Vera. 11, 12.-The secret of contentment. I. CONTENTMENT IS A BARE .L"ID PIIECIOwS CBRISTUN GRACE. It must be distinguished from spiritual self-satisfaction, which is sinful and fatal, and is concerned with our own inner condition, while true contentment has regard to our external circuD18tances. It must also be distinguished from the recklessness of folly and from the apathy of despair. It is a quiet restfulness in the midst of all kinds of changing events. 1. It is ·rare and difficult of attainment, because (1) outside events are frequently untoward; (2) our own hearts are 1mhealthily restless; and (3) we live too much in dependence on this world and its fortunes. 2. Content- ment is most desirable. For without it the most propitious circumstances can minister little pleasure, and with it the hardest privations can produce little distress. 'l'he important question in regard to our happiness is not-What things do we possess? but -What kind of though ls and feelings do we experience? 3. Contentment is requisite in every condition of life. It is not only the virtue of the poor and the solace of the dis- appointed. Rich and prosperous people are too often also discontented people. It is harder for some to know how to !lbound than to know how to suffer want. Wealth brings the thirst for more wealth. Pleasure palls. Prosperity wearies. It is a grand attainment to be able to pass up and down the whole gamut of social change and to behave one's self with equanimity and contentment in every stage up from abasement to abundance and then down again from fulness to need. II. THE l!E0RET OF CONTENTMENT IS TO DE LEARNED FilOM CHRIST. There is a secret Some have not yet found it out. But it exists and it is well worth seeking. 'l'o be fully understood and enjoyed it must be learned as a long, difficult, painful lesson. St. Paul had J~arnt it, and his example should win fresh pupils to study the same great lesson. 1. Christ gives us strength to bear varying fortunes. St. Paul could speak of his contentment because he could also BBY, "I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me." If we know and feel nothing beyond this, there is a certain satisfaction to be got from the mere sense of new power given to bear that which before seemed to be unbearable. 2. Christ enables us to livo in faith. 'l'hus believing that oven now all thinas are orderc<l wisely and kindly by our heavenly Father, that they are workiug together for good not yet seen, workiug for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, we learn to bear the present mystery of trial in hope of the future revelatiuu of bles11edness. 3. Christ lea<ls us to live in the spiritual. This is the real secret. External circumstances are constantly changing. At best they will not satisfy the soul's deop hunger, Whilo we live in them wu are necessarily ol"ten disappointed a.nd 198 TTTE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPl'IANS. [ou. 1v, 1......99,
clim,ntcnt<'d.. Jn the inner worl~ of spiritual thi~g:s we must find our best e:lpetlence, and when this_ ~pens up to the h_1ghe; world of Drvme and heavenly things we ho.ve a source of unfailing peaoe. Re.qtmg m God we shall be content in every variety of c:i.rthly affairs.-\\'. F. A.
Ver. 13.-Ch,·istian omnipotence. The language of faith resembles In form the language of boastful presurup~ion. But the two are essentially dissimilar. So lono- ne our ground of confidence is not in ourselves, but in Christ, it is no mark of humility .,but rather a sign of unbelief and ingratitude, for one to make little of it. There is a· l;giti- mate boasting in Christ which is quite different from the boasting of the bmo-gart. in his own resources. "My soul will make her boast in the I,ord 8 -this the h~mblest may say. l. TIIE TRUE CHRISTIAN IS A STRONG SOUL, He is not simply pardoned the failures of past weakness; he is prepareJ to be more succ~s~ful in future trials. For those trials he is not merely protected by Divine armour; he is also girded by Divine strcncrth. God does not simply hide his child in the cleft of a rock while the storm passes; he :ilio inspires him with might wherewith to face and brave and conquer the storm even out in the open. He who protects the feeble fledglings in their warm nest also braces the strong branches of the oak to wrestle with the g11.le. Moreover, if strength is pos- sible to the Christian, weakness is culpable. No one can plead his feebleness as an excuse for falling when he might havt! been strong in the energy of God. 11 CHRIST IS THE SOUBCE OF CHRISTIAN STRENGTH. We are made strong in Christ, not in ourselves. By himself the Christian is as weak as any one else. It is union \Yith Christ that supplies Christ's strength made perfect in our weakness. 1. Christ strengthens with an inspiration of Divine energy. 'I'he language of the apostle points to a real supply of strength, not a mere sense of courage, etc. 'l'here is a positive out- flow of God's might into a soul that is united to Christ. 2. Christ strengthens· by his union with us. We must be in him and he in us. Then hie life-power flows thl'Ough us. 3. Christ strengthens through our faith. We are able to receive Christ's energy just in proportion as we trust him, as they who 'll"ere cured by him had blessings according to their faith. The energy is not in our faith, but in Christ. Still, faith is the cbanI\el of communication. Faith can move mountains, not by reason of its own inherent 'l"irtue, but because it invokes the omnipotence of God, as the engineer starts the train when he turns on the steam. • lll THERE ARE GREAT CLArllS ON Cm!ISTUN STRENGTH. It is not allowed to rust· in icilenes.5. St. Paul writes of ,., all things," as though there were many things ~ be done in the power of Christ. 1. Troubles, temptation,, and changing circumstances of life must be borne with contentment. It is in n,gard to this requirement that tbe apostle more hnmediatt:ly records this assurance of sufficien~ of stren~h. 2. Dutiea have to be fulfilled. Christ gives strength !or work as well as strength for endurance. Tbe Christian mnst not only stand firmly like a rock; he m11St put forth active power like a Samson. 'I'he calls for strength are many and various, flesh and heart fail before them; but "they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength," so that in Christ the heaviest burden may be borne and the hardest task accomplished and the weakest soul win the victory over the most powerful foe, with a strength which is practically omnipotent, because it is derived from an almighty source.-W. F. A.