Forgetting the things which are behind we press forward to the time when "we shall be ever with one another and with the Lord."(M. These winter leaves that cherished and nourished our growth in grace must drop off from time to time, with each new attainment that we "may rise on stepping stones of our dead selves to nobler things."3. Perhaps at this moment you can honestly say, "I have overcome a fierce temper," "I have bestirred a naturally indolent spirit." On the other hand, the barbarian is content to live in a hut, to scratch the ground with a stick, to trudge on foot with a trail for a road. )Want of applicationS. The winter leaves or bud scales of a tree leave behind them when they drop off a peculiar mark or scar on the bark, just as the summer leaves do when they fall. But while the work of Christ for us is complete, that of the Holy Spirit in us is not complete, but is continually carried on from day to day. Supreme love to Christ and consecration to His service. Inactivity renders useless the summer leaves; and growth supersedes the winter leaves.I. Thoughts fly on wings toward the tomorrow. TWO THOUGHTS ARE HERE SUGGESTED.1. By a course of prosperity our souls are made to unfold in gratitude to God and beneficence to men. )Progress inevitable to the ChristianJ. King, LL. All the valley between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghenies was filled with a silvery mist, level at the surface as a sea line. Forget past failures. But in spring, the buds, stimulated by the unwonted sunshine, begin to open at their sharp extremities. "Forget the things that are behind." Time given to such occupation is withdrawn from the actual work of life. Shall we ever reach it. He does not think of the furlongs that he has passed, he heeds not the nature of the ground over which he runs. That purpose is the acquisition of knowledge. A definite prospect of duty opens up within which the man must work, and find his happiness in working. But just as in the unfolding buds of the lilac and horse chestnut tree, the covering leaves of winter, pass through intermediate changes — in the one into the blades of the leaf, and in the other into the leaf stalks — so the principles of the doctrine of Christ are to be carried on in the growth, and their substance is to be used up and modified, as it were, in the expansion of the soul. There is no growth before a hypocrite any more than there is in an artificial flower. His example may be beyond us, but the spirit that moved him to work may be ours. Every star is not a sun.(S. Admire our apostle as —I. And when the great crisis of his life came — the spring time of his conversion, a light exceeding the brightness of the noonday sun shone upon him; and in this warm genial atmosphere of grace, the germ of spiritual life unfolded itself within, and burst its wrappings. They are therefore in danger of perishing. So it does. "This one thing I do." Former companionships, or they may draw the soul back to perdition.II. Experience teaches me my limits." There will be a constant reaching forth unto those things which are before, but there will be no forgetting the things that are behind.(H. Those who, like yourself, desire to do everything in one day, do nothing to the end of their lives, while others who steadily adhere to one pursuit find that they have accomplished their purpose. "Beware," said he, "of working a purchase there; I know the men of that department; the students who come from it to our veterinary school in Paris do not strike hard upon this anvil; they want energy, and you will not get any satisfactory return on the capital you may invest there."(S. Difficulties and dangers: David thought he would one day fall by the hand of Saul.3. Conversion is indeed all essential, for while the heart is unchanged there can be neither life nor growth; but it is merely the commencement of a course. The inclusive way, when a man makes a wide circle of engagements converge towards religion.II. 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. It is as if the life of the tree always remained in the bud, instead of casting off its wrappings and expanding into summer foliage and fruit. And so the beautiful blossoms of grace must be left behind. In the midst of all this fickleness, St. Paul had found a purpose to which he gave the undivided energy of his soul.(F. The body is not one member but many. An extending and improving influence on society.5. Everybody could see their beauty of character but themselves. And so was it with St. Paul. Sibbes, D. D.)OnwardC. He has a purpose that Augustine monk. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Christ is also the Prize. What does it mean? You see him! As soon as you begin to dwell with self-complacency on the past you lose your ideal of duty, and your right sense of the claims of the future and the present. This purpose formed in infancy and poverty, grew stronger as his intellect expanded and his fortunes rose. And evermore afterwards he journeyed towards that city. No bounds can be set to it. Continued demerit calls for continued mercy.2. But Paul rebukes this spirit. Of what avail, to such a mariner, is even distinct view of some distant point long since swept by, when his vessel is approaching some perilous pass, or passing through some vast and foaming estuary into the deep sea. His spiritual life from the beginning to the end was a series of fresh beginnings. D.I. "I find," said he, "that when I exceed half an hour I am always doing mischief to my client; if I drive into the heads of the jury unimportant matter, I drive out matter more important which I had previously lodged there. FORMING A JUST ESTIMATE UPON HIS PRESENT CONDITION. We must remember the failures and sins of the past in order to magnify the mercy that forgave.Conclusion:1. 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. )Memory, hope, and workA. Noah was a man of one idea. We often find the former, e.g., God's mercies are to be remembered as a theme of gratitude; past sins to produce penitence; former history as ground of warning and hope (Deuteronomy 4:9; Deuteronomy 8:2; Deuteronomy 9:7; Psalm 77:5; Psalm 103:2; Ezekiel 16:63). Victories achieved; temptations resisted elated Samson to his hurt. SINGLENESS OF EYE, UNITY OF PURPOSE, CONCENTRATION OF POWER. He who would be a great artist must not follow low models. He would recover the estate which belonged to his fathers. They lose the power of forgetting the things that are behind, because they are not reaching forth unto those things which are before. It is this from which man has to be saved.2. As a convert to Christianity he was the same man in singleness and intensity of purpose.4. )The racer as runnerProfessor Eadie.The picture is that of a racer in his agony of struggle and hope. Martin., D. King, LL. What achievements has the world made and forgotten in achieving better. He takes the world as he finds it, and leaves it as he found it. 2. 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. Macmillan, LL. In a season of sorrow we are made more heavenly reminded. He does not think of the furlongs that he has passed, he heeds not the nature of the ground over which he runs. He pursued his plan with that calm but indomitable force of will which was the most striking peculiarity of his character. W. Alexander, D. D.We are like one sailing down rapid stream, intensely anxious as to the issue of our voyage, and fearful of the dangers which await us, and yet turning our backs on both, and trying to derive encouragement from gazing at that portion of our course already past, and every moment growing less and less visible. And as that ship pursues her bent and often homeward course, it is an emblem to you every day you look at it, of the condition of the life of that man who has had the grace given him to say, "This one thing I do." He would be Hastings of Daylesford. Everybody could see their beauty of character but themselves. The bud then dies, and the branch withers and becomes fit for the burning. is it in the increase of knowledge, of science, of art? Conversion is indeed all essential, for while the heart is unchanged there can be neither life nor growth; but it is merely the commencement of a course. "Omit some of your pursuits," replied Confucius, "and you will get on better. )Paul reached forth to the things before.I. Of what avail, to such a mariner, is even distinct view of some distant point long since swept by, when his vessel is approaching some perilous pass, or passing through some vast and foaming estuary into the deep sea. Earth has its prizes, its crowns, its plaudits, its splendid fortunes. Unless we saw an ideal far above us, the actual would never approximate toward it. We call that innocence. He also said that he know the secret of being short. Absolute assurance of forgiveness.3. And no wonder that Paul was the very chief of the apostles, so that the earth shook at his tread, as when a giant goes on pilgrimage; not because he had read Grecian lore in Cilician schools, and mastered the Hebrew law at Gamaliel's feet, but because, with his heart all afire within him, and his eye, as the eagle's on the sun, fixed on one sublime purpose — in that one thing he gloried — to that one thing he tended.(C. Baxendale. Stop long enough to say, "Thank God for that"; but do not pause to congratulate yourselves, or it may be soon undone. If you are troubled with wandering thoughts in prayer or in Church, it is because your outer life is not concentrated. Smith, M. If you would live a braced life everywhere you would find fixedness of thought in your devotions.(J. That purpose is the acquisition of knowledge. There are things before him.1. He finds the pen too slow, hence his types and cylinders scatter libraries. HOW THE GREAT PRIZE IS TO BE WON. But Paul rebukes this spirit. The very dream of hope to do something better has been their rum.2. As a lad he was bent on scholarship, and won honours at the feet of Gamaliel; as a member of the Jewish Church by his prodigal ability he soon placed himself beyond parallel. The tree may be full of bloom, and an orchard is a beauteous sight, but the blossom must wither away and be forgotten in the fruit. With Pilate's question on his lip and in his heart, he foregoes his brilliant prospects — parts without a sigh with academical distinctions — takes monastic vows in an Augustine convent; until at last Pilate's question answered on Pilate's stairs — then comes the thrice repeated gospel whisper, "The just shall live by faith," and the glad evangel scatters the darkening and shreds off the paralysis, and he rises into moral freedom, a new man in the Lord! )Paul reached forth to the things before.I. LET HOPES FOR THE FUTURE AND LESSONS FROM THE PAST LEAD TO STRENUOUS WORK FOR THE PRESENT. There is no limit in that respect, and to take the past as proving it is to deny the power of God's gospel, the expansibility of the soul, and the promise of the Divine Spirit.2. He arrogates no particular saintship. It is as if the life of the tree always remained in the bud, instead of casting off its wrappings and expanding into summer foliage and fruit. Forget past attainments. We live on food, the blood circulates through the frame; and all these motions return on themselves; but there is another motion in man, there is an onward movement — he is a being of religious instincts; and to foster and fan their flames is the end of all religious services and exercises. (2)Sins against conscience. A. Forgetting the things which are behind we press forward to the time when "we shall be ever with one another and with the Lord."(M. Remembered griefs are prophetic of coming joys. Experience teaches me my limits." 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