O Heavenly Word

O heavenly Word, eternal Light,
Begotten of the Father’s might,
Who, in these latter days, art born
For succor to a world forlorn;

Our hearts enlighten from above,
And kindle with Thine own true love;
That we, who hear Thy call today,
May cast earth’s vanities away.

And when as Judge Thou drawest nigh,
The secrets of all hearts to try;
When sinners meet their awful doom,
And saints attain their heavenly home;

O let us not, for evil past,
Be driven from Thy face at last;
But with the blessèd evermore
Behold Thee, love Thee, and adore.

To God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit, Three in One,
Praise, honor, might and glory be
From age to age eternally.

Author: Unknown

Year: 6

This is an English translation of the Latin hymn 'Verbum supernum prodiens' (sometimes attributed in older sources to St. Ambrose, but modern scholarship considers it anonymous from the 5th-6th century). The specific English rendering here matches 19th-century translations (e.g., those by J. M. Neale or the Sarum Breviary tradition) rather than an original composition.