+I. The two desires.+--1. _To depart and be with Christ._ (1) The
exodus from this life by dissolution of the body--"to depart."
(2) Christ's presence the immediate portion of His people, when their
life on earth is done--"to be with Christ."
2. _To abide in the flesh._--It is a natural and lawful desire. The
love of life--it is not necessary, it is not lawful to destroy it.
Let it alone to the last. The way to deal with it is not to tear it
violently out, so as to have, or say that you have, no desire to
remain; but to get, through the grace of the Spirit, such a blessed
hope of Christ's presence as will gradually balance and at last
overbalance the love of life, and make it at the appointed time come
easily and gently away.
+II. A Christian balanced evenly between these two desires.+--"I am
in a strait betwixt two." The desire to be with Christ does not make
life unhappy, because it is balanced by the pleasure of working for
Christ in the world; the desire to work for Christ in the world does
not make the approach of dissolution painful, because it is balanced
by the expectation of being soon, of being ever with the Lord.
+III. Practical Lessons.+--1. _This one text is sufficient to destroy
the whole fabric of Romish prayer to departed saints._ 2. _The chief
use of a Christian in the world is to do good._ 3. _You cannot be
effectively useful to those who are in need on earth unless you hold
by faith and hope to Christ on high._ 4. _Living hope of going to be
with Christ is the only anodyne which has power to neutralise the
pain of parting with those dear to us.--W. Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 27-30.
_Exhortation to Christian Bravery._
+I. To act as becometh Christian citizens.+--"Only let your
conversation be as becometh the gospel of Christ" (ver. 27). Whether
the apostle is able to visit them again or not, he exhorts the
Philippians to attend diligently to present duties, and act in all
things with the dignity and fidelity becoming members of the heavenly
commonwealth. The Christian finding himself living for a time in this
world as in a dark place, where other gods are worshipped, where men
sell themselves for gain, where he is tempted to do as others do, and
is asked to coquette with the world, to mind earthly things, should
at once take his stand and say: "I cannot; I am a citizen of heaven,
my affections are set on things above; I cannot come down to your
level, I have come out from the world and may not touch the unclean
thing; I have formed other tastes, have other pleasures; other rules
regulate my conduct; I cannot live as you live, nor do as you do."
1. _Be united in spiritual steadfastness._--"That ye stand fast in
one spirit" (ver. 27). The Spirit inspires the highest courage, and
helps all who partake of His influence to stand fast in their
integrity. "For God hath given us not the spirit of fear, but of
power and of love and of a sound mind."
2. _Earnestly and unitedly maintain the faith._--"With one mind
striving together for the faith of the gospel" (ver. 27). With one
soul, penetrated by the same Spirit, unitedly strive to maintain the
Gospel in its purity, as it was committed unto them. Every true
believer should be a valiant champion for the truth. Men who have no
settled faith are like those birds that frequent the Golden Horn, and
are to be seen from Constantinople, of which it is said they are
always on the wing and never rest. No one ever saw them alight on the
water or on the land; they are for ever poised in mid-air. The
natives call them lost souls, seeking rest and finding none. To lose
our hold of the Gospel is to be doomed to unrest and misery. To
attempt to stand alone is to court defeat. Union is strength.
3. _Remember the interest of your religious teachers in your
endeavours._--"That whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I
may hear of your affairs" (ver. 27). That anxious minister is ever
deeply concerned in the welfare of his people. He rejoices in their
faithfulness and progress; he mourns over their laxity and defeat; he
encourages them in their labours and struggles in the spread of the
truth. Our defection from the Gospel is not only a loss to ourselves,
but a disappointment and sorrow to others.
+II. To act with fearlessness in the midst of oppression.+--"And in
nothing terrified by your adversaries" (ver. 28). Opposition should
nerve to more resolute resistance. The enemies of the good are the
enemies of God, and the good man, with God on his side, need not fear
either their numbers or their ferocity. One of their ancient kings
said, "The Lacedæmonians seldom inquire the number of their enemies,
but the place where they could be found." When a certain captain
rushed in haste to his general and said, "The enemy is coming in such
vast numbers, it will be useless to resist," the general replied,
"Our duty is not to count our enemies, but to conquer them." And
conquer them they did.
1. _This fearlessness a proof of the inevitable punishment of their
opponents._--"Which is to them an evident token of perdition" (ver.
28). In contending hopelessly against you they are only rushing on to
their own destruction. Your bravery in the contest, and their own
consciousness of the weakness of their own cause, will strike terror
into their hearts, so that they will be easily routed.
2. _This fearlessness a proof of the salvation of the
steadfast._--"But to you of salvation, and that of God" (ver. 28).
God who gives courage to the steadfast and helps them in the
conflict, ensures to them the victory. We are not saved because we
are brave for God and truth, but the courageous soul will not fail of
salvation.
+III. To accept suffering for the truth as a privilege and a
discipline.+--1. _It is suffering for Christ._ "For unto you it is
given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also
to suffer for His sake" (ver. 29). Suffering is no evidence of the
Divine displeasure, but is often a signal proof of the Divine regard.
There is no virtue in the mere endurance of suffering, but in the
Christ-like spirit with which it is borne. There lived in a village
near Burnley a girl who was persecuted in her own home because she
was a Christian. She struggled on bravely, seeking strength from God,
and rejoicing that she was a partaker of Christ's sufferings. The
struggle was too much for her; but He willed it so, and at length her
sufferings were ended. When they came to take off the clothes from
her poor dead body, they found a piece of paper sewn inside her
dress, and on it was written, "He opened not His mouth."
2. _It is suffering which the best of men have endured._--"Having the
same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me" (ver.
30). Suffering for the truth links us with Paul and his
contemporaries, and with the noble army of martyrs in all ages.
Christ has taught us how to suffer, and for His sake we can bear pain
and calumny without complaining and without retaliation. Mrs.
Sherwood relates that, pained at seeing Henry Martyn completely
prostrate by his tormentor, Sabat, the apostate, she exclaimed, "Why
subject yourself to all this? Rid yourself of this Sabat at once." He
replied, "Not if his spirit was ten times more acrimonious and
exasperating." Then smiling in his gentle, winning manner, he pointed
upwards and whispered in low and earnest tones, "For Him!"
+Lessons.+--1. _The Christian spirit inspires loftiest heroism._
2. _To strive to be good excites the opposition of the wicked._
3. _One true Christian hero is an encouragement to many._
_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._