Dear Christ we crave thy favour - Magnus Felix Ennodius

Dear Christ we crave thy favour, 

To guide our steps aright; 

O, hear our tearful voices, 

Be with us through the night. 

Shine in our slumbering bosoms, 

Our souls from danger keep; 

So may we dream thy glory, 

And sing thee while we sleep. 

Grant health of mind and body, 

All dangers far remove, 

And earth's surrounding darkness, 

Illumine by thy love. 

To thee with tuneful voices 

We bring our even song; 

Blot out our bonds of evil, 

Thy holy cheer prolong. 

To God the Sire be glory, 

The same to God the Son, 

And unto God the Spirit, 

Forever three in one. 

---

Magnus Felix Ennodius (474 - 521) France

Translated by Daniel Joseph Donahoe

Source: Early Christian hymns, Series II: translations of the verses of the early and middle ages, Daniel Joseph Donahoe, Donahoe pub. co, 1911