Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible. but to shew how needfull it was they should do so, and how hardly men are drawne to do so. "Keep on rejoicing" (Jackson p. 79). ‘In him we live, and move, and have our being’ is the very foundation truth in regard to the constitution of the universe. Despondency is weakness, but joy is strength. And now, in deep sequence, he draws in detail the ideal of the life upon which Christ thus shines. First, hold on to the joy to be found in God (Philippians 4:4). Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. We are exhorted to rejoice in the Lord and to take refuge in Him, for He has done wonderful things for all who have trusted in the name of His dearly beloved Son. [Note: Fee, Paul"s Letter . 4. Final Exhortations - Rejoice in the Lord always. There are people who, if there be ever such a little bit of a fleecy film of cloud low down on their horizon, can see nothing of the sparkling blue arch above them for looking at that, and who behave as if the whole sky was one roof of doleful grey. Thank You, Father, that You are worthy of all my praise and that Your joy is a heavenly medicine and spiritual muscle that strengthens my trust and increases my love for You. We need to seriously confront such people and demand that they demonstrate to us an equivalent level of happiness and contentment with Paul"s before we will take them seriously. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! It is not a call just to sing a few hymns, but one that calls on them to face the hardships of the future with confident joy (compare Acts 13:52). But then, passing from the mysterious, we come to the plain. “It is a simple fact of human experience that a man living in the lap of luxury can be wretched. He must have felt that there was a great need for this attitude in Philippi. It has to do with our attitude which depends on … A gloomy, melancholy, professing Christian is a poor recommendation of his faith. ‘In Him’ we have the inheritance; in Him we obtain redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins; in Him we are ‘blessed with all spiritual blessings.’ And the deepest description of the essential characteristic of a Christian life is, to Paul, that it is a life in Christ. ‘If I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all; and do ye joy and rejoice with me.’, Now, put all these things together and they just come to this, that a heart in union with Jesus Christ can find streams in the desert, joys blossoming as the rose, in places that to the un-Christlike eye are wilderness and solitary, and out of common things it can bring the purest gladness and draw a tribute and revenue of blessedness even from the prospect of God-sent sorrows. ], "The truly godly person both longs for God"s presence, where one pours out his or her heart to God in joy, prayer, and thanksgiving, and lives in God"s presence by "doing" the righteousness of God. ‘Christ is preached,’ says he, with a flash of triumph, ‘and I therein do rejoice; yea, and will rejoice.’ And, most beautiful of all, no small portion of his gladness came from the prospect of martyrdom. 2 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. He is employing that phrase, ‘in the Lord,’ in the profound and comprehensive sense in which it generally appears in his letters, and especially in those almost contemporaneous with this Epistle to the Philippians. We who once were dead in trespasses and sins have been justified and are being transformed into the very image and likeness of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Rejoice—The keynote of the epistle is again struck, and repeated with emphasis. Dear brethren, if you and I have not learned the secret of modest and unselfish delights, we shall vainly seek for joy in the vulgar excitements and coarse titillations of appetites and desires which the world offers. My gladness is largely a matter of circumstances, and I do not determine these. That is a hard nut to crack. 1 Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. 2012. However, what we do, say, and think is all the result of the kind of attitude that characterizes our minds. So that by the usuall course of the Scripture it appeareth, that our Apostle doubling and redoubling this his exhortation, thereby sheweth both how needfull, and withall how hard a matter it is to perswade this constant rejoycing in the Lord, to rejoyce in the Lord alwayes: so needfull, that it must be perswaded again and again, and withall so hard to be perswaded, that it cannot be too much urged and beaten upon. The Lord is near. Joy is the predominant feature of the letter. Let your gentleness be evident to all. How can you have an open secret? And if you and I have that union with Jesus Christ of which my text speaks, then we shall be, not wholly, but with indefinite increase of approximation towards the ideal, independent of circumstances and masters of our temperaments. The fruit of gentleness is an attribute that should be evident to all people – both those that are saved and the unsaved. Retail: $8.99 . “Be happy in the Lord always” (Beck). Paul then transitions to a focus on rejoicing in the Lord (Philippians 4:4). True and legitimate joy is only found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul specifically encourages them to “rejoice in the Lord.” It is not that they are to rejoice in spite of their circumstances. Add Galatians 5:3, where I testify makes an Epitasis to λέγω, I say, Philippians 4:2; and παντί, to every man, has an Epitasis to unto you, Philippians 4:2; and ὀφειλέτης, he is a debtor, to shall profit you nothing, Philippians 4:2 : here the word, always, forms such an Epitasis with rejoice ye, repeated. It is not even that they are to rejoice through gritted teeth, but rather than they rejoice in all the goodness that is found in God and in his blessing. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pet/philippians-4.html. "Whedon's Commentary on the Bible". Let us rejoice in the Lord always - and again I will say, LET US REJOICE - for He is a great and awesome God, and a great King above all gods! The commonplace which all men believe, and most men neglect, is that nothing short of an infinite Person can fill a finite soul. If, however, the spirit of true thankfulness is greatly independent of circumstances, it needs encouragement; it will not expand and grow without care, Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament, Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary, Heinrich Meyer's Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament, Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible, Alexander MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture, Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges, John Eadie's Commentary on Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Philippians, [Note: See Frank Minirth and Paul Meier, Happiness Is a Choice. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jec/philippians-4.html. Rejoicing in Christ is something the apostle had commanded earlier ( Philippians 3:1) and had illustrated abundantly for his readers throughout this epistle. To be ‘in Christ’ which is commended to us here as the basis of all true blessedness, means that the whole of our nature shall be occupied with, and fastened upon, Him; thought turning to Him, the tendrils of the heart clinging and creeping around Him, the will submitting itself in glad obedience to His beloved and supreme commandments, the aspirations, and desires feeling out after Him as the sufficient and eternal good, and all the current of our being setting towards Him in earnestness of desire, and resting in Him in tranquillity of possession. To rule myself because Christ rules me is no small part of the secret of blessedness. "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged". The future of this verb is probably used here, as apparently often in late Greek, for the present. AMP. Be … 1879-90. DD. He was not saying that we should never feel sad. It is something that has fastened itself to our minds. I need only refer you, in passing, without quoting passages, to the continual use of that phrase in the nearly contemporaneous letter to the Ephesians, in which you will find that ‘in Christ Jesus’ is the signature stamped upon all the gifts of God, and upon all the possible blessings of the Christian life. The Lord is at hand. again I will say, Rejoice. Note especially the dual emphasis. Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Gentleness is one of the fruit of the Spirit that is manifested in a life that is abiding in Christ, walking in the Spirit, trusting in God, demonstrating His love to others and obeying His word. If you would take this epistle at your leisure, and run over it in order to note the various occasions of joy which the Apostle expresses for himself, and commends to his brethren, you would see how beautifully they reveal to us the power of communion with Jesus Christ, to find honey in the rock, good in everything, and a reason for thankful gladness in all events. And the apostle repeats the injunction, which is very different in meaning from the Latin valete, and Cicero's formula-vale, vale et salve.The apostle wished them to come to a full appreciation of their position and their connection with Christ. Christians can always find something very real in which to presently rejoice (1 Thessalonians 5:16). And they who thus dwell in Christ have the purest joy, the joy of self-forgetfulness. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. My gladness is largely a matter of temperament, and I cannot rule my moods. I mean, revel in him! BibliographyWhedon, Daniel. "Commentary on Philippians 4:4". Two digressions on Judaizers and on those who mind earthly things have intervened, but he now turns back to his chief theme of ‘joy in the Lord.’. Again I will say, rejoice! ‘Rejoice in the Lord always ,’ says Paul. What does this verse really mean? Philippians 4:5 Translation & Meaning. As I have said, the urgency of the command indicates both its importance and its difficulty. This verse gives clear direction and offers genuine hope to the believer in Christ. Philippians 4:13 is a simple Bible verse yet people misinterpret it. So I again say, "rejoice! https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ice/philippians-4.html. BibliographyPoole, Matthew, "Commentary on Philippians 4:4". Philippians 3:1. All of this tells us, that if we are unhappy, then it is our own choosing. The two things may go together, if in the one mood and the other we are in union with Him. Answer: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). It is as if Paul feels that he cannot stress this enough. It is a command that we must deliberately choose to obey, especially when we’re in difficult circumstances. Philippians 4:4-13 NIV. What does Philippians 4:4 mean? Who seeth not, that considereth anything, what mightie enemies we have alwayes to fight withall, the flesh within us to snare and deceive us, the world without us to fight and wage warre against us, and the devil ever seeking like a roaring lion whom he may devour? My joy shall remain . https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tsk/philippians-4.html. 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. πάντοτε, πάλιν ἐρῶ, χαίρετε, rejoice in the Lord: again I say, always rejoice) The particle, again, requires an Epitasis,(52) as in Galatians 1:9, where the Epitasis is in παρελάβετε, comp. Celebrate God all day, every day. However, he was advocating focusing on the blessings we have in Christ and being grateful for these regardless of how sad we may feel at any particular time. Such heavenly joy can be maintained in the midst of all afflictions and distresses, for the joy of the Lord is our everlasting hope and strength. Bible Gateway Recommends. Paul encourages his audience: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). 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