This is hymn 45 of the Open Heavens daily devotion written by Pastor E. A. Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).
HYMN 45: O GOD OUR HELP IN AGES PAST
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 Trouble Last
And Our Eternal Home
O GOD OUR HELP IN AGES PAST HYMN COMMENTARY
Beloved in Christ, in the face of life’s transience, the rise and fall of nations, and our own fleeting days, the soul cries out for an anchor. This magnificent hymn, “O God, Our Help In Ages Past,” answers that cry by directing our faith to the only unchanging reality: the eternal God Himself. Based on Psalm 90, it contrasts the brief span of human life with the everlasting nature of our Creator, offering profound comfort and unshakable hope to every generation.
Why Sing This Hymn
We sing this hymn to gain an eternal perspective, to calm our fears in times of personal and global turmoil, and to anchor our souls in the God who exists outside of time. It is a hymn for funerals, for national crises, and for any moment we feel overwhelmed by change and mortality. It reminds us that our security is not in our own strength or the stability of our times, but in the everlasting arms of God.
1. It is a Hymn of Personal and Collective Refuge (Verse 1)
The hymn begins by declaring God’s dual role throughout time: He is our “Help in Ages Past” and our “Hope for Years to Come.” He is not a relic of history, but the continuous source of aid and the ground of our future confidence. He is both a “Shelter from the Stormy Blast” in life’s tempests and our ultimate destination—“our Eternal Home.” From the very start, we are placed in the context of God’s enduring care across all generations.
2. It is a Hymn of Sovereign Protection (Verse 2)
This verse paints a picture of perfect security. To dwell “Under the Shadow of Thy Throne” is to live under the direct protection and authority of the King of the universe. There, His people are “secure.” Our confidence lies not in armies or alliances, but in the sufficiency of “Thine Arm alone.” In a world of failed defenses, His is the one defense that is absolutely “sure.”
3. It is a Hymn of God’s Eternal Nature (Verse 3)
Here, the hymn zooms out to the cosmic scale to establish God’s transcendence. He existed “Before the hills in order stood.” He is the uncaused Cause, the Creator of all frames and forms. His defining attributes are His timelessness and immutability: “From Everlasting Thou art God, To endless years the same.” He is without beginning or end, and His character does not shift or evolve (Malachi 3:6). This is the bedrock of our trust.
4. It is a Hymn of Divine Perspective on Time (Verses 4 & 5)
These verses humble us by presenting time from God’s viewpoint. “A thousand ages” of human history are, to Him, “like an evening gone,” as brief as the watch of a night guard. Human life is portrayed with poignant brevity: we are carried away by time’s “ever-rolling stream,” and we fly from memory “forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.” This is not to despair us, but to rightly size our lives against the backdrop of eternity, making us cling all the more to the Eternal One.
6. It is a Hymn of Concluding Petition and Trust (Verse 6)
The hymn returns to its opening theme, now turned into a prayer. We reaffirm God as our past help and future hope, and we make our present petition: “Be Thou our Guard while troubles last.” We acknowledge that trouble is temporary (“while troubles last”), but His guardianship is what we need within it. And we reaffirm our ultimate destination: He is, and will be, “our Eternal Home.” The prayer accepts the reality of life’s storms but places them within the greater reality of God’s eternal, sheltering presence.
A Word for Your Spirit Today
Are you anxious about the future, mourning the past, or feeling insignificant in the vast flow of time? This hymn calls you to lift your eyes above the fray.
Look to the God who was your help in your parents’ age, in your youth, and will be your hope in all your tomorrows. See your brief life cradled in His everlasting arms. Let the storms rage—you are under the shadow of His throne. Let generations pass—He remains the same.
Today, take refuge in your Eternal Home. Let the unchanging nature of God be the peace that steadies your heart in a changing world. For our times are in His hands, and our end is secure in Him.
O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.
In the name of the Everlasting Father, Amen.
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