Isaac was thinking about time. And, he began reading a well-known psalm that gave him reassurance about time’s passage, instead of looking at a sundial (like this one, perhaps the world’s oldest timepiece, from Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, circa 1500 B.C.*). Of those two things, we can be sure when we consider the hymn “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” (alternately ‘Our God…’, as originally written) that was published in 1719 when the ground-breaking English hymnist Isaac Watts was 45 years old. What events spurred Watts to open his bible and consult his ancient musical predecessor’s thoughts on this subject? Was Watts thinking about some national event, like the ancient composer, or was it more personal consequences of which Isaac was thinking?
Isaac Watts apparently composed the hymn’s words as early as 1708, or perhaps several years later as he contemplated the impending death of his country’s queen (Anne) and what that might mean for his family. The Watts men, including Isaac’s father (also named Isaac), were Nonconformists, meaning they stood in opposition to the authority of the Church of England, to the point that Isaac Sr. was imprisoned for a time. Leniency by the queen, who would die in 1714, was uncertain under a new royal, and so Watts felt the need to pray. Moses was his guide, a leader who sought relief for not just himself but for his nation, and recorded his plea to God in Psalm 90. Isaac composed his reflection on Moses’ words, echoing that He is a God who is faithful according to the actions He took for His people in ‘ages past’. Isaac is not content to address God in the third person, but instead prays to Him directly, calling out with ‘Thy’ and ‘Thou’ in five of his nine verses. He is the One who provides security (vv.1-2), who has existed before time (v.3), and who controls the destiny of all humanity (vv.4, 9). Watts finds his human voice (vv. 6-8) too, which without God might otherwise sound bereft of hope; peoples are carried by ‘a flood’, and ‘lost’(v.6), as time rolls on inexorably to make us otherwise ‘forgotten’ beings (v.7) who ‘wither’ with the passage of the ages (v.8). Indeed, there must have been moments when Isaac was tormented with anxiety, but the ninth verse expresses his prayer’s hope that has not been extinguished. He trusted that this God of the past would be present in the future.
Are Moses’ words enough; are they relevant for 21st Century man? There must have been part of Isaac Watts who, if for but a moment over three hundred years ago, asked the same question. He’d lived long enough to observe many people pass into history, so some sober thoughts about mortality and where he would be eventually would not have been unusual. Great men, like Moses, speak words that mean something. It might seem like ancient history, until one acknowledges that all people still do what he did over 3,500 years ago. He was born, lived, struggled with various issues, and died. How’s that different from you and me? It’s not hard to imagine that Isaac came to the same conclusion. He needed a trustworthy, prayer-listening God. Same as us.
* The photo is in the public domain in the U.S.
Information on the song was obtained from the books 101 Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1982; Amazing Grace – 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, 1990; The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, 2006; and Then Sings My Soul, by Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.
Also see the following website for information about Isaac Watts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Watts
See all nine verses of the hymn here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/o/g/o/h/ogohiap.htm
See this article for information on the hymn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_God,_Our_Help_in_Ages_Past
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