Break Thou the Bread of Life

1
Break Thou the Bread of Life,
  Dear Lord, to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves
  Beside the sea;
Beyond the sacred page
  I seek Thee, Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee,
  O Living Word.
2
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.
3
Oh, send Thy Spirit, Lord,
  Now unto me,
That He may touch my eyes,
  And make me see;
Show me the truth concealed
  Within Thy Word,
And in Thy Book revealed
  I see the Lord.
4
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.
39
Lucinda Rolle

Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

When I got up today, the Holy Spirit simply dropped the words of “Break thou the bread of life, Dear Lord to me”. I had not heard this song for decades. I could not remember the words.

I am so glad that I located the words of a hymn that speaks directly to me at the right time. I thank Almighty God for this wonderful hymn.


Anonymous

Georgia, United States

Thank You Lord that we can seek You beyond the sacred page!


Martha

United States

I am feasting on the Word of this hymn from my childhood. Our Church sang it a cappella. Many evenings as we gather to worship the LORD.


Diana Peyton

Somerset, Kentucky, United States

What a delicious, satisfying way to get full, on the living bread of God's holy word. This hymn is full. He is our living bread, our truth and our salvation. No more starvation in spirit, no more ignorance, no more bondate to sin. Alellelujah! What a Savior!


Marietta Alexander

Everett, Washington, United States

This morning in my devotion was reading John 21 1-25 where Jesus appeared on the shore to the disciples after they had been toiling all night with no success. He called to them to throw their net on the right side of the boat saying "you will find some". When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. They did manage to get the fish without breaking the net and afterwards Jesus called them to have breakfast. He had a fire with fish already baked and bread ready for them. Also, in this passage we have the conversation between The Lord and Peter with the three times asking Peter if he loved Him.

I recalled the words from this hymn I learned as a child, "beyond the sacred page, I seek thee, Lord. My Spirit pants for thee, the Living Word." I found this site so I could look again at the words of the whole hymn.

He is Our Living Lord today, in our hearts we seek Him beyond our routine bible study. He is the One that stands calling us to come to Him.


R.E.

Anaheim, CA

Our Dear King Jesus, is the Kingdom Bread, when we eat of this Kingly Bread, we are ruled inwardly, restored, satisfied, healed, loved! The Lord told the Canaanite woman that the Bread was for the children not for the dogs. In a lovely way, He told her she was a doggy, she then took hold of this "handle" and replied "Yes Lord, but even the little dogs eat from the bread crumbs." Today, The Lord wants to be eaten by His children, Eating is the way, there is no other way, no self effort is worth but useless, EAT THE BREAD. Meet Him every morning to EAT the Kingly Bread then we will enter into the reality of the Kingdom in this age and make ourselves ready to meet Him. Otherwise, we will be empty, found with no oil, and not be part of the Bride, ready to meet the Bridegroom. What is the way, EAT THE LORD JESUS!


Steve Miller

Detroit, MI, United States

While this hymn is often sung during Communion, it is really intended to prepare the heart for Bible study. The author, Mary Lathbury, was better known as a commercial artist than as a poet. Her illustrations regularly appeared in the popular magazines of the 19th century. She was a devout Christian who often vacationed at Lake Chautauqua, where she became one of the founders of a new movement. Mixing Christian inspiration, culture and education, the Chautauqua movement spread across the country. She was asked by the leader of the movement to write a Vespers [evening prayer] hymn, which she did ("Day is Dying in the West"), and then a Bible study hymn. As she sat with her Bible, overlooking Lake Chautauqua, she thought of the disciples at the Sea of Galilee and wrote this hymn. - Great Songs of Faith by Brown & Norton


Bob

Love City, The Love State, Aland Islands

love


Johnson F. Ajayi

Southport, Merseyside, United Kingdom

A great to open a Bible discussion, study or preaching.

The first stanza of Hymns, #806 reads, "Break Thou the Bread of Life, / Dear Lord, to me, / As Thou didst break the loaves / Beside the sea; / Beyond the sacred page / I seek Thee, Lord; / My spirit pants for Thee, / O Living Word." This hymn may have been written by the Brethren because it contains types and figures. For instance, stanza 1 says, "Break Thou the Bread of Life, / Dear Lord, to me; / As Thou didst break the loaves / Beside the sea." Stanza 4 says, "Bless Thou the truth, dear Lord, / To me, to me, / As Thou didst bless the bread / By Galilee." This kind of imagery is similar to what can be found in Brethren hymns. This hymn contains a crucial point that shows the kind of person we should be and the kind of attitude and desire we should have, if we desire to seek the word of the Lord.

This hymn also shows that the writer was not seeking mere biblical doctrine but the Lord Himself. Hence, the second half of stanza 1 reads, "Beyond the sacred page / I seek Thee, Lord; / My spirit pants for Thee, / O Living Word." Then the second half of stanza 3 says, "Show me the truth concealed / Within Thy Word, / And in Thy Book revealed / I see the Lord." The author of this hymn was not seeking doctrines but the Lord Himself in the Word.

Stanza 4 reads, "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." Everyone who seeks to prophesy, who seeks the Lord's word, should learn of the spirit and attitude demonstrated in this hymn. We need to see that we are not seeking the truth as doctrine or as letter. Instead, we are seeking the Lord of reality, the Lord Himself.