 4).
So it is not a surprise this hymn has been called “The Church’s National Anthem.”
The Author
The hymn is written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), he was an English Congregational Minister, theologian, and logician. He is also a prolific and well-known writer in church music history. He wrote over 750 hymns. They includes some the well-known hymns such as “When I survey the Wondrous Cross”; “Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun (Psalm 72)”; “This is the Day that the Lord Hath Made” (Psalm 118); and “Joy to the world (Psalm 98)”. No wonder he is called the “Godfather of English Hymnody”.
Isaac Watts was born in Southampton, England on 17 July 1674, the eldest of nine children. His father, a schoolmaster, was a dissenter or non-conformist, In England, Nonconformists are those who would not embrace the Church of England. Under this upbringing, Isaac is also a Nonconformist all his life. As he grew up he complained about hymn singing in church: “To see the dull indifference, the negligent and thoughtless air that sits upon the faces of a whole assembly, while the psalm is upon their lips, might even tempt a charitable observer to suspect the fervency of their inward religion.” 3 His father, tired of his complaints, challenged him to write something better. So the career of the “Father of English Hymnody” had begun.
The Hymn
In 1714, Queen Anne, a Protestant, lay dying, and she had no son or daughter to succeed her. England was thrown into chaos. The era of religious tolerance was being threatened. During this period, the Parliament suddenly passed the Schism Act, the law is designed to suppress dissent of the Church of England once for all. Isaac Watts had reason to worry. At odds with the Church of England, Watts’ father had been imprisoned under the previous ruler because of his Congregationalist belief.
It is during this turbulence time Watts wrote this hymn to comfort England’s citizens, the hymn is based on Psalm 90, he reminded all of them that God takes the long view of time, as typical of humans, we tend to caught up in the trials and tribulations of current moments.
“A thousand ages, in thy 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 who breathe away;
they fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.” (Psalm 90)
Today’s meaning
In today’s world, as we look at what is happening, it looks like the world is turn up-side -down. Covid-19 pandemic ; intensifying US and China tension; unemployment rate in the US is all time high; racial relationship in the US is deteriorating due to the death of George Floyd under police custody in Minnesota, as a result, riots in many major cities across US, this includes Boston (Photo 5).
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington wrote an article of her response to President Trump’s recent visit to St. John’s Church after he used police to disperse the peaceful demonstrators in front of the White House so he can take a photo in front of the Church . She stated, “In a crucible moment of life or history, it’s important to keep focused on what matters most, lest the moment pass and we miss a transformational opportunity……Like everyone else, people of faith are not of one mind, we show up on every side of every issue. Often we prefer to take no side at all, for fear of offending, or stepping out of our lane, or failing to love everyone without distinction. But there are times when taking a side, and a stand, is precisely what’s needed from people of faith.”4
With so much information and misinformation, yet we are still struggling, we are fear of taking the wrong side of what God wants us to do, we are afraid to offend someone by taking on one side of the issue that he or she may not agree, our fear and anxiety in the current world events threaten to consume all of us. Yet, during this difficult time, we can always find comfort and inspiration and God’s words and in this hymn.
Let’s look at the first phrase “O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.
Our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home.” It stated when there is a storm, God is our shelter and our eternal home, not just now but as stated in Psalm 90,”Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.”
We know that in this turbulent time, as Christians, we should rise above all politics and pledge our allegiance to the Bible. Parties, leaders and countries will fade away, but the word of our God stands under the testing of time. We are always safe under God’s protection, not only just now, but all the way to the future. As stated in the hymn and Psalm 90, God stands above time, and only through Him that all our anxieties can be laid to rest. Although today’s events trouble all of us, God of ages remains our eternal home.
Final Words
Finally I like to end by quoting what Paul said in both Roman 8:35-39 and 1 Corinthians 13:8-13:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Roman 8:35-39)
“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:8-13).
Yes indeed, we need faith, we need hope and we need love. Above all God is our help in ages past (Photo 6)!
Music
You will find many samples in Youtube, here are 2 samples:
1. St Ann (English version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjdmLstpNGE
2. 千古保障 (Chinese version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cWLvSy5WAE
Photos Sources
- https://creation.com/isaac-watts
- https://www.etsy.com
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Charter
- The new York Times
- BBC News
- Reuters
- Financial Times
- Igor Kirillov “ Eternal Home”
References
- https://www.hymnal.net
- https://en.wikipedia.org
- https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/poets/isaac-watts.html
- Mariann Edgar Budde, “Bishop Budde: Trump’s Visit to St. John’s Church Outraged Me”, The NY Time, June 4, 2020.
Author
Edwin Tam, currently at Lexington Fellowship, he has been attending CBCGB around 30 years. He is currently serving at HR Committee, Kitchen, Pulse Magazine, Cantonese Sunday School, Church website and church photography.