The Pulpit Commentary — Philippians — Section 39

glorious proclnmntion of Christ, as alone meeting the wm1ts of men. Anrl let os trust, too, that the Church shall come forth purified, Raved, and more bopefol ag'linst tho forces of ovil. And if we feel individually as in a prison-houRe, from evil without or within, let us look to the all-wise God to make our prison-house the means of Christ being better known, and of our souls being blessed with more of the elements of salvation, and with more hopefulness of accomplishing our deRtiny to the glory of Christ. II. H E OALMLY CONTEMPT.ATES THE QUESTION OF r,IFE OR DEATH, 1. He feels tl,at the advantage to himself is in dying. (1) He ha.i made Ohrist the end of hi.~ life. "For to mo to live is Christ." (a) What it i, lr make Christ the end of our life. It is to make everything a means toward the advancement of the glory of Uhri~t. This is the aspect in which it is regarderl in the context, and to which the connecting word refers us. It was the ambition of the apostle that Christ should be magnified in his body by life or by death. We are to seek nearer ends, such as self-preservation, proficiency in our earthly calling, but not as ends in themselves. 'l'here is only one ab,olute end, and that is Christ. Everything is to be set a~ide as useless, impertinent, which cannot be directed to Christ. Even a life devoted to science, to philanthropy, must be rejected as unworthy, unless it is humbly lived for Christ. All onr efforts, as all onr prayers, must be In his Name, all the fruits of our life we mnst lay at his feet. We have to plan our lives differently; for that is dependent on our natural capacities anrl on our circumstances; but there is to be this unity in them all, that they are to be planned so that they shall bring the largest revenue of glory to Christ. Let us, then, have our end clearly in view, and let us pursue it intelligently, and with all the simplicity and abandonment with which men of the world sometimes pursue their ends. (b) Why Ohrist is the end of our life. It was Christ who wns the reason for our being 01;ginally brought into existence. And as we came from his hand (for by him, as well as for him, were all things made) we were rich in opportunity. By sin, however, our existence became so heavily weighted, that, left to ourselves, it would have been better if we had not been born. We owe it to Christ that, by coming into our nature and dying for us, he has made our life worth living. He has redeemed it from the disability of sin, and has made it rich in the opportunity of everlasting glory. And on account of what he has done for us, he is entitle,\ to be the end of our life. (c) How Ohrist is fitted to be the end of our life. (a) He fills the imagination. In him we have One to live for, who combines in bis character ev(•ry excellence, anrl in the super- lative degree, who leaves every other immeasurably behind, who towers high above the highest flight of the strongest imagin,ition. And while the story of his life is more wonderful than is to be found in romance, it has all the charm of reality. (.II) He appeals to the heart. Love is the great argument by which he makes his appeal to us. He goes down to the lowest depths for us, and then, coming up, he beseeches us by his tears and agonies. In life's trials, from his own experience of them, he encourages us and beckons us on: "In the world ye have tribu!n.tion: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." ('Y) He calls forth the energies. ,vorldly objects call forth the energies of men. "Fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise (that last infirmity of noble minds) to scorn delights and live laborious days." To have a lovccl one to labour for has been the spur to many a man's energies, which otherwise wonhl have flao-cred. 0 It is the glory of Christ that, thongh he is viewless, he calls forth our energics purely, equally, in the highest degree, with the ~rc:i.tcst pleasureableness. Panl tells us that Christ was the end of his life. When he was tbirty years of age, he i;uddenly discovereo. that he had been entirely mistaken in the end of his life, and that he had lived all these years to no purpose. 'l'hen, in a miraculous manner, the claims of Christ asserted their powM over him, and from that point the crucified One became the magnet of his course, To him to live was Christ. Grasping the plan of his life, he made everylhing subservient to the magnifying of the Saviour, in the makin<>0 of him known. It was Christ who ever came into the study of his imagination. It was Christ whose Name was branded into his heart. It was his unseen Saviour who drew forth from him n power of work beyond wh:i.t has ~ver heeu witnessed (2) Having made Clll'ist the end of life, the adua~tage to himself is in dying. "And to die is gain." 'l'o die involves great loss. lt n~n>lves the luss of all grntific1ttion through the srnscs, the loss of all earthly possessions, the h>ss of all r1111,11·r111 NS. o 34 'l.'HE EPIS'l.'LE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. [cu. 1. 1-30.