Yers. 10-13.-The secret of contentment. The apostle now turns to his personal rcbtions with the Philippians, and commends them for their considerate and timely liberality in the times of ilis distress. 1. 'l'HE APOeTLE's JOY DI TREIB LIBERALITY. "But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that a.t length ye revived your interest in me; in which, indeed, ye did interest yourselves, hut ye had no opportunity." 1. There never was a man who more keenly appreciated Christiam kindn= than the apostle. Self-reliant and jealously independent as he was, his happiness was greatly increased by the thoughtful generosity of his converts. It was in no degree diminished by the fact that his friends had no oppor- wnity of helping him, perhaps because he was far beyond their reach in the sweep of his missionary journeys. 2. Th,ei,r kin-dness i11spired him with a holy joy. Not because it was in answer t.o prayer for timely help, but because it typified the trne grace of God in his converts. Their liberality Wal! an evidence at once of their personal interest in him acd of their Christian i:tllnding in the Lord. II. THE .APOSTLE'S OOl."TENTED sPmIT. "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have i•~rned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, I know also how to abound. Jn everything and in all circumstances I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to :ibound and to suffer need." 1. What a cl,eckered experience wa.s that of the apostle! He had experience of want and of fulness in his wanderings as a.n apostle. Ile was no stranger to hunger. 2. What a happy spirit /(If' sv,ch a lif~ I He was coutent with such things as he had. 'l'he poc:t says- "Art thon poor? Yet hast thou golden slumbers, 0 sweet Content." 'l"Lere is no passage in auy writer which depicts a more expansive, a. more positively exalttd attitude of mind than he describes in this passage as the virtue of content. lt is that conditiun of miud in which notLing can foil the energy of the spirit. It is the '1uality which, having evoked generosity in others, flows forth in gratitude for that gen~ro~ity ; which, having failtd to evoke generosity, manifests itself in submission to cti.,;a,1,pointm1:nt and in patient trust for the luture germination of the seed sown, lll. 'fHE TRUE SECRET oF CONTENTJUXT. "I can do all thiugs in him thnt infuses strcll~Ll, iuli, me." 'l'l,is language implies that there is a Divine spring of help in all OR, IV, 1-28.] THE EPIS'rLE 'fO THE PHILIPPIANS. 171
condi!lons. 1. Oonsider the extent of a Ohristian'B ability. (1) Jle is able to undergo every erial. (2) To brave every sort of suffering. (3) To overcome every variety of temz,taUon. (4) To perform every duty. 2. Oonsider the source of the Ohristian's strength. "In him." By virtue of our vital union with Christ we have access to the trne Source of strength. Christ infuses strength into us: (1) By his teachin_q. (2) By his example of holy patience and forbearance. (3) By the moral influence of his death as a real sacrifice for sin. ( 4) By the abunr1ant bestowal of his Holy Spirit. Thus the believer becomes" strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." IV. THE SIGNIFI0AN0E OF THE APOSTLE'S STATEMENT. (1) It was at once a declaration of experiences and (2) an expression of gratitude.-T. C.
Vera. 14-18.-The circumstances of their liberality. The apostle guards against any appearance of slighting their gifts by specifying the grounds of his joy in them. 1. 'l'HEm LIBERALITY WAS NOT MERE ALMSGIVL....-G, BUT AN ACT OF CHRISTIA!'{ SYMPATHY. "Ye did well in communicating with my affliction." They were ready to share the burden of his troubles. There were no converts nea.rer to the heart of the apostle or more closely identified with his deepest trials. JI. THE APOSTLE'S WILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT THEm GIFTS WAS EXCEPTIONAL IN ITS CHARACTER, While he Tefused to receive gifts from the Corinthians (2 Cor. xi. !l) and from the Thessalonians (1 Thess. ii. 5 ; 2 Thess. iii. 8) because he would not com- promise his independence in the case of Churches which were only too ready to question his motives, he conferred on the Philippians the exceptional privilege of ministering to his wants. Once when he left Macedonia, and twice when he was in 'l'hessalonica, they sent, "to relieve his want." lif. THIB WILLINGNESS DID NOT IMPLY THAT HE COVETED TIIEIR GIFTS. "Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that aboundeth to your account." He does not seek to stimulate their generosity, but rather to increase that recompense which every fresh proof of their love would be sure to enhance. IV. His A0KNOWLEDGMENT OF THEIR LATEST GIFTS BY EPAPIIBODITUB. "I have all things and abound: I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the thin~s sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God." 1. It was a thoughtful kinaness to sena him gifts while he was a prisoner at Rome. The Christians at Rome seem to have been lax in this duty. As he could not gain a living for himself in prison, he was the more dependent on outside generosity. 2. It was doubly pleasant to have the gifts from Philippi conveyed by one so faithful and so dear to the apostle as Epaphroditus. 3. The gifts in his eyes owed their chief value to their being acceptable in Gorfs sight.-T. C.
Ver. 19.-The true source of supply in spiritual need. The apostle seems to say, "You have supplied all my wants; my God shall supply all yours in turn." Consider- I. 'l'HE AUTHOR OF SUPPLY. "My God shall supply all your need." 1. The expres- sion, "my God," seems to say that what the apostle had found him to be in all his wants, his converts would be sure to find him likewise. "My God," (1) because he is mine and I am his; (2) because he has me wholly in charge and has all my interests committed to him. 2. The expression implies, not mErely God's ability anJ willingness to siipply all our need, but his obligation to do so, in virtue of the coi-enant between him and his people. II. 'fHE NKEDS OF THE CHRISTIAN. "All your need." 1. This does not signify all that the Christian wants; only what he needs. In our waywardness and our chil,lish- ness we ask for many things which are not really needful to us, but rather hurtful. 2. Our needs are many. (1) In temporal things; (2) in spiritual things. We neerl faith and its increase, love and its enlargement, hopo and its brighter kindling, grace in all its fnlness and variety, perscveranco in grace to the eud. III. 'l'RE nuLE on MEASURE OF SUPPLY. "According to his riches in glory." Not the ricl1es of his glory, but according to his riches, which will find their full develop- ment in placing the Christian in glory. Thus there is an inexhaustible snp1Jly in God. IV. 'rim MEDIUM OF SUPPLY. "In Christ Jesus." In virtue of our union with him 172 THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. [ou. IT. 1-28.