Good Cheer for the New Year

This was my Daily Spurgeon devotional a couple of days ago:

Imagine that you and I have to live all the year without the eyes of God upon us, not finding a moment from the beginning of the year to the end of the year in which we perceive the Lord to be caring for us or to be waiting to be gracious to us. Imagine that there is none to whom we may appeal beyond our own fellow creatures for help. O miserable supposition! We have come to the opening of the year, and we have to get through it somehow, we must stumble through January, go muddling through the winter, groaning through the spring, sweating through the summer, fainting through  the autumn, and grovelling on to another Christmas, and no God to help us. But, I will suppose this in the case of you sinners. You know you have been living for twenty, or thirty, or even forty years without God, without prayer, without trust, without hope, yet I should not wonder that if I were solemnly to tell you that God would not let you pray during the next year, and would not help you if you did pray, I should not wonder if you were greatly startled at it. Though I believe that the Lord will hear you from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, though I believe that He will watch over you and bless you if you seek Him, yet I fear that most of you are despising His care, living without fellowship with Him; and so you are without God, without Christ, without hope, and will be so from the beginning if the year to the end of the year.  (Job 23:1-17, Ephesians 2:12)

I can't really say more than that. But, I earnestly hope and pray that, if you are a believer, this will break your heart even more to share the Gospel and to see the lost saved. If you are not saved, I beg of Christ that this will bring you to your knees, and to salvation.

Bless His Holy Name! Psalm 103

 Psalm 103

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
   and all that is within me,
   bless HIS holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
   and forget not all HIS benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
   who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
   who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
   so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

 The LORD works righteousness
   and justice for all who are oppressed.
HE made known HIS ways to Moses,
   HIS acts to the people of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
  HE will not always chide,
   nor will HE keep his anger forever.
HE does not deal with us according to our sins,
   nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
   so great is HIS steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
   so far does HE remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
   so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear HIM.
For HE knows our frame;
   HE remembers that we are dust.

 As for man, his days are like grass;
   he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
   and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear HIM,
   and HIS righteousness to children’s children,
to those who keep HIS covenant
   and remember to do HIS commandments.
The LORD has established HIS throne in the heavens,
   and HIS kingdom rules over all.

 Bless the LORD, O you HIS angels,
   you mighty ones who do HIS word,
   obeying the voice of HIS word!
Bless the LORD, all HIS hosts,
   HIS ministers, who do HIS will!
  Bless the LORD, all HIS works,
   in all places of HIS dominion.
 Bless the LORD, O my soul!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isn't this a glorious Psalm? I do believe it is my favorite. The words it proclaims ring loud and make me want to rejoice! For instance - he forgives ALL our iniquities, heals ALL our diseases,  redeems our lives from the pit, and then crowns us with love and mercy.

Isn't that beautiful? 

No matter what sin we commit, the Lord forgives us. 

No matter how horrible an illness or pain, He heals us. 

No matter how far we have sunk, He will lift us from the depths. 

No matter how unlovable and undeserving, He will shower is with love and mercy. 

 Wow. These words alone leave me speechless and in awe of our great God. 

But, there's more.

The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 

We often are short on patience and apt to get angry. But, the Lord is not. 

And, He is abounding - abounding; overflowing - with a love that will never let us go. 

 Such amazing, comforting words.

Here comes one of the best parts:

HE does not deal with us according to our sins,
   nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
   so great is HIS steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
   so far does HE remove our transgressions from us.

Read and meditate on this. We have committed more sins than anyone can begin to count. We have forsaken, mocked, condemned our Lord. 

And, He saved us. He ignored our sins and sent His only Son to suffer His awful wrath towards us. From the east to the west, He throws our transgressions away. Like a father, The Lord shows bestows compassion on us. 

And, my favorite phrase in the whole passage:

But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear HIM,

From everlasting to everlasting. That covers ALL time. His love will never stop, will never end. No matter the trials we go through, no matter how horrible we are to Him, He will loves us for ALL eternity. 

Our God is truly an awesome God. 

How can you not bless His Holy Name?