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Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

FROM what St. Paul had said in a few verses before, he feared, lest he should have seemed to make himself sure of salvation, without the necessity of any further anxiety or labour; as if he might rest quietly satisfied with his present views and attainments; and had nothing to do, but

to wait for the certain result. And truly, if such confidence and relaxation could ever have been justified, it must have been in the case of this apostle; witness the sacrifices which he had made for the gospel; his unswerving and invincible faith; his holiness of character; his unparallelled labours; and the many signal marks of divine blessing, with which he had been distinguished.

But still, he was far from presuming in this way; and the resolution which he expresses in the text, and the account which he gives of his own spirit and conduct, may furnish us with a very suitable lesson, and teach us the absolute necessity of continued watchfulness and diligence and perseverance unto the end; may teach us, that we are not, as the prophet Ezekiel expresses it, to "trust in our own righteousness;" in any principles we have formed, any views we have entertained, any holiness we have acquired, any experiences with which we have been blessed;

* Ezek. xxxiii. 13.

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and thus grow heedless and secure but, that the further we advance, the more we must be convinced of the need of exertion; the more we shall find to do, and the more we shall be enabled to do: who loiters, loses; loses the advantage of the ground he has gone over; loses the means of a victorious and successful accomplishment.

It will be improving, to those, who listen with humble and teachable hearts, who spiritually receive the word of God as the teaching of the Spirit of God, if we repeat a considerable portion of the important passage connected with the text; let us begin then with the 7th verse. "What

things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ, yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, (all earthly things) and do count them but dung, (as mere refuse and worthlessness) that I may win Christ and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which

is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death, (by dying to sin that I may live to God ;) if by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead," (to that perfect felicity, to which the saints are admitted at the resurrection.) From these words, it might have appeared to some, as if the apostle had expected his great object to be already accomplished; as if he had arrived at a state of faith and holiness, by which he had actually secured this felicity, independently of any further vigilance or labour: and therefore he immediately adds, by way of caution and correction: "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, (keep following after the object before me,) if that I may apprehend that, (may lay hold of that prize,) for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus;" (for which He,

as it were, has graciously laid hold of me, arresting me in my course of blindness and obstinacy, as a malignant persecutor of Him and His gospel.) Then follows the text; "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended;" I reckon not upon the prize as actually won; however high and fervent my hope, however undoubted my assurance of ultimate success, I cannot be careless, I must not diminish my anxiety or activity; my hope can only be sustained in proportion to my vigour in the contest; success must depend upon my unbending resolution and unabating constancy the victory is not gained in the middle of the course, and cannot be gained till it is finished.

Many of us, no doubt, are aware, that the apostles, as well as our blessed Lord, were in the habit of drawing their observations and modes of instruction from the common transactions of daily life; from the circumstances, by which they were surrounded; from the manners and customs of the people, amongst whom they

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