Break Thou the Bread of Life

B422 C583 CB806 E806 K583 S342 T806
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.
41
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.