Vayivarech David (and David blessed) – 1 Chron 29:10-13

1 Chron 29:10-13 Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.

Praise is a reassertion that God is the origin and reason for all things. He is the source of blessing, the provider, and the reason we live. We are not our own, we were bought with a price and our lives point others to a great and mighty God who loves his people. All that we are is committed to God for the furtherance of his kingdom. All that we have testifies of his blessings and goodness in our lives. God gives many venues for his blessings, but we have only one source. It is important to remember that the avenue God uses to bless is not our God. Our job is not our source. Our connections are not our source. Our talents and skills help us greatly, but they are not our source. God is our source. We are not bound by any venue or stream. We can be reserved to stand where God has called us to stand and do what he has called us to do. Praise calls into memory the provision of God in our lives, the lives of our sacred community, the lives of those written about in scripture. Our testimony of God encompasses it all and praise makes us a part of how God gets glory through the ages.

God told the people of Israel to consecrate themselves and wash. We do the same thing in how we separate our thinking to be exclusively godward and wash our mind and hearts with the water of the word. Continual praise can focus the mind like nothing else can. When you are going through things and the enemy is fighting your sense of hope. Praise to God elevates faith, the word washes out negativity, and worship becomes a powerful covenantal force that rocks the camp of the enemy and sends him running.

Have your ever gotten caught up in extravagant praise? The type of praise where it did not matter what you looked like to anyone but God. The type of praise that was so radical that it left you spent and exhausted. God intended for some of our trials to push us into this place, not into despair.

The Vayivarech David sounds like the last part of the Lord’s Prayer. It was spoken as King David worked to build the temple and acknowledged that the past, present, and future prosperity and security of the nation of Israel was squarely in God’s hand. What is God building in you today? Get some radical praise going. Worship and consecrate until your praise becomes a prophetic utterance. Let your tallit become your worship banner and allow God to establish and build your life. Both riches and honor come from God and he reigns over all.

Rav Calev Lehrer