Psalm 65:11
"How to Face the New Year "
Gospelcom Bible Gateway

"¹ Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; And to You the vow shall be performed. ²O You who hear prayer, To You all flesh will come. ³Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions,You will provide atonement for them. ⁴Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple. ⁵By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, And of the far-off seas; ⁶Who established the mountains by His strength, Being clothed with power; ⁷You who still the noise of the seas, The noise of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples. ⁸They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs; You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice. ⁹You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it. ¹⁰You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth. ¹¹You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance.¹²They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, And the little hills rejoice on every side.¹³The pastures are clothed with flocks;The valleys also are covered with grain; They shout for joy, they also sing."

INTRODUCTION:

It was M.I. Haskins who was credited with this famous little quip:"And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And He replied, 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way." Here, at the threshold of another year, when we typically pause to consider the old and anticipate the new, let's consider a fine example of how to face the future realistically, biblically and buoyantly. We don't know what tomorrow holds but we know Who holds tomorrow!

A. What will you do with the next year? How will you invest it?

B. Are you facing your future with doubt and fear or hope and joy?

C. "In two days tomorrow will be yesterday."

D. Written by David for the Fall Feast of Tabernacles

E. David discusses "Four Ways to Face the New Year"

I. With the Absence of Complaining

A. There are no complaints in this psalm

B. David is not living in denial but in reality

1. David is aware of his sins and iniquity and of national issues (3, 11) but chooses to write this Psalm without any complaint

2. He is living in reality and is aware of his surroundings and circumstances but chooses not to complain about it

C. Why is it important that David did not complain?

1. A complaining sheep is a disgrace to his shepherd

2. Others will say, "Why should I follow your shepherd when you are always complaining?"

3. Our complaining witness to others disgraces our Lord

II. With the Presence of Praising (1)

A. Psalm 65 is divided into two parts of praise and summary

1. First part praising God for his Spiritual Blessing (1-5)

2. Second part For His Natural Blessing (6-10)

3. Summary (11-13)

B. The point is that praising and griping do not mix. It is odd and inconsistent to whine and then to praise (James 5:1-12)

¹ My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. ²For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. ³Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. ⁴Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. ⁵Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! ⁶And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. ⁷For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. ⁸But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. ¹¹Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? ¹²Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

C. Start grumbling by starting to praise

D. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

III. With the Confidence Abounding

A. Notice how many times David uses the word "You" & "Your" It means Security & Firmness, Safety (

B. David, in knowing God, leads to a confidence in God. This in turn leads to praise of God which banishes all complaints.

C. Therefore look at your starting point to have a good ending point.

D. Are you starting with man or with God. In order to have a good New Year we need to start with God

IV. With Excellence Directing You

A. What is a vow?

B. What is the theme of the Psalm? All of nature is responds to God in obedience as for me this year, this human that you have created is submitted to you to obey and to fulfill your will for me.

C. We need a New Year's Revolution not Resolution.

D. Some of us need to have an entire root system changed out.

E. Lord, I need you to change me so that I might praise you in excellence in all things in my life this New Year by Your strength and not mine.

F. This year let your "instrument" (your life) be a Stradivarius for our Lord.

APPLICATION:

1. Ask a trusted friend, spouse or relative when they've observed your proneness to complain the most. Ask them too if you could be answerable to them in those situations- if they will remind you not to be so negative and help you to look upward during those times.

2. Think about your own spiritual journey. Have you really met the Lord? Do you know Him through a new birth? If a relationship already existed, learn to cultivate that relationship Include a daily time to praising God and thanking Him for His love an abundant provision.

3. Write your own obituary. Ask a friend to help you. Include the things other people feel are important about you. Is this the legacy you would like to leave? If not, how will you change that?

MEMORY VERSE FOR THIS WEEK:

¹¹You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance.