I am the light of the world.
John 8:12
Words: Aurelius C. Prudentius (348–413) (Lux ecce surgit aurea). Translated from Latin to English by R. Martin Pope, The Hymns of Prudentius, 1905, and revised in The English Hymnal (London: Oxford University Press, 1906).
Music: Wareham William Knapp, 1738 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good picture of Prudentius or Pope (head-and-shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
Lo! golden light rekindles day:
Let paling darkness steal away,
Which all too long o’erwhelmed our gaze
And led our steps by winding ways.
We pray Thee, rising light serene,
E’en as Thyself our hearts make clean;
Let no deceit our lips defile,
Nor let our souls be vexed by guile.
O keep us, as the hours proceed,
From lying word and evil deed;
Our roving eyes from sin set free,
Our body from impurity.
For Thou dost from above survey
The converse of each fleeting day;
Thou dost foresee from morning light
Our every deed, until the night.
All laud to the God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To God the holy Paraclete.