I am afraid of you Sad thought, that all the toil which he had undergone on their behalf might prove to have been in vain! The possibility of such a result softens his tone, and as he thinks of his own labours, he will appeal to them by their memory of the past of their reception of him and of his message -at the first".

The thought of having bestowed labour in vain has always been one of the trials of the faithful messenger of God. It was so in the case of Elijah (1 Kings 19:10; 1 Kings 19:14), of Isaiah, (Isaiah 53:1). It finds frequent expression in the Epistles of St Paul (1 Corinthians 15:14; Galatians 2:2; Philippians 2:16; 1 Thessalonians 3:5). The assurance given long ago (Isaiah 55:11) is still needed and still in force.

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