ON THE YEAR 1950

Dear Readers:

TOGETHER we were privileged, by the great goodness and mercy of God, to leave the old year behind us and to enter the new one. May it be a wonder to all of us.

That we may live is, indeed, a greater miracle than that we must die. Each and every breath and heart-beat has been sinned away. May our soul be humbled deeply under the riches of God’s goodness bestowed upon us, unworthy creatures. May our soul praise the Name of the Lord. He is forever worthy to be served, glorified, feared and praised for the sake of Himself, i.e. to His glory, Prov. 16:4.

Together we are facing a new future. The Lord alone knows what this year will bring us. Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.

May our soul, especially at the beginning of this year, be bound unto heaven that we may implore the Lord to grant that His presence go with us to give us rest. With the Lord we can enter into life, with Him we can go through it, and with Him, also we can depart out of this life. Led by His hand, then only are we safe.

May the Lord be mindful of all the congregations with their ministers and office-bearers. Let the truth be preserved among us, and may we together, including our children, be privileged to adhere to the truth. There is but one Truth, viz., that truth in which God is glorified to the highest, the sinner humbled to the lowest depth, and Christ exalted as the only and complete Savior and Mediator of the covenant. The apostasy is great, and the declension terrible. Many, also from among us, have turned their backs on the truth, and embraced a doctrine that will lead to their eternal perdition.

May God the Holy Ghost, in this year, work efficaciously and irresistibly in many hearts, that this year might prove to be a year of God’s good pleasure. We have forsaken the Lord and therefore God forsakes us.

To be sure, it is a privilege that we may still have the pure truth, but shall it be well for time and eternity, then we must learn to know the God of Truth. Then the time has come, of which the Lord Jesus spoke, saying “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.”

Do not beguile your own soul for an eternity. Do not rest in your baptism, confession, external change, no, not in texts and psalms that sometimes play on the mind. “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

There are so many experiences that have no foundation in the Word of God. Alas, there are some who think that it does not matter so much whether the things they are relating are founded on the Word of God or not. As for them, it is sufficient that they themselves believe it to be true and that there are others who accept it. But what will become of all that which is not according to the Word of God? Will it prosper? Only those who are built on the only foundation Christ, shall not be put to shame. However, all foundations outside of Him, shall fail us in the hour of death and in the day of eternity.

May God work with His Spirit in the midst of the congregations, in the hearts of young and old, small and great. His arm is not waxed short, and His might is not diminished. God grant that the preaching, the reading, and the instructions of His Word yield abundant fruit, so that it might not always be as a plowing upon the rocks and as a sowing among the thorns.

May the Lord give groanings unto His throne, one with another, and one for another; and unite us not only by His Spirit, but also by His Truth.

May we be saved from all contentions and dissensions. Let each esteem the other better than themselves. Death separates, life unites. Where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work; there the Spirit of God does not dwell. But on the other hand, where there is love and peace, there the Lord commands the blessing, even life for evermore, Ps. 133:3.

May the Lord be mindful of the office-bearers in His Church, granting unto them grace and gifts to serve with God-given strength in true self-denial and with sincere love from the heart.

May the instructions in our school be blessed and also those who labor there. May the Church of God be built up out of the rising generation. May to that end, also the searching of the truth in the catechism classes be sanctified.

May the Lord be mindful of His people, so poor in and of themselves, and this year for them also be a blessed year. May God perfect His work in them and fulfill their needs to the glory of His Name and to the joy of their souls.

People of the Lord, let us begin to, or continue to count all things but loss and dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. May we be administered unto abundantly out of heaven.

And finally, beloved friends, may the Lord also fulfill all our needs as individuals and as families. May He bear and spare us and our children, filling our hearts with His fear. The Lord bless thee and keep thee. May He prepare us for the great, all-decisive, and never-ending eternity. This year might be the year of our death, because there is but a step between us and death, but if to us to live is Christ, then to die shall certainly be gain to us.

Be all of you commended to God.

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