God is Worthy to be Praised

The last 5 psalms of the Psalter start and end with the great Hebrew cry 'Hallelu-Yah' – literally 'Praise Yah!' (Yahweh – God's personal name). Psalm 146 starts this great and ever-expanding chorus of praise with a very personal call to praise – "Praise the LORD Oh my soul!" and then proceeds to give reasons for why God alone is to be praised and not the 'princes' of this world. In contrast to Princes who die, God, who is creator and Redeemer, lives forever! Regardless of whether we find ourselves in positions of blessing or of great hardship, God is both worthy of praise and, importantly, can be praised as praise is ultimately not an overflow of our experience but an expression of our faith.