We forget the things that are behind, because it is right that we should do so; because God forgets them and declares that He has cast all of our imperfections behind His back, that our imperfections are all covered from His sight, by the merit of Him who loved us and who died for us, and whom we love, and in whom we are trusting, and in whose steps we are seeking to walk, though having more or less of imperfection according to the defects we have inherited in the flesh. We are not meaning to suggest that slips or failures should be lightly esteemed or quickly forgotten; they should be rectified to the extent of our ability, and Divine forgiveness should be sought for these defects daily.
The things that are behind include the things given up in justification, i.e., sin and error, and more especially the things given up in consecration, i.e., the things of self and the world. To forget these things implies the detachment of our affections from them, suppressing their efforts to control us and presenting an impenetrable heart and mind to their enticements. Not only a consideration of their small value, unsatisfactoriness and danger to the new heart and mind, but also more especially of the great value, satisfactoriness and safety to the new heart and mind of the spiritual things, will enable us to forget them. Let the latter things so fill our affections that the former will have no appealing effect upon us.
Prov. 4:25; 17:25, 26; Matt. 10:37-39; John 12:25; Psa. 45:10; Gen. 19:26; 24:58-61; Luke 9:62; 17:32, 33; Gal. 4:9; Phil. 3:7, 8; Heb. 10:39; 12:1; 1 Pet. 1:14; 4:1-4; 2 Pet. 1:9.
