"...above all blessing and praise..."

A brother read a passage in the service this morning that caught my attention. It's from Nehemiah 9:5ff;
"...Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the hightest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you."

The words, "above all blessing and praise" tweaked my curiosity. What did the worship leaders mean by that? I looked into the verses just prior to this canticle, and found the context was confession of Israel's sin.

The Israelites had been seriously derailed from their praises of the LORD. In fact, they had offered their best and most passionate praise to gods who were not gods at all. They had essentially spit in the face of God. What have I chosen as a substitute for His praise? I recognize and confess my serious lack of praise in my everyday life. Simply because of Who He is, praising Him accurately and passionately needs to be my highest priority, both in word and deed.