"Break Thou the Bread of Life"

Today in church our Pastor spoke about studying the Bible for ourselves and I was reminded of this ole hymn. This hymn is a prayer asking the Lord to give us not the physical but spiritual nourishment from His Word, the bread of life.

Break thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to me,

As thou didst break the loaves beside the sea;

Throughout the sacred page I seek thee, Lord,

My spirit pants for thee, O Living Word.

Bless thou the truth, dear Lord, to me, to me,

As thou didst bless the bread by Galilee;

Then shall all bondage cease, all fetters fall;

And I shall find my peace, my all in all.

Thou art the bread of life, O Lord to me,

Thy holy Word the truth that saveth me;

Give me to eat and live with thee above;

Teach me to love thy truth, for thou art love.

O send thy Spirit, Lord, now unto me,

That he may touch mine eyes, and make me see:

Show me the truth concealed within thy Word,

And in thy Book revealed I see the Lord.

Mary A Lathbury, 1877