Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1920-12-30
The Old Year and
the New
A Sermon for New Years Eve
by
REV. STEPHEN PAULSON

a9v Times are in Thy hand.-Psalm BIB
~ AID and solemn are the last hours
%, of the dying year. Only a few
months ago a New Year was
given unto US, fresh and pure from
Gods great storehouse of time. 1t
has spent its life upon the earth, and
its footprints will never be effaced.
The departing year has brought to us
Gods numberless blessings; it has
seen many noble deeds done, and it
has seen progress in many depart
ments of life.
The passing of another year must
emphasize to every thoughtful person
the swift flight of time. Looking
backward over the past years of our
life they seem to shrink to the size
of beads strung around child's neck.
Seeking an image of mans career, the
prophet sees his days swifter than
weaver's shuttle; his years swifter
than al arrow, curving as it rises to
it's fall. What is mans life? he asks.
It is d cloud dissolving in the sun
shine. 1t is a summer brook swollen
by sudden rains. but soon running out
and leaving the stones bare again.
It is tale that is soon told.
These last days of the old year urge
US to husband we'll the time that is
still given us. To a shrub a year
means only a leaf to the vine, clus-
ter; to the tree, new ring of wood.
But to man a year means large
Of WI a hpp{l
used or wasted. Youth often unthfnk.
ingly throws all responsibilities on the
years to come. To him everything
seems possible in the future. Then ha
thinks to have time for education.
Then he will practice economy and
thrift, let the present be prodigal as
it may. The morrow will suffice for
the forming of habits and the building
of character. So dazzled by the fu-
ture the youth allows the years to
slip through his hands, and the result
is a man who is an intellectual infant
and a moral feebling. AS you pause
now and think over the past, you
must realize that the morrow holds
no harvests which the laborers called
yesterdays did not sow and cultivate.
There was an ancient custom of put
ting an hourglass into the coffin Of
the dead to signify that their time
had run out-a useless notification to
them. Better put the hOurglaSS into
the hand of every living man to show
him how swiftly the sands of life do
flow But, after all, time is of value
only as we make the best use of it.
We live in deeds, not years; In thoughts,
not breaths;
In feelings, not in figures on a dial.
We should count time by heart-throbs
He most lives
Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts
the best.
The old year may hold our many
failures. many disappointments, many
bitter regrets. The New Year holds
out TO US hope and promise, for my
times are in Thy hand, o Lord. 1t
should comfort us when we think of
the brevity of our years, to realize
by contrast the length of Gods years
We have but a short time to work
and it is well to remember that in
order that we may be dilligent. But
God has a whole eternity in which
TO work, and it is well to remember
that also, so that we may cease from
fretfulness and impatience at the slow
progress of His kingdom among u.s.
Jesus Christ has not ceased from His
redemption of the world, nor has God
been defeated in His plans for hu
1 manity, for the times Of men and
| nations are in His hand.