New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1920-12-31
The Old Year and
the New
A Sermon for New Years Eve
by
REV. STEPHEN PAULSoN

My Times are In Thy hand.-Psalm 31:15.
~ 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
It's footprints will never be effaced.
The departing year has brought to US
Gods numberless blessings; 1t has
seen many noble deeds done, and 1t
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 n child's neck.
Seeking an image Of mans career, the
prophet sees his days swifter than a
weaver's shuttle; his years swifter
than an arrow, c~urving as 1t rises TO
It's fall. What is mans llfep he asks.
II is a cloud dissolvlng In the sun
shine. 1t is a summer brook swollen
by sudden rains, but soon running out
and leaving the stones bare again.
II is a tale that Is sOon told.
These last days of the old year urge
as to husband well the time that Is
still given us. To n shrub a year
means only q leaf to the vine. a clus-
ter; to the tree, a new ring OF wood.
But TO a man a year means a large
portion of his life which has been
used or wasted. Youth often unthink.
lngly throws all responsibilities on the
years TO come. To him everything
seems possible in the future. Then he
thinks TO have time for education.
Then he will practice economy and
thrift, let the present be prodigal ms
1t 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
harvests which the laborers called
Yesterdays did not sow and cultivate.
There was an ancient custom Of put
ting an h~ourglnss 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 rs we make the best use Of 1t.
We live in deeds, not years: in thoughts.
not breaths;
In feelings. not in figures on a dial.
We should cour time by heart-throbs.
He most lives
thinks most, feels the noblest. acts
the best.
The old year may hold our many
failures, many disappolntments. many
bitter regrets. The New Year holds
to us hope and promise. for my
times are in Thy hand. o Lord. II
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 II is well to remember that In
order that we may be dilligent. But
God has a whole eternity in which
o work, and II is well to remember
hat also, so that we may cease from
and Impotence at the slow
of His kingdom among us
Jesus Christ has not ceased from His
redemption Of the world. nor has God
been defeated In His plans for hu-
for the times of men and
are In His hand.
For most Of N the memory Of the
1ast is a chamber of discomfort. Let
therefore the old year bury from
light Its story of sin and sorrow and
Let there be sincere repent
for the follies of the past, and
hen let a new man step forth to meet
hope and determination the glad
New Year which God desires shall be
blessed year for every child of
,arth. When God forgives, He for
yives utterly. He casts mans sins
into the depths of the sea" Why
hen should memory thrust its hooked
,ole into the sea to dredge the bot
orr and bring up by the locks soma