The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 287

they will be but the sme.U dust in the be.le.noe, Th.ire ls encoure.gement ln the thought of- II. THE OHARACTER OF THE SEED WHIOH TB BOWN, The.t seed was In course of pre- JJarat!on e.s Jesus Ohrist was spoaking and working e.nd suffering. It was his whole life; 1t was, indeed, him~elf in all his relations with men, in all the e.spects in which he could be regarded, whether e.s Tea.cher, or Friend, or Exemplar, or Divine Sufferer, This was the seed which should be eown, the fruit~ of which would be the gre&t hsrvo8t of God. "I, if I be lifted up," etc. But, on the other hand, there has to be taken into account- Ill. TaE 0HARACTEB OF THE AGENTS e.t work in the broe.d field of the world, 1. Their infirmity. They are men; good men, but '' the best of men e.re but men e.t the best;" all (they should be) renewed by the Spirit of God e.nd fired with the love of Christ an~ of _hu_ma? souls; but all (they are)" compassc~ about with ~nfirmity," all bound with lim1t&t10ns of understandmg, of character, of wisdom, 2. Their paucity. "The labourers are few "-few in comparison with the agents of evil and the sources of error; few, regarded in their proportion to the multHude on whom they are to act. In this light they are lament.ably insufficient, There are great breadths of the field scarcely worked and other vas1. districts positively untouched. What, then, is- IV. THE HOPE OF THE FAITHFUL? \Vhen we survey the greatness of the harvest and the fewness of the labourers in the field, where does our hope lie? In the provid- ing power of the great Lord of the harvest. He who moves the stars in their spher •s can create human souls, can endow them with noble faculties, can inspire them with generous aims, can send them forth on glorious and triumphant missions. We cauuot tell the possibilities which are hidden in one great human soul whose heart God hRs touched, whose band God has strengthened. One such man may be instrumental in turning a whole tract of barrenness into fertility: what, tben, may not a number of such souls accomplish? When the Lord of the la:vest speaks the word, great will be the company of the preachers, the number of the labourers, Wherefore let us pray the Father of spirits to put forth his creative power and send mighty workers into his waiting fielde.-C. Ver. 7,-0u,- due. "The labourer is worthy of his hire." What is it that we deserve? The answer depends entirely on the light in which we regard the question, We may look at it in three aspects. L Qua m.-woBTII.INEBS OF ANYTHING. If God were to give to us exactly what we deserve, everything of every kind being taken into account, we should receive nothing more. For, weighing in one see.le all that we owe to him for everything he has been to us and wrought for us and bestowed upon us, and in the other scale what response we have made to him in gratitude, love, service, we should "be found wanting," and could claim nothing. We are not worthy the least of all his mercies. All that he gives us is so much beyond our desert. II. OUB OBLIGATIONS TO ONE ANOTHER. It is well that we do not make these a •• matter of account," e.s tradesmen do with the articles they supply to one another, only paying the balance now and then. For who would decide on which side that balance le.y? And of how much beauty and excellence would our daily life be divested I The true and wise course is to make acknowledgment of every kindness receive<l, the warmer gratitude for the greater favour, but some thanks for the least indebtedness, not waiting to con8ider who is the greater debtor of the two. We are to "owe no man auything " only in the sense that we are to b~ ever paying and there- fore ever cancelling our debts. But we are to be constantly rndebted to one another, Poor and small indeed would the.t human life be which did not owe much to the service of others. What we are to seek after is not a life without obligation, but a life in which we are very freely placing our neighbours in our debt by the kindness we show tl,em, and in which we are making very free acknowledgment of all that we owe to the love and the service we receive. Every labourer should receive his hire, hi8 due reward, and among others the Chrbtian workman should be ~ightly rec?mpenscd. 1. It is a m.1tter of righteousness, as between man and man; faithful service should have its meet reward· and this reward should be in (1) affectionate honour, and (2) sub- it&ntisJ., material i,upport. 2, When riihtl,r rendered, the reward received will be OU, X, 1-42.) TTire GOSPRL ACCORDlN'O TO ST. LUKE, 289