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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lord, crown our faith’s

endeavour

With beauty and with grace,

Till, clothed in light for ever,

We see Thee face to face;

A joy to language measures,

A fountain brimming over,

And endless flow of pleasures;

An ocean without shore.