The speaker isn’t sure how many of us stayed up last night to past midnight, waiting for the moment the clock hits 12 and we feel a surge of excitement for the new year. The speaker happened to be awake at midnight, busy doing things. And suddenly he heard ‘boom boom boom’. He thought it was thunder and that it was going to rain. Later he realised it was fireworks!

But as we pass the new year, are we an optimist or a pessimist? Some people ask what’s the difference between an optimist and a pessimist in the context of the new year. They say that both the optimist and pessimist stay up for the new year. But the pessimist stays up to see the past year leave whereas the optimist stays up to welcome the new year. There’s some truth in that. At midnight, it’s the same clock; the same time, but different people may have different mindsets. So do we want to see the past year go or the new year come?

How was our past year? As we pass the new year, most of us would reflect on our past. But is the year that passed for us one full of complaints, unhappiness, bitterness? Or a year full of thanksgiving, lessons we’ve learnt from the past, and thereby resolutions made to take us into the future?

There’s also a cynical joke about resolutions. Some people say their resolutions in the new year is to break their resolutions, because at least then they’d be successful in something. And indeed it’s true most of us make resolutions but don’t keep them. The speaker read someone write: My resolution in 2020 is to accomplish the things I resolved to do in 2019 which I planned in 2016. Oftentimes we lead our lives as such. We start with a bang. But within hours, it just goes away. These are typical things that happen over the course of the new year.

Regardless, it’s important and helpful for us to reflect, give thanks and make resolutions. This sermon will cover Psa 65 which the speaker thinks is apt for the new year.

Psa 65:11
“You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance.”

This is the passage from which the speaker derives the topic of this sermon.

Regardless of how our year has been, it’s important for us to recognise that time in the year lies in the hands of God. In many respects actually, God’s grace continues to be with us; He continues to crown each year with His goodness. As we live our lives year after year, it’s important for us to keep the right spiritual perspective. We will surely encounter many things in life - some happy, some sad, some unpredictable, some we wish for but we never got, and some things we didn’t expect but we received. Such is life.

The speaker lost two of his friends last year. One he saw in November in 2018 and passed in Feb 2019. Another suffered a heart attack and died suddenly. Both were his age - 50 - not too young or old. But death came unpredictably.

Life is as such. We may meet with many many things in life. But with each of these encountered, what goes through our heads and hearts? It’s important for us to have a right perspective. And if we have the right perspective - the spiritual perspective - then regardless of what happens, we will grow from strength to strength. Our year will be full of thanksgiving, lessons we’ve learnt and resolutions we’ve made.

On the other hand, if we don’t have the right perspective, we could very well spiral down in our lives. Our year could very well be full of complaints, bitterness and unhappiness.

Let us use Psa 65 as a reminder. The Lord crowns the year with His goodness and grace.

Different themes the speaker gleaned from this psalm will be discussed.

v1-2
“Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; And to You the vow shall be performed.
O You who hear prayer, To You all flesh will come.“
Take a look at the second part of v1 “and to You the vow shall be performed”. Vows are kind of like commitments or resolutions we’ve made. When new year comes, we do make resolutions. But what are resolutions really? Are they vows/resolutions we make to ourselves or vows/resolutions we make unto God?

Oftentimes we have many ambitions in our lives. “I resolve/vow I’m going to do/achieve this and that this year!” It’s not necessarily a bad thing to make goals. Some people are too lazy and lead their lives without direction, which isn’t good; at the end of the year they’d probably feel lousy about themselves.

We may make goals and resolutions for ourselves. But the question is: what shapes these resolutions? Are they simply to fulfil our ambitions and achieve our own glory? Or do we put God in the picture when we think about what we should focus on and set our goals in?

Prov 16:9
“A man’s heart plans his ways but the Lord directs his steps.”
We make many many plans, but it’s important for us to recognise that at the end of the day, it is God that gives us the accomplishment. If we think it’s because of our own talent and effort we achieve something, we are very wrong. It’s important to put God at the center when we make resolutions, and recognise it’s UNTO Him, and THROUGH Him we can accomplish these things.

Prov 19:21
“There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.”
There might be many plans we make in our hearts, but we must recognise we need the work and will of God to accomplish this. So at the end of the year when we look back, sometimes we’re full of disappointment. Maybe we set goals that were never meant to be; where God was never in the picture; it wasn’t in accordance to His will. Because we’ve not led a life close to Him; understanding what He wants us to. And the matters are all for ourselves and not for Him. And at the end of the year we’re so discouraged that we haven’t achieved what we set out to do.

Reflect on v1-2 in Psa 65: Are our resolutions towards God? And do we rely on Him to accomplish them?

Psa 65
v3
“Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them.”

Looking back in the last year, we have surely made mistakes. How many of us have not made mistakes at all, or transgressed against the Lord?
“Iniquities prevail against me”
David’s been overcome by his transgression. This is nothing surprising because none of us are perfect. So even when we try to lead a godly life, there must’ve been times and moments we sinned. As we go into the new year, there must be time spent to reflect on our shortcomings. Do we still have bad habits we carry into the new year? Some no one knows, only we know. Are there still bad habits that remain? Any bad nature we need to change? Have we brought our temper, selfishness, laziness, anger, bitterness into the new year? These are all areas we’ve fallen short.

So as we reflect during this milestone, let’s think about the transgressions that have prevailed against us. It is very important for us to be aware of these things.

1 John 1:8-9
If we insist we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. It cannot be that it’s always everybody else’s fault and never our fault. It cannot be that we’ve never done anything wrong, said a wrong word or made a wrong decision. Are we always so good, noble and perfect? If this is what we think, the Bible says we’re deceiving ourselves.

As we reflect on ourselves, no one is accusing or pointing fingers at us. But it’s a good time to look at ourselves like David who acknowledged transgressions prevailed against him. But he also said “for our transgressions You will provide atonement for them”.
We need not be afraid to acknowledge we have sin. To not acknowledge means to say we don’t have sin. If we do acknowledge, He’s faithful to cleanse our sins. Repent before the Lord, and be grateful that He’s willing and able to forgive our sins. Learn from there and resolve to not commit the same transgressions in the new year. We don’t need to continue being burdened by the transgressions. But we must repent. And move on.

Psa 65
v4
“Blessed 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.”

This verse is an important reflection we should take into the new year. This is a clear indication of who the anchor of blessing in our life is. We will no doubt face with many different encounters in our daily life. We may feel very unhappy and that we missed out on certain blessings. “Why’s he so blessed and not me? I desired so many things and worked so hard but didn’t get what I want.” So the person feels incredibly dissatisfied at the end of the year; it was a bad year.

But the question is whether we’ve remained in the house of God. Because v4 says blessed is the man. Who is he? One chosen to dwell in the house of God. And David says we shall be satisfied by the goodness of His house/holy temple. Sometimes we may not cherish the very treasure we already have in our hands. Oftentimes we lament over the other things we do not have. That precious stone already in our hands is what we don’t cherish. While we always look at the big rock out there we don’t have and someone else has.

By the grace of God we’re still here today. But often we take it for granted. To be in the courts of the Lord in and of itself is THE blessing, and something we should be satisfied with like the psalmist.

Psa 84:1, 10
The Bible tells us how wonderful it is just to be in the courts of the Lord. “A day in your courts is better than a thousand.” “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” A day we spend in the house of God, remaining in the grace of God, is such a blessing in itself. If we already have this blessing, why are we not satisfied (even if others outside achieve things we desired)?

Psa 65
v5-7
“By 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; Who established the mountains by His strength, Being clothed with power; You who still the noise of the seas, The noise of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples.”

These verses again give us another reflection. As we go through life, we may have many questions we want to ask God. Perhaps we ask God “Why did this happen? Why did You allow this to happen to me? Why me? Why?”

But here in v5 the psalmist says “by awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us”.
We may have ended the year with many questions we felt were unanswered. “Why did this happen to me?” “Why did he do that?” “Why did she not do this?” Are there questions you have unanswered?

Perhaps there’re questions we’ve had in many years that have not been answered by God. And because we live our lives with so many ‘why’s we feel have been unanswered by God, over time we start to doubt the love and ability of God and become discouraged in our faith.

But the psalmist says God WILL answer us. Oftentimes God has answered us but we haven’t noticed. Here says “by awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us”.

The psalmist also says “O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth”.

Why then are we discouraged? Why then do we doubt?

This is the God of our salvation. Even if all else fails, even if we don’t have our answers, He’s the God of our salvation. If we don’t get what we desire but we’re sure of our salvation, we already have our ultimate answer - we’ll be with Him for eternity. Nothing else then matters. But in fact He has answered us in many ways.

God has answered us.
“You who still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples”
There is a lot of noise in the world. The world may rage on and there’s a tumult among the people, but God can still it. We can still our hearts. Reminds ourselves God remains sovereign and in control. That is the answer. He knows what He’s doing. He’s in control. If we hold on to salvation, that’s the only answer we need. Many things start to make sense and not matter anymore. Because God can still the waves, seas, and the noise of the people.

Psa 46:1-3
“God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling.”

This looks like a big thing. The earth being removed, mountains being carried in the sea, waters roaring, mountains trembling. The Chinese have a saying: even if the sky falls, I’ll treat it as a blanket to sleep. That’s the calmness we can be blessed with if and only if we recognise the God who is in control who has answered us in awesome deeds of righteousness. He stills the waves, seas and tumult of the people. And regardless of how noisy the world is, God is our refuge and strength.

Psa 46:10-11
“Be still and know that I am God”
If we ended the year with a heart that’s in a flurry or one that’s unsettled, or one full of trouble, as we read Psa 46 and meditate on His words and pray, be still and know that He is God. Keep calm. Draw close to Him. And see the almightiness and sovereignty of God. The Lord of Hosts is with us and the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Psa 65
v9-13
“You 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. You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth. You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance. They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, And the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; The valleys also are covered with grain; They shout for joy, they also sing.”

This final passage gives us a picture of the abundant blessing and grace of God on the earth. If you were to read v9-13 and paint a picture, what would it be like? Would it be like a desert/wilderness that’s dreary looking and death like? Actually this painting is like those very nice ones we see in shops that look like paradise and somewhere we want to visit. Lush greenery. Flock peacefully grazing. Waters. Mountains. River flowing. Blue skies. Beautiful. That seems to be the picture here. This is how God crowns the year with His goodness. And indeed God continues to provide for us in many ways. So we need to be thankful for the adequacy or even abundance we’ve enjoyed. Sometimes we are very quick to focus on the little things we don’t have. But we fail to appreciate all the things we already have.

We take a lot of things for granted and forget God has been quietly providing for us. How many of us thank God for every deep breath we can take? Taking a deep breath is soothing. But when we breathe normally and naturally, we don’t thank God for it. But when we have a blocked nose and can’t breathe properly, then we start to complain. “Why God let me fall sick? Like that how to sleep?” But for the other 364 days we don’t thank God for the breaths we can take well.

If we read this passage, every single one of these things aren’t just adequate but abundant. This is really the blessing of God.

On one hand while we appreciate this is through the blessing and providence of God, in the new year we sometimes wish people prosperity (e.g. CNY people say, “Huat ah!”), as Christians when we pray and reflect on the year end, should we wish for abundance for ourselves? Or do we just wish for adequacy? Surely none of us wish for lack.

Many of us would ask for abundance. But why do we do that? Why do we wish for it? Have we thought about that?

There’re a few principles that are important for Christians to keep in our minds.
Deut 8:7-18
God brought the people into a rich land of abundance. ”When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments/judgements/statutes…”
God brought the people into a land of abundance. But what was it meant to be for? v10 says that after eating and be filled, to bless God. The people are also reminded to not forget God when they have eaten and are full.

So should we ask for abundance or adequacy? If we ask for abundance, be very clear why. Is it just to fulfil our desires? Or so we have more to worship the Lord with, and to help others who are lacking?

In Prov 30, Agur prayed for God not to make him too rich or poor. Why? Too rich he may forget God. Too poor he may steal and sin. So he asked for adequacy.

Something for us to reflect about: do we ask for adequacy or abundance?

Paul says he’s learnt to be abased and abound and in whatever state to be content. These are important principles we should keep in our hearts.

As we turn into the new year, it’s truly an opportunity to reflect about different aspects of our lives.