Matthew Poole and continuators on 1 Thessalonians 2:9

9 For ye remember brethren our labour ▪ and travel : For labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable to any of you , we preached unto you the gospel of God.

To make good what he had asserted before about their integrity in preaching the Gospel, that it was without Covetousness, and vain Glory, &c. and about their great affection to them therein, he appeals to their own memory.

Labour, in what we suffered, attended with care and solicitude of mind; as the word imports:

and travel in what we did, attended with weariness, as some distinguish of the words.

This refers to some bodily labour they used, which I find not mentioned in the story while they were at Thessalonica, though Paul did practice at Corinth, Acts 18.3. To prevent scandal, and misconstruction that may arise from receiving maintenance, and in case of the Churches poverty the Apostle would refuse it, but without respect to these he pleaded it as his due, 1 Cor. 9.1, &c. And his refusing was no work of super-erogation as the Papists plead hence; for in such cases it was a Duty with respect to the honour of his Ministry, so that it ought not to pass into a rule, either that Ministers in no case may labour with their hands to get their bread; or that they ought so to do alwaies, as some would conclude hence, and preach freely: However he commends them that they forgot not the labour and travel they underwent for their sake, and that both night and day, which implies assiduity and diligence as Psal 1.2. Luk. 2.37. 1 Thess. 3.10. And so to be taken here. Though it may signifie their spending part of the night as well as the day in some bodily labour; the same we read 2 Thess. 3.8. yet not to be understood as if they spent the whole night and day therein; for how then could they have preached the Gospel to them as he here addeth; and they would take nothing of maintenance from any of them, or be chargeable or burdensom to them; not from the poor to whom it might really be a burthen, nor from the rich who yet might be backward, and a[illegible: 1 letter]c[illegible: 1 letter]unt it a burthen.

Marginal references: Act. 20 34. 1 Cor. 4.12.