A Christmas Alleluia

1 Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in human beings, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.

6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 The Lord reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 146 is a rousing song of praise that celebrates God’s faithfulness. And today, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we are reminded in this psalm to praise the Lord and put our trust in him alone. For God “reigns forever . . . for all generations.”

“A Christmas Alleluia” is a contemporary song by Chris Tomlin celebrating the day of Christ’s birth. It recalls the scene and song of the angel hosts of heaven, singing, “All glory to our God and King!” And it calls us to sing “Alleluia,” which means “Praise the Lord!” We give praise because “Christ, the Savior of the world . . . has come!” We sing “Alleluia” because Christ’s is the highest name of all.

We are reminded in Psalm 146 that God is the Maker of all things and that “he remains faithful forever.” With the coming of Christ, God fulfills his promises to send the Messiah, the Savior; he is faithful forever.

Christ our King is born! And because of his birth, life, death, and resurrection, he demonstrates his supremacy over all. He comes to uphold “the cause of the oppressed” and to give “food to the hungry.” He “sets the prisoners free . . . gives sight to the blind,” and “lifts up those who are bowed down.”

And because Christ reigns for­ever, we sing “Alleluia”; we “praise the Lord all [our] life.”

Alleluia, Lord Jesus Christ! We give you praise for coming to bring your kingdom to this earth. May we praise you as long as we live. Amen.