PHILIPPIANS. CHAP. I. View and Illuftration of the Matters contained in this Chapter. FTER giving the Philippians, with their bithops and deacons, his apoftolical benediction, St. Paul thanked God for their converfion; declared his perfuafion that God would preferve them in the faith to the end of their lives, through the confirmation which the gospel would derive from his fufferings; expreffed the most tender affection for them; and prayed God to bestow upon them fpiritual bleffings, that they might be filled with the fruits of righteoufnefs, ver. 1.-11.-In the next place, left they might have been afraid that his long imprisonment had been hurtful to the gospel of Chrift, he affured them that it had contributed to advance that good cause, ver. 12.-infomuch that the gospel was now known in the palace itfelf, ver. 13.-That the indulgence fhewn to him, had made many of the brethren more bold in preaching than formerly, ver. 14.-Yet they were not all actuated by laudable motives, ver. 15.-For fome preached publicly, merely to enrage the priests and magistrates against him, as the ringleader of the Chriftians, ver. 16.-But he told the Philippians, he knew that this, through the direction of the Spirit of Chrift, would rather contribute to his enlargement, ver. 19.-At the fame time he declared his refolution boldly to defend the gofpel when brought before the emperor, even although it were to bring death upon himself, ver. 20.To be continued in life, he told them, would promote the cause of Christ, but to die would be more for his own advantage, ver. 21. Therefore he was in a strait, whether to choofe life or death, ver. 23.-Only knowing that his continuing in life would be more for their intereft, ver. 24.-he was perfuaded he should ftill live, ver. 25.-In which cafe he promised to vifit them, ver. 26.-In the mean time he exhorted them all to behave fuitably to the gofpel. And in particular, ftrenuoufly to maintain the the true doctrine of the gospel, both against the unbelieving Jews and against the heathens, ver. 27.-And to be in no re OLD TRANSLATION. CHAP. I. 1 Paul and Timotheus, the fervants of Jefus Chrift, to all the faints in Chrift Jefus, which are at Philippi, with the bithops and deacons : 2 Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jefus Chrift. 3 I thank my God up. on every remembrance of you. 4 (Always in every prayer of mine for you all, making request with joy) GREEK TEXT. spect Ver. 1.-1. Paul and Timothy. See preface to 1 Theffalonians, fect. 3. where the reafon of Paul's inferting Timothy's name in the infeription of feveral of his epiftles, although he was no apoftle, is explained.-For Timothy's hiftory and character, fee pref. to 1 Tim. 2. Servants of Jefus Chrift. Aho, literally bondmen, flaves.-This appellation was given to the chief minifters of the Eaftern princes.Wherefore, it may be confidered as an honourable title, as was obferved Rom. i. 1. note 1. Or, this appellation Paul and Timothy took perhaps to exprefs the labours and hardships which they were undergoing in the fervice of Chrift.-In writing to the Philippians, Paul had no occafion to affert his apoftolical authority. There were no diffentions among them, and all of them loved and obeyed him fin cercly as an apostle of Christ. 3. With the bishops and deacons. The Syriac tranflator hath rendered this: Senioribus et miniflris. That the apoftle ordained bishops and deacons in all the churches which he planted I think evident from Acts xiv. 23. where they are called by the general name of elders. That there were fuch at Ephefus, appears from Acts xx. 17. 28. where the elders of that church are exprefsly called bishops. Farther, Galat. vi. 6. The inftructor is mentioned as a stated office in the church: And Theff. v. 12, 13 The prefidents are spoken of: And Col. iv. 17. Archippus is faid to have received a miniftry in the Lord among the Coloffians.-The apoftle did not mention the bishops and deacons in I the spect terrified by their threatenings, ver. 28.-But to fuffer chearfully for their faith in Christ, ver. 29.-After the apostle's example, ver. 30. NEW TRANSLATION. CHAP. I. 1 Paul and Timothy, fervants of Jefus Chrift, to all the faints (48.) in Chrift Jefus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons : 3 2 Grace to you, and peace (Rom. i. 7. notes COMMENTARY. CHAP. I. I Paul and Timothy fervants of Jefus Chrift in the gospel, to all the believers in Christ Jefus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons : 2 May grace be to you and peace from God, our common Father whe3, 4.) from God our Father we be Jews or Gentiles, and ther, and FROM the Lord Jefus Chrift. 3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,' 4 (Always in every prayer of mine for you all, with joy, making prayer.) from the Lord Jefus Chrift, by whom the Father difpenfes thefe bleffings. 3 I thank the true God, who is the object of my worship, as often as I think of you, (Rom. i. 8. note 1.) 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all, with joy making prayer to God that he would beftow on you every bleffing. the infcription of his other epiftles. But there were reafons for mentioning them in this epiftle, and for omitting them in the rest. It was a letter of thanks to the church at Philippi for the prefent of money they had fent him; and in making the collections for that purpose, the bishops and deacons may have fhewn fuch forwardnefs as merited this mark of refpect and gratitude. His letters to the other churches were all concerning points of faith and practice; and therefore they were not addreffed, to the bishops and deacons, left they might have imagined these writings were their property, and that it belonged to them to communicate what part of them to the people they thought fit; or at least to interpret them according to their own fancy: a claim which the bishops in aftertimes fet up. To prevent that abufe, and to give the people the property of his infpired epiftles, and to teach them to read them and to judge for themfelves concerning their true meaning, they were all infcribed to the churches, or to the faints in general. Befides, though they were firft delivered to the bifhops, or prefidents of the particular churches for whose use they were defigned, it was not left to them to communicate the contents of thefe letters to the people by word of mouth; but they were ordered to read them in the apoftle's own words to all the holy brethren, 1 Theff. v. 27. and fuch as chofe it, might, no doubt, take copies of them for their own use. Ver. 3. Upon every remembrance of you. Επί πάση τη μνείᾳ ὑμων, This Pierce thinks fhould be tranflated, For all your kind remembrance, namely of me. And in his note he saith, « Paul feems to me to thank "God, 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until ihe, day of Jefus Chrift : 5 Επι τη κοινωνία ὑμῶν εις το Ευαγγέλιον, απο πρώ της ημερας αχρι τα νύν. 6 Πεποιθως αυτό τέτο, ότι ο εναρξαμεν, εν ὑμῖν εργον αγαθον, αχρις ημερας Ιησε Χρισέ. 7 Καθώς εςι δικαιον εν επιτέλεσει 7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, μοι τετο φρονειν ύπερ παν because I have you in my heart, in as much as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gore pel, ye all are partakers of my grace. 8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all, in the bowels of Jefus Chrift. των ύμων, δια το έχειν με εν τη καρδιά μας, εν το τοις δεσμοις με, και την απ πολογία, και βεβαιώσει τα ευαγΓέλιο, συγκοινωνες με της χαριτα παντας υμας οντας. 8 Μάρτυς γαρ με εσιν ὁ Θεος ως επιποθω παντας ὑμας εν σπλαγχνοις Ιησε Χρισε. God, not for his own remembrance of them, or the mention made of them to him, but for their remembrance of him, and the kind "fupplies they had fent him." Ver. 5. For your fellowship in the gospel. The apoftle thanked God for the attention with which the Philippians heard the gofpel; and for the readiness of mind with which they embraced it; and for their perfeverance in the profeffion of it, in oppofition both to the heathens and to the Jews: for I think all this is included in the phrafe, fellowfhip in the gopel. - The Greek commentators by κοινωνια εις το ευαγγελιον, fellowship in the gospel, understand the prefents of money fent by the Philippiaus to the apoftle, whereby he was enabled to preach the gofpel to the Theffalonians without expence. This fenfe of the phrafe Pierce hath adopted. And it must be acknowledged that good works of this fort are called by Paul κοινωνία, 2 Cor. viii. 4. Yet as the readi nefs of mind with which the Philippians received the gospel, and their ftedfastnefs in the profeffion of it, were fubjects of thanksgiving which better deferved to be often mentioned by the apoftle in his prayers, than their prefent of money to him, though very liberally below ed, I have no doubt that it is what he meant by their fellowship in the gofpel. Befides this interpretation agrees better with the context than the other. See ver. 6. note. Ver. 6. 5 In particular, I thank God for your perfeverance in the gospel from the first day till now, ye having neither through fear of perfecution relapsed unto heathenifm, through the hearts of falfe teachers gone over to Judaism. nor 6 And that ye will perfevere I have no doubt; being perfuaded of this very thing, that God who hath begun in you a good work of faith and love, will be completing it till the day. of death; when Chrift will release you from your trial, (Pref. 2 Theff. Lect. iv.) 7 I exprefs my charitable perfuafion of your perfeverance with the more boldnefs, as it is reafonable for me to entertain this hope concerning you all, because I have your perfeverance fincerely in view, both in my fufferings, and in my defence before the emperor, and in the confirmation of the gospel by miracles: Ye all being thus joint partakers of the benefits of my grace of apostleship faithfully executed. 8 Ye cannot doubt that in the whole of my conduct I have your perfeverance in view: For I call God to witness that I vehemently love you all, with an affection like that wherewith Jefus Chrift loved mankind. Ver. 6. Who hath begun in you a good work, will be completing it until the day of Jefus Chrift. According to Pierce, the good work of which the apostle fpeaks, is that which the Philippians performed, by. fending him money once and again while he preached in Theffalonica, Philip. iv. 16. But the hope and with which he here expreffed, that God who had begun that good work in the Philippians, would continue completing it until the day of Jefus Chrift, forbids this interpretation. For fo far was the apostle from wishing to have more money from the Philippians, that he wrote to them, chap. iv. 18. Now I bave all things and abound. I am filled, having received from Epaphro-dius the things fent by you. you in my Ver. 7. Because I have fence and confirmation of the gospel. heart, both in my bonds, and my deHere the apoftle declared that his fincere |