Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Reflections on a New Year

Heavenly Angels
Heavenly Angels


I have received so many nice wishes for the New Year ~ for a blessed, healthy, prosperous, joy filled, Happy New Year. One friend said we can start the year with no mistakes, a clean slate and the gift of a new year. And I have seen this scripture verse about the year.

Psalm 65:11 -
Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.

Here is a wonderful devotional by Charles Spurgeon about a new year.

Song of Solomon 1:4
We will be glad and rejoice in Thee.

We will be glad and rejoice in Thee. We will not open the gates of the year to the dolorous notes of the sackbut, but to the sweet strains of the harp of joy, and the high sounding cymbals of gladness. "O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise unto the rock of our salvation." We, the called and faithful and chosen, we will drive away our griefs, and set up our banners of confidence in the name of God. Let others lament over their troubles, we who have the sweetening tree to cast into Marah's bitter pool, with joy will magnify the Lord. Eternal Spirit, our effectual Comforter, we who are the temples in which Thou dwellest, will never cease from adoring and blessing the name of Jesus. We WILL, we are resolved about it, Jesus must have the crown of our heart's delight; we will not dishonour our Bridegroom by mourning in His presence. We are ordained to be the minstrels of the skies, let us rehearse our everlasting anthem before we sing it in the halls of the New Jerusalem. We will BE GLAD AND REJOICE: two words with one sense, double joy, blessedness upon blessedness. Need there be any limit to our rejoicing in the Lord even now? Do not men of grace find their Lord to be camphire and spikenard, calamus and cinnamon even now, and what better fragrance have they in heaven itself? We will be glad and rejoice IN THEE. That last word is the meat in the dish, the kernel of the nut, the soul of the text. What heavens are laid up in Jesus! What rivers of infinite bliss have their source, ay, and every drop of their fulness in Him! Since, O sweet Lord Jesus, Thou art the present portion of Thy people, favour us this year with such a sense of Thy preciousness, that from its first to its last day we may be glad and rejoice in Thee. Let January open with joy in the Lord, and December close with gladness in Jesus.

6 comments:

As We Sail... said...

I just love Charles Spurgeon. I think my husband has EVERYTHING of his.
God bless your new year.

Cathy said...

Thanks for visiting ~
Wasn't that a beautiful devotional for the New Year! I believe I'm going to have to look up some of Spurgeon's other writings. It seems like I did read a book about his life.

Patricia said...

Let January open with joy in the Lord, and December close with gladness in Jesus. Amen!!!!

Thank you, dear friend, for your faithful friendship to me on Pollywog Creek.

Please add my wishes for you to have a most blessed, healthy, prosperous, joy filled, Happy New Year!!!!

Cathy said...

Thank you, dear Patricia. I always enjoy keeping up with you and your beautiful pictures. And I wish the same back to you for the New Year!

Barbara said...

I love this devotional, Cathy.

I agree with your friend. We can wipe the slate clean in the new year and start anew. God has given us the gift of life in a new year to serve Him.

Cathy said...

Barb, I'm glad you loved it. Yes, my friend cheered up my New Year's Eve considerably with that wish. :)