The Hymns of Saint Ambrose

God, creator of all things,

And ruler of the heavens, clothing

The day with becoming light,

The night with the grace of sleep.

That rest may restore

Our loosened limbs to the use of labor,

And relieve our wearied minds,

And loose our anxious griefs.

Now that the day is done, giving thanks,

And at the rising of night, prayers,

With vows, that thou mayest aid us guilty ones,

We render, singing a hymn.

Let the depths of the heart sing to thee,

Let the melodious voice resound to thee,

Let chaste love cherish thee,

Let the sober mind adore thee.

That when the deep darkness of the nights

Shall have closed the day,

Faith may not know the shadows,

And night may shine bright through faith.

Suffer not the mind to sleep,

Let guilt learn to sleep,

Let faith, the cooling guardian,

Temper the vapor of sleep.

Freed from slippery sense,

Let the depths of the heart dream of thee;

Nor let fear, by the guile

Of the envious enemy, rouse the tranquil.

Let us entreat Christ and the Father,

The Spirit of Christ and of the Father,

One in power through all things,

O Trinity, cherish us who pray.

Now the third hour rises,

In which Christ ascended the cross,

Let the mind think nothing wanton,

Let it bend its affection to prayer.

He who receives Christ in his heart

Bears a blameless sense:

And by earnest vows he obtains

To merit the Holy Spirit.

This is the hour which gave an end

To the ancient dread crime,

And washed away the kingdom of death,

And took away guilt from the world's beginning.

From hence now blessed times

Began through the grace of Christ:

Truth filled with faith

The Churches throughout the whole world.

From the lofty peak of triumph,

He spoke to his own mother:

Behold, mother, thy son;

Apostle, behold thy mother.

He taught, by a deep mystery,

The bonds of marriage held forth beforehand;

Lest the sacred birth of the Virgin

Should injure the mother's modesty.

To whom Jesus gave faith

By heavenly miracles:

Yet the impious people did not believe;

He who believed shall be saved.

We believe God was born,

And the offspring of the sacred Virgin,

Who bore the sins of the world,

Sitting at the right hand of the Father.

Come, redeemer of the nations,

Show forth the offspring of the Virgin,

Let every age marvel:

Such a birth befits God.

Not from the seed of man,

But by mystic breathing,

The Word of God was made flesh,

And the fruit of the womb flourished.

The Virgin's womb swells,

The enclosure of modesty remains,

The banners of virtues gleam,

God moves about in the temple.

Coming forth from his chamber,

The royal hall of modesty,

A giant of twofold substance,

That he might run his course with eagerness.

His going forth was from the Father,

His return is to the Father;

His course extends even to the depths below,

His return to the seat of God.

Equal to the eternal Father,

Gird thyself with the trophy of the flesh,

Strengthening the weakness of our body

With enduring might.

Thy manger now shines,

And the night breathes forth new light,

Which no night shall interrupt,

And which shall shine with constant faith.

Most High, illuminating

The globes of gleaming stars,

Peace, life, light, truth,

Jesus, favor those who pray.

Whether by mystic baptism

Thou art hallowed on the day

When of old the streams of Jordan

Were thrice turned backward in thy presence.

Whether a star, gleaming in heaven,

Signaled the Virgin's offspring;

And on this day led the Magi

To worship at the manger.

Or into jars full of water

Thou didst pour the savor of wine:

The conscious steward drew forth

What he himself had not put in.

Seeing the waters take on color,

And the streams grow intoxicating;

The changed elements marvel

To pass into other uses.

So, when for five thousand men

Thou dividest five loaves,

Beneath the teeth of those eating

The food grew in the mouth.

It was multiplied the more

By its own expenditure:

Who, seeing this, will marvel

At the constant flow of fountains?

Between the hands of those breaking it

The abundant bread streams forth:

Fragments, untouched, which they had not broken,

Steal in upon the men.

I will pray to the Lord with my mind,

I will pray likewise with my spirit;

Lest the voice alone sing to God,

And our sense, led elsewhere,

Wander fluctuating,

Forestalled by vain chances.

Splendor of the Father's glory,

Bringing forth light from light,

At the first beginnings of new light,

Day illuminating day.

And true Sun, glide down upon us,

Gleaming with perpetual brightness,

And pour the radiance of the Holy Spirit

Into our senses.

Let us call also upon the Father with our vows,

The Father of everlasting glory,

The Father of mighty grace,

That he may banish slippery guilt.

Let him shape our vigorous deeds,

Blunt the teeth of the envious one,

Favor us in harsh mischances,

Grant the grace to accomplish.

Let him govern and rule the mind,

With chaste and faithful body,

Let faith glow with warmth,

And know not the poisons of fraud.

And let Christ be our food,

And let faith be our drink,

Let us joyfully drink the sober

Inebriation of the Spirit.

Let this day pass joyfully,

Let modesty be as the dawn,

Faith as the noonday,

Let the mind know no twilight.

The dawn advances its course,

May the dawn come forth entire,

The Son wholly in the Father,

And the Father wholly in the Word.

The eternal gifts of Christ,

And the victories of the martyrs,

Bringing due praises,

Let us sing with joyful minds.

The chiefs of the churches,

The triumphant leaders of war,

The soldiers of the heavenly hall,

And the true lights of the world.

The terror of the world overcome,

And the pains of the body scorned,

By the brief compass of sacred death,

They possess the blessed life.

The martyrs are given over to the fire,

And to the teeth of beasts,

The armed hand of the mad torturer

Rages with hooks.

Bared entrails hang forth,

Sacred blood is poured out,

But they remain unmoved

By the grace of everlasting life.

The devoted faith of the saints,

The unconquered hope of believers;

The perfected charity of Christ,

Triumphs over the prince of the world.

In these is the Father's glory,

In these the will of the Son,

In these the Spirit exults,

Heaven is filled with joys.

Thee now, Redeemer, we beseech,

That thou join thy praying servants

To their company,

Unto everlasting ages.

Amen.

With limbs refreshed by sleep,

We rise, having spurned our bed,

As we sing, Father,

We beg that thou be present to us.

Let the tongue sing thee first,

Let the ardor of the mind seek thee;

That thou, holy one, mayest be the beginning

Of the deeds that follow.

Let darkness yield to light,

And night to the star of day;

That the guilt which night brought in

May slip away by the gift of light.

We likewise pray as suppliants,

That thou cut off all our offenses;

Lest thou be praised forever

By the mouth of those who sing to thee.

Grant this, most loving Father,

And thou, only Son equal to the Father,

With the Spirit, the Paraclete,

Reigning through every age.

Partner of the Father's light,

Thyself the light of light, and day,

We break the night with singing,

Be present to those who ask.

Take away the darkness of our minds,

Put to flight the bands of demons:

Drive away drowsiness,

Lest it overwhelm the slothful.

So, O Christ, grant to us all

Who believe, thy indulgence;

That what we, singing beforehand, chant

May profit those who pray.

O blessed Light, Trinity,

And primal Unity,

Now the fiery sun withdraws,

Pour light into our hearts.

Thee in the morning with a song of praise,

Thee at evening we beseech,

Let our suppliant glory

Praise thee through all ages.

The gate of Christ becomes passable,

Filled full of grace,

And the King passes through, and it remains,

Closed, as it was, through the ages.

The offspring of heavenly light

Came forth from the virgin's hall,

Bridegroom, redeemer, founder,

The giant of his own Church.

The honor and joy of his mother,

The immense hope of believers,

Through the dark draughts of death,

He dissolves our crimes.