Matthew Poole and continuators on Matthew 9:38

38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

The plain Sense of these two Verses is this, Iohn the Baptist, and Christ, had now been Preaching for some time, God inclined the Hearts of great multitudes, to follow both the one and the other: There was a great People prepared for the Lord, Mat. 11.12. From the days of Iohn the Baptist, the Kingdom of Heaven had suffered Violence, and the Violent took it by Force; men were exceeding fond of hearing the Gospel. The Fields were white to the Harvest (as our Saviour expresseth it) Ioh. 4.35. But there were few that would faithfully deliver the mind of God, there were abundance of idle Pharisees, and Scribes, and Priests, that spent their times in teaching People their Rites and Ceremonies, and Traditions, but the Labourers were few; such must be Gods Gift to the People, and they must be thrust out. No Arguments will be sufficient to perswade Men to the weighty work of them Ministry, with an intention to fulfil it, but the Power of God inclining their Hearts to it: You had need therefore Pray unto God, that he would send, nay that he would [non-Latin text not transcribed], thrust out Labourers into his Harvest. 1. The inclination and Desire of multitudes, to hear Divine Truth, is Gods Harvest. 2. Ministers work is a Labour, Gal. 4.11. Phil. 4.3. 1 Tim. 5.17. if rightly discharged, it must be with Labour. 3. God is the Lord of the Harvest. Ministers ought to look upon him as so. 4. None ought to thrust themselves into the work of the Ministry, till God thrust them out, Heb. 5.4. 5. There a[illegible: 1 letter]ways were but a few Labourers in Gods Harvest. Hence Chrysostome thought that but a few Ministers would be saved. Our Saviour in this Chapter prefaceth his work, of which we shall Discourse in the next Chapter. viz. His sending forth his twelve Apostles.