It is a natural tendency of man to complain about effort exertion. It seems that in this day and age, however, it is glorified, exalted, and expected for a man to complain about the drudgery of work and the lack of "free time." I know that I have been quite guilty of this sentiment in an unrighteous way many times. Consider, then, this pithy saying from the venerable Matthew Henry:

Observe here, [1.] That labour is our duty, which we must faithfully perform; we are bound to work, not as creatures only, but as criminals; it is part of our sentence, which idleness daringly defies. [2.] That uneasiness and weariness with labour are our just punishment, which we must patiently submit to, and not complain of, since they are less than our iniquity deserves. Let not us, by inordinate care and labour, make our punishment heavier than God has made it; but rather study to lighten our burden, and wipe off our sweat, by eyeing Providence in all and expecting rest shortly.

Let us, then, not grow weary in our vocations, duties, etc. but execute them thoroughly to the glory of God, giving thanks to Him Who has provided for us, despite our biting of His Hand that feeds us.

I have been a great beneficiary of Matthew Henry's pious generosity, as can be gleaned from his commentary on the Scriptures. He, and other Puritan Divines, are an invaluable source of biblical piety (as opposed to the moralism of pietism) that all Christians, "great and small," would do well to read, ingest, digest, meditate, and think upon.

__________________
Josh Hicks, Chloë's Dad
Christ Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church, RPCGA
Facebook - The Calvinist Vent
Board Rules - Signature Rules - Suggestion Box

It is God that multiplies our sorrows.... God, as a righteous Judge, does it, which ought to silence us under all our sorrows; as many as they are, we have deserved them all, and more: nay, God, as a tender Father, does it for our necessary correction, that we may be humbled for sin, and weaned from the world by all our sorrows; and the good we get by them, with the comfort we have under them, will abundantly balance our sorrows, how greatly soever they are multiplied. - Matthew Henry

I must depart from Matthew Henry on the punishment aspect of our labor. To be sure, post-fall our work can be hard and tedious, but I would much rather work than be idle. On a whole I enjoy my job, although it contains some mundane tasks I can do without. Adam was created to work, albeit without the harsh aspect of it that we sometimes endure. Perhaps it's more of an attitude. Sweat on the brow labor may be the result of the fall, but I happen to view it as God's grace in giving purpose to my life.

__________________
Bill Brown
Elder
Reformed Baptist
Maryland

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?
Visit my BLOG Theology for the Rest of Us

Henry is speaking specifically to the "uneasiness and weariness" portion of the labor, not labor altogether.

Joshua, I understand that, and he is right to point that out. I prefer to look at my work in the big picture. That way I am not approaching the tedious and hard as my punishment. Of course, when I start raking the 50+ bags of leaves my yard produces I may have to revisit my point of view!

Thanks, Josh, for the reminder. I'm home nursing a bug today and appreciate the quote.

The ultimate picture of work in modern music?

Don't steal, don't lift
Twenty years of schoolin'
And they put you on the day shift
Look out kid
They keep it all hid

Bob Dylan gets it right . . . again!

__________________
Dennis E. McFadden, Ex Mainline Baptist (in Remission)
Atherton Baptist Homes, CEO
First Baptist Church of Alhambra, Member, Transformation Ministries (CA)

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

... and we can look forward to the new earth where thorns will no longer infest the ground.

While I think I understand the point here (God after all, said that by the sweat of our brow shall we eat) I am nervous at equating work and punishment. Sweat, frustration, poor results -- those are the fruits of the fall which I believe Mr. Henry is referring to in his second point. The first point is a little ambiguous since work will not be a punishment in the new earth.

__________________
JWithnell
Member Bethel OPC
Virginia
http://learningyesican.blogspot.com/

I agree that work, in and of itself, should not be equated with punishment. I don't believe that MH said or implied such a thing, either, so I'm really not understanding why he seems to be interpreted as purporting such.

Thanks. I gripe too! Then I remember that God gave me a great job and that there are ppl who don't even have a job or ppl whose job doesn't pay enough, or even ppl who bc of disability can't work. I need to learn to give thanks in all things!

__________________
sarah
WI
OPC
My Pastor's Sermons: Mark Jenkins...he's awesome!!!

On campus this attitude manifests itself in packs of whiny students complaining about the simplest of assignments. :/ It's everywhere. I catch myself all the time having a negative attitude about assigments I should be enjoying. Last Thursday I had to watch a hilarious 17th century french play and write a short, easy critique on it. I was up all night frustrated with a paper that should have been a blast to write!

Can't tell you how many times I've heard the equivalent of this line from fellow students: "Aww, Professor, you mean we actually have to try to learn something before the test?!"

__________________
Austin
EE student at Texas State University
Member of Church of the Cross (PCA) in San Marcos, TX
Ps. 8:3-4 "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"

That's certainly a good observation/application of Henry's words there, Austin.

I'm a grateful to God that I have a job...and a church...and a wife...and a family...and friends... and a Savior and much, much more....not in any particular order.

__________________
Ivan R. Schoen, B.A., M.A., M.L.I.S.
Pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church (SBC)
Poplar Grove, IL, USA
http://maranatha-sbc.org

Good thread, and I wanted to test out my new profile pic with my recent Matthew Henry Commentary.

Josh, thanks for sparking me to get it with your Matthew Henry thread.

I'm going to go through Colossions as my first book.

__________________
WWW.SURFWRITERS.BLOGSPOT.COM
Trevor
Christian/Husband/Father/Writer/Teacher--
--In that order.
Bethany Church
CALIFORNIA
God is my King
Love God--Live Large