Rerum Creator optime

O blest Creator of the world!
Look in thy pity down;
Nor let the guilty sleep of sin
Our souls in torpor drown.

Lord of all holiness! may we
Find mercy in thy sight;
Who, to set forth thy glory, rise
Before the morning light.

Who, as the holy Psalmist bids,
Our hands thus early raise;
And in the midnight sing with Paul
And Silas hymns of praise.

Jesu! to Thee our deeds we shew,
To Thee our hearts lie bare;
Oh, hearken to the sighs we pour,
And in thy mercy spare.

Father of mercies! hear our cry;
Hear us, coequal Son!
Who reignest with the Holy Ghost
While ceaseless ages run.