opposition, of which he bore the brunt, there were those whose hearts the

Lord had touched who were ready to lay down their lives for his sake.

Writing to the Philippians, therefore, in chapter 2, he said:

'Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith,

I joy, and rejoice with you all.  For the same cause also do ye joy,

and rejoice with me' (Phil. 2:17,18).

First of all we cannot help but be struck by the fact that there is no

gloom, despondency or conscious martyrdom here.  Joy and rejoice are the

repeated words.  In chapter 1 he recounts how his bonds were manifested in

all the palace, and that while some of the brethren prompted by love were

stimulated by these very bonds to more earnest witness, others, alas, taking

advantage of them, preached Christ of contention, supposing to add even to

his affliction.  What was his response? Did he bemoan their unchristian

attitude?  Did he present himself as an object of pity?  No, he said,

'I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice' (Phil. 1:18).

Was Paul made of that unnatural stuff that is only happy when miserable?  Did

he court trouble, and hug to himself misery?  It all depends upon what he

meant when he said 'therein', 'I therein do rejoice'.  Look back again:

'I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened

unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel ...

some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of

good will: the one preach Christ of contention ... the other (preach

Christ) of love ... What then? ... Christ Is Preached; and I therein

(or in this) do rejoice, yea and will rejoice' (Phil. 1:12 -18).

Passing Philippians 2:17 and 18, for the moment, we come to 2:28, and

here we find an expression of sorrow on the part of Paul.  Here at last he

has betrayed himself; we have caught him grieving, he is as other men.  But

stay, let us read what he has actually stated:

'Epaphroditus ... was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him;

and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon

sorrow.  I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him

again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful' (Phil.

We have only to read what he has said to realize that here was no self

-pity, no selfish sorrow, no sorrow merely because of his own lot, but a

sorrow, may we not say, a Christ -like sorrow for others.  The next

occurrence of chairo 'rejoice' is in Philippians 3:1, 'Finally my brethren,

rejoice in the Lord'; and this rejoicing in the Lord is so true, so real, so

complete, that it excludes all other ground of boasting.  The flesh, the

advantages of being a Jew, the boast of circumcision and law keeping, all

have gone, 'for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord'.

From the opening words of chapter 4 we gather that there was some little rift

between some of the workers at Philippi; the apostle would mend it all with

his own well -tried remedy:

'Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, rejoice' (Phil. 4:4).

The reader may interpose here, and say 'this is all very well, and is quite

true, but what has it to do with service conceived as sacrifice?'  The