Can anyone recommend resources on, manuals for, or theologies of benedictions? I have the little Christian Focus cheat-book of benedictions, but I’m looking for something a little more meaty to help me think this through.
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Check out Hughes Oliphant Old’s Leading Prayer: A Workbook for Worship.
Also Evangel’s Directory for the Worship of God 55.5:
Blessings
- The salutation and the benediction are blessings pronounced in God’s name and in His own words. Accordingly, they are properly used only in a gathering of Christ’s church and by a minister of the Word.
- A salutation is the greeting from God to His people who have gathered to worship Him. It is fittingly pronounced immediately before or after the call to worship. Words of salutation from Scripture may be used, such as the opening greeting from one of the New Testament epistles, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
- A benediction is the pronouncement of God’s blessing upon His people at the conclusion of the worship service. Words of benediction taken from Scripture are to be used. The high priestly benediction, “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 on you, and give you peace,”84 or the Trinitarian apostolic benediction, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all,”85 are distinctly appropriate. If, however, the minister deems another benediction taken from Scripture more fitting for a particular occasion, he may use it.
Blessings (no pun intended),
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Thanks. This is really helpful.
Probably an obvious question, but a benediction is different than a doxology right? Can we just adjust a doxology to make it a benediction? The Pauline doxologies seem like the most easily applicable passages…and that’s what I normally try to use.
Y’all need a physical BCO…pdfs are lame.
[edited to add…but the webpage is pretty slick. Didn’t realise this was available in this format. Thanks for this.]
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Glad you like it. Props to @ldweeks and @acmcneilly
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Yes, they are different. Benedictions are blessings from God to the people. Doxologies are blessings to God from the people.
A good example given by Old is Melchizedek’s benediction to Abram followed by a doxology to God:
Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand. Gen 14:19-20
So technically you could put the two together so long as they are kept distinct, but it might get lost on the sheep. Plus, as Old points out, there is a long tradition of using the old 100th as a doxology that it now has become the doxology. And I love it!
Yeah, the online BCO is super helpful and well-designed!
So I’ve been doing about half of my benedictions wrong the last few years. Kinda had a sense that was the case. Oh well.
What keeps the weekly benediction from just rotating between the ones listed above? Is that even a problem? Or are there benefits to a regular pattern of adapting other passages (the Pauline doxologies, for example) to function as directionally correct blessings?
There’s actually quite a few different benedictions found in Scripture (OT & NT). Although the Aaronic is probably most used.
Same goes for doxologies (e.g. Paul’s, as you pointed out). But doxologies are usually sung… I guess the people could pray it in unison to God? Technically there are doxologies all throughout the service, especially depending on the songs you sing. In a sense the whole service is a doxology. But having a doxology as a specially designated part of the worship service is helpful to the people.
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My favourite is the whole version of Kethe’s Psalm 100. Something about a congregation belting it unaccompanied…
All people that on earth do dwell | Evangelical Movement of Wales (this is a great rendition - except it omits the final verse which is the doxology???)!
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I keep a running list of benedictions on my computer. Here’s what I have so far. (I need to find more from the OT, any suggestions?)
Numbers 6:24-26
"The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.”
Romans 15:5-6
Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
2 Corinthians 13:11
Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
2 Corinthians 13:14
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13
May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, … so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thess 2:16-17
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.
2 Thess 3:16
Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!
Hebrews 13:20-21
Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
2 Peter 3:18
… grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
2 John 3
Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
Jude 24-25
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
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WHAT! How am I just now seeing this? So many secret websites…
Here are a couple more people may be unaware of:
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What’s the line from Dr Strangelove about the secret doomsday device…kinda defeats the purpose…if nobody knows about it!
But thanks for the links. Really helpful. Now I can up my benedictions game.
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One more resource, from Alex, inspired by my uncle Nathan.
Printable, double sided, and small enough to fit inside most Bibles.
Benedictions.pdf (34.5 KB)
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Great resource. Thanks.
But…okay…this is what confused me originally. Some of these passages are actually doxologies. Is that deliberate?
Jude 1.24-25…this is a doxology isn’t it?
I assumed as I was reading this thread that some of them might be, but I’ll leave the categorization to others. lol
Yes, and that is a consequence of using Scripture for benedictions. Some are neat and tidy (Num 6:24-26, 2 Cor 13:14), others are mixed (Hebrews 13:20-21, Jude 24-25)
I guess we could write our own benedictions, after all the doxology is not Scripture. But I don’t think it is necessary.