Isaac Watts: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

O God, Our Help in Ages Past

Isaac Watts

“O God, Our Help in Ages Past” as printed in The Canadian Soldiers' Song Book (1918).

Isaac Watts: Collected Lyrics Text 1 1918 · historical text
Public domainSoldier songHistorical song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Canadian Soldiers' Song Book, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

O God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home.

Verse 2

Under the shadow of Thy throne

Thy saints have dwelt secure;

Sufficient is Thine arm alone,

And our defence is sure.

Verse 3

Before the hills in order stood,

Or earth received her frame,

From everlasting Thou art God,

To endless years the same.

Verse 4

A thousand ages in Thy sight

Are like an evening gone;

Short as the watch that ends the night

Before the rising sun.

Verse 5

Time, like an ever-rolling stream,

Bears all its sons away;

They fly forgotten, as a dream

Dies at the opening day.

Verse 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 home.

Credits

Written by Isaac Watts

Words by Isaac Watts. Historical text published in The Canadian Soldiers' Song Book (1918); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Canadian Soldiers' Song Book (1918), “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”

The 1918 published edition is in the public domain in the United States (pre-1931 publication). Entries whose credited author died more than 70 years ago are also in the public domain in life-plus-70 jurisdictions; other entries are held.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-12. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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