Blessing
The blessing was put into the mouth of Aaron the high priest, in this as in other points a type and figure of the Lord Jesus Christ. But Aaron could only pronounce the blessing; Jesus gives it.
Observe how, by implication, the doctrine of the Trinity is here set forth.
"The LORD BLESS THEE." The blessings meant would seem to be chiefly spiritual. Not that we are to think lightly of temporal favours. They are left-hand blessings, if not right-hand mercies; they are gifts to be thankful for on earth, if not graces that take to heaven; provision for the perishing body, if not food for the immortal soul. Health, strength, such a measure of worldly goods as shall keep the wolf from the door and enable us to owe no man anything but love, children growing up to be a comfort to their parents, a kind and affectionate partner, warm and faithful friends, an untarnished name, who shall say that these are not blessings for which God is to be praised? And yet how infinitely short do these temporal blessings, which perish in the using, fall of spiritual blessings which endure for evermore.
Godly fear in the heart — that fountain of life by which an awakened sinner departs from the snares of death — is not that of all blessings first and foremost because the "beginning of wisdom?" It is "a fountain of life," and, like a river, is only increased and deepened by successive additions of grace. If we have not the beginning we can have neither the middle nor end.
But is not faith a blessing too? And who know faith to be a blessing? Those who are deeply exercised and tried by an unbelieving heart.
And is not hope a blessing too?
Love.
Patience.
Testimonies of God's mercy and grace to the soul.
Is not the rod often a blessing?
"AND KEEP THEE." Blessing first and keeping afterwards. The blessing given, and then, when given, the blessing kept. The letter written, and then sealed; the jewel put into the casket, and then the casket locked. "The Lord keep thee." We cannot keep ourselves.
I need hardly observe that the first and foremost is to be kept from positive evil. The Lord asked of the Father for His disciples, "I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world" — no; let them suffer there as I have suffered before — "but keep them from the evil." And this will be first and foremost in the petitions of every child of God who knows his own evil heart and has suffered from its weakness and treachery, that the Lord will keep him from open evil, that he may bring no distress and guilt upon his own conscience, or reproach upon the cause of God.
Error.
A spirit of delusion.
"THE LORD MAKE HIS FACE SHINE UPON THEE."
The allusion here seems to be to the sun. Sometimes the natural sun has not risen, and the world must needs be dark if the sun be still beneath the horizon. So with many gracious souls, it is darkness with them because at present neither the Day-star has appeared nor the Sun of Righteousness risen upon them with healing in His wings. But sometimes after the sun has risen we see not his face; dark clouds may obscure the face of that bright luminary throughout the whole day, and we may not get a single ray. So, many of the Lord's family, after the Sun has risen upon them in the morning of their spiritual life may pass perhaps much of their subsequent time in the dark shadow, till perhaps at evening tide there is light, and a departing ray gilds the dying pillow. But, again, there are sometimes days when mists drive rapidly across the face of the bright orb of day, and yet occasionally he peeps through the breaking clouds. And is not this, in some measure, an emblem of the way in which the Sun of Righteousness is continually obscured by the mists and fogs which spring up out of our unbelieving heart, hidden from view by the doubts and fears that, like the vapours of the valley, spread themselves to our view over His beauteous face? Yet there are time, when He gleams through the clouds and disperses the mists. When the Lord is pleased to bless the soul and shine upon it with any sweet manifestation, then He breaks in through the dark clouds; but they gather again. It is not in Christian experience one bright summer day. Our spiritual climate is humid, our inward latitude northern.
"The Lord make His face shine upon thee." Is the Lord, then, sovereign in these matters? Can we not lift up our hand and remove the cloud? We have as much power to stretch forth our hand and sweep away the mists that obscure the Sun of Righteousness, as we have power with the same hand to sweep away a London fog. How this puts the creature into his right place I and the creature is only in his right place when he is nothing, and God is all in all.
. "The Lord make His face shine upon thee." And if He make His face shine upon thee, He will make thy face shine too.
"AND BE GRACIOUS UNTO THEE." HOW sweet the gospel is! But what makes the gospel sweet? That one word which sheds a perfume through the whole — grace. Take grace out of the gospel and you destroy the gospel. Grace pervades every part and every branch of the blessed gospel; it is the life of the gospel; in a word, it is the gospel itself.
"THE LORD LIFT UP HIS COUNTENANCE UPON THEE." The meaning of this expression may, I think, be illustrated by a simple figure. A child has been disobedient to, or otherwise displeased its parent. When we offend a person, his face is not toward us as at other times. It was so with Laban towards Jacob; and if we have in any way incurred a friend's or superior's displeasure we watch instinctively his countenance. Is it down or up? Does it wear a frown or a smile? Is it looking upon us with the eye of affection, or are the eyes averted? We can tell in a moment if we know the countenance. Thus is the blessing asked, "The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee," as a kind and affectionate parent upon an obedient child.
"AND GIVE THEE PEACE." Oh what a blessing! It is this that makes the pillow easy in life, and will alone make that pillow easy in death — peace with God through Jesus Christ, "the peace of God which passeth all understanding." The blessing that the gracious soul most earnestly covets is peace; for this is the sweetest honey-drop in God's cup. It is true that it does not make the heart overflow like joy, nor to dance with exultation like the first beaming in of the rays of hope, nor melt it down like visits of love; but it is in some respects sweeter than all, because it so settles down the soul into sweet assurance; it is the realisation of the Saviour Himself, for "He is our peace," and may thus be called the crowning blessing. But see how the links of this Divine chain meet. "The Lord bless thee" — link the first; "and keep thee" — link the second; "the Lord make His face shine upon thee" — the third; "and be gracious unto thee" — the fourth; "the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee" — the fifth; "and give thee peace" — the sixth. Six blessed links, and all united into one continuous chain; for when the Lord begins to bless, He ends with peace. We need wish no greater nor pray for a higher blessing than peace, for God has none greater to give. When a father dies he leaves his children all his goods. Jesus, before He died, said, "Peace I leave with you; My peace give I unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you." It was His last legacy; His dying gift; in His own eyes of the greatest value, and it should be such in ours.
(J. C. Philpot.)
Observe how, by implication, the doctrine of the Trinity is here set forth.
"The LORD BLESS THEE." The blessings meant would seem to be chiefly spiritual. Not that we are to think lightly of temporal favours. They are left-hand blessings, if not right-hand mercies; they are gifts to be thankful for on earth, if not graces that take to heaven; provision for the perishing body, if not food for the immortal soul. Health, strength, such a measure of worldly goods as shall keep the wolf from the door and enable us to owe no man anything but love, children growing up to be a comfort to their parents, a kind and affectionate partner, warm and faithful friends, an untarnished name, who shall say that these are not blessings for which God is to be praised? And yet how infinitely short do these temporal blessings, which perish in the using, fall of spiritual blessings which endure for evermore.
Godly fear in the heart — that fountain of life by which an awakened sinner departs from the snares of death — is not that of all blessings first and foremost because the "beginning of wisdom?" It is "a fountain of life," and, like a river, is only increased and deepened by successive additions of grace. If we have not the beginning we can have neither the middle nor end.
But is not faith a blessing too? And who know faith to be a blessing? Those who are deeply exercised and tried by an unbelieving heart.
And is not hope a blessing too?
Love.
Patience.
Testimonies of God's mercy and grace to the soul.
Is not the rod often a blessing?
"AND KEEP THEE." Blessing first and keeping afterwards. The blessing given, and then, when given, the blessing kept. The letter written, and then sealed; the jewel put into the casket, and then the casket locked. "The Lord keep thee." We cannot keep ourselves.
I need hardly observe that the first and foremost is to be kept from positive evil. The Lord asked of the Father for His disciples, "I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world" — no; let them suffer there as I have suffered before — "but keep them from the evil." And this will be first and foremost in the petitions of every child of God who knows his own evil heart and has suffered from its weakness and treachery, that the Lord will keep him from open evil, that he may bring no distress and guilt upon his own conscience, or reproach upon the cause of God.
Error.
A spirit of delusion.
"THE LORD MAKE HIS FACE SHINE UPON THEE."
The allusion here seems to be to the sun. Sometimes the natural sun has not risen, and the world must needs be dark if the sun be still beneath the horizon. So with many gracious souls, it is darkness with them because at present neither the Day-star has appeared nor the Sun of Righteousness risen upon them with healing in His wings. But sometimes after the sun has risen we see not his face; dark clouds may obscure the face of that bright luminary throughout the whole day, and we may not get a single ray. So, many of the Lord's family, after the Sun has risen upon them in the morning of their spiritual life may pass perhaps much of their subsequent time in the dark shadow, till perhaps at evening tide there is light, and a departing ray gilds the dying pillow. But, again, there are sometimes days when mists drive rapidly across the face of the bright orb of day, and yet occasionally he peeps through the breaking clouds. And is not this, in some measure, an emblem of the way in which the Sun of Righteousness is continually obscured by the mists and fogs which spring up out of our unbelieving heart, hidden from view by the doubts and fears that, like the vapours of the valley, spread themselves to our view over His beauteous face? Yet there are time, when He gleams through the clouds and disperses the mists. When the Lord is pleased to bless the soul and shine upon it with any sweet manifestation, then He breaks in through the dark clouds; but they gather again. It is not in Christian experience one bright summer day. Our spiritual climate is humid, our inward latitude northern.
"The Lord make His face shine upon thee." Is the Lord, then, sovereign in these matters? Can we not lift up our hand and remove the cloud? We have as much power to stretch forth our hand and sweep away the mists that obscure the Sun of Righteousness, as we have power with the same hand to sweep away a London fog. How this puts the creature into his right place I and the creature is only in his right place when he is nothing, and God is all in all.
. "The Lord make His face shine upon thee." And if He make His face shine upon thee, He will make thy face shine too.
"AND BE GRACIOUS UNTO THEE." HOW sweet the gospel is! But what makes the gospel sweet? That one word which sheds a perfume through the whole — grace. Take grace out of the gospel and you destroy the gospel. Grace pervades every part and every branch of the blessed gospel; it is the life of the gospel; in a word, it is the gospel itself.
"THE LORD LIFT UP HIS COUNTENANCE UPON THEE." The meaning of this expression may, I think, be illustrated by a simple figure. A child has been disobedient to, or otherwise displeased its parent. When we offend a person, his face is not toward us as at other times. It was so with Laban towards Jacob; and if we have in any way incurred a friend's or superior's displeasure we watch instinctively his countenance. Is it down or up? Does it wear a frown or a smile? Is it looking upon us with the eye of affection, or are the eyes averted? We can tell in a moment if we know the countenance. Thus is the blessing asked, "The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee," as a kind and affectionate parent upon an obedient child.
"AND GIVE THEE PEACE." Oh what a blessing! It is this that makes the pillow easy in life, and will alone make that pillow easy in death — peace with God through Jesus Christ, "the peace of God which passeth all understanding." The blessing that the gracious soul most earnestly covets is peace; for this is the sweetest honey-drop in God's cup. It is true that it does not make the heart overflow like joy, nor to dance with exultation like the first beaming in of the rays of hope, nor melt it down like visits of love; but it is in some respects sweeter than all, because it so settles down the soul into sweet assurance; it is the realisation of the Saviour Himself, for "He is our peace," and may thus be called the crowning blessing. But see how the links of this Divine chain meet. "The Lord bless thee" — link the first; "and keep thee" — link the second; "the Lord make His face shine upon thee" — the third; "and be gracious unto thee" — the fourth; "the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee" — the fifth; "and give thee peace" — the sixth. Six blessed links, and all united into one continuous chain; for when the Lord begins to bless, He ends with peace. We need wish no greater nor pray for a higher blessing than peace, for God has none greater to give. When a father dies he leaves his children all his goods. Jesus, before He died, said, "Peace I leave with you; My peace give I unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you." It was His last legacy; His dying gift; in His own eyes of the greatest value, and it should be such in ours.
(J. C. Philpot.)
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