|
More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
|
O God, our help in ages past
|
|
Hymn written by Isaac *Watts in 1714, at a time when Queen Anne was mortally ill and there was national anxiety about the succession. The words are a loose paraphrase of Psalm 90. Watts began his first line with the words 'Our God' but John Wesley changed this to 'O God' in a collection published in 1737; Wesley's version was followed in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861), where the now familiar tune of the early 18C (known as St Anne) was first attached to the hymn. It has become particularly associated with Remembrance Sunday, being sung in churches throughout the land and at the Cenotaph.
|
|
|
|