A. The apostle is not leaving, he is forgetting the things behind; he is not merely looking, he is reaching forth unto the things before; not only does he run, he presses toward the mark; nor was he occupied, weakened, or delayed by a variety of pursuits — "This one thing I do. W. Robertson, M. A.Perfection is being, not doing — it is not to effect an act but to achieve a character. They should be forgotten, and, whether you forget them or not (and some men never do), they are sure to get behind; and if you do not forget them you are behind also, and can never reach the goal.(W. What the apostle means is that we are to forget the things which are behind as no longer practically concerning us. Philippians 3:14 NIV. Remembered griefs are prophetic of coming joys. Not once merely at conversion, but often in his converted state, had he to form and to drop the winter leaves in the process of spiritual growth. Hubbard. The rain fell on the young spring wheat when you and I were boys; will that do anything towards this year's harvest? The winter leaves, which are designed for the protection of the bud during winter, are pushed off by the growth of the summer leaves from the bud in spring; and the summer leaves, which are designed for the nourishment and growth of the tree in summer, wither and fall off in autumn. All that he had acquired, he laid on the altar. It is marvellous how, when you have a work in hand for God, it will brace up your whole being. "The power of a single aimC. That we, in our holiest moments, do not feel self-complacent. And that is the true temper for wider interests than our own. )Singleness of aimConfucius' son once said to him, "I apply myself with diligence to every kind of study, and neglect nothing that could render me clever and ingenious; but still I do not advance." Their tone is self-depreciation, not self-content. But that still leaves us with the question, what is this prize? Maclaren, D. D.)Reaching forth to the things which are beforeAll things are prospectiveHomiletic Monthly.The impulse of a river is ever onward. W. Robertson, M. A.The life of man is a vagrant, changeful, desultoriness; like that of children sporting on an enameled meadow, chasing now a painted butterfly, which loses its charm by being caught — now a wreath of mist, which falls damp upon the hand with disappointment — now a feather of thistledown, which is crushed in the grasp. The former stands for "being made conformable unto Christ's death," the latter for "attaining the resurrection;" or the mark is likeness to Christ, and the prize whatsoever glory and felicity God shall give besides.2. He does not mean —(1)That He forgot the mercy of God he had enjoyed. (2)That he forgot the sins he had committed.2. Life is going on onboard that vessel in many forms, but they are all moving on together to the port — there is a master principle which everything obeys, and they all delight to have it so. Each is to help the others.3. Demosthenes was the prince of all earth's orators, not because God gave him a splendid voice, and exquisite grace of motion, but because eloquence was his one idea. The inclusive way, when a man makes a wide circle of engagements converge towards religion.II. Oh, is it not sad when the onward movement of the soul is forgotten! Why clasp a handful of poor withered flowers when the grass is sown with their bright eyes opening to the sunshine?III. That whatever shape self-satisfaction may assume it is a shirking of the hardships of Christian soldierhood. D. Hoge, D. D.Rivers do not grow shallower as they roll away from their sources, and so it has been well said, the heart's river ought not to be an exception. Forget past circumstances, whether sorrows or joys. Experience teaches me my limits." His was A SANCTIFIED, BUT BOUNDLESS AMBITION, forever reaching forth in the direction of higher acquisitions of spiritual truth and nobler results of Christian work.III. Both are past; why remember them? We are apt to say, "At such and such a time I was converted and growing in Christian attainments. Every one is familiar with the buds which tip the extremities of every branch in spring. The mind must contemplate it, the heart be fixed upon it, until the power of it shall overmaster all other objects and passions. When, under a tropical sun, he ruled 50,000,000 of Asiatics, his hopes, amidst all the cares of war, finance, and legislation, still pointed to Daylesford, the possession of it being the summit of his ambition. We are to keep them in the background, and prize the character they have formed for the glory of God, and not for self-complacency. Believe in a millennium of some sort or other, because that faith is wrapped up in the confidence that God loves us all, and is shaping this earth's history to His own perfect aim, and instead of lamenting "the former days were better," let us believe that the time will come when our brethren with us will have reached the mark, and the purposes of God finished in a redeemed humanity and a perfected world.II. If you are troubled with wandering thoughts in prayer or in Church, it is because your outer life is not concentrated. Maclaren, D. D.You find some certain type of Christian character, or exercise of Christian grace, that is easy and natural to you, and you come to know how to do it. If you want to be blessed you must be good; if you want to get to heaven you must be like Christ.3. (1) So must it be with past sins overcome. Oh, there is something more and higher than all this and these. But though these things cannot in this sense be forgotten, they should not be allowed to hang around us to impede our efforts at improvement, any more than the development of the tree is impeded by its scars. As one must continue to the end.4. A definite prospect of duty opens up within which the man must work, and find his happiness in working. Nay, the very vicissitudes of the seasons, day and night, heat and cold, affecting us variably, and producing exhilaration or depression, are so contrived as to conduce towards the being which we become, and decide whether we shall be masters of ourselves, or whether we shall be swept at the mercy of accident and circumstance, miserably susceptible of merely outward influences. And such an exhortation is still greatly needed.1. Because he felt God had called him to it.3. And though he did other things, yet the one great thought, moving as a glorious dream through all his chambers of imagery, was something that would float upon stormy and shoreless seas! )Pressing forwardA. EAGER AND FULL OF ASPIRATION TOWARDS THE FUTURE.1. Nor of regenerated men only is the thought true — of all men who retain amid their moral ruins some lines of the mutilated Divine image — is this a characteristic. He does not mean —(1)That He forgot the mercy of God he had enjoyed. And as the young green leaves within expand in the genial atmosphere, the services of the bud scales, or covering leaves, are no longer needed, and by and by they roll away, and fall one by one from the tree, strewing the ground beneath till it looks like a threshing floor. He speaks as a runner; perfect as regards equipment, consecration, aim; but not perfected as having attained the goal; he looks not behind him but hurries on. H. HOW THE GREAT PRIZE IS TO BE WON. Demosthenes was the prince of all earth's orators, not because God gave him a splendid voice, and exquisite grace of motion, but because eloquence was his one idea. They used to serve God wonderfully when they were young. (Paxton Hood. Vaughan, M. A.The secret of all moral force, of all spiritual success, of all reality, is concentration. If history is philosophy teaching by example, the erasure of the remembrance of the events of our own history would strip both philosophy and religion of the power to teach at all.(M. His life was in the stars. )Look not at the pastJ. Death.5. It is through loss that all gain in this world is made. Maclaren, D. D.)The danger of looking backA. FORGETFUL OR OBLIVIOUS TOWARDS THE PAST.1. Oh, is it not sad when the onward movement of the soul is forgotten! Nor of regenerated men only is the thought true — of all men who retain amid their moral ruins some lines of the mutilated Divine image — is this a characteristic. Divided affection, and allegiance, half-hearted strivings, will end in disappointment and disaster. Then my heart was cleaving to the Lord, and filled with His fulness." If you would live a braced life everywhere you would find fixedness of thought in your devotions.(J. Paul's entire life was an illustration of the text. THE PURPOSE OF PAUL: What is involved in it?1. (2) Antinomians by imagining that the law is abolished, and that sin is not sin in the saints. Doubts on other matters arising in the progress of his ministry he would discuss in their proper time, but those which had been once disposed of were forgotten forever. As long as you are in the world forget what you have done, and go forward — individuals, churches, denominations.III. Baxendale. )Singleness of aimConfucius' son once said to him, "I apply myself with diligence to every kind of study, and neglect nothing that could render me clever and ingenious; but still I do not advance." is it in the increase of knowledge, of science, of art? Had these been of a natural or ordinary character, such as human wisdom might devise and human power set in motion, then we might infer that God intended us to rest contented with actual attainments. D.Look at the machine stamped with the date of half-a-dozen different patents in consecutive years, and see there the image of the diligent inventor bent on alternate excellence, to whom each improvement makes a stepping stone to another improvement, and each difficulty mastered gives greater skill to master the remaining difficulty, until the original creative idea is rounded out in a consummate instrument. What a petty world such a man must live in; under what a low sky he must walk; in what, a muggy atmosphere he must breathe. Remembered griefs are prophetic of coming joys. Continued demerit calls for continued mercy.2. Conversion, justification, and peace are the first principles of the doctrine of Christ. )Concentration the secret of dispatchS. On every branch a series of these scars, in the shape of rings closely set together, may be seen, indicating the points where each growing shoot entered on the stage of rest.
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