nly his natural fervour of
character, but the profound and penetrating hold which the Gospel had on
his whole being.

In our text he presents his own experience as the type to which ours
must on the whole be conformed. He had gone through an earthquake which
had shattered the very foundations of his life. He had come to despise
all that he had counted most precious, and to clasp as the only true
treasures all that he had despised. With him the revolution had turned
his whole life upside down. Though the change cannot be so subversive
and violent with us, the forsaking of self-confidence must be as real,
and the clinging to Jesus must be as close, if our Christianity is to be
fervid and dominant in our lives.

I. The treasures that were discovered to be worthless.

We have already had occasion in the previous sermon to refer to Paul's
catalogue of 'things that were gain' to him, but we must consider it a
little more closely here. We may repeat that it is important for
understanding Paul's point of view to note that by 'flesh' he means the
whole self considered as independent of God. The antithesis to it is
'spirit,' that is humanity regenerated and vitalised by Divine
influence. 'Flesh,' then, is humanity not so vitalised. That is to say,
it is 'self,' including both body and emotions, affections, thoughts,
and will.

As to the points enumerated, they are those which made the ideal to a
Jew, including purity of race, punctilious orthodoxy, flaming zeal,
pugnacious antagonism, and blameless morality. With reference to race,
the Jewish pride was in 'circumcision on the eighth day,' which was the
exclusive privilege of one of pure blood. Proselytes might be
circumcised in later life, but one of the 'stock of Israel' only on the
'eighth day.' Saul of Tarsus had in earlier days been proud of his
tribal genealogy, which had apparently been carefully preserved in the
Gentile home, and had shared ancestral pride in belonging to the once
royal tribe, and perhaps in thinking that the blood of the king after
whom he was named flowed in his veins. He was a 'Hebrew of the Hebrews,'
which does not mean, as it is usually taken to do, intensely,
superlatively Hebrew, but simply is equivalent to 'myself a Hebrew, and
come from pure Hebrew ancestors on both sides.' Possibly also the phrase
may have reference to purity of language and customs as well as blood.
These four items make the first group. Paul still remembers the time
when,