Devotion for the New Year

In the name of the Father and of the † Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Introit for the Circumcision and the Name of Jesus (Psalm 8:1, 4; Isaiah 63:16)

O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth: who hast set Thy glory above the heavens. What is man that Thou art mindful of him: and the Son of Man that Thou visitest Him?

Thou, O Lord, art our Father and our Redeemer: Thy name is from everlasting.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth: who hast set Thy glory above the heavens.

O Lord God, who for our sakes hast made Thy blessed Son, our Savior, subject to the Law and caused Him to endure the circumcision of the flesh, grant us the true circumcision of the Spirit that our hearts may be pure from all sinful desires and lusts; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
¹ Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
² Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
³ You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!”
⁴ For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.
⁵ You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning:
⁶ in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.
⁷ For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed.
⁸ You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
⁹ For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
¹⁰ The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.
¹¹ Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?
¹² So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
¹³ Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!
¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.
¹⁶ Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.
¹⁷ Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! (ESV)

²¹ And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (ESV)

As we stand at the threshold of a new year, the world looks inward, making resolutions based on human strength to improve the self. The Church, however, looks to Christ. Historically, the church celebrates January 1st not merely as the start of a calendar year, but as the Festival of the Circumcision and the Name of Jesus.

On the eighth day of his life, our Lord first shed his blood for us. He placed himself under the Law to redeem those who were under the Law. He received the name Jesus, which means "The Lord Saves." As we face an unknown year, we do not know what joys or sorrows await us. But we do know that we enter this year bearing the name of Him who is "from everlasting".

As you number your days, do not place your confidence in the changing times or your own resolve, but in the name of Jesus. As the Introit for this day proclaims: "O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth: who hast set Thy glory above the heavens".

Help us, O Lord! Behold, we enter
Upon another year today;
In Thee our hopes and thoughts now center,
Renew our courage for the way.
New life, new strength, new happiness,
We ask of Thee, — oh, hear and bless!

Almighty and everlasting God, from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift, we give Thee thanks for all Thy benefits, temporal and spiritual, bestowed upon us in the year past. We beseech Thee of Thy goodness, grant us a favorable and joyful year, defend us from all dangers and adversities, and send upon us the fullness of Thy blessing; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.