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ye: Isaiah 40:30, Isaiah 40:31, Malachi 1:13, Romans 2:7, 1 Corinthians 15:28, Galatians 6:9, Galatians 6:10, Philippians 1:9, 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Hebrews 12:3

be not weary: or, faint not, Deuteronomy 20:8, Psalms 27:13, Isaiah 40:29, Zephaniah 3:16, *marg. Luke 18:1, 2 Corinthians 4:1, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Hebrews 12:5, Revelation 2:3

Reciprocal: Numbers 29:25 - General Jeremiah 45:3 - I fainted Luke 17:4 - I repent Ephesians 3:13 - ye Hebrews 6:11 - we desire Hebrews 13:16 - to do

But ye, brethren,.... The rest of the members of the church, who were diligent and industrious in their callings, minded their own business, and did not trouble themselves with other men's matters, took care of themselves, and their families, and were beneficent to others:

be not weary in well doing; which may be understood generally of all well doing, or of doing of every good work; which is well done when done according to the will of God, in faith, and from a principle of love, and in the name and strength of Christ, and with a view to the glory of God: or particularly of acts of beneficence to the poor; for though the idle and lazy should not be relieved, yet the helpless poor should not be neglected. This the apostle observes, lest covetous persons should make an handle of this, and withhold their hands from distributing to any, under a notion of their being idle and disorderly; or lest the saints should be tired, and become weary of doing acts of charity through the ingratitude, moroseness, and ill manners of poor people; see Galatians 6:9.

But ye, brethren, be not weary in well-doing - Margin, “faint not.” The Greek means, properly, to turn out a coward; then to be faint-hearted, to despond. The idea is, that they were not to be discouraged from doing good to the truly worthy and deserving by the idleness and improper conduct of some who asked their assistance. They were, indeed, shiftless and worthless. They would not labor; they spent their time in intermeddling with the concerns of their neighbors, and they depended for their support on the charity of others. The tendency of this, as all persons feel who have ever been applied to by such persons for aid, is, to indispose us to do good to any. We almost insensibly feel that all who ask for aid are of the same character; or, not being able to discriminate, we close our hands alike against all. Against this the apostle would guard us, and he says that though there may be many such persons, and though we may find it difficult to distinguish the worthy from the unworthy, we should not become so disheartened as not to give at all. Nor should we be weary though the applications for assistance are frequent. They are indeed frequent. God designs that they should be. But the effect should not be to dishearten us, or to make us weary in well-doing, but to fill us with gratitude - for it is a privilege to be permitted to do good. It is the great distinguishing characteristic of God that he always does good. It was that which marked the character of the Redeemer, that he “went about doing good;” and whenever God gives us the opportunity and the means of doing good, it should be to us an occasion of special thanksgiving. A man ought to become “weary” of everything else sooner than of evincing benevolence; compare the notes on Galatians 6:10.