Calendar:Jan. 16th to Feb. 14th
DAILY BIBLE READING:…….. Jan. 16th, Prov. 26; Jan. 31st, Eccl. 10; Feb. 14th, Isa. 4.
SUPPLEMENTARY BEADING:… .Jan. 16th, 1 Cor. 2; Jan. 31st, 2 Cor. 1; Feb. 14th, Gal. 2.
"Happy New Year," is a greeting that is often heard at this season of the year, and, where sincere, expresses a wish we would all crave for those we love. We have in the Book of Psalms, which we have so recently completed in our daily reading, three expressions of true happiness. The word is rendered "blessed" in our excellent version, but "happy" is its meaning. Asher, one of the sons of Jacob, had this name.
1. "Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" (Ps. 32:1). That is the true New Year beginning, in which every one who has believed on our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has an eternal part.
As Israel's New Year began with the Passover, when the blood of the lamb was sprinkled, and sheltered them from the impending doom over all the land of Egypt, so everyone who trusts in the Lord Jesus is sheltered from the more dreadful judgment which is hanging over the whole world; "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." How simple was God's provision-the blood of the lamb, which each one who believed His Word took and sprinkled upon the lintel and doorposts of his dwelling. And how clear was God's assurance, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." He did not say, "When I see your good works, your faithful service, your happy _ feelings, your upright character," but, "When I see the blood." And it is that most precious blood, the Sacrifice of the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," "the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot," which is the true shelter for the unworthy sinner who believeth in Jesus. To him God says, "When I see the blood I will pass over you." Happy New Year indeed for each one who has thus come to the Lord Jesus.
2. "Happy is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.. .but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night" (Ps. 1:1,2). This does not point out the grounds of salvation, but rather its fruits. The truly happy child of God is marked by heart-as well as outward-separation from ungodliness, and by delighting in and feeding upon the precious word of God. Our blessed Lord exemplified this in perfection, and it is the character of every one who follows Him, in some measure. May we not say that this is the special form of "Happy New Year" that the dear children of God should wish each other in our Y. B. D., as well as to all who have come to the Lord Jesus"? How would it do to say, "I wish you the happiness of delighting in the word of God, and of feeding upon it at all times?" Whatever may be lacking, for the one who trusts in the Lord Jesus, the Word of God is the abundant source, by the power of the Holy Spirit, of never-failing happiness to every one who has that Word abiding in his heart. In this sense we wish each other a Happy New Year, by the grace of our blessed Lord Jesus.
3. "Happy is he that considereth the poor, the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble" (Ps. 41:1). "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich" (2 Cor. 8:9). It is always right to consider the poor and needy and to seek to help them-''As we have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:10). This spirit of compassion for the needy marked our Lord in His life here, and where the heart is engaged with Him, we will be His imitators in our measure. It is, however, of the first thought that we speak here-the consideration, and heart-occupation with Him who became poor for us. May our little circle be marked by an increasing engagement of heart with the Lord Himself-His grace, His love, His all-sufficiency; then indeed it will be a "Happy New Year."
Our main reading carries us through the sad book of Ecclesiastes, where one has everything the heart could crave as an object, except the one essential, while in the Songs of Songs we have that Object for the heart of which we have been speaking. We also make a beginning in the great book of the prophets, of which Isaiah is, we might say, the first in importance as in position. But all is profitable and perfect in its place. The Supplementary Reading is in the Epistles, whose light shines upon the Old Testament, bringing to light many things new and old.