Benediction


Psalm 134
1Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
2Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord!
3May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth!

We arrive at the end of the 15 Songs of Ascent spoken during the walk up to Jerusalem from all over Israel. This brief song is thought to be a benediction, spoken as the recitation practice ends, with verses 1 and 2 being spoken by the people and verse 3 recited by the priest. All 15 of these prayers have the purposes of preparing the worshiper to enter the Temple and give praise to God. This psalm may even have been held until the end of the worship time in the Temple, as the people invite the priest to continue their songs of praise throughout the night and a blessing for the people as they head home.

How many times during the day do you take an opportunity to speak words of blessing over the people in your lives. I’m always struck by the cashier or waiter who will take the brave stance to say, “have a blessed day” rather than “have a nice day”. What a lovely, simple, and powerful thing to do. I confess that I allow my own reticence to offend stand in the way of such a practice. I’ve been trained well by the culture. Perhaps it’s time to turn that around and start a new approach.

We forget how powerful our words can be in the life of another – even a stranger. I guess if someone is offended by my words of blessing, that’s on them, not me. My failure to be that intentional about speaking blessing – that’s on me. Time for a change.

May the Lord bless you all day long with the knowledge of His presence and power in your life. May you know His love is constant and never-failing.

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