Blessing and Praise: Benedictions & Doxologies in Scripture

Christians long to be assured that God hears them and is able to meet their deepest needs when they pray. Yet many of us do not rightly understand what prayer is or how we ought to pray. In this introductory lesson, Dr. Charles explains the importance of learning to pray in light of the power and glory of God in the Apostle Paul’s doxology in Ephesians 3:20–21.

Benedictions are pronouncements of God’s blessing, founded on truths about God. With each benediction, God is declaring His intention to bless His people, and He is indicating the specific way in which He will bring that blessing about in their lives. In this lesson, Dr. Charles unfolds the teaching of Hebrews 13:20–21 concerning what God has done for us in Christ and what He promises to do for us in Christ. You may be interested in these resources. Teaching Series Book Tabletalk DIG DEEPER This teaching series is also available on Ligonier Connect, our online learning platform with integrated study tools and a community of fellow learners. More from this teacher H.B. Charles Jr. Dr. H.B. Charles Jr. is pastor-teacher of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla. He is author of several books, including It Happens After Prayer: Biblical Motivation for Believing Prayer, On Preaching: Personal and Pastoral Insights for the Preparation and Practice of Preaching, and On P

God calls His people to stand firm in the faith. But what are we to do when we recognize that we are unable to stand on our own? We must learn how to trust and praise God for preserving us by His grace. In this lesson, Dr. Charles draws our attention to Jude’s closing doxology, explaining what it means that God is able to preserve us on earth and to present us to Himself in glory.

Each member of the Trinity is personally involved in the redemption of His people. In conferring spiritual blessings on believers, each of the three persons of the Trinity plays His respective role. In this lesson, Dr. Charles considers the Trinitarian benediction in 2 Corinthians 13:14 in order to stir up the hearts and minds of Christians to understand more of what blessings they have through God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The priestly benediction of Aaron is the great benediction of the Old Testament. In Numbers 6:22–27, the Lord commanded the priests to lift up their hands and pronounce this blessing over His people. By so doing, God affirmed His commitment to bless His people according to His will and by His Word. In this lesson, Dr. Charles considers the nature of this particular benediction and the fact that we can trust the God who pledged Himself to bless us.

God calls us as His people to pursue sanctification in the totality of our lives. Holiness is one of our greatest needs in the Christian life. However, we often fail to understand what part God plays in our sanctification. In this lesson, Dr. Charles breaks down the benediction in 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 in order to stress the fact that our sanctification is built on the confidence that God is the One who sanctifies believers as we trust Him for this work of grace.

Christians are called by God to endure hardship, suffering, and persecutions in this life. Though we are engaged in intense warfare with spiritual enemies, God gives us strong consolations and encouragements to strengthen us to stand in the grace of God. In this lesson, Dr. Charles considers the teaching of the benediction in 1 Peter 5:10–11, drawing out of it lessons about God’s love and purpose for us in our suffering.

The New Testament doxologies are full of truths about God’s character and glory. In this final lesson, Dr. Charles turns to the Apostle Paul’s great doxology in Romans 11:33–36 in order to focus our attention on the surpassing greatness of God and the call for us to celebrate the wonder of His majesty.