The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 355

must not weary in it, How much depends on perseverance I (1) God's glory is greatly promoted ; (2) the prosperity of the Church powerfully enhanced; (3) our own reward proportionately increased. 'l'herefore we ought to be open to new opportunities, to new occa.sions, to new objects, of usefulness. III. Tn111 CAUSES OF WEARINESS IN WELL-DOING. They e.re numerous e.nd complex in their operation. 1. The friction of life in e. world with ungodly tendencies. 2. The ingratitude and nnworthiness of those we befriend. 3. We are cooled by the coldness of other men, 4. Our patience is exhausted by the number seeking our help. 5. There is so muoh to be done that it seems useless to begin in the hope of overtaking every- thing, 6. There is so, much opposition to the best plans of goodness. 7. Physical fatigue has a tendency to generate moral weariness. IV. ENCOURAGEMENT TO PEBBEVEBANOE. Our work will not be resultless. "In due season we sh1dl ree.p, if we faint not." 1. There is a regular time for the harvest. "'fhe harvest is the end of lhe world." The sowing goes on all through our lives. We must not be disheartened because the interval appears long. "Thou shalt be recom- pensed at the resurrection of the just." If you do not find the results of Christian service on earth, you will find them in heaven. "Be patient therefore, brethr~n, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandma.n waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and bath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain" (Ja.s. v. 7). 2. The reaping will surely ,come. It will come partly in this world, in the blessing of God upon all we possess and all we do, in the gratitude and prayers of those we help, and in the secrllt satisfaction which a course of well-doing carries into the heart of the believer. But ourJull reward will be at the resurrection of the just, and will be proportional to the nature and extent of our labours. Therefore believers ought to be "steadfast, unmovable, ever abounding in the work of the Lord, seeing that oua_. l~bour shall not be in vain in the Lord" (1 Cor, xv. 58). Ver. 10.-The sphere ·of beneficence. This verse sums up the ideas of the previous verses, which ,spoke of beneficence in general, by setting forth its objects and occasions. l. THE DUTY OOMJIUlIDED. " Let us do good." Christian life is not a mere eaHJ and decent inoffensiveness. .A man is-not harmless who does no good. The barren tree is hµrtful, because it cumbers the ground and dre.ws to itself the fertilizing qualities of the earth, wl:)ich would make a better tree more fruitful. It bcings forth no bad fruit ; yet it is cast into the fire. Therefore we must not only" cease to do evil," but " learn to do well." "To do good and to communicate forget not" (Heb. xiii. 16). II. THE DUTY BOUNDED BY OPPORTUNITY, "As we have therefore opportunity." Cotton Mather says, «The opportunity to do good imposes the obligation to do it." It is not- when our inclination or our self-interest or the thirst for fame or gratitude dispose us that we are to do good, but at every opportunity that opens on our path. These opportunities are constantly around us in the common intercourse of life, but they specially arise in connection with suffering and distress. Therefore" in the morning ~ow thy seed, and in-the evening withhold not thine hand." III. Tm: SPHERE OF BENEVOLENCE. There is a wider sphere, and a narrower within it: "Do good unto all men, and especially to them who are of the household of faith." There are distinctions even in the wider Mphere. We recognize them in the obligations of family life, "If any man provide not for his own, he is worse than an infidel ; " we recognize the claims of friendship and of gratitude; yet our beneficence is to extend to all men within the range of opportunity. It is a significant fact that the Apostle Peter, in naming the successive graces of life that are essential to our partaking of the Divine nature, says, "Add to your brotherly kindness charity." There may be a selfish or sectarian feeling that leads us to forget the wider relations in which we stand in the scheme of Divine providence. Yet the brotherly kindness stands first. We are to <lo good, "especially to them who are of the household of faith;" on the same principle as we are bound to remember first the wants of our family or our friends. The spirit of the Rousseau philanthropy would not tolerate any distinctions of this sort. The household in question, which include11 the whole collective body ofChristians, is a large, .i growing, a loving household, and, in early times, sorely scattered by persecution. There was, therefore, a special need to show kindness to its members. The" collection for the jjl\ints" (1 Cor.. xvi. 1, 2) is a practical illustration of this nearer relationship. GALA'l'IANS, i  THE EPISTLE TO TBE GALA'l'IANS. [cH, VI, 1-18,