ls required of him. Our glory is to accept whatever may bo the will of God for us.- V. W.II. Ver. 9,-Ea;altaeion through humiliation. I. 1. Our Lord/a eeaching. Ilo is cou- tlnually urging, under different forms of expression, the elementary gospel truth, that to humhle ourselves is the true way of exaltation. "Except a man be born again ; " "Blessed are the poor in spirit;" "He that humbleth himself;" "Except ye be con- verted," etc. 2. Owr Lord's ezample. He is himselC the great example of that which he teaches. He humbled himself as none other can humble himself, and he is exalted as none other is exalted. II. OuB EXALTATION 0AN ONLY BE ACHIEVED AS ms WAB. 1. We must humble ourselves. Being humiliated is not the same thing as humbling our~elves. Unless we accept it as from God, and for our benefit, humiliation may rouse anger and pride, and thus hinder our exaltation. 2. We must humble ourselves in ehe way of obedience. We shall not find grace in any self-chosen methods of self-humiliation not imposed upon us by God. III. 1. It is a matter of spiritual experience that self-exaltation always leaves us humiliated, whereas the cheerful acceptance of the cross which God lays upon us, making us to share in the humiliation of our Lord, gives us some share also in hi3 exaltation. 2. It is a matter of historical proof. The builders of Babel proposed to "make themselves a name," and were confounded; Abraham left himself in God's hands, who undertook to make his name great (Gen. xi. 4, 8 ; xiL 2).-V. W. H. Vers. 10, 11.-The exaltation of the Son of man. I. CoNTBAST THE GLORY wmcrr THE SoN OF GoD BENOUN0ED WITH THE GLOBY WHICH HAS BEEN BESTOWED UPO:s' HIM BECAUSE OF THAT RENUNCIATION. Contrast also the position of a servant which be voluntarily took, with the position of Lord which he thereby won. Although exalted to be Lord, he still remains in the likeness of men; for it is as Man that he won his kingship, and as Man that he draws all men to himself. ll. THE FEEUNGS EXCITED IN US BY THIS REVELATION OF THE EXALTATION OF THE SoN OF MAN. 1. Wonder and adoration. Wonder that One in our own nature should be thus exalted, and that prayer may now be addressed to One who is still our fellow- man I All creation worships him in whom creation is united to its Creator. 2. Faith. Every tongue is to confess that Jesus is the Lord. This is the essential Christian creed. In it is contained all Christian doctrine and practice. It is Jesus, tlie loving Son of man, who is exalted to be our Lord. The change in his condition does not change his disposition, which is that revealed to us in the gospel story. All power is now given to him who is all loving. What further revelation of God can we need? III. THE FINAL PURPOSE OF ms WORK AND OF OUB CONFESSIOl!l OF FAITH IN HIM. "'l'he glory of God the Father." The humiliation and exaltntion of the Son, the loving arlomtiun of mankind, have this as their final object.-V. 1,V, H. Vere. 12, 13.-" Our own salvcition." The command that we should "work out our own salvation" is not in opposition to the truth that all salvation is the gift and the work of God, It has no reference to this, but is an exhortation to rely upon ourselves and upon Goel in us rather than upon any human guide or teacher. I. 'l'ms SALVATION IS AN INDIVIDUAL THING. It is" our own." To trust to human guides is to doubt t.he guidance of Uod. It was expedient for the disciples that the Lord Jesus should go away, While they were in his visible presouce they trusted to that rather thim to bis Spirit within them, The presence of the teacher binders the spiritual life if it tends to lead the disciples to trust to it rather than to God. A lesson useful both for our own spiritual training and for the work which we would do for the souls of others. II. IT IB TO DE WORKED OUT WITH FEAR A.ND TREMBIJNG. This fear is not a servile fear, but it is the consciousness of the presence of God and 4:!f onr relationship to him. Note that among these Philippians bidden to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, thore must have been that jailor to whom St. Paul had said, "Believo ou the Lord Jesus Christ. and thon shnlt be saved." That first act of faith placed bini 'l'IIE EPISTLE TO 'l'IIE PHILIPPIANS. [cu. n. 1-30.
in a stat.c of ~nJ,.at.ion! Bnd in this sonse "saved" him, and now, being snved, he h&a to work out a fnll salval1on. III. •1:rrn SALVATION IB OF CJ:oD, From hi~ comes firstly tho desi1~ by which we long for 1t and the power by which wo ca.n attain to it. All is of bis graco. Ile gives grnce for grace, not grnoe for good works. Consider the etrength whioh this truth lwstows. The One to whom we trust is not a. guide outside us, but a. God within us. lie is not only One who can teach us when we a.re willing to be taught but One who c:rn gi".e us t~e will to be taught. He is not On~ whom we have to p;rsuade to help us a~iunst hiii will, but the whole that we need 1s already of "his good pleasure."- \. '\'. ll.
, ers. 14-16.-The OhristUIITI, life: its effect upon the world. I. How Tms EFFECT ~AY B~ oasc_i:;RED. Ily murm~rings (i.e. active rebellions against tho will of God) and disputmgs (u. efforts of the intellect to persuade ourselves that God's voice is not s;-caking to us). II. Bow IT IS MANIFESTED. Where God's will is accepted, it will render our lives blameless towards him and hm-mless towards our fellow-men. Thus are we manifested a,; the sons of God, being part.'lkers of his life. Ill. WHAT IT CONSISTS IN. 1. Shining as lights. The faithful are the illuminated, shining, not in their own light, but in the pre.~ence of the Light of the world within them. He so fills them with hlmself that their whole body becomes full of liaht. 2. Houlir,g forth the Word of life. 'l'he light is the life of men. 'l'hey who "are possessors of the light must impart it. One light may be kindled from another with- out diminution of its illnminating power. It is the Word of Goel, i.6. the revelation of God, the Word of life (cf. 1 John i 1), which is "a lantern unto our feet, and a li,,;ht unto our pa.th."-V. W. H.