The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light.
Isaiah 60:19
Words: Anonymous, in Corolla Hymnorum (Cologne, Germany: 1806), page 41 (Aeterna lux, Divinitas!). Translated from Latin to English by Richard F. Littledale, People’s Hymnal, 1867, number 163.
Music: Montgomery (Stanley) in Call’s The Tunes & Hymns as They Are Used at the Magdalen Chapel, circa 1760, attributed to John Stanley (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good photo of Littledale (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
Eternal Light, Divinity,
O Unity in Trinity,
Thy holy name Thy servants bless,
To Thee we pray, and Thee confess.
We praise the Father, mighty One;
We praise the sole-begotten Son;
We praise the Holy Ghost above,
Who joins them in one bond of love.
For of the Father infinite,
Begotten is the Light of light,
And from His love eternally
Proceeds the Spirit, God most high.
None can more high or holy be,
Co-equal is their Deity,
The substance of the Three is One,
And equal laud to Them is done.
The Three are one immensity,
The Three one highest verity,
The Three one perfect charity,
And they are man’s felicity.
O verity! O charity!
O ending and felicity!
In Thee we hope, in Thee believe,
Thyself we love, to Thee we cleave.
Thou first and last, from whom there springs
The fount of all created things,
Thou art the life which moves the whole,
Sure hope of each believing soul.
Thou who alone the world hast made,
Art still its one sufficing aid,
The only light for gazing eyes,
And, unto them that hope, the prize.
O Father, source of God the Word,
O Word with Him co-equal Lord,
O Spirit of like majesty,
O triune God, all praise to Thee.