Help in time of need

Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past
(To hear tune of hymn, click on its title.)

Our 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 defense is sure.

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

Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,
“Return, ye sons of men:”
All nations rose from earth at first,
And turn to earth again.

A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

Like flowery fields the nations stand
Pleased with the morning light;
The flowers beneath the mower’s hand
Lie withering ere ‘tis night.

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

Last week, this hymn spoke to me in a special way. I was having a conflict with another person at my summer job. I have never been so worked up and anxious about anything at a job. Sunday, I was reading the daily passage from Charles Spurgeon when the local Lutheran Church bells started playing this hymn. The Lord spoke to me, reminding me that He is my help in any trouble. I closed the book, thanked the Lord and trusted Him. Later, at church, the hymns all spoke to my need, as did the message from a guest speaker.

What a God we serve who knows our every need and protects His own from the evil one! The next day at work went better than usual, as the other person was the nicest he has ever been.