Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Getting More Out of a Familiar Blessing

In worship services we often hear this blessing from Numbers 6:24-26:
The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.
I just ran across a passage that helps me get more out of hearing these words. Apocalypse Explained 412:4 explains,
“To make the faces to shine and to be gracious” signifies to enlighten in Divine truth, and to bestow intelligence and wisdom; and “to lift up the faces and give peace” signifies to fill with Divine good and to bestow love. Both are necessary to make man wise....
Real faith (or truth) and charity (or love) can seem hard to come by sometimes so it's nice to know that the meaning of this blessing is, “May the Lord give you real faith and real charity.”

No comments: