The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-02
AT THE THRESHOLD.
Or. Conrad Takes Glance Along the
Corridor of Time.

Rev. Dr. A.. q. Conrad preached a
sermon last evening on the New Year.
which was one of his usual mastery
efforts. A fair-sized congregation was
present, in spite of the extreme cold
weather. The reverend gentleman
said in part:
What are the lights of yesterday?
| Experience is not to be despised, testi-
| mony is not to be ignored; yesterday
was weighted with truth which came
to us bright from the hand of God. 1t
blazed with opportunity; it scintillated
with suggestion 1t compelled expert
ences which were not sought.
History is luminous; the lamp of ex
perience sends it's beams out on the
wave for the embarking mariner. The
searchlight of experience throws it's
luminous glare upon the pathway and
penetrates the forests yet unexplored,
but there will be valleys of today and
tomorrow into which the light of yes
terday cannot penetrate. The lamp OF
experience has its limits as to the light
it can give forth.
The discipline and the study Of yes
terday has increased the ability of the
mind to grapple with the problems
which present themselves The past
with all of it's wealth was not enough to
meet the requirements Of tomorrow.
Eye have not passed this way hereto
fore" We are upon the threshold OF
1899 We have just crossed the thresh-
old; the year Is begun. 1t seems but
yesterday that from this same plat
form we discoursed upon the possible
privileges and opportunities of 1898. The
year has come and gone and we win
confess to the proposition that llfe's
way is an untraversed one.
Life is very Kaleidoscope; the same
little particles have been used before;
you might be able to name the color Of
every piece of glass in the kaleido-
scope, and you have also pictures of
the various combinations which have
been made, but those same combina-
tions will not repeat themselves.
Neither does any life in any year du-
plicate the experiences of the past year.
The minister never finds two condi-
tons precisely the same in any two
souls longing for larger light. The great
rulers Of our time fiEd 1t necessary to
read Just the ideas of government
which have obtained, IN all of their APP
plications.
Emperor William has vastly different
circumstances to meet than were con-
fronted by Frederick the Great Lord
Rosebery finds the requirements Of
craftsmanship in England altogether
NileiliSth Aiblh Will lUey were IN the
time Of Beaconsneld.
President Mckinley entered upon his
career with little realization of the en-
tlrely new features Of government
which he would have to face. The
year past for our nation was verify an
untraversed way. No one could have
anticipated what has occurred. This
same truth has application in oui
church life.
Experience can never be transmitted
That Is why the wisdom a father and
= mother gains is rarely employed By
he children. The child must pass Over
he way himself.
We need not face the future with
uncertainty. with trepidation witt
error, with anxiety; but with q cAir
onfidence. even though the way Is a
lntraversed one. and though experl |
ences win be without precedent.
There Is no happiness without pro |
yress. However much men may dis |
gree, at the dawn Of a new year the |
10 q kind Of universal agreement upoi |