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1 O God, the Rock of Ages,
who evermore hast been,
what time the tempest rages,
our dwelling place serene:
before thy first creations,
O Lord, the same as now,
to endless generations
the Everlasting Thou!
2 Our years are like the shadows
on sunny hills that lie,
or grasses in the meadows
that blossom but to die;
a sleep, a dream, a story
by strangers quickly told,
and unremaining glory
of things that soon are old.
3 O thou who canst not slumber,
whose light grows never pale,
teach us aright to number
our years before they fail;
on us thy mercy lighten,
on us thy goodness rest,
and let thy Spirit brighten
the hearts thyself hast blessed.
4 Lord, crown our faith's endeavor
with beauty and with grace,
till, clothed in light forever,
we see thee face to face:
a joy no language measures;
a fountain brimming o'er;
an endless flow of pleasures;
an ocean without shore.
Source: Trinity Hymnal (Rev. ed.) #28
First Line: | O God, the Rock of Ages |
Author: | Edward Henry Bickersteth (1860) |
Meter: | 7.6.7.6 D |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
O God, the Rock of Ages. Bishop E. H. Bickersteth. [Sunday after Christmas.] In his note to this hymn in his annotated edition of his Hymnal Companion, 1880, Bishop Bickersteth says that "this hymn was written by the Editor (1860),"but in his work. The Two Brothers, &c, 1871, p. 226, it is dated "1862." It was included in the English Presbyterian Psalms & Hymns, 1867; the Hymnal Companion, 1870 and 1876; and the author's From Year to Year, 1883. Its use has extended to America and other English-speaking countries.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)