Ver. 9. Against Weariness in Well-doing.—1. There is the prevailing temper of our nature, the love of ease—horror of hard labour. 2. The reluctance and aversion are greater when the labour is enjoined by extraneous authority—the imperative will of a foreign power. 3. In the service of God there is a good deal that does not seem for ourselves. 4. There is a principle of false humility—what signifies the little I can do? 5. The complaint of deficient co-operation. 6. In the cause of God the object and effect of well-doing are much less palpable than in some other provinces of action. 7. Yet the duty expressly prescribed is an absolute thing, independently of what men can foresee of its results. 8. There is the consciousness and pleasure of pleasing God. 9. What relief has man gained by yielding to the weariness? 10. Our grave accountableness is for making a diligent, patient, persevering use of the means God has actually given us.—J. Foster.

Apathy one of our Trials.—1. Because, as in everything else, so in our spiritual growth, we are inevitably disappointed in much of our expectations. 2. The temptation to weariness is no sign at all that the man so tempted is not a true servant of God, though this very often is the first thought that enters the mind. It is no sin to feel weary; the sin is to be weary—that is, to let the feeling have its way and rule our conduct. 3. We expect a kind of fulness of satisfaction in God’s service which we do not get nearly so soon as we fancy that we shall. 4. You are quite mistaken to your belief that former prayers and former resolutions have been in vain and have produced no fruit because no fruit is visible. 5. In due season we shall find that it has been worth while to persevere in trying to serve Christ.—Dr. Temple.

Well-doing.

I. Contrasted with fruitless profession.—It is possible to have a clear notion of Christian truth and to talk well, and yet be idle and useless.

II. Contrasted with mistaken standards.—It is easy to do as others are doing; but are they doing well? Practice must be guided by holy precepts.

III. Contrasted with wrong motives.—Many are careful to do what is literally the right thing, but they do it with base motives. The correct motives are—love (2 Cor. v. 14), gratitude (Ps. cxvi. 12), compassion (2 Cor. v. 11), desire to imitate Christ. All well-doing is humble and self-renouncing.—The Lay Preacher.

“Reap if we faint not.”—The image is agricultural.

I. Points of resemblance.—1. The material harvest is of two kinds—weeds and golden grain. 2. The spiritual harvest is of two kinds—corruption and everlasting life. 3. A combination of agencies. (1) For the material harvest seed, soil, and elements work with the efforts of the farmer. (2) For the spiritual harvest the seed of the Word and the power of God must co-operate with man’s agency. 4. As to difficulties. (1) The season may be too wet, too dry, or too hot, or an army of insects may attack the growing grain. (2) The foes of the spiritual harvest are the world, the flesh, and the devil.

II. Points of contrast.—1. The material harvest is annual, the spiritual eternal. 2. There are seasons so unfavourable that all the efforts of the farmer prove in vain; the spiritual harvest will never fail. 3. The drouth of one year may be made good by next year’s abundance, but eternity cannot compensate for what was lost in time.

III. Encouragements.—1. “Our labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 2. “In due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” 3. The harvest will be glorious and eternal.—Homiletic Monthly.