Jehovah's Blessings Brings Us Joy

How splendid if would be if we could rejoice throughout the rest of our life! In this regard, Moses pleads: "Do return, O Jehovah! How long will it be? And feel regret over your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with your loving-kindness [or, "loyal love"], that we may cry out joyfully and may rejoice during all our days." (Psalm 90:13, 14) God does not make mistakes. Nevertheless, he does "feel regret" and 'turn back' from his anger and from meting out punishment when his warning about taking such action produces a change in attitude and conduct on the part of repentant wrongdoers (Deuteronomy 13:17) So even if we were to err seriously, but demonstrate true repentance, Jehovah would satisfy us with his loving-kindness,' and we would have reason to "cry out joyfully." (Psalm 32:1-5) And by pursuing a righteous course, we will sense God's loyal love for us and will be able to "rejoice during all our days" - yes, for the rest of our lives.

The psalmist earnestly prays: "Make us rejoice correspondingly to the days that you have afflicted us, the years that we have seen calamity. May your activity appear to your own servants and your splendor upon their sons." (Psalm 90:15, 16) Moses may have been asking God to bless Israel with rejoicing that corresponded to, or lasted as long as, their days of affliction and the years during which they suffered calamity. He asked that God's "activity" of blessing the Israelites become apparent to his servants and that his splendor be made manifest upon their sons, or offspring. We can appropriately pray that blessings be showered upon obedient mankind in God's promised now world. - 2Peter 3:13.

Psalm 90 concludes with this plea: "Let the pleasantness of Jehovah our God prove to be upon us, and the work of our hand do you firmly establish upon us. Yes, the work of our hands, do you firmly establish it." (Psalm 90:17) These words shoe that we can rightly pray for God to bless our efforts in his service. As anointed Christians or their companions, the "other sheep," we rejoice that "the pleasantness of Jehovah" rests upon us. (John 10:16) How happy we are that God has ' firmly established' the work of our hands' as Kingdom proclaimers and in other ways!

Next time: Let Us Keep Counting Our Days