that, at thy fecond Coming to judge the World, we may be found an Acceptable People in thy fight, who liveft and reigneft with the Father, and the Holy Ghoft, ever one God, World without end. Pfal. lxxx. 2. The Fourth Sunday in Advent. The COLLECT. Lord, raise up (We pray thee) thy Power, and come among us, and with great Might fuccour us; that whereas through our Sins and Wickedness, we are fore let and hindred in running the Race that is fet before us, thy bountiful Grace and Mercy may fpeedily help and deliver us, through the Satisfaction of thy Son our Lord; to whom with Thee and the Holy Ghoft be Honour and Glory, World without end. Amen. PARAPHRASE. 4. Support your Spi- 4. rits with a Holy and Spiritual Joy; and how unfeafonable foever this - yet I must urge it again, 5. Be not rigorous in infifting upon your utmoft Right, nor impa The EPISTLE. R Phil. iv. Ejoice in the Lord alway, and again, I say, Advice may feem to your prefent State of Affliction, 5. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. tient in fuffering Wrong, but let your Temper and Composure of Mind be manifeft to all forts of People, and upon all Occafions. For confider, that the Judge is not far off, who will certainly make you amends for all your Condefcenfions, and reward all your Patience. 6. Let no Difficulties make you immoderately anxious, but commit all your Affairs to God 6. Be careful for nothing: but in every thing by prayer and fupplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. in Prayer for his Affiftance, fo as at the fame time to acknowledge his Goodness in all the Calamities which befal you. 7. Thus if ye do, the Senfe of a Reward in Chrift Jefus, will be a ftrong Guard against all your Trials, and fecure to you fuch an Evenness and inward Satisfaction of Mind, as we are not able to express or conceive. 7. And the Peace of God which paffeth all underftanding, fhall keep your hearts and minds thro' Chrift Jesus. COMMENT. STh COMMENT. T. Paul, in this Paffage, exhorts the Philippians to the Practice of fome Virtues, which are not only useful and proper to all Sorts, and all Conditions, of Chriftians; but more particularly feasonable to an afflicted and perfecuted State. Such as he had before, in his First and Third Chapters, described the Church at that time to be in, to whom this Epiftle was addreffed. The First of these is Rejoicing in the Lord always And, because in Circumstances fo diftreffed as theirs, this might, at first View, look like a Duty impracticable, and out of Time; He inforces and infifts upon it in the latter Clause of the Verfe; to fhew, that his Command did not proceed from any Heat of inconfiderate Zeal, any want of Regard, either to the Greatness of their prefent Trials, or to that Infirmity of Human Nature, which is too apt to be overborne by fuch; but that this is a Difpofition of Mind, which even those Trials would very well bear, nay, which, they required from them. Again, I fay rejoice. For a right understanding of this Matter, I will briefly fpeak to the Nature of this Duty. And then fhew, that it is both practicable, and of perpetual Obligation. I. As to the Duty it felf: Let it be confidered, that, fince Joy is a Satisfaction, refulting from the Sense of some prefent Good; Rejoicing in the Lord muft needs import that Comfort and Contentment, which Holy Men have (for none but Holy Men can have it) in an Affurance that God is their God: that is, That they are fuch, as he particularly loves, and favours, and will make infinitely happy in the Enjoyment of himself. And this is the Confideration, that Chriftians here are commanded to take continual Delight in, even in defpight of of all those Afflictions, which labour to take away or interrupt their Joy. II. Now that this is a Command, not at any Time, or in any Conjuncture of Circumstances, impracticable, may appear from the following Confiderations. 1. That God, and fuch Enjoyment of him as he referves for good Men, is our chief Good. And that, not only, as he is in all other refpects the Fulness of all Excellence and Perfection: but in regard his Goodness is unchangeable, and those whom he loves, he loves unto the end. Although therefore to have commanded us to rejoice always in any thing befides, had been an abfurd and impracticable Command, because all other Good Things are variable and fugitive, fhort and uncertain: Yet it is not fo, to rejoice always in the Lord, becaufe he is always the fame: A Good always prefent, and always perfect: One that never leaves nor forfakes those, who are careful not to forfake Him. And when we do fo, the Change is not in Him, but in our felves, who fall from our Happiness, and forfeit our Comforts, by breaking that Condition, which God, who is always conftant to His part, hath appointed, as the only Means of entitling us to them. 2. But Afflictions are very confiftent with this Joy, because God hath no where declared, that these are certain Marks of his Difpleasure, or that he loves any Man the lefs for being poor, or fick, or in pain, or flandered, or hated, or perfecuted. These things make no neceffary change in our Virtue, and confequently not_in God's Love towards Us, and therefore not in our Intereft in Him, which is the true Foundation of this Joy. So far from this, that, 3. Afflictions are often declared in Scripture, to be fent for our Advantage, to make us better Men, to advance our Virtue and our Future Happiness, to be placed to our Account in the great Day of Reckoning, and to 2 Cor. iv. 17. Rom. viii. 18. work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory; A Glory, with which the Sufferings of the prefent time are not worthy to be compared. And therefore the Joy mentioned here does by no means require fuch an abstractednefs of Mind, and unconcernedness under present Sufferings, as fome Men would perfuade us Human Nature cannot come up to. It being a Principle common to all the Tranfactions of Life, to be content, and even pleafant, under prefent Hardships and Sufferings, in profpect of a much greater Profit to be attained by them. And this is all Religion expects from us; nay it does not expect fo much as we daily fubmit to, for raifing our Fortunes, or fecuring our Eafe in this World; Because the Bliss we aim at, as Chriftians, is infinitely more defirable, more difproportionate to the utmoft we can endure for it: And the Certainty we have of attaining it, is infinitely greater. In other Cafes we go upon probable Circumstances, and great Odds on our fide; but here. we have fure Promises to depend upon, and fuch as cannot fail us. Setting afide therefore the Cafe of Melancholy, and Erroneous Opinions (which are the real Cause of that uncomfortable State of Mind, that many People, truly good, appear to be under) I take the true Reasons, why we fee no more of this Joy in the World, to be, Either Mens own Sins and Failings indulged, which must needs abate this Satisfaction to Them, who are fenfible how much they have deferved to lose it; or else Mens too great Fondness for the World, which cannot but at once make the Senfe of prefent Sufferings more tender and afflicting; and their Defires and Love of future Happinefs lefs eager and fupporting. For to attain this Joy, 'tis neceffary our Minds be of David's Frame, when he cried out, Whom have I in Heaven but Thee? and there is none upon Earth whom I defire in comparison of Thee. I 2 Pfal. xxiii. 25. From From hence the Apostle proceeds, in the next Verfe, to enjoin another Duty, wherein we are to confider Two Things. I. First, The Duty it felf. And, II. Secondly, The Reafon enforcing it. In the Former there are Three Things to be obferved. 1. The Nature of the Thing, Moderation. The Original Word feems primarily to import fuch a candid Temper, as difpofes Men to an equitable Proceeding, in Cafes, for which the Law hath not made fufficient Provifion. Not ftretching things to their utmost Rigour, on the One hand, Not a fupine Remiffness on the Other; But receding from our Right where it is fit, and treating Others with all that Gentleness and just Forbearance, which we, in Their Cafe, would think it reasonable to find. 2. It is ordered, Secondly, That this Moderation fhould be known, that is, Not to reft only in the Inward Dispofition, but to be manifefted in all our Actions: And that, in fo eminent a Degree, that it might serve for a particular Character to distinguish Chriftians by. 3. It is expected, Thirdly, That this fhould extend to all Occafions, and all manner of Perfons. For to behave one's felf Amicably and Meekly to Thofe, who are of the fame Opinion, engaged in the fame Intereft, and ready to do the fame by Us in return, is no great mat ter. But to preserve this Evenness and Sweetness of Temper, to fuch as differ in Judgment, as ufe us ill; To return Equity for Injustice, Gentlenefs for Oppreffion and Hardship; To put the moft favourable Conftruction upon the Actions of Them, who make it their Business to provoke and perfecute Us; (as the Philippians here are exhorted to deal by their Enemies without exception, whether Ignorant Idolatrous Gentiles, or Perverfe Con 2 tentious |