Happy New Year!” “Have a joyous New Year!” We will hear a lot of these greetings today. And you’ll find yourself saying them to others too. Undoubtedly, we hope that 2014 will be a blessed and joyous year for us. The psalmist articulated his desire for happy days ahead with this confident affirmation: “Joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God” (Psalm 146:5).
Psalm 146 is the first of the five “Hallelujah psalms” (the last five songs in the Psalter), so called because each of these songs (Psalm146:1–150:6) begins and ends with the refrain, “Praise the LORD!” or “Hallelujah!”
Let’s begin the New Year by joining the psalmist in exclaiming, “Praise the LORD! Let all that I am praise the LORD. I will praise the LORD as long as I live” (Psalm 146:1-2) is a good way to start the New Year. We begin the year with gratefulness, acknowledging the greatness and the goodness of our God (Psalm 146:1-9).
Psalm 146 is a call to trust in the Lord—the Sovereign Creator God who is eternal, faithful, just, gracious, compassionate, and loving. He defends the oppressed, feeds the hungry, heals the suffering, loves the godly, and protects the vulnerable. And lest we forget, He also punishes the wicked (Psalm 146:7,9).
The psalmist’s call is a timely reminder: Trust in God only, not in man (Psalm 146:3). Only those who trust God can be truly happy (Psalm 146:5), for God is the only One worthy of our trust (Psalm 146:6). “Joyful are those who live like this! Joyful indeed are those whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 144:15), for the Lord is sovereign. “The LORD will reign forever. . . . Praise the LORD” (Psalm 146:10). That makes for a very happy new year!
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Genesis 1:1–2:3
More:
Read Psalm 84 and see how you can remain joyous throughout the year (Psalm 84:4-5).
Next:
What’s one thing you can praise the Lord for today? How does praising God change our perspective of life and its challenges?
gillian on January 1, 2014 at 3:08 am
Only one thing KT to praise the Lord for as we begin 2014??? My immediate reaction was to play Matt Redman’s, 10,000 reasons, which was an inspiring way to begin this year. Thank you so much.
Wishing all the ODJ community, a very joyful and blessed new year.
GChoo on January 1, 2014 at 10:43 am
There are so many things to praise God for. The first thing that comes to mind is ‘Praise God for His faithfulness’ He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hallelujah!
Happy New Year to all.
LCC on January 2, 2014 at 1:27 am
“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 ”
by Charles Spurgeon
daisymarygoldr on January 3, 2014 at 11:16 am
The one thing I praise God for today and forever is—salvation. This is the greatest need of a humanity headed for hell and eternal death. God sent His Son Jesus Christ into this world to save us from our sins. There is joyous celebration in heaven above and in earth below when a sinner repents.
How can we remain joyous throughout the year despite loss, poverty, disease, and death? As Christians we rejoice not because we have food, clothing, shelter, good job and health but because our sins are forgiven, we have been made clean, the burden of guilt is gone and our names have been written in Heaven. We are joyful because God has clothed us with the garments of salvation and covered our nakedness with robes of His righteousness. Most importantly the source of our everlasting joy is God Himself dwelling within us.
Joy is the fruit of the Spirit. I love how Habakkuk expressed it: “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” Let us praise the Lord because He is our salvation; we will trust Him and not be afraid (Isaiah 12).
mike wittmer on January 4, 2014 at 2:36 pm
This is a good recipe for starting each day as well!
winn collier on January 6, 2014 at 12:48 pm
Trust, such a good, good word.