'Which the Ambassadors of Christ ministerially pronounce': The Blessing in the Prayer Book Holy Communion
We are very close to the end of John Shepherd's commentary on the 1662 Holy Communion in his A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Book of Common Prayer, Volume II (1801). Today we consider the Blessing, at the conclusion of the office. Shepherd commences his commentary on the Blessing by rooting the practice in Scripture: Among the ancient people of God it was customary to dismiss religious assemblies with a blessing pronounced by one of the principal persons present, sometimes by the King, but more commonly by the priests. Thus at the removal of the ark to Mount Sion, "as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Hosts"; and thus likewise at the dedication of the temple, "Solomon, when he had made an end of praying, arose from before the altar of the Lord, and he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel." But "to bless in the name of the Lord" was th...