£ THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,
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Princeton, N. J.
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LIBEAEY
PRINCETON, N. ]. *ff.
PRESENTED BY
THE PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION
"R L_
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AN
EXPOSITION
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PHILIPPIANS.
/
BY THE REV. JEAN DAILLÉ,
MINISTER OF THE FRENCH REFORMED CHURCH AT CHARENTON, A. D. 1639.
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH
BY THE REV. JAMES SHERMAN,
MINISTER OF SURREY CHAPEL, LONDON.
PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION,
821 Chestnut Street.
STEREOTTPED BT
JESPER HARDING & SON,
SO. 57 SOUTH THIRD STREET, PHILADELPHIA.
MEMOIR
THE REV. JEAN DAILLÉ.
Je AN" D aillé, a celebrated French Protestant minister, was
born at Chattellerault, in the year 1594. His father, who was
the receiver of the consignations at Poitiers, designed him for
business, and to become his successor in his office. But observ-
ing his son's strong inclination to books, he judiciously yielded
to it, and sent him, when he had attained his eleventh year, to
St. Maixent, in Poitou, to acquire the rudiments of learning.
He continued his studies successively at Poitiers, Chatteller-
ault, and Saumur. At the last place he finished his course of
philosophy under the celebrated Mark Duncan ; and began his
theological studies at Saumur, in the year 1612. In the same
year he was received into the family of the illustrious M. du
Plessis-Mornay, in the honourable capacity of tutor to his two
grandsons. This was one of the most felicitous providences in
M. Daillé's life ; for though he was, doubtless, well qualified
for his trust, and faithfully discharged it, yet it is said that he
received as much instruction from the venerable grandfather
as he communicated to the grandsons. Mornay was extremely
pleased with him, and frequently read with him, and imparted
to him those rich stores of learning and knowledge with which
his own mind was furnished ; so that some have attributed the
great celebrity which Daillé afterwards attained to the assist-
. ance he received from his noble patron ; and it may be justly
supposed that the counsels and instructions of that excellent
(3)
4 MEMOIR OF THE REV. JEAN DAILLE.
man were not wasted on him. After enjoying the advantages
of this situation for seven years, he set out on his travels with
his pupils, and went to Geneva, and thence through Piedmont
and Lombardy to Venice, and other parts of Italy. While at
Mantua one of his pupils was taken ill, and he removed him,
with all speed, to Padua, where greater liberty was allowed to
Protestants than in other parts of Italy ; but there the young
man died, and it was not without great address that Daillé,
aided by the memorable Father Paul, avoided the observation
of the inquisitors, in removing his corpse to France, that it
might be interred in the burial-place of his ancestors.
While at Venice M. Daillé entered into a most intimate
friendship with the erudite and candid historian of the Council
of Trent, and afterwards spoke of the results of this intimacy
as the principal benefit which he received from his travels ;
and, on the other hand, such was the affection that Paul con-
ceived for him, that he used his utmost endeavour with a
French physician, of the Protestant religion, and one of his in-
timate friends, to prevail with him to stay at Venice*
M. Daillé, and his surviving pupil, proceeded from Italy to
Switzerland, Germany, Flanders, Holland, and England, and
returned to their native country in the year 1621.
In 1623 he entered the ministry at the castle of La Forest,
in Lower Poitou, belonging to M. du Plessis-Mornay. But in
a short time after that nobleman was taken ill, and died in the
arms of the new pastor. He now engaged in preparing for
the press memoirs of his patron, which had been compiled by
one of his domestics, of the name of De Lignes, and were after-
wards published in two volumes.
In 1625 he was elected minister of the church at Saumur,
and in the following year was called by the consistory of
Paris to take the charge of the church at Charenton. Here he
* This circumstance, among many others, has been thought no inconsiderable
proof that Father Paul concealed, under the habit of a monk, a temper devoted
to Protestantism and its professors. His detestation of the corruptions of the
Romish Church appears in all his writings, but particularly in the following re-
markable passage in one of his letters : " There is nothing more essential than
to ruin the reputation of the Jesuits. By the ruin of the Jesuits, Rome will be
ruined ; and if Rome be ruined, religion will reform of itself."
MEMOIR OF THE EEV. JEAN DAILLB. 5
continued to fulfil his ministry for the remainder of his life,
widely diffusing the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus.
He died at Paris in the year 1670.
He frequently assisted in the Protestant national synods
that were holden in France, where his influence was very
great; and presided at the last synod prior to the revocation
of the edict of Nantz, which assembled in London in the year
1659. However repugnant were the doctrines maintained by
our author to those of the Romish Church, he was highly es-
teemed by many of that communion for his learning, abilities,
integrity, moderation, and obliging and affable manners.
Balzac once exclaimed to him, " Oh that such a man as you
are were on our side !" That he was highly valued by the
Protestants of France will be readily supposed. They were
accustomed to say that " since the days of Calvin, they had
possessed no better writer than M. Daillé."
He was a very voluminous author. This will not be
thought wonderful, when it is considered that he lived long,
was remarkably exempted from sickness, and was very labo-
rious. He was eminently endued with the qualifications of an
author, and had this singular advantage, that his understanding
was not impaired by age ; for it is observable that there is
no less strength and ardour in his two volumes, entitled " De
Objecto Cultus Eeligiosi," the first of which was published
when he was seventy years old, than in any of his earlier
works.
In the year 1631 he published his most celebrated work,
entitled " Of the Use of the Fathers,"* which Bayle character-
ized as " a very strong chain of arguments, that form a moral
demonstration against those who would have differences in re-
ligion to be decided by the authority of the fathers."f This
able performance was censured, not only in Eoman Catholic
countries, but by some English Episcopalians, who thought
that it tended to obscure the merits of the ancient church.
* De 1' Usage des Pères." [Republished by the Presbyterian Board of
Publication.]
f Dr. Fleetwood, Bishop of Ely, said of this book, that it " pretty sufficiently
proved the fathers were of no use at all."
6 MEMOIR OF THE REV. JEAN DAILLE.
But by the more liberal part of the English communion it was
received with very great applause, as is evident from testimo-
nies in its favour from Lord Falkland, (who used to say that
" to obtain the acquaintance of M. Daillé was worth going to
Paris,") Lord George Digby, and Dr. Taylor, prefixed to an
English translation of it, by the learned Thomas Smith, B. D.
Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge; and also from Lord
Clarendon's excellent apology for it, in his answer to Serenus
Cressay.
In 1663 Daillé published another work of general interest,
entitled " An Apology for the Eeformed Churches,"* in which
he vindicates, with much learning and argument, their separa-
tion from the Church of Eome, from the imputation of schism,
which was often alleged against them. This work, as well as
the former, was translated into English, and also into Latin.
As soon as his " Apology" appeared, it was much censured by
the clergy of France, and some of them were employed to write
against it. Daillé wrote two or three little pieces in defence
of it, which were afterwards printed with it in the Latin edi-
tion. Besides the two works above mentioned, he published
about twenty volumes of sermons, several critical and contro-
versial pieces, and others of a temporary nature.
His Expositions of the Philippians and Colossians will af-
ford the lovers of sound practical theology much edification.
They are marked by clear interpretation of Scripture — great
candour towards other expositors — boldness for the faith —
and vigorous attacks on the errors of the papacy, which he ex-
poses with singular skill, and refutes with masculine energy.
His sanctified eloquence appears in every page, but especially
in his perorations, which, for close appeals to the conscience,
ardent love to a precious Saviour, earnest exhortations to holy
walking with God, and active service for Christ, exceed any
which have fallen into the editor's hands, and, in his opinion,
justify the sentence written on the title page by a devoted ser-
vant of Christ, from whose library the copy of this Exposi-
tion of the Epistle to the Colossians was obtained, " This is the
most eloquent book in my library."
The Exposition of the Epistle to the Philippians is now for
* " L' Apologie des nos Eglises."
MEMOIR OF THE EEV. JEAN DAILLE. 7
the first time translated into English. The editor begs to ex-
press his obligations to the Misses Clifton for the great assist-
ance rendered him in this department of labour, and to F.
Eivaz, Esq., to whose critical knowledge both of the French
and English languages it is indebted for much of its point and
power. A faithful, but verbal, translation of the Exposition
of the Epistle to the Colossians appeared in English in the year
1672, the copies of which have now become very scarce. That
translation has undergone revision in the present edition, and
it is hoped will be found considerably improved.
While the labour of revising and preparing these valuable
treasures of theological lore is not small, the editor acknow-
ledges, with thankfulness to God, that he has derived great
encouragement to proceed in his work from the testimonies of
approbation which he has received from ministers of Christ,
and pious and intelligent laymen, in various sections of the
church. He trusts that these precious pieces of Daillé, sent
forth in a more inviting dress, and at a cheaper rate, will yet
further contribute to their consolation and instruction, and
the name of the Lord Jesus be abundantly glorified.
J. SHERMAN.
Surrey Parsonage, Jan. 11, 1841.
TO THE HIGH AND MIGHTY LADY
MADAM ANNE DE MORNAY,
DUCHESS AND MARESCHALE DE LA FORCE.
Madam : — It is not without cause that an ancient doctor of
the church, not less celebrated for the sanctity of his manners
than for the graces of his eloquence, formerly complained that
the apostle Paul was not known by christians as he ought to
be* For the writings of this holy man are so replete with
heavenly wisdom, that they would suffice to produce in us
perfect piety, if we read them with suitable assiduity and at-
tention. He explains the mysteries of faith ; he treats of the
duties of life ; he expatiates on the consolations of the Spirit ;
he represents the whole nature of the christian conflict in so
admirable a manner, that there is no soul so ignorant that he
cannot instruct ; so vile, that he cannot subdue ; so profane,
that he cannot sanctify ; so afflicted, that he cannot console ;
nor so cowardly, that he cannot awaken and fill with courage.
I well know that the worldly-minded complain of the difficulty
of his doctrine, and the refined, of the harshness of his lan-
guage. But both these excuses are but the false pretexts of
the idleness and malice of mankind. The depth of those mines
where nature has hidden gold and silver does not prevent our
digging into them with infinite labour, nor the distance of the
Eastern coast our going thither through a thousand dangers in
search of pearls. Here, where the question is of heavenly
treasures, incomparably more precious than all those of earth,
* Chrysostom, on the Epistle to the Romans.
10 DEDICATION.
the same persons are discouraged, on account of a little diffi-
culty in opening the casket wherein this treasure is enclosed.
Besides, it is certain that the obscurity of which they accuse
this great man arises almost entirely from the real aversion
they feel towards the holiness of his doctrine, which the cor-
ruption of their passions prevents them from relishing. " If
his gospel be hid, it is hidden from those who perish, whose
understanding the god of this world hath blinded," 2 Cor. iv.
3, 4. And as to the bluntness of which they accuse his lan-
guage, I acknowledge that the ornaments of worldly eloquence
are not to be found in it. He has despised all that artifice, as
unworthy of the greatness of his office, and of the dignity of
his design, contenting himself with a popular form of speech,
very different from the air of the schools and the rhetoric of
the age. But it is a lamentable refinement which would lead
us to disdain the most delicious food, under the pretext that it
is offered to us in earthen dishes ; or precious stones, because
they are presented to us in a wooden casket. The simplicity
of the apostle's language in no degree lessens the price of the
holy truth which is there offered to us, and the gold of his
divine thoughts is not the less precious nor the less salutary
because it is contained in an earthen vessel. Besides which, I
am sure that those to whom this apostle is familiar will not
allow that his writings are so coarse as the profane pretend.
If they have not the graces of earth, they have those of heaven ;
and although the labour of human art no where appears, an
original simplicity and vigorous beauty shine throughout,
arising from the majesty of the things themselves, and from
the elevation of the thoughts of this divine writer. You know
it, madam, having from the beginning been instructed in this
holy reading, and having happily drawn from it, throughout
the whole course of your life, the fruits of that edification and
consolation which are therein presented to us by the Holy
Spirit. This has led me to believe that you will not find this
book disagreeable, since Paul is its author. For I have therein
endeavoured, madam, to explain the first two chapters of the
Epistle which he formerly wrote to the Philippians, and which
divine Providence has preserved entire in the treasury of the
church for the good of christians. I acknowledge that so rich
DEDICATION. H
a work deserved the labour of a better hand, and that if there
has been rashness in undertaking it, there is still more in pub-
lishing it. But whatever feeling I may have of my own insuf-
ficiency, the approbation and the desire of the faithful, who
have already heard these meditations from my mouth in the
church where I officiate, have given me courage to bring them
to light. I assume then the boldness of addressing them to
you, madam, and of placing your illustrious name at the head
of them, and I shall esteem myself happy, if, after having made
the trial, you shall judge them capable of affording some edifi-
cation to good and pious minds. However that may be, I
promise myself, madam, both from your singular piety, and
from the kindness with which you have graciously honoured
me, that if the present work be unworthy of you, its little
value will not prevent you receiving it with a favourable eye,
and accepting the respectful affection with which I offer it to
you. This favour will oblige me more and more to implore
the Creator that he would bless you and preserve you to his
glory, and to our consolation, with my lord your husband, in
perfect prosperity, and to remain inviolably,
Madam,
Your very humble and very obedient servant,
DAILLÉ.
Paris, Nov. 12th, 1643.
EXPOSITION
OF THE
EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE PHILIPPIANS.
SERMON I.
CHAPTER I.
VERSE 1-6.
Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints
in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and
deacons : Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father,
and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every
remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you
all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel
from the first day until now ; being confident of this very thing,
that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it
until the day of Jesus Christ.
Among the advantages which God has given to man above
animals, there is scarcely one more wonderful, or which more
clearly shows the excellence of our nature, than the invention
and use of letters. Thus we read that the people of that new
world which was discovered in the time of our fathers found
nothing more astonishing than this art ; not being able to com-
prehend how a small sheet of paper, marked with a few lines
and figures, was capable of revealing to a man the secrets of
another, absent many leagues from him ; and previously to
having learned the meaning, they imagined that there must
be some spirit or divine virtue enclosed in the character of the
letters, to produce so admirable an effect. What would they
have said, had they known that this invention not only com-
municates to us the conversations and the thoughts of the
(13)
14 AN EXPOSITION OP [SERM. I.
absent, but even of the very dead ; and, in spite of the dis-
tance of times and places, renders those present to us, whom
not only many climes, but also many ages, have removed from
us by an almost infinite space ? that it makes them speak some
thousands of years after their death, and even in countries
where they had never been during their life ? By the blessing
of letters they still live, although in the tomb, and converse
with many more persons since death has destroyed their
tongues, than they did during the whole period in which they
had the entire use of them. As the holy apostles of the Lord
Jesus have carefully made the most of every kind of endow-
ment for spreading the gospel of their Master throughout the
world, they have not failed to avail themselves of this also,
multiplying by the pen both their preaching and their presence,
and sending in their letters, as it were, types of themselves
into those places where some causes had prevented their going
in person. It is from hence that we possess the fourteen di-
vine Epistles of the apostle Paul, written on sundry occasions
to the churches, and to the faithful, with whom his absence did
not permit him to converse by the living voice. Thus you see
that, while he was a prisoner in Eome, he wrote to some of
those beloved churches which he had established in Asia and
in Greece, watering with his pen that which he had planted
with his tongue. Although absent, and in the chains of Nero,
still by means of his letters he did not cease to preach, and to
exercise his apostleship, in those places where he could not be
present. By them he lives and preaches still in the midst of
us : they have extended the presence and the intercourse of
this holy man throughout all climates and in every age.
Among the churches on whom he conferred this favour, that
of the Philippians was not the least considerable. Having
chosen the Epistle which he wrote to it to be henceforth, if it
please the Lord, the subject of these discourses, I feel myself
obliged, in the first place, to make you acquainted with the
circumstances that occasioned it. Philippi was a city of Ma-
cedonia, on the frontiers of Thrace, built by Philip, the father
of Alexander the Great. This name rendered it celebrated
from the beginning. But since that time it has become much
more famous, on account of the two bloody battles which the
Romans fought on its plains, in one of which Julius Caesar,
the first emperor of the Romans, conquered Pompey, and in
the other, Augustus, the son and successor of Julius, defeated
Brutus and Cassius. Luke tells us, in the 16th chapter of
Acts, that Paul having passed from Asia into Macedonia, by
order of a heavenly vision, Philippi was the first town where
he sowed the seed of the gospel, with such success that he there
gained Lydia with her family, and many others, whom he
afterwards confirmed in the faith by his miracles and by his
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 15
sufferings. For he there publicly closed the mouth of devils ;
and having been brought before the magistrates and scourged
with Silas for the name of Jesus, he enlightened with celestial
brightness the darkness of the prison itself in which they were
placed. And although the magistrates drove him from the
town, still his word, his blood, and his works were so effica-
cious, that he left there a good company of christians. Whilst
this happy church thus grew at Philippi, Paul pursued his
conquests by founding others elsewhere, at Thessalonica, at
Berea, at Athens, at Corinth, and at Ephesus, planting the
cross of his Master in all the provinces of Greece. But the
devil, envying his success, excited against him the rage of the
Jews, who, not being able to put him to death in Jerusalem,
accused him before the Eoman governors of the country ; and
after a long captivity in the city of Cesarea, he was finally
sent to Rome to be judged by the emperor ; there he remained
for some years a prisoner. The church of the Philippians, re-
membering what they owed to their master, visited him in his
bonds, despatched Epaphroditus (who appears to have been
their pastor) express to Rome, to inquire after him, and to dis-
pense to him some fruits of their charity, rightly judging that,
in so sad a situation, he would require assistance both for the
necessities and comforts of life. Epaphroditus acquitted him-
self of his commission, and informed the apostle of the state
of the Philippians, and of the assaults directed against their
faith by the false teachers among the Jews, who tried to cor-
rupt the gospel, and to mix Moses with Jesus Christ. He as-
sured him of the constancy of his converts, and of their per-
severance in his doctrine, and was detained some time with the
apostle by a serious illness with which the Lord visited him.
When he recovered, Paul sent him back to Philippi, and
charged him with this Epistle, where, after having commended
their piety and their zeal, to strengthen them in this good way,
and to fortify them against the temptations of the enemy, he
addressed various exhortations and necessary remonstrances to
them. In the first place, he declares his cordial affection
towards them 5 he speaks to them of himself, and of his bonds ;
he conjures them not to lose courage from the extreme dangers
in which they saw him; shows them that his imprisonment
only promoted the glory of the gospel ; and incited them by
his example to prepare themselves for similar combats. And
because ambition is the mother of discord, which opens the
door to false doctrine, and to scandals, he powerfully exhorts
them to humility in the 2nd chapter, proposing to them the
admirable example of Jesus Christ ; and, to console them, he
promises very soon to send Timothy to them, hoping shortly
himself to follow, and excusing the delay of Epaphroditus, on.
account of his illness. In the 3rd chapter he attacks the false
18 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. I.
teachers among the Jews, opposing to the pretended utility of
their circumcision the fulness of Jesus Christ, and to their pride
and ostentation the advantages of his own birth according to
the flesh, of his former conversation in the profession of the
law, and the holiness of his present life ; warning them that
the only object at which we all ought to strive is, that we may
have part in the death and in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Finally, in the last chapter, after having briefly, but ardently,
exhorted them to a persevering and earnest pursuit after sanc-
tification, he thanks them for their charity, and finishes, as
usual, by prayers for their welfare, and by the remembrances
of the believers who were at Rome. This, dear brethren, is
the occasion and subject of this Epistle. May God, who in-
spired his apostle to write it, give us grace, to me to explain
it, and to you to hear it, honestly, and in a christian-like spirit,
to the glory of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and to our com-
mon joy and edification. Amen.
Upon the present occasion, in order that I may give you a
distinct understanding of the verses which you have heard, I
shall, with the blessing of God, consider three points in them :
First, the inscription, or address, of the Epistle, contained in
the first two verses. Secondly, The thanksgiving and prayers
of Paul to God for the Philippians, in the three following
verses. And finally, The assurance that he felt of their fu-
ture perseverance ; this he sets forth in the last verse of our
text.
1. The inscription of the Epistle, the first of these three
points, is contained in these words; "Paul and Timotheus, the
servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which
are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons :" to which I
shall join the following salutation, usual in the Epistles of this
apostle ; " Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father,
and from our Lord Jesus Christ." Paul, the author of this
Epistle, is so well known to you, that it is not necessary that
I should stop to describe him ; besides which, we shall here-
after have occasion on the third chapter to speak of the prin-
cipal circumstances of his condition, both before and after his
conversion. He does not here mention his quality of apostle,
which shines in the titles of the greater number of his other
Epistles, and in my opinion for two reasons : first, because his
dignity was well known to the Philippians to whom he wrote ;
secondly, because he associates himself with Timothy in this
place, and wrote not only in his own name, but in that of this
disciple also, to whom the quality of apostle did not belong.
He therefore assumes a title which was common to them both,
viz., that of " servants of Jesus Christ." It is true, that in a
certain sense this title belongs to all christians, inasmuch as it
signifies generally the subjects of the Lord, who owe him, and
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 17
vield to him, an absolute subjection. For as lie lias not only
created us, but has moreover redeemed us with his blood, it is
clear that we are his subjects by a double right. But I am
of opinion that Paul here uses the word " servants " in another
sense, meaning the ministers and officers of Jesus Christ, whom
he has established in a certain charge over his flocks, to govern
and to feed them, in the same way as Moses, Aaron, Samuel,
and many others, are usually called servants of God, in the
ancient scriptures, by reason of the offices which they exer-
cised in Israel. In this sense, the word " servant of Christ " is
rather a name of dignity than of subjection, and is employed
to recommend and extol the quality of those to whom it is
given, rather than for the purpose of abasing them, and re-
ducing them to an equality with others, and only belongs to
those who exercise some authority in the church : such were
Paul and Timothy ; the first, the apostle of the Lord, which is
the highest dignity in the church; the latter, evangelist and
prophet, which was the second after the apostleship. He ad-
dresses his Epistle generally to the whole body of the church
at Philippi, and then particularly to those who guided it, who
have since been called " the clergy," to distinguish them from
the people.
He calls the former " all the saints which are at Philippi ;"
that is to say, all the faithful. For you know that, in the
style of the apostles, the name of saint is given generally, to
all true christians : in the first place, because God has separated
them from other men by his calling, thus drawing them into
communion with his Son ; and secondly, because he has puri-
fied them by the power of his Spirit from the filth of their
sins, giving them love and other christian virtues, in which
true holiness consists : thus you see how entirely contrary to
sense, and to the doctrine of the apostles, is the opinion of
those who reckon among the true members of the church, the
wicked and the worldly-minded, who are disguised under a
false profession of Christianity. But as St. Paul addresses
this Epistle to all the faithful at Philippi, expressly distin-
guishing them from the bishops and deacons, it thus appears
clear that his intention is, that all true christians, whatever
may be their condition in the church, should read his divine
letters in opposition to the presumption of those who deny
them to the people. Believers, enjoy boldly the right which
Paul has given you in his writings. Search and study
them carefully. You are not less the people of the Lord than
were the Philippians. But learn also in this place how very
high is the rank of christians which is here given you. It
belongs alone to the saints. If your conscience convicts you
of having no part in so excellent a name, on account of the
sinfulness of your life, with which holiness is incompatible,
3
18 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. I.
"be sure that neither are you christians; and having day and
night at heart this true saying of the apostles, "If any man
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his," Rom. viii. 9,
cleanse yourselves from all the spots of vice, and yield your-
selves unto holiness, allowing yourselves to be guided in all
your ways by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, who is its only
author.
As to those who ruled over the church of the Philippians,
the apostle calls them " bishops and deacons ;" comprising
under the word " bishops " all the pastors and teachers who
laboured in the word, whether in teaching, exhortation, cate-
chizing or consolation ; and under the name of " deacons "
those who had the charge of the tables, and of the poor, and
administered the consecrated alms, according to the distinc-
tion of officers in the church which the apostles had estab-
lished in the beginning, as we read in the Acts. It is true
that at present, and for many ages past, the word " bishop " is
taken in a different sense throusrhout Christendom, for him
who presides over one church, and over all its clergy, exerci-
sing therein a special authority. But here Paul evidently
takes the word "bishop" otherwise. For he puts many
bishops in one church, whereas, according to the usual mean-
ing of the word, it can have but one. And truly it is clear
from this and from many other passages, that in the time of
the apostles the words bishop and presbyter, that is to say,
elder, signified one and the same office, that which we now
call the holy ministry ; and it does not appear, from any part
of the New Testament, that in the first century there was any
other dignity in the usual ministry of the church above that.
Jerome long ago made this judicious remark in many parts
of his works, concluding that the presbyter and bishop are by
right equal, according to the first apostolic institution ; and
that the difference which there is at present has been since
established to preserve order and unity, being consequently
but of arbitrary and human, and not of divine appointment.
I acknowledge that in the assembly of the ministers of each
church it is needful, to avoid confusion, that there should be
one to preside. But this prerogative does not prevent his
colleagues or brethren from being equal to him in reality, as
it respects the authority of government.
And, in the first place, let us learn here in general how dan-
gerous it is to depart, however little, from the discipline and
language of the apostles. For this word " bishop " having
been taken differently from what -they intended, and having
been individually given to the presidents of each college of
ministers, has made them imagine that they were greater than
their brethren ; and this first error has produced an infinity
of others ; the metropolitans having by degrees encroached
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 19
upon the dignity of the bishops, as the bishops had done on
that of ministers or presbyters ; and the patriarchs having
afterwards elevated themselves above the metropolitans; until
at last, by many artifices, and much adroitness, the Roman pre-
late has drawn to himself all that authority which the others
had usurped in the church, and even more. May so sad and
fatal an event render us wise to keep ourselves constantly and
faithfully to the institutions of God, without attending to the
discourses of those who so earnestly strive to make us ac-
knowledge a pope in the church of Jesus Christ.
Let us also learn, by this example of the church of the
Philippians, what and how marvellous was the efficacy of the
apostolic preaching. For when Paul wrote this Epistle to
Philippians, it was only about nine or ten years since he
had first preached the gospel there. In this little time faith
and piety had made such progress, notwithstanding the opposi-
tion and contradiction of the pagans and Jews, that there
was already a church sufficient to occupy many bishops and
deacons.
After this address, the apostle salutes them with his usual
benediction, " Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our
Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ." He has good reason
in the first place, to desire that they may have " grace," that
is to say, the mercy and favour of God, as it is the only
source from whence all kinds of blessings flow to us ; and
then "peace," the precious fruit of grace, signifying by this
word, according to the style of the Hebrews, great prosperity
and happy success in all things ; in a word, felicity, and the
abundance of every good thing. And it is from God the
Father that he desires both the one and the other ; as he is the
first author of them, without whose favour happiness itself
would become misery ; so, on the contrary, his love converts
misfortunes themselves into blessings. Thus his grace is the
foundation of our happiness ; for if he be propitious to us, it
is not possible for us to be unhappy ; and his peace is the
very substance of our happiness. He calls himself "our
Father," to show that what he desires for us are truly the
favours and grace of God, in which our adoption consists, and
which alone render us the children of the Lord. And it is
for this reason he adds, "and from the Lord Jesus Christ;"
not only that the Lord Jesus is God blessed for ever with the
Father, having all things in common with him by his eternal
generation, but also because he has been constituted Mediator
between the Father and us, in such a way that we receive no
grace from him but through the medium of his Son. For by
his death he has opened that supreme source of blessing
which was sealed and closed up by his justice, and of which
the cross of Christ has removed the seals. He has received
20 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. I.
from thence all the fulness of the Father's blessings, to the end,
that from thence, as from a common reservoir, they should
be derived, and distributed to each believer in a suitable
measure.
II. After this title and blessing, the apostle thus com-
mences his Epistle: "I thank my God upon every remem-
brance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all
making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel
from the first day until now." Masters of the art of elocution
teach us that the business of the exordium (that is to say, the
beginning of our discourse) is to gain the good will of those
to whom we speak. In fact, as hatred, dislike, and indiffer-
ence close the entrance into men's hearts, it is necessary, when
we desire to persuade them, that first of all we should prepare
their minds, and fill them with a favourable prepossession in
our favour, so that our arguments may be received into their
understandings. To this end the apostle labours in this and
the following verses to the 12th.
To revive and rekindle the good-will of his Philippian con-
verts towards him, and by this means to render them more at-
tentive and teachable, he tells them of his ardent affection for
them ; he praises them, and declares the high opinion he enter-
tains of them and of their piety, so much so that, beyond the
past and the present, to which he bears the most honourable
testimony, he even assures himself of their constancy for the
future, which is the most excellent degree of virtue, and, as it
were, its last and supreme perfection. He then testifies to
them at once both the satisfaction that he received from their
piety, and the love that he felt for them, by the continual
thanksgivings and prayers which he offered to God in their
behalf, in that they had so quickly and firmly embraced the
gospel of his Son. This is the summary of the second part of
our text. As to the thanksgivings that he offered for them, he
speaks of them in these words, " I thank my God upon every
remembrance of you for your fellowship in the gospel from the
first day until now." For we ought to join these verses to
one another, leaving out the one which is between the two.
Instead of, as we have translated the words, " every time that
I make mention of you," it is word for word in the original, " in
every remembrance or mention of you;" which some interpret,
"with an entire and perfect remembrance of you;" as if he
would say, having you continually in my memory. And in
this way the apostle protests to them the remembrance that he
has of them, having them deeply graven on his memory, and
having them always before his eyes and in his mind ; as we are
accustomed to feel towards persons whom we tenderly love,
nothing having power to efface their image or their name from
our recollections. Though this interpretation may be just
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 21
and warrantable, yet I do not think it should be adopted to
the prejudice of the other, which our Bibles have followed,
which is in truth the commonest and the easiest. "I give
thanks to God upon every remembrance of you." As if he
would say, that he never thought of them, but immediately he
presented thanksgivings to the Lord. In which he shows us
at once the happiness of the Philippians, his piety towards
God, and his love for them. Their happiness ; for what and
how excellent must have been the condition of these believers,
who supplied the apostle with a continual source of satisfac-
tion ! who were never recollected by him without obliging
him to thank God, placing before his eyes nothing but victory
and triumph, causes of rejoicing and thanksgiving ! But in
that even he manifests his piety, for one of his chief feelings is
to praise God, and to thank him for all the gifts that he be-
stows upon men. A mean and malignant spirit is vexed when
God communicates his favours to others, and instead of offer-
ing him thanks, makes him complaints and reproaches. But
a truly pious heart never anywhere sees the favours of its Lord
without rejoicing, and blessing him for them. He is very hap-
py that the favours which he has received should become
common ; and the scripture particularly mentions the good-
ness and generosity of Moses, in that he wished that all the
Lord's people should prophesy. Believers, let us have this
same affection, let us drive from our hearts all envy and mal-
ice. Let us rejoice in the favours which God bestows on men.
Let us never think of them without thanking him for them.
Besides his glory, the love that we owe to each other would
oblige us to do so; and that which the apostle bore to the
Philippians appears clearly in this duty, which he yielded to
God for them. For if he had not ardently loved them, he
would not have been so careful thus to thank the Lord for
their prosperity every time that he thought of them.
He calls him " his God," as well for the remarkable provi-
dence that he continually displayed for him in his Son Jesus
Christ, as for the service that the apostle yielded him in his
spirit, and for the lively feeling that he had of both. For
though he be the God of all the faithful in common, every one
of them in particular who would express the sentiments of his
love, and the emotions of his zeal, may rightfully call him his
God. As we read that Thomas, in the rapturous joy which he
felt when he positively recognized the Lord Jesus through his
rich grace, expressed his own emotion in suddenly crying out,
" My Lord, and my God !"
But let us look at the subject of these continual thanksgiv-
ings which Paul gave to God for the Philippians : I thank my
God (says he) upon every remembrance of you, because of your
fellowship in the gospel, which ye have shown from the first
22 AN EXPOSITION" OF [SERM. I.
day until now." Some unite these last words, "from the first
day until now," with the preceding ones, "I thank my God;"
meaning that, from the first day that the apostle had preached
the gospel to the Philippians, he had always to that moment
thanked the Lord for their faith and obedience ; and what he
is about to say to us leaves us in no doubt that he had done
so. But these last words being so distant from the former, and
uniting so well with those that are nearest to them, it does not
appear to me needful to separate them ; for by making them,
relate to the fellowship which the Philippians had had in the
gospel, the sense is easy and flowing, that from the first day
that they received the word of God with faith, they had con-
stantly retained it hitherto, without ever having disgraced
their first obedience through any of the temptations to which
they had been subjected. He praises them then for two things :
first, that they had received the gospel ; and, secondly, that
they had persevered in its holy fellowship until then. " Fel-
lowship in the gospel," is to receive it and to take part in it;
it is to embrace with a firm faith the doctrine of the Lord Je-
sus, to unite in the society of his faithful people, and to enter
by this means into the enjoyment of his favour. If you con-
sider the previous and original state of the Philippians,
plunged in the darkness of paganism, and living in the fellow-
ship of demons, and in the society of idolaters, you will ac-
knowledge that it was a wonderful miracle for them to be
drawn from such a depth of filth, that they might enter into
the fellowship of the gospel, receiving with alacrity a doctrine
which was new to them, and which besides so violently op-
posed their natural inclinations, and the sentiments and cus-
toms in which they had been educated ; that they had not only
yielded a favourable hearing to this divine mystery, but that
they were resolved to become its members, renouncing their
former belief and devotions, to submit themselves to the laws
of the gospel, and to conform to so difficult and strict a disci-
pline. But it was a still greater miracle that they should con-
tinue in it, and in nothing relax from their original warmth,
persevering constantly in the faith; neither allowing them-
selves to be seduced by false apostles, nor to be moved by the
sensual pleasures of their previous condition, nor to be shaken
by the promises of their fellow citizens, who doubtless would
not forget on such an occasion to use every effort to lead them
back again into error ; nor finally, to be conquered by the suf-
ferings of Paul, whom they saw excessively persecuted, and as
it were reduced to a continual death, for the name of that Je-
sus which he had taught them. All this touched them not.
They courageously retained the gospel which he had given
them, and continued in its fellowship till then ; a faith the
more excellent, as it was so rare. For of those pagans to
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 23
whom Paul preached the word of life, how few were there who
had listened to it who did not make a mockery of its myster-
ies, like those profane Athenians of whom Luke speaks in the
Acts ! or who did not suspect him of extravagance, like that
Festus, who said that his much learning had made him mad I
or that the inflexible severity of his divine philosophy did not
discourage, like that Felix, who sent him back much alarmed,
saying that he would hear him another time ! or that the truth
and wisdom of this heavenly doctrine did not provoke, as the
Jews, who were mad with spite, and gnashed their teeth at the
preaching of Stephen ! And of those who approved the gospel,
how few were there who had the courage to enrol themselves
under its banner, and openly to give their names to Jesus
Christ ! And finally, of those who had received the word of
life, how many were there whom the love of this present world,
or the fear of persecution, had driven back into the world! It
is therefore with good reason, my brethren, that the apostle
here celebrates the faith and perseverance of the Philippians.
But remark, I pray you, that he gives thanks for it to his
God; from which we have two things to learn. The first is,
that the true subject of our rejoicings and thanksgivings is the
fellowship of the gospel. We read that an ancient pagan phi-
losopher was so delighted with having found the truth of a
certain proposition in geometry, that out of gratitude for this
discovery he sacrificed a hundred bulls to his gods. And yet,
notwithstanding, what was this truth which afforded him so
much satisfaction, in comparison of that which the great and
supreme God has revealed to us in the gospel of his Son,
which is not only divine and heavenly, sublime, and elevated
above our understanding, not only beautiful and wonderful to
behold, but is also so entirely salutary, that with the highest
possible knowledge it brings us life, and immortality, and
eternal glory ! It is for this blessing, beloved brethren, that
we must offer our thanksgivings and the "calves of our lips"
to the Lord ; and bless him, not for what he has given us of
the earth, of gold or of silver, of honour or of credit in the
world, of light and intelligence in the mind, of strength or
beauty in the body, all vain and perishable things, whatever
they may say who, by a deplorable error, have made them the
idols of their souls ; but that we have part in the gospel, and
in the fellowship of Jesus Christ. That is the true happiness
of man, and his only jewel; a pearl of inestimable price,
which alone is worth a thousand times more than all the
others put together. It is for having found it that we ought
to prepare, not profane hecatombs, but our spiritual sacrifices,
thanking heaven for it, making earth a sharer in it, and, like
the woman in the gospel parable, calling in our neighbours,
feasting them with it, and rejoicing in it w r ith them. The
24 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. I.
other point that the apostle here teaches us is, that God is the
author of our faith and piety ; that it is he, as he afterwards
says, who works in us with efficacy both to will and to do,
according to his good pleasure. Otherwise, why did he give
him thanks for the fellowship of the Philippians in the gos-
pel ? If they owed this advantage to their own free will, it
was to himself that he must give the glory. God is too just
to wish that his altar should be adorned with the spoils of
another, and that he should receive gratitude for blessings
which he has not given. That his apostle gives him thanks
for the faith of the Philippians clearly shows that their faith
was a gift of his grace, and a fruit of his Spirit, produced by
his seed, quickened and ripened by his rain and light.
But besides this thanksgiving which the apostle presented
on behalf of the Philippians for their fellowship in the gospel,
which they had preserved till then, he lent them also the as-
sistance of his prayers : "I pray always (says he) for you all,
in all my prayers." See, I entreat you, my brethren, how
admirable was the love of this apostle! Where is the fa-
ther that has such an affection for his children? He prays
for them, he prays for them all, without forgetting a single
one. Whatever difference there might be between them, or
however many, this holy man embraces them all in common.
He does not pray once or twice alone, but always. Job
offered sacrifices for his dear children once a week only ; this
apostle so loved his own, that at all hours he offered up his prayers
as victims. His love went still further, it obliged him to have
nothing of his own, but to make them partakers in all that
belonged to him, "he prayed for them in all his prayers." He
offered none in which there was not a part for them. Oh,
admirable and incomparable love ! This apostle was bound
at Pome in a painful chain, for a cause that was hated, and for
which he was to be judged at the tribunal of Nero, the most
cruel monster that ever lived ; he was in the claws of this
lion, and expected every instant to be devoured. Neverthe-
less, his Philippian converts were so close to his heart, that
even in this extremity he divides his prayers with them ; he
makes none for himself in which he does not remember them.
The iron, the fire, death, the end of this life, the nearness of
another, the horrors of earth, and the delights of heaven ; the
fears, the hopes, the passions, the emotions, and the thoughts,
which arose within him in this situation, did not make him
forget his Philippian friends. He has them at all times before
his eyes; and however melancholy might be the situation in
which he was placed, the remembrance of these believers re-
joiced him ; he prayed for them with joy. This image was so
agreeable to him, that it never entered into his mind, but it
brought with it contentment and peace. From this, believers.
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 25
you see the love which pastors owe their flocks, and with what
care they are bound to seek their salvation, not only by the
preaching of the word, and the assiduous exercise of the other
functions of their office, but also by the help of their prayers.
They should never offer any in which their sheep have not a
part, and no business, accident, or danger can excuse them
from this remembrance. They ought rather, so to speak, to
forget themselves, than the souls which the Lord has confided
to their charge. But, clear brethren, if we owe you our
prayers, you also owe us yours ; the holy tie which unites us
rendering the necessity of this duty equal on both sides.
From whence it appears how earnest we should be in prayer ;
for if we have no other subject than this mutual help that we
owe to one another, it is enough to oblige us not to pass an
hour without prayer.
III. But I return to the apostle, who, after having declared
his love and his cares for the Philippians, founded on the fer-
vent piety which they had hitherto shown, adds, that as he
was perfectly satisfied with their conduct for the time past, so
was he assured that he should be so in future, which is the
highest testimony he could render to their faith, and after
which one cannot be astonished at his loving them so ardently;
for besides the marks which they bore of Christ and of his gos-
pel, he saw reflected in them, by an assured hope, the glory of
the world to come, and the inseparable union of life, which he
should one day have with them in the heavenly kingdom,
" Being confident of this very thing, (says he,) that he which
hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ." You know of what good work he speaks.
It is the work or design of salvation, which begins here below
by faith, repentance, and sanctification; that is to say, the love
of God and of our neighbour, and all the duties dependent
thereon. He calls it the "good work," as if he would have
said, the good design, or good undertaking, supremely, because
all the other designs of human life are nothing compared to
the value of this. Either they are crimes, as the plans of
avarice, of ambition, and of voluptuousness ; or they are van-
ities, or at any rate things that are useless after this life, as
those of study, philosophy, and such like. But as for piety,
it is truly the " good work," the chief work of man, the happy
and salutary design, useful in this world, glorious in the next,
approved of God, and profitable to men. This work, as well
as others which are of some importance, is not finished at
once. It has many different degrees. And as you see that
man is not formed in his infancy, but passes through several
stages, which bring him gradually to perfection ; one polishes
his memory, another sharpens his mind; this strengthens his
judgment, and that embellishes his manners : so is it with the
4
26 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. I.
work of piety. For this new man, who must be brought to
perfection, can only be so by various degrees. He has his
infancy before he attains his riper years. As in the schools
of painters, they first draw the figures with the pencil, and
then add the colouring, giving them at different sittings and
with much labour the last gloss of perfection, which in the
studies of those which they adorn steals the senses of the be-
holders ; so in the school of God, the faithful are begun, and
the work sketched, and then they are polished and finished.
Here this work is well begun, but it can only be finished in
heaven. For both our knowledge and our love are always
mixed with some defect whilst we are on earth, as Paul teaches
us in many places, and particularly in 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 12, "For
now," (says he) " we see through a glass darkly; we know in
part, and we prophesy in part." We are the pencil sketch of
the work of God, to which he daily adds some touch ; but the
last finishing stroke we shall not receive till the great day of
the Lord. This is what the apostle here very clearly shows
us, in saying that " the good work begun in his Philippians
shall be finished in the day of Jesus Christ." Thus he usually
describes that happy day which shall finish time and com-
mence eternity, because the Lord Jesus will then appear from
the heavens in sovereign glory, to judge all men, giving to
each, without respect of persons, a condition suitable to the
course of his past life. For it is the style of the prophets to
call " the day of the Lord " that time in which he will execute
his great judgments, making to appear in a more illustrious
manner than usual the justice and the power of his sovereign
Majesty, to the confusion of the wicked, and the consolation
of the faithful.
Since then the Lord Jesus, constituted Judge and Prince of
the world by the Father, will magnificently exercise this office
at the last day, all that he has displayed of judgment in this
age being nothing in comparison of what he will do then, it is
with good reason that the apostle calls it " his day." But here
arise two difficulties, which it is necessary to explain : the first,
against what the apostle says, that the good work of salvation
begun in us here below shall only be completed in this day of
the Lord Jesus. For you will say to me, Will it not be fin-
ished sooner? AVill not the happiness of those who have died
in the Lord be perfected before then ? Some, to avoid this ob-
jection, take here " the day of the Lord" to be the time at
which he calls each of his servants out of this valley of tears,
drawing them from it by death, that their souls may enjoy the
repose which he has promised them. But this exposition does
not accord with the style of the holy apostles, who always
everywhere understand the last day of this age, when the uni-
versal judgment of all flesh will take place, as " the day of the
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 27
Lord ;" and it does not appear to me that there is any passage
in the New Testament where these words can be otherwise
taken, except in Eev. i. 10, where it appears that John, by " the
day of the Lord," means the first day of the week, which we
now call Sunday ; and in the same sense in Acts ii. 20, where
Peter, in the prophecy which he quotes from Joel, means by
"the great and notable day of the Lord" his first advent, fol-
lowed by the dreadful judgments which he executed against
the Jews, and not the second, in which all the people of the
universe will be judged. Except these two senses, which can-
not be the meaning of this text, I do not remember that "the
day of the Lord" signifies any other thing than the last day,
in the books of the New Testament. See 1 Cor. i. 18 ; v. 5 ;
2 Cor. i. 14 ; Phil. i. 10 ; ii. 26 ; 1 Thess. v. 2 ; 2 Thess. ii. 2 ;
Luke xvii. 24.
Besides, no necessity obliges us to have recourse to this
forced interpretation ; the proposed difficulty may be explained,
without at all changing the ordinary signification of these
words. What shall we say then ? Shall we take part in the
error of those ancient teachers, even now followed by a great
number of christians in the East, who say that the souls of the
faithful, on leaving their bodies, are retained in I know not
what imaginary places, without enjoying the sight of the Lord
and his glory, where they cannot be received, as they hold,
until the last day, and only after being reinvested with their
bodies. God forbid. For we know that the condition of our
souls shall be like that of our Chief, whose spirit, at its depar-
ture from the body, was received into paradise, and carried
there with it the soul of the converted thief. " We know,"
what the apostle teaches us elsewhere, 2 Cor. v. 1, " that if our
earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a
building of God," that is to say, " a house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens ;" and, as he teaches us afterwards, that
if we are absent from this body, it is to be with Christ. But
we will say, that although the souls of the faithful, on leaving
this earth, are received into heaven, and there enjoy all the
happiness of which they are capable in that state, and espe-
cially of the sight and communion of God, and of his Son Je-
sus, nevertheless, they have not yet attained the last point of
their perfection ; they are not yet in the enjoyment of all they
have desired and hoped; and where desire and hope are, there
must still remain something to finish. Their body, their dear
half, lies in the dust, and bears the disgrace of sin, being sub-
ject to death, which is its wages ; their brethren, who form a
considerable part of their mystical body, are still engaged with
the enemy, and the confusion of this age yet covers and shades
here below the glory of their Christ. The day of the Lord
alone will fully satisfy their desires and their hopes. For it
28 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. I.
will restore to them both their own bodies clothed with im-
mortal glory, and the rest of their brethren complete in union,
and will draw aside every veil, and will dissipate every vapour,
which now hides or obscures the light of the divine majesty of
their Master, and will bring to sight all the treasures of eter-
nity. From whence it appears that the progress of grace, and
the operation of God in this good work, will extend even to
this last day, which is precisely what the apostle means ; and
this is the reason that he and his brethren refer us to this great
day, putting it before our eyes, as the highest object of our
hopes, and the absolute and entire accomplishment of that per-
fection which we desire.
The other difficulty which presents itself in this text is, how
Paul could be certain of the perseverance of the Philippians
until the last day, seeing that in so changeable a nature, and in
the midst of so many snares and precipices, it seems as if no
one could be certain even of the morrow. To which the reply
is easy, that neither is it on the excellence of his nature, nor
on the merit of his virtue, that the apostle founds his own as-
surance, but upon the goodness and power of God, who does
not save his own by halves, and well knows how to perfect his
strength in their weakness. Seeing then the commencement
of his work, the marks, the engraving, and the seal of his
Spirit in these believers, the apostle very reasonably argues
that he will finish his work.
In conclusion, we have three things to remark: the first is,
That he here attributes all the work of salvation to God, say-
ing expressly that it is he who has begun, and who will finish
it in the day of his Son ; so that we cannot without impiety
give to another than to him the glory of any part of salvation,
nor of any of the things belonging to it, from the first moment
to the last. It is in vain that one would draw any distinction
between the commencement and the progress ; God is the sole
author both of the one and of the other : and as it is by his grace
alone that we have begun, so is it also by it that we continue.
The hand which has given us the first features of the royal
image is the same that gives us also the rest and the last ; and
to divide this between God and man, leaving him the glory of
the first, and attributing what follows to ourselves, is as absurd
as if we were to say, that truly it is the artist who first began
or sketched a figure, but that finally it added the rest, and
finished itself. If you acknowledge that we deserve nothing
in commencing, because the beginning is a work of the grace
of God, I do not see by what right you pretend that we merit
any thing for what follows, seeing that the apostle declares to
us, that the entire perfection, from the first moment to the last,
is as truly the work of God as the commencement ; " he has
begun (says he) the good work in you, and he will finish it in
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 29
the day of Christ." Secondly, it must be remarked, That Paul
presupposes here that God finishes his work in the day of
Christ in all those in whom he has commenced it. Otherwise
his reasoning would be absurd, and the assurance of perseve-
rance which he draws from it rash and unfounded ; for if God for-
sakes some of those in whom he has begun this good work,
without finishing them and leading them to the day of his
Son, that is to say, into the harbour of immortality, who does
not perceive that the argument of the apostle would be useless,
who, because he saw the beginnings of the work of God in
these Philippians, concludes from it that he would finish it in
them, as it evidently appears, and as he himself tells us ex-
pressly in the following verse ? Thus the discourse of the
apostle is good and pertinent, and unhappy is he who imagines
that there is any thing incoherent or unreasonable in the writ-
ings of this holy servant of God. Assuredly we must then
say, that it is not possible that any of the truly faithful should
perish, nor that any of those in whom God has commenced his
work should not persevere, until the day of the Lord Jesus,
according to the promise that he himself makes us in John x.
28, 29, that " no man should pluck his sheep out of his hand ;"
and to that with which the apostle elsewhere consoles the Co-
rinthians, and in them all of us, 1 Cor. x. 13, "God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able ;
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that
ye may be able to bear it." Finally, the third remark that I
have to make on this place is, That in the application of this
maxim to the Philippians, Paul presupposes, by a charitable
judgment, founded on fair and legitimate appearances, not con-
tradicted by any apparent reason, that what he saw in them
was verily the work of God, that is to say, a true faith, and a
true piety, and not a fiction, or a false semblance, or a vain
colouring, like that with which the hypocrite paints himself
outwardly. lie presupposes, I say, that in them, and only
speaks of those who were thus circumstanced. If there were
others, it is neither of them, nor for them, that his words are
intended.
Thus, my brethren, have we explained the three points which
we proposed to ourselves at the commencement of this dis-
course. Assuredly we may say with truth, and without flattery,
that we have reason to offer the same thanksgivings to God for
your church, that Paul here gives for that of the Philippians.
She also has received the faith with readiness and joy ; she also
has had her Lydias, who not only have heard the heavenly
word with a heart opened by the hand of God, who not only
have lodged the saints and received Jesus Christ beneath their
roof, but who have even sealed the truth with their blood.
She has also held the fellowship of the gospel, from the first
30 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. I.
day until now, persevering continually in this holy profession,
in spite of temptations of every kind, with so much the more
glory, that there is hardly a place in the universe where they
could be greater than in the one in which you live. Your
fathers here have borne the iron and the fire, and you in the
same place have resisted the charms and the seductions of the
world, which are not less dangerous trials. False teachers
have not corrupted you ; their colourings and their illusions
have not dazzled you; and wherever have arisen, whether
from within or from without, those who would wish to per-
suade you to be other than evangelical, you have generously
despised their sensual counsels. You have hitherto preserved
the gospel pure and entire, and have not been induced to mix with
it any human tradition. After so many different assaults, and
such trying seasons, you are still standing by the grace of the
Lord. And I dare add, with the apostle, that he who has be-
gun this good work in you, will perfect it till the day of Jesus
Christ. It is not in vain that he has rescued you from so
many troubles, saved you from so many shipwrecks, gathered
you together again after so many dispersions, and preserved
you miraculously amidst so much confusion. Beloved breth-
ren, as his benefits are conspicuous on you, there being very
few flocks in the world on which his protection and his fa-
vours have shone more magnificently than on you, may
your acknowledgment also be as remarkable among christians.
Let your gratitude appear, not less than his grace. It is not
enough, believers, to thank him in words, and to say Amen to
the praises and benedictions which we here solemnly render
him in our holy assemblies. The thanks that he expects from
you, and which you truly owe him, are, that for the grace
which he has given you, you should earnestly desire his glory ;
that you should walk in the light with which he illumines
you ; that you should follow the guide which he has given
you ; that you should entertain an ardent love towards your
brethren, his servants, as he has had an infinite love for you ;
that your manners should be conformable to his doctrine ; and
that your life should not be less evangelical than your faith.
If there are blemishes among you, efface them by a deep re-
pentance. If you perceive in yourselves passions burning
which are unworthy of this Christ whom you adore, and of this
gospel that you embrace, extinguish them quickly. Amend,
and sanctify yourselves. Purify your hearts from all evil affec-
tions, and study all sorts of christian virtues. By so doing,
beloved brethren, you will advance the glory of the Lord, you
will establish the consolation of your consciences before him,
you will procure the salvation of your neighbours, and you
will increase our joy, and the assurance that we take, that He
who has begun this good work in you will perfect it in the
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 31
day of Jesus Christ. May he himself accomplish the hope
that we have of it, and hear the prayers that we contiriuallv
present to him to this effect. And to him, with the Son, and
the Holy Spirit, the only true God, blessed for evermore, be
all honour, praise, and glory, world without end. Amen.
Preached at Charenton, 20th Nov. 1639.
SERMON II.
VERSE 7 — 11.
Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have
you in my heart ; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the de-
fence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my
grace. For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all
in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love
may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judg-
ment ; that ye may approve things that are excellent ; that ye
may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ ; being
filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, ■
unto the glory and praise of God.
It is an objection commonly made to our doctrine of the im-
mutable security of the salvation of believers, that, in admit-
ting the certainty of their perseverance, we render prayer use-
less, and as unreasonable as if some one were to pray God that
the sun might go from east to west, or that rivers might flow
towards the sea, requests evidently superfluous, because these
things happen necessarily, it not being possible that they should
take another course. But the apostle, dear brethren, shows us
clearly the unsoundness of this profane reasoning in many
other places of his Epistles, as well as particularly in the verses
which we have just read, where you perceive that this holy man
presents most ardent prayers to the Lord for these same Phil-
ippians, of whose perseverance he had a full persuasion. After
having said to them in the foregoing verses, "Being assured
of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in
you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ," he does not
cease, notwithstanding, to ask of God that their " love may
abound yet more and more," and that they "may be sincere
and without offence till the day of Christ ;" an evident sign
that he did not believe, as our adversaries do, that the use of
prayers would be superfluous, where perseverance was certain.
It is also evident that our perseverance in faith and in piety
32 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. II.
does not resemble that of the stars and the elements in the
movements and conditions of their being; for they depend on
the blind instinct of a secret and inflexible nature, which is en-
tirely incapable of acting otherwise than it does. Whereas the
perseverance of believers is a steadfastness and perpetual con-
tinuance of faith, and piety, and other like perfections, which
our souls neither receive nor preserve, but by the gift and the
light of the grace of God. From whence it follows, that so far
from excluding prayers, on the contrary, it requires, and ne-
cessarily presupposes them. In fact, you see that those who
have the fullest assurance are also the most ardent in prayer.
"Who was ever more certain of victory than the Lord Jesus,
the well-beloved of the Father, the Prince of our salvation ?
and who was more assiduous than himself in this holy exercise
of prayer? This Paul, who, certain of his salvation, defies all
the powers of earth, of heaven, and of hell to rob him of his
crown, yet for all that does not cease to pray continually to
the Lord, from whose grace he waited for it with so much con-
fidence. O let not, beloved brethren, this sweet assurance of
your happiness, which the Spirit, and the word of your good
Master have given you, render you careless of acquitting your-
selves of so useful and necessary a duty. And to the end that
your prayers may be acceptable to the Lord, form them after
the model of these which the apostle addressed to him for the
Philippians. He had before told them, in general terms, that
he prayed to God unceasingly for them ; now lie declares what
were his prayers, and specifies in particular what he asked of
God for them. But first he sets forth in the 7th verse the rea-
son on which he founded the assurance which he felt of their
perseverance in the faith ; " It is meet for me to think this of
you all," (that is to say, that God will perfect in you the good
work which he has begun,) " because I have you in my heart ;
inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confir-
mation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace." He
then protests to them in the following verse the affection that
he bore them ; " For God is my record, how greatly I long af-
ter you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ." And then in the
three following verses of our text he tells them of the prayers
which he presented to God for them ; " And this I pray, that
your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and
in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excel-
lent ; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day
of Christ ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which
are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God."
Thus, by God's grace, we shall have three points to trace in
explaining this text: First, The reason of the assurance which
he felt of the perseverance of the Philippians; secondly, The
protestation which he makes of his affection towards them ; and,
finally, What he asks of God for them.
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 33
I. With regard to the first point; the part which the be-
lievers at Philippi had taken in the bonds of the apostle, per-
suaded him that they were truly the children of God, and that
they would persevere steadily in the way of salvation to the
end ; and it is necessary to remark, that he entertained so ex-
cellent and honourable an opinion of their piety, not only
from love or affection, which often by an innocent illusion en-
hances the perfections of those we love, and makes them
appear to us greater than they really are ; but he declares that
even equity and justice obliged him to have so high an opin-
ion of them; "It is meet that I should think thus of you."
From whence it follows, that it is our duty to look on all
those as children of God in whom the true marks of piety, that
is to say, the works of christian sanctification, are conspicuous.
I acknowledge that it is a silly and ridiculous charity to take
for believers, simply because they profess to be so, those in
whose lives we .see nothing but lewdness and vice, without any
trace of true virtue. But, on the other hand, it is a most un-
charitable and unjustifiable error to doubt the regeneration of
those who live in a christian-like manner, and to attribute the
correctness of their actions to hypocrisy rather than to piety.
The believer, to be prudent, need not be unkind and suspi-
cious. He ought to receive with joy and to reverence those
who wear the livery of his Christ, and have the seal of his
Spirit, wherever he meets with them ; and to embrace as his
own all those who bear his image in this world, as persons who
will have part in the other, and with whom he will one day
possess a blessed immortality. But among these proofs of the
Lord, which oblige us to recognize men as his members, that
which the apostle had seen in the Philippians is one of the
most certain, and the least capable of deception, namely, the
fellowship that they had with him in his bonds ; which he ex-
presses, as usual, with a striking emphasis and vigour, saying,
" that he had them in his heart, participators with him of his
grace in his bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the
gospel." It is true that we ought carefully to remark all the
good actions of believers, and to place the proofs that they
have given us, whether of their piety or of their love, not in
our memory alone, but also in our heart, in the most lively
and dearest place of our soul, and there carefully preserve
them, as so many most excellent jewels, to their praise, and our
edification. But, nevertheless, in my opinion this is not all
the apostle here means. His words go further, and signify not
only that he has seen, or that he remembers, that the Philip-
pians have partaken of his sufferings, but that he rejoices in
his heart at their fellowship in his affliction; and that he con-
siders them, not as witnesses or spectators, but as companions
in his bonds, as laden with the same chain with which he was
5
34 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. U.
bound in the prison of Rome. These believers were at Phil-
ippi, in Macedonia, and had neither been accused, nor arrested,
nor banished with the apostle; so that to speak properly and
precisely, and to look only at the effects and the things them-
selves, it is certain that they were not his companions in his
bonds. But to consider the circumstance otherwise, in its
source, in its causes, and in the disposition of the minds of
the Philippians, it is not less evident that they were partakers
of the prison of the apostle, since they defended the same
cause, placed themselves on his side, and were ready to enter
into the same captivity ; since they favoured him openly, as-
sisting him, and uniting themselves more than ever with him,
supporting his chain to render it lighter to him, and bearing
a part of it as much by the compassion and feeling they evinced,
as by the charitable offices which they rendered him while
in this situation. It is exactly what the apostle means, when
he says "that he has them in his heart, partakers of his grace
with him in his bonds." " What does it signify (says he) that
I only see Epaphroditus with me in my prison ? I have you
all in my heart. If my body is removed from your sight, and
from your communion, my heart rejoices notwithstanding,
and feels, with great consolation, the share that you take in
my sufferings. I possess you all in this place, and see you
here as bound with my chain, and consecrated by my affliction."
It was not possible, my brethren, more magnificently to extol
the love of the Philippians. For he gives it in some degree
the name, glory, and crown of martyrdom, the last and the
highest work of christian piety. And, in truth, the zeal and
affection of these believers were worthy of very great praise.
For it is much not to hide oneself when a christian is called
to account for the sake of the gospel ; it is much when those
who are in the same place where he is detained have the cou-
rage to remain there, without withdrawing themselves from
the danger by flight ; it is still more when they dare see and
strengthen him, paying him the attentions of love on such an
occasion. But it is much more than all this, to seek after him
at a distance, to traverse the sea to console him, and not only
not to fly away from the place of his prison, but to run thither,
and to go many hundreds of leagues to declare themselves on
his side. This the Philippians had done, when, having been
made acquainted with the detention of Paul at Rome, they
despatched Epaphroditus to visit and to minister to him on
their behalf. Oh, admirable and truly heroic generosity !
How rare in the present day are the examples of such a zeal !
It is considered wonderful not to have abjured religion ; and
not to have abandoned the gospel is the summit of our virtue.
But remember, believers, that the precepts of Jesus Christ,
and not the examples of men, ought to mould our actions.
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 35
And if we cannot present ourselves as examples, let us follow
these truly happy Philippians, who were so highly esteemed
by the holy apostle ; let us also follow those primitive chris-
tians who ran from all parts to the tortures and to the prisons
of their martyrs, and assisted them with so much activity and
liberality, that the pagans themselves were delighted at it, as
we learn from church history. Never let us be ashamed of so
good a cause, and let us ever consider it a glory to comfort
and support all who suffer in so honourable a strife. Let us
be as interested, and feel as much for them, as if we were in
their place. The example of the Philippians, and the com-
mand of the apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrews, require
this of us: "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with
them ; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves
also in the body." Heb. xiii. 3. This sort of love is the
truest and most genuine mark of piety that we can show to
God and men. It is from it that Paul infers the perseverance
of these believers to whom he writes. But conceive what a
value it must bear in the sight of God and of his servants,
since the apostle gives it the titles and praises of martyrdom.
If you assist and comfort those who suffer . for the gospel of
Jesus Christ, you are in their hearts, companions of their
bonds, partakers of their troubles, and of their glory. The
Lord will look upon you as his witnesses and his confessors,
and will hold the works of your love as acceptable, as if you
were to shed your own blood for his name. It is a martyr-
dom without blood, and a confession without suffering, to
render such services to the martyrs and confessors of the Lord,
whenever the occasion may present itself.
And in order that you may not be ashamed of their afflic-
tion, consider what the apostle says of it, and by what names
he calls it. " You have been (says he) partakers of my grace
in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gos-
pel." First he calls it " his grace," and then " the defence, or
excuse, and confirmation of the gospel?' Oh, how distant is
this language from the thoughts and opinions of the flesh ! The
world looked upon this prison of the apostle as a disgrace, as
one of the greatest disfavours of heaven, and as one of the
hardest blows of its indignation. Paul, on the contrary, calls
it "grace," and looks upon it as a singular favour from God.
In truth, whatever the world may say, it is a great honour for
man to suffer for the truth of God, to enter into the lists for
him, and to support the majesty of his name at the peril of his
life. On what nobler and more glorious account could he em-
ploy his blood ? And if the children of this world look upon
it as an honour to fight for their princes, and bless the wounds
and the bruises which they receive in their service, and show
them, and boast of them, as the dearest part of their glory, in
36 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. II.
what rank should we place the afflictions and the disgraces
which we endure for the name of Jesus Christ our only
Saviour, and our sovereign Lord? Is it not honouring us to
choose us for such an occasion ? Is it not to testify that he
esteems our valour and our fidelity, to mark us out for his
champions in so great a cause? But besides the honour, let
us not doubt that he will overwhelm those with his divine re-
wards, who have lawfully acquitted themselves in so illustri-
ous a duty : and that for the little breath or blood that they
may have either hazarded or lost for the love of him, he will
crown them with immortal life and glory, according to that
true sentence with which in the gospel he consoles his faithful
ones in their sufferings : " Blessed are they who are persecuted
for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you,
and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my
sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad : for great is your re-
ward in heaven," Matt. v. 10-12.
The apostle, by calling his bonds "the defence and confirma-
tion of the gospel," shows us clearly what an honourable thing
it is to suffer for the name of God. For the Lord has never
made us a present, either more excellent, or more admirable in
itself, or more useful, or more efficacious, whether for his
glory, or for the salvation of men, than the gospel of his Son
Jesus Christ. Now it is to confirm us in the truth of this
divine doctrine that God permits the faithful to be persecuted
by the men of this world. All the wounds that they receive,
every drop of blood that they shed, in this warfare, are so
many authentic seals which they publicly affix to the gospel
of their Master. It is not that this heavenly truth needs the
voice or the sufferings of believers to exhibit its divinity, as
if it had not light enough in itself; but that which is not neces-
sary for it is very useful for the infirmity of men, that the
blood, and the faith, and the sufferings of the witnesses of
God, should arouse them from their natural dulness, and force
them to consider with attention what this marvellous rule is
for which they do not hesitate to endure all that our nature
most fears. In truth, the first and the last ages of Christian-
ity have seen, by experience, that nothing so powerfully estab-
lishes the gospel as the sufferings of the martyrs; from
whence comes the ancient and true saying, which calls their
blood " the seed of the church." Thus let us follow after Paul,
assuring ourselves that what he then suffered at Rome served
greatly for the advancement of the truth. His chain justified
his preaching, there being no reason why he should have been
willing to endure so long an imprisonment, in which he saw
himself daily in danger of losing his life, if he had not been
divinely assured of the truth of this holy doctrine. Christian,
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 37
if you should ever be called to such a trial, be certain that the
Lord is willing to take you for the advocate of his cause,
and has committed to you the defence of his gospel. God for-
bid that you should draw back, or that you should refuse so
honourable an employment ; rather embrace it with a firm
resolution, taking good care neither to betray by your silence
nor your prevarication so holy and glorious a cause. Give
courageously to God the testimony and defence which he
demands from you.
II. But the apostle, after having declared to the Philippians
the foundation of the great opinion which he had of their
firmness and perseverance in their religion, to gain still more
their good-will and attention, protests to them, in the second
place, the affection that he bore towards them: "God is my
witness, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of
Jesus Christ." You see with what care he assures them of his
good-will ; not only employing for this purpose the authority
of his word, but interposing also the witness of God, who
knows the secrets of our hearts, without our being able to hide
any thing from him. In truth, it is of great consequence to
those whom God has called to teach, that the people to whom
they minister should be persuaded of their love towards them ;
it being evident that the words and actions of those by whom
we think ourselves loved make quite a different impression on
our minds, than the language or example of others to whom
we believe ourselves indifferent. The name of God, which he
here uses as a witness of his affection, shows us, contrary to
the vexatious and unreasonable superstition of some, both an-
cient and modern, that an oath is not absolutely forbidden to
christians, and that it may be lawfully employed for the
assurance of men, for their edification, in a serious, grave, and
important cause ; such were the occasions in which Paul uses
it, both in this place and in many others. For to call God as
a witness to the truth of what we affirm, as Paul here does, is
neither more nor less than a true and lawful oath. And who,
when he thoroughly considers it, does not see that to refer
this testimony to the Lord is not to abase or offend his name,
but to honour it, in attributing to him the glory of an infinite
wisdom and power, as well to acknowledge the truth of what
we have declared, as to punish our crime in case we should lie.
Thus the apostle here calls God as a witness of the affection
which he had for the Philippians, as one who saw to the very
bottom of the feelings and all the movements of his mind.
He says that he longs for them, to signify that he loves
them, according to the style of the Hebrew language, which
thus changes the words, as naturally we love that which we
long for. But he does not say only that he longs for them, or
that he loves them ; he makes use of a word which signifies
38 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. II.
to long with vehemence, with an ardent passion, and, as we
have translated it, "to love or to long greatly." I acknow-
ledge that this great apostle, according to his incomparable
love, embraced all the churches of his Master with a tender af-
fection, and in general every individual in whom he saw the
faith of the gospel shine; notwithstanding which, we must
not doubt but that he had feelings of very peculiar affection
for these Philippians, who, besides the excellent testimony
which they had given of a rare and extraordinary piety, bore
abundantly the marks of his own hand, being in some respects
his work and production, as it was be who had begotten them
in Jesus Christ, and planted the gospel in the midst of them,
as Luke relates at length in the Acts. For it is an emotion
natural to all men tenderly to love that which they have pro-
duced, as they see appear, as it were, a part of themselves, that
is to say, either their blood or their mind. Hence, as one of
the first of the wise men of the world has remarked,* the
great so much love their creatures, mothers their children, and
poets their compositions. As then this church of the Philip-
pians was a fruit of the apostle's ministry, which he had brought
forth with many efforts and hard labour, and where he still
saw afresh the traces of that word which he had preached, and
of that blood which he had shed, to form Jesus Christ in this
people, it is no wonder that he should feel this ardent love for
them. But in order that they should not imagine there was
any thing worldly in his affection, he adds, that he loves them
with a cordial affection " in the bowels of Jesus Christ." Else-
where he had been accustomed to say simply that he loved the
faithful in Jesus Christ, to show the source from whence his
love flowed, and the end to which it tended ; but here he has
employed the word " bowels," (for it is word for word with the
original,) " I long after you greatly in the bowels of Jesus
Christ," to intimate that the love which he bore them was a
profound affection, imprinted, on the depths of his heart, and
like those tender emotions of nature which are felt in the
bowels of every good mother towards her dear children. This
is the meaning usually attached to the word "bowels" by the
Hebrews when they use it in this sense. But the bowels with
which the apostle loved the Philippians were those of Jesus
Christ, and not of the world or the flesh. This love only pro-
ceeded from the Lord Jesus and his cross ; it only sought his
glory, and was regulated by his will. It was neither their sa-
tisfaction, nor his convenience, neither the interest of their
flesh, nor of his own, that had either lighted or supported this
holy passion in his breast, but the gospel of the Lord alone,
Christ only was its cause and its object. And this in truth,
* Aristotle ia bis Murals.
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 39
dear brethren, should be the rule of all the affections that the
faithful feel, whether for their brethren, their neighbours, or
generally for all other things, which they ought to love only
so much as the interest of the Lord Jesus, the sovereign law
of their life, commands or permits. But among all the affec-
tions of christians, there is not one that the name of Jesus
Christ ought more absolutely to govern than that of pastors,
such as Paul was, towards flocks similar to the church of the
Philippians. Pastors ought only to love or long for their
people for Jesus Christ's sake, not for their own profit, or
honour, or pleasure. God ! forbid that such shameful de-
signs should soil so holy an affection. And as the laws of this
friendship are reciprocal, you ought also, my brethren, to pro-
portion in the same manner the affection that you have for the
servants of God who labour amongst you. May nothing please
you in them but the Lord Jesus. Love them with a sincere
affection, whose whole foundation is in him ; because they are
his ministers ; because they preach him, and form him in your
hearts, and plant him in the minds of your children ; and not
to please your ears, or for any other woi-ldly consideration.
III. After the holy protestation of so ardent and so pure a
love, the apostle declares to the Philippians, in the three fol-
lowing verses, the prayers which he offered to God for them ;
and this is the last and the longest part of our text: " And this
I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in
knowledge and in all judgment ; that you may try things that
differ ; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day
of Christ ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which
are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." Dear
brethren, you see four principal articles in this prayer of the
apostle, which we must briefly examine. For he asks, first,
That their " love may abound yet more and more." Secondly,
That they may have "knowledge and judgment to try things
that differ." Thirdly, That they may be pure "and without
offence, till the day of Christ." And lastly, That they may be
" filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus
Christ, unto the glory and praise of God."
The first good that he desires for them is love ; and with
good reason, for that is the highest perfection of the christian ;
his most necessary ornament in this world, and the chief part
of his glory in the next; the end of the gospel, and the soul
of Christianity ; without which all other virtues are of no use,
and cast but a vain brilliance and a useless sound, " like sound-
ing brass, or a tinkling cymbal," as the apostle elsewhere
teaches, 1 Cor. xiii. But he does not only desire that the Phi-
lippians may have love, he desires that it may abound yet more
and more in them. For this virtue, as well as the other parts
of Christianity, has various degrees ; it has its beginnings, its
4:0 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. II.
progress, and its perfection. Its perfection rnav also be under-
stood in two ways; either that which is absolute, and which
we shall not have till we reach heaven ; or that which may be
so* considered relatively, with respect to the present state, that
is to say, the highest degree to which this virtue can attain in
this life. The Philippians had love already, and even in a
considerable degree, as it appears by the care they took of
Paul, and the tender feeling with which they entered into his
sufferings, the infallible effects of an excellent love. But the
apostle, jealous and desirous of the accomplishment of their
glory, supplicates the Lord that he would so bless them, that
this divine virtue should not fade from the state in which he
saw it in them, as happened to the Ephesian church, which is
accused in the Apocalypse (chap. ii. 4) of having left her first
love ; but that it should go on increasing in breadth and length,
and spreading further and wider, both in and out of the church,
the sweet perfume of its fruits.
The second good which he asks of God for them is " know-
ledge and judgment." On which you ought to know that it is
word for word in the original, " that your love may abound
yet more and more in knowledge and judgment," which may
be interpreted in two ways. For first, the word " in " may be
taken for "by;" a manner of speaking drawn from the Hebrew
language, and familiar to the apostle, and to the other writers
of the New Testament, as may be met with in a thousand
places in their books ; and used thus, he wishes " that the love
of the believers may abound by knowledge." Excellent sense,
and a very evident truth ! for who does not know that love
springs from knowledge, and that we have no more love for
those things of whose beauty and merit we are ignorant, than
if they had none at all ? and that piety especially we do not
love but according as we are acquainted with it ? From whence
it follows that our love will not be perfect in all points, but in
heaven alone, where we shall see face to face, and not as in a
glass darkly, or through a veil, as now. Secondly, the word
"in" may be taken as " with," for it has sometimes this signifi-
cation in the sacred books ; and it is thus translated in our
Bibles, where we read, " that your love may abound yet more
and more with knowledge and in all judgment;" and in this
sense the apostle simply wishes for the Philippians that their
knowledge may be increased, and abound yet more and more,
as well as their love. It signifies little which of these two
interpretations you follow, as they are both good, as you see,
and conformable to the scripture ; while the first seems a little
more flowing, and more suitable to the style of the apostle, as
well as to the nature of the things of which he is speaking.
However this be, both the one and the other mean and presup-
pose that believers have knowledge and judgment. At the
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 41
same time it is to be remarked, that the first of these terms,*
signifies, not in general, some knowledge, whatever it may be,
but a great and clear knowledge, when we know a thing dis-
tinctly and assuredly, not weakly and doubtfully. The other
term, which we have translated "judgment," properly signifies
sense or feeling. But as the names of the bodily senses and
their actions, sight, hearing, taste, and the like, are often em-
ployed to express the faculties and spiritual actions of the soul,
on account of the relation which subsists between these two
kinds of subjects ; so to " feel," in general, is often taken for
" understanding," and sense and feeling for judgment. It is
very true, that in this place it appears the apostle wished to
express something more, and by " knowledge " meant the ap-
prehension of spiritual things, when we know and comprehend
what is said to us in the divine word : thus by " feeling," he
means the judgment that we make of them, when, after having
understood them, we discover what is their nature and their
value. Besides, when he wishes us "all judgment," that must
relate to the firmness and solidity of our knowledge, and not to
its extent ; that is to say, he intends that we should have, not
a judgment in all things, as if none of the sciences were to be
wanting in a christian, but a very entire and decided know-
ledge of what God has designed to reveal to us in his scrip-
tures.
But the more clearly to show us what this knowledge is of
which he speaks, he adds the act and the subject to which it
properly relates, and in which its use precisely consists, and
its end; "that you may have knowledge and all judgment,
that you may try things that differ."f It is the chief work of
christian wisdom to be able to separate the true from the false,
the useful from the hurtful, and, in a word, the good from the
evil, notwithstanding the false and specious colours under
which objects often present themselves to our senses ; to reject
constantly the evil, however imposing and charming may be
the face which it presents to us, and always courageously to
retain the good, however sad and frightful may be the mask
under which it is disguised. The Jews boasted of having this
skill by the light of the law of Moses, which shone upon them.
" Thou knowest" (said Paul to them) " the will of God, and
canst try things that differ, being instructed by the law," Kom.
ii. 18. But though their rule might contain the first rudi-
ments of the knowledge necessary for that discernment, it is
certain it did not give so clear, so easy, and so complete a rule,
as is given us in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And here we
have two remarks to make before we proceed further. The
Eiriyvucrjs. f French translation.
42 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. II.
first is, That every christian, whatever may be his station in
the church, should have an assured and clear knowledge of the
truths necessary to his salvation. For Paul would not desire
for us " knowledge and judgment," if these were not qualities
needful for us as true believers. Add to which, that since it is
by knowledge that love abounds in us, every one confessing
that love is necessary for us, must also grant that knowledge
is equally so. We also find the apostle desiring that we
should be capable of discerning things that differ, which could
not be done without the light of knowledge. From this it ap-
pears how false is the idea of a christian as given in the Ro-
mish communion, where they desire that he should have a
faith which may rather be defined by ignorance than by know-
ledge ; where they forbid him, if he be of the laity, to read the
scripture ; where they only arm him with a faith which they
call " implicit," which, without knowing the mysteries of the
apostolic doctrine, without examining the ground of things,
and without having any capacity to discern what is contrary
to divine truth, defers to the judgment of others, blindly fol-
lowing men, and yielding into captivity his whole reason to
their pretended authority. Certainly if such were the charac-
ter of a true christian, Paul ought to have desired ignorance
for him as a necessary means of being happy, whereas, on the
contrary, he prays God, here for the Philippians, and elsewhere
for the Ephesians, (Eph. i. 17, 18,) and almost everywhere for
other believers to whom he writes, that their knowledge and
their judgment may abound, that the heavenly word may dwell
in them abundantly, that the eyes of their understanding may
be enlightened, that they may know what is the hope of their
calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints. The other remark that we have to make is,
That the wisdom of the christian relates to action ; for this fac-
ulty of discerning things that differ, that is to say, of choosing
the" good and rejecting the evil, which Paul here assigns as the
end of our knowledge, evidently belongs to the understanding,
which is called practical ; that is to say, the understanding
which judges and fixes what to do, and which side to take in
those things which relate to our actions. From whence it fol-
lows, that all doctrine which is useless to the edification of the
soul, and to sanctification, has nothing in common with Chris-
tianity. For God does not feed us with empty science, which
. serves but to divert our mind, but with solid truth, calculated
to console our consciences, and to improve our conduct. From
which you see what judgment we must form of that theology
of Rome which they call scholastic, which is nothing but a
bundle of thorns, and vain subtleties, and frivolous specula-
tions, which no more touch the heart, nor instruct the soul for
eternal life, than the demonstrations of Euclid on Geometry,
or those of Ptolemy on Astrology.
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 43
But I return to the apostle, who, after having given credit
to the Philippians for an abundant love, and a knowledge ca-
pable of trying things that diffei-, so as to choose that which is
excellent, desires for them, in the third place, " that they may
be pure and without offence till the day of Christ." This is a
necessary consequence of his former prayers ; for it is know-
ledge that produces and preserves this purity in us, not per-
mitting the admixture of anything foreign or contrary to the
truth of God. For it is that which, as a heavenly beacon, con-
ducts and directs us in our paths, and by the aid of its light
prevents us from stumbling. The purity which he requires
in us doubtless signifies sincerity, simplicity, and openness in
our conduct, the opposite of all fraud and obliquity ; but it re-
lates also, I imagine, to faith and doctrine, signifying the in-
tegrity and clearness of a faith which alone embraces the word
of God, without being mixed or adulterated with any tradi-
tions or human inventions. For you will see hereafter that
these believers to whom he wrote this Epistle were inclining
that way ; those false teachers among the Jews who so sadly
troubled the christian church at its commencement, and par-
ticularly corrupted the Galatians, having also beguiled the
Philippians, so as to disorder their faith by mixing with it the
law and Jewish traditions. The apostle having this in his
mind, entreats the Lord particularly that he would fortify them
with knowledge, and a judgment capable of trying things that
differ, that they might preserve to the end, pure and entire,
uncorrupted by the mixture of any strange doctrine, that holy
faith which they had received from him. And to the same
object must also relate what he adds, " that they may be with-
out offence ;" that is to say, that they may happily finish their
course, without turning from the right way, and without
stumbling. For he who, having received the gospel, afterwards
lends an ear to error, is like a man who, having begun a jour-
ney or a race, stops, or turns aside, having met something on
his road which prevents his going further. Paul makes use of
this very comparison, to explain the fault of the Galatians :
" You did run well ; who hath hindered you, that you should
not obey the truth ?" But though the apostle may have had
this particularly in mind, yet he certainly comprehends under
this word "offence" every stumbling-block which delays, or in
any measure troubles, the course of the christian in the paths
of God, of whatsoever nature it be, whether in doctrine or con-
duct. The Greek word of which he makes use may be under-
stood, either of the offence which is given to others, or that
which may be received from them. From whence it arises
that some interpreters take it in the first sense, as if Paul
would say that the Philippians might lead respectable lives,
full of good examples, and in which none, either those within
44 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. II.
or those without, should meet with any stumbling-block, but
all tending to edification. And it is clear that he thus em-
ploys this same word in his First Epistle to the Corinthians,
chap. x. 32, where he commands them to be such " that they
give no offence, either to the Jews, or to the Greeks, or to the
church of God." Others understand it of an offence that they
suffer (if we may so speak) when they backslide, or when they
stumble, permitting themselves to be conquered or overcome
by some temptation. " Be without offence ;" that is to say, walk
or run in these gospel lists evenly and constantly, without stop-
ping or turning through the opposition or offences that you will
meet with on your road. It signifies little, which of these two
senses you follow, since after all they mean the same thing,
and the second is comprehended in the first, no one ever per-
mitting himself to be overcome by some temptation of the
enemy without thereby giving occasion of scandal to his neigh-
bours. His phrase, "till the day of Christ," shows us that it
is not enough to begin well, if we do not persevere to the end.
How many are there who have made shipwreck at the entrance
of the port ! How many who fall at the end of their career,
having, for want of two or three steps only, lost the prize of
all the race ! Nevertheless, we must not subtilize on the apos-
tle's saying " that we may be without offence till the day of
Christ," as if he gave us to understand that there was always
some stumbling to fear for believers, even after they have left
this life, till the day of judgment. Paul speaks simply and
honestly, and does not mean anything but that we should per-
severe to the end without falling, having incessantly before
our eyes the great day of the Lord, so that, at whatever hour
it may come, it may find us neither lying down, nor cast down
by the enemy, but standing, watching, and pressing forwards
towards the end and prize of our high calling ; much in the
same manner as our Lord promised his apostles " to be with
them always, even to the end of the world," Matt, xxviii. 20 ;
not to signify that they were always to live upon the earth ;
but simply, that whilst they were upon it, he would always be
with them, so constantly, that even should their lives endure
as long as the world, never should his presence be wanting,
not even to the last moment of their lives.
There remains the fourth and last article of the prayer of the
apostle for the Philippians, " that they may be filled with the
fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the
glory and praise of God." It is not enough, believing soul, to
give no offence, you must edify ; it is not enough to abstain
from evil, you must do good. As the perfection of a good
tree is to bring forth good fruits, and not simply tbat it should
not bear bad ; for according to that, those which bear no fruit
at all might pass for good trees. Thus the praise of a christian
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 45
is to lead a life which is not only exempt from vicious passions,
and the corruptions of sin, but which moreover abounds in all
kinds of virtues and good examples, which is covered and en-
riched by high and holy acts, worthy of the great name of the
Lord Jesus, by which we are called. This is why the apostle
is not contented with beseeching God that he would preserve
the Philippians from offence and shame, he also prays that he
would fill them with the fruits of righteousness. For these
fruits (as you know) are nothing else than those good and holy
works which are commanded by the gospel, the beautiful and
exquisite productions of thaE new and heavenly righteousness
which the Lord Jesus has given us ; whether by righteousness
you understand that sweet and immortal gift of his grace, which
remits our sins, and reconciles us with the Father, that is to
say, our justification, whose true and legitimate fruit is the
love of God, of holiness, and of all the works which proceed
from it ; whether you take righteousness according to the style
of the scriptures, for benignity and beneficence, some of the
most lively and fruitful sources of good works ; or finally,
whether you understand by " righteousness " the practices of
holiness, and of the new life which true faith creates in us, and
which is commonly called inherent righteousness, although in
truth the word used in this sense is rarely found in the holy
scriptures. The apostle adds, that "these fruits of righteous-
ness are by Jesus Christ," because he is their source and prin-
ciple; the strength and virtue by which we produce them
coming to us entirely from him. For, in the first place, he has
snatched us from the soil of the world, or more properly of
hell, where, like the plants of Sodom and Gomorrah, we bore
but empty and useless fruits, and (which is still worse) those
which are poisonous and deadly. He has transplanted us from
thence into the paradise of God, into his church ; where, by
the efflcac} 7 ' of his blood, his word, and his Spirit, he hath shed
in us thoughts, hopes, and affections, totally different from
those we had formerly, namely, contempt and hatred for the
world and sin, admiration and love for heaven and holiness.
All the fruits of righteousness which the apostle requires in
us spring from that strength, and, as we may say, from that
new mind, which we only have by the blessing and communion
of Jesus Christ, drawing it from his root, as his new substance,
since we have been grafted into him, and changed into his
nature, becoming his branches and his boughs.
But as Paul shows us its cause, he also discovers to us its
effect and its end, in the following words : " These fruits (says
he) are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God." It is
very true that the believer ought to bring forth his works to
this end, and to propose to himself the glory of God and his
praise, as the object of his actions. And it is also true, that,
46 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. II.
for want of this, the action, however good and praiseworthy it
may be in itself, becomes evil and defective, as not being di-
rected to its true and legitimate end. But notwithstanding this,
it is not what the apostle means in this place. It signifies dis-
tinctly the end and success of good works, and not the design
of those who perform them ; and means that if we are filled
with the fruits of righteousness, which are in Jesus Christ, God
will be praised and glorified thereby ; that the thing shall turn
to his glory and to his praise, according to what the Lord said
to his disciples, " Let your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is
in heaven." For however corrupted the nature of man may
be, nevertheless he cannot but love and admire the image of
virtue and holiness, wherever it appears to shine clearly and
with any lustre. Let him do what he will, it dazzles and
charms him. When, then, christians show a life entirely
covered with these divine rays, full of modesty, humility, tem-
perance, love, kindness, and gentleness, without fraud, avarice,
or ambition, we are constrained to give God the glory which
belongs to him, and to acknowledge him for what he truly is,
and praise him as all-good, all-wise, and all-powerful. It was
thus that the first christians converted the world to their Lord,
however contrary to its intention. And although sufferings
have a great effect in leading men to this point, as we have
already said, nevertheless, to produce this effect they must be
accompanied, and as it were crowned, with the fruits of right-
eousness and holiness, without which they have little or no
power to change the heart to piety.
Such, beloved brethren, is the prayer which the apostle pre-
sented to God for his Philippians ; in which he teaches us that
the work of our sanctification and of our perseverance in piety
depends upon his grace, and not upon the strength of our own
free-will. For if the Lord did not put all these heavenly
virtues into the hearts of the faithful, Paul would not have
asked them from him for them. Let us then address ourselves
to him, and, following the example of his servant, entreat in-
cessantly, by ardent prayers, that he would condescend to form
us to his fear, and to work in us by the hand of his Spirit all
those things which he commands of us in his gospel. But if
we wish that he should hear us, let us pray as we ought,
watching and working, giving ourselves to the study and
practice of his word. Let us there seek first knowledge and
understanding of his saving truth, and carefully form and in-
struct our youth therein ; let us give ourselves no rest till we
are capable of discerning things that differ, and of guarding
ourselves from the illusions of the world, and from the artifices
with which Satan paints vice and error. But let not this
knowledge remain idle in our minds; let it display the strength
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 47
of its light in our wills and affections; let it bring them cap-
tive under the yoke of Jesus Christ. Let it root out the love
of vice and of this perishable world. Let it plant all sorts of
christian virtues ; and, above all, let it make us abound more
and more in sincere love, both towards men in general, and
particularly towards our brethren ; a love which pardons those
among us who have offended, which helps those who suffer,
with our alms, those who are in necessity, and with our visits
and consolations, those who are sick ; with our instructions,
those who have need of them, and all with the good example
of a holy and innocent life. Let us not be weary in so glorious
and profitable a work. Let us continue it courageously, pre-
serving entire the deposit of the Lord Jesus until his great
day, without the seductions of error being capable of altering
the simplicity and purity of our faith ; without the debaucheries
and allurements of vice being able to turn us from it, or to be
stumbling-blocks in our road. Instead of the vices and scandals
of which the world is full, let us only charge and ornament
our life with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus
Christ, each of us resembling that mystical tree of the psalmist,
(Psal. i. 3 ; xcii. 15,) which is always green, and always crowned
with fruits, even in its old age. Let us remember the curse
which dried up the fig-tree on which Jesus found no fruit, and
the judgment which he pronounces against every tree which
bears none : " It shall be cut down, (said he,) and cast into the
fire," Matt. vii. 19. May the fear of so horrible an end, and
still more the love of our good Saviour, render us careful and
fruitful in works of piety and holiness. It is the true method
of promoting our own salvation, of softening those who are
without, of edifying those who are within, of consoling the
church, of converting the world, and (what ought to be dearer
to us than the good of our neighbours, or even our own hap-
piness) of procuring praise and glory to the great name of our
God, who has created us by his power, and redeemed us by his
infinite mercy. May he himself, as he is the sole author of all
good, bless and powerfully sanctify us, and give us by his
goodness what his holy apostle formerly asked for the Philip-
pians, an abounding love, an efficacious knowledge, a right
and incorruptible judgment, a constant purity, a perseverance
without offence, and a life full of the fruits of the righteousness
of his Son, which are by Jesus Christ, to his glory and our
salvation. Amen.
Preached at Gharenton, Sunday, 22nd Jan. 1640.
48 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. III.
SERMON III.
VERSE 12 — 18.
But I would you should understand, brethren, that the things
which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the further-
ance of the gospel: so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in
all the palace, and in all other places ; and many of the breth-
ren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more
bold to speak the ivord without fear. /Some indeed preach Christ
even of envy and strife ; and some also of good-ivill: the one
preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add
affliction to my bonds : but the other of love, knowing that I am
set for the defence of the gospel. What then ? notwithstanding,
every ivay, whether in pretence, or in truth, Clirist is preached:
and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
Dear brethren, among the many things which offend men
in the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is not one which more vio-
lently annoys them than the cross imposed upon those who
embrace its profession. Many, even of those who have heard
and received the word with joy, have basely abandoned it as
soon as oppression or persecution has arisen. And the gen-
erality of these wretched people do not even wait till the evil
is come upon themselves. They withdraw from the fellowship
of the Lord as soon as they see it threatened with any storm.
They listen to its ministers while they teach them in peace.
But if the preaching draw persecution upon them, (as it often
happens,) from that time they give up hearing them, and all
connection with them, fearful lest intercourse with them should
involve them in their disgrace. Though such sufferings are
not able to overthrow true believers, nevertheless, at first they
may be offended and staggered by them; Satan cunningly
managing these opportunities to disgust them with the faith as
an odious doctrine, and persecuted by all who are highest in
the world. Paul, fearing that his chain might produce some
one of these bad effects in the minds of the Philippians, his
dear disciples, anticipates this objection, and represents to
them in the text we have read, the glorious consequences which
God had drawn from his prison ; showing them that it ought
rather to strengthen than to trouble them, being such by the
grace of the Lord, that he and they had more cause to rejoice
than to be afflicted for it, and to glory in it rather than be
ashamed of it. Besides which, setting aside this consideration,
the love which he bore them, and the mutual affection which
they testified towards him, also obliged him to acquaint them
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 49
with such happy news, so suitable for their consolation. For
in the heaviness which the affliction of their good master
caused them, what more delightful and agreeable could they
hear than the great success of his bonds, than his joy and his
triumph in this hard fight, and the strength and courage that
his example had given their brethren? It is therefore with
good reason, that immediately after the preface to this Epistle,
the declaration of his affection, and of the opinion which he
entertained of their virtue, he begins with such good news;
"Brethren, I would that ye should understand that the things
which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the fur-
therance of the gospel." And to show them more particularly
how his imprisonment had served to the propagation of Chris-
tianity, he adds, " that his bonds in Christ are manifest in all
the palace, and in all other places, and that many of the breth-
ren in the Lord, waxing confident by his bonds, are much
more bold to speak the word without fear." But as those who
had taken occasion from his bonds to preach the christian doc-
trine had not all the same intentions nor the same design in
this holy work, to the end that the good and the bad preachers
should not remain mixed together, he has made a distinction
between them in the following verses, giving to each the praise
or the blame which they deserved in these words: "Some in-
deed preach Christ even of envy and strife, and some also of
good will : the one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely,
supposing to add affliction to my bonds ; but the other of
love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel."
After which he declares in the end, that whatever difference
there might be between the affections and the courage of the
one and the other, notwithstanding the effect and the purpose
even to which they applied themselves, it gave him much sat-
isfaction : " What then ? notwithstanding, every way, whether
in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do
rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." These are, as you see, all the
parts of the apostle's discourse which you have heard, and,
that we may clear up and explain them, we will treat (if God
permit) in this sermon these three points distinctly, one after
the other : First, That the event of the imprisonment of Paul
was very useful to the furtherance of the gospel, it being under-
stood that this was a circumstance which led many persons to
preach the word of God in all the city of Eome. Secondly, We
will remark the difference which he points out between these
workers ; the one preaching from love and with a good will,
the others from envy and contention. And finally, in the
third place, The effect which their preaching produced with
respect to Paul, that he received from it consolation and joy.
I. To begin with the first point; the apostle tells the Philip-
pians in general, that the things which had happened to him
7
50 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. III.
had led to a great furtherance of the gospel. Now there is no
person but must see that, by " the things which had happened
to him," he meant the prison to which he had been conducted
at Rome, in consequence of the persecution which the Jews
had raised against him in Jerusalem. Luke has given us the
whole history of it at length in the book of the Acts, chap,
xxi., xxvii., xxviii. This holy man was recognized in the
temple by some Asiatic Jews, who had seen him in their own
country, preaching Jesus Christ with admirable efficacy and
zeal ; the people, excited by their accusations, rose seditiously,
and having desperately seized him, would have torn him in
pieces, had not the captain of the citadel, informed of this tu-
mult, rescued him from their hands, causing him to be bound
and kept in the fortress till he made himself acquainted with
his crime. After which, finding that the rage of the Jews
was so violent against Paul that he could scarcely remain in
safety in the city of Jerusalem, he sent him to Cesarea, where
he was consigned to the hands of Felix, a Roman officer, and
governor of the country, who, whatever knowledge he might
have of his innocence, detained him two years in prison, until
he resigned his situation to Festus, who had been sent from
Rome to succeed him in the office of governor of Judea. He,
being desirous to gratify the Jews, was disposed to send Paul
back again to Jerusalem. But the apostle, well knowing the
fury and the plots of his nation, appealed to the emperor;
and, in consequence of this appeal, was carried to Rome,
where he arrived, after having encountered many dangers by
sea; and being more humanely treated than the other prison-
ers, was permitted to dwell in his own house, under the guard
of a soldier, with liberty to receive there the attentions of hi3
friends, and the visits of all those who wished either to see or
converse with him. Such was the situation of Paul, at the
time of his writing this Epistle. It was this long persecution,
coupled with his present captivity, that he means by " the
things that had happened to him," assuring us that the whole
had rather served to advance the gospel than otherwise. I
shall not enlarge on what he did in Judea, where his imprison-
ment afforded him the opportunity of conversing on his doc-
trine, first with Felix, and afterwards with Festus, governors
of the country, and with king Agrippa, and Bernice his wife,
the highest personages in the country, whose consciences this
illustrious prisoner pungently touched; and if he did not alto-
gether convert, he at any rate very much softened their hearts,
and drew from them a testimony to his innocence. I shall not
say anything either of the adventures of his voyage, in which
he doubtless made a prudent use of every opportunity of being
of service, to the glory of his Master, and particularly his
miracles in the island of Malta, where his bonds did not pre-
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 51
vent his making notable conquests, having gained there the
principal man of the country, and almost all the people of the
island. I come to that to which he particularly calls our atten-
tion, namely, to the success of his imprisonment in Rome
itself. And truly Luke, his faithful companion in all this voy-
age, expressly declares to us, that, during the two years he
remained in his own lodging, he preached the kingdom of
God, and taught the things concerning our Lord Jesus Christ,
with all boldness of speech, without any hinderance. As he
never uselessly displayed the light of his doctrine and mira-
cles, we cannot doubt but that this preaching was productive
of much fruit, converting some, confounding others, and stir-
ring up all who were skilful and inquisitive in this great city,
by the clearness which all found in his discourses, spreading
every where the glory of the gospel. Thus you see the chain
of Paul in no degree impeded or retarded this holy doctrine,
against the hopes of his enemies, aud the expectation of be-
lievers, and contrary to the usual and natural appearance of
things themselves. What! do I say that his imprisonment
did not retard the gospel? It hastened and furthered its
course, as he here declares, aud instead of restraining or weak-
ening his preaching, it gave it greater extension and efficacy
than it ever had before. In the first place, this chain having
led him to Rome, placed him by this means on the greatest and
most convenient theatre of the world, where he had the whole
universe assembled in one place, and from whence he could,
in a single day, speak to all the human race, instruct the idol-
aters, edify the Greeks, teach the barbarians, convince the
Jews, convert the humble, astonish the great, and in short set
forth the wonders of his Christ to all people, to all languages,
and to all sorts and conditions of men at once. For Rome
was then the first city, and the mistress of the habitable
globe ; the seat of the greatest empire that ever existed ; the
abode of its sovereign, of the laws, and of its highest tribu-
nals; the resort of all nations; and, in a word, a fine and ad-
mirable abridgment of the universe. It was the heart of the
world, from whence its manners, opinions, doctrines and cus-
toms circulated into all the provinces, as from a rich and pub-
lic source. And this was the reason why Paul had so ar-
dently desired to go there, as he declares in the beginning of
his Epistle to the Romans, and even had already planned a
journey thither, as we read in the last chapter of the same
Epistle; well knowing that there was no place in the world
where the gospel could be more usefully preached ; and that
Ephesus, Corinth, and many other celebrated cities which he
had already honoured by his preaching, were of little account
in comparison of Rome. Now that which the plans of his
mind and the circumstances of his life had not yet enabled
52 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. III.
him to do, this chain, with which he had been bound in Jeru-
salem, fully procured him ; so that if he had formerly fur-
thered the gospel of his Master, by publishing it in the pro-
vinces of Syria, Asia, and Greece, it is evident that he now
furthered it still more.
But besides the extension which this imprisonment gave to
his preaching, it added to it a new degree of efficacy. For
who does not see that the discourse of a man who preaches in
bonds is much more noticed, and capable of making an im-
pression on our hearts, than if at ease and liberty he broached
the same doctrines? His very misery disposes us to listen to
him, and commends to us the sentiments for which he has had
the courage to suffer. We must not then be astonished at
what the apostle adds, that this very disgrace had been of so
much use in furthering the gospel, " that his bonds in Christ
are spoken of in all the palace, and in all other places." He
calls the prison in which he was at Rome "his bonds in
Christ," because he had only been placed in it for the name of
our Lord Jesus, for the profession he made of that name, and
the zeal he had for his glory, and finally, for the faithful ser-
vice he yielded him in this sacred ministry of the apostleship,
with which he had been honoured. By the pretorium, he cer-
tainly means the palace of the emperor of Rome. And in-
deed this word is sometimes used by the Latin authors for the
place where the pretor held his audience. But the name of
pretor was originally given by the Romans to all their first
chief magistrates, who had and exercised the principal part
of the public authority ; hence it arose that in war, and in the
camp, they named the abode of the general of the army, pre-
torium, and in the city, the palace of the emperor, after the
Caesars had possessed themselves of the sovereignty of the
Roman state. By the " other places," here distinguished from
the pretorium, the apostle means the rest of the city of Rome,
its houses, whether public or private, signifying that his bonds
were celebrated both in the palace of the emperor, and in the
rest of the town ; that they were spoken of every where ;
there was no part of this great city where the name and the
prison of Paul were not known. And in truth, there had ar-
rived at Rome a large company, more than two hundred per-
sons, who having been witnesses during this voyage of the
innocence and holiness of his life, and of his miracles; who
had been saved from shipwreck according to his prediction,
and by his means, and had seen him cure all sorts of diseases
in the island of Malta ; there is every reason to believe they
would not fail to publish what they knew of him to all their
acquaintance, more especially the captain who had had charge
of him, to those of the household of the emperor ; so that in
consequence every one would be desirous of seeing this won-
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 53
derful prisoner, who, on his part, doubtless did not fail to take
advantage of so fine an opportunity of preaching to them the
gospel. To this must still further be added, that the Jews by
whose accusation he had been made prisoner, not appearing at
Rome to prosecute the suit which they had brought against
him, it was evident that the zeal of his belief was alone the
cause of his imprisonment. This would but increase his
reputation, every one being astonished that there could exist
a man so much in love with any doctrine as to be willing
to suffer for it ; a circumstance quite extraordinary among
the pagans, where the philosophers only recommended the
opinions of their sect by their arguments, and by their con-
versation, and not by the sufferings of their persons. But the
manner, and even the nature, of the apostle's doctrine, must
assuredly have also excited the wonder of the Romans, when
after all they had discovered that he only preached to them the
faith, love, and service of Jesus Christ. So many words, so
many miracles, so much suffering, so much goodness and holi-
ness, as they saw shining in this person, were only employed
in favour of a man, who had formerly been crucified in Judea,
even by the very confession of those who wished to have him
worshipped by the world. These, and such-like considerations,
rendered the bonds of Paul celebrated in the palace of the
emperor, and in all the city of Rome. And although this
word, to take it literally, only signifies that the apostle acquired
a great reputation, and that his name, out of this little lodging
in which he was a prisoner, was spread throughout the town,
and publicly spoken of, all this great people, almost infinite
in number, having heard of it ; it nevertheless gives us to un-
derstand that a great many were converted by his preaching,
some among the people, and some in the court, where Paul
afterwards tells us that there were believers, Phil. iv. 22. For
if there had not been persons in these places who had favoured
the cause and the doctrine of the apostle, the glory of his bonds
could not have entered there so deeply, or been preserved there
so long.
But besides this admirable effect of his imprisonment, he
tells us also of another not less strange in the following verse,
that is to say, the courage which it gave to many christians to
preach the gospel, and boldly to announce that same doctrine
for which they saw him suffer with so much constancy and
glory. " Many of the brethren in the Lord," (says he,) " wax-
ing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the
word without fear." He calls believers " brethren," according
to the usual style of this first apostolic church, on account of
the close communion there was between them, having all sprung
from the same Father, and been brought up as one family in
the hope of the same inheritance. But he adds, " in the Lord,"
54 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. III.
to show that this relationship was according to the Spirit, and
not according to the flesh ; founded in grace, and not in nature ;
and derived from the blood of Jesus Christ, and not from that
of Adam. By " the word " he means (as often elsewhere) the
gospel of the Lord, the word of life ; which is simply called
" the word " because of its excellence, above not only all human
doctrines, but even the law and regulations of Moses. He says
then that many believers had the courage to preach the gospel
boldly at Rome, " waxing confident by my bonds." But how
could thy bonds, O holy apostle ! give such confidence to the
christians? How, instead of opening the mouths of the mute,
did they not rather close those of the eloquent ? How was it
that they did not rather intimidate the preachers than encourage
them? This chain, with which thou wert bound for having
only spoken for Christ, how, and by what means, could it give
courage to others to speak for him ? To make it produce such
an effect, is it not as if we would gather grapes from thorns,
or, according to the enigma of Samson, draw meat from the
eater, and sweetness from the strong? Judg. xiv. 14. I ac-
knowledge, dear brethren, that the bonds of the apostle pro-
duced not this effect of themselves. To look at them alone,
and to consider simply the power and fury of the enemies of
the gospel, which appeared in them, they were capable only
of disgusting men with so sad a doctrine, and of cooling the
warmth and the zeal of those who approved it, by the example
and fear of disgrace which it drew upon its followers. But the
providence of God changed the nature of these bonds, and
made them shine with the marks of his power and of his love
towards his own, displaying in them a strength of mind and a
light of grace that only served to advance the glory of his
name, and the virtue and consolation of his minister; for as
to him, he did not cease to evangelize as usual with a blessing
so manifest, that his preaching had never been more successful.
Believers observing this fine example, together with the good-
ness and providence of the Lord, and the happiness of his
servants, were powerfully encouraged to do their duty. The
glory of the apostle awakened them, the visible help of the
Lord animated them, his hand assured them, and the proof that
they had before their eyes of his truth and fidelity took away
those doubts and fears to which we are all so prone. They
looked upon the victory of Paul as a pledge of their own, and,
full of new fire, went courageously where God called them,
that is to say, to preach his word freely. But, believers, it is
not enough that the bonds of the apostle should have edified
these first christians of Rome, inspiring them with courage to
speak boldly for the gospel. It is not enough that they should
console the Pbilippians, to whom he here mentions them, for
the purpose of softening the sorrow which they felt for his suf-
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 55
ferings, by the consideration of the glory and usefulness which
would arise from them, both to his Master and to himself. We,
as well as the ancient believers, should draw instruction and
consolation for our souls from these meditations, the subject of
which is preserved to us in these writings of the holy apostle.
Let us honestly observe in them the wonders of the providence
of God, displayed in the government of the church, and in the
conduct of those things that belong to it ; how, on the one.
hand, he knows how to confound the malice of his enemies ;
and, on the other, to preserve his children from dangers, ac-
complishing his work by the iniquity of the one, and by the
infirmity of the others; so making things bend by secret and
incomprehensible springs, that they all attain his object, how-
ever weak they may appear, or even contrary to it. Thus you
see in this text that the rage of the Jews and the injustice of
their governors, contrary to the intention of persons, and
against the nature of the things themselves, served for the ad-
vancement of the gospel of his Son. The first only sought to
gratify their hatred, and the second to satisfy their avarice, or
their respect for the authority of their master ; and they were,
both the one and the other, but the ministers of the counsel of
God, who conducted his apostle to the place where it was
destined that he should set forth the wonders of his preaching
with more efficacy than ever. The soldiers who led him thither
were, truly speaking, his escort, and his bonds and his prison
the most useful instruments of his glory. This theatre was
prepared for his punishment, and it became the scene of his
triumph. This persecution, which was intended to cover him
with shame, overwhelmed him with honour ; it was to blacken
and wither his name, and it rendered it illustrious in the first
city and in the most superb court in the universe. Oh ! the
vanity of the thoughts of the wicked ! Oh ! the admirable
wisdom of the providence of God ! He causes the Jew to open
the apostle's mouth, when he thinks that he is closing it, and
makes him spread his voice throughout the world, in desiring
to banish him from Judea. He had formerly conducted Joseph
to the highest pitch of glory in the same way, through the
fury of his unnatural brethren. Persecution, slavery, and im-
prisonment had also been, as it were, the ladders to his pros-
perity. Since then he has always in the same waj^ used them
in the conduct of his people, overthrowing the designs of his
enemies, and turning the artifices of their malice, and the ex-
cess of their fury, directly contrary to their intentions ; mul-
tiplying his church by the deaths and massacres which seemed
likely to destroy it ; lighting his gospel by those very means
which appeared likely to extinguish it; and drawing the
brightest glory of his servants from their deepest disgraces.
This has happened in the time of our fathers, and in the old
56 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. III.
times before them, when the exiles and proscriptions to which
truth was shamefully condemned spread instead of stopping it.
We have the same remark to make on what the apostle adds,
that his bonds had given courage to the other believers. Sa-
tan had loaded him with this chain that it might alarm others,
and, behold ! quite the contrary, it gives them boldness. This
iron encourages them instead of frightening them, and serves
but to destroy the reign it was intended to establish. Be, then,
no longer astonished, believers, if the Lord treat his children
in this manner. Do not accuse his providence of indifference
or disorder, on pretence that he exposes his Josephs and his
Pauls to the persecution of their brethren, and suffers them
either to be bound, or put in prison, or smitten by some other
outrage. All these indignities which offend you are the most
excellent part of his glory, and of theirs. It is by those means
he perfects them. These are the instruments of his work,
without which they would neither so easily nor so quickly ac-
complish it. And if the Lord permit that we ourselves should
fall into trials similar to those of these great men, let us con-
sole ourselves by their example ; and let us remember that this
all-wise, all-good, and sovereign Majesty which has ordered
their battles, presides still over ours, that he consecrates his
own by affliction, and perfects his strength in their weakness,
this method of acting being incomparably more glorious for
him and for us than if he led us by easy and plain paths where
we met with no difficulty. Let us bless those prisons and
those chains which advance the gospel. It is so great a good
that we cannot purchase it at too high a price ; a good which
comprehends altogether the glory of our God, the salvation of
our neighbour, and our own happiness. Paul is one of those
who has the most suffered for its furtherance. But still we
may say with truth, that there are men to whom the vanities
of the world have cost as much as this sovereign felicity cost
him ; who have run, and who still run daily as many dangers,
and endure as many evils, to be for ever miserable, as did this
great apostle, to render himself and others eternally happy.
Hardly do I dare bring forward among the benefits which
ought to incite us to these duties that glory of which the
world thinks so much, and with which God crowns no men
here below more pre-eminently than his martyrs and confes-
sors, rendering their names and their struggles illustrious even
in the palaces of the Neros, and forcing the courts of the most
cruel and unjust princes to speak of them, and to acknowledge
their innocence and their magnanimity. For this palace where
the apostle here tells us that his bonds were celebrated was
the palace of Nero, the most infamous of all tyrants, the shame
and torment of his age, the horror and execration of all suc-
ceeding times. But however abominable this monster might
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 57
be, and however abandoned his court, the sink of every vice
known among pagans, nevertheless, by the blessing of the
Lord, the light of his apostle pierced into this abode of ini-
quity, making itself seen and felt ; showing that there is no
place in the world so opposed to piety where God does not
make the sweet odour of our name to enter if we serve him
zealously. It is this, my brethren, that the example of the
apostle teaches us.
But, I beseech you, let us also imitate that of these believ-
ing Komans, who were encouraged by his bonds. Let us not
be of the number of those cowards to whom the trials, either
of their pastors or of their neighbours, have caused their hearts
lamentably to fail. Their sufferings ought, on the contrary,
to animate us, and their dangers to open our mouths. It is a
feature of false courage to abandon innocence or truth when it
is persecuted. It is of all times that in which a noble mind
would least withdraw itself from its association. It would
then be the time most openly to declare for it, and the most
firmly to defend its cause. And this thought, dear brethren,
is necessary for us in these wretched times, when the sad and
calamitous state in which truth is found, which is in bonds iu
many places in Europe, and is no where but half at liberty,
forces us to consecrate our mouths to it, and those of our peo-
ple, courageously to support its cause, boldly preaching its
word without fear.
II. But to understand fully the holiness and the excellence
of this duty, let us proceed now to the second part of our text,
in which the apostle distinguishes the good workman from the
bad. "Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife;
and some also of good will : the one preach Christ of conten-
tion, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds ;
but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence
of the gospel." He divides into two different classes those
persons who, from his bonds, had taken the opportunity to
preach the gospel of the Lord ; the one with pure and sincere
affection, the other with a wicked mind and an evil design.
Of the former he says, in the first place, " that they preach
Christ with good will ;" that is, with an honest heart, who prin-
cipally sought in this labour the end to which it naturally
tends, that is to say, the glory of the Lord, the edification and
salvation of their hearers, and the satisfaction of their own con-
science. He adds, in the second place, that they did it also
from love ; " knowing that I am set for the defence of the gos-
pel ;" by which he bears witness to their praiseworthy and ex-
cellent affection, not only towards those whom they instructed
by their words, but also towards himself, seeking by the exer-
cise of this part of their ministry to comfort and not to vex
him, to soothe and not to afflict him, conforming their preach-
58 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. III.
ing to his satisfaction, and not to their own advantage, as did the
others. For acknowledging him as an apostle and principal
minister of the gospel sent by God for the establishment of his
word in the world, they ascribed their preaching to his order,
pretending by that not to lower or diminish his authority, but
merely to second it, and to supply in any way the want of his
voice in those places in which his bonds prevented its being
heard, so that neither the church nor those without should
have anything to find fault with. Upon which we have first
to consider the excellence of the office of the holy ministry in
the object which the apostle assigns to it, viz. the defence of
the gospel. For what other title can we bear in the house of
God more glorious than that of being the defenders of his
word, and the advocates of his cause ? This honour, my breth-
ren, obliges us to defend it well, to represent with liberty and
vigour to men all the rights of the Lord, to preserve them with
all our might, without losing one, either by our silence or our
negligence. Inasmuch as our voice and our tongue have been
consecrated to this service, it would be weakness and extreme
ingratitude that they should ever fail in so holy and so honour-
able a duty. But we must remark, in the second place, that it
is the ordinance of God, and not flesh and blood, which calls
and appoints men to this holy ministry : "I am set," or
ordained, says the apostle ; and elsewhere he observes, " that
God had separated him from his mother's womb," Gal. i. 15 ;
and that it is lie " which afterwards called him by his grace,"
on account of which he is called "the vessel of his election,"
that is to say, an instrument chosen of God to exercise the
apostleship. The Lord had long before said of Jeremiah, chap.
i. 5, " that he had known him before he was formed in the
belly, and before he came out of the womb he had sanctified
him, and ordained him a prophet." From which it appears
that the calling and appointment to this office is a work of the
providence of God ; that he has predestinated before time those
whom he called in time; a consideration which ought to arm,
with invincible constancy and courage, those who feel the
work of the Lord in them. But besides the office of the holy
ministry, Paul has respect also in this place to the peculiar
quality which it then gave him of being the confessor of God, suf-
fering for the name of his Son ; it being evident that the work
and the constancy of those who are persecuted for this profes-
sion are an apology for the gospel, as the apostle had before
taught, when he called his imprisonment the " defence and con-
firmation of the gospel." Let us then presume that it is neither
chance, nor hatred, nor the fury of Satan and of men, but the
order and the counsel of God, which leads believers into these
trials. May every one of those who shall find himself in such
a situation be able to say truly with the apostle, " I am set for
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIAN3. 59
the defence of the gospel." Finally, we have yet to learn from
the example of these good servants of God, who, seeing Paul
in prison, began to preach the word, that it is one of the princi-
pal duties of love to extend the hand to those of our brethren
who labour for the Lord's sake. It is not enough to bless
them in our hearts, or to help them with our tears or prayers,
we must join ourselves to them, lend them, courageously, our
hands and our tongues, and where their voice cannot penetrate,
boldly cause our own to be heard. For if we betray the cause
of Christ on such occasions, what can we expect, but that this
great Advocate will also abandon ours before the tribunal of
his Father, where we have no other intercessor or mediator
than himself?
Furthermore, in this assistance which we owe our brethren,
we must so conduct ourselves that our diligence shall only
turn to their consolation, bringing to it minds free from every
evil leaven, and which have nothing in common with the dis-
position of those wicked doers, censured in this place by Paul,
who preach and proclaim Jesus Christ of envy and contention,
and not sincerely, thinking to add affliction to the bonds of
this holy man. The crime of these unhappy beings is so
strange, so unjust, and so contrary to all appearance of com-
mon sense, that it is difficult to imagine how men endowed
with reason could have been capable of committing it. They
proclaim Jesus Christ with their mouth, and have envy and
contention in their heart. They preach Christ, and hate his
apostle. Even this is a very strange anomaly ; but there is yet
more. It is envy that makes them preach, and that at a time
and in places where the gospel was persecuted, and where
there was a particular spite against those who preached the
word. O monstrous and incredible production ! How is it
possible that so good an effect should have sprung from a cause
so vile ? If you look at their labour, what can be conceived
greater and more praiseworthy than preaching the gospel of
Jesus Christ at Rome, under the government of Nero, at the very
time that Paul was suffering for this cause? If you look at
their motive, what blacker and more malicious than the envy
with which their heart was infected, and this envy against
Paul, the great apostle of the Lord, then suffering for his name?
How is it that this poison had the power to make the persons
despise the danger into which they brought themselves by
preaching? But their design is still stranger than all the rest.
For in preaching Jesus Christ they did it to afflict Paul, think-
ing, (says he,) by this means, to add affliction to my bonds.
What an extravagant and ridiculous thought was this ! The
preaching of the gospel was the whole joy, triumph, and glory
of this holy man, and yet these wretches think that they shall
vex him by preaching Jesus Christ. Dear brethren, the whole
60 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. III.
of this circumstance is so perplexed and entangled, that it is
very difficult to unravel it clearly. Some have fancied that
the doctrine of these persons was impure, and mixed with the
venom of some heresy ; such, for example, as was the preach-
ing of those who confounded the law of Moses with the gospel
of Jesus Christ, against which the apostle argues so cuttingly
in the Epistles to the Galatians and Colossians; and supposing
this to be the case, they say, that their intention was to cause
grief to Paul, by sowing their tares in the field of the Lord,
whilst his imprisonment prevented his opposing them, as he
would have done, had he been at liberty. But it does not ap-
pear that this could have been the case, for undoubtedly Paul
would not have taken pleasure in seeing the gospel corrupted,
nor could he rejoice that a deadly tare had been sown among
the people of Jesus Christ. Now he says expressly, that he
did rejoice that these people preached Jesus Christ, although
they did it for a pretence, and not through a real zeal. From
whence it follows, that however corrupt these evil workers
might be, their doctrine, nevertheless, was pure. We must
then take it for granted that their preaching was right and
true. It was only their conscience that was evil. The word
was good ; but the heart, the motive, and the design were bad.
And it is precisely to this, and to nothing more, that we must
refer what the apostle says, " that they did not preach Jesus
Christ sincerely." He means the impurity of the heart, and
not that of the doctrine; as if he had said, that while they
were preaching the truth of the gospel, they did not practise
it with a mind upright and simple, free from deceit and without
hypocrisy. Paul once discovers enough of their malice, when
he accuses them, in the first place, of envy and contention,
two of the blackest plagues that can afflict the human heart.
And it is not here alone that we learn that the apostle has met
with these scourges even among those who professed the name
of Jesus Christ, minds which, jealous of the great advantages
that God had given this holy man, groaned at it inwardly, and
endeavoured by every means in their power to deprive him
of the esteem in which he was held by christians. The two
Epistles to the Corinthians, and some others, sufficiently show
us that sometimes he was forced to fight for his own glory, and
to represent, at length, the fruits of his ministry, and the
favours which the Lord had shown him, to preserve the autho-
rity of his office against the attacks of the envious. It is a
great consolation for those who labour in the house of God, if
sometimes there happen to them some one of these secret, but
lively and acute, persecutions ; if, beside the blows from with-
out, they have still to suffer secretly the stings and bitings of
envy within. For since Paul, with such eminent and splendid
virtue, did not escape giving offence, and having those who
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 61
envied him, no other minister of the Lord should think it
strange that this plague should also persecute him.
But see, I pray you, how far the rage of their passion carried
these people. They think, says the apostle, " to add affliction
to my bonds." O barbarous and inhuman beings ! cruelty,
only fit for hell ! They see him persecuted by Jews and pagans
after the storms and shipwrecks of the sea, breathing with dif-
ficulty on the earth, bound with a chain — the prisoner of Nero,
expecting each moment the hour of his torment. And yet all
this is not capable of softening the fury of their passioDS.
They still envy him, they still wish him evil. And to such
sad and painful bonds, which might have been sufficient to
content the bitterest hatred, they endeavour to add affliction.
It was this foul and mad design which led them to preach Jesus
Christ. And it is in this lies the knot of the difficulty ; how
and in what way the preaching of the gospel, as they did,
could injure the apostle, or add affliction to his bonds, and
from what it was that they could conceive such an idea. Dear
brethren, if we clearly knew all the circumstances of this fact
as did the believers who were then living at Eome, perhaps it
would be easy for us to solve this difficulty. Now that we are
ignorant of them, we are obliged to have recourse to conjec-
tures ; and two present themselves which neither want authors
nor reasons. First, It may be, that the enemies of the apostle
hoped that their preaching would irritate Nero and his officers
against Christianity, and that, offended at this new increase
which this doctrine had received at Rome, they would quickly
discharge their anger upon him, whom they kept a prisoner,
and who was considered as the principal support of this grow-
ing religion, that is to say, Paul, either by putting him to death
suddenly, or by condemning him to some more grievous
trouble than his present prison. Secondly, It may be that
envy had inspired them with another thought, that by labour-
ing in preaching the gospel they should obtain a part of the
apostle's glory, and that by making good use of the time of
his imprisonment, to establish themselves in the minds of the
disciples, they should, by degrees, take away the credit and
authority which he possessed ; and judging of him by them-
selves, they imagined that it would be an immense increase to
his affliction to see them thus enriched and decorated with his
spoils. Such, or such like, were the thoughts of these wretched
men. Judge by this what is the nature of vice, and, in the
first place, how very horrible is its impudence in daring thus
to profane the most sacred things, and to abuse them so vilely
for its own ungodly purpose. What is there more sacred than
the gospel of Jesus Christ ? The wicked man not only has
the boldness to take it into his mouth, which of itself is great
sacrilege, but he dares further to employ it in the designs of
62 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. III.
his basest passions, to satisfy his envy and his cruelty, like
these vile beings, who made an ill use of Jesus Christ against
the best of his servants, and employed his name and his word
to ruin his glory. Thus Satan sometimes clothes himself as
an angel of light to further the works of darkness. # From
which yon see that it is not enough that our actions be good
and praiseworthy, if our intentions are not pure and upright.
It is to profane the good to do it with a bad end in view ; it is
to dishonour it and prostitute it to evil ; and so far from those
who act thus having a right to hope for the reward that the
divine word promises to good actions, they can, on the con-
trary, only expect the most rigorous punishment with which
hypocrisy, sacrilege, and profanation are threatened in the
scriptures ; it being evident that there is no more abominable
injustice than that ofhim who covers the filthiness of vice and
impiety with the marks and characteristics of virtue and holiness.
See again after that, how the thoughts of vice are not only im-
pudent, but even foolish and vain. These deceivers, judging
of Paul by themselves, believed that their preaching would vex
him, they thought by so doing to " add affliction to his bonds."
Poor creatures ! how little you knew of this high-minded man,
to imagine that so small a thing could trouble him !
III. Thus you see the thing turned out exactly contrary to
their expectations : they thought to vex him, and they com-
forted him ; they thought to weary him, and they afforded
him contentment: he rejoices in their hatred, and profits by
their envy. This is what he declares in the last verse of our
text, " What then ? (says he,) every way, whether in pretence,
or in truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice, yea,
and will rejoice." What business have I, says he, to labour
to detect the secret intentions of men, and to sift the mo-
tives of their actions, to vex myself with the malice of their
plans? God their judge sees through all. Whatever their
heart may be, whether true or false, nevertheless, my Christ is
preached, and his doctrine set forth. If the instruments are
bad, the effect they produce is good. I shall not fail to find
my account in it, while these wretches will not have theirs.
Christ preached is always to me a matter of joy, whatever may
be the heart of the preacher. He calls it " preaching Christ
in truth," when he who proclaims the doctrine of the Lord pro-
ceeds in it with a pure and sincere heart, seeking with a good
will, and from the bottom of his soul, the glory of Him whom
he announces, whilst he testifies of it in his words. To preach
it occasionally, or by pretence, signifies quite the contrary, it
is seeking something besides Jesus Christ in preaching his
word, to make an ill use of his name to cover some dishonest
design ; which is precisely what these evil workers did whom
the apostle has just been reproving. He does not simply say
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 63
that he rejoices in the success of the preaching, both of the
one and the other. He adds further, that he will rejoice in it
for the future, to show that they are much mistaken if they
think to vex him by it; as, on the contrary, the more they la-
boured in preaching, the more satisfaction they would afford
him thereby.
Thus you see, dear brethren, that God by the secret springs
of his mysterious providence so powerfully governs the most
corrupt instruments, that he still does his work by them when
he employs them. He converted men to the faith by the
word of such as had none themselves. He edified a true
church by the preaching of one who was a hypocrite. Thus
formerly he blessed his own Israel by the mouth of a false pro-
phet. Whilst we detest the abominable profaneness of men
who so dreadfully abuse the gospel, let us not cease to rejoice
in the good effects which God produces by their hands. Let
us hold the thorns of such plants in horror, and gather with
thanksgiving the roses which the goodness of God causes to
spring from them ; and, after the example of the apostle, let
us rejoice to see our Christ preached, whatever may be the
mind or the hand which presents us his mysteries. But in
conclusion, remark here, my brethren, the truth of what the
apostle elsewhere teaches us, that all things work together for
good to those who love God, who are called according to his
purpose. The efforts of envy and contention against Paul
turn to his satisfaction. His Lord changes poison into medi-
cine for him, and makes him reap consolation and joy from
what had been sown for his vexation and ruin. Nothing in-
jures this holy man. He finds satisfaction every where. He
handles the most painful evils, as he did formerly the viper at
Malta, without receiving any injury. Every thing profita
him, and there is no wind so contrary which does not waft him
to his haven. Dearly beloved brethren, let us have his faith;
let us evince for Jesus Christ and his glory such a zeal as
Paul's. Let us despise, as he did, the world, the flesh, and
their vanities. Let us detach our hearts from so many worldly
ties, which bind them to the earth, the lusts of riches, volup-
tuousness, and honours. May our hearts be pressed with no
other chain than that of Paul; may this bond alone attach us,
as it did him, indissolubly to Jesus Christ, who lives in us,
and there mortifies whatever is fleshly. Let us be holy as
Paul, and we shall be happy like him; as it was to him, so
will all turn to our good, prosperity and adversity, the favour
and the hatred of men, life and death itself. Whatever may
happen to ourselves or others, we shall always be content;
and after the consolations of this world, we shall enter into
the endless glory of the other, to live and reign there for ever
with Paul and the other saints in Jesus Christ, their Saviour
64 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IV.
and ours : to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one
true and only God, eternally blessed, be honour and glory for
ever and ever. Amen.
Preached at Charenton, Sunday, 26th Feb. 1640.
SEKMON IV.
VERSE 19 — 21.
For I Toxoid that this shall turn to my salvation through your
prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according
to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall
be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also
Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or
by death. For Christ is gain to me living and dying.
Dear brethren, examples are of great and efficacious use in
forming the manners of men to piety and virtue; for besides
that they show us the nature of our duties much more clearly
than precepts, presenting them to us in persons and in sensible
effects, while precepts only exhibit them to us in idea, they
have also this advantage, that whilst precepts only declare to
us that they are duties which we ought to perform, examples
prove to us also that they can be done ; and moreover they
spur us on, and induce us to endeavour to do them from that
desire of imitating others, which, like a secret but sharp and
stinging goad, they leave in our hearts. This is the reason
that our God has not felt it enough to give us in the scrip-
tures his divine commands, which most perfectly contain all
the rules for a holy and happy life ; he has added to them the
examples of his most excellent servants to direct us, and to
serve as so many lights and patterns in that great and noble
design ; so that, being stimulated to obey him on earth, we may
hereafter attain to the glory of his heavenly kingdom. Thus
he has taken care to trace in the ancient books, as in so many
pictures, all the history, actions, and sufferings of the most
illustrious personages whom he formerly raised up under the
Old Testament, such as an Abraham, an Isaac, a Jacob, a Mo-
ses, a Job, a Joshua, a Samuel, and a David, and many others
like them ; so that the first people having these fine models
before their eyes, might form their lives according to their
features, forms, and colours ; he has acted on the same plan in
the writings of the New Testament, where, with the heavenly
laws of his Christ, he has also set before us the examples of
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. . 65
those great heroes who were the ornaments of the early days
of his church, and who dissipated the darkness of error and
vice by the light of their doctrine and of their holiness ; such
were formerly the apostles and their beloved disciples. But
there is not one of them whose life is more particularly and
exactly described than that of Paul. It must also be acknow-
ledged, that it contains the pattern of all our duties, whether
towards God or towards men, expressed in their noblest forms,
and represented in their highest and most brilliant colours;
there is no vice which is not conquered, and no temptation
that is not rejected. You see in it the ardour of zeal, the gen-
tleness of humility, the courage and constancy of faith, the
joy of hope, the triumphs of the love of Jesus Christ, the
kindnesses and tendernesses of charity; a magnanimity with-
out pride, a prudence without cunning, a simplicity without
folly ; a harmless wisdom, an indefatigable labour, and a bold
modesty; a contentment without disdain; a soul which per-
fectly hated vice, and equally loved men, which, entirely at-
tached to its Christ, breathes but for his glory and his inte-
rests, and which, although linked to a poor and vile body,
already lives in the heavens with the cherubim and seraphim.
These great virtues of the apostle are continually presented to
you in this place, my brethren, that you may imitate them.
But upon the present occasion we have only to consider his
firm and unshaken resolution in afflictions, as he himself re-
presents it to us in the text that you have heard. The Jews
hated him with furious passion ; the pagans threatened him ;
he was at Eome in the prison of Nero, as in the claws of a
lion. Besides the enemies without, many false christians, ani-
mated with malice and envy, persecuted him within ; and their
rage was so blind that they even employed against him the
preaching of his gospel, to add affliction to his bonds. He
complains of this, if you remember, in the preceding verses ;
but in the midst of so many evils, he nevertheless does not
cease to say that he rejoiced in them, and would still continue
to rejoice. Now he assigns the cause of this his marvellous
disposition. Tell us then, holy apostle, whence arises the
calmness of thy mind, in the midst of such a violent tempest?
Is thine heart of iron or of steel? Does thy nature hide un-
der this human form which it outwardly wears some rock,
insensible to those accidents which trouble other men? No,
says he; it is something ver}'- different from insensibility which
gives me this constancy. My flesh is not harder than yours ;
my soul is of the same temper as that of other men, and sub-
ject to the same passions. It is to the knowledge and power
of the Lord Jesus alone that I owe my tranquillity. It is he
who maintains my joy, and will preserve it, even to the end,
pure and entire ; " For I know that this shall turn to my sal-
9
QQ AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IV.
vation through, your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of
Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and my
hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all
boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in
my body, whether it be by life, or by death." And that you
may not take his assurance for vain presumption, he declares
to us, in the following verse, the wonderful power of this sov-
ereign Lord, on which it was founded, "For Christ is gain to
me living or dying." Thus we have two things on which to
treat, in this discourse, by the grace of God: the assurance of
the holy apostle, which he represents to us in the two first
verses of the text; and the excellence of the power of the
Lord Jesus on which it rested, so abundant in grace, that it is
gain to those who serve him, either to live or die, as he pro-
tests to us in the last verse.
I. As to the first point, he sets forth to us, in the 19th verse,
his assurance in respect to the particular trial under which he
then laboured, and in the following verse the steadfast hope
and confidence which he felt of not being ashamed in any thing,
of which his assurance against the present danger was a part,
or an effect. He commences then by the particular trial, and
from thence takes occasion to testify the confidence that he felt
generally against all sorts of temptations : " I know that this
shall turn to my salvation ;" — this, that is to say, the persecu-
tion that was carried on against him by those without, and
those within, of whom he had spoken in the verse immediately
preceding ; they do (says he) all they can to ruin me, but I am
certain that they never will attain the object of their cruel and
sanguinary design ; and that, instead of ruining me, all their
violent and malicious efforts will serve for my safety. I shall
even find my salvation in that which they have contrived for
my destruction. Do not imagine that the salvation of which
he here speaks is simply his bodily deliverance from the im-
prisonment in which he was then detained. It is true that he
did come out of it, and was preserved for some time longer on
the earth, to finish his race. And it is further true, that from
this period, when he wrote this Epistle, he had a certain as-
surance that the thing would happen thus, as he himself de-
clares to us afterwards ; so that if it meant nothing else, what
he says here of his salvation might be referred to his temporal
deliverance from the prison of Nero. But that which he adds
in the following verse, " that Christ shall be magnified in him,
whether by life, or by death," evidently shows that he here
speaks of the salvation of the soul ; and, leaving for the present
his bodily deliverance in doubt, he means, that whatever may
happen, he is nevertheless assured that all the work which the
cruelty and malignity of his enemies may give him will suc-
ceed, contrary to their expectation, to the benefit and promo-
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 67
tion of the salvation begun in him by the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that you may not think this confidence which he feels in
the happy success of his present trial was the fruit of carnal
presumption, arising from some opinion of his own strength,
after having said, that all that the adversaries of the church
devised against him will turn to his salvation, he adds, " by
your prayer, and through the supply of the Spirit of Christ
Jesus." It is not of myself, neither from the strength of my
mind, nor from the light of my understanding, that I expect
such great success, but indeed from the Spirit of my Master,
who perfects his strength in our weakness ; I am sure that he
will supply me with all I need for this combat, and that the
prayers which you present to him on my behalf will obtain
this grace from his goodness. For it is thus that the words of
the apostle must be explained, in taking " the supply of the
Spirit of Christ" for the true, proper, and only cause of his
perseverance in the paths of salvation ; and the prayer of the
Philippians only for a help and a means, which will serve to
procure for him the grace of God, which was necessary for his
victory. " By your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of
Christ ;" that is to say, by the help and assistance of the Spirit
of Jesus Christ that your prayers will obtain for me, God
hearing, according to his goodness and truth, the prayers that
so many believers offer to him for my salvation. See the hu-
mility of this holy man ! He professes to owe his salvation to
his disciples, and imputes the success of his great combats to
their prayers. And do not imagine that this is only a civility,
or an artful flattery, which he here shrewdly employs to please
and oblige the Philippians. He speaks as he thinks, knowing
that the prayers of the righteous, aye, of the least of them,
made in faith, are of great efficacy. And he speaks of them in
this manner, that they may be induced to pray so much the
more ardently to the Lord for him, seeing how much effect he
promised himself from the help of their prayers. In the fol-
lowing verse, he shows us the root from whence sprang the as-
surance he felt in his heart of the happy success of his own
conflict. " According to my earnest expectation and my hope,
that in nothing I shall be ashamed." The word* which we
have translated " earnest expectation" signifies properly an ex-
pectation joined with a great and ardent desire, which keeps
all our mind, thoughts, and affections riveted upon the thing
expected, as when we continually turn the head and the eyes
towards that side from whence we are looking for some beloved
friend for whom we wait with impatience. In Rom. viii. 19,
where Paul says, " For the earnest expectation of the creature
waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God," he uses the
* A7ro(capaJo«fi'a.
68 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. IV.
word very elegantly, to express the deep and secret, though
ardent and vehement, desire felt by all the universe to see and
to possess the glory in which the Son of God will re-establish
it at his final coming, and the affection, so to speak, with which
it sighs after this same felicity, wearied with the misery and
the vanity to which it has been subjected by the sinfulness of
man. Here he employs the word in the same sense, to show
us that his expectation was not weak and languid, similar to
that with which we expect things that are indifferent to us, but
ardent, and passionate, and joined with a vehement desire to
possess that salvation for which he hopes ; such was the ex-
pectation of those violent, men of whom mention is made in
the gospel, who, burning with impatience to see the kingdom
of God, sprang forward, as it were, beyond themselves, and
going to meet it took it by force, through their desires and the
transports of their faith before its arrival. Matt. xi. 12. Such
was the expectation of our Paul, so ardent, that by it he already
in some measure enjoyed the salvation for which he hoped, and
looked upon it as a thing not absent and future, but present
and already in his hand, so much was he both delighted with
it and assured of it.
To this expectation he adds the hope which he cherishes,
"that in nothing he shall be ashamed." We are ashamed
when we cannot attain the end we desire, and when we are de-
prived of those good things which we had promised ourselves.
The end of the apostle was the glory of Jesus Christ, and his
salvation, and his life in him. His hope then was that no-
thing either good or bad might prevent him from attaining this
his object, or take from him that felicity which he promised
himself; in the same sense in which he elsewhere says that
" hope maketh not ashamed," Kom. v. 5. He therefore adds,
in order that he may explain himself still more clearly, that
far from being ashamed in anything, " Christ, as well now as
always, shall with all boldness be magnified in his body,
whether by life or by death." Should men and devils (says
he) unite all their strength and fury together, I fear not their
devices ; and am certain that in whatever way this combat
may terminate, it will redound to the glory of my Lord, and
that this circumstance will tend to heighten the greatness of
his name as well as all others have done already. He draws
his soul out of this engagement, as a thing that the shafts of
the world cannot reach, according to what the Lord has said,
that men cannot kill our souls, however capable they may be
of injuring our bodies. And as to his body, he does not deny
that it is a thing that may happen, that the iniquity and the
rage of his adversaries may deprive him of the life that he pos-
sessed, God often permitting that his warriors should lose their
blood and their lives in such circumstances. But certain he
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 69
is, that whether it be preserved, or whether it be lost, either
the one or the other shall not be done to the prejudice of his
Master's interests, who would not fail to derive from either
event the glory which is his due. This poor body, (says he,)
this earthly tabernacle, this feeble flesh, which is in the power
of our enemies, bound with their chains, and exposed to the
shafts of their cruelty, will notwithstanding itself bring glory
to my Lord ; and however man may dispose of it, God shall
thereby be magnified. For, my brethren, although the gran-
deur of Jesus Christ is infinite, and absolutely incapable of in-
crease in itself, yet, nevertheless, the scripture says that it is
magnified when his glory increases among men, and that his
servants do or suffer things which make the light of his glo-
rious majesty to appear, and testify how marvellous is his
power, his wisdom, or his goodness. The apostle then means,
that whatever the enemy may do, he will always remain conse-
crated to the service of Jesus Christ, without anything ever
being able to make him swerve from the fidelity which he had
vowed to him. For in this case, it is evident that both his
life and his death will equally promote the glory of the Lord.
Presupposing that he should remain alive, and be set at liberty,
as he was, is it not clear that in this case Christ would be mag-
nified by him? as in truth he was, the glory of his power be-
ing manifested in the preservation and deliverance of his ser-
vant, saved by his providence from so imminent a danger, and,
as it were, torn from the very claws of a lion, or from the pri-
son of a whale, as Jonah had formerly been. And would not
Christ still be magnified in his body, in another manner, by
the service which his redeemed servant would continue more
and more to render to the Lord in the work of the gospel, by
the miracles of his hands, and by the preaching of his tongue,
and by the purity, correctness, and holiness of his other mem-
bers ? Presupposing, on the contrary, that Paul should die in
this combat, (which did not happen this time, but which oc-
curred some years after, when the issue of his second impri-
sonment was his being beheaded by the order of Nero,) who
cannot see that even in this case Christ would be magnified in
his body ? that happy body preaching in a more lively way
than ever the grandeur of that Jesus for whom it suffered so
resolutely, and thus triumphantly sealing with his blood all
that his tongue had ever said, and all that his hand had ever
written, on his divinity, to the unparalleled edification of the
faithful, to the conversion of the pagans and of the Jews, to
the conviction of unbelievers, and to the utter astonishment
of all.
But it must not be forgotten that he says, that Christ will be
magnified in his body " in all boldness." For this word shows
us by what means he would magnify the Lord, namely,
70 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IV.
(whether in recovering hia liberty, or in losing his life,) with a
full and entire boldness, without hesitation, without stumbling,
with a firm and heroic resolution never to purchase his life,
never to escape death, at the price of any baseness against the
name of his Master ; but to employ either his life or his death
willingly for the furtherance of his kingdom, to make mention
always of him at all times and in all places, with christian
freedom, without caring either for the threats or for the promises
of the world. Such in truth was the boldness of this holy
apostle, as well in life as in death, having never shown a desire
for the one, nor a fear of the other, when they were in ques-
tion as regarded the service of Jesus Christ. Such also has
been the boldness of a great many other martyrs, and partic-
ularly of the blessed saint Cyprian, who, seeing that the pro-
consul requested him to think of himself, and to sacrifice to
the gods rather than die, answered him courageously, that
there was no need of deliberation on so right a thing, freely
offering to die rather than to offend his Master. This boldness,
my brethren, is what most delights men ; it is this which forces
them in the most efficacious manner to give to the Lord Jesus
the glory of a sovereign power, and to his confessors the praise
of a noble courage and of an extraordinary strength of mind.
Finally, we must also consider what the apostle says, that
Christ will now be magnified in him " as always," in which
you see that the past fortifies him for the future ; the expe-
rience that he had already had of the aid of his God, on all
other occasions, giving him a solid hope that the same assist-
ance would be afforded him this time, according to the doc-
trine which he has left us elsewhere, " that experience work-
eth hope," Eom. v. 4.
Behold, believers, the constancy and resolution of Paul in
the midst of his bonds Î But it is not enough to look at and to
admire this fine example ; we must profit by it, and draw
from it the rich instruction which it contains for our consola-
tion and edification. Let us here first learn the lesson that
Paul often gives us, that all things work together for good to
believers. The enemies of Paul had conducted him to Rome
under the eyes and into the prison of Nero, the greatest enemy
of piety and virtue that the world ever saw. They exaspera-
ted and irritated his judges against him daily, and did every-
thing in their power to ruin him. Yet so far were their efforts
from succeeding as they thought, that all this on the contrary,
turned to his salvation. How many of such like instances
could we now bring before you! Ruin changed into deliver-
ance, affliction into consolation, by the miraculous power of
the hand of the Most High. Fear not, then, christian, whatever
may be the rage of men or of the elements against you, your
Master has the motion of every creature in his power, and you
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 71
are of tlie number of those blessed ones to whom he has sworn
that no weapon forged against them shall prosper, that he will
make them walk through the waters and through the flames
without being injured by them ; that all the furnaces of Baby-
lon shall not have power to scorch one of the hairs of their
heads, and that instead of burning and death, they should find
refreshment, consolation, and life. Then afterwards, vou see
further, in this example of the apostle, that the salvation of
believers is certain, and their perseverance assured : " I shall
(he says) in nothing be ashamed, and Christ shall be magnified
in my body, whether by life or by death." This sovereign
Shepherd, to whom the eternal Father has given his elect,
keeps them faithfully as the apple of his eye. He holds them
in his hand, and declares aloud that no force shall ever draw
them thence. I acknowledge he does not promise them that
they shall pass their lives in enjoyment, or even free from
danger and incovenience ; or that the hatred of men, or the in-
firmities of nature, shall never cause them to die. On the con-
trary, he freely declares to them that tbey shall be as much or
more subject than others to such accidents, and that the pro-
fession of piety will burden them with his cross. But then he
promises them that the gates of hell shall never prevail against
them ; that their faith shall never fail ; that he will preserve
his peace and the joy of the Holy Spirit in their hearts in the
midst of the most horrible trials ; and that, in spite of the
waves and the winds conspiring against them, he will conduct
them into the haven of his blessed kingdom, being always with
them, without ever leaving them, till he has brought them into
the heavenly Canaan. Moreover, Paul here shows us what is
the cause of the constancy and perseverance of believers ; not
their pretended free-will, or the strength either of their under-
standing, or of their own inclination, (unhappy they who build
on so moving a sand, or who expect their firmness from a
thing so weak and so changeable,) but from the Holy Ghost,
who stays our fickleness, who produces in us the power, effica-
ciously, to will and to do according to his good pleasure ; the
divine Comforter, alone capable of inspiring and of preserving
in our minds the light of truth, of forming and of maintaining
in our wills the love of liberty, of breathing into our hearts the
strength and resolution necessary to support us to the end in
so dangerous a combat, in which we have the world and hell
opposed to us, and legions of infinitely cunning, violent, and
cruel enemies always surrounding and seeking opportunities
to ruin us. Believers, who labour in so hazardous a warfare,
have recourse to Jesus Christ, and renouncing all other strength,
call day and night upon his name ; ask of him with faith, with
tears, and with sighs his heavenly unction, which may frame
your hands for the battles of the Eternal, so that you may be
72 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IV.
able to stand in the evil day, and may remain victorious, to
receive the crown of glory and of immortality which he keeps
for us in the heavens.
We have now to learn, in the fourth place, that it is he who
is the depositary of the Spirit. The apostle calls him "the
Spirit of Jesus Christ," not only because he proceeds from the
Son as from the Father, having with him his essence from all
eternity by an ineffable and incomprehensible communication,
but also because the Lord Jesus has received, at his rising
from the tomb, all the treasures of his grace, all his knowledge
and virtue, to be for ever the dispenser of them, giving to each
one his share in a suitable measure. The apostle explains this
to us by the word " supply," which he uses in this place,
which signifies that the Lord Jesus supplies us out of that ful-
ness of the Spirit which he possesses, and whose source is in
himself, as much grace as we need to direct and conduct us,
by degrees, to perfection. From whence it appears, as the
apostle has said to us elsewhere, Eom. viii. 9, "If any man
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." And perhaps
this also is one of the reasons for which he is named " his Spi-
rit," because he is never without him, and that he never com-
municates to us either his salvation or his life but by the light
of his Comforter, in such a way that it is not possible to be of
the number of his members without having some portion of
this Spirit.
Further, we learn from hence how powerful and admirable
are the prayers of the church, and how necessary is their mutual
interchange and assistance. For if Paul, that great apostle,
so advanced in the ways of God, did not despise the prayers
of the Philippians ; what do I say, that he did not despise
them ? if he prized them even so as to put them among the
means of his salvation, and expected from their power a part
of his perseverance ; what ought we to do, dearly beloved
brethren, who are so infinitely below him ? Let us then ear-
nestly pray for one another ; let not your greatness, whatever
it may be, make you despise an aid that Paul so highly
esteemed. The greater you are, the more need you have of the
prayers of the less. These prayers have often arrested the
scourges of God. They have delivered the faithful from prisons,
as they formerly did Peter. They have rendered the conspi-
racies of Satan against the soldiers of the Lord useless. They
have drawn the Spirit of Jesus Christ upon the earth, and es-
tablished by his power that which was about to fall. But,
dear brethren, if we ought to desire this help from the faithful
who are here below, that is not saying that we ought to invoke
those who are on high with Jesus Christ, as those of Home
conclude from this passage, and others like it. As for believers
who are on earth, we see them, and converse with them, and
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 73
know that they hear us ; and besides this, we have in the scrip-
ture both the order and example of requiring the help of their
prayers : on the contrary, the dead have no communication with
us, and the Holy Spirit teaches us that they no longer " know
any thing," (that is to say, of what is done upon the earth,)
they do not even know whether or not their sons are noble,
their eyes see not the evils which happen to the places where
they lived, and there is not found in the whole scripture any
command or example to address our prayers to them. In truth,
it is impossible to pray to them, absent from us as they are,
without attributing to them some species of divinity ; in ima-
gining that they see all that is done in the world, and have
even a knowledge of our hearts; a quality which scripture
attributes to God alone, exclusive of all others. Thus it is
clear that the requests which are made to them by the Roman-
ists are quite of another nature from those by which we ask
from living believers the help of their prayers. For they
prostrate themselves before them on their knees ; they dedicate
temples, chapels, and oratories to them ; they consecrate images
to them, to which they make vows, and pray that they will
defend them from the enemy, that they will cure the impro-
prieties of their manners, and that they will receive their souls
at the hour of death : all of which things are never practised
by believers towards any man living on the earth.
But I return to the apostle, who shows us clearly by his
language that he was certainly assured of his salvation, con-
trary to the error of those who place him among the number
of their doubters: "I know (says he) that this trial shall turn
to my salvation, and I have an earnest expectation, and a hope,
that in nothing I shall be ashamed, and that Jesus Christ shall
be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death."
How did he know, how did he hope, how did he firmly expect
these things, if he were not assured of their accomplishment ?
And, once more, how had this knowledge produced in him
that joy which he said he had in the preceding text, if it had
not been clear, and certain, and unmixed with any doubt?
He speaks elsewhere of it in the same manner: " I have fought
the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous-
ness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that
day." " For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him
against that day." From whence it appears how misplaced are
the objections made against the assurance of salvation which
we teach, that this belief chills the affections, and the practice
of good works — seeing that none was ever more ardent than
Paul, who was so entirely persuaded of his perseverance. Let
us also then, dear brethren, cherish this farm hope in our hearts,
10
74 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IV.
the source of our joy, and the treasure of our consolations. I
acknowledge that Paul was greater than we are. But he de-
rived this assurance from the goodness of Jesus Christ and the
grace of his Spirit, which is common to us with him, and with
all believers, and not from his greatness and his personal ad-
vantages ; and as he here says that he firmly expects the happy
effects of his salvation, so he elsewhere very nobly declares,
speaking of all true believers, "that he is assured that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor
any other creature, shall separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord," Rom. viii. 38, 39. He had
already observed, in the same chapter, that the Spirit of the
Lord, which forms and conducts our perseverance, bears wit-
ness with our spirit that we are the children of God, his heirs,
and co-heirs with Jesus Christ. Now if we are armed with
this confidence, who in the world can be happier than we shall
be ? Neither the sorrows of life, nor the horrors of death, will
occasion us any fear. We shall look upon the good things of
the world without envy, and upon its ills without alarm, being
assured that neither the privation of the one, nor the suffering
of the other, can prevent our being eternally happy. But, O
faithful soul, learn from this representation of the apostle that
the ruling passion of your heart and your only aim ought to
be to magnify the Lord Jesus. May every thing else be in-
different to you, provided that you succeed in this glorious
design. Consider your sufferings well employed, and your
disgraces happy, if they lead to that. Possess nothing, either
in yourself, or out of yourself, which is not consecrated to this.
Say not, as some hypocrites and worldly people do, I am con-
tented in my heart and in my mind to glorify Jesus Christ,
although the outward appearance of my life may be contrary
to his will. This language is undoubtedly false, it being quite
impossible to magnify the Lord in the mind whilst he is dis-
honoured in the body. These two parts of our being are too
closely united for us to be able to serve two masters at one
time. But though this pretended separation were possible,
(which it is not,) still it would be unjust and pernicious. Un-
just, because it would deprive our body of its highest and most
precious glory, it being evident that this poor flesh cannot be
more honoured than in being employed to magnify its Creator
and Redeemer, nor more debased and dishonoured than in
offending him. But this division would also be pernicious,
for it would bring upon us death and the curse, since the
Saviour only acknowledges for his own those who believe on
him in their hearts, and confess him with their mouths, and
who glorify him (as the apostle elsewhere says, 1 Cor. vi.)with
the body and the spirit, which both belong to him. Hence-
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 75
forth then, dear brethren, let us carefully imitate the apostle.
May the Lord Jesus be magnified in your bodies both in life
and death. During life, clothe them with the ornaments of the
Lord, with chastity, purity, honesty, modesty, and humility.
May your tongue ever speak his praises, may your eyes ever
contemplate his wonders, and your ears ever listen to his
teaching; may your feet ever run in his paths, your hands
labour in his works ; may your persons only be found in those
places and in those companies where that great name that is
named upon us is not ill spoken of. And when the hour of
death shall come, may Christ also then be magnified in your
body by a holy and christian patience, by a gentle and humble
submission to his providence, by a constant confession of his
truth and of your hope, till your very last sigh, whether he
calls you to suffer for his gospel's sake, or takes you out of life
by some other means. For do not imagine, I beseech you, that
it is only in the prisons, the fetters, or the fires of the martyrs,
that the Lord is magnified. The beds, and the last hours of
other believers, serve also to his glory, when they show to
those around them a faith, a humility, a hope, and a consola-
tion worthy of the profession which they make. Finally, this
example of the apostle teaches us further, that assurance and
boldness are the true means of glorifying the Lord. Besides
which, those effeminate and cowardly beings, who waver in a
shameful irresolution, debate on all the changes of the earth
and air, and know not to what master to yield themselves.
These are the lukewarm, whom the Lord threatens to eject from
his mouth, Eev. iii. 6; xxi. 8 ; the fearful, whose part shall be
in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. These are
those unhappy beings who dishonour Christ in the highest de-
gree, and who most cruelly abuse his name. Christian, if you
truly desire to magnify him, invest yourself with the heart and
the strength of mind of the apostle. Confess him boldly, and
publish his glory in all liberty, always ready to lose every
thing, and to suffer every thing, rather than betray him.
II. But, that ye may have more affection and courage to
imitate this excellent example of the apostle, let us now, in
the second place, consider the reason which he gives us for
the assurance which he felt of never being ashamed, either in
life or in death: "For Christ is gain to me living or dying."
The words of the apostle, as they are couched in the original,
signify simply, word for word, " that Christ to him is life, and
that to die is gain," and all ancient interpreters, and the greater
part of the modern, have thus taken them, in a sense suitable
enough, to say that Jesus Christ is his true life, and that it is
only in him and for him that he lives, according to what he
says in his Epistle to the Galatians, chap. ii. 20, " I am cruci-
fied with Christ; nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ
76 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IV.
liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave him-
self for me." And as to death, so far from fearing it, or es-
teeming it bad and hurtful, he considers it, on the contrary,
a gain, an advantageous thing, as, instead of a vile and perish-
able life, it will give him the true life, which is glorious and
immortal. But this text being also capable of another inter-
pretation, namely, that Christ is gain to the apostle " to live
and to die," our Bibles have preferred this exposition to the
other, because the sense which it gives is excellent in itself,
and has a more just and entire agreement with the preceding
text. He said that Christ will be magnified in his body,
whether by life or death ; he now alleges the reason, because
Christ is gain to me in both, that is to say, in life and in death.
Christ is a fruit, a profit, and an advantage, which I draw both
from my life and death, in such a way, that being always a
gainer, it matters little to me which God sends me, whether
life or death. Finding in both the wages and the acquisition
to which I look, that is to say, Jesus Christ my Saviour's glo-
ry, and the power of his grace, neither the one nor the other
can frustrate the fruit of my designs and my desires. From
which evidently follows the conclusion which he proposes to
draw, that is to say, that he shall never be ashamed in any
thing. For as his present trial cannot terminate otherwise
than either by life or by death, and as he found his advantage
in both these events, you see clearly that it was not possible
that this trial should issue in his shame, nor otherwise than to
his consolation and salvation. As to the rest, this language
is figurative, and derived from the similitude of operations in
trade and commerce, where the profit which results, whether
from the toil or industry, which has been employed in such
occupations, or from the money which has been hazarded, is
properly called gain ; from whence the apostle takes this word
to express fruit, profit, and advantage, and says in like man-
ner " to gain," signifying to acquire and obtain a useful and
fruitful thing ; as afterwards, in the third chapter, when speak-
ing of the worldly advantages which he had formerly had in
Judaism, he says, that "that which was gain to him," that is
to say, which was advantageous to him, he had counted loss
for the love of Christ, and had given it up voluntarily, and
esteems it no more than dung, " that I may win Christ." This
figure is so much the more elegant, as our Saviour had al-
ready employed commerce for an image of the conversion of
man to the gospel, and of the excellent advantages which ac-
crued to him from it: "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a
merchantman seeking goodly pearls, who, when he had found
one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and
bought it," Matt. xiii. 45, 46. Paul is just this merchant, and
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 77
the Lord Jesus is the pearl. He has sold all to get it, and in
it alone he finds a thousand times more happiness, content-
ment, and profit, than every thing else could have given him.
This jewel is his great gain. It is his honour, his pleasure,
and his riches ; and what other men seek in many different
subjects, he has met with entirely in this pearl alone. It is
for it that he loves life, that he may tell its worth to other
men, and publish its glory to the world ; it is that which pre-
vents his fearing death, being assured that if death should take
from him the light of the sun, and the use of his senses, and
the other portions of that life which we lead here below, it
never could deprive him of the possession of that divine pearl,
infinitely more sweet and more precious than either the lio-ht
of the day, or the enjoyment of the rarest and most beautiful
things in this world. It is a happiness which supported him
in life, and which did not forsake him in death. But besides
the fruit which he derived from it himself, for his own good
and contentment, he made this admirable jewel profitable for
others, communicating to them both the knowledge of it and
its possession. For there is this difference between the evan-
gelical pearl, and those of the world, that to gain in the traffic
of these you cannot in parting with them yield them to those
to whom you sell them, without depriving yourself of them.
But the Lord Jesus will not cease to dwell with you, whilst
you communicate him to your neighbours. It is an invisible
and inalienable pearl, which, like the sun, gives itself wholly
to all believers, and remains entire in each of them. This
multiplication of the knowledge and enjoyment of the Lord,
when it is shared with others, and his glory is expanded and
increased by these means, is also one of the principal gains
made in this negotiation of the gospel. Hence the apostle
elsewhere uses the phrase, " to gain men," signifying to con-
vert them, and lead them to the faith of Jesus Christ. If it
be a gain as it respects Jesus Christ, who by this means ac-
quires new servants, and with respect to the believer, who
enters into the possession of the kingdom of God; so also is
it a gain as it regards him who converts them to the Lord,
since by so doing he acquires a brother ; besides which, he
will not fail to receive from his Master for it the praise and
the reward which he promises to those who faithfully employ
his talents. Paul derived all these advantages from his Christ,
both in life and death. He found them for himself, as Christ
was his righteousness, his sanctification, and his consolation in
life ; his happiness, his joy, and his end in death. He found
them for others, as life and death gave him the means, the one
of preaching, the other of sealing the gospel, to the glory of
his Master, and to the edification and conversion of men.
This is what he means when he says that Christ is gain to him
78 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IV.
living and dying. O holy and blessed soul, who bearest in
thine own heart Christ, the inexhausti le source of blessed-
ness! Why are we not like thee? Why have we not in our
hearts these divine fruits of life and of joy ; this heavenly man-
na, which supports and preserves us always happy and con-
tented amidst the accidents and troubles of earth? Beloved
brethren, it is our own fault if we are not as happy as the
apostle, if Christ is not gain to us as well as to him, both liv-
ing and dying. This Christ, the sole author of his happiness,
the cause and matter of all his gain, presents himself to us
every day. This divine pearl is not hidden on the coasts of
oriental seas, nor shut up in shells from whence it cannot be
extracted but with difficulty, to see and possess its beauties.
It shows itself to us ; it seeks us, and spreads before our eyes
all the wonders and perfections of its nature. If we have it
not, like the apostle, the fault is ours, and not his. Poor
worldlings, so greedy of gain, that ye seek it in the most
thorny affairs, among the most dangerous elements and coun-
tries, who give your lives to the sea and to the winds, and to
the faith of men, worse and more treacherous still than either
the sea or the winds, who do and suffer all things, even the
most dishonest, for I know not what uncertain profits ; how
is it that ye despise a gain so great and so certain ? In the
first place, ye are not sure whether these labours which ye
give yourselves and others will succeed. Of those who sail
on this sea under such hopes more than half are lost, and we
see every day new shipwrecks. Instead of which, if you seek
Jesus Christ, you are assured of finding him ; it is a trade
which never fails of success. He says, " Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,"
Matt. xi. 28. He receives all men ; he rejects none ; and there
is no wind, no storm, no peril, either on the land or on the
sea, which can prevent your coming to him. He is present
every where and at all times. He comes himself, and presents
himself before us, and solicits us to seek him; he says, "Be-
hold, I stand at the door, and knock ; if any man hear my
voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup
with him," Eev. iii. 20. Now it is a very uncertain thing that
you should meet in the world the treasures or the goods that
you seek there, but it is a very certain thing that you will
never derive from aught you may find there any true gain, or
any profit worthy of being so called. Far from gaining, when
you have calculated all, and compared your returns with your
expenditure, you will repent of your folly, in having lost so
much time and trouble to acquire so little, and acknowledge
that these commodities, which have cost you so much, are very
far from being worth the price at which they are valued. In-
stead of which, in Jesus Christ you will assuredly find an
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 79
inestimable gain, which you will no sooner have tasted than
you will be delighted with, and confess that he alone is worth
more than the whole universe together. For suppose that you
had all the gold of Peru, and all the pearls of the East, with
the chiefest honours of the state, and the highest glory that
any of the great captains and lords of our age have obtained ;
after all, would you be either the better or the more hap-
py? Would your mind be more content, or your body more
healthy ? Would this imaginary blessedness remove the trou-
ble of your conscience? Would it soften the vexations, the
fears, the avarice, the envy, and the other passions of your
soul ? Would it heal your diseases ? Would it cure you of
the gout, or a fever, or of intense pain ? Do you not see, on
the contrary, that there are no persons in the world who have
more care and less repose than these pretended happy people?
that distrust, remorse, regrets for the past, fears for the future,
envy, uneasiness, and a thousand such-like passions, the
scourges of humanity, usually nestle in their hearts, and pre-
serve themselves there night and day, without giving them
any respite? Their bodies also are much more subject to
diseases than those of others ; their toil and their continual
luxury bringing upon them many others than those to which
our common nature is liable. Great and tragical misfortunes
oftener fall on their houses, as the thunder-bolt on the sum-
mits of the more elevated mountains, or upon the tower or
pinnacles of some lofty temple. But the Lord Jesus, if you
receive him truly and faithfully into your heart, will bring
you all sorts of gains and advantages. He will drive away
the alarms of conscience, and the fear of the wrath of God,
which are amongst our greatest miseries. Washing you in his
blood, and investing you with his righteousness, he will give
you boldness to approach the throne of grace. He will cause
the face of his Father to shine upon you in joy and in salva-
tion ; and whereas other men never look upon him, but they
behold him inflamed with a terrible and devouring fire, which
in an instant scorches up whatever joy there may be in their
miserable souls, you will there see continually a mild and ge-
nial light, which will shed more contentment in your heart
than the children of this world possess in the time of their
greatest prosperity. This Jesus will deliver you from the
delusions of error, and will show you the true and simple na-
ture of things, and will fill your understanding with a pure
and salutary wisdom. He will free you from the slavery of
sin, the cause of our misery, and will place a gentle peace in
your hearts, by chasing from them, by the power of his word
and of his Spirit, that infinite brood of vain lusts, which, like
a swarm of tyrants, tear you continually, and hold your poor
soul in a state of lamentable uneasiness. And with respect
80 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IV.
to those diseases and accidents which afflict human nature, if
he should permit them to happen to you, he will never fail
with the trial to give you strength to support it, perfecting
his power in your weakness, and softening in such a way your
afflictions by the unspeakable consolations of his Spirit, that
the endurance of them will not prevent your rejoicing in him ;
witness this Paul, who, with his chain, and in the midst of all
the persecutions which befell him, did not fail, by the assistance
of his Lord, to have a thousand times more contentment in
the secret of his heart, than the Neros, the Senecas, the princes
and the philosophers of the world, with all the vain-glory of
their prosperity.
But if even the things of the world did bring some true and
solid advantage to men, still it is evident that this would be
but for a very short period, that is to say, for a few miserable
years, however much might be extended the short and perish-
able life that we lead on the earth. Death troubles and ends all
their enjoyment, whatever it might be, with so much the more
grief and bitterness in proportion to the ease and contentment
that they have found here below. There is neither grandeur,
honour, nor glory which can protect them from this sad blow.
If these things are gain to them in life, still it is very certain
that they are not so in death. On the contrary, there are none
to whom this passage appears more frightful, nor who have so
much difficulty in meeting it, as those who have the most pos-
sessed them. But this same Christ who is gain to us in life is
also gain to us in death. He takes from us its terror, and,
filling our hearts with a holy hope, he consoles us till our last
sigh. We then quit all our other possessions. We strip
ourselves even of this body with its senses, which made a part
of our being. But for all that we do not lose Jesus Christ.
This good and merciful Saviour, who has governed and con-
soled us during life, accompanies us in death. He walks with
us in that dark and frightful valley, and, in dissipating its ob-
scurity by his light, conducts us with his crook ; and, on going
out of this miserable world, elevates us into heaven, where he
receives our souls into his rest, delivering them from all the
evils that we suffer or fear here below, and putting them into
the enjoyment of all the blessings we desire or hope for.
Thus, behold, dear brethren, how Jesus Christ is gain to us
living and dying, and how, out of him, strictly speaking,
there is nothing that is not loss to us both in life and in death.
For there is no middle path ; we must gain all and have all
with him, or we must lose all out of him. Let us then give
up all other blessings, and, acknowledging the vanity of riches,
honours, and pleasures, the great idols of this world, let us
embrace the Lord Jesus. Let us lodge him in our heart : may
this be our part and our inheritance. Let us, individually,
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 81
prepare to receive him on Sunday next, with the fruits of his
death and resurrection which he presents to us on his holy
table. Let us wash our souls from all filth and impurity ; and
let us clothe them with an ardent faith, a lively repentance,
and a true charity ; that he may willingly enter in to us, that
he may delight himself there, and remain there for ever for our
gain, both in life and in death, in this world and in that which
is to come. To him, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, one
true God, blessed for evermore, be honour and glory for ever
and ever. Amen.
Preached at Charenton, Palm Sunday, 1st April, 1640.
SERMON V.
verse 22 — 26.
But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour : yet what
I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two,
having a desire to depart, and be with Christ, which is far
better : nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and con-
tinue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith ; that
your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me
by my coming to you again.
The fear of death is one of those passions which is most
troublesome to the minds of men ; so that the apostle says, in
the Epistle to the Hebrews, it is by it that they are subjected
to the service of Satan. This wretched apprehension makes
them do and suffer an infinity of things contrary both to the
excellence of their nature, and to the dictates of their con-
science ; and keeps their minds in a continual state of dis-
quietude. But if death appears to them hideous, their life is
not so agreeable but that they oftentimes hate it as much as
death itself; witness the number of persons who, in their fury,
have violently deprived themselves of it, finding it so insup-
portable, that they have been unable to wait with patience
until nature should come and deliver them from their miseries.
These passions which are so different, the one against death,
the other against life, proceed both from the same source, from
that ignorance into which sin has plunged us, shrouding us as
in a thick night, in the darkness of which every thing that we
meet causes alarm, because we know not what it is. But Jesus
Christ, the Sun of righteousness, has discovered to our senses,
11
82 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. V.
in the holy light of the gospel which he has spread abroad in
the world, the true nature of these things, that life is not so
unhappy that we ought to fly from it, nor death so terrible
that we should fear it. They have each their use ; and the be-
liever who knows what Jesus Christ has taught us, so feels and
apprehends what there is in them of evil, that he also desires
and possesses what they have of good, and gathers from among
these sad and piercing thorns with which they are, as it were,
bristled, those flowers and fruits which the cross of his Lord
forces them to bear in spite of themselves. Possessed of the
faith and hopes of his divine Master, he is neither ashamed to
live, nor fears to die ; as St. Ambrose, one of the most famous
teachers of the church, said in the last moments of his life.
The apostle presents us to-day, my brethren, in the text, which
you have just heard, a fine example of this holy and happy
condition of the christian soul, which neither hates life nor
death, which finds its advantage in both, and knows how to
enjoy each. For having said before (as you may remember)
that Christ was gain to him living and dying, he now declares
to us the thought and feeling of his mind in regard to these
two things ; protesting, that if he were to choose, it would be
difficult for him to decide which he should take, finding him-
self, in a manner, suspended and balanced between two dif-
ferent desires, that of his own good, and the welfare of the
church ; for if death was an advantage to him by elevating
him to heaven, his life was useful to the church by the great
edification that men received from his ministry. " But if I
live in the flesh, (says he,) this is the fruit of my labour : yet
what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt
two, having a desire to depart, and be with Christ, which is
far better: nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful
for you." But what he could not himself resolve by his own
judgment, he adds, that God had decided in the favour and to
the advantage of the Philippians and of other believers, having
ordained that he should still remain on earth to complete the
work of his apostleship. "And having this coniidence, I
know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your
furtherance and joy of faith ; that your rejoicing may be more
abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again."
This is the subject to which we wish to call your attention my
brethren, in this discourse; and, that we may proceed in an
orderly manner, we will consider two points, if it please the
Lord. The first shall be, the irresolution of the apostle,
which of the two would be most expedient for him, whether
death or life, with the two reasons on which it was founded.
The second, the assurance which he gives of his deliverance
still to live upon the earth, and to exercise there his ministry
to the joy and glory of believers.
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 83
I. He says then, in the opening verse, that he does not know
whether it would be profitable for him to live in the flesh, nor
which of the two he should choose. Now these two modes of
speech, " to live according to the flesh," and, " to live in the
flesh," though they vary but little in words, differ greatly in
their meaning. For in the writings of the apostle, " to live
according to the flesh," signifies to follow after its filthy and
unholy lusts, to pursue and have them for the principles and
motives of life, a course which belongs only to worldly men,
who, not being regenerated by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, lead
a carnal and animal life, plunging into every vice, and not re-
fusing their sensual souls any of those enjoyments which they
desire. But " to live in the flesh " simply speaks of living in
this mortal and corruptible body, such as it is now, which ap-
plies also to believers while they are sojourning on earth, and
before they can be admitted to that heavenly life which they
expect from the grace of God, on leaving this valley of tears.
For you know that the scripture gives the name of "flesh"
not only to a vicious nature corrupted by sin, but also to an
infirm nature, which for its preservation requires the aliments
of the earth, and which is subject to the accidents of this world
and to death, however freed it may be from the tyranny of sin,
by the sanctification of the Spirit from on high. Hence the
human nature of the Lord himself, although perfectly holy, is,
nevertheless, called flesh, whilst it was in the state of infirmity,
as when John says, that " the Word was made flesh," chap. i.
14; and Paul, that "God was manifest in the flesh," 1 Tim.
iii. 16 : the time of his sojourn on earth is called in the Epistle
to the Hebrews " the days of his flesh." As then the nature
of believers remains under these infirmities whilst they live
here below, not being unclothed till their departure from the
earth, you see that it is with good reason thatthe apostle speaks
of " their life in the flesh," and which Peter calls, for another
reason, "the time of their sojourning here," 1 Pet. i. 17. Paul
again employs these words elsewhere in the same sense, when
he says, "And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by
the faith of the Son of God," Gal. ii. 20. And Peter calls also
in the same manner, and for the same reason, that period which
we have still to live upon the earth, " the time which remains
to us in the flesh," 1 Pet. iv. 2. And from thence comes that
beautiful and elegant opposition that the apostle makes in
2 Cor. x. 3, " For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war
after the flesh." But (you will say to me) how could Paul
know, as he says, that there would be an advantage for him to
live in the flesh, whereas he declared before, that Jesus Christ
would be magnified in his body, whether by life or by death,
and that Christ was gain to him, living or dying; and seeing
still further, what he adds below, that his stay on the earth
84 AN" EXPOSITION OF [SERM. V.
would serve for the furtherance, and faith, and joy, and glory
of believers? What fund can be imagined more profitable
than a life which produced in abundance such excellent fruits ?
Dear brethren, the difficulty is not great. To speak only of
the life which this great apostle led on the earth, and to con-
sider it abstractedly, it is certain that it was extremely profit-
able, both to others and to himself; those services in which it
was passed being such, that they could not be exercised with a
good conscience, without bringing great advantages to him who
rendered them to others ; peace and joy of mind during this
life, and a crown of righteousness in the other. But it is not
in this manner that Paul considers here his temporal life. He
has compared it with another state, that is to say, with one into
which he would enter by death, and asks, not simply if life or
death would be profitable to him, (for he had just declared that
both in the one and the other there was gain to him,) but rather
which of the two would be most expedient, whether to live or
to die ; to shed his blood in the chains of Nero, or to escape
from those chains ; to bow under this persecution, or to be de-
livered from it ? And that it was thus appears from what he
said in the preceding verse, " Christ is gain to me to live or to
die," where he makes express mention of these two things,
which he compares together, namely, life and death, in such a
manner, that saying, in continuation, " Now whether it be pro-
fitable for me to live in the flesh I wot not," it is evident that
his thought is, " Now whether it be better for me to live in the
flesh than to die I know not." But what he adds leaves us no
reason to doubt it, " What I shall choose I wot not," it being
clear that there can be no choice where there is but one thing.
He does not then speak of life alone, but of life compared
with death, saying that he did not know which of the two to
choose. Upon which arises a new difficulty. For choice or
election can only take, place in those things which depend on
one's own will, and of which we can, if it seem good to us,
take the one, and leave the other. As to those things whose
necessary causes are out of ourselves, in nature and in the
power of God, as we do not deliberate about them, still less
can we make the election ; seeing that neither the powers of
our understanding, nor the motions of our will, can either
hasten or retard their effect. For example, no one deliberates
which will be best, that the autumn be dry or wet, that he may
resolve in the end to take the one of these two things rather
than the other, it being evident that they both depend on
heaven, and not on us, so that it would be a piece of pure ex-
travagance to reason or to exercise the mind thereupon. Now
the life and death of the apostle were things of this nature,
which depended not en his will, but on the providence of God,
and on those inferior causes which he had established as well
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 85
in the nature as in the intercourse of men. How then does he
say that he does not know which of the two he should choose,
whether to live in the flesh, or to leave it ? In truth, a frail
and carnal man thinks that on such occasions he has much on
which to deliberate, whether he ought to die rather than deny
the gospel, so that his life or death depending on his giving it
up or confessing it, which are voluntary actions, one might say
of such a man, that he is employed in choosing between life
and death. But it was not thus with the apostle ; he is resolved
rather to die a thousand times than to deny his Master, and
means, that if he lives, it will be in retaining the faith and
confession of the gospel ; and that taken for granted, it is clear
that his life and death did not at all depend on his own will.
I acknowledge further, that according to the opinion of some
among the wise pagans, who permitted men to kill themselves
that they might get rid of the miseries of this world, a man
might deliberate on his life or death, because that being granted
we should have both in our own hands and in our own power.
But God forbid that it should ever have entered into the mind
of Paul, or of any other true christian, to believe or to au-
thorize so unnatural a frenzy, guilty in so many ways of re-
bellion and disobedience against God, of injustice towards our
neighbour, of murder and cruelty against ourselves, and finally,
of great impatience and cowardice, in not being able to sup-
port what the sovereign Lord of the universe has commanded
us to suffer. What, then, does the apostle mean by saying that
he does not know which of the two he ought to choose, whether
life or death ? Dear brethren, I reply, he was in doubt to de-
termine and to resolve, not the effect, but the desire of these
two things. He left the guidance of their effect to God, to
whom it belonged, resolved to take from his hand all that was
wearisome to him, if even it should be the thing the most con-
trary to his own wishes. He only looked at which of these
two events (which were both in the hand of God alone) would
be most expedient and advantageous to him, that he might in
future arrest and fix his desires upon it. For though those ef-
fects which have their causes beyond us are not in our power,
it is not forbidden us to consider their nature, and to fear or
desire them, according as they are good or evil. If these are
things nearly or even entirely equal, in that case we know not
on which side to incline our desires, reasons presenting them-
selves in favour of both, which draw them to itself. Our
mind remains balanced between the two, as a piece of iron
between two magnets of equal strength. For it is very cer-
tain (as even philosophy has acknowledged) that we only
love and desire any thing for the good that we see in it.
That idea alone touches and attracts our will, so that when
we do not perceive in one object more good than in another,
86 AN EXPOSITION OP [SERM. V.
our feelings necessarily remain undecided and irresolute, divi-
ding themselves between both, without yielding entirely to
either. This is what happened to the holy apostle Avhen con-
sidering the two contrary issues that his imprisonment might
have, that is to say, either life or death ; he found in these two
objects, in themselves so different, such equal advantages, that
he knew not which of the two he ought the more or the less to
desire, his mind remaining so undecided thereupon, that if God
had left either event in his own choice, he would have had much
trouble to decide which he ought to take. And this is exactly
all that the apostle means by these words, " I wot not what I
shall choose." He then afterwards proposes to us in the two
following verses the reasons for such admirable indecision :
" For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart,
and be with Christ, which is far better : nevertheless to abide
in the flesh is more needful for you." Here are the two load-
stones which held this holy soul in suspense, the one attract-
ing it towards heaven, the other detaining it on earth. His
own good made him desire to be with Christ, that of the church
obliged him to be contented to remain still among men. If
he lpved his own happiness, he no less cherished the happi-
ness and edification of the church. These two desires divided
his compassion. The one could only be accomplished in hea-
ven, the other on earth. The apostle could only attain to the
enjoyment of the first by death, whilst the other could alone
be gratified by remaining on earth. What shall I do, (says
he,) and which shall I choose, in so difficult a dilemma? I
have great reason to wish for death, but I have no less reason
not to refuse to live. If I consider myself, the happiness
which awaits me on high with my Lord makes me desire to
leave the earth. But when I think of you, your interest, which
is not less dear to me than my own, makes me wish to remain
still with you. My heart is not at liberty, and on whichever
side it turns its desires, it there finds a just and legitimate re-
sistance. You hinder it from taking its flight entirely to the
skies ; and Christ, who is in the heavens, prevents its remain-
ing exclusively on the earth. Thus divided between you and
myself, I do not decidedly wish either for death or life, your
necessities preventing the one, and my own happiness not per-
mitting me the other ; but I regard them both with an indif-
ferent mind, which finds satisfaction in both the accomplish-
ment of my own happiness in death, and the edification and
joy of your faith in life: this is, in a word, the thought of the
apostle.
Let us consider the two parts in particular : First, that he
says he is in a strait between two difficulties, shows us how
false and vain is that weak and languid turn which some give
to its meaning, when they say that it always left to the will the
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 87
imaginary liberty that they attribute to him of yielding him-
self to either of these proposed things. I acknowledge that we
desire and choose things voluntarily, but I also maintain that
we do that also necessarily. Knowledge arrests and leads cap-
tive the will, as the apostle speaks here and elsewhere, when
he says, " The love of Christ constrains us," 2 Cor. v. 14. It
is by gentle and human ties, I confess, but nevertheless they
are ties. Then afterwards Paul makes us here understand
very clearly that death does not destroy our souls, (as say the
ungodly,) but only detaches them from the body, so that they
still live after being so separated. That he wished to be un-
clothed evidently shows it ; for he could not have wished a
total and entire destruction of his being. The word itself
which he employs to signify death necessarily proves it. This
word has been explained in two ways. Some have taken it to
mean " to be dissolved." Others, whose explanation our Bi-
bles have followed, say it is " to be unclothed." But in either
sense it evidently is conclusive of the immortality of the soul.
For "to be dissolved" signifies to disjoin and separate two
things which subsisted together; so that, if you follow this
meaning, the apostle teaches us by the word that death only
detaches our souls from our bodies, disuniting, without abol-
ishing, the parts of which they consisted. But if you take the
word here employed to mean "to dislodge," (as in truth this
meaning is more suitable to it than the other,) then it is still
more evident that, according to the doctrine of the apostle, the
believer does not perish when he dies ; he only changes his
dwelling, he only leaves this earthly tabernacle, in which he
has lodged on earth, to go and dwell elsewhere. In the third
place, besides the existence of the believing soul after death,
the apostle here teaches us its state and condition, and in these
two or three words overthrows all that the ancients and the
moderns have imagined on this subject contrary to truth.
First he refutes the dream of those who hold that souls on
leaving the body are plunged into a state of insensibility, their
reason and other faculties remaining motionless, as if buried
in a profound sleep, till the day of the resurrection, when they
will awake, and not before, as these persons take for granted.
Paul, on the contrary, declares that being dislodged here, we
are with Christ. How with Christ, the source of light, life,
and motion itself, if we remain in so sad a picture of death ?
And further, if it be so, how, and by what right, could the
apostle say that it was much better for him to be with Christ
than to live on the earth ? Who does not see that his conver-
sation here below, which was so full of sense, wisdom, and ac-
tion, was not worth a thousand times more than the imaginary
sleep in which these people would drown our souls, which, to
say the truth, is nothing but a death ? But the apostle no less
88 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. V.
overthrows the error of those who, leaving life and motion to
believing souls, keep them from heaven, shut up in I know
not what sort of a place, either under the earth or in the air,
waiting for the day of resurrection. Although this fantasy
has had on its side the great authors of antiquity, in which
they have been followed by the greater number of those first
and most celebrated teachers who are called "the fathers," nev-
ertheless it cannot stand with this text of the apostle, which
testifies clearly that the believer, on leaving the body, goes to
be with the Lord, and that, on the contrary, we are with the
Lord when we are parted from these bodies. Since then the
Lord is in heaven, who does not see that we shall be there
also, and that that blessed sanctuary of immortality is the true
home, in which our spirits are received on their departure
from the body ? From which you see, to remark in passing,
that the scripture of God is the only source from whence we
ought to draw our faith, this example showing us that all other
authors, however praiseworthy they may be, are liable to fall
into error, and may draw us in after them, if we follow them.
But these words of the apostle are no less opposed to the state
in which the Romanists place the souls of the faithful on leav-
ing this life. For after being dislodged from the body, the
apostle shows us that they are with the Lord, and consequently
not in their fabulous purgatory, as they themselves confess
that the Lord is not in this imaginary place, but in heaven,
according to the teaching of scripture. It proves nothing to
allege that Paul was of the number of those who, not having
any remains of sin to be purged, went straight to heaven.
For, in the first place, supposing that it was really so, still he
was not all certain of it, according to the Romish doctrine,
which will not allow that any man living here below can be
assured of being now in the grace of God, much less of perse-
vering in it to the end. And they themselves say sometimes
that Paul was not certain of not going to hell, much less that
he was not sure that he should not pass into purgatory. If
that were the case, he must have feared, according to their sup-
position, that he should go into this subterranean prison.
Notwithstanding which, he here speaks of being assured of
going to heaven with Jesus Christ when he should leave the
earth. Certainly then he neither believed nor feared their pur-
gatory, and consequently held quite another doctrine than
theirs on the state of the soul on its departing this life. Add
to which, the apostle often speaks of himself as one of those
who was not yet perfected ; so that, not ceasing to hope with
assurance that he should be with the Lord as soon as he should
have parted with his body, he shows us by the same means,
that such also shall be the condition of all believing souls who
have embraced the gospel with a lively and sincere faith, as
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIAN3. 89
well as of those whose faith is feeble and imperfect. After all,
the scripture makes no difference among the disciples of the
Lord, as it respects their salvation at the end of this life. As
they have had the same causes for it in this world, it gives it the
same effects in the other, and no where tells us that they will be
purged from their sins, some in one way, and some in another, but
all by the blood of Jesus Christ alone. It makes all who die in
the Lord (of which it speaks) pass from earth to heaven, and
from the flesh immediately to glory ; and says of us all in
general, that if our earthly habitation of this building be de-
stroyed, we have a building of God, that is to say, a house not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens. If some among be-
lievers had been otherwise treated, scripture would not have
failed to have told us so ; but as it does not, let us reject, be-
loved brethren, all these vain opinions, arising from supersti-
tion and the curiosity of men, fomented by their avarice, and
supported entirely by obstinacy. Let us hold fast the doctrine
of Paul. Let us be contented with what he has taught us,
that if we are truly christians, our souls, on being dislodged
from their earthly tabernacle, will be received into heaven ;
that they will be with Christ their Lord in the light of his
blessed kingdom, enjoying all the felicity of which their na-
ture is capable in such a state, waiting with sweet and ineffa-
ble content the great day which will restore them those bodies,
their precious half, to live and reign eternally. It is of that
state that we can truly say with the apostle, that it would be
much better for us than the one in which we languish here.
As to the insensibility, or to the darkness of I know not what
sort of subterranean caverns, it is certain that it speaks of
nothing of the kind, and still less of the flames of the pre-
tended purgatory, as vivid as those of hell, if we are to be-
lieve the Romish fables, and I do not think that there is one
among the holders of these doctrines who would not greatly
prefer to live on earth, to being burned in such a fire as they im-
agine that to be. But as to the condition of our souls with
the Lord, where is he who cannot see that it must be infinitely
more happy than all that we can imagine of happiness on
earth ? Here, we are in a storm ; there, we shall be in a calm.
Here, we are in a perpetual contest ; there, we shall be in a
triumph. Here, we groan, surrounded by the world and the
powers of darkness ; there, we shall live with saints and an-
gels. Here, we are subject to a thousand infirmities, and
countless sufferings ; there, we shall be delivered from all evil.
Here, we see but darkly, and as it were through a thick veil ;
there, we shall see face to face. Here, we are burdened with the
flesh in many ways ; there, we shall be spiritual and heavenly.
And, to comprehend all in one word with the apostle, here,
we are absent from the Lord, the treasure and the glory of our
12
90 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. V.
heart, the life and the joy of our souls ; there, we shall be with
him. For it is not possible, my brethren, to be with this sove-
reign Author of all blessedness, without being at the same time
perfectly happy ; from which you see how absurd is the ima-
gination of those who suppose the real presence of the Lord in
the bread of the Eucharist, desiring that now, that is to say,
in this earthly pilgrimage, in the midst of infirmity and of
death, we should be notwithstanding with the Lord, aye, and
that too in a more intimate manner than we shall be with him
in the heavens, as they pretend that we have him really and
substantially in our stomachs, which will not take place in the
other world. Who does not see that they confound earth
with heaven, and mix the condition in which we are in this
body, with that on which we shall enter on being removed
from hence ; to which Paul gives this particular advantage,
that then we shall be with the Lord, instead of which, if you
believe those other teachers, we are already with him ? If we
are with the Lord, we should neither do nor suffer evil ; we
should neither be subject to sin nor death. The presence of
this great Sun of righteousness would dissipate all the dark-
ness both of our ignorance and of our sorrows, and would
transform us into so many images of his perfection and glory.
I acknowledge that formerly, when he was in his state of weak-
ness, he did not communicate these blessings to all who were
with him. But the glory in which he now is does not admit
of any being with him who are not blessed. And Paul shows
this to us here very expressly, when he says simply, " to be
with the Lord," meaning to express all the happiness which
was enjoyed by every spirit in heaven whom God had collected
there by his grace. It is the sweetness and the glory of that
condition, my brethren, which makes us desire with the apostle
to depart. He did not wish for death for its own sake. In it-
self death is a very hideous thing, there is nothing in it de-
sirable, nothing but what is agonizing and alarming; thus
considered, it is what was very truly said by the prince of
philosophers, the most fearful stroke in the world. For it is
the most terrible of all the marks of God's anger ; the ruin
of his most accomplished work, the destruction of our nature,
the confusion of our senses, and the separation of the most
beautiful and closest union that can possibly exist. But what-
ever it may be in itself, to the soul of the christian it is by
the blessing of God the gate of heaven, and the entrance
into eternity. The pains of death are but the paths which
lead into the light of true life. If it pluck his soul from this
dungeon, where she only breathes with difficulty, it is to place
her in full liberty; if it defaces this tabernacle of clay in
which she is imprisoned, it is to lodge her in a heavenly pal-
ace; and if it spoil her of a form, it is to reclothe her in an-
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 91
other incomparably more excellent. Paul, who knew it, and
who had seen and tasted its effects in paradise, where he had
been in ecstasy, considering these wonderful consequences of
death, desired it for this reason, and regarded it not only with-
out fear, but even with joy, as the end of his labours, as the
haven of his painful voyage, as the day of his coronation, and
the commencement of his happiness and glory. And indeed
I am not astonished that he did so. For all that death may
have in itself that is painful and bitter, is nothing in compar-
ison of that infinite and eternal felicity into which it conducts
happy souls ; so that the ardent desire which the apostle had
to arrive at this blissful state, possessing all his senses, and
holding them, as it were, in a state of rapturous enjoyment,
caused him to disregard what there might be painful in the
passage itself, and not only did he not fear it, but he even
wished for it ; according to what we experience every day in
the natural consequences of the emotions of our hearts, that
when we love and are ardently attached to one object, we also
infallibly embrace and desire those means which we know to
be indispensable for its attainment. But however ardent
might be this just and legitimate desire which the apostle had
for his own happiness, and for the separation necessary for
him to acquire it, it was usefulness to the church which ar-
rested him and held him in suspense, as he expresses to us in
these words," " Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more need-
ful for you." The spiritual welfare of those believers to whom
he wrote touched him no less than his own. O admirable
love, which, for the profit of others, is willing to be deprived
of its own happiness, and to remain in a state of suffering!
It was this same heart which elsewhere wished to be separated
from Christ for the sake of his brethren, Eom. ix. 3 : he pre-
fers their salvation to his own, and has more earnestness for
their edification than for his own glory. It is true that here
he only speaks of the delay, and not of the loss of his salva-
tion. For he was deeply assured that sooner or later he should
arrive at the haven of a blessed immortality. But he pre-
ferred reaching this some years later, to leaving the instruc-
tion of his converts imperfect. He was like a good and wise
mother, who, ardently desirous of following her absent hus-
band, is prevented by her anxiety for her children, preferring
to deprive herself of her own happiness rather than fail in
seeking their good. Such was this holy apostle. The love of
those believers, the children whom he had begotten by the
gospel, and the zeal which he felt for their furtherance in it,
kept him on earth, and made him support with patience the
absence of his beloved Lord, and the sorrows which it caused
him. From which you see how pastors ought to love their
flocks, as this example incites them to seek and to procure
92 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERIL V.
their edification with as much or more ardour than their own
happiness.
II. After having thus declared and explained by pertinent
reasons his doubt which of the two would be most expedient
for him, whether to die or to live, the apostle adds, in the
second part of this text, that he was sure God would decide
this his difficulty to the advantage and consolation of the Phi-
lippians: "And I know that I shall abide and continue with
you all for your furtherance and joy of faith ; that your re-
joicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my
coming to you again." Upon which we have two things to
consider ; the one, If the event corresponded with this certain
hope which Paul testified that he felt, that is to say, if he was
delivered from the imprisonment in which he had been kept
at Rome, and again saw the Philippians and the other churches
of Greece. And in the second place, What were the fruits
that he promised himself from this deliverance ? On the first
point, it is a thing on which all the ancient historians and
teachers of Christianity are agreed, that Paul was delivered
from his first bonds, of which we have the account written in
the book of the Acts ; and that, after having been detained for
more than two years a prisoner at Rome, he was at last set at
liberty, and still lived till the first persecution of the christians,
which took place in the tenth year of the emperor Nero, and
the sixty-fourth from the birth of the Lord ; a time at which
they all hold that Paul was again a prisoner for the second
time at Rome, and there suffered martyrdom with a great many
other believers. According to this he continued to live for
six years after his deliverance from his first imprisonment, and
consequently had leisure to visit the Philippians, and the other
churches which he had founded in Greece. Ancient historians
hold, that on leaving Rome, he went to preach the gospel in
the countries of the west ; and it appears by the Epistle to the
Romans that he had had such a design ; for he says, (Rom. xv. 14,)
that he desired to go to Rome, and from thence into Spain.
But whether he did or did not preach in the provinces of the
west, it ought to be considered certain that he again visited the
churches of Philippi and Colosse, and others which he had
established in Greece and Asia. For in the first place, he
speaks of it with great assurance, saying, not only that he
knew, but that he was certain of abiding and continuing with
them ; and likewise in the following chapter, where, promising
to send Timothy to them, he adds, "And I trust in the Lord
that I also shall soon come," chap. ii. 24 ; and in a parallel
passage in the Epistle to Philemon, a Colossian, written about
the same year as this, he says, " Prepare me a lodging, for
I trust that through your prayers I shall be given to j^ou."
But that which is unanswerable is, that it appears by the
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 93
Second Epistle to Timothy, written certainly at Eome a little
before his martyrdom, that he made a second voyage into
Italy, and that before doing so he had visited the churches of
Greece and Asia; for he tells Timothy that Erastus had re-
mained at Corinth, and that he had left Trophimus sick at
Miletus, and says that he had left a cloak, with some books
and parchments, with one named Carpus, in Troas, 2 Tim. iv.
13, 20 ; things which can in no way coincide with the first
voyage that Paul made to Eome, when he was carried there a
prisoner ; it being clear, from the history that Luke has so ac-
curately described to us in the Acts, that he did not then either
go to Miletus, or to Corinth, or Troas, and did not even ap-
proach them, but sailed direct from Palestine to the west,
taking his course below Candia, and from thence (having been
carried by a tempest) to the island of Malta, from whence he
afterwards went to Rome; and there is no appearance that
these things relate to the voyage that he had formerly made
from Macedonia into Palestine, mentioned and described by
Luke in the Acts, from the long period that had since passed ;
for Paul having been detained for two years in Cesarea, before
setting out for Italy, he must have arrived at Rome about three
years after having made this voyage. How could he suitably
remark, after so long a period, that he had left Trophimus sick
at Miletus? and still more, why did he tell Timothy of it, who
having been his companion in this voyage, would have known
it without requiring to be told of it ? Certainly, to unravel this
difficulty, we must necessarily presuppose that Paul, having
been delivered from his first imprisonment, visited some years
after the churches of Greece and Asia, according to the design
and hope which he here declares he possessed ; and that having
seen, consoled, and edified them, on leaving them he passed
through Troas, where he left the books and parchments in
the hands of Carpus, and from thence to Miletus, and to
Corinth, where Trophimus and Erastus remaiued, and returned
for the second time to Rome, where he was again put into
prison, and there suffered martyrdom, a little time after having
written the Second Epistle to Timothy. There is one thing
which appears to contradict this presumption, namely, what
we read in the 20th chapter of the Acts, that Paul, going to
Jerusalem before his first Roman imprisonment, said to the
elders of the Ephesian church, " that he knew that they should
see his face no more," Acts xx. 25. But the answer is easy ;
he spoke then according to his own apprehension, arising from
the warning that had been given him by the Spirit, that in
every city, and in Jerusalem also, bonds and sorrows awaited
him. Not knowing then what would be the result of these trials,
he imagined that, from the greatness of his troubles, he should
die under them, although the Lord had otherwise decreed,
94 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. V.
having delivered him from his first bonds, and afforded him
the opportunity of seeing once more his dear flocks, and even
afterwards of foreseeing this very happiness, and to conceive a
certain hope of it, before the thing happened, as appears by
this text. "We may then conclude that the apostle, according
to the assurance he here gives to the Philippians, was delivered
from the danger of death in which he then was, and continued
still on earth, and even returned to them. From which you
see, dear brethren, that the courage and inclination of believers
for death is sometimes followed by their deliverance. God
again gives them that life which they had committed to him,
as he formerly restored Isaac to Abraham, being contented with
their voluntary offering. This apostle was ready to die for him,
he was prepared to do so, and even his desire tended that way.
The Lord accepted his inclination, and receiving it as a holy ob-
lation, gave him notwithstanding life and liberty ; teaching U3
to have always our loins girded, and our lamps burning, par-
ticularly in times of sickness, and in those circumstances in
which our lives are in danger. For the best and most proper
means to escape them is to be prepared for them, and resigned
early to the will of God.
As to the objects and effects of this deliverance of the apos-
tle, he represents them as of two kinds: in the first place,
The furtherance of the Philippians, and the joy of their faith,
that is to say, their edification and consolation. For though
the preaching of the apostle was full of fruit and of spiritual
utility, it cannot be doubted but that it would be still more
efficacious to the Philippians after the glorious trial of so long
an imprisonment, and that their faith would be strengthened,
and their piety fortified, by the example of his patience, by
the sight of his person, and by hearing his words. Their joy
would also be very great at seeing again among them, safe and
sound, so good and so dear a master, after all the dangers he
had gone through, and the apprehensions they had felt on his
account. But he calls this joy that they experienced at again
seeing him " the joy of their faith," as it sprang entirely from
feelings of piety and faith in Jesus Christ. There was nothing
carnal or worldly in it. It was only founded on considera-
tions of faith, of heaven, and of salvation, and not on those
of the earth. He also adds another effect of his deliverance,
" That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ
for me by my coming to you again." What is this rejoicing
of believers in Jesus Christ? It is in my opinion the holy
assurance they feel of the power and wisdom of the Lord, and
of his love for his own, and of his care in making all things
work together for their good, and for their salvation. For
that is the only subject of their rejoicing, and the whole cause
of their joy and confidence. "Some trust in chariots, and
CHAP. I. ] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 95
some in horses ; but we" (say they) " will remember the name
of the Lord our God," Psal. xx. 7. In every thing else they
acknowledge their weakness and vileness. But they rejoice in
the name of the Lord Jesus. They triumph in it. They
think of it and speak of it in a lofty manner. Now that the
deliverance and return of the apostle would make this rejoic-
ing abound in the hearts and mouths of the Philippians, and
of all the other believers who were then alive, is very evident.
For they saw clearly in his person what and how excellent was
the goodness and power of that Saviour, who had preserved
his servant from the jaws of the lions, and had miraculously
delivered him from the prison of Nero, having faithfdlly de-
fended him from the efforts of the world and of hell, which
both conspired for his ruin. They also saw in it the care
which the Lord had for their edification, who for their good
and for their furtherance in piety, and not for any other con-
sideration, preserved his apostle on earth, contrary to the ap-
pearances of things, against the interests of his happiness, and
against his own wishes. And this, dear brethren, is the fruit
that we should draw from the deliverances that God gives to
his servants, whether in relieving them from those sicknesses
to which our nature is subject, or in snatching them from the
hands of their enemies, or in keeping them in the midst of
the many dangers by which they are surrounded. May these
proofs which we daily receive of his goodness and sovereign
power increase more and more our confidence in him, and
cause the rejoicing that we have in our hearts to abound, and
to receive new strength and vigour, so that not only we may
be consoled in the sorrows and various difficulties of this mis-
erable life, but triumph even in the midst of the greatest
storms, having nothing low, cowardly, or mean, either in our
minds or in our mouths. May all our thoughts and our words
be courageous and lofty, and worthy of the grandeur of that
Christ whose disciples, whose sheep, and whose members we
are.
Such, my brethren, is the exposition of this text of the
apostle. Let us profit by it, meditating upon and carefully
practising the lessons contained in it, on which we have briefly
touched each in its own place. Let us, above all, receive into
our hearts what he teaches us of the nature of death, and of
the use of life, that we may neither fear the one nor abuse the
other, and reduce to their true and legitimate form the incli-
nations and feelings we should entertain for both. This is the
most important point of heavenly doctrine ; and if a pagan
formerly said that the life of a wise and virtuous man should
be a perpetual meditation on death, how much more ought a
christian to say so, the disciple of a crucified Master, who
only leads them to life through death! But besides the qua-
96 AN" EXPOSITION OF [SERM. V.
litj and instructions of the Lord, the necessity of the thing
itself recommends its meditation to us. For as to those other
evils against which we prepare ourselves, such as poverty,
exile, sorrows, or such like, perhaps they may never happen
to us. But death is inevitable, and there is neither birth nor
condition that can secure either us or those belonging to us
against it. Let us then all equally think of it, and prepare
ourselves for it early, so that whenever it comes it may not
take us unawares. Let us see it as it really is, and without
being alarmed by the vile and hideous form in which painters
and men of the world have represented it ; but let us believe
what the apostle says of it, that if we are truly christians, it
is much better for us than life. It is much that it frees us
from those continual miseries in which we languish here below.
This consideration alone makes it desirable to many persons,
and has led entire nations to celebrate the funerals of their
dead with songs and rejoicings, not like us with tears and
lamentations, with which they accompany the birth of their
children, thinking that those are to be pitied who are entering
into a life so full of sorrows, and that those only are happy
who are leaving it. But, O christian believer ! besides the
sufferings from which death will deliver you, it will put you
in possession of a great and assured happiness; it will elevate
you into the heavens, and give you life with Jesus Christ.
Let those fear death whose minds superstition has filled with
error, who see nothing after this life but fire and torments,
either the flames of hell or of purgatory. You, disciple of
Jesus, who have learned of his apostle that there is now no
condemnation for those that are in him, and who behold him
in the heavens extending his hand to draw you thither where
he is, how can you dread so happy a transition? Are you
afraid of being with Christ ? Do you fear to enter into the com-
pany of his saints? into the fellowship of his angels? into
the marvellous light of his eternal kingdom, where your faith
will be changed into sight, and your hope into rejoicing?
How does the creed you profess accord with this fear ? There
have been, and there still are, an immense number of persons
in the world, who cheerfully expose themselves to death for the
hope of acquiring a vain glory to their name. But ours,
brethren, gives a true and solid glory, not to our name, which
is nothing, but to ourselves, placing us in the heavens by the
side of the Lord. Let us then be fully resolved that it is
much better for us to be dislodged than to remain in this
earthly tabernacle, and instead of dreading with the world
this last hour, let us desire it with the apostle, and welcome it
when it sjiall present itself to us, as the period of our freedom ;
saying, like Simeon with a heart full of joy, " Lord, now let-
test thou thy servant depart in peace." Being thus inclined,
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 97
we shall be the happiest men in the world. Nothing will dis-
turb our lives, or tempt our piety; for of what can we be
afraid if we do not fear death? nay, if, far from fearing it, we
desire it ? May this same thought console us when we mourn
the death of those who have been dear to us ; for as they are
with the Lord, it is more proper to rejoice at their happiness
than to complain at their removal from us. It is those who
remain on the earth for whom we should weep, those whom
the world and the flesh estrange from God, who are every day
in sorrow or in danger. But, christians, I beseech you, do
not thus disgrace those holy beings whom you have seen de-
part from this earth in the faith and hope of the Lord, with
the garments of his household, and the marks of his election
and love, in the midst of the applause and the rejoicing of an-
gels; do not do them this dishonour, to mourn their triumph,
and mar the consummation of their happiness by your tears.
May faith quickly dry those which nature forces from you.
May their happiness soften your grief, and oblige you to keep
your hearts continually elevated toward heaven, where they
are gone before, waiting with patience and true christian reso-
lution till you are yourselves gathered in peace, to live and
reign eternally with your Master and theirs, Jesus the Prince
of life, and the Lord of glory ; to whom, with the Father, and
the Holy Spirit, one true God, blessed for ever, be all honour
and praise, world without end. Amen.
Preached at Charenton, Sunday, 7th May, 1640.
SERMON VI.
verse 27—28.
Only let your conversation he as it becometh the gospel of Christ;
that ivhether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear
of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind
striving together for the faith of the gospel; and in nothing ter-
rified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token
of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
In all enterprises of importance, it is a grand point to have
them well and happily commenced; and he who said, that this
is to have done half the work, was not far from the truth, be-
cause, as their beginnings are usually more difficult than their
terminations, they occupy men more, and contribute thereby
to the execution of all the rest. But however important this
13
98 AN EXPOSITION" OF [SERM. VI.
commencement of an affair may be, it is of no value, but
turns rather to shame and loss, if it be not followed up, and
carried on to its completion, with a* constant perseverance in
the enterprise undertaken. He who begins and does not finish,
besides the time and trouble which he so uselessly fritters
away, naturally exposes himself to the blame and ridicule of
the world, and remains justly deprived of the fruits of his
own labour. But if this occurs in all the enterprises of human
life which are of any consequence, it is more especially so in
the profession of religion, incomparably the greatest and most
important of all. It is not only useless to have commenced
it if you do not persevere in it, but it is very hurtful ; the
warmth and the exertion of the beginning redoubling the un-
happiness of those who, in a cowardly manner, decline from
so noble and divine a task. This is why the holy apostle,
after having before praised the commencement of the Philip-
pians in the gospel of the Lord, now exhorts them, in the text
that you have just heard, to persevere constantly, without ever
allowing themselves to be carried out of that path of life, in
which they were running so resolutely, by any opposing force
or violence. In the words immediately preceding, he pro-
mised them, if you remember, that however adverse appear-
ances might seem, he should be released from prison, and once
more revisit them, to the joy and edification of their faith. He
entreats them, while waiting for this consolation, that they would
continue always to progress from good to better in the study and
exercise of religion : " Only let your conversation be as it becom-
eth the gospel of Christ : that whether I come and see you, or'else
be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one
spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the
gospel ; and in nothing terrified by your adversaries : which
is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salva-
tion, and that of God." That we may meditate on this text
with more regularity and profit, by the assistance of the Lord,
we will consider four things in it consecutively. The first
shall be the general exhortation that the apostle gave to the
Philippians, " To let their conversation be as it becometh the
gospel of Christ." The three others will be the three par-
ticular duties which he proceeds to point out, and which are
as three principal parts of this evangelical conversation which
he here recommends : the first, " To stand fast in one spirit ;"
the second, " To strive together with one mind ;" and the third,
" Not to be terrified by their adversaries." May God give us
grace so to acquit ourselves in this meditation, that all our lives
henceforth may be a constant practice of them, keeping our-
selves all united together under the governance of the Spirit
of the Lord Jesus, continuing in his fear and love, and coura-
geously repelling with the shield of faith every arrow of our
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 99
visible and invisible enemies, to the glory of our great God,
and to our own salvation.
I. The general exhortation of the apostle, which we pro-
posed to treat in the first place, is conceived in these terms,
" Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of
Christ." The first word, " only," relates to what he had said
before, when, having spoken of the issue of his imprisonment,
of life, of death, and of the fruit of both, he declared that he
was firmly assured of remaining on earth, and of again seeing
the church of the Philippians, and of edifying and consoling
them by his presence. Adding then now, " Only converse ac-
cording to the gospel." As if he had said, As God will con-
duct all these things to his glory and your good, leave to him
the care of all that remains, and give yourselves entirely to the
study of religion, living in exact accordance with that form
which is prescribed to you in his word. From which you per-
ceive, dear brethren, that the whole business of a believing
soul is to live here holily and religiously, in a word, evan-
gelically. It is the one thing needful. As to every thing else,
God has either already provided, or will provide in time to
come, without our anxiously caring for it. For he has fully
executed on his side all that was necessary for the establish-
ment of our happiness. He has given us his Son, and has se-
cured to us, by his cross, the remission of our sins, peace in
our consciences, and an entrance into and the enjoyment of
a heavenly life. He has sent his apostles, and abundantly
blessed their ministry. He has called us to himself, and has
made his will known to us in the gospel of his Son. And for
the time to come, he has promised by his faithfulness to keep
us tenderly, and to make all things work together for our good,
however contrary or adverse they may appear, so that neither
the accidents of life, nor the horrors of death, shall ever be
able to deprive us of these treasures. He has taken all this
upon himself, and does not wish that any of these thoughts
should occupy our minds. What then is the work that he re-
quires of us ? It consists entirely in this, that enjoying his
benefits with perfect contentment for time past, and an assured
hope for the future, we should dispose our lives according to
his commandments, and that we should employ our whole care,
time, and attention, to see that our conversation be worthy of
his name and of his gospel. This is the only employment he
has given us, the only work that he asks of us. He releases
us from all other care, and is contented that we should solely
attend to this. And indeed how happy should we be if we
were to stay our minds on this study alone, leaving those
things which so uselessly occupy other men ! This work
always brings its fruit with it, the repose and joy of the con-
science. It is agreeable to God, useful to our neighbours, and
100 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VI.
salutary to ourselves. It neither leaves regret, shame, disgust,
nor repentance in the heart. Every thing else, however spe-
cious it may appear, whether in life, or even in the religion of
men, is either vain or profitable for "little," as Paul says,
speaking of " bodily exercise." " But godliness is profitable
for all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and
of that which is to come," 1 Tim. iv. 8. Hence the reason why
he recommends this exclusively to his Philippians : " Only
let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ."
It is word for word in the original, àçiu; rot tiayyeXiov, " converse
worthily, or in a manner worthy of the gospel," I remark this
to show you how vain are the pretensions of the advocates of
merit, when they desire to support their proud opinion on
what is said in the scripture, " That the faithful are counted
worthy of the kingdom of God," 2 Thess. i. 5 ; as if these words
signified that they deserved the heavenly kingdom, and that
the value of their works was such that God could not refuse
them this reward, without doing them wrong, and committing
an injustice. This text clearly shows that that is not the
apostle's meaning. For when Paul here says " a conversation
worthy of the gospel," you see plainly that he does not intend
a conversation which deserves the gospel, (this would be a
palpable misconstruction,) any more than John, when he com-
manded those who received his baptism " to bring forth fruits
meet for repentance," meant works which deserved repentance;
it would be a manifest absurdity to interpret it thus. Who
does not see that in both these places the worthiness spoken
of signifies nothing but a certain relationship of suitableness,
and not of merit, consisting in this, that the conversation of
which Paul speaks be such as the gospel requires, bearing its
impress and its marks ; and that the fruits of which John speaks
should be such as repentance demands and produces, works
such as are becoming and suitable to be done by those who are
truly repentant? It is in the same sense that Paul speaks in
the Epistle to the Ephesians, where he beseeches his converts
" to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they were called ;"
that is to say, not in such a manner as would imply they were
called for their own merit, but (as every one must acknowledge)
in a manner that should be suitable to their vocation, and as it
became persons to live who are thus called. In the same sense
must the apostle be understood when he enjoins the Colossians
" to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord," Ool. i. 10 ; and
likewise what he writes to the Thessalonians, that they should
" walk worthy of God, who hath called you to his kingdom
and glory," 1 Thess. ii. 12. Now it is evident that he means
to speak, not of a life which deserves God, (which would be
an absurd and impious thought,) but rather of a life suitable
to the name and the quality which they bore of children of
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 101
God, and which should accord with the excellence of their call-
ing ; so that when he elsewhere says that believers who suffer
persecution with faith and patience are " counted worthy of
the heavenly kingdom," 2 Thess. i. 5, he does not mean to
imply that they have merited this reward, and that the value
of their sufferings is equal to that of this glory, and may be
weighed against it, contrary to what he expressly denies, Rom.
viii. 18; but simply that they have marks suitable to the king-
dom of God, and, as it were, the garments of his household,
and the qualities to which, out of his pure mercy in Jesus
Christ, he promises eternal life ; according to that maxim so
often repeated by the apostle, that " if we suffer with him, we
shall also reign with him."
But to return to our subject. Every one must sufficiently
see and understand what this conversation worthy of the Spi-
rit of Christ is, which Paul here proposes to us as the only
business of our vocation, without requiring anything else.
Would to God that it were not more difficult to practise than
to understand it ! And yet, to speak truly, that we acquit our-
selves so ill arises oftener from our cowardice and wickedness
than from the difficulty of the thing itself. The gospel of Je-
sus Christ is that holy doctrine which the Lord has brought
us from the bosom of the Father, which he has published on
earth by the ministry of his apostles, which he has revealed to
us by his Spirit, and the profession of which he has given us
grace to embrace. The mystery of godliness is, without doubt,
great ; it proposes to us a God manifest in the flesh, justified
by the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, be-
lieved on in the world, raised into glory ; and teaching us be-
sides, that after having received the grace of God, profitable to
all men, we should renounce iniquity and worldly lusts, and
live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world,
looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of
our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ. The conversation
worthy of the gospel is that which agrees with this beautiful
and heavenly doctrine, and which bears its credentials ; in
which none of the productions of ignorance or error appear ;
where the rays of knowledge and faith shine throughout ; it is,
in short, a life which bears a just relation to the rules of the
Lord Jesus, tinted with his beauty, and moulded and formed
after his example. This holy law teaches us that vice is the
greatest evil of our nature ; that it degrades man from all ex-
cellence ; that it changes him into a brute or a devil ; that it
kindles against us that violent and just anger of Almighty
God, which nothing can extinguish but the blood of his own
Son. Undoubtedly the life in which vice reigns is then unworthy
of the gospel, and bears no relation to it; on the contrary,
wherever it exists, it opposes and seeks to overthrow it. This
102 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VI.
same law warns us that the earth is the abode of vanity and
death ; that this world is but a shadow which passeth away ;
that its pleasures, its honours and its riches are but false idols,
incapable of affording us any real or solid contentment. Those
then who fix their desires on it, and whose whole life is only
occupied in serving mammon, or in worshipping ambition,
voluptuousness, and luxury, have nothing in their conversation
which is worthy of that high and heavenly doctrine of which
they make profession. The gospel declares to us that our hap-
piness is above in the heavens, hid in Jesus Christ, the depos-
itary of 6ur glory and immortality ; that in this high sanctuary
are our country, our city, and our abode, and that love and
holiness are its sovereign law. To respond to this instruction,
who does not see that we must continually have our thoughts,
our desires, and our hearts entirely in heaven ? that the design
of arriving there ought to be our only anxiety, and that there-
fore the search for that which can lead us thither, that is to
say, the love of God and of our neighbour, ought to occupy
all our mind and intellect ? From hence, believers, judge, I
pray you, how very small is the number of those who converse
in a manner worthy of the gospel; and, seized with shame and
horror, let us henceforth labour to be of the chosen few. Let
us leave every other care to attend to this. Eemember the di-
rection of the apostle, " Only let your conversation be as it be-
eometh the gospel." God calls you to that alone. You call
yourselves " evangelical ;" and those even who try to corrupt
your faith, by adulterating it with a mixture of the traditions of
the flesh, still flatter you with this title. Be then such in truth.
May this name be your glory before God and men. Do no-
thing that is unworthy of it. Consult it on everything which
presents itself to you. This name alone, if you listen to it,
will be sufficient to teach you what is your duty. Eeceive no-
thing that is contrary to it, either in your belief or in your
manners. If the world invite you to share in its superstitions,
in its vices, in its amusements, reflect how unworthy are these
things of the gospel of Christ. If the flesh entice you to hatred,
vengeance, or impurity, remember how directly contrary are
these feelings to the voice and to the Spirit of your Master.
If it were only in consideration of our own honour, it would
ever oblige us to lead a life conformable with our profession,
there being nothing more shameful than to do the contrary of
what we say, and by the example of our manners to ruin that
which we have professed and established with the mouth. This
contradiction is so abominable, and so unworthy of every hon-
ourable mind, that even among the sects of worldly philoso-
phers, which were at best but folly and vanity, every one en-
deavoured to adjust his manners to his dogmas, and to live as
he taught. But, alas ! here is much more than honour. For
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 103
we shall be judged at the last day by our life, and not by our
language ; by our conversation, and not by our profession.
If we do not live in a way worthy of the gospel, in vain shall
we have made profession of it, in vain shall we have called
ourselves evangelical, or have been so called by others. All
this vain-glory will be useless, yea more, it will be infinitely
hurtful to us. We shall be reproached with it, and with good
reason, as the greatest of our crimes, having had the insolence
to profane so holy a name, and of not having been ashamed
to lead the life of a pagan under the profession of a christian,
sullying and tarnishing the venerable name and holy law of
the Lord Jesus, the King of angels and of men, by the blem-
ishes and filth of our actions. God preserve us, dear brethren,
from falling into so frightful a misfortune. Let us be true
christians, and evangelical. May our conversation henceforth
be worthy of this gospel that we maintain.
To enforce so necessary a duty on the Philippians, Paul, be-
sides their own interest in salvation, represents also to them
that which he takes in it : " Let your conversation be as it
becometh the gospel of Christ ; so that (says he) whether I
come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs,
that you stand fast in one spirit." If ever there was a master
whose disciples were bound to hold him in high esteem, it was
doubtless this apostle, who had delivered to the Philippians,
not the vain and perishable arts and sciences of the world, but
the knowledge of God, and of salvation : who had drawn them
from the abyss of hell into the true light of heaven ; and who,
for communicating to them this divine treasure, had even suf-
fered shame and persecution to the very shedding his blood,
so great and so ardent was the love he bore them. To which
must be united the situation in which he then was, bound with
a chain for the gospel, and the constancy of his affection for
them, which he so tenderly felt in the midst of all his troubles.
What did they not owe to such a man ? And certainly the
care that they had shown for him during his bonds, a sure sign
of the love which they bore him, evidenced also that they
would have been very much concerned to have displeased him.
He puts then this consideration foremost; and to lead them to
live in a manner worthy of the gospel, he proposes to them
the joy that he should receive at hearing such good news. I
ask of you no other reward (says he) for so many troubles that
I have undergone to instruct you in the gospel, than that your
conversation should respond to my doctrine, and that you
should show forth in your manners that beautiful and holy
way I have set before you in my instructions. This ardent
affection that I had and still have for your salvation will be
abundantly rewarded, if the gospel of my Lord shines as well
in your conduct as it is retained in your mouths. Such, my
104 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VI.
brethren, is the desire of Paul, and of every true minister of
Jesus Christ. All the payment that they seek for their labo-
rious exertions is the sanctification and salvation of their flocks.
As in truth, from the little taste that you have for heavenly
things, you will confess that there is no labour in the world
whose fruit is either more delicious or more glorious than to
see religion flourish, and sanctification, the first fruits of a
blessed immortality, the ornament and the light of heaven, in
a flock that you have yourselves instructed and formed. If
fathers and mothers bless the infinite trouble that the educa-
tion of their children has given them when they profit by it,
and if the masters of worldly arts esteem themselves happy to
have made some clever scholars in their calling, what must be
the delight of ministers of the Lord, when they see his word
prosper in their hands, and the ground that he had committed
to them crowned with his blessing and entirely covered with
those divine fruits of godliness which endure eternally !
sweet and happy troubles ! O blessed and valuable labour !
Dear brethren, if the care that we take to instruct you by the
preaching of the gospel deserve that you should have any re-
gard for your comfort, give us that which the apostle here asks
from the Philippians. May the purity of your conversation
testify to the power and divinity of our gospel, that your man-
ners may show that we have not laboured in vain, and that
your life may praise our preaching. God knows, dearly be-
loved brethren, that it is the most ardent of our wishes, that it
is the joy and crown that we daily entreat from him. As for the
rest, when the apostle says to the Philippians, " That whether
I come and see you, or else be absent," it is not to retract what
he had said in the preceding verses of his certain return to
them, but only to make them understand that he had nothing
more at heart than the goodness and holiness of their life ; that
if present among them, he could see nothing more agreeable ;
and that absent from them, he could hear nothing sweeter than
the report of their constancy and progress in piety.
II. But it is time to come to the three last points of our
text. For the apostle, instead of saying that he desires no-
thing more than to learn, whether absent or present, that the
Philippians behaved in a way worthy of the gospel, (as it
seems that the order and natural course of the language would
require,) acts otherwise ; and, that he might take occasion to
particularize some of the principal duties of an evangelical
conversation, see how he explains himself, " To the end that I
may hear of your condition, that you stand fast in one spirit,
with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel ;
and in nothing terrified by your adversaries." You see that
he touches three points in which an evangelical conversation
almost entirely consists, in its three principal and most im-
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 105
portant parts. The first is to " stand fast in one spirit." The
word vrftKurc in the original signifies to hold on, and to remain
firm at one's post, and is derived from the combats, in which
each endeavoured to keep his place, and to maintain himself
in his seat, without going back, or being shaken by all the at-
tacks of the enemy. The apostle, employing this image to
represent to us the life of the faithful, means, that in this spir-
itual warfare we should never allow ourselves to be drawn from
that position in which God has placed us, and that all together,
like his faithful and valiant soldiers, courageously repulsing the
enemy, we should always stand firm, without quitting either
the faith or the profession which by his grace we have made.
And as things diametrically opposite sometimes help to give
us light, you will know what to stand fast is, if you consider
what fault is opposed to this duty. In the first place, they
fail in it who, having given their name to the Lord, shamefully
desert his standard, to pass into the enemy's camp, like those
who quit the profession of the gospel to follow that of super-
stition. In the second, those fail who, retaining the profession
of Christianity, corrupt it by the intermixture of error, and
(like the Galatians formerly) having begun in the Spirit, end
in the flesh, receiving into their faith the deadly leaven of
some false opinion. Thirdly, those likewise fail in it who,
remaining in the camp of Israel, relax in their affection to
piety, or, like the angel of Ephesus, fall from their first love.
I would add also, that in religion not to advance is, in some
respects, to retrograde. For this strength, as much as depends
on us, is extremely active, and in continual motion ; and when
it makes no progress, it is a sign that it is weakened, and that
it has lost something of its natural vigour. From which you
see, my brethren, the duty opposed to these failings, and sig-
nified here by the apostle, when he commands us to stand fast ;
it is a firm and inextinguishable perseverance, not only in the
profession, but also in the zeal of piety, in the purity of the
faith, in the warmth of love, and in the reality of all the other
christian virtues ; so that instead of losing any thing in this
respect, we should rather go on acquiring and growing, daily,
until we come to the measure of the perfect stature, which is
in Jesus Christ. Now the apostle does not only say that we
should stand fast, he adds, " in one spirit," which may be un-
derstood in two ways, according as the word " spirit" is used ;
either for the spirit of a man, that is to say, his understanding,
or for the Holy Spirit, and the grace which he communicates
to believers. Taking it in the first sense, the meaning of the
apostle will be, that believers stand fast, and persevere to-
gether in the same mind, having all one thought, one faith,
one belief. For the understanding being the seat of our know-
ledge, those are said to have the same mind who have the
14
106 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VI.
same belief and the same sentiments in religion. The present
state of the Philippian church gave occasion to the apostle to
address this good and suitable exhortation to them ; for the evil
workers of the circumcision, whom he afterwards names, having
an eye upon this flock, and endeavouring to slip in their false
and deadly opinions, of the necessity of the Mosaic law, and
of the mixture of its ceremonies with the gospel, gave just
reason for Paul to apprehend that their minds might be di-
vided, and that some members of this church might receive in
their understandings this strange doctrine. Thus he could
very properly exhort them to stand fast in one spirit, and not
to permit that diversity of opinions should divide and puzzle
their minds, breaking that holy unity of faith in which his
preaching had previously bound them.
But perhaps it will not be less proper to refer what he says
to the Spirit of God, and to his grace, and those salutary effects
which are often called by his name in scripture. For this
Spirit is the sole cause of our constancy and perseverance in
the faith ; and as our body, deprived of the soul, which gives it
life, immediately falls to the earth, having no more strength
nor vigour, so also it is impossible that a man should
remain good and continue firm in piety if this holy Spirit
should fail him. It is then with good reason that the apostle
refers us to him for continuance in this holy profession : " Stand
fast in one spirit/' says he ; that is to say, by the Spirit of God
with which Jesus Christ has baptized you. Eetain him
amongst you, so that, delighting and animating you with his
salutary presence, he may preserve you from backsliding.
How many are there, dear brethren, whom the neglect of this
great Comforter has thrown into deadly sorrows ! They grieve
him by the impurity of their lives, by the coldness of their
devotion, by the licence of their thoughts, by the audacity of
their reasonings, and by the impiety of their opinions. This
divine guest, grieved by such bad and irreverent conduct, de-
parts from their souls, which are as immediately taken posses-
sion of by their spiritual enemy, who never fails in the end
either to drive them into the abyss of infidelity or superstition.
This is undoubtedly the real cause of the rebellion of the
greater part of those who have quitted us. That we may not
fall into their calamity, let us walk purely and holily under the
eyes of the Holy Spirit. Let us serve him in truth; let us
draw him into our hearts. Let us take no rest till we hear his
voice, and experience his movements. But the apostle says
that this Spirit is one. It is very true that that might relate
to his person. For as there is but one Father, and one Son,
so also there is but one Spirit. But I am of opinion that here
Paul rather looks to the uniformity of his graces; for he
spreads in all believers, though in divers measures, the same
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 107
faith, the same love, and the same hope ; by reason of which
the scripture says that we all make but one and the same
body: " For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body,"
1 Cor. xii. 13. It is then in the enjoyment and participation
of this one Spirit that we must look for our continuance in the
church ; it being evident that no body could live if agitated
by two different minds, nor could one state support itself if
the people were governed by divers and conflicting authorities ;
so also would the church inevitably fall into ruin, were the
members of whom it is composed led, or rather, to speak more
properly, torn, by many contrary spirits.
III. But because this perseverance of believers is opposed
in many places, and by many kinds of enemies, it is impossible
to maintain it without fighting. This is the reason why the
apostle adds, as the second part of our duty, "Striving to-
gether with one mind by the faith of the gospel." Some trans-
late it for the faith of the gospel, or "together with ;" as if it
directed us to aid or help the faith with all our powers, to pre-
vent its being extinguished, or tarnished, or obscured by the
malice or violence of the enemy. But it seems much more
proper to understand it as it is translated in our Bible, " by
the faith ;" by which faith is the weapon, and not merely the
subject of our warfare. Thus you see that the apostle recom-
mends us, in the first place, to fight ; then, union and agree-
ment in this spiritual combat; and finally, shows us what
means or what arms we ought to employ, that is to say, the
faith of the gospel, that we may happily accomplish it. As to
the first, it is not here only that Paul compares the condition
of the christian to a warfare. " Endure hardness, (says he to
Timothy,) as a good soldier of Jesus Christ," 2 Tim. ii. 3.
" No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of
this life." And elsewhere to the Ephesians, he bids us " put
on the whole armour of God ; for we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities and powers," Eph. vi. 11,
12. And in 2 Cor. x. 4, he says of our warfare, and of the
arms that must be employed in it, that they " are not carnal,
but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds."
Indeed, if you consider attentively the condition of a christian,
you will confess that that which Job formerly said of all men
in general belongs to him in particular, namely, that his life
was a warfare upon earth, Job vii. 1, or, (to follow more closely
the comparison of our apostle,) a furious and bloody battle, in
which he is always in danger, and always engaged with cruel
and implacable enemies. Jesus Christ is his General ; the
spectator, arbiter, and judge of his combats. The devil and
all his servants, the profane, the superstitious, heretics, tyrants,
and others whose numbers are infinite, are his adversaries.
Our flesh itself, with its perverse inclinations, is on their side,
108 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VI.
and importunes us as much or more than the rest by its un-
derstanding and collusion with the enemy without. The sub-
ject of this battle is the glory and the truth of the Lord Jesus,
our own salvation, and that of our brethren. The adversaries
to snatch this precious treasure from our hands, employ both
force and artifice, and there is nothing so abominable or so in-
famous that is not good to them, if they can injure us by it.
Who can tell all their stratagems, the colouring of their
sophisms to embellish lies, the tricks of their chicanery to
conceal the truth ; the subtlety of their wit, their promises,
their flatteries, their menaces, and their invectives ; their words,
sometimes as it were steeped in honey, and then again in gall ;
their arrows, some of gold, and others of iron ; their calumnies
against the good cause, their pretences for the bad ; their as-
siduity, their zeal, and their indefatigable industry, in spying
out all our steps, in searching out all the secrets of our condi-
tion, to find out our weak point and attack us by it ? Who
can tell their harshness and their blind injustice to those who
do not yield to them ; the unkindnesses and the hatred with
which they oppress them ; the shame and reproach with which
they overwhelm them ; the tricks and delusions they practise
on them ? If these artifices do not succeed, they at last resort
to cruelty ; and the history of the first and last ages of the
church shows us that there never was any thing more furious
nor more inhuman among men, than the rage of the enemies
of the gospel, except that other abominable and hellish device
of Satan, when he raises up persecutors against us from among
our own offspring ; or false friends, who only remain with
Jesus Christ to give him up to the priests, and who only kiss
to betray. I have not enumerated many other of the wicked-
nesses of the enemy. I should never have done were I to enter
into all the particulars. Neither is it necessary, for the trials
in which it pleases God to place us all every day teach us enough
of them. It is then against this thick crowd, against men and
devils, against the great and little, against the learned and the
ignorant, against impiety and superstition, against fraud and
violence, against enemies from without and false brethren from
within, that you must fight, christian ! If there is difficulty,
there is still more honour in the enterprise ; and its necessity
is not less apparent than its glory. For it must be granted
that in this engagement you must either conquer or perish
eternally. There is no middle course. Courage, then, be-
lievers ! Listen to the apostle, who cries to you, "Fight ;" and
to Christ, who promises to assist you in the combat, and to
crown you in the heavens after the victory. Stand fast, and
support this great onset. Shut your ears to the flatteries and
to the promises of the enemy. Eeject the vain fancies of those
who uudertake to make truth asrree with error, and light with
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 109
darkness. Persevere in an open and pure profession of the
gospel. Oppose your confession to the blasphemies of the
enemy; your prayers to his curses ; your thoughts, your words,
and your actions to all his efforts. May the day of the Lord
find you standing. " Whosoever shall persevere unto the end,
the same shall be saved," Matt. xiv. 13.
But remember, believers, to fight together, as the apostle di-
rects, with one mind, and one soul, as the original, /"'<* <P»xn. As
there is no body or society more noble than the church, so
there is none in which union and concord are more necessary.
You are begotten of the same seed, that is to say, of the gos-
pel, brought up in the same family, nourished with the same
food, animated by the same Spirit, destined to the same inheri-
tance. If so many close ties cannot unite you, at any rate let
this common warfare in which you are engaged, this common
danger that you run, and these common enemies with whom
you contend, extinguish your differences, and make you rally
together for your common preservation and defence. Often
among the kingdoms of the earth, the fear of an enemy with-
out stays the misunderstandings and quarrels within. Let us
imitate in this respect the prudence of the children of this
world. Let every difference that there may be in our
thoughts, our dispositions, and affections sleep in eternal
silence. Let us all do what the cause of the Saviour requires,
keeping whatever strength we have for this enterprise alone,
without wasting the least part elsewhere. "Whatever you may
have of wisdom or courage, turn it against the enemy. May
he alone feel the vigour of your arm, and the point of your
weapons. It is not against your brother that they should be
employed. They are made, and they have been given you, to
defend, and not to wound him; to preserve, and not to shed
his blood. God forbid that the army of Israel should do as
the army of Midian did formerly ; which, alarmed by a spirit
of terror and division, turned against themselves, every one
raising his sword against his companion. For if, when well
united together, we can nevertheless only subsist by a mi-
racle, what can we expect but certain and inevitable ruin if
we separate; and if, instead of helping, we tear each other?
I say it with regret, it is nothing but our division, my breth-
ren, which has prevented the defeat of the enemy, and the
triumph of the church. If we had all fought together, we
should long ago have been conquerors. But Satan, who can-
not stand against our united forces, planned to separate them,
by throwing amongst us unhappy differences, which have
weakened our body, and uselessly consumed against ourselves
that which ought only to have been employed against the
common enemy. As the effects of discord are so fatal, dear
brethren, if we love the glory of God, if we desire our own
110 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VI.
salvation, let us promptly extinguish whatever there may have
been amongst us of hatred, animosity, differences, and passions,
contrary to that mutual love which we owe to one another.
Let us give all our interest to the glory of God, and the sal-
vation of the church, and let us unite in such a perfect con-
cord, that it may be truly said of us as of the early christians,
" that we have but one heart and one soul," Acts iv. 32 ; and
that all this congregation may be like a divine army of people,
who, animated by one spirit, and aiming at the same object,
fight all together with one mind. Then we shall experience
the truth of the saying of the prophet, " that it is there that
the Lord has commanded his blessing, and life for evermore,"
Psal. cxxxiii.
Besides, for this great combat, the apostle arms us with faith
alone. By it believers have " conquered kingdoms," Heb. xi.
By it they have " shut the mouths of lions, stopped the violence
of fire, and escaped the edge of the sword." By it they waxed
valiant in fight, and turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Faith is the shield of the believer, by which he quenches the
fiery darts of the enemy, Eph. vi. 16. It is the victory which
has overcome the world. For if we are really and truly per-
suaded of the truth of the gospel, what temptation can there
be that shall be capable of shaking us ? What arrow or what
sword shall not be turned back by such a solid shield? Will
the multitude of the enemy, the pomp of their preparation,
their strength, and their fury, make us throw down our arms?
How can they, when faith shows us Jesus Christ on our side,
with the legions of his angels, infinitely more powerful both
in number and strength than all the armies of the world and
of hell? We will laugh at their efforts, and be as little
touched with the magnificence of their promises as alarmed at
the terror of their threatenings, because faith shows us bless-
ings and evils infinitely greater than those of the world ; the
first prepared for those who persevere, and the others for those
who are led away by temptation. Prisons, losses, exile, afflic-
tions, torments, and even death itself, can do nothing against
us; as we are assured that for these little sufferings we shall
for ever enjoy a perfect felicity in the heavens. For the earth
and its dust, God will give us heaven and its light ; for false »
hope and vanity, a solid and weighty glory ; for trifling plea-
sures, eternal bliss; for a building of clay, a heavenly palace;
for a vile life, a blessed immortality. Dear brethren, it is only
the want of faith which ruins us. If we have it only as a
grain of mustard seed, we may remove mountains, as says the
Lord in the gospel, Matth. xvii. 20 ; that is to say, we might
do wonders. There would be no difficulty that we should not
conquer, no mountain could present itself which faith could
not remove, nor abyss that it would not close before us.
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. Ill
IV. After having supplied us with so good a weapon, the
apOstle is right in ordering us, in the third place, " to be in
nothing terrified by our adversaries." I acknowledge, that to
look at them with the mind of the flesh, they are capable of
causing us alarm. But if you regard them with the eye of
faith, you will find that all their fury ought only to excite
pity, and not apprehension. For in reality they are but an
empty trouble, a tempest which, with much noise and clamour,
discharges itself uselessly, without being able to do us any
harm. Let them fret and storm as much as they please, they
cannot take from us the Lord Jesus, the peace of conscience,
the joy of the Holy Ghost, the heavenly life; that is to say in
one word, supreme happiness. Their blows, for the most part,
can but fall on this poor flesh, and upon those things with
which it is surrounded. Our true life, and our true blessings,
are in safety, above the reach of their rage. " Fear not (says
the Lord) those who can kill the body, but are not able to kill
the soul." Besides, they have no other power over our body,
or over the other things which we possess on earth, but what God
gives them, that same God who is for us, our Prince and our
Father. Live then in assurance, O truly blessed flock of the
Lord Jesus. Look on your adversaries without dismay, with
a calm and steadfast soul. These great efforts, in which they
exhaust all their mind and strength, shall fall on their own
heads, and instead of ruining, will only help to establish you.
Instead of disturbing, they will permanently establish your
happiness. And this is what Paul represents, when he adds,
in speaking of their hatred, and of the persecution with which
they pursue the truth, "that it is to them a token of perdi-
tion, but to you of salvation." For since it is just in God (as
the apostle teaches elsewhere) that affliction should be given to
those who afflict us, and rest to us who are afflicted, according
to his immutable decree to punish for ever in hell those who
persecute the gospel, and to crown with immortal glory in the
heavens those who suffer for the truth ; what greater or more
certain testimony can you have, both of their perdition and
of your salvation, than the afflictions that they make you suf-
fer for the profession of his law? I acknowledge that there is
a great difference in the union of these two consequences with
that which precedes them, and that if the persecution of the
one merits hell, heaven is not due to the patience of the others,
judging them by strict justice. But while it is the goodness
and mercy of the Lord which crowns your patience with his
glory, whereas it is his justice which punishes the cruelty of
your persecutors with the torments of hell ; nevertheless, as
the consequences of these two effects are necessary and certain,
and that it cannot be but that the believer, suffering with pa-
tience, shall be saved, nor but that the adversary, persecuting
112 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VI.
the truth, must perish, it is obvious that the war which they
wage against you on account of the gospel is a clear and cer-
tain demonstration, both of their perdition and of your salva-
tion. Far, then, from being troubled by this sort of affliction,
you ought, on the contrary, to regard it as a seal of your hap-
piness ; and as to your adversaries, to conceive for them more
pity than hatred or indignation, seeing the unhappy end to
which they are proceeding, by the blind hatred and unjust
persecution of that which they ought most to love and
cherish. You see, beloved brethren, what is the meaning of
the lesson which the apostle gives us to-day in this text.
Never was it more needed than in these degenerate times, in
which impiety and error, profaneness and superstition, perfidy
and treason from within, hatred and violence from without,
employ every thing that is most malignant and dangerous
against the truth. Believers, as God has given you the grace-
to know and to embrace its profession, fight valiantly for it,
and show in this conflict a constancy and a courage worthy of
so good a cause. Be not troubled, either by the efforts of the
enemies, or the seductions of false brethren, nor yet by the
bad examples of apostates. Fix your eyes on Jesus the
Prince of your profession. May nothing snatch from your
heart the divine deposit that he has placed there. Preserve it
more tenderly than the apple of your eye. Stand nobly fast
in one spirit. Fight together with one heart by the faith of
the gospel, opposing your union to the plots of the enemy ;
the truth of heaven to the lies of the earth ; the hope of sal-
vation to the threats of the world; the consolation of the
Spirit, and the glory of the world to come, to the evils we
must endure in this ; and to calumny a conversation which is
truly worthy of this heavenly doctrine, of which you make
profession : so that after having here fought this good fight,
kept the faith, and finished your course, you may one day re-
ceive, from the merciful hand of the Lord Jesus, in the com-
pany of saints and angels, that crown of righteousness laid up
for those who shall have loved his appearing. Thus may it
be with you ; and to him, the only true God, with the Father,
and the Holy Spirit, be honour, praise, and glory, for ever and
ever. Amen.
Preached at Charenton, Sunday, 10th June, 1640.
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 113
SERMON VII.
VEKSES 28 — 30.
And that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ,
not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake ; having
the same conflict ivhich ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
One of the christian's greatest consolations, amidst all his
conflicts, is the firm assurance which he feels that all his affairs
are conducted by the providence of God, and that nothing can
happen to him but by divine permission. For this sovereign
Lord, loving us infinitely, and being moreover perfectly wise
and powerful, if we be persuaded that it is he who governs our
life, it is impossible but that we should look forward with a
well-grounded hope of a happy termination to all the difficulties
in which we may find ourselves involved. For this reason we
ought always to have our eyes upon his hand, and consider it
as the true source which dispenses to us good or evil ; to enjoy
the one with gratitude, and to bear the other with submission.
But we ought to be particularly armed with this thought in
those afflictions which from their nature most violently trouble
our mind, and be certain that it is the Lord which sends them,
and that without his will and his order neither men, nor other
causes which alarm us, could have any power against us. Thus
Job, when suddenly overwhelmed with divers calamities, did
not fix his mind either upon the Sabeans and Chaldeans who
had ravaged and pillaged his flocks, nor on the tempest which
had crushed all his family under the ruins of a single house ;
but rising above the heavens to God himself, and acknowledg-
ing him as the true author of all these severe blows, made this
beautiful and magnificent confession, " The Lord hath given,
and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord."
David afterwards did the same in a case of a similar nature,
when Shimei insolently insulted him in his deep affliction;
" Let him do it, (said he to his servants,) for the Lord has said
to him, Curse David." 2 Sam. xvi. 11. This our apostle points
out to his Philippians in the text we have just read, for their
consolation under the persecutions they were suffering for the
gospel. He conjures them in the preceding verses not to be
alarmed either by the menaces or cruelties of their adversaries,
telling them that these trials would terminate in the perdition
of the persecutors, and in the salvation of the persecuted. Now,
to keep and fix this thought in their hearts, he recalls to their
recollection, that it is God who guides the whole business ; so
that from the power, wisdom, and justice of this great Director,
15
114 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VII.
they should wait with confidence the happy success which he
promises them in this conflict : " And that of God. For unto
you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on
him, but also to suffer for his sake : having the same conflict
which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me." The phrase
at the beginning, "And that of God," may relate to both the
points to which we have adverted ; that is to say, as much to
the perdition of the persecutors, who were hastening it by their
outrages, as to the salvation of believers, who were advancing
to it by their sufferings ; for it is evident, in the doctrine of
scripture, that however wicked and impious the cruelties of
the enemies of the gospel may be against believers, neverthe-
less, it cannot happen without the permission and the guidance
of the Lord, who also punishes the rebellion of those who re-
ject his grace, and do not receive the love of his truth ; leaving
them to fall into horrors worthy of the curse of heaven and
earth, and particularly directing the point of their rage against
those of his servants whom he desires either to chastise, prove,
or glorify. And this is what David meant in saying that God
had " commanded Shimei to curse him :" not to signify that the
Lord (that is to say, equity and goodness itself) had incited
this wretch to commit so abominable an outrage, or that he
had given him an order for it either by word or vision ; but
rather, that finding these evils in the heart of this miserable
being, he was expressly willing to permit that they should be
poured out on his servant for the purpose of humbling him.
But although this meaning may be very true, it appears in this
place that the apostle was only thinking of what regarded be-
lievers. This is the only, or at least the principal, design of
his words, as appears by the reason he adds, which only relates
to believers ; " For unto you it is given in the behalf of Jesus
Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his
sake;" evidently signifying by these words, "and that of God,"
that he meant only, or principally, the arrangement which the
Lord had made for conducting the Philippians to salvation by
the sufferings with which they were exercised for the profession
of his gospel. For this reason, without stopping to inquire
into the conduct of divine Providence with regard to perse-
cutors, we will simply rest upon the fact that it has ordained
the afflictions of believers, and consider the part that it takes
in them, according to what the apostle teaches us in this text:
and, that we may the better understand it, we will divide the
exposition into three parts, examining, in the first place, what
he says, " that it was freely given to the Philippians to believe
in Christ ;" and then what he adds, " that, besides that, it had
also been freely given to them to suffer for the Lord ;" and,
finally, that which he particularly touches in their sufferings,
in saying that they sustain a conflict like that which they had
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS'. 115
formerly seen in him, and also like the one in which they knew
him to be then at Rome.
I. What he says at the beginning, that it was on the behalf
of Ghrist that it was given them to believe in him, and also to
suffer for him, seems to mean that it is for the love of the Lord
Jesus, because of him, and for his sake, that God hath given
him these two graces ; which is indeed perfectly true. For the
Lord Jesus having by his death appeased the anger of God,
and opened a road for his loving-kindness, has made us ca-
pable of receiving his favours, whereas, without such a pro-
pitiation, we could have only been the objects of his indignation
and vengeance ; from whence it follows that he is the cause,
and the only source, both of the first grace that God has given
us, to believe, and of all the others which he adds, and particu-
larly of the honour which he communicates to us when he
chooses us for witnesses and defenders of his gospel. Never-
theless, to look at the words of the apostle as they are in the
original, it seems that this is not what he here intends, and
that these words, " for Christ," simply signify, " in what re-
gards Jesus Christ, in that which concerns his cause and his
gospel." As if he had said, that in the affairs of the Lord and
of his salvation all is given to us freely, and nothing happens,
with respect to them, which does not come from the pure
bounty of God, and both what we do and what we suffer is
alike grace. The apostle uses the same mode of speaking in
the 10th verse of the 4th chapter, praising the Philippians,
that the care they had of him was flourishing again ; where
the words which signify, " as to the care that you have forme,"
are arrauged exactly in the same manner as these which are
here employed, to say " for Christ, or in behalf of Christ," as
those know who understand the Greek language.
As to the faith of which the apostle speaks in the first place,
one may gather from his words three things : 1st, That faith
is the gift of God ; " it is given you to believe," says he.
2dly, That it is a, free gift, that is to say, has been communicated
to us by the sole goodness of God, without any merit on our
part ; " it is freely given you," says he ; for the word here em-
ployed by the apostle signifies precisely that. And, finally,
that it is a grace peculiar to believers, and not common to
other men ; " it is given to you" says he, opposing them to others,
and particularly to the adversaries of whom he spoke in the
preceding verse. That faith is a gift of God, is a truth so evi-
dent, that there is no christian who does not acknowledge it
to be so. And you will see it easily, if you consider for a
moment, on the one side, what is the object of faith ; and, on
the other, what is the power of our nature. Faith is a
certain and assured knowledge of the mysteries of the gospel ;
it is "to believe in Jesus," to see, with open eyes, the mercy,
116 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VII.
the wisdom, the power, and the justice of God displayed in
their highest degree on the cross of his Son for the redemption of
men. The things which are the objects of faith are all heavenly
and divine ; viz., the purpose of God to send his Son into the
world, and to clothe him with our flesh, and to deliver him up
to the death of the cross, the price of his sufferings, and the
expiation of our sins ; his resurrection, and his triumph, a
blessed immortality, the exquisite and singular example of
holiness and of love which the gospel presents to us. Never
had the eye of man seen any of these things, his ear had never
heard them, nor had they ever entered into his heart to con-
ceive. It is God alone who, from the depth of his treasures,
has drawn, forth this new and unknown wisdom. And as it
is he who has revealed it by the Son of his love, it is he also
who has presented us its image by the hand of his ministers,
having, by the power of his Spirit, raised up the apostles and
their successors, and particularly those who have taught us.
All this is the work of his goodness, and of his power. But
this is not all. Besides that, the substance itself of this holy
doctrine is altogether the fruit and the production of God,
neither men nor angels having been capable of revealing any-
thing like it ; the very circumstance of our having received it
into our hearts, and been persuaded of its truth, is also a gift of
this same Lord. You see likewise that the apostle does not
simply say that faith has been given us, which a malicious
person might, in some degree, pervert, as being the sole object
of faith, and of the doctrine that it embraces, which all ac-
knowledge to be the instruction of God. But he says ex-
pressly, " that it is given us to believe in Jesus Christ," which
necessarily implies that this movement itself of our heart,
opening to the light of the gospel, and receiving the truth
that the preacher presents to it, is a gift of God, and not a
work of nature. I acknowledge that if our mind were in its
right and legitimate state, similar to that in which it was
originally created, it would receive this truth as soon as it was
presented to it; and that, to make us believe the mysteries of
the gospel, it would only be necessary to declare them to us, as
to make a man that can see perceive an object, it only requires
to be placed before his eyes. But the eyes of our understand-
ing having been injured, or rather blinded, by sin, which has
spoiled and changed all the powers of our nature, proposing
the gospel to us is no more sufficient to insure our belief, than
would presenting visible objects to a blind man suffice to
make him see. And this is what the apostle teaches us else-
where, where, speaking of the mysteries of the gospel, he says,
" that the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God," those which the Spirit of God has revealed to his
servants, "for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 117
know them, because they are spiritually discerned," 1 Cor. ii.
14. Only it should be remarked, that instead of its being a
simple infirmity and want of natural power, claiming rather
pity than blame, which prevents the blind from seeing the
light which is offered him, it is a voluntary sin deserving the
hatred of God and men, which makes the unbeliever misunder-
stand and reject the truth which is proposed to him. But if
the causes are different, the effects, nevertheless, are similar;
it being no more possible for the natural man to understand
and believe the gospel, than for the blind man to see the sun.
Also, as when a blind man is restored to sight and to the per-
ception of visible objects, there are none who do not acknow-
ledge that this blessing is a gift from heaven, it being clear
that nature could not produce such an effect; so also ought we
to confess, that if we believe in Jesus Christ, it is a grace
which has been given us of God, and not an emotion which,
we owe to the natural strength of our mind. You see also
that the Lord, speaking to believers in the 6th chapter of
John, ver. 45, says, quoting the prophet Isaiah, " that they are
taught of God," because it is he who, by the voice of his
Spirit, moulds them into the obedience of his word, and writes
his covenant in the heart, as says another prophet, Jer. xxxi.
32. It is he who opened the heart of Lydia to attend to Paul,
Acts xvi. 14. Paul plants, and Apollos waters ; but they are
neither of them anything. It is God which giveth the in-
crease. We are his husbandry, and his work, 1 Cor. iii. 6, 7,
9. It is he who revealed his secret to Peter; it was not flesh
and blood, Matt. xvi. 17. It is he who revealed his Son to
Paul, shining in his heart, that he might enlighten the Gen-
tiles, Gal. i. 15. In fine, it is he who, according to his good
pleasure, hides these things from the wise and prudent, and
reveals them unto babes, 2 Cor. iv. 6.
But the apostle does not say simply that it has been given
us to believe. He makes use of a word which signifies that it
has been given to us freely, as our Bibles have faithfully trans-
lated it ; and by so doing has refuted two errors, both contrary
to the truth. The first is that of those who, acknowledging
that faith is a gift, add, that the Lord makes a present of it to
those who have made a good use of the light of nature ; as if,
for example, they were to see a pagan who lives sincerely in
his error, they pretend that the Lord, induced by this praise-
worthy conduct, gives him the faith of the gospel ; and this is
what they call in the schools "grace of congruity," or prepara-
tion for grace. From this they are not far who say, that the
good use of the pretended free-will in afflictions, mortifications,
and the humility before God which they produce in the hearts
of the elect, is the preparation which invites him to distribute
faith to them. The apostle condemns the vanity of these im-
118 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VII.
aginations, saying, in one word, that it is given to us freely to
believe. For according to these people, faith is not a free gift ;
it has not been given to us for nothing, but for and in conse-
quence of these pretended preparations. Besides, as, according
to the apostle, Eom. xiv. 23, all that is done without faith is
sin, it is impossible to understand how man, before having
faith, can do anything which should either force or invite God
to give it to him. What ! do sins invite God to do good to
men ? to give them the greatest of all blessings, faith, which
comprehends in itself salvation and eternal life ? Now if these
pretended preparations invite God to give us faith, undoubtedly
they must then please him, notwithstanding which the apostle
tells us elsewhere, that without faith it is impossible to please
him, Heb. xi. 6. Finally, if God crowns some works with the
gift of faith, or some dispositions previous to faith, he either
does it in virtue of the works themselves, because they deserve
it, or in consequence of some one of his promises. They will
not say the former. For they expressly confess, that to speak
properly man deserves nothing out of a state of grace. But
neither can they pretend the latter, because the promises of
God are only addressed to those who are in communion with
him, and who consequently already have faith, without which
none can enter into communion with God, according to that
which the apostle teaches us in Heb. xi. 6, "He that cometh
to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek him." God then promises nothing
to those who have not faith, and consequently neither gives it
them, nor anything else, in virtue of any promise which he had
made, but from his goodness and free grace alone, without be-
ing at all obliged to do so, either by their works or his promi-
ses. The second error is of those who say that God gives faith
to such as he foresees will make a good use of it. But if that
were the case, what the apostle says, that he gives it to us freely
to believe, would be false ; it being evident that, according to
this, faith would not be given us for nothing. God would
give it in consideration of something that would be its price —
some equivalent on the part of man ; instead of which, that
which is given gratuitously excludes all price, and he who re-
ceives the gift after having done something, and he who re-
ceives before he has performed anything, (for with regard to
the future and the past there is no difference,) would both in
the end pay a real price. To which I again add, that the im-
agination of these people destroys itself. For this foresight of
which they speak, of the good use of faith, can only signify
that God foresees, that supposing he gives faith to a man, to
Peter or to Paul, for example, the individual having once this
gift of grace, will in consequence love the Lord and his neigh-
bour, that is to say, that he will have piety and love. Now
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 119
faith is of such a nature, that he who possesses it truly has also
piety and love, according to the doctrine of John ; " Whoso-
ever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God," 1 John
v. 1 ; he loves him by whom he is begotten, and those that are
begotten of him ; so that there is no man in whom you can
presuppose faith, without also, as a necessary consequence,
adding both piety and love. Thus it appears that God never
foresees that any man will abuse faith, for that would be to fore-
see a false thing, an impossibility in itself, opposed to his own
truth ; and which cannot be said of the Lord without blas-
phemy. If then this pretended foresight of a good use of faith
was the reason why he gives faith, he would give it to all men,
it not being possible for any of those to whom he truly gives
it to abuse it. Nevertheless, one sees by experience that the
number of those to whom God gives faith is very limited, in
comparison of those whom he permits to fall into infidelity.
Let us then acknowledge that it is the grace of God alone, and
not any consideration of what man has done, or of what he
will do in future, which induces God to give him faith. He
gives it to us that we may make a good use of it. This good
use is the end and effect of his gift, but it is not its cause.
From whence it follows, that, according to the apostle in this
place, faith is truly, in every respect and degree, a free gift of
God.
But in the third and last place, he again here gives us a very
excellent lesson ; that is to say, that the grace of God by which
we believe, is peculiar to us, according to what he elsewhere
expressly says, "that all men have not faith," 2 Thess. iii. 2.
For it is to distinguish believers from others, and to point out
the advantage that they have over them, that he says to them
individually, "It is given you to believe." Consequently, this
gift was peculiar to them, as common things make no differ-
ence between the subjects to which they are common. From
whence it appears how false is the opinion of those who dog-
matize that the grace by which faith is produced in us is uni-
versal, and common either to all men, or at least to those to
whom the gospel is preached. For if that were the case, it
would not be the gift of God (common to all according to this
supposition) which would distinguish the believer from the un-
believer, but the choice and effort of the man who receives
that which others have rejected. Now Paul desires that this
gift of God which causes us to believe should distinguish us
from others. " It is given you to believe," says he. Accord-
ing to the supposition of this error, he ought simply to say,
" You have believed," and not, " It is given you to believe ;"
for it holds, that they had not a peculiar belief, the gift which
had produced the belief in them being common to them (as
they pretend) and to those who had rejected it. That which
120 AN EXPOSITION OP [SERM. VII.
the apostle adds, that it is given them to suffer for Jesus Christ,
still shows the same thing. For as this grace of God, from
which the patience and the suffering of believers spring, was
evidently peculiar to themselves, why was not that from which
their faith came, here expressed by the same word and in the
same way, also peculiar to them ? The thing speaks for itself.
For when the Lord calls his elect to himself, he enlightens them,
he teaches and instructs them in his will. Certainly the grace
which he imparts is then peculiar to them, it being evident that
he does nothing of the kind to infidels and rebels. And the
Lord expressly declares this, "Every man that hath heard and
hath learned of the Father cometh unto me," John vi. 45. Now
neither unbelievers nor rebels come to him. They therefore
have neither heard nor learned of him, they have had no share
in that divine teaching with which he favours his elect. And
in fact you see that it is only believers who are said to be
taught of God, as well in Isaiah as by our Lord and Paul.
Let it therefore be concluded, that to believe in Jesus Christ is
a gift of the grace of God, aye of a grace not common to all,
but particular, and which the Lord vouchsafes to none but true
believers.
II. But do not let us imagine that this beginning of our salva-
tion is all that is afforded us by grace. The sam.e grace which gives
us the beginning gives also the progress and the end. The
whole of this work depends on the merciful goodness and free
favour of the Lord. Without it, it is as impossible for us to
persevere as to believe. The apostle teaches this in the follow-
ing words, "that it is given freely, not only to believe in Christ,
but also to suffer for his sake." The whole life of men is full
of suffering, and neither birth nor fortune can exempt any one
from it. Nature subjects us to divers evils, and vice also pro-
cures for us its own afflictions, the discomforts of the body,
the vexations of the mind, the loss of goods and honour, to
say nothing of those punishments which the public laws award
to some for their excesses. Sometimes also the lustre of moral
honesty, or of extraordinary knowledge, or of some other
good, esteemed by men, raises up against us envy and trouble.
There is no manner of life on the earth which is not subject to
its sufferings and its trials, and which has not (in some way or
other) its persecutions and its martyrs. But this is not what
the apostle means. It is not by the gift of the grace of the
Lord that men enter into these sufferings. It is oftener by the
award of his anger, and by the order of his avenging justice.
These chastisements are rather the effect of his wrath than the
gifts of his love. He speaks of those which the profession of
the gospel draws upon us; when it is the name and the cause
of the Lord Jesus which invites the persecutor to inflict, and
us to endure them. For if it be heresy, or superstition, or in-
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 121
fidelity which draw upon a man the hatred or the sword of
those who persecute him, it is useless for him to say that it is
the name of Jesus ; it is not for him that he suffers, according
to that true saying of the ancients, That it is not the suffering,
but the cause, that makes the martyr. And as it is not the
name of Christ which causes him to suffer, so neither is it his
grace which gives him the courage to do so. It is the spirit
of Satan, or the rage of superstition ; for the devil has also his
martyrs, whom he disguises as cunningly as he can, in order
that he may deceive men by the specious colouring of false
strength of mind, or pretended patience. I will say still more ;
although it be truly the profession of the gospel which incites
the world against us, nevertheless, if in the suffering you en-
dure for so good a cause you seek your own praise and the
glory of your own name, it is not really for the Lord that you
suffer. You are a martyr, not for his truth, but for your own
vanity, one of the most abominable idols in the world. And
if there be any unhappy person who suffers in this way, whose
patience is such as to give you pleasure, it is at least very cer-
tain that his firmness is of earth, and not of heaven. It is a
production of vice, and not a gift of grace; a work of the
flesh, and not a fruit of the Spirit. But Paul here speaks of a
suffering for Jesus Christ, which is so in deed and in truth,
and not only in the outward appearance. It is to that, and
not to any other, that the eulogium belongs, which the apostle
here gives, when he says that it is a gift of the grace of God.
But here let us pause whilst we briefly solve an objection,
which our adversaries derive from this passage, against the
doctrine of the inseparable union of love with faith. For from
what it declares, that it has been given us freely, not only to be-
lieve in Christ, but also to suffer for him, they conclude that it is
possible aman may believe in the Lord without suffering for him,
and consequently, without loving him, and without having love ;
pretending, that if it were otherwise, this language of the
apostle' would be vain and impertinent. But I answer, in the
first place, that even granting what they say, and that it were
possible for a man that believes in Jesus Christ not to suffer
for him, nevertheless it does not follow from thence that we
can have faith without love. For God does not call all those
to suffer for his Son who have the necessary constancy and
zeal so to do. And the apostle in this place speaks of the vo-
cation to suffer really and in truth for the name of Jesus Christ,
and not only of the patience necessary for doing so, meaning
to say that it is a grace that God gave the Philippians to call
them to so honourable an employment. Secondly, I say, that
presupposing the apostle here to speak simply of the gift of
patience, still it does not follow that it, or the love from which
it springs, can be separated from faith. I acknowledge that
16
122 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VII.
faith and patience are two distinct gifts. But although different,
it does not follow that they can be separated. How many-
things are there which, though varying in themselves, never
subsist the one without the other ! That faith and patience
always go together does not prevent their being two graces
from God. Their inseparable conjunction ought not to frus-
trate the glory which belongs to him of giving both to be
lievers. It is on this account that the apostle considers them
apart, although they subsist together, that he may amplify the
liberality of the Lord towards us. And his language is no
more irrelevant than what he elsewhere says of believers,
"that they rejoiced not only in the hope of the glory of God,
but also in tribulations," not to signify that one may be had
without the other, (for it is certain that whoever rejoices in
hope of the glory of God will also rejoice in tribulations,) but
to deduce from it, and to display before our eyes, all the parts
of the assurance, the joy, and the spiritual rejoicing that we
have in the Lord, considering them separately, although they
subsist together. This difficulty removed, I return to the text
of the apostle, " that it is freely given to the Philippians to
suffer for Jesus Christ." I willingly admit, that by these words
he means, in the first place, that the resolution and firmness
of the martyrs and confessors is a gift of grace ; that it is God
that freely gives them by his Spirit the courage and constancy
necessary to sustain these conflicts. And if you well consider
their history, and represent to yourselves the natural condition
of these divine warriors, if you examine their conduct, their
word, the disposition of their mind, and even of their body,
in the midst of those great and terrible trials, you will confess
that their strength was undoubtedly the gift of the grace of
God. Persons of all ages, sexes, and qualities are seen to
suffer nobly for the name of a crucified man, all that the most
horrible cruelty could invent. Young and old, men and
women, great and small, ran to punishments and torments.
Persons of a very delicate frame and education, who had never
before seen a naked sword without turning pale, sprang cheer-
fully into the fire, for the love of their Jesus. Neither the
severity of the judges, nor the barbarity of tyrants, neither the
cries of the people, nor the horrors of the executioners, nor
the sword, nor the hatchets, nor tortures, nor gibbets, neither
the ready wheels, nor the lighted fires, could make them give
way. Full of a new courage, they despise all this bloody
pomp of cruelty, and, as if they were fighting in insensible
bodies, suffered with a contented mind barbarities which the
executioners themselves could not inflict upon them without
pity. They were heard to sing in the flames, and to bless God
in the torments. A heavenly light of joy, sweetness, and hu-
mility might be perceived shining in their eyes and on their
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 123
countenances. They suffered as other men triumph, and en-
dured the most dreadful ignominy in the same manner as others
enjoy the highest honours. To this blessed company we must
unite those who, to preserve the faith and the religion of the
Lord, voluntarily quitted, with a similar magnanimity, their
goods, their honours, their houses, their beloved country, their
wives, their little children, and all those other things which are
not less dear to us than life. From whence could so great a
courage spring? or strength so extraordinary, in persons na-
turally so weak, arise ? What could so suddenly have trans-
fused so much vigour into their minds and bodies ? What
could thus have changed their constitutions, miraculously
taking from them every thing that was low and earthly, and
clothing them with an invincible firmness, proof against every
kind of attack? Let the profane say what they will, this
strength, in so good a cause, could come to them from heaven
alone. Most undoubtedly it was God who perfected his
strength in their weakness ; who, by the power of his Spirit,
sustained the weakness of their flesh. It was this great Com-
forter who inspired them with these heroic dispositions, who
elevated them above themselves, and who poured into the
hearts of men the thoughts, the courage, and the knowledge
of angels. Let us acknowledge the hand of God in the patience
of his servants, and let us say, with the apostle, that it is he
who freely gave them to suffer for him. But besides that, Paul
particularly intends to signify in this place, that even that
which the Philippians had been called to suffer for the name
of the Lord was one of his favours.
From hence we learn two things. The one, that the perse-
cution of believers is not a fortuitous event, which happens
either by chance, or by the malice of men or devils alone. It
is God who guides the whole affair by a special providence.
He sees the rage of the enemies of his people. He knows
their designs, he perceives all that they are contriving against
the gospel, and could (if such were his good pleasure) dissipate
both their plans and their efforts in an instant. He lets them
alone, and by secret arrangements manages their violence
against every one of his servants, as his supreme wisdom sees
best. He himself marks the field where the combat is to be
decided. He orders the weapons and the blows, and rules
every action. He calls his warrior, and himself places him in
front of the enemy. Christian, do not stop at men, and at the
appearances of things. Be convinced that it is the Lord who
arranges all your trials. You will enter into none but by his
permission. But the apostle also shows us, in the second place,
that this employment which God gives us, and this calling
which he directs us to suffer for him, is a gift of his grace. I well
know that flesh forms quite another judgment, and that of all
124 AN EXPOSITION" OF [SERM. VII.
the favours of God, there is none that it esteems and desires
less than this. It takes it rather for an effect of his hatred
than of his love, and considers it an unkindness rather than a
bounty. Thus in war, a coward does not think that it is
favouring a soldier to send him on an assault or to a conflict,
or to give him some other commission where there will be
blows to endure, neither would he think himself obliged to a
friend, who would choose him to go and defend his quarrel at
the peril of his own life. But these are only the thoughts of
low and pusillanimous minds. They who are brave and noble
judge otherwise, and so highly value this sort of employment,
that they are vexed if it be given to others, thinking that to
leave them behind on such occasions is to despise and under-
rate their courage, forasmuch as they value honour more than
life. They deem the choice made of their persons as a testi-
mony of the high opinion entertained of their valour and
fidelity, and consequently consider it as a gratification. It is
the same, dear brethren, in the government of Jesus Christ.
Lukewarm minds, which have not tasted aright the goodness
and excellence of this sovereign Lord, and who have but a
weak desire for his glory and for his service, do not regard it
as a good to suffer for him. But his true disciples, they who
have seen in his light the wonders of his kingdom, and who
have been strongly animated thereby, they who, like his
apostles, have been baptized from heaven, and whose feelings
have been sanctified by his Spirit from on high, these, my
brethren, think there is nothing on earth more honourable and
more glorious than to suffer for the Lord. Such were those
blessed ones whose names and praise Paul has registered in
his Epistle to the Hebrews, who took the reproach of Christ
for greater riches than the treasures of the world. Such were
the holy apostles, who, having been ignominiously scourged
by the Jews for the sake of Jesus Christ, rejoiced (says the
sacred history) to be "counted worthy to suffer shame for his
name." This also was the opinion of our Paul, who took
pleasure in infirmities, in injuries, in necessities, in persecu-
tions, and in distress, for Christ; who rejoiced in his greatest
tribulations, and gloried in all the disgrace which he suffered.
for him, as his most splendid trophies. Such likewise were
the feelings of that noble army of martyrs, who not only
bravely and cheerfully endured torments and death, but who
could also loudly praise the Lord for having thus called them
to his service. Indeed, if, setting aside the tenderness of the
flesh, you will consider the thing itself, what can be esteemed
more honourable than suffering for the name of the Lord
Jesus? This Jesus is the King of ages, the Prince of angels,
the Lord of glory. His gospel is the highest of all truth, it is
the salvation of the world, the seed of life and immortality.
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 125
For what better subject then could we suffer ? If men (as we
have before observed) consider it a high privilege to be chosen
by their princes to fight for their interests, how transcendently
more honoured is the martyr of Jesus Christ, whom this Prince
of eternity has chosen to maintain his quarrel ! whom he con-
secrates with his heavenly unction to enter into this trial ! to
yield a public testimony to his truth! to be the advocate of his
cause, the teacher of the human race, the spectacle of heaven
and of earth ! Angels look upon and bless him ; they accom-
pany him both at the entrance and issue of the combat ; they
honour his steadfastness with their applause, and conduct and
present him to their Lord and Master to receive from his own
hand the crown of glory and immortality. Men gaze upon
him with astonishment. The church preserves his memory
here below ; and his very enemies are constrained to praiso
him. But besides all this, he has moreover this obligation to
his sufferings, that they render him conformable to Jesus
Christ, and cause him to bear the image of the Son of God,
consecrated as you know by his passion, and elevated into the
heavens by his cross. Let cowardice judge as it will, there is
no act in the world more pure, more noble, or more glorious
thaD this. And the blood which the martyrs shed, or the lives
that they lose in the conflict, must be lightly esteemed ; this
loss is too insignificant to be put in competition with the ac-
quirement of so much glory and profit. For what is this life,
but a wretched breath that we may lose to-morrow ? Shall I
call it an enjoyment, or a suffering of a few years ; a vapour,
which the heat of a fever, or of some other malady, will con-
sume ; which the fraud or the force of an enemy, or of any one
of those innumerable accidents in the midst of which we live,
may take from us perhaps in a few months or days ? If you
could keep it for ever, your cowardice would have some more
reason. But since it must be lost, who cannot see that it is a
great folly to choose rather to yield it to the infirmities of nature
than to the glory of Christ ? Again, I would add, that to employ it
in his cause is not to lose it. It is to put it to interest, as in ex-
change for what we sacrifice for his glory, he will give us
another infinitely better, celestial, immortal, and full of all
kinds of blessing ; whilst that which we live here below is
weak, and vile, and subject to all sorts of evils. Let us then,
dear brethren, conclude with the apostle, that it is a gift of the
grace of God to suffer for his Son.
From which appears how greatly they err who attribute
merit to the good works of believers. For if there be any
which can pretend to be such, doubtless it must be martyr-
dom, the most excellent of all: and after all, what reason can
it have to pretend to be such, when it is a gift of the grace of
God ? Those who defend this error acknowledge that faith
126 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VII.
merits nothing. Now the apostle says the same of martyr-
dom as he says of faith, and declares that it has been freely
given us to suffer for Christ as well as to believe in him. It
must then be acknowledged that in suffering for him we de-
serve no more than for believing in him. It would be a very
ridiculous absurdity to pretend, that for having received a fa-
vour from one's prince, we should therefore deserve to have a
share in his crown. As then martyrdom is a gift and a grace
of God, he who suffers it would not be more reasonable, if for
having been so honoured by the Lord he were to boast of hav-
ing merited his paradise. Thus you see in the Apocalypse,
that the most excellent servants of God throw their crowns at
the feet of the Lamb ; and instead of demanding a recompence
from him for their services, they give him thanks for them.
But it is time to finish this discourse, of which there only
remains one point, and that, presenting no difficulty, can be
disposed of in a few words. It is what the apostle particularly
says of the sufferings of the Philippians in the last verse :
" Having the same conflict that you have seen in me, and now
you hear to be in me." The conflict of the apostle which the
Philippians had seen was the persecution he endured in their
city when he was taken on account of his preaching, and
dragged before the magistrates, shamefully scourged through
their unjust sentence, and then put in irons in the prison.
The Philippians had seen him in this trial. As to the one in
which he was when he wrote them this Epistle, a prisoner at
Rome for the name of the Lord, they had not seen it indeed,
but they had heard of it. Saying, then, that they are sustain-
ing such conflicts as his, he means, that they also are perse-
cuted by their magistrates and fellow citizens for the profession
of the gospel. In this conflict the believer has for his adver-
saries the devil, the world, and his own flesh. Their weapons
are the promises, and the threaten ings, and the injuries, and
the caresses, and the prisons, and the chains, and the swords,
with all that impiety and superstition employ against the
church. The arms of the believer are faith, hope, charity,
patience, humility, constancy, and those other spiritual graces
by which he resists the blows of the enemy, holding fast with-
out ever relaxing in the profession of piety, and remaining,
by these means, victorious to the end. It is the condition of
all true christians to be subjected to this conflict. The apos-
tles of the Lord entered into it first. Their disciples, (you
see,) and the churches they planted, passed through it also
after them. None is admitted into the school of Christ, but
on condition of submitting to it. " Whoever will come after
me," says Christ, "let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me," Matth. xvi. 24 ; and his apostle says,
"Every one who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution," 2 Tim. iii. 12.
CHAP. I.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 127
Assume, then, dearly beloved brethren, this good and noble
resolution, to suffer with the Lord, that you may one day live
with him, noiv taking part in his cross, that you may hereafter
share his glory. Give him thanks, in the first place, that you
believe in him, and humbly acknowledge, with the apostle, that
it is a gift of his grace. Value this favour at its just price,
and every day admire its wonders, whether in considering its
value, or regarding its extent. As to its worth it is the great-
est of all the gifts that God has given to men, as it includes in
itself all the riches of his Christ, of his Spirit and of his hea-
ven. This faith which he has given you is the only happiness
of man, his salvation, his life and his glory; it is the only
remedy against death and sin. It draws you from hell, and
opens to you an entrance into heaven ; from slaves of Satan it
makes you children of God. Without it man is most mise-
rable, and with it he cannot but be eternally blessed. You
are rich enough, since God has given you such a precious
jewel. Do not then envy those whose bodies he fills with his
provisions, to whom he gives, as formerly to Esau, the fatness
of the earth for an inheritance, honours, riches, pleasure, and
the other good things of this world. All this is but a fashion
which passes away, (as the apostle elsewhere says, 1 Cor. vii.
3,) a form, because it has but a false appearance and a vain
colouring to please the eye, but not any true and solid sub-
stantial good to satisfy the soul. Witness the perpetual dis-
gust in which we see those who amuse themselves with these
things, and the insatiable ardour of their lusts, which are
never satisfied. But the worst of it is still that this vain sha-
dow passes away. It has nothing that continues. It flies
while people are looking at it, and escapes from their hands
when they expect to take hold of it, leaving them full of an-
guish and despair: death at last destroys both them and their
idol. Do not grieve that he has not given you such wretched
possession, so full of vanity and illusion. The gift that he
has made you in leading you to believe in his Son is of quite
another nature. This gift, if you cherish it, and rejoice in it
as you ought, will fill your soul with consolation. It will
cause Jesus Christ to inhabit it in the fulness of all his bless-
ings. He will shed abroad his Spirit. He will extinguish the
fire of earthly passions. He will drive from it fear and vexa-
tion, lust and envy. He will put peace into the conscience, assu-
rance of the love of God, and the precious hope of his glory;
and when you leave this world, will conduct you into his sanc-
tuary, to possess there, for ever, his kingdom, and his eternity.
But what also extremely increases the value of this gift that
God has imparted to us is, that it is neither universal nor very
common. How many nations are there in the universe who
have never heard of his Christ ! or who have never heard his
128 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VII.
gospel but corrupted and injured by superstition ! and of those
in whose ears his pure word has been preached, how many are
there who have rejected it ! What have we done to the Lord
which has induced him to draw us from the number of these
miserable and ungrateful beings, to touch our hearts, and to
open them to the voice of his Son, by leading us to believe in
him ? What, then, will be our insensibility, if having received
from him so signal a favour, we do not render to him a special
gratitude; living in the light of the faith with which he has
favoured us, holily, righteously, soberly, and godlily; flying,
as from a deadly pestilence, from all that can displease so good
and so merciful a Lord, and seeking, with continual care and
ardent zeal, all that may be pleasing to him ! This will be the
true means, dear brethren, of preparing us to suffer nobly for
his glory, if he should ever vouchsafe to us such an honour.
For if we serve him faithfully, let us not doubt but that, on
such an occasion, he will give us the necessary strength to
acquit ourselves worthily in so great and so illustrious a duty.
But in whatever way he shall be pleased to dispose of us, may
it be to the glory of his name, to the edification of men, and
to our own salvation. And to him, the only true God, blessed
over all things, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be honour and
praise for ever and ever. Amen.
Preached at Charenton, Sunday, 15th July, 1640.
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 129
SERMON VIII.
CHAPTER II.
VERSES 1 — 4.
If there he therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of
love, if any felloiuship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mer-
cies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same
love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done
through strife or vain- glory ; but in lowliness of mind let each
esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his
own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Among all the religions which have sprung up in the world,
none has ever been found to have a higher design than the
christian religion. For it aspires at nothing less than to
change men into angels, and to form here on earth living
images of those blessed societies which dwell in the heavens.
It drives away error, vice, hatred, and discord from amongst
those who obey it. It takes from them meanness, lewdness,
and malignity, with which sin has filled the earth. It sheds
there light, love, union, and the eternity of heaven; and puri-
fying the mind, the heart, and the affections of every believer,
binds them together, and makes them one body, a divine bro-
therhood, and a celestial city. Such was this holy church,
conceived and produced by the first rays of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, that Jerusalem formerly saw, with astonishment,
arise and grow in a single day ; full of such perfect love and
piety, that the sacred history tells us that all the multitude
of those of which it was composed had but one heart and one
soul, Acts iv. 32. Such, also, were other churches propagated
from this one in the lands of the Gentiles. Truth and holiness
flourished there, and love reigned among them; and if there
were found in the profession of Christianity either persons, or
entire societies, otherwise disposed, they were imperfect, irre-
gular, and monstrous productions, not conformed to the true
and natural design of the gospel. You see it clearly by the
preaching of the holy apostles, the first ministers of this celes-
tial instruction, who laboured every where to strip men of all
17
130 AN EXPOSITION OP [SERM. VIII.
forms and habits of sin, only to render them participators of
the divine nature in righteousness and holiness. Paul, who
so often speaks to you from this place, preaches nothing else.
It is the subject and the object of all that he has left us in his
Epistles. You have heard before, in the first chapter, with
what care he presses the Philippians to live in a way worthy
of the gospel. You will hear him again in this and the fol-
lowing chapter treating the same matter with the same warmth.
He conjures them here, at the beginning, by the most effica-
cious motives he could urge, to live in perfect union, love, and
humility. For this purpose he sets before them in a very
striking manner the example of the Lord Jesus, and goes on to
promise them a visit from Timothy and from himself, that the
expectation of these two great teachers "might animate them in
well-doing. But for the present, we will only examine the
first part contained in the four verses we have read ; and to
give you a clearer exposition of them, we will consider, by the
gracious asssistance of the Lord, three points distinctly and
consecutively. The first is the adjuration which the apostle
makes to the Philippians in these terms : "If there be there-
fore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any
fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye
my joy." The second is the exhortation which he adds to con-
cord and union; for it is in that that the fulfilment of his joy,
which be so affectionately asks of them, consists : " That ye be
like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one
mind." The third point is the recommendation he makes them,
in the two following verses, to humility and brotherly affec-
tion, the two nursing-mothers of concord: "Let nothing be
done through strife or vain-glory ; but in lowliness of mind
let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every
man on his own things, but every man also on the things of
others."
I. As to the first point, the apostle has expressed it with so
much ardour and emphasis, that it would be difficult to find
in any other place in his Epistles anything more pathetic and
affectionate than this ; for he places before them all that is
sweetest, most tender, and forcible to obtain from them what
he wishes. Being the apostle of the Lord, the master, and, as
it were, the father of the Philippians, having begotten their
whole church through the gospel, he had the right and author-
ity to command them. Notwithstanding which, he does not
use it. He strips himself of all the dignity of his office. He
humbles himself to the extreme condescension of supplicating
those who oiue him obedience. He throws himself as it were
at their feet ; and, as if he asked them not a duty, but an alms,
implores their compassion, and the bowels of their pity, en-
treating them in a manner so sweet and humble, that the poor-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 131
est beggar could not say more in his greatest need : " If there
be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fel-
lowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my
joy." It was love and affection, my brethren, that constrained
this holy being to these terms; for you will see afterwards that
in reality he asked nothing from the Philippians but that they
should be perfect and happy, an evident sign that their good
was his most ardent desire, his satisfaction, and his fervent joy ;
which could only proceed from a very great and most cordial
affection. He acts like a good father, the power of whose nat-
ural affection obliges him to supplicate his children with tears,
and to conjure them by everything that he imagines to have
most power over their minds. If you have (he says to them)
any respect for him who has brought you into the world ; if
you have any remembrance of the care that I have taken to
feed and educate you ; if my blood, and my affection, and the
desire that I have for your good and honour, be any consider-
ation to you ; love one another, I beseech you, my dear chil-
dren, and live together in tender friendship and concord.
This is exactly the image the apostle here uses, except that in-
stead of nature and the flesh, he derives the arguments of his
prayer from grace and from the Spirit ; and instead of his ser-
vices, represents to them his wants, willing to owe what he re-
quested of them to their pity rather than to his merit. He
touches upon four principal motives which obliged them to
grant him his request : of which the first was christian conso-
lation ; the second, the comfort of love ; the third, the commu-
nion of the Spirit ; the fourth, compassion and mercy. I con-
nect all the four with what he had said at the beginning,
"in Christ:" "If there be any consolation in Christ." For he
signifies, in my opinion, by this word, the fellowship of the
Lord Jesus, and the grace we have through being in him by
the faith of his gospel. He means Jesus Christ as he is preached
by his ministers, and believed on by the faithful. If there be
then auy consolation in this Christ, whom I have announced
to you, whom ye have received, and who dwells in your hearts
by faith ; if there be in him any comfort of love, any fellowship
of the Spirit, any tenderness of mercy ; if this divine Lord has
impressed truly on those who obey him some feeling of these
things; if his discipline and fellowship have formed our minds
to such a state as exists among those who are in him, a mutual
interchange of consolation, of love, of soul, and of compassion :
I beseech you all now to exercise these sacred duties towards
me.
The first of these four things which is found in Jesus Christ
is " consolation." It is the duty that we ought to perform to-
wards those who are in affliction, both by words and deeds,
doing for them and saying to them, in the best way that we
132 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VIII.
can, whatever we judge capable of diminishing their weariness
and of re-establishing spiritual joy in their hearts. The com-
fort of love, which he adds in the second place, is nearly the
same thing ; it is as if he had said that love obliged us to con-
tribute to the comfort of our brethren the same help and at-
tention as we owe to those we love. The fellowship of the
Spirit, of which he speaks in the third place, is the spiritual
union which exists among believers, not earthly, nor indeed
carnal, but real and solid, founded upon this consideration, that
they are all children of the same Father, formed, quickened,
and guided by one Spirit, so that they have in this respect a
very close connection ; and if they are different and separated
according to the flesh, they are notwithstanding joined and
united according to the Spirit. The cordial affections and
mercies that he instances, in the last place, are the feelings of
pity that we have for those who suffer ; these he calls " bowels,"
(for the word that we have translated " cordial affections" pro-
perly signifies the entrails, after the manner of the Hebrews,
whose style he follows,) for that of which the heart is the seat.
The remainder of what he says, " if there be any of these
things in Christ," is not to cast any doubt upon it, as if the
Lord did not certainly produce all these effects in all those to
whom he makes himself known by his word, and by his Spirit,
or as if the apostle were not assured of it ; but, on the contrary,
he means that this is very certain, and that it is not possible
to belong to the Lord, without having received from him these
impressions. The word " if" is affirmative in this place, as it
often is elsewhere, and takes what follows for granted, as true
and undoubted, as when we say, " If you be children, honour
then your father ;" which is the same as if we were to say,
Since you are children, honour then your father ; it being evi-
dent that without so doing you render yourselves unworthy of
that name. Here it is the same, when the apostle says, " If
there be any consolation, and any love in Christ ;" it is the
same as if he said, " Since Jesus Christ gives all these disposi-
tions to those who are in him, show indeed that you are in him
by fulfilling my joy." For the Lord Jesus recommends no-
thing so much in his word as love towards our brethren. He
desires that we should be interested in all their blessings and
afflictions ; that we should feel their sorrows as our own ; that
we should grudge nothing, not even our blood and our life, for
their consolation and edification. And the better to impress
this lesson on our hearts, he is not contented with giving it to
us in his word, he has confirmed it to us by his example, hav-
ing laid down his life for us. Certainly then it is impossible
that we can be in him, that is to say, that by faith we should
embrace his gospel, without receiving into our hearts the
movements of this divine affection ; and those who, without
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 133
having them, boast of his name, are liars. I say the same of
the fellowship of the Spirit. For the Lord has but one and
the same Spirit, with which he baptizes all those who are his ;
and " if any one have not his Spirit, he is none of Christ's," as
the apostle elsewhere says : so that it is impossible to be in
him without having this union in Spirit with believers.
Judge by this, dearly beloved brethren, what opinion we must
have of those barbarous and unnatural souls who have no af-
fection for believers, who look upon their sufferings without
emotion, who neither deign to console their troubles, to soften
their sorrows, to sympathize in their grief, nor to employ any
spiritual commerce with them. How are they in Jesus Christ,
since they have none of those things which he produces in all
such as belong to him? Surely if this divine Lord truly
dwelt in our hearts, he would by his power melt the hardness
of our bowels, he would open in them an active source of con-
solation for the afflicted, he would there establish an ardent
love for his children, he would shed there that Spirit which he
has given them, the Spirit of union, love, and compassion.
Bat these Philippians who are here spoken of were not de-
scribed in this way. Their profession was true, and it appears
by what we have heard that they were christians indeed, and
not in name only. This is the reason why the apostle appeals
to them by the things of which they had a real and lively feel-
ing. If Jesus Christ, (says he,) our good Master, for whom
you and I suffer, has put into you some consolation for the af-
flicted ; if the love with which he has filled your hearts constrains
you to dispense some comfort to those who need it ; if this
same Spirit which he has given us ought to bind us in a holy
and spiritual union ; and finally, if his grace has rendered your
bowels tender and sensible to the interests of believers ; I con-
jure you by all these sacred ties, fulfil ye my joy.
He draws this conclusion very reasonably from what he had
proposed to them in the preceding chapter, with which he
unites this by the word "therefore:" "If there be therefore
any consolation in Christ." For it is to those who are afflicted
that the consolation belongs. Here let us bear in mind how
he said to them before he was in prison at Rome, persecuted
by pagans without, and by false brethren within, that love
ought to comfort those who are overwhelmed either by trouble
or necessity. Now he had represented to them the sad state
to which he was reduced. It is principally towards those who
teach the gospel, or who suffer for preaching it, that we ought
to exercise the fellowship of the Spirit, or the duties of pity.
He had just shown them that this was the cause of his chain.
After having set before them these things in the former chap-
ter, it is with good reason therefore that he here urges them
by the love, the Spirit, the affection, and the mercies of the
134 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VIII.
Lord to fulfil bis joy. And the Philippians must have been
harder than stones, if they bad not felt touched by so warm
and reasonable an entreaty.
II. But he does not tell them that they will be the cause of
his joy. He only asks that they would fulfil that which he
had already. For however sad and lamentable the state of the
apostle might be according to the flesh, he had nevertheless
joy in his heart. Neither the darkness of the prison, nor its
impassable barriers, nor the vigilance of the guards, can pre-
vent joy from entering into the souls of believers. Neither
the weight of their irons, nor the obscurity of their dungeons,
nor the sorrows of captivity, are capable of taking it from
them. In the first place, the Lord Jesus, for whom the apostle
suffered, was night and day with him, and shed the peace of
the Father, the consolations of the Spirit, the assurance of his
grace, and the hope of his glory, as a heavenly balm in the
soul of his servant. He there sustained that inextinguishable
and glorious joy which these feelings necessarily produce in
our hearts ; since even the success of his sufferings, which had
given courage to many to proclaim the gospel, refreshed him
extremely, " I rejoice, (says he,) and will rejoice." But besides
that, (and it is what he particularly regards in this place,) the
fine beginning of the Philippians, their love, their patience,
and their other graces, had also afforded him much satisfaction.
It is this joy that he conjures them to fulfil, to add what was
wanting to it, and to render it full and complete. What
then was it, O holy apostle, that was wanting to thy joy ?
What dost thou wish the Philippians to do to fulfil it ?
Dost thou desire that they should endeavour to deliver thee
from the prisons of Nero, and to procure thee that liberty
of which thou art deprived ? or that, to alleviate thy wants,
they should redouble their liberality, and send thee another
Epaphroditus with the gifts of their love ? No, says he, this
is not what I ask. My chain does not weigh so heavily
upon me that it diminishes my comfort, and I wait in
peace for my deliverance by the providence of my God, with-
out harassing my mind ; and as to the discomforts of the
prison, I well know how to find content and abundance even
in indigence itself; I have been so filled with what I have al-
ready received from these believers, that I have no more to
wish from them. What I ask from them with so much warmth,
as the only thing capable of rendering my joy perfect, is, that
" they should be like-minded, having the same l'ove, being of
one accord, of one mind." It is this, dearly beloved Philip-
pians, that I desire of you ; it is the only office that you still
owe to the consolation of your master. If you fulfil this my
desire, I freely acquit you of all the duties that the name of
the Lord Jesus, and the love that he has given you, and the
CHAP. IL] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 135
Spirit that lie has imparted to you, and the compassions which
he has impressed on your bowels, oblige you to render me
in my bonds. This, dear brethren, is the meaning and the de-
sign of the words of Paul.
From which we have first to learn, that the good and the
prosperity of the church ought to be the chief subject of our
consolation and of our desires ; according to the declaration for-
merly made by the psalmist, " that he preferred Jerusalem
above his chief joy," Psal. cxxxvii. 6. This apostle was in the
fetters of the most horrible tyrant that ever lived, pursued by
both Jews and pagans with the most furious animosity, and
every day on the point of being exposed to the lions, or to
suffer some other cruel punishment. Nevertheless, all this will
not prevent his rejoicing in perfect joy, if he may see the
church of Philippi in a good condition. Their good is alone
capable of curing all his sorrows, of softening all his griefs,
and of appeasing all his own sufferings. admirable love,
which had so changed the apostle into those that he loved, that
it was their interest, and not his own, from whence sprang his
sorrows and his joys ! Why have not we a similar love for the
church of the Lord ? and especially for those with whom we
here live in fellowship ? Why do we not make their good or
their evil the only, or at least the principal, subject of our
consolation, or of our sorrows ? Certainly, besides the exam-
ple of the apostle, which ought to be a law to us, the reason
and nature of the thing itself evidently oblige us to it. For
the church is the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, formed of his
flesh and of his blood, and quickened by his Spirit; it is the
mirror of his glory, the pillar of his truth, and the most illus-
trious instrument of his goodness and wisdom. It is the
family of God, and the school of his children ; the depository
of our most precious jewel, of the gospel, and of salvation ;
so that we cannot help loving it ardently, if we have ever so
little zeal for the glory of God, or affection, whether for the
edification of others, or for our own happiness.
But let us also learn from this, in the second place, in what
this happiness of the church consists, which ought to form and
to fulfil our joy. It is not that it should enjoy a profound
peace in the world, that it should abound in the honours and
riches of the world, that the great should caress it, that kings
should favour it, or that people should applaud it. This
worldly prosperity is often its greatest misfortune, and it is
usually in these false calms that it is injured. Neither is it that
cunning, or knowledge, or eloquence, or secular erudition
should flourish in it. This vain pomp is the share of the
world. But the true happiness and the true prosperity of the
christian church consist in what the apostle here asks of the
Philippians, that concord should reign in it ; that a common
136 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VIII.
love and one faith, should bind the members to one another, and,
mingling them together, should reduce them to one and the
same body. "Whatever besides may be the condition of our
church, she is truly happy and in prosperity, if she live in this
union, and retain the form of that Jerusalem which the pro-
phet describes to us, built " as a city that is compact together,"
Psal. cxxii. 3. On the contrary, if divisions creep in, however
cheering may be the prosperity and abundance which she en-
joys without, nevertheless she is in a very sad condition. It
is a city in which an enemy has made a breach, and it is near
its ruin if the Lord do not marvellously assist it. This is why
Paul here desires the concord and union of the Philippians
with so much zeal. And although in this Epistle he every
where gives them an excellent testimony to their piety, to the
strength of their faith, and the ardour of their love, neverthe-
less, the great earnestness with which he recommends union
seems to show that there was something to say to them in this
respect ; and his conjuring them to fulfil his joy by their
agreement signifies that he saw some dissension among them,
or, at least, that he perceived the seeds of it ; for you know
that the devil never fails to throw this bad seed among chris-
tians, having learned, by experience, that there is nothing more
suitable for his designs. In truth, we shall hear afterwards
that the false teachers among the Jews, who so sadly troubled
the first christians with their pretended mixture of Moses and
Jesus Christ, had also an eye upon this church of the Philip-
pians; and what the apostle still presses upon these believers
in the following chapter, "to have always the same mind, and
to walk by one rule, to which they had already attained,"
chap. iii. 16 ; and particularly beseeches some persons, as
Euodias and Syntyche, to yield themselves to this uniformity
of sentiment, and entreating his own companion and Clement
to help them ; all this, I say, plainly shows (as appears to me)
that some difference and division in doctrine began to manifest
itself among this flock. From whence it arises that he recom-
mends concord to them in such an affectionate manner, and
that he expresses himself upon it in so many precise terms,
that he links one sentence with the other, although in reality
they all nearly signify the same thing. In the first place, he
asks of them that " they should have one mind." On which
some (Beza) have in my opinion well remarked, that the apos-
tle does not simply mean by this that they should have one
opinion and belief on points of religion ; which is precisely
what the word "mind" signifies in our language; but that
they should in general have the same disposition of mind, the
same feelings, the same designs, and the same desires; that
their souls, in all their faculties, should have the same form
and figure, whether in the understanding, which is their high-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 137
est and chiefest part, or in the will and affections, which de-
pend on it. Thus the apostle uses this word in a similar pas-
sage in the Epistle to the Romans, where he orders believers
to "be of the same mind one towards another;" and in the
verse which immediately follows our text, " Let the same mind
be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."
But after having thus in general commanded the Philippians
to have each the same disposition of mind, he descends to par-
ticulars, and touches especially some one of these or similar
forms, which he wishes that they should possess : adding, in
the second place, " having the same love." Some (Chrysostom)
make this relate to the degrees of brotherly love which ought
to be in us; as if the apostle meant that we should have for
our brethren the same love that they have for us, and bear to-
wards them an affection equal to that which they feel towards
us, loving as much as we are loved, that we may not fall into
the crime of those who, with great injustice, for a high degree
of love, return but a very moderate portion. But although
this idea should not be rejected, it seems to be more simple
and natural to take what the apostle says, in regard to the ob-
ject of love, to mean that we ought all to love the same thing.
For those have not the same love or affection of whom one
loves one thing, and one another; of whom this man for ex-
ample loves honour and ambition, and that voluptuousness
and pleasure; one hunting, and another learning. These are
affections and passions differing according to the diversity of
their objects ; but love is the same, when many love the same
object; as when many subjects love the same prince, or many
children the same father. This, then, is what the apostle here
asks of the Philippians, that they should have the same love,
that their affections should not be divided among many con-
trary or different things, like those of the Corinthians, of
whom some loved Paul, others Cephas, and others Apollos;
some admiring one form of doctrine, others a different one;
but that their hearts should all meet on the same object, as in
a common centre, all loving the same Christ and the same
church.
Then he requires of them, in the third place, "that we
should all be of one accord." In the original it is, " that we
should have altogether the same soul," oi^vxoç. The same, not
in its essence or in its nature, (for that is impossible,) but in
its affections and in its designs, in its wishes and in its desires ;
that we should all look to the same object, and should propose
to ourselves the same end, the glory of God our Lord, and the
furtherance of the kingdom of his Son ; that we should have
the same zeal, that we should desire the same things ; and, in
a word, that the acts, transports, and emotions of our minds
should have a perfect conformity, as if there were in us but
18
138 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VIII.
one and the same principle of life, one only soul which anima-
ted and quickened us altogether.
Finally, the apostle adds, as the last part of christian
concord, " that we should be of one mind." Word for word
in the original it is, "that we should feel the same thing."
But all comes to one: it not being possible, if what we feel is
but one thing, that we should not also be the same thing.
From the unity of the will, he passes on to the conformity of
the affections and sentiments. He desires that as there is but
one and the same chief, that is to say, Jesus Christ, and but
one and the same baptism, there should only be in the church
one and the same faith. And this agreement in one and the
same doctrine is the foundation of the concord and communion
of christians. For the understanding being the guide of our
souls, it is difficult for those whose sentiments are opposed not to
have different affections ; and from a difference of opinions it is
easy to fall into a difference of love, or contempt or hatred for
one another. Assuredly it is much to be wished that there
were no difference or variety among believers in this respect.
But because of the infirmity in which we live in this mortal
flesh, this blessing is more to be wished than hoped for; we
must restrain the necessity for the union of our sentiments to
those points which are essential, and without the belief of
which there can be no salvation. With respect to them, all
believers ought to feel the same thing. None can here differ
without a break. But as to other matters, which are not of
this importance, we ought there to bear with a difference,
should there be any, after the example of the apostle, who v
though he afterwards obliges all believers to walk by the same
rule to which they had attained, nevertheless defends those
who, in some degree, felt otherwise than he and the more per-
fect believers did, hoping that God would reveal this to them
also. As you see in a state, so long as all the citizens hold its
fundamental doctrines necessary for the performance of the
duties essential to its preservation, differences are tolerated on
many other subjects of minor importance. However this may
be, as we ought all to strive after perfection, we should try by
every means in our power to have amongst us an exact and
entire uniformity of sentiments ; so that it may be truly said
of us what the apostle here required from the Philippians,
that we should ail feel the same thing. Thus it appears what
this concord is which he so strongly recommends, namely, a
holy union of mind and will in faith and affection. And he
has every reason in the world to ask it of us so pressingly.
For in fact it is our all; it is the legitimate form and perfec-
tion of the church. In the first place, this concord is the most
beautiful thing in the universe ; as the prophet sings in one
of his psalms, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is that
CHAP. IL] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 139
brethren should dwell together in unity !" Psal. exxxiii. 1.
God sees nothing more agreeable to him on earth than such a
society. It is an image of the hearts of those blessed spirits
who adore him in the heavens in perfect union. But besides
its beauty, it is infinitely useful and salutary, for it is to it
that the eternal Father gives blessing and life, Psal. exxxiii.
8. It is to it that the Lord Jesus promises his grace and his
favour : " If two of you (says he) shall agree on earth as
touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father," Matth. xviii. 19. This concord is the
joy of angels, the terror of devils, the strength and glory of
the church. If you would know how necessary it is to the
latter, behold the misery and the ravages that discord has
made in it. It is it which in times past ruined ancient Israel,
having broken, by a sad separation, the forces that God had
united. It is it which has warped Christianity into so many
fashions, and has occasioned all the old and new wounds
which it has received. It has extinguished religion and love.
It has pointed the swords, and lighted the fires. It has armed
brother against brother, and has violated every thing that is
most holy and most sacred in human nature. It has ex-
hausted the church of blood and strength; and finally,
exposed one part a prey to infidelity, and another to tyranny.
It is it again that has stayed the progress of the gospel in the
days of our fathers, having unhappily divided hands which
ought to have laboured together in so good a work. Dearly
beloved brethren, let us fly so deadly a plague, and having
known, by so many sad experiences, how pernicious it is, let
us dwell united together in the sweet and happy bonds of per-
fect concord.
III. To this end, let us attentively listen to, and faithfully
practise, the instruction which the apostle gives us in the last
two verses of our text: "Let nothing be done (says he) through
strife or vain-glory ; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem
other better than themselves. Look not every man on his
own things, but every man also on the things of others." To
retain peace and union in the church, he warns us against two
vices, strife and vain-glory, the two principal sources of divi-
sion and schism, and recommends two virtues to us, humility
and the care of our neighbours, the two mothers and nurses
of concord. That which he calls strife is a cross and puncti-
lious humour, which occasions suits and quarrels on every
thing; the disease of headstrong and obstinate minds, which
enjoy debate and contention. These people hate the beaten
track, and always choose rough and solitary roads. They dis-
dain common sentiments, though they be certain, clear, and
true; and form on all subjects peculiar opinions. They al-
ways place themselves in opposition to their brethren, and
140 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VIII.
their hand, like that of Ishmael, is against every one, and
every one's hand is against them. It is enough to make them
give up an opinion to show them that others hold it. Nothing
charms them more than novelty, extravagance, and singularity.
Unhappy, and troublesome minds, plagues of human society,
parents of the greater part of the seditions and wars that trou-
ble the world and the church. But their venom is so much
the more dangerous in the church, in proportion as its society
is holy, and its union precious. It is this cursed humour
which formerly inspired, and still continues to imbue many
heretics with such wild and ridiculous opinions, that it
is a wonder how they have ever been able, I do not say to
please, but to enter into any man's mind. And when it
has once produced some monsters of this kind, it caresses
and defends them, and, engaging in this design, finally
becomes incapable of yielding. It is thus that during
the first ages the sects were formed which distracted the church.
And would to God that ours were exempt from them. But
the other vice, which the apostle adds in the second place,
namely, vain-glory, has as much place or more than the pre-
ceding. It is a desire to acquire reputation and to be talked
of; and the apostle calls it " vain-glory," because this lustre
and renown, and all this pretended honour after which ambi-
tious spirits so passionately aspire, is at bottom but a pure
vanity, which has neither virtue nor efficacy to render him
who possesses it more happy or more perfect either in body or
soul. "Who can tell the miseries that this fatal passion has
caused among men ? It is it which sows wars in states, quar-
rels in families, and divisions in the church. When once it
has taken possession of the mind of a man, there is no longer
any abomination of which he is not capable. I omit the tor-
ments and uneasiness which it gives to the ambitious and to
others. But we may well say that there is no vice more con-
trary to concord, as it consists in a certain degree of equality;
instead of which vain-glory can suffer no equal, always desir-
ing to be first. Thus it has lighted all the divisions that have
ever burnt in the church. And if contention has given a be-
ginning to some of them, vain-glory has not been wanting to
enrol itself instantly of the party. They most frequently go
in company, and giving each other the hand, contention nour-
ishing what ambition has engendered, and in the same way
ambition supporting that which contention has produced. It
is from this infernal couple that Arianism, Nestorianism, and
Eutychism formerly sprang, which were likely to ruin the
whole of Christendom. It is from hence that the famous schism
arose between the east and the west ; the one not choosing to
endure a superior, and the other an equal. It is from hence
that have arisen those sad and shameful disputes among the
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 141
ministers of the Lord, whose traces appear so visibly in the
history of the church. Notwithstanding which, (0 madness
of human passions, of so much trouble and misery !) this vice
gathers no other fruit than a vain glory, as the apostle here
says, and a real infamy. To these two perverse affections he
opposes submission and humility: "Let nothing be done
through strife or vain-glory, but in lowliness of mind let each
esteem other better than themselves." The gospel every
where recommends humility to us, a virtue unknown to
worldly philosophy. The Lord teaches us that it is even so
necessary to his disciples, that without it it is not possible for
a man to enter into his kingdom ; and makes so great a point
of it, that he gives the first rank to those who are the most
humble. And in truth, if we consider, on the one hand, the
excellence and the greatness of the Lord, and, on the other,
the meanness and un worthiness of our nature, vile and despi-
cable in its being, and made still more so by being infected
with sin, and subject to its curse, we shall readily confess that
it is very reasonable that we should think but little of our-
selves, and that the most esteemed among men cannot without
injustice have a high opinion of themselves. But nevertheless,
it seems difficult to understand how this virtue obliges us to
the duty, the performance of which the apostle here directs,
that of each one of us esteeming our neighbour better than
ourselves. For christian virtues are not contrary to one
another. Now it appears that the mind which is here ordered to
us may be contrary to the soundness of truth which ought to be
in all our judgments. For if one believer be better than
another, how can he, without falsehood, esteem that other
better than himself? And besides, as each of the two ought
to have the same mind towards his companion, and, at the same
time, it is impossible that each of the two should be more ex-
cellent than the other, it appears that humility necessarily
obliges one of the two to believe a thing that is not true, which
cannot be the duty of a worthy man. To that, my brethren,
I reply, that things are of two kinds. Of the one the truth is
certain and evident. Of others we can only judge by signs
and appearances, which are not infallible. As to the first, we
are obliged to believe them such as they are, and neither hu-
mility, nor any other consideration, can free us from this. But
as to others, charity ought to regulate the judgment that we
make of them, and to take all in good part ; and if sometimes
the truth of a thing does not answer to the opinion that we
have of it, we may well say that we have been deceived, but
not that we have lied. When then we compare ourselves with
others, we must consider what sort of things are in question.
If the question be about those of which we can certainly know
the truth, our judgment must go with the side on which it is
142 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VIII.
found. For example, if you know yourself to be more healthy,
more courageous, more eloquent, or more rich, than your
neighbour, (and all this may be easily and undoubtedly known,)
it would be folly, and not humility, to believe the contrary.
And thus is it with the other things of this nature. But it is
not thus with the things of which the apostle speaks. He
speaks of the worth and excellence of the person itself, and
particularly as relating to the kingdom of God. Now it is
evident that we cannot judge with certainty what is truly the
state of our neighbour in this respect ; appearances not always
answering to what is within, and the advantages of this nature
not consisting in what may be outwardly seen. It is here then
that humility should step in, to prevent, in the first place, our
preferring ourselves to our brother, under the shade of some
outward advantage which we may have over him; and
secondly, to lead us to presume much in his favour, and cha-
ritably to believe that he has in heart hidden treasures, which
place him above us, and which nevertheless are very precious
in the sight of God, although we see them not. And it is in
this feeling (as I said) he may well be in error, but it is evi-
dent that there is no falsehood. If the Pharisee had followed
this rule, he would not, under the cover of some false appear-
ances, have preferred his person to that ofthe publican, who
really, and before God, was worth more than himself. I con-
fess that our nature does not easily relish such teaching. For
we can hardly bear that any one should equal us, much less to
place ourselves below all others, each one bearing the heart of
a king in his bosom, and imagining that there is nothing more
excellent than himself, and that if rank followed merit he ought
to be the master of the human race. But then we are not called
by the Lord to live according to the dictates of our nature,
which is entirely seasoned with vanity and pride. That we
may then acquit ourselves of this duty, let us consider seriously
our un worthiness, the miserable state we were in before grace
came, that infinite brood of all sorts of vices which swarmed in
us, the excess, the rage, to which we were carried, the curse and
the hell that we deserved, our weaknesses themselves even since
God has called us, our cowardliness, our ingratitude, our evil in-
clinations, our sins, the innumerable faults of our actions and
of our words, and the secret vanity, injustice, and filth of our
thoughts and affections ; and that if we have any graces,
they are graces which ought not to elate, but to humble us ;
and that the more we have received, the more we ought to
abase ourselves, as you see among the ears of corn, those bend
their head lowest which are the best and the fullest of grain.
And as to our neighbours, let us look at and prize whatever
they have that is good, acknowledging and admiring their
gifts ; let us be ignorant of or excuse what there is wrong,
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 143
and let us do quite contrary to that fabulous nymph of the
poets, who was blind at home, and had eyes only when she
was with her neighbours. Let us be clear-sighted and se-
vere against ourselves, gentle and indulgent to others. If
we consider in this way our persons and those of our breth-
ren, it will be easy, as the apostle directs, to esteem them
more excellent than ourselves. If once we make this judg-
ment in our heart, if each of us esteem his neighbour more
excellent than himself, we shall establish by these means char-
ity, patience, and concord amongst us. We shall feel no envy
at the good things of others, and we shall have great compas-
sion for their sorrows. We shall receive their good offices
with deep gratitude, as favours, and not as duties ; and we
shall bear their insults (should such be shown us) with more
patience. And if they have the same opinion of us that we
have of them, what society in the world will be more happy
than ours? Neither contempt, pride, nor contention, neither
disputes, discord, nor envy, nor any of those other plagues
which ruin and infect humanity, shall ever enter therein. Hu-
mility, as a rampart of brass or a wall of iron, shall preserve
us in safety against all the efforts of the enemy.
And this respectful and favourable feeling that we entertain
for each other will, of itself, lead to the duty that the apostle
here, in the last place, requires of us : " Look not every man
on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."
For it will be impossible for us not to regard them, if we es-
teem them more excellent than ourselves ; the little care that we
have for them only proving the small esteem in which we hold
them. It is true that some make even this relate to what the
apostle had just directed, of esteeming our brethren more than
ourselves ; as if he intended, that, to lead us to this duty, we
should consider not only what we are, and what God has given
us, but also what others are, and what graces they have received,
being very certain that the presumption of the greater part of
those who elevate themselves above their brethren arises from
their never looking at or admiring anything but their own
good qualities, their talents, their knowledge, their prudence,
without ever throwing, their eyes on the advantages that hea-
ven has dispensed to others as much or more than to themselves.
But in my opinion it is more proper to take these words as
a new precept, which directs us, for the preservation of peace
and concord amongst ourselves, to have respect, not only to
that which is useful and advantageous to us, but also to what
the edification and consolation of our brethren demand. Ile
does not absolutely forbid each one looking to himself; the
care is just and legitimate ; but he does not wish that we should
so entirely attach ourselves to it as to forget others. And cer-
tainly, if that communion of nature which men have together
144 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. VIII.
so evidently obliges each of them to care for his neighbours,
that the pagans themselves acknowledge it, saying that they
hold no human things as foreign, or separated from them, how-
much more should the grace of the Spirit, and the blood of
Jesus Christ, which has united us all into one body, unite our
interests ! Do not look upon these believers whom the apostle
recommends to you as strangers. They are your brethren.
They are your flesh, and your blood.
But if he obliges us to look upon what belongs to them with
care for their interests, it is not from thence to be said that he
permits curiosity, that vice of human nature which another
apostle expressly forbids, not wishing that we should be pry-
ing into the affairs of others. To know what belongs to your
neighbours, and afterwards to be careful for them, it is not ne-
cessary to leave the business of your vocation, nor to inter-
meddle with that of others, nor to trouble yourselves with use-
less inquiries, or prying curiously into the secrets of persons
or families. You may, at least, yield your brethren the duty
here recommended, with a sincere and upright conscience, and
entirely exempt from such unworthy motives.
Thus we have now explained all the parts of this text. It
is not, as you see, brethren, very difficult to understand it.
The principal point is, that you should put it in practice ; and
that this excellent instruction of the apostle should be read in
your lives as well as in his Epistles. Among the reasons
which enforce it upon you, I dare not bring forward, after his
example, what consolation you owe us, from the extreme and
immense disproportion there is between us and this great
apostle ; although, after all, whatever we may be elsewhere, as
we have the honour to be ministers of God amongst you, it is
clear that you cannot, without injustice, refuse to have some
regard to our satisfaction. But putting ourselves aside, I will
bring before you the example of all the church, that of the
holy angels who are in the midst of us, that of the Lord Jesus
himself, who incessantly sees and looks upon us. Their uni-
ted joy is to behold us living holily in perfect concord. The
church, in those battles which she is now enduring, can receive
no greater consolation. And the Lord and his angels can see
nothing on earth that is more agreeable to them. If, then, be-
loved brethren, "there is any consolation in Christ, if any
comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels
and mercies, fulfil ye my joy." May they see nothing among
us calling for their tears, or for their sighs ; no disputes, no
contentions, no vanity, no pride, no quarrels, no law-suits.
May they see only subjects for rejoicing ; one faith, one love,
one firm and inextinguishable concord, one simple and real
humility, a respectful deference and a cordial affection towards
each other. May they see from this age the first-fruits of that
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 145
which is to come, a willing and peaceful people, full of piety
and good works, clothed with light and purity, and worthy of
the extraction, the citizenship, and the communion of the hea-
venly and immortal Jerusalem, founded and built above in the
heavens. And as all the benefits of God, both spiritual and
temporal, ought to minister to our sanctification, so let that
favour also, dear brethren, which he has just granted us in
hearing the united prayers of all this kingdom, and fulfilling
the joy of the king,* our sovereign lord, by the happy birth of
the second son which he has given him. This favour is great
and excellent in every way, both in itself and as it regards us :
in itself, for it is an effect of that extraordinary power and
goodness of God which the prophet celebrates in one of his
psalms : " He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to
be a joyful mother of children," Psal. cxiii. 9. This is the
wonder that he shows us now in the house of our monarch, en-
riching it with these fruits of his blessing, after its having so
long been without them. But this favour is also great as it
respects ourselves. For the offspring of the king are the sup-
ports of his house, the column of his kingdom, the establish-
ment of the public peace, and the sure foundation of the pros-
perity and happiness of his people. And among all these sub-
jects there is not one which has more interest for us than that
we, in the midst of so much evil and so many fears, only sub-
sist, humanly speaking, by the clemency and authority of our
sovereign. Let us then rejoice before God, and let us receive
this his favour with all the gratitude of which our souls are
capable. Let us bless his divine majesty, and praise him with
all humility, in that he has given to our king the wish of his
heart, and has not refused him that which he had desired with
his lips. Let us beseech this almighty and eternal Lord to pour
out his grace on the sacred branches of the royal stem, that
they may grow and prosper in his presence. To the devotion
of our prayers, join we the innocence and the goodness of our
works ; let us love and religiously serve this great God who is
so good to us. Let us yield ourselves with sincere devotion to
his anointed, whom he deigns to load with so many favours,
yielding to him and to his ministers an exemplary obedience
and fidelity. Let us live with our fellow citizens in all right-
eousness and honesty, and amongst ourselves with a purity
and sanctiiication which may accord with the excellence of the
doctrine of which we make profession ; to the glory of God,
the edification of men, and to our own salvation. Amen.
Preached at Charenton, Sunday, lQth Sept., 1640.
* Louis xiii. (Editor.)
19
146 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. IX.
SEKMON IX.
VEKSES 5 — 8.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus ; who,
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him
the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
My dear brethren, if there be any mystery in the christian
religion which is great and high above the thoughts of men
and angels, it is without doubt the incarnation of the Son of
God, and his profitable humiliation. And if there be in all the
holy scriptures any place in which this important truth is
clearly and magnificently represented, it is in the text we have
now read, which is our portion for to-day. The terms of it
are so sublime, so majestic, that it is impossible anything more
heavenly could be said. The meaning is so noble, and so well
established, that nothing more powerful could be imagined ;
the apostle battering down in these few words all that hell
has ever invented against this sacred and inviolable foundation
of our faith. You may remember, that in the preceding text
he had very affectionately recommended to us humility. But
as this virtue is on one side absolutely necessary to our salva-
tion, and on the other infinitely contrary to the tastes and in-
clinations of our nature, he does not content himself with those
efficacious means which he had before employed for touching
our hearts, conjuring us to yield ourselves to them by every-
thing that is most holy and most delightful in the fellowship
of the Lord ; but to vanquish, and entirely eradicate, all the
pride of our flesh, he here places before us the example of Je-
sus Christ himself, as much to elevate before our eyes a true
and lively image of the humility which should be in us, as to
take from those who cannot relish it every excuse and every
pretext for their vanity. For since the Son of God has volun-
tarily abased himself to such a depth of humiliation, what ven-
geance and hell would not our pride deserve, if, after his ex-
ample, we, who are but miserable worms of the earth, should
still make any difficulty in humbling ourselves ? " Let this
mind (says the holy apostle) be in you, which was also in
Christ Jesus." Do not imagine that, in exhorting you to hum-
ble and abase yourselves below your brethren, I am requiring
anything unworthy of you. I ask nothing of you which has
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 147
not been in Jesus Christ. These thoughts and feelings which
I recommend to you he has first entertained. Do not then
disdain what he has cherished. That humility which was
sanctified by having had a place in his heart, receive ye into
yours. Have for your neighbours sentiments and feelings
similar to those which he had for you. What could the apos-
tle allege more suitable to his design ? For in the first place,
as Jesus Christ is our Master, and we make profession of being
his disciples, is it not reasonable that we should follow his ex-
ample ? Where is the servant who does not consider it a glory
to resemble his master ? Surely, if we have any spark of true
generosity, nothing ought more ardently to incite us to the
study of great and difficult things than thinking that in doing
them we shall be like our Lord. For what is there in the
world finer or more noble, or more worthy of our love and
of our wishes, than this holy and heavenly conformity ? This
is the reason why Jesus Christ in the gospel does not
only propose to us the ancient prophets, although in truth it
would be a great honour to us to have some resemblance to
such holy persons ; but he presents us with his own example,
and even with that of his Father : " Learn of me, for I am meek
and lowly in heart," Matt. xi.-29. " Love your enemies, bless
them which curse you, do good to those that hate you ; for
your heavenly Father causeth his sun to rise on the good and
on the evil, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust,"
Matt. v. 44, 45. Paul also speaks in the same way : " Forgiv-
ing one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven
you," Eph. iv. 32. " Be ye followers of God, as dear children :
and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us," Eph. v. 1.
And in exhorting the Corinthians to exercise charity to the
poor, he says, " For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor,
that ye, through his poverty, might be rich," 2 Cor. viii. 9.
And in various other places he proposes to us the example of
Jesus Christ, and certainly with good reason. For besides the
excellency and dignity of his nature, he has also that of a pri-
vate person, and as such has been given to us by the Father
as the true and only pattern of our life. All the faithful are
predestinated to be conformed to his image, says the apostle
in the Epistle to the Romans. " He has left us an example,"
says Peter, " that we should follow his steps." He is not only
the author of this new and happy life, which he has purchased
with the price of his own blood, he is also the mould and the
pattern. He is its efficient cause and model, as they speak in
the schools, having formed for us in himself a fine and living
image, perfect in all its features, and set off with all its colours ; so
that, having it continually before our eyes, we may each of us
draw in our souls the most perfect copy of it, one as like the
143 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IX.
original as possible. Thus it is with great reason that the apostle,
to form us to humility, proposes to us the example of Jesus Christ.
Christians, behold this divine example with attention ! Open
whatever you have of mind to understand and admire it, but
strive principally to imitate it, which is the design for which
it is here placed before our eyes. And may the Lord himself
discover to us its wonders, and inspire us with a love for it,
by the efficacy of his good Spirit, to his glory, and to our con-
solation and edification.
To explain to you what the apostle says of the humility of
our Lord Jesus Christ, we must by the grace of God consider
in order the two points which present themselves in this text :
first, What the Lord was in himself; and secondly, In what,
and to what, he had humbled himself for us. The apostle pre-
sents the first to us in the sixth verse in these words, " That
Jesus Christ, being in the form of God, and equal with God."
The second in the two following verses, " That he made him-
self of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a ser-
vant, and was made in the likeness of men : and being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross." The former of these
is the first and original condition of the Lord, in which he was
with the Father; the latter, the second, in which he is among
us : the one treats of his nature, the other of his dispensation
or economy; the one of that state from which he had
abased himself, the other of that to which he had humbled
himself.
I. To arrive at the first, the apostle describes it by saying
that Jesus Christ, being or subsisting (for that is precisely what
the word signifies in the original) " in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God," where you see
that, to explain to us the state in which the Lord Jesus was
when he took upon himself the form of a servant, he attri-
butes two things to him ; the one, " that he was in the form of
God ;" the other, that he was " equal with God." Certainly
the Son is the image of the invisible Father, the brightness
of his glory, and the express image of his person ; his living
and essential image, which contains and truly exhibits in itself
all his essence and all his perfections, his divinity, his eter-
nity, his power, his goodness, his justice, and all his other at-
tributes ; there being nothing in the nature of the one which,
there is not in that of the other : so that in this respect we
can justly and truly affirm that he has the form of God ; in
the same manner (if we may compare earth to heaven, and the
creatures to the Creator) as we say of a child, that he perfectly
resembles his father, not only in the features and lineaments
of the body, but also in the virtues and habits of his mind ;
that he is the form or ima°;e of his father. But we must con-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 149
sider that the apostle says that Jesus Christ was in the form
of God, and not that he was or that he had the form of God.
What then is this form of God in which the Lord was when
he took our flesh upon him? Dear brethren, it is not simply
the divine nature which was in him, the true and perfect form
of the person of the Father ; but it is that nature invested
with his majesty, clothed with his glory, and accompanied
with a pomp worthy of his supreme excellence. " To be in
the form of God " is to have a sovereign majesty, to enjoy an
infinite glory, to exercise tbe authority, the rights, and the
functions of God, to live and appear in a manner suitable to
this great and incomprehensible nature. Thus to be in the
form of God signifies not only to be king, to possess majesty
and power, but also to have the insignia of royalty, its courtly
train and splendid equipage. For what is the form of a king
unaccompanied with the symbols and characters of that dig-
nity, the pageantry and the brilliance which accompany it, as
the sceptre, the diadem, the throne, and the guards ? Thus
formerly among the Eomans we might call the form of a con-
sul, the equipage and the pomp with which the laws and cus-
toms of that people invested those who exercised the office,
the purple, the ivory chair, the twelve lictors with their fasces
and rods, and such like. When then the apostle here says
that the Lord, before taking our nature upon him, was in the
form of God, he does not merely intend that he was God in
himself, and that he had the true nature of the divinity ; but
further still, that he possessed the glory, and enjoyed all the
dignity, majesty, and grandeur due to so high a name. This
is precisely what the Lord means in John, by the glory which
he says he had with the Father before the world was. For
before this eternal Word and Wisdom had taken to himself
the human nature, he had nothing low or weak in him. Every
thing was great, magnificent, and truly divine. He was with
God in the bosom of the eternal Father, subsisting there in an
incomprehensible manner, and worthy of his divine nature.
If he negotiated with men, if he interfered in the government
of the universe, there was nothing in his providence which
was not glorious and majestic. Those communications which
he held with the creatures were the same as those of the Father.
I confess that it was the Son who created the world, and that
without him was no part of the universe made. It is by him
that kings rule and princes govern ; he then frequented the
earth, and his delight was with the children of men, as says
the wise man in Prov. viii. But notwithstanding, in all this
there was nothing abject or contemptible ; on the contrary, it
was therein that a part of that glory, and of that form of God
in which the Lord was, consisted. For the rule and empiro
over all things is an honour that belongs to God alone. Such
150 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IX.
was the state of the Son of God when he descended for our
sakes upon the earth. Seated on the eternal throne with the
Father, surrounded by his angels, and adored by all his crea-
tures, he lived and reigned with him in a divine manner, with
out having any other intercourse with the vileness of the
world, except so far as it required his providence to uphold it
in the condition in which he had created it. This is what
Paul means when he says that Jesus Christ was in the form of
God.
To which, for the purpose of explaining himself more
clearly, he adds that he was " equal with God." As to these
words, "he thought it not robbery," on account of the differ-
ent expositions of them which have been given, we shall for a
while defer explaining their meaning, and at this time only
dwell upon that in which all interpreters unanimously agree,
namely, that the Lord " was equal with God." Doubtless the
psalmist and the other prophets declare in a thousand places
that there is nothing in the universe equal to God, whether it
regard his nature, his power, or his wisdom. As then Jesus
Christ was equal to him, we must necessarily conclude that he
was God blessed for evermore with the Father, of the same
power, wisdom, and goodness ; that he was the same Eternal
formerly adored by ancient Israel, and celebrated by the pro-
phets. Now, before going further, remark and admire, I be-
seech you, the richness, the -strength, and the efficacy of the
scriptures in these few words of the apostle, which are suffi-
cient to demolish all those heresies which have risen up
against the Lord. In the first place, they confound the impu-
dence of those who deny that Jesus Christ has subsisted in the
nature of things, before his conception and his birth of the
blessed Virgin. " Being, or subsisting, in the form of God, he
made himself of no reputation, and took the form of a servant."
He was then already in the form of God, when he took upon him-
self the form of a servant. Now it is evident that he took it when
he was made flesh, when he was conceived by the power of the Holy
Ghost in the womb of his mother. Undoubtedly he then already
was ; he was God, and only began to be, with regard to his
human nature, in the form of a servant, with which he invested
himself, not having had it before. As to what some of these
heretics say, that by the form of God in which the Lord was,
we must understand the excellence and the dignity of his hu-
man nature, shown in the rays which from time to time he
caused to appear through the veil of his humanity, it is an il-
lusion which cannot stand. In the first place, by this reckon-
ing, Jesus Christ must have taken the form of a servant
before being in the form of God ; directly contrary to the
sense and words of the apostle, who says, that being in the form
of God, he thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 151
made himself of no reputation, and was clothed with the form
of a servant. Secondly, because all this splendour in the hu-
man nature of Jesus Christ, if there had been nothing more
in him, could not in any sense whatever have been called the
form of God, and still less as being equal with God. The
angels are as excellent, or more so, than any human nature
can be, whatever grace we may suppose the Creator to have
imparted to it, except the personal union with the Deity. Yet
the psalmist declares that there are none of these blessed spirits
who are, I will not say equal, but even comparable to the ma-
jesty of God. As then the apostle protests that the being of
the Lord Jesus was equal with God, it must necessarily be ac-
knowledged that there was in him some other thing than the
flesh, which he took for us ; that is to say, that eternal Word,
which at the beginning was with God, and was God. I confess,
that so long as the Lord was here below, the infirmity of his
flesh could not so entirely veil the light of his divinity, but
that it pierced this cloud, and shone forth in splendour capable
of making itself recognized by those who beheld it attentively.
And this is what John means, when he says at the beginning
of his Gospel, that they had seen his glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father. But notwithstanding this, all
these rays and emanations of his glory are not sufficient to
justify the expression that he then lived in the form of God,
and in a manner equal to God, as the humility of his flesh kept
the greater part of this divine form hidden.
I come to those who, confessing that the Son of God existed
before he was born in our flesh, will have, that this chief nature
which he then possessed had been created, and was of a sub-
stance different from that of the Father. The apostle com-
pletely upsets their impiety ; first, in saying that the form in
which he then was, was the form of God. For who can main-
tain, without blasphemy, that any of the angels, or any other
creature whatsoever, can be in the form of God? Give them
what intelligence you please, if they are creatures, they will
always remain infinitely below the form of the Creator. And
it cannot here be argued that "the form of God" signifies his
glory, and not his nature; his majesty and not his essence.
For in the first place, I contend that though it be true, that
this word here denotes more precisely the first than the second,
it nevertheless appears by the contrast, of "the form of a ser-
vant," which the apostle adds, that it comprehends both; that
is to say, as we have before remarked, that it really signifies a
nature truly divine, clothed with a suitable glory ; as well as
"the form of a servant," that the Lord has taken, signifies in
the other part of this text a flesh truly human, clothed with
all its weaknesses and infirmities. Secondly, supposing it
were granted, that this "form of God," of which the apostle
152 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IX.
speaks, only signifies the glory and the majesty of God, still I
maintain that it is enough to convince us that the Lord was
truly God by his nature. For none can have this glory but
God; and that for two reasons: the one, that the thing itself is
absolutely impossible; the other, because the will of God is
opposed to it. As to the first, it is evident that a finite subject
is incapable of that which is infinite, it being impossible that
that which is less should hold, or contain, that which is greater
than itself; so that every creature being of necessity finite, it
is a thing in every way impossible that it should have the form,
that is to say, the glory and majesty, of God, who is infinite.
But the will of God no less rejects it than the nature of the
thing itself. For God protests loudly in Isaiah, "I will not
give my glory to another," Isa. xlii. 8; xlviii. 11. As then
the Lord Jesus, before he took our flesh, was in the form of
God, it necessarily follows that he was truly God, no one being
able to have the glory of God but he who had his nature also.
And what the apostle adds, that he was "equal with God,"
clearly also determines the same thing ; it being evident that
if the Son were a creature, he could not be equal to God ;
every creature being of necessity infinitely below the nature,
power, and majesty of the Creator. But that also incontestably
proves that the Son is a person distinct from the Father,
against those who, being forced to confess that their nature is
the same, confound also their persons. For equality can only
exist between different persons; none is equal to himself; so
that Paul, saying that the Son is equal to the Father, ne-
cessarily presupposes that the Father and the Son are two per-
sons. Such is the power and copiousness of these words of
the apostle against all sorts of error.
But he does not merely say that Jesus Christ was equal to
God. He adds, that " he thought it not robbery to be equal
with God." The word "robbery" may here be taken either
literally or figuratively. Literally, as when we call a thing
stolen, of which an individual has become improperly pos-
sessed, without any just and legitimate right. It is thus that
the king of the evil angels wished to have the divinity, carried
away by pride, having usurped the honour which belonged
to his Creator alone. Adam, our first father, aimed at it
in the same manner, having undertaken, against all reason, to
become like God. If these unhappy beings had succeeded in
their vain and unjust designs, the pretended equality they
would have had with God, and it was such in their foolish
imagination, would have been a robbery. The apostle then
intended to say that it was not the same with our Lord Jesus,
that he wronged no one by being in the form of God, and
equal with God ; because being truly God, as he is, the glory
and majesty due to such a nature lawfully belonged to him ;
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PH-ILIPPIANS. 153
so that he had a right to possess and enjoy it, and for employ-
ing it cannot justly be accused of robbery, that is to say, of
force or fraud, or, in a word, of any injustice. But although
the Lord did not think this equality of being that he had with
God to be a robbery, although he knew that he had a right to it,
and could retain it lawfully, nevertheless of his free-will he
" made himself of no reputation," says the apostle, " and took
the form of a servant." I acknowledge that this exposition is
true in the main, and that it does not ill become either the
object or the words of the apostle. For for its foundation
nothing is more true than what it presupposes, that the Son,
before his humiliation, enjoyed the form of God, and a majesty
and glory equal to his, by the just and legitimate right of his
own nature, and not by robbery, or any other species of in-
justice. And as to the apostle, it forwards his object, which
is to glorify the humiliation of the Son of God ; showing, as
it does, that he humbled himself, taking quite another form
from that in which he had been before ; that he had not been
constrained to do it, or that he did it through ignorance of his
rights, but by his pure and voluntary goodness ; knowing well
that he might justly have acted otherwise, had he pleased.
And, finally, as to the words of Paul, this interpretation may
be accommodated, as the genius of the Greek language in
which they were written permits their being so interpreted,
"Jesus Christ, being in the form of God, would not have
thought it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of
no reputation ;" or, as our Bibles have translated it, with the
same meaning, " however, he made himself of no reputation."
But besides this exposition, which is the most common, there
is still another, which perhaps is not less easy or less suitable,
in taking the words of the apostle figuratively, " that Jesus
Christ thought it not robbery to be equal with God," as imply-
ing that he has not made a trophy of this his prerogative, that
he has not drawn from it any subject for glory or vanity.
For it was then a custom almost universal in the world, that
victors who had conquered or carried off something from their
enemies by force, as their ensigns, or their arms, should erect
them as trophies, elevate them on trees or columns, or some
high places, and raise other similar monuments for a testimony
of their valour; whilst as to the things which we possess by
the ordinary rights of nature, or by civil justice, we do nothing
of the kind. This vanity, which was common in the apostle's
days, is a reason why these words, " thought it not robbery,"
may be employed, as meaning to glorify himself by it, and
make a parade of it, and take it for a matter of trophy or tri-
umph. Thus the sense of this text will be simple and easy,
that the Lord Jesus, being in the form of God, did not make a
trophy of being equal with God ; he never thought of making
20
154 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IX.
a parade of it, publishing and showing it to every one, in
bearing himself as God, and appearing on the earth with a
pomp and glory worthy of his divinity.
II. The apostle adds, he " made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men ; and being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross." This is the second point of which we
proposed to treat. We have heard what the Lord was by na-
ture ; let us now see what he became by dispensation. He was
God, equal to the Father, and in the form of God. He made
himself man, and a servant, obedient unto the cross. The
apostle proposes two parts for our consideration in this mys-
tery : first the form or condition that the Lord took ; and then
the obedience which he therein yielded to the Father. He ex-
plains the first to us in these words " that Jesus Christ made
himself of no reputation, having taken the form of a servant,
made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as
a man." Now what he says, "that he made himself of no
reputation," shows us that all this humiliation of his has
been a work of his love, and not of necessity. It was neither
the authority nor strength of any opposing power that in-
duced him to make himself of no reputation. It was his will
which made him do it. He bent not under the efforts of
any other power than that of his own love. Then after-
wards the apostle tells us in what his " emptying himself"
properly consisted, when he adds, "he took upon him the
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." Do
not imagiae that his thus abasing himself signifies that he had
ceased to be God, or that he despoiled himself of either his
immortal and immutable nature, or of any of its properties.
He made himself of no reputation, not in losing or quitting
what he had, but in taking that which he had not ; not in ex-
tinguishing the glory of his divinity, but in concealing it be-
neath the veil of infirmity. Furthermore, this "form of a
servant" which the Lord took is not simply human nature.
For now that he is in the heavens, in sovereign glory, he
has no longer this form of a servant, whilst he still has,
and will eternally have, human nature. But even as the form
of God in which he was signifies (as we have before observed)
a divinity clothed with its glory ; so also the form of a ser-
vant which he took is a low, contemptible, and human nature,
accompanied by all those infirmities which are now found in
man's nature. It is the same that Paul elsewhere calls the
form or " likeness of sinful flesh," Eom. viii. 3. And John
expresses the same truth in other words, when he says, " The
Word was made flesh," John i. 14 ; that is to say, not man
simply, but weak man, despicable in appearance, and tempted
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 155
in all things, like as we are, sin only excepted. Now a ser-
vant or a slave is not simply a man ; for there are many men
who are not slaves. But it is a man reduced to a low and vile
condition, dependent on the will of others, and living meanly,
in contempt, without glory or honour ; so that the form of a
servant, besides the nature which the Lord took upon himself,
signifies still further the state and condition of that nature.
That which he adds, " that being made in the likeness of men,
and being found in fashion as a man," is only to make the
same thing clear. For, in the first place, in saying that he
had " the likeness of men," he specifies precisely what that
form of a servant was, of which he had spoken in general, and
confines it to the nature of men. The nature of angels is very
excellent, particularly above that of animals. But though
this be so, in comparison with that of God, it must and ought
to be called " the form of a servant," as it really is, as " angels
are ministering spirits sent forth to minister," Heb. i. 14. If,
then, the Lord had clothed himself with their nature, there is
no doubt that it might truly have been said that he had taken
" the form of a servant." But the apostle shows us that it is
not this that he means, and that he speaks of the nature of
men, and not of that of angels, when he says that the Lord took
the form of a servant, according to the information which he
elsewhere expressly gives us, that " he took not on him the
nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham." Again, in saying
that he was made in the likeness of men, he declares to us the
manner in which he has taken to himself this poor and weak
nature with which he clothed himself, not simply as a veil, or
a dress, or a symbol of his presence, as he had formerly taken
exterior forms, under which he had appeared to the prophets,
without having any union of nature with them ; but that he
united it to himself personally in such a way that this flesh,
in which he manifested himself, is not foreign to him, but his
own. He has not only taken man, he is become man ; he was
made in the likeness of men ; he was made flesh, as says John.
But let none here receive into their mind the dream of some
ancient heretics, that Paul took from the Lord the truth and
substance of human nature, and left him nothing but a false
and vain appearance, under pretence " that he was made in the
likeness of men," and not simply that he was made man ; and
besides that, "being found in fashion as a man," and not
simply being found man. For, in the first place, it is to reason
badly, to conclude that he has not truly had our nature from
what the apostle says, " that he was made in the likeness of
men." At this rate it might be inferred that Seth was not
truly of the same nature as his father Adam, because Moses
says he was begotten in the likeness and image of Adam. It
simply follows from this, that the Lord was not those other
156 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IX.
men in whose likeness he was made, neither was Seth Adam ;
but not that he had not truly a nature like theirs. The apos-
tle really says that the Lord had a likeness to other men. But
he does not say that this likeness which he bore to us has no
foundation but that of a false shadow and vain picture of our
flesh, as these people imagine, and not upon a true aDd sub-
stantial nature, that he has in common with us, as scripture
teaches us, saying, that Christ has partaken of flesh and blood
with us ; that he was made of a woman, of the seed of David ;
that he was made flesh ; that he was like us in all things, sin
excepted. Secondly, I say that the meaning of the apostle is
clear, " Christ was made in the likeness of men ;" that is to say,
that in appearance there was no difference between him and
other men, that nature which he took to himself being so truly
ours in all things, that to look at that alone it appeared that
he was only man, although indeed he was also God. It ap-
pears that there was nothing particular in him, nothing ele-
vated above others, though in reality he had an infinity of pre-
rogatives above other men.
In the same manner the following words must be understood,
" that he was found in fashion as a man." This form of the
Lord is nothing else than the situation and apparent condition
of his flesh, and of the life which he led ; all the outward ap-
pearance of his person. On beholding him, there would be
found nothing which should distinguish him from other men,
and those who only judged from their outward senses would
have taken him for a common man. They would never have
believed that under so mean, so sad, and so poor a form, had
been veiled the eternal Son of God, the King of angels and of
men. It is a form of speech similar to what we meet with in
the 82nd Psalm, where the prophet, speaking to the princes,
says, " You shall die like men ;" that is to say, as he explains
it in another part of the verse, " You shall fall as one of the
princes ;" not meaning that these great ones, to whom he ad-
dresses this, were not truly men, but simply to say that their
quality should not prevent their dying ; there being, in this re-
spect, no difference between them and others. And Samson,
in the book of Judges, says, " If I be bound, I shall be as a
man ;" that is to say, as another man ; there will not then be
any difference between me and other men. Here, then, in the
same way, when the apostle says, " that the Lord Jesus was
made in the likeness of men, and found in fashion as a man,"
he only means, that to look at the outward condition of the
life which he led on earth, it would be found, in this respect,
exactly like that of others, and not appearing to have any ad-
vantage over them. And this is what Isaiah had prophesied so
many ages before with extreme astonishment : "He shall grow
up as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground : he hath
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 157
no form nor comeliness ; and when we shall see him, there is
no beauty that we should desire him," Isa. liii. 2. And it is
this external form in which he was found which has deceived
worldly minds, and has made them ask the spouse in the
mystical song, " What is thy beloved more than another be-
loved, thou fairest among women ? what is thy beloved
more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us ?"
Cant. v. 9.
Thus you may henceforth see in what this humiliation of
our Lord, or making himself of no reputation, (for Paul gives
it both these names,) consists ; not indeed simply that he has
taken to himself our nature, (for he does not cease to have
that now in the heavens, where he is out of his humiliation,
in his sovereign glory,) but truly in this, that he clothed him-
self with feeble flesh, frail, mortal, and subject to all the mean-
nesses and indignities of earth ; a flesh which in reality was
formed by the hand of the Holy Ghost, but nevertheless in the
womb of a virgin, of the seed of David, and of a mortal sub-
stance ; a flesh which came into the light of life among the
lowliness of ordinary births, which was wrapped in linen, and
nurtured at the breast ; which grew by degrees, and which was
subject to cold, to heat, to rain, and to the other injuries of the
atmosphere ; to weariness, to hunger, to thirst, to grief; which
required sleep and rest to recruit it ; which had nothing great,
celestial, or extraordinary, either in its form, its complexion,
or its appearance. Add to this the extreme poverty in which
he willingly passed his life, insomuch that he had not where to
lay his head; growing and dwelling many years, not in the
palaces of the great, but in the abode of a carpenter, labouring
with his own hands at a low mechanical trade ; and when he
began the exercise of his office, he was accompanied, not by
guards, or a number of disciples who were of some reputation
in the world, but by twelve fishermen, as rough and uncouth
as possible, and teaching oftenest in the deserts, on the moun-
tains, or on the solitary banks of lakes. What shall I say of
the law of Moses, to all the penalties of which he submitted,
having felt its yoke from his infancy when he was circumcised,
and having afterwards observed its ordinances as faithfully as
if he had been its true and legitimate subject ? He yielded the
same respect to the baptism of John. And besides these two
servants of his Father, he submitted to Koman governors, and
to the orders of inferior magistrates. He paid that tribute
which he did not owe, and there was no sort of subjection
or servitude through which he did not pass. He was ex-
posed to the temptations of Satan, to the blasphemies of the
Pharisees, to the insults and mockeries of the people, and
allowed himself to be loaded with abuse. He was willing
that devils and men should have free liberty to attack him,
158 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IX.
opposing all their designs with gentleness and patience ;
whilst the last degree of his humiliation was that cross of
which we shall presently speak. What abasement could
possibly have been imagined deeper, and more wonderful,
than this, I do not say by men only, but by all the angels
of heaven? From what higher point of glory could Jesus
have descended to the lowest condition of man ? The most
elevated among men is but a miserable worm ; so that had
the Lord taken to himself the form and the situation of the
most august on the earth, this would be to have descended
infinitely lower than to have gone from the highest point of
heaven to the centre of the abyss. Judge then what we
ought to think or to say now, when he has clothed himself
with the form, not of a king or an emperor, but of a vassal
or a slave. This was truly " to make himself of no reputation,"
when the Son of God emptied himself (thus speaks our apos-
tle) of all that fulness of good which dwelt in him. In that
form which he took, there appeared no part of that abundance
which he possessed in the other. There is neither light, nor
strength, nor glory, nor empire, nor majesty to be seen. From
almighty, he became very weak ; from the most rich, the most
poor ; from the Lord of angels, the servant of men ; from the
glory of the world, the reproach and sport of the most
wretched. He dwelt above the heavens from eternity to eter-
nity, without beginning and without end ; and here we see
that he was born in a manger, and died on a cross. There he
was worshipped by angels ; here he was scourged and nailed
to the tree by executioners : there he walked on the heavens,
and trod the empires of the world under his feet ; here he ap-
peared before the servant of Tiberius, and waited from the
mouth of this earth-worm the sentence of life or death : there
he controlled the elements, the seasons, and time ; here he
lived under their rule, and bore their confusion : there he sup-
ported plants and animals ; here he required their nourishment
and their flesh for his food : there he enjoyed a most pure and
ineffable beatitude ; here he had but gall and tears to drink.
And do not tell me that it is the flesh of the Lord that has
suffered all these indignities, and that his divinity neverthe-
less preserved all its riches and glory, without either the rage
of the devils, or the insolence and barbarity of the Jews,
having taken from him the smallest part of it. I agree, and
I willingly confess, that nothing happened to his divine na-
ture, neither can there occur to it any alteration or shadow of
change ; but this other form that he took to himself belonged
to him so completely, that all he did and all he suffered was truly
his own. This man, the son of Mary, who has borne all our in-
firmities, is no other than the eternal Son of God. Both of these
natures, so different from each other, were united in one sub-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 159
stance and made but one person, as the soul and body make
but one man. It is one and the same Jesus who was in the
form of God, and who took upon him the form of a servant.
Since then you acknowledge that this form of a servant was
extremely humbled and stripped of glory and strength, neither
can you deny that the Son of God was made of no reputation ;
whatever belongs to either the one or the other of these two
forms belonged to him equally, though in different aspects.
Thus it must be added, that though no alteration could occur
in the divine nature of the Lord, still the infirmity of his flesh
hid its splendor; as when the body of the moon or a thick
cloud passes before the sun, its light is not extinguished, but
hidden from our eyes ; and if it neither become paler nor less
beautiful, our senses nevertheless feel a difficulty in judging of
it otherwise than as it appears to them ; hence we say that it
is eclipsed.
But I come to the second and last part of the Lord's humil-
iation, namely, his obedience: "He was obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross." From which we first learn, that
true humility consists in abasing ourselves in the things that
God ordains, and into which he leads us by his will, either by
the commandments of his word, or by the dispensation of his
providence, in such a way that we can truly say that our hu-
mility has been obedience. This must be remarked, contrary
to that superstition which cuts out for itself the matter of its
humility, placing it in voluntary devotions, (will worship,) as
Paul calls them in the Epistle to the Colossians, ii. 28, which
God does not require at our hands. These have some appear-
ance of wisdom and humility, but in reality are but presump-
tion and pride. For it is to be wiser than God, and covertly
to disparage his institutions and rules, as if they were not suf-
ficient to lead us to salvation. Add to which, it is to fail in
the principal point of humility, which is to renounce our own
will, and to submit entirely to that of God. The Lord Jesus
did not act thus. Although he was the sovereign wisdom,
nevertheless he did nothing of himself. He followed the will
of his Father in all his paths. His whole humiliation was but
one constant and perpetual obedience. Secondly, we must re-
strict this obedience to the subject of which the apostle speaks,
namely, to that which relates to the no reputation of the Lord.
For as to holiness, which consists in love to God and our
neighbour, it is indeed an obedience, seeing that it is in con-
formity to the will of God; but that was not a part of the hu-
miliation of the Lord. Nevertheless, it is in that that its
chief excellency consists ; there being nothing more beautiful
nor more divine in rational nature than holiness. Thus you
see that it makes in heaven (where abasement has no place) the
chief part of the glory of the Lord and of his saints. "What
160 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. IX.
then is precisely the obedience which is here spoken of? It
is that which Jesus Christ yielded to the Father in all things
which properly and necessarily belong to the satisfaction for
our sins, and his office of Mediator, and what relates to it ;
such was his subjection to the Mosaic law, and all the suffer-
ings by which he was consecrated. For of himself, and by
reason of his nature, he was not obliged to it. But he sub-
mitted to it by the will of the Father, to execute the commis-
sion which he had given him, to save the human race. And
the apostle, to lead us to it, names here expressly the last and
chief of these things, that is to say, the death of the Lord.
" He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
For the word "unto" is used in this place to signify, not the
continuation of the time to which the Saviour was obedient,
even to its termination, but the end of the things in which he
was obedient, even to the greatest and most difficult of all, and
to which all the others, related as to their true end. Hence, in
the Epistle to the Hebrews, the apostle takes the obedience
which the Lord yielded to the will of God, saying, " Behold,
I come to do thy will, O God!" he takes it, I say, for the obla-
tion of his body, offered and sacrificed on the cross for the
redemption of the world. Jesus Christ then has not only been
obedient in suffering patiently, according to the will of his
Father, all the inconveniences and miseries of this life,
poverty, contempt, grief, persecution, and such like, however
unworthy they were of him and of his nature; but he was
obedient even unto death. To fulfil the commands of the Fa-
ther, the Prince of life and immortality has not refused death,
that thing which in the world appeared most contrary to his
dignity and his nature. He has bound all the feelings of his
flesh which resisted it, and brought them into captivity to the
will of God. " Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass
from me : nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done," Matt.
xxvi. 59.
But the apostle, to enhance the value and the wonder of
this humble obedience of the Lord to its highest degree, re-
marks particularly what the death was which he suffered:
" He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
There is no kind of death which would not have offended the
dignity and the nature of the innocent and most holy Lord,
the resurrection and the life, the author of immortality, the
Father of eternity, made a quickening Spirit, and not, like the
first Adam, a living soul. But among the various kinds of
death, none could be more unworthy of this sovereign Lord
than the death of the cross ; the most shameful, infamous, and
painful punishment then in use among men, which had this pecu-
liar to it, that it was expressly cursed of God in his law. The
disgrace of men was found joined to the execration of God,
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 161
and the greatest shame to the most extreme torment. And
nevertheless, O ineffable, O adorable and incomprehensible
humility ! Jesus, the eternal Son of the Father, humbled him-
self even to this! The Lord of the world endured the punish-
ment of slaves. The King of glory submitted to the extremest
disgrace. The Holy of holies received the wages and the treat-
ment of the most infamous malefactors. The well-beloved of
his Father was voluntarily made a curse. Dear brethren, this
obedience is so great, and elevated so much above our minds,
that we neither know how to express it nor to celebrate it
otherwise than by silence and astonishment. What then re-
mains for us, ravished and, as it were, swallowed up by so
high and so strange a wonder, but to prostrate ourselves in
deep devotion before this crucified Saviour? and, touched to
the very bottom of our hearts by so admirable an example,
we should cast down before his cross all that is haughty in
our nature, there faithfully strip ourselves of our vanity and
presumption, our hatred, envy, and every similar passion, the
true productions and offspring of pride. Let us there offer to
him our courage and our interest, and let us have nothing
either so agreeable to us that we do not count it dross, nor so re-
pugnant to our nature that we would not cheerfully bear it,
whenever his will and the good of our neighbour may re-
quire it.
Proud man ! does not this humiliation of the Lord mortify
your vanity? He, who was the King of glory, abased himself
below the lowest of men. You, who are but a worm of earth,
you elevate yourself above the greatest. He did not make a
triumph of being equal to God; and a little spark of mind, a
handful of dust, a shadow, a dream, a nothing inflames your
heart. Being in the form of God, he did not disdain to take
that of man ; yet a little land, or some trivial worldly advan-
tage which you think you possess, renders you insolent to-
wards God. He made himself of no reputation, and stripped
himself of heavenly majesty and glory, to save men ; and you
make a difficulty, not for their edification alone, but for your
own salvation, to rid yourself, not of some advantage that you
have over them, (for in truth you have none, and if you would
dispassionately weigh yourself, you would find that you were
either below others, or at best their equal,) but simply of an
empty and false opinion which you have of your excellence.
Christ, to obey his Father, quitted heaven, and the glory that
he enjoyed there; and you are not willing for his service to
yield the slightest of your advantages. He has suffered, for
love of you, poverty and shame, death and the cross, all things
unworthy of him, and entirely estranged from his nature ; and
you are not willing for his name's sake to endure the least dis-
grace and pain to which our sin and the constitution of our
ilesh subject all men.
21
162 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. IX.
But this obedience of the Lord ought not only to confound
pride, it ought to extinguish all our vices. Sensualist! how
is it that you are not ashamed to pass your life in pleasure,
seeing that your Master began and finished his in perpetual
suffering? He quitted the joys of heaven for your salvation.
How is it that you do not renounce the pleasures of the earth
for his glory? Miser! how is it that you adore that which
your Lord despised? How is it that you are sparing of a few
pence for Him who, leaving for your sake treasures and riches
inestimable, made himself poor that you might be rich ? Sin-
ner! whoever you may be, how do you dare to violate the will
of God, after the example of the obedience which the Lord
Jesus yielded to him? He neither owed these sufferings, or
this death to which he submitted himself by the will of the
Father ; whereas the holiness which he requires of you is a
duty to which all sorts of reasons oblige you. His obedience
was in no wise necessary to his happiness; without that
which he demands from you, you cannot but be very misera-
ble. Your obedience is useless to him, but it is truly useful
to you. His was necessary for you, and it is for your sake
alone that he performed it.
And this consideration, my brethren, ought further to
recommend to us the love and imitation of the obedience of
the Lord more than all the rest, that it is love alone towards
us which has been its cause. It is for us that he took the
form of a servant. It is for us that he made himself of no
reputation, and hid for a time his form of God. It is for us
that he was made in the likeness of men, and was found in
fashion as a man. It is for us that he was obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross. All this admirable humil-
iation was the effect of the love that he bore us, and the cause
of our salvation and of our glory. Let us then love him,
dear brethren, since he has so loved us ; let us serve him, since
he has redeemed us. Let us do nothing but for him, since he
has done so much for us. It is the road in which we must
walk, marked with his blood, with his example, and with his
steps, to arrive at that heavenly kingdom to which the Father
has raised him, and where he has prepared our eternal mansion,
to the end, that after the likeness of his humiliation, his suffer-
ings, his cross, and his obedience, we may also for ever be like
him in his glory and felicity. Amen.
Preached at Charenton, Sunday, 28>th Oct., 1640.
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 163
SERMON X.
VERSES 9 — 11.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a
name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth,
and things under the earth: and that every tongue should con-
fess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, under which we live,
my brethren, has great advantages over the law of Moses, un-
der which the ancient believers lived ; and this among others,
that it explains to us, much more clearly, all those mysteries
the knowledge of which is needful to our salvation. Not to
speak of other advantages, whilst the law of Moses only disco-
vered to the Israelites, obscurely and imperfectly, the evil of
sin, and the excellence of holiness, two most important things
to draw us from evil and to unite us to good, the gospel has
made them both perfectly clear. Moses most frequently re-
presented the punishments of sin and the rewards of holiness,
the two most touching arguments of their kind, only Tinder
the veils and in the form of divers earthly maledictions and
blessings. But the gospel says to us openly and expressly,
that the punishment which sin deserves is eternal death, and
that the reward prepared for holiness is a glorious and immor-
tal life. To which we must add, that the examples by which
the gospel has confirmed, and as it were sealed, this truth, are
much more lively and efficacious than those of the law. For
what clearer and more convincing testimony to the evil of sin
can we ever have than that which the gospel presents to us in
the cross of Jesus Christ, where we see the only Son of God,
and the Lord of glory, suffering a most cruel and ignominious
death for the expiation of our crimes? And as to holiness,
what clearer demonstration of its excellence can we desire than
his exaltation, receiving, as the price of his obedience, at the end
of his bitter sufferings, a heavenly life, an empire, and a glory in
every respect equal to that of the Father? In truth, if our souls
were pure and sincere, we should not have need of these spurs to
urge us to the study of holiness. The beauty alone of the duties
in which it consists should suffice to make us love it, and require
but to propose them to us to insure our acceptance. But this
flesh with which we are clothed, filling our understandings
with darkness, and our affections with weakness and languor,
the Lord and his ministers, to excite us, take occasion conti-
nually to place before our eyes the glory and happiness with
164: AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. X.
which he will one day crown our obedience, if we will but
walk in his paths. It is with this design that the apostle now
proposes to us the exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ as the
end of his humiliation, that from his example, as a true and
certain pattern of our destiny, we should conceive an assured
hope of a glory similar to his, which would make us cheer-
fully imitate the humility, and the love, and all the other
graces from which he has gathered such precious fruits. If
you remember, he described to us in the preceding text the
extreme abasement of the Lord, who, being in the form of
God, took upon him the form of a servant, and humbled him-
self, even to the death of the cross. If there were nothing else,
this ought always to be sufficient to force us to humility, it
being clear that the example of such a Lord ought to be the
law of our life. But there is yet more. Besides the glory
which will accrue to us from our conformity to him, humility
will still be very useful to us. Instead of an empty honour
that we ought to have despised to obey him, it will bring us
another, solid and eternal. God, the sovereign Judge of the
world, will take care not to leave for ever in meanness and suf-
fering that grace which, of all the graces, he loves the best.
He has shown us in Jesus Christ the account that he makes of
humility and of obedience, and the reward that he has pre-
pared for them ; when, at his rising from the tomb, into which
he had voluntarily descended, he gave him all his dominion,
and all his glory: "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted
him, and given him a name which is above every name." This
gift is the reward of his abasement, and of his obedience. He
afterwards adds the effect and acquisition of this gift, the better
to represent to us the grandeur and magnificence, that is to say,
the homage, subjection, and adoration, which all creatures in
the universe owe to the Lord Jesus, on account of this dignity
to which the Father has raised him. He explains it in these
words : "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
things in heaveo, and things in earth, and things under the
earth ; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Thus we have two
points on which, by the grace of God, to treat in this discourse:
the one contained in the first verse of our text, the dignity to
which the Lord Jesus has been elevated ; the other explained
in the two following verses, the privileges of this dignitj^, that
is to say, the homage and the subjection which all creatures
owe him.
I. For the first point, that we may clearly understand what
the apostle says, we must primarily consider the relation which
the Lord's exaltation bears to his voluntary humiliation ; and,
in the second place, what this exaltation is, and in what it con-
sists. Paul instructs us in the first word, when, after having
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 165
spoken of the abasement and obedience of Jesus Christ, he
immediately adds in this verse, " Wherefore," or, as it is trans-
lated in our Bibles, " For which cause God also hath highly-
exalted him ;" clearly signifying, that it is in consequence of, on
occasion of, and because of his preceding humiliation that he
was exalted. In which you see he takes two things for
granted : the one, that the order of the two parts of the media-
tion of the Lord is such, that he must first be abased, and then
exalted. The other, that the abasement was the reason, or, as
they say in the schools, the moral cause of his exaltation. As-
suredly it is an order that we see established in almost all parts
of nature, that things pass through a low estate before attain-
ing perfection and excellence. And what is usual in nature
has been particularly needful in the mediation of Jesus Christ.
For being in himself originally in the form of God, it was not
possible that he should be exalted and have any higher dignity
than that, if he had not first descended from that weight of glory
and abased himself that he might afterwards be exalted. It
was thus also that the Father had ordained in his eternal
counsel, and had so declared it in the times of the Old Testa-
ment by the mouth of his prophets ; who, as Peter declares,
(1 Pet. i. 10,) have in many places predicted the sufferings
which should happen to Christ, and the glory which should
follow. Thence it is we read, in Luke xxiv. 26, that the Lord,
speaking of his cross, said to the two disciples who were going
to Emmaus, " Ought not Christ to have suffered these things,
and to enter into his glory ?" which also he afterwards proved
to them by the scriptures ; from which, you see, that he takes
this order for granted, as necessary and immutable, that suffer-
ing should precede glory. But the reason of his office did not less
oblige him to this order than the decrees and oracles of the
Father. For his design was to open to us the sanctuary of God,
and to lead us to the throne of his grace. Now sin, of which
we are all guilty, shutting against us the entrance of the house
of God, it was absolutely necessary that he should begin by
expiating our crimes, which he could no otherwise accomplish
than by his death ; that is to say, by his humiliation. The de-
sign which he also had of forming for us a pattern of patience,
of humility, and of the other virtues necessary for obtaining
salvation by the way of affliction, required it ; examples which
he could only give by suffering. And the apostle teaches this
in the Epistle to the Hebrews, saying, " that it became him for
whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing
many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation
perfect through sufferings." This order then being thus es-
tablished, and taken for granted in the will of God, as becom-
ing his wisdom and the nature of the things themselves, that
the Christ should suffer first, and then be glorified ; it is evi-
166 • AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. X.
dent that these sufferings once completed, it was needful that
he should in consequence be exalted to glory, even though in
other respects his abasement should not have contributed to
his glorification. As you see in the order of this world, that
nature, after having suffered the colds of winter, is afterwards
comforted by the softness of spring, and that, summer ended,
the autumn necessarily follows ; though no one of these sea-
sons is, truly speaking, the cause of that which follows it, these
being nothing in themselves but a simple dependence of order.
Formerly, the Lord transporting his people to Babylon, re-
solved, at the same time, to bring them thence at the end of
seventy years, and foretold it by Jeremiah. This same order being
fixed, who does not observe that we may say, that Israel com-
pleted the seventy years of her captivity, and this was the
reason that the Lord brought them back into Judea by the
command of Cyrus ? In the same manner the apostle says in
this place, that the Lord Jesus having been obedient unto death,
God has, for this reason, highly exalted him. Nevertheless, I
do not deny, that between the abasement and exaltation of
Jesus Christ there may be something more than a simple con-
sequence and order of dependence. I willingly admit that his
glory was the fruit of his cross, and his exaltation the effect of
his humiliation. It seems, in this place, as if the apostle looked
principally to that. For he wishes to recommend humility to
us, and to make us love it ; and it was right thus to propose
to us the advantages which the Lord Jesus has derived from
his, and to show us that it contributed to his glory, that it was
its cause and foundation. Christ "humbled himself, and be-
came obedient unto death, even the death of the cross ; therefore
God also hath highly exalted him ;" that is to say, that the
Father had respect to his humiliation and obedience when he
crowned him with glory, and that this high dignity in which
he has established him is the reward of his obedience. For,
in the first place, the Father had promised the Son the empire
of the universe, and a sovereign glory, after the conflicts and
the sufferings of his office. Christ, then, having punctually
acquitted himself in it, having humbly and constantly suffered
all the things that the Father required of him for the satisfac-
tion of his justice, and for the redemption of the world, we
must perceive that his own truth obliged him to exalt him into
the promised glory ; and that in consideration of his death,
and of his sufferings which preceded it, all this grandeur and
dignity were given him.
But suppose that the Father had not obliged himself to
this reward by his promises ; I say, that even in that case the
excellence of the obedience of the Son, and the wonder of his
humility, could not but have touched him, and drawn from his
pure goodness this same reward which he has given him in
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 167
virtue of his promises. For God, by his nature, being infi-
nitely good, it is impossible that he should not love holiness,
and that it should not be agreeable to him in proportion as he
sees it shining with goodness. And his powder not being less
infinite than his goodness, it is also impossible that he should
not do good to him who pleases him, that he should not draw
him out of his misery, and shed his blessing upon him. Now
the obedience that Jesus Christ rendered him in all his abase-
ment is the work of the most exquisite and complete holiness
that can be imagined ; in which there was seen to shine the
greatest charity towards men, a sovereign love towards God,
and, in a word, an altogether divine goodness similar to his
own. Assuredly it was not then possible that, seeing in this
humiliation of his Son so perfect an image of his holiness, he
should not look upon it with an eye of content, embrace it with
sovereign affection, as the most beautiful and most admirable
thing in the world, in which he found his own good .pleasure,
and all that he most loved ; and it was equally impossible but that
afterwards he should extend his munificence towards a subject
who was so perfectly agreeable to him. crowning him with
everything that was highest and most heavenly in the treasures
of his glory, as he found in him all that was most holy and
most conformed to his will. He could not, without giving up
the laws of his own goodness and beneficence, and without, in
some degree, denying himself, leave such perfect holiness, I
will not say, in misery or in meanness, but even in the rank of
the happiest of created beings. As the obedience of the Son
was above all the holiness of earth or heaven, so also must his
recompence be above all their glory. This is enough, in my
opinion, my brethren, to show us how the Father has exalted
Jesus Christ because of his humiliation. It is not necessary to
carry the inquiry further, and to dispute with some whether
the Lord deserved the glory to which he is exalted. This
question is one of the fruits of the boldness and curiosity of
the human mind, on which we should wish rather to be silent
than to speak, if it were not that the adversaries of our com-
munion force us to act otherwise ; not contenting themselves
with positively declaring that Jesus Christ by his sufferings
merited that glory for himself which he enjoys, but they pre-
tend further to conclude from thence, that believers also merit
that blessed immortality which God will give them one day in
heaven ; by these means rendering his merit either less neces-
sary or less useful and efficacious to us. To stop, then, so un-
just and dangerous a pretence, I will first say, that what they
take for granted, that Jesus Christ merited for himself that
glory to which he has been exalted, cannot be proved by scrip-
ture, in which all the merit of the abasement of the Lord is
constantly referred to the salvation of the church, and to the
168 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. X.
redemption of the world, and that we are no where told that
in obeying of the Father he has merited for himself the sover-
eign and infinite dignity which he now enjoys. He did not
need this title to acquire it. He possessed it as the well-be-
loved of the Father, as the Mediator and Head of the church.
What he has merited is the remission of our crimes, the re-
demption of the world, and the right of our immortality, the
true and real price of his sacrifice. And as to this passage,
and many similar ones, what we have said will suffice to show,
that they rightly take for granted that God had regard to the
obedience which was rendered to him by Jesus Christ, when he
exalted him to glory ; but we may not deduce from this that
he merited this glory. They truly show that God has had re-
gard to it in his goodness, and in his truth; but they do not
prove that he had regard to it in his justice, in such a way as
that he could not have given him less without being unjust.
We say every day of Peter and Paul, of the good thief, of Mary
Magdalene, and of every repentant sinner, that they have be-
lieved and repented of their sins; and that for that reason God
has pardoned and justified them ; and yet none conclude from
thence that the faith or the repentance merited pardon and jus-
tification. Those against whom we are disputing confess that
these first graces of God are purely gratuitous, and not mer-
ited by men. They cannot then conclude that Jesus Christ
merited his glory from what the apostle here says, that he was
exalted because he had been abased and obedient. I say the
same of what the psalmist sings, " He shall drink of the brook
by the way, therefore shall he lift up the head," Psal. ex. 7 ;
in which he only shows the order of th'ese two parts of the
mediation of the Lord, disposed so by the will of the Father,
and the reason of the things themselves, that after having suf-
fered and fought, he should afterwards triumph and reign.
And this is precisely the meaning of the passage in Luke,
which we have already spoken of above, where the Lord says
"that Christ ought to have suffered, and to enter into his glory."
And we must also take that which is declared in the Epistle to
the Hebrews, " We see Jesus crowned with glory and honour
by reason of his suffering and death," in the same way as this
text of the apostle, if we must thus read the passage, and not
rather as it has been more flowingly translated in our Bibles,
and certainly much more clearly ; " We see Jesus crowned
with glory and honour, him who was made for a little time
lower than the angels, by suffering and death." Thus the
scripture not defining this question, it ought either not
to be agitated at all, (perhaps the better course,) or to be
argued soberly and modestly, without offending any one in a
thing so obscure. But I say, in the second place, that even if
it were plain and certain by the scripture that Jesus Christ
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 169
could have merited for himself, it would, from thence, by no
means follow that each believer could merit for himself, there
being too great and evident a difference between the obedience
of Christ and that of believers to argue from one to the other.
For, in the first place, his is complete in all points ; whereas
ours is soiled with many defects : and, secondly, his was such,
that by right and nature he was not obliged to humble himself
as he did ; whereas we are obliged by every kind of right to
the things which we do and suffer. He could, without rob-
bery, have remained in the form of God ; and we could not,
without injustice, retain the glory and the vanity which hu-
mility takes from us ; whereby it is evident that his- obedience
might have been meritorious for him, whilst ours could never
have been so for us.
But let us return to our subject; and having already con-
sidered the consequence and the union which is between the
exaltation of the Lord and his preceding humiliation, let us
now see what this exaltation was, and in what it consists. The
apostle explains it to us in two ways ; saying, in the first place,
that God had highly elevated Jesus Christ ; and adding, in the
second, that he had " given him a name which is above every
name." If you have clearly understood how the Lord abased
himself, and made himself of no reputation, you will easily con-
ceive how he has been exalted. For being God and man in
one person, it is clear that as divinity is immutable and abso-
lutely incapable of, any alteration and change, he was neither
abased nor exalted as regards the substance or the properties
of that divine nature, which always remained the same within
him. But although in saying that he made himself of no repu-
tation, we mean, (as was explained to you in the preceding
text,) in the first place, that he clothed himself with feeble
flesh, in which he endured all sorts of indignities, meannesses,
shame, and grief; and secondly, that although his divinity
truly dwelt in his flesh, yet it concealed the brightness of it,
allowing neither its presence nor its light to appear: so now
must we understand the opposite, that the apostle, in saying
he was exalted, means, first, that his human nature was really
and truly drawn from the meanness, sufferings, and indigni-
ties in which it had been plunged, and placed at the same time
in a high and glorious state ; and secondly, that his divinity
has caused this sacred vessel to shine and glitter everywhere
with the rays of his glory, which formerly the veil of infirmity
had restrained and hidden. This word comprehends all the
parts of that change which occurred to Jesus Christ after he had
finished the work of our redemption. And first his holy and
miraculous resurrection, when his body, lying in the sepulchre,
not only took again life, but immortality, and instead of this
feeble and mortal being which he had yielded up upon the
22
170 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. X.
cross, clothed himself with one that was glorious and incapable
of suffering ; being by these means exalted not only above the
nature of sinful men, in the likeness of whom he had appeared,
but also above that of Adam in Paradise: for however beau-
tiful and excellent was the nature of our first parent, neverthe-
less that nature was still animal, and supported by the fruits
of the earth ; whereas that new nature which Jesus Christ took
is heavenly and spiritual, having life in itself, and subsisting
in the same manner as spirits, without any longer having need
of the earth or of its fruits ; perfectly holy, glorious, and bril-
liant. As the Father clothed the nature of Jesus Christ with
heavenly qualities, so also he exalted him above the earth, from
these lower regions, the abode of perishable and corruptible
things, into a place worthy of his new condition, when forty
days after his resurrection, seated on a cloud, that is to say, on
the chariot of God, as the prophet calls it, and surrounded by
angels, he was carried up into heaven, the sanctuary of im-
mortality, and lifted above all those visible orbits in which the
sun, the moon, and the other stars revolve, into the heaven of
heavens, the true firmament, the highest and most august place
in the universe, which is represented to us in scripture as the
palace of God, his seat and eternal throne. There he crowned
him with sovereign glory, and seated him on the right hand of
his majesty, to live from thenceforward in a condition as highly
exalted above the honour and happiness of all creatures visible
and invisible, as the place where he is seated is exalted above
the centre of the world. This is what the apostle means when
he says that God has highly exalted our Lord Jesus Christ,
signifying by this word the exaltation both of his dwelling
and his condition above all things, which comprehends his re-
surrection, his ascension, and his seat at the right hand of the
Father.
And the second description which he gives of the glorifica-
tion of our Lord, adding that " God has given him a name
which is above every name," relates to the same. It is won-
derful that the greater part of commentators find a difficulty in
so plain a word. For some understand this name given to the
Lord of the name of Jesus, as if he had only had that in con-
sequence of his humiliation, and as if he had not borne it from
his infancy, and during all the days of his flesh. Others make
it relate to the name of " Son of God,", and I acknowledge that
the resurrection of the Lord brought this very quality into
clearness ; from whence the apostle says at the beginning of
the Epistle to the Eomans, i. 4, that he was openly declared to
be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead ; and
elsewhere, Acts xiii. 13, he particularly applies to this period
the passage in the second Psalm, "Thou art my Son, to-day
have I begotten thee," because it was then principally that it
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 171
appeared that Jesus was the Son of God. But if the infirmity
of his flesh prevented the generality of men from acknowledg-
ing this quality before his resurrection, it cannot be denied
that the Father had given him this name a long time before,
when he had called from heaven "that he was his beloved Son,
in whom he was well pleased," Matt. xvii. 5, and commanded
us thenceforth to hear him. Who does not see that the holy
apostle does not here mean words and syllables ; but that, by
a method of speaking common to all languages, and particu-
larly to that of the scriptures, by the name he means dignity,
quality, and glory ? It is also clear that the use of names and
titles is to explain the quality of persons. It is manifestly thus
that the apostle uses it in Eph. i. 20, 21, in a passage where he
is treating the same subject, saying, God has made " Jesus Christ
sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all prin-
cipality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name
that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is
to come ;" where you see he places the principalities, powers,
might, and dominion in the rank of the names above which
Jesus Christ was exalted. Now it is clear and certain, by many
other passages, that the "principalities, powers, might, and do-
minion " are the different orders of the holy angels, according
to the different degrees either of the glory or of the ministries
with which the Lord hath honoured them; so that these other
names which he adds are also in like manner the other digni-
ties established by God, whether in this present world, or in
that for which we are looking; in which there will be incom-
parably higher than in this, because sin, which has tarnished
this world, having no place in the other, the goodness of God
will be communicated then to his creatures much more freely
and fully, and in a more illustrious manner, than it now is.
"When the apostle then says "that God has given Jesus Christ
a name which is above every name," he simply means that he
has established him in a dignity which surpasses the glory of
all creatures, high, low, present, and future ; and that of so
many illustrious and venerable names by which the grandeur
is expressed of things elevated into some dignity, whether in
earth or in heaven, there is not one that can represent to us
that which the Father has given to Jesus Christ, in conse-
quence of his obedience. The names of princes, kings, mon-
archs, with those of «cherubim and seraphim, thrones and
powers, are all infinitely below his. His is an entirely new
name, which has never been borne by man or angel. There is
nothing in the universe equal or comparable to his glory.
For, no longer to keep you in suspense, this dignity, my
brethren, that Christ received at his entrance into heaven, after
his sufferings and conflicts, is the dignity, the glory, and the
authority of God himself. It is his quality, his state, his em-
172 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. X.
pire. It is the office of Head of the church, and sovereign
Judge of the universe, titles which belong to God only, and
can be ascribed to no one else. Our Lord also had the same
meaning, when he said to the apostles after his resurrection,
" All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye.
and make disciples of all nations, and, lo, I am with you, even
to the end of the world." Again, it is what Peter meant in
his first exhortation to the Jews, when he said to them that
" God had made," that is to say, ordered and established, " this
Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." It is
the name which was then given him, above every name, to be
"the Christ," "the Lord."
And it is this that Paul explains again in another way,
speaking to the Athenians, and saying "that God had appointed
him the Judge of the whole world." All these expressions
have the same meaning as that which the church has drawn
from the scripture, and which she usually employs to signify
this mystery, saying that Jesus was " seated on the right hand
of God." But you will say to me, that as the Lord Jesus is
the true and eternal God, blessed for ever with the Father, had
he not this dignity and glory before and during his humilia-
tion ? If he had it not, how was he God ? If otherwise, how
can it be said that the Father gave it him after his resurrection
only ? Dear brethren, I reply, that Jesus Christ was in truth
the Almighty God, and the Lord of glory, before his humilia-
tion. These qualities were his before all time, as he possesses
them by his nature, having received them from the Father, by
his eternal and incomprehensible generation. Here, however,
the question is not that of his original and essential dignity,
or even of his divinity, but that of his office ; of that which
he had being Mediator, not of that which he possessed as being
Son of God simply ; of that power which the Father has given
him as being Son of man, as he himself says in John, because
he is the Christ and the Mediator of the church. And this
power is nothing else than the right and authority to save the
world, to found the church, and to preserve it against the gates
of hell, to raise up and judge the human race, and to establish
afterwards a second universe, where righteousness and immor-
tality should dwell for ever. Jesus was only invested with this
great and magnificent right after having completed the work
of his humiliation; and if from time tottime he has performed
some of its functions, it has only been by dispensation, and in
virtue of the faith that he had pledged, to satisfy exactly all
the required conditions for being installed into this great and
divine office of expiating the sins of the world, by a perfect
sacrifice, and to support all the trials by which he should be
tempted. This is the reason why he did not till then bear in
his flesh the ensigns of this glorious dignity. He only took
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 173
them at his resurrection, which was as it were the day of his
consecration and of his coronation. Truly do I confess, that
to execute the authority that he then received, an infinite wis-
dom and power is necessary ; and had he not already had such,
God, who never gives the title without the qualification, nor
an office without a capacity for it, would doubtless have com-
municated it to him. But being the Almighty God, there was
no need in this respect, but to deliver to him the name and
right, with which being provided, he displayed in the sight of
men and angels this power of his divinity, which till then, as
it were, had been hidden under the veil of the infirmities
which were necessary for our salvation. And as to his human
nature, which, that he might obtain it, had been clothed at his
conception with the form and weakness of our poor flesh, God
then (as we have before said) filled it with glory, and gave it
all the excellence of which it was susceptible, while dwelling
within the limits of its true being. I add this expressly to
exclude the vain imaginations of those who, under pretence
of glorifying the flesh of 'the Lord, would destroy and anni-
hilate it, declaring that by the resurrection it received the in-
communicable properties of divinity, that is to say, omnipre-
sence and such like.
II. But it is now time to come to the second and last part
of this text, in which the apostle describes the rights and pri-
vileges of this sovereign name which the Son of God received;
" that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things
in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth ;
and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father." He lays before us
two rights which the dignity of the Lord has legitimately ac-
quired for him : the first is the adoration of his name ; and the
second the confession and acknowledgment of his dignity. To
every dignity established by God in the world an honour is
due, proportioned to their respective excellence. As then the
Father has exalted Jesus Christ to a sovereign and truly divine
dignity, it is evident that we owe him a supreme honour, and that
species of worship properly due to the Deity, which we usu-
ally call adoration. And the Lord has taught us this him-
self: " The Father has committed all judgment to the Son, that
all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Fa-
ther," John v. 22, 23. And this duty is now so necessary
since the manifestation J bf Christ, that he adds, " He who hon-
oureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father who hath sent
him." It is precisely this kind of honour that the apostle
here means in saying " that every knee should bow at the name
of Jesus," as appears from the passage in Isaiah, from whence
he quoted this sentence. For it is the God adored by ancient
Israel who spoke in these words, "I have sworn by myself,
174 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. X.
the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall
not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue
shall swear," Isa. xlv. 23. The apostle refers this saying to
Jesus Christ here and in Rom. xiv., an evident proof that the
Son is the true and eternal God who spoke by the ancient pro-
phets, and that the same honour and the same adoration which
were formerly paid to the Father by the Israelites also belong
to the Son. I confess that to bow the knee is only the sign,
the outward and bodily symbol of that adoration, which
really consists in submission, and in the affections of the mind.
But these words are commonly used here and elsewhere for
the adoration itself; it being clear that the heavenly things,
that is to say, the angels, which the apostle enumerates among
those who render this honour to Jesus Christ, have properly
speaking no knee. And from this form of expression we may
gather that, to yield to God and to his Christ the honour that
is due, we must honour them not only with the heart, but also
with that exterior inclination of our body, which you know,
that when the Lord distinguishes his true servants from idola-
ters, he expressly attributes this mark to them, that they had
not bowed their knees to Baal. Such then is the honour due
to Jesus Christ the Mediator, namely, supreme adoration and
divine worship.
As to those who owe him this, the apostle describes them to
us in these words, " the things that are in heaven, and in the
earth, and under the earth ;" by which you perceive he includes
all the creatures in the world, of whatever quality or condi-
tion they may be, who are endowed with reason, and capable
of knowing and serving God. It is a very usual method in
Scripture to divide them into three orders, the heavenly, the
earthly, and those that are under the earth ; as at the begin-
ning of the law, where God, forbidding to worship any image
of any sort, says, " Thou shalt not make to thyself any like-
ness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the
earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth," Exod.
xx. 4. And in Rev. v. 3, "And no man in heaven, or in
earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, neither
to look thereon." And in verse 13, where the subject still is
of glorifying God and his Son, "I heard every creature which
is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such
as are in the sea, and all that are in them, saying, Blessing, and
honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." Now, in
my opinion, the words of Paul may be taken in two ways,
both good and appropriate : first, by understanding them gene-
rally of all things, animate and inanimate, seen or unseen ; and
by interpreting them thus, that every knee should bow at the
name of Jesus, of the things that are in heaven, and in the
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 175
earth, and under the earth ; to signify that there is no creature
in the whole circumference of the universe which is not sub-
ject to him, which does not submit to his will, and yield him
the same obedience as to God, according to what he said, " All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." For we must
not consider it strange that the words "bow the knee " may be
applied to inanimate things, to signify the subjection and
obedience which they yield to the Lord, moving or resting,
acting or ceasing to act, according to the laws of his will ; as
there is nothing more usual than in the Psalms and other parts
of scripture to speak thus, where the actions and qualities of
living and reasonable beings are attributed to such things as
are inanimate ; and it is in truth a very elegant and beautiful
figure. Thus John, in that part of the Kevelation which we
have just quoted, makes every living thing praise and glorify
the Lord. Secondly, the words of the apostle may also be re-
stricted to persons endowed with reason, and capable of serving
God ; and it is in this sense that our Bibles have taken them
in the translation, "that every knee should bow, of those which
are in heaven," and not of the things which are in heaven. Un-
derstanding them thus, it may be asked who those are whom
the apostle means. Is it not we, who, being on the earth, ought
to bow the knee to the Lord? Our adversaries of Rome, who
never dare to speak of places under the earth without thinking
of their purgatory, do not fail to make this passage relate to
it, wishing that by " those who are under the earth " we should
understand those pretended spirits which they keep in prison
till they are purified. But nothing can force us to come to that
interpretation. For who will here prevent our understanding,
with some of the ancient fathers, by those who are in heaven,
all the angels generally ; by those who are on the earth, living
men ; and by those who are under the earth, the dead ? (Theo-
doret.) Or, with others, to take those who are in the heavens
for the good angels and just men made perfect, those who are
on earth for men, and those who are under the earth for the
devils ? As to the dead, it is evident that they will also
bow the knee at the name of Jesus, and will one day appear
before his throne to be judged. And as to devils, however
opposed their wills may be to it, still they render homage
and obedience to the Son of God, and tremble at his word.
But perhaps it would be most suitable to explain this text by
the first method, where this pretended difficulty has no place.
For the remainder, it is clear enough, from what we have said
before, that by the name of Jesus the apostle means his ma-
jesty, and his person invested with the glory and sovereign
dignity that the Father gave him ; as it is usual in scripture
to use the name of God in that sense in many places where it
says, " Bless and praise the name of God ;" and it is a childish
176 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. X.
error to make it relate precisely to the word Jesus itself, as our
adversaries understand it, who are accustomed to uncover
themselves every time they pronounce the name of Jesus. In
the first place, we must pay attention to the words of the apos-
tle, who says, " bow the knee," and not, uncover yourself.
Besides, if it be the words, the sound and the syllables, that
they venerate, it is an inexcusable superstition. If it be the
person signified by this name, then why do they not uncover
themselves in the same way when they hear the name of Christ,
of God, of our Lord, which mean the same thing? Assuredly
we can neither think nor speak of the Lord Jesus with too
much reverence, and God forbid that we should blaspheme
any of the true honours that are paid to him. We only re-
prove superstition and will-worship, which the Lord neither
ordered nor expected from his servants. The true honour
that we owe him is to adore him and to serve him, to obey him
and glorify him in spirit and in truth.
To this the second homage relates, which the apostle adds,
saying, "And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."
These words may be understood either generally, of the
confession of all reasonable creatures, who ought to acknow-
ledge him for their sovereign Lord; (for the angels also have
their tongues and their language, that is to say, their manner
of expressing the thoughts of their minds, and of communi-
cating them, and being understood by one another ;) or at any
rate to restrict these words to the human race, as saying that
there is neither people nor nation upon earth that ought not
to serve the Lord Jesus, and acknowledge him for what he is,
the Christ of God, the Lord and Eedeemer of men. Since the
division of languages, the nations have (as you know) been dis-
tinguished by their language, each people having its own pe-
culiar dialect, and not understood by others. To confess that
Jesus is the Lord, is to recognize the divine and sovereign
dignity in which the Father has placed him. This is what the
name " Lord" signifies, and we must even remark that it is
precisely the word that the Greeks have used to express the
peculiar and incommunicable name of God, that is to say,
" the Eternal," as our Bibles have well translated it. And
from this we may gather two things : the first, that Jesus
Christ is the true God, the Eternal, the Creator and Preserver of
the world ; and that those are unworthy to be called christians
who do not serve him in this quality. The other is, that it is
not enough to believe that he is the Lord; we must also con-
fess it with the tongue, and make an open profession of it be-
fore men ; according to what the apostle declares, Rom. x. 9,
10, " If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved ; for with the heart man be-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 177
lieveth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation."
The apostle finally adds, that this subjection of all creatures
to Jesus Christ, and the confession that they make of his grau-
deur and dignity, " is to the glory of God." Undoubtedly all
the works of God manifest his glory to us ; but there is no
one which so magnificently proclaims it as the redemption of
Jesus Christ. This is the reason he avows, " I have glorified
thee upon earth." His other works show us but the smallest
part of his glory. The Lord Jesus has discovered to us the high-
est and most divine mysteries ; showing us that his goodness,
his power, his justice, his mercy, and his wisdom, are infinitely
greater than men or angels could ever have conceived ; so that
it is not possible to see and believe what Jesus has revealed to
us without being wrapped in admiration, without blessing and
glorifying him as a God, most perfectly and most supremely
good, wise, and powerful. Or should it appear that the apos-
tle simply speaks in this text of the subjection and honour
which all creatures owe to Jesus Christ, and not of that which
they really yield him, still it is his intention to include this
point, also, and to place before our eyes, not only the end, but
also the effect and the event of this gift which the Father has
made to the Son of his sovereign dignity ; that is to say, that
this great name which he has given him shall cause him to be
obeyed and acknowledged in all the world, and shall finally
draw from all his subjects that adoration and service which
they owe him. This, indeed, commenced from the time of the
apostle, the sceptre of this divine and crucified Saviour having
so prospered in the hands of his ministers, that his name was
already great from east to west ; and since then it has pros-
pered more and more, ruining the dominion of Satan, abolish-
ing error and the false religions of mankind, putting down
idolatry, confounding the demons, and finally, constraining all
the habitable world to bow beneath his yoke, to adore his cross,
and to confess, in all the variety of its languages, that this
Jesus, manifested in the flesh, received and treated with so
much ignominy and opprobrium upon earth, the stumbling-
block of the Jew, the scorn of the Gentile, is, nevertheless, in
reality the Lord, the true and eternal God, the Son and the
Christ of the Father, the King of the universe, the Father of
eternity. This work continues still by the grace of the Lord,
and shall continue to the end of time; and then it will be en-
tirely fulfilled. Hence the apostle, in the 14th chapter of his
Epistle to the Eomans, makes this prophecy of Isaiah relate
to the last judgment, that every knee should bow to the Lord,
and that every tongue should give him praise. For in this
great and illustrious day, the heavens, the earth, and the deep,
all things terrestrial, celestial, and below the earth, shall submit
23
178 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. X.
to the power of Jesus, and every one yield him that homage
of which he is capable. The heavens and the elements shall
be changed at his word. The deep shall yield up the dead
that have been concealed in its caverns. Angels shall encom-
pass his throne with profound respect ; men, both dead and
living, shall all appear before his tribunal, and after having
worshipped him and confessed that he is Lord, shall receive
from his mouth the sentence either of life or death.
Such are the rights and effects of this great name, which the
Father has given to the Son as the price of his obedience.
Let us yield ourselves then, dear brethren, in good time to his
power. Let us kiss the Son, whom God has given to be our
Lord and Master. Let us adore his name ; let us bow our
knees and our hearts before him. Let us confess that he is
Lord. Let us believe it in our heart, and proclaim with our
mouth ; and if we acknowledge him in this dignity, let us
yield him a faithful and constant obedience. May his will be
the only rule, and his glory the sole desire, of our lives.
Let us leave other men to run after the foolish and perishable
objects of their desires, some worshipping one thing,' and some
another, according to their vain imaginations. As for us, my
brethren, may the name of Jesus be our portion ; may it be
our fear and our dread. Let us have no desire in our minds
which does not bow in reverence to him, no interest in our
lives which does not yield to his glory. Far from us be the
extravagance of those who are ashamed of Jesus Christ and
of his gospel. O wretch, are you ashamed of a name which
is above every name ? Are you ashamed of a name which all
the universe adores, and before which the devils and hell trem-
ble ? On the contrary, let us make it our greatest glory. May
the profession of this name be our dress and our ornament.
Let the marks of it be engraven on every part of our life ; let
us make our children, and all those who are most dear to us,
wear its livery. Under the protection and safeguard of this
name we have nothing to fear. Earth and hell fear it ; and
there is no name, quality, or dignity which is not under it.
The kings and monarchs of the world, their ministers, their
people, their armies, and their states, their laws, their wills,
and their desires, depend on our Jesus, and are in his keeping.
The devils are in his chains, and cannot take a step without
his permission. Christians, of what are you afraid, since you
have the honour to belong to so powerful a Master ? It would
be too unfeeling if you were to doubt his love after so many
testimonies of it as he has given you. Live, then, securely
under his holy hand, and have no other fear than that of dis-
pleasing him. And as the apostle informs you that it is through
humility that he is exalted into this great glory, follow his
footsteps, and humble yourselves as he did, renouncing your
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 179
own interests whenever the will of God, and the good of your
neighbours, shall require it. For humility is the true road
to glory, and pride is that of shame ; and there is no shorter
way of being exalted than to humble yourself, nor of being
abased than to exalt yourself. If we will humble ourselves
with the Lord, the Father will exalt us with him. This abound-
ing glory has also been given him for our sakes, and he will
keep it faithfully for us, crowning us with it in that day when,
having finished our course and the work of our humiliation,
he will transport us into his heavenly kingdom, there to
dwell and reign for ever with him and his holy angels. Amen.
Preached at Charenton, Sunday, 2nd Dec, 1640.
SERMON XI.
VERSE 12.
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my
presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out
your own salvation with/ear and trembling.
Dear brethren, as you see in the world that neither trees
nor animals attain at once to their highest point of excellence,
but arrive at it little by little, by different stages, as by so
many degrees, advancing and growing with time until they
have acquired the entire and legitimate form of their being; so
is it with believers in the church, God, the author of nature
and of grace, having in his infinite wisdom established a simi-
lar order for the perfection of these two kinds of things. From
the gospel, which he sheds in our hearts as the seed of our re-
generation, he first brings out a heavenly and spiritual creature
indeed, but nevertheless, still rough and unpolished. And
then by the power of his Spirit, with which he quickens it, he
strips it by degrees of the weaknesses of infancy, supplying each
part with its needful strength, and enlarging them into their
legitimate size; confirming its temperature, improving its
judgment, illuminating its faith, warming its charity, harden-
ing its patience, assuring its hope ; until, having passed through
all the variety of its stages, the believer shall finally arrive at
the measure of the perfect stature which is in Jesus Christ.
This arrangement of the Lord in the work of our salvation is
the groundwork of the exhortation formerly made by the apos-
tle Paul to the Philippians, and which he addresses to us to-
day in the verse that we have just read, " to work out our own
180 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XI.
salvation with fear and trembling." When the tree is once
planted, nature, without stopping, labours incessantly at that
perfection which she has commenced, spurring and hastening
it on, until she has clothed it with leaves, and crowned it with
flowers and fruits, and ornamented it with all the beauty be-
longing to its kind : she does the same also in every animal ;
when once they are born into the world, without losing a mo-
ment of time, she employs herself in forming, and polishing,
and completing their being. In the same way, my brethren,
it is very reasonable, that having received from the Lord the
commencements of spiritual life, and as it were the rudiments
of that divine nature of which he has made us partakers, we
should not stop there, but should employ ourselves night and
day in perfecting so excellent a work, improving every moment
of our time to this purpose, and incessantly adding some new
trait of beauty to what we before possessed ; until we are truly
divine and heavenly men, fellow citizens with the saints, like
unto the angels, brethren and heirs with Christ, and the first-
fruits of all his creatures. This is what the apostle here asks
from the Philippians, as well as from all other believers. And,
that we may correctly understand the sense of these words, we
will examine them briefly, if it please the Lord, as there is not
one which is not to he noted. And, for your comfort we will
divide this examination into two articles, of which the first
shall be the preface which the apostle makes use of before
bringing forward his exhortation, in these words, " Wherefore,
my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence
only, but now much more in my absence ;" the second shall be
the exhortation itself of the apostle, in these words, " Work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling."
I. The whole preface is full of motives and reasons for in-
ducing the Philippians to do what he exhorts them. The first
word, " Wherefore," which unites this verse with the preceding
ones, brings before our eyes what the apostle had just said to us
of the humiliation and exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
deducing from thence that we ought to conduct ourselves, in
the work of our salvation, with the same humility, patience,
and constancy of which he gave us the example in the days of
his flesh, and aspire to the fellowship of his glory by the fel-
lowship of his holiness. This discourse contains two parts ;
of which the apostle explains the one, and takes the other for
granted. What he takes for granted is, that Jesus Christ is the
pattern of our life ; and that in virtue of the union which con-
joins us with him, the likeness of his whole conduct ought to
shine forth in us, in such a way that each of us may be like a
portrait, a living and animated representation of this sovereign
Lord. He is our Boot and our Vine, and the arms and the
branches have the same life and being as the trunk which bears
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 181
them. He is our Master and our Head ; in every society he
who is such ought to be the mould and pattern of the manners
of his subjects. He is our Father, and it is the glory of a child
to resemble him who brought him into the world. From
whence we derive this right, which is very beneficial to us, to
be able (as the apostle here does) to argue from the Lord to
ourselves, and to say, not only for the duties, but also for the
conditions and circumstances of life, The Lord Jesus was obe-
dient, humble, and patient; he was gentle and kind; he par-
doned his enemies ; he endured their insults and their abuse
without returning them : we then must do the same. And be-
sides, he was aided, blessed, and comforted in all his sorrows,
and was waited on by angels ; he was crowned with the high-
est glory after his conflicts. Assuredly then God will treat us
in the same way, whatever the world and hell may do against
our salvation. The other point which the apostle has express-
ly touched upon in the preceding text is, that the Son of God
humbled himself and took the form of a servant, and was obe-
dient even unto the death of the cross ; pointing out to us in
these words the constancy of the Lord in the execution of the
work which the Father had given him to do. He never stopped
in so difficult a career, but ran even unto the end, perse-
vering in humble obedience, however fearful were the tempta-
tions with which he was surrounded ; teaching, instructing, re-
buking, exhorting, and calling men to salvation by his words,
his knowledge, and the miracles of his life ; enduring the in-
sults of the Jews ; bearing their malice ; and omitting nothing,
however painful or unworthy, until all was fulfilled ; as he him-
self exclaimed at the end of his course. Undoubtedly, as we are
called to form our lives after his example, (as the apostle sets
forth, and we have shown you,) it is then evident that we all
ought to employ ourselves in our salvation with fear and trem-
bling, that is to say, (as we afterwards hear,) work with deep
humility, and a firm, unwearied perseverance, to fulfil the work
of grace that God has condescended to begin in us.
The love which the apostle here testifies to the Philippians,
calling them his " beloved," is a second motive to induce them
to receive his exhortation with respect, and to obey it with care.
It was not a stranger who spoke to them, or a person to whom
they were indifferent. It was a master, or, to speak more pro-
perly, a father, who burned with love for them ; who had more
anxiety for their welfare than ever any father had for the in-
terest of his children. He had begotten them by the gospel,
and, to maintain the work of God in them, had cheerfully suf-
fered grievous persecutions ; and even now in the midst of his
captivity, although his own troubles seemed to excuse his
thinking of them, yet so great was the desire he felt for their
salvation, that he thought of them night and day; and his
182 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XI.
bonds could not prevent his writing this Epistle to them full
of testimonies of his affection. He describes it all in this little
word, calling them his " well-beloved." As if he had said, If you
have any regard to the consolation of a man who always loves
you and cares for you ; if you still remember my care, the sor-
rows through which I have passed, and the blood I have shed
for you ; beloved, finish what I have begun. May my absence
neither change nor diminish anything in this great work which
my presence began and carried on among you. This gentle
manner, employed here and elsewhere by the apostle, should
serve as a lesson to ministers of the gospel, to teach them, in
the first place, to have such a cordial affection for their flocks,
that they may in truth call them their dear and well-beloved
brethren ; and secondly, to banish from their teaching that
harshness and severity, more suitable to tyrants and barbarians,
than to the servants of Jesus Christ, the Prince of peace, the
Master of humility, the Pattern of kindness. He desires, I ac-
knowledge, that we should draw and attach his disciples ; but
with the chains of love and the cords of humanity, which
to be gentle and agreeable do not cease to be strong, and force
minds without wounding them.
ït is to the same method we must apply the testimony that
the apostle here bears to the Philippians, saying, in the third
place, that they had always been obedient. For there is no-
thing which so easily enters into our hearts as praise ; and
every one being naturally desirous to obtain it, a stronger mo-
tive cannot be applied, nor one which penetrates with more
gentleness and efficacy. And do not imagine that this was
flattery, like the flatteries with which the children of this world
gratify one another, rather through civility than truth. Such
vanity had no place in so holy a mouth as that of the apostle.
He praises them because they were indeed praiseworthy, and
had yielded to the gospel of the Lord, and to the preaching of
his ministers, that obedience of which he here speaks. For, in
the first place, they had received the word of God with faith,
and embraced the yoke of Christ as the only way of salvation.
And not satisfied with that good beginning, they had continued
in that profession, living holily and courageously in it, not-
withstanding the afflictions it had drawn both upon their mas-
ter and themselves. This is the reason why he does not
simply say that they have obeyed, but that they have always obeyed,
that is to say, constantly, from the time of the apostle's entry
among them, without in any way relaxing in their zeal. For
the rest, this obedience must be understood not of the severity
of the law, as if these believers had never sinned in any par-
ticular of their duty since their conversion to the Lord, for
our life, while we bear this mortal flesh, is not capable of such
perfection ; but according to the kindness and justice of the
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 183
gospel, meaning that they had continued firm in the profession
of godliness, and in a studious, serious, and sincere practice
of charity, and of all the other virtues which it commands ;
"obeying from the heart," as the apostle elsewhere says, that is
to say, in truth, with zeal, and without hypocrisy, " that form
of doctrine which had been intrusted to them." And from
hence it appears, contrary to the harshness of some morose
minds, that we may and ought to praise the piety of believers,
and to celebrate with honour the obedience they yield to God.
1 confess, that as regards the Lord, their virtue deserves nothing,
and that in fulfilling their duties they have done nothing for him,
but for themselves alone, as the psalmist sings in Psal. xvi. 2, 3,
"My goodness is nothing to thee, but to the saints that dwell
upon the earth." But this does not prevent us on our side from
being obliged to acknowledge it, and to praise its excellence ;
and that as the Lord, through the abundance of his goodness,
will one day crown them in the heavens with his blessedness
and glory, we ought here below to adorn them with our praises,
that we may recommend them to men, and thereby show the
consideration in which we hold them. And in truth, however
little we may consider them, we shall find them very deserving
of our admiration. For, not to wander from my subject, was
it not in the Philippians a virtue to be admired, and truly
worthy of being celebrated by the pen of the apostle, that they
had at that time, amidst the confusions of paganism, acknow-
ledged the truth of God, renounced the idolatry, religion, and
manners of their fathers and of their country, to embrace the
name and yoke of Jesus Christ ; to have had the courage to
persevere in it, and to render that constant obedience to the
Crucified which he expected from them, notwithstanding the
shame of his cross, the threats and punishments of their ene-
mies, and the inclinations of their own flesh ? Certainly if
there ever has been anything praiseworthy among men, it must
be confessed to be this obedience. Thus you see, that besides
the example of the apostle, the reason of the things themselves
obliges us to praise believers. But in doing so we must ob-
serve these two conditions : the first, that the praise we give
them be founded in reason and truth ; that is to say, that we
neither praise them, nor the things they possess, if they be not
praiseworthy ; nor for those that are praiseworthy, if they have
them not. For to do otherwise, instead of rendering them a
good service, would be to do them a very ill one ; serving as
pillows of security to lull them to sleep in their vices. From
this it appears (I would remark in passing) how false and per-
nicious is the praise that the Romanists usually give to the
obedience of their devotees, Avho receive from their hands,
with closed eyes, all that they present to them under the name
of apostolic tradition, stifling the light of their own sense and
184 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XI.
reason to place themselves under the yoke of these people. I
acknowledge that in religion obedience is needful and praise*
worthy ; but it must be that which we render to God and his
institutions, such as was that of the Philippians here celebrated
by the apostle, and in general that of all the Lord's sheep, who
follow his voice, and are obedient to the instructions of their
Pastor, who hear his word and believe it. But not to discern
the word of men from his, and to take as doctrine all that is
offered to us under that name, without examination, without
comparing it with the canonical scriptures, as did formerly
those of Berea, whose diligence is praised in the Acts, certainly
is rather stupidity than docility ; it is to mock the truth of the
Lord under pretence of respecting his authority ; it is to be-
tray his salvation, instead of confirming it. But it is not
enough that the praise be true, it ought also to be suitable, that
is to say, .as to time and place where it may profit, as this
which the apostle here gives to the Philippians. For what
could he say more suitable to engage them more and more in
godliness, which is his only design in this text, than to allege
the obedience which they had hitherto yielded to the gospel ?
Who cannot see that to praise them thus for the past was to
encourage them for the future? You are already solemnly
pledged to perseverance, says he to them. This beautiful and
noble obdience, which you have so constantly yielded to Jesus
Christ from the first period of your conversion, is a warrant
for your fidelity to us, and to yourselves an obligation to con-
tinue in it to the end. Henceforth you can neither turn from
it, nor even look back, without covering yourselves with op-
probrium. Continue then, in the name of God, and crown
these good beginnings with a happy end. He urges the Bo-
mans by a similar reason, when, to incite them to the study of
sanctification, he alleges that salvation is nearer to them than
when they believed, Rom. xiii. 11. In like manner, he magni-
fies the crime of slothfulness in the Galatians, who had allowed
themselves to be seduced by false apostles, by this considera-
tion, that they had formerly embraced the gospel with much
zeal and ardour: "Ye did run well; who did hinder you
that ye should not obey the truth ? Are ye so foolish ? hav-
ing begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh ?"
Gal. v. 7 ; iii. 3.
After having praised the Philippians for the obedience they
had yielded him, the apostle adds, in the fourth place, " Not
only as in my presence, but now much more in my absence."
By which he warns them not to do as some, who had been re-
tained for a time in their duty by the presence of certain per-
sons of respectability, but who allow themselves to be led into
debauchery as soon as they are at a distance from them. Paul
elsewhere calls the obedience of such people " eye-service and
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 185
men-pleasers," Eph. vi. 6. Nature itself has imprinted the sen-
timent on our hearts, that sin is a filthy thing, and unworthy
of us ; however strong may be our inclination, we dare not
commit it except in secret. It fears the light, and the eyes of
other men ; above all, of those who are holy and serious, ap-
prehending their censure, and being ashamed of appearing in
their presence. Hence the Stoics, one of the most famous sects
of the ancient pagan philosophers, order their disciples to
choose one of their most esteemed sages, as a Socrates, or a
Cato, and to take him as a witness, and an arbiter of their
lives, looking on him as present at all their actions, that from
respect to him they may form their lives to honesty and jus-
tice, and drive from them vice and debauchery. But although
this modesty may be useful to repress the unholy actions of
our lusts, it must be acknowledged to be a weak and feeble
guardian of our minds, and that those who only refrain from
evil and do not apply themselves to good are not christians.
The true christian hates the evil and loves the good for them-
selves. He respects the eyes of God, and not those of men ;
so that in whatever place you may put him, were it in the
most separate, the most solitary, and the darkest corner of the
world, it will not induce him to be more indulgent to his pas-
sions. This is the disposition which Paul here desires for his
Philippians, that they should not obey only as in his presence ;
that they should everywhere alike embrace the study of holi-
ness, whether he were present among them or not, always re-
membering that it is God that they serve, and not Paul ; that
it is to this supreme Majesty, who is present at all our actions,
that we must be acceptable, and not only to his servants. He
also adds, that they should be much more careful now in his
absence ; for whilst he was present he exhorted and warned
them continually of their duty, he discovered to them the am-
bushes of the enemy, he led thern (so to speak) by the hand,
and rendered them a thousand kind services, of which they
might consequently discharge themselves towards him. Now
that his absence deprived them of such a salutary help, were
they not therefore bound to redouble their solicitude, to be
upon their guard with more attention than ever, and to seek
from their own vigilance the guidance of their lives, without
resting in any degree upon another ? — as a sick person ought
much rather to take care of himself in the absence than in the
presence of his physician ; and as good soldiers never give
themselves more trouble or more attention than when the ab-
sence of their officers leaves them entirely charged with all the
guidance of their corps.
II. But let us now consider what this care was which the
apostle here demands from the Philippians, and from all other
believers ; he explains it in the second part of our text in these
24
186 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XI.
words, " Work out your own salvation with fear and trem-
bling." Upon which we have two points to consider : first,
the thing itself the apostle commands, "to work out our own
salvation ;" and secondly, the manner in which he wishes us
to do it, " with fear and trembling." As to the first, there is
no one in the church who does not know what the apostle
means by "our salvation;" it is that blessed and immortal life
which the Lord Jesus obtained for us by his death, and which
he communicates to us by his Spirit, of which we enjoy the first-
fruits in this world, and its perfection and fulness in the other.
The scripture does not only call it life, but salvation, because
God does not simply give us happiness ; he saves us first, and de-
livers us from the evil in which we were by nature. The bless-
ing which the law promised to those who fulfilled it is simply
called life ; for the law delivers no one from sin, neither lifts
man from the sorrow into which he had fallen ; but acting as
if he were in a state of innocence, rewards the obedience which
he shall have yielded to it with immortality ; hence that which
it promises him is only called life, and not salvation. But in
Jesus Christ we are first drawn from that miserable state into
which sin had reduced us, absolved from our crimes, and freed
from the curse, then clothed with light and peace, and holiness,
and glory. This is why the gift of Jesus Christ is called sal-
vation, and not simply life ; salvation, as you see, signifying
life given, not simply to a creature, but to a miserable creature,
such as we are by nature. The apostle then desires that we
should apply ourselves to this salvation, to this new life which
Jesus Christ communicates to us, by delivering us from death.
The word Karcpya^eai, which we have translated " to apply one-
self to," properly signifies to do, to work, to labour, and is ta-
ken in two ways in the scripture; sometimes to express to
polish, form, and fashion a rough and raw thing, as when a
carpenter cuts and polishes wood, and a mason stones, which
they desire to employ in their work ; and in this sense we may
say that God makes us when he creates us in his Son, stripping
us of this vile and miserable form of sinners and slaves of Sa-
tan, in which we are born, and giving us another, holy and
glorious, by which we become his children, precious and lively
stones, and fit to enter into the building of his temple, from
vile and dead stones, which we were by nature. The other,
more common, signification of this word is, to accomplish, per-
fect, and finish a thing already commenced, to execute it and
guide it to its end; as when the apostle says, in Eom. vii. 18,
that " to will is present with me, but how to perform that which
is good I find not ;" and when he says besides, in Kom. iv., it
" worketh wrath," because it completes in us the feeling of the
wrath of God against sin, which without it is weak and languid,
the light of nature alone without the law only exciting and be-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 187
ginning it in us. Paul in these two places uses precisely the
same word which he has here employed, and this sense suits it
well; "Work out your salvation ;" meaning, accomplish that
which is begun in you; labour incessantly to complete this
fine work, and to bring it to its perfection, and, as our Bibles
interpret it, employ yourselves on it, that your whole occupa-
tion may be in the things necessary to this great salvation to
which you are called. It is in substance the same exhortation
that Peter gives to believers, 2 Pet. i. 5, 6, where, having spoken
of salvation, he says, " Giving all diligence, add to your faith
virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance,
and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and
to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness
charity." This is what our Lord calls to " labour for that bread
which endureth to everlasting life," John vi. 27 ; and in Matt.
xvi. 24, to " seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness ;"
and again in another place, to take up the cross, and to follow
him without looking back; and in Jude 20, to build up ourselves
on our most holy faith. It is as Paul will say to us presently,
" I follow on, that I may apprehend. Forgetting those things
that are behind, and reaching forth unto those which are before,
I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Jesus Christ," Phil. iii. 12-14. But the adversaries of
our doctrine touching the grace of God elevate themselves in
this place, and misuse this passage altogether ; in the first
place, to establish free-will ; and secondly, to prove the merit
of our works. As to the first, To what purpose (say they)
would Paul exhort us to work out our own salvation, if we
were not able to do so, and if we had not the necessary
strength ? But this objection is absurd, seeing that the apos-
tle speaks here to believers made free by the grace of Jesus
Christ ; whereas our dispute is with men who are in a state of
nature, in the chains of sin. For it is of those of whom we say,
that they can neither understand the things of God, nor submit
to his will. We readily confess that those who have received
the Spirit from on high can embrace the things of God, yea,
they embrace them in truth, and persevere in them to the end,
according to the doctrine of the Lord, Every one that has heard
and has learned of the Father cometh unto him, and remaineth
in him, John vi. 45. We simply say, that all the strength by
which they believe and persevere is a gift of divine grace, and
not an effect or production of their own. And as to those who
are still in the corruption of nature, their inability to do good
is no reason why they may not and ought not to be exhorted,
not to persevere, (which the apostle here demands,) but to begin,
because it is a helplessness entirely founded in the malice of
their hearts ; they cannot believe, because they seek the glory
of the world, John v. 44. For we every day exhort those to
188 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XI.
sobriety and righteousness who have contracted so confirmed
a habit of drunkenness and theft, that philosophy itself acknow-
ledges that it is not possible they should abstain from these
vices ; and yet, under that pretence, nobody accuses such as
exhort them of absurdity, or those who punish them of injus-
tice.
As to merit in our works, neither can our adversaries found
that on this passage. It is true that believers work out
their salvation ; that is to say, (as we have shown,) they labour
at those things which belong to the kingdom of God. They
believe ; they pray ; they watch ; they take heed to themselves ;
they resist temptation ; they practise works of charity, right-
eousness, and patience ; in a word, they walk in the paths of
the Lord. It is certain that believers do these things, and it
is still further certain that in doing them they work out or ac-
complish their salvation ; that they progress towards the end
of their calling; they build up themselves, as Jade teaches;
yea, they save themselves, as the apostle says, when speaking
to Timothy, that in doing his duty he will both save himself,
and them that hear him, 1 Tim. iv. 16 ; that is what the apos-
tle here says, and with that we agree. But he does not say,
either that believers do the things by the power of their own
free-will, and not by the virtue of the grace of God alone ; on the
contrary, he adds in the following verse, "that God works in
us both to will and to do of his good pleasure;" or that this
endeavour or labour of believers merits salvation ; on the con-
trary, he elsewhere protests that our sufferings are not to be
compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us, and that
the life eternal with which God will reward our race is a gift
of his grace, and alms from his mercy. It must then be con-
sidered as one thing to merit salvation, and another to enter
into the possession of it. The first belongs alone to Jesus
Christ, the second to believers. For there is no one but the
Lord who has obtained life at the price of his blood, having
satisfied the Father's justice by his sufferings, and obtained the
privilege of immortality ; by reason of which he alone is called
our Saviour ; this name, as well as that of Mediator, Redeemer,
and Intercessor, belongs to him alone. But as to the posses-
sion of the salvation acquired by him, it belongs to all those
who believe in his word. It is very true that even in this re-
spect it is the Lord who does the business. For being as in-
capable of conducting ourselves in this state as of acquiring
it, God gives us strength and power to do it by his Spirit ;
in consequence of which we act as the instruments of his hand,
and are said to work out, or to complete, our salvation, be-
cause by faith, by the practice of holiness, and by persever-
ance, we enter into the possession of eternal life, acquired for
us only by the merit of our Lord. This has been well ex-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIAN9. 189
plained by an author whom our adversaries reckon among
their fathers, (Bernard on Free-will,) that our good works are
the path, and not the cause, of the heavenly kingdom. It may
then be concluded, that the apostle commanding us in this place
to employ ourselves on our own salvation, to work it out and
to finish it, does not take for granted any power of free-will in
us, nor any merit in our works, but simply means, that in con-
sequence of, and by the efficacy of, this merciful grace, with
which God has freely favoured us, we should incessantly la-
bour, each in his calling, to accomplish the work of godliness,
watching and praying, renouncing the world more and more,
and all its vain lusts, and daily growing in faith, hope, and
charity, in patience, and in all those other spiritual graces ne-
cessar}'' to arrive at the entire enjoyment of that precious and
glorious inheritance, which the Lord Jesus has acquired for us by
his death, assured by his resurrection, and promised in his word.
I now come to the manner in which he desires that we
should acquit ourselves of this duty, that is to say, "with fear
and trembling," which is the second and last point that we
have to consider in this discourse. Those of the Komish com-
munion teaching, as you know, that the believer ought always
to doubt of his salvation, not being able, as they hold, to have
a certain assurance of being now in the grace of God, and
much less of persevering in it constantly for the future, wrest
this passage to their error, and pretend that the apostle, by
this " fear and trembling" which he directs, means doubt and
mistrust, and wishes us to be in a perpetual apprehension of
falling from salvation, without being certain that God loves us,
or that we shall ever arrive at salvation. I will not here
largely refute this doctrine, nor show you how contrary it is
to scripture, which teaches us in a thousand places both the
certainty of the salvation of the elect, and the testimony borne
by the Holy Spirit to their adoption, and the confidence they
should take from it, being certain, with the apostle, that neither
death, nor life, nor any other thing, should ever separate them
from the love of God in Jesus Christ. How insulting is it to
God that we should be unwilling to assure ourselves of his
mercy towards each of us, which is the highest glory that we
can ascribe to his goodness ! how destructive of that comfort
of believers, which in the midst of the miseries among which
they live according to the flesh, is all founded on the feeling
of the grace of God in Christ Jesus ! and to what feelings of
horror and apprehension must such doubts necessarily give
rise, when viewed with reference to what they must endure if
they shall be eternally lost ! To minds thus disposed it is im-
possible that one single spark of contentment should remain,
much less that they should possess that peace of God which
passes all understanding, or that unspeakable and glorious joy
190 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XI.
which the apostles attribute to the true children of God, as a
necessary consequence of their adoption. And finally, how
does such a doctrine clash with the theology of Rome itself,
which, setting forth that grace is received into the hearts of
men by the voluntary motions of their pretended free-will,
here evidently contradicts itself, adding, that none can be cer-
tain if he has this grace or not, as if we can knowingly and
voluntarily receive a thing into our minds without knowing
whether we have received it or not ! But I leave for the present
all this controversy, and will content myself with simply show-
ing that this passage in no wise favours their error ; and, that
we may well understand it, I maintain that the " fear and
trembling" here recommended by the apostle signifies neither
doubt nor mistrust, (which ought to be strangers to souls jus-
tified by the blood of Christ, and sanctified by his Spirit.) but
a very deep humility, accompanied by a supreme reverence
for God, giving him all the glory of our salvation, without at-
tributing any part of it to ourselves ; a disposition of mind
which we affirm ought to be in every true believer, according
to the doctrine of the scriptures. And it is a remarkable cir-
cumstance, that this exposition was brought forward in the
Council of Trent itself, as history tells us ; such admirable
methods has the providence of God for causing his truth to
shine even in the midst of the thickest darkness. That we
must thus take the text of the apostle is proved in many ways.
First, by the terms themselves which he uses, fear and trem-
bling, which are never employed in the New Testament to ex-
press doubt or mistrust, but always every where to signify hu-
mility and reverence ; as in the Epistle to the Ephesians, vi.
5, where Paul commands servants " to obey their masters with
fear and trembling," who does not see that he means not with
doubt and mistrust, (which would be very unsuitable, and con-
trary to what he adds, " in simplicity of heart, as unto Christ,")
but with humility and reverence ? and when he praises the
Corinthians, " that they had received Titus with fear and
trembling ;" that is to say, with the respect due to him, and
not with distrust, which would have been contrary to their
duty ; and when he says to the same believers " that he has
been among them in fear and trembling," 1 Cor. ii. 3, he sig-
nifies not that he had doubted them, that he had been afraid
of them, (for this meaning would be absurd and ridiculous,)
but the humility, gentleness, and simplicity of his conversa-
tion among them. These are the only three passages, besides
our text, in which we meet with this manner of speaking in
the whole of the New Testament, all of which imply humility
and reverence, and not doubt or mistrust. Who can argue
that, in this fourth passage, we must not take these words in
the same sense ? I prove it, in the second place, by the second
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 191
Psalm, from whence this manner of speaking is evidently
drawn, where the prophet, treating a similar subject, says,
"Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling." Un-
doubtedly this great joy, this exultation with which he accom-
panies the fear and trembling of believers, is incompatible
with doubt, uncertainty, and mistrust ; but agrees very well
with humility and reverence to God. Let us then say that
both the psalmist, and Paul, who has borrowed these words
from him, by the fear and trembling which he directs, intends
humility and reverence, and not doubt and uncertainty. The
same appears again from what the apostle, in Rom. xi., opposes
to the fear which he recommends to us; which is not assurance,
but pride; "Be not high-minded, but fear," ver. 20; an evi-
dent sign that the fear which he approves in us is reverence
and humility, the reverse of pride, and not doubt or uncer-
tainty, the opposite of assurance. But what need is there to
travel beyond this text to establish its meaning ? Its connec-
tion even with what precedes and what follows it sufficiently
explains it to us. For the apostle draws this exhortation from
the example of Jesus Christ, as we have already shown.
Christ humbled himself, and was exalted ; for which reason
occupy yourselves about your own salvation with fear and
trembling. This conclusion, to be good and right, ought to
follow the nature of its principle, and draw nothing from it
but what is really in it. Now in this example of the Lord,
from which it is deduced, we see a very deep and most admirable
humility, with an extreme reverence and obedience towards
the Father, as the apostle divinely represents to us in it. But
of doubt, uncertainty, or mistrust, neither does the apostle re-
mark any thing, nor in reality is there any. For who can
say, without blasphemy, that the Son of God either doubted or
was uncertain of his victory ? Since, then, from this example
the fear and trembling are drawn which the apostle recom-
mends to us, it must necessarily be acknowledged that this
fear and trembling are humility and reverence, which clearly
appears, as the origin of this reasoning, and not doubt or mis-
trust, which has no place in it.
Finally, that which follows no less establishes it than that
which preceded it : " Work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling." Why? " Because (he adds) it is God which
worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
Undoubtedly this great and admirable grace of the Lord, which
thus deigns to accomplish his work in us, leads us truly to con-
clude that we ought to walk before him with extreme humility
and reverence ; but not at all that we should doubt our salva-
tion ; on the contrary, we should rather conclude that we ought
to have a firm and assured hope of it. As then this reason is
that which the apostle alleges for the fear and trembling with
192 AIST EXPOSITION" OF [SERM. XI.
which we must work out our salvation, let us conclude that it is
humility and reverence towards God which he recommends to
us, and not doubt or uncertainty, as our adversaries pretend.
For this fear consists in two things : first, in a profound humil-
ity ; and secondly, in a perfect reverence towards God. The hu-
mility which proceeds from the consciousness of our own weak-
ness, the worthlessness of our nature, and the dangers which sur-
round us, produces in us a continual solicitude to employ all
the means necessary to salvation, and particularly an attention
to bind ourselves wholly to the Lord, hoping nothing from
ourselves, and expecting all from him; as you see in an. in-
fant, who, the more knowledge it has of its own weakness and the
danger in which it finds itself, the more closely it will cling to
its mother. Reverence towards God produces also the same
effect, and gives rise in our hearts to a greater knowledge of his
goodness and supreme majesty than of our own sin and misery.
For who is he whose respect for so great a God does not lead
him to the study and practice of that which is agreeable to
him ? Such was the disposition of our apostle. He was as-
sured of his own salvation, as he so clearly testifies in a thou-
sand places, that our adversaries themselves are obliged to
acknowledge it, and to except him from among the number of
doubters ; yet he did not cease to feel much solicitude, and to
take wonderful care of all the means which are prescribed for
us to arrive at the heavenly kingdom ; as he declares, both in
the third chapter of this Epistle, and in 1 Cor. ix. 26, 27, where
he declares that he runs, and fights, and wrestles, and brings
his body into subjection, so that after having preached to others,
he himself may not be a castaway. He recommends to us what
he practised himself, — assurance without security, and labour
without pride. He does not wish that the goodness of God
should render us cowards, or that our labour should render us
presumptuous. Satan deceives some by making them believe
that there is no need to withstand vice, or to give themselves
much trouble ; and he puffs up others, and intoxicates them
with a good opinion of themselves, turning their own virtue
into poison to them, and their confidence into ruin. By the
first means he destroys that large number of carnal christians
of which the world is full, and who have nothing of Jesus
Christ but the name and the profession. By the second he
condemns Pharisaical minds, proud and puffed up with the
presumption of their righteousness and of their deserts, under
whatever period or garb they may live. The apostle calls to
the first, " Work out your own salvation," and adds for the
second, " with fear and trembling." Dear brethren, it is not
sufficient to remark these vices in others, or even to listen to
what Paul directs us against them ; we must watch ourselves,
and unceasingly practise the holy exhortation of this great
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 193
minister of the Lord. May this heavenly voice of his resound
in our ears and in our hearts night and day, " Work out your
own salvation with fear and trembling." May it hasten us, and
not give us any moment of repose ; may it awaken our minds,
and keep them entirely occupied on this divine care. Let us
receive nothing that is contrary to it. Let us shut our ears to
the gentle but pernicious songs of the world, which invite us
to its vile pleasures, and its useless pastimes, and to the
miserable exercise of its laborious vanity. Let us not listen
either to the necessities or the desires of carnal nature, or of
our family. Let us leave the dead to bury their dead, and the
children of this mortal world to amuse themselves with mortal
and perishable things. Let us follow Jesus Christ, and re-
member the salvation to which he calls us, and for which he
consecrated himself for us, and of which he has already given
us an earnest. It is our task and our work. It is the vineyard
into which he has sent us, the talent that he has committed to
us. Let us every morning attend to this work ; let us examine
it every evening. Let us hold that day lost in which we have
made no progress in it. If any of the qualities necessary to
this salvation are wanting to you, such as charity, patience,
chastity, or liberality, labour, watch, and pray till you have
received them from heaven. If what you have is weak and in
a bad state, quit it not till it has regained its proper form.
And here do not allege any excuse. You cannot have a good
one here, where the question is one of salvation ; that is to say,
of your supreme happiness. You know what happened to
Lot's wife. For only having looked behind her, she was
changed into a pillar of salt. Let us always have before our
eyes this sad and memorable monument of the just vengeance
of God against those who do his work deceitfully.
But, beloved brethren, the obedience that you have hitherto
yielded him, in embracing and keeping the profession of his
gospel, in spite of the temptations which surround you, makes
us hope better things of you. God forbid that you should lose
the fruit of such excellent perseverance ; and that negligence
should ruin a work which you have so gloriously begun, and
so courageously followed, in the midst of so many stumbling-
blocks. The greatest difficulties are overcome. You have
broken through the hinderances which keep back so many
miserable wretches at the entrance, — the shame of the world,
and the lusts of the flesh. You have rejected the temptations
which have ruined a large number, bringing them back again
into the slavery of superstition. You have left Egypt and
the Red Sea behind you, and have crossed a good part of the
desert. Henceforth you behold that blessed land which the
Lord has promised you. You are on its frontier, and have but
the Jordan to cross. In the name of God, finish happily this
25
194 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XII.
good journey. May your strength increase m proportion as
your task diminishes. Do in godliness what heavy things do
in nature, which quicken their motions the nearer they ap-
proach their place of rest. Employ yourselves more than ever
on your salvation, as you were never before so near it ; but
may it be with fear and trembling, with true humility and a
holy reverence towards the Lord. If you have made some pro-
gress in this design,<you have wherewith to rejoice before God,
but nothing of which to be proud in yourselves. Look upon
your obedience, your faith, and your perseverance as the works
of his goodness, and not as the victory of your strength. May
your submission and your reverence arise from it, and not a
good opinion of yourselves. The more blessings you possess,
the greater respect, and gratitude, and modesty you owe him ;
for in truth you have nothing that you have not received from
his liberal hand. Behold, dear brethren, what is required of
us by this holy and glorious pattern of the obedience and hu-
miliation of Jesus Christ, which the apostle has placed before
our eyes, and from which he drew the exhortation which has
been addressed to us this day. If we imitate his constancy,
his perseverance, his humility, in the course of our calling, he
will crown us in the end with a glory similar to his own, ac-
cording to his holy and faithful promise, "To him that over-
cometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give
power such as I have received from my Father, and he shall
sit with me on my throne," Eev. ii. 26, 27 ; iii. 21. The Lord
give us this grace ; and to him, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
the true and only God blessed for ever, be honour and glory
for ever and ever. Amen.
Preached at Charenton, Sunday, 13th Jan., 1641.
SERMON XII.
VERSE 13.
For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his
good pleasure.
Dear brethren, to deliver us from the death into which we
had fallen, and to restore us to the life we had lost, two things
were necessary : one beyond ourselves, namely, the satisfac-
tion of God's justice ; the other within ourselves, namely, faith
and repentance. For as sin, of which we are guilty, had shut
up our entrance into the house of God and had, as it were,
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 195
tied the hands of his beneficence, it is clear that whatever dis-
position we might have had towards him, it was not possible
that we should obtain from him either pardon or life, if, in the
first place, his justice was not satisfied, and our crime expiated.
So that a propitiatory sacrifice was absolutely necessary for us
to appease the wrath of God, and gain his favour, by blotting
out sin, which had set him at variance with us. But as, on the
other hand, it is neither suitable nor possible that an unbeliev-
ing or impenitent creature should enjoy the salvation of God,
you perceive that, in order to attain it, besides that propitiation
which removes hinderances from without, repentance and faith
are necessary to bring us into a state to receive the grace of
our Sovereign. The gospel clearly teaches both these things,
when it says that " God so loved the world, that he gave his
only Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life," John iii. 16. As to the first cause
of salvation, the scripture shows that God alone is its author,
who, moved by his infinite goodness, has entirely prepared,
procured, and accomplished the satisfaction of his justice, and
the purchase of immortality, by sending his Son, the great and
precious gift of his grace. No one has arisen among christians
who does not acknowledge it, or at least does not pretend to do
so. Those who make man capable of expiating sin, of satisfy-
ing the justice, and of meriting the grace of God, are ashamed
of their own doctrine, and willing that the Lord should have
entirely the glory of our redemption. But as to the other part,
that is to say, faith and holiness, however clearly and expressly
the scripture gives all the praise to God, yet many in different
ages have attempted, and many are still trying, to give a part
of it to man. They rightly confess that it is God who presents
to us, in the first instance, the testimonies of his favour, and
the instructions of his love, whether in the books of his word
or by the mouth of his ministers ; that he solicits and ad-
dresses us by his providence ; without which means it would
be no more possible for us to believe than for a man to see an
object which is not before his eyes, as the apostle observes, Rom.
x. 14, "How can they believe in him of whom they have not
heard ? and how shall they hear without a preacher ? and how
shall they preach except they be sent ?" But this is all that
these people assign to God in the production of our faith and
sanctification. And if some of them add to it a few rays of
his grace, by which he accompanies within what he addresses
to us from without, it is only to arrange the objects which are
presented to us, and to offer them to us in a brighter light, or
to advise and simply invite us to embrace them, and not ef-
fectually to imprint them in our hearts ; pretending that it is
our will which effects the chief, nay, the whole, receiving or
rejecting the operations of God, by its own motions, at pleasure,
196 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. XII.
without grace necessarily having any thing to do with it. But
the holy apostle, whose writings we are explaining, teaches us
a very different doctrine, condemning every where this pre-
sumption, and constantly giving to God the entire glory of our
salvation, in all the parts of which it consists. Among the
texts in which he establishes this excellent truth, this which
we have just read is without doubt one of the most illustrious
on which to found the exhortation he made in the preceding
verse, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, that
is to say, (as we have already explained in its place,) with deep
and sincere humility ; he takes from us every pretext for our
vanity, and boldly pronounces that it is to God alone that we
owe all that we are in Jesus Christ : " For it is God that work-
eth in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
That we may truly understand the meaning of this doctrine
of the apostle, we must, in the first place, consider, What is
this " to will and to do," of which he speaks ; secondly, How
God produces it in us efficaciously ; and in the third and last
place, What is that " good pleasure " according to which it is
produced. Thus we shall have three things to discuss in this
discourse, trusting in the Lord's help. The first, the effect of
the grace of God in believers ; it is " to will and to do." The
second, the operation of God in putting this willing and doing
in us ; it is a work with power. And the third, the motive
which leads the Lord so to work in us ; it is " his good plea-
sure."
I. To begin then with the first point, the effect of the grace
of God in believers. It would appear that the apostle here
takes " to will " for the internal dispositions of our souls in
the things that regard piety and salvation ; and "to do " as the
external execution of these resolutions, and the good works
which proceed from them without ; so that, for example, the
design of believing and loving the gospel is " to will," and its
confession " to do." But as piety has its principal seat within
us, according to the apostle's declaration, that " the kingdom
of God is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost,"
Eom. xiv. 17, all depending on the interior fixedness of the
soul, the outward works and actions being either good or bad
according to the quality of the heart, from whence they spring ;
it is better to understand " in us," (the division which Paul here
makes,) as distributing all things that regard piety into two
parts, one of which he calls " to will," and the other " to do."
For it is clear that in the mind itself there are certain actions
and dispositions which may be called energy and perfection,
and others simply the will. To understand it better, we must
consider what even the wise men of this world have remarked,
that the human will (which is the origin of all moral actions)
has two kinds of movement. The first a weak and doubtful
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 197
one, which is rather a wish or a desire than a firm and settled
will, when we would indeed wish to do a thing, but when in
reality we do it not. The other an entire and complete action
of the will, firmly fixed upon an object, and in consequence
using all the power it possesses to accomplish it. Of the first
sort we simply say that they wish, but of the second we say they
toill indeed. You every day see in common life examples of
this difference. A merchant wishes to preserve the cargo of
his vessel, labouring at sea in a great tempest ; but nevertheless
he does not will it, the fear of perishing himself making him
resolve to throw out with his own hands that which is most
precious to him. Among corrupt people, how many are there
who really wish to keep in the path of duty, and fail in it with
regret, carried away by the violence of their passions ; and
who, like that woman of whom the poets speak, see and ap-
prove the better part, and nevertheless follow the worse! But
those who are not troubled with such passions, or who, having
fought and conquered them, continue in the practice of honesty
and justice, those, I say, do not simply wish the good, but they
also will it in truth. These diversities in the will proceed
from the different disposition of the understanding, which is
the guide of all its movements. For when we judge absolutely
that a thing is good and salutary for us, we also will it abso-
lutely. If the understanding only judges it to be doubtfully
and imperfectly good, the will is only led to it feebly and lan-
guidly. Now in piety, which perfects and enriches nature, but
does not destroy it, these diversities and differences of the will
also appear. For there are some who are only touched with
the beauty of the gospel, and the blessings which it promises,
to the degree of simply wishing that they could embrace it.
But seeing that to do so they must deprive themselves of the
sweets and pleasures of life, and expose themselves to the
hatred of men, they stop at wishing, without going further.
Such is the will of those who are usually called Nicodemuses,
who would indeed wish to make a profession of the truth, and
would do so, if it were compatible with the repose and peace
of the world ; but they do not will it. For if they will it,
why do they not do it ? They can allege no other reason than
the feebleness of their will. Such was the disposition of him
who, offering to follow the Lord, went away sad, when he heard
that he must give up his riches ; and of those who, having re-
ceived the seed of life with joy, withered as soon as the heat
of persecution had blown upon them ; and of those again, who
having conceived Jesus Christ in their hearts, have not strength
to give him birth, nor to show their fruit without, by bringing
it into the light of life. But that noble merchant of the gospel
who, having known the inestimable value of the heavenly pearl,
sold all that he had to buy it, had a true and perfect will ; and
198 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XII.
Paul likewise, who, as soon as he was acquainted with the glory
and excellence of Jesus Christ, renounced all to embrace it,
following him thenceforth with as much ardour as he had be-
fore evinced in persecuting him ; and finally, all those who give
up the world and its vanities, to make an open and constant
profession of the way of God. The apostle says of all such in
general, " they will live godly in Christ Jesus," 2 Tim. iii. 12.
Those only who in truth live so, are they who will to live in
this sense, it being evident that such as have only simple wishes,
and who are content with saying, " I wish I could live so," are
free from the persecution the apostle says shall come upon all
those who " will to live." It is then the first motion of the
will, trembling and led to love and to desire godliness, that he
here calls " the will ;" and it is the second when it fixes upon
this design, and embraces it with a firm and resolute affection,
which he calls "to do." This is the true perfection of the will.
The first of these motions is only the beginning of its opera-
tion ; the second is its operation and its work completed.
And that it must thus be taken, appears from other passages,
where he employs the same words in this sense ; as in Rom.
vii., where he describes the conflict of a man troubled between
the love of good and the desire of evil : " To will is present
with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not ;"
where by " to will" he means those weak and vain desires of
doing good, but which perform it not, whilst, on the contrary,
he calls, " to perform" a full and entire will, followed by its ef-
fect. In the Epistle to the Galatians, he also expresses it by
a similar word, where, speaking of the wrestling of the flesh
and of the Spirit, he says, " The flesh lusteth against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh ; and these are contrary the one
to the other ; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would,"
Gal. v. 17. Here again he opposes " to do" with " to will ;"
that is to say, a firm and constant temper of the will, which is
always followed by its effect, to those light and weak desires
by which good is rather wished than willed. It is in my opin-
ion exactly this which he means by " the will and the race,"
when, arguing on the causes of our vocation to salvation, he
concludes, " that it is neither of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy," Rom. ix. 16 ; as
if he would say, that it is neither the wishes nor the first mo-
tions of man, nor his firmest resolutions, nor the works which
proceed from them, which are the causes of his vocation ; but
the grace and mercy of the Lord alone. And thus, in these
three passages, under the words " to do" and " to run," he un-
derstands, with the firmness and perfection of the will, all the
affections and works which depend on it, and by which it is
shown : so does he in our text. And the reason is evident.
For as a firm and settled will necessarily produces its effects,
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 199
and it is not possible for it to exist without them, it is clear
that whoever speaks of such a will speaks also of all its effects.
Perhaps it may happen in other things that such a will may
not execute what it wishes to do, because what it wishes may
depend on others, or may be taken out of its power. But in
religion, what is willed cannot be resisted, provided it be firmly
and constantly willed ; for religion only demands from us those
things which we can execute. For example, it does not re-
quire us to give alms if we have not the means of so doing;
nor to preach the gospel if we have not the gifts necessary for
preaching; nor to hear if we are deaf, nor to speak if we are
dumb. In these respects the intention will be accounted to us
for the deed. This is why the apostle, in a passage on which
we have before remarked, says, " those that will live godly,"
to signify those who do so live ; as it is not possible that a man
should have a fixed and settled will so to live without living
so indeed. From whence it appears that in these words, " to
will and to do," are entirely comprised every part of godliness,
without any exception, all the movements that we make for
the kingdom of God, and all the duties we perform to arrive at
it. "To will" signifies the first emotions and the first affec-
tions of the soul towards godliness, which are the commence-
ments of our salvation ; God raising these first emotions within
us by the first rays that he causes to shine in our hearts. Man,
hearing the happiness that the gospel promises him, and seeing
the beauty, the justice, and the excellence of the means which
it sets before him that he may attain it, is attracted by it, and
turns his will towards it, desiring to have a share in such a
rich treasure, and to place himself in the road that leads to it.
The other words, " to do," signify, in the first place, the reso-
lution that we take to believe and embrace godliness, the lively
and ardent love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of his kingdom ;
and secondly, all the holy emotions of a will thus disposed,
the courage to suffer in so glorious a cause, the contempt for
the vanities of earth, disgust at its pleasures, works of charity
to our neighbours, temperance in the conduct of our life, and
all those works which flow from this divine source, with per-
severance and a final accomplishment of our salvation. There
is nothing good or praiseworthy in the life of believers,
whether of those who begin or of those who finish, there is no-
thing in the infancy of the one, nor in the riper years of the
other, which does not relate either " to will" or " to do." These
two words comprise all the efforts and all the success of their
piety ; its beginnings, its progress, its perseverance, and its
end ; its conflicts, its victories, and its triumphs.
This shows how empty is the presumption of those who di-
vide the glory of our course in the faith between God and our-
selves ; freely granting that God works in them the beginnings
200 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XII.
of salvation, but pretending that, after having received the first
tokens of his grace, they are afterwards the authors of the rest,
which they express by a word full of vanity, saying that they
co-operate with God, making themselves, by these means, com-
panions of the Godhead in this work. The apostle here throws
down all this project of their pride, pronouncing, gloriously,
that " it is God which works in them to will and to do," the
progress and the end, as well as the beginning. If there be
anything else in them besides to will and to do, I am content
that they should attribute it to themselves. But since these
words comprehend all, who does not see it is wronging the
apostle to give man some part of a work which he attributes
entirely to God ? This same Lord that brings us out of Egypt,
preserves us in the desert, and introduces us into Canaan. As
he has given us the intention to follow his Christ, so also has
he given us the strength to do so. Our progress, as well as
our beginning, is the work of his grace alone; and our perse-
verance no less so than our progress.
II. Let us now consider how he gives us this " to will and
to do," of which he is the sole author. The apostle explains
it by a remarkable term, saying, " that he produces both the
one and the other in us with power." This word,* in the lan-
guage of the Holy Scriptures, signifies a powerful and effica-
cious action, which, surmounting all resistance, and throwing
down every impediment, succeeds in its design, and executes
what it has undertaken. Hence the Greek interpreters have
used it in Isa. xli. 4, to express that all powerful work of God
by which he created all things, giving them being by an infi-
nite power, whose efficacy nothing could stop : " Who (says
the prophet) hath wrought and done it, calling the generations
from the beginning?" And Paul employs it in a similar way,
to signify the action of that all-powerful and insurmountable
virtue by which Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, saying
that it is the action or energy that God displayed with power
when he raised him from the dead, Eph. i. 20 ; and in the same
chapter he expresses also by this word the action by which
God executes his decrees powerfully and infallibly, " that we
were predestinated according to the purpose of him who
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will," ver. 11.
And Matthew, in like manner, to express the action by which
divine power does and executes his miracles, in setting before
us the opinion that Herod had conceived of Jesus Christ, makes
him say, " It is John the Baptist ; he is risen from the dead ;
and therefore mighty works are wrought by him," Matt. xiv. 2.
It is then the same term which the holy apostle here employs
to express the action by which God gives us " to will and to
* 'EvtpyeTv.
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 201
do," saying that "he works in us with power," as it has been
well translated in our Bibles. From which it appears that this
action of the grace of God on us, when he regenerates us in
his Son Jesus Christ, is not a moral suasion, by which he in-
vites us to believe in him, or a naked and simple proposal of
the means which should draw us to do so, having sometimes
its effect, and sometimes not, according to the different incli-
nations of human wills ; but a strong work, sweet and agree-
able, it is true, but powerful and invincible, which is always
certainly and infallibly followed by its effect ; so that it is im-
possible that the soul in which it is displayed should not have
henceforth "to will and to do." I acknowledge that God also
calls unbelievers and sinners to faith and repentance, address-
ing them by his word, and declaring his will ; and that with
respect to some he goes still further, enlightening them within
by some rays of his light, and spreading in their hearts some
power of his Spirit, even to the production of this "will" of
which we have spoken above. And I confess that all this
work of God remains often, nay, always, destitute of its last
true and legitimate effect, that is to say, of the real and entire
conversion of the sinner, by the hardness of men, and not by
the defect of the revelation of God. But the question here is
not of the kind of calling common to reprobates, hypocrites,
and unbelievers ; but of that which God directs to his elect,
and by which he converts them to himself. For it is that
which the apostle here means, as he is speaking to people who
have in them " to will aud to do," which belongs alone to true
believers. The scripture never calls the action of God on those
who reject his voice an energy, or an efficacious work. This
word is only suitable to the action by which he converts his
elect ; from whence it clearly follows that it is always effica-
cious. This is the reason why the scripture calls it elsewhere
a creation, as when David prays the Lord "to create in him a
clean heart," Psal. li. 12 ; and when Paul says "that we are the
work of God, created in Christ Jesus unto good works," Eph.
ii. 10. Creation (as every one will acknowledge) is a work
whose effect cannot be frustrated, it is infallibly brought into
being. Undoubtedly since the work by which God converts
us is a creation, it is then a certain and infallible power. The
greater part of the other terms of which the Holy Spirit makes
use, to signify this work of God in us, takes this truth for
granted, as when he calls it a resurrection, a regeneration, a
new life; it being clear that when God displays the power ne-
cessary to raise, regenerate, and quicken, it is impossible that
the subject on which he has displayed it should not be raised
and brought to life. And in truth, what could hinder the
effect of this divine work? Could it be the rebellion of our
will ? But how, seeing that the apostle declares that God pro-
26
202 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XII.
duces the will in us, that is to say, he makes us willing, un-
willing as we were? Could it be the powerlessness to do what
we would wish ? But the same apostle says that God also
works in us " to do." Assuredly then it is not possible that
this work of his should remain without its effect. It is not
that he does not meet within us great resistance to his work,
and that error, malice, passion, pride, a host of lusts, or, to
speak more properly, of demons, are not opposed to his will.
But there is no strength which he does not conquer, or resist-
ance that he does not surmount, or strong hold that he does
not destroy, or pride that he does not throw down, or counsel
that he does not dissipate, or thoughts that he does not lead
captive, or lust that he does not bring under his yoke. When
he hardens the wicked by his just decree, the apostle testifies
" that none can resist his will," Rom. ix. 19. Who will believe
that he has less power to soften than to harden ? or that the
hand of his righteousness should be more powerful on the ves-
sels of his wrath than that of his grace on those of his mercy ?
If this work of God had not this insurmountable and certain
efficacy, what would be more cold and less reasonable than the
rich and magnificent expressions which the apostle gives us,
saying, "that God has displayed on us who believe the exceeding
greatness of his power, according to the working of his mighty
power ?" Eph. i. 19. Of what use are these great works, if God
only simply shows us the objects of his truth, without really
softening our hearts to receive them ? Or where is the man of
sound judgment who would thus speak of a philosopher, and say
" that he had displayed on us the exceeding greatness of his
power, under pretence that he had taught us to live well ?"
But from hence it still further appears, that we contribute
nothing to the work of our new birth, and that all those
pretended powers which some attribute to our own free-
will are but fictions and chimeras. They wish that the
will of man should be the queen and mistress of his move-
ments ; and that, supposing that God had done every thing
on his side, that he has enlightened the understanding,
that he has manifested forth his judgments in the world, that
he has displayed all his strength and power, still that this shall
be without any effect, putting neither " to will nor to do" into
man ; that man still has, after all this, the power in his will to
reject grace, and to live in sin or not. Certainly if it be so,
the apostle is wrong in saying that God works with power in
us both " to will and to do." At this rate he has done neither
the one nor the other. It is to the empire of our will that we
owe it, and not to the work or efficacy of divine grace. And
what need was there that God should act so nobly towards us,
and that he should display all the glory of his power, even that
by which he raises the dead and creates the worlds, to work
CHAP. IL] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 203
nothing in us ? all his work not having, according to these
people, any power or efficacy on our hearts, for fear of vio-
lating their natural liberty. Besides this passage which is so
clear, there is hardly one in scripture, treating on this subject,
which does not confound this error, and show us that the work
of God on believers does not, by any means, leave their will
in this pretended indifference and liberty to determine. As
when it says, that God circumcises our hearts ; that he takes
away our hearts of stone, and gives us hearts of flesh ; and
that he puts his law within us, and writes it in our hearts ;
that he converts us to himself; that he delivers us from the
power of darkness, and translates us into the kingdom of his
dear Son, Col. i. 13 ; that he gives us the Spirit of wisdom and
revelation, and enlightens the eyes of our understanding, Eph.
i. 18 ; that as the light shined in darkness, so has it shined in
our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of his glory
in the face of Jesus Christ, 2 Cor. iv. 6, 7 ; that he draws us
to himself, John vi. 44 ; that he grafts us by his power into
the good olive tree, Rom. xi. 23 ; that he opens our hearts,
Acts xvi. 14 ; that those who were dead in trespasses and sins
he has quickened in his Son, Eph. ii. 1, 5, 6; and similar
modes of speaking, which all explain, as you see, with won-
derful emphasis, a very powerful and efficacious work, which
assuredly produces its effect, without leaving it in doubt,
or putting it off to the action of any other cause whatever,
And not here to insist upon it any more, I will only finally
add, that our Lord also shows it clearly to us in John vi. 44,
45, where, after having said that none can come to him ex-
cept the Father draw him, he adds, that whoever has heard
the Father, and has learnt of him, comes to him. The language
of the first proves to us that man has no power in himself,
even to will or to do any thing that regards godliness, none
ever converting himself to Jesus Christ, unless God draws
him. And the second shows us that this work, by which God
draws us to his Son, is so powerful that none can resist it, all
those on whom it is displayed coming to him, which would be
false if it happened (as our adversaries pretend) that any of
those whom God has taught should remain out of Christ
for having rejected the calling and teaching of God by his
own will.
But we must briefly answer some of the most specious ob-
jections which they bring against a doctrine so clearly founded
on scripture. In the first place, they say that if it be God who
works in us to will and to do, in the way that we have set
forth, it will consequently be he who wills and who believes
in us, and not we in him, in the same way as some of the most
extravagant heretics have held, that it is not properly the sun
that shines, or the fire that burns, but God who shines in the
204 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XII.
one and burns in the other. To which, I reply, that this ob-
jection has only been dictated to them by the violence of their
inclinations. They themselves acknowledge that God en-
lightens the understandings of men in the knowledge of him-
self, by a work which is necessarily efficacious, and which man
cannot resist, so that it is not possible that he upon whom it
is displayed should not know it. And, nevertheless, for all
that, they do not say that it is not the enlightened man that
knows God, but God who knows himself in him. Wherefore,
then, should we not likewise say, that though God certainly
and infallibly converts our will, still it is not he who wills and
who believes, but ourselves who will and who believe in con-
sequence of his operation ? Our works in religion are one
thing, the operation of the cause which produces them another.
Those are ours, these are of God only. We believe, we repent,
we know the Lord, and we love him ; we leave the things that
are behind, and press on to those which are before ; we per-
severe; We finish our course: these are the works of the be-
lieving man, and not of God. But it is the Lord who, by the
power and merciful operation of his Spirit, puts our minds in
a state to act thus, enlightening them in such a way that we
see, softening them so that they are converted, drawing them
so that they follow, creating and quickening so that they live.
They add, in the second place, that by this method we change
men into stocks and stones, depriving them of their liberty
and will, without which they are not men. I acknowledge
that we take from them that vain and imaginary power that
they give them of being able, without any reason, to turn them-
selves to one or the other of two contrary sides, which is but
a fiction of their mind, devoid of foundation either in scrip-
ture or in real reason. But I deny that the action of the grace
of God, such as the apostle describes, and such as we declare
it to be, injures either the will or the true liberty of man. It
does not injure his will; on the contrary, it enriches it; it
makes him embrace God and heaven, eternal and glorious ob-
jects, instead of the world and its goods, mean, vain, and per-
ishable things; it renders him zealous and persevering, in-
stead of slothful and flighty, as he was before. Can the^e be
any thing more ridiculous than to accuse a work of God of
ruining our will which works in us both to will and to do ?
which makes us will more powerfully, more nobly, and more
firmly than ever ? But neither does it deprive man of his true
and legitimate liberty. For the liberty of man does not lie in
the power which they attribute to it of embracing good or
evil indiscriminately. At this rate God would not be free,
seeing that his will is firmly fixed on good, nor the mind of
Jesus Christ, nor those of the glorified saints, nor the _ spirits
of the blessed angels, who all confess cannot be inclined to
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 205
evil ; nor, on the other hand, demons nor men, whether hard-
ened in this world, or damned in the other, who, all acknow-
ledge, cannot embrace the good. What sort of liberty then
must that be which man would lose in making use of it,
ceasing to be free at the very instant that he would use his
liberty ? For as the will loses this indifference every time that
it wills something, resolving or retracting the part it should
embrace, if it be in indifference that its liberty consists, it
is evident that it must lose it every time it uses it. But the
true liberty of rational nature consists in its following and
embracing that which is good ; not that it should be ignorant
of it. like plants and animals, or that it should exercise no
choice, as those who are under constraint, but that it should in-
cline to that which it knows and judges to be best and most
expedient, being led to will by its own judgment, and not by
a blind instinct, or by a foreign power. Now God in no way
thwarts this order and privilege of our nature in working in us
to will and to do. For he does not lead us into the plan of
salvation either in spite of ourselves, or by bringing us up in
the fellowship of his Son as stones, or pieces of wood, or as
slaves, who are made to do and suffer by the rod things that
they hate in their hearts. But he leads us in a manner suitable
to our nature, and by an action so gentle, yet so powerful, en-
lightens our understandings, and forms in them by the hand
of his Spirit a firm and solid knowledge of his truth, and in
consequence by this light drawing our wills and affections to
his love, efficaciously, but agreeably ; invincibly, but without
constraint. And as the scripture shows us the inevitable effi-
cacy of this his work, in saying that he creates us ; that he
quickens us ; that he draws us ; that he brings us under the yoke
of his Son ; that he vanquishes and subdues us; that he leads
us captive: it also testifies to us its gentleness, when it says,
in many places, that he teaches us ; that he persuades or draws
us gently, John vi. 45 ; that he leads us, and speaks kindly to
us, Hos. ii. 14 ; that he gives us counsel in the night season,
Psal. xvi. 7 ; and that our hearts say unto us from him, "Seek
ye my face," Psal. xxvii. 8 ; that he opens our ears morning
by morning, that we may hear as those who are well taught ;
that he opens our ear in such a way that we are not rebellious,
neither go backward ; that he draws us, but with the cords of
a man, Hos. ii. 4 ; that he binds us, but with the bonds of
love ; that he constrains us, but that it is by the love of Christ ;
that he is stronger than we, and has prevailed, but it is by his
divine attractions, Jer. xx. 7. Thus you see that the objec-
tions of error against truth are empty.
Let us then conclude, with the apostle, that it is God who
efficaciously works in us to will and to do. And certainly if
it were otherwise, if the effect of the efforts of his grace de-
206 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XII.
pended entirely on our will, we must then acknowledge that
his providence would be imperfect, as at this rate the motions
of our wills would be beyond his government and out of his
power. It must then be said that he did not certainly foresee,
either the future motions of our wills, or the effects which de-
pended on them, as according to this supposition they are all
doubtful and uncertain until the will has determined, and it is
clear that of a thing uncertain in itself the knowledge cannot
be certain. We must then deify the will of man, as this opin-
ion makes him .supreme and independent with respect to God
himself. We must then abolish the use of the greater part of
the exhortations, prayers, and thanksgivings, that is to say,
the principal part of religion. For of what use are exhorta-
tions, if all the light that they throw into the understanding
has no effect upon the will, and leaves it as undecided as it was
at the beginning, all its motions depending on its own caprice,
and not on any reason ? And if it is not the hand of God, but
the blind impetuosity of the will, which decides for good, how
and wherefore shall we pray the Lord to turn us from evil, and
incline and soften us towards good? Or how and why shall
we give him thanks that he has sanctified and separated us
from those who perish ? and how shall we give him, with the
ancient church in one of the collects, the praise " of having
forced our wills, rebels as we were, to turn to him?" Un-
doubtedly it is a lie to praise him for that which he has not
done ; and it is folly to ask that of him which he neither will
nor can do for us. If we will then preserve faith in the provi-
dence, foreknowledge, and sovereignty of God ; if we will en-
tirely retain the holy and salutary use of exhortations, prayers,
and thanksgivings ; let us fly and reject this arrogant error,
and humbly give God the glory of having efficaciously worked
in us both to will and to do.
III. That nothing may be wanting to our blessedness, let us
add, with the apostle, that the Lord has done it according to
his good pleasure, that- this is the only motive which induced
him to bestow upon us so much good. The actions of God on
his creatures are of two kinds. Of some, the reason appears
in the subjects themselves on which he displays them ; and
others not. For example, the faith of the repenting sinner is
the reason for which he justifies and saves him ; the unbelief
of the impenitent is the reason for which he condemns him.
When these are spoken of, there is no need to allege the good
pleasure of God, the reason of his work being seen in the thing
itself. Thus you will not find that the apostle has recourse to
it, when he treats of the justification of man. But when we do
not see in the things any cause which has moved God to treat
them as he does, there we are forced to adore his judgments,
and to believe that he does it because it is his will. As when
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 207
we consider that, of all the people of the world, he chose Israel,
who were in nothing better or more excellent than others, we
are obliged to come to this, that he acted thus because it was
his good pleasure. It is this good pleasure that the apostle
here alleges as the reason of the grace that God gives us, in
working in us both to will and to do. And elsewhere in treat-
ing of this mystery, he speaks again to the same effect, when he
says he has " predestinated us to the adoption of children by
Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will," Eph.
i. 5. And our Lord in like manner, "Thou hast (says he to
his Father) hidden these things," the mysteries of his gospel,
"from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto
babes ; even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight,"
Matt. xi. 25. And it is this same good pleasure the apostle
means, when, speaking of the illumination of the Gentiles in
the gospel, he says, " that God would make known to them
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is in
Christ," Col. i. 27 ; and James likewise, when he says, " that
God of his own will hath begotten us by the word of his truth,
that we might be the first-fruits of his creatures," James i. 18.
From which it follows, in the first place, that it is not the con-
sideration of anything that is in us which moved the Lord to
call us and convert us to the knowledge of himself. And thus
it entirely crushes the presumption of those who found this
election and preference of believers, either on their merit of
congruity, as they call it, or on the disposition of their heart,
subdued, softened, and prepared by affliction, before the period
of their calling, or upon the good use of their free-will, foreseen
by the Lord in the light of his foreknowledge. For if God
called men to himself for any one of these reasons, there could
be no cause for assigning it to his good pleasure. The reason
for which he would have given them his grace, rather than to
others, would have been quite evident ; there being no one
who will deny that he who merits ought to be preferred to
him who does not ; and that he who is dejected and humbled,
to him who remains haughty and proud ; and he whose will is
inclined to good, to him who has not been stopped in his love
of evil. But from hence again appears, in the second place,
the truth which we have previously declared, namely, that the
effect of the work of God in us does not in any way depend on
the movements of our will. For if it were so, it would pro-
duce in us to will and to do, not according to the good plea-
sure of God, as the apostle says, but according to our own.
But here the adversaries arise, and pretend that if it be the
good pleasure of God alone which distinguishes those whom
he calls from those whom he does not call, at this rate
there will be accepting of persons ; giving unequally to objects
that are equal, converting one sinner and not another. To
208 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XII.
which I reply, that this by no means follows. For he does
what he will with his own ; and owing nothing to any, gives
to him whom he pleases without injustice. As when among a
great number of poor, we give alms to some, and not to others,
he to whom we do give them has reason to thank us, and he to
whom we do not give them has no right to complain. We
have satisfied one, but we have done no wrong to another, be-
cause we owed nothing to either. Thus is it with the Lord in
respect to men. Criminals and sinners, they all deserve death,
and were he to leave all in the perdition in which he finds
them, none could accuse him either of injustice or rigour.
Those whom he snatches from this gulf are bound to acknow-
ledge that he does them a wonderful favour. Those to whom
he does not give similar grace cannot without injustice impute
their misery to him ; and so much the more, that he does not
entirely forsake them, but presents them his word, invites and
calls them to himself, and receives them if they listen to him.
When instead of yielding him so right and reasonable a duty,
they proudly reject all his exhortations and warnings, scofî' at
his voice, insult his servants, abhor piety, and give themselves
up to vice, of whom can they complain but of themselves, who
knowingly and willingly precipitate themselves into perdition
by their rebellion against so good and powerful a Lord ? I
acknowledge that if he had not displayed on us the work of
his marvellous grace, by which he worked in us both to will
and to do, we should have valued it no more than others ; and
I acknowledge further, that had he been pleased to act in them
as in us, he had worked in their hearts to will and to do as
well as in ours. But still I maintain, that although the grace
that he has given us is the cause of our salvation, it is not right
to say, that because he has deprived them of it is, properly
speaking, the cause of their perdition. It is their sin and their
wickedness. They feel it so in themselves, and will one day
publicly acknowledge it to their shame. For what other
power leads them to rebel against God, than that of their own
evil lusts? What violence plunges them into vice, but that
of their own passions ? Who is it shuts the eyes and ears of
their minds, if it be not the love of the world and the flesh ?
But if you desire still further to enter into the mystery of God,
and if, throwing down the respect due to the counsels of such
supreme Majesty, you require, at all hazards, that I should tell
you why he acts so with some that he has gained and persuaded,
and in another way with others that he has not so persuaded ;
I will say to you, with St. Augustine, that I have but two
things to reply thereupon : the one, " the depth of the riches
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable
are his judgments, and his ways past finding out !" Korn. xi. 33 ;
and the other. " Is there unrighteousness with God ? God for-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 209
bid," Eom. ix. 14. If this answer does not content you, seek
some more learned persons, but take care that instead of know-
ledge you do not find presumption.
This is where I shall end, dear brethren, after having briefly
touched on the principal lessons that we have drawn from the
doctrine of the apostle for our edification. He teaches us that
God is the sole author of our conversion, working in us with
power both to will and to do according to his good pleasure.
You then, christian souls, who have had the courage to em-
brace the gospel, and the happiness of enjoying this holy lio-ht,
which sows even in this world peace and joy in our hearts, and
in the other will crown us with glory and immortality, see
with what warmth you ought to love the author of such a great
and marvellous blessing. He has not only given to you, as
to others, a body, mind, will, and earthly life, with every-
thing necessary to support it here below. He has not only
drawn you from those depths of error in which idolaters live.
He has not only caused his word to sound in your ears, and
presented his light to your eyes. He has done much more
than that. Extending from heaven that same hand which cre-
ated the universe, and raised Jesus Christ from the dead, he
has enlightened your understandings, and softened your wills;
and planted the cross of his Son in your hearts, opening them
at the preaching of his ministers, and himself producing with
power this " to will and to do" which you ask. What then
henceforth should these understandings, enlightened with the
light of God, think or meditate upon, but upon his wonders
and his mysteries ? What ought these wills, freed by the hand
of the Lord, henceforth to love, but the goodness of their great
Liberator ?
And what consolation, what joy, and what assurance ought
you to have for the future ! You carry the work of God in
your bosom, the labour of his hand, the production of his
Spirit, the inviolable seal of your salvation. What can you
refuse to him who has lavished on you so many wonders, who
has so many efforts and exploits of his power which he does in
spite of yourselves in your favour still to add to those of which
the interior of your heart is the subject and the witness ? But,
believers, if I command your gratitude and joy, I do not per
mit presumption. Look at the gifts of God ; consider with de
light what he has done for you and in you; but do not becomo
proud of them. Believe that of all these gifts that you enjoy
there is not a single one but what is an alms of God. Believe
that it is he who has worked in you both to will and to do ;
both the smallest sparks of piety, and the noblest conflicts
that you have endured for it ; that in this respect there is no-
thing in you either great or small that does not come from
him, that does not call upon you to bow the head, and walk
27
210 AN EXPOSITION OP [SERM. XII.
before him with fear and trembling. Beware also of the secu-
rity of those who flatter themselves and are satisfied that they
are the children of God, under the pretence that they make a
profession of being so. None are his children but those whom
he has begotten, in whom he has put his Spirit and life, and in
whom (as the apostle says) he has worked to will and to do.
He does not only say, to will, he adds, to do. Those transient
emotions of piety which you sometimes feel arising in your
hearts, and which disappear as it were almost in the same in-
stant, are not the whole work of God in his faithful people ; he
brings their wills into the obedience of his Son. He crucifies
their flesh ; he suppresses, or, to speak more properly, he mor-
tifies, their lusts and passions. Judge with what right you
pretend to be creatures of God in Jesus Christ, you who, in-
stead of his will, only fulfil that of the flesh and of the world ;
you who are enticed by the vanities of earth and the follies of
time, as slaves, into the most infamous exercise of your most
miserable slavery. One sighs after gold and silver ; another after
the sinful lusts of the flesh. One runs after ambition ; another
serves some other idol. And is that, christians, the will that
God works with power in the hearts of his children ? Is this
the fixed will that he gives them, so constant, so firm, and al-
ways followed by its effects ? Is this all the success of the
great efforts of his Spirit and of the power which he displays
on his own ? But how is it that you do not perceive that these
are rather the productions of Satan than the works of God ?
And how is it that you do not tremble at seeing the enemy so
powerful in you, master of your wills, and absolute tyrant of
vour hearts, which he fills with his desires, and acts there with
the same efficacy as in the children of disobedience ? In the
name of God, forsake your error, awake from this great stupe-
faction ; drive from your hearts such unjust and dishonest in-
clinations. Receive in them the will of God, which alone is
good, salutary, and holy. Pray to him that he would display
his all-powerful hand upon you, that he would extinguish the
fire of the enemy, that he would create a pure heart and renew
a rio-ht spirit within you, and that he would work with power
in you both to will and 'to do according to his good pleasure.
Amen.
Preached at Charenton, Sunday, 10th Feb. 1641.
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 211
SERMON XIII.
VERSES 14, 15.
Do all things without murmurings and disputings : that ye may
be blameless and harmless* the sons of God, without rebuke, in
the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom
ye shine as lights in the world ; holding forth the word of life.
Dear brethren, among all the christian virtues, there is
hardly one that is more necessary or more useful than humi-
lity ; and if you will seriously consider its nature, you will
find that it is either the mother or nurse of all the others. It
works in us patience in adversity, and modesty in prosperity.
It disposes us more powerfully to obey God and love men.
It preserves in our souls both the light of faith and the fire of
love. It plants in them the peace of heaven and tranquillity
of mind. It both founds and preserves the hopes of the world
to come, and defends us against the temptation of that which
now is. It covers us like a large buckler, so that neither
Satan nor the world can obtain any advantage over us. As
by humility Jesus Christ obtained eternal salvation, so also by
it do we enter upon and possess it. This heavenly virtue pre-
sides over all this miraculous work. It governs its beginning,
its progress, and its end. This is the reason why the holy
apostle recommends it with so much care to the Philippians,
and through them to all other believers. You have herein
before seen the exertions he has made to plant it in our souls,
proposing it to us in Jesus Christ our Saviour, both as a most
perfect example, and as an unheard-of reward ; and adding
still, in the last text that we have discoursed upon, a very
powerful reason drawn from this, that all the good that is in
us, whether to undertake or to execute the plan of godliness,
is a gift and a work of the pure grace of God, which works in
us with power both to will and to do according to his good
pleasure. Now after having established humility among the
Philippians, he makes it act, representing to them in the verses
that you have heard some of its duties, and, concluding this
doctrine by a beautiful and magnificent exhortation to the
pursuit of a rare and singular holiness worthy of the name
they bore, and of the end for which God had created them in
his Son. The duties which he recommends to them as neces-
sarily flowing from humility are contained in these words,
" Do all things without murmurings and disputings : that ye
* Ft. " without reproach and simple."
212 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIII.
may be blameless and harmless ;" and the general exhortation
to holiness which, he adds is comprised in these, "that ye may
be children of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked
and perverse generation, among whom ye shine as lights in
the world; holding forth the word of life." We will examine
all this in this discourse, if it please the Lord. And, that we
may proceed regularly, we will consider, in the first place, the
prohibition which he gives us against murmuring and dis-
puting ; secondly, the commandment which he adds to it, to be
holy, and without reproach ; and in the third and last place,
the reasons with which he enforces this exhortation, drawn
both from our character as children of God, and from the
office to which the Lord has consecrated us as lights of the
world.
I. He commands us then at the beginning to " do all things
without murmurings and disputings," where it is evident that
by the "all things" of which he speaks, he means those things
which regard religion, and the obedience that we owe to God,
the whole of the christian life : desiring that we should serve
the Lord and edify our neighbours cheerfully and willingly,
without any thought arising in our heart, or any word coming
out of our mouth, either contrary to a heavenly disposition,
or to the good and usefulness of men. For the flesh with
which we are clothed, loving naturally its thoughts, its ease,
and its convenience, it often happens that when the duties of
Christianity oppose it, it objects, either secretly or openly ; so
that although the authority of God forces us to obey him, yet
we only do so by constraint, complaining of our condition,
and of the judgment which condemns us to it. This resist-
ance takes place sometimes solely in our hearts, secretly
thwarting the work of God, without bursting out into a formal
opposition to his will ; sometimes it goes further, and even
doubts the truth or justice of the duties which it prescribes to
lis. Paul here calls the first murmuring, and the second dis-
puting, and banishes both from the life of true believers, as the
plague and ruin of piety, a commencement of disobedience,
and a seed of rebellion. Besides, I would extend them gene-
rally to all complainings and disputings, whether against God
or men. Against God, when we have the boldness to call in
question, and to find fault either with the doctrine that he has
given us, as if it contained something false, or with his provi-
dence in the guidance of our life, as if it were unjust or un-
reasonable. Against men, when we judge them, their morals
and their actions, rashly and inconsiderately, condemning them
without cause, opposing them, and even coming to debatings
and quarrellings with them. Paul, in 1 Cor. x. sets before us
an example of the first kind of murmuring drawn from the
ancient Israelites, who murmured so many times in the wilder-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 213
ness against the Lord and his servants, foolishly blaming the
counsel of God and his conduct, and insultingly complaining
of the way in which he treated them, as if he had done them
a great injury in delivering them from Egypt, and leading
them to Canaan : " Wherefore hath he brought us into this
land (say they) to fall by the sword ; were it not better for us
to return into Egypt ?" Numb. xiv. 3. It appeared to them an
injustice to detain them so long in that frightful wilderness
where they were wandering, and to expose them to so many
dangers and battles, before permitting them to enter into the
promised land. And although, in reading their history, we
cannot help detesting their presumptuous fury, and their in-
gratitude, still we must acknowledge that we ourselves often
fall into their murmurings. For how many christians are there
who are displeased with the Lord's ways in the guidance of
their lives ! who will freely say to him, like some of his ancient
people, Wherefore dost thou treat us so sadly in this wilder-
ness ? Wherefore dost thou feed us with such poor and light
bread ? Why dost thou provide so little for us ? We are in
continual fears, in the midst of serpents and venomous crea-
tures, surrounded on all sides with the swords of our enemies.
What is the use of this heavy cross under which we groan ?
Would it not be better if thou wert to lead us to the inherit-
ance that thou hast promised us by a pleasant and agreeable
road, strewed with flowers, and abounding with pleasures ? To
these general murmurs each adds his own peculiar complaint ;
one asking God the reason of the poverty into which he is
plunged ; another, of the sicknesses wherewith he is afflicted :
some, of the persecutions they endure ; others, of the ill suc-
cess of their designs : one, of the death of his children ; another,
of their life: one, of sterility; another, of fecundity: and all
pretending that if there be not injustice, at any rate there is
no reason for his treating them thus; and that if it were not
necessary, at least it would have been more suitably ordered
otherwise.
It often happens also that we murmur against the truth of
God, whether for the things themselves which are set forth, or
for the manner in which they are taught. Such was the mur-
mur of the people of Capernaum, of whom John tells us in
his Gospel ; who, offended because the Lord declared that he
is the bread that came down from heaven, said, " Is not this
Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know ?"
John vi. 42. Some among his own disciples allowed them-
selves to be carried away with the same fault : " This is a hard
saying, (say they,) who can hear it ?" John vi. 60. Thus we
every day see people who murmur ; some, against the predes-
tination of God, which the apostle teaches us ; others, against
the incarnation, or the propitiation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
214 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. XIII.
and against divers other articles of his wholesome doctrine.
From hence arise the blasphemies, the heresies, the schisms,
and the rebellions of men. Murmuring is the grain from
whence spring all these miseries. They first induce doubt and
irresolution, then debate and dispute, afterwards, aided by pas-
sion, bring all kinds of evil into the world. And as it is a
crime full of horror, which attacks the majesty of God, and
insults it in its tenderest part, it rarely remains unpunished.
You know how he formerly chastised in a fearful manner the
murmurs of the ancient people, causing them to be destroyed
of the destroyer ; as Paul expressly remarks, 1 Cor. x. 10.
At this time, under the New Testament, it is still more severe
against this species of sin, as we have less cause to commit it.
Thus those who murmur are often left to a reprobate mind,
God giving them up to a spirit of folly, error, and seduction,
which either precipitates them into atheism, or into supersti-
tion, or into some other of those frightful abysses in which the
wicked perish. Let us then fly, beloved brethren, let us fly
from so dangerous and so deadly a plague ; let us fly from the
presence and the breath of those who are infected with it.
May it never happen to us either to utter or to listen to any
murmur against the truth, or against the providence of our
good God. Let us adore all the mysteries both of his word
and of his judgments with profound submission.
To keep us from this fault, in the first place, let us meditate
on his word with extreme care, separating diligently the truth
which it presents from that which men have added to it of
their own imagination. For I acknowledge that there are a
great many things which the world would pass for the word
of God, against which murmuring is just and complaint law-
ful, as they oppose, not merely the flesh and its interests, but
right reason and true piety. But when once it appears to us
that a doctrine is truly and really taught in the word of God,
then we must receive it with respect. Murmuring is no longer
permitted. If the flesh be opposed to it, let us stifle its
thoughts and slay its motions. If reason alleges that she does
not understand it, that she finds nothing in her own know-
ledge by which it can be proved ; let us remember how weak
our reason is, and in how many natural things, the most com-
mon and usual, she is at a loss. Let us establish the belief of
the divinity of the scriptures in our hearts by a continual
meditation of the arguments that God has given us in the
wonders of their disposition, of their subject, of their order,
and of their style ; in the predictions which he has scattered
here and there; in the knowledge of the holiness, of the mira-
cles, and of the truth of the prophets and apostles, who are
its writers ; and finally, in the effects that this heavenly doc-
trine has produced, and that it still produces every day on the
CIIAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 215
earth, creating and preserving there a new people, in spite of
the efforts of Satan and the world. This thought will easily
repress all our murmurings. For when God speaks, it is for
man to listen, and to submit his mind to the voice of so glo-
rious a Majesty. And as to his providence in the guidance of
our life, if we have well understood the teachings of his word,
neither shall we find any thing to say against it. I will not
allege to you here that the potter does what he will with his
clay, and that we are infinitely more beneath God than the clay
is beneath the potter. But I will say, that even to examine
these things by the rules of gentleness and equity, there is no
father whose goodness and tenderness towards his children
does not permit him to use whatever we may find harsh in the
conduct of the Lord towards us. For I would ask, Does the
father wrong his child when he chastises him ; when he tries
him ; when he fashions him to true worthiness by hard and
laborious exercises ; when he keeps him from wine and dice,
and all the other instruments of debauchery? Where is the
sensible man who does not see, that this rigour in a father of
which the child complains is in truth kindness and goodness,
that it is the chief of his favours, and the most valuable of all
his attentions ? And why then do you find it strange that
God, the eternal Father of our spirits, to make us good peo-
ple, worthy of his name and heaven, should cause us to under-
go his discipline? Even if we had no inclination to vice, still
it would be suitable for his glory and our praise, to make our
virtue appear and shine, which can only do so in those con-
flicts and trials which weary us. But being full of evil habits,
of pride, luxury, and effeminacy, having a nature so prone to
debauchery, that the slightest opportunity tempts it, and the
least prosperity renders it insupportable, have we any right to
complain that God takes from us the allurements and food of
our vices? Believers, consider the troubles that your crimes
deserve. Consider the inclination that you have for sin. Ex-
amine the fruits of afflictions, modesty, repentance, disgust
with the world, and the desire of heaven ; their utility in for-
warding the glory of Jesus Christ, in edifying men, and in as-
suring your own commendation; and, far from murmuring
against God, you will thank him for having treated you in
such a way, and you will acknowledge that nothing more just,
nothing more excellent or more divine, could be devised, than
the conduct which he employs towards his people. If
in the circumstances of your life, or in those of your
brethren, something should occur, the reason of which you
do not perceive, remember that though you may be igno-
rant of it, you are not on that account to say that there is none.
Allow that God is wiser than you, and that there is something
in his ways which is above your comprehension. Have at
216 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIII.
least as much deference for this supreme Monarch as you every
day yield to the counsels of the kings and princes of the earth,
whose orders you often respect, although you cannot penetrate
into their reason. But the apostle means that we should use
this modesty likewise towards our brethren, and not only
towards God; that we should have for them also equity and
respect; that we should not hastily condemn their proceedings.
Let us consider, that we shall be judged ourselves as we have
judged others; that we should not put all on the same level
in their differences with us ; that we should endure their weak-
nesses even in the faith, being truly but infirmities, without
murmuring, without complaining of them; like some who
move heaven and earth about things indifferent, who trouble
weak consciences with endless questions and debates, and who
are possessed of such a morbid sensibility, that they thunder
at and anathematize all errors equally. I say the same in civil
life, in which we ought to eonduct ourselves towards men,
whether within or without the church, with gentleness and pa-
tience. If it sometimes appear that they yield to us or to
others less friendship, or respect than they ought, if even occa-
sionally instead of good they render us evil offices, it is ex-
pedient that we regard them in the most favourable light, not
imputing it as a crime, but as a last alternative; and even then
we must do it in so temperate a manner, that in showing them
their fault, and prosecuting our right, we may neither fall into
murmurings nor disputings. And this is principally required
in that which regards either our superiors in the state or in
the church, or at any rate our equals. For it is chiefly in our
conduct towards those that murmurings and disputings or
quarrellings take place. As, for example, if it happen that
the magistrates issue some order which offends us, or that a
pastor in the church does not preach or conduct himself to our
liking. It is in this and similar subjects that the apostle for-
bids us to murmur. But as for those who are subject to us,
you see clearly that the remonstrances and complaints that we
make of their faults, and the resistance that we oppose to
them, cannot be called murmurs ; neither can the lawsuits, by
which we prosecute our rights modestly and in a christian-like
manner before the tribunals of our superiors, whether ecclesi-
astics or secular, against those who desire unjustly and obsti-
nately to violate them.
II. But after having forbidden us to murmur or to dispute,
the apostle adds, " that ye may be without reproach, and sim-
ple." In which you see he directs two things ; the one, that
we should be without reproach, or blameless ; and the other,
that we should be simple. The first of these directions obliges
us to a perfect honesty, justice, gentleness, and equity in our
whole conversation, so that none may have occasion to com-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 217
plain of us, or to accuse us of having failed in any of the du-
ties of charity or meekness of which we make profession.
This is the testimony the Holy Spirit bears to Zacharias and
to Elisabeth his wife, "that they were both righteous before
God, walking in all the statutes and ordinances of the Lord
blameless," Luke i. 6. It is true, that in this place the apostle
principally regards our conduct towards our neighbour, oppo-
sing the duty which he requires of us, to the murmurings and
disputings from which arise the greater part of those com-
plaints men make to us, and reproaches which they cast upon
us. He desires, then, that we should so conduct ourselves to-
wards them that they should have nothing to find fault with in
our manners : that superiors should receive honour and submis-
sion from us ; inferiors, care, watchfulness, and love ; equals, af-
fection and cordial friendship ; the poor, the aid of charity ; the
afflicted, the soothings of compassion ; those who oblige us,
gratitude ; those who insult us, meekness ; the old, respect ;
the young, concord ; the learned, docility ; the ignorant, in-
struction ; the infirm, support ; those who are without, the at-
tractions of piety; those who are within, the intercourse of
union ; and all in general, purity of actions, honesty of words,
gentleness of mind, courage and vigour in adversity, modesty
and propriety in prosperity, a soul uncorrupted by sensuality and
inflexible to the passions, a firm and unshaken innocence, which
delights in doing good to all, without ever offending any. This
is what the apostle demands of you, christian. He only de-
sires that you should not give any just cause of reproach. As
to events, he does not require you to be warned against them;
that is to say, he does not mean that men should not blame
you. It is enough for him that your life should not give them
any occasion to do so, and that if they rebuke or hate you,
you may truly say with the psalmist, that they do it without a
cause, Psal. xxxv. 19. It is very true, that the picture of this
holy and innocent life, which he asks of you, is so beautiful
and agreeable, that it naturally pleases all men, that it softens
their passions, gains their friendship, and often draws from the
greatest enemies approbation and praise. Witness the lan-
guage that the pagans formerly held respecting believers:
" Such a one is a virtuous man, although he is a christian," as
we read in an ancient author* But nevertheless the malig-
nity of men is so great, that we cannot always promise our-
selves success from our innocence. Sometimes it makes them
angry, and renders our cause suspected. You know of how
many crimes the Jews formerly charged our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Prince and Pattern of all holiness. His apostles were
treated by many in the same way, and the bonds in which
*Tertullian.
28
218 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIII.
Paul himself was, when he wrote this Epistle, had been pre-
pared for him only by the calumnies of that unhappy nation.
We ought not to hope for better treatment either from Satan
or the world, which are not improved by having grown older.
But this will be enough, both for their conviction and our
consolation, that we live in such a way that they can only re-
proach us with evil by a falsehood. Would to God that we
were in these circumstances. It would be easy for us to de-
spise the detractions of the Avorld. But, dear brethren, it
must be acknowledged, to our shame, the faults of many among
us exceed the reproaches that are cast upon them, and the im-
purity of their morals deserves still more blame than the world
gives them. In the name of God, and as his glory and our
salvation is dear to us, let us wash out these spots from our
conversation, and let us render them henceforth so clean be-
fore heaven and earth, that none may blame us without false-
hood, nor rebuke us without manifest injustice.
To this goodness and blameless innocence the apostle adds
simplicity, the badge of Christianity, which the Lord com-
manded his disciples in these excellent words, " Be ye harmless
as doves, and wise as serpents," Matt. x. 16 ; and of which he
proposed the innocence of a little child, as a fit emblem, in de-
claring that if we are not changed, and do not become like little
children, we shall not enter into his kingdom, Matt, xviii. 2, 3.
The word âicépaioi, here employed by the apostle to express this
grace probably means sincere ; that is to say, pure, not mixed,
not sophisticated, that is entirely of one kind, without the true
and natural constitution having been altered by the admixture
of any thing foreign to it. And it appears that, to set forth
this simplicity and sincerity, God formerly forbade his ancient
people to plant a vineyard with different kinds of plants, and
to unite under the same yoke animals of different species, and
to clothe themselves with a cloth of linen and woollen mixed
together, to teach us by the enigma of these figures that he
hates a mind and life double and variegated, in the composition
of which enter vice and virtue, good and evil, piety and super-
stition. He wishes us to be entirely christians, and that there
should be nothing strange in the whole range of our conver-
sation ; that the outside and the inside should be of the same
nature, the one exactly corresponding to the other ; that the
form, colour, and substance of our lives should be simple, and
not mixed. And although this virtue is very extended, it may,
nevertheless, be referred to four principal heads : in the first
place, that we should be without hypocrisy before God, ac-
knowledging and confessing ourselves such in .his presence as
we are in truth, without lessening the good which there is,
without also hiding interior defects and the secret disgrace of
our souls with the paint and false colouring of our artifices,
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 219
imitating tlie coarse fraud of our first father, who, having re-
nounced the naked simplicity in which he had been formed,
wished to disguise himself before that sovereign Majesty by
covering himself with fig leaves. It is also one of the features
of christian simplicity not to counterfeit before men, any more
than before God, giving up frauds, pretences, and dissimula-
tions, crooked and equivocal ways, which the people of the
world use, to make their neighbours believe of them the con-
trary of what they really are. In the third place, simplicity
comprehends under it, or at least certainly draws after it, gen-
tleness and meekness of mind ; it is not easily irritated, or if
irritation should sometimes arise, it is soon appeased, and in
reality loses the remembrance of the offences that have been
committed against it. Finally, simplicity is exempt from cu-
riosity ; it only employs itself on its own business ; and, en-
tirely turned within, does not observe very carefully what
passes without, from whence it is neither suspicious nor dis-
trustful. When, then, the apostle orders us to be simple, he
forbids all these vices, and commends all those virtues that are
opposed to them. He desires that we should be christians in-
deed, walking sincerely and boldly according to our profession,
having in the heart, and in every part and action of our life,
that same Christ and that same gospel which we have in the
lips and on the tongue. And what follows shows this very
clearly, when he adds, " That ye may be children of God, with-
out rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom ye shine as lights in the world ; holding forth
the word of life."
III. In the latter part of this text, the apostle, continuing
his exhortation to the Philippians, sets before them many
reasons which compel them to the holiness which he asks from
them. I acknowledge (says he) that this innocence, and in-
tegrity, and simplicity, without rebuke, to which I call you,
are things rare and unheard of upon earth, and far above the
ability of men. But then you are not men of this world.
Your origin is not from the earth. You are the children of
God, and lights of the world. As your origin and end are
above the earth, so should your life be also. It ought to bear
in all its parts the marks of its author, and the qualities neces-
sary for the purpose for which he gave it you. In saying to
them, then, " that ye may be the children of God, without re-
buke," he shows them what ought to be their manner of life,
that is to say, holy and heavenly ; and for the same end sets
before them a reason which compels them, namely, their ex-
traction and their quality. To speak correctly, the Father has
no other Son than our Lord Jesus Christ, begotten from all
eternity, of the same substance and the same nature as himself,
almighty and eternal God, all-wise and infinite, as himself. But
220 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIII.
the scripture also attributes, figuratively, this title of " children
of God " to those among men to whom this great and glorious
Lord has deigned in some measure to communicate his divine
nature, by the work of his heavenly Spirit, forming in their
minds, by the light that he there sheds, some features of that
holiness, peace, and supreme joy in which blessedness consists,
and destining them to his most blessed immortality, of which
he gives them here the pledges and first-fruits, reserving for
them its substance and its fulness in another world. All those
to whom he has given these rich gifts of his grace have the
honour to be called, in his scriptures, " his children, his heirs,
his brethren, and co-heirs with him." As John tells us, that
Jesus Christ has given to all those who believe in his name the
right to become children of God, as to those who are not born
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God, John i. 12, 13. As, then, the Philippians had re-
ceived the gospel of the Lord, and believed in his name, they
were children of God. This is what the apostle recalled to
them.
But he does not simply say, that they may be children of
God. He adds, " without rebuke," or without blame, and with-
out reproach ; for that is the meaning of the Greek word which
he uses. Why did he add this word ? Does he mean to say
that there are two sorts of children of God, some blâmable,
others not ? God forbid, beloved brethren. The glory of this
great name only belongs to those whose lives are irreproach-
able, and whose morals are pure and unblamable. But although
in truth this praise only belongs to children of God, there are
still a great many people who call themselves children of God,
who make profession of being so, and have the appearance,
the language, and other exterior marks of it, who, with all this,
do not cease to lead a shameful and scandalous life, full of de-
bauchery and vice. It is to separate us from these that the
apostle commands us to be children of God, without rebuke
and without reproach ; as if he had said, not bastards, or coun-
terfeits, but true and legitimate children, worthy of this glo-
rious title, and whom none can reproach with any of those evil
qualities which are incompatible with the truth of this name.
" That ye may be children of God, without rebuke, and with-
out reproach." Be in truth what you make profession of being.
That your life may not supply your accusers with any proof
against your language, nor any just and reasonable reproach
against the dignity you take that may compel you to renounce
it. For as you see that in the world art counterfeits precious
stones and drugs, exchanging them for others of little value,
which they pass off for good by favour of some apparent re-
semblance which they have to the true ; so also in the church
there has always been found a number of cheats, who, deceiv-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 221
in g themselves and others, take the colour and form of the
children of God, although in reality they are not so. And as
there are certain means by which adulterated goods, such as the
gold and stones of alchemy, are discerned from the true ; so
also in religion there are marks and certain proofs whereby
those may be known who have only the name of children of
God from those who are so in reality. Those who sustain
these trials, and in whom are really found all these marks, are
they whom the apostle here very elegantly calls " children of
God, without rebuke ;" those whom the crucible cannot make
to blush ; those in whom neither the calumny nor the cunning
of the enemy can find any thing to lay hold of; such as the
scripture sets forth in a Job, who confounded all the artifices
of Satan, and justified most fully by his trials the glorious tes-
timony which God had condescended to bear to him with his
own mouth. And here, dear brethren, it is not needful that I
should enlarge upon or set forth these divine and inimitable
marks of the true children of God. Their name sufficiently
shows you in what they consist : in a serious and constant
imitation of him whose children they are ; in real charity to-
wards men, in kindness, holiness, and purity ; in fleeing from
all pursuits likely to displease our heavenly Father ; and in
studying and practising his will, according to the doctrine of
John, " All that is born of God overcometh the world ;" and,
" Whosoever is born of God doth not sin, because the seed of
God remaineth in him," 1 John v. 4 ; iii. 9. From which it
appears that when the apostle here wishes that we may be the
children of God, without rebuke, he calls us by these words to
a peculiar sanctification ; as if he directed us to renounce all
the filth and impurity of vice, all the meannesses and vanities
of the world, to lead henceforth a spiritual and heavenly life,
that may be full of that purity and innocence, that zeal and
charity, which are found in heaven, the holy and blessed king-
dom of our eternal Father.
But besides the form of this sanctification, the name of
" children of God," he also proposes motives and reasons for
it. For as this name warns us that we so closely belong to
this supreme Lord, is it not reasonable that we should imitate
him with all our powers, and that we should show forth the
fruits of his Spirit, and the marks of his blood, in all the ac-
tions of our life ? Where is the man, the offspring of a noble
and illustrious father, whose soul is not roused by the remem-
brance of his birth, and animated with thoughts worthy of his
extraction ? And does not this incomparable favour that God
has done us still more incite us to this feeling? For from
slaves of the devil we see ourselves, by his kindness, become
children of the supreme God. What a heart we must have
if the consideration of such a high privilege does not affect
222 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIII.
us! But that blessed immortality which this glorious name
promises us, ought also to excite us forcibly to run with all our
strength towards this divine end of our calling, and to employ
us night and day on sanctification, without which, whatever
the flesh may promise or hope, no one shall ever see the Lord.
In the following words the apostle puts still another con-
sideration before the eyes of these Philippians, which ought not
less to influence their love and their study of a spiritual life ;
it is that they were " in the midst of a crooked and perverse
generation." He, doubtless, borrowed this expression from
the song of Moses, where they are found in the Greek version,
when the prophet, inveighing against the infidelity of the Is-
raelites, that they have corrupted themselves towards the Lord,
calls them " a crooked and perverse generation," Deut. xxxii.
3. He applies these words to the Gentiles and to the Jews,
among whom then lived the faithful of Philippi. From which
we may learn, in the first place, what is the condition of men
who are out of Jesus Christ; they are (says the apostle) "a
crooked and perverse generation," which have nothing right
or simple either in their religion or morals, whose whole life
is only a confused labyrinth, entangled in a thousand wind-
ings, without issue, without guide, and without any light.
Judge from this, in passing, what a situation men are in by
their natural strength, and that it is to the Spirit of God alone
to which ought to be attributed the glory of all that is correct
and wise in us. From this you may also see what is the situ-
ation of the church whilst sojourning here below. She sub-
sists, like these Philippian christians, surrounded by a mul-
titude of enemies. It is a Lot in Sodom, an ark of Noah in
the deluge, the Hebrew children in the furnace of Babylon, a
little island beaten on all sides b} r a great and infinite sea. It
is true that the church is not always equally mixed with this
crooked generation ; it is true that she has sometimes more
elbow-room, the nation in which she dwells being either fa-
vourable to her doctrine, or less enemies to it than were the
fellow countrymen of the Philippians. But however it may
be, there are always many hypocrites and sensual and unre-
generate people in those very places where profession is made
of its creed. What the apostle here says to the Philippians
is suitable, in some measure, to all christians, according to
what the oracle has predicted of Jesus Christ, that he shall
reign in the midst of his enemies. But as we have to thank
God that he has so favoured us as to separate us from the gen-
eration of this world ; so ought we to take heed that we have
nothing in common with its manners, faithfully keeping our-
selves unpolluted in the midst of its corruption. And as nat-
uralists say that there are rivers which run through lakes
without mingling their waters with them, may we flow to-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 223
gether in this world without uniting in its ways, preserving
all the colour, strength, and substance of our divine source ;
may we be truly that people of God, of which Balaam for-
merly said, " The} 7, shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned
among the nations ;" always strangers in the world, although
living on the earth, and breathing its air; floating in the midst
of its waters without being confounded with them ; walking
in its fires without being burnt ; constantly remaining upright,
perfect, sincere, and unrebukable in the midst of all its ob-
liquities and perversities. This mixed state of our existence
obliges us to do so, my brethren. For as you see in the world
that things contract and concentrate all their powers, uniting
them that they may preserve the qualities and perfections
of their nature, when they are surrounded by their opposites,
which is what the schools of philosophy call " antiperistasis,"
so should we also do in religion. When we find ourselves
enclosed and besieged on all sides by the adversaries of our
profession, it is then that we must more than ever draw into
ourselves, collecting all the strength we have to oppose the
enemy, to maintain our faith and our holiness entire against
the violence of contrary examples ; let it still more shine
forth, the more it is pressed down. But besides our preserva-
tion, the consideration of other men compels us to do so, God
having thus mingled and dispersed us in the midst of a per-
verse generation, that we may gain some, and straighten its
crooked ways by the efforts of our piety ; or at least, if the
children of this world do not amend, that we may one day
serve to convict them of having despised the riches of divine
grace which we would offer them.
And this is the third reason that the apostle places before
us, representing the service that we ought to render to the
children of this world: "Among whom ye shine as lights in
the world, holding forth the word of life." Some take these
words for a commandment, and read them thus ; " Shine ye
among them as lights." But both come to the same meaning.
For it is clear that in the main the apostle sets before us the
dignity and the destiny of believers by a brilliant simile, saying
that they are lights or luminaries of the world, and that there-
fore their office is to shine among men. The comparison may
have been drawn either from artificial lights, which men light
that they may shine during the darkness of the night, and es-
pecially of those that are placed on light-houses to guide ves-
sels which are sailing on the sea, in showing them the port,
and pointing out their course ; or from the luminaries of na-
ture which God has placed in order in the heavens, the moon
and the stars ; and this last meaning is plainer and more mag-
nificent, and even, in my opinion, more in accordance with
the words of the apostle, who says, " shine as lights in the
224: AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIII.
world ;" consequently rather meaning the lights of the world
than those of our houses. The Lord had from the begin-
ning used this comparison, when, speaking to the father of the
faithful, he told him that his posterity should be as the stars
of heaven ; having by that, besides the multitude of his chil-
dren, signified also their quality and their excellence. Thus
you see that the world is, as it were, the emblem or portrait
of the church. In the world God has placed the sun, to be
there the inexhaustible source of visible light. In the church
he has placed the Lord Jesus, the fountain of all intellectual
light, the Sun of righteousness, and the Light of the world.
Besides the sun, God created the moon and the stars in the
universe, that, during the darkness of the night, they might
console the world by their brightness. The whole body of
the church in general is as a mystical moon, which, during the
absence of its sun, sheds its light upon the earth. Each of
the faithful, in particular, is as a star ; they are, in truth, of
divers forms and magnitudes, but nevertheless all shining ac-
cording to the measure of grace that has been given to them.
And, as, according to the very probable opinion of the most
learned mathematicians, all those stars which are nearest to the
earth, that is to say the planets, borrow from the sun all the
light they have ; thus, also, the church collectively, and be-
lievers individually, have all their brilliancy, their life, and
their glory from Jesus Christ alone, their great Sun, in whom
dwells bodily all the fulness of knowledge and wisdom.
From this it appears how great is the dignity of believers.
For as among all material bodies there are none comparable
to the stars of heaven in beauty and perfection ; so, of all men,
believers are, without doubt, the happiest and the best gifted.
Christians ! rejoice in the glory to which the Lord has raised
you, and possess it with extreme content in the midst of the
troubles and agitations of this world. But do not forget the
service and the edification that you owe to the world. As the
stars of heaven do not shine for themselves, nor hide their
light, but communicate it liberally to all parts of the universe,
sending it from the highest heavens to the lowest and most
distant regions, piercing, by the power of their rays, into all
these great spaces which are between us and them ; do also
the same, holy and mystical stars of Jesus Christ. Shed all
around you the rays of the faith and holiness that he has com-
municated to you. Share them with men. May the innocence
and kindness of your life continually enlighten the darkness
of their ignorance, and give them the means of seeing salva-
tion, and being led into it. This is precisely what the apostle
means, when he says that you shine in the midst of a perverse
generation as lights in the world. And this is what the Lord
had already commanded his disciples, saying to them, " Men
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 225
do not light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a can-
dlestick that it may give light to all that are in the house. So
let your light shine before men, that tbey may see your good
works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven," Matt. v.
15, 16. But the apostle, to explain this more clearly, after
having called believers " lights," adds, " holding forth the word
of life." The word which he uses* does not simply mean to
have a thing in possession, but rather to hold it forth, to show
it, and to present it to others. He means, then, that as the
stars have not only in themselves this beautiful and lively
light with which God has clothed them, but present it and
show it to other creatures that they may enjoy it, and that this
is what makes them lights and luminaries of the world ; so
also christians ought not only to have, and faithfully keep in
themselves, this heavenly truth that Jesus Christ has given
them, but also to show it forth, and place it before the eyes of
other men, that they may be enlightened with the knowledge
of God, and be, by these means, the true lights of the human
race.
As to the stars of the world, the light that they shed here be-
low only enlightens the living ; it does not give life; or if it con-
tributes any thing to life, all its power only serves to the sup-
port of earthly and animal life ; whilst the light of believers
is capable of quickening the dead, and of communicating to
them true life, alone worthy of this glorious and immortal
name. For the light that they hold forth is, as the apostle
says, " the word of life." It is the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ that he means ; and he gives it this name in the same
sense as Peter had already said, speaking to the Lord, " To
whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life,"
John vi. 68, to distinguish this wholesome doctrine from the
learning of the wise of this world, more capable of wearying
man than of edifying him ; and with the law of Moses, which
considered in itself, was the ministration of death. Whereas
the gospel of Christ being received into our hearts by faith,
brings there, as a living and eternal light, consolation and
joy, the love of God and of our neighbour, and finally, that
life and that immortality which are therein brought to light.
Judge from hence, believers, how desirous those are of the
salvation of christian people who hide from them this holy
word of life, and, far from giving it to them that they may
hold it forth and present it to all, as the apostle here says, are
not even willing that they should either see it or read it,
making them believe that it is a word of death, capable of
killing them by its obscurities and pretended difficulties, whilst
this holy man of God assures us that it is the word of life, the
29
226 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIII.
only light that is capable of enlightening and quickening men.
God be for ever blessed, who has condescended to rekindle
this divine light among us, driving away and dissipating, by
the strength of its light, that darkness and those thick mists
of abuses and errors with which ignorance and superstition
have filled the world. Let us rejoice in its light. Let us listen
to and diligently study this holy word of life. Let us learn
all its secrets. Let us love it as our sole advantage over others ;
let us impress it on our memories, and lodge it in our under-
standings. May it be the usual subject of our thoughts and
of our conversation. But above all, may it be the rule of our
affections, and the guide of our life ; may it govern it in every
way, and be absolutely obeyed. For it is nothing to hear and
to speak of it if we do not receive it with faith ; if it do not
penetrate our souls, and change all their dispositions, conform-
ing them to the image of the Lord. Without this effect,
the knowledge that we have of it will turn to our condemna-
tion. For it is to offend God to take his holy word of life
into an impious or profane mouth ; added to which, it is to
lessen its effect upon other men. For how can you expect that
they should have faith in what you say, if your life testifies
that you do not believe it yourself? If, then, you have any
desire either for your own salvation, or for the improvement
of others, beloved brethren, obey the commandment of the
apostle ; reject the works of darkness ; clothe yourselves with
the armour of light, Eom. xiii. 14. Be truly children of God
without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse genera-
tion. Shine among the people of the world as the lights of
the world, holding forth, and presenting to all, the word of
life. It is the praise and the title of true believers.
Such, in primitive times, was the church of Jesus Christ,
clothed with the sun, and shining in every place where it
dwelt with a wholesome light. Its associations were like a
great torch, throwing on all sides, as it were, so many living
rays of words and holy works, full of honesty, righteousness,
temperance, modesty, and charity. Thus it pierced, in a short
time, the darkness of paganism, thick and frightful as it was ;
it dissipated error; it disclosed the horrors of hell; it con-
founded devils, and forced the world to worship that same
truth that it had so long and so cruelly persecuted. The light
of the saints' lives contributed more to his work than their mi-
racles. Such also was this new people whom God formed, in
the time of our fathers, by the power of his gospel. They
were truly the lights of the world, in whom shone the pure
light of knowledge and holiness. There was so much bril-
liancy in their manners, that it was immediately acknowledged
wherever they showed themselves. The gravity, gentleness,
and courtesy of their words, seasoned with the salt of grace,
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 227
and free from all the oaths and filth with which the people of
the world filled the whole of their discourse; the openness,
sincerity, and candour of their conversation, void of all ma-
lice ; the love that they had one for another, the sobriety of
their repasts, the modesty of their dress, the good nurture of
their families, the abundance of their alms, the strictness of
their lives, quite retired into the service of heaven, without
taking any part in the excesses or the vanities and pastimes
of the world ; their zeal for the glory of the Lord : all these
things, I sa}*-, distinguished them from the rest of mankind,
and made them sparkle and shine among them as the stars of
the firmament in the darkness of night. But, grief! the
deceits of the enemy have, by degrees, stripped us of this glo-
rious and brilliant appearance. He has tarnished, by different
artifices, the brightness of our light, and has covered us with
the darkness of vice. He has taken from us the marks which
separated us from the world, and, so to speak, has snatched us
from heaven where we shone, and has cast us down into the
dust, and plunged us in the mire. Our manners are no longer
illustrious or remarkable. In them are as many or more spots
than in the lives of the people of the world. We run hastily
into all their excesses. We amuse ourselves, and are foolish
like them. The same avarice, the same ambition, the same
cupidhVy- occupy the one as the other. Our discourses, our
designs are as earthly and as low as theirs. Murmurings and
disputings, fraud, injustice, and perfidy, take place as well
amongst us as them. Even in these holy assemblies our cor-
ruption is felt ; that respectful modesty which formerly shone
there has evidently relaxed, and is giving place to contempt,
talking, and ridicule. Dear brethren, how can we, after so
unworthy a change, be still called the children of God, and
lights of the world? By what right can we take the glory of
so high a title? Who does not see, that, having lost the thing,
we have also lost the name? Notwithstanding which, consi-
der, I pray you, the consequence of this loss. Your eternal
salvation is concerned in it, none having a share in that
blessed life who are not children of God ; none can. shine in
heaven in the kingdom of glory who have not first shone here
in the kingdom of grace. And do not imagine that this only
relates to the ministers of the gospel. Paul here speaks of all
believers. Of whatever order you may be, if you wish to be
members of Jesus Christ, you must be a star and a light of the
world. Let us, then, turn our hearts towards this great Sun
of righteousness; let us open our minds to him, and beseech
him most humbly to rekindle there his extinguished lights,
faith, love, zeal, righteousness, and holiness; so that, filled
with his light, we may edify our neighbours; and after having
shone here below in the midst of a perverse generation, we
228 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIV.
may one day shine above in the heavens with angels and saints.
Amen.
Preached at Charenton, Sunday, 11th March, 1641.
SERMON XIV.
VERSES 16 — 18.
That Irnay rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain,
neither laboured in vain. Yea, and if I be offered* upon the
sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you
all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with
me.
Dear brethren, there is so close a union between the minis-
ters of the gospel, and the churches which they build up in
the Lord, that their joys and sorrows are in common. And as
in the world a fine and fruitful flock is the riches of the shep-
herd, an honest and well-conducted family the joy and honour
of the father, a happy and flourishing state the strength and
glory of the prince ; so also in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, a
holy and blessed church, abounding in the fruits of righteous-
ness, is the crown, the joy, and the triumph of its pastors.
This is the reason why the apostle Paul, having in the prece-
ding verses powerfully exhorted the Phiiippians, whom he had
built up and instructed in the Lord, to a purity and holiness
of life, worthy of their heavenly calling, represents to them
the fruits that will spring from it ; " Be ye without rebuke,
simple and unreprovable, children of God in the midst of a
crooked and perverse generation, shining as lights in the
world, holding forth the word of life;" he now adds, ".that I
may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain,
neither laboured in vain." It is as if he had said to them, Do
not be astonished that I so warmly and carefully press you to
live holily, and in agreement with the rules of the gospel.
Besides the love that I bear you, and that makes me desire
your happiness, it also concerns my own interest. Your piety
is my honour, and your holiness my glory. You are the field
from whence, in the day of the appearing of the Lord Jesus,
I hope to reap the praise which I look for as the reward of my
labour. Then, to show them how much he prized and desired
that glory, he declares to them in the following words, that to
* French, " poured forth.''
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 229
acquire it he was ready cheerfully to shed his blood, and to
crown with his death the other labours of his sacred ministry :
"Yea, and if I be poured forth upon the sacrifice and service
of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all." And that this
declaration might not grieve them, he adds, that if the Lord
permitted it to be so, they would also in truth have a great
cause of consolation and rejoicing: "For the same cause also
do ye joy, and rejoice with me." Thus we have three points
of which to treat in this discourse, that by the help of God we
may give you an entire explanation of this text. In the first
place, Of the glory that would accrue to the apostle from the
piety and holiness of the Philippians; secondly, Of his free
and cheerful resolution to die for the building up of their
faith ; and, in the third and last place, Of the joy that they
ought to have in themselves when the Lord should call him to
martyrdom.
I. As to the first point, the apostle does not simply say that
it would turn to his glory that the church of the Philippians
should live well and holily; he says more, that he shoald
glory in it, which seems contrary, at first sight, to what he
elsewhere forbids, viz., that believers should glory in any
thing but the Lord. But I reply that it is also in the Lord
that he hopes and professes here to glory. For although we
cannot without injustice and without vanity boast of the least
thing which relates to the kingdom of God, nor attribute any
part to ourselves without offending the Lord ; yet, after hav-
ing humbled ourselves under his feet, and having acknow-
ledged that all we are is by his pure grace alone, as well as all
that we have done in him, it is not forbidden, it is even com-
manded, us to behold with admiration, to celebrate and to re-
present with joy, the works of his goodness in us, looking at
them in ourselves, and showing them to others, as the fruits
of his mercy and of his power, and not as the effects of our
own courage. It is thus that the apostle teaches us elsewhere,
that we should rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, and
even in tribulations, receiving them as so many seals of our
glory ; whilst they produce patience, and patience experience,
and experience hope, which maketh not ashamed. It is in
this sense that the perseverance and progress of the disciples
of Paul in piety gave him cause for rejoicing. In fact, he
often thus rejoices in his Epistles, alleging the success of his
labour as so many illustrious and glorious marks of his divine
vocation, and of the power which the Lord had designed to
display in him to the furtherance of his kingdom, and to the
salvation of men ; as when he says in the Epistle to the Ro-
mans, that he hath whereof to glory in Jesus Christ for the
things which belong to God, afterwards setting out the mag-
nificent effects of his sacred ministry : "For I will not dare to
230 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. XIV
speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought
by me to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed,
through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spi-
rit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto
Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ," Eom.
xv. 18, 19. And elsewhere, in the same manner, he draws
proofs of his apostleship from the great success of his labours
among the Corinthians : " Are not ye my work in the Lord ?
If I be not an apostle unto others, yet, doubtless, I am to you,
for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord. Mine an-
swer to them that do examine me is this," 1 Cor. ix. 1 — 3.
And it is in this sense, and for this same reason, that he
afterwards calls the Philippians his joy and crown, that is
to say, the subject and matter of his joy and glory that
he had before God and his saints, of being the apostle
and minister of Christ, a thousand times greater and more il-
lustrious glory than all the crowns of the earth. Thus you see
that the apostle then rejoiced in the fruit of his painful labours,
gathering from their success great and ineffable content, which
he did not hide, but showed it and communicated it freely to
others whenever the occasion required it. This is what he
calls to " rejoice." In truth he had every reason in the world
to do so. For what can one picture to oneself more delight-
ful or more glorious than to have freely preached the gospel
of Jesus Christ in all the universe ? If it be an exploit worthy
of being crowned with public gratitude and praise to have
saved a citizen from death, as the most virtuous of all people
formerly judged ; what, then, ought to be the crown and the
glory of the apostle, who had delivered, not one or two men,
but churches and nations, and, if one may so speak, an entire
world, not simply from death, but from hell, from the darkness
of ignorance, from the slavery of idolatry, and from the curse
of God ; not to preserve them in mortal and perishable life,
but to put them in possession of the blessing of a happy im-
mortality ; not with arms and by shedding the blood of others,
but by holy and pure preaching, which by saving some did
not injure others, which, to preserve the citizen, did not wound
the enemy ? True it is, that the world did not acknowledge
this glory ; that the greater part of the Jews and Gentiles,
blinded by the rage of their malice, turned this honour into
shame, disgracing, in every possible way, both the design and
the work of the apostle. But their fury did not prevent this
holy man from experiencing his happiness, and from that time
rejoicing in his glory in the secrecy of his conscience, and in
the judgment of believers.
Nor does he stop at the fruits that he drew from it in this
world. He looked much further. For he does not simply
say, Live well, that I may rejoice ; he adds, " in the day of
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 231
Christ." We usually call, in the church, the day which Jesus
Christ was raised from the dead, " the day of the Lord ;" and it
appears also that John means thus in the Apocalypse, when he
says " that he was in the Spirit on the Lord's day," Rev. i. 21.
But the scripture both here and elsewhere much oftener uses
these words in another sense, meaning the day of the last judg-
ment to which the Lord Jesus will come from heaven in the
glory of the Father to judge both the quick and dead, as we
have before remarked, (Sermon I. p. 26,) where we proved to
you that this method of speaking is drawn from the Old Tes-
tament, which usually calls the day of the Lord, as you may
see in many places in the prophets, the time in which God wiil
display his judgments on men, both in delivering his church,
and in punishing the wicked. For though he dispenses and
governs all parts of time, and though, properly speaking, there
is no day which is not his, nevertheless, those" destined for the
execution of his judgments belong to him in a peculiar man-
ner. If we look at the exterior of things, it appears as if he
abandoned other times to disorder and confusion, leaving it in
the power of Satan to dispose of and abuse them to the execu-
tion of his pernicious designs, from whence it arises that our
Lord Jesus Christ calls them the hour of the wicked : " This is
your hour, and the power of darkness," said he to the Jews,
Luke xxii. 53, speaking of the time they were about putting him
to death. But when God comes to display his arm, confound-
ing his enemies, and consoling his children by some grand and
illustrious act of his providence, constraining the most obsti-
nate to acknowledge that it is the work of his hand, then it is
truly his day, his time, set apart and employed for his work.
And as there shines in all judgment some representation of this
proceeding of God, it hence arises that when the word " day,"
is used in connection with any judge who manifests his author-
ity, justice, and power in the exercise of his office, it is taken
simply to mean judgment ; as when Paul says in the First
Corinthians, " that it is a small thing for him to be judged of
man's day," chap. iv. 3 ; that is to say, by the judgment of men,
as our Bibles have translated it. Perhaps from this has arisen
that method of speaking common in our language, calling "the
great days" the time of judgment, which the prince appoints in
this kingdom by the parliaments, which he sends sometimes
extraordinarily into the provinces. Now because of all the
judgments that the Lord displays in the world, exercising in
different ways the power which the Father has given him in
seating him at his right hand, there is none so remarkable or
so illustrious as the last, when coming from heaven with his
angels in supreme and incomprehensible glory, he will make
all men appear before his throne, and will give to every one
according to his works; from whence it arises that the great
232 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIV.
day destined for the execution of this by the certain and im-
mutable counsel of God, is particularly called the day of Christ
on account of its excellence : and it is for the same reason that
it is sometimes simply called " that day ;" as when Paul prays
God would grant to Onesiphorus "to find mercy of the Lord
in that day," that is to say, in the last day, 2 Tim. i. 18 ; and
again, in 2 Thess. i. 10, he in like manner says, "that the Lord
in that day shall be admired in all that believe;" and some ex-
cellent expositors take in the same sense the phrase, " that the
day shall declare every man's work," 1 Cor. iii. 13. It is in
this great day, then, that the apostle wishes to rejoice at the
success of his labour in the church of the Philippians. It is
then that he expects the fruit of their obedience to his word ;
and he speaks of it also to the Corinthians and Thessalonians
in the same manner : " You are our glory (says he to the for-
mer) in the day of the Lord Jesus," 2 Cor. i. 14 ; and to the
latter, " What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are
not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his
coming?" 1 Thess. ii. 19. It is not as we have already no-
ticed, that he does not rejoice in the days of his flesh at the
fruit of his labour, the conversion and piety of these fine and
flourishing churches planted and increased by the efficacy of
his preaching, giving him, doubtless, even then an extreme
satisfaction of mind. But he puts it off to the last day, because
he here comprehends in it their perseverance in holiness, over
which he could not then rejoice or glory, seeing that he could
not have an entire and firm assurance of their state for the fu-
ture. The conversion of the Galatians had been to him in the
beginning a subject of joy and triumph. Their error had since
changed his satisfaction into anxiety, and his hope to fear,
when he saw them quitting the good road and following the
seduction of false apostles. This, then, was a sly goad to stir
up the Philippians to constancy and perseverance in the faith ;
as if he said., Do in such a manner that I may rejoice and glory
in your piety, not here only, where everything is changeable,
but also in the great day of Christ; that the good beginnings
which I have seen and still see among you may be persevered
in and crowned with constancy ; that time may cause no change
in them, if it be not for the better ; so that when the Lord shall
appear, after our combats are ended, I may then also have
cause to say with joy, to your glory and mine, that I have not
laboured in vain. Preserve this crown whole and inviolable
for me to the end of the world ; so that in no time to come
shall incidents or trials either wither, tarnish, or diminish its
beauty and glory.
But besides this reason, the apostle has thus used it, accord-
ing to his usual style, always to carry us back to the last day,
because then will be the final and complete perfection of our
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 233
life and glory. Till then there is always something to say
about our happiness. Here the flesh, the world, and our infir-
mities oppose our comfort. Even in heaven itself, where our
souls will be received at their parting from this valley of tears,
we shall not have the full and complete satisfaction of our de-
sires; this poor flesh, which is a part of our being, remaining
in ruin under the empire of corruption and worms ; and a
part of our company still fighting on the earth. But in that
great day of the Lord, our whole nature and our whole broth-
erhood being fully and completely delivered both from evil
and fear, our joy and glory will be perfect in every respect.
Nothing will then be wanting to it. All our desires will be en-
tirely satisfied. As in that great day the works of believers
will be produced and displayed before the eyes of heaven and
earth, their alms, their love, even the smallest fruit of their
piety, we cannot doubt but that the troubles and the successes
of those of them who served the gospel will also appear in that
supreme light. Paul teaches us this expressly, when speaking
of them particularly, he says, that they shall receive the reward
of their work, 1 Cor. iii. 14; "and then shall every man have
praise of God," I Cor. iv. 5. And Daniel had already foretold
long before Paul, "that those who turn many to righteousness
shall shine," in that happy time, " as the stars for ever and
ever," Dan. xii. 3. How admirable and how great will then
be the glory of this great apostle, when, accompanied by
so many millions of believers that he had formerly begot-
ten by the gospel, he shall present himself before the throne of
his Master, saying, with the prophet, "Behold, I and the chil-
dren whom thou hast given me !" This is the fruit of the
talent that thou committedst to me. It is the production
of the grace that thou bestowedst upon me. What will
be the joy of his heart to see himself thus miraculously
multiplied ! What will be the satisfaction of his disciples
thus to promote his glory ! And how great will be their com-
mon delight to hear the Son of God praise the preaching of
the one, and the obedience of the others, all being together re-
ceived into the heavenly Jerusalem with the blessings and
applause of men and angels ! That is exactly what the apostle
means when he says, that he shall rejoice in the day of the
Lord " that he has not run in vain, neither laboured in vain."
You know that he often compares the life and plans of belie-
vers, and particularly of the ministers of the gospel, to a race ;
so that he here means by this race, and the labour of which he
speaks, the trouble that he had taken, and still took daily, to
instruct, teach, and admonish the Philippians in the doctrine
of salvation, and all the functions of his apostleship towards
them. It is true that the praise of the servants of Jesus Christ
does not properly depend on the success of their labours. For
30
234: AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIV.
if they acquit themselves faithfully in their office, their reward
is certain from God, in whatever manner men may receive
their preaching, as the Lord expressly declares to them in
Ezekiel, "If thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it,
if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity ;
but thou hast delivered thy soul," chap, xxxiii. 9. The God of
glory judges not things by the event, which is not in our power.
He sees our hearts, he looks at our affection ; he considers our
labour, and if it has been lawful, he does not fail to crown it,
though the wickedness of man, and such other things which
are without us, may have hindered its effect. We shall never,
in this respect, have served him in vain. Our labour and our
race have always their certain reward. Nevertheless, if you
turn your eyes upon those to whom our ministry is addressed,
if you consider the design that we have to gain them to Jesus
Christ, and to lead them to his eternal salvation ; one cannot
deny that in this sense we have run and laboured in vain, if
our labour have not produced in them that faith and sanctifi-
cation which we desire. And as it is not possible that we
should not be wearied with this bad success, either frustrating
the fruit of our labours,, or secretly opposing them ; so, on the
contrary, it is evident that the happy success of our ministry
is a singular blessing, and a crown of honour, so much the
more glorious and illustrious in proportion as our labour has
been great and more abundant.
It is then in this meaning, and in this respect, that the
apostle here desires " to rejoice in the day of Christ that he
has neither run nor laboured in vain." Believers, let us all
lift up our hearts, after his example, to the day of the Lord.
Let us extend our thoughts thither. Let us leave the things
that are seen, which are perishable, and all of which time will
destroy one after another. If we desire glory, (which is a de-
sire natural to all men,) let us seek that which will remain un-
moved to the great day of the Lord, and which will then be
made manifest, whatever efforts the world may make to anni-
hilate it. All the glory of the children of this world will
perish, and the praise that we give to their discoveries and their
mighty acts shall end with the earth. There will be no men-
tion of them in the day of the Lord, the day-spring and com-
mencement of eternity. If we wish to have a share in it, if
we desire to be praised by the mouth of the King of glory,
let us labour for the advancement of his kingdom. He will
not say any thing, either of our buildings or of our wars, of
our government or of our books, or of the other works of our
vanity ; and, far from rejoicing in them, we shall be ashamed,
and only reap from them regret and confusion. Christ will
only reward in the light of this august and venerable assembly
the works of piety. They will for ever preserve their grace
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 235
and lustre, and we shall obtain by them on that day a truly
immortal glory. May the ministers of the gospel be occupied
in them more than others, and may they be warmed with an
ardent desire for this real honour ; may they employ every
moment of their lives to edify, by words and good examples,
those believers who are committed to them ; remembering that
all those souls whom they shall gather to the Lord shall be so
many trophies of their labour which shall endure to eternity,
and after the ruin of the world and its elements, shall for ever
publish their praise in the Jerusalem that is above.
But, dear brethren, as their glory depends on your, piety,
the love and respect that you owe them compel you to con-
tribute to it as much as possible. The apostle here clearly
shows it to you, wishing, among the other reasons that should
lead the Philippians to holiness, they should also have an eye
to his praise, and that they should persevere in faith and piety,
so that he might rejoice in the day of the Lord that he had
neither run nor laboured in vain. In that the gratitude of
flocks towards their pastors consists. I acknowledge that they
are obliged to provide for their support, and, for the spiritual
things which they have received from their hands, to commu-
nicate to them temporal things, according to the command of
the Lord, that those who preach the gospel should live of the
gospel. But the first point of your gratitude is, that heartily
obeying our preaching, you may give us this satisfaction in
this world, and that glory in the other, of being able to say
that we have not laboured in vain. If you do not soothe our
troubles with this fruit, you are guilty of ingratitude ; just as
we call ungrateful that earth which, disobedient to the culture
of the labourer, receives the grain that he casts into it without
yielding him its fruit. If, then, this painful exercise of the
offices with which God has honoured us among you, if our
labour and diligence to acquit ourselves of them with a good
conscience, be any consideration to you, dear brethren, profit
by it. Receive this incorruptible seed of the gospel that we
sow in your hearts with faith and obedience. May it germi-
nate there and fructify abundantly, and faithfully yield to the
Lord the glory which belongs to him, and to us the praise we
wait for. May all your life be crowned with the piety and
love that we preach to you, so that to our common joy we may
one day both of us appear without confusion before the Lord
at his last judgment, and bear away together the praise of not
having run in vain. I say the same to those children who
have the happiness to possess fathers and mothers careful of
their instruction. Young people, the principal gratitude that
you owe for their care is to live well, and to shine forth in the
midst of the world as holy lights, so that you may be one day
before the Lord a crown of blessing and honour to those who
236 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIV.
so tenderly love you, and that they may then have the satis-
faction of rejoicing in presence of heaven and earth, that the
labour which they employed in your cultivation has not been
useless.
II. But it is time to come to the second part of our text, in
which the apostle, to show the Philippians how highly he es-
timated that glory that he had just asked from them, declares,
that if it be necessary to seal with his own blood the preaching
of the gospel he had declared to them, and add his death to
the labours of his painful race, he would do so willingly,
cheerfully, and without regret ; which he expresses in rich,
figurative, and excellent language, as usual, " That if even I
be poured forth on the service and sacrifice of your faith, I may
joy, and rejoice with you all." In the first place, he compares
himself to a priest, and sets before us the conversion of the
Philippians to the faith of the gospel, brought about by his
preaching, and their piety as its consequence, under the image
of a sacrifice. He speaks in the same way in the Epistle to
the Romans, where he says that he " is the minister of Christ
to the Gentiles, ministering to the sacrifice of the gospel of
God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable,
being sanctified by the Holy Ghost," chap. xv. 16. In this
mystical sacrifice the apostle was the high priest ; the gospel
was, as it were, the knife with which he spiritually immolated
his victims. The Philippians converted to Jesus Christ were
his victims ; for as also the ancient priests consecrated to God
the victims that they offered, so also the apostle, and all the
faithful preachers of the gospel, lead and offer to the Lord
those to whom they preach the word with effect. Besides, as
the priests of old put their victims to death, so now do the
ministers of the gospel in some manner immolate men who
receive their preaching, making them die to the world and the
flesh, drawing out of their hearts vain affections and lusts, in
which their life consisted. And as for the ancient victims,
they remained purely and simply dead, without receiving from
the hand of the priest any kind of life instead of that of which
he had deprived them. But it is not so with the men whom
the ministers of the Lord immolate with the sword of his gos-
pel. For instead of this miserable, earthly, and carnal life
which they take from them, they clothe them with another that
is holy and divine, and infinitely happier than that which they
have lost, changing them by this mystical sacrifice from chil-
dren of Adam into children of God, from old and perishing
creatures into new and heavenly men. Besides this difference,
there is still another, between this evangelical sacrifice and that
of the ancient victims. For whereas those poor animals which
they immolated, destitute as they were of reason and intellect,
suffered death simply, without any act on their part taking
CHAP. II.] TIIE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 237
place ; now the victims of Jesus Christ are only immolated
when they knowingly and willingly receive the stroke of the
gospel. Thus you see that the apostle here expressly mentions
the faith of the Philippians, as it was through that they had
been offered to God. From whence again a third difference
arises between these two kinds of victims. For whereas the
ancient victims remained entirely deprived of their being,
without obtaining any new one, men now offered to God by
the gospel, besides being made by it new, living, and immortal
creatures, become also themselves priests, to offer themselves
henceforth to God, by a true faith, presenting their bodies to
him in sacrifice, lively, holy, and acceptable, which is their
reasonable service, as the apostle says, Rom. xii. 1 ; whence
also Peter calls them all " a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ," 1 Pet. ii. 5. And
this is the reason that the scripture honours with the name of
sacrifices, all those actions of their spiritual life which they
practise in faith, as their alms-giving, their repentance, their
patience, their hymns, their prayers, and such like. Paul com-
prehends here, in my opinion, all those spiritual oblations
under the name of sacrifice and service of faith of the Philip-
pians ; first of all that which he had himself done at the begin-
ning, converting them, and presenting them to the Lord ; and,
secondly, all the works of piety and charity that these believers
had offered, and still offered every day to God in the faith of
his gospel. He considers all that as the sacrifice of a single
victim, immolated at the beginning by his hand ; and since
elevating continually before God upon the altar of his grace,
Jesus Christ our Lord, where he had placed them, the perfumes,
the sweet and agreeable odours of prayer and alms-giving, of
patience and other christian virtues.
He calls it " the sacrifice and service of their faith," because
this whole oblation depends on faith, and is only done by it ;
neither our persons nor our actions being capable of pleasing
God without faith. He calls it our service or liturgy, in the
same sense as he names it a sacrifice, because it is the function
of the ministry to which we have been consecrated by the faith
of the gospel. And as formerly the ministry of the Levitical
priesthood was to present to God many earthly offerings upon
their typical altar ; so also now the worship and the service to
which we are called is, to offer continually our bodies and our
minds to God, with all the fruits that they are capable of bear-
ing, in the name and on the cross of Jesus Christ, our true and
heavenly altar.
The apostle then says, that if he be poured forth on the sacri-
fice of the faith of the Philippians, he shall be joyful and con-
tented. To understand this completely, we must be aware, in
the second place, besides what we have said before, that the
238 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIV.
ancients in their sacrifices did not offer their victims to God
simply and alone, but were accustomed to pour over them some
liquor, such as wine or oil. As to the pagans, it appears in a
thousand places in their writings which still remain that they
did the same. And as to the Israelites, Moses expressly com-
mands them to throw upon each of the two lambs of their daily
sacrifice a little fine flour mingled with beaten oil, and to pour
over it a certain quantity of wine, Exod. xxix. 40. The word
here used by the apostle is precisely that which he employs to
signify such pourings and effusions. From whence it appears
what is its meaning. For continuing the metaphor begun and
drawn from the sacrifices, he compares his death, and the pour-
ing out of his blood in consequence of it, on account of the
faith of the Philippians and of the gospel that he had preached
to them, to that pouring forth which was done on the victims
which had been immolated. If I am poured out, if my blood
is shed on the sacrifice of your faith, so that nothing is want-
ing to this divine oblation, I am ready cheerfully to suffer death
on such a good account. And that such was his intention, be-
sides all the circumstances of the text evidently showing it,
still further appears by what we read in the Second Epistle to
Timothy, where, speaking of his approaching martyrdom, he
employs the very same word which he here uses, in the same
sense : " As for me, I am now ready to be poured forth ;" to
which he adds, as if to explain it more clearly, " and the time
of my departure is at hand," 2 Tim. iv. 6. And the reason of
this metaphor is evident. For, in the first place, as this part
of the ancient sacrifices was made by pouring out some liquor,
so also this part of the evangelical service of Paul, that is to
say, his martyrdom, must be, and was indeed, made by the
shedding of his blood ; so that in all the functions of his sacred
ministry, there is not one that has a closer resemblance to the
scattering or pouring out which was done upon the ancient
sacrifices. And more, as this pouring out of the liquor upon
the victim was the seal of its consecration, so also the death of
the apostle was the crown of his ministry, and the authentic
and solemn confirmation of his whole doctrine, which would
increase and establish the faith of the Philippians and other
believers, and be more and more the means of consecrating
their spiritual service to the Lord. Now although he does not
say certainly that he shall be poured out on the sacrifice of his
preaching, but speaks of it doubtfully and conditionally, simply
saying that if it should happen he should rejoice at it ; never-
theless, he signifies pretty clearly that he was of that opinion,
that he should some day glorify the Lord by martyrdom. Be-
sides the rage of his enemies, and his firm resolution to con-
tinue constantly to preach the gospel, making him thus believe,
it may be that he had had besides some warning of it from the
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 239
Lord, like that which he had given to Peter, telling him, after
his resurrection, by what death he should glorify God, as John
relates at the end of his Gospel. The effect answered to it pre-
cisely ; for although God delivered him from his first bonds,
according to the assurance that he had given the Philippians
in two places in this Epistle, he, nevertheless, permitted that
some years after he should be again made prisoner and exe-
cuted in the city of Rome ; and the punishment was precisely
such as he had signified in this place; that is to say, a death in
which his blood should be shed, to serve as an aspersion upon
the sacrifice of his preaching, all the ancient historians of the
church unanimously testifying that he was beheaded by the
command of Nero.
But whatever might be the hour and manner in which God
should be pleased to dispose of him, he testifies here that he
was quite resolved and ready to suffer martyrdom, not only
without regret and apprehension, but even with joy. If that
should be, (says he,) " I joy, and rejoice with you all." You
see, believers, what a change the gospel of Jesus Christ has
made in the nature of things. Death is to other men a subject
of fear and horror, as the ruin of their being, and the end of
all their enjoyments. To the apostle and to the true disciples
of Jesus Christ it is an agreeable object, a subject of joy, as
being, by the blessing of their Lord, the crown of their perfec-
tion, their entrance to immortality, and the first day of their
triumph. But the apostle does not only rejoice in it for him-
self, regarding his own pouring forth as the last of his painful
services, as the end of his labour, and the beginning of his rest
and glory ; he also rejoices in it for the Philippians and for
other believers. For that is what he means when he says, " I
rejoice with you all ;" because in truth this last part of his
ministry ought to be very useful to them in sealing and con-
firming their faith by such an illustrious teaching of celestial
truth. For if his bonds had served to such a great furtherance
of the gospel, as he said before, how much more efficacious
would his death be for the same purpose !
III. But he goes still further, and wishes that the Philippians
should feel the same disposition with regard to his martyrdom ;
that they should rejoice at it when it should happen, as a good
and happy event : " You also, (says he to them in the following
verse,) for the same cause, joy, and rejoice with me." But how
is it, thou holy apostle, that thou desirest that the Philippians
should rejoice in such a time of mourning? and that the loss
of so good, so admirable, and so affectionate a master should
not be to them a cause of sorrow ? Would it not be to change
them into rocks, and to deprive them of all feeling, to compel
them to such a strange duty ? Thou thyself in another place
hast permitted the mourning and tears of believers for the
2-iO AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIV.
death of their neighbours ; only forbidding them to afflict
themselves after the manner of the Gentiles, who have no hope,
1 Thess. iv. 13. And we read in Acts viii. 2, that the disci-
ples made great mourning for Stephen, the first martyr of
Jesus Christ. Dear brethren, the command that the apostle
here gives the Philippians is not opposed to the duties and feel-
ings of humanity. He does not absolutely forbid them to weep
and to regret his death. He simply wishes that if his absence
is painful to them, the fruit of his sacrifice may be sweet to
them ; that they should not be so attached to their own interest
as not to consider his ; that sorrow for his loss should not so
fill their minds, that feeling for his happiness, and joy for
his victory, should not also have a place. He desires that they
should feel as they ought the effect and usefulness of his death,
the weight and authority that it would give to his preaching,
and the value of it to the church, gaining some, and establish-
ing others in the fellowship of Jesus Christ. This is what he
means when he tells them to rejoice at it. But he also wishes
that the benefit that he himself should derive from it should
touch them, and console them for his loss ; that they should
see the victory that it gave him over all his enemies, the glory
that his death should obtain for him, the rest and felicity in
which it would place him. This is the meaning of the last words
of the text, "you also rejoice with me." From which we have,
finally, to collect briefly the principal instruction that the
apostle here gives us.
In the first place, he shows us what are the sacrifice and
lawful service of the ministers of the Lord Jesus in the church.
It is not to offer animals to God, as the children of Aaron did
formerly ; neither to present him with bread and wine, or (as
they do in the communion of Eome) the flesh and blood of
his Son under the appearance of bread and wine. Neither
Paul nor any other of the sacred authors teaches us any where
that the Saviour had instituted, or that his disciples had prac-
tised, any thing of the kind. The true sacrifice of the servants
of Jesus Christ is to preach the gospel, to convert men to their
Master by the power of his word ; to make them die to the
world and the flesh, that they may live according to the Spirit ;
to plunge this divine sword into them, even to the dividing of
soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow ; to present them
to God as so many living sacrifices, holy, pure, and reasonable.
But if there be any question of a propitiatory sacrifice to ex-
piate sin, and to satisfy the justice of the Father, both this
same apostle and the whole scripture of the New Testament
teach us that Jesus Christ has offered that once upon the cross,
so that to undertake to offer another would evidently be to ac-
cuse his of insufficiency. After so perfect an oblation, it only
remains for us to rejoice in it, to apply the fruits of it to our-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 241
selves ; and that, in gratitude for so excellent a benefit, we
should continually" present, by Jesus Christ, " the calves of our
lips," as the prophet calls our thanksgivings, and the fruits of
a truly evangelical and spiritual life.
This is what the apostle teaches us in the second place, call-
ing the conversion and sanctification of the Philippians, the
sacrifice and service of their faith. Kemember then, believers,
that having been sacrificed to God by the gospel which you
have received into your hearts, you have, at the same time,
been invested with a new dignity, and have been made alto-
gether victims and priests of the Lord. You are henceforth a
sacerdotal nation. You are all in Jesus Christ the ministers
of the living God. Have ever before your eyes the excellence
of such a high office. Keep yourselves holy and unpolluted.
Flee all soil and filth; touch none of those things which are
dead and profane. Exercise that holy office with which God
has honoured you with care and fidelity. Present him every
day a pure and chaste body, a mind full of faith and good
thoughts, an innocent soul, bowels of mercies, a mouth dedi-
cated to his praise, lips purified by his divine fire, incorrupt-
ible hands, honest eyes, and a christian conversation. Present
to him, on the poor members of his Son, the altars that he has
left us on earth, the offerings of your charity in abundance,
and with joy. Consecrate your goods to his service ; employ
and use them but for him. Dedicate to him the vigour of
your youth, the prudence and experience of your old age ; all
the periods and moments of your life. And, to sum up all in
few words, may the thoughts and affections of your hearts, the
words of your mouths, and the actions of your body, be so
many sacrifices set apart and offered to the Lord. This, my
brethren, is the service, the liturgy (as the apostle calls it) to
which the faith of the gospel constrains us.
Still it is not enough that we should consecrate our life to
God. Death, which is its end and final part, must also be em-
ployed in the same use. And this the example of the apostle
teaches us here, in the third place ; all of us ought to have a dis-
position similar to his, and to be ready to suffer death cheerfully,
and to shed our blood with joy upon the service of his faith,
as an effusion, or pouring forth, agreeable to the Lord, if he
should call us to it. It is the seal, the crown, and the perfec-
tion of the sacrifice of the christian, by which he confirms and
ratifies all the other parts of his service, by which he glorifies
God and edifies men in the highest and best manner possible.
I acknowledge that the example of the apostle particularly
concerns the ministers of the Lord, as those who ought always
to be ready to sign with their blood the truths they have
preached with their mouths. But in reality there is no chris-
tian who is not bound to the same thing. For we are all sol-
31
242 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIV.
diers of the Lord Jesus. We have all sworn to him the oath
of fidelity; and entering into fellowship with him, we have
sworn to contend even to blood for his gospel. And what can
be more just than to die for the glory of him who made no
difficulty in dying for our salvation? And if we do not find
this disposition in ourselves, let us blame our own cowardice,
and the imperfection of our faith. We every day see men of
the world cheerfully sacrifice their life to an empty idol, which
they falsely call honour; and there is not one of them who
would not willingly meet his rival every time that the laws
of this unjust and imaginary rule of their own vanity calls
upon them so to do, without the menaces both of the justice
of God or man being capable of preventing them, and they
consider them as cowards and deprived of honour who would
draw back. Christians! shall we not have for the service of
God, and for a true and solid glory, the same courage that
they have for an empty imagination ? But all our cowardice
arises from the weakness of our faith. If we were firmly per-
suaded that Jesus Christ will crown with glory and immor-
tality all those who suffer for his name, we should embrace
such opportunities with joy. We should fly to them as the
first christians did formerly, and acknowledge that it is the
highest honour that could ever happen to us to shed our blood
in so good a cause, and the issue of which is so undoubtedly
blessed.
But the example of the apostle ought to extend still further
than martyrdom. All are not called to shed their blood.
But there are none who are not called to die. Prepare your-
self then in general, O christian ! for that death which is inev-
itable, from whatever hand it may come, whether by nature
or by the hand of men, with a steady, cheerful, and rejoicing
mind. Lay down your life willingly, and resign it cheerfully
into the hand of God when he shall demand it from you. Let
him not take it from you by force and in spite of you, as from
a faithless trustee; but let him rather receive it as a sacrifice
that you yourselves present with thanksgivings. Remember,
even in this time of extremity, the honour of your priesthood,
of the obedience that you owe to God, and the edification that
you are bound to afford to your neighbours. Do not allow
yourselves to be surprised by the fancies of ignorance and
error, which paint death to us as the chief of evils. Think
that the Lord Jesus has deprived it of its sting, and spoiled it
of all it had of sorrow. Henceforth it cannot hurt you. It
will perfect instead of destroying you. It delivers you from
a rough and troublesome combat, and places you in a blessed
peace. It only takes earth from you to give you heaven, and
merely removes you from the company of men that you may
enjoy that of Jesus Christ and his saints. But as the apostle
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 243
instructs us by his example to die with joy, he also commands
us to support the death of our brethren with patience, and to
put away from amongst us that obstinate mourning, and those
inconsolable tears, which weakness and ignorance shed upon
their graves. It is to insult a martyr of Jesus Christ to weep
for his death. It is to injure his sacrifice, and to pollute his
triumph. Are you sorry because he has overcome the world,
and confounded all the efforts of the enemy ? Rejoice in it,
says the apostle, and rejoice with him. Indeed there is much
more cause to congratulate than to pity him. He has finished
his sacrifice, he has glorified his Lord, he has been faithful to
him to his last sigh. He has confirmed the gospel, and testi-
fied to its truth. The angels have seen it with joy, and have
accompanied his victory with their applause. Jesus Christ
has accepted his burnt-offering, and, receiving his soul into
heaven, has crowned him with his glory. Who does not see,
that if we love the Lord, and the servant that he has conse-
crated to himself, we ought to rejoice in his happiness ? Thus
we read that in the first ages of Christianity the interments of
the martyrs were rather triumphs than funerals. All of them
resounded with praises, and hymns, and thanksgivings, as is
particularly mentioned in the book of the Passion of Cyprian.
My dear brethren, these same reasons oblige us to support, in
like manner, the death of other believers ; for although not
martyrs, they are, nevertheless, those who have died in the
Lord, and have changed their earthly tabernacle for a heavenly
habitation. Every species of death of his beloved ones is pre-
cious in the eyes of the Lord, Psal.cxvi. 15. Do not weep for
him who is most blessed, who sins no more, who rejoices in
God, who is in the harbour of salvation, free from the agita-
tions and tempests of life. And if you regret the loss of his
conversation, let the consideration of his well-being soften
your sorrow with the hope of one day meeting him again in
the kingdom of God. For thus we must take these kinds of
affliction, and all others, for occasions of lifting our hearts to-
wards heaven, and in good time to set our affairs in order,
faithfully employing the life and death both of ourselves and
others to the glory of the Lord, waiting for his great day, when
he will wipe away all tears, and will give us the fruits of our
faith and hope in the eternal possession of his blessed glory.
To him, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the true and
only God, eternally blessed, be honour and glory for ever and
ever.
Preached at Charenton, /Sunday, 21st April, 1641.
244 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XV.
SERMON XV.
VERSES 19 — 24.
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you,
that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.
For I have no man like-minded, who will naturally care for
your state. For all seek their own, not the things that are Jesus
Christ's. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the
father, he hath served with me in the gospel. Him, therefore, I
hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with
me. But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come
shortly.
What the apostle here says, that the care of all the
churches was continually upon him, 2 Cor. xi. 28, appears in
all his Epistles, but is especially discoverable in this to the
Philippians. For although his sad condition when in Rome,
a captive in the prison of Nero, and in danger of his life,
might seem to exclude every other care, nevertheless, the af-
fection which he bore to that dear flock pressed so heavily on
his holy mind, that his own danger could not prevent his
thinking of their safety. He thought of them under the tri-
bunal itself, which was about to judge his life, and is in more
trouble about their salvation than his own safety. They had
sent him Epaphroditus, their pastor, to wait upon him in his
necessity ; and this good minister of God acquitted himself of
that office towards him with all the love and fidelity in his
power. But the holy apostle, fearing that his absence might
be injurious to them, sent him back to them, as we hear at the
end of this chapter, choosing rather to be without his attentions
and good offices than to deprive this church of them. He is
not satisfied with doing this, he accompanies it with this beau-
tiful Epistle, in which he gives them salutary advice against
all kinds of errors, and arms their faith, and establishes their
consolation, with an inconceivable diligence and ardour.
Still all this does not suffice his affection. He wishes to send
Timothy to them, that is to say, his right band and his other
half, that he might assure their salvation by the presence of
such an excellent servant of God ; and, after all, to go and see
them himself as soon as he should be at liberty, the love that
he bore them not being satisfied with any thing short of that.
This, my brethren, is what he promises them in the text,
where, cutting the thread of the exhortations that he had given
them in the preceding verses, he declares, " But I hope to send
Timothy unto you shortly ;" as if he had said, It is not neces-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 24$
sary for me to enlarge any more in these instructions, having
the intention of sending them, on the earliest day, another
living Epistle, that is to say, his dear Timothy, who was very
able to improve them in every thing necessary for their edifi-
cation and consolation. He then adds the reasons which had
induced him to choose him rather than any other for this em-
ployment, which were drawn from his incomparable zeal and
fidelity in the work of the Lord, proved by long and tried
experience ; " For I have no man like-minded, who will natu-
rally care for your state. For all seek their own, and not the
things that are Jesus Christ's. But ye know the proof of him,
that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the
gospel. Him, therefore, I hope to send presently, so soon as
I shall see how it will go with me." And, finally, he gives
them hope that he shall see them himself at an early day:
" But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly."
Thus we have, by God's help, to treat of three points in this
discourse: the promise of sending Timothy; his recommenda-
tion and praise; and the assurance of the apostle's arrival
among the Philippians.
I. The promise of sending Timothy. Their church, newly
planted by Paul, like a young plant still tender and weak, had
need of support, and so much the more so on account of the
attacks of enemies, who did all in their power to ruin it. It
flourished in the midst of the thorns and briers of infidelity,
whilst the cruelty of the Jews and pagans was likely to stifle
it easily if it were not assisted. This occasioned Paul's anx-
iety, fearing every moment lest Satan, who never sleeps, should
pull up, or at least shake, these new plants of the Lord. The
account that he had received from Epaphroditus redoubled his
fears that evil workers, the teachers of circumcision, who, in
these early times, troubled the greater part of the flocks of
Jesus Christ, had also attacked that of the Philippians. It is
then to soothe his own trouble, and to strengthen these be-
lievers, that, not contented with sending Epaphroditus back
to them, he promises to make Timothy soon follow him, one
of the most celebrated ministers of the Lord, known in Asia
and in Europe by the great services which he had rendered to
the gospel ; so that the hope of such considerable assistance
should support and strengthen them; in like manner, you see
a place acquires new courage and vigour to resist the enemy
who keeps it in a state of siege, when its prince gives it the
hope of very soon sending it powerful aid. " But I trust in
the Lord to send Timothy unto you shortly, that I also may
be of good comfort, when I know your state." He here sets
before us two things : the sending of Timothy, and the object
or reason of so sending him. On the first we have to remark,
that he does not simply and absolutely say, I will send Timothy
246 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XV
to you, but I hope to send him to you, and still more modifies his
hope by adding, " I hope in the Lord Jesus." As the actions, and
even the words of the apostle ought to serve as examples and in-
struction for us, let us learn from these, my brethren, what
they clearly signify, that we should never be entirely certain
about things to come, of which God has given us no assurance:
this I expressly add, to exclude from this proposition the
things that the Lord has promised in his word, as the continu-
ance of his grace, and the inheritance of his glory. Of these
Paul in many places speaks with entire confidence, being fully
persuaded that nothing shall be able to separate him from the
love of the Lord ; and we can and ought, after his example,
to be certain also of the promise of God, that none shall ever
pluck us frora his hand ; and that he will bring us out of all
our temptations, making it as certain as if it was performing
or already accomplished. As to other things, of which we
have not the promise in the divine word, such as the circum-
stances and events of our common life, we may hope for them,
as the apostle does in this place, but not be certain of them, all
their success depending on the will of God, of which we have
not the knowledge. The issue of things does not always de-
pend on their disposition and appearance. A moment often
changes their order, and overturns all the opinions which the
reason of men had formed of them ; God, the sovereign Lord
and ruler of Ihe world, having reserved to himself the right
of turning them, as seemeth to him good. It is to rob him of
what belongs to him, to take for granted the certain issue of
things to come. Our life itself, the foundation of all our
actions, is not assured to us; and there is no person in the
world, however healthy and vigorous he may be, who can be
certain of living another day. How many do we every day
see who, an hour previous to that fatal moment, were perfectly
well ! This is the reason why the apostle James rebukes justly
the rashness of those who dispose of the future as if they were
masters of it, who say, " To-day or to-morrow we will go into
such a city, and continue there a year, and buy, and sell, and
get gain. Whereas (he says) ye know not what shall be on the
morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that
appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that
ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or
that." Paul loved the church of the Philippians, he saw that
it had still need of his ministry, and knew that Jesus Christ
had thereunto called him. This disposition made him judge
that God, for the good of believers, would preserve him still
alive, and draw him out of those sad bonds which then held
him, that he might edify those believers as much by sending
Timothy to them as by his own presence. From hence, then,
he expects that the Lord will dispose of him in that way.
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 247
But knowing how deep are the judgments of God, and how
much higher are his ways and thoughts than ours, often order-
ing things quite contrary to our reason and expectations, he
does not feel entirely certain of what however seemed to him
probable, and remits all to the providence of the Lord, reposing
humbly under his shadow. Dear brethren, let us imitate his
modesty, and, with a humility similar to his, let us leave the
future in the hand of God, only disposing of it under his good
pleasure, without fixing upon any thing with so much certainty
as not to be ready to submit to a contrary issue, in case that
the sovereign Lord has been pleased to order otherwise than
we wished or hoped ; let us acquiesce quietly in his counsel,
and after having resigned all our thoughts, hopes, and delibe-
rations to him, let us always add the clause that our Lord and
Master has taught us, " Thy will be done." Not what I will,
but what thou wilt.
We must also remark what the apostle says, " that he trusted
in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to the Philippians." By
these words he evidently gives to Jesus Christ the empire of
the universe, and the providence which governs the issue of
all the things which pass in it, according to what he had pre-
viously said, that he was highly exalted, and that his name
was above every name, and that there is nothing in heaven, or
in earth, or under the earth, which does not bow the knee
before him. For as it is of the Lord Jesus that he hopes to
send Timothy, and so to console the Philippians, it is clear
that it is on him that all the events necessary to do so depend.
lie was in the bonds of Nero, the most powerful monarch then
on earth, and the most opposed to the doctrine of the truth ;
so that, looking at the thing as a man, there was no great ap-
pearance that he should get out of his chains into liberty. But
to the power of this tyrant he opposes that of his Christ,
knowing that he held in his hand the hearts both of this lion
and of all other similar beasts, to bend them as he pleased.
He knew that however great might be the rage and confusion
of men, yet Jesus was their Master ; that he governed all their
actions ; and that, however high and powerful they might be,
all their works depended on his will. And from thence it ne-
cessarily follows that Jesus is the true and eternal God, of the
same essence with the Father ; the government of the world,
and the guidance of all that passes in it, requiring infinite
wisdom and power, such as cannot be but in a similarly infi-
nite nature, that is to say, one truly divine and eternal. Hence
not christians only, but even pagans, and all men generally,
refer the disposition of the future to God, saying, in their usual
language, "If it please God," If God wills, and, With the good
pleasure of God ; recognizing, as it were, by the secret teach-
ing of nature herself, that this providence and disposition of
248 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XV.
things can only belong to a divine being. How then can we
adequately express our astonishment at the blindness, shall I
call it, or at the fury, of those who, granting to the Lord Jesus
the guidance of the universe, the inspection of the hearts of
men, and the government of all their affairs, yet refuse him the
name and glory of a true and eternal Divinity ? As for us,
beloved brethren, who know that this administration of the
world, and this supreme providence over all that happens in
it, is the highest and chiefest part of that glory which belongs
to God, which he gives not to another, let us worship our
Jesus in all assurance, as this belongs to him. Let us serve
him as a supreme and eternal Divinity. Let us on his power
and goodness confidently build our faith and hope, and let
us make the issue of all our thoughts and desires depend en-
tirely on his will. Let us implore his help in all our designs,
great and small. Let us be certain that there is nothing so
difficult that we cannot do in him, and nothing so easy that we
can do without him. Such was the disposition of Paul in re-
gard to sending Timothy to the Philippians, " he hoped to do
so in the Lord."
Let us now see what was the object he had in view in send-
ing him : "I hope to send him to you shortly, that I also may
be of good comfort when I know your state." It is certain
that the first and chief design of the apostle in thus sending
him was the good and edification of the Philippians them-
selves, to establish them in the faith according to the need they
had of it ; and the second and more distant object his own joy
and consolation, by learning, at the return of Timothy, the
good state in which he had placed and left this church. But
consider, I beseech you, the wisdom and goodness of this holy
minister of God, and how exquisite is the prudence with which
he manages these believers. He says nothing to them of the
first object which he had in view, which was to support and
strengthen them against the shock of enemies, for fear that
setting forth this would afflict them, by appearing as a secret
reproach of weakness, and a testimony of some distrust which
the apostle felt in their perseverance and piety. He speaks to
them but of the second object that he had in view, which was
his own comfort, rather as if it had been his need instead of theirs
which had rendered Timothy's journey necessary. This holy
and spiritual address of the apostle ought to instruct us to treat
those believers who are committed to us with the greatest cir-
cumspection ; to avoid as much as possible all that is likely
to offend them ; and never to employ towards them without
necessity, not fire and sword only, but even bitterness or other
painful remedies, remembering that our ministry is to comfort
and edify, not to afflict or destroy. I know well that there are
morose and inexorable minds who will not approve this pro-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 249
ceeding, who will accuse it of complaisance and flattery. But
their judgment ought not to be in such high consideration with
us, that we should not rather regard what the édification of
human souls requires of us, the most delicate subject in the
world, and one which ought to be managed with the utmost
tenderness and moderation. The example of Paul, which
stands in the place of law to us in the church, compels us to
it. For you see how, both here and elsewhere, he seasons all
his discourses with an unparalleled gentleness and love ; and
never with that which wounds and offends, such as remon-
strances and censures, but by constraint ; and at last, " I will
send you Timothy, that I also may be of good comfort, when
I shall know your state." Could he say anything more gentle
and affectionate ? That mind which braved hell and the world,
which smiled at prisons and the threats of tyrants, which pre-
served its joy entire in irons, which looked upon life and death
indifferently, could not bear the absence of the Philippians
without trouble. That great courage, which defies and despises
all the rest, yields under the feelings of the love which he cher-
ished towards them. This passion alone was able to melt him.
His uncertainty respecting their state gave him more trouble
and uneasiness than all the chains and threats of Nero. I shall
have no rest (says he) till I hear news of you. If there is any
languor and weakness in my courage, that anxiety alone which
I feel for you causes and maintains it. I am firm and strong
against the rest ; it is here only that I feel myself weak. But
I hope that sending Timothy will relieve my anxiety, and at
once set my heart at ease. Your prosperity will increase my
courage, and once knowing you to be in safety, I shall have
no more fear or uneasiness.
Such was the feeling of the apostle for his Philippian con-
verts, and such ought to be that of all pastors for their flocks.
Judge, then, in what proportion the feeling of the Philippians
towards Paul should be, what desire they should have for the
repose and comfort of a man who loved them so tenderly.
Dear brethren, we are infinitely below this great apostle, who
never had his equal in the world. But however weak our
ministry may be, you ought to cherish it, since it is appointed
for you. And the chief favour that we ask at your hands is,
that your piety, and charity, and sanctification may be such as
to give us joy; that your spiritual prosperity may fill our
souls with delight ; so that knowing the happiness of your state,
we may have (as the apostle says) so much more courage to la-
bour for your edification. For the rest, as Paul hoped that
sending Timothy would give him satisfaction, so he promised
himself that it would afford much to these believers. And this
is the meaning of the word " also" which he uses in this text,
"so that I also may be of good comfort;" clear! v taking for
32
250 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XV.
granted that he alone should not gather fruit from it, that the
Philippians should do so in the first place, and he afterwards;
and as they would receive great comfort in seeing Timothy
amongst them, and in learning from him the deliverance and
happy state of the apostle, their common master ; so should he
also in his turn have likewise extreme encouragement and re-
joicing, in knowing from this faithful deputy the prosperity
of their church.
II. But in order to excite their hearts to this expectation,
and to make them more desire the enjoyment of this happiness,
he sets before them in the following verses the excellent qual-
ities of Timothy, which compelled him to appoint him to this
deputation in preference to any other : " For I have no man
like-minded, who will naturally care for your state. For all
seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's. But ye
know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath
served with me in the gospel." There is hardly in the scrip-
tures of the New Testament any minister of the gospel more cel-
ebrated than Timothy. Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, and
Paul, in his Epistles, everywhere make very honourable men-
tion of him ; so that the apostle uses his name in the title or
address of five of his letters, writing them in his name and in
that of Timothy ; and this is one of them, as you have heard
at the beginning. And besides that, he has done him the hon-
our to write two to him ; the last of which is, as it were, the
will of this great apostle, in which he commits to his dear dis-
ciple his last wishes, being on the point of leaving the world.
These divine pieces teach us that he was born of a pagan father,
but of a Jewish mother, named Eunice, daughter of Lois, both
of them gifted with excellent faith, and celebrated by the pen
of the apostle. These two good and religious women brought
him up from his infancy in piety, and particularly in the know-
ledge of the Holy Scriptures, the true source of the fear of God,
and salvation, in which he made great progress, 2 Tim. i. 5, 6 ;
iii. 15; iv. 14. And having since heard and embraced the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, he consecrated himself entirely
to his service ; and received the imposition of hands from Paul
and the company of priests or elders, and followed the apostle
in the greater part of his travels. It is, then, this holy man
whom the apostle here intends to send to the Philippians, and
to whose zeal and piety he bears so great and singular a testi-
mony. It is not to flatter him that he praises him, but to re-
commend him to the Philippians ; so that seeing the opinion
which the apostle entertained of him, they might desire his ar-
rival, and receive him, when he should come among them, with
the reverence and love due to his merit ; and that by this
means both his expectation and arrival should produce more
fruit among them. I acknowledge that it is an abominable
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 251
and pernicious delusion to praise those who do not deserve it,
and I still further confess that it is a sad and odious vanity to
praise even those who are praiseworthy without some reason
compelling us to do so. But I also maintain that it is a duty,
not only just, but very useful, to praise and recommend the
piety and virtue of believers in suitable times and places. In
the first place, it is like a tribute that we owe to these good
qualities to acknowledge them, and sincerely to praise them
everywhere, where we see them shining; and it would be in-
gratitude both towards those who possess them, and towards
God who gave them, not to appear to see them. And every
body knows that there is nothing which more stirs up right
minds to the practice of honesty and virtue than praise. It at-
tracts and binds them for ever to it ; giving them a secret
shame not to continue and increase to the end in a thing in
which such an honourable testimony has been given them.
Add to which, this recommendation gives efficacy to their use-
fulness with those with whom they have to labour. This is
the reason why the apostle makes no scruple in this place to
praise his disciple Timothy, and has willingly engraved his
eulogium in this Epistle, as upon solid and durable brass,
which has hitherto preserved and will preserve his name and
his glory in the church to the end of the world. This exam-
ple compels superiors to render similar testimony to those of
their inferiors who deserve it, as fathers to their children, pas-
tors to their sheep, crowning each of their good qualities with
these sweet and agreeable flowers of praise every time that oc-
casion requires it.
Behold then how the apostle exalts the zeal and piety of
Timothy : " I have no person like-minded, who will naturally
care for your state." The first eulogium, then, that he gives
him is, that he has no person like-minded, from which it is
clear that he places him above all his other disciples. But
what he says, " that none-are like-minded," may be interpreted
in two ways. Some think that the apostle compares Timothy
with himself, and means that he had a zeal and courage equal
to his own. Others imagine that by these words he is compared,
not with the apostle, but with the other disciples, implying
that, of all those who were with Paul, there was not one whose
zeal and courage were equal to those of Timothy. And al-
though both expositions are good and beneficial to this holy
servant of God, yet the second seems the best, from the rela-
tion that it bears to the following words, where the apostle, to
confirm what he had said, "that he had nobody like-minded
with Timothy," adds, "that all seek their own, not the things
that are Jesus Christ's." Be it how it may, it is evident that
by " this mind," whether like that of the apostle, or incompar-
ably greater than that of the other disciples, is meant the zeal
252 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XV.
with which Timothy glowed for the advancement of the gospel,
and for the glory of Jesus Christ ; his affection and his quick-
ness in embracing every occasion that might be useful to it,
there being nothing either so difficult or so painful that he
would not willingly undertake for this purpose. It is a quality
necessary for all christians, but more particularly for the min-
isters of the gospel, seeing that the difficulties they meet with in
the exercise of their office are likely to discourage them at
every moment, if they have only a common-place affection and
courage. The other praise that the apostle here gives Timothy
is, that he is more careful than any one else in the things that
concern the Philippians ; in which you see that, besides the af-
fection which he bore in general to all the flock of Christ, he
had an especial one for that of the Philippians ; either that the
stay which he had made among them, or the noise and wonder
of their extraordinary piety, or the sympathy of his own
feelings with theirs, or some other reason, had more power-
fully inclined his heart towards them. He expresses the
care that he took for them by a term full of emphasis,
which signifies a great anxiety, which filled his mind with
many thoughts, keeping it continually balanced and divided,
as it happens sometimes to ourselves when we take the
charge of a thing of which we are very fond. The apostle
still adds another term, that he may better set before us the
nature of that care which Timothy took for the affairs of the
Philippians, saying that he was truly or naturally careful for
them; that is to say, without pretence, or fraud, or hypocrisy ;
acquitting himself of his duties in all frankness and sincerity
without seeking any other thing in them than the good and
edification of these believers. For evil-workers sometimes
take charge of what belongs to a flock, but with bad designs ;
one to satisfy his curiosity, another to gratify his ambition or
avarice, each rather for himself than for Jesus Christ or his
church. But Paul still further heightens the glory of Timothy
in the following verse by the singular rarity of his virtue:
" For all seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's."
His zeal is so much the more admirable, that it is almost
without example. In a great multitude of disciples, he alone
does the work of the Lord with that true nobleness of mind
which only regards his Master. All the others seek their own
interest, rather than that of Jesus Christ. In the first place, it
is clear enough that the apostle does not here speak of apos-
tates, who, carried away by the cares of this world, whether
the lusts of the flesh or the fear of persecution, had renounced
the gospel, and openly quitted its profession ; as that Hy-
meneus, and Alexander, and some others, of whom he com-
plains elsewhere, saying "that some, having put away a good
conscience, concerning faith have made shipwreck. 1 ' Such
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 253
wretches do not deserve that Timothy should be put in com-
parison with them. Paul speaks of those who were living in
the profession of Christianity, and exercised its holy ministry,
and who were numbered in the company of his disciples.
From which it appears, in the second place, that those of whom
he here complains were not profane, and who took no care of
the kingdom of Jesus Christ, nor of the edification of his
church. These words of the apostle, " they seek not the things
that are Jesus Christ's," must not be taken simply and abso-
lutely, as meaning that they took no care whatever, nor gave
themselves any trouble with the affairs of the Lord, more than
the Jews or the pagans, but only as said by comparison, to
mean that they sought their own things, rather than those of
Jesus Christ ; that they preferred their own interest to his, and
had less care for his kingdom than for their oivn comfort ; in
the same way as the prophet Hosea said, as it is quoted by
the Lord in Matthew, " that God would have mercy, and not
sacrifice," Hos. vi. 6 ; Matt. ix. 13, meaning that he better
liked the works of mere}' than the oblations of the sacri-
fices; and as Paul says, that God, in forbidding to muzzle
the ox that treadeth out the corn, took not care for oxen, but
for us, 1 Cor. ix. 9, 10, signifying that in that he had much
more regard to us than to oxen ; and as a prophet said that
the Israelites had rejected, not Samuel, but the Eternal, mean-
ing that it was not so much the government of Samuel that
they had rejected, as that of God himself, 1 Sam. viii. 7 ; and
in many other places of scripture, where this method of speak-
ing is very usual. And that this passage must be so taken, the
thing itself very evidently shows. For speaking simply, and
without this comparison, it is not forbidden us to seek what is
bur own, and to take care of our own interests, and of those
who belong to us, as, for example, to preserve the health, rep-
utation, and faculties both of ourselves and others. Even the
apostle teaches us elsewhere that it is a grievous sin absolutely
to neglect the care of such things ; declaring that if any one
careth not for his own, and chiefly for those of his own family,
he has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel, 2 Tim.
v. 3. That which is forbidden, and which is indeed a griev-
ous sin against God and against ourselves, is this passion
carried to excess, when we have more love and affection for
our own affairs, than for those of the Lord ; when we love
(as it is in Matthew) father or mother, son or daughter, (let us
add health, repose, honour, goods, or life,) more than him ;
when we seek our own convenience more than his glory, or
attach ourselves more to our own interest than to his ; and,
in a word, when the consideration of what belongs to our-
selves causes us to be wanting in his service. According to
this divine doctrine, it is evident that the apostle does not here
254 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XV.
intend, either that Timothy had no care whatever for his own
things, (which would rather have been blâmable than praise-
worthy,) or that those other disciples with whom he compares
him had simply some care or some attention to their own in-
terests (which is not forbidden). But he means to say that
Timothy, having placed the Lord Jesus in the chief spot of
his heart, loved his glory and his kingdom above all things,
treading under foot that which was most dear to him, when it
interfered with the spread of the gospel, or the service of his
church ; and that these other disciples, on the contrary, al-
though they had some regard for the kingdom of God, and
employed themselves in preaching his word, were nevertheless
so attached to their own interests, that this passion made them
neglect those occupations of their office which interfered with
their own comfort. And as it often happens that the interests
of Christ and his gospel are incompatible with our own, you
see how pernicious this foolish love is which prefers earth to
heaven, and our own affairs to those of God, in all our call-
ings, especially in that of ministers of the word. This then
is what the apostle reproves in those of whom he speaks in
this place ; and this is the reason why he does not reckon them
fit to be sent to the Philippians. For the question being of a
long and dangerous journey, persons who loved their own
convenience so much might not easily resolve to undertake it.
Believers, are you not astonished that even then, during that
blessed golden age, when the presence of the apostle caused
so much virtue and piety to flourish on earth, there were
nevertheless at Rome, even in the society of Paul, so few good
and noble-minded soldiers of the Lord? "All (says the apos-
tle) seek their own, and not the things that are Jesus Christ's."
I acknowledge that we must not take his expression strictly,
as if he meant to say simply and really that, except Timothy,
there was no one at all who was not wrapped up in this cri-
minal backwardness. But however that may be, it cannot be
denied that this manner of speaking means that this corrup-
tion was so widely extended, and so few were exempt from it,
that we may learn from it not to lose courage if we at present
see the same evil in the church, and so few labourers of whom
we can truly say that they seek what is Jesus Christ's and not
their own.
But I return to Timothy. The apostle having thus preferred
him to all his fellow labourers, adds, " But you know the proof
of him, that, as a son with the father, he has served with me
in the gospel." It is not necessary (he observes) that I should
recommend him to you beforehand. You yourselves know
his value, and are not ignorant of the proofs which he has
given of his zeal, and of his fidelity, in the exercise of his
holy ministry. They knew the proof of Timothy ; first, be-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 255
caiise they had seen him themselves among them, there being
great reason to think that he was with Paul, when, by direc-
tion of a heavenly vision, he passed into Macedonia, and went
to preach the gospel in the town of Philippi ; and perhaps the
apostle had also since sent him thither. They had, secondly,
doubtless, heard the great actions of this holy man of God, his
assiduity and fidelity in the work of the Lord, and the assist-
ance and service that he had rendered to Paul, keeping himself
inseparably attached to him in all his journeys and enterprises.
And this is what he expressly says, that " he had served with
him in the gospel as a son with the father." In these words
he praises the faith and modesty of Timothy ; his faith, in that
he served in the gospel, signifying by that he employed with
zeal and assiduity every gift that he possessed in preaching
the gospel ; yielding to Jesus Christ his Lord, in this enter-
prise, all the duty that a slave owes to his master ; sincerely
proclaiming his word, such as he had received it from his
apostles, without mixing with it the leaven of any human
doctrine ; seeking his glory alone, and labouring only for his
name. The climax of his praise is, that he had served w'ith
Paul, drawing, as it were, in the same yoke, following and im-
itating him in all things ; so that in his conduct there shone
an express image of the zeal, courage, sincerity, and laborious
assiduity of that great apostle. But besides this imitation, it
also signifies the faithful association he had maintained with
him in all his journeys and dangers, and the part he had taken
in all his victories. And it is to this that the following words
relate, " He has served with me as a child with the father ;"
that is to say. that he had yielded to him, in the work of the
Lord, all the obedience, reverence, subjection, and love that
the best son could have yielded to his father, remaining always
attached at his side in all his painful and dangerous expedi-
tions, softening the labours of the apostleship by his continual
assistance, flying where he sent him, refusing no danger,
whether by sea or land, but taking as kindnesses all those la-
bours in which Paul employed him, religiously obeying all
his orders, without ever infringing any of them. Indeed, if
you read in the Acts the history of the apostle left us by Luke,
you will everywhere find Timothy with him; or if he some-
times quits him, it is by his command to execute his orders
elsewhere. Neither the rage of the Jews nor the persecutions
of the pagans, neither imprisonment nor trouble, neither
storms at sea nor dangers by land, could separate him from
this holy man. He gave up all to share his labours and his
sorrows. This appears also in the Epistles of the apostle, in
which Timothy is never forgotten. And this praise is still
greater, as he was yet but a young man ; and this is the reason
Paul says here that he had been with him as a son with his
256 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XV.
father. For is it not a wonderful thing that, notwithstanding
the passions of that age, so difficult to restrain, disdaining with
great courage the pleasures and exercises to which youth is
given, he kept with the apostle, subjecting himself quietly to
all his directions, employing in the work of the Lord all that
strength which others lose in debauchery and folly, prefer-
ring rather to weep and to suffer with Paul than to laugh and
amuse himself with the world?
After having thus nobly recommended him to the Philippians,
he repeats the promise which he had already made to them
above to send him to them shortly : " I trust then to send him
to you shortly, as soon as I know how it will go with me."
In the uncertainty in which his imprisonment kept him, not
knowing what would be its issue, it was difficult for him to
send Timothy far away from him. This is why he detained
him yet some time ; but with the promise, that as soon as he
should see his affairs in such a state as to be able to do with-
out him, he would not fail sending him on this journey. In
which he plainly testifies, that although he was not entirely
certain of the issue of his bonds, he, nevertheless, hoped to be
delivered from them.
III. And what he adds in the third and last part of this text
shows us still more expressly his opinion : " I trust in the
Lord that I also myself shall come shortly." Before he had
given them this hope, towards the end of the first chapter,
where he said to them, " I know that I shall abide and con-
tinue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith," Phil.
i. 25. Now then, for fear that sending Timothy, as he pro-
mises, should make them think that, changing his first plan,
he no longer intended to visit them himself, he gives them this
express assurance to the contrary. In which you see on one
side the warmth of his affection for the Philippians, and on
the other his humility and modesty, how he refers all to the
will of God, saying that he trusts in the Lord, the same as he
had said above, "I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to
you shortly." Now what was indeed the issue of his imprison-
ment, and what the success of his intentions, we have formerly
considered very fully in the exposition of the first chapter, in
which we proved that there is great reason to believe that the
apostle was delivered from his first bonds ; and that he saw
once more the churches that he had planted in Asia and
Greece, which is precisely what he hopes here. Thus nothing
now remains for us to do on this text than to meditate se-
riously on, and reduce to practice, the instructions which it
contains.
In the first place, the example of Timothy teaches you what
pastors you ought to desire for the guidance of the church,
namely, such persons as have courage similar to that of the
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 257
apostle ; who may be truly and sincerely careful of that which
concerns their flocks, who seek the things which are Jesus
Christ's, and not their own, and who serve the gospel with
Paul, and as he did. I acknowledge that eloquence and the
best literary acquirements are not to be despised. But faith,
zeal, and the love of Christ and his church, are the principal
parts of this ministry. This is what you ought most to de-
sire, seek, and esteem in your pastors, as that which is most
needful for your edification. The rest serves to please your
ears, this to the salvation of your souls. But this lesson es-
pecially regards us whom God hath called to the exercise of
this honourable office, committing to us the guidance of his
church. His providence has preserved the eulogium with
which Paul here adorns Timothy, exactly as if this were to
be the pattern and idea on which we should form ourselves in
such a way, that if the holy apostle were still upon earth, he
might conscientiously give us the same praises which he here
gives to his disciple. But, O ye faithful ministers of the
Lord, whoever you may be, and in whatever place you may
labour, the absence of Paul will not deprive you of this fruit
of your labours. If you are not praised by the pen of the
apostle, you shall be so by the mouth of the supreme Master,
who sees your troubles, and regards your fidelity, and will pro-
claim them one day in the presence of men and angels, when
he will bestow on every one of his servants the praise that is
due to him. Then what will be your joy and your glory,
when you shall hear the Son of God in that august assembly
say of you what the apostle here wrote of his Timothy, This
servant has been truly careful of the good of my church ; he
has sought my interests, and not his own ; he has served me in
the gospel, as a son serves his father ! Have always before
your eyes this divine reward. That you may have a share in
Timothy's glory, imitate his zeal and fidelity. Be careful of
the flocks which Jesus Christ has committed to your care.
Rem ember that it is for him you labour, for the glory of the
Lord of the world, for the salvation and immortal felicity of
men, to guide souls, which he hath redeemed with his own
blood, to glory. God forbid that in so noble a design you
should think of the flesh, or of the earth, or that you should
injure such a ministry by low and mercenary thoughts, seeking
reputation, ease, or convenience in offices which ought only to
serve for the furtherance of the kingdom of God and the edi-
fication of his saints. May the glory of Jesus Christ be your
only desire and your only interest ; may this govern your
whole life, and subdue every action of your minds and bodies.
And as this should be your sole object, may the gospel also
be your only occupation. Preach it in season, and out of sea-
son, with your voice and by your writings, with your mouth
33
258 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XV.
and in your manners. Mix with it nothing of your own.
May your tongue and your life represent it faithfully, such as
it was given you by the Lord and by his ministers. Cast the
desire of ruling behind you. You are called to serve, and
your whole office is but an honourable servitude. You are
not the lords, but the servants of the flocks over which you
preside. This is what the portrait of Timothy, here drawn by
the apostle, teaches ministers in general. But it particularly
warns the young to live humbly and modestly with the elders,
to look upon them as their fathers, and to soften the trials of
this laborious ministry by their respectful attentions. On the
other hand, the conduct of the apostle instructs likewise the
elders not to abuse the advantage which their age gives them
over their Timothies; to love them tenderly, and to look upon
them as their brethren, and not as their slaves, as the officers of
Jesus Christ " who serve with them," as is here particularly
said by the apostle, and not under them ; to praise them, and
to recommend them very affectionately to their flocks, and to
do all in their power to render their ministry honourable.
This same Timothy consecrating his early years to this holy
office, ought also to incite you, O christian youth, to dedicate
yourselves at once to the service of God, and immediately to
awaken those among you who have the necessary gifts to de-
vote themselves to the holy ministry. And God be praised,
who has touched the hearts of some among you, to lead them
to such a good design, crowning their beginnings with the flow-
ers of his grace in such abundance that we have all good reason
to hope for much fruit in its season. Follow their example,
and employ to the advancement of the kingdom of God, and
to the building his house, that warmth and vigour, and those
other graces which your age consumes uselessly in worthless
occupations. This is what the example of Timothy teaches us
for the holy ministry.
But dear brethren, do not imagine that you have no share
in this, under pretence that you are not called to this office.
I acknowledge that the holy ministry requires certain gifts,
and certain peculiar cares. But in truth, as there is but one
and the same salvation for the pastors and for the sheep, so
there is but one and the same way to attain it ; and those
deeply deceive themselves who imagine that the morals of the
people must, or at least may be, different from those of their
guides. Consider then also, beloved brethren, this example
and pattern of Timothy, which the apostle here places before
your eyes. Children, learn from it respect, obedience, and sub-
mission towards your fathers. Render them the same duties
that Timothy yielded to Paul. Aid them in their sorrows,
accompany them in their travels, console them in their adver-
sities, be to them throughout their lives a crown of blessing
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 259
and joy. Fathers, imitate also, and show towards your chil-
dren, the gentleness, care, and friendship of Paul towards Tim-
othy, loving them tenderly as your own bowels, dedicating
them to the Lord, placing them and leading them in his ways,
giving them in the purity of your morals a beautiful and per-
fect pattern of life, which they may follow without blushing.
Youth, here learn in general the deference which is due to el-
ders. Treat them as your fathers. And you who are elders
in age, have for the young affections and feelings similar to
those of our Paul towards Timothy. Train them by your
words and your examples to all godliness and honesty. Re-
gard them not as strangers, but as your children, and unite
with one another in a holy agreement to serve the gospel of
the Lord, advancing it every day, attracting towards it those
who are without, establishing those who are within, by the
good example of a truly christian life. For the principal
thing is that all, young and old, rich and poor, of whatever
age, sex, or condition we may be, we should each of us in our
calling carefully imitate the zeal and faith of Timothy, that
we should have, like him, an apostolical mind and courage,
burning with love towards God, and a sincere affection towards
his church; that, detached from earth, we should only seek
heaven; that the affairs of the Lord Jesus, his kingdom and
eternity, should possess our hearts day and night ; that we
should henceforth leave ease, convenience, and glory, and all
the other petty passions of this vile flesh, to embrace the inte-
rests of God; that our whole lives may be only one continued
proof of our faith and devotion ; that it may be spent entirely
in the service of the gospel, in that same course in which Paul
ended his old age, or in which the blessed Timothy sanctified
his youth ; that we may serve with them, that we may enjoy
as they do the peace and consolation of the Lord Jesus in this
world, and his glory and immortality in the other. So be it ;
and to him, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be honour
and praise for ever. Amen.
Preached at Charenton, /Sunday, 30th June, 1641.
260 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. XVI.
SERMON XVI.
VERSES 25 — 30.
Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my bro-
ther, and companion in labour, and fellow-soldier, but your mes-
senger, and him that ministered to my wants. For he longed af-
ter you all, and ivas full of heaviness, because that ye had
heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto
death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but
on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I sent him
therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye
may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him
therefore in the Lord ivith all gladness; and hold such in repu-
tation: because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death,
not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward
me.
The preservation of those societies which exist amongst
mankind depends upon the union and good intelligence of
the parties of which they are composed. It is of great
consequence to such as govern clearly to understand the
minds of those they guide. For unless that be the case,
their obedience being forced and unwilling, it is not pro-
bable that their union should subsist long; experience
teaching us every day that things that are violent are not of
long duration. But among these superiors, there are none to
whom this esteem and this disposition are more necessary than
to the pastors whom God hath established in the church, be-
cause their whole government is only a gentle and amiable
control, founded upon the devotion and submission of their
flocks, and not a regal power ; that is to say, a ministry, and
not an empire, according to what the Lord said to his apostles,
" The princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and
they that are great exercise authority upon them ; but it shall
not be so among you," Matt. xx. 25, 26. And even if the pas-
tors should have this lordly power, which some among them
have usurped, contrary to the express command of their Mas-
ter, still it is very evident that it would be useless to the design
of their office, which is to gain the hearts, and not to subject
the bodies of men ; so that to edify the societies over which
they preside they must be held in great esteem, to the end that
everybody being persuaded of their good intentions, may will-
ingly submit to their guidance. And they, and all those who
desire the welfare of the church, ought to do all in their power
to place them in high estimation, and to turn from them as
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 261
much as possible everything that is likely to diminish the
opinion and respect of their flocks towards them. The apos-
tle Paul, who often gives us this lesson in the instructions
which he has left us in his Epistles, confirms it here by his ex-
ample, recommending Epaphroditus very affectionately to the
church of the Philippians, of which he was the pastor, and dis-
abusing their minds of whatever little suspicion they might
have about his conduct. These believers had sent him to Paul,
then a prisoner at Rome, not only to carry him their presents,
and the aid of their charity, but also to remain about his per-
son, and to yield him in so pressing an emergency all the ser-
vice he possibly could until the Lord should otherwise order.
Returning then now to them, that they might not imagine that
it was his impatience, or his delicacy, or any other bad rea-
son, which had induced him to return, the apostle shows them
that it was he who had sent him, and sets before them the real
and true reasons which had led him thus to act, all much in
favour of Epaphroditus. He yields a plain and full testimony
to his piety and virtue, and highly praising his fidelity, and
the zeal with which he had acquitted himself of the business in
which they had employed him, even to despising his own life
for the work of the Lord, he directs them to receive him with
peculiar joy and affection, as an excellent servant of God, and
a precious gift of his grace. He says to them, in the first place,
in general, that he thought himself obliged to send him back
quickly : " I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphrodi-
tus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellow soldier,
but your messenger, and him that ministered to my wants." He
then explains to them particularly the reasons for this return,
drawn from the sickness of Epaphroditus, and from the desire
it had awakened in him to see once more his beloved flock :
" For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because
that ye had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was
sick nigh unto death : but God had mercy on him ; and not
on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon
sorrow. I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when
ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less
sorrowful." And, finally, he recommends him to them : " Re-
ceive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness ; and hold
such in reputation : because for the work of Christ he was nigh
unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of ser-
vice towards me." This is what Paul says of Epaphroditus.
To understand it properly, and to draw from it all the teaching
which is given for our instruction and consolation, we will ex-
amine these five points in order, if the Lord permit : the titles
of Epaphroditus ; his sickness ; his cure ; his return ; and his
recommendation.
I. For the first, the apostle gives him five considerable titles.
262 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVI.
For, in the first place, he calls him his " brother ;" then, his
" fellow labourer ;" in the third place, his " fellow soldier ;" in
the fourth place, " the apostle of the Philippians ;" and finally,
"the minister of his wants or necessity." The first of these
names shows his religion, and the holy union there was in this
respect, both with the apostle and with other believers. For
the christians in these early ages called each other brother, a
name full of sweetness and friendliness, derived from the cus-
tom of the Jewish church, of which Christianity is the daughter.
The Hebrews, as we learn from many places of the Old and
New Testament, called themselves brethren, because they
were all descended from the same father, that is to say, from
Jacob and from Abraham. Christians, after their example,
also took that sacred name. And, indeed, it is not less suita-
ble to them according to the Spirit, than to others according
to the flesh ; for as the Jews were all of one race according to
the flesh, so christians also have one Father according to the
Spirit of Jesus Christ, who has begotten them by the same
blood, and quickened them by the same Spirit, uniting them
in one and the same family. They are nourished by the same
food, consecrated by the same sacraments, brought up under
one rule, washed by one baptism, united by one communion,
called to the same inheritance, and destined to the same glory.
Believers, remember this ; and every time that you see a chris-
tian, whatever may be his condition, believe that he is your
brother. Paul was a great apostle, elevated above all men by
many advantages which God had given him. And yet he does
not here disdain to call Epaphroditus his brother, and does the
same honour elsewhere to each of the other christians, however
much they might be lower than he. May this sacred name
warm your charity towards those who need either your alms,
your assistance, or your consolation. May it appease your
feelings against those who have offended you. Eespect in them
the blood and Spirit of the Lord, of which you both participate,
and recall to yourselves continually what Moses formerly said
to the Hebrews, Ye are brethren, why do ye wrong one to
another ?
The second title that Paul gives to Epaphroditus is, his
" companion in labour," which relates to his office, viz. the
holy ministry of the gospel, to which he had been consecrated,
and in which he had acquitted himself faithfully. From which
it appears that this excellent person had laboured in Eome it-
self, in preaching and in the edification of people, and so much
the more as the imprisonment of Paul prevented his doing so
as freely as he desired. Observe, believers, I beseech you, how
excellent this office is ! It renders us companions of Paul, and
of all the holy apostles. It gives us an entrance into their sacred
college, and associates us with the judges of the world. By it
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 263
we have the honour of being brethren of Jesus Christ the
Prince of bishops, and workers with God, which is the highest
glory that man can have. Judge with what desire we should
wish for such an excellent office, and what respect we ought
to yield to those whom God has called to it, and who worthily
exercise it in his church.
But besides the holy ministry, the apostle still associates
Epaphroditus in his labours, naming him, in the third place,
his "fellow soldier;" thus expressing the part that he had
taken in his battles against the devil, the world, and false
brethren, for the glory of his Master, and the salvation of his
flock. It is indeed true that it may be said of all mortal men
in general, "that their life is a warfare upon earth," as we
read in Job, chap. vii. 1. And it is still further true, that it is
more peculiarly suitable to believers in Jesus Christ, who are
all called to suffer persecution, and to carry the cross, and who
wrestle not against flesh and blood only, but also against prin-
cipalities and powers, against the lords of the world, the rulers
of the age, and against spiritual wickedness in high places ;
Satan no sooner seeing man consecrated to God by the sacra-
ment of baptism, than he immediately begins to fight, and to
tempt him, as he acted formerly towards Jesus Christ himself,
the Prince of warriors ; and this is the reason why the apostle
elsewhere exhorts believers in general to clothe themselves
with the armour of God, that they may be able to resist the
efforts of so potent an enemy. But as the ministers of the
gospel have the honour to carry the standard in this sacred
war, and to lead and encourage others at every opportunity, it
is evident that no christians have more to do in it than they.
It is to them that the enemy particularly addresses himself, it
is to them that he directs the most dangerous of his blows, and
against them that he employs his darkest malice, and the most
poisonous of his arrows. He leaves none of them at rest ; and
no sooner does he see them occupied in this divine ministry,
than he raises against them from all quarters innumerable
fightings within and without, filling their whole lives with
trouble and bitterness. Christians ! you who by a noble vow
have consecrated yourselves to this heavenly office, reckon that
you are entered on a difficult and deadly warfare. Do not
imagine that the Lord calls you to a festival, or to a soft and
voluptuous life, in which you have only (like the greater part
of the Romish priests) to enjoy at your ease the comfortable
revenues of a living. What you have undertaken is a painful
labour ; a bloody and obstinate battle, in which you will con-
tinually have your enemy upon you. That you may have a
share in the honour of Paul, you must also participate in his
fatigues, and you must be his fellow soldier to partake his
triumph. This is what he elsewhere shows to his dear disciple
264 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVI.
Timothy, and what every faithful minister ought always to
have before him : " Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus
Christ," 2 Tim. ii. 3-5. Far from us be idleness and pleasure,
the encumbrance of the cares of the earth, and the business of
the flesh. No one who goes to war encumbers himself with
the affairs of this life, that he may please him who has enlisted
him. So also, if any wrestle, he is not crowned if he have not
fairly fought. The laurels of Jesus Christ are not otherwise
gathered. But if the labour of these combats be great, the
consolation and glory is infinitely greater; the supreme Pastor
continually assisting his warriors, gently wiping away the
perspiration, inspiring them with new strength and vigour ;
keeping for them, on the day of his triumph, an incorruptible
and glorious crown ; and giving them here, during their life,
the approbation and praise of the saints. Thus he formerly
treated Epaphroditus, consoling him in his labours, by the tes-
timony which the apostle gave him ; placing on his head, if
one may so say, as a rich crown of beautiful and immortal
flowers, those two superb titles with which he honours him,
calling him his companion in labour and fellow soldier
He still adds two other titles which seem to relate to the
employment which had been given him by the Philippians.
The first is that he calls him their apostle (for this is what the
original precisely means, and which our Bibles have translated
"your messenger.") Some take the word apostle here to mean
those ministers that Paul elsewhere names evangelists, who
assisted the apostles of the Lord, and were as their lieutenants.
For the holy apostles not being able to remain long in each
place, were accustomed, when they had commenced the conver-
sion of a country by their preaching, to leave there some of
their inferiors, with authority to establish a suitable order, and
to complete that which they had begun ; as Paul says that he
had left Titus in the Isle of Candia, that he might continue the
arrangement of things in proper order, which still remained
to be done, and to ordain elders or priests in every city, Tit.
i. 5. They imagine, then, that Epaphroditus was of this class
of ministers, formerly left by Paul in the city of Philippi,
with the office of establishing there, and in the surrounding
country, the order and discipline necessary for the preservation
of the church. And it is clear that the word of the apostle
may indeed frequently be taken in this sense, as he says "that
Andronicus and Junia were of note among the apostles," Eom.
xvi. 7. And it is possible that Epaphroditus had the honour
of being one of this class of ministers. Others, considering
that it was by the hands of this person that the Philippians
sent to Paul the fruit of their love, here take the word,
" apostle of the Philippians," as meaning their ambassador, him
that had been sent by them. For besides that this is what the
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 265
word signifies in its first and original sense, apostle, in the
Greek language, being the same as messenger or deputy in
ours ; besides that, I say, it appears also that Paul sometimes
uses the word apostle, apostle of the churches, that is to say,
their ambassadors and deputies, for those whom they had sent
to gather the alms and contributions which Macedonia and
Greece made for their relief. Our Bible has followed this
second exposition ; to that sense the last of the titles relates,
which the apostle here gives to Epaphroditus, calling him the
minister of his necessities; that is to say, him who had furnished
him with the things necessary for life, amid the discomforts of
a prison ; by which he testifies that this holy man had faithfully
acquitted himself of the office which the Philippians had
given him, of carrying to Paul some charitable assistance in
his necessity, as he afterwards more clearly tells us, where he
praises them for having taken care of him, and for having
communicated to his affliction ; and says that he abounds,
having received what they had sent by him, an odour of a
sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God, Phil,
iv. 1<±, 18. It is with good reason that Paul mentions this
amongst the glorious eulogiums with which he honours Epa-
phroditus. For if the Lord will one day publish in the
general assembly of men and of angels the little charities that
we have shown to the least among believers, the visits and the
assistance that we have given them in their necessity, reward-
ing them in his infinite mercy with the heavenly inheritance,
and the crown of a blessed immortality ; what a glory was it
to Epaphroditus to have served the apostle, the greatest of
God's servants, and to have soothed his sorrows on this sad
occasion, visiting his prison, softening its inconveniences, and
refreshing him by the alms of an entire church ! Such are the
titles given him by Paul.
II. Let us now consider the grievous sickness into which
this holy minister of the Lord fell, in faithfully acquitting him-
self of his office, and of which the Philippians themselves had
heard the sad and painful news : " You have heard that he was
sick ; and indeed he was sick nigh unto death." If we only
regard the natural constitution of the body, it is composed of
so frail a substance, and of so many parts differing from one
another, and so delicate in their complexion, and requiring so
many things for its preservation, and exposed by sin to so
many injuries and blows from without, that we have no reason
to be astonished that Epaphroditus, after the troubles of so
long a voyage, and the continual labour which he had under-
gone for the service of Paul in the work of the Lord, should
at last have fallen into so serious a sickness. These are
accidents common to men, the consequence of our infirmity,
the fruits of our toil and labour, and the forerunners of death,
34
266 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVI.
to which our disobedience has subjected us all. But if we lift
our eyes higher, and consider on one side the providence of
God, which watches over his own in a peculiar manner, often
changing in their favour the most fixed order of nature ; and
on the other the piety and fidelity of Epaphroditus in his min-
istry, and the gifts of Paul with whom he then lived ; we shall
doubtless find it very strange that the Lord should have per-
mitted so excellent a man, so usefully occupied in the affairs
of his house, to have been afflicted with such an illness ; and
that this great apostle, who cast out demons, who cured all
sorts of ills, who even raised the dead by touching them with
his hands, and by the simple words of his lips, could not keep
from such a scourge a person who was so dear to him, and that
he should have been without the power to prevent the atten-
tions and services of his love being interrupted by this sad ac-
cident, or rather that they should have produced so bad an
effect, there being much probability that this labour itself had
brought this indisposition upon him. It is a doubt which de-
serves to be cleared up, so much the more, as it often harasses
the weak, and furnishes to men of the world a great matter for
their abuse of piety, when they see the most excellent servants
of Jesus Christ subject to the common troubles of human
nature ; some tormented with most acute diseases, such as the
stone, or the gout ; others afflicted with long and wearing in-
firmities ; some plunged into poverty, others persecuted by
calumny ; some even troubled in their minds, or falling, not-
withstanding their piety and innocence, into strange and ex-
traordinary disgrace, or carried out of this life by some sad
and tragical accident. Indeed those within the church, after
the sufferings of Job, and the trials of Paul and the other
apostles, have no longer any cause to consider such accidents
as arguments either of the impiety of men, or of the hatred
of God towards them.
But if such strange events cannot but give them pain, and
in spite of themselves occasion them heaviness and trouble, to
console them on the one hand, and to repel on the other the
blasphemies of the worldly-minded, we will bring forward on
this subject some of the reasons which lead Providence to per-
mit such things. In the first place, then, the Lord wishes that
his servants should be subject to these afflictions and infirmi-
ties, lest the excellence of their piety, and of the graces with
which he has clothed them, should raise their vanity. This
exercise preserves them in a salutary modesty, and makes them
feel the weakness, the misery, and the nothingness of their
nature, and prevents their being elated with pride. Paul
teaches us this expressly, when after having related the grace
that he had experienced of being lifted up to heaven, and of
having there heard " unspeakable words," he adds, that, lest he
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 267
should be lifted up above measure on account of the excel-
lence of these revelations, there was given him a thorn in the
flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him ; and though he had
earnestly asked the Lord to be freed from it, he had not been
able to obtain deliverance. Although it is very difficult to
define what this affliction was under which the apostle laboured,
still it sufficiently appears that it was very grievous and pain-
ful, from his calling it a thorn, and a pointed cross fixed in
his flesh, and the buffetings of a messenger of Satan. It was
like a cautery, truly vexing, but useful and beneficial, by which
this holy man was preserved from pride. For although this
apostle and his brethren were great and admirable persons,
they were, notwithstanding, men, subject to our passions, and
capable of falling into the vice common to our nature, and to
feel vanity from their own holiness. It is from this kind of
temptation Phariseeism sprang, the plague of the old and new
church. God, to secure his elect from this misfortune, visits
them with divers sorts of afflictions as a counterpoise to keep
them low, and to prevent their rising or flying too high. He
does it also to show us that they are men, lest seeing them in
such full and entire happiness, we should make idols of them,
and imagine them to have a nature different from that of others.
For it is from hence that idolatry has entered into the world.
As soon as we see any thing great or extraordinary in any one,
immediately we deify him, and we willingly cry, like the audi-
tors of Herod, " It is the voice," or work, " of a god, and not
of a man." Thus the first idolaters changed those of their
princes into gods, in whom there shone any valour, or good-
ness, or uncommon power. And we read in Acts xiv. 13, that
the Lycaonians, astonished at having seen a lame man cured by
Paul and Barnabas, wished to offer sacrifices to them ; and that
the barbarians of Malta, having seen the former shake off a viper,
hanging from his finger, without being injured, said among
themselves that he was a god, Acts xxviii. 6. This is the reason
why these holy men themselves so eagerly repulsed these false
imaginations, so extremely insulting to the divinity: "Why
are your eyes fixed upon us, (said they,) as if by our own power
or holiness we had done these things ?" Acts iii. 12. " Stand
up, for we also are men," Acts x. 26. " Why do ye these
things ? for we are men, subject to like passions with you,"
Acts xiv. 15. And Paul, not wishing to display all the won-
ders with which God had gratified him, restrains himself, say-
ing, " Lest any man should think of me above that which he
seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me," 2 Cor. xii. 6. To
deliver us from so dangerous an error, the Lord condescended
to be afflicted in every way, and to pass through our greatest
infirmities having placed purposely in our sight these true and
indubitable marks of his humanity that we might be assured
268 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVI.
of it ; and it is for the same reason that the holy scripture
has so carefully set forth the faults of the greatest servants of
God, without hiding any of them from us. Still you see that,
notwithstanding these warnings which the Lord has shown
us, and the proofs of their weakness, there are people to be
found among christians who yield them a religious worship,
and fix their devotion even on the ashes and the relics of their
bodies and of their clothes ; who pray to them, and invoke
them, although dead and absent, presuming on a quality, which
belongs to God alone, that they know all the secrets of their
hearts ; and, not satisfied with the saints of antiquity, make
new ones daily of those after their death, whom they formerly
saw living in all the infirmities of this poor nature, even to
the basest and most shameful ; and, that they may not appear
to do so without some colour, forge miracles, the credit of
which they impute to them ; so strong in the minds of men
is that empty desire to deify all that appears to them to sur-
pass their own common standard. God then was graciously
pleased to root out this crying evil by the afflictions and ca-
lamities with which he visited his servants.
But he also acts thus for another reason, that the wonders
of his power may shine gloriously, when with such weak in-
struments, and which are not exempt from any of our miser-
ies, he still does not fail to perform his work. And this is
what the apostle means, when he tells us that he and his com-
panions had the treasure of the gospel "in earthen vessels,
that the excellence of the power may be of God, and not of
us" 2 Cor. iv. 7. And elsewhere, when he asked to be deliv-
ered from the messenger of Satan, which buffeted him, he was
answered, " My grace is sufficient for thee ; for my strength is
made perfect in weakness," 2 Cor. xii. 9. It shines in your
weakness. The shadows of your afflictions and sufferings
give a brilliancy to my power, which appears so much the
brighter, the more weak and frail the instruments which it
uses. For as the skill of a pilot is more clearly seen in the
guidance of a bad vessel among banks and breakers, than if
he piloted some good ship, well equipped, in a safe sea without
danger ; so is it evident that the power and wisdom of God
are more clearly and wonderfully shown, when he preserves
and guides to the completion of his plans his poor believers,
weak and subject as they are to the sufferings and miseries of
other men, than if, stripping them of their vileness, and cloth-
ing them from thence with an immortal nature, incapable of
suffering, he employed them thus fitted in his work. Besides,
he acts thus for the praise of believers themselves, afflictions
justifying their piety, and making its lustre appear as well as
its firmness in the eyes of men and angels. It remains sub-
ject to calumny whilst in prosperity. Satan desires to make
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 269
it pass for hypocrisy, and for a mercenary service, as if they
only loved God because he spared them. It is what he for-
merly said of Job, that he only feared the Lord because he had
everywhere encompassed him with a hedge of providence and
blessing, and that he would doubtless change his piety into
blasphemy if God were to strike him. To confound this ma-
lice, the Lord gave up to him the property and health of his
servant, and caused his faith and his love to be seen by his
constancy in the midst of these severe trials. Sickness, pov-
erty, persecution, and other sufferings, are as it were the cru-
cible of God. He makes believers pass through this fire, that
their piet}' being preserved, and that coming out of it more
pure and brilliant, every one may be forced to acknowledge
their value; and this is what we are taught by the apostle
Peter, saying that the trial of our faith in the midst of temp-
tations is much more precious than gold which perishes, and
though it be tried with fire shall turn " to praise, and honour,
and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ," 1 Pet. i. 7. For be-
sides that this manifestation is very honourable to us, and very
useful to our neighbours in this world, it is necessary to jus-
tify in the last day the equity and righteousness of the judg-
ment of God, making it clearly seen that those to whom he
will give heaven and immortality are truly believers. Paul
teaches it to us, when he says that their patience and faith in
afflictions is a manifest demonstration of the righteous judg-
ment of God, that they may be counted worthy of the king-
dom of God, as also that it is a righteous thing in God to
render affliction to those who trouble them, and rest to those
who are troubled, 2 Thess. v. 6, 7. For besides these trials
tending to the praise of believers, they are also useful for their
sanctification. They detach their hearts from earth, and make
them feel the vanity and misery of this world. They warn
them of the weakness and mortality of their nature, and by
these holy thoughts mortify any desires they might have for
the lusts of the world, and oblige them, after having renounced
them, to take their flight towards heaven, there to embrace the
Lord Jesus, and seek in him alone all their happiness, with
more ardour and zeal than ever. Seeing and feeling the no-
thingness of this life, which is but a vain shadow, they think
of another, which is spiritual and immortal, and of the resur-
rection, which is the door of it, and of heaven, which is its
home, to die henceforth to the world, and to live to Jesus only.
This is what David acknowledges, when he sings, that it is
good for him to have been afflicted, that before he was afflicted
he went astray, "but now (says he to the Lord) have I kept
thy word," Psal. cxix. 67. For these and similar reasons God
permits believers sometimes to fall into great disgrace accord-
ing to the flesh, and to them must be referred the painful and
270 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVI.
dangerous sickness with which he visited Epaphroditus, not-
withstanding his zeal and fidelity in the execution of his office.
Hence it also appears why the apostle did not preserve him
from it. For since it was not the wish and particular desire
of Paul, but the will of the Lord, which ruled and rendered
efficacious the virtue of the cures and miracles with which he
had favoured him, dispensing them or not, according as it was
suitable for the interests of his glory, we must not be aston-
ished that he should not have displayed it on a man whom
God pleased to visit with sickness. For the same reason, this
grace of the apostle had no power, either to deliver himself
from the pricking thorn which was fixed in his flesh, nor to
cure Timothy of his stomach complaints and other infirmities,
under which he continually suffered, 1 Tim. v. 23. For the
power of miracles was given at the beginning, not to oppose
the institutions of God, or to trouble the order of his regula-
tions, but to confound ungodliness, to conquer incredulity, and
to plant and establish the faith of the gospel in the world.
III. I come now to the cure of Epaphroditus. His illness
had been extreme, as Paul shows in saying that he had been
near unto death : "But God (adds he) had pity on him ; and
not on him only, but also on me, that I should not have sor-
row upon sorrow." It is thus that the Lord often acts towards
his own, allowing them to descend to the last degree of sorrow,
to relieve them afterwards from it with greater eclat and glory.
Hezekiah was brought to the gates of the grave, as he says,
and considered his life cut off, when. God set him again on foot,
and added to his life fifteen years. How often did he permit
David to fall into the extremity of anguish ! This proceeding
is very suitable both for us and for him. For us, that our
faith may be so much the better exercised, the extremity of the
danger firing our zeal, and warming our desires in our vows
and prayers. For him also. The greater is our danger, and
to all appearance without resource, the more glorious is the
power which he displays in delivering us from it. Paul here
entirely attributes to him the cure of Epaphroditus, whether
he had sent it immediately from heaven, or, to procure it, had
blessed the remedies or the medicine, or the hands of Paul, as
some imagine. For in whatever way health may be restored
to us, either by the use of means or without them, it is always
the work of God, and second causes never ought to obscure his
glory, since we know that it is he who gives them, by the se-
cret power of his blessing, whatever efficacy they have. But
the apostle does not simply say that the cure of Epaphroditus
was the effect of the power of God. He says that it was a gift
of his mercy, " God had pity on him." How could that be,
seeing it would only prolong his sufferings, and the time of his
misery; and that, on the contrary, to separate him from this
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIAN3. 271
body, was to draw him out of prison, and from a sad and dan-
gerous combat, to place him in the enjoyment of celestial light?
I acknowledge that our sojourn on earth is accompanied with
many infirmities and evils, and that, taking it altogether, it is
infinitely better for us to be with Christ, as the apostle tells us,
than to languish here out of his sanctuary. But all this does
not oppose the idea, that this life, considered in itself, away
from this comparison, is an excellent gift of God, and a present
of his mercy, particularly to those who (like Epaphroditus)
possess it in Jesus Christ, and to whom it is gain to live, no
less than to die. Added to which, the true believer, such as he
was, has more regard to the glory of God and the good of the
church, than to his own satisfaction ; and considering life in
this sense, that it is useful to one or both of these objects, he
may desire it, to have the means of finishing his course, and
the work committed to him. If such were the desire of Epa-
phroditus, (as it might lawfully have been,) who cannot see that
his cure was an effect of divine mercy, whose property is to
hear our prayers, and to grant us what we ask ?
But besides, Paul here recognizes the goodness of God to-
wards himself: "He had also pity on me, (says he,) that I
might not have sorrow upon sorrow." He does not conceal
the fact, that the death of his dear fellow labourer would have
been very bitter, and would have overwhelmed him with a
new trouble ; by which he again acknowledges that his present
situation in the bonds of Nero was a cause of sadness. For
the patience and courage of the saints in afflictions, is not a
proud insensibility, such as some of the pagan philosophers
demanded in their wise men, desiring that they should feel no
sentiment of grief or sorrow. This is to despoil man of his
nature, and to turn him into stone or brass. Christian piety
tempers the passions, but it does not eradicate them. It softens
and tranquillizes, but it does not extinguish them. To render
man courageous it does not make him insensible. It leaves
him the innocent and necessary feelings of nature. Paul felt
the inconveniences of his prison, the loss of his liberty, and
that it took from him the means of going hither and thither to
sow in the ministry of the gospel. But however grievous
these things were to him, he supported them, nevertheless,
courageously ; the will of God, and other considerations of re-
ligion, softening the feeling, and leading all the desires of his
nature captive under the yoke of the Lord. It is properly in
this that the sacrifice of our obedience consists, when we pre-
sent to God a heart not insensible to his chastisements, but
tamed and subdued to suffer them with patience and resigna-
tion, and to submit to his will both our tears and sorrows.
Paul was touched in the same way with the sickness of his
friend, and would have been still more so by his death ; buft
272 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVI.
without murmuring or resistance, ruling his sorrows and his
feelings in such a way that he had finally settled and subdued
them to the orders of his Master. Thus, elsewhere, he does
not positively forbid believers to weep for the death of friends
in Christ, but not to weep excessively, or to suffer in the man-
ner of those who had no hope, 1 Thess. iv. 13. In the first
place, the death of every man, whoever he may be, is a sad
thing, and frightful in itself; an effect of sin, and of the wrath
of God against human nature ; hence the grave of Lazarus drew
tears even from the eyes of the Saviour of the world. The
death of a dear friend, such as Bpaphroditus was to Paul, is
still more sad; for besides the general horror that it occasions,
it deprives us of the pleasure of his conversation and of his
good services. But we cannot doubt that the apostle looked
more to the interests of the church than to his own, in the
death of Bpaphroditus, which would have taken from the Phi-
lippians an excellent pastor, whom it would have been difficult,
or perhaps even impossible, worthily to replace, the number
of similar labourers always being very small. It is this con-
sideration, more than any other, which would have caused the
sadness which the apostle confesses he should have felt at this
loss.
IV. This reason led him to send him back to them quickly
as soon as he was well ; in which the feelings of Epaphroditus
were conformed to his own. For this good servant of God,
knowing that the news of his malady had much grieved the
church of the Philippians, and touched with reciprocal love,
desired, as soon as he was in health, to see them again, that he
might change their sorrow into joy : " For (says the apostle)
he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because you
had heard that he had been ill." Which shall we most admire,
the affection of the flock towards their shepherd, or the love
of the shepherd towards his flock? Although distant and far
separated, they have the same mind, the same desires, the same
feelings. It is one of the miracles of love which unites and
blends thus what distance of place in vain separates. The
Philippians love and so tenderly honour Epaphroditus, that
they feel his illness as much as he did himself as soon as they
heard of it. Epaphroditus so cordially loves the Philippians,
that the sorrow which his illness had occasioned them causes
him more anguish than he felt from his own malady. He
longs for them all, with a very remarkable affection, and can
have no rest until his presence shall have dried up their tears,
and drawn their minds from the pain they had felt. happy
churches which have such pastors ! happy pastors who have
such churches ! What in the world is sweeter, more beautiful,
more pleasing to God, or more beneficial to men, than this
holy union and sympathy of the affections ? What is the sor-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 273
row that it cannot soften ? or the pain that it cannot soothe?
or the anxiety that it cannot console ? The apostle, that he
might not injure it, nor deprive either of their full satisfaction,
consents to the departure of Bpaphroditus, and obliged by these
necessary reasons, sends their dear pastor back to the Philip-
pians, rather preferring to deprive himself of the good ser-
vices which he rendered to him at this difficult period, than to
see him languish in that secret anxiety which the absence
from his beloved flock occasioned him. " I sent him therefore
(says the apostle) the more carefully, that, when ye see him
again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful."
He himself also enters into the fellowship of their joy : he
takes so lively a share in it that he forgets his own interests.
See, I pray you, my brethren, in this example, the power of
love, and how absolute the empire which it exercises in the
minds of believers. When Epaphroditus shall be gone, says he,
"I shall be less sorrowful." What then, O holy apostle?
Does the presence of such an excellent man whom you esteem
and love so much give you sorrow ? Is his society wearisome ?
Are those offices and duties which he has performed towards you
with such kindness and attention become painful to you? Yes,
he replies, and his absence (who would think it?) will bring me
comfort; and, what is still stranger, it is in part the love itself
that I bear him which makes me wish for his departure ; for,
whilst with me, he cannot be with that beloved flock, by which
he is so ardently desired, and which he himself longs for, and
where his presence is no less necessary than it is wished. I
am sorry that consideration for me takes him from them, and
that the offices which he renders me should prevent his acquit-
ting himself of those which he owes to his Philippians. A con-
sideration which costs so much is painful to me ; I cannot en-
joy it without grief, and it is to comfort myself that I send
him back. It is not simply for the satisfaction of the Philip-
pians, it is also for my own. This is, dear brethren, the true
meaning of these words of the apostle.
V. After having thus explained the reason of his sending
Epaphroditus back, he finally recommends him to his flock:
" Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness." " In
the Lord ;" that is to say, for the love of the Lord, as his faith-
ful servant, whom he has given you, whose life he has pre-
served, and whom he restores to you safe and sound for your
preservation and edification. This is what Jesus Christ calls
receiving someone in his name: "Whosoever receiveth one
of these little ones in my name receiveth me," Mark ix. 37.
Here he regulates the manner in which they ought to welcome
their pastor, not according to the fashion of the men of the
world, with festivals and carnal rejoicings, but as becometh
saints, with reverence and spiritual love, cherishing him, and
35
274 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVI.
respecting in his person the Lord, of whom he is the servant.
" With all joy ;" that is to say, with full and perfect content,
with a pure and sincere joy, which fills the whole heart, so to
speak, as he elsewhere does, where he says, "Though I may
have all faith," that is to say, a very complete faith, even to
" remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing," 1
Cor. xiii. 2. But from Epaphroditus individually the apostle
extends his order to all good and faithful pastors in general :
" Hold such in reputation." Look upon them and cherish
them as pearls and precious jewels, drawn from the treasures
of God for the consolation and salvation of your souls. The
more scarce they are, the more ought they to be esteemed. It
is the will of God who gives them to us, and who often very
severely punishes those who despise them, sending them bad
and faithless ones, such as deserve their contempt. But the
common edification of the church compels us also to the same
duty, there being nothing which more conduces to it than the
lawful authority of good pastors, or which does more harm
than bad ones. And although the Philippians had sufficiently
known the value of Epaphroditus by their own experience,
and also what the apostle had just said sufficiently testified it,
still, not being able to satisfy himself in the praise of this
good man, and still more to draw upon him the hearts and af-
fections of his flock, he further dilates on his zeal and fidelity,
adding, in the last verse of this chapter, " that for the work of
Christ he had been nigh unto death, not regarding his life to
supply the Philippians' lack of service to him." He does not
mean that the Philippians had failed in affection towards him.
On the contrary, he praises them for their love in many
places of this Epistle. But their absence prevented their ren-
dering him in his bonds the services which they owed him
and which they would willingly have yielded if they had been
present ; it neither being possible nor convenient that a whole
church should transport itself to Eome for this purpose. It is,
then, of this want that he speaks, and which Epaphroditus had
endeavoured to supply ; exerting all his strength in the service
of the apostle, that he himself might, in some measure, supply
whatever consolation the whole church would have given him
had it been on the spot. This is what he also calls " the work
of the Lord," for two reasons : First, Because to serve his mi-
nisters is to serve Jesus Christ, as he declares in many places :
"He who receiveth you receiveth me, and whatsoever you
have done to one of these little ones you have done to me
also." Secondly, Because it is a work that the Lord has com-
manded us, wishing that we should honour and succour in a
peculiar manner those who suffer for his name, and especially
the ministers of his word. He says, then, that Epaphroditus,
to acquit himself worthily of this duty, had not had any re-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 275
gard to his own life, and had been nigh unto death. Some
understand by this the danger in which he had been by visit-
ing tbe apostle, drawing upon himself thereby the hatred and
cruelty of the ministers of Nero, who retained him in prison ;
as we know that tyrants often seize and condemn to death
those who wish to favour or comfort believers, whom they per-
secute for the gospel's sake. But it appears from the last
chapter of the Acts, and from this Epistle itself, that Rome
did not then exei'cise towards Paul that inhumanity which she
has since used, and still uses at this time, towards the faithful
servants of God ; and the end of this text clearly shows that
it must relate here to the illness of Epaphroditus, which he
had drawn upon himself by too much labour, preferring rather
to fail in the attention which he owed to his own health than
in the services which he was obliged to yield to Paul; so that
his illness itself was both the effect and sign of his piety. For
though there is no merit in being ill, there is much in not
sparing oneself for the service of Christ.
Such, dear brethren, is our exposition of this text. It re-
mains to apply it to our own profit ; and that so holy and
salutary a doctrine should not uselessly reach our ears, let us
imprint upon our hearts the images of the three examples
which are set before us, in Epaphroditus, the Philippians, and
Paul. Let us contemplate and imitate them, let us form the
affections of our minds, and the actions of our life, after these
excellent models.
The illness of Epaphroditus teaches us, in the first place,
not to judge of men by the accidents which befall them ; as if
affliction and disgrace were the necessary marks of a bad cause.
Let us remember the warning of the prophet, "Blessed is he
that considereth the poor," Psal. xli. 1. Innocence is not al-
ways in prosperity, and piety often falls into great calamities ;
God permitting it to be so for the reasons explained above.
And as we should act with this equity to others, we ought also
to have it towards ourselves. Never let the illnesses with
which God visits us either make us doubt his love or our elec-
tion. He has truly promised us in this world his friendship,
his peace, the joy of his Spirit, and the assistance of his Christ,
and in another, immortality. But he nowhere promises that
we shall be exempted from the evils and miseries of the pre-
sent life. He declares to us, on the contrary, that we shall be
more subject to them than others. Let us then receive these
strokes from his hand with patience and gentleness of mind,
and instead of murmuring or hardening ourselves under the
rod, let us profit by it, as a salutary correction and an honour-
able trial ; learning from it the vanity of this life, and of all the
good that it possesses, thinking rightly of the infirmity of our
nature, and of death, which will assuredly destroy it, to with-
276 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVI.
draw our affections from earth, to renounce vice and its lusts,
and to aspire only after a blessed immortality, the end and
prize of our holy calling. And as to your life, if it is useful,
either to the church or to your families, I do not forbid you to
desire it; I simply wish that you would ask it from God, and
expect it from his mercy alone, who brings to the tomb, and
lifts you from it, when he will ; and that, when you have re-
covered your health, you- would ascribe to his goodness all the
glory of your cure, devoutly consecrating to his service all
the fruits of a life which you hold only from his grace.
But while the illness of Epaphroditus gives us this lesson,
the cause whence it arose teaches us another, not less neces-
sary. For he had gained it in the work of the Lord. hap-
py sickness, which carries its consolation with it ! for it is not
possible that so good and so holy a cause should produce a
bad effect. How different from this are our diseases, which
are mostly the consequences of our vices, the effects of our
intemperance, our vanity, or our avarice ! as those of whom
Job said, " whose bones are full of the sins of their youth,"
Job xx. 11 ; bad fruits of a bad tree; shameful effects of an
evil cause. Believers, if it is not possible that you should be
exempt from infirmities and indispositions, order your life in
such a manner that, while suffering them, you may have the
consolation of knowing that it is in the service of God, and
not in that of the world ; that it is the work of Christ, and
not that of Satan, or of vice, which has drawn them upon you.
It is true that, strictly speaking, we can and ought to take
care of our life, so moderating the lawful labours of our call-
ing that they should not injure our health. But where the
service of God calls us, we must put everything under our
feet, and like the blessed Epaphroditus, courageously hazard
health and life, and have no regard to either, rather than fail
in the work of our Master. The illnesses caught, the deaths en-
dured, with such a good design and for so holy a cause, are
martyrdoms before God, which he will assuredly crown with
abundant consolation and immortal glory!
But besides these general lessons, Epaphroditus especially
warns pastors to cherish a warm affection for their flocks, sen-
sibly to feel their sorrows, and to hold nothing so dear as their
consolation. It was, doubtless, a very great and pleasing sat-
isfaction to Epaphroditus to be with Paul, to listen to his hea-
venly words, and to see his noble bonds. But as soon as he
knew that the report of his sickness had put his church in
pain, he was willing to leave all to restore it to joy. How
also, believers, does both the example of the Philippians, and
the command of the apostle to them to receive Epaphroditus
with joy in the Lord, oblige you to share the good and bad
fortune of your pastors, to compassionate their sorrows, to re-
CHAP. II.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHÏLIPPIANS. 277
joice in their happiness, and by love and cordial reverence to
soften all the bitterness of so laborious an office !
Finally, The example of Paul, who cheerfully yielded to
the edification of the Philippians every advantage and pleasure
which he received from the presence of Epaphroditus, shows
to both mutually, that there is nothing so dear to us that we
should not willingly give up to the interests of the church,
reckoning our losses gain, when they are needful for the con-
solation of our brethren; remembering the love of the Lord
Jesus, who, being rich, became poor, and, being the King of
glory, submitted to the greatest shame, that he might enrich
and glorify us. To him, with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, blessed for ever, be honour and glory, for ever and
ever. Amen.
Preached at Charenton, Sunday, 4th August, 16-il.
278 AN EXPOSITION OF
DEDICATION.
TO MADAME DE DANGEAU.
Madame: — These sermons would have belonged to your
late mother, Madame la Mareschale de la Force, as a continua-
tion of those which I have already presented to the public
under her patronage ; but since it has pleased God to take her
to the repose of his heavenly kingdom, where she has no
longer need of our feeble assistance, seeing fully and clearly
in the great Source of light those divine truths which we can
behold only through a thick veil, and can explain only in a
stammering tongue, I consider myself obliged, madame, by all
means, to dedicate my little work to you. And if that happy
spirit, in the enjoyment of the felicity she now possesses, ac-
cording to her hope and the promise of her Lord, can have
any knowledge of the events which occur on earth, I feel
assured she will approve my choice, and rejoice to see the page
formerly destined for her name occupied by yours. For not
only are you of her blood, and the eldest of the children she
has left behind, but you also inherit her virtues. You assemble
the church in your house, as she was wont in her lifetime, and,
like her, you there strengthen its confidence in God and the
knowledge of his word. You train up the children which
God has given you, and form them for his service by diligent
instruction, and by the example of a holy life. You carefully
preserve the sacred deposit of faith which (to speak with Paul)
dwelt first in your ancestors, and especially in that great hero,
whose praise is in the world and in the church, Monseigneur
du Plessis, your grandfather. I therefore deem it my duty to
honour virtues which flourish on so illustrious a stem, and
spread a pure and sweet odour through the house of God. Be
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 279
pleased, then, madame, to receive this book which 1 present to
you, not only as the heiress of your late mother, to whom it
belonged, but also as a sincere testimonial of the esteem which
I feel towards you, and of the ardent desire I have to promote
the edification of yourself and all your family as far as I am
able.
To God I commend you in my prayers, and remain inviol-
ably, Madame,
Your humble and obedient servant,
Paris, April Uth, 1647. DAILLÉ.
SERMON XVII.
CHAPTER III.
VERSES 1 — 3.
Finally , my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same
things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe,
Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit,
and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
As there is no doctrine in the world more contrary to the
kingdom and interests of Satan than the gospel of Jesus Christ,
so there is none which that mortal enemy of the human race
detests and combats more cruelly. Besides the persecutions
that he raises from without against this divine truth, he attacks
it still more from within by his seductive artifices, inspiring
its ministers with various errors, in order to corrupt the purity
of the sacred word, and thereby render it ineffectual to the
salvation of men.
This the apostle foretold to the Corinthians, and the expe-
rience of all ages has verified the prediction, " There must be
also heresies among you, that they which are approved among
you may be made manifest," 1 Cor. xi. 19. And he also warned
the Ephesians, that " after his departure would grievous wolves
thrust themselves in among them, not sparing the flock ; and
that even of themselves would men arise, speaking perverse
things, in order to draw away disciples after them," Acts xx.
29, 30. In fact, we learn from the Epistles of this holy man,
280 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVII.
that scarcely had he quitted the churches he had established
among the nations, when false teachers immediatelj presented
themselves, to tempt them and corrupt their faith. Amongst
others he complains often of the Jews, who, from the commence-
ment of Christianity, used every effort to confound the gospel with
the law, and mingle Moses with Jesus Christ; endeavouring,
under various plausible pretences, to introduce among believers
circumcision, and the observance of the other ceremonies of
the Old Testament. It was these miserable people who had
tainted the churches of Galatia with the pernicious leaven of
their false doctrine, as appears by the divine Epistle addressed
to them by Paul, wherein that true servant of God, burning
with zeal for the honour of his Lord, argues at- some length
against those impostors, with apostolic plainness and vehe-
mence. They had also tempted the Philippians, although
without success, those believers having courageously resisted
their seductions, and constantly maintained the doctrine of
Paul in all its purity. But as love is always full of appre-
hension, the apostle, fearing that the arts of those deceivers
might at length make some impression on the hearts of his
dear disciples, warns them in this chapter to stand on their
guard. Hitherto he had armed their faith against persecution
and the vices of the world, now he fortifies it against the as-
saults of error. And as in the former part of this Epistle he
presents to them Jesus Christ, in whose humiliation and glory
we have abundance of consolations in affliction and of preser-
vatives against sin ; so in this second, he again sets him forth
as the inexhaustible source of justice and truth, in opposition
to all the seductions of error. He also declares to them his
own example, who, having every advantage which those false
teachers possessed, and in a much higher degree than they, had,
nevertheless, voluntarily renounced all to be found in Jesus
Christ. Then, having exhorted the Philippians to modesty,
concord, and the imitation of his conduct and conversation,
and having manifested the nlthiness of those evil-doers who
thought only of their belly and the pleasures of the flesh ; he
concludes, by setting before their eyes the dignity of christians,
and the excellence of their condition who have no inheritance
on earth, but are citizens of heaven, from whence they expect
Christ their Lord, and his blessed immortality.
This, dear brethren, is the subject and summary of this
chapter, which shall be hereafter, if it please God, matter for
our discourses. At present, we shall endeavour to explain to
you the first part, contained in the three verses you have just
heard : and, to proceed with order, we shall consider, First,
the consolation given by the apostle to the Philippians at the
commencement, which is, as it were, the conclusion of the
whole preceding chapter, and the foundation of the present:
" Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord."
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 281
Then, secondly, follows a brief excuse which he makes to
them for teaching them often the same things : " To write the
same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you
it is safe."
Thirdly, We shall see the grave and solemn warning he gives
them to beware of false apostles : "Beware of dogs, beware of
evil- workers, beware of the concision."
And fourth and lastly, We shall consider the reasons which
he adds : " For we are the circumcision, which worship God in
the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence
in the flesh."
I. Touching the first point where the apostle commands the
Philippians to " rejoice in the Lord," some have considered
that it relates simply to what had been said in the preceding
chapter respecting the mission, the recovery, and the zeal of
Epaphroditus, and to his own contentment in the midst of
bonds, and firm resolution to live or die joyfully for the gospel.
As though he had said to these believers, Since your affairs
and mine are in this state, nothing remains but that you should
be content, and extract from these mercies of God a pure and
spiritual joy worthy of that heavenly Sovereign and Lord
whom you serve. But I consider that, besides this, it relates
principally to what he had before taught of the humiliation of
Christ, and the glory to which he had been raised, and to the
providence with which he governs all things ; concluding from
thence, that since they have the honour of belonging to this
sovereign Lord, and of being in him by faith in his gospel,
they might henceforth be at rest, rejoicing in the possession of
so rich a treasure, without being astonished or afflicted at the
misfortunes which might happen to them, or with which others
might threaten them. This is signified by the word "finally,"
which he uses at the commencement to unite this and the pre-
ceding chapter; that, since they are built upon Jesus Christ, and
their salvation is secure in him, they have now but to perse-
vere with constancy, and to rejoice during the remainder of
their life with that perfect peace which such a certainty of bliss
is calculated to produce in their hearts ; seeking and finding
in Christ that consolation in distress, and that peace and joy,
which their souls require in the midst of so many trials. For
Satan, by the troubles he raises up for believers, endeavours
to imbitter every feeling, and render the name and the gospel
of Christ unpleasing. But the apostle desires that we should
so taste the grace of God, that this holy feeling should sweeten
every thing, and render us joyful in all the doubts, trials, and
afflictions of this life. Indeed, if we have Jesus Christ truly
dwelling in our hearts by faith, no grief, no labour, no calamity
is capable of hurting us, or of destroying our peace. For in
him is abundantly found a fulness of every good, and a deli-
36
282 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVII.
verance from every evil. Let the world and the devil take
away from the believer everything he holds dear on earth, let
them plunge him into the most dreadful evils, — they cannot
take away his joy, because Jesus Christ, the Prince of peace,
the Father everlasting, the Author of all grace, dwells in him ;
and he preserves all those who possess him in the fires, and
even in death itself; and, in spite of the efforts of their ene-
mies, defends and maintains in them the life, happiness, and
immortality which he gave them.
Eejoice then in him, beloved brethren ; shut your eyes to
all other objects, and regard none but this. Consider the
grace that Christ has given you, and it is impossible but that
the consideration must bring with it solid and true peace.
This Saviour has appeased the wrath of God ; he has rendered
him propitious and favourable to you ; he has abolished the
curse of the law; he has conquered death; he has opened
heaven to you ; he has made you the children of God, brethren
and fellow citizens with angels ; he has united himself to you,
having mingled his blood and spirit with yours; so that hence-
forth you are co-heirs with him, " members of his body, of his
flesh, and of his bones ;" you partake of his kingdom and
glory. But we shall have (with God's help) another opportu-
nity of treating more fully on the subject of the christian's
joy, when, in the following chapter, we shall find the apostle
repeating the same command to us in stronger terms: "Re-
joice in the Lord always ; and again I say, Rejoice."
For the present, I will only add that Paul here lays the foun-
dation of the exhortation to the Philippians which follows, to
beware of false teachers of the circumcision ; it being evident
that if these believers rejoice in the Lord as he commands
them, if they rely on him as on a sure foundation, where they
can enjoy true peace, it will be in vain that these people press
them to mingle the observances of Moses with the gospel ; for
all these additional ceremonies, whether they be of Moses or of
others, which false teachers are continually endeavouring to
introduce into the religion of christians, proceed purely from
the distaste which they have for Christ. It appears to them
that faith is too simple and naked a thing, and therefore they
smother it with their own inventions, and accuse those who
content themselves with Christ alone of spoiling religion of
her necessary ornaments. This was the sin of the Israelites
in the desert, who were disgusted with the manna sent from
God, as meagre food, and coveted the flesh and onions of Egypt.
These Jews also, of whom the apostle here complains, despised
like them the simplicity of the Lord Jesus, the true Bread
which came down from heaven, and wished to unite with him
Moses and a carnal service. And from the same root springs
the disordered appetite of those who, in the present day, add
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 283
to the gospel of Jesus so many traditions and human ceremo-
nies.
Very wisely, therefore, does the apostle, both here and in
his Epistle to the Colossians, shield believers from this snare,
by setting forth Jesus Christ as the source of joy, the treasury
of all good, which contains in its simplicity every grace of
which we stand in need, and where dwelleth the fulness of the
Godhead bodily.
II. Having laid the foundation, he goes on to the warning
which he gives them to beware of false teachers. But, first, he
makes a short preface, which we now, in the second place, con-
sider : " To write the same things unto you, to me indeed is
not grievous, but for you it is safe."
These " things," of which he speaks, may relate generally to
all the points of doctrine on which he had already dwelt in
this Epistle, or to those on which he might hereafter dwell.
But it seems best to restrict them especially to the warning
which he was about to give the Philippians to beware of the
corruptions of false teachers. It is unnecessary to suppose he
had written any previous letter to them, in which he had
treated of the same subject. It is sufficient that he had spoken
of it when with them, recommending them, as he did his other
disciples, not to lend an ear to those impostors who wished to
replace christians under the yoke of the Mosaic law. He there-
fore replies to an idea that may have arisen in their minds,
that it was useless to take the trouble of repeating in his letter
the same warning which he had so often given them in word.
No, says he to the believers, it is neither grievous to me, nor
useless to you, that I should frequently teach the same thing.
It rather insures your safety. This repetition may serve to
place your faith out of danger, and secure it at all points
against the assaults and temptations of the enemy. For the
dulness of our minds, in every thing regarding salvation, is
such, that we easily pass over that which is told us but once,
or we imagine that at least it is not a matter of any conse-
quence. Fearing, therefore, that his silence might place the
faith of the Philippians in danger, the apostle is not ashamed
to reiterate the warnings which they had formerly heard from
him. And in thus acting he gives an excellent lesson to those
in the church who preach, and to those who hear, not to be
weary ; the former with teaching, the latter with hearing, often-
times the same things.
As for the first, since God has established them pastors of
his flock, it is not enough that they present to the sheep the
pasture of the heavenly word once or twice, on that they chase
away once or twice the wolf from the fold. They must con-
tinue these duties to the end without weariness. For as the
enemy watches night and day for the destruction of the church ;
284 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVII.
as he is never discouraged, but returns again and again, pre-
senting himself boldly, and incessantly sounding in our ears
the same lies and seductions; it is but reasonable that we should
oppose indefatigable vigilance to his obstinate effrontery, and
the firmness of the truth to the importunity of his lies ; and
that we should have as much ardour and zeal for your salva-
tion as he has for your ruin.
And as for you, believers, instead of being wearied with our
continual reiteration of your duties, Oh, take it in good part,
remembering that it is for your greater security that we thus
act towards you. Let not your ears be so refined that they
cannot endure to hear a thing repeated more than once. Alas !
the life of the majority too visibly proves, that however often
truth may have been set before them, it has not yet been well
understood. We cannot therefore explain too often what you
do not yet comprehend ; and if the gospel of Christ cannot be
too much in our hearts, it is evident it cannot be too often in
our mouths.
III. But the apostle, having now secured the attention of
the Philippians, gives them a holy and salutary warning against
the corruptions of false teachers, in these words : " Beware of
dogs, beware of evil-workers, beware of the concision." We
have already said, that he here alludes to those among the con-
verted Jews, who considered the observance of the Mosaic law
and its ceremonies, as circumcision, &c, to be necessary before
christians could be justified in the sight of God. That they
are the same against whom he argues at length in the Epistles
to the Galatians and Colossians, is manifest from the words
and ideas which he here uses ; it being evident that they are
perfectly descriptive of these people, and cannot relate to
others. He describes them especially by three remarkable ap-
pellations :
First, " Dogs."
Secondly, " Evil- workers ;" and,
Thirdly, " The concision."
The " dog " is in all languages the image and symbol of im-
pudence, and the most ancient of heathen poets* gives to a
man the eyes of a dog to signify extreme impudence, because
the countenance, and particularly the eye, should be the seat
of bashfulness. Scripture, also, uses the name of this animal
as a term of reproach, to describe a profane person, a hardened
sinner, who sells himself a slave to all kinds of vice without
shame before God or man. It is in this sense the word is used
in Matt. vii. 15, where our Lord forbids his disciples to give
" holy things to the dogs ;" and also in Rev. xxii. 15, where the
Holy Spirit banishes from the celestial city "dogs, and sor-
* Homer.
CHAP. III.J THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 285
cerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and
whatsoever loveth and maketh a lie." In the book of Proverbs,
chap. xxvi. 11, and in the Second Epistle of Peter, those who
fall many times into the same wickedness are compared to
" dogs :" " As the dog returneth to his own vomit again, so
doth the fool to his folly." And our Lord gives the same name
to pagans, who live far from communion with God and his
people, when he says to the Canaanitish woman, " It is not
meet to take the children's bread, and give it to the dogs,"
Matt. xv. 26, i. e., on account of their ignorance, brutality, and
profaneness. The law placed the dog among unclean animals,
so that even the money procured by the sale of a dog was an
abomination to the Lord, Deut. xxiii. 18. All these reasons
prove that the apostle in this place, under the general word
" dogs," would describe false teachers. For their impudence
was evident, in that they gave the lie boldly to the real servants
of God, and dared to re-establish what Christ had abolished.
They had also fallen back into their original error, for, from
Jews having become Christians, they had again returned to
Judaism, wishing to mix it with the gospel. And lastly, they
had thrown themselves by this out of communion with God,
and out of his church, none being qualified to have part therein
but those " who worship him in spirit and in truth." But it
is very likely that, in calling them " dogs," Paul had especial
reference to that filthy and shameful gluttony which he after-
wards, at the close of this chapter, so expressly blames, saying,
" Whose belly is their god, and whose glory is in their shame,
who mind earthly things, who are enemies of the cross of
Christ." From whence it appears, that however fair and spe-
cious the pretensions of these people might be, yet, in reality,
they were guided only by the flesh and the belly. For it is
this profane and sensual brutality which is specially pointed
out by the name here given them of " dogs," as though he
would say that they were but filthy and gluttonous beasts, who
railed against wholesome doctrine that they might the more
indulge the lusts of the flesh.
Isaiah also calls the false teachers of his day " greedy dogs
which can never have enough," Isa. lvi. 11.
The second title the apostle gives them is that of "evil-
workers." I would not absolutely deny that in naming them
thus, he might have reference to that which these people were
incessantly crying, Works, works, pretending that through
them alone man can be justified before God. But it certainly
appears to me more probable that Paul intends simply to blame
them, and to reject the pains they took to preach, and to run
hither and thither, because it was done with a bad design, and
still worse success, both with regard to themselves and to
others. They laboured — but it was to tear up that which had
286 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVII.
been well and happily planted, and to sow the seeds of dissen-
sion and error. They laboured — but it was for the ruin of
souls, like Satan, who disquiets the world, and prowls around
the church to tempt men and draw them into perdition ; or
like the scribes and Pharisees, who compassed sea and land but
to render their proselytes doubly the children of hell. For
there are always in the world numbers of these workers, who
give themselves much trouble to do that which is of no value,
and who, under pretence of edifying the church, embroil and
ruin every thing ; unhappy people ! who, after so much time
and trouble lost in these visionary schemes, reap no other fruit
than their own damnation, and the utter confusion of those
who were carried away by their impostures. It would be in-
finitely better, both for themselves and others, that they should
remain all their life with their arms crossed in the most pro-
found indolence, than consume themselves thus by labouring
in a bad cause.
Lastly, the apostle calls these false teachers " the concision :"
" Beware of the concision." This word is not in use in our
language. But our Bibles have necessarily retained it, in order,
in some measure, to represent the elegance and grace of the
original term, and to preserve the resemblance which exists
between the word signifying circumcision and that which the
apostle here uses, which signifies to retrench, cut off, tear away ;
and which is rendered "concision," from a Latin word, ap-
proaching as you see to circumcision. These false teachers re-
tained the Mosaic ceremonial, and especially circumcision, the
seal of the old covenant, the livery and mark of those who
had part therein, of such great importance under the law, that
even the Sabbath, one of the most ancient ceremonies of the
primitive race, yielded to it, it being permitted to circumcise
infants on the Sabbath day (all other work or manual labour
being forbidden) when it happened that this was the eighth
day from the birth of the child. On this account the whole
Jewish nation is frequently called " the circumcision," from its
most ancient and necessary mark. For this reason those false
teachers who retained the custom among the christians might
be called by this name, and perhaps they gloried in it, calling
themselves and those of their sect " the circumcision," as though
none but they were in covenant with God. Paul, to put down
their presumption, instead of this glorious name of circum-
cision, gives them another nearly approaching to it in sound,
and in the number of syllables, but very distinct in sense; for
he calls them " the concision." that is, the cut off, the diminished
ones, and not " the circumcision ;" meaning to show, that by
their doctrine and the practice of this ceremony, instead of
placing men in covenant with the Lord, they cut them off, and
unhappily divided the church, instead of uniting it to the
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 287
Saviour; this mark which they made in the bodies of their
miserable disciples being no longer, as formerly, under the old.
covenant, the sign of their renunciation of the sins of the flesh,
but rather a sign and seal of their renunciation of Christ, and
of the wounds and divisions which they were making in Chris-
tianity. It is a mode of expression somewhat similar to that
of some learned writers of the church of Rome, who, describ-
ing the lives of some of their popes, which they acknowledge
to have been very wicked and pernicious to the church, call
them not apostolical, (which is the title usually given to the
popes,) but apostatical*
Such was also the witty saying of a learned man of onr
nation,f who, speaking of Pope Boniface VIII., well known
for his violence against this kingdom, called him Maliface in-
stead of Boniface. This figure of speech is not uncommon in
the best authors, and teachers of rhetoric call it paronomasia.
It is thus therefore that Paul calls these false judaizing teachers
" the concision," and not " the circumcision." Upon which we
have three remarks to make before we pass on ; the first upon
the words, and the two others on the things themselves. And,
first, with regard to the words ; this example teaches us that
the instruments of the Holy Spirit disdain not that elegance
which allusions and the affinity of words give to language,
provided they consist with decency and gravity, and do not
fall into affectation and buffoonery, both of which are un-
worthy of an honest man, and still more so of a servant of
God. Thus we find that elsewhere the apostle often, with
beauty and elegance, contrasts various words and ideas with
their opposites, and that even sometimes he seeks to ornament
his language by allusions from the Hebrew and Syriac ; as, for
example, when he says, " the praise of a real Jew is of God,"
Rom. v. 29, he evidently alludes to the origin of the name
"Jew," which in Hebrew signifies praise ; and in another place,
where he says " our afflictions work out for us a weight of
glory," 1 Cor. iv. 17, he, without doubt, makes allusion to the
word " glory" in the Syriac, where it signifies weight or heavi-
ness. The prophet Isaiah, among the writers of the Old Tes-
tament, makes such frequent use of these ornaments, that
there is scarcely one of the writers of his age whose lan-
guage is so flowery, and so abundant in figures and allusions.
ÏVom whence it appears how unreasonable those are who wish
to banish these elegancies from the words and writings of God's
servants.
But we must, secondly, remark, most carefully, the inutility,
or, to speak plainly, the poison, of those things which are pressed
into religion without the command of God. God had formerly
* Gembrard in his Chronicle, A. D. 901. f M. Servin.
288 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVII,
instituted circumcision ; he had given it to Abraham, and after-
wards, by the law of Moses, had again commanded the Israel-
ites to observe it. It was the seal of the justice of God, and
the token of his covenant. Yet, nevertheless, when Jesus
Christ had abolished the carnal law, and established divine
worship in spirit and in truth, circumcision became concision,
a cutting off, instead of a union. Such, without doubt, is the
nature of every ceremony of man's device, as abstaining from
meats, observing days, &c. These are no longer the livery of
God's people ; the marks of our faith in him, or the seals of
our union to him. They are vain things, of no other service
than to rend the mystical body of Christ, to wound the con-
science, and to injure rather than edify.
And, lastly, we must remark here the holy vehemence of the
apostle against these false teachers, whom he denominates
" dogs, evil-workers, cutters-off ;" very severe words, to teach
us that we must never regard with an indifferent eye those
who disturb the church and truth of God, but must consider
them such as they are in reality — unhappy and pernicious
instruments in the hands of Satan. We should however be-
ware lest, under colour of zeal, we suffer ourselves to be carried
away by an excess of hatred ; but let us so restrain our hearts
and tongues, that in the just indignation we feel against the at-
tempts of these people we may still show love to their persons,
not to uphold them or to follow their doctrines, but to desire
and endeavour after their salvation as much as possible.
For the apostle commands the Philippiahs to beware of those
whom he had thus described ; and to show them how needful
it was for the glory of God and their own safety to fly such
pests, he repeats his words three times : " Beware of dags, be-
ware of evil-workers, beware of the concision." This duty con-
tains two parts. First, that we should be able to distinguish
these evil-workers from good ones; and second, that having
distinguished them, we should shut our ears to their instruc-
tions, and quickly withdraw from communion with them.
The word here used by the apostle relates precisely to the first
of these duties, signifying to see, regard, and consider a thing,
so as to discern and recognize it among others. This is the
same that John so distinctly commands, "Beloved, try the
spirits, whether they be of God," 1 John iv. 2 ; and Paul else-
where says that " we should examine all things, and hold fast
that which is good," 1 Thess. v. 2. Our Lord also gives us
this mark of his sheep, "that they know his voice, and discern
it from that of a stranger," John x. 4, 5. From whence it ap-
pears, first, that it is by the doctrine that preachers should be
discerned, and not the doctrine by the preachers, as the papists
maintain ; and secondly, that the Lord's sheep are not of the
description of those of the pope, who receive with closed eyes
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 289
that which is presented to them, without examination or recog-
nition ; who regard the mitre and the cross rather than the
words and instructions of the preacher. As for outward ap-
pearance, the Lord has warned us that it is often deceitful ; that
wolves can disguise themselves as sheep ; and that the angels of
Satan are sometimes clothed like the angels of light. But the
truth is a certain and immutable thing, which can never be
abused. It is that which we must recognize, and for which
we must examine the doctrines that are presented to us, if we
wish to be capable of obeying the apostle, that is, of discerning
evil-workers, and keeping ourselves from their impostures.
Now this injunction of the apostle exposes alike the absur-
dity and impiety of the modern method, which enchains the
senses, and extinguishes the light of reason, not allowing us to
receive as certain any truth which is to be discerned by their
means. For how could the Philippians distinguish between
true and false apostles, except by applying the marks given
by Paul ? and how can christians of the present day discern
the true faith amidst jarring opinions, but by confronting every
doctrine with these rules, that is, by reasoning ? And it must
not be answered that the church saves us this trouble. For,
first, what church soever you may intend, I cannot assure my-
self that it is the true church, nor receive the witness it gives
to any doctrine, except with the assistance of my understand-
ing ; so that it is clear, that if all that is done by its interposi-
tion be fallible and uncertain, I can never have any firm and
assured belief in what the church maintains. For respecting
the church itself, these evil-workers, of whom the apostle com-
mands us to beware, often assume that title as boldly as those
who compose the true church in reality. And lastly, supposed
(but not granted, for God forbid it) that the assembly of those
who follow the pope composes the true church, how am I to
know what is really its belief on each point of doctrine, when
its ministers teach differently respecting it? For example: a
teacher presents himself who recommends the people to study
the word of God. To discern whether this be a good or an
evil worker I seek to know the Eomish church's decision on
this subject. At first it appears to me that it condemns this
custom ; for I read that the popes, who are its heads, say that
to permit the reading of the Scriptures to all indifferently
brings more vexation than profit, and they therefore forbid it
to all their people,* " except (say they) that the said reading
might be allowed to those to whom the bishop or inquisitor, with
the advice of the curate or confessor, should not consider it
hurtful." The succeeding popes add, in the observation which
they make on this article, f that the bishops, inquisitors, or su-
* Article 4. Council of Trent. f Observations on the 4th Article.
37
290 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVII.
periors of religious houses, must not suppose that by that they
have authority to give licence to any to purchase, read, or keep a
Bible in the vulgar tongue; such power (as they say) having
been taken from them by the command and usage of the holy
Eoman and Catholic Inquisition, and that this command must
be inviolably observed.
The cardinals Bellarmine and Hosius also, with the greater
number of the most celebrated writers of their communion,
have spoken on this point, and have argued in the same man-
ner. Yet nevertheless, other teachers newly arisen strongly
and positively deny that their church forbids the people to read
the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue, and boldly contradict
those who believe it upon the authority of their popes.
Thus also with regard to images : they accuse those of mis-
understanding their sentiments who believe that they give to
them more honour than to the Bible, the candlesticks, and
lamps employed in religious worship, although their last coun-
cil (Trent) commands them to uncover the head and prostrate
themselves before images, and although the public custom gives
them still greater honour.
In like manner, on the doctrine of assurance in the grace of
God, one will tell you that their church believes it, and others
that it condemns it ; and so on many other points. How then
can a thing so doubtful and obscure in itself regulate the judg-
ment to be given on particular teachers?
Let us then, leaving this uncertain method, cling to the truth
of God revealed in the scriptures, the only constant and un-
changeable rule of our faith, keeping ourselves carefully from
all those who would add to or to take from it, as from evil-
workers.
IV. But it is time to pass on to the latter clause of our text, in
which the apostle, to prove that he was justified in giving to
these false teachers the name of concision, as signifying cutters-
off, adds that to us belongs the true name of " circumcision :"
" For (says he) we are the circumcision, who worship God in
the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence
in the flesh."
It is evident that he here speaks of true christians, who em-
bracing with a lively faith the discipline of the gospel, serve
God in spirit and in truth, putting all their trust in his Son,
and not in any carnal thing.
In what sense then does he denominate christians " the cir-
cumcision ?" Dear brethren, the apostle by calling them thus,
and by speaking of them elsewhere as " the seed of Abraham
and the Israel of God," does not intend to say that they are
Jews properly speaking, that is, descendants of the patriarchs
after the flesh, but rather that they have by faith all the privi-
leges of God's ancient people, and that they are (as Peter also
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 291
says) "a holy nation, a royal priesthood;" all the dignities of
the first Israel having been derived by our Lord Jesus Christ,
and by him transmitted to the christian church. He likewise
does not here maintain that christians are literally circumcised,
but rather that they now possess all those advantages and sal-
utary effects which circumcision formerly bestowed or signified.
It was the seal of the covenant of God ; it incorporated with
his people and in the communion of his republic all those who
received it. Jesus Christ has bestowed both these privileges
on those who believe in him. Certainly then they have "the
circumcision ;" they have all the effects, virtues, and excellen-
cies of it, although they have not the literal mark. For the
Holy Scriptures usually designate by name rather the dignity
and value of a thing than its mere outward form. As, when
Isaiah says that alms and munificence are the true fast chosen
by the Lord, Isa. lviii., he intends to show that they possessed
all the excellence and value which were attributed to fasting.
And when the Lord Jesus says that " whosoever shall do the
will of his Father which is in heaven, the same is his brother,
and sister, and mother," he means that he holds them as in the
same degree of relationship ; that he loves them, and feels for
them, as though they were his brother, his sister, or his mother.
It is said also in another place, "that he that shall humble
himself, the same shall be greatest in the kingdom of heaven,"
Matt, xviii. 4 ; intimating that he shall have all the honours and
dignities which the disciples understood by that priority con-
cerning which they had disputed among themselves.
But this manner of speaking, which in itself is very elegant,
is of still greater advantage when, between the subjects whose
names are exchanged, there is a similarity capable of maintain-
ing such a change. And thus it happens in our text. For
though the christian receives not the old circumcision in his
person, he suffers nevertheless a certain separation which may
be so called, because it is the reality and signification of the
other circumcision. To understand this, you must know that
the " circumcision" of Israel was not merely the mark that was
made in the flesh. For then the Ishmaelites and other profane
people (who were circumcised outwardly as well as the Jews)
would have possessed the sacrament of circumcision. But in
it was contained a mystery, denoting the cutting away from
a man all carnal affections. That this was its sense and signi-
fication we learn from Moses, who thus taught the Israelites:
" The Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart
of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and
with all thy soul," Deut. xxx. 6. Jeremiah also commands the
Jews to " circumcise themselves to the Lord, and take away
the foreskin of their hearts," Jer. iv. 4. And Paul still more
clearly teaches the same truth, saying, " Neither is that circum-
292 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVII.
cision which is outward in the flesh : but circumcision is that
of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter," Kom. ii. 28, 29.
Thus the mystery and reality of bodily circumcision was
nothing less than a renunciation of flesh and blood; the Jew
professing by this ceremony to cut off from his heart every
carnal thought, affection, and desire, in order thenceforward to
serve God in spirit and in truth, attaching himself to him
alone, and putting all his trust in him, and not in man or in
the flesh, in which by nature we are so prone to place our con-
fidence and glory. This is the circumcision of which Paul
speaks, calling it " that made without hands," Col. ii. 11.
Now that the christian does suffer this sort of cutting away
when he receives the gospel of Jesus Christ is evident. For,
instead of that external circumcision which takes away but a
part of the flesh, the christian (as the apostle elegantly ex-
presses it, Col. ii. 11) " puts off the whole body of the sins of
the flesh ;" and again, " He has crucified the flesh with its af-
fections and lusts," Gal. v. 24 ; and having cut and torn it, not
with the sword of Moses, but of the true Joshua, the thorns
and nails of Jesus, he casts it from him, and buries it in the
sepulchre of his Lord.
This then is what the apostle teaches in our text, having
chosen those functions of our religion which relate to this spi-
ritual circumcision by which to describe true christians :
" We (says he) are the circumcision, who worship God in the
spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in
the flesh."
By serving God in spirit, he understands that spiritual
worship established by Jesus Christ in the gospel, consisting
of faith and the love of God, and in the continual practice of
piety, charity, and all those virtues which depend thereon, and
not in bodily exercises (of which the worship of the Jews con-
sisted) ; they having been but the shadows and types, of which
spiritual piety is the truth and reality ; and thus our Lord told
the Samaritan woman, that in his reign "the servants of God
must worship him in spirit and in truth."
The apostle tells us, in the second place, that we " rejoice in
Christ Jesus ;" that is to say, we make profession of the reli-
gion of this divine and heavenly Prince, in whom is nothing
carnal; calling on his name, and putting all our hope of eter-
nal life in him, and glorying continually in the communion
that we have with him. To this he adds by opposition, that
" we have no confidence in the flesh," that is, in any outward
or corporeal thing, our religion being altogether spiritual and
divine. From whence it appears, that no people in the world
can and may so exclusively claim the title of "the circumci-
sion," not even the ancient Israelites, to whom circumcision
especially belonged. For although in comparison with the
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 293
false religions then in vogue, they might say that they wor-
shipped God in spirit and in truth, having cast away from
amongst them the gods, the idols, and the carnal ceremonies
of the pagans; yet, to speak plainly, their worship was still
carnal, consisting greatly in washings, expiations, sanctifica-
tions, sacrifices, and other exterior ceremonies. They had not
in this respect altogether crucified the flesh ; whereas among
christians there is nothing of all this, their worship being truly
spiritual. It was the same with their glorying. For although
God was the author of their religion, nevertheless they gloried
also in Abraham and in Moses, and in their carnal extraction ;
so that in this respect again they had not cast away the flesh
from the midst of them; whereas Christ, in whom we place
our glory, has destroyed by his cross all that was carnal in
him and in us, and is now a heavenly man, having nothing in
common with the corruptions of flesh and blood ; on which
account the apostle says, " The Lord is Spirit," 2 Cor. iii. 17,
and that those who are called by him receive their dignity
" not of men, neither by man," Gal. i. 1 ; and again, " If we
have known Christ after the flesh, yet now know we him no
more," 2 Cor. v. 16.
And, lastly, although the confidence of the Israelites was
placed in God, yet they also in some degree trusted in the
flesh, since their temple, their altar, their sanctuary were
" worldl}'," as the apostle calls them, Heb. ix. 1 : and not only
was their worship "bodily," but even the priesthood depended
on flesh and blood ; whereas our Lord Jesus draws our love,
our confidence, and indeed our whole conversation, upwards
to the heavens, " the world being crucified to us, and we unto
the world."
If then, as is very evident, they best merit the name of
" circumcision" who have most absolutely and completely cast
away the flesh, then does this title properly belong to chris-
tians: the ancient believers having possessed but the shadow
and type of that of which we possess the reality and the spi-
rit ; we (that is) who worship God in the spirit, who glory
in the crucified One, and put all our trust in him alone.
From this it appears how impious and pernicious, as well as
ridiculous, was the superstition of those false teachers who
were endeavouring to introduce circumcision and the knife of
Moses among christians, as if the sword of Jesus and his gos-
pel were not powerful to circumcise them ; thus raising up
that which the Saviour had for ever buried, and concealing the
very mystery and signification of circumcision, which consists
in the cutting off and taking away of all carnal things ; in-
stead of which these unhappy people wished to re-establish in
the church a trusting in the flesh, exhorting men to place
their confidence in works and carnal services, rather than in
the alone grace of Jesus Christ our Saviour.
294 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVII.
It follows, then, that the apostle has justly taken from them
the name and glory of circumcision, which belongs solely to
us, and given them in contempt that of concision, since in
reality all their teaching served but to mutilate the body, the
spirit, the religion of true believers.
Thus, dear brethren, we have expounded to you this text of
the apostle. Let us now endeavour to profit by seriously ap-
plying its doctrine to the security of our faith, and the sanc-
tification of our lives.
Let us then, first, receive into our hearts this blessed Saviour
Jesus Christ, the Prince of life, who is presented to us here,
and throughout the scriptures. Let him dwell in us by faith,
and maintain peace and joy in our souls in the midst of the
storms of our earthly pilgrimage. Let our understandings be
enlightened with that knowledge which can alone render us
capable of discerning truth from error, or the traditions of
men from the commands of God. Let our minds be so habi-
tuated to his teaching, that we instantly know his voice from
that of strangers. For we have to do with evil-workers as
well as the Philippians, and we must not be surprised when
they discover themselves among us, since even in the time of
this great apostle, under his eye and in his brilliant light, peo-
ple were found bold enough to disturb his preaching, and en-
deavour to corrupt his doctrine. I leave it to their consciences
to examine whether it be not the flesh which prompts them to
act thus, whether it be not the desire of ease and advantage,
and whether the end of these works, of which they boast so
much, be not to have part of the good things of this life.
But be their motives what they 'may, I assert (from scripture)
that they are " evil-workers," who labour to ruin and destroy
what the gospel has built up ; who corrupt and disfigure what
the Lord has made and established; who mingle together
things incompatible, earth with heaven, flesh with spirit, Jesus
with his adversary. Let us, dear brethren, be content with
our Lord, and never suffer the pure and spiritual service which
he has prescribed to us in his word to be injured by the ad-
mixture of ceremonies and carnal observances, inspired by
fleshly minds, and not by the Spirit of God. For if the apos-
tle is so strenuously opposed to circumcision and the other
ceremonies solemnly and publicly instituted by Moses the mi-
nister of God, how much less should we be disposed to admit
into the religion of Jesus doctrines established and authorized
by flesh and blood, which proceed from Rome instead of Sinai,
from man instead of God !
But above all, O believers, take heed that you be the true
" circumcision " of God, serving him in the spirit, rejoicing in
his dear Son Jesus Christ, and putting no manner of trust in
the flesh, or, as Paul elsewhere expresses it, " renouncing un-
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 295
godliness and worldly lusts, live soberly, righteously, and
godly in this present world ; looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of our God and Saviour Jesus
Christ." If you possess this mystical and spiritual circumci-
sion, you will easily despise the other, as well as the whole
encumbrance of superstitious ceremonies. For the desire of
a carnal worship arises among christians entirely for want of
a spiritual mind; they have recourse to the external sacrifice
of their altars, in order to supply the defect of that internal
oblation which the apostle commands us to present continually
to God, i. e., our bodies, as a living sacrifice, holy and accept-
able to him, Rom. xii. 1. If their consciences had been truly
purged from the dead works of sin, they would not have re-
quired the flames of purgatory, holy water, or other carnal
purifications. If they had diligently given to the Saviour
that reasonable service which he demands, they would never
have had recourse to their fastings, their scourgings, their pil-
grimages, their confessions, and other bodily exercises, in
which, alas, nearly the whole of their religion consists.
To preserve yourselves from their errors, you then must cru-
cify the flesh, and serve God in spirit. Circumcise your hearts
with the sword of his word, and take from them the lusts of
the flesh, ambition, avarice, luxury, pride, envy, cursing.
Present yourselves daily to the Lord with a chaste body, with
clean hands and a pure heart, with a humble and holy mind,
raising these your offerings to heaven on the wings of faith,
and placing them on the only true altar, Jesus Christ, by whom
alone they can be accepted of the Father. This is the service
he demands from us ; this is the victim he graciously beholds ;
a heart full of pious desires, and purified from all affections
contrary to his word.
Let his Son, Jesus Christ, be all our glory, the only object
of our hope, the only object of our joy. Let his life be re-
flected in ours, so that those within and those without may
recognize the marks of this sovereign Lord. Let us ever seek
in him alone our justification, our holiness, our liberty, our
knowledge, our happiness, our life.
May our hearts and our confidence be detached from the
flesh and fleshly things, how specious and pompous soever
they may be ; and may we love, adore, and serve none but
Christ alone, so living and dying in him that we may have
part in his kingdom and glory. Amen.
296 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. XVIII.
SERMON XVIII.
VERSES 4 — 7.
Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other
rnan thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh,
I more : circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of
the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews • as touch-
ing the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the
church ; touching the righteousness which is in the Icau, blame-
less. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss
for Christ.
Brethren, well might John the Baptist warn the Jews who
came to him not to place their dependence on having had Ab-
raham for their father, Matt. iii. 9. For the presumption which
their extraction, and the privileges consequent upon it, pro-
duced in their hearts, was one of the principal causes of their
perdition.
Sprung from this ancient and noble stem, in covenant with
God, of which they bore the mark in their flesh, and in their
external observances, they supposed salvation must infallibly
be theirs. Vain idea ! which caused them to despise the study
and practice of the only true way which conducteth to salva-
tion. John, therefore, commenced at the root, and endeavoured
first of all to eradicate from their hearts this foolish and hurt-
ful imagination, as the principal hinderance to their repentance
and their happiness.
Our Lord himself spoke also to the same effect, showing
them from the first the inutility of those outward advantages,
and decrying the righteousness of the Pharisees, the wisdom
of the scribes, and all that was then in the greatest estimation
among the Jews; so that the first lesson he gave to Nicodemus
was, that if he would enter the kingdom of God, he must be
born again ; i. e., he must put away all those vain notions in
which he then gloried, and present another mind before God,
cleansed and purified from every presumptuous hope.
In fact, the love and admiration of these carnal advantages
not only hindered that unhappy people from profiting by the
baptism of John, but also prevented their embracing the gos-
pel of Christ. For besides those among them whose opinion
of their own righteousness kept them altogether from believ-
ing in Jesus, those even who, convinced by his instructions,
received his gospel, were also for the most part desirous of
mixing with it the ceremonies of Judaism, and retaining in
the school of heaven the rudiments of the earth ; so strong
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 297
was their affection for those things which birth and education,
strengthened by habit, had rendered venerable.
It is against the advocates of this dangerous melange that
the apostle argues in this chapter, (as you will remember,
brethren, I mentioned in my discourse on the preceding text,)
wherein he prays the Philippians to beware of such evil-work-
ers, declaring that by the Spirit of Christ we have every ad-
vantage which was vainly sought by the letter of Moses.
Now, to give more weight to his words, he shows them that
it is not through envy that he thus speaks, being himself as
well or even better furnished than they were, with all those
advantages of which they so much boasted. For it sometimes
happens that men, through extreme vanity, despise the things
which they do not possess. They rail at and decry such gifts
as they are destitute of, that their failing in that respect may
not detract from their merit in the sight of others.
Paul, to prove that no such reasons induced him to contemn
circumcision and justification by works which were taught by
false apostles, represents here, in a forcible manner, that he
failed in none of these things, nay, that he even possessed them
in a hio-her degree than those did who esteemed them so
greatly ; yet, notwithstanding the advantages he appeared to
have, he is constrained to declare that, whatever lustre they
may possess in the eyes of flesh, they are of no avail before
Jesus Christ.
As when some learned man, after having thrown contempt
upon philosophy and worldly knowledge, might add, to give
power to his words, that it was not that he was unable to enter
the lists for the prize in that sort of wisdom ; so Paul, in the
same manner, after having strongly repulsed those who pressed
the observance of circumcision and other rites, to demonstrate
that it is the truth itself, and not personal interest, which
prompts him so to speak, adds directly, " Though I might also
have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that
he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more." And
to convince them that he boasts not without reason, he enum-
erates at length all the advantages he possessed with regard to
these things : " circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Is-
rael, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews ;
as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting
the church ; touching the righteousness which is in the law,
blameless." But after all, he protests that, so far from build-
ing his hopes thereon, " he considers all these things as loss
for Christ," although, were he to follow the false teachers, he
should consider them as gain.
This is a summary of the apostle's meaning in the text ; and
that God may bless it to your further instruction, I purpose
to consider the subject under three heads : First, the declara-
38
298 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVIII.
tion of Paul, that lie had more than others whereof he might
trust in the flesh. Secondly, the advantages which he details
at length respecting the subject of this trust. Thirdly, his
solemn protestation, that he counts them all as loss for the
love of Christ.
I. The apostle had said, in the preceding verse, speaking of
himself and of all true believers, " We serve God in spirit,
rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,"
i. e., (as we have already explained,) we lean on no carnal thing,
Jesus Christ alone being the object of our hope and joy.
When, therefore, he adds, " Though I might also have confi-
dence in the flesh," it is evidently as if he had said, Although,
with regard to myself, I take the Lord Jesus for my only joy,
and place all my dependence on him, yet this is not because I
am conscious of being without those advantages which the
false teachers hold in such high estimation. Were I inclined
to follow their doctrines, and like them, mingle the services
of flesh and blood with my hope in Christ, I might also have
whereon to lean ; for I have abundance of those things on
which they build their hopes, and possess all the privileges
wherein they find their joy.
But the apostle goes even beyond this, and challenges, not
these teachers only, (who perhaps really possessed few of those
qualities which they so strongly urged upon christians,) but
all others, whoever they might be, convinced that none could be
found possessing as many of these external advantages as him-
self: "If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he
might trust in the flesh, I more."
Thus he ranks himself above them all, because they had no-
thing which he had not also (as we shall presently see) ; and,
on the other hand, he possessed many things in which they
failed. And here I beg you to remark carefully the apostle's
expression : he does not say, "If any man have" but, "If any
man thinketh that he hath ;" showing us thereby that all the
trust which these people placed in carnal things was but fancy
and opinion, they being in reality no just ground of confi-
dence.
For it is evident, and Paul has explained it more fully in
several of his other Epistles, that neither circumcision, nor the
observance of the Mosaic law, nor any other carnal service,
can be capable of justifying man in the sight of God ; so that
all who trust in them are greatly mistaken. Nothing but the
righteousness of Christ can reconcile us to God and shield us
from the curse. Yet it was the will of the Lord that this his
apostle, who so loudly contemned all trust and confidence in
the law or any external advantage, should not himself be want-
ing in any one of those things in which so many placed their
confidence. And herein is made manifest the wisdom of God;
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 299
the testimony of Paul being by this means purified from all
suspicion or reproach. It is in like manner that he employs
his pen (1 Cor. ix. 6, 7,) to recommend to the flock the main-
tenance of their pastors, because, having always supported
himself by the labour of his own hands, and having never re-
quired assistance from the churches he had planted, he could
treat the subject without being suspected of interested motives.
And for the same purpose God often calls to the knowledge
of his Son those who are gifted with the things most esteemed
in the world, as nobility, riches, learning, talent, whether in
arts or sciences, and other similar advantages, in order that
they may with greater authority declare the vanity of such
things, and teach men with more freedom to humble themselves
at the cross of Christ.
And those believers who are thus qualified should not be
ashamed, when opportunities occur, to detail the advantages
they possess in these respects, in order to confound the arro-
gance of worldly men who make such things their pride, and
to show them that it is not through envy that christians de-
spise them, but rather from the dictates of their conscience,
which can find no solid foundation of hope and assurance but
in Christ the Lord; all trust in the flesh and its works being
vain presumption.
Paul has inculcated this by his example. For he makes no
scruple of lowering the pride of these false apostles by enum-
erating at length the advantages he had according to the flesh,
and the confidence he might have drawn from them had he
been so inclined ; none of those external things being wanting
in him in which these people so greatly exulted, whether it
were nobility of descent, the privilege of circumcision, the ad-
vantages of learning, probity of manners, or purity of life.
This carnal superiority which the apostle possessed without
trusting in consisted of seven qualities, and these we will now
examine one after another, as he has enumerated them. First,
that he had been " circumcised the eighth clay." Second, that
he was " of the stock of Israel." Third, that he was " of the
tribe of Benjamin." Fourth, that he was " a Hebrew of the
Hebrews." Fifth, that he was by religion " a Pharisee." Sixth,
that he had been so zealous for Judaism as to have " perse-
cuted the church" of Christ. And seventh and last, that his
life, " touching the righteousness of the law, was blameless."
He names circumcision the first, because it was the first and
most necessary sacrament of the Jewish people, the seal of the
Mosaic covenant, the livery, mark, and glory of an Israelite,
which separated him from all the nations of the world, and
was the principal subject of controversy between the apostle
and the false teachers, who, above all things, contended for it,
and esteemed it essentially necessary to justification. But he
300 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVIII.
also particularly mentions having received it on the eighth
day, i. e. eight days after his birth, according to the original
institution and command of God ; and this added greatly to
the advantage of it ; for those proselytes who, from the dark-
ness of idolatry, had ranged themselves under the banners of
Judaism, could but receive circumcision at the age to which
they had attained at the time of their conversion, some in
youth, others in manhood, and others again in old age. And
although it was to them a great privilege to be admitted by
this rite into communion with the people of God, yet they
could not glory in it as much as those who were born to this
privilege, and who, from the eighth day of their lives, had been
solemnly consecrated to the service of God, and had worn his
livery and badge. Although it was an honour to receive cir-
cumcision at any age, it certainly was the greatest honour to
receive it on the eighth day. For this cause Paul expressly
mentions it among other external advantages, not merely say-
ing that he was circumcised, but that he had been circumcised
the eighth day.
To this he adds, secondly, that he was "of the stock of
Israel."
To have received circumcision on the eighth day plainly
proved that a person had been born of parents professing Ju-
daism ; but it did not prove that he was descended from the
blood of Israel.
The Gentile proselytes, having themselves entered into com-
munion with God's people, circumcised their children on the
eighth day, as well as the true Israelites. The apostle there-
fore is not satisfied with simply saying that he had been cir-
cumcised the eighth day : he goes beyond this, adding, that he
was of the race of Israel, to show the nobility and purity of
his extraction, that his blood was unmingled with that of
Gentiles, being derived from the ancient and illustrious root
of Jacob, the patriarch of the Jewish nation, and to which he
had given name ; that people (as you know) calling themselves
the " children of Israel," from the surname given to Jacob by
the Almighty, as a token of blessing, on the memorable night
that he had wrestled with him. This was the great privilege
of the Jews, and that on which they set the highest value ; for
with regard to circumcision, observance of the law, zeal for
religion, the light of knowledge, purity of life, and other
things of a like nature, the proselytes might equal them ; nay,
they sometimes greatly surpassed them in these respects, and
their history furnishes several examples of such being the
case ; but this nobility of descent was peculiar to the Jews,
and no foreigner could contest this advantage with them.
And if we consider the subject in itself, without prejudice,
we cannot deny that the advantages after the flesh were great.
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 301
For with regard to antiquity, which is generally esteemed one
of the most essential qualifications of nobility, there was then,
and there is now, no family in the whole human race so noble
as that of the Jews, who could show their genealogy clearly
and distinctly from Adam to themselves, that is, for upwards
of four thousand years ; whereas all those grand and illustrious
families who flourished among the Greeks and Romans, or who
flourish now in Christendom or elsewhere, are supposed to
have fully established their noble descent, if they can reckon
back for seven or eight hundred years ; and even the proudest
and highest cannot trace much further than that.
But if we consider the qualities of their ancestors, which
are the principal foundations of true nobility, who can be
compared to the Jews ? Descended from Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, at once the elect, the anointed, the holy prophets of
God, the most noble and illustrious persons of antiquity !
Whereas the genealogy of most other families is drawn from
foul and disgraceful sources, from the blood of a barbarian or
an idolater, sometimes even from a robber or a monster, cele-
brated more for his vices than his virtues.
Though, however, this true nobility of descent belonged
originally to all the race of Israel, yet it had not preserved
itself equally pure among the several families who had issued
from that root. For this reason the apostle, after having said
that he was of the stock of Israel, particularly signifies the
tribe to which he belonged, "of the tribe of Benjamin." For
I do not think he would have added this, except to show by
his family the purity of his extraction.
It seems that he mentions the circumstance in order to dis-
tinguish his blood from the pollutions in which great part of
that of Jacob was involved. For of the twelve tribes which
sprang from him ten had sadly degenerated, soiling the honour
of their nobility by their vices, plunging into idolatry, and
separating themselves from the communion of the ark and
temple of God ; for which they had been afterwards, by the
just anger of Jehovah, transported into Assyria, where they
had for the most part lost the purity of their extraction by in-
termarriages with the Gentiles.
The apostle therefore shows, that it is not on that side that
he is descended from Jacob, but from the family of Benjamin,
illustrious among his people, not only for having had the
honour of giving the first king to Israel, but still more so for
having preserved in itself, in conjunction with Judah and Levi,
the purity of divine worship, at the time when the ten tribes,
revolting from the house of David, gave themselves up to the
idolatry of the golden calves, established by the rebel Jero-
boam in Dan and Bethel.
Thus you see that the apostle's extraction was very noble,
302 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVIII
he being not only of the most ancient and illustrious nation in
the world, but also of one of the purest and most esteemed
tribes in that nation.
But he continues, " an Hebrew of the Hebrews." This name
of Hebrew (as you know) was especially given to the people
of Israel, and still continues to be one of the most common
appellations of the Jews ; although it appears that originally
the Chaldeans applied the word to all those nations who in-
habited the countries beyond the Euphrates; and that the
Egyptians gave them the same appellation for a like cause,
namely, that they dwelt beyond the rivers that separated
Egypt from other lands ; and if you attentively consider those
passages in Genesis where the word " Hebrew" is employed,
you will easily perceive that it signifies literally " one who
dwells beyond the waters." The posterity of Jacob, however,
having afterwards occupied the country of Canaan, the inha-
bitants of which were called Hebrews, the word began to be
applied to the Israelites, and in process of time became the
appellation of the nation. So also the language spoken by the
Jews during their occupation of Canaan, and in which the Old
Testament, both the law and the prophets, (except two or three
chapters of Daniel,) was written, is called, as well by ancient
as by modern authors, " the Hebrew."
Thus, therefore, the apostle, by styling himself " an Hebrew
of the Hebrews," signifies that he was a Jew by lineage from
father to son ; not having partaken of this privilege by adop-
tion or the conversion of his forefathers, but by a regular and
uninterrupted descent from that first ancient and noble stem
from which his ancestors themselves had sprung.
After having thus shown the dignity of his extraction, he
declares, fifthly, his profession or sect in the Jewish church,
saying that he was " by religion a Pharisee." In the original,
" as touching the law, a Pharisee."
Now it appears that the word " law " in this passage would
denote a sect, order, or profession, such as the order of monks,
or the societies of men or women that are found in the church
of Rome, and the word is often used thus in our common con-
versation. Thus, when the apostle was brought before the
assembly of the chief priests and elders at Jerusalem, he cried
aloud, "I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee," Acts xxiii. 6 ;
and afterwards, when pleading his cause before Festus and
Agrippa at Cesarea, he said, in like manner, that all the Jews
knew that " from his youth up, after the straitest sect of their
religion, he had lived a Pharisee," Acts xxvi. 5. In another
place also, (Acts xxii. 3,) he declares that, in order to be better
instructed in their doctrines, he had been sent in childhood
from Tarsus in Cilicia, his native city, to Jerusalem, where he
had been educated "at the feet," that is to say, in the doctrines
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 303
and discipline " of Gamaliel," a Jewish doctor of high estima-
tion. From these and several other parts of the New Testa-
ment, you will perceive that the Pharisees were at that time a
sect of great repute among the Jews, and generally the most
esteemed of any, as you would now describe the order of
Jesuits in the Romish communion, except that the Pharisees
did not dwell together in convents, but had their own houses
and establishments like other citizens ; at the same time com-
posing one body, holding the same doctrines, living under the
same discipline, and sustaining and assisting one another as
much as possible.
It was about a hundred years before the birth of Christ that
three sects arose among the Jews : the Pharisees, the Essenes,
and the Sadducees. No mention is made of the Essenes in the
New Testament scriptures, partly because there was scarcely
any difference between their doctrines and those of the Phari-
sees ; and partly because they lived retired in distant places,
having but little intercourse with the world. But the other
two sects dwelt in cities, in the society of enlightened men,
taking part in civil as well as in ecclesiastical affairs.
The Sadducees (as we learn from the writings of the New
Testament, from Josephus, and other Jewish authors) held
most extravagant opinions, boldly denying a resurrection and
the immortality of the soul, and even the existence of angel
or spirit, Acts xxiii. 8.
The Pharisees also maintained some dangerous errors, but
at the same time they held the fundamental truths of scripture,
believing the immortality of the soul, and the resurrection of
the body ; neither is there any proof of their having taught
(as some modern writers allege) the transmigration of the soul
after death. Thus they easily gained the ascendency over the
Essenes by the greater refinement of their life, and over the
Sadducees by the greater purity of their doctrine ; to which
must be added, by their extraordinary profession of sanctity,
which tinctured all their conversation and manners.
To this outward profession the scriptures relate, when they
inform us that they " made wide their phylacteries, and en-
larged the borders of their garments," Matt, xxiii. 5, &c; (i. e.,
they wore on their foreheads and on the edge of their robes
wide pieces of parchment, on which were written certain texts
from the law or the prophets ; and this is still a Jewish custom ;)
that they washed often and carefully their persons, their uten-
sils, and their furniture; that they fasted twice a week, and
gave tithes most scrupulously of all they possessed, even of the
smallest herbs of the garden, as mint and cummin ; that they
built and superbly adorned the sepulchres of the prophets ; and
that they would compass sea and land to make one proselyte.
"We learn also from other sources, that the devotees among
304 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVIII.
them slept on very narrow planks, or upon gravel, and that
they fastened thorns under their garments, which pricked their
heels and ankles in walking so as even to draw blood.
This austere manner of life, indicating so much zeal and
sanctity, procured for them the name of Pharisee, which signi-
nifies, a person separated and withdrawn from the world ; with
which indeed they professed to have nothing in common, hav-
ing entirely withdrawn from the vices of the multitude; call-
ing them in contempt, people of the earth, shunning their society,
and even considering themselves unclean if they had been ac-
cidentally touched by one of them.
It was to this refined sect that Paul belonged, both by birth
and education. But if his ancestors and preceptors had on
their part given him a birth and education propitious to Juda-
ism, he also, on his part, had so diligently applied himself to
profit by the advantages he thus possessed, that he had arrived
at the highest possible perfection of a Pharisee.
And this he shows in the two last clauses of the account
which he is here giving of himself, by adding that, " concern-
ing zeal he had persecuted the church," and that, " touching
the righteousness of the law, he had been blameless."
With regard to the first, we are informed by Luke, in the
Acts of the Apostles, that Paul took part in the murder of the
blessed martyr of Christ, Stephen ; and that afterwards, "breath-
ing out threatenings and slaughter," he devoted himself to the
persecution of the christians, and left Jerusalem with letters
from the high priest empowering him to carry thither as pri-
soners all the disciples of Christ whom he should find in Da-
mascus and its neighbourhood. He has himself also often re-
lated this sad story: speaking in the assembly of the Jews,
(Acts xxii. 3, 4,) he says, "Being zealous toward God, as ye all
are this day, I persecuted this way (Christianity) unto the death,
binding and delivering into prisons both men and women."
Again, pleading before Agrippa, (Acts xxvi. 9 — 11,) he thus
speaks, " I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many
things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which
thing I also did in Jerusalem : and many of the saints did I
shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief
priests ; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice
against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue,
and compeliedjihem to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad
against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities."
He also tells the Galatians, in the commencement of his
Epistle to them, that he had " persecuted and wasted the church
of God beyond measure, having been exceedingly zealous of
the traditions of the fathers," Gal. i. 13. Again, writing to
Timothy, he acknowledges that he was once a blasphemer, a
persecutor, and an oppressor, 1 Tim. i.' 13 ; on which account
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 305
it is that he speaks of himself to the Corinthians with such
deep humility, saying that he is unworthy to be called an apos-
tle, because of having persecuted the church of God.
He mentions it in our text to prove his extreme devotion to
Judaism ; and as he himself calls persecution a " blasphemy,"
a " wasting," a " ravaging," of the church of God, he highly
condemns it, and witnesses against himself that he had griev-
ously sinned in this respect. Therefore it is not his intention
here to class it among good and praiseworthy actions. He al-
leges it solely as an incontestable proof of his zeal for the hon-
our of Judaism ; a blind zeal, certainly, and not " according to
knowledge," but nevertheless ardent, and clearly showing the
sincerity with which he had formerly undertaken the defence
of his religion. The false teachers against whom he argues
were satisfied if circumcision were retained, and Moses were
made a companion of Christ. But Paul had gone much fur-
ther, desiring Moses to reign alone, and fiercely overturning
everything that opposed his empire in such a manner, that if
there were any profit or glory to be expected from having zeal
for Judaism, it is evident that Paul in this respect had the ad-
vantage of these pretended upholders of Moses.
Lastly, he adds, that whatever might have been his zeal for
the religion of his forefathers, the purity of his life and conver-
sation was in the same proportion. For it often happens that
enthusiasts, under the boiling of their zeal, conceal a very ir-
regular life, and shamefully violate, every day, the laws and
regulations of that religion, the name and outward forms of
which they are defending with so much warmth. There are
in history many examples of this, and especially among the
Jewish people. At the last destruction of Jerusalem, how
many wretched men were there, trampling under foot every
law, human and divine, and leading the most execrable lives
possible ; at the very time that they were such zealots for the
name and temple of Jehovah, as to be resolved to endure to the
last extremity, in his cause! But the apostle must not be
classed with such fanatics. He had been a Jew in truth and
sincerity, and in the midst of his zeal against Christianity had
observed with such strictness all that was enjoined by his re-
ligion, that he can boldly say in our text, " touching the right-
eousness which is in the law, blameless."
What then, (you will perhaps say,) while Paul lived a Phar-
isee, an alien from the grace of Christ, had he so fulfilled all
the righteousness prescribed to us in the law, that he can be re-
proached with nothing in that respect ? Did he fail in no
point in that righteousness which the law demands of men ?
Dear brethren, I answer, that by " the righteousness which is
in the law" he intends, and it is a common mode of expression
in the sacred writings, all the righteousness that is hy the law ;
39
306 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVIII.
that is to say, as much as the law could work in any man, even
in the best and most advanced among the Pharisees ; and this
is so far from being perfect, or even from being a step towards
admission into grace, that Jesus himself said, " Except your
righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Phar-
isees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."
As for the righteousness contained in the law, which consists
of a perfect love to God, a perfect charity towards our neigh-
bour, and an innocence and holiness of life maintained in every
point, neither Paul nor any other Pharisee has ever possessed
it ; as this great apostle himself has clearly shown in several
places ; but especially in the 7th chapter of his Epistle to the
Romans. And if any man ever had possessed this righteous-
ness, that man would have been justified by the law, (which is
absolutely impossible,) and would have had no need of Christ,
without whom we are told we can do nothing. These words
of the apostle have the same signification as in Rom. ii. 14,
where he says, "the Gentiles do by nature the things contained
in the law ;" that is, not the things commanded by the law, as,
to love God with all the heart, and our neighbour as ourselves,
(for how could the Gentiles do those things naturally which
the Jews themselves were never able to accomplish ?) but all
that which the law does for its disciples ; restraining and brid-
ling their outward man ; leading them to the admiration and
study of virtue ; and, in fact, accusing or excusing them in the
secret recesses of their hearts : and this the apostle calls the
work of the law ; because it is what the law does in us, and not
what the law prescribes to us : so he also, in the text, speaks
of the righteousness which is in or by the law, — not merely
that which the law commands, but that which it works in the
hearts and lives of its disciples.
This then is the righteousness of which Paul boasts; mean-
ing to say that he had shown forth in his former life and char-
acter all those good qualities which the profession of Pharisee-
ism required ; and that he could not be reproached with having
failed in one duty which his sect considered to be prescribed
by the law of God.
Thus it appears how truly the apostle spoke, in saying that
if any man might trust in the flesh, it would be himself, since
he possessed every advantage that was a ground of trust:
whether by birth, as a free Israelite, of the blood of Jacob, of
the tribe of Benjamin ; whether by instruction, having been
circumcised on the eighth day, and educated in Phariseeism,
the most celebrated sect among the Jews ; whether by devotion
to the cause, having been zealous even to the persecuting of
the church, and observant of every legal rite, so as to have ac-
quired a character without reproach. "But (says he) what
things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ." So
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 307
far frqtfi building my hopes on these carnal advantages, in
which the false teachers place their glory, I despise them all
since I have known and tasted the Lord Jesus ; and now con-
sider them, not merely as useless, but as hurtful to my salva-
tion. ,
II. This is the concluding verse of the text, in which the
apostle mentions two things : first, that these prerogatives that
he had in Judaism, and of which he had just spoken, "were gain
to him," or rather, had been gain to him ; and, secondly, that for
the " love of Christ he had counted them as loss." As for the
first, I must acknowledge that it Was no small step towards sal-
vation to be born in Israel, of the blood of the patriarchs, and to
be nourished and instructed from childhood in the knowledge of
the divine law ; which was to the church in its infancy as a school-
master, and an excellent means of bringing men to Christ : and
the apostle elsewhere says, that "the advantage of the Jew, and
the profit of circumcision, were great every way, but chiefly be-
cause that unto them were committed the oracles of God," Rom.
iii. 1 ; which grace had not been given to other nations, as the
psalmist tells us, Psal. cxlvii. 20. And they to whom the law
had rendered this good office of preparing and bringing them
to Christ, as Simeon, and Nathaniel, and many others, could
truly say that it had been gain to them, being born in Israel,
and circumcised, and instructed in the school of the law. But
this is not the case here. For the instruction that Paul had
had in the law was mixed with the leaven of Phariseeism ;
his mind was puffed up with his own merit, and his zeal was
full of rage against the Christ of God. How, then could he
say that these things were gain to him? Dear brethren, I
maintain that the apostle does not say this literally and abso-
lutely. God forbid that he should ! for this would, by one
stroke of his pen, efface all the truth of his doctrine, which
everywhere declares that there is nothing so opposed to salva-
tion as the leaven of the Pharisees and the presumption of
merit. Nor is there anything so abhorrent to God or so per-
nicious to men as the persecution of Christ and his members.
But he here speaks according to the notions he had formerly
held on this subject in his blindness and error, and according
to the ideas of the false teachers against whom he is arguing.
They " were gain to me," that is, in my opinion ; and with this
idea I gloried in them, and imagined that on them my salva-
tion depended.
For this was in reality the doctrine of the Pharisees. They
placed their hopes and their happiness in these carnal advan-
tages ; in being the seed of Abraham and the disciples of
Moses; and considered the furious zeal which they had for the
law as one of their highest merits, imagining that they did
God service in persecuting the christians. And all this would
308 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XVIII.
have "been gain to the apostle had he continued in Judajpm, as
the false teachers supposed he ought to have done. For by
this he would (according to their view) have obtained favour
with God and men ; he would have preserved the good-will of
his nation, and acquired reputation and esteem among his
countrymen by passing for one of their most accomplished
and learned doctors. But he protests, however advantageous
these things might have been to me after the flesh, " I count
them loss for Christ."
III. "When once the Lord had enlightened his mind, and de-
livered his eyes from the thick scales of ignorance which for-
merly covered them, he became altogether changed in judg-
ment and temper. He saw that that Jesus whom he had so
fiercely persecuted was the Lord of glory, the Prince of peace,
the everlasting Father, the only author and giver of grace.
He saw in him truth, righteousness, and salvation for men,
treasures of divine mercy, and the plenitude of the Godhead.
Satisfied with so precious and perfect a gift, he condemns his
former errors, and renounces with all his heart all those petty
advantages of birth and education which he had heretofore so
much admired, and resolves, like the merchant in the parable,
to acquire, by the loss of all he possessed, the inestimable
jewel that was to be found in Christ. He is so in love with
this treasure, that he not only leaves all he had, but hates all
for its sake. He does not merely confess that he can draw
no profit from his former merits, but complains that they are
hurtful to him ; that they have kept him long in ignorance,
and have prevented him from earlier enjoying peace through
Christ ; that they increased his furious zeal, and soiled his
hands with the precious blood of his sovereign Lord. For
although this last had been done in ignorance, he never ceased
to remember it with horror, and to reckon it the greatest mis-
fortune that had ever occurred to him. Thus Paul is to be un-
derstood, when he declares, "what things were gain to me,
those I counted loss for Christ."
But, O holy apostle, elect instrument of God, that which
was loss to thee has proved gain to us ; and it was for our
profit that the gracious Lord, who had separated thee from thy
mother's womb, did permit thee to enter so deeply into Juda-
ism, and to remain for so long a period out of his true church,
that so thy testimony concerning it might be the more effica-
cious to us. Certainly, dear brethren, the testimony of the
other apostles respecting the resurrection and divinity of our
Lord is authentic and worthy of belief, and whoever calmly
considers it must be constrained to confess that their witness
is true. But the testimony of Paul is stronger. For with
what can infidelity reproach him ? Can it say that he was an
ignorant person, easily duped in that which respects religion ?
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 309
He was a Pharisee from his birth ; instructed in the school of
the first master of his age and sect ; and very learned in all
the traditions and doctrines of the Jews, as his writings
clearly prove. Was it intimacy with Jesus, and friendship
for him, that induced him to uphold his religion ? He had
never seen him during his life, and, after his death, far from
loving or favouring, he had outrageously persecuted him.
And yet, behold him stopping suddenly in the midst of his
career of rage and fury, changed in a moment, adoring him whom
he had blasphemed, preaching him whom he had persecuted,
continuing several years in this new faith, and at length dying
for him whom he had formerly so often slain in his members.
What could have caused so wonderful a change? What
could have snatched from Judaism so obstinate a Pharisee ? so
attached to his sect by birth, education, reputation, interest,
manner of life ? What could have broken in one moment so
many ties ? What could have drawn forth from that heart and
mouth, hitherto sending out fire and flames against Jesus,
praise and adoration of him ? Dear brethren, it could have
been nothing less than the truth itself, manifested to him by
an Almighty hand, (as he himself often and fully declares,) ar-
resting and converting him on his way to Damascus.
Let us then embrace this divine Saviour whom he so elo-
quently preaches to us. Let us be converted with this happy
Pharisee. Let us believe, on the testimony of so authentic a
witness, that Jesus is in heaven crowned with glory and hon-
our ; that he is truly the Son of God, the end and object of the
law, the salvation of Jews and Gentiles, the true circumcision,
the root and offspring of David, the propitiation for sin, the
peace of the conscience, the light of the understanding, the
wisdom of the heart, the author of the justification, holiness,
rest, resurrection, and immortality of all believers. Dear
brethren, let us render to him the homage due to his majesty.
Let nothing separate us from fellowship with him. Let us be
zealous for his glory. Never let us suffer anything whatever
to divide with him our confidence and hope. Let us serve him
only, as he only has redeemed us. However useful and advan-
tageous a thing may appear, let it be as loss to us, or even as
a calamity, if it be prejudicial to the interest of Christ. Never
let us purchase ease, or peace, or even life itself, at his ex-
pense. Let us rather hate and despise all things for love of
him. Let that which is gain become loss to us, if hurtful in
the smallest degree to his service and glory. Nobility of birth,
abundance of riches, the hononr of our reputation, the excel-
lence of learning, the friendship of those among whom we
dwell ; all these I confess are great advantages. But if they
estrange you from fellowship and communion with Christ, if
they hinder you in the heavenly race, regard them as losses,
310 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIX.
as misfortunes. Do not hesitate to renounce them, and gener-
ously sacrifice this vain-glory at the foot of the cross, as did
Paul the Pharisee. Hold nothing so dear but that you can
quit it with alacrity for so good a Master. Kemember that
in reality there is nothing good, nothing useful without him ;
that all that men worship, out of him, whether it be grandeur,
or science, or morality, or even the deepest and warmest devo-
tion, is incapable of turning away from us the curse of God,
or of bringing us to his heavenly kingdom.
May the Lord himself impress these sentiments deeply on
our hearts, so that faithfully serving him in this life, we may
dwell with him in life everlasting. Amen.
SERMON XIX.
VERSE 8
Tea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency
of the hiowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that
I may win Christ.
Dear brethren, in order to be truly wise, it is not sufficient
to be able merely to distinguish between good things and bad ;
we must also discern the difference that exists among things
that are good, so as to set each at its real value, and esteem
those the most which are the most excellent : and it is in this
sense that many understand the apostle, when he desires for
the Philippians that they " may approve (or discern) things
that are excellent," Phil. i. 10. For if you consider this mat-
ter, you will perceive that the weakness of being unable to re-
ject the lesser good for the greater, is the cause of almost all
the miseries of men. They have less difficulty in discerning
good from evil, because of the immense difference between
them. But when two things that are good present themselves,
the desire of possessing both perplexes their judgment to that
degree, that they are unable to resolve to quit the less that
they may win the greater ; and instead of this generous reso-
lution, they continually, though uselessly, endeavour to find
means whereby they may keep both the one and the other.
From whence it frequently happens that they lose the whole,
because they were not satisfied with the better part ; like
the merchant, who could not resolve to save his life dur-
ing a storm by throwing the cargo of his vessel into the sea,
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 311
and therefore lost his vessel and his life together. In how
many countries and families does this error cause disasters
daily ! But who can enumerate the evils it produces in religion,
the most important object of our life ! It is this that causes
the destruction of the lukewarm, of the Nicodemuses, (com-
monly so called,) of all who would fain possess both earth and
heaven, both flesh and spirit, and, in fact, of the greater part of
those that perish. It is this that suggests to them all those
pernicious expedients which they adopt to their own ruin, fan-
cying they can, by these means, be exempted from the losses
and troubles to which the gospel subjects them, and can at
once maintain peace with God and with the world.
It was the same error which disturbed in its infancy the
christian church, from the endeavours of some within it to
mingle Judaism with Christianity. It was not that they hated
or despised Christ, but that they did not esteem and love him
sufficiently. If they had thoroughly recognized his sovereign
excellence, they would have been contented with him, and
would have found in him so full a satisfying of every desire,
that they would have wished for no other good. For this rea-
son, Paul, in the text, to guard the Philippians from this error,
shows them the estimation in which they should hold the Sa-
viour; and having already detailed all the advantages which
he possessed according to the flesh, he adds, that these things,
however great they might appear, yet, considered in them-
selves, must vanish before the light of the knowledge of Je-
sus ; and that, compared with the blessings the Saviour
bestows on his servants, they lose their value, and become as
dross or dung, or the very vilest things.
He had taught the same doctrine in the preceding verse,
where, after showing the prerogatives of his birth and educa-
tion in Judaism, he said, " But what things were gain to me,
those I counted loss for Christ;" and this I explained to you
in my last discourse on this subject ; and now again he takes
up the same idea, and enlarges upon it, adding, " Yea doubt-
less, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suf-
fered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that
I may win Christ."
The apostle thus repeats his words for two reasons: first,
on account of the importance of the subject, the noblest, the
grandest, the most necessary in the world. And it is very
usual for ministers thus to insist on essential subjects, if they
desire deeply to impress the hearts of their hearers ; and even
to repeat the same thing two or three times : and the best
masters of eloquence consider these repetitions, if well done,
among the greatest ornaments of language. Secondly, the
apostle wishes to show that he maintains the same feelings to-
312 AN" EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIX
•wards his Saviour as he had at the beginning. For it occa-
sionally happens that the novelty of things surprises and daz-
zles us at first, causing us to despise every thing besides ; but
when time has lessened the attraction which novelty gave, and
experience has given us more intimate knowledge of them, we
repent of having allowed ourselves to be deceived, and change
the opinion we at first held respecting them. Paul, therefore,
having said that, when he had once seen Christ, he despised
and counted as loss those advantages which he had formerly
prized, adds now that he is still of the same opinion. My
senses (says he) were not dazzled by the glory of Christ, which
at first struck me so forcibly ; it was not the novelty of his
doctrine which delighted me, and caused me to contemn all
that I had hitherto valued. I have always preserved the same
feeling in this respect as I had then. Time has not discovered
to me in my new Master anything which corresponds not
with that excellence which my first view of him promised.
The esteem and love I then felt and avowed, far from having
lessened, have increased within me more and more. And as
I then quitted all for his sake, and considered everything as
hurtful which separated me from communion with him, so I
do still, and am more than ever resolved to be eternally his.
I find nothing beautiful, nothing excellent, but in him, and I
renounce from my heart everything the world esteems, and
most willingly suffer the loss of all things that I may win
Christ.
These are the reasons that induced the apostle to repeat his
words. For though the all things of which he speaks might
be taken in their simple and universal sense, (as in fact there
is nothing in the world which ought to be compared in value
to Christ and his salvation,) yet the apostle's argument seems
to require that they should relate to what he had before spoken
of, namely, the advantages he possessed in Judaism. And our
French Bible connects them in the translation of the second
clause of this verse, where the apostle is said not merely to
have deprived himself of all things, but of all these things, i. e.,
of which he had just spoken. But this must not prevent our
understanding all that Paul had said respecting the advantages
of Judaism, as extending also to every other means of salva-
tion which men consider necessary, equal or preferable to, or
at least joining and associating them with, the gospel of Christ.
For if the blood of patriarchs and prophets, if the seal of the
Mosaic covenant, if observance of and zeal for the law of God,
if an unblemished reputation, are but small things compared
with the knowledge of Jesus Christ, if they must be regarded
as dross, in what class must we place ceremonies and tradi-
tions purely human, which were commanded neither at Sinai
nor at Zion, nor by the voice of a prophet, and have their au-
thority from superstition alone ?
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 313
But without going further into this subject, let us consider
what the apostle says in our text respecting those advantages
he formerly possessed in the Jewish religion. He declares that he
counts all these things as loss, and afterwards, that he has suf-
fered the loss of them, and esteems them but as dross. But
he is not satisfied with this ; he shows us the reason why he
made such small account of things apparently so advanta-
geous, " for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus ;" and
also his design in renouncing them, " that I might win Christ."
We have thus three subjects set forth in the text, on which, by
God's grace, we will endeavour to speak.
First, The excellency of the knowledge of Jesus.
Secondly, The uselessness and vileness of all such advan-
tages, and even of the observance of the law, as the price of
this knowledge.
Thirdly, The necessity of renouncing them all, if we would
win Christ.
I. Eespecting the first, this is not the only place in which
the apostle sets forth, above all things, the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ, to confound the superstition of the Ju-
daizing christians. He does the same in his Epistle to the
Colossians, (Col. i. 15-19,) where, arguing against this error,
to show how vain and useless was the addition which these
new teachers wished to make to the gospel, he represents to
believers the sovereign dignity of the Lord Jesus, the image
of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature, yea, the
Creator of all things in heaven and in earth; the Head of the
church, the first-born from the dead, in whom dwelleth the ful-
ness of the Godhead bodily, and in whom also are hidden all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Here, then, for the
same reason, he alleges the excellency of Christ, calling him
his Lord, not merely as a testimony of the ardent affection he
bore him, but also to show the insult offered to him by those
false teachers who would fain give to them whom he had saved
another Lord beside him.
The excellency of knowledge may be considered in two
points : either as regarding the things known, or as regarding
the use and fruit thereof. And for the first, we call that know-
ledge excellent which treats of lofty and elevated subjects ; and
it is in this sense that philosophers prefer the least knowledge
of the heavens, and the motions of the luminary bodies, to the
most intimate acquaintance with earth and its concerns, be-
cause the first of these subjects is much more noble and won-
derful than the other. And, secondly, we consider that know-
ledge excellent which is useful and necessary to us, and in-
creases the happiness of life ; and it is in this sense that the
same philosophers esteem the knowledge of morals, placing it
above the abstract sciences, because it is more needful for the
40
314 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIX.
conduct of our life ; and those among them are praised who
have brought the study of the heavens down to the earth;
that is to say, who, instead of amusing themselves by specu-
lations upon the motions and properties of the heavens, have
employed all their powers in the consideration of the nature
of man, of the end for which he lives, and the qualities neces-
sary to render him happy.
The knowledge of Jesus our Lord includes both these excel-
lences in a high degree. For surely Jesus Christ is the
grandest, the most excellent, the most exalted subject in the
universe; not a mere heavenly body or immaterial being, but
the Creator and Master of the heavens, the King and Lord of
angels, the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express
image of his person, his word, his wisdom, his eternal power;
in a word, " God over all, blessed for ever :" and, surpassing
wonder ! not merely God, but " God manifest in the flesh ;"
God and man in one person, in whom, as in a mirror, may be
seen all the perfections of the divine and human nature ; not
slightly and faintly represented, but vividly portrayed, or ra-
ther existing in the most perfect and exalted form; not in
type and shadow, but in reality and truth. In Jesus Christ
are made known the length, and breadth, and depth, and
height of the divine glories, secrets which no eye has seen, no
imagination conceived. In him is shown forth the incompre-
hensible distinction of three persons in one Being, and the
unity of one Being in three distinct persons. In him are
manifested all the attributes of God, his eternity, his infini-
tude, his power, his wisdom, his justice, his goodness, his pro-
vidence ; the designs of his eternal mind, and the mighty
works of his hands. In him are seen, not only the past and
the present, but also the future ; the diversity of times and dis-
pensations ; the origin, progress, and end of ages ; the won-
ders of this world and of that which is to come. And the
knowledge which Christ gives us is not a doubtful and uncer-
tain opinion, such as we acquire in the schools of men, whose
wisdom at best is but suspicion or belief; not a true and cer-
tain knowledge only ; but it is a clear and solid understanding
of these subjects ; a power of contemplating " God with open
face," as Paul saith, 2 Cor. iii. 18, God having rendered him-
self visible and palpable in Christ, in such wise, that who-
soever has seen him has seen the Father ; which John also de-
clares, " That which was from the beginning, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have heard, which we have
looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life,"
1 John i. 1.
But if the knowledge of Jesus Christ is excellent on account
of the grandeur of the object, and the clearness and certainty
of the evidence which it gives, it is not the less so on account
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 315
of its usefulness ; and it is in this sense principally that the
apostle considers it in the text ; because if this wisdom were
of no avail, it would not induce us to despise or reject things
otherwise advantageous to us. The results which arise from
a knowledge of the Saviour are on the one hand so grand and
divine, and on the other so important and necessary, that we
may truly say, It alone is excellent ; all other knowledge being
useless without this, and this being alone capable of rendering
us eternally happy.
For, in the first place, while other systems are either igno-
rant of or extenuate our evil condition, this knowledge in-
structs us respecting the greatness and the extent of our vile-
ness, showing us that, born as we are, and living as we do, we
must expect nothing but death and damnation. It reveals to
us the wrath of God kindled against the human race, his in-
exorable anger against sin, and the inevitable punishment that
awaits us. It shows us the blindness of those who falsely
imagine they owe nothing to the divine justice, as well as the
vanity of all means invented or employed by men to appease
the Almighty and win his favour. But having made us sen-
sible of our evil state, it places in our hands the true and only
remedy, Jesus crucified and raised again for us. By the blood
of that sacrifice, alone capable of expiating the sins of man
and of purifying his soul, because it is an offering equal to the
infinitude of his crimes, the wrath of God is extinguished.
Thus the knowledge of Jesus gives peace to the conscience,
chasing away from the soul the fear of the avenging anger of
God, which waged a cruel war within us by day and night. It
disarms the destroying angel of the sword that alarms us, and
heaven of the thunder which threatens us.
But it does not merely deliver us from the fear of hell. It
gives us the blessed hope of everlasting life ; it opens to us
heaven and its eternal sanctuary, putting us in possession of
that perfect and supreme felicity for which we have sighed even
before we were acquainted with it. For Christ in dying has
not only satisfied the divine justice, he has also obtained from
the Father's love, besides the pardon of our sins, the Holy
Spirit, heaven, and eternal life to bestow upon his servants ; in
token of which he was raised from the dead the third day, and
is now seated at the right hand of God, to administer his king-
dom, and to dispense life and glory to all who believe in him.
From thence he clothes his people with armour, and sends
them all things needful for their earthly pilgrimage : he sheds
into their hearts a joy that passeth understanding : he gives
them consolation in every affliction, and assurance even in
death itself. He fills their hearts with ardent love to God, and
real charity towards their neighbour, producing within them
true sanctification ; not a mercenary spirit like the Pharisees,
316 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIX.
who acted for hire, and served God only in order to profit
themselves, but a sincere and candid mind, which embraces
truth for the love of it, and in so doing considers itself entitled
to no reward, but simply as having done that which it was its
duty to do. And when, having passed through the trials and
labours of this life, they are called to the grave, he receives
their souls to himself, and preserves their bodies amidst all the
changes and confusion of the world, to be raised again at the
great day, and to be made conformable to the glory of his body,
when he will bestow on them his last and highest gift, and
elevate them to a participation of his glorious and eternal
kingdom.
Judge, then, believers, whether the apostle is not right in
calling the knowledge of Jesus excellent, since it produces
such sweet and precious fruits. I confess, however, that not
all who say they possess it are partakers of these fruits. But
such are presented for their acceptance, and to them belongs
the blame if they have them not. Although, to speak correctly,
no one truly knows Christ who is not a partaker of his right-
eousness and glory, because in this knowledge is life. " This
is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent," John xvii. 3. There-
fore Paul scruples not to say that none of the princes of this
world possessed the knowledge of God, alleging as a reason,
" for had they known it, they would not have crucified the
Lord of glory," 1 Cor. ii. 8. For how is it possible that a man
could know Jesus without loving him, without believing his
promises, and trusting in him? Now, all who believe in him
and trust in him receive his Spirit, pass from death to life, and
participate in all his precious gifts ; and it therefore follows
that they who are not thus in him know him not. " If thou
knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give
me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would
have given thee living water," John iv. 10.
Thus Paul confounds the false teachers of the circumcision,
proving to them that they had not the knowledge of Christ,
although they so loudly boasted of it, and even affected to in-
struct others therein ; because, had they really known him,
they would not, any more than himself, have made such ac-
count of the mere rudiments as to propose to mingle them with
the gospel. For that all the observances of the Mosaic law,
and all the advantages with regard to the flesh that can pos-
sibly be had, are of no value compared with Christ, is very
evident from what has just been said respecting the excellence
of the knowledge of him.
II. This brings us to the second point of the apostle's argu-
ment, in which he declares that, " for the excellency of this
knowledge, he considers all these things as loss, that he has
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIAKS. 317
suffered the loss of them, and that he esteems them but as
dung." Certainly it is scarcely possible to hold them in greater
contempt than this. For, in the first place, while the false
teachers recommended them as important, useful, and even ne-
cessary for the justification of believers, the apostle, on the
contrary, " counts them as loss," retarding, rather than ad-
vancing, the salvation of their souls. He adds, secondly, that
so considering them, he has renounced them all, and volun-
tarily " suffered their loss ;" just as a mariner who, seeing that
his merchandise is sinking his vessel, throws every thing into
the sea with his own hands, preferring rather to save himself
alone than to endanger his life by retaining the goods in the
ship. And, thirdly, the apostle tells us that " he counts them
but as dung." Now he who throws his merchandise into the
sea, does it with sorrow, constrained by the necessity of saving
his life, and when the danger is over, he remembers his loss
with regret. Paul, on the contrary, makes no more account
of the loss of those things of which he had deprived himself
for the love of Christ, than if they had been straw and rubbish.
For the Greek word which he here uses* signifies literally that :
a thing of nothing, nlthiness that is thrown away, as not being
merely useless, but disgusting.
And to understand more fully the sense and reason of this
doctrine of Paul, we must remember that the Mosaic law was
given but for a certain time, and as a certain dispensation ; to
be, as it were, a schoolmaster to the ancient people of God
until Christ came: not to justify believers, but to keep them in
fear, and discipline them unto obedience, till the church should
have attained (so to speak) the age of its majority ; as the
apostle explains at some length in his Epistle to the Galatians,
and in several other places. This era was now arrived ; the
legal economy ceased ; Moses gave up the people to Joshua ;
he put them into the hands of Jesus, his living Lord, to be
thenceforth under his guidance, to live at liberty, no longer
subject to the severity and the beggarly elements of the school-
master of their infancy ; so that all the bodily services which
they were accustomed to render became from that moment per-
fectly useless, because in Christ there is an abundance of those
benefits which, prior to his coming, were obtained by the law.
For what service could the law now render to us ? It showed
to the Jews the evil of sin, by the curses that were recorded
against those who were guilty of it. But the gospel of Christ
shows the evil of sin much more clearly and efficaciously, since
it places before our eyes the Son of God suffering an igno-
minious death to atone for our sins, and at the same time opens
to our view the everlasting miseries in hell, which they who
* ?.Kvfia.\a.
318 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIX.
die in unbelief and impenitence must certainly endure. Again,
the law discovered to man his weakness and impotence by the
endeavours it produced in him to obey it, as Paul explains
fully in the 7th chapter of his Epistle to the Romans. But
Jesus shows us this more clearly, telling us at once, without
any disguise, that of ourselves we can do nothing, and that
our whole nature is so dreadfully corrupt, that if we would
enter the kingdom of God, we must be altogether born again.
The law, by the spirit of slavery which it induced, kept the
Israelites in some measure to their duty, constraining them to
abstain from vice, and devote themselves to the study of piety
and holiness. But Jesus does this more effectually, transform-
ing our hearts into the fear and love of God, by the Spirit of
adoption, by the clearness and propriety of his doctrines, by
the beautiful picture of holiness which he proposes to us, by
the example of his own life, and lastly, by the many proofs of
the goodness of God, and the blessed immortality reserved for
us, which are scattered everywhere throughout the gospel.
And finally, the law represented the mysteries of Christ and
his kingdom, the value of his sacrifice, the assistance of his
Spirit, the purity of his worship. But what need have we now
of the shadow, since we possess the things themselves ? Of
what use to us could the types be, since we have the spirit and
the substance?
Thus you see that, according to the design of God, the ad-
vantages and sacraments of the law are of no avail since the
manifestation of his Son, and that those who now beguile
themselves with them lose their time and their trouble, as
completely as though, after the rising of the sun, they still
used the light of a lamp ; or as if, in the strength of manhood,
a person were retained in all the exercises and sports of child-
hood. Therefore those false teachers who desired to retain the
ceremonies of the law among christians, regarded them in
quite another light than that for which God instituted them,
supposing them to be, not instructions for leading them to
Christ, (and in this respect they could be no longer necessary,
since Christ was already come,) but as a means of obtaining
salvation, by the merit and efficacy of which man might be
justified before God. And this was precisely the error in
which Paul himself had formerly been, when in the school of
the Pharisees ; believing, like them, that circumcision, sacri-
fices, abstinence, ablutions, and other ceremonies of the law,
were really expiatory for sin, and merited the favour of God,
having been instituted by Moses for that end.
And it is on this account that the apostle here so strongly
decries all the advantages of the law, protesting that he counts
them as dross, that he rejects them as not merely useless, but
vile and abominable. Certainly the ideas the Pharisees enter-
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 319
tained were full of error, and at the same time the obedience
they rendered to the law was by no means such as the law
demanded of them. It was a mark or image of righteousness,
ornamented outwardly with fine colours, but within full of
falsehood and deceit ; and, to crown the whole, it was tainted
with the deadly poison of presuming to merit the favour of
the Almighty. However, supposing they had been all they
pretended to be, it is yet evident that every advantage they
could possess must be nothing in comparison with the excel-
lency of the knowledge of Christ. You boast, O Pharisee, of
being of the blood of Abraham, an Israelite, nay, a Hebrew
of the Hebrews ! But what is that compared to all we possess
in Christ Jesus, who has made us bone of his bone, and flesh
of his flesh, citizens of heaven, brethren of angels, children of
God, and heirs of his kingdom ? You glory in having been
circumcised, in carrying the seal of the covenant in your flesh ;
but Christ gives us infinitely more in which to glory, taking
from us the entire fleshly nature, and sealing both the soul
and body with the mark of his Holy Spirit unto the day of
redemption. You make a parade of your righteousness, and
tell us that it is without spot ; but what can you reply when
we tell you, that the righteousness with which our Christ
clothes us is much more perfect than yours can be, inasmuch
as it is divine and not human, eternal and not temporal, ca-
pable of meeting the eyes and the examination of God, and
not those merely of men ? But I will go further. Even were
you perfectly to fulfil the whole law, so as to have no need of
an atonement, and were you thus able to appear before the
tribunal of God, and justly claim all that he has promised to
entire obedience, still to you could not be given crowns so de-
lightful and so excellent as those which he has given to his
Son ; and although you would receive your reward, you would
not enjoy the kingdom purchased by his blood, you would not
share in the honours of Jesus, by being partakers with him,
animated by his Spirit, and members of his body, which are
certainly the highest honours a creature can possess.
From whence it is evident, that, whatever may be the ad-
vantages of the law, they fall very short of those which are to
be found in the knowledge of Jesus ; so that, in comparison
with them, they may well be counted as loss. And if you
consider in what estimation the Pharisees and Judaizing chris-
tians held them, who expected to be justified by the defective
imperfect obedience which they rendered to the law, it appears
that by thus regarding them they became an obstacle to their
salvation, their loss rather than their gain. ■ The apostle,
having been taught in the school of Christ, attacks their error
sharply, and exposes their preteuded advantages as mere things
of nought, protesting that, far from glorying in them, he has
320 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. XIX.
them in contempt. And he even ventures to compare them
to dross and dung, in order to show how great was the folly
of these people, who, in glorying in such things, were only
making crowns of straw and filth, which would soil and dis-
honour the head, instead of adorning it. As for himself, he
says, although the advantages he possessed were greater than
theirs, yet he has willingly suffered the loss of all, that "he
may win Christ." And this brings us to the third clause in
the text.
III. The apostle compares the things of which he has de-
prived himself to a price that he willingly paid to possess
Christ, and calls him a " gain," because he had found in him
infinitely greater good than all he had renounced ; a divine
instead of a carnal parentage ; a complete and perfect right-
eousness instead of a corrupt and imperfect obedience ; the love
of Grod instead of the favour of men ; the friendship of angels
instead of that of the Jews ; immortal glory instead of the vain
approbation of the world ; true peace in the conscience in-
stead of the mere assumption of it; happiness in the Spirit
instead of ease in the flesh ; in a word, all the treasures of
heaven and eternity instead of a few trifling and perishable
possessions in the earth.
But I must here entreat you, dear brethren, carefully to re-
mark what is shown to us by the apostle, namely, that in order
to win Christ we must deprive ourselves of all other things.
This pearl of great price is only to be obtained at the sum of
all that we have. Those false teachers did not openly renounce
Christ ; they professed to believe in him, and trust him ; they
even gave him the highest place in their esteem ; but they also
required that the sacrifices and ceremonies of Moses should be
associated with him as the proper means of man's justification.
But the apostle utterly condemns this union of the two. He
tells us we must be saved entirely by Christ, and must owe all
our righteousness to his free grace alone. He teaches that we
must either renounce him altogether, or serve none but him.
You insult him if you imagine that to be saved you have need
of Moses or any other being. But what ! (you will exclaim,)
in order to win Christ, am I then obliged to deprive myself of
all my worldly goods? Must I quit my nobility, for instance,
or my dignities, or my wealth, or the refinement of my man-
ners, my integrity, my strict justice, and other virtues which
are often found in those who know not Jesus ? Is it not pos-
sible to have part with him without abandoning everything I
possessed before ?
Dear brethren, I answer, that it is necessary to distinguish
between the real value of those things, and the qualities attri-
buted to them by nature or superstition. Paul, to become a
christian, did not renounce his extraction from the blood of
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 321
Abraham, but he renounced the absurd trust which other Jews
placed in this carnal nobility. He did not lay aside his pro-
bity and the righteousness commanded by the law in order to
give himself up to intemperance or licentiousness ; his conver-
sion rendered him more pure and virtuous than he had ever
been ; but he dismissed for ever all the pride that he had felt
in his own perfection. He did not lay aside good works, but
he did lay aside all presumptuous hopes founded upon them.
And when we discourse upon the righteousness of faith, it is
not that we blame or contemn good works, (God forbid,) but
we simply take from them the virtues which our adversaries
falsely ascribe to them, namely, of being capable of justifying
men before God. This is the leaven that spoils them ; this is
the fly that corrupts them ; this it is that changes their gain
into loss, and from jewels produces dross and filth.
As for riches and honours, and similar things, which are good
only in their use, and not morally so, we should detach them
from our hearts to that degree as to be ready instantly to part
with them, whenever it happens that we cannot maintain them
in possession without danger of losing Christ. You may be a
christian without being poor. But you cannot be a christian
without being willing to become poor whenever your Master
calls you so to be. In short, the doctrine and the example of
the apostle teach us to renounce everything that can only be
possessed without Christ, that is to say, everything incompa-
tible with his inward kingdom, with that entire rule which he
ought to bear over us ; everything that can hinder our saying
with truth, In him is all our glory.
Thus, dear brethren, I have explained to you this word of
the apostle. May God, who has given it to us by the pen of
his servant, engrave it in our hearts by the hand of his Spirit,
so that henceforward the Son may reign there with absolute
power: and in order to gain him, may we hold nothing so
dear that we cannot easily part from it, counting our lives but
as rubbish in comparison of preserving ourselves pure in him.
Let us then, first, bless God who has given us this know-
ledge of the Son of his love, the most precious of all his
treasures. Let us, with Paul, admire the excellency of this
grace, and learn from him to value it at its just price. This
knowledge, brethren, infinitely surpasses all earthly wisdom,
and even the wisdom of the law itself, though given from
heaven. All that knowledge of the ancient Israelites, so much
esteemed by Moses, and so exalted above the knowledge of
every other nation on the earth, was yet but the rudiment of
our gospel : compared with it, it was but like the twinkling
of a star, dimly discerned through the darkness of the night,
or the pale light of a lamp, feebly indicating the glory of the
noon-day sun. I will say more : the knowledge of Christ is
41
322 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XIX.
above the knowledge that Adam had, or could have acquired,
in Paradise. It is even more excellent than the light which
angels possessed before the manifestation of the Saviour. Let
us then praise the Lord for thus enlightening our minds ; for
thus in his infinite mercy separating us from the rest of the
world, which lieth in the darkness of nature or superstition ;
and vouchsafing to send us his apostles and prophets to teach
us the knowledge of the mystery of Christ. Oh, let us profit
by his goodness, and be attentive to his instructions. Let us
leave all other subjects to study this ; and, with Paul, let us
resolve to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Let us give ourselves no rest until we become acquainted with
him. For the light we possess, which shines brightly in the
midst of us, will but aggravate our misery, and enhance our
condemnation, if we make not the. proper use of it. Its real
use is to dispose our hearts, like that of Paul, to admire and
love Christ above all things, and to esteem as filth and dross
whatever places itself in competition with him. And, in fact,
brethren, there is not, and there never can be, anything on
earth comparable to this gracious Lord, whether for the excel-
lence of his gifts, or the means by which he bestows them on
men.
The Paradise of Eden and its delights were but types of the
glorious and perfect beatitude which God has prepared for the
members of his Son ; so that had we been enabled to perform
the whole law, and been on the point of receiving the reward
promised under the first covenant, and had the happiness de-
rived from Jesus been then offered to us, we should certainly
have quitted the former to embrace the latter, renouncing
Adam and his Paradise to obtain Christ. But, alas, these are
not the terms offered to us. In the case described, not to
choose Christ would be a loss truly ; but it would be only the
loss of a greater benefit, while the lesser would still remain to
us. But now there is no middle line between communion with
Christ or the most awful reverse. We are somewhat in the
condition of princes, who cannot descend to a private station,
they must perish or reign. It is the same with us. We must
either reign with Jesus, or perish for ever with devils ; either
enjoy the most perfect happiness, or suffer the utmost misery ;
because, being sinners, we can be saved only by Christ, and
whom he saves he renders happy to all eternity.
Let us then embrace his salvation with our whole hearts,
both on account of his excellence and our own necessity. Let
this great truth be stamped upon our minds, that out of him
everything is mortal and evanescent. You behold the wrath
of God revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of
men ; time which ends with the world ; death which spares
none ; riches, honours, men, families, villages, empires passing
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 323
away one after another, and leaving no traces behind them ; a
secret and inevitable decree sapping the foundation of things
apparently the most solid; ravaging and carrying away all
things, and plunging them, like the deluge of old, into a dark
and deep abyss from whence there is no return. These things
you behold now. But those which are yet invisible are infi-
nitely worse; hell-fire unquenchable; the worm that never
dies, but is eternally gnawing impenitent sinners!
Remember, therefore, that Jesus Christ alone, like another
Noah, saves from destruction all who take refuge in his ark,
which now stands open to receive them. That ark, sinners, is
your only hope. Oh, flee to it. Disengage yourselves from the
trammels of this world, and forsake all to gain it. Reject what-
ever might retard you in the pursuit of so requisite an end,
and scruple not to say to those who would dissuade you from
your purpose, though they were even your parents or best
friends, " Get thee behind me, Satan ; thou art an offence to me."
Remember, yon have nothing so precious as your soul ; no-
thing so sacred, so essential as fellowship with the Saviour;
that for him it is needful to " hate father, mother, wife, chil-
dren, brothers, sisters, and even our own life :" and that to ob-
tain his salvation it is necessary, in the language of scripture, "to
cut off our hands, or our feet, or even to pluck out our eyes."
it being "better to enter into life halt or maimed, rather
than having two hands or two feet to be cast into hell-fire."
Unhappy sinner! of what avail can those honours and those
pleasures be which you so dearly love, if you lose your own
soul ? How can you be so ill-advised as to prefer such vanities
to the Lord Jesus, the King of glory, the life and happiness
of mankind ? How is it you do not understand, that in losing
him you lose everything, but by gaining him you lose no-
thing? If you are willing to quit these things for his sake,
he will give himself entirely to you. He will give you the
peace of the Father, the consolation of the Spirit, and a bless-
ed immortality. And is not the acquisition of so great a ben-
efit at the expense of such mere trifles an inestimable gain ?
But, my friends, we have been hitherto spared, and have ex-
perienced no temptation, save " that which is common to man."
At present, our Lord has not required us to shed our blood
for his sake, or to deprive ourselves of our goods, though,
were he to demand these things, they would be nothing to the
price he has given for us. He requires only that we renounce
every evil thing, ambition, avarice, hatred, strife, envy; that
we consider all sin as a monstrous thing, for so in fact it is ;
that we hold it in abhorrence, and look upon it as abominable
filth; and that we at all times prefer his glory to the gratifica-
tion of our own sinful lusts.
Let us then obey these reasonable demands, and in order
324 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XX.
to win the Saviour, who thus so graciously presents himself to
us both in his word and ordinances, let us cast away every
thing of a sinful nature, and accustom ourselves so to behold
and taste the value of this divine Eedeemer, that at length we
may be enabled for his sake to despise every earthly good, and
to say with the apostle in sincerity of heart, " Yea, doubtless,
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but dung that I may win
Christ." Amen.
SERMON XX.
VERSES 9 — 11.
And {that I may) be found in him, not having mine oivn righteous-
ness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may
know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship
of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death ; if by
any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
We read in the book of Genesis that Adam and Eve, im-
mediately after their fall, perceiving their nakedness, sewed
fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons ; that, hearing
the voice of the Lord, they hid themselves from him among
the trees of the garden ; that the Almighty, after having con-
victed them of their sin, and pronounced their sentence of
condemnation, (ameliorating his threatened judgments by giv-
ing them the hope of restitution through the seed of the
woman,) condescended himself to " make them coats of skin,
and clothe them."
As all things contained in the ancient scriptures relate to
Christ, who is the sum and substance of them, I have no
doubt, brethren, that this wonderful transaction represents to
us some of the mysteries of his gospel. Now in my opinion
the first part of this mystical picture describes the feelings
and sentiments of sinful man in the state in which he is born.
He is not so brutish that he cannot perceive his misery, and
the nakedness of his nature, despoiled of that innocence and
holiness which ought to dwell therein. This sense of naked-
ness induces him to seek some covering to conceal his sin and
shame, and enable him to appear in the light without blush-
ing. But instead of providing himself with suitable clothing,
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 325
he does but industriously sew fig leaves together ; a vain and
useless attempt, too well describing the expiations, satisfactions,
and pretended righteousness which nature and superstition
have invented to conceal sin, and justify man in the sight of
God. For as the fig leaf is rough and unpleasant to the touch,
and, moreover, its edges so divided and cut, that it necessarily
leaves some part of the body uncovered ; so the superstitions
and ceremonies which the heathen, the Pharisees, and all others,
ancient or modern, who would justify themselves, have in-
vented to hide sin, (the shame of our nature,) are difficult and
wearisome to the mind, and are, moreover, unequal to the task
assigned them, being utterly incapable of concealing our na-
kedness. And therefore it often happens, that those who beguile
themselves with such things (though they may strut before
men, and talk loudly of their expiations and their merits, fan-
cying they have sufficient not only for themselves, but for
others also) no sooner hear the voice of God coming to judge
them, than, like Adam and Eve, they flee trembling from
him, conscious of the impotence of the miserable fig leaves
with which they are adorned, and vainly wishing to hide their
nakedness from the eyes of their sovereign Judge.
This appears to me the mystical meaning of the first part
of this wonderful history. But what can be the signification
of the second part — God himself making coats of skin for
Adam and Eve, and clothing them therewith ? Dear brethren,
it is an image of the infinite mercy which God has shown to-
ward us in the person of his Son Jesus. Adam, that is to say,
man, with all the fertility of his invention, supplies himself
with nothing but useless leaves. God alone, in his goodness,
has provided a garment capable of concealing our nakedness,
and of enabling us to appear in his presence without shame
and without fear. The substance and quality of the clothing
made for Adam represents in a lively manner that mystic gar-
ment which God has bestowed on us by his Son. For Adam's
covering was not made of flax, or of hemp, or of wool, or of
silk, or of any of those articles which man employs for this
purpose, but of skins, as the scripture tells us; of the skin of
some animal put to death in order to clothe our first parents ;
thereby signifying to us, that the robe with which the Saviour
by grace covers his people must cost that blessed Lamb his
life, being taken from him who is sacrificed for us. For, as
you well know, his death is our life : he has shed his blood to
cover our nakedness, and conceal our shame; and by his death
alone his saints are invested with their immortal robe of glory.
As the clothing of Adam was a gift from God, and not the in-
vention or work of man ; so the righteousness of Christ is a
gift from heaven, and not a production of the earth. It is given
to us by the free grace of God, who, in his wisdom, designed,
326 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XX.
formed, and made this mystical garment, of which neither an-
gels nor men could have conceived an idea. And as the cloth-
ing provided for Adam was suitable to his need, and fit for the
purpose designed, not unseemly and imperfect, like the absurd
fig leaves of his own sewing together ; so the righteousness
of the Lamb of God has every requisite for our complete jus-
tification, being perfect and entire, and suited to our necessi-
ties in every respect, and not defective, like the supposed
merits of men, which are in reality more likely to hurt and
disgrace than to clothe and adorn us.
It is of this righteousnes of God that Paul speaks to us to-
day, brethren, in the text which you have heard. He had seen
how useless and imperfect was that with which the disciples
of superstition or of the law imagined they could appear be-
fore God, having formerly lost his time and trouble in adorn-
ing himself with those vain leaves while he was yet in the
school of the Pharisees. But the eyes of his understanding
having been enlightened from heaven in a miraculous manner
to see the wonderful treasures of the Lord Jesus, he instantly
and for ever quitted the false splendor of his Pharisaic cloth-
ing, casting it away as no better than mere fig leaves, and gave
himself entirely to the Saviour ; thus putting aside the gar-
ments of the first Adam to adorn himself with those of the
Second. He had begun this subject in the preceding verse, in
which he declares, as you will remember, that " he had suffered
the loss of all (these) things, counting them as dung, that he
might win Christ." He now enforces this proposition, showing
us more especially in what the " gain" of possessing Christ con-
sisted ; and what were the effects of that fellowship with him
which he was so desirous to possess : " That I may be found
in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the
law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the right-
eousness which is of God by faith : that I may know him, and
the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suf-
ferings, being made conformable unto his death ; if by any
means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead."
The apostle in this rich and magnificent, though brief, lan-
guage, declares to us that which he expected from the Lord
Jesus, and which he actually gives to all who truly believe in
him.
First, He clothes them with " the righteoLisness of God by
faith."
Secondly, He gives them a part in " the power of his resur-
rection."
Thirdly, He makes them " conformable to his death." And,
Lastly, he conducts them to his glorious " resurrection ;" and
this includes all the principal mercies that we receive from God
by his Son: it is by him that we are justified and sanctified;
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 327
by him we are armed with patience to endure afflictions; and
by him we shall at length be raised in glory. These, therefore,
if it please God, shall form the four subjects of the present dis-
course : the righteousness of God in Christ ; the power of his
resurrection ; the fellowship of his sufferings ; and the resur-
rection from death to which we aspire.
I. To commence, then, with the first clause, the apostle tells
us that he renounced all other advantages in order that he
" might be found in Christ, not having his own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." To be
found, in the language in which the apostle wrote, is gener-
ally expressive simply of to be, and in the text, therefore, to be
found in him, signifies to be in him: however, the common
mode of expression may perhaps be best here. For when God
comes to judge men, he finds them in opposite states ; some
without Christ, having no fellowship with him ; others in Christ,
trusting to him alone, and united to him by a pure and simple
faith. The apostle desires to be of the number of these last,
well knowing that out of Christ nothing is to be expected but
condemnation and misery ; and therefore to this end he, as it
were, quits himself, he casts away every advantage that be-
longed to him by birth and education, to put on Christ ; so
that when the sovereign Judge shall come, or the accuser pre-
sent himself, he may be found in Christ, in his body, in his
vine. It appears that he here alludes to what he had said be-
fore, that he counted all things loss, and most willingly de-
prived himself of them, that he might win Christ ; adding now
that he had done so to be found in him, or, to find himself in
him; and this signifies that the loss of all was very advanta-
geous to him, since instead of those things of nought of which
he had deprived himself, he now possessed Christ, being lost
in himself to be saved by him. And truly there is but this
one Saviour in whom man can be found ; he is lost if he relies
on any other : and, on the contrary, whatever loss he may sus-
tain to win Christ, he finds again in him; as saith our Lord on
another subject, " Whosoever will save his life shall lose it ;
but whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it,"
Matt. x. 39.
But the apostle, in order to mark more especially the object
he seeks, and, in fact, finds in Christ, adds, " not having mine
own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God
by faith." God being of purer eyes than to behold sin, will
never communicate himself to the creature who is guilty of it,
while he remains unpunished ; there are therefore but two
methods of appearing in his presence and partaking of his fa-
vour : the one is, by proving that we are free from sin, having
328 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XX.
perfectly fulfilled his commands ; the other, by receiving mercy
and grace through the satisfaction of Jesus Christ, who by his
obedience even unto death, has made an atonement for sin, and
appeased the wrath of God. The first of these two ways is
that which the apostle calls in the text, "his righteousness,
which is of the law ;" the second, " the righteousness which is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God
by faith." He had formerly followed the first way, while in
the darkness of Phariseeism, expecting to be justified (that is,
declared righteous, and treated by God as such) by the works
of the law, in virtue of that obedience which he daily studied
to render to its commands. And these false teachers, by rea-
son of whom he seems partly to have penned this Epistle, still
retained the same error while professing Christianity, subject-
ing believers to the law, and supposing that these observances
which they added to the gospel would be the means of justify-
ing them in the sight of God. But Paul, enlightened by the
Lord, altogether rejects this way of justification, showing a't
some length, in the first five chapters of his Epistle to the Eo-
mans, that in the present state of man it is impracticable ; and
again, he carries on the same argument in the Epistle to the
Galatians. And indeed, if we consider the subject calmly, this
truth is self-evident. For as the law curses with inexorable
rigour whoever should fail in one point which it commands ;
and as it appears, on the other hand, both by the word of God,
and the answer of the conscience, that there is no mortal man
who has not sinned, and who fails not continually in that obe-
dience which the law demands ; who does not see that if he
were to have the boldness to present himself before the tribu-
nal of the law, he could but bring thence confusion and cur-
sing ? Yes, it is impossible that man can be saved by the law.
It is on this account that David entreats the Lord not to enter
into judgment with him, adding that in his sight no flesh could
be justified, Psal. xiv. 3. But there is no need to insist on this
point. The authority and the example of the apostle are suffi-
cient for us, and he loudly and clearly renounces it in the text,
" the righteousness which is of the law." But blessed for ever
be the Lord, who in the inexhaustible treasures of his wisdom
and mercy has found another method of justifying the sinner,
not only possible but easy, by sending his Son to be the pro-
pitiation for our sins, and through his blood making a new
covenant with us, which saith not, as the old covenant, " Do
this, and live," but, "Believe, and thou shalt be saved;" so that
whosoever believes obtains remission of sins, and access to the
throne of God, there to receive the fruits of grace, peace, con-
solation, sanctification, and in the end a blessed immortality ;
all in virtue of that obedience which Jesus rendered to the
Father on the cross, where he was made sin and a curse for us,
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 329
his agonies being imputed to us as though we had suffered
them. It is to this righteousness Paul alludes. This he de-
sires to possess as the only means of obtaining the peace of
God, as the only title to salvation and to life. He knows that
no other can stand before an all-searching God ; that no right-
eousness but this can meet his view. He calls it righteousness
because it is by it that we are justified, being dealt with by
the Lord as though we were perfectly righteous, as though we
had never committed a sin against him. He tells us it is by
the " faith of Christ," (that is by the faith we possess in the
gospel of Christ,) because it is communicated to the believer in
Jesus, according as the scriptures teach in an infinite number
of places. " He that believeth in the Son is not condemned,
but is passed from death unto life," John iii. 18, 36. And there-
fore the apostle elsewhere says, that whoso believeth on him that
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness,
Rom. iv. 5, because it occupies the place of righteousness ; this
faith obtaining from God all the recompense that is promised
to the most perfect obedience, even as it is said of Abraham,
" He believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteous-
ness."
The apostle adds, that this " righteousness is of God by faith,"
because it is God alone who established us therein, who hath
given us the Son, the foundation of our faith, having revealed
him from heaven, and who communicateth this righteousness
in imputing to the believer the obedience of the Mediator, re-
garding him with a favourable eye when thus clothed as it
were with Jesus, and crowning him with all the benefits he
purchased by his death upon the cross.
Our adversaries of the church of Rome, who retain in some
degree the doctrine of those whom the apostle here condemns,
interpret these words in another manner, and understand by
" the righteousness which is of God by faith," the good works
Paul performed after he became a christian, pretending that
through their means he was justified before God, and therefore
calls them " the righteousness of God by faith," because they
were the fruits of his faith in Christ. But this interpretation
upholds a doctrine full of vanity and pride, condemned by the
apostle a hundred times, namely, that man may be justified by
his works : it strains and perverts the whole text, and makes
void the contrast which Paul expressly draws between " the
righteousness which is by the law," and " the righteousness of
God," which he desired to possess in Christ ; it being^clear, even
according to our antagonists, that he might equally well call
the good works which he performed when a christian his
" righteousness which is by the law," as those which he had per-
formed when a Jew, since it was himself who did them ; since
they were done according to the law, which commands us to love
42
330 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. XX.
God with all our heart, and our neighbour as ourselves ; and
since he wrought them, if you believe the Kornish church, with
a view to be justified by them, according to that word of the
law, " Do this, and live." But this explanation evidently in-
jures the cause of the apostle. For those of whom he had been
discoursing also professed to have embraced the gospel, and
maintained that the good works by which they expected to be
justified were fruits of faith in Christ ; so that if the apostle's
righteousness consisted also in good works, he was wrong for
having argued so forcibly against them. He ought only to
have forbidden circumcision and the other ceremonies which
these people retained, leaving to the works commanded by the
moral law the glory they ascribed to them, that of being the
cause of our justification ; instead of which he everywhere dis-
putes against this doctrine, absolutely denying that man can
be justified by the works of the law ; and placing expressly
among the advantages that he had renounced all " the right-
eousness that is by the law," in which, until then, he had been
irreproachable ; and it is evident the works of the moral law
are equally intended with those of the ceremonial.
And as for that which some allege, that the righteousness
which Paul renounced proceeded from his own free-will, while
that which he desired to find in Christ was derived from the
grace of the Holy Spirit, if the apostle had had any intention
of marking this difference, it is strange that he says nothing
respecting it, either here or elsewhere ; all his argument being
against the power attributed to good works of being able to
justify man, and not against the principle from whence they
proceeded. Again, is it not very clear that these people held
that their works were the offspring of their own free-will, after
they had received the gospel? and it appears they main-
tained on this subject an opinion similar to that which is
taught in most of the Eomish schools, namely, that good works
spring partly from grace, and partly from free-will.
But they add, that the righteousness the apostle desired
must be understood as a righteousness inherent in his person,
and not imputed by the grace of God, because he says he is in
Christ, and those who are in him, by virtue of that fellowship,
are really sanctified in their hearts ; and this, they suppose, is
signified by the words, " that I may know him, and the power
of his resurrection, and the fel]owship of his sufferings;"
which, however, evidently signify the sanctification produced
in us by the communion we have with Jesus crucified and
raised again. Thus far I most willingly allow, that every
man, who by a true and lively faith enters into communion
and fellowship with Jesus, is, by the mercy of God, transformed
into a new creature, and " created unto good works," that he
may walk therein in fear and trembling, as the apostle has
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 331
taught us elsewhere : " Who has given himself for us, that he
might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify us unto himself
a peculiar people, zealous of good works," Tit. ii. 14 ; and
again, " If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature," 2 Cor.
v. 17 : and I grant also, that Paul, the chosen vessel, abounded
in these divine fruits more than any other disciple of the Lord.
We dispute this with none. We simply contend that, upon
the subject of appearing before God to partake of his grace
and glory, neither Paul nor any other true believer trusts to
anything but the death and passion of the Lord Jesus. No
believer depends upon his works for justification, however ex-
cellent they may be.
Be it then that Paul, by the efficacy of fellowship with Je-
sus, and by virtue of his death and resurrection, was greatly
sanctified, and produced excellent fruits of piety and charity
(as I believe, and for which I praise God) ; it does not there-
fore follow that this holy apostle pleaded his works as his
righteousness before the tribunal of the Lord, or that he in-
tends to speak of them here by the " righteousness of God,"
as opposed to his own, or " the righteousness which is of God
by faith," opposed to that which is " by the law." On the
contrary, the distinction he draws between " the knowledge of
Christ and fellowship with his sufferings," and the possession
of the " righteousness of God," as of effects and cause, evi-
dently proves that this righteousness, and the holiness depend-
ing thereon, are separate things.
The righteousness of God, which we have in his Son, is the
principle, the source, the cause ; holiness is the fruit, the
stream, the effect ; good works, as one said formerly, follow-
ing, and not preceding justification; an evident token that
they are not the cause of it. This truth is so clear, and so
needful for the peace of the soul, that our adversaries are con-
strained to join hands with it, when they consider it calmly,
without the excitement and warmth of dispute. And to close
the subject, I will quote the words of a cardinal of the Romish
church, celebrated in his age for the purity of his doctrine,
the integrity of his manners, the nobility of his birth, and the
various offices of trust which he discharged*
" We ought to rest upon the righteousness that is given us
in Christ, as on a sure and solid foundation, and not upon the
grace or holiness inherent in us. For as for this inherent
righteousness, it is but in its infancy, and very imperfect, and
cannot prevent us from sinning and transgressing continually
in many things ; consequently we have need to pray to God
daily for pardon. And therefore, clothed with our own right-
eousness, we cannot stand before God just and holy as the
* Coutarin ou Justification, p. 572.
332 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XX.
children of Christ should be. But the righteousness of Christ,
which is bestowed on us, is a true and perfect righteousness,
complete in the sight of God, in which can be nothing offen-
sive, nothing unpleasing to him. It is, then, upon this only
secure foundation that we ought to lean, believing that by this
alone we are justified, that is, accounted righteous and holy
before God. This is that precious treasure which christians
sell all they have to procure. This is the pearl of great price,
which whoever finds leaves all to possess ; as says Paul, " I
count all things but dung that I may win Christ, and be found
in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law,
but that which is by the faith of Jesus Christ." And again,
" We see by experience that the more holy men advance in
holiness, the more are they dissatisfied with themselves, and
the more do they perceive their need of Jesus Christ and his
righteousness ; and therefore they renounce themselves, and
trust on Christ alone : because their eyes are more enlightened
to behold the imperfection of their obedience and inherent
righteousness; and the more clear and distinct their sight is,
the more spots and blemishes do they discover in themselves ;
so that at length they are brought to rely entirely on the grace
and righteousness of Christ, instead of leaning in any degree
upon their own holiness and merit."
Such is the acknowledgment made by this writer, of the
truth of the doctrine of justification by the grace and merit of
Christ alone. Ah, God forbid, beloved brethren, that we
should ever be drawn aside into error by the persuasions of
others, so as to be induced to depart from so holy and essential
a doctrine.
II. I must now return to the apostle, who goes on to re-
count the excellent fruits of this righteousness of God which
he possessed in Christ ; saying, " that I may know him, and
the power of his resurrection." I am not ignorant that the
apostle says in his Epistle to the Romans, " Christ was raised
for our justification;" meaning that by his glorious resurrec-
tion he has shown us that the atonement made by his death
was perfect and entire, and as such accepted by the Father ;
his resurrection being, as it were, a token of complete acquit-
tance for the payment of our ransom : and therefore what
Paul says in my text of the power of his resurrection, may
relate to that faith which it is capable of producing in us,
whereby we are justified.* But it appears that the apostle
having spoken sufficiently of our righteousness in Christ, these
words more properly relate to the efficacy of his resurrection
for our sanctification, by raising us from the sepulchre of sin.
For Paul attributes this effect to it in many parts of his wri-
*The Ordinal Contarin.
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 333
tings, teaching us that " we are buried with Christ by baptism
unto death: that like as Christ was raised again from the dead
by the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in newness
of life," Rom. vi.; and " if we have been planted together in
the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his
resurrection." Peter also tells us that " we have been begotten
again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead ; and that by this resurrection we have the an-
swer of a good conscience towards God," 1 Pet. i. 3; iii. 21 ; in
which he makes the principal virtue of our baptism to con-
sist. And therefore it is that when he would describe our
sanctification, Paul makes use frequently of these grand ex-
pressions, that " we are risen with him through the faith of the
operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead," Col. ii.
12; and he says not only that we are "raised together with
him, but that we are seated with him in the heavenly
places," Eph. ii. 6. On this account it is that he so beauti-
fully exhorts the believers at Colosse: "If then you are
risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ sitteth at the right hand of God," Col. iii. 1. In fact,
the resurrection of Christ from the dead has detached the
hearts of believers from this world, in which they were for-
merly buried. It has manifested the sovereign love which God
bears to them, and his design of clothing them with his own
glory, of taking from them all that is carnal and earthly, and
of converting them into celestial and divine beings. He has
shown them in the person of Christ, the model of their life,
and the only real good, which ought thenceforward to be all
the desire of their souls ; for by faith beholding him rising
from the grave, laden with the spoils of death, and crowned
with glory, surely it is impossible but that this manifestation
of the power and goodness of God must constrain them to aim
at the like resurrection, to place all their hopes and affections
in him, and to find their highest joy in communion with him ;
and fulfilling his commands by following his example. This,
my friends, is " the power of his resurrection " which the apos-
tle desired to know ; that is, to feel by experience its sovereign
efficacy. For he speaks not here of a dead and naked know-
ledge ; of an idea conceived in the mind without any impres-
sion made upon the heart. But according to the usual ?tyle
of scripture, he means to express a lively knowledge, which
is confirmed by feeling and experience. And the addition of
this to the righteousness of God by Jesus Christ is very suit-
able. For the mercenary spirit of those against whom he ar-
gues, and of all their disciples, leading them to believe that
there can be no inducement to good works, except the reward
which (they suppose) they merit, they therefore imagine that
holiness is at an end when justification by the free grace of
God in Christ is established.
334 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XX.
Therefore, to prevent these people from calumniating the
doctrine of the apostle, and imputing to him that in teaching
the righteousness of Christ by faith he opened a door to sin,
he adds that such was not the design of God in justifying us
freely, and that the righteousness of faith is given us in order
that we may go on to " know the power of the resurrection
of the Lord." In the same manner, in his Epistle to the Ro-
mans, after having at some length magnificently established
the doctrine of justification by faith without works, he adds,
" What shall we say then ? shall we continue in sin that grace
may abound ? God forbid." To which answer he adds also
the efficacy of the resurrection of Christ for our sanctification.
And in this our day, is not our doctrine misunderstood and
calumniated in the same way ? do they not say, Since you are
justified by faith alone, what inducement have you to perform
good works ? But, O ye adversaries, it is to perform good
works that I am justified. This divine righteousness of Christ
has been communicated to me, in order that I may be trans-
formed into his image ; that I may know the power of his
resurrection, and that I may be like him, a new creature ; that
I may love God, not to lay him under obligation to me, (far,
far from my soul such a preposterous notion,) but to acquit
myself in a small degree of the immense debt I owe him. I
love him because he has loved me, because God is love, and
because he has sent his Son Jesus to die and rise again for me.
Will my obedience be less acceptable to him because I think
not of merit in rendering it ? Will he reject it because the
cross and resurrection of Christ inspires it, and not an inten-
tion of deserving a reward ? You allow that the holiness of
the blessed, of those who are already in heaven, and of those
who will be there after the resurrection, does not justify them,
or merit for them a continuation of their glory. Why then
do you blame me for believing that the commencement of the
rudiments of holiness are of the same nature as its completion
and perfection ? Why may I not serve God here on earth in
the same manner as I hope to serve him hereafter in heaven,
with a pure, a free, and a truly filial affection ? And such af-
fection, far from presuming to acquire any right of reward from
so good and so merciful a Father, must after all its efforts re-
main dissatisfied with itself, and be content to ascribe all it has
been able to do to his free grace alone.
III. It is again to confound these false teachers of works that
Paul adds, in the third place, that he desired, with the right-
eousness of Christ, to know " the fellowship of his sufferings,
being made conformante unto his death."
These people against whom he argues boasted of enhancing
the value of good works by the opinion of their merit, and
pretended also that believers were bound to the observance of
rui.P. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 335
legal ceremonies, such as abstinence from certain meats, dis-
tinction of days, &c, as plainly appears by the Epistle to the
Colossians. And you know that at this day those who main-
tain justification by works support their opinion in two ways :
by accusing the doctrine of grace of cutting the very nerves
of holiness ; and by commanding various carnal observances
of fasts, of feasts, voluntary poverty, pilgrimages, and such-
like devotions, which they practise (they say) for the mortifi-
cation of the flesh ; so much the same at all times is the spirit
of superstition. To the efficacy of their pretended doctrine
of merit by works, Paul opposes the power of Christ's resur-
rection, as being incomparably more capable of sanctifying us.
To their legal exercises he opposes the part we have in the af-
flictions of the Lord, suffering in his name, and after his ex-
ample, in various ways. These (he observes) are my fasts and
my mortifications; the gospel fast, predicted by the Saviour
to his disciples, when he warned them that after the Bridegroom
should be taken from them, they should fast and mourn, Matt.
ix. And the apostle explains this discipline to which we are
subject during our earthly pilgrimage in his usual splendid
manner, calling it " to know" (that is, as we have already said,
to understand by experience) " the fellowship of his sufferings,
being made conformable to his death." The sufferings of the
Lord are the things which he has suffered for us, and especially
upon the cross, as appears by the apostle's adding, " being made
conformable unto his death." These sufferings may be con-
sidered in two ways : first, as expiatory of our sins, borne by
Jesus Christ in our stead in his quality of Surety. And of
these we are partakers, inasmuch as, embracing them by faith,
God imputes them to us, as though we ourselves had suffered
in our own persons ; and he communicates to us the fruit
thereof, namely, that divine and perfect righteousness whereof
we have spoken above ; by which, absolved from all our sins,
we become acceptable to God as his dear children, and can
never more be called to endure any meritorious or expiatory
sufferings as were those of the Saviour. But these afflictions
besides this first and primary object, have yet another; inas-
much as they are the models, the patterns which Jesus has left
us to follow, having submitted to them with this view, as our
elder Brother ; and inasmuch as they are the first-fruits of
death, showing us the path by which it is the good pleasure of
the Father to conduct us to salvation. And thus we are par-
takers with him, being called to suffer after his example. And
this fellowship may also be considered in two ways : first, as
mterior ; second, as e.rterior. The first is the mortification of
sin within us, the crucifixion, so to speak, of the old nature
upon the cross of Christ, transpiercing it with his thorns and
nails, drinking of his vinegar, and thus putting it to death by
336 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XX.
degrees ; in which the passion of the Saviour is represented
within our hearts. And in this sense Paul is to be understood,
when he says " that we have been planted together in the like-
ness of his death ;" and " that our old man is crucified with
him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth
we should not serve sin," Rom. vi. 5, 6. In the same manner,
in another place, he tells us that " he is crucified with Christ,"
and "that they who are in Christ have crucified the flesh with
its affections and lusts," Gal. ii. 20 ; v. 24.
The second fellowship in the sufferings of the Lord, and
which we have called exterior, is the part we have in the afflic-
tions and persecutions of the church, for the confirmation of
the truth of God, for the glory of the name of Jesus, and for
the edification of men ; according to that we are taught in the
Epistle to the Romans, that we are "predestinated to be con-
formed to his image," chap. viii. 29, evidently in this respect
of suffering ; and again, " All who will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution," 2 Tim. iii. 12. This is properly
the " fellowship of his sufferings," of which the apostle is
speaking in the text; and he also mentions "a conformity to
his death," because it was an image of that which he suffered,
when he endured with humility and patience the death to which
he was condemned by the persecutors ; nobly finishing his
course, and sealing the truth with his own blood.
Behold, then, the two principal fruits of our justification by
Christ Jesus, deeply to feel and experience, first, the power of
his resurrection ; and secondly, the fellowship of his sufferings,
being made conformable unto his death. This is the path by
which God conducts us to the third and highest point of all
happiness : it being very certain that if we suffer and die with
Christ, we shall live and reign with him. And this the apos-
tle teaches us in the last clause of the text, adding, " If by any
means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead."
IY. It is quite clear that by this expression he does not
simply intend the general resurrection of the dead. For,
speaking literally, all men shall rise again, even the wicked,
though in shame and ignominy. But he especially intends
the resurrection of believers, with all the glory and blessed-
ness with which they are to be crowned ; and our Lord him-
self often uses these words in the same sense, promising to
those that believe in him, and eat his flesh and drink his blood,
that, " he will raise them up at the last day," John vi. 39 ; that
is to say, that he will give unto them eternal life. And, in fact,
since the term resurrection properly signifies a re-establishing
of that which was decayed and fallen to pieces, the word is
hardly suitable to the reappearing of the wicked, who only
rise from the tomb to be hurried into the abyss of destruction.
The enemies of the doctrine of the assurance of believers
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 337
conclude from this clause in the text, " if that by any means I
miedit attain unto the resurrection of the dead," that Paul was
not certain of his salvation, since he speaks of it doubtfully
and with an " if." But how can that agree with what he
says elsewhere? "I know in whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed
unto him against that day," 2 Tim. i. 12; and, "Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the
Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day," 2 Tim.
iv. 8. Again, " I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord," Rom. viii. 38, 39. These, and similar
passages, are so clear, that even those who object to the doctrine
of assurance except Paul from the number of doubters, sup-
posing that by a special privilege he had been assured of his
perseverance in divine grace. What are we to say then to the
passage before us ? Dear brethren, we must say, first, that the
expression used here of " if by any means" does not neces-
sarily signify the doubtfulness and uncertainty of an event,
but it rather denotes the difficulty as well as the diversity of
ways and means by which it is to be brought about. And we
must add, secondly, that which takes away the whole difficulty,
namely, that one of the most learned Greek grammarians re-
marked several centuries since, that the best and most ancient
writers in that language use the term which the apostle here
employs simply to signify, in order to, to the end that ; and he
adds, that those who lived in the earliest ages were familiar
with this expression : as, " I hasten, if by any means I may
finish this,"* signifying simply, " I hasten in order to finish
this." From this you will see that there is no real difficulty
in this passage ; the apostle, by the words, " if that by any
means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead," not
intending to express any doubt or distrust, but simply the de-
sire and endeavour of his mind, exactly as if he had said, " in
order to attain to the resurrection."
Such, my brethren, is the gain which the apostle found in
Christ. First, he obtained a perfect and assured salvation, a
righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ. Secondly, a
blessed and happy experience of the power of the resurrection
of his Lord. And, thirdly, the glorious fellowship of his suf-
ferings, in order to attain at last to the resurrection and eternal
life. Judge, then, if, to possess so great an abundance of pre-
cious things, an eternal and solid peace with God, the honour
* See also Eustathius in Iliad i//, p. 1286, and in Iliad &>, p. 1350, Edit. Eom.
See in 10. p. 1350. 65. and p. 1016. 1. 46 ; and in Odys. 3. p. 1556. 1. 2.
43
338 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XX.
of dying and being raised again with Christ, and of entering
at length into his glorious kingdom, he was not right in re-
nouncing the pretended merit of Phariseeism, and the cere-
monies of the Jewish superstition. IVJy beloved brethren, let
us imitate the wisdom of this holy apostle ; and let us leave
all to embrace Jesus Christ. Let us spoil ourselves of all that
we possess, in order to be clothed with this precious Lamb,
and be willing to lose ourselves that we may be found in him,
not having our own righteousness, but his. Our righteousness,
how perfect soever it may appear, is soiled with many spots,
and is totally incapable of sustaining the examination of the
piercing eyes of divine justice, which discovers blemishes in
the sun itself, and which "charges the very angels with folly."
There is no righteousness but that of Christ that can be ac-
ceptable to the Almighty. Clothed in that, I may boldly appear
before the throne of God, without fearing either the accusations
of the enemy, for what can he say against the blood and obe-
dience of the eternal Son ? or the thunders of the law, for
with what can the law threaten me, since its curse has been
abolished by the cross of my Lord ? or the horrors of death,
since my Saviour has disarmed it of all that was terrible to
me. With this righteousness I shall enter heaven, and con-
verse with angels without a sensation of shame. With it I
shall obtain all the promised blessings of God, his Spirit, his
paradise, his eternity. The Father can refuse nothing to a
righteousness which he himself ordained, and which has been
proved perfectly acceptable to him by his having already
crowned it, in the person of our Head, with all the glory of
his heavenly kingdom.
And here, I entreat you, say not, Who shall descend into
the deep, or who shall mount up to the heavens, to bring me
this precious righteousness ? This righteousness is not, like
that of the law, difficult and laborious, or, to speak truly,
impossible to obtain, being altogether beyond our reach ; but
it is nigh unto us, in our mouth, and in our heart. It is, says
the apostle, " by faith." " If thou confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus, and believe with thy heart that God has raised
him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Only take care that
your faith is lively and sincere, that it is not a mere illusion, a
fancy, an idea, but a firm persuasion, an entire assurance of
the truth of the gospel. Let it be a faith like that of Abra-
ham, and of the apostle. Whoso has this faith has Jesus Christ
dwelling within him, and no man has the Son without being a
partaker of his righteousness, of his life, and of his salvation.
It is for this that the righteousness of Christ is given us, that
he may dwell within us, and strengthen us in order that we
may know the power of his resurrection, as the apostle de-
clares. Far from us be the ideas of those profane persons who
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 339
abuse the doctrines of grace, and turn them into licentiousness.
Such people have never known the righteousness or faith of
our Lord Jesus Christ. If they were members of his body,
thev would be animated by his Spirit, they would be dead and
raised again with him, they would live his life, that is, not an
earthly and carnal, but a heavenly and spiritual life. And al-
though, by God's grace, our doctrine is entirely innocent of
their misfortune and crime, rejecting certainly the supposition
of merit, but in such a manner that it retains and establishes
the necessity of true sanctification, yet, nevertheless, as error
and superstition continually lay this blame to our charge, as
they formerly did to Paul, let us study with the utmost care to
refute their calumny, not with the pen or tongue, but with
that which is much more effectual, namely, the holiness of
our lives. Let our life be a manifest proof of our faith.
Let our conduct be so pure that our adversaries may be
constrained to recognize in us the Spirit of sanctification.
Let the " power of Christ's resurrection" shine forth through
us. Christian, the power of this divine resurrection can never
be experienced while you are buried in the sepulchre of vice,
having your heart wallowing in the mud of voluptuousness and
carnal delights ; admiring the vanities of this world, and seek-
ing your happiness therein ; or sighing after gold and silver
with your affections swallowed up in the mines from whence
those metals are drawn. The resurrection of Christ detaches all
who feel its power from such miserable follies. It makes them
breathe the air of heaven, and see the light of the glory of
God. It fills them with divine love, and thereby purifies their
affections and desires. It changes their habits, clothes them
with light, and produces a heavenly life and walk ; in a word,
it transforms them into the image of Jesus their Lord.
Let us then, dear brethren, seek to receive this divine power
in our hearts. Let us attentively contemplate this beautiful
and glorious life, which he has placed before our eyes by rising
from the grave holy and immortal, and in which is everything
that can be desired to render us perfectly happy. And having
seen so beautiful an object, how could we have any affection
for the trifles of earth ? O unhappy earth, where time and
death consume all things, none but Christ my Saviour has
escaped thy vanities ! Thy chains were unable to enslave him.
He broke thy bonds, and instead of the weak animal life which
thou didst take from him, he has obtained another, divine and
incorruptible, which has no need of thy elements, no fear of
thy changes and alterations. And he has not taken this divine
life for himself alone. He will communicate it to us also, (for
we are his,) but according to the method arranged by his wis-
dom, and of which he has given us an example in himself.
For he was tempted ; he died before he could revive. And
34:0 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XXL
herein is he our model. Let us not fear, then, to travel that
road wherein his footsteps can be traced. Let us be partakers,
not with patience merely, but with joy, of his sufferings and
of his death. Let us believe that these sufferings, and this
death, will add to our glory and happiness, since they render
us conformable to the Son of God, and conduct us to the en-
joyment of his immortality. What if the flesh find them dif-
ficult to bear ; they are sent to mortify it, to disturb its perni-
cious pleasures, to extinguish its passions, and to humble its
pride. They also exercise our piety, they awaken and revive
our faith, they inflame our affections, quicken us in prayer,
and produce in us a deadness to the world, and more ardent
desires after heaven. They try our patience, and prove our
faith in Christ. They confound Satan, and cause angels to re-
joice. They glorify God, and edify men. And, after all, they will
soon be over. Jesus was but six hours upon the cross, and
now reigns for ever in heaven. Let us then cheerfully support
these light afflictions which quickly pass away, that we may
attain to the resurrection, the blessed end of all our sorrows
and trials, and the joyful commencement of our true happi-
ness ; when our glorious and gracious Lord, who now gives us
his righteousness, and makes us to know the power of his re-
surrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, will give us a
share in his glory, transforming our bodies into the likeness
of his own, putting a crown upon our heads, clothing us with
immortality, and granting us an everlasting abode in his
palace ; allowing us to eat at his table, and to live and reign in
his court with him and his holy angels for ever and ever.
Amen.
SERMON XXI.
VERSES 12 — 14.
Not as though I had already attained, either were already 'perfect:
hut I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also
I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not my-
self to have apprehended: hut this one thing I do, forgetting
those thing 3 which are behind, and reaching forth unto those
things which are hefore, I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
In the books written by the ancient Greeks, which have
been preserved from destruction, we read that one of the most
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 341
esteemed amusements of that nation was the sight of the games
and combats which were celebrated from time to time with
great solemnity. Companies of persons were established
among them, the best qualified to judge of the trials of
strength made in the circus ; they named the reward proposed
to the conqueror ; they fixed the day, and appointed the place
for the combats, to which multitudes came from all parts of
Greece, who regarded the games with extravagant delight, and
honoured those who excelled with acclamation and applause.
The victors were crowned by the hands of the judges in the
presence of all their countrymen. Their names were engraven
on plates of brass, and registered by command of the magis-
trates in the public archives, to mark the time. They were
conducted back, and received by their fellow citizens, with as
much pomp as the generals and commanders of armies in their
triumphs, and they and their descendants enjoyed ample pri-
vileges, with which the public had honoured them.
Dear brethren, God invites us to-day to a spectacle much
more beautiful than those which I have described ; to a com-
bat, instituted, not by vain men, but by the eternal Father, in
which is to be seen, not a Greek nourished and exercised in the
halls and plains of this world, but an apostle trained in a hea-
venly school ; running a race, not level and smooth, but rough
and difficult, and strewed with thorns ; not before the eyes of
a single nation, but in the sight of God, of angels, and of men;
not for a corruptible crown of leaves and flowers which fade
in a day, but for a crown of immortal life. Bring hither, then,
your mind awakened and purified. Consider the strength, the
valour, the courage, the address, the zeal of this divine cham-
pion. Be careful to observe all his steps, not just to feed your
eyes with a vain amusement, which was all the fruit reaped by
the Greeks at their spectacles ; but rather in order to imitate
the course of this holy man, to enter the same career, to follow
him courageously, to place your feet on the traces of his foot-
steps, and arriving with him at the goal, to receive with him,
from the hands of the eternal Judge, the glorious reward pro-
vided for the victor.
This same Paul, who formerly undertook, and so happily
completed, this celestial course, represents it to us to-day in
the text which you have heard. His design is to induce the
Philippians to embrace Jesus Christ alone, to content them-
selves with him, and, without lending their ears or hearts to
any other, to fix and concentrate all their thoughts, affections,
and desires on this Prince of life, convinced that in possessing
him they possess everything. To persuade them to this, he
sets before them his own example, showing them how, re-
nouncing all other things, he had given himself entirely to
Christ, despoiling himself of all tbat he possessed in order to
342 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XXI.
be found in that sovereign Lord, clothed with his righteousness,
transformed into his image, dead and raised again with him.
He, however, adds here that he had not arrived at his desired
end ; he had not yet comprehended in all its fulness the power
of this divine resurrection ; so deep, so grand is this study, so
inexhaustible are the riches of this knowledge. For which
reason he subjoins that he is always endeavouring to go* for-
ward, and that, leaving the things that are behind, he reaches
forth incessantly towards the goal, every day making some
advance in his heavenward course, in order at length to receive
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Thus you see how diligently it behoved the Philippian con-
verts to study the gospel, since their master, the great apostle,
who was so far beyond them, had not been able, with all his
zeal and devotion, to exhaust its riches ; and how it also be-
hoved them to forget, like him, the things that were behind,
and to press toward the mark, whereby they might attain the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. •*■
But this lesson, my brethren, belongs to us, as much or even
more than to the Philippians, because, if we compare our pro-
gress with theirs, it will be found that they were more ad-
vanced than we are in the fear of God, and in the knowledge
of his gospel. Let us, then, listen attentively, that we may
practise carefully ; and in order more fully to comprehend our
subject, we will consider separately, with the blessing of God,
the two points which here present themselves to us. The first
is the declaration of the apostle, that he has not yet arrived at
perfection, contained in these words : " Not that I have already
attained, either am already perfect. Brethren, I count not
myself to have apprehended." The second, which regards the
efforts he was making to arrive at perfection, is expressed in
the following words : " But I follow after, if that I may appre-
hend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and
reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press
toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus."
I. As for the first point, it explains itself, as you must per-
ceive, in two ways. First, in these words, which relate to the
verses preceding, " Not as though I had already attained, either
were already perfect." For having protested above that he
had renounced all things to be "found in Christ, having the
righteousness of faith ; that he might know him, and the
power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings,
and that he might attain unto the resurrection of the dead ;"
(words which allude as well to the sanctification as to the glory
which Christ gives to the saints ;) lest any should imagine that
he already possessed these things in full perfection, he antiei-
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 343
pates tins idea, and declares that he thus spoke, not to signify
that he had already apprehended, or that he was already per-
fect, but rather that he was following on to apprehend them
perfectly. The same truth is then again advanced, though ex-
pressed in a somewhat different manner; for, addressing more
especially the Philippians, " Brethren, (says he,) as for me, I
count not myself to have apprehended." It is clear that in
both these sentences the apostle meant to assure them that he
had not yet apprehended, and was not yet perfect.
Will it be asked what it was which he had not yet appre-
hended or understoood ? It is true that in the words imme-
diately preceding he was speaking of the resurrection of the
dead. But it does not appear that he alludes to that ; for " to
have apprehended the resurrection of the dead " must signify
one of two things: either to have received from God that
blessed resurrection, or to have embraced the hope of it as
certainly as if it were already possessed. Paul here is evi-
dently not speaking of either of these subjects. Not of the
first ; for although it was true that in this sense he had not yet
apprehended the resurrection, yet there was no occasion to say
so in this place; because, having said it, why should he say it
the second time ? It would have been very useless, and utterly
unworthy of this great apostle, to say to the Philippians, to
whom he was writing, and who knew that he was living at
Eome, that he was not yet raised from the dead ; and then to
protest again, Brethren, as for me, I am not yet raised from the
dead. For who could suppose that he was ? Who could ima-
gine it for a moment ?
Neither was he likely to say that he had not yet apprehended
the resurrection by faith, that is, that he was not assured of it;
for how could he say that, who declares in another place, " God
has raised us up together with Christ, and has made us to sit
together in the heavenly places ?" Eph. ii. 6 ; speaking of the
resurrection as of a thing so certain that it is (as it were) al-
ready accomplished; and so assured was he of the fact, that he
says in 2 Tim. i. 12, " I know in whom I have believed, and
am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have com-
mitted unto him against that day."
No, brethren, the apostle's words in this place relate to quite
another thing than to this last effect of the grace of God to-
wards us; they relate not to glory and immortality, but to
that knowledge of Christ, of the power of his resurrection, and
of the fellowship of his sufferings, of which he had been speak-
ing- It is this which he tells us he had not yet apprehended
or understood ; and by reason of this, he adds, that he has not
yet been rendered perfect. For the first of these words* is of-
* EXapov.
344: AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XXI.
ten used in the Greek language to signify a perfect apprehension,
in which nothing more is wanted, and would express a thing so
thoroughly well known and understood, that there remained
nothing more to be known. This it is the apostle intends by
saying that he has not yet entirely " apprehended" (the power
of Christ's resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings, and
the knowledge of himself) ; that is to say, he had not yet re-
ceived all the blessed effects of the power of the death and re-
surrection of Christ, in such a manner and degree that he did
not fail in any point, and that he could make no more progress
in the divine life. Indeed it is very evident that he speaks
not here of a simple and naked knowledge, but of an experi-
mental acquaintance with Christ, as we have before explained.
And for this reason he adds that " he has not yet been made
perfect." For this term, which, according to the different sub-
jects for which it is used, signifies different degrees of perfec-
tion, may here be taken for the last and highest, when believ-
ers fail in no point or degree of sanctification which the power
of Christ crucified and raised again ought to produce in them ;
precisely in the same manner as the apostle is to be understood
in his Epistle to the Hebrews, when he speaks of " the spirits
of just men made perfect," Heb. xii. 28, (for in this passage he
makes use of the same word). It is this state of holiness, as
perfect as that of the saints in heaven, to which he alludes,
when he says he "has not yet been made perfect," signifying
that he had not come to that ; that however advanced he
might be in some respects, yet in others he still failed, and had
not therefore yet attained to this last and highest point. And
because believers who saw in him such an admirable zeal, and
a life so ardently devoted to the service of Christ, might find
this his humility strange, and might be astonished at his class-
ing himself with those disciples who were still learning, and
endeavouring after perfection, instead of with those who had
arrived at that point, he repeats his words, " Brethren, I count
not myself to have apprehended ;" as though he had said,
Your charity perhaps judges otherwise, but as I know myself
better than any other person can know me, and as I have some
idea of the holiness to which the power of Christ's resurrec-
tion and fellowship with his sufferings conducts, I cannot con-
sider that I have yet arrived at this high point of perfection.
There are those who suppose that the apostle alludes to
some among the Philippians who boasted of being perfect, (and
you know that they who desire to be justified by their own
works often attribute to themselves perfection,) and that it was
to humble their pride that he says, " Brethren, as for me, I
count not myself to have apprehended;" as if he would say,
Though there are some among you who imagine they have at-
tained the highest degree of perfection, yet, for my part, I have
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 345
not that opinion of myself; I confess freely, that I have not
yet perfectly apprehended the sanctifying power of my Lord,
and that I am still in the number of those who learn and ad-
vance in this study. In the same manner, a master, who saw
some of his scholars puffed up with a foolish opinion of their
knowledge, imagining they had nothing more to learn, might
say to them to humble their vanity, My children, for my part,
I do not consider that I know all things ; I learn something
every day : the science we have embraced is so deep that I dis-
cover daily some new wonder wherewith to enrich my mind.
But whatever design the apostle may have had in this dis-
course, thus much is evident, that he confesses he is not already
perfect, and he repeats this twice, that we may remark it as a
matter of some importance. And in fact it is a secret of great
use in religion ; for the opinion of our own perfection is a very
dangerous error, and has two most pernicious consequences :
the one renders us guilty of pride, the disposition of mind
most at variance with salvation, God giving grace to the hum-
ble; the other relaxes the nerves of devotion, for he who sup-
poses himself to have attained the highest degree of sanctifica-
tion will not labour to advance further, but will be contented
to remain where he is. Now what remedy can there be more
efficacious in curing men of this baneful distemper, than the.
truth which the apostle here teaches and repeats twice, namely,
that he himself was not yet made perfect?
If to the advocates of presumption we speak of Noah and Job ;
if we bring forward David's prayer, "Enter not into judgment
with me, Lord," they have the boldness to answer that these
personages lived under the old covenant, whereas they are liv-
ing under the new. But truly this pretext is vain. For we
shall be judged in the same manner as believers in former days :
there is one and the same tribunal for them and for us, before
which we must all appear, and be there judged by the same
law; as is evident from Paul's arguments respecting our justi-
fication and theirs ; so that if David cannot plead the merit of
his works, which are confessed to have been imperfect, neither
can we allege the merit of ours. But although this answer of
the advocates of merit is absurd, yet there are too many who
avail themselves of it. As for Paul, however, he cannot be re-
proached with like presumption. His example deprives them
of pretext or excuse. For if there ever had been any man in
the world who could pretend to perfection, it would be, with-
out doubt, this great apostle, who had been instructed by Je-
sus himself when living and reigning in heaven ; who had been
snatched up into paradise, and had heard and seen there the
unutterable things of the heavenly kingdom, and brought back
with him to earth a lively and perfect faith ; who, conducted
and animated by this divine light, had renounced all that the
44
346 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. XXI.
world calls delightful, in order to devote himself entirely to
Christ, whose cross he carried and planted in all parts of the
world, spending his life so religiously in this holy exercise,
that there never was and never will be any minister, bishop, or
even apostle, who can compare with him. And yet, after all
these great combats, these glorious victories, these admirable
triumphs, hear him saying with deep and heartfelt humility,
"Not that I have already apprehended, either am already per-
fect: no, brethren, for my part, I count not myself to have ap-
prehended." Who is there, after this, sufficiently bold to
speak of his supposed perfection ? Where is he who dares at-
tribute to himself that which Paul confesses he had not? Nay,
none should be ashamed to acknowledge with him, that in
some things he still fails. The force of this example has, how-
ever, been in some degree felt, and they who would exalt
themselves above David have been ashamed to do the same by
Paul, judging well, that if they did, no one would be able to
endure their arrogance. What then do they ? Why, to render
their presumption less odious, they make Paul guilty of it, and
pretend that he did attain in this life to that perfection of
righteousness, in all points, in which they make their boast.
Paul says he has not yet ; they maintain that he has. Paul
cries, " Brethren, for my part, I count not myself to have ap-
prehended;" these men assert that he has apprehended. Now
which shall we believe, them or Paul ?
But the height of their injustice is, that to make their own
cause good, they distort his words, and would fain make us
believe he has not said what he has said ; interpreting this
passage in a way unheard of in the church of God, or the
schools of real christians. They say that the apostle is speak-
ing of the continuance of his race or combat, which was not
yet finished; and that he does not intend to say that his sanc-
tification was not complete in itself, or that he was not alto-
gether perfect, but merely that he had not persevered as long
as was needful for him, and that his holiness had not lasted a
sufficient time. But this explanation cannot be right, either
as it regards the thing itself, or the words of the text. For,
with respect to the first, Paul had no occasion to say more
than that he should continue some time yet upon the earth to
preach the gospel; and that the course of his life and minis-
try was not yet likely to be finished ; in the same manner
that, being on the point of finishing his ministry, he warned
Timothy of it, saying, that he was ready to be offered, and
that the time of his departure was at hand ; that he had fought
the fight, had finished his course, and had kept the faith, 2
Tim. iv. 6, 7. But he certainly is not speaking thus in this
place. For why should Paul say again to the Philippians
what he had already said in the first and second chapters? "I
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIAXS. 347
know (said he) that I shall abide and continue with you all,
for your furtherance and joy of faith." And again, " I trust
in the Lord that I shall shortly come to you." After this,
what could be more unlikely than that he should repeat that
the course of his life and ministry was not yet ended, and not
satisfied with that, should add also, "Brethren, for my part, I
do not consider myself arrived at this point ?" Besides, what
connection could there be between this idea and the preceding
verses, " I have suffered the loss of all things, that I may be
found in Christ; that I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings ?" To what
purpose could he add, " No, I am not near my death, my race
is not yet run ?" As if they who truly embraced the Saviour
expected to die immediately after, or as if some of the Philip-
pians held that opinion. But the apostle's words will not al-
low of this interpretation. For the word "apprehend" cannot
be thus translated. Now what is it which the apostle says
" he has not yet apprehended ?" Is it the knowledge of the
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Certainly it is. But
who has ever heard that to apprehend these things was to have
ended the occupation of preaching, and to have finished his
course and his ministry ? No, these expressions can only sig-
nify what we have already said, to have felt and experienced
in perfection the sanctifying power of Jesus, dead and raised
again for us. Could it be the prize of his high calling, name-
ly, the resurrection from the dead, which the apostle says he
has not yet apprehended ? Is it possible that anything could
be less to the point than that? that Paul, living at Kome, and
writing from his prison in that city to the Philippians, should
declare to them that he had not yet received his crown, that is
to say, was not yet raised again from the dead ? Beautiful
idea, well worthy of so grave, so solemn a pen as that of our
apostle ! But the other word employed in the text, " to be
made perfect," is not less incompatible with this interpretation.
It is true that " to be made perfect," sometimes signifies to be
rendered so by death; as when our Lord said, "Behold, I cast
out devils, and I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third
day I shall be perfected," that is, my work will be completed,
Luke xiii. 32. But it is evident the apostle does not speak in
this sense. For to what purpose could he inform the Philip-
pians that he had not yet been put to death? Besides, " to be
made perfect " signifies always the degrees of perfection, and
not its duration or extent ; for if it were otherwise, one might
say of the angels that they are not ijet perfect, and of the saints
after the last resurrection that they are not yet perfect, because
their perfection has not completed its duration : and, in a
word, one might then say that neither the blessed, nor the an-
gels, nor our Lord Jesus Christ himself, would ever be made
348 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XXI.
perfect, because their holiness will continue eternally without
end or diminution; and this would be, as must be plain to
every one, extravagant language, not to say blasphemous and
scandalous. If, however, the sanctification of the apostle had
been at the highest point of perfection, as is that of the angels
and glorified saints, he would not have said in this Epistle
that he was not yet perfect. Nevertheless he does say so. We
must, therefore, of necessity, confess that his sanctification was
not yet arrived at the point to which some suppose it had.
And this is in fact the way in which all christians understand the
passage, and the generality, as Jerome * tells us, draw from it
the doctrine which may most clearly be deduced, *". e., that no
believer is ever so entirely sanctified in this life, as that he
does not fail daily in some point. And I do not think that
the interpretation which we have refuted, or the error which
gave rise to it, namely, that believers can attain here below to
the highest perfection of holiness and inherent righteousness ;
I do not think, I say, that either one or the other is to be
found among the writings of any other christians than the Pe-
lagians, and the modern enemies of the eternal divinity of
Christ. And the authors of this interpretation object to us,
that the apostle says in another place that he has " fought the
good fight, has finished his course, and has kept the faith."
True, but he does not say that he never received a blow in the
fight, or ever made a false step in his course. Peter could
say as much touching his death, and yet we know that his
life was not passed without falls. David also could say the
same, nevertheless even they must confess that his righteous-
ness had not been perfect.
Paul, then, describes in these words the constancy and per-
severance of the believer in the gospel doctrine and practice,
who goes forward to the end, and is at last victorious, though
he may have often fallen and been wounded. This perseve-
rance excludes impenitence and apostasy, but not all sin ; it
excludes only those sins which are not followed by repentance.
But, say our adversaries, if Paul had not been perfect, why
did he expect the crown of righteousness from God ? Because,
I answer, God is faithful, and righteous, and true. Now he
has promised to save whosoever shall continue to the end in
the faith and obedience of his Son, and in repentance for his
daily failings. But, say they again, as the perfection of Paul
was the end of his course, it follows that he was perfected
when his course was finished. Who doubts it ? He is so
clearly after that, because he is then entered into heaven, the
place of our perfection, and there he knows even as he had
been known, that is to say, in perfection and not in part, and
darkly.
* Dialogue I. against the Pelagians.
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 349
Let us therefore rest assured, that the sanctification of the
apostle, however excellent it might be, was not perfected in all
points as long as he remained on the earth. From whence it
follows that no man living is perfected here below. This the
scriptures, the ancient church, and the feelings of our own
conscience, so loudly witness, that it is wonderful men can be
found so deafened by the love of self that they hear none of
these voices. Does not the scripture tell us that " no man liv-
ing can be justified before God ?" Why not, if there are some
perfectly righteous ? That every believer, though he were a
confessor or an apostle, must thus pray daily to God, " For-
give us our sins, as we forgive them that trespass against us ?"
Why thus, if there are some who never sin, and therefore need
no pardon ? Does it not say that " in many things we offend
all ?" How so, if there are some faultless ? Does it not say
that "now we know but in part, and see through a glass
darkly?" How so, if holiness, which is the fruit and effect of
this sight, is not in part but in perfection ? Does it not say
that "the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against
the flesh, and that these are contrary one to the other, so that
we cannot do the things that we would ?" But how can this
be, if there are those who sin no more ? Does it not say again,
that " if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us?" Could it possibly say anything more ex-
press against this error?
The ancient church also teaches by its most illustrious or-
gans, that " we speak truth when we confess ourselves sinners ;
that the true wisdom of man is to know himself; that he is
imperfect, and that all the righteous who are in the flesh have
an imperfect perfection.* That not one of the saints while
he is in the body can possibly have every virtue ; that there
are righteous men on the earth, some of whom are great, or
strong, or prudent, or chaste, or patient, or pious, or merciful,
or who suffer all sorts of evil humbly and meekly ; but there
are none without sin ; and none are foolish or arrogant enough
to think they need not say the Lord's prayer on account of
sin, though in comparison with other men their sins may be
few.f That he has greatly profited in that holiness during his
life, which shall one day be perfected, who has discovered as
he advanced his distance from the perfection of righteousness :
that it is by the wisdom, not by the impotence, of God that no
believer is ever perfect here below; the Lord so conducting
the saints in this life, that there should always remain some-
thing either to give them freely when they ask, or to pardon
them mercifully when they confess to him : and that the rea-
son of this is hidden from us in the depth of his wisdom, in
*Jerome. Dial. I. f Augustin de Peccat. Merit, et Rem.
350 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XXI.
order that tlie mouth even of righteous men may be stopped
in regard to their own glory, and may be opened only for the
praise of God.
Our own consciences likewise, if we consult them, will wit-
ness also for this truth. For it is evident from the greatness
of the divine Majesty, from the excellence of those benefits
which we daily receive from his bounty, and from the express
declaration of his word, that we ought to love him with all
the heart, and our neighbour as ourselves, and to employ all
we have to his service and glory in so strict a manner that not
one word, thought, or act should escape us that is not conform-
able to his will. Now, where is the believer, however perfect
he may be considered, who, entering seriously into himself,
and examining without disguise the whole tenor of his life,
can discover no faults, not merely in his words, thoughts, or
affections, but even in his actions? Where is he whose heart
has never desired or loved anything but what was pure and
holy ; whose tongue has always uttered words not only true,
but also useful, and to edification ; whose eyes and other
senses have apprehended only that which is reasonable and
righteous ; whose hands and other members have neither done
nor attempted anything but what is good ; whom temptation
has never staggered; who has never coveted ; whose flesh has
at all times rendered a full and entire obedience to the dictates
of the Spirit, without resisting his motions, without murmur-
ing against his orders, without struggling against his illumina-
tion ? If you make no inward war against this enemy, sin,
how is it you are not ashamed ? If you do, why not confess
that you are not perfect? To employ the words of Augus-
tine on this subject, "Certainly it is either stupidity not to be
aware of such palpable imperfection, or effrontery to deny
it." *
But it is time to leave the vain and false teachers to enjoy
the glory of their supposed perfection, and to return to Paul,
who, acknowledging and confessing " that he is not yet made
perfect," studies earnestly to render himself daily more and
more perfect, saying to himself, " I have not yet apprehended,
but I follow after, if that I may apprehend." He stops not in
his course. His progress had been great ; but he is not there-
with contented. He cannot remain as he is ; he desires, if pos-
sible, to arrive at perfection, and to lay hold entirely on Jesus,
so as to experience in himself all the power of the life and
death of his divine Master.
For this cause he adds, " for which I am apprehended of
Christ Jesus." The original wordf might be rendered, as, or
being, or because, " I am apprehended of Christ Jesus ; but this
* Augustine iu Juliau, B. IL c. 10G. f *E^' J.
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 351
would give the sentence nearly the same meaning. If you take
the first translation, Paul is setting forth the design for which
Jesus unites us with himself, namely, that we may grow from
faith to faith, from hope to hope, suffering no day to pass by
without making progress in his fear and love. If you under-
stand it in the second form, it is the rule which the apostle
proposes in this exercise, namely, to apprehend the Saviour in
the same manner as he has been apprehended of him, not
weakly and in part, but perfectly, as the Lord in his goodness
has apprehended us, drawing us out of our own path, and
placing us in his, by the power of his word, and the teaching
of his Spirit. Paul makes use of a like expression in another
place, where, to signify that in heaven he should know God
perfectly, he says, "Then shall I know even as also I am
known," 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Lastly, if you read it in the third sense, because " I am ap-
prehended of Christ Jesus," this would signify the motive
which urged the apostle to aim with ardour at perfection ; and
this motive is the wondrous grace of the Saviour towards him,
which had stopped his mad career in the way of error and of
death ; and had taken him and changed him into a vessel of
honour, for the glory of God and the conversion of the Gen-
tiles.
II. But to explain more clearly the efforts which he was
making to advance in his heavenward race, he adds, in the last
verse of our text, " One thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which
are before, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus." He compares, in this and
several other places, the object and endeavour of a christian
to a lawful race ; so familiar was this image to the Philippians
and other Greeks, among whom these exercises were very fre-
quent, as we have already remarked. The superintendent of
this mystical course is God, who instituted it by his Son Jesus
Christ. The path in which it is run is the path of faith, of re-
pentance, of holiness, of every christian virtue. The time al-
lotted for the race is during our life. The moment of our con-
version is the commencement of it, and is (as it were) the
barrier from whence we start, each in his turn, as soon as the
heavenly voice has called us ; and the place where the race is
finished is the moment of death, when we quit this world. The
goal to which it conducts is the perfection of our sanctification,
of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, of the power of his resur-
rection, and the fellowship with his death ; and to this we can
only attain in departing from this life. The steps by which
the christian advances, are prayer, study of the word, love,
watchfulness, and patience. The christian graces, as we ac-
quire them, and as they are strengthened by labour, prayer,
352 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERM. XXI.
and meditation, are the spaces or intervals of this course, each
one being more or less advanced, according as he attains to a
greater or less perfection of holiness. The rewards bestowed
upon the winner are immortality and glory in the life to come,
and this the apostle terms "the prize of the high calling of God
in Christ Jesus," because it is God who calls us to it from on
high, who keeps it for us in heaven, and will one day bestow
it ; being himself the Instituter, the Judge, and the Eewarder
of the race. And the apostle adds, " in Christ Jesus," in order
to show us that it is by the Son of God, dead and raised again
for us, that this career is opened, and this crown of glory
offered ; and more, that it is by him we receive all needful
strength at once to enter upon and persevere with our design ;
and finally, that it is through his great love that the prize to
which we aspire shall be given to us.
Such is the christian race. Paul entered upon it when called
by the voice, not of man, but of Jesus himself, who cried to
him from heaven, " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?" and
who not only called him to the common salvation, but also to
the apostleship of the Gentiles. It would be superfluous to
inform you of the progress he made in the course, having, in
a short time, not only reached, but passed by, those who had
begun to run before him ; and having advanced in such a
manner and with so much energy and courage, that nothing
could be more miraculous; casting aside, with irresistible
power, all that opposed him on the right hand and on the left,
so that nothing was able to arrest, or even retard, his progress
in the least degree ; although both men and devils did all they
could to cross the designs of the devoted runner. You know
his history. Behold in what manner he writes concerning
himself in this Epistle to the Philippians. First, he says, " This
one thing I do." He has cast aside every other idea ; this
race is now his only thought. He has, with Mary, chosen the
good part, the one thing needful, without having " a divided
heart," like those who endeavour to unite heaven and earth,
flesh and Spirit, God and the world, Christ and Belial. Se-
condly, he says, "I press towards the mark ;" that is, he pursues
his point ; he perseveres in his pious design. For it would be of
small avail to enter the course, if he were obliged again to quit
it directly, without continuing to the goal ; it being evident
that in this case, besides having no part in the promised reward,
he would be the scorn and jest of every beholder. So, in the
service of Jesus Christ, it is useless, nay more, it is hurtful, to
enter it merely to quit it again. Unless we persevere to the
end, all the efforts we may make are useless. Again, the apostle
says, " I press towards the mark." For as the race-course is
marked clearly, even to the goal, and to run beyond the lines
which conduct to it, in the least degree, would be useless, not
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 353
to say dangerous ; so with the believer, Jesus is the mark
towards which he should press, having his eye directed to him,
in order to advance in the knowledge of him and his divine
power. It is Christ alone who should regulate all his motions,
and whoever loses sight of him, or does not direct his steps
straight towards him, wanders from the true path.
Again, the apostle says, " Forgetting the things which are
behind." So great is his desire to advance, that he thinks no
more of the past than if it had never been. And as those who
ran in the games never amused themselves by casting their
eyes here and there, and still less by looking round to ascertain
how much progress they had made, because it would have been
but losing time ; so the apostle thought no more of what he
had once been. He had banished such thoughts from his mind
as completely as if he had lost the remembrance of his former
self. For weak believers are often retarded in their progress,
by considering what they were, or what they might have been
in the world, before they were called unto Christ. Sometimes
also the way we appear to have made satisfies us, while looking
over the path we have trodden, and we become lazy and inert.
The apostle, however, resolved to forget all, whether it were
the progress he had made in Judaism or in Christianity, and to
run as zealously as though he had not yet made a single step.
If he occasionally recollected his former condition among the
Jews, it was but with a shudder, and he hastened onwards more
firmly. If his progress in Christianity recurred to his mind,
it lifted up his heart in praise to God alone.
But, pursues the apostle, " pressing onwards towards those
which are before ;" that is, (as we have already said,) to the
highest and most exalted christian virtues, doing all that was
possible to attain the very summit of holiness. And the word*
which is here employed is extremely emphatic, signifying lite-,
rally, " reaching forth," " throwing himself forward," as they
do who run with most energy.
Finally, he informs us of the rewards which await him at
the end of the course, and these he calls, for the reasons we
have already given, " the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus."
The advocates of human merit vainly endeavour from these
words to draw an argument in favour of their erroneous no-
tions. For if the prize is elsewhere called " grace," 1 Pet. i. 13,
"mercy," 1 Tim. i. 16, and "gift," Rom. vi. 23, it is evident
that it is not bestowed on account of our merit, but rather be-
cause God has promised it of his great goodness and love.
And truly there is as little proportion between our works and
the celestial glory with which God will reward us after this
* 'Eiuirrtiixfytfcoç.
45
354 AN EXPOSITION OF [SERJ[. XXL
life, as there would be, should a monarch bestow an entire
kingdom on a man for having run two or three hundred paces.
This would be the prize to be obtained, but it would be a prize
according to the liberality of the giver, rather than the desert
of the receiver, Our adversaries again often press us to say
why Paul laboured so much to arrive at perfection, if it were
not possible for him to attain to it during this life. But for
my part, I must answer their question by asking them why
Paul and other true believers studied to attain a perfect know-
ledge of God, since they could never really know him in this
world? They laboured because it was their duty, because
therein consists the perfection of their nature, its excellence,
its happiness. But, perhaps you will say, they never could
hope to arrive at the highest and last point. Although they
might never attain it, yet they might daily approach nearer to
it, and the nearer they were, the happier for them. Would it
be wise to neglect to exercise the body or improve the mind,
because the one could not arrive at the perfection of strength,
or the other of science ? "Would it be wise for an invalid to
refuse to obey his physician, because he could not hope to at-
tain perfect health ? Do not the masters who instruct men in
eloquence, philosophy, and the other arts and sciences, teach
us that it is not possible for any mortal to acquire an art or a
science in perfection ? Yet they never intend thereby to dis-
hearten their pupils, and disgust them with study. It is a
vanity which almost amounts to folly to be unwilling to em-
brace the study of anything because we are not likely to attain
perfection in it. And although the christian will not in this
life arrive at perfection, however he may desire it, yet he will
attain unto it hereafter. And therefore, as we do not neglect
the instruction of children, under pretence that they cannot
.fully comprehend what they are taught, until they arrive at
maturer years; so we also now are in our infancy, and must
wait for the "age to come" before we are full grown men.
Let us then, dear brethren, never neglect to cultivate the
growth of the new man during its infancy, to form it for good,
and to give it all the instruction of which it is capable. And
although it may not attain in this life to the perfection which
you desire, it surely will hereafter in heaven, when the pres-
ence and light of its divine Lord will be reflected in the perfect
man. Imitate then the example of our great apostle. Shun
like him both presumption and negligence. Whatever pro-
gress you may have made in the way of life, never imagine
yourselves to have arrived at the goal. Whatever failings you
may discover and acknowledge in yourselves, never cease to
labour and advance in this race. For thus Paul has taught us
in this place. He had laboured more than others, and yet this
holy man feels and declares that he has not yet apprehended,
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 355
that lie is not yet perfect. Christians, let his modesty instruct
you in humility, and teach you not to be ashamed to confess
your infirmities. If this sun had its spots, be not ashamed
when you discover spots in yourselves. If our father Jacob
was lame, (as the Hebrews were accustomed to say,) let none
of his posterity be surprised if they also sometimes limp.
God permits these infirmities to maintain their power, to
keep us humble, and to show us that if there is any good in us,
it is the gift of his grace, and not the fruit of our corrupt na-
ture. He allows this remnant of the Canaanites to remain in
the land, in order to exercise us continually, and that we may
have constant recourse to his mercy, and seek our salvation in
him alone. But this imperfection should urge us forward
more and more towards perfection. It should produce in us a
hatred of this world, this sojourn in Kedar and Mesech, this
place of our weakness and our combats, and a sighing after
heaven, the place of perfect bliss and perfect holiness. It
should be to us as a continual spur to urge us onwards to that
happy world. For it would be indeed strange if the very feel-
ing of our own imperfection caused us to love it, or prevented
us from endeavouring to cure it.
And as it behoves us to follow the example of the apostle in
acknowledging our faults ; so also should we imitate his zeal
and firmness in struggling against them, and we should do so
with the more care, on account of our doctrine being accused
of relaxing our efforts after holiness. But, adversary, you
are wrong in blaming our faith. We condemn nothing in
you but your presumption. It is the leaven of pride which
displeases us. As for the rest, we recommend and preach, as
much or more than you do, the mortification of the old man,
the vivification of the new ; diligence, vigilance, constancy in
prayer, in fasting, in alms ; and the continual exercise of
works of piety and charity. We only desire that the believer
should present these divine fruits to God, crowned with mod-
esty and humility ; that he should look to it carefully, lest
they become spoiled and tainted by the presumptuous notions
which you teach, of having fulfilled the law or deserved para-
dise. But, my dear brethren, it is better to refute calumny
with works than with words. Let us therefore live as did the
apostle ; let us run diligently as he ran. Let us also forget the
past, and hasten onwards. Let us press towards the mark for
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. This is
the only path that will conduct us to life and immortality.
You must enter, you must persevere therein, if you wish to at-
tain to perfect bliss. What do you not owe to that blessed
Saviour who has called you to it, who has apprehended you
when you thought not of him, arresting you, as formerly he
did Paul in the way to Damascus, when in the career of super-
356 AN EXPOSITION OF [SEEM. XXI.
stition or vice, and placing you in the path of life ! And this is
a special favour, not done to all. Behold the majority of man-
kind walking, or rather running, in the broad way which leadeth
to perdition, labouring night and day for riches, honours, plea-
sures, for worldly knowledge, for earthly and hurtful things,
which lead to hell and eternal misery. But, believers, have you
less desires after heaven than they have for earth ? Do you take
less pains for your salvation than they do for their ruin ? Do
you employ less time and study to become eternally happy,
than they employ, or rather lose, to become eternally miser-
able ?
The first injunction given by the apostle is to leave the
things that are behind; see then that you efface them from
your memory and heart as entirely as if they had never been.
God has forbidden you not only to retrace your steps, and re-
turn to those things from which he has drawn you, or to
plunge again into the vices and superstition from which you
have been delivered : those who do so are no christians ; they
are out of the path of Jesus Christ ; and, not content with losing
themselves, they endeavour to decoy others into the snare, and
unfurl the standard of revolt among the people of God, in
order to induce them to go back to Egypt, from whence they have
been miraculously brought out. But, O christians, to do your
duty faithfully, you must banish from your heart even the
thoughts of these things. While thinking of the onions, and
the melons, and the flesh of Egypt, you will sigh and desire
some of those sad snares of Satan ; and, ere long, desires and
sighs will form themselves into murmurs and rebellion against
God. Kemember Lot's wife, and learn from her the danger of
looking back. And yet it is not sufficient to be on your guard
against looking behind you ; you must also have the eye and
the foot, as it were, in advance. Instead of receding, you
must go forwards. It is only a top (as said one of old*) that
can remain spinning in the same place ; but a christian should
be always advancing and pressing towards the mark.
Never, then, allow a single day to pass without making some
progress : add (as says Peter) to your faith, virtue ; to virtue,
knowledge; to knowledge, temperance; to temperance, pa-
tience ; to patience, godliness ; to godliness, brotherly love ;
and to brotherly love, charity. If there be any virtue, and if
there be any praise ; if there be anything true, holy, pure,
lovely, and of good report ; adorn yourselves therewith, there-
with enrich your conversation, for thus has Jesus, the sovereign
Lord of the race, commanded. It is to this that you are called,
and surely the prize which he holds in his hands shall be
placed on your heads if you run lawfully, as he has ordained ;
* Gregory Nazianzen.
CHAP. III.] THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 357'
to you shall then be addressed, before the assembly of heaven
and earth, those glorious words, "Come good and faithful ser-
vants ; come blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre-
pared for you from the foundation of the world ; enter ye into
the joy of the Lord." Amen.
SERMON XXII.
VERSES 15 — 17.
Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded : and if
in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this
unto you. Nevertheless, ivhereto we have already attained, let
us walk by the same rule, let lis mind -the same thing. Breth-
ren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so
as ye have us for an ensample
It is very desirable, brethren, both as a reward for praise-
worthy actions, and for the instruction of men, that the mem-
ory of persons of exalted virtue should be honourably prese 
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