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Philippi bringing gifts, probably money, from th e b reth ren th ere to Paul. This is the tend erest and most cheerful of all th e epistles. P au l held th e Philip pians in th e highest esteem and love. They had been very kind to him . In th e main, they had walked afte r his example. No false teaching had beset them and the epistle is for th e most p a rt one of commendation. The sun shine of God’s favor illum ines every chapter. In addition to its doctrinal importance, the le tte r is unspeakably dear to th e church for th e glimpses which it furnishes of the g reat Apostle’s h eart. Christian fellowship finds its sw eetest expression in relieving the necessities of th e needy members of the household of faith. L ittle did the Philippians th ink th a t th e ir tim ely and generous gifts of love would furnish th e occasion of w riting an epistle th a t would figure so largely among the inspired w ritings of Christianity, be coming a com fort and blessing to the church of God unto th e end of time. Any kindly deed of unselfish service perform ed by any one of us in the sp irit of Christ in our daily life, may be related by th e Providence of God to the well-being of m ultitudes and bring rich and etern al compensation. WEDNESDAY, July 23. Psalm 133. Dwelling Together in Unity. Good things are not always pleasant and pleasant things are no t always good b u t here is a happy combination of th e two. There are two figures given to illu strate th e blessing of unity, the oil and th e dew, standing respectively for fragrance and fruitfulness. The holy anointing oil, perfum ed w ith sweet spices, is described in Ex. 30:22- 32. The odor spread around the High- p riest and announced his presence even before he could be seen. The Spirit of God anoints those who dwell together in unity. There is a sweetness of tone and touch abou t them th a t pervades th e atmosphere. The blessing com municates itself to all around them . The heavy dews th a t sa tu ra te the land of P alestine make it fru itfu l du r ing the dry seasons and make up in p a rt for th e lack of rain. W ithout the dew and m ist of th e night, th e burning sun would parch and destroy the fru its of th e earth . This is w hat Chris tian unity accomplishes. It refreshes, revives and fructifies. Under these conditions the Lord has frequently commanded the blessing in the; past,
Vice is a mere appendix to th e com munion. Physical and magical Chris tia n ity is no t salvation b u t pure P agan ism. The colloquialism, hocus-pocus, is a contraction of th e L atin priestly for mula, “hoc est enim meum corpus,” the mere u tteran ce of which by the p riest is supposed to change the bread and wine into th e literal body, blood, soul and divinity of th e Lord Jesus Christ. The assumption th a t a priest can th u s rep eat the A tonement is a v irtu a l denial of the completeness of Christ’s sacrifice, Scripture teaches th a t th rough the operation of th e Holy S pirit in regen eration th e soul of the believer is united to Christ vitally, indissolubly and etern ally. It differs from all unions of asso ciation, sympathy and moral influence. I t is no t a union w ith a creed or doc trin a l system, it is no t a union w ith an organized church nor an ideal man. It is a union w ith th e personal, living, risen and glorified Lord. Most Chris tian s th in k of Christ as a Saviour out side of them , ra th e r th a n a Saviour th a t dwells w ithin. The fact of this union is discoverable bu t no t definable because it includes the finite and the infinite. It is a fact of life and all life is a mystery. S p iritu al life is th e g reat est mystery of all. The indwelling of Christ involves a continuous exercise of Divine and efficient power. He does not work upon us from w ithout, but from w ithin as the h e a rt from which the life-blood of our sp irits flows. Gal. 2 :20 ; Eph. 3:16, 17. We may be un conscious of th is union as we are un conscious of th e action of the h e a rt and th e circulation of the hload, yet it may be the very source and condition of our life. Our salvation depends th erefo re not on our own unstable wills, b u t upon Christ’s purpose and power. By dis obedience and unbelief we may banish Him for the tim e being into some re mote corner of the soul bu t He does not suffer us to wholly exclude Him and when we re tu rn to Him in penitent faith, he is still there, ready to fill our whole being With ligh t and love. MONDAY, July 21. John 17:1-11. One With Christ. TUESDAY, July 22. Phil. 4:10-20. Christian Fellowship. The le tte r to th e Philippians is th e last of the epistles of th e imprisonment. Bpaphroditus had come to Rome from
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