Sorry for the editing glitch at the beginning, must re-upload! Choir and congregation sing this classic. Men and boys of the choir do a verse on their own, then all join in for the last verse with a soaring descant from the trebles.
i love old hymns, and i love this one! im 15 and i just love God so much! i love England too! God is so amazing and its beautiful when people worship him with hymns!
I am an ELCA Lutheran from South Carolina. I play the piano and organ. Today (November 7, All Saints' Sunday), we sang this as our closing hymn. It is #632 in Evangelical Lutheran Worship. May God bless all those who have gone before us.
I've always felt at home at Westminster Abbey. This is a great presentation by the Abbey choir. They are so rehearsed and sound absolutely fantastic. It arouses the spirituality in those who attend.
One of the greatest, most beautiful, beloved hymns of all time with the most moving, meaningful lyrics. Sends chills up my spine to hear it done by this great choir. No wonder the great President Reagan wanted it sang at his funeral.
I will never forget the day I first heard this as a boy during the early days of WW II London was then in the middle of the Blitz... The US Episcopal Hymnbook was full of Kipling verses then.
I pray that ALL of the cathedrals and churches in The British Isles, and all across Europe would once again resound with choirs and congregations singing hymns of prayer and praise!!!!
I cannot think of anything more uplifting than seeing and listening to these angelic trebles singing. As an old ex choir boy, I know well how hard they work to produce such beautiful music. God bless them, each and every one.
We are all living in such difficult times these days........if people would reflect on these lyrics, and contemplate on the truth of what they speak, they would find comfort.
One of the greatest, most beautiful, beloved hymns of all time with the most moving, meaningful lyrics from the pen of the great Isaac Watts. Sends chills up my spine to hear it done by this great choir. No wonder the great President Reagan wanted it sang at his funeral.
O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home: Benearth 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. A thousand ages in thy sight Are like an evening gone; Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun.
This song is a great reminder of the choral might of the Christian church of yesteryear. The a cappella third verse is simply glorious in this performance, due largely to the boy soprano floating the high notes sans vibrato. I love listening to these old hymns for their rich texts, something lacking a bit in today's contemporary style.
I agree, and that stuff about youth that doesn't like classic quality hymns nd stuff. I'm still at secondary school, and every1's complaining about low-quality music of modern kind in church.
I am an ELCA Lutheran from South Carolina. I play the piano and organ. This past Sunday (September 21), I played this for our Sunday School Assembly. Just thought I'd share.
It is sung in every town and village in Britain on Remembrance Sunday in November. I assumed it was fairly well known in the USA as well but perhaps not.
The Great St. Ann theme. Long may it ring upon the earth. "Oh God Our Help is Ages Past… and Our Eternal Home. May it be for YOU… today… Our Eternal Home. Sent with love. CVD
It's me, again. This is to all denominations: If Isaiah 43:1-7, 11-12 is read as your Scripture for the day, this is a good hymn to compliment it. I think of Sadhu Sundar Singh, born 1889, who was a Sikh who converted to Christianity at the age of 14. His father denounced him and even attempted to murder him. But with the help of nearby Christians, he survived. He spent the next 25 years spreading the Gospel in India and Tibet.
If one wants good church music, one attends Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, St. Thomas 5th Avenue, Leicester Cathedral, the list goes on and on. Yes, I have attended roman catholic cathedrals in Europe. Sadly (yes much like Anglican) they were mostly empty. At least we keep the tradition alive.
We will sing the Kyrie at our Easter Vigil this year. It is just marvelous, beautiful, moving, solemn, ... Come to St. Mary in horto (Neuwerkkirche), Goslar, Lower Saxony, Germany, this Easter Sunday at 5:30 a.m.
This is such a great recording of the song, but needs the re-edit. I only wished they performed all six verses of the song. Just love the sound of that organ.
I love descants, though some of them can be messy or overdone. The best ones are organ and choir only, with the trebles soaring above the melody in a descant. The last verses I'm not so keen on are the ones where they throw in drums, trumpets and - yuk - cymbal crahes. The very best descants are by Sir David Willcox.
I agree. I always insist no trumpets every year for midnight Mass when i play Wilcox O Come All Ye Faithful. Trumpets would completely ruin it. The organ stands on its own.
@encpirateman There's nothing much better than a traditional, well trained Anglican Choir of Boys & Men, singing traditional pieces, in high-ceiling cathedrals and churches. accompanied by a great organist on a massive pipe organ. It's awe-inspiring, both visually and acoustically.
@ebenasire And the 1929 BCP (now Rite I) reads like Shakespeare. The current version reads like it was written by a committee of lawyers and social workers.
This British congregation can sing this beautiful uplifting hymn with power and the right tempo ! The organ sounds majestic and it doesn't drown the congregation's voices. There is a video of the National Prayer Service held at the National Cathedral Washington D.C. Sept 14th 2001 attended by dignitaries ( Billy Graham, President Bush) and this hymn was played, but it lacked the uplifting power. Perhaps the acoustics was a factor. This is sung so well that the glitch doesn't bother me.
Wonderful sound. Nice majestic sounding choir. This song was written by Isaac Watts for Psalm 90 but it's unfortunate it really doesn't convey the essense of Psalm 90 as you can see by reading the original You have been our dwelling place A prayer of intercession The old man slowly placed one step in front of the other. Full of days he climbed the mountain. Carefully, intentionally. The last month he had told of the blessings of God's dealings in his life He had blessed the people recounting how God came down to a mountain to speak to them Faced with life’s end before the man he was once again be the mountain climber Much younger, he had climbed through frightening clouds with thunder Today, placing one step in front of the other, steadfast, just as prepared to meet his God And from the peaks, thought back on the difficulties of his journey of life A decree would cause his journey to take a lifetime, hopes deferred A hard decree because of hard hearts All would die wandering, never seeing the land All but the few who saw then by faith and the children Pressing on, soon he will see with his own eyes what they saw by faith On the doorsteps of going into 'the promised land' his sister died, then in another blow on another mountain, his brother would die as he watched. He buried his brother himself. Dealing with the grief of his losses he wrote a prayer partly for himself and also for the people Forty years now wandered in the dessert Living in a tent surrounded by people in tents Long centuries slaves in Egypt Our father’s wandered almost without property to speak of He begins to preach it to himself for strength. “But You, have been our dwelling place. Though all these generations every one Before mountains like this one I stand on or the others around it ever were Before the worlds were made From everlasting past to everlasting future You are God, lord, master, owner, adonai,”, he prays. He pressed on toward the peak. His brother, his sister, and himself would not go into the land His life would end, as he spent most of his life, 'a stranger in a strange land', never home. “You ordain us to return to the dust which we came Generation after generation you carry men away like a flood to their end. They live. They die. A thousand years to you are the same as a few passing hours in the night, soon gone. We wake at the end of life and don't realize where the time went as if awakened from a long sleep. We are like a plant that sprouts and dies the same day. Just a day. Just one day. Teach us to number our days that We may present to you a heart of wisdom. The stormy blast of your anger brings us to an end, Yahweh, our covenant God, we have felt your anger, your wrath. We felt it all our days. Our most private sins are plainly before you gaze Although an old man of 120, the old man now looking down at the people says 'We' live 70, maybe 80 years and in the end much is hard labor and sorrow, we end, we sigh, we fly away" He stood and looked. Finally now at the top He continues identifying with the people and intercedes for children and children's children "You decree we return to dust; decree we return to rejoicing. Return to us. Satisfy us with mercy. Do it soon." Knowing his own life would not last another day, he continued thinking of others. "Fill each day with gladness, as many as are left." Once he had asked God to show him God's glory but had been shown God's back, God's goodness. Recalling "no one can see my glory and live," he asks a final request for the people." His appeal for leniency turns to an appeal for blessing in God. He thought on his own failures. He would not enter the land, not in this life as hoped, but he will be given a glimpse. Like Jacob he wrestles on, as if with the angel, hoping to be blessed. "Yahweh our Elohim, Let your invisible work appear to us. Let your glory be apparent to our children Open the eyes of our hearts wide Let your beauty rub off on us. He began with God preceding cosmic and alpine works of his hands He moves to the work of our hands Establish the work of our hands. Establish the work of our hands, " petition done. The old man looked out over the mountain, last worshipful intervention over. He would look but not enter The prayer of the man of God The prayer of Moses The oldest Psalm Psalm 90 The Psalm with “Teach us to number our days” appears from the deep past. The fourth book of Psalms opens with his prayer. Numbers a book both of seemingly endless roaming and sure approach of destination. Book 4, poetically echoes the journey wanderings of Numbers. Songs to be reflected on by those who have lives sojourning as 'strangers in a strange land'. Two Psalms of dwelling open book four "Thou has been our dwelling place", Psalm 90 "Those who dwell in the secret place of the most high", Psalm 91 Two final songs. Book four will end with two long recounts of a wider journey Both covering long centuries Behold what God has done for Israel, history told thankfully, Psalm 105. Behold what Israel has done to God, history told penitentialy, Psalm 106. Two final words Amen and Hallelujah Book four closes. Book five Anticipation of the promised land. Moses did make it to the promised land, More that he would ever hope and on another mountain top Discussing another departure from this world, an exodus, a greater one, through a greater than Moses No longer 'a stranger in a strange land', but home.
Mike Whirlingmerc The Moses that showed up on the Mount of Transfiguration is a radiant conquering warrior and emancipator. Not some downcast, weather beaten, melancholic as painted by this writer. Indeed, God is our eternal home. Death is only the doorway to get to him. Cheer up!
@TJJ5621 In the US pronouncing pawst or awnt is a Yankee (New England) accent where Past or Ant would be a Southern and Western accent. On the other hand I was taught to say Awmen not Ae-men like most Americans (including Roman Catholics). I saw a bumper sticker on a Nevada vehicle the other day that said "Nevada not Nevahduh" which is a reference to Eastern vacationers mis-prounouncing the State's name.
