The oldest hymn still sung by the
church was probably written by Moses. It
is Psalm 90. The father of modern
hymnody, Isaac Watts, paraphrased that psalm in his hymn “O God, Our Help in
Ages Past”. The third stanza of Watts’
hymn is from the second verse of the psalm.
“Before the hills in order stood, or earth received her frame; from
everlasting Thou art God, to endless years the same.” It is in this point of “everlasting” past
that we see our first scene of grace in the Scriptures.
In First Peter 1:18-20 we discover a
scene that took place “Before the hills in order stood”. Peter tells us that we are saved by the
precious blood of Jesus Christ that was “ordained” to be shed for our sins
BEFORE the foundation of the world.
Before we were, God had prepared grace for our needs. This God who was from everlasting and will be
the same to everlasting is the God of grace.
It was His nature before He made a single atom of all of creation. It is His nature to oversee with grace all
the atoms of His creation. It will be by
His grace that all the atoms are recreated in perfection for eternity.
Isaac Watts wrote, “To endless years
the same”. Malachi recorded God’s word
to the returned remnant of Israel in chapter 3 of his book. Here God said, “For I am the Lord; I do not
change.” The author of Hebrews said of
Jesus Christ, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” The God of grace, who would plan before He
made man or any other creation to sacrifice His own Son for our offenses
against Him, is the same God of grace who cares for His flock every day. He changes not. The power He displayed in creating the
heavens and the earth is the same power He uses today to care for His
church. In Matthew 28 Jesus said to His
disciples, “All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go ye.”
The power of Christ goes with His church every day.
It is easy to see why we can title
Isaac Watts’ hymn, “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”. The God of power and grace is the God who
has helped us even before time began.
Reflect on these rich words, “O God, our help in ages past, our hope for
years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home!”
You
may also enjoy this inspirational devotional book, The Gospel According to Molly,
available
here:
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