The Pulpit Commentary — Philippians — Section 178

who, Btnndlng upon our enrth, sni<l, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myBelf." And the things which are lovely aro to be in us. It is true of virtue as a whole thnt it is lovely. Cicero says, "There is nothin" more lovely than virtue, nothing which more allures to loving." But the things that°are lovely are especially thO!Je that rise to e. high standard. We must not be merely righteous; but wo muBt be good. Even Lot is called righteoua in Scripture; but there was one that towered high above him, having the things that are lovely. How beautiful to see Abraham exercising the grace of hospitality I How beautiful to see his generous treat- ment of Lot, his not standing on his rights with him, his forgiving his selfishness, his hllaping on his head coo.ls of kin<lness I How beautiful especially to see him going so Jar in his self-denial toward God as not to withhold from him his son, his only son ! Did he not have the qualities of a noble, royal nature? " Whatsoever things are of good report." This is distinctly estimation. There are things which sound well in the ear. Of even God in connection with the redemption from Egypt it is said that he had gotten himself a name. It sounded well in the ears of the Israelites, and of the uncovenanted nations too. And so God has gotten him a name in connection with the great redemption from sin. It can be so.id of the name of Redeemer that it sounds well. And we are to have the thirigs of good report in us too. Virtue, says an ancient philo- sopher, is the concurring voice of the good. The things that are well reported of are especially those that rise above the common standard-that show disinterestedness and devotion. If a thing is lovely in itself, it is an additional advantage that it is well spoken of, especially among the good. " If there be any virtue." This, showing a change of form, but still universality, seems to summarize the preceding, with the sole exception of the last. The derivation of" virtue" points to manliness or valour. But it is to be taken as inclusive of every form of moral excellence. We are to have the excellence that comes from the true, from the honourable, from the just, from the pure, from the lovely. But, lest that should not cover the whole ground of excellence, he adds, "If there be any virtue." "And if there be any praise.'' We are not to under- stand anything that is praiseworthy, but the actual bestowment of praise. It covers the things that are of good report; but points rather to the distinct embodiment of moral judgment regarding things in eulogy, such as Paul's praise of love in the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, and our Lo)'.d's praise of humility and other virtues in the beati- tudes. "Think on these things." We come to the things which have been mentioned partly by intuition, but we must dwell upon them and converse with them, if we would have a clear apprehension of them and have skiU in detecting their counterfeits. The thought of the psalmist is that the use of the understanding is necessary to the right keeping of God's Law. If we allow the intellect to slumber, do not examine into cir- cumstances and carefully investigate the moral character of what we are doing, we may go far enough astray from the true, and honourable, and just, and pure. It is by con- stantly judging our conduct by these things that they come to have the shaping of onr life. "To cover human life with beauty, to carve it into nobleness, requires thought as truly as to cover canvas with lovely forms or to make the hard and unwilling marble assume a shape of majesty and grace. Is there any nobler use of the intellect of mau than this, to serve the conscience and the heart with faithful loyalty, to master the moral laws by which life should be ruled, aud the motives which may assist the vacil- lating will in keeping them? Among common men, what restless, incessant thought there is about how they may extend their trade and increase their profits, come to live in a larger house and keep a better table, and how little thought about the eternal law of righteousness and their obligation to keep and honour it! Do Christian men believe that he who gnvc them their intellect meant them to think incessantly of the price of iron, the rate of wages, the condition of the money market, the furniture of their houHes, the fruit in their gardens-never or only sluggishly about his own awful majesty, his glorious perfection, his ideas of what human life ought to be ? JI. 'l'HESE CATEGORIES 'OF MORALITY ALSO FOR PRACTICE WITII THE HELP OF APOSTOLIC INTERPRETATION, 1. Interpretation of his teaching, "'l'he thiugs which ye both learned aud received." 'l'he only difference between these verbs seems to be that in th!! former we are pointed more to the activity of the taught, in the latter more to the activity of the tooeher. 'l'hc fact that Paul holds up these hig:h categories _before the Philippians shows that they wero in nn arlvnnccd. st,\te. At the same tnnc, It wa, uut  THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. [en. IV, 1-23.