During the benediction, should we look at the pastor or should we bow our heads and close our eyes?

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Good question! It is a scene we know: public worship draws to a close. Papers and books rustle, children fidget, and minds begin racing toward the afternoon’s plans. Then the pastor says something like, “Now receive the Lord’s blessing.” His hands go up, and he intones the familiar phrases of Christian farewell. But the benediction is more than goodbye in biblical lingo. The benediction is God claiming all you believers as His family as you head out of His house and back into the world.

The benediction is ubiquitous in our public church gatherings. In addition to Sabbath worship, our Directory for Church Government calls for a benediction at the end of a welcome service for a new congregation (RP Constitution D-6), an installation for elders and deacons (D-12, D-28), and a presbytery meeting (D-16, D-17, D-21). Although appropriate in all these circumstances, pronouncing the benediction is restricted to ordained elders (D-9, D-16, D-17, F-3). The sanctity of the benediction is further recognized in the Directory for Public Worship when it declares that “unless necessary, none should depart until after the benediction” (F-4). Both the practice of giving a benediction and of treating it with due dignity are derived from Scripture.

In Numbers 6:22-27, God commands Moses to command the Aaronic priests to bless the people of Israel, declaring that such a blessing will put His name on His people, and, thus, they will be blessed. In this way, the benediction is a pronouncement of fact, not a wishing or wanting or even a prayer (RP Constitution F-8). It is not a formal farewell but an official declaration that you all are, in fact, God’s people with God’s blessing upon you. With the blood pooled around the altar and smoke of the burning sacrifice rolling into the air, the priests shouted aloud the assembly’s true identity: the blessed children of God. David, in like manner, after a day of dancing and sacrificing every six steps, at last brought the Ark of the Covenant into the tent beside his royal palace. When the final sacrifice was offered and the final leap landed, David turned and “blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts” (2 Sam. 6:18, ESV). Like a father pointing at his departing teen and saying, “Remember who you are; you’re my son and I love you,” David and the priests set upon the people of God the name of God.

In addition to this priestly pronouncement of divine adoption, we find benedictions at the end of New Testament epistles. Paul puts a triune blessing at the end of 2 Corinthians (13:14). In Hebrews, we are told that the God of peace who raised Jesus from the dead will equip us for good works (13:20-21). In Galatians, Paul simply says, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen” (6:18). In 1 Thessalonians, we find a mash-up of both Hebrews and Galatians (5:23, 28). And, at the end of 2 Thessalonians, Paul provides a three-part blessing: may peace, the Lord, and His grace be with you (3:16, 18). Since these were read aloud in public worship, the benediction had a prominent place concluding both the Scripture reading and the worship service itself.

The benediction is an awesome element of worship, pulling together the promises of God and placing them and His name upon the people, so we should “wait quietly and reverently to receive” it (RP Constitution F-8). This can be done by looking at the pastor or by closing one’s eyes. It can be done by bowing one’s head or by turning one’s face toward heaven. It can be heard with hands outstretched in symbolic reception or with them resting at your sides or clutching your Bible or psalter. Any number of postures are appropriate for the dignity and delight of receiving God’s blessing. The postures to beware and avoid are the distracted, inattentive, or disinterested ones. For example, packing up your things instead of listening carefully. Or, worse still, heading to the door so as to get ahead of the rush! We must also be careful that we do not take up a posture that is distracting to others or rooted in pride.

Being still and hearing God’s declaration of peace takes just a few seconds and is well worth the time. So long as our ears are hearing, our minds are understanding, and our hearts are rejoicing, we are receiving the Lord’s blessing rightly and we will be blessed indeed (Num. 6:27).

James Faris and Noah Bailey | column editors