The same is the import of his declaration in the text—­“I know nothing by myself—­am conscious of no allowed wickedness—­of no willful error, either in profession or practice.”  But he dared not to assert that he had made no mistakes—­yet am I not hereby justified.  He knew himself liable to error—­did not “trust his own heart”. He that judgeth me is the Lord—­“his judgment is according to truth—­ that will determine my character, and fix my doom.”

The apostle could remember a time in which he had conscientiously done wrong.  He had persecuted the church; killed Christ’s disciples, and thought he was doing right; verily believed that he was doing God service!—­Now he acted conscientiously in “preaching the faith he had once destroyed”—­in the manner of his preaching it; and discharging every ministerial and Christian duty; though he was censured and calumniated by some, and suspected by others.  He followed the light of his own mind, and determined to follow it; so to act as not to be condemned of himself.  But he knew that the standard of rectitude did not follow his views, and vary with his judgment.  “If his heart did not condemn him, he had confidence toward God; yet he knew God to be greater than his heart,” and possessed of all knowledge; dared not therefore affirm that his judge would approve of all which he approved—­Yet am I not hereby justified—­he that judgeth me is the Lord.

IMPROVEMENT.

I. We See that censure may be incurred without neglect of duty, When Paul converted to Christianity, he was made an apostle, and ordered of the Redeemer to preach the gospel.  He obeyed.  He was guided in his work by the spirit of God; yet he was blamed by some, and suspected by others.

That Christ’s faithful servants are slandered and reproached is not a new thing under the sun.  It hath been common among men.  And herein they are only made like their Lord.  And shall they think it strange?  “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his Lord.  If they call the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household?”

When opposition and reproaches come from those who profess friendship to Christ they wound the deeper.  This however, hath often happened.  It happened to the apostle at Corinth, and elsewhere.  If we witness that which is similar, we need not be surprized, as though some strange thing had happened.

II.  Are we unjustly censured by our fellow servants, or reproached while in the way of our duty?  We have here an example worthy our imitation.  St. Paul was chiefly concerned to approve himself to God.  We should be so too—­should study to acquaint ourselves with the divine rule, and to conform to it; not disobeying God to please men.

Great care is requisite to know our duty.  Enveloped in darkness, and biassed to error, it is often difficult to find out the right way.  But we are not left without instruction.  A rule is given us by which we may “judge of ourselves, what is right.”  Of that role we must judge for ourselves, and by it try ourselves.  “To our own master we stand or fall.”  To obtain his approbation should be our chief concern.  “If God be with us, who can be against us?”