Creator Spirit, by whose aid
The world's foundations first were laid,
Come, visit every humble mind;
Come, pour Thy joys on human kind;
From sin and sorrow set us free,
And make Thy temples worthy thee.

O Source of untreated light,
The Father's promised Paraclete!
Thrice holy Fount, thrice holy Fire,
Our hearts with heavenly love inspire;
Come, and Thy sacred unction bring
To sanctify us while we sing.

Plenteous of grace, come from on high,
Rich in Thy sevenfold energy;
Make us eternal truth receive,
And practice all that we believe;
Give us Thyself, that we may see
The Father and the Son by Thee.

Amen.

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Gen 1:2, 1 Cor. 6:19
st. 2 = John 14:16

The ninth-century Latin hymn "Veni, Creator Spiritus" is the basis for this text as well as 426. Almost as well known as the earlier "Te Deum Laudamus" (504),”Veni, Creator Spiritus” is an anonymous hymn; it has been attributed to Rhabanus Maurus (776-856), but with no solid proof to date. The Hymnal 1982 Companion provides the following information:

Of all Latin Hymns, this has probably been the most familiar to Anglicans throughout the centuries. Most likely written in the ninth century, it has been in continuous use in English coronation rites since the accession of Edward II in 1307. . . . Its original use is unknown, but it has been sung at various Pentecost offices at least since the tenth century and at ordination services at least since the eleventh (Vol. Three B, pp. 502-503).

Several translations are in use, all rather free paraphrases from the Latin. The translation provided here is by John Dryden (b. Aldwinkle, Northamptonshire, England, 1631; d. London, England, 1700), published in his Miscellany Poems (1693). One of the prime literary figures of his time, Dryden received his education at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. His first major poem was "Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell." After James I was restored to the throne, Dryden became both a royalist and Roman Catholic. At the height of his career he was appointed poet laureate and royal historian. Because he remained a Roman Catholic when the Protestants William and Mary came to the throne in 1688, he lost his official positions. A writer of plays, poems, odes, and satires, Dryden also translated the works of classical poets such as Virgil and Bocaccio. His English translations of Latin hymns were published posthumously in The Primer of Office (1706).

The text is a prayer for the creative, dynamic work of the Holy Spirit in God's people. The prayer is cast in older English expressions: "Paraclete" is Greek for comforter, advocate, or counselor (st. 2); "sevenfold energy" is based on the medieval reading of Isaiah 11:2, in which the Hebrew list of six characteristics of the Spirit was mistakenly translated into the Latin Vulgate as seven traits, thereby spawning a medieval tradition of "sevenfold . . . of the Spirit" (st. 3).

Liturgical Use:
Pentecost; ordination or commissioning services; baptism; profession of faith.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook