JESUS proposeth Himself to be our daily sustenance--we need bread for the soul as well as the body. In Jesus is all we need to refresh, strengthen, and satisfy us; but He must be received by faith. He must be daily received. Feeding upon Jesus yesterday will not do for today. We must go to Him afresh this morning. He presents Himself; He says, "Eat, O friends; yea, satisfy yourselves, O my beloved." If the Holy Spirit has given us a spiritual appetite, if we are hungering after righteousness, Jesus, and Jesus only will satisfy us; and we are heartily welcome to live upon Him. Let us set Him before us many times in the day; let us endeavour to feed upon Him; and if we feel weak, faint, or weary, let us make use of this life-giving bread; and let us ever retain the sweet assurance, that if we feed on Jesus we shall live by Him, and have eternal life. Beloved, if you can make a living of anything but Jesus; or if Jesus is not enough in your estimation, you are either in a carnal, or an unhealthy state of soul. Jesus only is THE BREAD OF LIFE: THE BREAD WHICH CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN!
Jesus, Thou art the living bread By which our needy souls are fed, In Thee alone thy children find Enough to fill the empty mind; O let me evermore be fed With this divine, celestial bread!
Written by James Smith for his own flock around 1840, but such was the demand that by 1846 over thirty thousand copies where in circulation.
James Smith was a predecessor of Charles Spurgeon at New Park Street Chapel in London from 1841-1850. He also ministered with great blessing in Cheltenham. His devotional, The Believer's Daily Remembrancer, subtitled Pastor's Morning and Evening Visit, was very popular in its own day, and has received a new lease of life through recent republication.
JESUS proposeth Himself to be our daily sustenance--we need bread for the soul as well as the body. In Jesus is all we need to refresh, strengthen, and satisfy us; but He must be received by faith. He must be daily received. Feeding upon Jesus yesterday will not do for today. We must go to Him afresh this morning. He presents Himself; He says, "Eat, O friends; yea, satisfy yourselves, O my beloved." If the Holy Spirit has given us a spiritual appetite, if we are hungering after righteousness, Jesus, and Jesus only will satisfy us; and we are heartily welcome to live upon Him. Let us set Him before us many times in the day; let us endeavour to feed upon Him; and if we feel weak, faint, or weary, let us make use of this life-giving bread; and let us ever retain the sweet assurance, that if we feed on Jesus we shall live by Him, and have eternal life. Beloved, if you can make a living of anything but Jesus; or if Jesus is not enough in your estimation, you are either in a carnal, or an unhealthy state of soul. Jesus only is THE BREAD OF LIFE: THE BREAD WHICH CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN!
Jesus, Thou art the living bread By which our needy souls are fed, In Thee alone thy children find Enough to fill the empty mind; O let me evermore be fed With this divine, celestial bread!