God bless you! It is necessary to make this distinction so that lost people are not given false assurance of being a Christian and having eternal hope. I dont think so, not any more than I believe the purity, sacrificial, food and drink, or cultural laws apply to us. But if you keep this song in context, it isnt for the church it was for Aaron and the priests (Numbers 6) as a blessing for Israel. The song is quoting scripture. Under How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture Agreed all of them in vague sense & I feel it does not deserve a mark at most higher than 5/10 for lyrics solely focussed on what man can gain from A Lord, with excluding the measure within the Christian texts you supplied indicating mans responsibility of i.e those that love Me & keep My commandments / fear Him / keep His covenant / remember His precepts etc to receive such Blessing. Absolutely NOT!!! In your weeping, and rejoicing. Michael thats an interesting breakdown. It has no echo of repentance or obedience. repeatedly listening to it not just made me to memorize it but also to think that the great god is here with me and he is here for this mere me. So does the blessing pronounced over Moses-era Israel even have any application to us at all? The current generation is emotionally starved in history. This reduced the songs overall score, from 10/10 to 8.5/10. Not all of us are called, or privileged, to have children, but consider that your powerful witness and testimony may carry out Gods favor and blessing upon generations and generations. 11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Verse. I agree with your assessment and love this song. Oh my goodness. saith the LORD of hosts. The UK version states as its headline: Refrain Five times, with each containing six amen. This doesnt sit well with many people and you might be among them! We get it!! And give you peace. Yet Moses had to remind Him of His promise when He wanted to wipe Israel out after they created the golden calf. Genesis 6:8 - But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. Allow them enjoy the blessing. A comment about the ad nauseum repetition, Blessed is the one who meditates on the instruction of the Lord cf. Thank you for your comment! Theres quite a lot of repetition in worship from the angels around the throne so brace yourself for heaven! I reached your page here after searching for a while for the Biblical references of this song The Blessing. Many people are emotionally starved when they come to church. After 45 years of sometimes heartbreaking ministry mixed with lots of joy am coming out of a very depressed time away from ministry. I totally agree that unbelievers in a worship service would certainly conclude that all the blessings mentioned would apply to them as wellwhich is very dangerous. He is for you, He is for you. And dont forget, it is the famous saying of the embodiment of the devil, that repeating a lie a hundred times makes it a truth. I agree in a meeting, where this fits is important, as you suggested at the end is a good place. All rights reserved. Then it hit me: TastyWallet. Can we honestly sing that God is for people, when we dont know where they are in repentance with Him? This would also be akin to Christs command to render unto Caeser what is Caesers (implied peacefully) and also Pauls instruction to Timothy: First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Thanks for this review. If reminding needs done, its us that need the constant reminder of Who it is we belong to. What about Gods rod and staff? It is of note that most people dont sing with and many are uncomfortable with it. I am glad that you checked my criterion before reading my review. Rather, Scripture says the opposite: Little in this song applies to unbelievers until they turn from their wickedness and trust in Jesus. How do worship leaders and pastors intend to use these lyrics? Moved me to tears and prayer. . Repetition is definitely talked about in the book of Revelation. We shouldnt either. I know from personal experience how trials bring about blessing. Welcome to The Berean Test and thank you for your comments! Psalm 1:1,2. Listen: But how readily we all stand first in line with thinking we are the special one God favours in doling out Blessed measures of such a great Spirit Of Discernment. I urge you, during the repeats, to change it to first person. I agree, I dont see this as useful for corporate worship. It has been used continuously in Jewish and Christian worship for over 3300 years as a blessing for Gods people. For many, it is their Christian faith. This is one of the most significant issues of the modern church we want to make the story of the Bible about us instead of about God. Thank you for your thoughts! May His favor be upon you And a thousand generations And your family and your children And their children, and their children May His presence go before you And behind you, and beside you All around you, and within you He is with you, He is with you In the morning, in the evening In your coming, and your going In your weeping, and rejoicing Prayer For Blessing And Favor For decades I as a Pastor used this to close the service. Insofar as I am aware, the people who pay for the tickets are not just looking for a spiritual experience. G#m. And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. The Cambridge Bible states vers 16 18 very clear Jer_23:16-18. over a marriage, in sending missionaries etc. And no shortage of accounts of people talking to me about some hardship they were enduring that day, but enduring it with a sense of the Lord being with them well, it helped to affirm the power of prayer. We are so very blessed to receive the favor of the Most High God, but that means we are also tasked with responsibilities just as far-reaching. There-in lies the biggest danger, which explains why it take countless of years for those able to eventually see some truth, to rid themselves of such a place, leaving far more behind oblivious to their lost nature ! We should not forget He has told us He is a jealous God jealous for us desires a relationship with each and every one of us and when we remind Him, He knows that we are thinking about that relationship, that we remember how important it is to us, that we are resetting it above our recent previous thoughts and actions, and that we love Him. Again, I guess this applies only to those in Christ who has fulfilled the requirements of the law on their behalf and thus brought Gods blessing to them. Just explaining my context. From a Biblical perspective, Moses didnt have any problem reminding God about His promise to make Israel as numerous as the stars of heaven. I love the repetition! Who are we worshipping when we sing it? This song is a gift and should be given away, not sold. Third, it says in several places in Scripture that God is against unbelievers: -Those who are not with Christ are against Him (Matthew 12:30 and Luke 11:23). Praise ( songs about or to God most of the time the word you is withheld in these songs) 2. As I so often do when questioning the legitimacy of a song, I go to the Psalms. I imagine a lot of that came from being aligned with the Lord in his desire to bless his people. So my understanding is that Num 6 is a pronouncement of the LORDs blessing on his people Israel, usually said by the temple priests after the daily sacrifices. But you & I both know that people from that audience, a large majority though; is not living right & this forms part of the emergent stuff He has done tremendous work in exposing false worship & this video as well as many more on his youtube channel, is well worth some of everybodys time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ji5mwWVHMk People will also do well to look up the kundalini spirit & repetitive style there-off. As a musician, its just another fluff song way too much repetition and overall simplistic. As for being gracious to us We all need this indeed! Yes, Jesus loves me! May his favor be upon you. And Jesus also told His disciples that after He has left, He would send the Holy Spirit to live within them to teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14:26). 1. That God, the Creator of all things, is actually looking at you; then the next verse says, Oh, by the way, His favor is upon you too. Is this different from passing the peace, which I consider another time stealer, especially when this action is done before the confession, as is the situation in many protestant churches, which no longer have a prayer of confession. Luke 24:50-51; John 14:27; John 20:19). it does require some explanation in a church service so that congregations dont think that singing God loves me and wants to bless me is enough. They will experience eternal separation from God (Matthew 18:8, Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46, Mark 9:43, Jude 1:7, Revelation 14:11, and Revelation 20:10). At best these verses tell us about Gods character, not individualized promises we can claim today 3,000+ years later. 7, read it all, in context). In our coming and going He is with us.and our children, and their children, and their childrens children.. As a father of two, I cannot (I feel) ask God enough for protection, blessing, and mercy for my children. And be gracious to you. Who is there who has visited His heavenly abode, there to learn His purposes? At first I just listened with reflection. Psalm 84:11 You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.. DO NOT GO ROUND N ROUND CHASING EVERY RABBIT & MAYBE END UP CATCHING THE WORTHLESS ONEs. The psalms also talk about things that God hates (like a lying tongue). God isnt really concerned if our theology is correct. after a conclusion When i listen to it Ill be taking the lyrics and the word directly to my heart. It is a prayer based on scripture set to music. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Its just gone viral in the UK, being used to sing a blessing over the nation in the midst of (Covid 19 lockdown) crisis. It really sounds like ourselves. Im not much of a 7-Eleven kind of worshipper (7-11 repeats) but this song Can absolutely get away with it. I cant think of anything negative about the YouTube videos featured from all around the world. While I cannot relate to your loss, may you be encouraged to consider that the Spirit of God working within you will bring, and likely has brought, Gods blessing and truth into the lives of those you have come in contact. So at the outset I will say no motives (good or bad) are assumed here. this song is completely a blessing for not just any church but for each individual soul listening to it. And your family and your children In one sense, it is given away. Brings me tears as well. Thank you, Norma. I had become known as something of a healing pastor. Job 10:12 Why didnt I think of that? a high score does not necessarily endorse the theology of said artist. HAMSTERS ON A WHEEL TREADMILL That is what we as image bearers of God, are being formed into by the world, with our own consent whilst not realizing it or hardly seeing the dangerous problem! To the extent that this song glorifies God, it is for Christ, not against Him, even if the church where it comes from is misleading people with man-centered teaching. (NLT) Other Benedictions in the Bible In the Old Testament, benedictions were ceremonial pronouncements of God's favor or blessing on the congregation administered during worship gatherings. Like a declaration. Maybe instead of finishing Church with gentle little pats on the back, such as indicated in 2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; . *******Begin Quote******* I simply have permission to use it from Capitol CMG Publishing and Essential Music (a subsidiary of Sony). Proverbs 31 Ministries. Love this song! Vince, Im sorry, I dont mean to go on and rant or even sound angry but the gospel of greed is a real problem here in the USA and apparently Im not sure what can be done about it you asked me how far my argument goes I think it started and ended here things like this bother me and because Jesus didnt charge me a dime when he loved and saved instead he paid the price..but anyway this turning into word salad and I know you got better things to do so let me end with this.. You quoted Romans 13, I agree, you are 100 percent right!! If this Happens, Gods anger will be kindled against the Israelites No, He isnt. [ sarcasm]. I listen and weep and soak . May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us yes, establish the work of our hands. I also understand the pricing situation. Such a powerful description of what Gods blessing can be. May His presence go before you And behind you, and . I hope its supporting you well for your time and if not Im sure God will fix the tab on the other side . If we embrace the blessings of Moses-era Israel, we can expect to miss out on the blessings of Christjoining Him in His suffering. In your coming, and your going But heres my biggest issue that Im struggling with: the fact that this is a worship song. Far more and better than we can in our human frailty. Psalm 31:16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake. To resolve conflicts biblically, people must air complaints to the proper authorities. Try Bible Gateway Plus free today! Although, there arent many concerts during the current pandemic. And in Psalm 106:4, the Psalmist begs, Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people, come to my aid when you save them. Hes asking for rescue, not just kind thoughts. Yes, they used scripture to write the song. However, too much intellectualism is equally dangerous. If you read in Matthew 5 you will understand who is truly blessed coming from the mouth of our Saviour. In spite of that, is it Biblically to ask Him to remember? Our humanness is so fickle and petty. It was originally a blessing God instructed Moses to tell Aaron to give to the people of Israel in Numbers 6:24-26. 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