A New Year Lavished with Goodness
“You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.”—Psalm 65:11 (ESV)
In California, there’s a natural phenomenon that marks the arrival of spring called the superbloom. During this period, wildflowers blanket the mountains, creating a stunning display of vibrant colors and breathtaking beauty while marking the start of a new season. Just as these buds cover the mountains, the poetic language in this psalm paints a picture of God’s goodness and provision shown to His creation every year.
The word “crown” is the Hebrew word atar, which means “to crown with honor, to surround, or to encompass.” The psalmist describes that God—the Creator of the world—adorns each and every year (and within it, every season, month, day, and minute) with His goodness. God is good and merciful, and His character can be seen in the intimate and intricate ways He cares for creation.
Just as a new year marks another turn around the sun and the start of a new season, God crowns the year as it revolves, filling the earth and surrounding it with blessings. To this ancient, agrarian society, a crowning year meant adequate rain, fertile land, and bountiful crops. Although we no longer live in an agrarian society, the principle still applies: Our provision for this new year—our home, job, income, groceries, and all the other essentials for our livelihood—comes from God’s hand. The psalmist stresses that God doesn’t just supply the earth and His people with the bare minimum, He gives abundantly out of His generosity. In this new year, may we find more and more evidence of God’s extravagant goodness displayed in our lives.
Scholars believe the idea of God’s “wagon tracks overflow[ing] with abundance” is a picture of fat dripping as He walks across the heavens. In ancient Hebrew culture, fat was a symbol of abundance, prosperity, and even fertility. For example, the “fat of the land” (Genesis 45:18 ESV) was an expression used to describe the best part of the produce or the choicest resources.
So here, in Psalm 65, the psalmist uses a visual metaphor to show how when God moves about the earth abundance and provision fall from Him. God not only lavishes material blessings on His people like physical and financial provision and safety, but best of all, He blesses us spiritually by giving us His presence. God’s presence is a richness that fills us with joy (Psalm 16:11) and a fountain by which we are satisfied (Psalm 63:5). Jesus would later offer His followers an abundant life (John 10:10), and indeed, because of what He accomplished for us on the cross, we can live to the fullest as God’s beloved children and recipients of His grace (1 John 3:1).
So friend, as this new year begins, may you be reminded of God’s faithfulness to provide abundantly for all our needs. May you walk into this new year expectant of the goodness He will lavish in tangible ways, but more so, in the ways He wants to overwhelm your life with His presence. As the wildflowers cover the mountains in the spring, may your new year abound with more of Jesus. Happy New Year!
Pause: Where did you see God’s hand in your life this past year? What are you expecting Him to do in your life this year?
Practice: Set aside some time to intentionally plan how you will make time to be in God’s presence this year. Then, share that plan/schedule with someone to keep you accountable.
Pray: Lord, I’m grateful for every new year that begins. I’m standing here today because You’ve been faithful to care and provide for me. Thank You, Jesus! I’m overwhelmed by Your love and care for me. Give me more of Your presence this year—it’s what I need more than anything. Go before me, and may I experience Your presence and power in new ways. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.