Sacrifices of Joy, Meditations on Philippians

A rich and very readable commentary. Highly recommended.

Table of Contents

1.Preface

2.Chapter 1: Introduction

3.Chapter 2: The Theme of the Epistle

4.Chapter 3: The Signature

5.Chapter 4: To All the Saints

6.Chapter 5: Bishops and Deacons

7.Chapter 6: Grace Be Unto You and Peace

8.Chapter 7: Thanksgiving and Prayer

9.Chapter 8: Persuaded

10.Chapter 9: In Your Heart

11.Chapter 10: His Longing and His Prayer

12.Chapter 11: Bonds in Christ

13.Chapter 12: Preaching Christ: From Envy Or From Love?

14.Chapter 13: Salvation Through Supplication

15.Chapter 14: My Earnest Expectation

16.Chapter 15: Life … Death

17.Chapter 16: What I Shall Choose

18.Chapter 17: Live Worthily

19.Chapter 18: Suffering for His Sake

20.Chapter 19: Mind the One Thing

21.Chapter 20: Hinderances to Minding the One Thing

22.Chapter 21: The Mind in Christ Jesus

23.Chapter 22: Seven Steps Downward

24.Chapter 23: Supremely Exalted

25.Note To Chapter 24

26.Chapter 24: Presence and Absence

27.Chapter 25: Results of Cultivating

28.Chapter 26: I Have Not Run in Vain

29.Chapter 27: All Seek Their Own

30.Chapter 28: A Child to a Father

31.Chapter 29: Epaphroditus

32.Chapter 30: Rejoice in the Lord

33.Chapter 31: Dogs, Evil Workmen, Concision

34.Chapter 32: Loss and Profit

35.Chapter 33: All Gains But Refuse

36.Chapter 34: That I May Know Him

37.Chapter 35: The Race

38.Chapter 36: How Minded?

39.Chapter 37: Heavenly Citizens

40.Chapter 38: A Help or a Hindrance?

41.Chapter 39: Rejoice!

42.Chapter 40: Think!....Do!

43.Chapter 41: Initiated

44.Chapter 42: Full and Running Over

45.Chapter 43: The Final Greetings

Excerpt: Is it a new truth that the Apostle Paul teaches us, when he tells us to rejoice in the Lord? No, again and again do we hear these words in the Old Testament. Hannah could sing: “My heart rejoiceth in the Lord” (1 Sam. 2:1). And on through the Psalms and the Prophets we hear this same refrain, over and over again.1

It is in the Old Testament we read: “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). And have we less reason to ‘rejoice in the Lord’ than the saints in Old Testament days? We who have seen the very image of the good things, and not the ‘shadows’ only? Some of you will have read an old book that begins by telling us of those who say: “You Christians seem to have a religion that makes you miserable. You are like a man with a headache. He does not want to get rid of his head, but it hurts him to keep it. You cannot expect outsiders to seek very earnestly for anything so uncomfortable.” Shame on us! Shame, that such a thing can be said: and, I grieve to say, said with some truth of those who should rejoice in the Lord alway: those who should be the happiest people in the world. But, perhaps, you say: “You do not know all the trouble and sorrow I have, or you would not expect me to rejoice.” They tell us that a better translation of our verse reads this way: “Rejoice in the Lord on all occasions.” And I suppose this takes in all our troubles and sorrows. Our beloved Lord was ‘The Man of Sorrows’, and yet He tells us of ‘My joy’. And His servant could write: “As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing” (2 Cor. 6:10). The Scriptures are clear that our joy is one that is not affected by adversity: we rejoice always, on all occasions, in dark days, as well as bright:

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom,

Neither shall fruit be in the vines;

The labor of the olive shall fail,

And the fields shall yield no meat;

The flock shall be cut off from the fold,

And there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Jehovah, the Lord, is my strength,

And He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet,

And He will make me to walk upon mine high places.

To the Chief Singer on my stringed instruments.”

(Hab. 3:17-19; See New Translation)

When first we were married, life was full of joy: `as well expect the soaring lark to keep silent, as expect the joyous saint not to sing God’s praise’, so there was not a day passed that we did not have singing in our little home: but the time came when the cares of this world crowded out the songs of Heaven, yet, I grieve to say, we hardly noticed it. For a wedding present a beloved friend had given us a beautiful canary in a brass cage, and its songs were a constant delight: but one day they stopped, and how we missed them: then our eyes were opened to the fact that our own songs had stopped also: and what was our shame, when our neighbors opposite remarked how they missed the singing they had grown to love.

It is told of Mr. Hyde of India that one day he was traveling to a distant village with a beloved Punjabi evangelist and his two little children. The men were speaking sadly about the village— how long the gospel had been preached there, and how little interest the people showed. The children had no such sad thoughts: they were so happy that they sang, and went on singing psalms and hymns one after another, till the two men were constrained to join in, and they were so carried away with the spirit of praise that they continued singing till they reached the village. Imagine their amazement when they found the people full of interest, and eager to confess Christ and follow Him, and over a dozen showed such a living faith, that they were baptized before they left. This was the first gospel triumph in that village, heralded and brought about by the spirit of praise from the children.

In another village they were so discouraged, they decided to leave early next morning, but that night someone suggested they should all go to the village and sing the gospel in it. This they did, and sang on and on, till after midnight. Next morning they were preparing to leave, when a young man came running from the village, to beg them not to go, for not one, he told them, had gone to work that morning, but were even then considering if they should not at once decide for Christ. They waited, and found some fifteen men, mostly heads of families, quite ready to be baptized. The young man who had brought the message said to Mr. Hyde, “This is the result of your singing last night. You sang—

‘Lift up your heads, O ye gates,

And let the King of Glory enter in!’

Has He not entered in this morning?”

Mr. Hyde used to say that when he noticed few souls being led to Christ he always found it was due to his lack of a spirit of praise. He would then confess his sin, ask pardon, and take the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. His experience then invariably was that Christ would again draw souls to Himself through him. No fisher can possibly throw his line lightly when he is dull and sad. It is the joyous one who generally wins souls to Christ.2

We must remember that joy is the second of the fruit of the Spirit: “Love, joy, peace.” Also, joy is a legacy, like peace, that our Savior left us before He returned to Glory: “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11). He was leaving them: but His joy would remain in them. And again, ponder our Lord’s most wondrous prayer: “And now come I to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves” (John 17:13).

Let us not forget that it is “in the Lord” we are to rejoice. Some rejoice in their homes, in their families, in their wealth, in their learning: but such joys all fade: but when we rejoice in the Lord we have a joy that no man taketh from us. True, sin may rob us of it: and we may have to pray “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation” (Psa. 51:12). (Not, you will note, “Restore unto me Thy salvation”!). But our Epistle does not touch on this subject: and neither shall we. It may be found in the first epistle of John. Our Epistle is too full of its theme of joy. Eleven times, I have counted “rejoice,” and five times “joy,” in this little Epistle, Here is the key-note of the normal Christian life.