I. CHRISTIANITY IS THE RELIGION OF GOOD WILL TO MAN. It wishes well to all men, but especially to those of the household of faith. The apostle asks the Philippians to salute each individual saint as if he were to be the recipient of a separate blessing: "Salute every saint in Christ Jesus." The blessings we wish for our friends are only to be enjoyed in Christ Jesus.

II. THE SALUTATIONS INDICATE THE SOLIDARITY OF THE CHURCH. The Church at Rome is closely bound to the Church at Philippi.

1. The salutation of the apostle's companions. "The brethren which are with me salute you." That is, as distinguished from the saints at Rome. The brethren included, at least, Timothy, Luke, Epaphroditus, Aristarchus, Tychicus, Epaphras, Mark, Demas, Onesimus.

2. The salutation of the saints, and especially those of Caesar's household. "All the saints salute you, but especially those of Caesar's household." The saints of the great city of Rome, so far from despising the saints of the colonial town of Philippi, acknowledge a common brotherhood in their kindly greeting. The thought of the saints in Caesar's household suggests many reflections as to the penetrative power of the gospel. It is a remarkable tribute to its power that there should be saints in the household of Nero Caesar. Mark:

(1) The place of these saints. "In Caesar's household." Whether they were members of the Praetorian Guard or retainers in the emperor's family, they were

(a) in the most important position in the world - at Rome, the seat of empire, with communications reaching to the ends of the earth;

(b) they were tolerated in their religion, during the brief interval when Rome, with a glorious impartiality, opened its gates to all the faiths of the world, but in two years' time, indifference turned to hatred, and hatred to persecution;

(c) they were in the most corrupt household in the world, in the last place where we should have expected to find saints.

(2) The character of their saintship.

(a) It was heroic saintship;

(b) it showed independence;

(c) it showed constancy.

The catacombs of Rome convey the record of this saintship in the original purity of gospel life. - T.C.

I. REMIND US OF THE ADAPTATION OF THE GOSPEL TO MEN EVERYWHERE.

1. It is no part of God's purpose in redemption to limit its blessings to a nation or class. Hence the provisions of the gospel are suited to the circumstances of man as man. It knows nothing of the distinctions of rich and poor, noble and ignoble, learned and ignorant, bond and free. It knows them only as sinners, and offers salvation to all on equal terms. Hence in the early Churches we find slaves like Onesimus, fishermen like Peter, physicians like Luke, lawyers like Zenas, soldiers like Cornelius, and saints in Caesar's household.

2. The gospel is still of universal adaptation. Christ is still the Saviour of sinners, and has disciples in every country and amidst all circumstances and conditions.

II. TEACHES US THE POSSIBILITY OF SERVING GOD IN POSITIONS OF TEMPTATION AND DIFFICULTY.

1. Caesar's household was the last place where one would have expected to find saints. Under any circumstances it could not be favourable to conversions and Christian growth; and it was now at about its worst. It illustrates the sovereignty of Divine grace that out of these circumstances there should arise witnesses for the gospel. It must have required great courage; but the grace that called them sustained them.

2. So it is always. There are some positions in which a man cannot serve God because they are wrong. There are others lawful enough, yet encompassed by temptation, e.g., the position of the sailor shut up for months with ungodly shipmates, that of the pious soldier in barracks with ungodly comrades, that of a godly citizen among scoffing fellow workmen. In all such cases God is able to make all grace abound to His servants. Faint not. God by placing you in a post of trial has assigned to you a post of honour. Never try to effect a compromise between right and wrong.

III. TELLS HOW THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST ANIMATES ALL HIS FOLLOWERS. That spirit is love and sympathy. See how it breathes through these brotherly salutations. The age wants more of this spirit. What Christ requires is not so much uniformity of belief and worship as union of heart.

IV. ILLUSTRATES THE WAY IN WHICH CHRISTIANS MAY COMFORT AND HELP ONE ANOTHER.

1. The Philippians needed comfort. They had adversaries and were in danger of being terrified by this. The letter itself would afford deep consolation, this postscript especially so. The salutation was not much, but it showed that they were not forgotten at the throne of grace.

2. In many ways comfort and help may be afforded if there be only a little thoughtfulness. A truly sympathetic heart can give help with a look and a grasp of the hand. A too common sin is thoughtlessness. "Evil is wrought by want of thought, as well as want of heart." The youth in the midst of scoffing companions, the young girl in an ungodly house, the poor man battling with poverty, the discouraged Christian worker — what might not be done by a timely and kind word.

V. A SUGGESTION OF THE WAY IN WHICH OUR CONDUCT BECOMES EXAMPLE AND INFLUENCE TO OTHERS. Little did the Roman saints think that their salutations would be preserved and handed down through the centuries for the use of the Church. Kind words can never die. Neither can kind actions. Our names may perish but we shall live. Who these saints were we cannot tell. Nevertheless their power is felt today.

(W. Walters.)

The throne of the Caesars was at this time occupied by Nero, a monster rather than a man. Certainly if ever there was an atmosphere uncongenial to Christianity it may be supposed to have been that of the court and palace of this bloody debauchee. Yet so true is it that gospel weapons are mighty to the casting down of strongholds that there were here Christians of the highest type willing to give their profession all publicity by sending greetings to Christians in distant cities.

I. THE AGENCY WHICH BROUGHT ROUND SO UNLIKELY A RESULT. The mind naturally turns to Paul's miraculous gifts, and remembers how with noble intrepidity Paul rose up before the sages of Greece, and that as he spoke to Felix, the slave of base lusts, the haughty Roman trembled. It is easy to imagine, therefore, Paul working some great miracle to command the attention of the emperor and the court, and then reasoning of temperance, righteousness, and judgment to come. But this fancy would be incorrect. Paul was now a prisoner, and could not go like Moses, rod in hand, and compel by his miracles the attention of the profligate king, and yet it was at this time of seeming impotence that the great victory was won. Nay, it appears actually to have been in consequence of his imprisonment. Philippians 1:12-14 shows the two ways in which his bonds gave enlargement to Christianity. His patience and meekness witnessed for the truth of the gospel for which he suffered, and nerved the Christians to greater energy.

II. WE HAVE HERE A LESSON AS TO GOD'S POWER OF OVERRULING EVIL FOR GOOD. We are apt to imagine when a man is withdrawn from active duty that his usefulness is gone. But a minister can preach from a sick bed as well as from a pulpit. The report which goes forth of his patience and fortitude will do as much and perhaps more towards overcoming resistance to the gospel than his active ministrations. The martyrs did most for God and truth when actually in the clutches of their persecutors. A true Christian is never laid by. The influence that he exerts when suffering or reduced to poverty is often greater than when he led a benevolent enterprise. Let no one then be discouraged.

III. A MAN CANNOT BE PLACED IN CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH PUT IT OUT OF HIS POWER TO GIVE HEED TO THE DUTIES OF RELIGION. The instance of saints in Caesar's household takes away the excuse that temptations, hindrances, opposition render piety impossible. Where are any so circumstanced as these people? It is true that more appears to be done for one man than for another, and that some circumstances are conducive and others hindering to religion. But under every possible disadvantage there may be a striving with evil and a following after good. The excuse assumes that God has put it out of some men's power to provide for their soul's safety, and to assume this is to contradict the Divine word, and to throw scorn on the Divine attributes. Take a case like the one before us, that of servants in an irreligious family. Their superiors set them a bad example, give them few opportunities for public or private devotion, and would frown on or ridicule any indication of piety. Let this be granted. Yet these difficulties would disappear before earnest resolve. They have but to begin and obstacles would be gradually lowered and strength would grow by exercise. The Spirit of the living God fails no man who is not false to himself.

IV. THESE SAINTS not only belonged to Caesar's household at the time of their conversion, but REMAINED AFTER THEIR CONVERSION. They did not feel it their duty to abandon their stations and seek others apparently more favourable to religion. So that it does not follow that a man is to withdraw from circumstances of danger and difficulty, and place himself where there is less temptation and opposition. It is true a converted man is not justified in seeking employment where it would be specially difficult to cultivate religion; but to desert it because it made religion difficult would be to declare that the grace which had converted him in spite of disadvantages would not suffice to establish him, and to mark distrust of God's Spirit. If the employment were sinful, there would be no room for debate; but if only dangerous, and simply required a greater amount of vigilance and boldness, to forsake it would prove timidity rather than prudence. For, e.g., a Christian nobleman in a corrupt court, or servant in an ungodly family, may find it unlawful to leave, inasmuch as distinct opportunity may be afforded of doing honour to God and promoting Christ's cause. They are placed by God as leaven in the midst of an unsound mass. Not that a servant has to travel beyond the duties of his station; he has simply to carry his Christianity into all his occupations, and to distinguish himself from others by closer attention to his master's interests, stricter adherence to truth, etc. Let an irreligious master perceive all this, and he will scarcely fail to receive an impression favourable to religion. There are families to which the preacher can gain no access. God forbid that pious domestics should hastily withdraw from such.

V. WHERESOEVER GOD MAKES IT A MAN'S DUTY, THERE HE WILL MAKE IT HIS INTEREST TO REMAIN. If He employ one of His servants in turning others from sin, He will cause the employment to conduce to that servant's holiness. Notice the "chiefly" of our text. Of all the Roman Christians the foremost in love were these saints who probably remained in Caesar's service for the express purpose of furthering the gospel. Nor need we feel any surprise at this. Absence of trial is not the most favourable thing to religious growth. Nero's palace may be a far better place for the development of personal piety than the cell of the monk; in the one the Christian has his graces put continually to the proof, and this serves both to discover and strengthen them; in the other there may be comparatively nothing to exercise them. And then the God of all grace, who has promised that His people shall not be tempted above that they are able, will bestow assistance proportioned to their wants.

(H. Melvill, B. D.)

I. IT IS POSSIBLE TO BE A CHRISTIAN ANYWHERE.

1. Christianity is not a thing of locality but of character. There are plants which will bloom in some latitudes and die in others, but Christianity can live where man can live, because it consists in the loyalty of the heart and life to Christ. Obadiah kept his conscience in the house of Ahab, Daniel his in the court of Babylon, Nehemiah his in the Persian palace. As Jonathan Edwards says, "The grace of God can live where neither you nor I can." In the abodes of poverty humble Christians are living as near to God as Enoch. Even yet, if we care to look for it, we may find the lily among thorns.

2. What is true of places is true of occupations. Unless a man's business is sinful he may serve God in any profession. The Roman army was a very poor school of morals, yet all the centurions mentioned in the New Testament were good men. The sailor is proverbially rough, yet some of the best Christians have been sailors. What heroic godliness has been manifested by miners?

3. Now, if this be so it follows —(1) That we must not be prejudiced against a man because of the locality he comes from. What peril Nathaniel nearly incurred because he thought Jesus came from Nazareth. Test a man by what he is, not by what he comes from.(2) That we ought not to excuse ourselves for our lack of Christianity by pleading the force of circumstances. How often do we hear one saying, "It is no use trying to be a Christian where I am." But it is never necessary to do wrong. Sin is a voluntary thing, and no external force can constrain a man to commit it. One comes home intoxicated and pleads that he met some friends and had to go with them; another excuses his extravagance on the plea that he must keep up appearances; a third excuses his dishonourable practices because he is in danger of bankruptcy. But if you cannot help doing wrong it is not wrong, but it is the consciousness of being able to help it that makes you so eager to use the excuse.

II. IT IS HARDER TO BE A CHRISTIAN IN SOME PLACES THAN IN OTHERS. There are households in which it seems most natural for a child to grow up in the beauty of holiness, and others where loyalty to Christ is met with opposition. The surroundings of some occupations are more trying to piety than others. When the lymphatic Dutchman, who took things easily, said to his excited minister, "Dominic, restrain your temper," he was met with the pertinent reply, "Restrain my temper, sir! I restrain more temper in the course of a single day than you do in a year." That was a difference of temperament. What then?

1. The Lord knows that this is so, and He will estimate our work by our opportunity. We may be sure that if we are in a hard place He will give us strength according to our need. Each gets his own grace. "Ilka blade of grass has its ain drap o' dew," and grace is suited to the place in which one dwells.

2. We ought to be charitable in our judgment of each other. While we hold ourselves to a rigid reckoning in all circumstances, let us make allowance for the circumstances of others. The flower in the window of a poor man's cottage may be far from a perfect specimen, but it is a greater marvel than the superb specimen in a rich man's conservatory. There may be more honour to one man for the Christianity he has maintained in the face of great obstacles, though it may be marked with blemishes, than there is to another who has no such blemishes, but who has had no such conflict.

III. THE HARDER THE PLACE IN WHICH WE ARE WE SHOULD BE THE MORE EARNEST TO MAINTAIN OUR CHRISTIANITY. Here, however, it is needful to know what the hardest place is. It is not always that where there is the greatest external resistance to Christianity. An avowed antagonist the Christian meets as such; he prepares himself for the encounter, and is not taken unawares; but when the ungodly meet him as friends, then he is in real peril. The world's attentions are more deadly than its antagonisms. The Church is in the world as a boat is in the sea; it can float only by being kept above it; and if we let it become waterlogged it will be swamped.

IV. THE GREATER THE DIFFICULTY WE OVERCOME IN THE MAINTENANCE OF OUR CHRISTIANITY THE GREATER WILL BE OUR REWARD.

(W. M. Taylor, D. D.)

1. This incidental allusion informs us that already Jesus was confessed before emperors; men that in irresponsible power and savage cruelty had almost lost the nature of men. Faith has won its greatest conquests on straitened and sorrowful fields.

2. If the strength and joy of believing are proportioned to the weight of the crosses born for it, then in some such post as this we must look for the bravest witnesses to the truth.

3. We eulogize virtues that flourish only in a favourite soil and climate. We palliate and excuse the deficiency, when honesty is missing in the household of Caesar. We forget that the piety of the Church and of society dwindles inevitably unless it is replenished by the energy of those valiant examples which will dare to be true in the palaces of power, and fashion, and mammon.

4. There are yet saints in Caesar's household, and there is as good cause to venerate them as when beasts licked up their blood from the sand. For the substance of all sainthood which has vitality enough to live in Caesar's household is this, that its virtue is so built on interior foundations, and its faith so rooted in its Divine Master, that no outward opposition can break it down.

5. There are special traits essential to sainthood in Caesar's household.

I. COURAGE Christianity has favour for every noble sentiment; and so she offers to the veteran soldier, and to the enthusiastic youth, a field for bravery grander than any battle, in the resistance of moral invasion. Accordingly, we find that, very soon, Christianity seized on rough warriors, and some of these believers about the person of Nero must probably have been guards of his palace. On one of the early Christian monuments at Rome there is an epitaph of a young military officer, who "lived long enough when he shed his blood for Christ." But Christ's religion courts no consideration from armies. Its courage is of another kind — the courage that bears wrong, but will not commit it — that saves life, rather than destroys it; that springs from an unspotted conscience; that goes into and out of all companies, counting houses, caucuses, and churches, with an uprightness not to be bent, whether you bring threats, or sneers, or golden baits to tempt it; that lifts up an unblenched face in the most formidable array of difficulties, satisfied to stand on God's side, to listen to the encouragement of the beatitudes and to hold to the breastplate of righteousness. Wherever such Christian courage in duty is there will be saints of Caesar's household.

II. MODESTY. They did not call themselves saints; Paul called them so. They did not boast of their religion; there was too much solemn sincerity in it. They did not lurk about the temples to mock the soothsayers, and to disseminate slanders about the priesthood. They knew the joy of their communion with Jesus, and cared more for that than for the admiration of the citizens. That was their Christian modesty. Disjoined from their fortitude, it might haw degenerated into timidity. And that is often our danger. There are persons of a diffident disposition, that err in not mixing enough boldness of resistance with their good nature. They remain inefficient disciples because they shrink from public notice. This is to turn "the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit" into a deformity, and to rob the Master of the testimony that is His due. This is the danger of all threatened minorities, but they will get strength for the fiery trial by going back to see how the inmates of a palace full of gluttony, licentiousness, and all royal vices, held their allegiance fast.

III. But to imitate that successful blending of modesty and courage, they will want a third quality, namely, INDEPENDENCE. The question of duty once settled, all gates but that which leads to acting it out must be shut. And beyond that point, all arguments from custom, from the general expectation, from popular applause, from public or private gratification, are impertinent. Remember, these saints were living in the centre of the great world's energy and splendour, and in the very focus of its intelligence. Independence was a virtue quite indispensable to them; but not a whit more so than to us. For, every day, Providence, through our own instincts, pushes us into some crisis of moral peril, where, if we do not act simply of ourselves, and take our direction at first hand from the Spirit, our integrity itself is gone.

IV. And superadded to independence and modesty and courage is CONSTANCY. There must have been many days when it would have been easy and convenient for these saints to slip round into the old comfortable heathenism. Inducements were not wanting. For the ignorant there was personal safety. For the cultivated Seneca was alive. But they held fast. They might be hunted out, and see their teachers slaughtered; but they gathered again the next evening, and other hands, willing to be mangled by the same martyrdom, broke to them the bread of life. The emperor might send them out to build his baths; they raised no civil rebellion, but while they bent to their slavery they knelt and prayed to their Father. Arrows might pierce their bodies, but they believed the Lord Jesus would receive their spirits. God is asking constancy of us. Our Nero is self-love. The senses are the Caesars of all ages. Fashion is a Rome that commissions its legions and spreads its silent empire wider than the Praetorian eagles. The reigning temper of the world is the imperishable persecutor and tyrant of the faithful soul. And so, in every home and street there are chances for the reappearing of saints in Caesar's household.

(Bishop Huntington.)

Notice that the "chief" salutations came from the unlikeliest place. It is a rebuke to some who think that Christianity pervades one state of life more than another. At times men have thought that the Christian religion was peculiarly suitable to the poor, and had nothing to do with the officers of Caesar's household. Christ preached at first to the lowly, yet wise and rich were also called. If saints are found in Caesar's household where shall they not be found? But men go sighing to find the proper soil for religion, and go to the desert to be religious, and think that when a man is a beggar he must be nearest heaven.

I. CHRISTIANITY HAS AFFINITY WITH ALL CALLINGS.

1. With riches, because the great grace of charity can be exercised thereby. Whose has charity in his heart and wealth in his hand has the finest gift of God.

2. With statesmanship, although it is common to say that that is a very uncongenial atmosphere for a Christian. But a statesman can put an end to the foul obstructions that hinder truth; he can make laws that men shall be no longer housed in conditions that make righteousness impossible.

3. With the soldier, though some think not. Though the day will come when war shall be at an end, nevertheless he who goes forth in a good cause stirred by the spirit of verity to do righteousness in the spirit of order, obedience, and self sacrifice, between him and the Christian faith are strong affinities.

4. With retirement. Christianity has much to say about the blessings of quiet existence, in deepening the wells of life.

5. With business. The merchant may be the most eminent missionary.

6. With art. The artist who gives relief to the tired eye and brain, who preaches the God of eternal beauty, and the spirit which underlies all visible things, is in harmony with our faith.

II. WHEREIN CONSISTS THIS UNITY BY WHICH THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST HAS AN AFFINITY WITH EXTREMELY OPPOSITE CHARACTERISTICS?

1. Let us wander seemingly for a time and answer this question by asking another. It is not whether this or that calling or characteristic be holy or not, but what is that holiness which justifies us in calling it holy? A man may be a sweeper of chimneys or the holder of a sceptre; but the sceptre may be swayed in righteousness, and so may the besom. The righteousness of each depends on the degree to which each embodies in his calling that which constitutes righteousness.

2. To do a good action three things are essential.

(1)That you know what you are doing.

(2)That you do it from choice.

(3)That you have firmness and perseverance to do the like at all times.

3. Having knowledge, intention, and persistence in the performance of that which is just and wise, the question becomes this — What is that which, put into voice or action, constitutes it an act in accord with the Christian faith? Christianity pronounces it to be charity. Charity means the large, loving, constant doing of all things great and small. It is the universal spirit to which there is nothing great or small. A king through charity may sway the sceptre, and a room may be swept to the glory of God. So in Caesar's household and Peter's fishing hut, it is possible to be filled with that which constitutes the spirit of religion. Therefore it is a matter of indifference what your calling may be. If you are scandal mongers, indeed, it is impossible to be charitable, because you violate the first principles of charity. When one lives not in constant piety one goes back to Caesar's household and thinks who they were.

(G. Dawson, M. A.)

I.IS HOLY — it makes men saints.

II.MIGHT — it enters the palace.

III.FEARLESS — it stands before Nero.

IV.KIND — it teaches love.

(J. Lyth, D. D.)

The composition of Caesar's household

Dean Merivale.

The household of the emperor consisted mainly of troops and of slaves who ministered to his wants and caprices as the wealthiest and most luxurious of Roman magnates. But senators and knights were also in close attendance upon him, equally in his hours of business and relaxation. These, indeed, were probably masters of households of their own; thus Seneca, the most intimate of his ministers, enjoyed a private residence in his gardens; Burrus, the prefect of the Praetorians, whose duty brought him, no doubt, daily into the imperial presence, occupied his own lodging in the Praetorian camp. The affairs of government were transacted chiefly by the emperor's freedmen, some of them notorious for their riches and influence, court favourites who had been enfranchised by himself or his predecessors. These also had each his own palace and gardens, in which he vied with the proudest of the ancient aristocracy. Nevertheless these, too, were so closely attached to the emperor's person that they might claim to form a part of Caesar's household, and any one of them may have come in contact with Paul. A man of Paul's power of thought and language, speaking with the academic tone of a scholar of Tarsus, and the natural fervour of a Hebrew prophet, could hardly fail to command the attention of the feverish students of moral truth who abounded in the ranks of the Roman aristocracy. But if such turned away he could not fail to be received among the lower class of the emperor's household attendants, both male and female, who filled a thousand menial offices about his person, and that of his consort. The ministers to the luxury of Poppaea were certainly not less numerous than those who discharged similar functions for Livia before her. Among them were servants of the chamber and the ante-chamber, servants who waited at the doors, who attended at the bath, who assisted at the toilet, who kept the jewels, who read at the empress's couch, who sat at her feet, who followed her in her walks, who lulled her to sleep and watched over her slumbers, who had charge of her purse, and distributed the tasks of the whole household. The persons in waiting on the emperor were probably even more multitudinous, and while many of their functions were merely manual, there were not a few entrusted with affairs which required high intellectual training. The emperor was surrounded with numerous members of the learned classes such as could discharge the duties of secretaries, physicians, professors of every art and accomplishment and teachers in philosophy. To have access to Caesar's household was to be put into communication with the most intelligent people of the day. Over Paul's intercourse with these people a cloud rests, but it so happens that recent excavations have discovered the names of various persons connected with the court of Claudius which are identical with those which the apostle mentions in his Epistle to the Romans. We find among these names those of Amphas, Urbanus, Stachys, Apella, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Rufus, Hermas, Potrobius (Patrobas), Philologus, and Nerens. Some of these, no doubt, are very common appellatives; but the occurrence of so many coincidences can hardly be accidental. And the easy and familiar way in which the apostle introduces the mention of "the saints in Caesar's household," seems to imply that he stood on an easy footing with them. It is the style of one who went in and out among them, of a man who dwelt close at hand; accessible daily as they passed by on their ordinary avocations.

(Dean Merivale.)

People

Clement, Epaphroditus, Euodias, Paul, Philippians, Syntyche

Places

Macedonia, Philippi, Thessalonica

Topics

Belong, Caesar, Caesar's, Cesar's, Chiefly, Especially, God's, Greet, Greetings, Household, Love, Members, Saints, Salute, Specially

Outline

1. From particular admonitions,
4. he proceeds to general exhortations,
10. showing how he rejoiced at their generosity toward him while in prison.
19. And so he concludes with prayer and salutations.

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Philippians 4:21-22

     7155   saints

Philippians 4:21-23

     5328   greeting

Library

November 24. "I Can do all Things through Christ" (Phil. Iv. 13).
"I can do all things through Christ" (Phil. iv. 13). A dear sister said one day: "I have so much work to do that I have not time to get strength to do it by waiting on the Lord." Surely that was making bricks without straw, and even if it was the name of the Lord and the church, it was the devil's bondage. God sends not His servants on their own charges; but "He is able to make all grace abound towards us, that we, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound unto every good work." The …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

March 24. "And Again I Say, Rejoice" (Phil. Iv. 4).
"And again I say, rejoice" (Phil. iv. 4). It is a good thing to rejoice in the Lord. Perhaps you found the first dose ineffectual. Keep on with your medicine, and when you cannot feel any joy, when there is no spring, and no seeming comfort and encouragement, still rejoice, and count it all joy. Even when you fall into divers temptations, reckon it joy, and delight, and God will make your reckoning good. Do you suppose your Father will let you carry the banner of His victory and His gladness on to …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

August 24. "Let Your Moderation be Known unto all Men" (Phil. Iv. 5).
"Let your moderation be known unto all men" (Phil. iv. 5). The very test of consecration is our willingness not only to surrender the things that are wrong, but to surrender our rights, to be willing to be subject. When God begins to subdue a soul, He often requires us to yield the things that are of little importance in themselves, and thus break our neck and subdue our spirit. No Christian worker can ever be used of God until the proud self-will is broken, and the heart is ready to yield to God's …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

May 26. "Be Careful for Nothing; but in Everything by Prayer and Supplication with Thanksgiving Let Your Requests be Made Known unto God" (Phil. Iv. 6).
"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil. iv. 6). Commit means to hand over, to trust wholly to another. So, if we give our trials to Him, He will carry them. If we walk in righteousness He will carry us through. "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time." There are two hands there--God's hand pressing us down, humbling us, and then God's hand lifting …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

December 17. "Be Careful for Nothing" (Phil. Iv. 6).
"Be careful for nothing" (Phil. iv. 6). What is the way to lay your burden down? "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls." "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." That is the way to take His burden up. You will find that His burden is always light. Yours is a very heavy one. Happy day if you have exchanged burdens and laid down your loads at His blessed feet to take up His own instead. God wants to rest His workers, …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

March 10. "The Peace of God which Passeth all Understanding Shall Keep Your Hearts and Minds" (Phil. Iv. 7).
"The peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds" (Phil. iv. 7). It is not peace with God, but the peace of God. "The peace that passes all understanding" is the very breath of God in the soul. He alone is able to keep it, and He can so keep it that "nothing shall offend us." Beloved, are you there? God's rest did not come till after His work was over, and ours will not. We begin our Christian life by working, trying and struggling in the energy of the flesh to save …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

A Tender Exhortation
'Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.'--PHIL. iv. 1. The words I have chosen set forth very simply and beautifully the bond which knit Paul and these Philippian Christians together, and the chief desire which his Apostolic love had for them. I venture to apply them to ourselves, and I speak now especially to the members of my own church and congregation. I. Let us note, then, first, the personal bond which gives force …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Names in the Book of Life
'Other my fellow-labourers whose names are in the book of life.'--PHIL. iv. 3. Paul was as gentle as he was strong. Winsome courtesy and delicate considerateness lay in his character, in beautiful union with fiery impetuosity and undaunted tenacity of conviction. We have here a remarkable instance of his quick apprehension of the possible effects of his words, and of his nervous anxiety not to wound even unreasonable susceptibilities. He had had occasion to mention three of his fellow-workers, and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Rejoice Evermore
'Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, rejoice!'--PHIL. iv. 4. It has been well said that this whole epistle may be summed up in two short sentences: 'I rejoice'; 'Rejoice ye!' The word and the thing crop up in every chapter, like some hidden brook, ever and anon sparkling out into the sunshine from beneath the shadows. This continual refrain of gladness is all the more remarkable if we remember the Apostle's circumstances. The letter shows him to us as a prisoner, dependent on Christian charity …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Warrior Peace
'The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.'--PHIL. iv. 7. The great Mosque of Constantinople was once a Christian church, dedicated to the Holy Wisdom. Over its western portal may still be read, graven on a brazen plate, the words, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' For four hundred years noisy crowds have fought, and sorrowed, and fretted, beneath the dim inscription in an unknown tongue; …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Think on These Things
' . . . Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever 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.'--PHIL. iv. 8. I am half afraid that some of you may think, as I have at times thought, that I am too old to preach to the young. You would probably listen with more attention to one less remote from you in years, and may be disposed to …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

How to Obey an Impossible Injunction
'Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.'--PHIL. iv. 6. It is easy for prosperous people, who have nothing to trouble them, to give good advices to suffering hearts; and these are generally as futile as they are easy. But who was he who here said to the Church at Philippi, 'Be careful for nothing?' A prisoner in a Roman prison; and when Rome fixed its claws it did not usually let go without drawing blood. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Farewell Words
'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 Caesar's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.'--PHIL. iv. 20-23 (R.V.). These closing words fall into three unconnected parts, a doxology, greetings, and a benediction. As in all his letters, the Apostle follows the natural instinct of making his last words loving words. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

How to Say 'thank You'
'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 …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Gifts Given, Seed Sown
'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 …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Prayer Perfumed with Praise
The point to which I would draw your attention is this: that whether it be the general prayer or the specific supplication we are to offer either or both "with thanksgiving." We are to pray about everything, and with every prayer we must blend our thanksgivings. Hence it follows that we ought always to be in a thankful condition of heart: since we are to pray without ceasing, and are not to pray without thanksgiving, it is clear that we ought to be always ready to give thanks unto the Lord. We must …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 25: 1879

How to Keep the Heart
This evening we shall use another figure, distinct from the one used in the morning, of the reservoir. We shall use the figure of a fortress, which is to be kept. And the promise saith that it shall be kept--kept by "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, through Christ Jesus." Inasmuch as the heart is the most important part of man--for out of it are the issues of life--it would be natural to expect that Satan, when he intended to do mischief to manhood, would be sure to make his strongest …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

Contentment
We, my brethren, might well be willing to endure Paul's infirmities, and share the cold dungeon with him, if we too might by any means attain unto such a degree of contentment. Do not indulge, any of you, the silly notion that you can be contented without learning, or learn without discipline. It is not a power that may be exercised naturally, but a science to be acquired gradually. The very words of the next text might suggest this, even if we did not know it from experience. We need not be taught …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 6: 1860

The Bible the Great Civilizer
(Fourth Sunday in Lent.) PHILIPPIANS iv. 8. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever 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. It may not be easy to see what this text has to do with the story of Joseph, which we have just been reading, or with the meaning of the Bible of which I have been speaking to you …
Charles Kingsley—The Gospel of the Pentateuch

Preface. And as to Christ Thy Lord
Preface. and as to Christ thy Lord, most comely "as the lily among thorns," being his "love among the daughters," Cant. ii. 2. so also, thou, in a special way, art the dearly beloved and longed for, the joy and crown, of every sincere servant of Christ in the gospel, Phil. iv. 1. Thou art, if not the only, yet the chief object of their labours, their work being either to confirm and strengthen thee in thy way, that thou mayest so stand fast in the Lord, or remove impediments, make crooked things …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Christmas Peace
(Sunday before Christmas.) Phil. iv. 4. Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. This is a glorious text, and one fit to be the key-note of Christmas-day. If we will take it to heart, it will tell us how to keep Christmas-day. St. Paul has been speaking of two good women, who seem to have had some difference; and he beseeches them to make up their difference, and be of the same mind in the Lord. And then he goes on to tell them, and all Christian people, why they should make up their …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 The Fellowship of Prayer (Philippians 4:6.) Chapter 2 Our Requests Made Known unto God (Philippians 4:6.) Chapter 3 God's Peace Obtained in Answer to Prayer (Philippians 4:6, 7.) Chapter 4 The Praying that Glorifies God (John 14:13.) Chapter 5 Praying without Doubting (Mark 11:23.) Chapter 6 Praying with Desire (Mark 11:24.) Chapter 7 A Manifestation of God in Answer to Prayer (Acts 4:31.) Chapter 8 The Intercessory Prayers of Christians (Luke 11:5, 6.) Chapter 9 The Three Essentials of …
T. M. Anderson—Prayer Availeth Much

Worry Versus Peace
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.' (Philippians iv. 6, 7.) Before the full bearing and value of these verses can be realized, I think they require to be read several times over. Even if the sentences are read through slowly, just as they stand, a deep sense of blessing and rest steals into …
T. H. Howard—Standards of Life and Service

Jehovah
"That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most High over all the earth." Among all the names of God perhaps the most comprehensive is the name Jehovah. Cruden describes this name as the incommunicable name of God. The word Jehovah means the self-existing One, the "I am"; and it is generally used as a direct revelation of what God is. In several places an explanatory word is added, revealing some one of His special characteristics; and it is to these that I want particularly …
Hannah Whitall Smith—The God of All Comfort

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