The Benediction

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance^] upon you and give you peace.”  Numbers 6:24-26

Among the many reasons God has given us His word is to use it in prayer.  We find a superb example of that in Numbers 6:24-26, often referred to as the Aaronic Blessing.  We find that the blessing actually comes from God, through Aaron, to God’s people.

In my first church we sang this every Sunday at the conclusion of service. Our pastor would walk to the back of the sanctuary and invite us all to sing the benediction (a church word for a word of blessing, typically at the end of a service).  I can close my eyes and see our congregation, hear the words, and catch myself softly singing along.  I have decades of singing that blessing, long after we moved and found a new church home.  The benediction left such an impression on our daughter that she insisted it be sung at the end of her wedding ceremony, officiated of course, by her first pastor. 

It consists of three verses, each one invoking the Divine Name of Yahweh.  In this sense, we can see a Trinitarian connection.  The three-fold proclamation is God’s: as the words are spoken by Aaron, they do exactly what they express.  God does bless His people, He does keep His people, God is gracious, God give His people peace.  It becomes a created reality formed by words.  In this way, we are reminded of the creation narrative in Genesis 1.

These words, given by God to the high priest Aaron, to speak over the people, have been more than a basis of my prayer life.  They have taken up residence in my heart, my mind, and my life.  I pray it, I sing it, I pray from it, adding in my own personal requests or thanks.  I encourage you to pray this prayer for your loved ones. 

If you’ll allow me the honor, let me sing it now over you:

The Lord bless you and keep you,

The Lord make His face shine upon you;

And give you peace,

And give you peace,

And give you peace forever.

And give you peace,

And give you peace,

And you give you peace forever.

Written by Sue Johnson