O Strength and Stay

O Strength and Stay upholding all creation,
Who ever dost Thyself unmoved abide;
Yet day by day the light in due gradation
From hour to hour through all its changes guide.

Grant to life’s day a calm unclouded ending,
An eve untouched by shadows of decay,
The brightness of a holy deathbed blending
With dawning glories of the eternal day.

Hear us, O Father, gracious and forgiving,
Through Jesus Christ Thy co-eternal Word,
Who, with the Holy Ghost, by all things living
Now and to endless ages art adored.

Author: John Ellerton

Year: 1870

This is a well-known English translation/adaptation of the Latin hymn 'Rerum Deus tenax vigor' (attributed to St. Ambrose). John Ellerton is the accepted translator of these English verses; it is sometimes jointly credited with F. J. A. Hort who suggested or collaborated on the project.