Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
His affection for them burned hot: they were his beloved, his longing, his joy, his crown. He calls them brethren though he was an apostle, because all renewed by one Spirit are brothers. Warm affection must go with brotherly relation. He had no joy greater than hearing of their spiritual health. This is how tenderness works: it makes exhortation cut deeper and carry farther.
AI summary
Commenting on Philippians 4:1-9
Observe here, 1. The duty exhorted to: Christian cheerfulness and joy; a duty which glorifies God, adorns religion, is beneficial to ourselves, by enabling us to bear afflictions, to glory in them, and to triumph over them. Observe, 2. The object of this duty, a glorious and replenishing object; Christ the Lord: Rejoice in the Lord. 3.
4. Rejoice in the Lord It is an exhortation suited to the times; for, as the condition of the pious was exceedingly troublous, and dangers threatened them on every side, it was possible that they might give way, overcome by grief or impatience.