BLEMISH

whatever renders a person or thing imperfect or uncomely. The Jewish law required the priests to be free from blemishes of person, Lev. xxi, 17–23; xxii, 20–24. Scandalous profe ors are blemishes to the church of God, 2 Peter ii, 13; Jude 12, and therefore ought to be put away from it, in the exercise of a godly discipline. BLESS, BLESSING. There are three points of view in which the acts of ble ing may be considered. The first is, when men are said to ble God, as in Psalm ciii, 1, 2. We are then not to suppose that the divine Being, who is over all, and, in himself, ble ed for evermore, is capable of receiving any augmentation of his happine , from all the creatures which he has made: such a supposition, as it would imply something of imperfection in the divine nature, must ever be rejected with abhorrence; and, therefore, when the creatures ble the adorable Creator, they only ascribe to him that praise and dominion, and honour, and glory, and ble ing, which it is equally the duty and joy of his creatures to render. But when God is said to ble his people, Gen. i, 22; Eph. i, 3; the meaning is, that he confers benefits upon them, either temporal or spiritual, and so communicates to them some portion of that ble edne which, in infinite fulne , dwells in himself, James i, 17; Psalm civ, 24, 28; Luke xi, 9–13. In the third place men are said to ble their fellow creatures. From the time that God entered into covenant with Abraham, and promised extraordinary ble ings to his posterity, it appears to have been customary for the father of each family, in the direct line, or line of promise, previous to his death, to call his children around him, and to inform them, according to the knowledge which it pleased God then to give him, how, and in what manner, the divine ble ing conferred upon Abraham was to descend among them. Upon these occasions, the patriarchs enjoyed a divine illumination; and under its influence, their benediction was deemed a prophetic oracle, foretelling events with the utmost certainty, and extending to the remotest period of time. Thus Jacob ble ed his sons, Gen. xlix; and Moses, the children of Israel, Deut. xxxiii. When Melchizedeck ble ed Abraham, the act of benediction included in it not merely the pronouncing solemn good wishes, but also a petitionary addre to God that he would be pleased to ratify the benediction by his concurrence with what was prayed for. Thus Moses instructed Aaron, and his descendants, to ble the congregation, “In this wise shall ye ble the children of Israel, saying unto them, The Lord ble thee, and keep thee; the Lord make his face to shine upon thee; the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace,” Num. iv, 23. David says, “I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord,” Psalm cxvi, 13. This phrase appears to be taken from the practice of the Jews in their thank-offerings, in which a feast was made of the remainder of their sacrifices, and the offerers, together with the priests, did eat and drink before the Lord; when, among other rites, the master of the feast took a cup of wine in his hand and solemnly ble ed God for it, and for the mercies which were then acknowledged, and gave it to all the guests, every one of whom drank in his turn. To this custom it is supposed our ble ed Lord alludes in the institution of the cup, which also is called, 1 Cor. x, 16, “the cup of ble ing.” At the family feasts also, and especially that of the pa over, both wine and bread were in this solemn and religious manner distributed, and God was ble ed, and his mercies acknowledged. They ble ed God for their present refreshment, for their deliverance out of Egypt, for the covenant of circumcision, and for the law given by Moses; and prayed that God would be merciful to his people Israel, that he would send the Prophet Elijah, and that he would render them worthy of the kingdom of the Me iah. See also 1 Chron. xvi, 2, 3. In the Mosaic law, the manner of ble ing is appointed by the lifting up of hands. Our Lord lifted up his hands, and ble ed his disciples. It is probable that this action was constantly used on such occasions. The palm of the hand held up was precatory; and the palm turned outward or downward was benedictory. See Benediction and Lord’s Supper .