Break Unto Us the Living Bread

Break unto us the living Bread
Which Thou hast promised Thine;
Keep ever Thou our spirits fed
And with Thee let us dine,
That we may rest at peace in Thee
And Thou in us reside,
For never shall we hunger see
While with Thee we abide.

We own we ne'er that bread could win
By works, however great—
The leaven of our hearts is sin:
Ourselves we cannot sate,
But Thou, in Thine abundant grace,
Hast furnished us Thy food,
And at Thy table set a place
For those Thou makest good.

The manna that our fathers ate
Was from Thy stores supplied,
But it could not their deaths abate,
Nor turn the grave aside,
But they, who of Thy flesh partake,
Will ne'er corruption see,
And who Thy blood his draught doth make
Shall ever live, with Thee.

Wherefore make us to worthy be
To sup within Thy hall,
Our sin, as e'er Thou seest, to see
And so forsake it all:
So shall Thy table e'er be sweet,
As now we taste it here,
For now, as then, Thy bread we eat
And feel that Thou art near.

—Zachary Pletan, on John 6:47–58


Tune: "Resignation," American folk melody, first appeared in Southern Harmony (courtesy Hymnary.org).

Thoughts

(My apologies for not posting yesterday. I meant to write then, but got busy and forgot.)

This hymn, one of my best, I wrote after hearing a prelude by John Carter that our church pianist played before an observance of the Lord's Table. Unfortunately, said prelude in audio form seems to be unavailable online, whether on iTunes, Amazon, or YouTube. The most I can find is the book containing the score, Folk Hymns for Piano (via Amazon). In lieu of that, I suggest for its similar colors Virgil Thomson's arrangement of "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need" as sung by the Westminster Choir in their album Like as a Hart (via iTunes or Amazon).

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