Scripture Verse

I am the living bread which came down from Heaven. John 6:51

Introduction

Words: Au­thor un­known, 1661 (O es­ca via­to­rum). Trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by J. Ath­el­stan Ri­ley in The Eng­lish Hym­nal (Lon­don: Ox­ford Uni­ver­si­ty Press, 1906), num­ber 321.

Music: O Es­ca Via­to­rum Lou­is Bour­geois, 1549 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tune:

  • In all­en mein­en Tha­ten Da­vid­isch­es Har­fen und Psal­ter­spiel, 1744 (🔊 pdf nwc)

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Bour­geois (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

portrait
J. Athelstan Riley (1858–1945)

Lyrics

O food of men way­far­ing,
The bread of an­gels shar­ing,
O man­na from on high!
We hun­ger; Lord, sup­ply us,
Nor Thy de­lights de­ny us,
Whose hearts to Thee draw nigh.

O stream of love past tell­ing,
O pur­est fount­ain, well­ing
From out the Sav­ior’s side!
We faint with thirst; re­vive us,
Of Thine abun­dance give us,
And all we need pro­vide.

O Je­sus, by Thee bid­den,
We here adore Thee, hid­den
’Neath forms of bread and wine.
Grant when the veil is riv­en,
We may behold, in Hea­ven,
Thy coun­te­nance di­vine.