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
God directed Moses to tell Aaron and his sons that these words were to be used to bless the people of Israel. To this very day, the divine service ends with these wonderful words.
One complaint that I sometimes hear is that there is not enough variety in worship. Some people don’t like using the same liturgy week after week. To address this, Lutheran Service Book has provided five settings of the Divine Service. What I have never heard in all the years of my ministry is that people are tired of hearing these words of blessing. Week in and week out the pastor concludes the Divine Service declaring to the people:
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.
This threefold blessing is often overlooked but it states a powerful truth. In Christ, God wants to bless you. He wants to keep you from all harm and danger by tenderly carrying you in His bosom (Isaiah 40:11). He looks at you and smiles. granting you daily grace. His loving and caring gaze is upon you all the days of your life and He gives you peace of heart, mind and spirit as you walk through the challenges of life.
All of these blessings in Christ are yours each day. How marvelous it is that week after week we leave the Lord’s house with these words ringing in our ears!
How joyfully we respond with an echoing, “Amen” when we know that the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus!
Prayer: Thank you, Lord for your kind blessing. Grant that I may live each day with the peace of knowing my sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
God’s richest blessings in Christ,
Pastor Philip Quardokus
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