Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1904-04-27
4 POPULAR
k4y( PULPIT !
l have written have written What
have written shall forever write"
oNwARDNEss.
BY Rev. y. N. wilson.

| 4 his one ltltilS uUf lut SENtAlS thVeN
things which are behind, and reaching
forth unto those things which are be-
/ fore. Phil. ill.,, 10.
Part 81 the influence of sin over us
is obtained from our exaggerated esti-
mate of its power We yield sooner
than we need because we think we
cannot resist The remembrance OF
past sin rises, and our circumstances
| are silenced in despair. When we are
thus fascinated by the past then how
hopefully and eheerfully Paul's words
sound in our ears, to fors3et those
/ forth to what is before. Some may be
j disheartened by failure to conquer a
fault They may even be so mistaken
as to believe that past failures are an
excuse for present failures hay
ing done wrong, you always must do
WRONG. Paul is speaking to you. and
he tells you to forget the past and
start afresh.
These are, think, the lessons Paul
teaches us in this enthusiastic out
burst; TO let the past make US neither
conceited nor Respondent, but, accept
ing its results, to press forward un-
ceasingly, hopefully, and modestly.
The apostle thus used the past. He
used it to furnish warning, 20 check
pride. to give guidance, to stimulate
hope. Nevertheless. his face is ever
turned towards the future; it is ever lit
by the rising sun, and it is this that
has made Paul the apostle of the West.
and especially the apostle of protest
antism and progress.
There is then sense in whifl it is
| we'll TO remember the past. We have
to try, in the nation, in the Christian
church, in commerce, and in daily life.
10 understand the genius and spirit of
the past, and hand them on to the
next generation. This is the problem
4 In every community. Where In the
different walks of life are we to look
for the next leaders? VIII they be
worthy? VIII they maintain the high
standard Of life, thought, and service?
We must remember that the real sue
cession is that of example, of uncon-
| scious example, and scarcely conscious
imitation. The standard of life in ev-
cry walk is handed ON by the gener-
GUS, the brave, the pure, the public
spirited of one generation becoming the
unconscious examples of the next.
i We cannot follow the details of any
life, for every mans life is his own,
and different from all other; it is not a
slayish reproduction of the past, but a
hearty sympathy with all that is best
in its spirit, that is demanded of us.
This is a right use of the past-one
that would have gladdened the heart
of him who uttered the words upon
which we are now descanting To COM
| memorate the good deeds, the noble
/ ~ es of the past. is to add an inspira-
! H. n to the present. Shall we not fol-
ow?'' was the exclamation of the
young Augustine, as he heard the sto-
ries of the martyrs "Shall we not
follow?' must be our thought when we
hear what others have done to raise
the standard of rectitude in the differ
ent lines of life.
To stop, then. and pause is to be a
traitor to the past. We may glance
back, but it is only to take courage and
go straight on When once the editor
of great paper, the master of dis
tinguished school, or the leading spirit
of great comm erciai enterprise, glo-
ries only in the past, instead of forging
ahead and working for still greater
success, then me downward course has
i begun The inspiration of the past can
only be kept up by expressing it In ac-
ton. There is. no doubt, great de-
/ light in creating. in making for the en-
tefprise to which we have put our
hands name. but we may not think
the toll is over, and that mere routine
will now carry us on. IL win not We
must reach forth to those things which
are before, we must strain ourselves
more than ever to grasp the prize. Ours
must be the attitude of the eager, the
noble, the ardent. Unceasing watchful-
ness must be exercised against the
creeping in of evil of any kind, and
/ where an enterprise is worked by COM
bined effort, its future success will de-
4 mend upon the manner In which all the
parties work into one anothers hands,
and the loyal service which each work
er renders to the head of the con-
Germ.
The secret of all building, whether
of character or OF comI'erce, whether
of individual or of national renown,
consists In looking out In looking
ahead, as the text says, in reaching
forth te the things which are before;
and if is at the same time the truest
| commemoration Of the past, because it
is the truest continuation of the spirit
of the past. Let then. for all occasions,
this be our motto-forgetting the
things that are behind and reaching
forth to those that are before.
e9@s@@@@@@@S@s~S@@~%S~~~~4