Another hymn by Isaac Watts, this one is a paraphrase of Psalm 90 for his 1719 collection: “Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament”. At the time of writing, the Church of England was persecuting non-conformist Christians like Watts who worshipped in congregations outside the state-owned church. It is thought these events influenced these words. Psalm 90 and this hymn asks us to behold the God who is timeless, the One whose days and years are the same. It promises that the same God who has worked in the past, and will work in the future, is at work right now. This hymn has often been sung in times of great significance; the BBC in the UK aired it on the radio when Britain entered WW2, and again at the funeral of Winston Churchill¹.

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,
Still may we dwell 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 stream,
soon bears us all away;
we fly forgotten, as a dream
dies at the op’ning day.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be thou our guide while troubles last,
And our eternal home!

¹page 164 – Leeman, D. and Leeman, B., 2022. Our Hymns, Our Heritage: A Student Guide to Songs of the Church

This hymn was written by modern songwriters Stuart Townend & Keith Getty. Often today the preaching of the Word has been diminished in value – from its prominence in a service, to it’s passion; but most of all in our own expectation each time we sit down and ask God to speak to us. In writing this hymn, it was their prayer that through the power of the Spirit, this hymn would prepare people to humbly listen to the Bible being taught and respond to the huge consequences it has on their lives¹. The lyrics below would be an excellent prayer for any church leader to lead their congregation with before the preaching of the Word.

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of your holy word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfil in us
All Your purposes, for Your glory.

Teach us Lord full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility.
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise
Cause our eyes to see,
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of power that can never fail;
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us.
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time,
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises;
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, ’til your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.

¹facebook.com/gettymusic/posts/the-story-behind-speak-o-lordone-of-christianitys-distinctives-is-that-we-worshi/10155873712805136/

Wendell Kimbrough is the writer of this song, whose songs are marked by strong singable melodies, steeped in the sounds of folk, gospel, and soul music. What has made his songs popular is “his use of scriptural texts for his lyrics; his tunes which are extremely useful for congregational singing; and his approach in concert, which involves teaching God’s people the music to sing”¹. This is one of my favourites takes from the album Psalms We Sing Together.

Now the days and hours and moments
Of our suff’ring seem so long;
And the toilsome wait and wond’ring
Threaten silence to our song.
Now our pain is real and pressing
Where our faith is thin and weak,
But our hope is set on Jesus;
And we cling to him, our strength.

Oh eternal weight of glory!
Oh inheritance divine!
We will see our Lord redeeming
Every past and future time.
All our pains will be transfigured,
Like the scars of Christ our Lord.
We will see the weight of glory,
And our broken years restored.

For behold! I tell a myst’ry:
At the trumpet sound we’ll wake
“Death is swallowed up in vict’ry!”
When we meet our King of Grace
Every year we thought was wasted
Every night we cried “How long?”
All will be a passing moment
In our Saviour’s vict’ry song

We will see our wounded Saviour.
We’ll behold him face to face;
And we’ll hear our anguished stories
Sung as vict’ry songs of grace.
For behold! I tell a myst’ry:
At the trumpet sound we’ll wake
“Death is swallowed up in vict’ry!”
When we meet our King of Grace
Every year we thought was wasted
Every night we cried “How long?”
All will be a passing moment
In our Saviour’s vict’ry song

¹http://www.wendellk.com/#about

This song by Sovereign Grace is a prayer that we would all do well to pray to God – structured to draw near to God during the morning, the day and the night, this song will stir your heart to see our daily need for God.

As morning dawns and day awakes,
To You I bring my need.
O gracious God, my source of strength,
In You I live and breathe.
Each hour is Yours by wisdom planned,
Each deed empowered by sovereign hands.
Renew my spirit, help me stand;
Be glorified today

As day unfolds, I seek Your will
In all of life’s demands.
And though the tempter tries me still,
I cling to Your commands.
Let every effort of my life
Display the matchless worth of Christ.
Make me a living sacrifice;
Be glorified today.

As sun gives way to darkest night
Your Spirit still is here.
And though my strength fades like the light
New mercies will appear.
I rest in You; abide with me
Until our trials and suffering –
Give way to final victory;
Be glorified, today; be glorified, I pray

Not much is known about the author John Stocker, other than he lived in Honitan, Devonshire. He is considered a friend of A. M. Toplady (who wrote “Rock of Ages”) and Stocker contributed nine hymns to “The Gospel Magazine” in 1776-1777¹. This hymn, included in Spurgeon’s Own Hymn Book, is a personal favourite of mine.

Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song,
The joy of my heart. and the boast of my tongue;
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,
Hath won my affections, and bound my soul fast.

Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here;
Sin would reduce me to utter despair;
But, through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive,
And He that first made me still keeps me alive.

Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart,
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart;
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground,
And weep to the praise of the mercy I’ve found.

Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own,
And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son;
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine.

¹bibletruthpublishers.com/john-stocker/adrian-roach/the-little-flock-hymn-book-its-history-and-hymn-writers/a-roach/la105012