Before the Ending of the Day

Before the ending of the day,
Creator of the world, we pray
That Thou with wonted love wouldst keep
Thy watch around us while we sleep.

O let no evil dreams be near,
Nor phantoms of the night appear;
Our ghostly enemy restrain,
Lest aught of sin our bodies stain.

Almighty Father, hear our cry
Through Jesus Christ our Lord most high,
Who with the Holy Ghost and Thee
Doth live and reign eternally.

Author: Unknown

Year: 6

This is an English translation of the 6th/7th-century Latin office hymn 'Te lucis ante terminum'. The original Latin author is unknown (sometimes attributed to St. Ambrose or Gregory the Great, but without firm evidence). The provided English text matches the translation by John Mason Neale (1852) or a very similar version; Neale is the translator, not the original author.