_THE THINGS TO FIX UPON._
The topics last considered bring us naturally to the remarkable
exhortation of vv. 8 and 9. This proceeds on the same view of the moral
and spiritual situation, and completes what the Apostle has to say in
reference to it.
If men are to live as citizens of a heavenly commonwealth, on great
principles and to great ends, it is, as we have seen, a very practical
question, What to do about the inevitable play and onset of this
changing earthly life, which assails us with motives, and detains us
upon interests, and inspires us with influences, of its own. These
cannot be abjured: they are not easy to harmonise with the indications
of that loftier and purer world; they are prone to usurp the whole
heart, or at least a very undue share of it. This is the practical
problem of every honest Christian. In reference to the solving of it the
Apostle had suggested the place given to Christian joy; he had suggested
also the place and power of prayer. These were indications as to the
spirit and the method in which a believer might bring into play the
resources of the Kingdom of Christ to control and subjugate those
insubordinate forces. But might not all this seem to be too negative?
Does it not speak too much of holding off and holding in? After all, do
not all human experiences constitute the scene in which we are both
formed and tried? What can we make of life unless we are interested in
it? How otherwise can we even be religious in it? What _is_ life, if it
is not a scene of inquiry and of search set in motion by the objects
around us, a scene in which we like and dislike, hope and fear, desire
and think? The answer is, Yes, we are to be keenly interested in the
experiences of life, and in the possibilities it opens. Life is our way
of existing; let existence be animated and intense. But while the
aspects of it that are merely transient are to have their place, and may
attract a lively interest, there are other aspects, other interests,
other possibilities. All the transient interests have an outgate towards
such as are eternal. Life is the experience of beings that have high
capacities, and can rise to noble destinies. It is the experience of
societies of such beings, who mould one another, exchanging influences
continually. The changing experience of human life, when seen in the
true light, is found to add to all its lower interests a play of
interests that are more interesting as well as more worthy. It is
iridescent with lights which it catches from the infinite and the
eternal. Every step of it, every turn of it, asks questions, offers
opportunities, calls for decisions, holds out treasures, which it is
the business of a lifetime to recognise and to secure. It has gains, it
has victories, it has accomplishments, it has glories, which need not
lead us to deny its lower interests, but which we may reasonably feel to
be far the higher. Endless shades, and forms, and types of goodness, of
being good, getting good, doing good, gleam reflected to us from the
changing experience. Goodness is not one monotonous category embodied in
some solemn phrase, and exhausted when that is learned. There is no end
to the rich variety in which it is offered, and in which it is to be
caught, understood, appropriated. And life, through all the manifoldness
of its legitimate interests, and its illegitimate possibilities, is the
scene in which all this passes before us, and asks to be made ours. The
Apostle says to us, Think on these things. Take account, that is, of
what they are, and what their worth is. Lay forth on these the care and
pains, which spent themselves before on mere pain and pleasure, loss and
gain. Reckon what these are, search out their nature, prove their
capabilities, appropriate and enjoy them. _Think_ on these things. So
earthly life, through all its busy processes, shall acquire a nobler
interest; and it shall begin, at the same time, to minister with
unexpected readiness to your true welfare. Enter then, or press on, in
this wide field. Be this your passion and pursuit; that which unifies
your life, and draws all its resources towards one result.
We may be helped to fix more firmly the point of view from which this
striking catalogue of good things is drawn up, if we observe that the
Apostle collects all these excellences under the notion of "a virtue and
a praise." Let us consider how men are trained to progressive
conceptions of virtue and praise. For virtue and praise, both name and
notion, have had a large place in men's minds and a great influence on
their actions. How has this influence been sustained and made to grow?
Men are conscious of obligations; and they are aware, more dimly or more
clearly, that the standard of those obligations must exist somehow above
themselves. It is a standard not of their own creation, but such as
claims them by an antecedent right. Yet if each individual could hold
himself apart, forming his own conceptions of fit and right for himself
without regard to others, the standard would tend downwards rapidly,
because moral judgment would be warped by each man's selfishness and
passion, excusing evil in his own case and putting it for good. Even as
it is, this has taken place only too widely. But yet the tendency is
powerfully counteracted by the fact that men do not exist, nor form
their notions, in that separate way. A principle within them prompts
them to seek one another's approbation, and to value one another's good
opinion. Indeed the consciousness that what is law for me is law for
others, and that they are judging as well as I, is one of the forms in
which we realise that duty descends upon us all, from some august and
holy source.
This principle of regarding the judgment and seeking the approbation of
others, has had an enormous effect on men and on society. For though men
are skilful enough, in their own case, in averting or silencing the
admonition of the monitor within, they have little reluctance to make
full use of their sense of right in scrutinising one another. They
judge, in their thoughts about each other, with far more clearness,
shrewdness, and certainty than they do about themselves. Men do in this
way make requirements of one another, which each of them might be slow
to make from himself. This is a great operative force in all cases; and
in those cases in which, in any society, vivid convictions about truth
and duty have taken possession of some minds, the principle we are
speaking of propagates an influence through the whole mass, with effects
that are very striking.
This mutual criticism of men "accusing or else excusing one another,"
has had a great effect in sustaining what we call common morals. But
especially let it be observed that this criticism, and the consciousness
of it, stimulating the higher class of minds, sustains and develops the
finer perceptions of morality. There are minds that eminently strive for
distinction in things that are counted for a virtue and a praise. And
through them is developed in the general mind the approving perception
of more delicate shades of worthy conduct, which in a coarser age were
unperceived or unheeded. These come up in men's mutual judgments; they
are scrutinised; they interest the mind and take hold of it. So, whether
in the case of those who begin to pay respect to such forms of good
because they perceive that others approve of them, or in the case of
those who, when those forms of good are thus presented, perceive a worth
in them and take a pride in living up to them for their own sake,--in
both cases, the creating and sustaining of the higher standard depends
on the principle we have now before us.
Thus there arises, for example, the code of honour, the fine perception
of what is socially right, becoming, and graceful. Men, no doubt, are
always to be found who cultivate the nicest sense of this, not from a
mere desire that others should know it, but because they see it to be
desirable in itself, and because they shun the sense of inward disgrace
that follows when they fall below their own standard. Yet it is the
process of mutual criticism which develops the consciousness, and it is
this which, on the whole, sustains it.
Thus we find in the world not merely a sense of duty, but something that
has spurred men on to things counted for a virtue and a praise. Outside
of all Christian influences, wonderful examples are found of
self-sacrificing devotion to the noble and the true. Men have eagerly
pursued the nicest discriminations of duty and honour, that they might
be, and might show themselves to be, accomplished, finished, not merely
in some things, but in whatever things were counted to be the proper
tokens of a noble mind.
Well now, the Apostle is not shutting out from his plan of mental life
the attainments made in this way in the true or the good, even apart
from Christian teaching. Far less is he excluding the human social
method, in which mind whets mind, and one stirs another to discern and
appropriate what is for a virtue and for a praise. He supposes this mode
of influence to go on in Christianity more successfully than ever. And
he is not at all excluding the natural life of men; for that is the
scene, and that yields the materials, for the whole process. But he does
suppose that now all old attainment shall be set in a new light, and
acquire a new life and grace, and that new attainment shall come
wonderfully into view by reason of the new element which for us has
entered into the situation. And what is this element? Is it that we
recognise around us a society of Christians with whom we share a higher
standard, and with whom we can give and take the contagion of a nobler
conception of life? Yes, no doubt; but far before that, the great new
element in the situation is the Lord--in whom we trust and rejoice.
It is always human duty to have regard to the will of God, however it
may reach us. But when you are called to know the Lord and to rejoice in
Him, when He vouchsafes Himself to be yours, when you begin to enjoy His
peace, and to walk with Him in love, and to have it for your hope to be
with Him for ever, then you are placed in a new relation to Him. And it
is such a near and dear relation on both sides that much may be
expected from you in it. If this be so, you are now dealing with Him
_always_; not merely in direct acts of worship, but in your thoughts,
your feelings, your words, your business, your common intercourse with
men, and all your daily life, you walk with Him. You cannot repudiate
having so much to do with Him, unless you will repudiate your
Christianity. Then, if so, something new is expected. A new test of the
becoming, of that which is for a virtue and for a praise, has come into
operation, and has become intelligible to you; and it is a test of new
delicacy and new force. It is expected we should recognise it. Not now
the mutual judgments merely of erring men, but His mind and His will,
what He delights in and approves,--this begins to solicit us and press
upon us, for we walk with Christ. That this "walk" of ours may escape
being mean, coarse, offensive, we have great lessons to learn. We have
to learn what, in His judgment, as seen by His eye, as tried by the
sensibilities of His heart, are the things that are true and venerable
and just, what with Him counts for a virtue and a praise.
And here, indeed, is our crown. The crown of honour which man cast away
when sin gained him, was the approbation of the Lord. But now we are set
on afresh to seek it, testing our ways by the perception of that which
He approves; or, on the other hand, what He counts to be mean and
degrading, fit to be recoiled from and rejected. It is our calling
(whatever our attainment may be) to be more sensitive to the nicest
touches of truth and honour towards our Lord than ever we were towards
men. And this does not apply only to some narrow field of life. It goes
through all relations, up to God and Christ, and out through all duties
and ties. The great calling reaches wide and far; it is very high and
noble: we cannot pretend to disclaim it, unless we disclaim the Lord.
This way lies God's crown. Win it; wear it; let no man take thy crown.
When our Lord's mind and heart are said to be the test, this does not
exclude our profiting by our fellows, accepting the admonition contained
in human judgments, and especially in those of Christian people. Great
good comes to us in such channels. Only now the judgment of our fellows
is to refer itself always to a further standard; and a new Presence
brings new tenderness and grace, new depth and significance, to every
suggestion of right feeling and worthy life. This is the light and this
the influence under which we are to learn what shall be counted for a
virtue and for a praise. And we must bend our mind to _think upon it_,
if we are to learn our lesson.
We must think upon it. For, on the one hand, it is not "some things,"
but "whatsoever things." What should we say of a man who proposed in his
dealings with others to do "some things" that are honourable, but not
all things, not "whatsoever things"? And, on the other hand, we may be
further off from even a small measure of attainment in this field than
we are disposed to think. Christians who, as to all social excellence,
as that is commonly understood between man and man, are unexceptionable,
may be sadly blind to the requirements of an honourable walk with God;
may be sadly wanting even in the conception of what is due in all love
and honour to Christ, and to men for His sake. Men may be the soul of
honour and delicacy in their ways, judged from the world's point of
view; yet not far from a savage coarseness in the manner of their life
judged by Christ's standard. We would not needlessly wound another's
feelings; but with what indifference have we "grieved the Spirit." We
would shrink from saying anything to our fellows that is deceitful and
hypocritical: can we say as much for our prayers? In our common life we
maintain truth in the ordinary sense between men; but do we loyally
express and act out the truth by which God's children live in our speech
and action among men? Is there that fine congruity of our bearing to the
truth we live by, which becomes a child of God?
We are greatly hindered here by the assumption we make, that when we
have mastered the form of knowledge concerning the will of God, we then
know all about our calling. It is a great delusion. We must not only sit
down at the feet of Christ to learn from Him; but also, with a watchful
eye on the phases of life, catching the lessons which things and men
afford, we must be trained to know and sharpened to loving discernment
as to our Master's mind, and so, as to what is honourable and
right-minded, refined and noble, in a walk with God. We do not easily
emerge from the meanness of our spirits; we do not easily shake off that
insensibility to what is spiritually fair and fit, on which the angels
look down with pity and wonder.
Therefore, says the Apostle, _think_ on these things, the things which
in the Lord's kingdom and under the Lord's eye are well-pleasing, and
count for a virtue and a praise; think on those things which are related
to His esteem, and to the esteem of persons who learn of Him, as various
excellences are to the common judgment of the world. Do so, for here you
are close to the genuinely and supremely true and good; and this, as was
said before, is your crown.
The Apostle is thinking of a perception of duty and privilege attained
not merely by studying a catalogue of virtues, but by a far finer and
more living process--by life that is instinct with observant
watchfulness, that is frank in self-criticism, that is recipient of the
light flashing from the experience and the censure of others: all this
under constant regard to the Lord, and leading us into fuller sympathy
with Him.
That this is so, appears from the Apostle's way of arranging the
particulars of his exhortation. He does not merely desire his disciples
to discern what is right in general: but he would have them grow into a
vital knowledge, so as to feel the right in those matters where the
shading becomes delicate; where it may be difficult to distinguish
argumentatively an absolute right and wrong, but where a mind purged and
trained in the Master's school can well discern a difference.
"Whatsoever things are true"--which includes not only veracity and
fidelity, but also whatever in conduct and temper God's truth requires
as agreeable to itself; and then "Whatsoever things are venerable"--the
character that emerges when all that is congruous to truth, in its
finest filaments and ramifications, has been developed, and has assumed
its own place. "Whatsoever things are just"--rightfully due on all hands
to God and to man; and then "Whatsoever things are pure"--the character
that recoils from all that sullies, from the smallest shade or infection
of iniquity. "Whatsoever things are lovely"--the dear or amiable,
whatever draws out love, cherishes it, befits it; and then "Whatsoever
things are of good report"--actions that can hardly be more
discriminatingly classified than by saying that the heart is pleased to
hear of them; it confesses that they are of a good name, of a welcome
sound; they are like some delicate sound or odour on which you dwell
with delight, but cannot definitely describe it. In a word, "If there be
any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Study
them, look out for them, learn to recognise them, to know their worth,
to pursue them lovingly through all their manifestations.
Thus, let it be said once more, the Apostle is not open to the objection
that he calls us to a mere retreat from energetic life. To such a call
men have always replied, that they find in themselves capacities
wonderfully adapted to grapple with life, and to do so with interest and
with energy. Virtually the Apostle says, Yes, true; and life has aspects
to interest the mind, and results to engage the will, which are its
noble and its imperative possibilities: for the followers of Christ
these become dominant; they afford noble scope for all human faculty;
and all forms of life are dignified as they become subservient to these
supreme interests and aims. _Now_, lay forth the care and pains that
fastened before on mere joy and sorrow, hope and fear, on a certain
_thinking_ and making _account_ of the true, the venerable, the just,
the pure, the lovely, that which is of good report. Reckon what they
are; search out their nature; make them your serious object. "O man of
God, flee those things; but follow after righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, patience, meekness."
But progress is not to be made in this line by mere subtle refining and
contemplation. If there was any danger that the Apostle's call to
"think" might be interpreted that way, presently it is corrected. The
thinking is to be practical thinking, bending itself to action. "What
things ye have received and learned"--those practical points in which
the Apostle always taught his Gentile converts to put to proof the grace
of Christ; and "What ye have heard and seen in me"--in a man poor,
tried, persecuted, a man whose life was rough and real, who knew
weakness and sorrow, who bore heavy burdens, that were not proudly
paraded, but which brought him lowly and weary to Christ's feet,--these
things _do_. That is the road to the attainments on which I bid you
_think_.
"And the God of peace shall be with you." In those ways (for they are
His own ways) God walks with men; and peace with God, spreading out into
peace with men, becomes the atmosphere in which such wayfarers move.
_GIFTS AND SACRIFICES._
"But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at length ye have
revived your thought for me; wherein ye did indeed take thought,
but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for
I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content. I
know how to be abased, and I know also how to abound: in everything
and in all things have I learned the secret both to be filled and
to be hungry, both to abound and to be in want. I can do all things
in Him that strengtheneth me. Howbeit ye did well, that ye had
fellowship with my affliction. And ye yourselves also know, ye
Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed
from Macedonia, no Church had fellowship with me in the matter of
giving and receiving, but ye only; for even in Thessalonica ye sent
once and again unto my need. Not that I seek for the gift; but I
seek for the fruit that increaseth to your account. But I have all
things, and abound: I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus
the things that came from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a
sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. And my God shall fulfil
every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ
Jesus. Now unto our God and Father be the glory for ever and ever.
Amen.
"Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me
salute you. All the saints salute you, especially they that are of
Cæsar's household.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."--PHIL.
iv, 10-23 (R.V.).