•cnoe mind <'Rrthly things; but our city, onr ea.me worde "form" and "f1tehion" (µopt~ aud oountT,·. 0ur home, is in heaven: there is the a-xijµa), to deecribe the change of the odies ~tntc> ,,-f ,d1iC'l1 we Rre citi11:cne; there ie the of the ee.vcd at the resurrection. He hnd 1"'"''"'1 ess<>mbly end Churoh of the Fil'Bt- alreedy told ue (var. 10) that the Christian b ,rn. whose names ere inl'Oribed in the roll soul ie being gradually confonncd during or the citizens of the heav<>nly city. Our life unto the dMth of Christ. He now tells t<'nl home ie there nou, (o'nr&px..); oorup. us that this conformity of the Christian unto Eph. ii.19, "Ye are no longer strangers nnd Christ is ultimCLtely to extend to the body. foreignere, but ye ar~ fellow-citizens of the The Lord shnll ohange the outward fashion ,,aint~" (oomp. also Heb. xi. 10, 16 and xiii. of our body; but thie change will be more H; Gal. iv. 26). From whenoe aleo we than a oho.nge of outward fashion : it will look for the Saviour, the Lord J'eaua ChriBt; result in o. real conformity of the resurreotion- rath,•r, ,re eagerly ,~aitfor (comp. Rom. viii body of the believer unto the glorious body 23, 25; Gill. v. 5) the Lord Je8US Chmt cu of the Lord. The body of our humiliation; a SafJiour ; comp. Isa.. XX'I". 9, "This is the not "vile body." St. Paul does not despise Lord ; we have waited for him; we will be the body, like the Stoice and Gnoetice; the glad o.nd rejoice in hie salvation." Christian's body is a sacred thing-it is the Ver. 21.-Who shall oba.nge our vile body temple of tho Holy Ghost, and the seed of ~bat it may be fashioned like unto bis the resurrection-body (comp. l Cor. vi. 20). gloriollll body; rather, as R.V., v,ho shall Aooording to the working whereby he is able fashwn anew the body of our humuiat.ion, even to subdue all thinge unto himeelf. Ouu i1 may be COAformed to fM body of hill According to the working, the energy, of gl.ory. Compare the description of our Lord's his power not only to ohange and glorify person and work in eh. ii. 6-8. There St. the bodies of the redeemed, but aleo to Paul tells Wl that he who was originally in subdue all things, the whole universe, unto ti.,e form of God took upon him the form of himself. "The apostle shows," ea.ye Chry- a servant, and was found in fashion as a sostom, " greater works of the Saviour's man. Here he uses ihe derivatives of the power, that thou mighteet believe in theee."
HOMILETICS. ,ers. 1--3.-Holy joy. I. THE CHB.ISTUN'S PRIVILEGE, 1. lt is in the Lord. "Rejoice in the Lord," the apostle says. The Lord, who once gave himself/or us, gives himself to us now. "Behold," he says, "I stand at the door, and knock." Ifwe listen to his voice, and open the door of our heart, he is ready to enter, to bless us with his sacred presence, to abide with Uli for ever. In his presence there is fulness of joy. We can know it only by experience. "The love of Jeans, what it is, None but his loved ones know." The unspeakable Gift, the gift of Christ, is a gift of abiding joy. 2. It is one of the fruits r!f the Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God is the pledged possession of all true Chris- tiaru;; and " the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace." "The_kin~dom of _God is right- eo\lliness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.'' Then holy JOY ll! an evidence of the indwelling of the Spirit; it shows tha.t be is W?-th th~ saints of God. .3: It is the earnest of our inherif,a,nce; for it springs from th~ m~orkmg of the Holy Spmt of J?ro- mise. It is a foretaste of the joy of the Lord, which 1s reserved for the good and faith- ful servant. It is of all forms of joy the truest, deepest, most abiding; for it depends on no external cause, it is not much affected by the chances and changes of this mortal life. It supports the true Christian in trouble, in sickness, in the prospect of death. For it is in the Lord, resting on him, depending on hie presence, flowing from com- munion with him. 11. Tai,: CHRISTIAN'S DUTY. 1. Be,ea,use it is eoinmanded. "Rejoice evermore," is equally bindi!lg with the parallel commandment, "Pray without ceasing." In this E1,i~tle especially the apostle reiterates again and again with ever-increasing earnestness tl,e exhortation to rejoice. "Rejoice in the Lord alway; again I will say, Rejoice.'' 2. Because it is e'flforced by the example of the ,aints. "Sorrowing, yet al ways rejoicing," is tlie n,ottrJ of 1Le Christian life. St. Paul with Silas in the dungeon at Philippi sang pra~ 11uto God. Now a prisoner at Ro~e, be could say, '.' I joy, and _rej_oico ~th Y_OU all. H,a w~R in bonds, encompnssecl with many hardships and affl1ct1ons, m daily OJI. III. l~'.2J .] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANfl. 117