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Our God, our help in ages past First Part. C. M Man frail, and God eternal

Isaac Watts's setting of Psalm 90:1–5, printed in 1719 in The Psalms of David Imitated, where he set the psalms "in the language of the New Testament".

WRITTEN BY

Isaac Watts 1674–1748

PRINTED

1719 The Psalms of David Imitated · no. 2

METRE

Common Metre 8.6.8.6 · 9 stanzas

WRITTEN ON

Psalm 90:1–5 the verse printed above it

The hymn, and the Scripture in it

All 9 stanzas as Watts printed them, with the verses their lines echo beside them. Point at a line to join it to its verse; click to read the passage.

SHARED WORDSthe verse shares the line's wording ECHOproposed by an AI model, confirmed by a separate check Not the author's own notes

AMONG THE SCRIPTURES

The stanzas at the centre; around them, every book its heading and its echoes come from, Old Testament on the left and New on the right. Choose a stanza or a book.

a line echoes this verse its heading or an echo comes from here

STANZA I

Our God, our help in ages past

Our God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home.

No line of this stanza quotes a verse closely; it is the hymn's own confession.

The psalm it sets

Watts made this hymn from Psalm 90:1–5, "in the language of the New Testament": a paraphrase, not a translation. The line that comes closest to it is marked.

1Lord, You have been our dwelling place through all generations. 2Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God. 3You return man to dust, saying, “Return, O sons of mortals.” 4For in Your sight a thousand years are but a day that passes, or a watch of the night. 5You whisk them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning— PSALM 90:1–5 · BEREAN STANDARD BIBLE READ PSALM 90

Before the hills in order stood, Or earth receiv'd her frame, From everlasting thou art God, To endless years the same. STANZA III

Its place in the book

Watts's psalms run from Psalm 1 to Psalm 150, several settings to many psalms: 367 hymns. This is number 2. Point at a tick to see the hymn; click it to open that hymn.

NO. 2 · ISAAC WATTS · THIS HYMN Our God, our help in ages past

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