THK
ENTIRE WORKS
REV. CHARLES SIMEON, M.A,
WITH COPIOUS INDEXES
PREPARED BY THE REV.
THOMAS IIARTWELL 1IORNE, B. D.
LONDON:
PlUNTtD HY KICHAUD CLAY, BKE AU-STRELT-HILL.
HOR^E HOMILETIC^:
OR
DISCOURSES
(PRINCIPALLY IN THE FORM OF SKELETONS)
NOW FIRST DIGESTED INTO ONE CONTINUED SERIES,
AND FORMING A COMMENTARY
UPON EVERY BOOK OF
THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT;
II) WHICH IS ANNF.XFI).
AN IMPROVED EDITION OF A TRANSLATION OF
CLAUDE S ESSAY ON THE COMPOSITION OF A SERMON.
IN TWKNTY-ONK VOLUMES.
BY THE REV. CHARLES SIMEON, M.A.
SENIOR FELLOW OF KING S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.
VOL. XVIII.
PHILIPPIANS TO 1 TIMOTHY.
LONDON:
H O L D S W O II T H AND BALL,
AMKN CORNER, PATERNOSTER ROW.
M DCCCXXXIII.
1
CONTENTS TO VOL. XVIII.
nljcmirse
Tut
subject.
Page,.
PHILIPP1ANS
21;}.-).
i. 0.
A Work of Grace . . .
1
2136.
i. 8 11.
Growth in Grace
6
2137.
i. 17.
Decision of Character recommended .
11
2138.
i. 18.
Preaching of Christ, a Ground of Joy
15
2139.
i. 20.
Christ magnified in our Body .
23
2140.
i. 21 2-1.
28
21-11.
i. 27.
A holy Conversation recommended
32
2142.
i. 29.
Suffering for Christ s sake, a Gift of
God
30
2113.
ii. 1, 2.
Unity recommended
40
2144.
ii. 3.
Esteeming Others above Ourselves
45
21 1. ).
ii. 5 8.
Christ s Humiliation
50
2140.
ii. 91 1.
The Exaltation of Christ ....
61
2147.
ii. 12, 13.
God assists the Diligent ....
64
2148.
ii. 1-4 10.
Practical Relic/ion enforced
09
2149.
ii. 17, 18.
Ministerial Zeal depicted ....
73
2150.
ii. 21.
The Selfishness of Man ....
78
2151.
iii. 3.
The true Christian delineated .
84
21.-) 2.
iii. 7, 8.
The Excellency of the Knowledge of
Christ
87
21.53.
iii. 8, 9.
Christ Gain to the Believer
92
2i;>4.
iii. 10.
The Power of Christ s Resurrection .
97
2155.
iii. 13 15.
Holy Ambition encouraged ....
100
21") 6.
iii. 17, 20.
Of following good Examples
103
21 ) 7.
iii. 18, 19.
A Warning to the Earthly-minded .
100
2158.
iv. 1.
110
2159.
iv. 5.
Christian Moderation .....
1 13
2100.
iv. (i, 7.
A Dissuasive from Carefulness
118
2101.
iv. 8.
The Extent of a Christian s Duty
123
21(52.
iv. <).
Paul an Example for us
130
21G3.
iv. 11, r_ .
Contentment
130
CONTENTS.
Discourse
Text. Subject.
p.,.
2164.
2165.
2166.
2167.
2168.
2169.
2170.
2171.
2172.
2173.
2174.
2175.
2176.
2177.
2178.
2179.
2180.
2181.
2182.
2183.
2184.
2185.
2186.
2187.
2188.
2189.
2190.
2191.
2192.
2193.
PHILIPPIANS
iv. 13.
iv. 19.
COLOSSIANS
i. 36.
i. 913.
i. 1618.
i. 19.
i. 2123.
i. 27.
i. 28.
ii. 1, 2.
ii. 3.
ii. 6, 7.
ii. 9.
ii. 1012.
ii. 1315.
ii. 17.
ii. 19.
iii. 1.
iii. 2.
iii. 3, 4.
iii. 11.
iii. 11.
iii. 1214.
iii. 16.
iii. 17.
iii. 18 iv. I.
iv. 12.
1 THESSALONIANS
i. 2 4.
i. 5.
i. 9, 10.
Extent and Source of the Christians
141
145
149
152
156
1C2
165
171
174
179
185
197
199
205
210
215
218
223
227
232
236
240
245
250
254
259
266
269
275
280
All needful Supplies through Christ .
Paul s Commendation of the Gospel .
Prayer for Groivth in Grace .
The Gloni of Christ
The Fulness of Christ ....
Sanctijl cation the End of Redemption
Christ in us, the Hope of Glory .
Mystery of the Gospel to be searched
out,
The Fulness that is in Christ .
The Character of Christians .
Proper Deity of Christ
The Christian s Completeness in Christ
Triumphs of the Cross
The Nature and Use of the Types .
Holdinci the Head
Our Resurrection with Christ, a Mo
tive to Heavenly-mindedness
Heavenlu-mindedness
The exalted State of a Christian .
The Importance of Sanctijication .
Christian Constancy displayed
Love to the Scriptures recommended .
Doing All in the Name of Christ .
The Relative Duties explained
The Character and Aim of a Chris-
True Piety described
The Manner in which the Gospel
becomes effectual
Scope and End of Christian Ministry
CONTENTS.
Vll
Discourje.
Text.
Subject.
Pagf.
1 THESSALONIANS
2194.
ii. 7, 8.
The Ministerial Character portrayed
284
2195.
ii. 11, 12.
The Duty of those who are called
290
2196.
ii. 13.
A due Reception of the Gospel
295
2197.
ii. 19, 20.
Christians the Joy of their Ministers.
299
2198.
iii. 8.
The People s Stability is the Mini
ster s Comfort
305
2199.
iii. 9. 10.
A Minister s Joy in his People
311
2200.
iii. 12, 13.
The Effect of Love on universal
Holiness
317
2201.
iv. 1.
Advancement in Holiness enforced
323
2202.
iv. 13 18.
The Resurrection
328
2203.
v. 1 8.
Watchfulness enjoined
333
2204.
v. 8.
The Duties of Moderation and Watch
fulness
346
2205.
v. 1618.
The Nature of true Relic/ion .
349
2206.
v. 19.
Quenching the Spirit
351
2207.
v. 21.
Investigation of Truth recommended .
356
2208.
v. 22.
Abstaining from all Appearance of
Evil
360
2209.
v. 23, 24.
Complete Sanctification to be sought
after
364
2 THESSALONIAXS
2210.
i. 37.
The State of the Thessalonian Church
371
2211.
i. 710.
Christ s Coming to judge the World .
377
2212.
i. 11, 12.
Meetness for Heaven desired .
382
2213.
ii. 11, 12.
Progress of Unbelief
387
2214.
ii. 13, 14.
The Salvation of Men traced to its
proper Source
390
22],-).
ii. 16, 17.
God our Benefactor
395
2216.
iii. 1.
The Spread of the Gospel ....
398
2217.
iii. 2.
All Men have not Faith ....
401
2218.
iii. 5.
St. Paul s Benevolence ....
404
2219.
iii. 16.
The Desirableness of Peace .
408
1 TIMOTHY
2220.
i. 5.
Charity the true Scope of the Gospel
412
2221.
i. 8.
The Law (pod, if used aright .
418
2222.
i. 11.
Nature and Office of the Gospel .
424
CONTENTS.
>!oar.c
Text.
Subject.
Page.
1 TIMOTHY
2223.
i. 11.
Richness and Fulness of the Gospel .
438
2221.
i. 11.
Suitableness and Sufficiency of the
n i
454
2225.
i. 11.
The Excellency and Glory of the
n i
469
2226.
i. 15.
Christ came to save Sinners . .
485
2227.
i. 16.
D 7 /~>
488
2228.
ii. 3, 4.
Salvation for All
493
2229.
ii. 5, 6.
The Mediation of Christ ....
498
2230.
iii. 16.
The great Mystery of Godliness . .
504
2231.
iv. 8, 9.
Godliness profitable unto all Things .
508
2232.
iv. 12.
Address to Young Persons ....
515
2233.
v. 24, 25.
The Quality of Mens Works dis
covered in the Day of Judgment ,
521
2234.
vi. 3.
The Gospel productive of good Works
527
2235.
vi. 6.
Godliness with Contentment . . .
531
2236.
vi. 9, 10.
535
2237.
vi. 11.
Practical Piety enforced ....
539
2238.
vi. 12.
The good Fight of Faith ....
543
2239.
vi. 1719.
The true Use of Riches ....
547
P II I L I P P I A N S.
MMCXXXV.
A WORK OF GRACE.
Phil. i. (>. Being confident of this very thing, that he which
hath begun a good ivork in you will perform it until the day
of Jesus Chi isf.
THERE is a just mixture of hope and fear, which
every Christian should cherish in contemplating
his own experience, and the state of the Church of
Christ. On the one hand there certainly is ground
for fear, whether we judge from analogy, or from
what we behold with our eyes. What multitudes of
blossoms are annually cut off by frost ! of those that
set, how many are blighted by an eastern wind! of those
that grow, how many are blown off by storms and
tempests ! and of those that hang upon the tree, how
many, when gathered, prove rotten at the core ! Thus
it is seen in the religious world ; many make a fair
show for a little while, and then fall off from their
profession : others are blighted, and come to naught :
others look well for a season, but are beaten down by
storms of persecution and temptation : and of those
who maintain their profession to the end, how many
will at last be found unsound at heart ! But, if this
cast a damp upon our joys, and teach us to moderate
our expectations, it need not, it ought not, to rob us
of all our confidence : for though sound fruit may be
blown off from a tree, no sound Christian shall ever
VOL. XVIII. B
PHILIPPIANS, 1. 0. [2135.
be separated from the Lord Jesus. Of this the
Apostle was fully persuaded : and, under this con
viction, he thanked God for the converts at Philippi,
whose sincerity he had no reason to doubt, and of
whose perseverance in the divine life he therefore
entertained the most sanguine hopes.
To make a just improvement of his declaration
before us, we shall shew,
I. When a good work may be said to be begun in us
It is not an easy matter to draw the line between
those high attainments of religion of which we may
fall short, and yet be confident that a good work is
begun ; and those low attainments, which will warrant
us to hope well, at the same time that they are by
no means a sufficient ground of confidence. But,
taking St. Paul for our guide, we trust, that we shall
so discriminate, as neither to make sad the heart of
the righteous, nor to countenance the delusions of
the wicked. Those evidences, from whence he " knew
the election" (and, of consequence, the perseverance
also) of the saints at Thessalonica, will serve as a
sure criterion whereby to judge of our own state 3 .
We may be assured then that a good work is begun
in us, when faith, hope, and love, shew themselves to
have been formed in our hearts ; that is,
1. When our faith is operative
[That faith, which is without works, is dead ; and is of no
more value that the faith of devils b : but the faith which sti
mulates us to resist and mortify all sin, and to be conscientious
in the practice of all duties, is, beyond a doubt, the gift of
God, the workmanship of an almighty Agent .]
2. When our love is laborious
[Our " love is not to be in word or in tongue, but in deed
and in truth :" nor must it have respect to men s bodies merely,
but to their souls ; leading us to consult their spiritual welfare
to the utmost of our power, at the same time that we gladly
deny ourselves to relieve their spiritual wants. The voice of
inspiration assures us that he who exercises such love is born
of God d .]
a 1 Thess. i. 3 f>. Jam. ii. 19, 20.
c Phil. i. 29. Eph. i. 19. d 1 John iv. 7.
2135.] A WORK OF GRACE. 3
3. When our hope is patient
[The Christian s hope will have much to try it ; but it is
to be the anchor of his soul, that shall keep him steadfast 6 in
this tempestuous world. He will often experience " fightings
without, and fears within :" but beyond and " against hope,
he must believe in hope f ," saying, "I know in whom I have
believed, and that he is able to keep that which I have com
mitted to him against that day g ." And every one who has
such a lively hope, may be sure that he has been begotten to
it by God himself 11 .]
To enter fully into the Apostle s assertion, we must
shew,
II. On what grounds we may be confident that he
who has begun this good work will finish it
If this work were wrought by man, the Apostle
would never express such confidence respecting his
completion of it ; since no dependence can be placed
on the stability of man s virtue. But since he that
accomplishes this great work is God , we may be
assured, that " he will perform it till the day of Jesus
Christ."
We may be assured of it
1. From the declarations of his word
[Numberless are his declarations to this effect, that having
once been the " author of a good work within us, he will be the
finisher of it k ." " He will not forsake his people, because it hath
pleased him to make them his people ." He has promised in
the strongest possible manner, that " he will never never leave
them, never never forsake them" 1 ." True, they have many
enemies : but " he will suffer none of them to pluck them out
of his hands"." Have they manifold temptations ? They shall
" have none without a way to escape, that they may be able to
bear them ." Not even their unbelief shall prevent Jehovah
from executing his gracious purposes towards them p . As for
" Satan, he shall be bruised under their feet shortly q ." Through
weakness they may occasionally fall: " yet shall they not be
utterly cast down 1 ." " God will restore their souls 8 :" and make
their very falls the means of augmenting their future caution
e Heb. vi. 19. f Rom. iv. 18. B 2 Tim. i. 12.
h 1 Pet. i. 3. ver. 3 5. and 2 Cor. v. o. and John i. 13.
k Heb. xii. 2. 1 Sam. xii. 22. m Heb. xiii. ">, 0.
n John x. 28, 29. 1 Cor. x. 13. i> 2 Tim. ii. 12, 13.
1 Rom. xvi. 20. r Ps. xxxvii. 23, 24. s Ps. xxiii. 3.
4 PHILIPPIANS, I. 0. [2135.
and stability . The sun may occasionally be covered with a
cloud ; yet shall it advance to its meridian height : and such
shall be the path of all the servants of God u : " they shall hold
on their way, and their hands shall wax stronger and stronger*."
This is the portion of them all without exception, for " it is
not the will of our Father that one of his little ones should
perish > ."]
2. From the perfections of his nature-
fin speaking on this subject, we would proceed with great
caution ; for we know not what will consist with his perfec
tions: and, if we should presume to speak dogmatically re
specting them, we should only betray our own weakness and
folly. Yet methinks his wisdom affords us some ground of
confidence : for, if he has created us anew, in order that we may
shew forth the power of his grace, will he suffer his enemies so
to counteract his purposes as to make us only occasions of
greater dishonour to him ? If only a man should begin to
construct a house and leave it unfinished, he would only ex
pose himself thereby to a greater measure of derision z : how
then would Satan cast reflections on the Deity, if he should
fail in accomplishing so great a work as man s salvation !
In like manner the goodness of God is some ground of hope
and confidence. For God has surely never accomplished in us
so good a work in order to leave us ultimately to perish under
a more aggravated condemnation.
But in speaking of such things which infinitely exceed our
comprehension, I can lay no stress on the conjectures of man ;
nor can I give weight to any thing that does not proceed
clearly and immediately from God himself. But in speaking
of the truth of God, I feel that I stand on firm ground. God
lias entered into covenant with us ; and has confirmed that
covenant with an oath : and has expressly declared that he did
so confirm it, that by two immutable things, in which it was
impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who
" have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us a ."
He is as unchangeable in his word as he is in his nature ; and
"because he changeth not, therefore we are not consumed 1 "."
We, alas! are variable in the extreme; but "with him is no
variableness neither shadow of turning ." Now if we look
into his covenant we shall see that he gives all, and we receive
all d : and that he engages, not only "not to depart from us,
but to put his fear in our hearts that we may not depart from
I Compare Luke xxii. 31 34. with 1 Pet. v. 8.
II Prov. iv. 18. x Job xvii. 9. : Matt, xviii. 14.
z Luke xiv. 28, 29. Heb. vi. 17, 18. > Mai. iii. 6.
.Jrun. i. 17. a E/ek. xxxvi. 2"> 27.
A WORK OF GRACE. .5
him ." We may be sure therefore that he will not cast olF his
people, because it hath pleased him to make them his people 1 .
If indeed he had chosen any of us because we were holy, or
because he foresaw that we should be holy, he might abandon
us as not answering his expectations. But he chose us that
ice might be holy K , and predestinated us to be conformed to the
image of his Son 1 : and therefore what he has undertaken we
may be sure he will perform 1 . It is on this ground alone that
we can account for St. Paul s confidence, in which every one in
whom God has begun a good work is fully authorized to join.]
I beg leave now to ADD a word,
1. Of inquiry respecting the commencement of this
work
[I am fully aware that persons so blinded by self-love as
ice, are greatly in danger of forming too favourable a judgment
of our state : and I must warn all of you that God will not be
put off with such a feigned repentance as Ahab s, or such a
partial reformation as Herod s, or such a hypocritical attach
ment as that of Judas. Examine then, I pray you, with all
imaginable care, respecting the qualify of your faith, and hope,
and love. Is your faith operative in purifying your heart ? Is
your love laborious in all kind offices, not to the bodies of men
only, but to their souls ? And is your hope such as carries
you forward through all difficulties towards the attainment of
the heavenly prize ? Remember, it is no outward work that
is here spoken of, but a work in us : and a work which nothing
less than Omnipotence can effect. To deceive yourselves in
relation to it, is vain, since you cannot deceive the heart-
searching God. Be careful then to try your work, of what
kind it is ; and be satisfied with nothing that does not evi
dently bear the divine stamp and character upon it.]
2. Of admonition in reference to its continuance
[There is nothing at which I tremble more than at a hard,
bold, presumptuous confidence respecting the application of
this doctrine to a man s own state, whilst in his spirit and
temper and conduct he shews himself to be far from the mind
of Christ. In fact, wherever such a confidence exists, there is
great reason to doubt whether a good work has ever been
begun in the soul. Confidence, if truly spiritual, will be at
tended with humility, watchfulness, gratitude, and zeal. Look
to it then, that you manifest on all occasions a deep sense of
your utter unworthiness ; a fear lest in any thing you grieve
e Jer. xxxii. 40. { 1 Sam. xii. 22. s Eph. i. 4.
11 Rom. viii. 29. Ps. Ixxxix. 30 30.
<; PH1LIPPIANS, I. 8-11. [2136.
the good Spirit of your God ; an admiring and adoring sense o f
God s mercy to your soul; and a determination of heart to
Hve only to your God. This is the true way in which the
d work is to go forward in the soul : and in so walking, you
will best justify your confidence to the world, and will give the
best proof of the doctrine of perseverance by actually per
severing : moreover, in this way you will not only enjoy the
most exalted peace on earth, but will have ab ^*
trance ministered unto you in due season into the kingdom o
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.]
MMCXXXVI.
GROWTH IN GRACE.
Phil i 8 1 1 . 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 ait
judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent;
that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day oj
Christ,- being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which
are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
THE connexion subsisting between a pastor and
his flock is set forth in the Scriptures under the most
endearing images. While they are spoken of as his
beloved children, he is represented as the father that
begat them, and as the nursing mother who cherishes
them in her bosom. Even these images seem to
have been too faint to depict the tender regard which
St. Paul bore towards those who had been converted
by his ministry. He longed for their welfare with
more than human affection. He could compare his
feelings with nothing so justly as with the yearning
of the Saviour s bowels over a ruined world. Nor
was he actuated by partial and personal attachments :
his regards were universal : they extended to every
member of Christ s mystical body: yea, he could
appeal to God himself, that he felt the deepest inte
rest in the prosperity of " all," whether more or less
distinguished by worldly rank or spiritual attainments.
Among the various ways in which he manifests his
concern for them, he was especially mindful of prayer
and intercession; and though in these benevolent
2130.] GROWTH IN GRACE. 7
exercises he was solicitous only to approve himself to
God, yet he thought it proper on many accounts to
inform them of the means he used for their benefit ;
and to declare to them the particular things which he
sought for in their behalf.
From the prayer before us, we see that he desired,
I. Their intellectual improvement
" Love" is absolutely essential to a Christian :
without that, whatever else we may possess, we are
only as sounding brass or tinkling cymbals. Love is
the characteristic feature of the Deity : and in this
all his children resemble him. By this mark we are
made known to others as the disciples of Christ : by
this we ourselves also are assured, that we have
passed from death unto life. In this amiable quality
the Philippians " abounded." But the Apostle wished
them to abound in it " yet more and more." He was
solicitous that it should display itself in a becoming-
manner. He prayed therefore that their " love might
yet more and more abound,"
1. In knowledge
[Knowledge is properly the foundation of love. What
ever we fix our affections upon, we love it for some real or
supposed excellence that is in it. If we are unacquainted with
the qualities of any person or thing, it is not possible that we
should feel any real attachment to him or it. Our love to God
therefore, and to his people, should be daily nurtured and
strengthened by an increasing acquaintance with them. Our
views of the Divine perfections are, at best, but very narrow
and contracted. So little are we acqainted with his providence,
that we can only faintly guess at either the reasons or issue of
his dispensations. The mysteries of redemption are very
superficially discovered by us. What we know of Christ, is
extremely partial and defective. The nature, extent, and
beauties of holiness are very dimly seen. The privileges and
blessedness of the Lord s people are but little understood.
Wherever we turn our eyes, we are circumscribed by very
narrow limits. On every side there are heights and depths,
and length and breadth, that cannot be explored. To be
searching into these things is our imperative duty, our exalted
privilege. If " the angels desire to look into them," much
more should we. It is by more enlarged views of them, that
our love to them must be confirmed and advanced. We should
PHILIPHANS, I. 8-11. [2136.
rrxsr^^^
understanding.]
2 In a spiritual perception of the things known-
fMerely speculative knowledge is of little avail : : rt is only
like tC light o P f the moon which disrates ^cun^M
but communicates neither heat nor strength Th kno^ed e
which alone will augment our love, is that which Fauces
sui able impressions on the mind; it is that which, like the
L he S a ^tud. tte, which acquired and
her enfo-ment of divine truth is wonderfully enhanced*
No this is the knowledge which we should aspire ,a fter , d
in which our love should progressively abound. We should
not be satisfied with that speculative know Jed ge wine h may
be gained from men and books; but should seek that spi-
rituS discernment, which nothing but the Deration of the
Spirit of God upon the soul can produce". Whatever be t
Articular object of our regard, we should get ; a realizug
sense of their excellency, and be duly impressed wit!
importance.]
These views and impressions the Apostle desired
for them, in order to a further end :
II. Their moral improvement-
Love, when duly exercised, is the main-spring of
all acceptable obedience. When abounding in know
ledge and in all judgment, so as to be suitably affected
with every thing, it will improve the whole of our
conduct and conversation. It will make us,
1. More judicious
[We are very apt to be misled by what is specious,
Hence many embrace erroneous principles, or rest m delusive
experiences, or justify an unbecoming conduct, kven in tl
Heb. v. 14. b 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10, 12, 14.
< efij TO cW/.H e" p f fic Ta hcuplpovrn.
2136.] GROWTH IN GRACE. *>
apostolic age, many were turned from the faith by the sophis
try of false teachers : and every day presents some to our view,
\vho are ready to admire and applaud themselves for those
very things which more disinterested persons see to be their
characteristic failings : yea, plain and palpable faults are not
unfrequently committed by persons unconscious of acting wrong,
in whose eyes the very faults they commit appear not only
innocent, but praiseworthy. It is not the world only that put
darkness for light ; even the godly themselves are apt to
confound good and evil ; and it is no inconsiderable part of
Christian wisdom to distinguish them from each other. The
Apostle was anxious that his Philippian converts should form a
correct judgment, and so try the things that differed from each
other, as to be able to discern the more excellent; just as a
refiner proves his metal in the furnace, and thus ascertains its
real worth 1 .
But how shall this be done? We answer, By having our
love to divine things more under the influence of an enlightened
and spiritual mind. We shall then have within ourselves a
faculty, as it were, whereby we may discern the things sub
mitted to it. Our views being more comprehensive, and our
judgment more spiritual, we shall be able to weigh every thing
in a juster balance, and to discriminate with far greater exact
ness. As the different senses are fitted to give us a right
estimate of the things on which they are exercised, so the mind,
imbued with ardent love, extensive knowledge, and spiritual
discernment, will rightly appreciate whatever presents itself to
its notice, and calls for its decision.]
2. More steadfast
[Though sincerity is ever an attendant on true religion,
yet is there much hypocrisy still remaining in the renewed
heart. We do not mean that there is any allowed guile ; for
that would at once determine a man to be no true Israelite :
but every grace in man s heart is imperfect, and admits of
growth; and, consequently, sincerity amongst the rest. More
over, as long as we continue in the body, we are liable to err ;
and not only to stumble ourselves, but even to become stum
bling-blocks to others. Not the attainments of St. Peter
himself could place him beyond the reach of sin. We may
appeal to all who " know the plague of their own hearts,"
whether they do not still feel within themselves a proneness
to act with an undue reference to the good opinion of their
fellow-creatures ; and whether they have not still reason to
lament the existence of manifold defects in their deportment
d See note c . This seems to be the precise idea contained in the
Apostle s words.
10 PHILIPP1ANS, 1. 811. [2136.
towards God and man ! Now it is of infinite importance, to
the honour of religion and the comfort of our own souls,
that these defects be remedied as much as possible; that we
be more and more delivered from the influence of corrupt
passions ; and that we be kept sincere and upright until the
day of Christ.
But how shall this steadfastness be attained ? We can pre
scribe no better means than those referred to in the text. A
loving spirit, abounding in clear, spiritual, and impressive views
of divine truth, will assist us greatly in the whole of our con
duct. A feeling sense of the love of Christ upon our hearts
will fortify us against every temptation ; it will make our walk
circumspect, our conscience tender, our zeal ardent, our obe
dience uniform.]
3. More diligent-
fin estimating a fruit-tree, our principle inquiry respects
its fruit : its foliage and blossoms are objects comparatively
unimportant. Thus the principles and professions, the ex
periences and habits of a Christian, are no further valuable,
than as they are connected with the substantial fruits of right
eousness. His love, whether to God or man, must lead to
active exertions, and must shew itself in the practice of uni
versal holiness. He should be like a tree whose boughs are
laden with fruit. Such a Christian adorns his profession, and
recommends religion to all who behold him: and the fruit
which he bears, by virtue derived from Christ, does, through
the merits of Christ, ascend up with acceptance before God ;
and tends exceedingly to exalt the honour of God in the world.
Such fruitfulness, I say, is the great end of all the mercies
vouchsafed unto him, and of all the love which he professes to
feel towards Christ and his people.
But how shall this be secured ? We can recur to nothing
more effectual than that already mentioned. If we increase
in a spiritual perception of the excellency and importance of
the Gospel, we cannot fail of being stirred up to activity and
diligence in the ways of God : we shall not be satisfied with
bringing forth thirty or sixty-fold, but shall labour to bring
forth fruit an hundred-fold, and to be "filled with" it in all
seasons, and under all circumstances. " Give me understand
ing," says David, " and I shall keep thy law, yea, I shall
observe it with my whole heart."]
APPLICATION
[While we admire the Apostle s tender solicitude for the
souls of men, let us cherish a just regard for our own souls ;
and, by mutual exhortations and fervent intercessions, endea
vour to the utmost to advance the interests of religion, in each
other, and in the world at large.]
2137.] DECISION OF CHARACTER RECOMMENDED. 11
MMCXXXVII.
DECISION OF CHARACTER RECOMMENDED.
Phil. i. 17. / am set for the defence of the Gospel.
THE Gospel is a revelation of mercy to sinful man,
and the most stupendous display of God s wisdom
and grace that ever was given to his intelligent crea
tion - - It might naturally have been expected
that such tidings should have been invariably wel
comed with unbounded joy : but, in every age, and
every place under heaven, has it excited the fiercest
opposition - - On the other hand, it has been
maintained with firmness by God s faithful servants,
and has triumphed over all the opposition that either
men or devils could raise against it - - In truth,
it has been assailed no less by subtilty than by force;
and its very doctrines have been propagated with a
view to undermine its influence. St. Paul tells us,
that, on his imprisonment, many rose to the occasion,
and proclaimed the Gospel with augmented fortitude;
but that some had preached it for no other end than
that of drawing away his disciples, and thereby adding
affliction to his bonds. He, however, whether under
prosperous or adverse circumstances, " was set for
the defence of the Gospel," and was determined to
maintain it, even unto death.
In him we see,
I. What place the Gospel should hold in our estima
tion-
Nothing is of importance in comparison of it
[Nothing can vie with it in certainty as a record, in rich
ness as a system, or in value as a remedy.
Whatever can be conceived as necessary to establish its
authority as a divine record, is found in it in such abundance,
that no record under heaven can be received, if this be not.
Its evidences, both external and internal, are so clear and
numerous, that it is not possible for a candid mind to with
stand their force
And what wonders of love and mercy does it bring to our
view! the substitution of God s co-equal, co-eternal Son, in
1L> PHILIPPIANS, I. 17. [2137.
the place of his rebellious creatures, to bear the wrath which
they had merited, and fulfil the law which they had broken,
and thereby to work out a righteousness wherein they might
find acceptance ! - - the sending also of the Holy Spirit,
the Third Person in the ever-adorable Trinity, to impart to
men the knowledge of this salvation, and to prepare them for
the enjoyment of it ! Such a mode of restoring man to his
offended God infinitely surpasses all finite conception: nor
will eternity suffice to explore the wonders of love and mercy
contained in it
To the weary and heavy-laden soul nothing else is wanting.
It provides for sinful man all that his necessities require par
don, and peace, and holiness, and glory: pardon of all his sins,
how great or numerous soever they may have been; peace with
God, and in his own conscience ; strength for the performance
of every duty; and everlasting happiness at the right hand of
God. Never was there a case which this did not reach ; never
a want for which it was not an adequate supply
Nothing, therefore, should equal it in our esteem
[Plow vain and empty does the world appear, when viewed
by the eye of faith! St. Paul, speaking of the cross of Christ,
says, that, " by it the world was crucified unto him, and he
unto the world." This expression of his will set this matter
in its true light. Suppose a person suspended on the cross,
and in the very article of death : what are the world s feelings
in relation to him, and his in reference to the world? His
dearest friends and relatives feel their connexion with him
altogether dissolved ; and he, even if he has possessed crowns
and kingdoms, feels no further interest in them ; but bids
them, without regret, an everlasting farewell. Precisely thus
are the bonds which once subsisted between the believer and
the world burst asunder; they no longer regarding him as
theirs, and he no longer regarding them as his. The concerns
of eternity have taken possession of his mind : and he has no
longer any taste for the things of time and sense. This, I
hesitate not to say, should, in the main, be the experience of
all who embrace the Gospel : " they should count all things
but dung, that they may win Christ."
Nor should personal ease be deemed of any importance in
comparison of fidelity to Christ. The fiery furnace should
not intimidate : the den of lions should not deter us from the
path of duty. Whatever we may have suffered, or may be
threatened with, for the Gospel s sake, we should be ready to
say, with the Apostle, " None of these things move me : neither
count I my life dear unto me, so that I may but fulfil my duty
to my Lord and Saviour "
It is scarcely needful to say, that we must be ready to relin-
2137. J DECISION OF CHARACTER RECOMMENDED. li>
quish for it cur own righteousness : for though self-righteous
ness cleaves closer to us than to any thing else, a just view of
the Gospel will dispel it all, as a morning cloud; and we shall
be ready to seek our all in Christ; making him, and him alone,
" our wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and re
demption.]
From hence, then, we may easily see,
II. What firmness it should produce in our conduct
The Apostle " was set for the defence of the Gospel,"
in the midst of greater difficulties and trials than ever
were encountered by mortal man a . And a similar
firmness should we manifest,
1. In our adherence to it-
fit is, indeed, "our very life 1 ;" and should occupy our
whole souls. It should be to our souls what our souls are to
our bodies : it should live, and move, and act in every part.
Our every act, and word, and thought, should be directed by
it; and we should be as tenacious of it as of life itself. It is
justly said, "Skin for skin ; yea, all that a man hath will he
give for his life :" and in this light we should view the Gospel:
in comparison of it, every thing in the whole universe should
be considered as of no account : and, if all the world endeavour
to wrest it from us, we should be ready to lay down our lilt-
in its defence; well knowing, that "whoso will save his life,
shall lose it ; but that whosoever will lose it for the Gospel s
sake, the same shall save it 1 ."]
2. In our profession of it
[There were, in the Apostle s days, some who " preached
Christ of envy and strife ;" and who affected an union in sen
timent with him, only with a view to subvert his power. And
such preachers exist at this day ; adopting and proclaiming the
Gospel itself, for the purpose of diminishing the influence of
those whose principles are more pure, whose aims are more
exalted, whose lives are more heavenly. Indeed, there is
scarcely any thing more common, than for the people of the
world to point out to their friends men as patterns of sound
doctrine and of correct conduct, with no better view than to
draw away from more zealous ministers their followers and
adherents. But we should be alike on our guard against pre
tended friends and avowed enemies. I mean not to say that
we should not listen to counsel of any kind : for certainly we
ought to suspect our own judgment, and to lend a willing ear
a 2. Cor. xi. 2328. b Deut. xxxii. 47.
c Job ii. 4. ll Matt. xvi. 25.
1 ! PHILIPPIANS, I. 17. [2137.
to good advice ; but we should guard against seduction, from
whatever quarter it may come ; and should " prove all things,
and hold fast that only which is good." As to concealing our
love to the Gospel, we should not attempt it, or even endure
the thought of it for a moment. We should not be afraid of
having it known " whose we are, and whom we serve." We
should shine as lights in the world ; holding forth, in our lives,
as well as with our lips, the word of life :" and should so
make " our light to shine before men, that all who behold it
may glorify our Father who is in heaven." It was a matter of
public notoriety that the Apostle was " set for the defence of
the Gospel:" nor should our devotion to it be unknown by
those around us, who have an opportunity of observing our
life and conversation.]
3. In our propagation of it to the world
[This is the duty both of ministers and people ; each of
whom, in their respective places and stations, should advance
the knowledge of it to the utmost of their power. The whole
mass of converts, when driven from Jerusalem by the perse
cution which had consigned Stephen to martyrdom, " went
every where preaching the word 6 / And, in like manner, all,
of every description, though not called to the ministerial
office, are, in a less ostensible manner indeed, though scarcely
less effectual, to bear testimony to the truth, and to commend
the Saviour to all around them f To "put our light
under a bushel" would be the greatest injustice both to God
and man : to God, who has imparted it to us for the good of
others ; and to man, who can by no other means be guided
into the way of peace. To the pious zeal of others we are in
debted for all that we know ; and, " having freely received,
we should freely give."]
ADDRESS
1. Those who have no regard for the Gospel-
fin what a pitiable state are you ! and how awfully has
" the god of this world blinded your eyes ! " Perhaps
you think that the opposition which it meets with is a just
ground for questioning its real worth. But I should rather
say, that that very opposition is a presumptive evidence in its
favour ; because it has been so opposed from the days of Cain
and Abel until now ; and because it declares what reception
it shall ever meet with from an ungodly world. And may I
e Acts viii. 4.
If this be preached in support of a Bible Society, here would be
the place for shewing the importance of such societies, and men s duty
to support them.
2138.] PREACHING OF CHRIST, A GROUND OF JOY. 15
not add, that the firmness of holy men in its support is a fur
ther testimony in its behalf? I know, indeed, that many have
died in the defence of error : but where, in the annals of the
world, will be found such a frame of mind as that of Stephen,
except under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and in attesta
tion to the truth of God? Let not then that Gospel, which
has been so esteemed by others, be any longer slighted by
you. Be careful, indeed, that you receive the true Gospel :
guard against all perversions of the doctrine of Christ : see to
it, that, in your view of it, the sinner is laid low, even in the
dust, and that the Lord Jesus Christ alone is exalted : and,
having once embraced that, let it " be all your salvation, and
all your desire."]
2. Those who, knowing the Gospel, are yet afraid
to confess it
[No sin is more severely reprobated in the Gospel, than
the being ashamed of Christ 8 And as none is more
fatal, so none is more foolish : for the very persons who hate
us for the sake of Christ will honour us more, in their minds,
for adhering to our principles, than for renouncing them, or
acting unworthy of them. But, supposing it were not so,
what is man s displeasure, in comparison of God s ; or his
favour, when compared with God s ? To all, then, I say,
" Fear not man, who, when he has killed the body, hath no
more that he can do : but fear Him who can destroy both
body and soul in hell ; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him."]
3. The sincere followers of our Lord
[If you suffer even unto bonds, care not for it : let your
only fear be, lest by any means you should dishonour the
Gospel of Christ. Instead of being intimidated by opposition,
let it be to you rather an occasion for manifesting your fidelity
to Him, whose servant you are : and in proportion as persecu
tion rages, let your courage rise, and your efforts be increased :
and, if called to lay down life itself for him, rejoice that you
are counted worthy so to do ; and have no concern whatever,
but that " Christ may be magnified in your body, whether by
life or death."]
s Mark viii. 38.
MMCXXXVIII.
PREACHING OF CHRIST, A GROUND OF JOY.
Phil. i. 18. Christ is preached ; and I therein do rejoice, yea,
and -will rejoice.
WHEN our blessed Lord came into the world, it
was said concerning him, that he was " set for the
lf> PHILIPPIANS, I. IS. [2138.
fall and rising again of many in Israel, that the
thoughts of many hearts might be revealed*." And
certainly his Gospel has been an occasion of display
ing, in a far greater degree than at any former period,
the extreme wickedness of the human heart, and, at
the same time, the astonishing efficacy of divine grace
to renew and sanctify the soul. The virulent oppo
sition made to the Gospel by its professed enemies
may, in some measure, illustrate the former. But
the subtle contrivances of its professed friends to
adulterate its truths and to subvert its influence,
shewed a degree of malignity perfectly Satanic :
whilst the virtues which have, by these means, been
drawn forth into exercise, have been no less illustra
tive of the power and grace of Christ. In several of
the apostolic Churches, there were not only some
who perverted the Gospel by a mixture of self-right
eous doctrines, but some who actually preached the
Gospel for the very purpose of undermining its proper
influence. In the context, this curious device is fully
developed, and the mask is taken from the faces of
these base hypocrites ; whilst the effect of their en
deavours on the Apostle s mind is plainly declared.
By the Roman magistrates, St. Paul had been sent
to Rome, and imprisoned. This, which seemed likely
to stop the progress of the Gospel, had, in reality,
turned out to the furtherance of it ; because the zeal
of many others was called forth, in a much greater
degree, to advance its interests. But some, who
sought only their own glory, took occasion, from his
imprisonment, to practise on the minds of his fol
lowers, and to draw them away from him. Paul s
converts, however, were too well instructed to be
wrought upon by false doctrines : and, therefore,
these teachers preached the true Gospel itself, that
so they might insinuate themselves into the affections
of their simple-minded hearers, and thus form them
into a party against the Apostle himself, and ulti
mately establish their own authority on the ruin of
his. Hear the Apostle s own account of it : " Some
a Luke ii. 34, 35.
2138. J PREACHING OF CHRIST, A GROUND OF JOY. 17
indeed 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. What then ?
notwithstanding every way, whether in pretence or
in truth, Christ is preached ; and I therein do rejoice,
yea, and will rejoice V
In discoursing on these latter words, I will shew,
I. What we are to understand by preaching Christ
This is a term frequently made use of to express
the preaching of the Gospel. In the passage before
us, it is repeated no less than three times ; and it is
admirably adapted to convey at once to the mind the
whole complex idea of proclaiming, in all its parts,
the great mystery of redemption. Under this term
is comprehended a full exhibition of,
1 . Our need of Christ
[The fall of man, and the consequent guilt and misery of
the human race, form the ground on which a Saviour is neces
sary. The angels, that have never fallen, need no Saviour :
but, as we have fallen, and are wholly incapable of restoring
ourselves either to the image or favour of God, we need one
to do it for us. This, then, must be fully opened, in order to
preach Christ with effect : and all our hearers must be fully
informed, that they are under the wrath of God that they
can never atone for their own sins that it is impossible for
them to renew their own natures that their hope must be
altogether in God s mercy, through Christ ]
2. Christ s suitableness and sufficiency to save us
[Not all the angels in heaven were competent to this
task. But the Lord Jesus Christ was God equal with the
Father, and therefore was capable of accomplishing what no
finite power could effect. By assuming our nature, he could
suffer in our place and stead ; whilst his Godhead imparted to
those sufferings a value, sufficient to atone for the sins of the
whole world. Besides, having now in himself essentially all
the fulness of the Godhead, and a communicative fulness ex
pressly treasured up in him, as our mediator, for the benefit
of his Church, he can impart to every one of his members all
b ver. 1418.
VOL. XVIII. C
18 PHILIPPIANS, I. 18. [2138.
that he sees to be needful for them in this state of trial and
probation. And he has actually promised to all, who believe
in him, a supply of all spiritual blessings according to their
necessities. Now, this must occupy a very large share in the
ministrations of those who would preach the Gospel aright.
On the Godhead of Christ depends his sufficiency for the
work assigned him : and on the discharge of all his offices, of
Prophet, Priest, and King, depends the hope of all who trust
in him. In these offices, therefore, he must be held forth to
the faith of his people ; that through him their minds may be
enlightened, their iniquities cancelled, and their enemies sub
dued. In a word, a full exhibition of Christ in his mediatorial
character is that which chiefly constitutes what we call the
Gospel : and if we would preach it aright, we must " deter
mine, with St. Paul, to know nothing amongst our people, but
Jesus Christ, and him crucified."]
3. The nature and blessedness of his salvation
[We shall preach Christ to little purpose, if we do not
hold him forth as a Saviour from sin. He had the name Jesus
assigned to him for that express purpose, that he might be
recognized by all in this particular view, as " saving his
people from their sins." To deliver them from wrath would
be a small matter, if he did not also deliver them from sin :
for sin, if suffered to retain dominion over them, would itself
create a hell within them. I would speak it with reverence ;
but I should not speak too strongly, if I should say, that God
himself could not make a man happy, whilst he continued
under the power of his sins. There is a beauty and a felicity
in holiness ; a beauty, in that it assimilates a man to God s
image ; and a felicity, in that it is a foretaste of heaven itself.
This requires to be opened, in order to guard against a mis
apprehension of the Gospel salvation, as though it were
nothing more than a deliverance from death and hell ; and at
the same time to give a right direction to every follower of
Christ ; and to make him aspire after holiness, as the perfec
tion of his nature, and the completion of his bliss.]
But my text leads me to mark particularly,
II. With what different views this preaching may be
maintained
The Apostle speaks of some as preaching Christ
" in pretence" and of others " in truth" And certain
it is, that Christ is sometimes preached,
1. From unworthy motives
[One would scarcely suppose this possible. But what has
been, may be- : and, as in the Apostles days, so now also,
2138.] PREACHING OF CHRIST, A GROUND OF JOY. 19
Christ is sometimes preached only as the means of advancing
some personal and carnal ends.
Some, alas ! preach Christ for gain ; and make the procla
mation of his Gospel an office, in the discharge of which they
are to obtain a livelihood. Yes, " for filthy lucre sake " do
multitudes engage in this service, and not " of a ready mind :"
and, if there were nothing but a bare subsistence to be gained
by it, they would leave the whole world to perish, rather than
go forth to enlighten and to save them. Under this head, I
must rank those also who engage in the sacred office as a
mere profession (like that of law or medicine), in which they
may occupy somewhat of an ostensible post, and sustain a re
spectable character in the world, at the same time that they
desire only to pass their days in polished ease and carnal
indolence.
There are others who preach Christ for popularity. It is
found that there is nothing which so interests the feelings of
mankind, as the Gospel ; and wherever that is preached with
any degree of clearness and energy, there people will flock to
hear it. Now, to our fallen nature, distinction of any kind is
gratifying : and, if a person can see himself followed by multi
tudes, who hang on his lips, and express delight in his ministra
tions, he will feel himself repaid, quite as well as by pecuniary
compensation : and that many are actuated by this kind of
ambition, whilst they profess to be led on by higher motives,
there is too great reason to fear. Few, indeed, would acknow
ledge that they were influenced by such vanity as this : but,
if they would mark what inordinate satisfaction they feel in a
crowded audience, and what disappointment in a thin attend
ance, they might see, that, to say the least, their motives are
very questionable. And, indeed, this very motive often gives
a tone and direction to the ministrations of men, who will
gratify a particular taste, not because they judge that style of
preaching to be most scriptural, but because they see it to be
most accordant with the public feeling: and they dare not to
enter fully into what they themselves would think most need
ful, lest they should give offence to their hearers, and lessen
the popularity which they supremely affect. Base is this
motive, which prefers the estimation of men to the real wel
fare of their souls.
But there are others who more exactly resemble the per
sons whom the Apostle describes as " preaching Christ of
contention." Yes, even at this day it is no uncommon thing
to preach Christ chiefly with a view to undermine the influence
of some popular minister. Let a pious minister arise in the
Established Church, and what labours will be used to draw
away his people : preachings, prayer-meetings, societies, will
all be formed for this very end ; and persons of popular talent
c 2
!>0 PHILIPPIANS, I. 18. [2138.
be brought from a distance to further the base design. And,
if a minister out of the establishment be extensively useful in
converting souls to Christ, similar efforts will sometimes be
made, not so much to save the souls of men, as to keep them
from attending the ministry of one in another communion. I
do not by this mean to say, that a minister in the establish
ment ought not to labour to keep his people firm to the esta
blishment ; for I conceive this to be his bounden duty, to
which he has pledged himself, in his ordination vows : but to
make this his main object in extending his ministrations, is to
tread very close upon the heels of those who " preached Christ
of envy and strife."
But there are others, blessed be God, who preach Christ,]
2. From motives that are becoming a Christian
minister
[Yes, there are some, at least, who are like-minded with
the Apostle ; who know, by experience, what an evil and bitter
thing it is to be under the guilt of sin, and the wrath of God.
They know, too, by the same blessed experience, what it is
to have found a Saviour, and to have obtained peace through
his blood. And they desire to be instrumental in imparting
this knowledge to their fellow men, and in bringing them to a
participation of the same benefits. They feel, too, a love to
that Saviour, who has so loved them, and given himself for
them. They desire to make him known, and to exalt his
name in the world. Gladly would they see the whole earth
subjected to his dominion, and all the kingdoms of the world
united under him, as their common Lord. Hence it is that
they preach him with ardour and with zeal. These were the
motives by which the Apostle Paul was actuated ; and, through
the tender mercy of God, a goodly number of ministers are
raised up to tread in his steps, and to " be followers of him
as he was of Christ."]
But, whether the motive of the preacher be good
or bad, we must say of the preaching,
III. That, under any circumstances, it is a ground of
joy-
it is doubtless much to be regretted that any
person should execute such a sacred office from un
worthy motives ; and over the man who does so, we
would weep with the deepest sorrow, let, whilst
we mourn over him as involving his own soul in per
dition, we cannot but rejoice in his act, on account of
the consequences that flow from it.
2138.] PREACHING OF CHRIST, A GROUND OF JOY. 21
We rejoice in it,
1. Because it diffuses truth
[Truth, under any circumstances, is better than error,
even as light is better than darkness. But if truth be viewed
in its consequences, its importance will be found to exceed
our utmost conceptions. The preachers who proclaim not
the Lord Jesus Christ, disseminate error. Whether it be
in denying the fallen state of man, or in establishing man s
righteousness, or in inculcating merely heathen morals, or in
whatever way it is that men go beside the Gospel, or come
short of it, the effect is the same : the preacher betrays the
hearers to their ruin ; and the people, so deceived, must
" perish for lack of knowledge." Contrast, then, with such a
ministry the preaching of one who exalts Christ among his
people, and points him out as " the way, the truth, and the
life ;" and the difference between them will be found exceed
ing great. As to the motives and principles by which the
preacher may be actuated, the hearer has nothing to do with
them : he is not called to judge of them : nay, he has no right
to judge of them : he must leave that matter to Him who
alone can search the hearts of men : but, in the truth exhi
bited to his view, he has the very same interest that he would
have if it were declared by an angel from heaven : his mind
is enlightened by it ; and his feet are guided into the way of
peace. However unworthy the preacher of it may be, God
may work by it ; as we have no doubt he did by the ministry
of Judas, as well as by the other Apostles : and, in as far as
truth is diffused instead of error, " we do rejoice in it, yea,
and will rejoice in it."]
2. Because the Lord Jesus Christ is exalted
[I well know that Christ would not suffer the demoniacs
to confess him. I know also, that, as far as the preachers
themselves are concerned, Christ is dishonoured, rather than
glorified, in those who preach him from unhallowed motives.
But when he is truly preached, whatever be the motives of
the minister himself, he is, on the whole, honoured ; for his
salvation is made known ; his kingdom is enlarged ; his
authority is established ; his name is glorified. This ought to
be a matter of unfeigned joy to all. The angels, when they
announced his advent to the shepherds, said, " Behold, we
bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people : for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." If, then, the advent of
Christ, whilst he was yet but a new-born infant, was so replete
with joy to all people, much more must the full exhibition of
his mediatorial work and oilices be a source of joy; since in
22 PH1LIPPIANS, I. 18. [2138.
them is the whole mystery of his love unfolded, in all its
height and depth, and length and breadth.]
3. Because the souls of men are benefited
[Men, I say again, have nothing to do with the motives
of the preacher. But if they receive the truth in the love of
it, they enter at once into the full liberty of the Gospel, and
enjoy all the blessings of a finished salvation. Amongst the
Jews, many who rejected Christ were empowered to cast out
devils : and the persons dispossessed were as much liberated
from the bonds of Satan as if the work had been wrought by
the most distinguished Apostle. In like manner, the person
who was instructed in the truth by the ministration of Judas,
felt the power of the word as much as if he had received it
from Peter or from John. The traveller is not less refreshed
by a fountain in a desert, because he was led to it by the feet
of beasts : nor are the waters of life deprived of their efficacy,
because they have not been first tasted by him who puts the
cup into our hands. It is the truth, and not the minister,
that makes us free: it is Christ, and not the preacher, that
saves the soul. Say, then, whether it be not a just ground of
joy that the saving doctrines of the Gospel are proclaimed,
even though it be by one who is a stranger to their power?
Yes, " if Christ be preached," by whomsoever it may be,
and from whatever motive, " I therein do rejoice, yea, and
will rejoice."]
May we not, then, from hence OBSERVE,
1. How unlike to the Apostles are they who hate
the preaching of Christ !
[There is no other subject in the world so odious to the
ungodly as this. We may preach the Law as strictly as we
please, and men will hear us with delight: but let us preach
the Gospel, and men will be sure to be offended with us : and
if this effect do not follow, we may be sure that we do not
preach as Christ and his Apostles preached it. But what
shall we say of those who thus take offence ? St. Paul rejoiced
in the Gospel, though so unworthily propagated from envy
and strife : but these persons are grieved at it, even when
delivered with the utmost sincerity and love. " They know
not, alas ! what spirit they are of:" but this they may know,
that if they be not brought to an entire change of mind, so as
to love the Gospel as the Apostle did, they can never hope to
participate, with him, its joys in a better world.]
2. What cause have they for sorrow, who, though
they hear the Gospel, make no suitable improvement
of it!
2139.] CHRIST MAGNIFIED IN OUR BODY. 23
[We are responsible for what we hear : and, if we hear
of Christ, and receive him not into our hearts by faith, " it
will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha, in the day
of judgment, than for us." Are there any of that character
here present ? How would the Apostle weep over you ! He
tells us, that " he had great heaviness and continual sorrow
in his heart, on account of his unbelieving brethren :" and
that is the feeling which I would cultivate in your behalf,
and which I would recommend you to cherish in your own
bosoms
3. How happy are they, who, whilst they have the
Gospel faithfully ministered to them, experience in
their souls its saving power !
[Verily, you are the blessed of the Lord. You have that
in your souls which will turn every sorrow into joy. The
Apostle quite forgot his own bonds, and the malignity of those
who sought to add affliction to them. The honour of Christ,
and the welfare of immortal souls, swallowed up all personal
considerations, and filled him with ineffable delight. Let the
Gospel operate in this very way on your minds. Live not
below your privileges in this respect. Shew, that if men can
bind the body, they cannot fetter the soul. Shew that your
joys are altogether independent of them, and out of their
reach. This is the way to prove what the preaching of Christ
will effect ; and will encourage all who behold you to live for
Christ, and to suffer for his sake.]
MMCXXXIX.
CHRIST MAGNIFIED IN OUR BODY.
Phil. i. 20. Christ shall be magnified in my body, ivhetherit be
by life, or by death.
WHILST the great mass of mankind, like a ship
driven with fierce winds and tossed upon tempestuous
waves, are uncertain what may be the event of their
trials, the true Christian is like a ship at anchor : he
beholds the storm, but defies its power : he knows
that every effort, either of men or devils, to destroy
him, shall issue in his own welfare, and in their
confusion. St. Paul was in prison at Rome, uncer
tain whether he should be set at liberty or put to
death. He had adversaries also amongst the professed
24 PHILIPPIANS, I. 20. [2139.
followers of Christ, who laboured to increase his afflic
tion, by weakening his influence in the Church, and
drawing away his converts to their own party. But
he knew, that the more his afflictions abounded, the
more were the prayers of God s people offered up on
his behalf, and the more would a supply of the Spirit
of Jesus Christ be poured out upon him. He was
therefore satisfied, that, however matters might ter
minate with respect to temporal deliverance, they
would issue in his final " salvation ;" and that he
should be so strengthened from above, as never to
"be ashamed" of his profession, but rather that, as
in past times, so to the latest hour of his existence,
" Christ should be magnified in his body, whether it
were by life or by death."
This expression is very singular, and deserves more
than ordinary attention. We propose therefore to
consider,
I. In what sense Christ may be magnified in our
body
We may easily conceive that Christ should be served,
or honoured by us; but how can he be magnified?
Can we add any thing to his essential dignity ? No ;
he is " God over all, blessed for evermore." Can we
add to his mediatorial honours ? No ; we cannot
augment his kingly power, or give virtue to his
priestly sacrifice, or enlarge his influence as the great
Prophet of the Church. Can we add to the glory
that he possesses in heaven ? No ; the angels and
glorified saints are already glorifying him, day and
night, with all their faculties and all their powers.
Surely then (it may be said) this is a proud, if not a
blasphemous expression. No ; we must not so hastily
condemn an inspired Apostle. You ask then, How
can we magnify Christ ? We answer, that he may
be magnified by us both in word and deed : " O
magnify the Lord with me," says the Psalmist, " and
let us exalt his name together." This shews what
may be done by our voices : and as to our actions, we
may be said to magnify him, when in our conduct
we set forth,
2139.1 CHRIST MAGNIFIED IN OUR BODY. 25
1. The purity of his law
[It is not only in " bearing one another s burthens," but
in obeying all the precepts of the Gospel, that we are to
" fulfil the law of Christ." Now the extent of this law is not
in any degree imagined by the world at large : they have no
idea of the motives, the principles, the conduct which the
Christian code inculcates. But when a child of God is
enabled to act up to his profession, he shews to all around
him the beauty of holiness : he commends to them the law
which he obeys : he constrains them to see and acknowledge
its transcendent excellence : and in advancing thus the honour
of the law, he honours also the Lawgiver : " In adorning the
doctrine of God our Saviour," he adorns and magnifies the
Saviour himself.]
2. The perfection of his character
[The Christian follows the steps of his Divine Master,
and endeavours to " walk as he walked." Now if his path be
luminous, what must that of the Lord Jesus have been ? The
most eminent of our fallen race was no more in comparison of
him, than a twinkling star (I should rather say, a glow-worm)
in comparison of the meridian sun. If therefore the effulgence
of a poor and sinful creature like ourselves be such as to
attract the admiration of all that behold it, much more must
the splendour of Emmanuel s holiness exceed in glory; inso
much that the attainments of Paul himself have no glory by
reason of his glory that excelleth.]
3. The blessedness of his service
[If we see a person grudging every labour that he per
forms, we naturally conclude that his task is irksome, and
that the master whom he serves is not (in his esteem at least)
worthy of any high regard. But if we behold a person strain
ing every nerve, and exerting himself day and night in the
most arduous services, and, after all, complaining only that he
cannot perform one half of what he wishes to do for his
master, we conclude, of course, that he loves both his work,
and his master too. When therefore we behold an exemplary
and laborious Christian devoting all his powers to the service
of his God, and all the while taking shame to himself as an
unprofitable servant, we are constrained to say, that (in his
eyes at least) his Lord is worthy of all honour, and the work
in which he is engaged is perfect freedom. The devotedness
of the servant is a high and public commendation of his
Lord.]
4. The power of his grace
[It is to this chiefly that the Apostle refers : and it is by
a display of this that Christ is chiefly magnified. A river
26 PHIL1PPIANS, I. 20. [2139.
flowing with a rapid and majestic current to the sea, would
defy the efforts of the whole world to turn it back again to its
source ; yet by the returning tide it is not only arrested in
its course, but driven up again with equal rapidity towards
the fountain-head. It is thus that a sinner, when rushing
with the whole current of his affections towards this present
world, is stopped in his career of sin, and turned back with
an irresistible impulse towards high and heavenly things.
Let men, yea, let all the angels in heaven, attempt to effect
this change, and their united efforts would be in vain. Who
then that witnesses this change, and beholds the believer s
victories over sin and Satan, and his progressive advancement
in the ways of holiness, must not adore that power by which
so great a miracle is wrought? In this Christ is indeed
magnified : " the exceeding greatness of his power is made
known;" and the sufficiency of his grace is incontrovertibly
established.]
Let us now proceed to inquire,
II. By what means Christ may be magnified in our
body
St. Paul knew not whether his present imprison
ment would issue in life or death : but in either case
he hoped and expected that Christ would be mag
nified in his body ; that is, either by the renewed
services of his body, or its protracted sufferings unto
death. In order then to magnify Christ in our body,
we must,
1. Use our body as an instrument to fulfil his will
[The Apostle was a fit pattern for us. Were his feet at
liberty? he travelled from Judea round about into Illyricum,
that he might carry to heathen nations the glad tidings of the
Gospel. Were his hands at liberty? he worked by night,
that he might be able to preach by day. Was his tongue at
liberty ? he preached Christ incessantly, and encouraged all
to put their trust in him. It is thus that we also should act.
We are not indeed called to execute like him the apostolic
office, and, consequently, not to tread precisely in the Apostle s
steps : but we are called to walk in the same spirit, and to
employ all the faculties of our body in the same manner. We
should " yield all our members instruments of righteousness
unto God." We should consider our eyes, our ears, and all
our powers, as consecrated to him, and to be used for him.
And though our sphere may be very contracted, yet may
every one of us find abundant scope for the exercise of piety
and benevolence, if we will only put forth the powers that we
2139.] CHRIST MAGNIFIED IN OUR BODY. 27
have, and embrace the opportunities that are afforded us.
Dorcas was limited in her means of doing good ; yet were her
exertions so great, that the whole Church at Joppa wept and
deplored her loss : and we also may endear ourselves to multi
tudes, and greatly magnify the Lord, if in our respective places
we improve the talents committed to our care.]
2. Endure cheerfully whatever we may be called
to suffer for his sake
[There is a kind of suffering which we should account no
suffering at all : we should " mortify our earthly members,"
and " crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts," and cut
off the right hand, or pluck out the right eye, that is an occa
sion of offence to us. But there are other sufferings, which
though we may deprecate, we must expect and submit to,
saying, " Not my will, but thine be done." Reproaches,
persecutions, imprisonments, and death, are, more or less, the
portion of all who follow Christ. Doubtless they are not
pleasing to flesh and blood : yet, as they may be the means of
displaying the power and grace of Christ, we may not only
bear them, but even " take pleasure in them." St. Paul
cheerfully submitted to them in this view: " We bear about,"
says he, " in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the
life also of Jesus might be manifest in our body a :" and, to
manifest the importance of that thought, he repeats it almost
in the same words in the very next verse. Let us meet our
trials in the same way ; and then, as he has told us, His
strength shall be perfected in our weakness, and His name be
magnified in our obedience.]
ADDRESS
1. The self-indulging world
[You seem to think your body made only that you might
adorn, pamper, and gratify it. What resemblance then have
you to the Apostle ? Till you know the true use of the body,
and employ it in its only legitimate exercises, you have no
pretensions to the Christian character 15 .]
. 2. The inactive professor
[St. Paul intimates that there is but one alternative ; you
will either "be ashamed," or "magnify Christ with your
body :" if by any considerations you are deterred from glorify
ing Christ, you so far renounce all your principles, professions,
and expectations : but if you value Christ as you ought, you
will live and die for him. Judge which is better for your
selves, and more suitable to your obligations to him.]
a 2 Cor. iv. 10, 11. b Dan. v. 23. and 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20.
28 PHILIPPIANS, I. 21-24. [2140.
3. The advancing Christian-
[What a noble ambition is yours ! You are not con
tented to serve or enjoy Christ, but must also magnify him.
Go on ; and he will soon " make your vile body like unto his
glorious body " in a better world : and whatever others may
be, you shall " not be ashamed before him at his coming."]
c 2 Thess. i. 11, 12.
MMCXL.
ST. PAUL S DILEMMA.
Phil. i. 21 24. To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
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 to be with Christ ; which
is far better : nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful
for you.
THE way to ascertain the real excellence of reli
gion, is to see what it can do for us in the hour of
trial, when all other helps and comforts fail us. If it
can support us then, and make us to triumph over
all the feelings of nature, its power must he confessed
to he exceeding great and highly beneficial. Now
that it has that power, is evident from the example
before us. St. Paul was in prison at Rome, confined
there in order to be brought forth for execution,
whenever Nero, the Roman emperor, should issue
the command. Contentious teachers in the mean
time were taking advantage of his confinement, to
draw away disciples after them, and seeking thereby
to add affliction to his bonds. And what effect had
these upon him ? As for his own sufferings, from
whatever quarter they came, he was persuaded they
would issue in his everlasting salvation ; whilst the
efforts of the teachers, notwithstanding the corrupt
ness of their motives, would issue in the salvation of
others : his mind therefore was kept in perfect peace,
and he was equally willing either to live or die, as
sured that Christ would certainly be magnified in his
body, whether by life or death. This blessed state
2140.] ST. PAUL S DILEMMA. 29
of equanimity is admirably depicted in the words of
our text. In order to take a fuller view of it, we
shall point out,
I. The prospects of the Apostle
These were truly blessed both in life and death :
1. In life-
[Two objects were near his heart ; namely, to honour
Christ, and to benefit the Church. " To him to live was
Christ." To exalt Christ, to make known his salvation, and
to extend the boundaries of his kingdom, was his constant
aim, his sole employment - To further the welfare of
the Church also, by confirming the faith, and advancing the
happiness, of the disciples, this was the office that had been
delegated to him by God himself, and which he had now
for many years endeavoured to execute to the utmost of his
power.
He had already succeeded to an astonishing extent in pro
moting these objects ; and he had no doubt but that, if his
life were prolonged, they would continue to be advanced by
means of his ministrations
2. In death
[Having fled for refuge to the hope set before him, he
was well assured that he was accepted in the Beloved. He
had already for many years been with Christ by faith, walking
as before him, depending upon him, holding sweet fellowship
with him, and receiving continually out of his fulness : but he
expected, immediately on his departure from this world, to be
with him in a more intimate and immediate manner, behold
ing his glory, and enjoying the fullest possible communications
of his love
Not that these prospects were peculiar to him. The weakest
Christian enjoys the same, only in an inferior degree : for
every one who truly believes in Christ, will assuredly seek the
advancement of his kingdom, and may firmly expect a partici
pation of his glory.]
Though these prospects were so glorious, yet they
created some embarrassment in his mind. He pro
ceeds to mention,
II. The straits and difficulties to which they reduced
him
He speaks not indeed of any serious difficulties,
30 PHILTPPIANS, I. 21-24. [2140.
but only of a dilemma to which he was reduced by
the contrary desires within him 3 :
For his own sake he wished to die
[" To die," he says, " would be gain to him." And a
glorious gain indeed it must be to one so prepared for death
as he ! To get rid of sin, and sorrow, and temptation, and
suffering, of every kind ; to have all the faculties of his soul
perfected, all its capacities enlarged, all its wishes accom
plished ; to behold all the glory of his God and Saviour ; to
join with all the hosts of heaven in songs of joy and triumph ;
and to enter upon a state of unalienable everlasting felicity ;
well might he say, " This is far better :" for even his exalted
happiness whilst on earth, must fall infinitely short of such a
state as that
We wonder not therefore that he wished to exchange his
present trials for that unutterable bliss ]
For the sake of others he wished to live
[It certainly was very desirable, and, in some sense, "need
ful" for the Church, that his labours should still be continued
to them. They still needed his instruction to guide them, and
his influence to preserve them, in the right way. Doubtless
God could have guided and preserved them, without the in
tervention of any human being : but He has ordained men to
be the instructors of his Church, and has connected the
prosperity of his people with the labours of their ministers :
and therefore the Apostle s labours were of infinite value to
those who could enjoy them. This he felt : he had reason to
think, that, if he were spared to come to them again, their
faith would be strengthened, and their rejoicing in Christ
Jesus would be more abundant " through him b ." Indeed the
Church is a great hospital, in which experienced physicians
regularly attend to the wants of the patients, and administer
to them respectively from the inexhaustible storehouse of
God s word, whatever they judge most suited to their neces
sities
From this consideration, he was as willing to live, as from
other views he had been desirous to die : and he was for a
while perplexed by the opposite attractions of the public
benefit on the one hand, and his own personal advantage on
the other.]
a We apprehend that the 22d verse should rather be translated
thus : " But whether it be worth my while to live in the flesh, and
what I shall choose, I know not." This not only renders the verse
intelligible, but the whole passage luminous. See^Beza, in loc.
b ver. 25, 26. ev epoi. To translate this "for me," lowers the sense
exceedingly.
2140.1 ST - PAUL S DILEMMA. 31
But benevolence soon triumphed, and formed,
III. The ultimate decision of his mind
[Whether God made any revelation to him on the subject,
or he inferred the purposes of God from the effects of divine
grace operating on his soul, we know not : but he knew that
he should abide and continue with the Church for some time
longer; and he cordially acquiesced in this appointment. His
mind was instantly assimilated to the mind and will of God :
atid he was willing to bear more, that he might do more ; and
to postpone his own enjoyment even of heaven itself, that he
might bring others to enjoy it with him.
Blessed disposition of mind ! how honourable to the Chris
tian character ! how worthy to be imitated by all who name
the name of Christ ! Yes ; thus should we all " seek not our
own things, but the things of Jesus Christ;" and "not our
own wealth, but the wealth of others " ]
This subject furnishes abundant matter,
1. For painful reflection
[How few are there, even of the people of God, who attain
to this heavenly state of mind ! As for the ignorant ungodly
world, they are indeed often reduced to a strait, not knowing
whether it is better to protract their miserable existence on
earth, or to terminate it at once by some act of suicide. And
if they choose life rather than death, it is not from love to
God and to their fellow-creatures, but from the fear of that
vengeance which awaits them on their departure hence. Ah !
terrible dilemma ! yet how common ! The people of God, it
is true, are, for the most part, far enough removed from this.
What they may for a moment be brought to, under some
extraordinary weight of trial and temptation, we presume not
to say : for Job, that holy and perfect man, has sufficiently
shewn us what is in the human heart. But peace and joy are
the usual attendants on a state of acceptance with God : and
it is the believer s own fault, if he possess not such foretastes
of heaven, as to make him long for death, as the door of
entrance into perfect bliss. O my brethren, why is not this
your state ? Is it not owing to your retaining too much the
love of this world in your hearts ? Is it not owing to secret
declensions from God, and to your not meditating sufficiently
on the glories of heaven ? Let me entreat you to gird up the
loins of your mind, to take continual surveys of your future
inheritance, and so to live in habitual fellowship with Christ,
that death may be disarmed of its sting, and be numbered by
you amongst your richest treasures .]
e 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22.
32 PHILIPPIANS, I. 27. [2141.
2. For interesting inquiry
[How are we to obtain that blessed state of mind ? The
answer is plain : Let it be " to us Christ to live ;" and then it
will assuredly be " gain to die :" and, however great our desire
after that gain, we shall have a self-denying willingness to
live, for the honour of Christ, and the benefit of his people.
Let us then seek a due sense of our obligations to Christ, that
we may be constrained to live entirely for him. Let our first
inquiry in the morning be, What can I do for my Lord this
day ? And in the evening, Have I rendered to him this day
according to the benefits I have received from him ? By such
exercises we shall get our hearts inflamed with holy zeal for
his glory ; and shall be made willing to forego even our own
happiness in heaven for a season, that we may serve him the
longer on earth, where alone we can render him any effectual
service. We shall lay out ourselves to make Christ more
known, and his people s joy in him more abundant. In short,
if we get the principles of the Apostle rooted in our minds,
we shall exhibit a measure at least of his holy practice in our
lives d .]
d If this were a Funeral Sermon for any eminent minister or
Christian, his example might here be modestly commended, aijd pro
posed for imitation.
MMCXLI.
A HOLY CONVERSATION RECOMMENDED.
Phil. i. 27. Only let your conversation be as it becometh the
Gospel of Christ ; that whether I come and see you, or else
be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye standfast in
one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the
Gospel.
THE interests of immortal souls should be dear to
every one, but most of all to the ministers of Christ.
Neither the height of prosperity, nor the depth of ad
versity, should ever induce us to forget them. Our
blessed Lord, when in the bosom of his Father, could
not rest, (if we may so speak,) till he had undertaken
our cause ; nor in the midst of all his sufferings did
he relax his solicitude in our behalf. St. Paul also, in
every diversity of state, was so intent on the salvation
of his fellow-creatures, that he counted not even his
2141.] A HOLY CONVERSATION RECOMMENDED. 33
life dear to him, if only he might be instrumental to
their eternal welfare. He was now in prison at Rome :
yet what employed his thoughts ? He had a request
to make to the Philippian Church : and what was it ?
Did he desire that they would endeavour to liberate
him from his chains ? No ; he was unmindful of him
self, and solicitous only that they should adorn the
Gospel. For this " only" did he labour; and this
" only " did he desire.
We notice, in the words before us,
I. His general exhortation
The standard at which the Christian is to aim, is
widely different from that with which the rest of the
world are satisfied. We can easily understand that
different modes of living would become a prince and
a beggar, or a philosopher and a child : we can rea
dily conceive also, that if a company of angels were
sent down to sojourn upon earth, and a direction
were given them to live suitably to their high station,
it would import pre-eminent sanctity in the whole of
their conversation. From hence we may form some
idea of the exhortation in the text. The Christian
is " a citizen of no mean city ;" he is a citizen even
of heaven itself: and he is to order his life in such a
way, as becomes the society to which he belongs 3 .
The Gospel is the charter of their privileges, and the
directory of their conduct : and they are to walk as
becomes,
1. The wonders it unfolds
[Contemplate the great mystery of redemption : contem
plate the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension
of Christ, together with the offices he still continues to execute
for his people s good Contemplate the favour with
which the Father regards them in and through his beloved
Son Contemplate the love of the Holy Spirit, who
condescends to make their polluted bodies and souls his habi
tation, in order that through his gracious influences they may
be made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light
What kind of a life do such mysteries of love and mercy re
quire ? Should not our souls be lost, as it were, in wonder,
love and praise ?
a This is the precise idea of
VOL. XVIII. D
34 PHILIPPIANS, I. 27. [2141.
2. The profession it calls us to
[We profess to be " as lights in the world," "as cities set
on a hill :" we profess to be ""born from above," to be " trans
formed into the Divine image," yea, to be " changed into the
Divine image, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of our God."
In a word, we profess to be " epistles of Christ, known and
read of all men ;" insomuch that no one can behold us, without
seeing the mind and will of God exhibited in living characters
before his eyes. What then is the conversation suited to such
a state ? Is a mere negative holiness sufficient, or a lukewarm
performance of religious duties? Who will behold God in
such a conduct as that ? If we are to exhibit Christ to the
world, we must " walk altogether as Christ walked :" his tem
per, his spirit, his conduct, must be ours ]
3. The benefits it confers
[Take a distinct view of these : survey the pardon of sins
unnumbered, the peace that passeth understanding, the
strength for every duty, the access to God on all occasions,
the joy unspeakable and glorified, the prospects opened in a
dying hour, the crowns and kingdoms reserved for us in a
better world What manner of persons ought ive to be,
who have such mercies vouchsafed unto us ? Does it become
such persons to be weighing out their services by drachms
and scruples, if we may so speak? Should we not "love
and serve God with all our heart, and all our mind, and
all our soul, and all our strength?" The continual habit
of our minds should be, " What shall I render unto the
Lord?" ]
But, that we may not spend all our time in mere
general truths, let us proceed to notice,
II. His particular directions
A Christian minister is not like the ostrich, which
having laid her eggs in the sand, pays no further
attention to them ; but like a tender mother, who,
after having brought forth her infant, travails with it
in birth a thousand times, through her fond solici
tude for its welfare b . If present with his people, he
watches over them with care ; if absent from them,
he anxiously inquires respecting their state. To see
good in them, and to hear it of them, is, next to his
personal enjoyment of God, his chief happiness. He
" Gal. iv. 19.
2141.] A HOLY CONVERSATION RECOMMENDED. 36
can say with truth respecting them, " I live, if ye
stand fast in the Lord." Now, amongst the various
blessings which he desires them to enjoy, there are
two in particular, to which we would call your
attention ;
1. An union of heart among themselves
[This is essentially necessary to the welfare of any Church:
if there be dissensions and divisions among them there will
soon be confusion and every evil work. And where shall we
look for union, if not among the household of God? Have
they not all one faith, one hope, one baptism, one God and
Father? Are they not all members of one body, all animated
by the same Spirit, all heirs of the same glory? It was from
these very considerations that the Apostle urged the Ephesian
Church to cultivate an humble, meek, forbearing, and forgiv
ing temper, and to " keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond
of peace ;" and, as in the text, made it his one request to them,
when he was a prisoner at Rome c . Of how much importance
he thought this temper to be, we may judge from what he
himself says in a few verses after the text : we cannot conceive
language more tender, or motives more powerful, or entreaties
more urgent, than he there addresses to them d ; and the one
point that he there presses upon them is, that they would be
" like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, and
of one mind."
This then we would impress upon your minds as a matter
of indispensable necessity. There will of course, amongst a
number of persons whose former views, habits, and dispositions
have been so different, arise many occasions of difference, per
haps also of dissatisfaction and disgust : but Christians should
regard the smallest symptom of disunion, as they would the
beginnings of a conflagration in the house wherein they dwelt:
every one should have his personal feelings swallowed up in an
attention to the common cause. All should have one object,
and unite their efforts to accomplish it, and banish in an instant
whatever might obstruct their exertions for the general good.
That this will sometimes be attended with difficulty, is implied
in the very exhortation to " stand fast in one spirit :" but it
may be done ; and, if our hearts be right with God, it will be
done.]
2. A zealous attachment to the faith of Christ
[Many things there are which may operate to turn us from
the faith of Christ. That which the Apostle more especially
c Eph. iv. 10. <> Phil. ii. 1, 2.
D 2
;JG PHILIPPIANS, I. 29. [2142.
had in view, was the dread of persecution 6 : and certain it is,
that the fear, not only of death, but even of an opprobrious
name, causes many to draw back from their holy profession.
But we must "take up our cross daily, and follow Christ;"
yea, we must " follow him boldly without the camp, bearing
his reproach." In this holy fortitude we should all unite:
for the defection of one has a tendency to weaken all the rest.
" With one mind therefore we should strive together for the
faith of the Gospel." We should endeavour to preserve in our
own souls a love of the truth, and in every possible way to
recommend it to those around us. We should bear in mind
the benefits which we hope to receive from the Gospel, and
the obligations we have to hold fast our profession of it : and
we should determine, through grace, to seal it (if need be) even
with our blood.
We must be careful, however, not to spend our zeal about
the circumstantials of religion, or to cloke a bigoted attach
ment to a party under a pretence of love to Christ : it is the
Gospel itself, and the blessed truth which it unfolds, that we
are to contend for; and for that we are to be ready to lay down
our lives.
To hear of these two things, an orderly and affectionate
agreement among themselves (like that of a well-disciplined
army), and a steadfastness in the faith of Christ, is the greatest
joy of a minister, when, by the providence of God, he is for a
time removed from them r : in reference to both of them, there
fore, we would address you in the language of the Apostle,
" Brethren, dearly beloved and longed-for, my joy and crown,
so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved g ."]
e ver. 28. Col. ii. 5. e Phil. iv. 1.
MMCXLII.
SUFFERING FOR CHRIST S SAKE, A GIFT OF GOD.
Phil. i. 29. Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not
only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.
THE chief obstacles to a holy and consistent con
duct arise perhaps from within, from the evil propen
sities of our own hearts. But very serious difficulties
are occasioned by the frowns and menaces of an un
godly world. We are naturally afraid of suffering ;
and are easily deterred from those things which would
subject us to heavy trials. But if we considered the
2142. ] SUFFERING FOR CHRIST, A GIFT OF GOD. . 37
cross as a badge of honour, as a source of good, and
as a high favour conferred upon us by God himself,
we should feel less anxious to avoid it, and be more
emboldened to walk as becometh the Gospel of
Christ. It is by this view of sufferings, that the
Apostle encourages the Philippians to hold fast their
profession without wavering. His expressions are
singularly bold and striking : they shew us,
I. That suffering for Christ s sake, is a favour con
ferred on us by God himself
Believers are called to suffer for Christ s sake-
fin addition to the sufferings which are common to others,
the believer is called to endure contempt, and reproach, and
persecution, for the Gospel s sake. He is taught to expect
them a : and experience proves, that however amiable, or use
ful, or discreet he may be, he cannot avoid the odium attaching
to true religion.]
But his sufferings are a gift from God himself
[As far as respects his persecutors, his trials arise from a
malignant effort of men and devils to obstruct the establish
ment of the Redeemer s kingdom : but as far as respects God,
they are a special gift from him. As the faith, on account of
which he suffers, is given him, so also are the sufferings them
selves, together with the ability to endure them patiently.
They are bestowed purely for Christ s sake 1 ; and are ap
pointed in number, weight, and duration, so as to conduce
most effectually to his eternal welfare.]
We may observe further concerning his cross,
II. That it is a richer gift than even faith itself
Faith is certainly an inestimable gift ; yet the gift
of suffering for Christ s sake is far greater
1. It is a higher privilege in itself
[In believing, we receive from God all the blessings which
we stand in need of: but in suffering, we give to God: we give
our name, our property, our liberty, our life, to be disposed of
in any way which may tend most to his glory. What an
honour is this, for a poor creature, a worm of the earth, to
Matt. v. 1012. 1 Cor. iv. 18. 2 Tim. iii. 12.
h We may conceive Christ soliciting the greatest of all favours ou
behalf of a beloved disciple ; and, on being desired by his Father to
specify it, replying, " Father, I ask that he may have tlie honour of
suffering for me : " which the Father graciously condescends to grant.
38 PHILIPPIANS, I. 20. [2142.
confer a gift on God himself! Surely, much as we are in
debted to God for the gift of faith, the giving us an opportu
nity to honour him should be esteemed a far richer obligation,
nor should any thing that we possess be of any value in our
sight, if we may but have the honour of sacrificing it for his
sake.]
2. It is a nobler testimony for God
[When we believe, we bear testimony for God that his
word is true, and that not one jot or tittle of it shall ever fail.
But when we suffer for him, that testimony is far more plain
and unequivocal. We then declare, not only that God is good
and true, but that he is deserving of all that we can possibly do
for him ; that there is no service so hard, but we should cheer
fully engage in it ; no suffering so severe, but we should cheer
fully endure it for his sake. Hence it is said, that while " by
his enemies God is evil spoken of, on the part of his suffering
friends he is glorified."]
3. Tt is a more instructive lesson to the world
[We cannot exercise faith in Christ, but we must by
that very act convey instruction to those around us. We ex
hibit somewhat of that change which takes place in the con
verted ; and are, as it were, " epistles of Christ, known and
read of them" who would not read the Scriptures themselves .
But by suffering patiently for Christ s sake, we speak more
loudly in their ears : we force them to inquire, what induce
ments we can have to make such sacrifices ? and, whence we
derive our ability to sustain such trials? And so efficacious
have been the examples of many while enduring the torments
of martyrdom, that their very persecutors have been overcome,
and converted to God.]
4. It is a clearer evidence of grace
[Many have believed the Gospel, while yet their hearts
were not upright before God. They have been convinced in
their judgment, but not converted in their souls d . The same
observation may apply also to some who have suffered for the
Gospel s sake 6 . But a patient enduring of trials for Christ s
sake is certainly a very strong test of sincerity. It gives rea
son to hope, that we have attained some measure of conformity
to Christ, and that " the Spirit of glory and of God resteth on
us f . There may indeed be some corruptions yet remaining to
be mortified, which leave room for doubt respecting the present
safety of the soul; but if we combine a zealous endeavour to
mortify them, with a cheerful submission to the cross of Christ,
c 2 Cor. iii. 2, 3. d John ii. 23, 24. Acts viii. 13, 20, 21.
e Gal. iii. 4. f 1 Pet. iv. 13, 14. with ver. 28.
2142.] SUFFERING FOR CHRIST, A GIFT OF GOD. 39
we shall have a favourable testimony from God g , and a happy
issue to our present conflicts.]
5. It is a richer mean of glory
[The smallest portion of real faith has the promise of
eternal life h : and in this view it may be thought superior in
value to every thing else. But suffering for Christ s sake is the
means of augmenting that glory : it brings a recompence pro
portioned to the sufferings that are endured , and " works out
for us, light and momentary as it is, a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory k ." Now as health is a richer blessing
than life, because it implies well-being as well as mere exist
ence, so a patient suffering for Christ s sake must be accounted
of more value than faith, because of the super-eminent degrees
of happiness to which it eventually exalts the soul]
ADDRESS
1. To those who fear sufferings-
fit is painful to flesh and blood to bear the cross : but
what must be the consequence of shunning it ? Will not our
case be dearly purchased? Ah ! think of the fate that awaits
"the fearful 1 , and tremble lest the preservation of your life
for a season issue in the loss of it to all eternity" 1 .]
2. To those \\\\o feel them
[Faint not, nor be discouraged. Would you deprecate
what Christ has asked of you, and what is given you in his
behalf. He who confers on you the honour of suffering for
him, will endue you with strength to bear your trials, yea, to
rejoice and glory in them". Only view your sufferings in
their true light, and you will rejoice that you are counted
worthy to bear them . And, when you shall be joined to that
blessed company " who came out of great tribulation 1 ," you
shall not regret one loss that you sustained, or one pain that
you endured. The approbation of your judge, and the in
creased weight of glory which shall be awarded to you, shall
soon wipe away your tears, and turn all your sorrows into joy.]
3. To those who occasion them
[Little do you think against whom you fight. You ima
gine that you are only opposing weak enthusiasts; but so
thought Saul, when, in fact, he was persecuting Christ him
self q . Know, tliat " whosoever toucheth the Lord s people,
K Rev. ii. 2 7. h John iii. . 56.
1 Hcb. xi. 26. Mark x. 29, 30. k 2 Cor. iv. 17.
1 Rev. xxi. 8. " Mark viii. 3-3. " 2 Cor. xii. 9, 10.
Acts v. -11. Jam. i. 2, 12. i Rev. vii. 14.
i Acts xxvi. 15.
40 PH1LIPPIANS, II. 1, 2. [2143
toucheth the apple of his eye r ;" and that "it were better for
you to have a millstone hanged about your neck, than that
you should cause one of his little ones to stumble 8 ." Be sen
sible then of your guilt and danger : embrace the doctrine
which you have been labouring to destroy 1 : and, instead of
opposing, labour to advance, the interests of the Redeemer s
kingdom.]
1 Zech. ii. 8. s Matt, xviii. 6. l Gal. i. 23.
MMCXLIII.
UNITY RECOMMENDED.
Phil. ii. 1,2. If there be therefore any consolation in Christ,
if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any
bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded,
having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
THE Church of Christ is one great family ; all its
members being children of one common Parent, and
partakers of one common interest. To consult the
good of the whole is the duty of each ; no one re
garding his own personal gratification, but all com
bining for the common welfare. This was a favourite
topic with the Apostle Paul. The care of all the
Churches having been committed to him, he had
constant occasion to inculcate the necessity of union
amongst the multifarious and discordant characters
of which the different societies were composed. The
manner in which he inculcates it in the words before
us, is very remarkable, and deserves particular atten
tion. In opening the passage to your view, we shall
be led to notice,
I. The object of his desire
He was now in prison at Rome : but his sufferings
caused no diminution in his concern for the welfare
of the Church of God. He saw with grief the efforts
which were made by the enemies of Christ to turn
aside the Philippians from the faith they had em
braced ; and he therefore urges them the more care
fully to preserve amongst themselves an unity of
sentiment and affection, in order that they might
2143.] UNITY RECOMMENDED. 11
give no advantage to their adversaries by intestine
divisions. The object, I say, which he desired to
promote, was unity of sentiment and affection
This appears to be the true scope and import of his
words : " Being joined together in love, be united also
in sentiment : and being joined together in sentiment,
be united also in love, so as to have one soul penetrating
the whole body*." An unity in these respects is, it is
true, very difficult to be attained
[Considering how the human mind is constituted, it is
scarcely to be expected men should be perfectly agreed upon
any point; and least of all upon religion, where the subjects
themselves are so deep and mysterious, and where so great a
scope for difference of sentiment is afforded by the terms in
which the truth is revealed. There is not unfrequently in
appearance an opposition between the things that are revealed:
(1 say in appearance; for it is not possible that there should
be any real contrariety in things which have been delivered
by inspiration of God :) and it may be expected that different
persons will lean to different sides, according to the weight
which the different positions appear to have in the general
scale of truth. Besides, the deep things of God are discerned
only by means of a spiritual perception imparted to us by the
Spirit of God: and of course they will be more or less justly
viewed, according to the measure of grace that has been given
to us, and according as our visual organs have been purified
from the films that obscure or distort the truth.
Of course, an unity of affection must be considerably im
peded by these circumstances : for we naturally agree best
with those whose sentiments we approve : and if there be any
great diversity of sentiment on important topics, we are apt to
feel a proportionable alienation of heart from the person in
whom it exists.]
But though a perfect union in these respects is
difficult, it is, as far as is necessary for all practical
purposes, certainly attainable
[We are expressly taught, that it should, and may, exist
in the different members of Christ s mystical body b
The way to attain it is, to confine ourselves to the funda
mentals of religion; and to make them the bonds of union;
whilst the less evident or less important truths are left as
a See the original, which consists rather of two parts than of four,
and should be construed accordingly.
b 1 Cor. i. 10.
42 PHILIPPIANS, II. 1, 2. [2143.
neutral ground, open alike to either party, and to be occupied
or not by each, as they see fit. What the fundamentals are,
may, it is true, be differently stated : but, if Christianity be
viewed in its true light as a remedy, and we agree in the depth
of the malady it is proposed to cure ; the means of healing,
through the atoning blood of Christ, and the influences of his
Spirit ; and the duty of those tvho are healed, to devote them
selves unreservedly to the service of their God; if, I say,
Christianity be viewed in this light, there will be very little
difference of sentiment between those who have ever felt its
efficacy. It is by going beyond these plainer truths ; by laying
an undue stress on some obvious doctrines, without suffering
them to be tempered with those which are of an opposite
aspect; by wresting from their plain import those passages
which we cannot reconcile with our favourite systems; and,
in a word, by exercising a dogmatical spirit on points which
are beyond our comprehension, and forming them into the
shibboleth of a party; it is by these things that the Church of
Christ is divided : and never till we return to the simplicity of
the day of Pentecost, shall we regain its unity. But when we
return to the docility of little children, we shall, to all prac
tical purposes, " see eye to eye."]
On the attainment of this object his heart was set,
as appears from,
II. The urgency of his request
The first consideration which he urges is, the hap
piness which such a union would confer on him
[He had rejoiced in their first conversion to God ; as a
mother does over her new-born infant : but his joy was blended
with much anxiety for their future welfare. That welfare was
now endangered by the efforts which were made to separate
them from each other, and to turn them from the faith. No
thing but their steadfastness could comfort him : but, if he
should see them cordially united together in sentiment and
affection, it would complete his joy. Hence he says to them,
* Fulfil ye my joy." His very life seemed to be bound up, as
it were, in the prosperity of their souls ; so that in effect he
says to them, as he does to the Thessalonian Church, " Now I
live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." If therefore they felt in
any degree their obligations to him, they could not but labour
to carry into effect the object which would so conduce to his
happiness.]
To this he adds all the most powerful pleas that
could operate upon the human mind
[" Is there any consolation in Christ?" As believers,
they could not but know that there was in him a fund of
2143.J UNITY RECOMMENDED. 43
consolation ; a mine, the treasures of which were altogether
unsearchable. Who can contemplate the covenant which he
entered into for the redemption of a ruined world, together
with all that he did to accomplish this stupendous work; his
mysterious incarnation, his holy life, his meritorious death,
his glorious resurrection and ascension, his intercession for us
at the right hand of God, and his exercise of all power as the
Head of his Church, and as the life of every believer in it;
who can contemplate all this, and not be comforted in the
thought of such a Saviour, and in the hope of such a salvation?
The greatness of his person, the suitableness of his under
taking, the sufficiency of his work, and his fidelity to all his
promises where can consolation be found, if not in these?
But what enjoyment can any have of these things, if their
minds be distracted with controversies, and their hearts em
bittered with discord? "Whatever any may profess to the
contrary, it is only when the mists of controversy are dispelled,
that the cheering rays of the Sun of Righteousness can pene
trate and revive the soul.
The same may be said respecting " the comfort of love."
That there is unspeakable comfort in the existence and exer
cise of love, what Christian does not know ? The presence of
love argues, and, if I may so speak, constitutes, the in-dwelling
of the Deity in the soul : as the loving Apostle has said, " God
is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and
God in him." But sweet as is the harmony of kindred souls, it
cannot long exist, when once the discordant strings of contro
versy are touched. The voice which but lately delighted with
its sounds the ravished ear, loses its interest, when once it has
begun to make the Saviour s name a subject of dispute. Diver
sity of sentiment on such important matter as religion soon
creates coolness in the affections, and alienation in the heart.
Shall we then willingly admit amongst us a disposition of mind
so adverse to our best interests, and so destructive of our truest
happiness ?
Nearly allied to this is " the fellowship of the Spirit:" for
the Church of God is not merely one family, but one body,
every member of which is animated and enlivened with the
same soul. The Holy Spirit who pervades them all, produces
a holy fellowship between them ; between not those only that
are contiguous to each other, but those also which are most
remote ; it unites in one the inhabitants both of heaven and
earth. But this also is interrupted by the introduction of
discordant sentiments ; and the magnetic attractions, by which
it brought all under one common influence, cease to operate
with effect, and leave the mass of Christians as unconnected
and indifferent to each other as the world around them.
Of " bowels and mercies" also the true Christian is possessed.
44 PHILIPPIANS, II. 1,2. [2143.
He has felt towards himself the compassions of his God ; and
he desires to manifest towards all his brethren a measure of
the same tender care. But discord shuts up all these tender
emotions, and banishes from the mind this affectionate solici
tude ; so that hostility will take the place of love, and ana
themas be hurled, where nothing but mutual endearments
have before prevailed. St. Paul probably had more parti
cularly in view the effect which their dissensions would produce
upon his own mind : they would be as a dagger to his soul :
and could the Philippians, who had so richly participated his
love, make such a return ? No ; if they had any bowels and
mercies existing in them, they would avoid a conduct which
would so augment the distresses which, for their sakes and for
the sake of the whole Church, he was now enduring. God
had promised to his people, to " give them one heart and one
way, that they might fear him for ever, for the good of them
and of their children after them :" and this unity he besought
them, if they valued either their own welfare or his happiness,
most strenuously to maintain. He would have them all to
be not only one body, but to have one soul, and one spirit,
pervading all.]
Earnestly desiring that the same heavenly disposition
may abound in you also, I would, with most
affectionate entreaty, RECOMMEND,
1. That you guard against every disposition that
may interrupt this harmony
[The Apostle particularly cautions the Philippians against
" strife and vain-glory," and exhorts them " in lowliness of
mind to esteem others better than themselves." So would I
also caution you against the indulgence of a proud, conceited,
self-sufficient spirit, which is the bane of all social harmony
and Christian love. These malignant dispositions have been
at the root of all those animosities which have in different
ages disturbed and divided the Church of God c Only
let self be mortified and subdued, and love will reign ; yea, it
will so reign, that your union with your brethren shall re
semble that which subsists between the Father and Christ
himself d .]
2. That you seek those blessings which have a
sanctifying efficacy on the soul
[What love will not the consolation that is in Christ
inspire ? What will not a person who tastes " the comfort of
love" do to preserve love; and one who enjoys the " fellowship
c Jam. iii. 1418. d John xvii. 21.
2144. J ESTEEMING OTHERS ABOVE OURSELVES. 45
of the Spirit," to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond
of peace? If you yearn over the desolations of Zion, and
have your " bowels and mercies" moved at the distresses of
those around you, you will never willingly contribute to disturb
the harmony of the Church by doubtful disputations. You
will strive for peace ; and in that exercise of love will reap in
your own souls the richest reward. Such is the exhortation of
St. Paul to the Colossian Church; and such is that with which
I shall conclude the present discourse: " Put on, as the elect
of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, hum
bleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one
another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel
against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And
above all, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness, unto
which ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful 6 ."]
e Col. iii. 1214.
MMCXLIV.
ESTEEMING OTHERS ABOVE OURSELVES.
Phil. ii. 3. In lowliness of mind let each esteem other better
than themselves.
IT is a common and universally approved saying,
that the tree may be known by its fruit. Now we
would have the Gospel brought to this test : and we
are willing that it should be accepted or rejected,
according to the issue of this trial. That good things
have been spoken by uninspired men on the subject
of humility, we readily admit : for modesty, and a
deference to the sentiments of others, necessarily
commend themselves to the judgment of every con
siderate mind. But we apprehend that the precept
before us is peculiar to Christianity; and, as a maxim
in morals, it stands unrivalled in the whole world.
In support of this injunction, I will endeavour to
shew,
I. Its import-
Certainly it must be understood with some kind
of qualification and exception : for it can never be
meant, that a philosopher is to esteem an illiterate
peasant wiser than himself; or that a man of strict
46 PHILIPPIANS, II. 3. [2144.
morals is to regard a notorious drunkard or libertine
as more holy than himself. We can never be re
quired to entertain sentiments so entirely repugnant
to truth and fact. We must suppose some kind of
parity between the persons so compared ; namely,
that both of them profess a regard for God, and both
maintain a measure of consistency in their outward
conduct. But where there is nothing outward and
visible to contradict the sentiment, there it should be
entertained ; and we each should conceive of others
as better than ourselves :
1. As more pure in their principle
[We should give persons credit for sincerity in what they
profess ; and not, without the strongest evidence, accuse them
of hypocrisy. But every man that is acquainted with his own
heart has seen in himself a sad mixture of motive, which he
cannot lout acknowledge before the heart-searching God ;
and, consequently, he will do well to regard himself as in
ferior to those whom he cannot convict of any guile, in com
parison of what he knows to have existed and operated within
his own bosom.]
2. As more consistent in their practice
[Of his own inconsistencies, who amongst us has not
reason to complain ? Who, for one deviation which he sees
in others, may not discern a great many in himself? We are
not at liberty to indulge all manner of evil surmises, in order
to reduce others to a level with ourselves ; but should put
ourselves below others, in proportion as we appear to have
fallen short of the measure of their attainments.]
3. As more advanced in proportion to the ad
vantages they have enjoyed
[We all are responsible for the advantages that have
been vouchsafed unto us : "To whom much has been given,
of them will the more be required." Now, of the opportuni
ties with which we have been favoured, we must be conscious ;
and respecting the length of time that we have professed to
seek after God, we must be sensible : but, in reference to
others, we must be comparatively ignorant : and therefore,
even if, in point of attainment, we appear to stand on a par
with them, we ought to take a lower place than they, because,
from the superiority of our advantages, we ought to have been
advanced far beyond them.]
Though, in explaining the import of this injunction,
2144.]] ESTEEMING OTHERS ABOVE OURSELVES. 47
I have in some measure anticipated my second head,
yet I will proceed more fully to point out,
II. Its reasonableness
The reasonableness of it appears from this, that
we know incomparably more concerning ourselves,
than we do, or can do, respecting others. We know
more of our own,
1. Motives
[There are workings of mind, of which even we ourselves
are scarcely sensible ; and which, whilst they appear good at
the time, we find afterwards to have been evil. The two
Apostles who would have called fire from heaven to consume
a Samaritan village gave themselves credit for a holy and
becoming zeal ; whilst, in fact, they were actuated by pride
and revenge : our blessed Lord told them, that " they knew
not what spirit they were of." In examining our own hearts,
we shall find, that, on different occasions, there has been much
amiss in relation to our motives, where our actions have
appeared most excellent and praiseworthy: but of the motives
of others we could judge only by the actions themselves : and
therefore it is but reasonable that we should account others, of
whom we know no evil, better than ourselves, who have been
conscious of much that has been contrary to the mind of God.
The mixtures which we have discovered in ourselves of pride
and vain-glory, of self-seeking and self-complacency, and of
many other hidden abominations, should make us ever to lie
low both before God and man.]
2. Exertions
[We cannot but blush and be ashamed when we look
back upon the sloth and indolence which we have indulged,
especially when engaged in holy exercises. How slight has
been our application, when reading the word of God ! How
languid our frame, when drawing nigh to him at the throne of
grace ; our confessions being destitute of all contrition ; our
prayers, of fervour ; our thanksgivings, of gratitude ! In the
house of God, how have our minds wandered to the very
ends of the earth; yes, and sometimes too, perhaps, been filled
with all evil, when we have professed to have been engaged in
the service of our God ! In short, we cannot but be con
scious, that we have but too often trifled with God and our
own souls, when we should have been running as in a race,
and striving, as in a contest, for our very lives. But in reference
to others, we know not these things : and therefore it is in the
48 PHILIPPIANS, II. 3. [2144.
highest degree reasonable that we should " prefer them in
honour before ourselves 3 ."]
3. Advantages
[We have been conscious of the strivings of God s Spirit
within our own souls ; whilst respecting the experience of
others we know nothing. The inward fears that have been
excited in us, and the hopes we have cherished, and the conso
lations that have been imparted to us ; the assistances, too,
that we have received from Almighty God for the subjugation
of our lusts, and the renovation of our souls ; the discoveries,
also, which have been given us of Christ, and of the great
mystery of redemption ; these, and a thousand other blessings
which have been vouchsafed to us for the furthering of our
spiritual welfare, should have been productive of a suitable
and correspondent advancement in the divine life. But how
little have we availed ourselves of them, and profited by them !
The knowledge of this may well humble us in the dust. But,
respecting other persons, we are altogether in the dark, as to
their advantages, or their improvement of them : and there
fore we should take the lowest place, as that which properly
belongs to us, on account of our great unprofitableness.]
4. Defects
[What know we respecting the corruptions of others, in
comparison of our own ? Who does not blush at the recollec
tion of much which has passed within him, which, if known
to man as it is known to God, would render him an object of
pity or contempt ? Who does not see, in his own temper, and
spirit, and conduct, there has been abundant occasion for
shame and contrition before God ? But we know but little
of these things in relation to others, and therefore in reason
are bound to esteem them better than ourselves.]
Not to dwell any longer on the reasonableness of
this injunction, I will pass on to mark,
III. Its excellency-
Suppose it to be obeyed ; and then behold its
influence,
1. On societies
[It cannot have escaped our notice, how much evil arises,
in the world, and in the Church, from a proud, envious, self-
exalting spirit. " W r hence come wars between nations, and
strife and contentions between neighbours, but from the lusts
that war in our members," even from a desire to advance our-
a Rom. xii. 10.
2144.] ESTEEMING OTHERS ABOVE OURSELVES. 19
selves at the expense of others? " Strife and vain-glory" are,
in my text, put in immediate contrast with " the lowliness of
mind" which is there recommended. Suppose that all were
actuated by the spirit of which we have been speaking ; the
little offences which occur would be scarcely noticed as worthy
of a thought : a charitable construction would be put upon
the motives of others, and the wounds inflicted by them would
be healed in a moment. Verily, there would be nothing but
love and harmony, where now exists nothing but animosity
and discord V]
2. On our own soul
[O ! if pride were mortified, and self-love were put away,
and charity were exercised, and the soul were humbled under
a sense of its own unworthiness ; how many sources of pain
would be cut off! how many fountains of holy pleasure would
be opened to us ! The trials of life, whether from God or
man, would be as nothing to us ; because they would appear
infinitely less than our desert, and would be regarded as medi
cines to heal the sickness of our souls. On the other hand,
our mercies, how unmerited would they appear ; and what
admiring and adoring gratitude would they excite within us !
Every little attention from man, instead of operating to foster
our vanity, would abase us rather as unworthy of such love,
and stimulate us to make to him every return in our power.
The whole of our frame would resemble that of the Lord Jesus
Christ, "whose meekness and lowliness" were alike conspi
cuous, amidst the acclamations of friends, and the assaults of
the most envenomed enemies.]
3. On the interest of religion in the world
[The world are eagle-eyed in spying out the faults of
those who profess religion : and when they see a vain, con
ceited, talkative, obtrusive, uncharitable professor, they despise
him in their very souls. And truly he deserves to be despised;
for "he stinks in the nostrils of God" himself . But the
world do wrong in identifying these dispositions with religion :
for religion disclaims them utterly, and altogether condemns
them. On the other hand, they cannot but admire in their
hearts the man who is of a meek and humble mind. True,
they will not love him, because " they hate the light" which
such a character reflects : but they have an inward conviction
that he is right; and a wish, that, though they live not his
life, they may " die his death." They know, in their souls,
that God approves such characters, and that he will distinguish
b Kph. iv. 2, 3. <- Isai. Ixv. 5.
VOL. XVIII. E
50 PHILIPPIANS, II. 58. [2145.
them with his favour, both here d , and in the eternal world 6 .
They see in such characters religion adorned and honoured 1 .
Would you then, brethren, recommend religion, cultivate
this spirit, and account yourselves the lowest of all and the
least of all!]
d 1 Pet. v. 5. e Luke xviii. 14.
f 1 Pet. iii. 4. si Cor. xv. 9.
MMCXLV.
CHRIST S HUMILIATION.
Phil. ii. 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 repu
tation, 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.*
ONE of the strongest characteristics of our fallen
nature is selfishness. The one desire of an unre-
generate man is to gratify self. Even those actions
in which he seems to have most respect to God or to
his fellow-creatures, will, if carefully examined, and
weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, be found to
have self for their principle, and self for their end.
This disposition being so deeply rooted in the heart,
we cannot but expect that it should operate to a cer
tain degree, even after the evil of it is discerned, and
after its allowed dominion has ceased. Doubtless
there were many pious Christians in the Roman
Church, as well as Timothy : yet St. Paul com
plained that all of them, excepting him, were in some
degree under the influence of a selfish spirit, and
" sought their own things rather than the things
of Jesus Christ." Against this thing therefore he
a This subject might well be treated thus: 1. What the Lord
Jesus Christ has done for us. 2. What he expects us to do for him ;
i. e. to have the same mind toward others as he has had toward us ;
and to manifest it, as far as possible, in the same way ; accounting
nothing too much to do or suffer for the salvation of men.
2145. J CHRIST S HUMILIATION. 51
cautioned the Philippians in a most affectionate man
ner ; beseeching them, with all earnestness, to " fulfil
his joy," in " being all of one accord and of one mind ;"
exhorting them to " esteem others better than them
selves ;" and " not to look every man on his own
things, but also on the things of others." To give the
greater weight and efficacy to his exhortations, he
then reminded them of the conduct of Christ towards
them, and recommended it as the best pattern for
their conduct towards each other : " Let the same
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."
The words of the Apostle lead us to consider the
humiliation of Christ in a twofold view As a fact to
be believed, and as a pattern to be imitated.
I. Let us consider it as a fact to be believed
The two leading steps of Christ s humiliation were,
his incarnation and his death
Previous to his incarnation, he existed in a state of
inconceivable glory and bliss. He " had a glory with
the Father before the worlds were made." He " was
in the bosom of the Father" from all eternity. He
was " the brightness of his Father s glory, and the
express image of his person." It was in and by
him that God, on various occasions, appeared to
men ; and hence it is that the Apostle calls him
" the Image of the invisible God ;" not only because
he bore a peculiar resemblance to the Deity, but
chiefly because the Godhead, which was never seen
in the person of the Father, was seen by many
in the person of Christ. We are informed, in the
text, that Christ was not only in the form " of God,"
but that " he thought it not robbery to be equal
with God," or, as the words more strictly mean, to
be as God b . He assumed to himself all the titles,
attributes, and perfections of the Deity. He claimed
b The Greek is not "iaov TV Qeu, as in John v. 18, but laa, which
means as. This is unanswerably shewn by the references which Dr.
Whitby on the place has made to passages in the Septuagint, wheru
it is .so translated.
52 PHILIPPIANS, II. 58. [2145.
and exercised all the divine prerogatives. He per
formed by his own power all the works which are
ever ascribed to God. And in all this he was guilty
of no presumption ; because he was truly One with
the Father, in glory equal, in majesty co-eternal.
To understand the Apostle as saying, that Christ,
while he was only a mere man, did not think of the
robbery of being equal with God, is to represent
him as commending a creature for his humility in
not aspiring to an equality with God ; a greater
absurdity than which could not enter into the human
mind. As Christ, when he took upon himself " the
form of a servant," became really man, so when, pre
vious to his incarnation, he was " in the form of
God," he was really and truly God. To this the
Scriptures bear ample testimony : they declare that
before he was "a Child born and a Son given, he
was the mighty God," even " God over all, blessed
for ever." And therefore, when he became incar
nate, he w r as " God, manifest in the flesh ;" he was
" Emmanuel, God with us."
But this glory he, in infinite condescension, laid
aside. Not that he ceased to be God ; but that he
veiled his Deity in human flesh. As, previous to his
descent from Mount Tabor, he divested himself of
those robes of majesty wherewith he was then arrayed;
so, for the purpose of sojourning among men, he
emptied himself c of all his divine splendour, either
hiding it altogether from human eyes, or only suffer
ing a ray of it occasionally to beam forth for the
instruction of his disciples ; that, while others saw
him but as a common man, they might " behold his
glory, as the glory of the only - begotten of the
Father." He did not, however, assume our nature
in its primeval state, while yet it bore the image of
its Maker ; but in its fallen state, encompassed with
infirmities : " he was made in the likeness of sinful
Jicsh ;" and was " in all points like unto us, sin only
excepted."
c EKCVbKTC i
2145.] CHRIST S HUMILIATION. 53
But there was yet a lower state of degradation to
which our blessed Lord submitted for our sakes,
which also is mentioned in the text, and which was
the very end of his incarnation ; " being found in
fashion as a man, he became obedient unto death."
When our Lord vouchsafed to take our nature into
an immediate union with himself, he became from
that moment subject to the law, even as we are.
More especially, having substituted himself in the
place of sinners, he was bound to fulfil the precepts
which we had broken, and to endure the penalties
which we had incurred. He was to be the servant
of God in executing his Father s will ; and the ser
vant of man, in performing every duty, whether of
obedience to his earthly parents, or of subjection to
the civil magistrate. He knew from the beginning
how arduous a course he had to run ; he beheld at
one view all that he must do, and all that he must
suffer, in order to accomplish the purposes of his
mission ; and yet he freely undertook our cause, say
ing, " I come, I delight to do thy will, O my God ;
yea, thy law is within my heart." And with the
same readiness did he persevere " even unto death."
When the extremity of his sufferings were coming
upon him, he implored indeed the removal of the
bitter cup, provided it could be removed consistently
with his Father s glory and man s salvation. But
this he did, to shew that he was really man ; and to
instruct his followers how to demean themselves in
seasons of deep affliction. By this we see, that it is
our privilege to make our requests known to God,
and to implore such a mitigation of our troubles as
shall render them more supportable, or such an in
crease of strength as may enable us to endure them.
Cheerfully however did he resign himself to the will
of his heavenly Father ; and though twelve legions
of angels were at his command to deliver him, yet
did he continue fixed in his purpose to give his own
life a ransom for us. Notwithstanding the death of
the cross was the most painful and ignominious of
any, yet to that did he submit for us; nor did he
54 PHILIPPIANS, II. 58. [2145.
cease from filling up the measure of his sufferings,
till he could say, " It is finished."
This then is the fact affirmed by the Apostle ; a
fact, which we should have considered as absolutely
incredible, if God himself had not plainly declared it,
and confirmed his testimony by the most indubitable
evidence. We are now therefore warranted to affirm,
that " it is a faithful saying, and worthy of all accep
tation." And though the frequency with which it is
mentioned, causes it in too many instances to be
heard without any emotion, sure we are, that the
more it is contemplated, the more it will fill us with
wonder and amazement. If we would but consider
that the God of heaven and earth assumed our sinful
nature, and died the accursed death of the cross, in
order to redeem us from death and hell ; if we would
but suffer this thought fully to occupy our minds,
methinks we should become like those in heaven,
who cease not day and night to make it the grand
subject of their united praises.
II. The more immediate view with which the Apostle
introduced the subject of our Lord s humiliation,
to which we also wish at this time to draw your
attention, was, that he might set it before the
Philippians as a pattern to be imitated.
It is not possible for us in all respects to imitate
this bright original, since we have no glory which we
can lay aside ; nor is it optional with us whether we
will become subject to the law or not. But, though
we cannot perform the same act that Christ did, we
may " have the same mind which was in him :" and
beyond all doubt we ought to resemble him in these
two particulars ; in feeling a tender regard for the
welfare of men s souls: and in being ready to do or
suffer any thing for their good.
1 . We should feel a tender regard for the welfare of
men s souls. When, in consequence of the fall of
man, there remained no possibility of his restoration
to God s favour and image, by any thing which he
2145.J CHRIST S HUMILIATION. 5,5
could either devise or execute, this blessed and ador
able Saviour looked upon us with pity : his bowels
yearned over us ; and though he had not interested
himself on behalf of the angels that sinned, yet, he
determined to interpose for us, and by a marvellous
effort of his grace to save our souls alive. Let me
ask then, what is now the state of the heathen world ?
Is it not that very state to which the whole race of
man was reduced by the transgression of Adam, and
by their own personal iniquities ? They are under a
sentence of death and condemnation. They know of
no way of reconciliation with God. Being without
Christ, they are altogether without hope. And though
we will not presume to say that none of them are
saved ; yet we must affirm that their condition is
most pitiable, and that the notions which obtain in
the world respecting the extension of God s mercy
to them, are awfully erroneous. For if they can be
saved without Christ, why could not we ? And then
why did Christ ever come into the world ? If it be
said, that Christ has purchased mercy for them
though they knew him not, then we ask, Why did
the Apostles go forth to preach to the Gentile world?
Why did they submit to such numberless hardships
and labours at the peril of their lives, to bring the
heathen into the fold of Christ, if they thought that
they could attain salvation in their present state,
or that any considerable number of them would be
saved ? The Apostles knew little of that which we
falsely term, charity. They believed that " there
was no other name given among men whereby we
must be saved, but the name of Jesus Christ :" and
therefore they felt towards the heathen world as
they would have done towards a crew of mariners
perishing in the ocean : they went forth at the peril
of their own lives, willing to endure any thing them
selves, if they might but succeed in saving some of
their fellow-creatures. Ought not we then in like
manner to compassionate the heathen world ? Should
not " our head be waters, and our eyes a fountain of
tears, to run down day and night" for their perishing
56 PHILIPPIANS, II. 58. [2145.
condition ? What infidelity must there be in our
minds, or what obduracy in our hearts, if we can
look upon their state without the tenderest emotions
of pity and grief !
2. But to our compassion we must add also a
willingness to do and suffer any thing for their good.
When our blessed Lord beheld our misery, he flew
from heaven on the wings of love to succour and
relieve us. And though in order to effect his pur
pose he must disrobe himself of his majesty, and
become like one of us, a poor, weak, necessitous
creature, yea, and in our nature must submit to
death, even the accursed death of the cross ; he
accounted nothing too valuable to forego, nothing
too painful to suffer, in order to rescue us from de
struction. He undertook even to be " made a curse
for us," in order " to redeem us from the curse of the
law." Thus should we not rest in listless wishes for
the good of the heathen, but exert ourselves to the
utmost to save their souls. What if we cannot all
go forth like the Apostles ; cannot some of us give
liberally of our substance in order to provide them
the means of instruction ? cannot others afford their
time and attention in order to concert measures for
the establishing and conducting missions ? Cannot
others testify their readiness to devote themselves to
this great work, saying, like the Prophet Isaiah,
" Here am I, send me ?" But in the disposition to
fulfil this last, this most essential and urgent, duty,
there is amongst us a general, a lamentable defi
ciency. After inquiries made in every part of England,
none have as yet been found by us, endued with that
union of talents and of zeal which is requisite for the
work. Many, who in some respects appear fit for
the office of missionaries or catechists, are so fond
of their ease and worldly comforts, so fearful of en
countering difficulties and dangers, so ready, like
Ti T
Moses, to plead their want of fitness, when their back
wardness, it is to be feared, arises rather from
cowardice or sloth ; that there is danger lest the ar
dour of those who are zealous to promote the object
2145.] CHRIST S HUMILIATION. 57
of missions should be damped, through a want of
opportunity to exert itself with effect. It is true,
(and blessed be God it is so !) that of late years
several societies have arisen to promote this glorious
work : and fears have been entertained, lest one
should interfere with another. But what are the
efforts of all of them combined, when compared with
the demand there is for such exertions ? If the mil
lions of heathens who are yet in darkness be con
sidered, the endeavours used for their instruction are
scarcely more than as a drop to the ocean.
It may be said perhaps, Why are we to waste our
strength upon the heathen ? Is there not scope for
the labours of all at home ? I answer, It is well for
us that the Apostles did not argue thus : for if they
had not turned to the Gentiles till there remained
no unconverted Jews for them to instruct, the very
name of Christ would probably long since have been
forgotten among men. We confess there are great
multitudes in our own land as ignorant as the hea
then : but yet they have the Bible in their hands ;
and there are in every part of the kingdom, some who
are both able and desirous to instruct them. How
ever ignorant therefore, or abandoned, thousands
are amongst us, there is hope respecting them, that
sooner or later their feet may be guided into the way
of peace. But as for the heathen, what hope can
there be respecting them ? for " How can they be
lieve in him of whom they have not heard ? and how
can they hear without a preacher ? " Besides, the
more our love abounds towards the heathen, the
more will "the zeal of others be provoked" for the
salvation of our neighbours ; and the more confi
dently may we hope for the blessing of God upon
their pious endeavours.
Let then all such excuses be put away ; and let
all exert themselves at least in prayer to the great
" Lord of the harvest," and entreat him day and
night " to send forth labourers into his harvest."
To ENFORCE what has been said, we would call your
attention to some additional considerations
58 PHILIPPIANS, II. 58. [2145.
Consider then, first, what would have been the state
of the whole world, if the same mind had been in Christ
that is in us? Had he been as indisposed to effect
the salvation of mankind as we are to promote that
of the heathen, would he have left his glory for them,
would he have relinquished all the blessedness which
he enjoyed in the bosom of his Father? would he
have debased himself to such a degree as to take
upon himself their fallen nature ? would he have
substituted himself in their place, and borne all their
iniquities in his own person, and have become a curse
for them ? for them who, he knew beforehand, would
murder him as soon as they should have it in their
power? No Then where would Adam, and all the
generations that have passed in succession to the
present hour, have been at this moment ? They
would all, without one single exception, have been
wailing and gnashing their teeth in hell : and all
future generations to the end of time would have
lived only to fill up the measure of their iniquities,
and to receive at last their tremendous doom. But,
adored be his name ! he " looked not on his own
things so much as on the things of others :" and, in
consequence of his self-denying exertions, millions
are already before his throne, and myriads, countless
as the sands upon the sea-shore, shall yet be added
to their number, to be monuments of his love, and
heirs of his glory. Shall we then any longer persist
in our supineness ? Shall we not rather exert our
selves to the utmost to imitate his love ?
Consider, next, how we are indebted to the bene
volence of our fellow-creatures. We forbear to notice
the kindness of the Apostles, because they were ex
pressly commissioned to preach the Gospel to every
creature, whether of their own, or of any other
nation. We will rather advert to an instance more
immediately parallel to our own case. For many
centuries after Christianity was promulged, our an
cestors were bowing down to stocks and stones ;
as we ourselves also should have been, had not some
pious Christian come, at the peril of his life, to bring
2145.] CHRIST S HUMILIATION. 59
us the glad tidings of salvation. Suppose he had
argued, as we are apt to do, What can I do among
that savage race ? There are people enough of my
own country to occupy all my care ; and I may fulfil
my duty to God among them, without encountering
all the difficulties, and exposing myself to the dangers,
which I must expect to meet with in such an under
taking. How awful, in that case, would have been
our present condition ! O Christians ! think of all
that you enjoy in Christ Jesus, your present consola
tions, your future prospects ; think of these things,
and say, I owe all, under God, to him who first set
his foot on our inhospitable shores, to shew unto us
the way of salvation ; his example stimulated others ;
and thus " the handful of corn that was scattered on
the tops of the mountains, has grown up like the
woods of Lebanon, or the piles of grass upon the
earth." Blessed, for ever blessed, be God for his
labours of love! Who can tell then what may arise
from the labours of one society, or even of a single
individual ? We may not see very extensive benefits
in our day : and probably this was the case with
respect to him who first visited Britain. But could
he now behold from heaven the fruit of his labours,
how would he rejoice ! would he think that he had
exercised too much self-denial, or patience, or dili
gence, in the cause of God? Would he repent of
his exertions ? Would he not rather repent that he
had not stepped forward sooner, and been more ear
nest in this blessed work? Be ye then in earnest,
my beloved brethren. We have lost too much time
already ; and millions, though unconscious of their
wants, are now crying to us, as it were, " Come over
to India to Africa and help us." O that a holy
zeal might this day inflame our breasts ; and that we
might requite the labours of those who have in
structed us, by endeavouring to extend the benefits
derived through them, to the remotest corners of the
earth !
Consider, further, how kindly Christ will accept such
labour* at your hands. He tells us respecting things
60 PHIL1PP1ANS, 11. ; 8. [2145.
of a mere temporal nature, that what we have be
stowed on others for his sake, he will accept as
conferred on himself; "I was hungry, and ye fed
ME ; naked, and ye clothed ME ; sick and in prison,
and ye visited ME." And will he not much more
acknowledge himself indebted to us for the spiritual
blessings we confer on others ? * I was in darkness,
and ye enlightened ME ; I was far from God, and ye
brought ME near ; I was perishing, and ye saved ME.
O what a thought is this ! how animating ! how im
pressive ! Are there any amongst us that will not
seek such an honour as this ? Stir up yourselves
then, my brethren ; and let us all join with one heart
to secure at least this testimony from our blessed
Lord, knowing assuredly that " we shall receive our
reward," not according to our success, but " accord
ing to our labour."
Lastly. Consider, how necessary it is to resemble
Christ, if ever we would participate his glory. It is
not by our profession that we shall be judged in the
last day, but by our true character exhibited in our
practice. Think not that the formal, the careless,
the supine, shall meet with tokens of God s accept
ance : it is the man who abounds in " works and
labours of love for Christ s sake," who shall be ho
noured with the approbation of his Judge. It is not
he who bears the name of Christ, but who has within
him the mind of Christ, who shall be counted worthy
to dwell with him for ever. He himself tells us, that
" not he who merely says, Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the
will of our Father which is in heaven."
If then ye cannot be moved by more ingenuous
considerations, reflect on this : and tremble, lest after
all your profession of Christianity, you prove only as
sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. Let those
whose consciences condemn them for their past in
activity, cry mightily to God for the pardon of their
sins, and the renovation of their souls. And may
God pour out upon us this day a spirit of faith and
love ; that we may feel a holy ambition to engage in
2146.] THE EXALTATION OF CHRIST. (>1
his service : and may all the endeavours, whether of
this or any other society, be abundantly blessed, to
the enlargement of the Redeemer s kingdom, and to
the salvation of many souls ! Amen and Amen.
MMCXLVI.
THE EXALTATION OF CHRIST.
Phil. ii. 9 1 1. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him,
and given him a name ivhich is above every name : that at
the name of Jesus every knee should boiv, of things in heat-en,
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.
WE are told by an inspired Apostle, that the great
scope of the prophecies related to " the sufferings
of Christ, and the glory that should follow." To the
same points our attention is continually turned in
the New Testament. Sometimes they are stated as
an accomplishment of prophecy, and as proofs of
Christ s Messiahship : sometimes as grounds of our
hope before God : sometimes as motives to stimulate
us to duty : sometimes as models, according to which
God will work in us : and sometimes as examples,
which we are bound to follow : and sometimes as
encouragements to follow those examples. It is in
this last view that we are to contemplate this stupen
dous mystery at this time. The Apostle had said,
" Look not every man on his own things, but every
man also on the things of others." To illustrate and
enforce this exhortation, he shews how the Lord
Jesus Christ had emptied himself of all his own glory,
and endured death, even the accursed death of the
cross, for the salvation of men : and that in conse
quence of it he had received such tokens of his
Father s approbation as were commensurate with the
sacrifice which he had made. In considering this
O
testimony of his Father s love, let us mark,
I. The height to which he was raised
C>2 PHILIPPIANS, II. 911. [2146.
The Lord Jesus Christ, as God, was incapable of
elevation : but, as man, he was raised from the lowest
degradation to the highest degrees of glory.
Amidst the depths of his humiliation he was greatly
exalted
[At his baptism he received an audible testimony from
heaven, together with a visible communication of the Spirit of
God, in attestation of his Messiahship. In all the miracles he
wrought, a further testimony was borne to him by the Father.
And in his last hours, when in appearance he was even deserted
by his heavenly Father, universal nature bore witness to him ;
the sun going down, as it were, at noon-day ; the earth rending
and quaking to its very centre ; and the most convincing evi
dence being given to all, that he whom they crucified was
indeed the Son of God.]
But it was not till after that period that the exalta
tion spoken of in the text commenced
[At his resurrection, he was declared to be the Son of
God with power At his ascension, he led captivity
itself captive, and, surrounded with myriads of holy angels,
went to take possession of his Father s throne Seated
on that, he is elevated above all the works of God s hands ;
above men, so as to be " higher than the kings of the earth,"
even " King of kings and Lord of lords a :" and above angels
also, " all the principalities and powers of heaven being made
subject unto him b " ]
The text requires us particularly to notice,
II. The reason of his exaltation-
It was in consequence of his previous humiliation :
it was,
1. As a reward of his sufferings
[In this view it had been promised to him c
In this view he himself looked forward to it with intense
desire d And in this view it was actually conferred
upon him e ]
2. As the means of completing the work he had
undertaken
[He was to redeem us, both by price, and by power. On
this account, after he had paid the price of our redemption,
a Ps. Ixxxix. 27. Rev. xix. 16. b 1 Pet. iii. 22. Heb. i. 5, 8, 9, 13.
c Isai.lii. 13 15. andliii.10 12. * Heb. xii. 2. John xvii. 4, 5.
e Dan. vii. 13, 14. Heb. i. 3, 4.
2146.] THE EXALTATION OF CHRIST. 63
he was invested with " all power both in heaven and in earth ;"
and " all things were given into his hands," that he might
order every thing for the accomplishment of his own will, and
the furtherance of the work which he had begun. In him was
all fulness treasured up, that he might impart unto his people all
needful supplies of grace f ; and to him was all authority com
mitted, that he might put all enemies under his feet g . Thus,
by his elevation, are his triumphs and the triumphs of all his
people, finally and eternally secured.]
But we have further to notice his exaltation in
reference to,
III. The end of it-
It was that he might be the one object,
1. Of universal adoration
[Of this he is most worthy, as all the hosts of heaven
testify 11 And it must be paid to him: for God has
sworn with an oath, that it shall be paid to him by all in
heaven, earth, and hell 1 ; or if \ve will not yield it to him as
the voluntary expression of our love, we shall be constrained
to acknowledge his right to it, whilst we are suffering under
the stroke of his avenging rod k .]
2. Of unlimited affiance
[By confessing him to be both Lord and Christ, I under
stand such a confession as proceeds from unfeigned faith 1 .
And to this full affiance is he entitled, both according to his
essential nature as God, and in his mediatorial capacity as the
Saviour of the world. In what way it is to be manifested,
the prophet tells us : " Surely shall one say, In the Lord have
I righteousness and strength"." As " the Christ," who died
for us, he is our righteousness ; and as " the Lord," who is
the Head and Governor of all, we receive out of his fulness all
needful supplies of grace and strength.
Nor let it be thought that this direction of our regards to
him will derogate at all from the honour of the Father: for, on
the contrary, it will be " to the glory of God the Father,"
whose wisdom has devised, and whose love has executed, so
wonderful a plan for the salvation of men. On this subject
we can have no doubt ; since our Lord himself has told us,
that God s very design in the whole of this stupendous mys
tery was, " that all men should honour the Son even as they
f Eph. i. 2022. e I Cor. xv. 25. Ps. ex. 1, 2.
h Rev. v. 11 13. Rom. xiv. 11. with Isai. xlv. 23.
k Ps. ii. 13, 6,9 12. i Rom. x. 9 11.
m Isai. xlv. 22. n Isai. xlv. 24.
64 PHILIPPIANS, II. 1:2. 13. [2147.
honour the Father ; and that he who honoureth not the Son,
honoureth not the Father who hath sent him ."]
BEHOLD then,
1. How awful is the state of those who submit not
to him !
[We are equally rebels against him, whether we oppose
him as Lord, or as Christ ; whether we refuse to submit to his
righteousness 15 , or to his government. O reflect, ye who are
going about to establish a righteousness of your own, What
will ye answer to him, when he shall call you to an account for
usurping his office, and making void all that he has done and
suffered for you ? And you, who, whilst professing to
trust in him as your Saviour, live in disobedience to his com
mands, where will you hide your heads, when he shall say,
" Bring hither those mine enemies who would not that I
should reign over them, and slay them before me ?" Whatever
ye may now think, ye cannot invalidate the oath of God: he
has sworn, that unto him every knee shall bow ; and, if ye do
it not willingly, ye shall do it against your will, to your ever
lasting sorrow.
2. How blessed is the state of his obedient people!
[Shall Christ be exalted to the right hand of God in vain?
or will he refuse to impart to you out of his fulness ? Fear
not : you are committed to his care ; and he will not lose one
of you ; " not one shall ever be plucked out of his hands."
Whatever you need, it is treasured up for you in him ; and
" his grace shall be sufficient for you." It may be, that in his
service you may be called to endure many things : but if now
" he sees of the travail of his soul and is satisfied," be assured
that ere long it shall be no grief to you that you were humbled
for a season : for, " if you suffer with him. you shall also
reign with him," and "be glorified together with him q " in
his kingdom for evermore.]
John v. 22, 23. P Rom. x. 3.
1 2 Tim. ii. 12. Rom. viii. 17.
MMCXLVII.
GOD ASSISTS THE DILIGENT.
Phil. ii. 12, 13. Work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will
and to do of his good pleasure.
THERE is no person, however eminent his attain
ments in religion may be, who does not need to be
2147.] GOD ASSISTS THE DILIGENT. ()5
exhorted and urged to press forward. The Philip-
pians, in the judgment of the Apostle, had had " the
good work begun in them ;" yea, they had " obeyed
the word while he was with them," and had made a
still greater proficiency since his departure from them :
yet he animates them to further exertions, and en
forces his exhortation with the strongest arguments.
Thus should all Christian ministers " put their people
in remembrance of these things, notwithstanding they
may already know them, or even be established in
the truth." Let us then receive the Apostle s words
as addressed to ourselves in particular, while we
consider,
I. The exhortation-
God commands us to " work out our salvation"
[We are not to imagine that salvation is either the reward
of our merits, or the effect of our unassisted exertions ; for if,
as our Lord assures us, " without him we can do nothing," it
is evident that we are far enough from being able to keep the
whole law of God ; which yet we must do, if we are to receive
heaven on the ground of our own righteousness. Nevertheless
we have a work to do, a work of infinite importance, in per
forming which we are not mere machines, but voluntary agents :
and on our performing of that work our salvation depends 3 .
We must consider our ways, repent of sin, believe the Gospel,
and devote ourselves to God, not indeed as conceiving our
selves sufficient for these things, but in dependence on that
aid, which God will afford to all who seek him in sincerity and
truth.]
But we must engage in this work " with fear and
trembling "-
[The terms " fear and trembling" do not import a slavish
dread and terror, but a holy vigilance and circumspection b .
And there is great need of this in working out our salvation.
Let us only consider how many lusts we have to mortify, and
how many duties to perform ; how many temptations we have
to withstand, and adversaries to overcome ; how prone we are
to err, and how many devices Satan uses in order to deceive
a See Acts xxvii. 25, 31.
b This is the meaning of it in every place where it occurs : see
1 Cor. ii. 3. 2 Cor. vii. 15. and Eph. vi. 5. That it cannot mean
slavish fear is evident from Rom. viii. 15. and vii. 6.
VOL. XVIII. 1
66 PHILIPP1ANS, II. 12, 13. [2147.
us ; how insufficient we are of ourselves for this great work,
and how awful would be the consequences of miscarrying in
it; and \ve shall readily acknowledge that our utmost caution
is little enough. St. Paul felt the force of these considerations ;
and notwithstanding he knew himself to be a chosen vessel
unto God, he "kept his body under, and brought it into sub
jection, lest by any means, after having preached to others, he
himself should be a cast-away ."]
That we may all be led to comply with this advice,
let us consider,
II. The argument with which it is enforced
To see the full force of this argument we must
view it,
1. As a call on our gratitude
[Having commended the Philippians for their obedience
to God, he reminds them, whence it was that they were made
to differ from others. They were by nature as destitute of any
ability or inclination to serve God as any other people upon
earth : but God, of his own good pleasure, and without respect
to any thing in them, had given them both to will and to do
what was acceptable in his sight. Now this sovereign act of
grace laid them under a tenfold obligation to love and serve
him: they must be vile indeed, if such love did not constrain
them to obedience. Have any of us then been converted by
the grace of God, and been " made willing in the day of his
power?" Let us consider this mercy as the strongest of all
motives for yielding up ourselves as living sacrifices, holy, and
acceptable to him, as our reasonable service d . Are we " a
chosen generation, that had not obtained mercy, but now have
obtained mercy ? " Let us exert ourselves to the utmost to
" shew forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of
darkness into his marvellous light 6 ."]
2. As an antidote to our fears
[It is difficult to feel the importance of eternal things, and
not give way to secret fears and misgivings, respecting the final
success of our present exertions. And indeed, if we were re
quired to work out our salvation by our own strength, we might
well yield, not only to fear, but to utter despondency. But the
argument urged by the Apostle removes our apprehensions by
assuring us, that He, who has given us the will, will also give
us the power, to obey him 1 . It is not to mock us that God
has created in us a disposition to what is good : it is not to
c 1 Cor. ix. 27. d Rom. xii. 1.
e 1 Pet. ii. 0, 10. f The text, with Isai. xli. 10.
2147. J GOD ASSISTS THE DILIGENT. 67
abandon us at last that he has hitherto given " grace sufficient
for us :" his past favours are an earnest and pledge of others
yet to come : he will continue to " strengthen us in our inward
man," and will " perfect his own strength in our weakness g ."
Let us then acknowledge the force of the argument in this
view; and, assured that "our strength shall be according to
our day," let us " be steadfast, immoveable, and always abound
ing in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ive know that our
labour shall not be in vain in the ZordV]
3. As an incentive to vigilance
[Since it is " God who gives us both to will and to do,
and that entirely of his own good pleasure," we must of neces
sity be altogether dependent on him; if he keep us we shall
stand : if he leave us, we shall fall. Now God is a jealous God ;
and will surely manifest his displeasure if we walk unwatch-
fully before him. We may easily "grieve his Spirit ;" yea,
if we continue in wilful habits of neglect, or in any allowed
sin, we may " quench his Spirit k ;" for he has warned us that
"his Spirit shall not always strive with man 1 ;" and that, " if
we rebel and vex his Holy Spirit, he will turn and become
our enemy 1 "." The Israelites, who, notwithstanding they were
brought out of Egypt, and fed with manna from heaven,
perished in the wilderness, are set forth as examples to us".
And to many under temporal or spiritual afflictions may that
pungent question be addressed, " Hast thou not procured this
to thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord, when he led
thee by the way ?" Well may this consideration stir us up
to watchfulness and circumspection, lest by intermitting our
labours, and relaxing our exertions in the work of our salva
tion, we bring upon ourselves his heavy displeasure 1 .]
From hence we may SEE,
1. The beauty and harmony of Scripture doctrines
[Our entire dependence on divine grace, together with the
absolute sovereignty of God in the distribution of his favours,
are here clearly stated. Yet the necessity of our working out
our own salvation is as strongly declared, as if every thing
depended on our own efforts. Now these are often set in
opposition to each other, as though they were contrary and
inconsistent doctrines. But God sees no inconsistency in
them ; nor shall we, if we only once learn to receive the
Scriptures with the simplicity of little children, instead of
R Phil. iv. 13. with 2 Cor. xii. 9. < 1 Cor. xv. 58.
1 Eph. iv. 30. k 1 Thess. v. 19. > Gen. vi. 3.
m Isai. Ixiii. 10. Exod. xxiii. 21. n 1 Cor. x. 11.
Jer. ii. 17. P 2 Chron. xv. 2.
F 2
08 PHILIPPIANS, II. 12, 13. [2147.
presuming to be wise above what is written. On the contrary,
the two doctrines are perfectly harmonious; nor is there any
stronger argument for exertions on our part, than the freeness
and sufficiency of God s grace. Let us not then set altar
against altar, and doctrine against doctrine, but join in our
experience those things which God has indissolubly united,
and which are equally essential to our eternal welfare.]
2. The folly of the excuses which men urge in
justification of their own supineness
[One says, It is in vain for me to attempt working, unless
God work in me both to will and to do what he commands.
But will any man forbear to plough and sow his ground, because
he cannot ensure a harvest ? We are to work out our salva
tion to the utmost of our power, and to call upon God for all
necessary assistance : it is in activity, and not in sloth, that we
are to expect his aid ; " Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise
from the dead ; and Christ will give thee light :" and if we will
not put forth the little strength we have, we must reap to all
eternity the bitter fruits of our own supineness.
Another says, I need not concern myself much about the
present state of my soul ; for if God has ordained me to life, I
shall live ; and if he has begun the good work in me, he will
carry it on. But to what purpose has God enjoined fear and
trembling, if we are at liberty to indulge such a presumptuous
confidence as this? It is true, that " God will keep the feet
of his saints ;" but it is by fear and trembling that he will
keep them ; his injunctions are, " Be not high-minded, but
fear q ." And, " Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed
lest he fall r ."
Let not then the doctrines of grace be so perverted and
abused : but let us exert ourselves, as if we could do all ; and
depend on God, as knowing that, without him, we can do
nothing.]
3. The firmness of the believer s hopes
[While the believer is maintaining continual watchfulness
and care, he still enjoys peace in his soul, and oftentimes " a
full assurance of hope." But on what is his hope founded? Is
it on his own resolution, zeal, and steadfastness ? Nothing is
further from his mind : he relies on the sovereignty, the power,
and the faithfulness of his God. God s grace is his own, and
he disposes of it according to his own good pleasure ; therefore
the believer, while he feels himself the most unworthy of the
human race, hopes that " God will shew forth the exceeding
riches of his grace in acts of kindness towards him" " God
i Rom. xi. 20. * 1 Cor. x. 12.
2148.] PRACTICAL RELIGION ENFORCED. 69
is able to keep him from falling ; and therefore the believer
says, " I know in whom I have believed, that he is able to
keep that which I have committed to him 8 ." And lastly,
God has confirmed his promise with an oath ; and therefore
they who have fled for refuge to the Lord Jesus, have strong
consolation ; because it is impossible for God to lie ; and he is
faithful who hath promised 1 . Thus we see that the weakest
Christian stands on a rock, which defies all the storms and
tempests that ever can assail it. " Let us then be strong in
the Lord, and in the power of his might," and look to him to
" fulfil in us all the good pleasure of his will," and to " pre
serve us blameless unto his heavenly kingdom."]
s 2 Tim. i. 12. * Heb. vi. 17, 18.
MMCXLVIII.
PRACTICAL RELIGION ENFORCED.
Phil. ii. 14 1G. Do all things without murmuring s and dis-
putings : that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of
God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse
fiat ion, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding
forth the ivord of life ; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ,
that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
THERE are times for laying the foundations of
religion ; and there are times for raising the super
structure. Neither the one nor the other must be
neglected, since they are hoth equally necessary to
the completion of the sacred edifice which is to he
erected in the soul. St. Paul paid due attention to
them hoth. " As a wise master-builder, he laid the
foundation" with all possible care, declaring, that
though an angel from heaven were to announce any
other ground of hope than the Lord Jesus Christ, he
must not be credited, but rather must be held ac
cursed. So extreme was his jealousy upon this point,
that, when the Apostle Peter sanctioned, by his con
duct, a sentiment that militated against the doctrine
of salvation by faith, he rebuked him openly before
the whole Church. On the other hand, this holy
Apostle was not at all less jealous respecting the
performance of good works. In all his epistles, he
70 PHILIPPIANS, II. 14-16. [2148.
inculcates the indispensable necessity of them, in
order to our final happiness ; and in most of them he
enters very minutely into the different duties which
we are to perform to God, our neighbour, and our
selves. In the beginning of this chapter he had
recommended lowliness of mind a ; which he after
wards enforced from the example of Christ 15 . He
here continues the same subject, and inculcates a
constant exercise of humility towards both God and
man, as the best means of adorning our profession,
and of securing to ourselves the blessedness which
we look for in the eternal world. Pride fosters in
the soul a murmuring disposition towards God, and
a contentious disposition towards man. Humility
counteracts them both. Hence he says, " Do all
things without murmurings and disputings ;" engage
in every thing with a mind full of submission to God,
and of love to man ; that whatever difficulties you
may have to contend with, there may be nothing in
your conduct unworthy of your high and holy pro
fession, nothing that shall endanger your eternal
welfare.
To enter properly into the subject before us, it will
be necessary for us to consider,
I. The principles which are here assumed
Notwithstanding his jealousy on the subject of faith,
he does not hesitate to declare,
1 . That the practical efficacy of religion should be
the chief object of our attention now-
fit was so to the Jews of old. They possessed the highest
privileges as God s chosen people, and had ordinances divinely
appointed for their stated observance : yet neither their pri
vileges nor their observances availed them any thing, without
holiness of heart and life : their circumcision, whilst they were
disobedient to the law, was as uncircumcision. To those who
boasted that they were Abraham s seed, and therefore children
of God, our Lord said, " If ye were Abraham s children, ye
would do the works of Abraham ;" and, " If God were your
Father, ye would love me." To the same test must our pre
tensions also be brought. It is in vain for us to " cry, Lord,
n ver. 0, 1. h ver. 5 8.
2148.] PRACTICAL RELIGION ENFORCED. 71
Lord, if we do not the tilings which our Lord commands." It
is by our obedience to his will that our blessed Lord estimates
our love: " He that hath my commandments, and keepeth
them, he it is that loveth me :" and again, " If ye love me,
keep my commandments." On keeping of God s command
ments, so great a stress is laid, that it is made the one discri
minating point between the children of God and the children
of the devil. " In this the children of God are manifest, and
the children of the devil : whosoever doeth not righteousness,
is not of God e ." Nor is any profession or privilege available
for our eternal welfare without it : for " circumcision is nothing,
and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping the command
ments of God d ."]
2. That it will be the chief object of inquiry at the
day of judgment
[If the Gospel produce not this effect, it is preached in
vain ; and they who dispense it, " labour in vain." As now
the tree is judged of by its fruits, so will it be " at the day of
Christ." In the account given us by our Lord himself, we are
forewarned what will be the grounds of his decision, when he
shall judge the world: those whose religion was productive of
good works, will be approved and rewarded in proportion to
their works : but those who lived in the neglect of good works,
will be disapproved and punished. Whatever professions any
may have made of faith and love, they will be brought to this
test; and according to it they will be justified or condemned.
Doubtless respect will be had to the principles from which
their works have proceeded : for " God will bring to light the
hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels
of the heart :" but the works of all will be viewed as evidences
of their internal dispositions, and will form the ground of the
judgment which shall be pronounced upon them.]
These principles being established, let us proceed
to consider,
II. The practice which is here inculcated
We must not undervalue what may be called nega
tive holiness ; for, in truth, it is that which consti
tutes in a great measure the excellence of the saints.
The absence of a murmuring disposition, is to a
certain degree the same as positive contentment ; and
the absence of a contentious disposition as positive
love. But it is not a low degree of these virtues that
we are to seek after :
e 1 John iii. 6 10. d ] Cor. vii. 19. and 1 John i. 6. and ii. 7.
72 PHILIPPIANS, II. 14 1G. [2148.
We should walk as lights in a dark world
[It would ill become "the children of God" to walk as
children of Belial : on the contrary, they should be patterns to
the whole world; and should "give no occasion whatever to
their enemies to speak reproachfully." They should be
" blameless and harmless, and without rebuke, in the midst of
a crooked and perverse world." Nor let this be thought a low
attainment. Considering what an ensnaring world we move
in, and what depraved and perverse creatures we have to deal
with, it is no easy matter so to walk that no man may have
any fault to find with us but concerning the law of our God.
Such conduct requires incessant vigilance and circumspection
on our part, and no small measure of grace from the Lord
Jesus Christ. In this way we should shine as lights in a dark
world, " holding forth" in the whole of our conduct and conver
sation " the word of life." On every side of us there are rocks
and quicksands, which prove destructive to thousands, who
navigate this tempestuous ocean : and, whilst endeavouring to
avoid them ourselves, we should so steer our course, as to
perform the office of lights, or light-houses, to others ; that
they, following our luminous path, may escape the dangers
that surround them, and reach in safety the haven of rest.
This is the true view in which Christians should consider
themselves : they are intended to be witnesses for God, and
" epistles of Christ, known and read of all men." They are so
to walk, that others may see clearly in them a transcript of the
mind and will of God ; and that, conforming themselves to
their example, they may advance daily in the paths of right
eousness and grace.]
This alone will answer the end of ministerial ex
ertions
[Pastors are appointed for the perfecting of the saints :
and unless this be accomplished by the word, it is preached in
vain : instead of proving to the hearers " a savour of life unto
life, it will be to them a savour of death unto death." Till a
minister beholds this change wrought in his people, he must
of necessity stand in doubt of them 6 : but when it is wrought
in them, he may well rejoice over them, seeing that they shall
surely be his joy and crown of rejoicing in the last day f . Yes;
blessed indeed will be the meeting which he will have with
them in that day : he will recognize them as his spiritual
children, and present them unto God, saying, Here am " I,
and the children thou hast given me."]
In CONCLUSION, I will,
< Gal. iv. 11, 19, 20. f 1 Thess. ii. 19, 20.
2149.1 MINISTERIAL ZEAL DEPICTED. 73
1. Guard against any misapprehension of this sub-
ject-
[Though we affirm that our works will be the ground of
God s judgment in the last day, we would not be understood
to intimate, that there is, or can be, any merit in our works.
It is not for any worthiness in them that we are saved, but
solely for the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us,
and brought in an everlasting righteousness for our justification
before God. Our works, it is true, will be the test by which
our sincerity will be tried, and the standard to which the mea
sure of our reward will be conformed: but it is not for our
blamelessness that we shall be accepted ; nor will any thing be
conferred upon us on the ground of merit: the whole will be
a reward of grace, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
through his obedience unto death. It is highly necessary that
this matter should be clearly seen, lest our very virtues become
a snare to us, and we perish at last by rejecting the salvation
provided for us.]
2. Give directions for attaining the state to which
we are called
[It can be attained only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ:
for it is only by faith that we can be united to him, and only
by union with him that we can bring forth fruit to his glory.
He himself tells us, that " without him, that is, separate from
him, we can do nothing." If we attempt any thing in our
own strength, we shall fail. But " through Christ strengthen
ing us, we can do all things." To him therefore we must
look ; and of him we must say, " In the Lord have I right
eousness and strength." Relying on him, we shall never be
confounded. Our trials may be great ; but we shall be ena
bled to bear them : our difficulties may be great ; but we shall
be enabled to surmount them. Nothing shall be impossible to
us, if only we live by faith in him. In the midst of tempta
tions we shall " be preserved blameless," and our " light shall
shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day."]
MMCXLIX.
MINISTERIAL ZEAL DEPICTED.
Phil. ii. 17, 18. 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.
THE hope of benefiting immortal souls is most
delightful to a benevolent mind; and a successful
74 PHILIPPIANS, II. 17, 18. [2149.
issue to our labours is replete with joy. The disciple
who was honoured with his Master s love beyond all
others, even he knew " no greater joy than to see
his children walk in truth a ." This accounts for the
extreme earnestness with which St. Paul laboured for
the salvation of men, and for their sake. He knew,
that, even in the eternal world, it would augment his
happiness to see that he had been instrumental in
saving others ; and that " he should rejoice in the
day of Christ, when he found that he had not
laboured in vain, or run in vainV Indeed, so
entirely was he swallowed up in the prosperity of
his converts, that he was ready even to die for them,
if need were ; yea, and to welcome the most cruel
death as a blessing, rather than to deprecate it as an
evil, if only it might be subservient to the welfare of
their souls. This is a most remarkable assertion :
and, for the purpose of unfolding it, I will shew,
I. What was the event which is here so gladly wel
comed
The event itself was martyrdom
[The terms in which he speaks of martyrdom need expla
nation amongst us ; but to Christians of that day, conversant
as they were with the Jewish ritual, they would convey his
meaning in a most intelligible and striking form.
The Jews had sacrifices offered every morning and every
evening throughout the year. Upon these sacrifices were
offered a meat-offering of flour mingled with oil, and a drink-
offering of wine c . Now, these sacrifices represented, not only
the Great Sacrifice which was in due time to be offered for the
sins of men, but Christians themselves, who, at the time of
their conversion, are given up to Almighty God to serve him,
and to glorify his name. The ministers who were instru
mental in bringing them to Christ were, so to speak, the
priests who offered them up : in conformity with which idea,
St. Paul speaks of being the " minister of Jesus Christ to the
Gentiles, ministering the Gospel of God, that the offering up
of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the
Holy Ghost d ." But, in the passage before us there is a pecu
liar beauty : for the people are regarded, not only as the sacri
fice that was offered, but as the priests that offered it ; since,
a 3 John, ver. 4. b ver. 15, 16.
c Numb, xxviii. 3 7. d Rom. xv. 16.
2149.] MINISTERIAL ZEAL DEPICTED. 75
in the very act of believing, they performed that service, ivhich,
in other sacrifices, was performed by the priest 6 . And this is
the very thing noticed by St. Paul in another place, when he
beseeches men to "present their otvn bodies a living sacrifice
unto God, as an acceptable and reasonable serviced" This,
too, is beautifully intimated by the Prophet Isaiah, as charac
terizing, in a very eminent degree, the millennial period, when
converts will shew an extraordinary readiness to devote them
selves to God : " All the flocks of Keclar shall be gathered
together unto thee ; the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto
thee (not waiting for a priest to lead them, but presenting
themselves for sacrifice at the foot of the altar) ; they shall come
up with acceptance on mine altar; and I will glorify the house
of my glory g ."
Now, says the Apostle, since I have seen you so willingly
present yourselves as sacrifices to the Lord, I am willing to
have my own blood poured forth as a libation or drink- offering,
that so every one of your sacrifices may be complete, and God
may be glorified in us all. And, whoever be the instrument
to draw forth my blood, or with whatever horrors the shedding
of it maybe accompanied, I account that not worth a thought:
I am in daily expectation of suffering martyrdom ; and I am
willing to suffer it for your sake, in any way that God himself
shall see fit. ]
This he was ready to welcome as a ground of
jy-
[Doubtless, to flesh and blood, the prospect of a cruel
death was terrific. But the Apostle was borne up far above
all the feelings of unassisted nature, and was enabled to con
template the deepest sufferings with joy : he could look for
ward to death itself, not as an object of terror, but as a ground
of universal joy. For, with respect to Jtis converts, though it
would deprive them of his instructions, and rob them of their
dearest friend, yet it would tend to confirm them in the faith
they had received, and would embolden them to serve the Lord
without fear, yea, and with tenfold greater earnestness than
ever. With respect to Jehovah, too, it would reflect on him the
highest honour: for, though by the murderers, he would be
dishonoured, by the victim he would be glorified ; since it
would be made obvious to all, how worthy he is to be loved
and served, and how able he is to succour his tempted people
under all that they may be called to suffer for his sake. And
with respect to himself, death in such a cause would be the
highest honour that could be conferred upon him h ; and he had
e tTTf r/] Ovffia Kal Xctrovpy/^ rj/e iriffrews vpwr. { Rom. xii. 1.
8 Isai. Ix. 7. h Acts v. 41.
76 PHILIPPIANS, II. 17, 18. [2149.
no doubt but that a proportionably augmented weight of glory
would be awarded to him at the tribunal of his God 1 .
Under these circumstances, death had no terrors for him :
on the contrary, however his blood should be shed, he called
on them to rejoice, both with him and for him; since the event,
properly viewed, would be no other than a ground of mutual
congratulation.]
Let us next consider,
II. What the welcoming of such an event should
teach us
The Apostle s spirit and conduct differ widely from
that patriotic ardour which has wrought up many to
the contempt of death. Pride has been in them the
chief incentive, and the hope of immortalizing their
own memory. As for the love of immortal souls, it
has never once entered into their minds ; nor have
they shewn any desire that God should be glorified
in them. But, in the Apostle, piety to God, and love
to man, were the great principles in operation ; and
self was as much forgotten, as if he had known that
the record which he had given of his views would
perish with him. His exalted feelings on this occa
sion shew us,
1. The value of the soul
[Of what incalculable value must their souls have been in
the Apostle s eyes, when, for the advancement of their welfare,
he was ready to welcome even martyrdom itself ! Yet were
his views perfectly correct : for the soul of any individual
whatever is of more value than the whole world. Beloved
brethren, if another person could do and suffer so much for
you, what ought not you to do or suffer for the welfare of your
own souls ? Should it be any difficulty to you to devote your
selves to God? or should you regard, for one moment, the
contempt or obloquy which you may incur for His sake ?
Methinks, you are blushing for your lukewarmness and
cowardice : you are ashamed, that the things of time and
sense can retain such influence over your minds. And, in
truth, well may the most diligent amongst us be ashamed,
when we think how near we are on the borders of eternity ;
and what a sacrifice they must become to the justice of God
hereafter, who have not surrendered themselves as living
sacrifices to his honour in the present world.]
i 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. Matt. v. 11, 12. Heb. xi. 26.
2149.] MINISTERIAL ZEAL DEPICTED. 77
2. The wonderful love of the Lord Jesus Christ
to our sinful race
[This which is spoken of in my text has been done for us
by our Lord Jesus Christ ; of whom it is said, " He poured
out his soul unto death k ." He even came from heaven for
this very purpose, and assumed our nature that he might be
capable of doing it. And this he did too, not merely as a
witness for the truth, or as an example to the Church, but as
an atonement for the sins of all mankind. On him were laid
the iniquities of us all : and, when he saw what a bloody
baptism he was to be baptized with, lie was quite straitened
until it should be accomplished; so ardently did he desire the
wished-for period. Nor was it for friends and brethren that
he poured forth his blood, but for his very enemies, even for
the very people who nailed him to the cross : and this too, not
in the midst of consolations and supports, but under a sense of
God s wrath, and in the depths of dereliction. O ! who can
tell what manner of love this was? Trulv, its height and
depth, and length and breadth, are utterly unsearchable, and
incomprehensible. Brethren, you contemplate with wonder
and gratitude the example of St. Paul : but what must you
think of our Lord Jesus Christ ? I charge you, beloved
brethren, be not insensible of this : but set it before you, and
meditate upon it, till it has penetrated your inmost souls, and
" filled you with all the fulness of God 1 ."]
3. What is the proper character of a Christian
minister
[Even a private Christian ought not to fall short of the
example before us: for St. John says, " Hereby perceive we
the love of God, because he laid down his life for us : and we
ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" 1 ." What then
becomes the Christian minister, who has consecrated himself
to the service of the sanctuary, and bound himself, by the
most solemn ties, to live only for his God ! The union of
love and zeal which the Apostle manifested on this occasion
should be visible in the whole of his walk before God ; so
that at all times he may appeal to his people as the Apostle
did; " We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth
her children ; so, being affectionately desirous of you, we
were willing to have imparted unto you, not the Gospel of
God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto
us n ." O that there were in us such a heart as this! What
blessings should we be to the places where our lot is cast !
k Isai. liii. 12. Eph. iii. 18, 19.
m 1 John iii. 10. "1 Thess. ii. 7, 8.
78 PHILIPPIANS, II. 21. [2150.
And how ready should we be to go forth, wherever our God
may call us ; accounting nothing of the trials that may await
us, even though life itself were the sacrifice that we were
called to make. Dear brethren, let it not be said of you, "All
men seek their own, and not the things of Jesus Christ ;" but
beg of God that you may rise to your proper character ; and
be enabled to " follow the Apostle, as he followed Christ."]
ver. 21.
MMCL.
THE SELFISHNESS OF MAN.
Phil. ii. 21. All seek their own, not the things which are Jesus
Christ s.
CANDOUR is a virtue that should be held in the
highest estimation : but, if pressed beyond its proper
limits, it will degenerate into indifference,, and be
productive of incalculable evil. It ought not to con
found all distinctions between good and evil ; or to
betray the interests of religion, through a tenderness
for the character of those who violate its dictates.
Its office relates rather to the motives, than to the
actions, of men. Their actions are to be tried by the
standard of God s law : their principles are known to
God alone : and it is the part of candour to make due
allowance for the frailties of men ; and to ascribe
every thing to good motives, as far as the actions
themselves, and the circumstances attending them,
will admit of it. As for that latitudinarian principle
which is falsely called candour, the Scriptures know
nothing of it ; nor do they countenance it in any
degree. They uniformly assign to good and to evil
their true and proper characters, without any respect
to those who commit them : and oftentimes they
speak in broad, unqualified terms, where they might,
if God had seen fit, have made limitations and ex
ceptions. In applying such passages, however, to
existing circumstances, there is undoubtedly just
scope for the exercise of candour. And this we shall
2150.] T H E SELFISHNESS OF MAN. 79
have occasion to shew, in discussing the subject
before us.
St. Paul was now a prisoner at Rome, not knowing
whether he should be liberated or put to death. In
this state, he was extremely anxious about his con
verts at Philippi, who were themselves in a state of
great suffering from enemies, whilst they were ex
posed to the more fatal assaults of pretended friends,
who laboured to turn them from the faith. He longed
exceedingly to know how they stood their ground ;
and wished to draw his information from a source
which he could fully depend on. But he had only
Timothy with him ; and how to part with so dear a
friend, under his present circumstances, he knew not.
Yet, on the whole, he determined to exercise this
self-denial ; and to send Timothy to encourage them,
and to bring him the desired information : for he
had " no man with him that was like-minded with
Timothy, who would naturally care for their state ;
for all others who were around him sought their own,
and not the things of Jesus Christ."
It may be asked, How then came he to bestow
such commendations on Epaphroditus, and to send
this letter by him ? I answer, Epaphroditus was " a
messenger," who had come to him from Philippi ;
and who could not be expected to come back again
to Rome, to bring him the desired information : and
therefore he was not included in the foregoing cen
sure ; which was intended only to be applied to the
Christians at Rome, who, in his deepest extremity,
had forsaken him ; and had thereby shewn, that they
felt a greater regard for their own safety, than for the
honour of their Lord 3 .
That we may do justice to all, in our treatment of
this subject, we will consider the Apostle s asertion,
I. Literally, in reference to the ungodly world
To these it is applicable in its full extent. Fallen
man is wholly departed from God; and is become al
together selfish ; seeking at all times his own things,
a 2 Tim. iv. 1C.
80 PH1LIPPIANS, II. 21. [2150.
1. Supremely
[One would have supposed, that man, however fallen,
should at least have given a precedence to his God : but he
chooses rather to be a god unto himself, and to consult, in the
first place, what will be most conducive to his own ease, or
interest, or honour. If the gratification of self, in any respect,
be found contrary to the declared will of God, the authority
of God is set at nought ; the honour of God overlooked, as
unimportant ; and the pleasure, whatever it may be, is pur
sued, without restriction or remorse. From their fellow-man,
indeed, they feel some restraint ; but from God, none at all.
As far as HE is concerned, they say, " Our lips are our own :
Who is lord over us b ?" Nor is this on some particular occa
sion only : it is the prevailing habit of their minds : and,
whensoever the will of God is opposed to theirs, they do not
hesitate to say, " Who is the Lord, that I should obey his
voice ? I know not the Lord, neither will I obey his voice c ."]
2. Exclusively
[In truth, man in his fallen state does not admit any com
petition between God and him. He chooses rather to " cast
God behind his back d ," and to live "without him in the
world 6 ." " The things of Jesus Christ" do not at all engage
his thoughts. He never asks himself, What would the
Lord Jesus Christ wish me to do ? What will please him ?
What will honour him ? What will advance his glory in the
world? These are considerations which never enter into
his mind. Nor is this the case with any one particular de
scription of persons only : it is the same with all persons, of
every age, of every country, of every condition. From in
fancy to old age there is the same regard for self, to the utter
exclusion of every thing that relates to Christ. There may be
indeed, and often is, in ungodly men, a great concern about
their own sect or party in the Church ; which they, perhaps,
would call a regard for Christ himself. But this is nothing
more than a carnal principle, precisely similar to that which
actuates men in relation to their own society or country.
There is in it no real regard for the Lord Jesus Christ him
self, but only for the particular party to which they belong :
and, whatever construction they may put upon their actions,
God, who tries the heart, will comprehend them under the
censure of my text, as "seeking their own things, and not the
things of Jesus Christ." " They are empty vines, because
they bring forth fruit only to themselves V]
b Ps. xii. 4. Exod. v. 2. d Ezek. xxiii. 35.
e Eph. ii. 12. t Hos. x. 1.
2150.] SELFISHNESS OF MAN. 81
But the Apostle had very different persons in view.
To understand his assertion aright, we must consi
der it,
II. Constructively, in reference to the Church of
Christ
Beyond all doubt, he referred, in his own mind, to
all the Christians at Rome. But we are not to sup
pose that there was not one amongst them that was
possessed of true piety : we must rather suppose,
that their piety was of an inferior order, and that
there was not amongst them any one duly qualified
for the work which he would gladly have assigned
him. They were all too timid, and too selfish, for the
office to which, for want of any other suitable person,
he had destined his beloved Timothy. Hence, in
somewhat strong terms, he complained of them, as
" seeking their own things, and not the things of
Jesus Christ ;" not intending thereby to deny their
piety altogether, but only to intimate that it was at
a low ebb. And how applicable this reproof is to
the professors of our day, will clearly appear, whilst
we observe how little there is amongst us,
1. Of self-denial-
fin whatever is gratifying to self, we are all forward
enough : but if we foresee that the path of duty will involve us
in difficulties and trials, we are ready to make any excuse for
declining to pursue it. We dread the thought of sacrificing
our present comforts, and of encountering hardships of any
kind. Instead of " counting all things but loss for Christ,"
we pause long before we will part with any thing : and we
desire, for the most part, to have as cheap a religion as we
can. The Apostle, giving us a catalogue of his sufferings for
Christ, (in which he far exceeded any other of the Apostles,)
says, " I was in labours more abundant, in stripes above
measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the
Jews, five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was
I beaten with rods ; once was I stoned ; thrice I suffered
shipwreck; a night and a day have I been in the deep; in
journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in
perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in
perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the
sea, in perils among false brethren : in weariness and painful-
ness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings
VOL. XVIII. G
$2 PHILIPPIANS, II. 21. [2150.
often, in cold and nakedness^." But what effect did they
produce on him ? Was he deterred by them from following
the Lord ? No : " None of these things move me," says he,
" neither count I my life dear unto me, so that I may but
finish my course with joy h ." And is this the spirit that
obtains amongst us? Alas! alas! if we were called to en
dure but a twentieth part of his difficulties, it is much to be
feared that the generality amongst us would utterly faint and
fail ; and, like John Mark, would turn back from the service
of our God 1 .]
2. Of zeal for God
[In persons redeemed by the blood of God s only dear
Son, one might expect that there should be one constant
inquiry, " What shall I render to my Lord ? " and that the
performance of one service should be regarded only as an
introduction to another. Laborious as was the Apostle Paul,
he never thought that he had done any thing, as long as any
thing remained for him to do. " Like a racer in his course,
he forgot what was behind, and reached forward to that which
was before." Whatever the service was to which he was
called, " he conferred not with flesh and blood," and said im
mediately, " Here am I; send me k ." But how little of this
ardour do we see in the great mass of professing Christians !
The advancement of Christ s kingdom appears to them a
matter too remote to engage their attention ; and they cloke
their own indifference under the specious garb of conscious
inability.]
3. Of love to man
[This was particularly in the mind of the Apostle as a
very chief ground of his censure : " I have no man like-minded,
who will naturally care for your state." A concern for the
welfare of men s souls was scarcely found amongst them,
especially such a tender concern as a person feels for the wel
fare of his dearest relative 1 . Were we to behold one who was
dear to us in imminent danger, we should feel acutely for
him : but we see millions perishing in their sins, and yet lay
it not to heart, and are scarcely more grieved about them
than if we had reason to believe them in a state of perfect
safety. Far different is the manner in which we regard our
own things. If we were doomed to suffer the loss but of a
finger only, it would press with considerable weight upon our
minds : but we can behold persons, on every side of us, going
clown to perdition, without making any serious effort to deliver
them.]
s 2 Cor. xi. 23 27. h Acts xx. 24.
Acts xiii. 13. and xv. 38. k Isai. vi. 8.
2150.] SELFISHNESS OF MAN. 83
See then, here, what GROUND we have,
1. For inquiry
[How has it been with us? What has been the state of
our minds towards the Lord Jesus Christ ? Have we found
our own concerns swallowed up, as it were, in a concern for
him and his glory ? Can we adopt, even in the most qualified
sense, that expression of the Psalmist, " The zeal of thine
house has even consumed me m !" Remember, I pray you,
that every thing should be subordinated to Christ, and be
regarded only as dung and dross in comparison of him. Our
blessed Lord tells us, that " if we hate not father and mother,
yea, and our own life also, in comparison of him, we cannot be
his disciples"." Surelv, after such a declaration as this, we
should examine our state with all diligence, and never rest
till we can say, " Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there
is none upon earth that I desire besides thee."]
2. For humiliation
[Let us turn our eyes to our great Exemplar, the Lord
Jesus Christ. " Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who, though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor,
c 1 it we through his poverty might be rich ." To this the
Apostle particularly adverts, in the preceding context : " Look
not every man on his own things, but every man also on the
things of others. 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 repu
tation, 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 p ." Here, you see, is our pattern.
But what resemblance do we bear to him? The leaving of
all the glory of heaven, the taking of our nature with all its
sinless infirmities, the dying under the weight of our sins, even
of the sins of the whole world, were not too great acts of self-
denial for him to perform; and that, too, even for his enemies.
But ice, what have we done ? What have we suffered, for the
glory of Christ, and the salvation of men ? Say, whether we
all have not reason to blush and be ashamed at our extreme
want of conformity to him in these respects?]
3. For watchfulness
[Selfishness is an evil peculiarly subtle, and veils its own
malignity under the most specious names and pretexts. We
may see this in the persons who came to our Lord, professing
m Ps. Ixix. 9. n Luke xiv. 26.
2 Cor. viii. 9. P ver. 48.
G 2
84 PHILIPPIANS, III. 3. [2151.
a great regard for him, and a fixed determination to serve
him. One said, " Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou
goest;" but was deterred from executing his purpose, when
our Lord told him, " Foxes have holes, and the birds of the
air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his
head." Another, when bidden by our Lord to follow him,
requested that this might be dispensed with for a season, that
he might go home and bury his father. A third made great
professions of his readiness to follow Christ; but desired, that
he might first go home, and bid his friends farewell q . To all
of these our Lord gave such replies as were calculated to
expose and counteract the delusions by which they were
blinded. And were our excuses tried, as they will ere long
be, by the same touchstone, how vain would they appear !
Pleas of duty or affection are often brought forth to justify the
secret backwardness which we feel to encounter difficulties
for the Lord. But the mask will soon be taken off, and our
selfishness will appear in all its naked deformity. Beware
then, brethren, lest ye deceive your own souls; and, whilst the
fidelity of others is questioned, let it be said of you, as it was
of Timothy, " Ye know the proof of him 1 ." Let your whole
life be a comment on that declaration of the Apostle, " None
of us liveth to himself; and no man dieth unto himself; but
whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; or whether we die,
we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore or die, we
are the Lord s 5 ." Only take care that, in your experience, it
be " Christ to live ;" and you need never fear but that it shall
be " gain to die 1 ."]
i Luke ix. 57 60. r ver. 22.
Rom. xiv. 7, 8. Phil. i. 21.
MMCLI.
THE TRUE CHRISTIAN DELINEATED.
Phil. iii. 3. We are the circumcision, which worship God in
the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence
in the flesh.
IT is much to be lamented that the nature of
genuine Christianity is but little understood. An
assent to the fundamental articles of our faith, and
a conformity to certain rites and ceremonies, are
thought sufficient grounds for concluding ourselves
real Christians, notwithstanding we are plainly warned
2151. J THE TRUE CHRISTIAN DELINEATED. 85
by God himself, that religion does not consist in these
things*. Persons may be, and often are, very zealous
advocates for the externals of religion, while they are
altogether destitute of its life and power. Such were
those whom St. Paul calls, not the sheep of Christ,
but " dogs ;" not saints, but " evil-workers ;" not the
circumcision, but, in a way of contempt, " the con
cision," because all their piety consisted in a zeal for
the cutting of the flesh. Against such persons he
thrice enjoins us to " beware ;" and then contrasts
with theirs the character of the true Christian.
There are three discriminating points which distin
guish the circumcision, or the true Christians, from
all who are Christians only in name and profession :
I. They worship God in the Spirit
[Many never bow their knees before God at all. What
they are, they themselves shall judge. Others observe the
form of prayer both in public and in private ; but their hearts
are not engaged ; nor is there any difference in their frame,
whether they confess their sins, or ask for blessings, or
acknowledge benefits received. All their services are without
life, and without devotion.
The true Christian, on the contrary, though not always in
the same frame, " worships God in the Spirit," that is, not
only with the inmost affections of his soul, but through the
direction and assistance of the Holy Ghost b . If we could see
him in his closet before God, we should often behold him
bathed in tears, and with hands and eyes lifted up to heaven
imploring mercy at the hands of God. His thanksgivings too
are not an unmeaning compliment, but an heartfelt grateful
acknowledgment, suited in a measure to the mercies lie has
received. He " pours out his soul before God c ," and " stirs
up himself to lay hold on God d ," and says, like Jacob, " I will
not let thee go, except thou bless me e ."
Let us examine to which of these classes we belong
and we may know infallibly what is our state before God.]
II. They rejoice in Christ Jesus
[The world have their joys, such as they are, arising from
the things of time and sense. Some know no happiness but
in lewdness and intemperance. Others, moving either in a
continual round of fashionable amusements, or in the pursuit
a Rom. ii. 28, 29. b Jude, ver. 20. Rom. viii. 1.",, 2(5.
c Ps. xlii. 4. 1 Sam. i. 15. d Isai. Ixiv. 7. e Gen. xxxii. 2(>.
SG PHiLIPPIANS, III. 3. [2151.
of wealth or honour, find all their pleasure in the lust of the
flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. Others more
rationally seek their happiness in the acquisition of knowledge.
While others seem contented to move, like a horse in a mill,
in the same round of daily occupation, without aiming at any
thing further than an exemption from trouble, and an easy
passage through life.
But the true Christian, while he is alive to all the joys that
are possessed by others, as far as they are pleasing to God,
and profitable to his soul, has joys of a far higher nature. He
has felt his need of mercy, and has found mercy through Christ
Jesus. Hence the very name of " Jesus is precious to him :"
and the richest gratification he can possibly enjoy is, to con
template the glory and excellency of his beloved. He does
not indeed always feel the same delight in the Saviour ; but
his richest consolations and sublimest joys arise from this
source, insomuch that all the pleasures of sense are nothing
in his eyes in comparison of one hour s fellowship with the Son
of God f . Indeed he would not wish to be happy when he is
at a distance from his Lord : in such a state he would consider
happiness rather a curse than a blessing. But in whatever
state he be with respect to temporal things, a sight of his
adorable Saviour will render him completely happy g .
Here again let us inquire into our own experience. We
need no surer test of our state than that before us. Let us
examine ourselves with care and " the Lord give us
understanding in all things !"]
III. They have no confidence in the flesh
[The ungodly world, if in prosperity, " make gold their
confidence 1 ," and "trust in their uncertain riches 1 ." If, on
the other hand, they be in adversity, they look no higher than
to their own exertions, or than to their earthly friends to
deliver them. The same creature-confidence pervades all
their spiritual concerns : they " lean altogether on an arm of
flesh," and trust in their own goodness or repentance to
recommend them to God, and their own strength and reso
lution to fulfil his will.
The true Christian is the very reverse of this. We say not
that he has no bias towards these evils, for his old nature still
remains within him : but his views with respect to these things
are altogether altered ; and, though he neglects not any
means which are proper to be used, he trusts in God only to
maintain his prosperity, or to restore it when he has been
pleased to afflict him with any calamity. With respect to his
1 Ps. iv. 6. 8 1 Pet. i. 8.
h Job xxxi. 2-1. 1 Tim. vi. 17.
THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST. 87
soul also he has no hope but in God. To the free mercy of
God in Christ Jesus he trusts for every blessing. In the
atoning sacrifice and prevailing intercession of Jesus he con
fides, as the ground of his acceptance with his reconciled God.
On the all-powerful grace of Christ he relies, as that which
alone can enable him to subdue his enemies, and to serve his
God. Feeling that he is in himself ignorant, guilty, polluted,
and enslaved, he renounces all self-confidence, and makes
Jesus his wisdom, his righteousness, his sanctification, and
redemption.
Surely there can be no difficulty in ascertaining our proper
character, if only we will make this point also a matter of
serious self-examination ]
ADDRESS
1. Those who, according to these distinctions,
must be considered as devoid of real Christianity
[Remember who it is that cuts you off from the number
of true Christians : it is not man, but God, even that God
who will judge you in the last day according to his own word.
O continue not in such a state ; but seek that circumcision of
the heart which, though condemned by men, shall ultimately
have praise of God.]
2. Those who have reason from the foregoing
remarks to hope that they are Christians indeed
[What reason have you to bless God for the mercies that
have been vouchsafed to you ! But remember, it is not by
past experience merely you are to judge, but by the continued
habit of your mind. Rest not satisfied with any thing you
have known ; lest you " begin in the Spirit, and end in the
flesh." The text does not characterize the Christian by what
he has done, but by what he yet does : and therefore " press
forward, forgetting what is behind, and reaching forth unto
what is before :" and " as you have received how to walk and
to please God, so endeavour to abound more and more."]
MMCLII.
THE EXCELLENCY OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST.
Phil. iii. 7, 8. What things were gain to me, those I counted
loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord.
MANKIND in general are agitated by various and
contending passions, while the true Christian enjoys
88 PHILIPPIANS, III. 7, 8. [2152.
serenity and composure : he is indeed tempted like
others to gratify his corrupt nature ; but he has one
supreme desire which overcomes and regulates all
the rest. He is compared to a wise merchant, who
having found a pearl of great price, sells all that he
has and buys it. Whatever stands in competition
with the welfare of his soul will be renounced by
him ; and, with the Apostle, he will " count all things
but loss for Christ." To impress this truth more
deeply on our minds, we shall consider,
I. What things Paul had which were gain to him
Amongst all the sons of men there never was any
in whom so many and so great excellencies combined,
as in the Apostle Paul
[In respect of civil distinctions, he was highly dignified
by birth, being " an Hebrew of the Hebrews*." He was
also eminent for learning, having been " brought up at the
feet of Gamaliel, and profited above many his equals 5 ."
Nor was he less distinguished in respect of moral qualities.
Such was the strictness of his principles, that he joined him
self to the Pharisees, the strictest sect among the Jews c . His
probity of conduct was irreproachable ; for he had " lived in
all good conscience before God from his very youth d ." His
zeal also, though not according to knowledge, was peculiarly
earnest ; insomuch that, touching the righteousness of the law,
he was blameless ; and he opposed the Gospel to the utter
most, because he thought it subverted the law of Moses 6 .
But however illustrious he was as a Jew, he was still more so
as a Christian and an Apostle. His religious attainments were
never equalled by any mere man. His exertions in the cause
of Christ surpassed those of all the other Apostles f . He also
suffered more than any for the sake of the Gospel 6 ; yea, he
was " in deaths oft," " not counting his life dear to him, so
that he might finish his course with joy."]
These things might well be accounted gain to him
[His civil distinctions might recommend him to his coun
trymen, and augment his influence 11 . And though he would
not make a parade of his learning, he found it useful on some
a Phil. Hi. 5. b Acts xxii. 8. Gal. i. 14. c Acts xxvi. 5.
d Acts xxiii. 1. Phil. iii. C. Acts xxvi. 9, 10.
f 1 Cor. xv. 10. B 2 Cor. xi. 2328.
h 2 Cor. \i. 21, 22. Acts xxii. 2f> 29.
2152.] THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST. 80
occasions . His moral qualities also might well be valuable
in his sight: for though no strictness of principles, probity of
conduct, or zeal for religion, could recommend him God, yet
they were ample testimonies of the integrity of his heart.
His religious attainments were still more deserving estimation ;
for though not meritorious in the sight of God, they tended
greatly to the glory of God, and the edification of the church,
and were undoubted evidences of his meetness for heaven.
Well therefore might he rejoice, as he did, in the testimony
of a good conscience k .]
But he possessed something of incomparably greater
value than these things, as will appear, if we inquire,
II. What that was which he preferred before them
The Apostle had happily attained the knowledge
of Christ-
[A mere general uninteresting knowledge of Christ would
not have been very high in his esteem : that, which he pos
sessed, was distinct and experimental. He saw Christ as God,
equal with the Father, though appearing in the form of a
servant 1 : he beheld him sustaining various offices in the
economy of redemption, and executing them for his people s
good. He beheld him as the " Christ," " anointed by the
Spirit to preach glad tidings to the meek ;" as " Jesus" the
person commissioned to " save men from their sins ;" and as
" the Lord" who was constituted the living Head, the Su
preme Governor, and the righteous Judge of his redeemed
people.
But not even this distinct knowledge would have been
valued by him, if it had not also been experimental. The
expressions following the text respecting his " winning Christ,
and being found in him, and knowing him in the power of his
resurrection," evidently imply that he tasted a sweetness, and
felt a peculiar efficacy, in this knowledge. He found by happy
experience that he had communion with Christ in his offices" 1 .
He saw Christ not merely as a Prophet, a Priest, or a King,
but as that very Teacher who had opened his eyes; that very
Lamb that had taken away his sins ; that very Head, to whom
he himself was vitally united, and from whom he derived all
his supplies of grace and strength. Hence in speaking of Christ
he calls him, " Christ Jesus MY Lord."]
Thrice he quoted the Greek poets in confirmation of the truth ;
and took advantage of his knowledge of the Greek language to oppose
more successfully the heathen idolatry. Acts xvii. 23.
k 2 Cor. i. 12. Phil. ii. 6, 7. m 1 John i. ,3.
90 PHILIPPIANS, III. 7, 8. [2152.
This it was which he esteemed beyond all other
things
[In comparison of this, his civil distinctions, his moral
qualities, and even his religious attainments, appeared to him
" as dung and dross." He clearly perceived that none of those
things could ever justify him at the tribunal of God ; and that,
if ever he were saved, he must " be found in Christ, not having
his own righteousness, but the righteousness which is of God
by faith in Christ :" hence he accounted his former gain to
be not only dung, but " loss," that is, not only useless, but
prejudicial, if it diverted his eyes from Christ, or weakened his
dependence upon him. Nor did he entertain the smallest
doubt respecting the justness of his views; but repeated his
assertions in the strongest and most decisive terms, " yea,
doubtless, and I count all things but loss." Nor did his con
fidence proceed from inexperience ; for repeating the same
thing a third time, he adds, " for whom I have suffered the
loss of all things, and do count them but dung."]
The propriety of his judgment will be seen by con
sidering,
III. The grounds of his preference
There was an " excellency " in that knowledge that
far surpassed every thing else
The object of it was truly wonderful
[Who can think of an incarnate God, bearing the sins of
his rebellious creatures, and not stand amazed? Who can
view the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, as exhibited in
the face of a dying Saviour, and not confess, that " great is the
mystery of godliness ? " The consideration of this alone had
been a very sufficient ground for his declaration in the text.]
The effects of it transcend all that eye hath seen,
or ear heard, or heart conceived
[The knowledge of this adorable Saviour will comfort us
under all troubles. None ever endured greater bodily trials
than Paul ; yet " none of them could move him ; and he was
exceeding joyful in all his tribulation 11 ." The trials of his
soul were far greater ; yet while he was groaning under their
utmost weight, a view of Christ instantly turned his mourning
into thanksgivings and the voice of melody : and, on another
occasion, while he was cruelly buffeted by Satan, an answer
n Acts xx. 24. 2 Cor. vii. 4. Rom. vii. 24, 25.
2152. J TIIE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST. *J 1
of peace from Christ enabled him to glory in his infirmities, and
even to take pleasure in the most complicated distresses 11 .
Moreover, this knowledge will transform the soul into the
image of God. Before his conversion, his zeal shewed itself in
persecuting unto death the greatest friends both of God and
man : how unlike the conduct of Jesus, who died for his very
enemies ! But when converted to the faith, he had " continual
sorrow in his heart on account of his brethren s obstinacy, and
wished himself even accursed from Christ for their sake q ."
He, like his Divine Master, was willing to die for his enemies,
and rejoiced exceedingly in the prospect of being sacrificed for
the good of the Church 1 . To what can we ascribe this change,
but to the knowledge of Christ 5 ? And if to that, what reason
had he to prize it!
Lastly, this knowledge ivill avail for the salvation of all who
possess it. Paul, though he thought himself " alive" before
his conversion, found at last that he was really " dead 1 :" but
after his conversion, he was no longer dead, either in reality,
or in his own apprehension : he frequently speaks with the
fullest assurance respecting the safety of his state" ; and teaches
all who know Christ to expect with confidence a crown of
righteousness in the day of judgment*.
On such grounds we must not only approve the Apostle s
judgment, but account it madness to difl er from him.]
APPLICATION
[All of us possess something which we account gain.
Some are more elevated by birth or fortune, others by educa
tion and learning: some value themselves on their moral
qualities; others on their religious attainments: let us freely
acknowledge the gain which may be found in these things y :
but let us never forget that there is ONE thing of infinitely
greater value than all those together, and for which our gain
must be accounted loss. To have a distinct experimental
knowledge of Christ, to be able to say, " He has loved me, and
given himself for me," is of more value than ten thousand
worlds : it is that, and that alone, which can ever comfort,
sanctify, or save the soul. Let us then seek to know Christ
and him crucified, and to " grow in the knowledge of him,"
till we " see him as we are seen, and know him as we are
known."]
P 2 Cor. xii. 7 10. <i Rom. ix. 2, 3. T Phil. ii. 17, 18.
2 Cor. v. 11. and iii. 18. l Rom. vii. 9.
u 2 Cor. v. 14. * 2 Tim. iv. 8.
y If this be the subject of a Commemoration Sermon, the advan
tage s arising from the institution may be stated, together with just
acknowledgments both to God and the benefactors.
92 PH1LIPPIANS, III. 8, 9. [2153.
MMCLIII.
CHRIST, GAIN TO THE BELIEVER.
Phil. iii. 8, 9. For whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be
found in him; 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.
RESPECTING doctrines, as mere subjects of
controversy, we need not be anxious ; it is as in
fluential principles that we are called to examine and
maintain them: and, in this view, we cannot too
" earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to
the saints." That which is, above all other subjects,
important to the soul, demands our attention at this
time : and the Apostle s zeal, in relation to it, shews
with what holy jealousy we should conduct our in
vestigation of it, and with what determination of
heart we should hold fast that which shall approve
itself as the truth of God. The two points to be
noticed are,
I. The way of salvation, as stated by the Apostle
He speaks of being " found in Christ," clothed in
a righteousness not his own. Let us consider what
he means.
The Lord Jesus Christ has wrought out a righteous
ness for sinful man
[He has come from heaven for that purpose : he has
assumed our nature, that he might suffer and obey for us : for
us he has suffered the full penalty due to our sins ; and obeyed
in all respects that law which we have violated. All this he
has done as our Substitute and Surety ; so that if the law re
quire its penalties to be enforced, we can reply, that we have
already sustained them in the person of our Lord : and if it
require perfect obedience to its commands, we can reply, that
we have already obeyed it in the person of our Lord : so that
it has no ground whereon to condemn us : on the contrary,
supposing us to be " found in Christ," and to be " one with
Christ," which every true believer is, we may look up to God
with confidence ; having a righteousness of his own appoint
ment ; a righteousness commensurate with all the demands of
2153.] CHRIST, GAIN TO THE BELIEVER. 93
law and justice; a righteousness wherein we may stand before
him without spot or blemish.]
This righteousness is to be apprehended by faith
[In no other manner can it be apprehended. It exists
not in us, but in the Lord Jesus Christ ; whose it is, and by
whom it is imputed to us ; and who is therefore called, " THE
LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS 3 ." If it be said, that, though it
is Christ s righteousness, and not ours, we yet may earn by
our good works an interest in it ; I answer, that we may as
well earn salvation itself, as earn an interest in that righte
ousness whereby we are saved. The effect will be the same
in either case : salvation will be of works, and not of grace ;
and every person who shall be saved, will have a ground of
glorying in himself, as having purchased that whereby he is
saved. But the Gospel salvation utterly excludes glorying b :
and " it is by faith, on purpose that it may be by grace c ." In
truth, any attempt to purchase it would utterly make it
void ; and, however glorious it be in itself, it would profit us
nothing" 1 . The Apostle, in our text, carefully excludes all
his own righteousness from bearing any part in his salvation,
and declares his reliance to be only and exclusively on that
righteousness which is of God through faith in Christ. We
say, then, respecting this righteousness, that it is " the righte
ousness of God .-" it is the " righteousness of God without the
laiv .-" it is " the righteousness to which both the law and
the prophets bear witness :" it is " the righteousness of God by
faith of Jesus Christ : and it is unto all, and upon all, them
that believe*"]
All who are united to Christ by faith, shall be
saved by it
[By faith we are united unto Christ ; and become one in
law with him, even as a wife becomes one with her husband :
and exactly as " he was made sin for us who knew no sin ; so
we, who had no righteousness of our own, are by faith made
the righteousness of God in him f ." There is no exception of
persons : all, whether Jews or Gentiles, and whether their sins
have been of greater or less enormity, shall be equally accepted,
if only they believe in him : for " his blood cleanseth from all
sin g ;" and "all who believe, shall be justified from all things 11 ."]
Such being the way of salvation, as stated by the
Apostle, let us notice,
II. His feelings in relation to it
a Jer. xxiii. 6. b Rom. iii. 27. c Rom. iv. 16.
d Gal. v. 24. Rom. iii. 21, 22. f 2 Cor. v. 21.
K 1 John i. 7. h Acts xiii. 39.
94 PHILIPPIANS, III. 8, 9. [2153.
To obtain an interest in the righteousness of Christ
was his supreme desire
[If any man who ever lived might have had a righteous
ness of his own, the Apostle Paul might. His conduct pre
vious to his conversion, though mistaken, was yet as exemplary,
and as strictly conformable to the dictates of his conscience,
as any man s could be 1 . And, subsequent to his conversion,
his whole soul was so entirely given up to his God and Saviour
Jesus Christ, that he was not in any respect " a whit behind
the very chiefest Apostles." Yet, so conscious was he of the
defects which accompanied his best services, that he disclaimed
utterly all dependence on his own works, and desired to " be
found in Christ ; not having his own righteousness, which was
of the law, but the righteousness which was of God through
faith in Christ." And why did he desire this, but because he
knew that no other righteousness than that of Christ could
ever justify him before God ? He was perfectly convinced of
this ; so convinced, that when the Apostle Peter acted in a
way that was likely to bring this truth into doubt, he re
proved him openly, before the whole Church k . Nay more ;
so strenuous was he in vindicating this truth, that he de
nounced a curse even against an angel from heaven, if one
should be found ignorant or impious enough to maintain any
doctrine that was opposed to it 1 . He knew that the salvation
of every human being was bound up in it ; and therefore he
would " give place, no, not for an hour," to any created in
telligence in relation to it.]
In comparison of this, he regarded all other things
with the utmost contempt
[All other things " he counted but dung, that he might
win Christ." A stronger expression he could not have used.
He not only willingly sacrificed, but held in perfect abhor
rence, every thing that should stand in competition with an
interest in the Redeemer s righteousness. And he spake not
this as a sanguine man, who knew not what difference might
take place in his mind, when he should be put to the trial.
No ; he had been brought to the test ; and had actually
" suffered the loss of all things," and yet counted them but
dung. He had actually experienced what he was now affirm
ing ; and he gave this testimony with an assurance that would
not admit of a moment s doubt. He was like a man, who,
"having found the pearl of great price, went and sold all that
he had, and bought it ;" and never regretted for an instant
the sacrifice he had made. The terms which he here uses in
i ver. 46. * Gal. ii. 1116. Gal. i. 8,9. m Gal. ii. 5.
2153.]] CHRIST, GAIN TO THE BELIEVER. 95
opposition to each other, " loss and gain," are such as may
lead us to a yet more appropriate illustration"; that of a ship
wrecked mariner, who as Paul himself advised, casts out the
tackling, and the very food from the ship, in order to preserve
the lives of those who are on hoard . He takes no account
of that which he loses: he is intent only on his gain: and, if
he may but secure safety to the crew, he is content. Thus
the Apostle, having gained Christ, considered as no better
than dung all that he had parted with to secure so rich a
portion.]
ADDRESS
1. The worldly Christian
[What a contrast is there between the Apostle Paul and
you ! He counted the whole world but dung for Christ ; and
you count (what shall I say?) Christ himself as of no value, in
comparison of the world. The things of this world you ivill
have, whatever you may he necessitated to pay for them.
Pardon of sin, peace of conscience, yea, and all prospects of
eternal glory, you will sacrifice for the things of time and
sense. Your own soul, and the Lord Jesus Christ, are held
cheap, in comparison of some fleeting vanity. The language
of your heart is, Let me gain pleasure, riches, honour; and
then it signifies nothing what I may lose Judge ye, my
brethren, whether these desires of yours can be right. Verily,
either Paul must have been a wild, deluded enthusiast, or you
are unworthy to " name the name of Christ." Reflect, I beseech
you, ere it be too late : and choose, not those " things which
perish with the using," but " that good part which shall never
be taken away from you."]
2. The self-righteous Christian
[And what greater resemblance have you to this Holy
Apostle? He utterly discarded all hope in his own righteous
ness, that he might be found in Christ ; but you are holding
fast your own righteousness, and accounting the idea of being
saved by another s righteousness as a dangerous delusion. This
pride of yours is harder to subdue than any corporeal lust. It
was this which caused the Pharisees to reject the Saviour.
" They would not submit to the righteousness of God." Hence
they perished, whilst millions of idolatrous and ungodly Gen
tiles embraced the Gospel. I pray you, think what you are
doing ; and before you determine to persist in your self-right
eous views, see whether your righteousness be better than that
of Paul. He had no slight ground of glorying, as a Jew : but
n i?7^w0r?) , Ktpo/Tw. Acts xxvii. 19, 38.
96 PHILIPPIANS, III. 8, 9. [2153.
what had he as a Christian ? There he was surpassed by none :
none ever did more for their Lord than he ; none ever suffered
more : yet could he find nothing in himself wherein to trust,
and therefore he sought to be found in Christ alone. Thus
also must you do : nor, if you refuse to do it, can you ever
behold the face of God in peace.]
3. The lukewarm Christian
[Many, alas ! embrace the principles of the Gospel as
principles, but never feel that interest in them which the
Apostle did. They have suffered no loss for Christ, because
they have never manifested such love to him as condemns an
ignorant and unbelieving world. Had Noah never built an
ark, he would never have been made such an object of derision
as he was to the antediluvian world ; and, if Lot had never
"vexed his righteous soul with the ungodly deeds" of those
who lived in Sodom, he would never have incurred, as he did,
their contemptuous displeasure. You too, if you followed the
Lord fully, would find, that the offence of the cross is not
ceased : but that now, as formerly, " they who are born after
the flesh will persecute those who are born after the Spirit."
In a word, if you valued and served the Lord Jesus Christ as
the Apostle Paul did, you would surely be called to make
some sacrifices for him : for " all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution." Deceive not yourselves, my
dear brethren : it is not a divided heart that Jesus will ac
cept : you must feel " the constraining influence of his love,"
and be animated by it to " live to Him who died for you, and
rose again." Then only will you be approved of him, when
you " give yourselves wholly to him in body, soul, and spirit."
The lukewarm follower he will cast off with abhorrence 1 *.
And let me ask, Is this unreasonable ? Did he give up the
glory of heaven for you ; and will you account much of any
sacrifice you may be called to make for him ? Did he endure
the curse of the law for you ; and will you grudge to suffer
any thing for him ? Be in earnest, then : first, to form a
proper estimate of Christ ; and, next, to give up every thing
that may stand in competition with him. So shall his right
eousness be yours, and his glory be given you for an everlasting
possession.]
P Rev. iii. 16.
2154.] THE POWER OF CHRIST S RESURRECTION. 97
MMCLIV.
THE POWER OF CHRIST^ RESURRECTION.
Phil. iii. 10. That I may knoiv him, and the power of his
resurrection.
MANY think that religion is not an object of choice,
but rather of compulsion and constraint : and hence
they frequently suggest to the godly, that the mea
sure of piety to which they aspire is not necessary.
But true Christians do not regard God as a task
master, standing over them with a rod ; but as a
Father, delighting in the happiness of his children :
and they desire to act the part of duteous children,
fulfilling his will to the utmost of their power. They
are not satisfied with " winning Christ, and being
found in him :" they would serve him, and honour
him, and resemble him: and, like St. Paul, they desire
to " know him, and the power of his resurrection."
To elucidate this truth, I will shew,
I. What is meant by " the power of Christ s resur
rection "-
As the death of Christ has an efficacy, so his resur
rection also has an influence,
1. On our justification
[The death of Christ was not of itself sufficient. Under
the law, the high-priest must not only offer sacrifice, but must
take the blood of that sacrifice, and enter with it into the holy
of holies, and sprinkle it there upon the mercy-seat and before
the mercy-seat, and offer incense also there : nor, till these
things were done, was he authorized to deliver his blessing to
the people 8 . So the Lord Jesus must not only offer himself
a sacrifice for sin ; but must enter into heaven with his own
blood, there to present it, in our behalf, before his God and
Father b : nor without this would his work have been complete.
Hence our justification is not only ascribed to his resurrection
in conjunction with his death , but even in preference to his
death d ; since it was the completion of that which by his death
was only begun.]
a Lev. xvi. 11 15. b Heb. ix. 24.
c Rom. iv. 25. d Rom, viii. 34.
VOL. XVIII. H
98 PHILIPPIANS, III. 10. [2154.
2. On our sanctification
[None but the Spirit of God can sanctify the soul. But
the Spirit would never have been given, if Jesus had not
risen e . At his ascension to heaven, he received the Holy
Spirit as the promise of the Father f , and received him for the
express purpose of sending him down into the hearts of his
peopled That he might begin and carry on his work in their
hearts, he ascended to heaven ; as it is said, " To this end
Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be the
Lord both of the dead and living 11 ."]
3. On our exaltation to glory
[If Christ had not risen, neither should we have risen :
for he burst the bands of death for us, and thereby destroyed
its power to retain us under its dominion. He, in his resur
rection, was " the first-fruits ;" and his people will be the
harvest k . Whilst he was yet with his Disciples, he pointed
out to them the connexion between his removal from them,
and their exaltation to heaven : " In my Father s house are
many mansions : if it were not so, I would have told you. I
go to prepare a place for you : and if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that
where I am, there ye may be also 1 ." In a word, " he was the
Forerunner" of his people : and all of them shall follow him
in their season" 1 .]
Let me now proceed to shew,
II. What it is to " know Christ" as exercising this
power
It is not a speculative knowledge that is here
spoken of, but a knowledge that is practical and ex
perimental, and that enters into the very essence of
true and vital religion. To " know Christ" as the
Apostle desired to know him, we must have such
views of him in his risen state as shall operate,
1. To confirm our faith
[Certainly the proper ground of faith is God s revealed
word : but an experience of that word in our own souls gives
a degree of assurance that never is, or can be, attained with
out. I believe, from the testimony of Scripture, that Jesus is
an almighty and all-sufficient Saviour. But I find, from the
peace which he has infused into my soul, and the power he
e John xvi. 7. f Acts ii. 38, 39. e Ps. Ixviii. 18.
h Rom. xiv. 9. l 1 Cor. xv. 21. k 1 Cor. xv. 20.
1 John xiv. 2, 3. m Heb. vi. 20.
2154.] THE POWER OF CHRIST S RESURRECTION. 99
has given me to mortify my lusts, and from the delight which
he has enabled me to feel in communion with himself, that there
is a reality in the Gospel, which a mere speculative believer
has no conception of. A man, who has heard men s testimony
respecting the existence and influence of the sun, may be fully
assured that such an orb does really exist. But the man who
beholds its light, and feels its genial rays, will have a widely
different conception of it. The former may argue better
respecting it ; but it is the latter alone who is really competent
to appreciate it aright. And, in like manner, he alone knows
Christ fully, who knows him experimentally, by the actual en
joyment of him in his own soul.]
2. To animate our hope
[There is " a full assurance of hope," which he alone who
knows Christ experimentally can possess. I see him dying for
me ; risen for me ; interceding for me ; and carrying on his
work within me. Can I doubt his love, his power, his grace,
his truth, and faithfulness ? Has he done so much for me, in
order to forsake me at last, and to abandon me to deeper ruin ?
Has he done so much for me when I was living in direct hosti
lity to him ; and will he leave me, now that 1 seek his face,
and desire to glorify his name ? No : I can trust him, and I
tvill. Well do I know my own sinfulness : but I know also
the virtue of his blood. I know my weakness also : but I know
also the sufficiency of his grace to save me even to the utter
most. I know, too, the treachery of my heart : but I know
how sure his promise is ; and that " where he has begun a
good work, he will carry it on, and perfect it to the end"."
And therefore will I " hope, even against hope," and " hold
fast my confidence firm unto the end."]
3. To sanctify and transform the soul
[I see my Lord. I call to mind what he has designed in
all the wonders of his love. He desires to have " a holy and
peculiar people, zealous of good works." Now, shall I coun
teract all his gracious designs ? Shall I crucify him afresh, by
continuing in my sins? Shall 1 not rather desire him to
accomplish in me "all the good pleasure of his goodness;"
and to " sanctify me throughout, in body, soul, and spirit?"
Yes, for him will I live ; and to him will 1 devote all the
powers of my soul. There was nothing which he declined to
do or suffer for me : and there is nothing which, with his help,
I will not do and suffer for him.]
Thus we SEE,
1. What a practical thing religion is
Phil. i. (.
co n
100 PHILIPPIANS, III. 1315. [2155.
[Had there been any one truth in it that was merely
speculative, methinks the doctrine of the resurrection might
have been supposed to come under that particular class. But
it has been seen how extremely practical this doctrine is ; not
merely as affording ground for faith and love, but as generating
in the soul all that is amiable and praiseworthy. If then, any
one object to religion, as consisting in abstract notions, or in
any peculiar tenets, let its true nature be remembered, and
its intrinsic excellence be extolled ]
2. That, in the practice of religion, the true Chris
tian will know- no limits on this side of absolute per
fection
Of the Apostle s attainments none can doubt : yet did he
desire to know Christ, and the power of his resurrection, as
much as if he had lived an entire stranger to piety even to that
very hour. And so will every true Christian, like one in a
race, forget all the ground that he has passed, and be intent
only on that which is before him : nor will he ever be content,
till he is " holy as God himself is holy, and perfect as his
Father which is in heaven is perfect." Then only will he be
fully "satisfied, when he shall awake up with the perfect like
ness of his God ."]
Ps. xvii. 15.
MMCLV.
HOLY AMBITION ENCOURAGED.
Phil. iii. 13 15. Brethren, I count not myself to have ap
prehended : but this one thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which
are before, I press toivard the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore^ as
many as be perfect, be thus minded.
TRUE religion affords such perfect satisfaction to
the mind, that from the time we become possessed
of it, we lose our relish for other things, and feel our
selves at rest, as having attained the summit of our
ambition 3 . But though we cease to hunger or thirst
after the vanities of time and sense, our appetite for
spiritual blessings is quickened : nor can the richest
acquisitions content us, as long as there remains any
a John vi. 35.
2155. J HOLY AMBITION ENCOURAGED. 101
thing further to be enjoyed. This was St. Paul s ex
perience. He had been apprehended and arrested,
as it were, by the Lord Jesus, in order that he might
be made to possess all the treasures of grace and
glory: and, from that hour, he could never be satisfied
with any thing short of the full enjoyment of them b .
And, while he cherished this holy ambition in his own
bosom, he recommended it earnestly to all others.
There are, in the words before us, two things which
he recommends from his own example :
I. An humble sense of our present attainments
St. Paul, though so eminent, entertained but low
thoughts of himself
[Never was there a man more distinguished than he,
whether we consider in general his love to God c and man d , or
examine the particular graces that adorned his soul 6 . He
not only was not inferior to any other Apostle f , but he laboured
more abundantly than they all g . Yet, from an impartial
view of himself, as compared with the requirements of God s
law, and the example of his Divine Master, he was constrained
to confess that he had not yet attained that measure either of
knowledge or of holiness, which it was his duty, and his pri
vilege, to possess. This, I say, he found from an exact com
putation 11 , and has recorded it for the instruction of the Church
in all ages.]
In this respect he proposes himself to us as an
example
[The word " perfect," in the close of the text, is not to
be understood in the strictest sense, (for then it would con
tradict what he had before said 1 ,) but as signifying that degree
of maturity at which the generality of Christians arrive k . To
persons of this description he says, " Be thus minded :" and
surely it is impossible not to feel the propriety of the exhor
tation. Let any one of us, even the best amongst us, compare
himself with the perfect law of God, or with the spotless
b ver. 12. c 2 Cor. v. 14. Acts xx. 24. and xxi. 13.
i Rom. ix 13. Phil. ii. 17.
Sympathy, 2 Cor. xi. 29 ; Contentment, Phil. iv. 11, 12 ; Dead-
ness to the world, Gal. vi. 14 ; Industry, Rom. xv. 19 ; Self-denial,
1 Cor. ix. 15.
f 2 Cor. xi. 5. and xii. 11. & I Cor. xv. 10.
h Xoy<;opn. ver. \ 2.
K 1 Cor. ii. 6. and xiv. l!0. and Eph. iv. 13.
102 PHILIPPIANS, III. 1315. [2155.
example of our Lord, and will he not find in himself deficiencies
without number ? Let him even compare himself with Paul,
a man of like passions with ourselves, and will he not appear
a dwarf, a very child in comparison of him? Let him examine
himself with respect to every Christian grace, and see whether
he do not fall very far short of that bright pattern ? Well
then may all of us confess, that " we have not yet appre
hended that for which we have been apprehended of Christ
Jesus."]
This however is not to discourage us, but to stimu
late us to,
II. A diligent pursuit of higher attainments-
Glorious was the ardour with which the Apostle
was animated in his high calling
[He considered himself as " called by a reconciled God "
to enter the lists in the Christian race, and as now actually
contending for the prize. Much of his ground had he already
passed over ; but like the racers in the Olympic games, he " for
got what was behind," and was mindful only of that which yet
remained for him to do. He saw the prize in full view, and
strained every nerve 1 in order to obtain it: and the nearer
he approached the goal, the more earnestly did he " press
forward," desiring nothing but to "finish his course with joy."
This was " the one thing which he did." Nothing else occu
pied his mind, nothing else was deemed worthy of one mo
ment s attention. Nothing could, in his apprehension, be lost,
if that prize were gained ; nor any thing gained, if that prize
were lost.]
In this way he exhorts us also to prosecute the
great concerns of our souls
[The same prize which was set before him is held up to
us also : and we are called by God to run for it. It may be
that we have both done and suffered much for God already :
but we must not think of any thing that is passed (except for
the purpose of humbling ourselves, or of glorifying God) we
must be intent only on present duty, and engage in it with all
our might. To get forward must be our constant uniform
endeavour. It is " the one thing needful." As persons run
ning in a race find no time for loitering or diversion, but dis
tinguish themselves from mere spectators by the exertions they
make ; so must we manifest to all around us that we have but
one pursuit, with which we are determined that nothing shall
interfere, and which we will never relax, till we have reached
the goal.]
2156.] OF FOLLOWING GOOD EXAMPLES. 103
This subject is of peculiar USE,
1. For reproof
[How are they condemned who have never yet begun the
Christian race! Do they expect to win the prize without
running for it ? This cannot be : " the kingdom of heaven
suffereth violence, and the violent must take it by force."
Still more are they condemned who would discourage others
that are engaged in the contest. Are they " like-minded "
with the Apostle, who are constantly endeavouring to damp
the ardour which they will not emulate ? Nor are they less
worthy of reproof who have relaxed their diligence in the ways
of God. To such Paul says, " Ye did run well ; who hath
hindered you m ? Yes; inquire diligently who or what hath
hindered you : for you had better be stripped of all that you
possess, than be impeded by it in your Christian course.
Shake off then the thick clay from your feet": put aside the
garment that obstructs your progress : mortify the flesh that
pleads for indulgence p : and " run with patience the race that
is set before you."]
2. For encouragement
[Some perhaps are faint, and ready almost to give up the
contest. But behold the prize: will not that repay? And
is not the attainment of it certain, if you hold on your way q ?
Yea more, shall not your strength be renewed, if only you
wait upon your God r ? In a few more steps you will reach
the goal : and will you stop when the prize is already, as it
were, in your hands ? O press forward : follow the Apostle :
endure to the end ; and receive " the crown of glory that
fadeth not away."]
m Gal. v. 7. n Hab. ii. 6.
Heb. xii. 1. tvirepivrarov apapriav ] See Beza s note on those
words.
i 1 Cor. ix. 2427. 1 Matl. xxiv. 18. r Isai. xl. 2931.
MMCLVI.
OF FOLLOWING GOOD EXAMPLES.
Phil. iii. 17, 20. Brethren, be followers together of me, and
mark them which ivalk so as ye have us for an ensample ....
For our conversation is in heaven.
GREAT is the force of example, either to vitiate
or improve the morals of those around us. There
are few, even of real Christians, who do not, in some
104 PHILIPPIANS, III. 17, 20. [2156.
considerable degree, yield to its influence. The
church at Philippi was,, on the whole, distinguished
for its attainments : yet even there, hypocrisy was
found, and error had its advocates. The example
of some worldly and sensual professors was likely to
prove extremely injurious : while therefore the Apostle
declares his grief occasioned by their misconduct, he
exhorts the Church to unite in following rather the
example that he had set them, and to notice with
approbation all who conducted themselves agreeably
to his advice.
The words that are in verses 18 and 19, being in
cluded in a parenthesis, those which are united in
the text are properly connected with each other. In
discoursing on them, we shall consider,
I. The Apostle s example
St. Paul considered himself as a citizen of heaven*
[To be a citizen of Rome was deemed a high honour ; and
it was an honour which Paul possessed by virtue of his being
a native of Tarsus, on which city this privilege had been con
ferred b . But Paul s name was enrolled in a more glorious
city, even in heaven itself . He belonged to the society of
saints and angels, who were, united under Christ, their com
mon head d : and he had a communion with them in all their
honours, their interests, and their enjoyments 6 .]
In the exercise of his rights, he had his daily con
verse in heaven
[As a person is daily conversant with that society to
which he belongs, maintaining fellowship with them, and
ordering his life according to their rules, so the Apostle lived,
as it were, in heaven: his thoughts and affections were there
continually : and he was emulating those around the throne
by his constant endeavours to glorify God, and by walking
habitually in the light of his countenance.]
While he mentions his example, he shews us,
II. The use that we should make of it
We should imitate him ourselves
[We are already joined to the society in heaven f , pro
vided we be united unto Christ by faith : and it behoves us to
a noXiYev/ua TJ^WV might have been translated our citizenship.
b Acts xxii. 28. c Luke x. 20.
d Eph. i. 10. and Hi. 15. e Eph. ii. 6. f Heb. xii. 22, 23.
2156.] OF FOLLOWING GOOD EXAMPLES. 105
" walk worthy of our high calling." Though we are in the
world, we are not to be of it. " We have here no continuing
city:" we are to be in this world as pilgrims only and so-
journers: we must ever consider ourselves as strangers and
foreigners, who, though living on earth are indeed fellow-
citizens with the saints and of the household of God g . If we
were travelling in a foreign land, we should regard the con
cerns of that land rather as objects of curiosity, than as
matters in which we felt any deep interest : whereas the affairs
of our own country, where our estates were situated, and our
relations lived, would be regarded by us as matters of great
moment. Thus should we be indifferent, as it were, to all the
vanities of this life, and be wholly intent on our spiritual and
eternal interests. We should be maintaining communion with
our Head in heaven h , and growing up into a meetness for the
exercises and enjoyments of the invisible world.]
We should also "mark those who" do imitate him
[All of us should unite 1 in following his example, and
emulate each other in his holy employment. And, when any
make higher attainments than ourselves we should not be
ashamed to imitate them : we should observe^ particularly
what it is tvherein they excel us, and how it is that they have
been enabled to outstrip us. We should endeavour to encou
rage them ; and together with them to press forward towards
perfection 1 .]
We may make USE of this subject,
1. For reproof
[How widely do the greater part of Christians differ from
the Apostle ! Nor is it only the profane, or the formal, that
are condemned by his example, but even the godly also. Let
all of us then be ashamed of the low sense we entertain of our
privileges, and of the coldness with which we prosecute our
eternal interests. Let us seek to have our views and disposi
tions more conformed to those of the saints of old ; that at the
second coming of our Lord we may behold him both with
confidence and joy m .]
2. For encouragement-
fit is not to Apostles that these attainments are confined :
they were common to many others in the Church at Philippi,
who, together with the Apostle, are proposed as patterns unto
us. Let none then imagine that this blessed state is beyond
their reach ; but rather let all aspire after it, as the one object
B Eph. ii. 19. h 1 John i. 3.
k StcoTrelre. Prov. xv. 24.
m ver. 20, 21. with 1 John ii. 28.
106 PHILIPPIANS, III. 18, 19. [2157.
of their ambition". Let all seek to know what a gloriously
rich inheritance they are even now permitted to enjoy; and,
having by faith gained access into this grace, let them stand in
it, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God p .]
n ver. 13, 14. Eph. i. 18. P Rom. v. 2.
MMCLVII.
A WARNING TO THE EARTHLY-MINDED.
Phil. iii. 18, 19. Many walk, of whom I have told you often,
and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of
the cross of Christ : whose end is destruction, whose God is
their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind
earthly things.
NOTWITHSTANDING the utter extinction of
vital godliness from the heart of man, through the
introduction of sin into the world, there remain within
him some principles of goodness, weakened indeed,
but still operative and lively. Among these we may
notice humanity and compassion, which often work
in the breasts of the unregenerate, so as even to
shame those who are endued with a principle of true
religion. There is, however, one essential difference
between this disposition as it is exercised by uncon
verted men, and the same as cultivated by the godly :
in the former, it extends no further than to the tem
poral condition of mankind ; but in the latter, it
terminates chiefly on their spiritual and eternal state.
Hence we frequently see both Prophets and Apostles
expressing with tears their concern for the souls
of those around them. In the passage before us,
St. Paul was filled with the tenderest emotions of pity,
while he beheld the state of many in the Christian
Church, whose character and end he most pathetically
describes.
In illustrating his statement, we shall consider,
I. The lamentable state of some professors
St. James speaks of a principle that is " earthly
2157.] A WARNING TO THE EARTHLY-MINDED. 107
sensual, devilish 8 ," and such is that, by which too
many, who profess godliness, are actuated.
1. " Their belly is their god"
[By " the belly," we understand the sensual appetite b :
and to make " a god" of it, is to yield ourselves up to its
dominion. And must we go to heathen countries to find
persons of this description? are not " many" such to be found
in the Christian Church ? Many, alas ! are addicted to glut
tony, to drunkenness, to whoredom : and among those who are
free from these gross excesses, how many are there who have
no higher end of life than to consult their own ease and plea
sure, and whose labours in all their younger years, are with
a view to provide these very enjoyments for them in the
decline of life! What is this but to put the gratification of
their sensual appetite in the place of God, whose will should
be the only rule, and whose glory, the ultimate end, of all
their actions?]
2. " They glory in their shame "-
[Whatever proceeds from a corrupt principle, whether it
be approved or not among men, is really a ground of shame :
yet how many will boast of their vilest excesses, perhaps, too,
even of crimes which they have never committed! How many
will glory in the insolence with which they have treated their
superiors; the resentment they have shewn towards those who
injured them ; and the cunning they have exercised in a way
of traffic ; when, if they viewed these things aright, they would
rather blush for them as vile iniquities, and mourn over them
in dust and ashes !
Perhaps the Apostle had a more especial reference to the
Judaizing teachers, who sought to distract the Church of God,
and gloried in the number of their proselytes. Such he justly
calls "clogs, and evil workers :" and too many such there are
also in this day, whose whole delight is to spread some favourite
notions of their own, and who care not how many of Christ s
flock they scatter and destroy, if they can but increase their
own party.
Now what is this but their sin and their shame ? and to
glory in sin, of whatever kind that sin be, is the very spirit
of Satan himself, who accounts himself happy in proportion as
he can weaken the kingdom of Christ, and establish his own
empire over the hearts of men.]
3. " They mind earthly things"
[To a certain degree earthly things must be minded: but
we are not to savour, to relish, or to set our affections upon
a Jam. iii. 15. b Rom. xvi. 18. c ver. 2.
108 PHILIPPIANS, III. 18, 19. [2157.
them d . This would be as contrary to the mind and will of
God, as to make a god of our belly, or to glory in our shame.
Yet how many professed Christians are there who live under
the habitual influence of an earthly mind, without ever con
ceiving that there is any thing wrong in their conduct ! In
spiritual employments they experience nothing but a stupid
uniformity: but in temporal concerns they have many fluc
tuations of hope and fear, of joy and sorrow, according as
their prospects of success brighten, or their apprehensions of
disappointment increase. Whence arises this, but from the
decided preference they give to carnal and earthly things,
above those which are spiritual and heavenly ?]
Fidelity requires, that, having delineated the con
duct of these professors, we should set before you,
II. The warning here given them
It is a painful task to rob any of their hopes, and
to denounce the terrors of the Lord : and while we
engage in it, we would, like the Apostle, proceed with
the utmost tenderness and compassion. But we
must, at the peril of our own souls, endeavour to
undeceive those who are blinded by these delusions.
Let such then know,
1. Their real character
[Many, who are of this description, imagine that they are
friends of the Gospel, and that they have a great regard both
for Christ and his people. But indeed, " they are enemies of
the cross of Christ :" they withstand its influence over them
selves and obstruct its influence over others
What was the intent of the death of Christ but to redeem
us from all iniquity 6 , and to deliver us from this present evil
world f , and to establish the dominion of Christ over our whole
souls g ? This was the effect it produced on others h ; and
would on us, if we thoroughly submitted to its influence.
Whatever therefore we may imagine or profess, we really are
enemies of the cross of Christ, as long as, in our spirit and
conduct, we continue hostile to its main design.
The injury which such professors do to the cause of Christ,
is incalculable. If they be openly profane, they explode re
ligion altogether, and deter others from regarding its dictates :
and if they be more decent in their conduct, they lead men,
both by their conversation and example, to suppose that
religion consists in mere forms or notions^ instead of an entire
d <J>povoDiT C . See Col. iii. 2. e Tit. ii. 14. f Gal. i. 4.
8 2 Cor. x. 5. h Gal. vi. 14.
2157.] A WARNING TO THE EARTHLY-MINDED. 109
subjugation of the soul to Christ In what light then must
they appear before God? If " he that gathereth not with
Christ, is as one that scattereth abroad 1 ," much more must
they, who are thus actively engaged in scattering the flock, be
deemed his enemies. Yes, brethren, such persons, whatever
they may profess, (with grief and sorrow I declare it,) they are
no other than enemies of the cross of Christ."]
2. Their certain end-
fit is no wonder that they who mistake their own cha
racter, should deceive themselves also with respect to the state
to which they are fast approaching. They conclude that their
eternal interests are safe : but God declares, that " their end
is destruction." Yes indeed ! " their end must be according to
their works." And do not the Scriptures abundantly confirm
this melancholy truth? " If ye live after the flesh, ye shall
die k :" " if any man love the world, the love of the Father is
not in him 1 :" " to be carnally-minded is death" 1 ." Dear
brethren, in vain will be all pleas and pretences at the judgment-
seat of Christ : to every worker of inquity, whether he have
been an open sensualist, or hypocritical professor, it will be
said, " Depart from me, I never knew you"."]
We would subjoin a word or two of ADVICE
1. Beware lest you rest in an external profession
of religion-
fit is easy to adopt the creed of Christians, and to con
form our lives to that standard which obtains generally in the
world. But it is no easy matter to be a consistent Christian.
To maintain an uniform course of self-denial, and of deadness
to earthly things, and to glory only in the Lord, these are hard
lessons : yet nothing less than this will prove us Christians
indeed. It is not by our creed, or our professions, that we
shall be judged; but by our " walk" By that there
fore we must judge ourselves, if we would not be deceived to
our eternal ruin.]
2. Be not offended with the Gospel on account of
any misconduct in its professors
[There were some even in the Apostles days who " walked "
unworthy of their high and holy calling; yea, there were
" many" But was the Gospel to be blamed for this? As
for those who gave the occasion of offence, it was to them a
ground of aggravated condemnation : but the Gospel itself was
not a whit less " worthy of all acceptation." So at this day,
1 Matt. xii. 30. k Rom. viii. 13. * 1 John ii. 15.
m Rom. viii. 6. " Matt. vii. 22, 23.
110 PHILIPPIANS, IV. 1. [2158.
whatever the conduct of any professors of godliness may be, the
Gospel which we preach is the " wisdom of God and the
power of God unto salvation" to all those who cordially
embrace it. Instead therefore of being offended at it our
selves on account of the misconduct of others, let us study to
adorn and recommend it by a consistent " walk" and a
heavenly conversation.]
3. Watch over one another with care and tender
ness
[None are at liberty to say, " Am I my brother s keeper ?"
We all should feel a tender concern for the welfare of our
fellow-creatures : and especially when we behold those who
profess to have the same faith and hope with ourselves, mani
festing- by their conduct the delusion of- their minds, we should
weep over them, and, with a mixture of fidelity and compassion,
declare to them their danger. We are expressly told to
" exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day p :" and
though we shall not always give satisfaction to the persons
whom we warn, yet shall we really perform towards them the
kindest office, and perhaps save them from the destruction to
which they were hastening. Then shall we have reason to
rejoice over them, as they also will have to bless God for us,
to all eternity.]
Gen. iv. 9. P Heb. iii. 13.
MMCLVIII.
STEADFASTNESS IN GOD.
Phil. iv. 1. My brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy
and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
ST. PAUL was a man of feeling, a man of love.
He felt for all : for those whom he saw perishing in
sin, he would willingly have endured all that men or
devils could inflict, if only it might be instrumental
to their salvation 3 . For those who belonged to
Christ, even though they had never seen his face in
the flesh, he had great conflicts, striving if by any
means he might promote their eternal welfare. But
towards those who had been converted by his mini
stry, he felt as a father towards his children : he
could say, " God is my record how greatly I long
after you all in the bowels of Jesus ChristV To
a Rom. ix. 3. b Phil, i. 8.
2158. J STEADFASTNESS IN GOD. Ill
such is this epistle addressed ; as indeed the words
of our text clearly evince. Such an accumulation
of tender expressions can scarcely be found in the
same space in all the Book of God. But what is the
drift of them all ? Why does he so labour to con
vince the Philippians of his love, and to conciliate
their regards to him ? it was, that they might be
stirred up to give the more earnest heed to his ex
hortations, and to " stand fast in the Lord."
To be "in the Lord" is the character of every
believer : he is united unto Christ by faith, and is
engrafted into him as a branch of the living vine.
But our blessed Lord cautions us again and again to
" abide in him," and warns us against the danger of
separation from him . In like manner we are fre
quently exhorted to " stand fast in the Lord ;" and
so to continue in the faith grounded and settled,
that we may not be moved away from the hope of
the Gospel."
To you then we would now address the exhorta
tion, and say, Stand fast in,
I. Your allegiance to him
Many things will conspire to draw you away from
Christ
[The world, with its vanities on the one hand, and its ter
rors on the other, will assault you continually the flesh
also will operate to bring you into subjection to all its basest
lusts Nor will Satan be idle : he, with all his confede
rate hosts, will strive, by innumerable wiles and temptations,
either to subvert your principles, or to vitiate your practice
It is a warfare into which you are brought, when once
you enlist under the banners of Christ ; and you must expect
all manner of conflicts to your dying hour.]
But you must be steadfast in your adherence to
him
[You must be " good soldiers of Jesus Christ," and never
cease to fight till you have obtained the victory. Neither hopes
nor fears, neither joys nor sorrows, must be suffered to alienate
you from him, or to damp your zeal in his service. True it is
that the Lord gives you many great and precious promises, that
he will keep you, and that nothing shall ever separate you from
his love d . But this is not to encourage supineness ; but rather
c John xv. 1 6. d Rom. viii. 35 39.
112 PHILIPPIANS, IV. 1. [2158.
to make you more earnest in your application to him for pro
tection and support. With the example of Demas before you,
you should never cease to fear, lest you also should " fall from
your own steadfastness 6 ," and " be corrupted from the simpli
city that is in Christ f ." Aware of your danger, you must
" fight the good fight of faith," and "cleave unto the Lord
with full purpose of heart." " You must be faithful unto
death, if ever you would obtain the crown of life."]
Stand fast also in,
II. Your dependence on him
From this also you are in danger of being drawn
[There is in us a continual proneness to self-confidence and
self-dependence. We are ever ready to lean to our own un
derstanding to guide us our own righteousness to jus
tify us our own strength to preserve us It is a
great matter to have the soul brought to a simple reliance upon
the Lord Jesus Christ for every thing.]
But we must live altogether by faith on Christ
[He is " Head over all things to his Church," and has all
fulness of blessings treasured up in him for our use g . " He is
made of God unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctifi-
cation, and redemption ;" and from him must we receive
them all h , that in, and by, and for all, His name may be glo
rified 1 ]
Nor must any thing be suffered to weaken,
III. Your expectation of his future advent
To that day there is a particular reference in the
preceding context 11
We are apt to lose sight of that awful day
[This is evident, from the remissness and negligence with
which the things of eternity are pursued. Could we be dull
and slothful with that day before our eyes? Could the
allurements or terrors of the world have any influence upon
our hearts, if we knew and saw that the Judge was at the
door ? ]
But we must stand continually in a state of pre
paration for it
[To wait for Christ s second coming is the habit of mind
to which every believer is brought 1 : and in proportion as it is
formed in the mind, is the progress which we have made in the
e 2 Pet. iii. 17. f 2 Cor. xi. 3.
e Eph. i. 22, 23. Col. i. 19. John i. 16.
1 Isai. xlv. 24, 25. k Phil. iii. 20, 21. 1 Thess. i. 9, 10.
2159. J CHRISTIAN MODERATION. 113
Divine life" 1 . We should not give way to sloth, like the foolish
Virgins; but have " our loins girt, and our lamps trimmed, and
ourselves as those who wait for the coming of their Lord." We
should look forward with a holy longing for that day, as the
termination of all our conflicts, and the consummation of all
our joys" and comfort ourselves with the assured ex
pectation that then we shall be ever with the Lord . With
that period before our eyes, we shall " be diligent to be found
of him in peace, without spot and blameless 11 ."]
Permit me, in CONCLUSION, to urge this matter, after
the example of the Apostle in my text -
ra 1 Cor. i. 7. n Tit. ii. 13. 2 Pet. iii. 12.
1 Thess. iv. 17, 18. P 2 Pet. iii. 14.
MMCLIX.
CHRISTIAN MODERATION.
Phil. iv. 5. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The
Lord is at hand.
TO lay the foundation of a sinner s hope, is the
first duty of a minister : but he must proceed to raise
the superstructure also, even such a practice as the
Gospel is intended ultimately to produce. The
Apostle doubtless felt it a privilege to insist on joy in
the Lord ; " Rejoice in the Lord alway ; and again,
I say, rejoice :" but he felt no less the importance of
inculcating the duty of moderation with respect to
all the things of time and sense ; since without that
it would be impossible for any one to maintain that
high exercise of mind which joy in the Lord imports.
It is by a conformity to this latter precept, no less
than by his obedience to the former, that the true
Christian will be distinguished. In fact, this precept
enters very deeply into the divine life : and it is only
in proportion as its influence is exhibited in our lives,
that we have any satisfactory evidence of our con
version to God.
That it may operate effectually on our hearts, let
us consider the two parts of which it consists ;
I. The duty enjoined
VOL. XVIII. I
114 PHILIPPIANS, IV. 5. [2159.
The word which we translate " moderation," im
ports such a kind of meekness and gentleness as
results from an indifference to the world, and a supe
riority to all the things of time and sense. Perhaps
our language does not contain any word of precisely
the same import : but the Apostle s meaning is
sufficiently conveyed by the term that is here used.
We should have a calm composed state of mind in
reference to all things here below ; and maintain a
constant " moderation/
1. In our hopes and fears
[We are apt to magnify the importance of approaching
events, and to have our feelings agitated by prospective good or
evil, far beyond what they would be by the actual existence of the
things foreseen. Good is regarded by us without its manifold
circumstances of alloy ; and evil without its attendant consola
tions. In reality, as it is something future that is the main
spring of action to the whole world, so it is by anticipation,
rather than by actual experience, that the happiness of man
kind is chiefly affected. We say not this in relation to things
spiritual and eternal; for in reference to them the very reverse
is true : the circumstance of their being future and invisible
diminishes, and almost destroys their influence upon the mind :
but in reference to things of a temporal nature it is so: upon
them our imagination exerts all its energies: it paints them in
colours of the liveliest or deepest hue ; and draws from them
by far the greatest portion of its pleasures or its pains. The
man whose ambition is fired by prospects of distinction, the
heir who looks forward with uncertainty to the possession of
an inheritance, the lover who seeks to be assured of a recipro
city in the object of his affections, what pictures do not these
persons draw of happiness, if they shall attain, or of misery, if
they shall lose, the object of their desire ! But such extrava
gant feelings ill become the Christian : his desires should be
curbed by a sense of the vanity of all earthly things, and their
utter insufficiency to make us happy. He should commit him
self, and all that pertains to him, to the disposal of an all-wise
Providence ; and leave it to God " to give, or to take away,"
as he shall see fit ; prepared in either case to bless and glorify
him for the dispensation. In a word, he should " be without
carefulness," " casting all his care on God who careth for him."
Tliis lesson our blessed Saviour teaches us in his Sermon on the
Mount a and to have a practical experience of it in our
souls is one of the highest attainments of the Christian.]
a Matt. vi. 25 34.
2159.] CHRISTIAN MODERATION. 115
2. In our joys and sorrows
[Though it is true, that the mass of mankind are chiefly
influenced by what is future, yet there are circumstances
wherein a few give up themselves altogether to their present
emotions. The voluptuary imagines that he cannot drink too
deep of the cup of pleasure; and the mourner, that he cannot
yield too much to the anguish of his mind. Both are alike
deaf to good advice : the one refuses to be counselled ; the
other, to be comforted. But "moderation" is the frame which
best befits the Christian. He is not insensible to the feelings
of humanity; nor is he forbidden to rejoice or grieve, according
as the one or other of these emotions is suited to his state.
But an equableness of mind is that which he should cultivate
under all circumstances : he should not suffer himself to be too
much elevated or depressed by present things. His joy should
be in God : his sorrows should be chiefly called forth by his
own short-comings and defects : and he should be so filled with
a sense of the infinite importance of things eternal, as to rise
superior to all the vanities of this lower world. St. Paul, in a
few verses after the text, informs us how he was affected by the
changes which he experienced: "I have learned," says lie,
" in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know
both how to be abased, and I know how to abound : every
where, and in all things, I am instructed, both to be full and
to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer needV Thus it
should be with us also : we should be like men of another
world, mere pilgrims and sojourners here ; thankful for the ac
commodations which we meet with on the road; and not cast
down, if we find some inconveniences; but mainly intent on
our journey to a better country, and studious to improve all
present circumstances so as most to advance us in our meetness
for the heavenly inheritance.]
3. In our spirit and conduct
[There is in mankind at large, a very undue degree of
confidence, both as to the sentiments they embrace, and the
line of conduct which they pursue. Every one is ready to fancy
himself infallible, and to account all deceived and perverse who
differ from him. Hence arises, in the generality, a vehemence
in asserting their own opinions, and an intolerance towards
those who differ from them. But this disposition of mind
must be studiously avoided by every true Christian. There
should be in the whole of our sentiments and demeanour, a
diffidence which inclines us to suspect ourselves, and a candour
which disposes us to make all due allowance for others. Doubt
less it becomes us to be thoroughly persuaded in our own
b vcr. 11, 12.
I 2
llfi PHILIPPIANS, IV. 5. [2159.
minds, and to act agreeably to that persuasion: but still we
should allow to others the same liberty which we claim for our
selves, and be content that others should think and judge for
themselves, without desiring to impose upon them any restric
tions of our own. How happy would it have been for the
Christian world, if such moderation had obtained in the Church,
from the period of its first establishment in the apostolic age!
But man is a tyrant, and loves to give law to his fellow-men.
Few are disposed to distinguish aright between things essen
tial, and things indifferent. If it were said to them that
contrarieties may both be right, it would appear a paradox
inexplicable. But so it is, and so it is declared by God him
self to be, in many things which have most divided men, and
called forth against each other their bitterest invectives. The
contests about observing days, or eating things offered to idols,
how violent they were in the apostolic age ! How severely
did the weak condemn the strong ! and how acrimoniously did
the strong despise the weak ! yet both the one and the other,
so far as they acted to the Lord, were accepted of him, whether
they exercised, or forbore to exercise, the liberty which they
possessed . The same thing at this moment obtains amongst
the various denominations of Christians throughout the world.
It were difficult to enumerate them all ; yet all are as confident
of their own exclusive sentiments and habits, as if they had a
special revelation from heaven that they alone were right : and
the very idea of an unity of action among them, even in things
wherein they are all agreed, is by many reprobated as an unbe
coming indifference towards their own peculiar party. But is
this the " moderation," that is productive of meekness, and
gentleness, and love ? No : it is a spirit most contrary to real
Christianity, and most studiously to be shunned by all who
would adorn their Christian profession. The true temper to
be cultivated, is that of the Apostle Paul, who, " though he
was free from all, became the servant of all, that he might gain
the more d ."]
Such is the duty here enjoined. Let us now con
sider,
II. The argument with which it is enforced
The nearness of death and judgment is a common
argument with the Apostles, in support of their
various exhortations : and it is fitly applied on this
occasion : for we may well be " moderate/ in relation
to all earthly things, when we consider how speedily
the Lord is coming,
c Rom. xiv. 16. d 1 Cor. ix. 19 22.
2159.] CHRISTIAN MODERATION. 117
1. To terminate all the things of time and sense
[Whatever we have here below, it is but of short duration :
whether we are visited with comforts or afflictions, they are all
both light and momentary, and therefore unworthy of any
serious regard. Let any one look back upon his past life,
and see how transient have been both his pleasures and his
pains : they are all passed away like a dream ; and little
remains of them but the bare remembrance that they once
existed. Shall we then suffer our minds to be so affected with
earthly vanities, as if they were to endure for ever? No ; we
should sit loose to them, not elated by the enjoyment of them,
nor depressed by their loss. This is what we are taught by
infallible authority : " This I say, brethren," says the Apostle ;
" the time is short : it remaineth that both they that have
wives, be as though they had none ; and they that weep, as
though they wept not ; and they that rejoice, as though they
rejoiced not ; and they that buy, as though they possessed
not : and they that use this world, as not abusing it : for the
fashion of this world passeth away c "~\
2. To assign to each that portion which his pe
culiar case requires
[The end for which God sends to us a diversity of dis
pensations is, that we may improve them all for the good of
our souls. Our improvement of the various talents committed
to us will be particularly inquired into, and form the ground
of the sentence that shall be passed upon us. To pass that
sentence, our Lord is just ready to come : and therefore the
only thing which ought materially to affect us should be, not
so much the quality of the dispensations, as the improvement
that we make of them. Look, for instance, at the Rich Man
and Lazarus : how little remains to them of the comforts or
sorrows which they experienced on earth ! What is the rich
man the better for all his sumptuous fare ; or the poor man
the worse for all his penury and want? But the use which
they made of their respective dispensations, that is now the
only thing worth a thought. So it will soon be with us : the
things which here appeared so important, will have altogether
vanished away, and nothing will remain but responsibility for
the improvement of them. I say then to all, " Set your
affections on things above, and not on things on the earth :"
and in the prospect of your Lord s second advent to judge the
world, be moderate in relation to all present things, whether
pleasing or afflictive f , and let it be your one concern to " be
found of him in peace, without spot and blameless g ." Let
e 1 Cor. vii. 2931. f 1 Cor. iv. 35.
e 1 Pet. iv. 7. and 2 Pet. iii. 14.
118 PHILIPPIANS, IV. 6, 7. [2160.
your moderation too be so constant and abiding, that it may
" be known unto all men." True it is, that moderation is not
of itself calculated to attract notice : it is, in its very nature,
unobtrusive and retired. But where it so prevails as to
regulate the heart and life, it of necessity diffuses a holy light
around us, and serves, by the contrast it exhibits, to gain the
admiration of the world. Men gaze and are astonished, when
they see we are not under the power of earthly things, as
others are : and they are constrained on such occasions to
confess the wisdom and excellence of our ways. Thus then
let our moderation operate under all circumstances, whether
prosperous or adverse : and then shall the efficacy of divine
grace be acknowledged, and " God shall be glorified in us."]
MMCLX.
A DISSUASIVE FROM CAREFULNESS.
Phil. iv. 6, 7. Be careful for nothing ; but in every thing by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests
be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which
passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.
MAN is a prospective creature : he is able to look
into futurity ; and to give, as it were, a present exist
ence to future things. Indeed, it is from anticipation
that his greatest joys and sorrows flow. This faculty
of foresight is that which eminently distinguishes him
above the rest of the creation. Other creatures equal
him in actual enjoyment ; but he alone can overleap
thousands of intervening years, and derive pleasure
or pain from the contemplation of distant events. It
is to this faculty that the Scriptures are principally
addressed. They set before us the final issue of
present things ; and declare, that our conduct in this
life shall meet with a suitable recompence in the
eternal world. Thus, by the hope of good and the
fear of evil, they stimulate us to flee from the wrath
to come, and to lay hold on eternal life.
But though this power is capable of being turned
to such advantage, yet, through the corruption of
our hearts, it is too generally abused. Men look
2160.] A DISSUASIVE FROM CAREFULNESS. 119
only at things visible and temporal, instead of look
ing also at things invisible and eternal. Moreover,
their expectations of future good are generally too
sanguine ; and their apprehensions of future evil
weigh more upon their spirits than the occasion
requires. Hence arises in their minds an excessive
" carefulness," which it is the design of Christianity
to counteract.
In the words which we have just read, we have,
I. A dissuasive from carefulness
By "carefulness" we are not to understand, atten
tion ; for that is absolutely necessary to the discharge
of our duties in the world : but we are to understand,
anxiety ; which, as far as it prevails, argues a state of
mind that is injurious to ourselves, and displeasing to
God.
The great occasions of anxiety may be reduced to
three ;
1. Some good desired
[Men, in different situations of life, have their hearts set
upon such things, as may possibly be attained by them, and
such as they imagine will conduce greatly to their happiness.
Some are eagerly pressing forward to the attainment of
honour: others are insatiable in their thirst for gain. Some
are altogether wrapped up in an idolatrous attachment to
a fellow-creature ; others are disquieted, like Rachel 3 , and
Hannah b , because they are disappointed in the hopes of a
family.
But all such anxieties are sinful. We may desire the good
things of this life : but our desire must be subordinated to the
will of God : and, while we use the proper means of attaining
our wishes, we must use them with an entire submission to
the disposals of his Providence.]
2. Some evil dreaded
[Evils foreboded, are often more painful than when
actually endured. They not unfrequently press with such a
weight upon the mind, as to incapacitate men for the exer
tions, which would serve at least to mitigate their trials, if not
altogether to avert them. For instance, men are sometimes
so overcome with the apprehensions of a heavy loss, that they
are unable to prosecute with attention their proper business,
a Gen. xxx. 1. b 1 Sam. i. 5 10.
120 PHILIPPIANS, IV. 6, 7. [2160.
whereby the loss, if sustained, might be in time retrieved.
And it is no uncommon thing, to find men sacrificing their
honour, their conscience, yea, their very hopes of salvation, in
order to avert some impending calamity.
But it would not be thus, if we considered every thing, even
" the falling of a sparrow," as regulated by an all-wise God.
We might endeavour with propriety to prevent an evil; but
we should never be so intimidated by its approach, as to be
driven from our dependence on God, or induced to violate our
duty to him.]
3. Some trouble felt
[When trouble is heavy or accumulated, whether it be
from disease in our persons, or embarrassment in our circum
stances, or the loss of some dear relative, how ready are we to
give ourselves up to sorrow, as if our wound were incurable,
and our misery irremediable ! The instances are not few,
wherein men are so overwhelmed by their afflictions, as to
have their intellects impaired, and to be reduced to a state of
mental derangement. Yea, even worse effects than these are
sometimes produced by trouble : for the unhappy sufferers
take refuge in suicide ; and plunge their souls into hell, to rid
themselves of their temporal distresses.
We are not forbidden to give way to grief. The Saviour
himself wept at the tomb of his friend. But are there to be
no bounds to grief? Should not our sorrow be moderated by
the consideration, that the cup is put into our hands by a
gracious Father, and that, if drunk in submission to his will,
it shall be sanctified to our eternal good? Such excessive
" sorrow " is prohibited in the text ; and well it may be ; since
"nothing" can warrant it, and its operation is so injurious.]
While the Apostle thus dissuades us from careful
ness, he prescribes,
II. An antidote against it
Prayer is no less our privilege than it is our duty
[God is ever ready to hear the prayers of his people ; and
he expects that we should " by prayer and supplication make
our requests known to him." Not that he needs to be in
formed by us ; for " he knoweth our necessities before we
ask c :" but we ought to specify our wants, in order the more
deeply to impress a consciousness of them on our own minds,
and to make us duly sensible of our dependence on him, and
of our obligation to him when our prayers are answered. On
all occasions we should have recourse to prayer : " In every
c Matt. vi. 8.
2160.] A DISSUASIVE FROM CAREFULNESS. 121
thing we should make our requests to God ;" in doubt, for
direction, (for he will direct our paths d ) ; in difficulties, for
succour, (for he will give grace sufficient for us e ); and in
wants, for supply, (for he has engaged that we shall want no
manner of thing that is good f ). Nothing is so great but that
he is ready to bestow it ; nothing is so small, but that we need
to ask it at his hands.
But, together with our prayers, we should always offer also
thanksgivings. Our troubles are always mixed with mercies,
for which we should pay unto our God a tribute of praise. A
living man can have no cause to complain g . While we are
out of hell, our troubles must be infinitely less than our
deserts. We should therefore approach our God with grati
tude for mercies received, and with a dependence on him for
those we stand in need of.]
This would be an effectual antidote for excessive
carefulness
[If we commune only with a fellow-creature, we find
some relief: but if we go to our God, he will enable us to
leave ourselves to his gracious disposal, and to " cast our
burthen upon him." Our desires will be weakened by a
submission to his will ; our fears be allayed by a view of his
providence ; and our troubles be mitigated by the consolations
of his Spirit.]
This part of our subject is more fully opened by,
III. A special commendation of this antidote
By carefulness " our heart and mind" is over
whelmed
[We have before noticed the depression of spirit which
results from excessive carefulness : and there is but too much
reason to believe, that many really die of a broken heart. But
where the effect produced by troubles is not so great, yet the
mind is dissipated by them ; and the thoughts are distracted,
so that we cannot exercise them upon other objects, or even
fix them in prayer before God.]
But by means of prayer, our hearts and minds shall
be kept in peace
[None but those who have experienced it, can conceive
what peace flows into the soul, when we are enabled to
commit our ways to God. The heart that was agitated, be
comes serene; and the thoughts that were distracted, become
d Ps. xxv. 9. Isai. xxx. 21. e Jam. iv. G. 2 Cor. ix. 8. andxii. 9.
f Ps. xxxiv. 9, 10. Matt. vi. 3:}. e Lam. iii. 39.
122 PHILIPPIANS, IV. 6, 7. [2160.
composed : yea, an inexpressible sweetness pervades the whole
man, and turns his sorrows into an occasion of joy h . " The
peace of God," thus infused into the soul, " keeps," as in a
garrison 1 , both "the heart and mind;" so that if trouble seek
to invade us, it can make no impression : not all the good
that can be desired, nor all the evil that can be dreaded, nor
all the trouble that can be felt, will be able to turn us from
our God, or to retard our progress towards heaven.
This blessing comes to us " through Christ Jesus." It is for
his sake that our prayers are accepted : it is through him that
peace is communicated to us in answer to them: and it is
through his agency upon our souls, that this peace becomes a
defence against the incursions of care. In short, from Christ
Jesus this antidote derives its efficacy; and through him it
shall be effectual for the ends for which it is recommended in
the text.]
We cannot conclude without OBSERVING,
1. How does religion contribute to men s present
happiness !
[Perhaps " carefulness" is a source of more trouble than
all other things together. Yet this is taken away, in propor
tion as we devote ourselves to God. It is true, religion brings
with it, if we may so speak, its peculiar sorrows : (not that
they spring from religion, but from sin: yet in our fallen
state, they certainly are attendant on the exercise of religion.)
But godly sorrow is salutary, while " the sorrow of the world
worketh death k ." And, if we live nigh to God in prayer and
praise, we shall be freed from the disquietudes which harass
and distress the whole world beside ; and shall dwell as in a
haven of peace, while others are tossed to and fro, and are
" at their wit s end," upon tempestuous billows. " Commit
thy works unto the Lord," says Solomon, " and thy thoughts
(not thy ways only, but thy thoughts, the most fluctuating and
ungovernable of all things) shall be established V]
2. What enemies to themselves are they, who live
in the neglect of prayer!
[If men desired no more than present happiness, they
ought to be constant at a throne of grace ; since it is there
alone that they can get rid of their burthens, or obtain peace
unto their souls. But the joys and sorrows of men are not
confined to this life: they follow us into the eternal world, and
abide with us for ever : and that which is the appointed mean
h 2 Cor. xii. 7 10. ^>povp?/ere(.
k 2 Cor. vii. 10. i Prov. xvi. 3.
2161.] THE EXTENT OF A CHRISTIAN S DUTY. 123
of present blessings, is also the only possible mean of everlast
ing happiness. The burthen of guilt which lies upon us, can
never be removed, but by prayer. Peace with God can never
be obtained, but by prayer. And they who will not pray,
voluntarily bind their own sins upon them, and reject the
proffered mercies of their God. Think, ye prayerless people,
how your conduct will appear to you at the day of judgment :
" Had I prayed, my sins had been forgiven : had I prayed, I
had now been happy beyond all the powers of language to
express: but the time is past: prayer will not avail me now:
my weeping will be fruitless ; my wailing irremediable ; my
gnashing of teeth eternal."
O that we might all awake from our slumbers ! O that we
might "arise, and call upon our God!" Then should we
understand the efficacy of prayer, and experience its benefits
both in time and in eternity.]
MMCLXI.
THE EXTENT OF A CHRISTIAN S DUTY.
Phil. iv. 8. Finally, brethren, ivhatsoever things are true, tvhat-
soever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatso
ever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever
things are of good report ; if there be any virtue, and if there
be any praise, think on these things.
THE scope and tendency of Christianity is to en
noble the mind of man, and to restore him to his
primitive dignity. If we could frame to ourselves a
just idea of what Adam was, when he came out of his
Maker s hands, we should see exactly the spirit and
conduct to which we are to be reduced by the Gospel.
The doctrines of our holy religion, excellent as they
are, are of no value any further than they produce
this blessed effect. They point out the way in which
this change is to be wrought, and supply the only
motives that can operate upon us with sufficient
weight. In this view they are invariably proposed
by the inspired writers, who, having stated them in
their epistles, always call our attention to the prac
tical improvement of them.
In the exhortation before us we may notice,
I. The extent of a Christian s duty
124 PHILIPPIANS, IV. 8. [2161.
We are at no loss to arrange the particular duties
that are here enjoined, since the Apostle himself
distributes them into classes :
1. Things " virtuous"-
[Among these " truth" is the first in nature and import
ance ; since, without it, all the bands of society would be dis
solved : there would be no such thing as confidence between
man and man. Of such consequence is this esteemed in the
world, that no virtues, however eminent, can supply the want
of it, or render a man respectable, that is regardless of it.
And so necessary is it in the eyes of God, that he will banish
from him with abhorrence all who wilfully violate its dictates*,
and admit those only to his presence whose adherence to it is
strict and uniform b . This therefore is in the first place to be
rigidly adhered to, especially by those who are members of
Christ s mystical body c . It is not indeed necessary, nor would
it be proper, on every occasion, to declare all we know: but
we must on no account affirm, or insinuate, what is contrary
to truth, either with a view to set off or to exculpate ourselves,
or for the purpose of criminating or exalting another. Every
species and degree of falsehood should be scrupulously avoided ;
and every word we utter should bear the stamp of simplicity
and godly sincerity.
Next to this, and inseparably connected with it, is "jus
tice." A Christian is to know but one rule of conduct : he is,
in all his intercourse with men, to do as he would be done
unto ; that is, to act towards others, as he, in a change of cir
cumstances, would think it right for them to act towards him.
To be guilty of fraud in a way of traffic, or in withholding just
debts, or in evading taxes, or putting off base coin, or in any
other way whatever, is as inconsistent with the Christian
character as adultery or murder. Whatever specious pre
texts an ungodly world have invented for the justifying of
fraud, no one of us approves of it when it is exercised towards
himself; nor will God ever approve of it, however men may
extenuate or excuse it: his word to every one of us is, " That
which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest
live d ." And " he knoweth how to reserve the unjust unto
the day of judgment to be punished 6 ."
Besides these virtues which have respect to our words and
actions, there is one that extends to our very thoughts, and
that is no less necessary to be cultivated by us than either of
the foregoing, namely, "purity" None are so ignorant as
not to know, that they ought to restrain their passions, and
a Prov. vi. 16, 17. Rev. xxi. 8. & xxiL 15. b Ps. xv. 2.
f Eph. iv. 25. a Deut. xvi. 20. e 2 Pet. ii. 9
2161.] THE EXTENT OF A CHRISTIAN S DUTY. 125
have them in subjection. But it is not sufficient for a Chris
tian to refrain from open acts of uncleanness ; he must learn
to mortify his inward desires : he is to " keep his vessel in
sanctification and honour; not in the lusts of concupiscence,
like those who know not God f ." He is the temple of the Holy
Ghost, and is therefore bound to harbour no thought that
may defile that temple, no desire that may grieve his Divine
inhabitant 8 . In all his words, and looks, and thoughts, he
should " be pure as God is pure, and holy as God is holy h ."]
2. Things " praise-worthy "-
[The fore-mentioned duties are so essential to the Chris
tian character, that any considerable and habitual violation of
them is utterly inconsistent with it. There are other duties
equally necessary to be observed, but which, from the weak
ness of our nature, and the imperfection of our attainments,
admit of greater deviations without impeaching our sincerity
before God.
Amongst these, the things which are " honest," that is,
grave, venerable, decorous, first demand our attention. A
Christian should consider what becomes his age and station as
a man, and his character as a disciple of Christ. It is disgust
ing, when people professing godliness, whether men or women,
are vying with an ungodly world in dress, and show, and vain
parade ; in a levity of conduct ; in a fondness for vain amuse
ments. There is a gravity that befits the " man of God,"
who has engaged to walk in his Redeemer s steps. iSot that
he need to banish mirth, if it be innocent in its nature, and
moderate in its degree : nor need the person of opulence to
accommodate himself to the habits of a peasant in his style of
living : but there is a moderation that he should carefully
observe, a limit suited to his character, a bound which he
should in no wise transgress 1 .
Whatever things are " lovely" are also highly deserving the
Christian s regard. There is a courtesy, a meekness, a gentle
ness, an affability, a modesty, in a word, an urbanity of
manners, which is exceeding amiable, and which conciliates
the esteem of all who behold it ; this, in opposition to rude
ness, and an inattention to the feelings of others, should be
cultivated by all. A readiness also to sympathise with others
in their distress, and to condescend to the meanest offices for
their comfort and relief, and a delight in performing all the
offices of love, how lovely does this appear, how worthy the
pursuit of all that would honour God ! To this also may be
f 1 Thess. iv. 4, 5. t 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17. and vi. 19.
h 1 John iii. 3. and 1 Pet. i. 1416.
1 Compare Eph. v. 4. 1 Tim. ii. 9, 10. 1 Pet. iii. 2 4.
126 PHILIPPIANS, IV. 8. [2161.
added a candour in judging, a patience in enduring, a tender
ness in forgiving, a liberality in bestowing; an assemblage of
such graces as these is the brightest ornament of a child of
God ; and, as we all admire them when exemplified in others,
we should make it our daily study to illustrate them in our
own conduct.
Further still, there are many things that are " of good
report" in which also it should be our ambition to excel. A
noble disinterestedness of mind, that rises superior to all selfish
considerations, and consults the public good, is an attainment
which the heathens themselves accounted most truly honour
able. With this we may rank a nobleness in the ends which
we seek to accomplish, a wisdom in the means whereby we
labour to effect our purpose, a discretion in the manner of
employing those means, a due consideration of all circum
stances of time and place, a willingness to yield in things
indifferent, and a firmness in maintaining what we consider to
be right and necessary ; a happy combination of these will not
fail to exalt a character in the eyes of men, and to procure us
respect from those who know how to appreciate such rare
endowments. These therefore, with whatever else ensures to
men a reputation for magnanimity, or goodness of heart, (pro
vided it be good and proper in itself) we should pursue with
ardour, and practise with constancy.]
Passing over many other excellencies, such as dili
gence, contentment, friendship, gratitude, with num
berless others to which the Christian s duty extends,
let us proceed to notice,
II. The importance of it
The manner in which the Apostle inculcates these
things, very strongly marks his sense, at least, of their
importance. His distinct enumeration of so many
things, his comprehending of them all a second time
under the extensive description of things virtuous and
laudable ; and lastly, the energetic manner in which
he recommends them to our attention and regard, all
prove, that he was extremely solicitous to impress
our minds with a sense of our duty, and to secure to
his exhortation the attention it deserves.
Let us then consider how important the observance
of our duty in these respects is,
1. To ourselves
2161. J THE EXTENT OF A QflRISTIAN s DUTY. 127
[ We have no better test of our sincerity before God than
this. Our having embraced new tenets, however just those
tenets may be, will not prove that our hearts are right with
God : nor will an outward reformation of our conduct suffice
to establish our pretensions to true conversion : there must be
an uniformity and consistency in our endeavours to serve God :
there must be no virtues so small, as to seem unworthy of our
attention, or so great, as to discourage us in the pursuit of
them. We must never think we have attained any thing, as
long as there remains any thing which we have not attained k .
There is nothing that can more conduce to our present hap
piness than this. Self-government, next to the immediate
enjoyment of the Divine presence, is the sublimest source of
happiness in this world. Let any thing that comes under the
description before mentioned, be considered in all its bearings
and effects, and it will be found highly conducive to the com
fort of our own minds, and to the happiness of all around us.
Abstracted from the consideration of any future recompence,
" the work of righteousness is peace, and the effect of right-
ousness is quietness and assurance for ever 1 ."
Moreover it tends to increase in our souls a meetness for
heaven. By virtuous actions we attain virtuous habits ; and
by virtuous habits a conformity to God s image : and our con
formity to God in holiness is that which alone constitutes our
meetness for glory. Should we not therefore be endeavouring
daily to get every lineament of the Divine image engraven on
our souls? Should not the hope of growing up into Christ s
likeness be an incentive to continual and increased exertions
in the way of duty ? Need we, or can we have, any greater
stimulus than this ?]
2. To the Church-
\_B-y this alone can we silence the objections of her adver
saries. In every age the adversaries have vented their calum
nies against the Church, as though all her members were
hypocrites, and their seeming piety were a cloak for some
hidden abominations. They have also represented her doc
trines as visionary and enthusiastic, yea, as calculated to
subvert the foundations of morality, and to open the floodgates
of licentiousness. But when they see a holy and consistent
conduct, the joint effect of piety and wisdom, they are con
strained to shut their mouths, and to confess that God is with
us of a truth" 1 .
By this also do all her members contribute greatly to their mu
tual edification and endearment. It is with Christ s mvstical
k Phil. iii. 12 15. Isai. xxxii. 17.
m 1 Pet. ii. 12, 15. & iii. 10.
128 PHILIPPIANS, IV. 8. [2161.
body as it is with our natural bodies: when every member
performs its proper office, and supplies its proper nutriment,
all the parts are kept in activity and vigour, and the whole is
confirmed and strengthened 11 . Let any of the graces before
mentioned be neglected, and disunion will proportionably
ensue. Moreover, those members that are most defective in
their duty, will most discover a consequent languor and decay.
Whereas, the members that are indefatigable in the exercise
of these graces, will " make their profiting to appear," and be
enabled to withstand the assaults of all their enemies . The
former will be a source of trouble and disquietude to the
Church ; the latter, of harmony and peace.]
3. To the world around us
[There is nothing else so likely to fix conviction on the
minds of sinners. The ungodly world will not learn religion
from the Bible ; nor will listen to it as enforced in the dis
courses of God s faithful ministers. But they cannot shut
their eyes against the light of a holy life. St. Paul s epistles
are known and read of few: but godly men are " the epistles
of Christ, known and read of all men p :" and many who would
not regard the written word, have been won by their godly
conversation q .
On the other hand, there is nothing that hardens sinners so
much as an inconsistent conduct in the professors of religion.
If a saint fall through temptation, or a hypocrite discover
his hypocrisy ; instantly the world cry out, " There, there, so
would we have it r ." Nor are they satisfied with condemning
the individual offenders ; they immediately reflect on the
whole body of Christians, as hypocrites alike : yea, and blas
pheme that adorable Saviour whose religion they profess 8 .
Thus do they confirm their prejudices against the truth, and
justify themselves in their rejection of the Gospel. If then the
rescuing of our fellow-creatures from perdition, or the contri
buting to involve them in it, be so connected with our con
duct, of what importance must it be so to demean ourselves, that
we may adorn our holy profession, and recommend the Gospel
to their favourable acceptance !]
APPLICATION
[" Think then upon these things." Think of their nature,
that you may be apprised of their extent : think of their obli
gation, that you may be aware of their importance : think of
their difficulty, that you may obtain help from your God :
n Eph. iv. 1113, 15, 16, 29. 2 Pet. i. 511.
P 2 Cor. iii. 2, 3. q 1 Pet. iii. 1, 2. Ps. xxxv. 19, 25.
2 Pet. ii. 2. Rom. ii. 24. 1 Tim. vi. 1.
2161.] THE EXTENT OF A CHRISTIAN S DUTY. 1^9
think of their excellency, that you may bo stirred up to
abound in them : and think of their complicated effects on the
world around you, that you may make your light to shine
before men, and that others, beholding it, may glorify your
Father that is in heaven *.] u
1 Matt. v. 1G.
u Instead of this APPLICATION, the following may be profitably
used :
1. For the humbling of your souls 2. For the endearing of the Gospel
to you 3. And for the regulating of your whole spirit and conduct.
1. For the humbling of your souls
[Whence is it that there is so little humiliation and contrition
amongst us I it is because we do not try ourselves by a just standard.
We look only to more flagrant transgressions ; and therefore even
the worst of us only view ourselves like the sky in a cloudy night,
when only a few stars are seen and at great intervals ; but if we
would take the text 1 or the ground of our estimate, the very best of
us would see ourselves like the sky in the clearest night studded with
stars innumerable, our whole lives being, as it were, one continuous
mass of transgression and sin If we would habituate our
selves to such reviews of our conduct from day to day, we should
find no difficulty in acknowledging ourselves "less than the least of
all saints," yea, and " the very chief of sinners."]
2. For the endearing of the Gospel to you
[O bow precious would the Saviour be to you, if you saw your
selves in your true colours ! And with what delight would you
plunge into " the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness ! " But
the same false estimate of ourselves which keeps us from humiliation,
keeps us also from valuing the Gospel of Christ. If we would love
the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, we should get a deeper sense of
our need of him, and of the love he has shewn us in giving himself
to die for us.
It is in this way also that we must learn to prize the influences of
the Holy Spirit. When we see what a holy and refined character
that of the true Christian is, we shall necessarily say, " Who is suffi
cient for these things?" And, feeling our need of Divine help, we
shall implore of God to " strengthen us with might by his Spirit in
the inner man," and to " peri ect his own strength in our weak
ness"
3. For the regulating of your whole spirit and conduct
[Whilst you see what a lovely character the Christian is, and
how bright it shone in our blessed Lord, you will strive to follow his
steps, and to " walk as he walked." Let there then be in you nothing
but what is virtuous and praise-worthy. And, if you profess to have
been " called with an holy calling," see that you " walk worthy of
your high calling," or rather, walk worthy of him that hath called
you ; that so God may be glorified in you, and you be rendered meet
for his heavenly inheritance
VOL. XVIII. K
130 PHILIPPIANS, IV. 9. [2162.
MMCLXII.
PAUL AN EXAMPLE FOR US.
Phil. iv. 9. Those things, which ye have both learned, and re
ceived, and heard, and seen in me, do : and the God of peace
shall be with you.
NO man was ever more averse to boasting than
the Apostle Paul : and, when compelled to declare
what God had done in him or by him, he appeared
to himself " a fool," for uttering it ; though he was
conscious that he acted, not from choice, but from
absolute and indispensable necessity. But, in truth,
what might be called boasting in an uninspired man,
was not deserving of that name in him ; because he
knew that he had been raised up by God, to be an
instructor to mankind, both in his doctrines and ex
ample. Hence he not only affirmed, that " his word
was the word, not of man, but of God a ;" but exhorted
men to " be followers and imitators of him b ," " even
as he was of Christ ." In the chapter preceding our
text, he speaks strongly to this effect : " Brethren,
be followers together of me, and mark them who
walk so, as ye have us for an ensampleV Nor did
he confine his exhortation to a reception of his doc
trines merely : he suggested the same in reference
to his conduct also 6 . He was a great advocate for
practical religion ; and urged on his Philippian con
verts a diligent attention to " every thing which was
true, and honest, and just, and pure, and lovely, and
of good report :" and then, in reference both to his
precepts and example, he added, " Those things
which ye have both learned and received, and heard
and seen in me, do ; and the God of peace shall be
with you."
To enforce this exhortation, I will set before you,
I. The lessons he has taught us
Of course, I can speak of these but in a very
general and superficial way. Your time would not
a 1 Thess. ii. 13. > 1 Cor. iv. 16. 1 Cor. xi. 1.
d Phil. iii. 17. e 9 Thess. iii. 9.
2162.] PAUL AN EXAMPLE FOR US. 131
suffice for a full consideration of them ; nor does my
present subject require more than a brief notice of
what he inculcated as due,
1. To God-
fit was not " a divided heart " that he called on men to
offer to their God and Saviour: he taught them to surrender
up themselves as living sacrifices to him; and to be as entirely
devoted to him, as a victim is when offered upon the altar. As
for our own ease, pleasure, interest, he would not have us
consult them for a moment, in comparison of, and still less in
opposition to, the will of God: " No man," says he, " liveth to
himself, and no man dieth to himself: for, whether we live,
we live unto the Lord ; and whether we die, we die unto the
Lord : whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord s :
for to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he
might be the Lord both of the dead and living f ." And this
duty he binds upon us by the strongest of all obligations, even
that of redeeming love, which it were most criminal to resist :
"Ye are not your own : ye are bought with a price : therefore
glorify God with your body and your spirit, which are God s g ."
He would have the whole spirit, soul, and body, sanctified
unto the Lord 1 ."]
2. To man-
[This duty, also, is co-extensive with the former, only in
subordination to God, and with a view to his glory. There
is nothing which we are not to do for man, nor any thing which
we are not willingly to suffer for him, if only we may be in
strumental to the promoting of his spiritual and eternal
welfare. And the Apostle inculcates this with the same
precision and force as the former: "Look not every man on
his own things, but every man also on the things of others."
(We are to forget self, with a view to his benefit, as much as
we are with a view to God s glory.) " 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 man : and being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross 1 ." Did our
blessed Lord, who was God equal with the Father, empty
himself of all his glory, and suffer the most excruciating tor
ments, for the salvation of men? There is nothing, then,
which we also should not be ready either to do or suffer for
the welfare of their souls.
f Rom. xiv. 79. K 1 Cor. vi. 20.
h 1 Thess. v. 23. Phil. ii. 48.
132 PHILIPPIANS, IV. 9. [2162.
It may however be asked, What are we to do, if they be
come our enemies, and seek to destroy us ? I answer, Contend
with them : if they will fight, so do ye fight : and the more
they exert themselves, the greater let your efforts be also.
Only remember, that your weapon must not be like theirs:
They fight with evil ; but you must have no weapon but good.
Nor must you ever yield to them ; but to your latest hour,
and with your latest breath, you must keep up the conflict,
even as the first martyr Stephen did. This is St. Paul s own
direction, " Be not overcome of evil ; but overcome evil with
goodV]
Such are the duties which St. Paul inculcates : and
this view of them will lead us to notice,
II. The example he has set us
As, in his Epistle to Timothy, St. Paul says, " Thou
hast fully known my doctrine, and manner of life 1 ;"
so he here refers the Philippians, first, to what they
had " learned and received from him ;" and then, to
what they had " heard and seen in him."
1. What, then, were his principles ?
[They were precisely and practically such as he had in
culcated on others. Did he enjoin on others to be dead to the
world, and to self? Hear what he declares to have been his
own experience ; " I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I
live: yet not I, but Christ 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 himself for me m ." Yea, so entirely
was he under the constrained sense of redeeming love, that he
shuddered at the very thought of glorying in any thing but
the cross of Christ," and more especially because, " through
the influence of that, the whole world was crucified unto him,
as he also was unto the world"."]
2. With these his whole life was in perfect unison
[Nothing could abate his zeal for God. Not all the trials
which human nature is capable of sustaining could move him
in the least : he counted not life itself dear to him, if he were
called to sacrifice it for righteousness sake : on the contrary,
he was ready to suffer bonds, or death, at any time, and in any
way, for the honour of his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ .
Nor were there any bounds to his love to man. He panted for
the salvation of all men, and especially of those who were " his
k Rom. xii. 21. 1 2 Tim. iii. 10. m Gal. ii. 20.
11 Gal. vi. 14. " Acts xx. 24. and xxi. 13.
1262.] PAUL AN EXAMPLE FOR US. 133
brethren according to the flesh :" and, when he could not pre
vail on them to embrace the Gospel which he offered to them,
he called God to witness what grief their obduracy occasioned
him: "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also
bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great
heaviness, and continual sorrow in my heart, for my brethren s
sake p ." Still more, for the prosperity of his converts he was
so anxious, that his whole soul was, as it were, wrapt up in
them : " Now I live, if ye stand fast in the Lord q ." And so
far was he from regretting any thing that he suffered for their
sake, that he accounted such sufferings his privilege, his
honour, his happiness : " If," says he, " I be offered upon the
sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you
all : for the same cause do ye also joy and rejoice with me r ."]
And, now, who can doubt,
III. The blessedness of taking him for our model ?
Doubtless here is a high standard for us to aim
at : but no lower standard can possibly be admitted.
What, if we cannot attain to the eminence of St. Paul ?
we should not willingly rest in any thing short of it ;
or, if we had even attained to it, we should, like him,
press forward for still higher attainments, that, if pos
sible, we might be " pure as Christ himself was pure,"
and " perfect even as our Father who is in heaven is
perfect." And to this we are encouraged by St. Paul,
who says, " Those things which ye have learned and
received, and heard and seen in me, do ; and the God
of peace shall be with you." Now, it is certainly
true, that if we aspire thus after universal holiness,
God will be with us,
1. In a way of special manifestation
[He assumes the endearing name of "the God of peace,"
as he does elsewhere of " the God of love and peace 3 :" and
under this character will he reveal himself to his obedient
people. Yes, "great peace shall they have who love his law,"
" a perfect peace," " a peace that passe th. all understanding.
"What terms would suffice to give any adequate idea of " the
love of God shed abroad in the heart," and of " the light of
his reconciled countenance lifted up upon the soul ?" You
would in vain attempt to convey to a person who had all his
days been immured in a dark dungeon, a just conception of
P Rom. ix. ], 2. il Tliess. iii. 8.
1 Phil. ii. 17, IS. s 2 Cor. xiii. 11.
134 PHILIPPIANS, IV, 9. [2162.
the splendour and influence of the meridian sun : how then
can the feeble language of mortality describe the action of
Almighty God upon the soul, which he deigns to visit with his
more immediate presence ? Suffice it however to say, that
such visits are realized in the souls of God s faithful people ;
and that " both the Father and the Son will come down to
them, and dwell in them, and make their abode with them*,"
and turn their very souls into the sanctuary of the Most
High.]
2. In a way of effectual support
[Persons who resemble the Apostle Paul in their spirit
and conduct will be sure to resemble him, in some degree at
least, in his trials and afflictions. It is not possible but that
those who love darkness rather than light, should hate such
lights as these. In truth the more bright a man s light shines
before an ungodly world, the more must he expect to be hated,
reviled, and persecuted, even as our incarnate God himself
was, during the time of his sojourning on earth : for " the
servant cannot be above his Lord :" and " if they called the
Master of the house of Beelzebub, much more will they those
of his household"." But, need the godly indulge any fears on
that account ? No ; for " greater is he He that is in them, than
he that is in the world*." Men may assault you with all their
might : but it may be confidently asked, " Who is he that
shall harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good y ?"
Men may keep all human aid from you : but who can inter
cept the visits of your God ? Hear his own express promise,
given for your encouragement and support : " Fear thou not,
for I am with thee ; be not dismayed ; for I am thy God : I
will strengthen thee ; yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will uphold
thee with the right hand of my righteousness." And then,
lest a sense of your own weakness, and of the overbearing
power of your enemies, should discourage you, he adds, " Fear
not, thou worm Jacob : I will make thee a new sharp threshing
instrument, having teeth; and thou shalt thresh the mountains 2 "
Yes truly, " if God be for you, who can be against you a ?"]
3. In a way of complete and everlasting fruition
[" Whom God loveth, he loveth to the end b :" and if he
be with us as a God of peace in this world, he will be with us
under the same endearing character to all eternity. What
he said to Abraham personally, he says to all the children of
Abraham : " Fear not ; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding
1 John xiv. 21, 23. Matt. x. 25. x 1 John iv. 4.
r 1 Pet. iii. 13. * Isai. xli. 10, 1416. Rom. viii. 31.
b John xiii. 1.
2162.] PAUL AN EXAMPLE FOR US. 135
great reward ." The present state of the Church, with all
her privileges and blessings, is only a prelude to, and a pre
paration for, a state of far higher blessedness ; as St. John
expressly informs us : " I, John, saw the holy city, New Jeru
salem, coining down from God out of heaven, prepared as a
bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven, saying, Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men;
and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people ; and
God himself shall be with them, and be their God d ." " Then
will all trials, of whatever kind, have passed away," and their
bliss be absolutely perfect : " the sun itself shall be no more
their light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give
light unto them ; but the Lord himself shall be to them an
everlasting light, and their God their glory*"]
ADDRESS
1. The lukewarm Christian
[How unlike art thou to the Apostle Paul ! Should not
this very circumstance make thee tremble for thy state? How
couldest thou venture, even in the most qualified manner, to
address those who have witnessed thy life and conversation
in terms resembling those which St. Paul used in my text ?
Thou hast not the divine presence even with thine own soul.
Thou knowest not what it is to have God with thee as " a God
of peace ;" manifesting himself to thee, and filling thee with his
consolations. If thou wert to address any as the Apostle did,
thine own conscience would remonstrate with thee, as a de
ceiver, and an enemy both to God and man. So far from
God approving of thy state, he speaks of it in such terms of
abhorrence as modern delicacy almost forbids one to repeat*.
I pray you, brethren, rest not in a state so fatal to yourselves,
and so injurious to all around you. The very circumstance
of your having some little regard for God, is that which is
most likely to deceive yourselves and all around you. Awake,
I pray you, from your delusion, lest you perish under the accu
mulated guilt of dishonouring God more than any professedly
ungodly men can do ; and of betraying, to their eternal ruin,
multitudes, who fix on you for their standard and example.]
2. Those who desire to approve themselves truly
unto God
[Fix your standard high : take the Holy Scriptures for
your guide ; and the Apostle Paul as second only to Christ
himself for your example. Be not afraid of being " righteous
overmuch," provided only that you are righteous in a proper
c Gen. xv. 1. d Rev. xxi. 23.
e Rev. xxi. 4. and xxii. 5. with Isai. Ix. 19. f Rev. iii. 10.
13(5 PHILIPPIANS, TV. 11, 12. [2163.
manner. You can never love God too much : nor can you
ever love man too much, provided you love him in subser
viency to God. Me thinks you may advance far beyond what
you have already attained, before you will equal the Apostle
Paul : and if at this moment you even equalled him, you would
still be far from having already attained the perfection at
which you should aim. Study then his character ; mark it in
its sublimest traits ; and follow it in the whole of your life and
conversation. Let his principles be yours ; his spirit yours ;
his conduct yours. This is the way to honour God, and to
be happy in your own souls : and " if you do these things,
you shall never fall, but shall have an entrance ministered
unto you abundantly into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ*."]
s 2 Pet. i. 10, 11.
MMCLXIII
CONTENTMENT.
Phil. iv. 11, 12. / have learned, in whatsoever state I am,
therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and
I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am
instructed, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound
and to suffer need.
ST. PAUL was by no means addicted to boasting.
But there were occasions whereon it was necessary
for him to declare the secret workings of his heart,
in order that he might prevent a misinterpretation
of his words, or a misapprehension of his designs.
He commends the Philippians for the care which
they had taken of him, and the kind attention they
had shewn him, during his imprisonment at Rome.
But, fearful lest he should be understood as com
plaining of his necessities when immured in a prison,
or as wishing, on his own account, a continuance of
their attentions, he tells them, that " he had learned,
in whatsoever state he was, therewith to be content:"
and, in the fulness of his heart, he expatiates upon
this idea, as though he would recommend to all per
sons, in this respect, to follow his example.
Let me, then,
2163.] CONTENTMENT. 13?
I. State to you the experience of St. Paul
In unfolding it, I would entreat you particularly
to notice,
1. The invaluable lesson he had learned
[Greatly diversified had been his states ; but " in all, he
had learned to be content." The word which we translate
" content" comprehends much more than a mere quiescent
state of mind. The term " self-sufficient," if it did not convey
to an English reader a wrong idea, would more exactly express
the import of the original*. The Apostle had within himself
that which was abundantly sufficient for him, even though
lie should be reduced to the utmost possible state of destitu
tion, so far as related to the things of this life. He was pos
sessed of all that man could desire : he had God as his Father,
Christ as his Saviour, the Holy Spirit as his Comforter, and
heaven as his home. What could he want more ? What
could he desire, that could add to this? or what could he lose,
that could detract from this ? This which he had within him
was altogether out of the reach of men or devils. The Holy
Spirit was within him " a well of water, springing up into
everlasting life b ;" so that he enjoyed the utmost composure of
mind, assured that nothing could impoverish him, nothing hurt
him, nothing disturb the tranquillity that he enjoyed.]
2. The vast proficiency he had attained in it
[At some seasons, he abounded with all that even a carnal
mind could wish : but at other seasons he was exposed to as
heavy trials as humanity could well sustain. " He was in
labours more abundant than any of the Apostles, in stripes
above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of
the Jews, five times received he forty stripes save one ; thrice
was he beaten with rods ; once was he stoned ; thrice he suf
fered shipwreck; a night and a day he was in the deep; in
journevings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers,
in perils by his own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in
perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the
sea, in perils among false brethren ; in weariness and painful-
ness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often,
in cold and nakedness ; besides those things that are without,
that which came upon him daily, the care of all the Churches ."
Now all this, 1 think, may be said to have put his principle
to a severe trial. And did he still preserve his equanimity ?
still feel contentment under all ? Yes, under all. " Nothing
could move him." The internal support he felt, from a con
sciousness that he was under the Divine care, and executing
a avTapKrft;. b John iv. 14. c 2 Cor. xi. 23 28.
138 PHILIPPIANS, TV. 11,12. [2163.
the Divine will, and advancing the Divine glory, upheld him
under all circumstances, and far more than counterbalanced
all his sufferings. In all this he was " instructed," or, as the
word means, initiated, as into a deep mystery^. It was from
an insight into the mystery of the Gospel that he gained this
extraordinary and invaluable grace. From this mystery he
acquired the knowledge of God as reconciled to him in Christ
Jesus, and as engaged for him to supply his every want both in
time and eternity. No other instruction could ever have pro
duced such effects: but the knowledge of this mystery was
quite adequate to the occasion, and perfectly sufficient to form
his soul to these high attainments. " He was thus crucified to
the world by the cross of Christ 6 ."]
Having traced the Apostle s experience, let me,
II. Commend it to your imitation
What an enviable state was his ! Let me recom
mend it you,
1. As a reasonable state
[This perfect contentment with our every lot is reason
able, irrespective of all the great mysteries of the Gospel.
For, what would our condition have long since been, if God
had dealt with us according to our deserts? We should " not
have had so much as a drop of water to cool our tongues."
Who can reflect one moment upon this, and repine at any lot
which he may receive on this side the grave? What! " a
living man complain! a man for the punishment of his sins!"
especially when he considers what an infinitely worse portion
he merits, and from which there could never be, as now there
may, a deliverance, with a transition to the realms of bliss !
But, I suppose you to have been admitted into the school of
Christ. I suppose you to be a partaker of his salvation. Tell
me then possessing, as you do, the unsearchable riches of
Christ, and looking forward, as you do, to the speedy and
everlasting enjoyment of all the glory of heaven does it be
come you to regard as of any great importance the things of
time and sense ? See the Apostle in prison, his feet fast in the
stocks, and his back torn with scourges ; and yet his soul so full
of joy, that he is singing praises to God at midnight: and will
you not be ashamed to complain of your minor sorrows ? Or
rather, see the Son of God himself, impoverishing himself to en
rich you, and welcoming death itself in order to advance you to
everlasting life : see him, I say, endui ing to the end ; when, if
it had pleased him, more than twelve legions of angels would
A fjtf./jtvr)f.iai. e Gal. vi. 14.
2163.] CONTENTMENT. 139
have come to rescue him from his sufferings ; and will you
complain of any thing which you may suffer for him ? Methinks
you feel, every one of you, that the most perfect contentment
is that which becomes you under every state, to which, by any
possibility, you may be reduced.]
2. As a blessed state
[The corporeal pain which men endure in this life is
nothing in comparison of the mental. Let the spirit of a man
be at ease, and it will enable him to bear any bodily infirmity
whatever. On the other hand, no accumulation of wealth or
honour or sensual gratifications can sustain a man whose
heart and spirit are oppressed f . Suppose two angels sent from
heaven to execute for a season two different offices on earth ;
the one to rule a kingdom, the other to sweep the streets :
would they not be equally happy, in doing the work assigned
them? Let their places then be changed: would the one be
inordinately pleased with his elevation, or the other be unduly
grieved at his depression ? Assuredly not. In whichever state
they were, they should remember " whose they were, and
whom they were serving," and what blessedness awaited them
the very instant they had performed their destined work ; and,
possessed of this sufficiency within, they would be unmoved by
any thing without, and would have in perfection the grace
described in my text. Thus, in proportion as we are initiated
into the great mystery of the Gospel, will this equanimity
prevail in us; and under all circumstances will " our souls be
kept in perfect peace." A mariner, knowing the soundness of
his vessel, and the skill of him who is at the helm, does not
tremble at the gale which is sent to bear him to his destined
home. No ; he spreads his sails, and, though tossed upon the
waves, anticipates with joy the issue of his voyage, and the rest
which he will attain in the bosom of his friends. This blessed
ness, then, will attend you, my brethren, if once you learn the
sublime lesson which is here taught you in my text. You
shall find, indeed, that "godliness with contentment is great
gain g ."]
3. As an honourable state
[Who does not see how greatly the Gospel is honoured,
in producing such an experience as this ? Yea, and God
himself too is honoured by it, in that such is the fruit which
invariably proceeds from the Gospel of his dear Son. In
this state, man is assimilated to God himself. Behold our
incarnate God ! Behold him on Mount Tabor in his trans
figuration, or in his triumphant entry into Jerusalem amidst
f Prov. xviii. 14. e 1 Tim. vi. 6.
110 PHLLIPPIAXS, IV. 11, 12. [2163.
the hosannahs of the populace, and you find in him no undue
elation of mind: or view him in the garden of Gethsemane,
or in the hall of Pilate, or when suspended on the cross, you
see in him no undue depression. He drank with composure
the cup which God had put into his hands ; saying, " Not my
will, but thine be done." Religion does not divest men of the
feelings of humanity ; but moderates, directs, and perfects
them. It leaves us at liberty to deprecate sufferings, provided
we do it in submission to the Divine will : but, at the same
time, it so elevates us above them, as to render them in
capable of diverting us from the service of our God, or of
retarding us in our progress heaven-ward. Philosophical
principles have effected much to compose the minds of suf
ferers : but it is the Gospel alone which gives effectual power
so to rise above the things of time and sense, as to possess,
under all circumstances, the contentment sooken of in our
text.]
But you will naturally ASK, How am I to " learn"
this lesson ? I ANSWER,
1. Apply to God for the influences of his Holy
Spirit-
fit is, as 1 have said, the knowledge of Christ crucified,
and that alone, that can ever fill the soul and render it superior
to all earthly things. But who can give you that knowledge?
It is the office of " the Holy Spirit to take of the things of
Christ, and to reveal them unto us." None but he can " open
the eyes of our understanding :" none but he can " guide us
into all truth :" nor can any but he renew our souls after the
Divine image Pray then to God for the gift of his
Holy Spirit : and, if you yourselves would not mock your
child with giving him a stone when he asked for bread, much
less will God mock you, by refusing to impart to you this
gift, in which all good things for time and for eternity are
contained.]
2. Contemplate the fulness which is treasured up
for you in Christ Jesus
[" It has pleased the Father, that in Christ should all
fulness dwell :" and for you is it treasured there, that " you
may receive out of it" according to your necessities. Hence
then, if you have believed in Christ, you are authorized to
say, " All things are mine, since I am Christ s." And if all
things are yours, whether " things present, or things to
come," what can you lack ? or what ground can you have for
discontent ? Only get clear views of Christ as your righteous
ness and strength, and you will be at no loss for the attain
ment which your soul desires ]
2164.] EXTENT OF THE CHRISTIAN S POWER. 141
3. Survey the glory that is reserved for you in
heaven
[What does it matter to a traveller, if his accommoda
tions, where he stops but a few minutes, be not exactly such
as he could wish ? Can they carry me forward to my destined
home ? will be his main inquiry : and if he find that he can
attain his wishes in this respect, he will not lay to heart the
little inconveniences which he is to sustain for so short a time.
The comforts which he shall enjoy at home occupy his mind ;
and the very discomforts of the way endear to him the end,
and make him look forward to it with augmented zest. Let
it then be thus with you, my brethren: ye are only pilgrims
and sojourners here: and, if you dwell with blessed anticipa
tions on your eternal rest, you will become indifferent to the
accommodations of the way; and, according to the grace given
to you, will be enabled to say, " I have learned, in whatsoever
state I am, therewith to be content."]
MMCLXIV.
EXTENT AND SOURCE OF THE CHRISTIAN S POWER.
Phil. iv. 13. I can do all tilings through Christ ivhich strenyth-
cnctJi me.
THERE are in the sacred writings many various,
and apparently opposite, representations of the Chris
tian s state : he is mournful, yet happy ; sinful, yet
holy ; weak, yet possessed of a derived omnipotence.
These paradoxes are incomprehensible to the world
at large : but the solution of them is easy to those
who know what man is by nature, and what he is /;//
grace, and what are the effects which flow from the
contrary and contending principles of flesh and spirit.
Nothing can be more incredible, at first sight, than
the assertion in the former part of our text : but,
when qualified and explained by the latter part, it is
both credible and certain : yea, it presents to our
minds a most encouraging and consoling truth.
In elucidating this passage, we shall shew,
I. The extent of a Christian s power-
Using only such a latitude of expression as is com
mon in the Holy Scriptures, we may say concerning
every true Christian, that he can,
142 PHILIPPIANS, IV. 13. [2164.
1. Endure all trials
[In following his Divine Master, he may be called to
suffer reproaches, privations, torments, and death itself. But
" none of these can move him." When his heart is right with
God, he can " rejoice that he is counted worthy to suffer shame
for his Redeemer s sake a :" he can " suffer the loss of all things,
and yet count them but dung b ;" under extreme torture, he
can refuse to accept deliverance, in the prospect of " a better
resurrection :" he can say, " I am ready to die for the Lord s
sake d ;" and when presented at the stake as a sacrifice to be
slain, he can look upon his sufferings as a matter of self-
congratulation and exceeding joy 6 .]
2. Mortify all lusts
[Great are his inward corruptions ; and many are the
temptations to call them forth : but he is enabled to mortify
and subdue them f . " The lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eye, and the pride of life," are very fascinating: but " the
grace of God, which has brought salvation to his soul, has
taught him to deny them all, and to live righteously, soberly,
and godly in this present world g ." " By the great and precious
promises of the Gospel, he is made a partaker of the Divine
nature 11 ," and is stirred up to " cleanse himself from all filthi-
ness, both of flesh and spirit, and to perfect holiness in the
fear of God 1 ."]
3. Fulfil all duties
[Every different situation brings with it some corre
spondent duties : prosperity demands humility and vigilance ;
adversity calls for patience and contentment. Now the Chris
tian is " like a tree that is planted by the rivers of water, and
bringeth forth its fruits in its season*." It is to this change
of circumstances that the Apostle more immediately refers in
the text : " I have learned," says he, " in whatsoever state I
am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased,
and I know how to abound : everywhere, and in all things,
I am instructed, both to be full, and to be hungry ; both to
abound, and to suffer need. / can do all things 1 ." The
Christian knows that all his duties are summed up in love to
God, and love to man : he is assured, that no changes in his
condition can for one moment relax his obligation to approve
himself to God in the execution of these duties : and he en-
a Acts v. 41. > Phil. iii. 8. c Heo. xi. 35.
d Acts xxi. 13. e Phil. ii. 17, 18. 1 Pet. iv. 12, 13.
f Gal. v. 24. g 1 John ii. 15, 16. with Tit. ii. 12.
h 2 Pet. i. 4. i 2 Cor. vii. 1. k Ps. i. 3.
1 ver. 1113.
2164.] EXTENT OF THE CHRISTIAN S POWER. 143
deavours to avail himself of every wind that blows, to get for
ward in his Christian course.
But in reference to all the foregoing points, we must acknow
ledge, that all Christians are not equally advanced ; nor does
any Christian so walk as not to shew, at some time or other,
that " he has not yet attained, nor is altogether perfect" 1 ."
We must be understood therefore as having declared, rather
what the Christian " can do," than what he actually does in
all instances. " In many things he still offends";" but he
aspires after the full attainment of this proper character : in
the performance of his duties, he aims at universality in the
matter, uniformity in the manner, and perfection in the measure
of them.]
The Christian s power being so extraordinary, we
may well inquire after,
II. The source from whence he derives it
The Christian in himself is altogether destitute of
strength
[If we consult the Scripture representations of him, we
find that he is "without strength ," and even " dead in tres
passes and sins P." Nor, after he is regenerate, has he any
more power that he can call his own ; for " in him, that is, in
his flesh, dwelleth no good thing q ."
If our Lord s assertion may be credited, " without him we
can do nothing;" we are like branches severed from the vine 1 .
If the experience of the most eminent Apostle will serve as
a criterion, he confessed, that he " had not of himself a
sufficiency even to think a good thought; his sufficiency was
entirely of God 5 ."]
His power even to do the smallest good is derived
from Christ
[" It has pleased the Father, that in Christ should all
fulness dwell 1 ," and that " out of his fulness all his people
should receive"." It is he who " strengthens us with all
might by his Spirit in the inner man*:" it is he who " gives
us both to will and to do y ." If we are " strong in any degree,
it is in the Lord, and in the power of his might 2 ." Whatever
we do, we must give him the glory of it, saying, " I live; yet
not I, but Christ liveth in me 8 :" " I have laboured; yet not
m Phil. iii. 12. n Jam. iii. 2. Rom. v. 6.
P Eph. ii. 1. i Rom. vii. 15, 18, 19. r John xv. 5.
8 2 Cor. iii. 5. * Col. i. 19. u John i. 16.
x Eph. iii. 1C. v Phil. ii. 13. Heb. xiii. 21.
z Eph. vi. 10. a Gal. ii. 20.
144 PHILIPPIANS, IV. 13. [2164.
I, but the grace of God which was with me :" " by the grace
of God I am what I amV
Nor is it by strength once communicated, that we are strong;
but from continual communications of grace from the same
overflowing fountain. It is not through Christ who hath
strengthened, but who doth strengthen us, that we can do all
things c . We need fresh life from him, in order to the pro
duction of good fruit; exactly as we need fresh light from the
sun, in order to a prosecution of the common offices of life.
One moment s intermission of either, would instantly produce
a suspension of all effective industry.]
From that source he receives all that he can stand
in need of
[Christ is not so prodigal of his favours, as to confer them
in needless profusion : he rather apportions our strength to
the occasions that arise to call it forth d . He bids us to renew
our applications to him ; and, in answer to them, imparts
" grace sufficient for us e ." There are no limits to his commu
nications: however "wide we open our mouth, he will fill it f ."
He is " able to make all grace abound towards us, that we,
having always a//-sufficiency in all things, may abound unto
every good work g :" he is ready to " do for us exceeding
abundantly above all that we can ask or thinkV " If only
we believe, all things shall be possible unto us 1 :" we shall be
" able to quench all the fiery darts of the devil k ," and " be
more than conquerors over all the enemies of our souls 1 ."]
The USES to which we may apply this subject, are,
1. The conviction of the ignorant
[Many, when urged to devote themselves to God, reply,
that we require more of them than they can do ; and that it is
impossible for them to live according to the Scriptures. But
what ground can there be for such an objection? Is not
Christ ever ready to assist us? Is not Omnipotence pledged
for our support ? Away with your excuses then, which have
their foundation in ignorance, and their strength in sloth.
Call upon your Saviour; and he will enable you to " stretch
forth your withered hand:" at his command, the dead shall
arise out of their graves ; and the bond-slaves of sin and Satan
shall be " brought into the liberty of the children of God."]
2. The encouragement of the weak
b 1 Cor. xv. 10. c ivcvi apovi Ti. d Deut. xxxiii. 25.
e 2 Cor. xii. 9. <" Ps. Ixxxi. 10. e 2 Cor. ix. 8.
h Eph. iii. 20. > Mark ix. 23. k Eph. vi. 16.
1 Rom. viii. 37.
2165.] ALL NEEDFUL SUPPLIES THROUGH CHRIST. 14-5
[A life of godliness cannot be maintained without con
stant watchfulness and strenuous exertion. And there are
times when " even the youths faint and are weary, and the
young men utterly fall." But " if we wait upon our God we
shall certainly renew our strength, and mount up with wings
as eagles" 1 ." If we look " to Him on whom our help is laid n ,"
the experience of David shall be ours : " In the day when I
cried, thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with
strength in my soul ." Let not any difficulties then dis
courage us. " Let the weak say, I am strong p ;" and the
stripling go forth with confidence against Goliath. Let us
" be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus q ," and " his
strength shall assuredly be perfected in our weakness V]
m Isai. xl. 30, 31. n Ps. Ixxxix. 19. Ps. cxxxviii. 3.
P Joel iii. 10. 1 2 Tim. ii. 1. r 2 Cor. xii. 9.
MMCLXV.
ALL NEEDFUL SUPPLIES THROUGH CHRIST.
Phil. iv. 19. My God shall supply all your need according to
his riches in glory bij Christ Jesus.
AS it is a pleasing reflection to a generous man,
that the object whom he relieves will have his con
dition meliorated, so is it a most delightful thought
to a grateful mind, that there is One both able and
engaged to recompense our benefactors. Were it
not for this consideration, the reluctance which many
feel to be burthensome to their friends, would scarce
suffer them to accept the most needful assistances :
but this hope both enhances the value, and gives zest
to the enjoyment, of every kindness we receive. Such
was the Apostle s experience, when his necessities had
been relieved by the Philippian Church : he would
have been well content to have wanted their present,
as far as it related to his own comfort ; but, as it was
profitable to the donors themselves, he " desired fruit
that might abound to their account a ." Having de
clared on what grounds he was so well pleased with
their gifts, he assured them, that God would be
* Phil. iv. 17.
VOL. xvin. L
146 PIULIPPIANS, IV. 19. [2165.
mindful of all their wants, and abundantly supply
them in the hour of need.
To enter fully into the scope of his words, we
should inquire,
I. When are we authorized to call God our God ?
It is not every claim that presumptuous sinners
take upon them to advance, that will be found autho
rized in the Holy Scriptures ; for our Lord himself
assured many that Satan was their father, at the very
time that they called themselves the children of God b .
But we may justly consider God as standing in this
relation to us,
1. When we are born again of his Spirit?
[While we continue in our natural state, we are enemies
to God, and God is an enemy to us; but when we are be
gotten by the word and Spirit of God, we are privileged to
consider ourselves as his children, and to cry to him, " Abba,
Father ."]
2. When we have devoted ourselves to his service ?
[If we would know " whose we are," we must inquire,
"whom we serve;" for " to whomsoever we yield ourselves
servants to obey, his servants we are, whom we obey d ." If
our consciences testify that we have solemnly dedicated our
selves to God, we may boldly say with David, " O God, thou
art my God." We may be sure that our " Beloved is ours,
when we (by a voluntary surrender of ourselves to him,)
are his."]
When this point is satisfactorily settled in our
minds, we may with more comfort inquire,
II. To what extent we may expect communications
from him ?
That God who pours out his benefits upon the evil
and unthankful, is far more abundant in kindness
towards his own children. He will give us,
1. According to our necessities
[If we desire temporal things, " we shall want no manner
of thing that is good ;" if spiritual blessings be sought after,
there is not any thing we can need, which shall not be be
stowed upon us in the time and measure that Infinite Wisdom
sees to be best for us. Are we wretched and miserable, and
b Johnviii. 41, 44. <= John i. 12. Gal. iv. 6. d Rom. vi. 16.
2165. J ALL NEEDFI;L SUPPLIES THROUGH CHRIST. 147
poor, and blind, and naked? He will both suit his gifts to
our necessities 6 ; and make the very depth of our misery the
measure of his own mercy.]
2. According to the riches of his own grace
[Let us survey all the tokens of his bounty on earth, and
contemplate all the expressions of his love in heaven ; let us
go farther, and consider the incomprehensible fulness of all
the good that is in him as the fountain ; and then shall we find
the true measure of his liberality to his children. If any
partake of his goodness in a lower degree, it is, " not because
they are straitened in him, but because they are straitened in
their own bowels."]
That none may lose these blessings through igno
rance, we proceed to state
III. By what channel they shall be conveyed to us
With man in innocence God communed face to
face : but, whatever he bestows upon us in our fallen
state, he communicates it,
1. Through Christ as our mediator
[" God in himself is a consuming fire ;" nor is it possible
for us to approach him but through Jesus our mediator.
Neither our piety towards him, nor our liberality towards his
saints, can render him our debtor, (yea, rather, the more we
do for him, the more we are indebted to him) ; if we receive
any thing from God, it must come as the purchase of Christ s
blood, and as the consequence of his prevailing intercession.]
2. By Christ as our head-
fit is " in Christ that all fulness dwells." He has " re
ceived gifts for the rebellious," and imparts them to whom
soever he will : and it is " out of his fulness that we must
receive." He is the head of the Church, and his people are
his members ; and as every member is nourished by its union
with the head, so it is by grace derived from him that we are
to increase with the increase of God f .]
This important subject may TEACH us,
1. Contentment in ourselves
[What cause can he possibly have for discontent, who has
God for his God, and an express promise that all his need
shall be supplied? God has not only engaged to give his
people whatever they need, but on many occasions has inter
posed in a miraculous manner to fulfil his word. And, rather
than violate his truth in any instance, he would feed them with
e Rev. iii. 18. Col. ii. 19.
L 2
148 PHILIPPIANS, IV. 19. [2165.
bread from heaven, and water from a rock ; he would make
the ravens to bring them meat, or their barrel and cruse to
supply them with an undiminished store. He has said that
" the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the expectation
of the poor perish for ever." What if we have not all that
flesh and blood might desire ? shall we repine ? Surely we should
say with the Apostle, " I have learned, in whatsoever state I
am, therewith to be con tent g ." We are like minors at present,
and limited to the measure which our Father sees best for us :
but in due time we shall receive the full inheritance. Shall
persons so circumstanced give way to discontent ? No : though
poor as Lazarus, they should account themselves truly rich.]
2. Liberality to others
[God condescends to acknowledge all that is given by us
in charity as "lent to himself;" and he pledges himself to
" repay it." He even prescribes the honouring of him with
our first-fruits, as the means of securing to ourselves an abun
dant harvest, and of laying up in store a good foundation
against the time to come, that we may lay hold on eternal
life h . We must not indeed suppose that our alms-deeds can
merit any thing at the hand of God. Nevertheless, if they be
a free-will offering, they are " an odour to him, and a sacrifice
of a sweet-smelling savour." Let then the bounty of God to
us, whether experienced or expected, be a motive for liberality
to our fellow-creatures. And let us gladly of our abundance
minister to their necessities, that God in all things may be
glorified through Christ Jesus.]
3. Devotedness to God
[Has God given himself to us as our God, and shall not
we give ourselves to him as his people ? Does God grudge
us no blessing which he can give, and shall we grudge him any
service which we can render ? Are his powers the only limit
to his exertions for us, and shall we know any other limit to
our zeal for him ? Does he do such wonders for us for Christ s
sake, and shall not we labour for Christ s sake to honour him ?
Yes, " the love of Christ shall constrain us " to live for him,
and the mercies of God to us be the measure of the services
which we shall yield to him 1 .]
e ver. 12. h Prov. iii. 9, 10. with 1 Tim. vi. 17, 18.
1 Rom. xii. 1.
COLOSSIANS.
MMCLXVI.
PAUL S COMMENDATION OF THE GOSPEL.
Col. i. 3 6. We give thanks to God and the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, praying ahvays for you, since we heard
of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the lore ivhich ye have
to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in
heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of
the Gospel ; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world ;
and br ing eth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day
ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth.
" THE grace of God in truth !" What a beautiful
description of the Gospel ! It is grace : it is all
grace, from first to last : it is the most stupendous
grace that ever God vouchsafed to any creature,
whether in heaven or on earth. It was marvellous
grace to confer on angels such an exalted nature as
they possess, together with all the glory and felicity
of heaven. It was most astonishing grace also to
form man in Paradise ; to form him in the very image
of his God ; and to give him a promise, that if he
should hold fast his integrity, both he and all his
posterity should participate with the angels in all
the blessedness they enjoy. But what is all this to
the gift of God s only dear Son to bear the iniquities
of fallen man, and, by his own obedience unto death,
to restore man to his forfeited inheritance ? This is
emphatically called, " The Gospel of the grace of
God :" and truly it does exhibit the grace of God in
150 COLOSSIANS, I. 36. [2166.
such a view as no creature could ever have antici
pated ; and in such a view as must fill the whole
creation, whether of men or angels, with the pro-
foundest admiration, and gratitude, and love. This
is the Gospel which ye " have heard ;" which also,
through the illuminating influence of the Spirit of
God, many of you " know ;" and the excellency of
which may be seen,
I. By the effects produced in our hearts
There are three effects mentioned, as produced in
the converts of Colosse :
1. " Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ"
[This is the first effect which the Gospel produces, wherever
it is received into the heart. It reveals to us our need of a
Saviour ; and it holds forth the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of
the Father, sent into the world to bear our sins, and to expiate
our guilt by his atoning sacrifice, and thereby to reconcile us
to our offended God. It discovers to us the fulness and
suitableness of this salvation ; and brings us to this Saviour,
as our only hope. It leads every one to renounce altogether
every other hope, and to trust entirely in the merits and
mediation of this adorable Redeemer ]
2. Love to all the saints
[This is the next effect produced on all. Through faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are brought into a new family, of
which Christ is the master : yea, we are incorporated into a
new body, of which Christ is the head, and all the saints are
members. I add further, we are all penetrated with one
spirit ; (for " he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit ;") and
have thus a bond of union, which never did, nor could, exist
before. The very instant we believe in Christ, we feel our
selves brought into this relation to all his believing people,
whether they be separately known to us or not ; and we have,
from that moment, somewhat of the same sympathy with them,
as every member of our body has with all the rest, the eye
with the hand, and the hand with the foot ]
3. Hope of happiness in heaven
[" The hope laid up for us in heaven " is that for which
the Apostle principally gives thanks in the passage before us a .
But this, like the two foregoing principles, is wrought in the
heart by the Gospel : by which, as St. Peter says, " we are
* See the Greek. The faith and love are parenthetically inserted.
2166. J PAUL S COMMENDATION OK THE GOSPEL. 1 Jl
begotten again to a lively hope of an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven
for us b ." Yes, faith penetrates the highest heavens, and sees
there crowns and kingdoms purchased by the blood of Christ,
and promised to all who believe in him. An eternity of glory
upon the very throne of God, the believer expects as his
assured portion ]
But the excellency of the Gospel is further shewn,
II. By the effects produced on our lives
" It brings forth fruit in all the world "-
[See the fruits of the Spirit as described by the Apostle :
" The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance ." There
is not a grace that was in Christ Jesus himself, which the
Gospel does not form in the souls of those who believe in
him - " The discovery which it gives us of the glory of
Christ transforms us into his image, from glory to glory, by
the Spirit of our God d ."]
It does this invariably and universally
[There is not a creature who receives the grace of God in
truth, but experiences this effect upon his soul. It matters
not whether he be the most civilized man on earth, or a poor
savage Indian or Hottentot : he will, from the moment that
he receives the Gospel, begin to bear the image of his hea
venly Father "in righteousness and true holiness "-
And the man who professes to believe in Christ, and does not
bring forth the fruits of righteousness in his life and con
versation, is a self-deceiver, and a hypocrite. " His faith
is no better than the faith of devils ;" and, if he die in his
present state, his end shall be like theirs also : for God has
decreed, that " without holiness no man shall see the
Lord 6 " ]
TELL ME NOW, brethren,
1. Have we not ground to " give thanks for you ?"
[Were you all reduced to the most abject state of poverty,
and relieved by the Gospel to the utmost extent of your
necessities, and enriched with all that the whole world could
bestow ; or were you all in dying circumstances, and restored
to health by the Gospel ; it were nothing, in comparison of
the blessings ye have received (many of you at least) through
the word ministered unto you. You have been brought by
it from death to life, from sin to holiness, from hell to heaven.
b 1 Pet. i. 4. < Gal. v. 22, 23.
d 2 Cor. iii. 18. f Heb. xii. 14.
152 COLOSSIANS, I. 913. [2167.
O! what inestimable blessings are these ! Say, then,
whether those who have preached unto you the word of life
have not reason to bless God for you, as the " seals of their
ministry," and as destined to be " their joy and crown of
rejoicing in the presence of that Saviour " whom they have
preached unto you f ? ]
2. Have we not encouragement, also, to " pray for
you?"
[What will not God confer on those for whom he has
already done so much? Surely there is not any thing which
Omnipotence can effect, that shall not be bestowed upon you,
in answer to the prayer of faith. See what Paul prayed for
in behalf of the Colossians g That same prayer would
I offer for you, and entreat all of you to offer for yourselves.
" Open your mouths wide, and God will fill them." " Be not
straitened in yourselves ; for ye are not straitened in him."
Only ask in faith ; and " according to your faith it shall be
done unto you."]
3. Is there not, however, ground for lamentation,
on account of some amongst you ?
[Would to God I could say that the change here de
scribed had been wrought on all ! But there are many of you,
I fear, who still remain in your unconverted state ; and who,
notwithstanding the Gospel has so long been ministered unto
you, are yet strangers to the faith, and love, and hope, which
it forms in the hearts of those who truly receive it ; yes, and
whose tempers and dispositions are widely different from the
fruits which the Gospel is sent to produce. Dear brethren, I
pray you study the Gospel more : pray over it more : beg of
God to make it " the rod of his strength," and to effect by it
in you all that it wrought in the Colossian Church, and all
that it is ordained to work in all the world ]
f 1 Thess. ii. 19, 20. e ver. 914.
MMCLXVII.
PRAYER FOR GROWTH IN GRACE.
Col. i. 9 13. We do not cease to pray for you that
ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom
and spiritual understanding ; that ye might walk worthy of
the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good icork,
and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with
all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience
and long -suffering with jot/fulness ; giving thanks unto the
2167.] PRAYER FOR GROWTH IN GRACE. 153
Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inhe
ritance of the saints in light : who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom
of his dear Son.
UNIVERSAL benevolence will begin to shew
itself wherever Christianity gains a just ascendency.
This is particularly observable in the prayers which
the Apostle offered for others ; the fervour and ful
ness of which clearly proved, that they proceeded
from a heart fraught with love, and deeply impressed
with the excellency of those blessings which are pro
vided for us in the Gospel. He confined not his
attention to the welfare of a few with whom he might
happen to sojourn ; but extended it to the whole
Church, as well to those whom he had never seen,
as to those amongst whom he had ministered. He
needed only to be informed that a work of grace was
begun in any persons, and he instantly felt an union
of heart with them, and took a lively interest in all
that concerned them. This remark is strongly exem
plified in the prayer before us. He had heard of the
blessed state of the Colossian Church ; and, from the
instant he had received the glad tidings, he remem
bered that people in all his stated prayers : and, in
the passage before us, he tells them what he prayed
for on their behalf. He desired that they might
advance
I. In the knowledge of God s will
[The " knowledge of God s revealed will " is the founda
tion of all acceptable obedience : and every Christian must of
necessity be in some degree endued with it. But he will not
be satisfied with a scanty measure of it : he wishes to be " filled
with it," so that it may engage all the faculties of his mind.
Not that he can rest in a speculative view of Divine truth,
however clear or comprehensive it may be : the knowledge
which he covets, is a practical and experimental knowledge ; a
knowledge that diffuses "a spiritual savour" over his soul,
and enables him to conduct himself, " with all wisdom," as well
in his secret conflicts with sin, as in the public exercises of his
duty to God and man.
Such then was the Apostle s first request for the converts at
Colosse : he desired, that, as they already had some knowledge
of God s will, so they might be " filled " with it, enjoying at
154 COLOSSIANS, I. 913. [2167.
the same time its sweet savour, and its practical influence, " in
all wisdom, and spiritual understanding."
And should not such be our prayer also for ourselves ? Let
us not forget, that, while we aspire after divine knowledge,
we must chiefly seek that which brings a feast to the soul,
and endues it with a nice and accurate discernment of good
and evil.]
II. In obedience to his commands
[The more enlarged views the Christian has of divine
truth, the more studious will he be to fulfil the will of God.
And in his endeavours after holiness he will propose to himself
the highest measure of obedience, and the noblest end. He
will not limit himself to the rules prescribed by men ; nor will
he aim merely at obtaining eternal happiness : but he will
consider the relation he bears to God, and the obligations he
has received from him, and the expectations which he has of
future benefits; and will endeavour to " walk worthy of" such
a Father, such a Redeemer, such an unspeakable Benefactor.
He will resemble a dutiful and affectionate servant, who does
not merely consider what he must do in order to escape cen
sure, and receive his wages, but what will please his Master.
He inquires with himself, What will please my God ? That is
the great object of his ambition : that is the spring of his
activity : and with that view he endeavours to be " fruitful,"
not in some good works only, but " in every good work,"
however difficult or self-denying.
Suited to these dispositions was the Apostle s prayer : he
desired for the Colossians what he knew they desired for them
selves, even " that they might walk worthy of the Lord unto
all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work." And it is
certain, that in proportion as we have attained a just know
ledge of God s will, we shall desire, both for ourselves and
others, an increase of righteousness and true holiness.]
III. In the enjoyment of his presence
[" The knowledge of God" seems to be different from
" the knowledge of his will," that has been before mentioned :
the former relates to a view of his truth, and the latter to the
enjoyment of his presence. In this sense the latter is not a
mere repetition, but a blessing intimately connected with a
holy life. Whom will God meet, and unto whom will he re
veal himself, but " him that rejoiceth in working righteous
ness 3 ?" Yes; there are manifestations which such persons
shall receive, and such manifestations as the world can form no
idea of b . God will " shed abroad his love in the hearts" of his
a Isai. Ixiv. 5. b John xiv. 21, 23.
2167.] PRAYER FOR GROWTH IN GRACE. 155
people ; and will testify to them their adoption into his family,
and seal them unto the day of redemption. How desirable is
this for every saint! and how rich a recompence is it for any
self-denial he may exercise in the path of duty ! Would to
God that all professing Christians might experience this ; and
that not a single day might ever pass, in which they cannot say
with the beloved Disciple, " Truly our fellowship is with the
Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ !"]
IV. In submission to his dispensations
[The more any person lives in the enjoyment of God, and
a diligent performance of his will, the more must he expect to
be hated and persecuted by an ungodly world. But under all
his trials he must be " patient :" to whatever length of time
they be protracted, he must be " long-suffering :" nor must he
merely possess his soul in patience ; he must have it blended
"with joyfulness," regarding it as his honour and his happiness
that he is counted worthy to suffer shame for his Redeemer s
sake d . But " who is sufficient for these things?" It is not
possible for feeble man to maintain such a conduct, unless he
be " strengthened with all might" by the Holy Ghost: yea,
there must be such an exertion of omnipotence as will serve
for a bright display of " his glorious power ;" nor can any
thing less than this effect so great a work.
Here then again we see the suitableness of the Apostle s
prayer: for if we cannot serve the Lord without participating
his cross, or sustain by our own power the trials that will come
upon us, what alternative remains, but either to abandon our
profession, or to implore such help from God as shall make us
more than conquerors over all ?]
V. In thankfulness to him for his mercies
[There can be no state, however afflictive, in which a
Christian ought not to abound in thanksgivings to God. The
Israelites, to whom he divided Canaan by lot, were unspeak
ably indebted to him : but how are they indebted, to whom he
has given an " inheritance among the saints in light ;" even
in heaven, where they dwell in the immediate presence of
their God! For this they are rendered "meet;" (for it is
impossible that they can enjoy it, if they possess not a meet-
ness for it:) their heavenly Father has " delivered them from
the power of darkness," even as he did Lot from Sodom,
and the Israelites from Egypt, with a mighty hand and a
stretched-out arm : lie has moreover " translated them into
the kingdom of his dear Son," and brought them into a cheer
ful and unreserved obedience to his will. Must not they then
c 1 John i. 3. d Acts v. 41.
156 COLOSSIANS, I. 1618. [2168.
give glory to their God ? What if they be burning at the
stake, ought they not to rejoice that God has rescued them
from hell, and that they are entering on a state of uninter
rupted everlasting happiness ?
Surely no Christian should rest short of this attainment : but
we should all unite in wrestling with our God, till he pour out
his Spirit upon us, and form us to the model which was here
proposed for the Colossian converts.]
INFER
1. How glorious are the Christian s privileges!
[Did the Apostle incessantly ask of God what God was
not willing to bestow ? No ; " if we opened our mouth wide,
he would fill it ;" and all these graces should abound in us, to
the praise and glory of our God. What then must the Chris
tian be, in whom these things are found ! O believer, aim not
at low things ; but aspire after the highest measures of wisdom,
purity, and joy.]
2. How dependent are we upon our God !
[It is not at our first commencement only of a religious
course that we depend on God, but to the latest hour of our
lives. We can have no knowledge, holiness, or joy, but as we
receive it from him. Let us then make our requests known to
him, and depend on him for all seasonable supplies of grace
and strength.]
3. How great is the benefit of intercession !
[We certainly are not sufficiently apprised of this. But
when we recollect the intercessions of Abraham for Sodom, of
Lot for Zoar, of Moses for Israel, how can we be so remiss in
this duty ! Let us incessantly plead for each other, knowing
that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much.]
MMCLXVIII.
THE GLORY OF CHRIST.
Col. i. 16 18. By him were all things created, that are in
heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether
they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:
all things were created by him, and for him : and he is
before all things, and by him all things consist. And lie is
the Head of the body, the Church : who is the beginning, the
first-born from the dead ; that in all things he might have the
pre-eminence.
2168.] THE GLORY OF CHRIST. 157
THE pre-eminence he must have : the pre-emi
nence he shall have : his title to it is indisputable :
and it is at the peril of our souls to withhold it from
him. Do you ask, Of whom we speak thus ? I
answer, Of the Lord Jesus Christ ; of whom the
Apostles evidently thought that they could never
speak enough. Let the Apostle Paul but touch upon
his name, and he launches forth in his praise, and
scarcely knows when to stop. Mark the passage
before us. The Apostle had informed the Colossians
what prayers and thanksgivings he daily poured forth
before God, in their behalf. He especially praised
God for " delivering them from the power of dark
ness, and translating them into the kingdom of his
dear Son :" and having thus, accidentally as it were,
mentioned the Lord Jesus, he goes on to expatiate
on his transcendent excellencies, not only as the
Redeemer of his people, but as " the image of the
invisible God, and the first-born (that is, the Heir
and Lord) of the whole creation." And, lest it should
be thought that he was speaking too highly of the
despised and persecuted Jesus, he proceeds yet fur
ther to establish his claim to these high titles, by
declaring what he had done for the world at large,
and for the Church in particular ; and that the pre
eminence thus given him was no more than his due.
In opening to you this sublime passage, I shall be
led to shew,
I. On what grounds pre-eminence is due to Christ
In all things he must take the lead. This priority
is due to him, on account of,
1. His personal dignity
[He, though born into the world a little infant, after that
the world had existed four thousand years, was the Creator of
all, the Preserver of all, the End of all. " By Him were all
things created," both in heaven and earth, whether they be
thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers. Whether
they be " visible," as the heavenly bodies and the earth, with
the things upon it ; or whether they be " invisible," as the
holy angels and the souls of men ; he formed them all : what
ever rank or order they possess in their respective spheres,
158 COLOSSIANS, I. 1618. [2168.
(for it seems that in heaven, as well as on earth and in hell,
there are beings of different ranks and orders,) from his
creating hand they have derived their existence, and from his
sovereign will their station. Nor is there any thing in the
whole creation which is not upheld by him. He directs the
stars in their orbits, and causes the sun and moon to know
their appointed seasons. The smallest insect too, which is so
small as to be invisible to the naked eye, is as much noticed
and supplied by him, as if it were the only work of his hands.
For himself too, as the supreme God, he made these things :
and all of them, whether wittingly or unwittingly, subserve
his glory. If we could suppose that God had delegated to
him the work of creating every thing, and of upholding it in
its order, (though, as he was the Creator of all things, he
could not be himself a creature,) still it would be impossible
for God to devolve on him the honour of being the end of all
things : that is incapable of being communicated to any crea
ture : it is the prerogative of God alone : nor could he divest
himself of it, without giving a licence to his creatures to
alienate from him the most essential rights of Godhead.
Behold, then, the Lord Jesus Christ, in this his personal
dignity, as the author and end of all ; and then say, whether
he be not entitled to a pre-eminence above all? The highest
archangel has no such claims. In respect of these things, he
is on a level with the meanest clod of earth; and must unite
with all the rest of the creation in giving glory to our blessed
Lord.]
2. His official excellency
[In his mediatorial capacity he is no less glorious. He
is " the Head of the Church, which is his body :" he is the
Head of vital influence, from which every member receives his
supply of grace ; and he is the Head and Representative of all
his members, who at this very moment " are risen, as it were,
in him, and sitting in heavenly places in him a ." This I con
ceive is meant by his being " the beginning, the first-born
from the dead." It is true that he existed before all ; and
that he was the most distinguished amongst those who have
risen from the dead ; having raised himself by his own power,
whilst all others have owed their restoration to life to the
miraculous exertion of God s power. But, as he is called
" the first-born of the whole creation," not because he was
himself created, but because the rights of the first-born all
centred in him, and he was, as mediator, the Heir and Lord of
all b ; so his being called "the beginning, the first-born from
the dead," imports, that in his risen state the rights of primo-
a Eph. ii. 6. b Heb. i. 2.
2168.] THE GLORY OF CHRIST. 159
geniture still attach to him ; and that he is, in heaven, the
Head and Representative of all his members, who, in due time,
shall participate the glory which he there enjoys. This is
what the Apostle elsewhere distinctly states ; saying, " Now is
Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them
that slept c ."
Consider him, then, in this his mediatorial character ; and
say, whether he does not in this view, also, justly claim the
pre-eminence ? To him are all in heaven, and all on earth,
indebted for their happiness ; even as the moon and stars, no
less than this terrestrial globe, are indebted to the sun for all
the light which they enjoy. The angels around the throne,
no less than ourselves, are all collected under him as their
Head d ; and, through his all-powerful aid, retain the blessed
ness, of which we, in due season, are destined to participate.
Yes, in heaven, at least, is he glorified as he ought to be ; for
" in that celestial city the glory of God does lighten it, and
the Lamb is the light thereof 6 ."]
But as, in ascribing pre-eminence to him, we must
be active, let us consider,
II. In what way and manner it should be assigned
him
It is not sufficient that we "call him, Lord, Lord:"
we must honour him, " not in word and in tongue,
but in deed and in truth." We must give him the
pre-eminence,
1. In our regards
[Go up to heaven, and see how he is honoured there.
There is he " as a Lamb that has been slain ;" and there, " as
a Lamb, he sits upon his throne ;" and all the hosts of heaven,
those who never fell, no less than those he has redeemed, are
singing day and night, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and
honour, and glory, and blessing f ." Now, thus it should be
on earth. We should be so filled with views of his excel
lency, and so penetrated with a sense of his love, that the
whole creation should be a mere blank in comparison of him.
Parents, children, life itself, should be of no account, where
his honour is concerned. What the Psalmist said, should be
the continual language of our hearts, " Whom have I in heaven
but thee ? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides
thee g ." As for the poor things of time and sense, we should
c 1 Cor. xv. 20. d Eph. i. 10. R CVt xx j t 23.
f Rev. v. 1113. s Ps. Ixxiii. 25.
160 COLOSSIANS, I. 1618. [2168.
be ashamed that they have ever been suffered to occupy one
single thought, except in subserviency to him. In a word, the
Lord Jesus should be to us now, what he will be in a better
world our light, our life, our joy, our All.]
2. In our affiance
[As God, who created all things, he is able, and, as our
living Head, who is interested in our welfare, he is willing, to
do all that our utmost necessities can require. Stretch your
imagination to the uttermost ; and think whether there be any
guilt too deep for his blood to expiate, or any corruption too
inveterate for his Spirit to subdue. To limit him, either in
relation to his power or his grace, or to rely on any other
besides him, were to deny his Godhead, and to cast him down
from his mediatorial throne. Our whole soul should go forth
to him ; our every want be cast on him : and fear, except that
which is truly filial, should be dismissed, and find no more
place in our bosoms than it does in heaven. O, the holy
glorying that becomes us ! Rise to the occasion, my beloved
brethren ; and rest assured, that he who created and preserves
the universe can new-create and preserve you; and he who
redeemed the Church with his blood, and united it to himself
as his own body, can redeem, and sanctify, and save, yea,
" save to the very uttermost, all those who come unto God by
him."]
3. In our services
[That was an unanswerable appeal which was made to
the Jewish rulers, " Whether it be right to hearken unto
you more than unto God, judge ye h ." We should know no
rule of conduct but his revealed will : nor, in the execution of
his will, is there any limit to be assigned. If we had a thousand
lives, they should all be devoted to him : nor, if we could die
a thousand deaths, should they be accounted too much to be
endured for him. " His love should constrain us," and carry
us away as a mighty torrent in his service. It is said of the
angels in heaven, that " they do his commandments, hearken
ing to the voice of his word 1 :" and so should it be with us :
the very first intimation of his will should call into activity our
utmost powers : nor should we ever rest, till we can say of the
work committed to us, " It is finished."]
Suffer ye now, brethren, a word of EXHORTATION
1. Contemplate the excellency of your incarnate
God
h Acts iv. 19. and v. 29. > Ps. ciii. 20.
2168. J THE GLORY OF CHRIST. 101
[Survey the heavens, with all the diversified and stu
pendous bodies contained in them : and inspect the minutest
insect, which nothing but the greatest magnifying power can
render visible : and see, both in the one and in the other, his
creating hand, and his preserving power. Then say with
yourselves, The Maker of all these things is my Friend, my
Beloved, yea, my very Head, one with me ; not merely as a
subject is one with his political head, the king, but as any
member of my body is with my own head. Not any powers
which I myself possess are more used for the good of my own
members, than all the powers of this Saviour are for me. For
me he became incarnate : for me he died upon the cross : for
me he rose, and ascended up where he was before : for me he-
orders every thing in heaven and earth : for me " he has pre
pared a place " in the mansions of his Father : and for me is
he shortly coming again, to " take me to himself, that where
he is I may be also." Shall I cease for a moment to think of
him ? Shall any thing for a moment stand in competition with
him? My dear brethren, let him have the pre-eminence : let
him be seated on the throne of your hearts : let every Dagon
fall before him : and let him " be all your salvation and all
your desire."]
2. Awake to the performance of your duties to
wards him
[Are you not ashamed that this adorable Saviour has
held so low a place in your esteem, that even the most con
temptible things that can be imagined have had a pre-eminence
above him? There is not a base lust which has not more
power to sway you, than love to him, or zeal for his glory.
There is not a vanity which you have not more desired, nor
an object whom you have not more feared, nor a device you
have not more relied upon, than he. Would you not have
thought it impossible, that a Being so glorious in himself, and
so gracious unto you, should ever be so despised by you, as he
has been? O! humble yourselves before him; and now set
yourselves with all diligence to honour and to glorify his
name. Let it no longer be a doubt, either in your own minds
or in the minds of any that behold you, who has the pre
eminence in your souls. Give yourselves wholly to him : live
altogether for him : let your daily and hourly inquiry be,
" Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" In short, endeavour
to begin the life of heaven whilst you are yet upon earth.
When once you are there, "you will follow the Lamb whither
soever he goeth k ." Follow him now: follow the footsteps
which he trod on earth : follow him, in your affections, to the
k Rev. :dv. 4.
VOL. XVIII. M
1G;> COLOSSIANS, I. 19. [2169.
highest heavens 1 : and look forward to the time when he, who
has ascended as your Forerunner, shall come again to take you
to himself, and "seat you with him upon his throne, as he
sitteth on his Father s throne."]
i Col. iii. 1, 2.
MMCLXIX.
THE FULNESS OF CHRIST.
Col. i. 19. It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness
dwell.
IT is scarcely possible to read with attention the
Epistles of St. Paul, and not to be struck with the
energetic manner in which he expatiates on the glory
and excellency of Christ, not merely when he pro
fessedly treats of his work and offices, but oftentimes
when he only incidentally, as it were, makes mention
of his name. We notice this particularly in the pas
sage before us, where he puts forth all the powers of
language to exalt his character to the uttermost.
Confining our attention to the expression in the
text, we shall shew,
I. What is that fulness which resides in Christ-
There is in him,
1. An essential fulness
[Christ, though apparently a mere man, was the first cause
and last end of all things, even " God over all, blessed for
ever a ." His people are said to be " filled with all the fulness
of God*-" but " in him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead ."
Men are made to enjoy all the gifts and graces of God s
Spirit; and, in this sense, are " partakers of the Divine nature d :"
but Christ was really " God manifest in the flesh 6 ." The
Godhead dwelt in him, not symbolically as in the temple , or
spiritually as in us g , but truly, " bodilyV substantially. The
fulness of the Godhead was essentially his from all eternity ;
nor was he any more dependent on the Father than the Father
was on him : but his assumption of our nature was the result
of the Father s counsels, and the fruit of the Father s love 1 .]
a ver. 16. with Rom. ix. 5. b Epli. iii. 19.
c Col. ii. 9. in this place it is not Qeov, but GtrVjjroe.
d 2 Pet. \. 4. * 1 Tim. iii. 16. John i. 1, 14.
f Ps. Ixxx. 1. B 2 Cor. vi. 16. h ffwpariKtic, Col. ii. 9.
1 John iii. 16. 1 John iv. 10.
2169.] THE FULNESS OF CHRIST.
2. A communicative fulness
[He has a fulness of merit to justify the most ungodly.
Christ, by his obedience unto death, perfected whatever was ne
cessary for the restoring of us to the Divine favour. His atone
ment was satisfactory; his righteousness was complete. Under
the Mosaic law, there were many sins for which no sacrifice was
provided: but the one sacrifice of Christ was all-sufficient;
and " all who believe in him, are justified from all things k :"
his " righteousness shall be unto them, and upon them all 1 :"
and, however great their iniquities have been, they shall be
without spot or blemish in the sight of God" 1 .
He has also a fulness of grace to sanctify the most polluted.
With him was "the residue of the Spirit"." The oil that was
poured out upon him was to descend to the meanest of his
members . " He was constituted Head over the Church, that
he might fill all things 11 :" and he received gifts on purpose
that he might bestow them on the rebellious 1 . His grace is
still sufficient to support us in all temptation r , and to sanctify
us throughout in body, soul, and spirit 5 . No lusts are so in
veterate as eventually to withstand its influence ; nor is any
heart so vile but it shall be " purged by him from all its
filthiness, and from all its idols"."]
It will not be presumptuous, or unprofitable, if we
inquire,
II. Why it pleased the Father that all fulness should
reside in Christ ?
Many reasons might be mentioned ; but the prin
cipal of them may be comprehended under the two
following :
1. For the honour of his own Son
[As Jesus was to become a sacrifice for us, it was meet
that he should have all the honour of our salvation. Accord
ingly we are told, that God exalted him on purpose that at his
name every knee should bow, and that every tongue should
confess him to be the sovereign Lord of all x . By this appoint
ment of Christ to be the head of vital influence to the Church,
all are necessitated to come to him, and to " receive out of
his fulness y ," and to live by faith upon him from day to day*.
k Acts xiii. 39. Rom. iii. 22. Eph. v. 27.
n Mai. ii. 1 ">. Ps. cxxxiii. 2.
P Eph. i. 22, 23. and iv. 10. q Ps. Ixviii. 18.
r 2 Cor. xii. 9. 3 1 Thess. v. 23. 4 Luke viii. 2.
u Ezek. xxxvi. 23 27. x Phil. ii. 9 11.
> John i. 16. z Gal. ii. 20.
M 2
164 COLOSSIANS, I. 19. [2169.
All are necessitated to depend on him for a constant commu
nication of grace and peace, as much as to depend on the sun
for the periodical returns of light and heat. Hence, both on
earth and in heaven a , all are constrained to give him all the
glory of their salvation. No one can ascribe any thing to his
own goodness ; seeing that all are cleansed in the blood of
Christ, and arrayed in the spotless robe of his righteousness b :
nor can any glory in his own strength; since no one has any
sufficiency in himself even to think a good thought ; and much
less to renew his own soul. The merit that justifies, and the
grace that sanctifies, are all of him : " he is ALL, and IN
ALL d :" and he is made ALL unto us, on purpose that all may
be compelled to glory in him alone 6 .]
2. For the security of our souls
[There never was but one man to whom a stock was
entrusted ; and he soon (if we may so speak) became a bank
rupt. And if iv e had grace committed to us in such a manner
as to be left wholl} to ourselves for the improvement of it, we
should lose it again, as he did. For our more abundant
security therefore the Father treasured up all fulness in his
Son ; that, however our broken cisterns might fail, there might
be an inexhaustible fountain secured to us. In this view we
are reminded, that " God has laid help upon One that is
mighty f ;" and that "because he liveth we shall live also g ."
We are further told by the Apostle, that this appointment
of Christ to be our head, with the consequent necessity of
living by faith on him, and of receiving out of his fulness, was
ordained of God on purpose that the promises might be finally
secured to all the seed h ; and he himself declares, that this
very constitution of things was the one ground of his assurance
respecting the salvation of his soul : " Our life is hid with
Christ in God : and (therefore) when Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, we also shall appear with him in glory 1 ."]
This passage, duly considered, SHEWS us clearly,
1. The excellency of faith
[How can we receive any thing from Christ except by
faith ? No other method can be conceived whereby we can
obtain any thing at his hands. But faith interests us in all
that he has done and suffered for us, and in all that he has
received to communicate unto us. It is that whereby alone
we can " draw water out of the wells of salvation :" it is that,
a Gal. vi. 14. Rev. v. 12, 13. b Isai. Ixi. 10.
c 2 Cor. iii. 5. a Col. iii. 11. <= 1 Cor. i. 30, 31.
f Ps. Ixxxix. 19. e John xiv. 19. h Rom. iv. 16.
Col. iii. 3, 4.
2170.J SANCTIFICATION THE END OF REDEMPTION. 165
in the exercise of which we may be " filled with all the fulness
of God." Let all of us then cultivate this precious grace, and,
as the best means of receiving every other blessing, let us pray
with the Apostles, " Lord, increase our faith."]
2. The evil of self-righteousness
[Self-righteousness is a practical denial of the assertion in
our text. It refuses to Christ the honour put upon him by
the Father, and ascribes to self that which belongs to him
alone. And shall it be thought a small evil to rob Christ of
his glory? Shall it appear a light matter to thwart the eternal
counsels of the Father, and to set ourselves in direct oppo
sition to his blessed will? Let none henceforth suppose, that
the trusting in our own wisdom, righteousness, or strength, is
a venial offence : for surely God will be jealous for his own
honour, and the honour of his dear Son ; and will look with
scorn on every proud Pharisee, while he will receive with
boundless compassion the vilest of repenting publicans.]
3. The true nature of evangelical piety
[Vital godliness, especially under the Christian dispensa
tion, consists in a conformity of mind to the revealed will of
our heavenly Father. Now in no respect is that will more
sacred than in reference to the glory designed for Christ ; nor
is there any thing wherein a conformity to it is more charac
teristic of true and eminent piety. In one word then, the
true Christian is well pleased that all fulness should dwell in
Christ : if he might have some fulness in himself, he would
rather have it in Christ, that he might receive all from him.
Every part of salvation is the more endeared to him, on
account of its coming through that channel : and it is his
supreme felicity in this world, as it will be also in the world
to come, to owe every thing to that adorable Saviour, and to
glorify him in all, and for all.
Beloved, let this be your daily experience. Let it be your
delight to live upon Christ s fulness ; and it shall be his delight
to communicate to you all spiritual and eternal blessings.]
MMCLXX.
SANCTIFICATION THE END OF REDEMPTION.
Col. i. 21 23. You, that were sometime alienated and enemies
in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
in the body of his Jlesh through death, to present you holy
and unblamedble and unreproveable in his night : if ye con
tinue in the faith grounded a.nd settled, and be not moved
away from the hope of the Gospel.
166 COLOSSIASN, I. 2123. [2170.
OF all the subjects that can occupy the human
mind, there is not one so great and glorious as that
of redemption through the incarnation and death of
God s only-begotten Son. It is that which occupies
incessantly the heavenly hosts; and which the Apostle
Paul, whatever be his more immediate subject of
discourse, reverts to on every occasion : and when
he has, however incidentally, touched upon it, he
scarcely knows how, or when, to leave it. This
very strongly appears in the passage now before us.
Having in the beginning of this chapter thanked God
for bringing the Colossians to the knowledge of his
Gospel, and informed them what were the peculiar
blessings which in his daily prayers he sought for in
their behalf, and what thanksgivings he constantly
offered up, especially for that which they had expe
rienced in being " translated from the power of
darkness into the kingdom of God s dear Son," he
launches forth into the praises of the Lord Jesus
Christ for all that he had done in the creation, pre
servation, and redemption of the world, and par
ticularly for his redeeming love, as manifested to,
and exercised upon, the Colossian converts. But, as
they were converts from the Gentile world, we may
fitly consider his address to them as delivered also to
us ; and may take occasion from it to shew,
I. What the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us
1. Our state was awful in the extreme
[" We were alienated from God, and enemies to him in
our mind by wicked works." This is no less true of us than
of the idolatrous Gentiles : for though by calling ourselves
Christians we have professed a regard for God and his Christ,
we have not really sought our happiness in God : we have not
even desired his favour, or used any means to obtain it. We
have been contented to live at a distance from him, to put the
very remembrance of him far from us, and to seek our happi
ness in things which had no proper tendency to endear either
him to us, or us to him. However observant we may have
been of outward forms, we have had no pleasure in communion
with him. The exercises of prayer and praise have rather
been an irksome task, than occupations in which we found our
chief delight. And if at any time we have had opportunities
2170.] SANCTIFICATION THE END OF REDEMPTION. 167
of becoming better acquainted with God and with his holy
will, we have not been forward to avail ourselves of them : and
if instruction on the subject of his Gospel has been proffered
to us, we have rather turned away from it, as distasteful to us,
than listened to it as pleasing to our souls. The very light
which would have revealed him to us, has been offensive to us;
and we have turned our eyes from it, as bringing to our view
an object, whose presence was to us a source of pain.
Nor is this all. We have been " enemies to him ;" yea,
" enemies to him in our mind :" we have had a decided aversion
to his law: instead of contemplating it as "holy, just, and
good," we have viewed it as imposing a yoke that could not be
endured. And this hatred to it has been proved by our
actual rebellion against it: our "wicked works" have shewn
clearly enough that the service of sin was more congenial with
our minds than the service of our God. As for all the sublime
duties which it inculcates, we have lived in a wilful neglect of
them : and of innumerable evils which it forbids, we have lived
in the daily and habitual commission Such had been
the state of the Colossians in their time of unregeneracy; and
such is the state of every child of man, till he is renewed by
God in the spirit of his mind.]
2. But the Lord Jesus Christ has interposed to
deliver us from it
[" He has reconciled us to God in the body of his flesh
through death." Yes : the Son of God himself has left the
bosom of his Father, and assumed our flesh, that in the very
nature which had sinned he might bear the penalty that was due
to sin, and expiate our guilt by his own blood. The sacrifices
under the law were substituted in the place of the offender,
and they surrendered up their life as an atonement for his
sins : and through the death of the victim in his stead, the
sinner was reconciled unto his God. So the Lord Jesus Christ
has offered himself a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world ;
and effected reconciliation for all who believe in him. No
longer does God look with anger upon his enemies, when with
penitential sorrow they implore mercy for Christ s sake. Not
one of their trespasses will he ever impute to them : their
iniquities, how great or numerous soever they may have been,
are " blotted out by him as a morning cloud," and " cast
behind his back into the very depths of the sea." This we are
authorized to declare : for " God has committed to us the
ministry of reconciliation," and commanded us to proclaim to
the whole universe, that " God was in Christ reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them"."]
* 2 Cor. v. 18, 19.
1G8 COLOSSIANS, I. 2123. [2170.
But, that, we may not be deceived by a partial view
of this mystery I will pass on from what he has done,
to shew,
II. What was his ultimate design in doing it
Whatever compassion the Lord Jesus felt for our
fallen race, and however desirous he was to deliver
us from destruction, he had other objects in view,
that were not a whit less dear to him, and without
which indeed his dying for us could never have pre
vailed to make us happy.
The restoration of our souls to the Divine image
was in his more immediate contemplation
Man by the Fall was despoiled of holiness, as well as
happiness; and without a restoration to the former, could
never repossess the latter. Indeed God could never re-admit
him to his presence : nor could he, if admitted into heaven,
find any satisfaction in the sight of a holy God, or any pleasure
in the employments which constitute the felicity of the hea
venly hosts. To restore man therefore to the image which he
had lost, was one great end of Christ s incarnation and death; as
St. Paul has said, " He gave himself for us to redeem us " not
from punishment merely, but " from all iniquity, and to purify
unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works V In
another passage the Apostle comes more immediately to the
point, and says, " Christ has loved his Church, and given
himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the
washing of water by the word, that he might present it to
himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any
such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish ."
This passage shews, that the expressions in my text relate
not to our justification before God, but to the sanctification of
our souls ; to which Christ has had a view in all that he has
done and suffered for us.]
And this he will effect for all whom he reconciles
to God
[He will impart of his Spirit to the soul: he will
strengthen the soul for all its conflicts: he will enable all his
people to "mortify their earthly members," and to "crucify
the flesh with its affections and lusts :" nor will he ever cease
to work in them, till he has transformed them into his own
image, and can " present them unblameable and unreproveable
in the sight of God." We are not indeed to suppose that he
b Tit. ii. 14. c Eph. v. 2527.
2170.J SANCTIFICATION THE END OF REDEMPTION. 169
will so renew them as to render them perfectly sinless ; for the
flesh will continue to lust against the Spirit, as well as the
Spirit against the flesh, to the latest hour of our lives 1 : but
he will so make the spiritual principle triumphant in the
soul, as to leave in us no allowed sin, and so that he may
present us to God as " Israelites indeed in whom there is
no guile."]
In this, however, there must be the concurrence
and co-operation of the believer himself; as will
appear whilst I shew,
III. What is necessary to be done on our part, in
order to secure the blessings which he has ob
tained for us
Those who are addicted to system would alter the
translation here, and read it, not, " if ye continue,"
but " si/ice ye continue." But this is only one in
stance of many, wherein the advocates for human
systems betray their determination to make every
thing bend to their views. The translators of our
Scriptures would indulge no such unhallowed par
tiality. They would in no case wrest the Scriptures
to make them favour a party in the Church. They
maintained a child-like simplicity ; and with scrupu
lous fidelity laboured to transmit to us the Scriptures
in a perfect agreement with the inspired original. Of
the propriety of the translation in this place I have
no doubt : it is the very language of the Scriptures,
in a thousand other places as well as this ; and it
speaks to us a most important truth, namely, that we
never can be presented blameless before God at last,
unless we continue in the faith, grounded and settled,
and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel.
1. It was by faith that we first obtained an interest
in Christ
[It would have been to no purpose that Christ had died
to reconcile us to God, if we had not on our part believed in
him as our Mediator and Redeemer. The unbelieving world
who die in their sins, are rather plunged the deeper into
perdition, than delivered from it, by the intervention of Christ.
Their rejection of him has aggravated their guilt exceedingly:
d Gal. v. 17.
170 COLOSSIANS, I. 2123. [2170.
and the word preached to them in his name, will be " a savour of
death unto all, to whom it is not a savour of life." The receiv
ing of him into our hearts by faith, put us into possession of
all the blessings which he had purchased for us.]
2. By the continued exercise of the same faith we
must ultimately secure the harvest of which we have
reaped the first-fruits
[" As we have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so we must
walk in him 6 ." We must "continue in the faith grounded
and settled, and not be moved away from the hope of the
Gospel." It is a fact, that many do make shipwreck of the
faith. The Scriptures abound with instances of it : and we
also shall feel many temptations, both from without and from
within, to follow their sad example. Like the stony-ground
hearers, we may through the influence of persecution " fall
away :" or, as in the case of the thorny-ground hearers, the
good seed in us may be so choked by the cares and pleasures
of this life, as to " bring forth no fruit to perfection." And,
from whatever source the defection arises, " if we turn back,
we turn back unto perdition," and " God s soul shall have no
pleasure in us." Would we then be " presented faultless
before the presence of God s glory with exceeding joy f ?" we
must hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering:" we
must be more and more "grounded" in the faith by a constant
exercise of it on every occasion : we must be so firmly " settled"
in it, that a man may as well attempt to pluck the sun from
the firmament, as to shake either our faith or hope. This is the
way to " endure unto the end ;" and it is in this way only that
we can fulfil that salutary injunction, " Look to yourselves,
that ye lose not the things which ye have wrought, but that
ye receive a full reward 6 ."]
ADDRESS
1. Are there any who are here yet unreconciled to
God?
[O ! think what a mercy it is that God s wrath has not
broken forth against you to your utter and everlasting destruc
tion ! Think how many of the human race are now suffering
the penalty due to their sins in hopeless sorrows, and in tor
ments of which we have no conception. Do not, I entreat
you, let the efforts made for your salvation be in vain. Let
not " Christ have digd in vain ;" and " receive not the grace
of God in vain:" but " to-day, whilst it is called to-day,
harden not your hearts, lest you provoke God to swear in his
wrath that you shall never enter into his rest."]
e Col. ii. 6, 7. f Judo. vcr. 24. e 2 John, ver. 8.
2171.1 CHRIST IN US, THE HOPE OF GLORY. 171
2. Are there here those whom God has reconciled
to himself?
[How can you ever adore him as you ought to do ? Can
you reflect on the means he has used for your redemption ; can
you reflect on his laying your iniquities on the person of his
only dear Son, and not bless him ? The wonder is, how you
can find a moment for any other employment ; and that you
are not, like the lame man whom Peter and John healed,
leaping, and dancing, and praising God every day and all the
day long.
But, if this were the frame of your mind, I should still point
you to a more excellent way of glorifying your heavenly Bene
factor. You have seen that the Lord Jesus, in dying for you,
sought " to present you to God holy, and unblameable and
unreprovable in his sight:" let his object then in redeeming
you be the one object at which you shall aim through the
remainder of your lives. And remember, that it is not suffi
cient that you be unblameable and unreprovable before men ;
you must be so "in the sight of God" also, even of that
" God who searcheth the heart, and trieth the reins." Let
your secret walk with God be such as he will approve. Let
your every temper, and disposition, and habit, mark the friend
ship that subsists between God and you. And let every day
be so spent, as if at the close of it you expected your soul to
be required of you, and to be presented by your Saviour to
your reconciled God.]
MMCLXXI.
CHRIST IN US, THE HOPE OF GLORY.
Col. i. ~7. Christ in you, the hope of glory.
THE Gospel is a "mystery;" "the riches" of
which are unsearchable, and " the glory" incompre
hensible. But the sum and substance of it is con
tained in few words : it is briefly this ; " Christ in us,
the hope of glory." In the margin of our Bibles it is
translated, " Christ among us, the hope of glory ;" and
each of these translations has its zecdous advocates :
but we may easily and properly comprehend both,
by saying, that Christ is the hope of glory to us,
I. As revealed in the Scriptures
The way to the tree of life is guarded by a flaming
sword and there is no access to it for fallen man,
172 COLOSSIANS, I. 27. [2171.
but by Christ, as the appointed Mediator. He, as
St. Paul says, " is our hope* ;" and through him there
is hope for all : through him,
1. As a dying Saviour-
fit is he who has made atonement for our sins, and " re
conciled us to God by the blood of his cross." Through his
vicarious sacrifice every sinner in the universe may come to
God ; seeing that " he is a propitiation, not for our sins only,
but also for the sins of the whole world." However great the
debt which we owe to Divine justice, we may regard it all as
paid by our Divine Surety; and may assure ourselves, that, if
we believe in Christ, " there neither is, nor ever shall be, any
condemnation to us" ]
2. As a living Saviour-
fit is worthy of particular observation, that in the Holy
Scriptures a greater stress is laid upon the life of Christ in
glory, than upon his death upon the cross. St. Peter speaks
of him as our hope, in this particular view : " God raised him up,
and gave him glory, that our faith and hope might be in GodV
St. Paul, too, represents the life of Christ as more efficacious
for our salvation than his death: " Who is he that condemneth?
it is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again ; who is
even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us c ." And still more forcibly, he says in another place,
" If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the
death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be
saved by his life d ." In heaven we view the Lord Jesus as
our advocate with the Father, maintaining continually our
peace with him ; when we, by our innumerable departures
from him, should entirely destroy all our hope of final accept
ance with him. We view Him, also, as the one soui-ce of all
spiritual blessings, the first cause of all the good that is in us,
the protector of his people from all their enemies, and " the
finisher" of the work of which he has been " the author." It
is from this view of him that the weakest of his people is
enabled to say, " Because he lives, I shall live also" ]
But he is our hope yet more especially,
II. As dwelling in the heart-
All that the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us
would be in vain, if he did not also work effectually
in us. But this he does,
a 1 Tim. i. 1. i 1 Pet. i. 21.
c Rom. viii. 34. d Rom. v. 10.
2171.] CHRIST IN US, THE HOPE OF GLORY. 173
1. Purifying our hearts from sin
[Our blessed Lord is said to " dwell in us e ," and to be
" one with us, even as he and his Father are one f ." Now it
is a fact, that his people are universally, and without excep
tion, holy. And whence comes this? Is it from any power of
their own ? No ; it is from the mighty working of his power
in us : as the Apostle says, " I am crucified with Christ :
nevertheless I live : yet not I, but Christ 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 himself for me g ." Were
we " separate from him, we could do nothing 11 :" but, through
the mighty working of his power in us, we " die unto sin and
live unto righteousness," and attain a meetness for our heavenly
inheritance.]
2. Transforming us into his blessed image
[This, after all, is the crowning work of redemption.
Till this is effected, we may well stand in doubt both of our
selves and others. St. Paul, addressing the Galatian converts,
savs, " My little children, of whom I travail in birth again
until Christ be formed in you, I desire to be present with you
now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you 1 ."
To say the truth, till this is effected, nothing is done to any
good purpose. It is not Christ on the cross, nor Christ in
heaven, no, nor Christ in the heart, that will save us, unless
his image be there formed in righteousness and true holiness.
This is strongly declared by the Apostle Paul, in the third
chapter of this epistle ; where he says, " Put on the new man,
which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that
created him ; where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circum
cision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor free ;
but Christ (that is, the image of Christ] is all, and in all k ."
But, when this great work is wrought, we need not fear : we
may entertain a well-founded hope ; yea, we may have " a full
assurance of hope," that, " where he is, there we shall be also ;"
and that, " when He, who is our life, shall appear, we also
shall appear with him in glory 1 ."]
ADDRESS
1. Those who are deluding themselves with false
hopes
[There is not any one who does not conceive himself
entitled to indulge a hope of happiness hereafter. But, to
entertain any such hope without having received the Lord
e Eph. iii. 17. f John xvii. 21, 23. g Gal. ii. 20.
h John xv. ). Gal. iv. 19, 20. k Col. iii. 10, 11.
1 Col. iii. -1.
174 COLOSSIANS, I. 28. [2172.
Jesus Christ into our hearts by faith, is a fatal delusion. For
the Apostle says, that they who are " without Christ" are also
without hope." You will ask, Do I wish to drive you to
despair ? Yes, I do ; so far, at least, as to drive you out of
all false refuges, and to lead you to Him who is the only Sa
viour of the world : and I must declare unto you, that, what
ever you lay as a foundation of hope, besides that which God
himself has laid, you only deceive your own souls : for " other
foundation can no man lay, than that which is laid, which is
Jesus Christ 11 ." Christ is the only refuge of fallen man : nor
can you have a scriptural hope of glory, till you have " fled to
him, and laid hold on him ," and got his image enstamped upon
your souls.]
2. Those who have a " good hope through grace"
[" Let your union with Christ be more and more con
firmed, becoming daily more intimate and more abiding. It is
by this that the work of grace must be carried on, and per
fected within you. It is by this that the justness of your
hopes must be made to appear : for " every one that has a
good hope in Christ will purify himself as Christ is pure," and
be progressively " changed into his image, from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord." In proportion as this
work advances, your hopes may well increase : and if this
work decline within you, your evidences will be the less clear,
and your hope be less assured. Press forward, then, for the
highest possible conformity to the Saviour s image ; that you
may already breathe, as it were, the atmosphere of heaven, and
live in the constant anticipation of your future inheritance.]
m Eph. ii. 12. n i Cor. iii. 11. Heb. vi. 18.
MMCLXXII.
PREACHING CHRIST.
Col. i. 28. Whom we preach, warning every man, and teach
ing every man in all wisdom; that ive may present every
man perfect in Christ Jesus.
THE mystery of the Gospel was first made known
to Adam in Paradise : but in process of time the real
scope of it was forgotten ; and nothing of it remained
but the rites whereby it was shadowed forth. To
Abraham a plainer revelation of it was given ; and to
Moses, a complete system of types, which were to
illustrate the Gosuel in all its parts. Still, however,
2172.] PREACHING CHRIST. 175
the views which men had of it were obscure : the
design of the ceremonial law itself was very imper
fectly understood ; and the idea of all men being
saved through the crucifixion of the incarnate Deity,
was almost as new to the Jews, in the apostolic age,
as to the heathens themselves. Hence St. Paul
speaks of it as " hid from all preceding ages and
generations," and as then for the first time " mani
fested to the saints." That the memory of it might
continue to the end of time, and its benefits be
universally diffused, our blessed Lord appointed an
order of men, whose sole business should be to spread
the knowledge of it throughout the world. Amongst
these St. Paul was a very distinguished instrument.
He both laboured more abundantly, and suffered
more severely, than any other of the Apostles.
In our text we see,
I. The ministrations of this great Apostle-
He specifies distinctly, first of all, the subject of
his ministrations
[This, as he tells us in the words preceding our text, was
Christ in us the hope of glory. The words might be trans
lated, " Christ among* you the hope of glory." But whether
we change, or retain, the present translation, we are sure that
the death of Christ, as an atonement for sin, \vas that which lie
chiefly insisted on. He expressly tells us so in another place 1 ,
and declares that he had fully " determined to know and
preach nothing else ."
This he affirmed to be the only hope of sinful man : that
it was that which made satisfaction to divine justice, and
procured our reconciliation with his offended Father 1 : that
nothing could be added to it to render it more effectual : and
that if ever we attained to happiness and glory, it must be
entirely through the merit of his all-atoning sacrificed But
though the sufficiency of the death of Christ for our salvation
was the principal subject of the Apostle s preaching, yet the
in-dwelling of Christ in the soul by his blessed Spirit was
necessarily connected with it ; and the two points together
formed the sum and substance of all his ministrations. He
* iv is so translated, a few words before, " among the Gentiles."
b 1 Cor. i. 23, 24. c 1 Cor. ii. 2. 1 ver. 21, 22.
e Gal. v. 2, 4. f 1 Cor. iii. 11.
170 COLOSSIANS, T. 28. [2172.
often speaks of Christ " dwelling in us g ," and " living in us h ,"
and " being our life 1 :" and in the text he says, that " Christ
in us is the hope of glory."
The necessity of this he urged with as much care and
earnestness as the atonement itself: because without Christ
we could do nothing k , yea, we must continue reprobates ,
and for ever destitute of any interest in his salvation 111 .]
He next mentions the manner in which he con
ducted them
[He left nothing undone which could promote the recep
tion of the Gospel : he " warned every man :" he was faithful
to the trust reposed in him ; and, without either courting the
favour of men or fearing their displeasure, he boldly com
mended himself to the consciences of all. Knowing the terrors
of the Lord, he persuaded men". He told them freely of
their lost estate, and their utter incapacity to help themselves.
He set before them the provision which God had made for
them in Christ Jesus ; and in the most pointed terms assured
them, that " if they neglected that great salvation, they could
never escape" the wrath of God . If any, yea if even an angel
from heaven should attempt to substitute another Gospel, or
alter in any respect that which he had preached to them, he
did not hesitate to pronounce them accursed 11 . Nor had he
any respect of persons. When preaching before kings, he
spake so plainly as to make them tremble on their throne q :
and when addressing those who professed godliness, he warned
them frequently with tears, that carnal and worldly-minded
Christians, whatever they might profess, were " enemies of the
cross of Christ; and that their end would be destruction 1 ."
He also " taught every man in all wisdom." Being himself
instructed beyond any of the sons of men, he laboured to
impart what he had so freely received, and to make known to
his hearers " the whole counsel of God." Yet in this he
exercised discretion. He administered milk to babes, and
strong meat to those only who were able to digest it s . As, on
the one hand, he accommodated himself to the infirmities of
the weak, so, on the other hand, he " withheld nothing that
could be profitable" to the strong 1 . As far as he could with
a good conscience, " he became all things to all men, that by
all means he miht save some u ."
e Eph. iii. 17. h Gal. ii. 20. * Col. iii. 4.
k 2 Cor. iii. 5. 2 Cor. xiii. 5. m Rom. viii. 9.
11 2 Cor. v. 11. o Heb. ii. 3. and I Cor. xvi. 22.
P Gal. i. 8, 9. i Acts xxiv. 25. r Phil. iii. 18, 19.
s 1 Cor. iii. 1, 2. Heb. v. 13, 14. l Acts xx. 20.
u 1 Cor. ix. 1922.
2172. J PREACHING CHRIST. 177
Hence it appears with how much justice he called himself
"a wise master-builder x :" indeed the whole of his ministra
tions prove him to have been " a workman that needed not to
be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth 5 ."]
He further declares the scope or end at which he
continually aimed
[The Apostle considered himself to be nearly in the situa
tion of Abraham s servant, who was sent out to procure a wife
for Isaac 2 : and, like him he laboured to accomplish his mission
in the best and most successful manner a . He wished to
present all, whether Jews or Gentiles, perfect in Christ
Jesus."
He wished to present them perfect in his righteousness.
All who believe in Christ are freely justified from all their
sins 1 . They are clothed in the unspotted robe of Christ s
righteousness, and are " presented faultless before the presence
of the Father s glory ." Whatever iniquities may have been
committed by them in their former life, they are all " blotted
out as a morning cloud, and cast into the depths of the sea."
From the moment that they believe in Jesus, they are per
fectly reconciled to God ; they are " accepted in the Beloved 1 ,"
and are "complete in him e ."
He sought to present them also perfect through his grace.
This was the end at which our blessed Lord aimed in dying
for sinners f : and the very same was the Apostle s end in
preaching to them. He would not have his converts to con
tinue in a low state of holiness, but to attain the fullest con
formity to the Divine image : he would have them to " be
holy, even as He which had called them was holv p ." This is
the more usual acceptation of the term " perfect" in the
sacred volume: it means that growth which Christians in
general may be expected to attain : it imports maturity, in
opposition to infantine weakness. And so anxious was the
Apostle to bring his converts to this state, that he continued
" travailing, as it were, in birth with them," till it was fully
accomplished : and this was the true reason of his so often
" changing his voice" towards them h in a way of consolation
or reproof.]
From hence we see unquestionably,
II. The line which mutually becomes us in the rela
tion in which we stand
* 1 Cor. iii. 10. > 2 Tim. ii. 15. z Gen. xxiv. 4.
a 2 Cor. xi. 2. b Acts xiii. 39. c Jude, ver. 21.
d Eph. i. 6. Col. ii. 10. and Rev. iii. 18. middle clause.
f ver. 22. R 1 Pot. i. la, 16. Gal. iv. 19, 20.
VOL. XVIII. N
178 COLOSSIANS, I. 28. [2172.
1. Me, as your minister
[St. Paul is doubtless the best model for a Christian
minister; and, consequently, he is most likely to labour with
effect who follows him in the subject, the manner, and the
scope of his ministrations. What then becomes me but to be
a follower of him in these respects ? God helping me, this is
what I have endeavoured to be, and hope to continue even to
the end. I must know nothing but Christ, and him crucified ;
I must warn or comfort men with all faithfulness ; I must not
relax my labours as long as I can have access to one who is
not yet presented perfect in Christ Jesus ; and I must regard
the turning of many unto righteousness as the best and richest
reward of all my labours ]
2. You, my stated hearers
[The preaching of Christ is generally called enthusiasm :
the warning of men respecting their guilt is deemed harshness :
the labouring to instruct men is ascribed to an officious imper
tinence, or ostentatious vanity, or perhaps designing hypocrisy.
A solicitude to bring men to a state of spiritual perfection is
reckoned, I had almost said, among the most unpardonable of
crimes; insomuch, that the drunkard, the whoremonger, and
adulterer, shall meet with more favour from the world at
large, than a faithful, diligent, conscientious minister. But if
we revere the person and ministry of Paul, we ought also to
honour those who resemble him ; and to concur with them to
the uttermost, by a submission to their rebukes, a following
of their instructions, and an entire devoting of ourselves to the
service and enjoyment of God. We should have the same
end in hearing which they have in preaching to us ; we should
not be satisfied with any low attainment, but desire and labour
to be " perfect in Christ Jesus." This is what, through the
tender mercy of my God, I have long experienced at your
hands ; and this is what I pray God I may ever see in you, as
long as our mutual relation shall subsist, and till we be sum
moned to give an account of ourselves at the judgment-seat of
Christ.
Let me however both " teach and warn " you. The time
is shortly coming when I must present you all before God,
either as having answered the end of my ministrations, and as
having attained perfection in Christ, or as having disregarded
and defeated all my efforts for your salvation. The Lord
grant that I may not in that day prove " a swift witness
against you," but may have you as " my joy and crown of
rejoicing " to all eternity.]
2173.1 MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL TO BE SEARCHED OUT. 17J)
MMCLXXIII.
MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL TO BE SEARCHED OUT.
Col. ii. 1, 2. I would that ye knew what great conflict I have
for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have
not seen my face in the flesh ; that their hearts wight be
comforted, being knit together in lore, and unto all riches of
the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment
of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.
NOTHING is more odious than a boasting spirit.
Yet are there occasions on which it may be proper for
a minister to declare to his people the greatness of
his affection for them, and of his solicitude in their
behalf. St. Paul, than whom no man was ever further
from indulging this hateful spirit, judged it right, in
almost all his epistles, to assure his converts of his
remembrance of them night and day in prayer ; and
of his willingness to impart to them, not the Gospel
only, but even his own soul, because they were dear
to him a . This tended to beget in them a reciprocal
affection, and to open their ears to his instructions ;
and, at the same time to commend to them the
Gospel, which had generated in his heart these
feelings towards them. True it is, indeed, that he
abounded in love far beyond any ministers of the
present day : but still every faithful minister may,
without pride or arrogance, adopt towards his people
the language of our text, and say, " I would that ye
knew what great conflict I have in my soul for
you."
That we may enter fully into the Apostle s words,
I will shew you,
I. What he desired in behalf of the Colossian Church
His object was, " that he might present every man
perfect in Christ JesusV With this view, he sought,
a 1 Thess. i. 2, 3. ii. 7, 8. and iii 9, 10.
Col. i. 28.
N a
180 COLOSSIANS, II. \,2. [2173.
1. To bring them to a clear knowledge of the
Gospel of Christ
[The Gospel is here called a mystery, even " the mystery
of God :" and throughout all his writings he designates it as
a great stupendous mystery. It is the mystery of God, even
of the Father, and of Christ. It must be viewed as from all
eternity concerted between the Father and the Son in the
covenant of redemption ; wherein the Father agreed to accept
the mediation of his Son, in behalf of man ; and the Son
agreed to assume our nature, and to bear our sins, and to
work out a righteousness for us by his own obedience unto
death ; and so to watch over those whom the Father gave
him, that they might all, without exception, attain to ever
lasting life c .
Now all this he would have them " understand ;" and not
in a mere superficial way, but with such "a full assurance" as
should leave not a doubt upon their mind either of its truth or
excellency. In it are "riches" that are utterly unsearchable :
riches of wisdom, which no finite mind can comprehend : riches
of love, which can never be explored : riches of mercy, which
eternity will never suffice to celebrate. He would have them
see how harmoniously all the divine perfections unite in this
mystery, and how wonderfully they are glorified. In a word,
he would have them see in it a salvation so worthy of God,
and so suited to man, as to carry with it, independently of
all other considerations, a satisfactory evidence of its divine
origin, and a pledge of the happiness of all who embrace it.
Now this is precisely what every pious minister wishes, and
labours to accomplish. Those who are themselves ignorant
of this mystery will be satisfied with some loose general state
ment about Christ, if they do not leave him out altogether.
But not so the man who is taught of God : he will endeavour
to exhibit to his people all the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ d : and he never will rest, till God has shined into
their hearts, to give them a clear, a rich, an assured know
ledge of it.]
2. To bring them to an open " acknowledgment "
of it-
[" With the heart man believeth unto righteousness : but
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation 6 ." What
ever we may know of this mystery, it will be ineffectual for
eternal happiness, if we do not confess Christ openly before
men. He will never acknowledge those who are afraid to
c John xvii. 2, 0, 9 12. with 2224. d 2 Cor. iv. 6.
e Rom. x. 10.
2173.] MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL TO BE SEARCHED OUT. 181
acknowledge him ; but will surely " deny them in the presence
of his Father and of his holy angels." Hence St. Paul
laboured to effect this also ; even to impress their minds so
deeply with this mystery, that they might rejoice and glory
in it, and be willing to bear all the sufferings that could ever
be inflicted on them for their adherence to it.
And for this we also would labour. Against a timid con
cealment of men s convictions we would bear the most decided
testimony. We know, indeed, that a confession of Christ
before men will bring persecution with it. But it any man
be unwilling to bear his cross after Christ, or even to lay
down his life for his sake, we declare that he is not, nor can
ever be, accepted of him. " If he love father or mother more
than Christ, he cannot be Christ s disciple :" " if he love his
own life," so as to save it here, "he shall assuredly lose it" to
all eternity. Amongst those for whom a place is prepared in
the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, " the fearful and
unbelieving" are no less numbered, than those who have been
guilty of idolatry or murder f . " If we would approve our
selves the servants of Christ, we must not only bear our cross
after him, but rejoice that we are accounted worthy to suffer
shame, or even death, for his sake." " We must be faithful
unto death, if ever we would obtain the crown of life."]
3. To bring them to an union of heart with each
other, by means of it
[" Knowledge," were it as great as that of angels, would
be of no value, without love. Nor would zeal itself, even
though it led us to endure the flanu-s of martyrdom for
Christ s sake, be accepted of our God, if it were destitute of
love. An union of heart amongst the disciples of our Lord
is that by which, in a pre-eminent degree, they are to be dis
tinguished. By love they are to be " knit together ;" even as
beams of timber, when joined and compacted by the builder
of an edifice. In the whole universe, there exists no other
bond like this. The ties of nature are feeble, when compared
with it. It resembles, as far as any thing can resemble, the
union that subsists between the Persons of the Godhead : and
by it, more than by any thing else, is the power of religion
displayed. " I pray for them," says our Lord, " that they
all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us ; that the world may know
that thou hast sent me*." This, then, the Apostle sought :
and this would we seek : nor would we ever be satisfied, till
we see it attained and exercised amongst you.]
f Rev. xxi. 8. P John xvii. 20, 21.
182 COLOSSIANS, II. 1,2. [2173.
Having seen what the Apostle desired for them,
we will proceed to shew,
II. Why with such intensity he desired it
In the close of the preceding chapter he speaks of
" labouring and striving" according to the working
of the Holy Spirit, who wrought in him mightily.
The word, before translated " striving," he here
repeats ; conveying to us, thereby, the idea that he
exerted himself, for the attainment of these things,
with such a kind of " conflict" as wrestlers, racers,
or fighters, maintained in the Grecian games. His
whole heart and soul were engaged in behalf of all
his Christian brethren, whether personally known
to himself or not, that these great things might
be accomplished in them. And for this end he
laboured,
1. Because these things were essential to their
comfort
[In truth, there is no happiness in religion, unless it
have its perfect work within us. A superficial and general
view of the Gospel calls forth no admiring and adoring
thoughts : nor does it gender in the soul those ardent affec
tions which bind together the members of Christ s mystical
body, and make every one of them ready to " lay down his
life for the brethren 11 ." But when all the riches of the Gospel
are opened to our view, and the incomprehensible mystery of
redemption, in all its inscrutable provisions, in its execution
at the appointed period, in the mode of its application to the
soul, and in all its stupendous consequences, is unfolded to
us, so that we can behold our own interest in it, and are
enabled to bear witness to it before an ignorant and ungodly
world what is all this, but heaven already begun in the soul ?
The glorified saints around the throne have no higher sources
of joy than these, no higher theme of praise : and they are
only happier than we, because their discovery of these things
is more complete, and they are freed from all those infirmities
which, in our present state, interrupt our enjoyment of them.
To this I may add : when the soul, by virtue of this mystery,
is filled with love, even with such love as Christ himself bears
to his saints, such love as is the very image of God within us
this is happiness : the man that lives in the exercise of this
h 1 John iii. 16.
2173.] MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL TO BE SEARCHED OUT. 183
divine principle breathes a purer atmosphere than others;
and can say, " This is the house of God, this is the gate of
heaven."
Now the Apostle was anxious that " the hearts" of all his
brethren " might be thus comforted." And what more can I
wish for you ? or rather I should say, what less than this should
satisfy my desires in your behalf? Brethren, this is the state
in which I would have you live : this is the comfort which I
would have you all enjoy. And for this end it is, that from
time to time I endeavour to unfold the mysteries of the Gospel,
and to encourage amongst you that communion of saints which
is a foretaste of heaven upon earth.]
2. Because, by nothing short of this could the full
ends of his ministry be attained
[A parent would not be satisfied if his children continued
year after year in a state of infantine weakness : he would
desire to see their stature increased, and their faculties en
larged. Thus the Apostle felt, in behalf of all his spiritual
children. He longed that they might " grow up into Christ
in all things, as their living Head;" daily increasing in the
knowledge of God, daily brought into closer communion with
him, daily assimilated more and more to his blessed image.
And this is what we would desire in your behalf. We
are thankful when " your understandings are opened in any
measure to understand the Scriptures;" and, from being
blind, you are able to see, though it be only " men, as trees,
walking." But we cannot be satisfied with this: no; we
would " put our hands on your eyes again," till you should
" be restored, so as to see every man clearly 1 ." In truth, whe
ther in respect of faith or love, we never would rest satisfied,
till you have attained " the full measure of the stature of
Christ." We would never cease to labour, till we have " per
fected that which is lacking in your faith k ," and till we see you
" standing perfect and complete in all the will of God 1 ."]
BEHOLD, then m ,
1. What you should desire for yourselves
[" Who will shew us any good?" says the Psalmist: and
then adds, " Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance
upon us n !" Truly, there is nothing in the universe worthy of
Mark viii. 24, 25. k 1 Thess. iii. 10. Col. iv. 12.
m If this were a subject at an Ordination or a Visitation, it would
be proper to insert here a distinct observation to this effect ; behold
what course wo ministers are bound to pursue - .
Ps. iv. 6.
184 COLOSSIANS, II. 1,2. [2173.
a thought in comparison of this. What can worldly knowledge
do for you, in comparison of the knowledge of Christ? or
what can the fondest endearments of mere human affection
do, in comparison of the love that is divine? If St. Paul s
judgment may be taken, he <c counted all things but loss for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord."
And this is the mind which I would wish to be in you. This,
beloved, is your duty : this is your privilege. O ! beg of
God, that you may rise to this. Be not satisfied with low
attainments, when such prospects are before you. You see
what exertions men make for the attainment of knowledge,
and the acquisition of honour : and will ye be less earnest in
the pursuit of heavenly things ? In a contest for earthly
honours, you might feel discouraged by a consciousness of
your inferiority in point of talent and capacity: but no such
discouragement need be felt by any one in the conflict to
which I call you. The very babe and suckling stands on a
level with the wise and prudent; or rather, is raised above
him, in proportion to his docility, and his willing submission
to the truth of God. It is the heart, and not the head, that is
the seat of divine knowledge, and the region of love. I pray
you, brethren, let these things become the objects of your
ambition, and never account any labour too great for the
attainment of them.]
2. With what ardour you should seek after them
[You have seen " what great conflict" your minister, if
faithful, will have for you, in relation to these things : and will
ye feel less for yourselves ? Go, look at those who are engaged
in the race, the wrestling, the combat; do you not see how
they put forth their energies? Have they any disposition to
look about them, or any time to relax their efforts ? Yet is
the object of their contest light in comparison of yours, and
the consequence of a failure unworthy of a thought. Come,
brethren, and be in earnest. Study the sacred volume: study
it with much and fervent prayer: entreat of God to reveal his
dear Son in your hearts: implore the Holy Spirit to " guide
you into all truth:" and see to it, that you " grow in grace,
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
Thus will you have in yourselves an evidence of the Gospel,
which no human learning can give you ; and conviction of its
excellency, which nothing but experience can impart.]
2174.] THE FULNESS THAT IS IN CHRIST. 185
MMCLXXIV.
THE FULNESS THAT IS IN CHRIST.
Col. ii. 3. In whom are hid all the treasures of ivisdom and
knowledge.
" WISDOM," we are told, " is the principal thing ;
and therefore we should get wisdom." In all civilized
countries, wisdom has been held in the highest repute :
and institutions have been set on foot for the cultiva
tion of it. How highly it was esteemed amongst our
ancestors, we may judge from the provision which
they made for the education of youth in all succeed
ing ages. Not that the establishments in this seat
of learning were intended merely to reward those
who distinguished themselves by early attainments :
they were designed to give them also an opportunity
of bestowing an undivided attention to literature and
science throughout the remainder of their days : and
if they be not improved for this end, the fault is not
in the institutions themselves, but in those who have
been admitted into them. We can have seen but
little of the world, if we have not noticed the supe
riority which a cultivated mind possesses over one
that is rude and uninstructed. And though it must
be granted, that human learning will not change and
sanctify the heart, yet we assert, that it will give a
very great advantage for the understanding and ex
plaining of the Holy Scriptures.
We say not that God could not, or did not, make
use of weak and unlettered men for the diffusion of
his Gospel : but, as he selected Moses, a man " learned
in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," for the instruc
tion and government of the Jewish Church, so he
selected Paul, who had " been brought up at the feet
of Gamaliel," to be his messenger of grace to the
Gentile world : and, if he was pleased so to adapt the
instrument to the work in that age of miracles, much
more is such a qualification desirable for his chosen
servants, now that miracles have ceased. We must
186 COLOSSIANS, IL 3. [2J74.
not however forget, that the Scriptures are the foun
tain of true wisdom. We should ever bear in mind,
that the heathen sages, though wiser than their con
temporaries, were deplorably ignorant in comparison
of those who live under the Christian dispensation :
and even the light which some of the most learned
amongst them possessed, was most probably obtained,
either immediately or remotely, from the inspired
volume. There, and there alone, is true wisdom to
be found ; and therein are contained " all the trea
sures of wisdom and knowledge."
To open and unfold these to you, is an employ
ment worthy of the occasion on which we are
assembled 2 .
St. Paul in my text is expressing his ardent desire
in behalf of the Christians at Colosse, whom he had
never seen, that they might be fully instructed in
the great mystery of the Gospel of Christ, " in whom,
he observes, are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge ;" but, in the margin, the word mystery
is considered as the antecedent ; and the translation
is, " wherein ;" i. e. " in which mystery are contained
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge ;" and
this we consider as the better rendering, though the
sense will amount to nearly the same either way.
In illustration of these words we shall,
I. Open to you these treasures of wisdom and
knowledge
II. Commend them to your diligent pursuit
I. We are to open to you these treasures of wisdom
and knowledge
But "who is sufficient for such" an undertaking?
Who can enter on such a task, without a fear, not
only that he shall betray his own ignorance, and dis
appoint your expectations, but that he may even
expose the Gospel itself to contempt ? Indeed, if I
were capable of doing justice to my subject, such is
a Preached as a Commemoration Sermon in King s College Chapel,
Cambridge.
2174.J THE FULNESS THAT IS IN CHRIST. 187
the impatience of modern auditories, that I could not
have time to do more than merely open to you the
casket, and give you a superficial view of its con
tents : but feeling how incompetent I am to unfold
all the hidden mysteries of the Gospel, I must entreat
you to make up for my deficiencies by your candour ;
and to be contented with treasuring up for your
benefit what you do hear, when you cannot be grati
fied with all that you would wish to hear.
There are three points to which I will call your
attention ; and which may give you some little idea,
that the subject, however unworthily handled by me,
is at least deserving of the deepest investigation.
The points I refer to are at all events such as the
most enlightened heathens had no idea of; namely,
The real state of man The eternal counsels of God
concerning him and the stupendous effects produced
by those counsels. Let these things be for a while
considered by us.
The real state of man was altogether unknown to
the heathen world. That he was a weak, guilty, and
polluted creature, they knew ; but how weak, how
guilty, how polluted, they had no conception ; much
less did they know how he was brought into such a
state. It is from the inspired volume alone that we
learn the perfection of his original nature, and the
loss of that perfection through the fall of his first
parents. From thence alone do we learn that obvious
truth, that we " cannot bring a clean thing out of an
unclean." Behold then, at the very onset, what a
stupendous mystery is here ! that we died in Adam !
that " those who have never sinned after the simili
tude of his transgression," are yet partakers both of
his guilt and corruption ! that we are " born in
iniquity, and conceived in sin," and are " by nature
children of wrath !"
To this I beg your particular attention, because it
is the very foundation of all spiritual knowledge ; it
is the very threshold, by stumbling at which, mul
titudes are kept from ever entering into the deep
recesses of the Gospel. You cannot but know, that
188 COLOSSIANS, II. 3. [2174.
men in general, and even learned divines, endeavour
to soften down the Scripture declarations of man s
guilt and misery : some deny that we are fallen at
all ; and assert that we come into the world as pure
as Adam did from his Creator s hands. Others allow
that, we are fallen, but deny that we are involved in
the guilt of our first parents, or that the corruption
which we inherit from them is any thing more than
what we have an innate power to subdue. They
think that the descriptions given of us in the inspired
volume are not to be taken in a literal sense ; and
that to say that we are " dead in trespasses and
sins," is only a metaphor, importing that we are not
quite so much alive to God and holiness as we ought
to be.
And now mark how entirely such sentiments ob
struct the way to true wisdom and knowledge : man
being in so good a state, there was no occasion for
the counsels of the Most High to suggest a method
of deliverance from it : a way of deliverance was ob
vious enough : there was no necessity for God him
self to become incarnate, and to expiate the sins of
men by his own blood ; (man might be saved without
any such sacrifice :) there was no need that the third
person in the ever-blessed Trinity should undertake
to dwell in the hearts of men, to enlighten their
minds, to draw them unto Christ, to renew their
nature, and to make them meet for heaven ; (man of
himself, by the aid of his own reason and resolution,
was sufficient for these things :) the obligations con
ferred upon us by this work of redemption are not
such as to call for all the powers of our souls to be
consecrated to God in the way of holy obedience ;
(such a life is needless, enthusiastic, and absurd :) in
a word, there is no great cause for alarm to any of
us ; for we are all in the way to heaven ; and when
we get there, shall have no great wonders to cele
brate, but only to thank God for that which he could
not justly or consistently have withheld. Yes, bre
thren, this it is which obstructs the entrance of light
into the souls of men : this it is which makes every
2174.] THE FULNESS THAT IS IN CHRIST. 189
one suppose that he understands the Gospel well
enough : this it is that leads men to deride all idea
of mystery, and to reduce the Gospel to a system of
heathen ethics. This view of our state by nature super
sedes all occasion for the Gospel ; every part of which
supposes man to be a guilty, polluted, helpless crea
ture ; so guilty, that he deserves the everlasting wrath
of God ; so polluted, that he must be made an entire
new creature before he can have any enjoyment of
God, either now or in the eternal world b ; and so
weak, that he cannot of himself either do a good act,
or think a good thought : and I do not hesitate to
affirm, that the very first step towards true wisdom
and knowledge is, to renounce all idea of our being
" rich and increased in goods, and in need of no
thing;" and to confess, from our inmost souls, that
we are " wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind,
and naked."
Next, let us contemplate the counsels of the Most
High respecting man. From all eternity, God foresaw
the state to which the human race would be reduced,
and concerted with his only dear Son how to effect
their recovery. The Father proposed to his Son to
become our Surety and Substitute ; to assume our
nature ; to bear our sins ; to expiate our guilt ; to
fulfil the law which we had broken, and to satisfy the
justice which we had offended ; and thus to restore
us to happiness, without dishonouring God as the
Moral Governor of the universe. The Son accepts
the proposal, and undertakes to accomplish the re
demption of a ruined world 1 : and the Holy Spirit
also undertakes to impart to the souls of the redeemed
all that the Lord Jesus should purchase for them .
To these counsels the Apostle also constantly refers,
b John iii. 3. c John xv. 5. 2 Cor. iii. 5. Phil. ii. 13.
d Isai. xlix. 6. and liii. 4, >, 10, 11.
e See the account given us of this in Ps. xl. 6 8. " Sacrifice and
offering thou didst not desire ; mine ears hast thou opened : burnt-
offering and sin-ottering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I
come : in the volume of the book it is written of me ; I delight to do
thy will, O my God ; yea, thy law is within my heart."
190 COLOSSI ANS, II. 3. [2174.
as the true source of our redemption : " We speak
the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden
wisdom, which God ordained before the world, unto
our glory f :" and he declares that the manifestation
of them to the world under the Christian dispensation
was eminently committed to him, and was to be a
source of knowledge, not to men only, but to the
angels themselves : " Unto me, who am less than the
least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of
Christ; and to make all men see, what is the fellow
ship of this mystery, which from the beginning of the
world hath been hid in God, who created all things by
Jesus Christ ; to the intent that now unto the prin
cipalities and powers might be known by the Church
the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal
purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord g ."
Behold then here what treasures of wisdom and
knowledge are unfolded to us ! We see the veil torn
away from before our eyes, and the Sacred Three
sitting, as it were, in council, to provide for man s re
covery, myriads of ages before his fall : we behold
the Father proposing to lay our iniquities on his
only-begotten Son; his Son accepting the office of our
Substitute ; and the Holy Spirit engaging to render
those mysterious plans effectual for the salvation of
man ! Can we see nothing wonderful in all this ?
Does not this " love surpass all knowledge," and all
conception ? Is there not in it " a length, and
breadth, and depth, and height" that can never be
explored ? Yes ; and hence St. Paul speaks of
" riches of glory" as contained in this mystery 11 ; and,
in reference even to a subordinate part of it only,
exclaims, " O the depth of the riches, both of the
wisdom and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable
are his judgments, and his ways past finding out 1 !"
Let us now pass on to the effects of these counsels,
and see whether they also do not unfold the most
stupendous mysteries.
f 1 Cor. ii. 7. Eph. iii. 811. See also Col. i. 26, 27.
h Col. i. 27. j Rom. xi. 3-3.
2174.] THE FULNESS THAT IS IN CHRIST. 191
From these counsels results all the work of Christ.
He in due time left the bosom of his Father, took our
nature, was born of a pure virgin, fulfilled the law,
offered himself a sacrifice for sin, rose from the dead,
and ascended up to heaven to carry on and perfect
the work which he began on earth. Think of all this
as necessary for our salvation : think of it as concerted
from eternity, and executed in time, and at this very
moment accomplishing by means of his continual inter
cession at the right hand of God : Is there nothing
wonderful in all this ?
From these counsels also results the salvation of
man. Not a human being to whom the Gospel
comes is ever saved, but by virtue of this work which
Christ wrought out for him : and by means of this
the vilest of the human race are saved. Those who
seek an interest in this Saviour are accepted of him,
even though they may have committed sins of a
scarlet or crimson die : but they " who, going about
to establish their own righteousness, will not submit
to the righteousness of God," are rejected ; and the
very Saviour who would have been a sanctuary to
them, becomes a rock of offence, over which they
fall to their eternal ruin. Here is a plain way of
salvation for all. In vain do men dispute about the
efficacy of their own good works to save them : here
is a door ; and they who will enter in by it are saved;
and those who obstinately stand without, perish.
The very builders of the ark themselves perished,
because they did not enter into it : and so will all
who do not flee for refuge to this hope that is set
before them. Is this wisdom, or this knowledge of
small value ?
Further, from these counsels results the glory of
God himself. It is in this w r ay alone that God is, or
can be glorified, by any child of man. If man were
saved in any other way, every one of the Divine per
fections would be dishonoured. What evidence would
there be that God is holy, if he suffered his laws to
be violated with impunity? What would become of
all the rights of justice, if no sacrifice were offered for
192 COLOSSIANS, II. 3. [2174.
sin ? How could the truth of God be preserved, if
his threatenings were not executed, either against
the sinner himself, or against one who should be
substituted in his place ? Men speak of God s mercy
as if that was the only attribute to be displayed, and
as if it was of no consequence whether his other attri
butes were honoured or not : but God will not suffer
one of his attributes to be exalted at the expense of
all the rest : and therefore has he opened for us a
way of salvation whereby all might be displayed and
all be glorified. Not only is mercy now exalted, but
justice too ; and that, not only in the condemnation,
but in the salvation also of sinful man : nor is it a
whit less glorified in the salvation of a penitent be
liever, than it is in the condemnation of the impe
nitent, and unbelieving. Is here then no mystery ?
are here no treasures of wisdom and knowledge ?
Verily the angels themselves are made wiser by the
revelation of them to the Church ; and they are
justly represented as " desiring daily to look into
them," in order that their admiration of God may be
augmented, and their felicity increased.
We have been constrained to speak only summa
rily on these points ; but enough has been said to
shew, that in this subject there are treasures which
will amply repay the most laborious investigation.
We proceed, therefore,
II. To commend these treasures to your most dili
gent pursuit
Much as we revere human knowledge, we must
declare, that, in comparison of that which we have
been considering, the wisdom of philosophers is of
no account : for this knowledge is at once the most
sublime, the most certain, the most attainable, the most
useful.
What is there so sublime as this ? We grant that
many human sciences, and astronomy in particular,
are very sublime ; and appear to be out of the reach
of mortal man : but it is well known that philosophy,
in many of its branches, was carried to as high, if
2174.] THE FULNESS THAT IS IN CHKIST. 193
not a much higher pitch among the unenlightened
heathen, than amongst ourselves. But who amongst
the heathen could ever find out God ? Who could
ever dive into his counsels ? Who could account for
the actual state of things as they existed in the world ?
Who could tell how a sinful man might be accepted
of his God ? Truly, " the world by wisdom knew
not God :" this knowledge was " too wonderful and
excellent" for unassisted reason to explore : nor can
we, even with the Bible in our hands, attain it, unless
God by his Spirit open the eyes of our understand
ing, and shine into our hearts to give it us. We are
expressly told, that " eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to
conceive, the things which God hath prepared for
us ;" and the things there spoken of are those which
are revealed to us in the Gospel. It is not of heaven
that the Apostle speaks, but of the Gospel, and the
mysteries contained in it. These are the things
which are called in Scripture ra peyaXeia rov Oeov,
" the wonderful works of God.V And they are " the
things of the Spirit, which the natural man cannot
receive, nor even know, because they are spiritually
discerned." Well therefore may we covet knowledge
which was " hid in God from the foundation of the
world," which the wisest philosophers could never
attain, which even the learned among ourselves can
not possess, unless God himself be their teacher, and
" open their understandings to understand it."
In point of certainty, there is nothing that can be
compared with it. There are indeed in it many
things which we cannot comprehend : but there is
much known, and known on the authority of God
himself. Most other knowledge is involved in doubt
and obscurity; insomuch that hypotheses which have
been established for ages, have yet been overthrown
by the penetration of a Copernicus or a Newton :
but the truth of God is unchangeable ; and whether
viewed in the promise to Adam, or in subsequent
k Acts ii. 11.
VOL. XVIII. O
191 COLOSSI ANS, II. . 3. [2174.
prophecies, or in the types and shadows of the law,
or in the fuller revelation of the Gospel, is ever the
same ; nor can all the subtilty of men or devils
invalidate so much as one single point. Indeed,
though received on the credit of the inspired writers,
it so commends itself to the believer, as to approve
to him its divine origin, as soon as ever it is received
into his heart : he there finds a counterpart of every
truth he has received, and "hath the witness in him
self" that it is indeed from God. Now one great
discouragement in the pursuit of human knowledge
is, that after having laboured for many years, we
know not but that we may, after all, be found wrong,
in things which we deemed of considerable moment.
But here, we never need to fear a disappointment :
God s word, like himself, abideth for ever ; nor shall
one jot or tittle of it ever fail.
Nor is there any other so attainable. Thousands
have not ability to investigate the depths of human
science : if they should bestow ever so much labour,
for ever so long a time, it would be in vain. But
not so the knowledge of the Gospel : for though it is
so deep, that no man by the efforts of unassisted rea
son can enter into it, yet it is so easy of acquisition,
that " he who runs may read and understand it."
If God " open our eyes, we shall see wondrous things
out of his law :" if he shine into our hearts, the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God shall be seen
by us. The qualification for this knowledge con
sists, not so much in the head, as in the heart :
" God opened the heart of Lydia to attend to the
things that were spoken by Paul." Here then every
one is encouraged to pursue it : for " none teacheth
like God :" he can " ordain strength in the mouth of
babes and sucklings." I grant indeed that it is a
"hidden knowledge;" it is "a treasure hid" in a
field. But it is revealed o us in the word, and shall
be revealed in us by the Spirit, if we desire to be
taught of him. The promise is, " All thy children
shall be taught of God :" and, if only we obtain his
teaching, we shall " be guided into all truth ;" nor
2174.] THE FULNESS THAT IS IN CHRIST. 195
shall " a way-faring man, though a fool, be left to
err therein."
Lastly, What can be compared with it in point of
utility ? We deny not but that knowledge of various
kinds is replete with benefit to man : but that benefit
is bounded by this world, and the present state of
things. Not so the knowledge of which we are
speaking : that extends to the eternal world : in the
knowledge of God and of Christ, are all our hopes
centered. By this we are justified: as it is said,
" By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many." By it also we are sanctified: as it is said,
" Sanctify them through thy truth : thy word is
truth." By it also we shall be exalted to glory ; for
it is said, " This is life eternal, that they might know
thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou
hast sent." What is there then that can be compared
with this ? \Vill earthly knowledge save you ? If
you could travel the whole round of science, and
grasp in your mind all that ever was comprehended
by human intellect, would it pacify a guilty con
science ? Would it take away the sting of death ?
Would it enable you to look forward with comfort to
the eternal world ? Would it prepare you to stand
at the judgment-seat of Christ, and to give up your
account with joy ? No ; nothing can do this but the
knowledge of God as reconciled to us in the Son of
his love : this is the sole property of the Gospel,
even of that Gospel which is so neglected and de
spised. If then you would view these things aright,
you must study the Gospel, and " count all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ
Jesus your Lord."
Must we then lay aside our earthly knowledge ?
you will ask. No ; but you must get it sanctified by
the Spirit of God. The spoils of the Midianites were
consecrated to the Lord ; but before they were suf
fered to be brought into his tabernacle, " every thing
that would abide the fire, must pass through the fire ;
and whatsoever would not abide the fire, must be
made to go through the water :" for then only could
196 COLOSSI ANS, II. 3. [2174.
they be an acceptable offering to him, when they
were cleansed and purified from their corruption 1 .
Thus also must your learning be sanctified : it must
not be set in competition with the word of God, but
be made subservient to it. Beware then lest it blind
your eyes, and fill you with a conceit that you do
not need to be taught of God : for what the Apostle
says is alike applicable to the philosopher and the
peasant, " If any man will be wise in this world, let
him become a fool that he may be wise." We must
have the docility of " little children, if we would
enter into the kingdom of heaven ;" and if we will
not humble ourselves in that manner, God has told
us, that " he will take the wise in their own craftiness."
In subserviency to the Gospel, your learning will be
an invaluable blessing : but in opposition to it, it will
prove a curse ; for God will " confound the wisdom
of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding
of the prudent."
Are we then desirous of attaining these heavenly
treasures ? Let us seek after them in the Holy
Scriptures : and whilst we seek for knowledge as
silver, and " search for it as for hid treasures, let us
cry to God for it, and lift up our voice to him ; since
it is the Lord alone that giveth wisdom, and out of his
mouth cometh knowledge and understanding 01 ." Let
us beg of God to " give us the Spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of him ; that the eyes
of our understanding being enlightened, we may know
what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches
of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what
is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward
who believe, according to the working of his mighty
power which he wrought in Christ, when he raised
him from from the dead n ." In this way we may hope
to " acquaint ourselves with God," and to attain the
knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding." Then we may hope also to " shine
as lights in a dark world," and " be as cities set upon
1 Numb. xxxi. 23, 54. m Prov. ii. 1 6. n Eph. i. 16 20.
2175. J THE CHARACTER OF CHRISTIANS. 197
a hill." Or, if our sphere be circumscribed within
narrower limits, we shall at least have this benefit,
that we are " made wise unto salvation through faith
that is in Christ Jesus."
MMCLXXV.
THE CHARACTER OF CHRISTIANS.
Col. ii. 6, 7. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the
Lord, so tvalk ye in him ; rooted and built up in him, and
stablished in the faith, as ye have been tauyht, abounding
therein with thanksgiving.
THE greatest joy of a faithful minister is to see
his people flourish. The Apostles were eminent
examples to us in this respect 3 . St. Paul was as
solicitous for the welfare of those whom he had only
heard of by report, as for those who had been con
verted by his ministry b . Hence he took occasion
from what they had attained to urge them on to
increasing watchfulness and assiduity. Mark here,
I. The Christian s character-
Christ is the gift of God to man c . That gift the
Christian has received
[He has felt his need of it; he has implored of God to
bestow it on him, and has received it for all the ends and pur
poses for which it has been conferred on sinful man
He has received Christ in all his offices, as " Christ Jesus, the
Lord."]
He is the only person in the universe that has
received it
[Others regard it not : yea, they rather refuse it, and
pour contempt upon it. They would rather earn salvation by
some efforts of their own, than stand indebted for it to the
free gift of God in Christ Jesus -But the Christian
values nothing in comparison of it; and, in obtaining it, con
siders himself richer, than if the whole world were conferred
a St. Paul was no less comforted with the piety of some, 2 Cor.
vii. 4. than he was grieved with the want of it in others, Rom. ix. 2.
Gal. iv. 19. See also 3 John, ver. 4.
h ver. 1,5. r John iv. 10.
198 COLOSSIANS, II. 6, 7. [2175.
upon him Let him only be able to say, " My Beloved
is mine, and I am his," and he desires no more. In possessing
Christ, he possesses all things 1 ."]
In connexion however with this gift we must
notice,
II. His duty-
Privilege and duty are inseparable. Though we
receive all from God as a free gift, we yet have duties
to perform. If we have received Christ, we must
" walk in him :"
1. In dependence on him
[" In Christ is every thing treasured up for us :" and " we
must receive every thing out of his fulness." There must be
no dependence whatever upon ourselves, but an entire reliance
" on him for wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and
redemption." Our whole life must be one continued act of
"faith in the Son of God, who loved us, and gave himself
for us 6 ."]
2. In conformity to him
[As he is to us a source of all spiritual blessings, so is he
unto us an example to which we must be conformed. His zeal
for God must be transfused into our souls, and his love to man
be copied in the whole of our intercourse with mankind f . If
we profess to " abide in him, we must walk in all things as he
walked ^."]
But this duty is, in fact,
III. His privilege
The diversity of metaphors in this passage greatly
enriches the subject, without at all distracting our
minds. Our duty and our privilege are to walk in
Christ,
1. Firmly
[The use of a root is, not only to convey nourishment to
the branches, but to keep the tree steadfast amidst all the
storms and tempests by which it may be assailed. And we,
so far from being cast down by all the storms that may assault
us, must take occasion from them to shoot our roots more
deeply into this divine soil, and to take more firm hold of him
by whom alone we can be upheld.]
2. Progressively
d 1 Cor. iii. 22, 23. e Gal. ii. 20.
f John iv. 34. 1 John iii. 16. I John ii. 6
2176.] PROPER DEITY OF CHRIST. 199
[The idea of walking necessarily imports progress, as does
that of building also. Now, no man is content with laying a
foundation: he will go on to build upon it a superstructure,
till at last he has completed the edifice. Thus must we also
do when we receive Christ into our souls: we must build upon
him all our hopes, and never cease to increase in love to him,
till we have attained that complete form and size, which the
all-gracious Architect has ordained h .]
3. Triumphantly
[Grounds for sorrow we shall have, no doubt, whilst this
great work is carrying forward ; but we shall have abundant
cause also for praise and thanksgiving. Be it so ; our trials are
great both from within and from without. But can we reflect
on the gift bestowed upon us, and not be thankful? or can we
contemplate the blessings attached to that gift, and not be
thankful? I say then, that " thanksgiving and the voice of
melody" should be heard from us, every step we take, from
the beginning of our course even to the end .]
APPLICATION
To you, even to every one amongst you, is offered
this inestimable gift
[They who have received this gift were once as destitute
and unworthy as any of you : and there is not any one amongst
you, however destitute and unworthy, but may be enriched
with it, if only you cry unto your God, and seek the Saviour
with your whole hearts k
If you possess it, see that you labour to walk
worthy of it
[Never imagine that privilege either is, or can be, uncon
nected with duty. Nor ever imagine your course of duty
closed, till you shall have attained the full measure of that
piety, which your union with Christ was ordained to convey.]
h Eph. ii. 2022. * Isai. li. 3. * Isai. Iv. 13.
MMCLXXVI.
PROPER DEITY OF CHRIST.
Col. ii. 9. In him du elleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
THE Church of Christ in the first ages was com
posed of Jews and Gentiles. Now, the Jews were at
all times fond of their own superstitions, as the Gen
tiles were of the dogmas of philosophy : and the two,
200 COLOSSIANS, II. 9. [2176.
meeting together upon one common ground, were
ready to incorporate their respective peculiarities
with the Gospel of Christ. To what extent this has
been done in the Church of Rome, is well known.
In truth, the whole system of the Catholics is little
better than a mixture of heathen rites with Jewish
superstitions. And those corruptions, which have
prevailed to such an awful extent in the Church of
Rome, began at a very early period to make their
way into the house of God. Symptoms of an alarm
ing nature had already appeared in the different
Churches of Asia : and against them the Apostle put
the Colossian converts on their guard; reminding
them, that, whatever they might hope to add to
Christ and his Gospel, their efforts would be in vain ;
since " in Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily ;" and, consequently, without any addition
from the conceits of philosophy, or the traditions of
Judaism, he was amply sufficient for the work as
signed him, and was " able to save to the uttermost
all that should come unto God by him."
From this assertion of the Apostle, I shall take
occasion to set before you,
I. The doctrine of the Divinity of Christ
It will be proper to consider it,
1. As expressed in the text itself
[There are some texts, which, to a superficial observer,
bear somewhat of a similar aspect with that before us. For
instance, it is said in this very epistle, " It hath pleased the
Father, that in Christ should all fulness dwell 3 ." And, " Out
of his fulness we are said to receive even grace for grace V
There is yet a stronger expression in the Epistle to the Ephe-
sians, wherein we are exhorted to contemplate the love of
Christ, till we are " filled with all the fulness of God c :" nay,
more : we are said ourselves to be " the fulness of Him who
filleth all in all d ." From such Scriptures as these it is argued
by many, that the fulness spoken of in my text is only a ful
ness of gifts committed to Christ for the use of his Church ;
and that we may as well assume to ourselves the character of
a Col. i. 19. > John i. 16.
c Eph. iii. 18, 19. d Eph. i. 23.
2176.] PROPER DEITY OF CHRIST. 201
the Godhead, as give it to him ; since we, no less than he, are
said to be " filled with all the fulness of God." But, on a closer
inspection, there will be found a wide difference between all the
foregoing passages and our text. The fulness spoken of in
the text is the fulness of " the Godhead ;" residing in Christ,
not symbolically, and for a season, as the Shechinah did in the
tabernacle, but corporeally, substantially, permanently. There
is no doubt a reference here to the Shechinah, which was a
shadowy representation of the Deity. But the reference is
rather in a way of contrast than of comparison : for, in my
text, it is not God who is spoken of, and who is frequently
said to dwell in his people, but the Godhead. Nor is Christ
said to "be filled" with it, but to have it essentially dwelling
in him ; and this, not in a type or shadow, but really, vitally,
necessarily, immutably : " In Him dwelleth all the fulness of
the Godhead bodily."
Suppose, now, the Lord Jesus Christ to be truly and un
questionably God : suppose, too, it is God s purpose to make
this known to us : then, I would ask, can we conceive of any
words that would more clearly convey that truth than the
language of my text ? I must say, that if the words of my
text do not clearly and decidedly declare the Godhead of
Christ, no words whatever can express it. Nay, more; if
Christ be not truly and properly God, the Apostle has done
more, by his unguarded expressions, to lead us to idolatry,
than all the most impious sophists in the universe could have
done by their most ingenious arguments.]
2. As confirmed by other passages of Holy Writ
[To enter fully into this subject, would embrace too large
a field for one discourse. I shall therefore confine myself to
a few passages only, which establish the Divinity of Christ in
connexion with his humanity, And here let me call to your
remembrance that prophecy of Isaiah, where it is said, " To
us a child is born ; to us a son is given : and his name shall
be called, The Mighty God e ." This is quite decisive upon
the point. Again, in another part of the same prophecy, it is
said, " A Virgin shall conceive, and bring forth a son ; and
they shall call his name Emmanel f ;" which St. Matthew
informs us, is " God with US K ." In the New Testament, St.
John, who seems to have been peculiarly attentive to this
point, and, more than all the other inspired writers, anxious
to impress it on our minds, says expressly, " In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst
us h ." St. Paul also, to the same effect, says, "Great is the
c Isai. ix. G. f Isai. vii. 14. * Matt. i. 23. John i. 14.
202 COLOSSI ANS, II. 9. [2176.
mystery of godliness ; God was manifest in the flesh 1 ." What
shall I say more ? It is clear, that it was " God, who pur
chased the Church with his own blood k :" and that He who
wrought out for us a righteousness wherein we are to be
accepted before God, is Jehovah himself 1 . Know ye then,
assuredly, that the glorious Person spoken of in my text was
no other than our incarnate God, even " God over all, blessed
for evermore" 1 ."]
The peculiar caution given by the Apostle, in rela
tion to this doctrine, leads me to shew you,
II. The importance of it to the welfare of our souls
" Beware," says the Apostle, " lest any man spoil
or rob you, through philosophy and vain deceit." So
will I say to you : " Beware, lest any deceiver rob
you of your hope founded on the divinity of your
Lord and Saviour :" for,
1. On that depends the efficacy of his atonement
[Supposing the Lord Jesus Christ to have been a crea
ture, how could he make atonement for sin, or work out a
righteousness that should be imputable to us ? He could do
no more than what, by the law of his creation, he was bound
to do ; and, after having done it, he would have been only
" an unprofitable servant." Supposing him to be capable of
meriting any thing, he could have merited only for himself.
If it be said, that the Divine appointment was sufficient to
make his sufferings available for us also, I answer, that,
according to that argument, the same value might as easily
have been stamped on the sacrifices of the Mosaic law, if God
had seen fit to do so. But the Apostle has said, that " it is
not possible for the blood of bulls and of goats to take away
sins." And why not possible ? If a Divine appointment were
to stamp on one sacrifice a value which it possessed not, it
might as well do so on another. But, if the impossibility
arise from the inefficacy of a creatures blood, then it must
attach to one creature as well as to another. For how remote
soever two creatures may be asunder, their distance is but
finite : whereas, to take away sin, the value of a sacrifice must
be infinite : it must satisfy the demands of infinite justice, and
entail upon the sinner all the blessings of infinite love and
unbounded mercy. The divinity of our blessed Lord renders
all this practicable to him. And it is this consideration which
1 1 Tim. iii. 16. k Acts xx. 28.
1 Jer. xxiii. 6. m Rom. ix. 5.
2176.] PROPER DEITY OF CHRIST. 203
emboldens us to deliver our message to sinful men. We be
lieve " that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto
himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them :" and there
fore, " as ambassadors from God, we beseech men, in Christ s
stead, to be reconciled to God"."]
2. From that arises his ability to supply our every
want
[To Him is committed the entire government of his
Church . But if He be not God, we shall be in a state little
better than the worshippers of Baal. It may be, that he is
occupied about the concerns of some other person at the
opposite side of the globe ; and I must wait till he can hear
me, and come to me, and help me : but, whilst he is delaying,
I may perish. If he be a mere creature, he cannot be omni
present, nor omniscient, nor omnipotent. These are the
perfections, the incommunicable perfections, of Deity : and if
he be not God, he does not possess them: and, if he possess
them not, he cannot be sufficient for my wants. But he does
possess them. He knows every want and every desire of my
soul. " Unto Him all things, both in heaven and earth, arc
naked and opened:" and there can be no possible situation
wherein " his grace shall not be sufficient for me p ." " He
is the true God; and therefore he is, and shall be, to me
eternal life."]
3. It is that which will give the chief zest to all
our blessedness for evermore
[If my sins were pardoned, though by a mere act of
sovereign mercy, I should be happy any where. But when in
heaven I contemplate every thing as the fruit of redeeming
love, as procured for me through the blood and righteousness
of my incarnate God ; with what wonder must I be rilled ! I
see now, why all the glorified saints fall upon their faces before
God. They have reason to do so : they would be unworthy of
a place in heaven, if they did not. How can they sing, " To
Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own
blood ;" and remember, that He who so loved them was " King
of kings and Lord of lords;" how can they sing thus, I say,
and not be lost in wonder and amazement ? And what are
those hosannas which I hear offered to " God and to the
Lamb?" What! is a creature joined in one common song of
praise with the Creator? and that in heaven, too, in the very
presence of the Deity ? No ; the Lamb is no other than our
" 2 Cor. v. 19, 20. Eph. i. 22.
P 1 John v. 20.
204 COLOSSI ANS, II. 9. [2176.
incarnate God, " the first and the last, who lived, and was
dead, and is alive for evermore q ."]
CONCLUSION
1. Let this doctrine, then, be deeply fixed in your
minds
[Hold it not slightly and superficially ; but acquaint
yourselves with it, and with the irrefragable proofs whereby it
is established. Those who are adverse to it, will bring for
ward passages which speak of him as inferior to the Father.
But we must remember, that the Lord Jesus Christ is spoken
of under different characters in Scripture, as God, as man,
and as Mediator between God and man. As God, he is alto
gether, in the highest sense, " one with the Father 1 ." In the
two latter characters he was inferior to the Father ; and must,
of course, be spoken of in that light. But these passages no
more disprove his divinity, than the passages which speak of
him as God disprove his humanity. Man himself is mortal,
and immortal ; mortal in his body, and immortal in his soul.
Who ever thought of putting these in opposition to each
other, and of making an affirmation of the one to be a denial
of the other? Yet this is what is done by those who deny
the divinity of our Lord. But be on your guard against
them: and let neither men nor devils rob you of a truth so
essential to your happiness both in time and in eternity.]
2. Let it make a suitable impression on your
hearts
[So astonishing is this truth, that it is a wonder we can
ever think of any thing else. O, what prostration of soul is it
calculated to produce ! What admiring and adoring thoughts
of God ! What a zeal in his service ! What a contempt of
every thing that can come into competition with him ! What
boasting of him to our fellow-creatures ! What commending
of him to all ! Verily, if we lived under a suitable impression
of this truth, we should, as far as human infirmity would admit
of it, resemble the very hosts around the throne. Let us,
then, aspire after this experience. Let admiration, and love,
and gratitude, and thanksgiving, occupy, as it were, our whole
lives. And let us be looking forward to that blissful period,
when we shall see him as we are seen ; and " know him, even
as we are known."]
9 Rev. i. 17, 18. r John x. 30.
2177.J T HE CHRISTIAN S COMPLETENESS IN CHRIST. 205
MMCLXXVII.
THE CHRISTIAN S COMPLETENESS IN CHRIST.
Col. ii. 10 12. Ye are complete in him, which is the Head of
all principality and power : in tvhom also ye are circumcised
with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the
body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ :
buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with
him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath
raised him from the dead.
MAN is prone to corrupt whatever proceeds from
God. He himself came pure out of his Maker s
hands : but he soon corrupted his way ; as it is said,
* God made man upright ; but they have sought out
many inventions 3 ." As man has effaced the law
originally written upon his heart, so has he, by ima
ginations of his own, obscured the revelation which
God has given to the world. The Mosaic code was
perverted by the Jews : the Christian code has been
no less perverted by those who have called them
selves Christians. Even in the apostolic age, and
whilst the Apostles were yet in the full exercise of
their ministry, persons arose to mutilate and destroy
the faith of Christ. The very professors of Chris
tianity, instead of receiving implicitly the truth as it
was revealed, introduced into it their own corrupt
notions : the heathen converts retaining their predi
lection for their former idolatry ; and Jewish converts
striving to encumber it with their former supersti
tions. It is against such persons that St. Paul is
cautioning the Colossian Church : " Beware lest any
man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit,
after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of
the world, and not after Christ b . The heathen phi
losophers having multiplied their deities, and assigned
to them a variety of ranks and offices, those who had
been converted from amongst them still felt inclined
to look to subordinate deities as their mediators and
protectors : whilst others from among the Jews, who
a Eccl. vii. 29. b ver. 8.
206 COLOSSIANS, II. 1012. [2177.
had, or pretended to have, a great veneration for
Moses, could not part with the traditions which they
had received from their fathers, and which they sup
posed to be highly conducive to their spiritual benefit.
But St. Paul tells both the one and the other, that
they needed no help from the creature, since " in
Christ dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead ;" and
no created power could do any thing for them, any
farther than he was expressly commissioned by Christ
to do it : in a word, that " they were complete in
Christ ;" and all attempts to add any thing to him,
would retard, rather than advance, their conformity
to his will, and would ultimately deprive them of all
the benefits which they were thus erroneously labour
ing to secure.
This being the scope of the whole passage, we will
draw your attention to the two things mentioned in
our text ; namely
I. The Christian s completeness in Christ
In Christ we have all that we can possibly need or
desire
[As God, he has " all the fulness of the Godhead dwelling
in him bodily ;" and consequently is an almighty and all-
sufficient Saviour. But as man also, he has, by virtue of his
mediatorial office, a fulness committed to him for the supply
of his believing people; according as it is said, " It hath pleased
the Father that in him should all fulness dwell ." In our
corporeal frame there is, if I may so say, a fulness imparted to
the head for the use of all the members, that being the chief
depository of all the senses : so there is in Christ, for the use of
all his members : all that we need is treasured up in him : and
he of God is made unto us " wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption d " ]
Nor can the creature add any thing to us
[What, I would ask, can " philosophy, with all its vain
deceits," add to us? Can it suggest one single truth which is
not contained in the Holy Scriptures, or give us one atom of
spiritual discernment ? Can it devise any other way for
a sinner s justification before God, besides that which the
Scripture reveals, through the blood and righteousness of our
Lord Jesus Christ? Can it add any thing to the
c Col. i. 19. d 1 Cor. i. 30.
2177.] THE CHRISTIAN S COMPLETENESS IN CHRIST. 207
operations of the Holy Spirit for the transformation of our
souls into the Divine image? Can it further, in any
one respect, the everlasting redemption of our souls, so that
we shall say, this is the work of philosophy, and not of Christ?
If the maxims of philosophy cannot effect any thing,
can its deities ? Can they help us, either by their personal
efficiency, or by their mediation with any other? I ask
further, can Jewish rites, whether those that have been devised
by man, or those which were originally ordained of God, add
to us in any of these respects ! No ; we confidently say, that
the Christian is " complete in Christ :" he has in Christ all that
he can stand in need of; and to confide in any other is to rob
him of his glory, and fatally to deceive our own souls.]
But besides the Christian s completeness in Christ,
we are called to notice,
II. His conformity to Christ
That Christ is an example to us, is what every
Christian well knows. But there is a distinction
which is not generally adverted to, which yet it is of
importance to remark ; namely, that as he is an
example to us in his life, so is he also, if we may so
express it, an exemplar or pattern to us in his work.
We will explain our meaning.
Christ having undertaken to redeem our souls,
submitted to all that was necessary for that end : he
was circumcised, as being made under the law for us :
he died under the curse of that law ; and after having
been buried in the grave, he rose again for our justi
fication before God. Now all this which was done
in him corporeally, is to be done in us spiritually :
the one was intended to be a pattern of the other.
This is very minutely set forth by the Apostle Paul,
who tells us that the power exercised towards us
who believe, exactly accords with that which was
exercised towards our Lord Jesus Christ in all the
fore-mentioned particulars : his quickening from the
dead, his rising from the grave, his ascension to hea
ven, and his session at the right hand of God far
above all the principalities and powers of heaven or
hell, have all a counterpart in us, wrought by the
same divine Agent 6 .
e Compare attentively Eph. i. 19 22. and ii. 4 6.
208 COLOSSIANS, II. 1012. [2177.
Consider distinctly wherein this conformity con
sists
[Was he circumcised ? We have the true circumcision of
the heart ; that " which is made without hands, and which
consists in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh:" and
this we have by virtue of our own union with Christ, in whom we
have experienced this mystically, and through whom we derive
it spiritually. Was he buried ? We also, in our baptism,
were, as it were, buried with him ; and coming up also from
the water, (for here immersion seems to be referred to, as
sprinkling evidently is in other places, the mode being not
determinate to either, but left optional according to circum
stances,) we are risen with him to a new and heavenly life.
That this is the true import of the passage is beyond all
doubt ; as any one will see by comparing what the same writer
has stated in his Epistle to the Romans f Here, I say,
the parallel between what was corporeally wrought in Christ,
and spiritually to be wrought in his members, is clear and
manifest : we, " by faith in that power which raised him from
the dead," experience a similar resurrection to newness of
life ]
In reference to this then, as well as to the former,
we ask,
What can philosophy add to us ?
[Has philosophy any principles whereby we can be sti
mulated more entirely to crucify the flesh with its affections
and lusts, than we are led by the Gospel of Christ ; or can it
impart to us any strength beyond that which we derive from
Christ ? Did it ever operate thus in any instance from the
foundation of the world? No; it never did, nor ever can.
We further ask, Is there any such virtue in Judaizing prin
ciples, that we should have recourse to any of them for aid ?
No ; we are expressly told, that by seeking aid from philoso
phical conceits or Jewish superstitions we shall not only not
add to our safety, but shall actually be " beguiled and robbed
of our ultimate reward g ." It is to Christ alone that we must
look, and from Christ we must receive all that is necessary for
the carrying on and perfecting of our everlasting salvation.]
To IMPROVE this subject, we say to all,
1. Be thankful to God that your lot is cast where
the Gospel is plainly and faithfully dispensed
[The corruptions which began in the apostolic age have
since been carried to such an extent as altogether to subvert
f Rom. vi. 3 11. ver. 18.
2177.] THE CHRISTIAN S COMPLETENESS IN CHRIST. 209
the Gospel of Christ. If I be asked before God, what popery
is ; I am constrained to answer, that, whatever it be in theory,
it is in practice little better than a compound of Pagan idolatry
and Jewish superstition. For want of seeing it before our
eyes, we are apt to conceive of it as differing but little from
the religion we profess : but it is in all its masses, penances,
indulgences, such a system of delusion and impiety as makes
one s very blood run cold. It is inconceivable how such a
system of tyranny and imposture should have ever gained
footing in the world. Little do the Protestants of the present
day reflect on the obligations which they owe to their fore
fathers, and on the responsibility attaching to them for the
advantages they enjoy. But could your eyes see in what
darkness and bondage those who are of the Roman Catholic
persuasion are held, you would never cease to bless God, that
you have been born in a Protestant land, and been brought
up members of a Church that is alike free from the errors of
fanaticism, and the bonds of superstition. I know indeed that
even in our Protestant Church there is still, in some places, as
there was even in the apostolic age, a leaven of these deadly
evils: but we speak to those who have learned to seek a
completeness in Christ and a conformity to Christ, as the
unalienable privilege, not of themselves only, but of every
true believer.]
2. Beware of that false humility which would lead
you to intrench upon the sufficiency of Christ-
fit was a false humility that led those in the apostolic age
to seek other mediators or protectors besides Christ, and other
means of obtaining his blessings than by faith alone. But
whilst they assumed this " voluntary humility," they in reality
were " vainly puffed up with a fleshly mind h ." So it is with
those in the present day, who look for something to recom
mend them to Christ, whilst they should be receiving all out
of his fulness as a free unmerited gift. Their principle is
precisely that of which the Apostle complained in the Colos-
sian Church. They think it would be presumption in them
to go directly to Christ, and to expect to be admitted by him
with such a load of guilt and corruption as they feel : and
therefore they hope to make themselves better before they go,
that so they may find a readier acceptance with him. But this
is to dishonour Christ, and to take from him both the sove
reignty, and the riches, of his grace. We must never forget the
terms on which alone we are to obtain the blessings of his sal
vation : we are to buy them, it is true ; but we are to " buy
them all without money and without price "
11 ver. 18.
VOJL. XVIII. P
210 COLOSSIANS, II. 1315. [2178.
3. Live simply by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
[It is " through faith in the Divine power " that all our
completeness in Christ, or conformity to Christ, is to be ob
tained; and to exercise that faith, we are encouraged by the
recollection of what that power has effected " in raising Christ
from the dead 1 ." Take a view then of the Lord Jesus after
his crucifixion : see him dead, and buried, and guarded by a
host of enemies who were determined in a few hours to prove
him an impostor. Is he beyond the reach of Divine power?
No ; at the appointed moment he rises, and ascends to heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God, far above all the prin
cipalities and powers of earth and hell. Are you then in a
more desperate state than he ? or is not the power of God
alike able to effect this change for you ? Yea, is it not as
much pledged for you as it was for him ? Fear not then, " nor
stagger at the promises of God through unbelief;" but as
Abraham before you was, "be strong in faith, giving glory
to God."]
1 The text.
MMCLXXVIII.
TRIUMPHS OF THE CROSS.
Col. ii. 13 15. And you, being dead in your sins and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with
him, having forgiven you all trespasses ; blotting out the
handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he
made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
THERE is one great mystery spoken of through
out the Scriptures, connected indeed with innumer
able other truths, but itself the centre and substance
of them all : this mystery is Christ crucified. St. Paul
in particular insists upon it in all his epistles ; he
declares that it was the one only thing which he
deemed necessary for him to preach, or for his people
to be acquainted with. He takes every occasion of
magnifying its importance, and of urging his con
verts to maintain the strictest regard to it. This ap
pears remarkably in the preceding context* ; wherein
8 See Col. i. 27, 28. and ii. 14, 6, 7.
2178. J TRIUMPHS OF THE CROSS. 211
not only the mystery itself is stated, but the rich
benefits arising from it are largely recited. Having
in general terms said, " We are complete in Christ,"
he enters more minutely into the subject, and de
clares that we have communion with him in the
whole of his humiliation and exaltation, being " cir
cumcised in him, and buried with him, and risen with
him," and, in short, partakers of all his victories and
triumphs.
In the text, three benefits are enumerated as con
ferred by him upon his believing people, and which
we propose for our present consideration. If we
were to adhere strictly to the order of time in which
these benefits were procured for us and imparted to
us, we must take the latter clauses of the text first :
but, as this is not necessary, we shall rather notice
them as they stand ; and observe,
I. He has " quickened us when dead"-
The state of the Gentile world fitly represents the
state of every unregenerate man
[We are dead before God, and doomed to everlasting
death, on account of our sins b - We are also under
the habitual influence of the most corrupt desires, the mortify
ing of which was signified by the rite of circumcision, and
the indulgence of which characterizes those who are uncir-
cumcised in heart c We have no spiritual life what
ever; nor are we even conscious of our own guilt and corruption ;
so justly may we be said to be altogether "dead in our sins."]
But God has quickened us with, and by, his Son
[There is a federal relation subsisting between Christ
and his people ; so that when he was circumcised, they were
circumcised ; when he died, they died ; when he rose, they
rose. In all that he did and suffered, he was their repre
sentative, and they had communion with him as members
with their head.
But besides this, they have a vital union with him, so as
actually to receive life and vigour from him, whereby they
rise to newness of life d In this restoration to life
they are conformed to his likeness; they come forth from the
grave of sin and corruption, and soar in their affections to the
highest heavens, where from thenceforth their conversation is,
and where they shall have their everlasting abode.]
b Gal. iii. 10. e Tit. iii. 3. Eph. ii. 3. d Gal. ii. 20.
COLOSSIANS, II. 1315. [2178.
In addition to this benefit,
II. He has cancelled our obligation to punishment
This he has done in reference to,
1. Past sins
[The trespasses which we commit in our unregenerate
state are as numerous as the sands upon the sea shore : yet,
on our believing in Christ, they are all forgiven. Whether
they have been more or less heinous, they are all pardoned.
This is not spoken of as a blessing that shall be enjoyed
in the eternal world, but as actually possessed at this time.
God has " cast our sins behind him into the very depths of
the sea e " ]
2. Present infirmities
[We must not be understood to say that believers have
obtained a licence to commit sin with impunity ; for nothing
can be more contrary to truth : this would make " Christ
himself a minister of sin." But our meaning is this: the
moral law denounces a curse against every one that trans
gresses it even in the smallest point. The ceremonial law
illustrates and confirms those penal sanctions. The very
sacrifices which were the appointed means of expiating sin,
declared that the offerer deserved to die, and that he could not
be saved but by the sufferings and death of an innocent victim.
From hence it appears, that " the hand-writing of ordinances,"
which, in its external obligation, related only to the Jews, did,
in its spiritual and more enlarged sense, declare the state of
all mankind, whether Jews or Gentiles : and in this view it
was equally " against us, and contrary to us."
Now this hand-writing Christ has " blotted out," and, by
" nailing it to his cross," has " taken it out of the way."
There were different ways of cancelling a bond : sometimes it
was blotted out ; and sometimes it was pierced with a nail,
and rendered thereby of no effect. Both these ways, if we
may so speak, has Christ adopted, that we might have the
fullest security that we shall never be dealt with according to
the rigour of the law ; and that the debt we owe on account
of our unhallowed infirmities shall never be required at our
hands.]
A further obligation he has conferred upon us, in
that,
III. He has defeated all our spiritual enemies-
Satan and all his hosts are combined against us
e Mic. vii. 19.
2178.] TRIUMPHS OF THE CROSS. 213
[They have usurped a power over us, and governed us
with most despotic sway f ]
But Christ has completely triumphed over them
upon his cross
[As a conqueror, he invaded the empire of Satan, and
rescued millions of the human race from his dominion. He
" spoiled the principalities and powers" of hell, and seized as
his prey the souls of which they had so long held an un
disturbed possession e. It was upon his cross that he effected
this: for there it was that he satisfied divine justice ; there it
was he fulfilled and cancelled the obligations of the law ; there
it was that he paid the price of our salvation. " He redeemed
us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us h ."
His triumph was then complete. Like a victorious general
leading in chains the distinguished personages whom the
chance of war had put into his hands, our blessed Lord
exhibited, as it were, to the view of God, of angels, and of
his believing people, the vanquished powers of darkness : " he
made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them upon his
cross." He did not indeed, like earthly conquerors, exult in
victories gained by the sword of others, and at the expense of
their blood : his triumphs were gained by no sword but his,
and with the loss of no blood but his : " His own arm brought
salvation ; and he trod the wine-press of God s wrath alone 1 ."]
INFER
1. What a wonderful sight is the cross of Christ !
[The eye of sense can behold nothing in it but an instru
ment of punishment, and a person suffering upon it as a
malefactor. But what will the eye of faith behold? It will
discern, not a sufferer, but a conqueror ; not one raised on an
accursed tree, but exalted on a triumphant car : not one
crowned with thorns, but wearing a wreath of victory : not one
nailed and bleeding, but one blotting out with blood, and
cancelling with nails, the bonds that were against his chosen
people : not one himself a spectacle, but exhibiting to view his
vanquished enemies : not the despised Nazarene, but " the
Lord of glory." Strange as it may sound, we affirm, that it
was not Jesus, but the prince of this world that was then
judged k , cast out 1 , destroyed" 1 : for it was then that Jesus
" bruised the serpent s head" :" " by death he destroyed him
that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and delivered
them who till that hour had been all their life-time subject to
f Eph. ii. 2. and 2 Tim. ii. 26. Luke xi. 22. Isai. liii. 12.
h Gal. iii. 13. Isai. Ixiii. 3, 5.
k John xvi. 11. l John xii. 31.
ra Heb. ii. 14. " Gen. iii. 15.
214 COLOSSIANS, II. 1315. [2178.
bondage ." Prostrate before him lay the principalities and
powers of hell. Yes, Satan, it was thy power that was then
broken, thy shame that was then exposed, thy doom that was
then irrevocably sealed. Thou art now an object of our con
tempt ; and the weakest amongst us will set his feet upon thy
neck, and tremble at thee no more p . "Thou art fallen, O
Lucifer, son of the morning ;" " thou art fallen from heaven
like lightning;" and lower still shalt thou fall; for we thy
once infatuated vassals can triumph over thee now ; and thou
shalt " ere long be bruised under our feet q ."
Beloved brethren, " turn aside and see this great sight,"
your triumphing Lord, and your despoiled enemies ! Nor
cease to contemplate it, till you are filled with admiration, and
gratitude, and joy.]
2. What folly is it to suffer ourselves to be di
verted from it !
[This is the particular improvement which the Apostle
himself makes of the passage. He had guarded the Colos-
sians against the sceptical pride of philosophers 1 ; and he
proceeds to guard them against the self-justifying pride of
Judaizing teachers 8 . To the one of these the cross of Christ
was a stumbling-block, and to the other foolishness ; but to
those who viewed it aright, it was " the power of God and
the wisdom of God 1 ." Thus at this time we are particularly
in danger of being led away from the simplicity of the Gospel,
either by the conceits of philosophy, falsely so called, or by the
observance of a formal round of duties. But let nothing
draw your attention from the cross of Christ. It is by that
only that you can be quickened : by that only you can be for
given : by that only you can obtain deliverance from the penal
sanction of the law, or victory over the enemies of your salva
tion. When you can find another object, or other principles,
that can effect these things, then we consent that you shall
disregard the cross of Christ. But till then, determine to
know nothing u , trust in nothing x , glory in nothing y , but
Christ, and him crucified.]
Heb. ii. 14. and Ps. Ixviii. 18. P Josh. x. 24.
<J Rom. xvi. 20. r ver. 8. ver. 16.
1 1 Cor. i. 23, 24. u 1 Cor. ii. 2. * Phil. iii. 9.
y Gal. vi. 14.
2179.] THE NATURE AND USE OF THE TYPES. 215
MMCLXXIX.
THE NATURE AND USE OF THE TYPES.
Col. ii. 17. IVTiich are a shadow of things to come; but the
body is of Christ.
MAN is naturally addicted to superstition ; partly
from a consciousness of his needing mercy from God,
and partly from a desire of reconciling himself to God
by some meritorious services of his own. The Jewish
economy had rather a tendency to foster this dispo
sition, inasmuch as it prescribed many rites and cere
monies as means of acceptance with God. But from
these the Gospel has set us free ; and, in so doing,
has introduced a more free and liberal spirit. Never
theless, even under the light of the Gospel, we are
prone to indulge the same servile desires, and to
prefer a yoke of bondage to the freedom of God s
children. Such was the case with many even in the
apostolic age. St. Paul is cautioning the Colossians
against two sorts of teachers, who were endeavouring
to mislead them ; against the advocates for heathen
philosophy 3 , and against the Judaizing brethren, who
insisted on the observance of the Mosaic ritual b . In
opposition to the latter of these, he bids the Christians
to assert their liberty from the observances of the
ceremonial law, that being, in fact, no more than a
shadow, of which they now possessed the substance.
We shall take occasion from his words to shew,
I. The nature of the types
The Scripture sets before us several kinds of types
[Christians are in general but little acquainted with the
types : yet the scripture abounds with them, and mentions
various kinds of them. They may be reduced to three
classes ; natural, historical, and legal. The natural are such
as may be seen in the works of nature (in this view, the crea
tion of the universe is a type of the new creation, which the
regenerate soul experiences through the word and Spirit of
God ;) the historical are such as Moses, Joshua, David, and
others ; and the legal are all the ceremonies of the Jewish law.]
a ver. 8. b ver. 16.
216 COLOSSIANS, II. 17. [2179.
These are shadowy representations of Christ and
his benefits
[All of them relate to Christ in some view or other ;
either to his person and offices, or to his Church and the
benefits he confers upon it. They are the shadow, whereof
he is the substance : and as a shadow represents, though but
faintly, the image of the substance, so they portray, though in
a very indistinct manner, the character and work of Christ.]
In fact, they were instituted of God for this end
[The paschal feast, with all its attendant observances, was
not merely commemorative of a deliverance that was past : it
was to shadow forth an infinitely greater deliverance that was
to come ; as St. Paul says, " Christ our Passover is sacrificed
for us : therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven,
but with the 
