Kneel before our God, you peoples! Make the sound of his praise heard, who keeps our soul among the living, and does not permit our feet to be moved. -- Psalm 66:8,9, RLIV.
THANKS be to God that His grace has preserved us, "kept us from falling," through another year:--that so many of us are still of one heart and of one mind in respect to His Word and its service! When we remember that the adversary is to be permitted to bring "strong delusions" upon Jehovah's people for the very purpose of sifting out all not truly His (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12), it should surely call forth our thanks to God that the opening of another year finds us still standing fast, -- appreciating the truth and in full accord with all the divine appointments by which He has kept us from falling. -- Based on excerpt taken from "New Year Greetings, 1903", ZWT, January 1, 1903; R3125:2.
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In context, the Psalmist appears to be speaking of the age to come, for he speaks of all lands making a joyful noise to Jehovah. (Psalm 66:1) In the age to come, we do expect that all lands will learn the ways of Jehovah (Isaiah 2:2-4) and, as a result, will have a reason to be joyful before Jehovah. Nevertheless, at the time of the writing, the children of Israel had great reason to be thankful to their God for preserving them.
Those who belong to Christ in this age, however, have the privilege of tasting the good word of God, and the powers of the coming age. (Hebrews 6:4,5) Thus, through an appreciation of God's plan of the ages, we have reason in this age to make a joyful sound to God's praise. Those who belong to Christ are assured that God's hand protects them to preserve their soul as new creatures. It is thus good that at the start of another year that these call to remembrance the year before and take note of how God has been with them through the year past and reassure themselves of God's guidance through the year to come.
God's people should always remember that their God, Jehovah, is -- through Christ -- always watching over them and that Jehovah never changes. He never goes back on his wonderful and great promises! Those who abide with Christ also abide with Jehovah, his God and Father, and such can have full trust in the One whom Jehovah sent and in his love in giving himself in sacrifice so that we may be justified in the sight of God and have the privilege of becoming sons of the Most High. These love God because God first loved them. Thus, if we belong to Christ, we should expect God to be with us in the coming year although we may have trials as we walk in the spirit with our Lord.
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