‘The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.’ — Number 6: 24 – 26
With much of the world experiencing stress, hardship and uncertainly under lockdown worship musicians in various parts of the world have been inspired to release a blessing over their nations or communities by singing the words of one of the most well-known blessings in Scripture, the priestly blessing found in Numbers 6.
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Below are three beautiful versions of this sung-blessing, from South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States all presented in the unique recorded-from-home compilation-style that has come to the fore during this unique season. I suspect that there have been more such blessing compilations but these three stand out.
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At the time of publishing this article, the SA version, which was uploaded to Youtube on April 30, had had more than 123 000 views. The following information about the production is posted on Youtube:
The Blessing Song was written by Elevation Worship, Cody Carnes and Kari Jobe.
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If this has moved you and you would like to know more about God’s love for you – please email us at theblessingsa2020@gmail.com or chat@1Africa.tv
Credits:
Creative Director and Producer: Donna Mathews
Editor – Nick Lear
Mixer – Graeme Duffin
Logo Design: Ryan Botha
Jericho Hendricks – Keys
Barbara-Marie – Violin
Xhosa Translation – Minah Koela and Nontando Shelby Mtsamayi
Vocal in order of first appearance
Verse 1
Muzi Gwayi
Kirsten Murphy-Rossiter
Sinoxolo Ganyaza
Lauren Stein
Chris Garvey
Tessa Barnes
Tihesha
Verse 2
Justin Zulu
Donna Mathews
Zimbini Hill
Bernie
Ryan Botha
Owethu Ndwandwe
Amen Chorus 1
Tamalyn-Jane and Mila Trefz
Sabrina Kamembo
Xhosa Verse 3
Minah Koela
Bridge
Sabrina Kamembo
Sarah-Jane Thomas
The Stauch Children
Nontando Shelby Mtsamayi
Amen Chorus Choir:
Georgie Peters
Will Theron
Monica Olivier
Cathy Green
To get in touch – email us at theblessingSA2020@gmail.com
The UK version, below, which also features the Elevation Worship/Cody Carnes, Kari Jobe song, was orchestrated by worship leader Tim Hughes and features other veteran British artists, including Martin Smith, Graham Kendrick, Noel Robinson and Lou Fellingham.
According to Christianity Today, the UK blessing collaboration spans over 65 churches and Christian movements in the nation, including New Wine, the Church of England, Elim, the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Hillsong and The Salvation Army.
At the time of posting this article, this version, which was premiered on May 3, had garnered an incredible 1.725 million views.
And finally, below is another beautiful version of the blessing released on May 5, by Seth, Nirvana and friends in the United States. Commenting on what inspired them to record the song, Seth Ready said:”During this time [of the global Covid-19 pandemic] it’s good to acknowledge the reality of what we are going through but also to speak the truth of God’s Word over it — and speak blessing. And that’s where the song comes from.”
