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 Thy throne,
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defence is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.

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 steam,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.

The hymn was originally part of The Pslams of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, published by Isaac Watts in 1719. The hymn tune "St. Anne" (common metre 86.86) to which the text is most often sung was composed by William Croft in 1708. Watts wrote "Our God, Our help in Ages Past" as paraphrase of Psalm 90. His desire to write the hymn was born, in part, out of his dissatisfaction with the church music of his day. His hymn gives a grand commentary on the subject of time and how God stands above human time. In 1738, Johm Wesley changed the first line from "Our God" to "O God".

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