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 show,
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.

-CASWALL.