O Christ, Who Hast Prepared a Place

O Christ, who hast prepared a place
For us around Thy throne of grace,
We pray Thee, lift our hearts above,
And draw them with the cords of love.

Source of all good, Thou, gracious Lord,
Art our exceeding great reward;
How transient is our present pain,
How boundless our eternal gain!

With open face and joyful heart,
We then shall see Thee as Thou art:
Our love shall never cease to glow,
Our praise shall never cease to flow.

Thy never-failing grace to prove,
A surety of Thine endless love,
Send down Thy Holy Ghost, to be
The raiser of our souls to Thee.

Author: Ambrose of Milan

Year: 397

This is a translation of the Latin hymn 'Jesu, dulcis memoria' (or a closely related text from the 'Jesu dulcis memoria' family). While the original is traditionally attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, many 19th-century English hymnals (especially Anglican ones) credit the Latin original to Ambrose of Milan. The specific English rendering matches versions found in 19th-century collections that list Ambrose.