The Pulpit Commentary — Philippians — Section 48

"Things that are excellent." 'l'he originlll constitution of conscience wns to do this evermore. It does this in he!lven; it once, perhaps, did this on earth; but now, alas I throughout the greater portion of the race in all lands, its sympathies are not with" the things that are excellent.." So awfully hRs it been corruptoo that it yields its con- currence to idolatry, cruelty, priestcrafts, frauds, and falsehoods of endless kinds. When true love to God acts upon it, nothing but " the things that are excellent" will do for 11 : it reject.s, spurns, and damns all othP.ra. 2. Dy making it thoroughly sincere. "That ye may be sincere (eilikrineu)." This word is only used here and in 2 Pet. i. :l; and the corresponding substantive, "sincerity," in 1 Cor. v. 8; 2 Cor. i. 12; ii. 17. It signifies purity tested ~md found clear of all base mixtures, a genuine, incorrnptible conscience-a conscience that leads a man to sacrifice all he has, even life itsel•, rather than swerve an iota from the right and the true. Love to God promotes such a conscience. It did so with the apostles, with all the holy martyrs, and with the Didne Man himself. 3. Dy securing it from blameableness. "Without offence." In the Acts we rea.d of a "conscience void of offence towards God and man." It is essential that such a conscience shonld rule the entire man, and that itself should be ruled by the will of the great God. According to the law of mind, the object we love most becomes our moral monarch: when God becomes the paramount object of our affection, he becomes the Ruler of our conscience. This state of conscience is to be " till the day of Christ." It does not mean that it will end afterwards, but that after that it is sure to be perpetuated. III. THE IMPROVEME?-'T OF THE LIFE. "Being tilled with the fruits of righteous- ness," etc. Paul's language in Rom. vi. 22 may be taken as a commentary on this expre~sion : " Being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." Observe: 1. That a righteous life comes to us thmugh Ghrist. "The fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ." Men are only made morally right by faith in Christ. Philosophically there is no other ,,ay of doing so. Christ came into the world to make man morally right, or, to use Old Testament language, to establish rectitude or judgment on the earth. 2. That a righteous life redounds to tl,e glory of God. "Unto the glory and praise of God." It i~ the highest manifestation of God-it is God "manifested in the flesh." " Let your light- so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." But the "fruits of righteousness," or a righteous life, are ensured only by the abounding and the overflowing of love to God in the soul. All must be lo~·e. Love is not only the inspiration of God, the root of the universe, but the foun- tain of all virtue and happiness. Let love, then, abound.-D. T. Ve1t1. 12-18.-.A grand pri,ncip'le and a sp'lendid examp'le. "But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; and many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing. confi- dent by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without_ fear. Some mdeed preach Chriet even of envy and strife; and some also of ~ood will: the one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defenc~ of the gospe). _What then? Not- withstanding, every way, whether in p~etence, or rn tr_u~b, Chnst (S. pr~ached ;_ a~d I therein do rejoice, yea, and will ri,joice.' In all probability the Ph1hpp1an Chnst1ana, as well, perhaps, as most other of the existing Churches that he had planted, would fear that his imprisonment at Rome would prevent the spread of the gospel. Here he assures them of the contrary, and tells them that it had " fallen out rather unto the iurtLerance of the gospeL" In these words we diecover two very important subjects of thought. L A GRA:!-'D PI!I~CJPLE IJII THE GOVER~MENT OF THE WORLD. What is the principle? 17,,e overruli,-tg of evil for good. Nothing would seem a greater e~il in the earl,¥" dawn 0f Christianity than the imprisonment of St. Paul. There, bamshed from hts own evuntry, buund in bonds, imprisoned by the Prmtorian_ G!-'llrd, chained ?a! an? night to Eun:.e Ruman soldier, utterly unable to go beyond the limited scene of his unpnsonment, (,r tu address-as Le bad 0fttn done-vaet multitudes. There he was for two long ytaE. Luring that period it would seem as if the sun of Christianity had gone down (JJJ, I. 1-.S0.J 'l'HE EPISTLE TO THE PlllLIPPJANS. 13