“But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end” Ps 102:27
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,
An unremaining glory
Of things that soon are old,
3 0 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 endeavour
With beauty and with grace,
Till, clothed in light forever,
We see Thee face to face,
A joy to language measures,
A fountain brimming o’er
And endless flow of pleasures;
An ocean without shore.