Scripture Verse

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 1 Thessalonians 5:28

Introduction

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Ambrose of Milan (340–397)

Words: Am­brose of Mi­lan, 4th Cen­tu­ry (Splen­dor pa­ter­nae glo­ri­ae). Trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by John Chand­ler, Hymns of the Pri­mi­tive Church (Lon­don: John W. Par­ker, 1837), page 32. This trans­la­tion has al­so been pub­lished in cen­to form, most oft­en be­gin­ning with the stan­za that starts O Christ, with each re­turn­ing morn.

Music: Ely Tho­mas Tur­ton, 1844 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

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Thomas Turton (1780–1864)

Lyrics

O Je­sus, Lord of hea­ven­ly grace,
[or, O Je­su, Lord of light and grace]
Thou bright­ness of Thy Fa­ther’s face,
Thou foun­tain of eter­nal light,
Whose beams dis­perse the shades of night.

Come, ho­ly Sun of hea­ven­ly love,
Shower down Thy ra­di­ance from above,
And to our in­ward hearts con­vey
The Holy Spi­rit’s cloud­less ray.

So we the Fa­ther’s help will claim,
And sing the Fa­ther’s glo­ri­ous name,
And His al­migh­ty grace im­plore
That we may stand, to fall no more.

May He our ac­tions deign to bless,
And loose the bonds of wick­ed­ness;
From sud­den falls our feet de­fend,
And bring us to a pros­per­ous end.

May faith, deep root­ed in the soul,
Subdue our flesh, our minds con­trol;
May guile de­part, and dis­cord cease,
And all with­in be joy and peace.

So let us glad­ly pass the day;
Our thoughts be pure as morn­ing ray;
And faith­ful love our noon­day light;
And hope our sun­set, calm and bright.

O Christ, with each re­turn­ing morn
Thine im­age to our hearts is borne:
O may we ev­er clear­ly see
Our Sav­ior and our God in Thee.