The Blessing of the High Priest

The Blessing of the High Priest

A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, OCTOBER 26, 1890,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his
sons saying, On this wise you shall bless the children of Israel,
saying unto them, The Lord bless you, and keep you: the Lord make His
face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you: the Lord lift up His
Countenance upon you, and give you peace. And they shall put My name
upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them." Numbers 6:22-27.

THE Lord has blessed His people and He would have them know it. He has
blessed them with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus–and it is His wish that they should experience the fullness of
this blessing. Are any of the Lord's people without a sense of His
blessing? It is not the will of God that you should continue in this
low condition! If you are cast down, He has said to His Prophets,
"Comfort you, comfort you My people. Speak you comfortably to
Jerusalem." Have you sinned and wandered into the darkness? The Lord
bids you return and encourages you to pray, "Turn us again, O God, and
cause Your face to shine and we shall be saved." The happy God would
have you happy in the enjoyment of His blessing.

To bring this blessing constantly to the remembrance of His chosen, the
Lord appointed a representative of Himself who should publicly
pronounce His blessing upon the people. He chose Aaron and He bade
Moses instruct him. Aaron was not only to offer sacrifice and to make
intercession, but he was to take a higher stand and bestow blessings,
in the name of God, upon the assembled people. Those who are old may
fitly pronounce a blessing upon their children, as Jacob did upon his
12 sons. And the minister of Christ may, in God's name, pronounce a
benediction upon the people. This was the custom in early times–the
congregation was dismissed with the gracious words–"The grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy
Spirit, be with you all. Amen."

Our God has appointed One above all others to bless His people, even
our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the antitype of
Aaron and his sons and in the exercise of His high office continually
blesses His people. He began His ministry with the Sermon on the Mount
and the word, "Blessed." His whole life was a stream of blessing, for
"He went about doing good." When He rose to Heaven, having completed
His ministry, it was as "He lifted up His hands and blessed them." He
"shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into Heaven,"
bringing blessings with Him, even gifts for men. In the name of the
triune God, the Lord Jesus, from the highest Glory, effectually blesses
us today.

Let not your hearts be troubled as though you were beneath the storm
cloud of the curse. Know you not that the curse is altogether turned
away from us, for He was "made a curse for us"? The blessing, alone,
remains and Jesus Himself remains to repeat it. Remember with solemn
awe and heart-searching that this blessing was for the children of
Israel and for them, only. Aaron was not appointed to bless the nations
who were without God, but to bless the children of Israel. The great
blessing which our Lord Jesus Christ pronounces is for His people, even
for those to whom He gives eternal

life.

Ask yourselves whether you are Believers, as Jacob was. Are you
pleaders with God, as Jacob was? It was through his triumphant
wrestling with God that he won the princely name of Israel–have you
ever prevailed in prayer? If so, though you may feel very feeble and
halt as you come from the scene of conflict, yet to you, even to you,
as being spiritually of the seed of Israel, the Lord Christ, the "High
Priest of our profession," has given the blessing. But if any man loves
not the Lord Jesus Christ there is no blessing for him since that awful
text thunders at him–"Let him be Anathema Maranatha"–accursed at His
coming. The Lord grant that such a curse may lie on none of us, but may
we, as we hear the priestly benediction, be able by faith to receive it
as our own!

In handling my text, I shall first dwell for a few minutes upon the
general character of this benediction. Much is to be gathered here.
Secondly, we shall review the blessing itself, weighing its three
clauses and gathering instruction from each word. Thirdly, we will
hearken to the Divine amen, which is at the close of it–"And they
shall put My name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them."
May the Holy Spirit aid us in this meditation!

I. First, then, consider THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF THIS BLESSING. It was
a blessing, in the first place, given through a priest. Not every man
might take upon himself to bless the people. It was Aaron–God's high
priest, who offered sacrifice for the people–who was called to bless
the tribes. The hands which had been stained with the blood of the
victim were outstretched in blessing. Once in the year the Lord's high
priest went in unto God for the people, not without blood, and when his
solemn duties within the veil had been duly done, he came forth and put
on those glorious garments which for a while he had laid aside–and he
blessed the people as he was authorized to do.

From which I gather that we can get no blessing from God except through
the priesthood of Christ. There must be the Sacrifice and the
sprinkling of the blood before the music of the blessing can sound in
our ears. God bestows all spiritual blessings upon us in and through
the Lord Jesus who died for us and is ordained to be the one Mediator
between God and man. Christ, as the great High Priest who offered
Himself without spot unto God, is the Divine channel of blessing. Do we
know the Lord's Anointed? Are we resting in the Sacrifice which He has
presented, even His own blood? Without Christ no blessing can come to
us.

O my Hearers, do not remain without the precious blood, if that is your
present condition, but may the good Spirit of God lead you to hear the
voice of love which cries, "Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away
the sin of the world"! Jesus says, "No man comes unto the Father, but
by Me." You cannot know the Father as a God of infinite blessedness
except through the Son, who is the Priest with the one effectual
Sacrifice. It is a priestly benediction, sealed with sacrificial
blood–and it can only be bestowed by the hand of our glorious Priest.

Next, this benediction is of the nature of intercession. There lies
within these words a prayer. "The Lord bless you, and keep you" is the
cry of the man of God to Jehovah that He would bless and keep His
people. The priest's office was to make intercession for the people and
we have in our Lord Jesus a High Priest who pleads evermore for His
chosen. We have a High Priest through whom all that come to God will be
accepted, "seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them." Never
forget that "He made intercession for the transgressors."

He has, moreover, a special pleading for Believers. Concerning them
there is a peculiar exercise of intercession, for He says, "I pray for
them: I pray not for the world, but for them which You have given Me."
The high priest had a peculiar office in reference to the seed of
Israel and our Lord makes special intercession for His saints. He is
exercising that office now. How much we owe to His intercession no
tongue can tell. Try to learn a little of it from these words, "Simon,
Simon, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
but I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not." "I have prayed
for you"–here is our safety!

Believe, my Brothers and Sisters, that our Lord has prayed for us, is
praying for us still! With His quick eye of love He has perceived our
danger long before we have dreamed of it. And with His eloquent tongue
of earnestness He has pleaded the causes of our soul at the Throne of
Grace before we were aware of our peril. "Your Father knows what things
you have need of, before you ask Him," and even so your heavenly High
Priest perceives what you have need of, and asks for it long before you
think of presenting such a petition! Blessed be the name of Him who is
the Advocate with the Father on our behalf!–

"He ever lives to intercede Before His Father's face:

Give Him, my Soul, your cause to plead, Nor doubt the Father's Grace."

But next, this benediction is yet of a higher order than intercession.
Every man in the camp might have prayed, "The Lord bless and keep His
people and lift up His Countenance upon them." But no man in all the
camp would have dared to say, in the same authoritative style as Aaron
did–"The Lord bless you, and keep you: the Lord make His face shine
upon you, and be gracious unto you: the Lord lift up His Countenance
upon you, and give you peace." Here is not only faith pleading, but
faith receiving and bestowing! "Without doubt," says Paul, "the less is
blessed of the greater" and thus Aaron was greater than the people,
being set apart to a high and honorable office into which none else
might intrude. He was God's representative and so he spoke with the
authority of his office.

Today our Savior's intercession in the heavenly places rises far higher
in power and glory than that of any ordinary intercessor. He blesses in
fact, while the greatest saints on earth and in Heaven can only bless
in desire–

"With cries and tears He offered up His humble suit below; But with
authority He asks Enthroned in Glory now."

This benediction wears the form of a fiat as well as of a prayer. The
Priest here speaks the blessing for which He asks. Turning to the
Father, our Lord Jesus cries, "Father, keep through Your own name those
whom You have given Me." Turning to us He says, "The Lord bless you,
and keep you." What He prays for of God He distributes among men by an
authority vested in Him by the Father. "For it pleased the Father that
in Him should all fullness dwell." My heart delights to think of the
Lord Jesus Christ at this hour, not as a Gethsemane pleader with
groans, agony and bloody sweat–but as One who has finished His work
and who now reigns in the Glory of the Father, having all power in
Heaven and in earth! He sends the blessing to those to whom it comes.
His prayer is so infinitely effectual that He practically gives the
blessing Himself. Has He not said, "If you shall ask anything in My
name, I will do it"?

Notice, in the next place, that this blessing is sure. Aaron did not
bless the people of his own will. He did not utter good words of his
own composing–but there went forth a Divine power which made the form
of blessing to be a blessing, indeed. There was power in the priestly
benediction! First, because Aaron was appointed by God Himself to bless
the people–and when he pronounced the benediction over the assembled
multitude it was not Aaron's blessing, but the blessing of Jehovah who
had sent him! The God who set him apart to bless the people in the
Divine name was, by that very act and deed, engaged to make good His
servant's words.

Even so our blessed High Priest took not this office upon Himself, but
He was called to it and His call is abundantly certified, "For Him has
God the Father sealed." What our Lord says must stand, for He is
commissioned of the Father and anointed of the Spirit as the Ambassador
of Peace. God is in Christ Jesus and the Godhead stands at the back of
every word of mercy, every syllable of blessing which is uttered by the
ever-blessed Son. I delight to think of my Lord as no amateur
intercessor, taking up a work on His own responsibility without
heavenly sanction–but He was appointed before all worlds to bless us
and God will confirm every benediction which His Son pronounces upon
us.

But there is another reason for being certain that the benediction is
sure to all the seed. Not only was the person chosen to bless the
people, but the very words which he should use were put into his mouth.
"On this wise you shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto
them." Here we have a fixed form of benediction to which Aaron was to
restrict himself. Forms of prayer are not in themselves sinful–in some
instances forms are given in the Word of God, as in the Book of Psalms
and elsewhere. Free prayer is most useful and it will ordinarily
consort best with the movements of the free Spirit. But in the case of
a benediction it is well that it was dictated to the man of God.

The children of Israel might miss a blessing through the ignorance, or
forgetfulness, or unbelief of Aaron–and therefore it was not left to
him–he had to learn by heart each word and sentence. In this wise, and
in no other, was he to bless the people. I like this, for if God
Himself puts the very words into the mouth of His priest, then they are
God's Words. God Himself arranged the three wonderful stanzas of
blessing and commanded Aaron to say so much and no more. Not according
to his own mind, or wish, or tenderness, or narrowness does Aaron
bless–but according to God's own mind must the fixed and predetermined
benediction be given forth. Blessed be the name of God, the benediction
is thus assured to us, for the words are His own!

Even so the Lord has put into the Savior's mouth the words of blessing
for us. Jesus said, "I speak not My own words, but the words of Him
that sent Me." Every glorious proclamation of Divine Grace from the
mouth of our Lord Jesus is a word given Him by the great God Himself!
How our souls delight in this! I have heard people talk about the
limitation of Christ's Nature while He was here and I fear their next
step will be Socinianism. Beloved, every word that our Lord Jesus
uttered was Infallible! He fell into no errors of any sort. If He did
err and you find it out, it is clear that you know more than your
Master–and that sounds very much like blasphemy. Christ is the wisdom
of God and the power of God–in the wisdom of God there can be no
mistake–and in the power of God not one word shall fall to the ground.

Therefore, Beloved, concerning this blessing and every other that you
find in God's Word, be certain that it is true. Rest in quiet
assurance, for if God Himself has appointed the Priest to bless and has
given the very words which He is to

utter, the Lord would compromise His own honor and glory if He were to
run back from them. God Himself in Christ Jesus declares that He will
bless His people! Yes, and they shall be blessed! While dwelling upon
the form of this benediction, observe that it was to be continued. It
was not dependent upon the life of one man, for Moses was to speak unto
Aaron "and to his sons." Aaron could not continue forever by reason of
death–in due time he must be stripped of his official garments and die
like the rest of men. But then his son came in his place and the
perpetual oblation and benediction were maintained.

The blessing was not to cease from generation to generation. This was
always to be one of the glorious offices of the high priest–that he
should bless the people. Here I would dwell with pleasure upon my
subject–the blessing of the Lord our God was upon His ancient people,
but it is also upon us on whom the ends of the world are come! That
blessing fell upon us in the beginning, when we were converted, and it
has never ceased! The blessing of the Lord falls on us now as a
refreshing dew, or as the golden rain when the corn is springing. The
saints are forever the blessed of the Lord. He blesses us today.

There was a day when you felt very near to the Lord your God and you
remember the Hermons and the Hill Mizars with regretful fondness. You
enjoyed the Divine blessing more, that day, than perhaps you do this
morning. But, in very truth, the blessing is always the same. The sun's
light is always the same–only our mists and fogs come in to hide his
face. Our great Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness,
shines evermore with fullness of favor upon His people, but our doubts
and fears, our worldliness and sin come in like mists and hide His
brightness. God towards His people is of one mind and who can turn Him?
He blesses ever–He curses never. You can never say of the Lord that
towards His chosen, "out of the same mouth proceed blessing and
cursing." No bitter waters are intermixed with the sweet streams of His
Grace.

I would add that this blessing came frequently. We do not know how
often Aaron uttered this blessing upon the people. In this passage it
is left without any determination as to times and seasons. It is
something like our Savior's Memorial Feast–we are nowhere told when
and how often we are to celebrate the Supper of the Lord. Although it
seems to me to have been the practice in Apostolic times to break bread
on the first day of the week, there is no law laid down. It is put
thus–"This do you, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." So
Aaron is not told that on such a day and at such an hour he shall bless
the people–but he may do as his heart dictates.

On the Day of Atonement, when the high priest came out from the secret
place, he put on his robes of beauty and blessed the people. I do not
find that he was commanded to do so every day, but the Jews say that
Aaron always blessed the people after the offering of the morning
sacrifice, when the lamb had been slain and consumed upon the altar.
This was not repeated in the evening. Of this we know nothing beyond
the tradition and I mention it mainly because the older divines were
apt to say that Aaron gave a blessing in the morning, that is, in the
first part of time, for then the ceremonial law stood, but that he can
give no blessing in the evening, for now Christ Himself has come in the
end of days and we have no need of a blessing from the Aaronic
priesthood, seeing the great Melchizedek has come.

There may be something in that tradition and there may be nothing–but
this I know, that Aaron did often bless the people–and this is, to my
mind, much comfort. The Lord Jesus is ready, still, to bless us. Have
you few blessings? You limit them yourselves! You are not straitened in
Him. You are straitened in yourself. There is for you a blessing every
morning–seek it when you wake. There is for you a blessing every
evening–rest not till you feel it. There is a blessing for you at
midnight when you keep the watches wearily. And there is a blessing for
you at midday when you bear the noontide heat of care and toil.

"Your blessing is upon Your people." That is to say, it is always upon
them! Our great High Priest does not now and then, bless the
people–from His lips Divine Grace distils as dew and drops as rain,
without ceasing. Our Lord is always blessing and we are always blessed!
Oh, for Grace to know this and to glorify the God of our blessings!

II. We will now consider THE BLESSING ITSELF. Oh, for renewed help from
the Holy Spirit! Notice, carefully, that this benediction passes from
the priest to God. It is not, "I, Aaron, ordained of God, bless you and
like a shepherd I will keep you and smile upon you and give you peace."
Oh, no! The blessing falls from Aaron's lips, but it comes originally
from the Lord's heart and hand! It runs thus–"The Lord bless you, and
keep you: the Lord make His face shine upon you: the Lord lift up His
Countenance upon you, and give you peace."

Every blessing must come directly from God! What an honor was put on
Aaron, to be made the mouthpiece of God! What an honor is put upon the
preacher when he becomes the instrument, in God's hand, for cheering
His people! What an honor is put upon you, when, in talking with your
children, or with your friends, you are privileged to be as a golden
conduit through which the holy oil of salvation flows to them! I pray
you, seek much of this honor! Put yourselves in God's way, that you may
be vessels for His use. Ask Him to give you Grace to seize upon every
opportunity to speak what He would have you say.

But, I pray you, never rest in the blessing of a man. No, if you were
sure that such a man were sent of God and he should, with all
earnestness, invoke the best blessing upon you, be not content with the
man, but press on to the Master. Seek to have blessings first-hand from
Heaven. Covet a good man's blessing and count it a treasure–but value
it only because God speaks through the man. This fact makes the
blessing exceedingly precious. "THE LORD bless you." What a blessing
the Lord gives! Have we not heard a mother say to her little child,
"Bless you"? What a wealth of meaning she threw into it!

But when God says, "Bless you!" there are Infinity and Immutability in
it! There can be no limit to the goodwill of the Infinite God. Our
gifts are like a handful of pence. God's gifts are so rich that I dare
not liken them even to silver or gold. When Jehovah blesses, it is
after the manner of His sovereign Almightiness. His benediction sheds
joy and glory over our entire manhood. "The Lord bless you"–what an
ocean of blessedness is in it! "And keep you"–what safe keeping is
that! "The Lord make His face to shine upon you"–what a shine is that!
"And be gracious unto you"–what Grace is that!–the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ. "The Lord lift up His Countenance upon you"–oh, to be
countenanced of God! What fellowship that means! "And give you peace."
What a peace is that which God gives–the peace of God which passes all
understanding!

It behooves us to interpret the words of our text in the largest
possible manner and to look upon them as being not only waters up to
the knees, but waters to swim in! Here we may cry, "Oh, the depth!" The
Lord blesses His people "according to the riches of His glory by Christ
Jesus." Do you know what His riches are? Can you measure the estate of
God? Can you imagine what the riches of His Grace must be? Here you
have the riches of His Glory–yes, and the greatest riches of His
Glory–by Christ Jesus! The Lord blesses you according to His riches in
Glory by Christ Jesus– what can be more? Dwell on that–I say no more.

I call your special attention, in looking over this benediction, to the
fact that the name of THE LORD, or Jehovah, is mentioned three times.
"Jehovah bless you, and keep you: Jehovah make His face shine upon you,
and be gracious unto you: Jehovah lift up His Countenance upon you, and
give you peace." It is the remark of scholars that each one of these
names bears a different mark in the original Hebrew. I will not say
that this teaches the doctrine of the Trinity, but I must say that,
believing the doctrine of the Trinity, I understand the passage all the
better. The shadow of the Triune God is on the sacred benediction in
the name thrice repeated.

Yet is the Lord but One, for He says–"I will bless you." Here we hear
the voice of One, yet Three! We sang, this morning, a hymn beginning,
"Holy, holy, holy," for thus the heavenly worshippers salute the Divine
Majesty. They cry, "Holy, holy, holy," three times. Why not twice? Why
not four times? Why not seven times? For this last there might be a
reason since seven is the number of perfection. Threefold expressions
are most frequent in Holy Scripture and what can this mean, but that
the Lord who is one God forever and ever is also threefold in His
existence and manifestation? We are to speak of Him as, "Holy, Holy,
Holy, Lord God Almighty"–and we may pronounce the blessing upon the
people in the name of Jehovah Father, Son and Holy Spirit, still
knowing that there is but One who has solemnly said at the close of the
blessing, "They shall put My name upon the children of Israel, and I
will bless them." Let the sacredness of that name and its being
mentioned in this way confirm your belief of the inscrutable mystery of
the Three in One.

What is this benediction, now before us, but an early form of the
benediction used universally in the Church of Jesus Christ in all ages?
"The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the
communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen." Taking the three
sentences in the light now cast upon them, the first sentence, "The
Lord bless you and keep you," may be regarded as the benediction of the
Father. It is the preservation of love. It is God who has up to now
kept you from falling. We are "kept by the power of God through faith
unto salvation." "He will keep the feet of His saints." "He that keeps
Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep."

To the Father's tender care I would, at this hour, commend each one of
you–"The Lord bless you and keep you." May He do this when you are in
great temptation, that you yield not! May He keep you from your own
evil heart of unbelief, that you turn not aside! Contending with a
sinful world, may He keep you from its snares! Marching through a
region full of seductions to error, may He keep you from quitting the
Truth of God, even as He keeps His own elect! The Lord bless you with
all good and keep you from all evil! They are well kept whom God keeps
and none are kept besides. There is no keeping like Divine keeping!

He says, "I will be a wall of fire round about them." And again, "He
kept him as the apple of His eye." And again, "I the Lord do keep it. I
will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and
day." "The Lord is your keeper." "The Lord shall preserve you from all
evil: He shall preserve your soul." We pray, "Lead us not into
temptation; but deliver us from the Evil One" and the prayer is
directed to, "Our Father in Heaven." I think you will find a depth of
meaning in this first line of the holy hymn of blessing if you regard
it as the benediction of the Father. Do not regard it so exclusively,
for there is no clear line of demarcation–each of the three stanzas
melts into the other two and the blessing is still one.

The next clause is the benediction of the Son, or the joy of Divine
Grace–"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." "The Lord
make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you"–this means the
favor of God–may it be given to each one of you! You know where God's
face is. We read of "The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." He
that has seen Jesus has seen the Father! When our Lord smiles on us, we
see the face of God. That face is not veiled with frowns, but bright
with smiles–a face full of love and favor, a face which was once
turned away–but is now turned towards us in peace. "The Lord make His
face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you."

Dearly Beloved, is there any Grace conceivable like the Grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ? And is there any light conceivable like the shining
of the love of God? A few moments ago the fog surrounded this place and
we seemed as if we were descending into pitch darkness. But, in an
instant, light poured in through yonder windows and there was an
immediate change! And now the sun is shining upon us–a thing to be
noted in this rarely sun-lit land. In this I see a symbol of the Grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ. We come upon a period of gloom and deep
depression and midnight lowers upon our day–and then a breath of the
heavenly wind chases away the fog and the Sun of Righteousness rises
and the scene is changed!

Let us have the favor of God and all our troubles are less than
nothing–

"In darkest shades if He appears My dawning is begun."

May we always walk in the light, as God is in the light–but that must
be through the shining of His face. Through Jesus Christ we may enjoy
an eternal sunshine. Even in Heaven, "The Lamb is the light thereof."
There is no light for us except through Jesus Christ. May the Lord
Jesus be gracious to you! He is full of Grace. To you that are in
trouble today, may He be gracious with His consolations. To you that
are fighting for Him, may He be gracious in covering your head in the
day of battle. To you that labor, may He put underneath you the
everlasting arms of Grace and so may you have Grace upon Grace and all
the Graces that you need till you enter into Glory!

Surely this second benediction is as full as it is brief. It is a box
wherein all compacted sweets lie. Given the love of God the Father and
the Grace of God the Son, our bliss runs high. The third blessing is
surely that of the Holy Spirit. "The Lord lift up His Countenance upon
you, and give you peace." Here is the fellowship of peace. For God's
face to shine is one thing and a very precious thing–but for God to
lift up His Countenance upon us is a still richer blessing! To feel
that God is dealing graciously with me and shining upon me is very
delicious–but to know that He approves me– that He supports me in my
acts and is in fellowship with me–this is best of all.

Oh, to think that, looking upon me, the Lord says, "Yes, My child, you
are doing right. I support you in what you are doing." This is joy!
Every servant has seen her mistress's face fall, but she is glad when
the same face is lifted up upon her because she has done well and has
given pleasure. I do pray that the Holy Spirit may approve all of you
who work for the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that you may say, "I have
the approval of God. No one applauds me–I am obscure. Many criticize
me and say that I am mistaken–others quibble and abuse. But, Lord,
lift You up the light of Your Countenance upon me and it will more than
suffice." To be approved by God is better than being commended by
princes!

Then follow the words, "And give you peace"–for when a man knows that
God approves him, then he enters into peace. Why should he fret when
God smiles? What matters though all the world should censure if Jehovah
approves His servant? A look of approval from God creates a deep,
delightful calm within the soul. Brothers and Sisters, may the Holy
Comforter work this peace in you all!

But now, very briefly, notice that this benediction is all along in the
singular. It is not, "The Lord bless you, and keep you," but, "The Lord
bless you, and keep you." Why? Because the people of God are one and He
views them as one–and so the blessing comes upon the entire Church as
a whole. But, next, I think it is that every individual Believer may
take the whole of this benediction home to himself. The high priest
seems to say, not–"The Lord bless Ephraim and Manasseh, Judah and
Benjamin," but, as if he singled out each one of the assembly, he says,
"The Lord bless you, and keep you." Dear Brethren, I will not call you
out by name, but I would say to each Brother and Sister, "The Lord
bless you."

I cannot, my Sisters, name you in public though you serve the Lord so
well, but I will speak to you individually and say, "The Lord bless
you, and keep you; and make His face shine upon you, and be gracious
unto you; and approve you, and give you peace." The blessing is meant
for the appropriation of each one. While it embraces the whole Church
in one word, it yet distributes a full portion to each individual. We
may each one take to himself the whole of this great benediction!

III. More I might have said upon this Old Testament benediction, but
time fails me and so I must conclude, by a word or two, in the third
place, upon THE DIVINE AMEN. The Divine Amen is in the last verse–"And
they shall put My name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless
them." Only two or three words will suffice. Here is the authority
repeated, by way of confirmation of what has been said–"They shall put
My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them." The priest
does his part and then the Lord makes the blessing effective. Christ is
authorized of God to put the name of God upon His people. It is a
delightful thing for the Lord to call us by our own name, as it is
written, "I have called you by your name, you are Mine."

It is even more soul-enriching to have the Divine name put upon us so
as to be called Sons of God, Joint Heirs with Jesus Christ. Herein is
condescension on God's part and honor and security for us! When the
Lord's name is named upon anything, He will guard His own dedicated
things. The name of the Lord is a strong tower and within it we are
safe. I think I see here a confirmation of those blessings which are
pronounced by good men. "They shall put My name upon the children of
Israel; and I will bless them."

I loved to have my grandfather's blessing when I was preaching the Word
in early days. He has now gone to Glory, but he blessed me and none can
take away the name of God from me. Most of you will remember the
blessings of good men who are now gone to Glory and God confirms those
blessings. He allows His people, whom He has made priests and kings
unto God, to put His name upon others and to pronounce blessings upon
them. Their word shall stand and what they bind on earth shall be bound
in Heaven. The blessing of your father and of your mother shall come
upon you. The blessing of the angels of the Churches, whom the Lord
holds as stars in His right hand, shall fall on faithful Believers and
helpers as a dew from the Lord himself!

And then comes, best of all, the blessing of our God most surely
promised–"And I will bless them." I will not attempt to preach from
that little, great text–"I will bless them." I could enlarge upon it
by the month! "I will bless them"–they shall have their troubles–but
I will bless them through their troubles. When they have earthly goods,
I will bless them and make them real comforts. I will bless their
basket and their store. If those earthly comforts are taken away, I
will give them compensation a thousand-fold in Myself. I, who gave the
mercies, will allow no one but Myself to take them away–and this shall
only be done in love, that I may bless them still more!

Brethren, the world may curse us, but if God blesses us, the curse will
be as the whistling wind. Friends may become enemies, or may forget us,
but if God blesses us, we can bear the wound. God blessed us when we
were young. He kept us in the giddy paths of youth. He blessed us in
our manhood and helped us when our family cares were upon us–and He
will still sustain us now that we lean heavily on the staff and find
the grasshopper to be a burden. He will bless us when sickness lays us
low and when we come to die Jesus will bless us with dying Grace for
dying moments–and hand us out our best things last.

We shall wake up in the likeness of Christ and then we shall be
satisfied with His blessing, being transformed into the image of Him by
whom the blessing comes. The Judgment Day shall dawn, the earth shall
pass away, but the Lord will bless us. God's "wills" have eternal
range. When God says, "I will," all the devils in Hell cannot turn
aside the blessing and all the ages of eternity cannot change the
King's word! "I will bless them." How much He will bless them He does
not say, but the great I AM who makes the promise blesses like a God!
God Himself will bless His people, directly and personally. "I will
bless them." Here is absolute certainty based on the faithfulness of
the Lord–here is endless mercy certified by the Divine Immutability.

Do you whisper, "But the Lord sends us trials"? I answer, It is true.
What son is he whom the Father chastens not? But in this is a Covenant
blessing–for every twig of the rod shall bring forth to them the
comfortable fruits of righteousness before many days are past. You do
not need that I should say another word. Go home with this celestial
music in your ears, "I will bless them."

But this blessed assurance does not belong to you all indiscriminately.
We have no blessing for those who are not believers in the Lord Jesus
Christ. O Sinners, God make you conscious that you are outside of the
blessing and may that terrible fact create in you an aching heart and a
longing soul which nothing can ever rest but the blessing of the Lord
God!

You that are resting in Jesus, hear these words which I have read you
from the Inspired Book and may the Holy Spirit write them on your
minds! Thus says Jehovah of His people, "I will bless them." The Lord
has caused His servants to bless us by the testimony of the Gospel and
now He Himself blesses us by His Spirit. He will Himself bring His
precious things to our door. He will Himself feast us at His table,
yes, He will Himself become our food, our bread, and our water! Come,
let us bless the Lord! Since He has so blessed us, let us heartily
bless Him! We will wind up our meditation by singing–

"Praise God, from whom all blessings flow Praise Him all creatures here
below; Praise Him above, you heavenly host; Praise Father, Son and Holy
Ghost!"

PORTIONS OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON– Psalm 80; Numbers6:22-27.