0243. CROWNING THE YEAR.

CROWNING THE YEAR.

"Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness" (Psa_65:11).

Introduction.

A Lovely Thought.

1. A coronation is a great national event.

2. The whole nation makes holiday and rejoices.

3. Harvest is declared to be the coronation of the earth.

4. That is, the great event of the year.

A Strange Mixture.

a. Praise. Silent; like servants, waiting (Psa_27:1).

b. Vow. "Unto Thee shall the vow be performed."

c. Access. Psa_27:4.

d. Sin. Psa_27:3.

e. Blessed. Psa_27:4.

f. A strange mixture of goodness and severity. Psa_27:5. In salvation there is a mixture of the terrible and the gracious. We see a God so terrible, so angry against sin, that to save men He loves, He will not put up the sword of justice. Not until it was sheathed in the Body of our Substitute. Light rejoicing, i.e., to sing (Psa_27:8). The Hebrew means "to give forth a tremulous sound as the voice in vibration to sing."

g. Blessed results of God’s visit to the earth. Psa_27:9-13.

A Contrast.

1. God crowns the earth with goodness.

2. But He crowns man with:

a. Glory and honour (Psa_8:5), and

b. Loving kindness. Love in kindness (Psa_103:4).

God’s Goodness.

1. What a subject.

2. There is the goodness of God:

a. In Nature.

b. In Providence. "Behind a frowning providence."

c. In Grace. Cross.

Thankfulness. As we approach the end of the harvest we find ourselves in a mood of humble thankfulness for all the mercies and loving kindness of the Lord.

I. An Encircling Goodness.

1. "Thou encirclest," as with a diadem (A. Clarke).

2. A most elegant expression to show the progress of the sun in the heavens producing the seasons.

3. A more beautiful image could not have been chosen.

4. No astronomical blunder in the Bible.

II. An Annual Goodness.

1. A full and plentiful harvest is the crown of the year.

2. This is earth’s diadem. Some years heavier than others.

3. Harvest thanksgiving is the coronation rejoicing.

4. The Crowning. In ancient time fruit of toil and result of victory.

III. An Overwhelming Goodness.

1. "Thou crownest a year of Thy goodness" is R.V. and A.V. margin.

2. The year otherwise marked by Thy goodness. God had made a year which was naturally prosperous, still more so, granting an unusually plentiful harvest.

3. To compass the earth on every side as the head is compassed with a crown.

Application. Contemplation of His goodness (1) In Cross; (2) in Believers; (3) in Nature, should lead:

1. To Repentance.

a. His goodness in contrast to our base ingratitude.

b. His goodness in contrast to our vileness.

2. To Praise.

Autor: James Smith