Olorun Odun To Koja

Words: Isaac Watts (1674-1748), 1719

Olorun odun to koja, Iret'eyi ti nbo: Ib'isadi wa ni iji, Atile wa lailai. Labe ojiji ite Re lawon eniyan Re n gbe! Tito lagbara Re nikanso Abo wa si daju. Kawon oke ko to duro Tabi ka to daye Lailai Iwo ni Olorun Bakanna, lailopin. Egberun odun loju Re Bi ale kan lo rí; B'iso kan l'afemojumo Kí oorun ko to la. Ojo wa bi odo sisan, Opo lo si n gbe lo; Won n lo, won di eni  'gbagbe Bi ala ti a n ro. A mu eje a'tebe wa Wa si waju 'te Re Iwo yio je Olorun wa A t'ipin wa lailai Olorun odun to koja Iret'eyi ti nbo: Ib'isadi wa ni iji, Atile wa lailai.

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home: Under the shadow of thy throne, thy saints have dwelt secure; sufficient is thine arm alone, and our defense is sure. Before the hills in order stood, or earth received her frame, from everlasting thou art God, to endless years the same. A thousand ages in thy sight are like an evening gone; short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun. Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away; they fly, forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day. O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, be thou our guide while troubles last, and our eternal home!

Isaac Watts (1674-1748) captured the infinite timelessness of God in contrast to the ephemeral nature of humanity in his metrical paraphrase of Psalm 90, “O God, our help in ages past”—a classic hymn for All Saints’ Day.

Watts is often called the “Father of English hymnody”—that is, hymns on a wider range of topics rather than metrical versions of the psalms in the English language. Before him, congregational song focused almost exclusively on singing strict metrical versions of the psalms. An example of this may be found in “All people that on earth do dwell” (UM Hymnal, No. 75), a paraphrase of Psalm 100.

(Read more here.)