Man shall not live by bread alone

“Man shall not live by bread alone

But by each word which doth proceed

From God’s own mouth”; these we must eat

And let them be our life indeed.

Not just a body we were made

But body

soul

and spirit too;

The inmost part the spirit is

To contact God and Him pursue.

Just as we need the earthly food

Our body’s need to satisfy

We need the food for spirit too—

Thyself

Thy Word

its true supply.

Thou art the Spirit

and Thy Word

Thy very Self expressed doth make;

Thus

it is Spirit as Thyself

Which by our spirit we must take.

Thus

to receive Thy Word is not

To read it only with our eyes

And understand it in our mind

But ’tis the spirit’s exercise.

Thy Word in spirit we must eat

And to our inmost part receive;

’Tis by our spirit’s exercise

To pray with what our minds perceive.

Thy Word remaining in our mind

Is only knowledge burdensome

But when it to the spirit goes

Then life and spirit it becomes.

’Tis only when our spirit acts

To take Thy Word and contact Thee

We truly feed upon Thy Word

And touch Thyself most inwardly.

Lord

teach us how to exercise

Our spirit when Thy Word we read;

Then will our spirit nourished be

As thus upon Thyself we feed.