Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have labored with me for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life. Sermons | Christian Cooperation | G. H. Slater. | Philippians 4:3 | | Fellow Labourers | J. Vaughan, M. A. | Philippians 4:3 | | Help the Women | Weekly Pulpit | Philippians 4:3 | | Lay Help | Dean Vaughan. | Philippians 4:3 | | Names | J. Lyth, D. D. | Philippians 4:3 | | Names in the Book | C. S. Robinson, D. D. | Philippians 4:3 | | Names in the Book of Life | Alexander Maclaren | Philippians 4:3 | | One Woman's Work | Christian Age | Philippians 4:3 | | The Book of Life | J. Lyth, D. D. | Philippians 4:3 | | The Early Christian Women | W. Baxendale. | Philippians 4:3 | | The Faithful Colleague | J. Lyth, D. D. | Philippians 4:3 | | Unknown Workers | J. F. B. Tinling, B. A. | Philippians 4:3 | | Woman's Work | Dean Vaughan. | Philippians 4:3 | | Woman's Work | H. Johnson. | Philippians 4:3 | | Women in the Church | J. Lyth, D. D. | Philippians 4:3 | | Christian Love | J. Lyth, D. D. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | Christian Love | James Hamilton, D. D. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | Christian Stability | C. Hodge, D. D. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | Christian Steadfastness | Weekly Pulpit | Philippians 4:1-3 | | Dearly Beloved and Longed For | J. Lyth, D. D. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | Love the Gauge of Manhood | H. W. Beecher. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | Ministerial Qualifications | J. Hall, D. D., A. Maclaren, D. D. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | Paul an Example of Ministerial Solicitude and Affection | R. P. Buddicom, M. A. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | Stand Fast | C. H. Spurgeon. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | Stand Fast | C. H. Spurgeon. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | Steadfastness in the Lord | R. Johnstone, LL. B. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | The Bright Side of a Minister's Life | T. De Witt Talmage, D. D. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | The Minister's Joy and Crown | R. Johnstone, LL. B. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | The Pastor's Joy and Crown | J. Lyth, D. D. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | The Professional Minister | T. Guthrie, D. D. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | The Secret of Steadfastness | S. S. Chronicle | Philippians 4:1-3 | | The Watchword for Today, Stand Fast | C. H. Spurgeon. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | Unity of Service At Philippi | H. Quick. | Philippians 4:1-3 | | Genuine Churchism | D. Thomas | Philippians 4:1-6 | | Various Exhortations | R. Finlayson | Philippians 4:1-7 | | The Life of Joy and Peace | R.M. Edgar | Philippians 4:1-9 | | A Touching Personal Appeal | T. Croskery | Philippians 4:2, 3 | | The Healing of Dissensions | V. Hutton | Philippians 4:2, 3 |
I exhort Euodias, and I exhort Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. I. WOMEN HELD A LEADING PLACE IN THE CHRISTIAN SOCIETY OF PHILIPPI. 1. It was to women that the apostle first preached the gospel in that Roman town. (Acts 16.) They were the first converts to Christianity in Europe. 2. It was women who first gave hospitable reception to the apostle in a town which never ceased to show him substantial kindness. 3. It was probably owing to the prominence of Christian women at Philippi that the apostle became such a debtor to the most liberal of all the Churches. Their sympathetic natures would initiate and sustain projects of Christian generosity. II. THE TWO WOMEN HERE ADDRESSED WERE EVIDENTLY INFLUENTIAL MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH. 1. They were ladies of rank, who disiplayed an active zeal for the cause of Christ. Their names appear in the ancient inscriptions. The women of Macedonia held a high social place in that age. These good women helped the apostle in Christian labors, "Inasmuch as they labored with me in the gospel." As women were not allowed to preach (1 Timothy 2:12), it is evident that their service was of a more private kind, either in instructing, the young or, more probably, in instructing female converts who were not accessible to members of the other sex. The order of deaconesses evidently arose out of some necessity of this sort. 2. They had differences of a sort calculated to mar their influence and to shake the faith of converts. The differences were less probably in the way of religious opinion than of methods of religious work. Perhaps a difference of temperament may have put them out of sympathy with each other, and a spirit of rivalry may have led to unseemly dissensions the Church. 3. There is an urgency in the apostolic appeal which displays an anxiety on their account. He says, "I exhort Euodias, and I exhort Syntyche," as if he regarded them both as equally open to censure. He thus addresses his appeal to each individually. He counsels them to find in the Lord the true center of their unity. Let them think as the Lord thinks, do as the Lord does, and submit to his supreme guidance in the sphere of their Christian labors. 4. He appeals to his true yokefellow - whoever he or she may have been - to use his influence to effect a reconciliation between the two ladies. "Yea, I ask thee to assist them, inasmuch us they labored with me in the gospel." There is no more important, though delicate, service than to promote a better understanding between two Christian people whose paths have disagreeably crossed each other. 5. The importance of the case is roundest from the leading place that the apostle assigns to the two ladies, besides "Clement and other my fellow-workers, whoso names are written in the book of life." They held a distinguished place beside these laborers. If Clement was the well-known author of the Epistle to the Corinthians, they are distinguished by association with his venerable name. If the apostle's other fellow-workers are unnamed, they are named in the book of life. This suggestive phrase implies that (1) salvation is an individual thing, for individual names have their record on high; (2) that their salvation is an event already fore-ordained; and (3) therefore absolutely certain. - T.C. I intreat thee also, true yokefellow I.HIS CHARACTER.II.HIS WORK.III.HIS REWARD.() We have here a lively picture of lay help as it was in apostolic times. Of all the actors in this busy scene there is no proof that anyone was "ordained." Who St. Paul's "yokefellow" was we know not. If Epaphroditus, there is nothing to show that he was in the ministry as we understand the term. As "apostle" (Philippians 2:25) of the Philippians he was simply a messenger, and the other expressions in the same verse do not imply office. There is nothing to prove that Clement was the illustrious bishop of Rome. He is only mentioned as one of Paul's many "fellow labourers," whom it is quite gratuitous to confound with the bishops and deacons.2. But the clear words of the text carry us a step further. Women are among the fellow toilers. And here, too, it would be a narrowing idea to suppose that they were deaconesses. It is simply as fellow Christians that they are fellow labourers. 3. There the particular help invited has nothing clerical in its nature. The original bids these friends join in the reconciliation of Euodia and Syntyche. The persons addressed, the persons described, and the help asked for, enforce to one duty, that of laymen consecrating themselves to Divine service. The idea that all the offices of piety and charity are to be heaped upon the clergy; that it is unnecessary and presumptuous for an unordained man to put his hand to the plough of Christian labour, is so directly opposed to every principle of the gospel, that it would have received St. Paul's heaviest condemnation. Christ has called us to a corporate life, a body having many members, each with its office, and all equally helpful and essential (Romans 12:4-5). I. NOTE THE ADVANTAGES OF ASSOCIATION IN STIMULATING, DIRECTING, AND ECONOMIZING LABOR. Multitudes of men and women stand idle in the Church's market place and give as their excuse, "No man hath hired us." That excuse never, indeed, had any truth in it. Creation, Redemption, Conscience, the Gospel, the Spirit, are enough to silence the plea that God hath no call for us. But how many converted souls have asked themselves, a minister, or a friend, "What shall I do?" without meeting with a response. The principle of association meets this want, giving assurance of sympathy, direction, and help. Loneliness in feeling is melancholy, in working paralysis. United effort prevents superfluous labour upon a spot already cultivated, and directs it on neglected spheres. II. THE VARIETY OF AGENCIES OFFERED TO THE CHRISTIAN WORKMAN. There is nothing too small to be reckoned, too secular to be consecrated when it has to do with Christ's Church, whether instruction of the young in Sunday or night school, visiting the sick, joining the choir, or placing the worshippers in order and quietness, or bringing the Church by decorations into unison with the joys of Christmas, Easter, etc. All are not bidden to rush into one kind of service, but each is asked to do what is most suitable to his gifts heartily as unto Christ. III. THE REWARD OF THE WORKER (Proverbs 11:25). There is a reaction of good, not least, upon him. It is a great thing to see for ourselves things of which we have idly read in books; want and sorrow so light in the abstract, so heavy in the enduring; to be shamed out of our luxury, loitering, listless, dreamy, self-indulgent intellectualism; to be enabled to see that in our little part of our day we are decidedly on the side of good, which is the side of Christ. () I. THEIR MINISTERS.1. Prayer. 2. Sympathy. 3. Private effort. 4. Words of love. II. THEIR CLAIMS. 1. To encouragement. 2. To protection. 3. To help. () Weekly Pulpit. The service of women to the cause of truth has been invaluable in all ages. The old Testament is full of it, and the Christian Church has always been blest with it. Women ministered to the wants of the Saviour, succoured the apostles, and contributed to the spread of the gospel in many ways.I. WOMEN NOBLY ENGAGED. By both nature and position, woman has facilities and opportunities for work that men do not possess. 1. In the work of teaching. In the home, in the Sunday School, and in the mission hall, the services of pious women are conspicuous. Timothy was instructed in the Scriptures by his mother and his grandmother. 2. In works of benevolence. Charity is almost natural to woman. We read of Dorcas, who made garments for the poor. 3. In visiting the sick. Woman is the best visitor in the sick room. Her tenderness, and often her helpfulness, prove her fitness for the work. The life of Elizabeth Fry could not be written of any man. Nightingale, the songstress of mercy at the head of the ambulance corps, was another, whose ministry helped forward the gospel. 4. Mission work abroad. The missionary's wife is the mother of the tribe among whom she labours. In many parts of the world — for example, in India — the seclusion to which all women are banished precludes access to them except by woman. II. SUCH WORK MUST BE ENCOURAGED. Like all workers, they need the heart and hand of the Church to support them. 1. Help them by sympathy and tenderness. Let them see that they share our full confidence. A word of cheer is helpful to those toilers. St. Paul was careful to greet them, and to acknowledge their services. 2. Supply them with the means of doing good. They often want relief for the poor, which they cannot supply. 3. Pray for them. 4. Bear your share of their burden. Take upon you the heaviest end of the work. () 1. Sympathy was a strong characteristic of St. Paul, an instance of which is his fondness for the word "fellowship;" Fellow heirs, citizens, prisoners, servants, soldiers, workers, labourers.2. Fellowship was the first necessity of our creation. "It is not good for man to be alone." It is a high part of our religion, a preparation for the society, unity, and choruses of heaven. 3. Fellowship of labour stands in immediate connection with "the book of life." Are we then enrolled together as labourers? Will none be there who have not laboured? Is "the communion of saints" a communion of workers for God? Will it be so forever in heaven? What an argument for the united labours in the Church? I. THE WHOLE GENIUS OF CHRISTIANITY IS WORK. "Go work." "Work while it is day." "Let men see your good works." The end of all work is the extension of the Kingdom of God. Christianity, unlike other religions, is essentially propagating. It is, therefore, compared to that which emits and cannot but emit; leaven, light. The test of all at the last day will be what we have done. II. THIS IS A DIFFERENT CONCEPTION OF RELIGION TO THAT WHICH IS HELD BY MANY RELIGIOUS PEOPLE. There is a spiritual as well as a natural selfishness. It is not selfish to pray the prayers which are all for ourselves, to take an interest only in our own souls, to know the greatest of all happiness, and not impart it to others? III. IN THIS WORK MINISTERS AND PEOPLE MUST COOPERATE. All the commands to extend the kingdom of Christ are binding on clergy and laity alike. IV. THE SAFETY OF ANYONE WHO IS NOT A LABOURER IN THE VINEYARD IS VERY DOUBTFUL. The condition of going into the vineyard was a wish to work. None are to simply go into the grounds, to pick flowers, to eat the fruit, but all to work. And the reckoning at the end was of the work done. V. IT IS A WONDERFUL ARRANGEMENT THAT GOD HAS COMMITTED THIS WORK TO SINNERS, not to the heavenly hosts. But our weakness is our strength; our sinfulness is our argument. For who can sympathize with sinners but a sinner? VI. NO ONE CAN UNDERTAKE THIS WORK WHO HAS NOT A LOVE FOR CHRIST AND SINNERS. () I.ITS AUTHOR.II.ITS PUBLICATION; at the last day.III.ITS CONTENTS: the names of the faithful.IV.ITS EFFECT: life.() There is pathos in a human name, for it always represents a life, an experience, a history, a destiny. Sometimes in the Scriptures "names" mean souls (Acts 1:15).I. SOME OBSERVATIONS. 1. It is a great thing to have a name in the New Testament. Think of the roll call in the sixteenth of Romans and the eleventh of Hebrews! 2. It is a great thing now to have a name in the family Bible; for that generally signifies Christian training and parental prayers. 3. It is a great thing to have a name upon the pages of a Church register. How affecting are these old manuals, with their lists of pious men and women, many of whom have passed into the skies! 4. It is the greatest thing of all to have a name in the Lamb's Book of Life. Beyond all fame (Matthew 11:11). Beyond all power (Luke 10:20). II. SOME QUESTIONS. 1. In how many books is your name written now? 2. How can a human name be written securely in the Lamb's Book of Life? 3. To backsliders: Are you going to return to your name, or do you want it to come back to you? 4. To Christian workers: How many names have you helped to write in the Book of Life? 5. Is there any cheer in thinking how our names will sound when the "books are opened" in the white light of the throne? () I. WHOSE NAMES ARE WRITTEN THERE? Those of —1. The faithful labourer. 2. The patient sufferer. 3. The victorious combatant. 4. The despised saint. II. HOW THEY CAME TO BE WRITTEN THERE? 1. Through grace. 2. By the blood of Jesus. 3. The Spirit of God. III. WHY ARE THEY WRITTEN THERE? Because — 1. Citizens of heaven. 2. Heirs of the promises. 3. Precious in the sight of God. () Union is power. The most attenuated thread when, sufficiently multiplied will form the strongest cable. A single drop of water is a powerless thing, but an infinite number of drops united by the force of attraction will form a stream, and many streams combined will form a river, till rivers pour their water into the mighty ocean, whose proud waves, defying the power of man, none can stay but He who formed them. And thus for us, which, acting singly, are utterly impotent, are, when acting in combination, resistless.() A woman may labour with an apostle in the gospel, without departing one step from the propriety of her position, or the delicacy of her character; she can work a good work for Christ, and for the performance or neglect of it she must hereafter give account. By example, by influence, by meek endurance, by active sympathy, she can do all that a man cannot do, in the society of her equals, and in the homes of the suffering.() Women, you can give and serve and pray. You can give self-denyingly, serve lovingly, pray conqueringly. The best examples of self-denying liberality, of loving service, of conquering prayer are recorded of woman. It was no great gift, service, prayer. The gift was a widow's mite. The service was the anointing of Jesus with a box of ointment. The prayer was a mother's prayer for a daughter possessed with a devil. But the gift and service and prayer were in self-denial and love and faith. And so in the sight of God they were of great price.() Who has not heard of John Wesley? Yet how few are acquainted with Peter Bohler, who brought him to Christ.() Christian Age. An American paper tells the story of a woman who, because tired of a life mainly employed in eating and dressing, resolved to devote herself and her money to a nobler purpose. At the close of the war she went to a sandy island off the Atlantic coast, where about two hundred persons were living in poverty and ignorance, and established her home there, with the intention of benefiting the inhabitants. She began with teaching, by example, how to cultivate the land lucratively, and was soon imitated. Next she established a school for the children, and afterwards a church. Now the island is a thriving region, with an industrious and moral population, the change being the work of one woman.() "What women these Christians have!" exclaimed the heathen rhetorician Libanius, on learning about Anthusa, the mother of John Chrysostom, the famous "golden-mouthed" preacher of the gospel at Constantinople in the fourth century. Anthusa, at the early age of twenty, lost her husband, and thenceforward devoted herself wholly to the education of her son, refusing all offers of further marriage. Her intelligence and piety moulded the boy's character, and shaped the destiny of the man, who, in his subsequent position of eminence, never forgot what he owed to maternal influence. Hence, it would be no overstrained assertion to say that we owe those rich homilies of Chrysostom, of which interpreters of Scripture still make great use, to the mind and heart of Anthusa.()
People Clement, Epaphroditus, Euodias, Paul, Philippians, SyntychePlaces Macedonia, Philippi, ThessalonicaTopics Along, Assist, Assisting, Beg, Beseech, Book, Brother-workers, Cause, Clement, Companion, Connection, Contended, Entreat, Faithful, Fellow, Fellow-laborers, Fellowlabourers, Fellow-labourers, Fellow-workers, Genuine, Glad, Gospel, Helper, Indeed, Intreat, Labored, Laboured, Labourers, Loyal, Names, Needs, News, Recorded, Request, Rest, Shared, Strive, Struggle, Tidings, Toil, Women, Workers, Yea, Yes, Yokefellow, Yoke-fellowOutline 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 4:3 4696 yoke
5205 alliance
5876 helpfulness
7924 fellowship, in service
8304 loyalty
9414 heaven, community of redeemed Philippians 4:1-3 5691 friends, good Philippians 4:2-3 5745 women
5924 quarrelsomeness
8636 asking 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 Links Philippians 4:3 NIV
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