Eternal Creator of the World
(Divine Office - English translation of the hymn Aeterne Rerum Conditor from Sunday Lauds of the Roman Breviary)
Eternal Creator of the world,
Who rules day and night,
And gives the hours their time
In order to alleviate tedium.
Now the Herald of Day,
The Watchman of deepest night,
Calls forth a nocturnal light for the wanderers,
Dividing the night from the night.
Through Him the morning star arises,
He breaks up the darkness from the heavens,
Through Him the entire host of wanderers
Abandon the ways of wickedness.
Through Him the sailor obtains strength,
The storms of the sea become calm.
Through him also the rock of the church
Washes apart the guilty by His call.
Let us therefore arise quickly:
The cock awakens those who are lying down
And reproves the sleepers,
And exposes those who deny.
When the cock crows, hope returns,
Healing is poured back to the sick,
The brigand's dagger is sheathed,
Faith returns to the fallen.
Jesus, look upon the fallen
And set us straight with Your glance;
If You look upon us, our sins fall from us
And our guilt dissolves in weeping.
You, Light, shine upon our senses
And scatter the sleep from our minds;
May our one voice celebrate You first,
May we free our prayers to You.
To God the Father, be glory,
And to His only Son,
With the Spirit, the Comforter,
Now and forever. Amen.
This is chanted every Sunday in the course of the Divine Office (or Roman Breviary) by thousands of priests and seminarians around the world. This hymn (minus the final doxology) was written by St. Ambrose (340-397). The hymn is filled with Scriptural allusions and is one of the finest hymns in the Liturgy.
