Man shall not live by bread alone (Hymn 814)

Verse 1: "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. Verse 2: 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. Verse 3: 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. Verse 4: 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. Verse 5: 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. Verse 6: 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. Verse 7: Thy Word remaining in our mind Is only knowledge burdensome, But when it to the spirit goes Then life and spirit it becomes. Verse 8: ’Tis only when our spirit acts To take Thy Word and contact Thee, We truly feed upon Thy Word And touch Thyself most inwardly. Verse 9: 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.