62 lines
3.8 KiB
XML
62 lines
3.8 KiB
XML
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<div2 id="Phi.i" n="i" next="Phi.ii" prev="Phi" progress="61.16%" title="Introduction">
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<div class="Center" id="Phi.i-p0.1"><h2 id="Phi.i-p0.2">Philippians</h2>
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<p id="Phi.i-p1">Completed by <span class="smallcaps" id="Phi.i-p1.1">William Harris</span>.</p>
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</div>
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<hr/>
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<pb id="Phi.i-Page_722" n="722"/>
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<div class="Center" id="Phi.i-p1.3">
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<p id="Phi.i-p2"><b>AN</b></p>
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<h3 id="Phi.i-p2.1">EXPOSITION,</h3>
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<h4 id="Phi.i-p2.2">W I T H P R A C T I C A L O B S E
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R V A T I O N S,</h4>
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<h5 id="Phi.i-p2.3">OF THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO</h5>
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<h2 id="Phi.i-p2.4">T H E P H I L I P P I A N
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S.</h2>
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<hr style="width:2in"/>
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</div>
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<p class="indent" id="Phi.i-p3"><span class="smallcaps" id="Phi.i-p3.1">Philippi</span> was
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a chief city of the western part of Macedonia, <b><i>prote tes
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meridos tes Makedonias polis,</i></b> <scripRef id="Phi.i-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.16.12" parsed="|Acts|16|12|0|0" passage="Ac 16:12">Acts xvi. 12</scripRef>. It took its name from Philip,
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the famous king of Macedon, who repaired and beautified it, and it
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was afterwards made a Roman colony. Near this place were the
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<i>Campi Philippici,</i> remarkable for the famous battles between
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Julius Cæsar and Pompey the Great, and that between Augustus and
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Antony on one side and Cassius and Brutus on the other. But it is
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most remarkable among Christians for this epistle, which was
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written when Paul was a prisoner at Rome, A.D. 62. Paul seems to
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have had a very particular kindness for the church at Philippi,
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which he himself had been instrumental in planting; and, though he
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had <i>the care of all the churches,</i> he had, upon that account,
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a particular fatherly tender care of this. To those to whom God has
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employed us to do any good we should look upon ourselves both as
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encouraged and engaged to study to do more good. He looked upon
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them as his children, and, having <i>begotten them by the
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gospel,</i> he was desirous by the same gospel to nourish and nurse
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them up. I. He was called in an extraordinary manner to preach the
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gospel at Philippi, <scripRef id="Phi.i-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Acts.16.9" parsed="|Acts|16|9|0|0" passage="Ac 16:9">Acts xvi.
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9</scripRef>. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: <i>There
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stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into
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Macedonia, and help us.</i> He saw God going before him, and was
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encouraged to use all means for carrying on the good work which was
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begun among them, and building upon the foundation which was laid.
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II. At Philippi he suffered hard things; he was scourged, and put
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into the stocks (<scripRef id="Phi.i-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Acts.16.23-Acts.16.24" parsed="|Acts|16|23|16|24" passage="Ac 16:23,24">Acts xvi. 23,
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24</scripRef>); yet he had not the less kindness for the place for
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the hard usage he met with there. We must never love our friends
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the less for the ill treatment which our enemies give us. III. The
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beginnings of that church were very small; Lydia was converted
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there, and the jailer, and a few more: yet that did not discourage
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him. If good be not done at first, it may be done afterwards, and
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the last works may be more abundant. We must not be discouraged by
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small beginnings. IV. It seems, by many passages in this epistle,
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that this church at Philippi grew into a flourishing church, and
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particularly that the brethren were very kind to Paul. He had
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reaped of their temporal things, and he made a return in spiritual
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things. He acknowledges the receipt of a present they had sent him
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(<scripRef id="Phi.i-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:Phil.4.18" parsed="|Phil|4|18|0|0" passage="Php 4:18">iv. 18</scripRef>), and this when no
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other church communicated with him as concerning giving and
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receiving (<scripRef id="Phi.i-p3.6" osisRef="Bible:Phil.4.15" parsed="|Phil|4|15|0|0" passage="Php 4:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>);
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and he gives them a prophet's, an apostle's reward, in this
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epistle, which is of more value than thousands of gold and
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silver.</p>
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</div2>
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