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 YOL.  IV. 
 
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 DUBLIN  :    JOHN   ROBERTSON   AND    CO. 
 
 3IDCCCLXIV. 
 
'HE 
 
 WOEDS  OE  THE  RISEN  SAVIOUR 
 
 AND  COMMENTARY  ON 
 
 THE  EPISTLE  OE  ST  JAMES. 
 
 EUDOLF'^TIEE. 
 
 DOCTOR  OF  THEOLOGY,  CHIF.K  PASTOR  AND  SUPEHINTENDENT  OF  SCHKEUDITZ. 
 
 TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  GERMAN, 
 
 EEV.    WILLIAM    B.    POPE, 
 
 MANCHESTER. 
 
 NEW  EDITION. 
 
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 T.  &  T.  CLAKK,  38,  GEORGE  STREET. 
 
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 DUBLIN  :    JOHN   ROBERTSON    AND    CO. 
 
 MDCCCLXIV. 
 
MURRAY  AND  GtBB,  PRINTERS,  EDINBURGH. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 WORDS  OF  THE  RISEN  SAVIOUR. 
 
 PACK 
 
 rNTRODUCTION,            .......  1 
 
 I.  To  Saul  the  Persecutor,  Acts  ix.  4-6,  xxii.  7-10,  xxvi.  14-16,  9 
 
 IT.  Ananias' Commission,  Acts  ix.  10-16,           ...  27 
 
 III.  To  Saul  in  the  Temple :  the  Mission  to  the  Gentiles  announced. 
 
 Acts  xxii.  17-21,               .....  39 
 
 IV.  Further  Appearance  to  Saul :  To  whom  I  now  send  thee,  Acts 
 
 xxvi.  16-18,          ......  46 
 
 V.  To  St  Peter  in  the  Trance  upon  the  Housetop,  Acts  x.  13-16, 
 
 xi.  7-10,               ......  61 
 
 VI.  To  St  Paul  in  Corinth,  Acts  xviii.  9,  10,       .             .             .  69 
 
 VII.  To  St  Paul  in  Bonds  at  Jerusalem,  Acts  xxiii.  11,     .             .  75 
 VIII.  To  St  Paul  in  his  Infirmity,  2  Cor.  xii.  9,     .             .             .82 
 IX.  To  St  John  in  Patmos,  at  the  beginning  of  his  Visions,  Rev. 
 
 i.  11,  17-20, 92 
 
 X.  The  Seven  Epistles  to  the  Seven  Churches,  Rev.  ii.,  iii.        .  113 
 
 XI.  "  I  wiU  show  thee ! "  Rev.  iv.  1,        .             .             .             .  207 
 
 XII.  Final  "Word  from  the  Throne,  Rev.  xxi.  5-8,             .             .  211 
 
 COMMENTARY  ON  ST  JAMES. 
 
 I.  Trials  pure  Joy,  ch.  i.  1-4,    .... 
 II.  Asking  for  Wisdom,  i.  5-8, 
 
 III.  The  Rejoicing  of  the  Lowly  and  the  Exalted,  i   9-12, 
 
 IV.  The  Origin  and  End  of  Evil,  i.  13-15, 
 V.  All  Good  Gifts  from  Above,  i.  16-18, 
 
 VI.  Swift  to  Hear,  i.  19, 
 VII.  But  Slow  to  Speak,  i.  19,      . 
 VIII.  Slow  to  Wrath,  i.  19,  20,      .  .  - 
 
 225 
 231 
 
 239 
 246 
 254 
 264 
 273 
 282 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 IX.  The  Perpetual  Laying  Aside  and  Receiving,  i.  21,  .        289 
 
 X.  The  Self-deception  of  the  Hearers ;  the  Blessedness  of  the 
 
 Doers,  i.  22-25, 297 
 
 XI.  The  Law  of  Liberty :  Looking  into  and  continuing  in  it :  the 
 
 Blessed  in  their  Deed,  i.  25,      .  .  .  .        304 
 
 XIL  God's  Pure  and  Undefiled  Service,  i.  26,  27,        .  .        312 
 
 XIIL  No  Respect  of  Persons  in  the  Love  of  the  Neighbour,  ii.  1-9,   320 
 
 XIY.  How  the  Law  is  to  be  Understood  and  Kept,  ii.  10-13,  .        328 
 
 XV.  Mercy  rejoiceth  against  Judgment,  ii.  13,  .  .        335 
 
 XVL  Faith  without  Works,  ii.  14-19,  .  .  .342 
 
 XVII.  The  Works  of  Abraham's  and  Rahab's  Faith,  ii.  20-26,  351 
 
 XVni.  Not  every  Man  a  Teacher,  iii.  1,  2,  .  .  .        360 
 
 XIX.  The  Sins  of  the  Tongue,  iii.  3-12,  .  .  .        369 
 
 XX.  The  Gentleness  of  True  Wisdom,  and  the  Wrath  of  False, 
 
 iii.  13-16,  .  .  .  .  .  .380 
 
 XXL  The  Wisdom  from  Above,  iii.  17,  18,       ..  .  .388 
 
 XXII.  Whence  come  Wars  and  Fightings  among  you  ?  iv.  1-3,         398 
 
 XXIII.  Conviction  and  Admonition  of  the  Unfaithful,  iv.  4-10,         407 
 
 XXIV.  Evil  Speaking  and  Judging,  iv.  11,  12,  .  .  .        417 
 XXV.  The  Uncertainty  of  our  Short  Life,  iv.  13-17,     .  .        425 
 
 XXVI.  The  Misery  coming  upon  the  Rich,  v.  1-6,  .  .        433 
 
 XXVIL  Patient  Waiting,  v.  7-9,  .  .  .  .442 
 
 XXVIII.  Examples  of  Suffering  and  Patience,  v.  10,  11,  .  .        451 
 
 XXIX.  Swear  Not ;  Purify  your  Speech,  v.  12,  .  .        461 
 
 XXX.  Praying  and  Singing,  v.  13,        .  .  . '  .        470 
 
 XXXI.  Ordinance  for  the  Sick,  v.  14-18,  .  .  .478 
 
 XXXII.  The  Greatest  Need,  and  the  Greatest  Work  of  Faith, 
 
 V.  19.  20 489 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 When  the  Apostle  Paul  in  1  Cor.  xv.  8  places  the  appearance 
 of  the  risen  and  exalted  Jesus  to  himself  in  direct  continuation 
 with  the  earlier  appearances  of  the  Forty  Days — without  making 
 express  mention  of  the  ascension — it  might  appear  that  he 
 recognises  no  distinction  between  the  time  before,  and  the  time 
 after,  that  event ;  and  the  meaning  which  he  intended  to  convey 
 is  undoubtedly  this,  that  the  same  Person  who,  from  the  moment 
 of  His  resurrection,  had  begun  to  enter  into  His  glory,  after 
 Hjs  suffering  and  death,  had  appeared  and  said  to  him — I  am 
 this  Jesus.  Still  more  striking,  and  equally  important  in  its 
 bearing,  is  the  fact  that  Ananias,  in  Acts  xxii.  14,  15,  places 
 the  seeing  and  hearing  to  which  St  Paul  was  chosen,  on  a  level 
 with  that  seeing  and  hearing  which  (according  to  ch.  i.  21,  22) 
 was  the  qualification  of  one  who  should  be  a  "witness,  to  all 
 men  of  that  which  he  had  seen  and  heard" — that  is,  of  an 
 Apostle.  The  Lord's  life  of  humiliation  and  His  life  of  glory 
 are  here  really  embraced  in  one  comprehensive  glance ;  hence, 
 Ananias  used  the  same  expression,  "the  Just  One,"  which 
 Stephen  used  in  ch.  vii.  52.  All  this  emphatically  teaches  us 
 that  the  transaction  Avith  the  Apostle  Paul  must  be  classed 
 among  those  manifestations  of  our  Lord  which,  notA^dthstanding 
 the  intervening  glorification  in  heaven,  were  bodili/  manifesta- 
 tions. Jesus  appeared  to  him  (Acts  ix.  17,  xxvi.  16)  as  to  those 
 who  saw  Him  before  the  ascension ;  although,  on  the  other  hand, 
 
2  INTRODUCTION. 
 
 St  Paul  forgets  not,  before  Agrippa  (ch.  xxvi.  19),  to  lay  stress 
 upon  the  heavenly  vision. 
 
 This  last  passage  teaches  us  further  that  the  ascension,  as 
 the  final  consummating  point  of  the  exaltation  of  Jesus,  must, 
 notwithstanding  alT  this,  maintain  its  place.  We  denounce  the 
 blasphemy  of  those  who,  with  Brennecke,  of  melancholy  memory, 
 fable  that  Christ  lived  upon  earth  twenty-seven  years  after  His 
 crucifixion,  planning  all  kinds  of  appearances  to  His  disciples ; 
 as  well  as  the  theory  of  Kinkel,  which  has  found  too  much 
 favour  with  the  learned,  that  there  was  no  real  ascension  after 
 the  resmTection.  The  different  manner  in  wdiich  the  Lord 
 appeared  and  spoke,  after  His  visible  ascension,  of  itself  esta- 
 blishes the  distinction  most  firmly;  apart  from  the  authentic 
 narrative  of  that  event,  and  the  subsequent  doctrine  founded 
 upon  it.  For,  although  St  Paul,  according  to  his  essentially 
 correct  system,  ordinarily  gives  prominence  only  to  the  resur- 
 rection (with  its  infolded  results)  as  the  definite  point  of  transi- 
 tion between  the  humiliation  and  exaltation  of  Christ — even  as 
 the  Church  kept  Easter  first,  and  only  aftersvards  added  the 
 festival  of  the  Ascension — yet  the  same  Apostle  speaks  abrm- 
 dantly  of  the  Redeemer's  session  at  the  right  hand  of  God  in 
 heaven  (Eph.  i.  20,  etc.,  iv.  10;  comp.  Heb.  iv.  14,  viii.  1, 
 ix.  24),  in  the  same  manner  as  St  Peter  does,  1  Pet.  iii.  22. 
 
 We  have,  therefore,  scriptm-al  ground  for  literally  under- 
 standing, as  the  Church  has  ever  believed  and  confessed,  both 
 the  "  I  am  not  yet  ascended  "  and  the  "  I  ascend  "  of  the  risen 
 Lord  Himself  (John  xx.  17),  and  the  "He  is  ascended"  of  His 
 witnesses ;  consequently,  we  are  justified  in  saying  that,  as  the 
 discourses  of  the  risen  Jesus  w^ere  still  uttered  upon  earth,  the 
 words.of  the  exalted  Jesus  are  distinctively  words  from  heaven. 
 "  The  discourses  of  the  Lord  Jesus,"  taken  in  their  strict  uni- 
 versality, were  not  closed  with  the  last  sapngs  of  the  ascending 
 Christ  (Acts  i.  8,  9)  ;  and  the  supplement  which  was  promised 
 at  the  close  of  our  larger  exposition  must  now  introduce  the 
 essentially  last  w^ords. 
 
 Were  they  absolutely  the  last  ?  It  may  be  said,  in  another 
 sense,  that  the  Lord  has  never  ceased  to  speak  to  His  people, 
 and  never  will  cease  to  speak  to  them ;  that  is,  by  the  Holy 
 Ghost.  But,  with  the  same  propriety  as  the  Lord  Himself  and 
 the  entire  New  Testament  make  the  distinction,  we  may  dis- 
 
INTRODUCTION.  3 
 
 tinguisli  between  the  recorded  sajdngs  of  the  personal  Jesns, 
 speaking  from  heaven,  and  His  internal  revelation  by  the 
 Spirit.  It  is  a  different  matter,  and  one  which  falls  not  within 
 the  range  of  the  task  which  we  propose,  that  we  find  the  Spirit 
 speaking  to  Philip  on  the  way  to  Gaza,  Acts  ^-iii.  29,  as  the 
 same  Spirit  caught  him  away  in  ver.  39 ;  and  that  the  Spirit 
 speaks  to  Peter,  ch.  x.  19  (xi.  12),  even  as  the  angel  to  Cor- 
 nelius. With  these  we  must  class  also  the.  forbidding  of  the 
 Spirit  (and,  according  to  the  more  correct  reading,  of  the  Spirit 
 of  Jesus),  ch.  xvi.  6,  7,^  which  may  have  been  by  an  audible 
 word  heard  internally ;  but  St  Luke  expressly  distinguishes  the 
 speaking  of  the  Spirit  from  the  pei^sonal  announcements  of  the 
 Lord,  whether  speaking  in  broad  day  or  in  night  visions.  In 
 ch.  xiii.  1,  2,  where  the  prophets  of  the  New  Testament  are 
 spoken  of,  he  passes  over  into  the  general  expression,  "  the  Holy 
 Spirit,"  to  indicate  this  indirect,  mediated,  and  continuous  inter- 
 course with  His  people. 
 
 Thus  the  "words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  from  heaven" — so  far 
 as  the  Scripture  records  them — retain  and  exhibit  their  distinc- 
 tive peculiarity  in  this,  that  the  glorified  bodily  personahty  of 
 the  God-man  is  manifested,  or  gives  itself  expression,  with  the 
 voice  of  the  individual  /.  This,  on  the  one  hand,  is  still  just 
 as  in  the  Forty  Days,  inasfar  as  the  personal  fellowship,  sus- 
 pended in  the  rule,  is  renewed  in  the  exception ;  on  the  other 
 hand,  there  is  a  great  difference,  inasmuch  as  the  famHiarity 
 which  still  existed  during  those  days,  as  they  were  in  some  sense 
 linked  ^rith  His  former  Hfe  upon  earth,  has  utterly  ceased,  and 
 can  never  return,  even  on  the  occasions  of  His  deepest  con- 
 descension. But  still  the  unbroken  unity  and  identity  of  His 
 person,  of  that  person  which  had  sunk  into  the  depths  of  shame 
 and  death,  is  preserved — I  am  Jesus  of  Nazareth!  (Acts  xxii.  8) 
 I  was  dead!  (Rev.  i.  18) ;  just  as  at  an  earlier  period  He  who 
 was  going  to  His  death  could  say — Glorify  me  ^rith  the  glory 
 which  I  had  vA\h.  Thee  before  the  world  was ! 
 
 These  manifestations  and  self-announcements,  these  direct 
 words  and  utterances  of  the  enthroned  Lord,  could  not  indeed 
 have  been  utterly  wanting  upon  earth  in  this  final  term  of 
 transition :  they  were  His  superabundant  confirmation  of  His 
 promise  and  pledge  concerning  His  disciples'  not  seeing  and  yet 
 1  In  ch.  xviii.  5,  "  Spirit "  is  a  false  reading  for  "  Word." 
 
4  INTRODUCTION. 
 
 believing,  their  not  seeing  and  yet  possessing  Him.  They  were 
 the  final  assurances  with  which  from  heaven  He  greeted  earth, 
 and  sealed  His  farewell  word  upon  the  Mount  of  Olives.  "  Be- 
 hold,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 
 Wliat  if  nothing  of  this  kind  had  transpired,  and  been  recorded, 
 since  His  departure  ?  It  is  true  that  the  pentecostal  believers 
 in  their  first  vigour  needed  no  such  testimony  to  corroborate 
 their  growing  experience  that  the  Lord  was  with  them ;  they 
 assuredly  neither  sought  nor  expected  any  such  evidence.  But 
 Israel,  perishing  in  unbelief,  and  persecuting  the  Church, 
 might  be  expected  to  receive  such  a  supernumerary  self-testimony 
 of  the  Persecuted ;  though,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  only  in 
 the  person  of  a  man  who  had  been  one  of  themselves,  who 
 testified  to  them  what  he  had  seen,  and  confirmed  that  testimony 
 through  the  whole  of  life.  Further,  all  the  world,  and  even 
 the  enfeebled  and  secularised  Christendom  of  the  future,  needed 
 such  a  final  fulfilment — given  as  the  pledge  of  its  last  fulfil- 
 ment— of  the  word  which  had  been  spoken  before  the  tribunal 
 of  man,  "  Hereafter  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  Man  sitting  on  the 
 right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven ! " 
 But  this  could  take  place  only  through  the  indirect  mediation 
 of  others;  thus,  at  the  commencement  of  these  personal  an- 
 nunciations of  the  exalted  Lord,  Stephen  testified  before  them 
 of  his  seeing  the  Son  of  Man  in  heaven ;  and  Saul  soon  after- 
 wards of  his  having  both  seen  and  heard  the  Lord. 
 
 Spinoza  is  said  to  have  declared  that  if  he  could  admit  the  fact 
 of  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus,  he  would  demohsh  his  system 
 and  become  a  Christian.  Wherefore  could  he  not  believe  the 
 Apostle  Paul,  and  the  testimony  of  his  whole  apostoHcal  life,  to 
 the  personal  manifestations  of  the  Son  of  God?  It  may  be 
 observed,  generally,  that  the  revelations  and  words  of  the  Lord 
 Jesus,  after  His  ascension,  have  not  received  their  fitting  tribute 
 of  attention  from  the  scientific  theology  even  of  the  orthodox. 
 For  example,  in  Hase's  excellent  book,  "  The  Life  of  the 
 Glorified  Redeemer  in  Heaven,  according  to  His  own  Words," 
 there  is  no  place  given  to  His  own  sayings  after  the  ascension ; 
 although  such  words  as  Acts  xxvi.  16-18,  xviii.  9,  10,  and 
 especially  Rev.  i.  17,  etc.,  xxi.  5,  are  most  mighty  testimonies, 
 and  confirm,  in  their  collective  force,  most  emphatically  the 
 witness  of  the  Forty  Days,  "  It  is  I  myself."     It  might  almost 
 
INTRODUCTION.  0 
 
 seem  that  in  these  times  the  immediate  truth  and  reality  of  the 
 records  which  contain  the  announcements  of  Jesus  from  heaven 
 were  themselves  regarded  with  some  degree  of  suspicion. 
 
 But  the  scriptm-al  testimonies  concerning  them,  standing  in 
 their  sublime  simpHcity  in  the  midst  of  other  plain  historical 
 narratives,  demand  the  most  absolute  faith ;  more  especially  as 
 they  exhibit  to  us  that  gradual  transition  to  purely  spiritual 
 revelation  which  approves  itself  to  our  understanding  as  what 
 might  have  been  expected.  For,  although  it  is  probable  that 
 not  all  the  "signs"  and  "infalHble  proof s "  have  been  placed 
 on  record  (John  xx.  30;  Acts  i.  3) — although  the  Lord  may 
 frequently,  especially  in  the  earlier  time,  have  spoken  to  His 
 disciples  "in  vision,"  and  St  Paul  speaks  expressly  of  other 
 revelations  (most  plainly  in  1  Cor.  xi.  23;  comp.  2  Cor.  xii.  1, 
 and  already  in  Acts  xxvi.  16) — yet  that  which  the  Scripture 
 does  record,  appears  to  us  to  mark  out  the  definite  process  by 
 which  the  revelations  of  our  Lord  were  gradually  withdrawn 
 into  the  internal  domain  of  the  Spirit. 
 
 In  the  first  actual  utterance  of  His  words  from  heaven, 
 (after  Stephen  had  beheld  Him  looking  doT\Ti),  He  is  both  seen 
 and  heard  in  His  perfect  bodily  personality ;  in  broad  day,  with 
 a  manifestation  which  appealed  to  the  sense,  not  of  Paul  alone, 
 but  of  those  also  who  accompanied  him.  And  He  seems  to 
 say — as  it  were,  ignoring  the  ascension,  but  in  reahty  giving  it 
 its  right  explanation — "I  can  appear  whenever  and  wherever  I 
 will ;  I  have  not  in  such  a  sense  gone  into  heaven  that  heaven 
 has  received  and  shut  me  in  ! "  (According  to  a  false  rendering 
 of  Acts  iii.  21.)  Concurrently,  there  is  the  more  mediate  and 
 less  direct  word  to  Ananias  in  vision  (Acts  ix.  10).  The  suc- 
 ceeding "appearances"  to  St  Paul,  Acts  xx^^.  16 — where  we 
 may  more  exactly  translate,  "  which  I  mil  cause  thee  to  see  of 
 Myself  ^ — have  no  longer  the  manner  of  His  first  appearance, 
 in  which  Saul  beholds  Him  plainly  and  awfully  in  the  broad 
 daylight  of  life.  We  read  in  Acts  xxii.  17,  that  the  Apostle 
 was  in  a  trance  while  praying,  and  thus  beheld  the  Lord  who 
 spake  to  him.  So  with  St  Peter  (ch.  x.  13),  where  the  voice  of 
 Him  whom  he  addresses  as  Lord,  was  most  probably  (indeed, 
 
 ^  The  construction  is  an  unusual  one :  Lv  n  c(^drjao/:iui  aoi,  de  qnibus  tibi 
 porro  appareho,  "  thai  which  (or  in  which)  I  will  appear  to  thee,  will  be 
 seen  of  thee." 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 we  naturally  presuppose  it)  the  voice  of  God,  that  is,  of  the 
 Son;  comp.  ver.  28.  Soon  after,  we  find  that  to  St  Paul 
 also  the  Lord  spake  in  a  vision  hy  night,  chs.  xviii.  9,  xxiii.  11, 
 although  in  the  second  passage  it  is  added,  "The  Lord  s>tood 
 by  him."  All  these  expressions  are  carefully  adjusted  by  the 
 Spirit's  inspiration,  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  careful 
 investigation  of  the  historian,  St  Luke.  We  see  that  in  the 
 period  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  there  is  always  somethmg 
 personal  in  the  appearance  and  speaking  of  the  Lord,  though 
 with  a  gradually  increasing  mediateness,  and  decreasing  direct- 
 ness. These  words  of  our  Lord  Jesus  from  heaven — that  is, 
 in  the  apostolical  narrative — we  have  already,  for  the  most 
 part,  expounded  in  "The  Discourses  of  the  Apostles,"^  and 
 must  therefore  take  the  liberty  of  repeating  more  or  less  literally 
 what  has  been  there  said,  though  with  such  modifications  as  our 
 present  scope  and  object  requires. 
 
 Passing  over  the  Epistles,  the  glorified  bodily  exliibition  of 
 the  Son  of  Man  appears  once  more  to  return,  and  still  more 
 fully  and  majestically,  at  the  end  of  the  New  Testament  to 
 St  John,  Rev.  i.  11,  etc.  This  is,  in  a  certain  sense,  the  case ; 
 yet  it  is  also  in  contrast  mth  the  first  manifestation  to  St  Paul, 
 inasmuch  as  St  John  was  in  the  Spirit  when  he  heard  the  Lord's 
 voice  and  saw  his  visions,  but  Saul  was  most  assuredly  not  "  in 
 the  Spirit"  near  Damascus.  Yet  that  which  is  heard  in  the 
 Spirit  is  not,  on  that  account,  the  less  actual;  only  through 
 such  a  medium  was  it  possible  to  look  into  the  depths  of  heaven, 
 and  hear  the  words  of  the  Lord  from  the  throne. 
 
 Between  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  the  Eevelation  of 
 St  John,  we  find  once  the  definite  expression,  "  The  Lord,  after 
 I  had  supplicated  Him,  said  unto  me''  (2  Cor.  xii.  9).  We 
 receive  this  literally  as  it  stands ;  and  regard  it  as  a  sufiicient 
 example  of  many  instances  in  which  the  Lord  may  have  spoken 
 to  His  people  in  words  of  comfort  and  exhortation,  audible  in 
 the  Spirit !  We  by  no  means  deny  that  the  same  takes  place 
 in  the  present  day ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  our  confident  assur- 
 ance that  it  does. 
 
 Finally,  as  it  regards  the  Revelation  of  St  John,  after  the 
 first  most  personal  and  emphatically  impressive  appearance  of 
 
 1  Or,  Andeutungen  fur  glduhiges   Schriftverstandniss^  dritte   und  vierte 
 Sammlung. 
 
INTRODUCTIOX.  7 
 
 the  Living  One,  wlio  was  dead  and  now  liveth  for  evermore, 
 the  style  of  the  vision  passes  over  into  the  language  of  figure 
 and  symbol,  corresponding,  indeed,  but  not  directly  so,  to 
 realities.  The  voices  of  the  angels,  of  the  elders,  of  the  living 
 creatures,  of  the  martyrs  and  overcomers,  of  the  saved,  of  aU 
 creatures,  are  all  assuredly  a  succession  of  revelations  and  sayings 
 of  the  Lord  Himself,  mediated  by  the  prophetic  Spirit;  but 
 this  belongs  to  a  mysterious  domain,  on  the  borders  of  which 
 our  humble  little  work  pauses  in  silence.  But  we  must  assert 
 an  exception  for  those  revelations  which  occur  on  the  shado\^y 
 threshold,  and  which  directly  continue  the  solemn  character  of 
 personal  manifestation  stamped  upon  the  first  appearance  of  the 
 Lord  in  this  book.  We  shall,  therefore,  expound  the  Seven 
 Epistles  of  chs.  ii.  and  iii.,  in  which  the  Lord,  who  comes  upon 
 the  scene  in  ch.  i.,  speaks  on  without  interruption,  uttering,  with 
 His  lofty  /,  to  the  churches  throughout,  what  He  commands 
 His  servant  to  write  to  them.  Then  we  shall  consider  that 
 brief  word  of  the  same  original  voice,  ch.  x.  1.  And,  finally, 
 the  most  subhme  conclusion  of  all  the  Lord's  sapngs,  the  word 
 from  the  Throne,  ch.  xxi.  5-8 ;  from  which  the  passages  of 
 ch.  xxii.  are  essentially  distinguished,  notwithstanding  the  "I 
 Jesus,"  ver.  16.  Here  the  Lord  enters  as  the  speaker,  after  the 
 figurative  manner  of  the  ancient  prophetical  Scriptm-es,  to 
 which  this  last  prophetical  book,  with  its  New  Testament 
 contents,  returns. 
 
 We  remark  that  the  only  words  recorded  as  spoken  from 
 heaven  were  addressed  to  the  three  great  Apostles,  Paul,  Peter, 
 and  John ;  the  only  exception  being  the  words  spoken  to  An- 
 anias, and  recorded  for  the  sake  of  St  Paul.  St  Peter  retreats 
 most  into  the  background,  with  his  single  "  voice " ;  St  Paul 
 receives  the  most  dkect  and  impressive  manifestations;  but 
 St  John  is  favoured  with  the  profoundest  and  most  far-reaching 
 utterances  which  the  Lord,  who  is  the  Spirit,  had  to  say  to  the 
 churches,  and  is  still  ever  saying  to  them  by  His  servant,  the 
 bosom-disciple. 
 
TO  SAUL  THE  PERSECUTOR. 
 
 (Acts  Lx.  4-6— xxii.  7-10— xx\d.  14-16.) 
 
 Thrice  in  tlie  course  of  the  brief  Acts  of  the  Apostles  is  this 
 most  important  revelation  of  our  Lord  described ;  as  if  to  warn 
 our  ignorance  not  too  s^dftly  to  dispatch  it,  and  not  too  hastily 
 to  assume  its  right  interpretation  attained.  But,  instead  of 
 taking  this  hint,  the  fond  ignorance  of  too  many  has  occupied 
 itself  ^^ith  detecting  contradictions  in  the  threefold  narrative,  and 
 with  drawing  its  o^\ti  foolish  conclusions  from  those  contradic- 
 tions. As  if  St  Luke  did  not  himself  best  know,  ^\ith  his  "  per- 
 fect understanding  of  all  things  from  the  very  first,"  that  which 
 he  recorded  in  different  parts  of  his  book,  with  a  designed  varia- 
 tion. In  ch.  ix.  he  himself  relates  the  occurrence  as  a  his- 
 torian, but  obviously  with  the  same  regard  to  brevity  of  dehnea- 
 tion,  seizing  only  and  giving  prominence  to  the  critical  points, 
 which  the  necessity  of  his  work  imposed  upon  him  throughout ; 
 and,  moreover,  with  the  intention  in  reserve  to  add  further  par- 
 ticulars in  due  course.  For,  he  has  further  to  give  two  leading 
 examples,  in  chs.  xxii.  and  xxvi.,  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
 Apostle  himself,  never  weaiy  of  the  repetition,  was  wont  to 
 relate  this  experience,  as  the  ground,  again  and  again  to  be 
 made  vaHd,  of  his  whole  announcement  from  his  Master.  That 
 there  exists  some  variety  in  the  relation  and  expression  is 
 perfectly  natm'al: — is  it  reasonable  to  requii'e  that  the  Apostle 
 should  have  everywhere  given  the  same  stereotyped  accomit  ? 
 Of  the  external  transaction  we  shall  speak  hereafter ;  we  confine 
 ourselves  now  to  a  prehminary  view  of  the  words  of  our  Lord, 
 which,  in  their  measm-ed  exactness,  were  thus  word  for  word 
 spoken,  but  the  hteral  repetition  of  which  St  Luke  appro- 
 priately leaves  to  the  relating  Apostle.     Before  the  exasperated 
 
10  TO  SAUL  THE  PERSECUTOR. 
 
 Jewish  people,  he  gives  prominence,  for  instance,  to  the  ex- 
 pression bj  which  the  Lord  described  Himself,  and  which  was 
 pecuharly  appropriate  to  these  scomers  and  persecutors — I  am 
 Jesus  of  Nazareth  I  Further,  He  makes  the  command  express, 
 — "  Go  into  Damascus,'''  instead  of  "  into  the  city."  But  who 
 needs  to  know  which  of  these  two  was  actually  spoken  ?  He 
 proceeds,  "  it  shall  be  told  thee  of  all  things  which  are  appointed 
 for  thee  to  do,"  instead  of  "  what  thou  shalt  do."  Again  after- 
 wards before  the  Roman  Governor,  and  the  last  so-called  King 
 of  the  Jeivs,  the  Apostle  makes  it  significantly  emphatic  that 
 the  Lord  spake  in  the  Hebrew  tongue.  On  the  former  occasion, 
 on  the  stairs  of  the  castle,  the  Apostle  himself  had  spoken  in 
 the  Hebrew ;  but  now,  speaking  Greek,  he  naturally  mentions 
 this  circmnstance.  The  word  concerning  "  kicking  against  the 
 pricks"  (which  in  the  first  narrative  is. a  false  reading,  inter- 
 polated from  ch.  xxvi.),  had  primary  reference  only  to  the 
 Apostle's  own  person  and  conscience ;  it  might,  therefore,  be 
 omitted,  as  unnecessary,  when  speaking  to  the  mass  of  the 
 people.  But,  addressed  to  Agrippa,  pierced  in  conscience, 
 perplexed,  and  wavering,  as  he  was  (comp.  ch.  xxvi.  28),  it  had 
 a  pecuharly  appropriate  force.  Finally,  we  shall  see  that  St 
 Paul,  in  his  rapid  narrative,  ch.  xxvi.  16,  connects  with  the 
 Lord's  last  word  outside  Damascus  a  compendious  statement  of 
 a  subsequent  appearance  and  commission. 
 
 After  having  thus,  for  the  sake  of  those  to  whom  it  is 
 necessary,  paused  so  long  at  the  threshold,  let  us  now  enter  the 
 sanctuary  of  the  first  word  of  Jesus  from  heaven !  The  first 
 word  it  assuredly  is.  Stephen,  before  he  fell  under  the  stones 
 of  the  murderers  of  the  Just  One,  had  seen  heaven  opened  and 
 Jesus  at  the  right  hand  of  God  (^standing,  too,  as  if  rising  to 
 greet  and  receive  him)  ;  but  His  words  the  Lord  had  reserved 
 for  Saul.  This,  well  considered,  leads  to  some  important 
 reflections.  The  appeal  of  Jesus  to  His  persecutor  is,  as  the 
 first  word  from  heaven,  so  characteristically  significant,  and  so 
 full  of  symbohcal  meaning,  that  we  cannot  bring  ourselves  to 
 think  of  it  as  other  than  the  first.  It  may,  indeed,  be  suggested 
 that  om'  Lord's  voice  had  probably  been  heard  in  the  answers 
 to  His  people's  prayers.  It  has  been  even  inferred  from  the 
 "  familiar  manner  in  which  Ananias,  as  one  not  unaccustomed 
 to  receive  communications  from  his  Lord,"  makes  objection  to 
 
ACTS  IX.  4-6;    XXII.  7-10;   XXVI.  14-16.  11 
 
 the  evil  reputation  of  Saul,  that  that  disciple  must  have  spoken 
 mth  Jesus  before  this  occasion.  But  this  is  only  a  specious 
 argument ;  the  familiarity  of  prayer  would  have  begotten  this 
 confidence,  and  we  must  remember  the  "  vision,"  in  which  man 
 approaches  nearer  and  less  reservedly  to  God.  Suffice,  that  we 
 may  justly  regard  this  as  the  Lord's  first  opening  His  mouth  in 
 audible  words  since  His  ascension. 
 
 The  naiTative  thrice  begins  with  "light  sliining  round 
 about  from  heaven  "  ;  in  eh.  xxii.  it  is  a  "  great  light"  ;^  and  in 
 ch.  xxvi.,  stiU  more  emphatically,  "  above  the  brightness  of  the 
 sun".  If  the  face  of  Jesus  shone  as  the  sun  upon  the  Mount 
 of  Transfiguration,  must  not  the  first  beaming  forth  of  His 
 heavenly  glori/  be  stiU  more  dazzling  ?  This  in  broad  noon-day 
 was  something  more  than  the  glory  which  shone  round  the 
 shepherds  on  the  holy  night  of  the  Incarnation ;  it  was  a  shin- 
 ing forth,  though  still  bedimmed  for  mortal  eye,  of  that  light  in 
 which  God  dwelleth,  and  in  which  the  God-man  now  dwelleth 
 also. 
 
 But  this  light  shines  only  that  it  may  call  light  out  of  the 
 darkness  of  a  rebellious  sinner's  heart ;  in  order  to  the  revelation 
 of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face,  that  is,  in  the 
 person  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  who  is  it  that  first  encounters  this 
 Kglit,  with,  its  sudden  and  man^ellous  con\'iction?  The  man  who 
 had  been  marked  out  to  that  end  by  God's  good  pleasure  from  his 
 mother's  womb,  the  chosen  Paul !  This  single  name  sets  before 
 us  the  whole  man,  the  elect  instrument,  the  great  Apostle  of 
 the  Gentiles  (although  Samaria  and  the  Ethiopian  emiuch  had 
 already  heard  the  Word,  and  Peter  in  the  house  of  Cornelius 
 will  make  the  first  evident  beginning) — the  mighty  champion 
 and  labourer,  who  laboured  more  than  they  all.  We  cannot 
 agree  with  the  Yiew — pushed  to  its  extreme  by  Baumgarten — 
 which  sets  the  Gentile  Apostolate,  thus  introduced,  over  against 
 the  Israelite  Twelve.  For  this  we  find  no  sure  foundation  in 
 Scripture ;  but  it  was  undoubtedly  a  great  and  new  thing,  that 
 such  a  blasphemer  and  persecutor  should  be  made  a  witness  for 
 the  Lord.  He  was  not,  however,  a  thirteenth  Apostle  of  a  new 
 and  distinct  order  for  the  Church  of  the  Gentiles ;  the  Twelve 
 were  themselves  sent  forth  into  all  the  world,  and  unto  all  the 
 nations;  and  even  the  New  Jerusalem,  Eev.  xxi.  14,  knows 
 ^  In  the  Greek,  iKxvosf,  an  expression  familiar  to  St  Luke. 
 
12  TO  SAUL  THE  PERSECUTOR. 
 
 only  the  Twelve  Apostles  of  the  Lamb  (not  of  Israel).  But  he 
 was  that  other,  already  prophesied  of  in  Ps.  cix.  8,  whom  the 
 Lord  Himself — in  opposition  to  the  premature,  uncommanded, 
 and  therefore  invalid  human  choice  (Gal.  i.  1)  of  Matthias — 
 reserved  to  be  appointed  in  place  of  the  traitor  Judas.  The 
 latter  was  a  representative  and  forerunner  of  the  Jewish  people, 
 which  rejected  Jesus ;  the  former  was  a  t}^De  and  first-fruit  of 
 the  Jews  who  were  to  be  converted,  and  many  of  whom  were 
 converted  even  in  his  missionary  labours  among  the  Gentiles. 
 What  a  man,  and  what  a  position  in  the  kingdom  of  God 
 assigned  to  him — condescended  to,  and  won,  and  prepared  in 
 so  wonderful  a  manner !  First,  he  receives  this  revelation  as 
 the  representative  of  all  the  Jews  of  that  time  who,  under  all 
 their  disguise  of  enmity,  were  yet  susceptible  of  gr^ace.  Then, 
 as  the  witness  to  all  men  (Acts  xxii.  15 ;  Col.  i.  18),  who  should, 
 with  that  same  useful  human  leamino;  which  in  itself  he  knew 
 how  to  despise  and  reject,  abase  the  lofty  ones  of  this  world 
 before  the  knowledge  of  God  in  Christ  (2  Cor.  x.  5) ;  who 
 should  be  a  founder  of  systematic  doctrine  in  the  Chui'ch,  so  far 
 as  the  Church  would  need  such  system — thus  standing  between 
 the  practical  Peter,  and  the  mystical,  consummating  John.  Fin- 
 ally, as  one  whose  immediate  call  from  above  should  vindicate, 
 for  aU  futurity,  the  Lord's  supreme  right  to  establish  new 
 beginnings  of  regimen;  to  raise  up  a  reforming  Apostolate 
 without  succession,  to  be  renewed  at  His  own  good  pleasm'e 
 when  circmnstances  may  require. 
 
 But  the  first  point  which  here  offers  itself  to  our  attention 
 is  this,  that  it  is  an  enemy  and  a  persecutor  who  receives  the 
 first  condescending  word  from  the  merciful  High  Priest  in 
 heaven.  Not  only  vn\l  He  not  cast  out  any  that  come  to  Him 
 — but  He  Himself  seeks  and  finds,  in  aU  ages.  His  lost  and 
 wandering  sheep.  Thus  He  transforms  the  enemy  into  a 
 witness  and  follower,  whose  personality,  beyond  that  of  any 
 other,  sets  before  us  the  idea  and  the  reaHty  of  the  discipleship 
 of  Christ  (1  Cor.  xi.  1).  ^lilHons  have  felt  and  are  feehng 
 that,  especially  through  the  life  of  this  Paul,  so  copiously  un- 
 folded in  Scriptm'e,  life  in  Clnist  and  Christ  Himself  are  most 
 blessedly  and  mightily  brought  home  to  them.  The  Lord  pre- 
 pared him  for  Himself  and  His  purposes,  out  of  a  Saul  *  breath- 
 ing out  threatenings  and  slaughters  against  His  saints ! '     Thus 
 
ACTS  IX.  4-6;   XXII.  7-10;   XXYI.  U-i6.  13 
 
 His  first  personal  speaking  manifestation  gives  us  a  pledge  of 
 that  ruling  in  which  the  King's  sharp  arrows  pierce  the  hearts 
 of  His  enemies  (as  the  original  of  Ps.  xlv.  rmis),  and  in  which 
 He  takes  the  strong  for  His  ot\ti  prey.  And  it  is  a  warning 
 against  that  premature  judgment  of  unbelievers  and  the  con- 
 demned, into  which  our  harshness  or  our  despondency  may 
 mislead  us.  There  were  many  Judases  in  Israel;  but  only 
 upon  one  did  Jesus  pronounce  the  definitive  sentence.  So 
 there  were  many  Sauls  converted,  although  their  conversion 
 has  not  been  revealed  to  us.  The  Lord  reminds  us  here  of 
 Thomas,  but  a  greater  than  Thomas  is  here.  It  is  thus 
 that  the  great  Apostle  understands  the  significance  of  his  own 
 person  and  life,  when  he  says  at  the  end,  "  Therefore  I  obtained 
 mercy,  that  in  me  first  of  all,  Jesus  Christ  might  shew  forth 
 all  patience,  for  an  example  to  those  who  should  beheve  on  Him 
 unto  eternal  life  ;"   1  Tim.  i.  16. 
 
 But  when  we  refer  the  words  to  our  Lord  Himself,  some- 
 thing much  higher  and  deeper  than  anythmg  we  have  yet  said 
 rises  out  of  them.  He  has  testified  from  heaven  the  identity 
 of  His  glorified  person  with  the  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth,"  just  as 
 the  risen  Lord  had  testified  on  earth,  "  It  is  I  myself ! "  But 
 that  is  the  lesser  testimony ;  and  before  He  utters  the  exalted 
 "  I  am  Jesus",  He  has  said,  "  Why  j^ei'secutest  thou  Me  "  2  that 
 is,  "  Me  in  my  followers,  in  my  ChurcK\  Thus  does  He,  even 
 in  His  glory,  identify  Himself  with  His  persecuted  Church, 
 \^'ith  His  scorned  and  outraged  brethi'en  ;  sitting  already  upon 
 the  throne  as  King,  He  as  it  were  repeats,  confirms,  enlarges, 
 and  consummates  the  word  spoken  in  His  final  prophecy  of  the 
 judgment,  concerning  what  is  done  to  His  brethren,  Matt.  xx\\ 
 40-45  ;  seahng,  even  for  His  samts  in  persecution,  the  close  of 
 His  great  prayer,  which  He  uttered  while  yet  in  the  flesh — "I  in 
 them  "  !  John  xvdi.  26.  That  is  the  first  word  from  heaven ;  and 
 it  is  itself  like  a  flash  of  licrhtniao;  into  the  midst  of  the  world's 
 sui  and  confusion,  dividing  asunder,  in  the  most  effectual 
 manner,  the  persecutor  and  the  persecuted. 
 
 Suddenly — so  we  read  iu  two  accounts.  Here  falls  the 
 comer-stone  from  heaven  into  the  persecutor's  path,  but  crushes 
 him  not.  Saul  is  struck  and  held  back  in  the  mad  course  of  his 
 zeal.  Armed  with  the  authority  of  the  high  council,  he  would 
 push  the  persecution   of  the   Christians,   ah'eady  begim,  into 
 
14  TO  SAUL  THE  PEKSECUTOR. 
 
 strange  cities.  Not  certain  that  he  might  find  any  of  "the 
 way"  (of  righteousness  and  of  salvation,  the  ^Yay  of  the  Lord; 
 see  chs.  xvi.  17,  xviii.  25,  xix.  9 — but  which  he  thought  the 
 perishable  way  of  error),  he,  nevertheless,  sets  out  to  seek  them, 
 wherever  they  might  be,  and  bind  them.  Assuredly,  he  was 
 chosen  in  the  eternal  counsel ;  to  this  end  he  was,  on  the  ground 
 of  his  personality,  as  created  of  God,  framed  and  prepared; 
 and  in  the  process  of  his  life  led  onward  to  meet  the  vocation 
 which  was  now  to  be  received.  Assuredly,  as  the  Lord  Him- 
 self says  here  to  him  and  to  us,  he  was  akeady  secretly  in  his 
 conscience  laid  hold  on  ;  he  was  generally  no  hypocrite,  Hke  the 
 whited  walls  in  opposition  to  whom  he  can  speak  of  himself,  in 
 ch.  xxiii.,  as  having  a  good  conscience  in  his  great  delusion. 
 But,  therefore,  now  he  is  suddenly  seized  from  above  with  more 
 m'gent  might  by  gi'ace ;  for  7iow  there  is  certainly  in  him  no 
 conscious  preparation  or  susceptibility,  but  the  perfect  opposite. 
 There  is  no  doubt  of  conscience  moving  him ;  it  is  simply  his 
 purpose  and  burning  desire  to  punish  the  heretics ;  and  what 
 could,  in  this  career,  lay  him  low,  and  tm-n  him  round,  but  the 
 seeing  and  hearing  of  the  Just  One,  whom  he  was  persecuting? 
 His  powerful  natm'e  needed  a  powerful  assault ;  and,  behold,  for 
 such  a  natm-e,  the  Lord  has  such  dealings  in  store.  The  risen 
 Lord  was  ready  to  suffer  Himself  to  be  touched  by  Thomas ; 
 and  the  exalted  Lord  is  not  too  hio;h  to  condescend  to  Saul — 
 and  make  of  him  a  Paul. 
 
 That  which  the  Apostle,  in  ch.  xxii.  6,  introduces  with  a 
 simple  and  sublime,  "  And  it  came  to  pass,"  was  not  an  internal 
 process,  perceptible  only  to  his  own  spirit :  this  is  proved  by 
 what  his  companions  experienced.  According  to  ch.  ix.  7,  they 
 heard  a  voice,  but  saw  no  man ;  according  to  ch.  xxii.  9,  they 
 saw  the  light,  but  heard  not  the  voice  of  Him  that  spake.  This 
 variation  of  expression  implies  no  contradiction  ;  any  more  than 
 that,  according  to  ch.  ix.  7,  they  stood,  and  according  to  ch. 
 xxvi.  14,  fell  to  the  earth  also.  For,  to  clear  up  the  last  first, 
 ch.  xxvi.  relates  that  which  befell  all  before  the  voice;  but 
 ch.  ix.  records  that,  after  the  voice,  the  attendants  had  naturally 
 lifted  themselves  up  and  were  standing  before  Saul  did  so. 
 Similarly,  they  saw  and  heard  something,  but  with  only  half 
 perception ;  they  received  the  indefinite  impression  of  a  light 
 and  a  sound :  comp.  John  xii.  28,  29,  and  something  similar, 
 
ACTS  IX.  4-6;    XXII.  7-10:    XXTI.  U-16.  15 
 
 though  ill  a  cUfferent  order,  Dan.  x.  7.  The  whole,  if  we 
 combine  it  in  one,  means  this  :  They  saic,  indeed,  the  dazzhng 
 light,  but  710  man,  that  is,  no  form  and  manifested  person ;  they 
 heard,  indeed,  the  sound  as  of  a  loud  voice,  but  they  heard  not 
 and  understood  not  what  was  said. 
 
 We  read  in  ch.  xxri.  of  the  flash,  that  it  "  shone  round 
 about,"  as  in  Luke  ii.  9,  concerning  the  shepherds  of  Bethlehem; 
 but  in  chs.  ix.  and  xxii.  there  is  a  stronger  word — hterallv, 
 lightened  around — and  to  this  belongs  the  '•  suddenly  "  which 
 in  Luke  ii.  13  (it  is  the  same  Greek  word)  is  afterwai'ds  added. 
 Saul  feU  down  immediately,  struck  by  the  awe  of  the  briUiance 
 above  the  light  of  the  sun  at  noonday,  -vA^th  the  others  to  the 
 earth.^  So  he  heard  the  words;  they  were  for  him  alone. 
 Tliat  was  the  fitting  place  for  the  proud  man ;  there,  cast  down 
 in  his  prostrate  impotence  and  T\Tetchediiess,  unable  to  bear  the 
 glance  of  heaven,  the  voice  which  he  hears  seizes  him — that  is, 
 not  as  speaking  by  his  side  upon  the  earth,  but  as  from  heaven, 
 like  the  Hght,  coming  in  its  direction  from  above.  And  even 
 so  he  had  seen  the  form  of  the  Speaker  in  his  first  terror  as 
 above  him ;  not  as  one  afterwards  standing  upon  the  eaith. 
 
 Or  did  he  only  hear,  and  not  see  the  foiTQ  and  countenance 
 of  the  Lord  ?  So  many  think ;  and  they  seemingly  have  the 
 superficially  understood  and  isolated  expression  in  their  favour. 
 But  the  contrast  with  the  attendants,  who  saw  no  man,  ch.  ix.  7, 
 itself  gives  us  to  understand  that  Saul  had  seen  some  one. 
 Ananias,  however,  speaks  decisively — Jesus,  who  appeared  unto 
 thee  (Gr.  was  seen  of  thee);  so  Barnabas,  ver.  27,  relates  to 
 the  Apostles  that  Saul  had  seen  the  Lord  in  the  way,  and 
 spoken  with  Him  ;  finally,  ch.  xxii.  14  speaks  not  of  a  future 
 seeing  and  hearing,  but  of  what  had  already  taken  place. 
 Consequently,  St  Luke  relates  partially,  at  the  first,  resening 
 the  rest  for  his  future  accomit ;  he  conceals  the  mystery  of  the 
 seeing  and  hearing,  as  it  were,  in  this  place ;  la^-ing  the  emphasis 
 upon  the  words  of  the  Lord,  without  which  the  seeing  would 
 have  been  only  a  stunning  amazement.  But  it  is  ob^-ious  that 
 suddenly — vdth.  the  fii'st  flash  of  light — Saul  had  also  seen 
 the   fomi   and  the   comitenance  of   the  Lord.       Lideed,  the 
 
 ^  Scarcely  from  his  horse,  as  the  painters  depict  it :  it  would  rather  be 
 from  his  ass,  but  even  that  is  only  probable  Such  circumstances  are  not 
 recorded,  as  having  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter. 
 
16  TO  SAUL  THE  PEESECUTOxi. 
 
 overpowered  and  down-stricken  persecutor  did  not  look  up  again 
 at  the  Speaker ;  but  he,  nevertheless  (and  this  is  another  proof), 
 recognised,  in  His  subsequent  manifestations,  the  Lord  whom 
 he  had  first  seen. 
 
 And  Jesus  speaks  to  him  in  the  Hebrew  tongue  :  but  this  does 
 more  than  merely  define  the  sensibly  heard  speech,  in  opposition 
 to  the  inward  speaking  of  the  spirit,  which  suggests  thoughts 
 without  words.  The  Hebrew  tonmie  beloncrs  to  the  identity  of 
 the  Person,  who  used  this  language  upon  earth — but  neither  is 
 this  enough.  ^Yhat  the  Hellenized  and  Romanised  Je^Tish  King 
 Agrippa — to  whom  St  Paul  expressly  mentioned  it — may  have 
 thought  about  that  circumstance,  puts  us  on  the  right  track :  — 
 it  involves  the  abiding  recognition  of  the  first-chosen  people  of 
 Israel,  and  the  prophetic  word  given  to  them  first  in  the  sacred 
 tongue ;  the  prophecy  of  a  return  of  this  people,  and  of  a  final 
 full  solution  and  comprehension  of  the  ancient  Scriptures; 
 all  this  is  testified  to  us  in  the  Lord's  speaking  here  in  the 
 Hebrew  tongue.  For,  if  it  is  objected  that  this  "  Hebrew  "  was 
 only  the  common  Jewish  tongue  then  spoken,  and  not  the 
 language  of  the  Old-Testament  Scripture — it  may  be  replied 
 that  the  two  are  inseparable  in  their  significance ;  as  we  know 
 that  the  Saviour  upon  the  Cross  uttered  the  language  of  the 
 Psalm  in  the  S\To-Chaldaic  version  of  it.  And  now,  at  length, 
 after  all  this  introduction  and  preparation,  let  us  hear  the  words 
 themselves,  which  the  voice  of  Him  who  was  seen  in  the  first 
 moment  of  his  amazement  spake  to  the  persecutor  prostrate 
 upon  the  ground. 
 
 Saul  !  Saul  !  why  persecutest  thou  !Me  ?  The 
 mention  of  his  name  indicates  and  seizes  the  whole  inner  man, 
 as  he  was.  We  often  fail  to  understand,  through  all  our  life, 
 our  own  name,  especially  when  the  world  has  prefixed  all  kinds 
 of  titles  to  it;  but  when  God  calls  a  man  by  his  name,  the 
 true  form,  character,  and  spirit  of  the  man  is  laid  bare  before 
 the  Hght  of  His  countenance.  And  here  the  Lord,  whom,  as 
 the  glorified  Son  of  God,  the  little  company  of  His  worshippers 
 addressed  already  before  the  Pentecost  as  '^  knowing  all  hearts", 
 utters  into  the  heart  and  conscience  of  Saul  a  word  of  thunder, 
 following  the  glance  of  lightning,  which  rent  all  the  vestments 
 of  his  disguise.  If  in  this  thunder,  which  began  his  awakening 
 by  fear,  there  was  a  prelude  of  the  final  judgment,  when  everj 
 
ACTS  IX.  4-6  ;   XXII.  7-10  :    XXM.  14-16.  17 
 
 man  will  be  called  hj  his  name,  there  was  also  something  more 
 than  that — a  transition  to  monming  in  the  awful  accusation, 
 to  that  appeal  and  invitation  of  troubled  love  which  is  plainly 
 heard  in  the  f ollowmg  question.  This  calling  by  name  from 
 heaven  is  more  mighty  and  impressive  than  when  upon  earth 
 the  Lord,  who  knew  what  was  in  man.  uttered  His  "Zaccheus!" 
 or  ^^  Simon,  Simon  ! "  or  "  Martha,  Martha  I  '*  We  do  not 
 read  of  any  other  enemy  or  nnbeliever  addressed  by  name,  ex- 
 cepting the  Pharisee  Simon,  Luke  vii.  40,  whom  His  grace  was 
 by  that  very  address  really  approaching,  and  Judag,  still  recog- 
 nised as  a  former  "  friend "  and  companion,  even  ia  the  hour 
 of  His  betrayal.  There  may  be  a  very  little  of  this  Same  judi- 
 cial tone  of  holy  love — which  endures  the  wrong,  but  assigns 
 the  fearful  guilt  to  him  who  offers  it — in  this  appeal  to  SauL 
 But,  at  the  same  time,  the  double  caQ — which  not  merely 
 deepens  its  emphasis,  but,  as  we  prefer  to  think,  already  begins 
 to  descend  from  majesty  to  mildness,  from  accusation  to  lament 
 — has  something  in  it,  though  of  a  higher  order,  like  the  call 
 which  aroused  the  hostess  in  Bethany  from  her  household  dis- 
 traction :  '"I  have  somewhat  to  say  untp  thee!  A 
 from  the  distracting  tumult  of  thy  persecution!"*  Aa^^j.  ii^e 
 majesty  and  might  of  condescending  love  gains  its  end-  The 
 first  open  word  of  the  risen  Lord  (which  was  preceded  by  the 
 gentle  consolatory  preparation  of  a  disguised  voice),  was  also  a 
 call  by  name — Mary  !  Yet  how  different,  with  all  its  resem- 
 blance, is  the  first  call  of  the  ascended  Lord ! 
 
 Let  it  not  be  wondered  at  that  we  speak  here — upon  the 
 first  words  of  His  mouth — of  the  soul-affecting  tone  of  the 
 speech  of  the  exalted  Redeemer,  speaking  down  to  man  upon 
 earth.  That  He  stiU  has  a  mouth  to  speak,  and  may  make  His 
 words  heard,  though  no  longer  after  the  earthly  manner  of  the 
 organs  which  form  the  utterance  here ;  that  He  may  thus  com- 
 municate His  wiQ — at  least  as  certainly  as  Almighty  God  could 
 speak  from  heaven,  "  I  am  the  Lord !"  "  Thou  art  My  beloved 
 Son !" — is  self-understood.  Or,  rather,  it  ought  to  be  rightly 
 understood  by  all  believers  who  think  soundly  about  what  they 
 beheve.  Cress  justly  complains  that  theology  speaks  almost 
 always  only  of  corporeity,  when  treating  of  the  permanent 
 humanity  of  the  glorified  Christ ;  and  says  that^  "  the  humanity 
 
 In  the  memorable  book,  "  Die  Lehie  von  der  Pexson  Chnsti,"  a.  266. 
 
TO  SAUL  THE  PERSECUTOK. 
 
 must  exist  as  certainly  in  the  inner  nature  of  the  exalted  Saviour; 
 even  as  upon  earth  His  was  not  merely  a  human  hodily  Hf  e,  but 
 also  a  human  life  of  the  soul"  (Heb.  iv.  15;  John  v.  27).  This 
 belongs,  indeed,  to  the  least  understood  and  doubtless  most 
 difficult  problems  of  knowledge ;  but  it  is  indubitably  true, 
 nevertheless.  Consequently,  how  mysterious  soever  the  con- 
 nection mediated  by  Almightiness,  between  the  audible  speak- 
 ing and  the  corporeity  of  Jesus,  may  be — there  is  a  profounder 
 connection  with  His  abiding  personality  in  this,  that  the  voice 
 proceeds  from  His  soul,  we  would  rather  say,  from  His  heart ; 
 and  carries  with  it  "  in  the  manner  of  a  man  who  in  degree  is 
 the  Lord  God"  (1  Chron.  xvii.  17),  the  most  living  and  im- 
 pressive expression. 
 
 And  now  for  the  more  plain  and  direct  question^  which  un- 
 folds the  charge  already  involved  in  the  invocation  by  name. 
 The  whole  internal  contradiction  of  this  more  sincere  Pharisee 
 against  the  neglected  voice  of  God's  truth,  is  now  condensed 
 and  condemned  in  one  short  word — Why  persecutest  thou  Mef 
 As  it  was  the  Lord's  wont  upon  earth  to  pierce  the  hearts  of 
 the  people  by  questions,  humbhng  and  judging  them  by  asking 
 them  questions  which  would  lay  bare  their  conduct  to  them- 
 selves, so  it  is  here — though  now  in  its  heavenly  effect  the 
 question  is  still  more  powerful.  He  utters  only  a  few  plain 
 words  (in  the  Hebrew  only  two) — such  is  the  sublime  heavenly 
 majesty  of  His  style  from  the  throne.  To  every  lower  or  higher 
 questioner  who  might  have  asked — Wherefore  persecutest  thou 
 the  Nazarenes  1  Saul  would  have  been  ready  with  many 
 reasons  of  conscience  and  duty  to  justify  himself ;  but  here  he 
 can  only  reply  by  an  humbled  and  amazed  question,  which 
 seems  already  almost  to  know  the  Lord — Who  art  thou  ?  Into 
 the  secret  depth  of  his  conscience,  where  man  is  found  guilty 
 even  in  his  sins  of  ignorance,  the  fearful  interrogatory  penetrates 
 and  sticks  fast —  What,  for  what,  or  ivherefore  persecutest  thou 
 Me? 
 
 How  w^onderful,  for  inexhaustible  contemplation  of  the  de- 
 tail in  the  whole,  and  of  the  whole  in  the  detail,  is  everything 
 which  is  recorded  in  Scripture  concerning  the  great  acts  and 
 words  of  God !  The  individualities  are  so  concrete  and  histo- 
 rical, the  words  are  so  simple  in  their  immediate  place  and  con- 
 nection, that  a  hundred  expositors  may  fail  to  discern  in  them 
 
ACTS  IX.  1-G  ;   XXII.  7-10  ;   XXVI.  U-16.  19 
 
 anythiiig  specific  to  expound ;  but,  in  the  comprehensive  view 
 of  the  whole  in  Scripture,  the  genuine  scripture-exi^ositoT  finds 
 ever  something  new,  everywhere  something  great  and  significant 
 even  in  the  lesser  matters.  So  is  it  with  this  first  word  of  the 
 Lord  from  heaven — the  first  word  since  the  farewell  words 
 before  the  ascension.  He,  the  same  who  testified  that  to  ELim 
 was  given  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  testifies  here  in 
 the  first  testimony  that  He  bears  from  the  tlu'one  of  His  omni- 
 potence, that  He  ^yill  not  use  this  power  in  judgment ;  yea,  that 
 He  Tsdll  not  use  it  for  the  mere  external  defence  of  His  Chm'ch. 
 He  confesses  to  his  persecuted  members  and  brethren ;  but  He 
 Himself  endures  persecution  in  them,  and  will  T^in  the  persecutor, 
 whom  He  has  borne  with  in  long-suffering,  only  by  the  violence 
 of  love !  His  power  will  make  him  a  disciple  in  no  other  way 
 than  that  appomted  in  Matt,  xxviii.  19  for  all  people.  This  is 
 also  the  consolation  for  all  the  persecuted,  in  all  the  future  of 
 the  kingdom  of  the  cross  ;  until  that  day  when  He  will  come  in 
 another  form  from  heaven,  and  speak  and  judge  in  another 
 style.  ^Miere  the  Lord  cannot  tmn  His  enemies,  and  when 
 He  does  not  restrain,  but  suffers  them  to  do  their  \dolence  to 
 Himself  in  His  people — His  people  may  confidently  say,  "  He 
 beareth  it ;  let  us  bear  it  too !"  As  the  Lord  in  His  hmniliation, 
 at  the  beginning  of  His  bodily  indignities,  uttered  but  one  word, 
 as  suitable  for  the  whole  passion — ^^"liy  smitest  thou  Me?  (John 
 xviii.  23,)  while  He  suffered  liimself  to  be  beaten,  and  scom'ged, 
 and  put  to  death — so  here  the  exalted  Lord  patiently,  and  with 
 the  chastisement  of  gracious  truth  alone,  cries,  ^vith  reference 
 to  all  His  future  enemies  to  the  end  of  the  world — Why  perse- 
 cutest  thou  ]Me  ?  Pre-eminently,  and  first  of  all,  this  word  was 
 meant  for  bhnded  Israel,  who  afterguards  received  the  same 
 words  from  the  Apostle  in  all  then'  force.  Acts  xxii. 
 
 With  this  all-embracing  brevity  did  St  Luke  record  it  at 
 first,  and  similarly  the  Apostle  before  all  the  people  in  Jerusa- 
 lem. But,  on  the  second  defence  before  Agi'ippa,  where  he 
 more  confidentially  and  fully  opens  the  mystery  of  his  conver- 
 sion, he  communicates  what  the  Lord  proceeded  to  add — It  is 
 
 HARD  FOR  THEE  TO  KICK  AGAIXST  THE  PRICKS.  This  ex- 
 pression is  an  agricultural  proverb,  used  of  the  yoked  oxen 
 vvhich,  in  then'  stupidity,  kick  out  against  the  goad  furnished 
 ^rith  a  shai-p  point,   and  injui^e  themselves  the  more.     Thus 
 
20  TO  SAUL  THE  PERSECUTOR. 
 
 it  simply  means — vainly  and  foolishly  to  oppose  a  snperioi 
 power,  to  one's  own  injmy.  The  proverb  occurs  in  Latin  and 
 Greek  authors ;  the  tragic  poets  use  it  of  impotent  opposition 
 to  the  gods ;  the  Syrians  appear  also  to  have  had  such  a  phrase, 
 and  thus  it  became  known  probably  to  the  Hebrews ;  at  any 
 rate  it  was  known  to  Saul,  who  was  versed  in  foreign  literature ; 
 but  we  would  not  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  Lord  had  this  in 
 mind,  speaking  to  Saul  as  a  learned  man.  For,  the  Hebrew 
 words  proceed  simply  onwards ;  they  only  lay  open  more 
 plamly,  and  more  condescendingly,  and  in  their  progression 
 more  piercingly,  that  which  was  already  contained  in  the  depths 
 of  the  previous  word,  and  its  sublime  antithesis — Why  perse- 
 cutest  tliou — Me  ?  That  which  the  question  had  pressed  upon 
 the  conscience  is  now  brought  out  into  full  prominence  for  the 
 understanding — far  too  powerfid  for  thee  !  Moreover,  the  folly 
 and  the  guilt  is  laid  bare,  which  would  proudly  defend  itself 
 against  this  already  felt  inferiority  of  power. 
 
 While  we  are  dwelling  upon  the  circumstance  that  our  Lord 
 not  only  spoke  in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  but  also  condescended  to 
 speak  to  men  in  their  own  proverbial  expressions,  infusing  into 
 them  a  new  meaning,  it  is  important  that  we  should  penetrate 
 into  the  specific  and  new  meaning  which  the  present  proverb 
 derives  from  His  use  of  it.  The  scruple  might  be  raised — Did 
 Saul  already  kick  against  the  pricks  when  he  was  persecuting 
 Jesus,  whom  he  did  not  as  yet  know  as  the  Mighty  One  in 
 heaven  ?  But  it  may  be  answered  that  the  sinner  who  had 
 fought  in  his  blindness  against  the  power,  righteousness,  and 
 truth  of  God,  must  have  assm-edly  marked  and  discerned  the 
 high  authority  against  w^hich  he  in  his  vain  folly  was  struggling, 
 although  he  did  not  as  yet  plainly  see  who  wielded  the  sceptre ; 
 that,  consequently,  warning  thrusts  must  have  already  reached 
 the  conscience  of  Saul,  as  generally  from  the  justice  of  God,  so 
 specifically  from  the  bright  self -attestation  of  the  angel-coun- 
 tenance of  Stephen,  and  the  undeniable  sanctity  of  the  perse- 
 cuted "  saints" — warnings  which,  however  half-unconsciously, 
 must  yet  have  have  been  certainly  felt.  Few  Nazarenes  had 
 blasphemed ;  most  of  them  confessed,  even  amid  torments,  the 
 name  which  he  fought  against ;  yea,  this  hated  and  persecuted 
 jLame  approved  itself,  in  its  living  wonderful  power,  as  the  staff 
 of  a  superior  against  the  prick  of  which  he  vainly  kicked,  only 
 
ACTS  IX.  4-G  ;    XXII.  7-10  ;    XXVI.  U-IG.  21 
 
 the  more  womidiiig  his  own  mind  and  conscience  thereby.  The 
 Lord  does  not  merely  "  testify  to  him  the  objective  fruitlessness 
 of  his  opposition  to  the  Church''^  (as  S chaff  thinks) — that  was 
 already  contained  in  the  revelation  of  His  heavenly  power  and 
 glory ;  but  that  which  in  Saul's  person  (subjectively)  had  made 
 itself  felt  as  his  own  hurt^  felt  actually  as  the  rebuking  point 
 of  a  goad  nevertheless  urged  against  him — that  the  Lord  now 
 suddenly  reveals  to  him,  and  throws  light  at  once  upon  the 
 past :  "  Why  persecutest  thou  Me,  and  thereby  essentially  only 
 thyself  V^  But,  from  that  great  moment  when  this  rises  dis- 
 tinctly before  his  consciousness,  it  receives  the  stronger  and  fuller 
 meaning  for  the  future  also  :  "  Wouldst  thou  further  oppose — 
 think  how  hard,  vain,  and  ruinous  it  will  be  to  thee  /"  Luther 
 has  given  rightly  the  sense  of  the  indefinite  word — It  will  he 
 hard  to  thee.  "  Behold,  this  is  My  goad — dost  thou  feel  it  ? 
 Wilt  thou  further  deny  thyself  to  Me  ?  or,  wilt  thou  obediently 
 draw  in  my  yoke,  yield  thyself  up  submissively  to  be  sent  in  My 
 service  ?  My  sacred  grace  hath  decreed  to  make  thee  obedient — 
 Woe,  woe,  unto  thee,  if  thou  shoiddst  not  follow!  Hard  should 
 it  be  to  thee,  incomparably  harder  than  hitherto  :" — this  and 
 this  only  the  Lord  says ;  for  impossible  Saul's  disobedience  was 
 not  even  now ;  of  an  irresistible  grace  we  can  by  no  means 
 think.     (Comp.  ch.  xxvi.  19,  and  Gal.  i.  16.) 
 
 Satisfied  with  this  exposition  of  the  words,  as  it  has  always 
 \vitli  more  or  less  clearness  been  perceived,  we  do  not  think  it 
 necessary  to  turn  aside  to  any  profound  concomitant  meaning ; 
 such  as  that,  for  instance,  of  Baumgarten,  who  refers  the  whole 
 sapng  only  to  the  Pharisee's,  afterguards  the  Apostle's,  warfare 
 with  the  law}  Othenvise,  he  needlessly  objects,  the  figure, 
 when  applied  to  Saul's  past  and  future  relation  to  Jesus,  would 
 be  inappropriate,  as  making  Jesus  the  driver  with  a  threatening 
 goad,  and  Paul  the  ox  performing  his  work  from  fear  alone ! 
 For,  does  not  the  Lord  here  manifestly  show  Himself — pre- 
 viously to  all  else  that  would  afterwards  follow — as  the  Mighty 
 One,  with  the  staff  of  authority,  pointed  with  the  prick  which 
 should  pierce  the  conscience  ?  And  does  not  the  figm^e  approve 
 its  truth  in  this,  that  the  question  is  one  of  the  yoke  of  obedi- 
 
 ^  In  harmony  witli  his  general  view  that  "  all  the  thoughts  which  agitated 
 the  mind  of  Saul,  in  consequence  of  the  Lord's  address  to  him,  must  have 
 centred  in  the  Law  " — against  which  Lechler  rightly  protests. 
 
22  TO  SAUL  THE  PERSECUTOR. 
 
 ence  ?  Thus  it  is,  quite  simply,  that  the  Lord  testifies  His  own 
 power,  the  opposition  to  which  can  result  only  in  the  hurt  of 
 him  who  opposes ;  but,  because  this  power,  before  as  hereafter, 
 is  the  power  of  patient  love.  He  testifies  further  that  the  goad 
 of  the  driver  is  the  staff  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  having  no  other 
 design  than  to  take  away  the  sin,  through  grace  which  rigor- 
 ously and  zealously  seeks  to  effect  its  purpose.  The  holy 
 Theresa  finely  said  (as  Gossner  quotes)  :  "  Lord,  I  sooner 
 became  weary  of  injuring  Thee,  than  Thou  of  forgiving  my 
 injury" — but  it  might  have  been  substituted — "  than  Thou  of 
 withstanding,  in  order  that  Thou  mightest  be  able  to  forgive." 
 
 All  this  Paul  shortly  afterwards  well  understood.  But  in 
 the  first  shock  of  sudden  amazement,  the  whole  saying,  despite 
 the  final  penetrating  clause,  was  almost  unintelligible.  He 
 feels  and  suspects,  but  does  not  at  once  clearly  understand ; 
 hence,  in  his  deep  presentiment,  he  utters  the  hasty  question. 
 Who  art  Thouy  Lord  ?  For  he  had,  hitherto,  persecuted  Jesus 
 ignorantly  in  unbelief  (1  Tim.  i.  13) — it  had  not  been  his 
 purpose  to  fight  Avilfully  against  God.  If,  on  the  instant  after 
 the  manifestation  (which  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  continue 
 gazing  at),  he  could  hardly  think  otherwise  than  that  it  was 
 .Fehovah  Himself  in  the  glory  of  His  revelation  (the  Shekmah, 
 according  to  the  Jewish  expression),  or  at  least  an  angel  in 
 human  form,  who,  in  the  name  and  authority  of  Jehovah,  called 
 inim, — yet  the  "  Me  "  was,  for  the  moment,  incomprehensible ; 
 and  in  that  his  relative  innocence,  in  connection  with  his  guilt, 
 revealed  itself.  Had  the  Lord  appeared  to  any  of  those  who 
 said,  "  This  is  the  heir,  come  let  us  kill  him ! "  it  would  have 
 fallen  upon  him  as  the  thunder  of  judgment ;  at  most,  he  would 
 have  been  able  to  cry  with  the  devils,  "  Wliat  hast  thou  to  do 
 with  me,  Jesus,  Thou  Son  of  the  Most  High  God  I  Art  Thou 
 come  to  torment  me  before  the  time  ?  "  But  Saul,  who  had  not 
 wilfully  or  consciously  persecuted  the  Messiah,  or  the  Person 
 who  might  be  the  Messiah,  can,  lying  upon  the  ground  with 
 covered  face,  find  strength  to  utter  his  trembling  question, 
 "  Lord,  who  sayest  that  I  persecute  thee.  Who  art  thou  ?  Not 
 the  God  of  Israel,  for  whose  honour  I  thought  myself  zealous. 
 Wlio  art  thou,  O  heavenly  One,  who  thus  art  one  with  the 
 JVazareneSy  as  if  thou  sufferedst  in  their  sufferings  ?  "  But  this 
 very  thought  leads  us  to  the  otluT  side  of  the  question — that 
 
ACTS  IX    4-G  ;   XXII.  7-10  ;   XXVI.  14-16.  23 
 
 tlie  presentiment  of  his  question  needed  only  to  be  brought  out 
 and  fully  uttered,  in  order  to  find,  if  the  Lord  had  kept  silence, 
 its  own  answer — "Thou  art  Jesus  of  Nazareth!"  He  knew 
 so  much,  at  least,  of  "this  sect,"  that  according  to  their 
 behef  Jesus  was  now  enthroned  in  heaven.  Therefore,  while 
 he  might  have  thought  and  said.  Who  art  thou,  Lord,  from 
 heaven,  ivhom  I  can  have  persecuted  ?  he  restrains  this  last, 
 because  that  itself  would  instantly  give  him  the  answer,  before 
 the  Lord,  confirming  his  own  thoughts,  expressly  uttered  it.^ 
 
 I  AM  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom  thou  peesecutest  ! 
 Who  other  than  He  whom  thou  hast  persecuted  ?  The  Lord 
 does  not  harshly  break  off — "  Tarry  thou  on  the  gromid,  and 
 reflect ;  this  first  word  is  enough  for  thee ! "  With  more  and 
 more  gracious  condescension.  He  enters  into  the  ordinary  col- 
 loquy of  word  and  answer.  First  comes  the  specific  repetition 
 and  emphasis  of  his  own  word.  Whom  thou  persecutest! 
 although  this  comes  out  only  after,  in  the  first  part  of  the  sen- 
 tence, it  had  been  hinted  at.  The  Lord  now  calls  Himself 
 from  heaven  by  the  name  which  the  Spirit  since  the  dav  of 
 Pentecost  had  glorified,  and  by  which  the  angels  at  the  empty 
 sepulchre  had  called  Him  (Mark  xvi.  6)  :  the  name  of  humilia- 
 tion, under  which  Saul  had  persecuted  Him,  is  by  Him  in  His 
 glory  retained  and  confirmed.  Jesus  of  Nazareth !  That 
 further  testifies,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  the  identity  of  Hjs 
 present  person  with  the  person  of  the  humbled  One,  even  to 
 the  years  of  childhood  at  Nazareth,  to  wliich  He  looks  back 
 
 ^  The  question  is  here  raised,  whether  Saul  had  not  previously  known 
 Jesus,  whether  he  had  not  seen  Him  in  Jerusalem  or  elsewhere.  This  is 
 quite  possible  in  itself  ;  but  His  present  form  would  not  at  once  recall  any- 
 such  acquaintance  with  His  person.  That  in  2  Cor.  v.  16,  this  acquaintance 
 is  meant,  appears  to  us  a  very  doubtful,  indeed,  an  absolutely  wrong  ex- 
 position. For,  first,  the  Apostle  speaks  there  hypothel  ically — only  putting 
 a  case  ;  and  then,  to  know  Christy  z.e.,  the  Messiah  (^yrjuaKnv)^  is  something 
 very  different  from  having  seen,  and  personally  known,  the  human  person. 
 St  Paul  had  formerly  a  blind  Jewish  knowledge  and  expectation  of  the 
 (promised)  Messiah,  after  the  fleshy  that  is,  "as  the  letter  reveals  Him  to 
 the  natural  understanding ; "  this  he  renounces  as  old  and  past,  because  he 
 has  found  the  true  Christ  in  Jesus.  Not,  therefore,  as  G.  Muller  says, 
 "the  form  of  His  humanity  has  vanished  from  my  mind" — he  would 
 say  something  very  different.  Assuredly,  in  conclusion.  He  who  appeared 
 to  him  at  Damascus  connects  His  quite  otherwise  meant  I  am  Jesus !  no^ 
 with  any  former  knowledge  of  His  person  which  Saul  might  have  had. 
 
^4  TO  SAUL  THE  PEESECUTOR. 
 
 from  the  throne  of  God  in  eternal  glory.  Not  "Jesus  the 
 Christ'' — which  was  self-understood  from  the  glorious  appear- 
 ance ;  as  also  that  Saul  had  persecuted  Jesus  only  as  the  Christ. 
 But  the  Lord  will  not  still  further  oppress  the  man  lying  in  the 
 dust,  by  the  name  of  His  might  and  dignity ;  He  mildly  descends 
 to  him,  giving  him  courage  and  awakening  his  confidence  in 
 the  midst  of  his  punishment.  For,  the  expression  must  have  re- 
 called to  him  that  this  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth"  was  once  upon  earth 
 the  meek  and  lowly  One,  the  Benefactor  and  Healer  in  His 
 Divine  power.  Moreover,  Jesus  means,  as  all  who  afterwards 
 heard  the  words  would  think  with  Saul,  Helper  and  Saviour. 
 Thus — "  Why  persecutest  thou,  poor  sinner,  the  only  Helper, 
 who  hath  holpen  so  many  and  would  help  thee,  who  pierces 
 with  the  goad  only  so  long  as  He  is  opposed?  Why  wilt 
 thou  not  let  Me  save  thee  and  others  ?  "  The  charge  changes 
 into  a  tender  and  sorrowful  lamentation  and  complaint,  once 
 more  just  as  in  John  x.  32.  Thus  the  sin  of  Saul  is  forgiven, 
 in  the  utterance  of  this  holy  name  of  Jesus,  even  while  that  sin 
 is  a  second  time  mentioned.  And  that  name  comes  first — "7 
 am  Jesus  whom  thou  persecutest — only  behold  and  hear  Me 
 now!"  Thus  will  the  Lord  reveal  to  every  Saul,  who  has 
 denied  Him  in  error  that  may  be  repaired.  His  Jesus-name, 
 which  is  still  above  the  name  of  Christ,  and  in  which  every 
 knee  shall  bow. 
 
 Such  gracious  condescension  has  made  it  possible  that  Saul, 
 seized  and  rendered  obedient  by  this  second  appeal,  should  put 
 the  question.  Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  that  I  should  do  ?  (ch.  xx., 
 shorter,  What  must  I  do,  Lord  ?)  He  does  not  remain  terrified 
 and  amazed  by  the  thought  of  the  twice-proclaimed  persecution 
 xji  this  Lord  now  appearing  to  him,  and  cry  in  anguish — Alas, 
 what  have  I  done  I  For,  only  this  manifestation  was  wanting 
 to  make  him  turn  to  his  denied  Lord,  with  as  much  decision  as 
 had  been  shown  in  his  persecution,  and  ask  what  might  be  the 
 ^11  of  the  Lord  whom  he  now  knew.  Although  the  bitter 
 struggle  was  yet  to  come,  there  already  flowed  into  his  heart  a 
 first  breath  of  consolation  and  forgiveness  ;  so  that  he  looks 
 forward,  forgetting  the  things  behind,  and  can  offer  himself 
 and  his  whole  life  to  Him  whom  he  had  persecuted,  with  the 
 question,  almost  childlike  in  its  confidence — What  is  Thy  will 
 from  this  time,  O  Lord,  now  even  my  Lord  f     From  this  time 
 
ACTS  IX.  4-6  ;   XXII.  7-10  ;   XXVI.  14-16.  25 
 
 —this  has  to  him,  now,  the  first  and  most  pressing  significance ; 
 '•ecause  he  is  at  the  gate  of  Damascus,  as  a  persecutor  sent  by- 
 he  council:  "What  shall  I  do  now ?  Shall  I  turn  back ?  And 
 whither  ?     Shall  I  go  on  ?     And  what  to  do  then  ?  " 
 
 Entering  gi'aciously  into  this,  and  bringing  the  affecting 
 conversation  nearer  to  its  end,  the  Lord  answers  him  : — St 
 Paul,  in  the  narrative  before  the  Jew^s,  ch.  xxii.,  first  acknow- 
 ledges Him  by  this  name.     Aeise  and  go  into  the  city, 
 
 AND  IT  SHALL  BE  TOLD  THEE  WHAT  THOU  MUST  DO  (ch.  Xxii., 
 INTO  DAMASCUS — OF  ALL  THINGS  WHICH  ARE  APPOINTED 
 FOR  THEE   TO   DO.      Ch.   XXvl.,   RiSE    AND   STAND   UPON  THY 
 
 feet).  The  first  words.  Arise!  (lience  quoted  more  emphatically 
 in  ch.  xxvi. ;  comp.  Ezek.  ii.  1)  has  here  great  significance, 
 much  more  than  when  it  formerly  came  from  the  lips  of  Jesus. 
 The  voice  of  the  Lord  first  threw  him  to  the  earth,  it  now 
 lifts  him  up  again — both,  in  this  extraordinary  revelation  of 
 His  power,  in  quick  succession.  "  Go — the  same  way  which 
 thou  wast  going,  into  the  same  Damascus,  but  as  another  man 
 now,  w^io  hast  fallen  down  before  Me,  and  art  risen  up  again! 
 Thou  shalt  at  once  do  something  ;  I  take  thee  at  thy  word,  it  is 
 My  will.  Much  is  appointed  to  thee,  yea,  according  to  eternal 
 counsel,  to  thee,  the  persecutor  and  blasphemer,  which  thou 
 shalt  do  in  thy  new  life,  in  thy  new  energy,  in  My  service 
 — all  this  will  be  told  thee.  The  supreme  order  is  given  and 
 sealed;  but  all  the  rest  My  ministers  will  care  for."  What 
 an  explanation  this,  leaving  so  much  to  be  supposed,  but 
 concealing  all  in  a  simple  w^ord,  wdiich  Saul  could  not  at  once 
 understand. 
 
 Damascus,  the  oldest  city  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge — 
 mentioned  as  early  as  the  history  of  Abraham,  afterwards  the 
 metropolis  of  the  enemies  of  Israel,  and,  later,  of  the  fanatical 
 Mohammedan  power — was  foreappointed  to  be  the  scene  of  a 
 mighty  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ  (see  Acts  ix.  20,  21).  But 
 the  Lord  does  not  say,  as  afterwards  to  Ananias,  and  as  the 
 angel  to  Cornelius — Into  this  or  that  street,  into  this  or  that 
 house.  He  mentions  to  him  no  name.  He  begins  at  once  to 
 exercise  him  by  the  test  of  obedience  in  faith.  He  who  had 
 asked,  in  harmony  with  his  impetuous  character,  what  new 
 thing  he  should  do,  is  required,  in  this  new  beginning,  to  wait, 
 to  learn,  to  be  told.     He  does  not  know  that  the  fulfilment  -mW 
 
26  TO  SAUL  THE  PERSECUTOR. 
 
 take  place  as  soon  as  it  actually  did  ;  he  must  first  in  silent  waiting 
 turn  to  account  that  which  had  already  occurred.  The  original 
 does  not  say,  One  will  tell  thee;  but  still  more  indefinitely,  It 
 shall  be  told  thee.  By  whom  ?  ]\Iight  it  be  by  the  Lord  Him- 
 self ?  The  dismissing  reference  to  some  one  in  the  city  gives 
 him  plainly  to  understand  that  that  cannot  be  meant.  Thus  it 
 was  by  men,  and  by  whom  but  by  some  of  those  disciples  of 
 the  Lord  whom  he  had  come  to  persecute  ?  Even  Christ  Him- 
 self points  to  His  witnesses,  as  the  angel  referred  Comehus  to 
 Peter.  Not  merely,  "  He  that  persecuteth  JMine  persecuteth 
 Me,"  but  also,  "  He  that  heareth  Mine  heareth  Me  !" 
 
 As  the  Lord  had  in  the  first  word  confessed  His  people,  so 
 He  confesses  them  now  in  the  closing  word.  This  expression 
 is  better  here,  and  less  easily  perverted,  than  the  too  favourite 
 word  church ;  for  where  was  at  that  time  the  church — as  the 
 term  is  now  used  distinctively  from  the  congregation — with  its 
 confirmed,  appointed,  ruling  constitution?  The  convert  is 
 afterwards  directed  to  the  Scripture,  but  that  does  not  come 
 till  after:  first  he  must  have  living  intercom'se  vA\\\  those 
 who  live  in  faith,  in  order  to  the  opening  of  his  eyes. 
 
 He  is  sent  to  one  or  to  some  of  the  disciples  in  Damascus — 
 thus  much  he  understands — Avhom  he  must  patiently  wait  for. 
 Let  it  be  observed,  not  to  the  Apostles ;  for  he  is  immediately 
 called  to  be  an  Apostle  liimself .  Nevertheless,  he  must  subject 
 himself  to  the  heretics  whom  he  had  before  scorned ;  he  must 
 bow  down  before  the  persecuted  congregation,  and  receive  from 
 them  the  further  communications  of  his  Lord's  will.  Thus  the 
 extraordinary  and  miraculously-begun  w^ork  of  his  conversion 
 must  have  a  regular  and  immiraculous  issue  ;  the  miracle  is  re- 
 duced back  to  ordinary  limitations ;  the  common  order  is  placed 
 on  a  level  with  the  mu'aculous,  rather  it  is  confinned  and 
 sanctified  in  its  place  above  it.  Thus,  finally,  the  special 
 honom'  done,  as  it  were,  to  the  proud  Pharisee,  is  compensated 
 or  paralleled  by  his  taking  his  place  below  the  despised  Naza- 
 renes,  in  order  to  strengthen  and  maintain  his  humility.  For, 
 alas!  not  every  one  who  has  bowed  down  before  the  Lord 
 Himself,  submits  to  bow  down  before  men  for  the  Lord's  sake, 
 and  before  the  Lord  in  the  person  of  men. 
 
 The  Lord  often  thus  makes  His  own  beginning,  while  He 
 leaves  the  prosecution  to  His  disciples.     Tluis  He  still  greets 
 
ACTS  IX.  10-16.         ,  27 
 
 His  children  upon  earth  with  greeting  which  strengthens  their 
 faith,  while  He  commits  to  them  still  sometimes  a  captive 
 enemy — the  strong  and  learned  made  blmd  and  praying,  for 
 their  fmther  care  and  nourishment. 
 
 Finally,  there  is  in  the  expression,  "what  is  appointed  to 
 thee" — as  we  find  it  in  the  exacter  record,  ch.  xxii. — a  refer- 
 ence to  the  Father y  precisely  as  in  Matt.  xx.  23.  We  must  not 
 understand  merely  "  appointed  hy  J/e;"  but  the  glorified  Lord 
 gives  the  glory  to  the  Father ;  and  the  word  of  Ananias,  ch. 
 xxii.  14,  coincides  mth  this.  In  the  later  appearance,  ch.  xxvi. 
 16,  the  Lord  Himself  gives  His  orders  to  His  ser^-ant  and  mt- 
 ness ;  but  in  the  first  announcement  of  Himself  as  "  Jesus  of 
 Nazareth,"  so  condescendingly  lowly  mth  all  its  majesty.  He 
 refers  all  at  the  conclusion  to  His  God  and  Father: — All  shall 
 be  said  to  thee  by  men^  that  is  appointed  for  thee  by  God, 
 For  this  is  the  confirmed  and  everlasting  rule  :  whosoever  asks 
 his  Lord  in  earnest  what  he  should  do,  shall  have  in  His  ways 
 a  sure  answer  given  him  even  through  men. 
 
 II. 
 
 ANANIAS   COMMISSION. 
 
 (Acts  ix.  10-16.) 
 
 Among  the  multitudes  of  Jews  in  Damascus  (St  Luke,  in 
 vers.  2  and  20,  speaks  of  synagogues  in  the  plm'al)  there  were 
 disciples  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  (vers.  19-25), — though  probably 
 an  insignificant  little  company.  The  persecution  which  Saul 
 had  with  a  strong  hand  undertaken  in  Jerusalem  had  far  dis- 
 persed the  persecuted,  and  sent  them  widely  forth  as  preachers 
 of  the  Word.  But  we  must  not  think  of  any  orderly  ecclesi- 
 astical relation  among  these  few  disciples  at  Damascus,  nor  of 
 any  separation  from  the  Jewish  people,  fm'ther  than  their  con- 
 fession of  Jesus  absolutely  required.  They  remained,  as  we 
 find  it  for  a  long  time  mthin  Israel,  Jews  in  all  observance  of 
 the  law.  This  is  expressly  stated,  ch.  xxii.  12,  of  Ananias; 
 as  also  his  good  report,  the  consideration  paid  to  his  irreproach- 
 able, respectable  character  among  all  the  Jews  of  the  city,  and 
 
28 
 
 which  his  faith  in  Jesus  had  not  yet  interrupted.  Conse- 
 quently, although  this  "  disciple"  is  not  called  an  elder  of  the 
 community,  he  is  one  in  reality;  and  is  chosen,  as  the  worthiest 
 representative  of  the  discipleship  in  the  place,  to  receive  and 
 admit  Saul  into  the  fellowship  of  Christians.  But  this  transi 
 tion  from  the  miraculous  to  regular  order  requires  also  on  the 
 part  of  Ananias — in  order  that  his  mistrust  of  the  persecutor 
 may  be  taken  away,  and  still  more  that  he  might  enter  f  ull^ 
 into  the  Lord's  plan  and  commission,  and  venture  to  approach 
 Saul — a  further  extraordinary  and  miraculous  intervention 
 It  takes  place,  therefore,  though  in  a  lower  degree ;  that  is,  by 
 an  appearance  and  communication  of  the  Lord  in  vision. 
 
 This  expression  has  here,  as  is  obvious,  not  the  general 
 meaning  which  it  has  in  Acts  vii.  31^  Matt.  xvii.  9,^  where  it 
 refers  to  an  appearance  from  the  other  world  in  opposition  tc 
 ordinary  perception — in  which  sense  Saul's  seeing  and  hearing 
 before  Damascus  was  a  vision.  But  it  connects  itself,  accord- 
 ing to  a  more  restricted  use  of  the  phrase,  with  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment manner  of  speech,  as  found  already  in  Acts  ii.  17,  in 
 which  the  word  of  the  Lord  to  Abraham  (Gen.  xv.  1)  was 
 heard  "in  a  vision"  in  the  night,  as  ver.  7  shows.  The  pro- 
 mise in  the  Prophet  Joel  (ch.  iii.  1)  mentions  prophecy,  dream, 
 and  vision  as  the  three  orders  of  Divine  revelation ;  as  in 
 Num.  xii.  6  the  Lord  declares  that  He  will  make  Himself 
 known  to  other  prophets  in  vision  or  dream,  but  expressly  dis- 
 tinguishes this  from  the  immediate  revelation  reserved  for 
 Moses — the  speaking  face  to  face,  the  being  seen  in  face  or 
 form.  What  the  stricter  relations  of  these  may  be  is  matter  of 
 higher  experience,  and  cannot  here  be  thoroughly  opened  up  ; 
 we  merely  remark,  that  the  very  distinct  dream  might  pass 
 over  into  the  vision,  mth  a  certain  removal  of  the  distinction, 
 but  that  this  distinction  must  be  maintained  in  the  case  of  a 
 vision  seen,  as  here,  dming  the  day.  As  Cornelius  and  Peter 
 beheld  their  visions  in  the  day  and  waking — although,  in  order 
 to  their  susceptibility  for  the  event,  raised  out  of  ordinary 
 wakefulness — so  most  probably  did  Ananias  here.  It  is  not 
 said — In  a  vision  of  the  flight ;  and,  according  to  ver.  17,  when 
 he  received  the  commission  he  went  on  the  same  day,  v^dthout 
 
 ^  And  differs  in  the  Greek  (oVrefff/ot  for  oouux  as  in  Acts  xxvi.  19),  yet 
 with  the  same  meaning  in  xxiv.  23. 
 
ACTS  IX.  10-lG.  29 
 
 interval  or  hesitation,  to  execute  it.  But,  finally,  it  must  not 
 be  overlooked  that  we  do  not  read  of  his  being  in  the  spirit; 
 this  is  a  f uither  distinction  between  these  "  visions "  of  the 
 history  of  the  Acts,  and  the  later  more  profoundly  internal  in- 
 tercourse of  the  Lord  with  His  Apostles. 
 
 The  Lord  said  in  the  vision,  An^anias  !  Here  once  caUing 
 by  name  is  enough ;  his  name,  uttered  in  so  wonderful  a  man- 
 ner, introduces  the  vision,  excites  and  places  him  in  a  state  in 
 which  there  was  certainly  some  kind  of  seeing  the  appearing 
 Lord.  For,  on  the  one  hand,  the  vision  of  Ananias  would  not 
 be  less  plain  than  that  of  Saul,  who  saw  this  man  coming  in  to 
 him;  and,  on  the  other,  St  Luke  relates  the  proceeding  T\4th 
 the  supposition,  not  expressed,  that  Ananias  at  the  first  call 
 knew  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  afterwards  speaks  to  Him  as  such 
 — ''Thy  saints,  who  call  on  Thy  name."  We  cannot  perfectly 
 understand  all;  but  this  much  is  plain,  that,  "svithout  ha^-ing 
 any  previous  experience  of  any  such  vision,  the  faithful  dis- 
 ciple, accustomed  to  the  communion  of  the  heart  mth  his  Lord, 
 is  raised  from  the  sudden  shock  of  the  appearance  to  the  con- 
 fident beholding  of  Him  who  appears,  and  can  reply.  Here  ain 
 Ij  Lord  I  It  may  be  that  Ananias  was  one  of  those  who  had 
 seen  the  Lord  in  his  visits  to  Jerusalem  at  the  feasts — possible 
 that  he  was  one  of  His  original  disciples^ — and  consequently 
 that  the  voice  and  form  of  the  Lord  would  recall  Him  to  his 
 remembrance.  Be  that  as  it  may,  this  vision  and  colloquy 
 rests  upon  the  same  foundation  as  the  revelation  to  Saul,  con- 
 firmed and  sealed  as  that  is  by  an  entire  apostolical  hfe. 
 
 In  the  "  Here  am  I" — which  occurs  so  often  from  Abraham 
 in  Gen.  xx.  do^vnwards,  as  the  reply  to  the  Lord's  summons  by 
 name,  and  the  immediate  use  of  which  sprang  from  Ananias' 
 f amiharity  with  Scripture — was  contained  the  questions,  "What 
 is  Thy  will?  Whsit  am  I  to  do?"  And  the  Lord  said  to 
 him,  "  Arise,  ain^d  go  into  the  street  which  is  called 
 Straight,  and  inquire  in  the  house  of  Judas  for  one 
 Saul  of  Tarsus."  It  is  not  that  Ananias  also  had  fallen 
 down ;  the  arise  simply  belong,  in  the  f amiHar  speech,  to  the 
 going  and  executing  his  errand  at  once.^     The  Lord  assumes 
 
 ^  Compare  the  expression,  probably  to  be  understood  in  the  same  way 
 concerning  Mnason,  an  old  disciple,  doxccia  fAxhrft^  Acts  xxi.  16. 
 *  In  tie  Greek  they  are  Jotielj  uniteii,  d^ourzui  TOyiv$^i. 
 
30  ANANIAS'  COMMISSION. 
 
 the  tone  of  familiar  speech,  as  if  all  was  passing  in  common  life, 
 and  condescends  to  exact  specification  of  the  street  and  house  ; 
 for  this  was  now  necessary,  in  order  to  give  Ananias  a  distinct 
 impression,  and  still  more  to  obviate  the  premature  comments 
 which  would  have  resulted  from  any  particular  inquiries  in  tho 
 city — "  The  Christian  Ananias  has  sought  out  the  persecutor 
 Saul !"  Wliat  the  two  have  to  do  together  requires  at  first 
 perfect  secrecy;  until,  after  certain  days  (ver.  19),  Saul  begins, 
 to  the  astonishment  of  all,  to  preach  concerning  Jesus  in  the 
 synagogues.  After  Luther's  inexact  translation — die  ricJitige 
 Gasse — many  have  found  a  fanciful  allusion  to  him  who  was 
 now  brought  into  the  right  way  ;  but  this  disturbs  here  the  plain 
 simphcity  of  the  whole,  in  which  nothing  more  is  meant  than 
 the  great  street  of  the  city,  so  called  in  distinction  from  others 
 which  did  not  run  so  directly  through  it.  The  host  Judas  was 
 not  also  a  Christian,  though  through  his  guest  he  may  have  be- 
 come one ;  the  name  here  indicates  only  what  we  should  now 
 express  by  the  number  of  the  street.  Because,  finally,  Saul,  like 
 Judas,  was  an  ordinary  name,  the  usual  designation  of  Saul  of 
 Tarsus  marks  out  one  who  in  every  land,  and  by  Ananias,  was 
 laiown  as  the  notorious  enemy  of  the  Christians. 
 
 Hitherto  the  words  had  been  simple  and  plain,  as  when  a  man 
 is  introducing  with  accm'acy  an  ordinary  commission ;  but  now 
 comes  the  great  declaration, — "FoK,  behold,  he  pkayeth!" 
 Here  the  for  (which  has  been  softened  away  by  most  expositors) 
 retains  its  full  meaning;  the  astonishment  and  affright  of 
 Ananias  at  the  mention  of  the  name  Saul  of  Tarsus  is  antici 
 pated — "Thou  shalt  seek  him  without  fear;  thou  shalt  find 
 him  willing  to  be  told  My  will."  In  this  Bengel  is  at  fault,  who 
 refers  the  for  (which  obviously  gives  a  reason)  to  the  whole 
 clause,  and  particularly  to  the  following  sentence  about  his 
 having  seen  the  vision.  Surely  the  first  words — he  prayeth  ! 
 were  of  themselves  quite  enough  ground  to  estabhsh  the  confi- 
 dence of  Ananias.  The  behold  !  places  the  praying  man,  visible 
 to  the  Lord,  also,  as  it  were,  before  the  eyes  of  Ananias.  In 
 that  one  thing  everything  is  embraced  and  said !  A  praying 
 man  is  never  to  be  feared,  has  ceased  to  be  an  enemy  and 
 a  persecutor — that  is  the  first  and  most  ob^dous  meaning 
 for  Ananias  ;  but  it  is  very  far  from  being  all  that  the  words 
 contained.      Instead    of   the  external  matter  which  St  Luke, 
 
ACTS  IX.  10-lG.  31 
 
 ver.  9,  fiiitlifully  recorded  at  first — "  He  was  three  days  without 
 sight,  and  neither  ate  nor  drank" — the  Lord  mentions  that 
 which  He  saw  in  the  iniier  man,  and  which  was  only  imaged  and 
 expressed  in  the  blindness  and  fasting.  AATiat  prayer  must  this 
 of  Saul  have  been,  through  these  three  days  and  nights  !  We 
 cannot  agree  with  Baumgarten,  who  maintains  (against  Bengel) 
 that  the  state  of  Saul  during  the  whole  of  the  three  davs  is  not 
 describeu  aS  being  that  of  prayer ;  but  that  "  the  praying  put 
 an  end  to  the  agony  which  had  filled  the  three  days  !"  This 
 interpretation  presses  the  for  beyond  its  Kmits ;  since,  in  that 
 case,  if  the  reason  for  the  Lord's  commission  to  Manias  had 
 occurred  before,  Ananias  srould  have  been  sent  earher !  We 
 confess  that  we  cannot  understand  a  three  days'  "  ^vrestling"  on 
 Saul's  part,  which  was  resolved  at  last  into  prayer — not  being 
 itself  prayer  all  through.  "  Lord,  what  wouldst  Thou  have  me 
 to  do?"  That,  in  truth,  was  the  beginning  of  a  prayer  to  the 
 Lord,  which  never  could  cease  again  until  it  had  been  fully 
 answered.  The  other  remark  of  Baumgarten  is  both  obvious 
 and  true :  "  This  was  of  course  not  the  first  time  that  Saul  had 
 prayed ;  as  an  irreproachable  Pharisee  he  had  never  neglected 
 the  hours  of  devotion ;  but  all  his  previous  praying  did  not 
 deserve  the  name."  Ah,  how  often  is  it  that,  after  much  fruit- 
 ful "  prayer"  which  the  Lord  has  not  regarded.  He  Himself  at 
 length  bears  His  testimony — Behold,  he  prayeth  now ! 
 
 "  We  cannot  describe  the  whole  way  of  conversion  more 
 concisely,  and  at  the  same  time  more  comprehensively,  than  by 
 these  w^ords — 'Behold,  he  prayeth.'  For  it  brings  the  two 
 things  together:  that  conversion  is  God's  work;  but  that  it 
 must  have  our  co-operation.  Li  prayer  we  lay  hold  on  God's 
 good  wdll,  which  had  before  laid  hold  upon  us ;  and  jdeld  our- 
 selves up  to  His  mighty  di-awings"  (Rieger).  Saul,  so  mightily 
 apprehended  of  Christ  Jesus,  had  already  a  secret  sense  or  hope 
 of  forgiveness ;  nevertheless,  the  approj^riation  of  this  pardon  in 
 faith  required  of  him,  now  that  calm  refiection  followed  the 
 great  manifestation,  the  most  vehement  wrestling — the  utmost 
 labour  of  prayer,  that  in  repentance  he  might  sm^ely  taste  the 
 full  knowledge  of  his  sin.  For,  notwithstanding  all  that  was 
 sudden  and  extraordinary  in  his  case,  there  was  no  remission  or 
 relaxation  to  him  of  the  universal  method  of  grace : — and  this  is 
 emphatically  slated  in  the  mention  of  his  prayer.     The  means 
 
32  I,     ANAKIAS'  COMMISSION. 
 
 of  grace  for  liiin,  as  for  all  others,  are  the  word  and  sacrament — 
 but  deriving  their  energy  and  effect  from  praying  faith,  which 
 receives  in  order  to  further  seeking  and  finding. 
 
 "Behold,  he  prayeth" — that  is  the  first  and  main  point,  as 
 the  verse  divides  itself ;  then  follows,  "  And  hath  seen  in  a 
 
 VISION  A  MAN  NAMED  AnANIAS,  COMING  IN,  AND  PUTTING  HIS 
 HAND  UPON  HIM,  THAT  HE  MIGHT  RECEIVE  HIS  SIGHT."      This 
 
 corresponsive  "vision"  of  a  different  order,  similar  to  that  of  the 
 man  of  Macedonia  m  Troas  (ch.  x^d.  9),  the  personification  of 
 the  people  cr\ing  for  their  only  help,  is,  strictly  speaking,  no 
 more  in  itself  than  that  seeing  from  afar,  or  anticijjatoiy  seeing, 
 what  will  afterwards  take  place,  of  which  there  are  plentiful 
 examples  in  all  times.  Only  that  the  mention  of  the  name 
 (doubtless  by  a  voice)  is  an  unusual  addition,  for  the  piu'pose  of 
 directing  both  men  certainly  to  each  other,  as  in  the  case  of  Peter 
 and  Cornelius.  One  might  say  that  the  name  would  bear  with 
 it  a  consoHng  significance  : — Ananias  (hke  Hananiah,  Johanan, 
 Johannes)  that  is,  "  The  Lord  is  gracious."  ^  Yet,  in  any  case, 
 the  vision  of  itself  was  without  any  concomitant  omen,  a  com- 
 forting and  gracious  preparation  of  Saul  for  the  peaceful  con- 
 sciousness of  received  grace  ;  it  promised  him  very  much,  as 
 being  a  continuation  of  the  Lord's  intercourse  with  him — for 
 only  from  Him  could  such  revelation  come  ;  it  was  to  him  the 
 beginning  of  the  answer  of  his  prayer,  pointing  him  to  the  f  utm-e 
 appointed  for  him.  For,  if  he  should  see  again,  it  could  be  only 
 that  he  might  be  restored  to  a  new  life  and  a  new  activity  ;  that 
 the  same  man  Ananias  would  furthermore  tell  him  what  he 
 should  do,  was  taken  for  granted,  and  indeed  symboUcally  de- 
 clared in  the  opening  of  his  eyes.^  It  is  the  manner  of  a  vision 
 to  exhibit  the  external,  from  which  the  rest  then  follows  ;  as  we 
 find  also  that  the  Lord  only  hints  to  Ananias  his  specific  com- 
 mission for  Saul — at  first  merely  by  this  laying  on  of  hands,  in 
 order  to  his  recovering  sight.  That  which  follows  in  ver.  15, 16, 
 as  answer  to  his  objection,  was  not  spoken  to  be  directly  com- 
 
 ^  On  the  other  hand,  Job  v.  19,  is  to  be  interpreted  otherwise — "  Cloud 
 of  God,"  as  Azarias — Help  of  God. 
 
 2  "  We  may  well  suppose  that,  before  he  started  for  Damascus,  Saul  had 
 informed  himself  of  the  feelings  of  the  Jews  in  that  city  towards  the 
 Christians,  and  had  already  heard  of  this  well-known  and  universally  re- 
 spected person."  So  Baumgarten  ;  but  we  cannot  agree  with  him  in  this ; 
 it  is  almost  contradicted  bv  ver.  2. 
 
ACTS  IX.  10-16.  ,  33 
 
 municated  to  Saul.  ^^Tiat  Ananias  understood  of  liis  commis- 
 sion, and  afterwards  accomplished,  was,  as  far  as  it  was  con- 
 tained in  the  first  communication  of  the  Lord,  simply  this : 
 '^  Raise  him  out  of  the  deep  depression  of  his  penitence,  give 
 him  gracious  and  new  light  concerning  his  election,  take  him  as 
 a  behever  into  the  fellowship  of  those  who  belong  to  ^le."  Up 
 to  this  time  the  Lord  had  said  nothing  to  Ananias  about  the 
 first  great  event — "  He  beheld  Me  in  the  way  to  Damascus, 
 where  I  appeared  to  him  !  That  was  the  cause  of  his  blindness!'^ 
 AYe  shall  see  how  Ananias  came  to  know  that  fact;  at  pre- 
 sent we  observe  only  this  :  Dazzled  and  blinded  by  the  Divine 
 glory,  he  must  by  human  hands,  and  human  words,  be  restored 
 to  sight,  which  is  itself  sjTubohcal  of  the  order  of  gi'ace,  as  it 
 proceeds  in  every  such  case,  and  to  which  everything  in  the 
 history  now  leads. 
 
 But  Ananias,  mth  increasing  confidence,  the  secret  of  which 
 we  have  already  pointed  out,  makes,  in  ver.  13,  14,  a  long  ob- 
 jection, as  if  the  Lord  who  speaks  to  him,  and  whom  he  once 
 again  replies  to,  did  not  know  and  had  not  heard  what  he  knew 
 concerning  this  evil  and  dangerous  man !  The  Lord  said — 
 "Behold  he  prayeth!"  but  this  appears  to  Ananias  incredible  ; 
 and,  instead  of  himself  hearing^  he  adduces  what  he  had  heard 
 of  many  touching  this  man  to  whom  he  was  to  go.  Past  all 
 invention  true,  to  every  right  feeling,  is  this  whole  account, 
 however  strange  it  may  appear ;  it  is  the  genuine  and  sincere 
 conversation  of  a  disciple  mth  his  Lord.  Ananias  uses  two 
 peculiar  designations  of  the  Christians  :  not  "  disciples,"  nor 
 "  brethren,"  neither  of  which  would  have  been  in  place  here ; 
 but — Thy  saints  (comp.  ver.  32-41);  and  Who  call  on  Thy  name. 
 The  former  is  derived  over  from  God  to  the  Lord  J  esus :  "  Thy,'' 
 as  formerly  in  Scripture,  "God's"  saints  (Ps.l.  5;  1  Sam.  ii.  3). 
 The  latter  is  more  strictly  referred  to  Jesus  : — "Who  not  merely 
 call  on  the  name  of  God,  as  the  Jews  in  hypocrisy,  and  many 
 pious  Jews  ignorantly  to  this  day,  but  call  with  a  true  faith  on 
 Thy  name ;"  so,  since  Acts  i.  24,  Jesus  had  been  prayed  to,  and 
 thus  the  common  designation  arose  (ver.  21 ;  1  Cor.  i.  2).  "  And 
 can  such  an  one — this  man  well  known  to  me  as  a  blasphemer 
 of  Thy  name — call  now  himself  upon  Thy  name  ?  How  can 
 that  be  possible  ? "  Standing  before  the  Lord  in  heaven  and 
 His  supreme  power,  he  says — This  man  hath  authority  \     In  the 
 
 c 
 
34  ANAXIAS'  COMMISSIOxV. 
 
 presence  of  the  one  true  High  Priest  he  makes  mention  of  the 
 high  priests  in  Jerusalem !  The  attendants  had  hardly  men- 
 tioned the  letters  of  authority  dming  the  three  days  ;  rather,  we 
 may  suppose  that  warning  had  come  from  distant  brethren.  In 
 any  case  Ananias  received  this  evil  report  from  many,  as  generally 
 known.  But  sm^ely  he  was  ashamed  of  his  open  and  incon- 
 siderate counter-plea,  as  soon  as  he  had  finished  it ;  and  said  to 
 himself,  what  therefore  the  Lord  did  not  need  to  say — "  But  the 
 authority  of  Jesus  has  struck  doAvn  this  fierce  enemy,  and  made 
 him  blind  and  prayerful." 
 
 Instead  of  any  reproof ,  Dost  thou  know  better  than  I? — for, 
 the  sincere  appeals  of  His  people  to  Him,  however  weak,  incon- 
 siderate, or  perverted  they  may  be,  the  Lord  never  condemns  ; 
 but  rather  takes  pleasure  in  them,  if  they  only  come  from  pure 
 hearts — instead  of  any  rebuking  word,  which  would  have  been 
 out  of  harmony  with  the  revelation  of  superabounding  grace,  the 
 Lord  said,  "  Go!  let  it  be  as  I  have  told  thee  before" — in  this 
 one  word  expressing  no  more  than  a  gentle  reproving  reference 
 back  to  His  own  first  word,  which  ought  to  have  had  more 
 weight  than  all  that  Ananias  might  have  heard  from  others. 
 And  then  follows  a  second  for,  opening  out  His  oivn  secret  pur- 
 pose concerning  this  man,  this  Saul  of  Tarsus.  "  For  he  is  A 
 CHOSEN  INSTRUMENT  (or  vessel)  TO  ]\Ie,  to  carry  My  name 
 TO  THE  Gentiles,  and  before  kings,  and  the  children  of 
 Israel."  How  does  Ananias  hearken  noiv  to  the  lofty  words, 
 which  have  taken  so  different  a  turn,  no  longer  speaking  of  a 
 man  seeking  grace  who  simply  needed  to  be  comforted  and 
 healed !  How  does  he  take  shame  to  himself,  and  think — Thou, 
 Lord,  in  very  deed  knowest  best ;  and  canst  choose  and  prepare 
 for  Thyself  Thine  instruments  ?  But  the  Lord  does  not  add — 
 Tell  him  this  !  The  Spirit  afterwards  taught  Ananias  how  much 
 of  this  preparatorily  to  announce  to  the  elect  Apostle,  and  how 
 much  it  was  necessary  as  yet  to  conceal.  The  Lord  Himself,  in 
 a  subsequent  appearance  (ch.  xxvi.  16-18)  first  declared  the  ap- 
 pointment of  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and  gave  him  the  fuller 
 words  of  instruction  in  his  office ;  on  the  other  hand,  Ananias, 
 ch.  xxii.  5,  speaks  only  in  more  indefinite  expression — "a  witness 
 to  all  men,"  which  might  be  understood  as  meaning,  "with 
 whom  thou  shall  have  to  do,  everywhere  wherever  thou  mayest 
 go."     A  chosen  instrument,  literally,  a  vessel  of  election — these 
 
ACTS  IX.  10-16.  35 
 
 are  two  fundamental  words,  which  the  Apostle  learned  after- 
 wards m  the  school  of  the  Sphit  to  understand  and  teach  for 
 himself  and  others — almost  as  if  that  Spirit  had  literally  brought 
 to  his  mind  this  word  of  Jesus  concerning  his  own  vocation. 
 We  know  how  much  he  has  to  say  concerning  the  free  choice  or 
 election  of  God,  and  similarly  of  the  vessels  or  instruments  of 
 mercy  or  of  wrath,  of  honour  or  of  dishonom\  (With  the 
 same  Greek  expression,  Rom.  ix.  21-23;  2  Cor.  iv.  7 ;  2  Tim. 
 i.  20,  21.)  Even  the  man  most  richly  endowed  can  receive  in 
 himself  the  power  of  Di^'ine  grace  only  as  a  vessel ;  and  only  as 
 an  instrument  serve  Him  who  here  says,  in  His  royal  authority 
 over  the  kins^dom  and  house  of  God, — a  vessel  unto  Me  I  My 
 name — that  is  the  great  matter ;  in  that  all  is  comprehended, 
 as  in  ch.  xx^i.  18,  everytliing  has  its  similar  subhme  close — 
 Through  the  faith  that  is  in  Me !  This  man  shall  not  merely 
 call  upon  my  Jesus-name,  as  all  My  saints  do,  and  he  himself 
 also  now ;  he  shall  hear  it,  that  is,  confess,  announce  and  diffuse 
 it  far  and  wide, — whereby  the  expression  still  adheres  to  the 
 figm-ative  ''  vessel."  Truly  St  Paul  was  full  of  the  ointment 
 poured  forth  of  the  most  holy  name  (Cant.  i.  3) — a  good  savour 
 of  Chiist  wherever  he  came.  The  Gentiles  now  come  first — to 
 Ananias  a  new  and  great  disclosm-e ! — the  kings  are  in  transition 
 meant  both  of  Jews  and  Gentiles,  as  St  Paul  testified  in  Jerusa- 
 lem before  the  last  Jewish  king,  and  in  Rome  before  the  Caesar ; 
 — finally,  before  the  children  of  Israel  is,  notwithstanding  the 
 mibehef  of  the  Jews  predicted  in  ch.  xxii.  18,  the  term  and  goal 
 of  all  missions,  the  end  to  which  the  testimony  of  the  Apostle, 
 continued  by  the  Spirit,  will  yet  attain  -with  glorious  results. 
 Compare  these  prophetic  words  of  the  Lord  from  heaven  with 
 the  first  rays  of  the  prophetic  fight  which  shone  around  the 
 Infant  in  the  words  of  Simeon,  Luke  u.  32. 
 
 But  the  Lord  has  not  said  all ;  a  third  "  for"  gives  most 
 conclusively  the  ground  of  the  foreannomiced  fitness  of  this 
 chosen  vessel :  "  For  I  WILL  SHOW  HIM  HOW  MUCH  HE  MUST 
 SUFFER  FOR  My  najvie's  SAKE."  The  Berlenb.  Bible^  explains 
 this  incorrectly,  losing  the  connection  of  the  "/or."     After  the 
 
 1  Against  the  unaltered  republication  of  wliich,  for  our  times,  I  thirty- 
 years  ago  protested — because  not  every  man  knows  bow  to  sift  out  the  evil 
 from  the  good.  It  is  now,  however,  proposed  to  give  it  to  the  public,  and  I 
 warn  the  laity  against  reading  it  carelessly. 
 
36  ANANIAS'  CONFESSION. 
 
 correct  thought  that  even  this  last  clause  would  perfectly  take 
 away  all  carnal  boasting,  it  goes  on  to  explain  :  "  Ask  not — 
 shall  this  be  to  him  ?  (for  this  struck  Ananias  to  the  heart).  God 
 forgives  the  sin,  but  punishes  it  even  in  His  elect.  It  shall  not 
 be  forgotten  that  he  hath  injured  My  Church.  He  shall  have 
 something  to  endure  for  it.  As  he  hath  injured  My  saints,  he 
 shall  himself  be  persecuted!"  Truly,  Ps.  xcix.  8  is  not  thus  to 
 be  interpreted.  Such  vindictive  thoughts  were  certainly  not  in 
 the  mind  of  Ananias ;  much  less  did  the  Lord  confirm  them. 
 The  future  Paul,  when  he  is  not  ashamed  of  his  tribulations, 
 but  glories  in  them  (2  Cor.  i.  3-6  ;  2  Tim.  i.  11,  12 ;  2  Cor.  xi. 
 23,  xii.  10),  never  brings  them  into  any  such  connection  witli 
 his  former  guilt ;  he  has  a  very  different  meaning  in  his  deep 
 word — "  I  fill  up  that  which  is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ 
 in  my  flesh,  for  His  body's  sake,  which  is  the  Church"  (Col. 
 i.  24).  The  prophecy  which  goes  before  from  the  Lord's  own 
 mouth  on  him,  at  his  ordination,  means  rather  the  good  warfare 
 which  he  would  thenceforth  war,  in  faith  and  a  good  con- 
 science (1  Tim.  i.  18,  19).  Thus  it  is  not — "I  will  bear  in 
 mind,  although  he  is  forgiven,  that  he  has  been  a  persecutor!" 
 but — "My  grace  will  so  convert  and  change  him  into  an  elect 
 bearer  of  My  name,  that  he  shall  be  himself  stedfastly  and 
 zealously  faithful  as  a  persecuted  sufferer  for  My  name's  sake !" 
 The  apparent  threatening  is  itself  the  highest  promise  of  grace : 
 "  he  shall,  as  an  elect  instrument,  be  counted  worthy  of  endur- 
 ing great  shame  for  My  sake"  (Matt.  v.  10-12,  xx.  22  ;  Acts 
 V.  41 ;  1  Pet.  iv.  13).  And  in  this  is  included — indeed  the 
 "  for"  gives  it  prominence — the  deep  principle,  applicable  not 
 to  St  Paul  alone,  but  to  all,  that  to  every  vessel  of  grace,  and 
 especially  every  witness  of  the  Gospel,  suffering  is  inevitable,  and 
 that  the  measure  of  affliction  is  in  proportion  to  the  height  and 
 dignity  of  the  vocation.  That  which  was  said  in  the  Old  Tes- 
 tament, as  the  germ  so  to  speak  of  the  rule  for  all  God's  ways 
 ■with  the  children  of  men,  "  He  who  will  learn^  much  must  suffer 
 much"  (Eccles.  i.  18  ;  comp.  Prov.  xv.  33), — attains,  now  that 
 the  great  Forerunner  hath  entered  through  sufferings  into  His 
 glory,  its  highest  confirmation  for  all  who  enter  into  the  kingdom 
 of  God,  Acts  xiv.  22.  Thus,  the  great  Forerunner  speaks  here 
 of  this,  of  the  grace  of  sanctifying,  confirming,  and  preserving 
 ^  Not  teach,  as  we  find  in  liUther.  lehren. 
 
ACTS  IX.  10-16.  37 
 
 affliction  for  His  saints ;  and  applies  a  general  truth  especially 
 to  this  specially  elect  servant.  "/  mil  show  him,  that  is,  give  him 
 to  experience" — so  speaks  He  who  has  not  only  suffered  Himself, 
 but  is  ever  suffering  in  His  members.  The  first  experience  of 
 its  truth  Saul  had,  according  to  ver.  23-25,  in  Damascus ;  hence 
 in  2  Cor.  xi.  he  mentions  this  first  suffering  for  the  sake  of 
 Christ. 
 
 But  the  Lord's  last  word  had  to  Ananias  a  tone  of  dis- 
 missal— "Do  thou  thy  part,  execute  thy  commission;  /  will 
 provide  for  all  the  rest  of  his  career ! "  and  Ananias  went  his 
 way — so  we  read  in  ch.  ix. ;  in  ch.  xxii.  more  is  added  which 
 was  said  to  him.  He  not  only  laid  his  hands  upon  "  brother 
 Saul,"  that  he  might  see  again ;  but,  that  he  might  be  filled 
 with  the  Holy  Spirit,  exliorted  him  to  be  baptized,  and  baptized 
 him.  Concerning  sufferings  appointed  to  him  he  says  nothing ; 
 concerning  his  call  to  be  a  witness  of  the  Lord  he  utters  a  very 
 general  expression  ;  but  nothing  concerning  his  pre-eminent 
 dignity  and  honour  as  an  elect  vessel.  But  when  he  goes  on — 
 Jesus,  who  appeared  to  thee  in  the  way,  hath  sent  me — and 
 speaks  of  the  ordained  seeing  of  the  Just  One,  and  hearing  the 
 words  of  His  mouth — we  ask  whence  he  came  to  know  this. 
 The  Lord  had  not,  according  to  St  Luke's  detailed  account, 
 declared  it  to  him ;  or,  did  the  Lord  actually  say  more  than  we 
 have  in  that  narrative  ?  In  such  matters  every  man  is  free  to 
 hold  his  own  opinion.  For  our  own  part,  we  cannot  consent  to 
 add  anything  unwritten  to  the  measured  and  rounded  words  of 
 our  Lord  from  heaven,  as  we  find  them  here  recorded;  cer- 
 tainly not,  which  would  be  most  strange,  that  Jesus  Himself 
 spoke  at  length  concerning  His  appearance  to  Saul.  Thus,  if 
 'St  Luke  records  nothing  of  the  kind,  and  yet  relates  what  we 
 further  read  concerning  Ananias,  the  thoughtful  reader  must 
 find  another  answer  to  the  question,  which  is  not  a  vain  and 
 over-curious  one.  A^Hience  did  Ananias  know  of  the  Lord's 
 appearance  to  Saul  in  the  way?  The  atte-ndants,  certainly, 
 could  only  give  their  indefinite  impression  of  the  whole  event, 
 and  Saul  had  not,  during  the  three  days  given  them  any  f m'ther 
 information ;  moreover,  Ananias,  who  straightway  obeyed,  and 
 went  to  the  house  of  Saul,  previously  unknown  to  him,  had 
 nothing  to  do  with  them.  We  simply  explain  the  matter  thus. 
 After  the  words  of  the  Lord,  Ananias  knew  sufficiently  well 
 
38  AXAXIAS    COMMISSION. 
 
 this,  that  he  should  go  to  Saul,  whom  the  Lord  had  in  some 
 wonderful  way  humbled  and  changed,  that  he  should  heal  him 
 and  establish  him.  What  he  should  say  in  connection  with  the 
 imposition  of  hands,  which  could  not  be  meant  as  a  mere  cere- 
 monial gestm-e,  is  left  to  himself,  that  he  may  ^^dth  wisdom 
 crather  it  from  what  was  disclosed  to  him — as  he  accordingly  did. 
 But  not  only  so ;  when  the  Holy  Ghost  taught  him  to  under- 
 stand and  to  say  that  Saul,  restored  to  sight,  should  be  filled 
 with  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  himself,  whose  hand  and  word  and 
 baptism  imparted  that  great  gift,  was  at  the  same  time  filled 
 with  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  St  Luke  often  records  of  the  Apostles 
 and  all  beHevers.  (Acts  iv.  8  31,  vi.  3  5,  vii.  55,  xi.  24, 
 xiii.  9,  b2.)  Thus,  the  solution  of  the  difficulty  is  this,  that  to 
 Ananias — possibly  on  the  way  to  Saul,  more  probably  at  the 
 moment  when  he  begins  to  speak — the  Spirit  imparts  all  that 
 he  now  proceeds  to  say.  (Just  as  Elizabeth  greeted  the  mother 
 of  our  Lord  with  a  sudden  revelation — only  that  Ananias  was 
 more  fully  prepared.)  And  here  we  have  at  the  same  time, 
 in  the  complement  of  the  Lord's  first  words  from  heaven,  the 
 significant  and  instructive  lesson — that  it  is  His  will  to  leave 
 to  the  Holy  Spirit  in  His  disciples  the  completing  of  His 
 immediate  word :  both  go  together  in  harmony  from  the  very 
 beginning. 
 
 In  conclusion,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  Ananias  gave  Saul 
 no  further  instruction^  or  (as  Olshausen  expressed  himself) 
 "teaching  as  to  the  way  of  eternal  Hfe."  Of  this  we  read 
 nothing  in  these  two  chapters ;  on  the  contrary,  we  are  more 
 than  once  given  to  understand  that  St  Paul,  as  he  was  not 
 called  of  men,  so  also  was  not  instructed  of  men,  but  through 
 the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  reserved  for  His  own  teach- 
 ing more  than  the  mere  shewing  of  His  sufferings.  Which 
 carries  us  on  to  those  further  manifestations  and  directions 
 which  are  recorded  subsequently  in  this  book. 
 
ACTS  XXIT.  17-21.  39 
 
 III. 
 
 TO  SAUL  IN  THE  TEMPLE  :    THE  MISSION  TO  THE  GENTILES 
 ANNOUNCED. 
 
 (Acts  xxii.  17-21.) 
 
 To  avoid  prolixity  we  shall  refrain  from  any  introductory  dis- 
 cussion of  the  scene  and  the  hearers  of  this  speech  of  St  Paul ; 
 but  we  entreat  our  readers  to  strive  to  reproduce  the  whole 
 vividly  in  their  imagination.  He  stands  upon  the  steps  of  the 
 Castle  Antonia,  in  the  presence  of  the  Jewish  people,  inflamed 
 against  him  on  account  of  his  supposed  desecration  of  the 
 temple ;  and  testifies  now,  for  the  first  time,  in  great  publicity, 
 and  at  Jerusalem,  concerning  Clnrist.  They  were  reduced  to 
 silence  by  a  movement  of  his  hand.  From  ver.  1  to  16  he  has 
 narrated  the  manifestation  at  Damascus,  and  Ananias'  declara- 
 tion at  his  baptism  ;  he  now  goes  on  to  give,  in  all  simplicity,  as 
 it  occurred,  the  narrative  of  a  further  appearance  of  the  Lord, 
 which  belongs  properly  to  this  place. 
 
 And  it  came  to  passy  that,  as  I  made  my  persecuting  journey 
 to  Damascus — that  was  his  sublime  and  simple  word  in  ver.  6. 
 With  the  same  word  he  here  makes  a  new  beginning,  having 
 something  most  important  to  annomice :  And  it  came  to  pass, 
 that,  when  1  came  again  to  Jerusalem.  Consequently,  this  was 
 the  first  return  after  his  conversion,  as  it  is  recorded  in  ch.  ix. 
 26-30.  Further,  this  return  took  place,  as  we  find  in  Gal.  i. 
 17,  18,  not  till  after  a  three  years'  abode  in  Arabia,  the  solitude 
 of  which,  probably  having  for  its  object  the  calm  preparation 
 of  the  Apostle  for  his  work,  is  concealed  as  a  myster)^-^  Thus 
 much  is  certain  from  Scripture ;  St  Luke,  ch.  ix.,  passes  over 
 these  three  years,  as  he  often  passes  over  long  inten^als,  without 
 a  word.  Wliether  this  is  to  be  interpolated  after  ver.  25  in  his 
 history,  or  before  that,  between  ver.  22  and  23,  as  we  think,"  is  of 
 
 ^  "We  cannot  (with  Wieseler)  consent  to  say,  without  qualification — "  He 
 preached  three  years  in  Arabia  ! " 
 
 -  For  this  may  the  vif^ipcct  i-Auuctl  be  understood :  the  complete  time  (that 
 ir>,  a  considerable  period  past).     The  narrative  is  thus  distributed,  from  ver. 
 
40  TO  SAUL  IN  THE  TEMPLE. 
 
 comparatively  little  moment.  Wieseler  declares  it  to  be  indu- 
 bitable tliat  the  "  trance "  mentioned  by  St  Paul,  2  Cor.  xii. 
 2-4,  is  the  same  which  is  recorded  in  Acts  xxii.  17 ;  but  this 
 we  cannot  by  any  means  allow.  The  chronological  reckoning 
 is  not  decisive  in  his  favour ;  for  the  vision  and  revelation  of 
 the  Lord,  2  Cor.  xii.  1,  were  certainly  not  so  imfrequent  as  to 
 oblige  us  to  investigate  the  time  of  each.  If  the  Apostle  here 
 singles  out  one  of  them  only,  which  occurred  to  him  fourteen 
 years  before,  the  reason  lay  in  the  high  and  heavenly  matter  of 
 that  revelation,  as  in  ver.  7  he  speaks  of  its  abundance,  its  super- 
 abundance. The  unspeakable  words  heard  in  the  third  heaven 
 and  paradise  scarcely  harmonize  with  the  simple  matter  and  calm 
 procedure  of  the  conversation  with  the  Lord  in  the  temple,  which 
 he  relates  to  the  Jews.  We  cannot  imderstand  how  both  could 
 have  concurred  in  one  revelation ;  and  should  regard  the  trance 
 of  the  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  as  rather  suitable  to  the  sojourn 
 in  Arabia  (with  which  the  chronology  may  be  easily  conformed). 
 Nor,  after  all,  should  we  assume  that  the  manifestation  recorded 
 in  Acts  xxii.  was  actually  the  second  communication  of  the  Lord 
 to  the  Apostle  after  His  appearance  at  Damascus  :  the  contrary 
 is  far  more  probable.  Suffice,  that  to  know  the  time  and  order 
 is  no  more  necessary  here  than  it  is  in  relation  to  the  Lord's 
 words  generally,  and  to  the  appearances  of  the  risen  Lord  in 
 particular. 
 
 Trance  is  certainly  more  indirect  than  bodily  appearance. 
 Near  Damascus  Saul  was  not  entranced;  although  for  such 
 seeing  and  hearing  as  that,  it  was  necessary  that  a  susceptibility 
 of  hearing  and  seeing,  different  from  his  ordinary  condition, 
 should  be  excited.  The  stages  and  distinctions,  however  real 
 they  may  be,  nevertheless  shade  off  into  each  other.  Thus,  the 
 trance  may,  under  some  circumstances,  as  we  have  just  seen  in 
 the  Corinthians,  go  far  beyond  other  visions;  while,  on  the 
 other  hand,  it  may  be  only  the  medium  (as  with  St  Peter,  Acts 
 xi.  5)  for  the  witnessing  of  a  vision.  So  was  it  with  St  Paul, 
 who  while  praying  was  entranced,  literally,  fell  into  a  trance ; 
 comp.  Acts  X.  9,  the  praying  of  St  Peter.  But  that  he  was  in 
 the  body,  and  not  out  of  the  body,  he  here  knows  full  well ;  for 
 
 23  :  at  the  beginning  the  Jews  would  kill  him  in  Damascus;  at  the  end, 
 even  the  Greeks  (Hellenists),  in  Jerusalem  ;  in  the  interim,  ver.  26,  the 
 disciples  would  not  acknowledge  him. 
 
ACTS  XXII.  17-21.  41 
 
 he  was  bodily  present  in  the  temple  : — probably  at  the  customary 
 hour  of  prayer,  Hke  Peter  and  John,  ch.  hi.  1.  For,  as  long  as 
 the  desolate  temple,  left  over  to  destruction,  stood  yet  under  the, 
 patience  of  the  Lord,  so  long  was  it  honoui'ed  even  by  the 
 Jewish  Christians.  St  Paul  pi^ays  in  the  temple,  not  indeed 
 mth  the  prejudiced  mind  of  those  thousands  of  believers  spoken 
 of  in  ch.  xxi.  20  as  so  zealous  for  the  law,  but  yet  mth  the  true 
 love  of  devotion  to  his  people  and  their  sanctuary :  he  prays, 
 who  had  only  in  Damascus  learned  to  pray  aright !  He  had 
 certainly  long  ago  come  to  understand  St  Stephen's  doctrine, 
 how  much  or  how  little  the  holy  place  was  to  be  regarded — ^yet 
 he  can  here,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people,  relate  with  sin- 
 cerity that  he  had  prayed  in  the  temple. 
 
 "That  I  was  in  a  trance,  and  saw  Him! "  Thus,  still  more, 
 the  Lord  Himself  counts  the  temple  worthy  to  be  the  scene  of  a 
 revelation  to  His  servant — though,  indeed,  only  to  command  him, 
 Get  thee  out !  "  I  saw  Him " — thus  does  the  Apostle  express 
 himself,  only  in  ver.  8  throughout  the  narrative  mentioning 
 "  Jesus  of  Nazareth  "  as  the  name  spoken  by  the  Lord  Himself : 
 in  all  the  rest  it  is  the  Lord,  the  Just  One,  the  great  He,  whose 
 unacknowledged  dignity  and  unrendered  honour  are  here  con- 
 cerned. "  And  saw  Him  saying  unto  me  " — in  which  arrange- 
 ment of  the  words  is  expressed  the  near  and  continuous  seeing ; 
 not  as  at  Damascus,  where  there  was  a  sudden  momentary  be- 
 holding, before  the  hearing  of  the  voice. 
 
 Makf.  haste,  and  get  thee  quickly  out  of  Jerusalem: 
 
 FOR  they  will  not  RECEIVE  THY  TESTIMONY  CONCERNING 
 
 Me  !  This  word,  now  reported,  would  vex  and  offend  the 
 unbelieving  multitude ;  but  scarcely  less  strange,  though  for  a 
 different  reason,  did  it  sound  to  the  Apostle  and  witness  him- 
 self, when  he  heard  it  first.  He  had  retm-ned  to  Jerusalem 
 with  the  firm  persuasion  that  of  course  the  Jews  in  Jerusalem 
 would  be  among  the  men  to  whom  he  should  be  a  witness  for 
 the  Lord :  he  bums  with  desu-e  to  bear  his  mighty  witness  in 
 this  place.  The  Lord  takes  it  for  granted  that  he  felt  it  to  be 
 the  strong  impulse  of  his  soul — provided  there  was  no  counter- 
 command — at  once  to  preach  in  Jerusalem,  as  he  had  done  in 
 Damascus,  Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God;  He  assumes  no  other 
 remaining  in  Jerusalem  than  that  which  had  a  testimony  con- 
 cerning Himself  for  its  object.    Wherever  this  man  may  be,  and 
 
42  THE  MISSION  TO  THE  GENTILES  ANXOUNCEP. 
 
 before  whomsoever  lie  ma^^  stand,  there  he  does  bear  his  blas- 
 ter's name,  as  Jesus  had  said  at  the  first.  But  He  now  utters 
 a  counter-command !  He  enjoins  upon  him  to  cease,  and 
 restrain  the  preaching  which  had  been  abeady  boldly  commenced, 
 Acts  ix.  21,  27-29.  He  even  commands  him — and  most  ex- 
 pressly mth  twofold  injunction — to  go  quickly,  not  only  from 
 the  temple,  but  from  the  city  itself!  Wherefore,  then,  so 
 quickly?  Is  there  danger  in  delay?  There  was  danger,  and 
 this  is  the  unexpressed  undertone  of  this  remarkable  utterance : 
 the  Lord  will  save  him  from  the  people,  as  it  runs  afterwards, 
 ch.  xxvi.  17.  The  foreign,  Greek-speaking  Jews,  had  already 
 laid  plots  for  the  life  of  the  bold  preacher  of  the  name  of  Jesus 
 (ch.  ix.  29) — what,  then,  might  be  expected  from  the  rigor- 
 ously orthodox,  fanatical  Hebrews?  The  open  insurrection 
 which  had  been  excited  (now  as  afterwards  in  the  council,  ch. 
 xxiii.  10)  had,  on  this  his  almost  disobedient  return,  showed  that. 
 But  all  this  the  Lord  does  not  say  to  St  Paul ;  because  he  held 
 not  his  life  dear  if  he  could  only  finish  his  course  with  joy,  and 
 testify  the  Gospel  of  the  gi'ace  of  God  (ch.  xx.  24).  The 
 reason  of  this  interdict  upon  his  earnest  zeal,  which  the  Lord's 
 majesty  condescends  to  assign,  is  most  decidedly  this  only :  be- 
 cause they  would  not  receive  the  testimony,  that  is,  would  not 
 believe  it,  therefore  the  life  of  His  valued  servant,  destined  to 
 the  benefit  of  many,  should  not  be  uselessly  sacrificed.  Thus 
 the  Lord  speaks,  who  knows  all  things  beforehand,  the  faith  or 
 the  unbelief  of  all  men ;  by  this  He  further  assures  us  that  He 
 reserves  or  takes  away  the  testimony  from  no  man  wdio  mil  yet 
 receive  it,  but  rather  sends  back  again  for  their  conviction,  if  it 
 may  be,  the  testimony  to  those  who  have  not  believed  it — as 
 now  by  Paul  coming  once  more  to  Jerusalem.  "Not  receive" 
 — spoken  gently  and  mildly,  instead  of  "  cast  it  from  them  and 
 blaspheme"  (ch.  xiii.  45,  46).  For,  if  it  maybe  permitted  thus 
 to  speak  of  Him  wdio  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  He  here 
 utters  with  sorrowful  tenderness,  and  not  in  threatening  wrath, 
 the  sad  confirmation  of  what  He  had  prophesied  upon  earth  in 
 the  anger  of  His  love.  Matt,  xxiii.  32,  etc.,  concerning  the  un- 
 belief of  this  people  and  generation.  He  anticipates  the  fore- 
 seen objection  in  the  heart  of  Paul :  Even  thy  testimony  (em- 
 phatically first  in  the  original)  will  not  sufiice,  though  it  be 
 irresistible  for  conviction ;  because  that  testimony  is  concerning 
 
ACl-S  XXII.  17-21.  43 
 
 Me — yea,  concerning  Me,  upon  whom  the  decree  once  was, 
 Away  with  Him !  We  will  not  have  this  man  to  i-nle  over  us  I 
 In  spite  of  this  plam  and  express  word,  the  Apostle  cannot 
 refrain  from  uttering  liis  objection — "But  my  testimony,  O 
 Lord,  vriW.  not  that  be  received  by  them  ?  "  He  speaks  confi- 
 dently, like  Ananias,  with  his  blaster;  and  indeed  with  still 
 more  confidence  than  Ananias,  in  harmony  A\-ith  the  position 
 which  he  had  now  by  grace  assumed.  He  has  also,  in  a  certain 
 sense,  more  reason  and  propriety  in  his  counter-appeal;  for 
 certainly  he  might  think  and  hope  that,  humanly  speaking, 
 his  most  strong  and  self-e\ddencing  testimony — less  in  per- 
 suasive words,  than  in  the  express  fact  of  his  so  wonderfully 
 changed  personal  character — must  exert  some  influence,  and 
 win  some  good  results.  And  this  is  reinforced  by  the  impulse 
 of  his  bumincj  love  to  blinded  Israel,  his  brethren  according:  to 
 the  flesh  who  were  rushing  to  destruction,  the  people  of  God's 
 election  : — this  is  most  affectingly  attested  by  the  narrative 
 throughout,  which  seems  to  avow,  against  all  accusation — "Not 
 through  enmity  against  my  people,  or  apostasy  from  them^,  have 
 I  become  what  I  now  am  in  opposition  to  my  former  self ! " 
 St  Paul  would  have  desired  nothing  better  than  to  remain,  or 
 to  become,  a  missionary  to  the  Jews.  He  cannot  altogether 
 reconcile  himself  to  the  Lord's  word — Get  thee  out !  As  many 
 new  converts  who  have  been  quickly  and  marvellously  brought 
 m — however  otherwise  not  to  be  compared  with  Paul — think 
 they  mil  carry  on  a  more  vigorous  and  successful  war  upon  the 
 world  than  others,  so  Paul,  whose  soul  might  well  be  filled  with 
 the  con\'iction — "If  I  go  forth  preaching  Jesus,  it  will  be  with 
 more  demonstrative  power  than  all  the  words  and  acts  of  Peter 
 or  John,  and  all  the  other  Apostles !  All  knoAV  what  I  was^ 
 what  I  did — should  they  not  beheve  when  I,  the  same  man, 
 preach  concerning  Thee,  and  declare  Thy  power  in  my  conver- 
 sion?" He  refers  to  his  own  approbation  when  the  blood  of 
 Stephen  was  shed,  and  even  to  his  actual  participation  in  that 
 act,^  in  order  to  declare  that  he  was  ready  for  the  same  destiny 
 — even  as  in  the  second  journey,  the  present  one,  he  had  re- 
 mained firm,  notmthstanding  all  prophecy  of  bonds  and  im- 
 
 ^  The  keeping  of  the  garments — not  to  preserve  them  from  theft ! — vras 
 something  ofl&cial  on  the  part  of  the  young  man ;  who,  however,  according 
 to  eh.  xxvi.  10,  had  given  his  voice  against  Stephen  in  the  council. 
 
44  THE  MISSION  TO  THE  GENTILES  ANNOUNCED. 
 
 prisonment.  (Ch.  xix.  21;  xx.  23,  24;  xxi.  4,  11-13.)  Tliy 
 witness — as  if  to  say,  "May  I  not  then  also  lay  down  my  testi- 
 mony, even  though  it  were  in  death  ;  may  I  not  also  be  comited 
 worthy  of  the  martyr's  crown  ?  ^  Would  not  my  blood  similarly, 
 and  still  more,  be  followed  by  a  new  blessing  and  increase  of 
 faith  in  the  word  of  Thy  testimony?" — All  this  was  good  and 
 pleasing  to  the  Lord,  who  therefore  let  His  servant  give  vent  to 
 his  feeling ;  but  it  showed  that  St  Paul  did  not  know,  as  his 
 Master  did,  the  depth  of  the  apostasy  of  the  world,  the  utter 
 blindness  of  unbelieving  Israel.  And  it  is,  f  mother,  proof  of  the 
 lesser  guilt  of  his  own  earHer  unbeHef,  since  he  has  no  experi- 
 ence of  the  hardened  perverseness  of  the  rebellious  will ;  but, 
 on  the  other  hand,  as  was  said  before,  there  is  something  of  evil 
 self  which  opposes  the  Lord  in  these  words.  For,  he  has  in 
 some  degree  departed  from  that  first  question  of  unconditional 
 obedience — "Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do?"  and  seems 
 to  question  his  Lord  touching  his  appointments ;  he  has  his  o\vn 
 thoughts  as  to  the  special  importance  of  his  own  converted 
 person  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 
 
 In  this,  agam,  he  is  right,  only  not  as  he  thinks  wdth  re- 
 spect to  Israel, — the  kingdom  of  God  is  greater,  and  shall 
 extend  much  wider  and  farther.     Depart  :  for  I  will  send 
 
 THEE  FAR  HENCE  UNTO  THE  GeNTILES  !       As  in  the   CaSB  of 
 
 Ananias,  the  Lord  refers  him,  too,  back  to  His  first  command- 
 ment. Depart !  and,  as  then,  gives  another  FOR,  with  a  new 
 reason  and  more  conclusive  explanation  of  what  He  does.  Not 
 merely,  The  Jews  will  not  believe  !  but,  as  it  is  hinted.  Others 
 will  believe,  and  thou  art  reserved  and  appointed  to  testify  to 
 them.  The  Lord's  /  answers  the  (similarly  prominent  in  the 
 original)  /which  His  servant  had  laid  stress  upon.  Wliither 
 the  Lord  would  send  (hterally  more  strong — would  send  out, 
 send  away),  thither  must  His  servant  go,  without  demur;  and 
 though  it  be  far  hence,  to  those  among  the  Gentiles,  who  with 
 their  whole  heart  hung  upon  Israel.  This  is  probably  the  first 
 plain  announcement,  though  preliminary  and  pointing  to  the 
 future,  of  his  vocation  as  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  :  "  I  will 
 to,  or  will,  send  thee."  In  this  calm  manifestation  Paul  was 
 already,  before  he  was  separated  by  the  prophets  in  Antioch, 
 
 ^  Toy  fA.u.prvp6;  aov — the  expression  begins  already  to  pass  over  into  the 
 later  meaning  of  martyr,  witness  unto  blood,  as  in  Kev,  ii.  13. 
 
ACTS  XXII.  17-21.  45 
 
 called  to  his  labours  among  the  Gentiles :  hence  the  Holy 
 Ghost  said,  ch.  xiii.  2, — "  To  which  I  have  ah'eady  called  them  " 
 (Barnabas  also).  Yet  not  before  St  Peter  had  preached  to 
 Cornelius  (of  which  more  afterwards) — so  that  the  transition  of 
 the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles  was  not  here  indicated  to  St  Paul  as 
 something  in  itself  new  and  strange ;  only  his  own  specific 
 vocation.  The  more  full  call  by  the  appearing  Lord,  which  is 
 related  in  ch.  xxvi.  16,  has  no  special  note  of  time  connected 
 with  it ;  but  we  place  it,  on  account  of  the  connection,  without 
 determining  the  order  of  time,  after  the  present  annoimcement. 
 The  Lord  may  indeed  have  spoken  more  than  this ;  for  at 
 the  word  concerning  the  Gentiles,  St  Paul  was  interrupted. 
 But  it  does  not  to  us  seem  probable  that  the  Lord's  words  com- 
 municated in  ch.  xxvi.  followed  here  immediately:  there  are 
 reasons  against  it  which  will  be  considered  in  the  proper  place. 
 Thus  we  may  suppose  that  He  by  degrees  prepared  Paul  for 
 the  full  announcement  of  his  vocation.  Rightly  understood, 
 we  adopt  v.  Gerlach's  note,  that  this  was  "  his  proper  vocation 
 as  an  Apostle^^  by  the  Lord  Himself,  after  the  preliminary 
 declaration  given  by  Ananias  ;  but  not  yet  his  actual  and  for- 
 mal institution  to  the  apostleship  of  the  Gentiles.  St  Paul,  in 
 that  first  sojourn  in  Jerusalem,  had  consorted  only  vd\\\  the 
 Hellenists,"  or  foreign  Jews  (ch.  ix.  29).  AYlien  they  went 
 about  to  slay  him,  he  obediently  declined  the  death  of  martyr- 
 dom, and  (after  tarr^dng  there  fom'teen  days.  Gal.  i.  18)  was 
 brought  by  the  brethren  down  to  Csesarea  to  Tarsus,  his  pater- 
 nal home  (as  we  read  in  ch.  ix.).  But,  after  he  had  accom- 
 plished much  in  the  Gentile  mission,  he  purposes  in  spirit  to  go 
 once  more  up  to  Jerusalem,  from  which  indeed  the  Lord  had 
 sent  him  away ;  and  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  accept  this  act  of 
 seeming  disobedience  (St  Paul  does  not  forget  his  special  call ; 
 he  does  not  purpose  to  remain  in  Jerusalem) — for  He  acknow- 
 ledges in  ch.  xxiii.  11,  as  it  were  with  approbation,  even  this 
 testimony.  But  He  orders  the  matter  so,  that  he  who  stood  as 
 a  witness  before  the  council,  and  before  the  king,  and  the 
 governor,  should  be  carried  to  Rome  as  a  prisoner — to  proclaim, 
 before  the  supreme  power  of  this  world,  the  kingdom  of  God 
 which  is  not  of  this  world. 
 
46  FURTHER  APPEARANCE  TO  SAUL 
 
 IV. 
 
 FURTHER  APPEARANCE  TO  SAUL  :  TO  WHOM  I  NOW  SEND  THEE. 
 
 (Acts  xxvi.  16-18.) 
 
 "Rise  and  stand  upon  tlijfeet!"  Thus,  in  these  more  em- 
 phatic and  literally  recorded  words,  did  the  Lord  speak  near 
 Damascus.  But  it  is  certain  and  self-evident  that  He  could 
 not  have  spoken  then  what  St  Paul  here  adds  before  Agrippa ; 
 for,  that  twice-related,  definitive  m.andate,  "  It  shall  be  told 
 thee  in  the  city,"  does  not  harmonise  with  so  early  an  explana- 
 tion and  mission.  Consequently,  we  must  assmne  that  the 
 Apostle  here  sums  up  compendiously  what  was  said  at  a  later 
 time ;  and  connects  it  all  very  appropriately  with  the  account  of 
 his  destination — expressed  in. the  simple  Stand  upon  thy  feet! 
 — to  a  new  service  of  activity  in  the  work  of  Jesus.  Thus  it 
 appears  as  if  one  word — "  For  therefore  have  I  appeared  unto 
 thee,  that  thou  mayest  stand  before  Me,  as  My  servant  and 
 witness,  through  My  help  and  salvation"  (comp.  ver.  22).  If, 
 after  three  years,  the  Lord  Himself  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem 
 announced  as  something  new — "I  will  send  thee  among  the 
 Gentiles  !" — yet  that  which  we  read  here  in  ch.  xxvi.  was  not 
 spoken  till  afterwards. 
 
 Or,  was  it  not  spoken  by  the  Lord  at  all  ?  Most  expositors, 
 even  among  the  orthodox,^  have  come  to  regard  it  as  quite 
 probable  that  St  Paul  set  down  as  the  Lord's  word  what  had 
 been  said  to  him  hy  Ananias,  and  afterwards  had  been  revealed 
 to  his  own  spirit.  Against  this  we  protested  in  our  "Dis- 
 courses of  the  Apostles."  Alford  replies  that  he  does  not  see 
 the  necessity  of  regarding  all  these  words  as  having  been  once 
 spoken  by  the  Lord ;  but  to  us  it  is  not  merely  matter  of  see- 
 ing or  insight,  but  of  still  more  decisive  feeling.  It  is  lament- 
 able that  orthodox  expositors  do  not  more  correctly  feel,  in 
 cases  where  the  feeling  should  decide.  We  cannot  agree  with 
 Baumgarten  that,  "  on  every  view,  it  is  of  no  moment  which 
 way  we  decide;"  we  think  that  it  may  here  be  decided  with 
 confidence  that,  though  the  words  "were  not  spoken  by  the 
 
 ^  Baumgarten  included,  whose  general  fidelity  to  the  miraculous  reve- 
 lations scarcely  prepared  us  to  expect  this  from  him  1 
 
ACTS  XXVI.  lC-18.  47 
 
 Lord  in  immediate  sequence,"  yet  that  tliey  were  not  "  com- 
 municated by  Him  to  St  Paul  at  a  later  period  tlLWugh  Ana- 
 niasJ^  It  is  true  that  the  weight  of  the  matter  does  not  rest 
 upon  the  exact  order  of  time  or  literality  of  the  words ;  but,  in 
 the  case  of  this  narrative,  and  the  very  important  words  of  the 
 Lord  to  His  serv^ant,  the  difference  between  immediate  and 
 indirect  speaking  is  of  much  moment ;  even  as  St  Paul  else- 
 where, and  on  other  occasions,  makes  this  distinction  prominent. 
 Would  he  forget  that  distinction  here?  Here,  when  the 
 Apostle  makes  the  Lord  speak  of  His  having  appeared,  and 
 having  appeared  again,  has  he  only  placed  the  words  in  the 
 Lord's  lips"?  in  order  afterwards,  in  ver.  19,  to  include  it  in 
 the  "  heavenly  \dsion  !"  One  appearance  converted  the  Apostle 
 to  the  faith,  another  appointed  him  to  be  a  witness,  and  these 
 are  embraced  in  one — such  a  combination  alone  is  permissible 
 — only  one  heavenly  appearance  of  the  Living  One,  to  which 
 he  was  now  not  disobedient.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Apostle 
 would  never  have  permitted  himself  to  unite  together  in  one, 
 as  spoken  by  the  Lord  at  His  appearance,  words  which  were 
 indirectly  communicated  to  him :  he  could  not  have  done  this, 
 either  in  the  first  testimony  which  he  bore  before  the  Jewish 
 people,  or  here  where  he  stands  before  the  Gentiles,  and  (as 
 Baumgarten  remarks)  has  '^  the  exhibition  of  the  wide  signifi- 
 cance of  the  Gentile  Apostolate  for  his  object." 
 
 Let  us,  however,  come  nearer  to  the  matter  in  hand.  If 
 these  words  were  not  spoken  on  His  fii'st  appearance  by  the 
 Lord,  but  at  some  later  one,  are  they  to  be  inserted  after  what 
 is  related  in  ch.  xxii.  17-21,  where  the  continuation  was  inter- 
 rupted ?  This,  for  evident  reasons,  cannot  be  assumed.  Fu'st, 
 the  promised  sending  to  the  Gentiles  is  uttered  there  in  an 
 entirely  different,  but  internally  necessary  and  significant,  con- 
 nection :  there  is  no  harmony  between  "  I  will  send  thee"  first, 
 and  then  immediately,  "  I  now  send  thee."  Then  it  was  indeed 
 said,  ch.  xxii.,  to  the  Apostle — "In  Jerusalem  they  will  not 
 receive  thy  testimony;"  but  it  was  only  hinted,  not  directly 
 spoken,  that  that  testimony  would  be  effectual  among  the 
 Gentiles.  Here,  on  the  contraiy,  he  receives  a  great  promise 
 for  the  povrer  of  the  word  with  which  he  is  sent  forth,  as  he  in 
 ch.  XX.  32,  e.  g.,  holds  it  fast  and  repeats  it.  Consequently,  the 
 distinction  is  evident  between — "I  will  to,  I  will  send  thee!" 
 
48  FURTHER  APPEARANCE  TO  SAUL. 
 
 in  the  former  case,  and — "I  send  thee  noio  !^'  in  the  latter.^ 
 As  to  this  assertion,  that  ch.  xxvi.  records  an  appearance  sub- 
 sequent to  that  of  ch.  xxii.,  we  said,  in  a  former  work,  "  Not 
 much  depends  upon  it,  and  it  may  be  left  to  others  to  decide." 
 But  now  we  think  differently ;  and  to  our  more  comprehensive 
 view,  after  twenty-eight  years,  what  we  have  now  insisted  upon 
 places  the  gradual  disclosure  of  the  Apostle's  great  calling  in 
 its  clearest  and  most  impressive  light. 
 
 The  immediateness  of  these  words — as  spoken  by  our  Lord 
 Himself — is  of  the  utmost  importance  as  it  respects  the  instruc- 
 tion for.  St  Paul's  office,  and  the  plan  of  salvation,  which  are 
 contained  in  ver.  18.  Even  if  the  Apostle  had  learned  this 
 through  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  school  of  Christ,  it  would  have 
 been  still  truth  derived  from  the  Lord.  But  it  would  not  have 
 been  lawful  for  him  to  say — Thus  spake  the  Lord  to  me !  No 
 Apostle  ever  permitted  himself  to  do  that;  least  of  all  the 
 Apostle  who  several  times,  with  conscientious  rigour,  distin- 
 guishes between  what  he  said  himself  (having  the  Spmt  of 
 God),  and  what  the  Lord  had  said  to  him: — the  Apostle  who,  at 
 Miletus,  appends  to  his  own  long  discourse,  which  had  contained 
 prophecy,  the  single  saying  of  the  icords  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
 which  He  had  spoken  in  His  humiliation  upon  earth,  gi^T^ng  it 
 reverent  distinction  from  his  own  words  as  their  solemn  close ! 
 (Ch.  XX.  35.)  Let  it  be  as  it  may  with  respect  to  that  appear- 
 ance, which  he  here  before  Agrippa  combines  with  the  first — 
 we  have  from  the  lips  of  the  Lord  Himself,  given  from  heaven, 
 one  of  the  most  fundamental,  profound,  and  important  sum- 
 maries of  instruction  for  the  Apostolate  and  ministerial  office 
 generally. 
 
 For  I  HAVE  APPEARED  UNTO  THEE  FOR  THIS  PURPOSE, 
 TO  MAKE  THEE  A  MINISTER  AND  A  WITNESS  BOTH  OF  THOSE 
 THINGS  WHICH  THOU  HAST  SEEN,  AND  OF  THOSE  THINGS  IN  THE 
 
 WHICH  I  WILL  (yet)  APPEAR  UNTO  THEE.  Here  the  Lord 
 Himself  combines  in  one  His  previous  and  future  manifestations; 
 with  reference  to  their  sole  object,  the  appointment  and  destina- 
 tion of  St  Paul  to  be  a  TNdtness.  As  to  this,  all  the  various  visions 
 and  revelations  of  the  Lord,  of  which  St  Paul  was  counted  worthy, 
 are  condensed  into  the  one  revelation  of  the  Son,  whom  he  should 
 
 ^  The  reading  uvu  thus  receives  a  new  argument  in  its  favour  :  the  cri- 
 ticism of  MSS.  often  thus  finds  its  support  in  sound  exposition. 
 
ACTS  XXVI.  16-18.  49 
 
 preacli.  (Gal.  i.  12, 16.)  As  the  Apostle  T\Titing  to  the  Galatians 
 thus  appeals  to  it  as  one,  so  here  he  only  follows  the  Lord  Himself 
 when  he  speaks,  in  the  spirit  of  His  words,  of  one  heavenly  appear- 
 ance. "  To  appoint  thee  " — here  we  have,  so  to  speak,  the  proper 
 ordination,  mission,  institution,  and  appointment  of  him  who  was 
 called  and  prepared.^  Here  it  is  definitely  settled  who  was  the 
 Twelfth  Apostle — as  chosen  by  Him  who  alone  had  the  right 
 and  authority — Matthias  or  Paul.  But  .the  apostolical  office,  as 
 the  highest  rank — here  exactly  defined,  as  before  by  Ananias  it 
 was  preparatorily  prophesied  of — embraces  in  itself  all  the 
 degrees  of  the  other  offices ;  hence  this  super-episcopal  ordina- 
 tion-formulary, with  profound  typical  meaning,  names  the 
 three  essential  degrees  of  the  ruling  office  in  the  Church. 
 Minister  is  the  first  and  most  general;  the  Apostles  so  term 
 themselves ;  and  yet  the  lowest  office  is  a  servant,  a  deaconship.^ 
 Minister  and  ivitness — a  more  definite  and  higher  term,  refer- 
 ring to  the  ministry  of  the  word,  but  passing  here  over  into  the 
 more  restricted  idea  of  eye-witness-ship.^  Finally,  the  "witness 
 of  that  which  he  had  seen"  points  in  this  place  definitely  to  the 
 office  of  the  Apostle,  as  such.  This  first  having  seen  refers,  in 
 the  case  of  St  Paul,  chiefly,  though  not  exclusively,  to  the  first 
 great  appearance ;  but  it  is  then  declared  that  he  will  contmue 
 to  see  the  Lord  thus  appearing,  and  by  His  appearance  com- 
 municating further  revelations.  The  Lord  will  make  Himself 
 visible ;  for  it  is  said,  in  the  same  word  which  was  used  before 
 — appear  to  thee,  be  seen  of  thee.*  On  the  other  hand,  an  un- 
 usual construction  follows:  ^'the  things  which  thou  hast  seen — 
 the  things  which,  or  for  which,  in  relation  to  which,  I  will  appear 
 to  thee,  reveahng  them  to  thee  Myself. "  ^  Thus,  there  is  a  fur- 
 ther advancement  after  the  three  stages  already  remarked  upon : 
 St  Paul  is  appointed  not  only  to  be  an  Apostle,  but  to  be  an 
 
 ^  Upoxstpiaccadxi,  as  ch.  xxii.  l4 ;  on  the  other  hand,  in  ch.  iii.  20  (where 
 it  is  the  right  reading),  it  has  still  its  original  etymological  meaning. 
 
 2  Here,  however,  in  the  original,  vTryipsTTj;,  not  ^laxouor-  this  latter  was 
 originally  the  less  of  the  two,  equivalent  to  a  "waiter."  Comp.  Acts 
 xiii.  5,  but  also  1  Cor.  iv.  1. 
 
 ^  As  in  Luke  i.  2  we  have  together  ayroVrot;  kccI  v'Trripsroit  rov  "hoyav. 
 
 *  On  account  of  this  very  repetition,  we  must  reject  the  causative  mean- 
 ing of  6<pdvi(joy,oi,t^  which,  though  "Winer  half  approves  it,  is  strange  and  most 
 questionable  in  itself.     So  Stolz  translates — "  make  known." 
 
 ^  After  the  Vulgate  :  (de)  quibus  apparebo  tibi  (porro). 
 
 D 
 
50  FURTHER  APPEARANCE  TO  SAUL. 
 
 Apostle  distinguished  by  successive  continuous  appearances  of 
 the  Lord;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  remaining  Apostles 
 testified  only  the  things  which  they  had  seen  up  to  the  day  of 
 the  Lord's  ascension.  (Ch.  i.  22.)  He  is  specifically  the  eye- 
 witness (in  which  the  hearing  is  included)  of  the  glory  of  Jesus; 
 on  the  other  hand,  St  Peter,  the  first  of  the  Apostles,  was  only  a 
 witness  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  partaker  of  the  glory 
 which  should  afterwards  be  revealed.     1  Pet.  v.  1. 
 
 If  we  may  apply  this  extraordinary  sjrmbolical  procedure  to 
 the  ordinary  ordination  of  every  one  who  ministers  with  the  testi- 
 mony of  what  the  Lord  has  sho^vn  him — every  ordination  not 
 only  binds  a  man  to  faithful  ministry  according  to  his  present 
 knowledge,  but  includes  the  promise  of  future  knowledge. 
 There  is  the  encouraging  promise  of  an  internal  help  against 
 dangers  and  darkness,  of  the  Spirit  of  revelation  who  shall  always 
 provide  a  new  testimony.  And  this  leads  us  to  the  further 
 promise  of  exteimal  help. 
 
 Delivering  thee  from  the  people  and  from  the 
 Gentiles,  UNTO  whom  I  now  send  thee.  Instead  of  delivering 
 (according  to  strict  etymology,  plucking  out)  some  expositors 
 would  miderstand,  "  Since  I  have  elected,  chosen,  separated  thee, 
 taken  thee  out;"  but  this  has  decisive  reasons  against  it.^  It  is 
 not  that  the  Apostle  here  paraphrases  and  reproduces  the  word 
 concerning  the  "chosen  vessel"  which  Ananias  had  told  him; 
 but  the  Lord  speaks  in  evident  allusion  to  the  many  sufferings 
 which  awaited  him.  For,  where  sa\dng  is  spoken  of,  there  must 
 be  danger  and  need ;  which  St  Paul  well  tinderstood,  and  there- 
 fore rested  securely,  ver.  22,  on  this  heavenly  promise  of  God's 
 help,  in  spite  of  all  plots  against  his  Hfe.  Although  in  bonds 
 and  tribulation,  he  stands  and  bears  witness!  The  Twelfth 
 Apostle  also  has,  in  his  mission  into  the  world,  the  same  assur- 
 ance as  the  others — Behold  I  am  ^^dth  you ! 
 
 People  and  Gentiles  (as  St  Paul  also  repeats,  ver.  23),  is  a 
 significant  phrase,  derived  from  the  Old  Testament,^  which  has 
 
 1  So  Hess,  Heinrichs,  and  KulmoL  But  the  phraseology  of  the  Acts  is 
 consistent  throughout— ch.  vii.  10,  34  ;  xii.  11 ;  xxiii.  27  ;  comp.  Gal.  i.  4. 
 The  choosing  could  not  follow  upon  the  appointing;  and  what  is  the  mean- 
 ing of  an  election  from  among  Jews  and  Gentiles  ?  Is  it  that  he  was  the 
 elect  of  humanity  ?     But  Paul  was  chosen  from  Israel. 
 
 2  In  the  Hebrew  it  is  well  known  that  CJ'  and  r^^f^  correspond. 
 
ACTS  XXVI.  16-18.  51 
 
 more  in  it  than  if  the  former  word  was  merely  a  sn-ange  abbre- 
 viation for  God's  people.  Israel  was  through  the  election  of 
 God  a  people,  with  the  essential  characteristics  of  a  people 
 stamped  upon  them  in  a  manner  which  could  not  be  predicated 
 of  any  heathen  race  in  its  natural  condition.  Thus  they  were 
 called  the  People  simply  (although  the  passages  cited  in  proof  by 
 Baumgarten,  Isa.  xl.  7  ;  xxvi.  11,  are  not  strictly  appropriate)  ; 
 the  heathens,  on  the  contrary,  were  called,  before  their  vocation, 
 not-peoples,  Deut.  xxxii.  21,  while  Israel  was  the  ancient,  or  eter- 
 nal, people,  Isa.  xliv.  7.  As  to  the  irrevocable  pre-eminence  and 
 peculiar  dignity  of  Israel,  much  has  been  said  which  the  Scrip- 
 ture does  not  support ;  but  the  fundamental  idea  is  strictly  a 
 Biblical  element,  the  full  estabhshment  of  which,  however,  does 
 not  belong  to  this  place. 
 
 An  important  question  now  arises,  whether  the  "  among 
 whom  I  send  thee"  must  be  referred  both  to  the  people  and  to 
 the  Gentiles,  or  only  to  the  Gentiles.  I  maintained  the  latter 
 with  some  zeal  at  an  earlier  peripd ;  but  now  retract.  It  can- 
 not be  asserted  that  St  Paul  was  sent  exclusively  to  the 
 Gentiles,  and  not  to  the  Jews  as  a  people.  The  present  more 
 comprehensive  mission  is  quite  consistent  with  ch.  xxii.  21, 
 notwithstanding  the  apparent  contradiction  ;  it  even  brings 
 the  necessary  defence  against  a  possible  misconception  of  that 
 former  word.  St  Paul  does  not  stand  before  Eang  Agrippa  as 
 exclusively  an  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles ;  for  in  ver.  20  he  plainly 
 says  that,  being  obedient,  he  preached  repentance  both  to  the 
 Jews  and  to  the  Gentiles  :  compare  ch.  xx.  21.  The  Lord's 
 dkection  in  the  temple  did  not  command  him  no  more  to  preach 
 His  name  to  any  Jew  (which  would  have  contradicted  ch.  ix. 
 15),  but  only  sent  him  at  once  away  from  Jerusalem,  from 
 the  hardened  capital,  in  w^hich  the  election  of  those  capable  of 
 faith  was  akeady  complete.  But  in  the  dispersion  among  the 
 Gentiles  it  had  yet  to  be  gathered  in.  Wherever  the  Apostle 
 went  to  the  Gentiles,  he  found  the  People  among  the  peoples, 
 the  first-called,  first-elected  people;  and  turned,  as  we  always 
 read,  first  to  the  Jews.  The  way  to  the  Gentiles  led  through 
 the  synagogue  itself ;  and  again  the  work  of  salvation  among 
 the  Gentiles  will  find  its  issue  in  the  conversion  of  Israel — as 
 the  order  is  in  ch.  ix.  15.  It  fonnerly  appeared  to  me  that 
 another  reason  against  referring  this  sending  to  the  People  was 
 
52  FUETHER  APPEARANCE  TO  SAUL. 
 
 to  be  found  in  the  success  promised  in  ver.  18,  which  might 
 seem  to  contradict  ch.  xxii.  18,  and  further,  ch.  xxviii.  25-28. 
 But,  when  closely  examined,  all  contradiction  disappears.  There 
 is  -no  direct  promise  in  ver.  18  of  universal  success :  even  of 
 the  Gentiles  Eom.  x.  16  holds  good ;  while  some  of  the  Jews 
 were  saved,  in  contradistinction  to  whom  the  unbelievers  are 
 termed  in  Rom.  iii.  3  only  some.  The  abiding  election  and 
 unrevoked  destination  of  Israel  will  not  allow  us  to  admit  the 
 idea  of  an  exclusive  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  in  the  strict  sense 
 of  the  term;  that  St  Paul  was  not  intended  to  be  such,  we 
 learn  here  from  the  lips  of  Jesus  Himself,  and  it  is  confirmed 
 by  the  whole  life  of  the  Apostle.  The  direct  contrast  which  I 
 formerly  insisted  upon — "  The  eyes  of  Israel  were  rather  more 
 fully  closed,  so  that  they  turned  from  light  to  darkness,  from 
 God  to  the  power  of  Satan,  so  that  they  lost  the  forgiveness  of 
 sins  and  forfeited  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  from  whom  they 
 were  cast  out,  and  all  through  \h.Q\r  unbelief  on  Jesus" — is  true 
 only  of  the  great  mass,  and  even  of  them  true  only  in  part,  true 
 of  the  people  as  such  only  for  a  season,  as  Rom.  xi.  testifies. 
 The  immediate  and  obvious  mission  to  both  Jews  and  Gentiles 
 is  further  established  by  the  words  which  precede ;  to  wit,  that 
 the  delivering  of  the  Apostle  was  to  be  first  from  the  People, 
 and  the  Jews  were,  as  ver.  21  and  all  the  history  shows,  the 
 most  vehement  persecutors  of  the  Gospel.  If  St  Paul  had  not 
 been  sent  to  the  People,  he  would  not  have  needed  to  be  deli- 
 vered from  them. 
 
 After  observing  once  more  that,  as  the  now  sending  shows, 
 the  present  appearance  cannot  be  placed  after  ch.  xiii.,  and  at 
 furthest  only  simultaneous  with  it,  confirming  the  call  of  the 
 prophetic  Spirit — "I  Myself  give  thee  now  thy  commission, 
 with  its  full  authority  and  all  the  instruction  that  it  needs"  — 
 we  now  turn  to  the  second  and  more  important  part  of  our 
 Lord's  words,  which  contains  their  full  and  highest  significance. 
 
 For  what  is  the  Apostle  sent  ?  What  is  the  purport,  and 
 what  the  commission  of  this  sending, — the  task,  duty,  and 
 power  of  His  office  ?     To  open  their  eyes,  that  they  may 
 
 BE  converted  from  DARKNESS  TO  LIGHT,  AND  FROM  THE 
 
 POWER  OF  Satan  unto  God  ;  that  they  may  receive 
 
 FORGIVENESS  OF  SINS,  AND  THE  INHERITANCE  AMONG  THEM 
 THAT  ARE  SANCTIFIED  THROUGH  FAITH  THAT  IS  IN  Me.      It 
 
ACTS  XXVI.  16-18.  53 
 
 is  remarkable,  and  to  be  lamented,  that  this  verse,  one  of  the 
 most  important  and  comprehensive  in  the  Bible,  is  so  seldom 
 set  forth  in  its  grand  importance,  so  seldom  developed  into  all 
 its  fulness  of  meaning.  We  have  here,  from  the  lips  of  the 
 Lord  in  heaven,  the  rule  of  the  pastoral  office,  and  the  plan  of 
 salvation.  Instruction  for  the  office  of  preaching  the  Word 
 generaUv,  not  merely  for  St  Paul's  :  the  wav  of  salvation 
 therein  for  all  who  are,  through  all  ages,  sanctified  and  saved 
 through  faith  in  Jesus.  The  prize  and  goal  of  the  heavenlv 
 caUing  for  all  sioners  upon  earth : — the  way  to  this  end,  its 
 beginning  and  continuance  ; — the  stages  of  the  way  from  first 
 to  last ; — the  great  work  as  the  result  of  God's  power,  and  yet 
 through  human  faith,  beiug  carried  on  through  the  obedience 
 and  in  the  v^-ills  of  the  called ; — all  this  is  set  forth  as  in  large 
 and  most  important  general  lines.  AYhat  does  God  require 
 from  us  in  the  beginning,  when  He  sends  His  preached  Word 
 by  His  ministers  and  witnesses  ?  That,  when  He  opens  our 
 eyes,  we  be  converted  and  turn  I  What  will  the  grace  of  God 
 then  confer  upon  us  ?  At  the  outset,  and  so  contiaually,  for- 
 giveness of  sins ; — at  the  glorious  consummation,  the  heavenlv 
 inheritance,  eternal  life  I  What  is  ever  the  certain  way  from 
 beginnuig  to  end?  Sanctification  through  the  same  faith  in 
 Him,  appointed  to  be  our  Saviour,  through  Whom  alone  all  is 
 accomphshed  and  takes  effect !  We  cannot  abstain  from  giv- 
 ing the  analysis,  as  it  is  found  in  our  "  Reden  der  Apostel." 
 This  heavenly  designation  to  the  office  of  the  Word  may  thus 
 be  resolved  : 
 
 I.  The  simple  preliminary  official  commission — to  open  their 
 eyes. 
 
 n.   The  more  detailed  process  which  explains  that  com- 
 mission. 
 
 I.  The  end  or  j^esult  which  must  be  faithfully  aimed  at. 
 1.  The  condition  on  the  side  of  men,  placed  in 
 their  own  freedom,  disclosing  the  ground  of 
 all,  and  hinting  at  the  end :  that  they  he  con- 
 verted, that  is,  may  turn, 
 
 A.  With  reference  to  their  condition — 
 
 from  darkness  to  hght. 
 
 B.  With  reference  to  the  ground  of  that 
 
54  rUKTHER  APPEARANCE  TO  SAUL. 
 
 condition — from  the  power  of  Satan 
 
 unto  God. 
 2.  Consequence  and  promise  on  tlie  side  of  God, 
 flowing  from  His  grace :  that  they  may  re- 
 ceive— 
 
 A.  Wliati 
 
 a.  The  first  gift,  ground  of  all  that 
 follows — forgiveness  of  sins. 
 
 h.  Final  gift,  goal  of  all  that  pre- 
 ceded— the  inheritance. 
 
 B.  How  ?      The  way  and  condition  of 
 
 sanctification,  carrying  with  it  still 
 human  freedom.     For 
 n.  The  sole  means  for  the  accomphshment  of  all  is  — 
 Faith  in  Me  ! 
 
 This  general  arrangement  will  exhibit  and  estabhsh  the 
 true  meaning  of  the  several  clauses,  which,  taken  singly  and 
 isolated,  may  easily  be  misunderstood.  The  one  thing  which  is, 
 properly  speaking,  committed  to  the  Apostle,  which  he  should 
 and  would  accomplish,  is  the  opening  of  the  eyes  by  the  word  of 
 testimony.  It  was  for  him  certainly  to  labour  with  all  diligence 
 for  all  that  should  follow ;  but  that  conversion  is  far  from 
 always  following  to  which  the  gift  of  God's  grace  is  promised 
 and  can  be  given.  Who,  further,  opens  in  reality  the  eyes  of 
 the  blind?  Assm^edly,  as  an  instrument,  he  who  is  sent  for 
 that  purpose ;  else  it  would  not  be  stated  what  that  messenger 
 should  perform  and  accomplish.  When  it  was  first  said.  To 
 this  end  I  send  thee !  it  means,  I  give  thee  authority  and 
 power  to  this  end !  Consequently,  it  is  fundamentally  only 
 He,  the  Lord  Himself,  given  of  God  to  be  a  covenant  of  the 
 People  and  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  who  openeth  the  eyes  of  the 
 blind,  and  delivereth  those  who  are  bound  of  Satan  out  of  the 
 prison-house  of  darkness  :  see  Isa.  xlii.  6,  7,  which  prophetic 
 passage  Jesus  here  out  of  heaven  calls  to  mind,  just  as  He  did 
 the  connected  passage,  Isa.  Ixi.  1,  2,  in  His  own  first  preaching 
 in  Nazareth,  Luke  iv.  What  a  glorious  concurrence  and 
 coincidence  of  the  abiding  fundamental  thoughts  of  the  exalted 
 and  the  humbled  Lord !  He  alone,  the  Lord  Himself,  makes 
 the  beginning,  in  the  prevenient  power  of  the  Spirit  of  His 
 
ACTS  XXVI.  16-18.  55 
 
 grace ;  but  it  is  tlirougli  the  word  of  His  witnesses.  Humanity 
 lies  before  Him,  when  He  looks  down  upon  it  from  heaven,  so 
 far  revolted  and  fallen  as  to  be  too  blinded  even  to  see  the  true 
 way  of  conversion.  Thus  has  Satan  smitten  it  with  darkness, 
 even  while  he  promised  to  open  its  eyes.  Then  cometh  into 
 the  world  the  light  of  God,  in  the  glory  of  w^hich  Jesus  appeared 
 to  Saul,  and  shineth  so  bright  that,  while  the  darkness  where  it 
 remaineth  will  not  apprehend  and  receive  it,  it  at  the  same  time 
 may  receive  it  and  ought.  The  hght  shineth  sovereignly 
 through  the  veil  of  the  eyes,  enforces  its  first  recognition — This 
 is  light !  from  every  man — but,  alas,  most  men  even  then  love 
 darkness  rather  than  light.  Who  then  are  they  of  whom  it  is 
 said,  their  eyes  ?  Manifestly,  no  other  than  those  "  among 
 ivhom  I  send  thee;"  that  is,  all  to  whom  it  is  preached.  He 
 to  whom  the  saving  grace  of  God  hath  appeared  in  the  Gospel, 
 has  been  constrained  to  see  the  Hght  at  its  first  shining ;  the 
 way  has  been  showa  to  him,  the  truth  has  been  spoken  to  him, 
 the  awakening  word  Arise!  hath  seized  him  in  order  to  the 
 opening  of  his  eyes. 
 
 But  that  which  now  follows  is  left  with  the  freedom  of  man. 
 As  the  Lord  sends  the  Apostle  to  this  end,  that  he  may  open  the 
 eyes  of  men,  so  then'  eyes  are  opened  to  this  end,  that  they  may 
 be  converted  and  turn.  But  they  are  not  all  obedient  to  the 
 Gospel.  Many,  yea,  the  greater  part,  wilfully  shut  their  eyes 
 all  the  more  closely,  unto  the  worse  bhndness  and  hardening  of 
 unbelief.  The  latter  part  of  the  clause  has  been  made  parallel 
 mth  the  former,  and  thus  construed,  "  To  open  their  eyes  and 
 to  convert  them ;"  but  this  arrangement  cannot  in  any  way  be 
 justified.^  The  turning,  as  the  receiving,  lies  with  man ;  the 
 former  being  the  condition  of  the  latter.  "V\Tiere  otherwise 
 would  be  the  first  expression  of  that  faith,  which  is  at  the  last 
 laid  down  as  the  great  condition  remaining  with  the  freedom 
 of  man?  The  first  thing  which  any  man  does,  or  can,  or 
 should  do,  whose  eyes  have  been  opened  to  see  his  error  and 
 wretchedness,  is  obviously  to  turn  himself  from  his  misery  for 
 
 ^  It  is  true  that  s'Trtarpi-^xt  occurs  thus  transitively  Luke  i.  16,  17, 
 Jas.  V.  19,  20 ;  and  in  Acts  xiv.  15,  and  iii.  26,  according  to  the  right 
 exposition.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  more  usually  said,  and  especially  of 
 the  heathen,  that  men  convert  themselves :  1  Thess.  i.  9,  Acts  xv.  3, 19  ;  and 
 in  ver.  20  of  our  chapter,  this  interpretation  of  what  went  before  is  given. 
 
56  FURTHER  APPEARANCE  TO  SAUL. 
 
 help :  compare  the  same  connection  in  Luke  i.  79.  The 
 Apostle,  indeed,  whose  own  eyes  had  been  opened  by  the  light 
 of  the  Lord,  should  and  could  open  their  eyes  ;  he  was  to  carry 
 to  them  the  same  message  which  Ananias  brought  to  himself 
 — "Brethren,  the  Lord  Jesus  hath  sent  me  that  ye  may  re- 
 ceive your  sight."  But  more  than  tliat  he  cannot  effect,  in 
 opposition  to  the  will  of  those  who  hear  him.  They  may  and 
 should  turn  themselves  from  darkness  to  light,  because  their 
 eyes  have  been  opened ;  if  they  do  so,  they  can  receive  the  gift 
 of  grace,  and  can  become  sanctified,  because  they  have  received 
 in  the  forgiveness  of  sins  the  ground  of  that  holiness,  and,  in 
 the  hope  of  the  promised  inheritance,  invigoration  for  the 
 faithful  maintenance  of  faith  unto  the  end.  This,  and  no 
 other,  is  the  true  order  of  salvation.  This  is  what  St  Paul 
 exhibits  to  Agrippa  and  the  whole  assembly ;  for  he  preaches 
 also  to  them  that  they  should  be  converted  and  become  such  as 
 he  was  (ver.  29). 
 
 Hence  it  appears  that  this  first  opening  of  the  eyes  is  some- 
 tliing  altogether  different  from  the  later  following,  rather  already 
 presupposed,  enlightenment.  Christ  can  give  light  only  to  him 
 who  has  not  only  been  awakened,  but  has  arisen  up  (in  conver- 
 sion, Eph.  V.  14).  That  produces  then  the  enlightened  eyes  of 
 the  heart  (Eph.  i.  18,  in  the  right  reading)  in  those  who  have 
 ahready  tasted  the  heavenly  gift  (Heb.  vi.  14).  On  the  other 
 hand,  the  first  opening  does  not  give  a  man  clearly  to  hnow  the 
 hope  of  the  calling,  the  riches  of  the  glorious  inheritance,  the 
 exceeding  greatness  of  the  power  of  God  in  those  who  believe : 
 he  only  distinguishes,  at  first,  like  children  learning  to  see,  the 
 darkness  from  the  light ;  he  can  only  say  this  one  thing — I  was 
 in  darkness  and  blindness,  but  now  1  see  the  light!  (John 
 ix.  25.) 
 
 The  old  state  from  which,  and  the  new  state  to  which,  we 
 tmn,  are  described  simply  as  states,  as  darkness  and  light^  accord- 
 ing to  the  general  language  of  Scripture,  and  1  Pet.  ii.  9,  10 
 particularly,  where  the  call  is  similarly  defined.  They  who 
 receive  the  call  in  faith,  convert  or  turn  themselves  (round,  back) 
 from  their  darkness  to  the  light  which  has  appeared ;  not  that 
 they  perfectly  come  out  of  the  darkness,  and  enter  the  perfect 
 condition  of  light — which  would  be  regeneration  itself,  or,  in- 
 deed, the  finished  goal  of  sanctification — but  that  they  penitently 
 
ACTS  XXVI.  16-18.  57 
 
 turn  themsehes  from  their  old  character  with  desire  towards  the 
 light  of  God,  towards  the  right  way  of  a  better  life  as  exhibited 
 by  the  light  of  truth.  This  turning  from  and  turning  towards 
 are  called  elsewhere  repentance  and  conversion  (ver.  20,  ch.  iii. 
 19) ;  but  because  both  are  inseparable  in  their  union,  each  ex- 
 pression may  stand  alone,  inclusive  of  the  other,  for  the  whole. 
 (So  here  conversion,  as  in  ch.  xx.  21  repentance.) 
 
 As  soon,  then,  as  this  conversion  becomes  real  and  effectual, 
 there  follows  as  its  necessary  consequence,  not  indeed  that  full 
 and  complete  insight  into  Satan's  Idngdom  and  power,  and  the 
 light  and  natm-e  of  God,  which  is  reserved  for  our  perfection, 
 but  at  least  a  commencmg  insight  into  the  deeper  ground  of  that 
 twofold  condition ;  as  the  preaching  word  exliibits  it,  in  order  to 
 excite  the  profound  attention  of  the  soul.  It  is  Satan^  in  whose 
 power  are  not  merely  the  heathens  (as  the  Jewish  maxim  was), 
 but  all  bhnd  sinners  in  common;  for  the  darkness  is  from 
 Satan,  and  he  is  the  prince  of  the  power  of  darkness  upon  eart>i 
 (Col.  i.  13).  It  is  Satan  who  keeps  closed  the  eyes  which  would 
 otherwise  open  themselves  even  to  the  natural  light  which  ^dsits 
 all.  It  is  God,  the  fountain  of  light,  to  lead  back  sinners  to 
 w^hom,  from  their  deep  apostasy,  is  the  great  aim  of  the  whole 
 work  of  grace.  He  who  is  exalted  in  heaven  still  speaks  with 
 all  plainness — as  He  formerly  did  according  to  the  orthodox  faith 
 of  the  Jews — of  Satan  (comp.  five  times  in  the  Epistles  from 
 heaven.  Rev.  ii.  and  iii.) ;  this  doctrine  must  be  preached  to  the 
 Gentiles  also,  and  must  by  them  also  be  acknowledged  as  a 
 fundamental  truth.  It  may  be  said  that  "from  darkness  to 
 light"  refers  rather  to  the  blinded  Jews,  and  "from  Satan's 
 power  to  God"  rather  to  the  Gentiles,  altogether  sundered  from 
 God  and  in  the  power  of  evil.^  But  this  has  only  a  relative 
 truth;  for  both  in  then*  deepest  prmciple  refer  to  all  sinners 
 who  are  to  be  converted  (sinners  of  the  Jews,  sinners  of  the 
 Gentiles,  Gal.  ii.  15). 
 
 All  darkness  is  a  prison  (Isa.  xlii.  7),  and  its  bonds  and 
 chains  are  the  bondage  of  hell  (2Pet.ii.  4;  Jude  6).  There 
 is  a  power  of  darkness  which  holds  and  enslaves  men.  However 
 easy  and  sudden  might  seem  the  first  conversion  at  the  begin- 
 ning, as  the  mere  turning  from  darkness  towards  light,  the 
 
 1  As  similarly  in  ver.  20  :  the  Jews  must  repent,  and  the  Gentiles  be 
 converted  to  God. 
 
58  FURTHER  APPEARANCE  TO  SAUL. 
 
 process  reveals  an  enchaining  power  which  will  not  let  man  go. 
 And  in  this  God  alone  can  help ;  to  Him  therefore  alone  man 
 must  more  fully  turn.  It  is  not  said  "  to  the  power  of  God ;  " 
 the  name  of  God  is  enough,  and  its  might  is  placed  alone  in  opposi- 
 tion to  all  other  power.  Nor  is  the  light,  again,  an  imprison- 
 ment ;  we  do  not  become  servants  of  God,  as  we  had  been  sers'ants 
 of  Satan  and  of  sin.  The  kingdom  of  the  Son  of  His  love  is 
 opened,  in  blessed  freeness  and  liberty  (Col.  i.  13) — the  open 
 access  even  to  the  heart  of  God,  properly  to  God  I 
 
 But  with  the  first  step  of  conversion  to  God  begins  the 
 receiving ;  for  he  that  draws  nigh  to  God  receives  from  Him. 
 The  first  full  gift  for  the  rebellious,  which  itself  was  secretly 
 included  when  He  gave  repentance  and  awakened  to  life  and  con- 
 version, and  wliich  must  then  be  consciously  received  with  joy, 
 is — forgiveness  of  sins.  "The  recollection  of  one's  o^vn  sins  is 
 the  real  centre  of  all  self -consciousness  "  (Baumgarten)  ; — by 
 this  consciousness,  fully  awakened  in  conversion,  the  merciful 
 Lord  now  seizes  the  smner,  who  in  his  first  penitent  coming  to 
 the  rebuking  light  of  grace  has  akeady  performed  a  work  in 
 God ;  and  thus,  in  the  consciousness  of  received  forgiveness,  the 
 new  man  is  fully  bom.  This  is  now  light  instead  of  darkness, 
 fellowship  with  God  instead  of  servitude  to  Satan,  the  deceiver 
 and  accuser.  This  is  ever  the  first  pure  gi'ace ;  received  out  of 
 the  fulness  of  God  the  Saviour,  not  yet  as  grace  for  grace,  but 
 as  grace  solely  for  our  sin.  Observe,  that  we  were  under  the 
 power  of  Satan,  not  without  om'  own  will  and  our  own  guilt ; 
 notwithstanding  there  is  full  forgiveness  for  that  and  for  all  our 
 sins. 
 
 That  in  the  economy  of  salvation  the  same  forgiveness  of 
 sins,  the  great  grace  of  the  Xew  Testament,  must  ever  be  laid 
 throughout  the  whole  process  of  sanctification  as  the  foundation 
 of  a  continual  new  beginning,  even  as  thence  alone  power  cometh 
 to  the  faint  (Isa.  xxxiii.  24) — that  access  into  the  strengthening 
 fellowship  of  the  Lord,  whose  flesh  and  blood  we  eat  and  di'ink 
 that  He  may  live  in  us,  is  opened  to  us  only  through  the  con- 
 tinual new  appropriation  of  forgiveness — of  all  this  we  speak 
 not  now  more  at  large ;  since  the  exposition  of  the  individual 
 sapngs  would  thus  lead  us  into  the  whole  doctrinal  system,  and 
 ethical  relations,  of  the  plan  of  salvation.  We  go  on  to  observe 
 with  what  wonderful  suddenness  the  and  connects  the  inheritance 
 
ACTS  XXVI.  16-18.  59 
 
 with  the  forgiveness,  the  end  with  the  beginning.^  For  God, 
 who  begins,  finishes  also  BGls  work  in^  all  those  who  cease  not  to 
 receive  from  Him.  It  might  be  said  here  also  that  the  forgive- 
 ness of  sins  is  referred  rather  to  Israel,  and  the  portion  in  God's 
 inheritance  rather  to  the  Gentiles ;  comp.  Eph.  i.  and  Col.  i. 
 But,  in  the  Apostle's  doctrine  in  these  chapters,  and  still  more 
 fully  here,  both  are  connected  together  in  one.  The  pecuhar 
 expression  used^  might  also  be  translated — a  lot,  a  portion  of 
 the  inheritance — and  that  would  be  perfectly  true  as  it  respects 
 the  individual  appropriation ;  but  the  comprehensive  saying  here 
 pre-eminently  refers  to  the  Lord's  new  people  as  such,  gathered 
 from  the  People  and  the  Gentiles  alike.  It  is  "  the  inheritance 
 of  the  saints  in  light " — first  as  reserved  for  us  in  heaven  (1  Pet. 
 i.  4) ;  and  then,  if  we  attain  unto  the  end  of  faith,  received  as 
 the  salvation  of  the  soul ;  but  finally  as  consummate  glory  on 
 the  new  and  heavenly  earth,  of  which  Canaan  was  the  type. 
 
 But  what  is,  finally,  the  condition — which  again  assumes  our 
 freedom,  our  recei\ing,  retaining,  and  using  the  gift  of  God — 
 the  only  way  from  the  forgiveness  of  sins  to  the  inheritance  ? 
 The  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light  is  only  for  them  that  are 
 sanctified.  This  sanctification  is  possible  only  on  the  ground  of 
 grace  received,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  the  goal  set  before  us ; 
 but  we  reach  that  goal  only  as  perfect,  w^hen  sanctification  is 
 fully  accomplished — and  this  is  plainly  spoken  in  the  carefully 
 chosen  word  "sanctified."^  The  enterincr  amon^r  the  sanctified 
 is  reckoned  with  that  which  is  received,  as  the  last,  highest,  and 
 perfect  gift  of  God's  grace  (Rom.  vi.  23) ;  but  it  is  also,  on 
 the  other  hand,  regarded  as  the  condition  and  limitation  of 
 the  receiving — Only  among  those  that  are  sanctified!      Such 
 
 1  So  Col.  i.  12-14,  and  the  tliird  section  of  the  Apostles'  Creed. 
 
 2  K.'Kr.prj;^  derived  from  the  Old  Testament,  and  glorified  in  the  New — on 
 ■which  a  whole  treatise  might  be  written. 
 
 ^  "For,  whereas  the  deficiency  of  Israel's  sanctification  was  proved  by 
 the  fact,  that  in  the  possession  of  their  inheritance  they  became  proud,  and 
 in  the  gifts  of  the  earth  forgot  their  Maker  and  Redeemer  (Deut.  xxxii.  15), 
 the  New  Testament  saints  are  not  introduced  into  the  possession  of  their  in- 
 heritance until  they  have  proved  by  deeds  that  they  prefer  the  pure  and  holy' 
 communion  of  the  soul  with  God,  without  any  external  corporeal  addition, 
 to  all  and  every  possession  upon  earth,  and  thereby  accomplish  the  total 
 deliverance  of  their  souls  from  the  entire  kingdom  of  darkness  and  of  Satan." 
 — (Baumgarten,  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  vol.  iii.,  p.  167,  Clark's  edition  ) 
 
60  FURTHER  APPEARANCE  TO  SAUL 
 
 will  there  be  at  the  last,  and  they  shall  receive  the  inheritance. 
 Yet  not  with  all  that  were  called; — for  many  of  them,  alas,  will 
 forget  to  make  their  calling  and  election  sure!  (2  Pet.  i.  9-11)  — 
 with  all  that  are  sanctified  we  shall  enter  the  everlasting  king- 
 dom. But  this  fellowship  vrith  all  saints  (ch.  xx.  32)  is  an 
 essential  elevation  of  final  blessedness,  although  God  Himself 
 will  for  ever  be  the  ground  and  spring  of  that  blessedness. 
 
 There  only  remains  the  inexpressibly  important  and  sublime 
 conclusion — through  faith  which  is  in  Me ;  in  which  the  Son  of 
 God,  the  only  Saviour  of  all  the  world,  unites  poor  beheving 
 sinners  upon  earth  with  His  own  glory  in  heaven,  and  with  His 
 own  exalted  person.  It  has  been  needlessly  disputed  whether 
 this  "by  faith"  refers  more  narrowly  to  the  "sanctified  by 
 faith,"  or  points  further  back  to  the  receiving}  We  have 
 already  given  our  decision  that  faith  here  comes  last  as  the  only 
 means  of  the  whole;  it  is  not  merely  receiving,  but  also  persevering 
 faith,  faith  which  is  approved  and  confirmed  through  obedient 
 fidehty  even  to  the  end.  We  are  indeed  finally  sanctified  only 
 through  faith ;  but  only  through  faith  were  we  converted,  and 
 received  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  And  this  faith  which  we  hold 
 fast  from  stage  to  stage  through  obedience  and  fidelity,  in  the 
 warring  of  the  good  warfare  for  the  fulfilment  of  our  course 
 (2  Tim.  iv.  7),  is  not  only  a  faith  in  God^  but  in  Him  also 
 through  whom  alone  we  can  have  faith  and  hope  towards  God 
 (1  Pet.  i.  21) — in  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  here  saith  out  of  heaven. 
 Through  faith  that  is  in  Me  I  Faith  in  His  name.  His  word 
 generally,  draws  and  turns  us  round  from  Satan  to  God  ;  faith 
 in  Him  who  was  dead  gives  us  the  forgiveness  of  sins ;  faith  in 
 the  risen  Lord  gives  us  power  unto  renewal  in  hohness ;  faith  in 
 the  glorified  Lord  strengthens  in  us  the  hope  of  the  inheritance  ; 
 through  faith  in  the  whole  Christ  we  attain  to  our  whole  salva- 
 tion. Thus  majestically  does  this  SaAdour  in  heaven,  without 
 whom  there  is  no  salvation  for  all  men  under  heaven  (Acts  iv. 
 12),  place  Himself  in  the  stead  of  God,  on  whose  throne  He 
 sitteth  for  us. 
 
 Faith,  Faith,  nothing  but  Faith — this  is  and  must  ever 
 be  the  simple,  and  nevertheless  not  easy,  way  to  the  end  of 
 
 ^  For  certainly,  as  Bamngarten  beaittifully  though  rather  scholastically 
 says,  "  Faith  is  the  ethical  consummation  of  the  receptive  capacity,  over 
 which  Satan  has  obtained  no  power.  '* 
 
Acx»  X.  13-16 ;  xt.  r-10.  61 
 
 glory.  It  is  the  vocation  of  all  the  Lord's  ambassadors  to  pro- 
 claim the  obedience  of  faith  in  His  name.  Here  before  Agrippa 
 St  Paul  answers  for  himself  — "  Thus  did  He  speak  to  me, 
 and  how  should  I  not  believe  in  Him?  Thus  did  He  com- 
 mand me — Preach  the  faith  that  is  in  ]Me !  How  should  I  not 
 testify  of  Him?"  St  Paul  had  seen  Him;  but  only  to  the 
 end  that  he  might  preach  faith  and  the  not-seeing.  St  Paul 
 is  in  a  certain  sense  pre-eminently  the  Apostle  of  faiihj  yet 
 only  as  it  regards  his  doctrinal  system — for  what  Apostle  either 
 preaches  or  teaches  anything  but  faith  ?  Here  we  must  resist 
 the  strange  theory  of  Baumgarten,  and  not  allow  that  "He 
 lays  on  the  shoulders  of  St  Paul  alone,  after  St  Peter  and  the 
 rest  of  the  original  Apostles  had  accompKshed  their  work,  by 
 which  the  first  foundation  of  the  Church  was  laid,  the  work  of 
 His  salvation  for  the  nations  of  the  earth — and  that,  for  the 
 immediately  subsequent  period,  St  Paul  is  introduced  as  being 
 exclusively  entrusted  with  the  guidance  and  extension  of  the 
 Church  ! ! "  Where  in  all  the  Scripture  is  this  written  ? 
 Where  in  this  mission  and  instruction  is  there  any  token  of 
 this  exclusiveness  ?  With  all  the  others  (1  Cor.  ix.  5,  xv.  9), 
 he  executed  his  office — as  the  least  of  them,  who  in  His  work 
 became  the  greatest ;  but  it  is  the  same  office  which,  as  having 
 authority  to  call  sinners  through  faith  in  Jesus  to  salvation,  is 
 continued  even  in  every  vocation  to  preach  and  bear  witness. 
 That  which  we  have  expounded  upon  ver.  18  in  particular, 
 holds  good  of  every  preacher,  and  of  aU  hearers,  without  any 
 deduction  for  the  specific  authority  or  power  conferred  on  St 
 Paul. 
 
 TO  ST  PETER  IN  THE  TRANCE  UPON  THE  HOUSETOP. 
 
 (Actsx.  13-16;  xi.  7-10.) 
 
 It  is  not  consistent  with  the"  opinion  which  elevates  St  Paul 
 high  above  the  first  Apostolate  of  the  Twelve,  that  the  first 
 transition  of  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles,  properly  so  called,  was 
 not  reserved  for  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  but  that  St  Peter 
 
62   TO  ST  PETER  IX  THE  TRAXCE  UPON  THE  HOUSETOP. 
 
 was  in  this  respect  also  cliosen  to  be  first  (cli.  xv.  7).  Thus, 
 as  St  Paul  was  not  exclusively  an  Apostle  to  the  heathen  world, 
 so  those  ^vho  were  Apostles  before  him  did  not,  as  their  very- 
 vocation  for  all  the  nations  intimates,  confine  themselves  to 
 Israel.  After  Saul  had  preached  to  the  Jcavs  in  the  syna- 
 gogues of  Damascus — probably  during  his  protracted  sojourn 
 in  Arabia,  and  still  more  probably  before  the  Lord  had  an- 
 nounced to  him  liis  mission  to  the  Gentiles^ — St  Peter  receives 
 the  revelation  which  constrained  him  to  preach  to  Cornelius. 
 We  have  not  arranged  these  expositions  strictly  in  chronolo- 
 gical order  (there  might  have  been  some  difficulty  in  deter- 
 mining it,  if  we  had  so  purposed)  ;  for  it  was  our  object  to  give 
 the  stages  of  St  Paul's  callino;  in  theii'  connection. 
 
 But  w^e  shall  at  the  same  time  observe  that,  although  St 
 Peter  w^as  acknowledged  as  the  first  in  preaching  to  the  Gen- 
 tiles (which,  however,  did  not  involve  any  other  pre-eminence, 
 and  make  him  a  "  prince  of  the  Apostles "),  he  comes  behind 
 St  Paul  in  his  own  personal  endowanents,  and  in  his  capacity 
 for  special  revelations  and  gifts  of  the  Lord.  On  this  subject 
 — how  this  is  to  be  understood,  and  how  not;  how  St  Paul, 
 dicrnified  bv  higher  revelations,  was  not  therefore  before  the 
 Lord  of  higher  account — w^e  cannot  now  more  particularly 
 dwell :  it  may  be  enough  for  our  purpose  to  estabhsh  the  fact 
 that  St  Peter  did  not  see  the  Lord  of  glory^,  and  receive  imme- 
 diate revelations  from  Him,  in  the  same  manner  as  St  Paul 
 did.^  An  angel  had  led  him,  with  all  the  Apostles,  out  of  the 
 prison  some  time  before,  and  afterwards  we  find  the  Spirit 
 speaking  to  him  (ch.  x.  19  ;  just  as  to  Phihp,  ch.  -viii.  29). 
 It  is  remarkable  that  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  in  the  Acts  of  the 
 Apostles  specially  guides  the  ^lissionary  Chm'ch,  here  person- 
 ally says — I  have  sent  the  men  (comp.  ch.  xiii.  2) — yet  this  is 
 not  the  I  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself,  Avhich  had  spoken  to  St 
 Paul.      The  voice,  again,  which  St  Peter  receives  in  the  ^dsion 
 
 ^  For  St  Peter  was  then  again  in  Jerusalem ;  having  returned  from  the 
 itinerary  which  St  Luke  supplementarily  records.  The  particulars  of  all 
 this  are  not  easily  arranged. 
 
 2  Had  it  been  so,  we  should  have  found  some  record  of  it  in  Scripture, 
 as  of  a  matter  highly  momentous.  On  the  other  hand,  St  Peter  in  his 
 (genuine  !)  Second  Epistle  appeals  only  to  this,  that  he  had  been  an  "  eye- 
 witness of  the  Lord's  glory"  upon  the  mount ;  and  in  ch.  iii.  16  he  with 
 beautifid  humility  admits  the  superior  wisdom  given  to  his  brother  Paul. 
 
ACTS  X.  13-16;   XI.  7-10.  63 
 
 of  a  trance,  could  be  no  other  than  that  of  the  Lord — this 
 seems  due  at  once  to  him  and  the  object  concerned.  Angels 
 speak  in  the  Xew  Testament  (not  now  to  speak  particularly  of 
 the  Old  Testament),  even  when  they  do  not  become  visible,  as 
 in  the  case  of  Cornelius,  in  dreams  and  visions ;  but  we  never 
 read  of  trance  in  connection  with  them.  Nor  ckn  we  conceive 
 that  it  was  merely  an  indefinite  voice,  merely  an  appendage  of 
 the  vision  which  admitted  no  question  as  to  ivho  it  was  that 
 spoke ;  for  St  Peter  addresses  the  speaker  immediately  as  Lord. 
 But,  finally,  the  voice  "  of  God"  speaks  in  the  New  Testament 
 most  expressly  (as  in  the  Old  Testament  latently)  through  the 
 Son  alone,  and  now  through  the  exalted  Jesus  Christ.  Although 
 St  Peter  afterwards,  ver.  28,  says  that  God  had  showed  him 
 the  truth,  he  speaks  thus  at  the  first  in  the  hearing  of  Corne- 
 lius, only  in  order  that  he  might  not  inappropriately  anticipate 
 his  preaching  concerning  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord  of  all  (ver.  36). 
 
 Three  times  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  the  great  manifes- 
 tation to  Saul  is  described ;  and  at  least  twice  the  manifestation 
 to  Peter,  which  of  itself  was  of  great  importance  in  relation  to 
 this  great  crisis  and  turning-point  in  the  course  of  the  kingdom 
 of  God.  By  the  repeated  narrative  it  is  made  abundantly  plain 
 that  the  Apostle  did  not  see  and  hear  what  He  saw  and  heard, 
 for  himself  alone;  but  for  all  to  whom,  through  him,  it  was 
 spoken  and  dehvered. 
 
 ^Yhile  St  Peter  was  engaged  in  a  successful  mission  at  Joppa 
 among  the  Jews  (ch.  ix.  42,  43),  and  on  the  same  day  that  the 
 messengers  from  Cornelius  were  on  their  way  to  him,  he  went 
 up  at  noontide  to  the  housetop  to  pray.  For,  his  practised  piety 
 had  added  to  the  two  customary  hours  of  prayer  (at  the  morn- 
 ing and  evening  sacrifice)  the  third  at  mid-day,  w^hich  had  also 
 become  a  custom  (Ps.  Iv.  18;  Dan.  xi.  10).  The  flat  roofs  of 
 the  houses  had  ordinarily  an  upper  chamber,^  whither  men  were 
 accustomed  to  retreat  for  thought  or  devotion ;  but  the  tanner's 
 house  may  be  supposed  to  have  had  an  open  roof,  since  the 
 vision  supposes  the  unobstructed  heavens  to  be  before  him.  It 
 is  in  prayer  that  the  revelation  comes  to  St  Peter,  as  also  to 
 Cornelius.  But  he,  who  had  a  work  to  do  in  Joppa  and  no 
 special   occasion   then   to   fast,  is  not,  like  Cornelius,  adding 
 
 ^  In  St  Luke  vTrtpaou^  called  in  the  Old  Testament  n^'-}> ;  see  especially 
 2  Kings  iv.  10. 
 
64   TO  ST  PETER  IN  THE  TRANCE  UPON  THE  HOUS^.TOI. 
 
 fasting  to  prayer.  As  was  quite  possible  to  the  bodily  infirmity 
 even  of  an  Apostle,  he  became  hungry  in  his  prayer,  even  very 
 hungry: — this  probably  was  the  result  of  an  extraordinary  in- 
 fluence preparing  him  for  the  vision,  the  symbolical  language  of 
 which  connected  itself  with  his  hunger,  according  to  the  analog}^ 
 of  such  revelations  generally.  St  Peter  would  not  be  altogether 
 interrupted  in  his  intenser  and  deepening  devotion  by  taking 
 the  mid-day  meal, — he  desired  only  a  shght  repast.^  While 
 this  was  being  prepared  for  him  he  fell  into  a  trance;  liter- 
 ally, a  trance  fell  upon  him,  so  that  he  beheld  a  vision  and  heard 
 a  voice.     After  a  full  meal  this  would  not  have  taken  place. 
 
 From  the  heaven,  which  shines  upon  him  as  if  opened,  there 
 descends  to  him  a  table  wondrously  spread  for  his  hunger :  a 
 structure  or  vessel  of  a  peculiar  kind  and  amazing  greatness ; 
 as  it  were  a  great  sheet  bound  by  cords  at  the  four  corners,  and 
 so  let  down  to  the  earth,  that  is,  above  the  roof,  and  immediately 
 before  him.  In  it  he  beheld  not  merely  "  all  kinds  of,"  but  all 
 beasts,^  that  is,  one  of  every  species,  clean  and  unclean  imited. 
 The  entire  animal  world,  not  excluding  the  birds  of  heaven, 
 great  and  small;  even  creeping  things — the  smaller  animals, 
 and  not  "  edible  insects  1 "  ^  The  names  of  the  three  main 
 genera,  besides  the  birds,  correspond  (though  not  literally)  to 
 the  accomit  in  the  creation.  Gen.  i.  24,  where,  if  we  rightly 
 understand  it,  there  can  nothing  be  as  yet  said  about  insects  or 
 reptiles.  Well  may  St  Peter  have  contemplated  all  this  with 
 profound  astonishment !  *  But  scarcely  has  the  question  arisen 
 — What  is  this?  what  does  it  mean  to  me?  when  a  voice 
 {frora  heaven,  as  cli.  xii.  9  adds,  after  ch.  x.  had  made  it  obvious) 
 gives  him  an  answer  yet  more  strange :  Rise,  Peter,  slay  and 
 EAT !  After  the  manner  of  a  dream,  the  killing  and  eating  are 
 combined  in  one;  and  there  is  no  distinction  expressed  as  to 
 what  was  upon  the  immense  livingly-spread  table,  on  the  border 
 of  which,  as  we  may  suppose  from  the  Apostle's  words,  only 
 unclean  animals  were  to  be  seen. 
 
 ^  This  is  a  more  befitting  expression  than  Luther's  andeissen^  for  ysvacc- 
 ff&oti^  comp.  ch.  XX.  11. 
 
 2  As  the  Article,  standing  alone  in  ch.  xi.,  still  more  expressly  shows. 
 
 ^  As  Neander  expresses  himself,  according  to  the  too  prevalent  misunder- 
 standing, for  go^erof,  Heb.  ^w;:  — which  signifies  only  the  smaller  animals 
 in  contradistinction  from  "tons  and  5^")^. 
 
 T':  T  - 
 
 *  Ch.  xi.  6,  otnuiffccg  Kxrevoovv. 
 
ACTS  X.  13-16  ;   XI.  7-10.  Q^ 
 
 We  pause  here  in  our  contemplation,  and  ask,  as  St  Peter  wlien 
 come  to  himself  asked  in  doubt,  ver.  17,  with  hope  of  a  certain 
 answer,  what  the  meaning  of  the  vision  was.  Indeed,  we  can- 
 not miss  its  meaning  if  we  thoughtfully  consider  it.  We  have 
 the  actual  solution  of  it  in  the  history  wliich  follows,  as  well  as 
 in  the  decisive  word  of  St  Peter — God  hath  showed  me  that  no 
 man  is  to  be  counted  common  or  unclean.  But  through  what 
 process  do  we  reach  that  couclusion,  smce  we  cannot  at  once  say 
 that  animals  signify  men  ?  First  of  all,  we  must  do  justice  to 
 the  obvious  reference  to  the  Mosaic  laws'  of  distinction  in  food. 
 The  connection  is  plain ;  since  it  was  the  prohibition  to  eat 
 unclean  animals  which  practically  constituted  the  most  rigorous 
 wall  of  partition  between  the  Israehtes  and  the  Gentiles — 
 especially  at  this  time,  when  human  ordinances  had  rendered 
 those  laws  still  more  stringent.  Because  the  ceremonially  strict 
 Jew  might  not  eat  with  the  Gentile,  all  confidential  intercourse 
 and  all  perfect  communion  generally  was  cut  off  by  this  pro- 
 hibition of  table-fellowship ;  as  in  ch.  xi.  we  read  that  in  Jeru- 
 salem the  whole  Jewish-Christian  community  made  it  an  objec- 
 tion to  the  first  Apostle  "  that  he  had  eaten  with  them" — in 
 comparison  of  which  the  preaching  and  baptizing  comes  not 
 into  further  consideration  !  St  Peter  could  not  have  paused  in 
 doubt  as  to  whether  the  Divine  declaration  expressed  the  aboli- 
 tion of  this  Levitical  distinction  between  clean  and  unclean 
 animals  as  to  killing  and  eating ;  this  was  directly  declared,  and 
 he  would  immediately  tliink  of  the  words  of  Jesus  in  Mark  vii. 
 15-23.  But  that  from  this  very  much  would  follow,  and  that 
 the  vision  would  signify  much  more  than  this,  is  a  matter  which 
 he  thoughtfully  ponders.  We  hold  to  his  own  expression  when 
 all  was  made  plain  to  him — No  man  is  any  longer  unclean. 
 As  in  visions,  and  the  symbohcal  language  of  prophecy  generally, 
 more  than  one  interpretation  is  commonly  involved,  the  animals 
 are  here  at  the  same  time  used  figuratively  for  men,  and  the 
 unclean  are  the  Gentiles,  whom  the  Jews  had  hitherto  so 
 regarded.  We  know  that  the  Jewish  phraseology  already 
 applied  the  names  of  unclean  beasts  to  those  who  ate  them 
 (Matt.  XV.  26 ;  vii.  6).  Thus  the  entire  animal  world,  which  was 
 here  shown  to  the  Apostle  in  its  manifold  variety  according  to 
 the  original  creation,  and  in  which  there  was  to  be  no  longer  a 
 distinction  of  clean  and  unclean,  is  the  race  of  mankind  upon 
 
 £ 
 
G6      TO  ST  PETER  IN  THE  TRANCE  UPON  THE  HOUSETOP. 
 
 earth  in  all  its  peoples  and  kinds.  The  sheet  descends  from 
 heaven  to  earth;  and  this  means,  according  to  the  place  and 
 occasion  of  the  vision,  in  general — Here  heaven  and  earth  are 
 concerned  in  common  ;  it  is  a  matter  upon  earth,  which  has  been 
 decided  in  heaven.  But  this  is  scarcely  the  whole  meaning,  for 
 it  is  not  merely  the  voice  which  comes  from  heaven.  Are  not 
 all  men  to  be  regarded  as  originally  coming  from  heaven  and 
 having  sprung  from  God,  according  to  their  first  creation  ?  ^ 
 Thus,  this  comes  first — All  men  upon  earth  (the  four  corners 
 are  the  four  quarters  of  heaven)  are  still  of  Divine  origin 
 (ch.  xvii.  28).  But  this  of  itself  must  not  be  pressed  f mother, 
 since  they  have  become  universally  unclean  through  their  sin. 
 Consequently,  we  must  advance  to  the  full  and  perfect  inter- 
 pretation : — The  vessel  or  sheet  is  the  Chwcli  of  the  Lord,  into 
 which,  through  the  decree  and  grace  of  Heaven,  are  to  be  re- 
 ceived for  heaven  men  of  all  nations ;  because  grace  renews  and 
 re-establishes  the  original  creation.  Both  the  heavenly  origin 
 and  the  heavenly  renewal  of  mankind  are  embraced  in  one. 
 
 And  now  for  the  killing  and  eating  which  is  required  of  the 
 Apostle.  It  is  scarcely  the  mere  hitei^course  with  Gentiles  (eat- 
 ing with  them,  the  unclean)  that  is  meant ;  for  that  the  symbolic 
 figure  would  have  been  too  strangely  emphatic,  apart  from  the 
 consideration  that  an  Ai^ostle  would  not  have  to  do  with  people 
 hitherto  avoided,  except  for  the  accomplishment  of  his  vocation 
 in  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  Eieger  says,  more  con'ectly: 
 "  In  this  figure  the  future  success  of  his  mission  was  set  before 
 St  Peter ;  it  presented  to  his  hopes  the  wished-f or  satisfaction 
 of  all  his  spiritual  longings,  but  on  the  condition  of  his  resigna- 
 tion and  denial  of  what  had  been  customary  and  pleasing  to  his 
 own  nature.  He  must  submit  to  God's  judgment  and  the  elec- 
 tion of  grace  ;  for  He  declares  what  is  acceptable  and  pure  in 
 His  sight,  and  to  His  judgment  all  the  repulsions  of  our  o-\vn 
 nature  and  fleshly  mind  must  bow  down."  This  sets  us  at  least 
 upon  the  right  track.  We  need  not  think  here  of  any  sacrificial 
 slaying  and  priestly  service  (as  Rom.  xv.  16);^  for  it  is  very 
 obvious  that  St  Peter  feels,  besides  his  bodily  hunger,  another 
 hunger  of  the  spirit,  to  which  the  symbolical  vision  responds. 
 What  can  we  suppose  him  to  have  so  earnestly  prayed  for  but 
 
 1  Are  acceptable,  as  Isktoc,  ver.  35,  means. 
 
 2  The  6Zffov  with  (pscys  stancLs  simply  for  slaying. 
 
ACTS  X.  13-16;   XI.  7-10.  67 
 
 the  success  of  liis  office,  and  his  soul's  satisfaction  in  its  success 
 — the  spread  of  the  Gospel  of  grace?  The  many  who  had 
 beheved  in  Joppa  had  not  satisfied  that  desire ;  while  he  tarries 
 with  them,  his  thoughts  are  away  in  his  missionary  journe^dngs, 
 and  probably  far  beyond  the  Jewish  land.  But  because  he 
 supposes  that  the  Gentiles  could  be  accepted  only  on  the  hard 
 and  seldom-accepted  condition  of  circumcision  and  subjection  to 
 the  whole  law,  he  is  oppressed  and  disquieted.  Thus  his  secret 
 conflict  in  prayer  had  prepared  him,  more  than  he  Imew,  for 
 the  heavenly  revelation  which  now  grants  his  desires: — Rise, 
 Peter,  and  satisfy  thine  hunger  for  the  salvation  of  all  men 
 under  heaven !     (Ch.  iv.  12.) 
 
 But  he  does  not  on  the  instant  know  and  understand 
 this.  Conscientious  even  in  the  trance,  in  the  waking  dream, 
 he  draws  back  with  distaste  and  dread  from  the  unclean  food, 
 even  as  Saul  would  earlier  have  done.  No  (Hterally,  by  no 
 means,  assuredly  not),  0  Lord  I  This  is  his  first  word  to  the 
 unlmoAvn  Speaker — the  "  Lord  "  Himself  it  may  be,  tempting 
 him.  The  intenser  assurance,  I  have  never  eaten  anything 
 either  common  or  unclean !  he  quotes  probably  by  memory 
 from  the  words  of  Ezekiel  the  prophet;  see  ch.  iv.  14. 
 But  hereupon  the  voice  grows  more  strong  in  its  rebuke 
 of  that  which  was  not  right  in  his  supposed  vindication  of 
 perfect  right.  It  proceeds  to  utter  words  which  already  pass 
 over  into  the  interpretation  of  the  mystery — What  God  hath 
 CLEANSED,  that  MAKE  (call,  esteem)  thou  not  common  ! 
 It  is  not  now  slaying  and  eating  that  is  spoken  of ;  for  that  only 
 had  an  ulterior  meaning.  What  God  hath  cleansed — and  it 
 was  this  "  what "  that  St  Peter  afterwards  so  deeply  pondered. 
 Fh'st,  as  still  keeping  to  the  symbol:  "That  which  God,  by 
 sending  down  for  thee  from  heaven  and  commanding  thee  to 
 eat,  has  declared  clean,  that  shouldst  thou  not  (contradictory- 
 child  of  man)  any  longer  term  unclean,  and  desecrate  again  by 
 treating  it  as  such !"  But  this  has  hterally  another  meaning,  at 
 the  same  time,  for  the  interpretation.  All  is  unclean  until  God 
 cleanses  it ;  this  is  indeed  trae,  but  God  can  still  maintain  His 
 right.  The  natui'al,  animal  men  are  not  only  likened  to 
 brute  beasts,  made  to  be  taken  and  destroyed  (2  Pet.  ii.  12), 
 but  they  are  originally  unclean,  like  all  animal  food  before  the 
 Flood.     In  His  permission  to  Noah,  God  cleansed  all  animals 
 
68   TO  ST  PETER  IN  THE  TRANCE  UPON  THE  HOUSETOP. 
 
 for  the  food  of  man  (by  the  side  of  the  abiding  distinction  for 
 the  sacrifice  to  God,  Gen.  vii.  2) — in  the  prohibition  by  Moses 
 certain  animals  were  again  made  common  by  God — but  now  in 
 the  commandment  to  St  Peter  all  is  again  called  clean.  In  the 
 covenant  of  Noah  the  whole  human  race  was  accepted,  before 
 the  Gentiles  were  by  the  Jewish  law  (transitorily)  cast  out; 
 and  now  in  baptism  the  covenant  of  grace  is  established  again 
 with  all  flesh  (1  Pet.  iii.  21).  Through  Christ,  through  its 
 union  with  His  heaven  descending  in  Christ,  God  has  actually 
 cleansed  entire  humanity :  here  there  is  not  merely  a  return  to 
 a  former  covenant  of  grace  ;  but,  going  still  further  back,  there 
 is  the  restoration  of  all  creatures  to  their  first  and  pure  creation. 
 Thus,  "whom  God  hath  accepted,  and  will  go  on  to  accept  in  grace, 
 let  no  man  despise,  and  cast  him  out  as  nevertheless  unclean !" 
 This  most  emphatic  warning  is  here  uttered  for  the  whole 
 Church  of  the  Jews  believing  in  Christ,  to  whom  St  Peter  must 
 dehver  it ;  just  as  St  Paul  received  the  word  for  the  Jews  who 
 persecuted  Christ — Why  persecutest  thou  Me?  In  the  most 
 immediate  application,  Cornelius  himself  is  seen  to  be  cleansed 
 by  preparatory  grace  unto  the  fear  of  God  and  the  working  of 
 righteousness ;  and  to  this  first  application  St  Peter  afterwards 
 refers  in  ver.  35,  though  he  had  already,  ver.  28,  uttered  its 
 most  full  interpretation — No  man  is  henceforth  unclean  either 
 to  God  or  to  us,  not  even  the  most  outcast  heathen.  He  sub- 
 sequently entered  more  deeply  into  the  profoundest  meaning 
 of  the  fulfilment  of  the  word,  in  ch.  xv.  9 — God  hath  put  no 
 difference  between  us  and  them,  purifying  their  hearts  by  faith. 
 While  Peter  at  first  keeps  silence,  in  astonishment  and 
 thought,  he  hears  once  more.  Rise,  Peter,  slay  and  eat  ! 
 Whether  he  actually  renews  his  objection,  and  thus  the  whole 
 happened  thrice ;  or,  whether  only  the  repeated  command  to  eat 
 is  to  be  reckoned  as  the  third  voice — is  open  to  discussion. 
 According  to  the  simple  letter,  we  should  suppose  that,  after  the 
 fashion  of  a  dream,  the  whole  three  times  occurred,  in  order  that 
 it  might  be  confirmed  and  rendered  decisive  to  him  :  comp. 
 Gen.  xli.  32.  Whether  the  triple  number  is  to  be  referred  to 
 the  three  men,  ver.  19  (as  to  many  the  connection,  ch.  xi.  10, 11, 
 seems  to  intimate),  we  doubt ;  nothing  would  be  gained  by  it, 
 for  there  was  no  particular  message  to  be  given  to  each  of  the 
 three.     That,  finally,  the  vessel  is  received  up  again  into  heaven, 
 
ACTS  XVIII.  9,  10.  69 
 
 does  not  (as  has  been  supposed)  introduce  the  other  side  of  the 
 interpretation — "That  which  came  from  heaven  is  taken  up  and 
 acknowledged  by  heaven"  (this  acknowledgment  was  contained 
 in  the  \dsion  itself)  ;  but  it  is  only  the  appropriate  end  by  which 
 the  whole  is  stamped  as  a  teaching  and  revealing  ^dsion — "Now 
 return  to  thyself,  and  ponder  what  this  may  mean  !"  God's 
 further  guidance  in  facts,  and  our  own  subsequent  reflection  in 
 consequence,  opens  up  to  us  afterwards  the  meaning  of  His 
 revelations.  St  Peter,  who  was  too  deeply  entangled  with  the 
 Jewish  law,  required/  the  new  and  direct  teaching  of  the  Holy 
 Ghost  to  dehver  him ;  but  we  see  that  the  method  taken  with 
 him  was  to  make  him  first  ponder  and  douht  about  his  former 
 prejudices,  before  the  perfect  T\ill  of  God  was  disclosed  to  him. 
 And  thus,  not\vithstanding  the  striking  difference  in  the  Lord's 
 deahngs  with  St  Paul  and  St  Peter,  we  see  the  same  funda- 
 mental law  in  operation:  the  miracle  leaves  something  still  in 
 the  revelation  for  man's  ovm.  appropriation  in  the  natural  way ; 
 be  it  more  or  less,  there  is  ever  the  personal  and  voluntary  ap- 
 propriation. 
 
 YI. 
 
 TO  ST  PAUL  IN  CORINTH. 
 
 (Acts  x\iii.  9,  10.) 
 
 If  we  would  not,  with  alas !  most  expositors,  hurry  over  these 
 simple  and  yet  sublime  words  to  St  Paul,  so  specially  signifi- 
 cant as  they  are,  we  must  assist  our  living  apprehension  of  the 
 whole  by  observing  the  entire  position  and  state  of  mind  in 
 which  these  words  of  the  Lord  found  him.  He  had  been  sum- 
 moned, by  the  visit  of  the  man  from  Macedonia,  ch.  xvi.  9, 
 to  Europe.  He  had  baptized  the  first-fruits  of  Em'opean 
 Christendom,  and  laid  the  foimdation  of  what  we  must  regard 
 as  the  most  flourishing  and  interesting  of  the  apostolical 
 churches.  Driven  from  Thessalonica  and  Beroea,  after  brief 
 labours,  through  the  fury  of  the  Jews,  He  uttered  a  mighty 
 and  most  public  testimony  in  Athens — being  for  a  considerable 
 space  without  his  companions — but  with  little  success  among 
 its  proud  disputants  and  babblers.  From  Athens  he  proceeded 
 to   Corinth.     Athens  aimed  rather  to  represent   the  past  of 
 
70  TO  ST  PAUL  IX  CORINTH. 
 
 Greece,  now  degraded  from  its  glory,  and  prostrate  under  the 
 Roman  power ;  but  Corinth  w^as  content  to  be  the  capital  of 
 Roman  Greece,  the  residence  of  the  ruling  Proconsul  of  Acliaia. 
 While  in  Athens  wdiat  was  left  of  Greek  science  and  wisdom 
 still  sought  to  maintain  its  pre-eminence,  Corinth  had  aban- 
 doned itself  to  all  the  vanity  and  debauchery  of  sensual  life. 
 After  its  sack  by  Mummius,  it  had  been  re-established  in  all 
 its  former  glory,  as  the  so-called  "  ornament  of  Greece."  Nor 
 w^as  she  w^anting  in  art  and  science,  especially  in  that  of  rhe- 
 toric, as  referred  to  in  the  Epistles  to  the  church  which  after- 
 wards arose  in  her ;  but  the  predominant  characteristics  of  the 
 city,  as  she  was  situated  on  the  isthmus  with  two  harbours, 
 were  commerce,  riches,  magnificence,  w^antonness,  debaucherv'. 
 Not  the  goddess  of  Wisdom,  as  in  Athens,  but  Aprodite,  the 
 goddess  of  carnal  lust  (at  least,  as  she  had  now  become),  had 
 the  most  celebrated  temple;  statues  were  erected  to  eminent 
 prostitutes,  as  to  Lais ;  and  the  Greek  phrase,  "  to  live  in 
 Corinthian  fashion^^  was  expressive  of  all  extravagance  of  de- 
 bauchery and  riot. 
 
 This  was  the  place  to  which  St  Paul  came  from  Athens,  and 
 where  at  first  he  consorted,  as  a  tentmaker,  with  a  Christian 
 Jew.  He  did  not  delay,  indeed,  to  open  his  mouth  on  the  Sab- 
 baths to  the  Jews  in  the  JcTvdsh  synagogues ;  but  this  seems,  as 
 in  the  case  of  the  discourse  adapted  to  the  Greeks  in  Athens, 
 to  have  borne  the  character  rather  of  a  preparatory',  calm  ex- 
 position of  Scripture,  which  might  lead  the  way  to  the  true 
 ^lessiah.  It  was  not  until  his  companions,  Silas  and  Timothy, 
 who  had  been  left  behind,  had  retui^ned  to  him  by  his  own  de- 
 sire (ch.  xvii.  14,  15)  from  Macedonia,  that  he  was  pressed  in 
 spirit — urged  hy  the  word,  as  the  right  reading  has  it — to 
 testify  to  the  Jews  concerning  the  person  of  Jesus,  that  He 
 was  the  promised  Christ.  It  is  ob-vdous,  according  to  the 
 account  of  St  Luke,  that  this  return  of  his  companions,  and 
 the  intelligence  which  they  brought  of  the  progress  of  the  Gos- 
 pel, stood  in  the  connection  of  a  cause  with  the  stronger  zeal 
 of  St  Paul ;  and  this  is  directly  stated  also  in  the  Epistle  which 
 was  WTitten  from  here  (1  Thess.  iii.  6-8).-^     But  we  are  not  on 
 
 ^  Thus  the  exposition  is  incorrect,  which  is  accepted  by  Alford  :  When 
 these  came,  they  found  him  (more  than  before)  earnest  and  vehement  in 
 preaching. 
 
ACTS  XYIII.  0,  10.  71 
 
 that  account  to  understand  the  "  word,"  as  many  do,  of  the 
 narrative  of  these  friends ;  for  such  a  meaning  the  expression 
 "  the  word"  would  be  quite  unusual :  it  would  have  required, 
 at  least,  "by  their  word."^  But  we  must  understand  the  press- 
 ing, just  as  in  2  Cor.  v.  14  ;  the  h\ing,  indwelling  word  of 
 God  inwardly  urges  the  Apostle  to  utter  all  its  fulness  of  exhor- 
 tation and  promise.  It  is  a  ver}^  pregnant  form  of  speech, 
 which  may  be  interpreted  by  Jer.  xx.  8,  9. 
 
 This  pressure  and  urgency  of  zeal  is  quite  consistent  (as 
 in  the  Prophets,  it  is  the  overcome  opposite)  with  a  certain 
 weakness,  with  a  degree  of  fearfulness  and  anxiety,  such  as  the 
 Apostle,  dispirited  by  want  of  success  in  Athens,  had  brought 
 to  Corinth,  1  Cor.  ii.  3.  After  he  had  in  Athens,  and  at  first 
 also  in  Corinth,  adopted  a  style  of  discourse  which  simply 
 paved  the  way  for  conviction,  by  entering  into  the  thoughts 
 and  subjects  which  he  found  around  him,  he  now  begins,  simply 
 and  emphatically,  to  know  and  to  preach  only  Jesus  Christ  the 
 Crucified,  with  no  other  demonstration  than  that  of  the  Spirit, 
 and  of  the  power  which  was  in  his  own  weakness.  This  soon 
 brings  men  to  decision.  The  Jews  contradict  and  blaspheme ; 
 so  that  he  shakes  the  dust  from  his  feet  and  his  garments,  and 
 turns,  pure  from  the  guilt  of  their  blood,  to  the  Gentiles.  Hard 
 by  the  s}Tiagogue,  for  a  strong  standing  testimony,  and,  as  it 
 were,  still  to  attract  the  Jews/  he  set  up  his  school  of  instruc- 
 tion ;  the  chief  ruler  of  the  synagogue  (whom,  as  an  exception, 
 the  Apostle  himself  baptized,  1  Cor.  i.  14),  with  mamj  other 
 Corinthians,  believed  and  were  baptized. 
 
 This  is  the  Apostle's  position  and  tone  of  mind,  when  an- 
 other direct  word  of  his  Lord  comes  to  him.  It  is  indeed 
 through  a  vision  of  the  night  (as  in  ch.  xvi.  9),  yet  immediately 
 in  His  o^Ti  person,  that  Jesus  addresses  the  man  who  was 
 elected  to  this  pre-eminent  distinction  of  nearer  intercourse. 
 Afterwards  in  Jerusalem,  ch.  xxiii.  11,  it  was  once  more  so ; 
 and,  finally,  an  angel  was  sent  to  Paul,  as  to  others.  That 
 which  in  the  beginning,  when  the  Apostles  were  in  prison, 
 was  the  ofiice  of  an  angel — the  comforting  encouragement  to 
 speak  boldly  the  words  of  hfe   (ch.  v.  20)— the  Lord  here 
 
 ^  Even  Menken  :  "  How  invigorating  was  the  influence  of  his  friends' 
 words!" 
 
 2  Not  BO  entirely  separated  as  afterwards  in  Ephesus,  ch.  xix.  9. 
 
72  TO  ST  PAUL  IN  CORINTH. 
 
 assumes  for  Himself :  Fear  not,  but  speak  and  keep  not 
 SILENCE  !  Still  coming  first  the  same  word  of  encouraging 
 grace — so  needful  to  us  poor  children  of  men — which  runs 
 through  the  whole  of  Scripture  from  beginning  to  end,  Fear 
 not  I  Simon  Peter  heard  it  from  the  lips  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
 when  his  call  to  be  a  fisher  of  men  was  repeated,  Luke  v.  10. 
 Abraham  received  it  first  in  the  Old  Testament,  Gen.  xv.  1 — 
 after  a  victory,  too,  like  St  Paul  here ;  for  father  Adam  first 
 of  all  confessed  in  behalf  of  us  all — I  was  afraid  !  The  Lord 
 and  His  angels  often  say  it  in  the  Old  Testament ;  the  New 
 begins  with  it  to  Zacharias,  Mary,  Joseph,  the  shepherds. 
 The  Lord  often  utters  it  during  His  earthly  life,  down  to 
 John  xiv.  1 :  the  angels  at  the  sepulchre  of  the  risen  Jesus 
 give  it  new  strength.  The  ascended  and  glorified  Redeemer 
 inspires  vigour  into  the  soul  of  St  John  at  Patmos  by  the 
 same  word.  Fear  not  !  Eev.  i.  17.  How  needful  is  this  word 
 to  His  disciples  everyrv^here  and  in  all  ages ;  and  how  ready  He 
 ever  is  to  utter  it  to  them !  It  is  the  abiding  word  of  the 
 Divine  majesty  and  mercy  for  human  poverty,  weakness,  and 
 guilt.  St  Paul  in  Corinth  needed  it  pre-eminently,  as  the  Lord 
 well  knew.  Without  were  fightings,  within  were  fears — this 
 was  the  ordinary  condition  of  the  Lord's  ambassadors  in  the 
 world :  2  Cor.  vii.  5 ;  John  xvi.  33.  But  they  must  contmually 
 take  fresh  courage  for  their  duty,  that  they  may  speah  the 
 word  without  fear  (2  Tim.  iv.  2).  "But  speak,  teach  and 
 preach,  testify  and  exhort  "vvith  confidence,  with  more  and  more 
 confidence,  and  keep  not  silence!^'  is  the  Lord's  word  to  St 
 Paul.  This  latter  is  not  added  merely  as  the  emphatic  close  of 
 the  solemn  saying,  or  as  an  expressive  repetition;  but  it  has 
 the  meaning  of  the  Old  Testament  phrase,  as  in  Isa.  Iviii.  1 ; 
 Ixii.  1,  6.  And  it  is  to  be  observ^ed,  fm'ther,  that  the  Lord 
 here  (as  in  ch.  xxiii.  11)  graciously  acknowledges  and  confirms 
 St  Paul's  former  witness  in  Corinth;  it  is  as  if  He  said  with 
 commendation^"  What  thou  hast  already  spoken  has  been 
 well  spoken  ;  go  on  confidently,  and  change  not !" 
 
 What,  then,  could  cause  the  Apostle  to  err,  and  make  him 
 fear  ?  The  glance  at  opposition  and  the  host  of  persecutors  ! 
 Therefore  follows,  as  the  first  For  of  reason  for  not  fearing,  an 
 assurance  of  help ;  and  then  a  second  For  of  reason  for  speak- 
 ing boldly — a  positive  promise  of  great  success.     For  I  am 
 
ACTS  XVIII.  9,   10.  73 
 
 WITH   THEE,  AXD   NO   3IAN   SHALL   SET   UPON  THEE  TO  HURT 
 
 THEE,  or  to  inflict  evil  upon  thee.  SubKme  repetition  of  the 
 farewell  left  in  Matt,  xxviii.  20,  which  yet  was  no  farewell ! 
 Majestic  words,  in  the  manner  of  the  Most  High  God,  who  has 
 said  from  the  beginning  so  many  times,  "  /  am  with  thee — / 
 am  with  you!"  Such  promises  did  not  insure  the  Apostles 
 generally  against  the  suffering  of  many  evils,  and  death  itself 
 (John  x\'i.  2) — in  the  case  of  Paul  the  keenest  persecution, 
 even  unto  stoning,  was  not  excluded ;  but  the  word  has  here  a 
 more  .specific  meaning  for  his  testimony  in  Corinth,  and  gives  a 
 pledge :  "  No  harm  shall  befall  thee,  in  life  and  person,  here ; 
 no  hand  shall  be  laid  upon  thee" — as  the  original  runs.  And 
 we  read  the  fulfilment.  The  mild  Proconsul  GalHo  (brother  of 
 the  philosopher  Seneca)  calmed  the  people,  just  as  the  town- 
 clerk  did  afterwards  in  Ephesus ;  but  not  as  the  magistracy  in 
 Pliilippi,  who  yielded  to  the  clamours  of  the  mob  of  his  ene- 
 mies. Sosthenes  is  beaten  (ver.  17) — but  Paul  goes  free,  and 
 remains  as  long  as  he  will ;  preachmg  unhindered  and  unhurt 
 for  eighteen  months  in  this  city  !  All  this  is  under  the  control 
 of  the  Lord ;  He  suffers  to  set  upon,  or  restrains  from  setting 
 upon.  His  followers  as  He  will.  This  is  the  great  consolation 
 even  in  the  midst  of  the  evil  which  is  permitted. 
 
 Still  more.  Not  only  should  no  man  hurt  him,  which  to  the 
 Apostle  was  the  lesser  thing,  but  the  true  and  essential  en- 
 couragement is  given  to  save  him  from  all  despondency — Thou 
 shalt  have  much  fruit  with  thy  protected  testimony.  For  I 
 HAVE  MUCH  (countless)  PEOPLE  IN  THIS  CITY.  Concerning 
 Jerusalem  the  Lord  said — Go  hence,  for  they  will  not  receive 
 thy  testimony  concerning  Me!  But  concerning  this  city  He 
 saith,  I  have  much  people  in  it — and  that  city  is  Corinth !  We 
 must  consider  a  while  what  kind  of  a  city  Corinth  was,  to 
 discern  all  the  significance  of  these  words.  This  city — the 
 Lord  does  not  so  speak  as  if  He  merely  would  not  mention 
 the  name,  but  for  the  sake  of  emphasis — this  city,  not  only 
 heathenish,  but  sunk  deeper  than  others  into  the  deepest 
 abominations  of  heathenism,  this  basest  and  most  notorious  city 
 of  all  that  proudly  bear  the  name  in  this  dark  world.  He  who 
 in  His  humble  hfe  on  earth  limited  Himself,  for  Israel's  sake, 
 to  one  small  corner  of  the  earth,  and  who  had  never  seen  any 
 fragment  of  the  wretched  glor}^  of  Greece  and  Rome, — He, 
 
74  TO  PAUL  IN  OOEINTH. 
 
 the  same  Jesus,  knows  all  things,  and  is  every^vhere  present 
 in  His  energy.  Of  Him  it  is  true,  that  the  eyes  of  the  Lord 
 run  to  and  fro  throughout  the  whole  earth,  and  through  all 
 cities — not  only  to  show  Himself  strong  in  the  behalf  of  them 
 whose  heart  is  perfect  towards  Him  (2  Chron.  xvi.  9),  but  also 
 that  He  may  seek  out  and  visit  in  His  grace,  for  their  salvation, 
 all  who  in  any  degree  turn  their  hearts  towards  Him,  and, 
 whether  consciously  or  unconsciously,  are  prepared  to  receive 
 Him.  He  who  once  on  His  way  to  the  death  of  the  Good 
 Shepherd  prophetically  spoke,  in  His  authority  original  and  to 
 be  resumed,  of  the  other  sheep  not  of  this  fold — now  terms  from 
 heaven  "  the  children  of  God  scattered  abroad "  (John  xi.  52), 
 in  the  blasphemous  city  of  Corinth,  a  people  which  already  be- 
 longed to  Himself ;  because  they  were  to  be  collected  together 
 and  united  with  His  one  great  people,  which  has  now  taken  the 
 place  of  the  ancient  revolted  people  of  God. 
 
 This  meant  for  Paul,  sent  to  the  people  and  lo  the  Gentiles 
 — "Behold,  if  thou  must  go  from  the  Jews — shaldng  the  dust 
 from  thy  feet,  and  leaving  their  blood  upon  their  own  head — 
 the  Gentiles,  to  whom  thou  hast  turned,  will  give  both  to  Me 
 and  thee  rich  compensation.  Many  Corinthians  have  believed, 
 many  more  will  believe ;  so  that  it  shall  become  a  great  Church  : 
 I  shall  have  much  people  in  this  city."  This  says  to  all  His  mes- 
 sengers and  disciples  everywhere,  and  in  all  circumstances — 
 "  Be  comforted  :  I  have  already  those  who  shall  be  Mine  own ;  I 
 know  and  guard,  I  cr)llect  and  feed,  as  the  Great  Shepherd,  all 
 who  will  believe  on  Me ! "  But  it  also  contains  its  consolatory- 
 warning  againot  precipitate  judgment  upon  the  ruin  of  the 
 world.  Many  a  believing  Christian  might  have  beheld  repro- 
 bate Corinth  with  eyes  veiy  different  from  the  Lord's,  and  might 
 have  thought  that  all  the  Apostle's  zeal,  labour,  and  patience 
 were  expended  in  vain — but  it  was  not  as  man's  estimate  might 
 think :  the  Lord  looketh  at  the  hearts  of  men.  The  man  of 
 Macedonia  had  not  called  the  Apostle  over  to  Macedonia  alone. 
 In  all  Achaia,  and  in  regions  beyond,  souls  were  waiting  for 
 help.  Athens  had  for  the  present  proudly  rejected  the  Gospel 
 — but  the  equally  proud  and  still  more  trifling  Corinth  concealed 
 within  herself  a  great  multitude  of  people  of  the  Crucified,  soon 
 to  be  revealed ;  for  open  and  abandoned  sinners  are  nearer  to 
 grace  than  the  darkly  wise  and  prudent.     A  foohsh  sermon  of 
 
ACTS  XXIIl.  11.  70 
 
 the  tentmaker — a  man  of  the  despised  Jewish  people,  and  by 
 them  cast  out  and  persecuted — finds  in  this  wicked  city  many 
 behevers.  And  so  the  great  Church  still,  having  to  wage  in- 
 cessant war  ^vith  surrounding  impurities  and  corruptions,  which 
 invade  her  and  more  or  less  cling  to  herself,  is  yet  a  Church  of 
 the  Lord,  concerning  which  and  to  which  the  Apostle  may  utter 
 the  words  with  which  he  begins  his  first  Epistle,  1  Cor.  i.  2-9. 
 Because  among  them  the  power  of  the  Spirit  had  superabun- 
 dantly demonstrated  itself,  he  can  call  this  Church  pre-emi- 
 nently the  seal  of  his  Apostleship  (1  Cor.  ix  2) — if  not,  lilve 
 that  of  the  Philippians,  his  joy  and  liis  crown.  How  many 
 times  did  this  word  of  his  Lord  concerning  the  much  people  in 
 this  city  encourage  and  animate  him  in  his  zeal  for  the  betrothed 
 of  Christ,  that  it  might  be  presented  to  Him  as  a  chaste  virgin ! 
 (2  Cor.  xi.  2.)  For  the  great  prophecy  and  assurance  points 
 onwards,  beyond  all  conflict  and  perversion,  to  the  glorious  con- 
 summation— I  have  already  much  people. 
 
 VII. 
 
 TO  ST  PAUL  IN  BONDS  AT  JERUSALEM. 
 
 (Acts  xxiii.  11.) 
 
 Again  a  fruitful  period  of  the  Apostle's  activity ; — according  to 
 the  most  probable  reckoning,  a  space  of  about  six  years  since 
 the  arrival  in  Corinth  lies  behind  us.  After  a  short  abode  in 
 Ephesus,  he  went  up  at  Pentecost  to  greet  the  Mother-Ckiu*cli 
 in  Jerusalem  ;^  he  then  tarried  a  while  in  Antioch  (we  observe 
 that  he  retains  his  connection  with  the  chief  cities) ,  he  then 
 went  through  Galatia  and  Phrygia ;  and  has  now  preached  for 
 two  years  in  Ephesus,  with  great  success,  against  all  kinds  of 
 idolatry  and  necromancy.  In  the  ancient  metropolis  of  all  the 
 black  arts  he  demonstrates  the  might  of  the  name  of  Jesus, 
 
 1  As  ch.  xviii.  22  must  be  understood  in  its  "  going  up  "  and  "  saluting 
 the  ChurcJi  "—this  last  always  referring  pre-eminently  to  Jerusalem.  This 
 is  a  fourth  journey  to  Jerusalem;  though  only  a  short  greeting  in  the  calm 
 circle  of  the  brethren.  Now  it  is  Pentecost  instead  of  Easter :  comp.  again 
 ch.  XX.  16. 
 
76         TO  ST  PAUL  IN  BONDS  AT  JERUSALEM. 
 
 with  accompaniment  of  mighty  miracles.  Fm-ther,  travelling 
 through  Macedonia  and  Achaia,  the  Apostle,  urged  in  spu-it, 
 contemplated  Jerusalem,  and  even  already  Rome,  as  the  goal  of 
 his  journey.  In  the  way,  hastening  to  Pentecost,  he  takes  his 
 farewell  in  Miletus  of  the  elders  of  Ephesus,  for  he  knows  that 
 he  will  not  come  again  to  them.  Now  he  is  in  Jerusalem ;  holds 
 friendly  colloquy  with  St  James  and  the  elders;  and,  yielding 
 to  counsel,  allays  the  mistrust  of  the  bigoted  Jewish  Christians 
 by  a  legal  comphance  in  the  temple.  But  this  very  circum- 
 stance excites,  through  a  probably  wilful  misunderstanding,  the 
 wrath  of  the  Jews :  he  is  seized  in  the  insurrection ;  and  thus 
 — according  to  his  desire,  though  not  in  the  way  that  he  thought 
 — an  opportunity  is  given  him  for  a  final  testimony  to  Israel  in 
 the  metropolis.  It  is  the  last  most  important  condescension  of 
 the  abounding  grace  of  the  Lord,  which  appeals  yet  once  more 
 to  this  hardened  and  rejected  Jerusalem.  How  the  Apostle 
 narrated  his  history  and  bore  his  testimony  before  the  people, 
 we  have  already  seen.  When  he  came  to  the  word  concerning 
 his  being  sent  to  the  Gentiles,  all  hearing  was  over ;  their  rage 
 burst  forth ;  and  only  the  Koman  power  could  rescue  hini  from 
 the  wrath  of  the  Jews — bound  still,  however,  because  some 
 kind  of  guilt  seemed  to  fasten  upon  him.  The  next  day  he  is 
 brought  before  the  supreme  council  in  Jerusalem ;  and  for  the 
 first  time,  though  he  has  been  in  Jerusalem  four  times  before. 
 And  it  proceeds  as  if  the  council  must  give  an  account  of  the 
 insurrection  against  this  man,  rather  than  as  if  he  had  to  make 
 his  defence.  They  had  this  notorious  and  most  hateful  leader 
 of  the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes,  this  man  who  was  once  their  Saul, 
 before  them,  and  under  the  protection  of  the  Romans !  After 
 the  Apostle,  in  consequence  of  their  embarrassment,  had  begun 
 the  discourse;  after  he  had  reproved  in  the  high  priest  the 
 unrighteous  blow,  and  had  seemingly  retracted  in  keen  and 
 severe  irony  his  reproof ;  after  he  had,  with  great  prudence  and 
 in  perfect  consistency  with  truth,  avowed  himself  to  belong  to 
 the  Pharisaic  orthodox  Judaism,  which  held  to  the  hope  of  a 
 resurrection, — there  was  a  disgraceful  di\dsion  and  wild  uproar 
 in  thfe  council  itself,  so  that  the  Roman  captain  had  to  rescue 
 him  from  the  hands  of  these  most  honourable  men  to-day,  as 
 yesterday  from  the  rabble. 
 
 This  was  the  day,  on  the  night  .following  which  (as  it  runs 
 
ACTS  XXIII.  11.  77 
 
 literally)  the  Lord  came  to  liim  once  more  with  a  personal 
 address.  This  was  certainly  an  important  crisis  in  the  progress 
 of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  last  fruitless  testimony  in  Jeru- 
 salem before  the  people  and  the  council,  had  resulted  only  in 
 pubhc  exasperation,  in  the  secret  increase  of  their  hardening, 
 and  in  the  more  grievous  exhibition  of  the  unrighteousness 
 which  restrained  the  truth;  but  connected  with  this  was  the 
 delivering  up  of  the  greatest  witness  of  the  Gospel  to  the 
 authority  of  Eome,  which  for  a  while  shows  itself  more  just  than 
 Pilate  formerly  was,  who  surrendered  all  to  the  clamours  of  the 
 people  (ch.  xxv.  16 ;  xxvi.  31,  32).  After  the  tumult,  worse 
 now  on  the  part  of  the  Jews,  there  is  miserable  disorder  and 
 dissolution  in  the  council  itself ;  on  the  other  hand,  a  Roman 
 warrant  interferes  for  the  Apostle's  full  protection.  We  would 
 not  push  the  significance  of  these  occurrences  so  far  as  Baum- 
 garten  does,  who  regards  them  as  marking  a  great  liistorical 
 change  in  the  relations  of  Jews  and  Gentiles;  to  wit,  that 
 Israel  was  from  this  time  dismissed  (saving  his  future),  and 
 that  a  Gentile  mission,  a  Gentile  Apostolate,  and  a  Gentile 
 Christendom,  was  for  a  long  period  as  it  were  exclusively  tt 
 enter  in.^  Yet  they  do  indicate  a  turning-point,  at  which  it 
 was  most  appropriate  that  the  Lord's  specific  encouragement 
 should  be  given  to  St  Paul,  so  strangely  placed  as  he  noAV  was 
 between  the  two  powers  of  the  world. 
 
 Thus,  in  the  night  after  this  great  day,  in  which  the  Apostle 
 had  done  what  his  Lord  had  commanded  him  to  do  before  the 
 supreme  court  of  his  people,  still  dear  to  him  in  their  blindness, 
 had  rebuked  the  "whited  wall"  with  prophecy  of  judgment, 
 and  then  in  this  last  term  of  the  Lord's  forbearance  conceded 
 to  the  people  their  "  high  priest,"  and  made  a  final  attempt  to  lay 
 hold  on  what  was  still  good  among  them  by  appeaHng  to  the 
 "  Pharisees  "  in  this  half-heretic  council  to  defend  his  doctrine 
 of  the  resurrection, — in  this  night,  when  all  the  mighty  feelings 
 and  thoughts  of  the  Apostle's  hmnan  soul  were  in  strong  agita- 
 tion, concurrently  with  and  amid  the  inspirations  of  the  Spirit, 
 and  he  was  doubtless  severely  tried  by  a  certain  anxiety  as  to 
 the  issue  of  his  complicated  position — the  Lord  stood  once  more 
 
 ^  For,  even  at  the  end  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  in  Rome,  St  Paul  be- 
 gins again  with  the  Jews,  with  his  acknowledgment  of  the  hope  of  Israel ; 
 and  it  was  to  the  Romans  he  wrote  that  Israel  should  never  be  given  up ! 
 
78         TO  ST  PAUL  IN  BOXDS  AT  JERUSALEM.   , 
 
 ly  him,  to  strengthen  liim  by  His  recognition  and  promise. 
 The  brief  word  is  not  expressly  connected  mth  any  mention 
 either  of  trance  or  vision;  only  the  night  gives  us  hint  of  a 
 dream  or  vision.  But  the  Lord's  "  standing  by  him  "  ^  assures 
 us  of  an  actual  manifestation,  in  some  manner  visible  and 
 audible,  as  in  ch.  xxii.  17,  18.  Therefore  we  ought  not  and 
 wdll  not,  like  the  bulk  of  expositors,  rapidly  pass  over  these 
 words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  spoken  out  of  heaven,  but  give  them 
 their  especial  prominence  in  our  exposition. 
 
 Be  of  good  courage,  Paul  !  For  as  thou  has^  testi- 
 fied OF  Me  IX  Jerusalem,  so  must  thou  also  bear  witness 
 IN  Eome.  The  manner  and  substance  of  these  sayings  from 
 heaven,  after  the  first  at  Damascus  which  had  its  own  pecu- 
 liarity, are  much  the  same  throughout:  The  ground  of  the 
 command  or  encouragement  is  given  by  For,  the  great  subject 
 is  ever  the  testimony,  the  com'se  appointed  for  it  is  the  same, 
 and  always  the  majestic  /,  of  Me  I  There  is  something  peculiar 
 here  in  the  mentioning  by  name,  the  first  time  since  Damascus, 
 and  that  the  now  prominent  name  of  Paul.  The  unfavourable 
 manuscript  criticism  will  not  persuade  us  to  strike  out  the 
 appellation ;  the  naked  "  Be  of  good  com^age,"  so  curt  in  the 
 original  Greek,  does  not  seem  to  us  enough.'^  This  appeal  was 
 always  connected  with  something  else  in  the  Lord's  lips,  either 
 with  direct  address  to  the  person,  or  with  It  is  II  It  is  not,  in 
 the  New  Testament,  altogether  the  same  as  Fear  not !  ^  which 
 once  at  least  in  the  apocrj^hal  book  of  Judith,  ch.  xi.  1,  is  con- 
 nected with  it.  (Tobit  xii.  17,  only  in  Luther.)  Thus  the 
 Apostle's  courage  is  rather  strengthened,  than  his  fear  expressly 
 taken  away.  His  soid  was  not,  indeed,  at  this  time  filled  with 
 pui'e  confidence  unalloyed  by  anxiety;  his  nature  might  well 
 feel  its  infirmity,  while  as  the  "  man  in  Christ "  he  was  uttering 
 his  testimony  m  the  light  and  strength  of  the  Spirit ;  and,  that 
 beinof  over,  he  must  afterwards  have  felt  it  still  more.  His 
 position  was  now — beyond  anything  that  he  had  anticipated — 
 
 1  'E7r/(7r«?,  comp.  Luke  ii.  9  ;  xxir.  4  ;  Acts  xii.  7,  of  angels ;  as  in  Luke 
 XX.  1,  Acts  iv.  4,  and  xxiii.  27  (this  chapter)  of  approaching  men. 
 
 2  All  the  critics,  from  Griesbach  downwards,  strike  out  the  addition  ; 
 Knapp  alone  leaves  it  undecided.  The  testimonies  in  its  favour  are  not  in- 
 significant, and  to  our  feeliijig  something  is  wanting  to  the  Qotpan. 
 
 3  Although  in  the  LXX.  the  i^^'T'^ij  ten  times  (according  to  Kircher)  is 
 translated  by  dupan. 
 
ACTS  XXIII.  11.  79 
 
 so  confused  and  perplexed  between  the  Roman  authorities,  the 
 council,  and  the  people,  that  the  best  prospect  was  a  wearisome 
 imprisonment,  with  moreover  the  danger  of  all  kinds  of  malici- 
 ous plots  against  him.  How  stood  it  now  with  his  pm'pose,  after 
 Jerusalem  to  visit  Rome  also  ?  The  prudent  thought  of  appeal- 
 in  o-  to  Caesar,  which  was  suggested  by  the  development  of  the 
 event,  he  had  certainly  not  as  yet  pondered  and  determined  on. 
 As  of  his  Roman  citizenship,  so  also  of  the  right  of  appeal 
 bound  up  with  it,  he  can  make  exceptional  use  only  when  the 
 Lord's  directing  guidance  suggested  and  required  it.  Thus  St 
 Paul  was  anxious,  prayed  probably  this  night  for  light  and 
 strength  from  his  Lord,  and  he  obtained  his  answer.  But,  on 
 the  other  hand,  we  must  not  regard  him  as  assailed  by  fear,  as 
 in  Corinth  ;  still  less  must  we  assume,  what  Schaff  so  strongly 
 expresses,  that  "  exhausted  by  many  fatigues,  overwhelmed  with 
 an:>dety  and  despondency,  he  might  lose  sight  of  his  plan  to 
 preach  the  Gospel  in  Rome."  The  "  Be  of  good  corn-age  ! " 
 does  not  seem  to  us  to  go  on  such  a  supposition ;  but  rather  to 
 carry  with  it  a  commending  acknowledgment  of  the  faithful 
 servant^ — So  far  all  is  well,  he  still  of  good  courage !  And  the 
 rather,  as  the  reason  given  for  the  encom-agement,  before  the 
 promise,  contains  in  itself  a  gracious  acknowledgment. 
 
 As  thou  hast  home  witness  of  Me  in  Jerusalem — that  is, 
 speaking  after  om'  common  manner,  a  testimony  of  the  satisfac- 
 tion of  his  Lord  and  King  with  his  conduct.  So — strange  that 
 the  force  of  this  is  almost  universally  overlooked — gives  our 
 Lord's  own  favom-able  judgment  in  confirmation  of  our  exposition 
 of  St  Paul' s  deportment  recently  before  the  council.  St  Paul  did 
 not  commit  himself  in  passion  and  precipitation  when  he  rebuked 
 the  high  priest,  so  that  it  was  necessaiy  for  him  to  retract  with 
 the  imimaginable  and  almost  false  apology — I  knew  not,  or 
 reflected  not,  that  he  was  the  high  priest!  We  cannot 
 think  that,  at  this  first  most  important  defence  of  the  great  wit- 
 ness before  the  council,  the  grace  which  was  at  other  times  so 
 abounding  within  him  failed  his  spirit,  and  that  the  Spirit  pro- 
 mised for  such  emergencies  ceased  altogether  to  guide  him — 
 so  that  he  fell  to  the  level  of  Ananias,  whom  he  rebuked,  in  his 
 human  wTath !  In  truth,  St  Paul  could  not  before  this  miser- 
 able council  have  so  unworthily  exposed  the  cause  of  his  Lordj 
 1  Matt.  XV.  21,  in  the  Greek  tv  precedes. 
 
60  TO  ST  PAUL  IN  BONDS  AT  JERUSALEM. 
 
 which  was  in  the  estimation  of  his  enemies  one  with  his  own 
 person,  as  to  ask  forgiveness  for  a  judgment  perfectly  just! 
 That  would  have  been,  at  least  in  the  eyes  of  his  malignant  foes, 
 at  once  to  impeach  by  his  own  conduct  the  bold  avow^al  with 
 w^liich  he  had  commenced,  ver.  1.  No,  the  Lord  does  not  thus 
 abandon  His  saints  in  the  critical  time,  and  suffer  His  repre- 
 sentatives and  messengers  thus  to  fall.  The  Lord  had  stood  by 
 St  Paul  in  the  day,  even  as  He  stood  before  him  in  the  night. 
 Thus  the  Apostle  had  rightly  and  worthily  testified  in  Jerusalem, 
 as  the  Lord  says.  The  appeal  to  his  good  conscience  from  the 
 beginning  was,  in  opposition  to  these  miscreants  and  knaves, 
 quite  right.  The  cry  that  he  was  a  Pharisee,  that  he  held  with 
 those  in  the  council  who  held  the  resurrection,  was  not  a  human 
 expedient  of  craft  to  extricate  himself  from  difficulty  (against 
 which  the  Apostle  himself  had  before  protested,  ch.  xx.  24), 
 but  it  was  the  last  condescension  of  merciful  love,  which  the 
 Lord  Himself  directed  him  to  exhibit.  The  appeal  to  this  party 
 feeling  within  the  council  itself  was  a  most  legitimate  and 
 solemn  protest  against  the  sitting  of  unbelieving  heretics  in  the 
 midst  of  it — a  protest  against  the  verdict  upon  the  word  of  the 
 Eesurrection  given  by  those  wdio  already  in  their  theory  had 
 rejected  it.  But  it  was  more  than  this,  it  was  a  demonstration 
 of  supreme  compassion  and  grace ;  the  well-laiown  Gospel  of 
 Christ,  which  was  the  real  point  of  dispute  throughout  the  pro- 
 ceedings, condescended  to  appeal  to  the  one  only  existing  feeling 
 in  the  council  of  which  it  could  take  advantage ;  St  Paul,  in  this 
 last  great  testimony  at  Jerusalem,  cries  out  all  the  more  urgently 
 the  more  vehemently  they  reject  him — The  true  and  genuine 
 Judaism  is  nevertheless  on  my  side!  (comp.  ch.  xxviii.  20). 
 Because  they  answered  him  only  by  blows,  the  Apostle's  pro- 
 phecy  (not  railing)  proceeded — God  luill  smite  thee !  and  it  not 
 merely  fell  upon  Ananias  (who  according  to  Josephus  was  soon 
 afterwards  smitten),  but  was  a  general  denunciation  upon  all 
 who  fall  under  the  just  judgment  of  God.^ 
 
 ''As  thou  hast  borne  witness  concerning  Me  in  Jerusalem " 
 means,  certainly,  "  As  praiseworthily  and  as  rightly,  not  marring 
 the  influence  of  thy  testimony  by  impropriety  and  defect.     So 
 
 ^  This  whole  scene  before  the  council  has  been  most  fully,  and,  as  far  as 
 I  know,  more  distinctly  than  anywhere  else,  depicted  in  my  "  Reden  der 
 Apostel." 
 
ACTS  XXIII.  11.  81 
 
 must,  shall,  and  wilt  thou  also  in  Rome  bear  witness!"  That 
 which  the  Apostle  in  ch.  xix.  21  had  prosed  to  himself  for 
 the  first  time  in  the  Spirit,  not  in  his  own  spmt  but  throuo-h 
 Divine  impulse,  is  here  confirmed  by  the  Lord,  as  it  is  after- 
 wards, ch.  xxvii.  24,  once  more  by  the  angel,  when  in  the  peril 
 of  shipwreck  all  prospect  of  its  accomplishment  might  seem  to 
 be  shut  out.  As  thou  hast  borne  witness,  thou  shall  bear  mt- 
 ness:  the  former,  which  had  taken  place,  is  the  pledge  of  the 
 latter,  which  should  take  place.  "Thou  shalt  still  hear  witness 
 according  to  thy  vocation" — this  is  the  powerful  and  essential 
 encouragement  which  the  Lord  addresses  to  His  servant,  who  in 
 all  his  infirmity  desired  only  to  testify  unto  the  death.  In  the 
 two  great  capitals  of  the  then  known  world,  the  city  of  God  and 
 the  city  of  Caesar  (the  latter  the  goal  of  the  Acts !),  he  should 
 bear  and  proclaim  the  name  of  Jesus.  The  city  of  Caesar,  the 
 city  of  the  world,  had  also  its  liigh  calling  and  destination  for 
 the  kingdom  of  God — alas,  she  fulfilled  it  but  a  short  time,  and 
 soon  basely  fell  from  it !  It  is  already  hinted  by  the  Lord  that 
 this  imprisonment  in  the  hands  of  the  Romans  was  to  be  the 
 means  to  that  end ;  for  the  as  and  the  so  contain  in  this  concise 
 saying  more  than  one  meaning.  As  was  the  past,  so  surely  will 
 be  the  future — as  thou  hast  rightly  borne  witness — and  finally,  as 
 an  undertone  for  the  Apostle's  reflection,  as  hound  at  Jerusalem, 
 so  also  with  these  bonds  in  Eome !  Thus  there  is  set  before 
 the  Apostle  new  labour  in  continuing  tribulation,  and  that  itself 
 was  real  encouragement  to  the  apostolical  spirit  of  testimony. 
 
 "  Bear  witness  of  Me — to  faith  in  Mef^  (ch.  xx^^i.  18.)  We 
 have  not  yet  remarked  that  this  is  not  strictly  according  to  the 
 original,  which  means,  "bear  witness  of  the  things  concerning 
 Me,  My  cause."  It  is  not  merely  the  common  Greek  para- 
 phrase for  the  person,  but  indicates,  by  a  fine  and  striking 
 expression,  as  well  the  narrated  account  before  the  people  as 
 the  maintenance  before  the  council  of  the  decisive  testimony 
 concerning  Jesus  in  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  (compare 
 ch.  XXV.  19  with  ch.  i.  22,  iv.  2,  33).  From  the  fact  that  the 
 saying  contains   precise   delicacies  of   Greek   expression,^  we 
 
 ^  Not  only  this  roi  'rrspl  ifAov^  but  also  the  intenser  word  lisfiuprvpa,  as 
 also  both  times  it;  '  Upovacc'^vifi,  eh  '  Po)fir,u  ;  which  scarcely  stands  for  h, 
 but  used  in  the  latter  case  hke  slg  f^ctKoau^  ch.  ii.  39,  and  of  Jerusalem  also 
 for  the  sake  of  similarity. 
 
 F 
 
82  TO  ST  PAUL  IN  HIS  INFIKMITY. 
 
 might  suppose  (though  no  more)  that  the  Lord  did  not  on  this 
 occasion  speak  to  the  Apostle  in  Hebrew,  but  in  the  now  to  him 
 current  missionary  language,  Greek;  and  this  would  have  its 
 own  affecting  significance,  besides  confirming  the  genuineness 
 of  the  personal  address  by  the  name  Paul,  as  this  was  the 
 Greek  form  instead  of  Saul.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  final  em- 
 phasis of  the  whole  sapng  rests  upon  the  disclosed  must  or 
 shall  (compare  ch.  ix.  6  and  16),  by  which  the  absolutely  cer- 
 tain pre-ordained  future  is  indicated. 
 
 This  was  not  yet  the  last  time  that  the  Lord  spoke  to  St 
 Paul.  Besides  the  words  preserved  in  2  Cor.  xii.  9,  we  read 
 elsewhere  of  ^dsions,  manifestations,  and  revelations,  the  par- 
 ticulars of  which  are  not  recorded.  These  repeated  revelations 
 were  a  compensation  for  the  lack  of  that  intercourse  with  Jesus 
 in  the  flesh  wdiich  was  the  foundation  upon  which  the  other 
 Apostles  stood;  and  a  continual  strengthening  of  St  Paul's 
 confidence  in  the  independent  way  which  was  marked  out  for 
 him,  and  which  to  him  was  to  be  so  peculiarly  full  of  suffering. 
 There  was  a  considerable  interval  of  test  for  his  patience  and 
 faith  between  Jerusalem  and  Rome ;  but  this  word  of  his  Lord 
 was  the  pole-star  to  him  in  all  the  darkness  of  his  way.  It 
 constantly  assured  him  in  every  crisis  of  peril  that  there  was 
 an  inviolable  ordination  concerning  him: — that  his  life  could 
 not  be  sacrificed  to  the  wrath  of  the  Jews  ;^  that  his  imprison- 
 ment should  issue  in  public  testimony;  that  the  sea  should 
 not  swallow  him  up,  and  the  viper  not  do  him  harm.  Therefore 
 it  was  that,  during  this  imprisonment,  the  Apostle  wrote  such 
 letters  of  energy  and  consolation  ! 
 
 vm.  ; 
 
 TO  ST  PAUL  IN  HIS  INFIEMITT. 
 
 (2  Cor.  xii.  9,) 
 
 In  the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians — although  we  should  not, 
 humanly  speaking,  have  expected  such  special  confidecne  to 
 this  church — the  Apostle  has  most  entirely  exposed  himself, 
 
 1  Whose  murderous  counsel,  in  ver.  12,  follows  in  miserable  opposition 
 to  the  Lord's  appointment. 
 
2  COR.  XII.  9.  83 
 
 and  his  whole  personality,  to  intimate  inspection.  He  so  fully 
 exhibits  his  official  vocation  and  work,  the  way  in  wjiich  God's 
 power  wTought  in  his  words,  and  the  effectual  demonstration  of 
 the  Holy  Ghost  as  it  was  proved  in  the  influence  which  he  was 
 able  to  exert  upon  others,  that  these  two  Epistles  w^ould  of 
 themselves  furnish  ample  material,  if  properly  drawn  out  and 
 arranged,  for  a  treatise  with  the  title,  "  The  Apostle  Paul,  de- 
 lineated by  himself."  And,  still  more,  he  lays  bare  to  these 
 Corinthians  the  inmost  merits  of  his  most  personal  intercourse 
 with  the  Lord,  in  a  manner  of  which  we  find  no  other  example. 
 He  presents  his  entire  personality  so  fully  as  to  make  these 
 Corinthians  see  that  this  great  Apostle  was  by  nature  a  man 
 like  themselves  (Jas.  v.  17)  ;  and  thus  gives  us  in  these  Epistles 
 an  impressive  and  most  important  example  of  the  proper  appre- 
 ciation of  the  personal  character,  in  opposition  to  the  absolute 
 authority  of  any  office  w^hatever,  even  the  apostolical,  which 
 it  is  sought  to  isolate  from  that  character,  and  make  independ- 
 ent of  it.  And  all  this  is  perfectly  natural ;  for  w^hat  is  the 
 Apostle's  aim?  He  would  suppress  and  rectify  the  spiritual- 
 carnal  pride  which  was  so  conspicuous  in  the  Corinthians ;  he 
 would  defend  the  authority  and  dignity  of  his  own  despised 
 office.  But  how  could  he  more  fitly  accomphsh  this  than  by 
 revealing  to  them  the  power  of  God  in  his  own  weakness, 
 teaching  them  humihty  by  his  own  lowliness,  rebuking  and 
 exhorting  them,  not  by  words  only,  but  by  setting  before  them 
 the  most  direct  and  living  example  of  his  own  life  and  ex- 
 perience ? 
 
 In  this  we  find  the  key  for  the  interpretation  of  the  strain 
 and  peculiarity  of  the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians  generally; 
 and  particularly  a  solution  of  the  reason  wdiy  we  find  in  this 
 place  that  word  of  the  Lord  which  we  now  consider,  and  which 
 is  the  only  immediately  spoken  word  of  Christ  recorded  in 
 Scripture  between  the  Acts  and  the  Revelation.  St  Paul  must 
 speak  of  the  labours  and  successes  which  legitimated  his  office ; 
 but  he  would  rather  speak,  in  addition,  of  his  affiictions.  It  is 
 necessary  that  he  should  glory  against  them  as  a  fool ;  but  in 
 his  wisdom  he  glories  after  such  a  manner  that  God's  glory 
 alone  results,  and  his  own  is  brought  to  nought.  He  is  con- 
 strained to  tell  them  of  high  revelations ;  but  he  places  beside 
 them  his  own  deep  infirmity;   and  distinguishes  so  affectingly 
 
84  TO  ST  PAUL  IN  HIS  INFIKMITY. 
 
 the  "  man  in  Clirist"  from  himself,  that  his  absolute  subjection 
 and  nothingness  before  his  Master  is  the  only  result  of  all.  It 
 is  in  this  connection,  after  the  teaching  which  so  wonderfully 
 blends  together  in  his  own  example  humiliation  and  encourage- 
 ment, that  he  relates  for  all  Christians  in  common  what  (among 
 other  things)  the  Lord  had  said  to  him  in  the  agony  of  his 
 uttermost  trials. 
 
 But — I  hear  the  reader  ask — have  we  really  any  right  to 
 place  this  word  also  among  the  proper  words  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
 from  heaven  ?  Very  many  expositors  look  at  it  otherwise,  and 
 regard  it  as  merely  an  expression  of  an  answer  of  the  Lord 
 through  His  Spirit  within  Paul — such  an  answer  as  any  peti- 
 tioner might  obtain.  But  is  it  this,  and  no  more  ?  May  we 
 resolve  the  expression,  "  The  Lord  said  unto  me,"  into  the 
 mere  suggestion  of  the  Lord's  Spirit,  as  if  it  meant,  "The  Lord 
 inspired  me  with  the  conviction,  and  it  was  to  me  as  if  He  had 
 spoken?"  Assuredly  not,  dear  readers  !  The  "man  like 
 ourselves"  was  also  peculiarly  favoured  above  other  men,  and 
 stood  in  a  nearer  relation  of  internal  fellowship  than  that 
 would  imply.  When  he  simply  relates  this  speaking  of  the 
 Lord  to  himself,  as  something  not  unusual,  he  gives  us  plainly 
 to  understand  that  he  had  more  than  once  received  express 
 and  audible  communications  of  this  kind.  And  immediately 
 before  he  had  been  speaking  of  visions,  and  revelations,  and 
 trances.  And  when  he  now  gives  us  a  view  of  his  tribulations, 
 he  shows  that  his  Lord  had  not  been  less  near  to  him  in  them. 
 It  is  true  that  we  here  approach  the  boundary  where  the  per- 
 sonal direct  address  of  the  Lord,  this  time  certainly  without 
 any  vision  or  appearance,  passes  over  into  the  Spirit's  ordi- 
 nary method  of  communing  with  our  spirits,  in  which  be- 
 lievers are  continually  receiving  His  words;  and  many  child- 
 like, simple  souls  may  dare  to  say,  similarly  to  the  Apostle — 
 Thus  did  the  Lord  Jesus  speak  to  me.  But  still  there  is 
 a  difference :  it  was  not  simply  thus  that  St  Paul  heard  what 
 is  here  recorded.  Here,  where  he  has  just  been  speaking  of 
 revelations  generally,  he  distinguishes  plainly  and  expressly  the 
 Lord's,  to  him,  wxU-known  speaking ;  so  that  we  must  take 
 the  word  as  it  stands — it  was  an  audible  word  of  Jesus  to  the 
 Apostle. 
 
 In  the  severe  conflict  of  profound  suffering — which,  at  any 
 
2  COR.  XII.  9.  85 
 
 rate,  tlie  thorn  in  the  flesh,  the  messenger  of  Satan,-^  must  in- 
 dicate— he  had  prayed  the  Lord  tlmce  for  the  removal  of  the 
 distress ;  that  is,  according  to  New  Testament  and  apostohcal 
 language,  not  to  "the  Lord  God,"  but  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  to 
 Him  who  in  the  days  of  His  flesh  had  thrice  prayed  to  His 
 Father — Take  this  cup  from  jMe !  Not,  indeed,  with  the  per- 
 fect resignation  of  Him  who  in  Gethsemane  learned  and 
 confirmed  His  obedience  in  suffering,  for  there  might  be  some 
 admixtm-e  of  human  impatience ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  not 
 without  the  humihty  of  importunate  supplication,  in  which  no- 
 tliing  more  is  reqmred  of  us  weak  men  than  this — I  will  not 
 let  thee  go,  unless  Thou  help  me  !  Thrice ; — this  we  cannot 
 regard  as  a  mere  phrase  for  "several  times,  repeatedly;"  the 
 Apostle  would  have  been  restramed  from  such  a  phrase  by 
 the  thought  that  it  might  be  understood  as  an  intentional  com- 
 parison with  Gethsemane.  That  comparison  does  not  occur  to 
 him ;  he  simply  relates  what  actually  took  place :  thrice  I 
 prayed  to  the  Lord — not  to  be  understood  of  intervals  of  sup- 
 phcation,  days  or  nights  in  succession,  but  of  one  continuous 
 struggle  in  prayer.  The  Lord  does  not  suffer  him  to  cry  a 
 fourth  or  a  seventh  time ;  but  He,  the  same  to  whom  St  Paul 
 addressed  his  supplication,  gave  him  at  the  third  time  the 
 subhme  answer.  And  that  answer  will  be  filled  with  a  richer 
 strength  and  emphasis  to  us  all,  for  whose  sake  the  Apostle  has 
 communicated  it,  if  we  regard  it  not  merely  as  a  Divine  conso- 
 lation inspired  into  the  Apostle's  soul,  but  as  an  express  and 
 definite  word  of  the  Lord  from  heaven. 
 
 Literally,  according  to  the  original:  Sufficient   is   My 
 
 GRACE    TO    THEE,  FOR   My    STRENGTH    IS    PERFECT    IN    (tHE) 
 
 WEAKNESS.  This  decisive  expression,  the  saving  ordinance  and 
 rule  of  conduct,  as  it  were,  for  all  who  are  severely  tried  in  the 
 following  of  Christ,  has  first  its  special  meanmg  for  St  Paul, 
 but  also  a  general  symboHcal  meaning  and  design.  Indeed, 
 this  universal  significance  is  stamped  upon  the  form  of  it  (for 
 the  second  clause  is  not  a  personal  address)  more  definitely  than 
 in  the  earHer  sa}dngs  of  the  glorified  Lord ;  so  that  here  also  we 
 discern  a  transition  to  the  more  ordinary  communications  of  the 
 Sa^aour  to  His  people.     That  even  a  Paul  was  still  in  danger  of 
 
 ^  The  difficult  interpretation  of  which,  so  far  as  it  belongs  to  the  ques- 
 tion here,  we  shall  subsequently  consider. 
 
S6  TO  ST  PAUL  IN  HIS  INFIRMITY. 
 
 being  exalted  by  the  superabundance  of  the  revelations,  and  of 
 preaching  to  others  through  the  still  remaining  gifts  of  grace, 
 while  himself  a  castaway  through  the  loss  of  grace  itself,  is  a 
 most  keen  and  earnest  warning,  which  St  Paul's  own  person — 
 with  all  its  high  prerogative  of  election,  still  a  perfectly  typical 
 and  exemplary  person — impresses  upon  us  all!  The  Lord 
 secures  him  against  this  danger  by  sufferings,  which  must  so 
 bring  home  his  infirmity  to  him  that  he  can  find  no  consolation 
 but  grace,  and  must  for  ever  give  up  all  glorying  in  that  he  had 
 received  from  God.  And  this  is  to  us  all  the  way  of  grace  and 
 the  method  of  our  salvation.  Are  there  sufferings  which  we 
 procure  for  ourselves,  and  which  we  may  avoid  by  avoiding  the 
 sins  which  occasion  them  and  which  they  punish? — so  there  are 
 also  sufferings  which  the  wisdom  and  mercy  of  the  Lord  im- 
 poses upon  us  wdthout  any  specific  guilt  of  our  own,  though  for 
 the  sake  of  the  universal  sm  of  our  corrupted  nature.  Are  there 
 tribulations  which  we  may  pray  against,  remove  by  fervent  and 
 persevering  appeals  to  the  Eedeemer  and  Helper  of  our  souls? 
 — so  there  are  also  appointed  and  salutary  burdens  which  shall 
 not  and  must  not  be  taken  from  us ;  although  grace  will  esta- 
 blish, strengthen,  and  console  the  spirit  under  every  tribulation 
 of  the  flesh.  For  even  the  most  keenly  penetrating  trial  of  the 
 human  spirit  is  essentially  only  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  in  the 
 nature  which  is  flesh  born  of  flesh.  It  is  even  questionable 
 whether  that  which  St  Paul  found  so  hard  that  he  thought  he 
 could  not  longer  bear  it,  did  not  consist  in  such  so-called  spiritual 
 assaults  of  satanic  temptation :  he  might,  in  harmony  with  his 
 phraseology  elsewhere,  name  them  a  thorn  in  the  flesh.  We 
 might,  indeed,  almost  say,  that  to  bear  the  most  painful  tribula- 
 tion in  the  body  had  become  a  light  thing  to  the  Apostle, 
 through  the  discipline  of  grace ;  and  that  the  counterpoise  to 
 high  revelations  would  be  trials  which  fell  upon  the  true  and 
 inner  flesh. 
 
 Be  that  as  it  may,  and  to  decide  this  is  not  of  moment, 
 Christ's  word  retains  its  universal  meaning  for  all  those  salutary 
 afllictions  which  may  seem  to  us  intolerable,  but  which  He  has 
 iiTevocably  ordained.  He  infuses  His  grace — so  that  we  can 
 bear  them ;  and,  not  only  so,  the  bitterest  medicine  becomes  at 
 last  sweet  in  the  good  and  gracious  will  of  our  Lord.  My 
 GRACE — is  the  word  of  His  majesty  and  power,  as  well  as  of 
 
2  COR.  XII.  9.  87 
 
 His  love  and  consolation.  Lntlier  thought  to  bring  out  the 
 saying  better  when  he  translated — let  it  he  sufficient!  and  we 
 are  loath  to  correct  trifles  in  sentences  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
 has  made  precious  to  so  many.  Here,  however,  the  meaning  is 
 considerably  affected.-'^  The  immediate  assurance  is  more  needed 
 by  the  desponding  than  the  exhortation  and  doctrine,  and  it  is 
 that  which  is  first  given.  As  the  answer  to  the  anxious  ques- 
 tion— "Am  I  then  abandoned,  cast  out,  rejected?'*  comes  the 
 fact,  not  expressed,  but  graciously  taken  for  granted,  that  Christ's 
 grace  is  already  vd\h.  the  Apostle,  that  he  has  it,  testified  by 
 Him  who  alone  is  perfectly  assured  of  it.  "  I  am  merciful  to 
 thee  !  Thou  hast  My  grace !  What  wilt  thou  more  ?  "  Even 
 if  the  tempted  man  might  not  in  his  weakness  be  satisfied  w^th 
 that,  which  he  was  to  learn  and  would  learn.  His  merciful 
 Lord  declares  to  him  the  fact  against  all  his  doubt,  as  a  truth 
 beyond  all  his  consciousness  and  feeling,  It  is  so  I  Thou  hast 
 sufficient  in  My  grace !  The  Lord  places  this  word,  as  it  were, 
 in  St  Paul's  lips,  that  He  may  utter  it  after  Him  in  faith — "  Yea, 
 Lord,  Thy  grace  is  sufficient  for  me."  Zinzendorf  brings  out, 
 in  his  translation,  the  true  exhortation — "Be  content,  that  I  am 
 merciful  to  thee ! "  but  the  exhortation  is  all  the  stronger  for  not 
 being  expressed. 
 
 Now,  as  in  almost  every  previous  instance,  the  Lord  speaking 
 from  heaven  gives  in  the  second  clause  the  ground  and  reason  of 
 the  first,  by  a  subhme  demonstrative  For.  That  which  He 
 thus  goes  on  to  say  and  testify  is  no  longer  directly  spoken  to 
 the  Apostle ;  but  it  is  given  to  him  as  a  general  saying  ap- 
 plicable to  himself,  and  placing  him  under  a  universal  ordinance. 
 And  what  a  saying — doctrine  and  fact  at  once  for  Christ's 
 kingdom  of  grace,  in  inexhaustible  depth  and  comprehensive- 
 ness of  meaning !  For  My  strength — we  hold  fast  this  reading 
 against  Tischendorf  and  Lachmann,  and  this  time  even  against 
 Bengel.  The  latter  thinks  that  if  St  Paul  had  written  "  ify 
 strength,"  he  must  also  have  added  "in  thy  weakness."  But 
 why  ?  The  question  is  not  so  much  what  St  Paul  might  have 
 written,  as  what  was  fitting  for  the  Lord  to  say,  and  what  He 
 actually  could  have  said.  "  My  strength"  was  alone  appropriate ; 
 but  "  thy  weakness "  could  not  follow,  for  the  reason  already 
 
 1  For,  that  dpKu  must  be  translated  sufficere  debet,  sufficiat — is  arbitrary 
 and  vapid,  after  the  style  of  Rosenmiiller. 
 
88  TO  ST  PAUL  IX  HIS  INFIRMITY. 
 
 assigned,  that  the  saying  is  a  universal  one.  That  great  student 
 of  Scripture  seems  to  have  afterwards  bethought  himself ;  for, 
 in  his  translation  of  the  New  Testament,  the  "  My "  remains. 
 Manuscripts  and  authorities  are  generally  not  decisive  of  them- 
 selves ;  here  certainly  not,  where  important  witnesses  are  on  both 
 sides.  The  decision  is  finally  matter  of  taste  and  feeling,  of 
 internal  reasons.  A  recent  English  critic^  says,  that,  miless  he 
 errs,  the  word  was  added  for  distinctness'  sake,  and  to  make  the 
 sentence  coincide  with  the  Apostle's  subsequent  "  the  power  of 
 Cliristr  We  think,  on  the  contrary,  that  this  subsequent  word 
 of  the  Apostle,  which  appropriates  to  himself  the  word  of  the 
 Lord,  and  repeats  its  emphatic  "My,"  is  in  favour  of  the 
 ordinary  reading.  We  maintain  that  the  Lord  would  have 
 spoken  not  merely  with  less  dignity,  but  mth  an  obscurity  which 
 might  easily  be  misunderstood,  if  He  had  spoken  of  strength 
 generally  instead  of  His  own  strength.  The  repeated  '^  My 
 grace,  My  strength,"  is  altogether  in  harmony  with  the  throne- 
 style  of  His  words  from  heaven,  as  we  have  heard  it  throughout. 
 If  He  had  said,  almost  descending  from  His  dignity  to  an 
 altogether  general  dogma,  '*  For  strength  is  made  perfect  in  the 
 weakness  (or  in  weakness)" — it  is  true,  we  admit,  that  the 
 Apostle  would  at  once  have  been  likely  to  understand  it  of 
 Christ's  strength;  but  to  all  others,  in  the  long  futm'e  of  His  king- 
 dom of  grace,  for  whom  this  word  was  to  be  preserv^ed,  this  inter- 
 pretation of  it  would  not  have  been  sufficiently  obvious.  Does 
 not  the  saying  thus  run  altogether  in  the  form  of  a  common 
 proverb,  especially  w^ith  its  striking  apparent  antithesis  of  op- 
 posite words?  "Strength  is  fully  approved,  made  perfect,  in 
 iceakness^' — is  this,  then,  commonly  true?  The  Eomanist 
 expositor  Allioli,  who  clings  to  the  Yulgate,  "  first  of  all "  refers 
 the  grace  and  the  strength  to  God,  but  then  goes  suspiciously^ 
 f mother :  "  Moral  strength,  the  higher  life  of  man,  is  also  meant, 
 so  that  the  words  include  the  meaning  that  the  higher  life  of 
 the  spirit,  virtue  in  man,  is  brought  to  perfection  by  such 
 tribulations;  through  the  weakening  of  the  old  nature  we 
 attain  unto  the  perfect  power  of  the  new  life."  Eightly  under- 
 stood, this  is  true ;  but  still  it  may  be  misapprehended,  and  may 
 be   taken  in   that  meaning   for  which    Grotius   has   collected 
 
 ^  Alford,  who  sometimes  concedes  too  much  to  German  sci<aice. 
 
2  COR.  XII.  9.  Si) 
 
 several  passages  from  the  Classics.^  This  indefinite  and  gene- 
 ral saying  concerning  strength  in  weakness  may  have,  under  the 
 discipline  of  concealed  preparatory  grace,  where  there  is  no 
 absolute  distinction  between  what  is  man's  and  what  is  God's,  a 
 certain  preliminary  prophetic  truth — but  in  the  kingdom  of 
 Christ,  where  nature  and  grace  are  distinctly  separated,  it  is  no 
 longer  appKcable ;  and  as  a  rule  in  His  kingdom  it  could  not 
 have  been  asserted  by  Christ.  It  would  have  been  necessar}^ 
 that  He  should  add,  in  order  to  obviate  in  His  -^dsdom  all  mis- 
 understanding and  error — "In  Me,  and  only  in  Me,  is  the 
 saying  true  concerning  strength  in  weakness."  The  opposite  is 
 true  of  His  servants,  in  their  conflicts  under  the  Hght  of  His 
 heart-searching  countenance ;  and  the  warning  must  have  been 
 given — "  Your  own  strength  is  weak  even  in  the  strong;  it 
 comes  to  its  end  in  weakness,  passes  away,  and  comes  to  nought." 
 And  this  is  what  the  Lord  does  say  in  warning,  when  He  de- 
 clares, as  we  must  understand  the  expression — "My  strength 
 is  made  perfect  in  weakness  ! " 
 
 Now  at  length  we  have  made  full  pro\dsion  for  a  further 
 exposition  of  this  profound  thought.  The  progress  into  the 
 second  clause  thus  testifies — My  grace,  the  grace  of  God  in  Me 
 and  through  Me  for  men,  is  power  in  them  (Eph.  i.  19,  iii.  7 ; 
 Col.  i.  29).  And  what  a  truth  is  this !  Who  is  sufficient  to 
 expound  it  fully  ?  We  can  now  only  give  prominence  to  its 
 protest  against  all  the  misunderstanding  and  perversion  which 
 is  too  lightly  satisfied  with  the  profound  word  "grace,"  and 
 denies  it  all  its  meaning.  We  mean  all  such  idle  resting  in  the 
 consolation  of  "  the  forgiveness  of  sins,"  and  the  consciousness  of 
 justification,  as  forgets  that  this  grace  is  perfected  in  the  power 
 of  sanctification.  Berlenb.  Bible :  "  Grace  is  here  not  alone 
 forgiveness  of  sins,  but  something  that  works  in  a  man  and 
 overcomes  his  sms,  though  not  without  his  suffering."  This  is 
 according  to  the  ever-needful  word  of  St  James — "And  not  by 
 faith  alone ! "  Assuredly,  not  the  beginning  alone,  but  the 
 abiding  gromid  of  all  strength  of  grace,  is  the  firm  consolation 
 
 ^  Of  Pliny :  Optimos  nos  esse,  dum  infirrai  sumus.  Of  Seneca :  Cala- 
 mitas  virtutis  occasio  est.  Of  Quintilian :  Temeritas  omnis  animormn  cala- 
 mitate  corporum  frangitur.  That  a  "self-collected,  humble,  and  thus  con- 
 fident, boldness  of  spirit  is  strengthened  in  conflict " — can  scarcely  satisfy 
 here. 
 
90  TO  ST  PAUL  IN  HIS  INFIRMITY. 
 
 — I  obtained  mercy !  But  it  is  most  important  to  know  and 
 experience  that  this  consolation  is  itself,  and  works,  power  in  the 
 soul ;  that  he  who  rejoices  in  the  grace  of  Christ  has  received 
 it  to  that  end,  and  can  only  thus  find  it  sufficient. 
 
 Luther's  translation — "Meine  Kraft  ist  in  den  Schwachen 
 machtig"  (My  strength  is  mighty  in  the  weak) — is  very  far  from 
 bringing  out  the  weight  and  significance  of  tliis  word  of  our 
 Lord.  It  is  not  to  no  purpose  that  He  orders  the  expressions 
 with  a  threefold  difference :  not  in  the  iveak,  but  in  weakness ; 
 not  merely  mighty  (which  is  self -understood,  as  being  funda- 
 mentally the  same  with  strength),  but  perfect;  not  merely  is 
 perfect,  but  is  made  so.  It  is  not  only  that  the  phraseological 
 contrast  "  strength  and  weakness "  must  be  retained ;  the  ex- 
 pression gives  another  meaning,  since  it  speaks  not  so  much  of 
 the  weah  in  common  (which  we  all  are,  and  always,  of  ourselves), 
 but  of  particular  circumstances  and  trials  in  which  the  weakness 
 makes  itself  especially  felt — precisely  in  the  same  sense  as  the 
 Apostle  presently,  and  frequently  elsewhere,  uses  the  word.  In 
 iceakness  (there  is  no  article  in  the  original),  as  in  the  element 
 and  domain  of  its  working,  the  strength  is  perfected,  approves 
 and  confirms  itself  perfectly.  Zinzendorf  :  "  It  first  becomes 
 absolutely  mighty."  But  this,  once  more,  is  not  spoken  (in  the 
 sense  of  ch.  iv.  7)  of  the  weak,  earthen  vessel  of  human  nature 
 generally,  in  wdiich  the  superabounding  grace  of  God  works, 
 but  of  the  perfecting  of  its  indwelling  and  penetrating  influence, 
 presupposed  even  at  the  beginning ;  and  concerning  this  per- 
 fecting it  is  said  for  consolation,  that  it  only,  but  also  certainly, 
 is  brought  to  its  consummation  in  w^eakness,  in  the  path  of  trials 
 and  suffering.  The  power  is  made  perfect,  becomes  consum- 
 mate— that  is,  obviously,  not  in  itself,  since  as  power  it  is 
 already  perfect ;  but  it  absolutely  approves  itself,  expresses  its 
 perfect  energy  and  influence.-^  As  Christ  Himself  reached  the 
 It  is  finished  in  the  strength  of  God,  through  uttermost  weak- 
 ness upon  the  cross  (ch.  xiii.  4) — and  He  remembers  this,  now 
 speaking  from  heaven — so  through  the  continual  energy  of  His 
 strength  in  His  servants  a  ^dctorious  perfection  is  wTought  out, 
 in  the  same  way  of  suffering  and  subjection  in  weakness.  And 
 if  it  be  Satan,  or  his  angel,  who  causes  the  weakness  and 
 
 ^  Bengel :  omnia  sua  peragit :  the  reading  n'helTcci  or  nT^nourcci  makes 
 scarcely  any  difference. 
 
2  COR.  XII.  9.  91 
 
 tribulation,  Christ's  power  is  \dctorious  over  him  in  all  who 
 receive  Christ's  grace^  and  who  retain  it  in  faith ;  that  is,  who 
 count  that  grace  sufficient,  trust  in  it  absolutely  and  humbly, 
 and  wait  confidently  for  its  full  demonstration  of  its  power. 
 
 St  Paul  himself  at  once  makes  the  application,  setting  himself 
 before  the  Corinthians  and  us  all  as  a  pattern  :  "  Because  it  is 
 so  as  the  Lord  said  unto  me — and  that  is  sufficient  for  me  ! — • 
 therefore  I  will  rather  glory  in  my  infirmities,  that  the  power 
 of  Christ  may  dwell  in  me."  How  humbUng  this  to  the  Corin- 
 thians, who  gloried  in  the  gifts  which  dwelt  among  them ! 
 What  a  lesson  is  here  taught  by  supreme  authority,  through 
 the  person  of  St  Paul — that  to  have  grace  is  sufficient,  and 
 infinitely  more  than  the  possession  of  all  gifts  !  The  greatest 
 danger,  even  for  "  men  in  Clirist"  (ver.  2),  is  ever  that  of — 
 thinking  too  highly  of  themselves.  The  safest,  rather  the  only 
 safe,  way  for  the  most  sanctified  and  favoured  Tvdth  special 
 dispensation,  is  to  humble  themselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of 
 God,  whose  salutary  discipline  will  never  cease ;  to  place  them- 
 selves among  the  chief  of  sinners,  that  they  may  receive  the 
 perfection  of  Christ's  strength  in  their  own  weakness.  The 
 best  answer  for  the  natural  mind,  even  of  an  elect  Apostle,  in- 
 clined to  pride,  and  therefore  exposed  to  despondency  in  the 
 time  of  oppressive  trial — given  to  him  for  the  sake  of  the 
 puffed-up  Corinthians,  and  of  all  the  downcast  everywhere — 
 and  which,  in  the  most  gracious  form  of  an  almost  enforced 
 consolation,  "Thou  hast  grace!"  points  to  the  victorious  con- 
 summation of  their  power,  as  found  only  in  the  sufferings 
 which  crush  in  them  all  that  is. their  own.  It  is  a  most  tender 
 repulsion  of  the  urgent  prayer  that  the  salutary  rod  of  disci- 
 pHne  might  be  removed.^  The  supplication  of  his  faith  to  the 
 great  Helper,  in  the  time  of  his  distress,  was  good  and  right — ■ 
 for  what  better  can  our  weakness  do  through  the  grace  of 
 God? — but  the  answer  comes  down  from  heaven  with  victo- 
 rious power  into  the  depth  of  trial  and  discomfiture  :  "  Ask  not 
 so  vehemently  and  unconditionally  that  thy  will  may  be  done, 
 the  will  of  thy  flesh,  which  is  unwilhng  to  suffer  for  holiness 
 and  salvation  !"  Albertini  (sometime  Bishop  of  the  Moravian 
 Brethren)  very  foolishly  charges  the  Apostle,  in  one  of  his 
 
 ^  As  V.  Gerlach  says,  after  Bengel  (Benignissima  repulsa,  indicativo 
 modo  expressa). 
 
92  TO  ST  JOHN  IX  PATMOS. 
 
 seraions,  with  falling  here,  in  Scripture,  into  foolish  self-ex- 
 altation ;  but  his  own  experience  taught  him  to  speak  more 
 correctly  in  what  follows :  "  We  have  here  a  sample  of  the 
 spiritual  history  and  the  spiritual  discipline,  not  of  St  Paul 
 only,  but  of  all  pardoned  sinners.  Everysvhere  glorious  reve- 
 lations, and  rough  sufferings  to  qualify  them.  Always  all-suffi- 
 ciency in  the  grace  of  the  Savioui',  and  always  insufficiency  on 
 our  part !"  St  Paul  knew  well  to  teach  the  fruit  and  neces- 
 sity of  afflictions ;  but  when  they  come  in  all  their  secret  force 
 upon  his  o^vn  soul,  in  order  to  make  him  (accorduig  to  what 
 had  been  predicted  for  him.  Acts  ix.  16)  perfect  as  an  elect 
 vessel  for  the  name  of  Jesus,  he  needs  once  more  direct  instruc- 
 tion and  help  from  heaven.  And  this  he  received :  the  Lord 
 uttered  to  him  these  words,  from  which  he  never  afterwards 
 ceased  to  derive  strength.  He  repeats  it  here  in  the  centre  of 
 his  teaching  to  the  Corinthians,  who  themselves  specially 
 needed  it ;  but  he  also  says  it  to  us  all,  and  leads  us  into  the 
 inmost  mystery  of  the  Lord's  spiritual  communion  with  our 
 hearts — in  which  His  grace  and  strength  graciously  encourage 
 our  weakness,  in  order  to  perfect  in  it  His  work. 
 
 IX. 
 
 TO  ST  JOHN  IN  PATMOS,  AT  THE  BEGIISNING  OF  HIS  VISIONS. 
 
 (Rev.  i.  11,  17-20.) 
 
 St  John — a  personality  gifted  and  called  in  another  manner 
 than  St  Paul !  All  that  may  be  estabhshed  as  to  the  difference 
 between  these  two,  both  in  their  natural  and  supernatural  birth ; 
 as  to  their  several  historical  relations  in  their  apostolical  office, 
 with  all  the  important  consequences  which  resulted  from  these 
 several  relations, — may  very  appropriately  be  brought  into 
 view  here,  when  we  are  called  to  see  and  hear  how  the  Lord 
 comes  and  speaks  to  His  servant  John  in  Patmos.  Not  that 
 we  can  now  enter  at  large  upon  this  subject ;  it  is  enough  if 
 we  remind  our  readers — whom  we  suppose  to  be  thoughtful 
 students  of  Scripture — of  its  importance,  as  exhibited,  for  in- 
 stance, in  our  observations  upon  the  last  chapter  of  St  John's 
 
REV.  I.  11,  17-20.  93 
 
 Gospel.  St  Paul,  although  not  without  strong  points  of  dis- 
 similarity to  St  Peter,  stands  by  his  side  in  the  energy  of 
 external  influence :  and  both  are  thus  in  opposition  to  St  John, 
 whose  spirit  was  pre-eminently  inward  and  contemplative.  The 
 Apostles  who  were  mighty  in  action  and  teaching  founded  the 
 Church  in  the  beginning  from  among  the  Jews  and  the  Gen- 
 tiles ;  but  St  John,  living  himself  in  profound  heart-mysti- 
 cism, who  livingly  combines  together  all  that  had  been  dialec- 
 tically  developed  in  detail,  who  sinks  ^vith  his  readers  into  the 
 inmost  centre  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  truth  (light ! 
 life  !  love !),  speaking  from  the  Lord's  heart  to  our  hearts — he, 
 and  only  he,  among  the  elect  could  have  been  the  &eer  of  the 
 New  Testament.  His  calm  and  tranquil  soul  was  the  purest 
 min'or  for  the  reflection  of  those  great  symbolic  figures^  in  which 
 the  Lord  would  close  His  words  from  heaven  for  all  futm'ity, 
 seal  and  subscribe  the  new  Holy  Scripture  at  its  close,  and 
 expound  what  was  still  in  arrear  of  Old  Testament  prophecy 
 for  His  Church  down  to  the  end  of  its  career — most  plainly, 
 though  under  a  sevenfold  veil — so  that,  in  the  process  of  fulfil- 
 ment, history  makes  all  His  meaning  clear  to  His  believing 
 people.  The  disciple,  who  gave  not  his  name  in  the  Gospel, 
 here,  on  the  contrary,  mentions  it  three  times  at  the  outset, 
 and  once  again  at  the  end  (ch.  xxii.  8).^  Not  to  discern  the 
 Apostle  John  in  the  wi'iter  of  the  Apocalypse,  as  well  as  in  the 
 Gospel,  is  a  pseudo-criticism,  the  worst  characteristics  of  which 
 condemn  themselves  to  every  simple  eye,  and  the  best,  most 
 plausible  characteristics  of  which  are  wanting  in  insight  into  the 
 Divine  plan  both  of  Scripture  and  the  kingdom  of  grace.  For 
 this  plan,  according  to  which  the  whole  of  Scriptm'e  must  cor- 
 respond to  the  whole  process  of  the  kingdom,  would  not  have 
 been  rounded  and  complete  without  the  revelation  given  to  St 
 John. 
 
 Once  more  the  faithful  Witness  opens  His  mouth  in  a  con- 
 firming conclusion  of  all ;  but  words  are  not  sufficient  for  this 
 great  close ;  it  must  be  shown  in  speaking  figures,  just  as  the 
 mysteries  of  God  had  been  declared  from  the  beginning  by  His 
 servants  the  prophets.  The  final  matter  of  all  these  final  visions 
 is  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  the  Conqueror  in  all  the  conflicts  of 
 His  Church;  that  coming  which  typical  catastrophes  precede 
 ^  The  correct  reading  omits  the  name  in  ch.  xxi.  2. 
 
94  TO  ST  JOHN  IN  PATMOS. 
 
 (Matt.  xvi.  28).  Shortly  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
 which  was  one  of  those  comings — almost  simultaneous  with  it, 
 and  yet  beholding  beforehand  what  he  afterwards  survived — St 
 John  received  the  Revelation,  in  which  the  Lord  says — "Behold 
 I  come ! " 
 
 Not  under  Domitian,  but  under  Nero,  was  the  Apostle 
 banished  to  desolate  Patmos,^  for  the  word  of  God  and  the  testi- 
 mony of  Jesus  Christ.  This  island,  as  Bengel  observes,  looked 
 towards  Asia,  where  were  the  seven  churches,  surrounded  by 
 the  three  divisions  of  the  world,  and  the  capitals  of  the  five  sub- 
 sequent Patriarchates.  In  this  sohtude,  separated  only  in  body 
 from  the  worshipping  community,  and  on  that  account  only  the 
 more  firmly  united  with  it  in  spirit,  the  Apostle  celebrated  the 
 LordJs  day,  the  birthday  of  the  First-born  from  the  dead  (ver.  5) ; 
 his  devotion  had  akeady  raised  him  into  ecstasy  in  the  spirit, 
 when  this  ecstasy  was  heightened,  and  this  Sunday  was  made 
 to  him  one  of  the  especial  days  of  the  Lord.  Let  us  not  forget 
 to  observe  the  confirmation  which  this  gives  to  the  Church's 
 Sabbath:  St  John  does  not  fail  to  observe  it,  though  alone. 
 Jesus  comes  to  him  on  His  own  day,  just  as  in  the  beginning 
 He  had  returned  to  His  disciples  on  the  recurrence  of  the  day 
 of  His  resurrection. 
 
 He  hears  a  loud  voice  as  of  a  trumpet :  not  merely  like  the 
 voice  of  the  herald  proclaiming  the  coming  of  the  King,  as  the 
 word  has  been  used  in  Scripture  from  Sinai  downwards,  and  as, 
 before  this  revelation,  the  trumpets  of  the  day  of  judgment  are 
 spoken  of ;  but  the  voice  speaks  to  him  immediately  in  intel- 
 ligible words.  The  voice  sounds  behind  him,  so  that  his  atten- 
 tion is  excited  to  hear  before  any  sight  has  too  much  amazed 
 him.  Affrighted  enough,  however,  he  turns  and  looks  round 
 him,  and  beholds  a  manifestation  of  the  Lord.  Whether  the 
 first  voice  proceeded  from  the  Lord  Himself,  may  admit  of 
 question ;  Ebrard  denies  that  it  did,  and  thinks  that  a  heralding 
 angel  uttered  it,  who  is  also  referred  to  in  ch.  iv.  1.  But,  after 
 most  careful  consideration  of  the  text,  we  cannot  agree  with 
 him.  To  us  it  seems  that  St  John  in  the  spirit  on  the  Lordjs 
 day  needed  not  the  mediation  of  any  such  herald :  he  needed 
 
 ^  'Ey£yo,a)7i/,  just  as  before,  "  I  was  in  the  isle  ;  "  where  we  must  not  ex- 
 pound— I  came,  or,  had  come,  like  yiAada-i^  e.g.^  2  Tim.  i.  17  ;  Luke  x.  32, 
 
 TYU 
 
 .40. 
 
REV.  I.  11,  17-20.  95 
 
 only  the  first  cry  that  he  should  see  and  write  his  visions;  and 
 that  summons  must  have  been  the  Lord's  own  voice  on  the  day 
 of  the  Lord.  The  "  I  will  show  thee ! "  afterwards  in  ch.  iv.  1 
 is  appropriate,  as  we  think,  only  to  the  Same  who  at  the  begin- 
 ning began  to  say  (ch.  i.  11) — "  What  thou  seest,  write ! "  The 
 distinction  of  the  ^^ first  voice "  in  ch.  iv.  looks  forward  to  the 
 voices  which  were  afterwards  heard,  and  means.  The  same  first 
 voice  and  no  other ;  it  marks  the  difference  (for  so  much  is  true) 
 between  that  first  trumpet-like  cry  and  the  more  qualified  tone 
 of  the  voice  which  spoke  to  him  like  the  sound  of  many  waters. 
 And  ver.  12  is  similarly  to  be  understood:  St  John  turned 
 himself  romid  to  see  the  voice  that  spake  TNdth  him — that  is.  Him 
 from  whom  it  came — and  he  saw  the  form  of  the  Son  of  Man, 
 not  of  an  angel ;  and  that  Son  of  Man  continued  to  speak. 
 
 But  the  first  word  of  this  trumpet-utterance  of  the  Lord  was 
 not,  as  the  translation  gives  it,  "  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the 
 First  and  the  Last ! "  This  is  one  of  the  many  false  readings 
 which  are  the  result  of  transposition  in  this  book.  How  could 
 this  "  I  am  "  of  the  supreme  majesty  of  the  God-man  have  been 
 uttered  before  the  Apostle  had  become  collected  enough  to  see 
 the  Speaker,  and  had  become  really  a  seer  ?  The  first  words  are 
 plain  and  simple  as  possible,  though  spoken  with  loud  voice : 
 What  thou  seest,  avkite  in  a  book,  and  send  it  unto 
 
 THE   seven  CHUECHES  WHICH  AEE  IN  ASIA  ;    UNTO   EpHESUS, 
 
 AND  UNTO  Smyrna,  and  unto  Peegamos,  and  unto  Thy- 
 
 ATIEA,  AND  UNTO  SaEDIS,  AND  UNTO  PHILADELPHIA,  AND 
 
 UNTO  Laodicea.  This  is  the  only  correct  commencement: 
 What  thou  seest,  that  is,  wilt  see  now  and  henceforth,  what  I 
 will  show  thee.  This  is  the  plainest  annunciation  and  beginning 
 of  the  visions  :  the  calling  of  St  John  to  be  the  last  seer  in  the 
 whole  series  of  the  canon  of  Holy  Scripture ;  although  prophetic 
 revelation  of  a  lower  degree  may  have  continued  in  the  Church 
 of  Christ.  He  should  see  and  write,  that  it  may  be  a  book 
 added  to  Scripture ;  the  entire  book  being  dictated  by  the  Lord 
 Himself,  in  the  manner  of  things  seen.  But  this  book,  without 
 disparagement  to  its  vast,  far-reaching  destination  for  the  w^hole 
 Church  to  the  end  of  time,  is,  according  to  the  law  of  prophecy, 
 typically  connected  with  the  present  time ;  it  was,  first  of  all,  to 
 be  sent  to  the  Seven  Churches,  which  were  specially  elected  to 
 become  types.     We  may  well  suppose  that  St  John  in  the  spirit, 
 
96  TO  ST  JOHN  IN  PATMOS. 
 
 in  liis  solitary  Sunday  solemnities  at  Patmos,  had  been  present 
 with  these  his  churches,  and  had  regarded  them  in  his  earnest 
 supplications  to  the  Lord ;  so  that  this  commission  would  gra- 
 ciously meet  his  own  inmost  wish  and  impulse  to  have  some 
 apostolical  intercourse  with  them  from  the  place  of  his  banish- 
 ment. The  names  are  mentioned  in  geographical  order  from 
 Patmos :  Ephesus,  the  nearest ;  Sm}rrna,  to  the  north,  and  Per- 
 gamos ;  bending  lower  into  Asia  Minor,  Thyatira  and  Sardis 
 nearer,  and  Philadelphia  and  Laodicea  farthest  removed.  That 
 with  this  geographical  order  there  marvellously  coincides  a  pro- 
 phetic symbolical  significance,  we  shall  see  hereafter,  upon  the 
 indications  given  by  our  Lord  Himself  (ver.  20)  of  the  mystery 
 of  the  seven  stars,  candlesticks,  churches.  At  present  we  re- 
 mark only  that,  according  to  the  first  word  of  Christ,  the  seven 
 epistles  were  to  accompany  the  whole  hooh  as  its  special  dedica- 
 tion ;  hence,  in  ver.  4,  St  John  designates  the  whole  book  an 
 epistle  from  his  own  hand,  in  wdiich  the  seven  immediate 
 epistles  are  found  inserted.^  The  solemn  commission  to  write 
 recurs  at  the  most  sublime  passages  of  the  Dook,  ch.  xiv.  13  and 
 xxi.  5  ;  compare  the  final  conclusion,  ch.  xxii.  17.  As  the  first 
 place  in  Holy  Writ  where  the  word  "  write  "  occurs,  Ex.  xvii. 
 14,  contains  a  Divine  commission  to  Moses  touching  the  de- 
 struction of  the  arch-enemy  of  Israel — "Write  this  for  a 
 memorial  in  a  book  "  (in  the  Book,'  the  great,  complete  Book  of 
 God,  as  1  Sam.  x.  25,  Esther  ix.  32,  and  in  a  certain  sense, 
 Job  xix.  23) — so  here  we  have,  concerning  the  visions  of  victory, 
 in  the  highest  and  last  sense  of  the  word  (ch.  vi.  2,  xii.  7,  8), 
 we  have  the  command  of  Him  who,  as  the  Last,  stands  and  will 
 stand  above  the  dust  (Job  xix.  25,  in  the  right  translation)  to. 
 His  servant,  for  His  people —  Write !  Referring  to  all  that 
 had  been  already  written  by  Divine  commission,  and  that  should 
 yet  be  written  (St  John's  Gospel),  the  Lord  speaks  of  the  whole 
 plan  of  a  Scripture  to  be  completed — now  from  heaven,  as 
 formerly  upon  earth,  when  He  pointed  always  to  the  existing 
 Scripture. 
 
 St  John  heard  a  voice,  which  said — That  which  thou  seest. 
 
 ^  Guericke  observes,  upon  the  blending,  peculiar  to  this  book,  of  the  New 
 Testament  epistolary  form  with  the  Old  Testament  prophetic  symbolical 
 representations,  The  Lord  Himself  addresses  epistles  to  the  churches — and 
 what  letters  are  they ! 
 
REV.  I.  11,  17-20.  97 
 
 The  trumpet-sound  had  temfied  him ;  but  he  could  not  other- 
 wise than  obediently  listen,  as  long  as  the  voice  continued  to 
 speak.  When  the  words  ceased,  and  not  till  then,  he  turns 
 round,  not  from  his  o^vn  impulse  but  in  obedience  still,  to  see 
 that  which  he  was  to  see — that  is,  of  course,  Him  who  had 
 spoken !  And  he  sees  the  Lord,  Ms  Lord,  on  whose  breast  he 
 had  lain ;  whom  his  more  penetrating  soul  had  discerned,  when 
 the  rest  discerned  Him  not,  after  the  resurrection — It  is  the 
 Lord!  (John  xxi.  7).  He  sees  Him  in  His  actual  verity,  as 
 Stephen  and  Paul  had  seen  Him,  and  not  a  vision  representing 
 Him ;  yet,  as  every  manifestation  of  the  Glorified  Redeemer  at 
 the  right  hand  of  the  Father  must  necessarily  involve  some 
 medium  of  softening  and  concealment  for  the  eyes  of  men,  this 
 manifestation  to  St  John  (probably  the  first  to  him)  was  of  a 
 peculiar  character.  The  glorious  appearance  is  surrounded  mth 
 all  kinds  of  figurative  investiture,  because  a  prophetic  series  of 
 S3nnbols  is  to  be  disclosed.  Stephen  beheld — as  was  appropriate 
 in  his  circumstances — the  "  Son  of  Man  at  the  right  hand  of 
 God,"  in  direct  vision,  as  it  were,  almost  after  the  manner  of 
 the  future  beholding ;  but  to  the  receiver  of  the  Apocalyptic 
 visions,  which  were  to  mnd  up  the  book  of  Revelation  by 
 retmning  back  to  Old  Testament  prophecy,  the  Lord  reveals 
 Himself  as  He  did  to  Daniel :  hence  here  as  there  the  expres- 
 sion. Like  to  the  Son  of  Man.  As  in  the  midst  of  a  wonderful, 
 heavenly  temple :  instead  of  the  one  seven-branched  candlestick 
 in  the  old  sanctuary,  there  are  seven  around  Himself.  These 
 candlesticks  are  first  beheld  by  the  Seer,  or,  he  melitions  them 
 first,  because  all  that  was  to  be  beheld  and  recorded  should  find 
 its  goal  in  the  Churches  which  they  signified.  In  an  assumed 
 symbolical  form  and  investiture,  the  particulars  of  which  are 
 afterwards  again  introduced  for  explanation,  the  First-born  from 
 the  dead  shows  Himself  as  a  faithful  Witness :  never  should 
 this,  and  what  else  is  exhibited  in  the  Revelation  to  be  written, 
 have  been  undertaken  by  the  painter's  pencil!  The  High- 
 Priestly  and  Kingly  raiment  indicates,  in  condescension  to 
 human  view.  His  dignity;  yet  the  talar,  which  clothes  Him  round, 
 is  simpler  than  Aaron's  rich  variegated  vesture  ;  and  its  colour 
 is  not  described,  only  that  the  most  dazzling  white  of  His  head 
 is  distinguished  from  it.  It  may  be  self-understood,  that  the 
 garment  was  only  of  resplendent  white.     The  girding  with  the 
 
 G 
 
98  TO  ST  JOHN  IN  PATMOS. 
 
 golden  girdle  around  the  breast  does  not  so  much  indicate  (as 
 even  Bengel  supposes)  rest  after  labour,  as  generally  the  glorifi- 
 cation of  the  human  form,  which  is  thus  exhibited  in  a  nobler 
 and  more  dignified  manner ;  for  (as  Ebrard  remarks),  the  dis- 
 tinction between  the  upper  and  lower  parts  of  the  body  is  thus 
 done  away  with.  The  head  also  and  feet  exhibit  the  glorifica- 
 tion of  the  Human  ;  though  viewed  in  its  aspect  to  human  eyes. 
 The  head  and  haks  (scarcely  put  for  the  hairs  of  the  head) 
 appear  here  in  the  Son  of  Man  like  as  in  the  Eternal,  Dan.  vii. 
 9,  the  Ancient  of  Days,  before  whom  the  Son  of  Man  was 
 brought.  In  His  eyes  burns  the  pure,  judicial  fire  of  the  holi- 
 ness of  God.  The  metalHc  brightness  of  His  feet  does  not 
 refer  to  the  destructive  approach  of  the  Mighty  One,  under 
 whose  footsteps  the  mountains  melt ;  for,  it  is  not  the  burning 
 fire  (any  more  than  the  burning  eyes)  which  is  here  involved, 
 but  the  brightness^  as  the  connection  in  ch.  x.  1  establishes.  For 
 the  rest,  it  is  quite  consistent  with  this,  that  afterwards  in  ch.  ii. 
 18,  the  feet,  as  such,  indicate,  at  the  same  time,  the  approach  to 
 judgment.  The  peculiar  Greek  expression  here  is  as  much  con- 
 troverted by  the  learned,  as  the  mysterious  corresponding  word 
 in  the  Hebrew,  Ezek.  i.  4.  The  voice  (that  is,  in  which  what 
 followed  was  spoken  ;  as  St  John  must  anticipate  the  entire  de- 
 scription) must  be  interpreted  according  to  the  precedent  of 
 Ezekiel  (ch.  i.  24,  xliii.  2;  comp.  Dan.  x.  6).  The  seven  stars 
 in  His  right  hand,  corresponding  to  the  seven  candlesticks — 
 scarcely  (as  Meyer  says)  like  precious  stones  in  rings  upon  His 
 fingers — are  freely  suspended  on  or  over  it,  as  held  and  borne 
 by  Him,  probably  shining  rather  in  a  circle.  We  must  restrain 
 om'selves  from  any  speculations  which  go  beyond  the  text ;  it  is 
 enough  that  we  have  afterwards  the  Lord's  own  interpretation 
 of  these  figures.  Thus  we  must  understand  the  two-edged 
 swordj  not  onli/  of  the  retributive  judicial  might  of  His  word 
 (Isa.  xi.  4),  but  at  the  same  time  and  generally,  as  in  Isa  xlix.  2, 
 and  Heb.  iv.  12,  of  its  judging  and  saving  power  in  the  Spirit 
 (Eph.  vi.  17).  Finally,  His  countenance  shines  above  all  other 
 brightness,  whether  of  His  snow-white  hair  or  of  His  darkly- 
 glowing  feet,  like  the  sun  in  its  utmost  power.  Comp.  Judges 
 V.  31 ;  Ps.  xix.  6.  The  whole  symbolical  manifestation  is 
 exhibited  in  human,  earthly  points  of  resemblance ;  but  in 
 this  form,  it  is  the  Lord  Himself,  the  Eternal  Living  One, 
 
^  REV.  T.  11,  17-20.  99 
 
 with  fire  and  light  beaming  forth  from  His  heavenly  glorifica- 
 tion, as  the  sequel  plainly  shows. 
 
 The  bosom-disciple,  who  had  been  an  Apostle  for  forty 
 years,  the  most  confidential  and  familiar  friend  of  the  Lord  in 
 His  present  spiritual  revelation,  as  well  as  in  His  former  earthly 
 intercourse,  is  now,  when  he  beholds  the  well-known  counten- 
 ance of  Jesus  his  Lord,  clothed  in  more  glory  than  the  sun,  cast 
 down,  in  the  fear  of  nature,  recoiling  before  the  might  and 
 majesty  of  God,  at  His  feet — as  one  dead !  Assuredly  it  was 
 not  mere  fear  of  the  amazement  into  which  he  was  thrown ;  but 
 St  John,  in  his  trance,  experienced,  at  the  same  time,  a  rapture 
 of  recognising  love,  and  sank  in  adoration  at  His  feet,  with  the 
 perfect  consecration  of  His  whole  hf e,  passing  beyond  all  fleshly 
 limits.  Nevertheless,  the  fundamental  feehng — for  the  first 
 word  of  the  Lord's  encouragement  retains  its  truth — was  the 
 fear  which  must  overwhelm  the  saints,  even  the  most  favoured 
 of  them,  when  the  Divine  majesty  bursts  upon  and  around  them 
 from  the  dread  secresy  of  the  other  world.  It  was  far  from 
 being  the  full  glory  of  the  Son  of  Man,  not  to  be  beheld  by 
 mortal  eye,  which  here  appeared — and  even  St  John,  still 
 having  sin  in  him,  must  fail  before  it.  It  was  far  from  being 
 the  full  power  of  the  Eternal  Spmt,  of  eternal  life  in  God, 
 which  breathed  upon  Him — and  even  he,  who  was  in  the  Spirit, 
 and  lived  in  the  Spirit,  like  no  other  man,  must  after  the  flesh 
 die  when  it  moves  upon  Him. 
 
 And  He  laid  His  right  hand  upon  me — thus  writes  the  seer 
 in  after  times — and  said :  Fear  not  ;  I  am  the  First  and 
 THE  Last,  and  He  that  liveth.    And  I  was  dead  ;  ant) 
 
 BEHOLD  I  AM  ALIVE  FOR  EVERMORE,  ANT)  HAVE  THE  KEYS  OF 
 
 DEATH  AND  OF  HELL.^  This  is  here  to  be  othensdse  understood 
 than  in  the  former  passage,  ver.  8,  where  St  John,  after  the 
 prophetic  manner,  followed  his  own  testimony — Behold,  He 
 coraeth !  by  introducing  the  Lord  as  saying,  by  His  servant's 
 mouth,  /  am  Alpha  and  Omega  !  It  is  now  the  immediate  voice 
 of  the  Lord  from  heaven — from  which  the  Evangehst  had 
 derived  those  previous  words.  Let  each  of  us  also  fall  at  His  feet, 
 and  pray — Lord,  be  merciful,  and  reveal  Thyself  to  me !  who 
 does  not  yet,  with  the  confidence  of  faith,  for  his  own  encour- 
 
 1  The  Amen^  long  added  in  the  received  text,  is  not  authentic ;  though,  to 
 many,  it  seems  confirmed  by  ch.  iii.  14. 
 
100  TO  ST  JOHN  IN  PATMOS. 
 
 agement  in  living  and  dying,  know  Him,  tlie  Living  One,  who 
 was  dead  for  us  children  of  death !  We  mourn  over  the  dry 
 and  unfeeling  souls  who  can  bring  their  sophistical  criticisms  to 
 such  words  as  these,  and  write  about  this  or  that  "  author,"  or 
 "  Apocalyptist,"  having  here  given  a  specimen  of  his  high  style. 
 It  is  not  the  style  of  a  man  which  is  here  concerned,  but  the  most 
 sublime  utterance  of  the  Divine-human  personal  Lord  Jesus — 
 rising  to  a  higher  grandeur  than  they  have  ever  assumed  before, 
 even  in  His  words  from  heaven.  The  sublimity  of  the  words, 
 taken  as  a  whole,  and  in  their  ineffable  combination,  using  clear 
 human  language  concerning  time  and  eternity,  living  and  dying, 
 in  the  great  and  unparalleled  testimony  to  that  only  /  which  has 
 not  its  fellow — can  scarcely  be  otherwise  than  marred  by  any 
 exposition  which  they  may  receive.  Yet,  many  may  require  a 
 finger-sign  to  point  the  way  for  their  meditation. 
 
 Once  more,  the  last  time  in  Holy  Writ  (for  ch.  ii.  10  is 
 something  different),  the  primitive  and  ever-new  word  of  God 
 to  the  children  of  men — Fear  not  !  ^  This  goes  beyond  that 
 of  Matt.  xvii.  7,  at  the  preliminary  vision  of  the  transfiguration. 
 He  who  now  speaks  had  long  since  accomplished  his  exodus 
 through  death  unto  life  at  Jerusalem,  and  had  gone  up,  at  the 
 Mount  of  Olives,  to  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  High ; 
 but  He  now  looks  down,  as  the  Lord  who  is  the  Spirit,  in  the 
 glorified,  Divinity-pervaded  corporeity  of  His  human  being, 
 upon  those  who  still  have  the  gloomy  gates  of  death  before 
 them.  We  may  thus  separate  the  words  in  the  exposition  :  "  I 
 AM  He,  the  First  and  the  Last" — and  then  we  should  expect 
 the  words  of  the  risen  Lord  to  be  repeated,  "  I  who  was  dead 
 and  now  live !  "  But,  before  He  thus  speaks.  He  utters  here  a 
 still  loftier  word,  which  testifies  His  eternal  Godhead  before, 
 and  in  His  humanity.  He  who,  in  the  flesh,  said  to  the  blas- 
 pheming Jews,  "Before  Abraham  was,  I  am" — and,  in  His 
 prayer  to  His  Father,  spake  of  the  glory  which  He  had  with 
 Him  before  the  world  was,  yet  had  never  said,  "  I  am  God" — 
 now  at  last  utters  that  great  word,  in  the  saying  of  God  by  the 
 Prophet  Isaiah,  "  I  am  the  First,  and  I  am  the  Last,  and  beside 
 Me  there  is  no  God! "  (Ch.  xliv.  6,  xlviii.  12),  or,  "And  with 
 
 ^  Twenty-one  times  (three  times  seven)  we  have  counted  it,  as  a  direct 
 address,  in  the  Old  Testament ;  and  nine  times  (three  times  three),  in  tho 
 New. 
 
REV.  I.  11,  17-20.  101 
 
 the  last  still  the  same ! "  (Ch.  iv.  1-4).     For,  the  speech  of  this 
 final  Revelation  is  to  be  mostly  taken  from  the  old  prophets. 
 
 The  First  and  the  Last,  and  He  that  liveth  !  This  once 
 more  goes  beyond  the  prophetic  definition  of  the  sole  eternal 
 Godhead,  in  a  most  subhme,  most  profound,  and,  at  the  same 
 time,  most  intelhgibly  consohng  expression.  "The  Living 
 God  "  often  occurs  in  the  Old  Testament ;  only  in  Gen.  xvi.  14 
 (xxiv.  62,  XXV.  11)  does  it  approach,  though  without  reaching, 
 the  absolute  soleness  of  the  idea  as  here  used :  compare  its  ex- 
 pansion in  Rev.  iv.  9,  10,  x.  6.  "  The  eternity  of  God  is  a 
 living  eternity.  He  is  not  the  Absolute,  because  He  is  the  most 
 abstract,  but  because  He  is  the  most  concrete — \\\q  personal  God, 
 who  has  a  heart,  who  is  Love,  and,  therefore,  the  hfe  and  the 
 soui'ce  of  Hfe  to  all.  The  Li\ang  killeth  not  that  which  Hveth  : 
 therefore  John  need  not  fear."  -^  The  same  Living  One  here, 
 who,  incarnate  in  Christ,  was  dead,  and  had  risen  again  to  an 
 eternal  life  of  God,  in  this  /  which  here  speaks,  in  the  human 
 person  of  Jesus  Christ.  As  He  was  the  living  from  eternity, 
 before  the  incarnation,  so  now — Behold,  I  am  alive  for  ever,  to 
 ALL  eternity.  This  present  saying  reaches  higher,  and  has  a 
 more  Godlike  distinctness,  than  that  former  one — 1  am  the  Re- 
 surrection and  the  Life — although  the  former  was  involved  and 
 included  in  the  latter.  Behold,  behold,  Jesus  Christ  is  not  a 
 personage  who  has  existed,  who  is  gone  beyond  the  limits  of 
 humanity ;  as,  alas,  many  think,  who  know  not  the  Living  God, 
 and  dare  to  speak  of  Him  as  of  other  children  of  men.  The 
 personal  continuance  in  being  of  every  man  who  has  once  lived 
 and  is  dead,  is  taken  for  granted  here  as  the  least  tiling ;  and 
 then,  the  sole  supremacy  of  this  First  One  before  the  creation  of 
 the  world,  who  was  dead  and  liveth.  His  inalienable  Divine  life, 
 is  fully  sealed.  But  He  also  liveth  it,  as  He  was  dead  accord- 
 ing to  the  flesh  of  His  human  nature,  in  glorified  flesh,  in  full 
 and  entire  human-personal  hodiliness ;  whereas,  even  the  saved 
 who  live  with  God,  are  still  dead  till  the  resuiTCction  of  the 
 body,  which  alone  will  restore  them  to  perfect  life  (ch.  xiv.  13, 
 XX.  5).  Rothe  misses  the  point  of  this  passage,  when,  at  the 
 end  of  his  otherwise  beautiful  sermons  upon  it,  he  asserts  of 
 Christ,  that  "  He  no  longer  works  by  the  instrument  of  a  sen- 
 
 1  "We  gladly  accept  this  beautiful  sentence  of  Ebrard,  more  especially  as 
 we  so  often  find  occasion  to  contradict  him. 
 
102  TO  ST  JOHN  IN  PATMOS. 
 
 suous  nature,  but  hj  the  energy  of  His  spiritual  nature  and  its 
 organs,  now  consummated  in  Him  ;  by  the  energy  of  His  Holy 
 Spirit."  This  marvellous  doctrine  of  the  reduction  of  the  body 
 into  mere  spiiit,  is  not  the  Scriptural  doctrine  of  the  resurrec- 
 tion and  the  risen  Lord:  there  is  a  third  between  sensuous 
 nature  and  mere  spirit ;  the  spirit-penetrated,  glorified  corporeity, 
 in  virtue  of  which  flesh  and  blood,  in  and  besides  the  sacra- 
 ment, are  the  "  organs  "  of  the  operation  of  Jesus ;  and  thus  the 
 Living  One  communicates  His  life,  even  to  their  incorporation 
 in  Him,  to  those  who  otherwise  have  no  life  (John  vi.) 
 
 It  is  on  the  LorcCs  day  that  the  self -manifesting  Lord  first 
 gives  His  testimony  to  His  resurrection  from  the  dead.  The 
 Living  One  is  no  object  of  fear  to  His  disciple  :  and  the  allusion 
 to  the  death  of  atonement  and  conquest  still  more  effectually 
 dissipates  His  fear.  As  among  the  unbelievers,  they  speak  of  a 
 certain  dead  Jesus  whom  the  disciples  maintain  to  be  alive 
 (Acts  XXV.  19) — so  speaks  He  Himself  in  this  final  testimony, 
 which  was  to  be  a  delaration  in  Scripture  to  all  unbelievers  for 
 ever,  first  of  all  of  His  having  been  dead  and  of  His  living.  I 
 WAS  DEAD — that  includes  not  merely  the  body,  but  the  entire 
 human  person ;  embraces  His  descent  into  the  kingdom  of  the 
 dead,  into  hell ;  and  to  this,  therefore,  is  attached  the  word  of 
 the  Conqueror — and  have  the  keys  of  death  and  of  hell. 
 What  death  and  what  hell  (comp.  ch.  vi.  8,  xx.  13)  mean  in 
 Scripture,  we  cannot  now,  upon  the  exposition  of  this  word, 
 fundamentally  and  from  the  beginning  expound.  Death,  as 
 the  personified  ruler  of  destruction,  comes  first ;  and  then  is 
 added  his  domain  and  kingdom  :  both  in  their  combination  form 
 the  double  expression,  so  frightful  to  the  children  of  men,  for 
 the  final  and  really  existing  object  of  their  inmost  fear,  Christ 
 has  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  death,  the  might  of  which,  on 
 account  of  the  ciu-se  of  sin,  shuts  in  and  holds  fast  all :  He  has 
 opened,  and  can  open ;  He  alone  can  deliver  thence  alid  set  free ; 
 as  He  now  is  the  Lord  over  the  dead  and  the  living,  and  seals 
 His  dominion.  (Rom.  xiv.  9.)  But  now  to  St  John  He  refers 
 only  to  His  having  the  keys ;  He  does  not  make  them  visible  in 
 His  hand^  which  rather  holds  in  it  those  who  have  been  won  from 
 death,  the  angels  of  the  Churches,  victoriously  as  shining  stars. 
 
 In  this  most  essential  word  of  introduction  and  explanation 
 for  the  final  revelations,  before  the  command  to  write  recurs, 
 
KEY.  I.  11,  17-20.  103 
 
 the  sum  of  the  whole  Gospel  for  mankind  is  condensed  in  the 
 person  of  Christ: — O  that  it  may  be  a  living  faith  in  us! 
 Behold,  a  man  like  thyself,  dead  like  thyself,  who  has  been 
 among  the  dead,  and  is  now  eternally  living  and  gi^ing  life — 
 behold.  He  it  is  in  whom  it  is  an  eternal  truth  and  reaHty, 
 though  a  boundless  mystery,  that  the  true  God  hath  given 
 Himself  to  death  for  thee,  lost  man.  Say  to  Him,  with  St 
 Thomas  and  St  John,  in  the  faith  which  He  Himself  demands 
 and  offers — My  Lord  and  my  God !  and  then  thou  shalt,  with- 
 out fear,  secure  from  death  and  hell,  become  partaker  of  His 
 life  and  of  His  glor}^,  even  to  all  eternity ! 
 
 And  now,  after  the  great  "  I  am ! "  had  announced  Him  as 
 the  Utterer  of  that  first  voice,  the  first  commandment  is  resumed 
 from  it,  to  write  that  which  was  seen — the  writing  now  taking 
 the  first  place  in  the  sentence.     Weite,  therefore,-^  the 
 
 THINGS  WHICH  THOU  HAST  SEEN,  AND  THE  THINGS  WHICH 
 ARE,  AND   THE   THINGS   WHICH   SHALL  BE  HEREATTER.      This 
 
 triple  description,  wliich  first  of  all  excites  attention  to  the  compre- 
 hensive perf  ectness  and  most  certain  reahty  of  the  contents  of  the 
 Book  to  be  written,  may  be  understood  according  to  the  three  di- 
 mensions of  time :  What  thou  hast  hitherto  seen  (the  glorious 
 manifestation  described  from  ver.  12  onwards) — the  things  which 
 now  are,  and  which  are  disclosed  with  an  "  I  know,"  must  also 
 be  set  down  by  thee,  that  is,  the  condition  of  these  present 
 churches  as  exhibited  in  the  Epistles,  chs.  ii.  and  iii. — and  the 
 things  which  shall  be  hereafter,  as  they  are  typically  involved  in 
 these  Epistles,  and  as  they  'SN'ill  be  seen  in  all  the  folloTv^ing 
 visions,  down  to  the  new  Jerusalem,  on  the  new  earth,  under  the 
 new  heaven,  down  to  the  eternally  decisive,  '^ Blessed  are^'' — 
 "  But  without  are  I "  This  would  give,  in  a  certain  sense,  three 
 divisions  of  the  Book,  unequal,  indeed,  as  to  their  extent,  but  in 
 their  substance,  strictly  corresponding  to  each  other :  first,  the 
 appearance  of  the  living  Lord — then  His  seven  Epistles — then 
 the  continuous  epistle  of  what  remained  to  be  shown  fwith 
 which  ch.  iv.  1  might  agree).  This  would,  at  the  same  time, 
 involve  the  thought,  that  what  was  to  happen  would  go  on  in 
 the  immediate  process  of  development  (shortly,  ver.  1),  from 
 the  then  circumstances  of  the  Church  as  symbolically  exhibited 
 by  the  seven  churches.  We  will  not  reject  this  exposition,  but 
 ^  The  oyv,  which  Luther  omits,  thus  obtains  its  emphasis. 
 
104  ST  JOHN  IN  PATMOS. 
 
 rather  hold  it  fast,  as  demonstrative  against  every  false  view 
 which  would  discover  in  the  revelation  of  St  John,  not  the 
 whole  of  progressive  history,  but  merely  the  things  in  the  far 
 future  which  will  take  place  immediately  before  the  Lord's 
 coming.  Still,  as  the  pregnant  language  of  prophecy  admits 
 often  of  more  than  one  interpretation,  we  would  also  more 
 simply  understand,  by  the  triple  description  (as  probably  St 
 John  did,  before  his  deeper  penetration  into  the  word),  a  merely 
 parallel  description  of  the  same  thing.  "  The  things  which  thou 
 hast  seen" — may  comprehensively  mean  (in  harmony  with  ver. 
 11)  only,  "What  thou  now,  and  from  this  time  seest"  But 
 that  which  is  shown  to  the  Seer  to  see,  is  no  phantasm  of  a 
 dream  or  poetical  invention.  It  is  most  absolute  reality  in  the 
 condition  and  process  of  things  upon  earth,  as  also  before  the 
 counsel  of  God  in  heaven,  especially  after  the  revelation  here 
 of  the  otherwise  secret  powers  and  energies  which  operate  upon 
 this  world  from  the  other:  hence,  "thou  shalt  see  the  things 
 which  are ! "  But,  finally,  this  that  was  seen  and  already  ex- 
 isting, refers  collectively,  not  so  much  to  the  then  present,  as 
 to  the  things  which  should  come  to  pass  from  that  time  onwards 
 — so  that  "  hereafter  "  is  not  opposed  to  the  preceding  "  things 
 that  now  are,"  but  is  no  other  than  merely  the  prophetic  ex- 
 pression for  the  Futm-e.  Thus,  similarly,  the  third  is  only  a 
 designation  of  the  whole,  with  which  ch.  i.  1  and  iv.  1,  and  also 
 the  corresponding  conclusion,  would  better  agree.  And  it  is  easy 
 to  see  that  the  former  interpretation,  which  lays  stress  on  the 
 connection  with  the  present  and  development  from  it,  is  in- 
 cluded in  this  : '  the  reality  of  the  visions  of  the  future  (as  we 
 may  most  briefly  combine  the  three  expressions  in  their  true 
 meaning),  indeed,  presupposes  the  development  of  the  future 
 from  the  present.  There  is  no  other  actual  future  than  that ; 
 therefore,  there  is  no  other  prophecy  than  that  which  connects 
 itself  with,  develops,  and  typically  sets  out  from,  what  already 
 is — thus  showing  what,  though  it  has  yet  to  come  to  pass, 
 emsts  now  in  God's  counsel,  and  to  the  opened  eyes  of  the  Seer, 
 who  beholds  internal  and  external  realities. 
 
 This  view  of  the  previous  sentence  most  appropriately  prepares 
 the  way  for  its  continuation,  which  at  once  sets  out  with  an  inter- 
 pretation of  the  figures  which  had  been  seen  in  their  reality,  with 
 an  explanation  of  the  typical  meaning  of  the  seven  churches 
 
REV.  I.  11,  17-20.  105 
 
 first-named.  We  may  either  take  it  as  in  the  accusative,  fol- 
 lowing the  sentence  before — "Write  the  mystery,"  etc.;  or 
 regard  it  as  a  iiew  sentence — "The  mystery  of  what  thou,  saw- 
 est  is  as  follows :  the  seven  stars  are,"  etc.  The  sense,  in  both 
 cases,  is  the  same,  and  the  words  run  :  The  mystery  of  the 
 
 SEVEN  STARS  WHICH  THOU  SAWTEST  EST  My  RIGHT  HAND,  AND 
 THE  SEVEN  GOLDEN  CANDLESTICKS.^  ThE  SEVEN  STARS  ARE 
 THE  ANGELS  OF  THE  SEVEN  CHURCHES;  AND  THE  SEVEN 
 CANDLESTICKS  ARE  THE  SEVEN  CHURCHES. 
 
 The  significance  of  the  nimaber  Seven  in  Scripture  is  well 
 known.  Although  stamped  upon  sound,  and  light,  and  other 
 patterns  of  things  heavenly  upon  earth,  it  belongs,  with  the 
 number  Three,  essentially  to  the  upper  kingdom;  and  has 
 indicated,  ever  since  the  festival  of  the  seventh  day  at  the  end 
 of  creation,  "the  number  of  the  perfection  of  Divine  possibilities." 
 The  Twelve,  the  Forty,  or  Thirty,  on  the  other  hand,  correspond 
 rather  to  the  creaturely  in  itself ;  and  this  will  at  once  teach 
 us  why  the  perfect  manifoldness  of  the  New  Testament  people 
 of  God,  the  Lord's  Church,  the  Twelve-number  of  which  is  also 
 found  afterwards  in  the  Apocalypse,  and  seen  in  the  New  Jeru- 
 salem, is  here  at  first  exhibited  in  the  Lord's  own  presence  in 
 His  sabred  number  Seven.  Inasfar  as  the  Lord's  people  is 
 derived,  and  grows,  and  becomes,  from  the  ground  of  the 
 creature,  it  is  unfolded  in  twelve  stems,  and  enters,  finally, 
 through  twelve  gates  into  the  Jerusalem  of  the  new  creation. 
 But,  inasfar  as  the  Lord's  Church,  lighted  by  His  light,  shines 
 in  His  temple  and  sanctuary  from  the  beginning  before  Him, 
 it  is  exhibited  in  the  seven  churches.  To  this  corresponds  a 
 historical  and  eternal  reality ;  but  whether  the  Twelve  and  Seven 
 have,  in  any  sense,  a  literal  value,  or  are  only  symbohcal  num- 
 bers for  more  or  less  manifoldness  in  unity,  will  be  easily 
 decided,  as  it  respects  at  least  the  Seven,  by  the  specially 
 directed  Epistles. 
 
 That  the  seven  candlesticks,  as  the  extension  and  unfolding 
 of  the  seven-branched  candlestick  in  the  old  sanctuary,  and 
 mentioned  first  in  ver.  12,  are  the  foundation  of  the  whole  sym- 
 bolism in  this  place,  is  quite  clear.     Originally  corresponding 
 
 1  Instead  of  "and  of  the  seven" — for  the  candlesticks  seen  are  themselves 
 also  the  mystery.  Such  incorrectness  of  language,  and  change  of  construc- 
 tion, are  designedly  and  significantly  frequent  in  the  Apocalypse. 
 
106  TO  ST  JOHN  IN  PATMOS. 
 
 to  the  seven  spirits  of  God  (ch.  i.  4,  iii.  1,  iv.  5,  v.  6),  tliey  then 
 represent  those  which  are  enhghtened  and  kindled  by  the  one 
 Spirit  in  His  manifoldness ;  just  as  the  shewbread  represented 
 the  people  prepared  by  God's  nourishment,  and  placed  before 
 His  presence  as  acceptable.  Now,  because  these  candlesticks, 
 standing  before  the  Lord  in  His  light  (nevertheless,  according 
 to  the  inwardness  of  the  New  Testament,  not  so  much  before 
 Him  and  He  far  over  against  them,  but  He  being  in  their 
 midst),  are  already,  in  some  degree,  intelligible  to  St  John  from 
 the  Old  Testament,  their  special  signification  is  reserved  for  the 
 close ;  first  comes  now  the  therewith  connected  seven  stars,  the 
 mystery  ^  of  which  previously  required  explanation.  We  learn 
 what  they  mean  from  the  fact  that,  elsewhere  in  the  Old  and 
 New  Scriptures,  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  earth,  the  heavenly 
 kingdom,  is  compared  with,  or  likened  to,  the  upper  heaven. 
 We  could  not,  and  would  not,  wi'ite  here  a  treatise  on  BibHcal 
 typology  and  symbolism,  and  must  content  ourselves  with  the 
 most  concise  interpretation.  When  the  Lord,  in  Matt.  xxiv.  29, 
 speaks  in  the  language  of  the  Old  Testament  of  the  "  heaven- 
 church,"  the  stars  in  that  heaven  are  no  other  than  "  the  heads 
 of  the  congregation,  and  teachers" — for  which  Dan.  viii.  10, 11, 
 and  further  Rev.  vi.  13,  viii.  12,  xii.  1-4,  may  be  compared.^ 
 As,  in  the  above  passage  "host  of  heaven"  (which  expression 
 itself  thus  occurs  in  a  double  meaning),  the  stars  correspond  to 
 the  angels  (Job  xxxviii.  7),  as  their  domain  and  dwelKng,  this 
 simply  of  itself  decides  who  the  angels  of  the  churches  in  our 
 lower,  reflected  church-heaven  must  be :  they  can  be  only  human 
 persons  typically  described  by  this  name.  It  is  not  necessary 
 to  have  recourse  to  learned  parallels  from  the  constitution  of 
 the  Jewish  synagogue,^  nor  to  think  of  messengers,  appointed 
 officials  of  the  then  existing  Asiatic  churches.*     But  no  more 
 
 ^  Mvarvjpiov^  in  apocalyptic  language,  is  equivalent  to  "^T^  — secret  sense 
 of  the  letter ;  comp.  ch.  xvii.  5. 
 
 2  See  on  the  passage  of  St  Matthew,  in  the  "  Words  of  the  Lord  Jesus," 
 vol.  iii. 
 
 3  As  that  oiyyir-tg  etymologically  corresponds  to  the  oflBcial  who  led  the 
 prayers,  who  was  called  ^las  rr^Vr. 
 
 *  As  Ebrard,  from  ignorance  of  the  typical  relation  between  angels  and 
 stars,  has  erred.  It  seems  to  us  impossible  that  the  meaning  "  ambas- 
 sadors," which  only  first  occurs  elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament,  should  be 
 the  meaning  in  this  book,  which  speaks  so  much  of  dyyi'Xoig  as  angels 
 
107 
 
 must  we  spiritualise  in  a  manner  which  is  out  of  harmony  with 
 the  entire  character  of  the  Apocalypse,  and  make  them  poetical 
 personifications  of  the  Church  and  it"?  common  spirit ! !  The 
 important  question,  whether,  at  that  early  period,  one  of  the 
 presbyters  had  the  pre-eminent  place  as  bishop,  is  easily  settled 
 if  we  remember  that  the  angel,  or  president,  or  leader  of  the 
 church  here  singled  out  by  the  Lord — that  is,  that  one  personality 
 in  whom  the  spirit  and  temper  of  the  church  was  represented 
 and  most  perfectly  impressed — by  no  means  must  be  regarded 
 as  bearing  an  official  title  pre-eminent  over  the  rest.  Suffice, 
 that  every  congregation  had — so  far  as  it  is  here  viewed  as  one 
 whole,  characteristically  and  peculiarly  isolated — as  its  own 
 specific  character,  so  also  some  one  personal  representative  of 
 that  character.  In  the  college  of  the  elders  there  was  certainly 
 everywhere  one  who  was  prominent,  without  priority  of  rank, 
 and  who  was  well  known  by  that  preponderance,  at  least  to  Apos- 
 toHcal  eyes.  And  if  even  this  had  not  been  the  case,  the  Lord 
 might  have  shown  to  the  Apostle  whom  He  meant,  and  to  whom 
 the  letter  was  to  be  sent ;  though  this,  as  not  being  of  import- 
 ance to  futurity,  and  therefore  a  subordinate  matter,  was  not 
 to  be  "WTitten  in  the  book,  any  more  than  the  names  of  these 
 "angels"  generally.  Thus,  we  imderstand  these  angels  of  the 
 churches  to  be  persons  who  stood  before  the  Lord's  view  as  the 
 representative  leaders  of  the  Church,  with  or  without  prominent 
 office,  but  in  prominent  spiritual  position,  and,  therefore,  as- 
 sumed to  be  the  receivers  of  that  which  was  to  be  said  to  the 
 Church.^  They  are  by  no  means  collectively  the  "teaching 
 order,"  or,  "  the  eldership,"  or  anything  of  the  kind,  but  actual 
 individual  persons.  Not  therefore,-  however,  "  quasi-guardian 
 The  fiction  that  messengers  came  to  John  in  Patmos,  to  whom  the  epistles 
 were  to  be  conmaitted,  is  most  inappropriate  for  the  seeing  of  the  things 
 which  actually  are,  and  introduces  something  commonplace  for  the  explana- 
 tion of  the  mystery.  Finally,  who  could  ever  say — "Write  to  the  mes- 
 sengers who  will  carry  the  epistle  ;  instead  of — to  those  to  whom  it  was  to 
 be  carried  !  That  in  every  epistle  the  messenger  himself  is  addressed  in- 
 stead of  the  church,  is  not  so  "  natural "  as  it  is  assumed  to  be,  even  if  he 
 was  viewed  as  a  representative  of  the  presbytery. 
 
 1  In  this  we  quite  agree  with  Zeller  (Monatsbl.  Beuggen.  1848)  :  "  that 
 predominant  (single  or  collective)  teaching  or  ruhng  personality,  whose 
 spirit,  example,  and  work  exerted  a  main  influence  upon  the  spiritual  con- 
 dition of  their  church  and  their  time,  and  which  figured  the  chui-ch  either 
 in  a  good  or  evil  sense." 
 
108  TO  ST  JOHN  IN  PATMOS. 
 
 angels"  of  the  churclies,  since  their  typical  designation  as 
 angels  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  idea  of  guardianship ;  but,  in 
 the  profound  and  yet  simple  allusion,  the  significance  of  the 
 spiritual  and  ecclesiastical  ruling  ministers  of  the  Lord  in  His 
 congregation,  the  true  heads  and  princes  of  the  Church,  so 
 regarded  and  esteemed  by  Himself,  was  to  be  shadowed  out  by 
 these  angels  of  the  churches,  which,  indeed,  is,  and  must  ever 
 be,  a  mystery. 
 
 And  now,  finally,  for  the  seven  churches  themselves.  It  is 
 certain  at  the  outset  that  the  interpretation  of  the  mystery  can- 
 not be  restricted  to  those  seven  churches  then  existing  in  Asia 
 Minor.  Certainly  St  John,  according  to  ver.  4,  sent  to  these 
 "  seven  chmxhes  in  Asia'''  the  whole  book,  with  the  seven 
 Epistles  at  the  head  of  it.  This  was  according  to  the  command 
 which  he  received,  ver.  11 ;  when,  however,  as  a  kind  of  hint  of 
 another  signification  of  these  names  and  addresses,  the  geographi- 
 cal note  "  in  Asia"  is  not  found.^  But  here  in  ver.  20,  where 
 the  Lord  interprets  the  whole  typical  symbolism  of  His  first 
 manifestation,  even  the  article  is  wanting,  according  to  the 
 best  reading,  and  it  runs  :  The  seven  candlesticks  are  seven 
 churches.  Again,  afterwards  in  the  Epistles,  the  sevenfold  ap- 
 peal calls  upon  him  that  hath  an  ear  to  hear  what  the  Spirit 
 saith  unto  the  churches — the  seven-number  being  wanting,  and 
 "  the  churches"  signifying  simply — The  entire  Church  of  the 
 Lord.  Accordingly,  we  must  admit  that  there  is  a  symbolical 
 principle  of  interpretation  underlying  the  whole,  however  diffi- 
 cult it  may  be  to  apply  that  principle  to  the  individual  cases. 
 And  the  Book,  as  ch.  i.  1  in  its  superscription  says,  is  from 
 the  beginning  (and  not  merely  from  ch.  iv.  1  onwards)  pro- 
 phetic for  the  future.  How  would  the  seven  churches  be  a 
 mystery  J  if  nothing  was  prophesied  under  their  several  names  ?  ^ 
 How  would  they  then  correspond  to  the  seven  candlesticks,  in 
 the  midst  of  which  the  Lord  walked  (which  presently  is  men- 
 tioned again,  ch.  ii.  1),  and  their  angels  to  the  seven  stars? 
 For  the  Lord  dwells  in  the  midst  of  His  whole  Church,  and 
 
 1  It  is  found  in  Luther's  translation,  following  an  incorrect  reading. 
 
 2  Steinheil  (Glances  into  the  Apocalypse,  Basel,  1857)  observes  that  the 
 text  does  not  say  so.  But  it  most  surely  does  !  Bengel,  who  with  all  his 
 penetration  sometimes  strikingly  fails,  very  erroneously  refers  the  "mys- 
 tery "  only  to  the  stars  ! 
 
REV.  I.  11,  17-20.  109 
 
 holds  all  its  "  angels,"  in  all  lands  and  in  all  times,  in  His  hand. 
 Thus,  most  incontrovertibly,  as  we  have  above  expounded,  this 
 number  Seven  of  the  congregation  is  not  alone  a  typical  coun- 
 terpart to  the  Twelve  of  the  tribes,  but  it  is  here  placed  first  in 
 tlie  prophetical  perspective, — a  prophetic  type  of  that  which 
 was  to  take  place  in  the  succession  of  time;  wliile,  on  the  other 
 hand,  the  twelve  tribes  indicate  only  the  manif  oldness  of  the 
 people  of  God  in  their  unity.  We  may  in  a  certain  sense  com- 
 pare with  this  the  seven  parables  in  Matt,  xiii.,  placed  in  a 
 similar  prophetic  background;  only  that  now,  in  the  present 
 much  more  perfect  development  of  the  Church,  containing  the 
 evident  germ  of  all  the  future,  the  prophecy  is  incomparably 
 more  special,  concrete,  and  plain. 
 
 The  historical  basis  is  the  actual  position  and  character 
 of  a  selected  number  of  the  churches  of  Asia  IViinor,  that  district 
 where  St  John  had  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Apostle  of 
 the  Gentiles,  the  preparer  of  the  way,  regulating  all  its  affairs 
 from  Ephesus  as  a  centre.^  Eich  life  was  there,  but  also  per- 
 version and  corruption  commencing  and  actual;  war  of  the 
 Spirit  with  the  flesh ;  conflict  of  the  Church  of  the  Lord  with 
 the  world  and  its  Prince,  in  all  stages  of  victory  or  commencing 
 fall.  For  even  apostolical  power  and  vigilance  were  not  sufli- 
 cient  to  release  the  Church  of  the  beginning  from  the  process 
 of  development  in  human  freedom ;  even  the  Apostohcal  Church, 
 in  this  immediately  follo\\dng  stage,  which  we  may  term  the 
 Johannsean,  bore  in  it,  concurrently  with  its  strength  of  faith  and 
 faithfulness  of  love,  the  beginnings  and  types  of  all  future 
 apostasy  and  corruption,  down  to  the  Laodicean  lukewarmness 
 of  the  last  days.  For  this,  the  territory  of  the  church  of  Asia 
 Minor,  so  variously  made  up  of  pecuhar  characteristics,  was  a 
 most  apt  and  appropriate  emblem ;  and  hence  it  was  the  his- 
 torically existing,  and  not  arbitrarily  chosen,  type  of  all  the 
 future. 
 
 It  follows  from  all  this,  as  indeed  from  the  fact  of  these 
 Epistles  being  sent  to  these  churches,  that  the  words  of  praise 
 and  censure,  of  consolation  and  exhortation,  which  were  appro- 
 priately addressed  to  each  of  them,  wiW.  approve  themselves 
 appHcable   in   all    similar    circumstances   of    the    progressive 
 
 1  Israel  retires  for  a  season  altogether  into  the  ground  of  Gentile  Chris- 
 tianity, for  the  scope  and  aim  of  the  Apocalypse. 
 
110  TO  ST  JOHN  IN  PATMOS. 
 
 Church.  This  is  even  the  plain  and  obvious  meaning  which 
 the  Holy  Ghost,  in  this  relatively  very  comprehensible  intro- 
 duction of  the  dark  book  of  prophecy,  suggests  to  all  indivi- 
 dual souls.  The  churches  which  rise  successively  are  in  some 
 sense  always  simultaneously  existent  also,  though  not  always 
 stamped  so  distinctively  as  in  these  seven  types, — even  as  "in- 
 visible heart-churches,"  as  Meyer  expresses  it.  Nevertheless, 
 this  does  not  exclude  the  fact,  that  these  characteristics  and  main 
 features  of  the  development  are  exhibited  in  the  periods  of 
 church-history,  and  that  to  point  to  this  in  the  background  is 
 the  main  design  of  the  prophetic  word — as  in  the  case  of  the 
 seven  parables  it  was  but  involuntary,  so  to  speak,  and  sub- 
 ordinate. For,  as  we  said  there,  the  history  of  the  Church  is 
 no  other  than  the  Church's  progressively-developed  doctrine 
 concerning  itself,  its  own  revelation ;  so  we  may  here  still  more 
 distinctly  assert  that  the  stages  and  forms  of  the  development 
 which  exhibit  to  us  in  miniature  its  condition  in  its  course 
 through  time,  are  stamped  with  historical  necessity  upon  that 
 course  on  the  greatest  scale. 
 
 The  Lord's  glance,  everysvhere  having  the  ground  and  the 
 final  consummation  in  view,  beheld  in  these  seven  churches  of 
 Asia  Minor — though  there  were  other  and  not  insignificant 
 churches  there — a  complete  and  self-contained  symbolical  circle. 
 There  were  many  various  elements  intermingled,  as  we  shall 
 see,  in  each  individual  example ;  yet  in  each  there  is  most  evi- 
 dently a  fundamental  feature,  a  main  characteristic.  Every 
 Epistle  is  comprised  under  the  same  fourfold  arrangement : 
 "  What  saith,"  with  a  title  of  the  Lord  coming  first ; — "  I  know 
 thy  works,"  with  a  disclosure  of  its  condition,  .and  praise  or 
 blame  ; — exhortation,  consolation,  threatening,  variously  ex- 
 pressed;— finally,  in  each  case,  the  promise  for  hearing  ears  to 
 him  that  overcometh : — and  this  uniformity  will  make  the  variety 
 all  the  more  intelligible.  Each  several  title  of  the  Lord  at  the 
 beginning  borrows  something  from  the  preceding  manifestation, 
 though  not  following  the  precise  order  of  the  description  ;  even 
 the  "  keys"  of  ch.  iii.  7  looks  back  to  ch.  i.  18,  as  the  compre- 
 hensive name  to  the  seventh,  ch.  iii.  14,  looks  back  in  its  meaning 
 to  the  whole.  Only  the  voice  and  the  face  are  appropriately 
 left  not  mentioned  again  by  the  writer  of  the  Epistles.  The 
 concluding  promises  point  back  directly,  in  the  first  four,  to  the 
 
Ill 
 
 ancient  Scriptures,  and  in  order  :  to  the  tree  of  life  in  Paradise; 
 death  (although  now  the  second  death!) ;  the  manna  of  the  desert; 
 and  David's  typical  kingdom.  They  then  leave  this  course,  and 
 exhibit  an  ever  more  nearly  approximating  appearance  of  the 
 Lord  as  Judge.  From  the  beginning  it  was  almost  everywhere 
 — I  will  come  (ch.  ii.  5,  16,  25)  ;  but  in  the  last  three  it  comes 
 strikingly  nearer  and  nearer:  read  together  ch.  iii.  ver.  3-5, 
 ver.  10-12,  ver.  20,  21.  This  last  observation  refutes  the  notion 
 of  Ebrard,  that  only  the  first  four  "churchdoms"  are  in  historical 
 sequence,  and  that  the  last  three  mil  appear  at  once  in  the  end. 
 
 The  reader  may  expect,  after  this  necessary  exposition  of 
 ch.  i.  20,  as  an  inevitable  introduction  to  the  seven  Epistles,  that 
 w^e  should  give  our  own  exclusively  prophetic  interpretation ; 
 but  this  we  are  not  incHned  to  do.  This  book  is  intended 
 rather  for  edification,  than  for  the  assistance  of  a  few  to  find 
 the  depths  of  knowledge  which  are  only  to  a  few  attainable. 
 Moreover,  we  must  confess  that  we  have  not  attained  to  any 
 absolutely  sure  understanding;  in  all  pre\aous  interpretations, 
 not  excepting  those  which  have  been  thoroughly  versed  in  Scrip- 
 ture and  in  history,  we  have  found  some  coinciding  commence- 
 ments of  presentiment  indeed,  but  no  estabhshed  and  irrefragable 
 conclusions.  Bengel,  it  is  well  known,  maintained  that  the 
 seven  churches  have  no  prophetical  meaning,  and  Hofmann 
 denies  any  such  meaning,  at  least  for  the  whole  of  church 
 history ;  we  think  otherwise,  as  already  hinted,  but  do  not  pre- 
 sume to  expound  the  Spirit's  mystery  as  abeady  knovm.  It  is 
 not  our  vocation  to  add  one  more  to  the  abundant  chronological 
 tables  of  the  corresponding  periods  in  church  history,  certainly 
 not  to  contend  on  such  a  question  as  this. 
 
 Thus  much,  however,  is  plain  to  our  apprehension  on  a 
 general  view,  that  in  Ephesus  and  Laodicea  are  exhibited  the 
 first  and  the  last  ecclesiastical  period.  Ephesus,  the  central 
 church  of  the  Apostle  John,  in  his  consummating  period,  the 
 labouring,  enduring,  Apostohcal  Church,  which  condemned  and 
 put  away  the  evil  and  the  false,  yet  already  in  a  transition  to 
 the  leaving  of  her  first  love ; — therefore  the  remo\ing  of  the 
 candlestick  from  its  first  flace  is  set  threateningly  in  view. 
 Laodicea  (the  name  appears  in  all  cases  significant,  and  here 
 means — where  the  people  rule  and  judge)  is,  Tvdth  equal 
 certainty,  the  church  as  at  the  last  time  altogether  fallen  from 
 
112  TO  ST  JOHN  IN  PATMOS. 
 
 love,  lukewarm,  self-complacent,  blind :  the  vast  broad  state- 
 church,  blending  all  things  together  in  a  so-called  Christendom, 
 before  the  presence  of  the  Lord  who,  standing  at  the  door,  as 
 the  Amen  yet  once  more  faithfully  testifies  and  exhorts,  and  can 
 save  and  preserve  those  who  sit  with  Him  at  the  table,  and  are 
 to  sit  upon  His  throne,  only  by  chastisement  and  discipline. 
 What  lies  between  this  beginning  and  this  end,  admits  of  less 
 clear  demarcation  in  detail.  The  most  definitely  marked  are 
 Smyrna,  following  the  first,  and  Philadelphia,  preceding  the 
 last,  and  the  time  of  which  stretches  through  the  last.  The 
 former  signified  the  post-apostolical  Church,  which  is  exhorted 
 to  fidelity  unto  death  in  the  midst  of  fearful  persecutions  of  the 
 risen  Lord.  Philadelphia  (brotherly  love !),  holding  fast  the 
 word  with  the  open  door  and  little  strength,  and  therefore  itself 
 protected  from  the  great  hour  of  temptation, — may  surely  exhibit 
 to  us  the  pure  united  evangelical  Church,  the  time  of  which, 
 whatever  others  may  say,  has  already  commenced ;  and  to  whicb 
 the  name  of  the  City  of  God,  of  the  alone  true  and  pure  Church, 
 is  held  out  at  least  in  promise.  Only  Smyrna  and  Philadelphia 
 are  not  rebuked,  as  only  Laodicea  is  not  commended.  The 
 three  intermediate  churches  are,  in  the  stronger  intermixture  of 
 their  character  (as  church  history  corresponds  to  it),  less  indi- 
 vidually discernible  in  their  demarcation.  Whether  actually  in 
 Pergamos  (tower)  is  shadowed  out  the  witnessing  Church  dwell-, 
 ing  in  the  midst  of  pseudo-churchdom,  and  the  high  (Csesardom 
 and)  Popedom,  which  alas  was  not  untarnished — that  is,  the 
 beginnings  of  that  witnessing  Church — and  whether  in  Sardis 
 the  Reformed  Chm'ch,  fallen  down  to  a  name  without  truth, 
 and  to  only  a  small  remnant  of  faithful,  first  orthodox  and  then 
 rationahst — ^we  cannot  ventui'e  positively  to  pronounce:  certainly 
 a  place  belongs  to  the  continuous  old-catholic  churches  (with  and 
 after  Pergamos).  These  find,  indeed,  their  type  in  Thyatira, 
 that  is,  the  believing,  serving,  working  Christians  among  them ; 
 if,  namely,  we  rightly  consider  the  whore  Jezebel  and  her  idol 
 sacrifices,  the  threatened  judgment,  the  true  authority  to  feed 
 the  nations  promised  to  the  overcomer.  But  enough :  we  re- 
 serve the  rest  for  the  exposition  of  the  details ;  and  leave  it  to 
 the  Lord  to  reveal,  in  His  own  time  and  way,  to  every  one  what 
 may  do  himself  and  others  service — being  for  our  own  part  far 
 from  asserting  that  what  we  have  to  say  is  incontrovertibly  true. 
 
REV.  II.  III.  113 
 
 X. 
 
 THE  SEVEN  EPISTLES  TO  THE  SEVEN  CHURCHES. 
 
 (Rev.  ii.  iii.) 
 
 That  which  these  Epistles,  placed  thus  in  the  forefront, 
 demand  of  the  reader  of  this  prophetic  book  of  history  and 
 mystery — to  wit,  self-examination  before  we  presume  to  hear 
 and  interpret  the  things  that  shall  be ! — we  earnestly  commend 
 to  every  student  of  this  Apocalj^se  generally ;  and  to  every 
 reader  of  this  little  book,  which  professes  to  expound  only  its 
 commencement  as  containing  the  immediate  words  of  our  Lord. 
 The  whole  Church  of  Christ,  every  particular  church,  and  every 
 individual  believer,  should  constantly  lay  bare  the  heart  to  the 
 word  of  this  great  Searcher  of  hearts  witb  tbe  flaming  eyes,  of 
 this  Judge  who  cometh  mth  the  two-edged  sword  of  His  mouth 
 — /  know  thy  works !  Every  one  must  receive  from  Him  the 
 exhortation  and  appeal  w^hich,  while  it  warns  and  even  threatens, 
 is  yet  full  of  the  strongest  encouragement.  Thus  these  Epistles 
 correspond  mth  the  words  which  begin  and  end  the  great 
 prophecy  of  our  Lord  yet  upon  earth — See  that  ye  be  not  de- 
 ceived !  Watch  always  !  What  I  say  unto  you  I  say  unto  all. 
 Watch!  (iViatt.  xxiv.  4 ;  Luke  xxi.  36;  Mark  xiii.  37).  Hence 
 Rev.  xxii.  11,  12,  returns  back  to  the  same  injunction. 
 
 That  is  an  incorrect  exposition — pervading  Bengel's  school, 
 and  otherwise  common — which  refers  the  address  to  the  angel 
 of  the  church  alone  and  as  an  individual.^  The  significantly 
 running  ''He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear  what  the 
 Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches .'"  is  decisive  against  such  a  hmita- 
 tion,  as  also  the  transition  to  the  more  comprehensive  ye  in  the 
 appHcation,  ch.  ii.  10,  24.  Nevertheless,  so  much  is  true,  that 
 in  the  "  angel "  the  position  and  consciousness  of  the  church 
 belonging  to  him  is  essentially  represented  and  inwardly  con- 
 centrated ;  therefore  all  exhortation  was  to  touch  him  first,  and 
 then  in  him  and  further  through  him  the  church.  Conse- 
 quently, every  such  president  or  ruHng  person,  from  the  minister 
 
 1  As,  e.g.,  in  Bengel's  New  Testament ;  we  read  on  ver.  2  :  "  Thus  this 
 man  must  have  had  a  penetrating  understanding !" 
 
 H 
 
114  THE  EPISTLE  TO  EPHESUS. 
 
 of  the  smallest  cure  to  tlie  general  superintendent  of  the  whole 
 district,  every  one  who  is  thus  responsible  for  the  rest,  must  spe- 
 cifically examine  himself  whether  and  in  what  way  that  which 
 the  Spirit  saith  to  his  church  affects  himself  individually.  Con- 
 sequently, also,  every  theologian  who  would  be  an  expositor  of 
 the  revelation  of  Saint  John  "the  divine,"  must  not  rapidly 
 hasten  over  this  commencement,  given  for  his  own  self-exami- 
 nation ;  he  must  not  consider  it  all  his  duty  to  investigate  and 
 treat  of  the  relation  which  the  Epistle  had  to  the  angel  of 
 Ephesus,  or  Smyrna,  or  the  rest.  Let  us,  Avith  such  a  hearing 
 ear  as  this,  hear  the  words  of  the  heavenly  Epistle-wTiter  through 
 the  Spirit ! 
 
 Unto  the  angel  of  the  church  of  Ephesus  write  ; 
 These  things  saith  He  that  holbeth  the  seven  stars  in 
 His  right  hand,  who  walketh  in  the  midst  of  the  seven 
 GOLDEN  CANDLESTICKS.  The  metropolis,  and  central  church 
 of  Lesser  Asia,  opens  the  series ;  where,  in  the  very  seat  of  ido- 
 latry, superstition,  and  sorcery,  the  flourishing  plantation  of  the 
 great  Apostle  of  Heathenism  had  come  imder  the  immediate 
 care  of  St  John.  The  name^  the  historical  derivation  of  which 
 is  obscure,  might  be  prophetically  interpreted  The  Beloved,  the 
 Desired;  or  the  Sender,  w^hich  would  more  aptly  note  the  dis- 
 tinction of  the  great  "  Apostohcal"  Church  of  the  beginning. 
 But  all  this  is  undefined,  and  has  no  bearing  upon  the  exposi- 
 tion. Nor  are  we  to  refer  this  to  Timothy,  who  was  only  for  a 
 time  an  "  evangelist"  to  Ephesus  {^  Tim.  iv.  5,  9),  and  as  it 
 were  an  apostohcal  delegate  for  the  full  establishment  of  the 
 Church ;  not  to  mention  other  reasons  which,  when  we  reflect 
 lurther,  turn  om'  thoughts  away  from  him.  The  personalities 
 of  the  historical  basis  retreat  into  that  obscurity  in  which  it  has 
 pleased  the  wisdom  of  God  that  the  speciahties  of  the  early 
 Church  should  be  ^vrapped,  in  order  that  the  permanent  canoni- 
 cal word  written  for  us  might  more  clearly  shine  out.  Thus  it 
 rather  imports  us  to  behold  and  hear  Him  who  speaks  to  the 
 Ephesian  angel,  and  who  prefixes  to  the  first  Epistle  the  first 
 comprehensive  title — I,  the  supreme  Pastor  of  all  the  churches ! 
 After  the  manner  of  the  old  prophetical.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  ! 
 He  utters  His  majestic  I,  though  Himself  speaks  in  the  third 
 person ;  yet  this  is  all  the  more  emphatic  after  the  preceding 
 manifestation.     He  holdeth  the  seven  stars  in  His  right  hand, 
 
REV.  II.  1-7.  115 
 
 and  this  in  the  original  has  a  strong  meaning ;  who  by  the  might 
 of  His  right  hand  holds  them  fast^  ruhng  and  def enduig  them, 
 that  they  may  not  faU  from  His  hand,  and  that  no  man  may 
 pluck  them  thence.  Even  Sardis  and  Laodicea  are  still  in  ffis 
 hand ;  with  all  their  severe  rebukes,  they  are  not  yet  cast  away ! 
 A  candlestick  may  indeed  be  removed  out  of  its  place  (ver.  3) — 
 yet  only  to  another ;  the  seven  candlesticks  as  a  whole  cannot  be 
 extinguished  before  Him.  But  that  comes  only  of  the  grace  in 
 which  he  icalketh  among  them  :  He  visits,  cares  for,  and  guards 
 all  in  particular — as  to  everv'  candlestick  there  might  appertain 
 many  lesser  lio-hts,  scarcely  gUmmering  in  their  feebleness.  He 
 w^ho  walketh  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  churches  is  the  same  who 
 promised  that  wherever  Two  or  Three  were  gathered  together  in 
 His  name,  He  would  be  in  the  midst  of  them !  In  this,  at  the 
 same  time,  consists  the  unity  of  all  behevers  and  of  aU  churches 
 in  the  one  Church ;  as  this  unity,  testified  here  first  for  Ephesus, 
 was  acknowledged  in  the  Apostohcal  Church.  Alas,  that  the 
 isolated  chui'ches  of  later  times  have,  in  the  darkness  of  their 
 pride,  forgotten  that  the  Lord  walketh  among  all  the  candle- 
 sticks, in  all  churches,  confessions,  and  sects  which  rest  upon 
 the  one  foundation. 
 
 I  KXOW  THY  WORKS,  AXD  THY  LABOUR,  A2s'D  THY  PATIENCE, 
 AXD  HOW  THOU  CANST  NOT  BEAR  THEM  WHICH  ARE  EVIE ; 
 AND  THOU  HAST  TRIED  THEM  WHICH  SAY  THEY  ARE  APOSTLES, 
 ANT)  ARE  NOT,  ANT)  HA\T:  FOUND  THEM  LIARS.      ThuS  upon  the 
 
 one  sure  foundation  which  God  in  Christ  hath  laid,  this  seal  is 
 engraven — The  Lord  hioweth  them  that  are  His !  The  first 
 prayer  of  His  Httle  company  addressed  to  Him  ran — Thou,  Lord, 
 knowest  the  hearts  of  aU !  (Acts  i.  24).  How  should  not  He 
 know  them,  who  walks  among  them,  who  dwells  in  their  midst, 
 whose  light  alone  enkuidled  the  stars  and  keeps  them  shining  ? 
 But  because  the  Searcher  of  hearts  speaks  here  as  also  the 
 comincp  and  wamincr  Judcre,  He  mentions  onlv  —  while  He 
 means  the  ground  of  the  heart — the  works  vd\h.  then-  absolute 
 evidence,  as  they  are  always  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
 judgment :  the  fruits  for  which  He  T\ill  ask,  the  gain  which  He 
 will  look  for.  There  are  works  seemingly  good,  but  He  means 
 not  these ;  they  are  the  genuine,  substantial,  and  worthy  works, 
 
 ^  Koctrii'j  from  x.pa,ro;  is  elsewhere  used  in  the  sense  of  hold  fast,  pre- 
 serve :  for  example,  ver.  25  of  this  chapter. 
 
116  THE  EPISTLE  TO  EPHESUS. 
 
 to  which  are  opposed  the  mere  conceit  of  an  imaginary  faith. 
 Works,  which  are  vahd  before  the  Lord,  are  foimd  only  where 
 there  is  labour  or  dihgence ;  and  further,  these  are  only  where 
 there  is  patience^  not  merely  in  suffering,  but  in  all  perseverance 
 generally  in  the  sense  of  this  scriptural  word.^  Parallels  in 
 matter  and  word  are  1  Cor.  xv.  58 ;  1  Thess.  i.  3 ;  Heb.  vi.  10. 
 How  many  would  fain  satisfy  and  appease  the  Lord  with  so- 
 called  "works,"  who  must  hear  the  fiu'ther  question  to  their 
 shame — But  where  is  the  toil  and  laboui'  of  love,  as  the  demon- 
 stration of  the  genuineness  of  the  work  of  faiM  where  the 
 perseverance  in  fidelity,  the  patience  from  liope  ?  It  is  not  that 
 the  earnestness  of  this  persevering  maintenance  is  to  be  sought  in 
 the  later  maturity  of  the  Christian  life ;  we  see  rather  here,  that 
 this  test  is  appHed  to  what  may  be  termed  youthful  Christianity, 
 to  the  Apostolical  Church — as  generally  the  Epistle  to  Ephesus  is 
 adapted  to  rightly  established  beginners.  For,  as  we  hear  again 
 in  the  conclusion,  it  is  the  fresh,  pure,  beginning  of  separation 
 from  the  evil  world,  its  sin  and  lie,  that  is  threatened  with  the  war- 
 fare with  opposers  and  seducers.  And  then  comes  in  the  word — 
 And  I  know  that  thou  canst  not  bear  those  that  are  evil,  although 
 thy  patience  heareth  much !  ^  It  is  quite  a  different  thing  to  bear 
 evil  in  the  sense  of  2  Tim.  ii.  4  :  as  the  necessary  corrective  of  a 
 patience  which  receives  all  suffering,  and  which  otherwise  might 
 degenerate  into  mere  miholy  weakness,  there  must  always  be 
 bound  up  with  all  true  love  a  hatred  against  evil  (Rom.  xii.  9), 
 and  consequently  a  holy  intolerance  so  far  against  all  the  doers 
 of  evil.  We  must  actually,  for  the  sake  of  truth,  not  be  able  to 
 bear  the  least  imputation  of  such  bearing  with  sinners  as  tole- 
 rates and  is  content  to  have  any  fellowship  with  their  sin.  That 
 inability  to  bear  is  a  high  commendation  in  the  sight  of  the 
 Lord,  and  stands  here  prominently  among  the  first-fruit  virtues 
 of  His  first  community.  Finally,  there  are  at  all  times,  and 
 there  were  in  the  beginning  also,  seducers  and  teachers  of  error 
 who  came  forward  with  veiy  specious  pretensions ;  but  they 
 
 ^  In  conformity  with  this  order  of  the  thought,  each  of  the  three  words 
 has  the  pronoun.  We  would  not  therefore,  with  many,  strike  out  the  o-oiJ, 
 that  labour  and  patience  might  be  brought  nearer  together. 
 
 ^  '  Kvi^UccKog^  according  to  Hesychius,  v7ro(pipau  x.ccKa.  The  adversaries 
 must  be  really  withstood,  though  it  may  be  with  meekness :  they  are  not  to 
 be  tolerated  and  borne  with  as  such. 
 
REV.  II.  1-7.  117 
 
 were  to  be  tried,  tested  by  the  true  standard,  to  see  whether 
 they  were  what  they  pretended  to  be.  The  text  speaks,  with 
 reference  to  the  time  in  which  there  were  stiU  true  Apostles,  of 
 the  false  ones  wdiom  the  New  Testament  often  sets  before  us ; 
 St  Paul,  who  was  greatly  beset  by  them,  prophesied  of  their 
 coming  to  Ephesus,  Acts  xx.  29.  The  testing  of  these  false 
 apostles,  so  that  they  might  be  found  to  be  liars  as  they  were, 
 is  by  no  means  only  a  "  matter  for  the  Bishop" — as  the  simple 
 Eomanist  Allioli  says,  in  his  "  approved"  exegesis ;  but  it  is, 
 according  to  1  John  iv.  1,  the  duty  and  prerogative  of  every 
 Christian  man.  The  sheep  may  themselves  test  the  shepherd, 
 whether  he  be  a  stranger  or  not. 
 
 Still  more  perfectly  exliibiting  His  meaning,  and  stiU  dwell- 
 ing on  the  good  fundamental  principle  which  is  graciously 
 acknowledged,  the  Lord  concludes  this  first  part  of  His  address 
 to  Ephesus :  A^T>  HAST  (or  retainest)  patience,  and  hast 
 
 BORNE  FOR  My  NAME's  SAKE,  AND  HAST  NOT  FAINTED.  Pa- 
 tience has  the  honour  of  being  tw^ice  mentioned,  for  it  is 
 the  decisive  grace  (ch.  xiii.  10,  xiv.  12)  ;  as  St  James  says,  she 
 must  have  her  w^ork  perfected,  must  fully  prosecute  and  finish 
 the  good  w^ork  of  faith  :  Jas.  i.  4.  The  words  defend  them- 
 selves on  both  sides  against  misunderstanding :  that  the  work, 
 the  work  of  love  in  patience,  may  not  be  interpreted  in  a  sense 
 contrary  to  holy  truth  and  rigid  purity,  there  comes  first  the 
 not  bearing  with  the  evil,  the  testing  and  rejection  of  the  false ; 
 but  then,  on  the  other  hand,  that  this  may  not  be  pressed  in  a 
 spirit  opposed  to  love,  there  is  the  hearing  of  the  evil  and  in- 
 justice wdiich  the  wicked  inflict,  and  that  in  its  only  genuine 
 spirit — For  My  name's  sake  !  This  embraces  both  at  once  and 
 in  one,  as  well  the  love  of  Christ  which  impels  a  man  to  suffer, 
 as  the  truth  of  Christ  for  the  maintenance  and  profession  of 
 which  a  man  is  ready  to  suffer.  Let  every  Christian  and  every 
 Cliristian  Church  look  in  the  glass  here  presented  to  him  by 
 Christ,  and  ask  whether  the  Lord  has  found  the  w^orks  of  such 
 patience  acconiphshed  ?  As  the  seeming  antithesis  —  Thou 
 hast  borne,  although  thou  canst  not  bear — most  plainly  exhi- 
 bits how  it  is  rightly  to  be  understood,  so  also  in  the  still  more 
 untranslateable  w^ords  of  the  original  which  foUow — I  know 
 thy  labour,  but  thou  hast  not  laboured.^     The  same  word  is 
 
118  THE  EPISTLE  TO  EPHESUS. 
 
 used  in  another  correlative  meaning,  in  tlie  second  clause :  but 
 it  is  not  so  mucli,  as  Zinzendorf  says,  "  Thy  labour  has  not 
 been  heavy  and  tedious,  thou  hast  done  it  willingly,"  as,  "  Thou 
 hast  not  become  weary  in  thy  toil,  thou  hast  not  sunk  under 
 thy  work."^  As  nothing  so  much  tends  to  produce  dejection, 
 and  to  destroy  the  perseverance  of  patience,  as  the  conflict 
 with  false  apostles  and  brethren,  so  it  is  certainly  the  highest 
 praise  of  the  first  love  of  the  beginning  of  the  apostohcal  time, 
 that  it  had  preserved  its  fidelity  in  protesting  truth  and  in 
 suffering  love. 
 
 Nevertheless — alas,  this  nevertheless  follows  !  "  Thou  hast 
 not  been  weaiy;  thou  hast  labom'ed  and  had  patience;  thou 
 hast  for  a  while  held  out  both  in  the  not  suffering  and  the 
 suffering:  but  now  thou  beginnest  to  be  weary  and  to  relax  !" 
 Alas,  if  such  a  word  as  this  must  be  spoken  in  the  Lord's  first 
 address  to  His  first  church — and  the  history  even  of  the  apos- 
 tolical age  shows  us  the  justification  for  it — who  is  there  that 
 can  repel  and  decline  the  same  heai-t-searching  declaration? 
 Wlio  among  us  has  remained  uncontaminated  and  blameless  in 
 his  first  love  ?  "  Let  the  righteous  smite  me  in  kindness ;  it 
 shall  be  balsam  upon  my  head,"  spake  David,  the  type,  through 
 the  Holy  Spirit  (Ps.  cxH.  5)  ;  and,  verily,  here  the  alone  Eight- 
 eous  rebukes  and  smites  His  own  with  the  excellent  oil  of 
 everlasting  love  !  First  comes  the  full  and  unsparing  praise ; 
 and  not  till  then  the  equally  just  blame.  And  when  that  cen- 
 sure comes,  it  begins  in  the  gentlest,  mildest  expression — which, 
 how^ever,  on  that  very  account  is  keenly  penetrating — and  only 
 after  that  does  the  increasing  severity  of  the  inevitable  threaten- 
 ing follow. 
 
 NeVEKTHELESS,  I  HAVE  AGAIXST  THEE,  THAT  THOU  HAST 
 
 LEFT  THY  FIRST  LOVE.  As  the  Lord  directed  His  disciples 
 that  the  brother  should  speak  to  the  brother,  if  he  have  ought 
 against  him,  so  does  He  condescend  Himself,  in  all  the  greater 
 majesty  and  conviction,  to  say — I  have  somewhat  against  thee ! 
 He  that  hath  an  ear  to  hear,  let  him  hearken  w^hen  the  Lord 
 has  anything  against  him — let  him  return  and  reconcile  him- 
 self with  his  Lord !  Do  we  not  perceive  that  it  is  His  love 
 alone  which  seeks  and  finds  wanting  the  love  in  us  %     Can  any 
 
 ^  Compare  the  same  Greek  \7ord  in  John  iv.  6 ;  and  similarly  Gal,  vi 
 
 9.    iKKUKilv. 
 
REV.  II.  1-7.  119 
 
 one  more  toucliingly  rebuke  than  by  commencing  with  the  com- 
 plaint— Thou  no  longer  lovest  me  enough  ?  Indeed,  from  the 
 lips  of  sinners  this  mav  be  a  selfish  and  unrighteous  demand ; 
 but  when  the  love  of  BUm  who  thus  rebukes  is  firm  and  certain, 
 and  proves  itself  even  in  the  manner  of  the  rebuke,  He  has 
 verily  in  strict  right  this  charge  to  bring.  The  inmost,  deepest 
 root,  the  faith  presupposed  in  ver.  2,  which  is  the  source  and 
 impulse  of  works,  is  not  now  mentioned  or  laid  bare,  because  it 
 is  self-understood  to  be  involved  in  the  charge.  The  necessity 
 of  the  doctrine  and  experience  of  faith  had  been  pre-eminently 
 set  forth  by  St  Paul :  the  Lord  EQmself,  after  He  had  spoken 
 in  the  same  strain  while  upon  earth,  now  that  He  speaks  from 
 heaven  lays  more  stress  in  His  phraseology — like  St  John, 
 whose  pen  He  put  into  his  hand  elsewhere  for  the  same  pur- 
 pose— upon  love,  the  power  and  fruit  of  faith ;  in  order  that  no 
 man  in  His  church  might  fall  into  the  false  perversion  of  the 
 doctrine  of  "  faith  oloneV  T^vice  only  in  the  Seven  Epistles 
 (to  Pergamos,  ver.  13,  and  Thyatira,  ver.  19)  do  we  find  the 
 word  faith  ;  and  in  the  rest  of  the  Apocalypse  only  in  the  two 
 comprehensive  and  strictly  connected  fundamental  passages,  ch. 
 xiii.  10,  xiv.  12. 
 
 Ebrard  understands  by  the  ''"  sacred  fire  of  first  love,"  which 
 had  declined,  "  not  their  love  to  Christ,  but  their  love  to  one 
 another" —  but  in  our  opmion  incorrectly.  As  if  such  a  separa- 
 tion were  conceivable;  as  if  love  to  Christ  could  be  maintained  in 
 work  and  patience,  while  love  to  the  brethren  was  wanting ! 
 As  we  have  understood  the  whole,  the  praise  of  vers.  2,  3  was 
 not  deser^^ed  simultaneously  with  the  condemnation  of  ver. 
 4;  but  the  commendation  speaks  of  a  heginning  which  had 
 not  been  sustained,  of  the  same  abandoned  first  love.  But 
 thus  much  is  true,  that  when  that  love  which  is  the  energy 
 and  living  power  of  faith,  and  which  in  its  profoundest  depth 
 imites  in  one  the  love  of  God  and  man,  of  the  Lord  and  of 
 the  brethren,  begins  to  relax  and  decline,  its  coldness  is  first 
 seen  and  made  manifest  in  the  external  ofiSces  of  charity  (^latt. 
 xxiv.  12).  From  the  weakening  of  brotherly  love,  and  con- 
 cmTently  of  that  love  to  all  men,  even  enemies,  which  is 
 kindled  on  that  hearth,  and  is  ever  sustained  from  above, 
 flows  all  apostasy  and  backshding:  therefore  the  Lord's  con- 
 vincing word  seizes  us  by  that  lack,  which  we  first  become 
 
120  THE  EPISTLE  TO  EPHESUS. 
 
 aware  of  ourselves — indeed  only  in  order  to  disclose  the  damage 
 and  deficiency  of  faith  which  that  very  lack  indicated.  If  we 
 do  not  love  the  brethren,  and  all  men,  perfectly,  whence  is  that 
 but  because  we  no  longer  love  the  Lord  perfectly  ?  For,  it  is 
 only  the  one  love  of  Christy  poured  into  our  hearts  by  the  Holy 
 Ghost  in  order  to  our  love  in  return,  which  can  urge  us  to 
 show  love  to  our  brethren  and  fellows  in  pardoning  mercy, 
 or  at  least  in  redeeming  love.  It  is  not  in  vain  or  without 
 significance  that  "  thy  first  love"  is  spoken  of.  It  is  not  only 
 to  shame  them  by  reference  to  the  past, — that  which  thou  for- 
 merly hadst;  but  it  is  emphatically — My  love  hath  not  left 
 thee;  but  thou  hast  forsaken,  hast  let  go,  this  love  of  Mine 
 which  had  become  thine. 
 
 The  history  of  the  Church  from  the  beginning  is  a  thou- 
 sandfold recurring  commentary  upon  this  unspeakably  signifi- 
 cant word — the  first  rebuke  of  the  Church  from  her  Lord  in 
 heaven,  and  penetrating  the  hearts  of  His  people  below  !  The 
 special  individual  church-history  of  all  hearts,  as  spread  be- 
 fore the  Lord's  eye,  testifies  that  something  of  this  relaxation 
 of  the  first  love  has  befallen  every  man,  even  the  Apostles  in 
 some  degree,  and  multitudes  of  others  much  more  fully  and 
 miserably.  Sanctification  does  not  in  any  soul  reach  its  per- 
 fection without  the  standing  still  and  sometimes  the  going 
 back:  this  is,  alas,  a  law  in  the  kingdom  of  grace,  in  which 
 human  freedom  is  not  abolished.  But  the  ceasing  of  the  first 
 love  does  not,  properly  speaking,  consist  in  the  abatement  of 
 the  powerful  and  happy  feelings  of  the  commencing  period, 
 the  purification  and  softening  down  of  which,  rather,  belongs 
 to  the  strengthening  and  deepening  of  grace ;  but  in  the  weak- 
 ening and  growing  faint  of  the  energy  which  sustains  the  work 
 proceeding  from  faith  —  as  ver.  3  preparatorily  intimated. 
 Genuine  love  is  not  a  feeling,  but  a  wilhng  and  a  working. 
 When  that  grows  exliausted,  there  may  indeed  be — as  was  the 
 case  in  the  Apostolical  period — a  continuance  of  the  working 
 and  conflict  as  against  the  world,  of  the  witness  and  mainte- 
 nance of  the  truth.  This  may  actually  seem  to  increase  and 
 become  more  zealous ;  but  it  will  be  no  longer  of  the  genuine 
 character ;  it  does  not  go  affectionately  into  the  world  to  win 
 its  victories,  because  it  no  longer  proceeds  from  the  brotherly 
 love  which  burns  vigorously  upon  the  enclosed  hearth,  and 
 
KEY.  II.  1-7.  121 
 
 which  rests  upon  the  common  love  of  each  to  the  Lord.^  The 
 church  in  Ephesus  is  not  yet  wanting  in  pure  doctrine;  the 
 false  apostles  are  repelled,  and  will  be  so  ;  nor  is  it  wanting 
 in  sharp  discipHne,  the  wicked  are  not  borne  with,  but  ai'e 
 handled  with  mcreasing  severity.^  But  all  these  manifestations 
 are  internally  connected  with  a  lack  of  truth  and  spiritual 
 vigour,  of  sacred  and  divine  life.  The  external  too-much 
 conceals  before  human  eyes  an  internal  too-httle  ;  but  the 
 Lord  discloses  it,  and  keenly  pierces  the  heart  of  His  Church 
 — Thou  hast  left  thy  first  love  !  As  if  He  would  utter  the 
 words  once  spokento  Israel : — I  remind  thee  of  the  kindness 
 of  thy  youth,  the  love  of  tliine  espousals,  when  Israel  was  holi- 
 ness to  the  Lord,  and  the  first-fruits  of  His  increase  (Jer.  ii. 
 2,  3).     Remember  thou  through  My  reminding ! 
 
 Eemember,  therefore,  from  ^vhexce  thou  art  fallen, 
 
 AXD  REPEXT,  AND   DO    THE   FIRST   WORKS.      Call   tO   mind   the 
 
 first  days  of  thy  good  beginning,  and  deeply  reflect.  For  Sardis, 
 which  represents  a  new  commencement,  the  same  exliortation  is 
 repeated,  ch.  iii.  3.  How  were  ye  then  so  blessed!  writes  St 
 Paul  to  the  Galatians  (ch.  iv.  15).  Even  vdth.  the  increasing 
 severity,  which  speaks  of  an  actual  fall  and  a  new  repentance, 
 how  gracious  is  the  evangehcal  preaching  and  enforcement  of 
 this  repentance — on  the  ground  of  grace  once  more  offered,  a 
 grace  which  had  been  already  received  and  experienced.  It 
 was  thy  first  love,  glowing  then  so  strongly  and  blessedly  from 
 My  love,  which  thou  hast  not  held  fast !  Herder  wiites  too 
 much  in  the  modem  sentimental  tone,  though  not  TN^ithout 
 truth :  "  The  whole  Epistle  comes,  as  it  were,  from  the  paradise 
 of  innocence  and  love.  The  mother  could  not  more  tenderly 
 remind  the  child,  nor  the  bride  her  beloved,  of  happy  times 
 gone  by  which  have  not  returned  I "  He  then  goes  on,  with 
 less  justifiable  exaggeration :  "  As  if  this  voice  of  love  would 
 come  stealthily,  after  aboimding  praise,  to  the  subject  of  that 
 which  was  yet  wanting ;  and  that  is  spoken  of  as  what  might 
 
 1  And  worse  in  later  times,  with  the  zeal  of  the  Confassions  against 
 brethren  united  even  in  faith,  without  the  uniting  principle  of  a  hving 
 oneness  with  all  members  in  the  Lord's  one  body. 
 
 2  And  this  will  show,  in  comparison  with  Pergamos  presently,  vers.  14, 
 15,  and  the  following  churches,  that  the  First  Epistle  was  not  thoroughly 
 and  exclusively  meant  of  the  Apostolical  Church,  as  a  one-sided  prophetical 
 interpretation  assumes. 
 
122  THE  EPISTLE  TO  EPHESUS. 
 
 soon  be  repaired — Eemember  how  it  was  with  thee !  And  is  it 
 better  now  ?  And  then  new  praise  follows  for  more  abundant 
 encouragement."  No,  this  is  not  the  spirit  of  the  rebuke! 
 This  is  not  the  sweet  relish  which  the  bitter  medicine  of  the 
 intermingled  Remember  !  leaves  upon  our  thoughts.  Its 
 solemn  and  searching  general  tone  has  made  it  a  piercing  word 
 of  thunder,  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  used  among  all  fallen 
 churches  and  souls,  even  those  which  have  worse  fallen  than 
 Ephesus.  What  a  history  has  this  text  of  Scripture  had  in  the 
 secrets  of  men,  where  the  Lord  is  now  carrying  on  His  judg- 
 ment of  grace!  Thou  art  fallen — that  means  a  real  and 
 actual  fall,  though  only  at  first  in  the  ground  of  the  heart,  and 
 but  Httle  made  evident  in  external  things.  And  from  whence  ? 
 From  the  full,  rich  grace  of  the  new  life  in  the  love  of  God ;  in 
 a  certain  sense,  therefore,  it  is  a  worse  fall  and  more  perilous 
 than  the  first  fall  of  man,  of  which  the  Lord's  words  remind 
 the  church  of  Ephesus.  There  is  something  true  in  the  doctrine 
 of  the  Lrvingites  concerning  a  great  apostasy  of  the  original 
 church,  the  "  catastrophe  of  a  second  Fall ; "  but  the  fanatical 
 error  which  has  caricatured  this  historical  truth,  and  perverted 
 its  meaning  into  sad  extravagances,  is  plain  in  the  words  them- 
 selves. Where  does  the  Lord  speak  of  the  loss  of  spiritual  gifts, 
 of  the  disruption  of  ecclesiastical  order,  of  the  abandonment  of 
 obedience  to  ofiicial  dignities,  and  all  those  other  matters  in 
 which  these  strange  people  behold  at  once  the  guilt  and  the 
 punishment  of  the  first  church  ?  The  Lord  rests  His  charge 
 upon  very  different  grounds ;  He  rebukes  the  angel  with  the 
 church ;  He  does  not  merely  refer  the  congregation  back  to  the 
 discipline  and  form  of  a  forsaken  constitution,  but  to  their  first 
 love ;  He  does  not  teach,  in  the  Corinthian  manner,  the  dis- 
 tinguishing value  of  miraculous  gifts,  which  are  not  even  men- 
 tioned here,  any  more  than  in  the  whole  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 
 (although  there  were  such  great  miracles  performed  there,  there 
 is  no  mention,  even  in  ch.  iv.  11,  of  workers  of  miracles  ! )  ;  He 
 preaches,  simply,  a  renewed  repentance,  as  in  the  beginning. 
 This  preaching  of  repentance,  indeed,  with  which  Christianity 
 began,  as  did  the  Reformation,  and  which  is  evermore  preached 
 on  every  relapse  of  churches  or  souls,  is  something  very  different 
 from  tliose  means  of  grace  which,  in  our  days,  even  Lutherans, 
 ^  Stunden  der  Andacht,  81. 
 
REV.  II.  1-7.  123 
 
 like  the  In^ngites,  appoint  in  the  church  as  false  physicians. 
 Not  from  without  inwardly,  and  from  above  downwardly,  but 
 from  within  outwardly,  through  return  to  first  love,  the  hurt  of 
 souls  is  healed :  this  cannot  be  too  dihgently  remembered,  and 
 earnestly  enforced. 
 
 As  love  is  not  merely  a  delectable  feeling,  but  a  labour  of 
 the  dependent  and  devoted  will;  as  faith  is  not  merely  a 
 thought,  but  an  impulsive  and  abundant  spring  of  good  works ; 
 so  the  Lord  will  recognise  no  repentance  but  that  which  is  con- 
 firmed in  the  doing  of  the  first  works.  In  this  He  requires, 
 as  Tholuck  says,  "  the  energy  and  strength  of  the  works  of  first 
 love."  Ihey  must  be  the  proof  of  thy  change  of  mind,  and 
 return  to  God.     These  thou  canst  present,  if  thou  dost  repent. 
 
 But  that  is  ever  left  with  human  freedom ;  Christ's  whole- 
 some, discipKnary,  faithfully  inviting  and  chastising  grace,  puts 
 force  on  none.     Or  ELSE  I  will  come  unto  thee  (quickly), 
 
 AND    will    remove    THY    CANDLESTICK    OUT    OF    HIS    PLACE, 
 
 EXCEPT  THOU  REPENT.  The  deepest  emphasis  falls  upon  the 
 repetition  at  the  close  of  this  Except!  It  seems  at  first  to 
 strengthen  the  threatening ;  but  when  we  lay  it  to  heart,  it 
 rather  softens  the  rigour  of  the  simply  conditional  threatening. 
 It  goes  on  to  say —  Only  if  thou  repentest  not,  will  this  judg- 
 ment befall  thee !  Wilt  thou  not  turn  it  away  ?  I  will  come 
 unto  thee — thus,  with  evident  difference,  the  prehminary  judg- 
 ment, first  upon  Ephesus  alone,  is  indicated;  thus  the  Lord 
 cometh,  in  all  ages,  to  judgment  upon  men  individually,  as  well 
 as  to  His  churches.  These  Epistles  speak,  each  of  them,  of  this ; 
 and,  as  we  have  remarked,  with  progressive  distinctness  unto 
 the  last  and  perfect  judgment.  The  "soon"  which  has  been 
 placed  here,  also  may  have  been  falsely  inserted  from  later 
 passages  (ver.  16  and  ch.  iii.  11) — yet  we  would  not  positively 
 strike  it  out,  since  it  holds  good  of  every  such  threatening,  and 
 is  true  even  of  the  slowly  coming  judgments.  We  would 
 further  remark  that,  as  our  Lord  announces  His  coming  as  a 
 first  typical  judgment  upon  Jerusalem,  so  now,  in  these  Epistles, 
 He  speaks  in  the  same  manner  of  His  coming  to  His  Church. 
 Threatening  of  judgment,  as  actual  threatening,  is  ever  and 
 absolutely  necessary,  and  from  the  beginning  could  not  be 
 spared.  The  revelation  and  utterance  of  such,  not  merely 
 threatened,  but  actually  accomplished,  judgments  of  the  Lord 
 
•124  THE  EPISTLE  TO  EPHESUS. 
 
 — accomplished  upon  many  churches  of  the  great  Chui'ch — is 
 the  removal  of  the  candlestick.  Literally  taken,  it  does  not 
 mean  an  overturning  or  extinction  of  the  light ;  but  the  expres- 
 sion (which  is  moving  away,  as  in  ch.  vi.  14)  simply  purports 
 the  displacing  from  where  it  stood — to  this  place  a  testimony  of 
 guilt  and  punishment — and  thus  the  grace  is  renewed  in  another 
 place.^  Ephesus  did,  indeed,  once  repent,  even  if  not  with 
 all  her  might,  and,  therefore,  the  judgment  was  restrained. 
 But  then  "  the  subsequent  desolation  of  the  city  of  Ephesus " 
 has  something  to  do  with  the  typical-prophetical  threatening ;  ^ 
 although  the  true  fulfilment  came  long  afterwards,  in  the  de- 
 struction of  the  whole  of  the  first  Oriental  churches  by  Moham- 
 med. Indeed,  this  threatening  of  the  removal  of  the  candle- 
 stick, intelHgible  without  much  exposition,  has  its  universal 
 meaning,  and  is,  by  the  Spirit,  applied  in  many  ways  to  the 
 churches. 
 
 He  who  threateneth  hath  a  gracious  meaning,  and  turns  His 
 threatening  almost  immediately  to  consolation.  For  Ephesus 
 the  name  is  preceded  and  followed  by,  is  ^^Tapped  up  in,  praise. 
 At  the  first  glance  it  is  similar  to  the  words  of  the  prophet  Jehu 
 to  king  Jehosaphat,  "  Nevertheless  there  are  good  things  found 
 in  thee,  in  that  thou  hast  taken  away  the  groves  out  of  the  land, 
 and  hast  prepared  thine  heart  to  seek  God"  (2  Chron.  xix.  3) ; 
 but  here  there  is  much  more  grace,  But  this  thou  hast,  that 
 
 THOU  HATEST  THE   DEEDS   OF   THE   NiCOLAITANES,  WHICH  I 
 
 ALSO  HATE.  Their  fall  from  first  love  was  not  so  deep  and  in- 
 curable but  that  their  concurrent  zeal  against  those  who  had 
 still  more  deeply  fallen  might  be  acknowledged.  Thus,  the 
 Lord  says  here.  The  Nicolaitanes — them  indeed  thou  shouldst 
 not  love,  and  in  false  love  tolerate !,  Thy  hatred  against  their 
 false  works  is  good ;  it  is  itself  something  that  may  help  thee  to 
 improvement  and  conversion ;  for  it  is  something  remaining  of 
 
 ^  The  expositors  who  regard  the  Epistles  as  directed  only  to  the  angels, 
 are  obliged  here — because  the  lights  are  the  churches  themselves — ^to  resort 
 to  strange  shifts.  Bengel:  There  will  be  an  angel  without  a  church! 
 Rieger :  The  Church  is  the  hght  of  the  teacher. 
 
 2  This  is  not  (as  Ebrard  says)  a  confusion  of  the  historical  and  prophetic 
 meanings,  because  God's  government  does  further  exhibit  and  stamp  the 
 types  in  history  itself.  The  village  into  which  Ephesus  has  sunk  (Aja- 
 Soluk,  oiyiu  &s6hoyog,  or  ko'hQyuv)  stands  as  the  type  of  fallen  and  desolated 
 churches ! 
 
REV.  TT.  1-7.  125 
 
 thy  first  strength  and  purity.  The  Epistle  makes  mention  of  this 
 matter  as  a  prop,  leaning  upon  which  the  fallen  may  rise  and 
 re-estabhsh  themselves.  Again,  it  carefully  speaks  (more  pre- 
 cisely than  the  Old  Testament,  e.g.,  Ps.  cxxxix.  21,  22)  of 
 merely  hating  the  works,  and  not  the  persons.  These  Nicolai- 
 tanes,  whose  evil  works  are  plainly  manifest,  need  no  temptation 
 to  reveal  them,  as  the  false  apostles  previously.  AATiat  concerns 
 their  historical  relations,  the  learned  may  decide  when  they 
 can;  to  us  all  such  matters  are  subordinate.  Certainly  they 
 were,  as  vers.  14,  15  show,  a  kind  of  undisciplined  Gnostics  or 
 false  Theosophists,  who,  under  the  proud  pretext  of  higher 
 knowledge,  gave  the  reins  to  the  flesh,  and  perverted  the  grace 
 of  God  into  licentiousness.  Whether  the  name,  as  the  Fathers 
 thought,  was  derived  from  their  founder  Nicolas  (him  men- 
 tioned in  Acts  vi.  5  !)  can  neither  be  maintained  nor  denied  mth 
 confidence ;  but  it  appears  to  us,  as  compared  with  Jezebel,  ver. 
 20,  much  more  probable  that  Kicolaus  is  only  a  translation  of 
 Balaam  (ver.  14),  and  therefore  no  other  than  a  sj-mbolical 
 name.  But  this  would  not  permit  us  to  say,  "  that  sect  bore  in 
 prosaic  reahty  the  name  of  Nicolaitanes" — for  had  "Jezebel" 
 a  name  corresponding  in  actual  fact  ?  We  think  that,  in  the 
 everywhere  mysterious,  s^Tnbohcal  style  of  the  Apocalypse,  where 
 besides  the  names  of  the  churches  no  other  historical  names 
 occin',  actual  "  Nicolaitanes"  can  hardly  be  assumed  to  have 
 existed.  Nicolaus  means  "  conqueror  of  the  people;"  Balaam 
 "  seducer  of  the  people  :"  ^ — this  is  plain  enough  as  the  signature 
 of  such  people,  of  whom  ver.  14  mil  speak  more  particularly. 
 We  only  add,  for  practical  use  and  application  :  Hate  thou  only 
 mth  true  earnestness  all  abominations  of  the  fleshly,  impure, 
 proud — and  be  thou,  through  such  opposition,  warned  back  into 
 pure  and  holy  love  of  the  Spirit.  Deep  repentance  of  those  who 
 for  their  internal  backslidings  are  punished  goes  hand  in  hand 
 vd\h  the  abhorrence  of  the  sins  which  show  themselves  in  others. 
 Thou  hatest  what  I  also  hate — the  Lord  acknowledges,  probably 
 
 ^  "We  cannot  see  why,  according  to  Ewald  and  Gesenius,  another  etymo- 
 logy (the  latter  gives  '"?  not,  not  of  the  people,  a  stranger  !)  must  be  sought. 
 Fiirst  rightly  remarks  that  even  for  the  name  of  a  place,  s^'??"*-'  *^^  connected 
 form  ayVa  occurs  in  1  Chron.  vi.  55.  The  exposition  in  Hofmann,  that  the 
 angel's  wife  was  Jezebel,  and  consequently  her  true  name  sufficiently  well 
 known  to  him,  appears  to  us  too  historical  and  unapocalyptical. 
 
126  THE  EPISTLE  TO  EPHESUS. 
 
 not  without  reference  to  that  Old  Testament  passage,  already 
 quoted,  in  which  Jehoshaphat  was  rebuked — Shouldst  thou  help 
 the  ungodly  and  love  them  that  hate  the  Lord  ?  But  the  Lord 
 does  not  hate  those  who  hate  Him ;  but,  as  He  commands  us, 
 only  their  works. 
 
 The  promise  to  the  over  comer — so  suggestively  the  same  in 
 form  throughout,  yet  varying  in  each  case  the  matter — is  the 
 conclusion  of  all  the  Epistles — to  give  assurance  that  it  is  the 
 purpose  of  grace  to  inflict  salutary  chastisement,  and  by  its 
 severest  threatenings  to  encourage  and  strengthen  the  soul  to 
 overcome  in  the  great  warfare.  This  evangelical  character  of 
 the  Epistles  is  to  be  all  the  more  clearly  apprehended  and  im- 
 pressed upon  the  mind,  because  the  predominant  judicial  rigour 
 which  reigns  throughout  the  book  of  Eevelation  must  hy  it  be 
 interpreted  and  understood.  In  these  promises  the  thou  every- 
 where ceases ;  and  its  place  is  taken  by  the  "  whosoever^''  so  speci- 
 fically characteristic  of  our  Lord's  earthly  prophetic  office.  We 
 know  well  the  attractive  words — Whosoever  cometh  to  Me! 
 whosoever  believeth  on  Me!  whosoever  believeth  and  is  bap- 
 tized! compare  Rev.  xxii.  17.  Whoso  heareth — whosoever  will 
 come  I  this  is  the  consoling  httle  word  of  promise,  which  keeps 
 open  the  door  of  grace  to  every  man  to  the  end  of  time.  But 
 with  this  we  must  connect  another  wliosoever,  which  establishes 
 the  condition,  and  makes  room  for  the  promise — Whosoever 
 hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear !  This  word — also  a  usual  ex- 
 pression of  the  Lord — occurs  in  the  first  Epistles  before  the  con- 
 cluding promise ;  in  the  last  four  before  it. 
 
 He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit 
 
 SAITH  UNTO  the  CHURCHES  :  To  HIM  THAT  OVERCOMETH 
 WILL  I  GIVE  TO  EAT  OF  THE  TREE  OF  LIFE,  WHICH  IS  IN  THE 
 PARADISE  OF  My  GoD. 
 
 As  formerly  Jesus  demanded  for  His  parables  hearing  ears 
 in  order  to  understand  them,  so  here  in  His  figurative  prophe- 
 tical addresses.  The  expression  is  now  condensed  and  strength- 
 ened thereby :  the  ear  is  more  solemnly  and  spiritually  spoken 
 of ;  and  "  to  hear"  is  not  now  added.  Whosoever  hath  the  ear 
 of  the  inner  man  opened  and  attentive  to  the  words  of  God — 
 whosoever  has  it  still  open,  or  opens  it  again — shall  in  every 
 Epistle  hear  something  for  himself;  for  each  of  them,  apart 
 from  its  special  significance  for  the  churches,  is  addressed  to  all 
 
KEV^  II.  1-7.  127 
 
 men  generally  and  in  common.  Let  us  not  deny  or  forget  the 
 specific  prophetic  meaning ;  but  let  us  not,  while  investigating 
 that,  neglect  their  general  lessons,  which  would  be  the  greater 
 evil.  We  must  not  point  the  sentence  as  if  the  prefatory  ad- 
 dress referred  only  to  the  following  promise ;  this  is  opposed  by 
 the  change  of  the  form  in  the  last  Epistles.  All  that  precedes 
 and  all  that  follows  must  be  heard  by  each,  because  the  Spirit 
 saith  it  to  the  churches.  This  hearing  is  ever  the  way  to  the 
 attainment  of  the  promised  reward  of  victory.  The  Spikit 
 saith — hereby  this  last  personal  utterance  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
 from  heaven  passes  over  into  speaking  through  the  medium  of 
 the  Spirit,  as  it  continues  throughout  the  book;  it  must  be 
 understood,  that  here  particularly  the  Spirit  is  meant  as  the 
 Spirit  of  prophecy.  Probably,  He  who  appeared  as  in  ch.  i.  did 
 not  continue  to  dictate  the  Epistles,  standing  \dsible  still  as  He 
 did  at  the  first,  but  uttered  their  words  more  inwardly  to  the 
 seer ;  notmthstanding,  there  is  a  distinction  in  this  book  between 
 the  immediate  speaking  or  dictating  and  the  prophetic  inspii'a- 
 tion  elsewhere.  Assuredly,  even  St  John  would  not  dare,  other- 
 wise than  by  express  inspiration  of  the  words,  to  send  to  the 
 churches  Epistles  of  such  a  form  and  of  such  contents,  clothed 
 in  such  a  style  of  supreme  majesty.  Thus  it  was  only  tran- 
 sitional and  intermediate  between  the  speaking  of  the  Lord  and 
 the  speakixig  of  the  Spirit;  and  at  the  sam-e  time  immediately 
 personal  in  its  particular  kind. 
 
 The  Lord  speaks  of  overcoming  absolutely,  ■without  saying 
 whom  or  what ;  just  as  elsewhere — Ask  and  it  shall  be  given  ! 
 without  needing  to  specify  whom  the  petitioner  is  to  ask.  The 
 Lord's  sayings  from  heaven  do  not  begin  an  altogether  new 
 language;  but  presuppose  the  style  of  thought  and  words 
 which  had  been  prevalent  in  His  Church  from  the  beginning. 
 The  overcoming  which  He  refers  to  stretches  beyond  death; 
 it  is  perfected  in  death,  as  the  common  language  of  the  world 
 in  Christendom  has  learned  to  say  of  the  departed — He  has 
 conquered  all !  If  we  would  begin  here  at  the  close  of  Scrip- 
 ture to  develop  the  meaning  of  this  sublime  expression — reach- 
 ing from  the  height  of  heaven  to  the  deepest  abyss  of  hell — 
 it  would  open  up  the  whole  of  inspired  Eevelation.  St  John 
 speaks  elsewhere  (1  John  v.  4)  of  a  faith  which  overcometh 
 the  world;  in  his  Eevelation  (ch.  xii.  11)  we  read  of  an  over- 
 
128  THE  EPISTLE  TO  EPHESUS. 
 
 coming  of  Satan ;  comp.  1  John  xi.  14.  But  the  world  and 
 Satan  are  also  within  us  through  sin ;  we  overcome  them,  how- 
 ever, through  the  might  of  Him  who  hath  loved  us  and  over- 
 come for  us : — thus  the  final  promise  in  the  seventh  Epistle 
 holds  out  to  the  church  which  had  sunk  the  lowest  the  same 
 prize  of  the  highest  victory.  This  first  promise  does  not  extend 
 so  far  as  that  last;  it  begins  with  that  first  thing  which  the 
 Lord  promised  to  the  thief  on  the  cross,  the  bliss  of  Paradise 
 re-opened  by  His  death,  that  is,  the  blessedness  of  an  uninter- 
 rupted life  in  God's  presence.  The  expression  is  figurative  so 
 far  as  it  is  derived  from  the  primitive  history ;  but  there  is  a 
 mysterious  reality  corresponding  to  it  in  the  heavenly  regions, 
 as  2  Cor.  xii.  4  gives  us  to  understand.  Who  will  venture  to 
 say  more,  when  St  Paul  could  not  utter  the  unspeakable  words  ? 
 "  The  Paradise^  of  My  God"  (according  to  the  right  reading)  is 
 spoken  by  Christ  as  the  Forerunner  and  First-born  according 
 to  His  humanity;  compare  ch.  iii.  2,  12.  This  manner  of 
 speech  is — excepting  John  xx.  17 — peculiar  to  the  Apocalypse, 
 in  which  it  is  remarkable  (as  Bengel  has  observed)  that,  while 
 sometimes  the  Father  of  Christ  is  mentioned,  God  is  never 
 called  "Father"  as  addressed  by  men;  and  He  Himself  pro- 
 mises to  be  their  God,  ch.  xxi.  3,  only  as  the  fulfilment  of  the 
 Old  Testament  word.  This  has  its  reason  in  the  profound 
 reverence  and  the  holy  rigom'  of  the  spiritual  combatants  to 
 whom  this  book  is  written ;  and  also  in  the  return  to  Old  Tes- 
 tament phraseology,  which  thus  is  made  to  coincide  with  the 
 New.  The  wood  or  the  tree~  of  life  in  Paradise  glances  forward 
 by  anticipation  to  the  close  of  the  whole,  ch.  xxii.  2,  14-19; 
 as  almost  all  the  objects  of  the  promises  at  the  end  of  the 
 Epistles  reappear  later  in  the  book  :  the  second  death,  ch. 
 XX.  6,  14,  xxi.  8 ;  the  new  name,  ch.  xiv.  1 ;  power  over 
 the  nations,  ch.  xx.  4  (xii.  5) ;  the  white  garment,  ch.  vii. 
 9,  13 ;  the  book  of  life,  ch.  xiii.  8 ;  the  new  Jerusalem,  ch. 
 xxi. ;  the  sitting  upon  the  throne,  ch.  v.  As  the  manna,  ver. 
 17,  is  termed  hidden,  so  the  sure  interpretation  of  all  these 
 glorious  realities  is  reserved  for  experience ;  but  when  that  ex- 
 
 ^  There  can  be  no  reference  here  admitted  to  the  lower  Paradise  in 
 Hades  (which  alone  the  thief  could  understand  at  first,  whatever  other 
 meaning  was  included).     Compare  my  exposition  of  Luke  xxiii.  43. 
 
 2  As  the  Sept.  in  Genesis  has  ^v'hov. 
 
REV.  II.  8--11.  129 
 
 perience  comes,  they  will  most  abundantly  reveal  their  meaning. 
 AYe  have  only  one  more  remark  to  make,  that  the  promise  in 
 every  Epistle  is  chosen  with  appropriate  reference  to  the  con- 
 dition and  conflict  of  the  church  addressed :  so  here  the  Para- 
 disaical finiit  of  the  tree  of  life  is  opposed  to  the  forbidden 
 fruits  of  fleshly  lust  with  which  the  Nicolaitanes  were  swollen. 
 That  in  these  epistles  the  clearest,  most  penetratiug  words  of 
 ordinary  preaching  and  teaching  are  bound  up  with  the  most 
 mysterious  enigmas,  sinking  deep  into  the  treasures  of  Divine 
 revelation  from  the  beginning,  is  the  necessary  result  of  the 
 royal  style  which  is  impressed  upon  them  as  coming  from  the 
 Throne.  The  Sphit  reveals  their  meaning,  according  to  our 
 capacity  and  our  need,  iu  presentiments  which  cannot  be  trans- 
 lated into  plain  exposition,  and  are  not  the  prerogative  of  every 
 man. 
 
 AXD  UNTO  THE  AXGEL  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  SmYENA 
 
 ^vrite:  These  things  saith  the  First  and  the  Last, 
 which  was  dead,  and  is  alive.  ^ 
 
 This  is  the  briefest  among  the  Epistles,  as  that  to  Thyatira 
 is  the  longest.  So,  Smyrna  receives  no  blame,  Philadelphia 
 alone  standing  with  her  in  this.  To  the  persecuted  martyr- 
 church,  suffering  unto  death,  it  is  enough  to  say — Be  thou 
 faithful !  For,  if  for  their  pmification  after  falling  from  the 
 first  love  tribulation  and  shame  came  upon  them,  this  of  itself 
 was  punishment  enough,  and  the  Lord  has  nothing  but  conso- 
 lation to  give.  Smyrna  is  chosen  as  the  type  of  such  a  condi- 
 tion of  the  Church  :  her  name  (inyrrK)  speaking  of  the  bitterness 
 of  suffering,  but  also  of  balsam  and  costly  incense,  yea,  of  the 
 anointing  and  adorning  of  the  bride,  according  to  the  Song  of 
 Solomon  (ch.  iii.  6,  v.  5).  Smyrna  was  in  St  John's  time 
 an  important  place,  though  not  equal  to  Ephesus;  she  is  the 
 only  one  of  the  seven  which  remains  to  this  day,  more  flourish- 
 ing and  larger  than  in  the  time  of  the  Apocalj-pse :  hence  there 
 is  no  removal  of  the  candlestick  prefigured  in  her.  She  has 
 four  Christian  churches;  since  1759  has  had  the  labours  of 
 evangehcal  missionaries,  and  is  now  a  central  mission-station; 
 as  if  this  new  blooming  in  the  midst  of  the  prostrate  East 
 would  speak  of  the  imperishable  crown  of  victorious  life. 
 
 ^  The  Kcx,\  ilov  ^cj»  i'lfii  appears  to  us  quite  the  same  as  the  kocI  s^i^ep — 
 in  both  cases  there  is  a  contrast  with  the  actual  uiKooc. 
 
 I 
 
13Q  -»  THE  EPISTLE  TO  SMYRNA. 
 
 To  the  chiii'ch  thus  pointed  to  suffering  and  death  the  Lord 
 exhibits  himself  as  the  Conqueror  who  pressed  through  death 
 into  hf e.  The  words  which  first  accompanied  the  "  Fear  not ! " 
 to  the  Seer  are  here  most  fitly  reproduced ;  the  former  part 
 of  the  subhme  title  is  unchanged — The  First  and  the  Last 
 (finally  recuning  in  this  book,  ch.  xxi.  6,  xxii.  13)  ;  the  second 
 part,  which  speaks  of  dying  and  living,  is  condensed  with 
 heightened  majesty  into  fewer  words.  He  who  in  His  Divinity 
 was  the  First  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  and  who  as 
 also  the  Last  will  remain  the  same  with  and  after  the  last,  will 
 maintain  the  victory  through  His  hand  and  power  for  His 
 people.  He  who  in  His  humanity,  assumed  for  all  eternity, 
 was  for  one  short  space  dead,  and  now  liveth  again  as  the 
 God-man,  the  first  who  lived  again  from  death  for  all — He 
 may  well  require  fidelity  unto  death  in  order  to  the  promised 
 crown  of  life.  Some  would  here  distinguish,  and  say  that  in 
 ch.  i.  17,  18  He  calls  Himself  the  Living  in  spite  of  death, 
 while  here  He  liveth  again  after  death.  But  this  is  artificial ; 
 it  scarcely  harmonises  with  the  original ;  and  somewhat  distui^bs 
 the  strong  emphasis  of  the  pregnant  reality — the  having  been 
 dead  of  the  Living  One !  He  was  dead :  this  retains  indeed 
 its  continuous  truth,  as  we  continually  celebrate  it  in  the  Sacra- 
 ment, and  is  the  theme  of  the  new  song  to  the  Lamb  that  was 
 slain ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  we  cannot  too  confidently  and  too 
 thankfully  mingle  wdth  our  Passion-thoughts  the  great  truth 
 that  the  Living  was  dead  and  is  alive  again.  An  effeminate 
 and  sentimental  Moravian  deahng  with  the  suffering  and  dying 
 Lord  would  have  been  very  distasteful  to  the  Apostles  and  the 
 early  Chm^ch;  the  New  Testament  Scriptures  give  it  neither 
 approbation  nor  nourishment. 
 
 I  KNOW  THY  WORKS,  AND  TRIBULATION,  AND  POVERTY 
 (but  THOU  ART  RICH)  ;  AND  I  KNOW  THE  BLASPHEMY  OF 
 THEM  WHICH  SAY  THEY  ARE  JeWS,  AND  ARE  NOT,  BUT  ARE 
 THE  SYNAGOGUE  OF  SaTAN. 
 
 This  recm-ring  testimony  /  hiotv  !  is  so  beautifully  ex- 
 pounded by  Bengel  that  we  must  here  at  least  quote  his  words. 
 "We  go  from  one  hour  to  another,  from  one  day  and  year 
 to  another,  and  what  is  once  fairly  past  in  our  doing,  and 
 omitting,  and  suffering,  is  scarcely  regarded  by  us  any  more : 
 it  is  like  water  that  has  flowed  away.     But  mto  the  omniscience 
 
REV.  II.  8-11.  131 
 
 of  Christ  all  things  are  taken  up !"  Yes,  indeed,  the  God-man 
 related  to  us  as  the  First  and  the  Last  preserves  in  His  thought 
 the  works  which  are  forgotten  by  us,  works  whether  of  first 
 love  or  of  unfaithfulness;  He  knows  beforehand  our  future 
 sufferings  as  well  as  our  past,  and  makes  concerning  all  things 
 His  gi-acious  appeal  to  our  souls.  In  this  second  Epistle  there 
 is  a  strengthening  of  the  expression  (which,  omitted  in  the 
 third,  continues  through  the  rest) — thy  works,  "  thy,"  that  is, 
 being  put  first  with  specific  emphasis.  The  criticism  of  Tis- 
 chendorf,  so  rigidly  tied  to  the  manuscripts,  maintams  that 
 "the  words"  are  an  interpolation  here  and  at  ver.  13,  in  order 
 to  make  all  the  Epistles  uniform.  Were  this  so,  there  would 
 be  indeed  a  very  significant  connection  mth  the  preceding 
 words : — I,  who  was  dead,  know  well  by  My  own  experience  thy 
 tnhulation!  Now,  as  it  respects  ver.  13,  om'  internal  criticism 
 cannot  dispense  with  the  knowledge  of  the  works  coming  first  (for 
 the  mere  "  where  thou  dweUest "  is  not  a  sufficiently  emphatic 
 object  of  the  knowledge ;  nor  is  it  a  sharp  enough  antithesis 
 to  the  But  of  ver.  14) ;  and  when  we  find  in  the  uncontested 
 text  of  ver.  19,  "I  know  thy  works"  standing  before  four  other 
 words  ending  with  "works"  again,  we  cannot  but  conclude 
 that  our  Lord's  purpose  was  to  express  this  seven  times  con- 
 secutively with  michanged  emphasis.  But  the  word  must  be 
 understood  after  the  analogy  of  Scriptural  language,  and  not  as 
 we  might  speak  in  an  isolated  manner  of  "  works."  Smyrna 
 presented  her  works  to  the  Lord  in  sufferings: — that  is  here 
 the  pregnant  meaning.  If  her  angel  might  say  in  tribulation 
 and  poverty — "Fain  would  I  also  perform  good  works,  but, 
 alas,  cannot,"  the  Lord  testifies  on  the  contrary — "Thou  art 
 rich  in  works  of  patience,  wliich  are  indeed  the  severest  and 
 the  best."  Poverty  must  here  be  understood  of  external  need ; 
 and  we  have  record  elsewhere  of  the  poor  state  of  the  Chris- 
 tians generally  in  SmjTna.  Moreover,  the  richer  among  them 
 took  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  their  goods  in  the  persecution 
 (Heb.  x.  34) — and  the  Lord's  assurance  meets  them  in  love, 
 But  thou  art  rich !  For  the  better  and  enduring  substance  in 
 heaven,  which  the  poor  and  the  plundered  already  possessed, 
 maketh  the  poor  rich :  so  we  read  2  Cor.  v.  10,  Jas.  ii.  5 ; 
 and  the  Lord  Himself  opposes  to  the  heaping  up  of  treasures 
 the  being  rich  towards  God.     But,  if  we  ask  further  whether 
 
132  THE  EPISTLE  TO  SMYRNA. 
 
 Smyrna  was  joyfully  conscious  of  tliese  riches,  the  answer 
 must,  we  think,  be  in  the  negative ;  and  this  gives  occasion  to 
 remark,  that  the  poverty  must  be  meant,  at  the  same  time,  of 
 spiritual  tribulation,  oppression,  and  abasement.  Those  perse- 
 cuted unto  death  have  not  been  hasty — with  all  their  faith  in 
 the  midst  of  the  fires — with  the  triumphant  note,  "  But  we  are 
 the  heirs  of  the  kingdom,  the  elect  of  God!"  So  far  Smyrna 
 exhibits  to  us  the  opposite  counterpart  of  Laodicea.  "  Thou 
 sayest,  I  am  rich  !  and  knowest  not  how  poor  thou  art !" — has 
 an  evil  sound.  But  "  I  know  thy  poverty,  in  which  thou  art 
 rich" — is  precious  in  the  Lord's  lips  for  them  and  for  us. 
 
 Tribulation  and  poverty  are  followed  by  shame;  but  that 
 shame  is  an  honour.  For  the  adversaries  blaspheme  in  a  two- 
 fold manner :  they  scorn  the  Lord  Himself  in  His  people ; 
 and  they  wickedly  assume  to  be  His  true  people  themselves. 
 The  presuming  Jews  are  introduced  again,  ch.  iii.  9,  in  Phila- 
 delphia, and  there,  more  e^ddently  than  here,  in  the  far-reach- 
 ing meaning  of  the  symbohcal  word.  In  the  first  history  they 
 were  actually  Jews  who  generally  appear  as  the  main  authors 
 of  persecution  (1  Thess.  ii.  15,  16) ;  Eusebius,  when  he  relates 
 the  martyrdom  of  Polycarp  and  other  Christians,  tells  us  that 
 they  were  so  in  Smyrna  itself.  That  these  Jews  were  rather 
 Satan's  children  and  instruments,  the  Lord  Himself  once  told 
 them,  John  viii,  44 ;  here  they  are  called  the  congregation  or 
 church,  the  synagogue  of  Satan — instead  of  the  lost,  and  now 
 blasphemously  self-asserted,  title  of  "  the  congregation  of  the 
 Lord,"  which  they  had  in  the  Old  Testament  (comp.  Ps.  xxvi. 
 4,  xxii.  17).  Not  without  design  is  the  word  "s3niagogue" 
 chosen,  in  order  to  meet  the  Judaizing,  still  so  called,  of  all 
 futurity.^  But  the  words  point  still  further,  and  are  not  less 
 on  that  account  spoken  in  prophetic  type.  It  is  no  more  than 
 a  useless  contention  of  the  expositors,  whether  they  were  pro- 
 perly or  not  properly  Jews :  the  former  holds  good  of  the 
 history  itself,  but  as  a  figure  the  latter.  Christianity  alone  was 
 from  that  time  the  essential  fulfilment,  the  consummate  truth 
 
 ^  In  the  0.  T.  we  have  iKKKnai»  for  n';r:'j  nny  or  ^Jn-^  Virip  (in  Neh.  xiii.  1 
 ^'''!'''?.!7  ^fR,  and  Ex.  xii.  3  ^S7^"!^"R)  especially  in  Chron.,  Ezra,  Nehemiah 
 (as  earlier  in  Deut.  xxiii.  1-3,  xxx.  1- 10 ;  1  Kings  viii.  14,  22).  On  the 
 other  hand,  in  such  most  ancient  passages  as  Ex.  xii.  3,  Numb.  xvi.  3, 
 XX.  4,  xxvii.  17,  the  N.  T.  awxyuyij' 
 
REV.  II.  8-11.  133 
 
 of  Judaism ;  the  abiding  perversion  of  which  blasphemously 
 still  terms  the  Way,  to  which  the  Law  and  the  Prophets 
 pointed,  heresy  and  a  sect  (Acts  xxiv.  14).  The  Jew  in  his 
 inner  reahty,  in  w^hich  the  prophetic  significance  of  the  name 
 Judah  (Gen.  xhx.  8,  xxix.  35)  first  finds  its  full  propriety, 
 whose  praise  is  not  of  men,  but  of  God — the  same  Apostle 
 tells  us  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Komans  who  he  is  (ch.  ii.  28,  29). 
 Thus,  so  far  as  Smyrna  furnishes  the  type  of  a  condition  and  a 
 period  of  the  Church  in  which  the  Lord's  people,  in  poverty 
 and  lowHness,  without  power  and  authority  in  this  world, 
 without  the  help  of  a  fleshly  arm,  are  given  up  to  the  suffering 
 of  shame  and  persecution  even  unto  death — the  persecuting 
 false  church  must  be  intended  by  the  false  Judaism,  as  far  as 
 regards  the  later  period  of  that  position  and  character.  For  the 
 Smyrna-period,  although  it  is  clearly  stamped  as  a  time  im- 
 mediately after  the  Apostohcal,  yet  both  stretches  backwards 
 into  this  latter,  and  simultaneously  goes  onwards  into  later 
 periods.  This  is  the  only  exposition  which  will  satisfy  the  whole 
 case. 
 
 Fear  none  of  those  things  which  thou  shalt  sutfer  : 
 behold,  the  devil  shall  cast  some  of  you  into  prison, 
 that  ye  may  be  tried  ;  and  ye  shall  have  tribulation 
 ten  days:  be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  i  will 
 GIVE  THEE  A  CROAVN  OF  LIFE.  Smyrna,  the  church  of  the 
 martyrs,  receives  enough  in  that  one  word  —  Fear  not!  be 
 faithful !  because  He  who  utters  it  had  overcome  death  as  the 
 Forerunner,  and  brought  eternal  life  to  fight.  Even  the  histo- 
 rical Smyrna  shines  in  history  ^vith  the  glory  of  her  crowned 
 martyrs,  among  whom  Polycarp  is  pre-eminent,  the  pupil  of  St 
 John,  who  was  executed  a.d.  167.  But  to  regard  Polycarp  as 
 himself  the  "angel"  is  an  error;  for  he  had  scarcely  at  this  early 
 period  any  prominence  in  the  church,  and  certainly  could  not 
 have  held  that  which  was  afterwards  called  the  office  of  Bishop. 
 Our  translation — thou  shalt  suffer,  the  devil  shall  cast  into 
 prison — is  still  stronger  in  the  original :  It  is  appointed,  it  must 
 be  so.  That  which  the  Divine  counsel,  here  announced  before- 
 hand, ^vill  msely  permit,  is  not  to  be  feared,  for  it  will  issue  not 
 in  destruction  but  in  victory :  therefore  the  first  strong  words — 
 Fear  none  of  those  things !  It  is  indeed  the  devil,  the  wicked 
 enemy  and  persecutor  in   his  instruments,  who   opposes   the 
 
134  THE  EPISTLE  TO  SMYRNA. 
 
 people  of  God ;  but  there  is  already  a  consolation  in  this,  that 
 they  have  him  for  an  enemy  who  assaulted  their  Lord  and 
 Forerunner,  who  was  judged  by  Him  on  behalf  of  His 
 people,  and  who  can  move  no  further  than  is  permitted  to  him. 
 Satan  and  Devil,  the  two  names  of  the  evil  one,  according  to  his 
 spirit  and  his  act :  "  Satan"  signifies  enemy  and  opposer  in 
 principle,  according  to  the  Jewish  phrase,  and  hence  it  is  used 
 first  with  reference  to  the  Jews ;  "  devil,"  in  Greek  phrase,  in- 
 dicates his  blasphemy,  persecution,  accusation,  and  stands  here 
 in  connection  with  the  work  which  he  wrought  by  the  Gentiles 
 at  the  instigation  of  the  Jews.  He  will  not  cast  all  together 
 into  prison,  but  many/?'om  among  you: — We  have  abeady  ob- 
 served how  this  shows  that  the  angel  of  the  church  was  not 
 alone  addressed  by  the  epistle ;  and  further  remark  here,  that, 
 on  the  other  hand,  a  continuous  address  to  the  church,  as  such, 
 would  not  have  been  in  harmony  with  the  heart-penetrating 
 style  of  these  Epistles,  and  consequently  that  every  church  was 
 with  profound  propriety  viewed  as  exhibited  in  one  person. 
 Further,  the  suffeiing  and  the  test  affect  the  whole  chm'ch,  if 
 some  of  her  members  are  imprisoned  and  slain.  That  ye  may 
 be  tried,  tested,  and  approved:  this  is  less  the  devil's  design, 
 that  they  may  be  ashamed  in  the  test  (Luke  xxii.  31) — than  the 
 design  of  God's  permission  and  appointment,  who  will  crown 
 those  who  are  approved  (1  Pet.  iv.  12).^  To  the  previous  tribu- 
 lation, already  mentioned  in  ver.  9,  there  is  to  be  added  a 
 tribulation  of  imprisonment;  but  this  will  have  its  short  and 
 measured  period,  and  its  happy  issue.  Ten  days — this  we  must 
 not  in  the  ordinary  manner  take  as  a  round  number  for  a  brief 
 space ;  all  these  well-adjusted  words  have  something  below  the 
 surface.  Whether  any  portion  of  the  church  in  Smyrna  suf- 
 fered ten  actual  days  of  imprisonment,  can  neither  be  proved 
 nor  contradicted;  but  a  ten  days'  tribulation  seems  to  us  too 
 slight  for  the  express  prediction,  accompanied  by  the  earnest 
 preface — Fear  none  of  these  things !  To  endure  ten  days',  and 
 more  than  ten  days',  imprisonment,  was  at  that  time  a  very  fre- 
 quent calamity  of  the  Christians.  Thus  we  are  constrained,  in 
 this  strikingly  significant  term  for  Smyrna,  as  often  afterwards 
 in  this  book  of  prophecy,  to  observe  a  prophetic  meaning  under- 
 lying the  number.  And  it  is  obvious  enough  to  think  of  the 
 ^  Thus  the  'lua,  •mtpxaQviri  gives  the  ground  of  the  yAhT^ug  and  (^i'k'Kii. 
 
EEV.  II.  8-U.  135 
 
 ten  great  persecutions  whicli  liave  been  reckoned,  from  the 
 earliest  time  downwards,  as  taking  place  between  Nero  and 
 Dioclesian,  whose  most  severe  persecution,  again,  lasted  ten 
 years; — and  this  would  give  us  incidental  e^^dence  that  the 
 book  was  written  under  Nero.  Yet,  whatever  may  be  the  fact 
 with  regard  to  these  uncertain  historical  circumstances,  the  gene- 
 ral meaning  of  this  word  will  assure  us  that  all  times  of  tribu- 
 lation are  measured  before  the  Lord,  and  that  they  will  be  cut 
 short  for  salvation  (Matt.  xxiv.  22). 
 
 AYhether  this  dehverance  from  imprisonment,  from  the  tri- 
 bulation of  the  ten  days,  should  issue  in  hf e  or  death,  was  not 
 to  be  matter  of  anxiety  to  them ;  their  duty  was  to  fear  nothing 
 and  be  faithful !  "  In  the  words.  Be  faithful  unto  death  and  I 
 will  give  thee  the  crown  of  life !  there  is  so  gracious  and 
 sparing  a  fore-announcement  of  death^  that  death  is  not  seen ; 
 being  in  the  one  clause  covered  by  the  fidelity,  and  in  the  other 
 by  the  crown"  (Kieger).  It  may  indeed  be  said  that  death  is 
 included  in  this  "  unto ;"  but  in  death  itself  fidelity  is  no  more 
 wanted,  and  such  a  death  demonstrates  itself  to  be  death  no 
 more.  Thus  it  is  unto,  altogether  as  in  Matt.  xxiv.  13,  x.  22, 
 unto  the  end.  Smyrna  receives  the  announcement  of  the  coming 
 of  the  Lord,  which  is  wanting  in  none  of  the  Epistles,  only  in 
 this  gracious  form  with  reference  to  every  indi^ddual,  to  every- 
 one of  whom  in  death  the  Lord  comes  with  the  crown  of  life 
 (compare  to  Thyatira,  ver  25,  "until  I  come,"  connected  with 
 the  threatening  of  ver.  23,  "I  will  give  to  every  one  of  you 
 according  to  your  works")  ;  Laodicea,  on  the  contrary,  receives 
 it  in  the  strongest  and  sharpest  form  of  the  expression — "I  will 
 spue  thee  out !"  which  is  then  again  softened  by  the  gentler  in- 
 vitation— "I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock !"  Further,  it  is  only 
 for  Smyrna,  the  church  which  is  to  be  greatly  comforted,  that  the 
 promise  to  the  overcomer  begins  at  once  mth  the  universal  anti- 
 cipating crown}  This  is,  indeed,  in  a  specific  sense  the  \actor- 
 crown  of  the  witnesses  unto  blood,  of  which  the  very  name  of 
 the  first  mart}T  of  Christ  {Stephanus  means  wreath  or  crown) 
 was,  as  it  were,  a  prophecy;  but  this  expression,  well-known 
 among  the  Christian  congregations  (1  Cor.  ix.  2b,  pointing  to 
 the  figure  before;  1  Pet.  v.  4,  the  imfading  crown  of  glory; 
 
 ^  It  is  Bomethiiig  different  when  the  white  garments  are  appropriated  to 
 omy  a  tew,  in  the  Epistle  to  Sardis,  ch.  iii.  4. 
 
136  THE  EPISTLES  TO  SMYRNA. 
 
 James  i.  12,  as  here,  the  crown  of  life),  embraces,  at  the  same 
 time,  generally,  the  reward  of  all  approved  conquerors,  as  St 
 Paul  speaks  in  2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8  with  due  himiility  of  this  crown 
 of  righteousness  :  the  righteous  Judge  will  give  it  not  to  me 
 alone,  but  to  all  who  love  His  appearing.  A  crown  of  life 
 He  gives  immediately  after  death  to  those  who  die  saved,  to 
 those  who  are  confirmed  in  victory ;  but  only  as  the  pledge  of 
 that  crown  of  honour  or  glory  in  consummate  eternal  hfe  which 
 He  will  give  in  the  day  of  His  appearing,  according  to  both  St 
 Peter  and  St  Paul. 
 
 HJE  THAT  HATH  AN  EAR,  LET  HIM  HEAR  WHAT  THE  SpIRIT 
 SAITH  UNTO  THE  CHURCHES  :   HE  THAT  OVERCOMETH  SHALL 
 
 NOT  BE  HURT  OF  THE  SECOND  DEATH.  What  "ear"  instead 
 of  "ears"  means  we  have  already  shown;  but  take  occasion 
 now  to  oppose  Bengel's  erroneous  notion :  "  ^Vhat  is  said 
 loudly  is  heard  with  both  ears  ;  what  is  spoken  into  the  ear  is 
 secret."  This  is  to  us  unsatisfactory ;  for,  notwithstanding  the 
 mysteries  which  are  intermixed,  the  Spirit  cries  aloud  in  these 
 Epistles  to  the  churches  with  the  clearest,  most  awakening, 
 and  heart-searching  words ;  words  which  have  been  popularly 
 appHed,  and  imiversally  preached  about,  in  every  age  of  the 
 Church.  To  "  have  an  ear^  for  what  the  Spirit  saith  is  rather 
 an  intensification  than  a  weakening  of  the  saying ;  since  it  re- 
 quires the  same  spiritual  "  hearing"  for  the  understanding  and 
 acceptance  of  these  exhortations,  threatenings,  and  promises, 
 which  those  parables  of  our  Lord  required,  for  which  the  Lord 
 demanded  hearing  ears. 
 
 The  concluding  promise  for  Smyrna  not  only  is,  like  the 
 whole  letter,  of  the  shortest,  but  its  lowered  and  negative  form 
 seems  scarcely  in  harmony  with  the  gracious,  unmingled  com- 
 mendation. When,  however,  we  look  at  it  more  carefully,  the 
 negation  will  be  seen  to  be  most  positive  and  full,  like  the 
 sublime  words  before  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus — He  that 
 liveth  and  believeth  in  Me  shall  never  die  !  Assuredlv,  for  this 
 martyr-church  this  was  the  undertone  of  the  words — Though 
 the  first  death  may  have  hurt  him,  yet  he  that  overcometh  shall 
 not  be  hurt  of  the  second.  But  must  we  not  all  die,  must  we 
 not  all  press  into  life  by  overcoming  death  ?  This,  therefore, 
 is  no  especial  bitterness  for  Smyrna ;  the  Lord  rather  means 
 the  same  comforting  and  stimulating  word  which   He   once 
 
KEY.  II.  8-11.  137 
 
 spoke  upon  eartli :  Fear  not  them  who  can  kill  the  body,  and 
 afterwards  have  no  more  that  they  can  do !  Luke  xii.  4.  That 
 is,  if  in  ver.  5  of  that  chapter  the  essential  enemy  who  is  be- 
 hind men — that  is,  Satan  himself — is  meant,  who  hath  power 
 and  authority  to  cast  into  his  own  hell,  that  worse  imprison- 
 ment, and  therefore  was  to  be  feared ;  so  here  for  the  strong 
 encouragement  of  those  who  are  faithful  and  overcome  it  is 
 intimated — This  Satan  shall  have  nothing  more  that  he  can  do 
 against  you !  The  second  death  is  a  name  of  eternal  damna- 
 tion which  occurs  among  the  Chaldee  translators  and  the 
 RabbiQs;^  but  throughout  the  Scripture  onli/  in.  the  Apoca- 
 lypse. But  it  so  clearly  shuts  out  any  such  prospect  of  a  future 
 restoration,  as  has  been  found  in  this  "  hard  mystery,"  that  we 
 are  constrained  to  leave  it  in  all  its  horror,  and  dare  not  seek 
 for  any  Hght  beyond  it.  This  glance  forward  to  the  terrific 
 end  of  the  second  death  is  the  antithesis  of  the  paradise  of  the 
 promise  to  Ephesus ;  but  it  is  opened  only  for  the  gracious  ex- 
 citement and  invigoration  of  those  to  whom  it  is  said — To 
 them  that  overcometh  no  harm  shall  happen  from  him;  he 
 shall  have  no  more  that  he  can  do!^  Whether  here  already 
 for  the  martyrs  the  first  resurrection  is  indicated,  as  it  comes 
 fon\^ard  prominently  in  ch.  xx.  6,  we  much  doubt,  smce  there, 
 as  here,  pre-eminence  cannot  be  intimated  in  that  which  will 
 hold  good  of  all  the  saved — The  second  death  (vers.  14,  15 
 in  ch.  XX.)  hath  no  power  over  them.  But  this  has  more  signi- 
 ficance, when  we  compare  the  other,  final  passage,  ch.  xxi.  8, 
 where,  in  contrast  with  this  fidelity  and  its  reward,  the  fearful, 
 that  is,  those  who  hold  not  out  in  the  conflict,  are  tlureatened 
 with  the  second  death. 
 
 AXD    TO    THE    A^'GEL    OF    THE    ChURCH    EN'    PeEGAMOS 
 
 weite:  these  things  saith  He  which  hath  the  sharp- 
 sword  WITH  TWO  edges. 
 
 Of  this  then-existing  chm'ch  we  know  nothing  in  particular, 
 and  are  therefore  commended  to  a  consideration  of  the  cha- 
 racter assigned  to  it,  and  of  its  prophetic  significance.     Perga- 
 
 1  Deut.  xxxiii.  6.  Let  not  Reuben  die  ;  Chald.  nTO^-»5  s:;:»:-nn'T2i— 
 Raschi :  i<:::-  a'-'-yp  n^n-^  '-s"..  Similarly,  Isa.  xxii.  14,  the  Clialdee  brings  in 
 the  same  srrn  xn-.'s — and  Raschi  says  upon  it  s^n  a'-T:?^.  Kimchi  cites 
 stiU  more  plainly  s^an  aV'.ya  rE3  rn-^s. 
 
 2  Ou  f^y)  cc^ixr,dy},  as  in  Luke  X.  19,  ovli'J  vfix;  ov  (/.ri  cc^iK'^at]. 
 
138  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PEKGAMOS. 
 
 mos,  a  not  insignificant  city  in  lUyria,  formerly  the  metropolis 
 of  a  kingdom  so  called,  contains  in  its  name  a  hint  which, 
 more  significantly  than  in  most  of  the  others,  corresponds  with 
 the  contents  of  the  Epistle.  Castle  or  tower — indicates  the 
 period  and  character  of  the  Church  which  exhibits  her  as 
 possessing  earthly  power;  but  is  a  time  of  temptation  and 
 danger  to  the  true  kernel  of  the  Church,  so  that  there  springs 
 up  the  indolence  which  does  not  resist  the  entrance  of  impure 
 morals,  and  the  false  doctrine  on  which  they  are  based.  AYhy 
 the  Lord  here  in  particular  represents  Himself  as  possessing 
 the  sharp  two-edged  sword  (ch.  i.  16),  is  easily  seen,  as  after- 
 wards explained  in  ver.  16  ;  and  even  with  specific  reference 
 to  the  history  of  Balaam,  from  whom  the  typical  designation, 
 vers.  14,  15,  of  him  that  defiled  and  seduced  the  Church  was 
 derived.  Thus  it  is  against  this  intermixture,  with  the  spirit  of 
 apostasy  creeping  in,  that  the  Lord  draws  his  cutting,  judging, 
 and  punishing  sword ;  in  which  it  is  obvious  further  to  under- 
 stand— "  Hadst  thou  in  My  name  rightly  used  My  sword,  the 
 sword  of  the  Spirit,  the  judgment  of  My  sword  would  not  have 
 been  summoned  against  thee !"  Taking  a  general  view  of  the 
 Epistle  at  the  outset,  its  fundamental  traits  come  out  with  great 
 distinctness ;  that  is,  if  we  refrain  from  drawing  those  specific 
 parallels  with  church  history  of  later  times  which  have  led  so 
 many  expositors  astray.  The  seat  or  throne  even  of  the  same 
 Satan  from  whom  the  persecution  came  to  Smyrna,  is  here  set 
 up :  the  God-opposing  power  of  this  world  is  predominant ; 
 and,  as  we  shall,  alas,  see,  has  entered  into  an  alliance  with  the 
 Church.  The  congregation  of  the  faithful  has  no  longer  mar- 
 tjrrdom  before  it ;  but  is  only  reminded  thereof,  as  of  some- 
 thing past.  Then  formerly  there  had  been  no  denial ;  there 
 were  to  the  last  faithful  witnesses  unto  death.  But  now  the 
 stumbHngblock  of  fellowship  with  idolatry  and  whoredom,  in 
 deference  to  worldly  power,  is  not  cast  out,  but  rather  tole- 
 rated even  unto  open  doctrine.  All  this  suits  generally  the 
 character  which  the  Church  assumed  after  the  persecution 
 ended  with  Constantine;  and  especially  the  Eastern  Christi- 
 anity with  its  corrupted  imperial  court  under  a  Christian  title, 
 the  influence  of  which  was  to  bind  the  Chm'ch  mider  a  bon- 
 dage of  corruption  and  inertness.  Whether,  moreover,  as 
 many  would  have  it,  the  period  of  Pergamos  stretches  only  to 
 
REV.  II.  12-17.  139 
 
 Charlemagne,  or  further  on  into  the  developed  Papacy,  is  hard 
 to  say ;  ive  hold  that  these  periods  generally  pass  one  into  an- 
 other, as  it  respects  both  the  mind  of  the  Spirit  and  the  cor- 
 responding history,  and  that  they  should  not  be  limited  to  any 
 distinct  epochs. 
 
 I  KIsOAV  THY  V^^OEKS,  AND  WHERE  THOU  D^VELLEST,  EVEN 
 
 WHERE  Satan's  seat  is;   and  thou  holdest  fast  My 
 
 NAME,  AND  HAST  NOT  DENIED  My  FAITH,  EVEN  IN  THOSE 
 DAYS  "WHEREIN  AnTIPAS  WAS  My   FAITHFUL   MARTYR,   WHO 
 
 WAS  SLAIN  AMONG  YOU  WHERE  Satan  dwelleth.  We  have 
 already  given  our  judgment  that  here  also  the  uniform  com- 
 mencement, I  know  thy  works  !  is  genuine,  as  a  general  intro- 
 ductory testimony.  While  the  Lord  must  blame  the  evil  works 
 of  Pergamos,  especially  her  laxity  in  controversy  with  error, 
 and  even  her  positive  defilement  mth  that  which  was  indolently 
 permitted.  He  nevertheless  begins  most  graciously,  as  in  the 
 case  of  Ephesus,  with  calling  to  remembrance  the  good  and 
 honourable  Past,  which  had  still  its  value  in  His  eyes.  Still 
 more,  He  Himself  finds  a  gentle  apology  for  them  in  their 
 perilous,  strongly-tempted  position — "I  know  this  also,  how 
 hard  is  thy  situation  and  trial ! "  How  graciously  encouraging 
 to  His  people  in  similar  circumstances  always,  to  hear  Him 
 saying,  "I  know  where  thou  dwellest !"  Not  as  if  this  was 
 meant  as  a  justification  of  their  evil  conduct,  because  they 
 were  under  persecution  and  oppression ;  but  condemnation  falls 
 less  heavily  upon  the  stranger  sojourning  in  Mesech  and  the 
 tents  of  Kedar  (Ps.  cxx.  5),  than  upon  him  who  dwells  among 
 the  people  of  God,  in  God's  own  house,  amidst  blessings  and 
 peace.  We  must  here  once  for  all  remember  that  these  Epistles 
 are  not  directed  to  the  great  mass  of  nominal  Christians,  wliich 
 is  ever  increasing  as  ages  roll  along,  or  to  the  so-called  churches ; 
 but  only  to  the  faithful  among  the  many,  the  society  which 
 actually  more  or  less  holds  to  and  depends  upon  the  Lord. 
 This  becomes  an  important  consideration  in  the  third  Epistle, 
 and  retains  that  importance  throughout  all  the  remainder. 
 Hence  it  vnH  appear  what  Sataris  seat  means  in  its  pro- 
 phetical sense.  First,  indeed,  as  it  regards  the  then  Pergamos, 
 which  furnished  the  basis  of  the  s}Tiibol,  it  may  have  been  a 
 pabhc  heathen  power,  through  which  Pergamos  attained,  in 
 its  degree,  to  the  eminence  of   a  metropolis  of  heathenism. 
 
140  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PERGAMOS. 
 
 The  learned  refer  to  the  then  celebrated  temple  of  JEsculapius, 
 the  ^'healer  and  saviour" — and  to  the  sjTnbol  of  the  serpent,^ 
 as  still  connected  with  the  physician's  art.  Ebrard,  on  the 
 other  hand,  thinks  that  this  would  not  have  made  Pergamos 
 worse  than  Diana's  temple  in  Ephesus  (Acts  xix.  27) ;  and 
 prefers  finding  Satan's  throne  in  the  Court  of  Judicature  for 
 the  Eoman  province  of  Asia,  which,  according  to  PHny,  was 
 estabhshed  there.  However  that  may  be — and  we  can  feel  no 
 certainty  about  it  —  the  proiohetic  meaning,  which  takes  that 
 only  as  its  point  of  connection,  plainly  refers,  as  it  respects 
 the  period  of  the  Church  designated  by  Pergamos,  to  a  no  longer 
 public  heathen  power,  but  a  throne  of  Satan  having  a  Christian 
 semblance  and  pretension.  For  thus  much  we  regard  as  cer- 
 tain, that  the  epistles  in  some  sense  proceed  onwards  chrono- 
 logically. Consequently,  if  first  to  Ephesus  false  apostles  were 
 mentioned,  and  then  to  Smyrna  false  Jews,  that  is  (as  we  saw) 
 false  Christians,  a  synagogue  of  Satan,  so  now,  according  to  the 
 undertone  of  meaning,  in  the  still  increasing  development  of 
 corruption,  the  throne  of  Satan  must  mean  something  in  Chris- 
 tendom, and  only  something  present  m  it.  "VYe  have  already,  in 
 our  general  summary,  given  to  be  understood  whither  that  points: 
 it  is  the  worldly  authority  of  the  external  church,  politically 
 victorious  and  predominant,  judging  spiritual  matters  in  worldly 
 wise,  which — although,  according  to  ch.  xiii.  2,  the  throne  of 
 the  dragon  is  to  be  long  afterwards  first  established — the  Lord 
 beholds  from  heaven  as  being,  in  its  evil  depth  of  reahty,  the 
 dominion  of  the  prince  of  this  world.  Compare  the  profound 
 saying,  Ps.  xciv.  20  :  Wilt  thou  then  have  fellowship  with  the 
 seat  of  shame  (throne  of  corruption),  which  establisheth  mis- 
 chief as  law  (or  against  the  commandment)  ? 
 
 Intelhgent  readers  will  understand  this;  and  will  discern 
 the  mischief  which,  in  its  manifold  forms  as  state-church  and 
 church-state,  clung  to  the  system  of  salvation  and  co-existed 
 with  it.  The  commmiity  dwelling  in  this  condition  has  praise 
 enough  first  accorded:  Thou  boldest  yet  fast  My  name  (comp.  ch. 
 
 ^  To  refer  this  to  Satan  is  petty,  and  groundless  according  to  the  double 
 meaning  of  this  symbol,  good  and  bad,  which  had  existed  in  all  times. 
 The  title  ' A.gk'Kyit!: tog  aarvip  seems  more  remarkable,  as  the  heathenish  coun- 
 ter-power ;   and  an  ancient  writer  actually  calls  the  city  x.uru'ha'Aou  iTrtp 
 
REV.  II.  12-17.  141 
 
 iii.  8),  with  all  tliat  it  contains,  and  hast  not  denied  My  faith. 
 The  not  denying  is  here  already  counted  worthy  of  commenda- 
 tion. "My  faith,"  that  is,  faith  in  Me — but  not  in  the  sense 
 of  any  doctrine  of  faith  or  dogmatics,  as  if  (according  to  many 
 expositors)  the  Lord  would  praise  the  doctrinal  elaborations  and 
 contests  of  a  corresponding  period,  especially  those  of  the  Oriental 
 Church;  while  His  eyes  are  looking  everywhere  for  a  very^ 
 different /ai^A  (Jer.  v.  1-3).  But  the  genuine  and  sound  faith 
 which  He  means,  as  the  source  of  all  works  valid  in  His  sight, 
 is  one  with  fidelity ;  thus  Antipas  is  presently  termed  the  faith- 
 ful witness,  and  Smyrna  was  before  bidden  to  be  faithful} 
 Was  Antipas  a  historical  person  of  this  name  in  Pergamos? 
 The  Hischberger  Bible  says  correctly,  that  "no  trace  has 
 remained  of  him  in  history ; "  for  that  which  is  found  (in  the 
 Menologies)  concerning  one  of  that  name  who  suffered  martyr- 
 dom under  Domitian,  is  without  trustworthiness,  probably  being 
 an  invention  founded  upon  this  passage,  and  further  embelHshed. 
 The  grave  pointed  out  there  is  certainly  one  of  these  deceptions. 
 It  is  possible,  however,  that  there  was  an  "  Antipas  "  who  was 
 slain  in  Pergamos  for  the  Lord's  name  sake  ;  and  the  mention 
 of  him  would  be  only  an  affecting  condescending  example  for 
 all  His  witnesses,  whom  He  knows  and  remembers  !  But  still 
 it  would  be  the  only  historical  name  in  all  the  Epistles — since 
 the  Nicolaitanes  and  Jezebel  are  not  such — and  that  would 
 appear  an  improbabihty.  Probably,  therefore,  it  is  only  a 
 typical  name,  intended  to  signify  generally  the  individual  wit- 
 nesses unto  death  (for  the  expression  "mtness"  has  already 
 here  the  specific  meaning  of  "  martyr,"  comp.  Acts  xxii.  20). 
 Holding  this  firmly,^  we  find  the  meaning  of  the  name  (if  it  was 
 originally  an  abbreviation  of  Antipater,  that  does  not  hinder  the 
 prophetic  use  of  the  changed  form  !)  very  significant — Against- 
 all,  one  who  stood  out  against  the  multitude  as  an  individual 
 faithful  confessor.  Such  an  Antipas,  as  we  understand  it,  has 
 more  than  once  been  slain  among  you,  ivhei^e  Satan  dwelleth  ! 
 The  praise  which  began  now  returns :  "  I  know  and  remember 
 where  thou  must  dwell,  thoii  oppressed  and  tempted  fiock ;  and 
 that  where  Satan  dwells  there  is  little  room  for  thee." 
 
 "  In  truth,  thy  position  is  still  most  difficult,  and  thou  comest 
 
 ^  In  Greek,  'jriartg  and  'Triaro?  are  from  one  and  the  same  root. 
 2  Without  needing  to  resort  to  Hengstenberg's  further  subtilities. 
 
142  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PEKGAIHOS. 
 
 not  unhurt  from  the  danger."  For  Pergamos  was  not — and 
 this  is  not  to  her  praise — any  longer  persecuted  like  Smyrna. 
 The  whole  of  ver.  13  exliibits  the  past,  before  the  But  follows,  as 
 to  Ephesus  in  vers.  2,  3.  .  "  In  the  days  of  Antipas  thou  didst  not 
 deny — but  now  I  must  rebuke  thee,  that  thou  hast  reconciled 
 thyself  too  easily  with  Satan's  tlirone,  that  thou  hast  made 
 perilous  compromise  with  the  impure  element  of  worldly  power 
 in  the  chmxh,  though  thou  hast  not  utterly  fallen.     But  I 
 
 HAVE  A  FEW  THINGS  AGAINST  THEE,  BECAUSE  THOU  HAST 
 THERE  THEM  THAT  HOLD  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  BaLAAM,  WHO 
 TAUGHT  BaLAK  TO  CAST  A  STUMBLINGBLOCK  BEFORE  THE 
 CHILDREN  OF  ISRAEL,  TO  EAT  THINGS  SACRIFICED  UNTO  IDOLS, 
 AND  TO  COMMIT  FORNICATION.  So  HAST  THOU  ALSO  THEM 
 THAT  HOLD  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  NiCOLAITANES."     Zinzen- 
 
 dorf,  in  his  translation  of  the  New  Testament,  translates  as  if 
 it  were,  "  a  few  things,  for  example^  the  doctrine  of  Balaam." 
 But  loliat  the  Lord  has  to  say  against  His  churches.  He  ever 
 speaks  plainly  and  faithfully  out — not  merely  giving  examples 
 of  His  meaning.  The  little^  seems  at  first  difficult;  but  the 
 word  is  used,  on  the  one  hand,  to  mitigate  the  blame — only  this 
 one  thing;  and,  on  the  other,  with  warning  severity  to  say — 
 Take  good  heed !  Let  this  soon  cease !  for  a  little  leaven 
 leaveneth  the  whole  lump  ! 
 
 Wliile  the  omniscient  Guardian  and  Warner  of  His  Church 
 shows  the  seer  in  Patmos  the  futm'e  under  the  figures  of  the 
 present.  He  has  also,  after  the  prophetical  manner  (because  the 
 testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  Spirit  of  prophecy,  ch.  xix.  10),  the  past 
 from  the  beginning  before  His  all-embracing  glance.  Begin- 
 ning with  the  Epistle  to  Ephesus,  He  looked  back  to  the  Fall 
 and  paradise ;  and  with  this  was  connected,  in  the  Epistle  to 
 Smyrna,  perseverance  in  the  view  of  deathj  the  first  and  the 
 second.  Now  the  backward  reference  of  the  type  proceeds  into 
 the  history  of  Israel;  and,  first  of  all,  to  the  time  of  Moses, 
 when  the  chosen  and  redeemed  people  was  subjected  to  tempta- 
 tion in  the  wilderness.  According  to  the  same  fundamental  law 
 of  the  Divine  guidance,  concurring  with  human  freedom,  the 
 Lord's  New  Testament  people  proceed  in  the  same  way;  so 
 fully  corresponding,  on  the  whole  and  at  large,  that  a  parallel 
 of  the  Old  Testament  times  and  history  with  those  of  the  New 
 '  'OA/ya  is  neutral  for  iT^lyov  ri. 
 
REV.  II.   12-17.  143 
 
 In  their  entire  development,  offers  us  much  most  important 
 instruction.^  Manifold  in  their  ample  appUcation  are  the  types  ; 
 to  teach  us  this  the  Lord  makes  prominent  here  a  person  and  a 
 history  which  St  Peter  (ch.  ii.  1 5),  and  St  Jude  after  him  (ver. 
 11),  have  used  in  the  same  way.  Balaam  was  the  ambiguous 
 prophet  external  to  Israel,  from  the  beginning  unfaithfully 
 wavering  between  obedience  to  God's  revelation,  and  the  lust 
 for  the  rewards  of  unrighteousness.  He  was  warned,  and  yet 
 went  his  own  way;  but  must,  against  His  will,  bless  Israel. 
 But  this  vexed  him  all  the  more ;  and  we  read  in  Numb.  xxv. 
 1,  2,  xxxi.  16  of  his  cunning  and  revengeful  counsel  to  Balak, 
 
 ^  As  suggestive  hints  for  the  reflection  of  such  as  will  pursue  them,  we 
 add  what  follows.  Seven  great  periods,  or  rather  six^  passing  over  into  a 
 seventh,  may  be  disclosed  as  corresponding,  partly  by  contrast^  and  partly 
 as  parallel.  The  primitive  world  under  Divine  long-suffering,  the  continu- 
 ous Fall  down  to  the  first  judgment  of  the  world — ^primitive  Christendom 
 under  Divine  power  of  grace,  continuous  downfall  of  heathenism  down  to 
 the  first  judgment  upon  it.  (Noah — Constantine.)  The  preparation  of 
 God's  people  in  the  dark  period  of  the  other  peoples  ; — ^the  preparation  of 
 the  European  peoples — Christendom  in  the  unresting  time  of  the  wander- 
 ings of  races.  (Moses — Charlemagne.)  The  kingdom  of  Israel  as  the 
 appointed  type,  in  which  dechne  and  perversion  is  developed  and  revealed ; 
 — ^the  Romish  Church  as  the  tolerated  transition,  in  which  we  see  the 
 same  decline.  (Nebuchadnezzar — Hildebrand.)  The  Babylonish  period, 
 time  of  servitude,  the  time  when  the  empires  of  heathenism  begin  ; — Papal- 
 worldly  period,  only  a  waiting  seed  (hke  the  two  tribes  of  Israel)  is 
 reserved,  the  separation  of  the  European  states  begins.  (Zerubbabel — 
 Luther.)  Persian-Greek  period,  building  of  the  second  Temple,  the  first 
 bloom  of  heathen  culture  ceases  ; — Protestant  pohtical  age,  founding  of  the 
 new  Church,  the  first  Reformation  of  national  life  has  the  same  fate. 
 (Alexander — ^Napoleon.)  Greek-Roman  time,  advancing  power  of  the 
 world,  Israel  recedes  before  the  second  bloom  of  heathenism,  general  dechne, 
 and  most  proper  time  of  expectation ; — ^missionary  period  and  period  of 
 development,  advancing  revelation  of  the  true  Church,  the  second  Reforma- 
 tion in  which  Christians  become  predominant^  finally  restoration  (even  for 
 Israel  after  the  flesh)  and  the  most  proper  time  of  fulfilment.  Lastly,  as 
 according  to  the  ancient  history  the  appearance  of  the  Lord  brings  its  end 
 (instead  of  judgment)  to  these  six  days,  so  similarly,  at  the  end  of  the  new 
 period,  there  will  be  the  millennial  kingdom,  the  final  appearance ;  and 
 with  it,  at  the  same  time,  the  judgment.  How  the  cliurcTies  of  these 
 Epistles  correspond  to  these  periods  as  indicated  by  them,  must  be  left  to 
 the  individual  pondering  of  the  reader  ;  in  this  internal  relation  there  are 
 other  points  which  must  be  brought  into  view  ;  but  Thyatira  may  refer  to 
 the  Papal,  Sardis  to  the  Protestant  period,  while  Philadelphia  and  Laodicea 
 go  in  concurrently  to  the  coming  of  the  Lord.   . 
 
144  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PERGAMOS. 
 
 in  order  to  ruin  Israel  by  seduction,  that  he  should  set  a 
 stumbhngblock  in  the  way  of  the  people  of  God, — that  is, 
 literally,  throw  an  offence  in  their  way,  to  be  to  them  a  pitfall 
 or  a  snare.  With  this  the  Lord  now  compares  the  people  of 
 the  church  in  Pergamos,  who,  favouring  the  Balaam  of  their 
 time  (for  that  is  the  right  reading),  that  is,  for  the  sake  of  the 
 worldly  power  before  mentioned  as  the  throne  of  Satan,  seduce 
 the  spiritual  Israel  to  infidelity,  yea,  construct  a  formal  theory 
 and  doctrine  to  which  they  hold — instead,  as  was  said  before,  of 
 holding  to  the  name  of  the  Lord.  The  point  of  comparison  is 
 first  exhibited,  even  in  external  reahty ;  while  yet  open  heathen- 
 ism still  predominated,  the  eating  of  things  sacrificed  to  idols 
 and  fornication  were  the  sins  of  those  who  renounced  not  the 
 false  and  seducing  fellowship  with  him ;  and  this  was  already 
 foreseen  in  Acts  xv.  29,  though  not  till  1  Cor.  x.  by  St  Paul 
 most  earnestly  denounced.  The  eating  at  the  table  of  devils 
 was  at  the  same  time  a  spiritual  fornication  and  idolatry.  Both 
 the  proper  and  the  figm^ative  meaning,  but  rather  the  latter, 
 apply  to  the  later  time  which  Pergamos  typified,  since  the 
 teaching  and  acting  after  the  manner  of  Balaam,  the  compro- 
 mising and  impurely  self-justifying  fellowship  with  the  nomi- 
 nally Christian  powers  of  the  world,  manifests  itself  both  in 
 actual  immorality  and  in  hypocritical  dogmatics  touching  the 
 seats  of  Caesars  and  Bishops,  the  estabhshment  of  idolatrous 
 images  in  the  place  of  God's  pure  worship,  and  so  forth.  But 
 we  will  abstain  from  the  special  ecclesiastical  interpretation,  in 
 order  that  no  one  may  overlook  that  which  suits  his  own  time ! 
 
 This,  however,  is  clear  and  certain  to  us;  ver.  15  does  not 
 distinguish  other  so-called  Nicolaitanes  from  the  Balaawites  (so 
 to  term  them) ;  but  both  are  CAadently  the  same.  All  things 
 tend  to  this,  when  carefully  considered.  So  THOU  ALSO  hast 
 — this  so  mth  this  also  gives  us  the  interpretation  of  what  had 
 been  before  figuratively  expressed :  "  Alas,  thou  also,  a  Christian 
 community,  hast  retained,  and  dost  not  cast  out,  such  people, 
 Nicolaitanes,  as  I  have  already,  for  the  first  church,  plainly 
 translated  their  name!"  "Who  hold  to  the  doctrine" — the 
 same  formula  is  repeated!  Probably  the  definite  article  in 
 "  doctrine  of  the  Nicolaitanes "  is  not  genuine ;  in  the  original 
 it  would  be  the  mere  translation  of  "  Balaam ; "  such  Balaam- 
 doctrine,  Nicolaitan,  seductively  overcoming  the  people.      In 
 
EEV.  II.  12-17  145 
 
 ver.  6  only  the  works  were  mentioned ;  but  now  there  has  a 
 doctrine  crept  in,  within  the  church  which  tolerated  those 
 works  !  The  theory  has  never  been  long  wanting,  in  the  world 
 and  even  in  the  Church,  when  the  practice  has  gone  before. 
 Finally  (instead  of  the  "  which  I  hate,"  as  in  ver.  6),  stands,  ac- 
 cording to  the  more  correct  reading,  once  more  "  in  like  man- 
 ner."^ The  "  so  "  at  first,  and  "  in  like  manner  "  at  last,  com- 
 bine very  strongly  to  assure  us  that  a  doctrine  of  Nicolaitanes 
 is  meant  which  perfectly  corresponds  to  the  doctrine  of  Balaam. 
 Eepent  thekefore.     If  not,  I  will  come  unto  thee 
 
 QUICKLY,  AND  WILL  FIGHT  AGAINST  THEM  WITH  THE  SWORD 
 
 OF  My  mouth.  On  the  perfect  Balaamites  or  Nicolaitanes 
 repentance  is  no  longer  enjoined,  but  judgment  is  denounced ; 
 but  those  who  were  entangled  with  them  are  (with  the  same 
 "  now  "  as  in  ver.  5)  exhorted  to  conversion  in  penitent  change 
 of  mind.  So  far  the  denunciation  of  the  fighting  against  them 
 applies  to  the  whole  church — so  far,  that  is,  as  they  were  in 
 and  among  the  church ;  but  it  is  something  different  from 
 saying,  "I  will  fight  against  thee^  We  must  understand: 
 "  If  thou  dost  not  perform  thy  duty,  and  cast  them  out  from 
 thee,  I  will  undertake  it  Myself."  The  sword  of  the  mouth  is 
 spoken  of,  which  may,  indeed,  include  a  spiritual  judging  and 
 restoration  of  sinners  through  the  word ;  yet  we  see  plainly  in 
 ch.  xix.  15,  21,  that  condemning  sentence  of  wrath  may 
 proceed  from  the  mouth  of  the  Almighty.  The  language  of 
 prophetic  symbols  is  ever  comprehensive  for  manifold  interpre- 
 tation and  reference ;  and  it  sometimes  retains,  at  the  same 
 time,  the  most  specific  allusions,  as  here  the  threatening  sword 
 certainly  refers  back  once  more  to  Balaam's  history.  Because 
 Balaam  did  not  yield  to  the  word  of  the  Lord,  which  came  in 
 his  way  (Num.  xxii.  23,  31) — for  his  "I  will  get  me  back 
 again"  was  not  sincere ;  the  evil  desire  remained  in  him,  and 
 was  at  first  pimished  by  being  permitted — we  read  afterwards, 
 in  Num.  xxxi.  8,  the  express  requital,  "Balaam  also,  the  son 
 of  Beor,  they  slew  with  the  sword!"  We  have  it  in  our  power, 
 through  penitence  or  the  reverse,  to  decide  how  gently  or 
 severely,  whether  in  wrath  or  mercy,  this  sword  of  His  mouth 
 shall  judge  us. 
 
 ^  Tliis  ofioiug^  which  many  (Grotius  and  Bengel)  carry  on  to  the  follow- 
 ing  word,  has  been  changed  into  o  .w/er^),  because  of  the  ovrag  going  before. 
 
 K 
 
146  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PEKGAMOS. 
 
 He  THAT  HATH  AIS  EAR,  LET  HIM  HEAR  WHAT  THE  SpIRIT 
 SAITH  UNTO  THE  CHURCHES  :  To  HIM  THAT  OVERCOMETH 
 WILL  I  GIVE^  OF  THE  HIDDEN  MANNA,  AND  WILL  GIVE  HIM  A 
 WHITE  STONE,  AND  IN  THE  STONE  A  NEW  NAME  WRITTEN, 
 WHICH  NO   MAN   KNOWETH  SAVING   HE   THAT  RECEIVETH   IT. 
 
 The  oppression  and  imprisonment  in  Egypt — the  persecutions 
 and  plagues,  which  in  the  New  Testament  fell  not  upon  Egypt, 
 but  upon  Israel — are  now  passed  to  Pergamos;  but  to  her  the  way 
 through  the  wilderness  is  appointed  as  a  time  of  probationary 
 trial.  As  the  name  of  Balaam  was  taken  from  this  period,  so 
 also  are  the  figurative  expressions  of  promise.  The  antitype, 
 indeed,  often  corresponds  with  the  type  in  the  way  of  contrast. 
 Israel's  manna,  not  yet  the  true  bread  from  heaven,  was  not 
 hidden;  but  that  which  Christ  gives  to  the  faithful,  as  the  com- 
 pensation of  the  renounced  idol-sacrifices  and  carnal  lusts — not 
 properly  the  same  as  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  life,  ver.  7,  since 
 already  before  death  the  foretaste  of  that  is  received — is  a 
 spiritual  nourishment,  known  only  by  experience  to  those  who 
 receive  it.^  The  white  stone  has  been  variously  interpreted. 
 The  ancients  used  such  stones  in  voting  and  electing,  as  the 
 Greek  verb  shows  ;  and  accordingly  Luther  understood  it  here 
 of  a  " good  testimony"  of  absolution — it  might  be  said  also,  of 
 election.  Others  have  thought  of  the  little  tablets,  or  stone 
 counters,  which  were  given  to  the  conquerors  in  contests,  as  the 
 pledge  of  the  prize  ;  and  which  were  also  their  claim  to  public 
 support,  thus  connecting  them  with  the  manna  already  spoken 
 of.  We  would  not,  indeed,  assert  that  heathen  customs  could 
 not  be  used  in  Christian  symbols,  for  1  Cor.  ix.  24-27  gives  a 
 decisive  example  to  the  contrary ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  might 
 be  regarded  as  not  inappropriate  that,  in  the  letter  to  Per- 
 gamos, the  Lord  should  set  His  own  in  opposition  to  worldly 
 and  political  marks  of  honour  and  care.  Nevertheless,  the 
 name  written  upon  the  stone,  in  connection  with  the  allusion 
 to  the  time  of  Moses  which  pervades  all,  decides  us,  in  common 
 with  many  others,  to  interpret  it  differently.  But  not  as 
 Herder  does,  who  thinks  of  the  new  reckoning  of  the  people,  as 
 
 ^  The  (potyilv  u.'Tvo  (to  eat  of),  brought  forward  from  ver.  7,  we  omit. 
 
 2  The  Jewish  fable  concerning  the  hiding  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant, 
 and  its  being  found  in  the  time  of  the  Messiah,  has  nothing  to  do  with 
 this  ;  for  in  1  Kings  viii.  9  we  are  told  that  the  manna  was  no  longer  in  it. 
 
REV.  IT,  12-17.  147 
 
 it  were  chosen  anew.  Num.  xxvi. ;  for  that  would  apply  to  all 
 the  rebuked,  and  not  merely  to  the  faithful.  The  white  stone, 
 that  is,  in  the  language  of  the  Apocalypse  (ch.  i.  14,  iii.  4,  vi.  2, 
 vii.  14),  the  shining  stone,  with  the  name  upon  it,  seems  to  be 
 most  correctly  understood  of  a  precious  stone, -^  with  allusion 
 either  to  the  breastplate,  or,  still  better,  to  the  frontlet,  of  the 
 high  priest,  and  thus  of  priestly  ornament.  The  book  of 
 Kevelation  mentions  and  promises  generally  much  that  is  neu 
 (ch.  V.  9,  xiv.  3,  xxi.  1,  2,  5)  out  of  the  transcendently  fulfilling 
 grace  of  the  Xew  Testament ;  as  the  Evangelist  of  the  Old 
 Covenant,  Isaiah,  dehghted  to  point  forward  to  it  from  the  far 
 distance,  ch.  xhi.  9,  xliii.  19,  xlviii.  6.  The  same  prophet,  ch. 
 Ixii.  2,  Ixv.  15,  1x^4.  22,  promised  for  Jerusalem  generally,  and 
 all  her  justified  residue  of  citizens,  with  all  joined  unto  them 
 by  grace  (ch.  Ivi.  5),  a  new  name  —  new,  like  the  new  heaven 
 and  the  new  earth,  which  God  in  the  end  would  make ;  and 
 our  book  brings  here  the  nearer  pledge  of  its  fulfilment.  To 
 give  a  new  name  had  been  from  the  time  of  Abraham  and 
 Israel  a  symboHcal  and  elective  act  of  God,  containing  in  its 
 meaning  some  new  gift  or  new  creation,  either  in  the  present 
 reality  or  in  prophecy.  The  new  name  for  him  that  overcometh, 
 is,  according  to  its  essential  significance,  one  with  the  name  of 
 the  new  city  of  God ;  and  this  again  is  one  with  the  new  name 
 of  the  Lord  Himself,  who  buildeth  it,  and  who  alone  maketh  all 
 things  new  (ch.  iii.  12,  xxi.  2,  xix.  12,  comp.  Jer.  xxiii.  6, 
 xxiii.  16 ;  Ezek.  xlviii.  35).  This  still  concealed  name,  which 
 the  Lord's  mouth  will  utter  (Is.  Ixii.  2),  as  it  is  termed  a  sign 
 and  seal  upon  the  foreheads  of  the  servants  of  God  (Eev.  vii.  3, 
 xiv.  1,  xxii.  4),  corresponds  to  the  golden  frontlet  of  the  high 
 priest,  with  the  inscription,  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord."  It  is  not, 
 like  other  names,  a  mark  to  denote  their  persons  to  others,  but 
 a  promise  and  fulfilment  of  that  blessed  and  glorious  state  and 
 experience  concerning  which,  as  concerning  the  being  and  glory 
 of  the  Lord  Himself,  it  can  only  be  said,  that  no  man  knows  that 
 name  but  he  that  has  it — he  that  has  received  it.  Thus  high 
 does  the  promise  to  those  who  overcome  in  Pergamos  already 
 reach;  as  we  shall  see  that  throughout  the  Epistles  the  promises 
 advance  higher  and  higher,  as  the  counterpoise  to  the  more  and 
 more  severe  conflict,  until  in  ch.  iii.  21  the  highest  that  can  be 
 ^  Which  T^^tpof  may  mean. 
 
148  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THYATIRA. 
 
 said  is  said  to  Laodicea, — the  sitting  with  the  First  Overcomer 
 upon  His  throne  being  the  sublime  conclusion. 
 
 And  UNTO  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Thyatira 
 WRITE :  These  things  saith  the  Son  of  God,  who  hath 
 His  eyes  like  unto  a  flaivie  of  fire,  and  His  feet  are 
 LIKE  FINE  brass.  The  Same  who  in  ch.  i.  13  was  "  like  unto 
 the  Son  of  man "  —  which  recurs  in  the  still  more  indirect 
 and  vision-like  representation  of  His  coming  in  ch.  xiv.  14 — 
 calls  Himself,  here  alone  in  the  entire  book,  the  Son  of  God. 
 (Comp.  ch.  xix.  13.  This  only,  however,  brings  into  pro- 
 minence what  was  presupposed  in  that  other  name.)  Mani- 
 festly, it  is  used  not  only  to  exhibit  His  own  despised  dignity 
 in  opposition  to  the  shameless  prophetess  Jezebel,  ver.  20,  but 
 at  the  same  time  to  oppose  to  the  lyingly  so-called  "  depths  of 
 God,"  ver.  24  (only  thus  to  be  explained).  His  own  perfect 
 interior  knowledge  of  those  Divine  deep  things  (Matt.  xi.  27). 
 The  eyes  of  flame  exhibit  in  connection  with  this  His  omni- 
 science as  it  regards  the  secrets  of  men  (Rom.  ii.  16),  the 
 Searcher  of  hearts  who  is  prominent  afterwards  in  ver.  23. 
 That,  further,  precisely  here  the  feet  of  fine  brass  indicate  a 
 coming  to  judgment,  can  scarcely  be  rejected,  as  we  remarked 
 upon  the  appearance  at  the  beginning  ;  but  in  that  former 
 passage  this  is  not  the  only  interpretation,  and  in  this  one  it  is 
 not  to  be  pressed  too  far.  Treading  down  all  that  opposes, 
 and  victoriously  pressing  onwards  —  so  far  all  is  right ;  but  it 
 is  questionable  whether  "  stamping  down  and  burning  all  that 
 thwarts  Him,"^  and  that  with  allusion  to  Jezebel's  fate,  2  Kings 
 ix.  33.^  The  casting  into  a  bed  afterwards,  ver.  22,  is  not  a  tread- 
 ing down  ;  nor  is  even  the  smiting  to  death,  ver.  23.  We  think 
 that  in  ch.  i.  14,  15,  previously,  the  dark-glowing  brightness  of 
 the  feet  was  no  more  designed  to  indicate  burning  than  the  glance 
 of  the  eyes ;  we  imderstand  generally  the  resplendent  footsteps 
 of  His  advancing  and  irresistible  might :  compare  for  Thyatira 
 afterwards,  ver.  26.  That  the  semblance  of  biirning  is  men- 
 tioned here,  may  be  regarded  as  leaving  in  its  sole  prominence 
 the  meaning  of  victorious  power,  without  any  accessory  notion 
 of  trampling  or  consuming  by  fire.  These  symbols  must  neither 
 be  exaggerated  nor  confused  :  the  treader  of  the  winepress,  ch. 
 
 '  As  we  read  in  v.  Gerlach. 
 
 2  As  Herder,  contrary  to  his  wont,  tastelessly  interpreted  it. 
 
REV.  II.  18-29.  149 
 
 xix.  15,  comes  not  with  glowing,  burning  feet;  hence,  while  in  ver. 
 12  of  that  chapter  the  eyes,  and  in  ver.  15  the  sword,  are  men- 
 tioned again,  the  feet  of  the  previous  appearance  are  not  introduced. 
 The  prophetic  significance  of  the  Church  of  Thyatira,  to 
 which  the  longest  Epistle  was  sent,  appears  the  most  obscure  of 
 all,  as  it  stands  in  the  midst  of  the  seven ;  as  obscure  as  the 
 middle  age  of  ecclesiastical  history  to  our  dim  eyes,  when  we 
 attempt  to  trace  the  Lord's  ways  and  deaHngs  with  His  never- 
 failing  Church.  Certainly  there  existed  at  that  time  in  the 
 Lydian  Thyatira,  whence  the  first-fruits  of  the  mission  in 
 Europe  came.  Acts  xvi.  14,  a  Christian  church,^  which,  under 
 the  pressure  of  fearful  apostasy,  nevertheless  had  yet  its  faith- 
 ful members,  vers.  24,  25.  And,  with  equal  certainty,  the 
 stamp  upon  Thyatira  exhibits  to  us  a  progression  of  corruption 
 even  beyond  Pergamos,  inasmuch  as  a  ruling  Jezebel  is  much 
 more  than  a  Balaam  giving  evil  counsel.  But  the  detail  will 
 follow  in  the  exposition. 
 
 I  KNOW  THY  WORKS,  AND  CHARITY,  AND  FAITH,  AND  THY 
 SERVICE,  AND   THY  PATIENCE  ;   AND  THY  LAST   WORKS  MORE 
 
 THAN  THE  FIRST.  The  original  cannot  be  exactly  translated ; 
 for  it  gives  the  pronoun  thy  expressly  twice  to  the  works,  but 
 only  once  to  all  the  other  four  intermediate  words  together. 
 To  the  love  indeed  corresponds  the  service,  as  to  the  faith  the 
 patience  or  continuance ;  yet  the  preceding  two  designations  of 
 internal  sentiment  are  more  closely  connected  than  the  two 
 designations  of  the  outward  act.^  Judging  from  the  plenitude 
 of  the  words  and  the  priority  of  the  love,  which  in  Ephesus 
 had  grown  faint,  one  might  at  first  suppose  that  Thyatira  re- 
 ceived the  highest  praise ;  but  when  we  look  more  carefully, 
 that  appearance  is  removed.  We  see  rather  that  it  is  only  the 
 great  grace  of  the  Lord  which  will  at  the  outset  acknowledge  as 
 much  as  is  consistent  with  truth,  as  much  as  the  eyes  of  flame 
 piercing  through  the  evil  signs  may  yet  discern.  That  the 
 works,  here  as  everywhere  mentioned  first,  recur  again  at  the 
 end,  must,  when  we  connect  with  it  the  rest  of  the  Epistle,  be 
 
 ^  According  to  Epiphanius,  many  rejected  the  Apocalypse  on  account 
 of  its  historical  incorrectness  in  this  particular.  Bengel  refers  to  the  fact 
 that  a  reading,  which  however  is  not  to  be  approved  of,  omits  tKxXyiaiccg. 
 
 -  There  is  a  reading  which  brings  these  two  more  closely  together: 
 lixKouixv  Kxl  v-TTo/icovyiv,  without  the  repeated  article. 
 
150  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THYATIRA. 
 
 interpreted  as  somewhat  qualifying  and  diminishing  the  whole. 
 Assuredly,  Thyatira  has  works  of  love  to  present  to  the  Lord; 
 and  where  this  love,  here  graciously  named  first,  exists,  there 
 must  be  also  most  certainly  faith :  this  inference  from  without 
 to  within  appears  to  be  denoted  by  the  succession  of  the  words. 
 That  this  faith,  working  by  love,  by  no  means  denotes  that 
 adherence  to  dogma,  which  in  the  Lord's  sight  has  no  distinc- 
 tive value  and  praise,  we  have  already  shown  upon  ver.  13.^ 
 The  faith  which  the  Lord  acknowledges  is  never  mere  doctrine, 
 mere  confession  :  in  the  connection  and  process  here,  it  is  no  less 
 than,  as  in  ver.  13,  the  fidelity  of  faith  holding  fast  to  Him ; 
 although  it  would  not  be  right  on  that  account  to  translate 
 "  fidehty  "  simply,  for  the  fundamental  idea  is  always  the  same 
 as  the  former.  Service  of  love  does  not  merely  indicate  in  the 
 most  specific  sense  benevolence  and  communication,  as  is  meant 
 in  2  Cor.  ix.  12,  13  (more  closely  translated,  "  the  presentation 
 of  this  service;"  in  Greek,  diakonia) ;  but  it  means  generally 
 what  we  find  in  Heb.  vi.  10.  Thyatira  exliibited  her  perse- 
 verance in  works  of  serving  and  solicitous  love,  w^hich  cannot 
 be  presented  in  their  genuineness  without  genuine  faith — hypo- 
 critical works  the  Lord  never  could  praise  ! — she  continues  in 
 them  so  diligently,  that  the  Lord  even  beholds  the  last  to  be 
 greater  than  the  first.  This,  taken  by  itself,  and  thus  compared 
 with  ver.  6  preceding,  would  constitute  the  highest  praise  of 
 spiritual  growth : — but  how  does  this  consist  with  the  remain- 
 ing characteristics  of  that  church,  which  must  however  modify 
 its  meaning  ?  Is  Thyatira  on  that  account  better  than  Ephe- 
 sus  ?  or,  can  there  be  a  general  and"  real  advancement  in  the 
 energy  of  Christian  hfe  and  work,  even  while  a  Jezebel  is 
 guiltily  allowed  place  and  power  ?  An  unprejudiced  considera- 
 tion of  the  whole  context  constrains  us  to  adopt  an  exposition 
 which,  at  the  same  time,  opens  to  us  the  prophetical  meaning 
 of  the  whole.  It  is  obvious  that  the  Lord  addresses  only  the 
 faithful  in  and  among  the  community  of  Thyatira.  These, 
 partly  seduced,  partly  not  seduced,  though  guilty  of  an  unholy 
 
 ^  Ebrard,  therefore,  is  not  correct :  "  Men  may  be  zealous  in  good  works, 
 and  even  (as  opposed  to  heathenism)  in  orthodox  Christian  faith,  and  never- 
 theless have  a  Jezebel  for  queen  and  prophetess."  Nor  was  this  church 
 "worse  than  any  other ;"  for  we  find  worse  iu  ch.  iii.  1,  2,  and  again  iii. 
 15, 16. 
 
KEV.  IJ.  18-29.  151 
 
 compromise  with  evil,  may  be,  in  relation  to  the  predominant 
 corruption,  only  a  very  small  flock ;  but  they  are  nevertheless, 
 and  they  are  called,  the  Lord's  Church  !  Here  we  should  dis- 
 cern, and  learn  to  imitate,  the  mild  judgment  of  Him  who  did 
 not  absolutely  reject  the  legal  zeal  of  the  Jewish  Christians 
 who  beHeved  on  Him,  with  all  its  slow  perception  of  faith,  and 
 even  mistrustful  enmity  to  His  Apostle  Paul  and  the  Gen- 
 tile brethren.  If  it  be  said  that  those  walked  uprightly  ac- 
 cording to  their  best  knowledge  and  abiHty  in  grace,  we  may 
 also  say  that  the  Christians  in  Thyatira,  the  saints  in  the 
 finished  Catholic  Church  (for  thither  all  points  in  the  end !), 
 practise  pre-eminently  works  of  serving  love,  as  must  be  evident 
 to  all,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  put  evangelical  churches  to 
 shame.  Shortly  before,  and  again  after  the  Reformation,  we 
 see  the  last  works  more  and  better  than  the  first ;  faithful  striv- 
 ings after  amendment  of  the  head  and  the  members,  co-existing 
 with  deficient  knowledge,  and  a  labour  all  the  more  on  that 
 account  zealous.  Many  Reformers  before  the  Reformation — 
 those  especially  who  with  all  their  endeavours  never  broke  with 
 Rome,  and  many  earnest  and  most  honourable  labourers  after 
 the  Reformation,  who  would  not  become  Protestants,  have  their 
 share  in  this  commendation.  But  we  would  not  reckon  among  the 
 last  works  the  testimonies  against  the  Papacy,  and  make  "  the 
 Reformation  itself  the  crown  of  this  period ;"  for  that  would 
 be  a  premature  anticipation  here  at  the  beginning,  and  in  ver. 
 28  we  have  an  intimation  of  that  end  and  the  reward  of  the 
 genuine  and  faithful  of  Thyatira.  At  first  the  vehement  con- 
 demnation of  the  predominance  of  the  great  offence  breaks  out. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDmG  I  HAVE  AGAINST  THEE  THAT  THOU 
 SUFFEREST  THAT  WOMAN  JeZEBEL,  WHICH  CALLETH  HERSELF 
 A  PROPHETESS,  AJST)  TEACHETH  AND  SEDUCETH  My  SERVANTS 
 TO  COMMIT  FORNICATION,  AND  TO  EAT  THINGS  SACRIFICED  UNTO 
 
 IDOLS.  Here  we  must  not  introduce  a  reading  which  Luther  re- 
 ceived and  so  translated — a  few  things,  or  a  little  thing  !  For, 
 Jezebel's  dominion  was,  as  has  been  observed  already,  more  than 
 Balaam's  counsel.  Thou  sufferest  her ;  that  is,  to  do  what  she 
 will,  unhindered  and  unpunished.^  With  all  the  dihgent  service 
 of  their  benevolent  and  practical  faith,  there  was  yet  no  practical 
 
 ^  The  form  u.(pug  has  been  defended  by  Bengel,  as  from  the  form  ei(psa. 
 The  reading  koi;  is  obviously  an  explanatory  gloss 
 
152  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THYATIRA. 
 
 and  earnest  contradiction  of  godless  power  and  predominant  sin  : 
 this  was  a  characteristic  which  we  see  historically  illustrated  in 
 the  later  times  of  the  Church,  and  which  prevented  Thyatira 
 from  taking  a  place  on  a  level  with  apostolical  Ephesus  with  her 
 first  love,  and  enduring  Smyrna.     A  modern  expositor  makes  a 
 strange  mistake  when  he  says :  "  The  longing  desire  for  the  con- 
 summation of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  present  state  of  things 
 is  a  sad  but  affecting  aberration  of  overflowing  love."     O  no  ! 
 the  whore  Jezebel  in  Christendom  seduces  to  open  fornication, 
 and  the  sacrifices  of  idols  :  she  springs  from  a  very  different 
 origin,  even  as  the  typical  Jezebel  was  the  heathenish  daughter 
 of  a  king.     Ebrard  has  correctly  observed  that  the  typical  ex- 
 pressions of  the  Epistles  are  chosen  in  historical  progression,  this 
 being  taken  from  the  time  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel ;  and,  more- 
 over, the  miserable  period  of  Ahab  and  Jezebel  is  chosen,  as  op- 
 posed to  the  flourishing  (though  not  ideal,  as  Ebrard  says)  period 
 of  David  and  Solomon.  He  perceives  also  (though  inconsistently, 
 after  his  earlier  assertions  concerning  the  Nicolaitanes)  that 
 this  ruling  Jezebel  (whose  whoredom  and  witchcraft  are  great, 
 2  Kings  ix.  22)  could  not  have  been  an  actual  historical  personage 
 in  Thyatira.     How  could  a  woman  have  so  taught  and  seduced, 
 and  such  doctrine  as  is  described  afterwards  in  ver.  24  ?  We  read, 
 indeed,  in  Brandt's  School  Bible  :  "It  was  the  chief  minister's 
 own  wife — a  wicked  hypocrite,  who  doubtless  deceived  her  own 
 husband;"  but  we  regard  it  as  out  of  the  question,  and  utterly 
 untenable,  that  the  wife  of  the  bishop  had  literally  in  Thyatira 
 seduced  the  community  to  debauchery,  and  that  the  bishop, 
 whose  last  works  were  better  than  the  first,  had  leniently  tole- 
 rated it !   The  reading  'Hhy  vdfe,"  which  Luther  retains,  though 
 it  is  not  in  the  ordinary  text,  is  undoubtedly  correct  ;^  but  it  does 
 not  of  itself  mean  the  wife  of  the  "  angel,"  because  the  Thou  of 
 these  Epistles  does  not  apply  to  the  representative  personally,  but 
 rather  to  the  church  which  was  represented  by  him.     As  Ahab 
 formerly  sold  himself  to  his  wife,  to  do  evil  before  the  Lord 
 (1  Kings  xxi.  20,  25,  according  to  the  more  exact  translation ; 
 compare  Rom.  vii.  14),  so  here  the  typical  expression,  referring 
 back  to  him,  runs — Thou  lettest  thy  wife  rule ;  that  is,  thou 
 art  a  king  Ahab,  acting  as  he  acted.    This  Jezebel,  whom  Rieger 
 not  unaptly  terms  "  the  female  antichrist  of  the  Old  Testa- 
 ^  Bengel  says,  without  reason,  videtur  esse  glossa. 
 
REV.  II.  18-29.  153 
 
 ment,"  did  not  assume,  if  we  read  her  history  literally,  to  be  a 
 prophetess  while  she  was  a  prophet-murderess  ;  but  it  is  in  har- 
 mony with  the  deeper  interpretation,  that  we  should  regard  her 
 as  inspired  and  urged  to  her  deeds  by  demoniac  or  Satanic  influ- 
 ence. In  the  wider-reaching  meaning  of  this  mystical-prophetical 
 personage,  we  shall  scarcely  err  if  we  think  of  the  great  whore  of 
 ch.  xvii.  1,  2,  of  the  spurious  and  lying  church  which  cherishes 
 an  apostate  fellowship  with  the  powers  of  this  world,  and  thereby 
 rules  over  nations  and  kings, — the  full  reality  of  which  must  be 
 sought  in  a  later  futurity,  while  its  prelude  has  been  seen  in  the 
 Papacy,  but  not  in  that  alone.  For,  why  should  we  think  only 
 of  Rome,  and  not  also  of  the  "  holy  synods"  of  the  "  orthodox" 
 church  which  forbids  all  missions,  and  encourages  the  worship 
 of  saints  and  rehcs  ?  And  are  there  not  others  that  might  be 
 included  ? 
 
 The  beginning  of  this  abomination  was  already  indicated  in 
 Pergamos,  ver.  14  ;  but  now,  when  it  has  become  a  power  which 
 shamefully  veils  its  iniquity  by  the  name  of  God  (as  prophetess), 
 whoredom  comes  first  with  intenser  expression.  Here,  as  there, 
 it  is  used  both  in  the  proper  and  in  the  figurative  sense  of  the 
 word ;  for,  where  the  reins  are  given  to  the  flesh  in  idolatrous 
 apostasy,  the  vilest  debauchery  and  uncleanness  must  be  a  con- 
 comitant. The  pretension  to  splendid  sanctity  issues  often  in 
 this  miserable  opposite,  as  the  results  of  celibacy,  and  monkery 
 too,  have  too  much  shown.  But  the  principal  meaning  is  here 
 spiritual  adultery,  of  which  ver.  22  especially  speaks. 
 
 All  this  sets  more  and  more  plainly  before  us  that  interpreta- 
 tion of  Thyatira  in  the  history  of  the  Church  which  we  avow  as 
 our  own,  though  without  contending  for  it  here ;  and  the  name  of 
 this  Lydian  town  might  seem  expressly  chosen,  under  the  direc- 
 tion of  Providence,  to  this  end.  It  signifies  etymologically,^ 
 "  zealous  in  sacrifices  or  slaughter^^  which  may  be  taken  both  in 
 a  good  and  bad  sense ;  though,  after  the  analogy  of  Pergamos 
 and  Laodicea,  we  might  make  the  bad  sense  alone  prominent. 
 First,  the  wicked  sacrifices  which  Jezebel,  persecuting  and 
 slaughtering  the  prophets  and  witnesses  of  God  (and  this  name 
 is  sufficient  to  establish  the  point),  are  surely  no  acceptable 
 odour  before  the  Lord ;  and  similarly  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass, 
 
 '  Certainly  from  6voi  and  dntpvig^  inexhaustible,  iinwearying ;  though 
 with  considerable  change  of  the  form. 
 
154  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THYATIEA. 
 
 with  all  that  it  presumes  and  all  its  results,  is,  and  must  ever 
 be,  as  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  rightly  affirms,  an  accursed 
 idolatry.  To  unite  with  this  in  one  common  character  and  name 
 the  good  works  of  pious  service,  which  ver.  19  previously  praises, 
 as  if  they  were  merely  "  consecrations"  and  "  offerings,"  seems 
 to  us  altogether  unworthy  of  the  prophetical  typology  of  the 
 Lords'  manner  of  speaking  here.  Thus  we  cannot  agree  with  the 
 generally  enlightened  v.  Meyer,  who  describes  the  church  of 
 Thyatira  as  the  sacrificer  generally,  blending  the  good  and  the 
 laudable  with  the  superfluous  and  evil.  He  refutes  himself 
 afterwards,  when  he  shows  that  the  word  lying  at  the  root  of 
 "  Thyatira"  was  used  specifically  of  the  Bacchic  orgies  and  all 
 their  frenzy.^  This,  in  its  mildest  interpretation,  would  lead  us 
 to  no  other  than  enthusiastic  fanaticism  and  fanatical  enthusiasm; 
 but  the  Lord  Himself  gives  the  right  name — whorish  sacrifices 
 to  idols.  Thus  it  is  the  pseudo-sacrificial  church  ;  as  Pergamos 
 was  the  false  tower  and  elevation.  As  even  the  faithful  in  Per- 
 gamos receive  their  name  from  dwelling  there,  where  this  falsely 
 exalted  seat  of  Satan  was,  so  we  need  not  be  astonished  that 
 similarly  Jezebel,  with  her  shameful  offerings,  must  give  her 
 name  to  the  church  held  fast  under  her  power.  Although  the 
 Lord's  justice  distinguishes  this  church  from  Jezebel  herself;  and 
 condemns  her  only  for  this,  that,  with  much  otherwise  praise- 
 worthy, she  tolerated  Jezebel. 
 
 And  I  GAVE  HER  SPACE  TO   REPENT  ;   AND  SHE  WILL  NOT 
 
 REPENT  OF  HER  FORNICATION.  This  is  the  Original,  and  not  as 
 in  our  translation.  The  limit  assigned  by  forbearance  is  very  dis- 
 tant, as  history  has  shown  us ;  and  in  a  certain  sense  it  is  not 
 yet  reached,  though  Sardis  has  been  in  existence,  and  the  be- 
 ginning of  Philadelphia  has  appeared.  To  Pergamos  it  was 
 threatened,  "  I  come  quickly ;"  but  here,  on  the  contrary,  there 
 is  the  prediction  of  a  long  delay  of  judgment.^  But  this  patience 
 — the  Lord  says  beforehand — will  by  the  ungodly  be  perverted 
 to  license :  she  only  hardens  herself  in  consequence,  and  will 
 persistently  not  repent.  Is  it  not  as  if  this  was  a  prophecy  of 
 the  notorious  consistency  of  the  never  retrogressive  Papacy,  and 
 
 ^  Qviiv^  primarily  equivalent  to  raging^  being  inspired^  etc.  ;  the  substaL- 
 tive  being  used  in  the  same  meaning,  and  then  incense^  offering. 
 
 2  For,  -^cpovo;  is  always  a  relatively  long  space ;  hence  it  is  equivalent  to 
 continuance^  or  delay. 
 
KEV.  II.  18-29.  155 
 
 of  all  established  ecclesiastical  systems  like  her  in  secular  cor- 
 ruption ?  But  the  punishment  will  not  fail  in  this  lengthened 
 delay ;  it  is  already  announced  in  its  preludes. 
 
 "Behold,  I  cast  her  into  a  bed,  and  those  that  commit  adultery 
 with  her  into  great  tribulation,  except  they  repent  of  her  deeds ; 
 and  her  children  I  will  smite  with  death"  (literally,  in  the  death). 
 ToThyatira  and  Laodicea  only,  the  exhortation — which  is  never 
 altogether  wanting — begins  in  connection  with  a  preliminary 
 threatening.  Indeed,  for  Jezebel,  supposed  to  be  impenitent, 
 and  therefore  not  exhorted  to  repentance,  the  judgment  here 
 spoken  of  holds  good :  but  not  only  for  her,  for  them  also 
 who  by  their  own  fault  and  folly  have  been  perverted  with  her; 
 although  for  them  it  follows  more  gently — If  they  repent  not. 
 The  bed  of  whoredom  shall  be  turned,  as  the  natural  conse- 
 quences of  debauchery  abundantly  typify,  into  a  bed  of  pains 
 and  plagues,  into  which  the  Lord  as  Judge  will  cast  them  in 
 His  time,  so  certainly  that  it  is  already  spoken  of  as  in  the  pre- 
 sent time — Behold,  I  cast  them  !^  Job  xxxiii.  19  and  Isa.  xxvdii. 
 20  are  parallel  for  the  figurative  expression.  The  Teachers 
 Bible,  which  we  have  abeady  quoted,  says  here  most  strangely  : 
 "'  The  seducer  was  present  when  all  this  was  pubhcly  read  in  the 
 church,  and  may  well  have  been  smitten  with  sickness  on  hear- 
 ing it."  Whatever  calamity  may  have  befallen  the  historical 
 Thyatira,  as  a  sudden  judgment,  the  chief  meaning  here  refers 
 to  a  very  different  fulfilment  of  the  word.  Those  who  commit 
 adultery  with  Jezebel — here  manifestly  figurative — are  by  no 
 means  one  with  Jezebel  herself,  as  if  this  was  only  the  collective, 
 name  for  the  guilty.  For,  as  we  have  said,  the  provision  for 
 their  repentance,  in  order  to  the  turning  away  of  the  judgment, 
 distinguishes  them  from  the  essential  evil  power  and  corruption 
 itseK ;  and,  again,  these  adulterers  are  to  repent  of  her  works, 
 that  is  of  Jezebel's,  which  indeed  have  become  their  own.  Once 
 more,  not  altogether  the  same  vdth  themselves  are  her  children, 
 begotten  of  adulterers  and  the  great  harlot  (so  that  here,  as  in 
 Isa.  Ivii.  3,  the  mother  is  the  stem), — that  is,  the  brood  of  Jezebel 
 growing  up  and  thriving  in  successive  and  progressive  corrup- 
 tion.    These  become  naturally  worse  than  their  fathers,  the  first 
 
 ^  The  needlessly  emphatic  iyu  is  spurious  ;  nor  is  it  to  be  corrected  into 
 /Saxiy,  either  here  or  ver.  24,  although  the  Epistles  do  everywhere  promise 
 and  threaten  in  the  future,  and  dTroKnua  follows. 
 
156  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THYATIRA. 
 
 adultererri ;  so  that  again  we  find  to  these,  without  any  "  if  they 
 repent  not,"  certain  death  foreannonnced.^  The  righteous  Judge 
 leaves  nothing  unpunished  ;  but  measures  out  to  each  His  judg- 
 ment according  to  the  degree  of  guilt.  In  the  killing  we  are 
 scarcely  to  think  of  the  slaughter  of  the  seventy  sons  of  Ahab, 
 2  Kingr.  x.  7  ;  for,  these  were  not  all  the  sons  of  the  one  mother 
 Jezebel  (any  more  than  the  seventy  sons  of  Gideon,  Judg.  ix.  5, 
 were  the  fr^iit  of  one  marriage),  nor  were  they  adult erously  be- 
 gotten to  Ahab.  A  comparison  has  been  more  plausibly  insti- 
 tuted with  the  vengeance  predicted  on  children  in  the  Old  Tes- 
 tament, such  as  Ps.  cxxxvii.  9  ;  2  Kings  viii.  12 ;  Isa.  xiii.  16 ; 
 Nahum  iii.  10 ;  though  it  is  merely  the  strong  expression  of 
 "  killing"  which  has  occasioned  it.  The  words  are  plain  enough, 
 mthout  any  such  collation  of  other  passages  :  the  bed  and  the 
 kilHng  belong  to  each  other  ;  the  one  illustrates  the  other,  since 
 the  couch  of  pain  and  tribulation  ends  with  death  and  destruc- 
 tion, that  is,  for  the  children  as  well  as  for  the  mother.  As  to 
 the  fulfilment  of  all  this  in  the  history  of  the  Church,  we  can 
 only  say  that  the  further  into  the  distance  the  prophecies  recede, 
 the  more  difficult  it  is  to  point  to  the  definite  fulfilment  in  facts. 
 We  agree  generally  with  v.  Meyer,  who,  without  foreclosing  what- 
 ever else  the  future  may  bring,  regards  this  threatening  to  Thya- 
 tira  as  already  variously  fulfilled  in  preliminary  judgments,  both 
 in  the  Eastern  and  the  Western  Church :  in  wars  and  divisions, 
 in  Mohammedan  victories,  in  afflictions  and  losses  of  every  kind 
 which  have  befallen  the  dominant  "  church"  down  to  our  times. 
 The  final  bed  of  plagues,  indeed,  in  which  Jezebel  will  be  more 
 closely  pressed  than  she  has  ever  yet  been,  and  have  no  longer 
 the  power  to  stretch  herself  out  and  turn,  the  future  has  yet  to 
 bring  :  for  Thyatira,  alas !  still  continues ;  the  various  charac- 
 teristics of  this  midmost  form  of  the  Church,  as  they  are  de- 
 veloped by  time,  run  together  through  history  more  evidently 
 than  those  of  any  of  the  others. 
 
 Very  aptly,  as  a  hint  for  this  interpretation,  meets  us  the 
 additional  clause,  here  alone  thus  enlarged :    And   all  the 
 
 CHURCHES  SHALL  KNOW  THAT  I  AM  He  WHICH  SEARCHETH 
 THE  REINS  AND  HEARTS  :   AND  I  WILL  GIVE  UNTO  EVERY  ONE 
 
 OF  YOU  ACCORDING  TO  YOUR  WORKS.      Thyatira  lay  about 
 
 '  Meyer  understands  actual  children,  who  would  be  hidden  by  death  from 
 ^eater  evil ;  but  this  mixes  up  too  much  the  literal  and  the  figurative. 
 
REV.  II.  18-29.  157 
 
 the  middle  of  the  typical  circle  of  the  Seven  ;  what  befell  in  her 
 was  known  all  round.  So  the  approaching,  and  at  last  decisive 
 judgment  upon  the  ecclesiastical  economy  typified  by  Thyatira, 
 is  before  the  eyes  of  all  the  others,  as  it  were,  after  each  of  the 
 seven  forms  of  the  Church.  Therefore  we  have  the  additional 
 clause  concerning  the  final  general  judgment,  of  which  this  will 
 be  a  t3rpe  and  a^\^ul  w^arning,  with  the  well-knoA^Tl  Old  Testa- 
 ment formula,  which  recurs  in  ch.  xx.  12,  13,  xxii.  12 — To 
 every  man  according  to  his  icorks  !  To  every  man  among  you  : 
 here  the  address  is  changed,  and  the  view  is  extended  beyond  the 
 individual  Epistle  to  include  all  the  churches ;  ver.  24  return- 
 ing again  to  the  particular  you  for  Thyatira.  According  to  ch. 
 xix.  1-6,  the  hosts  and  elders  in  heaven  extol  the  judgments  of 
 God,  with  the  first  and  only  "  Halleluiah"  of  ]the  Apocalypse 
 and  of  the  New  Testament,^  that  He  had  condemned  the  great 
 whore  !  But  in  the  judgment  is  revealed  the  Searcher  of  hearts  ; 
 and  Jesus  Christ  will  reveal  Himself  as  such  !  In  the  Old  Tes- 
 tament this  sublime  and  penetrating  title  (also  speaking  of  the 
 reins  and  hearts,  that  is,  the  desires  and  the  thoughts)  occurs, 
 of  course,  only  of  God :  e.g.,  Ps.  vii.  10 ;  Jer.  xi.  20,  xii.  3  ; 
 also,  in  connection  with  the  judgment,  and  just  as  here,  Jer. 
 xvii.  10 ;  Prov.  xxiv.  12.  All  the  churches  have  indeed  long 
 known  that  He  whom  they  call  the  Lord,  this  Searcher  of 
 hearts  and  Judge,  is  one  and  equal  with  the  Father.  They  have 
 known  it,  but  have  not  sufficiently  understood  and  remembered 
 it :  therefore  the  Lord,  who  had  named  Himself  before,  ver.  18, 
 the  Son  of  God,  significantly  says  here  :  "  They  shall  know  that 
 I  am  He  !"  Which  threatening  of  judgment  once  more  com- 
 bines tenderness  with  its  severity :  "  I  will  assuredly  look  at  the 
 heart,  and  only  according  to  the  heart  estimate  the  deeds." 
 
 Of  this  He  gives  at  the  same  time  a  proof,  when  He  graci- 
 ously returns  to  the  oppressed  and  burdened  of  'FJiyatira,  who 
 can  stand  through  their  fidelity  to  Him,  and  to  the  httle  centre 
 of  behevers  already  praised  in  ver.  19  as  existing  even  under 
 the  Jezebel  government.  But  unto  you  I  say,  the  rest  in 
 Thyatira,  as  many  as  have  not  this  doctrine,  and  have 
 
 NOT  KNO^VN  the  DEPTHS  OF  SaTAN,  AS  THEY  SPEAK  ;  I  WILL 
 
 PUT  UPON  YOU  NONE  OTHER  BURDEN.     The  reading  and  in- 
 terpretation "  unto  you  and  ujito  the  rest "  is  incorrect ;  for  who 
 *  Compare  the  first  time  in  the  Old  Testament,  in  Ps.  civ.  35. 
 
158  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THYATIKa. 
 
 could  be  referred  to  o^er  and  above  those  who  were  addressed '? 
 The  rest  are  rather  all  wlio  stand  before  the  gentle  yet  severe 
 judgment  of  the  Lord,  whom  the  Searcher  of  all  hearts  knows 
 to  be  His  own  in  Thyatira,  and  whom  therefore  He  thus  terms, 
 as  in  the  case  of  Sardis  also,  ch.  iii.  2.  The  protesting  minority, 
 hidden  for  the  most  part  from  the  eyes  of  men,  was  the  saved 
 "  remnant "  according  to  the  election  of  grace,  mighty  in  them, 
 coiTesponding  to  the  Seven  Thousand  of  the  time  of  Elias 
 (Rom.  xi.  2-5).  To  these  belong  all,  exactly  numbered  in  the 
 Lord's  "  as  many  as,"  who  have  not  and  do  not  hold  that  doc- 
 trine of  ruin ;  although  even  they,  as  was  said  before,  too  gene- 
 rally tolerate  it,  and  there  is  no  zealous  prophet  Elijah  among 
 them.  And  how  was  that?  Because  they  have  not  known^ 
 that  which  the  Lord  alone  can  know  as  in  its  depths  Satanic. 
 Ebrard  unnatm'ally  refers  the  clause,  "  as  they  say,"  to  the 
 Christians  of  Thyatira  themselves,  while  he  condemns  the  com- 
 mon exposition  ("  as  those  who  hold  the  doctrine  call  it ")  as 
 unnatural.  But,  were  that  the  case,  we  should  certainly  expect, 
 after  the  address  with  "  but  I  say  unto  you^^  and  so  much  other 
 reference  to  the  persons  spoken  to,  that  the  recognition  of  their 
 right  sentiment  would  also  be  introduced  by  a  personal  address, 
 "  as  ye  rightly  term  it."  Moreover,  the  entire  character  of  the 
 Church  of  Thyatira  does  not  prepare  us  to  expect  among  them 
 any  such  decisive  testimony  against  Jezebel.  Assuredly,  these 
 "  remaining  ones  "  here,  that  is,  all,  as  many  as  do  not  hold  this 
 doctrine,  are  not  entirely  distinguished  from  that  "  main  bulk 
 of  the  church  which  tolerated  Jezebel's  evil  doings ;" — they  are 
 the  same,  those  which  were  before  commended,  ver.  19,  though 
 certainly  the  best  portion  of  them.  Thus  these  were  not  they 
 who  "  boldly  condemned  these  doings  as  Satanic,  and  opposed 
 Jezebel  as  Elijahs^  But  we  must  understand  them  to  be,  as 
 a  consideration  of  history  will  show,  those  men  (the  sympa- 
 thising High  Priest  calls  them  servants  of  God,  and  in  ver.  20 
 His  servants,  embracing  the  seduced  in  common),  pious  Catho- 
 lics, before  and  after  the  Reformation,  who  nevertheless,  like 
 even  John  Huss,  were  so  blinded  by  Jezebel,  that  they  enter- 
 tained no  doubt  of  the  Divine  institution  of  the  Papacy,  but 
 supposed  rather  that  such  an  institute  was  necessary  for  the 
 unity  of  the  Church,  for  the  preservation  of  apostolical  tradi- 
 tion, and   for  the  certain  interpretation  of  Scripture.      The 
 
REV.  II.  18-29.  159 
 
 Lord,  indeed,  plainly  declares,  that  while  they  are  not  seduced 
 by  this  doctrine,  and  have  it  not  in  its  practical  consequences, 
 do  not  teach  the  essential  evil  which  was  connected  with  it, 
 yet  they  are  at  least  deceived  concerning  it,  since  they  do  not 
 know  its  e\dl  ground,  and,  in  spite  of  all  that  ob\^ously  might 
 have  taught  them,  have  not  discerned  its  essential  sin.  They 
 are  those  who  have  not  been  initiated  into  the  abysmal  corrup- 
 tion; and  therefore,  through  this  lack  of  insight,  have  been 
 preserved  and  saved.  In  these  pregnant  words  the  emphasis 
 lies  upon  the  "  depths :"  this  is  the  third  and-final  denomination, 
 after  the  synagogue  of  Satan  in  Smyrna,  and  the  seat  of  Satan 
 in  Pergamos ;  now  first  is  the  perfectly  perverted  anti-Christi- 
 anity arisen  from  these  depths  as  a  doctrine  and  a  power.  The 
 expression  connects  itself  with  manifestations  of  the  apostolical 
 age,  in  which  the  mystery  of  iniquity  was  already  beginning  in 
 its  pre-intimations  to  work  (2  Thes.  ii.  7).  Those  fleshly  Gnos- 
 tics built  their  adulterous  life  upon  high-flown  theories  of  a  so- 
 called  knowledge,  and  talked  about  " the  deep  things  of  God,' 
 which  the  Spirit  had  revealed  unto  them  (1  Cor.  ii.  10).  To 
 us  it  is  by  no  means  unnatural,  in  the  concise  phrase  which 
 must  be  understood  by  the  whole  connection,  that  the  Lord  cor- 
 rectingly  terms  their  so-called  deep  things  (which  word  alone,  as 
 we  have  said,  is  here  in  question)  the  depths  of  Satan ;  and 
 thus  refers  the  clause  "  as  they  speak  "  only  to  the  former  word 
 of  the  two: — As  they  babble  in  their  perversion  concerning 
 (but  He  will  not  take  into  His  lips  their  blasphemous  lie)  the 
 deep  things  "  of  God." 
 
 Suffice,  that  the  rest  in  Thyatira  have  not,  on  the  one  hand — 
 and  this  was  sufficient  for  their  salvation — known  these  depths, 
 in  the  sense  of  the  falsely-vaunted  knowledge  of  the  prophets 
 and  instruments  of  Jezebel ;  while,  on  the  other,  they  have  not, 
 in  another  sense,  understood  and  penetratingly  perceived  that 
 they  were  the  depths  of  Satan  and  not  the  deep  things  of  God. 
 They  have  indeed,  according  to  the  degree  of  their  knowledge 
 and  in  part,  vdthstood  the  influx  of  the  evil, — so  much  was 
 true;  but,  on  that  very  account,  because  they  regarded  the 
 error  of  doctrine,  and  the  wickedness  of  life,  as  no  more  than 
 evil  which  was  built  upon  a  good  foundation,  and  therefore  did 
 not  break  with  the  fundamental  power  and  the  fundamental 
 doctrine  itself, — they  were  very  hard  put  to  it  in  such  a  con- 
 
160  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THYATIRA. 
 
 flict  with  Jezebel,  and  much  more  heavily  troubled  than  if 
 their  opposition  had  been  pure  and  perfect.  This  their  Lord 
 knows,  and  therefore  says  to  them  graciously :  "  I  put  not  upon 
 you  any  other  burden  I  That  it  is  not  My  will  to  do. — Thus  do 
 I  not  (in  the  correct  reading)  ;  be  assured  that  I  do  not  so  deal 
 with  those  who  are  already  plagued  and  oppressed."  We  must 
 understand — "  no  other  burden  "  (as  if  for  ^dsitation  upon  your 
 failure  to  know  the  evil  depths)  "besides  that  harassing  op- 
 pression under  which  ye  are  held  by  Jezebel's  power."  ^ 
 
 But    THAT   WHICH   YE   HAVE,   HOLD  FAST   TILL   I   COME  I 
 
 Not  (though  there  is  such  an  exposition  current)  — "  The 
 burden  which  you  have,  and  besides  which  I  will  lay  upon  you 
 none  other!"  Ch.  iii.  11  teaches  us  how  to  understand  it: 
 "That  gift  of  grace  which  ye  have  received  from  Me  hold 
 fast,  and  in  it  abide  faithful."  The  coming  of  the  Lord  is  not 
 only  death,  as  it  regards  every  individual  (ver.  10)  ;  but,  'v\dth 
 reference  to  the  whole,  also  the  judicial  coming  to  judgment 
 and  separation,  as  spoken  of  in  ver.  23.  The  Lord  here  speaks 
 of  that  coming  with  a  designed  indefiniteness,^  because  gene- 
 rally His  judgment  upon  Thyatira  was  being  variously  accom- 
 plished in  preparatory  displays.  But  it  is  not  His  design  ex- 
 pressly to  say  that  the  duration  of  this  church  would  extend 
 to  His  final  coming.  Let  it  be  observed  that  to  these  "  the 
 rest,"  not  repentance,  but  holding  fast,  is  spoken  of.  Thus 
 there  is  a  threefold  distinction  :  Jezebel  herself  is  hardened, 
 and  will  not  repent,  as  was  already  said ; — all  who  commit 
 adultery  with  her  are  yet,  ver.  22,  exhorted  to  repentance  ; — 
 finally,  this  residue,  this  better  part,  this  small  minority,  needs 
 not  that  exhortation.    With  these  last  is  connected  the  promise: 
 
 And  he  THAT  OVERCOMETH,  AND  KEEPETH  My  WORKS  UNTO 
 
 the  end,  to  him  will  i  give  power  over  the  nations. 
 And  he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron;  as  the 
 vessels  of  a  potter  shall  they  be  broken  to  shivers  ; 
 
 ^  The  interpretation  found  in  Herder  is  manifestly  incorrect :  "  I  wUl 
 not  upon  you  cast  a  strange  burden,  not  reckon  to  you  others'  sins  !"  That 
 cannot  be  the  meaning  of  «AAo  ;  comp.  1  Tim.  v.  22.  Nor  is  ^a.pog  a  com- 
 mandment or  prophetical  utterance,  as  if  the  Lord  used  a  phraseology  which 
 was  denounced  in  Jer.  xxiii.  33-38. 
 
 ^  But  the  oiv  is  not  a  mark  of  indefiniteness,  as  has  been  said ;  it  is 
 only  a  strengthening  in  connection  with  ax^/?  ov  or  g'wf,  as  often  elsewhere ; 
 see  1  Cor.  xv.  25. 
 
BEV.  II.  18-29.  161 
 
 EVEN  AS  I  RECEIVED  OF  My  FaTHER.  AnD  I  WILL  GIVE 
 HIM  THE  MORNING  STAR.  He  THAT  HATH  AN  EAR,  LET 
 HIM  HEAR  WHAT  THE  SpIRIT  SAITH  UNTO  THE  CHURCHES. 
 
 My  works,  saith  the  Lord,  instead  of  those  works  of  dark- 
 ness :  "  the  works  which  are  well-pleasing  to  Me ;  the  works  of 
 love  and  faith,  of  service  and  patience,  wrought  through  My 
 grace — as  before  said.  That  is  what  ye  must  have,  and  hold 
 fast ;  these  are  your  works,  according  to  which  I,  the  Judge, 
 will  deal  with  you.  The  power  is  Mine ;  the  reward  is,  pro- 
 perly speaking,  your  benefit :  yet  it  will  be  the  actual  reward 
 of  the  faith  which  received,  and  of  the  fidelity  which  held  fast 
 and  overcame."  Now^  the  "  unto  the  end,"  as  it  respects  the 
 individuals,  is  the  same  with  "  unto  death,"  ver.  10.  Because 
 Thyatira  had  wrongly  anticipated  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord, 
 and  perverted  it  to  sinful  dominion,  the  reward  of  those  who 
 overcome  is  in  opposition  described  as  the  true  power  over  the 
 nations,  as  the  symbolical,  prophetical  word  promised  it  to  the 
 Son  of  God,  for  the  antitype  and  fulfilment  of  the  kingdom  of 
 David.  Ps.  ii.  6-9.  That  which  is  there  the  sceptre  of  the 
 kingdom,  is  here  translated  into  staff  or  rod.  The  saying  of 
 the  Psalm  recurs  tvnce  more,  ch.  xii.  5,  xix.  15,  and  as  here, 
 according  to  the  ancient  Greek  version,  "  He  will  pasture  them 
 with  it,"  although  the  Hebrew  text  speaks  of  breaking  in  pieces^ 
 even  in  the  first  member  of  the  sentence.  The  Hebrew  word 
 contains  in  its  root  a  double  allusion,  including  that  of  feeding ; 
 and  the  translation  which  arose  out  of  that  fact  may  be  retained 
 in  order  to  indicate,  in  conformity  with  the  meaning  here,  that 
 both  are  included  —  as  well  the  final  destroying  judgment  of 
 •v\Tath  upon  the  evil-doers,  as  the  victory  of  the  power  of  grace 
 which  opposes  in  order  to  salvation,  and  thus  brings  into  the 
 fold  of  the  Good  Shepherd.  Both  are  referred  to  in  the  pro- 
 mise of  this  passage,  but  especially  the  ruling  which  wins  and 
 saves,  as  it  is  abundantly  promised  to  the  partakers  of  the  first 
 resurrection,  in  a  final  kingdom  of  the  Lord  upon  earth,  ch.  xx. 
 4,  and  finally  in  ch.  xxii.  5.  That  which  Ps.  cxlix.  6-9  fore- 
 announces  concerning  the  honour  of  God's  saints,  that  they  shall 
 rule  and  bind  the  nations,  means  assuredly,  first  of  all,  as  ver.  6, 
 rightly  viewed,  gives  us  to  understand,  the  office  of  the  word  and 
 Spirit  as  opposed  to  the  unbelief  of  the  world ;  although  the 
 final  judgment  is  assuredly  not  excluded :  compare  Wisd.  iii.  8 
 
 L 
 
162  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THY ATIEA. 
 
 and  Ecclus.  iv.  16  (more  strictly  translated,  "who  shall  judge 
 the  Gentiles  ")  with  1  Cor.  vi.  2.  What  the  relation  of  these 
 promises  is  to  the  time  of  the  end,  and  before  the  end,  we  can 
 now  only  forecast  in  a  very  general  way,  and  define  only  by 
 negations.  That  power  over  the  nations  is  here  held  out  to 
 those  who  overcome  as  a  reward,  and  in  contrast  with  the  false 
 power  which  had  been  arrogated,  is  very  plain.  But  we  can- 
 not see  that  there  is  in  it  a  special  severity  and  keenness,  in  con- 
 formity with  the  strain  of  the  whole  Epistle:  for,  first,  the 
 Epistle  is  full  of  gracious  encouragement  to  the  believers  ;  and, 
 secondly,  the  promised  power  is  by  no  means  intended  merely 
 of  destroying  judgment.  Herder,  therefore,  commits  a  twofold 
 mistake,  when  he  says  that  "  even  the  reward  in  that  world 
 is  in  harmony  with  this  character,  quite  in  the  spirit  of  Elias, 
 rigorous  and  destructive."  For,  of  that  world,  in  which  there 
 will  be  nothing  to  destroy,  nothing  is  here  said ;  and,  moreover, 
 our  Lord  obviates  all  such  misunderstanding  of  the  destructive 
 power,  by  the  additional  clause,  "  Even  as  I  have  received  of  My 
 Father."  That  is  not  merely  a  formula  of  citation,  referring  to  the 
 second  Psalm ;  but  it  is  a  prelude  of  the  promise  in  the  final  Epistle, 
 ch.  iii.  21.  The  as  has  the  same  profound  meaning  which  it  had 
 when  the  Lord  in  His  humiliation  first  used  it,  Luke  xxii.  29. 
 
 But  what  is  the  rnoiming  star  ?  Pious  readers  of  a  certain 
 kind  pass  over  this  with  devout  feeling,  as  something  undefined, 
 and  form  no  clear  impression  of  it  in  their  minds ;  but  the 
 expositor  must  look  at  it  more  carefully,  according  to  his  best 
 ability.  It  is  despatching  it  too  easily  to  compare  ch.  xxii.  16, 
 and  say  that  this  concluding  word  only  sums  up  the  whole 
 promise  from  ver.  26  onwards:  "I  will  thus  give  Myself  to 
 him  as  the  true  Ruler  and  King."  For,  Christ  is  not  called,  as 
 a  Ruler,  the  hight  morning  star ;  and,  moreover,  the  phraseology 
 would  be  strange  and  unexampled :  "  I  will  give  Myself  to  him," 
 and  as  the  "  morning  star,"  meaning  again  only  "  My  power, 
 the  true  Christocracy."  We  think  that  the  "  morning  star  "  to 
 he  given  is  something  different  from  the  Lord  Himself  so  termed, 
 although  there  is  naturally  a  connection  between  the  two.  But 
 must  we  adduce  2  Pet.  i.  19,  and  refer  it  only  to  the  rising  of 
 light  in  the  heart  1  ^     This  again  is  saying  too  little ;  it  goes 
 
 ^  Zinzendorf  translates,  without  further  ado,  "  I  will  give  him  in  his  heart 
 the  morning  star." 
 
REV.  II.  18-29.  163 
 
 back  inappropriately  to  the  beginnings,  whereas  this  conduding 
 promise,  like  all  the  rest,  manifestly  stretches  forward  to  a 
 mysterious  future.  In  a  general  way,  it  would  be  sufficient  to 
 interpret :  "  He  that  overcometh  shall  be  present  at  the  first 
 entrance  and  dawn  of  ^ly  true  kingdom  over  the  nations,  and 
 share  it  with  ^le  ! "  But  this  has  not  enough  personal  appro- 
 priation of  the  promise  ;  it  is  not  sufficiently  concrete.  I  will 
 give  him — must  have  the  same  meaning  as  in  the  similar  for- 
 mulas, vers.  7,  10,  17.  We  think  that  the  tnith  of  this  un- 
 doubtedly peculiar  expression  lies  in  the  middle  between  the 
 future  and  the  mere  preparation  for  it,  as  the  morning  star 
 points  to  such  an  intermediate  position : — not  yet  the  day  itself, 
 but  the  messenger  preceding  and  foreannouncing  it.  Thus, 
 the  overcomer,  under  the  burden  and  darkness  of  Thyatira, 
 receives  actually  already  in  his  heart  the  prospect  and  com- 
 mencing pledge  of  the  light  which  will  rise :  this  is  included, 
 but  it  is  not  all  the  meaning.  He  has  not  merely  "  the  ]i\mg 
 hope  and  assurance  of  final  victory"  (as  v.  Gerlach  says)  ;  but 
 is  really  a  participator  and  receiver  of  a  beginning  of  the  king- 
 dom, of  that  victory  of  the  true  Shepherd  and  King  over  the 
 nations,  which  was  future  to  Thyatira,  and  would  come  in  the 
 end.  And  what  is  that  itself  ?  Assuredly  the  millennial  king- 
 dom, to  which,  in  a  certain  sense,  all  these  promises  point ;  but 
 before  that  full  fulfilment,  it  is  also  a  specific  prelude  of  it, 
 w^hich  is  parallel  with  the  pre^dously  threatened  judgment  upon 
 Sardis,  as  the  other  side  of  that  coming  of  the  Lord.  Thus,  to 
 sjDeak  plainly  out,  the  so-called  Reformation  of  the  Church  is 
 signified  by  the  promised  morning  star,  so  far  as  regards  the 
 first  fulfilment ;  but  this  assuredly  only  as  the  type  and  earnest 
 of  another  much  more  glorious  victory  of  light.  If,  as  we  shall 
 be  constrained  (though  to  the  offence  of  some)  to  admit,  Sardis 
 is  the  church  succeeding  the  commencement  of  the  Reformation, 
 which  brought  in  no  "  Philadelphia  "  (that  is,  brotherly  love), 
 but  fell  again  almost  into  death  with  its  cold  orthodoxy,  bearing 
 the  name  of  new  life  and  purified  doctrine ;  and  if,  therefore, 
 the  work  of  the  Reformation  itself,  which  formed  so  wonderful 
 an  epoch,  would  otherwise  be  altogether  unmentioned,  which 
 we  cannot  imagine ; — it  will  appear  strikingly  harmonious  that 
 we  should  read  here,  by  way  of  close  and  transition  at  least,  of 
 a  morning  star  of  new  light  and  life  rising  upon  the  faithful  of 
 
164  THE  EPISTLE  TO  SARDIS. 
 
 Thyatira,  as  a  victory  of  the  sceptre  of  Christ  over  the  power  of 
 the  ruling  harlot.  So  far  we  agree  generally  with  v.  Meyer, 
 whose  altogether  different  interpretation  of  Sardis  we  cannot 
 accept:  "The  true  evangehcal  illumination  which  broke  out 
 everywhere  about  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  the  first  new 
 enhghtenment  was  the  reward  of  the  heroes  of  faith  in  Thyatira, 
 who  after  the  midnight  of  superstition  received  the  light  of 
 Christ,  and  exercised  with  Him  the  office  of  the  morning  star 
 which  heralds  the  day."  Did  not  Luther  himself  go  forth  from 
 Thyatira  as  one  who  broke  through  and  overcame  under  the 
 pressure  of  her  power  and  might  ?  Sander  expresses  this  even 
 more  strongly  than  we  should  be  inclined  to  do  : — "  Among 
 these  overcomers,  to  whom  the  iron  sceptre  and  the  morning 
 star  were  given,  the  Reformers  in  common  are  not  to  be  mis- 
 taken." ^  Certainly  it  is  here  first,  at  the  close  and  not  akeady 
 in  the  midst  of  the  period  of  Thyatira,  that  we  find  the  true 
 "  Ehjahs."  The  reader  must  now  adjust  for  himself  the  things 
 which  we  have  given  as  no  more  than  f orecastings,  in  a  domain 
 where  strict  exposition  must  needs  be  at  fault.  If  he  cannot 
 agree  with  us,  let  him  find  something  better,  which  will  fairly 
 and  fully  correspond  with  the  well-weighed  letter  and  the  con- 
 nection of  the  prophetical  w^ord. 
 
 And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Sardis  write  : 
 These  things  saith  He  that  hath  the  Seven  Spirits  of 
 God,  and  the  seven  stars  ;  I  know  thy  works,  that 
 
 thou    hast   a  NA3IE    THAT    THOU    LIVEST,    AND    ART    DEAD. 
 
 The  Epistle  on  which  we  now  enter  presents  a  great  difficulty, 
 both  for  exposition  and  application.  With  reverent  awe  of  the 
 Spirit's  word  in  the  lips  of  Jesus,  which  so  wonderfully  yields 
 its  own  self -demonstration,  we  proceed  to  give  the  best  inter- 
 pretation we  can :  it  wdll  be  our  object  to  avoid  as  much  as 
 possible  all  imposition  of  our  own  meaning,  while  shrinking  not 
 from  the  expression  of  what  seems  to  us  the  truth.  We  have 
 hitherto  found  a  chronological  progression  of  predominant  refer- 
 ence to  successive  periods  in  the  history  of  the  Church — suc- 
 cessive, though  in  a  sense  running  into  each  other:  this  we 
 must  still  hold  fast,  unless  the  sense  of  the  words  absolutely 
 disallow  it.     We  have  also  found,  with  tolerable  certainty,  a 
 
 '  He  afterwards  incorrectly  interprets  the  morning  star  to  be  the  Word 
 of  God — which  would,  according  to  his  view,  better  suit  the  sceptre. 
 
KEY.  III.  1-6.  165 
 
 prophetical  significance  even  in  the  names  of  these  churches ; 
 and  this  will  be  still  more  plainly  seen  in  the  last  two.  Is 
 Sardis  to  be  the  sole  exception  ?  It  is  indeed  the  name  most 
 etymologically  obscure  of  all,  inasmuch  as  the  Greek  languao-e 
 affords  no  derivation.  The  Oriental  tongues  have  (since 
 Vitringa)  been  resorted  to  for  help  ;  and  the  first  meaning  given 
 is  "  the  rest "  ^ — which  will,  as  we  shall  see,  suit  well  enough. 
 But  later  learning  has  traced  the  name  of  the  ancient  metro- 
 polis of  Lydia  (once  the  rich  residence  of  Croesus,  now  existing 
 only  in  a  miserable  village)  to  a  Lydian  root ;  and,  moreover, 
 refer  to  it  the  mysterious  Sepharad  in  Obadiah  (ver.  20),  as 
 meaning  the  same  Sardis,  properly  "  Sevarda  "  or  "  Separda." 
 With  this  last  we  do  not  agree,  thinking  "  Sparta "  rather  pro- 
 bable in  Obadiah  ;  ^  but  the  Sanscrit  derivation  of  the  Lydian 
 name  will  stand — it  being  equivalent  to  "  iieio,  new-bom  with 
 the  year,  renewed."  Thus  much  appears  to  us  clear  at  the  out- 
 set :  Thyatira  passes  over  into  Sardis,  and  that  which  in  the 
 former  was  'UJie  rest,^^  becomes  in  the  latter  a  '' new^^  form 
 and  constitution,  under  another  name  and  character.  Not  as  if 
 "the  rest"  of  ver.  2  stood  in  connection  with  these  (for  there 
 the  meaning  is  quite  different) ;  but  the  residue  of  Thyatira, 
 rewarded  with  the  morning  star  of  a  new  light  and  Hfe,  form 
 the  transition  to  the  new,  whose  subsequent  and  speedy  declen- 
 sion is  condemned  in  Sardis.  Accordingly,  we  should  find  a 
 consistent  meaning  for  both  interpretations  of  the  name  at  once ; 
 but,  declining  this  double  meaning,  we  accept  the  definition  of 
 a  new  form  of  the  Church,  as  being  etymologically  the  more 
 sure,  and  better  corresponding  with  facts. 
 
 Ebrard  thinks  it  may  be  observed,  that  after  this  fifth 
 Epistle  there  is  no  longer  any  historical  progression  in  the  pro- 
 phetical interpretation;  but  that  Sardis,  Philadelphia,  Laodicea, 
 are  to  be  sought  collectively  in  connection  with  the  abiding 
 Thyatira.  This  much  only  is  true,  that  generally  the  several 
 characteristics  of  the  churches  are  not  rigidly  defined  in  strict 
 succession  only ;  but  that  those  which  follow  are  prepared  for 
 in  those  which  precede,  while  those  which  precede  continue  on 
 in  those  which  follow.     So  also  v.  ^leyer,  with  the  same  funda- 
 
 1  ir^^b  frequently  in  the  Old  Testament :  those  who  have  escaped  in  battle, 
 the  residue  after  fight,  like  ts-'Vs. 
 
 '  See  Delitzsch  in  Rudelbach's  Zeitschrift,  1851,  i.  S.  100, 
 
166  THE  EPISTLE  TO  SARDIS, 
 
 mental  \iew,  strangely  calls  Sardis  and  Philadelphia  the  two 
 daughters,  and  Laodicea  the  grand-daughter,  of  Thyatira ;  but 
 we  regard  all  this  as  disturbing  the  clearness  and  simplicity  of 
 the  prophecy.  Is  Sardis,  then,  according  to  this  notion,  "  the 
 Catholic,  especially  the  Romish,  Church  after  the  time  of  the 
 Reformation?"  In  that  case  we  cannot  see  the  distinction 
 from  Thyatira,  since  the  Reformation  did  not  give  a  different 
 character  to  the  Church  which  rejected  it ;  nor  can  we  under- 
 stand how  the  Reformed  Church  is  to  be  first  introduced  under 
 the  name  of  Philadelphia.  All  things  concur  to  lead  us  to  the 
 conclusion,  that  Sardis,  with  her  new  name,  to  which,  neverthe- 
 less, the  reality  does  not  correspond,  with  her  declension  from  a 
 first  receiving  and  hearing  (ver.  3),  must  mean  pre-eminently 
 the  Chm'ch  which  arose  from  the  work  of  the  Reformation. 
 Some  commentators  (following  a  very  doubtful  derivation  of 
 the  name  Sardis)  understand  the  various  residues  of  the  old 
 churches,  the  Greek,  Armenian,  Coptic,  Maronite,  Abyssinian, 
 etc.,  which  all  were  dead;  while  they  hold  that  the  interpreta- 
 tion, or  the  restriction,  which  refers  the  whole  •  to  the  "  evan- 
 gehcal  Church,"  to  be  incorrect  and  unhistorical.  But  we  think 
 that,  without  excluding  these  side-glances,  the  succession  of  the 
 Seven  Epistles  adheres  to  the  main  line  of  history ;  and  to  us  it 
 seems  highly  artificial  to  refer  the  plural  form  "Sardes"  to 
 manifold  residues,  instead  of  giving  to  this,  as  to  every  other 
 church,  its  distinctive  character.  The  historical  interpretation 
 must,  of  course,  be  in  harmony  with  real  history ;  but  then  we 
 reasonably  ask.  Where  is  the  "evangelical"  Church  not  long 
 after  the  Reformation  ?  Alas,  that  we  could  find  it  and  see  it ! 
 Was  the  old  Catholic  Church  actually  at  that  time,  otherwise 
 than  before,  dead  and  dried  to  "  a  mummy?  "  Does  not  im- 
 partial history  bear  witness,  alas,  that  that  actually  befell  the 
 Church  which  the  Reformers  raised  up,  which  was  called  a 
 new  and  living  church,  but  was  not  in  reality  such  ?  In  one 
 of  the  seven  we  must  find  tliis  Chm'ch,  on  account  of  her  his- 
 torical importance :  where,  then,  shall  we  find  her,  if  not  in 
 Sardis  after  Thyatira?  We  cannot  see  her  true  image  in 
 Philadelphia;  for  we  ask.  Where  is  then  the  open  door  for 
 the  little  strength?  (ver.  8).  Apart  from  missions  to  the 
 heathen — to  which,  however,  that  points — was  not  rather  the 
 door  shut  again  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  and  the  peace  of 
 
KEY.  III.  l-G.  167  , 
 
 Westphalia  ?  Did  not  the  first,  preliminary  lioLir  of  tempta- 
 tion (ver.  10)  miserably  overpower  her,  so  that  she  fell  into 
 RationaHsm  ?  AYlien  we  read  the  Epistle  to  Sardis,  without 
 any  reference  to  its  prophetic  interpretation,  we  see  that  the 
 Hneaments  of  its  character  lamentably  but  faithfully  suit  that 
 church  which  bore  the  name  of  being  new,  of  being  restored  to 
 new  hf e.  It  is  not  external  persecution  that  is  spoken  of,  nor 
 internal  heresy.  "  She  glories  in  being  alive,  but  is  dead ;  be- 
 cause the  truth,  which  she  once  embraced  with  subjective  heart- 
 felt zeal,  is  now  regarded  only  as  an  objective  treasure  for  the 
 head ;  because  an  awakened  Christianity  is  wanting  in  her,  she 
 makes  only  masses  of  Christians."  These  are  the  pregnant 
 words  of  the  thoughtful  Ebrard,  the  apphcation  of  which  he 
 shrinks  from  expressing !  We  will  also  let  some  others  speak 
 who  have  expounded  this  before  us.  Father  von  Brunn,  "  the 
 old  servant  who  waited  for  his  Lord,"  though  not  furnished 
 wdth  much  penetration  or  thorough  knowledge,  could  not  avoid 
 coming  to  the  conclusion  that  "  Sardis  is  the  type  of  the  purified 
 Western  Chm:ch  after  the  Eef ormation,"  though  he  exaggerates 
 the  condemnation  of  her  beginning  and  origin.  Sander  wrote 
 thirty  years  ago  :  "  This  church  represents  to  us  a  time  when  a 
 dead  ortliodoxy  restrained  and  bound  the  fresh  fife  of  the  evan- 
 gelical churches — when  the  spirit  was  oppressed  by  forms — 
 when  Scholasticism  lifted  its  head  again,  and  fettered  the  living 
 Word  of  God — when  life  and  doctrine  were  severed,  and  men 
 were  satisfied  with  a  dead  knowledge  of  the  truths  of  salva- 
 tion ;  the  Church  was  during  this  period,  from  the  end  of  the 
 sixteenth  till  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  Sardis — 
 men  were  proud  of  their  soundness  of  faith,  and  took  refuge  in 
 their  good  works,  then'  sacraments  and  church-going,  and  felt 
 not  the  ban  which  burdened  the  churches,  and  the  judgments 
 which  were  at  the  door."  Finally,  even  Brandt,  who  deals  so 
 strangely  with  the  Seven  Epistles  generally,  makes  almost  the 
 same  observations  in  his  comment  upon  Sardis. 
 
 After  this  anticipating  introduction — necessary  in  order  to 
 show  the  transition  from  Thyatira  to  Sardis,  where  othenvase 
 there  might  appear  to  be  a  sudden  spring  to  an  unconnected 
 new  beginning — we  shall  perhaps  be  able  better  to  understand 
 the  details  of  what  is  here  spoken.  That  the  Lord  describes 
 Himself  here,  as  in  ch.  ii.  1,  as  holding  all  the  seven  stars, 
 
168  THE  EPISTLE  TO  SARDIS. 
 
 corresponds  entirely  with  the  critical  period  of  this  new  begin- 
 ning of  the  Church.  But,  instead  of  the  seven  candlesticks,  He 
 now  mentions  the  light  and  life  itself  which  was  typified  in 
 them  and  imparted  to  them  ;  in  order,  as  it  were,  to  say  that 
 this  did  not  result  from  the  mere  "  frame  "  of  the  candlesticks. 
 Spirit  is  life ;  therefore,  "  He  that  hath  the  Spirit,  that  is,  the 
 Living  One  with  whom  is  all  spirit  and  life,  and  who  therefore 
 hath  no  pleasure  in  those  who  have  the  name  to  live  and  yet  are 
 dead."  It  is  not  so  much  in  Isa.  xi.  2  that  we  find  the  Seven 
 Spirits  of  God^  (of  which  St  John  also  in  Rev.  i.  4  and  v.  6 
 speaks),  as  in  Zech.  iv.  2,  10,  iii.  9,  where  they  correspond  to 
 the  seven-branched  candlestick  as  the  seven  all-penetrating  eyes 
 of  the  Lord.  These  seven  "  hving  Spirits  "  are  a  typical  ex- 
 pression for  the  reahty  of  the  manifold  influences  of  the  One 
 Holy  Spirit.  The  glorified  Lord  of  glory  will  not  go  back,  as 
 it  were,  to  the  position  of  His  humble  humanity,  and  say,  "  I 
 am  He  who  was  anointed  most  fully  with  the  Holy  Spirit ; " — 
 but,  when  He  terms  Himself  the  Possessor  of  the  Seven  Spirits 
 before  the  throne  of  God,  He  thereby  testifies  His  essential 
 Divinity,  just  as  in  ch.  ii.  18  for  Thyatira.  But  here  Sardis  is 
 referred  to  the  variety  of  the  churches  which  in  the  Lord's  pre- 
 sence are  regarded  as  a  unity,  because  she,  in  her  presumption, 
 misunderstood  that  truth ;  even  as  to  Ephesus  the  variety  was 
 rather  regarded  as  a  unity.  The  Lutheran  Church  especially, 
 the  most  expressly  developed  stem  and  stock  of  the  evangelical, 
 needs  to  be  reminded  that  every  candlestick  receives  its  specific 
 light  only  from  the  entire  unity  and  fulness  of  the  Divine  gifts 
 of  the  Spirit. 
 
 I  know  thy  works  !  Thus  stands  here  also  at  the  outset  the 
 unaltered  formula  of  the  judicial  sentence  (as  again  in  vers.  8 
 and  15),  although  the  condemnation  proceeds  that  the  true  and 
 perfect  works  are  not  found  among  them  !  "  I  know  how  it  is 
 with  thy  works ;  that  is,  thou  hast  the  name  that  thou  livest, 
 and  art  dead!^^^  Judgment  could  scarcely  be  uttered  more 
 keenly  and  decisively  upon  any  church  than  this.  It  is  Hterally 
 still  more  rejecting  than  the  Hukewarm  "  of  Laodicea ;  but  it  is 
 not  to  be  understood  in  its  most  literal  severity,  as  we  learn  from 
 vers.  2  and  4.     That  which  remained  was  not  yet  dead,  and 
 
 *  Although  even  there  the  seven-number  is  not  accidental. 
 
 2  The  first  oV/  is  not  for^  but  dependent  explanatorily  upon  o9kx.. 
 
REV.  III.  1-6.  1G9 
 
 there  were  some  among  them  undefiled ; — yet  the  Faithful  One 
 speaks  thus  keenly  and  zealously,  we  might  say  thus  extremely, 
 at  the  beginning,  in  order  to  awaken  by  such  words  of  fear  those 
 who  were  almost  dead.  We  are  taught  everywhere  by  the  lan- 
 guage of  these  Epistles  to  interpret  their  expressions  according 
 to  their  relative  power  and  significance,  without  unduly  pressing 
 the  letter.  As  people  are  found,  and  the  words  suit  them,  they 
 are  addressed :  thus  did  the  Lord  address  them  when  upon 
 earth,  and  thus  He  still  addresses  them  from  heaven.  Sardis 
 has  tlie  name — or  a  name,  which  is  equivalent^ — that  she  lives ; 
 but  the  Lord  tells  her  that  she  is  dead :  this  language  has  almost 
 as  condemnatory  a  tone  as  ch.  ii.  9  concerning  the  Jews  who 
 were  not  Jews ;  and  may,  according  to  the  analogy  of  Rom. 
 ii.  17,  etc.,  be  interpreted  of  the  so-called  Church  of  the  simple 
 word  and  pure  doctrine.  False  doctrine  is  not  objected  to  her ; 
 the  name  has  consequently  a  half-true  ground :  all  the  worse  is 
 it,  that  that  name  should  be  made  the  occasion  of  vain-glorying 
 in  opposition  to  the  truth  of  life.  The  parallel  which  has  been 
 sought  in  St  Paul's  words,  1  Tim.  v.  6,^  concerning  an  indi- 
 vidual person,  is  something  different ;  for  here,  amid  predomi- 
 nant death,  the  collecitce  whole  approaching  a  condition  of  death, 
 there  is  yet  remaining  a  germ  of  Hfe  which  may  be  awakened. 
 But  it  is  with  sufficient  earnestness  declared  to  us  "Protestants," 
 glorying  as  such  in  opposition  to  the  Romish  Church,  that  life 
 and  a  living  Christendom  is  no  mere  name,  not  anything  that 
 may  be  borne  in  the  mouth,  and  assuredly  not  matter  of  vain 
 self-glorying.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  exhortation  based 
 upon  the  name  which  we  bear,  has  ever  been,  and  ^dll  always 
 be,  a  very  piercing  and  convincing  exhortation.  The  beautiful 
 name  of  life,  which  is  here  held  up  in  condemnation,  is  indeed 
 not  the  ambiguous  appellation  "  Protestant,"  in  use  against 
 Rationalism  as  well  as  Fanaticism  in  its  two  extremes ;  but 
 the  name,  presupposed  with  a  secret  hint  which  the  course  of 
 history  will  solve,  of  the  new  and  renewed,  the  pure  and  the 
 purified.  Church,  the  Church  of  the  pure  word  and  uncorrupt 
 faith. 
 
 Oh  that  it  had  been  in  all  from  the  beginning  the  uncorrupt 
 
 ^  Tlie  article  before  ovo/:coc  is  not  in  the  correct  text. 
 2  Zo}(T»  ridvYiKi  is  dead  in  connection  with  a  Hving  body,  and  more 
 rigorously  exclusive  than  the  only  seemingly  equivalent  i/£«/>oV,  dead 
 
170  THE  EPISTLE  TO  SARDIS. 
 
 faith  J  or  that  it  had  remamed  so!  It  is  deeply  humbling  for 
 the  history  of  our  Church  and  Reformation,  that  the  Lord  does 
 not  say  for  Sardis  one  word  about  the  great  conflict,  which  yet 
 first  was  carried  on  sincerely  and  not  without  victory  in  His 
 might :  He  says  not  here,  as  elsewhere,  anything  about  love  and 
 patience ;  yea.  He  does  not  expressly  mention  (nor  did  He,  in- 
 deed, to  Ephesus)  faith,  the  great  critical  word  of  the  Reforma- 
 tion, in  the  m'ging  of  which  the  Reformation  was  sound.  And 
 wherefore  ?  Because  He  has  not  in  view,  and  does  not  address 
 His  Epistle  to,  that  first  outset  of  a  revivification  of  Christendom, 
 which,  while  it  was  not  unworthy  of  praise,  did  not  need  to  be 
 praised ;  but  the  church  which  sprang  from  it,  and  which  both 
 deserved  and  needed  blame.  We  hear,  however,  in  the  follow- 
 ing condescending  words,  that  He  does  not  reject  or  cast  away 
 this  chm'ch,  any  more  than  any  of  the  others ;  but  that  He  so 
 severely  addresses  her  on  account  of  her  high  vocation  and  name. 
 
 Be  WATCHFUL,  AND  STRENGTHEN  THE  THINGS  WHICH 
 REMAIN,  THAT  ARE  READY  TO  DIE  :  FOR  I  HAVE  NOT  FOUND 
 THY  WORKS  PERFECT  BEFORE  GOD. 
 
 Not  simply,  Awake,  thou  that  sleepest,  and  rise  up  from 
 death !  nor,  as  Luther's  translation  might  be  misunderstood, 
 Be  from  this  time  more  watchful  than  hitherto !  but,  Become 
 watchful !  Become  what  befits  thy  name,  a  watcher,  a  truly 
 awakened  church,  lifting  up  aloud  the  awakening  voice  of  the 
 word  of  God !  The  morning  star  hath  called  thee  into  life — 
 arise,  then,  and  become  light !  Thou  wast,  and  wouldst  be,  a 
 watchman  who  should  herald  My  dawn — alas,  thou  thyself  art 
 not  enough  awake !  This  word  of  the  Lord  to  Sardis  is  the 
 voice  of  the  true  "  watchman  of  Zion ; "  and  it  gives  us  the 
 legitimate  superscription  of  that  chapter  in  the  history  of  His 
 Chm'ch  which  we  call  the  Reformation-history :  there  was  to 
 the  waiting  Christians  of  Thyatira  a  breaking  morning,  though 
 the  day  as  yet  was  wanting.  It  was  a  wakening,  but  not  to 
 full  wakefulness ;  sleep  soon  followed  again.  What  is  it  that 
 the  evangelical  Church  lacks  for  the  consummation  of  her  good 
 beginning  ?  Awakening  and  watchfulness,  the  internal  spiritual 
 life  of  her  people,  who  have  received  and  admitted  the  pure 
 doctrine  !  Who  is  there  that  will  or  that  can  deny  this  ?  Who 
 dares  challenge  mth  incorrectness  this  application  to  our  Sardis? 
 To  Peter,  who  denied  Him,  the  Lord  once  said  upon  earth, 
 
KEY.  III.  1-6.  171 
 
 "  When  thou  art  converted,  strengthen  thy  brethren  ! "  To  the 
 Church,  wliich  confesses  Him,  He  now  speaks  from  heaven  the 
 same  word :  "  Wlien  thou,  by  repentance,  hast  risen  from  thy 
 weakness,  yea  rather  art  become  truly  ahve,  watchful,  and 
 strong,  then  strengthen  the  remainder,  which  with  thy  confession 
 has  scarcely  received  Hfe,  and  in  thy  continued  confession  has 
 drawn  near  to  utter  death  ! "  We  see  and  learn  that  the  mere 
 confession  even  of  His  name  is  not  enough;  it  is  not  pure 
 doctrine  that  avails,  but  the  living  hfe.  The  remainder  : — this 
 word  may  indeed  allude  to  ch.  ii.  24;  but  by  way  of  contrast — 
 we  might  almost  say  ironical  contrast.  In  Thyatira  there  was  a 
 Httle  residue  of  faithful  ones,  out  of  whom  the  new  confessors 
 arose;  here,  on  the  contrary,  there  is  an  inert,  dead  mass  and 
 majority,  which  is  called,  in  opposition  to  the  addressed  and 
 awakened  kernel  of  the  Church,  and  for  its  rulers  and  guides, 
 the  Rest — and  in  the  neuter,  just  as  a  mass,  which  is  without 
 personal  life  in  the  individuals.  "  Which  would  die " '  (so  in  the 
 original)  :  that  is,  was  in  the  act  of  dying,  over  which  death 
 impended,  and  which  will  altogether  die  unless  thou  watchest 
 and  strengthenest  it !  Here  we  are  told,  on  decisive  authority, 
 what  was  the  need,  and  what  the  neglect,  from  the  beginning 
 of  the  work  of  Eef  ormation  ;  what  the  only  means  of  in\4gora- 
 tion  and  Kfe  for  the  dead  communities  over  which  we  mourn. 
 It  is  the  special  cure  of  souls,  which  our  fanatical  young 
 Lutheranism  declares  to  be  needless  !  ^  Not  the  people  into  the 
 Church,  but  the  Church  into  the  people!  Home  Missions, 
 rightly  understood,  and  rightly  conducted!^  More  correctly, 
 and  more  conformably  to  Scripture  and  fact — The  right  con- 
 stitution of  our  churches,  the  pastoral  and  diaconate  ministries 
 in,  and  in  connection  with,  the  office  of  the  word  !  Exhortation, 
 edification,  and  comfort  of  souls ;  governing  them  not  by  eccle- 
 siastical police,  but  by  true  spiritual  discipHn^-i !  These  are  the 
 things  which  are  wanting,  and  they  alone  will  repair  the  mis- 
 chief which  the  Lord  here  rebukes,  not  without  a  glance  back 
 to  the  reproof  in  Ezekiel :  "  The  diseased  have  ye  not  strength- 
 
 1  One  Potel  in  Gnadau  says :  "  A  particular  cure  of  souls  does  not  exist, 
 other  than  the  true  administration  of  the  office  of  the  keys ! ! " — Evang. 
 Kirchenzeitung  1857,  Nr.  85. 
 
 2  "  Which  are  taking  the  place  of  the  Lutheran  ruling  offices  !  "—laments 
 the  same  Potel. 
 
172  THE  EPISTLE  TO  SARDIS. 
 
 ened,  neither  have  ye  healed  that  which  was  sick,  neither  have 
 ye  bound  up  that  which  was  broken,  neither  have  ye  brought 
 again  that  which  was  driven  away,  neither  have  ye  sought  that 
 which  was  lost ;  but  with  force  and  with  cruelty  have  ye  ruled 
 them"  (Ezek.  xxxiv.  4,  wherein  ver.  16  the  promise  follows — 
 I  Myself  will  doit!). 
 
 Luther,  when  urged  to  establish  ecclesiastical  discipline  and 
 the  pastoral  cure  of  souls,  said,  I  have  not  the  men  fit  for  it ;  and 
 this  littleness  of  faith  in  the  strong  believer  has  wrought  very  great 
 mischief.  Primarily  of  this  fundamental  deficiency  in  our  eccle- 
 siastical constitution  as  Lutherans,  and  at  the  same  time  of  others 
 in  the  Reformed,  the  Lord's  judgment  speaks — I  have  not  found 
 thy  works  perfect  !  The  w^orks  are  rightly  objected  to  the  church 
 of  faith  ;  for  it  is  through  no  other  than  a  want  of  faith  that  the 
 works,  weighed  in  the  balance  of  the  sanctuary,  are  found  too 
 light  and  not  complete.  What  was  the  ecclesiastical  constitution 
 established  by  the  Reformation  but  a  foundation,  and  an  imper- 
 fect one,  a  work  not  thoroughly  carried  out !  It  is  not  that,  ac- 
 cording to  the  foolish  notions  now  prevalent,  we  are  w^anting  in 
 a  Romanist  ecclesiastical  authority,  and  in  an  enforced  hypo- 
 critical unity,  in  the  official  prerogatives  of  a  vain-glorious  church- 
 system  ;  what  we  have  lacked  from  the  beginning,  is  the  pro- 
 secution to  its  full  issue  of  preaching,  for  the  conversion  and 
 religious  life  of  a  Christian  people.  The  nearness  to  death  of 
 this  most  abundant  residue  should  teach  ws,  who  by  the  Lord 
 are  held  responsible,  to  mark  our  own  supineness  and  neglect, 
 in  order  that  we  may  arouse  ourselves  in  alarm,  instead  of  in- 
 dulging in  vain-gloryings.  And  how  can  we  make  the  works 
 perfect,  how  can  this  residue  be  strengthened,  but  by  ourselves 
 being  invigorated  in  the  might  of  the  Lord  ?  He  who  utters 
 with  /His  decisive  judgment — "  I  have  not  found  perfect" — 
 condescendingly  adds  for  confirmation,  as  if  we  would  not  re- 
 ceive it  from  Himself,  before  My  God  I  As  all  things  are  before 
 God,  they  are  in  their  reality  before  Him.  In  ch.  ii.  4  it  was 
 said,  "  In  the  paradise  of  My  God  (ver.  28,  of  My  Father, 
 and  so  in  ch.  iii.  5 ;  compare,  further,  ver.  12  with  ver.  21). 
 It  is  remarkable  that  in  the  Revelation  of  St  John  the  Lord 
 speaks  several  times  of  His  God  (as  St  Paul  often  speaks  of  the 
 God  and  Father  of  Christ),  pointing  back  to  the  first  words  of 
 the  risen  Jesus  in  John  xx.  17  ;  for  now,  testifying  from  heaven, 
 
REV.  III.  1-6.  173 
 
 He  will  avow  Himself  to  be  properly  and  perfectly  in  all  things 
 the  glorified  God-man. 
 
 Remember  therefore  how  thou  hast  received  akd 
 HEARD,  AND  HOLD  FAST  AND  REPENT  !  We  now  hear,  what 
 our  exposition  has  taken  for  granted,  as  it  is  here  confirmed,  that 
 the  church  of  Sardis  took  its  rise  from  a  new  beginning,  from 
 the  laying  of  a  new  foundation  of  receiving  and  hearing — a  re- 
 ceiving of  grace,  a  hearing  of  the  word.  Thus  the  work  of  the 
 Reformation  itself,  and  in  itself,  so  far  as  it  restored  through 
 God's  grace  the  preaching  of  the  true  Word  of  God,  is  not  re- 
 buked in  the  Epistle  to  Sardis,^  but  is  rather  most  plainly  recog- 
 nised. It  is  not  blamed  as  a  breach  with  the  old  and  false 
 church ;  it  is  not  condemned  as  a  self-originating  work  which 
 elevated  subjective  reason  against  tradition  and  authority,  or 
 anything  of  that  kind.  The  perfect  right  is  thus  conceded: 
 Sardis  received  and  heard  from  the  Lord  that  upon  which  she 
 was  built.  The  Lord  addresses  her  as  St  Paul  addresses  Timo- 
 thy :  "  Hold  fast  the  form  of  sound  words,  which  thou  hast 
 heard  of  me  ;  keep  this  good  deposit !"  (2  Tim.  i.  13,  14).  As 
 Ephesus  was  to  remember  the  hf  e  of  her  first  love,  so  Sardis  was 
 to  remember  the  preaching  which  she  had  first  received.  She 
 has  not  fallen  from  the  truth  of  her  doctrine,  she  has  still  what 
 she  must  keep  and  maintain,  even  while  her  repentance  is  urged. 
 But  she  has  forgotten  how  she  received  and  heard  it  at  the  be- 
 ginning :  this  HOW,  which  must  not  be  overlooked,  but  must  be 
 understood  as  equivalent  to  what,  gives  the  proper  key  for  the 
 whole.  She  had  once  received  it,  taken  it  to  herself  in  the  right 
 way,  "  with  holy  heartfelt  zeal,  but  now  only  with  the  head;  once 
 she  had  heard  it  in  the  inner  man,  now  only  mth  the  outward 
 ear."^  Lideed,  this  first  good  beginning  of  the  right  how  does 
 not  extend  very  far,  certainly  not  to  the  "  final  close  of  the 
 confession"  in  the  Formula  Concordice,  or  afterwards  in  that 
 of  Dort.  We  need  only  take  the  trouble  to  read  through 
 Planck's  "  Origin  of  Protestant  Doctrine,"  and  we  shall  find 
 
 ^  "  Tlie  thing  itself  is  not  rejected.  That  which  is  God's  work  must 
 endure.  But  there  are  people  who  take  the  form  only.  This  is  the  age  of 
 Sardis,  and  we  may  well  observe  whither  it  tends."     (Berlen.  Bib.) 
 
 2  Which  we  once  more  gladly  quote  from  Ebrard.  Certainly  the  Tiow  of 
 receiving  is  meant,  and  not  of  God's  giving :  hence  the  Berlenb.  Bible  is 
 wrong  :  "  How  mercifully,  richly,  mildly,  seasonably,"  etc. 
 
174  THE  EPISTLE  TO  SARDIS. 
 
 (after  all  abatements  for  lils  perversions,  which  are  not  slight) 
 so  much  of  the  undeniably  human  and  false  in  the  "how"  of 
 the  reduction  of  the  Word  of  God  to  ecclesiastical  doctrine,  that 
 we  shall  be  constrained  to  remember  and  repent  of  this  "  how" 
 itself.  It  is  not  concerning  that  fresh^  pure  beginning  of  the 
 testimony  to  which  the  Lord  refers  us,  but  concerning  the  pro- 
 gress of  it,  that  the  following  too  strong  expressions  of  von  Brunn 
 hold  good  :  "  We  shall  not  wonder  at  the  severe  declaration  of  the 
 Lord,  if  we  bear  in  mind  that  the  sum  of  all  doctrine  is  not  a  scien- 
 tific estimate  of  dogma,  but  love  out  of  a  pure  heart  and  a  good 
 conscience,  and  faith  unfeigned ;  and  if  we  remember,  further, 
 that  in  the  time  of  the  Reformation  this  latter  was  not  the  cha- 
 racteristic either  of  the  teachers  or  the  people,  but  that  they  were 
 actuated  by  a  general  disgust  at  the  secularity  of  the  Pope  and  the 
 assumptions  of  the  priesthood,  combined  wdth  a  deepening  insight 
 into  the  oppressive  corruptions  which  had  insinuated  themselves 
 into  the  Church.  For  we  cannot  perceive  in  that  time  much  (?) 
 of  that  spiritual  life  which  the  Lord  requires  of  His  disciples. 
 Where  there  was  any  real  amendment  of  the  Church,  it  was  the 
 work  less  of  effective  sermons  than  of  learned  disputations,  which 
 proved  by  conclusions,  based  upon  Scripture,  that  the  charges 
 urged  against  the  Papacy  found  their  warrant  in  the  Word  of 
 God."  From  this,  much  of  its  exaggeration  must  be  deducted ; 
 but  the  truth  remains,  that  the  work  begun  in  the  Spirit  was 
 not  in  the  Spirit  entirely,  or  even  to  a  great  extent,  carried  out.^ 
 Alas  !  how  soon  did  the  Church  of  the  Reformation  require  as  a 
 whole  that  other  exhortation,  "  O  Timothy,  keep  that  which  is 
 committed  to  thy  trust,  avoiding  profane  and  vain  babblings, 
 and  oppositions  of  science  falsely  so  called,  wdiich  some  professing, 
 have  erred  concerning  the  faith!"  (1  Tim.  vi.  20,  21).  Repent  of 
 thy  human  perversion  of  the  treasui'e  of  grace  entrusted  to  thee ! 
 Be  watchful,  that  thou  mayest  mark  it,  and  put  it  away! 
 
 If,  therefore,  thou  shalt  not  watch,  I  will  come 
 
 (upon  thee)  as  a  thief,  and  thou  SHALT  NOT  KNOW  WHAT 
 
 HOUR  I  AviLL  COME  UPON  THEE.^  We  hear  in  these  words 
 the  echo  of  those  sayings  of  our  Lord  concerning  watching  and 
 
 ^  The  same  writer  adds  afterwards :  "  Thus  we  cannot  be  astonished  that 
 in  most  of  the  religious  wars  of  that  time,  Divine  help  was  withdrawn  from 
 the  Protestants." 
 
 2  The  first  "  upon  thee"  is  probably,  though  not  certainly,  spurious. 
 
EEV.  III.  1-6.  175 
 
 the  coming  of  the  thief,  Matt.  xxiv.  42-51 ;  to  which  the  Apostles 
 also  refer,  1  Thess.  v.  2,  and  2  Pet.  iii.  10:  see  once  more 
 Rev.  xvi.  15.  In  this  expression  the  advancing  glance  draws 
 nearer  to  the  final  day  of  judgment.  The  thief  does  not  say  be- 
 forehand that  he  will  come;  but  the  Lord,  in  His  merciful  fidehty, 
 tells  us  so  abundantly.  And  when  He  so  comes  at  the  end, 
 He  will,  in  righteous  retribution,  entirely  take  away  all  that  had 
 been  received  from  Him,  but  not  preserved  and  diligently  used. 
 If  He  comes  to  a  church,  it  will  be,  what  fundamentally  signi- 
 fies the  same  thing,  to  remove  its  candlestick  from  its  place ; 
 their  old  church-treasure,  which  they  have  hid  in  the  napkin  of 
 idleness,  or  dissipated  in  proud  contention,  will  be  taken  away 
 from  those  who  hitherto  possessed  it.  When  the  final  removing 
 judgment  will  come  upon  Sardis,  after  its  judgment  through 
 Rationalism, we  know  not:  it  may  be  much  nearer  than  we  think ; 
 and  possibly  hastened  by  our  present  unrighteous  and  impui'e 
 zeal  for  the  re-estabhshment  of  old  things  in  that  church  whose 
 good  name  speaks  of  that  which  is  livingly  new.  But  when 
 Sardis  falls,  the  time  will  follow,  as  we  perceive  already  in  the 
 preparatory  beginning,  of  Philadelphia  and  Laodicea  together. 
 As  in  the  faithful  of  Thyatira  the  reformation  was  before  pre- 
 pared for,  so  the  pure  and  living  in  Sardis  form  the  secret  root  of 
 the  Philadelphian  church.  To  these  the  gracious  words  of  the 
 Lord  now  turn,  that  right  may  be  fittingly  done  to  the  other  side. 
 But  thou  hast  a  few  names  in  Saedis  which  have 
 not  defiled  their  garments  ;  and  they  shall  walk  with 
 Me  in  WHITE,  FOR  THEY  ARE  WORTHY.  Only  in  the  Epistles 
 to  Thyatira  and  Sardis  are  the  names  mentioned  twice ;  and  in 
 each  case  when  the  faithful  are  referred  to.  The  hut  coming 
 first  (wanting  in  the  translation)  has  a  tone  of  grace  after  the 
 threatening.  Here  it  is  said,  Thou  hast; — and  the  presence  of 
 these  worthy  ones  in  the  church,  now  first  late  mentioned,  is 
 represented  to  the  angel  of  the  church  as  a  treasure  in  his  pos- 
 session which  had  been  hitherto  as  it  were  unknown,  or  at  least 
 not  rightly  estimated,  and  by  the  use  of  which  he  might  come 
 to  true  repentance.^  They  are  few,  but  in  them  thou  hast  many : 
 if  thou  only  knewest  how  to  value  them,  as  I  count  them  worthy! 
 
 ^  The  Rest  in  Thyatira,  and  the  Remainder  in  Sardis,  form  a  contrast. 
 Similarly,  to  Pergamos — Thou  hast  heretics;  hut  here  only — Thou  hast 
 faithful. 
 
176  THE  EPISTLE  TO  SARDIS. 
 
 Names  are  spoken  of  :  not  as  belonging  to  celebrated  personages, 
 the  mention  of  whom  would  be  enough  to  mark  them  out ;  nor 
 as  meaning  that  "  among  thy  names,  for  thou  hast  many  distin- 
 guished men  of  name,  yet  only  a  few  which  have  any  value 
 before  Me !"  For,  assuredly,  those  who  are  meant  here  are 
 among  the  less  known,  manifest  only  to  the  Lord,  and  whom  we 
 must  seek  among  those  who  have  been  called  the  '^  silent  in  the 
 land."  Names  are  equivalent  to  persons,  in  ch.  xi.  13,  as  in  Acts 
 i.  15.  Nevertheless,  there  is  something  in  the  background,  when 
 the  expression  is  used  as  here.  Before,  the  dead  mass,  which  to- 
 gether had  the  "  name"  that  it  lived,  was  called  the  Remainder, 
 in  the  neuter:  in  opposition  to  that,  we  have  now  the  names  or  the 
 persons  known  to  the  Lord,  and  mentioned  with  honour  before 
 His  God ;  for  personal  sanctification  in  the  personal  life,  saved 
 personalities,  worthy  of  eternal  salvation,  are  what  is  essential ! 
 This  is  here  asserted  against  those  who,  like  their  modem  repre- 
 sentatives, decried  in  a  Avrong  spirit  the  "  subjective"  out  of 
 deference  to  an  ecclesiastical  "objectivity" — as  if  the  blessed 
 God  could  take  any  pleasure  in  a  glorious  liturgy  offered  by 
 dead  souls ! 
 
 The  pure  and  undefiled  service  of  God,  is  to  keep  ourselves 
 imspotted  from  the  world  (James  i.  27).  Sinners  defile  their 
 garments,  their  inner  man,  by  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  as  the  un- 
 clean body  spots  a  garment  (Jude  23).  This  is  a  profound 
 symbol  of  an  essential  truth  ;  as,  according  to  the  same  funda- 
 mental idea,  Isa.  Ixiv.  6  terms  all  our  own  natural  righteous- 
 ness a  filthy  (Heb.  stained  with  the  specific  defilement  of 
 impure  flesh)  garment.  To  the  church  of  Sardis  there  is  now 
 promised,  and  magnified,  the  wedding-garment,  which  not  only 
 covers,  but  in  a  wonderful  manner  takes  away,  our  shame — 
 the  righteousness  of  Christ  through  faith.  Concerning  this 
 garment,  too,  it  is  further  said,  that  only  a  few  of  those  who 
 have  actually  once  put  it  on,  have  preserved  it  unspotted ;  or, 
 without  figure,  that  only  on  and  in  few  has  justification  exerted 
 its  full  power  unto  that  sanctification  which  is  valid  before  God, 
 and  which  He  looks  for  as  the  fruit  of  that  tree.  Only  those 
 who  are  sanctified  receive  the  inheritance  (Acts  xxvi.  18) — 
 only  those  who  are  pure  in  heart  behold  the  face  of  the  Pure. 
 Heb.  xii.  14  ;  Matt.  v.  8.  Their  reward  is — as  the  Lord  who 
 walketh  amid  the  candlesticks,  ch.  ii.  1,  promises — They  shall 
 
REV.  ni.  1-6.  177 
 
 walk  with  Me,  that  is,  stand  before  Me  in  confirmed  life,  and 
 shall  be  with  Me  in  the  region  of  eternal  life  (ch.  xxii.  3,  4), 
 where  will  not  be  a  stationary  stillness,  bnt  rather  the  abund- 
 ance of  holy  activity.  And  in  white,  resplendent  vestures  of 
 glorified  bodies,  which  will  then  be  given  to  the  righteous  as 
 the  bright  manifestation  of  their  inward  purity  and  righteous- 
 ness ;  as  in  ver.  5  the  great  promise  is  resumed,  and  as  in  ch. 
 xix.  8,  14,  this  book,  throughout  so  wonderfully  w^oven  into  the 
 unity  of  a  great  plan,  repeats  and  explains  the  promise.  Not 
 that  "  walking  with  Me  in  white  garments"  means  "  going 
 clothed  in  white  like  Myself"  — for  in  the  title,  ver.  1,  the  Lord's 
 bright  garments  were  not  made  prominent ;  yet  there  is  a  simi- 
 larity (not  equality)  between  His  vestm^e  and  that  of  His  people, 
 as  Phil.  iii.  21  declares.  His  righteousness  in  the  beginning.  His 
 holiness  in  the  process.  His  glory  at  the  end,  all  are  to  become 
 ours.  But  glory  is  for  the  holy  alone ;  only  of  the  guests  found 
 thus  clothed  does  He  say — They  are  worthy;  they  are,  though 
 by  grace  alone,  yet  through  the  acceptance  and  presentation  of 
 that  grace,  as  much  as  is  in  man,  worthy  of  the  reward.  (The 
 contrast  for  the  condemned  comes  after  in  ch.  x\4.  6  :  compare 
 also  Matt.  xxii.  8.) 
 
 He  that  overcometh,  the  same  shall  be  clothed 
 
 IN  WHITE  raiment;  AND  I  WILL  NOT  BLOT  OUT  HIS  NAME  OUT 
 OF  THE  BOOK  OF  LIFE,  BUT  I  WILL  CONFESS  HIS  NAME  BE- 
 FORE My  Father,  antd  before  His  angels.    He  that  hath 
 
 AN  ear,  let  him  hear  WHAT  THE    SpIRIT   SAITH  UNTO  THE 
 
 CHURCHES.  The  figure  of  white  or  bright  garments,  which 
 here  in  this  book  points  to  the  glorification  of  the  body,  and 
 probably  also  to  a  previous  transitional  state,  at  the  same 
 time  goes  back  to  the  putting  on  of  the  righteousness  which 
 is  the  gift  of  the  grace  of  God :  thus  is  it  interpreted  expressly 
 in  ch.  xix.  8.  It  is  the  priestly  pure  garment,  first  of  all  (comp. 
 ch.  XV.  6),  in  which,  Zech.  iii.  4,  5,  the  unclean  high  priest, 
 was  arrayed  when  his  sin  was  removed  ;  the  robe  of  righteous- 
 ness, Is.  Ixi.  10.  But  this  festal  wedding-garment,  or  "  imputed" 
 righteousness,  not  being  perfectly  valid  without  the  holiness 
 which  OTows  out  of  it — which  the  Reform ation-theorv,  and 
 the  subsequent  dogmatics  of  the  Church,  did  not  sufficiently  em- 
 phasize, however  correctly  acknowledged — the  same  garment 
 is  finally  exhibited  as  resplendent  glory.     Thus,  in  the  mean 
 
 M 
 
178  THE  EPISTLE  TO  SARDI3. 
 
 ing  of  the  promise,  the  bright  garments  are  something  other  and 
 greater  than  the  clean,  of  which  they  are  the  reward.  He  that 
 overcometh,  even  lie,  only  he  and  no  other : — this  has  a  specific 
 emphasis  in  the  Greek,  which  cannot  well  be  translated.^  As 
 Sardis,  on  the  whole,  has,  alas  !  only  the  name  to  live,  so,  on' the 
 contrary,  the  names  of  those  who  overcome  in  the  conflict  with 
 this  death,  twice  mentioned  and  acknowledged  with  emphasis  by 
 the  Lord,  are  to  be  inscribed  in  the  hook  of  life,  where  they 
 shall  remain  and  never  be  blotted  out  or  taken  away.  This  last 
 appears,  in  passing,  to  be  directed  against  the  Eeformed  pre- 
 destination dogmatics,  even  as  the  former  word  concerning  the 
 true  wedding-garment  was  directed  against  the  practical  perver- 
 sion of  the  Lutheran  doctrine  of  justification.  The  hook  of  life 
 — see  further  ch.  xiii.  8,  xx.  12,  xxi.  27 — occurs  also  Phil. 
 iv.  3;  as  also  in  the  Old  Testament  Ps.  Ixix.  28 ;  Is.  iv.  3 ;  Dan. 
 xii.  1  (vii.  10).  It  is  of  most  weighty  significance  in  connection 
 with  this,  that,  in  the  first  place  of  Holy  Writ  in  which  this 
 phrase  occurs,  Ex.  xxxii.  32,  we  read  of  a  blotting  out  of  the  book 
 (like  Ps.  Ixix.  28) ;  as  also  that  there  is  not  in  the  entire  Scripture, 
 not  even  the  book  of  Revelation,  any  mention  of  a  contrasted 
 "  book  of  death."  This  intimates  to  us  that  men  redeemed  by 
 Christ  are,  through  a  primary  gracious  will  of  God,  appointed 
 and  written  down  for  salvation ;  while  the  lost  are  themselves 
 the  guilty  cause  that  they  must  be  rejected  and  blotted  out. 
 And  even  this  last  promise  for  Sardis  confirms  our  prophetic 
 interpretation  of  this  church,  which  unprejudiced  exposition 
 suggests,  but  which  we  do  not  insist  upon  as  infallible.  To  the 
 church  of  Confessions  the  Lord  speaks  only  of  His  confessing 
 those  who  overcome  in  her  ;  for  this  is  most  plainly  involved  in 
 the  concluding  word,  which  almost  literally  refers  to  Matt.  x. 
 32  and  Luke  xii.  8,  pointing  again,  hke  ver.  3,  forward  to  the 
 last  day  of  judgment.^  Herder  goes  too  far  when  he  says  that 
 the  wliole  Epistle  is  written  in  the  words  of  Christ,  which  He 
 spoke  while  yet  upon  earth  ;  but  certainly  there  are  many  such 
 allusions  to  His  own  word,  now  expressly  opened  up  anew  to 
 
 '  Generally,  we  cannot  exactly  reproduce  the  interchangeable  forms  in 
 the  concluding  promises,  ra  vikcjvti — o  viscuu  ;  and  in  the  case  of  Sardis  the 
 additional  ovrag,  for  which  we  cannot  accept  the  ovrug  of  the  critics,  which 
 yields  no  proper  meaning. 
 
 "^  But  the  Lord  cannot  now  continue  to  say  —  Before  My  Father  in  heaven. 
 
REV.  III.  7-13.  179 
 
 this  church.  We  may  refer,  in  conclusion,  to  Luke  xxii.  32  , 
 Matt.  xxiv.  42-44  (also  what  follows  there  in  its  impressive 
 adaptation  to  Sardis  !),  xxii.  8,  11,  x.  32. 
 
 AXD   TO    THE   ANGEL  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  PHILADELPHIA 
 
 WRITE ;  These  things  saith  He  that  is  holy.  He  that  is 
 TRUE,  He  that  hath  the  key  of  David  ;  He  that  open- 
 
 ETH,  and  no  man  SHUTTETH  ;  AND  SHUTTETH,  AND  NO  MAN 
 
 openeth.  The  Lydian  city  of  Philadelphia,  so  called  from 
 its  builder.  King  Attains,  sumamed  Philadelphus  or  lover  of  his 
 brother,  w^as  the  seat  of  a  small  church  in  the  time  of  St  John ; 
 and  here  gives  its  beautiful  name,  in  the  prophetical  meaning 
 of  the  heavenly  writer,  as  the  symbol  of  a  period  and  character 
 of  the  Church  which  has  for  its  signature  brotherly  love.  Tliis 
 is  of  all  the  names  the  most  obvious  in  its  prophetic  meaning, 
 so  that  the  confusion  which  has  been  fallen  into  by  some  ex- 
 positors seems  to  us  matter  of  wonder.  Even  the  circumstance 
 that  Philadelphia  lay  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Tmolus,  close  to 
 Sardis^  is  not  without  useful  application.  If  we  have  in  any 
 measure  found  the  intei-pretation  of  Sardis,  the  transition  now 
 to  the  next  presentation  of  the  Church  suggests  itself  at  once : 
 the  faithful  in  Thyatira  prepared  the  way  for  Sardis,  and  now 
 the  acknowledged  kernel  of  Sardis  comes  out  into  prominence 
 as  Philadelphia;  wiiile,  on  the  other  hand,  only  out  of  the 
 reproved  mass  could  Laodicea  spring.  Philadelphia,  placed  in 
 the  midst  between  Sardis  and  Laodicea,  is  the  counterpart  of 
 both.  She  does  not  glory  in  her  name,  nor  does  she  think  her- 
 self rich  and  satiated ;  but  is  blessed  in  her  httle  strength  and 
 faithful  patience,  and  commended  and  encouraged  far  beyond 
 all  the  other  chm-ches.  Not  even  Ephesus  stands  so  entirely 
 in  the  Lord's  presence.  We  are  forbidden,  by  the  sad  and 
 incontrovertible  history  of  the  church  which  sprang  from  the 
 so-called  Reformation,  to  interpret  Philadelphia  generally,  and 
 without  qualification,  of  that  church.  But  it  is  at  the  same  time 
 e^ddent  that  a  Philadelphia  could  not  follow  Sardis,  and  an  evil 
 Laodicea  again  follow  her,  in  definite  and  exclusive  periods; 
 the  clear  meaning  of  the  word,  apart  from  mere  prophetic  in- 
 terpretation, will  constrain  us  to  adopt  the  view  to  which  we 
 have  already  given  preliminary  expression.     If,  generally,  the 
 
 1  About  five  Eoman  miles  nearer  than  Sardis  to  Thyatira,  which  are  the 
 two  least  distances  of  the  whole. 
 
180  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 intermingling  presentations  of  the  Church  from  the  beginning 
 exhibited  their  respective  characteristics  as  more  or  less  passing 
 into  each  other  and  co-existing,  it  is  obvious  that  this  will  be 
 still  more  the  case  as  the  end  approaches :  Philadelphia,  as  well 
 as  Laodicea,  are  prepared  for  in  Sardis,  and  reach  onwards  to 
 the  close  of  the  Church's  history  in  the  coming  of  the  Lord. 
 
 We  cannot  say  (with  Meyer)  that  the  attributes  of  the 
 Lord's  first  manifestation  are  exhausted,  so  that  He  must  give 
 Himself  new  names  for  this  new  church ;  nor  (with  Ebrard) 
 maintain  that  the  title  here  given  is  no  longer  derived  from  the 
 first  description  of  His  person,  but  chosen  with  strict  relation 
 to  the  condition  of  the  church  addressed.  For,  the  key  cer- 
 tainly does  look  back  to  the  final  saying  of  ch.  i.  18 ;  and 
 what  precedes  is  only  an  addition  similar  to  "  Son  of  God,"  in 
 the  Epistle  to  Thyatira,  and  already  prepares  the  way  for  the 
 concluding  summ.ary  to  Laodicea  (ver.  14).  The  Amen,  the 
 True  and  Faithful  Witness,  coincides  almost  exactly  with  "  He 
 that  is  holy,  and  He  that  is  true."  Later,  in  ch.  vi.  10,  the 
 same  description  retui^ns;  and  ch.  xix.  11  substitutes  very 
 e\adently  '•'•  faithful  and  true."  The  Holy  One  reminds  us  of 
 he  phrase  which  occurs  almost  only  in  Isaiah,  The  Holy  One 
 of  Israel.  Thus  is  termed  there  the  Lord  God,  in  whose  place 
 the  Son  of  God  appears  here,  not  only  as  being  beyond  all 
 comparison  (Is.  xl.  25),  but  in  His  revelation  of  Himself  as  Love 
 ever  faithful^  glorious,  and  to  be  praised  above  all  things ;  love 
 true  to  itself  in  condescending  greatness,  and  in  the  greatness  of 
 its  condescension.  Both  rniited  in  one  here  are  the  expression  of 
 sublime,  rejoicing,  protecting  complacency  in  that  church,  which 
 had  beyond  others  kept  His  word  without  denying  His  name  (vers. 
 8,  10),  and  derived  its  own  name  from  love.  He  that  is  holy  is 
 also  He  that  is  true,  who  never  denieth  Himself,  never  changeth  ; 
 as  in  1  Sam.  xv.  29  was  said  of  the  Abiding  One  in  Israel.^ 
 
 This  Holy  and  True  One,  faithful  and  unchangeable  in  the 
 pure  love  which  is  His  essence,  has  now,  as  the  Son,  supreme 
 authority  for  the  government  of  the  house  and  kingdom  of  God 
 upon  earth ;  in  His  hand  is  the  hey  of  David.     These  words, 
 
 ^  We  would  request  those  who  have  the  opportunity  to  consult  our  com- 
 mentary on  this  passage  in  Isaiah,  as  also  the  remarks  upon  John  xvii.  11. 
 
 ^  Luther  translates,  without  any  good  meaning,  der  Held.  The  Hebrew 
 is  f^?3,  one  of  the  profoundest  words  of  the  Old  Testament. 
 
REV.  III.  7-13.  181 
 
 which  once  more  go  back  to  the  Old  Testament  types,  are  easily 
 understood;  especially  if  we  connect  with  them  the  passage, 
 Is.  xxii.  22,  which  is  almost  verbally  quoted  in  the  context. 
 Opening  and  shutting  are  suggested  by  the  key:   first,  with 
 reference  to  the  inhabitants,  opening  is  concerned,  and  this  in 
 the  Hebrew  gives  its  name  to  the  key ;  but  shutting  also  is  in- 
 volved, and  this  gives  the  key  its  name  in  the  Greek,  as  also 
 in  the  German.   Reference  is  here  made  to  the  key  of  supreme 
 authority  in  both  respects ;  and  that  holds  good  which  is  figu- 
 ratively said  in  Job  xii.  14,  "  When  He  shutteth,  no  man  can 
 open !"     But  no  man  can  shut  when  He  in  His  grace,  as  it  is 
 always  and  everywhere  His  good  pleasure  to  do,  openeth !    The 
 keys,  in  the  plural  (in  ch.  i.  18  still  more  solemnly  and  ex- 
 pressly used  of  the  gates,  the  entrance  and  exit  of  death  and 
 of  hell),  become  now — not  without  connection  with  the  autho- 
 rity of  the  keys  generally,  which  is  given  to  the  conqueror  for 
 all  doors  of  every  kind — the  key  of  David.     Stilling  would 
 strangely  interpret  this  of  "  the  subterranean  regions ;"  but  the 
 typical  David  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  opening  of  Hades,  or 
 any  other  subterranean  and  hidden  region ;  and,  moreover,  there 
 was  not  any  necessity  for  the  threatening  (or  promising)  refer- 
 ence to  death  and  hell,  in  the  case  of  this  faithful  church.   The 
 superscription  refers  at  the  outset,  by  anticipation,  to  the  giving 
 of  an  open  door,  ver.  8.     In  the  book  of  Isaiah,  where  ch.  xxii. 
 gives  us  a  representative  picture  of  the  whole  on  a  small  scale, 
 the  proud  treasurer  Shebna  being  cast  out  of  his  office,  and 
 Eliakim  (that  is,  "  the  Lord  will  set  up ")  being  put  in  his 
 place,  we  have  the  expression  in  the  fuller  historical  style — the 
 key  of  the  house  of  David.   But  here  the  same  meaning  is  given 
 in  a  more  condensed  form,  "  the  key  of  David,"  in  order  to 
 make  prominent  the  t3rpical  phrase,  and  to  exhibit  Christ  as  the 
 fulfiller  of  the  type,  the  true  King  David  over  the  house,  and 
 kingdom,  and  people  of  God.   AYlien  w^e  penetrate  more  deeply 
 into  its  prophetic  significance  for  Philadelphia,  there  may  ap- 
 pear to  be  another  meaning  in  the  background,  beside  the  open- 
 ing and  shutting  of  the  door,  in  the  success  of  the  Word  for  the 
 spread  of  the  kingdom.      For  He  speaks  here,  who  also  in 
 Matt.  x\i.  19  spoke  of  keys  in  His  house  and  kingdom  upon 
 earth,  which  were  to   be  given  to  His   disciples.      And   we 
 mark  that,  after  in  Thyatira  the  "  successors  of  St  Peter," 
 
182  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 and  not  merely  they,  but  their  imitators  in  Sardis/  had  carried 
 the  doctrine  of  the  keys  to  most  exaggerated  perversion,  the 
 Lord  comes  forward  Himself  to  Philadelphia : — I,  the  supreme 
 Holder  of  all  authority  of  the  keys,  to  receive  and  to  reject  in 
 My  Church ;  I  have  never  given  up  this  power,  but  use  it  Myself 
 from  age  to  age,  I  alone  in  holiness  and  truth !  ^ 
 
 I  KNOW  THY  WORKS  :  BEHOLD,  I  HAVE  SET  BEFORE  THEE 
 AN  OPEN  DOOR,  WHICH  NO  MAN  CAN  SHUT ;  FOR  THOU  HAST 
 A   LITTLE   STRENGTH,  AND   HAST   KEPT  My  WORD,  AND  HAST 
 
 NOT  DENIED  My  NAME.  To  the  absolute  /  know  thy  works  ! 
 which  stands  here  alone  for  uniformity,  is  appended,  without 
 any  mention  of  faith  or  love,  the  encouraging  declaration  of 
 what  the  Lord  had  done  for  Philadelphia,  which,  speaking  of 
 what  was  given,  promises  still  more ;  and  then  first  follows,  as 
 the  commended  susceptibility  for  the  Lord's  gift,  their  little, 
 but  faithfully-used  strength.  "Well  for  him,  whose  charac- 
 terisation requires  nothing  more  to  be  said  than  what  the  Lord 
 has  done  in  him !  A  sign  that  such  a  man  has  let  the  Lord 
 accomplish  His  work."  Thus  does  Ebrard  keenly  and  truly 
 describe  the  "  noble  delineation"  of  the  state  of  Philadelphia. 
 The  "  behold,"  so  frequent  in  the  ancient  prophets,  which  was 
 spoken  only  once  to  Smyrna  as  noting  the  temptation,  and  only 
 once  to  Thyath'a  as  conveying  a  threatening,  and  to  Laodicea 
 once  more  in  connection  with  warning  and  exhortation,  ver. 
 20,  is  addressed  to  Philadelphia  thrice  in  connection  with  the 
 highest  grace  and  honom\^  The  liberal  Giver,  who  giveth 
 everything  out  of  His  all-governing  hand,  hath  given  before  this 
 church  an  open  door^  which  shall  be  shut  of  no  man,  but  shall 
 be  more  and  more  open  in  spite  of  all  opposers.  This  is  not 
 a  door  of  access  or  entrance  into  His  "  temple"  (into  which 
 Philadelphia  does  not  need  admission) ;  but  it  corresponds  to 
 a  phrase  of  the  great  Apostle,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  suggested 
 and  stamped  upon  more  than  one  passage  of  the  New  Testa- 
 ment. St  Paul  wrote  from  Ephesus  : — A  great  door  of  full 
 activity  is  opened  to  me,  and  there  are  many  enemies  (who  shall, 
 
 ^  Accordmg  to  Luther's  well-kno-wn  saying :  There  is  no  little  priest  who 
 might  not  make  a  little  pope. 
 
 ^  Philadelphia  is  the  symbol  of  a  church  in  which  the  ofl&ce  of  the  keys 
 is  truly  administered.     Leyrer. 
 
 ^  In  ver.  11  it  is  a  spurious  reading  from  ch.  xxii.  7. 
 
REV.  III.  7-13.  183 
 
 nevertheless,  not  be  able  to  shut  it)  :  1  Cor.  xvi.  9.  Similarlv 
 again  in  2  Cor.  ii.  12 ;  and  most  plainly,  Col.  iv.  3 :  Pray  for 
 US,  that  God  may  open  to  us  a  door  of  the  word}  This  entrance, 
 which  the  messengers  of  the  Lord  find  for  their  preaching 
 (1  Thess.  i.  9),  includes  at  the  same  time,  as  it  is  said  before 
 the  Church  to  the  glory  of  God  in  Acts  xiv.  27,  the  opening 
 of  the  door  of  faith  for  the  Heathen,  as  an  earnest  of  that  time 
 when  the  gates  of  the  city  of  God  stand  open  day  and  night 
 for  the  Gentiles,  whereof  Is.  Ix.  11,  and  Eev.  xxi.  25,  26, 
 prophesy.  Thus  the  Lord  promises  a  prosperous  and  unhin- 
 dered career  of  missions,  as  in  the  apostolical  time  to  Ephesus, 
 to  Philadelphia,  the  final  and  most  favoured  church,  the  plain 
 prophetic  name  of  which  speaks  of  entrance  into  the  union 
 of  brotherly  love.  Here  we  have  the  key  for  the  opening  of 
 the  mystery  of  this  church,  this  most  brightly  shining  star  and 
 candlestick. 
 
 We  ask  whether  that  is  of  itself  appropriate  to  the  first 
 church  of  the  Reformation  ;  and  let  history  give  the  answer. 
 Even  the  entrance  into  the  rest  of  Christendom  was  presently 
 shut  again,  and  Jezebel  remained  enthroned  in  unchanged 
 Thyatira ;  but  the  mission  to  the  Heathen,  of  which  the  word 
 pre-eminently  speaks,  was  long  held  back.  Richter,  the  In- 
 spector of  ]Missions,  might  have  learned  in  his  official  capacity 
 something  better  than  what  he  writes  in  his  Bible  (with  much 
 else  that  is  confused  and  arbitrary)  :  "  Many  seek  Philadelphia 
 merely  in  attempts  at  union ;  but  the  Evangelical  Church, 
 especially  the  Lutheran,  does  not  make  union,  but  is  union." 
 We  understand  this  self-contradicting  word  too  well  to  be 
 misled  by  it.  Certainly  we  do  not  seek  the  Philadelphian 
 community  in  ecclesiastical-political  attempts  at  union;  nor 
 alone  or  pre-eminently  in  that  which  now,  under  the  beautiful 
 name  of  union,  is  feebly  and  preparatorily  sought  after;  but  still 
 less  do  we  seek  it  in  that  Lutheran  Church  which  recognises  no 
 other  union  than  that  of  entering  like  good  Catholics  into  her 
 bosom.  The  very  name  of  Lutheran,  so  firmly  held  fast — we 
 hold  to  this,  let  men  say  what  they  will ! — plainly  denies  that 
 immediate  dependence  on  the  one  only  Name  in  which  salvation 
 
 *  Then  no  longer  defended  against  enemies,  as  a  castle  and  fortress.  Then 
 will  come  into  it  those  who  peacefully  enter,  whereas  before  conquerors  went 
 forth  amongst  them  from  it. 
 
184  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PUILADELPHIA. 
 
 is  given  to  all  men  under  heaven,  and  does  not  acknowledge  the 
 walking  of  the  Lord  amid  the  seven  golden  candlesticks.  The 
 true  Philadelphia  must  be  willing  to  abolish,  and  must  actually 
 in  reparation  abolish,  the  great  unjustifiable  division  and  contro- 
 versy through  which  Sardis  came  to  her  end  ;  she  must  not  hold 
 fast  the  fundamental  error  which  has  crept  in,  and  which  has 
 been  so  lamentably  refuted  by  all  history,  that  life  and  the  right 
 of  belonging  to  the  "true  church  "  depends  upon  a  mere  human 
 system  of  "  pure  doctrine,"  going  beyond  the  fundamental 
 doctrines  of  salvation.  As  it  respects,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
 aspuations  after  union,  which  have  in  earlier  and  later  times 
 proceeded  from  a  pure  Philadelphian  mind,  we  agree  with  the 
 Berlenb.  Bible,  which  says,  "  Who  will  despise  the  day  of 
 small  things  ?  (Zech.  iv.  10.)  How  small  was  the  number 
 [better,  how  little  was  the  strength]  from  which  Philadelphia 
 was  to  arise  as  a  testimony !  just  as  out  of  the  remainder  of 
 Sardis  Laodicea  was  to  spring." 
 
 It  is  a  position  of  sm^e  and  profound  truth,  both  for  theory 
 and  practice,  that  Union  and  Missions  stand  or  fall  together  in 
 the  Church ;  in  their  inmost  principle  the  two  are  one,  being 
 the  expression  of  life  among  Christians,  under  two  several  but 
 mutually  confirming  aspects.  So  far  as  believers  are  perfected 
 into  one,  the  world  knoweth  the  power  and  glory  of  the  Lord 
 in  this  Church.  Job.  xvii.  23.  Kichter  says,  that  "the  work  of 
 missions  must  be  carried  on  through  the  union  of  all  true 
 Christians,  of  all  confessions,  in  common  fellowship  of  labour." 
 This  is  the  character  and  seal  of  Philadelphia.  Has  not  the 
 Lord,  since  the  beginning  of  this  century  —  without  despising 
 former  endeavours  —  been  openly  illustrating  and  fulfilling  His 
 "Behold,  I  have  given  you  an  open  door!"  in  the  fellowship  of 
 those  who  have  been  seeking  the  true  union  ?  And  will  the 
 more  bigoted  Lutheran  Missions,  which  despise  or  know  nothing 
 of  this  blessing,  have  equal  success?  We  wait  a  while,  and 
 shall  see. 
 
 Philadelphia  was  first  most  clearly  illustrated  by  the  Church 
 of  the  Brethren ;  and  Luther  himself  long  before  might  have 
 been  admonished  by  their  ancestors,  the  old  Bohemian  Brethren, 
 not  to  neglect  the  foundation,  the  lack  of  which  was  exhibited 
 in  the  words  to  Sardis,  ver.  2.  And,  notwithstanding  all  the 
 error  and  weakness  which  adhered  to  their  institution,  they 
 
REV.  III.  7-13.  185 
 
 were  actually  the  first  who  carried  forth  the  missionary  stand- 
 ard. Not  that  we  would  interpret  (like  Brunn,  but  without 
 any  excuse  nciv)  Philadelphia  as  meaning  Hermhut:  this  little 
 company,  and  its  little  strength,  was  always  from  the  beginning 
 too  small  for  that.  But  this  interpretation  was,  when  it  was 
 first  put  forward,  based  upon  a  right  principle,  and  pointed  in 
 the  right  direction.  We  trust  that  the  Lord  will  raise  up,  out 
 of  all  the  manifold  efforts  after  union,  the  pure  germ  of  a  much 
 larger  community  of  brethren: — how  soon  or  how  late,  we 
 know  not ;  men,  alas!  have  too  much  powder  to  hinder  the  work 
 of  His  grace. 
 
 Thou  hast. — In  the  same  half-praising,  half -blaming  for- 
 mula, beginning  in  ch.  ii.  6,  it  w^as  said  to  Sardis,  Thou  hast 
 only  a  feic  who  have  not  defiled  themselves !  Now,  to  the 
 collected  and  combining  Philadelphia,  on  the  other  hand,  Thou 
 hast  a  little  strength  (or  mighty  to  war  and  conquer)  : — but  on 
 that  account  she  is  blessed  of  the  Lord,  who  doeth  gi'eat  things 
 from  beginning  to  end  by  little  means.  Eieger  remarks,  that 
 the  manner  in  w^hich  this  mention  of  the  little  strength  is  woven 
 into  the  testimony  of  the  Faithful  One,  gives  us  to  suppose  that 
 "  the  angel  of  Philadelphia  has  the  words  given  back  to  him 
 which,  in  his  lamentation  before  the  Lord,  he  had  frequently 
 made  use  of."  He  who  knows  and  feels  his  own  weakness,  de- 
 pends all  the  more  faithfully  on  the  Lord's  grace  for  the  weak : 
 only  in  this  spirit  will  the  Lord's  pure  and  really  evangelical 
 Church — in  the  midst  of  Sardis  and  Laodicea,  and  not  wdthout 
 some  from  Thyatira  too,  standing  in  the  Lord's  might  upon  the 
 basis  of  union — go  on  more  and  more  abundantly  to  conquer ; 
 and  the  doors  at  the  threshold  of  Christendom  everywhere  shall 
 no  more  be  shut  against  her.  "  God  is  more  quick  with  the 
 open  door  than  we  are; — were  only  the  people  ready,  w^ho 
 would  begin  with  a  feeble  few !"  (Berl.  Bible.)  The  Lord  here 
 encourages  the  little  strength  by  pointing  to  a  blessing  already 
 received,  and  would  have  it  more  earnest  in  its  endeavours  after 
 more ;  for  fidelity  in  that  which  is  least  has  its  own  appropriate 
 promise.  Only  to  the  Philadelphians  does  the  Faithful  Witness 
 give  the  perfect  testimony —  Thou  hast  kept  !My  word.  Thou  hast 
 in  thy  sound  confessions  not  denied  My  name;  though  doubtless 
 Philadelphia  was  not  without  temptation  enough.  He  adds  for 
 the  faithful  a  further  and  higher  promise :  "  As  the  Heathen 
 
186  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 will  hear  thy  voice,  My  voice  in  My  word  spoken  by  thee,  so 
 shall  many  come  from  false  Christendom,  and  give  thee  thy  due 
 honour — that  is,  give  it  to  Me  in  thee." 
 
 Behold,  I  will  make  them  of  the  synagogue  of 
 Satan,  which  say  they  aee  Jews,  and  are  not,  but  do 
 lie  ;  behold,  i  will  make  them  to  come  and  worship 
 before  thy  feet,  and  to  know  tha.t  i  have  loved  thee. 
 As  the  exhortation  to  Thyatira  began  with  threatening  and 
 rebuke,  so  the  true  and  genuine  Philadelphia  receives  her 
 exhortation  at  once  combined  with  promise  in  vers.  9,  10  —  and 
 only  the  short  word,  ver.  11,  follows  as  simple  exhortation. 
 For  the  fifth  and  last  time  in  these  Epistles,  the  Lord  from 
 heaven  mentions  Satan,  and  without  any  Jewish  phraseology  or 
 figure;  as  we  remarked  upon  Acts  xxvi.  28.  Smyrna's  position 
 and  trial,  ch.  ii.  9,  returns ;  rather,  it  has  continued  on  since 
 then  —  which  is  another  hint  of  the  mutually  interwoven  mean- 
 ing of  these  seven  descriptions  of  the  Church's  state.  The  ex- 
 pression is  made  more  intense,  and  now  runs — They  are  not, 
 hut  do  lie.  It  is  obvious  of  itself,  that  only  presumptuous,  false 
 Christians  can  here  be  meant.  ^  That  which  was  promised  in 
 Is.  xlix.  23,  Ix.  14,  to  the  true  Israel  of  God  and  the  genuine 
 "  Zion,"  should  be  fulfilled  in  the  beloved  and  true  Church  of 
 Christ ;  partly  in  typical  prelude,  as  in  1  Cor.  xiv.  25  (knowing 
 and  confessing  that  the  Lord  is  in  truth  among  this  people)  ; 
 but  still  more  effectually  in  the  times  of  final  decision,  when 
 not  merely  some  among  them,  but  all  of  the  congregation  of 
 Satan  who  are  still  susceptible  of  knowledge,  shall  give  the 
 truth  its  honour,  and  say,  "  This  is  the  Church,  and  here  is  the 
 Lord!"  Obviously,  the  '^  worshipping  at  thy  feet"  refers  to 
 the  Lord  Himself  in  His  despised  people,  who  have  now,  as  the 
 antitype  of  Eliakim,  Is.  xxii.,  received  the  place  of  honour; 
 thus  the  additional  clause  obviates  all  misconception  —  they 
 shall  know  that  /  have  loved  thee  !  (Compare  Is.  xliii.  4.) 
 They  had  before  bitterly  contested  this  against  the  Lord's 
 people,  but  they  shall  be  ashamed  ;  and,  humbling  themselves, 
 they  shall  confess  that  the  Lord  did  love  them,  and  moreover 
 
 ^  The  Apocalypse,  so  frequently  condemned  as  Jewish,  nowhere  speaks 
 expressly  of  Israel's  restoration  and  final  place  of  honour  :  only  in  ch.  xx. 
 9  is  there  even  a  hidden  allusion  to  it.  Here  in  ch.  iii.  9  there  is  certainly 
 no  allusion  to  the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  and  missions  to  that  people. 
 
REV.  111.  7-13.  187 
 
 "shall  know  that  /  am  He  on  whose  love  everything  de- 
 pends." ^  Thus,  the  greatest  honour  is  put  upon  Philadelphia ; 
 and  in  this  love  of  the  Lord,  a  return  to  that  first  love  from 
 which  Ephesus  fell,  is  presupposed  in  gracious  confidence.  She 
 is  therefore  not  merely  a  penultimate  church,  which  would  yet 
 once  more  give  way  to  apostasy ;  but  (as  ver.  10  continues)  a 
 community  kept  to  the  end,  which  the  coming  Lord  will  find 
 by  the  side  of  Laodicea.  This  was  what  we  had  in  ^aew  when 
 we  said  that  Philadelphia  is  the  pure  and  genuine,^  united- 
 evangelical  church,  collected  around  the  true  and  defended 
 word,  in  living  unity. 
 
 Because  thou  hast  kept  the  word  of  My  patience, 
 
 I  ALSO  WILL  keep  THEE  FROM  THE  HOUR  OF  TEMPTATION, 
 WHICH  SHALL  COME  UPON  ALL  THE  WORLD,  TO  TRY  THEM 
 
 THAT  DWELL  UPON  THE  EARTH.  As  the  Lord  loves  all  men 
 with  the  love  of  seeking  mercy,  while  He  loves  only  those  who 
 love  Him  with  the  love  of  complacency  (John  xiv.  21,  xvi.  27), 
 so  He  will  and  can  keep  those  only  who  keep  His  word.  That 
 church  which  remains  faithful  to  the  last,  even  in  the  final  great 
 temptation,  remains  finally  before  Him  as  kept  and  approved. 
 If  He  says.  The  word  of  My  patience^  He  does  not  mean 
 merely,  as  Zinzendorf  says,  "the  point  of  My  sufferings,"  or 
 what  the  Scriptm'e  terms  "  the  word  of  the  cross."  This  last 
 is  indeed  at  the  foundation — so  that  it  certainly  does  not  mean, 
 as  has  been  most  flatly  expounded,  "  My  commandment  to  be 
 patient !"  St  John,  in  ch.  i.  9,  points  us  to  the  true  sense, 
 which  Ebrard  well  exhibits  :  "  The  word  of  Christ,  so  far  as, 
 being  the  word  concerning  the  cross,  it  is  not  a  word  of  triumph, 
 but  of  patience  and  waiting,  of  believing  and  hoping."  Phila- 
 delphia held  to  this  word,  "  as  the  wliole  word  of  God,  to  its 
 awakening  part  as  well  as  its  simply  dogmatic."  This  makes 
 (in  the  faith  and  patience  of  the  saints,  ch.  xiv.  12,  xiii.  10)  of 
 the  pure  doctrines  of   faith  a  matter   of   practice,  in  which 
 
 ^  So  V.  Gerlach  beautifully  says,  expressing  more,  perhaps,  than  he 
 understood  in  his  own  words.  Oh  that  many  who  think  that  all  depends 
 on  this,  or  that,  or  the  other,  would  remember  it ! 
 
 -  "  Philadelphia  exliibits  to  us  the  church  in  wliich  the  first  brotherly 
 love  begins  to  burn  in  many  hearts  ;  in  which  Christians  out  of  many  con- 
 fessions approximate,  assembling  round  the  word  of  the  cross  as  a  common 
 standard,  and  abounding  together  in  works  of  love."  (Sander.) 
 
188  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 patience,  as  the  work  of  works,  approves  itself  perfect  unto  the 
 end.  Jas.  i.  4.  That  end  is  brought  very  near  in  this  penulti- 
 mate Epistle,  while  the  great  hour  of  temptation,  which  will 
 precede  it,  is  made  prominent.  As  it  regards  the  immediate 
 historical  meaning  for  the  typical  Philadelphia,  this  might  refer 
 to  the  impending  severe  persecution  under  Domitian  or  Trajan; 
 but  the  prophetic  meaning  shines  very  clearly  through  these 
 words  to  our  view.  That  we  may  not  limit  the  "  whole 
 earth,"  according  to  the  phraseology  of  that  time,  to  the  Roman 
 Empire  (Luke  ii.  1 ;  Acts  xi.  28),  a  well-known  expression  is 
 added  from  the  ancient  prophets,  with  reference  to  the  com- 
 prehensive prediction  of  the  end, — "  All  that  dwell  upon  earth." 
 St  Paul,  2  Thess.  ii.,  prophesies  of  the  antichristian  apostasy 
 as  of  a  power  of  delusion ;  the  Lord  gave  the  same  intimation, 
 Matt.  xxiv.  21-24;  and  further  particulars,  though  still  ob- 
 scurely, are  given  in  the  Revelation,  ch.  xvii.  12,  with  allusion 
 to  Dan.  vii.  24.  This  liour  of  temptation  will  correspond  to 
 that  "  hour"  of  temptation  through  the  power  of  darkness  which 
 fell  upon  the  Forerunner  Himself.  He  that  shall  be  found 
 in  watchfulness  and  prayer  keeping  His  word,  will  enjoy  the 
 protection  here  promised,  and  will  conquer  in  the  Lord's 
 strength,  though  he  also  must  enter  into  the  great  temptation 
 or  trial.  That  our  commonly  called  Lutherans,  or  even  Re- 
 formed, have  not  been  all  trained  to  such  warfare  and  victoiy, 
 many  a  prelude  has  shown.  In  multitudes  will  they  go  over 
 to  Antichrist ;  while  only  the  Philadelphians,  with  those  saved 
 at  the  last  hour  out  of  Laodicea,  will  hear  the  voice  of  Plim  who 
 standeth  at  the  door,  and  become  the  guests  of  the  kingdom 
 that  shall  be  set  up  after  the  conflict  at  the  resurrection  of  the 
 dead. 
 
 Concerning  this  catastrophe  of  judicial  decision,  this  inter- 
 mediate coming  for  the  setting  up  of  the  kingdom,  the  gracious 
 and  all-comprehending  exhortation  speaks  to  every  one  who  is 
 numbered  among  those  "who  have" — I  come  quickly! 
 Hold  fast  that  thou  hast,  that  no  man  take  thy 
 CKOWN  !^  This  is,  as  it  hangs  on  the  promise  of  ver.  10,  rather 
 a  word  of  consolation  than  a  threatening  ;  yet  it  is  also  an  ex- 
 hortation, the  only  one  of  which  Philadelphia  stood  in  need. 
 
 ^  The  "  Behold,"  prefixed  to  tliese  words,  we  have  already  shown  to  be 
 spurious. 
 
KEY.  III.  7-13.  189 
 
 As  an  exliortation,  it  is  remarkably  like  that  to  the  fftithful  in 
 Thyatira,  ch.  ii.  25;  it  speaks  of  no  other  crown  than  the  crowTi 
 of  life  (ch.  ii.  10)  for  all  who  shall  be  finally  found  confirmed 
 and  approved.  Before  the  end  no  man  is  crowned  ;  although 
 from  the  beginning,  and  throughout  all  the  conflict,  the  crown 
 is  held  out  and  exhibited  as  a  reserved  treasure.  What  then 
 must  the  church  of  Philadelphia  hold  fast  ?  That  wliich  she 
 has!  But  what  has  she?  Not  yet  the  crown.  What  then? 
 Her  Httle  strength  with  the  Lord's  great  help,  the  word  of  His 
 patience  and  her  persevering  continuance  therein.  From  this 
 we  may  gather  how  incorrect  is  that  application  (so  common  in 
 our  sermons  on  the  Reformation)  of  this  sapng,  which  makes 
 Philadelphia  the  Reformed  Chxu"ch  in  opposition  to  antichristian 
 Rome ;  as  if  by  the  "  crown"  w^as  to  be  understood  the  "  glory" 
 or  "especial  treasure"  of  the  evangelical,  or  Lutheran  Church, 
 as  such.  The  original  speaks  with  quite  another  meaning  of 
 quite  another  cro\N^i  for  quite  different  persons :  it  says  rather — 
 Hold  fast  thy  standing  in  grace  with  persevering  fidehty,  that 
 no  man  may  receive  at  the  last  thy  crown  of  victory ;  that  is, 
 instead  of  thyself.  Zinzendorf  s  pointed  note  hits  the  sense 
 here — "  As  the  place  was  to  be  taken  from  the  first  church  !" 
 
 Htm  that  overco^ieth  will  I  make  a  pillar  in  the 
 TEMPLE  OF  My  God,  and  he  shall  go  no  more  out  :  and 
 
 I  WILL  write  upon  HIM  THE  NAJVIE  OF  My  GoD,  AND  THE 
 NAME  OF  THE  CITY  OF  My  GoD,  WHICH  IS  NEW  JERUSALEM, 
 WHICH  COMETH  DOWN  OUT  OF  HEAVEN  FROM  My  GoD  :  AND 
 I  WILL  WRITE  UPON  HIM  My  NEW  NAME.  He  THAT  HATH  AN 
 EAR,    LET    HIM    HEAR    WHAT    THE    SpIRIT    SAITH    UNTO    THE 
 
 CHURCHES.  This  promise  once  more  rises  higher  than  the 
 preceding,  and  opens  up  the  vision  of  the  firm  and  glorious 
 foundation  of  the  city  of  God,  when  all  things  are  made  new. 
 Four  times  "  My  God,"  in  solemn  and  stately  fulness — uttered 
 by  the  heavenly  Son  of  ]\Ian  and  Son  of  God  !  Nevertheless, 
 in  this  lofty  and  sublime  glance  forward  to  the  last  things,  there 
 is  at  the  same  time  a  backward  allusion — for,  heavenly  wisdom 
 would  exercise  us,  as  the  Epistles  have  showTi,  in  the  art  of  dis- 
 cerning the  shadowings  of  the  last  things  in  the  first,  throughout 
 the  histories  and  narratives  of  Scripture — to  the  records  of 
 David's  house  concerning  Shebna  and  Eliakim  (already  pre- 
 sented to  notice  in  ver.  7),  where  from  afar  the  old  and  neic 
 
190  THE  EPISTLE  TO  PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 Jerusalem,  or  Israel,  are  very  strikingly  pretypified  in  historical 
 miniature.^  The  first  reference  to  this  is  the  expression,  so 
 intensified  in  the  original,  "  shall  go  no  more  out"  ^ — that  is, 
 shall  not  be  displaced  and  cast  out  as  Shebna  was  there.  And 
 assuredly  also — Shall  not  be  broken  off  and  carried  away  like 
 the  pillars  in  the  old  temple,  Jer.  lii.  17 ;  though  the  former 
 allusion  pleases  us  better,  since  in  Is.  xxii.  Shebna  was  to  be 
 cast  out  as  "the  shame  of  his  Lord's  house,"  ver.  18,  while 
 Eliakim,  ver.  23,  was  to  be  fastened  as  a  nail  in  a  sure  place, 
 upon  which  the  glory  of  the  house  should  be  hung,  and  was  to 
 be  a  glorious  throne  to  his  Father's  house.  But  here  the  words 
 are  loftier :  I  will  make  him  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  God ; 
 which  certainly  does  not  mean  merely,  as  Lisco  says,  that  he 
 should  remain  unchangeably  fixed  in  the  worship  of  the  sanc- 
 tuary, like  a  shaft  which  moves  not  from  its  place  !  The  Lord 
 speaks  here  in  the  same  sense  as  in  Gal.  ii.  9  apostolical  men 
 are  called  the  pillars  of  the  Church ;  though  not  here  of  the 
 Church  still  in  contention,  but  of  the  consummate  temple  of 
 glory.  Compare  the  echo  of  the  passage  in  Is.  Ivi.  5 ;  and 
 then  reflect  what  a  promise  is  here  given  to  the  faithful  posses- 
 sors of  the  little  strength  of  God  !  Yea,  then  shall  the  weak  be, 
 as  we  read  in  Zech.  xii.  8,  like  David,  and  become  like  firm  and 
 stable  pillars  of  the  finished  building ;  because  all  temptation 
 will  have  been  overcome,  and  all  danger  of  falling  done  away. 
 The  three  names  written  upon  the  pillar,  or  him  that  overcometh 
 (in  the  figure  they  coincide),  correspond  to  the  Triunity,  just  as 
 in  ch.  xiii.  6  ;  a  remarkable  passage,  where,  in  connection  with 
 God,  His  name  (in  the  Son)  and  His  tabernacle  (the  spiritual 
 building  in  the  Holy  Ghost)  are  mentioned.^  We  now  under- 
 stand, it  may  be  hoped,  after  all  that  has  preceded,  why  the 
 perfected,  true,  and  eternal  Church,  the  new  Jerusalem  which 
 will  finally  come  down  out  of  heaven  (ch.  xxi.  2,  3 ;  consequently 
 not  a  church  of  temporal  manifestation),  is  opened  in  the  pro- 
 mise to  Philadelphia,  the  only  church  which  is  fully  acknow- 
 ledged.   We  may  say — This  is  "  Philadelphia;"  the  unity  of  love 
 
 '  So  I  observed  in  my  "  Isaiah,"  without  then  thinking  of  the  Apocalypse. 
 
 ^   'E|&)  ov  [A,vi  i^i'K&'^  'in. 
 
 '  According  to  Meyer's  profound  exposition  in  the  Bl.  fiir  h.  Wahrheit, 
 viii.  §  307.  (Comp.  also  1  Cor.  vi.  11.  The  name  of  Jesus  in  connection 
 with  the  Spirit.) 
 
EEY.  III.  U-22.  191 
 
 perfect,  and  superabundantly  exceeding  that  earnest  of  first 
 love  which  the  Pentecostal  church  exhibited  to  us.  The  three 
 names — of  God,  and  His  city  or  tabernacle,  and  His  Son,  who 
 speaketh — are  essentially  One.  The  name  of  Him  who  speak- 
 eth  closes  in  solemn  confirmation  - — And  Mine^  the  neio  name  ! 
 (Compare,  once  more,  ch.  xiv.  1,  xix.  12,  xxii.  4.)  The  new  name 
 of  glory,  of  victory,  never  yet  fully  revealed,  will,  when  the  king- 
 dom of  the  Cross  is  past,  shine  forth  in  the  eternal  City  of  God 
 upon  all  who  are  built  there  as  pillars.  It  seems  almost  a  mar- 
 vellous coincidence,  in  the  Divine  providential  government,  that 
 the  historical  Philadelphia,  to  Avhich  this  promise  was  s;sTnboH- 
 cally  sent,  is  now  called  by  the  Tui'ks  "  Allah-Schahr,"  that  is, 
 the  city  of  God. 
 
 A]SD    UNTO    THE    ANGEL    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN   LaODICEA 
 
 WRITE :  These  things  saith  the  Amen,  the  faithful 
 AND  TRUE  Witness,  the  beginning  (the  original)  of  the 
 CREATION  OF  GoD.  In  the  final  Epistle  the  title  of  the  Re- 
 deemer at  once  rises  to  the  highest  gi^andeur,  for  the  supreme 
 glory  and  authentication  of  Him  who  speaheth.  For  in  Laodicea 
 we  find  a  church  which  is  least  of  all  disposed  to  hear  and 
 receive  counsel.  The  place  thus  named,  in  earlier  times  often 
 laid  waste  by  earthquakes,  and  utterly  ruined  since  Timur  (1402), 
 is  now  replaced  by  a  Turkish  village  called  "  Eskihissar."  We 
 find  its  church  mentioned  elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament, 
 Col.  ii.  1,  iv.  13,  16  ;  and  it  is  to  us  extremely  probable  that,  in 
 the  circle  of  churches  for  which  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 
 was  designed  as  an  encyclical  letter,  Ephesus  was  the  first  and 
 Laodicea  the  last.^  The  designation  which  the  Lord  now  gives 
 to  Himself  is  no  longer  a  single  one,  and  definitely  derived  from 
 anything  in  His  earlier  manifestation ;  but  in  its  meaning  it 
 sums  up  that  entire  manifestation,  and  in  a  certain  sense  may 
 be  said  to  refer  to  the  commencement  of  His  words  on  that 
 occasion — I  am  the  First  and  the  Last.  Here  we  have  first — 
 The  Amen,  in  which  with  subhme  boldness  the  "  verily"  of 
 our  Lord's  preface  to  His  utterances  upon  earth — swearing  by 
 Himself — is  made  into  a  substantive  name  of  His  person  ;  at 
 the  same  time  with  allusion  to  a  word  of  the  prophet,  referring 
 to  the  last  time,  concerning  the  finally  acknowledged  God  Amen, 
 
 ^  This  will  be  found  established  in  my  Commentary  on  the  Ephesians,  i. 
 S.  8-11. 
 
Iy2  THE  EPISTLE  TO  LAODICEA. 
 
 Is.  Ixv.  16.^  This  Amen,  as  the  personal  independent  Truth,  is 
 now  the  true  and  faithful  Witness  :  He  being  immediately  such; 
 while  all  who  before  or  after  Him  testify  the  truth  of  God  are 
 only  Himself,  who  speaks  and  bears  witness  through  them. 
 This  expression,  again  allusive  to  Is.  Iv.  4,  is  not,  as  has  been 
 inconsiderately  said,  "  derived  from  Rev.  i.  5  ;"  on  the  contrary, 
 St  John  takes  the  greeting  at  the  beginning  of  his  book  from 
 the  before-received  word  of  the  Lord  Himself.  Because  proud 
 Laodicea  is  wise  in  her  own  conceit,  and  must  be  sharply 
 rebuked,  the  Lord  Himself  confronts  her — Is  it  not  I,  who 
 speak  the  truth  ?  Wilt  thou  contend,  and  maintain  thy  cause, 
 against  ^le  ?  To  raise  this  to  the  highest  pitch,  He  terms  Him- 
 self finally  the  Beginning  of  the  creation  or  creature  (all  crea- 
 tures) of  God  ;  that  is,  not  indeed  the  first  creation,^  but  rather 
 the  original  and  primal  gi'ound  (^principium  creandi),  as  in  John  i. 
 1-3  and  Col.  i.  15  (correctly,  if  not  literally  after  the  original — 
 the  first-begotten  before  all  creatures),  is  meant.  In  Prov.  viii. 
 22,  23,  the  same  idea  evidently  shines  out  of  the  midst  of  the 
 Old  Testament.  If  we  compare  the  still  more  strictly  corre- 
 sponding passage.  Rev.  i.  8,  wdiere  He  terms  Himself,  after  the 
 "  Yea,  Amen^^  the  Alpha  and  Omega,^  we  must  observe  what 
 He  would  here  say  to  Laodicea.  Since  the  Amen  specifically 
 refers  to  the  subsequent  confirmation  and  fulfilment  of  every 
 promise  and  every  threatening  (2  Cor  i.  20),  and,  as  Meyer 
 excellently  says,  is  the  confirming  end  of  all  prayers,  we  have 
 in  this  word  here  the  title  w^hich  runs  back  from  the  Omega  to 
 the  Alpha ;  He  is  the  fulfilling,  victoriously  self-approving  Last, 
 as  He  is  the  First  in  and  before  all  creation — but  in  the  midst, 
 between  the  beginning  and  the  end.  He  is  the  faithful  Witness, 
 as  He  openly  proclaimed  Himself  in  the  days  of  His  flesh.  As 
 the  Beginning  of  the  creation  of  God,  He  knows  every  creature 
 through  and  through  ;  He  knows  what  is  in  it,  in  order  that  He 
 may  bear  His  sure  testimony.     To  this  He  at  once  points — 
 
 1  This  is  the  translation  of  the  Hebrew,  instead  of  Luther's  weakening 
 phrase. 
 
 2  It  is  melancholy  to  read  the  heretical  note  of  Brandt's  Schullehrerbibel : 
 "  Jesns  reckons  Himself  with  the  creation  of  God" — to  explain  Col.  i.  15  ! 
 What  a,p)cvi  rvis  KTiascog  and  TrpuroTOKog  'Trxang  Kriaiug  properly  denote,  could 
 be  made  clear  only  in  a  theosophical  treatise. 
 
 ^  With  a  dubious  additional — The  beginning  and  the  end — which  is  only 
 an  explanation. 
 
EEV.  III.  14-22.  193 
 
 Who  hatli  tlie  truth  to  say  to  thee,  and  mth  most  supreme  right 
 declareth  to  thee  in  thy  blindness,  I  know — what  thou  knowest 
 notf^ 
 
 I  KNOW  THY  WORKS,  THAT  THOU  ART  NEITHER  COLD  NOR 
 HOT  :  I  WOULD  THOU  WERT  COLD  OR  HOT.  So  THEN  BE- 
 CAUSE THOU  ART  LUKEWARM,  ANT)  NTEITHER  COLD  NOR  HOT, 
 I   WILL  SPUE    THEE    (LITERALLY,   I  DESIGN   TO    SPUE   THEE) 
 
 OUT  OF  My  mouth.  This  is,  verily,  a  keen  word,  the  most 
 fearfully  severe  in  all  the  Seven  Epistles.  No  denunciation  of 
 judgment  elsewhere  cuts  so  sharply  and  bitterly.  Fearful  it  is 
 to  think  that  there  could  be  at  that  time  a  historical  Laodicea 
 deserving  such  a  denunciation  as  this  !  In  this  last  Epistle  the 
 second  and  third  parts,  the  "  I  know"  and  the  resulting  appeal, 
 pass  one  into  the  other.  The  first  disclosure  of  their  lukewarm- 
 ness  is  the  foundation  of  a  threatening ;  the  exliibition  of  their 
 proud  blindness,  and  the  not  knowing  of  ver.  17,  introduces  a 
 counsel  to  them  to  receive  help  ;  T\ith  that  connects  itself,  vers. 
 19,  20,  the  exhortation  which  now  passes  into  gracious  promise. 
 But  even  here  the  rule  is  preserved,  and  first  comes  "  thy  works'^ 
 — though  in  Laodicea  there  were  works  only  of  a  miserable  kind, 
 as  it  were  no-works,  so  that  the  Lord  says  nothing  more  about 
 them  and  their  wretched  negation,  but  proceeds  to  the  exposure 
 of  their  inner  mind.  Nevertheless,  in  all  these  Epistles  He  urges 
 the  worhs,  which  He  looks  for  everywhere  ! 
 
 Neither  cold  nor  imrm — has  become  in  German  a  proverb, 
 as  it  was  used  among  the  ancients,  to  describe  those  miserably 
 negative,  characterless  people  who  hold  a  middle  place  between 
 two  parts  of  a  great  alternative.  But  the  German  translation — 
 which  cannot  now  be  altered — imhappily  enfeebles  the  sense  of 
 the  original,  which  gives  the  contrast  more  severely,  and  with 
 more  strict  truth — cold  or  hot;  for  that  fervent  burning  in 
 spirity^  in  love,  is  meant,  the  glow  of  which  is  as  "  coals  of  fire, 
 and  a  flame  of  the  Lord."  Cant.  viii.  6.  Coldness  is  not  set 
 'over  against  the  opposite  extreme,  "  fiery  fanaticism"  (as  has 
 been  falsely  interpreted)  ;   for  the  coldness  which  is  ours  by 
 
 >  Ebrard  otherwise  :  He  hath  also  power  to  execute  His  threats !  But 
 this  Epistle  to  Laodicea — which  is  almost  entirely  a  revelation  oi  themselves — 
 speaks  nothing  of  threatening  and  power. 
 
 2  Rom.  xii.  11,  in  the  correct  reading :  ^iouTeg — as  here  ^eaTog  :  comp 
 Acts  xviii.  25. 
 
 N 
 
194  THE  EPISTLE  TO  LAODICEA. 
 
 natrfl*e  cannot  be  absolutely  changed  into  its  opposite  by  the 
 heavenly  fire.  When  now  a  sigh  of  love  bursts  from  the  mouth 
 of  the  Faithful  Witness,  who  cannot  constrain  the  creature  to  sal- 
 vation— Ah,  that  thou  wert  cold  or  hot! — He  speaks  the  most 
 simple  truth.  Positively  raging  enmity,  vehement  opposition  to 
 His  grace.  He  cannot  desire  as  something  better,  cannot  even 
 relatively  or  in  any  manner  wish  for ;  but  that  is  not  meant,  for 
 Saul  was  not  merely  cold,  but  inflamed  by  another  fire,  when  he 
 persecuted  the  Lord's  people.  Be  it  true  that  such  a  Saul  was 
 sooner  won  by  the  Lord  than  a  respectable  neutral  Gamaliel, 
 waiting  under  all  the  acts  of  God,  ^ that  had  its  reason  not  in 
 the  enmity  of  Saul  as  such,  but  in  other  principles  which  do  not 
 involve  the  question  of  "  hot  or  cold."  The  words  have  their 
 truth  in  this,  that  they  who  have  never  been  touched  by  the 
 power  and  love  of  God,  and  are  still  in  their  first  natural  con- 
 dition, are  in  a  state  less  dangerous,  and  may  more  easily  be 
 brought  to  the  experience  of  the  truth,  than  those  who  have 
 fallen  away  from  experienced  grace  into  a  dying  and  dead  indif- 
 ference. For,  as  Lisco  preaches,  "  while  in  natural  things 
 transition  to  heat  is  easier  in  a  state  of  lukewarmness  than  in  a 
 state  of  coldness,  it  is  not  so  in  spiritual  things,  where  the 
 opposite  always  holds  good;"  but  he  improperly  reckons  decided 
 enmity  as  a  state  of  coldness.  Our  readers  well  understand, 
 without  much  expounding,  the  Lord's  word,  which  says  funda- 
 mentally the  same  thing  concerning  His  kingdom  which  we  are 
 in  the  habit  of  saying  concerning  our  own  human  affairs  :  we 
 prefer  decided  and  honest  reality  to  a  wavering,  indifferent, 
 negative  medium.  The  word,  John  ix.  41,  to  the  Pharisees — 
 If  ye  were  blind — is  something  similar,  although  in  a  somewhat 
 different  relation.  We  can  now  observe  whither  Laodicea's 
 prophetical  interpretation  points :  it  is  the  great  residuum  of 
 dead  Christianity,  gathered  together  at  the  last  time,  which  has 
 not  yet  passed  over  into  the  camp  of  the  anti-Christendom,  en- 
 kindled from  below,  only  not  yet  having  become  released  from, 
 all  connection  with  Christ ;  it  is  the  common  secular  Christianity 
 which,  in  its  melancholy  apathy  and  self-satisfied  blindness,  goes 
 on  its  respectable,  easy  way ; — the  -wretched  caricature  of  the 
 fervent  love  of  the  Philadelphian  union,  though  in  some  respects 
 hard  to  be  distinguished  before  the  final  tests  are  applied  with 
 all  their  severity.     It  is  a  lifeless  and  impotent  combination  o^ 
 
EEY.  III.  14-22.  195 
 
 all  the  world  under  the  name  of  Christ,  with  some  slight  re- 
 mains of  real  connection  with  Him. 
 
 The  judgment  upon  this  lukewarmness  is  expressed,  the 
 W  figm-e  of  lukewarm  water  being  continued,  in  a  tone  as  it  were 
 of  mockery ;  jet  there  is  some  degree  of  encouragement  even 
 in  the  first  sharp  word.  Because  thou  art  lukewarm — is  more 
 rigorous  than  the  original:  there,  it  is — But  so  thou  art, 
 being  thou  art ;  in  which  the  because  seems  to  pass  over  into — 
 If  thou  so  remainest !  Being  such,  thou  art  an  offence  to  be 
 spued  out !  In  Lev.  xviii.  28,  xx.  22,  the  land  of  Canaan  is 
 spoken  of  as  spueing  out  her  inhabitants  on  account  of  their 
 abominations,  as  she  had  done  the  Canaanites ;  but  this  seem- 
 ingly more  rigorous  phrase  does  not  reach  the  severity  of  our 
 Lord's  word — Spue  thee  out  of  My  mouth!  For  He,  out  of 
 whose  lips  cometh  the  decision  of  our  salvation  or  perdition, 
 takes  us  into  His  lips  first  when  He  prays  for  us  that  our  term 
 of  grace  may  be  lengthened  out,  and  then  when  He  calls  upon 
 us  to  be  saved,  and  finally  when  He  acknowledges  His  own 
 before  the  Father.  This  last  applies  here  pre-eminently,  as  in 
 ver.  5  such  confession  of  them  was  spoken  of.  Thus,  if  Lao- 
 dicea  continue  lukewarm.  He  will  entirely  give  her  up  and  deny 
 her,  and  no  more  take  her  name  upon  His  lips,  as  Ps.  xvi.  4  is 
 tlu-eatened  to  the  idolaters.  In  the  original  the  expression  is 
 once  more  softened ;  for  it  is  not  simply  in  the  Future,  "  I  ivill 
 spue  thee,"  stiU  less  a  decided  "  I  will  spue  thee  " — but  a  word 
 which  may  be  translated,  "  It  is  impending,  I  have  in  purpose  " 
 — by  which  the  accompUshment  of  the  threat  retains  its  un- 
 decided and  conditional  character.^ 
 
 Because  thou  sayest,  I  am  rich,  and  increased  with 
 
 GOODS,  AND  HAVE  NEED  OF  NOTHING;  AND  KNOWEST  NOT 
 THAT  THOU  ART  WRETCHED,  AND  MISERABLE,  AND  POOR,  AND 
 
 BLIND,  AND  NAKED.  The  devout  reflection  which  we  have 
 seen  here — "Thou  speakest  of  thy  riches;  the  speaking  is 
 everything  with  thee,  and  nothing  else ;  that  is  thy  Christianity 
 and  piety  " — is  beside  the  meaning.  Speaking  is  here,  accord- 
 ing to  the  Old  Testament  phraseology,  equivalent  to  thinking, 
 speaking  inwardly  to  self.     Thus  it  is — Thou  thinkest,  ima- 
 
 ^  Bengel  in  the  Gnomon  :  "  The  expression  is  gentler  than  if  it  had  been 
 k,us7a  ere.  Mixxa  makes  it  not  categorical,  but  modal."  Vulg.,  also,  though 
 wrongly,  Incipiam  te  evomere. 
 
196  THE  EPISTLE  TO  LAODICEA. 
 
 ginest  that  tliou  art  rich  in  every  supply,  and  knowest  it  not 
 to  be  otherwise.  It  is  ^^Tong,  again,  to  expound  this  glorying 
 of  the  possession  of  external  riches  and  fortunate  outward  cir- 
 cumstances, and  the  being  satisfied  with  earthly  things.  So 
 Lisco  preaches  that  "  the  Laodicean  Christian  draws  a  wrong 
 conclusion;  flattering  himself  on  account  of  his  externally 
 favourable  condition,  that  he  has  the  approbation  of  God."  Nor 
 does  it  refer  to  the  imagination  that  it  was  inwardly  as  well 
 with  them,  as  their  outward  condition  was  fortunate  and  envi- 
 able. For  the  Lord  never  speaks  generally  of  external  circum- 
 stances in  these  Epistles,  having  begun  with — I  know  thy 
 works!  The  words  refer  directly  to  their  internal  condition, 
 else  the  exact  opposition  would  not  be  preserved  in  what 
 follows.  Indeed,  Laodicea's  blind,  satiated  self-glorying,  the 
 beginnings  of  which  were  here,  is  to  be  found  united  with 
 glorying  in  industry,  civilisation,  science,  national  progress,  and 
 what  else ;  yet  it  is  not  so  as  if  the  rebuking  Lord  could  mean 
 only  this,  as  Meyer  thinks :  "  Thou,  secular  Laodicea,  sayest 
 that  thou  art  already  rich  by  nature^  through  reason^  genius, 
 and  temper  of  mind,  through  the  Divine  in  man."  For,  thus  to 
 speak  would  be  to  give  up  all  sense  of  needing  Christ,  to 
 renounce  Him  altogether,  and  to  be  no  longer  even  lukewarm. 
 A  mass  so  corrupted  in  unbelief  would  as  such  receive  no  pas- 
 toral Epistle,  it  would  be  no  longer  a  church.  On  the  other 
 hand,  those  who  would  still  be  Christians,  who  think  (however 
 much  they  err)  that  they  have  Christ  fully  and  sufficiently, 
 because  they  certainly  have  something  good  remaining  in  them 
 (which  they  regard  as  aU  good) — these  are  the  people  of 
 Laodicea.  This  something  good  remaining  may  take  the  most 
 specious  form  in  its  exhibition — familiarity  with  His  word,  and 
 seemingly  spiritual  talking  about  it,  and  co-operation  in  Phila- 
 delphian  works ;  all  being  done,  however,  without  power  and 
 life,  on  the  ground  of  self-pleasing  lukewarmness  and  empti- 
 ness. The  threefold  expression  of  the  vain-glorying  ^  is  arti- 
 ficially expounded  by  Bengel:  I  have  gold;  have  become  rich 
 in  garments ;  and  have  need  of  no  medicine  or  salve  for  my 
 well-being !  In  any  case,  this  specific  reference  to  the  several 
 counsels  which  follow  must  be  spiritually  interpreted;  but 
 Laodicea  did  not  as  yet  know  enough  to  be  able  thus  to  speak 
 concerning  her  possessions — I  am  wanting  neither  in  this  nor 
 
REV.  III.  14-22.  197 
 
 in  that  of  the  Divine  gift  and  help  !  The  Lord  must  first  an- 
 nihilate her  general  and  indefinite  boast,  and  reveal  further — 
 Behold  tJiisy  and  further  that,  thou  hast  not,  or  no  longer  hast ! 
 Thus  the  threefold  prating  goes  on  like  prating  generally,  or  mere 
 tautologv,  with  expressions  growing  more  and  more  strong :  I  am 
 now  rich — I  have  made  myself  rich,  taken  good  care  of  myself — 
 finally,  obviating  all  warning  of  need,  I  want  nothing  more ' 
 Compare  in  the  New  Testament  the  apostoHcal  irony  addressed 
 to  the  satisfied  Corinthians  (1  Cor.  iv.  8),  and  in  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment (Hos.  xii.  9)  the  still  more  similar  boast  of  Ephraim — "I 
 am  become  rich,  I  have  found  me  out  substance :  in  all  my 
 labours  they  shall  find  none  iniquity  in  me  that  were  sin."  ^ 
 This  last  is  the  same  which  the  third  clause  in  our  passage  ex- 
 presses— I  need  no  reproof  or  warning,  that  anything  is  wrong 
 in  me. 
 
 But  the  Lord  begins  at  once  %vith  awful  rebuke  :  Thou  who 
 thus  speakest  canst  thus  speak  only  because  thou  hiowest  not 
 what  1  know  of  thee,  thy  misery  in  uttermost  poverty  and 
 bhndness  !  This  self-deception  cHngs  to,  or  roots  itself  in,  the 
 fact,  that  Laodicea  was  not  altogether  cold.  But  it  does  not 
 mean,  as  we  have  said,  "not  hostile,  only  a  negative  Christianity." 
 There  is  something  positive  in  the  lukewarmness ;  and  in  this 
 consisted  their  wretchedness  and  misery,  that  that  minimum  of 
 good  left  was  regarded  by  them,  in  their  blind  perverseness,  as 
 amply  sufficient,  and  thus  turned  to  their  hurt  even  more  than 
 coldness  itself.  Our  translation  cannot  express  the  peculiar 
 force  of  the  orimnal : — That  even  tliou  art  the  ^Tetched  and  the 
 miserable,  that  is,  before  aU  others  who  make  no  such  boast ;  thy 
 very  boasting  makes  thee  the  worst  among  all  the  Seven  whom 
 I  must  rebuke  and  punish  !  Wretched  or  unhappy  in  them- 
 selves, as  near  to  judgment ;  therefore  miserable  or  pitiable,  to 
 be  commiserated  and  mourned  over.  These  two  come  first 
 with  the  strongest  emphasis  ;  then  follows  a  threefold  evolution 
 of  the  pitiable  wretchedness — the  preparation  for  the  counsel 
 that  follows,  though  not  in  the  same  order.  Poor  in  true, 
 1  The  Lord  seems  evidently  to  refer  to  this  passage  ;  for  the  second  clause, 
 *'?  V^  "^i<'-i"3  (I  have  found  my  substance)  quite  corresponds  to  the  TTr^rXot;- 
 TTiKct^  which  is  the  very  word  used  by  the  Sept.,  but  in  the  wrong  place  in 
 its  translation.  Everywhere  throughout  the  jS^ew  Testament — where  they 
 say  the  Septuagint  is  alone  used — we  find  passages  like  this  which  go  back 
 to  the  original. 
 
198  THE  EPISTLE  TO  LAODICEA. 
 
 gold-precious  riches — blind  in  the  self-deception,  not  knowing 
 their  own  poverty — naked,  without  shame  and  consciousness 
 thereof ! 
 
 And  now  we  ask,  whether  such  a  Laodicea  can  be  imagined 
 as  existing  again  at  the  end  of  the  thousand  years'  kingdom  of 
 peace  !^  Indeed,  in  this  kingdom  itself  there  will  not  be  pos- 
 sible any  such  manner  of  lukewarmness,  if  our  notion  is  not 
 "  enthusiastically  extravagant ;"  the  nations  deceived  by  Satan, 
 under  Gog  and  Magog,  are,  according  to  Kev.  xx.  8,  Ezek. 
 xxxviii.  39,  to  be  sought  in  the  external  borders  of  that  king- 
 dom. The  Epistles  do  not  stretch  forward  to  this  final  stage  of 
 all.  But  there  will  be,  under  and  vnth  the  an^i-Christendom 
 which  w^ill  be  developed,  before  the  entering  in  of  the  kingdom, 
 a  5'Masz-Christendom  to  be  found ;  and  that  is  here  described. 
 Laodicea,  in  earlier  times  a  rich  commercial  place,  had  changed 
 its  first  name  Diospolis  (the  city  of  Jupiter,  or  God)  into  the 
 opposite,  when  the  Syrian  king  Antiochus  Theos  (that  is,  God) 
 named  it  after  his  wife  Laodice.  This  name  does  not  lead,  as 
 has  been  said  in  despite  of  the  derivation,  to  "  the  time  when 
 God  will  judge  the  peoples  (or  His  people)" — none  of  these 
 churches  is  prophetically  designated  with  reference  to  time. 
 But  a  condition  and  a  constitution  is  intimated,  in  which  the 
 people  judges  and  rules,  the  multitude  has  the  government  and 
 authority.  Whether  this  points  formally  to  a  "  democratically 
 organised"  church  establishment  in  states  similarly  democra- 
 tical,  cannot  be  determined  ;  this  may  be  included,  with  refer- 
 ence to  its  final  form.  In  general,  Meyer's  remark  is  correct — 
 "Periods  of  revolutions  in  Church  and  State;" — the  meaning 
 expresses  authority  from  below  upwards,  and  the  rule  of  arms, 
 which  is  in  fact  the  most  appropriate  ground  and  scene  of  rich, 
 satisfied,  lukewarm  quasi-Christianity. 
 
 I  COUNSEL  THEE  TO  BUY  OF  IVIe  GOLD  TRIED  IN  THE 
 FIRE,  THAT  THOU  MAYEST  BE  RICH  ;  AND  WHITE  RAIMENT, 
 THAT  THOU  MAYEST  BE  CLOTHED,  AND  THAT  THE  SHAME  OF 
 THY  NAKEDNESS  DO  NOT  APPEAR  ;  AND  EYE-SALVE  TO  ANOINT 
 
 THINE  EYES,  THAT  THOU  MAYEST  SEE.  There  is  couusel  and 
 help  even  for  Laodicea,  if  in  the  last  hour  Laodicea  will  receive 
 counsel  unto  repentance  and  conversion.     But  how  many  will 
 
 ^  As  Richter's  Hausbibel  says,  with  vehement  consistency  in  an  erroneous 
 prophetic  system. 
 
REV.  III.  U-22.  199 
 
 be  willing  to  receive  it,  the  alone-helping  counsel  of  the  true 
 Witness  and  faithful  Shepherd  ?  In  His  last  pastoral  Epistle 
 He  no  lono-er  commands  those  who  are  almost  estranged  from 
 His  voice  ;  He  gives  only  good  counsel^  in  which,  on  the  one 
 hand,  we  cannot  fail  to  perceive  something  ironical — If  thou 
 wilt  yet  hear  Me  -^  while,  on  the  other,  the  words  are  the  faith- 
 ful, earnest  purpose  of  the  love  of  this  great  Counsellor.  It 
 sounds  as  another  deep  sigh — Oh  that  thou  wouldst  yet  hear 
 Me !  And  the  series  which  follows  is  in  harmony,  as  with 
 the  irony,  so  with  the  convincingness  of  the  loving  reproof  :  it 
 first  offers  the  needed  riches,  then  the  needed  covering,  and 
 finally  the  knowledge  of  their  need ;  so  that  the  good  counsel 
 must,  in  fact,  be  received  in  the  inverse  order.  "  Art  thou  poor, 
 I  can  help  thee  out  of  thy  poverty ;  thy  nakedness  I  can  and 
 will  cover,  then  wilt  thou  attain  thy  riches  :  but  before  all  it  is 
 necessary  that  thou  shouldst  see  thy  poverty  and  nakedness, 
 that  thou  mayest  look  for  and  stretch  out  thy  hands  to  receive 
 My  help."  Hence  we  obser^-e  that  the  gold,  in  its  connection 
 with  the  garments  of  righteousness,  of  a  holy  life,  must  not  be 
 too  specifically  interpreted  oi  faith  (1  Pet.  i.  7) — nor  of  wisdom, 
 as  coming  from  the  word  and  revelation  of  God  (Prov.  viii. 
 10-18  ;  Job  xxviii.  15-19  ;  Ps.  xii.  7),  which  coincides  rather 
 with  the  seeing  eyes — but  generally,  embracing  in  one  all  that 
 belongs  to  it,  of  the  genuine  riches  which  will  stand  the  test  of 
 the  fire  of  judgment  (Kterally — coming  confirmed  out  of  the 
 fire).^  But  how  can  man  hui/  gold,  which  buys  all  else  ?  And 
 what  price  must  the  poor  give  for  it  ?  Marvellous  buying  in- 
 deed it  is,  without  gold  and  without  price,  as  Is.  Iv.  1  (where 
 too,  in  ver.  4  the  faithful  Witness  is  set  before  us)  speaks  of  it  j 
 yet  it  is  a  buying  at  the  cost  of  all  imagined  riches,  by  the 
 offering  up  of  our  entire  poverty,  and  aU  the  pride  that  clings 
 to  it !  (Provc  iv.  7,  in  the  original,  "  at  the  cost  of  all  thy 
 having.")     Fireproof'^  gold  and  possessions  buy  of  Me,  the  Lord 
 
 ^  Even  Ebrard  discerns  a  ''  -wonderful  touch  of  sacred  irony" — not  like 
 many  who  arbitrarily  deny  the  possibility  of  irony  in  the  words  of  Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 2  As  we  think,  almost  with  allusion  to  Ps,  Ixxii.  15,  where,  rightly  in- 
 terpreted, the  Great  King,  who  Hveth  ever,  will  give  to  the  poor  genuine 
 gold  :  comp.  Job  xxii.  25. 
 
 "  Ili77vpu(/Ayo'j^  as  in  Zech.  xiii.  9,  Sept. 
 
200  THE  EPISTLE  TO  LAODICEA. 
 
 says  with  emphasis ;  not  false  treasure  from  others,  from  de- 
 ceitful traders  and  seducers.  The  way  to  obtain  it  is  by  the 
 putting  on  of  the  garments  which  hide  the  shame  of  our  naked- 
 ness (Ezek.  xvi.  22  ;  Gen.  iii.  7),  garments  which  the  Lord 
 alone  can  and  will  give,  and  which  are  at  the  same  time  white 
 and  glorious.  But  before  all  there  must  be  the  true  opening  of 
 the  eyes,  self-knoioledge,  which  leads  to  the  knowledge  of  God 
 (Eph.  i.  18).  Probably  not  without  some  allusion  to  the  his- 
 tory of  the  bhnd  man,  John  ix.,  does  the  Lord  speak  here  from 
 heaven.-^ 
 
 As  MANY  AS  I  LOVE,  I  REBUE:E  AIND  CHASTEN  :  BE  ZEAL- 
 OUS, THEKEFORE,  AND  REPENT.  Here  the  true  and  faithful 
 Witness  utters  a  principle  which,  throughout  the  whole  of  Scrip- 
 ture, has  been  declared  to  be  fundamental  in  the  dealings  of 
 God  with  men.  The  "reproof"  which  convinces  by  word,  and 
 reclaims  from  error  (as  the  Holy  Spirit  reproves  the  world,  and 
 Jesus  has  here  reproved  the  Laodiceans),  is  included  certainly 
 in  the  former  of  these  two  words ;  but  this  word  itself,  as  con- 
 nected with  the  second,  means  also  actual  judgments,  punish- 
 ments designed  by  gi'ace  for  good,  wholesome  disciplinary 
 chastisement.  This  is  the  fundamental  meaning  of  the  old 
 saying,  which  is  found  in  Job  v.  17,  18  (not  meant  merely 
 as  in  Ps.  xciv.  12)  ;  and  still  more  plainly  reproduced  in  the 
 New  Testament,  Heb.  xii.  5,  6,  from  Prov.  iii.  11,  12  (comp. 
 Prov.  xiii.  24;  Ecclus.  xxx.  1).  Ebrard  explains  that  "judi- 
 cial inflictions  are  not  here  threatened  to  the  Laodiceans, 
 the  fear  of  which  might  urge  them  to  repentance;  but  that 
 the  past  rebukes  and  threatenings  are,  as  it  were,  affectingly 
 apologised  for,  as  having  proceeded  from  love."  I  confess 
 that  this  is  to  me  too  mild  and  affecting.  Can  we  suppose 
 that  for  Laodicea  alone  there  was  such  a  gentle  apology 
 reserved — as  it  were,  almost  retracting  the  threatening — in  a 
 manner  so  different  from  that  of  all  the  other  Epistles  ?  In 
 that  case,  Laodicea — which  heard  at  the  outset  the  piercing 
 denunciation,  I  will  spue  thee  of  My  mouth — would  receive 
 no  further  threatening  (which  Ephesus,  Pergamos,  Thyatira, 
 Sardis   received,   however),  but   only  a  deprecatory   apology. 
 
 *  He  uses  a  peculiar  medical  word  for  eye-salve.  KoTChovpiov  or  KoXhv- 
 Dio'j,  like  KoT^'Kvptg,  of  uncertain  origin  ;  prepared,  according  to  a  passage  of 
 Galen,  from  a  Phrygian  stone- 
 
REV.  III.  U-22.  201 
 
 Was  Laodicea  to  be  brought  back  to  rectitade  by  rebuking 
 words  alone ;  and  by  such  as,  commencmg  with — Thou  art 
 nauseous  to  Me  !  end  with — These  things  I  say  because  I  love 
 thee?  We  think  that  the  whole  passage,  Heb.  xii.  7-11,  suffi 
 ciently  determines  the  meaning  of  the  chastisementj  of  which 
 the  saying  of  Solomon,  quoted  here  as  there,  speaks.^  To 
 Laodicea,  therefore,  the  Lord  would  say :  "  I  must  and  will 
 strengthen  My  rebuking  word,  in  order  that  it  may  convict  and 
 recover  thee,  \vith  strokes  and  sharp  discipline  ;  for  thus  do  /  deal 
 (which  is  prominent  in  the  original) — as  ruling  in  the  place  of 
 the  paternal  God — va\h  all  whom  I  love^  according  to  that 
 ancient  and  true  word."  The  word  used  to  denote  this  love 
 is  the  more  general  one ;  less,  here  at  first,  than  the  intenser 
 love  of  acknowledgment  and  complacency.^  Thus,  this  con- 
 clusion of  the  last  pastoral  Epistle,  which  is  the  severest  in  its 
 commencement,  gives  a  solution,  apphcable  to  all  of  them,  of 
 the  gracious  design  of  all  the  threatenings  denounced ;  but,  at 
 the  same  time,  holds  out  the  doom  of  eternal  condemnation — If 
 thou  repent  not !  For  ver.  19  is  not  merely  connected  with  the 
 rebiikes  and  counsel  which  precedes;  but — and  this  must  not 
 be  overlooked ! — still  more  closely  with  what  follows:  I  stand 
 before  the  door,  as  Judge  also,  as  we  shall  see.  The  second 
 clause  unites  itself  with  the  first  by  the  intervenhig  thought — 
 "  Thus,  by  rebukes,  punishments,  chastisements,  wholesome  and 
 merciful  punishment,  I  call  to  thee  to  he  zealous  and  repent !" 
 Luther's  "fleissig"  is  not  enough:  the  Greek  word  is  more 
 than  diligent ;  it  refers  to  the  burning  zeal  with  which  repent- 
 
 ^  Although  in  both  cases  there  is  a  change  in  the  word.  The  Epistle  to 
 the  Hebrews  takes  the  word  T^a.ilsvsi  from  Prov.  iii.  12  (not  the  wrong 
 reading,  Cod.  B.  Ixsyp^g;),  because  it  designs  to  bring  out  specifically  the 
 idea  of  the  fatherly  Treti^iia, ;  the  (/.aanyoi^  connected  with  it,  speaks  plainly 
 enough  of  the  rod  so  frequent  in  Solomon's  writings.  The  Lord,  speaking 
 to  Laodicea,  appropriating  the  saying  to  Himself  in  the  first  person,  says, 
 i^.iyx(a  Kocl  -TTuihivoi — wherein  there  is  apparently  nothiug  said  of  stripes, 
 and  yet  He  certainly  means  the  same  chastising  and  disciphnary  punish- 
 ments which  save,  by  wholesome  punishment  here,  from  eternal  condemna- 
 tion hereafter,  1  Cor.  xi.  32. 
 
 2  Again  strengthened  by  oaovg  la,u  instead  of  ov  yap  in  Solomon. 
 
 ^  Solomon  has  aya^ra — instead  of  that  it  is  here  (pi'hfi.  Compare,  on 
 these  synonyms,  the  "  Words  of  Jesus,"  John  xx.  15-17. 
 
202  THE  EPISTLE  TO  LAODICEA. 
 
 ance  must  be  set  upon,  and  may  be  translated — Be  hot,  thou 
 lukewarm  one!^ 
 
 Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock  :  if  any  man 
 
 HEAR  My  voice,  and  open  THE  DOOR,  I  WILL  COME  IN  TO 
 HIM,  AND  WILL   SUP  WITH   HIM,  AND   HE   WITH  Me.      Strictly 
 
 translated  it  is — I  have  stood,  have  been  abeady  long  standing. 
 Certainly,  the  first  thought  which  rises  out  of  this  word  is  that 
 of  the  announcement  of  the  Judge,  who  is  ever  drawing  nearer, 
 and  who  as  graciously  as  solemnly  declares  His  coming:  we 
 have  seen  that  this  judgment  draws  nearer  and  nearer  as  the 
 Epistles  proceed.^  Thus  announcing  Himself,  He  stood  indeed 
 from  the  beginning  at  the  door;  but  that  He  now  so  speaks  of 
 it,  as  He  had  not  yet  before  spoken, — even  that  is  His  last  and 
 most  direct  knocking.  While  in  Laodicea  "  the  people  think 
 they  are  sitting  in  judgment,  without  marking  that  they  stand  be- 
 fore the  awful  judgment-seat"^ — He  announces  Himself  most 
 faithfully  as  a  Judge  and  Saviour,  either  as  each  will  receive 
 Him.  Not  merely  distributively — "as  a  Judge  to  some,  as  a 
 Saviour  to  others'"* — but  in  both  characters  to  every  man. 
 There  seems  to  us  to  be  a  plain  echo  of  the  words  of  our  Lord, 
 Luke  xii.  36-40,  when  this  great  alternative  is  exliibited  to  the 
 servants.  What,  then,  is  the  knocking  ?  It  is,  as  we  have  said, 
 the  nearest  announcement  at  last  of  His  nearness,  with  refer- 
 ence to  all  the  announcements  which  had  already  preceded. 
 Gossner  disturbs  the  sense  by  his  exposition — "  And  if  thou 
 hearest  not  the  knocking,  I  will  speak  to  thee ;"  for  the  voice, 
 mentioned  at  the  same  time,  which  should  be  heard,  is  this 
 knocking  itself ;  although,  thus  understood,  there  is  an  abun- 
 dant fulness  of  meaning  wrapped  up  in  this  comprehensive 
 kernel-word.  We  shall  not  do  justice  to  its  exposition,  if  we 
 wilfully  neglect  the  manifold  apphcation  which  the  Spirit  pro- 
 vided for  in  this  saying.  All  His  chastising  visitations  were 
 knockings  with  His  voice ;  and  He  will  loudly  and  urgently 
 call  Laodicea,  while  still  chastising.  Nevertheless,  we  must 
 distinguish  from  this  the  proper  voice  of  the  inmost  calling  and 
 
 2 
 
 ZvfKmov  (Laclun.  ^r,?^Bvi) — for  ^vj'Kog^  fervor^  comes  from  ^£w. 
 
 Bengel:  "  As  if  a  good  friend  should  let  me  know,  I  am  in  the  vil- 
 lage— before  the  com-tyard-door — at  the  house-door — at  the  hall-door — 
 on  the  steps — at  the  chamber-door." 
 
 3  Zeller,  Monatsblatt,  1848,  Nr.  9.  ^  Zeller,  Idem. 
 
REV.  III.  14-22.  203 
 
 exhortation  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  all  may  be  considered  as 
 one  voice  together.  Let  it  be  observed  that  He,  who  hath  the 
 heys^  stands  witJiout  on  account  of  human  freedom ;  and  must 
 seek  entrance  into  His  own  possession  !  Alas,  He  would  fain 
 enter  to  the  supper,  and  not  come  to  the  judgment !  When 
 Pilate  asked  the  question.  What  is  truth  1  the  Amen  Himself 
 stood  before  the  door  of  his  heart.  All  His  testimonies,  all  His 
 threatenings  and  chastisements,  are  accompanied  by  the  inward 
 voice  of  the  faithful  Witness,  saying  in  His  love — Behold,  it  is 
 I,  and  My  heart  is  full  of  love ;  open  then  to  Me !  But,  only 
 few  have  ever  heard  the  voice  as  it  would  be  heard — very  few 
 in  Laodicea.  This  is  found  in  the  turn  of  expression — If  any 
 MAN,  in  the  same  significant  meaning  as  John  xiv.  23  (the  ori- 
 ginal. If  any  man  loveth  Me)  ;  and  thus  the  distinction  is  made 
 between  believers  and  the  world,  comp.  John  viii.  51.  To  the 
 right  hearing  belongs,  and  from  it  follows,  the  opening  of  the 
 door,  as  obedience  meeting  the  call  and  the  knocking — Open 
 unto  me !  Gossner  is  once  more  much  mistaken,  when  he  says 
 — "  He  mil  make  it  easier  still,  and  Himself  open  !"  O  no, 
 that  He  cannot  do ;  else  why  should  He  stand  without  ?  The 
 expression  of  Acts  xvi.  14,  which  has  also  its  true  sense,  is  not 
 to  be  understood  as  aboHshing  that  first  self-decision  of  men 
 which  the  Lord  here  expressly  makes  the  condition  of  His 
 entering. 
 
 And  now  it  is  time,  after  having  considered  the  general 
 meaning  of  this  wonderful  word,  to  look  into  the  gracious  depth 
 which  the  second  part  of  it  opens  up  to  us,  below  its  judicial 
 announcement.  He  that  heareth  the  graciously  correcting 
 voice  of  the  Saviour-Judge,  summoning  to  repentance  ;  he  that 
 voluntarily  opens  the  door  of  the  heart,  before  the  door  of 
 judgment  is  broken  in  — with  him  will  He  hold  the  supper  I 
 The  most  direct  reference  to  the  great  marriage-supper  (ch.  xix. 
 7,  9)  is  interwoven  with  the  secret,  blessed  fore-festival  which 
 is  appointed  and  prepared  for  His  disciples  in  all  time ; — in 
 order  that  we  might  have  a  word  here,  which  the  Spirit  may 
 preach  to  the  churches  of  every  age.  As  the  knocking  of  the 
 Judge  is  combined  in  one  with  the  knocking  of  the  friend  of 
 the  Beloved  (Cant.  v.  2) — so  the  final  feast  of  victory  and  joy 
 is  combined  with  the  "  internal  supper,"  as  this  is  its  type,  and 
 earnest  and  foretaste.     Although  the  German  ^'das  Abendmahl" 
 
204  THE  EPISTLE  TO  LAODICEA. 
 
 — the  Supper — does  not  literally  correspond  to  the  original/  yet 
 the  reference  of  the  signification  to  the  Sacrament  is  perfectly 
 correct,  for  the  word  is  both  here  and  ch.  xix.  taken  from  it. 
 All  the  Communion-  and  Confirmation-sermons  on  this  text 
 are  correct  which,  leaving  out  of  sight  the  special  prophetic 
 meaning  in  it,  speak  of  the  internal  truth  of  fellowship  between 
 those  who  open  the  door  and  then'  Lord.  For,  in  opposition  to 
 the  external  sacrament,  specifically  desecrated  in  Laodicea  by 
 the  forgetfulness  of  this  truth,  the  Lord  speaks  of  its  internal 
 reality  here.  How  impressively  this  speaks  against  the  Lutheran 
 exaggeration  of  an  unthinking  reception  on  the  part  of  unbe- 
 lievers, we  have  elsewhere  expressly  shown.^  We  may  gather, 
 even  from  this  text,  what  is  true  even  of  the  mere  external 
 sacrament,  as  celebrated  in  fallen  Christendom — that  there  is 
 for  all  an  earnest,  repeated,  and  affectionate  knocking  at  the 
 door  of  the  heart ;  though  He  enters  only  to  those  who  open  to 
 Him. 
 
 "  I  will  come  in  to  him,"  He  says,  "  and  hold  the  supper 
 with  him,  and  he  with  Me.''  Entirely  in  harmony  with  the  dis- 
 courses of  the  Lord  in  St  John ;  comp.  John  xiv.  20,  xv.  4, 
 vi.  Q^.  Only  when  a  man  opens  to  Him,  does  He  enter  in ; 
 again,  only  when  He  keeps  the  supper  with  us,  can  we  keep  it 
 with  Him ;  that  is,  only  when  He  spreads  the  table,  and  gives 
 Himself  to  our  participation,  do  we  eat.  Not  as  in  Zinzendorf  s 
 too  confident  paraphrase,  which  loses  the  true  meaning, — 
 "  Then  will  ice  feast  together  !  "  That,  to  speak  boldly,  the 
 Lord  Himself  feasts,  in  the  satisfaction  of  the  desire  of  His 
 love,  when  He  can  impart  Himself  to  us,  is  a  sacred  truth 
 which  cannot  well  be  introduced  into  this  passage.^  He  keeps 
 the  feast  with  us  as  the  Host;  we  with  Him  as  the  guests. 
 Finally,  we  may  quote  the  striking  word  of  Kieger — "What  a 
 contrast !  On  the  one  hand,  he  who  rejects  the  Lord  being  an 
 object  of  such  loathing  as  to  be  threatened  with  being  spued 
 out  of  His  mouth ;  and  He  who  hears  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
 being  made  capable  of  being  His  companion  at  His  table  ! " 
 
 To  Him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  with 
 
 ^  WMcli  uses  a  verb — I  will  sup^  '^siTrwijaa. 
 
 2  "  Words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,"  on  John  vi..53. 
 
 3  Thus  htTTVijaa  here,  because  required  by  the  wonderful  subject; — an 
 unusual  expression  instead  of  hlTvov  Tcoi^aa. 
 
RP:Y.  III.  U-22.  20b 
 
 ;Me  es'  My  throxe,  evex  as  I  also  oyerca^ie,  axd  am  set 
 Dowx  WITH  My  Father  ix  His  throxe.  The  words  now 
 reacli  their  highest  point ;  so  that  the  severe  rebnke  may  be 
 superabundantly  counterpoised  by  the  most  attractive  promise. 
 "To  sit  with  J/e" — thus  the  words  connect  themselves  with 
 what  precedes — "not  merely  at  My  table,  but  on  My  throne." 
 "  The  crowns  become  loftier  and  more  beautiful  as  the  Epistles 
 proceed ;  this  is  the  highest  and  grandest  of  all "  (Herder). 
 To  the  first  church  Paradise  was  shown,  as  the  Lord  Himself 
 after  the  victory  of  His  cross  entered  into  it ;  to  the  last  church 
 the  ^dew  is  opened  up  even  to  the  throne  on  which  He  finally, 
 as  it  is  said,  seated  Himself.  This  is  more  than  the  twelve 
 thrones  of  the  Apostles,  Matt.  xix.  28.  This  is  the  sitting  to- 
 gether with  Him  upon  His  throne — for  every  one  that  over- 
 comethl  He  overcame; — this  we  find  echoed  so  early  as  ch. 
 V.  5,  and  it  reminds  the  reader  of  Scripture  of  Heb.  xii.  2. 
 The  conflict  of  those  who  overcame  as  His  followers  is  severest 
 in  the  last  time ;  therefore  the  highest  crown  of  victory  is  ex- 
 pressly exhibited  to  all  in  Laodicea  who  should  rouse  themselves 
 from  their  lukewarmness — though  it  apphes,  in  common  with 
 them,  to  all  who  overcome.  That  this  sitting  with  Him  upon 
 the  throne — according  to  the  relative  meaning  of  the  expres- 
 sion, as  already  shown — does  not  exclude  the  worshipping 
 service  of  the  perfected  servants  before  the  throne  of  God  and 
 the  Lamb  (ch.  xxi.  3),  is  obvious  ;  but  there  remains,  neverthe- 
 less, that  reigning  with  Him  of  which  St  Paul  speaks,  2  Tim. 
 ii.  12,  and  that  participation  in  His  glory  of  which  the  Lord 
 Himself  speaks,  John  xvii.  22,  24.  The  promise  of  this  royal 
 dominion  and  glory  appertains  to  the  sitting  at  His  table,  of 
 which  He  had  already  spoken,  just  as  in  Luke  xxii.  29  the 
 appointment  of  the  kingdom  is  connected  with  the  institution 
 of  the  sacrament. 
 
 He  that  hath  ax  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit 
 saith  uxto  the  churches.  That  which  the  Spirit  saith,  the 
 Lord  Himself  saith  from  the  throne,  as  His  last  directly  per- 
 sonal word,  ch.  xxi.  5-8,  will  sublimely  declare.  But,  again, 
 even  this  personal  speaking  of  the  Lord,  although  it  retains  its 
 distinction,  is  yet  through  the  Spirit,  as  that  of  the  Lord  who 
 is  the  Spirit  (2  Cor.  iii.  18).  Let  us  here  at  the  conclusion 
 once  more  make  this  sevenfold  cry  which,  as  the  sum  of  all  the 
 
206  THE  EPISTLE  TO  LAODICEA. 
 
 Epistles  and  of  each,  urges  us  to  remember  tliat  all  depends  on 
 HEARING  !  On  hearing  hangs  all  faith,  all  repentance,  all  love, 
 all  patience  and  hope,  all  approval  of  the  conquerors !  Who- 
 soever yet  shall  inchne  his  ear — though  sunk  in  Laodicean 
 lukewarmness — may  yet  attain  to  the  sitting  with  Him  m  His 
 throne.  Wiite  !  said  the  Lord,  who  appeared  to  John.  That 
 which  He  dictated,  the  Spirit  of  His  mouth  now  saith ;  and  we 
 hear — "Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  those  that  hear  the 
 words  of  the  prophecy"  (ch.  i.  3).  That  which  is  said  applies 
 to  the  churches^  to  all  generally  in  all  places  and  in  all  times,  as 
 they  are  signified  by  these  Seven — to  each  in  particular  that 
 which  is  its  own,  and  to  all,  all  in  common — consequently,  also, 
 to  every  individual  wdio  hath  an  ear,  and  will  open  it.  The 
 Spirit  w^ho  writes  and  speaks  is  not  the  spirit  of  John — although 
 He  used  the  instrumentality  of  John's  ear  and  hand — but  really 
 and  truly  the  Spirit  of  prophecy  as  the  testimony  of  Jesus. 
 (Ch.  xix.  10.)  This  is  approved  and  certified  to  every  opened 
 ear  of  all  who  are  sincere  and  willing  to  understand  : — by  the 
 sublime  utterance  which  contams  sayings  the  simple  might  of 
 w^hich  is  as  gloriously  convincing  as  the  great  "  Let  there  be 
 light !  and  there  was  light !  "  at  the  beginning  of  the  Book  of 
 God,  the  Book  of  books ;  by  the  heart-disclosing,  conscience- 
 piercing  power  of  the  exhorting  word ;  by  its  w  onderful  typical 
 and  symbolical  language,  laying  hold  of  the  entire  ancient 
 Scripture,  glorifying  the  old  in  every  case  anew,  profoundly 
 connecting  every  indi\ddual  detail  with  the  great  whole ;  by  its 
 paradoxes  themselves,  which  are  an  offence  only  to  ignorance, 
 and  are  interwoven  for  the  pm-pose  of  repelling  blind  presump- 
 tion ;  finally,  by  the  remarkable  prophetic  significance  of  the 
 historical  and  geographical  names  of  places,  before  pro\dded  for 
 in  the  Divdne  government.  Thus  the  Seven  Epistles,  with  their 
 "  He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  hun  hear ! "  are  placed  first,  as 
 an  introduction  to  the  entire,  still  more  mysterious  Book.  And 
 with  this  Book  itself — though  many  dark  places  may  remain 
 unillumined — every  one  wall  be  more  at  ease,  in  proportion  as 
 he  understands  and  lays  to  heart  those  Epistles  which  preface  it. 
 
t  REV.  IV.  1.  *  207 
 
 XL 
 
 I  WILL  SHOW  THEE  ! 
 
 f 
 
 (Rev.  iv.  1.) 
 
 That  this  "  first"  voice  is  the  voice  of  the  Lord  Himself,  and 
 not  of  an  angel,  we  have  already  considered,  and,  as  far  as  we 
 may  understand,  established.  He  who  speaks  now  is  not  the 
 angel  who  in  ch.  i.  first  announced  the  manifestation  of  the  Son 
 of  Man ;  nor  he  who  was  generally  the  instrument  of  communi- 
 cating the  whole  Revelation  of  St  John,  and  of  whom  we  read 
 in  the  superscription,  ch.  i.  1 : — as  it  respects  this  latter,  it  has 
 even  been  very  questionable  what  it  means.  This  expression, 
 which  does  not  occur  again  till  the  conclusion,  ch.  xxii.  6,  does 
 not  by  any  means  designate  the  various  angels  who  come  for- 
 ward in  this  book  of  visions ;  for  that  would  be  a  very  strange 
 manner  of  speech.^  But  it  might  be,  as  it  were,  the  "  body- 
 angel"  of  Jesus  Christ,  whom  He  specifically  terms  '^His  angel ;" 
 Gabriel  (probably  since  the  Annunciation  the  guardian  angel 
 of  the  holy  child)  most  naturally  having  the  prerogative  of  this  re- 
 lation. Even  this  supposition,  which  we  do  not  absolutely  reject, 
 admits  the  further  question,  whether  all,  even  the  personal  mani- 
 festation, ch.  i.  13,  must  be  regarded  as  presented  through  this 
 angel,  which  to  us  is  by  no  means  clear ;  or,  whether  the  busi- 
 ness of  the  angel  commences  here  in  ch.  iv.,  where  the  showing 
 begins  (comp.  ch.  xxii.  6).  Of  the  two  we  should  prefer  the 
 latter  ;  which,  however,  must  be  consistent  with  ch.  iv.  1,  where 
 the  Lord  says — I  will  show  thee,  through  Mine  angel.  But 
 there  remains  another  solution,  which,  with  all  becoming  diffi- 
 dence in  such  a  matter,  we  should  prefer  to  any.  When  we 
 read  in  Acts  xii.  15  that  the  behevers  said  to  Rhoda,  who  per- 
 sisted that  it  was  Peter  himself  whose  voice  she  knew.  It  is  Ms 
 angel,  the  connection  necessarily  leads  us  to  that  meaning  of  the 
 word  to  which  Meyer  devoted  a  separate  essay .^  The  word, 
 namely,  may  signify  generally,  without  involving  the  specific 
 
 1  Grotius :  modo  per  hunc,  modo  per  ilium  angeliun  ! 
 
 2  In  the  Bibeldeutungen  (Frankf .  1812) — a  work  still  well  worth  reading. 
 
208  I  WILL  SHOW  THEE  ! 
 
 personality  of  one  sent  as  distinct  from  the  sender,  a  sending, 
 message,  intimation;^  and  the  Christians  who,  after  praying  for 
 Peter's  bodily  deliverance,  were  strangely  unable  to  believe  that 
 it  was  he,  declare  what  Ehoda  heard  to  be  a  spiritual  manifesta- 
 tion, similarly  to  Luke  xxiv.  37, — whether  Peter's  "  genius,"  so 
 to  speak,  was  thought  of  as  identical  with  himself,  or,  more  simply, 
 his  spirit  was  equivalent  to  his  "announcement,  or  token" — as 
 the  common  people  say  concerning  a  supposed  apparition  of  the 
 dead.  Suffice  that  this  gives  us  a  phrase  which  I  think  appli- 
 cable here  in  the  Apocalypse:  His  appearance — "the  raying 
 forth  of  His  personality,"  which  is  not  itself  another  person,  but 
 yet  not  Christ  Himself  fully  and  immediately.  Thus  we  are  to 
 understand  the  revelation  which  is  not  only  not  perceptible  to  our 
 senses,  but  not  fully  intelligible  to  our  spirit  here  below ;  it  is, 
 however,  something  much  more  intimate  than  when  the  law  was 
 a;iven  upon  Sinai  by  the  ministration  of  actual  angels  (Col.  iii. 
 19).  This  "  by  His  angel,"  and  "I  have  sent  Mine  angel,"  do 
 not  coincide  with  the  appearance  and  speaking  of  individual 
 angels  ;  it  is  the  foundation  upon  which  this  latter  rests,  the  re- 
 velation itself  which  proceeds  from  the  person  of  Jesus. 
 
 We  thought  it  necessary  to  establish  this  beforehand,  in 
 order  that  it  might  convey  our  most  distinct  protest  against  the 
 interpretation  which  would  introduce  in  ch.  iv.  1  a  personal 
 angel  distinct  from  Christ.  We  must  now  carefully  consider 
 the  short  utterance  of  our  Lord,  as  it  is  connected  with  what 
 precedes  and  what  follows. 
 
 After  this  I  saw — to  be  understood  simply  and  literally  as 
 meaning,  "  After  hearing  and  receiving  the  Seven  Epistles  dic- 
 tated to  me,  concerning  which  it  had  been  seven  times  said. 
 Write !"  Many  assume  here,  and  often  between  the  various 
 visions,  an  interval  dividing  them ;  as  if  "  after  this"  meant 
 "  after  a  certain  time,  yet  once  again."  We  see  no  reason  for 
 this,  but  regard  all  as  exhibited  at  once  and  in  direct  succession ; 
 otherwise,  some  intimation  would  have  been  given  of  such  in- 
 tervals. That  St  John,  in  order  to  write  down  the  Epistles 
 at  once,  lapsed  back  in  the  interval  to  his  ordinary  consciousness, 
 and  then  anew  (according  to  ver.  2)  passed  into  trance,  we  can- 
 not believe,  since  the  seeing  and  hearing  of  ver.  1  supposes  him 
 to  be  still  "  in  the  spirit."  It  is  not  said — And  I  wrote  these 
 ^  As  "s^^  in  its  first  meaning,  and  nuncius  in  Latin. 
 
:  REV.  lY.  1.  209 
 
 Epistles,  as  was  said  to  me,  and  afterwards  saw.  The  same 
 Spirit  who  elevated  the  seer  to  see,  gave  him  also  the  power  of 
 remembering  what  he  saw,  in  order  afterguards  to  write  it  down  ; 
 this  alone  is  appropriate  in  itself,  and  conformable  with  ch.  i.  11. 
 Thus  after  this — that  is,  after  the  first  manifestation  of  the  Lord 
 had  vanished  from  sight,  and  only  the  dictating  voice  through 
 the  Spirit  or  in  the  Spirit  proceeded — St  John  saw  again  other 
 things,  and  at  once  records  it  with  the  prophetic — Behold  a  door 
 in  heaven  opened  (was  before  me,  or  shown  to  me).  Not  "  wa^ 
 opened" — for  he  no  more  saw  the  opening  of  the  door  than  he 
 saw  the  throne  set  before  his  eyes.-^  Both  were  at  once  present, 
 visible  before  him.  The  open  door,  according  to  appearance  in 
 the  visible  heaven,  according  to  the  corresponding  reahtj  in 
 heaven,  is  here  not  altogether  the  same  which  Stephen,  Acts 
 vii.  55,  saw ;  but  it  may  answer  to  the  openmg  of  heaven  to 
 Ezekiel,  who  records,  ch.  i.  1 — The  heavens  were  opened,  and 
 I  saw  visions  of  God.  We  may  profitably  refer  this  to  the  great 
 truth,  that  through  Christ  the  heavens  w^re  more  and  more  fully 
 opened  to  us,  from  the  words  of  John  i.  51  up  to  their  full  open- 
 ing in  the  ascension.  But  this  general  mterpretation  is  only  the 
 foundation  for  that  specific  opening  of  the  heaven  which  is  here 
 spoken  of,  for  beholding  in  the  spirit.  St  John  was  in  the  spirit, 
 ch.  i.  10  ;  and  then  through  the  manifestation  of  the  Lord  was 
 exalted  still  higher  m  the  spirit ;  then  again  he  is  exalted  a  step 
 higher  (for  trance  and  inspiration  have  many  degrees)  by  the 
 repeated  cry  of  the  first  trumpet-voice,  in  which  the  Lord  here 
 speaks  to  him  :^ 
 
 Come  up  hithee,  axd  I  will  show^  thee  things  which 
 MUST  BE  HEREAFTER  !  This  brief  word  is  the  majestic  and 
 most  significant  introduction  to  all  that  follows.  AMiat  pre- 
 ceded had  been  shown  to  him,  and  had  passed,  as  still  upon 
 earth.  Now  he  must,  not  in  body,  but  in  spirit,  go  up  to  the 
 opened  door  of  heaven;  that  is,  be  altogether  translated  and 
 exalted  to  the  contemplation  of  heavenly  things,  the  symbols 
 of  which,  apprehensible  by  him  and  the  Church,  the  Lord  will 
 show  him.  In  the  strength  of  this  word,  and  at  the  same  time 
 in  obedience  to  it,  he  immediately  rises;  so  that  we  read  in  ver. 
 
 ^  Gr.  sKsno,  as  in  John  ii.  6,  xix.  29. 
 
 2  Ch.  i.  10-13.  The  -hiyau  (Heb.  ■^'=i«?.)  which  is  added  to  the  (pavv)  and 
 A«Xoyff>i5,  marks  the  new  beginning  of  the  abrupt  manner  of  speaking. 
 
 O 
 
210  I  WILL  SHOW  THEE  ! 
 
 2,  "  And  immediately  I  was  in  the  spirit^  ^  That  is,  as  we 
 have  said,  a  higher  grade ;  as,  for  example,  in  the  case  of 
 Ezekiel,  ch.  xi.  1,  5.  The  Apostle  was  step  by  step  prepared 
 and  purified,  by  the  laying  of  the  right  hand  upon  him  after 
 the  terror  of  his  mortal  nature  unto  death,  by  the  heart-reveal- 
 ing exhortations  and  sublime  promises  of  the  Epistles,  into  a 
 perfect  capacity  for  beholding  all  that  follows  :  this  seems  far 
 more  appropriate  than  the  assumption  of  an  interval  of  ordi- 
 nary consciousness,  and  the  writing  of  the  Epistles.  From  this 
 time  all  goes  on  in  one  connected  trance,  one  scene  resolving 
 another,  until  the  new  Jerusalem,  the  new  heaven  and  the 
 new  earth.  With  the  exception  of  one  word  from  the  throne, 
 ch.  xxi.  5-8,  which,  as  it  were,  breaks  in  to  interrupt,  there  is 
 no  more  personal  speaking  on  the  Lord's  part;  but  a  showing 
 in  the  manner  of  symbolical  visions  down  to  the  last  And  He 
 shoived  me.  Ch.  xxii.  1  (compare  with  this  ch.  xvii.  3,  xxi.  10). 
 But  first  St  John  sees  the  throne  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son 
 with  the  Seven  Spirits,  of  which  the  last  promise,  ch.  iii.  21,  had 
 spoken  :  now  without  a  veil,  corresponding  with  the  mercy-seat 
 in  the  earthly  temple.  Come  up  hither — saith  He  who  dwelleth 
 and  is  enthroned  in  heaven  —  who  by  His  ascending  first 
 changed  the  closed  and  distant  "there"  of  the  children  of  men 
 into  "  here,'^  who  in  His  humiliation  Himself  knew  not  the 
 time  and  hour  of  all  those  things  which  now  He  can  and  will 
 show  as  the  Lord  "  to  His  servants."  I  will,  I  shall  show  thee  ! 
 This  word  in  this  place,  embracing  the  whole  revelation,  is  alto- 
 gether appropriate  only  to  Christ  Himself.  In  due  time  par- 
 ticular angels  may  show  what  was  particularly  committed  to 
 them;  but  now  He  summons  His  servant  upwards  with  the 
 promise.  "What  shall  be  hereafter" — thi3  connects  itself 
 with  the  first  words  in  ch.  i.  19.  Hereafter,  or  literally,  after 
 this,  proceeds  from  the  then  present  time,  and  teaches  us  that 
 the  visions  thus  referred  to,  refer  not  merely  to  far  distant 
 times,  but  that  their  fulfilment  embraces  all  time  from  the 
 then  present.  It  gives  us  the  right  interpretation  of  the  pro- 
 phetic formula  "  shortly,"  ch.  i.  1  and  ch.  xxii.  6.  In  those 
 first  words,  ch.  i.  19,  T7ie  things  that  are  came  first.     This  is 
 
 ^  Lachmann  without  reason  removes  fierce,  rounof,  from  ver.  1,  carrying 
 it  on  to  ver.  2 ;  but  Tischendorf  does  not  follow  him,  though  he  also  reads 
 "Ev^ia;  without  kxL 
 
REV.  XXI.  5-8.  211 
 
 wanting  here,  because  it  is  self-understood  in  "  I  will  show 
 thee;"  for  (according  to  the  meaning  which  we  there  esta- 
 blished) the  future  has  its  foundation  in  the  present.  That 
 which  shall  and  must  take  place  upon  earth,  in  the  evolution  of 
 time,  proceeds  only  from  that  which,  as  a  higher  reality,  is  al- 
 ready present  in  heaven,  and  can  be  shown.  Above  is  already 
 fore-t}^ified  all  that  the  future  will  unfold  to  us  ;  as  the  idea  of 
 the  world  and  its  history  was  present  in  God  before  the  founda- 
 tion of  the  world.  So  far  as  we  are  carried  up  thither,  through 
 the  revelation  and  the  showing  which  removes  the  veil  and  reveals 
 the  events,  so  far  we  know  the  future  reserved  from  human  eye. 
 To  ascend  into  heaven,  is  in  its  nature  to  prophesy  for  earth. 
 
 Let  us  read  and  learn,  so  shall  we  also  see  and  hear ;  then 
 will  to  us  also  the  heavens  be  opened,  and  thereby  "  all  things 
 in  the  invisible  world  will  be  shown  as  present,  living,  moving 
 action  —  as  far  as  it  belongs  to  the  collective  revelation  of  the 
 Lord  Jesus  in  glory"  (as  Rieger  profoundly  and  truly  ex- 
 presses himself).  If  we  open  the  door  of  our  hearts  to  the  Lord 
 Jesus,  as  the  last  Epistle  requires,  at  the  close,  He  will  open  the 
 door  of  heaven  to  each  of  us  according  to  his  capacity  and  need, 
 and  according  to  the  measure  of  his  gift;  so  that  we  shall  in  the 
 general,  if  not  with  the  specific  understanding  of  him  to  whom 
 it  was  shown  in  Patmos,  behold  and  understand  the  conflict 
 and  victory  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  Christ,  and  what  shall  be 
 from  this  time  to  the  end.  Thus  the  Lord's  word  gives  free 
 permission  to  the  desire  of  us  all  to  look  into  His  great  futurity. 
 
 XII. 
 
 FINAL  WORD  FROM  THE  THRONE. 
 
 (Rev.  xxi.  5-8.) 
 
 In  the  introduction  we  explained  generally  why  we  single 
 out  this  word  as  the  immediate  saying  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
 from  heaven,  in  contradistinction  from  all  else  that  St  John 
 had  seen  and  heard.  Our  remarks  upon  ch.  iv.  1  have  made 
 it,  we  hope,  still  plainer ;  and  now  our  final  exposition  of  the 
 last  word  will  remove  any  remaining  obscurity. 
 
 I  will  show  thee  —  said  the  Lord  to  St  John ;  and  He  has 
 
212  FINAL  WORD  FROM  THE  THRONE. 
 
 shown  him  all;  this  book  of  visions  comes  to  its  end.  The 
 seer  has  seen  and  heard  in  manifold  symbols  and  voices — with 
 clear  and  intelligible  words  intervening,  which  shine  as  lights 
 in  the  prophetic  darkness — all  that  upon  which  the  most  gifted 
 and  humble  exposition  can  do  no  more  than  spell  the  meaning 
 out,  until  one  day  the  fulfihnent  glorifies  the  prophecy,  and  God's 
 Book  will  be  read  clearly  from  the  end  of  it  backwards.  There 
 has  been  shown  to  the  seer  the  futm^e  already  present  before 
 God,  the  heavenly  and  the  earthly  —  the  Upper,  with  its 
 mysteries  and  powers  for  the  Lower,  with  its  gratulations  of 
 victory  and  plagues  of  wrath;  the  powers  out  of  the  abyss, 
 the  great  conflict,  and  the  glorious  victory.  He  has  seen  the 
 Throne  mth  its  living  creatm'es  and  elders — the  Lamb  in  His 
 glory — the  blessed  with  their  palms  and  harps — the  seven  seals 
 with  their  judgments  before  the  great  day  of  wrath — the  seven 
 trumpets  with  their  plagues  and  woes — the  two  witnesses — the 
 temple  in  heaven — the  woman  in  the  wilderness — the  might  of 
 the  dragon  in  the  beast — the  angel  with  the  everlasting  Gospel 
 — the  patience  of  the  saints,  and  the  smoke  of  torment — the 
 last  vials  of  ^^Tath  below,  in  apposition  with  the  song  on  the 
 crystal  sea  above — the  great  whore  on  her  beast — Babylon's 
 fall  and  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb — the  victory  and  binding 
 of  Satan,  and  the  kingdom  of  the  first  resurrection — the  final 
 insurrection  afterwards,  and  the  last  judgment  —  the  new 
 Jerusalem  in  the  new  world.  All  has  hitherto  proceeded  up- 
 wards in  gradation  ;  but  now  He  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne 
 speaks  above  all  the  angels,  and  above  all  other  voices  that  had 
 proceeded  from  Him,  a  glorious  word.  Then,  with  a  description 
 more  full  and  complete  of  the  new  Jerusalem,  and  the  concluding 
 sayings  of  the  Spirit,  the  whole  book  is  brought  to  a  close. 
 
 Stephen  saw  the  Lord  upon  the  throne ;  but  at  that  crisis 
 any  word  would  have  been  inappropriate.  St  John,  at  the 
 corresponding  end,  hears  the  voice  from  the  throne,  after  he  has 
 seen  and  heard  much  that  was  great  and  full  of  the  final  glory, 
 ch.  xxi.  1-4.  The  new  heaven  inclines  to  the  new  earth  ;  the 
 heavenly- earthly  new  Jerusalem  is  the  bond  of  connection.^ 
 The  upper  congregation,  which  already  keeps  the  marriage- 
 feast,  begins  the  government  for  the  heahng  of  the  nations  who 
 had  not  fallen  in  the  judgment.  Now,  more  clearly  than  to 
 ^  As  in  Matt.  v.  34,  35,  the  symbolical  city  stands  thus  intermediately. 
 
EEV.  XXI.  5-8.  213 
 
 Ezekiel,  is  shown  to  him  the  city  without  a  temple,  with  the 
 name,  Here  is  the  Lord  with  His  people !  (Ezek.  xl\dii.  35). 
 The  blessedness  of  its  inhabitants  the  voice  to  John  could  only 
 negatively  describe  :  There  is  no  more  death,  and  no  more  sor- 
 row !  That  indeed  was  the  first ;  the  overcomers  have  all 
 come  out  of  much  tribulation,  as  the  Lamb,  the  Captain  of 
 their  salvation,  came  out  of  blood  and  death.  But  the  former 
 things  are  passed  away  ;  the  last  and  the  new  is  come.  So  the 
 seer  beholds  it ;  and  thus  does  the  Lord  speak  of  it. 
 
 A  nd  He  that  sate  {or  sits)  upon  the  throne  said,  Behold,  I 
 MAKE  ALL  THINGS  NEW  !  Here  the  "  loud  voice  from  heaven"^ 
 is  followed  and  surpassed  by  a  word  from  the  Sitter  upon  the 
 throne  Himself  (ch.  xx.  11) — which  we  may  justly  claim  as  a 
 word  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God.  Many,  indeed,  think 
 that  here  (for  the  first  and  only  time !)  God  the  Father  speaks, 
 and  they  refer  to  ch.  iv.  2,  9,  10,  v.  1,  7, 13.  There,  certainly, 
 to  St  John  was  shown — after  the  example  of  Daniel — the 
 eternal  Father  as  personally  sitting  upon  the  throne,  to  Whom 
 the  incarnate  Son,  the  Lamb,  was  brought ;  but  since  even  there 
 (ch.  V.  13)  all  creatures  gave  like  adoration  to  Him  that  sate  upon 
 the  throne  and  to  the  Lamb,  there  can  be  no  more  a  distinction 
 of  the  Father's  person  when  in  subsequent  visions  the  throne  is 
 concerned.  The  perfected  assumption  of  the  Lamb  to  conjoint 
 sitting  thereupon  recurs  soon,  in  ch.  vii.  10,  11 ;  where,  down 
 to  ver.  17,  the  "Lamb  in  the  midst  of  the  throne"  is  inter- 
 woven with  all  worship  on  our  part,  and  with  all  the  promised 
 acts  of  God  towards  us.  And  so  we  must  understand  the 
 throne  of  light  in  ch.  xx.  11,  from  which  the  judgment  goes 
 forth  ;  for  the  Father  hath  committed  all  judgment  to  the  Son 
 (John  V.  22,  27).  The  Lord,  even  in  His  humiliation,  had 
 spoken  of  this.  Matt.  xxv. — Then  will  the  Son  of  Man  sit  upon 
 the  tin-one  of  His  glory !  and  how  could  St  John  behold  any 
 other  \dsion  than  that?  Similarly,  in  conclusion,  we  read, 
 ch.  xxii.  1,  3,  of  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb ;  and  when 
 the  "  seeing  of  His  face"  is  spoken  of,  we  know  full  well  that 
 the  Son  is  the  Face  and  Visible  Image  of  the  Father.  And  to 
 suppose  that,  in  this  intermediate  ch.  xxi.  5,  He  that  speaketh 
 
 ^  According  to  a  reading  now  accepted  ;  to  which,  however,  we  would 
 prefer  another  :  From  the  throne  ;  literally,  out  of  the  throne,  as  is  meant  in 
 ch.  vi.  6,  xix.  5,  xvi.  1. 
 
214  FINAL  WORD  FROM  THE  THRONE. 
 
 is  not  the  Son,  is  to  contradict  the  fundamental  tone  of  this 
 whole  revelation.  It  is  without  doubt  He  whom  St  John  else- 
 where calls  the  eternal  Word  with  God — who  terms  Himself 
 at  the  end  of  the  book,  ch.  xxii.  13,  once  more  "  the  Alpha  and 
 the  Omega,"  just  as  here,  ver.  6,  from  the  throne; — so  that 
 the  beginning  too,  ch.  i.  8,  must  be  understood  accordingly. 
 That  for  the  rest,  when  Christ  speaks,  it  is  God  in  Christ  who 
 speaks,  God  through  Christ,  is  perfectly  self-understood. 
 
 And  how  runs  the  first  word  of  the  last  saying  from  the 
 throne  ?  With  the  simplest  expression  which  human  language 
 could  furnish  for  the  most  sublime  and  comprehensive  of  all 
 thoughts — with  a  Behold,  which  points  to  the  seen  ne^Y 
 heaven  and  new  earth,  a  Behold  which  surpasses  aU  the  many 
 "  beholds"  of  this  book  and  of  the  whole  of  Scripture — I  make 
 all  things  new  !  and  in  the  original,  in  this  expressive,  untrans- 
 lateable  order  :  new — all  things — make  I !  Not  only  the 
 city  which  thou  beholdest :  heaven  also,  and  earth,  all  things 
 new !  This  is  immeasurably  more  than  the  early  and  distant 
 prelude  in  Is.  xliii.  18,  19,  when  the  New  Testament  economy 
 generally  was  comprehended  in  one  antithesis  to  the  previous 
 typical  dispensation ; — although  even  there  the  end  (new 
 heavens  and  new  earth,  Is.  Ixv.  17)  was  included  in  that 
 glance  forward  from  the  beginning,  just  as  here  the  last  words 
 from  the  throne  concerning  the  end,  looking  back,  embraced 
 also  the  beginnings.^  The  new  creation  in  the  individual  rege- 
 nerate, 2  Cor.  V.  17,  is  the  fundamental  beginning,  and  is  the 
 slow  continuation  which  wins  the  victoiy  ;  for  a  human  heart  is 
 harder  to  change  than  the  heavens  and  earth.  When  the  whole 
 company  of  the  saved,  the  collective  "  bride"  (previously,  ver.  2), 
 hath  been  made  ready  with  her  adornments,  then  is  all  this 
 work  of  preparation  complete — then  will  one  mighty  word  of 
 her  Husband  be  sufficient  to  make  heaven  and  earth  new. 
 
 But  those  who  would  gather  from  this  isolated  "  all  things 
 new"  the  so-called  restitution  of  all  things,  the  final  salvation  of 
 all,  even  of  the  devil  and  his  angels,  the  conversion  even  of  hell 
 
 '  Only  in  the  apocryphal  words  of  the  book  of  Wisdom,  ch.  vii.  27,  do 
 we  find  an  approximation  to  this  expression  :  The  everlasting  Wisdom,  who 
 can  do  all  things,  the  brightness  of  the  everlasting  light,  maketh  all  things 
 new^  rot,  Tiravra,  x-uivi^n — but  the  idea  is  there  very  wavering,  and  indis- 
 tinctly conceived. 
 
REV.  XXI.  5-8.  215 
 
 into  a  heaven  of  the  glory  of  God — a  docti^ne  contradicted  by 
 the  whole  of  Scripture — nave  no  ground  here  to  rest  upon  ;  for 
 very  soon,  in  ver.  8,  we  hear  the  fearfully  protesting  word  con- 
 cerning the  lake  of  brimstone  and  fire,  the  second  death,  as 
 actually  the  conclusion  of  all.  As  in  Eph.  i.  23  we  read  only 
 "  all  in  alV  (not  in  all  things),  that  is,  in  all  the  members  of 
 the  body — and  1  Cor.  xv.  28  must  be  imderstood  in  the  same 
 way — so  here  we  find  it  not  written,  "  all  creatures  new,"  or 
 "  all  things  savedP  The  new-created  all  things  refer  not  to  the 
 universe^ — as  if  nothing  would  remain  unglorified  ;  for  in  ver. 
 8,  and  again  ver.  27,  and  further,  ch.  xxii.  15,  there  is  a  fearful 
 without,  beyond  the  limits  of  the  new  world  and  the  city  of 
 God.  There  will  be  no  more  death — in  the  new  Jerusalem. 
 There  will  be  no  more  sea — as  sea  upon  the  new  earth.  On 
 the  other  hand,  in  the  abyss  there  is  and  will  ever  be  the  second 
 death.  We  might  indeed  say,  if  this  also  must  be  added  to  the 
 "  all  things,"  that  in  a  certain  sense  the  lake  of  damnation  is  a 
 final  and  new  revelation  and  confirmation  of  eternal  righteous- 
 ness and  judgment ;  but  we  prefer  the  undisturbed  reference 
 of  the  expression  to  the  new  revelations  of  glory. 
 
 Hereupon,  once  more.  And  He  saith  (unto  me) — ^then,  again. 
 And  He  said  unto  me.  Is  aU  this  the  one  continuous  word  of 
 the  Lord  from  the  throne,  as  many  understand  ?  If  so,  why 
 the  repetition  %  ^  We  are  convinced,  rather,  that  another  voice 
 speaks  in  the  interim ;  and  only  in  ver.  6  the  Lord's  own  word 
 continues.^  The  intervening  angel  it  is  who  once  more,  for  the 
 third  time,  adds,  Write!  as  this  voice  occurred  before  in  ch. 
 xix.  9,  in  opposition  to  Write  not!  ch.  x.  4.  Thus,  va\h  a 
 designed  distinction,  the  high  word  from  the  throne  is  made 
 prominent ;  for  the  Amen,  who  here  sitteth  on  the  throne,  it 
 would  have  been  here  unbefitting  to  declare  again  the  truth  and 
 certainty  of  His  words.  The  assurance.  These  words  are  faith- 
 ful and  true  {Gr.,  true  and  to  be  rehed  on),  recurs  in  ch. 
 xxii.  6,  and  had  its  more  simple  prelude  in  ch.  xix.  9.  To  our 
 feeling,  at  least,  however  appropriate  as  the  exclamation  of  the 
 angel,  it  is  not  in  harmony  ^^th  the  throne-style  of  Him  who 
 
 ^  HccvTot,  not  T«  'TTuvrxy  as  the  book  of  Wisdom  incorrectly  writes. 
 
 2  For,  to  refer  it  to  the  Trinity  is  altogether  too  far-fetched. 
 
 ^  The  ?<iyei  intervening  is  distinguished  from  the  repetition  of  the  first 
 
216  FINAL  WORD  FROM  THE  THRONE. 
 
 here  at  once  follows  the  short  and  sublime  word  which  we  have 
 heard  by  one  still  shorter  ap^  equally  sublime. 
 
 It  is  done  !^  Let  us  not  frigidly  paraphrase  it,  as  exposi 
 tion — -It  is  done  as  certainly  as  if  it  had  already  come  to  pass ! 
 This  is  not  enough,  and  does  not  reach  the  presentation  of  the 
 future  before  the  Eternal  who  here  speaks,  and  at  once  con- 
 tinues— I  AM  THE  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  Beginning 
 AND  THE  End.  Once  before,  at  the  seventh  vial  of  wrath,  a 
 voice  had  said.  It  is  done !  (ch.  xvi.  17).  That  was  spoken 
 of  the  fall  of  Babylon  and  the  judgment  of  God :  Concerning 
 what  does  the  Lord  here  use  the  same  word?  Manifestly  con- 
 cerning the  completion  of  redemption  and  salvation,  the  new 
 creation  unto  glory,  as  the  third  and  greatest  It  is  finished, 
 which  points  back  to  the  Finished  upon  the  cross,  and  through 
 that  to  the  finishing  of  the  first  creation.  Between  the  Alpha 
 and  Omega  lies  all  the  successively  evolved  and  yet  united 
 alphabet  of  all  letters,  in  all  the  tongues  of  the  words  and  works 
 of  God ;  that  is,  the  whole  development  of  history,  -^Titten  in 
 the  sevenfold  sealed  book  of  ch.  v.  By  the  Son  was  in  the 
 beginning  the  creation,  in  the  middle  the  redemption,  and  at 
 the  end  will  be  the  glorification,  of  the  redeemed ;  through  Him 
 and  in  Him  all  history  is  accomplished,  for  the  solution  of  the 
 mysteries  of  which  He  alone  is  the  key. 
 
 And  now  once  more — what  a  combination  ! — His  all-em- 
 bracing word  and  testimony  goes  back  from  that  which  is  last 
 to  that  which  was  first ;  that  is,  to  the  first  beginning  of  the 
 new  creation  in  every  one  who  thirsts  for  salvation.  The  I, 
 twice  in  the  original  made  prominent — I  am,  /  will  give — is 
 certainly  no  other  than  the  I  of  the  Son  who  thus  speaks  through- 
 out this  book.    I  will  give  unto  him  that  is  athirst  of 
 
 THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  THE  WATER  OF  LIFE  FREELY.      The  things 
 
 which  are  here  spoken  together,  are  spoken  separately  in  ch. 
 xxii.  13,  17  ;  for  this  book  abounds  in  the  repetition  of  great 
 fundamental  testim.onies.  In  ch.  vii.  17  we  read  of  living  foun- 
 tains of  life  (which  are  now  united  in  one  fountain  and  stream, 
 as  in  ch.  xxii.  1); — there  following  the  prophetic  word.  Is',  xlix. 
 
 ^  We  hold  to  this  reading,  and  cannot  reconcile  ourselves  to  the  yiyovuv^ 
 which  probably  came  from  the  incorrect  yiyova,.  "  These  words  are  already 
 accomphshed,  as  good  as  fulfilled,"  would  be  a  most  inappropriate  continu- 
 ation, on  the  part  of  our  Lord,  of  the  angel's  word. 
 
REV.  XXI.  0-8.  217 
 
 10,  yet  adding  the  interpretation  "  of  life,"  with  allusion  to  John 
 iv.  14,  we  shall  avoid  any  useless  attempt  to  disturb  the  "  figure" 
 (as  it  is  termed)  by  so-called  explanation.  He  to  whom,  as  athirst, 
 his  thu'st  itself  does  not  expound  it,  will  not  understand  it  even 
 only  in  the  beginning ;  he  to  whom  the  fulfilment  does  not  bring 
 it  at  the  end,  will  never  understand  this  giving  to  drink  with 
 eternal  life,  for  here  to  understand  is  to  experience.  Thus 
 much,  however,  we  may  say  for  the  exposition  of  the  connection  : 
 Although  the  promising  word  from  the  throne  promises  the  last, 
 full  refreshment  of  those  who  have  conquered  in  the  conflict, 
 it  yet  connects  this  proffered  reward  A^dth  the  first  decisive  be- 
 ginning of  thirsting,  as  an  indispensable  condition.  With  the 
 thirsting  the  giving  begins  and  goes  on  increasingly,  as  the 
 thirsting  is  the  Hving  impulse  throughout  the  whole  conflict, 
 becoming  more  and  more  internally  vehement  in  its  ardour  for 
 the  crown  of  victory.  But  aU,  it  must  be  carefully  observed,  is, 
 though  not  without  our  desiring  and  receiving,  yet  the  free  gift 
 of  the  Lord,  His  pure  grace  without  any  merit  of  ours !  To  him 
 that  is  athirst — that  looks  forward  from  the  very  beginning  to  the 
 utmost  end.  He  that  overcometh — that  looks  back  from  the  end  to 
 the  beginning;  which  simple  remark  of  itself  overturns  the  strange 
 opinion  of  some  expositors,  that  in  the  following  ver.  7  God  the 
 Father  begins  anew  to  speak  of  Christ,  the  Overcomer  for  us  all ! 
 
 He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  all  things  ;  AND 
 
 I  will  be  his  God,  and  he  shall  be  My  son.  Here  once 
 more,  and  the  only  time  since  the  Seven  Epistles,  is  this  stimu- 
 lating, attracting,  and  more  elevated  He  that  overcometh  I  (In 
 the  middle  of  the  book,  ch.  xii.  11,  we  have  once  mention  of 
 those  who  have  overcome.)  And  this  similar  phraseology  shows 
 most  certainly  that  Christ  is  speaking  here,  although  the  promise 
 afterwards  strikingly  runs — He  shall  be  Mj  (Hterally,  to  Me  a) 
 son.  We  shall  see  and  imderstand  why  this  is  said,  here  at  the 
 end  of  Revelation,  where  the  co-enthroned  Son,  delivering  up 
 all  to  the  Father  (1  Cor.  xv.  24) — giving  back  Himself  and 
 His  kingdom  won,  as  it  were  His  inheritance,  absolutely  to  God 
 — on  that  very  account  speaks  as  God  sitting  upon  the  throne, 
 while  He  nevertheless  remains  the  Son,  the  Lamb  in  the  midst 
 of  the  throne.^     He  Himself,  who  first  overcame,  speaks  thus 
 
 1  On  ch.  V.  6,  7,  Meyer  says,  correctly,  as  to  its  deep  meaning :  "  Here 
 we  see  a  double  angel,  that  is,  manifestation  of  the  Son.     He  sitteth  upon 
 
218  FINAL  WORD  FROM  THE  THRONE. 
 
 here  in  the  name  of  the  Father  (who  for  ever  speaks  only 
 through  Him)  of  the  inheriting,  which  in  the  Old-Testament 
 type  was  used  mostly  of  the  people  as  a  whole,  though  some- 
 times, in  anticipation  of  its  final  fulfilment,  it  was  used  {e.  g, 
 Ps.  xxxvii.  9,  11,  comp.  Matt.  v.  5),  as  here,  of  the  individuals. 
 The  translation — He  shall  inherit  all  things — is  not  wrong, 
 though  springing  from  an  incorrect  reading.  The  right  reading 
 says — He  shall  inherit  this,  these  things ;  that  is,  all  the  bless- 
 edness and  glory  of  the  city  that  was  shown,  the  water  of  life 
 from  the  inexhaustible  fountain  of  My  eternal  being  communi- 
 cated to  him,  the  new  world  (Rom.  iv.  13) — the  new-created 
 all  things.  Consequently,  the  translation  may  be  clearly  ex- 
 pressed by  both — all  these  things. 
 
 I  will  be  his  God-  —this  goes  back  once  more  to  the  first 
 great  promise  of  the  typical  beginning  (Ex.  xix.  6,  xx.  2  ;  Lev 
 xxxvii.  27),  just  as  was  said  in  ver.  3.  The  "  God  with  them" 
 (as  it  is  there,  not  without  signification)  is  fulfilled  only  in  Him 
 who  is  called  Immanuel  or  "  God  with  us."  But  here  we  have 
 — in  a  specific  application,  the  misunderstanding  of  which  has 
 misled  the  expositors — the  prominent  promise  of  2  Sam.  vii.  14, 
 given  indeed  to  Christ,  but  to  Him  also  as  connected  with  His 
 people ;  for  in  the  Apocalypse  all  the  lines  of  all  the  types  and 
 prophecies  run  together  to  one  great  all-comprehending  end. 
 If,  as  the  misunderstanding  which  w^e  have  referred  to  expounds, 
 the  overcomer  here  is  Christ  alone,  of  whom  the  Father  (strangely 
 enough,  now  after  the  overcoming)  spoke  these  words,  the  quo- 
 tation would  have  remained  unaltered — I  will  be  to  Him  a 
 Father.  But  this  is  not  its  form  here  ;  it  is  changed  in  order  to 
 show  (more  plainly  than  when  both  were  originally  interwoven) 
 that  here  the  promise  to  Christ  is  expressly  extended  to  all  His 
 saints,  precisely  in  the  sense  of  the  last  promise  to  those  who 
 overcome,  ch.  iii.  21.  That  is  the  truth  which  lies  at  the  bot- 
 tom of  the  misunderstanding  of  that  exposition  ;  Of  every  one 
 who  overcomes  that  holds  good,  which  holds  good  of  Me  !  Thus 
 wonderfully  are  both  interwoven  in  the  fulfilled  reality  of  the 
 typical  expression  :   Christ  becomes  our  God,  as  the  Father, 
 
 the  throne  according  to  His  Divinity  or  glorification ;  He  is  the  Lamb  ac- 
 cording to  His  suffering  humanity.  The  Father  is  not  manifested  save 
 through  the  Son,  or  by  means  of  the  Son,  in  whom  is  the  ground  of  all 
 manifestation,  and  who  is  the  appearance  of  the  Father." 
 
KEV^  XXI.  0-8.  219 
 
 touching  His  humanity,  is  His  God — every  one  of  us  becomes 
 Christ's  son,  both  according  to  His  Divinity  and  His  humanity, 
 because  the  second  Adam,  the  ]Mighty  God  (Immanuel — El- 
 gibbor),  becomes,  in  the  consummation  of  His  kingdom  of  peace, 
 the  Everlasting  Father  of  all  who  derive  their  hfe  from  Him.^ 
 
 And  now  the  words  suddenly  descend  from  this  height  of 
 consummated  -victory,  from  this  brightness  of  highest  glory,  to  a 
 terrific  warning  glance  at  the  lost ;  which  may  affright  all  still 
 capable  of  being  affrighted  into  the  desire  of  yet  overcoming. 
 This  was  necessary  to  complete  the  salutary  teaching  of  the 
 grace  that  discipHnes  us ;  however  much  a  perverted  habit  of 
 thought,  or  effeminate  habit  of  feeling,  may  rebel  against  it. 
 
 But  the  fearful  axd  unbelieving  and  sinners,  the 
 abomln^able  and  murderers  and  whoremongers,  ant)  sor- 
 cerers and  idolaters  and  all  liars,  shall  haye  their 
 part  in  the  lake  which  burneth  with  fire  and  brim- 
 stont:  :  w^iCH  IS  THE  SECOND  DEATH.^  He  that  overcometh 
 shall  inherit  what  is  prepared  for  him  by  grace ;  on  the  other 
 hand,  the  sinners  receive  their  meet  portion  in  strict  justice. 
 The  words  proceed  with  three  times  three  significant  descrip- 
 tions, not  of  sinners  generally  in  the  world  as  yet  untouched  by 
 the  Gospel,  and  therefore  not  yet  ripe  for  the  decision  of  eternal 
 judgment ;  but  of  those  same  unbelievers,  refusers  of  grace, 
 and  apostates,  whom  the  Lord's  word  at  the  ascension,  Mark 
 xvi.  15, 16,  leaves  in  conclusive  damnation,  the  preaching  of  the 
 Gospel  to  them  being  presupposed.  But  he  that  believeth  not 
 — that  is  the  fundamental  note  of  all,  and  all  else  follows  only 
 from  that.  In  opposition  to  the  promised  eternal  inheritance, 
 and  testified  by  the  Hke  sure  and  certain  words,  there  is  the 
 dark  threatening  of  the  second  death  :  —  never  Hterally,  indeed, 
 termed  in  Scripture  eternal  death;  yet  everywhere,  when  the 
 same  sad  mystery  is  spoken  of  in  other  w^ords,  most  plainly 
 without  hope  or  prospect  of  any  further  second  salvation — so  that 
 for  the  unbelieving  (as  Harms  preaches)  "  there  is  not  only 
 a  great  salvation  to  be  lost,  but  a  great  damnation  threatened." 
 
 1  Is.  ix.  6,  in  its  right  translation  :  Wonderful- Counsel ;  God-Hero  (Heb. 
 as  in  ch.  x.  21);  Everlasting- Father;  Peace-Prince. 
 
 '^  We  foUow  here  a  reading  recommended  by  Griesbach  and  Scholz — kxI 
 t>tf*upru7,o7s — a  reading  which  strikingly  brings  out  the  measured  arrange- 
 ment of  the  clauses,  and  which  we  cannot  therefore  avoid  accepting. 
 
220  FINAL  WORD  FROM  THE  THRONE. 
 
 Even  in  this  terrific  threatening  there  remains  a  blessed 
 testimony  to  the  grace  which  is  reserved  in  the  redemption  of 
 all  prepared  for  it;  for  salvation  is  sure  to  persevering  faith. 
 First  comes  the  fearful — all  hangs  upon  this  personal  fault  on 
 the  part  of  the  lost.  These  are  obviously  not  the  weak  and 
 dispirited,  who  rather,  according  to  Is.  xxxv.  4, 10,  shall  be  com- 
 forted ;  but  they  are  the  faint-hearted  who  throw  away  their 
 confidence,  concerning  whom  Heb.  x.  35-39  speaks,  according 
 to  the  fundamental  meaning  of  another  prophetic  passage.-^  This 
 first  word  already  contains  the  rigorous  antithesis  to  the  over- 
 comers;  and  it  is  then  explained  by  the  two  following  words 
 (since  the  triplets  must  be  taken  together  throughout  the  verse)  : 
 The  fearful  despair  and  remain  without,  because  they  are  unbe- 
 lievers ;  thus  they  remain  in  spite  of  redemption,  becoming  again 
 sinners,  having  fallen  back  entirely  into  sin  after  the  first  begin- 
 ning of  sanctification.  Thus  ceases  the  thirsting  which  savingly 
 impels  to  seek  invigoration,  and  its  place  is  taken  by  the  deceit- 
 fulness  of  sin,  which  hurries  away  to  disgraceful  and  abomi- 
 nable transgressions,  in  many,  if  not  in  all,  exhibited  according 
 to  the  descriptions  which  follow.  The  preceding  word,  "  sin- 
 ners," is  further  developed :  ahominahle^  (who  work  the  abomi- 
 nation, ver.  27)  means  those  who  sink  into  unnatural  lusts  of 
 the  flesh,  probably  the  "  dogs,"  ch.  xxii.  15,  and  correspond- 
 ing to  those  mentioned  in  1  Cor.  vi.  9  ;  1  Tim.  i.  10; — mur- 
 derers and  whoremongers  include  generally,  in  addition,  all  works 
 of  hatred  and  impurity.  This  second  triplet  of  sins  which,  more 
 or  less  foully,  yet  with  equal  guilt  before  the  judgment  of  God, 
 express  the  mcked  spmt  disclosed  in  the  first  triplet,  is  followed 
 by  a  third  which  finally  names  the  transgressions  exclusively 
 committed  against  God,  as  the  second  referred  more  especially 
 to  sins  against  the  neighbour ;  and  the  close  returns  back  to  the 
 beginning  by  a  final  definition  of  the  devilish  element  into  which 
 these  wretched  souls  had  fallen.     Sorcerers^  and  idolaters — 
 
 ^  AhAoV,  coward^  is  used  generally  of  those  who  fail  to  stand  fast  in 
 battle. 
 
 '  'E/SSsAyy^gi/o*  is  more  specific  than  the  general  fih>.vKroi  Tit.  i.  16. 
 In  the  Sept.  /sUT^vyfioc  occurs  for  "^'^y^  Lev.  xviii.,  as  also  for  "nit^ro  Jer.  xi. 
 15,  comp.  /Sh'hvKros,  Prov.  xvii.  15. 
 
 ^  Not  specifically  poisonous,  according  to  the  derivation  of  the  word  ;  but 
 OetDf4,ocKoi  according  to  the  phraseology  of  ch.  ix.  21,  xviii.  23  ;  Gal.  v.  20. 
 
«EV.  XXI.  5-8.  221 
 
 together  express  all  apostasy  from  God,  the  going  into  forbid- 
 den ways,  having  recourse  to  strange  and  wicked  powers ;  and 
 its  profound  meaning  suggests  reference  to  1  Sam.  xv.  23.  In 
 the  Apocalypse  itself,  ch.  ix.  20,  21  is  connected  with  this ;  but 
 also  ch.  xiii.  15,  xvii.  4,  xviii.  23.  Again,  in  its  profoundest 
 and  most  universal  meaning,  St  John  in  his  first  Epistle,  ch.  v. 
 21,  enforces  the  warning  against  idolatry  and  idolaters.  Finally, 
 there  is  the  strengthening  addition — all  liars,  who  have  fallen 
 into  the  lie  against  God's  wi'ath  in  whatever  way,  every  lie 
 springing  from  the  same  principle  and  leading  to  the  same  con- 
 demnation. In  ch.  xxii.  15  it  is  yet  plainer:  icho  lovetli  and 
 maketh  a  lie,  which  may  be  sufficiently  explained  without  many 
 words  by  simply  referring  to  2  Thess.  ii.  11,  12  and  John  viii. 
 44,  45.  This  is  then  the  comprehensive  sum  of  all :  the  fear- 
 ful and  unbelievers  make  God  a  liar  (1  John  v.  10,  i.  10),  and 
 thereby  give  themselves  up  (that  is,  if  they  so  continue,  involved 
 and  hardened  in  it  to  the  end)  to  the  de\alish  lie,  which  is  the 
 alone  unpardonable  sin  of  blasphemy  against  God's  truth. 
 
 The  lake  or  pool  (wrongly  translated  by  many,  sea)  is  here, 
 according  to  the  valid,  fmidamental  meaning  of  the  Greek 
 word,^  the  residuum  and  caput  mortuum,  the  remaining  ruined 
 residue  which  is  incapable  of  renewal.  By  no  means  is  it  merely 
 a  "  sensible  figurative  representation "  of  eternal  torment,  but 
 as  physically  real  as  the  new  Jerusalem.  This  lake,  which 
 has  been  already  three  times  mentioned,  ch.  xix.  20  and  again 
 ch.  XX.  10,  14,  15,  comes  after  the  great  conflagration  in  the 
 place  of  the  sea,  which  till  then  stood  in  close  connection  with 
 the  depth  of  the  abyss ;  and  it  was  certainly  pretypified  by  the 
 Dead  Sea  after  Sodom's  subversion,  although  then  "  fire  and 
 brimstone "  was  only  rained  down  from  heaven  as  a  sign,  and 
 did  not  continue  to  burn.  What  kind  of  fire  and  brimstone 
 (pre-intimated  in  ch.  xiv.  10)  it  will  be  we  know  not,  any  more 
 than  the  locality  of  the  lake  (ch.  xxii.  15,  comp.  Is.  Ixvi.  24, 
 called  a  Without)  ;  but  our  presentient  exposition  should  receive 
 what  is  said  of  these  things,  as  a  description  of  w^hat  is  to  come 
 by  the  likeness  of  things  that  now  are.  It  is  the  Tophet  or 
 place  of  burning,  Is.  Lxvi.  24,  xxx.  33  ;  Dan.  vii.  11  calls  it 
 literally  the  burning  flame. 
 
 The  Lord,  in  the  first  section  of  His  teaching  upon  earth, 
 ^  A/^»?,  cast  out  and  standing  water. 
 
222  FINAL  WORD  FROM  THE  THRONE. 
 
 Matt.  XXV.  46  (comp.  ch.  xxvi.  1),  placed  first  eternal  torment^ 
 and  closed  with  eternal  life ;  but  now  the  order  is  inverted,  for 
 the  stronger  warning  of  His  Church :  the  wisdom  of  His  love 
 knows  that  it  is,  and  why  it  is,  necessary  thus  to  change.  How 
 significantly  the  Apocalypse,  attesting  the  "wrath  of  the  Lamb  " 
 (ch.  vi.  16),  returns  back  to  the  judicial  severity  of  the  Old 
 Testament,  we  have  already  observed.^  The  Lord  speaks  of 
 eternal  torment  in  the  same  manner  as  of  eternal  life ;  assuredly, 
 therefore,  the  second  death  can  be  only  eternal  death,  though 
 the  word  is  not  expressly  used.  Elsewhere,  as  in  ch.  xiv.  11 
 (after  Is.  xxxiv.  10),  we  read  of  the  endless  smoke  of  torment, 
 as  similarly  of  the  undying  worm  and  the  fire  unquenchable. 
 Many,  like  Meyer,  repose  upon  the  thought,  "  It  is  not  said  that 
 it  is  the  last  of  all,^^  and  hope  that  "  the  fire  of  Gehenna  may 
 finally  dry  up  the  pride  of  the  twice  dead,  and  kindle  their 
 thirst  for  the  water  of  life."  We  cannot  see  (even  if  it  were 
 lawful  to  go  beyond  the  letter  of  Scripture)  how  that  were  pos- 
 sible in  the  "infinite  eternities."  We  bow  with  fearful  awe 
 before  the  word  of  the  Lord,  as  we  find  it  written ;  and  could 
 more  easily  think  that  from  the  saints  will  be  taken  away,  not 
 only  all  their  suffering,  but  also  all  sympathy  with  the  lost. 
 (Halleluiah !  ch.  xix.  1-4.) 
 
 Let  no  one  iiTeverently  wonder  that  the  Lord's  last  word 
 from  the  throne  was — Which  is  the  second  death  I  His  words 
 of  promise,  invitation,  and  encouragement  had  been  abundant 
 — from  the  word  outside  Damascus  down  to  the  word  addressed 
 to  Paul's  infirmity ;  and  so  throughout  in  this  book.  Nor  is 
 this  sad  word  the  actual  close  of  the  Apocalypse  :  it  is  followed 
 by  the  description  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  heavenly  city ; 
 and  there  is  once  more  the  great  invitation,  ch.  xxii.  17 — ^Who- 
 soever will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely  !  "  The  grace 
 of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  all  the  saints,"  is,  in  ver.  22,  the 
 gracious  end.  But  we  close  our  little  book,  and  let  every  reader 
 close  it,  with  the  prayer :  Even  so,  come.  Lord  Jesus ;  abide 
 with  me  and  strengthen  my  faith,  that  I  become  not  fearful — 
 defend  me  from  sin  and  shame — cleanse  and  sanctify  me,  that  I 
 may  in  lowly  adoration  abide  faithful  to  Thy  truth,  that  I  may 
 overcome  and  not  be  hurt  of  the  second  death  !     Amen. 
 
 ^  "  Words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,"  on  Luke  ix,  55. 
 
THE  EPISTLE  OP  ST  JAMES, 
 
 EXPOUNDED  IN  THIRTY-TWO  DISCOURSES. 
 
 BY  KUDOLP  STIEE, 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 I  HAVE  been  often  and  importunately  asked  to  print,  for  more 
 extended  use,  these  Sermons  on  St  James.  Having  been  long 
 unaccustomed  to  write  my  discourses  beforehand,  it  was  difficult, 
 amid  my  many  engagements,  to  comply  with  this  request. 
 Nevertheless,  an  internal  impulse  prompted  me  to  do  my  best 
 to  contribute  my  mite  towards  the  better  understanding  of  this 
 little-studied  Epistle;  Jas.  iv.  17  came  powerfully  to  second 
 the  request,  and  induce  me  to  regard  it  as  from  the  Lord.  I 
 have  at  length  accomplished  my  purpose ;  and,  by  the  omission 
 of  much  that  was  orally  expounded  and  appHed  in  exhortation, 
 and  retaining  simply  the  concise  fundamental  thoughts  which 
 conduct  the  train  of  exposition,  have  succeeded,  I  trust,  in  pre- 
 senting the  whole  in  such  a  form  as  will  suit  the  reader. 
 
 This  is  a  plain  account  of  the  present  little  volume,  which  I 
 now  send  forth  in  the  full  confidence  that  the  Lord  will  sane- 
 
224  PREFACE. 
 
 tion  it  with  His  blessing.  Learned  readers  will  not,  indeed, 
 find  a  commentary  which  searches  out  the  original,  but  they 
 will  find  that  the  whole  rests  upon  careful  examination  of  the 
 text.  The  practical  strain  of  observation  upon  this  Epistle, 
 which  is  altogether  practical,  albeit  resting  upon  theory  and 
 doctrine,  may  sei-ve  to  supplement  some  other  commentaries, 
 and  point  out  to  many  of  the  learned  the  way  which  alone  will 
 conduct  to  its  adequate  exposition.  Preachers  vdW  easily  see 
 how  these  sketches  were  or  should  be  expounded  in  the  living 
 address.  But  readers  who  seek  edification — and,  where  the  in- 
 terpretation of  Scriptm-e  is  concerned,  there  should  be  no  others 
 — will  not,  I  hope,  be  uninstructed  and  unblessed :  to  all  such, 
 these  briefer  notes  may  be  better  and  more  effectual  than 
 ampler  dissertation,  which  is  more  fitly  heard. 
 
I 
 
 1 
 
 ^  TRIALS  PURE  JOY. 
 
 (Ch.  i.  1-4.) 
 
 James,  a  servant  of  God  and  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  t-welve  tribes 
 which  are  scattered  abroad,  greeting.  My  brethren,  count  it  pure  joy 
 when  ye  fall  into  divers  temptations  ;  and  know  that  the  trying  of  your 
 faith  worketh  patience.  But  let  patience  have  her  work  perfect,  that  ye 
 may  be  perfect  and  entire,  wanting  nothing. 
 
 The  writer  of  this  Epistle  does  not  call  himself  an  Apostle^  but 
 a  servant  of  God  and  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  it  is  possible  that 
 he  was,  therefore,  the  Apostle  James  the  Less.  But  when  we  find 
 St  Jude  introducing  himself  in  his  Epistle,  ver.  17  of  which 
 with  equal  plainness  distinguishes  him  from  the  Apostles,  as  a 
 brother  of  James,  we  are  disposed  to  regard  the  supposition  as 
 highly  probable,  that  in  these  two  Epistles  two  of  the  brethren 
 of  the  Lord  Jesus  (Matt.  xiii.  55)  are  speaking  to  us.  For 
 many  reasons,  not  here  to  be  discussed,  we  are  convinced  that 
 these  brethren  were  Hterally  the  children  of  i\Iary  by  Joseph  ; 
 even  as  they  speak,  John  \i\.  3-5,  according  to  household  usage 
 in  their  mother's  house,  and  invariably  appear  in  company 
 with  their  mother.  That  St  James  does  not  describe  himself 
 as  the  brother,  but  as  the  servant  of  the  Lord  of  Glory,  with 
 whom  is  no  respect  of  persons  (ch.  ii.  1),  must  appear  quite 
 natural  to  every  one.  "A  servant  of  God  and  of  His  Son  :  " 
 this  is  partly  an  Old-Testament  expression  ;  appropriate  to  the 
 Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  who,  for  her  church's  sake,  adhered  per- 
 manently and  faithfully,  as  far  as  was  lawful,  to  the  old  law 
 (Acts  xxi.  18-20,  Gal.  i.  19) — James  the  Just,  as  he  was  called. 
 But  his  Epistle  does  not  preach  to  us  a  legal  doctrine :  it  con- 
 tains the  full  and  profound  truth  of  the  Gospel;  exhibited, 
 through  the  wisdom  which  was  from  above,  in  a  manner  as  truly 
 evangehcal  as  that  of  St  Paul,  or  any  other  Apostle. 
 
 And  what  is  the  first  thing  which  he  has  to  say  to  his 
 readers  ?  He  sets  out  with  faith  in  ver.  3 ;  and  with  reference 
 to  its  testing,  that  it  may  approve  itself  genuine  and  sound. 
 This  is,   in  a  certain  sense,  the  theme  of  the :  whole  Epistle. 
 
 P 
 
226  TRIALS  PURE  JOY. 
 
 And  here  we  see  at  once  why  he  precisely  thus  addresses  his 
 readers  in  the  introductory  greeting :    "  To  the  twelve  tribes 
 which  are  scattered  abroad,  greeting  ! "     The  dispersion  of  the 
 tribes  of  Israel  is,  according  to  the  Spirit's  further  meaning  for 
 future  readers  of  the  Bible,  a  symbolical  expression :  comp. 
 1  Pet.  i.  1.     The  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  according  to  the  flesh 
 were  then  no  longer  to  be  found;  but  the  spiritual  Israel  is  ever  to 
 be  found  in  the  dispersion  of  this  world,  and  therefore  in  mani- 
 fold trials.     And,  nevertheless,  he  greets  them  Vfiih.  joy  to  you! 
 This  Greek  greeting  (^atpeiv,  sent  also  in  Acts  xv,  23  by  St 
 James  to  the  Gentile  brethren)  receives  here  a  profound  and 
 beautiful  meaning.     Should  those  who  were  thus  greeted  answer, 
 like  Tobias —  "  What  joy  shall  I  have,  who  must  sit  in  dark- 
 ness, and  no  more  see  the  light  of  heaven  1 " — vers.  2-4  give 
 the  answer ;  and  there  we  have,  at  the  same  time,  the  substance 
 of  the  whole  Epistle :  The  confirmation  of  true  faith  in  works  ! 
 But  first  comes  the  work  of  the  patience  of  faith  in  tribulation. 
 Wherefore  should  we  count  our  manifold  trials  to  he  pure 
 joy  ?     Because  trial  is  the  necessary  test  of  faith,  and  works 
 the  wholesome  effect  of  patience  in  tribulation. 
 
 Faith  requires  test.  But  how  easy  is  dangerous  deception 
 here  !  Even  in  earthly  faith,  knowledge,  abihty,  and  possession, 
 the  fundamental  question  comes  in — Do  I  entirely  believe  this? 
 Do  I  know  this  with  absolute  certainty  ?  Am  I  assuredly  able 
 for  this  ?  Is  this  really  mine  1  and  under  all  circumstances  ? 
 But  here  we  have  to  do  with  that  faith  by  which  alone  we  are 
 saved ;  with  a  faith,  however,  which  is  so  entirely  opposed  to 
 the  evil,  unbelieving  heart!  (Heb.  iii.  12).  Have  I  forgiveness? 
 The  answer  to  this  is  not  to  be  lightly  despatched.  Have  I  also 
 power  and  vigour  unto  holiness  ?  Do  I  stand  fast,  and  surely 
 rooted,  in  the  life  of  regeneration  ?  Does  Christ  live  in  me,  so 
 that  the  hfe  which  I  live  in  the  flesh  and  in  the  world  I  never- 
 theless live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God  (Gal.  ii.  20)  ?  O 
 how  needful  is  the  most  earnest  testing  here  !  We  should  of 
 O'Tselves  be  urged  constantly  to  apply  it,  and  to  this  the  word 
 of  God  exhorts  us  :  "  Examine  your  own  selves,  whether  ye  be 
 in  the  faith;  prove  your  own  selves!"  (2  Cor.  xiii.  5).  No 
 man  is  mlHng  in  the  slightest  things  to  be  deceived,  and  to 
 live  in  uncertainty  :  but  here  no  less  is  involved  than  our  all ! 
 The  final  test  will  infallibly  show  whether  we  have  altogether 
 
JAMES  I.  1-4.  227 
 
 run  in  vain,  and  missed  the  goal !  But  that  is  not  all  which  is 
 to  be  feared  by  us,  as  if  it  were  enough  to  say — If  I  only  escape 
 damnation  at  last !  No,  the  right  spirit  of  a  loving  faith  is 
 anxious  that  the  faithful  God  should  have  as  much  honour  from 
 us  and  joy  in  us  His  servants  as  may  be  possible  through  His 
 grace  ;  and  that  we  should  not  bring  discredit  upon  our  gracious 
 Lord  through  unfaithfulness,  weakness,  or  half-heartedness  in 
 His  service.  But  we  are  too  much  indisposed  to  this  kind  of  test, 
 and  are  too  much  inclined  to  think  of  ourselves  as  Peter  thought. 
 As  Peter  spoke,  so  speak  also  all  the  disciples,  and  the  Lord  must 
 mom'nfully  ask — "  Do  ye  now  believe  ?  The  hour  cometh  that 
 ye  shall  be  scattered,  and  leave  Me  alone !"  (John  xvi.  31,  32). 
 Therefore,  the  faithful  God  comes  to  our  help  by  the  wholesome 
 tests  of  affliction,  that  He  may  save  us  from  self-deception. 
 
 Faith  receives  this  so  necessary  test  only  in  trials.  This 
 word  has  an  evil  sound  as  temptation ;  it  might  seem  as  if  God 
 were  not  faithful  and  good  in  appl}dng  such  tests,  as  if  He  put 
 stumbling-blocks  in  our  way  that  we  might  fall.  But  that 
 troubles  should  thus  become  temptation  to  us,  lies  in  ourselves 
 and  in  our  own  folly,  as  St  James  afterwards  takes  care  to 
 teach.  God's  part  in  our  trials  serves  only  for  the  purpose  of 
 salutary  testing  of  faith,  in  order  that  it  may  be  confirmed. 
 Alas,  as  a  thousand  examples  show,  not  every  tribulation 
 worketh  patience,  yea  not  eveiy  test  of  an  existing  faith  ap- 
 proves and  confirms  that  faith  as  real.  If,  however,  our  faitli 
 is  not  extinguished,  but  abides,  it  becomes  in  this  discipline 
 manifest  as  genuine  faith.  That  is,  its  lack  is  at  once  disclosed 
 and  supplied ;  and  the  good  which  is  in  it  is  at  once  revealed 
 and  strengthened.  "  That  ye  may  be  perfect  and  entire,  lack- 
 ing nothing  !"  Alas,  in  how  many  things  are  we  all  still  lack- 
 ing, though  we  rightly  know  it  not!  Even  the  right  and 
 believing  attention  to  the  word,  which  however  should  be  the 
 beginning  and  foundation  of  all,  is  not  fount!  in  us  as  it  should 
 be  before  tribulation  teaches  it  (Is.  xxviii.  19).  We  may  long 
 fail  to  know  in  our  inmost  souls,  without  being  conscious  of  the 
 lack,  that  God  alone  is  true  in  His  promise  and  in  His  threat- 
 ening ;  when  the  testing  time  comes,  we  may  be  found  wanting, 
 to  our  own  great  amazement,  even  in  this.  It  is,  indeed,  a  melan- 
 choly experience,  to  be  constrained  to  admit  that  we  have  no 
 root,  when  the  heat  and  the  storm  come  suddenly  upon  us !     But 
 
228  TETALS  PURE  JOY. 
 
 to  discover  this  through  tests  before  the  last  one,  and  while  there 
 is  jet  time  to  cast  forth  deeper  roots,  must  needs  be  matter  of 
 thankfulness  and  joy.  Yea,  to  be  constrained  to  feel  and  con- 
 fess the  perilous  lack,  is  itself,  if  we  are  sincere  with  God  and 
 our  souls,  abundant  cause  for  joy.  Joseph  became  all  that  the 
 grace  of  God  designed  him  to  be,  only  after  God's  word  came 
 to  him  in  his  distress,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  did  try  him 
 (Ps.  cv.  19).  Discerning  our  need,  we  seek  forgiveness  for 
 secret  sin  and  guilt ;  strength  from  above  for  our  impotence  ; 
 and  the  grace  of  sincere  obedience  to  counteract  the  treachery 
 of  our  own  hearts.  And  he  that  seeketh  findeth !  Necessity 
 teaches  to  pray;  teaches  us  not  to  put  our  trust  in  ourselves,  but 
 in  God  who  raiseth  the  dead  (2  Cor.  i.  9);  not  to  look  at  earthly 
 but  at  heavenly  things ;  not  to  rely  upon  the  staff  of  a  broken 
 reed  which  goes  into  a  man's  hand  if  he  lean  upon  it  (Is. 
 xxxvi.  6),  but  to  build  upon  the  sure  foundation  which  is  un- 
 moved for  ever !  And  this  brings  the  joy  of  the  only  right 
 glorying — "I  am  filled  with  comfort,  I  am  exceeding  joyful  in 
 all  my  tribulation"  (2  Cor.  vii.  4). 
 
 And  what  pure  joy^  to  have  full  demonstration,  in  the  time 
 of  tribulation,  of  the  good  which  the  grace  of  God  had  im- 
 planted in  the  soul  during  better  days !  It  is  in  the  darkness 
 that  the  light  arises  in  all  its  brightness — like  the  stars  in  the 
 night.  The  Christian  may  have  received  from  God  in  the 
 tranquil  simplicity  of  his  soul  much  more  than  he  himself  is 
 conscious  of ;  and  the  treasure  of  his  grace  may  not  be  known 
 to  himself  until  the  stem  inquiry  is  made  which  brings  it  to  the 
 light.  When  the  question  is  then  asked.  Where  is  thy  faith  ? 
 how  precious  to  be  able  to  answer  by  the  best  demonstration. 
 Blessed  Lord,  it  is  here !  And  even  if  it  should  not  at  once 
 display  itself,  examination  is  made,  old  slumbering  experiences 
 revive,  the  foundation  in  the  inner  man  shows  itself  firm  ;  the 
 gift  of  God  is  stirred  up,  and  the  spark  is  fanned  to  a  flame 
 (2  Tim.  i.  6).  Is  not  thai  joy?  And  this  exercise  increases  the 
 strength  which  is  in  us.  In  trials,  our  faith  becomes  more  pure, 
 better  able  to  rest  upon  the  Word  alone,  to  believe  without  see- 
 ing or  feeling — so  that  we  learn  to  live  from  faith  to  faith. 
 Thus  we  glory  in  tribulations  :  knowing  that  tribulation  worketh 
 patience,  and  patience  experience,  and  experience  hope ;  and 
 hope  maketh  not  ashamed  (Rom.  v.  3-5).     To  glory  in  tribula- 
 
JAMES  I.  1-4.  229 
 
 tion  is  assuredly  the  highest  degree  of  the  life  of  faith ;  thus  in 
 the  work  of  patience  our  sanctification  is  perfected  in  the  supply 
 of  all  that  we  lack. 
 
 Let  us,  therefore,  count  our  manifold  trials  pure  joy,  on  ac- 
 count of  this  salutary  effect  of  patience  !  But  patience  must 
 accomplish  its  perfect  work — says  St  James.  That  it  does  in 
 trials — first,  as  the  test  and  the  act  of  an  existing  faith ;  and  as 
 the  only  way  to  perfection.  What  is  the  so-called  faith  which 
 yet  can  endure  nothing,  which  cannot  abide  to  be  earnestly 
 tested  ?  What  faith  is  that  which  cannot  trust  in  dark  ways, 
 which  does  not  create  obedience  in  hard  tasks,  and  patient  con- 
 tinuance in  hope  towards  God?  We  are  partakers  of  Christ 
 then  only  when  we  hold  fast  the  beginning  of  confidence  to  the 
 end  (Heb.  iii.  14).  This  precious  work  of  patience  is  the  essen- 
 tial and  necessary"  continuance,  to  which  alone  the  kingdom  is 
 appointed  (Luke  xxii.  28,  29) — the  acceptance  of  trials  with- 
 out suffering  them  to  weaken  us  as  temptation ;  thus  all  our 
 knowledge  enters  into  our  will,  all  our  faith  and  feeling  into 
 our  work,  and  we  approve  ourselves  in  all  things  to  be  the  ser- 
 vants of  God.  For  our  Master  and  Forerunner,  the  Beginner 
 and  Finisher  of  our  faith,  was  thus  tested  and  approved,  be- 
 cause for  our  sake  He  entered  into  the  servant-form  of  obe- 
 dience. Although  He  was  the  Son,  yet  He  learned  obedience 
 in  that  which  He  suffered,  and  thus  became  perfect  as  the  Cap- 
 tain of  our  eternal  salvation  (Heb.  v.  8,  9).  Thus  was  it  with 
 all  believers  before  He  came  ;  so  that  even  Judith  could  make 
 mention  of  the  manifold  temptations  of  father  Abraham,  and 
 that  he  became  the  friend  of  God  after  he  had  stood  many  fiery 
 tests  ;  and  how  Isaac,  Jacob,  Moses,  and  all  in  whom  God  took 
 delight,  were  called  to  overcome  great  tribulations  (Judith  viii.). 
 It  is  for  ever  true  that  "  we  have  need  of  patience,  that  we  may 
 do  the  will  of  God,  and  inherit  the  promise"  ''Heb.  x.  36).  But 
 the  right  doing  of  the  Divine  will  is  perfected  in  the  surrender 
 of  our  will  to  voluntary  suffering,  in  the  imitation  and  fellow- 
 ship of  Christ,  and  His  cross.  This  great  word  St  James  doe? 
 not  here  mention ;  but  he  means  precisely  the  same  as  St  Peter 
 does  :  "  i?e/ozce,. inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers  of  Chrises  suffer- 
 ings ;  that,  when  His  glory  shall  be  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad 
 also  with  exceeding  joy  "  (1  Pet.  iv.  13). 
 
 The  work  of  patience  in  faith  is  for  us  the  only  way  to 
 
230  TRIALS  PURE  JOY. 
 
 perfection  : — that  we  may  be  finally  perfect  and  complete  ! 
 Sanctified  must  all  be,  through  faith  in  Him,  who  shall  receive 
 the  inheritance  (Acts  xxvi.  18).  Purified  through  and  through 
 from  all  still  adhering  and  admingled  sin  !  But  this  can  take 
 place  only  through  the  opposite  of  that  by  which  we  fell.  Pride 
 is  the  ground  and  source  of  our  sin — therefore  God  abases  and 
 brings  us  low  !  Yain  and  false  pleasure  entices  and  binds  us 
 long — therefore  God  ministers  the  smart  of  loss  and  suffering  ! 
 Unbelief  and  disobedience  have  penetrated  our  souls  far  more 
 thoroughly  than  without  test  we  could  ever  comprehend — there- 
 fore God  thus  urgently  demands  faith  and  obedience !  And 
 they  who  do  not  withstand  His  power,  grow  and  thrive  under 
 the  discipline  ;  because  He  holds  out  to  prayer  and  acceptance 
 the  very  grace  which  He  requires  in  us.  Mark  those  behevers 
 who  have  passed  through  many  trials,  and  have  retained  their 
 faith :  what  a  matmity,  wrought  out  in  the  heat  of  tribulation, 
 shows  itself  in  them — how  different  from  those  who  have  not 
 been  tempted !  Our  robes  are  w^ashed  and  made  white  in  great 
 tribulation  (Rev.  vii.  14).  In  the  keen  chemistry  of  patience 
 we  are  purified  from  all  that  is  not  faith,  that  is  not  obedience ; 
 we  become  strong  and  entire,  made  whole  by  such  experience 
 and  discipline,  entire  men  and  entire  Christians — wanting 
 nothing.  Much  may  be  wanting  externally  ;  but  there  is  peace 
 and  joy,  light  and  strength,  in  the  inner  man.  Thus  glories 
 the  Apostle :  "  I  know  both  how  to  be  abased,  and  I  know  how 
 to  abound :  everywhere  and  in  all  things  I  am  initiated  both  to 
 be  full  and  to  be  hungry  (even  in  the  spirit),  both  to  abound 
 and  to  suffer  need.  (For,  in  the  midst  of  this  need,  this  poverty 
 and  weakness,  strong  faith  can  say — )  I  can  do  all  things 
 through  Christ,  which  strengtheneth  me"  (Phil.  iv.  12, 13).  Is 
 it  not  joy  to  reach  that  point,  or  even  clearly  to  discern  that  we 
 are  approaching  that  goal,  and  on  the  way  to  full  perfection  ? 
 To  know,  with  absolute  certainty,  I  am  in  the  right  way  !  in  the 
 midst  of  the  dispersion  of  this  world  ?  True,  that  another  say- 
 ing also  holds  good :  "  No  chastening  for  the  present  seemeth  to 
 be  joyous,  but  grievous"  (Heb.  xii,  11).  How  else  would  it  be 
 discipline  or  trial  ?  It  is  true  that  we  have  not  yet  now,  while 
 we  are  for  a  season  in  heaviness  through  manifold  temptations, 
 that  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory  with  which  we  shall  re- 
 joice at  the  end  of  our  confirmed  faith  (1  Pet.  i.  5-9).     But  we 
 
JAMES  I.  5-8.  231 
 
 are  exhorted  to  prize  the  way  only  as  leading  to  its  glorious 
 goal.  Trial  itself  is  not  joy,  but  faith  must  and  may  esteem  it 
 as  joy  to  be  prepared  by  it  for  eternal  bhss — understanding 
 and  embracing  the  greeting  of  the  Spirit  of  grace,  Joy  unto  you 
 beforehand !  The  obedience  of  faith  goes  gladly  in  the  way 
 which  God  directs;  patience  makes  diligent  and  persevering 
 use  of  all  that  the  faithful  God  imposes. 
 
 Know  it,  therefore,  aright  that  the  trial  of  your  faith 
 worketh  patience,  and  that  patience  in  her  perfect  work  maketh 
 you  perfect  and  entire!  Therefore,  count  not  strange  the 
 divers  trials  of  your  Kfe,  as  if  there  could  be  no  joy  in  them  for 
 you !  Divers,  indeed,  they  are,  as  we  all  of  us  experience  in 
 due  time;  the  happiest  shall  find  his  own  especial  trouble. 
 Divers  tribulations  from  without  and  ^dthin,  of  body  and  of 
 soul,  in  all  the  various  forms  which  the  wisdom  of  God  may 
 adjust  for  each.  The  foohsh  heart  may  murmiu-,  and  ask — 
 Wherefore  is  this  or  that  sent  to  me?  Why  are,  not  one 
 misfortune  alone,  but  many  of  them  following  each  other  and 
 intermingled,  sent  upon  my  poor  spirit?  Only  direct  thy 
 faith  to  the  depths  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God, 
 that  it  may  honour  His  judgments  and  ways,  the  individual  par- 
 ticulars of  which  the  human  mind  can  never  understand !  The 
 Good  Physician  will  surely  make  thee  whole,  if  thou  surrenderest 
 thyself  to  His  hands;  and  to  that  end  He  gives  thee,  out  of  the 
 boundless  dispensary  of  all  things  which  are  at  His  command, 
 evermore  the  best  remedies  for  thy  disease. 
 
 H. 
 
 ASKING  FOR  WISDOM. 
 
 (Ch.  i.  5-8.) 
 
 If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  that  giveth  to  all  men 
 with  simplicity,  and  upbraideth  not ;  and  it  shall  be  given  him.  But 
 let  him  ask  in  faith,  nothing  wavering.  For  he  that  wavereth  is  like 
 a  wave  of  the  sea,  driven  with  the  wind  and  tossed.  For  let  not  that 
 man  think  that  he  shall  receive  anything  of  the  Lord.  A  double- 
 minded  man  is  unstable  in  all  his  ways. 
 
 Were  we  only  such  knockers  and  askers  as  the  gracious 
 exhortation  and  promise  of  our  Lord  Jesus  would  make  us, 
 
232  ASKING  FOR  WISDOM. 
 
 tlien  should  we  more  and  more  receive  what  is  wanting  in  us — 
 joy  in  tribulation,  patience  under  trials — and  thus  stand  in  the 
 day  of  judgment  with  a  confirmed  and  perfect  faith.  And  is 
 it  His  fault  or  ours  that  it  is  not  so  with  us?  The  gate  of 
 grace  is  indeed  a  strait  gate,  but  it  is  an  open  one,  to  which 
 all  are  invited ;  and  the  faithful  ear  of  Him  who  would  have 
 His  house  full,  marks  every  knock.  Joy  unto  you  I  is  the 
 sound  with  which  the  rejoicing  message  of  the  Gospel  greets 
 us.  Yea,  the  gracious  Enter  I  Enter  I  is  loudly  sounded  in  our 
 ears  before  we  come  and  knock.  The  Father  tells  us  through 
 the  Son,  Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive!  And  this  embassage  St 
 James,  as  the  servant  of  God,  extends  to  all  who  read  and 
 hear  his  word,  in  this  his  earnest  invitation  to  ash  Let  us 
 observe  who  is  invited  to  ask ;  for  what,  of  whom,  and  finally 
 how,  we  must  ask. 
 
 Who,  first,  is  thus  invited?  Obviously,  only  he  to  whom 
 something  is  lacking  which  he  would  fain  have  and  deeply 
 needs.  Thus  those  who  are  perfect  and  entire,  wanting  nothing 
 — St  James  does  not  invite  to  ask  and  receive.  If  thou  hast  no 
 consciousness  of  sin,  then  say  not — Forgive  me!  If  thou  feelest 
 no  weakness,  then  cry  not — Strengthen  me  !  If  no  trouble 
 oppresses  thee,  how  canst  thou  say — Help  me  and  deliver  me  ! 
 He  who  lacks  nothing,  has  nothing  to  ask  for.  But  such  are 
 none  of  us,  beloved!  Is  there  one  among  us  who  can,  otherwise 
 than  in  joyful  hope,  sing,  "  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd,  I  shall 
 want  nothing  (while,  that  is,  I  continue  to  take  from  Him  the 
 supplies  He  gives)  ;"  who  already,  while  on  earth,  sits  in  the 
 midst  of  the  fulness  of  heaven  ;  and  who,  to  speak  foolishness, 
 has  gone  beyond  the  need  of  the  use  of  the  entire  Lord's 
 Prayer  ?  Brethren,  there  is  much  lacking  to  us  all ;  and  what 
 we  receive,  how  speedily  do  we  lack  again  !  Perfect  and 
 entire,  holy  and  unblameable,  before  Him,  are  we  only  in 
 love.  Let  then  the  friend  come,  sent  to  your  care  by  the  great 
 Friend,  and  you  have  no  supply  in  your  own  hand  for  his 
 necessity.  You  need  one  loaf  for  the  guest ;  one  for  yourself, 
 that  you  may  eat  with  him  as  is  fit;  and  yet  one  more,  that  there 
 may  be  no  scantiness,  as  in  spiritual  things  there  should  never 
 be.  Whence  are  the  three  loaves  to  come  ?  Can  you  make 
 them  by  any  power  of  your  0"^ti?  You  cannot  make  to  yourself 
 a  crumb  for  your  own  poor  bodily  necessity,  unless  God  give 
 
JAMES  I.  5-8.  2  33 
 
 it — and  can  you  provide  tlie  bread  of  life,  of  love  ?  Empty  of 
 this  we  all  are  of  ourselves :  dig  it  you  cannot,  therefore  be  not 
 ashamed  to  beg  it  at  the  door  of  the  Most  High,  as  your  highest 
 honour.  This  might  we,  and  this  should  we  all.  But  few  receive 
 this  saying;  they  deny  rather  and  cloak  their  bitter  need,  or 
 else  labour  in  vain  to  supply  their  need  for  themselves.  These 
 St  James  leaves  in  their  darkness,  and  says — If  any  man 
 among  you  lack.  Sayest  thou.  That  man  am  I !  then  hear 
 further  for  what  thou  art  invited  to  ask. 
 
 What  we  must  ask  for  : — that  indeed  w^e  first  truly  know  in 
 the  time  of  trial  of  which  we  have  heard  ;  ordinarily  we  are  too 
 apt  to  be  satisfied  and  content.  And  this  is  true  not  only  of 
 the  children  of  this  world,  who,  like  the  rich  man,  have  all 
 external  abundance  eveiy  day;  alas!  it  is  true  also  of  those 
 Christians  who  are  pointed  at  by  that  parable,  however  unwill- 
 ing they  may  be  to  think  so.  They  think  themselves  already 
 kings  and  priests  in  pui'ple  and  fine  linen  ;  they  have  reached, 
 as  might  be  thought,  a  state  of  perfection.  They  have  so  much 
 faith,  that  they  cannot  speak  enough  about  the  excellency  of 
 that  virtue,  and  how  it  is  faith  that  brings  ever)^thing,  and 
 accomplishes  everj'thing  that  concerns  the  glory  of  God's  grace. 
 Moreover,  they  have  so  much  wisdom  that  they  are  masters  of 
 Scripture,  free  from  all  error,  and  can  be  all  men's  teachers 
 in  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  as  they  call  all  their  ow^n  opin- 
 ions. Such  people  will  never  be  taught  othei'wise  till  trials 
 bring  them  to  feel  their  Httleness  and  poverty.  Thus  not  to 
 them  at  once,  but  to  all  who  feel  their  need,  the  gracious  invi 
 tation  is  given ;  to  all  who  are  so  much  tried  that  their  de- 
 ficiency has  been  proved  to  their  souls ;  and  to  all  those  who 
 are  so  far  simple,  sincere,  and  humble,  as  to  expect  tribulation 
 with  anxiety,  fearing  that,  if  it  befell  them,  they  might  be  found 
 wanting.  What  are  they  then  to  ash — now  in  anticipation, 
 and  afterwards  when  the  affliction  comes  ? 
 
 Here  we  are  not  told  to  ask  for  help  and  salvation,  for  the 
 turning  away  of  trouble,  the  removal  of  the  danger.  To  ask  for 
 nothing  but  that  is  a  dangerous  and,  strictly  considered,  unin- 
 telligible prayer;  although  the  merciful  God  imputes  it  not  as 
 sin  to  our  weakness  and  folly,  as  our  distress  drives  us  instinct- 
 ively to  ask  for  deliverance.  Further,  St  James  does  not  here 
 tell  us  that  we  should  pray  for  patience,  for  strong  faith,  for 
 
234  ASKING  FOR  WISDOM. 
 
 grace  in  order  to  obedience  and  resignation — although  assuredly 
 here  lies  the  fundamental  want  of  our  poor  souls.  Thus  to 
 pray  would  be  indeed  a  most  intelligent  and  excellent  supplica- 
 tion, yea,  the  wisest  and  best  that  a  sinful  man  could  put  up 
 to  God: — therefore  it  is  the  last  which  we  learn,  as  crying  for 
 mere  deliverance  is  the  first.  But  we  do  not  at  once  attain  to 
 this  ;  therefore  St  James,  taking  his  stand  midway,  mentions 
 with  striking  point  this  only — If  any  man  among  you  lacketh 
 wisdom !  For  this  is  itself  wisdom  coming  down  from  above, 
 and  which,  therefore,  must  first  be  prayed  for,  to  know  that  we 
 ought  rather  to  pray — "O  God,  take  not  away  my  trial  from 
 me;  but  give  me  patience  that  I  may  enjoy  its  salutary  and 
 peaceable  fruits  !"  And,  further,  if  I  rightly  understand  that, 
 it  is  important  to  understand  also  how  in  every  particular  trial 
 patience  is  perfectly  to  effect  its  good  work.  We  must  not 
 here  take  St  James'  great  word — K  any  man  lack  wisdom,  let 
 him  ask  for  it! — in  its  full  and  universal  meaning  (which  it 
 indeed  includes)  ;  for,  every  word  in  this  profound  Epistle  has 
 its  own  significance,  and  in  the  third  chapter  we  are  exhorted 
 to  contemplate  and  ask  for  wisdom  in  all  its  fulness.  But  we 
 now  adhere  to  the  meaning  which  the  connection  imposes  upon 
 the  word — Wisdom  in  the  trial  and  for  the  trial.  Yea,  it  is  a 
 good  thing  also  to  seek  wisdom  in  ^preparation  for  future  trial ; 
 and  this  refers  not  merely  to  this  or  that  tempted  "  any  man^^  but 
 to  every  man  among  us,  since  trial  impends  over  us  all. 
 
 Brethren,  we  all  lack  at  the  beginning,  and  unless  we  ask 
 shall  always  lack,  that  precious,  needful  wisdom  which  knows 
 how  to  understand,  and  receive,  and  use  trials  aright.  First,  to 
 understand  them  fundamentally  and  according  to  truth  : — that 
 trial  is  not  evil  in  itself,  and  not  evil  to  us  ;  but  that  the  design 
 of  the  tribulation  of  Christians  is  absolutely  good  and  gracious. 
 That  is  wisdom,  to  know  whence  the  trial  comes,  that  is,  from 
 the  Father  of  spirits,  the  Giver  of  every  good  gift ;  to  know  to 
 what  it  tends,  that  is,  to  salutary  discipline,  and  above  all  and 
 foremost  to  self-knowledge,  as  a  defence  against  the  folly  of 
 self-deception.  He  who  so  understands  it,  and  only  he,  will 
 receive  it  unto  repentance,  which  the  grace  accompanpng  it  will 
 work  ;  he  will  say  with  docility,  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God, 
 thus  disclosing  the  ground  of  his  heart,  ".  Behold,  Thou  desirest 
 truth  in  the  inward  parts  :  and  Thou  makest  me  to  know  secret 
 
JAMES  I.  5-8.  235 
 
 wisdom"  (Ps.  li.  6).  He  who  thus  receives  trial,  and  only  he, 
 Avill  finally  use  it  to  his  sanctification,  purity,  and  perfection. 
 This  sincere,  humble,  dihgent  use  of  trial  is,  in  fact,  for  the 
 children  of  men,  the  highest  and  best  of  all  possible  wisdom ; 
 and  is  it  not  most  sadly  lacking  sometimes  among  those  who 
 are  truly  wise  and  prudent?  Is  it  not  an  exceptional  case 
 when  we  find  one  who  rightly  demeans  himself  under  the  dis- 
 ciplining hand  of  God,  without  any  foolish  recoil  from  His 
 chastisement?  Therefore  so  many  suffer  so  many  things  in 
 vain ;  and  make  their  heavenly  Father's  dealings  with  them 
 harder  than  His  heart  would  be  disposed  to  make  them.  The 
 wise  Solomon  says,  "  If  the  iron  be  blunt,  and  he  do  not  whet 
 the  edge,  then  must  he  put  to  more  strength :  but  wisdom  is 
 profitable  to  direct"  (Eccles.  x.  10).  O  how  many  there  are 
 who,  after  all  their  careful  efforts,  are  forced  to  discover  that 
 they  have  not  had  this  wisdom  in  their  afflictions — that  they 
 have  not  understood  the  virtue  of  quiet  patience  and  urgent 
 prayer  !  And  fearful  is  it,  at  the  end  of  a  whole  life  of  salutary^ 
 sufferings,  which,  however,  have  failed  to  bring  the  soul  to 
 salvation,  to  find  that  that  wisdom  has  been  altogether  wanting! 
 But  why  was  it  so  ?  Ye  have  not  learned  to  pray  : — and  why 
 have  ye  not?  Ye  would  not  rightly  know  what  it  w^as  ye 
 lacked !  This  is  the  crown  of  wisdom,  not  to  neglect  even  to 
 the  last  to  ask  and  receive ;  but  it  is  also  the  beginning  of 
 wisdom,  when  God  says,  "Ask  what  I  shall  give  thee!"  to 
 know  what  that  should  be,  and  with  Solomon  to  ask  an  obedient 
 heart.  And  so  it  ever  proceeds,  between  the  beginning  and  the 
 end ;  there  is  the  constant  need  to  know  hoio  to  obey,  and  to 
 suffer,  and  to  use  for  salvation  what  God  has  given.  Therefore, 
 if  any  man  lack  \^'isdom,  let  him  ask  ! 
 
 And  of  whom  ?  Obviously  of  God,  of  Plim  who  has  all  good 
 things  for  us,  of  that  Lord  who  is  rich  unto  all  who  call  upon 
 Him  (Rom.  x.  12).  St  James  terms  Him  God  who  giveth  ; 
 and,  in  the  original,  it  runs  as  it  were  "wntli  emphasis — The 
 giving  God  !  All  other  givers,  at  whose  hands  we  may  seek  any- 
 thing, received  first  from  Him,  and  can  give  only  through  Him. 
 From  men  we  may  ask  and  receive  wisdom,  and  should  not 
 refuse  it ;  but  best  of  all,  in  all  cases,  is  it  to  repair  at  once  to 
 the  Fountain  whence  alone  the  pure  stream  flows.  That  is 
 God,  who  left  Himself  not  without  a  witness  to  the  Gentiles  in 
 
236  ASKING  FOR  WISDOM. 
 
 their  own  ways  ;  who  giveth  to  all  men  life,  and  breath,  and  all 
 things ;  who  will  give  to  ns,  who  have  the  word  of  His  grace, 
 the  inhentancSy  if  we  yield  up  our  hearts  to  the  sanctifjdng  in- 
 fluence of  all  the  riches  of  assured  understanding,  to  the  acknow- 
 ledgment of  the  mystery  of  God  the  Father,  and  Christ,  in  whom 
 are  hid  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge  (Col.  ii.  2,  3). 
 All  things  in  Him  are  already  ready  for  us ;  we  have  only  to 
 go  and  take  what  is  ours;  and  if  thy  feeble  faith  ask — Are  they 
 even  for  me  ?  St  James  says,  Who  giveth  to  everi/  man  or  to 
 all ;  for  giving  is  His  pleasure,  as  His  Son  has  told  us.  To  give 
 is  more  blessed  than  to  receive  (Acts  xx.  35).  Think,  O  evil 
 and  unthankful  man,  whether  thou  hast  not  received  many 
 good  things  in  thy  lifetime  even  without  prayer  !  Think,  thou 
 who  mayest  have  prayed  a  little,  whether  He  hath  not  heard 
 and  answered  thee  many  times  !  Thank  His  Father-name,  thou 
 who  canst  pray  in  the  name  of  Jesus  ;  glorify  the  Giver  with 
 ever-increasing  supplication,  that  thy  joy  may  be  full !  He 
 verily  will  not  be  weary  of  giving ;  for  He  giveth  liberally,  or 
 with  simplicity.  Thus  to  give  even  we  are  exhorted  by  St  Paul, 
 as  being  imitators  of  God  and  dear  children ;  and  what  is  his 
 meaning  in  that  place?  Let  him  that  hath  a  ministry,  or  a 
 teaching,  wait  on  his  ministering,  and  on  his  teaching ;  he  that  is 
 fit  to  rule,  let  him  rule  with  diligence  (Rom.  xii.  7,  8).  So  he 
 that  giveth  with  simplicity,  will  simply  give ;  it  will  be  a  pure, 
 unmingled  giving,  without  any  admixture.  Indeed,  evil  men 
 cannot,  before  grace  has  fundamentally  taught  them  to  under- 
 stand our  Lord's  saying,  give  with  simplicity ;  therefore,  al- 
 though selfishness  may  be  willing  to  receive  from  man,  pride 
 on  the  other  hand  often  forbids  it  to  ask,  resenting  the  being 
 placed  under  an  obligation  ;  and  we  cannot  but  acknowledge 
 something  right  in  the  poor  evil  man  who  is  ashamed  to  be  a 
 beggar  at  the  gate  of  the  wicked.  Men  either  give  gifts  which 
 are  not  good,  such  as  God  always  gives ;  or  they  give  them  not 
 wilHngly,  without  the  ready  heartiness  of  love.  At  men's  doors 
 there  must  be  long  and  frequent  knocking,  before  they  are  opened; 
 but  God  Himself  invites  and  entreats  us  to  come,  and  leaves  us 
 nothing  to  do  but  to  ask  for  the  abundance  of  His  gifts.  Men, 
 finally,  often  give  without  affection  and  grace,  spoiling  and 
 embittering  their  gifts  by  a  proud  and  repulsive  manner  of  giving ; 
 but  God  giveth  liberally  to  every  man,  and  uphraideth  not! 
 
JAMES  I.  5-8.  '  237 
 
 Not  that  He  invalidates  the  former  sin,  on  account  of  which 
 thou  art  not  worthy  to  receive  the  things  which  thou  askest ;  but 
 He  does  not  regard  and  rebuke  the  defect  of  distrust  or  pre- 
 sumption which  may  adhere  to  thy  prayer  ;  He  does  not  restrain 
 His  giving  because  of  the  future  unthankfuhiess  and  perver- 
 sion of  His  gifts  which  He  may  foresee.  When  He  upbraids, 
 this  is  the  matter  of  His  complaint,  that  we  do  not  come  to 
 receive  with  as  much  simplicity  as  that  with  which  He  is  ready 
 to  give  ;  as  He  said  to  David,  "  I  gave  thee  thus  and  thus  ;  and 
 if  that  had  been  too  little,  I  would  moreover  have  given  thee 
 such  and  such  things"  (2  Sam.  xii.  7,  8).  Let  not  him,  there- 
 fore, that  lacketh  anything  be  ashamed  before  this  throne  of 
 grace  ;  let  him  ask  of  this  giving  God  !  And  it  shall  he  given  him  ! 
 that  is  a  positive  declaration  of  a  most  certain  thing.  Surely 
 we  are  not  all  beyond  the  lack  of  anything  :  then  let  every  one 
 consider  what  is  wanting  to  himself.  Let  him  ash  I  is  con- 
 stantly, graciously,  and  abundantly  said — yet,  alas  !  we  ask  not. 
 Or,  if  we  ask,  we  receive  not — because  we  ash  amiss  (Jas.  iv.  3). 
 Thus  it  depends  upon  something  which  we  have  already  men- 
 tioned, and  shall  now  consider. 
 
 How  are  we  to  ask  ?  The  answer  is.  We  must  simply  ash,  and 
 that  as  of  God,  of  that  God  who  giveth  simply  to  every  man ; 
 that  is,  as  St  James  goes  on  to  say, — But  let  him  ask  in  faith  I 
 And  nothing  more  than  this  ?  Is  this  all  the  myster}'  of  this 
 most  important  business,  the  only  condition  on  which  it  is  sus- 
 pended ?  Is  it  not  added — In  humility  ?  This  indeed  is  self- 
 understood,  when  we  poor  sinners  really  ash  of  the  ^iost  High 
 God.  Is  it  not  added — With  befitting,  reverential,  rightly- 
 ordered  words  ?  No,  God  does  not  oppress  us  with  His  majesty. 
 He  not  so  much  marks  the  words  as  the  heart,  and  understands 
 everything,  however  unskilfully  we  may  frame  our  request.  But 
 should  we  not  add — With  earnest  vows  touching  the  right  use 
 of  His  gifts,  with  pledges  of  a  future  gratitude  ?  Brethren,  if 
 this  were  requisite,  then  would  no  man  receive  anything  from 
 God.  Thus,  in  fact,  one  thing  alone  is  necessary  :  "  Let  him 
 ask  in  faith,  in  confident  expectation,  that  I  will  to  hear  and  will 
 give  !"  That  is,  indeed,  giving  with  simplicity  !  O  that  every 
 one  who  knows  this  could  thus  ask  in  faith,  and  without  doubt- 
 ing I  Faith  is  a  certain  assurance,  in  which  man  does  not  doubt. 
 What  reason  is  there  for  doubting  ?    Here  is  the  invitation  of 
 
238  X       ASKING  FOE  WISDOM. 
 
 Him  who  is  Truth  to  every  man.  His  promising  word  is  a 
 pledge  and  direction  which  will  never  fail  him  who  reminds  the 
 Lord  of  His  word — Seek  ye  My  face.  If  ye  have  faith  and 
 doubt  not — saith  our  Lord — it  shall  be  done  according  to  your 
 word.  All  things  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  prayer,  believing, 
 ye  shall  receive  (Matt.  xxi.  21,  22)  ;  and  all  those  gifts  which  we 
 already  enjoy  are  so  many  proofs  and  pledges  of  the  freeness 
 with  which  God  giveth  eveiy thing.  He  giveth  like  a  father — 
 should  we  not  also  ask  as  children?  Childlike  faith  makes 
 not  many  words,  which  often  spring  from  a  kind  of  doubt,  and 
 would  bring  something  as  an  equivalent ;  which,  at  least,  are 
 not  simple  ashing  for  His  simple  gift.  Simple,  childlike  faith 
 in  prayer  consists  not  in  high  devotion  and  warm  feeling ;  it  is 
 nothing  but  believing  and  not  doubting  from  the  bottom  of  the 
 heart.  But  how  this  is,  we,  alas  !  know  less  by  sure  experience 
 than  by  its  opposite — the  unhappy  state  of  the  doubter. 
 
 Of  this  St  James  mom^nfully  speaks,  after  his  word  of 
 encouragement.  He  that  doubteth  is  like  a  wave  of  the  sea, 
 driven  of  the  wind  and  tossed.  The  wind  urges  the  wave  from 
 without,  and  it  is  urged  from  within  and  below  by  its  own  ever- 
 restless  nature  :  so  the  doubting  heart,  in  its  distraction  between 
 prayer  and  its  own  restless  thoughts,  which  will  never  suffer  the 
 Give  me  !  to  reach  the  full  energy  of  simple  asking.  A  doubt- 
 ing petitioner  offers  not  to  God  a  steady  hand  or  heart ;  so  that 
 He  cannot  deposit  in  it  His  gift : — that  is  the  first  reason.  And 
 the  second  is  obviously  this  : — The  great  God  will  not  give  to 
 those  who  dishonour  Him  with  doubts  before  His  face.  Let 
 not  such  a  man  think  that  he  will  receive  anything  from  the 
 Lord  I  For  that  honour,  at  least,  the  rich  Giver  will  have  from 
 us — that  we  confide  in  the  love  to  which  we  make  our  appeal. 
 To  faith  applies  in  its  fullest  sense  His  own  word — Them  that 
 honour  Me,  I  will  honour !  as  to  unbelief  applies  that  other 
 word — They  that  despise  Me  shall  be  lightly  esteemed  !  (1  Sam. 
 ii.  30).  Finally,  St  James  adds  a  third  ground  :  Even  if  God, 
 forgiving  the  doubt,  should  give,  in  the  superabundance  of  His 
 love,  anything  to  such  a  man,  it  would  be  to  him  as  good  as 
 not  given,  for  he  would  not  retain  and  improve  that  which  he 
 receives.  For  a  doubter,  properly  a  wavering-minded,  divided, 
 double-spirited  man,  is  unsteady  in  all  his  ways.  To  him  applies 
 the  rough  word  of  the  son  of  Sirach  :  "  The  inner  parts  of  a  fool 
 
JAMES  I.  9-12.  239 
 
 are  like  a  broken  vessel,  and  he  will  hold  no  knowledge  as  long 
 as  he  liveth"  (Ecclus.  xxi.  14).  What  is  obtained  in  and 
 through  doubt  is  lost  in  doubt ;  but  from  faith  to  faith  is  the 
 rule  of  the  true  recei^ing  and  stedfast  holding  fast  of  grace. 
 
 Does,  then,  this  severe  conclusion  take  away  again  all  the 
 consolation  of  the  gracious  promise  ?  God  forbid  !  We  should 
 not  give  up  all  asking  in  despair,  because  some  doubt  still 
 adheres  to  our  petition.  St  James  manifestly  speaks  only  of  a 
 predominant  believing  or  doubting,  which  rules  the  soul :  if 
 only  our  faith,  which  asks,  doubt  not,  the  weak  heart  may 
 have  many  assaults  which  disparage  not  the  reality  of  that  faith. 
 Our  faithful  Father  demands  not  of  His  children  perfection, 
 before  they  have  in  the  way  of  prayer  pressed  onward  to  it.  He 
 not  merely  hears  strong  faith  ;  all  actual  beheving  avails  as  such 
 before  Him.  Begin  therefore  boldly,  and  go  on  with  greater 
 boldness,  to  pray  thyself  into  perfect  faith  ;  let  thy  little  measure 
 of  faith  withstand  thy  doubt,  and  pray  against  its  being  reckoned 
 as  thine.  This  is  the  art  of  believing  supplication,  which  we 
 must  learn  by  perpetual  practice.  Thus,  then,  let  us  ask  of  God 
 all  that  is  lacking  to  us ;  especially  wisdom,  and  that  wisdom 
 which  trials  require.  Then  shall  we  more  and  more  abundantly 
 obtain  that  which  will  create  pure  joy. 
 
 m. 
 
 THE  KEJOICING  OF  THE  LOWLY  AND  THE  EXALTED. 
 
 (Ch.  i.  9-12.) 
 
 But  let  the  brother  of  low  degree  glory  in  his  exaltation :  but  the  rich,  in 
 that  he  is  made  low  :  because  as  the  flower  of  the  grass  he  shall  pass 
 away.  For  the  sun  is  no  sooner  risen  with  a  burning  heat,  but  it  withereth 
 the  grass,  and  the  flower  thereof  falleth,  and  the  grace  of  the  fashion  of 
 it  perisheth  :  so  also  shall  the  rich  man  fade  away  in  his  ways.  Blessed 
 is  the  man  that  endureth  temptation:  for  when  he  is  tried,  he  shall 
 receive  the  crown  of  life,  which  the  Lord  hath  promised  to  them  that 
 love  Him. 
 
 If  we  sought  to  do  justice  to  every  sentence  and  word  of 
 this  Epistle  we  should  be  for  ever  beginning  anew,  and  even 
 then  should  not  exhaust  the  fulness  of  any  one  of  them.  How 
 might  we  preach  on  that  single  ^^  all  joy  P^  which  resounds  in 
 
240     THE  RtJOICING  OF  THE  LOWLY  AIS'D  THE  EXALTED. 
 
 the  midst  of  onr  tribulation  !  What  an  amazing  word  is  that 
 connected  with  it —  Count  it  pure  joy  when  we  fall  into  tempta- 
 tions !  That  is  the  work  of  faith,  the  same  faith  by  which, 
 anticipating  the  future,  we  already  reckon  ourselves  dead  to  sin 
 and  alive  to  God  (Rom.  vi.  11).  Further,  pa^z>?ic<?  must  hold 
 fast  its  work,  and  accomplish  it  as  a  perfect  work;  thus  the 
 truly  fundamental  ivork  is  patience  and  waiting,  by  which  alone 
 we  become  perfect  and  entire.  How  much  might  be  said  upon 
 this  point  too  !  Similarly,  we  have  not  done  full  justice  to  the 
 paragraph  vers.  6-8  ;  for  St  James  speaks  very  significantly 
 concerning  doubting,  progressively  indicating  two  meanings 
 of  the  word :  first,  the  doubting  in  asking  simply ;  and  then 
 doubting  as  a  permanent  condition  or  character  of  a  man's  life 
 and  walk.  Of  the  former,  he  begins  by  saying :  He  that 
 doubteth,  even  in  this  individual  supplication — so  that  doubt 
 triumphs  over  the  faith,  instead  of  faith  triumphing  over  the 
 doubt — v^dll  not  at  least  in  this  petition  receive  anything.  For, 
 the  petitioner  who  would  receive  must  be  calm  before  God, 
 not  driven  hither  and  thither  like  a  wave  of  the  sea.  He  then 
 strengthens  this,  and  passes  •  over  to  the  second  meaning :  Let 
 not  that  man,  who  shows  himself  thus  a  doubter  before  God, 
 think  that  he  shall  receive  anything ;  that  is,  on  account  of  his 
 prayer,  which  was  in  reahty  no  prayer,  and  as  such  could  not 
 be  granted.  Else,  indeed,  how  much  do  we  all  receive  from  the 
 Lord  without  our  prayer,  not  only  in  earthly,  but  also  heavenly 
 gifts !  For,  how  otherwise  could  we  ever  extricate  ourselves 
 from  the  tribulation  and  sorrow  of  our  evil  unbelieving  heart? 
 Faith,  awakened  by  prevenient  gifts,  says.  This  was  of  thy 
 giving,  O  Lord!  and  thus  learns  to  ask  for  more.  But, 
 finally,  St  James  speaks  of  a  man,  who,  instead  of  being  a 
 man  in  the  energ}^  and  courage  of  faith,  continually  gives  up 
 half  his  heart  to  doubt ;  and  the  half-hearted  faith,  which  he 
 thinks  he  has,  is  therefore  none,  and  comes  to  nothing.  All 
 the  result  in  this  case  is  a  perpetual  wavering  and  vacillation  in 
 his  variable  and  distracted  way.  This  would  furnish  matter  for 
 a  specific  meditation ;  but  that  we  must  leave  to  those  who  would 
 prosecute  the  subject,  lest  it  should  too  long  interrupt  the  con- 
 nection of  the  Epistle.  Let  us  now  consider  how  the  demand 
 to  ask  is  followed  immediately  by  a  challenge  to  glorying. 
 
 Obviously  the  same  is  meant  that  is  written  elsewhere.  Let 
 
JAMES  I.  9-12.  241 
 
 iiim  that  glorietli  glory  in  the  Lord  !  (1  Cor.  i.  31).  St  James 
 expressly  directs  his  word  against  all  false  boasting  ;  for,  when 
 he  speaks  of  the  exaltation  of  the  lowly,  and  the  humiliation  of 
 the  rich,  he  makes  all  stand  on  the  same  level  before  God, 
 who  alone  exalts  and  lays  low.  He  that  asks  of  God  in  faith 
 shall  receive !  This  had  preceded,  and  accordingly  one  might 
 expect  to  hear — Let  him,  then,  to  whom  it  hath  been  given,  so 
 that  he  has  become  rich  in  gifts  and  graces,  not  glory;  but  the 
 word  takes  the  opposite  turn — But  let  the  brother  who  is  low 
 rejoice  in  his  exaltation  !  The  richj  on  the  other  hand,  receives 
 the  dii'ection,  as  warning  rather  than  encoui'agement.  Let  him 
 rejoice  in  his  being  made  low  !  And,  because  this  is  the  more 
 striking,  let  us  take  our  start  from  it  rather  than  the  former. 
 
 Are  we  to  understand  that  St  James  means  the  rich  in  the 
 ordinar)^,  external  meaning  of  the  word  ?  Doubtless  he  thinks 
 first  of  all  of  them,  as  the  continuation  of  the  discourse,  com- 
 pared with  other  passages  in  it  which  have  to  do  with  the  rich 
 of  this  world,  shows :  ch.  ii.  6,  7,  v.  1-5.  Particularly  in  that 
 last  closing  passage  he  predicts,  as  here  in  the  beginning,  though 
 much  more  keenly,  the  passing  away,  and  rusting,  and  perish- 
 ing of  all  their  possessions.  There  is  no  ground,  therefore, 
 of  boasting  in  them:  Let  not  the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches! 
 (Jer.  ix,  23).  Those  who  put  their  trust  in  their  riches  are 
 told  in  the  forty-ninth  Psalm,  that  as  man  abideth  not  in  his 
 honour,  but  must  leave  his  wealth  to  others,  while  his  own  soul 
 is  not  redeemed,  he  is  like  the  beast  which  perisheth — unless 
 he  have  that  wisdom  and  understanding  which  God  would 
 impart  to  both  low  and  high,  rich  and  poor  together.  "  As  the 
 flower  of  the  grass  he  shall  pass  away.  For  the  sun  is  no  sooner 
 risen  with  a  burning  heat,  but  it  withereth  the  grass,  and  the 
 flower  thereof  falleth,  and  the  grace  of  the  fashion  of  it 
 perisheth!"  How  often  is  this  the  case  during  the  course  of 
 the  rich  man's  life ;  how  certain  is  it  in  the  end  !  For  all  flesh 
 is  as  grass,  and  all  the  glory  of  man  as  the  flower  of  grass 
 (1  Pet.  i.  24).  Boast  not  thyself  then,  O  rich  man!  Thou 
 art  set  in  slippery  places  (Ps.  kxiii.  18).  In  the  midst  of  thy 
 business  (this  is  St  James'  word)  thou  shalt  fade  away :  while 
 forming  thy  plans  in  this  or  that  place  to  buy  and  sell,  thy  life 
 will  vanish  !  (ch.  iv.  13,  14).  But  of  such  rich  men  St  James 
 is  not  here  speaking;  he  refers  assuredly  to  a  brother  who  is  rich 
 
 Q 
 
242    THE  EEJOICING  OF  THE  LOWLY  AND  THE  EXALTED. 
 
 —  only  to  such  can  lie  attribute  a  boasting  or  rejoicing.  And 
 what  rejoicing?  Let  the  brother  that  is  rich  rejoice  that  he 
 is  made  low  I  Mark  that  well !  Rejoice  in  this^  that  thou 
 knowest  the  Lord,  wdio  dealeth  in  mercy  upon  earth,  and  giveth 
 grace  to  the  humble  ;  that  thou  hast  seen  the  danger,  and 
 escaped  the  snare  of  riches,  and  art  no  longer  a  camel  too 
 large  for  the  needle's  eye  ;  that  thou  hast  found  security 
 against  destruction,  and  a  better  hope  than  fleeting  riches  can 
 afford.  It  is  the  curse  of  all  w^hom  the  old  serpent  deceives  to 
 go  upon  the  earth  like  him,  and  like  him  to  eat  the  dust.  Re- 
 joice that  thou  hast  learned  this ;  rejoice  in  thy  lowliness  before 
 God  as  a  spiritually  poor  man,  who  is  not  wanting  in  His 
 spiritual  gifts  ;  so  that,  as  a  brother  of  the  poor,  thou  art  also  an 
 inheritor  of  the  kingdom,  and  rich  in  God  ! 
 
 Does  St  James'  word  further  mean,  only  taking  the  external 
 riches  as  a  figure,  a  spiritually  rich  man  too  ?  This  we  may 
 certainly  assume,  but  it  must  be  rightly  understood.  He  can- 
 not refer  to  the  Pharisee,  who  flatters  himself  in  the  riches  and 
 virtues  of  his  own  possession  ;  for  he  is  not  a  brother,  and  in  no 
 sense  made  low,  has  no  lowliness  in  which  he  may  rejoice.  He 
 means  the  Christian  who  is  a  true  believer  and  has  received 
 grace ;  and  distinctively  such  a  believer  as  is  already  beyond 
 others  rich  in  gifts.  And  to  him  he  warningly  says.  Rejoice 
 not  as  a  wise  man  in  thy  wdsdom,  as  a  strong  man  in  thy 
 strength,  as  a  rich  man  in  thy  riches;  rejoice  rather  in  the 
 Lord,  of  whose  mercy  and  grace  all  this  comes,  as  a  brother  of 
 the  blessed  wdio  glorify  God  in  all  His  gifts.  Fancy  not  that 
 thou  hast  securely  thine  own  what  has  been  given  thee ;  think 
 not  thyself  merely  in  thy  wisdom  a  teacher  of  others,  and  in 
 thy  fulness  a  giver  to  others  ,  forget  not  thyself  continually 
 anew  to  seek  grace  for  grace.  Otherwise  thou  rejoicest  in  thy 
 own  pride,  and  all  such  rejoicing  is  evil  (ch.  iv.  16).  Other- 
 wise, in  the  heat  of  temptation,  even  thy  spiritual  branch  will 
 fade  away ;  all  will  be  again  taken  from  thee  ;  and  thou  thyself 
 mayest  perish  in  thy  pride.  Take  David's  humility  before  the 
 ark  of  the  covenant  as  thy  pattern,  who  said  to  Saul's  proud 
 daughter  :  "  Before  the  Lord,  who  chose  me  before  thy  father, 
 will  I  play  and  rejoice ;  and  I  will  yet  be  more  vile  than  thus, 
 and  will  be  base  in  mine  own  sight ;  and  of  the  maid-servants 
 which  thou  hast  scorned  will  I  be  had  in  honom- !"  (2  Sam.  vi. 
 
JAMES  I.  9-12.  243 
 
 20,  21).  Note  well  what  is  still  lacking  in  thy  spiritual  riches  ; 
 and  learn  to  rejoice  most  gladly  in  thine  infirmities,  that  the 
 power  of  Christ  may  dwell  in  thee  (2  Cor.  xii.  9).  Then  alone 
 wilt  thou  be  able  safely  to  say  with  the  same  Apostle,  I  can  be 
 high  and  abound  without  loss  to  my  abasement  (Phil.  iv.  12). 
 Then  wilt  thou  say  with  the  Psalmist,  "  Lord,  my  heart  is  not 
 haughty,  nor  mine  eyes  lofty ;  neither  do  I  exercise  myself  in 
 great  matters,  or  in  things  too  high  for  me"  (Ps.  cxxxi.  1). 
 But  let  the  brother  who  has  been  rich,  and  has  not  retained  his 
 lowliness  of  heart,  take  shame  to  himself  instead  of  rejoicing ; 
 let  him  abase  himself,  and  be  clothed  again  with  humihty !  For 
 God  resisteth  the  proud,  while  He  giveth  grace  to  the  humble. 
 Therefore  the  exhortation  still  is — Humble  yourselves  under  the 
 hand  of  God,  and  He  will  exalt  you  (Jas.  iv.  6-10 ;  1  Pet.  v. 
 5,  6).  This  makes  the  high  and  the  rich  the  same  as  the  low 
 and  the  poor ;  and  so  must  it  be  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord. 
 
 But  let  the  brother  who  is  low  rejoice  in  that  he  is  exalted  I 
 This  we  shall  now  understand  aright,  and  no  longer  think  of 
 false  self-exaltation.  Those  who  humble  themselves  will  God 
 exalt  m  due  time.  And  this  time  is  for  faith  already  come. 
 This  word  loiv  is  certainly  meant  by  St  James  in  the  spiritual 
 sense ;  he  intends  it  for  consolation,  because  he  has  so  sharply 
 distinguished  between  faith  and  doubt  that  many  a  poor,  weak 
 brother  might  be  made  anxious  by  his  words.  Is  thy  faith  yet 
 weak  ?  Is  this  among  the  hardest  of  thy  trials,  that  thou  art 
 still  inwardly  assaulted  by  unbelief  and  doubt  1  that  thou  art 
 not  as  rich  in  the  prayed-for  wisdom  and  patience  as  thou  fain 
 wouldst  be  I  Nevertheless,  if  thou  hast  any  faith  at  all,  let  it 
 inspire  thee  with  a  cheerful  courage ;  for  to  the  poor,  who  as 
 yet  have  nothing,  is  promised  all  things ;  they  shall  assuredly 
 receive  all  they  need,  if  they  mourn  over  sin,  and  hunger  and 
 thirst  after  righteousness.  Blessed  is  that  glorying  which  rises 
 out  of  deep  lowliness  into  the  exaltation  of  God  :  I  may  and  I 
 can  ask  and  receive ;  what  my  faith  hopes  to  receive  it  hath 
 already;  I  am  poor  in  myself,  but  rich  in  God! — And  art  thou 
 in  this  state  of  mind  poor  and  lowly  in  external  things  ?  Thou 
 art  nevertheless  a  brother ;  and  every  rich  man  who,  from  a 
 false  respect  of  persons,  fails  to  recognise  thee  as  such,  will  be 
 liable  to  condemnation  for  that.  Be  not  anxious,  as  if  thy 
 God,  who  giveth  thee  the  kingdom,  could  neglect  or  forsake 
 
244     THE  REJOICING  OF  THE  LOWLY  AND  THE  EXALTE1>. 
 
 thee.  If  thou  hast  chosen  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  the  better  part, 
 it  shall  never  be  taken  from  thee  throughout  eternity.  O  how 
 high  and  glorious  is  thy  inheritance  !  Continue  only  to  ask  for 
 the  enlightenment  of  the  eyes  of  thine  understandinir^  that  thou 
 mayest  know  what  is  the  hope  of  thy  calling,  what  the  glorious 
 riches  of  His  inheritance  in  the  saints,  and  what  the  exceeding 
 greatness  of  His  power  in  thee,  who  helievest  I  (Eph.  i.  18,  19). 
 Brethren,  can  ye  all  thus  in  your  lowliness  rejoice  in  being 
 exalted? — Alas!  St  James,  with  all  his  graciousness,  sets  before 
 us  a  very  hard  problem ;  it  is  not  so  easy  to  reach  this  end, 
 which  is  itself  the  very  simpHcity  of  faith,  looking  solely  and 
 undistractedly  at  grace  and  the  goal  of  it.  We  should  all  con- 
 template this  from  the  weakest  beginning  of  our  faith  ;  and  go 
 on  to  learn  more  and  more  how  to  make  this  our  sole  glorying. 
 But  such  lowly  ones  we  become,  and  such  glorying  we  can 
 rejoice  in,  when  God  not  only  humbles  us  by  His  Holy  Spirit, 
 that  He  may  exalt  us,  but  also  lays  His  mighty  hand  upon  us  in 
 trials.  Therefore  St  James  speaks  at  once  of  this  latter  ;  and 
 thus  returns  back  again  to  his  first  topic. 
 
 As  certainly  as  the  faithful  God,  the  God  of  all  grace,  who 
 hath  called  us  to  His  eternal  glory,  will  prepare  us  fully  for 
 that  glory,  so  certainly  does  He  make  it  necessary  that  we 
 should  suffer  a  while  (1  Pet.  v.  10).  Woe,  and  nothing  but 
 woe,  upon  the  guilty  head  of  the  man  whose  own  fault  it  is 
 that  he  is  double-minded  and  unstable  in  all  his  ways !  But 
 blessed  is  the  man  wlio  endureth  temptation,  who  abides  the  test, 
 and  who  is  confirmed  as  a  man  of  strong  faith  by  the  obedience 
 of  suffering !  We  must  all,  well  or  ill,  experience  chastisement, 
 for  God  dealeth  with  us  all  as  with  children  (Heb.  xii.  7). 
 Therefore  St  James  comprehends  all  the  manifold  temptations 
 in  one ;  speaks  of  the  trial  as  the  certain  portion  of  eveiy  one, 
 and  already  his  portion,  during  the  earthly  probationship.  God 
 draws  His  children  in  mass  towards  the  heavenly  inheritance, 
 humbling  and  purifying  them  to  that  end  ;  He  measures  out  to 
 each  the  trial  which  with  the  supreme  wisdom  of  love  has  been 
 appointed  to  him,  while  to  all  is  measured  out,  according  to 
 their  ability  and  vocation,  the  equal  temptation,  in  perfect  right- 
 eousness. Especially  let  every  rich  and  exalted  man  know 
 this,  and  understand,  and  make  good  use  of  his  own !  If  in  the 
 burning  heat  his  godliness  passes  away,  so  that  he  may  think 
 
JAMES  I.  9-12.  245 
 
 himself  rejected,  even  that  may  tui'n  to  his  salvation.  If  he 
 mark  before  it  is  too  late  that  one  thing  had  been  lacking  to 
 him,  because  he  was  not  willing  to  sell  all  that  he  had ;  if  he 
 surrenders  himself  into  the  hands  of  God,  and  submits  to  the 
 spoiling  of  his  goods,  and  learns  the  discipleship  of  the  cross 
 — blessed  is  that  man  !  This  is  a  better  glorying  than  tlie 
 former.  The  blind,  proud  world  gives  the  name  of  man  to 
 him  who  proudly  defies  suffering,  who  relaxes  not  his  false, 
 hard  courage ;  but  "  the  patient  in  spirit  is  better  than  the 
 proud  in  spirit "  (Eccles.  vii.  8),  and  the  true  patience  of  faith, 
 which  is  found  in  the  deepest  humility  before  God,  alone  brings 
 a  good  end.  Woe  to  the  man  who  will  not  become  of  a  lowly 
 heart  when  God  in  fidelity  humbles  him  ;  who  will  not  become 
 subject  to  the  Father  of  spirits,  that  the  fatherly  chastisement 
 may  do  him  good  1  Trial  comes  to  us  all ;  but  it  is  the  right 
 deportment  in  trial,  the  enduring,  which  alone  brings  the  final 
 confirmation  of  faith.  And  again,  thou  canst  not  be  a  crowned 
 victor  until  after  thou  hast  been  thus  tested  and  approved.  It 
 is  but  a  short  period  of  conflict ;  the  one  test,  after  which  there 
 is  no  probation,  but  thou  shalt  receive  the  inheritance  incor- 
 ruptible, undefiled,  and  that  passeth  not  away.  When  it  is 
 said — Blessed  is  the  man  !  that  is  an  abiding  and  effectual 
 glorjdng.  But  do  not  rejoice  too  soon;  death  will  perhaps  bring 
 to  thee  a  last  trial,  and  it  vrill  depend  upon  that.  Arm  thyself 
 well  through  patience  against  that;  exercise  thyself  well  in  that 
 faith  which  presences  its  confidence  in  i]iQ  promise  of  eternal 
 truth,  the  fidelity  of  which  is  the  prop  of  our  hope.  If  we  hold 
 fast  the  confidence  and  rejoicing  of  hope  firm  unto  the  end! 
 (Heb.  iii.  6).  All  true  glorj^ng,  which  maketh  not  ashamed,  is 
 the  glorying  of  hope  ;  all  hope  refers  to  the  future  glory,  which 
 God  will  give  (Eom.  v.  2) :  He  will  give  it  to  those  to  whom  He 
 has  promised  it :  to  those  who  love  Him.  This  is,  finally,  the 
 inmost  strength  and  victorious  energy  of  faith  in  patience,  not 
 to  be  separated  from  the  love  of  God,  to  yield  ourselves  up  so 
 fully  to  that  love  that  it  may  be  perfectly  shed  abroad  in  us  unto 
 a  perfect  love  in  return ;  that  we  learn  at  last  to  merge  all  in 
 this  one  tribute  of  gloiy  to  Him  —  Thou  hast  loved  us,  and 
 washed  us  from  our  sins  !  Therefore,  let  us  not  love  the  world, 
 but  the  Father;  not  love  our  own  life  unto  death;  but  count  all 
 things  pure  joy  which  may  help  to  win  oiu*  love  from  ourselves, 
 
246  THE  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  EVIL. 
 
 and  fix  it  upon  Him  who  hath  loved  us :  so  shall  we  receive  the 
 crown  of  life ! 
 
 IV. 
 
 THE  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  EVIL. 
 (Ch.  i.  13-15.) 
 
 Let  no  man  say,  when  he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  God  :  for  God  cannot 
 be  tempted  with  evil,  neither  tempteth  He  any  man  :  but  every  man  is 
 tempted,  when  he  is  drawn  away  of  his  own  lust,  and  enticed.  Then, 
 when  lust  hath  conceived,  it  bringeth  forth  sin  ;  and  sin,  when  it  is 
 finished,  bringeth  forth  death. 
 
 St  James  has  spoken  of  manifold  trials,  and  then  of  the 
 one  great  trial  of  the  whole  of  life,  in  which  fidelity  is  to  be 
 confirmed  to  the  end.  The  word  in  the  original  is  the  same 
 with  our  "  tempfatioTiy^  and  there  is  a  strict  connection  between 
 the  two  :  every  trial  tempts  me  in  such  a  manner  that  I  may 
 fall  in  it,  and  fail  to  be  approved,  and  lose  again  the  crown  of 
 which  I  thought  myself  sure ;  on  the  other  hand,  every  tempta- 
 tion may,  as  a  trial,  be  endured  and  victoriously  overcome. 
 Nevertheless,  there  remains  a  great  difference  between  these  two 
 aspects  of  the  same  thing,  a  difference  which  our  Epistle  now 
 begins  to  disclose,  in  order  to  obviate  all  misconception,  and  at  the 
 same  time  to  exhibit  the  first  firm  fundamental  principles  of  that 
 wisdom  which  had  been  previously  spoken  of.  That  there  is  a 
 necessity  for  our  all  being  tested  and  approved  through  trial, 
 springs  from  our  sin ;  the  tempting  element  in  our  trial,  the 
 evil  in  it,  springs  therefore  from  that,  and  not  from  God.  The 
 important  point  here  is  rightly  to  Imow  and  distinguish  between 
 sin  and  grace,  evil  and  good.  The  suffering  of  trial  itself  leads  us 
 deeper  and  deeper  into  the  living  experience  of  this  distinction ; 
 yet  we  should  know  that  distinction  beforehand,  in  order  not 
 to  be  led  astray.  Therefore  St  James  proceeds  to  speak  of  this ; 
 and  testifies  that  evil,  or  even  tendency  to  evil,  comes  by  no 
 means  from  God,  the  Giver  of  every  good  gift,  the  Father  of 
 light.  As  to  this  most  important  fundamental  truth  he  cries  in 
 aifectionate  warning  :  Do  not  err,  my  beloved  brethren  !  His 
 words  concerning  evil  and  concerning  good,  vers.  13-18,  are 
 
JAMES  I.  13-15.  247 
 
 Strictly  connected  ;  but  let  us  first  consider  how  he  here  teaches 
 us  the  most  essential  and  inmost  origin  and  the  final  end  of  evil. 
 
 The  origin  of  evil  is  absolutely  and  assuredly  not  of  God! 
 That  philosophy  which  will  not  accept  the  doctrine  of  the  Fall  in 
 Scripture  tends  to  make  its  so-called  God  the  Father  of  darkness 
 as  well  as  of  light.  But  there  are  many  who  know  not  that  philo- 
 sophy, who  can  scarcely  understand  it  when  proposed  to  them, 
 who  have  no  other  answer  for  the  question,  Whence  come  the 
 tares  f  but.  An  enemy  hath  done  this  !  and  yet  err,  and  need  the 
 earnest  warning,  necessary  to  us  all — Let  no  man  say,  when  he 
 is  tempted,  that  he  is  tempted  of  God  I  That  is,  tempted  to 
 evil ;  for  God  tempts  us  to  good  for  ever.  But  we  all  do  say 
 so  naturally  ;  it  is  the  deep-rooted  delusion  of  our  pride.  The 
 natural  man  stiff-neckedly  strives  in  every  way  to  justify  him- 
 self, that  is,  in  the  end  to  lay  the  fault  upon  God ;  even  as  the 
 pleas  of  the  "  man"  throughout  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  con- 
 tinue down  to  the  last— Why  doth  He  then  find  fault  ?  Who 
 can  withstand  His  will?  (Rom.  ix.  10).  Even  in  Paradise  the 
 deceitfulness  of  the  first  sin  at  once  so  far  obscured  the  per- 
 ception of  God,  that  the  fallen  pair  hide  themselves  from  their 
 Creator,  and  would  excuse  themselves  before  their  Judge. 
 Adam  said — "  The  woman  whom  Thou  gavest  me;"  that  is, 
 "  Thou  Thyself  art  the  cause  of  my  sin !"  Eve  said—"  The 
 serpent ;"  that  is,  again,  "  That  which  came  from  Thyself,  and 
 not  from  us  !  Wherefore  didst  Thou  make  it,  or  leave  it  in 
 our  Paradise?"  Alas!  since  then  all  then:  descendants  have 
 done  the  same  :  every  man,  from  whom  this  vain  imagination  is 
 not  thoroughly  eradicated,  rests  at  least  unconsciously  upon  this 
 secret  pillow  of  evil  excuse,  which  God  at  last  appeals  against 
 and  condemns. 
 
 So  speak  the  tempted,  if  not  with  their  lips,  yet  in  their 
 hearts ;  instead  of  learning,  in  the  patience  of  approved  faith, 
 that  the  trial  will,  in  God's  purpose  and  will,  tend  to  salvation. 
 If  that  end  is  not  attained  in  the  case  of  many,  who  fall  in  the 
 trial— that  was  not  of  God!  The  sincere  should  in  faith 
 firmly  hold  fast  the  comiction  that  God  is  faithful,  who  will 
 not  suffer  them  to  be  tempted  above  what  they  are  able,  but 
 with  the  temptation  open  a  way  of  escape,  that  they  may  be 
 able  to  bear  it  (1  Cor.  x.  13).  And  when  it  seems  to  go  be- 
 yond human  ability  to  bear,  even  then  God  imparts  with  the 
 
248  THE  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  EVIL. 
 
 test  the  power  also  to  sustain  it,  through  His  own  abihty.  This 
 He  does  assuredly  always  and  everywhere;  this  wdll  the  approved 
 in  temptation  one  day  exhibit  to  the  lost  in  their  own  experience. 
 
 Thus  thy  sin  is  not  through  fault  in  God,  or  to  be  attributed 
 to  His  will.  As  He  Himself  is  in  His  purity  untemptahle  of 
 evil  (this  is  St  James'  word),  so  also  He  tempts  no  man  thus, 
 that  is,  that  he  should  or  must  will  or  act  evil,  commit  sin  and 
 fall.  Yet  those  who  are  led  into  error  say  thus  :  all  their  ex- 
 cuses amount  to  this  in  the  end — Eolations  and  circumstances 
 were  so  adverse ;  others  allured  and  deceived  me ;  these  or  those 
 things,  these  or  those  persons,  were  in  fault.  And  wdiat  is  this 
 but  a  repetition  of  our  progenitors'  words  to  God — Thou  Thy- 
 self didst  order,  permit,  and  ordain  it  thus !  Hear,  on  the  con- 
 trary, the  wisdom  of  the  son  of  Sirach :  "  Say  not  thou,  It  is 
 through  the  Lord  that  I  fell  away  :  for  thou,  oughtest  not  to  do 
 the  things  that  He  hateth.  Say  not  thou.  He  hath  caused  me 
 to  err :  for  He  hath  no  need  of  the  sinful  man"  (Ecclus.  xv. 
 11,  12).  Probably,  those  who  mislead  thee  would  retort,  and 
 lay  thy  guilt  upon  thine  own  ready  sympathy  and  complicity 
 with  their  sin ;  or  the  misleader,  whom  thou  blame  st,  might 
 with  perfect  right  say —  If  there  had  been  in  thee  no  tinder  for 
 my  spark,  it  would  not  have  set  thee  on  fire  !  The  heart  and  will 
 of  a  man  (in  which  alone  sin  can  be  found)  is  as  a  fast  fortress, 
 which  no  enemy  from  without  can  subdue,  if  no  traitor  within 
 opens  its  gates.  How  many  there  are  who  make  that  sure 
 enough  in  regard  to  some  things  in  which  they  will  not  be  over- 
 come; they  can  say.  This  I  will  not  do!  Why  not,  therefore,  in 
 regard  to  the  seduction  to  sin,  into  which  thou  shouldst  not  enter  ? 
 
 That  is  most  true,  say  or  think  these  sinners ;  but  what  can  I 
 do  in  the  weakness  of  my  smf  ul  nature,  in  the  flesh  with  which  I 
 was  born,  in  my  inherited  tendency  to  sin  ?  Many  boldly  hold 
 to  this,  and  in  one  way  or  another  press  their  claim  for  justi- 
 fication. Either  they  say — Why  does  He  demand  a  holiness 
 from  us,  which  is  impossible  to  our  ruined  nature  ?  Or,  on  the 
 other  side — We  have  a  good  intention,  and  all  our  sinning  is  only 
 weakness  and  not  sin  !  Such  wicked  sophistry  adheres  secretly 
 to  us  all,  and,  thus  exhibited,  is  precisely  like  the  word  of  Adam — 
 The  woman  whom  Thou  gavest  me  as  a  companion  !  Our  flesh, 
 our  weakness,  has  become  to  us  in  reality  as  necessary  and  as  dear 
 as  to  him  Eve,  when  what  she  gave  him  he  ate — and  accord 
 
JAMES  I.  13-15.  249 
 
 ingly  laid  to  her  the  sin  of  all !  But  God  gave  her  to  him  as  a 
 help-meet,  and  not  as  a  seducer ;  that  she  became  the  latter  was 
 neither  the  act  of  God's  creation  nor  His  will.  So  with  all 
 upon  which  we  would  throw  the  guilt  of  our  own  sin,  from  the 
 heaviest  temptation  and  the  most  urgent  seduction  dovra  to  the 
 seducer  within  ourselves,  God  made  it  not  for  temptation.  He 
 did  indeed  create  Adam  in  such  a  manner  that  even  in  Paradise 
 test  through  commandment  was  needful  and  salutary ;  but  he 
 might  as  certainly  have  stood  in  the  test  as  he  actually  fell  in  it. 
 
 The  commandment  or  the  prohibition  was  not  in  fault,  as 
 if  he  might  have  been  able  to  say — Wherefore  hast  Thou  then 
 -forbidden  this  one  tree?  or.  Wherefore  didst  Thou  not  hedge 
 it  round  with  terrors  of  death  ?^  as  if  the  eatinof  of  the  tree 
 was  the  sin,  and  not  the  lust  to  eat  thereof !  as  if  the  freedom 
 of  the  created  spirit  and  will  might  not  be  subjected  to  the  holy 
 law  of  obedience  towards  the  Creator,  even  as  it  contradicted 
 that  law !  Our  sin  is  not  occasioned  and  rendered  sinful  by  the 
 law,  which  God  should  rather  not  have  imposed  upon  us ;  nor 
 by  the  devil,  whose  seduction  may  have  laid  force  upon  our  wills, 
 or  could  have  done  so.  The  law  is  not  sin,  but  is  holy ;  His 
 commandment  is  holy,  just,  and  good.  But  the  sin  which  al- 
 ready exists  takes  occasion  by  the  commandment,  and  excites 
 lust;  it  is  by  the  commandment  made  known  and  manifest 
 (Rom.  vii.  7-13).  The  devil — of  whose  fall  St  James  here  says 
 nothing,  because  he  has  to  do  with  man's  lust  and  sin,  but  of 
 whom  he  is  well  aware — is  a  seducer  indeed,  but  only  a  seducer ; 
 and  all  who  have  fallen  under  his  temptation  into  evil  from  the 
 beginning,  have  from  the  beginning  received  the  word — "  Sub- 
 mit yourselves  unto  God ;  resist  the  de\dl,  and  he  vnW  flee  from 
 you"  (Jas.  iv.  7).  Eve  could  only  say — The  serpent  deceived 
 me ;  not — The  serpent  compelled  me.  What  was  in  her  the 
 temptation,  which  admitted  and  received  the  deception,  the  lie 
 of  the  tempter  against  God's  word,  but  her  lust  ? 
 
 Every  man  is  tempted,  when  he  is  enticed  and  led  away  of 
 his  own  lust :  this  is  the  inmost  original  and  source  of  all  evil. 
 Evil  is  for  ever — as  opposed  to  God — the  own  possession  of  the 
 creature.     When  Satan  speaketh  a  lie,  he  speaketh  of  his  o^^^l 
 
 1  As  in  2  Esdras  vii.  46  :  "  This  is  my  first  and  last  saying,  that  it  had 
 been  better  not  to  have  given  the  earth  unto  Adam :  or  else,  when  it  was 
 given  him,  to  have  restrained  him  from  sinning." 
 
250  THE  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  EVIL. 
 
 (John  viii.  44).  When  we  are  deceived  by  him,  it  is  through 
 our  own  will,  and  our  own  lust.  Nothing  from  without  can  bring 
 sin  into  any  will.  It  w^as  not  the  tree  standing  before  her  eyes 
 which  wrought  Eve  the  harm ;  she  might  have  beheld  it  in  the 
 fear  of  obedience,  in  the  conviction  of  faith — that  it  would  be  evil 
 to  eat  of  it,  and  therefore  that  it  was  not  a  tree  pleasant  to  the  eye. 
 And  if  it  had  been  a  tree  of  poison.  He  who  placed  it  in  the 
 garden,  mth  the  deadly  superscription  over  it,  surely  did  not 
 constrain  to  touch  it.  It  was  not  the  serpent  which  bewitched 
 Eve,  as  men  say  that  the  glance  of  serpents  will  constrain  birds 
 and  small  creatures  to  enter  their  jaws.  Om-  mother  knew  well 
 what  God  had  said,  and  might  have  adhered  to  it ;  as  the  little 
 child  in  the  garden  may  answer  to  those  who  would  entice  it  to 
 the  forbidden  tree — My  father  has  told  me  that  this  is  poison. 
 But  she  believed  the  serpent,  disbelieving  God's  word,  and  in 
 the  curiosity  of  pride !  So  in  every  sin  of  ours,  it  is  not  the 
 enticement  of  any  object  or  of  any  word  from  without,  but  his 
 own  lust,  of  which  any  man  is  tempted.  That  is,  any  man  among 
 us  sinful  men ;  that  St  James  mil  not  include  the  Redeemer  is 
 obvious  of  itself.  Christ  was  indeed  for  us  all  the  Man  of  faith, 
 approved  in  trial  and  temptation,  the  Captain  of  obedience ; 
 but  His  being  tempted  was  without  sin ;  in  His  unsinful  in- 
 firmity the  strength  of  God  conquered  with  that  absolute  victory 
 to  which  alone  the  crown  is  really  and  of  pure  right  due.  We 
 who  are  conceived  of  sinful  seed  have  something  beyond  the 
 weakness  which  adheres  to  being  born  of  woman. 
 
 Nevertheless,  every  man's  own  lust,  though  his  own  from 
 birth,  is  no  compulsion  to  him.  Although  every  man  may  have 
 in  a  still  more  specific  sense,  according  to  the  temperament  and 
 inherited  tendency  of  his  body  and  soul,  his  own  lust,  he  him- 
 self, who  finds  and  feels  it  in  his  nature,  is  not  one  with  it ; 
 man's  lusts  are  not  like  the  instincts  of  animals.  St  James  says, 
 and  rightly,  only  "  drawn  away  and  enticedP  Further,  let  it  be 
 carefully  noted,  he  does  not  say  that  this  being  drawn  away  and 
 enticed  is  itself  sin ;  but — is  tempted  to  sin ;  by  no  means — 
 he  sinneth  J  He  only  lays  bare  the  source  from  which  afterwards 
 sin  flows,  if  it  has  free  course,  and  if  the  lust  impregnated  by 
 the  will  brings  forth.  In  the  lust,  which  is  now  our  own  to  us 
 all,  so  that  we  must  all  suffer  it,  is  our  Eve  as  it  were  exhibited ; 
 if  Adam,  the  will  of  the  spirit,  instead  of  showing  himself  lord, 
 
JA3IES  I.  13-15.  251 
 
 succumbs  and  follows  her  bidding,  then  in  every  new  instance 
 a  new  Fall  as  it  were  takes  place.  This  internal  consent  with 
 the  lust  is  the  first  essential  sin.  If  God  said  to  Cain,  "  Let 
 not  thy  desire  have  its  will,  but  thou  shalt  rule  over  it !"  when 
 sin  nevertheless  was  already  at  the  door  of  his  evil  and  in- 
 creasingly evil  heart, — how  much  more  apphcable  will  be  the 
 universal  commandment  to  every  one,  who  has  a  personal  lust 
 of  his  own,  Thou  shalt  not  lust !  But  if  we  give  to  the  desu'e 
 its  will,  or  rather  yield  up  our  will  to  it,  and  become  one  with 
 it,  then  it  becomes  perfect  lust,  which  the  conceiving  desire  could 
 thus  alone  bring  forth.  But  the  lust  of  the  ^vill  is  alone  the  true 
 and  proper  sin,  not  the  external  act,  before  which  in  every  case 
 the  same  sin  has  been  accomplished  in  heart.  The  thief  must 
 confess  with  Achan,  '^  I  coveted  them  and  took  them"  (Josh. 
 vii.  21).  The  adulterer  or  murderer  in  act  was  previously  such 
 in  mind.  What  if,  when  Eve  put  her  hand  forth  to  take  the 
 fruit,  a  thunderbolt  from  God  had  struck  her  hand  back  ?  She 
 would  nevertheless  have  accomphshed  the  transgression ;  even 
 as  Abraham,  on  the  other  hand,  had  accomplished  the  sacrifice 
 of  his  son  when  he  stretched  out  his  hand  and  took  the  knife. 
 K,  on  the  fall  of  Satan,  one  of  the  angels,  instead  of  crying  with 
 Michael,  Who  is  like  God  ?  had  secretly  consented  and  said  in 
 heart,  /  also  would  I  he  would  thereby  have  been  an  angel  no 
 longer,  but  a  devil.  Thus  there  is  with  us  the  secret  compla- 
 cency with  others'  sins,  which  makes  us  partakers  of  their  guilt. 
 They  have  pleasure  in  those  that  do  them,  saith  the  Apostle 
 (Rom.  i.  32).  Yea,  verily,  there  are  many  who  are  secretly 
 envious  at  others'  enjoyment  of  the  sin,  which  they  themselves 
 denounce  in  judgment  and  rebuke;  their  denim ciation  is  bitter  be- 
 cause their  hearts  are  saying — If  there  were  no  commandment, 
 and  no  disgrace,  I  also  would  do  the  same !  They  most  assuredly 
 condemn  themselves,  even  in  then-  condemnation  of  others. 
 
 We  know  by  experience  that  our  own  lust  is  stirred  from 
 the  beginning  in  earhest  infancy,  and  that  the  rising  of  it  is 
 exhibited  in  every  child ;  but  we  too  often,  alas !  overlook — and 
 in  this  particular  the  deniers  of  original  sin  have  some  ground 
 of  right — that  freedom  to  overcome  this  lust  is  also  present  from 
 the  beginning.  Only  set  before  the  child  a  stronger  enticement ; 
 impress  upon  him  a  mighty  fear  of  peril  and  punishment ;  let 
 the  victorious  love  to  his  parents  oppose  his  desires,  and  those 
 
252  THE  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  EVIL. 
 
 desires  will  be  often  overcome :  but  what  it  is  capable  of  doing 
 once,  that  it  must  always  be  capable  of  doing.  Therefore,  if 
 thou,  poor,  weak,  sinful  man,  who  hast  grown  up  in  thy  sin, 
 sayest,  "  I  am  now  such  and  such !"  in  that  thou  art  right.  But 
 if  thou  goest  further  in  thy  bold  excuse,  "  What  else  can  I 
 do?  did  I  make  myself?"  in  that  thou  art  only  half  right,  and 
 already  art  more  than  half  wrong.  But  if  thou  wouldst,  con- 
 trary to  St  James'  warning,  go  to  the  whole  extreme,  and  say, 
 "  Why  has  God  so  made  me,  or  suffered  me  to  become  Avhat  I 
 am?"  thy  wrong  is  altogether  without  any  semblance  of  right. 
 God  suffered  thee  to  be  born  with  thy  own  lust,  but  also  with 
 the  same  word  in  thy  conscience  which  He  spoke  to  Cain.  Hast 
 thou  withstood  thy  lust,  as  in  the  beginning  thou  mightest  have 
 done  ?  We  have  all  increased  for  ourselves  our  original  sin  ; 
 strictly  speaking,  we  have  for  ourselves  made  it  our  own  actual 
 sin  in  the  will.  The  present  lust  of  every  one  has  not  become 
 so  strong  without  a  multitude  of  compliances,  and  these  have 
 made  it  now  subject  to  their  law ;  the  conception  and  birth, 
 then  the  growth  of  sin  to  strength  in  acts,  has  become  new  in 
 every  individual  through  his  own  personal  guilt.  The  possi- 
 bility that  a  descendant  of  Adam  should  from  the  beginning 
 withstand  his  lusts,  must  on  the  one  hand  be  admitted,  on  ac- 
 count of  the  freedom  of  the  will ;  although  on  other  grounds  it 
 has  never  become  an  actual  reality.  Here  we  must  pause  with 
 the  word  of  St  James,  without  any  such  further  pondering  as 
 might  lead  us  to  one-sided  dogmatics.  He  teaches  us  the  same 
 as  the  song  of  Moses  expressed :  "  A  God  of  truth  and  without 
 iniquity,  just  and  right  is  He.  Men  have  corrupted  them- 
 selves ;  their  spot  is  not  the  spot  of  His  children — that  they  are 
 not  His  children,  that  is  their  own  blot; — they  are  a  perverse  and 
 crooked  generation"  (Deut.  xxxii.  4,  5). 
 
 What  then  is  to  be  done,  since  it  is  actually  thus  with  us  all  ? 
 smce  in  us  all  sin  has  conceived  and  has  brought  forth  sin  ?  We 
 must  cry  to  Him  for  help,  who  did  not  make  and  hath  no  plea- 
 sure in  sin,  from  whom  all  good  and  no  evil  comes.  This  certainly 
 we  can  do.  Even  a  heathen  may  do  this  ;  and  it  sometimes  oc- 
 curs that  he  finds  grace  even  in  the  midst  of  his  deep  darkness. 
 But  to  us  as  Christians,  to  whom  help  is  offered  and  most  freely 
 preached,  the  duty  is  to  lay  hold  upon  this  help  I  And  to  what 
 end  must  we  lay  hold  of  and  use  this  help  ?     In  order  that  we 
 
JAMES  I.  13-15.  253 
 
 may  continually  cut  off  the  sins  which  continually  grow,  in  word 
 and  deed  ?  That  we  may  attain  to  a  so-called  virtue,  which  we 
 shall  neither  speak  nor  do  that  which  is  evil?  Oh  no,  dear 
 brethren  !  The  axe  must  be  laid  at  the  root ;  the  root  must  be 
 rooted  out;  otherwise  the  fruit  of  evil  must  continually  re- 
 appear. Lust  bringeth  forth  sin ;  that  is,  according  to  St  James' 
 true  word,  not  the  sin  of  word  or  act,  but  the  first  and  proper 
 sin  of  the  heart.  Say  not  that  thy  consent  to  lust  is  not  of  itself 
 sin !  If  thou  so  think,  and  therefore  suffer  and  trifle  with 
 such  inward  consent,  woe  unto  thee !  That  is  opening  the  door, 
 in  the  vain  delusion  that  the  enemy  will  not  enter ;  it  is  to  seek 
 to  dry  up  the  swelling  watercourse  without  damming  up  its 
 source.  The  spark,  if  it  falls  upon  the  tinder,  must  needs  kindle 
 fire.  The  seed  is  in  the  soil,  and  how  should  it  not  grow !  It  is 
 with  sin  as  with  conception  and  birth  :  as  the  child  is  born  at  its 
 time,  because  it  was  already  in  the  mother's  womb,  so  does  the 
 sin  exhibit  itself  when  lust  has  conceived  by  the  will.  As  the 
 child,  when  bom,  grows  and  thrives,  and  at  first  very  rapidly,  so 
 does  the  sin  born  in  the  heart  grow  and  thrive  in  the  life.  No 
 weed  sprouts  so  strong  and  quickly,  no  water  gushes  so  abun- 
 dantly, no  fire  burns  so  devouringly,  as  sin.  See  how  sin,  even 
 from  Adam  to  Cain,  had  grown  up  to  murder  and  defiance  of 
 God !  See  how  it  then  waxed  down  to  the  death  of  all  flesh  in 
 the  judgment  of  the  flood !  So  is  it  still  with  every  one  :  in  the 
 inmost  principle  of  evil — if  the  grace  of  God  do  not  hinder  it — 
 there  already  lies  the  whole  way  of  ruin  down  to  the  Jinal  end. 
 
 But  sin,  when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death  !  About 
 this  only  a  short,  but  solemn  word,  as  in  the  text.  Know  ye  not 
 that  to  whom  ye  yield  yourselves  servants  to  obey,  his  servants 
 ye  are  to  whom  ye  obey,  whether  of  sin  unto  death,  or  of  obe- 
 dience unto  righteousness  ?  When  ye  yielded  your  members  to 
 the  service  of  uncleanness,  and  from  one  unrighteousness  to 
 another,  what  fruit  had  ye  then  in  those  things  ?  What  are 
 ye  ashamed  of  now  ?  for  the  end  of  these  things  is  death  (Rom. 
 vi.  16, 19,  21).  Yes,  verily,  from  one  unrighteousness  to  another, 
 through  dying  and  perishing  in  sure  process — such  is  the  so- 
 called  life  of  sin  !  And  if  it  reaches  its  full  growth,  then  sin  brings 
 forth,  as  itself  had  been  brought  forth.  And  what  brings  it  forth 
 but  that  which  long  before  was  concealed  in  it  ?  It  bringeth 
 forth  or  out — death  !    So  says  St  James,  and  means  it  in  the  full 
 
254  ALL  GOOD  GIFTS  FROM  ABOVE. 
 
 sense  of  the  word  in  the  New  Testament ;  as  where  it  is  said 
 that  death  is  the  wages  of  sin,  and  as  also  in  the  beginning, 
 Thou  shalt  surely  die  !  Adam  and  Eve  sin — and  at  once  the 
 light  and  life  of  God  in  their  souls  begins  its  course  of  extinc- 
 tion and  death.  They  flee,  they  lie,  they  speak  against  God 
 (though  this  last  as  it  were  without  knowledge,  though  not  alto- 
 gether without  will)  ;  of  these  first  sinners  an  entire  humanity  is 
 born  which  lieth  in  death,  and  which  must  go  on  to  death — 
 only  to  be  redeemed  by  the  bitter  death  of  Christ.  Blessed  be 
 God  !  The  gift  of  His  grace  is  eternal  life  in  Jesus  Christ  our 
 Lord.  Hold  that  fast  in  faith,  O  sinner,  and  then  thy  evil  shall  yet 
 have  a  good  finishing — an  end  and  issue  deserving  of  the  name. 
 Otherwise  thou  wilt  and  must  urge  thy  way  whither  thy  lust, 
 thy  sin,  for  ever  urges  thee.  Every  lust,  which  thou  dost  not 
 crucify  and  kill,  is  and  becomes  sin — think  well  of  that !  Every 
 actual  sin  strengthens  the  lust,  and  goes  on  to  new  and  greater 
 sins,  even  unto  death  !  If  all  the  confessions  of  lost  sinners  were 
 before  us,  with  endless  differences  they  would  all  agree  in  their 
 history,  going  back  to  the  original  history  of  sin  : — tempted  of 
 their  own  lust,  then  thus  the  birth  of  sin,  then  the  growth  of  sin, 
 and  out  of  it  the  birth  of  death.  To  escape  from  death  and  to 
 be  saved  into  life,  is  to  escape  from  sin,  to  overcome  our  own 
 lust,  and  finally  to  root  it  out  through  the  gift  and  grace  of  God. 
 To  this  St  James  now  leads  the  readers  of  his  Epistle ;  speaks  in 
 direct  opposition  of  the  good  which  He  giveth,  of  man's  regenera- 
 tion by  His  grace  through  the  Spirit. 
 
 y. 
 
 ALL  GOOD  GIFTS  FROM  ABOVE. 
 
 (Ch.  i.  16-18.) 
 
 Do  not  err,  my  beloved  brethren.  Every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift  is 
 from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  lights,  with  whom  is  no 
 variableness,  and  changing  shadow.  Of  His  own  will  begat  He  us  with 
 the  word  of  truth,  that  we  should  be  a  kind  of  first-fruits  of  His  creatures. 
 
 "  Do  not  err,  my  beloved  brethren !"     How  are  we  to  under- 
 stand this  brief,  affectionate,  and  impressive  word  ?     Does  it  not 
 
JAMES  I.  16-18.  255 
 
 ascribe  too  much  to  us — that  is,  taking  the  words  hterally,  as  St 
 James  accustoms  us  to  do  in  his  words  ?  We  feel  disposed  at 
 first  to  retreat  behind  that  wise  proverb,  which  itself  does  not  err 
 —  To  err  is  human  f  Yes,  verily,  my  brethren,  that  is,  alas,  per- 
 fectly true  ;  but  on  that  very  account  be  on  your  guard  against 
 being  led  astray  into  the  worst  error.  Is  the  proverb  to  be  so 
 interpreted  as  to  make  us  indifferent  and  thoughtless,  because 
 error  is  excused  before  the  vain  bar  of  human  opinion  ?  God 
 forbid !  That  were  to  pervert  the  wise  word  by  the  most  infa- 
 tuated folly.  To  sin  also  is  human :  should  we  therefore  make 
 sin  to  be  a  light  thing  ?  And  that  St  James  is  not  speaking  of 
 the  unhurtf ul  deviation  to  the  right  or  left,  but  of  an  error  which 
 is  closely  connected  with  sin  and  death,  we  should  feel  quite 
 sure,  even  if  nothing  were  said  to  that  effect.  Do  not  err,  be- 
 loved brethren^  is  his  affectionate  counsel  and  supplication.  Love 
 does  not  judge  the  erring  brother,  but  helps  him  to  attain  the 
 truth  :  it  would  convert  the  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way,  to 
 save  the  soul  from  death  (ch.  v.  20).  Love  coimsels,  and  warns, 
 and  teaches,  in  order  to  save.  Dost  thou  say,  on  the  contrar\^, 
 "  But  a  little  error  is  not  hurtful !"  take  care  what  thou  sayest. 
 In  many  earthly  matters  this  may  be  true;  and  yet,  what  man 
 willingly  errs  even  in  the  most  trivial  things  ?  Who  does  not  feel 
 vexed  and  ashamed  about  it  afterwards  ?  Our  perverted  mind 
 sometimes  takes  it  more  ill  to  be  charged  with  error  by  a  fellow- 
 mortal,  than  to  be  charged  with  sin  by  God  !  Even  in  earthly 
 affairs  a  very  great  evil  may  easily  spring  from  a  very  slight 
 error  ;  as  a  very  slight  deviation  from  the  right  course  leads  our 
 way  farther  and  farther  from  the  right.  And  so  there  is  an 
 error  in  knowledge  of  Divine  things,  which  itself  springs  from 
 error  in  the  heart  and  will,  and  leads  onward  to  more  and  more. 
 It  is  of  that  St  James  speaks  ;  and  we  must  not  answer  him  by 
 saying — A  little  error  or  sin  can  do  no  mischief !  He  warns  us 
 against  going  altogether  astray  from  the  way  of  life.  Woe  unto 
 those  who  fall  into  the  full  ruin  of  sin,  through  the  full  error  of 
 sin ;  who  never  received  the  solemn  word — Do  not  err  !  God 
 is  not  mocked !  That  which  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also 
 reap  !  (Gal.  vi.  7).  But  woe  also  to  those  who  lightly  regard  a 
 trifling  error  in  its  beginning,  and  find  themselves  led  away  by 
 degrees  into  the  same  absolute  destruction  ! 
 
 What  is  that  perilous  byeway  of  fancy,  what  error  sinful  in 
 
256  ALL  GOOD  GIFTS  FROM  ABOVE. 
 
 itself,  and  plunging  into  deeper  sin,  does  St  James  mean  here 
 especially?  According  to  the  connection,  it  is  manifestly  the 
 forgetting  and  perverting  of  the  great  fundamental  truth,  that 
 loith  us  alone  there  is  sin  with  its  lust  and  guilt,  with  God  alone 
 grace  and  good.  He  would  show  us  the  true  ground  and  source 
 of  evil  and  of  good,  that  we  may  not  remain  in  most  perilous  and 
 fruitful  error  on  these  points.  He  has  already  spoken  of  the 
 evil,  whence  alone  it  comes,  and  whence  the  temptation  to  it  ; 
 he  now  continues,  by  showing  us  the  sole  source  of  all  good. 
 
 The  next  w^ord  of  his  wisdom,  which  children  learn,  and  yet 
 men  cannot  sufficiently  understand,  is  strictly  speaking  untrans- 
 lateable  in  our  language  ;  for,  like  many  such  profound  sayings 
 in  and  out  of  the  Bible,  it  has  a  double  sense.  But  it  is  not,  as 
 in  the  case  of  the  proverb  we  have  just  quoted,  a  dangerous 
 saying  which  may  mislead  ;  for,  the  word  of  God  speaks  only 
 salutary  truth,  when  it  compresses  into  one  compact  expression 
 two  sides  of  the  same  matter.  The  original  may  be  here  read 
 — Pure  good  gift,  nothing  but  good  gift  cometh  from  above ; 
 and  also — Every  good  gift  cometh  from  above,  cometh  from  no- 
 where else.  But  both  are  true  :  let  us  consider  them  one  after 
 the  other. 
 
 Thus  first :  Nothing  hut  good  gift  cometh  from  above,  from 
 the  Father  of  light,  with  whom  there  is  no  darkness  :  these 
 last  words  plainly  point  to  this  first  meaning.  Nothing  that  is 
 evil  cometh  from  above,  or  from  God  !  For  God  is  the  Father 
 of  lights,  as  the  original  means ;  that  is  (according  to  another 
 Scripture,  Heb.  xii.  9),  the  Father  and  Creator  of  spirits,  which 
 as  pure  rays  of  the  primitive  light  have  their  origin  from  Him, 
 and,  as  the  morning  stains  in  His  light,  as  the  children  of  God, 
 sang  together  at  the  first  creation  (Job  xxxviii.  7).  But  the 
 expression  is  again  twofold  in  its  meaning:  the  lights  of  heaven, 
 the  stars  and  suns  shining  above,  where  to  us  is  the  throne 
 of  God,  are  the  figures  as  w^ell  as  the  dwelling-place  of  the  pure 
 spiritual  world  ;  the  light,  as  the  first  beginning  of  the  physical 
 creation  and  nearest  to  God,  is  poured  out  over  them  for  a 
 figure  and  testimony  of  sacred  glory.  God  is  a  light — is,  as  we 
 know,  the  declaration  of  all  Scripture ;  and  St  James  developes 
 this  truth  in  very  profound  words,  which  the  translation  gives 
 plainly  enough  for  the  common  apprehension,  but  which  must 
 be  carefully  understood — with  whom  there  is  not,  in  whom 
 
JAMES  I.  16-18.  257 
 
 there  dwelleth  not,  change  or  shadow  of  turning^  or  vicissitude. 
 The  Holy  Spirit  speaks,  in  this  word  of  St  James,  of  things 
 which  human  science  did  not  recover  the  knowledge  of  until  late, 
 and  is  now  first  beginning  fully  to  learn.  There  are  bodies  or 
 stars,  like  our  earth,  which  have  not  always  light,  but  through 
 their  revolutions  have  alternate  night  and  day.  These  are  the  stars 
 of  which  Moses  records  that  they  did  not,  like  the  morning  stars 
 of  which  Job  speaks,  as  already  existing  in  the  heavens  behold 
 the  foundations  of  the  earth,  but  were  created  or  brought  to 
 view  on  the  fourth  day.  Thus  they  all  belong  to  the  earth,  to 
 this  lower  world  (which  astronomers  call  the  solar  system,  but 
 might  also  call  it  earth-system),  where  light  and  darkness  alter- 
 nate, to  the  creation  in  which  God  commanded  the  light  to 
 shine  out  of  darkness  (2  Cor.  iv.  6).  That  old  first  darkness, 
 of  which  Moses  speaks  in  the  second  verse  of  Scripture,  God, 
 the  Father  of  lights  and  of  light,  did  not  create.  He  could 
 never  have  said.  Let  there  be  darkness !  Darkness  is  the  pro- 
 duct and  the  witness  of  the  first  apostasy  in  the  light-heaven 
 of  the  first  creation  ;  therefore  it  said  only,  God  saw  that  the 
 light  was  good.  Where  there  is  only  good,  there  is  only  light. 
 So  in  the  upper  spaces  of  heaven  the  suns — like  our  sun,  an 
 example  brought  nearer  to  us — themselves  opaque  and  dark 
 like  the  earth,  yet  are  wrapped  in  light  without  alternation. 
 This  pure  light-world  of  stars  and  angels  is  above  in  relation  to 
 our  earthly  and  planetary  below:  and  this  St  James  means 
 when  he  says  from  above.  Thence  comes  only  good,  from  the 
 Father  of  lights.  The  earth  before  the  fall  of  Satan — from 
 which  alone  darkness  came  (Acts  xxvi.  18;  Col.  i.  12,  13) — was 
 also  light  without  alternation  and  change ;  and  the  new  fight 
 of  grace  comes  to  it  again  from  God,  until  in  its  transfigura- 
 tion there  shall  be  no  more  day  and  night  (Eev.  xxi.  25). 
 Thus  the  whole  external  world  is  only  a  figure.  Thus  St 
 James  exhibits  to  us  with  profound  truth  God,  the  original 
 fountain  of  light  and  of  good,  as  being  as  it  were  the  original 
 and  central  Sun.  He  who  says,  "  I  am  the  Lord,  I  change  not/" 
 (Mai.  iii.  6),  knoweth  of  and  in  Himself  no  darkness  or  shadow, 
 so  that  He  should  receive  the  light  from  above  upon  Himself, 
 or  should  tur7i  towards  or  away  from  the  light ;  and  therefore 
 nothing  but  light,  that  is,  good,  cometh  from  Him.  But  e\'il 
 hath  come  with  the  darkness,  since  through  sin  the  below  and 
 
 B 
 
258  ALL  GOOD  GIFTS  ITROM  ABOVE. 
 
 the  abyss  have  come  into  being.  Thus  no  evil  is  from  above  I 
 This  has  a  broad  and  deep  meaning,  which  we  now  only  hint  at 
 for  intelligent  minds. 
 
 And,  first,  no  temptation  is  from  God,  no  drawing  or  entic- 
 ing to  evil,  since  evil  itself  can  never  be  from  God  or  the  will 
 of  God.  Concerning  this  St  James  has  spoken  to  us  already. 
 To  have  such  a  thought  in  the  mind  is  the  worst  possible  error, 
 is  blasphemy,  is  a  denial  of  the  Father  of  lights ;  and  though 
 such  a  delusion  may,  as  an  apology  for  sin,  only  in  secret  be- 
 guile our  souls,  it  is  yet  the  most  perilous  of  all  errors.  The 
 fundamental  wisdom  of  our  knowledge  and  conscience  must 
 hold  this  fast  with  immoveable  fidelity : — only  from  om'selves 
 and  in  ourselves  is  evil, .  from  Him  and  with  Him  only 
 good! 
 
 But,  we  may  ask,  is  not  the  darkness  of  evil  and  misery,  the 
 suffering  which  becomes  our  trial,  from  the  hand  and  counsel 
 of  God  !  In  this  sense,  indeed,  the  Lord  Himself  speaks  in  the 
 Prophets :  I  make  light,  and  I  create  the  darkness ;  I  make 
 peace,  and  bring  evil  (Is.  xlv.  7).  But  even  here  too — Do  not 
 err,  beloved  brethren  ;  do  not  misunderstand  this !  That  we 
 have  indeed,  as  our  planet  has,  day  and  night  in  our  life ;  that 
 happiness  and  sorrow  alternate,  or  that  in  our  day  the  assem- 
 bling clouds  hide  from  us  the  sun  ; — is  for  the  present  time 
 God's  appointment  and  will.  But  as  this  springs  from  our  sin, 
 and  not  from  the  original  purpose  of  God,  who  could  not  desire 
 the  unhappiness  of  any  of  His  creatures,  so  also  the  gift  of  God 
 in  our  evil  and  unhappiness  is  only  good ;  in  the  very  curse 
 itself  there  is  a  secret  blessing,  which  aims  to  abolish  the  sin, 
 and  repair  its  miserable  consequences.  Night  in  itself  is  not 
 evil ;  rather  its  dark  womb  prepares  the  seeds  of  light  and  life 
 for  the  day.  Foul  weather,  so  called,  hurts  not,  but  works  the 
 blessing  of  prosperity  and  growth.  So  Lazarus  suffered  evil  in 
 his  lifetime,  which  however  prepared  him  for  the  everlasting 
 comfort ;  that  evil  was  to  him,  as  the  gift  of  God,  as  much  good 
 as  the  good  things  of  the  rich  man.  Had  God  known  concern- 
 ing this  latter  that  he  would  have  sustained  the  test,  it  would 
 have  been  applied  to  him  also ;  for  His  fidelity  diligently  leads 
 every  one  without  neglect  out  of  darkness,  and  through  the 
 darkness  to  light.  That  has  been  the  marvellous  procedure  of 
 the  Eternal  Light  with  our  souls  from  the  beginning  of  the  Fall. 
 
JAilES  I.  16-18.  259 
 
 The  darkness  condemns  sin,  and  makes  manifest  that  the  lio-ht 
 alone  is  good ;  he  who  submits  to  be  judged  in  grace,  will  be 
 enlightened  and  saved.  Unhappiness  and  e\il  mixing  them- 
 selves, become  the  means  of  salvation  against  the  evil.  The 
 ciurse  of  banishment  from  Paradise  was  at  first  the  best  bless- 
 ing which  God  had  for  Adam.  Finally,  in  Christ,  the  second 
 Adam,  all  becomes  fully  manifest :  not  by  might  from  without 
 can  God  abolish  the  sin  in  the  will  of  the  fallen  creature ;  but 
 He  giveth  His  life  to  death.  His  light  into  the  darloiess,  that 
 out  of  the  sin  of  the  world  the  reconciliation  of  the  world,  out 
 of  the  curse  of  death  the  blessing  of  life,  out  of  the  darkness  of 
 the  cross  the  new  imperishable  nature,  should  come  to  light. 
 And  now  for  ever  we  walk  in  the  same  way  through  sufferings 
 to  glory,  through  much  tribulation  into  the  kingdom  of  God. 
 God's  gift  in  suffering  and  in  trial  is  no  other  than  our  salva- 
 tion :  this  must  be  known  and  accepted ;  in  this  it  behoves  us, 
 as  the  most  momentous  truth  in  our  probation,  not  to  err! 
 \yho  is  he  that  will  harm  you,  if  ye  be  followers  of  that  which 
 is  good  (1  Pet.  iii.  13)  ;  if  ye  behevingly  lay  hold  of  that  good 
 thing  which  is  not  wanting  even  in  the  troubles  concerning 
 which  ye  say — We  receive  evil  from  God  ?  To  those  who  love 
 God  as  the  supreme  and  only  Good,  who  persist  stedfastly  in 
 that  love,  all  things  work  together  for  good ;  and  the  best  thing 
 for  us  in  order  to  our  eternal  advantage  is  the  manifold  trial 
 which  through  patience  works  out  salvation.  Therefore,  let  us 
 not  proudly  or  foolishly  complain  against  God,  and  reject  the 
 good  as  if  it  were  evil !  But  let  us  well  understand  that  we 
 cannot  help  or  redeem  ourselves ;  that,  indeed,  with  us  nothing 
 but  evil  is  found ! 
 
 This  is  the  second  meaning  of  St  James'  sapng :  Every  good 
 gift  Cometh  from  above,  from  that  God  who  alone  hath  it  to 
 give,  whose  Hght  alone  re-illumines  our  darkness.  Nothing  good 
 Cometh  from  below  I  There  is  no  internal  help  even  against 
 external  tribulation.  As  every  good  gift,  life  and  breath,  and 
 all  things  which  the  sustentation  of  life  requires  from  our 
 mother's  womb,  has  come  from  the  hand  of  God — so  He,  and 
 He  alone,  is  our  Redeemer  and  Helper  in  the  time  of  need. 
 "  From  Him  is  good  all  over  the  earth  :  therefore,  my  son,  iu 
 thy  sickness  be  not  negligent ;  but  pray  unto  the  Lord,  and  He 
 will  make  thee  whole"  (Ecclus.  xxxviii.  8,  9).     When  thou  art 
 
260  ALL  GOOD  GIFTS  FROM  ABOVE. 
 
 in  trouble,  vain  is  thy  own  help  and  the  help  of  man  (Ps.  Ix.  11) ; 
 seek  it  of  the  Lord,  who  is  the  King  of  old,  working  all  the 
 salvation  that  is  in  the  midst  of  the  earth  (Ps.  Ixxiv.  12). 
 Whatsoever  might  help  thee  in  thyself,  or  in  another  man, 
 must  first  be  received  of  God  :  it  is  not  indeed  independent  of 
 thyself,  and  all  appropriate  means ;  but,  if  it  be  effectual  lielpj 
 it  must  come  directly  from  above.  The  consolation  in  trouble 
 which  comes  from  below  is  vanity,  deception,  and  ruin.  The 
 "  merry  heart "  which  we  may  create  in  ourselves  must  lapse 
 back  into  deeper  misery ;  and  the  peace  which  is  false  cannot 
 endure.  Alas,  what  we  in  our  perverted  thoughts  "  count  all 
 joy,"  turns  sooner  or  later  into  pure  sorrow.  We  are  useless  phy- 
 sicians to  ourselves,  with  whatever  unguents  we  anoint  our  hm't; 
 miserable  comforters  are  we  to  our  own  poor  souls,  if  we  seek 
 to  find  rest  in  any  other  way  than  that  of  inward  sanctification. 
 But  the  grace  of  God  comforts  all  who  mourn  (Is.  Ixi.  2).  Lust 
 in  us  bringeth  forth  sin,  and  sin  death  ;  this  fountain  of  evil  in 
 us  must  be  dried  up,  and  a  new  spring  of  life  opened  up  within 
 our  souls.  This  good  gift  of  God  for  us  poor  sinners  cometh 
 from  above,  and  that  without  cessation  or  change ;  the  true  light 
 of  the  life  of  God  shineth  uninterruptedly  into  the  darkness  of 
 our  night ;  the  sun  of  grace  stands  unveiled  in  the  heavens 
 above  us,  and  sendeth  forth  its  beams,  its  lights,  angels,  mes- 
 sengers, and  gifts,  so  that  we  have  nothing  to  do  but  in  faith  to 
 receive,  and  in  patience  to  hold  fast,  the  gift ;  and  if  we  are  op- 
 pressed as  Israel  was,  when  the  sea  was  before  and  the  Egyp- 
 tians behind — "  Fear  not ;  stand  still,  and  see  the  salvation  of 
 God  I  The  Lord  shall  fight  for  you,  and  ye  shall  hold  your 
 peace!"  (Ex.  xiv.  13,  14).  In  quietness  and  hope  shall  ye  be 
 strong  (Is.  XXX.  15). 
 
 But  who  can  do  this  f  Who  may  thus  abide  in  the  patience 
 of  faith  unto  his  final  confirmation  and  glorification  in  the  light 
 of  God,  so  that  the  Father's  good  gift  may  have  the  victory 
 over  the  evil  in  himself,  life  in  the  Father's  light  have  the  vic- 
 tory over  the  darkness  of  death  ?  Only  he  who  by  faith  has 
 become  one  of  God's  people ;  who  has  received  through  that 
 faith,  but  from  the  grace  and  gift  coming  down  from  above,  a 
 new  heart  and  a  new  spirit ;  only  he  who  has  been  begotten  of 
 the  Father  as  a  child  of  light,  and  no  longer  walketh  in  dark- 
 ness.    Therefore  St  James  speaks  not  merely  of  every  good  gift 
 
JAMES  I.  16-18.  261 
 
 generally;  but  strengthens  the  expression,  and  names  it  the 
 'perfect  gift,  which  restores  to  us  light  and  life  in  a  regeneration 
 from  God.  What  would  avail  all  other  gifts  of  God  to  us  sin- 
 ners, born  of  the  flesh,  and  children  of  death,  without  this  fun- 
 damental gift  ?  To  the  natural  man  all  good  coming  from  God 
 is  perverted  into  evil  by  sin,  the  greater  guilt  and  punishment  of 
 unthankf  ulness  and  misuse ;  to  the  regenerate  all  evil,  spring- 
 ing from  his  own  sin  and  the  sin  of  the  world,  is  changed  into 
 good  through  grace.  Thus  we  understand  in  what  necessary- 
 connection  St  James  goes  on  to  say,  concerning  the  Father  of 
 lights,  that  of  His  free  will  He  hath  begotten  us  through  the 
 word  of  truth,  that  we  might  be  the  first-fruits  of  His  creatures. 
 All  His  other  good  gifts  testify  of  this ;  they  lead,  and  most 
 persuasively  invite,  us  to  come  to  this  good  Father.  The  water 
 whicli  we  drink,  and  the  bread  which  we  eat,  say  to  us — If  thou 
 knewest  the  gift  of  God,  the  meat  and  the  drink  which  is  unto 
 eternal  life  !  We  know,  O  Christians,  in  Whom  the  Father 
 giveth  to  us  the  "unspeakable  gift"  (2  Cor.  ix.  15).  Death  is 
 the  wages  of  sin  ;  but  God's  gift  of  grace  is  eternal  life,  in  Jesus 
 Christ  our  Lord.  Through  Christ,  God  has  given  Himself  to  us 
 as  a  Father,  that  we  may  become  His  children — lights  without 
 darkness  of  shadow,  beams  and  mirrors  of  the  eternal  original 
 Light.  The  pure  spirits  of  the  first  creation  were  the  first-fruits, 
 as  their  vestures  and  abodes  were  the  morning  stars,  of  the  day 
 which  proceeded  from  the  Father  of  lights.  Then  was  there 
 darkness  in  heaven  by  means  of  him  who  himself  would  shine, 
 and  fell  into  the  abyss.  Over  that  abyss  Adam  was  created, 
 concerning  whom  the  Creator's  counsel  knew  beforehand  that 
 he,  with  all  his  race,  would  fall  into  the  deceitfulness  of  dark- 
 ness ;  but  for  whom  the  eternal  will  of  Love  had  also  beforehand 
 appointed  a  new  and  glorious  victory  of  light  through  redeeming 
 grace.  This  supreme  counsel  and  will  of  the  Father  becomes 
 an  accomplished  reality  in  each  of  the  fallen  children  of  Adam, 
 when  he  receives  the  gift  of  grace  prepared  and  proffered  to 
 him.  This  is  the  wonder  of  all  wonders,  the  ever-continuous 
 birth  of  the  son  of  God  as  the  new  Adam,  of  the  new  man  as 
 the  son  of  God,  in  us  believers.  It  takes  place  in  profound 
 secret  and  mysteiy :  as  the  light  from  above  sinks  down  into 
 the  darkness,  as  th3  sunbeam  prepares  life  in  the  plant,  as  every 
 birth  of  life  in  this  domain  of  darkness  and  death  is  a  mystery 
 
262  ALL  GOOD  GIFTS  FROM  ABOVE. 
 
 of  the  struggle  of  the  upper  influences  of  the  world  of  light  and 
 life  with  Chaos — so  is  the  new  birth  of  a  sinful  man  into  the 
 sonship  of  God.  It  is  an  essential  hirth  of  life,  even  as  pre- 
 viously there  was  a  birth  of  death  from  sin — hence  St  James  uses 
 the  same  word  in  both  cases.  The  children  of  this  regeneration 
 are  now  naturally  and  in  strict  right  elevated,  through  a  new 
 creation  which  surpasses  the  first  in  glory,  to  a  dignity  above 
 the  unfallen  angels  :  we  are  in  reality  already,  and  we  shall  be 
 manifestly  in  the  consummation,  in  a  certain  sense  the  first-fruits, 
 the  highest  and  most  glorious  of  all  the  creatures  of  God.  For 
 the  Son,  born  eternally  of  the  eternal  Father,  the  First-bom 
 before  every  creature,  makes  us  partakers  of  His  Divine  nature, 
 even  as  He  has  taken  upon  Himself  ours.  In  Christ,  and  finally 
 made  like  unto  Him,  we  receive  not  merely,  like  Adam,  dominion 
 over  the  earth  ;  but  all  things  are  put  under  the  feet  of  the  Son 
 of  Man  !  The  heavenly  creature  bows  down  before  this  gift  and 
 grace  of  the  Most  High  ;  the  earthly  creation  becomes  in  its 
 deliverance  the  body  and  the  temple  of  the  children  of  God  ! 
 
 Such  superabounding  grace  hath  the  Father  given  and  laid 
 up  for  us  of  His  oxen  free  will — according  to  the  good  pleasure 
 of  His  counsel,  to  the  praise  of  His  glorious  grace,  wherein  He 
 hath  made  us  acceptable  in  the  Beloved,  for  our  sakes  not  spared; 
 in  whom  He  freely  giveth  us  all  things,  through  the  love  with 
 which  He,  rich  in  mercy,  loved  us  when  dead  in  our  sins.  It 
 is  ever  and  essentially  a  gift  and  a  grace.  But  not — as  many 
 think,  who  glory  in  this  "  us''  as  referring  to  the  elect,  darken- 
 ing the  glory  of  the  eternal  Father — that  this  grace  before 
 appointed  us  particularly  to  life,  while  the  rest  were  left  to 
 destruction  or  appointed  to  death.  God  forbid  !  We  were  saved 
 by  grace,  but  through  faith,  which  received  the  gift  and  the  grace 
 provided  for  all.  That  salvation  is  the  gift  of  God,  but  not  also 
 in  the  same  sense  that  faith  which  the  gift  requires.  But  this  faith 
 establishes  no  merit ;  for  even  if  we  believe,  we  do  no  more  than 
 we  are  bound  to  do — and  this  illustrates  the  justice  of  that 
 judgment  without  mercy  which  will  fall  upon  those  who  despise 
 God's  mercy.  Further,  the  unbelieving  and  the  lost  will  not 
 all  be  finally  saved,  so  that  in  this  sense  those  who  were  regene- 
 rated in  the  first  period  of  grace  are  the  first-fruits  of  the 
 whole ;  faith  is  the  ground  of  decision  and  judgment  for  all 
 eternity. 
 
JAMES  I.  16-18.  263 
 
 Therefore  St  James  appends,  as  the  necessary  medium  of 
 regeneration,  through  the  word  of  truth  !  For  a  word  is  ad- 
 dressed to  faith,  and  must  in  faith  be  embraced !  The  truth  is 
 the  shining  Hght  which  saveth  us  out  of  the  error  of  darkness 
 — when  we  follow  that  light,  and  love  it  rather  than  darkness. 
 The  Word  of  God,  the  eternal  Incarnate  One,  and  the  Gospel, 
 in  which  that  Word  lives  and  works  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  the 
 seed  of  the  new  birth,  if  it  is  implanted  in  us  (ver.  21).  The 
 word  of  truth  is  preached  to  us  ;  it  is  written  in  the  Scripture, 
 which  is  the  testimony  of  the  eternal  Wisdom  against  all  our 
 error,  and  concerning  Whom  it  is  said — "All  the  words  of  Thy 
 mouth  are  righteous ;  there  is  nothing  perverse  or  false  in 
 them"  (Prov.  viii.  8).  But  this  word  of  God,  witnessing  or 
 awakening,  is  met  and  responded  to  even  now. in  ourselves  by  a 
 most  secret  word  of  truth,  which  is  to  be  awakened  in  us, — a 
 glimmering  spark  of  light  in  the  deepest  ground  of  our  souls, 
 derived  from  their  first  creation.  For,  how  could  we  acknow- 
 ledge and  receive  in  faith  the  truth,  without  any  measure  of 
 truth  in  ourselves  through  which  we  could  discern  it  to  be 
 truth  ?  Were  we  altogether  dead,  it  would  not  be  we  who  were 
 awakened ;  not  we,  who  were  in  the  previous  state,  would  be 
 the  regenerated.  Not  till  sin  is  finished  is  death  fully  brought 
 forth ;  now  we  vibrate  and  hang  between  life  and  death ;  we 
 can  and  we  may  embrace  life,  and  become  obedient  to  the  life- 
 giving  truth  (which  still  speaks  to  us,  according  to  Ps.  xix., 
 through  day  and  night)  !  O  that  evenj  man,  as  he  is  called, 
 were  swift  to  hear  this  !  (ver.  19).  He  that  is  so  will  not  err  ; 
 he  that  so  abides,  from  the  time  of  his  first  hearing,  will  finally 
 not  go  astray  from  the  way  which  leads  to  the  glorious  goal  of 
 the  first-fruits,  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light. 
 
 Do  we  no  longer  err,  dear  brethren  ?  Has  God  in  truth 
 begotten  us  again  to  the  beginning  of  a  new  life  ?  and  are  we, 
 as  children  of  the  Father,  faithfully  and  diligently  persevering 
 in  the  obedience  of  the  truth  ?  Do  we  not  thoughtlessly  put 
 from  us  any  good  and  perfect  gift  which  comes  down  to  us 
 from  His  light,  in  order  to  our  growth  and  perfection  ?  Do  we 
 vehemently  suppress  every  error  and  corruption  which  may 
 come  to  our  lips  and  defile  our  life,  as  the  relics  of  the  old 
 man  ?  The  words  which  now  follow  put  us  to  the  earnest 
 test. 
 
264  SWIFT  TO  HEAR. 
 
 YL 
 
 SWIFT  TO  HEAR. 
 
 (Ch.  i.  19.) 
 
 Wherefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear,  but  slow  to 
 speak,  and  slow  to  wrath. 
 
 The  whole  life  of  every  man  moves  between  hearing  and 
 speaking  ;  and  this  should  lead  us  to  infer  how  comprehensive 
 and  far-reaching  in  its  application  this  saying  of  St  James  must 
 he  !  What  inspiration  and  expiration  are  to  the  bodily  life, 
 that  to  the  soul  is,  so  to  speak,  the  receiving  by  the  ear  and  re- 
 peating by  the  lips.  But  we  must  breathe  wholesome  air,  if  we 
 would  live  and  thrive.  Consequently,  it  is  apparent  at  once 
 what^  and  liow  or  to  what  endy  we  should  hear :  it  is  obvious  that 
 we  must  altogether  abstain  from  hearing  lies  and  deceptions ; 
 that  we  should  not,  like  the  Athenians,  be  always  eager  or  swift 
 to  hear  some  new  thing  (Acts  xvii.  21),  with  those  who  count 
 life  a  market  for  gain  (Wisd.  xv.  12).  Therefore,  my  beloved 
 brethren,  let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear ;  that  is,  as  we  have 
 already  heard,  because  we  through  the  word  of  truth  are  bom 
 again  into  first-fruits  of  the  creatures  of  God.  Thus,  this  word 
 of  regeneration  is  what  we  must  hear !  Thus,  further,  we 
 should  not  merely  hear — as  St  James  afterwards  proceeds — 
 but  be  doers  of  the  ingrafted  word,  not  hearers  alone !  Other- 
 wise, it  is  not  the  right  hearing ;  but  the  truth  has  been  heard 
 as  if  it  were  not  true,  or  as  if  the  truth  were  not  to  be  carried 
 into  act.  The  word  of  truth  brings  to  us  new  things  and  old ; 
 and  not  to  overlook  the  old,  as  if  we  had  done  with  it,  is  of  the 
 utmost  importance  and  necessity  in  our  ever-necessary  hearing. 
 How  often  are  we  appealed  to — Know  ye  not  ?  Consider 
 well  what  is  said !  What  the  text  means  is  fundamentally  the 
 same  as  St  Peter's  exhortation — Pm'ify  your  souls  in  the  obe- 
 dience of  the  truth  through  the  Spirit !  (1  Pet.  i.  22).  This  is 
 opposed  to  that  holding  of  the  truth  in  unrighteousness,  to  that 
 contentiousness  of  spirit,  which  obeys  not  the  truth  (Rom.  i. 
 18,  ii.  8).  As  this  not-hearing  is  the  universal  and  original  sin 
 of  the  natural  man,  so,  alas,  the  temptation  to  it  most  easily 
 
JA3IE3  I.  19.  265 
 
 occurs  to  believers;  and  they  must  be  asked,  as  the  Galatians  were 
 — Who  hath  bewitched  you,  that  ye  should  not  obey  the  truth  ? 
 (Gal.  iii.  1).  Something  of  this  bewitchment  adheres  always  to 
 the  old  man  ;  therefore  we  are  exhorted  (which  otherwise  would 
 not  be  needful)  swiftly  and  zealously  to  hear  what  we  are  in  our- 
 selves slow  to  hear  and  receive,  because  we  love  not  to  hear  it. 
 
 The  What,  the  How,  and  the  Wlierefore  of  this  required 
 hearing  are  sufficiently  plain  ;  there  remains  only  the  question, 
 When  and  where  should  we  hear  ?  But  the  answer — which  does 
 not  permit  the  last  question.  Who  must  hear  ?  to  arise,  saying 
 already,  Let  every  man  ! — will,  strictly  speaking,  scarce  allow 
 any  when  or  where  ;  for  the  saying  is  directed  against  the  eva- 
 sions of  the  idle  and  the  wilful,  who  might  say  that  not  now  or 
 not  here  their  duty  is  to  hear.  St  James  exhorts  us,  always  and 
 everywhere  to  hear,  where  salutary  truth  for  us  to  act  upon,  in 
 order  to  our  regeneration,  is  to  he  heard.  If  finally  in  the  judg- 
 ment our  actions  will  decide,  before  the  actions  there  must  ne- 
 cessarily be  the  hearing ;  hence  the  Lord  says,  He  that  heareth 
 these  sa3rings  of  ^Mine,  and  doeth  them  !  (Matt.  vii.  24).  How 
 can  there  be  anv  obedience  without  previous  hearing?  and 
 where  there  is  wanting  a  perfect  obedience  to  the  truth  which 
 has  been  long  heard  and  known,  is  there  any  better  way  to 
 amendment  than  first  of  all  better  to  hear  the  ever-returning 
 counsel  and  exhortation  ? 
 
 But  after  all  these  questions,  some  may  still  ask,  or  even 
 make  it  the  first  question —  WTiom  shall  I  hear  ?  The  answer 
 is  plain,  beloved  brethren :  I  must  hear  God,  who  speaks  and 
 sends  to  me  the  word  of  truth  ;  rightly  to  miderstand,  I  must 
 assuredly  not  hear  the  mere  word  of  man,  in  as  far  as  it  is  the 
 word  of  man,  and  might  therefore  be  eiTor  and  delusion.  For, 
 it  still  remains  that  God  alone  is  true,  and  every  man  a  Har 
 (Kom.  iii.  4).  But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  thou  shouldst  pervert 
 this,  and  in  thy  blind  pride  despise  every  word  which  comes  to 
 thee  through  human  hps,  and  refuse  to  hear  until  God  speak 
 directly  to  thyself,  thou  wouldst  be  again  in  absolute  error. 
 For,  although  God  can,  if  He  will,  reveal  Hunself,  as  he  did 
 to  Samuel— Speak,  Lord,  for  Thy  servant  heareth  !— yet  He 
 is  pleased  especially  to  speak  to  man  hy  men,  as  here  to  the  be- 
 loved brethren  by  His  servant  James.  And  if  every  man  who 
 knows  the  tmth  has  that  truth  committed  to  him  for  a  testi- 
 
266  SWIFT  TO  HEAR. 
 
 mony,  and  every  brother  must  exhort  and  edify  every  brother, 
 it  becomes  the  duty  of  all  to  hear  every  ^Yord  to  which  we  are 
 directed  by  God.  If,  finally,  that  we  may  hold  carefully  to  the 
 text,  every  man  is  to  hear — even  if  he  have  no  special  Divine 
 revelation,  no  servant  of  God  sent  to  exhort  him,  no  edifying 
 brethren — we  must  embrace  the  widest  circle  of  all  that  truth 
 which  is  in  the  world  for  the  hearing  of  man.  We  shall,  con- 
 sequently, then  only  perfectly  expound  the  words,  when  we  un- 
 derstand that  we  should  be  zealous  to  hear  every  salutary  word, 
 every  word  of  truth  given  for  our  obedience,  ivhich  God  may  send 
 to  us  in  any  ivay.  But  that  truth  comes  to  us  in  three  ways : 
 more  immediately  and  properly  as  the  word  of  God  ;  more  in- 
 directly through  the  word  of  man  ;  and,  over  and  above,  in  all 
 the  world,  and  in  the  whole  of  life. 
 
 As  it  respects  the  first,  we  mention  not  at  once  the  new 
 revelation  of  grace ;  but  previously  that  word  of  truth  which 
 speaks  to  the  natural  man  in  the  conscience.  Here,  as  we  read 
 before,  is  found  in  all  men  the  deepest  root  and  the  first  begin- 
 ning of  their  holding  the  truth  in  unrighteousness.  O  that  eveiy 
 man  would  hear  what  God  speaketh  within  him  !  But  this 
 most  internal,  increated  word  is  pressed  down  by  our  sin,  which 
 suffers  it  not  to  become  a  word  spoken  to  us ;  it  is  first  awak- 
 ened, then  supplemented  and  developed  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
 To  hear  the  voice  of  the  Spirit,  who  is  a  Spirit  of  truth  and 
 grace,  is  the  true  essential  for  us  all ;  if  we  do  not  hear  the 
 Spmt  in  the  word,  we  have  not  heard  the  word  itself.  But, 
 fm'ther,  how  does  the  Spirit  speak  and  declare  His  presence  ? 
 By  the  external  word,  in  which  He  condescendingly  wraps 
 Himself,  by  which  He  opens  our  eyes,  so  that  we  may,  accord- 
 ing to  the  will  of  God,  mark  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  in  it. 
 We  must  first  have  heard  by  a  word  that  there  is  a  Holy  Ghost 
 (Acts  xix.  2),  before  we  can  receive  the  Spirit  as  speaking  to 
 ourselves.  And  where  is  the  essential  word  of  the  Spirit  ?  In 
 the  Holy  Scripture,  and  in  all  of  it  as  inspired  by  God.  Christ, 
 the  incarnate  eternal  Word,  stands  in  the  midst  of  Scripture. 
 Over  Him  sounds  out  the  heavenly  voice — Him  shall  ye  hear  ! 
 (Matt.  xvii.  5).  He  speaks  as  no  other  man  speaks,  with  su- 
 preme authority — Verily,  I  say  unto  you !  But  His  word  is 
 not  on  that  account  opposed  to  that  of  the  Apostles  and  Pro- 
 phets, w^ho,  before  and  after  Him,  testified  through  His  Spirit 
 
JA3IES  I.  19.  267 
 
 concerning  Himself.  The  whole  Bible  is  the  firm  and  certain 
 word,  in  whose  hght  we  see  light,  in  whose  teaching  we  hear 
 and  learn  the  truth,  which  discloses  to  us  the  depths  of  our  own 
 hearts,  wliich  paves  the  way  for  us  to  the  word  of  the  Lord  Him- 
 self who  is  the  Spirit.  The  word  of  Scripture  is  at  once  the  key 
 and  the  seal  of  every  extant  word  of  truth,  which  the  grace  of 
 God  has  provided  and  given.  To  what  end  then  given,  dear 
 brethren  ?  Do  you  say — to  read  it,  for  it  is  Scripture  ?  But  I 
 would  hold  with  St  James — not  so,  but  to  hear  I  Understand 
 this  aright.  Do  you  not  know,  have  you  not  experienced  in 
 youi'selves,  and  seen  in  others,  how  altogether  unfruitful  is  a  cer- 
 tain reading  of  the  Bible  ?  O  the  melancholy  reading  without 
 the  hearing  of  the  heart !  O  the  dead  traffic  with  the  letter, 
 which  becomes  not  a  living  word!  Do  we  not  know  those  who  are 
 for  ever  reading  and  learning,  without  coming  to  the  knowledge 
 of  the  truth  ?  (2  Tim.  iii.  7).  These  are  they  who  hear  not ! 
 Therefore  said  Father  Abraham  to  the  man  in  hell,  who  cared 
 for  his  brethren — They  have  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  let  them 
 hear  them  !  Yes,  verily  ;  and  thus  should  we  hear  the  holy  men 
 of  God,  Prophets  and  Apostles,  who,  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
 spake  to  us  in  the  Scriptures,  as  if  we  had  themselves  (which 
 then  is  the  truth)  in  their  words.  And  not  only  so,  we  should 
 similarly  hear  God,  speaking  by  His  servants  ;  we  should  hear 
 Him,  if  born  again  by  the  word  of  truth,  as  His  children,  with 
 childlike  attention — even  as  a  pious  child  gathers  into  his  heart 
 the  words  of  an  earthly  father. 
 
 In  order  that  we  may  learn  and  practise  this,  and  that  the 
 written  word  should  not  remain  to  us  a  mere  writing,  the 
 wisdom  of  God  appointed,  before  and  concurrently  with  all 
 ^vritten  Scripture,  oral  preaching.  Let  us  never  despise  and 
 reject  this  good  and  perfect  gift  of  the  Father!  Be  swift  to  go 
 into  the  house  of  God,  as  you  are  invited ;  come  always  with 
 purpose  to  hear  internally  for  faith  and  obedience.  What  the 
 preacher  speaks  to  you  from  the  word  of  God,  as  the  word  of 
 God,  is  not  given  to  you  to  criticise  and  talk  about,  but  to  retain 
 and  ponder  in  your  hearts  ;  never  for  the  mere  increase  of  your 
 knowledge,  for  the  heaping  up  in  your  mind  even  of  Bible- 
 knowledge,  which  will  condemn  you  in  proportion  as  it  fails  to 
 be  in  you  living  seed  of  fruitful  works.  How  often  do  we 
 preachers  address  ourselves  to  our  "devout  hearers  ;"  but  God 
 
268  SWIFT  TO  HEAR. 
 
 knows  how  few  real  hearers  there  are  among  the  many  who 
 listen  to  the  sermon !  How  few  sit  under  the  pulpit  of  whom 
 it  may  be  said — And  they  sate  down  at  Thy  feet ;  every  one 
 shall  receive  of  Thy  words!  (Deut.  xxxiii.  3).  If  thou  wilt  hear 
 and  learn  to  good  purpose,  hear  in  every  sermon  with  sincere 
 heart  what  God  in  it  would  say  to  thee ;  and  what  the  Holy 
 Spirit,  who  accompanies  the  preached  word,  would  say  to  thy 
 conscience  in  addition.  The  genuine  hearer  of  the  word  in  the 
 church  holds  himself  responsible  to  answer  the  question  of  his 
 own  heart — What  have  I  now  heard  for  myself?  and  he  goes 
 and  becomes  a  doer  of  the  word  which  he  has  heard. 
 
 But  God  gives  us,  further,  besides  Scripture  and  preaching. 
 His  salutary  word,  for  our  sanctification  and  blessedness,  in  the 
 more  mediate  words  of  men — yea,  often,  words  of  men  which 
 may  prepare  the  way  for  the  regenerating  word  of  truth.  Or 
 are  we  to  listen  only  to  words  spoken  by  those  who  hold  the 
 preacher's  office,  and  reverently  receive  no  other  words  as 
 the  word  of  God  for  obedience  ?  Yet  every  man  has  through 
 life  others  over  or  by  his  side  who  are  to  him  invested  with 
 the  honour  and  office  of  God's  representatives — parents  and 
 masters,  according  to  the  Decalogue.  Hence  we  are  all  bound 
 to  hear  from  childhood  to  the  very  end  of  life.  But,  that  we 
 may  not  stretch  the  text  beyond  its  meaning,  this  requires  not 
 so  much  the  obeying,  as  the  earnest  attention  to  every  good  and 
 true  word  which  God  may  thus  send  to  us.  But  we  should 
 show  ourselves  all  the  more  swift  to  hear,  when  they  who  speak 
 to  us  speak  officially  to  us  as  appointed  by  God.  Children 
 should  hear  the  word  of  their  parents,  and  of  all  who  stand  in 
 their  place,  their  teachers  and  guardians  ;  servants  should  hear 
 the  words  of  their  masters  ;  subjects  should  attend  to  the  com- 
 mands of  those  over  them — it  always  being  understood  that 
 what  is  said  is  said  from  the  truth.  What  endless  abundance 
 of  wholesome  and  good  words  has  God's  grace  provided  for  us 
 through  life  to  hear!  If  thou  actually  hearest  in  all  these 
 relations,  according  to  St  James'  meaning, — although  it  maybe 
 asked,  Wlio  has  done  all  this  as  he  should? — hast  thou  fulfilled 
 all  thine  obligation  to  hear  ?  By  no  means,  and  it  would  be 
 most  perverse  and  mischievous  to  think  that  we  have  nothing  to 
 do  but  to  hear  those  human  words  which  are  spoken  by  those 
 who  have  a  special  Divine  appointment  over  us  !     So  thought 
 
JA3IES  I.  19.  269 
 
 that  ungodly  Israelite  when  he  repelled  the  interference  of 
 Moses — Who  made  thee  a  judge  or  a  ruler  over  us?  (Ex.  ii. 
 14).  That  is  the  very  language  of  the  refractory,  who  reject 
 the  truth  of  God  instead  of  obeying  it.  Is  it  not  a  service  of 
 love  to  thy  soul  to  say  the  saving  truth  which  concerns  thee  ? 
 Does  not  that  come  also  from  God,  and  therefore  demand  to  be 
 received  in  His  name  ?  When,  therefore,  thy  friend  counsels 
 and  teaches  thee,  spurn  not  the  message  and  gift  of  God  by 
 him !  But  who  is  thy  friend  ?  Not  only  he  to  whom  thy 
 caprice  assigns  the  name  and  specific  rights  of  a  friend ;  but,  if 
 thou  wouldst  be  called  a  child  of  God,  every  other  child  of  God, 
 every  brother  in  Christ.  AYhen  he  thus  in  brotherly  wise  speaks 
 to  thee,  he  is  thy  pastor,  sent  of  God  in  that  particular;  even  as 
 thy  pastor,  to  whom  thou  givest  this  title,  comes  to  thee  with 
 his  counsel  as  a  brother.  Dost  thou  desh'e  that  thy  brother 
 should  hear  thee — and  who  is  without  that  desire  ? — then  do  the 
 same  to  him.  If  thy  brother  has  anything  against  thee,  should  he 
 conceal  his  angry  feeling  in  his  heart,  and  count  thee  unworthy  of 
 brotherly  converse,  and  thus  make  himself  partaker  of  thy  guilt  ? 
 And  yet  how  unfrequent  even  among  Christians  is  the  sentiment 
 of  Da^'id  the  king,  who,  bowing  down  before  every  man,  said — 
 Let  the  righteous  smite  me  in  kindness,  and  rebuke  me  ;  it  shall 
 be  a  balsam,  from  which  it  shall  not  turn  away !  (Ps.  cxli.  5). 
 
 Still  further,  dear  brethren !  Dare  I  ever  say  to  any  man 
 — However  true  and  good  may  be  that  which  thou  say  est  to 
 me,  I  have  no  need  to  hear  it,  for  thou  art  not  a  brother  ?  We 
 have  only  to  utter  this  aloud  in  the  hearing  of  God,  to  feel  its 
 injustice  and  wrong.  St  James,  in  fact,  means  no  less  than  if 
 he  had  said — Let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear  every  man.  As 
 the  child  should  hear  the  wiser  and  more  experienced  word  of 
 every  adult,  the  ignorant  the  instruction  of  every  one  who 
 knows  better,  the  younger  every  older  child ;  as  the  ungodly 
 should  hear  every  pious  and  righteous  man,  every  one  taught  of 
 God  who  might  instruct  them, — so  should  the  godless  hear  even 
 every  good  and  true  word  which  even  the  companion  of  his 
 godlessness  may  speak  to  him ;  and  much  more  should  the 
 righteous  hear  every  man  who  has  a  word  of  truth  for  him, 
 even  if  the  speaker  be  one  of  the  ungodly !  So  much  the  more, 
 so  much  the  more  willingly  and  humbly  should  he  hear,  because 
 he  would  be  a  righteous  man,  and  yet  remains  only  a  man. 
 
270  SWIFT  TO  HEAR. 
 
 Whenever  and  whencesoever  truth  comes  to  me,  the  truth 
 which  I  need,  it  comes  to  me  from  God ;  and  I  should  listen  to 
 the  truth,  because  the  opposite  would  be  sin,  and  lead  to  yet 
 greater  sin.  Remember  this  ever,  and  you  will  find  that  even 
 a  child  may  have  unconsciously  a  word  from  God  to  say  to  the 
 highest  saints.  Those  who  are  true,  sincere,  and  humble  saints, 
 will  receive  with  loyalty  and  obedience  every  such  word  com- 
 ing from  the  throne  of  their  King.  No  Christian  who  would 
 learn  on  till  he  has  learned  all,  and  is  perfect  as  his  Master, 
 asks,  when  a  good  word  reaches  his  ear  and  heart,  for  the  hand 
 and  seal  of  tiie  sender,  or  as  to  who  says  it ;  his  question  is 
 always  and  only  as  to  what  is  said.  He  does  not  even  ask 
 very  anxiously  as  to  the  how  it  may  have  been  said.  It  is  of 
 small  concernment  to  me  whether  that  which  I  ought  to  hear 
 in  righteousness,  and  may  hear  in  grace,  has  been  addressed 
 directly  to  myself  by  him  who  speaks — if  only  the  Holy  Ghost 
 directs  it  to  my  soul.  When  another  by  my  side  receives  a 
 rebuke,  and  the  rebuke  is  equally  suitable  to  me,  I  should 
 regard  it  as  addressed  also  to  myself.  Through  the  whole  of 
 life  the  rule  holds  good  which  applies  to  the  sermon — If  I  am 
 struck,  I  am  aimed  at !  So  can  the  hearer  make  useful  to  his 
 own  soul  all  that  spattered,  unavowed,  and  carelessly  tossed 
 about  truth,  of  which  there  is  incalculably  more  to  be  found 
 in  the  world  than  the  deaf  and  the  bUnd  observe  ;  so  may  the 
 Christian  come  out  of  a  frivolous  assembly,  which  he  could  not 
 avoid  entering,  bringing  away  many  good  things  for  himself. 
 Whether  he  who  teaches  or  rebukes  me  be  a  righteous  or  un- 
 righteous man,  whether  the  brother  acknowledge  and  obey  the 
 truth  which  comes  from  his  lips  or  not,  whether  he  strikes  me  in 
 kindness  or  with  a  bitter  Raca — does  not  affect  the  truth  which 
 it  is  for  me  to  hear  and  act  upon.  Woe  to  those  who  think 
 themselves  righteous,  and  have  not  yet  learned  that  the  pious 
 may  learn  to  advantage  from  the  evil  world,  and  the  servant  of 
 God  may  derive  profit  from  his  enemies. 
 
 As  has  been  said,  there  is  truth  enough,  there  are  words  of 
 truth  scattered  everywhere,  if  they  could  only  find  the  right 
 hearers!  The  word  of  truth  and  of  wisdom  from  above  resounds 
 by  no  means  only  in  the  sanctuary ;  they  may  be  heard  also  in 
 the  streets  :  learn  only  to  hear  and  distinguish  them  !  So  may 
 the  watchman,  though  drunk  himself,  while  lie  exhorts  thee  to 
 
JAMES  I.  19.  271 
 
 sobriety  and  watchfulness,  teacli  tliee  a  good  lesson  when  lie  cries 
 aloud  the  time  which  hastens  to  eternity.  So  may  the  stroke  of 
 the  inanimate  bell  be  as  the  crowing  of  the  cock  to  thee  when 
 sharino-  Simon  Peter's  carelessness.  All  time  is  full,  full  of 
 monitions  of  eternity ;  the  whole  world  of  the  creatures  is  full 
 of  references  to  God  the  Creator. 
 
 Therefore  we  said  at  the  outset  that,  finally,  there  is  some- 
 thin  o-  for  us  to  hear  in  all  the  world  and  in  the  whole  of  life. 
 The  simple  and  wise  saying  of  St  James  is  so  inexhaustible,  that 
 it  embraces  the  whole  world,  and  points  to  every  truth  worth 
 hearing  extant  in  the  world ;  or,  are  we  to  suppose,  with  the  ex- 
 aggerated Pietists,  that  he  proscribed  and  rejected  as  vanity  and 
 lie  all  that  did  not  immediately  spring  from  the  final  and  full 
 grace  of  Christ  ?  The  grace  and  truth  of  God  never  from  the 
 beginning  utterly  left  the  world  and  mankind  ;  never  left  itself 
 without  a  witness.  '^  For  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  filleth  the 
 world"  (Wisd.  i.  7).  Without  words,  He  speaks  still  in  the 
 creatui'e,  even  as  in  its  first  revelation.  The  heavens  declare  the 
 glory  of  God  ;  and  here  below  upon  eartli  one  day  showeth  forth 
 to  another,  one  night  to  another — the  great,  wordless  but  loud, 
 concealed  and  yet  manifest,  mystery.  Had  not  men  unlearned 
 the  understanding  of  this  speech,  there  would  have  been  no 
 heathens.  But  are  we  Christians  past  the  necessity  of  hearing 
 that  voice,  as  if  it  were  the  alphabet  which,  as  children,  we  have 
 left  behind  ?  God  forbid  !  As  the  New  Testament  fulfils  to 
 us  and  consummates  and  opens  the  Old,  so  Eevelation  gene- 
 rally leads  us  back  into  the  understanding  of  the  creation.  Now 
 first  can  we  read  again  the  secret  writing,  now  first  hear  the 
 Divine  words  in  things  inanimate.  As  the  parables  of  our  Lord 
 Jesus  disclose  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  figiu'es 
 which  have  existed  from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  so  have  we 
 everywhere  around  us,  if  our  minds  are  open  to  receive  it,  a  most 
 impressive  language  of  God.  How  many  are  there  who,  saturated 
 with  the  Bible,  but  not  soundly  instructed  in  it,  scorn  this  teach- 
 ing ;  but  would,  nevertheless,  be  delivered  from  many  delusions 
 and  errors,  if  they  would  begin  rightly  to  hear  this  voice  I 
 
 Further,  O  every  man,  before  thou  hearest  anything  beyond, 
 is  not  thine  own  life  full  of  God's  words  to  thee?  How  much 
 of  the  intervention  of  Providence  is  there,  even  in  the  midst  of 
 all  tliy  appointments  for  thyself ;  how  much  wholesome  teaching, 
 
272  SWIFT  TO  IIEAE. 
 
 discipline,  invitation,  and  warning?  All  good  gifts  preach — 
 Give  thanks  to  God  !  All  evil  preaches — Sin  is  the  soul's  ruin! 
 All  punishments  and  judgments,  the  evil  consequences  of  evil, 
 cry  aloud — He  that  will  not  hear,  must  feel !  The  child's  burnt 
 finger  asks — Why  didst  thou  not  listen  when  forbidden  to  touch? 
 This  is  a  thousand  times  repeated  in  life,  from  the  smallest  to  the 
 greatest  things ;  and  so,  on  the  other  hand,  are  the  endless  testi- 
 monies of  the  good  which  we  receive.  Men,  listen  to  your  own 
 experiences;  and  not  merely  to  your  own,  let  the  experience  of 
 all  the  world  be  turned  to  your  own  advantage.  Examples  every- 
 where speak  loudly  in  your  neighbours ;  mighty  is  the  preach- 
 ing of  the  history  of  God's  kingdom  and  of  the  world.  Narrow- 
 minded  Christians  neglect  history,  to  their  hurt :  the  good  gift 
 of  the  word  of  truth  must  by  all  Plis  children  be  received  when- 
 ever their  Father  points  them  to  it.  Much  error,  delusion,  and 
 prejudice,  would  retire,  if  they  were  willing  and  swift  to  hear 
 the  voice  of  God's  providence,  in  the  world  and  the  Church, 
 crying — Do  ye  not  perceive  and  know  that  thus  and  thus  I  deal 
 with  the  children  of  men  ?  O  that  we  were  not  so  slow  to  hear, 
 so  dull  of  apprehension,  so  soon  weary  of  learning !  To  hear 
 and  to  learn  is  the  first  step  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  and 
 regeneration  ;  but  hearing  and  learning  is  also  the  unchanging 
 way  to  the  goal  of  our  consummation.  On  the  edge  of  the  grave 
 awaits  us  the  last  word,  which  we  must  hear  to  our  final  perfec- 
 tion. This  is  the  wisdom  from  above,  that  we  cease  not  to  he 
 easy  to  he  entreated  from  above  (Jas.  iii.  17).  To  those  who  hear, 
 the  precious  promise  is  given  — "  Thine  ears  shall  hear  a  word 
 behind  thee,  saying.  This  is  the  way,  walk  ye  in  it;  neither  to  the 
 right  hand  nor  to  the  left"  (Is.  xxx.  21).  Thus  did  Christ,  the 
 Son  of  God  in  our  humanity,  hear  of  the  Father,  in  the  way  of 
 faith  and  obedience,  what  He  spake  to  the  world ;  thus  He  de- 
 livered to  us  the  truth  which  He  received  of  the  Father  (John 
 viii.  26,  40).  Let  us  through  His  grace  imitate  Him  in  this  ; 
 let  us  every  morning  open  our  ears,  that  we  may  hear  like  the 
 disciples,  and  not  be  disobedient  or  go  back: — then  will  the 
 Lord  give  to  us  also  the  tongue  of  the  learned,  that  we  should 
 know  how  to  speak  a  word  in  season  (Is.  1.  4,  5).  Then  shall  we 
 not  speak  what  comes,  swiftly  enough,  from  the  evil  or  erring 
 heart  to  the  tongue,  and  is  profitable  neither  to  ourselves  nor  to 
 our  brethren. 
 
JAMES  I.  19.  273 
 
 vn. 
 
 BUT  SLOW  TO  SPEAK. 
 
 (Ch.  i.  19.) 
 
 Wherefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear,  but  slow 
 to  speak,  and  slow  to  wrath. 
 
 Not  only  the  brother^  the  partaker  of  a  heavenly  calling, 
 whose  ear  has  been  opened  to  the  perception  of  the  word  of 
 truth,  v^ho  now  knows  the  gift  of  God,  and  Who  it  is  that 
 speaketh  to  him — not  only  the  believer  in  God  and  Christ, — should 
 hear,  but  ever}/  man  whose  ear  the  Father  will  yet  open,  to  whom 
 and  in  whom  the  Father's  word  is  also  speaking,  for  the  purpose 
 of  winning  him  through  hearing  to  faith.  But,  on  the  other 
 hand,  the  believer  must  not  suppose  that  only  others  are  bound 
 to  hear — as  if  he  had  himself  akeady  heard  all !  Against  this 
 more  or  less  consciously  presumptuous  and  sinful  inertness  to 
 hear,  St  James  enforces  the  keen  exhortation,  "  swift  to  hear ;" 
 for,  some  salutary  teaching  may  easily  be  neglected,  and  we  may 
 remain  wanting  in  some  gift  of  God  sent  down  to  us  in  vain  ! 
 
 But,  on  the  other  hand,  slow  to  speak  !  In  grace  the  order 
 of  nature  is  inverted  :  by  nature  every  man  is  slow  to  hear,  and 
 — alas,  much  too  swift  to  speak.  The  wheel  or  course  of  nature, 
 urged  by  the  internal  fire  of  the  inborn  character,  as  St  James 
 afterwards  (ch.  iii.  6)  profoundly  says,  drives  in  restless  svsdft- 
 ness  especially  the  tongue  of  the  natural  man  :  the  tongue  is  the 
 unruly  evil,  full  of  deadly  poison  out  of  the  fountain  of  corrup- 
 tion within  us ;  no  man  can  tame  it  (ch.  iii.  8-11).  But  by  the 
 grace  of  God  it  is  tamed  and  bound ;  consequently,  every  man 
 who  stands  and  lives  in  grace,  who  serves  God  in  new  obedience, 
 should  hold  his  tongue  in  check,  should  vigilantly  guard  against 
 the  evil  which  may  overflow  from  the  remains  of  the  old  man 
 in  him.  To  this  belongs  the  evil  and  bitter  wrath  of  man,  the 
 opposite  of  the  holy  love  of  God ;  but,  as  St  James  introduces 
 this  in  a  separate  clause,  we  will  reserve  it  for  another  discourse, 
 and  ponder  now  the  fruitful  words — hut  slow  to  speak  !  Be- 
 cause, through  the  deceitfulness  of  Satan,  we  have  not  stood  in 
 
 S      • 
 
274  BUT  SLOW  TO  SPEAK. 
 
 tlie  truth,  but  fallen  into  the  lie,  into  the  self-sufficiency  and  re- 
 bellion which  will  maintain  its  own  word, — all  our  oion  words 
 contradict  and  thwart  the  wholesome  hearing  of  the  word  from 
 above;  in  order,  therefore,  rightly  to  hear,  we  must  cease  to 
 speak  and  keep  silence.  Thus  St  Peter  repeats  for  the  New 
 Testament  the  ancient  words  of  David  :  "  He  that  will  love  hfe, 
 let  him  refrain  his  tongue  from  evil,  and  his  lips  that  they  speak 
 no  guile"  (1  Pet.  iii.  10)  — that  his  own  tongue  may  not  con- 
 tinually speak  guile  to,  and  deceive,  his  own  heart  (Jas.  i.  26). 
 "Whoso  keepeth  his  mouth  and  his  tongue,"  says  the  Wis- 
 dom of  Solomon,  "keepeth  his  soul  from  trouble:"  "he  that 
 keepeth  his  tongue  keepeth  his  Hfe ;  but  he  that  openeth  wide 
 his  lips  shall  have  destruction  :"  "death  and  life  are  in  the 
 power  of  the  tongue :  and  they  that  love  it  shall  eat  of  the  fruit 
 thereof"  (Prov.  xxi.  13,  xiii.  3,  xviii.  21). 
 
 Let  us  endeavour  now  thoroughly  to  investigate  in  order 
 what  kinds  of  evil  and  dangerous  spealdng  men  are  liable  to, 
 unless  they  give  strict  heed.  The  first  and  the  worst  is  obvi- 
 ously that  direct  contradiction  of  the  truth  of  God,  the  tendency 
 to  which  is  in  us  all, — implanted  in  our  hearts  by  him  who  was 
 a  liar  from  the  beginning.  So  at  the  first  the  sei'pent  spoke, 
 when  the  first  word  of  scruple.  Yea,  hath  God  said  ?  was  more 
 daringly  continued,  That  which  God  said  is  not  true ;  ye  shall 
 not  surely  die  the  death  I  From  that  time  men  have  consented 
 to  the  liar's  words  in  their  own  hearts ;  and  all  who  love  and 
 hold  fast  that  He  fall  into  ruin.  Such  are  those  whom  the 
 Epistle  to  the  Romans  calls  contentious,  that  is,  who  contend 
 with  God,  and  obey  not  the  truth  (Rom.  ii.  8). 
 
 This  spirit  of  contradiction  in  our  evil  nature  begins  from 
 earliest  childhood  to  rise  against  the  authority  of  those  set  over 
 us  in  the  place  of  God.  Mark  how  prompt  the  little  ones  are 
 to  learn  and  speak  out  the  No  :  that  should  never  be  regarded 
 by  us  as  a  trifling  thing,  or  as  the  innocent  awakening  of  inde- 
 pendence, but  as  the  early  expression  of  a  deep  corruption. 
 And  when  they  are  obliged  to  hear — these  weak  and  silly  child- 
 ren— when  their  No  does  not  succeed,  and  they  know  it,  with  all 
 kinds  of  questioning  why  they  interfere  and  protest,  before  they 
 hear  and  obey.  From  these  self-wise  !ihildren,  if  they  do  not 
 learn  God's  wisdom,  the  grown-up  people  spring,  who  are  never 
 in  heart  subject  to  God,  but  always  and  in  all  things  have  some 
 
JAMES  I.  19.  275 
 
 controversy  with  the  law  of  duty: — the  gainsaying,  answering 
 again,  servants  and  maidens  (Tit.  ii.  9)  ;  the  reasoning  subjects, 
 who,  at  least  with  then-  tongues,  fight  against  law  and  govern^ 
 ment,  and  would  carry  their  lawlessness  so  far  that  at  length 
 no  man  must  say  to  any  man  anything  in  the  name  of  God,  or 
 in  His  name  utter  any  command.  All  will  govern  and  teach 
 themselves.  And  yet  we  see  very  plainly  what  comes  of  all 
 this  speaking  :  every  man  will  be  in  the  right ;  every  one  opposes 
 in  the  spirit  of  selfishness  and  insurrection. 
 
 The  same  spirit  of  contradiction  proceeds  to  the  utterance  of 
 the  tongue — only  still  more  bold  and  free,  as  if  we  all  had  the 
 greatest  right — against  other  men  generally,  if  they  have  any- 
 thing to  say  to  us.  O  how  swift  we  are  to  retort  and  give  the 
 answer  back,  whenever  we  are  instructed  and  reproved  !  How 
 do  we  fence  ourselves  with  stiffnecked  folly  against  receiving 
 the  good  and  gentle  word !  We  have  a  thousandfold  repulsion 
 ready :  They  are  not  right,  and  we  know  better  !  or.  What  con- 
 cerns it  them,  and  why  should  they  take  upon  themselves  to 
 instruct  ?  We  are  swift  to  oppose  our  neighbour  with  the  word 
 of  that  Israelite  to  Moses — Intendest  thou  to  kill  me,  as  thou 
 killedst  the  Egyptian?  (Ex.  ii.  14) — as  if  that  could  alter  the 
 truth  of  the  word  spoken,  and  invalidate  our  duty  to  obey  it ! 
 Ye  men  who  so  resolutely  wiU  have  the  last  word  one  against 
 the  other,  think  of  the  judgment  in  which  God  mil  maintain 
 the  last  word  against  all ;  when  it  will  be  said  of  the  eternal 
 amazement  of  so  many — But  he  was  speechless  !  Are  ye  so 
 bold  as  to  resist  with  uttered  words  the  word  of  God  Himself, 
 the  Scripture  and  the  preaching  sent  of  God?  That  is  the  sad 
 sin  over  which  the  faithful,  longsuffering  God  now  laments — All 
 day  long  I  stretched  out  Mine  hands  to  a  disobedient  and  gainsay- 
 ing  people  !  (Rom.  x.  21).  So  the  Son  of  God,  through  whom 
 the  Father  spoke  at  the  last,  experienced  and  endured  the  con- 
 tradiction of  sinners  against  Himself  (Heb.  xii.  3); — the  Gospel 
 of  St  John  gives  us  many  examples.  Thus  is  it  ever  in  His 
 Christendom,  from  the  daring  contradiction  of  open  unbelief 
 down  to  the  disguised  and  unobeying  infidelity  of  those  who  yet 
 say  that  they  believe  in  Him.  Christians,  who  would  learn  in 
 order  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  be  on  your  guard  against  dis- 
 puting, which  leads  not  to  that  knowledge  ;  against  the  zeal  of 
 dogmatising,  which,  instead  of  listening  to  the  word  of  another, 
 
276  BUT  SLOW  TO  SPEAK. 
 
 is  only  thinking  what  to  reply  !  Take  heed  that  you  resort  not 
 to  repelling  artifices,  contradicting  and  complaining,  when  you 
 receive  exhortation ;  lest,  when  your  conscience  is  forced  to  ad- 
 mit the  truth,  your  tongue  be  too  ready  on  that  very  account  to 
 contradict !  Guard  against  the  disposition,  thence  springing  and 
 thither  leading,  to  speak  against  the  salutary  dealings  of  God 
 by  which  He  speaks  to  you  in  your  life  !  The  slightest  touch 
 of  contradiction  often  provokes  the  full  bitterness  of  rebellion ; 
 but  it  is  His  design,  not  to  vex  the  soul,  but  to  make  it  humble 
 and  silent. 
 
 When  we  no  longer  withstand  the  truth  which  comes  to  us, 
 we  often  have  at  least  apologies  and  evasions  :  this  is  another 
 Vind  of  naughty  speaking,  when  we  should  humbly  and  sin- 
 cerely hear.  Thus  Adam  began  in  Paradise,  and  it  still  goes 
 on ;  St  James  has  already  spoken  of  it  in  ver.  13.  After  the 
 sin  we  are  not  guilty  in  the  judgment,  but  in  the  end  rather  the 
 Lord  who  judgeth  us  :  we  were  deceived,  misled,  forced,  and 
 could  not  do  otherwise ;  circumstances  led  us  into  it ;  it  was 
 our  weakness,  conjoined  with  a  wicked  world  and  hot  tempta- 
 tion. Of  all  this  we  speak  not  here ;  but  refer,  on  the  other 
 hand,  to  the  cunning  readiness  with  which,  before  the  w^ord 
 which  would  condemn  our  sin,  we  anticipate  it  by  shifts  and 
 evasions  which  are  really  based  upon  a  secret  rejection  of  the 
 judgment  of  truth.  In  this  the  natural  man  has  learned  skill 
 from  the  craft  of  Satan.  Hence  arises  nearly  all  the  perver- 
 sion of  Scripture,  which  only  aims  to  turn  it  away  from  our  con- 
 science and  heart ;  the  perverse  exposition  of  the  commandment, 
 that  it  may  not  condemn  us,  as  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
 teaches ;  the  question.  Who  is  my  neighbour  ?  and  so  forth. 
 We  have  but  to  read  the  whole  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and 
 mark  how  the  man,  with  whom  the  Apostle  has  to  do,  inter- 
 jects his  evasions  and  demurs,  until  he  utters  at  last  the  bold, 
 Why  doth  He  yet  find  fault  ?  (Eom.  ix.  19).  Now,  the  clear 
 word  of  God  is  not  plain  enough,  so  that  we  have  much  to  say 
 about  it  at  first ;  then  the  simple  and  clear  exposition  must  be 
 forced,  for  we  believe  that  the  letter  is  not  to  be  so  literally 
 pressed;  now,  we  bring  something  that  we  have  found,  but 
 only  that  we  may  not  be  found  ourselves  as  simple  hearers. 
 And,  as  with  God's  immediate  word,  so  also  we  deal  with  every 
 word  of  man  which  condemns  us  for  God's  sake  and  the  truth's ; 
 
JAMES  I.  19.  277 
 
 we  are  always  too  swift  to  justify  ourselves  instead  of  receiving 
 condemnation,  to  maintain  our  own  superior  knowledge  rather 
 than  receive  instruction. 
 
 On  that  verj  account  we  are  so  swift  with  our  impertinent 
 and  officious  judgment  of  others,  in  which  we  forget  ourselves  : 
 a  new  and  most  fruitful  domain  of  the  speaking  here  condemned  ! 
 Before  we  rightly  understand  anything,  we  have  our  opinion 
 ready ;  before  we  have  received  the  word  thoroughly  to  our  own 
 amendment,  we  carry  it  round  for  the  instruction  and  amend- 
 ment of  others.  We  would,  in  our  heart's  cunning,  appear  to 
 be  what  we  are  not;  and  the  most  obvious  help  to  this  counter- 
 feiting is  the  wise  word  with  which  we  exalt  ourselves  over  our 
 neighbom*.  Therefore,  everything  that  happens  falls  under  our 
 ready  comment,  so  that  every  man  has  a  daily  news-sheet  upon 
 his  tongue ;  we  are  masters  of  the  world's  course,  have  a  word  of 
 judgment  for  everything  that  occurs  ;  as  if  that  which  God  per- 
 mits our  eyes  to  see  and  our  ears  to  hear  for  our  instruction, 
 was  permitted  rather  that  we  might  deliver  our  thoughts  upon 
 it !  We  are,  further,  self-appointed  judges  of  all  that  is  done 
 by  others ;  we  forget  altogether  that  we  should  learn  from  it 
 lessons  for  ourselves,  and  prefer  to  pour  forth  our  foolish  com- 
 ments of  wisdom.  We  know  how  this  man  or  that  might  have 
 done  better,  how  we  would  have  done  it  in  his  place  ;  without 
 knowing  that  we  might  instead  have  done  much  worse.  O  the  mis- 
 chief of  this  judging,  criticising,  whispering,  backbiting,  gossiping 
 about  every  event  in  the  world,  and  every  action  of  the  men 
 around  us !  Against  this  Sirach's  son  cries  out — "What  God  hath 
 commanded  thee,  think  thereupon  with  diligence ;  Be  not  curious 
 in  things  which  are  not  in  thy  office ;  for  more  things  are  showed 
 thee  than  thou  canst  settle"  (Ecclus.  iii.  22,  23).  If  our  judg- 
 ment is  right,  all  the  more  unright  is  it  that  we  should  turn 
 into  a  mere  external  thing,  to  be  talked  about,  that  teacliing 
 and  truth  which  is  given  us  for  our  silent  hearing  and  profit — 
 placing  the  speaking  precisely  in  the  place  of  hearing.  Every 
 man  would  be  a  teacher,  few  suffer  themselves  to  be  taught. 
 This  is  too  much  and  too  long  the  failing  of  Christians,  much 
 more  so  than  they  are  generally  willing  to  admit  or  condemn  in 
 themselves.  Is  not  this  with  many  the  first  sign,  though  not 
 the  right  one,  of  their  having  apprehended  a  truth,  that  they 
 are  at  once  anxious  to  inculcate  it  upon  others  ?     The  faithful 
 
278  BUT  SLOW  TO  SPEAK. 
 
 pastor,  wliose  object  it  is  to  bring  bis  people  rightly  to  hear, 
 finds  this  among  his  great  troubles,  that  their  swift  tongues  come 
 so  much  into  collision  with  his  teaching  and  exhortation  ;  how 
 often  it  is  needful  that  he  should  remind  those  w^hom  he  visits 
 in  their  sickness  or  otherwise — I  am  not  come  that  we  may  dis- 
 course together  as  being  both  wise,  but  that  I  may  say  to  you 
 some  spiritual  truth  that  you  need !  How  many  Christians  will 
 hold  to  it,  that  God's  word  is  matter  about  which  people  must 
 talk  together — God's  word,  which  ahvays  should  directly  speak 
 to  our  hearts  !  Dear  brethren,  examine  yourselves  by  this  and 
 all  that  has  been  already  said,  and  see  whether  this  evil  clings 
 to  yourselves.  Guard  against  the  so  much  loved  "  pious  con- 
 versations," which  are  often  so  unprofitable,  which  are  often 
 no  more  than  mere  babblin^js  and  idle  talk !  Do  not  talk 
 away  from  your  hearts  the  power  and  the  blessing  of  saving 
 truth !  Miserable  is  it  that  the  grand  and  w^eighty  words  of  the 
 Bible — sin,  grace,  repentance,  faith,  sanctification,  prayer — and 
 the  most  piercing  and  the  most  instructive  of  its  sayings,  so 
 swiftly  glide  over  our  tongues.  And  how  easily  and  unprofitably 
 the  name  of  God  springs  to  our  lips  !  Luther  says  :  "  The  devil 
 is  a  knave,  and  has  no  objection  that  the  name  of  the  Lord 
 should  be  on  people's  tongues,  if  he  himself  lies  under  them." 
 
 Similarly,  we  speak  quite  enough  about  earthly  things ;  and 
 that  is  a  kind  of  speaking  against  which  we  should  be  on  our 
 guard.  It  may  seem  to  be  at  least  indifferent ;  but  as  being 
 mere  speaking  it  is  evil,  for  it  takes  the  place  of  hearing.  He 
 that  speaks  cannot,  at  the  time  that  he  is  speaking,  hear.  But 
 how  little  pleasure,  and  how  little  practice,  in  the  art  of  holy 
 silence  is  there  even  in  the  Christian  world ;  how  little  stillness 
 of  heart  for  that  always  necessary  silence,  when  foolish  custom 
 requires  the  conversation  to  be  kept  up  without  pause  in  every 
 company !  Can  that  be  good ;  and  is  it  necessary  that  it  should 
 be  so?  In  how  many  companies  would  every  one  have  the 
 word,  but  no  one  receive  it ;  and  when  all  is  over,  and  the  guests 
 go  home,  what  have  they  got  from  the  whole,  as  men  even  for 
 time,  and  as  Christians  for  eternity  ?  This  they  have  gotten,  that 
 it  may  be  said  of  them,  They  bring  their  years  to  an  end  as  a  tale 
 that  is  told  !  (Ps.  xc.  9).  But  living  and  dying  is  too  solemn  for 
 any  hour  to  be  spent  in  idle  tales,  which  might  be  my  last  hour. 
 Even  if  thou  sayesi^  I  speak  nothing  that  is  evil !  it  is  bad  enough 
 
J.U1ES  I.  19.  279 
 
 to  say  tliat.  Very  seldom  wilt  thou  be  able  to  say  that ;  for  he 
 who  speaks  often  and  much  will  hardly  fail  to  intermingle  foolish 
 words.  But,  were  it  not  so,  thou  shouldst  speak  what  is  good, 
 thou  shouldst  hear  what  is  good ;  for  that  thou  livest  thy  years,  and 
 days,  and  hours.  This  the  foolish  talkers  know  full  well  in  their 
 consciences  ;  their  idle  talk  is  not  so  innocent  as  it  appears ;  they 
 talk  so  vehemently,  in  many  cases,  simply  to  prevent  the  good 
 word  from  coming  home  to  themselves ;  they  go  up  and  down  the 
 trifling  world  only  that  they  may  avoid  entering  into  themselves. 
 To  speak  gently  as  possible,  many  remain  their  life  long  like  little 
 children  who  would  show  that  they  can  speak,  and  think  aloud. 
 And  is  that  seemly  for  adult  men,  or  children  of  God  ?  And 
 what  trivialities  are  often  the  unworthy  matter  of  our  con- 
 verse !  Again,  how  do  the  greatest,  most  important,  matters  run 
 through  the  foolish  babbling,  without  ha^dng  the  ear  of  the  heart 
 opened  to  hear  them  !  The  Creator  gave  us  two  ears  and  one 
 mouth — we  all  know  why,  as  the  proverb  says.  "Women  hear  not, 
 and  will  not  be  talked  to,"  is  a  common  saying.  And  why  not? 
 Because  they  themselves  have  always  so  much  to  say.  But  there 
 are  men  enough  who  need  the  apostolical  warning — Let  no  cor- 
 rupt conversation  proceed  out  of  your  mouth  !  Let  no  man  de- 
 ceive you  with  vain  words ;  for  because  of  these  things  the  wrath 
 of  God  Cometh  upon  the  children  of  disobedience.  Therefore  be 
 ye  not  partakers  with  them  (Eph.  iv.  29,  v.  6,  7).  By  these 
 words  are  meant  also  all  that  empty  babbling  which  dissipates 
 the  thoughts,  which  makes  a  man  to  shut  out  the  Holy  Spirit 
 and  the  voice  of  God  in  the  conscience.  There  are  many  dili- 
 gent church-goers,  who  after  the  Divine  service  industriously 
 chatter  away  the  effect  of  what  they  have  heard,  and  lose  all 
 the  benefit  of  the  holy  day  which  they  desecrate,  instead  of  going 
 into  secret  to  recall  the  words  which  they  have  received  into 
 their  hearts,  and  to  supplicate  the  presence  and  blessing  of  God 
 to  confirm  His  words.  Idle  talking,  therefore,  is  not  merely 
 a  misuse  of  the  tongue,  but  it  squanders  the  season  of  grace, 
 hinders  the  hearing  that  might  be  salutary,  and  robs  the  good 
 word  of  truth  of  its  rights  and  influence.  This  is  most  manifest 
 in  the  tumultuous  life  of  the  ungodly,  who  are  miserable  when 
 reduced  to  stillness.  As  the  soldiers  march  over  the  battle-field 
 with  sound  of  fife  and  drum  to  drown  the  complaining  sighs  of 
 the  dying,  so  do  these  ungodly  make  loud  noise  that  they  may 
 
280  BUT  SLOW  TO  SPEAK. 
 
 drown  the  gentle  word  of  lamentation — Thou  art  destroying 
 thyself  !  Thou  art  passing  over  the  field  of  thine  own  slaughter  ! 
 If  a  man  must  go  away  from  home  to  find  contentment,  it  is 
 a  sign  that  he  is  secretly  unhappy.  He  can  have  no  peace  in 
 his  own  heart  who  must  always  live  abroad,  and  for  ever  lets 
 his  thoughts  roam  at  the  command  of  his  tongue  over  all  the 
 earth.  Those  who  are  truly  and  fundamentally  awakened  be- 
 come quiet :  that  is  the  first  sure  sign  that  they  have  begun  to 
 hear  the  word  from  above.  Be  not  hasty  with  thy  mouth,  and 
 let  not  thine  heart  be  rash  to  speak  anything  before  God;  for 
 God  is  in  heaven  and  thou  upon  earth,  therefore  let  thy  words 
 be  few  (Eccles.  v.  1).  He  who  feels  this,  and  begins  to  hear, 
 ceases  to  speak ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  that  he  may  hear, 
 he  must  refrain  from  speaking.  He  that  begins  to  hear  must 
 become  silent ;  but  it  is  only  the  first  hearing  of  God's  voice 
 which  silences  our  own  incessant  speaking. 
 
 But  the  incessant  speaking  of  men  may  be  thought  an  ex- 
 aggeration. No  man  is  continually  speaking,  it  may  be  said. 
 But  if  we  look  into  the  deepest  meaning  of  St  James'  word,  we 
 shall  note  that  all  the  improper  speaking  with  which  w^e  have  been 
 dealing  may  have  an  internal  existence.  It  is  with  the  speaking 
 as  with  the  hearing.  As  the  conscience  gives  testimony  within 
 our  hearts  by  accusing  thoughts,  and  the  Spirit  in  our  conscience 
 by  convincing  or  instructing  word,  so  also  in  our  hearts  arise 
 the  excusing  thoughts  and  words,  the  contradictions  of  the 
 rebellious  spirit.  Every  man  carries  on,  as  long  as  he  lives,  an 
 inward  colloquy  with  himself.  Many  seem  outwardly  still,  but 
 within  there  is  the  roar  of  the  market-place ;  thoughts  and 
 images  in  tumultuous  confusion,  which  utterly  prevent  them 
 from  hearing  what  God  may  directly  or  indirectly  speak  to  their 
 hearts.  And  does  not  that  evil  still  adhere  to  our  nature,  be- 
 loved brethren  ?  The  talldng  of  the  inner  babbler  accompanies 
 and  persecutes  us  even  under  the  pulpit,  when  we  read  the 
 Scriptures,  when  we  are  engaged  in  prayer,  to  prevent  if  pos- 
 sible our  hearing  the  word  or  the  answer  of  God !  O  let  us 
 notwithstanding  hear,  let  us  eagerly  hearken,  that  we  may  press 
 forward  to  obey  !  Let  us  stifle  all  vain  babbling  within  by  the 
 rational  word  of  Zophar  the  Naamathite — Should  not  the  multi- 
 tude of  words  be  answered?  (Job  xi.  2). 
 
 Then,  when  we  have  heard,  fundamentally  heard,  may  we 
 
JA]VIES  I.  19.  281 
 
 not  speak?  Assuredly;  for  St  James  exhorts  us  only  to  be 
 slow  and  prudent  to  speak ;  he  would  not  impose  silence  upon 
 us,  as  Pythagoras  did  upon  his  disciples ;  he  would  not  make 
 Trappists  or  Carthusians  of  us,  whose  tongues  can  only  utter 
 memento  mori.  But  what  we  speak  should  come  from  the 
 truth  which  we  have  learned,  from  the  wisdom  which  we  have 
 received,  to  the  honour  of  God,  and  to  the  profit  of  our  neigh- 
 bour. "  The  lips  of  talkers  will  be  telling  such  things  as  per- 
 tain not  imto  them :  but  such  as  have  understanding  weigh 
 their  words  in  a  balance.  The  heart  of  fools  is  in  their  mouth : 
 but  the  mouth  of  the  wise  is  in  their  heart "  (Ecclus.  xxi.  25 
 26).  The  tongue  also  is  a  member  which  we  should  consecrate 
 to  the  service  of  righteousness,  truth,  and  love.  Let  him  that 
 hath  spoken  evil  and  false,  do  so  no  more ;  but  rather  let  him 
 get  somethhig  good  by  hearing,  that  he  may  have  to  give  to 
 him  that  needeth — something  good  to  the  use  of  edifying,  that 
 it  may  minister  grace  unto  the  hearers  (Eph.  iv.  28,  29).  O 
 how  needful  is  edification;  and  how  do  God's  poor  people  hunger 
 for  the  bread  of  God,  of  which  man  liveth  !  Should  we  not 
 always  be  ready  to  place  before  them  what  God  hath  given  to 
 us?  We  should  assuredly  not  merely  be  always  ready  with  an 
 answer,  when  the  reason  of  our  faith  is  demanded  (1  Pet.  iii.  15); 
 we  should  also,  as  the  Lord's  disciples,  make  His  word  our  own 
 — I  will  preach  righteousness  in  the  great  congregation :  lo,  I 
 ^NoU  not  refrain  my  hps !  (Ps.  xl.  9). 
 
 But  then  we  must  be  slow  to  speak,  prudent  and  not  preci- 
 pitate, even  in  the  words  of  an  earnest  testimony,  instruction, 
 and  exhortation  !  Let  us  see  to  it  that  we  rightly  hit  the 
 Where  and  the  When,  and  not  cast  our  pearls  before  swine. 
 Let  us  avoid  the  many  words,  which  are  not  profitable  either  in 
 preaching  or  in  prayer,  either  in  brotherly  exhortation  or  in 
 teaching.  One  word,  spoken  in  its  season,  is  like  an  apple  of 
 gold  in  a  frame  of  silver  (Prov.  xxv.  11) — it  is  of  more  worth 
 and  efficiency  than  a  hundred  others.  "  There  is  that  speaketh 
 like  the  piercings  of  a  sword,"  though  he  may  mean  to  utter 
 words  of  true  wisdom ;  "  but  the  tongue  of  the  wise  is  health  " 
 (Prov.  xii.  18,  xxvi.  9).  A  wholesome  tongue  is  a  tree  of  life 
 (Prov.  XV.  4),  and  bears  its  precious  fruit ;  but  that  must 
 always  be  a  slow  and  prudent  tongue.  Therefore,  to  end  all, 
 not  swift  to  speak,  and  fill  the  Christian  world  with  words  with 
 
282   -  SLOW  TO  WRATH. 
 
 out  power  and  fruit,  of  which  it  has  a  superfluity  already ;  but 
 in  all  our  speaking,  as  well  as  in  all  our  actions,  study  to  be 
 profitable  to  others  and  to  ourselves,  to  bear  testimony  to  the 
 truth,  and  to  advance  the  work  of  righteousness  in  love. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 SLOW   TO   WEATH. 
 
 (Ch.  i.  19,  20.) 
 
 Wherefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear,  but  slow 
 to  speak,  and  slow  to  wrath.  For  the  wrath  of  man  worketh  not  that 
 which  is  right  before  God. 
 
 Of  all  the  sins  which  flow  from  inconsiderate  and  unbridled 
 swiftness  to  speak,  and  which  are  the  outbursts  of  our  natural 
 corruption,  St  James  singles  out  and  makes  solemnly  promi- 
 nent one  as  the  chief — that  is,  wrath.  But  it  strikes  us  at  once 
 that,  even  as  he  does  not  absolutely  forbid  all  speaking,  so  his 
 warning  only  says — slow  to  wrath  !  And  rightly  so ;  for  how 
 could  he  absolutely  denounce  all  wrath,  when  there  must  neces- 
 sarily be  a  good  and  holy  indignation  ?  Such  is,  first  of  all, 
 the  wrath  of  God,  spoken  of  throughout  His  word,  and  attested 
 in  act  by  all  His  government  of  the  world  and  His  kingdom  : 
 from  the  time  that  the  wrath  of  God  was  first  revealed  from 
 heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteousness  of  men, 
 who  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteousness  (Rom.  i.  18),  down  to 
 the  great  day  of  His  wrath,  -which  is  also  called  the  wrath  of 
 the  Lamb,  when  nothing  but  the  cup  of  His  wrath  shall  be 
 given,  and  the  great  wine-press  of  the  wrath  of  God  shall  be 
 trodden  (Rev.  vi.  16,  17,  xiv.  10,  19).  In  opposition  to  this  St 
 James  places  manifestly  the  wrath  of  men,  ungodly  and  unjus- 
 tifiable, which  springs  from  the  loveless  nature  of  man  ;  but 
 he  at  the  same  time  presupposes  that  a  man  of  God  may,  in 
 the  Spirit  and  the  name  of  God,  entertain  a  just  and  proper 
 wrath.  Therefore,  in  respect  to  the  wrath,  as  in  respect  to  the 
 speaking,  he  makes  a  distinction ;  and  requires  that  we  be 
 slow  and  cautious,  lest  we  miss  in  this  matter  the  line  of  recti- 
 
JAMES  I.  19,  20.  283 
 
 tude.  For,  there  certainly  is  a  good  wrath  and  zeal ;  but 
 there  is  a  manifestly  evil  wrath,  and  also  that  which  is  only 
 seemingly  good. 
 
 We  all  know,  through  ourselves  and  others,  by  experience 
 and  observation,  what  is  an  evidently  wicked  wrath.  This  rises 
 in  the  unrighteous  man  when  the  truth  is  spoken  to  him  which 
 he  will  not  hear  and  accept ;  when  this  good  gift  is  sent  do^^^l 
 tb  him  by  God,  the  evil  man  within  him  rages,  shows  its  malig- 
 nity, and  pours  out  its  rash  contradiction.  This  wicked  wrath 
 may  spring  also  from  his  self-complacency,  when  his  beloved 
 self  is  wounded,  though  the  injury  may  be  but  slight.  Against 
 all  at  once  Moses  speaks,  "  Thou  shalt  not  hate  thy  brother  in 
 tliine  heart :  thou  shalt  in  any  wise  rebuke  thy  neighbour,  and 
 not  suffer  sin  upon  him;  thou  shalt  not  avenge,  nor  bear  grudge" 
 (Lev.  xix.  17,  18)  ; — and  we  Christians  know  the  like  words  of 
 our  jNIaster,  Lawgiver,  and  Judge,  "  Whosoever  is  angry  with 
 his  brother  mthout  a  cause,  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judgment!" 
 (Matt.  V.  22).  Thou^  sinful  man,  as  such  hast  no  right  to  judge 
 and  avenge ;  for,  thy  neighbour's  sin  does  thee  no  wrong,  thy 
 equal  sin  has  long  ago  deserved  all  this  and  more.  And  even 
 when  thy  proud  and  bitter  wrath  finds  vent  only  in  words  of 
 reproach,  the  text  speaks  of  them  as  an  act.  The  ^vrath  of  man 
 worheth  not  that  which  is  right  before  God  :  that  is,  at  the  out- 
 set, the  words  are  before  God  equivalent  to  acts,  for  they  pro- 
 ceed from  the  heart  and  its  evil  treasure  like  the  works  ;  they 
 are  also  fniits  by  which  the  tree  is  known,  and  on  the  ground 
 of  which  the  judgment  of  the  last  day  will  be  pronounced.  It 
 is  thus  that  God  sees  and  judges  :  He  does  not  regard  (like 
 foohsh  men  generally)  the  evil  effect  or  hurt  which  has  resulted 
 or  may  result  from  a  wicked  word,  but  the  spirit  from  which  it 
 springs  and  to  which  it  bears  witness.  If  the  blinded  king- 
 slayer  had,  like  Shimei,  reviled  the  Lord's  Anointed  before  the 
 people  with  his  tongue,  instead  of  madly  seizing  the  weapons  of 
 death  which  God  turned  aside,  it  might  have  been  even  worse 
 iniquity  and  heavier  guilt.  There  are  poisonous  words  of  cal- 
 culated malice  which  may  outweigh  in  their  malignant  effects 
 many  a  malicious  act.  There  are  slanders  w^hich  are  among 
 the  bitterest  fruits  of  the  corrupt  tree.  There  may  be  a  persistent 
 injury  and  wrong  done  to  an  enemy  by  words  alone,  in  the  very 
 spirit  and  manner  of  the  devil.     So  there  is  a  blasphemy  against 
 
284  SLOW  TO  WRATH 
 
 the  known  truth  of  God  which,  as  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost, 
 becomes  unpardonable. 
 
 But  if  the  word  of  wrath  doeth  unrighteousness,  it  also  worketh 
 unrighteousness,  as  far  as  in  it  lies ;  and  this  is  further  the 
 meaning  of  St  James.  Afterwards  in  ch.  iii.  he  will  teach  us 
 most  impressively  the  power  and  significance  of  words ;  and 
 show,  what  we  now  only  hint  at  by  anticipation,  that  through- 
 out the  history  of  the  world  the  tongue  hath  done  great  things, 
 and  that  good  or  evil  words  work  righteousness  or  unrighteous- 
 ness like  widespreading  acts.  The  word  is  a  fruit  whose  seed  is 
 in  itself ;  and  who  can  apprehend  or  describe  the  secret  influ- 
 ence which  in  this  or  in  that  direction,  and  sooner  or  later,  that 
 seed  may  grow  to  ?  One  word  gives  occasion  for  another,  revil- 
 ing leads  to  counter-reviling — as  we  know  full  well.  Finally, 
 when  we  begin  to  give  our  v^rath  free  course  upon  our  lips,  it 
 soon  grows  impatient  of  that  limit  and  takes  to  itself  hands  and 
 feet,  becoming  an  accomplished  act.  It  is  vain  to  say — I  only 
 spoke  and  did  nothing.  On  the  contrary,  our  confession  must 
 too  often  be — I  meant  only  to  speak,  but  in  my  wrath  I  have 
 thus  and  thus  done  !  The  wrathful  man  loses  the  dominion 
 over  himself,  being  blinded  and  possessed  by  passion  ;  he  is  be- 
 yond the  restraint  of  thought,  hears  and  sees  nothing,  and  his 
 rage  rages  like  a  fire  of  hell,  which  indeed  it  is.  Ten  thousand 
 examples  show  into  what  abysses  this  may  cast  a  man.  Therefore 
 St  James  does  not  say,  Man  in  his  wrath ; — ^but,  The  wrath  of 
 man,  when  it  hurries  him  away,  after  the  reins  have  been  given 
 to  his  tongue, — worketh  that  which  is  not  right  before  God. 
 "  For  wrath  killeth  the  foolish  man,  and  indignation  slayeth  the 
 silly  one"  (Job  v.  2).  "  An  angry  man  stirrethup  strife,  and  a 
 furious  man  aboundeth  in  transgression"  (Prov.  xxix.  22).  The 
 life  of  every  man,  and  the  history  of  every  house,  gives  exam- 
 ples enough  ;  be  warned  therefore,  lest  this  happen  to  thee  ;  be 
 on  thy  guard  against  thine  anger,  for  thou  art  but  a  man,  in 
 whom  this  poison  exists.  Alas!  it  is  so,  though  it  should  not  be. 
 For  what  is  man,  a  sinner,  and  miserable,  that  he  should  rise  up 
 before  God,  under  whose  mercy  he  lives  and  breathes,  and  dare 
 to  be  transported  into  wrath?  But  this  unholy  passion  is  so 
 deeply  interwoven  in  man's  nature,  that  we  seek  in  vain  the 
 saint  in  whom  the  danger  of  its  excess  is  utterly  quenched. 
 But  the  most   perverse  and   wicked  wrath   of   man  rises 
 
285 
 
 against  God,  against  that  which  is  in  the  sight  of  God  right, 
 especially  against  the  well-merited,  wholesome  punishment  and 
 discipline  which  comes  from  the  hand  of  God.  O  that  we  at 
 least,  dear  brethren,  might  be  made  free  from  that  wrath, 
 through  grace  in  the  obedience  of  the  truth  !  O  that  we  may 
 learn  to  receive  meekly,  as  from  God,  what  righteously  is  our 
 due  !  Tobit  murmured  not  against  God  when  he  lost  his  sight, 
 but  gave  alms,  and  increased  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and 
 praised  Him  (Tob.  xiv.  2).  Of  how  few  may  that  be  said  in 
 their  calamities  !  To  how  many  is  the  Lord's  word  to  Jonah 
 appropriate,  when  things  go  not  after  their  will — Doest  thou 
 well  to  be  angry  about  the  gourd  ?  Even  Jonah  the  Prophet 
 said  in  blind  anger  to  the  Lord — I  do  well  to  be  angry  even 
 unto  death !  (Jon.  iv.  Q).  Take  heed  to  avoid  such  wrath  and 
 rashness,  which  would  be  laughable  were  it  ever  right  to  laugh 
 at  sin.  Become  not  like  the  ungodly  and  the  fools,  who 
 when  God  Himself  has  set  something  in  opposition  to  their  self- 
 will,  revenge  it  upon  all  that  come  too  near  to  them.  Or,  has 
 a  man  actually  done  you  injustice  ?  Even  then,  let  not  others 
 suffer  for  your  wrath  ;  and  let  not  the  offender  himself ;  restrain 
 your  wrath,  which  in  you  is  an  equal  offence.  Whatever  right 
 you  may  have  in  the  quarrel,  no  sinful  man  has  a  right  to  be 
 angry  and  avenge  himself.  "  Avenge  not  yourselves,  beloved, 
 but  give  place  unto  wrath ;  for  it  is  ivritten.  Vengeance  is  Mine, 
 I  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord"  (Kom.  xii.  19).  To  suffer  un- 
 justly is  better  than  to  act  unjustly ;  but  your  ^vrath  always 
 worketh  unrighteousness,  because  it  is  an  invasion  of  God's 
 prerogative,  and  you  can  never  safely  apply  the  standard  of 
 right  and  of  wrong  for  yourself.  Revile  not  again,  therefore, 
 when  reviled ;  rule  your  wrath  in  meekness  and  patience,  ac- 
 cording to  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  ;  speak  not  in  wrath  ;  at  least 
 act  not  in  any  such  manner  as  your  returning  self-possession 
 would  repent  of.  This  is  the  meaning  of  the  Apostle's  word 
 taken  from  the  Psalms — Be  ye  angry,  and  sin  not!  in  which 
 he  allows  a  holy  indignation,  but  adds,  with  reference  to  the 
 evil — Let  not  the  sun  go  down  upon  your  TVTath  (Eph.  iv.  26). 
 That  slowly  digested  anger,  fed  through  days  and  nights,  ripened 
 in  silent  plans, — how  wilful  and  how  fearful  is  its  sinfulness  ! 
 But  also  the  sudden  wrath,  which  hm'ries  a  man  away,  is  no 
 less  sin ;  and  God  will  never  allow  the  foolish  and  daring  ex- 
 
286  SLOAV  TO  WRATH. 
 
 cuse — "I  was  made  to  sin  by  others.  My  anger  spoke  and 
 acted,  and  not  myself !"  O  wicked  man,  who  could  make  thee 
 wicked  if  thou  wert  not  wicked ;  and  is  not  thy  anger  thy  own, 
 the  wrath  of  man  ? 
 
 No — you  may  say  in  some  cases — it  is  God's  wrath  which 
 I  would  exhibit.  Do  you  suppose  so  ?  Be  very  sure  that  you 
 are  right,  and  beware  of  a  seemingly  holy  ivrathi  Alas!  this 
 latter  so  easily  and  so  perilously  allies  itself  with  unholy  wrath, 
 that  the  keenest  test  will  be  needful.  Unholy  wrath  almost 
 always  says,  in  its  blindness — "I  only  desire  what  is  right;  I 
 am  in  the  right,  and  I  act  right!"  Is  it  really  only  right,  O 
 man  ?  Eeally  so,  before  God  ?  Wouldst  thou  with  hatred  in 
 thine  heart  become  a  servant  of  the  righteousness  of  eternal 
 love?  There  are  a  hundred  chances  against  one  that  it  is 
 merely  the  lie,  the  self-deception  of  unholy  wrath,  which  is 
 always  right  until  the  wrong  glaringly  appear.  Take  heed, 
 and  guard  against  this  with  cautious  care !  If  it  was  another 
 who  excited  your  wrath,  that  is  not  your  justification,  but  rather 
 enhances  your  guilt ;  for  you  should  not  return  evil  for  evil, 
 but  overcome  evil  with  good.  Your  gentleness  should  resist 
 the  wrath  which  is  in  the  world,  as  a  barrier  set  against  it.  "  A 
 soft  answer  turneth  away  wrath;  but  grievous  words  stir  up 
 anger"  (Prov.  xv.  1).  "  If  thou  blow  the  spark,  it  shall  burn  : 
 if  thou  spit  upon  it,  it  shall  be  quenched ;  and  both  these  come 
 out  of  thy  mouth  "  (Ecclus.  xxviii.  12).  If  you  would  really 
 quench  the  wicked  fire  which  is  in  the  world,  overcome  its  evil 
 and  save  it  from  its  sin,  see  to  it  that  you  do  it  prudently. 
 "  But  that  is  my  endeavour;  this  is  the  reason  of  my  sacred  zeal 
 before  God,  that  I  may  do  what  is  right !"  Well,  if  it  is  to  do 
 what  is  right ;  but  be  diligent  to  test  your  spirit,  lest  something 
 else  mingles  with  your  purpose !  If  any  human  wTath  be 
 mixed  up  with  it,  this  will  pervert  your  intention ;  and  how  can 
 you  then  effect  what  is  right  ?  As  long  as  this  is  to  be  feared, 
 cease  from  your  doubtful  zeal !  "  Fret  not  thyself  because  of 
 evil-doers ;  neither  be  thou  envious  against  the  workers  of  ini- 
 quity" (Ps.  xxxvii.  1).  Probably  it  may  be  with  you  as  with 
 David,  who  was  exceedingly  angry  with  the  man  who  had  done 
 such  evil,  and  said  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  "  As  God  liveth, 
 the  man  is  a  son  of  death  " — and  the  Lord  said  to  him,  "  Thou 
 art  the  man!"  (2  Sam.  xii.  5-7).     And  even  were  it  not  so, 
 
JAilES  I.  19,  20.  287 
 
 thou  art  at  least  not  the  man,  uncalled  and  unbidden,  to  execute 
 right. 
 
 And  now  comes  in  the  literal,  exact  translation  of  the  text, 
 in  which  the  sentence  brings  out  its  full  meaning — The  wrath 
 of  man  worketli  not  the  righteousness  of  God.  That  in  your 
 apparently  good  intention  you  would  accomplish ;  but  you  will 
 not,  you  cannot,  effect  it  by  anger.  In  truth,  there  may  be 
 right  in  your  object,  though  unright  in  the  manner ;  you  may 
 be  aiming  at  a  good  end,  though  in  a  spirit  not  in  accordance 
 with  that  end.  Your  anger  will  never  subserve  the  cause  of 
 righteousness,  either  in  yourself  or  in  others.  Evil  can  never 
 be  overcome  but  by  good  ;  this  good,  however,  is  love.  Where 
 zeal  is  not  actuated  by  the  pm-e  and  genuine  love  which  comes 
 from  God,  it  increases  the  e\dl,  instead  of  mending  it;  for 
 wrath  kindles  wrath,  natm^e  answers  nature,  darkness  can  kindle 
 no  light  in  darkness.  Hence,  it  is  written,  "  Fathers,  provoke 
 not  your  children  to  wrath  !"  (Eph.  vi.  4)  ;  and  that  is  a  word 
 of  counsel  for  all  rulers  and  teachers,  for  all  whose  business  or 
 desire  it  is  to  bring  men  to  God,  and  instruct  them  in  the  way 
 of  godliness.  O  that  our  blind  zealots  in  state,  and  church,  and 
 school,  would  think  of  this  !  "  For  where  env}' ing  and  strife  is, 
 there  is  confusion  and  every  evil  work;"  no  good  results  can 
 follow  the  contention  of  human  passion  in  the  cause  of  righteous- 
 ness. "  For  the  fruit  of  righteousness  is  soAvn  in  peace  of  them 
 that  make  peace"  (Jas.  iii.  16,  18).  "  He  that  hath  knowledge 
 measureth  out  his  words :  and  a  man  of  understanding  is  of  a 
 composed  spirit"  (Prov.  xvii.  27).  But  there  is  no  thoughtful 
 understanding  in  false  zeal ;  and  how  can  it  work  the  right- 
 eousness of  God?  Impatience  cannot  accomplish  that  which 
 must  be  the  ripe  and  waited-for  fruit  of  the  seed  that  was  sown. 
 No  concerns  are  furthered  by  passion  and  haste  ;  least  of  all  the 
 things  of  God,  which  demand  deep  wisdom  and  long  patience. 
 
 Therefore,  slow  to  wrath,  beloved  brethren  !  Carefully  and 
 thoughtfully  testing  your  motives  and  emotions,  in  order  that 
 there  may  be  no  precipitation,  either  in  manifestly  or  in  seem- 
 ingly justifiable  wrath.  Let  your  first  care  be  always  to 
 distinguish  between  the  true  and  the  spurious  in  your  indig- 
 nant sentiments.  Commune  wdth  your  own  heart  and  be  still 
 before  God,  that  ve  may  be  able  to  indulge  anger  without  sin 
 (Ps.  iv.  4). 
 
288  SLOW  TO  WRATH. 
 
 For  there  certainly  is  a  good  and  lioly  wrath  of  zeal.  Such 
 is  the  sacred  wrath  of  God,  which  we  must  suffer  to  do  its  work, 
 a  work  that  He  can  do  without  us.  That  is  the  proper  wrath  to 
 which  we  are  to  give  place,  according  to  the  Apostle's  word 
 (Rom.  xii.  9).  God  avenges  and  punishes  ;  He  worketh  right- 
 eousness ;  although  proud  and  revengeful  man  would  contend 
 against  the  right  of  the  Supreme  to  wrath  and  judgment.  But 
 God  is  and  must  ever  be  Love  even  in  wrath  ;  and  His  wisdom 
 knows  the  right  way,  His  government  uses  the  right  means,  to 
 oppose  His  own  efficient  righteousness  to  the  unrighteousness  of 
 men.  He  will  and  He  must  finally  judge  those  who  will  not 
 submit  to  correction,  with  a  wrath  which  in  this  period  of  grace 
 is  yet  and  ever  to  come.  But,  from  the  time  that  sin  existed, 
 the  indignation  of  His  zeal  has  never  ceased  to  burn  against  it. 
 Behold  His  Fatherly  goodness  in  His  good  gifts  from  above, 
 but  also  His  wrath  in  the  many  judgments  and  visitations  of 
 the  mighty  hand  of  God.  How  often  does  His  angry  discipline 
 produce  the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness,  so  that  His  people 
 can  say — I  thank  Thee,  Lord,  that  Thou  wast  angry  with  me, 
 and  that  Thine  anger  is  turned  away,  and  Thou  comfortest  me. 
 Behold,  God  is  my  salvation,  and  my  strength,  and  my  psalm  ! 
 (Is.  xii.  1,  2).  His  zeal  is  ever  faithful  to  destroy  the  works  of 
 the  devil,  to  root  out  evil  weeds  and  plant  righteousness  and 
 salvation ;  but  mark  how  slow  is  the  wrath  and  judgment  of 
 God,  and  in  its  slowness  how  effectual ! 
 
 From  Him  we  should  learn  how  rightly  to  be  angry ;  for 
 hy  us,  as  His  instruments.  He  will  work  out  His  righteousness  : 
 in  the  way,  however,  of  love,  gentleness,  patience ;  yet  in  the 
 form  of  wrath,  as  He  Himself  does.  The  strength  and  zeal  of 
 love  is  in  wrath,  holy  wrath.  The  man  who  is  incapable  of 
 being  thus  angry,  is  incapable  of  deeply  and  divinely  loving. 
 If  you  would  work  as  God's  servants  for  the  righteousness  of 
 His  kingdom,  you  must  know  how  to  be  zealous  and  angry  :  to 
 learn  and  practise  this  is  as  necessary  to  men  of  God  as  to  learn 
 and  practise  gentleness  and  patience  ;  both  consist  together,  and 
 one  is  the  test  of  the  other.  Mark  how  Moses  at  last  went  out 
 from  Pharaoh's  presence  in  the  vehemence  of  wrath  (Ex.  xi.  8) — 
 how  Jonathan  arose  from  his  father's  table  in  fierce  wrath,  for  he 
 was  grieved  for  David,  because  his  father  had  done  him  shame 
 (1  Sam.  XX.  34) — how  king  David  was  very  wroth  when  he 
 
JAMES  I.  21.  289 
 
 heard  of  the  sins  of  his  son  (2  Sam.  xiii.  21) — how  everywhere 
 we  find  holy  men  of  God  angry  and  full  of  zeal.  "  Elias  the 
 prophet  stood  up  like  fire,  and  his  word  burned  as  a  lamp" 
 (Ecclus.  xlviii.  1)  —  the  Baptist  rebuked  in  his  spirit,  and  de- 
 nounced wrath — the  most  gentle  of  the  children  of  men,  our 
 supreme  exemplar  Jesus  Christ,  looked  round  upon  the  hypo- 
 crites with  anger,  being  grieved  for  the  hardness  of  their  hearts 
 (Mark  iii.  5).  He  rebuked  not  again,  when  He  was  reviled ; 
 but  of  Himself  He  rebuked  in  the  pure  impulse  of  love  for 
 righteousness'  sake ;  He  used  the  whip  of  small  cords  in  the 
 temple,  and  zeal  for  His  Father's  house  consumed  Him.  So  be 
 ye  angry,  ye  parents,  ye  teachers  and  educators,  ye  rulers ;  let 
 not  your  love  be  soft,  but  mighty  in  its  trouble  on  account  of 
 sin,  that  ye  may  with  all  earnestness  of  zeal  work  for  the 
 accompHshment  of  what  is  right  to  the  glory  of  God. 
 
 IX. 
 
 THE  PERPETUAL  LAYING  ASIDE  AND  RECEIVING. 
 
 (Ch.  i.  21.) 
 
 Wherefore,  lay  apart  all  filthiness^  and  superfluity  of  naughtiness,  and 
 receive  with  meekness  the  ingrafted  word,  which  is  able  to  save  your 
 souls. 
 
 As  we  have  dwelt  disproportionately  long  upon  the  single 
 sayings  of  this  Epistle,  in  order  to  apprehend  in  some  degree 
 their  profound  significance,  so  let  us  now,  on  the  other  hand, 
 pause  a  while  to  take  a  general  view  of  the  whole.  What  is 
 the  design  of  St  James  in  this  most  pregnant  and  comprehen- 
 sive Epistle,  which  may  be  swiftly  read,  but  must  be  all  the  more 
 slowly  understood,  and  which  Christians  of  our  own  time, 
 learned  and  unlearned,  so  much  neglect  ?  It  is  evidently  not 
 his  pui'pose  to  lay  down  the  first  foundations  of  the  Gospel,  but 
 to  build  upon  a  foundation  already  laid.  Nor  is  it  to  build 
 upon  that  foundation  the  superstructure  of  knowledge  or  in- 
 struction, which  was  St  Paul's  main  vocation  ;  but  to  exhort  to 
 a  firm  and  secure  maintenance  of  that  foundation,  which  indeed 
 
 T 
 
2  90        THE  PEEPETUAL  LAYING  ASIBE  AND  EECEIVING. 
 
 St  Paul  also  never  neglects.  St  James  expressly  presupposes 
 the  doctrine  of  St  Paul : — if  not  as  known  among  his  first  Jew- 
 isli-Christian  readers,  yet  at  least  as  to  be  known  among  those 
 future  readers  for  whom,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Divine 
 Spirit,  his  Epistle  was  appointed  and  \mtten.  For  in  the  sacred 
 Scriptui'es  all  things  were  foreseen  and  prepared  for  ;  and  among 
 the  rest,  that  St  James  should  follow  St  Paul  in  the  order  of 
 the  writings,  and  with  so  much  earnestness  demand  the  works 
 of  faith,  as  we  shall  hear  in  ch.  ii.  His  doctrine  concerning  the 
 law  J  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  his  counsels,  is  opposed  to  two 
 aspects  of  error: — to  an  Old-Testament  legaHty,  on  the  one 
 hand ;  and  on  the  other,  to  a  corrupt  lawlessness,  which  might 
 make  its  appeal  to  the  abolition  of  the  law.  St  James  will  have 
 us  remember  that,  even  as  believers,  we  are  subject  to  law ; 
 but  to  the  law  as  a  law  of  liberty,  of  love  (ch.  i.  25,  ii.  8).  When 
 St  Paul,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  addresses  himself  to 
 proper  exhortation,  it  is  given  to  him  even  then  to  speak  of 
 knowledge :  in  order  to  strengthen  the  confidence  and  patience 
 of  faith.  He  opens  first  the  deepest  and  highest  doctrine  con- 
 cerning the  person,  ofiice,  and  work  of  Christ ;  yea,  his  exhorta- 
 tion to  faith  becomes  itself  a  doctrine,  what  faith  is  and  whence 
 it  comes.  St  James,  on  the  other  hand,  speaks  of  wisdom,  of 
 that  altogether  practical  wisdom  which  approves  itself  in  trial 
 and  generally  in  the  life  (ch.  iii.  13).  Each  writer  in  the  New 
 Testament  gives  to  us  w^hat  was  given  to  him  of  the  Spirit ;  but 
 all  is  strictly  connected,  so  that  the  Church  should  embrace  all 
 in  one,  in  order  to  obviate  every  one-sided  apprehension  of  holy 
 doctrine. 
 
 What  kind  of  readers  does  St  James  here  presuppose  ?  He 
 speaks,  indeed,  sometimes  to  such  as  scarcely  do  more  than 
 think  that  they  serve  God  (ch.  i.  26) — attacks  severely  the 
 hypocrites,  who  say  that  they  have  faith,  but  it  is  a  dead  faith 
 without  works  (ch.  ii.  14, 17) — and  even  rebukes  the  adulterers, 
 the  friends  of  the  world  and  enemies  of  God  (ch.  iv.  4).  Never- 
 theless, he  writes  on  the  whole  and  especially  to  those  whom 
 he  still  calls  brethren,  and  who  have  a  living  faith.  Your  faith 
 — he  said  at  the  first  in  ch.  i.  3 ;  and  ascribed  to  that  faith  the 
 high  dignity  of  counting  manifold  temptations  to  be  pure  joy ! 
 But  he  exhorts  these  believers,  because  their  faith  is  as  yet  very 
 far  from  being  matured  in  acts  unto  the  finished  work  of  pa- 
 
JAMES  1.  21.  291 
 
 tience;  lie  warns  them  rigorously,  because  so  mucli  of  evi] 
 still  adheres  to  them,  which  might  lead  to  their  fellowship  with 
 those  bhnded  fanatics  and  adulterers.  Thus  he  presupposes  a 
 foundation  of  grace  already  laid ;  but  at  the  same  time  an  im- 
 portant and  dangerous  deficiency  in  the  full  and  perfect  gift  of 
 God.  He  speaks  as  to  regenerate — "  God  hath  begotten  us 
 through  the  word  of  truth;"  but  as  knowing  that  seductive 
 lust  is  still  present ;  yea,  that,  if  the  tongue  were  not  tamed,  the 
 whole  course  of  the  old  corrupt  natm'e  would  be  restored  (ch. 
 iii.  6).  He  rebukes  them,  because  the  one  fountain  sent  forth  at 
 the  same  hole  sweet  water  and  bitter  (ch.  iii.  11)- — summons  them 
 more  resolutely  to  resist  the  devil,  to  draw  nigh  more  earnestly 
 to  God,  that  their  hands  may  be  made  pure  and  their  hearts 
 clean  (ch.  iv.  8,  9).  Therefore,  they  must  not  stand  still  in 
 idleness,  which  might  lead  to  apostasy ;  but  more  and  more 
 fundamentally  hear  and  receive  what  God  provides  and  offers, 
 more  and  more  zealously  lay  aside  the  stiU  indwelling  evil  of  the 
 natural  man.  In  this  continual  laying  aside  and  receiving  con- 
 sists the  lif^  and  growth  of  the  regenerate,  as  St  James'  saying 
 here  will  teach  us  :  let  us  notice  both,  and  in  the  order  in  which 
 he  places  them.  » 
 
 He  first  speaks  of  the  laying  aside  of  all  evil :  why  and  in 
 what  way  is  this  demanded  of  us,  dear  brethren  ?  Because  the 
 evil  is,  alas!  still  with  us,  as  the  words  upon  our  tongues,  and 
 the  desires  in  our  hearts,  testify;  and  as  children  of  God  it 
 should  not  be  with  us  !  Because  every  unmortified  lust  bring- 
 eth  forth  sin  again ;  every  sin  that  had  been  put  away  grows 
 again  in  more  sins,  even  to  the  ruin  of  death  !  Because,  on  the 
 contrary,  the  design  of  God  is  that  as  born  of  Him  we  should 
 grow  up  in  this  new  birth  of  the  creature ;  until  we,  become 
 perfect,  are  the  first-fruits  of  the  creation  of  God  !  The  goal  is 
 the  being  entirely  free  from  sin,  the  fruit  of  which  is  only  death ; 
 the  being  altogether  servants  of  God,  that  we  may  become  holy, 
 unto  life  everlasting  (Eom.  vi.  21,  22).  Only  thus  are  our  souls 
 saved :  thus  wholly  off !  altogether  on  !  But  how  does  this  take 
 place  ?  AYhen  we,  as  St  Paul  also  exhorts  us,  lay  apart  every- 
 thing which  may  be  called  anger,  wrath,  wickedness,  blasphemy, 
 evil  speaking,  and  lying ;  when  we  put  off  the  old  man  with  his 
 deeds,  and  put  on  the  new  man  which  is  renewed  after  the 
 image  of  the  Creator  (Col.  iii.  8-10).     But  this  putting  off  and 
 
292        THE  PERPETUAL  LAYING  ASIDE  AND  RECEIVING. 
 
 putting  on  are  not  so  easily  and  at  once  effected  as  the  change 
 of  a  man's  garments  ;  and  it  is  this  which  St  James  here  espe- 
 cially teaches  us.  The  idle,  foolish,  and  insincere,  think  them- 
 selves already  so  pure  and  righteous  that  they  scarcely  need  any 
 longer  to  hear,  but  may  rather  show  their  hot  zeal  in  working 
 God's  righteousness  upon  others  ; — but  their  wrath  and  zeal  is 
 itself  still  human  and  evil,  from  unrighteousness  to  unrighteous- 
 ness. This  evil  continually  recurs,  or  is  likely  to  recur :  there- 
 fore^ says  St  James,  lay  it  aside !  On  that  account  seek  not 
 to  work  righteousness  externally  in  wrath  and  contention,  but 
 turn  your  zeal  vehemently  and  rightly  towards  your  own  hearts. 
 Let  your  true  zeal  for  God  bend  itself  earnestly  to  this,  that 
 ye  may  become  temples  of  God's  Spirit,  who  would  make  you 
 full  of  good  works.  But,  this  being  your  aim,  you  cannot  be 
 entirely  free  to  the  doing  of  good,  as  long  as  evil  is  present  : 
 the  first  and  most  necessary  doing  is  the  'putting  away  of  the 
 old  man,  in  order  that  you  may  not  be  vainly  striving  to  cover 
 the  old  man  with  what  you  think  the  new. 
 
 Therefore  it  is  always  first,  Wherefore  lay  aside  I  Looking 
 more  closely  at  St  James'  word,  What  are  we  to  lay  aside  ?  All 
 filthiness,  he  says  ;  that  is,  not  merely  that  which  we  are  wont 
 to  call  filthy  and  unclean  especially,  but  all  sin  in  general  as 
 staining  and  defiling  the  soul.  As  in  Heb.  xii.  1,  it  is  considered 
 a  burden  which  wearies  and  cramps  the  runner  in  the  race  of 
 faith,  and  therefore  to  be  laid  aside ;  so  here  (and  often  in  Scrip- 
 ture) it  is  at  the  same  time  an  impurity  which  adheres,  a  de- 
 filement from  which  the  inner  man  must  be  washed  (St  James 
 uses  in  the  original  almost  the  same  word  by  which  St  Peter 
 connects  with  the  sanctification  of  baptism  the  putting  away  of 
 the  filth  of  the  flesh,  1  Pet.  iii.  21), — all  those  unbecoming 
 spots  which  the  glass  of  the  word  of  truth  shows  us  to  "be  still 
 in  our  form  (Jas.  i.  23), — since  the  Lord  will  sanctify  and  cleanse 
 His  Church  with  the  washing  of  water  by  the  word,  that  it 
 might  be  without  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing  (Eph.  v. 
 26,  27).  There  are  still  the  great  pollutions  of  the  world,  which 
 we  long  ago  have  escaped  through  the  knowledge  of  Christ; 
 and  concerning  which  St  Peter  says,  that  he  who  is  again  en- 
 tangled therein  and  overcome,  is  like  the  sow  that  returns  to 
 her  wallowing  in  the  mire,  the  latter  end  being  worse  with  them 
 than  the  beginning !  (2  Pet.  ii.  20-22).     It  is  not  of  this  par- 
 
JAMES  I.  21.  293 
 
 ticularly  that  St  James  here  speaks,  but  of  those  manifold  im- 
 purities and  defects  of  Christians,  down  to  the  slightest,  which 
 stain  and  disfigure  their  character,  adhering  to  that  new  nature 
 which  is  altogether  averse  to  them.  O  how  inexcusably  facile 
 are  we  too  often  in  these  things ;  thinking  in  our  hearts,  "  Every 
 man  has  his  peculiarities,  failings,  and  infirmities,  for  we  are  not 
 at  once  made  perfect," — as  if  we  must  therefore  tolerate  and  con- 
 sciously retain  these  defects  !  Brethren,  thus  should  it  not  be  ! 
 Examine  carefully  your  daily  household  life,  your  intercourse  with 
 the  world,  and  the  ordinary  strain  of  your  thinking,  speaking, 
 and  conduct ;  and  see  if  there  be  not  much  in  them  concerning 
 which  you  must  confess,  "  This  is  not  as  it  ought  to  be ;  this  is 
 not  right  in  a  child  of  God,  and  not  becoming  in  a  Christian !" 
 But  think  not  such  things  as  these  insignificant ;  for  every  such 
 defilement,  if  it  be  not  wiped  away,  eats  as  doth  a  cancer ;  to 
 retain  many  little  sins  is  already  of  itself  a  very  great  sin.  Par- 
 ticularly that  which  goeth  out  of  the  mouth  defileth  the  man 
 (Matt.  XV.  11).  Are  your  words  the  pure  truth  of  God,  full  of 
 pure  love  to  your  neighbour,  useful  for  his  edification ;  salt,  and 
 yet  full  of  peace?  And  if  you  learn  carefully  to  mark  the 
 impropriety  of  your  words,  you  will  leam  to  detect  it  also  in 
 many  of  your  actions.  All  this  you  must  put  away,  as  St  James 
 speaks  as  it  were  from  without;  but  if  you  are  thoroughly 
 earnest  in  this  work  of  putting  away,  you  will  further  mark 
 whence  this  filthiness  comes,  and  where  it  is  essentially  to  be 
 suppressed.  Not,  as  a  child  once  answered  my  question,  "  AATiat 
 must  a  man  do  to  reform  himself?"  according  to  the  superficial 
 teaching  which  he  had  received,  ^'  He  must  put  away  all  his 
 faults,  and  put  on  the  opposite  virtues !"  It  is  not  in  this  ready 
 way  that  faults  are  laid  aside  and  virtues  assumed.  Impurity 
 does  not  cling  to  us  so  externally  that  we  may  wash  it  away 
 as  with  a  sponge.  That  which  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth, 
 and  similarly  what  the  eyes  and  ears,  the  hands  and  feet,  do, — 
 all  comes  from  the  heart.  Cleanse  your  hands,  and  purify  your 
 hearts  ( Jas.  iv.  8) .  Thus  alone  we  cleanse  ourselves  from  all  filthi- 
 ness of  the  flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting  holiness  (2  Cor.  ii.  1). 
 
 Therefore  St  James  adds — Lay  aside  all  filthiness  and  all 
 naughtiness.  Not  that  he  means  in  this  passage,  as  has  been 
 too  hastily  said,  two  things — the  lesser  spot,  and  the  worse 
 wickedness ;  but  the  defilement  is  at  the  same  time  wickedness 
 
294        THE  PERPETUAL  LAYING  ASIDE  AND  RECEIVING. 
 
 itself.  If  I  would  make  clean  my  appearance  externally,  I  must 
 in  so  doing  put  away  sin ;  else  the  word  of  the  Master  will  apply 
 to  me  as  His  disciple — Thou  blind  Pharisee,  cleanse  first  that 
 which  is  within,  in  order  that  the  outside  may  be  also  clean  ! 
 (Matt,  xxiii.  26).  Else  it  might  prove  that  I  was  a  mere  de- 
 votee, with  Christ's  garment  drawn  over  the  old  Adam  ;  while 
 the  old  Adam  everywhere  peeping  out  must  put  me  to  confu- 
 sion. St  James,  however,  uses  yet  another  word,  which  Luther 
 would  fain  have  omitted ;  but  it  is  quite  intelligible,  and  of  great 
 importance.  The  revised  German  Bible  uses  the  apt  expres- 
 sion, ^wswjmcAs;  that  is,  the  yet  remaining,  and  still  forthcoming, 
 aftergrowth  of  the  evil  root  of  sin.  St  James  means  by  this 
 profound  and  pregnant  expression  that  which  is  still  left  of  this 
 root,  and  which  may  swiftly  and  unhappily  come  to  light  before 
 we  properly  observe  it.  This  evil  residue  springs  up  not  merely 
 as  open  wickedness,  sin,  unrighteousness,  and  lie  (guile,  hypo- 
 crisies, envies,  evil  speakings,  etc.,  1  Pet.  ii.  1),  but  it  mixes  itself 
 as  a  leaven  with  the  good,  and  pushes  it  out  of  its  proper  mea- 
 sures. Therefore  St  James  uses  a  word  which  at  the  same  time 
 indicates  superfluity,  an  unholily  thriving  too  much;  for,  this 
 aftergrowth  of  the  evil  heart  often  exhibits  itself  as  a  superfluity 
 of  the  seemingly  good ;  while  it  is  in  itself  not  good,  but  a  growth 
 of  iniquity.  Wouldst  thou  be  too  wise  with  thy  so-called  Chris- 
 tian knowledge  ?  Look  to  it,  that  there  be  not  an  undergrowth 
 of  carnal  folly!  Wouldst  thou  be  very  gracious  and  gentle 
 with  all  the  world,  or  very  rigorous  and  severe  against  all  un- 
 righteousness, or  very  calm  and  self-contained  in  thy  quiet  in- 
 ternal enjoyment  of  grace — take  care  of  the  stain  and  the  un- 
 truth which  adheres  to  every  exaggeration  of  every  individual 
 excellence.  But  this  ill  growth  naturally  hinders  the  pure  growth 
 of  the  good ;  as,  for  example  (adhering  to  the  present  subject 
 of  discourse),  the  too  much  speaking  is  a  hindrance  to  hearing. 
 Mark  now  how  the  present  text  touches  us  all  with  its  never- 
 ceasing  exhortation  —  Therefore  lay  apart !  Take  resolutely  by 
 the  roots  what  of  evil  superfluously  grows ! 
 
 If  we  understand  this  and  act  accordingly,  rather  if  we 
 thoroughly  and  earnestly  will  to  do  so,,  then  comes  in  the 
 inseparable  receiving.  But  what  is  it  we  are  to  receive  ?  St 
 James  has  before  indicated  the  wickedness  to  be  put  away,  in 
 its  variety  and  abundance — All,  or  every  hind  of,  filthiness; 
 
JAMES  I.  21.  295 
 
 every  such  outgrowth,  of  whatever  sort  it  may  be.  He  does  not, 
 however  set  over  against  this  all  kinds  of  excellence,  but  one 
 thmo-.  Nor  does  he  here,  with  St  Paul,  speak  at  once  of  put- 
 tin  o-  on  the  new  man,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  but  he  goes  still 
 deeper  with  his  word,  and  mentions  that  through  which  alone 
 Christ  can  be  put  on,  the  true  receiving  of  the  gift  of  God — 
 Keceive  the  word!  That  is  to  say,  the  word  of  God,  the  word 
 of  truths  the  best  gift  from  above,  the  seed  of  our  regenera- 
 tion. Thus  it  is  this  word  which  must  effect  all;  this  word 
 alone,  and  nothing  else,  must  create  all  that  is  new  and  good 
 within  us.  "  The  same  word  which  created  heaven  and  earth, 
 accompHshes  all;  not  we  poor  and  helpless  sinners" — said 
 Luther,  in  his  great  conflict  once  ;  and  so  is  it  ever — The  word 
 does  all  without,  and  within  also,  through  our  own  faculties.  In 
 whatever  form  God  gives  to  our  hearing  a  word  of  truth,  it  is  a 
 good  gift  of  light  and  power  from  above  ;  the  good  seed  from 
 which  all  good  in  us  grows.  That  is  the  nourishment  of  the 
 inner  man,  the  true  bread  whereof  he  lives ;  that  is  the  sincere 
 milk  by  which  the  new-born  babes  grow  unto  salvation  (1  Pet. 
 ii.  2)  ;  that  is  the  true  washmg  of  water  unto  sanctification  and 
 cleansing.  It  is  for  us  to  receive  the  word,  until  we  ourselves 
 become  as  it  were  a  mere  word  of  God  in  the  new  nature; 
 until,  according  to  the  promise  of  the  new  covenant  (Jer.  xxxi. 
 33),  all  that  in  that  word  has  been  spoken  and  written  is  put 
 into  our  hearts  and  written  in  our  minds.  Before,  St  James' 
 exhortation  was — Count  nothing  slight  which  is  in  you  an  im- 
 pure thing,  and  a  mere  undergrowth  or  superfluity  of  evil! 
 Now  he  says,  similarly — Neglect,  pretermit,  leave  not  unac- 
 cepted any  httle  seed-corn  of  truth  from  above  unto  sanctifica- 
 tion ;  for  it  is  the  word  in  its  entireness,  the  one  w^ord,  of  which 
 ye  are  born,  and  in  which  ye  grow  and  Hve.  Li  order  first  to 
 the  laying  aside  (as  he  will  presently  go  on  to  teach  us),  we 
 need  the  word,  which  as  a  glass  show\s  us  what  manner  of  men 
 we  are,  and  what  there  may  be  of  stain  or  defect  in  us ;  but 
 much  more  must  we  receive  all  good  from  the  same  word ! 
 
 But  how  does  this  proceed ;  what  is  the  receiving  of  the 
 word?  Merely  suffering  it  to  be  spoken  to  us?  Yes,  if  it  be 
 rightly  understood  what  that  means — spoken  to  us  !  if  you 
 imderstand  St  James'  expression,  implanted  or  ingrafted,  in  all 
 its  force.     It  will  implant  itself  with  all  its  energy,  let  it  take 
 
296        THE  PERPETUAL  LAYING  ASIDE  AND  RECEIVING. 
 
 root  and  grow  in  thee ;  hear  it  for  no  other  purpose  than  that, 
 so  that  thy  receiving  shall  be  an  internal  receiving  of  healing 
 medicine  and  food.  The  word  of  truth  does  not  always  speak 
 gently  and  soothingly  to  us,  not  always  in  the  consolations 
 which  God  gives  to  His  new-born  children;  there  is  severe 
 instruction  and  exhortation,  vdth  which  He  disciplines  and 
 educates  us  into  men  of  God.  The  word  of  discipline  in 
 righteousness  has  not  a  sweet  taste  ;  but  it  is  wholesome  medi- 
 cine for  removing  sin.  When  you  hearken  to  it,  brethren — 
 those  in  whom  it  is,  according  to  St  James,  an  implanted  word 
 — do  you  not  hearken  at  the  same  time  to  yourselves,  your 
 better  selves,  your  own  new  man  ?  Does  not  the  Spirit  within 
 you  utter  His  Amen  to  every  truth  which  from  without  or  from 
 above  is  brought  to  your  remembrance  and  thought  ?  O  be 
 reminded,  instructed,  allured,  warned,  urged,  and  invigorated 
 by  that  internal  word,  with  meekness !  Contradict  it  not ; 
 but  lay  aside  and  root  out  all  opposition  of  the  flesh  to  the 
 Spirit.  Withstand  it  not,  but  submit  in  all  simplicity  of  obe- 
 dience. Avoid  with  all  your  might  the  wicked  wrath  of  the  old 
 man,  which  often  masks  itself  with  cunning,  and  conceals  the 
 solemn  truth  that  a  useful  and  holy  word  is  being  repelled  from 
 the  heart.  If  you  observe  it  not  yourselves,  hear  others  who 
 tell  you  of  it.  But  how  many  are  exasperated  against  the 
 injustice  of  others,  who  have  done  no  more  than  speak  against 
 their  own  unrighteousness ;  their  anger  bursts  out,  instead  of 
 meekly  hearing,  retaining,  and  pondering,  the  reproof  in  their 
 hearts !  But  the  true  meekness  of  hearing  and  receiving  is  an 
 internal  willingness  and  resignation  of  such  as  are  sincerely  and 
 humbly  bent  upon  being  amended ;  therefore,  they  are  still  and 
 patient  under  the  discipline  of  the  wholesome  word.  They  do 
 not  restively  resist  that  discipline,  as  if  an  injury  was  inflicted 
 upon  them ;  for,  to  what  end  serves  the  meek  reception  of  the 
 word?  "Which  is  able  to  save  your  souls" — the  text  finally 
 adds  in  encouraging  exhortation.  Only  the  word  can  make 
 our  souls  ready  and  fit  for  salvation ;  only  the  word  of  grace, 
 through  which,  by  the  power  of  God,  we  are  built  up,  until  the 
 full  inheritance  can  be  given  to  us  with  all  the  saints  (Acts 
 XX.  32).  But  only  when  we  receive  it  with  meekness,  and  are 
 not  offended  by  it,  suffering  it  to  build  us  up  by  sinking  more 
 and  more  deeply  into  our  nature.     Whoever  casts  behind  him 
 
JAMES  I.  22-25.  297 
 
 a  good  word  of  God,  or  merely  neglects  it,  rejects  a  grace, 
 knows  not  an  hour  of  visitation,  and  slights  a  blessing  which 
 would  have  been  for  his  peace.  But  whosoever  is  in  earnest 
 to  hear  all  that  it  imports  him  to  hear,  will  receive  in  every 
 remembrancer  the  voice  which  says — "I  remind  you  of  the 
 Gospel  which  ye  have  heard,  and  in  which  ye  stand,  by  which 
 also  ye  are  saved,  if  ye  hold  it  fast "  (1  Cor.  xv.  1,  2). 
 
 X. 
 
 THE  SELF-DECEPTION  OF  THE  HEARERS  ;    THE  BLESSEDNESS  OF 
 
 THE  DOERS. 
 
 (Ch.  i.  22-25.) 
 
 But  be  ye  doers  of  the  word,  and  not  hearers  only,  deceiving  your  own 
 selves.  For  if  any  be  a  hearer  of  the  word,  and  not  a  doer,  he  is  like 
 unto  a  man  beholding  his  natural  face  in  a  glass  :  for  he  beholdeth  him- 
 self, and  goeth  his  way,  and  straightway  f orgetteth  what  manner  of  man 
 he  was.  But  whoso  looketh  into  the  perfect  law  of  hberty,  and  con- 
 tinueth  therein,  he  being  not  a  forgetful  hearer,  but  a  doer  of  the  work, 
 this  man  shall  be  blessed  in  his  doing. 
 
 In  the  constant  laying  aside  of  all  filthiness,  and  receiving  of 
 the  purifying  word,  consists,  as  we  have  seen,  true  Christianity. 
 As  long  as  there  is  any  sin  left,  the  putting  away  and  renouncing 
 must  diligently  proceed  :  else  there  results  a  wide  and  influential 
 self-deception.  As  long  as  we  are  not  yet  perfect,  without 
 defect  or  stain,  we  must  look  forwards,  with  an  ever  more 
 effectual  ingrafting  of  the  word  of  grace  :  else  we  stand  idly  in 
 false  glorying,  and  in  deceitful  appearance.  But  we  must  rightly 
 imderstand  it,  that  the  laying  aside  and  the  receiving,  concur- 
 rently and  together,  do  not  mean  that  we  must  first  pluck  up  all 
 the  thorns,  in  order  that  the  harvest  of  the  new  and  good  seed 
 may  spring  up  !  The  grace  itself  which  we  receive  disciplines  ; 
 the  acceptance  of  the  word  of  truth  gives  the  impulse  and  power 
 for  the  putting  away  of  all  that  is  evil  and  false.  We  receive 
 the  word,  when  we  not  merely  hear  it,  as  the  word  too  frequently 
 runs  ;  though  the  beginning  of  all  must  necessarily  be  the  hear- 
 ing.    Concerning  this  first  hearing,  in  which  a  man  submits  to 
 
298  SELF-DECEIVING  HEARERS. 
 
 be  spoken  to  instead  of  being  swift  to  speak  himself,  St  James 
 treated  in  ver.  19  ;  and  then  in  ver.  21  he  added,  in  connec- 
 tion with  the  receiving  of  the  word,  obedience,  in  which  man 
 suffers  the  word  to  enter  into  himself.  He  now  pauses  at  this 
 important  point — of  so  much  moment  to  the  beginning,  conti- 
 nuance, and  perfection  of  the  new  life — and  shows  fully  how 
 men,  deceiving  themselves,  separate  what  is  joined  together  by- 
 God,  the  receiving  and  the  obeying,  the  hearing  and  the  doing. 
 Against  this  he  solemnly  warns  all ;  and  exhorts  us  to  a  right, 
 perfect,  fruitful,  sanctifying,  soul-saving  hearing.  He  shows, 
 further,  how  the  implanted  word  saves  the  soul ;  speaks  of  the 
 looking  into  the  deep  ground  of  the  word,  according  to  whicli  it 
 is  to  us  a  perfect  law  of  liberty,  as  being  the  true  understanding 
 of  it ;  and  of  the  continuing  therein,  as  the  true  doing  of  a  free 
 obedience. 
 
 He  presupposes  in  all  this  that  he  is  speaking  not  to  despisers 
 of  the  word,  but  to  hearers  of  it.  Otherwise  the  exhortation 
 must  have  run — Become,  be,  remain  hearers  of  the  saving  truth ! 
 When  the  Lord  sends  His  word  by  His  servants,  the  common 
 people  still  hear  it  gladly  (Mark  xii.  37).  But,  even  if  all  the 
 people  had  heard,  of  what  avail  was  that  ?  Such  hearing  is  not 
 enough.  Again,  "  to  be  a  hearer,"  is  in  itself  more  than  that 
 merely  willing  attention  to  what  is  said ;  it  is  a  good  thing, 
 though  only  because  the  zeal  of  hearing  may  and  will  lead  to 
 obedience.  But  all  the  wo7^se  is  it,  consequently,  when  so  many 
 remain  mere  hearers,  without  becoming  doers :  they  deceive 
 themselves  !  But  those  who  rightly  hear  in  order  to  do,  save 
 themselves,  and  are  already  blessed  in  their  deed  !  What  then 
 is  the  process  in  both  these  cases,  in  the  self-deception  of  the  mere 
 hearers,  and  in  the  blessedness  of  those  who  are  doers  ?  Let  us 
 hear  St  James  in  reply,  with  open  ears  and  profiting  hearts  ! 
 
 We  deceive  ourselves  when  ive  neglect  and  leave  undone  the 
 beginning  of  all  doing,  which  the  word  constantly  demands  of  every 
 one.  And  what  is  that  beginning?  It  is  not  the  premature 
 inquiry — What  good  thing  shall  I  do  ?  that  is  in  question  here ; 
 but  the  first  good  thing  at  the  outset  is — to  lay  aside  all  wicked- 
 ness !  But  how  can  we  do  this,  without  knowing  our  wickedness  ? 
 This  fundamental  knowledge,  urging  to  the  abandonment  of 
 evil,  comes  never  from  ourselves  ;  there  is  always  a  mirror  held 
 before  us  in  the  word  of  truth,  which  will  prevent  all  self-decep- 
 
JAIVIES  I.  22-25.  299 
 
 tion.  There  I  must  contemplate  and  behold  ivhat  manner  of 
 man  I  am,  before  the  Searcher  and  the  Judge  of  hearts :  that  is, 
 not  mj  bodily  face  (as  Luther  translates,  as  if  the  external 
 figure  were  held  fast),  but,  as  St  James  says,  my  natural  face, 
 the  face  or  aspect,  the  form  of  my  birth,  my  inborn  character. 
 That  is  Adam's  image,  or  the  inherited  corruption  implanted  in 
 my  sinful  birth,  as  the  form  or  countenance  of  my  heart,  of  my 
 inner  man  before  God.  St  James  speaks  of  hearing,  because 
 he  has  more  direct  reference  to  the  preached  word ;  but  he  is 
 not  wanting  elsewhere  in  reference  to  Scripture  (ch.  ii.  8,  23, 
 iv.  5),  the  sayings  of  which  are  to  be  heard,  the  law  of  which  is 
 to  be  obeyed,  the  promises  of  which  are  to  be  fulfilled ;  and 
 much  of  that  Epistle  which  he  here  adds  to  the  Scripture  is 
 taken  from  the  previous  writings  of  Scripture.  Now  all  that 
 preaching  can  do  is  to  bring  home  to  us  the  word  which  is 
 written  ;  to  take  this  clear  mirror  and  hold  it  up  to  us.  There 
 behold  I  in  the  law  of  my  God  what  I  should  be  before  Him 
 in  perfect  love,  and  how  altogether  different  I  am  by  nature  I 
 There  behold  I  in  the  Gospel  the  great  goal  set  before  me  :  how 
 I  must  believe  unto  righteousness  in  the  grace,  communication, 
 and  fellowship  of  God  who  calleth  me,  how  His  Spirit  dwelling 
 in  me  testifies  and  works  mightily  against  all  hatred,  urging 
 me  to  love.  There  I  see  what  I  yet  lack  of  the  mind  of  Christ ; 
 or,  better,  what  there  is  yet  superfluous  in  me  of  my  own  mind 
 and  nature.  He  who  does  not  know  that  through  the  word 
 which  he  hears,  is  not  properly  speaking  a  hearer  ;  he  does  not 
 look  into  the  glass  set  before  him,  but  tmTis  it  (as,  alas !  many  are 
 very  skilful  in  doing)  ever  to  his  neighbour  and  other  men.  As 
 soon  as  God's  word  is  actually  heard,  it  gives  to  every  man  some 
 measure  of  self-knowledge.  True  that  thy  name,  O  hearer, 
 stands  not  in  the  Scripture  ;  the  pictiu'e  of  thy  life  is  not  drawn 
 there ;  and  the  preaching,  which  brings  home  the  Scripture, 
 can  be  only  a  general  preaching  for  all,  and  not  expressly  and 
 particularly  for  thee.  But  still  it  holds  good,  that  he  who 
 rightly  hears  beholdeth  himself,  and  that  not  in  a  distorted  image 
 of  a  dark  glass,  but  face  to  face  (1  Cor.  xiii.  12).  Look  sin- 
 cerely into  the  clear  mirror  of  the  truth,  and  thine  own  face 
 will  look  at  thee  !  The  word  will  tell  thee  all  that  thou  hast 
 done,  will  reveal  to  thee  thy  heart's  ground,  and  judge  all  thy 
 life.     The  looking  of  thy  beholding  eye  is  indeed  the  necessary 
 
300  SELF-DECEIVING  HEARERS. 
 
 condition  ;  but  then  God's  word  is  also  an  incomparable  glass 
 for  the  full  self-knowledge  of  every  man.  It  approves  itself 
 thereby  the  marvellous  word  of  the  Spirit,  the  word  of  God 
 which  judgeth  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart. 
 
 Now  hast  thou  beheld  thyself — to  what  end  ?  Only  to  know 
 what  thyform  and  character  is,  and  nothing  more?  Ono;  in  order 
 that  thou  mayest  be  washed  from  the  defilement  which  the  faith- 
 ful mirror  not  in  vain  will  exhibit !  How  then  may  this  be  over- 
 looked and  neglected  ?  If  any  man  is  a  hearer  only  of  the  word  and 
 not  a  doer ;  if  he  forgets  and  leaves  undone  that  which  is  first  to 
 be  done,  and  for  the  sake  of  which  he  has  heard  the  word, — he  is 
 like  a  man  who  beholds  his  natural  face  in  a  glass,  merely  be- 
 holds without  any  further  result ;  for  he  has  beheld  himself,  and 
 then  goes  away  and  forgets  at  once  again  what  manner  of  man 
 he  was.  This  is  a  melancholy  history,  which  is  acted  out  every 
 Sunday  by  multitudes  of  church-goers,  and  every  day  by  many 
 who  receive  calls  and  warnings.  The  poor  man  has  really  heard 
 the  good  and  true  word ;  he  has  really  seen  in  the  glass  that  he 
 is  a  sinner  by  nature ;  he  has  been  constrained  to  behold  the 
 specific  characteristics  of  his  sin  and  defilement.  If  he  were  to 
 carry  all  this  away  with  him,  how  would  its  good  results  appear  ? 
 He  would  feel  urged  to  the  first  resolute  doing,  and  say — "  Thus 
 am  I  in  the  sight  of  God ;  but  thus  I  must  not  and  will  not 
 remain;  I  must  be  changed;" — then  would  follow  the  resolu- 
 tion, "  I  will  wash  and  be  clean  in  the  grace  of  the  same  God !" 
 But  what  occurs  instead  of  this  ?  He  goes  away  and  forgets 
 the  same  hour  what  manner  of  person  he  was !  That  is  the 
 melancholy  history,  ^AaHs  the  essential  and  misQvMQ  forgetting ! 
 There  may  be  withal  a  careful  retention  of  what  was  preached; 
 but  to  retain  this  avails  but  little.  Thou  must  retain  that  one 
 thing  in  the  preaching,  and  not  forget  what  manner  of  person 
 thou  wast: — thou  wast  when  the  glass  showed  thee  thy  true 
 form ;  as  thy  conscience  admitted,  being  unable  to  contradict ; 
 and  as  consequently  thou  art  after  going  away,  and  will  re- 
 main if  a  great  change  does  not  come.  Many  hearers  of  ser- 
 mons complain  of  the  preacher,  that  they  can  retain  so  little  of 
 his  sermon ;  but,  when  they  make  this  excuse,  they  mostly  rather 
 condemn  themselves  as  having  not  for  themselves  heard  with  the 
 right  attention.  There  is  a  kind  of  preaching  which  paints 
 beautiful  pictures  instead  of  holding  up  the  faithful  miiTor; 
 
JAIVIES  I.  22-25.  301 
 
 but  if  thou  hast  heard  sound  preaching,  and  beheld  the  true 
 mirror,  and  looked  so  as  that  the  word  should  seize  thyself,  and 
 yet  it  remains  not  in  thee — then  the  fault  is  only  thine  own, 
 thou  goest  away  and  f orgettest !  We  must  leave  the  church, 
 indeed ;  but  not  on  that  account  must  we  leave  the  presence  of 
 God,  and  rush  into  the  distractions  of  life,  immediately  after 
 receiving  the  benediction,  and  being  commended  to  the  keeping 
 of  the  light  of  His  countenance.  In  order  to  fruitful  hearing 
 there  must  be  first  the  opening  of  the  heart,  and  afterwards  the 
 keeping  there  the  word  we  hear.  Many  people  talk  fooHshly  of 
 their  sensations  and  profit  while  they  hear;  but  there  is  no 
 abiding  effect  of  their  feelings.  To  add  another  figure  to  that 
 of  the  Apostle  :  the  iron  must  be  fashioned  while  it  is  hot,  until 
 it  takes  the  right  form  !  But  to  make  it  hot  and  leave  it  so,  or 
 at  once  to  plunge  it  into  water,  tends  only  to  harden  it  more 
 and  more  in  its  present  form.  The  poor  foolish  man  whom 
 St  James  means,  heard  the  word  and  looked  into  the  glass  as  if 
 passing  hy ;  this  brings  him  no  amendment,  but  tends  only  to 
 create  the  habit  of  self-deception  ;  and  the  fleeting  unimproved 
 view  of  self  only  hardens  the  soul.  This  is  in  truth  deception ; 
 and  blameworthy,  wilful  self-deception.  Such  hearers  deceive 
 themselves  first  with  a  wrong  conclusion  (as  the  word  here  is 
 in  the  original)  :  they  infer — I  have  heard,  and  am  I  not  there- 
 fore pious  ?  although  the  very  word  which  they  have  heard  ut- 
 tered plainly — Thou  art  not  pious,  but  must  become  so  !  And 
 whence  is  this  perversion  in  intelligent  men  ?  Mark  what  the 
 text  says  on  this  most  important  point.  Such  a  forgetful  hearer 
 is  therefore  so  forgetful,  and  at  the  same  time  so  unreasonable, 
 because  he  has  not  yet  rightly  and  fully  heard;  because  he  has  not 
 yet  looked  penetratingly  enough  into  the  glass.  He  who  hears  the 
 preaching  merely  as  the  preaching  of  repentance  for  the  rebuke 
 of  his  sin,  or  in  addition  merely  as  a  presentation  of  duty,  as  a 
 demand  of  God  upon  his  own  doing  and  resources,  cannot  long 
 endure  it ;  he  casts  away  the  hard  word  at  once,  because  it  has 
 become  a  burden  too  heavy,  not  only  for  his  head,  but  especially 
 for  his  heart.  Therefore  there  are  so  many  forgetful  hearers, 
 who  reject  the  word  because  it  does  nothing  more  than  trouble 
 them.  Therefore,  of  all  the  people  who  flocked  to  the  preaching 
 of  a  John  the  Baptist,  none  were  brought  in  without  the  grace 
 of   Christ   which   followed;   therefore  nothing  comes   of   the 
 
302  THE  BLESSED  DOER. 
 
 preaching  of  the  Gospel  in  our  days  to  those  who  understand 
 and  receive  the  Gospel  not  as  a  Gospel.  Hear  still,  but  better 
 hear !     Look  still  into  the  glass,  but  deeper  into  it ! 
 
 We  are  and  become  blessed  in  our  deed,  if  the  end  of  all  our 
 doing,  to  which  the  word  points  us,  is  already  apprehended  hy  us  as 
 the  real  ground  of  our  beginning.  What  is  that  end  ?  Nothing 
 but  the  putting  on  of  the  new  man  !  But  how  does  that  take 
 place  ?  No  otherwise  than  by  the  receivuig  of  the  self -implant- 
 ing word.  It  is  the  same  word  which  shows  thee  thy  sin,  and 
 offers  thee  purification  from  thy  sin  ;  the  word  of  truth  is  also  a 
 word  of  grace.  O  that  we  all  understood  this,  and  would  re- 
 ceive it  unto  its  full  and  absolute  working !  The  word  does  not 
 only  tell  us  what  we  are,  or  rather  what  we  are  not  but  should 
 be ;  it  tells  us  also  how  we  may  become  what  we  should  be, 
 through  the  gift  and  grace  of  Him  who  speaketh  with  us.  "  If 
 thou  knewest  the  gift  of  God !  Go  call  thy  sins,  and  come  back 
 with  them  to  Me  !  I  am  He  whom  thou  hast  waited  for ;  Christ, 
 the  Saviour  of  the  world!"  (John  iv.)  Such  preaching  works 
 faith,  and  creates  a  new  thing ;  so  that  the  overcome,  comforted, 
 and  not  merely  terrified  hearers,  joyfully  confess  all  that  they 
 have  done,  to  do  it  no  more,  and  call  upon  Christ  in  this  new 
 work  of  penitence.  The  Gospel  brings  to  man  the  power  for 
 the  putting  away  of  sin,  while  it  preaches  and  presents  to  us 
 Christ.  It  gives  to  us  confidence  through  Christ  towards  God ; 
 it  brings  to  those  who  are  utterly  unable  of  themselves  ability  to 
 tm-n  from  sin ;  it  is  no  killing  letter,  but  a  lif egiving  Spirit ;  it 
 preaches  righteousness  in  the  glory  of  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ 
 (2  Cor.  iii.  4-6,  9).  Thus  through  the  Gospel  the  fulfilment  of 
 the  law  is  established  in  us ;  for  both  are  assuredly  one  in  the 
 deepest  ground  of  the  truth  of  God,  which  both  saves  and  sanc- 
 tifies. This  St  James  calls  here  the  law  of  liberty,  by  a  contra- 
 diction which  is  blessedly  harmonised.  The  Gospel  is  and  must 
 ever  be  a  law ;  but  it  proceeds  from  free  gi-ace,  and  unto  free 
 obedience  ;  without  any  constraint  or  fear,  which  never  wrought 
 a  true  and  heartfelt  fulfilment  of  any  law.  Christ  has  finished 
 all  for  us ;  Christ  finishes  all  in  us.  He  who  cannot  as  yet 
 apprehend  these  two  together  in  the  deep  ground  of  faith, 
 vibrates  hither  and  thither  between  law  and  grace,  like  many 
 so-called  Christians  of  the  present  day :  now  he  comforts  him- 
 self ^ith  the  atonement ;  now  he  feels  the  keen  impulse  which 
 
JAIIES  I.  22-25.  303^ 
 
 urges  liim  to  holiness,  but  not  as  the  loving  constraint  of  the 
 Spirit  of  grace,  for  he  receives  even  the  evangelical  exhortation 
 in  a  legal  spirit.  No  complete  obedience  issues  from  this  ;  no 
 perfect  doing  of  the  entire  man  in  the  freedom  derived  from  a 
 free  grace.  But  he  who  fully  hears  the  word  looks  through  into 
 the  true  principle  of  the  glass ;  he  receives  and  holds  fast  the 
 whole  truth,  which  makes  free  and  sanctifies.  Then  there  will 
 be  none  of  that  false  dealincp  with  works  which  St  Paul  con- 
 demns,  no  anxious  labour  in  one's  own  strenolh  to  work  for  one's 
 own  merit ;  but  there  will  also  be  no  false  dealing  with  faith, 
 such  as  both  St  Paul  and  St  James  combine  to  condemn. 
 Then  a  man  sees  both  at  once  in  the  glass  :  first  on  the  surface 
 his  old  man,  which  must  be  altogether  put  away  to  its  last  prin- 
 ciple ;  but  then  he  also  sees  deeper  his  new  man,  as  it  already 
 lives  before  God  in  Christ,  who  is  his  righteousness.  Then  he 
 is  already  washed  and  made  clean  through  the  word  which  is 
 spoken  to  him,  and  which  continues  to  say.  Abide  in  Me  and  1 
 in  you!  (John  xv.  3,  4).  For  the  Lord  is  the  Spirit.  But 
 where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty.  Thus  is  re- 
 jected in  us  all — while  the  wondrous  mirror  of  grace  glorifies 
 us,  with  unveiled  face  in  all  sincerity  of  self-knowledge  and 
 truth,  and  with  faith  equally  sincere — the  glory  of  the  Lord  ; 
 thus  we  are  changed  into  the  same  image  which  we  believingly 
 behold,  from  glory  to  glory  (2  Cor.  iii.  17,  18).  Thus  the  true 
 evangelical  preaching  must  be  preached :  that  is  taken  for 
 granted ;  but  how  do  the  true  hearers  apprehend  this  goal  already 
 for  the  beginning  ? 
 
 It  is  apprehended  in  faith,  and  in  this  all  is  said ;  it  is  re- 
 tained in  the  heart ;  that  which  is  now  understood  is  not  forgot- 
 ten !  He  who  has  not  beheld  merely  his  own  face,  but  looked 
 through  to  the  face  of  Christ ;  who  has  received  the  Sermon  on 
 the  Mount  from  the  mount  of  Beatitudes,  at  His  lips  who  came  to 
 fulfil  the  law  ;  who  has  thus  accepted  the  perfect  law  of  liberty  ; 
 — is  anew  invested  with  righteousness,  for  he  has  learned  to 
 say,  "  Lord,  if  Thou  wilt.  Thou  canst  make  me  clean  ;'*  and  fur- 
 ther, "  Lord,  Thou  wilt,  and  I  also  will  from  the  gi'ound  of  my 
 heart!"  Him  has  the  icord  now  first  rightly  and  perfectly 
 seized;  he  can  apprehend  and  follow  on  to  apprehend,  because 
 he  is  apprehended  (Phil.  iii.  12).  Now,  properly  speaking,  there 
 is  no  other  and  new  doing,  but  the  continuing  therein,  in  this 
 
304  THE  LAW  OF  LIBERTY. 
 
 view,  in  this  disposition  and  state  of  soul.  "  If  ye  continue  in  My 
 word,  ye  are  My  disciples  indeed ;  and  ye  shall  know  the  truth, 
 and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free !"  (John  .viii.  31,  32).  This 
 remaining  with  Jesus,  this  continuing  in  grace  received,  is  the 
 whole  matter,  the  whole  of  our  doing.  Hast  thou  seen  thy  sin  ? 
 See  also  that  He  who  showed  it  has  already  taken  it  away  and 
 will  abolish  it.  See,  Christ  is  thine;  let  Him  henceforth  no 
 more  go  out  of  thine  heart,  never  again  go  away  from  the  sight 
 of  His  face.  Thus  Christ  is  more  formed  in  us,  and  the  old 
 form  passes  away ;  the  buds  become  blossom,  the  blossom  fruit, 
 under  the  Sun  of  righteousness.  The  Christian  no  longer 
 harasses  himself  with  individual  works  in  all  kinds  of  legal  en- 
 deavour ;  love  accomplishes  all.  This  is  the  one  internal  acting 
 of  the  faith  which  worketh  by  love,  as  St  James  profoundly 
 says ;  and  such  doers  are  blessed.  But  to  understand  this 
 thoroughly  requires  a  more  careful  consideration  of  the  words 
 which  now  follow. 
 
 XI. 
 
 THE  LAW  OF  LIBERTY  :   LOOEJNG  INTO  AND  CONTINUING  IN 
 IT  :    THE  BLESSED  IN  THEIR  DEED. 
 
 (Ch.  i.  25.) 
 
 But  whoso  looketh  into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty,  and  continueth  therein, 
 he  being  not  a  forgetful  hearer,  but  a  doer  of  the  work,  this  man  shall  be 
 blessed  in  his  deed. 
 
 We  have  now  reached  a  saying  which  may  be  called  the 
 centre  and  heart  of  St  James'  Epistle:  he  who  understands 
 this  saying,  he  who  apprehends  and  explains  by  its  light  all  that 
 precedes  and  follows,  may  be  said  to  look  into  the  profound 
 depth  of  the  entire  Epistle.  Alas !  this  precious  Epistle  has 
 been  in  all  ages  too  much  misunderstood ;  and  on  that  account 
 too  few  have  been  found  swift  to  hear  it.  Even  Luther,  that 
 great  man  of  God,  betrayed  the  deficiency — if  not  of  his  spiri- 
 tual knowledge  and  perception,  yet  of  his  doctrine  of  faith  and 
 works — when  he  contemned  an  assuredly  genuine  portion  of 
 
JAMES  I.  25.  305 
 
 Holy  Writ  as  "  an  epistle  of  straw."  It  rofglit  have  been  ex- 
 pected that  our  modern  preachers  of  mere  morality  and  good 
 works  would  be  all  the  more  enthusiastic  in  their  estimate  of 
 this  Epistle;  but,  strange  to  say,  that  is  far  from  being  the  case. 
 For  what  reason,  they  themselves  do  not  clearly  know ;  but  to 
 us  it  is  very  observable,  and  worthy  of  observation.  In  fact, 
 the  Epistle  of  St  James  is  very  profound,  very  dogmatic,  very 
 mystical,  but  by  no  means  merely  a  treatise  of  morality  as  such; 
 it  is  pre-eminently  a  New-Testament  writing,  and  by  no  means 
 a  legal  one ;  its  teaching  furnishes  us  with  a  touchstone  for  the 
 true  understanding  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  of  the  Law 
 and  the  Gospel,  in  their  inmost  and  deepest  unity. 
 
 It  is  more  well-meaning  than  intelligent  to  say  that  St 
 James  here  wisely  enforces  the  law  and  good  works  upon  the 
 hj^ocritical  upholders  of  faith,  in  order  that  they  might  be 
 humbled  and  prepared  anew  for  the  consolation  of  redeeming 
 grace.  That  he  does  not  teach  the  law  and  good  works  in  any 
 such  independent  manner,  but  that  he  bases  all  doing  and  suf- 
 fering upon  regeneration  alone,  has,  we  trust,  been  made  plain 
 throughout  the  first  chapter.  The  whole  Epistle  is  consistent 
 with  this;  even  in  the  second  chapter  he  only  demands  the 
 living  works  of  faith,  as  St  Paul  rejects  the  dead  works  of 
 nature.  But,  as  we  have  already  seen,  he  is  not  exclusively 
 dealing  with  the  hypocritical  upholders  of  a  dead  faith :  they 
 only  receive  incidentally  then'  measure  of  condemnation.  He 
 rather  presupposes  throughout  and  everywhere  the  existence  of 
 faith:  the  Gospel,  understanding  thereby  the  first  revelation  to 
 the  soul  of  redeeming  grace,  is  not  before  him,  but  behind  him, 
 in  this  Epistle.  He  proclaims  the  grace  of  atonement  as  the 
 grace  of  sanctiflcation ;  he  leads  us  onward  to  that  great  step, 
 which  so  many  who  believe  understand  not  and  are  unwiUing 
 to  take, — from  justification  to  sanctification.  He  teaches  that 
 which  is  the  predominant  subject  of  all  the  Epistles  excepting 
 St  Paul's,  but  which  St  Paul  does  not  fail  to  teach  in  all  even 
 of  his.  St  James  does  not  here  point  to  good  works,  even  the 
 good  works  of  faith,  merely  as  the  counterpart  of  the  exagge- 
 rated doctrine  of  faith :  he  comprehends  both  in  their  deep  and 
 perfect  unity.  His  word  is  essential  to  the  completeness  of  the 
 New  Testament ;  for  it  reconciles  the  two  opposing  systems  of 
 those  who,  on  the  one  hand,  have  looked  too  much  to  iustifica- 
 
 u 
 
306  THE  PERFECT  LAW  OF  LIBERTY . 
 
 tion,  and  of  those  who,  on  the  other,  have  looked  too  exclusively 
 at  sanctification,  in  their  views  of  redeeming  grace.  Let  us 
 now  consider  attentively  the  important  words  of  ver.  21,  w^hich 
 demand  our  most  careful  exposition. 
 
 And,  first,  we  ask —  What  does  St  James  understand  here  hy 
 the  law  of  liberty  ?  At  the  outset  we  answer — Manifestly  and 
 assuredly  not  that  which  the  Jews  called  the  Law,  and  which 
 was  given  by  Moses  at  Sinai  and  in  the  wilderness  ;  at  least  not 
 the  Law  as  it  is  opposed  in  tlie  doctrine  of  the  New  Testament 
 to  the  Gospel,  as  it  is  contrasted  with  the  free  and  unconditional 
 bestowment  of  the  promise.  This  law,  in  its  exclusiveness  and 
 rigour,  was  indeed  perfect  as  commandment ;  but  yet  it  was 
 imperfect,  or  insufficient  to  save  us  and  make  us  holy — as  the 
 same  Spmt  who  inspired  St  James  teaches  us  most  clearly  in 
 the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  But  St  James  speaks  of  a  law 
 which  he  calls  perfect ;  and  perfect  to  make  men  blessed  through 
 living  knowledge  and  obedience.  He  speaks  of  a  law  still  vahd 
 for  believers  in  Christ ;  but  could  not  possibly  mean  to  contra- 
 dict that  which  St  Paul  has  testified  concerning  the  abolition 
 of  the  Law.  St  James  can  quote  in  the  second  chapter  the 
 word  of  Moses,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself  I  more- 
 over, the  specific  law.  Thou  shalt  not  have  respect  to  persons  I  and 
 shows  that  the  transgressor  of  one  law  must  be  adjudged  guilty 
 of  all;  and  he  is  thus  one  with  St  Paul,  who  testifies  concerning 
 the  old  and  abohshed  Law  that  it  is  good  for  its  legitimate  use, 
 to  condemn  the  lawless  and  unrighteous  (1  Tim.  i.  8-10).  This 
 is  its  first  and  most  obvious  use,  for  which  it  was  given  before 
 the  Gospel :  it  condemns,  cm'ses,  and  kills,  until  the  Seed  of  the 
 promise  comes ;  it  is  a  schoolmaster  to  discipline  for  the  grace 
 of  Christ,  which  justifieth  through  faith  (Gal.  iii.  19,  24).  But 
 it  cannot  give  fife,  so  that  righteousness  should  truly  and  pro- 
 perly come  by  the  law  (ver.  23).  St  James  takes  care,  indeed, 
 not  to  lead  us  into  the  error  of  vainly  seekmg  righteousness 
 through  the  law ;  therefore  he  speaks  of  a  law  of  liberty^  and 
 not  of  that  law  which  binds  us  by  its  obligations,  and  under 
 the  yoke,  pressure,  and  cm'se  of  which  we  are. 
 
 We  ask  again — Does  he  mean  the  law  of  the  Spirit  in 
 Christ  Jesus,  to  use  St  Paul's  words,  which  giveth  life,  which 
 makes  us  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death,  which  fulfiUeth 
 in  us  a  righteousness  not  to  be  formed  in  us  by  any  mere  com- 
 
JAMES  I.  25.  307 
 
 mandment  or  law  of  the  letter?  (Rom.  viii.  2-4).  Does  he 
 mean  the  law  of  Christ ;  that  is,  the  dispensation  of  grace  m 
 the  new  covenant  given  to  us  in  the  Son  (1  Cor.  ix.  21) — ^ 
 which  St  Paul  in  another  place  (Gal.  \d.  2),  with  as  much  sim- 
 plicity as  depth,  utters  in  the  one  word  of  love — Bear  ye  one 
 another's  burdens  ?  Or,  the  gracious  economy  of  faith,  which 
 St  Paul  (Rom.  iii.  27)  opposes  as  the  law  of  faith  to  the  law  of 
 works  ?  It  is  true  that  in  that  the  hard  and  cold  Thou  shalt ! 
 which  can  never  be  responded  to  by  the  free  and  full  will  of  the 
 soul  in  sinful  flesh,  is  taken  away  and  replaced  by  the  abundant 
 offer  of  grace — Thou  canst!  There  is  to  sinful  man  no  curse 
 unto  condemnation,  but  a  blessing  unto  salvation ;  no  task- 
 masters' driving  to  an  enforced  and  never-sufficmg  service,  but 
 a  full  freedom  from  all  bonds  and  debts,  freedom  from  the  con- 
 demnation of  the  Law  itself  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  There 
 is  no  judgment,  no  condemnation,  to  them  that  are  in  Christ 
 Jesus  !  (Rom.  \mi.  1) ;  and  they  can  say,  We  are  justified  by 
 faith,  and  what  can  the  law  further  demand  from  us  ?  But 
 when  we  ask  whether  St  James  here  means  this  Gospel  as  such 
 as  it  is  opposed  to  the  "  law"  spoken  of  before,  and  altogether 
 sundered  from  it,  we  must  reply  that  he  does  not ;  his  meaning 
 is  somewhat  different  from  St  Paul's  in  the  passages  whicli 
 have  been  cited.  He  does  not  mean  simply  the  word  of  faith 
 which  is  preached  (Rom.  x.  8),  but  the  word  which  is  of  doing 
 as  well  as  of  believing  (Gal.  iii.  12) ;  for  he  speaks  of  a  deed^ 
 and  of  doers^  and  in  this  connection  he  speaks  of  a  law,  A  law 
 of  liberty,  indeed ;  but  yet  a  law,  by  which  we  shall  be  judged  ! 
 (ch.  ii.  12).  How  then  are  we  to  understand  this?  Assuredly 
 only  thus,  that  in  fact  the  Law  remains  in  the  Gospel,  in  it  is 
 established  and  fulfilled ;  he  terms  "  law  of  liberty"  the  law 
 which  has  been  made  living  and  lifegiving  by  grace,  the  risen 
 Law  glorified,  as  it  were,  in  the  Gospel.  We  must  constantly 
 observe  that  the  whole  Epistle  abounds  with  allusions  to  the 
 Sermon  on  the  Mount.  So  already  the  word  concerning  hearers 
 and  doers ;  afterwards,  ch.  ii.  13,  the  blessedness  of  the  merci- 
 ful; ch.  iii.  12,  the  figs  from  thistles;  ch.  iv.  11,  evil  speaking 
 and  judging;  ch.  v.  3,  the  rust  which  consumes  riches;  finally, 
 ch.  V.  12,  and  moot  literally,  concerning  not  swearing  by  heaven 
 or  earth,  the  yea  yea,  the  nay  nay.  Now,  what  was  the  law 
 which  Christ  our  Master  Himself  preached  on  the  Mount? 
 
308  THE  PERFECT  LAW  OF  LIBERTY. 
 
 Wa«  it  the  old  condemning  Law;  or  the  word  of  grace,  with  its 
 assurance  of  justification  through  faith?  Neither  of  these 
 alone  ;  but  both  together  in  their  perfect  unity.  Christ  preaches 
 the  Law  only  as  fulfilled  in  Himself,  who  had  come  ;  yet  at  the 
 same  time  as  yet  to  he  fulfilled  in  the  righteousness  which  He 
 requires  :  He  preaches  the  Gospel  only  to  that  end,  that  the 
 Law  may  be  fulfilled.  Precisely  in  the  same  sense  as  the  Lord 
 of  glory  Himself  speaks,  James  the  servant  of  Jesus  Christ 
 here  uses  his  peculiar  expression.  His  law  of  liberty  is  the  law 
 of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  in  its  full  and  profound  meaning ; 
 for,  in  speaking  of  hearing  and  doing,  he  manifestly  has  in  view 
 \he  Sermon  on  the  Mount  as  the  substance  and  epitome  of  the 
 whole  preached  word  (Matt.  vii.  24-27).  His  words  are  not 
 attered  in  the  Old-Testament  spirit,  and  as  introductory  to  the 
 subsequent  revelation  of  grace ;  but  he  points  those  who  stand 
 and  glory  in  grace  to  the  word  of  Christ — which  teaches  that 
 the  Law  remains  in  the  Gospel,  and  essentially  belongs  to  it, 
 though  as  a  law  of  liberty.  This  is  the  other  aspect  of  that 
 which  has  been  already  enlarged  upon  :  the  hearer  who  rightly 
 understands,  who  receives  the  word  in  order  to  do  it,  does  not 
 erroneously  regard  it  as  a  merely  imperative  and  exacting  law, 
 but  as  a  word  of  grace  ;  at  the  same  time,  in  that  word  of  grace 
 he  discerns  a  law  for  free  obedience.  For,  so  long  as  we  are 
 not  perfect  doers  of  the  will  of  God ;  so  long  as  the  mirror  of 
 the  truth  shows  us  that  we  are  wanting  in  any  good  deed,  and 
 that  any  evil  deed  is  present  with  us ; — so  long  even  for  us  the 
 "Law  "  remains  to  be  spoken  of.  Despise  not  this  solemn  word ; 
 evade  it  not  by  the  protest  that  thou  hast  to  do  only  with 
 grace  and  the  Gospel ;  otherwise  thou  '>vilt  go  astray  with  thy 
 supposed  grace,  and  pervert  thy  so-called  freedom  into  evil. 
 But  the  perfect  law  of  liberty  will  make  thee  free  to  all  that  is 
 good,  if  thou  beholdest  it  intently  and  continuest  in  it  with  all 
 thine  heart. 
 
 What,  then,  is  the  beholding  and  continuing  therein,  of  ivhich 
 St  James  speaks  ?  No  other  than  the  right  understanding,  and 
 the  right  holding,  of  the  word  in  its  unity  of  Law  and  Gospel. 
 It  is  essential  that  there  should  be,  before  all  doing,  a  true  know- 
 ledge and  understanding ;  as  our  Lord  says.  If  ye  know  these 
 things,  happy  are  ye  if  ye  do  them  (John  xiii.  17).  For,  how 
 can  I  obey  before  I  have  rightly  heard  ?    Forgetting  had  been 
 
JAMES  I.  25.  309 
 
 spoken  of  before  ;  Wliat  a  man  holds  not  fast  he  holds  not  at 
 all.  But  now  the  word  sinks  deeper  into  the  root  of  the  matter : 
 T\^iat  a  man  does  not  understand  can  never  be  held  fast.  There- 
 fore, let  us  beware  of  undervaluing  a  right  understanding  ;  let 
 us  attach  to  it,  and  to  the  sound  doctrine  and  preaching  which 
 minister  to  it,  their  due  importance !  These  St  James  presup- 
 poses, when  he  speaks  of  the  word;  but  now  the  essential 
 matter  is,  that  the  hearer  attain  to  an  entire  and  penetrating 
 understanding.  The  forgetful  hearer  did  not  rightly  hear,  as 
 we  have  seen,  and  that  was  the  cause  of  his  forgetting.  He 
 beheld  ordy  himself  in  the  glass  ;  that  pleased  him  not,  that 
 brought  him  no  help ;  it  oppressed  and  troubled  him ;  there- 
 fore he  turned  away  from  it.  This  represents  the  superficial 
 among  hearers.  They  behold  not  in  reality  the  natural  face  of 
 their  birth,  their  natural  inward  form  and  character ;  and  hence 
 go  away  from  the  glass,  to  strive  to  mend  their  outward  appear- 
 ance by  works  of  their  own,  in  order  that  the  glass  may  reflect 
 something  purer  and  more  attractive.  Or,  if  they  have  so  dih- 
 gently  beheld  as  to  perceive  their  essential  natural  sinfulness, 
 they  have  not  beheld  profoundly  enough  :  for,  either  they  repel 
 the  burdensome  condemnation  of  their  sin  ;  or,  they  despair  in 
 repentance  ^^^thout  faith,  which  is  the  result  most  assuredly  only 
 of  superficial  hearing.  But  there  is  a  similar  superficial  hearing 
 of  the  Gospel  of  grace,  an  acceptance  of  the  message  of  forgive- 
 ness which  goes  away  and  forgets  what  that  grace  requires  and 
 provides  for  a  new  obedience  ;  and  this  is  the  result  of  a  failure 
 to  understand  its  requirement  and  provision.  Man  would  fain 
 be  only  upon  Calvary,  where,  with  the  blood,  forgiveness  flows. 
 He  persuades  himself  that  this  blodd  cleanses  from  all  sin  ;  but, 
 in  the  accomplishing  of  that  object,  he  thmks  from  Calvary  to 
 the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  a  retrogression  !  This  is  the  indolent, 
 false  dealing  with  faith,  which  corresponds  to  the  zealous  false 
 dealing  with  works.  Yet  no  preacher  of  faith  is  responsible  for 
 this  evil :  he  may  testify  Avith  St  Paul — Do  we  make  void  the 
 law  through  faith'^   God  forbid!  (Kom.  iii.  31). 
 
 To  this  superficial  miderstanding,  which  is  not  merely  one- 
 sided, but  views  both  sides  superficially,  St  James  opposes — 
 But  he  that  looketh  into,  or  deeply  penetrates  !  He  beholds  and 
 sees  both  at  once,  as  they  are  comprehended  in  the  one  word 
 He  knows  that  God  is  Qjie ;  and  therefore  that  His  legal  and 
 
310  THE  PERFECT  LAW  OF  LIBERT  r. 
 
 His  evangelical  word,  His  requirement  and  His  promise,  are 
 also  one.  "  Is  the  law  against  the  promise  ?  God  forbid  !  If 
 there  had  been  a  law  given  which  could  have  given  life,  verily 
 righteousness  should  have  been  by  the  law"  (Gal.  iii.  20,  21). 
 But,  similarly,  we  may  add  as  the  spirit  of  St  James  :  "  Is  the 
 promise  against  the  law  of  God  ?  (The  Father,  forgive  them  I 
 against  the  Be  ye  perfect  I  so  as  to  retract  and  abolish  it  ?)  If  a 
 Gospel  had  been  given  which  did  not  give  life  in  order  to  sanc- 
 tification  and  the  fulfilment  of  the  law,  verily  righteousness 
 would  not  have  been  through  the  Gospel !"  To  know  this  is  to 
 know  the  full  truth,  which  giveth  life  and  freedom.  We  first 
 come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  "  great  distinction"  between  Law 
 and  Gospel,  and  then  the  unity  of  both ;  as  in  the  depth  of  the 
 law  it  is  testified  that  God  will  redeem  and  save  sinners  through 
 the  revelation  of  their  sins ;  while  in  the  depth  of  the  Gospel 
 grace  itself  disciplines  and  purifies  unto  obedience.  Thus  the 
 faith  of  God's  elect  is  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  which  is  unto 
 godliness  (Tit.  i.  1). 
 
 This  intent  beholding  is  followed  by  continuing  therein ! 
 When  thou  hast  thus  heard,  understood,  and  accepted  the  word ; 
 when  thou  hast  looked,  as  it  were,  below  the  surface  of  this 
 wonderful  muTor,  the  looking  into  which  saves  and  transforms  ; 
 •when  it  has  sho^vn  thee,  not  merely  thine  old  man,  but  also  the 
 grace  of  Christ,  and  not  merely  His  grace  for  thyself  as  thou 
 art,  but  also  thy  new  man  as  it  is  to  be  in  Christ ; — then  art 
 thou  in  the  right  posture  for  the  entrance  of  the  power  of  God, 
 which  will  work  all  its  mighty  effects  in  thee,  though  not  with- 
 out thine  own  doing  of  that  which  God  doeth  in  thee.  This  is 
 the  freedom  which  consists  in  the  union  of  thy  will  with  the 
 Divine  ;  this  law  of  freedom  is  the  royal,  lif egiving  law  of  love 
 and  grace,  before  the  energy  of  which  all  stains  of  sin  and  all 
 defects  of  strength  must  disappear.  Continue  therein ;  hold  it 
 firmly  fast,  declining  neither  to  the  right  hand  by  such  vain  de- 
 pendence upon  grace  as  leaves  the  sin  untouched,  nor  to  the 
 left  hand  by  vain  endeavours  to  save  and  mend  thyself  through 
 good  works.  Such  a  man,  one  thus  continuing,  has  undergone 
 a  change  through  the  word ;  he  becomes  more  and  more  per- 
 fectly not  a  forgetful  hearer,  but  a  hearer  in  the  power  and 
 fruitful  office  of  the  word.  The  man  who  was  actually  a  hearer, 
 but  has  forgotten  again,  forgot  through  the  evil  of  his  heart, 
 
JAMES  I.  25.  311 
 
 tnrougli  his  lack  of  understanding  and  acceptance.  But  how  if 
 the  heart  has  actually  understood  and  embraced  the  word  in  its 
 true  meaning,  and  yet  no  fruit  has  been  brought  forth  imto 
 perfection  ?  In  that  case  it  is  no  longer  matter  of  f orgetfulness, 
 which  presupposes  error  and  weakness,  but  a  shghting  of  Christ, 
 a  rejection  of  faith,  an  actual  departure  from  the  way  first 
 entered  on.  Against  this  stands  the  abiding  therein;  the 
 patience,  of  which  St  James  had  begun  to  speak,  vers.  3,  4, 
 and  which  he  now  means  by  continuing.  This  is  the  patience 
 and  continuance  which  St  Paul  connects  with  good  works  in 
 seeking  for  eternal  hfe  (Rom.  ii.  7).  He  writes  also  to  the 
 Hebrews,  just  as  St  James  does, — "Cast  not  away  therefore 
 yom-  confidence,  which  hath  great  recompence  of  reward.  For 
 ye  have  need  of  patience,  that  after  ye  have  done  the  will  of  God 
 ye  might  receive  the  promise"  (Heb.  x.  35,  36).  This  is  believ- 
 ing, or  holding  confidence  fast,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  doing : 
 hence  St  James  carefully  says — Not  a  hearer  of  (or  unto)  forget- 
 f  ulness  ;  but  an  actual  doer,  literally,  a  doer  of  the  work.  Not,  of 
 the  loorks ;  for,  all  works,  of  which  ch.  ii.  afterwards  speaks,  are 
 wrapped  up  in  this  one  great  and  good  work,  the  work  in  faith, 
 or  the  work  of  faith  in  power  (1  Thess.  i.  3;  2  Thess.  i.  11). 
 
 How  then  is  this  doer  blessed  in  his  deed  ?  This  is  the  last 
 clause  in  the  saying,  and  is  now  only  to  be  fully  understood. 
 Deed — thus  most  rigorously  must  we  accept  it ;  for  the  doing 
 of  the  will  of  God  is,  and  has  ever  been,  the  goal  of  all.  We 
 are  redeemed,  we  are  purified,  that  we  may  be  zealous  of  good 
 works ;  that  we,  having  beheved  in  God,  may  be  careful  to  be 
 found  in  a  state  of  good  works  (Tit.  ii.  14,  iii.  8).  For,  faith 
 without  works,  dead  faith,  cannot  bring  salvation.  Those  only 
 enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  who  do  the  will  of  the  Father 
 in  heaven  (Matt.  vii.  21).  But  this  doing  is  not  a  concatena- 
 tion of  all  kinds  of  good  works  according  to  the  law  of  detailed 
 commandments,  not  this  and  that  and  the  other  act  of  obedience 
 simply;  but  a  continual,  consistent,  living,  and  free  act  of  the 
 new  man,  the  child  of  God.  This  proceeds  from  the  whole 
 man,  from  the  principle  of  love  in  which  faith  works ;  and  as 
 such  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  patchwork  of  the  legal  nature. 
 This  springs  from  a  constant  acceptance  and  retention  of  grace, 
 a  continual  living  and  abiding  under  its  influence;  and  it  is 
 an  obedience  both  of  freedom  and  delight ;  and  must  not  he 
 
312 
 
 who  thus  obeys  know  himself  to  be  blessed  and  happy  ?  Yes, 
 verily,  as  our  Lord  Himself  said — Blessed  are  ye,  if  ye  do  them  ! 
 ^John  xiii.  17).  First,  Blessed  are  the  eyes  which  see  the  things 
 that  ye  see !  Out  of  this  blessedness  of  faith  springs  a  new  life 
 in  order  to  do  the  will  of  God ;  then  it  may  proceed,  This  do,,  and 
 thou  shalt  live  therein  !  (Luke  x.  23,  28).  Mark  that  St  James 
 promises — He  shall  be  blessed  in  his  deed  ;  not —  On  account  of 
 it,  for  it,  or  through  it.  Even  David,  without  the  full  knowledge 
 of  Christ,  knew  enough  of  this  internally  free,  evangelical  way 
 of  the  law^s  fulfilment,  to  be  able  to  rejoice — In  keeping  Thy 
 commandments  there  is  great  reward  (Ps.  xix.  11).  But  when 
 the  grace  of  Christ  gives  to  us,  through  the  Holy  Spirit,  a  clear 
 understanding  of  the  law  of  liberty,  and  the  power  of  a  true 
 continuance  therein,  we  are  made  happy  with  all  the  ever-increas- 
 ing benedictions  of  the  Lord's  Sermon  on  the  Mount; — from 
 the  first  benediction  of  poverty  to  the  final  peace  in  persecution. 
 
 xn. 
 
 odd's  pure  and  undefiled  service. 
 (Ch.  i.  26,  27.) 
 
 If  any  man  among  you  seem  to  be  religious,  and  bridleth  not  his  tongue,  but 
 deceiveth  his  own  heart,  this  man's  religion  is  vain.  Pure  religion  and 
 imdefiled  before  God  and  the  Father,  is  this,  To  visit  the  fatherless  and 
 widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted  from  the  world. 
 
 Blessed  are  the  doers  of  the  rightly  heard  word :  to  whom 
 it  is  not  merely  a  law — as  it  is  to  those  who  burden  themselves 
 with  works ;  to  whom  it  is  not  merely  a  gospel — as  it  is  to 
 those  who  deceive  themselves  in  their  hearing  and  believing ; 
 but  the  perfect  law  of  liberty !  Blessed  are  those  who  pene- 
 trate this,  and  continue  in  it !  True  Christianity,  genuine  godli- 
 ness, is  matter  of  freedom :  for  God  desires  no  other  service  and 
 obedience  than  that  which  proceeds  from  a  free  and  willing 
 heart ;  and  if  His  Spirit  ruleth  in  us,  we  are  not  under  the  law 
 (Gal.  V.  18).  But  we  are  in  the  law,  and  the  law  in  us. 
 "  Now  ye  are  free  from  sin,  and  have  become  the  servants  of 
 
56,  27.  313 
 
 righteousness,  the  servants  of  God;  ye  have  your  fruit  unto 
 holiness ;  but  the  end  is  everlasting  life"  (Rom.  vi.  18,  22). 
 St  James  presently  terms  the  same  a  serving,  a  service  of  God. 
 But  this  he  does  not  mean  in  a  Jewish  sense,  as  St  Paul  before 
 Agrippa  spoke  of  the  "  twelve  tribes  instantly  serving  God  day 
 and  night,"  with  a  vain  labour  against  which  all  the  prophets 
 had  testified  to  them  through  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  so  that  even 
 Sirach  could  say  :  "  He  that  requiteth  a  good  turn  (thanketh 
 God)  offereth  fine  flour ;  and  he  that  giveth  alms  sacrificeth 
 praise"  (Ecclus.  xxxv.  2).  The  blood  of  Christ  now  cleanseth 
 our  consciences  from  dead  works,  to  serve  the  living  God  (Heb. 
 ix.  14).  We  are  the  circumcision,  who  serve  God  in  the  spirit 
 (Phil.  iii.  3).  He  who  is  one  of  this  number  speaks  with  St 
 Paul,  who  at  the  shipwreck  said,  "  This  night  there  appeared 
 unto  me  an  angel  of  God,  whose  I  am  and  whom  1  serveT  (Acts 
 xxvii.  23).  First,  we  are  God's;  then  and  therefore  serve  we 
 Him  in  the  free  gratitude  of  childlike  love.  Where  this  is  not 
 the  case,  a  man  may  think  himself  rehgious ;  but  he  is  deceived, 
 and  all  his  service  of  God  is  vain. 
 
 Thus  St  James,  in  the  wisdom  which  embraces  every  aspect 
 of  a  matter,  adjoins  a  warning  on  the  other  side — "But  under- 
 stand rightly  the  blessed  doing  of  the  law  of  liberty !  Be  on 
 your  guard  against  darkness  and  vain  imagination !"  His 
 word — If  any  man  among  you — requires  us  to  test  ourselves 
 within  and  without,  whether  we  in  very  deed  serve  God  with  pure 
 and  undefiled  service :  it  points  first  us  to  our  inward  selves  ;  and 
 then  to  our  external  relation  to  the  world. 
 
 But,  in  referring  to  our  inward  selves,  he  speaks  of  what  is 
 seemingly  a  slight  evidence  of  self-government,  the  bridling  of 
 the  tongue.  Of  gross  and  glaring  works  of  the  flesh  he  cannot 
 obviously  speak  at  first,  since  no  man  guilty  of  them  can  think 
 that  he  is  serving  God.  Nor  does  he  address  those  who,  though 
 free  from  gross  external  sins,  yet  altogether  live  for  themselves, 
 and  serve  themselves  instead  of  God,  whose  minds  are  fleshly, 
 earthly,  and  selfish.  Knowing  this  to  be  the  case  in  your  own 
 conscience,  whenever  you  enter  into  yourself,  how  can  you  think 
 of  reckoning  yourself  among  the  servants  of  God  ?  Is  there 
 any  man  among  you  who  cannot  find  any  ground  for  thinking 
 himself  in  any  sense  a  servant  of  God — let  him  be  converted 
 from  the  error  of  his  way,  so  that  he  may  find  grace  in  time  ! 
 
314  god's  puke  and  undepiled  service. 
 
 But  we  have  to  do  with  the  sincere  sendee  and  obedience  of  God 
 in  the  new  life.  It  is  to  that  St  James  applies  his  test ;  and  it 
 applies  immediately  to  the  central  principle — Ai'e  ye  conscien- 
 tious and  zealous  in  Kttle  things  ?  Faithfulness  in  little  things^ 
 dear  brethren,  is  not  merely  something  beautiful,  and  pre-emi- 
 nent, which  however  is  final,  and  consummates,  as  its  crown,  the 
 general  fidelity  of  the  character ; — but  our  Lord  says  as  solemnly 
 as  truly — He  that  is  faithful  in  that  which  is  least,  is  faithful 
 also  in  much ;  and  he  that  is  unfaithful  in  that  which  is  least, 
 is  unfaithful  also  in  much  (Luke  xvi.  10).  Only  he  who  ap- 
 proves his  fidelity  in  little  things  possesses  it  in  great  things, 
 and  in  his  character  generally ;  hence  it  is  natural  and  right 
 that  a  new  and  earnest  obedience  will  begin  at  once  with  little 
 things.  He  who  in  these  little  things  sets  out  with  a  con- 
 scienceless carelessness,  has  generally  no  real  and  absolute  ear- 
 nestness in  him.  Hence  so-called  trivialities  are  the  sure  test 
 of  the  inner  mind  and  character.  Conscientiousness  down  to  the 
 farthing  is  the  standard  of  a  truly  honourable  piety;  little  acts  and 
 single  words  show  the  full  and  pure  spirit  of  obedience  in  the 
 soulc  One  may  appear,  not  only  before  the  world,  but  before 
 the  brethren,  as  a  religious  man,  and  one  may  seem  to  himself 
 to  be  so  ; — but  the  true  service  of  God  before  the  Father^  who 
 seeth  in  secret,  who  esteems  Httle  things  great  for  the  sake  of 
 the  heart  which  prompts  them, — the  heart  which  He  penetrates 
 through  all  words  and  actions, — is  a  very  different  matter ! 
 Such  a  walk  before  God  is  animated  by  a  tender  fear  of  every 
 the  slightest  defilement,  by  a  strict  fidelity  to  purity  and  right- 
 eousness down  to  the  most  trivial  word  of  sudden  discourse. 
 
 Therefore  St  James  makes  the  tongue  once  more  an  indi- 
 vidual example,  and  asks  sharply  whether  we  bridle  it  before  God 
 and  for  God's  sake.  It  is  only  an  example  ;  but  he  wisely  and 
 significantly  shows  the  most  decisive  and  plainest  mark  of  faith- 
 ful and  firm  self-government  generally :  as  he  himself  after- 
 wards says — He  that  sinneth  not  in  word  is  a  perfect  man,  and 
 able  to  bridle  the  whole  body  (ch.  iii.  2).  That  means,  first  of 
 all — He  that  lays  earnest  stress  upon  not  sinning  with  his  tongue, 
 exliibits  an  absolute  and  pure  earnestness  to  deal  faithfully  with 
 himself.  Alas,  how  many  so-called  pioifs  there  are — who  at  least 
 are  reputed  to  be  so — whose  free,  unbridled  tongues  show,  if  not 
 when  heard  abroad,  when  heard  at  home,  that  their  piety  is  of 
 
JA]MES  I.  26,  27.  315 
 
 little  worth !  We  have  already  heard  a  word  against  swiftness 
 to  speak ;  and  we  shall  yet  have  a  solemn  ntterr,nce  concerning 
 the  untamed  tongue  in  ch.  iii.  Therefore  upon  this  point  we 
 will  say  no  more  now ;  except  that  we  would  lay  stress  upon 
 the  words  which  are  added — He  that  bridleth  not  his  tongue, 
 however  othenvise  pious  he  may  seem  to  be,  deceiveth  Ms  own 
 heart!  But  this  means  more  than  merely  that  he  deceiveth  himself, 
 and  errs  in  wilful  guilt,  when  he  holds  his  vain,  empty  service  for 
 the  true  service  of  God.  It  implies  that  he  who  serves  not  God 
 in  truth,  serves  all  the  more  on  that  account  sin.  In  him  who 
 does  earnestly  and  rigorously  from  the  heart  rule  the  tongue,  the 
 tongue  rules  the  heart ;  it  hurries  him  soon  hack  again  into  sins, 
 and  thus  misleadeth  the  heart,  as  we  shall  learn  in  the  third 
 chapter.  But  we  can  also  learn  it  in  ourselves,  if  we  diligently 
 observe  and  examine  our  owti  hearts  :  he  also  who  governs  not 
 his  eyes,  he  who  does  not  rule  his  fancy,  he  who  does  not  repress 
 and  mortify  his  lusts,  he  who  lets  anything  in  himself  have  its 
 free  and  unfettered  course  according  to  nature — is  offering  a 
 service  to  God  ivhich  is  vain  ! 
 
 Thus  St  James  at  the  first  pointed  us  to  ourselves ;  he  then 
 adds  another  word,  which  summons  us  to  test  ourselves  as  to  our 
 external  relation  to  the  world  and  our  neighbour.  Here  two  things 
 are  of  importance,  as  essential  to  the  true  and  pure  service  of 
 God :  the  exercise  of  love,  which  scorns  and  neglects  no  needy 
 fellow-man ;  but,  combined  mth  that,  a  prudent  separation 
 from  the  sin  of  the  world. 
 
 This  is  from  first  to  last  the  sum  of  the  commandment. 
 Love  out  of  a  pure  heart,  and  a  good  conscience,  and  faith  un- 
 feigned (1  Tim.  i.  5).  Hence  St  James  speaks  afterwards  of 
 fulfilling  the  royal  law  of  loving  our  neighbom'  as  ourselves  ! 
 (ch.  ii.  8).  He  who  does  that,  is  the  royal  ruler  over  himself 
 with  and  in  God,  and  truly  free ;  only  he  who  has  exercised 
 mercy  will  stand  in  the  judgment  before  that  Saviour  and 
 Judge,  who  Himself  first  exercises  mercy  towards  the  sinner, 
 and  then  says — Go  and  do  hkewise!  (Luke  x.  37).  Go  ivhither, 
 dear  brethren  ?  Every  whither ;  for  in  all  ways,  which  ye  may 
 frequent  in  hfe,  the  poor,  and  the  miserable,  and  the  helpless 
 lie.  The  sin  of  the  world  everywhere  provides  that  we  shall  have 
 the  poor  and  the  unhappy  around  us  ;  he  who  has  a  heart  full 
 of  love  will  find  opportunity  enough  of  showing  that  it  is  in  his 
 
316  god's  puke  and  undefiled  service. 
 
 heart.  Look  around  you :  behold  and  think  how  vast  a  field 
 for  mercy !  Are  ye  industrious  and  zealous  enough  in  doing  the 
 work  of  the  Lord,  the  saving,  comforting  work  of  His  holy  love  ? 
 St  James  once  more  selects  one  example  in  this  domain,  that  we 
 may  rightly  understand  our  duty — the  tribulation  of  orphans 
 and  widows.  So  he  speaks  in  the  proverbial  language  of  the 
 Old  Testament :  as  Job  mentions  the  widow  and  the  fatherless 
 as  first  among  the  wretched  whom  he  had  helped  (ch.  xxi.  16, 
 17)  ;  as  Moses  constantly  makes  them  prominent  in  the  Law; 
 as  the  prophets  perpetually  exhort  the  people  in  their  behalf ; 
 and  as  God  calls  Himself  the  Father  of  the  fatherless,  and  the 
 Judge  of  the  widow  (Ps.  Ixviii.  6).  And  thus  we  are  at  the 
 same  time  pointed  to  all  kinds  of  misery  which  need  consola- 
 tion and  help  ;  to  break  bread  to  the  hungry,  to  shelter  the  home- 
 less, to  clothe  the  naked  (Is.  Iviii.  7).  And  all  this  holds  good 
 even  still  more  impressively  of  spiritual  destitution,  in  which 
 souls  hunger  and  thirst,  needing  the  consolations  of  grace,  the 
 bread  and  clothing  of  righteousness.  But  St  James  does  not 
 mean,  as  the  Pharisees  of  all  times  have  perverted  his  words  in 
 lying  hypocrisy,  the  external  works  of  so-called  human  charity ; 
 but  the  loving  and  exercising  mercy  as  religious  acts  before  God 
 the  Father.  It  is  therefore  love  out  of  a  pure  heart,  undefiled 
 by  hypocrisy,  vainglory,  and  the  delusion  of  merit.  He  does 
 not  so  much  mean  the  works,  which  are  the  evidence  of  the 
 spmt  of  charity,  as  the  spirit  of  charity  itself,  the  warm  impulse 
 of  the  heart  which  sends  us  to  the  miserable  in  their  afiliction. 
 Therefore  he  does  not  speak  of  the  food,  clothing,  and  general 
 supply  of  the  wants  of  the  orphans  and  widows ;  but  of  the 
 visiting  them  in  their  affliction,  the  taking  them  into  the  heart, 
 the  coming  to  them  with  the  best  that  we  have  for  all  kinds  of 
 tribulation,  that  is,  with  the  true  consolation.  Yes,  verily,  those 
 who  are  still  without  the  consolation  which  God's  grace  imparts 
 are  widows  and  orphans  indeed  ;  they  are  the  truly  wretched  in 
 the  way.  They  are  everywhere  to  be  found ;  yet,  if  we  would 
 succour  them,  we  must  visit  them,  seek  them,  that  is,  go  out  of 
 our  own  house,  not  remaining  self-satisfied  in  our  own  happiness, 
 peace,  and  enjoyment. 
 
 But,  secondly,  St  James  significantly  adds,  that  in  all  this 
 walking  and  working  in  the  world,  zve  must  keep  ourselves  un- 
 spotted from  the  world  I     In  the  beginning  of  the  same  verse, 
 
JAMES  I.  26,  27.  317 
 
 the  pure  and  unde filed  service  of  God  was  the  not  staining 
 our  ownselves  inwardly  by  unfaithfulness,  neglect  of  self-denial, 
 and  sin  :  he  now  warns  us  also  against  being  stained  from  with- 
 out. For  as  everywhere  in  the  world  we  find  distress  which 
 should  be  helped,  so  also  we  find  connected  with  it  much  sin ; 
 indeed,  this  sin  is  the  essential  distress,  and  it  tempts  us  even 
 while  we  are  endeavouring  to  oppose  and  destroy  it.  O  how 
 narrow  is  the  way  of  the  pure  service  of  God ;  how  easily  may 
 something  of  the  ungodly  nature  of  the  world  adhere  to  us,  our 
 hands  and  hearts,  while  we  have  so  much  to  do  with  it,  and  we 
 dare  not  fly  I 
 
 JBut  what  is  the  world  ?  St  James  uses  the  same  New-Tes- 
 tament phraseology  as  St  John  :  Whosoever  has  not  in  him  the 
 love  of  the  Father,  whosoever  doeth  not  in  this  love  the  will  of 
 God,  but  is  ruled  over  by  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  lust  of 
 the  eyes,  and  the  pride  of  Hfe,  is  of  the  world  (1  John  ii.  15-17). 
 The  world  loves  its  own,  the  vain  serve  vanity,  the  creature 
 instead  of  the  Creator ;  that  is,  so  long  as  it  remains  the  world, 
 it  retains  the  hatred  against  God  which  rejected  Christ  and 
 crucified  Him,  as  He  said — The  world  hateth  Me  (John  vii.  7, 
 XV.  18).  And  this  world  is  always  in  the  midst  of  Christendom ; 
 where  is  for  ever  the  offence  and  the  woe  (Matt,  xviii.  7). 
 
 Who  is  not  of  the  world  ?  First,  and  alone  by  nature  among 
 men,  the  One,  the  Second  Man,  who  to  repair  the  fall  of  the 
 First  came  as  the  Lord  from  heaven  (1  Cor.  xv.  47) ;  who  tes- 
 tified— Ye  are  of  this  world,  I  am  not  of  this  world!  (John 
 viii.  23).  Then  through  Him  all  who  have  received  Him,  and 
 to  whom  He  hath  given  power  to  become  the  children  of  God 
 (John  i.  12) ;  who  have  embraced  by  faith  the  truth  that  He 
 gave  Himself  for  our  sins,  to  deliver  us  out  of  this  present  evil 
 world,  according  to  the  will  of  God  and  our  Father  (Gal.  i.  4). 
 Can  any  man  among  us  think  that  he  is  a  child  of  God,  with- 
 out knowing  how  he  became  such  through  the  regeneration 
 which  follows  faith  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  without  knowing 
 that  the  Saviour  in  His  mercy  has  saved  and  snatched  him 
 from  the  mass  of  evil  ?  They  who  are  no  longer  of  the  world 
 can  say — "  We  know  that  we  are  of  God,  and  the  whole  world 
 lieth  in  wickedness.  ]Ve  knoiv  that  the  Son  of  God  is  come, 
 not  only  into  the  world,  but  into  our  hearts,  which  also  lay  in 
 wickedness,  and  hath  given  us  an  understanding  for  the  know- 
 
318  god's  pure  and  undefiled  service. 
 
 ledge  of  Him  that  is  true,  and  for  life  in  Him  that  is  true" 
 (1  John  V.  19,  20).  To  such,  forsooth,  the  whole  word  of  God 
 in  the  New  Testament  speaks  as  St  James  does :  "  Though  the 
 world  hate  you,  ye  must  love  the  world  in  the  love  of  God,  ac- 
 cording to  the  mercy  of  Christ  which  is  in  you!"  That  is  as 
 true  as  it  is  in  another  sense  that  we  must  not  love  the  world, 
 nor  anything  that  is  therein  !  Both  consist  together  in  the  spirit 
 of  all  who  serve  God  in  the  spirit,  and  do  the  will  of  the  Father. 
 Through  Christ  the  world  is  crucified  unto  us,  and  we  unto 
 the  world  (Gal.  vi.  14), — yet  on  the  same  cross  the  world  is  at 
 the  same  time  reconciled  to  us,  and  w^e  to  the  world.  Thus  we 
 must  not  separate  om'selves  in  a  hateful  spirit  frpm  those  who 
 in  their  wretchedness  are  the  objects  of  our  contempt — that  is 
 verily  a  vain  religion  ! — but  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly 
 in  the  world  (Tit.  ii.  12)  ;  not  being  of  the  world,  however,  and 
 not  walking  with  the  world.  As  God's  children,  unrebukeable 
 in  the  midst  of  a  crooked  and  perverse  nation,  among  whom  we 
 appear  as  lights  in  the  world  (Phil.  ii.  15) — out  of  which  we 
 would  save  and  convert  as  many  as  our  love  can  reach. 
 
 Thus  we  may  hope  now  to  understand  what  this  means  in 
 the  most  comprehensive  and  deepest  sense  for  the  childi-en  of 
 God,  who,  being  still  in  the  w^orld,  are  not  and  would  not  be 
 again  of  it,  but — unspotted  from  the  world  I  He  wdio  has  pre- 
 sented himself  in  the  reasonable,  spiritual  service  to  the  Father 
 of  mercy  for  a  living,  holy,  acceptable  sacrifice,  conforms  not 
 himself  to  this  ivorld!  (Rom.  xii.  1,  2).  But  woe  to  the  fools 
 who  flatter  themselves  that  this  is  to  be  speedily  accomphshed 
 by  a  few  external  fashions  !  We  eat  and  drink  and  dress  like 
 others ;  we  use  this  world,  we  have  to  do  with  the  creature ;  we 
 do  not  as  men  among  our  fellow-men  deny  ourselves  to  hu- 
 manity, and  the  common  fellowship  of  life;  but  we  take  good 
 care  that  we  abuse  nothing,  that  w^e  suffer  ourselves  to  be  en- 
 tangled and  seduced  by  nothing  and  by  no  man.  As  He  is, 
 in  whom  the  love  of  the  Father  was,  so  are  we  also  in  this  world 
 (1  John  iv.  17).  We  hold  intercom'se,  indeed,  with  sinners ; 
 we  visit  those  who  are  both  bodily  and  spiritually  sick  and  miser- 
 able, offering  to  them  consolation,  and  blessing,  and  help  from 
 God ;  but  we  give  good  heed  that  we  do  not  receive  from  them 
 any  defilement  of  their  ungodliness.  But  in  this — as  every  one 
 who  understands  what  w^e  speak  about  will  agree — there  is 
 
JAMES  f.  ?.Gy  27.  319 
 
 danger  enough  to  make  us  walk  most  lieedf ully :  everywhere 
 there  are  illusions  which  may  lead  us  astray,  temptations  to 
 vanity  and  sin,  assaults  of  the  unbelieving  and  perverse  nature, 
 requiring  all  our  circumspection.  A  very  slight  complacency  in 
 one  thing  that  is  wrong  may  first  ensnare  us,  and  awaken  a 
 slumbering  lust  in  the  heart :  presently  it  goes  further,  and  the 
 unbridled  tongue  enters  into  the  danger,  and  this  again  leads 
 to  fellowship  in  act — until  at  last  the  Demas  is  fully  formed 
 who  forsakes  the  communion  of  the  faithful,  and  loves  this  pre- 
 sent world  again!  (2  Tim.  iv.  10).  Or,  if  this  last  sad  result  does 
 not  follow,  there  is  a  grievous  distraction  of  heart,  a  departure 
 from  the  way,  a  defilement  of  the  spirit.  Therefore,  the  last 
 test  which  St  James  gives  for  the  purity  of  the  service  of  God 
 is  this — in  the  works  of  love  to  keep  oneself  unspotted  from  the 
 world  !  He  speaks  as  if  we  in  ourselves  were  altogether  pure  and 
 without  spot ;  but,  thus  warning  us,  he  gives  us  to  remember  that 
 we  have  within  us  still  the  inflammable  matter  of  sin.  Other- 
 wise the  sin  without  would  no  more  touch  or  lay  hold  upon  us 
 than  upon  Him  in  whom  there  was  no  sin. 
 
 St  James,  however,  would  not  say  that  we  might  utterly 
 escape  all  defilement ;  for  he  knew  well,  even  as  the  Master 
 had  taught  him,  that  at  least  the  feet  must  be  soiled  by  our 
 walking  in  this  world,  and  that  they  must  continually  be 
 washed  (John  xiii.  10).  But,  as  he  had  said  before,  whoso 
 seeth  at  once  in  the  glass  of  the  word  these  easily  contracted 
 spots,  looks  deeply  irito  that  same  mirror  and  finds  also  thepuri- 
 ficatioil.  He  who  diligently  and  sincerely  strives  to  cleanse 
 and  sanctify  himself,  who  puts  away  immediately  every  stain — 
 continuetli  in  the  perfect  law  of  Uberty.  And  that  is  the  great 
 essential  in  all  complete,  pure,  and  determined  earnestness  of 
 obedience,  which  esteems  nothing  to  be  unim'portant. 
 
320  KESPECT  OF  PERSONS. 
 
 xni. 
 
 NO  RESPECT  OF  PERSONS  IN  THE  LOVE  OF  THE  NEIGHBOUR. 
 
 (Ch.  ii.  1-9.) 
 
 My  brethren,  count  not  that  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord  of  glory,  suffers 
 respect  of  persons.  For  if  there  come  unto  your  assembly  a  man  with  a 
 gold  ring,  in  goodly  apparel,  and  there  come  in  also  a  poor  man  in  vile 
 raiment ;  And  ye  have  respect  to  him  that  weareth  the  gay  clothing,  and 
 say  unto  him.  Sit  thou  here  in  a  good  place  ;  and  say  to  the  poor.  Stand 
 thou  here,  or.  Sit  here  under  my  footstool :  Are  ye  not  then  partial  in 
 yourselves,  and  are  become  judges  of  evil  thought  ?  Hearken,  my  beloved 
 brethren,  Hath  not  God  chosen  the  poor  of  this  world  rich  in  faith,  and 
 heirs  of  the  kingdom  which  He  hath  promised  to  them  that  love  Him  ? 
 But  ye  have  despised  the  poor.  Do  not  rich  men  oppress  you,  and  draw 
 you  before  the  judgment-seats  ?  Do  not  they  blaspheme  that  worthy  name 
 by  the  which  ye  are  called  ?  If  ye  fulfil  the  royal  law  according  to  the 
 Scripture,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,  ye  do  well.  But  if  ye 
 have  respect  to  persons,  ye  commit  sin,  and  are  convinced  of  the  law  as 
 transgressors. 
 
 St  James  has  spoken  of  tlie  charitable  visitation  of  the  poor, 
 the  widows,  and  the  fatherless  :  he  now  connects  his  discourse 
 with  what  preceded,  in  such  a  manner  as  still  most  keenly  to 
 test  our  love  and  mercy,  that  in  which  we  should  serve  God  in 
 our  neighbour.  But  he  tests  it  with  reference  to  our  conduct  in 
 relation  to  the  contrast  and  distinction  existing  in  the  world 
 between  rich  and  poor,  exalted  and  humble.  The  rich  and  the 
 poor  must  meet  together ;  the  Lord  is  the  Maker  of  them  all 
 (Prov.  xxii.  2).  Wherefore  and  to  what  end  hath  He  made 
 the  one  rich,  the  other  poor  ?  He  knoweth  full  well  in  His 
 wisdom  :  He  knoweth  moreover,  what  we  also  may  and  should 
 know,  that  it  is  not  Himself  who  hath  made  rich  all  that  are 
 rich,  and  poor  all  that  are  poor ;  but  avarice  hasteneth  after 
 riches,  and  sin  plunges  into  poverty.  The  poor  and  the  rich 
 meet  together  ;  the  Lord  lighteneth  both  their  eyes  (Prov.  xxix. 
 13).  Forsooth,  when  that  is  the  lot  of  both,  they  meet  in  very 
 deed.  But  mark  that  Solomon  in  this  sentence  places  the  poor 
 first :  O  that  their  eyes  would  receive  the  light  of  the  Lord  ! 
 If  this  day  the  possession  of   earthly  goods  was  reduced  to 
 
JAMES  II.  1-9.  321 
 
 equality,  how  long  would  that  continue,  how  soon  would  the  sin 
 of  men  restore  the  disparity  !  But  God's  government  suffers  it 
 to  continue,  in  order  that  His  grace  may  operate,  and  turn  e^41 
 to  good  account,  in  ways  which  to  our  dim  eyes  are  too  deep  and 
 too  high.  Do  not  prematurely  intrude  into  the  Lord's  province  ; 
 you  would  rather  make  the  evil  worse  !  The  only  equality  to 
 enh'ghtened  eyes  is  found  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  through  faith 
 in  Jesus  Christ.  The  present  age  seeks  by  art  and  cunning 
 devices  to  redeem  itself  from  the  misproportion  which  exists  in 
 this  matter,  and  which  indeed  avaricious  industry  and  ungodly 
 lust  of  possession  are  continually  increasing :  this  has  indeed 
 become  one  of  the  chief  problems  of  dabblers  in  statecraft, 
 reformers,  and  clamourers  for  right  and  freedom.  But  they 
 will  never  accomplish  their  purpose,  while  they  take  not  the 
 method  which  God's  word  here  prescribes.  It  is  that  of  which 
 St  James  here  speaks.  But  not  as  of  itself  the  main  thing ; 
 for  it  only  prepares  the  way  for  the  reference  to  the  royal  law 
 of  love,  ver.  8 — to  the  perfect  fulfilment  of  the  perfect  law  in 
 the  genuine  works  of  faith,  vers.  10-14.  But  we  will  first 
 consider  these  words  in  themselves. 
 
 My  brethren,  think  not  that  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  our 
 Lord  of  glory,  may  be  held  with  respect  of  persons  I  That  is  the 
 very  general  position  which  comes  first,  and  ver.  9  afterwards 
 returns  to  it.  What  respect  of  persons  is,  the  world,  which  con- 
 stantly exhibits  it,  knows  very  well  without  much  explanation : 
 we,  dear  brethren,  it  may  be  hoped,  know  in  addition  that  it  means 
 the  external  respect  which  does  not  fall  on  the  right  person,  that 
 is,  the  man  as  he  really  is  in  himself,  and  according  to  his  true 
 value,  but  looks  at  the  specious  outward  appearance  to  the  eyes. 
 That  God  does  not  look  at  the  person  in  any  such  sense,  is 
 known  to  all  who  know  anything  of  God  ;  and  yet  how  hard  it 
 is  to  come  to  a  right  appreciation  and  application  of  this,  is  seen 
 in  the  difficulty  with  which  the  first  Apostle  was  brought  to  con- 
 fess— Now  know  I  it  of  a  truth  !  (Acts  x.  34).  On  the  day  of 
 the  revelation  of  the  righteous  judgment  of  God  it  will  be  mani- 
 fest beyond  all  thought  and  expectation  of  ours,  that  there  is  no 
 respect  of  persons  mth  God  (Kom.  ii.  11).  The  doing  right- 
 eousness and  the  doing  wickedness — this  will  be  the  sole  and 
 fi.nal  distinction.  This  is  plainly  enough  declared  in  the  present 
 life  to  all,  whether  poor  or  rich,  whether  servants  or  masters. 
 
 X 
 
322  RESPECT  OF  PERSONS. 
 
 Wliatsoever  good  any  servant,  as  a  servant  of  Christ  devoted  to 
 the  mil  of  God,  doeth,  the  same  shall  he  receive.  But  the 
 masters  must  do  what  is  equal,  and  know  that  their  Master  also 
 is  in  heaven,  and  that  there  is  no  respect  of  persons  with  Him 
 (Eph.  vi.  6-9).  O  how  much  does  that  comprehend !  There 
 are  manifold  varieties  of  servants  and  masters,  of  poor  and 
 rich,  of  lowly  and  exalted,  of  ignorant  and  wise,  to  whom  less  or 
 to  whom  more  is  given.  And  this  extends  to  the  kingdom  of 
 God  and  the  Church  of  Christ,  even  among  the  highest  prero- 
 gatives and  gifts  of  apostohcal  honour ;  so  that  St  Paul  could 
 boldly  say  concerning  the  first-chosen  Apostles,  "  But  of  those 
 who  had  respect,  whatsoever  they  were,  it  maketh  no  matter  to 
 me  :  God  accepteth  no  man's  person  !"  (Gal.  ii.  6).  We  shall 
 not  pursue  this  too  fai',  but  prefer  to  observe  how  St  James, 
 the  Lord's  brother  according  to  the  flesh  (in  the  eyes  of  men 
 truly  a  great  pre-eminence  !),  himself  sets  a  good  example  ;  for 
 he  never  makes  mention  of  this  honom'  throughout  the  Epistle, 
 but  places  himself  in  common  with  the  brethren  under  the  supre- 
 macy of  our  Lord  of  glory. 
 
 This  expression  is  carefully  chosen  for  his  phrase,  which 
 properly  runs  as  a  question,  "  Do  ye  hold,  forsooth,  with  respect 
 of  persons  the  faith  in  this  our  Lord  of  glory  ?  "  Can  these  two 
 things,  rightly  considered,  consist  together?  He,  the  Lord  of  all 
 lords,  was  poor  and  lowly  in  this  world.  Again,  how  does  the 
 glory  which  is  His  and  which  He  gives  to  His  people,  the 
 glorious  riches  of  this  mystery  among  the  Gentiles,  Christ  in 
 you  the  hope  of  glory  (Col.  i.  17),  make  pale  all  the  honour  of 
 this  lower  world !  How  supremely  and  beyond  all  other  con- 
 cern important  that  every  man  should  mind  that  one  thijig,  the 
 being  presented  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus !  (Col.  i.  28).  The  fact 
 that  there  is,  even  among  Christians,  so  much  respect  of  per- 
 sons, shows  how  little  the  genuine  and  perfect  faith  in  the  Lord 
 of  glory  fills  their  hearts.  But  the  least  and  most  external 
 thing  which  belongs  to  a  man's  person,  and  which  others  may 
 regard,  is  his  present  possession  of  worldly  goods;  and  neverthe- 
 less, as  evidence  of  their  perverse  folly,  this  is  the  first  and  the 
 last  thing  that  most  men  regard.  Is  it  not  now  as  the  son  of 
 Sirach  said,  "The  poor  man  is  honom^ed  for  his  skill,  and  the  rich 
 man  is  honoured  for  his  riches  ?  "  (Ecclus.  x.  30).  That  is,  even 
 if  the  poor  man's  sldll  is  not  despised  on  account  of  liis  poverty; 
 
JAMES  IT.  1-9.  323 
 
 wlilcli,  however,  often  happens,  as  Eccles.  ix.  14,  15  more 
 authoritatively  tells  us.  There  was  in  Christ's  time  among  the 
 Jews — who,  besides  the  priesthood,  recognised  no  other  dis- 
 tinction of  degree — so  deeply-rooted  a  disposition  to  honour  the 
 rich  and  to  regard  Mammon,  that  He  constantly  made  that  the 
 object  of  His  severe  denunciation.  And  is  our  Christendom 
 wanting  in  this  Je^^^sh  spnit  ?  Eather,  this  age  of  oui's,  which 
 would  overturn  all  other  government,  seems  likely  to  succumb 
 under  the  vilest  of  all  aristocracies,  that  of  wealth,  the  meanest 
 of  all  government,  that  of  money !  We  are  told,  my  brethren, 
 as  Christians — Let  it  not  be  so  among  you !  Take  heed  lest 
 you  reject  such  trite  and  seemingly  needless  admonition.  Prac-: 
 tically,  it  is  not  so  generally  understood  that,  as  before  God 
 riches  and  poverty  are  of  no  avail,  so  also  among  us  they  should 
 make  no  difference.  It  was  not  fully  understood  even  in  the 
 apostolical  Church,  for  St  James  gives  us  a  striking  example. 
 
 If  into  your  assembly,  that  of  the  Di\ine  ser\dce,  there 
 enter  a  man  ^vith  gold  ring  and  magnificent  apparel,  a  rich 
 lord  who  bears  his  riches  visibly  about  him ;  and  with  him  a 
 poor  man  in  mean  garments,  showing  the  traces  of  toil  and 
 need ;  and  ye  should  look  at  once  upon  the  man  in  the  costly 
 apparel,  and  say  to  him  with  reverence — Take  this  seat  in  the 
 best  place !  but  to  the  poor  man — Thou  mayest  stand  there,  or 
 sit  down  here  at  my  footstool!  do  ye  not  make  distinctions 
 among  yourselves,  and  become  judges  of  evil  thoughts  ?  Thus 
 does  St  James  paint  from  the  life ;  and,  although  he  gently 
 puts  it  as  only  a  possible  case,  we  feel  that  he  had  seen  what  he 
 describes.  That  the  members  of  the  church  are  not  meant — 
 who  had  their  own  places — but  strangers  who  came  in,  is 
 evident  from  the  whole  context.  The  assembhes  of  Christians 
 were  open  to  every  man ;  and  it  often  happened  that  unbelievers 
 came  in,  as  we  read  in  1  Cor.  xiv.  23-25.  That  such  a  visitor 
 might  become  conscious  of  Divine  truth,  might  worship  God, 
 and  avow  that  God  did  dwell  among  His  people — this  is  what 
 every  man  in  the  assembly  should  have  thought  of,  and  nothing 
 else.  But  this  eminent  and  gilded  man  must  have  a  place  of 
 honour,  as  if  there  was  something  special  in  him  even  here  be- 
 fore God,  on  whom  such  a  man  almost  conf en-ed  an  honour ; 
 he  must  be  flatteringly  regarded,  as  if  much  depended  for  the 
 Church  upon  such  personages  being  won.     On  the  other  hand, 
 
324  EESPECT  OF  PERSOXS. 
 
 the  poor  man  is,  tliis  time  at  least,  very  curtly  settled  with  5^ 
 the  side  of  the  rich  man.  If  ye  do  so,  asks  St  James  (strictly 
 translating  his  words) — have  ye  not  made  distinction  in  or  of 
 yourselves  (with  evil  meaning),  and  become  judges  in  evil 
 thoughts,  on  false  principles?  And  how  deep-rooted  must 
 these  evil  thoughts  have  been,  when  we  read  that  in  an  apos- 
 tohcal  church  the  rich  allowed  the  poor  to  hunger  at  the  love- 
 feasts  of  the  Sacrament,  and  shamed  those  who  had  nothing ! 
 (1  Cor.  xi.  21,  22).  AV^iat  wonder,  then,  if  we  find  in  our  own 
 churches  seats  of  honour  for  the  great,  and  many  other  visible 
 marks  of  distinction,  reaching  even  to  priority  at  the  table  of 
 the  Lord ! 
 
 For  there,  most  assuredly,  we  are  all  alike  before  the  Lord. 
 If  the  rich  man  has  not  that  best  robe  which  the  Father  gave 
 to  His  recovered  son,  and  that  ring  of  the  sons  of  God  upon 
 his  hand — he  has  no  value  or  worth  before  God.  But  a  poor 
 man,  if  he  belongs  to  the  great  multitude  of  those  who  come 
 out  of  great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes  and  made 
 them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb — who,  bearing  that  in 
 mind,  can  dare  to  do  him  dishonour  ?  St  James  laid  the  scene 
 in  the  place  of  Divine  worship  for  striking  conviction  ;  but  he 
 means  to  say  that  we  ought  not,  in  life  generally,  to  have  false 
 respect,  and  form  wrong  judgments,  and  establish  evil  distinc- 
 tions. For  we  are  everywhere  together,  and  by  each  other's 
 side,  before  God.  And  He  is  the  same  God  who  has  in  this 
 world  made  the  rich  and  the  poor,  or  suffered  them  to  be  so ; 
 who  also  commands  His  children  by  His  Spirit  to  give  even  ex- 
 ternal honour,  where  that  may  be  done  without  sin,  to  whom 
 honour  is  due.  Thus  the  false  equalising  of  distinctions  esta- 
 blished by  God  is  of  evil ;  and  springs,  among  the  low,  from 
 the  same  pride  which  would  gladly  invade  the  highest  places. 
 Thus,  also,  the  bitter  contempt  and  jealousy  of  superiors,  which 
 often  masks  itself  under  the  semblance  of  piety,  still  less  con- 
 sists with  the  faith  of  the  Lord  of  glory,  who  Himself  upon 
 earth  gave  honour  where  it  was  due.  But  where  it  is  not  an 
 external  matter,  based  upon  the  customs  of  this  world,  where 
 the  kingdom  of  God  and  its  order  are  concerned,  where  the 
 question  is  the  manifestation  of  faith  and  charity, — all  evil 
 distinctions  should  disappear  for  us  who  believe.  St  James,  in 
 ch.  i.  9,  10,  had  already  said  how  the  lowly  should  glory  and 
 
JAMES  II.  1-9.  325 
 
 tlie  rich  man  humble  himself ;  according  to  the  same  measure 
 which  we  thus  apply  to  ourselves,  we  should  measure  and 
 estimate  all  others.  Thus,  for  example,  in  the  choice  of  officials 
 in  the  Church,  the  exalted  should  not  be  preferred  before  the 
 poor,  who  may  possess  much  of  the  wisdom  connng  from  above ; 
 in  om-  confederations  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  we  should  not 
 (as  has  been  too  frequently  done,  to  the  hindrance  of  success) 
 seek  to  have  associates  whose  only  recommendation  is  their 
 earthly  dignity.  And  this  principle  should  be  extended  to  all 
 our  greetings  of  the  poor,  and  to  our  equal  reception  into  our 
 houses  of  the  lowly  and  of  the  great.  "  It  is  not  meet  to  de- 
 spise the  poor  man  that  hath  understanding ;  neither  is  it  con- 
 venient to  magnify  a  sinful  man  "  (Ecclus.  x.  23).  Assuredly, 
 the  distribution  does  not  always  hold  good  which  assigns  under- 
 standing to  the  poor,  and  godlessness  to  the  rich ;  but  how  is  it 
 on  the  whole  and  as  the  rule  ?  Our  Epistle  goes  on  to  tell  us. 
 "  Hearken,  my  beloved  brethren !  Hath  not  God  chosen 
 the  poor  of  this  world,  who  are  rich  in  faith,  and  hehs  of  the 
 kingdom,  which  He  hath  promised  (without  respect  of  persons) 
 to  those  who  love  Him  ?  "  Hear,  in  relation  to  this,  how  election 
 is  in  this  passage  spoken  of!  The  poor  are  not  arbitrarily 
 chosen  that  faith  may  be  given  to  them ;  but  those  who  are, 
 who  become,  rich  in  faith,  are  therefore  the  elect,  are  heirs  of 
 the  kingdom  on  the  ground  of  their  faith  ;  for  God  has  indeed 
 promised  His  kingdom  and  inheritance  to  all  who  will  beheve, 
 and  love  Him  in  retm-n  for  His  love.  Will  not  then  God,  who 
 loveth  all  men,  save  also  the  rich  ?  Yes,  verily,  they  may  be- 
 come everywhere  His  elect,  even  as  they  are  His  called ;  but 
 they  have  become  so  only  in  few  cases :  God  hath  chosen,  has 
 been  able  to  choose,  the  poor  in  preference  to  them.  This  is  a 
 fact  so  obvious  to  all  enlightened  eyes,  that  the  question  may 
 be  asked — Why  doth  God  leave  the  rich  in  their  riches,  and 
 not  make  them  all  poor  ?  The  preaching  of  Jesus  was  directed 
 from  the  beginning  especially  to  the  poor ;  they  were  mostly 
 the  poor  who  believed  the  Apostles'  preaching,  as  1  Cor.  i. 
 26-28  testifies.  And  is  the  case  different  now  ?  If  you  would 
 seek  those  who  are  rich  in  faith,  and  love  God  with  a  true  con- 
 fidence of  hope  towards  the  heavenly  kingdom,  you  must  go — 
 as  not  among  the  wise,  mighty,  and  illustrious — so  not  among 
 the  rich.     Seek  them  in  the  cottages,  and  under  mean  garments. 
 
326  RESPECT  OF  PEESONS. 
 
 And  where,  through  the  grace  of  God,  the  saying  which  makes* 
 the  salvation  of  the  rich  so  difficult  seems  to  have  its  exceptions, 
 mark  well  whether  there  be  delusion  in  the  matter.  Thus 
 much  is  certain,  that  the  Christianity  of  a  rich  man  is  much 
 more  frequently  spurious,  and  unable  to  meet  the  test,  than 
 that  of  a  poor  man.  The  test  is  primarily  that  of  the  chari- 
 table behaviour  towards  the  poor.  Hear,  and  take  heed  to  the 
 sorrowful  condemnation  of  the  servant  of  God — But  ye  have 
 done  despite  to  the  poor!  God  hath  honoured  him,  only  ye 
 have  neglected  and  contradicted  that!  Is  he  rich  in  faith 
 before  Him — let  not  yom-  faith,  if  you  have  it,  despise  his 
 riches :  the  whole  inheritance  is  his ;  you  have  a  future  king 
 before  you,  who  only  waits  for  his  crown.  And  if  not  yet,  his 
 very  poverty  may  make  his  salvation  probable,  and  his  place 
 among  the  poor  brethren  at  the  last.  Therefore,  scorn  not  the 
 poor! 
 
 The  rich  on  the  other  hand?  Well  for  them  if  they  as 
 poor  have  become  rich  in  faith !  For  they  may  do  so.  Abra- 
 ham, the  father  of  the  faithful,  was  very  rich,  but  all  the 
 greater  was  the  virtue  of  his  faith ;  and  into  his  bosom  many  a 
 Lazarus  comes,  before  even  one  rich  man  finds  his  way  there. 
 Joseph  of  Arimathasa  was  a  rich  man  ;  but  also  a  truly  honour- 
 able counsellor,  who  understood  the  counsel  of  God,  waited  for 
 the  kingdom  of  God,  became  a  disciple  of  Jesus  in  company  with 
 the  poor  Galilseans,  confessed  to  Him  in  His  shame  concerning 
 Whom  it  is  ^vritten  for  us — Ye  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord 
 Jesus  Christ,  that  though  He  was  rich,  for  our  sakes  He  became 
 poor,  that  ye  through  His  poverty  might  become  rich  (2  Cor. 
 viii.  9).  But  are  there  many  of  them  who  thus  believe,  and 
 know,  and  act,  and  confess  ?  To  the  Christians  of  his  time  St 
 James  could  wi'ite — Are  they  not  (for  the  most  part)  the  rich, 
 who  use  violence  towards  you,  and  drag  you  before  the  judg- 
 ment ?  Do  they  not  blaspheme  that  worthy  name  by  which  ye 
 are  called?  What  they  inflict  upon  you  with  violence  and 
 judgment  is  a  subordinate  matter ;  it  is  a  sign  and  testimony 
 how  they  are  minded  towards  the  good  name  of  the  Lord  of 
 glory,  in  which  also  His  poor  should  be  blessed  as  heirs  of  the 
 kingdom.  Thus,  if  ye  would  regard  the  right  person — that  is 
 St  James'  meaning — ye  must  judge  accordingly,  and  in  every 
 case  anticipate  the  poor  with  love,  and  rather  postpone  the  rich 
 
JAMES  II.  1-9.  327 
 
 man,  in  whom  ye  at  first  behold  only  his  riches.  "  Lord,  who 
 shall  abide  in  Thy  tabernacle  ?  who  shall  dwell  in  Thy  holy 
 hill  ?"  Among  the  manifold  replies  to  that  great  question,  we 
 read — '^  He  in  whose  eyes  a  vile  person  is  contemned  (despising 
 those  whom  God  rejects),  but  who  honoureth  them  that  fear 
 the  Lord"  (Ps.  xv.  1-4).  And  in  the  Xew  Testament  it  is 
 said,  at  least — "Let  us  do  good  to  all  men,  but  especially  to 
 them  that  are  sharers  of  faith  !"  To  every  man,  indeed  ;  and 
 neglect  should  never  be  unaccompanied  by  love.  Certainly, 
 St  James  does  not  mean  that  we  should  deny  to  the  proud  and 
 unbeheving  rich,  the  love  of  Christ  which,  like  the  doors  of  the 
 assembly,  is  open  also  to  them.  All  he  insists  upon  is,  that  the 
 poor  standing  by  him  should  not  be  scorned  with  a  sinful  distinc- 
 tion !  He  requires  only  equal  love  without  respect  of  persons  : 
 it  is  to  that  his  whole  discourse  tends. 
 
 "  If  ye  fulfil  the  royal  law  according  to  the  Scripture,  Thou 
 shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,  ye  shall  do  well !"  This  is 
 the  law  which  royally  reigns  over  all  other  individual  enact- 
 ments ;  this  is  the  law  of  the  King  in  the  kingdom,  of  the 
 King  of  love,  the  law  of  Christ  who  bore  the  burdens  of  all ; 
 and  it  is  to  us  as  a  new  commandment.  Bear  ye  one  another's 
 burdens!  (Gal.  vi.  2).  This  is  the  law  and  right  for  the  imita- 
 tion of  His  hingsj  of  His  chosen,  royal,  and  free  generation.  His 
 priestly,  holy  people,  which  show  forth  the  virtues  of  Him  who 
 hath  called  them,  in  their  own  deeds  (1  Pet.  ii.  9).  Thus,  as 
 our  King  looketh  and  judgeth  in  love,  so  also  we,  and  not 
 otherwise.  Then  our  impartial  love  finds  in  every  man  a 
 neighbour,  a  fellow-redeemed  and  fellow-called  man ;  it  prefers 
 no  one,  it  disparages  no  one,  on  the  ground  of  anything  in 
 himself  which  should  not  affect  the  estimate.  Thus  do  we  icell. 
 O  what  a  test  of  our  love  is  this,  penetrating  our  shghtest  deeds 
 and  words,  and  the  very  inmost  recesses  of  our  hearts  !  But  if 
 ye  have  respect  of  persons,  ye  do  what  is  sin,  and  are  convicted 
 of  the  law  as  evil-doers.  The  law  of  Moses  told  the  judges,  who 
 primarily  had  to  do  with  what  was  simply  right — "  Ye  shall 
 hear  the  small  as  well  as  the  great ;  ye  shall  not  be  afraid  of  the 
 face  of  man"  (Deut.  i.  17).  But  neither  were  the  poor  to  be 
 preferred — "  Thou  shalt  not  respect  the  person  of  the  poor,  nor 
 honour  the  person  of  the  mighty ;  but  in  righteousness  shalt 
 thou  judge  thy  neighbour  "  (Lev.  xix.  15).     And  in  the  same 
 
328      HOW  THE  LAW  IS  TO  BE  UNDERSTOOD  A^T>  KEIT. 
 
 chapter  the  holy  right  of  love  follows — "  Thou  shalt  love  thj 
 neighbour  as  thyself:  I  am  the  Lord"  (ver.  18).  He  who 
 violates  love  commits  sin,  is  condemned  of  the  law  as  a  trans- 
 gressor— and  not  of  this  or  that  commandment,  but  of  the 
 entire,  indivisible,  royal  law  of  love,  of  which  St  James  goes  on 
 to  speak. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 HOW  THE  LAW  IS  TO  BE  UNDERSTOOD  AND  KEPT. 
 (Ch.  ii.  10-13.) 
 
 For  whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  he  is 
 guilty  of  all.  For  He  that  said,  Do  not  commit  adultery,  said  also,  Do 
 not  kill.  Now  if  thou  commit  no  adultery,  yet  if  thou  kill,  thou  art 
 become  a  transgressor  of  the  law.  So  speak  ye,  and  so  do,  as  they  that 
 shall  be  judged  by  the  law  of  liberty.  For  he  shall  have  judgment  with- 
 out mercy,  that  hath  showed  no  mercy,  and  mercy  rejoiceth  against 
 judgment. 
 
 St  James  has  given  one  example,  selected  one  instance,  in 
 which  the  deportment  of  behevers  in  their  individual  actions 
 did  not  correspond  with  the  general  knowledge  which  their  faith 
 gave  them.  Does  respect  of  persons  avail  before  God,  avail 
 before  Jesus  Christ  ?  We  know  well  that  it  does  not !  But 
 then  he  gives  an  illustration  which  is  not  fancied,  but  drawn  from 
 the  life.  He  does  not  enter  into  the  complications  of  the  life 
 of  believers  with  the  world,  the  all-pervading  customs  of  which 
 might  almost  form  an  excuse  for  Christians,  if  they  should 
 sometimes  forget  their  Lord,  and  not  keep  themselves  unspotted 
 from  respect  of  persons — though  it  cannot  admit  of  real  excuse, 
 since  all  should  be  of  faith  in  order  not  to  be  of  sin.  No,  he 
 speaks  of  the  assembly  engaged  in  the  worship  of  God,  where 
 so  much  exhortation  is  heard  against  sin  that  it  would  be  the 
 heaviest  punishment  to  many  to  be  obliged  to  speak  or  do, 
 before  the  assembly  in  the  church,  what  they  speak  or  do 
 before  and  afterwards.  If,  then,  of  that  place  it  may  be  said 
 — Ye  have  despised  the  poor — how  much  more  in  their  com- 
 mon life !     And  there  are  many  other  like  things,  concerning 
 
jjlMBS  II.  10-13.  329 
 
 which  the  law  condemns  us  as  transgressors, — let  every  man 
 think  of  them  for  himself  !  How  far  is  our  faith  from  being 
 all-penetrating,  our  love  from  being  pure  and  perfect !  But 
 St  James'  design  is  not  simply  to  humble  us  into  this  confes- 
 sion :  he  has  in  connection  with  that  another  design.  He  who 
 transgresses  one  commandment  which  pertains  to  the  rights  of 
 love,  injures  the  entire  royal  law^ ;  the  transgressor  in  the  in- 
 dividual instance  is  on  that  very  account  not  a  keeper  and 
 fulfiller  of  the  whole.  He  would  lead  us  to  the  fulfilment  of 
 the  law  in  freedom,  from  within  outwardly :  he  therefore 
 teaches  us  first  rightly  to  understand  the  law  as  one  whole, 
 that  w^e  may  keep  it  in  its  integrity,  and  wdth  all  the  heart. 
 How,  then,  does  St  Jaines  teach  us  to  understand  and  to  keep 
 the  law?  We  must  understand  it  in  the  undivided  uniti/  of 
 the  w^hole  ;  and  then  keep  it  in  the  living  freedom  of  the  loving 
 heart. 
 
 The  very  name,  "  the  law,"  gives  testimony  to  the  unity  of 
 the  many  commandments.  Many  laws,  statutes,  and  ordi- 
 nances, gave  the  Lord  to  His  people  by  Moses  ;  yet  even  then 
 the  Lawgiver  cried — Hear,  0  Israel  I  The  Lord  our  God  is 
 one  Lord ;  and  thou  shalt  love  Him  with  all  thine  heart,  with 
 all  thy  mind,  and  wdth  all  thy  strength !  (Deut.  yi.  4,  5). 
 Thou  shouldst  not  set  before  thyself  the  commandments  and 
 statutes  as  dead  and  rigid  enactments  for  thyself,  and  in  their 
 mere  letter ;  but  thou  shouldst  direct  thy  heart,  in  ever)^thing 
 that  is  said,  to  Him  ivho  hath  said  it.  He  is  one  ;  thy  heart  is 
 one ;  love  from  thy  heart  to  the  Lord  thy  God  is  the  one  and 
 true  fulfilment  of  the  wdiole  law.  O  if  they  had  understood 
 this  !  But  Israel  heard  not ;  they  forgot,  even  when  they 
 would  hear  and  obey  most  dihgently,  this  essential  Hear,  0 
 Israel !  They  counted  the  commandments  ;  they  distinguished 
 between  greater  and  less — obviously,  that  they  might  here  and 
 there  find  some  which  they  could  dispense  themselves  from  keep- 
 ing, without  great  sin.  The  Lord  Christ  kd  them  back  again 
 to  the  words  of  their  Moses,  where  He  embraces  the  first  and 
 the  second  table  in  the  two  commandments  of  the  one  love; 
 and  testifies  to  them  significantly —  On  these  hangs  the  whole 
 law !  In  that  word  He  refers  them  to  a  symbolical  token  which 
 they  wore,  without  understanding  it,  upon  their  garments — to 
 the  fringes  or  tassels  appointed  in  Num.  xv.  38,  39,  to  be  worn  in 
 
330      HOW  THE  LAW  IS  TO  BE  UNDEE^TOOD  AND  KEPT. 
 
 the  lappets  of  their  robes,  with  a  blue  riband  to  gather  up  and 
 hold  the  many  threads.  The  same  blue  riband  which  fastened 
 the  high  priest's  frontlet,  "  holiness  to  the  Lord,"  was  also  upon 
 the  borders  of  the  garments  of  the  priestly-royal  people  called 
 unto  holiness.  And  it  is  love,  upon  which  all  the  threads  of  the 
 many  commandments  hang  indivisibly  and  together.  But  the 
 pharisaic  spirit  forgot  the  riband,  and  cared  only  for  the 
 threads.  We  Christians  have  been  better  taught,  and  have 
 learned  in  our  earliest  Catechism  the  "  end  of  all  the  com- 
 mandments." If  we  all  perfectly  understood  the  unity  of  the 
 law  in  love,  it  would  not  seem  strange,  but  the  evidently 
 natural  consequence,  that  St  James  should  say — For  whoso- 
 ever shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  he 
 is  guilty  of  all!  But  are  there  not  many  who  must  honestly 
 confess  that  this  is  hard  to  be  understood,  and  itself  a  stone  of 
 offence  ? 
 
 Indeed,  this  retains  its  rigid  truth  in  all  times  for  the  per- 
 verted mind,  which  says  or  thinks — "  This  and  that  and  the 
 other  I  faithfully  keep,  according  to  God's  commandment ;  this 
 and  that  and  the  other  I  avoid,  according  to  His  prohibition  : 
 will  not  this  avail  for  me,  if  here  or  there  one  thing  should  be 
 found  wanting  ?  To  keep  the  whole  law,  and  fail  in  not  one 
 single  thing — who  can  so  precisely  and  constantly  mark  all 
 the  precepts  ?"  Thus,  they  piece  together  their  keeping  of  the 
 commandments,  their  obedience,  their  love  to  God  and  their 
 neighbour,  out  of  individual  acts ;  and  are  ready  enough  to 
 forget  this  thing  or  that  in  which  they  are  found  transgressors, 
 flattering  themselves,  as  St  James  says,  speaking  only  according 
 to  their  perverted  view,  that  they  have  kept  (tolerably  well,  or 
 almost)  the  whole  law !  If  the  one  thing  is  objected  to  them 
 in  which  they  have  failed,  they  cry  —  It  is  but  one  thing! 
 This  is  glaringly  the  pharisaic  spirit,  which  regarded  only  the 
 isolated  acts,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  indivisible  whole.  '^  He 
 that  offends  in  one  point;"  —  St  James  does  not  mean  one 
 single  failure  occurring  through  infirmity  or  precipitation  (al- 
 though he  afterwards  in  ch.  iii.  2  uses  the  same  word),  but  an 
 abiding,  predominant  conduct  in  violation  of  one  precept  to 
 which  we  cannot  submit ;  a  persistent  repugnance  of  the  will 
 and  Hfe  to  this  or  that  ordinance  which  lies  as  a  stone  of 
 stumbhng   in   our  way,  and  at  which  we  always  take  offence 
 
JAMES  II.  10-13.  331 
 
 whenever  it  occurs  in  our  luay.  And  in  this  sense  his  saying  is 
 incontrovertibly  true.  For,  if  my  heart  and  will  does  not 
 accord  with  any  one  command  of  God,  it  is  absolute  proof  that 
 my  so-called  keeping  of  all  the  rest  is  by  no  means  genuine, 
 and  comes  not  from  a  heart  supremely  submissive  to  the  Law- 
 giver. If  a  father,  leaving  home,  left  ten  injunctions  for  the 
 guidance  of  his  child,  and  that  child  reserved  one  of  them  for 
 transgression,  would  it  avail  him  to  say — Father,  I  have  been 
 obedient;  I  have  kept  nine  of  the  commands  imposed  upon  me  ? 
 Every  sin  thus  reserved  and  retained,  every  continuous  trans- 
 gression of  one  word,  spoken  by  the  same  God,  pervades  with 
 ^vrong  our  whole  obedience,  blasts  our  righteousness  before  the 
 law,  and  makes  all  our  beautiful  reckonings  vain.  For  He  who 
 hath  said,  Do  not  commit  adultery !  said  also,  Thou  shalt  not 
 kill !  If,  therefore,  thou  commit  not  adultery,  but  dost  kill, 
 thou  art  a  transgressor  of  the  law,  and  not  merely  of  this  one 
 violated  precept ;  for  thou  art  not  submissive  in  thy  heart  to 
 Him  who  said  both  one  and  the  other.  St  James  uses  the 
 rough  letter  of  the  law,  the  spirit  of  which  testifies  that  all 
 hatred  is  murder,  and  all  impure  desire  adultery ;  we  must  not 
 therefore  (in  the  arch-pharisaic  spirit)  limit  the  words  to  the 
 mere  external  act.  He  mentions  the  first  two  precepts  of  the 
 second  table,  those  against  hatred  and  lust ;  and  the  two  are 
 one  :  for  all  hatred  of  our  neighbour  is  an  impure,  adulterous 
 lusting  against  holy  love  ;  and  all  false  love  of  the  flesh,  which 
 would  entertain  itself  on  the  flesh  of  another,  bears  in  itself 
 most  essentially  the  hatred  of  the  true  person.  Murder  and 
 licentiousness  are  significantly  related.  And  as  in  these  two 
 specimens,  so  in  all  the  rest.  He  who  thinks  that  on  one  side  he 
 is  standing  in  the  obedience  of  holy  love,  but  falls  out  of  it  on  the 
 other,  is  not  standing  firmly  at  all.  Mark  well  what  sin  it  is 
 in  thyself  which  testifies  against  thee,  and  which  among  the 
 commandments  is  the  stone  of  stumbling  that  betrays  thy  want 
 of  perfect  accordance  with  the  law.  If  thou  commit  no  adul- 
 tery and  do  not  kill,  yet  if  thou  stealest  or  hest,  it  is  all  the 
 same.  And  the  word  goes,  on  in  its  meaning — If  thou  dost  not 
 absolutely  steal,  but  boldest  fast  an  unrighteous  possession, 
 what  a  lie  it  is  to  say,  I  steal  not !  If  thou  lovest  thy  neigh- 
 bour— that  is,  almost  all  people  save  here  and  there  one  enemy 
 whom  thou  hatest — thou  lovest  not  thy  neighbour  as  thy  neigh- 
 
332   HOW  THE  LAW  IS  TO  BE  UNDERSTOOD  AND  KEPT. 
 
 hour,  but  only  because  he  is  not  thy  enemy.  If  thou  admittest 
 the  conviction  of  the  Spirit  in  many  things,  but  resistest  Him 
 in  one — thou  art  not  in  any  sense  submissive  to  Him  in  thy 
 heart. 
 
 That  we  all  fail  in  many  things,  St  James  well  knew.  Are 
 we  then  guilty  of  the  whole — does  the  law  condemn  us  all  as 
 transgressors  I  Yes  and  no,  according  as  you  understand  it ; 
 rather  according  to  your  own  relation  to  the  law.  St  James 
 would  not  lead  us  to  such  a  conclusion  as  would  warrant  our 
 saying,  with  a  false  doctrine  which  has,  alas !  with  too  much 
 subtlety  been  mingled  with  the  true — "  With  the  law  man  can 
 never  accomplish  anything ;  let  us  therefore  give  up  all  thought 
 of  its  fulfilment :  we  are/r^e  from  the  law,  and  must  hold  fast  the 
 righteousness  which  is  oi  faith!"  Free  indeed  we  are  from  the 
 ciurse  and  the  driving  of  the  law ,  but  are  we  free  from  its  claims 
 to  be  perfectly  kept  ?  God  forbid !  Would  that  be  righteousness, 
 which  should  suffer  a  man  to  remain  in  any  unrighteousness  ? 
 Against  this  very  perversion  St  James  here  writes  !  He  teaches 
 us  the  great  and  decisive  distinction  : — whether  the  law  still 
 lies  in  our  way,  and  hangs  upon  our  souls  ;  or  whether  its  spirit 
 lives  in  us,  so  that  we  strive  to  accomplish  it  with  all  our  heart, 
 to  keep  the  whole  as  a  whole,  to  relax  nothing  in  it  down  to  its 
 slightest  requirement.  And  this  is  no  legal  striving,  but  the  true 
 work  of  faith  in  power,  in  spirit,  and  in  love  ;  a  doing  which  for 
 ever  finds  something  to  do  and  to  leave  undone,  but  yet  is  funda- 
 mentally already  one  whole  act  of  the  heart  and  of  the  life. 
 
 Thus  he  teaches  us  to  keep  the  law  in  the  living  freedom  of 
 the  loving  heart ;  for  thus  has  it  become  to  us  a  law  of  liberty ^ 
 as  he  says  again  ;  and  in  this  second  place  it  is  perfectly  plain 
 what  he  so  terms.  Certainly  not  the  Gospel  as  opposed  to  the 
 law,  but  the  same  law  of  commandments  to  be  kept ;  to  be  kept, 
 however,  by  the  willing  spirit  as  a  law  of  love  understood,  and 
 become  living  for  faith  and  in  faith.  David  prayed  to  God 
 —  Unite  my  heart  therein  and  thereto,  that  I  mnij  fear  Thy  name! 
 (Ps.  Ixxxvi.  11).  He  who  thus  prayed  already  stood  in  the  fear 
 of  God,  and  thus  attained  to  say — /  love  Thee  ivith  my  whole 
 heart !  (Ps.  xviii.).  And  God  looked  at  his  heart :  David, 
 although  he  had  committed  adultery  and  murder,  remained 
 through  his  penitence  a  man  after  God's  own  heart.  He  who 
 quickly  rises  from  his  fall,  has  not  wholly  fallen.   He  who  fulfils 
 
JAMES  II.  1(>-13.  333 
 
 one  commandment  from  the  ground  of  liis  soul,  has  kept  the 
 whole  law ;  and  his  sins  against  other  commandments  no  longer 
 proceed  absolutely  from  the  depth  of  his  heart.  Thus  only 
 should  we  regard  it,  and  judge ;  thus  does  the  loving  God  of 
 love  judge,  who  is  Himself  the  Judge  as  He  is  the  Lawgiver ; 
 not  the  dead  commandments  in  their  individual  character  judge 
 us.  If,  through  the  Spirit  of  regeneration,  I  am  become  one 
 with  love,  which  is  the  spirit,  ground,  and  sum  of  the  law,  in  my 
 united  and  whole  heart,  then  its  commandments  no  longer  con- 
 demn me — "  Lo  here  or  lo  there,  thou  evil  transgressor!  Here 
 thou  revealest  thy  character  !"  But  they  graciously  point  me  the 
 way  in  which  I  must  walk  more  entirely  in  the  truth  of  God, 
 which  is  the  sole  desu'e  of  my  sincere  heart  (Ps.  Ixxxvi.  11). 
 If  Christ  lives  in  my  heart  through  faith,  then  all  things  pro- 
 ceed from  faith  for  ever  into  love,  in  that  love  to  be  rooted  and 
 grounded  (Eph.  iii.  17).  Then  ceases  altogether  the  anxious 
 reckoning  and  distinguishing — This  and  that  I  have  kept,  that 
 I  have  not  yet  kept !  Then  there  is  pure  liberty  of  life  and  of 
 love,  the  voluntary  impulse  of  the  heart  in  the  inner  man :  the 
 question  then  is  not  so  much  to  repent  of  this  or  that  omission, 
 as  to  pray  and  work  ourseh^es  through  love  into  the  oneness  with 
 the  law  of  liberty,  to  become  strong  in  the  inner  man.  This  is, 
 forsooth,  what  St  James  here  teaches  us ;  as  strongly  as  St  Paul 
 himself  he  declares  our  freedom  from  all  legal  impulse  to  good 
 works,  and  preaches  that  love  which  springs  from  faith  in  our 
 Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  work  of  works ;  but  he  likewise  most 
 impressively  ui'ges  upon  us,  "  as  free,  not  to  use  our  liberty  for 
 a  cloak  of  wickedness"  (1  Pet.  ii.  16).  He  ^sill  not  drive  us 
 with  a  goad,  but  in  evangehcal  grace  he  cries — So  speahye,  and 
 so  do  I  This  means  for  a  certain  class  of  people,  indeed,  as 
 ver.  14  continues  it,  "  Do  not  only  speak  of  obedience  and  love, 
 practise  it  also  with  all  earnestness  and  diligence !"  But  for  us 
 all  it  fm-ther  means,  "  Be  as  careful  about  the  speaking  as  about 
 the  doincp;  no  longer  make  an  evil  distinction  between  word 
 and  work,  and  greater  and  lesser  sins  in  the  one  and  the  other ! 
 Be  it  your  concern  to  transgress  in  no  word  of  your  mouth !" 
 St  Paul  utters  his  evangelical  denunciation  of  the  slightest  act 
 of  wrong  with  the  right  formula.  Behold,  thou  ivalkest  not  ac- 
 cording to  love!  (Rom.  xiv.  15);  and  the  same  holds  good  of 
 every  word  also  which  wrongs  our  neighbour,  Behold,  thou 
 
334   HOW  THE  LAW  IS  TO  BE  UNDERSTOOD  AND  KEPT. 
 
 speakest  this  not  according  to  love  !  Be  ashamed,  and  take  heed ; 
 be  more  slow  to  speak !  If  we  in  this  manner  judge  ourselves 
 according  to  the  law  of  liberty,  and  exercise  ourselves  from 
 the  heart  to  govern  our  walk — then  shall  we  also  be  judged  of 
 God  by  the  law  of  liberty.  He  mil  look  at  the  heart,  and  the 
 love  which  actuates  it ;  so  that  the  voice  of  the  individual  pre- 
 cepts which  testifies  against  individual  falls  shall  be  silenced  in 
 the  righteous  judgment  of  grace. 
 
 Shall  he  judged — that  certainly  remains,  and  with  that  St 
 James  seals  the  evangelical  exhortation.  For,  even  the  law  of 
 liberty  is  still  a  law ;  but  where  there  is  law,  there  is  judgment 
 according  to  it.  The  deepen'  the  one  seizes  and  penetrates, 
 the  deeper  does  the  other.  "  I  desn-ed  only  thy  voluntary  love, 
 and  I  find  it  not  in  thee" — will  be  the  keenest  condemnation  at 
 the  last !  Therefore  will  judgment  without  mercy  proceed  upon 
 him  who  exercised  no  mercy  ;  but  mercy  rejoiceth  against  judg- 
 ment. The  true  and  final  judgment  will  determine  its  decisions 
 by  this,  whether  oui'  hearts  are  found  or  not  in  the  love  of  God ; 
 every  other  judgment  will  give  way  to  that.  Whether  our  love 
 was  or  was  not  genuine,  and  consequently  a  doing  and  willing- 
 ness to  do  of  the  inmost  heart  and  the  entire  life,  will  decide  and 
 determine  all.  Everywhere  in  the  world  there  is  sin  and  dis- 
 tress ;  consequently,  everywhere  opportunity  to  exercise  our 
 love  as  mercy  in  forgiving  and  imparting,  as  God  forgives  and 
 imparts  to  us.  The  judgment  without  mercy  upon  him  who 
 (with  all  his  external  legality)  has  not  thus  acted,  will  not  only 
 upon  the  mighty  and  those  in  high  places  be  severe  (Wisd.  vi. 
 5-9),  but  upon  every  justified  man  who  wiU  merit  the  sharp 
 word — Thou  wicked  servant,  shouldst  thou  not  have  had  com- 
 passion upon  thy  fellow,  even  as  I  had  compassion  upon  thee  ? 
 (Matt,  xviii.  33).  But  mercy  rejoiceth  against  judgment ! 
 This  is  a  marvellous  and  profomid  sa}ing  of  St  James,  to  which 
 it  is  fit  that  we  should  devote  special  consideration. 
 
JAMES  II.  13.  335 
 
 XY. 
 
 MERCY  KEJOICETH  AGAINST  JUDGMENT. 
 
 (Ch.  ii.  13.) 
 
 For  he  shall  have  judgment  without  mercy,  that  hath  showed  no  mercy  ;  and 
 mercy  rejoiceth  against  judgment. 
 
 It  lias  been  observed,  that  "  to  discern  the  incomparable 
 fulness  and  depth  of  Holy  Scripture,  we  have  only  to  test  any 
 other  book  as  it  is  tested,  by  dividing  it  into  sentences,  sayings, 
 and  verses."  How  poor  and  insufficient  then  appear  most  sen- 
 tences in  the  prof  oundest  book  ;  — but  how  inexliaustibly  rich 
 is  the  Divine  Word  in  its  minutest  sayings  !  And  the  most 
 observable  thing  in  this  is  that — apart  from  the  connection  in 
 which  the  discoui'se  proceeds,  a  connection  always  existing 
 though  not  always  apparent — so  many  of  the  sayings  of  the 
 Bible  are  so  wonderfully  deep  and  pregnant  in  themselves  alone. 
 Because  the  weakness  of  man  is  such  that  few  can  apprehend 
 the  process,  connection,  and  meaning  of  a  whole  book  or  epistle  ; 
 — because,  further,  even  the  most  enlightened  of  us  often  need 
 to  be  instructed,  exliorted,  and  comforted  by  a  short  and  strik 
 ing  word ; — therefore  the  wisdom  of  God  speaks  in  the  sanctu- 
 ary by  proverbs,  even  as  the  wisdom  of  the  people  uses  them  in 
 the  streets.  He  who  said  of  Himself,  A  greater  than  Solomon 
 is  here  !  spake  mostly  in  brief  sajdngs,  each  of  which  bears  the 
 impress  of  unapproachable  simplicity,  while  every  one  of  them 
 is  so  wide,  and  deep,  and  far-reaching  as  to  say  almost  all  in 
 one  word  that  could  be  said  on  the  matter.  The  same  cha- 
 racteristic pervades,  more  or  less,  the  whole  Bible.  Among  the 
 most  suggestive  and  pregnant  of  these  sayings  is  that  utterance 
 of  St  James  on  which  we  must  linger  a  while — Mercy  orjoiceth 
 against  judgment!  In  these  three  words  (the  original  has  no  more) 
 this  man  of  God,  filled  with  the  Spirit,  says  very  much  more 
 than  a  superficial  exposition  will  find  in  the  obvious  connection. 
 Thus,  he  does  not  only  say — He  who  hath  shown  mercy  will 
 one  day  be  able  to  stand  with  joy  before  the  claims  of  judgment ! 
 But,  in  order  to  lay  the  first  and  deepest  foundation  for  this,  St 
 
336  MERCY  REJOICETH  AGAINST  JUDGMENT. 
 
 James  speaks  thus  simply  concerning  mercy  and  judgment  m 
 general,  concerning  the  triumph  and  glorying  of  mercy  against 
 and  over  judgment.  Let  us  not  rob  this  most  impressive  say- 
 ing of  its  rights,  but  consider:  How  this  was  a  great  truth 
 from  eternity  in  God,  and  in  God  for  us  ;  how  it  must  become 
 a  truth  and  reality  in  ourselves ;  and  how,  finally,  in  the  day  of 
 judgment  it  will  hold  good  between  God  and  us.  Thus  under- 
 standing it,  we  shall  be  able  to  perceive  that  the  wisdom  of  St 
 James  in  this  single  saying  exhibits  to  us  the  wliole  mystery  of 
 the  atonement,  together  with  the  mystery  of  regeneration,  as  the  key 
 to  the  true  judgment  of  God  in  the  end  of  the  world. 
 
 He  speaks  simply  and  unconditionally  of  judgment.  He 
 means,  undoubtedly,  a  judgment  which  does  not  maintain  its 
 right  to  the  glory  of  a  final  victory,  but  is  overcome ;  yet  he 
 speaks  not  of  a  false  judgment,  but  of  that  true  judgment  which 
 should  ever  maintain  its  rights,  and  be  victorious  : — hence  is 
 the  glorying  over  it  so  great  and  marvellous  a  thing !  When 
 we  hear  of  judgment,  we  think  of  being  right  or  being  wrong 
 before  Him  who  judgeth.  And  what  man  is  there  who  can 
 sustain  his  righteousness  before  God,  the  Judge  of  all  the  world  % 
 What  son  of  Adam  has  not  fallen  under  the  condemning  sen- 
 tence of  supreme  and  holy  justice  ?  We  are  altogether  sinners  : 
 there  is  no  distinction,  no  glorying  of  any  one  mortal ;  we  must 
 all  stop  our  mouths,  instead  of  rejoicing  against  justice.  The 
 voice  of  conscience  in  every  sincere  soul  bears  witness  for  God 
 that  death  is  deserved ;  he  who  approaches  the  throne  of  the  King 
 of  kings  must,  like  Mephibosheth  before  David,  think  only  of 
 mercy,  and  confess — What  right  have  I  yet,  or  to  cry  anymore 
 unto  the  king?  (2  Sam.  xix.  28).  And  although  there  is,  other- 
 wise viewed,  a  relation  of  worse  and  worst  among  sinners ;  yet 
 this  distinction  vanishes  again,  in  as  far  as  the  least  sinner  is 
 guilty  enough  for  full  and  final  condemnation.  The  whole 
 world  has  fallen  under  the  righteous  judgment  of  God.  It 
 must  consequently  be  condemned — if  the  living  God  Himself 
 were  only  a  rigid  and  inflexible  Eighteousness,  a  dead  lavj  (or 
 "  moral  absolute  Ruler  of  the  universe,"  as  the  fashion  is  to 
 speak),  the  firm,  inviolable  right  of  which  knew  nothing  of 
 mercy.  But  He  is  the  Lawgiver ;  and  the  question  is  not  so 
 much  that  it  is  said,  Thou  shalt  not  do  this  or  that !  as  of  Him 
 who  hath  said  it  I     This  supreme  Lawgiver  can,  like  every  one 
 
JAMES  II.  13.  337 
 
 of  His  feeble  representatives  upon  earth,  condemn  in  His 
 supremest  right ;  but  He  can  also  acquit,  forgive,  and  save 
 (Jas.  iv.  12).  He  gave  the  commandment  of  His  holy  love, 
 as  it  was  founded  from  eternity  in  His  nature  and  will,  to  us 
 sinners  who  have  broken  it,  and  can  never  again  of  our  own 
 power  keep  it.  He  knows  well  that  it  condemns  us  :  not,  how- 
 ever, to  condemn  us  has  He  given  it,  implanted  it  in  our  minds, 
 and  written  it  down ;  but  rather  that  it  may  convince  us  of  our 
 guilt,  in  order  to  our  being  absolved.  This  is  a  first  judgment 
 of  God  upon  us  ;  but  it  is  not  abiding,  and  not  the  last.  The  sin- 
 ful man  must  once  come  into  the  righteous  judgment  before  the 
 face  of  the  Holy  One  ;  every  sin  must,  with  its  guilt,  be  placed 
 once  in  the  light  of  eternal  justice  :  this  is  not  relaxed  in  the  case 
 of  any  sinner  soever,  and  this  is  the  contention  and  anger  of  God 
 with  us.  But  that  God  will  not  contend  always,  nor  keep  His 
 wrath  for  evermore.  Far  be  it  from  us  to  say,  that  this  He 
 must  do  under  the  compulsion  of  His  mere  justice !  He  is  a 
 living  and  free  God ;  a  God  who  communicates  all  His  good, 
 even  the  most  communicable  good  in  His  most  essential  being  : 
 — for  He  is  and  must  ever  be  love,  from  the  time  that  in  love 
 He  first  created  a  world  out  of  Himself,  to  the  time  when  He 
 decreed  to  save  a  world  that  was  lost.  May  we  form  to  our- 
 selves the  notion  of  a  dead  (abstract)  essence,  instead  of  this 
 living  God,  and  say — God  is  infinity,  or  eternity?  Assuredly 
 not !  we  may  not  even  say — for  the  Scripture  never  says — God 
 is  omnipotence.  "  Behold,  God  is  mighty,  yet  despiseth  not 
 any:  for  He  is  migliiy  in  strength  of  heart'^ — as  Elihu  as 
 humanly  as  profoundly  tells  us  (Job  xxxvi.  5).  Or,  is  it  any- 
 where written,  God  is  righteousness,  or  justice  ?  But  God  is 
 love  !  Even  in  God  Himself,  to  speak  as  men,  love  is  the 
 greatest  of  all  the  perfections,  the  bond  of  perfection,  apart 
 from  which  the  attributes  of  the  perfect  God  would  not  be  per- 
 fect for  themselves  alone.  Therefore  speaketh  the  Son  of  the 
 Father —  God  so  loved,  yea,  from  eternity  loved,  the  sinful  world, 
 in  its  guilt  and  doom !  He  sent  His  Son  into  the  world,  and 
 gave  Him  up  for  the  world,  not  that  He  might  condemn  the 
 world,  but  that  no  man  should  perish  !  The  love,  which  cannot 
 and  will  not  be  lost,  is  mercy  :  thus  in  God  Himself  mercy  re- 
 joiceth  against  judgment ;  thus  in  His  nature  and  will  saving 
 love  victoriously  triumphs  over  condemning  judgment. 
 
 Y 
 
338  MEKCY  REJOICETH  AGAINST  JUDGMENT. 
 
 But  it  must  be  understood  that  this  Divine  mercy  is  not 
 unrighteous ;  it  is  not  an  arbitrary  abolition  of  eternal  justice. 
 Righteousness  and  judgment  are  the  firm  immoveable  founda- 
 tion of  His  tin-one  ;  to  maintain  this  right,  to  retrieve  it  where 
 it  has  been  even  relaxed  by  Himself,  gi-ace  and  truth,  and  good- 
 ness and  faithfulness,  go  before  His  face,  as  it  were,  as  the 
 ministers  of  His  wonderful  government  (Ps.  Ixxxix.  15).  On 
 that  very  account  God  cannot  in  His  mercy  remit  anything  of  His 
 right ;  He  cannot  therefore  regard  the  sin  and  leave  it  remain- 
 ing, because  no  sinner  can  be  saved  in  his  sin.  Therefore, 
 further.  He  cannot  take  away  the  sin  by  arbitrary  power,  be- 
 cause the  sinner  is  a  creature  free.  Thus,  in  order  to  salvation, 
 there  is  a  merciful  and  gracious  judgment.  Against  this, 
 indeed,  the  devil  protests,  who  in  his  own  guilt  and  character 
 can  experience  and  endm'e  only- justice,  who  is  therefore  the 
 representative  and  advocate  of  wrath,  the  accuser  with  the 
 deadly  words— Let  right  be  done,  and  perish  the  world  !  {Fiat 
 justitia  et  pereat  mundus.)  That  righteousness  cannot  be  retained 
 and  honoured,  if  it  be  accomplished  in  mercy  !  "  For  the  Lord 
 is  righteous  in  all  His  ways,  and  holy  in  all  His  works"  (Ps. 
 cxlv.  17).  "  Zion  must  be  redeemed  with  judgment,  and  her 
 converts  with  righteousness"  (Is.  i.  27).  We  shall  not  develop 
 this  any  further ;  but  simply  indicate  how  the  sentence  of  St 
 James,  concerning  the  mercy  which  itself  according  to  justice 
 retains  wondrously  its  rights  over  judgment  (for  else  there  would 
 be  no  real  glorying  /),  penetrates  deep  into  the  mystery  of  the 
 atonement.  We  know,  as  Christians,  how  all  the  tender  mercy 
 and  loving-kindness  which  have  been  ever  of  old  laid  up  for  sin- 
 ful men  (Ps.  xxv.  6),  has  revealed  itself  in  its  sacred  foundation 
 of  justice  through  the  cross  of  Christ.  The  whole  world  was 
 ripe  for  judgment ;  but  instead  of  the  judgment  came  the  Re- 
 deemer, and  entered  for  the  world's  sake  into  a  judgment  the 
 issue  of  which  was  the  victory  of  mercy ;  and  this  was  the  glory 
 of  the  Righteous  Father.  Now  God  is  just,  and  yet  the  justifier 
 of  him  that  beheveth  in  Jesus  (Rom.  iii.  26).  Thus  for  every 
 one  of  us  mercy  rejoiceth  against  judgment,  when  we  are 
 justified  and  acquitted. 
 
 But,  after  the  first  forgiveness,  mercy  is  implanted  in  us  alsoy 
 and  thus  in  deed  and  truth  exhibits  this  rejoicing.  It  is  not 
 merely  needful  that  we  receive  forgiving  grace  ;  we  must  have 
 
JAMES  II.  13.  339 
 
 faitli  in  Him  who  maketli  the  ungodly  just  (Rom.  iv.  5) — so 
 that  the  justifying  word  may  be  also  a  justifying  deed,  an 
 actual  maJdng  just.  How  could  we  be  happy  or  saved,  if  sin 
 should  remam  ?  How  could  the  righteous  Father  leave  sin  in 
 His  children  ?  "^Yliere  would  then  be  the  righteousness  in 
 mercy ;  and  whence  would  come  the  peace  of  reconcihation  in 
 the  conscience  ?  He  who  can  still  say — I  will  sin,  I  will  con- 
 tinue in  sin !  cannot  rejoice  even  in  repentance,  much  less  in 
 having  faith  in  a  gi'ace  which  has  been  received  :  he  has  not 
 yet  penetrated  through  judgment  to  love.  In  this  consists  and 
 is  demonstrated  the  wonder  of  our  redemption,  that  with  the 
 guilt  the  sin  itself  is  taken  away.  But  sin  is  the  unrighteousness ^ 
 the  opposition  to  the  law  (1  John  iii.  4),  the  contradiction  to 
 the  Divine  law  of  love.  It  is  selfishness,  which  despises  the 
 neighbour,  and  in  him  the  common  Creator  and  God  of  mercy ; 
 it  is  godless  pride,  which  sets  the  I  upon  the  throne  ;  murderous 
 hatred,  which  w^ill  not  abide  the  rights  of  others  beside  self ;  the 
 wretched  wTath  without  love,  which  worketh  not  the  righteous- 
 ness of  God.  God  is  love,  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love  dwelleth 
 in  God,  and  God  in  him  (1  John  iv.  16).  We  have  not  all 
 abode  in  love  ;  therefore  from  the  heart  and  bosom  of  God,  love, 
 as  sho^ving  mercy,  comes  anew  to  us,  that  it  may  enter  into  us,  and 
 re-establish  itself  in  us  through  the  abounding  triumph  of  mercy 
 against  judgment.  He  who  apprehends  and  experiences  this, 
 loves  Him  who  first  loved  himself,  and  in  Him  loves  his  brethren 
 also.  This  is  the  renewed  law  in  Christ ;  no  longer  as  a  dead, 
 condemning  Thou  shalt  I  but  as  a  new  life,  as  spirit  and  power 
 from  God.  See  therefore  how  profomidly  and  simply  St  James 
 utters  the  mystery  of  regeneration  in  the  word  which  has  now 
 become  the  rule  of  our  life,  the  impulse  and  thought  of  our 
 heart — Mercy  rejoiceth  against  judgment !  He  who,  thi'ough. 
 love  by  himself  received,  can  love  again,  is  bom  of  God.  God 
 judges  not,  and  has  not  condemned  us  ;  so  we  also  condemn  not, 
 and  thus  secure  the  continuance  of  our  own  not  being  con- 
 demned. Only  if  we  forgive  as  we  have  been  forgiven,  does 
 our  forgiveness  abide  a  reality.  He  has  shown  mercy  to  us, 
 that  we  may  show  mercy  even  as  He  has ;  and  only  thus  does 
 mercy  maintain  its  triumph  against  judgment :  thus  is  the 
 law  fulfilled  in  us  with  all  its  requirements,  while  it  must  with- 
 draw Its  curse.      "  Finally,  be  ye  all  of  one  mind,  ha\ing  com- 
 
340  MERCY  REJOICETH  AGAINST  JUDGMENT. 
 
 passion  one  of  another;  love  as  brethren,  be  pitiful,  be  courteous ! 
 (1  Pet.  iii.  8) ;  and  that  not  merely  the  saints,  and  brethren 
 among  themselves  ;  but  there  must  be  a  universal  love  for  the 
 whole  world !  How  could  I  ever  have  entered  among  those 
 brethren,  if  the  love  of  God  had  not  fallen  upon  me  while  I 
 was  still  in  the  world  ?  As  in  St  James'  time  the  assembly  of 
 Christians  was  open  to  Jews  and  Gentiles  alike,  so  is  the  mercy 
 of  God  free  for  all  sinners.  Therefore  make  no  wicked  dis- 
 tinction, beloved  brethren  !  Even  the  rich,  who  still  exercise 
 violence  upon  us,  and  draw  us  before  the  judgment-seats,  we 
 are  not,  on  our  part,  to  judge  with  a  judgment  of  evil  thoughts 
 against  the  thoughts  of  God  !  The  blinded  Jews  imagined  that 
 their  ^lessiah  must  necessarily  condemn  the  world  without : 
 false  Christians,  who  would  similarly  arrogate  all  the  grace  of 
 Christ  to  themselves,  act  very  much  in  the  same  manner  in 
 their  condemnation  of  unbelievers.  The  true  children  of  God 
 through  Christ  act  not  thus  !  They  know  indeed  that  there  is 
 a  world,  the  ungodliness  of  which  they  renounce,  and  from  which 
 it  is  their  diligent  endeavour  to  keep  themselves  unspotted — 
 but  they  love  the  world  which  hates  them,  even  as  God  loves  it. 
 Their  motto,  in  all  cases  when  others  would  condemn  and  with- 
 hold all  expression  of  compassion,  is  still  —  Mercy  rejoiceth 
 against  judgment !  Saving,  communicating,  forgiving  love 
 goes  before  and  gets  the  victory  !  That  abolishes  every  distinc- 
 tion of  every  kind,  and  all  respect  of  persons  :  it  knows  not 
 stranger  or  brother,  enemy  or  friend ;  it  never  stands  upon 
 absolute  justice,  but  takes  precedence  in  its  might  of  love.  We 
 should  desire  to  be  no  more  than  vessels  of  God's  mercy,  which 
 do  not  reserve  in  themselves  that  mercy  as  their  own  spoil,  but 
 impart  it  everywhere  for  its  greater  glory  in  its  fruits.  Thus 
 only  do  we  love  in  word  and  act,  in  deed  and  truth.  Upon 
 him  who  hath  not  practised  mercy,  judgment  without  mercy  will 
 in  righteous  retribution  return  ;  that  which  he  had  escaped  will 
 fall  back  upon  him  again,  because  he  did  not  retain  mercy  in 
 his  heart.  We  indeed  too  often  overlook  the  time  and  opportu- 
 nity of  exercising  charity,  through  the  fault  of  our  heart,  which 
 is  not  vigilant  enough  in  love  ;  we  even  leave  undone  many  good 
 things  which  we  know  to  be  our  duty,  and  that  is  still  greater 
 sin  ;  sometimes,  finally,  it  may  be  that  we  do  our  neighbour  evil 
 through  the  remains  of  the  evil  heart.     But  when  these  sins 
 
JAMES  II.  13.  341 
 
 against  love  are  the  bitter  grief  of  our  regenerate  souls,  and  we 
 place  the  whole  trust  of  our  guilty  souls  in  His  mercy,  stedf  astly 
 striving  to  become  merciful  even  as  He  is  merciful, — then  does 
 His  voice  cry  against  His  condemnation  in  our  forgiven  con- 
 sciences, Mercy  rejoiceth  against  judgment  I  and  by  that  same 
 law  of  liberty,  which  in  its  deepest  principle  knows  only  of  love, 
 shall  we  be  finally  judged  in  the  last  great  day  of  judgment. 
 
 There  remaineth  such  a  judgment  even  for  the  pardoned, — 
 a  great  and  final  decisive  day  of  judgment !  But  mercy  itself 
 will  judge.  Jesus  Christ,  the  sympathising  High  Priest,  the 
 Son  of  Man,  sitteth  upon  the  throne.  Verily  He  will  be  to  His 
 redeemed  a  merciful  Judge ;  and,  because  the  righteous  Father, 
 the  Lawgiver,  hath  given  all  judgment  into  His  hands.  He  will 
 bestow  salvation  on  all  on  whom  He  can  bestow  salvation. 
 Should  the  justice  of  God,  after  having  sunk  in  mercy,  rise 
 again  in  all  its  stern  severity  of  justice ;  should  it  return  back 
 in  its  dealing  with  us  to  the  standard  of  law — then  verily  would 
 the  Lord  find,  even  in  His  saints,  enough  to  blame,  and  not  one 
 of  them  would  stand  before  Him  !  Therefore  St  James  carefully 
 abstains  from  saying.  The  merciful  man  rejoiceth  against — as  if 
 such  a  thing  might  ever  have  been  said  of  a  sinful  creature  ! 
 God  alone  Himself  is  and  abides  the  Merciful,  even  in  judgment. 
 But  on  that  accomit  He  will  acquit  and  not  condemn  all,  whom 
 He  admits  to  mercy,  and  has  exercised  in  His  grace,  and  puri- 
 fied and  confirmed  by  trials  ;  He  will  with  the  same  compassion 
 take  away  the  last  guilt,  repair  the  last  fault,  and  of  His  final 
 and  perfect  grace  bestow  the  crown — on  those  who  love  Him! 
 and  who  therefore  loved  their  brethren  also  !  Where  love  finds 
 its  own  image  re-established,  where  the  mercy  of  God  in  the 
 deep  ground  of  man's  heart  meets  mercy,  there  the  Divine  com- 
 passion abolishes,  as  its  final  triumph,  every  the  last  failure  and 
 spot  of  the  human  spirit ;  so  that  judgment  remains  finally  over- 
 come. Only  he  who  in  his  whole  life  never  showed  true  mercy, 
 because  the  ground  of  his  heart  could  not  be  seized  by  the  love 
 of  God,  is  the  man  whom  God  cannot  save.  Love  demands  the 
 fruit  of  love — the  same  love  which  sowed  pure  love  in  time — 
 and  that  is  the  mystery  of  the  last  day.  This  judgment,  on  the 
 right  hand  superabundantly  merciful,  on  the  left  all  the  more  fear- 
 fully unmerciful,  will  proceed  without  respect  of  persons,  or  will 
 look  upon  the  right  person  in  the  fullest  sense  of  that  word :  no 
 
342  FAITH  WITHOUT  WORKS. 
 
 sins  will  be  regarded  then  which  were  not  retained  by  the  true 
 person  of  the  inner  man ;  there  will  avail  no  faith  of  the  mere 
 lips,  of  mere  knowledge,  or  of  imagination,  no  church,  no  dog- 
 matics ;  then  the  Samaritan  will  confront  the  priest  and  the 
 Levite,  and  the  mercy  which  he  exercised  will  give  evidence 
 for  him ;  then,  as  Matt.  xxv.  assures  us,  many  who  may  never 
 have  known  the  person  or  name  of  Jesus  will  have  their  deeds 
 of  mercy  called  to  remembrance.  Thus  both  in  the  beginning 
 and  at  the  end  His  words  are,  "  Blessed  are  the  merciful,  for 
 they  shall" — note  well,  ye  who  would  pervert  the  sacred  saying, 
 in  favour  of  your  fancied  proud  "  benevolence" —  "  they  shall," 
 not  be  deservedly  rewarded  according  to  strict  right,  but  assur- 
 edly for  their  mercy's  sake,  "  obtain  mercy. ^^ 
 
 XYI. 
 
 FAITH  WITHOUT  WORKS. 
 
 (Ch.  ii.  14-19.) 
 
 What  dotli  it  profit,  my  brethren,  though  a  raan  say  he  hath  faith,  and  have 
 not  works  ?  can  faith  save  him  ?  If  a  brother  or  a  sister  be  naked,  and 
 destitute  of  daily  food,  and  one  of  you  say  unto  them.  Depart  in  peace, 
 be  ye  warmed  and  filled ;  notwithstanding  ye  give  them  not  those  things 
 which  be  needful  to  the  body  ;  what  doth  it  profit  ?  Even  so  faith,  if  it 
 hath  not  works,  is  dead,  being  alone.  But  a  man  may  say,  Thou  hast 
 faith  and  I  have  works :  show  me  thy  faith  without  thy  works,  and  I 
 will  show  thee  my  faith  with  my  works.  Thou  behevest  that  there  is 
 one  God  ;  thou  doest  well :  the  devils  also  believe  and  tremble. 
 
 How  much  controversy  and  contention  there  is  in  the  world 
 —  in  the  world  indeed — through  manifold  opinions  and  manifold 
 sayings  concerning  all  kinds  of  things  !  Not  even  about  their 
 own  things  can  the  world  agree,  and  how  should  they  under- 
 stand Divine  truth?  But  even  in  Christendom  and  among 
 Christians,  how  many  contentions  there  are  about  this  same 
 Divine  truth !  Not  merely  among  churches  and  confessions  ; 
 in  every  evangelical  congregation,  often  among  the  smallest  so- 
 cieties of  brethren,  many  are  the  forms  and  fashions  of  speaking 
 and  of  acting,  of  doctrine  and  of  life  :  opinions,  systems,  watch- 
 words for  the  truth,  which  is  but  one,  of  the  most  different 
 
JiOIES  II.  14-19.  343 
 
 sound !  This  is  an  evil  which  extends  very  far  among  those 
 that  are  sincere ;  whose  hearts  would  not  err,  and  perhaps  do 
 not  really  err,  but  only  speak  of  the  same  thing  in  words  not 
 the  same.  He  who  should  stumble  at  this  variety  of  tongues, 
 as  if  on  account  of  it  there  could  be  nothing  true  and  certain, 
 would  grievously  err.  He  who  has  true  wisdom  finds  the  truth 
 very  often  on  both  sides  of  an  apparent  contradiction.  Evca- 
 the  truth  of  God,  the  doctrine  of  salvation,  has  often  in  it* 
 essential  matter  two  opposite  aspects  :  and,  that  being  so,  can 
 the  word  concerning  it  be  otherwise  than  two-sided  ?  The  wore' 
 properly  takes  its  form  according  to  the  present  position  and 
 understanding  of  him  that  speaks ;  and  also  according  to  the 
 need  of  the  hearer.  Thus  the  more  truly  and  rightly  believers 
 on  both  sides  intend  it,  each  in  his  place,  the  more  different 
 obviously  vdll  be  their  words. 
 
 There  is  scarcely  any  word  in  human  language  for  spiritual 
 and  Divine  things,  which  can  be  used  without  any  possibility  of 
 misunderstanding ;  therefore,  it  is  no  other  than  an  error  which 
 wilfully  clings  to  words  when  the  exhortation  to  speah  the  same 
 thing  (1  Cor.  i.  10)  is  itself  misunderstood  and  perverted.  Not 
 so  the  Holy  Ghost  in  Scripture,  who  changes  the  voice  and  ex- 
 pression as  often  as  it  might  be  expedient  to  do  so ;  in  order 
 that,  if  one  sentence  be  wilfully  pressed,  another  may  plead — 
 But  this  is  not  the  meaning !  in  order  that,  amid  many  con- 
 tradictions and  contrasts,  we  may  find  the  deepest  unity,  and 
 be  taught  many-sided,  truth  by  everj^where  giving  heed  to  the 
 "  Again  it  is  written ! " 
 
 Thus  is  it  with  one  of  the  most  remarkable  contradiction^ 
 in  Holy  Scripture — which,  however,  is  no  real  contradiction — 
 the  twofold  doctrine  concerning  faith  and  works,  as  given  by 
 St  Paul  and  St  James.  To  set  it  clearly  before  our  eyes,  we 
 must  read  on  at  once  to  ver.  24  of  this  chapter.  "  Ye  see^  then, 
 how  that  man  is  justified  hy  worhs,  and  7L0t  by  faith  onlyT 
 So  says  St  James,  although  St  Paid  had  said,  "  Therefore,  ice 
 conclude  that  a  man  is  justified  without  the  works  of  the  law, 
 only  by  faith"  (Eom.  iii.  28).  And  yet  both  are  perfectly 
 right ;  they  are  one  in  the  deepest  principle ;  they  both  speak 
 the  truth  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  together  the  whole  truth. 
 We  must  here  observe,  at  the  outset,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  has 
 avoided  all  extreme  contradiction  in  the  words ;  for  it  is  well 
 
344  FAITH  WITHOUT  WORKS. 
 
 known  that  Luther  ventured  to  insert  in  the  passage  of  the 
 Romans  the  critical  and  easily-misunderstood  little  word  of 
 contention,  "  alone : "  St  Paul  ieft  that  unsaid,  so  that  St 
 James  after  him  ^  might  be  at  full  liberty  to  use  it.  Would 
 that  Luther,  however  right  his  intention  might  have  been,  had 
 refrained  from  thus  arbitrarily  pointing  the  word  of  God  !  And, 
 still  more,  would  that  those  who  have  contended  since  his  time 
 for  the  pure  doctrine,  had  submitted  to  the  word  as  it  is  found 
 in  St  James,  and  learned  from  it  the  great  danger  which  besets 
 a  one-sided  statement  of  the  truth !  An  unhappy  misunder- 
 standing and  perversion  of  the  Lutheran  doctrine  of  faith  has 
 misled  and  corrupted  the  Chui^ch ;  and  it  is  still  reproduced  to 
 its  great  injury.  It  is  against  this  that  St  James  now  bears 
 his  testimony ;  a  testimony  so  simple,  and  so  keen,  and  so  clear, 
 that  whosoever  receives  his  word,  as  being  also  the  word  of  God, 
 must  be  defended  or  redeemed  from  such  an  error.  ' 
 
 What  helps  it,  my  brethren,  if  a  man  saith  he  hath  faith, 
 and  yet  hath  not  works?  Can  that  faith  save  him?  Akeady, 
 in  this  first  verse,  all  is  made  clear  to  simple  eyes.  Assuredly, 
 the  Lord  Christ  everywhere  required  only  faith ;  He  uttered 
 His  promises,  healing,  and  grace  only  to  faith;  all  His 
 Apostles,  and  St  Paul  especially,  teach  precisely  the  same 
 thing.  But  we  also  know  that  Christ  came  not  to  abolish,  but 
 to  fulfil  the  law  ;  that  at  the  close  of  the  SeiTQon  on  the  Mount, 
 and  at  the  close  of  His  teaching  before  the  people.  He  required 
 the  doing,  the  fruit,  the  works  for  the  judgment ;  -and  that  St 
 Paul  does  not  abolish  the  law  by  the  doctrine  of  faith,  but 
 estabhshes  it  (Rom.  iii.  31),  and  speaks  of  every  man  being 
 rewarded  in  the  judgment  according  to  his  works  I  Thus,  the 
 question  here  is  of  a  faith  which  produces  works ;  and  not  of 
 faith  alone  in  the  evil  sense,  as  being  a  mere,  a  naked  faith, 
 workless  and  unfruitful.  Such  a  "faith"  is,  indeed,  strictly 
 speaking,  no  faith  at  all,  only  a  lying  talking  about  it,  which  St 
 James  then  afterwards,  in  order  to  speak  with  such  people  in 
 their  own  language,  terms  a  so-called  believing.  When  St 
 Paul  bids  Titus  rebuke  the  false  Christians  in  Crete,  who  dared 
 to  be  in  the  church  while,  like  the  rest  of  the  Cretans,  they 
 
 ^  Whether  he  wrote  after  St  Paul  in  the  order  of  time,  does  not  affect 
 the  question  ;  now,  in  the  plan  of  Holy  Scripture^  his  Epistle  is  to  be  read 
 after  St  Paul. 
 
JAMES  II.  U-19.  345 
 
 remained  liars  and  slow  bellies,  in  order  that  they  might  become 
 sound  in  the  faith,  he  says  concerning  them — They  say  that 
 thej  know  God,  but  they  deny  it  in  their  works ;  seeing  that 
 they  are  an  abomination,  disobedient,  and  to  every  good  work 
 reprobate !  (Tit.  i.  12-16).  In  that  he  is  literally  at  one  with 
 St  James :  Every  one  saiili  he  hath  faith,  and  yet  hath  not  works ! 
 Thus  does  he  maintain  that  he  hath  the  power,  but  without  the 
 effects  of  that  power? — the  light,  but  without  its  shining? 
 — the  tree,  without  its  fruits? — faith  in  love,  without  that  love 
 in  the  heart,  and  becoming  effectual  through  love?  Luther 
 has  not  translated  here  quite  literally,  but  the  sense  is  good — 
 "  and  have  not  the  works  " — that  is,  the  works  which  necessarily 
 belong  to  faith  and  spring  from  it ;  since  faith  ^^ithout  works, 
 to  have  faith  and  yet  not  to  have  works,  is  an  unreahty  and 
 notliing.  Certainly  it  is  not  meant  that  faith  and  works  must 
 coexist  and  be  present  together  as  distinct,  according  to  the 
 notion  of  many ;  as  if  man  exercises  faith  in  grace  for  the 
 supply  of  what  is  lacking,  but  must  also^  in  addition  and  concm- 
 rently,  care  for  good  works,  which  again  might  come  from 
 some  other  somxe  !  For  then  neither  would  express  the  truth 
 — neither  faith  nor  works. 
 
 St  James  began  in  ch.  i.  3  with  faith,  requiring  then  that 
 men  be  doers  of  the  word,  and  not  merely  hearers.  Again,  in 
 ch.  ii.  1,  he  begins  to  ground  all  upon  helieving  in  our  Lord  of 
 glory ;  and  then  exhorts  to  the  practice  of  mercy  according  to 
 the  law  of  hberty.  He  now  meets  the  foolish  objection,  which 
 might  evade  the  exiiortation  and  say — Is  it  necessary  and  right 
 thus  to  urge  us  to  doing  and  works,  who  akeady  have  faith, 
 and  on  account  of  our  faith  through  grace  are  saved  ?  What 
 helps  it,  answers  St  James,  if  your  "  faith"  shows  itself  by  the 
 failui'e  of  works  to  be  an  idle  talking  about  faith?  Can  then 
 such  a  faith,  as  ye  call  it,  really  save  you  ?  For,  what  helps  it, 
 and  of  what  use  is  it,  what  anywhere  can  avail — icord  without 
 truth  in  work  ?  He  then  at  once  exhibits  a  striking  example, 
 and  takes  it  from  the  love  of  our  neighbour,  in  which  the  folly 
 and  vanity  of  a  mere  saying  without  doing  is  most  directly 
 apparent.  If  a  brother  or  sister,  to  whom  we  are  bound  to 
 show  love,  lacks  clothing  or  daily  bread,  what  kind  of  talking 
 about  love  would  that  be  which  did  not  feed  and  clothe  the 
 naked  and  the  hungry  ?     What  would  that  help  ?     Obviously, 
 
346  FAITH  WITHOUT  WOEKS. 
 
 lie  supposes  the  case  that  we  ourselves  are  not  in  want  like  the 
 brother  or  sister,  but  that  we  could  give  what  bodily  necessity 
 demanded.     What  a  lying  counterfeit  of  love  if  we  should  only 
 say — Be  thou  helped,  we  wish  it  from  our  heart !     Luther  has 
 again  translated  unliterally — but  in  token  that  he  here  under- 
 stood the  matter,  and  would  more  sharply  express  the  truth — 
 "  Gott  berathe  euch  ! "      God  provide  for  thee  I     That  would  be 
 the  vilest  prostitution  of  the  name  of  God,  under  the  guise  of 
 piety ;  the  hypocrite  would  refer  the  poor  to  the  comfort  of  the 
 blessed  God,  wdien  God  had  expressly  referred  them  to  himself 
 and  his  charity.     This  may  often  occur,  but  St  James  does  not' 
 so  strongly  express  it ;  he  makes  the  uncharitable  brother,  who 
 will  not  himself  give,  merely  say —  Go  in  peace  !  be  of  good 
 cheer,  all  will  be  well,  some  one  will  help  thee  (but  not  I)  ;  so 
 be  warmed  and  be  filled !     But  this,  on  the  other  hand,  makes 
 the  mere  saying  all  the  more  foolish.     By  speaking  and  pro- 
 mising, by  wishing  and  consoling — Be  warmed  and  filled !  no 
 man  can  ever  be  warm  and  full.     Suppose  all  acted  thus  in 
 their  sympathising  love!      Assuredly,  thy  assurance — I  wish 
 thee  well  helped  !  is  a  lie,  if  thou  dost  not  thyself  help  the  poor 
 man,  according  to  thy  ability.     Thy  dispatching  him  with  such 
 a  Go  in  peace  !  is  a  bitter  and  unmerciful  mockery.     Now  the 
 application,  from  love  which  essentially  shows  itself  in  act,  to 
 faith  from  which  the  love  of  the  heart  must  proceed: — So  also 
 faith,,  if  it  have  not  icorks,  is  dead  in  itself.     In  the  former  case, 
 it  was  a  giving  to  others,  here  primarily  a  receiving  for  our- 
 selves ;  here  we  are  before  God's  compassion  the  naked  and  the 
 hungry,  but  He  clothes  and  fills  our  inner  man  with  righteous- 
 ness.    What  helps  it,  and  what  does  it  mean,  if  any  man  should 
 say  to  God — I  thank  Thee  for  Thy  gift  and  grace !  while  He 
 receives  it  not?     So  the  faith  which  remains  in  sins,  and  has 
 no  good  works.     In  whom  and  in  what  dost  th®u  then  believe  ? 
 In  God,  in  thy  Lord  and  Saviour,  in  His  word — Thy  sins  are 
 forgiven  thee!     Now  the  same  Lord  who  says  that  to  thee, 
 gives  in  and  with  that  word  a  new  power  and  a  new  fife  unto 
 righteousness.     As  little  as  the  repentance  which,  hoping  to  be 
 forgiven,  would  continue  in  sin,  is  sincere,  so  little  can  the  faith 
 in  forgiveness  be  a  genuine  faith  in  Him  who  utters  it,  if  it 
 do  not  embrace  the  words  which  He  always  utters  at  the  same 
 time  —Sin  no  more  !     Tarry  lying  no  longer,  but  rise  up  and 
 
JAMES  II.  U-19.  347 
 
 walk !  In  forgiveness  itself  is  the  re-establishment  into  a  new 
 life  contained.  Mere  faith,  without  previous  merit,  justifies  as 
 beinff  a  faith  which  cannot  in  the  future  remain  a  mere  faith. 
 If  the  penitent  robber  had  not  died,  he  would  not  have  gone 
 and  performed  the  old  deeds.  Thus  the  saying  before  men,  to 
 ourselves,  even  to  God,  that  we  have  faith,  but  without  works, 
 St  James  rightly  calls  a  dead  believing  ;  that  is,  because  it  is  a 
 contradiction  in  itself,  the  mere  semblance  and  delusion  of 
 believing,  even  as  the  corpse  is  not  a  living  and  real  man. 
 Either  thou  art  yet  dead,  and  so  speaking  about  believing  which 
 yet  is  a  living ;  or,  thy  faith,  which  was  alive  at  first,  has  died 
 again — the  mere  so-called  "beheving"  of  itself  alone  remains 
 no  better  than  a  corpse.  Who  does  not  see  clearly  that  St 
 Paul  and  St  James  here  carry  on  each  his  divine  discourse  in 
 the  same  spirit,  and  with  the  same  meaning  ?  To  people  who 
 glory  in  the  works  of  the  laio  (mark  well  this  word  in  the  say- 
 ing to  the  Romans !)  in  opposition  to  faith,  St  Paul  says — Your 
 dead  works  before  and  after  regeneration  avail  and  help  nothing; 
 only  living  faith  creates  the  true  works  !  To  people  who  stand 
 stiffly  upon  a  so-called  believing,  St  James  says — Your  dead 
 faith,  without  power  and  life,  is  of  no  worth ;  but  the  living 
 works  must  come  from  believino; ! 
 
 He  then  goes  on  to  take  another  case  for  further  conviction  ; 
 and  sets  against  the  vain  speaker  another  some  one,  and  what 
 he  might  have  to  sai/  on  the  other  hand.  Who  is  this  "  man  " 
 in  St  James'  meaning  ?  It  has  been  very  incorrectly  supposed 
 that  he  intended  a  Christian,  a  genuine  Christian  who  had 
 works  as  well  as  faith.  But,  so  taken,  the  entu'e  saying  of  this 
 second  man  to  the  former  is  misunderstood ;  and  we  fail  to  ob- 
 serve the  humiliation  through  men  first,  which  is  then  followed 
 by  a  humiliation  through  the  devils.  Why  then  should  the 
 Christian  brother — contrary  to  the  exercise  of  love — so  hardly 
 and  so  mockingly  require  from  the  other  the  showing  of  his 
 faith?  To  what  end  generally  this  sliowing,  if  it  is  not  a 
 contender  against  faith  who  requires  it?  Arid  that  this  man 
 evidently  is,  for  he  places  himself  in  opposition,  and  says — 
 Thou  hast  faith,  and  1  have  works ;  thou  boldest  to  the  "  be- 
 lieving," but  I  to  the  works — we  have  om*  several  religion  and 
 righteousness.  Thus  it  was  at  that  time  a  pharisaical  Jew  opposed 
 to  the  Christian  ;  now  it  is  a  moralist  and  man  of  virtue,  who, 
 
348  FAITH  WITHOUT  WORKS. 
 
 with  his  good  works,  thinks  he  needs  not  to  beheve  in  the  grace 
 of  Christ  Jesus.  Noav,  the  confessor  of  the  name  of  Christ 
 would  convert  such  a  man  to  his  own  "believing:"  how  will 
 that  be  possible,  if  he  is  a  mere  champion  of  faith  with  the  lips? 
 The  man  of  works  justly  mocks  him,  and  demands  demonstra- 
 tion which  should  put  to  shame  his  oicn  ''  works."  "  Am  I  to 
 yield  to  thee  ?  Shoiv  me  thy  faith  !  Prove  to  me  that  it  is 
 something,  and  more  than  what  I  have!"  Here  it  is  to  be 
 lamented  that  the  German  Bible  has  not  exhibited  the  only 
 right  reading — "Show  me  thy  faith  without  thy  works!" 
 Without  the  works — that  is  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Apostle  Paul 
 the  keenest  expression  ;  it  is  this  which  is  so  sadly  misused 
 in  a  dead  faith ;  as  if  the  addition  could  be  intended  for  the 
 faith,  instead  of  being  connected  with  the  justification  (without 
 reference  to  the  merit  of  works).  The  ironical  record  hits  the 
 point  well,  "  Show  me  any  kind  of  faith  which  is  a  power  and 
 feeling  of  the  heart ;  show  me  ^A?/  faith  without  works — if  such 
 a  thing  be  possible  !  I  cannot  penetrate  thy  heart;  words  in 
 this  matter  are  of  no  avail ;  without  thy  works  I  know  nothing 
 of  thy  faith ! "  Is  not  this,  brethren,  taken  from  the  life  for 
 om'selves  in  our  own  day  ?  We  ought  to  let  the  light  of  our 
 faith  shine  before  the  world,  especially  before  the  self-righteous; 
 and  shoio  them  the  power  of  God  within  us — but  how  otherwise 
 than  in  the  works  and  fruits  of  our  faith  ?  If  I  have  them  not, 
 I  am  mocked  of  him  whom  I  ought  to  overcome  and  convince  ; 
 by  my  vain  talk  he  is  offended  and  strengthened  in  his  delusion, 
 so  that  through  me  the  name  of  the  Lord  may  by  him  be 
 blasphemed.  "  Thou  sayest,  I  believe  !  My  symbol  runs  much 
 better — I  do  !  There  I  am  thy  master:  what  thou  canst  not,  I 
 can ;  but  I  am  not  bound  first  to  bring  demonstration  to  such  a 
 fool  as  thou  art.  First  make  thou  that  nothing  possible,  to 
 show  me  thy  faith  without  works ;  then  (so  he  goes  on  to 
 mock)  will  I  also  show  thee  my  '  faith,'  that  is,  my  religion, 
 my  heart's  disposition  before  God  and  relation  to  Him  ;  and  I 
 will  indeed,  hy  my  works,  prove  to  thee  that  my  faith,  which 
 has  works  (although  thou  condemnest  it  as  unbelief),  is  the  right 
 faith,  better  than  thine,  and  is  the  true  religion,  because  effec- 
 tual in  the  life!"  Observe,  that  the  opponent  is  not  such  a 
 fool  as  to  be  ignorant  that  works  come  from  the  heart,  and  have 
 their  foundation  or  source  in  the  heart's  faith.      Assuredly, 
 
JAMES  II.  U-19.  349 
 
 right  doing  comes  only  from  right  beheving ;  but  it  is  that 
 which  we  should  show  to  them,  as  our  righteousness  of  Hfe 
 must  exceed  that  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees.  If  we  cannot, 
 our  vain  boasting  of  faith  must,  to  the  dishonour  of  God,  strike 
 its  sails  before  the  honourable  natural  man. 
 
 And  even  the  example  of  the  devils  conidnces  and  con- 
 demns us :  that  is  the  sudden  and  striking  progression  in  St 
 James'  argument.  "Thou  believest  that  there  is  one  God; 
 thou  doest  well:  the  devils  believe  that,  and  tremble."  A 
 fearfully  telling  expression ;  and  yet  the  pure  truth  as  it 
 respects  this  perverted  use  of  the  word  believing,  which  the 
 Apostle  by  adopting  would  utterly  overthrow.  He  thereby 
 exhibits  a  faith  in  the  Lord,  which  only  knows  and  holds 
 firmly  that  this  Lord  exists,  without  receiving  anything  from 
 Him,  TNT^thout  really  receiving  from  Him  the  gift  of  gi'ace. 
 Here  St  James  goes  back  in  his  example  from  the  second 
 article  (as  our  Catechism  says)  to  the  first.  For  it  is  with 
 believing  in  Jesus  as  it  is  with  believing  in  God ;  rather,  in  the 
 former  the  true  faith  in  God  finds  its  consummation. 
 
 The  merely  being  convinced  of  the  being  of  God,  the  one 
 God  in  opposition  to  the  gods — on  which  many  a  believing 
 Pharisee  without  ivorhs  prided  himself,  and  which  therefore  was 
 included  by  St  James — is  of  no  avail  at  all !  That  all  sinners 
 know  or  believe  in  their  secret  hearts  ;  even  the  fools  who 
 would  say  if  they  could — Let  there  be  no  God  !  Even  the 
 devils  cannot  deny  it.  They  even  believe  it,  and  are  not 
 thereby  saved  !  St  James,  however,  would  say  more  than  this, 
 and  intimate  further — The  devils  also  know  that  there  is  a  Son 
 of  God,  a  Saviour  of  men ;  they  know  Jesus  well ;  they  knew 
 the  "Holy  One  of  God"  better  and  sooner  than  men  did — as 
 we  read  in  St  Mark's  Gospel.  Had  they  on  that  account 
 salvation  from  Him  ?  No  more  than  thou,  who  magnifiest  the 
 Saviour,  but  wilt  not  be  saved  by  Him  ;  thy  faith  knowing  only 
 to  say  —  Thou  art  my  Saviour !  Be  not  deluded  by  Satan, 
 who,  when  he  cannot  th^vart  the  truth  that  there  is  a  Christ, 
 persuades  people  that  it  is  saving  faith  to  know  and  believe  as 
 he  and  his  devils  know^  and  believe  !  O  how  utterly  vain  will 
 thy  faith  then  be  !  Yet  not  only  utterly  in  vain.  For  know 
 that  the  devils  believe  that  God  is  (and  that  HUs  Son  is) — and 
 tremble.     Thou,  indeed,  if  thou  didst  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  in 
 
350  FAITH  WITHOUT  WOilKS. 
 
 such  -wise  as  to  receive  His  grace  for  tliyself,  sliouldst  love  Him, 
 and  joyfully  serve  and  obey  Him.  Art  thou  without  that,  and 
 moreover  without  any  trembling  fear  of  the  judgment  of  the 
 Lord — and  thus  worse  than  the  devils,  whose  faith  works  some- 
 thing in  them  at  least,  the  spirit  of  fear? — That  certainly  St 
 James  did  not  mean  to  say ;  for  no  man  can  be  worse  than  the 
 devils.  But  this  he  would  say — There  is  in  thy  dead,  power- 
 less, and  uninfluential  beheving  a  frightful  self-deception,  which 
 alone  could  render  it  possible  for  thee  to  name  the  name  of 
 Christ  without  declining  from  unrighteousness,  and  without  fear- 
 ing the  final  judgment.  Woe  to  thee,  when  at  last  this  self- 
 deception  is  decided ; — what  trembling  with  the  devils,  when  the 
 righteous  Judge,  who  knows  of  no  faith  without  works,  shall 
 require,  in  awful  earnest  and  without  any  mockery,  as  it  is  here 
 predicted — Shoiu  Me  thy  faith  with  thy  works  !  Then  will  thy 
 so-called  faith,  thy  saying  thou  hast  faith,  not  save  thee,  but  be 
 thy  condemnation.  Thou  wast  no  devil,  but  a  man  who  might 
 have  been,  and  should  have  been,  renewed  by  love  unto  the 
 return  of  love  ;  but  though  thou  kneivest,  thou  ivouldst  not,  and 
 that  is  thy  condemnation  with  the  devils. 
 
 But  no  more  now  on  this  subject.  We  only  ask  in  conclu- 
 sion :  Wherefore  was  this  set  before  those  who  by  the  grace 
 of  God  maintained  their  faith,  without  this  deadness  of  heart  ? 
 In  order  that  they  might  take  the  warning  not  to  lose  their 
 grace ;  that  they  might  most  diligently  guard  themselves  in 
 individual  and  lesser  matters  against  all  words  unaccompanied 
 by  works,  all  imaginations  without  truth  and  power.  Similarly, 
 that  we  might  all  receive  the  exhortation  against  a  stiff,  one- 
 sided standing  upon  words,  as  if  the  truth  of  salvation  must  be 
 for  all  occasions  and  times  embraced  in  the  same  formulas  and 
 kinds  of  speech.  Let  us  leave  room  for  the  so-called  legalists, 
 and  for  those  who  are  more  free ;  pro\dded  the  legalists  mean 
 the  law  of  liberty,  and  the  free  are  not  unto  God  without  the 
 law  of  Christ !  Let  eveiy  man  be  more  and  more  persuaded  in 
 his  own  mind.  Let  us  tolerate  the  anxious,  who  speak  only  of 
 their  weakness  and  guilt,  and  the  joyful,  who  dance  under  the 
 impulse  of  their  sanctified  confession — if  only  each  has  received 
 from  above  the  measure  of  his  strength  and  truth.  It  is  no 
 contradiction,  that  the  one  has  faith  with  works,  and  the  othei 
 works  from  faith ;  let  each  learn  from  the  other,  that  he  may 
 
JAMES  II.  20-2(j  351 
 
 not  forget  what  is  essential  to  one  and  the  other.  May  the 
 Spirit  of  truth  guard  us  all  against  false  self -contentment,  either 
 in  faith  without  the  works,  or  in  works  without  faith — from 
 both  of  which  the  doctrine  of  St  James  is  equally  far  removed  ! 
 
 xvn. 
 
 THE  W  ORKS  OF  ABRAHAM'S  AND  RAHAB's  FAITH. 
 
 (Ch.  ii.  20-26.) 
 
 But  wilt  thou  know,  0  vain  man,  that  faith  without  works  is  dead  ?  "Was 
 not  Abraham  our  father  justified  by  works,  when  he  had  offered  Isaac 
 his  son  upon  the  altar  ?  Thou  seest  how  faith  wrought  with  his  works, 
 and  by  works  was  faith  made  perfect.  And  the  Scripture  was  fulfilled 
 which  saith,  Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  imputed  unto  him  for 
 righteousness ;  and  he  was  called  the  Friend  of  God.  Ye  see  then  how 
 that  by  works  a  man  is  justified,  and  not  by  faith  only.  Likewise  also, 
 was  not  Rahab  the  harlot  justified  by  works,  when  she  had  received  the 
 messengers,  and  sent  them  out  another  way?  For  as  the  body  without 
 the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without  works  is  dead  also. 
 
 Once  more,  and  for  the  third  time,  St  James  utters  the 
 great  declaration — that  faith  ivithont  icorks  is  dead  !  And  why 
 should  not  this  be  received  as  the  fullest,  clearest  truth  ?  The 
 whole  of  Scripture  agrees  mth  him  ;  for  that  faith  which  it  re- 
 quires and  commends,  to  which  it  attributes  righteousness  and 
 salvation,  is  a  living,  real,  influential,  fruitful  faith.  Luther 
 meant  no  other  than  this,  though,  on  accomit  of  the  good  and 
 well-intended  word  of  his  system  "faith  a?o?ie,"  he  could  not 
 relish  the  doctrine  of  the  Epistle  of  St  James.  He  himself 
 speaks,  in  his  preface  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  precisely  as 
 St  James  speaks  in  our  text.  "  O  it  is  a  living,  quick,  mighty 
 thing  this  faith ;  so  that  it  is  impossible  but  that  it  should  do 
 all  good  things  without  intermission.  It  does  not  ask  whether 
 good  works  are  to  be  done,  but  before  the  question  could  be 
 asked  it  does  them,  and  is  always  doing  them.  He  who  does 
 not  these  good  works  is  a  man  without  faith  :  he  is  looking 
 about  him  for  faith  and  good  works,  but  knows  neither  the  one 
 nor  the  other — all  his  words  about  them  are  idle  babbhng. 
 
352         THE  WORKS  OF  ABRAHAM'S  AND  RAHAB's  FAITH. 
 
 Faith  is  a  living  confidence  in  tlie  grace  of  God,  so  confident 
 that  it  would  die  a  thousand  deaths  in  reliance  on  it.  And  this 
 confidence  and  knowledge  of  the  grace  of  God  maketh  the  heart 
 merrj  and  alert  towards  God  and  all  His  creatures.  Hence 
 man  is  free  without  force  to  do  wliat  is  right,  to  serve  every  one, 
 to  bear  all  sufferings,  out  of  love  to  God,  and  in  His  praise  who 
 hath  shown  him  such  grace  :  yea,  it  is  impossible  to  separate 
 works  from  faith,  as  impossible  as  to  separate  burning  and  shin- 
 ing from  fire." 
 
 St  James  has  already  shown  that  the  speaking  of  believing, 
 ^vithout  the  power  and  demonstration  of  works,  is  only  a  mask 
 and  a  lie  ;  he  has  shown  it  from  the  nature  of  the  case  itself,  as 
 illustrated  by  the  similitude  of  love,  by  the  mocking  rejoinder  of 
 the  other  man  who  had  works,  by  the  trembling  and  useless  faith 
 of  the  devils.  Nevertheless,  as  if  he  had  not  demonstrated  it  as 
 yet,  he  proceeds  again,  "  But  wilt  thou  know,  O  vain  man,  that 
 faith  without  works  is  dead?"  Thou  vain  man;  that  is,  thou 
 faithless  man,  as  Luther  says,  thou  empty  man,  puffed  up  by 
 vainglorying,  without  the  truth  and  power  of  faith  in  the  heart, 
 whose  words  are  nothing,  but  come  from  an  empty  and  hollow 
 soul.  Wilt  thou  not  know  and  acknowledge  what  I  have  said  ? 
 Or,  rather,  must  thou  not  see  its  truth,  when  it  is  really  so  with 
 thee  and  thy  dead  faith  ?  Thou  wilt  not  surely  deceive  thyself 
 in  the  matter  of  thy  salvation  ?  This  is  the  question  which  I 
 urge — Wilt  thou  ?  For  he  who  will  not  cannot  be  convinced ; 
 even  though  the  truth  is  as  near  to  him  as  his  own  heart.  O 
 reader,  art  thou  still  such  a  vain  man — then  yield  up  thy  will 
 now  first  to  know  the  truth,  which  may  point  thee  from  thy 
 Nothing  to  the  Something  that  truly  avails  !  Art  thou  by  the 
 grace  of  God  no  longer  such  —  then  learn  from  St  James 
 how  thy  faith  may  be  continually  strengthened,  and  how  thou 
 must  speak  to  the  vain  men  whom  thou  wouldst  bring  to  true 
 knowledge. 
 
 Out  of  Holy  Scriptu7'e,  from  its  history  and  examples,  St 
 James  takes  the  strongest  argument,  which  he  had  reserved  for 
 the  last.  But  will  a  vain  man  be  likely  to  be  more  effectually 
 convinced  by  Scripture,  after  he  has  rejected  what  went  before  ? 
 One  might  think  it  would  not  be  so  ;  but  St  James  knew  better 
 the  powder  of  the  letter  of  Scriptm'e  even  over  such  people. 
 And  it  is  remarkable  that  so  it  is  !     Great  is  the  force  of  every 
 
JA3IES  II.  20-26.  353 
 
 word  given  of  God !  As  the  proud  Jews  in  those  days  still 
 hung  upon  their  Bible,  and  were  to  be  laid  hold  of  by  its  con- 
 viction, so  also  are  all  vain  Christians  of  that  time  and  of  this, 
 who  wrongly  glory  in  their  faith  as  the  Pharisees  did  in  their 
 works.  Their  argument  about  faith,  they  take  from  the  Scrip- 
 ture which  speaks  of  the  righteousness  of  faith.  Indeed, 
 they  misunderstand  and  pervert  the  Scripture ;  but  the  same 
 Scripture  must  be  brought  to  show  that  they  do  so.  And  the 
 word  of  God  has  made  provision  that  every  error  and  misunder- 
 standing may  be  refuted  out  of  itself.  We  may  send  the  faith- 
 Pharisees  to  the  Epistles  to  the  Romans  and  Galatians,  and 
 expound  to  them  the  sayings  which  they  abuse  in  their  true 
 spirit  and  connection  there  ;  but  St  James  in  his  day  could  not 
 do  that,  and  therefore  goes  back  to  the  Old  Testament.  Tico 
 examples  taken  from  it  he  places  in  their  true  light.  First, 
 naturally,  the  great  example  of  Abraham,  whom  he  calls,  with 
 Israel  after  the  flesh  and  the  church  of  Christ  after  the  Spirit, 
 our  father ;  for  he  is,  and  must  ever  be,  the  father  of  believers. 
 Thus  the  same  great  example  which  St  Paul  adduces,  in  the 
 Epistle  to  the  Romans,  to  oppose  the  dead  works  of  the  law,  St 
 James  likewise  employs  as  against  a  dead  faith  :  probably  with 
 conscious  intention,  or  led  by  the  Spirit,  to  provide  beforehand 
 against  the  perversion  of  New-Testament  Scripture  also.  And 
 by  his  side  he  places  the  harlot  Rahah,  whose  position  in  the 
 history,  as  we  shall  see,  is  variously  important  in  this  question, 
 and  whose  faith  St  Paul  commends  to  the  Hebrews. 
 
 Was  not  Abraham,  our  father,  justified  by  works  ?  St  James 
 lays  down  this  position — which  now  first  literally  opposes  the 
 doctrinal  language  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  and  seems  to  contradict 
 the  testimony  of  Scripture  itself  concerning  the  righteousness 
 of  Abraham  through  faith — in  his  bold  question  as  a  certain 
 truth,  which  was  incontrovertibly  attested  and  illustrated  in  the 
 whole  history  of  Abraham's  character  and  life.  And  how  does 
 he  demonstrate  it  ?  By  an  effectual  stroke  he  at  once  mentions 
 the  last,  greatest,  mightiest  work  of  Abraham's  faith — when 
 he  offered  his  son  Isaac  upon  the  altar !  Even  we,  brethren, 
 who  may  rightly  speak  a  httle  of  the  works  of  our  faith,  are  far 
 from  reaching  the  point  of  this  sacrifice  of  the  father  of  be- 
 lievers. What  are  the  sacrifices  which  God,  testing  the  genu- 
 ineness of  our  faith,  has  required  of  us,  in  comparison  of  that 
 
 z 
 
354       THE  WORKS  OF  ABRAHAM'S  AND  RAHAB's  FAITH. 
 
 only-begotten  son,  on  whose  life  the  whole  promise  to  Abraham 
 seemed  to  rest  ?  And  have  we  made  the  sacrifices  demanded  of 
 us  with  the  same  obedience  ?  How  slow  has  been  our  heart  to 
 submit,  when  God  has  taken  from  us  some  bosom-child  of  our 
 love,  some  object  of  our  hope — altogether  unable  to  give  up 
 of  ourselves  the  gift  demanded,  as  Abraham  gave  up  Isaac! 
 And  you,  whose  faith  is  mere  empty  delusion,  how  do  you  strive 
 against  God,  instead  of  trusting  and  obeying  Him,  when  He 
 requires  of  you  the  sacrifice  of  the  least  things  !  St  James 
 mio-ht  have  adduced,  when  speaking  of  the  ivorhs  of  Abraham, 
 his  wdiole  life  from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  His  exodus  in 
 obedience  to  God's  command  was  a  first  work  of  his  faith,  even 
 as  we  are  called  to  do  likewise  in  going  out  from  the  world  and 
 self.  And  let  us  call  to  mind  how  he  everywhere  bore  testi- 
 mony and  made  his  confession,  building  altars  and  proclaiming 
 the  name  of  the  Lord — how  full  he  was  of  peace  to  Lot,  yet 
 how  valiant  against  the  kings — how  humble  he  was  before  the 
 priest  of  the  Most  High  God,  and  yet  how  proudly  unselfish 
 before  the  king  of  Sodom — how  hospitable  in  his  service  to 
 every  traveller  to  his  tent  in  Mamre.  But  in  this,  that  he  offered 
 his  son  Isaac,  was  exhibited  his  highest  and  noblest  work. 
 Moreover,  St  James,  summing  up  all  in  this  last,  makes  it  pro- 
 minent, because  this  evidence  of  Abraham's  faith  by  his  works 
 had  not  to  do  with  men,  but  only  with  his  God.  Only  before 
 God,  in  secret  mystery — until  it  was  afterwards  made  manifest — 
 this  most  proper  w^ork  of  faith  was  done ;  but  it  was  truly  a  worhj 
 an  act^  in  which  Abraham's  whole  faith  and  life  was  summed 
 up  and  approved.  What  St  Paul  says  is  true,  in  its  deepest 
 principle — ''By  faith  Abraham  offered  up  Isaac,  when  he  was 
 tempted"  (Heb.  xi.  17).  But  God  tempted  him  that  he  might 
 demonstrate  his  faith  by  such  a  loorh  :  He  said  also  to  Abraham 
 — Show  Me  thy  faith !  If  thou  believest  in  Me  and  My  word, 
 canst  thou  do  this  also  ? 
 
 The  same  God  requires  of  all  His  believers;  everywhere 
 in  His  word,  and  in  every  man  by  His  Spirit's  voice.  St  Paul 
 requires  works  at  the  close  of  all  his  Epistles,  after  he  has  pre- 
 viously established  the  doctrine  of  faith.  We  must  always  be 
 ready,  when  called  by  God,  to  say  with  Abraham — Here  I  am  I 
 Here  is  my  faith  in  Thee  and  Thy  word,  O  Lord ;  Thou  shalt 
 find  it,  when  Thou  seekest  and  triest  it !   I  am  Thine,  and  dedi- 
 
JAj^IES  II.  20-26.  355 
 
 cated  to  Thee,  witli  all  that  I  have  and  am,  for  Thou  hast  be- 
 come my  God !  For,  that  first  word  of  grace  from  God  m 
 whicl;.  we  beheve,  "  I  am  thy  God  !"  includes  always  withm  it, 
 "  and  art  thou  IVIine !"  The  first  faith,  which  embraces  this,  has 
 laid  itself  under  this  blessed  obligation.  Thus  obedience  is  an 
 absolute  necessity  in  believing  !  Obedience,  even  when  God's 
 commandment  appears  to  be  hard  and  incomprehensible,  and 
 even  a  contradiction  to  His  promise ;  in  that  must  approve  itself 
 our  trust  that  God  is  right,  and  will  maintain  right.  Thus 
 Abraham  gave  up  the  same  only-begotten  son,  of  whom  it  had 
 been  said — In  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called !  He  received 
 him  back  again  for  a  type ;  but  he  had  actually  given  him  up 
 in  all  earnestness  of  will  and  act  when  he  laid  his  bound  son 
 on  the  altar  and  stretched  out  his  hand  to  slay  him  : — that 
 St  James  means  in  the  expression,  "  when  he  offered  him  upon 
 the  altar r  It  is  the  altar  of  faith,  of  the  worship  of  God  in 
 faith,  on  which  we  also  present  our  works  to  God,  the  works 
 which  He  requires  in  His  tests  and  trials.  If  we  are  justified 
 through  faith,  that  righteousness  shows  and  consummates  itself 
 only  by  loorhs.  Our  Lord  Himself  taught  the  same  when  He 
 said,  in  opposition  to  the  vainglorpng  of  the  Jews — If  ye 
 were  Abraham's  children,  ye  would  do  the  works  of  Abraham  ! 
 (John  viii.  39). 
 
 St  James  might  now  have  passed  at  once  to  his  conclusion 
 —  Ye  see  then,  that  a  man  is  justified  by  works,  and  not  by  faith 
 alone.  That  is,  not  by  the  works  of  the  law,  the  dead  works, 
 to  which  St  James  no  more  than  St  Paul  attributes  any  value. 
 That  is,  also,  at  first  not  justified  merely  by  faith,  which  actually 
 alone  can  estabhsh  and  renew  the  sinner  into  a  righteousness 
 which  avails  before  God,  which  God  requires  from  us,  and  be- 
 holds in  us  at  first  only  as  faith  and  confidence  in  the  word 
 of  His  grace.  But  that  is,  once  more :  not  by  a  mere  faith, 
 which  should  be  without  strength  and  influence,  and  therefore 
 might  remain  without  works ;  for,  as  certainly  as  the  word  of 
 God's  grace  cannot  be  a  mere  arbitrary  declaration  that  the 
 sinner  is  righteous,  but  is  living  and  mighty,  the  seed  of  re- 
 generation— so  certainly  does  the  new  righteousness  of  the  ac- 
 cepted man  consummate  and  approve  itself  in  the  new  works 
 of  his  faith. 
 
 In  order  to  make  this  quite  clear,  St  James  prepares  for  his 
 
356        THE  WOEKS  OF  ABRAHAM'S  AND  EAHAB  S  FAITH. 
 
 conclusion  from  Abraham's  example  by  a  few  mediating  clauses. 
 Thou  seest  then,  that  faith  wrought  together  in  his  works,  and 
 hy  works  was  his  faith  made  perfect.  In  fact,  he  who  seeth  this, 
 seeth  the  matter  rightly;  he  who  understands  these  words  of 
 St  James,  understands  the  profound  unity  of  the  different  aspects 
 of  the  doctrine  of  faith  and  works — their  inseparability,  whether 
 in  Abraham  or  in  any  other  believers.  This  saying  contains — 
 as  some  one  has  said — "  the  formula  of  solution  for  this  apparent 
 contradiction  :  faith  creates  works,  works  perfect  faith."  Faith 
 remains  incontrovertibly  the  beginning,  source,  and  ground  of 
 all.  But  this  justifying  faith  is  so  great  and  mighty  a  thing, 
 that  it  does  not  in  us  poor  sinners  attain  its  perfection  so  rapidly 
 and  at  once ;  we  begin  to  believe  in  weakness,  there  is  yet  un- 
 belief present  in  us.  The  great  task  of  this  faith  is  to  transform 
 the  whole  man  ;  so  that,  penetrated  by  faith  and  entirely  re- 
 newed, he  should  be  finally  and  in  perfect  tnith  made  righteous. 
 Consequently,  there  must  be  a  gradual  exercise  and  strengthening, 
 testing  and  confirmation  of  faith;  the  same  with  which  the  Epistle 
 set  out.  If  there  were  no  faith,  whence  could  the  works  come  ? 
 For  the  w^orks  of  the  natural  man,  because  they  have  no  faith 
 in  them,  are  dead  in  themselves.  But,  again,  where  no  works 
 issue  from  it  and  follow,  the  faith  must  assuredly  perish  and 
 die  out :  they  are  the  oil  which  feeds  the  lamp  in  bui-ning.  So 
 must  faith  work  with,  co-operate  in,  the  works — that  is,  help  to 
 good  works,  create  these  works  through  its  living  power  and 
 influence.  He  that  knoweth  to  do  good,  and  doeth  it  not,  to 
 him  it  is  sin !  (Jas.  iv.  17).  And  in  the  great  sin,  that  we  know 
 and  do  not,  we  all  lie  involved  by  nature — as  Rom.  vii.  teaches 
 us.  We  have  neither  desire  nor  power  to  do  good ;  faith  gives 
 us  both.  And  while  that  faith  is  thus  exercised  and  confirmed  in 
 works,  it  becomes  stronger  and  stronger,  and  thus  is  finally  by 
 works  made  perfect.  That  is,  again,  not  as  if  anything  from 
 the  works  externally  is  added  to  faith ;  but  that  which  is  not  of 
 faith  is  sin  (Rom.  xiv.  23).  Therefore  St  James  by  no  means 
 says  that  by  the  works  faith  is  made  li\dng,  brought  out,  created, 
 or  the  like ;  for  faith  cometh  through  the  power  of  the  word, 
 when  that  enters  into  us  and  is  embraced  by  us — and  through 
 nothing  else.  But  faith  becomes  perfect  in  the  works  ;  according 
 to  St  Paul's  doctrine,  or  the  Lord's  words  to  him — that  the 
 strength  of  God  is  made  perfect  in  weakness  (2  Cor.  xii.  9). 
 
JAMES  II.  20-26.  357 
 
 The  power  of  faith,  indwelling  from  the  outset,  and  in  the 
 first  lapng  hold  of  grace  altogether  received,  becomes  perfectly 
 manifested,  approved,  and  its  influence  perfected.  Thus  our 
 callincp  and  election  is,  in  the  diligence  of  life  and  action,  made 
 sure  (2  Pet.  i.  10).  So  was  Abraham's  first  calling  made 
 sure  by  his  last  works ;  and  the  word  concerning  righteousness 
 by  faith,  which  had  been  before  spoken  to  him,  was  thus  con- 
 firmed and  demonstrated  by  fact  to  be  a  truth. 
 
 This  alone  is  what  St  James  means,  when  he  profoundly  and 
 wisely  continues — And  the  Scripture  was  fulfilled  which  said, 
 Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  reckoned  unto  him  for  right- 
 eousness. It  is  far  from  his  desire  to  abohsh  or  overturn  this 
 word ;  he  rather  shows  it  to  us,  in  Abraham,  in  the  fulfilment  and 
 consummation  of  its  truth.  When  Moses  records  this  justifying 
 sentence  of  God  upon  Abraham,  there  was  no  action  performed ; 
 faith  seized  God's  word — So  shall  thy  seed  be!  as  now  our 
 faith  the  word — Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee  !  Thou  shalt  not 
 die,  but  live  !  But  there  follows  in  this  new  life  the  abundance 
 of  works  in  order  to  the  perfection  of  faith.  Xot  as  a  be- 
 liever without  works,  but  as  one  united  to  his  God  in  the  con- 
 fidence of  obedience  and  love,  could  father  Abraham  receive  the 
 name  of  honour — a  Friend  of  God.  This  is  the  name  which  the 
 Ai'abs,  who  boast  of  then'  descent  from  him,  give  him  to  this  day. 
 It  is  true  that  the  expression  is  not  hterally  found  in  any  one 
 place  of  Scripture ;  the  apocrj'phal  passage,  Judith  viii.  19, 
 has  it  merely  in  a  later  translation,  although  with  reference  to 
 a  phrase  common  in  the  land.  The  whole  history  of  Abraham, 
 as  recorded  by  Moses,  exhibits  him  to  us  as  a  confidential  friend 
 of  God,  with  whom  He  conversed  as  a  man  with  his  friend.  When, 
 for  example,  the  Lord  said — How  can  I  conceal  from  Abraham 
 the  thing  which  I  do  ?  (Gen.  x\iii.  17),  we  may  naturally  think 
 of  Christ's  saying — The  serA'ant  knoweth  not  what  his  lord 
 doeth  ;  but  I  have  called  you  friends,  for  I  have  made  known 
 unto  you  all  (John  x%\  15).  This  is,  and  must  ever  be,  the 
 name  and  the  honour  of  Abraham  in  the  history  of  men.  In 
 the  Prophet  the  Lord  calleth  to  His  people — Thou  seed  of 
 Abraham,  My  beloved!  (Is.  xli.  8)  ;  and  so  prays  Jehosaphat — 
 Didst  thou  not,  O  God,  give  this  land  to*  the  seed  of  Abraham, 
 Thy  beloved  ?  (2  Chron.  xx.  7).  He  was  a  lover  of  God  !  God 
 indeed  loved  him  first,  but  that  he  might  afterwards  love  Him 
 
358 
 
 in  return.  So  is  it  with  all  believers,  and  so  with  ns.  Could 
 the  love  of  God  remain  in  those  who  love  Him  not,  and  who 
 give  not  themselves  and  all  that  they  have  to"  Him  ?  Is  God  a 
 God  of  the  dead?  a  Friend  and  Saviour  of  sinners  remaining 
 in  their  sins  ?  Ye  are  (and  continue)  My  friends,  if  you  do 
 whatsoever  I  command  you  !  saith  the  Saviour  of  sinners  in  the 
 New  Testament  to  His  chosen  ones,  that  they  might  bring  forth 
 fruit  (John  xv.  14).  If  Abraham  had  not  spoken  in  the  act — 
 Here  am  I !  but — I  cannot  give  Thee  up  Isaac,  O  Lord  !  would 
 he  then  have  been  called  the  Friend  of  God  ? 
 
 Likeivise,  was  not  the  harlot  Raliah  justified  by  works,  when 
 she  received  the  messengers,  and  sent  them  out  another  way?  — 
 Rahab,  a  Gentile  of  a  cursed  seed,  the  abominations  and  iniquities 
 of  which  had  become  full,  so  that  the  land  spued  out  its  inhabi- 
 tants, and  the  Lord  could  deal  with  them  only  in  sheer  destruc- 
 tion I  But  hy  faith  she  was  not  lost  with  the  unbelievers,  when 
 she  received  the  spies  in  peace  (Heb.  xi.  31).  By  the  side  of 
 Abraham  stands  her  name  now  in  high  heaven !  She  is  joined 
 to  Israel,  like  Ruth  the  Moabitess,  over  whom  Boaz  testified — 
 The  Lord  reward  the  work  (of  thy  faith  and  love)  ;  and  may 
 thy  recompense  (like  Abraham's)  be  perfect  from  the  Lord,  the 
 God  of  Israel,  under  the  shadow  of  whose  wings  thou  art  come 
 to  trust  (Ruth  ii.  12).  Thus  it  was  to  faith  in  the  power  and 
 goodness  of  the  true  God  to  which  Rahab's  heart,  not  daringly 
 presumptuous  like  that  of  the  other  Canaanites,  was  opened. 
 But  her  commencing  faith,  too,  was  confirmed  at  once,  as  was 
 natural  and  necessary,  by  her  acting  accordingly ;  so  that  like- 
 wise, similarly,  her  example  approves  the  rule — by  works  !  In- 
 deed she  was  a  weak  woman,  not  a  man  of  great  and  strong 
 faith  like  Abraham  ;  trained  up  among  the  godless  Canaanites, 
 and  hitherto  living  in  shameless  whoredom,  quenching  all  sense 
 of  purity.  Therefore  the  first  act  of  her  faith  was  not  so  great  as 
 Abraham's  exodus,  it  was  not  free  from  hesitation  and  dissem- 
 bling :  she  hid  the  men,  and  said — They  went  hence,  and  I  know 
 not  whither  they  have  gone !  (Josh.  ii.  5).  But  in  this  very- 
 thing  St  James  gives  us  a  comforting  truth  out  of  Scripture, 
 the  counterpart  and  gentler  aspect  of  the  Isaac-offering  demanded 
 of  us.  God  demands*  not  of  the  feeble  at  the  beginning  the 
 great  works  of  consummate  faith  ;  He  beholds  even  in  the  im- 
 perfect act  the  faith  which  prompts  it,  if  faith  is  actually  ope- 
 
JAMES  II.  20-26.  359 
 
 rating  in  its  performance.  Abraham  and  Rahah  stand  in  this 
 chapter  of  St  James,  in  more  ways  than  one,  contrasted.  In  his 
 case,  it  is  a  work  before  the  face  of  God,  prepared  for  in  the 
 long  practice  of  the  obedience  of  faith.  In  her  case,  it  is  an 
 act  towards  men  for  God's  sake,  in  which  the  confidence  shows 
 itself  still  fearful ;  bnt  it  is  faith  in  God,  and  therefore  love  to 
 His  messengers  therein.  In  his  case,  it  is  the  high  goal  and  end 
 of  the  works  of  faith  (for  with  the  offering  of  Isaac  Abraham's 
 history  closes ;  he  could  do  no  greater  thing ;  his  faith  was 
 perfected  in  this  work).  In  her  case,  it  is  the  weak  commence- 
 ment of  the  demonstration  of  a  faith  now  beginning  to  exist. 
 Eahab  received  the  messengers  of  the  true  God,  before  she  her- 
 self was  received  of  Him ;  but  therefore  her  reward  was  sure, 
 so  that  she  was  not  only  preserved  in  life,  but  received  more 
 grace  unto  salvation,  for  the  sake  of  her  vigorous  first  faith. 
 And  with  her  we  may  compare  those  who  are  disposed  to  come 
 out  of  the  world  and  enter  among  the  people  of  God,  who  re- 
 ceive the  disciples  of  Christ  and  give  them  food  in  His  name, 
 because  they  are  His  disciples  (^latt.  x.  42).  But  how  much 
 more  should  we,  beloved,  who  have  already  received  the  full 
 grace,  approve  in  act  the  truth  of  our  faith  and  of  our  love  to- 
 wards those  who  are  sent  to  us  of  our  Lord !  "  Wherefore 
 receive  ye  one  another,  even  as  Christ  received  us  to  the  glory 
 of  God"  (Rom.  XV.  7). 
 
 Where  such  works  are  not  found,  the  solemn  concluding 
 words  of  St  James  hold  irreversibly  good — As  the  body  without 
 the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without  works  is  dead  also.  With- 
 out spirit  and  the  breath  of  life  through  the  soul  within,  the 
 body  is  no  longer  a  body,  but  a  corpse,  having  the  semblance 
 of  life,  but  carrying  within  it  corruption.  Such  sepulchres  are 
 the  Pharisees,  with  their  work  of  hypocrisy,  and  without  faith 
 in  the  heart ;  but  much  worse  and  fouler  are  the  dead  bodies 
 which  lie  about  faith,  and  give  no  evidence  of  the  life  of  faith 
 by  works.  Properly  speaking,  faith  is  the  health  or  spirit  of 
 life  ;  and  the  body  may  be  likened  to  works,  or  the  walk.  But 
 for  the  perverse  St  James  must  invert  the  figure,  and  draw  his 
 conclusion  from  without  to  within  :  "  Where  is  then  the  breath 
 in  the  body,  if  the  body  does  not  move,  and  walk,  and  act  ? 
 Show  that  your  faith  is  a  living  body,  a  spirit  in  the  body, 
 through  the  demonstration  of  the  spirit  and  of  power  in  works!" 
 
360  NOT  EVERY  MAN  A  1 EACHER. 
 
 Thus   a  dead  faith  is  a  lie  and  a  contradiction ;  like  a  body 
 without  breath,  a  life  without  feeling  and  motion. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 NOT  EVERY  MAN  A  TEACHER 
 
 (Ch.  iii.  1,  2.) 
 
 My  brethren,  be  not  many  teachers,  knowing  that  we  shall  receive  the  greater 
 condemnation.  For  in  many  things  we  offend  all.  If  any  man  offend 
 not  in  word,  the  same  is  a  perfect  man,  and  able  also  to  bridle  the  whole 
 body. 
 
 With  the  third  chapter  St  James  seems  to  begin  something 
 new,  without  specific  expression  of  connection ;  but  it  only 
 seems  so,  for  his  Epistle  is  thoroughly  well  arranged  through- 
 out. From  the  conviction  of  impatience,  and  disobedience,  and 
 presumption,  and  the  denunciation  of  a  mere  profession  of  faith 
 without  the  works  of  faith,  the  transition  is  obvious  to  one  great 
 expression  of  that  evdl  spirit,  the  prematm-e  zeal  to  become 
 teachers.  It  has  been  remarked  that  St  James,  setting  out  in 
 his  Epistle  with  true  wisdom  in  patience  under  trial,  as  the 
 proper  test  of  a  faith  which  must  be  approved,  and  retm^ning  to 
 the  same  point  at  its  conclusion,  adheres  throughout  the  middle 
 of  it  to  the  great  theme  laid  down  in  ch.  i.  19 — "  Swift  to 
 hear,  but  slow  to  speak,  and  slow  to  wrath."  To  be  doers  of 
 the  word  and  not  hearers  only,  or  rather  in  deed  and  truth 
 rightly  to  hear — is  the  point  to  which  all,  from  ch.  i.  22  to  the 
 end  of  the  second  chapter,  refers.  He  now  rebukes  more  dis- 
 tinctly the  prurience  and  sin  of  the  tongue  in  its  swift  speaking ; 
 and  continues  this  into  exhortations  against  wrath,  against  envy 
 and  contention,  warfare  and  quarrelling,  slandering  and  con- 
 demnation of  brethren. 
 
 That  we  cannot  and  should  not  all  be  teachers,  might  be  a 
 thing  taken  for  granted  generally,  and  especially  in  every 
 chiuxh  of  believers ;  for  it  is  no  small  matter  to  be  a  house- 
 holder faithful  and  wise,  whom  the  Lord  sets  over  His  house- 
 hold !  (Luke  xii.  42).  There  are  always  many  not  called  to  this, 
 in  contrast  mth  the  few  called ;  hence  St  James  only  says — 
 
JAMES  III.  1,  2.  361 
 
 Bi  not  many  of  you  teachers ^  by  which  he  means  almost  the  same 
 which  Luther's  translation  has  much  more  strongly  expressed. 
 "  Ye  many,  ye  who  are  called  to  the  hearing  and  doing  of  the 
 word,  become  not,  without  vocation  and  out  of  your  own  prema- 
 ture will,  teachers ;  undertake  not  an  office  to  which  ye  are  not 
 called."  The  Lord  alone  sends  His  servants,  and  sets  one  of 
 them  above  the  rest.  To  every  one  the  grace  is  given  accord- 
 ing to  the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ ;  but  all  are  as  mem- 
 bers in  the  body.  The  Lord  has  only  appointed  some  to  be 
 Apostles,  some  to  be  prophets,  some  evangelists,  some  pastors 
 and  teachers  (Eph.  iv.  7,  11).  Are  they  all  Apostles  ?  Are 
 they  all  prophets  ?  Are  all  teachers  ?  (1  Cor.  xii.  29).  "  Hath 
 God  not  given  thee  the  unfrequent  gift  of  teaching?  then 
 be  a  good  hearer,  and  doer  of  the  work."  To  the  office  of. 
 teaching  belongs  a  gift  of  teaching  from  above  :  oh  that  the  two 
 were  always  united  !  It  was  so  for  the  most  part  in  the  apos- 
 tolical time ;  the  Apostles  themselves,  led  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
 (as  they  reserved  to  themselves  the  appointment  of  the  first  elders 
 in  the  churches,  see  Acts  xiv.  23),  appointed  only  those  whose 
 gifts  they  knew;  and  to  his  son  Timothy  St  Paul  rigorously 
 enjoins — That  which  thou  hast  heard,  commit  thou  to  faithful 
 men,  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also  (2  Tim.  ii.  2).  Yet 
 was  this  not  an  exclusive  authorisation ;  but,  in  this  season  of 
 abundant  gifts,  the  rule  for  all  was — Quench  not  the  Spmt ! 
 Despise  not  prophesying  !  (1  Thess.  v.  19,  20).  He  whom  the 
 Lord's  call  impelled,  and  whom  the  Lord's  gift  justified  and 
 approved,  might  exercise  his  gift  of  speaking  and  teaching  in 
 the  church;  hence  the  necessity  for  this  dehortation  from  a 
 presumptuous  usurpation  of  the  office.  Nevertheless,  there  was 
 from  the  beginning  an  ordinance  ^AiQVohj  pastors  and  teachers 
 were  to  be  specifically  set  apart  to  be  over  the  church  and  ac- 
 knowledged as  such — ruling  elders  who  laboured  in  the  word 
 and  doctrine  (1  Tim.  v.  17).  Hence  the  exhortation — "  Obey 
 them  that  have  the  rule  over  you,  and  submit  youi'selves  !"  (Heb. 
 xiii.  17).  Hence  the  warning  here — Not  many  or  all  of  you 
 should  exalt  themselves,  as  if  they  were  teachers  in  vocation  and 
 office  !  But  this  does  not  forbid  the  occasional  teaching  gene- 
 rally of  every  person  who  is  capable,  in  private  as  in  public  ;  we 
 are  told — "  Ye  may  all  prophesy  one  by  one,  that  all  may  learn, 
 and  all  may  be  comforted"  (1  Cor.  xiv.  31). 
 
362  NOT  EVERY  MAN  A  TEACHER. 
 
 These  primitive  relations  have  long  been  changed :  the  office 
 of  one  above  the  many  has  become  more  exclusive ;  nor  could 
 it  be  otherwise  in  the  present  condition  of  things.  We  should 
 honour  the  office,  and  pay  respect  to  the  holy  ordinance,  even 
 where  the  appointed  teacher  has  small  gift  of  teaching,  and 
 even  where  he  does  not  utter  God's  w^ord  in  its  perfect  purity. 
 Publicly  in  God's  service  only  the  appointed  ministry  should  be 
 heard ;  for  who  does  not  know  the  consequences  which  would 
 ensue  from  general  license  in  this  matter  ?  But  there  may  be 
 many  found  who  are  capable,  and  some  who  only  think  they 
 are,  of  teachino:  and  exhorting;  in  the  midst  of  the  church.  To 
 forbid  or  to  suppress  this  in  itself,  as  if  it  were  not  right,  cannot 
 be  defended  by  any  well-instructed  Christian  even  of  the  pre- 
 sent day.  St  James  does  not  intend  that  his  w^ord — which  is 
 rather  a  w^arning  than  an  express  prohibition — should  be  so 
 applied;  we  cannot  understand  it  in  the  sense  of  the  Roman 
 Catholics,  w^ho  have  established  an  unevangelical  distinction 
 between  the  priesthood  and  the  laity.  Every  believer  has  in 
 Christ  a  portion  in  the  universal  priesthood  of  His  people  ; 
 every  man  instructed  of  God  in  the  universal  prophetic  func- 
 tion. When  our  Lord  says — "  Be  not  ye  called  Eabbi,  for  one 
 is  your  Master,  even  Christ,  and  all  ye  are  brethren"  (Matt, 
 xxiii.  8) — this  means,  by  inverting  the  words — Every  brother 
 should,  as  a  brother,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  teach  others.  He 
 who  has  been  made  wise  out  of  the  word  of  the  Lord  may  glory 
 wdth  David — I  am  wiser  than  my  teachers ;  for  Thy  testimonies 
 are  my  meditation.  I  am  wiser  than  the  ancients ;  for  I  keep 
 Thy  commandments  (Ps.  cxix.  99,  100).  If  not  in  the  public 
 assembly,  yet  in  those  more  select  meetings  which  ought  to  exist 
 among  us,  we  should  exhort  one  another ;  and  so  much  the  more 
 as  we  see  the  day  approaching  (Heb.  x.  25).  Exliort  one  another 
 daily !  This  includes  the  giving  heed  whether  any  of  us  needeth 
 the  exhortation  (Heb.  iii.  12,  13) — for  I  must  love  my  neigh- 
 bour as  myself.  Therefore,  in  our  days  as  in  the  apostolical, 
 the  truth  must  be  remembered  which  St  Paul  intimates,  when 
 he  places  the  office  of  the  elders  in  connection  wdth  the  universal 
 duty  of  Christians  :  "  Wherefore  exhort  yourselves  together, 
 and  edify  one  another.  Know  them  which  labour  among  you, 
 and  are  over  you  in  the  Lord.  But  we  (rulers)  exhort  you, 
 warn  them  that  are  unruly,  comfort  the  feeble-minded,  support 
 
JAMES  III.  1,  2.  363 
 
 tlie  weak"  (1  Thess.  v.  11-14).  Certainly,  we  must  observe 
 that  this  kind  of  exhortation  and  help  is  something  different 
 from  the  mere  instruction  in  knowledge  of  which  St  James  is 
 speaking.  For  if  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  ns  richly  in  all 
 icisdom,  it  is  not  mere  teaching,  but  a  teaching  and  admonishing 
 (Col.  iii.  16)  ;  and  to  this  duty  all  Christians  of  the  present  day 
 pressingly  need  to  be  stimulated  and  encouraged.  We  are  as  yet 
 very  far  from  the  New-Testament  promise — "And  they  shall 
 nbt  teach  every  man  his  neighbour,  and  every  man  his  brother, 
 saying,  Know  the  Lord  :  for  all  shall  know  Me,  from  the  least 
 to  the  greatest"  (Heb.  viii.  11).  But  those  who  do  know  Him 
 in  the  ripeness  of  experience,  ought  to  be  teachers  of  their  weak 
 brethren,  and  even  of  the  wholly  ignorant  (Heb.  v.  12). 
 
 But,  after  all  this,  which  is  not  denied,  St  James  vrarningly 
 shows  us  the  other  side  of  the  question,  the  great  danger  and 
 heavy  responsibility  of  becoming  teachers,  especially  without 
 vocation  and  gift  from  above !  In  all  teaching  and  exhortation 
 of  his  brethren  which  a  fallible  man  may  undertake,  he  must 
 hear  the  warning — Look  to  thyself !  There  is  indeed  a  spiritual 
 work  for  the  truly  spiritual,  which  can  only  be  accomplished 
 through  the  power  which  God  giveth,  and  which  demands  much 
 wisdom,  prudence,  patience,  and  love.  But  for  that  office  which 
 St  James  means,  the  continuous  work  of  office  and  life  as  teachers 
 of  others,  teachers  of  all  the  knowledge  of  the  whole  word  of 
 truth — who  is  sufficient  for  this  ?  Who  can  think  that  he  will 
 accomplish  it  without  lapses,  error,  and  sin  !  Truly  it  may  be 
 said — Know,  consider,  and  forget  not,  that  we  shall  receive  the 
 severer  judgment  I  For  our  own  souls  the  judgment  will  be  severe 
 and  heavy :  Who  would  thoughtlessly  take  it  upon  him  to  stand 
 for  the  souls  of  others  ?  It  is  said  generally,  Many  are  called, 
 but  few  chosen ;  but  who  would  call  himself,  and  thereby  the 
 more  sm'ely  fall  into  condemnation  ?  Many,  however,  did  so 
 then,  and  many,  alas !  do  so  now.  Ahimaaz,  the  son  of  Zadok, 
 cried,  "  Let  me  now  run,"  and  would  not  be  persuaded  that  he 
 should  find  no  reward  of  his  errand :  he  clung  to  his  own  words, 
 "Howsoever,  let  me  also  run!"  (2  Sam.  xviii.  19-23).  Such 
 teachers  and  runners,  who  are  not  sent,  are  plentiful  enough. 
 These  are  not  the  true  teachers  and  masters  who  will  shine  as 
 the  brightness  of  the  firmament  (Dan.  xii.  3) — evil  will  be  their 
 lot  in  the  end.      Their  teaching  is  unapt  and  unblessed ;   it 
 
364  NOT  EVERY  MAN  A  TEACHER. 
 
 cannot  turn  any  to  righteousness,  for  it  comes  itself  from  un- 
 righteousness, and  of  the  presumption  and  vanity  of  the  evil 
 heart.  Be  subject  one  to  another  in  the  fear  of  God  !  Serve 
 one  another !  is  the  language  of  the  Spirit ;  but  the  flesh  per- 
 verts it — Exalt  yourselves  into  dominion  over  each  other  !  The 
 impulse  to  show  ourselves  wiser  than  others,  and  to  be  teachers, 
 urges  the  natural  man  from  childhood  upwards ;  and  in  too 
 many  Christians  it  is  marvellously  strong  through  life.  Sup- 
 press all  such  presumptuous  outgoings  in  your  children ;  suppress 
 it  also  in  yourselves;  quench  your  own  spirit!  Here  lies  the 
 way  to  error  and  ruin :  how  often  is  it  that,  the  more  a  man 
 would  teach  others,  the  more  he  forgets  himself ;  the  less  he 
 will  be  taught  himself,  the  less  he  will  refrain  his  own  feet  from 
 every  evil  way  that  he  may  keep  God's  word  (Ps.  cxix.  101) 
 — the  more  ready  he  is  to  teach  others  the  way !  All  such  do 
 their  mischief,  and  shall  receive  their  reward.  And  the  warning 
 against  it  is  addressed  to  us  all. 
 
 For — in  many  things  we  fail  all!  If  any  man  fail  not  in 
 word,  he  is  a  perfect  man,  able  also  to  bridle  the  whole  body. 
 This  is  a  general  truth;  and  one  which  is  very  solemn  and 
 humbling,  when  we  think  of  the  coming  judgment.  In  many 
 things  we  all  fail !  It  is  true  that  the  careless  pervert  this  say- 
 ing as  well  as  that  other — We  are  altogether  sinners  !  But  our 
 conscience  tells  us  plainly  that  the  words  were  not  given  for 
 our  excuse  and  false  security.  The  failing  of  the  regenerate  is 
 no  longer  a  wilful  sinning  :  it  is  not  written — In  many  things 
 we  must  and  we  may  offend !  but — Therefore  take  the  more 
 earnest  heed,  that  ye  may  receive  the  less  condemnation  !  We, 
 alas !  all  fail ;  we  stumble  even  yet  in  our  work  and  walk :  but 
 every  such  instance  in  us,  every  stumblingblock  we  cast  before 
 others,  draws  upon  us  a  greater  condemnation,  if  it  has  been 
 committed  by  one  who  undertakes  to  be  a  teacher  and  guide  of 
 others.  We  should  indeed  show  our  faith  by  om'  works,  and  not 
 without  works ;  in  order  that  we  may  not  mislead  others  by  our 
 example,  and  teach  a  dead  faith.  Who  is  a  wise  man,  and  endued 
 with  knowledge  among  you  ?  Who  would  be  a  teacher  ?  Let 
 him  before  all  things  show  his  own  works  in  a  good  conversation ! 
 So  speaks  St  James  afterwards  in  ver.  13. 
 
 What  a  condemnation  will  fall  upon  the  wicked,  whom 
 St  Paul,  Eom.  ii.  19-23,  has  described  and  already  judged ! 
 
JAMES  III.  1,  2.  365 
 
 "  Thou  art  confident  that  thou  art  thyself  a  guide  of  the  bhnd, 
 a  light  of  them  which  are  in  darkness,  an  instructor  of  the 
 foolish,  a  teacher  of  babes,  which  hast  the  form  of  knowledge 
 and  of  the  truth  in  the  law.  Thou  teachest  others,  and  teachest 
 not  thyself.  Thou  preachest  a  man  should  not  sin,  and  sinnest 
 thyself.  Thou  makest  thy  boast  in  the  law,  and  through  break- 
 ing of  the  law  dishonourest  God."  How  much  greater  the  con- 
 demnation of  those  who,  still  worse,  elevate  themselves  into 
 teachers  of  the  gospel,  and  themselves  are  not  obedient  to  the 
 gospel !  Or,  are  there  none  such  ?  Om'  Lord,  in  His  parable. 
 Matt,  xxii.,  brings  forward  two  classes  of  those  not  chosen — 
 Such  as  come  not  at  all,  and  such  as  come  without  the  wed- 
 ding-garment. But  we  may  go  further,  and  include  others  who 
 are  not  mentioned  there  :  such  as  help  to  invite  the  guests  with- 
 out being  themselves  sent,  without  having  themselves  received 
 aright  the  in^dtation.  They  stop  the  way  of  the  servants,  and 
 do  much  mischief.  They  dispute,  and  teach  subtleties,  up  to 
 the  very  door,  concerning  the  wedding-garment,  which  they  re- 
 commend to  others  without  putting  it  on  themselves.  They  have 
 much  to  say  about  its  value,  and  how  it  is  wrought,  and  the  like 
 — but  they  remain  unclothed,  and  do  not  really  help  others  to 
 enter.  A  heavy  condemnation  will  rest  upon  them,  even  if — 
 and  all  the  more,  if  (which,  however,  is  not  possible!) — their 
 whole  teaching  had  been  correct,  according  to  the  form  of  know- 
 ledge and  of  truth. 
 
 But  St  James  continues.  If  any  man  fail  not  in  word,  he 
 would  be  a  perfect  man — which  we  all  of  us  are  not.  And  for 
 teachers,  it  is  the  right  and  true  icord  which  is  here  concerned  ! 
 Primarily,  the  right  word,  as  a  word  not  merely  of  truth,  but 
 of  love,  with  all  meekness  of  wisdom,  with  all  patience  of  teach- 
 ing. Words  of  contention  and  pride,  or  impatience,  always  ruin 
 all.  But  here  Sirach  speaks  like  St  James — "There  is  one  that 
 shppeth  in  his  speech,  but  meaneth  it  not  in  his  heart;  and 
 who  is  he  that  hath  not  offended  with  his  tongue?"  (Ecclus. 
 xix.  16).  They  angered  Moses — the  meekest  of  men  upon  earth 
 (Num.  xii.  3) — at  the  waters  of  strife,  so  that  it  went  ill  with 
 him  for  their  sakes.  Because  they  provoked  his  spirit,  so  that 
 he  spake  unadvisedly  with  his  lips  (Ps.  cvi.  32,  33).  And  we 
 are  told  how  often  the  heathens  require  of  the  missionaries 
 meekness  and  patience,  as  the  test  of  their  doctrine.     And  how^ 
 
366  NOT  EVERY  MAN  A  TEACHEE. 
 
 will  it  be  with  thee,  0  thou  vain,  presumptuous,  self-called 
 teacher,  when  such  unadvised  w^ords  the  more  abundantly  fall 
 from  thee,  because  thou  dost  mean  them  in  thy  heart  ?  Those 
 who  cannot  love  should  not  teach.  "  But  if  ye  have  bitter  en- 
 vying and  strife  in  your  hearts,  glory  not,  and  lie  not  against 
 the  truth.  For  where  envying  and  strife  is,  there  is  confusion 
 and  every  evil  work ; — there  is  no  favom'able  culture  for  the  good 
 seed.  The  fruit  of  righteousness  is  sown  in  peace  of  them  that 
 make  peace"  (Jas.  iii.  14,  16,  18).  The  gTeat  matter  before 
 and  in  all  instruction  is  ever  the  gracious  exhortation.  The 
 Lord  sends  His  servants — Say  unto  the  guests,  even  those  who 
 would  not  come ;  say  mito  them  again  and  again,  with  kindness 
 and  constraint.  The  ambassadors  in  the  stead  of  Christ,  con- 
 strained by  His  love,  should  prove  by  then-  own  spirit  that  God 
 is  persuading  through  them ;  they  should  entreat  in  Christ's 
 stead  (2  Cor.  v.  20).  This  is  the  word  of  reconciliation  in  the 
 many  words  of  imweariable  love.  And  what  have  those  con- 
 tentions about  words  to  do  with  this,  which  presumptuous  teachers 
 are  always  so  ready  to  begin  and  continue,  and  which  are  good 
 for  nothing  but  the  perverting  of  the  hearers  ?  (2  Tim.  ii.  14). 
 What  have  the  school-disputings  of  men  to  do  with  this,  who 
 think  that  godliness  is  gain?  (1  Tim.  vi.  5).  And  what  the 
 useless  questions,  which  have  no  end  and  aim,  which  minister 
 no  godly  edif\^ng  in  faith?  (1  Tim.  i.  4).  But  there  are  some 
 teachers  who,  while  free  from  these  faults,  are  not  free  from 
 others  :  w^ith  good  intention,  and  zeal  for  God,  their  w^ord  of 
 teaching  offends  by  ui'ging  knowledge  beyond  the  capacity  of 
 their  scholars,  by  giving  them  meat  too  strong,  by  beginning 
 with  what  should  be  the  end,  by  enforcing  particular  truths  to 
 the  detriment  of  the  whole  truth — and  so  forth.  Is  it  not  veiy 
 possible  in  this  way  to  injure,  instead  of  helping,  souls,  and  thus 
 to  come  into  condemnation  ?  But  w^e  should  teach  sinners  only 
 that  we  may  convert  them  from  the  eiTor  of  their  way,  and  help 
 to  save  their  souls  from  death  (Jas.  v.  20). 
 
 If  this  is  to  be  perfectly  accomplished,  the  simple  exliortation 
 must  be  followed  by  the  teaching  and  expounding  of  the  whole 
 counsel  of  God,  the  leading  them  into  the  knowledge  of  the 
 entire,  complete,  and  rich,  fulness  of  truth ;  then  ask  thyself 
 humbly — Am  I  sufficient  for  this  ?  O  how  easily  may  we 
 offend  and  be  wanting  here  !    The  proud  learned  in  their  chairs, 
 
JAMES  in.  367 
 
 the  Clinstian  Scribes,  who  are  called  disputers  of  this  world 
 (1  .Cor.  i.  20),  may  think  themselves  to  be  infalHble  popes  ;  but 
 let  all  who  would  labour  in  the  word  and  doctrine  know  and 
 remember  what  that  means — "  Study  to  show  thyself  approved 
 unto  God,  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly 
 dividing  the  word  of  truth" — distributing  it  in  its  manifold 
 words  !  (2  Tim.  ii.  15).  Let  him  not  dispute  about  the  contrasts 
 and  paradoxes  of  words,  which  are  one  and  united  in  the  spirit 
 of  their  meaning ;  let  him  strive,  according  to  circumstance 
 and  opportunity,  to  minister  to  the  right  man  the  right  ti^uth, 
 according  to  the  various  gradations  of  the  experience  of  the 
 people  whom  he  teaches  !  What  a  task  is  this,  in  which  we  all, 
 in  many  respects,  fail !  If  a  man  is  deeply  conversant  with  the 
 word  of  doctrine,  having  constant  practice  and  experience ;  if 
 he  has  nothing  else  to  do  but  to  investigate  truth  in  Scripture 
 and  in  the  hearts  of  men,  in  the  word  and  in  the  history  of  the 
 kingdom  of  God  (which,  in  many  cases,  is  the  first  opener  and 
 expositor  of  the  word)  ; — then  surely  the  brother  in  the  church 
 should  peld  to  such  a  man,  even  though  he  confess  himself  not 
 as  yet  to  be  perfect ;  modestly  considering  how  likely  he  is  him- 
 self to  fail  and  offend  in  very  many  words,  not  having  such  a 
 school,  such  opportunities,  such  unbroken  exercise,  and  such 
 experience  !  "  We  all  fail  in  many  things" — in  this  confession 
 St  James  includes  himself,  to  the  shame  of  the  self-exalting 
 bretliren.  Not  as  if  he  submitted  any  errors  in  his  Epistle, 
 written  as  it  was  through  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  their  criticism  or 
 ours  ;  but  he  only  maintains  that,  in  ordinary  life  and  indepen- 
 dently of  his  office,  the  perfect  man,  who  no  longer  offends  in 
 any  word,  is  nowhere  to  be  found.  The  Apostles  themselves 
 were  not,  in  their  daily  and  hourly  private  life,  sinlessly  holy 
 and  infallible  ;  only  for  their  office  had  they  the  promise  of  the 
 Holy  Spii'it  to  keej)  them  from  all  error.  Only  in  their  office, 
 and  with  relation  to  all  the  fundamental  verities  of  their 
 embassage,  was  it  said  to  the  Seventy  as  to  the  Twelve — He 
 that  heareth  you,  heareth  ]Me  !  (Luke  x.  16).  St  Paul  was 
 sure  that  he  did  not,  like  many,  corrupt  the  word  of  God,  but 
 was  as  of  sincerity,  as  of  God,  speaking  in  the  sight  of  God  in 
 Christ  (2  Cor.  ii.  17).  But  he  humbly  distinguishes  the  influ- 
 ence of  the  Spirit  of  God  from  that  of  his  own  spirit;  and 
 testifies — I  will  not  dare  to  speak — as  a  serv^ant  of  Christ  and 
 
368  NOT  EVERY  MAN  A  TEACHER. 
 
 teacher  of  the  Gentiles — of  any  of  those  things  which  Christ 
 hath  not  T\Tought  by  me  (Rom.  xv.  18).  Thus  it  is  not  the 
 fault  of  St  Paul,  who  rightly  taught  the  doctrines  of  faith  and 
 works,  according  to  the  wisdom  given  to  him,  and  it  will  not  be 
 his  condemnation,  that  from  the  beginning  his  words  have  been 
 perverted  to  the  greatest  abuse.  It  is  not  the  fault  of  Luther, 
 nor  v^U  it  be  his  condemnation,  so  far  as  he  taught  in  harmony 
 with  St  Paul.  But  has  not  a  condemnation,  though  a  merciful 
 one,  fallen  upon  Luther,  for  much  table-talk  to  the  offence  of 
 posterity,  for  many  hard  and  bitter  words  in  his  polemical  T\Tit- 
 ings  ?  Was  he  not  constrained  to  confess  upon  his  deathbed 
 that  he  carried  his  doctrine  of  the  Sacrament  too  far  ? — too  far, 
 indeed,  as  the  evil  fruits  of  that  bitter  root  are  teaching  us  to 
 this  day.  'Wlien  we  mark  this  in  such  high  examples,  how 
 should  such  weak  and  insignificant  men  as  we  are  shrink  from 
 any  responsibilities  which  the  Lord  Himself  does  not  impose 
 upon  us,  and  His  Holy  Spirit  does  not  prepare  us  for !  It  is 
 relatively  an  easy  matter  to  the  sincere  heart  of  a  brother, 
 full  of  love,  to  exliort  and  admonish ;  but  hard,  perilous,  and 
 responsible,  is  the  proper  office  of  an  appointed  teacher.  Mark 
 the  thriving  errors  of  the  scholars,  which  are  so  often  occasioned 
 and  excused  by  some  slight  error  in  the  teacher,  who  has  not 
 prudently  enough  divided  the  word  of  truth.  What  exaggera- 
 tions and  onesided  \iews  are  the  result !  Therefore,  let  those 
 who  must  be — and  not  merely  would  be — teachers  see  to  it 
 that  they  speak  circumspectly,  not  as  fools  but  as  wise  !  A  con- 
 gregation of  Christ  needs  not  7nani/  masters  and  teachers  ;  but 
 those  whom  God  sends  and  equips  want  scholars  and  hearers. 
 What  state  of  things  would  be  that  in  which  eveiy  man  taught, 
 and  no  man  listened  ?  We  shall  none  of  us  ever  cease  to  need 
 to  learn ;  therefore  let  every  man  he  icilling  to  he  and  remain  a 
 hearer  !  Always,  first,  swift  to  hear  ;  then  slow  to  speak  !  "  Be 
 sure  of  the  matter  prepared,  then  speak  thereafter ;  bind  up 
 instruction,  and  then  make  answer"  (Ecclus.  xxxiii.  4).  If  this 
 is  om'  spirit,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  Avill  give  His  demonstration 
 in  our  words  ;  we  shall  then  with  all  humility  edify  and  teach 
 each  other,  each  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift  from 
 above  ;  and  then  shall  we  escape  the  condemnation  which  awaits 
 presumption  and  pride. 
 
JAMES  III.  3-12.  369 
 
 XIX. 
 
 THE  SINS  OF  THE  TONGUE. 
 (Ch.  iii.  3-12.) 
 
 Behold,  we  put  bits  in  the  horses'  mouths,  that  they  may  obey  us  ;  and  we 
 turn  about  their  whole  body.  Behold  also  the  ships,  which,  though  they 
 be  so  great,  and  are  driven  of  fierce  winds,  yet  are  they  turned  about 
 with  a  very  small  helm,  whithersoever  the  governor  listeth.  Even  so  the 
 tongue  is  a  little  member,  and  boasteth  great  things.  Behold  how  great 
 a  wood  a  little  fire  kindleth  !  And  the  tongue  is  a  fire,  a  world  of  iniquity : 
 so  is  the  tongue  among  our  members,  that  it  defileth  the  whole  body,  and 
 setteth  on  fire  the  wheel  of  nature ;  and  it  is  set  on  fire  of  hell.  For 
 every  kind  of  beasts,  and  of  birds,  and  of  serpents,  and  of  things  in  the 
 sea,  is  tamed,  and  hath  been  tamed  of  mankind  :  But  the  tongue  can  no 
 man  tame ;  it  is  an  unruly  evil,  fuU  of  deadly  poison.  Therewith  bless 
 we  God,  even  the  Father ;  and  therewith  curse  we  men,  which  are  made 
 after  the  similitude  of  God.  Out  of  the  same  mouth  proceedeth  blessing 
 and  cursing.  My  brethren,  these  things  ought  not  so  to  be.  Doth  a 
 fountain  send  forth  at  the  same  hole  sweet  water  and  bitter  ?  Can  the 
 fig-tree,  my  brethren,  bear  ohve-berries  ?  either  a  vine,  figs?  so  can  no 
 fountain  both  yield  salt  water  and  fresh. 
 
 "  But  if  any  man  offend  not  in  any  word^^ — seemed  to  set 
 the  speaking  over  against  the  doing,  as  the  lesser  thing ;  and 
 to  make  false  words  the  last  and  least  failure  in  perfection. 
 When,  however,  St  James  continues — "He  that  ruleth  the 
 tongue,  he,  or  07dy  he,  can  also  govern  the  whole  body,"  the 
 matter  is  reversed.  The  failing  or  not  failing  in  words  is  plamly 
 regarded  as  the  decisive,  distinctive,  mark  of  our  self-govern- 
 ment, and  of  our  religious  condition  generally.  To  tame  and 
 bring  into  subjection  to  the  spirit  the  whole  body,  the  whole 
 complex  of  our  inborn  sins  and  lusts,  is  the  duty  of  us  all ;  but 
 it  is  specially  required  of  those  who  come  forward  as  teachers 
 of  others — lest  they  themselves  be  castaways  !  (1  Cor.  ix.  27). 
 But  on  that  very  account  they  should  practise  and  exhibit  it,  in 
 the  taming  of  their  tongues.  St  James  has  from  the  beginning 
 dwelt  upon  this  main  point  (ch.  i.  26,  19)  ;  he  now  gives  a 
 new  and  important  discourse  upon  the  subject.  Let  us  carefully 
 study  his  pattern-sermon  upon  this  great  and  profound  theme: 
 
 2  a 
 
370  THE  SINS  OF  THE  TONGUE. 
 
 considering  the  importance  which  he  attaches  to  the  little  mem- 
 ber ;  the  extent  and  depth  of  its  unrighteousness  as  it  is  here 
 traced ;  and  finally,  the  wisdom  which  alone  will  save  us  from 
 the  sins  of  the  tongue. 
 
 Such  is  the  wonderful  significance  attached  here  to  the  words 
 wdiich  the  little  tongue  speaketh,  that  many  are  disposed  to 
 think  it  an  exaggeration,  and  to  regard  St  James  himself  as 
 offending,  through  his  zeal,  in  these  high  words  and  figures. 
 But  what  he  says  is  the  pure  truth ;  uttered  so  emphatically  in 
 order  to  shame  our  thoughtlessness  on  the  matter,  and  to  con- 
 demn the  gentle  strain  of  preaching  on  the  sins  of  the  tongue 
 which  is  so  cm'rent.  He  begins  wisely  with  allusion  to  some- 
 thing very  acceptable  to  the  ears  of  proud  man  ^giving  its 
 glory  to  that  might  and  skill  of  mankuid  which  subjugates  and 
 rules  so  wide  a  domain.  But  he  refers  to  this,  only  in  reality 
 to  humble  us  the  more !  Behold,  we  put  bits  into  the  horses^ 
 mouthsy  so  that  they  obey  us,  and  we  can  turn  their  whole  body. 
 The  strong  and  noble  horse — the  symbol  of  all  animal  natui^e 
 which  man  has  subjected  to  his  service,  since  it  is  not  our 
 greater  power  which  reduces  him,  but  our  understanding  how 
 to  apply  the  instrument  of  our  dominion  in  the  right  place. 
 How  does  the  lightest  movement  of  our  hand  turn  the  whole 
 animal,  so  that  the  rider  upon  his  horse  seems  to  make  one 
 whole  with  him ;  the  horse  being  almost  like  an  addition  to  the 
 man's  own  body !  Behold  also  the  ships,  which  are  so  great, 
 and  are  moreover  driven  of  fierce  winds,  are  tm-ned  by  a  very- 
 small  rudder  whithersoever  he  will  who  is  the  steersman.  This, 
 again,  is  an  example  of  man's  art  in  machinery  for  reducing 
 to  subjection  inanimate  nature,  and  the  very  elements.  "VYe 
 om'selves  have  made  the  ships  so  great,  and  at  the  same  time 
 with  so  much  art ;  but  St  James  would  now  make  prominent  the 
 navigating  art,  which  not  only  uses  the  strong  winds  in  their 
 natural  direction,  and  not  merely  withstands  them,  but  can  even  in 
 some  degree  make  them  subser\dent  to  an  almost  opposite  course. 
 
 Wind  and  sea  thus  become  obedient  to  men;  and  now 
 steam  on  the  ocean  has  introduced  the  service  of  a  third  ele- 
 ment, that  of  fire.  "V\^iat  now  do  we  expect  naturally  to  fol- 
 low ?  Obviously,  the  declaration  that  we  ought  also  to  be  able 
 to  rule  ourselves,  and  our  tongue  at  least,  which  is  so  small  a 
 member !     But  St  James  strikingly  changes  the  point  of  the 
 
JA3IES  III.  3-12.  371 
 
 ■So  is  also  the  tongue — a  little  bit,  a  little  rudder  ; 
 tliat  is,  the  tonmie  rules  rather  the  course  of  men  and  of  the 
 world,  our  tongue  drives  us,  instead  of  being,  as  it  should  be,  in 
 our  own  hand  and  power  ;  yea,  alas,  it  turns  and  steers  us  hither 
 and  tliither,  whithersoever  he  will  icJio  hy  it  rules  over  us!  So 
 important  is  St  James'  view  of  the  little  member  which  doeth 
 such  great  things.  Literally,  It  hoasteth  great  things,  speaking 
 proudly  and  presumptuously.  This  has  always  been  true  among 
 all  classes,  from  Daniel's  beast  with  the  little  horn,  and  the 
 mouth  speaking  great  things  (Dan.  vii.  8) — and  the  host  of  the 
 rebellious  who  speak  proud  things,  and  who  say,  With  om'  tongues 
 will  we  prevail !  (Ps.  xii.  3,  4) — do^vn  to  the  most  insignificant 
 rebel  who  has  a  mouth  as  darino;  as  a  httle  antichrist.  There 
 is  a  certain  truth  and  right  in  this  boasting  of  the  tongue — St 
 James  means — for  the  Kttle  member  worketh  great  things,  for 
 good  as  well  as  evil.  The  importance  and  power  of  the  word 
 in  human  nature  appertains  to  the  image  of  God  in  which  man 
 was  created :  the  word  of  God  created  the  worlds,  and  by  His 
 mighty  word  He  upholdeth  all  things  (Heb.  i.  3).  And  so  the 
 preached  word  is  the  seed  of  our  regeneration  ;  and  the  brethren 
 are  commended  to  the  word  of  grace  for  their  perfect  edification 
 unto  the  £nal  inheritance  (Acts  xx.  32).  The  word  of  grace  and 
 tnith  in  human  lips  founded  the  church  of  Christ,  and  the  same 
 word  governs  and  builds  it  up  ;  the  word  of  testimony  and  con- 
 fession works  its  reformation  ;  even  as  it  is  wasted  and  hindered 
 by  words  of  error.  Everywhere  and  all-mighty  is  the  mfluence 
 of  the  word.  They  who  so  vehemently  demand  freedom  of 
 speech,  know  well  the  power  of  what  they  want.  How  great  is 
 the  power  of  human  orations  over  masses  of  men !  How  can 
 one  single  word  of  appropriate  truth  hght  up  darkened  doc- 
 trine ;  how  powerful  is  one  single  word  of  love  from  the  heart 
 to  exhort,  to  strengthen,  to  encourage,  and  to  stimulate !  "  Shall 
 not  the  dew  assuage  the  heat  ?  so  is  a  word  better  than  a  gift" 
 (Ecclus.  x^dii.  16).  Again,  what  might  has  a  wicked  word  to 
 bhght,  to  mislead,  to  offend,  to  wound !  You  may  ask,  whether 
 there  are  not  words  of  mere  indifference,  of  no  significance  for 
 evil  or  good,  and  which  made  up  the  far  greater  part  of  our 
 daily  conversation.  Not  so ;  there  is  no  indifferent  action,  and 
 there  are  no  indifferent  words.  Because  of  supposed  vain  word/ 
 the  wrath  of  God  cometh  upon  the  children  of  disobedience 
 
372  THE  SINS  OF  THE  TONGUE. 
 
 (Eph.  V.  6),  Unspiritual  and  loose  babbling  has  its  effect ;  it 
 strengthens  and  confirms  the  mind  from  which  it  comes — it 
 increases  unto  more  ungodliness  (2  Tim.  ii.  16).  The  word, 
 in  reality,  always  proceeds  either  from  a  good  or  an  evil  mind  ; 
 it  always  carries  in  it  its  proportionate  influence,  either  upon 
 others  or  ourselves ;  for  it  is  generally  the  channel  of  all  spirit- 
 ual power,  utterance,  and  influence  in  himianity. 
 
 The  little  member  with  the  great  things  which  depend  upon 
 it  and  spring  from  it,  is  like  a  little  fire^  which  kindles  a  great 
 wood :  St  James  says  this  specially  concerning  the  evil.  Mark 
 the  short,  scarcely  uttered  word  of  wrath,  hatred,  or  bitterness, 
 and  what  enmity  it  may  excite !  A  thoughtful  word  of  mock- 
 ery—  what  offence,  and  what  endless  mischief  may  proceed 
 from  it !  A  little  word  of  enticement  and  temptation  may  open 
 the  door  to  an  untold  career  of  sin  !  An  impure  witticism  may 
 kindle  the  flames  of  hateful  lust  with  all  its  hateful  deeds  ! 
 What  boundless  mischief  is  wrought  in  the  world  by  sinful  lips, 
 unguarded  sayings,  words  of  hatred  and  of  strife  !  "  A  back- 
 biting tongue  hath  pulled  down  strong  cities,  and  overthrown 
 the  houses  of  great  men.  !Many  have  fallen  by  the  edge  of  the 
 sword ;  but  not  so  many  as  have  fallen  by  the  tongue"  (Ecclus. 
 xxviii.  14,  18).  En^-ious  tongues  confound  and  ruin  churches, 
 overthrow  states,  lay  waste  peoples  and  lands.  Look  at  that 
 little  member,  the  tongue;  is  the  word  which  it  utters  to  be 
 lightly  esteemed  ?  Think,  moreover,  of  the  tongue  of  our  times, 
 of  the  pen  and  the  might  of  books  and  journals — might,  alas  ! 
 too  often  in  the  service  of  evil.  He  who  throws  the  sparks  of  his 
 words  into  the  wood  of  the  people  cannot  say — What  have  I  then 
 done  ?  I  have  only  spoken  or  A^Titten  !  The  inflammable  wood  is 
 always  and  everywhere,  in  natural  humanity,  prepared  for  the 
 sparks  of  falsehood  and  sin.  "  What  shall  the  false  tongue  do  to 
 thee  ?  What  shall  it  profit  thee  ?  It  is  like  sharp  arrows  of  the 
 mighty,  like  fire  in  juniper-woods"  (Ps.  cxx.  3,  4).  The  furthest- 
 reaching,  the  most  internal  and  spiritual,  the  most  influential  in- 
 fluence of  man  upon  men  is  so  obviously  connected  with  the  tongue, 
 that  St  James  needs  only  to  refer  to  it  with  a  Behold,  just  as  to 
 the  horses,  ships,  and  woods; — not  so  much  in  the  acts  of  men  is  it 
 seen,  as  in  the  words  which  explain,  and  accompany,  excite,  and 
 produce  those  acts.  Eegard  the  whole  world  or  mankind  in  all 
 its  doing  and  pursuits :  in  words  its  spirit  and  life  is  first  dis- 
 
JAMES  III.  3-12.  373 
 
 tinctly  shown ;  in  words  its  deepest  activity  moves ;  by  words  is 
 the  traffic  of  spirits  in  truth  and  falsehood  conducted,  and  right 
 or  wrong  done  by  man  to  man.  And  alas !  in  the  world  as 
 world,  alas  !  in  fallen  human  nature  generally,  there  is  now  only 
 iniquity ;  thus  the  tongue,  and  the  fire  everwhere  kindled  in 
 the  great  wood  which  proceeds  from  it,  is  a  world  full  of  ini- 
 quity. This  is  no  exaggerating  expression,  but  the  simple  and 
 solemn  truth :  the  tongue  of  men,  speaking  evil  and  falsehood, 
 is  the  proper  instrument  and  member  in  the  great  body  of  hu- 
 manity from  wdiich  the  truth-restraining  fire  of  unrighteousness 
 proceeds,  which  fills  the  whole  world  with  iniquity,  and  thus  is 
 itself  a  little  world  of  iniquity.  To  that  tend  the  lightly-con- 
 sidered sins  of  the  tongue  ! 
 
 Whence,  then,  this  world  full  of  unrighteousness  in  the  tongue, 
 which  is  only  a  piece  of  flesh  in  the  mouth  ?  Let  us  now  hear  how 
 profoundly  St  James  bases  this  evil !  He  is  not  like  the  moralists, 
 who  never  press  into  the  internal  principle  of  human  behaviour, 
 who  never  go  beyond  the  superficial  work  and  word ;  he  does  not 
 preach  like  the  yjreachers  who  have  only  to  say — Do  not  thus,  or 
 speak  not  so !  He  knows  well  that  the  same  human  nature,  which 
 can  tame  and  subject  so  many  things,  cannot  of  itself  tame  the 
 tongue.  For  in  its  word  bubbles  incessantly  the  outflow  of  an 
 abyss  in  the  heart ;  or  a  whirling  fire  burns  round  about,  w^hich 
 ascends  from  an  internal  hell.  So  is  the  tongue  among  our  memr- 
 hers :  the  tongue  it  is  which  defiles  the  whole  body,  and  kindles 
 the  wheel  of  nature — if  and  because  it  is  itself  kindled  of  the  fire 
 of  hell.  So  deep  lies  the  ground  of  the  evil.  There  is  a  twofold 
 impulse  of  speaking  and  acting,  a  twofold  fire  which  bums  upon 
 the  tongue  of  man,  and  by  it  can  enkindle  flame.  The  good 
 fire  came  down  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  from  above,  from  the 
 Father  of  Lights :  but  in  the  depth  of  human  nature  there 
 burns  another.  The  same  St  James  who,  in  ch.  i.  17,  distin- 
 guished the  above  and  below,  the  pure  lights  and  fixed  stars  of 
 the  original  world  from  the  planets  revohing  in  alternate  sha- 
 dows, thus  profoundly  through  the  Holy  Ghost  anticipating  a 
 physical  knowledge  scarcely  even  yet  thoroughly  understood, 
 utters  here  a  similar  mystery.  Luther  did  not  understand  the 
 expression,  and  therefore  explained  at  once — The  tongue  kindles 
 all  our  conduct.  But  the  word  is,  literally,  the  wheel  or  the  re- 
 volution of  nature,  that  is,  of  human  nature ;  so  that  the  whole 
 
374  THE  SINS  OF  THE  TONGUE. 
 
 world  of  spirit  and  thought  in  the  natural  man,  in  his  corruption, 
 moves  towards  unrighteousness,  and  is  whirled  round  by  mighty 
 impulse,  like  as  it  were  burning  windmills — if  such  a  simple 
 figure  may  be  allowed.  Is  it  not  so  with  the  tongue  once  set  in 
 motion,  that  speedily  the  whole  man  is  hurried  away  by  his  own 
 mouth?  And  where  burns,  properly  spealdng,  this  fire  which 
 presses  upward  to  the  tongue?  In  hell,  for  there  is  the  evil 
 fire.  But  where  is  hell  ?  According  to  Scriptural  figure,  based 
 upon  the  reality  of  nature,  in  the  interior  of  the  earth,  where 
 it  remains  from  the  former  fall  of  Satan,  the  first  occupier  of 
 the  earth ;  and  this  fire  is  at  the  same  time  the  energy  which 
 urges  the  rotation  of  the  revolving  planet.  All  this  St  James 
 knew,  and  discerns  in  nature  the  figure  of  the  world  of  spirit ; 
 he  finds  the  same  reproduced  in  man  as  in  a  little  world.  In 
 his  interior,  in  the  ground  and  abyss  of  his  heart,  is  hell :  there 
 burns  the  dark  fire  of  contradiction  to  the  truth  of  God,  of  the 
 lie  derived  from  the  first  liar,  of  ^vrath  and  hatred,  of  the  vain 
 lust  which  idolatrously  goes  out  toward  the  creature.  Sirach 
 from  afar  had  a  presentiment  of  the  truth  :  "  The  heart  of  the 
 foolish  is  like  the  wheel  of  a  cart ;  and  his  thoughts  are  like  a 
 rolling  axletree"  (Ecclus.  xxxiii.  5).  But  St  James  here  calls 
 it  a  fire,  a  hellish  fire,  that  drives  this  rotation ;  and  shows  us  in 
 the  tongue  what  may  be  called  the  fly-wheel  of  all  the  revolu- 
 tions of  our  natural  being  in  unrighteousness.  Thus  stands,  or 
 is  fixed,  the  tongue  among  our  members  !  "  An  ungodly  man 
 diggeth  up  evil :  and  in  his  lips  there  is  as  a  burning  fire"  (Prov. 
 xvi.  27).  It  is  not,  indeed,  the  mouth  that  does  all,  for  it  is  first 
 kindled  from  the  heart ;  and  yet  it  is  the  mouth,  for  the  way 
 of  the  thouo;hts  into  acts  in  the  world  "\vithout  is  through  the 
 mouth.  Out  of  the  heart  proceed  the  evil  thoughts  which  be- 
 come wicked  works,  false  witness,  and  blasphemy;  and  these 
 are  the  things  which  defile  a  man  :  what  proceedeth  out  of  the 
 mouth  defileth  the  man  (Matt.  xv.  18-20).  So  said  the  Lord 
 Himself,  and  so,  after  Him,  says  St  James  :  the  tongue  defileth 
 the  whole  body,  it  fills  the  life  and  the  walk  with  sin  and  guilt. 
 It  is  not  enough  to  keep  ourselves  unspotted  from  the  world 
 without ;  the  tongue  also  must  be  held  in  check,  for  it  is  also 
 a  world  of  unrighteousness.  Is  it  not  true  that  the  words,  them- 
 selves the  outbreaking  sin  of  the  heart,  always,  when  unre- 
 strained, urge  us  to  still  greater  sin  ?     The  wheel  of  nature 
 
JAMES  III.  3-12.  375 
 
 rotates,  man  talks  himself  into  e^dl,  into  wrath  or  lust,  into  lie 
 or  vanity;  he  prates  himself  all  the  more  firmly  in  the  sin, 
 against  the  works  of  which  he  would  fain  guard ;  the  tongue 
 sooner  or  later  runs  away  with  his  whole  man.  As  thou  art, 
 thou  speakest ;  but  it  is  equally  true  that,  as  thou  speakest  and 
 continuest  to  speak,  thou  mlt  live  and  walk.  It  begins  with  the 
 tongue ;  but  the  fire  soon  spreads,  and  unrighteousness  spreads 
 widely  around.  How  often,  nay,  in  most  instances  of  fall,  have 
 we  to  say — Had  I  but  restrained  the  first  outburst  in  word  I 
 Had  I  but  tamed  my  tongue !  It  should  not  be  so  with  the 
 tongue,  St  James  afterwards  says;  but  here  beforehand  he 
 attests  the  mournful  truth,  that,  while  every  nature  of  beasts, 
 and  of  flying  fowl,  and  creeping  things  such  as  poisonous 
 serpents,  and  the  wonderful  creatures  of  the  sea,  are  tamed 
 and  have  been  tamed  by  the  human  nature, — the  tongue  can 
 no  man  tame,  that  restless,  unrestrained  e\al,  full  of  deadly 
 poison  !  Who  can  put  bits  into  the  mouths  of  us  wild  horses  ? 
 Only  the  Lord  God  who  speaks  of  the  bit  and  bridle  in  the 
 psalm  (Ps.  xxxii.  9).  No  man  can  tame  the  little  tongue,  al- 
 though vaunted  human  nature  can  do  so  much.  All  the  power, 
 wildness,  and  poison  of  all  kinds  of  animals  either  has  been 
 reduced  to  submission,  or  will  be  so  ;  this  universal  taming  pro- 
 ceeds further  and  fmther,  as  St  James  declares  and  predicts. 
 But  of  what  avail  is  this  to  poor  humanity,  if  it  is  not  of  itself 
 capable  of  a  word  for  righteousness  and  truth  !  But  so  it  is 
 everywhere  in  the  world  :  The  tongue  can  no  man  tame  ;  not 
 in  others,  that  he  may  stop  their  evil  mouth  with  teaching,  ex- 
 hortation, rebuke,  and  authority ;  nor  yet  even  in  himself.  After 
 all  the  progress  of  the  inventions  of  man's  power  and  art,  the 
 world  remains,  alas  !  full  of  unrighteousness  ;  yea,  he  that  could 
 seize  it  by  the  tongue,  and  keep  that  still,  would  be  the  only 
 restrainer  of  the  world.  An  unceasing,  untamed  or  untameable, 
 evil  monster  is  this  tongue,  after  the  manner  of  serpents  full 
 of  deadly  poison.  "  They  have  sharpened  their  tongues  like  a 
 serpent ;  adders'  poison  is  under  their  hps"  (Ps.  cxl.  3).  We 
 know,  indeed,  well  w^hat  this  poison  is ;  and  that  t)ld  Serpent, 
 as  the  warning  symbol  of  w^hom  natural  serpents  have  poison 
 imder  their  tongues.  Thus  human  nature  is  put  to  shame,  be- 
 cause it  has  fallen  into  a  worse  and  hellish  nature.  In  our 
 conflict  with,  not  the  sea-monsters,  but  monsters  of  the  abyss 
 
376  THE  SINS  OF  THE  TONGUE. 
 
 which  have  ruined  and  poisoned  us,  there  is  more  than  the  mere 
 contest  of  nature  with  natm'e. 
 
 The  best  thing  in  this  evil  is,  however,  that  it  does  not  con- 
 ceal itself ;  that  the  poison,  otherwise  concealed,  flows  out  most 
 assuredly  through  the  tongue,  and  reveals  its  nature  even  as  the 
 fruit  reveals  the  nature  of  the  tree.  "  O  generation  of  vipers, 
 how  can  ye,  being  e\dl,  speak  good  things  ?  for  out  of  the  abun- 
 dance of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh!"  (Matt.  xii.  33,  34). 
 This  word  of  our  Lord  remains  for  ever  true.  Look  steadily  at 
 those  honourable  and  virtuous  people,  who  at  least  think  them- 
 selves such,  without  having  had  the  new  and  good  tree  implanted 
 in  them ;  give  steady  heed  to  what  their  tongue  speaks  and  does, 
 and  mark  how  their  words  testify  against  them,  and  how  they 
 themselves  are  continually  misled  and  defiled  by  their  own 
 tongues  !  When  that  proud  tongue  boasts — /  can  keep  silence, 
 or  disguise  my  meaning — verily  that  is  the  one  thing  which  is 
 too  great  for  it.  The  aptest  hypocrite  cannot  altogether  accom- 
 plish that ;  it  cannot  be  that  his  deception  shall  never  be 
 betrayed  by  a  single  word ;  the  heart  must  overflow,  and  the 
 hell  within  sometimes  bum  upon  the  tongue.  What  we  speak 
 is,  and  must  ever  be,  the  most  direct,  most  certain,  and  most 
 unrestrained  outflow  of  the  heart.  And  what  now  finally  fol- 
 lows in  St  James'  discom'se  against  the  sins  of  the  tongue  ? 
 He  has  shown  us  whither  they  tend,  in  the  world  full  of  unright- 
 eousness; and  whence  they  come,  from  the  internal  abyss  of 
 corruption.  It  is  now  very  easy  to  understand  how  alone  we 
 may  be  saved  therefrom. 
 
 Hear  and  understand  aright,  how  wisely  he  gives  the  only 
 right  counsel  for  our  help  !  Out  of  the  same  mouth  proceed 
 blessing  and  cursing ;  that  should  not  be,  for  doth  the  fountain 
 send  forth  from  the  same  hole  sweet  water  and  bitter?  St 
 James  once  more  points  us  to  within,  as  in  the  first  chapter,  for 
 the  source  of  good  and  evil ;  we  should  not  undertake  with 
 fruitless  pains  to  stop  the  hole  of  the  unceasing  outflow,  but  we 
 should  seek  thoroughly  to  cleanse  the  fountain  and  source  itself. 
 "  A  good  man  out  of  the  good  treasure  of  the  heart  bringeth 
 forth  good  things ;  and  an  evil  man  out  of  the  evil  treasure 
 bringeth  forth  evil  things"  (Matt.  xii.  35).  O  man,  thou  art 
 created  after  the  image  of  God,  so  that  thou  canst  subdue  by 
 thy  nature  all  inferior  creatures  and  natures,  so  that  even  in  the 
 
JAMES  III.  3-12.  377 
 
 wicked  power  of  thy  word  there  is  manifested  a  perversion  of 
 the  Divine  image.  Should  not  all  creatures  praise  their  Crea- 
 tor ;  and  how  much  more  thou  thy  God,  in  whose  image  thou 
 wast  formed  ?  There  are  only  two  kinds  of  service  and  use  of 
 the  tongue,  only  two  kinds  of  words  and  works,  intention  and 
 act — either  the  blessing  of  God,  or  the  cursing  of  man  !  We 
 might  have  expected  to  hear — Or  the  blaspheming  of  the  same 
 God;  and  so  it  is  in  its  gromid.  But,  because  St  James  is 
 speaking  to  brethren,  he  does  not  expressly  mention  the  direct 
 and  open  blasphemy  against  God ;  nevertheless,  he  gives  it  to 
 be  understood  that  he  who  injures  and  dishonours  man,  similarly 
 sins  against  the  image  of  God.  His  words  must  be  regarded  as 
 meaning,  that  all  which  serves  to  the  honour  of  God  may  be 
 called  the  blessing  God ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  aU  scorn 
 and  injury  of  our  neighbour,  especially  in  words,  may  be  called 
 cursing,  the  utterance  of  wicked  and  bitter  words.  He  who 
 praises  God  with  the  tongue,  but  not  with  the  heart,  who  will 
 bear  testimony  to  the  truth  without  purity  of  soul  in  its  obe- 
 dience, lies  against  the  truth  (ver.  14)  and  blasphemes.  He 
 who  flatters  his  neighboui',  like  the  men  who  are  diligent  in  lies, 
 blessing  with  their  mouth  but  cursing  inwardly  (Ps.  Ixii.  4) — 
 his  tongue  is  a  cursing  tongue  all  the  more  on  that  account. 
 As  Solomon  says,  "  He  that  blesseth  his  friend  with  a  loud 
 voice,  rising  early  in  the  morning,  it  shall  be  counted  a  cui'se  to 
 him"  (Prov.  xxvii.  14).  With  the  tongue  bless  ive,  with  the 
 tongue  curse  we  I  this  St  James  means  first  of  collective  huma- 
 nity :  we  men  thus  use  the  tongue ;  some  bless  God  with  it, 
 others  injure  their  neighbours  with  it.  On  which  side  do  you 
 stand  ?  Have  you  ever  yet  in  truth,  and  from  the  ground  of  the 
 heart,  praised  God  in  prayer  or  thanksgiving,  in  confession  or 
 saving  testimony  ?  Or  does  the  fire  of  pride  and  wrath,  of  bit- 
 terness, scorn,  and  injury  to  your  neighbour,  burn  in  you  as  oft 
 as  your  tongue  has  free  course  ?  Do  you  scorn  especially  the 
 renewed  image  of  God  in  His  children,  speaking  all  kinds  of 
 evil  of  the  disciples  of  Christ  in  your  enmity  against  truth  and 
 righteousness  ? 
 
 We,  dear  brethren,  should  certainly  only  bless  God  the 
 Father,  who  hath  begotten  us  again  to  be  first-fruits  of  His 
 creatures ;  and  only  bless  our  fellow-redeemed  with  the  mercy 
 received  from  above.     But  now  St  James  comes  closer  to  us. 
 
378  THE  SINS  OF  THE  TOXGUE. 
 
 when  he  contmues  with  sharper  expression — Out  of  the  same 
 one  mouth  cometh  blessing  and  cursing.  Ye  who  would  be 
 teachers^  of  others,  test  and  humble  jour  own  souls!  But, 
 among  the  brethren  generally,  where  is  the  one  to  whom  this 
 does  not  more  or  less  apply?  Fearful,  lamentable,  and  un- 
 natm'al  is  it  that  the  words  of  God's  praise  should  mingle  and 
 alternate — and  within  brief  intervals  out  of  the  same  mouth — 
 with  wicked  and  sinful  words  !  Is  it  not  so  ?  Shall  we  repel 
 St  James'  saying,  and  retort  his  own  previous  word — He  that 
 offendeth  in  no  word  would  be  a  perfect  man ;  but  we  in  many 
 things  offend  all,  and  it  cannot  be  otherwise? — My  hrethren^ 
 these  things  ought  not  so  to  he!  is  the  inexorable  reply  with 
 vvdiich  he  anticipates  us,  and  it  is  perfectly  justified.  There 
 may  seem  to  you  no  counsel  for  help  in  this  hard — It  ought 
 not  to  he  I  But  mark  the  deep  wisdom  with  which  he  speaks ; 
 take  in  the  conclusion  of  the  sentence,  and  understand  that  he 
 gives  such  counsel  as  brethren  ought  to  be  able  to  receive.  If 
 the  praise  of  God  cometh  out  of  thy  mouth,  dost  thou  not  know 
 whence  that  flows  ?  Mark  that  from  the  same  source,  and  no 
 other,  it  should  and  can  come,  that  thou  mayest  put  an  end  to 
 the  curse  which  proceeds  from  the  same  mouth.  If  God  has 
 begun  to  heal  thee,  a  poisoned  sinner,  He  will  not  forsake  His 
 work,  but  help  thee  still.  The  tongue  can  no  man  tame  by 
 human  nature  and  power ;  but  can  no  Christian  tame  it,  no  child 
 born  of  God  ?  Could  not  St  James  himself  tame  his  own ; 
 must  he  also  curse  ? 
 
 So  shall  we  first  understand  aright  the  concluding  word 
 with  its  question,  which  says  more  than  it  expresses,  and  re- 
 quires from  the  wise  the  right  answer.  From  one  spring  do 
 sweet  waters  and  bitter  come?  Can  a  fig-tree  bear  olive- 
 berries,  or  a  vine  bear  figs  ?  So  a  salt  spring  cannot  give  sweet 
 icaterl  that  is — No  inferior  creature  or  nature  contradicts  its 
 own  kind  and  propriety ;  but  man,  the  noblest  of  all  creatures, 
 is  such  a  self-contradiction,  and  therein  approves,  as  his  deep 
 corruption,  so  also  his  high  vocation.  The  image  of  God  has 
 been  fearfully  disordered.  But,  again,  if  there  is  in  thee,  an 
 evil  man,  something  that  is  good,  some  certain  genuine  praise 
 of  God  coexisting  with  the  still  remaining  outgrowth  of  evil, 
 it  is  the  grace  of  God  in  thee ;  the  Lord  hath  cast  the  tree  into 
 the  bitter  waters,  as  there  in  Marah,  and  given  thee,  as  there. 
 
ja:mes  III.  3-12.  379 
 
 the  promise — I  am  the  Lord  that  healeth  thee  I  (Ex.  xv.  23-26). 
 However  great  the  sin,  God's  grace  is  mightier;  but  shall  we 
 count  our  evil  slight,  and  not  give  all  diligence  to  be  entirely 
 healed  ?  God  forbid !  It  is  both  our  consolation  and  our  warn- 
 ing to  know,  and  it  is  the  most  effectual  evangelical  stimulant 
 to  holiness,  that,  although  alas !  good  and  evil  more  or  less  flow 
 together  from  within,  they  do  not  both  come  from  one  fountain ; 
 that  grace  is  mightier  than  sin,  the  Divine  nature  shall  and  wnll 
 most  assuredly  tame  and  restrain  thy  human  nature.  He  that 
 says — This  should  not  be !  will  make  His  law  within  us  a  law 
 of  hberty  and  life,  and  give  us  strength  to  keep  it. 
 
 Sigh  not  out  then,  brethren,  with  the  son  of  Sirach  your 
 wishes — "  0  that  I  could  set  a  watch  before  my  mouth,  and  a 
 seal  of  wisdom  upon  my  lips,  that  I  fall  not  suddenly  by  them, 
 and  that  my  tongue  destroy  me  not !  (Ecclus.  xxii.  27).  O  that 
 I  could ! — but  I  cannot,  no  man  can."  But  let  it  be  thy  earnest 
 purpose,  in  the  renewed  will  of  thy  new  nature — "  I  said  I 
 will  take  heed  to  my  ways,  that  I  sin  not  with  my  tongue ;  I 
 will  muzzle  my  mouth !"  (Ps.  xxxix.  2).  And  then,  which  is  the 
 great  concern,  let  thy  watching  become  prayer  for  the  strength 
 of  God — "  Set  a  watch,  O  Lord,  before  my  mouth  ;  keep  the 
 door  of  my  lips.  Incline  not  my  heart  to  any  evil  thing,  but 
 only  to  the  good  !"  (Ps.  cxli.  3,  4).  Then  that  which  is  impos- 
 sible is  done,  if  not  at  once,  yet  more  and  more  unto  perfection  ; 
 then  that  perfection  is  constantly  brought  nearer ;  the  evil 
 fountain  is  gradually  dried  up,  the  stronger  the  good  fountain 
 flows.  And  as,  in  a  condition  of  nature,  the  untamed  tongue 
 seduces  the  heart,  so  in  a  condition  of  grace  the  taming  of  the 
 tongue — that  is  to  say  by  watchfulness  and  earnest  prayer — is 
 exceedingly  helpful  to  growth  in  the  Divine  nature ;  for  thus 
 can  man  in  truth,  being  under  the  power  of  grace,  stop  the  flow 
 of  nature  and  dry  up  its  fountain.  He  who  makes  this  his 
 earnest  and  persevering  endeavour,  will  know  by  sure  ex- 
 perience that  with  us  also  the  mouth  is  the  proper  place  in 
 which  to  place  the  bit  which  curbs  the  old  Adam;  that  the 
 tongue  is  in  sanctification  the  rudder  which  steers  the  whole  life. 
 May  the  Lord  help  us  more  and  more,  that  we  may  not  be 
 driven  of  fierce  winds  without,  but  of  His  Holy  Spirit  who 
 govemeth  us ;  that  not  the  fire  of  hell,  but  the  fire  of  heaven, 
 may  urge  our  tongues  !     Let  us  ever  seek  His  help  with  the 
 
380    GENTLENESS  OF  TRUE  WISDOM,  AND  WRATH  OF  FALSE. 
 
 determination  of  our  renewed  nature — Praise  the  Lord,  O  my 
 soul,  and  all  that  is  within  me !  Praise  the  Lord,  my  tongue, 
 and  all  that  goeth  out  of  me  !  Praise  the  Lord,  my  whole  life, 
 and  every  motion  ! 
 
 XX. 
 
 [JE  WI 
 OF  FALSE. 
 
 (Ch.  iii.  13-16.) 
 
 Who  is  a  wise  man,  and  endued  witli  knowledge  among  you  ?  let  Mm  show 
 out  of  a  good  conversation  his  works  with  meekness  of  wisdom.  But 
 if  ye  have  bitter  envying  and  strife  in  your  hearts,  glory  not,  and  lie  not 
 against  the  truth.  This  wisdom  descendeth  not  from  above,  but  is 
 earthy,  sensual,  devihsh.  For  where  envying  and  strife  is,  there  is  con- 
 fusion, and  every  evil  work. 
 
 St  James  teaches  us  in  his  Epistle  what  is  genuine  faith ; 
 and  for  then-  sake  who  say  that  they  have  faith,  but  have  not 
 the  works  by  which  true  faith  approves,  confirms,  and  consum- 
 mates itself.  Wliat,  then,  have  these  men  else  in  them? 
 There  must  be  something  on  which  they  pride  themselves,  and 
 on  which  they  rely.  And  that  is  their  dead  knowledge — or, 
 as  they  also  say,  the  discernment  of  the  truth,  of  which  they  say 
 that  it  is  faith.  But  this  knowledge,  the  more  hollow  and 
 empty  it  is,  the  more  it  swells  out  in  words  :  therefore,  naturally, 
 %\dth  vain,  presumptuous,  and  ungrounded  words,  St  James  has 
 especially  now  to  do.  Whatever  is  wanting  in  works,  these 
 words  must  supply,  taking  their  place;  instead  of  walking  in 
 obedience  they  have  their  so-called  knowledge,  instead  of  life 
 they  have  doctrine,  instead  of  the  reality  the  appearance.  The 
 less  disposed  a  man  is  to  be  taught,  the  more  forward  he  is  to 
 teach  others ;  tlie  slower  his  heart  is  to  hear  the  word  of  truth, 
 the  swifter  does  his  tongue  run  away  with  its  sayings.  Hence, 
 it  may  be  observed  that  St  James  has  given  us  specifically,  in 
 ch.  i.  19,  the  proper  theme  of  his  Epistle,  which  he  then  pro- 
 ceeds to  expound.  Slow  to  speak! — this  has  been  from  the 
 beginning  of  ch.  iii.  his  text.     Similarly,  as  he  had  added  at  the 
 
JAiyiES  III.  13-16.  381 
 
 first — And  slow  to  wrath ! — and,  as  he  had  hinted  at  this  in  the 
 condemned  cursing  which  comes  from  the  same  mouth  as  the 
 blessing,  he  now  proceeds  more  directly  to  speak  of  it,  and  de- 
 nounces envying  and  strife,  wars  and  fightings,  evil  speaking 
 and  judging.  This  extends  to  ch.  iv.  12,  when  he  again  returns 
 more  generally  to  the  "  proud  boasting ; "  and,  finally,  to  the 
 opposite  patience,  with  which  the  Epistle  set  out ;  to  the  power 
 of  prayer  for  our  own  and  our  brethren's  cure,  and  for  the  con- 
 version of  sinners  in  true  wisdom. 
 
 There  is  but  one  faith,  that  which  is  genuine  and  sound; 
 yet  St  James  called  the  unsound  faith  by  the  same  name,  in 
 order  to  exhibit  it  in  all  its  self-contradiction.  There  is  but  one 
 wisdom,  that  which  is  true ;  yet  he  admits  that,  independent  of 
 and  in  opposition  to  it,  there  is  much  so-called  wisdom  to  be 
 found.  He  now  places  the  two  in  contrast :  and,  at  the  outset, 
 before  in  ver.  17  he  perfectly  delineates  true  wisdom,  he  sug- 
 gests one  great  note  of  distinction  between  them,  which  is  ob- 
 vious to  all,  and  itself  decisive  : — he  places  in  opposition  to  each 
 other,  the  meekness  of  true  wisdom  and  the  contention  of  the  false. 
 
 By  this  he  has,  to  use  the  common  saying,  at  once  hit  the 
 nail  on  the  head ;  and  can  cry  to  the  whole  community  with 
 power — Who  is  a  wise  man  and  prudent  among  you?  Let 
 him  show  in  a  good  conversation  his  works,  in  the  meekness  of 
 wisdom !  He  is  not  now  speaking  primarily  of  that  wisdom 
 which  is  most  essentially  necessary  to  every  man,  the  want  of 
 which  first  becomes  known  to  ourselves  in  the  time  of  trial,  and 
 drives  us  to  prayer — that  wisdom,  to  wit,  which  is  patience, 
 obedience,  and  the  discreet  use  of  God's  te^s  and  discipHne. 
 But  he  means,  as  just  before,  msdom  for  the  teaching  of  others, 
 which  was  to  be  shown  or  approved  among  the  brethren.  And 
 that  wisdom  must  thus  be  shown ;  for  if  God  has  given  us  such 
 a  gift.  He  gave  it  to  us  not  for  ourselves  alone,  but  for  the 
 service  and  salvation  of  others  also.  Only  a  perversion  of  this 
 truth  lies  at  the  fomidation  of  the  delusion  and  error  which 
 makes  a  man  imagine  that  he  is  wise,  and  therefore  ready  to  show 
 his  wisdom  to  others.  Who  is  wise  and  prudent  among  you '? 
 Answer  enough  comes  from  all  hands — Such  we  all  are  !  But 
 not  every  man  who  cries — I  also !  can  accept  the  test  of  the 
 second  part  of  the  sentence.  When  St  James's  question  is 
 uttered  into  the  midst  of  the  Church,  how  soon  the  wdse  men 
 
382    GENTLENESS  OF  TEUE  WISDOM,  AND  WKATH  OF  FALSE. 
 
 and  those  endued  witli  knowledge  announce  themselves ;  how 
 few  are  disposed  modestly  to  say — That  am  I  not  as  yet,  but 
 must  first  learn  to  become  wise  !  Even  among  the  women  the 
 ready  response  is  too  frequently  heard ;  how  many  of  them  are 
 there  who  can  scarcely  keep  silence  in  the  church ;  who  do  not 
 merely  ask  their  husbands  at  home,  but  answer  them  too  with- 
 out being  themselves  asked,  and  not  only  their  husbands  at 
 home!     (1  Cor.  xiv.  34,  35.) 
 
 But  observ^e  well  the  question  of  St  James,  ye  presumptuous  ! 
 Who  is  wise  and  endued  with  knowledge  ?  There  is  a  great  dif- 
 ference between  these  two;  and  the  second  is  not  of  much 
 value  unless  preceded  by  the  former.  Not  only  may  a  man  be 
 knowing  for  evil  with  the  worst  of  all  folly ;  there  is  also  a  good 
 knowledge  or  intelhgence,  a  skill  in  the  performance  of  indi- 
 vidual acts,  which  is  then  only  real  and  useful  when  it  proceeds 
 from  wisdom,  and  continues  in  concert  with  wisdom.  To  be 
 merely  knowing  or  intelligent,  is  not  much  of  itself,  it  is  a  very 
 ambiguous,  dubious,  and  questionable  thing ;  but  to  be  wise 
 and  full  of  knowledge,  that  is  the  great  concern !  Now,  who  is 
 wise  and  endued  with  knowledge  ?  Who  is  there  that  has  it  in 
 reality,  that  good  thing,  and  not  merely  says  that  he  has  it? 
 This  is  the  meaning  of  the  question,  which  asks  for  the  thing 
 itself  amid  all  the  semblances  and  pretensions  thereto.  First 
 be,  become,  wise ;  do  not  begin  at  once  with  the  assertion  and 
 assumption  of  being  so  !  Would  you  know  what  is  the  best 
 test  of  truth,  which  is  sure  to  detect  and  baffle  all  forwardness 
 and  error  ?  Show  forth,  before  all  things,  in  your  good  con- 
 versation your  works.  This  we  heard  in  the  second  chapter ; 
 it  is  always  decisive ;  and  it  is  so  even  here,  where  the  teaching 
 of  others  is  concerned.  Proud  words,  which  are  not  sustained 
 by  any  witness  of  the  life,  are  clouds  without  water  (Jude  12), 
 mere  noisy  thunder  without  the  glance  and  might  of  the  light- 
 ning. It  is  the  walk  which  distinguishes  those  whose  conversa- 
 tion is  in  heaven,  and  who  are  guided  by  the  same  rule,  from 
 those  who  are  the  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Clirist,  about  which 
 they  may  very  often  talk  (Phil.  iii.  16,  18,  20).  In  the  life,  by 
 the  works,  the  light  of  the  Father  shines  reflected  from  His 
 children  (Matt.  v.  16)  ;  the  true  teacher  tells  us — Be  followers 
 together  of  me,  and  mark  them  which  -walk  so !  (Phil.  iii.  17). 
 St  Peter  exliorts  Christians  to  have  tlieir  conversation  honest 
 
JAMES  III.  13-lG.  383 
 
 among  the  Gentiles,  that  they  might  see  and  glorify  their  good 
 works  (1  Pet.  ii.  12) ;  and,  moreover,  he  speaks  of  the  mighty 
 power  of  a  silent  conversation  without  word,  which  he  com- 
 mends to  godly  women,  '^  that  if  any  obey  not  the  word,  they 
 may  also  without  the  word  be  won  by  the  conversation  of  the 
 ^^'ives ! "  (1  Pet.  iii.  1).  TMiere  the  good  foundation  has  be- 
 fore been  laid,  the  very  words  become  power  and  life ;  they 
 themselves  are  then  works  :  it  is  this  which  St  James  probably 
 means,  reckoning  among  the  works  the  genuine  acts  of  a  useful 
 and  successful  word  and  testimony.  For  then  there  is  in  the 
 words  life  and  spirit,  the  emphasis  of  power  and  truth.  But 
 what  kind  of  spirit  is  this,  in  the  walk,  the  work,  and  the  word 
 of  Christians  ?  That  which  teaches  and  warns — Let  us  not  be 
 desirous  of  vainglory  in  teaching,  provoking  one  another,  envj- 
 ing  one  another!  That  which  exhorts — Eestore  the  erring 
 brother  in  the  spirit  of  meekness  (Gal.  v.  26,  vi.  1).  Thus 
 meekness  is  the  elem'ent  and  the  token  of  all  true  wisdom  from 
 above.  It  is  that  internal  meekness  and  submission  of  heart 
 with  which  a  man  first  submits  himself  to  learn  of  God,  receiv- 
 ing the  word  which  saves  his  own  soul  (Jas.  i.  21).  This  meek- 
 ness, then,  sJwws  itself  outwardly  in  the  whole  deportment, 
 especially  where  speaking  and  teaching  are  concerned.  Not  as 
 if  this  TN-isdom  was  devoid  of  earnestness  and  zeal,  of  the  sacred 
 wrath  of  love  which  worketh  the  righteousness  of  God,  of 
 keenness  in  bearing  testimony  to  the  truth ;  but  even  in  its  zeal 
 its  love  is  approved  in  the  conscience  of  him  who  hears,  and 
 even  in  its  anger  true  meekness,  which  doeth  neither  too  much 
 nor  too  little,  is  never  distm-bed.  More  upon  this  point  we 
 reserve  for  St  James'  description  of  the  wisdom  which  is  peace- 
 able, gentle,  teachable,  merciful,  and  impartial.  L'^t  us  now 
 only  hear  his  question — Have  you  this  wisdom?  Do  t/ou  sJigio 
 this  meekness  of  genuine  wisdom,  as  it  dwells  in  the  heart,  in 
 your  hf e  and  works  ?  Are  you,  then,  thus  truly  wise,  who  glory 
 in  being  so  ? 
 
 But  if  ye  have  (instead  of  this)  bitter  en\y  and  contention 
 m  your  heart — glory  not,  and  he  not  against  the  truth  !  The 
 word  which  is  here  translated  envy  is  properly  zeal ;  and  because 
 there  is  a  good  and  sweet  zeal  of  love  which  flows  from  the 
 fountain  of  grace  in  the  heart,  St  James  adds  the  qualification 
 bitter  zeal,  meaning  that  which  is  ambitious,  hateful,  and  en\'ious; 
 
384   GENTLENESS  OF  TKUE  WISDOM,  AND  WEATH  OF  FALSE. 
 
 afterwards  in  ver.  16  he  takes  the  word  alone  in  its  evil  sense. 
 When  the  world  terms  the  holy  zeal  of  God's  children  conten- 
 tion, it  lies  against  the  truth ;  knowing  well  that  this  war  is 
 carried  on  only  for  the  sake  of  peace.  We  all  know,  if  we  will 
 know,  how  to  distinguish  in  ourselves  and  others  the  sweetness 
 and  the  bitterness  of  love  and  of  hatred,  of  humility  and  of  pride, 
 the  spirit  of  peace  and  the  spirit  of  contention.  Where,  how- 
 ever, contention  really  exists,  there  can  be  no  true  zeal ;  and 
 whence  cometh  or  floweth  this  contention,  fighting,  and  war, 
 but  from  our  own  heart  f 
 
 Have  you  this  in  your  heart  ?  It  may  be  hoped  that  we 
 shall  all  answer  more  humbly — Alas,  blessed  Apostle,  we  have 
 too  much  of  it  still !  It  may  be  hoped  that  no  man  will  be  too 
 ready  to  boast  in  the  lie — My  heart  is  already  altogether  sweet- 
 ened by  the  love  of  God  ;  I  am  not  conscious  of  any  remains  of 
 contention,  envy,  or  WTath  !  But  this  is  the  impure  superfluity 
 of  naughtiness  which  we  are  diligently  rooting  out,  if  we  have 
 received  with  meekness  the  word  of  eternal  wisdom  for  our- 
 selves ;  according  to  the  exhortation,  "  Let  all  bitterness,  and 
 wrath,  and  anger,  and  clamour,  and  evil  speaking,  be  put  away 
 from  you,  with  all  malice"  (Eph.  iv.  31).  We  at  least  suffer 
 not  the  bitterness  which  may  still  remain  in  our  hearts  any 
 longer  to  flow  forth  from  the  hole  of  the  fountain,  the  mouth ; 
 we  have,  that  is,  we  retain  and  keep,  it  no  longer  in  our  heart. 
 Is  it  so  with  us,  dear  brethren  ?  Alas,  how  do  the  children  of 
 the  world  everywhere  contend  with  each  other !  And  naturally 
 so,  for  what  else  have  they  in  their  hearts  ?  But,  alas,  how 
 unnatural  it  is  that  Christians,  the  disciples  of  a  meek  and 
 lowly  Master,  should  do  the  same  !  They  contend  among  them- 
 selves, they  contend  and  quarrel  with  the  world  ;  yea,  the  whole 
 Christianity  of  many  a  devotee  consists  only,  we  may  say,  in  a 
 bitter  contempt  of  the  sins  of  sinners,  in  a  proud  and  loveless 
 contention  with  that  which  it  terms  the  wicked  world.  Is  there 
 any  of  this  in  your  hearts,  and  you  let  it  have  free  course,  then — 
 St  James  says —  Glori/  not  in  being  wise,  for  that  would  be  only 
 a  li/ing  against  the  truth.  His  word  goes  still  further :  Even  if 
 it  is  for  the  truth  that  you  bitterly  contend,  nevertheless,  with- 
 out the  meekness  of  wisdom,  your  testimony  for  the  truth  which 
 you  intelligently  hold  is  only  a  lie,  and  in  the  evil  spirit  which 
 prompts  you  will  rather  damage  the  truth  than  further  its  obe- 
 
JAMES  III.  13-16.  335 
 
 dience.  For  your  mind,  and  walk,  and  deportment,  your  work 
 in  icord,  contradicts  the  substance  of  tlie  word  you  preach  :  you 
 contend  while  you  insist  upon  love,  you  act  the  h^^Docrite  even 
 while  teaching  the  truth — and  can  that  do  otherwise  than  create 
 offence  and  harm  ? 
 
 But  those  whom  it  concerns  will  not  hear  it;  they  go  on  to  glory 
 and  justify  themselves :  "  Should  we  not  speak  since  we  know  the 
 truth  ?  Should  we  not  be  zealous,  when  righteousn  ess  is  our  aim  ? 
 Should  we  not  let  the  light  of  our  wisdom  shine,  since  we  have 
 received  it  from  God  to  that  end?"  St  James  answers  such  a 
 man,  patiently  and  with  a  holy  zeal — "  No,  ye  lie  !  Your  con- 
 tentious wisdom  ye  have  not  received  from  God  !  That  is  not 
 the  wisdom  which  cometh  from  above,  but — earthly,  human, 
 devilish  /  Every  good  gift,  all  genuine  wisdom,  is  from  above. 
 But  that  which,  lying  against  the  truth,  is  declared  to  be  such, 
 is  false  wisdom  :  not  from  heaven,  but  earthly  ;  not  from  God's 
 Spirit,  but  human,  of  man's  soul,  and  flesh,  and  blood ;  not  of 
 Christ,  the  King  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  the  destroyer  of  the 
 works  of  the  devil,  but  itself  devilish,  springing  from  the  influ- 
 ence and  seduction  of  evil  spirits."  We  might,  upon  this  deep 
 saying  of  St  James,  write  a  history  of  all  science  falsely  so  called, 
 of  all  worldly  wisdom,  of  much  so-called  philosophy  and  even 
 theology  ;  but  we  must  adliere  to  the  obvious  practical  meaning 
 of  the  words,  in  their  order  in  the  exhortation.  Earthl}^,  human, 
 devilish :  on  the  one  hand,  these  are  all  combined  in  false,  con- 
 tentious wisdom,  as,  according  to  the  Catechism,  the  devil,  the 
 world,  and  our  flesh,  mislead  us  first  of  all  in  the  misbelief  of 
 groundless  imagination ;  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  gloomy 
 progression  downwards  in  these  several  stages.  The  first  so- 
 called  wisdom  is  the  earthly,  the  being  endued  with  knowledge 
 concerning  earth  and  for  earth ;  and  this  might  in  itself  avail 
 as  knowledge,  if  it  did  not  assume  to  place  itself  in  the  stead  of 
 wisdom.  This  is  the  economical-political,  commercial,  indus- 
 trial skill,  the  supreme  and  the  only  skill  of  the  earthly-minded, 
 the  fisherman-skill  to  throw  the  net  without  the  word*  of  God  : 
 to  this  belongs  the  progress  of  arts  and  inventions  in  our  age, 
 which  might  be  left  in  its  place  and  honour,  if  men  did  not  for- 
 get heaven  while  reducing  earth  to  their  service.  But  man 
 keeps  it  not  in  its  place,  when  he  resists  the  Spirit  of  God  :  his 
 eaithly  cunning  becomes,  as  human,  a  cunning  of  selfishness, 
 
 2b 
 
386   GENTLENESS  OF  TKUE  V/ISDOM,  AND  WEATH  OF  FALSE. 
 
 like  that  of  the  unjust  steward,  a  cunning  of  wicked  lust  and 
 vainglory,  so  that  his  belly  becomes  his  god,  and  his  glory  is 
 sought  in  what  is  his  shame.  When  the  earthly  is  exalted 
 against  heaven,  and  further  earthly  wisdom  is  applied  to  the 
 heavenly  word  of  truth,  then  arises  more  and  more  what  St 
 James  calls  human  wisdom,  properly  natural-human  (sensual, 
 or,  quite  literally,  sensuous,  psychical),  for  it  is  the  same  word 
 which  St  Paul  uses  in  1  Cor.  ii.  14.  They  who  lay  hold  of  and 
 treat  the  word  of  God  as  an  earthly  thing,  pervert  it  in  their 
 school-contentions,  and  think  at  best  that  godliness  is  also  gain 
 or  a  craft  (1  Tim.  vi.  4).  O  how  great,  and  ever-increasing,  is 
 the  folly  when  flesh  and  blood  invades  that  which  belongs  to 
 the  Spirit  of  God !  All  that  most  becoming  distrust  of  our 
 owai  spirit  is  gone,  and  all  humble  disposition  to  be  taught 
 of  God.  Thence  comes  the  contention  of  the  learned  in 
 their  proud  science,  thence  all  false  theology,  as  well  the  ortho- 
 dox as  the  heretical.  But  it  does  not  end  there  ;  for  Satan 
 soon  comes  in,  w^hen  flesh  and  blood  would  reveal  instead 
 of  the  Father  in  heaven  through  His  Son  and  Spirit.  "  Reason 
 goeth  as  she  will  (alas,  not  even  as  she  will,  that  is  the  delusion) — 
 Satan  can  turn  her  any  way !"  and  he  will  do  so ;  he  does  it 
 despotically,  according  to  his  mind,  through  the  ministry  of  his 
 spirits  filling  the  air  of  this  world.  To  human  delusion  is  then 
 added  sin  and  perversion,  which  is  puffed  up  by  an  influence  and 
 inbreathing  altogether  from  below.  If  you  handle,  and  study, 
 and  teach  God's  word  only  in  a  human  manner,  another  spirit 
 will  soon  intermeddle  with  yours  in  the  matter ;  and  the  lie 
 against  the  truth  will  soon  break  forth  in  the  vilest  contention, 
 the  most  impure  zeal,  the  impetuous  storming  and  driving  of 
 those  whom  the  devil  drives.  If  Satan  can  glide  in  even  w^here, 
 as  in  the  case  of  Peter,  Matt.  xvi.  23,  the  human  element  is 
 mingled  with  and  defiles  well-meaning  love — how  will  the  busy 
 devils  blow^  up  the  akeady  existing  hell  in  the  heart  into  the  fire 
 of  the  tongue,  wdien  pride  and  hatred  handle  the  rudder  !  That 
 is  the  contention,  which  St  James  means,  in  its  full  and  perfect 
 form ;  the  lying  contention  about  the  truth  of  God,  the  ambi- 
 tious strife  under  the  cloak  of  zeal  for  the  Divine  honour,  which 
 divides  brethren,  overturns  houses,  and  lays  waste  the  church  of 
 God. 
 
 By  their  fruits  ye  may  know  them,  adds  St  James  :  for 
 
JAMES  III.  13-16.  387 
 
 wliere  envy  and  contention  are,  tliere  is  confusion  and  every  vain 
 thing !  Peaceable  wisdom  does  not  tliere  sow  good  seed  of 
 righteousness ;  for  only  wliere  there  is  mercy,  are  also  good  fruits 
 (vers.  17,  18).  St  James  does  not  regard  these  evil  works  as 
 worthy  of  the  name  of  fniits  at  all.  Let  all  history,  on  the  great 
 and  on  the  small  scale,  from  the  beginning  till  now,  say  whether  it 
 is  not  as  here  described.  "  And  into  whatsoever  house  ye  enter, 
 first  say.  Peace  be  to  this  house  !"  (Luke  x.  5).  Thus  did  our 
 Lord  send  forth  His  messengers ;  and  thus  they  proclaimed  the 
 peace  of  the  Gospel  (Acts  x.  36  ;  Eph.  ii.  17).  But  those  whom 
 He  did  not  send  troubled  the  Chm-cli  with  doctrine,  and  sub- 
 verted the  souls  of  the  believers  (Acts  xv.  24)  ;  unruly  and 
 vain  talkers  they  were  who  subverted  whole  houses  (Titus  i.  10, 
 11).  And  when  through  such  vain  babbling  and  contention 
 the  house  of  God,  the  entire  Church,  was  misled  and  subverted, 
 the  Keformers,  in  the  spirit  of  peace  and  in  holy  zeal  of  war- 
 fare, began  to  build  again.  But,  alas,  even  then  some  unholy 
 contention  crept  in,  and  the  e^dl  fruit  of  the  fleshly  seed  is  still 
 present,  'especially  in  the  divisions  of  evangelical  churches  ;  and 
 now  this  evil  work  still  too  much  mingles  with  our  common 
 warfare  against  the  only  true  enemy.  O  that  the  wisdom  from 
 above  might  teach  us  to  edify  one  another  in  peace,  as  in  the 
 beginning  the  Church  gathered  from  Jews  and  Gentiles  did,  with 
 all  their  differences  and  oppositions  !  AU  the  distress  and  per- 
 plexity of  the  Church,  all  the  confusion  and  unsubjection  or 
 rebellion  of  self  against  the  Spirit  of  God,  has  sprung  from  the 
 contention  of  the  fleshly  nature :  hence  the  divisions  and  sects ; 
 hence  much  other  evil  work,  especially  the  hypocrisy  which 
 lurks  beneath  an  enforced  unity.  Li  the  world,  and  in  earthly 
 things,  many  a  house  and  many  a  state  bears  testimony  that  in 
 confusion  and  envying  nothing  good  can  thrive,  but  all  mischief 
 must  ensue.  But  still  more  mournful  and  desolating  is  strife 
 about  His  word  in  the  .house  and  commonwealth  of  God,  the 
 carnal  contention  among  brethren  and  the  members  of  Christ. 
 Brethren,  contend  not  in  the  way  I  (Gen.  xlv.  24).  Have 
 you  not  stood  together  before  your  Joseph,  to  receive  forgive- 
 ness ?  You  are  altogether  sinners,  but  by  common  grace  are 
 now  brethren  as  being  children  of  peace.  Put  on  therefore,  as 
 the  elect  of  God,  holy  and  beloved,  heartfelt  compassion,  kind- 
 ness, humbleness  of  mind,  meekness,  longsuffering ;  forbearing 
 
388  THE  WISDOM  FROM  ABOYE. 
 
 one  another  and  forgiving  one  another ;  let  the  peace  of  God 
 rule  in  your  hearts,  to  the  which  also  ye  are  called  in  one  body ; 
 thus  and  not  otherwise  let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  among  you 
 ricldy  in  all  wisdom,  thus  and  not  otherwise  teach  and  admonish 
 youi'selves  and  one  another  (Col.  iii.  12-16).  This  is  the 
 wisdom  from  above,  in  which  your  meekness  mil  show  itself 
 and  accomplish  its  work  ;  that  brings  unity,  peace,  love,  order 
 in  obedience  of  the  truth,  and  every  good  work.  "  Live  in 
 peace ;  and  the  God  of  love  and  peace  shall  be  with  you" 
 (2  Cor.  xiii.  11). 
 
 XXI. 
 
 THE   AVJSDOM   FROM   ABOVE. 
 
 (Ch.  iii.  17,  18.) 
 
 But  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above  is  first  pure,  then  peaceable,  gentle,  and 
 easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits,  without  partiality, 
 and  without  hypocrisy.  But  the  fruit  of  righteousness  is  sown  in  peace 
 of  them  that  make  peace. 
 
 Contend  not  in  self-will,  hatred,  and  envious  pride  of  vain- 
 glory, but  approve  your  wisdom  in  meekness  !  Mark  that  from 
 strife  only  evil  work  can  grow,  instead  of  the  peaceable  fruit  of 
 righteousness  !  This  would  be  enough,  if  these  false  teachers 
 would  thus  easily  be  entreated,  and  if  these  contentions  might 
 so  easily  be  quelled.  But  St  James  knew  better,  and  therefore 
 he  does  not  cease  so  soon  his  testimony  agamst  false  wisdom — 
 just  as  in  the  former  chapter  against  false  faith.  Many  who 
 were  really  guilty  might  not  give  in  to  all  his  previous  words, 
 but  persist  to  say — I  envy  not,  nor  contend ;  my  zeal  is  only  for 
 truth  ;  my  wisdom  is  not  earthly,  human,  devihsh,  as  thou  sayest, 
 but  that  which  comes  from  above  !  Therefore  St  James  at  last 
 places  a  clear  and  lustrous  and  not  to  be  evaded  mirror  before 
 the  vainly  wise,  the  proudly  self-asserting  and  fleshly  zealots, 
 in  wdiich  they  must  see  their  own  condemnation,  if  they  look 
 into  it  and  continue  to  look.  Let  us  earnestly  look  into  it  our- 
 selves, that  we  may  perfectly  know  the  difference  between  true 
 and  false  wisdom,  that  we  may  see  what  manner  of  men  we  are, 
 and  what  of  evil  we  have  yet  to  put  away. 
 
JAMES  III.  17,  18.  389 
 
 The  wisdom  from  above  is  of  this  character :  that  is,  he  is 
 such  who  has  received,  retained,  and  matured  that  wisdom. 
 Here  is  a  clear  and  beautiful  picture,  perfectly  sketched  in  few 
 but  decisive  strokes  !  Who  among  you  is  such  a  wise  man, 
 and  can  humbly  recognise  -himself  in  this  portrait  ?  Most  of 
 us,  alas,  are  very  far  from  having  reached  its  completeness ; 
 but  let  him  who  sorrowfully  feels  this  of  himself,  look  around 
 for  living  examples  in  whom  these  traits  are  found  united,  that 
 they  may  bring  the  picture  more  livingly  near,  and  this  wdll 
 help  to  make  the  word,  in  itself  dead,  a  living  word. 
 
 True  wisdom  is  from  above ;  this  must  be  understood  at  the 
 outset :  it  cannot  be  learned  of  men  in  human  fashion,  it  can- 
 not be  explored  and  attained  by  our  own  spirit,  it  cannot  be 
 speculated  out  by  our  own  will, — it  must  be  given  as  a  good 
 gift  from  above.  But  it  is  given  only  to  those  who  ash^  and  to 
 those  only  who  ask  aright,  who  ask  in  obedience  to  the  will 
 of  God  for  an  understanding  heart,  not  merely  to  know  but  to 
 do  His  holy  ^^-ill ;  to  those  whose  hearts  condemn  them  not  in 
 their  prayers,  but  who  have  confidence  towards  God,  for  they 
 keep  His  commandments  and  do  that  which  is  w^ell-pleasing  in 
 His  sight,  especially  that  great  commandment  that  we  love  one 
 another  (1  John  iii.  21-23).  But  the  gift  of  God,  which  is 
 thus  prayed  for,  is  only  given  into  the  heart ;  and  it  is  then  the 
 good  treasure  of  the  good  man,  instructed  unto  the  kingdom  of. 
 heaven  (Matt.  xii.  35,  xiii.  52).  Thus  the  wisdom /ro??i  above 
 is  at  the  same  time  always  only  a  wisdom  from  within  :  it  is 
 not  matter  of  the  head  and  provision  of  knowledge,  but  matter 
 of  the  heart  and  the  real  possession  of  the  inner  man  and  being. 
 Ye  have  in  your  heart  bitter  envy  and  wrath — had  been  St 
 James'  rebuke.  Have  ye  in  yoiu'  heart  truth  and  purity  from 
 God,  love  and  peace  as  the  gracious  gift  of  the  new  birth  ? 
 This  is  his  question  now,  when  he  applies  the  profoundest  test. 
 Is  yoiu'  love  really  rich  in  knowledge  and  all  experience'^  (Phil. 
 i.  9).  Are  ye  actually  teachers  and  masters  of  full  age,  who 
 by  reason  of  use  in  spiritual  life  have  the  senses  of  your  new 
 nature  exercised  to  distinguish  good  and  evil?  (Heb.  v.  14). 
 Thus  deeply  he  penetrates  through  all  semblance  and  delusion 
 into  the  inmost  being ;  first  disclosing  the  ground  of  the  heart, 
 and  not  till  then  exhibiting  the  outward  expression  of  that  inward 
 wisdom. 
 
390  THE  WISDOM  FROM  ABOVE. 
 
 First  of  all,  and  before  anything  else  can  be  said,  the  wisdom 
 Avhich  is  given  from  above  to  the  inner  man  is  pure ;  that  is,  he 
 who  has  it  has  it  first  as  purity  of  heart,  is  pure  and  clean  in  his 
 inmost  spirit.  We  think  naturally  here,  not  merely  of  that 
 purity,  in  the  common  sense  of  it,  which  is  opposed  to  fleshly 
 lust,  but  of  that  which  the  Holy  Scripture  everywhere  implies 
 in  this  deep  and  beautiful  word.  All  sin  is  impure  desire  and 
 adultery ;  true  spiritual  purity  is  the  being  cleansed  from  that 
 stain.  If  the  wisdom,  in  which  I  am  to  teach  others,  is  right 
 and  genuine,  that  is,  unsinful  and  pure,  it  must  come  from  a 
 heart  which  is  cleansed  and  purified  in  the  love  of  God ;  for 
 only  into  such  a  heart  can  it  enter  as  a  heavenly  gift ;  "  into 
 a  malicious  soul  wisdom  shall  not  enter,  nor  dwell  in  the  body 
 which  is  subject  unto  sin"  (Wisd.  i.  4).  They  who  approve 
 themselves  servants  of  God,  must  first  approve  themselves  in 
 pmity,  and  by  that  in  knowledge  (2  Cor.  vi.  6).  The  wise  like 
 serpents  contend  with  the  world  and  the  devil,  but  they  are  mth- 
 mt  guile  like  doves  (Matt.  x.  16).  But,  as  in  the  lower  and 
 •physical  sense  no  man  is  pure  by  nature,  but  must  continually 
 mortify  the  lusts  which  still  exist  in  his  flesh,  not  otherwise 
 is  it  with  spiritual  purity  in  love  to  God.  Therefore  it  is  not 
 only  to  open  sinners,  to  those  who  have  lapsed  into  adultery, 
 that  St  James  cries  in  the  next  chapter — Cleanse  your  hands, 
 ye  sinners,  if  ye  would  bear  the  vessels  of  your  Lord ;  and  purify 
 yom'  hearts,  that  your  hands  may  be  clean,  ye  double-hearted  and 
 unfaithful !  (ch.  iv.  8).  But  it  is  the  continual  task  of  all  the 
 regenerate,  who  through  Christ  believe  in  God — Purify  your 
 souls  in  obedience  to  the  truth  through  the  Spirit !  (1  Pet.  i.  21, 
 22).  This  is  the  fundamental  condition  of  all  wisdom,  if  it  is 
 to  remain  in  the  heart  as  God's  gift,  and  flow  purely  from  it : 
 — the  continual  self-denial  and  self -con  quest  through  which 
 alone  we  impure  sinners  can  be,  by  continually  becoming,  pure. 
 Always  first  our  own  obedience,  and  that  the  obedience  of  the 
 heart  to  the  truth,  which  we  know  and  acknowledge — before 
 we  should  undertake  to  speak  thereof,  and  show  our  wisdom ! 
 Always /rs^  must  we  be  sincere  and  pure  in  God's  presence,  be- 
 fore we  can  say  anything  in  the  name  of  God  in  presence  of  our 
 neighbour !  Always  first  the  question — How  do  I  myself  stand 
 towards  the  truth  ?  Does  my  heart  live  in  it,  is  my  will  sub- 
 missive to  it  ?     That,  indeed,  I  cannot  show  to  any  man,  and 
 
JAMES  III.  17,  18.  391 
 
 no  man  can  look  within  me ;  but  God  above  sees  all,  and  so 
 looks  for  this  pure  internal  sincerity.  Therefore  must  we  utter 
 always  the  prayer — Prove  me,  and  show  me  my  thoughts ;  make 
 me  pure  from  every  secret  delusion  of  desire  and  vanity ! 
 
 If  wisdom  is  sound  in  this  first  point,  it  may  afterwards 
 show  itself  as  it  really  is,  internally.  St  James  paints  it  in  seven 
 traits;  but  the  first  three  still  refer  to  those  demonstrations 
 which  properly  flow  from  the  inner  man,  which  are  strictly  con- 
 nected with  the  sound  condition  of  the  pure  heart.  The  wis- 
 dom which  is  pure  is  then  also  peaceable,  gentle,  teachable ;  not 
 contentious,  hard,  or  proudly  self -asserting. 
 
 That  which  Christ  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  placed 
 seventh  in  order,  pronouncing  the  peacemakers  blessed,  is  here 
 rightly  put  first.  There  the  sapng  concerning  punty  of 
 heart  preceded,  and  so  it  does  here ;  for  only  out  of  the  inter- 
 nal peace  of  a  pure  heart,  sincerely  purifying  itself  continually, 
 comes  the  true  peaceableness  of  word,  work,  and  walk.  The 
 peaceable  children  of  God,  against  whom  the  ungodly,  who 
 break  His  covenant,  put  forth  their  hands  (Ps.  Iv.  20) — are 
 primarily  those  who  are  reconciled  to  and  accepted  of  God  in 
 this  same  covenant.  Another  word,  also  in  the  Old  Testament, 
 terms  them  beautifully — in  an  expression  which  the  Xew  Tes- 
 tament brings  into  its  full  force — the  quiet  in  the  land,  against 
 whom  their  haters  without  cause  speak  not  peace,  but  evermore 
 devise  deceitful  matters  (Ps.  xxxv.  19,  20).  But  these  are  not 
 they  who  falsely  cry.  Peace,  when  there  is  no  peace ;  how  should 
 their  wisdom  then  come  from  above,  and  how  could  their  hearts 
 be  then  pure  in  the  obedience  of  the  truth  ?  Indeed,  they  seek, 
 and  desire,  and  labour  for  the  righteousness  of  God ;  therefore, 
 according  to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  these  peaceable  ones  are 
 persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake.  But  still  it  is  not  they  who 
 are  haters  and  persecutors  with  restless  spirits ;  as  far  as  in 
 them  lies,  they  maintain  peace  with  all  men,  labourers  in  the 
 w^ork  of  patience  and  faith,  who  everywhere  proffer  the  peace 
 of  God ;  in  the  slow  and  thorough .  husbandry  of  God,  solving 
 righteousness,  that  love  and  peace  may  be  the  harvest.  That 
 this  alone  is  the  right  method,  they  are  taught  by  their  own 
 most  internal  experience :  this  is  what  they  are  taught  by  the 
 Spirit  of  peace  in  the  New  Testament,  which  is  a  different  spirit 
 from  that  of  Elias — or  that  of  Jehu,  the  son  of  Nimshi  (2  Kings 
 
392  THE  AVISDOM  FROM  ABOVE. 
 
 ix.  20).  O  liow  beautiful  are  everywhere,  where  they  come,  the 
 feet  of  such  a  messenger  of  peace,  anomted  and  sent  of  the  Lord  ! 
 He  speaks  and  testifies  the  truth ;  but  in  humihty,  from  a  heart 
 which  has  daily  to  seek  forgiveness  for  its  own  sins  ;  he  contends 
 against  the  unrighteousness  of  the  world,  but  as  being  equipped 
 and   prepared   to   that   end  with   the   gospel  of   peace  (Eph. 
 
 Therefore  it  is  furtlier  goMle  : — this  seems  to  be  almost  the 
 same,  but  means  rather  the  manifestation  of  peaceableness  in 
 deportment  towards  others.  This  is  particularly  that  meekness 
 of  wisdom,  in  w^hich  St  James  previously  summed  up  all.  The 
 minister  of  God  approves  himself  with  his  true  knowledge, 
 which  comes  from  pureness,  continually  in  longsuffering,  in 
 kindness,  in  the  Holy  Ghost  (2  Cor.  vi.  6).  Not  therefore  by 
 his  own  spirit,  which  is  stirred  by  vehement  passion  after  the 
 mind  of  the  flesh.  Because  we  know  the  terror  of  the  Lord, 
 we  deal  tenderly  with  the  people — says  the  same  Apostle 
 (2  Cor.  V.  11).  The  gentle  servant  of  God  is  far  from  rebuk- 
 ing only  with  severity,  far  from  demanding,  driving,  and  con- 
 straining ;  he  knows  how  in  the  long  forbearance  of  God  to 
 bear  with  the  wicked,  and  all  their  wickedness  (2  Tim.  ii.  24), 
 because  he  expects  nothing  else  from  their  nature ;  he  can  also 
 instruct  those  who  oppose  themselves  in  meekness  (ver.  25) ; 
 specially  he  can  be  wisely  and  unsinfully  compliant  with  the 
 weak,  that  he  may  not  destroy  what  he  should  save.  (We  may 
 translate  the  word  in  St  James  also  by  compliant.)  Thus  he 
 makes  his  gentleness  known  to  all  men,  because  the  Lord,  who 
 came  to  save  men's  souls,  always  is  near  in  the  holy  patience 
 of  pure  love  (Phil.  iv.  5  ;  Luke  ix.  56).  And  to  this  we  are  all 
 exhorted,  dear  brethren,  in  the  words  which  bid  us  speak  evil 
 of  no  man,  to  be  no  brawlers,  but  gentle,  showing  all  meekness 
 to  all  men ;  /or  we  ourselves  also  were  sometimes  foolish,  dis- 
 obedient, deceived,  hateful — but  the  kindness  and  benevolence 
 of  God  our  Saviour  alone  hath  saved  and  won  us  (Titus  iii. 
 2-4).  How  can  one  who  has  himself  been  saved  and  forgiven 
 be  hard  and  severe,  remembering  that  fact,  against  his  fellow- 
 sinners  and  fellow-redeemed?  "  Is  it  not  grace  which  makes 
 the  difference  in  me  ?  And  is  not  the  same  grace  also  for  others  ? 
 And  have  I  myself  no  longer  any  sin  f  To  think  thus  in  true 
 wisdom  makes  the  Christian  gentle  in  his  demands,  judgments, 
 
JAMES  III.  17,  18.  393 
 
 and  deportment.  He  demands  nothing  for  himself,  makes  no 
 personal  pretensions  at  all;  lie  demands  liis  neighbour's  sonl 
 only  for  God,  as  the  messenger  and  minister  of  His  all-winning 
 love.  He  does  not  judge  and  condemn  swiftly  and  rigorously : 
 he  does  not  indeed  compromise  with  sin  in  false  gentleness,  but 
 he  takes  good  care  not  to  lay  too  much  stress  upon  any  circum- 
 stances, and  not  to  think  only  e^dl  of  his  neighbour.  He  deals 
 with  the  sinner  in  tender  prudence,  that  he  may  reach  his  heart ; 
 he  well  knows  that  the  quiet  might  and  gentle  violence  of  love 
 is  the  strongest  and  most  penetrating  of  all  power.  He  never 
 forgets  the  word  of  his  Master — See  icell,  how  thou  pluckest 
 the  mote  out  of  thy  brother's  eye!  (^latt.  vii.  5).  If  that 
 holds  good  of  the  brother's  mote,  with  how  much  more  pru- 
 dence and  care  is  the  whole  world's  unrighteousness  to  be  dealt 
 with  1 
 
 And  if,  after  all,  I  myself  still  have  my  motes,  so  that  my 
 eye  has  not  seen  right,  and  my  hand  sometimes  missed  the 
 mark!  The  wisdom  from  above  is  easily  entreated — and  that 
 must  never  be  wanting !  Only  the  perfect  wisdom  above,  the 
 wisdom  of  God,  can  speak  without  having  itself  to  hear  and  to 
 leam  ;  but  the  wisdom  which  is  given  from  above  to  a  sinful 
 man  is  perfect  only  in  ha\dng  learned  and  in  continuing  to 
 learn.  God,  spealdng  to  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind,  shames  him 
 by  saying,  "  I  will  demand  of  thee,  make  me  to  know ;"  but 
 Elihu  in  his  -vvdsdom  cries,  "  If  thou  hast  anything  to  sa}', 
 answer  me ;  speak,  for  I  desh-e  to  justify  thee"  (Job  xxxiii. 
 32).  St  James'  word  means  also  teachable  or  icillhig  to  hear. 
 Woe  unto  those  who  find  it  a  contradiction,  that  their  icisdom 
 should  ever  need  to  he  taught  I  We  were  sometimes  f  oohsh  :  to 
 know  and  acknowledge  this,  was  the  beginning  of  our  wisdom, 
 and  thus  we  received  God's  grace.  Tor,  "  seest  thou  a  man  who, 
 is  wise  in  his  own  eyes,  there  is  more  hope  of  a  fool  than  of  him" 
 (Prov.  xxvi.  12).  St  James  has  spoken  much  on  this  point  at 
 an  earlier  stage,  but  he  still  holds  to  it  here :  wisdom  with  us 
 consists  not  merely  in  oin;  having  once  submitted  to  hear,  but  in 
 our  continuing  and  increasing  in  our  swiftness  to  hear.  The 
 only  teachers  coming  do^vn  from  heaven  are  the  disciples  who 
 strive  constantly  to  be  perfect  like  their  only  ]Master.  The 
 learned  have  a  Latin  proverb,  which  however  they  do  not  always 
 verify  in  themselves,  that  in  teaching  we  learn.     This  is  the 
 
394  THE  WISDOM  FROM  ABOVE. 
 
 motto  of  divine  wisdom  in  heavenly  things ;  in  them  there  is 
 no  such  thing  as  ever  speaking  and  teaching  without  having 
 anything  to  learn.  In  our  German  words  Bescheidenheit  and 
 Bescheid  wissen,  modesty  and  knowledge  are  closely  allied ;  out 
 of  profound  knowledge  comes  always  deepening  humility  and 
 prudence.  He  who  is  exercised  in  the  wisdom  which  cometh 
 from  above  has  never  ended  with  it ;  he  can  never  be  self -as- 
 serting and  obstinate ;  he  receives  the  common  commendation 
 of  one  who  may  be  spoken  to  and  answered  when  he  speaks. 
 And  this  becomes  us  fallible  men ;  in  this  spirit  alone  we  can 
 go  forward  in  the  right  Avay ;  for  "  he  that  hateth  to  be  in- 
 structed is  already  (again)  in  the  way  of  sinners"  (Ecclus.  xxi. 
 6).  Let  us  choose  to  ourselves  this  judgment,  to  know  among 
 ourselves  what  is  good  (Job  xxxiv.  4).  If  thou  hast  an  excuse 
 when  I  condemn  thee — how  gladly  will  I  admit  it  if  it  be 
 valid!  {I desire  thy  justification — said  Elihu  to  Job.)  Hast 
 thou  anything  to  object  against  my  \\ords — let  me  hear  it,  that 
 I  may  not  do  wrong  when  I  mean  to  do  right !  Such  a  wise 
 man  does  not  go  forth  among  the  people,  to  thrust  a  sword  into 
 their  belly,  as  Ehud  did  to  the  king  of  the  Moabites,  with — 
 "  I  have  a  word  from  God  for  thee  !"  (Judges  iii.  20).  To  him 
 the  sincere  question  is  much  more  natural — "  Hast  thou  a  word 
 from  God  for  me  f  The  first  Apostle,  Peter,  received  rebuke, 
 when  he  was  in  the  wrong,  from  Paul  the  latest  comer  (Gal. 
 ii.  11).  Moses,  the  man  of  God,  received  instruction  from  his 
 father-in-law  Jethro  ;  "  The  thing  that  thou  doest  is  not  good ; 
 hearken  now  unto  my  voice,  I  will  give  thee  counsel,  and  God 
 shall  be  with  thee"  (Ex.  xviii.  17-22).  But  why  need  we  seek 
 examples  among  the  servants  ?  The  Master  Himself  puts  us 
 to  shame  by  condescending  to  the  very  limits  of  the  apparent 
 possibility  that  He — who  was  born  (not  horn  again)  to  bear 
 testimony  to  the  truth,  and  who  came  into  the  world  as  the  per- 
 sonal Truth — might  have  been  in  error ;  condescending  thus, 
 however,  only  that  He  might  set  before  us  the  highest  of  all 
 examples.  See  and  mark  how  He,  before  the  high  priest, 
 referred  to  all  that  He  had  said  and  done ;  but,  when  the  com- 
 mon servant  smote  Him  on  the  face.  His  answer  was — If  I 
 have  spoken  evil,  bear  witness  of  the  evil :  but  if  well,  why 
 smitest  thou  me?  (John  xviii.  20-23).  Yerily,  every  servant 
 who  remembers  the  word  of  the  Master,  "  7/"  /  have  spoken 
 
JAMES  III.  17-18.  395 
 
 evil,  hear  witness  of  it  /"  will  be  always  ready  to  receive  from 
 every  man  any  evidence  of  error  that  lie  can  bring — knowing 
 full  well  that  it  is  not  for  him  absolutely  to  say,  I  have  only 
 spoken  right ! 
 
 And  now  first,  after  St  James  has  set  before  us  the  spirit  of 
 wisdom  from  above,  as  peaceable,  gentle,  and  teachable,  he  speaks 
 further  of  its  icork,  whence  its  good  fruits  come  and  to  what 
 they  tend.  His  last  four  words,  which  express  this,  are  con- 
 nected in  pairs  :  to  retain  the  connection  between  the  principle 
 and  the  expression,  the  cause  and  the  work  ;  and  to  bring  back 
 all  at  the  last  to  the  first  and  most  internal  principle  of  wisdom. 
 
 Full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits  I  These  are  united,  because 
 to  sliow  mercy  towards  our  fellow  is  itself  the  good  fruit,  in 
 which  all  good  fruits  are  comprised ;  to  have  mercy  for  him  in 
 the  heart,  is  at  the  same  time  the  powder  or  the  seed  of  such  out- 
 ward charity.  Indeed,  to  create  fruit  is  the  end  of  all  true 
 wisdom,  which  can  never  be  a  dead  and  unfruitful  knowledge. 
 The  knowledge  of  the'  will  of  God  is  given  to  us,  in  all  kinds  of 
 wisdom  and  spiritual  understanding,  in  order  that  we  may  walk 
 worthy  of  the  Lord  unto  all  well-pleasing,  and  be  fruitful  in  all 
 good  works  (Col.  i.  9,  10).  But  every  good  w^ork,  as  fruit  in 
 ourselves,  produces  also,  will  at  least  also  produce,  good  fruit  in 
 our  neighbour.  Here  the  Lord's  High-priestly  word  passes  over 
 to  His  people,  the  priestly  ministers  and  mediators  of  His  love, 
 so  that  every  one  of  us  in  His  strength  may  say — I  sanctify 
 myself  for  them,  that  they  may  also  be  sanctified  in  the  truth 
 (John  xvii.  19).  The  good  fruit  of  the  seed  of  grace  is,  at 
 once  and  inseparably,  our  own  sanctification  in  effectual  love, 
 and  the  influence  of  that  love  upon  others  :  in  this  style  alone 
 the  New  Testament  always  speaks  of  good  fruits.  But  they  are 
 good  fruits,  which  never  grow  but  on  the  stock  of  love  !  Many 
 have  done  great  works,  which  the  Lord  will  not  accept  as  the 
 fruits  of  the  good  tree.  Many  in  our  days  are  very  laborious, 
 and  run  hither  and  thither,  "  in  the  cause  of  the  kingdom  of 
 God,"  as  they  say — but  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  built  up  in 
 their  manner,  and  what  they  mg-y  seem  to  effect  will  not  be  put 
 to  their  reckoning.  Many  are  deeply  engaged  in  teaching  the 
 people  opinions,  which  are  to  them  their  truths,  and  in  disput- 
 ing away  their  errors — but  where  is  the  good  fruit  of  all  this 
 stir  ?  who  is  mended  by  it,  who  is  converted  or  won  to  the  king- 
 
396  THE  WISDOM  FKOM  ABOVE. 
 
 doiii  of  heaven  ?  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  many  of  the 
 quiet  in  the  land,  who  make  no  noise,  who  profess  no  great 
 things,  who  walk  everywhere  humbly  and  meekly — but  wher- 
 ever they  go  they  diffuse  around  them  what  seems  a  breath  of 
 life ;  the  words  which  they  speak  in  season  are  seeds  of  corn ;  all 
 their  work  and  life  is  fruitful  in  silent  influence,  and  great  is 
 the  fruit  which  they  bring  to  God,  though  man  knows  nothing  of 
 it  and  thinks  the  reverse.  Grace  works  by  such  souls  ;  they  live 
 in  love,  and  that  is  the  profound  secret  of  their  strength.  Such 
 examples  show  us  the  meaning  of  the  apostolical  word,  in  oppo- 
 sition to  the  seeming  labour  of  the  vehement  zealots  who  do  not 
 work  the  mercy  of  God ;  although  those  who  are  called  and 
 fitted  to  that  purpose  should  lift  up  their  loud  and  mighty  tes- 
 timony, and  vehemently  contend  for  good, — under  the  obliga- 
 tion, however,  of  asking  themselves  very  solemnly  the  question. 
 Is  my  wisdom  full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits  ? 
 
 The  keenest  question,  finally,  remains,  and  that  which  is 
 most  pervasive,  though  it  only  tests  the  fundamental  principle — 
 Is  it  witliout  partiality,  and  without  hypocrisy  ?  Both  go  toge- 
 ther, here  as  before ;  for  what  h}^ocrisy  is  w^ithout  partiality, 
 and  what  partiality  does  not  spring  from  an  essential  h}'pocrisy  ? 
 St  James  does  not  mean  to  say  that  we  should  be  what  the 
 world,  which  perverts  every  word  and  idea  that -concerns  God's 
 truth,  calls  "  unprejudiced"  or  impartial ;  for  in  the  next  chap- 
 ter (ver.  4)  he  makes  the  sharp  demarcation  between  the  world 
 and  friendship  with  God.  The  folly  of  the  world  may  count 
 our  chaste  and  decided  devotion  to  God,  and  fellowship  with 
 His  children  in  opijosition  to  other  men,  to  be  partisanship  :  we 
 shall  best  counteract  the  perversion  and  protest  of  this  word  by 
 that  divine  impartiality  which  the  Apostle  means.  Alas,  this 
 is  not  often  to  be  found  ;  alas,  this  last  mark  detects  much  false 
 wisdom  with  its  hypocrisy !  There  have  been  periods  in  the 
 history  of  the  Christian  Church  when  almost  all  might  have 
 been  asked  —  Brethren,  are  ye  truly  impartial,  unprejudiced? 
 Are  ye  so  impartial  in  that  universal  love  which  remembers  that 
 the  grace  of  Christ  is  free  and  open  to  all  mankind?  How 
 easily  do  we  make  evil  distinctions,  which  can  never  consist  with 
 the  pure  and  unfeigned  faith  in  the  Lord  of  glory  !  The  wis- 
 dom which  is  truly  unprejudiced,  which  does  not  look  through 
 any  discoloiu'ing  medium,  and  is  not  distracted  by  any  ima- 
 
JA3IES  III.  17,  18.  397 
 
 gination  or  prejudgment  which  thwarts  the  pure  love  of  God, 
 beholds  all  men  in  the  light  of  truth  ;  therefore  it  admits  the 
 excellence  of  nothing  which  does  not  stand  the  test  of  this  light, 
 it  regards  not  the  person  or  the  dignity  of  any  man.  But,  on 
 the  other  side  (and  here  we  mostly  fail !),  it  overlooks,  judges, 
 and  neglects  no  man,  be  he  who  he  may,  but  accepts  joyfully  all 
 goodness  according  to  its  worth,  be  it  found  in  whom  it  may. 
 This  wisdom  is  so  wise  that  it  looks  through  every  appearance 
 and  form  to  the  inner  being  as  it  stands  before  God  ;  or,  failing 
 to  do  that,  refrains  at  least  on  that  account  from  all  judgment 
 and  distinction.  Only  then  is  it  without  hypocrisy ^  that  is, 
 genuine,  pure  wisdom,  as  given  from  above,  and  there  is  mingled 
 with  it  no  self-created  skill  in  making  distinctions.  Thus  St 
 James  in  the  last  v/ord,  as  the  sum  of  all,  leads  his  whole  dis- 
 course back  to  the  first ;  for,  according  to  the  pmity  of  the 
 heart  at  the  first,  will  be  the  absence  of  h}npocrisy  in  the  expres- 
 sions of  wisdom.  But  here  we  must  ask  in  humility — Where 
 is  such  wisdom  from  above  perfected  in  any  sinful  men  ?  We 
 must  confess  that  the  best  men  have  too  much  failed  in  this 
 respect,  and  that  there  is  among  Christians  generally  too  much 
 of  the  party  and  prejudiced  spirit.  Therefore,  St  James  places 
 last,  as  the  highest  goal,  from  which  also  we  must  continually 
 set  out,  the  making  the  heart  pure  that  the  eyes  may  be  clear  to 
 see,  and  the  hands  pure  to  act ;  for  hypocrisy  is  rooted  deeply 
 in  us  all,  until  we  are  sanctified  through  and  through  by  the 
 truth  unto  the  wisdom  which  faileth  not. 
 
 St  James,  however,  would  not  by  this  conclusion  cast  us 
 down,  instead  of  stimulating  us  ;  he  therefore,  according  to  the 
 meekness  of  his  own  wisdom,  descends  from  this  elevation,  and 
 utters  another  word  which  again  requires  only  meekness  and 
 peaceableness  as  the  condition  of  the  healthy  influence  of  our 
 Avisdom.  That  at  least  we  can,  and  we  ought,  all  soon  to  attain 
 to  ;  suppressing  all  the  contention  and  strife  which  may  result 
 from  the  partiality  of  oiu'  evil  thoughts,  we  may  in  peace  speak 
 the  word  of  God's  truth,  and  carry  on  the  work  of  wisdom. 
 The  fruit  of  righteousness  is  sown  in  peace  of  those  and  for 
 those  who  keep,  and  practise,  and  work  peace,  seeking  that  and 
 that  alone  !  Thus  St  James  sets  a  gracious  promise  over  against 
 that  which  he  had  said  about  the  evil  works  of  contention  ;  but 
 we  have  already,  on  that  verse,  said  enough  upon  it  to  render 
 
398       WHENCE  COME  WARS  AND  FIGHTINGS  AMONG  YOU  ? 
 
 any  further  remarks  upon  it  here  unnecessary.  To  be  filled 
 with  the  fruits  of  righteousness  which  are  by  Jesus  Christ  to  the 
 praise  and  glory  of  God  (Phil.  i.  11)  —  is  the  end  of  all  good 
 works  which  God  has  begun  in  ourselves  and  will  perform. 
 Peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness — that  is  what  God's  holy  dis- 
 cipline, which  accompanies  the  word,  will  bring  forth  in  us 
 (Heb.  xii.  11).  And  the  same  should  be  the  only  end  of  all 
 our  teaching,  the  fruit  of  all  our  endeavours  among  our  neigh- 
 bom's  for  our  good.  "  Fruits^  gentlemen,  fruits,  in  the  sound- 
 ness of  men!"  This  was  the  king  of  Prussia's  word  to  the 
 University  of  Konigsberg  ;  and  it  was  a  royal  word,  a  word  of 
 Solomon  in  this  age.  Health-giving,  and  healthy  fruits  grow 
 where  good  seed  is  sown  ;  but  the  seed  itself  has  been  gathered 
 as  the  produce  of  good  seed,  and  thus  one  righteousness  is  sown 
 for  another.  Let  us  ourselves  be  full  ears  which  bow  down  to 
 scatter  around  their  grains  of  seed  !  And  what  is  the  element 
 of  blessing  and  prosperity,  the  good  weather  from  above  which 
 makes  the  seed  grow  ?  In  peace^  says  the  Apostle —  including, 
 indeed,  the  storm  and  boisterous  weather  of  good  contention,  as 
 well  as  the  earnest  labour  of  the  plough  before  it  can  become 
 seed ;  but  still  it  holds  good  that  the  peace  of  God  is  never 
 wanting,  that  only  those  really  attain  to  righteousness  in  them- 
 selves and  others,  who  seek,  and  find,  and  maintain  this  peace. 
 For,  in  its  deepest  principle,  peace  and  righteousness  are  one 
 and  the  same. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 WHENCE  COME  WARS  AND  FIGHTINGS  AMONG  YOU  ? 
 
 (Ch.  iv.  1-3.) 
 
 From  whence  come  wars  and  fightings  among  you  ?  Come  they  not  hence, 
 even  of  your  lusts  that  war  in  your  members  ?  Ye  lust,  and  have  not : 
 ye  fight  and  war,  but  ye  have  not,  because  ye  ask  not.  Ye  ask,  and 
 receive  hot,  because  ye  ask  amiss,  that  ye  may  consume  it  upon  your 
 lusts. 
 
 Long  since  did  He  appear,  whose  last  name  was  Prince  of 
 peace^  because  of  the  increase  of  His  government  and  peace 
 there  should  be  no  end,  when  He  should  order  His  kingdom  and 
 
JAMES  IV.  1-3.  399 
 
 establish  it  with  judgment  and  with  justice  (Is.  ix.  6,  7).  Long 
 ago  did  the  Holy  Spirit  descend,  who  testifies  and  works  as  a 
 Spirit  of  peace,  as  He  is  called.  And  yet  that  heavenly  song — 
 On  earth  peace  I  is  so  little  fulfilled,  that  not  even  in  the  Church 
 is  peace  to  be  found ;  so  that  Ps.  Ixxii.,  concerning  the  kingdom 
 of  Solomon,  vv^ien  the  mountains  should  bring  peace,  and  the 
 little  hills  righteousness,  when  the  righteous  should  flourish,  and 
 there  should  be  abundance  of  peace — is  still  no  more  than  a 
 'prophecy.  From  the  beginning,  even  in  apostolical  churches, 
 there  was  not  that  perfect  peace ;  and  in  our  day  St  James' 
 word  penetrates  with  conviction  every  community —  Whence  comes 
 warfare  and  contention  among  you  ? 
 
 That  the  Gentiles,  before  Christ  came  to  speak  peace  unto 
 them,  and  to  cut  off  the  battle-bow  (Zech.  ix.  10),  should  have 
 lived  in  war  and  contention,  was  no  more  than  natural :  but 
 Christendom,  avo^ving  the  name  of  Christ,  should  surely  be  at 
 peace.  Indeed,  this  so-called  Christendom  on  earth,  as  it  (not 
 contrary  to  God's  counsel)  is  a  wide  net  which  encloses  many 
 peoples,  is  far  from  being  the  Church  of  the  saints,  the  body  of 
 Christ,  in  which  His  Sphit  dwelleth  :  therefore  to  this  day 
 bloody  wars  are  carried  on  among  Cln-istian  nations,  and  it  can- 
 not be  otherwise  in  the  cause  of  righteousness  against  unright- 
 eousness ;  to  prosecute  boldly  such  wars  is  the  Christian  duty 
 of  kings  and  subjects,  on  all  such  occasions  as  demand  the 
 sword,  which  God  puts  into  their  hands.  Further,  among 
 Christian  peoples,  states,  and  churches,  the  good  fight  of  faith 
 must  be  urged  with  the  sword  of  the  word  against  all  that  is 
 unchristian  and  godless  ;  as  every  pious  man  must,  for  his  peace, 
 war  against  the  devil,  the  world,  and  his  own  flesh.  But  this 
 good  warfare  St  James  does  not  mean ;  he  rather  includes  in 
 the  peace,  in  which  the  fruit  of  righteousness  must  be  sown  (ch. 
 iii.  18),  the  pure  zeal  of  truth  in  love  against  all  unrighteous- 
 ness, and  all  the  words  and  works  which  this  involves.  Never- 
 theless, enough  is  left  to  warrant  his  keen  question :  Whence 
 come  wars  and  contentions  among  you,  strife  and  dissension  in 
 word  and  work  between  brethren  and  members  of  the  Lord's 
 Church,  evil  wars  in  miniature  hke  those  which  are  earned  on 
 among  the  nations  without  ? 
 
 That  among  the  Christians  only  in  name  who  are  essentially 
 heathens,  that  among  the  children  of  the  world,  among  whom 
 
400      WHENCE  COME  WARS  A]ND  FIGHTINGS  AMONG  YOU? 
 
 there  lias  been  no  advent  and  entrance  of  the  gentle  Prince  of 
 peace,  houses  and  hearts  should  be  full  of  war  and  confusion — 
 is  also  quite  natural.  But  is  it  found  also  among  you,  ye  be- 
 lievers, who  have  been  bom  again  through  the  word  of  truth  ?  If 
 those  are  called  the  sons  of  peace,  who  are  only  ready  and  prepared 
 to  receive  the  message,  Peace  be  to  this  house !  (Luke  x.  5,  6), 
 how  should  they  approve  themselves  the  peaceable  children  of 
 God,  who  have  long  received  it !  But  is  it  so,  that  believers 
 themselves  can  repel  the  question  of  St  James,  and  reply  in 
 general — With  us  is  ever j^vh ere  peace!? — O  no;  it  presup- 
 poses another  question,  the  answer  of  which  is  self-understood 
 and  obvious  : — Is  there  not  actually  war  and  contention  in  many 
 houses  in  which  Christians  dwell  together?  in  many  unions, 
 and  in  many  families,  even  of  believers  ?  between  neighbours 
 and  companions  in  the  spiritual  house  of  God?  Is  there 
 not  amono;  brethren  that  worst  and  most  hateful  contention 
 about  the  word  of  truth  and  peace  itself,  carried  on  in  anything 
 but  the  peace  of  love  ?  This  is  what  St  James  means  especially 
 at  first,  although  not  alone,  wlien  he  here  extends  his  word,  in 
 order  to  speak  generally  of  the  evil  principle  which  lies  at  the 
 root  of  all  evil  contention.  Thus,  whence  cometh  that  ?  Truly 
 a  great  and  salutary  question.  He  does  not  put  it  as  not  him- 
 self knowing,  but  he  would  receive  the  sincere  answer  from 
 ourselves.  Are  we  ready  to  give  it  of  ourselves,  before  he 
 utters  it  in  condemnation  ?  Too  many  of  us  are  inclined  to 
 evade  it,  and  find  other  reasons  than  the  right.  The  most  common 
 reply  refers  the  fault  to  our  neighbour,  or  to  something  without : 
 every  contentious  man  is  ready  to  say  of  his  fellow-contenders — 
 They  will  not  have  peace,  and  therefore  I  cannot.  There  are, 
 indeed,  cases  in  which  no  man  can  be  bold  enough  to  single  out 
 indi^ddual  persons  as  the  cause ;  in  Avhich  the  ivhence  cannot  be 
 properly  found  among  the  disputants  themselves ; — but  every 
 one  will  hold  to  it,  that  he  is  not  the  cause,  and  in  the  end  some 
 unknown  7io  man  bears  the  blame.  Brethren,  that  is  the  well- 
 known  som^  one,  whom  St  James  afterwards  (ver.  7)  can  men- 
 tion, the  devil;  but  he  fleeth  if  he  is  resisted ;  he  can  sow  hatred 
 and  enmity  only  where  hearts  admit  and  foster  the  seed.  Can 
 the  smoke  of  the  conflict  without  come  from  anywhere  else  than 
 the  fire  within  ;  from  that  tinder  in  your  souls  which  is  ready 
 within  you  for  Satan's  spark?     The  true  answer  would  be  the 
 
JAMES  IV.  1-3.  401 
 
 humble  confession — The  lust  of  self,  the  mother  of  all  ?in  is, 
 alas,  still  mighty  within  us  ;  we  do  not  pray  for  the  grace  and 
 gift  from  above  to  resist  it,  for  God's  meek  and  peaceable  wis- 
 dom ;  our  supplicating  and  praying,  such  as  we  use,  is,  at  least, 
 not  the  right  prayer.  This  is  the  answer  which  the  Apostle 
 gives  in  the  first  three  verses  of  this  chapter :  he  shows  us  the 
 still  present  ground  of  all  disquiet  within  us ;  points  out  the 
 neglected  way  to  peace ;  and,  finally,  gives  the  conclusive  answer 
 to  all  false  excuses  of  those  who  think  they  take  this  way. 
 
 Cometh  it  not  thence^  from  your  lusts  ivhich  war  in  your  mem- 
 bers ?  Most  assm'edly ;  for  where  envy  and  contention,  hatred 
 and  discord,  are,  there  is  confusion  and  every  evil  work ;  the 
 contention  or  the  discord  is  itself  the  evil  thing  which  exalts  itself 
 against  the  order  of  God,  and  against  his  peace.  Consequently, 
 also,  when  this  evil  thing  shows  itself  in  the  life,  env^^  or  hatred 
 must  be  in  the  heart :  whence  could  come  the  fniit,  without  the 
 seed  and  root?  Thus  the  fighting  among  you  springs  from  one 
 cause,  which  lies  in  you.  Let  no  man  say,  as  long  as  he  par- 
 takes of  this  contentious  spirit  of  strife — I  am  tempted  and 
 driven  to  it  by  the  evil  world,  by  false  brethren,  by  contentious 
 friends  and  neighbours.  Every  man  is  tempted  when  he  is 
 drawn  away  of  his  own  lust  and  enticed.  Look  at  the  people  of 
 this  evil  world,  who  cannot  keep  peace  among  themselves  :  where- 
 fore have  the  ungodly  no  peace  ?  Because  they  are,  each  in 
 himself,  hke  the  troubled  sea  which  cannot  be  at  rest,  but  casteth 
 up  on  its  waves  the  mire  and  dirt  which  is  within  it  (Is.  Ivii. 
 20,  21).  Li  the  groimd  of  the  heart  there  is  selfishness,  which 
 has  learned  nothing  of  the  better  and  enduring  inheritance 
 (Heb.  X.  34) — and  therefore  avarice,  wdiich  is  the  cause  of  a 
 great  part  of  men's  contention.  Further,  there  is  pride,  which 
 has  not  yet  humbled  itself  before  God ;  and  thence  ambition  and 
 despotism,  which  cannot  be  at  peace,  even  when  the  ^line  and 
 Thine  are  not  concerned.  And  there  is  evil  self-love,  which  has 
 in  it  absolutely  nothing  of  the  true  love  of  the  neighbour ;  and 
 therefore  hating,  for  no  other  reason  than  because  bitter  hatred 
 dwells  in  the  heart.  These  are  the  lusts  which  St  James 
 means,  the  impulses  and  tendencies  of  the  flesh  which  for  ever 
 urge  to  the  acquisition  of  this  world's  good,  the  enjojiuent  of 
 sensual  pleasure,  the  assertion  of  self-will ;  were  these  away, 
 there  would  be  no  lono-er  strife  and  contention.     Is  this  evil 
 
 2  c 
 
402     WHENCE  COME  WARS  AND  FIGHTINGS  AMONG  YOU  f 
 
 principle  still  in  you  f  Many  can  through  God's  grace  answer — 
 Our  own  last,  with  its  manifold  desires,  is  still  present  in  our  flesh, 
 but  we  renounce  and  mortify  it  through  the  Spirit ;  therefore, 
 while  disquiet  assaults  us  from  without,  we  still  strive  to  keep 
 peace,  as  far  as  in  us  lies.  Well  for  you,  dear  brethren  !  But 
 there  are  others,  and  they  are  many  more,  who  dare  not  in 
 their  consciences  say  this  before  God ;  and  those  St  James  refers 
 to.  Whatever  kind  of  strife  and  contention  may  be  among  you, 
 whatever  form  or  relation  it  may  assume  (for  there  are  disputes 
 and  enmities  between  individuals  which  scarcely  break  out  in 
 word,  but  instead  thereof  govern  the  whole  life  and  conduct) — 
 it  is  impossible  that  it  can  come  from  any  other  source  than  the 
 lusts  of  your  flesh.  For  where  the  Spirit  dwelleth  in  us.  Be  lusteth 
 with  the  holy  impulse  of  love  against  all  hatred  (ver.  5). 
 
 But  the  lusts  war  in  your  members,  in  the  body  of  sins,  in 
 the  dispositions  and  motives  of  his  old  life.  This  does  not 
 merely  mean,  as  it  may  be  first  understood,  that  there  they 
 have  their  dwelling-place,  or  camp,  or  fortress,  whence  they  issue 
 and  war  /?'om  the  members — for  then  St  James  would  have  so 
 expressed  himself.  He  will  rather  say,  Ye  are  not  at  one  in  your- 
 selves, ye  have  in  your  inner  life,  not  peace,  but  war.  What 
 kind  of  war  is  that  f  First  of  all,  even  in  you,  in  whom  not- 
 mthstanding  the  Spirit  dwelleth ;  so  that  the  fleshly  lusts  war 
 against  the  soul,  fighting  against  your  nobler  part  and  true  self 
 (1  Pet.  ii.  11),  Ye  have  delight  in  the  law  of  God,  the  royal 
 law  of  love,  after  the  inner  man ;  but  that  other  law  in  your 
 members  wars  against  the  law  of  your  mind,  and  bringeth  you 
 into  captivity  (Rom.  vii.  22,  23).  Or,  if  in  the  regenerate  the 
 soul  is  no  longer  in  captivity  to  this  law,  yet  it  has  not  altogether 
 lost  its  power ;  it  conquers  sometimes,  and  in  some  instances, 
 the  Spirit  within  you — and  hence  the  evil !  Finally,  the  many 
 lusts  and  impulses  fight  among  themselves,  because  they  are  many 
 and  varying :  for  example,  pride  and  caprice  may  desire  what 
 avarice  and  self-interest  may  shun ;  the  eye  may  aim  at  this, 
 and  the  ear  prefer  that ;  so  that  ye  are  torn  asunder  within, 
 exasperated  by  endless  internal  contradictions  and  disappoint- 
 ments. Examine  yom'selves,  brethren,  and  detect  what  and 
 how  much  of  this  is  still  in  you;  and  begin  afresh  the  good 
 warfare,  to  create  peace  within  yourselves  !  Do  you  not  know  what 
 weapon  to  use  ?     The  word  of  God  is  put  into  our  hands  for 
 
JAMES  lY.  1-3.  403 
 
 the  external  conflict ;  and  for  internal  victory  over  self,  the  way 
 of  prayer  is  alone  sufficient. 
 
 St  James  in  the  second  word  proposes  to  us  this  true  hut  neglected 
 way  of  peace:  Yq  covet,  and  liave  not ;  ye  envy  and  desire  to  have, 
 but  cannot  obtain  ;  ye  fight  and  war,  yet  ye  have  not,  because 
 ye  ash  not !  See  here  the  striking  picture  of  all  false  and  vain 
 hunting  and  running  after  peace,  which  only  increases  the  dis- 
 quiet ;  and  after  possession,  which  cannot  be  obtained  so  long  as 
 the  only  true  way,  which  God's  word  points  out,  is  passed  by 
 and  neglected.  One  Apostle  tells  us  to  follow  peace  with  all 
 men!  (Heb.  xii.  14),  and,  in  another  place,  to  flee  youthful 
 lusts,  but  follow  after  righteousness,  faith,  love,  peace !  (2  Tim. 
 ii.  22).  Similarly,  another  quotes  from  the  Old  Testament :  He 
 that  will  love  Hfe,  and  see  good  days,  let  him  eschew  evil  and 
 do  good;  let  him  seek  peace,  and  foUow  after  it  (1  Pet.  iii.  11). 
 But  how  different  is  this  way  from  that  restless  and  vehement 
 pursuit  of  the  objects  of  lust  which,  in  all  its  external  envy- 
 ings,  strifes,  contentions,  and  wars,  after  all  seeks  only  content- 
 ment within,  but  can  never  find  it !  The  peace  of  the  soul  within 
 itself  is  found  only  in  God,  and  only  from  that  can  proceed 
 peace  with  our  neighbour:  but  this  is  a  gift  and  grace  from 
 above,  which  therefore  must  be  attained  in  prayer.  Instead  of 
 that,  ye  seek  it  fooHshly — thus  St  James  addresses  all  who  are 
 concerned — out  of  yourselves,  and  independently  of  the  true  gift 
 of  God  ;  ye  think  that  this  or  that  or  something  else  may  help 
 you  to  attain  contentment.  In  that  consists  the  delusion  of  lust, 
 which  should  beguile  and  hurry  hither  and  thither  only  the 
 blind  world.  Only  therefore  of  that  world  St  James'  word 
 holds  good,  in  its  fullest  sense  and  most  fearful  truth.  Ye  are 
 full  of  desire  for  much  and  many  things,  which  ye  would  fain 
 have  because  your  lust  promises  itself  therein  pleasure  and 
 satisfaction ;  but  with  the  desire  alone  ye  have  it  not,  ye  only 
 feel  bitterly  your  not  having.  This  is  the  first  thing,  and  then 
 another  follows.  Because  others  around  you  have  that  which 
 your  desire  covets,  your  evil  mind  begins  to  hate  and  envy ;  for 
 every  selfish  desire  by  its  very  nature  is  a  spirit  of  envy  against 
 others.  But  with  that  ye  cannot  yet  obtain  :  then  ye  begin  to 
 break  faith  in  word  and  deed,  ye  fight  and  war,  contend,  go  to 
 law ;  ye  pour  contum'ely  on  your  neighbour,  as  standing  in  your 
 way:  ye  injure  him  in  your  displeasure,  as  if  ye  had  to  seek 
 
404     WHENCE  COME  WARS  AND  FIGHTINGS  AMONG  YOU  1 
 
 from  him  what  is  wanting  in  yourselves ;  and  all  else  that  may 
 be  supposed  to  follow  from  this.  But,  after  all,  it  is  as  it  was 
 at  the  first —  Ye  have  not !  There  comes  in  this  way  no  contented 
 and  real  having  ;  for,  even  if  ye  gain  the  thing  ye  contend  for, 
 ye  have  obtained  nothing  by  that,  ye  have  not  obtained  the  peace 
 which  ye  sought  in  vain.  In  the  possession  ye  become  more  and 
 more  assured  that  it  was  fallacious,  that  it  could  not  bring  peace  ; 
 and  then  begins  anew  the  unrestful,  unsatisfied  desire.  Where- 
 fore, then,  have  ye  not  with  all  your  having,  wherefore  do  ye 
 not  obtain  with  all  your  unwearied  striving?  Because  the 
 essential  matter  is  wanting,  the  gift  from  above,  which  alone  is 
 worthy  to  be  called  a  having  in  peace.  That  comes  into  the 
 heart  only  when  it  is  prayed  for,  but  ye  ask  not ;  that  ye  forget 
 and  neglect,  although  the  word  of  God  so  graciously  invites  and 
 attracts  you.  O  thou  unpeaceful,  envious,  and  contentious 
 world,  be  easily  entreated,  and  learn  where  and  in  what  thou 
 art  wanting !  Learn  to  humble  thyself  in  that  confession  which 
 Daniel  uttered  for  the  unfaithful  people  of  God — ^Yet  made  we 
 not  our  prayer  before  the  Lord  our  God,  that  we  might  turn 
 from  our  iniquities,  and  understand  Thy  truth  (Dan.  ix.  13). 
 
 But  if  ye^  who  call  yourselves  behevers,  if  ye  who  would  be 
 Christians,  are  condemned  by  St  James'  convincing  preaching, 
 through  having  diverged  from  the  right  way — how  exceedingly 
 evd  is  that !  Hear,  and  suffer  the  word  of  admonition  and  in- 
 struction. Your  fighting  and  warring  also  proceeds  only  from 
 hatred  and  envy ;  and  that  again  proceeds  only  from  the  per- 
 verted lusts  and  desires  of  the  heart.  And  what  is  that  way, 
 which  ye  have  long  known  ?  Ask  for  grace  in  order  to  the  re- 
 nunciation of  all  false  desire,  and  ye  shall  have  that  best,  in- 
 ternal peace,  and  be  able  then  to  keep  peace  also  with  all  around. 
 And  for  all  that  concerns  the  necessity  of  the  bodily  life,  let 
 your  desire  take  the  way  of  prayer  to  God.  Be  careful  for  no- 
 thing, but  in  everything  let  your  requests  be  made  known  unto 
 God  (Phil.  iv.  6).  Contend  and  war  about  nothing  ;  ask  only  ; 
 and  ye  shall  receive. 
 
 But  some  of  those  who  are  thus  rebuked  and  condemned 
 repel  the  charge,  being  ready  to  fight  boldly  against  the  word  of 
 God — "But  we  pray,  and  yet  do  not  receive!"  St  James 
 gives  i\\Qm  finally,  the  true  answer  to  all  such  self-justification,  that 
 no  man  may  escape  him  : — Ye  ask  and  receive  not,  because  ye 
 
JAMES  IV.  1-3.  405 
 
 ash  amiss.  This  is,  at  the  same  time,  the  most  convincing  and 
 universal  answer  for  all  who  complain  that  their  prayer  is  vain 
 and  unanswered.  Sure  it  is  that  he  who  asks  receives ;  this 
 word  of  God  is  firm  as  a  rock,  and  can  never  fail.  But  we 
 must  pray  aright,  as  God  requires ;  not  amiss,  not  so  that  God 
 must  refuse  to  admit  that  it  is  prayer.  Much  might  here  be 
 said  generally  concerning  the  prayer  that  is  heard ;  that  it  must 
 be  earnest  and  sincere  between  us  and  our  God,  that  it  must  be 
 humble  and  penitent  as  becometh  sinners  seeking  grace,  and 
 that  it  must  be  confident  on  the  ground  of  the  Divine  promise. 
 But  St  James,  while  he  lays  down  the  general  position,  gives  it 
 a  specific  application. 
 
 In  ch.  i.  6,  he  had  said — Let  him  that  asketh  ask  in  faith 
 and  doubt  not ;  but  now  he  turns  to  the  other  side  of  evil  and 
 improper  praying,  which  cannot  be  of  faith  because  it  is  not 
 ordered  according  to  the  word  and  will  of  God.  He  points  us 
 to  the  false  design  of  our  supposed  petition  before  God,  that  of 
 which  the  Psalmist  said — If  I  regard  iniquity  in  my  heart,  the 
 Lord  vdW  not  hear  me  (Ps  Ixvi.  18).  He  provokes  us  to  examin- 
 ation of  the  ground  of  our  heart — for  what  and  to  what  end  we 
 have  prayed,  in  our  unanswered  prayers.  For  what  ought  I  to 
 pray?  For  all  that  I  really  lack  in  body  and  soul  —  our 
 heavenly  Father  will  give  His  children  all  that  they  have  need 
 of  (Matt.  vi.  8) — but  not  for  all  that  I  desire  !  Take  all  thy 
 desire  in  prayer  to  God — it  had  been  said  before.  But  now  it 
 is  added — Then  wilt  thou  see  and  laiow  whether  it  be  in  God's 
 presence  lawful  and  pure  desire,  or  sinful  lust.  Therefore  most 
 of  those  who  desire  pray  not,  because  they  ah'eady  feel  that  they 
 are  repelled.  But  others,  and  these  are  worst  of  all,  are  so 
 blinded,  and  have  so  perverted  the  piety  which  taught  them 
 once  to  pray,  that  they  actually  pray  vdth  their  lusts  and  for 
 their  lusts.  This  thing  and  that,  which  they  would  fain  have, 
 must  God  give  them ;  they  are  aggrieved  if  He  gives  it  not ; 
 and  become  all  the  more  envious  and  contentious,  when  their 
 praying  has  been  of  no  avail.  How  many  prayers  does  God 
 hear,  to  which  the  Spirit  must  reply,  for  those  who  hear,  in  the 
 right  answer  which  His  voice  gives — AA^erefore  and  to  what 
 end  do  ye  seek  this  ?  St  James  here  gives  the  answer  to  us — 
 To  this  end,  that  ye  may  consume  it  according  to  your  lusts.  One 
 desires  earthly  good,  that  he  may  carnally  enjoy  it ;  another — 
 
406      WHEXCE  COME  WAES  AND  FIGHTINGS  AMONG  YOU? 
 
 for  example,  the  orthodox  maker  of  divisions — would  have  powei 
 and  consideration,  the  victory  of  his  doctrine  and  opniion,  that 
 he  may  sinfully  exalt  himself ;  others  ask  for  recovery  from 
 sickness,  or  relief  in  distress,  but  only  that  they  may  uninter- 
 ruptedly live  on  as  before.  We  must  not  interpret  this  expres- 
 sion merely  of  the  actual  squandering  of  the  good  things  prayed 
 for ;  but  generally  of  that  application  and  use  of  what  is  sought 
 in  carnal  desire,  which  is  most  certainly  no  other  than  a  wasting 
 of  it.  Not  merely  is  every  external  thing  so  created  that  it 
 perishes  in  our  hands,  or  in  the  using  (Col.  ii.  22) — but,  gene- 
 rally, that  which  we  have  not  and  are  not  in  God  is  presently 
 diverted  elsewhere,  and  continues  not. 
 
 Ask,  above  all,  and  in  all,  for  the  good  which  Christ  brings, 
 and  then  ye  ask  not  amiss  :  then  will  true  peace  dwell  in  yom' 
 hearts,  households,  and  lives  ;  then  will  the  warring  lusts  which 
 engender  hatred  and  envy,  fighting  and  war,  be  suppressed. 
 Those  who  are  beginning  to  pray  are  not  rigorously  dealt  with 
 by  God,  if  they,  in  unconscious  impurity  of  desire,  ask  for  indi- 
 vidual blessings  which  must  be  denied  ;  for  He  would  graciously 
 attract  them,  that  they  may  learn  better  and  better  for  what 
 they  should  ask.  But  you,  who  have  know^n  what  it  is  to  seek 
 and  find  grace,  if  you  would  pervert  your  access  to  God  accord- 
 ing to  the  flesh,  must  at  least  be  repelled,  if  not  most  severely 
 condemned,  in  so  doing. 
 
 Finally,  they  cannot  escape  the  word  of  St  James,  who  sup- 
 plicate even  spiritual  good  and  the  gifts  of  grace  for  fleshly  use. 
 This  is  the  most  secret  cunning  of  the  evil  heart ;  let  him  who 
 finds  it  in  himself,  abase  himself  to  the  lowest  point.  Dost  thou 
 ask  wisdom  from  God,  as  St  James  teaches,  but  not  for  thine  own 
 salvation,  and  thy  perseverance  in  trial  — rather  that  thou  mayest 
 exhibit  before  others  thy  wisdom,  thy  Scriptm-e-knowledge,  thy 
 penetration  into  the  counsels  of  God?  Then  wilt  thou  not 
 receive,  but  be  given  over  to  the  errors  of  thy  folly.  Wouldst 
 thou  receive  the  forgiveness  of  sins  for  false  consolation,  and  a 
 delusive  pillow,  perverting  it  into  licentiousness  ?  That  would 
 be  shamefully  consuming  it,  indeed  ;  and,  however  secretly  that 
 may  insinuate  itself  into  thy  request,  thy  asking  will  be  amiss 
 alid  in  vain.  Wouldst  thou  have  deliverance  from  trial,  peace 
 of  soul,  but  only  to  have  and  enjoy  it,  instead  of  using  it  to  the 
 glory  of  God  in  thy  salvation — ^^this  is  still  impure  desire  ;  and 
 
JA31ES  IV.  4-10.  407 
 
 God  will  answer  thee  in  His  own  better  way,  by  plagues  and 
 chastisements,  until  thou  fall  under  His  mighty  hand,  and  seek 
 Him  and  His  will,  and  not  His  gifts.  But  when  this  last  and 
 most  hidden  lust  of  the  flesh,  which  puts  on  so  spiritual  a  form, 
 is  removed,  then  will  God's  peace  be  great  in  the  pure  soul. 
 
 xxm. 
 
 COinaCTION  AND  ADMONITION  OP  THE  UNFAITHFUL. 
 
 (^Ch.  iv.  4-10.) 
 
 Ye  adulterers  and  adulteresses,  know  ye  not  that  the  friendship  of  the  world 
 is  enmity  with  God  ?  whosoever  therefore  will  be  a  friend  of  the  world  is 
 the  enemy  of  God.  Do  ye  think  that  the  Scripture  saith  in  vain,  The 
 Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  us  lusteth  against  envy  ?  But  He  giveth  more 
 grace.  "WTierefore  He  saith,  God  resisteth  the  proud  but  giveth  grace 
 unto  the  humble.  Submit  yourselves  therefore  unto  God  :  resist  the 
 devil  and  he  wiU  flee  from  you.  Draw  nigh  to  God  and  He  will  draw 
 nigh  to  you.  Cleanse  your  hands,  ye  sinners ;  and  purify  your  hearts 
 ye  double-minded.  Be  afflicted  and  mourn  and  weep  :  let  your  laughter 
 be  turned  to  mourning,  and  your  joy  to  heaviness.  Humble  yourselves 
 in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  He  shall  hft  you  up. 
 
 St  James  now  seizes  the  other  side  of  that  unrighteous  and 
 evil  condition  which  he  has  to  expose  and  condemn  ;  or,  rather, 
 he  brings  up,  from  a  still  lower  depth,  a  second  answer  to  his 
 own  question — AYhence  cometh  this  I  The  first  answer  was  :  — 
 From  your  lusts,  which  ye  follow  instead  of  the  way  of  neglected 
 prayer ;  or  the  sinful  desires  of  which  ye  mingle  with  your  evii 
 prayer.  But  ivhence  cometh  this  again  among  Christians,  who 
 have  turned  to  the  Lord  in  faith,  in  the  Church  which  is  called 
 by  His  holy  Xame  ?  What  is  this  but  declension  and  unfaith- 
 fulness, a  breaking  of  the  covenant  of  love  and  peace,  in  the 
 bonds  of  which  His  people  should  have  no  other  desire  and 
 design  than  His  good-pleasure  and  His  friendship  ?  Thus  he 
 now  proceeds  further  to  address  those  who  have  become  unfaith- 
 ful to  the  Lord,  whom  they  still  know  and  confess  ;  and  to  call 
 them  back  to  Him  from  their  carnal  and  worldly  estate.  For 
 he  has  to  do  with  brethren,  who  would  be  so  called,  whom  he  has 
 previously  thus  addressed  (ch.  iii.  1-12),  and  whom  he  refers  to 
 
408    COXVICTION  ^LN'D  ADMONITION  OF  THE  UNFAITHFUL. 
 
 again  as  such  (cli.  iv.  11).  These  forward  teachers  and  dispu- 
 tants, these  unpeaceful  haters  and  enviers,  had  by  no  means 
 relapsed  from  the  Church  into  Judaism  and  heathenism  ;  like 
 many  now  who  are  not  Christ-like  in  spirit  and  life,  but  who 
 yet  are  not  willing  to  depart  from  Church  ordinances  and  dis- 
 cipline, maintaining  at  the  same  time  a  bond  of  connection  with 
 the  Lord,  though  as  unfaithful  and  covenant-breakers.  This 
 unfaithfulness  may  be  so  wicked  as  to  merit  the  sharp  words 
 with  which  St  James  sets  out ;  but  there  are,  in  connection 
 with  the  adulterers,  plenty  of  double-minded,  who  should  have 
 their  due  portion  of  this  condemnation.  This  is  St  James' 
 meaning,  when  he  addresses  now  the  one  and  now  the  other  in 
 this  common  Epistle.  As  his  better  readers  would  not  lightly 
 reject  anything  in  it,  which  might  seem  not  altogether  to  suit 
 themselves,  so  let  us  in  our  day  in  such  a  manner  distribute  the 
 word  of  truth  that  each  may  have  his  fit  portion.  Let  us  hear 
 how  St  James  first  keenly  rebukes  the  unfaithful,  and  then 
 urgently  and  plainly  shows  them  the  way  to  conversion. 
 
 The  sharp  condemnation  begins  at  once —  Ye  adulterers  and 
 adulteresses  I  A  hard  word  of  guilt  and  shame,  even  if  it  refer- 
 red only  to  those  sins  of  the  flesh  which  the  words  ordinarily 
 denote — the  breaking  of  the  bond  of  marriage  among  men. 
 Although  even  in  our  own  day  there  may  be  much  more  secret 
 adultery  manifest  to  God  in  Christian  communities  than  is  gene- 
 rally thought — what  man  would  be  able  to  endure  the  public 
 rebuke  of  being  an  adulterer,  and  what  woman  that  of  being  an 
 adulteress  ?  But  that  is  but  a  slight  thing  in  comparison  of  the 
 sin  which  St  James  means.  He  uses  the  word  in  the  same 
 sense  as  that  in  which  the  Prophets  used  it,  when  they  con- 
 demned Israel's  apostasy  ;  as  that  in  which  the  Lord  Jesus  used 
 it,  when  He  rebuked  the  wicked  and  adulterous  spirit  of  His 
 generation  (Matt.  xii.  39),  and  when  again,  with  reference  to 
 the  future  of  His  people.  He  spoke  of  an  adulterous  and  sinful 
 generation  before  which  no  disciple  must  be  ashamed  of  Him 
 and  His  words,  who  would  not  that  the  retui'ning  Son  of  man 
 should  be  ashamed  of  him  (IMark  viii.  38).  An  evil  race  are 
 all  men  by  nature  ;  but  wicked  and  adulterous  those  only  can 
 be  called  who  belong  to  the  people  of  God,  and  yet  live  carnally 
 and  after  the  course  of  the  world.  St  James  explains  himself 
 more  clearly,  when  he  continues — Know  ye  not,  that  friendship 
 
JAMES  IV.  4-10.  409 
 
 with  the  world  is  enmity  with  God  ?  He  that  will  be  a  friend 
 of  the  world,  will  be  an  enemy  of  God  !  All  that  is  in  the 
 world  embraces  more  than  mere  Mammon,  concerning  which 
 Christ  similarly  says  that  we  cannot  serve  God  and  Mammon 
 together ;  it  is  possessions,  lust,  and  honour,  avarice,  pleasure, 
 pride,  which  cannot  consist  with  the  love  of  the  Father,  accord- 
 ing to  an  Apostle's  well-known  saying  (1  John  ii.  15,  16).  There 
 is  no  new  preaching  upon  this  point ;  for  those  who  are  now 
 addressed,  Know  ye  not  ?  are  very  well  acquainted  with  their 
 lusts  and  adulterous  ways,  but  do  not  want  to  know  and  think 
 about  them.  Yea,  ye  unfaithful  and  fallen  ones,  who  commit 
 whoredom  with  the  world  and  yet  w^ould  be  Christians —  God 
 has  received  you  into  His  covenant,  and  ye  have  not  utterly 
 renounced  this  covenant,  or  thrown  away  your  Christian  name. 
 But  thmk  what  that  name  imports  !  Your  God  would  have 
 your  heart,  your  whole  heart,  and  therefore  your  whole  life,  and 
 thought,  and  desire,  for  His  pure  and  holy  love ;  only  because 
 He  so  deeply  deshes  to  make  you  happy  in  that  love,  does  He 
 so  zealously  deal  with  your  souls,  to  win  them  from  the  world. 
 Have  ye  not,  many  of  you,  in  actual  conversion  of  the  heart 
 yielded  up  yourselves  to  Him,  and  renounced  all  sin  and  vanity, 
 all  the  sinful  lusts  and  desires  of  this  world  ?  "  God  is  faith- 
 ful ;  on  His  part  this  covenant  is  always  sure."  But,  on  that 
 very  account,  ye  should  not  break  it !  Christians,  how  stands  it 
 with  you  ?  Does  St  James'  word  touch  you  or  not  ?  God's 
 Spirit  ouglit  thus  to  dwell  in  you,  ought  to  rule  and  direct  you 
 in  the  way  which  is  opposed  to  the  way  of  the  world.  At  least 
 the  Scripture,  which  ye  hold  and  know,  thus  speaketh,  and  thus 
 only. 
 
 Or  do  ye  persuade  yourselves  that  the  Scripture  in  vain  saith 
 — The  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  us  lusteth  against  envy? — We 
 shall  not  enter  into  the  discussions  of  the  learned,  as  to  the 
 passage  of  Scripture,  or  (which  can  hardly  be  thought)  the 
 passage  in  St  Paul's  Epistles,  which  St  James  here  cites  in  its 
 true  meaning.  Literally  these  words  occur  no  where,  and  I 
 think  that  no  specific  passage  is  referred  to ;  but  it  means  that 
 the  whole  of  Scnpture  testifies,  in  many  places,  that  God's 
 Spirit  dwells  in  His  people,  and  that  this  Divine  Spirit  with  a 
 pure  and  holy  desire  or  lusting  withstands  all  the  hatred  and 
 envv  of  the  sinful  nature.     The  carnal  or  natural  mind  is  an 
 
410     CONVICTION  AND  ADMONITION  OY  THE  UNFAITHFUL. 
 
 enmity  against  God,  a  hatred  of  His  holy  love.  But  ye  are  not 
 carnal,  ye  are  spiritual,  if  God's  Spirit  dicell  in  you.  But  he 
 that  hath  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  is  none  of  His  (Rom.  viii. 
 7,  9).  Whosoever  hath  this  Spirit  must,  as  all  Scripture  de- 
 clares, be  internally  conscious  of  the  same  contradiction  and 
 warfare  which  exists  without  between  God  and  the  world.  For 
 the  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  against  the 
 flesh;  and  these  are  contrary  the  one  to  the  other  (Gal.  v.  17). 
 But  why  does  St  James  say  expressly  against  hatred  or  envy  ? 
 Because  the  impulse  and  will  of  the  flesh  must  be  especially 
 manifested  in  its  contrariness  to  the  love  and  peace  of  God; 
 hence  in  the  passage  in  which  St  Paul  is  opposing  the  w^orks  of 
 the  flesh  to  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  most  of  his  words  tend  that 
 way — Enmity,  hatred,  envj^  wrath,  strife,  contention,  emula- 
 tions, murder  (Gal.  v.  20).  St  James  has  had  here  particularly 
 to  do  with  bitter  envy  and  hatred  in  the  heart,  and  with  the 
 thence  resulting  strife  and  war  amono;  Christians.  All  this 
 should  be  only  in  the  world,  in  which,  however  it  may  be  glossed 
 over  or  veiled  in  deceit,  the  Preacher's  word  holds  good — A  man 
 is  eni-ied  of  his  neighbour  (Eccles.  iv.  4).  All  the  love  of  the 
 world  is  selfishness  and  self  seeking,  consequently  in  its  principle, 
 hatred  and  envy :  this  is  the  evil  love  of  nature  and  its  wicked 
 lust,  against  which  the  Spirit  from  God,  the  Spirit  of  pure  and 
 genuine  love  testifies  and  is  zealous.  Or,  is  there  none  of  this 
 found  in  you  f  Have  ye  no  part,  or  no  longer  any  part,  in  the 
 words — The  Spirit  which  dwelleth  in  us  —  ?  Yet,  the  testimony 
 abides  for  you  in  Scripture;  this  its  word  convicts  you  from 
 without,  and  even  that  is  a  condemnation  of  the  Spirit.  Do  ye 
 think,  who  have  the  Scripture  and  for  whom  it  speaketh,  that 
 it  speaketh  thus  to  you  in  vain  f  that  it  is  not  truth,  and  most 
 solemn  truth?  Woe,  woe,  if  under  the  grace  of  the  New 
 Testament,  that  ancient  cry  of  the  Lord  is  renewed  for  you — 
 Men,  even  Christian  men,  will  not  suffer  My  Spirit,  ^ly  word,  to 
 comact,  rebuke,  and  teach  them  ! 
 
 The  word  of  the  Spirit,  which  points  to  the  Spirit  in  the 
 heart,  has  in  it  a  great  promise ;  it  is  a  word  of  gi-ace.  This 
 word,  or  God  who  speaketh  in  it,  giveth  grace  richly.  The 
 Gospel  announces  how  God  would  show  in  us  the  exceed- 
 ing abundance  of  the  riches  of  His  grace,  through  His  good- 
 ness towards  us  in  Christ  Jesus  (Eph.  ii.  7).     Literally,  it  is 
 
JAMES  IV.  4-10.  411 
 
 greate?'  grace ;  that  is,  not  only  great,  but  increasingly  and  ever 
 greater  grace,  in  proportion  as  we  believe  the  word  and  follow 
 the  Spirit.  Assuredly  therefore,  something  greater  and  better 
 than  all  which  the  alluring,  lying  world  promises  and  gives. 
 To  receive  grace  from  God  is  in  itself  the  infinitely  greater 
 thing,  in  comparison  of  all  that  is  great.  But  to  whom  does 
 God  give  grace,  and  to  whom  indeed  not?  The  Scripture 
 saith,  again,  in  many  places,  especially  in  a  saying  of  the  wise 
 Solomon,  which  St  James  here,  like  St  Peter,  quotes — Surely 
 He  scorneth  the  scornersj  He  resisteth  the  proud,  hut  he  giveth 
 grace  unto  the  lowly  (1  Pet.  v.  5 ;  Prov.  iii.  34).  AYhat  a  plain, 
 deep,  and  mighty  word  of  the  Spirit  which  convicts  all  sin  and 
 directs  the  sinner  into  the  plain  and  sure  way  of  peace  !  What 
 a  testimony  of  God,  piercing  the  heart  and  conscience,  in- 
 telligible to  all  and  yet  never  to  be  exhausted,  combining  in  one 
 the  Old  Testament  and  the  New,  all  preaching  of  repentance 
 and  consolation  of  grace,  the  first  call  and  the  last  admonition, 
 essentially  all  in  itself  !  He  that  heareth  this  in  vain  knows 
 nevertheless  that  it  is  true.  Mark  this  word,  ye  adulterers  and 
 adulteresses,  that  ye  may  be  made  wise  by  it,  and  learn  the 
 way  of  your  conversion ;  and  think  not  that  the  Scripture  saith 
 this  in  vain  J 
 
 But  is  this  oreat  word,  and  all  that  St  James  adds  to  it, 
 needless  to  us  who  through  the  grace  of  God,  received  and 
 retained,  have  remained  on  the  whole  faithful,  and  have  not  so 
 entirely  turned  away  to  friendship  and  fellowship  with  the 
 world  ?  Is  this  great  word,  and  all  that  St  James  adds,  needless 
 to  us?  Can  we  think  that  to  us  the  address  should  be — Ye, 
 my  beloved  and  faithful  brethren,  wholly  sanctified,  need  no 
 longer  more  grace  ?  Alas,  that  would  place  us  all  at  once  among 
 the  proud  and  false,  not  the  humble  and  sincere.  Indeed, 
 there  is  a  distinction  between  living  in  full  and  continued 
 adultery  and  the  occasional  decline  from  tender  and  entire  fidelity: 
 — yet  is  not  every  act  of  infidelity  a  breaking  of  the  covenant, 
 and  deserving  of  severest  punishment?  We,  who  think  we 
 know  that  the  friendship  of  God  and  that  of  the  world,  the  lusts 
 of  the  flesh  and  of  the  spirit,  are  contradictory  and  opposed — 
 are  we  in  deed  and  truth  quite  dissevered  from  the  world,  and 
 perfectly  obedient  to  the  Spirit  who  dwelleth  in  us  ?  Is  there 
 among  us  no  vibration,  or  bias  towards  the  one  side  as  well  as 
 
412     CONVICTION  AND  ADMONITION  OF  THE  UNFAITHFUL. 
 
 the  other  ?  Are  we  so  firm  and  faithful  in  the  covenant,  that 
 there  is  no  spot  or  stain  to  be  found  in  us  ?  Brethren,  how 
 much  shrinking  from  the  cross  of  Christ  does  the  Spirit  see  to 
 rebuke  in  us,  how  much  hanging  upon  the  world  and  compro- 
 Tiise  with  it  is  still  remaining  within  us  !  How  often  must  the 
 Saviour  still  cry  unto  our  consciences — Ye  are  My  friends,  if  ye  do 
 whatsoever  I  command  you !  (Jno.  xv.  14) — but  not  My  friends, 
 if  ye  do  what  ye  will,  and  what  the  world  requires !  Who  is 
 there  that  can  confidently  enter  into  the  Apostle's  word,  with 
 reference  to  his  whole  spirit  and  walk — If  I  yet  pleased  men, 
 I  should  not  be  the  servant  of  Christ !  (Gal.  i.  10).  Therefore, 
 at  least  be  loarned :  He  who  will  not  in  any  point  be  at  issue 
 with  the  world,  must  be  in  that  at  issue  with  God,  and  become 
 soon  His  enemy  again  !  Be  on  your  guard  lest  the  Spirit  should 
 speak  to  you  any  of  His  words  in  vain ;  resist  not  the  Spirit 
 who  dwelleth  in  you  !  Your  faithful  covenant-God  is  tenderly 
 jealous  of  your  perfect  fidelity;  He  would  give  you  greater, 
 and  still  greater  grace,  than  any  you  have  yet  received.  Greater 
 than  ye  conceive  in  your  weakness,  to  present  you  at  last  fault- 
 less before  His  own  face.  But,  until  that  high  goal  is  reached, 
 you  must  hear  that  same  word  concerning  pride  and  humility 
 by  which  St  James  has  begun  to  show  the  way  of  return  from 
 infidelity. 
 
 Hear  further  how  in  the  second  part  of  this  present  section 
 he  urgently  and  explicitly  points  out  this  way  of  return  to  God. 
 He  has  sharply  rebuked,  and  now  calls  and  invites  them  to 
 come  back;  affectionately  indeed,  but  with  all  that  solemn 
 severity  which  is  due  to  the  fearful  peril  of  departing  from  the 
 living  God.  The  grace  and  graciousness  of  the  appeal  appears 
 in  this  of  itself,  that  the  faithful  God  will  receive  the  returned 
 adulterers  when  they  come.  That  which  he  forbade  by  Moses 
 to  His  people,  in  His  more  abundant  grace  and  kindness  He 
 Himself  does ;  as  we  hear  in  the  Prophet :  "  If  a  man  put 
 away  his  wife,  and  she  go  from  him,  and  become  another  man's, 
 shall  he  return  to  her  again  ?  Thou  hast  played  the  harlot  with 
 many  lovers ;  yet  return  again  to  Me,  saith  the  Lord"  (Jer.  iii. 
 1).  He  gives  His  apostate  people  no  bill  of  divorcement,  that 
 He  might  put  them  away  (Isa.  1.  1).  And  thus  His  servant 
 James  preaches  afresh :  Be  ye  therefore  subject  to  God ;  resist 
 the  devilj  and  he  will  flee  from  you  J     St  James  speaks,  as  we 
 
JAMES  IV.  4-10.  413 
 
 have  heard,  of  an  evil  and  deceitful  icorld;  he  speaks  of  his 
 own  lust  which  seduces  every  sinner ;  but  he  speaks  also  of  a 
 devil,  who  is  the  prince  and  god  of  this  world,  who  excites  men's 
 lusts  and  fans  the  flame  of  hell  in  their  hearts.  Satan  is  the 
 prime  and  most  perfect  enemi/  of  God,  the  beginner  and  finisher 
 of  all  pnVZg  leading  to  apostasy  from  the  Supreme,  to  whom  all 
 things  should  be  submissive.  He  is  the  tempter  to  all  dis- 
 obedience, the  ruler  and  perverter  in  all  unfaithfulness ;  he 
 holds  out  to  fools  the  ku'e  of  freedom  in  their  pleasures  when 
 they  continue,  or  become  again,  his  slaves,  caught  in  his  snares 
 unto  destruction  (2  Tim.  ii.  26).  They  who  know  nothing  of 
 the  devil  are  most  surely  under  his  power.  But  the  Scriptm'e 
 tells  us  the  truth  of  God's  faithfulness;  it  lays  bare  the  de- 
 ception, points  out  the  enemy,  and  tells  us  that  we  may  and 
 that  we  must  resist  him.  For  God  sues  for  our  souls,  that  He 
 may  rescue  them  from  ruin ;  for  them  there  is  the  great  con- 
 test between  God  and  the  devil.  He  who  icill  escape  from  the 
 devil,  may  do  so ;  Christians  most  certainly  have  received  the 
 grace  of  God  which  declares — For  this  purpose  the  Son  of 
 God  was  manifested,  that  He  might  destroy  the  works  of  the 
 devil !  (1  John  iii.  8).  Now,  ye  adulterers  and  adulteresses, 
 will  ye  wilfully  xun  into  the  snares  of  the  devil,  or  will  ye  be 
 the  ransomed  possession  of  God,  unto  the  praise  of  His  glory '? 
 (Eph.  i.  14).  But  ye  must  be  subject  to  God !  For  there  is 
 no  other  bond  of  love  and  grace  between  God  and  His  creature, 
 no  other  friendship  with  God,  than  that  which  consists  in 
 obedience  to  God's  commands.  Thus  Abraham  in  his  obedient 
 submission  was  called  the  friend  of  God ;  and  fidelity  to  God 
 in  eveiy  one  is  simply  the  obedience  of  faith.  Submit  your- 
 selves anew,  then,  ye  rebels  ;  humble  before  God,  stand  up 
 with  new  earnestness  against  the  devil,  who  misleads  you  in 
 your  pride  !  And  let  us,  whom  he  ever  seeks  to  lay  hold  of 
 though  we  know  him,  whom  he  seeks  to  devour,  if  not  with 
 roaring  yet  with  cunning,  to  turn  away  our  mind  from  sim- 
 plicity (2  Cor.  xi.  3) — let  us  withstand  him  unto  final  victory, 
 stedfastly  believing  in  the  power  of  that  ever-increasing  grace 
 which  is  offered  us  !  He  that  is  born  of  God  keepeth  himself, 
 and  that  wicked  one  toucheth  him  not !  (1  John  v.  18).  Fall 
 not  into  the  frightful  folly  of  too  many  insincere  Christians, 
 who  impute  all  their  sins  and  unfaithfulness  to  the  de^dl;  and  say 
 
414     CONVICTION  AND  ADMONITION  OF  THE  UNFAITHFUL. 
 
 that  it  was  his  work,  when  in  truth  their  own  flesh  and  their  own 
 heart  gave  heed  to  him  and  gave  him  room.  From  him  who 
 resists  him  through  God,  hefleeth:  that  is  everlastingly  true.  Not 
 indeed  that  one  victory  drives  him  to  final  flight ;  he  returns 
 again  and  again,  sometimes  immediately  after  the  most  shame- 
 ful defeat.  But  he  must  fly,  again  and  again,  whenever  he 
 encounters  that  one  word — Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy 
 God,  and  Him  only  shalt  thou  serve,  to  Him  alone  be  subject ! 
 Before  him  who  thus,  in  and  with  God,  resisteth  him,  he  fleeth 
 as  before  the  Almighty  God  Himself.  But  he  who  is  tempted 
 by  Satan  to  lift  himself  proudly  against  the  Supreme  will  find 
 that  God  must  resist  him,  and  all  that  is  devilish  in  him,  even  as 
 He  resisteth  the  devil  himself.  Then  is  it  with  the  Church  of 
 Christ  as  with  the  ancient  people  of  God.  "  He  said,  surely 
 they  are  my  people,  children  that  will  not  lie  :  so  He  was  their 
 Saviour.  In  His  love  and  in  His  pity  He  redeemed  them  ;  and 
 He  bare  them  and  carried  them  all  the  days  of  old.  But  they 
 rebelled,  and  vexed  His  Holy  Spirit ;  therefore  He  was  turned 
 to  be  their  enemy,  and  he  fought  against  them  "  (Isa.  Ixiii.  8-10.) 
 Draw  not  nigh  then  to  the  devil ;  give  him  not  advantage 
 by  meeting  him  midway  with  your  lusts,  so  that  he  may  touch 
 you  by  them.  Rather,  Draio  nigh  to  God,  and  He  will  draw 
 nigh  to  you  I  This  likewise  is  a  great  and  most  impressive  word, 
 like  the  former ;  never  to  be  exhausted  in  preaching,  and  yet 
 quite  enough  a  sermon  of  itself.  The  same  word  occurs  in  the 
 prophet,  as  addressed  to  God's  ancient  people :  Eetm^n  unto  me, 
 saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  I  mil  return  unto  you  (Zech.  i.  3). 
 And  when  God  thus  speak eth  to  us,  that  of  itself  is  His  own 
 first  drawing  nigh  to  us,  in  the  attraction  of  soHciting  grace. 
 Thus  doth  He  ever ;  and  when  we  begin  in  any  degree  to  hear 
 and  to  come,  O  how  abundantly  He  responds,  and  comes  to 
 meet  poor  sinners !  Who  among  us  has  not  experienced  this 
 a  thousand  times  ?  Which  of  you,  ye  adulterers,  has  not  known 
 this  in  past  experience,  or  knows  it  not  now  in  present  ?  Let  us 
 draw  nigh  to  God,  Christians,  for  we  have  the  abundant  right 
 of  access  in  Christ !  But,  not  like  His  ancient  people,  with  jour 
 lips  while  your  hearts  are  far  from  Him — with  true  and  sincere 
 hearts,  rather,  as  is  fit  before  the  Most  High.  What  then  imme- 
 diately follows  in  the  presence  of  God?  Cleanse  your  hands,  ye 
 sinners,  and  purify  your  hearts,  ye  double-minded.      Before  God 
 
JAMES  IV.  4-10.  415 
 
 we  shall  know  what  we  are,  and  how  it  stands  with  us :  either 
 sinners,  with  those  very  hands  which  we  would  Hft  up  to  God, 
 or  deceitful  and  unstable  in  heart.  To  the  former  God  cries — 
 Your  hands  are  full  of  guilt ;  wash  you,  make  you  clean,  put 
 away  the  evil  of  your  doings  from  before  IMine  eyes ;  cease  to  do 
 evil !  (Is.  i.  15,  16).  The  latter  He  keenly  tests  and  reproves ;  to 
 show^  them  how  double-hearted  they  are,  how  double-souled ; 
 and  with  what  divided  allegiance  and  imperfect  submission  and 
 partial  faith  they  appear  before  Him.  Be  not  too  hasty  with 
 David's  word  of  comfort ;  I  wash  mine  hands  in  innocency,  and 
 so  compass.  Lord,  Thine  altar !  (Ps.  xx\^i.  6).  Make  your  hearts 
 clean ;  for  without  that  not  even  the  hands  are  pure. 
 
 This  makes  us  all  sinners,  and  in  some  degree  double-minded; 
 the  most  sincere  in  purpose  will  be  the  least  of  all  disposed  to  refuse 
 to  confess  then'  mifaithfuhiess.  Those  who  most  sincerely  draw 
 nigh  to  God  will  be  most  profoundly  conscious  how  much  they 
 still  need  that  greater  grace.  But  He  giveth  it  to  the  humble, 
 the  miserable,  the  penitent;  therefore  it  imports  all  in  their 
 degree  to  receive  St  James'  call  to  co7iversion :  Where  there  is 
 false  joy  and  laughter,  let  there  be  lamentation  !  Where  there 
 is  still  pride  in  the  heart,  let  it  be  humbled ! 
 
 Be  afflicted,  and  mourn,  and  iveep ;  let  your  laughter  he  turned 
 to  heaviness,  and  your  joy  to  mourning.  This  is  the  word  which 
 best  suits  the  adultei'ers  and  adulteresses,  who  deeply  need  to 
 come  down  from  their  proud  and  lofty  elevation  into  a  state  of 
 deeper  and  more  troubled  repentance  :  sorrow  and  lamentation 
 would  much  better  become  them  than  laughter.  Hear,  ye  blinded 
 ones,  and  bow^  down  your  hearts  to  good  counsel !  The  same 
 Spmt  of  God  who  thus  exhorts  you  will  also  excite  within  you 
 sorrow,  and  give  you  tears,  if  ye  only  begin  to  yield  Him  His 
 rights,  and  give  Him  room.  Yea,  begin  at  once  to  be  wise  !  Say 
 unto  laughter.  Thou  art  mad !  and  to  joy.  What  doest  thou  ? 
 (Eccl.  ii.  2).  Did  ye  ever  experience  a  first  repentance  towards 
 God,  ye  sinners — why,  then,  have  ye  forsaken  and  forgotten 
 that  good  beginning,  and  fallen  into  the  miserable  delusion  of 
 a  vain  joy  ?  Tm-n  back  to  the  first  sm-e  ground  of  your  cove- 
 nant Avith  God ;  ye  have  indeed  double  reason  for  lamentation 
 and  sorrow,  as  being  covenant-breakers,  and  fallen  souls.  Or, 
 did  ye  never  thoroughly  enter  into  that  Divine  distress  without 
 which  at  the  beginning  there  can  be  no  complete  conversion 
 
416     CONVICTION  AND  ADMONITION  OF  THE  UNFAITHFUL. 
 
 and  salvation  ?  Be  in  earnest  now,  at  tlie  last,  for  the  matter 
 with  you  is  tremendously  earnest ! — But  none  of  us  are  beyond 
 the  necessity  of  sorrow  and  lamentation.  Our  progressive  sanc- 
 tification,  after  grace  received,  does  not  go  on  in  a  proud  and 
 secure  spirit :  we  must  often  go  back  to  that  original  sorrow  for 
 sin  ;  often  appear  before  the  throne  of  grace  vnth  the  lament- 
 ing prayer  which  issues  from  a  broken  heart,  in  order  that  we 
 may  receive  new  and  larger  measures  of  grace.  And,  ye  double- 
 minded,  especially,  more  or  less  divided  still  between  God  and 
 the  world — if  ye  would  truly  draw  nigh  to  God,  and  make 
 pure  your  hearts,  how  can  that  otherwise  be  than  by  a  new 
 repentance?  Canst  thou  be  so  merry  and  satisfied,  as  if  all 
 were  well  with  thee  ?  or,  even  with  hypocritical  self-deception, 
 make  thy  gladness  known  for  joy  in  the  Lord,  while  His  Spirit 
 findeth  in  thee  so  much  to  rebuke  and  condemn  ?  This  very 
 perversion  of  all  right  feeling  should  be  matter  of  bitter  lamen- 
 tation before  the  Lord !  Canst  thou  so  mxuch  succumb  to  the 
 flesh,  which  thou  shouldst  crucify,  as  to  be  heard  indulging  in 
 over-loud  laughter  like  the  fools  (Ecclus.  xxi.  29 — whilst  thou 
 wouldst  fain  be  reputed  \\'ise  !  Canst  thou  now  and  then  forget 
 utterly  that  that  laughter  of  fools  which  Solomon  calls  madness 
 is  making  a  mock  at  sin ;  and  find  thy  pleasure  in  that  instead 
 of  in  the  company  of  the  pious?  (Prov.  xiv.  9).  Art  thou  so 
 little  under  the  discipline  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  art  thou  so  far 
 gone  from  chastity  of  heart,  that  thou  canst  be  found  among 
 the  children  of  the  world,  sharing  their  filthy  discourse,  which 
 should  be  to  thee  irksome  wantonness?  (Ecclus.  xxvii.  13). 
 Thou  hast  then  much  cause  to  weep  before  thy  Saviour's  face, 
 to  change  thy  perilous  joy  and  merriment  into  mourning^  or,  as 
 St  James'  word  strictly  means,  into  deeply  humbled  abasement. 
 For  there  is  still  a  wretched  pride  in  thy  heart ;  but  as  long  as  that 
 is  there,  thou  hast  not  ended  with  the  great  word  of  Scripture 
 which  St  James  repeats  for  all  alike,  with  its  exhortation  and 
 promise  conjoined — Humble  yourselves  before  the  Lord}  and  lie 
 ivill  lift  you  up. 
 
 This  word  includes    all,  from   the  first  conversion  to  the 
 
 consummation  of  holiness.     It  is  the  whole  plan  of  salvation  ; 
 
 the  unvarying  and  abiding  inile  for  us  unto  whom  the  Lord  hath 
 
 come,  who  know  Him,  who  belong  to  Him,  and  who  would  stand 
 
 ^  Not  as  Luther  read — Before  God. 
 
JAMES  IV.  11,  12.  417 
 
 before  Him  at  the  last.  Humble  yourselves  in  repentance,  in 
 obedience,  in  patience  !  The  first  cry  of  the  Lord  to  sinners  is, 
 I  am  come  to  call  you  to  repentance.  Him  that  hmnbleth  him- 
 self before  Him,  He  exalts  at  once  with  the  grace  and  consola- 
 tion of  forgiveness.  But  that  is  the  preparation  of  the  soul  for 
 a  new  walk  in  obedience  ;  and,  as  far  as  that  is  wanting,  there 
 is  the  constant  call  to  repentance.  Humble  thyself  truly  and 
 altogether ;  subject  thy  desires,  thy  self-will,  thy  proudly  refrac- 
 tory heart  to  obedience  in  His  Spirit :  when  He  ruleth  thee, 
 thou  wilt  be  more  and  more  exalted  in  the  power  of  His  grace, 
 in  order  to  the  sure  \dctory  over  sin,  the  world,  and  the  devil. 
 But  thou  wilt  not  attain  to  that  without  discipline  from  within 
 and  without,  discipline  which  will  still  abase,  afflict,  and  bow  thee 
 down.  Endure  all  this ;  humble  thyself  under  the  mighty  hand 
 of  God  ;  so  will  He  perfect  thy  obedience,  and  exalt  thee  in  His 
 time  !  (1  Pet.  v.  6).  Let  that  pride  through  which  the  devil  fell, 
 and  through  which  he  would  cast  thee  down,  be  utterly  and 
 entirely  abolished  in  thee ;  so  that  thou  mayest  know  of  nothing 
 but  humiliation  before  the  Lord,  who  so  deeply  humbled  Him- 
 self for  thee.  So  shalt  thou  through  Him  be  exalted,  who  saith 
 not  in  vain  more  than  once,  "  He  that  exalteth  himself  shall  bo 
 abased  :  but  he  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted ! " 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 EVIL  SPEAKIXG  AND  JUDGING. 
 (Ch.  iv.  11,  12.) 
 
 Speak  not  evil  one  of  another,  brethren.     He  that  speaketh  evil  of  his  bro- 
 ther, and  judgeth  Ms  brother,  speaketh  evil  of  the  law,  and  judgeth  tlie 
 law  :  But  if  thou  judge  the  law,  thou  art  not  a  doer  of  the  law,  but  a 
 judge.     There  is  one  lawgiver,  who  is  able  to  save  and  to  destroy :  who 
 ,  art  thou  that  judgest  another  ? 
 
 Speak  not  evil  one  of  another  I  Another  of  those  exhortations 
 which,  both  to  the  world  and  to  the  community  of  Christians,  are 
 so  urgently  necessary :  one,  theref  ore,which  in  a  variety  of  expres- 
 sions often  occurs  in  the  sacred  Scriptures — from  the  ninth  com- 
 mandment, and  the  many  exhortations  of  the  Prophets,  down 
 
 2d 
 
418  EVIL  SPEAKING  AND  JUDGING. 
 
 to  the  Lord's  most  weighty  saying,  Judge  not !  and  the  apos- 
 toKcal  exhortations  to  lay  aside  all  malice,  and  all  guile,  hypocri- 
 sies, envies,  and  evil  speakings  (1  Pet.  ii.  1).  But  how  does  St 
 James  reach  such  an  exliortation  here  ?  He  has  been  beseech- 
 ing and  warning,  Humble  yourselves  before  the  Lord  !  and  this 
 now  follows  quite  consistently.  For,  that  sinful  and  unbecoming 
 judgment  and  evil  speaking  has  always  flowed  from  the  pride 
 which  refuses  to  be  humbled  before  the  Lord,  and  w^hich  forgets 
 its  own  guilt  before  the  supreme  and  only  Judge.  At  the  same 
 time,  he  thus  returns  to  that  which  had  occupied  his  mind  since 
 the  beginning  of  the  third  chapter — the  warning  against  sins 
 of  the  tongue,  which  through  hatred  and  pride  lead  to  war  and 
 contention.  He  has  spoken  in  ch.  iv.  1  of  strife  and  war  among 
 brethren,  and  then  in  ver.  2  of  the  imderlying  prmciple  of 
 hatred  and  envy  :  to  the  same  chapter  certainly  belongs  that 
 evil  speaking  and  judging  from  which  so  much  disquiet,  alas, 
 springs,  and  which  so  fatally  interrupts  brotherly  fellowship  and 
 love.  Therefore  St  James  first  here  inserts  the  convincing  and 
 mournful  word,  after  the  previous  keen  address — Speak  not  evil 
 one  of  another,  dear  brethren  I 
 
 What  is  that  evil  speaking  which  is  so  unbecoming  to  the  bre- 
 thren, and  so  strictly  forbidden  by  the  word  and  Sphit  of  God  ? 
 Surely  not  every  kind  of  speaking  against  the  sin  of  others  ! 
 If  one  summoned  to  bear  witness  of  the  truth  before  a  judge, 
 appointed  to  do  right  in  the  place  of  God,  gives  sincere  testimony 
 to  a  sin  which  has  been  committed,  in  order  to  its  being  punished, 
 he  does  no  more  than  his  righteous  duty ;  and  the  effeminate 
 weakness  which  would  conceal  the  truth  would  be  no  other  than 
 sin.  When  a  minister  of  God,  who  should  not  merely  beseech 
 in  the  stead  of  Christ,  but  also  in  His  name  reprove  and  warn 
 sinners,  discloses  the  secret  shamefulness  of  sinners'  sins,  it  is 
 only  part  of  his  faithful  duty,  and  he  would  himself  sin  if  he 
 withheld  it.  When  the  preacher  preaches,  according  to  his 
 Lord's  commission — He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned ! 
 and  says  to  every  man  who  will  not  come  to  God's  house,  in 
 faithful  warning — Take  heed,  lest  thou  be  among  those  who  are 
 condemned  !  no  man  can  object  to  him  that  he  is  assuming  the 
 office  of  a  judge.  Nor  even  then,  when  he  may  find  it  needful 
 and  salutary  to  point  one  sinner  to  the  plain  example  of  another, 
 that  he  may  in  him  see  himself  as  in  a  glass.     AYlien  the  most 
 
12.  419 
 
 limnble  Christian,  without  special  office,  but  in  the  spirit  of  the 
 common  Christian  vocation,  tells  an  erring  brother  the  truth  in 
 love,  he  only  complies  with  the  apostoHcal  precept — Wherefore, 
 putting  away  l}'ing,  speak  every  man  truth  with  his  neigh- 
 bour :  for  we  are  members  one  of  another  (Eph.  iv.  25).  Can 
 we  not,  and  should  we  not,  all  distinguish  between  Avhat  is  good 
 and  what  is  evil  ?  Should  we  not  know,  through  the  word  and 
 Spirit  of  God,  what  is  spiritual  and  what  is  carnal,  what  are  the 
 works  of  the  old  man  and  what  the  fruits  of  regeneration  ?  If 
 we  are  thus  to  distinguish,  we  must,  indeed,  also  judge  the  per- 
 sons in  whom  we  find  the  one  or  the  other  ;  we  must,  first  of  all, 
 prove  and  judge  in  our  hearts  all  that  is  seen  in  our  fellow-men. 
 For  it  is  not  written  in  vaui — Prove  all  things,  and  hold  fast 
 that  which  is  good  !  (1  Thess.  v.  21).  Similarly — The  spirit- 
 ual man  judgeth  all,  and  is  himself  judged  of  no  man  (1  Cor. 
 ii.  15).  Fui'ther,  we  may  and  we  must  utter  our  judgment  in 
 words,  wdien  it  is  necessary  for  others'  amendment,  or  when  we 
 otherwise  should  lie ;  true  judgment  and  testimony  against  our 
 neighbour  is  in  itself  no  sin,  but,  on  the  contrary,  oftentimes  a 
 duty.  For  it  is,  once  more,  not  written  in  vain — Woe  to  those 
 who  call  evil  good  and  good  evil,  wko  make  darkness  light  and 
 light  darkness,  who  call  bitter  sweet  and  sweet  bitter  !  (Is.  v. 
 20).  St  James  might  therefore,  on  the  other  side,  teach  with 
 equal  earnestness — Flatter  not,  and  play  not  the  hypocrite 
 with  one  another,  dear  brethren !  It  is  necessary  that  I  should 
 judge  in  my  heai't,  in  order  to  keep  myself  from  evil,  and  hold 
 fast  only  the  good ;  love  binds  me  to  rebulve  and  warn  my  bro- 
 ther, in  order  that  I  may  mend  him  and  show  him  what  is 
 good. 
 
 But  quite  different  from  this  is  the  proud  and  wrathful 
 rebuking  of  the  sin  of  another ;  and  worst  of  all  that  frequent  evil 
 speaking  which,  though  so  constantly  denounced,  is  the  source  of 
 such  plentiful  disquiet.  In  that  a  man  speaks,  without  vocation 
 and  duty,  out  of  the  overflow  of  a  spiteful  mind,  to  one  concern- 
 ing the  sin  of  another ;  e^dl  is  spoken  behind  the  brother's 
 back,  instead  of  being  spoken  honestly  to  his  face.  Thus  in  the 
 Apostle's  time  the  Gentiles  spoke  about  the  Christians ;  they 
 woukl  not  see  their  good  works,  but  spoke  evil  of  them  as  of 
 evil-doers  (1  Pet.  ii.  12).  Thus  do  the  baptized  heathens  among 
 ourselves    speak    against   the   godly,   of  whom  they   say  all 
 
420  EVIL  SPEAKING  AND  JUDGING. 
 
 manner  of  evil  falsely.  If  this  is  found  among  those  who  would 
 be  called  brethren,  the  Holy  Spirit  denounces  it  most  keenly ; 
 and  teaches  Christians  absolutely  to  avoid  it,  even  in  speaking 
 about  the  children  of  the  world.  Such  speaking  of  evil  can 
 never  answer  the  question — Should  I  say  this  of  him,  when  he 
 was  present  ?  Why  do  I  not  rather  say  it  to  himself  ?  For 
 what  purpose  am  I  saying  it  now  ? — In  this  there  is  no  obedi- 
 ence to  duty,  no  design  of  love ;  in  it  speaks  the  perverse,  for- 
 ward, proud  mind  ;  therefore  it  soon  passes  into  false  judgment, 
 or  into  that  condemnation  which  is  forbidden,  even  when  the 
 matter  may  be  true. 
 
 This  is  what  St  James  means  when  he  goes  on — He  that 
 speaketh  evil  of  his  brother,  and  judgeth  his  brother,  speaketh 
 evil  of  the  law,  and  judgeth  the  law.  He  is  no  other  than  thy 
 brother  against  whom  thou  speakest  in  thy  judgment :  this  he 
 mentions  again  and  again,  with  something  of  the  severity  of 
 that  word  of  the  Lord  to  Cain,  Where  is  thy  brother  ?  The  voice 
 of  thy  brother's  blood — thy  brother's  blood  by  thine  hands  ! 
 Yea,  thy  brother  is  every  man :  first,  as  being  thy  fellow-man ; 
 then,  as  being,  alas  !  thy  fellow-sinner,  thou  sinner ;  and  lastly, 
 as  being  through  Christ  thy  fellow-redeemed.  In  every  view 
 ye  are  alike,  and  stand  before  God  side  by  side,  when  sin  and 
 judgment  or  grace  are  concerned.  But  thou,  with  thy  evil  speak- 
 ing, iiftest  thyself  above  or  against  him,  as  if  thou  w^ert  his  lord 
 and  god,  his  judge  !  Elsewhere,  the  Scripture  declares  that 
 such  sinful  judging  on  the  part  of  man  intrudes  into  the  office 
 of  the  Most  High,  and  anticipates  the  verdict  of  the  last  day ; 
 but  St  James,  who  throughout  his  Epistle  has  the  laio  especially 
 in  view,  says  yet  more  expressly — He  speaks  evil  of  the  law, 
 and  judgeth  the  law.  And  this  is,  as  has  been  remarked  with 
 force,  the  last  place  of  the  New  Testament  in  which  the  word 
 ^^  law"  occm's.  What  means  it  then  to  speak  evil  of  the  law  ? 
 We  observe  at  once,  that  the  expression  is  a  strange  one,  adopted 
 for  the  sake  of  the  striking  parallel;  and  it  seems  to  mean — 
 Such  a  man,  improperly  and  officiously  noting  and  dealing  with 
 the  sins  of  other  men,  throws  blame  thereby  upon  the  law  of 
 God,  as  if  it  were  not  sufficient ;  for  he  acts  as  if  he  supposed 
 it  necessary  to  come  to  the  help  of  the  law.  Consequently,  he 
 speaks  evil  of  the  law ;  to  wit,  that  it  is  too  weak  and  inert, 
 unless  he  should  also  use  his  diligence.     But  it  is  not  so,  dear 
 
JAMES  lY.  11,  12.  421 
 
 brethren  !  Eeflect,  that  the  law  is  at  least  in  Christendom  every- 
 where taught  and  preached  abundantly,  so  that  young  and  old 
 know  it  well.  If  thou,  on  thy  part,  dost  exhibit  to  men  in  thy 
 own  conversation  the  fulfilment  of  the  law ;  and,  moreover,  in 
 all  such  cases  as  impose  it  upon  thee  as  a  duty,  dost  assist  the 
 pastors  and  preachers  with  thy  words,  as  a  servant  and  witness 
 for  God, — thou  doest  all  that  can  be  done.  Then  let  people  hear 
 and  obey,  or  not :  God  will  vindicate  His  own  commandments  by 
 discipline  and  punishment,  by  teaching  and  testimony  in  all  His 
 ordinances,  as  by  His  Sphit  in  the  conscience.  The  law  is  admin- 
 istered by  its  appointed  officials,  who  preach  it  to  Christians  as 
 a  law  of  liberty,  or  make  transgressors  feel  it  as  a  law  of  civil 
 right  and  restraint.  If  thou  art  a  judge,  a  master,  a  teacher  or 
 parent,  a  preacher  or  overseer  of  any  souls,  perform  the  function 
 of  thine  office,  without  evil  speaking.  But  be  content  with  that, 
 and  do  not  go  beyond,  as  if  it  w^ere  not  merely  written — Prove 
 all  things,  and  hold  fast  that  which  is  good,  but  also — Prove  all 
 things,  and  'poird  out  all  that  is  evil,  speak  of  it,  that  others  may 
 know  all  about  it !  Or,  as  if  the  sentence  prescribed,  what  it 
 does .  710^,  however,  prescribe — Prove  all  men,  and  have  them 
 before  your  judgment-seat !  Reveal  and  mark  them  with  words, 
 if  with  nothing  more  !  How  many  there  are  who  carry  this  so 
 far  that  all  evil  is  under  their  censm^e,  and  they  leave  nothing 
 unmeddled  with  and  unrebuked. 
 
 Such  a  disposition  to  run  needlessly  into  the  province  of  the 
 law,  to  prop  it  up,  will  soon  be  followed  by  something  else  which 
 St  James  adds :  He  speaketh  evil  of  the  law,  and  judgeth  the 
 law.  This  can  have  but  one,  and  that  an  evil  meaning.  He 
 who  judgeth  his  brother,  judgeth  often  unrightly  and  unad- 
 visedly, so  that  he  condemns  him.  He  mostly  mistakes  and  deals 
 wi'ongly  with  his  brother's  actions,  because  he  cannot  see  into 
 his  heart ;  and  does  him  the  more  injustice,  the  more  diligently 
 he  seeks  out  his  brother's  wTong.  He  who  condemns,  intrudes 
 into  the  judicial  office  of  the  law,  takes  its  place ;  and  this  means, 
 first,  that  he  judges  in  the  name  of  the  law.  But  St  James 
 speaks  here  of  his  judging  or  condemning  the  law  itself.  If 
 thou,  that  is,  falsely  judgest  thy  brother —  as  evil-speakers  are 
 very  likely  to  do — if  thou  condemnest  him  where  the  rightly- 
 apphed  law  would  absolve  him — thou  then  knowest  better  what 
 sin  is  than  the  law  loiows !     And  is  not  that  to  exalt  thyself 
 
422  EVIL  SPEAKING  AND  JUDGING. 
 
 above  the  law,  and  to  mend  it  as  not  keen  and  exact  enough  1 
 Finally,  and  this  is  worst  of  all — Thou  \vilt,  in  this  meddling 
 with  the  sin  of  others,  forget  thyself,  and  neglect  thine  own 
 obedience.  Thou  art  not  set  to  be  a  judge,  but  shouldst  before 
 all  things  be  thyself  a  doer,  of  the  law. 
 
 But  if  thou  judgest  the  law,  thou  art  not  a  doer  of  the  law, 
 but  a  judge  !  That  means,  assuredly,  first :  Thou  trespassest  by 
 thine  evil  speaking  and  judging  the  law,  which  forbids  such  con- 
 duct ;  and,  according  to  St  James'  earlier  doctrine,  thou  hast 
 become  by  this  violation  of  one  commandment  guilty  of  the 
 whole  law ;  thou  hast  by  no  means  fulfilled  the  royal  law.  Love 
 thy  neighbour  as  thyself  !  Thou  hast  not  done  well !  (ch.  ii. 
 8,  10).  The  law  of  love  requires  that  thou  shouldst  spare  and 
 bear  with  thy  brother,  and  rather  hide  than  drag  out  his  sin ; 
 but  thou  by  thy  conduct  declarest  that  law  to  be  too  mild,  thou 
 condemnest  and  breakest  it  in  one  and  the  same  act.  So  that 
 where  the  one  is  found,  a  judge  of  the  law,  the  other  will  cer- 
 tainly follow  from  it,  and  not  a  doer  !  The  more  we  look  after 
 others,  the  less  time  and  inclination  have  we  to  think  of  our 
 own  acts ;  the  more  diligently  we  examine  the  accounts  of  others, 
 to  detect  and  expose  the  errors  of  others,  the  less  earnestly  shall 
 we  investigate  our  own  accounts ;  the  more  we  seek  to  express 
 our  knowledge  of  good  and  evil  in  word  and  censure,  the  less 
 vigour  will  that  knowledge  have  in  the  sanctification  of  our 
 own  heart  and  life.  This,  alas,  is  the  e^dl  effect  of  pride  and 
 self-deception  in  every  natural  man  before  conversion,  to  see 
 and  seek  for  sin  only  without  and  in  others ;  this  the  Holy  Ghost 
 will  thoroughly  do  away  in  all  who  are  His ;  but  this  is  slowly 
 accomplished,  and  the  progress  of  many  pious  people  is  checked 
 by  their  inveterate  habit  of  judging  others.  When  it  becomes 
 the  confirmed  practice  of  such  Christians  to  make  their  infallible 
 adjudications  as  to  who  are  and  who  are  not  converted,  who 
 are  awakened  and  who  natural  men,  who  are  the  children  of 
 the  world  and  who  the  children  of  God ;  when  they  undertake 
 to  point  with  their  finger  to  this  and  that  man  who  is  dead  and 
 blind,  and  still  among  the  lost — they  are  in  great  danger  of 
 becoming  hypocrites  instead  of  saints.  Avoid  this,  brethren,  as 
 the  very  plague  of  godliness !  Set  not  yourselves  up  as  judges 
 in  the  place  of  Christ ;  dare  not  to  anticipate  the  day  when  the 
 Lord  will  come  to  separate  between  those  on  the  right  hand 
 
JAMES  IV.  11,  12.  423 
 
 and  those  on  the  left  I  Eegard  all  as  brethren,  and  as  partakers 
 of  grace,  against  whom  the  plainest  scriptural  marks  do  not 
 testify ;  and  even  in  their  case,  do  not  reject  utterly  whom  the 
 grace  of  God  may  yet  save  ! 
 
 There  is  on&  Lawgiver  and  JucJge^  who  can  save  and  can  con- 
 demn. Lawgiver  and  Judge — so  runs  the  more  correct  reading 
 of  the  text :  the  Lawgiver  is  alone  the  Judge ;  thou,  who  art 
 brother  by  the  side  of  brother,  sinner  by  the  side  of  sinner, 
 art  neither  the  one  nor  the  other !  God  will  of  necessity  judge, 
 and  nothing  shall  be  neglected  at  last ;  thou  art  under  no  require- 
 ment to  come  to  His  aid.  God  can  save  and  condemn  ;  He  alone 
 has  the  right  and  the  power  for  that,  and  ^^Tll  awfully  demonstrate 
 it  to  the  condemned  in  due  season.  But  He  will,  as  thou  knowest 
 and  shouldst  never  forget,  much  rather  save :  this  word  therefore 
 comes  first !  He  delays  so  long  the  day  of  judgment ;  for  He 
 hath  patience  with  us,  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but 
 that  every  man  should  come  to  repentance  (2  Pet.  iii.  9).  How 
 many  now  lost  will  He  yet  find ;  how  many  now  fallen  will  He 
 yet  raise  up  by  the  might  of  His  grace — whom  thou,  loveless 
 and  unforbearing,  dost  utterly  condemn !  Who  art  thou,  that 
 judgest  another  man's  sen^ant  ?  To  his  own  lord  he  standeth 
 or  falleth.  But  he  may  be  raised  up  again,  for  God  is  able 
 to  make  him  stand  (Rom.  xiv.  4).  Hast  thou  no  pleasure  in 
 hoping  for  his  re-establishment,  wouldst  thou  rather  inform 
 against  him  than  apologise  for  him — then  art  thou  in  that  like 
 the  devil  himself,  whose  name  is  the  accuser  !  But  the  merci- 
 ful God  hath  cast  out  this  accuser,  with  all  his  vehement  right  in 
 our  sin;  else  wert  thou  indeed  condemned  for  ever,  and  not 
 saved.  The  Lawgiver  will  judge  in  the  sacred  right  of  mercy, 
 according  to  the  free  law  of  love :  remember  that  for  thyself 
 and  for  others,  that  mercy  may  rejoice  in  thee  against  judg- 
 ment! 
 
 Who  art  thou,  who  judgest  another  ?  So  speaks  St  James 
 like  St  Paul.  Art  thou,  shortsighted  man,  become  omniscient 
 before  the  time,  before  the  Lord  cometh  to  bring  to  light  the 
 hidden  things  of  darkness,  to  reveal  the  secret  counsels  of  all 
 hearts,  and  to  give  to  every  man  his  own  praise  or  blame  ?  (1  Cor. 
 iv.  5).  Canst  thou  "  trace  home  virtues  and  sins  to  their  most 
 secret  source  f  In  the  place  of  Scripture  where  we  find  the 
 woes  denounced  against  those  who  call  qyH  good,  and  good  evil, 
 
424  EVIL  SPEAKING  AND  JUDGING. 
 
 there  follows  yet  another  woe — Woe  unto  them  that  are  wise  ni 
 their  own  eyes,  and  prudent  in  then-  own  sight !  (Is.  v.  21) 
 Human  judgment,  as  human,  is  shortsighted,  inadequate ;  it  is 
 not  vahd  before  God,  and  therefore  thou  mayest  spare  thy  need- 
 less pains.  We  sing  of  the  day  of  judgment,  that  "  then  all 
 the  false  imaginings  of  the  world  give  place  to  changeless 
 truth" — but  we  may  say  that  all  the  yet  falser  imaginings  of 
 the  children  of  God,  in  their  judgment  of  the  so-called  world, 
 will  give  place  to  truth !  "  ISTo  false  witness  avails  here " — 
 O  how  many  accusations  and  testimonies  will  go  for  nothing 
 then !  Well  said  one  :  At  three  things  I  shall  wonder  in  heaven. 
 First,  that  1  shall  not  find  many  there  of  whom  I  was  certain ; 
 then,  that  I  shall  find  many  there  of  whom  I  was  sure  that  they 
 would  not ;  but  lastly,  and  most  wonderful  of  all,  that  I  am 
 actually  there  myself. 
 
 And  this  is  well.  Be  not  too  secm'e  of  thine  own  salvation, 
 while  thou  art  disposed  to  judge  others !  Who  art  thou,  that 
 actest  thus  ?  A  sinful  man  ;  not  yet,  alas,  as  thy  very  judging 
 proves,  perfect  in  humility  and  love,  but  disposed  to  err  from  thy 
 right  way ;  disposed  to  meddle  with  others,  before  thine  own 
 affairs  are  thoroughly  settled.  Who  art  thou  f  In  what  art 
 thou  not  yet  a  perfect  doer  of  the  law?  Thou  hast  enough  to 
 do  to  judge  thyself,  to  receive  thy  judgment  of  grace  from  the 
 true  Lawgiver  and  Judge :  judge  no  man  before  the  time,  before 
 the  Lord  hath  come  to  thee,  and  held  His  judgment  on  thyself ! 
 Say  with  the  Apostle  in  another  sense — I  judge,  that  is,  I 
 justify,  myself  not ;  he  that  judgeth  me  is  the  Lord !  (1  Cor.  iv. 
 3,  4).  Always  to  remember  this,  is  a  sure  antidote  to  all  evil 
 speaking  and  judging.  Thus  does  a  man  humble  himself  before 
 the  Lord,  and  the  humble  He  will  exalt. 
 
JAMES  IV.  13-17.  425 
 
 XXV. 
 
 THE  UNCERTAINTY  OF  OUR  SHORT  LIFE. 
 
 (Ch.  iv.  13-17.) 
 
 Go  to  now,  ye  that  say,  To-day,  or  to-morrow,  we  will  go  into  such  a  city, 
 and  continue  there  a  year,  and  buy  and  sell,  and  get  gain :  Whereas  ye 
 know  not  what  shall  be  on  the  morrow.  For  what  is  your  life  ?  It  is 
 even  a  vapour,  that  appeareth  for  a  little  time,  and  then  vanisheth  away. 
 For  that  ye  ought  to  say.  If  the  Lord  will,  we  shall  live,  and  do  this,  or 
 that.  But  now  ye  rejoice  in  yoxir  boastings ;  aU  such  rejoicing  is  evil. 
 Therefore  to  him  that  knoweth  to  do  good,  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it 
 is  sin. 
 
 Here  is,  again,  sometliing  that  proceeds  from  the  vain  thoughts 
 and  untamed  lusts  of  the  proud  heart,  and  which  St  James  has 
 to  rebuke  in  the  brethren :  for  in  this  short  Epistle  he  warns 
 and  admonishes  them  on  all  sides.  He  has  just  condemned  the 
 confidence  T^ith  which  many  assume  to  be  judges  of  others,  and 
 find  time  to  talk  about  others'  sins,  while  they  forget  the  judg- 
 ment which  is  impending  over  themselves.  Very  naturally,  he 
 now  passes  over  to  the  condemnation  of  that  false  security  gene- 
 rally, in  which  men  think  not  of  death  always  near,  and  the 
 judgm-ent  which  follows  it,  but  form  plans  and  projects  for 
 which  they  think  that  they  must  needs  have  time  sufficient. 
 He  once  more  rebukes  their  pride,  and  confronts  it  with  the 
 mighty  hand  of  God,  which  ruleth  all  things  according  to  His  will. 
 He  exhorts  us  all  earnestly  to  the  diligent  performance  of  every 
 good  work  assigned  to  us,  and  thus  carries  back  his  subject  to  the 
 previous  requirement  of  good  works  generally.  He  reminds  us, 
 in  the  conclusion  of  this  chapter,  of  the  uncertainty  of  our  sJiort 
 life  between  ever}'  to-day  and  to-morrow,  which  we  all  know  so 
 well,  and  so  easily  forget ;  and  then  selects  from  the  many,  ad- 
 monitions which  follow  from  it,  one  thing  only  for  his  present 
 purpose,  as  suiting  his  Epistle,  and  touching  the  main  point 
 with  sufficient  force. 
 
 How  many  years  of  life  past  every  man  reckons,  he  knows , 
 but  how  many  years,  or  only  days,  will  yet  be  allotted  to  him, 
 
426  THE  UNCERTAINTY  OF  OUR  SHORT  LIFE. 
 
 he  knows  not.  And  his  not  knowing  it  is  so  sure  and  so  solemn 
 a  thing,  that  he  ought,  as  a  reasonable  man,  and  certainly  as  a 
 called  and  warned  Christian,  to  bear  it  in  mind  always  when 
 circumstances  require  him  to  think  or  speak  anything  about  his 
 future  life.  And,  nevertheless,  how  common  among  us  is  the 
 foolish  language  of  the  secure  heart,  which  St  James  now  be- 
 gins to  rebuke !  Go  to  now,  ye  that  say — To-day  or  to-morrow 
 loe  will  go  into  this  or  that  city,  and  will  stay  there  a  year  !  O 
 how  daringly  we  plunge  into  the  future,  as  if  the  years  were  at 
 our  OAvn  disposal !  "  Art  thou,  bold  mortal,  lord  of  the  very 
 next  moment?"  But  those  who  thus  speak  are  not  sure  merely 
 of  to-day  and  to-morrow ;  they  even,  as  their  language  betrays, 
 reckon  on  many  uncounted  years,  of  which  they  at  first  speak 
 of  only  one^  to  determine  how  that  shall  be  spent.  Thus  reckons, 
 as  we  constantly  see  and  hear,  foolish  youth,  making  free  with 
 the  expanding  future  of  long  life;  so  it  is  with  men  in  the 
 middle  of  life ;  and  old  age  is  no  defence  against  this  folly. 
 How  many  a  man,  the  number  of  w^hose  vanished  years  should 
 effectually  warn  him,  reckons  after  the  old  fashion,  and  has 
 always  at  least  one  year  in  the  future  to  talk  of  and  scheme  fori 
 O  the  blindness,  which  never  learns  the  lesson  taught  from 
 birthday  to  deathday,  which  never  takes  a  warning  for  self  from 
 the  multitudes  who  drop  off  to  the  right  and  to  the  left !  How 
 swiftly  hastens  away  our  uncertain  life !  St  James  says  only 
 what  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  alike  had  alway  said,  when  he 
 cries  to  presumptuous  mortals — What  is  your  life?  It  is  even 
 a  vapour,  ichich  appeareth  for  a  little  time,  and  then  vanisheth 
 
 aiu 
 
 ay 
 
 A  mist  and  vapour,  a  fleeting  cloud  which  passes  under 
 the  broad  heavens  to  nothing!  A  little  time  it  is  to  be  seen, 
 before  it  has  finished  its  rapid  course.  Does  not  the  past 
 appear  to  us  all  as  if  condensed  into  one  single  Whence  ?  and 
 Gone  ?  Why  do  we  delude  ourselves  to  imagine  that  the  future, 
 which  unalterably  becomes  the  past  with  every  moment,  will  be 
 longer  ?  Think  of  that  always-hastening  moment,  when  it  will 
 be  finally  said — All  is  gone  for  ever ;  no  one  year,  no  one  day, 
 no  one  hour  more !  Direct  your  thoughts  to  the  eternal  God 
 above,  that  He  may  give  you  His  grace  to  regard  all  time,  and 
 the  little  drop  of  your  own  life  in  the  stream  of  ages,  as  it  will 
 be  looked  back  upon  from  eternity !  Every  moment  souls  go 
 hence  most  certainly,  and  which  moment  will  be  yours  ? 
 
JAIVIES  IV.  13-17.  427 
 
 To-day  and  to-morrow  will  ye  go  there  or  there  ?  ivho  Jcnoio 
 not  what  will  be  on  the  morrow,  what  a  day  may  bring  forth  ! 
 Boast  not  thyself  of  to-morrow  —  warns  Solomon— for  thou 
 knowest  not  what  this  day  may  bring  with  it !  (Prov.  xxvii.  1). 
 Literally  :  What  a  day  may  give  birth  to ;  it  may  have  some- 
 thing in  its  womb  very  different  from  what  thou  hast  in  thy 
 thoughts.  O  for  the  idle  plans,  projects,  hopes,  reckonings  of 
 vain  men  I  But  whence  do  they  come  ?  From  the  same  lusts 
 and  desires  concerning  which  St  James  said  at  the  beginning  of 
 the  chapter  : — the  looking  eagerly  for  this  or  that  infatuates  the 
 heart  in  a  foolish  pursuit  of  it.  And  what  is  it,  after  all,  but  a 
 trifle  of  miserable  earthly  good,  which  these  wise  ones  pursue 
 year  after  year  through  life,  instead  of  aiming  at  the  prize  of 
 the  high  vocation  ?  We  will  buy  and  sell,  and  get  gain :  thus 
 they  said  in  St  James'  time,  and  this  word  stands  for  many 
 others.  So  they  say  now  in  the  busy,  scheming.  Christian 
 world.  Our  text  is  the  sermon  which  our  times  of  "  material 
 interests"  so  much  need — when  sacred  industry,  one  might  say, 
 has  become  the  only  religion  of  many  Christian  men,  the  one 
 moving  power  which  sets  all  their  souls  in  action ;  an  address 
 to  men  of  commerce  especially,  the  loss  and  gain  registered  in 
 whose  books  should  remind  them  of  that  infinitely  more  import- 
 ant gain  and  loss,  of  that  veiy  different  reckoning  which  awaits 
 them.  O  take  care  that  every  day  a  good  balance  may  be  to 
 your  account !  Woe  to  those  who  fall  into  bankruptcy  here  ! 
 How  much  soever  of  Mammon  you  may  have  won,  will  it  make 
 you  happy  or  save  you  ? 
 
 They  will  not  all,  however,  get  gain.  There  are  those  who 
 say  merely — We  will  enjoy  life ;  we  will  abide  there,  whither  we 
 go,  or  where  we  now  are  ;  we  will  spend  the  time  as  best  we  may 
 for  our  pleasure,  but  without  the  toil  and  trouble  of  doing  good. 
 But  the  Lord  may  call  you  at  any  moment  from  the  place  which 
 you  so  securely  and  idly  occupy  ;  He  can  very  soon  overturn  the 
 house  in  which  you  fix  your  rest,  or  even  the  whole  city,  where 
 many  like  you  do  the  same.  And  when  you  say,  We  will  do  this 
 or  that — your  language  is  perv^erse  and  most  perilous  as  long  as 
 you  mean,  loe  will,  and  nothing  more,  as  if  all  depended  simply 
 upon  that.  Will  you  really  accomplish  this  or  that,  in  this  or 
 that  manner  effect  your  schemes  1  as  if  you  were  like  God,  as 
 if  all  were  possible  to  you,  provided  only  you  wisely  plan  and 
 
428  THE  UNCERTAINTY  OF  OUR  SHORT  LIFE. 
 
 perseveringly  hold  to  your  purpose !  But  between  to-day  and 
 to-morrow  that  may  apply  to  you  which  we  find  in  the  psalm — 
 His  breath  goeth  forth,  he  retui'neth  to  his  earth ;  in  that  very 
 day  his  thoughts  perish  (Ps.  cxlvi.  4). 
 
 This  is  the  essential  insecurity  of  our  transitory  life — of 
 which  we  are  all  so  fully  conscious,  but  which  we  so  easily  and 
 sometimes  so  entirely  forget.  What  then  is  the  exhortation  which 
 this  requires  f  There  are  many  who  deduce  from  it  the  most 
 foolish  consequences; — who  do  not  indeed  reckon  upon  years 
 in  the  formation  of  their  projects,  on  the  contrary,  they  are  con- 
 stantly speaking  of  the  vanity  of  human  life  ; — who  make  it  a 
 reason,  not  for  thinking  of  eternity,  but  for  enjoying  to  the 
 utmost  the  present  day  and  hour,  thinking  that  all  things  end 
 with  death.  Such  foolish  people  w^ere  pointed  out  in  the  Book 
 of  Wisdom  :  "  Our  life  shall  pass  away  as  the  trace  of  a  cloud, 
 and  shall  be  dispersed  as  a  mist,  overcome  with  the  heat  of  the 
 sun.  For  our  time  is  a  very  shadow  that  passeth  away ;  and 
 after  our  end  there  is  no  retm-ning.  Come  on,  therefore,  let  us 
 enjoy  the  good  things  that  are  present ;  and  let  us  earnestly  use 
 the  creatures,  w^hile  we  are  young"  (Wisd.  of  Sol.  ii.  4-6).  But 
 St  James  uses  scriptural  language,  concerning  hfe  being  a 
 vapour,  without  fearing  that  his  language  might  be  that  way 
 perverted.  Preaching  to  those  who  now^  come  to  God's  house, 
 we  also  have  not  that  to  fear :  all  know  full  well  that  another 
 life  of  reckoning  awaits,  wdien  this  short  life  is  past.  But  what 
 follows  from  the  solemn  fact  that  any  day  we  may  die  ?  Not, 
 Christians,  that  we  must  hang  in  continual  anxiety  and  doubt, 
 losing  in  the  fear  of  death  all  vigour  of  action,  all  courage  and 
 consolation,  and  waiting  in  suspense  for  the  threatened  doom. 
 Be  that  far  from  us  !  He  that  is  oui'  God  is  the'  God  of  salva- 
 tion ;  and  mito  God  the  Lord  belong  the  issues  from  death 
 (Ps.  Ixviii.  20).  The  wise  woman  of  Tekoa,  whom  Joab  sent 
 to  intercede  with  David  for  Absalom,  was  cunning  enough  to 
 say — For  we  must  needs  die,  and  be  as  water  spilt  upon  the 
 ground,  which  cannot  be  gathered  up  again  ;  because  God  hath 
 not  taken  away  his  life,  but  doth  devise  means  that  His  banished 
 be  not  expelled  from  Him  (2  Sam.  xiv.  14).  We  have  a  Saviour, 
 who  hath  died  in  our  stead,  and  obtained  life  for  us  !  But 
 have  we  Him  really  ?  You  who  are  not  yet  sure  of  this,  who 
 have  not  yet  begun  to  press  towards  the  mark  of  the  prize  of 
 
JAMES  IV.  13-17.  429 
 
 the  high  calKng  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  therefore  care  about  nothing 
 but  buying  and  selHng  and  getting  gain — can  receive  but  one 
 counsel,  and  that  is,  To-day  rather  than  to-morrow  to  seek  in  true 
 repentance  salvation  from  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ.  But 
 we  who  know  Him,  and  belong  to  Him  in  our  hearts,  though 
 we  may  have  been  seduced  into  that  foolish  security  which  St 
 James  here  condemns  in  Christians — may  hear  what  now  fol- 
 lows for  us  and  the  direction  of  our  better  thoughts.  It  is  no 
 other  than  the  exhortation  to  place  our  ivilling  absolutely  from 
 this  time  under  the  ivill  of  God ;  and  that  not  merely  in  the  doing 
 of  what  we  will,  that  is,  in  the  execution  of  our  permitted  plans 
 and  undertakings,  but  pre-eminently  in  diligent  doing  good  accord- 
 ing to  the  will  of  God. 
 
 It  is  not  St  James'  purpose  to  condemn  the  Christian's  say- 
 ing, under  any  circumstances,  "  To-day,  or  to-morrow,  during 
 this  year,  I  will  do  this  or  that."  For,  we  have  all  to  ponder 
 beforehand  what  it  is  our  duty  to  do  ;  he  who  should  altogether 
 refuse  to  do  so  would  do  no  good  thing  generally,  though  that  is 
 matter  of  exhortation  in  the  following  verses.  The  good  which 
 is  given  us  to  do  is  not  always  the  mere  work  of  a  day ;  it  must 
 often  be  the  well-considered  and  continuous  labour  of  patience, 
 carrying  out  careful  plans  through  many  years.  Moreover,  as 
 it  regards  the  business  and  sustentation  of  our  earthly  life,  we 
 are  commanded  by  God  Himself  to  gi^^e  all  prudential  diligence. 
 But  what  the  Apostle  demands  is,  that  all  our  plans  be  subor- 
 dinated to  the  will  of  the  Lord,  who  ruleth  all  things  above  ;  and 
 that  we  say,  "  This  will  we  do"  indeed,  but  only  "  if  the  Lord 
 wilir  So  St  Paul  to  the  Ephesians  :  "  I  must  by  all  means 
 keep  this  feast  that  cometh  in  Jerusalem ;  but  I  will  return 
 again  unto  you,  if  God  loilV  (Acts  xviii.  21).  And  again  to 
 the  Corinthians  :  "  But  I  mil  come  to  you  shortly,  if  the  Lord 
 wiir^  (1  Cor.  iv.  19).  We  need  not  anxiously  and  literally  add 
 this  word  on  all  occasions,  to  avoid  sin,  when  we  utter  any  reso- 
 lution. At  another  time,  we  read  that  St  Paul  determined  in 
 spii'it  to  journey  through  Macedonia  and  Achaia,  and  thence  to 
 go  to  Jerusalem,  and  he  said — Afterwards,  I  must  see  Rome 
 also  !  (Acts  xix.  21).  He  does  not  there  add — If  the  Lord 
 will.  It  is  the  over-anxious  addition  of  this  proviso  which  has 
 given  rise  to  the  empt}^,  thankless  forms  of  speech  which  have 
 become  so  common,  such  as  "  God  save  you!"  and  "  Thank  God!" 
 
430  THE  UNCERTAINTY  OF  OUR  SHORT  LIFE 
 
 We  willj  but  only  if  the  Lord  will :  that  should  be  self-under- 
 stood in  our  hearts  ;  as  it  is  self -understood  with  God  that  His 
 will  is  supreme  over  all.  And  if  this  is  the  real  earnestness  of 
 our  souls,  much  will  follow  from  it !  Then  we  shall  not  only 
 resign  to  the  disposal  of  the  government  of  God  what  should 
 happen  to  us,  whether  the  success  or  failure  of  our  plans,  whe- 
 ther we  should  go  here  or  there  ;  but  the  condition  will  be  never 
 forgotten — If  the  Lord  will,  and  we  live.  My  times  are  in  Thy 
 hand  (Ps.  xxxi.  16)  ;  the  end  of  my  earthly  course  at  any  mo- 
 ment Thou  mayest  assign.  Our  calendar  gives  us  the  longest 
 and  shortest  days,  the  feast-days  and  festivals  ;  but  the  last  day 
 of  the  world,  which  cannot  be  calculated  like  an  eclipse,  will 
 never  be  there  ;  and  thy  last  day,  O  man,  is  not  there  marked 
 out.  Therefore,  when  thou  lookest  into  the  calendar  of  thy 
 existence,  forget  not  to  look  backwards  to  the  old  sins  registered 
 against  thee,  that  none  of  them  may  remain  unblotted  out. 
 And  when  thou  reckonest  forward,  be  sui'e  thou  form  good  plans 
 for  the  right  use  of  thy  time  of  grace.  It  is  short  and  fleeting  ; 
 but  long  enough  to  seek  and  find  salvation.  He  who  redeems 
 it,  will  have  no  lack ;  but  the  dreamers  and  sleepers  mil  find 
 the  one  day  they  calculated  on  too  short.  Time  enough  one 
 day  before  death — said  a  Jewish  sage  when  asked  about  this 
 matter.  But  when  it  was  further  demanded — How  may  I  know 
 the  day  ?  he  replied — Therefore  begin  to-day  !  Well  for  him 
 who  can  in  humility  reckon  upon  and  glory  in  the  grace  of  God 
 for  preparation  ! 
 
 But  to  the  rest  saith  St  James,  But  now  ye  rejoice  in  your 
 boastings  :  all  such  rejoicing  is  evil.  Is  it  not  the  highest  pride, 
 when  regarding  our  actions,  to  think  that  we  by  our  own  will 
 accomplished  anything,  whether  the  Lord  would  or  not  ?  As 
 the  Prophet  rebukes  the  proud  in  Zion,  and  those  who  were 
 secm'e  in  the  mountain  of  Samaria — Ye  rejoice  in  a  thing  of 
 nought,  which  say.  Have  we  not  taken  to  us  horns  by  our  own 
 strength  ?  (Amos  vi.  1,  13).  Instead  of  that,  we  should  always 
 and  everywhere  say — Blessed  be  God,  who  hath  borne  ^vith  me, 
 spared  me,  kept  me,  and  strengthened  me,  so  that  hitherto  the 
 Lord  hath  helped  me  !  Similar  pride  is  it,  when  we  think  only 
 of  our  own  \vill  in  the  prospect  and  provision  of  our  plans ;  in- 
 stead of  saying,  if  w^e  can  with  good  conscience — May  God 
 give  His  blessing,  and  help  me  stilly  as  it  pleaseth  Him.   He  that 
 
JAMES  IV.  13-17.  431 
 
 glonetli,  let  him  glory  in  the  Lord  !  (1  Cor.  i.  31).  All  glory- 
 ing which  forgets  that  is  evil :  in  itself  it  is  sin,  comes  from  the 
 sin  of  the  heart,  and  worketh  nothing  but  vain  boasting,  forget- 
 fulness  of  God,  and  sin.  Yea,  all  supposed  good  which  man 
 may  effect  with  zeal,  if  it  proceed  from  this  glorying  and  this 
 security,  is  not  good  before  God. 
 
 Unprofitable  servants  are  we  all  before  God ;  that  is  certain, 
 for  all  our  ability  comes  directly  from  Him.  But,  because  He 
 makes  us  able,  therefore  we  are  under  obligation  to  do  all  that 
 is  commanded  us.  Diligently  to  do  good,  as  we  know  how,  accord, 
 ing  to  the  will  of  God,  is  the  concluding  exhortation  of  St  James, 
 as  better  than  such  self-willed  purpose  to  do  this  or  that.  If  we  are 
 found  diUgently  aiming  in  good  works  at  the  possession  of  eternal 
 life,  then  verily  our  fleeting  earthly  life  becomes  more  than  a 
 mere  vapour  which  vanisheth  away ;  then  it  becomes  the  seed- 
 time of  the  great  harvest  of  everlasting  gain.  Let  us  do  good,  and 
 not  be  weary ;  for  in  due  season  we  shall  reap  without  ceasing  ! 
 (Gal.  vi.  9) .  This  is  om'  best  buying  and  selling,  and  getting  gain ; 
 and  touching  this  we  should  every  day  say,  We  will,  Lord  help  us  ! 
 "  Occupy  till  I  come,"  saith  the  Lord,  who  giveth  the  pounds, 
 to  His  servants  (Luke  xix.  13).  To  this  end,  we  must  observe 
 the  time  and  opportunity,  while  we  have  it.  Every  day  when 
 we  ask  for  it,  the  duty  of  the  day  which  lies  before  us  gives  its 
 reply  from  God.  Then  should  we  say — This  or  that  /  ought 
 to  do  to-day,  and  that  will  I  do.  But  we  must  not  think  that  it 
 is  enough,  as  many  say,  to  mark  each  day  with  a  good  work ; 
 if  so,  the  Lord  would  every  day  indicate  to  us  specifically  this 
 or  that  to  do.  He  has  in  His  word  declared  to  us  His  wiU,  His 
 will  that  we  should  do  all  the  good  that  we  hiow  to  do  and 
 can  do.  Again,  St  James  tells  us  by  the  Holy  Ghost — He  that 
 knoweth  to  do  good,  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin  !  All,  every- 
 thing down  to  the  least,  is  included  in  that  great  word  of  the  Lord 
 Himself  concerning  the  servant  who  knew  his  master's  will  and 
 did  it  not  (Luke  xii.  47).  Every  one  of  us  has  the  task  of  his 
 life,  and  has  for  every  day  the  task  to  do  all  the  good  that  it  is 
 in  his  knowledge,  and  his  knowledge  in  his  position,  to  do.  How 
 much  might  be  said  upon  this  word  of  St  James,  which  con- 
 demns the  countless  sins  of  omission  even  among  believers  , 
 which  urges  us  alike  to  repentance  for  the  past,  and  a  holier 
 zeal  for  the  time  to  come  !     But  we  will  now  confine  ourselves 
 
432  THE  UNCERTAINTY  OF  OUR  SHORT  LIFE. 
 
 to  a  few  remarks  upon  an  obvious  misunderstanding  of  these 
 words. 
 
 What  is  the  good  which  we  must  do  1  First  of  all,  it  is  that 
 one  thing,  from  which  every  other  good  may  spring,  the  great 
 act  of  repentance  and  conversion,  of  believing  self-consecration 
 to  God,  and  the  continuing  in  this  deed.  Take  care  of  the 
 business  of  thy  salvation,  and  neglect  not  the  one  thing  which 
 is  needful !  Of  that  nevej  say,  in  the  spirit  of  procrastination 
 — To-day  or  to-morrow  ;  for  thou  knowest  not  what  shall  be  on 
 the  morrow.  Not  of  that  say  even — After  a  year  or  so  there 
 vrill  be  time  enough  for  it ;  first,  I  will  for  a  year  buy  and  sell, 
 and  then  I  will  give  diligence  in  those  good  works  which  the 
 Lord  expects  from  His  redeemed  people  ! — But  be  wise  to  know 
 aright,  how  and  in  what  a  man  truly  does  that  lohich  is  good  I 
 Thus,  for  example  (I  give  one  instance  only  for  many),  it  is  not 
 of  itself  doing  good  to  om-  neighbour,  to  give  him  in  sympathy 
 all  that  he  asks  :  we  should  sometimes  know  that  unwise  giving 
 is  not  true  benevolence,  and  should  do  to  our  neighbour  what  is 
 good  for  him,  though  it  be  by  refusing  the  alms  which  would  do 
 him  harm.  Further,  when  we  are  bidden  to  let  our  onoderation 
 be  known  unto  all  men  (Phil.  iv.  5),  it  does  not  mean  a  love 
 which  should  always  and  under  all  circumstances  show  itself 
 externally  gracious.  If  God  resisteth  the  proud^  to  make  them 
 humble  for  the  reception  of  His  grace,  and  the  best  thing  He 
 can  do  is  thus  to  thwart  them,  it  may  be  your  duty  sometimes 
 to  be  His  ministers  in  this  necessary  and  good  work.  If  you 
 can^  without  pride  on  your  own  part,  resist  the  proud,  you  will  do 
 him  good.  By  this  it  appears  that  a  sure  knowledge  belongs  to 
 the  doing^  if  it  is  to  be  a  good  work ;  for  the  heart  of  a  ^vise 
 man  discemeth  both  time  and  judgment  (Eccles.  viii.  5). 
 
 Brethren  !  Does  not  every  one  of  us  know  to  do  much 
 more  good  than  he  actually  does  ?  How  much  sin,  then,  how 
 much  guilt  of  idleness  and  neglect  remains  with  us  all !  St 
 James  had  before  presented  the  very  simple  truth,  and  how  do 
 we  deal  with  it  ourselves?  Do  you  say — O  Lord,  I  know  that 
 the  way  of  man  is  not  in  himself ;  it  is  not  in  man  that  walk- 
 eth  to  direct  his  steps  (Jer.  x.  23)  ?  then  direct  not  your  own  way 
 according  to  your  own  \vill,  but  submit  yourself  to  the  will  of 
 the  Lord.  Do  you  say — I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed 
 (2  Tim.  i.  12)?  then  live  as  a  righteous  man  by  this  faith ;  for 
 
JAMES  Y.  1-6.  433 
 
 whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin  (Rom.  xiv.  23).  Do  we  know 
 that  faith,  if  it  have  not  works,  is  dead  in  itself ;  and  do  we 
 hnow,  further,  that  we  are  by  nature  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins, 
 that  all  our  own  works  are  dead  works ;  then  let  us,  when  St 
 James  urges  us  to  do  goodj  say  in  the  full  sense  of  his  meaning — 
 If  the  Lord  will,  and  we  live,  if  He  giveth  us  the  life  which  this 
 requires  !  But  the  Lord  will  make  us  ready  to  every  good  work, 
 that  also  we  know :  therefore  let  us  ask  and  receive,  hold  fast 
 and  use  His  grace,  which  worketh  in  us  all  that  is  good. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 THE  MISERY  COMING  UPON  THE  RICH. 
 
 (Ch.  V.  1-6.) 
 
 Go  to  no\r,  ye  rich  men,  weep  and  howl  for  your  miseries  that  shall  come 
 upon  you.  Your  riches  are  corrupted,  and  your  garments  are  moth- 
 eaten.  Your  gold  and  silver  is  cankered ;  and  the  rust  of  them  shall 
 be  a  witness  against  you,  and  shall  eat  your  flesh  as  it  were  fire.  Ye 
 have  heaped  treasure  together  in  the  last  days.  Behold,  the  hire  of  the 
 labourers  who  have  reaped  down  your  fields,  which  is  of  you  kept  back 
 by  fraud,  crieth :  and  the  cries  of  them  which  have  reaped  are  entered 
 into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth.  Ye  have  lived  in  pleasure  on  the 
 earth,  and  been  wanton :  ye  have  nourished  your  hearts  as  in  a  day  of 
 slaughter.  Ye  have  condemned  and  killed  the  just;  and  he  hath  not 
 resisted  you. 
 
 Go  to  now  !  Thus  St  James  takes  up  again  the  sentiment 
 begun  in  ch.  iv.  13,  which  has  not  yet  been  closed.  But  if  we 
 look  carefully,  we  note  that  the  Spirit,  guiding  his  pen,  gives 
 him  another  conclusion  than  that  which  he  had  intended.  For  he 
 would,  when  he  began  with  the  first  Go  to,  condemn  the  proudly 
 secure  Christians,  who  had  let  their  desires  loose  upon  selling 
 and  getting  gain  ;  and  till  now  he  had  those  in  his  mind  who 
 would  be  susceptible  of  a  better  feeling,  who  would  say,  if  God 
 will !  and  do  good  when  they  knew  to  do  it.  But  now  a  sudden 
 spirit  of  prophecy  seizes  him;  so  that  he  is  constrained  most 
 significantly  to  include  those  gain-seeking  Christians  among 
 those  unbelieving  rich  men  who  hasten  fon\'ard  the  judgment 
 alreadv  impending.   This  much  is  clear  :  in  ch.  v.  1-6  he  speaks, 
 
 2  E 
 
434  THE  MISERY  COMING  UPON  THE  RICH. 
 
 for  the  first  and  only  time  in  his  Epistle,  to  such  as  are  without 
 the  Christian  community,  the  rich  and  high-minded  of  Jerusa- 
 lem and  Israel,  who  cast  out  the  just,  and  who  continued  to  do 
 to  the  disciples  of  Jesus  what  they  had  done  to  their  Master. 
 The  nch  men  whom  he  must  mean  here  are  those  already  men- 
 tioned in  ch.  ii.  6,  7  :  those  who  practised  violence  on  them,  the 
 confessors  of  the  Lord  of  glory,  and  blaspheme  that  good  name 
 by  which  they  were  called.  In  opposition  to  them  stood,  ver.  5, 
 the  poor  of  this  world  chosen  of  God,  those  who  were  rich  in 
 faith  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  which  He  has  promised  to  them 
 that  love  Him.  Well  for  these  rich  poor,  to  whom  all  their 
 trials  should  be  pure  joy,  who  in  all  their  lowliness  should  re- 
 joice in  their  being  exalted !  But  woe  to  the  poor  rich,  who 
 have  nothing  more  than  their  riches  !  To  them  St  James  pre- 
 dicts, as  a  prophet,  and  in  the  style  of  the  old  prophets,  the  im- 
 pending judgment  to  which  Jerusalem  was  doomed,  the  desola- 
 tion of  the  land  and  all  the  misery  w^iich  he,  like  the  Lord 
 Plimself,  speaks  of  as  His  coming  to  judgment  and  salvation. 
 The  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh,  the  Judge  is  at  the  door ! 
 (vers.  8,  9). 
 
 As  St  James  is  not,  properly  speaking,  addressing  here  the 
 readers  of  his  Epistle,  so  the  enforcement  of  this  particular  ex- 
 hortation is  not  expressly  for  the  Church.  But  he  predicts,  in 
 the  hearing  of  Christians,  the  judgment  of  the  unbeheving  with- 
 out ;  just  as  the  ancient  prophets  were  wont  to  let  Israel  hear  the 
 denmiciations  which  God  uttered  upon  strange  peoples  : — partly 
 to  encourage  their  confidence  against  the  oppressing  power  of 
 heathenism,  and  partly  as  a  mirror  to  reflect  their  own  danger  of 
 falling  into  the  same  condemnation.  In  this  sense  let  us  hear 
 and  consider  the  words  of  St  James,  touching  the  misery  which 
 will  hefall  the  poor  rich  men  who  shall  have  lived  without  faith 
 in  the  one  Redeemer. 
 
 It  icill  come  upon  you,  will  suddenly  fall  upon  you  with 
 manifold  sorrows !  So  St  James  says  at  first ;  but  then  at  once 
 prophetically  anticipates  that  future,  and  speaks  to  the  miserable 
 men  concerning  their  riches  as  already  corrupted,  of  their  pride 
 of  life  as  already  vanished  and  gone.  Ye  have  lived  in  pleasure, 
 and  been  wanton  !  Your  treasures  were  nothing  but  low  and 
 perishable  earthly  good ;  yom'  joy  was  nothing  but  transitory 
 fleshly  lust,  which  turned  to  weeping  and  howling.    On  the  earth 
 
JAMES  V.  i-6.  435 
 
 was  3'our  portion  and  inheritance,  your  fatherland ;  ye  would 
 not  learn  in  faith  to  look  up  to  heaven,  and  seek  for  eternal 
 good.  "  Looh  now  toward  heaven,  and  tell  the  stars  :  So  shall 
 thy  seed  be !"  (Gen.  xv.  5).  That  was  the  word  which  the 
 Lord  addressed  to  Abraham's  faith  ;  and  the  profound  presenti- 
 ment of  his  soul  solicits  every  man  upon  earth  thus  to  look  up. 
 Abraham  believed,  and  Abraham  more  and  more  clearly  under- 
 stood, that  to  him  and  to  his  seed  God  pointed  out  a  better  and 
 a  heavenly  home  : — the  same  glory  and  glorification  which  now, 
 in  the  fulness  of  the  time,  those  who  beheve  in  Jesus  have 
 brightly  before  their  eyes,  since  like  Stephen  they  have  looked 
 up  through  the  opened  heavens  to  the  Son  of  Man.  But  those 
 who  were  not  behevers  m  this  heavenly  calling  retained  their 
 earthly  mind,  and  lived  in  their  folly  hke  those  who  should  for 
 ever  abide  among  their  earthly  treasures  and  in  the  enjoyment 
 of  their  earthly  lusts  !  Ye  have,  indeed,  lived  and  been  wanton 
 —  that  St  James  admits  —  probably,  also,  have  sometimes 
 afforded  others  pleasure  in  the  expenditure  of  your  abundance ; 
 but  ye  sought  only  your  own  pleasure,  have  nourished  and  fat- 
 tened your  own  hearts  !  Alas,  yom'  hearts, — ^which,  however, 
 can  never  be  satisfied  with  husks ;  ye  have  despatched  yo-ur 
 immortal  spirits'  deep  need,  like  the  fool  who  said  to  his  soul — 
 "  Thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years ;  eat,  drink,  and 
 be  merr}^  I"  (Luke  xii.  19).  Ye  have  lived  all  your  days  as  on  a 
 day  of  slaughter :  that  is,  first,  as  if  there  was  nothing  else  in 
 life  but  killing  and  feasting,  like  Nabal  at  his  sheep-shearing, 
 or,  like  those  of  whom  the  Prophet  speaks — "And,  behold,  joy 
 and  gladness,  slaymg  oxen  and  killing  sheep,  eating  flesh  and 
 drinking  wine  !"  (Is.  xxii.  13).  And  if  the  just  lifted  up  his 
 earnest  testimony  against  this  wantonness,  or  if  only  his  ex- 
 ample ashamed  and  condemned  you,  ye  followed  the  impulse  of 
 your  ^vrath,  and  scorned,  rejected,  persecuted,  and  slew  him ! 
 "  Therefore  let  us  lie  in  wait  for  the  righteous ;  because  he  is 
 not  for  our  turn  ; — he  upbraideth  us  with  our  offending  the  law, 
 and  objecteth  to  our  infamy  the  transgressions  of  our  educa- 
 tion. He  professeth  to  have  the  knowledge  of  God ;  and  he 
 calleth  himself  the  child  of  the  Lord.  He  was  made  to  reprove 
 our  thoughts.  He  is  grievous  unto  us  even  to  behold; — let  us 
 condemn  him  with  a  shameful  death ;  let  us  examine  him  with 
 despitefulness  and  torture"  (TTisd.  ii.  12-20). 
 
436  THE  MISERY  COMING  UPON  THE  RICH. 
 
 St  James  speaks,  as  there  in  tlie  Book  of  Wisdom,  concerning 
 the  oppression  and  persecution  of  the  pious  generally :  Ye  have 
 condemned  and  killed  the  just,  and  he  hath  not  resisted  you. 
 Literally,  he  doth  not  resist  you — the  poor  just  man,  whom  ye 
 still  persecute  always.  For  that  is  the  true  ordinance  of  God — 
 The  righteous  resisteth  not  evil.  But  the  prophetic  Spirit  in 
 St  James  utters  here  a  deep  and  pregnant  word.  As  even  that 
 description  in  the  apocryphal  book  (which  should  be  read 
 throughout)  becomes  a  prophecy  of  Christ,  so  St  James — while 
 he  refers  to  all  oppressed  and  persecuted  just  men,  especially 
 the  confessors  of  Jesus — means  pre-eminently  that  first  great 
 wrong  which  the  proud  and  rich  in  Israel  did  to  the  Lord  of 
 glory ;  for  He  alone  is  the  Just  in  the  fullest  sense.  So  speaks 
 St  Peter — But  ye  denied  the  Holy  One  and  the  Just !  (Acts 
 iii.  14).  Similarly  St  Stephen — Which  of  the  prophets  have 
 not  your  fathers  persecuted  ?  and  they  have  slain  them  which 
 showed  before  (who  in  their  own  doom  foreshadowed  Him)  the 
 coming  of  the  Just  One :  of  whom  ye  have  been  now  the  be- 
 trayers and  murderers  (Acts  vii.  52). 
 
 We  know,  moreover,  that  our  Apostle,  the  writer  of  this 
 Epistle,  obtained,  through  the  rigour  of  his  adherence  to  the 
 statutes  of  the  Old  Testament — for  his  weak  brethren's  sake 
 uniting  that  with  his  perfect  faith  in  Christ — the  honourable 
 surname  of  "James  the  Just;''  and  that  not  merely  among 
 Christians,  but  among  the  better-minded  Jews  themselves.  But 
 how  affectine:  is  the  absence  of  that  denomination  here  I  He 
 does  not  call  himself  by  that  name,  or  by  that  of  the  Lord's 
 brother,  which  he  was  after  the  flesh ;  but,  after  the  Spirit,  he 
 terms  all  brethren  who  with  him  believe  in  the  Lord  of  glory. 
 He  speaks  in  such  wise  that  we  may  take  it  as  we  will :  either 
 all  Christians  are  in  Christ  the  just ;  or,  Christ  alone,  whom  they 
 condemned  and  put  to  death,  was  the  Just  One.  Nevertheless, 
 again — so  wonderfully  prophetic  is  here  the  inspiration  of  the 
 Holy  Ghost — he  is  constrained  unconsciously  to  prophesy  of 
 his  own  person.  A  writer  who  lived  soon  after  the  Apostles, 
 Hegesippus,  relates  at  length  the  martyrdom  of  James  the  Just, 
 the  brother  of  the  Lord,  shortly  before  the  siege  of  Jerusalem. 
 The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  demanded  of  James,  at  the  time  of 
 the  Passover,  that  he  should  bear  testimony  before  the  j^eople 
 against  faith  in  Jesus;  they  placed  him  in  the  tower  of  the 
 
JAMES  V.  1-G.  437 
 
 Teinplej  and  said,  "  O  just  man,  whom  we  must  all  obey,  as  all 
 the  people  are  erring  concerning  Jesus  the  Crucified,  tell  us  how 
 this  is!"  But  theu'  knavish  flattery  did  not  bhnd  him;  he 
 knew  well  what  they  meant,  and  testified,  though  like  Stephen 
 in  vain,  concerning  Jesus,  that  He  was  in  heaven  seated  at  the 
 right  hand  of  poAver,  and  would  come  again  in  the  clouds  of 
 heaven.  Then  they  cried,  "  Woe,  even  the  just  man  hath  fallen 
 into  error!"  They  threw  him  down  from  the  pinnacle;  and, 
 as  he  was  not  dead,  hut  kneeled  and  interceded  for  them,  they 
 stoned  him. — Thus  was  the  prophecy  of  his  Epistle  fulfilled  in 
 himself :  They  condemned  and  killed  the  just,  and  he  resisted 
 them  not.     Thus  did  he  bear  his  testimony  unto  the  death. 
 
 And  so  before  him  did  the  Lord  Himself,  the  condemned 
 Just  One,  declare  to  proud  Israel  and  its  mammon-worship- 
 pers the  truth,  which  they  would  not  hear.  He  bore  constant 
 testimony  against  their  covetousness,  and  set  before  them  the 
 warning  example  of  that  rich  man  who  fared  sumptuously  upon 
 earth.  In  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  which  St  James  always 
 has  in  view.  He  cried  after  the  Benedictions — "  Woe  unto  you, 
 rich,  for  ye  have  your  consolation !  Woe  unto  you  that  are 
 full,  for  ye  shall  hunger !  Woe  unto  you  that  laugh  now,  for  ye 
 shall  weep  and  lament!"  (Luke  vi.  24,  25).  And  so  was  it, 
 even  in  time,  historically  fulfilled  when  the  misery  came  upon 
 Judea  and  Jerusalem  which  St  James  beheld  as  near,  alreadv 
 at  hand. 
 
 Ye  have  nom'ished  your  hearts — fattened  them — as  in  a  day- 
 of  slaughter  I  This  is,  after  the  prophetical  manner,  a  keen  play 
 upon  words — Ye  yourselves  are  rather  the  prepared  victims  for 
 the  great  slaughter  at  the  day  of  judgment.  Ye  have  wilfully 
 remained  like  the  natural  brute  beasts  which  are  born  to  be 
 taken  and  destroyed  (2  Pet.  ii.  12).  So  Jeremiah  spoke  of  the 
 ungodly  sinners  being  "  pulled  out  like  sheep  for  the  slaughter, 
 and  prepared  by  God  for  the  day  of  slaughter"  (Jer.  xii.  3).  So 
 prophesied  Isaiah  concerning  proud  Edom,  "  The  Lord  hath  a 
 sacrifice  in  Bozrah,  and  a  great  slaughter  in  the  land  of  Idumsea. 
 And  the  unicorns  shall  come  down  with  them,  and  the  young 
 bullocks  with  the  fattened  oxen!"  (Is.  xxxiv.  6,  7).  So  in  the 
 Apocalypse  the  angel  summons  all  the  fowls  that  fly  in  the 
 midst  of  heaven  to  the  supper  of  the  great  God,  that  they  might 
 eat  the  flesh  of  kings,  and  the  flesh  of  captains,  and  the  flesh 
 
438  THE  MISERY  COMING  UPON  THE  EICH. 
 
 of  mighty  men,  and  the  flesh  of  horses,  and  of  them  that  sit  on 
 them,  and  the  flesh  of  all  men,  both  free  and  bond,  both  small 
 and  great  (Rev.  xix.  17,  18).  Fearful  is  the  severity  of  the 
 righteous  wrath  which  speaks  of  such  judgments  in  the  midst 
 of  the  Gospel  of  grace ;  fearful  the  actual  fact,  when  the  fattened 
 flesh  of  the  scorners  shall  come  finally  to  the  slaughter ! 
 
 Thus  it  is  said  concerning  these  poor  rich  men — Ye  have 
 heaped  treasures  together  in  the  last  days,  the  brief  and  uncertain 
 days  before  your  ruin.  May  not  every  day  be  to  a  mortal  his 
 last  day,  when  God  shall  demand  of  him  his  soul  ?  How  foolish 
 is  all  heaping  and  gathering  together  of  earthly  treasures  !  But  as 
 then  the  rich  men  clung  to  their  accumulation, -in  those  proper 
 last  days  which  preceded  the  destruction  already  threatening  by 
 many  tokens,  so  avarice  blinds  men  in  all  ages ;  they  continue 
 even  to  old  age,  and  in  the  face  of  death,  heaping  up  like  fools. 
 And  so  in  those  last  days  which  will  precede  the  final  judg- 
 ments upon  the  Christian  world  (concerning  which  the  Spirit 
 in  St  James  here  prophesies),  the  heaping  up  of  riches  and  the 
 wanton  life  of  the  infatuated  will  reach  their  highest  point. 
 And  then  will  it  be  said — How  much  she  hath  glorified  herself, 
 and  lived  deliciously,  so  much  torment  and  sorrow  give  her! 
 (Rev.  xviii.  7).  But  so  is  it  said  even  now  in  all  history ;  so  is 
 it  said  to  every  man  who  belongs  to  those  here  addressed,  in  his 
 own  judgment  and  destruction,  when  it  comes  upon  him  in  his 
 death. 
 
 Yea,  ye  have  lived  in  pleasure  a  few  days  on  the  earth ;  but 
 if  ye  must  then  go  forth,  and  be  as  the  beasts  which  perish 
 (Ps.  xlix.  13,  21) — what  will  remain  for  you  then  ?  Ye  have, 
 under  God's  longsuffering,  a  few  years  had  your  way  in  buying 
 and  selling : — but  when  the  vapour  has  vanished,  what  loss,  what 
 ruin  awaits  you !  Only  look  aright  at  your  riches — the  canker 
 and  rust,  the  curse  of  unrighteousness,  is  already  upon  and 
 within  them,  for  a  testimony  of  what  will  become  of  yourselves 
 in  the  end  !  Your  riches  are  corrupted,  and  your  garments  are 
 motheaten.  Your  gold  and  silver  is  cankered,  and  the  rust  of 
 them  shall  be  a  witness  against  you,  and  eat  your  flesh  like  flre. 
 O  had  they  but  heard,  when  the  Just  One  preached — "  Lay  not 
 up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth,  where  moth  and  rust 
 doth  corrupt,  but  lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven  !" 
 (Matt.  vi.  19,  20).     O  that  even  in  the  last  days,  before  the 
 
JA^IES  V.  1-G.  439 
 
 weeping  and  howling  came,  they  had  acted  on  the  advice — "  Be 
 afflicted,  and  mourn  and  weep :  let  your  laughter  be  turned  to 
 mourning,  and  your  joy  to  heaviness  !"  (Jas.  iv.  9).  All  your 
 riches  generally  will  then  be  corrupted,  for  all  earthly  good  is  of 
 the  dust  and  tends  to  decay.  That  corruption  is  already  in 
 them ;  from  without  as  by  the  moth,  from  within  as  the  rust. 
 Motheaten,  then,  all  the  gay  clothing  with  which  you  bedecked 
 your  vain  flesh.  Cankered  your  gold  and  silver !  But  can  gold 
 and  silver  rust  ?  asks  the  foolish  reader,  who  will  not  under- 
 stand the  wise  figurative  expression.  Yes,  verily,  as  St  James 
 means,  your  beautiful  and  pure  gold  and  silver  will  rust !  Look 
 rightly  at  it,  this  mammon  of  unrighteousness,  and  you  Avill  see 
 the  e^al  rust  upon  it :  do  not  injustice,  selfishness,  misuse,  the 
 guilt  of  sin,  attach  to  mammon  ?  This  is  its  rust,  which  in  due 
 time  will  eat  it  as  to  all  who  have  kept  it  and  heaped  it  up  as 
 mammon.  Let  it  not  rust  in  your  hands  or  chests,  but  make  of 
 it  friends  for  your  reception  into  everlasting  habitations  (Luke 
 xvi.  9).  Else  wilt  thou  hear  that  word  which  wicked  Simon 
 teard — Thy  money  go  ivith  thee  to  destruction  !  (Acts  viii.  20), 
 Yes,  verily,  with  thee — so  means  St  James  all  that  he  has  said 
 about  corruption,  motheating,  and  canker :  Thou  thyself  must 
 corrupt  as  the  food  of  worms ;  thyself,  thy  flesh  will  the  canker 
 eat  like  a  jire.  Therefore,  the  perishableness  of  thy  treasures 
 should  be  a  testimony  to  thee  that  thou  art  perishing  with  them ! 
 For  the  world  passeth  away  with  its  lust  (1  John  ii.  17) 
 "  Every  work  rotteth  and  consumeth  away,  and  the  worl 
 thereof  shall  go  with  it"  (Ecclus.  xiv.  9). 
 
 O  what  a  fire  of  wrath,  what  a  corruption  of  death !  Had 
 ye  but  well  considered,  ye  poor  miserable  men  who  get  riches, 
 that  man  "  as  a  rotten  thing  consumeth,  as  a  garment  that  is 
 motheaten !"  (Job.  xiii.  38).  And  have  you,  the  food  of  worms, 
 despised  the  salvation  of  God,  and  cast  from  you  the  heavenly 
 calKng,  only  that  after  a  few  days  of  pleasure  upon  earth  you 
 may  perish  in  your  sins  %  O  that  you  had  heard  the  prophet's 
 sermon — "  Lift  up  your  eyes  to  the  heavens,  and  look  upon  the 
 earth  beneath :  for  the  heavens  shall  vanish  away  Hke  smoke, 
 and  the  earth  shall  wax  old  like  a  garment,  and  they  that  dwell 
 therein  shall  die  in  like  manner :  but  My  salvation  shall  be  for 
 ever,  and  My  righteousness  shall  not  be  abolished !"  (Is.  li.  6). 
 
 When  the  judgment  comes,  the  rust  will  break  out,  the  guilt 
 
440  THE  MISEEY  COMING  UPON  THE  KICH. 
 
 will  he  disclosed  and  avenged.  And  what  is  that  guilt  ?  Selfish- 
 ness, hardness,  the  want  of  that  mercy  which  alone  rejoiceth 
 against  judgment.  Although  what  St  James  goes  on  to  say  is 
 not  literally  and  externally  true  of  all  the  ungodly  rich,  yet  the 
 disposition  of  the  heart  is  in  all  the  same,  as  the  plainest  ex- 
 amples, occurring  not  seldom,  show.  Ye  have  lived  in  pleasure 
 and  been  wanton  ;  but  the  rich  harvest  of  your  fields,  the  great 
 gains  of  your  buying  and  selling,  ye  did  not  learn  to  distribute 
 to  the  poor ;  ye  have  rather  oppressed  the  poor,  whose  lot  it  was 
 to  produce  your  wealth.  Behold,  the  hire  of  the  labourers,  who 
 have  reaped  down  your  fields,  which  is  kept  back  by  fraud, 
 crieth ;  and  the  cries  of  them  that  have  reaped  are  entered  into 
 the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth.  Ye  have  regarded  the  poor 
 labourer,  not  as  your  serving  brother,  equal  to  yourselves  before 
 God,  but  as  only  an  instrument  of  your  avarice.  Ye  have 
 muzzled  the  ox,  which  trode  out  your  com.  And  therefore 
 what  Job  said  of  such  oppressors  is  for  you — "  The  hungry  bear 
 their  sheaves ;  within  their  walls  they  must  press  oil,  and  tread 
 their  winepresses,  and  suffer  thirst"  (Job  xxiv.  10,  11,  in  the 
 right  translation).  In  the  present  day  how  many  like  these  work 
 in  our  factories ;  how  many  neglected  children,  crippled  into  ma- 
 chines, labour  for  the  wealth  of  the  rich !  Are  the  rich  manu- 
 facturers in  our  Christendom  always  the  first  to  take  the  lead 
 in  organisations  for  the  good  of  the  working  classes  ?  Sure  it 
 is,  that  St  James'  word  is  applicable  to  too  great  a  number,  and 
 over  many  a  proud  palace  the  superscription  might  be  written — 
 "  Woe  unto  him  that  buildeth  his  house  by  unrighteousness,  and 
 his  chambers  by  wrong!  That  useth  his  neighbour's  service 
 without  wages,  and  giveth  him  not  for  his  work :  That  saith,  I 
 will  build  me  a  wide  house  and  large  chambers,  and  cutteth  him 
 out  windows ;  and  it  is  ceiled  with  cedar  and  painted  with  ver- 
 milion. Shalt  thou  reign  because  thou  closest  thyself  in  cedar  ? 
 Did  not  thy  father  eat  and  drink,  and  do  judgment  and  justice, 
 and  then  it  was  well  with  him?"  (Jer.  xxii.  13-15). 
 
 The  conduct  of  the  despots  of  wealth,  who  will  not  know 
 God  and  the  Saviour  of  all,  towards  the  poor  labourers,  cries 
 everywhere  in  our  ears  loudly  enough  :  how  should  it  not  come 
 also  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth  ?  of  Him,  who  in  the 
 law  of  Moses  said: — Thou  shalt  not  oppress  the  hired  servant 
 that  is  poor  and  needy . . .  lest  he  cry  against  thee  to  the  Lord, 
 
JA3IES  V.  1-6.  441 
 
 and  it  be  sin  unto  tliee  (Deut.  xxiv.  14,  15).  When  that  sin  is 
 visited  home  and  avenged,  the  word  wiU  find  another  awful 
 meaning — Ye  have  heaped  up  treasures^  treasures  of  wrath,  and 
 accumulated  the  debts  of  an  infinite  bankruptcy. 
 
 But  ye  brethren  who  are  not  directly  and  personally  affected 
 by  this,  take  them  nevertheless  for  an  example  ;  let  these  words 
 have  the  effect  upon  you  which  St  James  intended  them  to  have 
 upon  his  beheving  readers.  Ye  poor  and  oppressed,  take  com- 
 fort in  your  better  treasures  ;  nor  let  it  enter  your  minds  to  envy 
 the  rich.  And,  ye  godly  rich,  learn  still  more  and  more  not  to 
 trust  in  uncertain  riches,  but  in  the  living  God ;  to  do  good,  and 
 be  rich  in  good  works,  ready  to  distribute,  wiUing  to  communi- 
 cate, and  thus  lay  up  for  yourselves  a  good  foundation  against 
 the  time  to  come,  that  ye  may  lay  hold  upon  eternal  life  (1  Tim. 
 vi.  17-19).  Have  we  thoroughly  learned,  as  rich  and  poor, 
 these  great  lessons  ?  Are  we  giving  all  diligence,  with  undivided 
 hearts,  in  this  the  seedtime  for  the  eternal  harvest  ?  Do  we  all 
 know  how  profoundly  true  it  is  that  riches  and  earthly  good  are 
 not  merely  in  themselves  vain  things,  but  things  full  of  danger  ? 
 Do  the  poor,  who  believe  in  Jesus,  keep  themselves  free  from 
 all  undue  desire  to  be  rich  ?  Is  there  no  unhappy  canker  in  the 
 gold  and  silver  of  those  who  are  rich  ?  Do  we  live  and  act  on  the 
 firm  persuasion  that  nothing  can  be  more  foolish  than  to  heap 
 up  treasures  in  the  last  days  ;  and  nothing  more  wise  and  blessed 
 than  to  make  all  our  possessions  serviceable  to  the  glory  of  God 
 and  the  good  of  our  neighbour  ?  Let  us,  who  bear  the  Lord's 
 testimony  before  those  who  are  without,  take  care  never  to  be 
 found  in  any  such  practice  of  buying  and  selling  as  would  reduce 
 us  to  a  level  with  the  condemned,  instead  of  causing  them  to 
 bethink  themselves  of  their  ways.  Let  us  for  ever  pray — 
 IncHne  mine  heart  to  Thy  precepts,  and  not  to  covetousness ! 
 (Ps.  cxix.  36). 
 
442  TATIENT  WAITING. 
 
 xxvn. 
 
 PATIENT   WAITING. 
 
 (Ch.  Y.  7-9.) 
 
 Be  ye  patient  therefore,  brethren,  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  Behold, 
 the  hustandman  waiteth  for  the  precious  fruit  of  the  earth,  and  hattt  long 
 patience  for  it,  until  he  receive  the  early  and  the  latter  rain.  Be  ye  also 
 patient ;  stablish  your  hearts  :  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh. 
 Groan  not  one  against  another,  brethren,  lest  ye  be  condemned :  behold, 
 the  Judge  standeth  before  the  door. 
 
 What  is  your  life  ?  It  is  a  vapour  which  appeareth  for  a 
 little  time,  and  then  aftenv^ards  vanisheth  away.  And  this 
 afterwards,  how  soon  will  that  be  present !  How  short  and 
 transitory  is  our  life !  Nevertheless,  to  some  it  is  too  long ;  they 
 would  wish  their  life  shorter,  to  get  rid  of  all  their  trials  and 
 cares.  And  this  is  marvellous  enough.  But  it  shows  us  that 
 time  in  itself  is  nothing ;  it  becomes  short  or  long  according  to 
 what  it  includes  and  results  in.  It  comes  from  the  hand  of  God, 
 but  it  is  given  into  our  hands.  How  dost  thou  regard  the  time  of 
 thy  Hf e  ?  Is  it  too  short  or  too  long  to  thee  ?  It  is  too  short  for 
 thine  earthly  projects  and  plans,  so  that  thou  requirest  a  longer 
 future  than  ever  will  come  ?  It  is  too  short  for  the  enjoyment  of 
 thy  pleasure,  so  that  the  present  moment  hastens  away  before 
 thou  hast  properly  enjoyed  it,  and  thou  wouldst  vainly  hold 
 fast  and  increase  the  days  of  joy  ?  Then  will  thy  life  be  verily 
 too  short  in  the  end.  Misery  will  suddenly  come  upon  thee,  and 
 then — thou  hast  lived  in  pleasure  on  the  earth  !  The  fear  of 
 the  Lord  prolongeth  even  the  few  days  :  but  the  many  years  of 
 the  wicked  shall  be  fearfully  shortened.  The  hope  of  the  right- 
 eous shall  be  gladness  ;  but  the  expectation  of  the  wicked  shall 
 perish  (Prov.  x.  27,  28). 
 
 Ye  righteous,  only  wait  in  patience,  and  let  not  the  time  be 
 long  to  you !  Ought  you  not  rather  to  think  life  too  short  for 
 the  attainment  of  eternal  salvation  ?  Ought  you  not  rather  to 
 want  more  time  for  making  absolutely  sure  your  calling  and 
 election  ?    Instead  of  this,  how  often  is  the  waiting  to  the  end 
 
JAMES  V.  7-9.  443 
 
 too  long  to  the  pious,  because  they  are  wanting  in  that  true 
 patience,  in  that  true  waiting  on  the  Lord,  which  is  the  object  of 
 St  James'  present  exhortation  ! 
 
 He  turns  once  more  from  the  severe  condemnation  of  the 
 unbehevers  to  the  proper  readers  of  his  Epistle,  to  the  beloved 
 brethren,  to  those  who  needed  consolation  among  the  Christians. 
 And  now,  after  having  had  much  in  the  earlier  portion  to  re- 
 buke, he  goes  on  to  the  end  in  a  strain  of  gracious  appeal.  He 
 comforts  the  oppressed,  those  who  were  afflicted  by  the  proud 
 rich  ;  he  comforts  them  by  the  same  argument  which  had  been 
 a  threatening  to  the  others,  by  that  speedy  coming  of  the  Lord 
 which  will  bring  judgment  to  the  self-confident  and  salvation  to 
 those  who  wait  in  hope.  The  Judge  and  the  Deliverer  stands 
 before  the  door :  to  His  own,  His  coming  brings  the  summer 
 (Luke  xxi.  30) — the  harvest  of  the  precious  fruit  of  the  good 
 seed.  Is  not  this,  generally,  still  true  of  us  all,  though  not  in  the 
 particular  meaning  which  St  James  had  in  view  ?  Did  not  the 
 Holy  Spint  give  him  a  word  of  exhortation  for  all  times  ?  Let 
 us  then  obsen^e  the  life  of  the  Christian  in  time  as  a  patient 
 icaiting  for  the  near  approach  of  the  Lord.  We  see  first  what 
 that  is  in  itself;  and  then  what  here  folloics  from  it. 
 
 The  Christian  not  only  waits  patiently  for  the  precious  fruit 
 at  the  end  of  his  probation,  but  receives  also  patiently  the  need- 
 ful rain  and  blessing  during  his  life ;  and  ^Yi\h  this  waiting,  the 
 end  is  still  ever  near  at  hand.  Behold,  the  husbandman  waits 
 for  the  precious  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  is  patient ;  for,  between 
 seedtime  and  harvest  the  ordinance  of  God  in  nature  requires 
 its  time,  and  the  husbandman  who  could  not  wait  that  tune 
 would  never  reap  and  probably  never  sow.  True,  it  is  only 
 fruit  of  the  earth,  but  still  in  its  kind  it  is  precious  fruit.  In- 
 deed, such  o^vners  of  land  as  those  who  were  previously  rebuked, 
 whose  oppressed  labourers  reaped  the  harvests  of  their  hoarding 
 avarice, — do  not  truly  enjoy,  they  do  not  understand  and  trea- 
 sure up  the  precious  fruit  of  the  earth.  Their  eyes  have  not 
 waited  for  it  as  a  gift  from  the  hand  of  God ;  they  have  per- 
 verted and  misused  God's  gift  into  idolatry,  as  the  sins  of  men 
 pervert  all  earthly  blessings  into  curses.  But  we,  dear  brethren, 
 should  rightly  understand  St  James  when  he  speaks  to  us 
 figuratively  of  a  quite  different  and  more  precious  seedtime  and 
 harvest  for  heaven,  which  takes  place  upon  earth.     Every  year 
 
444  PATIENT  WAITING. 
 
 the  parable  is  renewed,  to  which  the  Lord  often  pointed,  and 
 which  His  servant  here  brings  near  to  our  view  in  the  Kttle 
 word  Behold  !  The  whole  age  of  the  world,  with  the  millennia 
 of  mankind  upon  earth,  is  a  great  seedtime  for  the  last  harvest, 
 in  which  the  earth  should  give  its  fruit  to  heaven,  after  having 
 from  heaven  received  the  seed.  When  the  harvest  comes,  we 
 shall  understand  the  ways  of  God.  Many  things  appear  to  us 
 now  dark  and  confused ;  let  us  only  wait  for  the  period  of  ripe- 
 ness and  consummation !  The  same  holds  good  of  every  man 
 for  his  time  of  grace,  and  in  the  most  important  sense  of  every 
 true  Christian  who  really  lives  for  eternity.  Our  days  and 
 years  are  strictly  measured  out  in  the  Divine  appointments  of 
 the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Our  Lord  Himself,  in  the  flesh, 
 ivaited  thirty  years  before  He  began  His  work  as  the  Sower ; 
 and  in  this  time  of  waiting,  w^hat  was  the  secret  work  of  His 
 own  growth  and  increase  up  to  His  Divine-human  maturity, 
 before  which  He  might  not  work  !  But  then,  also,  what  glori- 
 ous fruit  resulted  from  that  brief  seedtime  for  Himself  and  for 
 the  whole  world  !  He  gave  Himself  up  as  the  blessed  seedcorn 
 which  should  bring  forth  much  fruit ;  and  all  om-  sowing  and 
 reaping  since  has  been  only  fruit  of  His  sowing,  as  He  said 
 to  His  disciples — Herein  is  the  saying  true.  One  soweth  and 
 another  reapeth !  (John  iv.  37).  Again,  if  we  are  to  be  full 
 partakers  of  His  grace  and  redemption,  is  not  new  time  required, 
 labour  and  patience  between  the  sowing  and  the  harvest  ?  But 
 here  also  the  fruit  is  more  precious  than  any  harvest  may  be  in 
 this  world :  for  it  is  the  fruit  of  righteousness  sown  in  peace 
 (Jas.  iii.  18),  it  is  our  own  salvation.  Is  not  this  worthy  of  a 
 short  waiting  ?  Then  will  the  poor  be  rich,  when  they  receive 
 the  inheritance ;  the  sorrowful  will  be  joyful ;  the  waiters  un- 
 speakably rewarded.  Well  for  us  if  we  then  hear  it  said — Ye 
 have  endured  upon  earth ;  behold,  your  reward  is  great  in 
 heaven  ! 
 
 Till  then,  the  seed  must  gi'ow  and  ripen  under  the  Lord's 
 loatience  and  ours.  For,  the  kingdom  of  God  is  as  if  a  man 
 should  cast  seed  into  the  ground ;  and  should  sleep  and  rise, 
 night  and  day,  and  the  seed  should  spring  and  grow  up,  he 
 knoweth  not  how.  For  the  earth  bringeth  forth  fruit  of  her- 
 self ;  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear.  after  that  the  full  corn  in  the 
 ear.     But  when  the  fruit  is  brought  forth,  he  putteth  immediately 
 
JAMES  V.  7-9.  445 
 
 the  sickle  in,  because  the  harvest  is  come  (Mark  iv.  26-29). 
 How  then  does  the  seed  grow,  that  he  knoweth  not  how ;  and 
 who  is  he  that  knoweth  not,  who  has  only  to  wait  night  and 
 day  ?  Properly  speaking,  the  Lord  refers  only  to  our  labour 
 upon  others,  when  we  toil  as  labourers  under  the  great  Hus- 
 bandman, as  under-sowers  in  the  service  of  the  great  Sower. 
 But  it  has  also  its  application  to  our  own  hearts,  the  secret  growth 
 in  which  unto  full  perfection  is  in  part  concealed  from  our  own 
 eyes ;  only  that  Ave  must  at  least  know  that  there  has  been  a 
 sowing,  and  that  the  harvest  in  us  is  approaching.  The  Lord 
 Himself  knows  concerning  the  seed,  and  every  particle  of  it,  its 
 owTi  necessary  and  appointed  time  :  therefore  is  He  patient  till 
 His  comino;  for  the  harvest  of  the  world.  After  He  had  offered 
 once  one  offering  for  sins.  He  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God, 
 and  waiteth, — not  only  till  His  enemies  be  made  His  footstool, 
 but  also  till  all  His  people  are  born  to  Him  and  nourished  up, 
 till  all  the  sanctified  are  perfected  through  His  offering  (Heb. 
 X.  12-14).  Brethren,  the  Lord  Himself  waiteth  patiently 
 — and  will  ye  not  wait,  would  ye  know  better  than  He  the 
 time  of  the  precious  fruit  1  Let  us  once  more  look  carefully 
 into  St  James'  similitude — ^Tio  is  strictly  speaking  the  hus- 
 bandman ?  He  does  indeed  mean  ourselves,  as  we  have  under- 
 stood, but  he  also  more  secretly  indicates  the  great  Lord  of  the 
 harvest.  In  this  sense  we  may  translate — The  Lord  in  heaven 
 is  patient,  until  it,  the  precious  fruit  of  the  earth,  receive  from 
 His  own  hand  the  early  and  the  latter  rain.  He  gives  all  that 
 is  necessary  for  its  prosperity ;  because,  without  it.  He  would 
 not  find  the  fruit  precious,  as  He  would  have  it,  and  worthy  of 
 His  appearing. 
 
 Therefore,  let  us  also  be  patient  as  He  is,  and  gladly  receive 
 from  His  hand  the  needful  rain  and  blessing  which  alone  brings 
 the  fruit,  and  which  Avill  make  us  ourselves  the  ripe  fruit  in  its 
 season.  Luther  has  strangely  erred  with  his  morning  and  even- 
 ing rain.  God  promised  Israel — I  will  give  you  the  rain  of 
 your  land  in  his  due  season,  the  former  rain  and  the  latter  rain 
 (Deut.  xi.  14).  He  rebuked,  by  the  prophets,  the  apostates, 
 because  they  did  not  say  in  their  hearts — Let  us  now  fear  the 
 Lord  our  God,  that  giveth  rain,  both  the  former  and  the  latter, 
 in  his  season ;  and  who  reserveth  unto  us  the  appointed  weeks 
 of  harvest  (Jer.  v.  24).     There  were  the  two  seasons  of  rain  in 
 
446  PATIENT  WAITING. 
 
 the  Holy  Land,  the  one  early  in  October  and  November  for  the 
 seedtime,  the  other  late  in  ISIarch  and  April,  shortly  before  the 
 harvest ;  but  these  signify  all  that  God  does  and  bestows  in  the 
 interval  for  the  prosperity  of  the  growth.  In  earthly  things, 
 He  is  often  constrained  to  shut  the  heavens  in  punishment,  to 
 send  drought  and  famine ;  and  so  far  the  similitude  does  not 
 here  hold  good.  In  regard  to  the  fruit  of  the  kingdom  of 
 heaven.  He  gives  nothing  but  His  blessing ;  the  misgrowth  is 
 our  own  fault  alone.  Thus  to  the  last  He  sent  down  upon  un- 
 believing Israel  the  same  rain  of  grace  in  the  Gospel  and  apos- 
 tolical preaching,  which  only  in  the  believing  produced  its  fruit. 
 The  Apostle  Paul,  when  he  hke  St  James  here  classes  together 
 the  condemned  and  the  saved,  says — "  The  earth,  which  drinketh 
 in  the  rain  that  cometh  oft  upon  it,  and  bringeth  forth  herbs 
 meet  for  them  by  whom  it  is  dressed,  receiveth  blessing  from 
 God.  But  that  which  beareth  thorns  and  briers  (although  it 
 received  the  same  rain)  is  rejected,  and  nigh  unto  cm'sing ; 
 whose  end  is  to  be  burned  "  (Heb.  vi.  7,  8).  Itself  perverted 
 the  gracious  rain  into  the  mildew  and  fire  of  curse !  O  how 
 had  God  cultivated  His  Israel,  that  when  Christ  came  it  might 
 bring  forth  this  fruit  to  Him  !  How  constantly  and  how  faith- 
 fully does  He  now  send  down  upon  Christendom  His  pure  grace, 
 the  rich  blessing  of  Abraham  in  Christ ! 
 
 What  then  is  this  rain  and  blessing  which  every  one  of  us 
 receives  ?  Before  all,  the  word  as  the  seed,  the  gift  and  power 
 of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  word.  But,  in  addition  to  this,  the 
 Husbandman,  who  Himself  sends  the  weather  also,  appomts  to 
 all  discipline  and  dispensations  of  good  and  evil  wliich  should 
 serve  for  the  welfare*  of  His  people.  Not  ive  are  the  makers  of 
 the  weather  for  God's  harvest  in  us ;  we  must  patiently  receive 
 it,  as  He  wisely  appoints  it.  We  know  not  ourselves  what 
 the  weather  of  a  day  may  bring  forth.  But  we  receive  mean- 
 while in  obedience  and  patience,  at  God's  own  time,  the  early 
 and  the  latter  rain.  Let  us  rightly  miderstand  this  mystery ! 
 There  are  storms,  which  blow  upon  God's  garden,  that  the 
 spices  thereof  may  flow  out  (Cant.  iv.  16) — these  are  om'  suffer- 
 ings and  our  tribulations.  Even  the  harsh  frost  of  winter 
 covers  and  nourishes  the  tender  seed.  Therefore  be  patient, 
 brethren,  until  the  coming  of  the  Lord ;  be  i/e  also  patient,  even 
 as  the  Lord  Himself  is ;  take  all  things  from  His  hand  which 
 
JAMES  V.  7-if.  447 
 
 He  appoints  for  the  precious  fruit.  Ye  sufferers,  too,  mourn 
 not  over  the  time  of  storm  or  rain  as  lasting  too  long ;  were  it 
 no  longer  necessity,  it  would  not  come,  but  the  Lord  would 
 come  instead  mth  His  sickle  unto  the  harvest.  Does  it  seem  to 
 yovL  too  long  ?  Perchance  that  which  you  mourn  over  is  the 
 last  rain  shortly  before  the  harvest,  and  which  could  not  be 
 withheld.  Therefore  receive  the  consolation  which  is  sent  you 
 in  your  trials —  Count  it  all  joy  I  Let  your  faith  regard  the  joy 
 of  harvest  as  near ;  and  let  your  patience  have  a  perfect  work 
 till  the  end. 
 
 Till  the  end  ?  But  that  is  not  far  off !  Near  it  is,  brethren, 
 nearer  than  your  impatience  thinks ;  only  your  weakness  of  faith 
 throws  it  into  the  distance.  The  Christian,  while  he  waits,  never- 
 theless keeps  the  end  always  near  to  his  view.  St  James  could  in 
 his  day  predict — The  coming  of  the  Lord  is  at  hand !  And  his 
 word  was  soon  confirmed.  But  after  this  first  typical  coming 
 of  the  Lord  to  judgment  upon  Israel,  the  faithful  always  re- 
 garded the  reserved  and  proper  day  of  judgment  and  redemp- 
 tion, the  last  coming  of  their  Lord,  as  near.  The  New  Testa- 
 ment, and  the  whole  of  Scripture,  concludes  in  the  Revelation 
 of  St  John  with  the  repeated  assurance — The  time  is  at  hand ! 
 Behold,  I  come  quickly!  (Rev.  i.  3,  iii.  11,  xxii.  7,  10,  12,  20). 
 The  same  answer  and  exhortation  has  hitherto  held  good  for  all 
 times,  in  which  the  Spirit  of  the  Church  has  longingly  cried — 
 Come,  Lord  Jesus  !  Through  the  whole  of  true  Christianity,  and 
 in  the  hearts  of  all  the  holy,  there  Hves  a  perpetual  realisation  of 
 the  end ;  and  that  is  as  it  should  be.  Our  present  cold  thought 
 and  contemplation  of  it,  which  puts  the  last  day  into  the  far  dis- 
 tance, is  a  consequence  only  of  our  lukewarmness  of  faith  and 
 impoverished  love.  Is  it  not  of  the  nature  of  all  earnest  and  long 
 ing  ivaiting  to  bring  near  to  itself  the  object  of  expectation? 
 Can  those  who  love  the  Lord's  appearing  (2  Tim.  iv.  8)  endure 
 to  regard  it  as  a  distant  and  clouded  futurity  ?  Is  not  a  con- 
 stantly expecting  preparation  better  than  the  wicked  servant's 
 spirit — My  Lord  cometh  not  yet?  (llatt.  xxiv.  48).  To  him  it 
 is  said  instead — Behold,  I  will  come  to  thee  quickly  !  (Rev.  ii. 
 16).  It  is  the  mil  of  God  that  there  should  be  a  reahty  in  the 
 continual  presentation  of  the  coming  of .  the  Lord  as  near. 
 Every  generation  should  wait  for  His  day,  for  to  every  genera- 
 tion and  to  every  mortal  the  Lord  akeady  comes  in  death :  the 
 
448  PATIENT  WAITING. 
 
 interval  between  that  and  the  last  day  will  indeed  be  to  the 
 faithful  shorter  than  we  sometimes  think;  and  the  decision  of 
 the  death  in  any  case  is  closely  connected  with  the  final  end. 
 Because  for  wise  reasons  this  inten'^al  is  concealed  from  us,  and 
 the  day  of  our  death  is  dark,  the  Scripture  sets  before  us  instead 
 the  day  of  Christ's  revelation  as  the  bright  goal  of  our  expecta- 
 tion :  believers  are  called  generally  in  the  New  Testament  (since 
 the  Lord's  parables)  those  who  wait  for  the  Lord.  He  that 
 liveth  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present  world,  looks 
 for  the  blessed  hope  and  the  appearing  of  the  glory  of  the  great 
 God  and  our  Saviour  (Titus  ii.  12,  13).  Those  who  are  turned 
 to  serve  the  living  and  true  God,  are  taught  thereby  to  wait  for 
 His  Son  from  heaven,  whom  He  raised  from  the  dead,  even 
 Jesus,  who  delivers  us  from  coming  wrath  (1  Thess.  i.  9,  10). 
 When  He  shall  come  a  second  time.  He  will  come  for  salvation 
 to  those  who  look  for  Him  (Heb.  ix.  28).  And  we  all  know  the 
 great  word — Our  conversation  is  in  heaven,  from  whence  we 
 look  for  the  Saviour!  (Phil.  iii.  20).  This  waiting  of  believers 
 is  the  mystery  of  their  life  in  faith,  to  which  the  future  is  even 
 now  in  the  present :  thus,  if  they  walk  in  the  light  of  the  great 
 day,  their  whole  conduct  is  at  once  a  waiting  for  and  a  hasten- 
 ing unto  the  future  of  the  day  of  the  Lord  (2  Pet.  iii.  12). 
 At  once  awaiting  and  hastening — may  seem  a  contradiction  to 
 the  understanding ;  internal  experience  reconciles  them,  when 
 we  are  taught  of  the  Spirit  as  longingly^  as  patiently,  to  live  for 
 the  day  of  the  Lord. 
 
 If  thus  our  whole  life  in  time  is,  as  becometh  Christians, 
 a  patient  waiting  for  the  near  approach  of  the  Lord — what  fol- 
 lows according  to  the  word  of  our  present  text  ?  This  waiting 
 strengthens  the  heart  in  all  good,  warns  and  confirms  it  against 
 all  evil. 
 
 Be  ye  also  patient,  and  strengthen  your  hearts!  Thus  St 
 James  means  no  idle  waiting,  no  dreaming  and  enthusiastic 
 looking  upward  to  heaven,  which  forgets  the  earth  upon  which 
 the  precious  fruit  must  ripen.  The  earthly  similitude  for 
 heavenly  things  does  not  here  hold  altogether :  the  husbandman 
 must,  after  the  preparation  and  sowing,  almost  only  wait ;  he  can 
 do  but  little  for  his  field,  upon  which  the  rain  cometh  down.  But 
 In  the  spiritual  seedtime  and  harvest  there  is  hard  work  in  the 
 interval.     The  Lord  above  waits  and  works ;  and  in  His  work- 
 
JAMES  V.  7-9,  449 
 
 ing  we  also  secure  our  salvation,  in  the  continuous  seed  of  good 
 works  and  salutary  sufferings.  Let  us  do  good,  while  we  have 
 opportunity,  and  faint  not ;  so  shall  we  also  reap  in  due  time 
 without  ceasing !  (Gal.  vi.  9).  Every  truly  good  work  is  one 
 seedcom  more,  for  the  increase  of  the  ears  and  sheaves ;  but 
 every  sin  of  omission  is  itself  a  deduction  from  the  full  reward. 
 For  he  that  knoweth  to  do  good,  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is 
 sin !  Therefore  strengthen  your  hearts  to  labour,  as  Azariah 
 the  son  of  Obed  exhorted — Be  ye  strong  therefore,  and  let  not 
 your  hands  he  weak  ;  for  your  work  shall  be  rewarded  (2  Chron. 
 XV.  7).  So  the  holy  Apostle:  Be  ye  stedfast,  unmoveable, 
 always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord ;  forasmuch  as  ye 
 know  that  your  labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord  (1  Cor.  xv. 
 58).  But  the  great  and  fundamental  work  is  that  oi  patience, 
 which  receives  the  rain  and  endures  the  heat  until  the  fruits  be 
 ripe;  receiving  and  suffering  as  from  the  Lord  all  discipline 
 and  correction.  This  patience  is  strong  in  faith,  and  firm  in 
 the  hope  of  the  certain  promise ;  it  is  immovably  unmurmur- 
 ing toward  God,  and  humble  toward  man ;  silently  submissive, 
 and  therefore  deeply  strong.  "  Li  returning  and  rest  shall  ye 
 be  saved ;  in  quietness  and  confidence  shall  be  your  strength" 
 (Is.  XXX.  15). 
 
 Thus  we  are  then  further  warned  and  defended  against 
 every  evil,  against  even  that  slightest  and  most  secret  guilt  of 
 the  heart  which  might  be  exceedingly  evil  in  its  consequence. 
 Groan  not  one  against  another,  brethren,  that  ye  may  not  be 
 condemned !  Behold,  the  Judge  standeth  before  the  door. 
 Where  there  reigns  that  patient  temper  of  the  heart  which  waits 
 for  the  Lord,  and  looks  for  the  precious  fruit,  there  can  be  no 
 room  for  gross  external  sins  against  the  law  of  love.  There- 
 fore St  James  does  not  here  allude  to  them ;  he  does  not  even 
 say  as  before — Speak  not  evil  one  of  another !  For  he  who  does 
 that,  has  abeady  forgotten  entirely  the  Judge  and  the  compas- 
 sionate Savioui'.  The  suffering  just  man  submits  to  be  judged — 
 like  his  Saviour,  from  whom  his  righteousness  cometh — even  unto 
 death,  and  doth  not  resist.  St  James  takes  that  for  granted : 
 but  are  we  not  merely  to  sigh  ?  Is  not  that  demanding  an  im- 
 possibility ?  Let  us,  however,  understand  it  aright.  The  sigh- 
 ing of  the  suffering  oppressed  is  not  wrong  in  itself,  and  can 
 never  cease.    We  sigh  over  the  ungodly  in  their  misery.     Those 
 
 2f 
 
450  PATIENT  WAITING. 
 
 who  took  away  tlie  sheaf  from  the  hungry,  Job  says,  made  men 
 groan  from  out  of  the  city  (Job.  xxiv.  12).  And  Solomon  says 
 — When  the  righteous  are  increased,  the  people  rejoice ;  but 
 when  the  wicked  beareth  rule,  the  people  sigh  (Prov.  xxix.  2). 
 They  sigh  to  God,  the  Judge  and  Avenger,  the  Helper  and 
 Eedeemer.  Even  the  Apostle  recognises  a  sighing  of  the  hus- 
 bandmen over  unfruitful  fields,  when  he  says — "Obey  them  that 
 have  the  rule  over  you,  and  submit  yourselves ;  for  they  watch 
 for  your  souls,  as  they  that  must  give  account,  that  they  may  do 
 it  with  joy,  and  not  with  sighing :  for  that  is  unprofitable  for 
 yoit^  (Heb.  xiii.  17).  But  quite  different  is  that  sighing  against 
 one  another,  which  might  become  the  cause  of  our  condemna- 
 tion. The  oppressed  Church  crieth  and  mourneth  to  her  Lord, 
 like  the  poor  widow — Avenge  me  of  mine  adversary  !  and  His 
 elect  cry  day  and  night  to  their  patient  God  !  (Luke  x^dii.  3,  7). 
 But  they  well  know  him  who  is  the  essential  adversary,  the 
 Devil ,  as  it  respects  persecuting  men,  they  sigh  not  and  cry  not 
 for  vengeance,  but  pray  for  them  who  despitefully  use  them,  as 
 children  of  Him  whose  sunshine  and  rain  of  grace  are  never 
 withheld  while  the  day  of  mercy  holds  out.  Be  ye  therefore 
 patient,  brethren  !  Murmur  not  against  God  ;  groan  not  against 
 the  sinners  whose  misery  will  quickly  enough  hasten  upon  them ; 
 wish  not,  against  the  patience  of  the  Lord,  that  the  judgment 
 would  come,  which  will  soon  enough  recompense  fearful  tribu- 
 lation to  them  that  trouble  you,  and  bring  eternal  rest  to  you 
 who  are  troubled  (2  Thess.  i.  6,  7).  Least  of  all  sigh  against 
 one  another,  ye  that  are  yet  h^etliren.  Let  every  one  bear  his 
 brother's  burden,  and  have  patience  with  him  in  his  weakness* 
 Let  no  man  complain  to  God  against  his  brother  for  giving  him 
 a  heavy  burden  to  bear.  For  he  who  thus  groans  against  him, 
 has  not  forgiven  him ;  and  he  that  forgives  not,  shall  not  be 
 forgiven,  but  shall  be  condemned  I  If  the  Lord  come  to  thee, 
 while  thou  art  mm'muring  in  bitterness  and  without  love, — 
 what  judgment  might  befall  thee  !  Therefore  still  your  hearts 
 before  the  Judge,  even  as  ye  stablish  them  before  the  Redeemer. 
 Behold,  the  Judge  standeth  before  the  door — this  is  always  true 
 until  He  cometh — not  merely  as  it  respects  them,  but  also  in 
 your  own  case.  He  standeth  before  the  door  of  your  houses, 
 yom'  hearts ;  He  hears  and  marks  your  sighing,  which  is  not 
 concealed  from  Him;    He  reckoneth  all  righteously  for  the 
 
JAMES  V.  10,  11.  451 
 
 future  fruit.  Be  patient !  If  any  man  suffer,  let  him  cry  to 
 tlie  Lord,  and  He  will  be  near  to  him,  and  strengthen  him 
 by  the  prospect  of  His  speedy  coming.  But  in  all  his  lamenta- 
 tion before  the  Lord,  let  him  not  groan  against  his  neighbour  : 
 so  will  the  Lord  receive  him,  and  make  him  by  His  Spirit 
 patiently  ready  for  the  precious  fruit. 
 
 xxvni. 
 
 THE  EXAMPLES  OF  SUFFERING  AND  PATIENCE. 
 
 (Ch.  V.  10,  11.) 
 
 Take,  my  brethren,  the  prophets,  who  have  spoken  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
 for  an  example  of  suffering  affliction,  and  of  patience.  Behold,  ve  count 
 them  happy  which  endure.  Ye  have  heard  of  the  patience  of  Job,  and 
 have  seen  the  end  of  the  Lord ;  that  the  Lord  is  very  pitiful,  and  of  ten- 
 der mercy. 
 
 "  Be  patient !  Sufferings  are  to  men  ine\dtable  ;  and  in  this 
 there  is  the  goodwill  and  counsel  of  God.  Tribulation  and  trial 
 is  wholesome  :  it  tends  to  improve,  test,  purify,  confirm  them. 
 Be  ye  specially  patient,  ye  children  of  God,  ye  disciples  of  the 
 Lord  Jesus  ;  for  that  ye  suffer  a  while  with  the  Lord  Jesus  is 
 the  appointed  and  foretrodden  way  for  you  to  all  the  greater 
 glory."  This  is  the  doctrine  upon  which  all  Scripture  expatiates ; 
 and  herein  is  this  Book  of  books  incomparable,  that  it  constantly 
 and  faithfully  gives  the  right  word  of  instniction  and  exhorta- 
 tion to  those  who  suffer — that  we  tlurough  patience  and  comfort 
 of  the  Scriptures  might  have  hope  (Eom.  x^'.  4).  But  still 
 more  strongly  do  the  examples  encourage  and  affect  us — the 
 living  examples  and  naiTatives  which  bring  these  great  truths 
 most  clearly  before  both  om:  ears  and  om'  eyes.  This  the  gra- 
 cious God  well  knew  ;  and  therefore,  as  life  is  everywhere  rich 
 in  teaching  and  warning  examples,  so  is  the  history  of  God's 
 people  in  the  Scriptm-es  rich  in  personal  instiniction.  St  James 
 turns  to  them  after  his  exhortation,  and  points  us  to  the  exam- 
 ples of  suffering  and  of  patience. 
 
 Examples  of  suffering  generally  —  are  everywhere  to  be 
 found  ;  we  need  not  go  to  seek  them  in  ancient  books,  or  even 
 
452  THE  EXAMPLES  OF  SUFFERING  AlH)  PATIENCE. 
 
 in  the  Scriptures  ;  no  human  life  is  altogether  without  then . 
 If  your  o^vn  has  been  hitherto  nearly  free,  look  around  and  see 
 how  others  are  called  to  suffer.  Ask  the  physicians  and  pastors, 
 who  have  to  do  with  men's  sufferings  in  body  and  soul ;  ask  all 
 who  know  what  human  life  is  ;  look  where  you  will  into  the  his- 
 tories of  the  present  and  the  past : — examples  of  suffering  are 
 nowhere  wanting.  If  sudden  tribulation  come  upon  your  happy 
 and  sheltered  life,  and  you  first  think  it  strange  (as  men  com- 
 monly do),  as  if  some  strange  thing  happened  to  thee  (1  Pet. 
 iv.  12) — then  look  around,  and  you  will  see  that  it  is  only  the 
 common  lot  of  the  children  of  men.  We  generally  then  first 
 really  mark  the  sufferings  of  others,  when  we  become  their  fel- 
 lows in  suffering.  A  very  small  thing  possibly  may  cause  us  to 
 cry  out  at  once — Why  am  I  thus  smitten  ?  and  much  too  soon 
 we  adopt  the  song — Behold  and  see  if  there  be  any  sorrow  like 
 unto  my  sorrow,  which  is  done  unto  me  !  (Lament,  i.  12). 
 Behold  and  see  yourselves,  and  you  will  find  everyrv^here  what 
 will  rebuke  your  impatience.  How  would  it  be,  if  those  suffer- 
 ings were  to  fall  upon  you,  examples  of  which  may  be  seen  in 
 this  or  that  man  ?  ^ 
 
 But  why  do  we  speak  merely  of  examples  of  suffering  ?  How 
 great  is  the  difference  in  those  sufferings,  according  to  the  man- 
 ner in  which  the  sufferers  bear  them  !  Some  there  are  who 
 receive  joyfully  the  hardest  afflictions,  or  at  least  so  patiently 
 and  resignedly,  with  all  their  weakness,  that  they  learn  to  endure 
 them  better  and  better  the  longer  they  continue  and  the  more 
 they  increase  !  Others  make  to  themselves  great  burdens  out  of 
 little  troubles,  kick  as  foolishly  as  vainly  against  their  trials,  em- 
 bittering their  own  lives  and  the  lives  of  all  about  them  !  Hast 
 thou  been  such  a  stranger  and  pilgrim  in  the  world  as  not  to  have 
 seen  these  things  ?  Examples  of  impatience  are  never  far  to 
 seek ;  and  it  is  a  good  thing  to  behold  them,  that  we  may  learn 
 lessons  from  their  folly.  But  much  better  are  those  examples  of 
 suffering  and  patience,  of  which  St  James  here  speaks.  They 
 are  not  so  plentiful  as  the  others,  but,  thank  God  !  there  are 
 enough  to  be  found,  if  we  inquire  for  them.  It  is  for  us  to 
 learn,  to  take  what  we  find  as  our  example.  And  why  should 
 we  not  also,  if  the  Lord  will,  become  such  blessed  examples 
 ourselves  ?  To  give  an  example  of  patience,  is  among  the  most 
 precious  of  good  works,  more  precious  than  many  of  those  good 
 
11.  453 
 
 works  whicli  you  complain  against  affliction  for  denying  you 
 time  to  perform.  How  many  have  transmitted  to  children  and 
 children's  children  the  touching  image  of  their  patience,  as  the 
 good  seedcorn  bears  fruit  long  afterwards,  preaching  more  liv- 
 ingly  than  all  doctrine — The  patient  in  spirit  is  better  than  the 
 proud  in  spirit !  (Eccles.  vii.  8). 
 
 All  this  St  James  presupposes  ;  and  to  all  this  he  points,  when 
 he  begins  to  speak  of  the  example  of  suffering  and  patience.  But 
 here  he  has  specially  to  do  with  the  brethren's  sufferings  for  right- 
 eousness' sake;  with  the  oppression,  persecution, shame,  and  oppo- 
 sition, which  Christians  encounter  as  Christians  :  therefore  he 
 would  excite  to  patience  by  examples.  He  might  have  referred  the 
 one  class  to  the  example  of  the  other,  the  impatient  to  the  patient ; 
 but  because  he  cannot,  in  this  general  Epistle,  give  prominence 
 to  individual  personal  characters  of  the  present,  he  turns  to  the 
 past,  which  still  better  exhibits  the  counsel  and  will  of  God  that 
 His  people  must  suffer,  as  a  counsel  extending  to  all  times.  He 
 turns  to  the  histories  of  Scrij)ture,  which  he  presumes  his  readers 
 to  be  acquainted  with,  or  would  thereby  excite  them  to  seek  out. 
 He  acts  like  his  Master,  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (which  he 
 has  steadily  in  view  through  the  Epistle),  when  He  counted  the 
 persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake  happy,  and  said — For  so  per- 
 secuted they  the  prophets,  which  were  before  you  !  (Matt.  v.  12). 
 Thus,  here — Take,  for  example  of  suffering  and  patience,  the 
 prophets,  who  spoke  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  AYlio  spoke  to 
 you — is  not  in  the  original  text :  it  is,  indeed,  true  that  they 
 ahvays  spoke  for  us  and  to  us,  as  to  the  fathers  ;  but  St  James 
 omits  this,  where  he  is  only  indicating  the  high  dignity  of  the 
 elect  messengers  of  God,  who  notwithstanding  that  dignity  suf- 
 fered so  much.  To  speak  in  the  Lord's  name  to  His  people,  to 
 His  men — what  an  honour  is  this;  but  also  what  a  source  of 
 distress  and  scorn  to  all  the  servants  of  God,  and  witnesses  of 
 His  truth  !  Look  only  to  their  life,  only  read  the  histories 
 of  the  prophets  in  Scripture,  and  take  the  example  which  they 
 give !  That  is,  in  a  certain  sense,  the  great  fundamental  ex- 
 ample which  the  Spirit  of  God  sets  before  you. 
 
 Should  not  the  ancient  people  have  received  their  prophets 
 as  angels  of  God;  as  in  the  beginning  the  Galatians  received 
 the  Apostle  Paul, — who,  if  it  had  been  possible,  would  have 
 plucked  out  their  eyes  and  given  him  ?  (Gal.  iv.  14,  15).   Alas, 
 
454         THE  EXAMPLES  OF  SUFFERING  AND  PATIENCE. 
 
 as  they  turned  against  the  Apostle,  and  held  him  as  their  enemy 
 because  he  told  them  the  truth  (ver.  16),  so  was  it  with  the 
 ancient  prophets !  The  very  people  who  boasted  that  theirs 
 were  the  prophets,  persecuted  those  prophets ;  their  posterity 
 adorned  their  graves  and  monuments,  but  their  fathers  had 
 killed  them.  In  the  fatherland  of  the  prophets,  not  one  of 
 them  was  accepted ;  the  Lord,  like  St  James,  set  forth  the  pro- 
 phets generally  as  sufferers ;  and  Stephen  boldly  asks.  Which  of 
 the  prophets  had  not  been  evil-entreated  in  his  time  ?  (Acts  vii. 
 52).  That  which  the  New  Testament  expressly  asserts,  was  in 
 the  great  mercy  and  gentleness  of  God  recorded  in  the  Old 
 Testament  of  but  few,  and  nowhere  in  these  direct  terms.  "5^t 
 we  hear  once,  in  the  prayer  of  Nehemiah — They  slew  Thy  pro- 
 phets which  testified  against  them  !  (Neh.  ix.  26).  Leaving 
 out  of  sight  what  the  traditions  and  histories  of  the  Jews  (some- 
 times true  enough)  record  of  many,  such  as  Isaiah,  Ezekiel,  and 
 Amos,  we  need  only  remind  ourselves  of  what  is  merely  narrated 
 in  Scripture. 
 
 Take,  for  example,  the  first  great  prophet,  Moses :  how 
 he  at  the  outset,  before  the  Lord  called  him  to  speak  and  save 
 and  judge  in  His  name,  was  obliged  to  endure  for  forty  years 
 among  the  sheep  in  the  wilderness ;  and  how  full  was  his  great 
 office,  from  beginning  to  end,  of  burden  and  care.  In  Egypt 
 and  at  the  Eed  Sea,  in  the  wilderness  and  on  the  border  of  the 
 promised  land,  the  word  was  fulfilled  which  he  said  to  his  Lord 
 — Behold,  they  will  not  believe  me,  nor  hearken  unto  my  voice 
 (Ex.  iv.  1).  All  past  miracles  are  forgotten,  if  new  ones  do  not 
 quickly  follow ;  and  always  the  people  murmur  against  this 
 Moses.  Did  he  not  cry  in  Rephidim  unto  God — What  shall  I 
 do  unto  this  people  ?  They  be  almost  ready  to  stone  me  !  (Ex. 
 xvii.  4).  Read  all  these  narratives,  and  marvel  at  the  patience 
 of  forty  years  of  such  complaints !  When  it  once  came  to  such 
 a  point  that  his  sister  Miriam  the  prophetess,  and  his  brother 
 Aaron  the  high  priest,  spoke  against  him,  and  said — "  Hath  the 
 Lord,  indeed,  spoken  only  by  Moses?  Hath  He  not  spoken 
 also  by  us?"  a  later  transcriber  of  the  book,  in  which  Moses 
 calmly  related  all  as  if  he  spoke  of  another,  must  needs  intei-po- 
 late  the  words — "  Now  the  man  Moses  was  much  tried,  above 
 all  the  men  which  were  upon  the  face  of  the  earth ;"  and  we 
 may  understand  it — "  the  most  patient"  (Num.  xii.  2,  3). 
 
j^vMEs  V.  10,  Ji.  455 
 
 Take  again,  for  example,  tliat  second  great  prophet  and 
 worker  of  miracles,  who,  with  Moses,  spake  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
 concerning  His  sufferings  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration, 
 Elijah,  the  man  of  fiery  zeal !  It  would  be  too  much  to  recount 
 his  entire  history,  to  those  who  know  it  not.  Those  who  know 
 it  will  remember  his  unsuccessful  work  among  his  people,  which 
 did  not  forsake  Baal,  and  upon  the  king,  who  sold  himself  to 
 Jezebel ;  and  that  when  he  lay  under  the  Juniper,  with  almost 
 exhausted  patience,  and  cried — It  is  enough.  Lord,  take  my 
 life  (1  Kings  xix.  4),  the  Lord  strengthened  him  to  go  on  his 
 way,  and  not  forget  mercy  in  his  zeal. 
 
 Think  further  of  Isaiah,  that  prince  and  Evangelist  among 
 the  prophets,  whose  words  are  so  abundantly  given  to  us.  His 
 first  appointment  told  him  (ch.  vi.)  that  the  hardened  people 
 would  not  hear  and  understand  him ;  and  how  did  he,  through 
 a  long  prophetic  life  under  four  kings,  speak  words  to  them  of 
 fear  and  consolation,  which  we  are  now  beginnuig  first  to  un- 
 derstand !  AYhen  he  predicts  the  future  Servant  of  God,  and  the 
 reproach  and  sufferings  of  Christ — did  he  not  (like  David) 
 typically  experience  in  himself  what  he  could  therefore  speak 
 as  also  a  servant  of  God  ?  Did  he  not  himself  complain  as  the 
 servant  of  God — ^'Then  I  said,  I  have  laboured  in  vain ;  I  have 
 spent  my  strength  for  nought,  and  in  vain  :  yet  surely  my  judg- 
 ment is  with  the  Lord,  and  my  work  is  my  God's  ?"  (Isa  xlix.  4). 
 And  so  also  as  the  type  of  Christ  he  declared  his  own  experience 
 — "I  gave  my  back  to  the  smiters,  and  my  cheeks  to  them  that 
 plucked  off  the  hair :  I  hid  not  my  face  from  shame  and  spit- 
 ting. For  the  Lord  God  helpeth  me ;  therefore  shall  I  not  be 
 confounded ;  therefore  have  I  set  my  face  like  a  flint,  for  I  know 
 that  I  shall  not  be  ashamed"  (ch.  1.  6,  7). 
 
 But  among  all  the  prophets  whose  lives  and  sufferings  are  re- 
 corded in  Scripture,  Jeremiah  is  the  most  marked,  whose  whole  life 
 was  as  it  were  a  Lamentation,  and  whose  history,  interwoven  with 
 his  words,  has  ever  been  a  mirror  of  consolation  to  the  preacher 
 of  righteousness.  He  bore  the  sin  of  his  people  upon  his  heart 
 and  in  his  heart.  "I  sat  not"  —  so  he  says  (according  to  the  right 
 translation) — "in  the  assembly  of  the  mockers,  nor  rejoiced ;  I  sat 
 alone  before  Thy  hand ;  for  thou  hast  filled  me  with  indigna- 
 tion. Why  is  my  pain  perpetual,  and  my  wound  incui'able, 
 which  ref  useth  to  be  healed  ?  Thou  hast  become  to  me  as  waters 
 
456  THE  EXA3IPLES  OF  SUFFERING  AND  PATIENCE. 
 
 that  flow  no  more"  (ch,  xv.  17,  18).  So  he  complains  to  the 
 Lord ;  but  the  Lord  heals  him,  and  His  mercies  flow ;  yet  He 
 gives  him  no  rest,  for  he  must  continue  his  testimony  in  scorn 
 and  persecution.  We  hear  him  saying — •"  O  Lord,  Thou  hast 
 persuaded  me,  and  I  was  persuaded  :  Thou  art  stronger  than  I, 
 and  hast  prevailed ;  but  I  am  in  derision  daily,  and  every  one 
 mocketh  me.  For  since  I  cried  out  concerning  the  violence 
 and  spoil,  the  word  of  the  Lord  was  made  a  reproach  unto  me, 
 and  a  derision  daily.  Then  I  thought,  I  will  not  make  mention 
 of  Him,  nor  speak  any  more  in  His  name.  But  His  word  was 
 in  my  heart  as  a  burnmg  fire  shut  up  in  my  bones,  and  I  was 
 weary  with  forbearing,  and  could  not  stay.  For  I  heard  the 
 defaming  of  many,  fear  on  every  side.  Eeport  against  him ! 
 yea,  we  Avill  report  against  him !  Said  all  my  familiars,  Perad- 
 venture  he  will  be  enticed,  and  we  shall  prevail  against  him, 
 and  we  shall  take  our  revenge  upon  him  "  (ch.  xx.  7-10).  More 
 than  once  Jeremiah  is  imprisoned,  and  cast  into  the  pit.  The 
 book  of  his  sayings,  which  was  read  before  king  Jehoiakim, 
 during  the  prophet's  imprisonment,  was  in  the  king's  wrath  torn 
 and  bm-nt ;  but  it  is  written  again,  and  the  fulfilment  of  the 
 threatened  judgment  comes.  He  there  forbids  the  residue  of 
 Judah  to  go  down  to  Egjrpt — and  of  what  avail  is  his  word? 
 They  carry  himself  bound  with  them  into  Egypt,  and  boldly 
 say: — "As  for  the  word  that  thou  hast  spoken  to  us  in  the 
 name  of  the  Lord,  we  will  not  hearken  unto  thee.  But  we  will 
 certainly  do  whatsoever  thing  goeth  forth  out  of  our  ovm.  mouth, 
 to  burn  incense  unto  the  Melecheth  of  heaven!"  (ch.  xliv.  16,' 
 
 Let  this  suffice  for  the  answer  of  the  question — Are  there 
 not  examples  of  suffering  and  patience  among  the  prophets? 
 Thou  that  complainest  of  a  little  contradiction  of  sinners,  and 
 canst  not  sustain  thy  soul  under  it — compare  thyself  with  these 
 men  of  God !  Art  thou  gi-eater  than  they  ?  Is  thy  lot  worse 
 than  theirs  ?  Dost  thou  expect  to  be  spared,  when  all  the  ser- 
 vants of  God  have  been  required  thus  to  suffer  ?  Or  dost  thou 
 think  that  thou  will  be  able  by  prudence  to  escape  persecution  ? 
 Behold  how  impossible  that  is.  Behold  the  whole  series  of 
 prophets  as  one  example  before  thine  eyes ;  yea,  add  to  them, 
 what  St  James  would  not  add,  the  Apostles  of  Jesus  Christ, 
 and  among  them  St  Paul,  to  whom  it  was  appointed  of  the 
 
jAiiES  V.  10,  11.  457 
 
 Lord — I  will  show  him  how  many  things  he  must  suffer  for 
 My  name  (Acts  ix.  16).  And  wouldst  thou  seek  in  any  other 
 way  to  serve  the  Lord  in  comfort,  to  obtain  salvation  without 
 endurance  ? 
 
 Behold,  we  count  tJiem  happy  which  endure  !  Thus  St  James 
 goes  back  to  the  beginning  of  his  Epistle — Blessed  is  the  man 
 that  endureth  temptation ;  for  when  he  is  tried,  he  shall  receive 
 the  cro^vn  of  life.  Bat  not  until  he  hath  endured  his  trial ! 
 O  how  infinitely  better  is  this  Blessed,  than  the  AYoe  upon 
 those  who  have  nom'ished  their  hearts  !  We  already  count  the 
 pious  blessed  who  hold  out ;  and  not  inappropriately,  for  the 
 true  word  of  God  gives  us  that  direction :  how  will  heaven 
 count  them  blessed,  and  the  faithful  Lord  make  them  so  !  We 
 poor  sinners  in  our  natural  sympathy  are  glad  to  say,  when  we 
 can — Well  for  him,  he  has  struggled  through !  What  will  the 
 Lord,  who  is  very  pitiful  and  full  of  compassion,  do  to  com- 
 pensate superabundantly  the  afflictions  with  which  He  did  not 
 willingly  afflict  His  children?  (Lam.  iii.  33).  Let,  then,  our 
 faith  anticipate  this  consolation  of  hope  in  the  midst  of  all  our 
 short  afflictions !  We  can  abeady  count  them  happy  that  endure, 
 and  say  so  for  their  encom'agement :  but  let  us  take  care  that 
 the  words  of  Job's  wife  may  never  apply  to  us — "  Behold,  thou 
 hast  instructed  many,  and  thou  hast  strengthened  the  weak 
 hands ;  thy  words  have  upholden  him  that  was  falling,  and  thou 
 hast  strengthened  the  feeble  knees.  But  now  it  is  come  upon 
 thee,  and  thou  faintest;  it  toucheth  thee,  and  thou  art  troubled !" 
 (Job  iv.  3-5).  That  may  not  apply  to  us,  did  I  say?  Alas,  I 
 must  retract  the  word ;  for  more  or  less  they  apply  to  us  all. 
 This  is  om-  infirmity ;  and  yet  with  this  om'  f aintness  patience 
 may  very  well  consist — that  patience  which  the  Lord  requires, 
 and  approves  in  us.  Behold,  that  same  Job,  who  fainted  and 
 murmured,  is  here  once  more  in  Holy  Scripture,  long  after  the 
 time  of  his  endurance,  counted  happy  and  blessed. 
 
 Ye  have  heard  of  the  patience  of  Job :  thus  speaks  St  James 
 further  in  the  name  of  the  Lord ;  giving  the  man  in  the  land 
 of  Uz  the  honom'  of  naming  him  alone  after  all  the  prophets  ! 
 He  solemnly  confirms  the  proverbial  saying  among  the  IsraeHtes, 
 according  to  which  the  apocryphal  writer,  after  recording  the 
 trial  of  Tobias,  adds — ^'  This  tribulation  God  sent  to  him,  that 
 those  who  came  after  him  might  have  an  example  of  patience, 
 
458  THE  EXA^IPLES  OF  SUFFEEmG  AND  PATIEXCE. 
 
 even  as  tlie  holy  Job"  (Tob.  ii.  12).  But  still  more  valid  and 
 decisive  is  the  praise  of  Job  in  the  lioly  Scriptiu'e,  where  the 
 Lord  Himself  says  by  Ezekiel,  that  even  the  three  men, 
 Noah,  Daniel,  and  Job,  should  in  a  sinful  land  save  only  their 
 own  souls  by  their  righteousness  (Ezek.  xiv.  14).  We  learn 
 there,  as  we  learn  here  from  St  James,  that  the  man  Job 
 actually  lived  like  Noah,  Daniel,  and  all  the  prophets ;  that  the 
 narrative  of  his  life  is  not  an  instructive  poem,  but  a  real 
 history.  At  that  time  most  people  had  only  heard  of  him ;  for 
 reading  was  confined  to  the  learned,  and  even  they  had  not 
 always  all  the  books  of  Scripture.  Have  we  rightly  read  the 
 book  of  Job  ?  Alas,  Luther's  translation  of  this  obscure  and 
 difficult  book  is  very  imperfect ;  the  corrected  translation  will 
 alone  exhibit  the  proper  book  of  Job  ! 
 
 But,  it  may  be  said,  was  Job  actually  an  example  of  suffer- 
 ing affliction  and  of  patience  ?  His  name  is  indeed  proverbial 
 for  bitter  and  fearful  suffering;  and  his  sufferings  were  not, 
 like  those  of  the  prophets,  endured  in  the  name  and  for  the 
 sake  of  the  Lord,  but  for  his  own  purification  and  confirmation 
 in  godliness — on  account  of  the  Accuser,  who  demanded  from 
 the  Lord  this  power  over  him.  This  is  one  cause  why  St  James 
 adds  his  name  to  the  prophets,  that  he  may  point  to  such  peculiar 
 Job-sufferings.  But,  did  Job  stand  in  the  trial  ?  Often  is  he 
 quoted  as  a  warning  example  of  murmuring  and  impatience. 
 Assuredly,  though  he  did  not  at  the  first,  yet  he  soon  did,  sin 
 with  his  lips ;  we  find  in  his  words  the  strongest  outbursts  of 
 human  agony,  and  bold  words  of  self-justification  before  his 
 God ;  yea,  he  cm'sed  the  day  of  his  birth,  as  Jeremiah  also  did. 
 But  throughout  all  he  remained  sincere,  according  to  that 
 measure  of  grace  which  alone  he  could  receive  in  his  day ;  his 
 weakness,  however,  was  stronger  and  better  than  the  uncha- 
 ritable and  falsely-mse  judging  of  his  friends.  We  learn  here, 
 also,  that  no  human  example  of  patience  is  perfectly  pure  before 
 the  Lord,  and  that  the  merciful  judgment  of  the  Lord  is  not, 
 therefore,  restricted.  It  is  wrong  that  we  should  dwell  more 
 on  Job's  murmuring  than  upon  his  patience;  for  the  Lord 
 forgave  the  infirmity,  washed  away  the  sin,  and  in  the  end 
 uttered  His  judgment  upon  the  others — Ye  have  not  spoken  of 
 Me  the  thing  that  is  right,  as  My  servant  Job  hath  done !  Go 
 to  My  servant  Job,  and  he  shall  pray  for  you  !  (ch.  xlii.  7,  8). 
 
OAMES  Y.  10,  11.  459 
 
 Therefore  let  us  rather  keep  in  remembrance  that  first  word, 
 which  has  been  the  comfort  of  thousands  upon  thousands — 
 The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away :  Blessed  be 
 the  name  of  the  Lord  (ch.  i.  21) ;  and  that  last  word — There- 
 fore I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes !  (ch.  xlii.  6). 
 Let  us,  as  is  most  fit,  not  look  at  the  troubled  course  of  the 
 middle  of  his  conflict,  but  at  the  victory  which  the  mercy  of 
 the  Lord  gave  him,  to  the  end  of  that  patience  which  the 
 Supreme  acknowledged ! 
 
 It  is  that  which  St  James  means  in  the  following  word — 
 And  have  seen  the  end  of  the  Lord  ;  that  is,  the  end  which  the 
 Lord  put  to  the  sufferings  of  Job,  so  gloriously  and  superabun- 
 dantly recompensing  him.  On  a  hasty  glance,  we  might  under- 
 stand the  words  otherwise,  as  if  St  James  would  go  on  to  speak, 
 after  Job,  of  the  issue  of  the  sufferings  of  the  Lord,  that  is,  of 
 Jesus  Christ.  It  micrht  be  wondered  at  that  he  leaves  unmen- 
 tioned  the  only  perfect  example  of  patience,  nor  ever  expressly 
 points  to  Him  who  was  the  Beginner  and  Finisher  of  the  faith, 
 who  for  the  joy  set  before  Him  endured  the  cross  and  despised 
 the  shame  (Heb.  xii.  2).  The  patience  of  this  Supreme  Endurer, 
 this  Just  One  who  was  condemned  and  resisted  not  (ver.  6),  had 
 not  been  actually  seen  by  all  the  readers  of  this  Epistle,  who 
 lived  in  the  Dispersion,  above  five  and  twenty  years  after  the 
 crucifixion ;  consequently,  the  distinction  between  this  and  the 
 ancient  history  of  Job,  which  is  said  to  have  been  only  heard 
 of,  falls  down  to  the  ground.  Moreover,  it  would  not  be  appro- 
 priate to  speak  of  the  death  of  Christ  as  His  end.  St  James 
 speaks  of  Him  as  the  Lord  of  glory  (ch.  ii.  1)  —  as  the  Judge 
 standing  before  the  door !  And  can  he  mean  Him,  when  he 
 says — The  end  of  the  Lord;  just  as  he  said  before — The  pro- 
 phets who  spoke  in  the  name  of  the  Lord'^  And  the  conclusion  is 
 against  this  meaning  of  the  word — For  the  Lord  is  very  pitiful, 
 and  of  great  compassion.  We  see,  therefore,  that  St  James  is 
 limiting  himself,  for  the  sake  of  his  Israelitish  readers,  to 
 examples  taken  from  the  ancient  Scripture,  among  which  that 
 of  Job  naturally  takes  the  highest  place.  He  says,  "  Ye  have 
 seen  the  end  of  the  Lord"" — not  of  Job — in  order  to  strengthen 
 the  previous  "heard;"  and  further,  to  say  that  such  histories, 
 though  only  heard,  are  as  it  were  livingly  presented  before  our 
 eyes  in  their  reality  for  all  ages. 
 
460  THE  EX^iMPLES  OF  SUFFEEIXG  AND  PATIENCE. 
 
 Job's  affliction  was  upon  earth  turned  into  joy,  in  perfect 
 conformity  with  the  degree  of  his  faith,  and  the  plans  of  God, 
 in  that  period.  The  Lord  turned  the  captivity  of  Job,  and 
 gave  him  twice  as  much  as  he  had  had  before.  This  is  an  Old- 
 Testament  type  of  the  eternal  compensation  reserved  for  us 
 Christians,  who,  in  richer  light  and  greater  grace,  look  forward 
 to  another  world.  Suffering  and  dying  Christians  sometimes 
 receive  from  that  world  a  gleam  of  glory  as  to  the  earthly  end 
 of  their  patience,  so  that  it  may  be  said  of  them — Consider  the 
 end  of  their  conversation  and  follow  their  faith  !  (Heb.  xiii.  7). 
 Who  does  not  count  the  death  of  Stephen  glorious?  But 
 where  this  is  not  to  be  seen,  we  should  yet  confidently  hope  for 
 the  precious  fruit  of  the  tearful  sowing.  We  should  strengthen 
 that  hope  by  all  that  we  have  seen  of  Job-histories  upon  earth ; 
 and  hold  fast  the  blessed  conclusion  which  St  James  by  the 
 Spirit  adds. 
 
 For  the  Lord  is  very  pitiful,  full  of  compassion,  and  of  ten- 
 der mercy  !  This  conclusion  first  gives  us  the  full  and  profound 
 solution  of  the  meaning  of  our  text.  Because  the  Lord  is  very 
 pitiful.  He  sent  help  at  the  right  time  to  the  hardly-beset  Job  ; 
 and  with  the  temptation  opened  a  way  of  escape,  that  he  might 
 be  able  to  bear  it  (1  Cor.  x.  13).  Therefore  He  entered  Him- 
 self upon  the  scene,  and  put  an  end  to  all  the  folly  of  the  men 
 who  surrounded  Job,  which  only  made  the  evil  worse  by  vexing 
 the  soul  of  the  just  man  ;  therefore  did  He  by  His  own  gracious 
 interposition  prepare  for  the  words  of  Job  a  far  better  end  than 
 that  of  ch.  xxxi.  40 — "  The  words  of  Job  are  ended."  There- 
 fore did  He  look  into  his  heart,  instead  of  severely  visiting  upon 
 him  "  the  speeches  of  a  desperate  man  into  the  wind "  (ch.  vi. 
 26) ;  therefore  did  He  hold  valid  Job's  patience,  and,  in  order 
 to  this,  bring  in  at  the  right  time  the  end  of  all  his  suffering. 
 But  thus  does  the  Lord  deal  with  us  all,  according  to  our 
 ability  and  the  measure  of  grace  received.  Thus,  Job's  most 
 instructive  example  should  teach  us  ever  to  look  up  from  the 
 enduring  man  to  the  merciful  God ;  we  should  learn  that  the 
 patience  of  no  man  is  perfect  in  itself,  or  of  any  merit ;  that 
 all  who  have  endured  would  have  been  put  to  shame  if  the 
 Lord  had  pushed  the  test  further ;  that  this,  however,  is  not 
 His  pleasure,  but  that  His  mercy  brings  in  the  good  end,  and 
 utters  the  pitiful  judgment. 
 
JAMES  V.  12.  461 
 
 Here  we  cannot  but  think  of  Him,  whom  St  James  indeed 
 does  not  name,  meaning  probably  that  his  very  silence  should 
 suggest  to  their  minds  what  to  all  Christians  was  self-under- 
 stood. We  look  up  to  our  merciful  and  sympathising  High 
 Priest,  who  Himself  was  in  His  infirmity  suffering  and  tempted, 
 who  ever  imparts  to  us  in  our  sufferings  the  light,  and  power, 
 and  consolation  of  His  grace,  that  we  may  suffer  with  Himself. 
 He  who  holds  fast  this  great  truth  in  faith,  may  count  himself 
 blessed  in  his  faith,  even  before  the  glorious  end.  Ye  sufferers, 
 take  to  your  hearts  this  consolation  !  and  ye  who  are  for  the 
 present  spared,  learn  better  and  more  mercifully  to  comfort 
 the  afflicted  than  the  friends  of  Job  !  But  arm  yourselves  with 
 these  good  examples,  that  you  may  not  be  faint  and  easily  ter- 
 rified, when  your  troubles  come. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 SWEAR  NOT  ;    PURIFY  YOUR  SPEECH. 
 
 (Ch.  V.  12.) 
 
 But  above  all  things,  my  brethren,  swear  not,  neither  by  heaven,  neither 
 by  the  earth,  neither  by  any  other  oath ;  but  let  your  yea  be  yea,  and 
 your  nay,  nay  ;  lest  ye  fall  into  condemnation. 
 
 In  writing  letters,  we  naturally,  when  reaching  the  end,  be- 
 think ourselves  of  anything  necessary,  or  that  might  be  useful, 
 which  must  be  added :  so  St  Paul  does  in  his  Epistles ;  and 
 the  twelfth  verse  of  this  last  chapter  seems  to  be  an  example  in 
 St  James  of  the  same  thing.  For  how  else  could  he  have  here 
 lighted  on  the  forbidden  swearing,  so  singularly  inserting  this 
 warning  between  the  examples  of  patience  and  the  power  of 
 prayer  ?  The  denunciation  of  the  sins  of  the  tongue  had  been 
 a  prominent  subject  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  Epistle :  but  he 
 could  not  indi\'idually  particularise  all  that  the  untamed  tongue 
 is  too  swift  to  speak.  Nor  could  that  have  been  his  design ; 
 but  one  thing  occurs  to  liim  now  which  he  would  not  leave 
 unmentioned,  and  therefore  supplements  here.  But  why  here? 
 We  may  thus  exhibit  the  connection  of  his  thoughts :  Job's 
 
462         SWEAR  NOT  ;  PURIFY  YOUR  SPEECH. 
 
 history,  whicli  he  had  just  livingly  set  before  them,  reminds 
 him  of  Job's  sins  with  his  tongue,  of  his  glorying,  his  murmur- 
 ing, his  contention  with  God,  the  cursing  of  his  day.  He 
 might  have  continued — Murmur  not,  my  brethren !  But  he 
 will  not  say  this  to  the  dishonour  of  Job ;  for,  the  final  judg- 
 ment of  the  Pitiful  One  had  mercifully  overlooked  the  impa- 
 tience of  Job,  and  even  approved  and  sealed  the  glory  of  his 
 patience.  But  St  James  takes  occasion  lightly  to  remind  them, 
 in  this  place,  of  that  which  the  Lord  had  made  very  prominent 
 in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount — so  constantly  referred  to  through- 
 out this  Epistle — to  wit,  of  the  inconsiderate  swearing,  with 
 all  kinds  of  imitations  of  the  sacred  oath,  which  was  so  deeply 
 rooted  in  the  Jewish  custom.  This  is  a  matter  which  he  feels 
 bound  to  enforce  upon  his  brethren,  and  he  does  so  almost  in 
 the  same  words  as  those  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount :  "  Once 
 more  to  speak,  in  connection  with  Job,  of  the  restraint  of  the 
 tongue — brethren,  before  all  other  things  which  I  have  written 
 on  this  subject,  forget  not  our  Lord's  rigid  and  absolute  word 
 against  swearing!"  Thus  we  see  how  naturally,  both  for  the 
 writer  and  the  then  readers  of  this  Epistle,  this  verse  occurs  in 
 this  place.  But  it  is  to  us  also  an  important  repetition  of  a  word 
 of  our  Lord,  which  w^e  always  need  rightly  to  hear ;  that  is,  first 
 to  understand  it  aright,  and  then  to  honour  it  by  earnest  obe- 
 dience. 
 
 This  passage  has  two  topics  in  it:  the  specific  warning 
 against  swearing ;  and  the  general  exhortation  to  pure,  simple, 
 and  consistent  words  in  discourse,  free  from  all  superfiuity. 
 
 Swear  not  I  How  is  this  to  be  rightly  understood  ?  Are 
 we  to  avoid,  with  the  Mennonites  and  Quakers,  every  kind  of 
 oath  ?  St  James  seems  indeed  to  strengthen  even  the  word  of 
 Jesus  against  them,  when  he  says — Nor  with  any  other  oath  ! 
 No,  my  brethren,  neither  our  Lord  there  nor  His  servant  here 
 speaks  unconditionally  against  that  true  and  holy  oath  by  God, 
 which  the  law  not  abolished  by  grace  commands,  which  is  un- 
 avoidable on  account  of  e\Tll,  and  wdiich  is  justified  by  most 
 decisive  examples  throughout  the  whole  of  the  Scriptures. 
 Neither  Jesus  nor  James  could  say — what  therefore  is  not  said 
 — Ye  shall  swear  neither  by  God  Himself  nor  by  any  creature ! 
 For  how  could  He,  who  came  not  to  abolish  the  law,  directly 
 contradict  that  law  I     But  the  law,  in  that  most  important  pas- 
 
JAIVIES  V.  12.  463 
 
 sage  concerning  the  worsliip  of  God  alone,  with  which  Jesus 
 confronted  Satan,  says  expressly — Thou  shalt  fear  the  Lord  thy 
 God,  and  serve  Him,  and  swear  hy  His  name  (Deut.  vi.  13). 
 The  commandment  from  Sinai  forbids  us  not  to  take  the  name 
 of  God  into  our  lips  holily  and  usefully  ;  every  right  utterance 
 of  His  name  is  a  confession  of  the  heart's  allegiance  to  the 
 true  God.  And  what  is  the  oath,  in  its  right  place,  other  than 
 a  confession  and  testimony  that  we  think  of  God  adoringly ^  and 
 therefore  and  therein  speak  the  truth  ?  Concerning  the  mcked 
 neighbours  of  Israel  we  read  the  Lord's  word  by  the  prophets 
 — "And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if  they  will  dihgently  learn  the 
 way  of  My  people,  to  swear  by  My  name.  The  Lord  hveth ; 
 as  they  taught  My  people  to  swear  by  Baal ;  then  shall  they 
 build  in  the  midst  of  My  people"  (Jer.  xii.  16).  The  Lord 
 Himself  predicts  a  swearing  which  cannot  be  sin,  when  it  is 
 said — "  They  shall  no  more  say.  The  Lord  liveth,  which  brought 
 up  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt ;  but,  The 
 Lord  liveth,  which  brought  up  and  which  led  the  seed  of  Israel 
 out  of  all  the  countries  whither  they  had  been  driven!"  (Jer. 
 xxiii.  7,  8).  Yea,  Isaiah  prophesies  of  the  millennial  kingdom 
 —  "  That  he  who  blesseth  himself  in  the  earth  shaU  bless  himself 
 in  the  God  of  truth  (properly,  the  God  Amen);  and  he  that 
 sweareth  in  the  earth  shall  swear  by  the  God  of  truth,  the  God 
 Amen''  (Is.  xv.  16). 
 
 The  first  word  with  which  EHjah,  the  man  of  God,  emerged 
 from  his  obscurity,  was  a  solemn  sacred  oath — As  the  Lord  God 
 of  Israel  liveth,  before  whom  I  stand,  there  shall  be  neither  dew 
 nor  rain  these  years  !  (1  Kings  x^di.  1).  Against  the  false  pro- 
 phets Micaiah  affirmed — As  the  Lord  liveth,  what  the  Lord 
 saith  unto  me,  that  will  I  speak !  (1  Kings  xxii.  14).  So  the 
 Prophets  oftentimes  swear ;  and  thus  we  find  in  the  Epistles  of 
 the  Apostles  the  confirming  oath ;  and  so  in  the  Revelation 
 of  St  John  (ch.  X.  6)  an  angel  swears  by  Him  that  liveth  for 
 ever  and  ever  !  And  why  speak  we  of  Prophets,  Apostles,  and 
 Angels  ?  God  Himself,  in  accommodating  condescension  to 
 weak  man,  sweareth  by  His  own  name ;  and  twenty-three  times 
 in  the  Old  Testament  we  hear  the  solemn  '^  As  I  live,  saith  the 
 Lord  !"  In  reality,  it  is  only  the  same  when,  in  the  New  Testa- 
 ment, the  Son,  the  Word  of  God  to  the  world,  the  Faithful 
 Witness,  in  whose  mouth  every  word  is  true  because  He  speaks 
 
464  SWEAR  NOT  ;    PUPwIFY  TOUR  SPEECH. 
 
 it,  nevertheless  sweareth  by  Himself — ^5  I  speak  to  you!  For 
 that  is  the  meaning  of  His  "  Verily^  Verily,  or,  Amen,  Amen, 
 I  say  unto  you. 
 
 Hence  we  understand  that  the  oath  in  itself  cannot  possibly 
 be  sin,  as  the  Apostle  says — Men  verily  swear  by  the  greater, 
 and  an  oath  for  confirmation  is  to  them  the  end  of  all  strife 
 (Heb=  vi.  16).  Before  a  tribunal,  to  obviate  strife  without  end, 
 and  to  ascertain  the  truth  before  the  face  of  God,  an  oath  is 
 lawful  and  right.  Thus  Christ,  in  submission  to  the  ordinance 
 of  God,  and  in  the  service  of  the  world,  took  a  judicial  oath 
 before  the  authorities.  For  it  was  the  custom  in  Israel  that  the 
 judge  should  speak  as  the  high  priest  did — /  adjure  thee  hy  the 
 living  God :  the  answer  was  valid  as  the  acceptance  and  taking 
 of  the  reqmred  oath.  We  also  may  unsinfuUy  swear  when  we 
 are  adjured  before  a  judgment-seat ;"  that  is  not  only  no  sin,  it 
 is  om'  bounden  duty  to  God  and  man.  It  is  an  obedient  testi- 
 mony that  we  stand  in  judgment  as  in  the  presence  of  God, 
 whose  name  we  invoke  and  reverence ;  and  it  is  a  service  of  love 
 to  our  neighbour,  to  do  the  right.  True,  this  swearing  in  the  pre- 
 sent world  cometh  of  evil !  But  we  must  with  Christ  be  subject 
 to  the  law,  in  love,  for  the  sake  of  the  evil. 
 
 All  this  being  established,  what  kind  of  swearing  is  it  of 
 which  the  Lord  and  His  servant  speak — Ye  shall  not  swear  at 
 all !  We  are  accustomed  to  teach  our  children  in  the  Catechism 
 that  swearing  is  permitted  before  a  tribimal,  forbidden  in  com- 
 mon life.  Yet  this  does  not  hit  the  point,  and  such  a  doctrine 
 is  false.  Are  then  the  oaths,  which  occur  in  Scripture,  of 
 Prophets,  Apostles,  and  other  holy  men,  simply  judicial  oaths  ? 
 As  before  the  tribunal  men  may  requh'e  and  may  take  solemn 
 oaths  for  very  trifling  matters,  so  even  in  "  common  life"  it  may 
 sometimes  be  very  seasonably  said  with  solemnity —  True  as  the 
 Lord  liveth  I  calling  Him  to  witness.  Against  such  a  word  St 
 James  does  not  protest,  any  more  than  against  that  which  he 
 prescribes — If  the  Lord  will  I  It  is  a  very  perverse  exposition 
 to  say  that  St  James  speaks  altogether  of  the  judicial  oath  of 
 the  oppressed  before  the  judgment-seat ;  for  men  do  not  swear 
 before  the  judgment-seat  by  heaven  or  by  earth.  Nor  does  St 
 James  mean — Rather  go  not  to  law  I  for  that  is  quite  a  different 
 matter,  and  the  advice  would  not  have  been  expressed  by 
 Swear  not  I     It  is  self-understood  that  for  a  brother  to  go  to 
 
JAMES  V.  12.  465 
 
 law  with  a  brother  is  a  great  evil.  It  is  unimaginable  that  a 
 case  should  occur  in  which  both  parties,  between  whom  an  oath 
 has  become  necessary,  are  true  Christians  and  act  as  such; 
 where  there  must  be  swearing,  sin  must  exist  on  account  of 
 which  it  becomes  necessaiy.  The  Christian  submits  to  the  sad 
 necessity  when  it  becomes  his  duty  to  assert  important  right ;  in 
 matters  of  less  moment  he  would  rather  recede,  and  not  swear ; 
 scarcely  even  in  the  extremest  need  would  he  be  a  party  to  the 
 requirement  of  an  oath,  lest  he  should  lead  his  neighbour  into 
 temptation.  Thus  even  before  the  judgment  the  warning  holds 
 good — Swear  not !  But  even  in  ordinary  life  the  Spirit  of  the 
 Lord  may  urge  us  to  affirm  a  matter  with  sacred  solemnity  in 
 the  name  of  the  Lord.  On  the  other  hand,  and  because  the 
 oath  is  so  sacred,  there  is  a  prohibition  of  all  presumptuous, 
 trifling,  useless  imitation  and  desecration  of  the  oath.  The  only 
 true  oath  is  the  oath  by  God ;  and  that  is  lawful  and  right  only 
 as  far  as  we  most  humbly  place  ourselves  under  the  authority  of 
 God ;  every  other  kind  of  swearing  is  no  more  than  blasphemous 
 presumption.  The  most  perfect  formula  of  swearing  is  that  of 
 2  Cor.  i.  23 — I  call  God  to  witness  on  my  soul !  Obviously, 
 that  involves  the  idea  of  punishment  for  untruth  ;  but  if  we  as 
 it  were  ourselves  dictate  the  punishment,  or  place  our  own  sal- 
 vation in  pledge,  or  denounce  upon  ourselves  damnation  if  we 
 lie — then  we  invade  the  prerogative  of  God,  who  alone  can 
 save  and  condemn,  whether  the  oath  be  true  or  perjured.  It 
 were  much  to  be  wished  that  our  formula  "  So  help  me  God" 
 could  be  changed  for  one  more  appropriate ;  for  it  is  open  to 
 misunderstanding,  as  if  without  He  would  not  help.  The 
 phrase  in  the  Old  Testament — "  The  Lord  do  thus  or  thus 
 unto  me" — was  conceded  to  infirmity ;  it  is  not  for  us  to  imi- 
 tate it. 
 
 Generally,  we  already  find  in  the  Holy  Scripture  of  the  Old 
 Testament  the  evident  transition  from  sacred  swearing  to  the 
 Jewish  custom,  which  irreverently  and  thoughtlessly  used  it. 
 Much  too  often  and  too  quickly  say  the  people — As  the  Lord 
 liveth  !  whence  naturally  springs  much  sinful  desecration  of  the 
 phrase.  Let  us  once  more  think  of  Job  !  How  presumptuously 
 and  sinfully  did  he  swear,  when  he  cried  in  heat — "  As  God 
 liveth,  who  hath  taken  away  my  judgment ;  and  the  Almighty, 
 who  hath  vexed  my  soul ; — my  lips  shall  not  speak  wickedness! 
 
 2g 
 
466  SWEAR  NOT  ;   PURIFY  YOUR  SPEECH. 
 
 Till  I  die  I  will  not  remove  mine  integrity  from  me !  My 
 heart  shall  not  reproach  me  so  long  as  I  live !"  (Job  xxvii.  2-6). 
 When  David  had  taken  Saul's  spear  and  cruse  of  water,  and 
 cried  half  in  mockery  to  Abner — As  the  Lord  liveth,  ye  are 
 worthy  to  die,  because  ye  have  not  kept  your  master  !  (1  Sam. 
 xxvi.  16) — he  certainly  should  have  left  the  swearing  out. 
 When  he  sealed  the  doom,  in  his  own  mind,  of  the  guilty  man 
 of  Nathan's  story — As  the  Lord  liveth,  the  man  is  a  son  of 
 death!  while  he  was  himself  the  man  (2  Sam.  xii.  5,  7) — he 
 certainly  was  not  in  the  right  state  to  swear,  but  sealed  his  own 
 doom,  and  must  have  died,  if  the  Lord  had  not  had  mercy. 
 When  Saul,  on  occasion  of  the  sin  in  the  matter  of  the  honey, 
 said — As  the  Lord  liveth,  if  it  were  my  son  Jonathan,  he  should 
 die  I  and  once  more — God  do  so  to  me  and  more  also,  thou 
 shalt  die  the  death !  the  people  cried  on  thek  part — As  the 
 Lord  liveth,  not  a  hair  of  his  head  shall  be  touched  !  And  thus 
 there  was  oath  against  oath,  as  so  frequently  happens  ;  and  all 
 this  mischief  sprang  from  the  impetuous  word  of  Saul — Cursed 
 be  he  that  eateth  anything !  (1  Sam.  xiv.  24,  3y,  44,  45).  How 
 fearful  sounds  this  idle  desecration  of  the  name  of  God,  when 
 the  same  Saul,  rejected  of  God,  swore  by  the  Lord  to  the  witch 
 — As  the  Lord  hveth,  there  shall  no  punishment  happen  to  thee 
 in  this  thing!  (1  Sam.  xxviii.  10).  Scarcely  different  from 
 this  is  Gehazi's  oath,  who  had  learned  from  his  master  holy 
 language,  which  he  profanely  perverted — As  the  Lord  hveth,  I 
 will  run  after  Naaman,  and  take  something  of  him  !  (2  Kings 
 V.  29). 
 
 When  afterwards  the  pharisaic  Jews  thought  of  the  com- 
 mandment— Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy 
 God  in  vain !  they  did  with  •  it  as  with  everything  else ;  the}' 
 adhered  to  the  mere  letter,  and  carefully  avoided  using  the 
 name  of  God  in  their  oaths.  But  only  the  worse  was  their 
 common  custom :  their  vain  swearing  hy  heaven,  hij  earth,  by 
 their  own  heads  (as  in  the  Old  Testament,  by  the  soul),  by  the 
 Temple  and  its  gold,  the  altar  and  its  offerings,  and  so  forth. 
 It  was  this  folly — which,  moreover,  made  perverse  distinctions 
 — that  the  Lord  condemned,  showing  them  that  swearing  by 
 anything  out  of  God  either  had  no  meaning,  or  men  thereby 
 thought  of  God,  in  whose  power  all  things  are.  The  heaven  is 
 His  throne ;  the  earth  His  footstool ;  our  heads  and  oui'  lives 
 
JAMES  V.  12.  l67 
 
 are  no  more  in  our  power  than  the  most  insignificant  hair !  St 
 James  means  no  other  here  ;  and  when  he  says  in  addition — 
 Nor  hy  any  other  oath,  it  means — Swear  not  with  any  similar 
 oath,  which,  deahng  ^vith  the  name  of  God,  presumes  to  take 
 anything  as  a  pledge  of  confirmation. 
 
 Do  loe  need  no  longer  all  these  warnings  ?  Well  we  know 
 that  the  ungodly  in  Christendom  take  profane  oaths,  like  Saul 
 and  Gehazi.  Well  also  we  know  that,  like  the  Jews  of  former 
 times,  vain  triflers  substitute  other  things  for  the  name  of  God, 
 and  think  that  this  kind  of  swearing  is  only  an  innocent  kind 
 of  speech.  O  that  such  swearing  were  not  found  among 
 Christians,  who  would  fain  be  the  children  of  God !  O  that 
 many  of  them  were  more  zealous  in  unlearning  the  habit  of 
 thoughtlessly  using,  on  the  most  trivial  occasions,  the  formulas 
 of  sacred  adjuration!  What  can  be  more  blasphemously  pre- 
 sumptuous than  for  poor  sinful  creatures  to  arrogate  to  them- 
 selves the  supreme  prerogative  of  the  Most  High,  that  of  swear- 
 ing by  Himself,  and  to  imitate  the  Divine  Majesty  by  their  As 
 1  live  !  But  this  is  the  real  meaning  of  By  my  soul  I  It  is  no 
 excuse  that  it  is  found  in  the  Old  Testament ;  for  there  the  ex- 
 pression, often  at  least,  occurs  in  a  true  and  proper  sense ;  as 
 even  the  ungodly  king  Zedekiah  uttered  it  to  Jeremiah — As  the 
 Lord  liveth,  that  made  us  this  soul  (Jer.  xxxviii.  16)  ;  and  as 
 we  find  it  in  full  sometimes — As  the  Lord  Hveth,  and  as  my  or 
 thy  soul  Hveth !  Brethren,  be  on  your  guard  against  all  such 
 forms  of  customary  speech  as  must  be  included  in  the  "  swear- 
 ing" which  is  forbidden.  Be  not  conformed  to  this  world! 
 Yield  all  your  members  to  the  service  of  God  in  righteousness, 
 and  your  tongues  to  the  pure  service  of  truth  ! 
 
 Ye  should  sanctify  and  keep  pure  your  discourse  generally  ; 
 cleanse  it  from  all  superfluity  and  aftergrowth  of  sin,  of  idle 
 and  useless  conversation.  This  is  the  general  ground  on  which 
 rests  the  prohibition  of  vain  swearing.  But  let  your  word  he  yea, 
 if  it  he  yea ;  nay,  if  it  he  nay :  This  is  Luther's  not  incorrect 
 paraphrase  of  what  St  James  gives  Hterally  according  to 
 Christ's  o^vn  saying — But  let  your  yea  he  yea,  your  nay,  nay. 
 We  know  that  the  Lord  Himself  added — ^\']Latsoever  is  more  than 
 this  cometh  of  evil.  But  this  does  not  at  once  mean  that  every 
 word  beyond  a  simple  affirmative  or  negation  is  sin  !  Lideed, 
 if  there  were  no  sin,  no  lie,  no  mistinist,  in  the  world,  the  sim 
 
468  SWEAR  NOT  :    PURIFY  YOUR  SPEECH. 
 
 plest  utterances  would  suffice.  But  on  account  of  evil  many 
 words  have  become  necessary  for  attestation  of  the  truth.  O 
 how  many  words  does  the  Spii'it  of  God  in  Scripture  use  to 
 testify  and  affirm  to  us  what  we  will  not  believe,  accept,  and 
 learn  !  Consequently,  we  also  must,  in  om'  sacred  office  for  the 
 good  of  men,  seek  strength  and  emphasis  of  expression  ;  our 
 love  must  not  be  ashamed  to  confront  evil  with  much  more  than 
 plain  yea  and  nay.  On  the  day  of  Pentecost,  St  Peter  testified 
 and  exhorted  with  many  other  words — Save  yourselves  from  this 
 untoward  generation !  (Acts  ii.  40).  St  Paul  in  Troas  con- 
 tinued his  discourse  till  midnight,  so  that  Eutychus  fell  into  a 
 deep  sleep  while  he  was  long  preaching  (Acts  xx.  7,  9).  And 
 what  fulness  of  words  out  of  a  full  heart  and  urgent  zeal  do  we 
 find  sometimes  in  his  Epistles  !  And  so  must  preachers,  teachers, 
 and  parents,  not  shrink  from  repeating  their  yea  and  nay  with 
 many  words,  when  necessity  requires. 
 
 But  this  is  what  St  James  would  say,  as  he  changes  the  word 
 of  Christ  a  little  in  his  free  spmt,  though  without  changing  its 
 meaning: — Assuredly  we  should  utter  all  in  pure  truth,  and 
 with  fitting  earnestness  of  truth;  no  absolutely  useless  word 
 should  proceed  out  of  our  mouth ;  never  should  we  heap  up 
 words  on  account  of  our  own  uncertainty,  or  with  lying,  in  order 
 to  affirm  anything  in  a  manner  similar  to  swearing.  As  far  as 
 in  us  lies,  our  speech  should  be  in  the  purest  simplicity,  as  be- 
 cometh  the  new  nature,  and  those  who  live  in  an  element  of 
 truth.  And  this  point  touches  us  more  closely,  brethren,  than 
 the  previous  denunciation  of  swearing !  How  much  are  we 
 wanting  in  the  sanctification  of  our  discourse!  St  James' 
 second  word  would  open  to  us  a  sermon  of  itself ;  but  we  must 
 briefly  unfold  it,  and  mark  that  our  words  should  be  sincere, 
 true,  simple,  and  firm.  Four  great  attributes  of  the  words  which 
 we  speak ! 
 
 Before  all  things  our  lips  should  utter  Yea  or  Nay,  when  the 
 yea  or  nay  is  in  the  heart ;  that  is,  we  should  sincerely  speak  as 
 we  mean.  A  Christian  should  never  give  up  his  glorying  that 
 he  speaks  the  truth  from  his  heart ;  it  should  never  be  needful 
 to  him  to  add  strong  affirmations  because  on  other  occasions  he 
 speaks  less  than  the  truth : — only  on  account  of  undeserved  dis- 
 trust does  he  humble  himself,  as  if  he  might  be  thought  to  lie. 
 St  Paul  affirms — I  say  the  truth  in  Christ,  I  lie  not  (Rom. 
 
JAMES  V.  12.  469 
 
 ix.  1)  ;  lie  does  not  mean  "  This  time  I  lie  not,"  but  that  he 
 always  speaks  the  truth.  Therefore  om'  lips  should  utter  Yea 
 or  Nay  only  when  the  matter  is  yea  or  nay  ;  that  is,  our  speech 
 should  be  true,  a  testimony  to  be  depended  upon.  If  it  is  impos- 
 sible always  to  attain  this,  because  we  may  be  mistaken,  we 
 should  at  least  to  the  best  of  our  ability  be  conscientious  in 
 our  convictions.  That  which  Ave  do  not  certainly  know,  we 
 should  not  so  certainly  testify :  when  we  know  not  the  yea  or 
 nay  of  the  matter,  we  should  qualify  om'  utterance. 
 
 But  the  word  of  Christ  and  St  James  means  still  more — 
 We  should  say  Yea  or  Nay,  where  yea  or  nay  is  the  fact,  or  at 
 least  in  our  heart's  thought  concerning  it ;  that  is,  indeed, 
 not  merely  these  two  words,  yet  without  useless  superfluity  of 
 words  in  addition.  Consequently,  as  much  as  in  us  lies,  if  ne- 
 cessity do  not  constrain,  we  should  use  a  simple,  short,  striking 
 character  of  discourse.  How  much  force  and  emphasis  is  thrown 
 away  among  us  in  the  many  words  which  we  heap  up  to  supply 
 the  place  of  this !  We  all  use  too  many  words,  without  neces- 
 sity and  to  om'  hm't.  Simple  words  are  forcible ;  the  command 
 or  prohibition  is  more  likely  to  be  heard  if  expressed  in  deci- 
 sive and  firm  words.  How  often  does  the  father,  still  oftener 
 the  mother,  among  you  complain — I  have  told  my  child  many 
 times  over,  but  he  will  not  hear  !  But  it  is  your  fault,  because 
 you  are  accustomed  to  speak  many  times  over ;  learn  to  speak 
 once  with  effect.  The  soldiers  of  the  centurion  at  Capernaum 
 went  or  came  because  they  heard  the  plain  word  of  command — 
 Go  !  Come !  Do  this  !  (^latt.  viii.  9).  So  accustom  yourselves 
 to  speak  firmly  and  decisively.  And  this  leads,  finally,  to  the 
 last  point — Abide  by  your  yea  or  nay,  when  once  it  has  been 
 spoken  ;  let  your  speech  be  consistent  and  firm,  not  vacillating 
 — first  yea,  then  nay,  in  word  or  deed.  Not  that  we  would  ap- 
 prove of  or  recommend  that  firmness  of  selfishness  which  knows 
 only — What  I  have  said,  I  have  said !  If  yom-  first  yea  or 
 nay  was  precipitate,  and  if  it  would  be  sin  to  hold  to  it,  then 
 no  sinful  oath  ought  to  bind  us ;  otherwise  Herod  would  have 
 been  obliged  to  slay  John  the  Baptist  for  his  oath's  sake.  But 
 the  great  point  is  to  speak  nothing  but  wdiat  may  be  maintained, 
 with  reservation  of  circumstances  which  are  in  the  power  of 
 God  alone.  So  St  Paul  excuses  himself,  that  God's  own  hind- 
 rance prevented  him  from  keeping  his  promise  to  the  Corin- 
 
470  PRAYING  AND  SINGING. 
 
 thians :  he  had  fully  intended  to  keep  it,  and  says  — The  things 
 that  I  purpose,  do  I  purpose  according  to  the  flesh,  that  with 
 me  there  should  be  yea,  yea,  and  nay,  nay,  at  once  ?  (2  Cor. 
 i.  17). 
 
 Brethren,  exercise  yourselves  diligently,  through  the  Divine 
 grace,  in  the  sanctification  of  yoTir  words  in  the  truth — that  ye 
 fall  not  into  hypocrisy  I  So  Luther  read  the  text,  and  it  gives 
 a  good  sense — That  ye  do  not,  as  the  children  of  God,  make 
 youi'selves  partakers  in  the  guilt  of  the  hypocrisy,  lying,  insin- 
 cerity, and  falsity,  from  which  in  the  world  springs  the  multi- 
 tude of  unchecked  words.  But  St  James  probably  wrote — 
 That  ye  may  not  fall  into  condemnation ;  that  ye  may  not  be- 
 fore God  and  man  be  responsible  for  unconsidered  and  idle 
 words. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 PRAYING  AND  SINGING. 
 
 (Ch.  V.  13.) 
 
 Is  any  among  you  afflicted  V  let  him  pray.     Is  any  merry  ?  let  him  sing 
 
 psahns. 
 
 The  beautiful  and  pregnant  saying  with  which  St  James 
 continues,  speaks  further  of  the  right  use  of  the  tongue ;  yet  he 
 goes  back  at  once  to  the  heart,  from  the  ground  of  which,  as 
 before  men,  so  also  before  God,  our  speech  should  come  in  its 
 sincerity  and  simplicity,  according  to  the  spirit  of  our  mind. 
 We  say  very  properly  that  praying  is  the  best  and  holiest  use 
 of  om-  tongue ;  therefore  St  James  opposes  to  its  shameful 
 misuse  in  vain  swearing  the  sincere  words  of  the  heart.  We 
 are  reminded  of  Luther's  Catechism — that  we  should  not  "  take 
 the  name  of  God  without  purpose,  but  call  upon  it  in  all  our 
 need,  pray  to  it,  worship  it,  and  thank  it."  The  whole  clause 
 gives  us  an  answer  to  the  question  which  might  arise,  why  St 
 James  attributes  prayer  only  to  those  who  are  afflicted.  We 
 observe,  that  he  means  especially  the  prayer  of  supplication,  to 
 which  om*  word  petition  strictly  corresponds.    But  the  singing  of 
 
JAMES  V.  13.  471 
 
 psalms  is  also  prayer.  It  is  even  the  loftiest,  noblest  prayer,  in 
 which  we,  needy  and  therefore  selfish  mortals,  become  like  the 
 angels,  who  have  nothing  to  pray  for  on  their  own  behalf,  but 
 praise  God  without  intermission.  Yea,  should  not  and  ought 
 not  every  petition  to  pass  over  into  thanksgiving,  in  its  confident 
 and  joyful  Amen '^  Is  any  merry  f  let  him  sing  psalms: — let 
 him  not  think  that  he  has  nothing  to  say  to  God  because  no- 
 thing now  oppresses  him,  and  he  lacks  nothing — as  if  God  was 
 a  God  only  for  times  of  need! 
 
 Further,  let  us  very  carefully  look  at  the  words,  that  we 
 may  rightly  understand  them,  and  not  too  literally  press  their 
 letter.  We  may  be  afflicted  without  any  external  or  especial 
 distress,  only  through  trial  and  exercise  of  heart ;  but  we  ought 
 to  be  merry,  or  of  good  courage,  even  in  the  midst  of  trial,  and 
 count  it  pure  joy  to  go  through  the  discipline  which  our  patience 
 willingly  accepts — without  praying  against  it,  or  even  at  first 
 finding  it  needful  to  pray  for  consolation  and  strength.  Finally, 
 we  should  always  become  joyful  and  of  merry  heart  before  God, 
 even  if  we  are  not  yet  so ;  we  should  always  continue  and  end 
 with  praise  and  thanksgiving  what  began  with  supplication 
 and  petition.  And  why  not  in  some  sense  begin  with  it? 
 Again,  if  our  merry  spirit  does  not  spring  from  faith,  if  our  peace 
 and  joy  of  heart  is  not  sound  and  pure  before  God,  then  there 
 would  be  far  more  need  to  pray  against  temptation,  to  supplicate 
 for  the  spiritual  gifts  in  which  we  are  wanting.  We  see  that 
 St  James  does  not  forbid  our  inverting  the  words  :  If  any 
 man  sufPer,  let  him  teach  and  encourage  himself  by  songs  of 
 praise  and  thankfulness,  that  he  may  strengthen  or  obtain  a 
 good  courage  in  trial.  Is  any  merry?  let  him  be  very  careful 
 to  be  sure  that  his  joy  is  sound,  and  pray  to  be  defended  from 
 sinful  joy.  For  in  joy  and  sorrow  our  heart  and  mouth  should 
 be  always  directed  only  to  God ;  even  the  merry  singing  of  the 
 joyous  should  be  a  singing  of  psalms,  that  is,  a  praying.  This 
 is  the  proper  meaning  of  this  beautiful  sapng,  and  makes  it 
 very  like  another — Pray  without  ceasing  !  (1  Thess.  v.  17). 
 
 But,  inasmuch  as  the  praying  of  the  afflicted  is  more  familiar 
 to  us,  and  more  frequently  urged,  let  us  turn  our  consideration 
 especially  now  to  the  following  clause  concerning  the  psalm- 
 singing  of  the  merry.  This  is  really  the  main  thing  which  St 
 James  intends  ;  and  he  only  presupposes  the  former,  or  lays  it 
 
472  PRAYING  AND  SINGING. 
 
 as  a  foundation,  in  order  to  build  upon  it  the  word — But  let 
 not  him  who  is  not  afflicted  forget  to  speak  to  God  in  his  heart. 
 We  shall  hear  further  presently  about  the  praying  of  the  man 
 in  affliction  ;  let  us  therefore  d^vell  now  only  upon  the  text — Is 
 any  merry  ?  let  him  shig  psalms. 
 
 In  the  original  this  last  is  only  a  single  word,  which  we  can- 
 not reproduce — Let  him  psalm,  or  praise,  that  is,  his  God.  But, 
 in  order  that  we  may  thoroughly  deal  with  this  great  saying, 
 let  us  divide  the  word  according  to  our  translation,  and  ask  first 
 whether  it  might  be  said  generally — Is  any  merry  ?  let  him 
 sing  I  We  answer.  Assuredly  ;  for  the  singing  is  necessarily  in- 
 cluded and  recognised  in  the  praise  of  psalms.  That  the  joyful 
 should  sing,  is  as  natm^al  as  that  the  afflicted  should  pray — rather, 
 more  natm'al.  Song  as  the  expression  of  cheerfulness  is  some- 
 thing universal  in  human  nature ;  there  were  always,  both  in 
 Israel  and  among  all  other  nations,  songs  of  joy.  Hence  it  is 
 constantly  mentioned  in  the  prophets,  by  whom  joyous  singing 
 is  used  as  a  frequent  figure,  even  as  they  threaten  that  God 
 will  take  away  the  song  of  the  bridegi'oom  and  the  bride,  and 
 so  forth.  The  singing  of  men  is  in  itself  good  and  noble.  The 
 same  God  who  furnished  the  birds  of  heaven  vdth  the  notes 
 wherein  they  unconsciously  praise  their  Creator,  gave  to  man 
 the  power  to  sing.  We  all  know  how  highly  Luther,  for 
 example,  estimated  the  gift  and  the  art  of  song.  Let  him  to 
 whom  it  is  granted,  rejoice  therein  ;  let  him  who  lacks  it  seek 
 if  possible  to  excite  it,  for  it  is  a  good  gift  of  the  Creator  gene- 
 rally belonging  to  our  human  nature.  Let  our  children  learn 
 to  sing  in  the  schools,  even  as  they  learn  to  read.  Our  fathers 
 sang  more  in  all  the  affairs  of  life  than  we  do  ;  our  times  are  in 
 this  respect  less  fresh,  and  artless,  and  joyous.  There  are  many 
 among  us  who  never  sing  except  when  adding  their  voices  to  the 
 voice  of  the  Chmxh — and  therefore  they  sing  so  badly  there. 
 Not  that  a  harsh  song  from  a  good  heart  is  unacceptable  to 
 God ;  but  He  should  have  cur  best.  And  as  David  in  his  day 
 took  care  that  there  should  be  practised  singers  for  the  sanc- 
 tuary, we  also  should  make  provision  for  the  Church's  service  of 
 song,  that  God  may  have  in  all  respects  a  perfect  offering.  How 
 gracious  and  lovely  is  the  congregation,  singing  with  the  heart 
 acceptable  songs ! 
 
 We  will  not,  however,  hasten  on  to  this  at  once,  but  take  one 
 
JAIVIES  V.  13.  473 
 
 sentence  by  its  clauses.  Is  any  merry  ?  let  liim  sing — but  what  ? 
 Ah,  this  gives  us  occasion  to  bring  to  mind  much  that  is  unpro- 
 fitable !  How  miserably  is  noble  music  desecrated  in  the  service 
 of  sin,  so  that  the  wood,  or  the  metal,  or  the  strings,  might  well 
 mourn  as  creatures  of  God  over  their  misuse  !  And  how  is 
 glorious  music  perv^erted  and  desecrated  upon  the  tongue  of 
 man,  when  it  is  prostituted  to  filthy  songs  ?  The  dancing  in  old 
 times  around  the  golden  calf  was  an  abomination  before  God, 
 and  so  is  much  that  is  like  it  among  His  people  now.  There 
 are  songs  enough  provided  for  the  merry,  which  must  be  classed 
 at  least  among  those  foolish  jestings  which  in  the  saints  so  un- 
 worthily take  the  place  of  thanksgiving  (Eph.  v.  4).  Of  them 
 Solomon's  word  holds  good — It  is  better  to  hear  the  rebuke  of 
 the  wise,  than  for  a  man  even  to  hear  the  song  of  fools  (Eccles. 
 vii.  5).  And  there  are  impure  and  shameful  songs  heard  in  our 
 streets,  by  which  a  wicked  spirit,  roaring  out  of  the  inflamed 
 throats  of  the  debauched,  pollutes  even  the  days  of  the  Lord  in 
 Christian  communities  !  How  ought  such  singers  to  be  abashed 
 and  confounded,  when  they  attempt  to  open  the  same  lips  in 
 sacred  songs  before  God  !  Christians,  be  on  yom'  guard  con- 
 tinually against  them,  and  take  care  to  check  in  your  children 
 the  faintest  complacency  in  them.  Further,  there  are  so-called 
 decent  and  reputable  songs  which  express  worldly  joy  in,  it  may 
 be,  a  very  refined  manner,  though  they  are  altogether  impure, 
 unspmtual,  contrary  to  God,  and  without  Christ :  they  either 
 altogether  forget  the  Lord,  or  misuse  His  holy  name ;  they 
 spring  from  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  from  carnal  and  creaturely 
 merriment ;  that  is  all  that  they  can  express,  and  to  that  they 
 cannot  fail  more  or  less  to  allure.  But  all  the  joy  of  a  Chris- 
 tian should  be  sanctified  in  God  ;  natural  joy  is  ever  a  dangerous 
 thing,  since  the  evil  nature  is  so  apt  to  mingle  with  it.  There- 
 fore, as  we  sanctify  suffering  by  prayer,  and  banish  the  sadness 
 of  the  heart  by  seeking  the  true  consolation,  so  should  we  also — 
 means  St  James — retain  and  sanctify  the  merry  spirit  by  holy 
 song  before  God.  All  our  joy  should  be  with  praise  and  thanks- 
 giving in  His  presence. 
 
 How  so  then  ?  Should  we  have  in  our  lips  only  songs  which 
 expressly  utter  praise  and  thanksgiving  to  God  ?  Certainly  not, 
 dear  bretln'en ;  and  he  who  should  wish  this  injunction  to  be 
 fulfilled  in  such  pharisaic  literality  would  do  great  injustice  to 
 
474  PRATIXG  AND  SINGING. 
 
 its  free  and  gracious  meaning.  There  are  good  and  pure  songs 
 for  meriy  souls  which  are  not  directly  spiritual,  as  we  use  the 
 term  ;  there  is  a  permitted  singing  together  of  the  people  of  God, 
 which  may  be  a  human  participation  in  the  human,  and  not 
 without  unexpressed  witness  to  God,  who  fills  our  hearts  with 
 food  and  gladness  (Acts  xiv.  17).  There  are  songs  to  nature, 
 national  and  patriotic  songs,  which  are  pure  to  the  pure,  though 
 they  are  not  strictly  psalms  of  Israel.  When  the  Lord  in  His 
 sublime  parable  mentions  the  music  and  dancing  of  the  whole 
 house  on  an  occasion  of  great  joy  (Luke  xv.  25),  He  found 
 nothing  therein  of  itself  criminal.  He  who  requires  us  to  be- 
 come like  httle  children,  will  take  no  offence  at  the  joyful  songs 
 of  childlike  men.  We  would  not  even  reject  the  words  of  the 
 son  of  Sirach,  when  rightly  understood,  though  they  are  not 
 sufficiently  guarded: — "A  concert  of  music  in  a  banquet  of  wine 
 is  as  a  signet  of  carbuncle  set  in  gold.  As  a  signet  of  an  eme- 
 rald set  in  a  work  of  gold,  so  is  the  melody  of  music  with  plea- 
 sant wine"  (Ecclus.  xxxii.  5,  6).  We  would  not  fanatically 
 allow  nothing  but  psalms  to  be  sung ;  but  a  legitimate  piety 
 requires  that  we  be  able  freely  and  cordially  to  connect  the  un- 
 mentioned  name  of  God  mth  every  song,  and  thus  make  of  it  a 
 psalm. 
 
 And  so  it  follows  that  we,  dear  brethren,  should  indeed,  when 
 joyous,  find  the  best  and  most  natural  expression  of  our  joy  in 
 psalms.  But  we  must  ask  what  these  strictly  mean.  First  of 
 all,  this  sanctified  word  reminds  us  of  those  psalms  and  songs 
 of  praise  which  the  Spirit  of  God  expressly  put  into  the  mouths 
 of  His  people,  wherewith  to  praise  the  Lord  their  God.  The 
 song  of  Moses  at  the  Red  Sea  is  not  lost  even  in  the  future 
 glory  (Rev.  xv.  3).  We  hear  in  that,  "  The  Lord  is  my  strength 
 and  song,  and  He  is  become  my  salvation"  (Ex.  xv.  2), — and 
 Isaiah  prophesies  that  it  should  be  heard  again  from  the  re- 
 deemed, "  The  Lord  Jehovah  is  my  strength  and  my  song.  He 
 also  is  become  my  salvation!"  (Is.  xii.  2).  And  how  can  we 
 sufficiently  honour  by  our  diligent  use  the  pre-eminently  so- 
 called  psalms  of  Israel,  in  which  the  son  of  Jesse  is  so  full  of 
 grace  because  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  spake  by  him,  and  His 
 word  was  in  his  tongue  (2  Sam.  xxiii.  1,  2),  with  all  the  other 
 prophetic  hymns  which  the  same  Spirit  added  to  them  ?  0  how 
 lovely  was  the  sound  of  those  psalms  in  the  Temple,  in  the  way 
 
JAMES  V.  13.  47 
 
 iD 
 
 of  the  pilgrimages,  and  in  the  household  life  of  the  priestly 
 people !  Our  Saviour  Himself  sanctified  at  the  last  Passover 
 the  singing  of  those  psalms ;  and  we  His  disciples  should  never 
 fail  to  have  recourse  to  the  inexhaustible  treasure  of  that  book 
 of  prayer  and  praise.  These  hj-mns  were  all  in  common  called 
 psalms,  that  is,  songs  of  praise,  although  there  is  in  them  much 
 supplication,  and  mourning,  and  petition ;  but  the  very  singing 
 of  a  song  of  lamentation  before  the  Lord  inspires  joy  into  the 
 soul,  while  it  is  to  the  praise  of  His  name.  The  old  custom  of 
 issuing  the  Psalter  mth  the  New  Testament  and  our  h^-mn- 
 books,  was  very  significant ;  teaching  us,  as  the  spiritual  Israel, 
 never  to  forget  the  psalms  of  Israel.  The  Peformed  Churches 
 in  some  cases  pressed  this  too  far,  suffering  no  others  to  be  sung 
 in  the  churches — though,  alas,  these  rhymed  translations  were 
 too  often  full  of  human  errors! — Finally,  the  devout  reading 
 of  a  psalm,  when  the  inner  man  utters  it  earnestly  before  God, 
 may  itself  be  called  a  singing  and  making  melody  in  the  heart. 
 
 But  as  the  singing  which  the  text  means  does  not  refer  only 
 to  the  lips,  so  the  psalms  do  not  refer  to  those  alone  which  are 
 found  in  Scripture  ;  for  St  James,  reminding  us  of  those,  would 
 rather  that  our  heart  should  compose  and  sing  new  psalms  also. 
 The  same  Spmt  of  God  has  not  ceased  to  put  new  songs  into 
 the  mouths  of  men  to  this  day.  In  the  apostolical  churches 
 He  gave  birth  to  many  new  spiritual  songs  in  addition  to  the 
 ancient  psalms,  so  that  many  who  prophesied  in  the  assembly 
 had  psalms  to  bring  (1  Cor.  xiv.  26).  We  still  possess  many 
 ecclesiastical  songs  of  the  first  ages.  And  our  German  people 
 has  been  richer  than  all  others,  since  the  Reformation,  in  its 
 precious  treasure  of  hymns ;  wherein  every  heart  may  find  ex- 
 pression for  every  sentiment  that  may  be  uttered  before  God. 
 Our  festival-hymns  have  almost  become  one  with  our  festivals  ; 
 in  our  old  confession-hymns  there  is  a  might  of  testimony  which 
 was  of  wonderful  influence  at  the  beginning  of  the  Reforma- 
 tion, and  which  has  not  yet  lost  its  force ;  and  our  beautiful 
 hymns  of  penitence  and  prayer  have  been  always  stamped  with 
 the  blessing  of  God.  Alas,  that  there  should  not  be  wanting 
 examples  of  the  perversion  and  corruption  of  our  hymnolog}^  in 
 our  modem  churches ! 
 
 But  of  this  nothing  more  now ;  let  the  earnest  question  of 
 all  be — Do  we  in  such  manner  sing,  that  even  our  song  may 
 
476  PRAYING  AND  SINGING. 
 
 also  be  a  prayer  before  God  ?  The  Apostle,  speaking  against 
 unintelligible  words,  says,  "  I  will  pray  with  the  spmt,  and  I 
 will  pray  with  the  understanding  (intelligibly  to  the  church) ;  I 
 will  sing  with  the  spirit,  and  I  will  sing  with  the  understanding 
 also  '  (1  Cor.  xiv.  15) ; — but  we  may  very  properly  invert  the 
 words,  and  ask — Do  you  always  sing  m  the  spirit,  and  with  the 
 heart,  and  from  the  ground  of  the  soul  ?  Or  even,  to  say  the 
 least,  with  devotion,  understanding  and  reflecting  upon  the  words 
 which  are  upon  your  lips ;  so  that  you  may,  according  to  the 
 Apostle's  expression,  teach  and  exhort  yourselves  in  spiritual 
 songs?  Alas,  there  is,  even  in  our  evangelical  worship,  too 
 much  of  mere  vain  lip-service,  which  takes  the  place  of  the 
 worship  which  should  be  in  spirit  and  in  truth !  Alas,  there  is 
 too  large  a  proportion  of  the  congregation  which  has  no  taste 
 for  spiritual  song — in  itself  a  painful  token  that  true  devotion 
 cannot  penetrate  and  seize  the  entire  man !  Otherwise,  the  first 
 hymn  would  not  be  regarded  as  sung  merely  while  the  congre- 
 gation is  coming  in,  and  the  concluding  verses  as  merely  sing- 
 ing them  out.  The  one  would  be  regarded  as  helping  to  fit 
 preparation  for  the  word  of  God,  and  the  other  would  confirm 
 and  as  it  were  seal  the  sermon.  AH  would  feel  anxious  to  add 
 their  tribute  to  the  voice  of  the  congregation,  singing  as  the 
 voice  of  one  man  to  God.  All  would  seek  what  theii'  souls  need 
 in  hymns,  as  a  channel  of  prayer.  May  the  Lord's  Spirit  amend 
 what  is  wrong,  and  restore  us  our  ancient  heartiness  in  the 
 Chm'ch's  service  of  song ! 
 
 Into  our  houses,  also,  psalms  and  hymns  should  be  intro- 
 duced, for  they  do  not  necessarily  belong  to  the  walls  of  our 
 chm'ches.  Be  not  contented,  brethren,  with  simply  reading, 
 and  nothing  more  than  reading,  your  hymn-books  at  home.  It 
 is  not  only  a  lovely  thing,  but  full  of  influence  and  blessing,  for 
 the  members  of  the  family  to  join,  when  they  can  do  so,  in  the 
 morning  and  evening  song.  And,  fm'ther,  the  individual 
 Christian  may  well  sing  alone  before  his  God :  when  he  is  full 
 of  joy,  wishing  that  he  had  a  thousand  tongues  for  a  thousand 
 psalms  promj)ted  by  his  heart,  as  also  when  he  is  striving  to 
 encourage  his  spirit  to  be  of  good  cheer.  Far  be  it  from  us  to 
 sink  into  that  despondency  and  weakness  of  faith  in  which  the 
 captives  of  Zion  hanged  their  harps  on  the  willows  of  Babylon, 
 and  would  not  sing  the  Lord's  songs  in  a  strange  land  (Ps. 
 
JAMES  V.  13.  477 
 
 cxxx^di.  2-4).  But  the  three  men  in  the  burning  fierj  furnace 
 sang !  Paul  and  Silas,  in  their  imprisonment,  with  their  feet 
 fast  in  the  stocks,  first  prayed  and  then  sang  praise  to  God,  so 
 that  their  fellow-prisoners  could  hear  them !  (Acts  xvi.  25). 
 So  do  thou  pray,  O  sufferer,  and  thou  shalt  soon  praise  thy 
 God !  How  many  have  sung  away  their  cares  and  sorrows  by 
 the  well-known  strains  of  our  own  hymn-book,  so  diversified  in 
 their  adaptation  to  all  our  wants ! 
 
 But,  in  order  to  this,  we  must  most  sincerely  and  earnestly 
 exercise  ourselves  in  prayerful  singing.  We  must  in  om' 
 trouble  learn  aright  how  to  pray,  that  then  in  our  cheerfulness 
 — and,  indeed,  that  we  may  become  of  good  cheer — we  may 
 be  able  to  sing  the  right  psalms  in  the  right  spirit.  This  is  the 
 most  internal  and  final  meaning  of  the  text :  in  all  things,  and 
 without  intermission,  to  turn  the  heart,  and,  where  it  may  be, 
 the  lips  also,  to  God;  so  that  our  heart  at  least  may  be  as  it 
 were  a  harp,  on  which  the  strains  of  lamentation  or  songs  of 
 joy  may  evermore  resound  before  the  Lord.  All  naturally 
 and  in  sincerity,  according  to  the  hand  and  dispensation  of 
 Providence,  through  the  hours  of  good  or  evil ;  yet  so  that  the 
 joyful  spirit  may  be  ever  more  and  more  apt  to  return  to  psalms 
 of  thanksgiving  and  praise — until  the  day  shall  come  when 
 nought  will  remain  but  eternal  gratitude  and  adoration  in  the 
 psalm  of  salvation ! 
 
478  OKDINAKCE  FOR  THE  SICK. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 ORDINANCE  FOR  THE  SICK. 
 
 (Ch.  V.  14-18.) 
 
 Is  auy  sick  among  you  ?  let  him  call  for  the  elders  of  the  church  ;  and 
 let  them  pray  over  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord : 
 and  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him 
 up  ;  and  if  he  have  committed  sins,  they  shall  be  forgiven  him.  Con- 
 fess your  faults  one  to  another,  and  pray  one  for  another,  that  ye  may 
 be  healed.  The  effectual  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth 
 much.  Ehas  was  a  man  subject  to  like  passions  as  we  are,  and  he  prayed 
 a  prayer  that  it  might  not  rain  :  and  it  rained  not  in  the  land  by  the 
 space  of  three  years  and  six  months.  And  he  prayed  again,  and  the 
 heaven  gave  rain,  and  the  earth  brought  forth  her  fruit. 
 
 St  James  has  exhorted  us  to  prayer  in  joy  and  sorrow,  in 
 need  and  prosperity ;  and  to  thankful  praise  in  happy  times,  as 
 well  as  to  earnest  supplication  in  times  of  trial :  thus  he  has 
 retm-ned  again  to  the  subject  of  the  commencement  of  the 
 Epistle.  There  he  began  with  the  great  promise,  that  God 
 would  assui'edly  give  with  simplicity  to  every  petitioner;  but 
 added  the  necessary  admonition,  that  he  must  ask  in  faith, 
 nothing  doubting !  But  there  the  subject  was  spiritual  gifts 
 for  the  need  of  the  soul: — if  any  man  lacked  wisdom,  or  the 
 consolation  of  patience,  the  power  of  obedience,  the  joy  of 
 faith  and  hope  in  tribulation.  And  many  of  his  readers  mis- 
 take St  James — though,  for  the  most  part,  wilfully,  not  know- 
 ing the  Scriptm-es,  nor  the  experience  of  believers — as  if  he 
 allowed  validity  only  to  prayer  for  spiritual  good.  Is  any  man 
 among  you  afflicted  ?  let  him  pray  I  he  has  just  been  saying. 
 And,  if  this  is  an  external  affliction,  must  he  merely  pray  for 
 consolation  and  a  resigned  will, — not  for  deliverance  from  the 
 evil  of  his  evil  days  and  hours  ?  Often,  indeed,  the  best  and 
 truest  prayer  would  ask  only  power  to  bear  the  tribulation ;  but 
 then  our  infirmity  seldom  reaches  this  point,  and,  moreover,  we 
 have  the  free  fiHal  right  to  our  Father's  help  from  trouble. 
 Certainly,  there  are  many  external  tribulations  which  are  not  to 
 remain  any  longer  than  the  sin  remains ;  and  certainly  it  is  the 
 
JAMES  y.  ii-18.  479 
 
 will  of  God  sometimes  to  reward  our  faith  by  external  deliver- 
 ances and  answers  to  prayer,  coming  to  the  aid  of  our  weakness, 
 to  the  glory  of  His  own  name.  That  no  one,  therefore,  may 
 misunderstand  his  Epistle,  or  find  it  unintelligible  upon  this 
 point,  St  James  takes  care  before  he  closes  to  exliort  with  pro- 
 mise to  prayer  for  hodily  and  eartlily  help.  Of  this,  various 
 kinds  might  have  been  mentioned :  If  any  man  lack  bread  or 
 clothing — if  a  child  of  God  be  naked  and  destitute  of  daily 
 food  (ch.  ii.  15) — if  he  be  suffering  pressing  want  as  to  any 
 good  pertaining  to  earthly  life — in  all  cases  of  his  care  he  must 
 make  his  requests  known  unto  God.  But,  for  the  sake  of  brevity, 
 St  James  selects  from  them  all,  and  makes  prominent,  the 
 most  obvious  case  of  bodily  distress,  when  he  goes  on — Is  any 
 sick  among  you  ?  The  ordinance  for  the  sick  which  follows  is 
 very^  remarkable,  and  to  be  understood  only  according  to  the 
 spirit  of  the  wdiole  context. 
 
 Thus  much  w^e  observe  on  a  preliminary  glance  :  St  James 
 recommends,  under  some  circumstances,  intercession  for  the 
 sick  on  the  part  of  the  representatives  of  the  Chm'cli; — but  the 
 great  pomt  was  always  to  be  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and 
 spiritual  healing ;  —  he  then  finally  confirms  the  powder  of 
 prayer,  both  in  heaven  and  upon  earth,  in  its  mfluence  upon 
 the  body  and  life  of  an  individual  man,  by  an  eminei-t  example 
 taken  from  Scriptm-e. 
 
 Under  some  ch'cumstances,  we  said,  St  James  commends 
 intercession  even  for  the  bodily  cure  of  a  sick  man ;  and  that 
 not  merely  the  intercession  of  friends  or  brethren  as  such,  but 
 in  the  name  of  the  whole  community,  one  of  whose  members  is 
 suffering.  Is  any  sick  among  you  ?  let  him  call  the  elders  of 
 the  church  !  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  this  cannot  be  meant 
 as  a  universal  rule  or  command  in  every  case  of  sickness  in  a 
 member  of  the  church.  If  so,  we  should  require  in  most  com- 
 munities, where  generally  more  than  one  single  sick  man  is 
 always  to  be  found,  many  elders  set  apart  to  this  express  func- 
 tion. In  the  word  of  St  James  we  must  supply  much  that  is 
 not  stated,  but  presupposed.  Thus,  for  example  :  Let  him  call 
 the  physiciauj  "  whom  the  Lord  created,  and  whose  healing 
 cometh  from  the  Most  High"  (Ecclus.  xxxviii.  1,  2).  Further, 
 the  stiU  better  counsel  must  be  understood — Is  any  sick?  let 
 him  submit  himself  to  the  dispensation  of  Providence  !     For  St 
 
480  ORDINANCE  FOR  THE  SICK. 
 
 James  cannot  be  supposed  to  mean  that  every  sick  man  is  to 
 look  beyond  everything  for  recovery  to  health.      Finally,   let 
 him  pray  himself — as  was  said  before  to  the  afflicted  man.     For 
 what  would   be   the   intercession   of   others   without   his   own 
 prayer  ?     But  the  physician  does  not  save  of  himself,  only  the 
 Lord  by  means  of  him ;  submission  in  suffering  is  not  so  easy 
 a  matter,  and  is  not  required  in  any  such  sense  as  that  further 
 help  may  not  be  sought ;  one's  own  prayer,  finally,  may,  in  the 
 time  of  bodily  weakness  which  oppresses  the  spirit,  be  weak  and 
 insufficient.     St  James  refers  here  to  such  cases ;  for  he  does 
 not  use  the  word  which  in  the  original  commonly  expresses  the 
 being  sick,  but — Is  any  man  weah  ?  that  is,  weak  in  body,  op- 
 pressed through  the  body  ^vith  weakness  of  soul,  so  that  he  must 
 look  about  him  for  comfort  and  invigoration,  and  feels  his  deep 
 need  of  help  from  mthout.     Then  his  sickness  must  become  a 
 matter  of  the    church,  through  its  representatives  summoned. 
 Yes,  indeed,  it  is  the  duty  of  these  elders  to  care  for  the  sick 
 as  well  as  the  poor ;  they  should  also  visit,  even  though  not 
 called,  the  sick  in  their  affliction.     But  should  that  not  be  the 
 case,  and  the  sickness  be  unknown  to  the  elders,  St  James 
 gives  the  member  of  the  church  a  right  expressly  to  send  for 
 those  who  should  visit  him.     And  whom  does  he  thus  mention  ? 
 Not  simply  the  elder,  who  labours  in  the  word  and  doctrine,  the 
 pastor  and  teacher,  the  presiding  elder  or  bishop.     The  apos- 
 tolical churches  knew  nothing  of  the  unnatural  custom  of  our 
 days,  to  remit  every  official  work  to  one  man,  and  impose  every 
 official  burden  in    the  community  to  one   functionary.      We 
 ministers,  if  we  are  wise,   shall  not  desire  this,  to  be  always 
 and  alone  summoned  to  all  houses,  to  administer  comfort  and 
 offer  prayer  in  all  bodily  and  spiritual  troubles;  for  more  would 
 be  then  exacted  than  we  could  accomplish   (Ecclu5.  iii.  22). 
 The  first  whom  a  sick  man  should  call  would  naturally  be  one 
 familiar  to  him  in  ordinaiy  life,  a  friend  and  brother  whose 
 sympathy  would  be  intimate  and  sure.     St  James  surely  could 
 not  preclude  that,  and  absolutely  insist  upon  official  visitation 
 instead  of  it.     But,  if  the  sick  man  has  to  say  like  him  in  the 
 Gospel — I  have  no  man  to  put  me  into  the  pool  of  grace  pro- 
 vided for  me — or  if  he  should  laudably  feel  more  confidence  in 
 the  ministers  who  are  appointed  by  the  chm-ch  in  the  Lord's  name 
 — then  he  may  and  should  call  the  elders  :  this  is  the  counsel, 
 
JAMES  V.  U-18.  481 
 
 commandment,  or  permission,  according  to  circumstances.  For 
 this  purpose  they  are  appointed ;  and  eveiy  man  who  seeks 
 grace  or  consolation  through  the  Church  should  be  able  to 
 rely  upon  them.  But,  once  more,  when  the  elders  are  men- 
 tioned, we  are  not  to  understand  that  the  whole  presbytery 
 are  to  be  solemnly  and  formally  assembled  round  the  sick 
 man  ;  it  means,  according  to  common  usage,  one  or  any  number 
 of  them. 
 
 What  then  are  those  called  to  do  ?  They  may  pray  over 
 him.  Ob\dously,  in  unison  with  the  sick  man  himself,  who 
 called  them  for  this  purpose,  who  prays  himself,  and  would  have 
 his  weak  prayers  strengthened.  This  saying  of  St  James  gives 
 no  countenance  to  the  superstition  which  sends  for  the  minister 
 to  "  pray  over  the  sick,"  when  these  have  scarce  any  conscious- 
 ness left,  and  which  expects  something  wonderful  to  be  the  result. 
 The  elders  have  a  pre-eminent  power  in  prayer,  not  so  much  be- 
 cause of  their  official  character  personally,  as  because  they  do 
 what  they  do  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  and  of  His  Church,  The 
 very  different  custom  of  asking  for  the  common  intercession  of 
 the  church  in  the  public  service,  is  very  highly  to  be  com- 
 mended. For  what,  further,  may  and  should  the  elders  pray  ? 
 Assuredly,  in  the  first  place,  for  bodily  healing,  as  the  connec- 
 tion imphes ;  yet  not  unconditionally,  and  still  less  in  all  cases,  or 
 simply  because  the  sick  man  himself  desires  it.  As  the  Lord, 
 with  His  Apostles,  did  not  always  and  everywhere  make  the 
 sick  whole  at  once  and  collectively,  so  the  Apostles  themselves 
 could  not  in  many  cases  use  their  miraculous  power  for  that 
 purpose,  even  if  they  had  desired.  Of  Epaphroditus  St  Paul 
 says — He  was  sick  unto  death,  but  God  had  mercy  upon  him  ; 
 and  not  on  him  only,  but  on  me  also,  that  I  might  not  have 
 trouble  upon  trouble  (Phil.  ii.  27).  Trophimus  he  left  at  Mile- 
 turn  sick,  without  lajdng  hands  upon  him  that  he  might  recover 
 (2  Tim.  iv.  20).  To  his  beloved  son  Timothy  he  has  only  medi- 
 cal advice  to  give  (I.Tim,  v.  23).  Yea,  against  his  own  thorn 
 in  the  flesh  he  prays  thrice  to  the  Lord,  and  receives  only  the 
 answer — My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee ;  for  My  strength  ij> 
 made  perfect  in  weakness  !  (2  Cor.  xii.  7-9).  And  here  St 
 James  does  not  presuppose  any  proper  miraculous  gift  among 
 the  elders,  for  he  would  then  have  spoken  rather  of  the  laying 
 on  of  their  hands  ;  but  he  does  presume  upon  a  power  of  prayer, 
 
 2  II 
 
482  ORDINANCE  FOR  THE  SICK. 
 
 as  it  is  promised  to  the  whole  Church  down  to  the  present  day.^ 
 That  he  thinks  primarily  of  praying  for  health,  is  clear  from  the 
 added  clause — and  anoint  him  with  oil.  Little  will  suffice  to 
 show  the  wilful  folly  with  which  the  Romanists  hase  their  inven- 
 tion of  "  extreme  unction"  upon  this  passage  :  St  James  does  not 
 speak  of  a  sacramental  act  of  an  ordained  priest,  when  he  men- 
 tions the  elders  collectively :  nor  does  he  prescribe  anything  ne- 
 cessaiy  to  be  done,  as  we  have  seen ;  nor  does  he,  finally,  direct 
 the  anointing  to  sei've  as  a  preparation  for  death,  but  as  a  means 
 rather  of  cure.  We  find  the  anointing  with  oil  to  have  been  an 
 ancient  usage  in  Israel,  of  beautiful  significance  :  St  James  lets 
 it  remain,  and  by  the  name  of  the  Lord  sanctifies  it  in  the  Church. 
 As  wounds  were  mollified  with  ointment  (Luke  x.  34  ;  Is.  i.  6), 
 so  at  the  same  time  the  anointing  with  oil  is  the  consecrated 
 symbol  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  consolation  and  power  in  the  soul. 
 Hence  this  oil  was  itself  a  sign  in  connection  with  the  interces- 
 sion and  help,  like  many  other  signs  which,  even  in  miraculous 
 healings,  are  found  as  assistances  ^nd  stimulants  of  faith,  both 
 for  the  sick  and  for  those  who  help  him.  No  other  was,  for 
 example,  the  plaister  of  figs  which  Isaiah  commanded  to  be 
 applied  to  king  Hezekiah  (Is.  xxxviii.  21).  Thus  the  Lord 
 Himself  condescended  sometimes  to  the  weakness  of  the  sick  in 
 the  same  way,  as  when  He  made  clay  with  the  spittle  (Mark  vii. 
 33,  viii.  23 ;  John  ix.  6).  Here,  indeed,  the  elders  take  no- 
 thing of  their  own  person  ;  but  tliey  anoint  in  the  name  of  the 
 Lord,  as  the  Apostles  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  laid  on  their 
 hands.  On  their  first  probationary  mission,  the  Apostles,  accord- 
 ing to  their  weakness,  used  the  anointing  with  oil,  as  Mark  vi. 
 13  records;  although  there  was  no  such  command  given  to 
 them  when  they  were  sent,  nor,  apart  from  this  passage,  is  there 
 any  allusion  to  it  elsewhere.  We  may  even  in  the  present  day, 
 when  a  childlike  faith  might  demand  a  symbol  or  palpable 
 sign,  do  the  same,  or  something  like  it,  with  what  would  answer 
 to  oil  in  Palestine,  but  we  may  also  leave  it  alone.  We  may, 
 finally,  take  the  word  of  our  text  in  its  most  spiritual  mean- 
 mg ;  and  interpret  it  as  intimating  that  medicine  and  all  kinds 
 of  external  means  may  be  united  with  the  instrument  of  prayer. 
 
 ^  So  that,  according  to  Bengel's  expression,  we  have  here  also  the  medi- 
 cal faculty  in  tie  Churchy  as  in  1  Cor.  vi.  2-5  the  judicial.  This  is  to  us, 
 indeed,  a  far-reaching  and  humbling  word  of  faith ! 
 
JAMES  V.  U-18.  483 
 
 And  the  prayer  of  faith  will  help  the  sick,  St  James  pro- 
 mises: thus  the  prayer,  and  not  the  oil,  or  whatever  else  there 
 might  be ;  in  every  case  it  will  help,  save,  serve  for  health,  and 
 help  even  when  no  bodily  healing  followed.  The  Lord,  who  alone 
 can  do  this,  and  who  hears  prayer  offered  in  His  own  name,  will 
 assuredly  raise  up  the  sick  :  thus  does  St  James  carefully  word 
 his  expression,  because  he  cannot  unconditionally  recommend 
 the  prayer  which  demands  recovery,  or  unconditionally  promise 
 that  it  shall  be  heard.  Here,  again,  there  is  a  specific  expres- 
 sion for  what  we  translate  the  sick :  prayer  will  avail  for  the 
 invigoration  of  the  exhausted  and  miserable ;  the  Lord  will  raise 
 up  the  plagued  and  downcast — if  it  so  please  Him,  even  to 
 soundness  of  body,  certainly  to  comfort  of  soul,  and  joy  in 
 tribulation.  For  this  is  the  great  matter — If  he  have  committed 
 sins,  they  shall  be  forgiven  to  him.  Here  St  James  obviously 
 passes  over  from  the  body  to  the  soul ;  and  teaches  us  what  we 
 asserted  at  the  beginning —  The  great  concern  is  ever  forgiveness 
 of  sins  and  spiritual  restoration  to  health  I 
 
 Assuredly,  in  all  sickness  the  sick  man  himself,  and  every 
 one  who  would  truly  help  and  raise  him  up,  should  never  over- 
 look this  great  principle,  and  neglect  it  in  concern  for  bodily 
 cure.  He  whose  bed  the  Lord  shall  make  in  his  sickness,  and 
 whom  the  Lord  will  comfort,  must  before  all  things  be  ready  to 
 cry^ — Lord,  be  merciful  to  me  :  heal  my  soul,  for  I  have  sinned 
 against  Thee !  (Ps.  xH.  3,  4).  How  far  from  this  is  the  be- 
 haviour of  too  many  so-called  Christians  in  their  sickness,  how 
 different  the  view  they  take  of  their  affliction !  It  is  not  received 
 as  from  the  hand  of  God,  which,  however,  is  never  absent  in 
 the  goverrnnent  of  the  world ;  but  the  natural  mind  will  hold  to 
 natural  causes — "  The  evil  weather  has  brought  it  upon  me — I 
 overlooked  this  or  that — it  is  in  my  constitution."  They  do  not 
 turn  to  the  Lord  as  a  helper,  who  alone  can  bless  all  means  that 
 are  used ;  but  send  for  the  physician,  and,  if  he  do  not  cure, 
 for  another.  They  do  not  humble  themselves  under  the  mighty 
 hand  of  God,  so  as  to  hear  the  knocking  of  death  and  of  judg- 
 '  ment^-but.  "  I  am  not  in  such  a  dangerous  state  ;  the  physi- 
 cian is  skilful,  and  my  nature  is  still  strong ;  to  think  of  dying 
 and  repentance  would  be  weakness,  and  even  damage  my  case !" 
 Alas  that  our  physicians  so  often  strengthen  this  unbelieving  mind, 
 whicli  knows  and  will  know  nothing  about  \hQ  prayer  of  faith !   O 
 
484  ORDINANCE  FOK  THE  SICK. 
 
 that  the  work  and  care  of  our  physicians  and  pastors — those  who 
 care  for  the  body,  and  those  who  care  for  the  soul — were  more  in 
 concert  for  the  good  of  our  sick  !  So  should  it  be,  since  in  the 
 cause  and  purpose  of  every  sickness  from  God,  body  and  soul 
 are  alike  concerned.  Plere,  as  always,  it  is  the  whole  man ;  as 
 some  one  has  said,^  body  and  soul  are  by  no  means  connected 
 like  sword  and  sheath,  so  that  each  might  be  cared  for  alone 
 and  of  itself,  the  sheath  being  handed  over  to  the  belt-maker  to 
 mend,  and  the  blade  to  the  sword-polisher  to  sharpen.  God's 
 Spii'it  teaches  the  true  Christian  to  say  in  his  sickness — "  The 
 Lord  has  visited  and  laid  me  low  in  body,  but  only  for  the  sake 
 of  my  soul ;  then  I  will  try  myself,  and  find  out  why  and  to 
 what  end  this  sickness  now  rests  upon  me  from  His  hand." 
 There  are,  indeed,  many  self-invoked  sicknesses,  caused  not 
 simply  by  errors  in  diet,  but  by  sins  which  have  been  committed ; 
 with  sometimes  a  direct  connection  between  the  sin  and  the 
 sickness ;  sometimes  without  it,  yet  so  that  the  sick  man,  if  he 
 examines  himself  carefully,  will  know  whence  and  wherefore 
 his  affliction  has  come.  There  are  judicial  sicknesses  inflicted 
 on  sinners ;  yet,  not  that  every  sickness  is  to  be  so  regarded,  for 
 many  come  for  the  glory  of  God,  that  His  works  may  be  shown 
 forth  in  the  ciu'e  of  body  or  soul  (John  xi.  4,  ix.  3).  Therefore 
 St  James,  referring  to  the  sins  of  the  sick  man  which  caused 
 his  sickness,  can  only  say — And  if  he  have  committed  sins ;  for 
 the  rest,  every  man  has  committed  many  sins.  There  are,  fur- 
 ther, sicknesses  which  preserve  and  save  the  soul,  which  the 
 heavenly  Physician  sends  as  medicine :  who  would,  knowing 
 this,  pray  against  the  wholesome  cup,  either  for  himself  or  for 
 others  ?  All  this  the  sick  man  ought  to  know,  as  it  respects  his 
 own  case,  through  thorough  self-examination  ;  but  because  this 
 is  sometimes  harder  than  for  a  skilful  physician  to  form  an  un- 
 biassed judgment  on  his  own  case,  therefore  the  brethren  and 
 friends,  the  elders  called  in,  should  co-operate  to  assist  him  in 
 the  knowledge  of  his  state.  But  this  can  be  only  when  the  sick 
 man  does  sincerely  open  his  heart  to  them.  They  may  find  him 
 disposed  as  was  the  paralytic,  whose  heart  was  concerned  only 
 about  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins ;  or  they  will  know,  in  their 
 experience,  whether  or  not  this  wholesome  sickness  is  a  crisis 
 of  the  soul,  is  like  many  an  evil  in  the  body  which  the  physician 
 1  If  I  mistake  not,  De  Valenti. 
 
JAMES  V.  14-18.  485 
 
 does  not  therefore  at  once  remove.  In  every  case,  however,  and 
 always,  even  when  their  intercession  enters  into  the  sick  man's 
 longing  to  recover,  they  will  make  it  their  chief  concern  to 
 assist  the  soul,  in  all  their  visitations  of  the  sick.  The  sufferer 
 may  be  raised  up  to  consolation  and  spmtual  power,  from  every 
 sickness ;  but  such  a  raising  up  comes  only  frpm  the  Lord. 
 Again,  the  Lord  uses  to  that  end  ministers  and  instruments, 
 who  anoint,  console,  and  pray  in  His  name ;  but  the  absolute 
 condition  of  their  raising  up  even  the  soul,  is  the  confession  of 
 the  afflicted. 
 
 Confess  your  sins  one  to  another  !  We  observe  how  natu- 
 rally and  necessarily  this  must  follow  for  their  perfect  direction. 
 But  why  does  St  James  say,  not  merely — Let  the  sick  man 
 confess  to  the  elders ;  but —  Confess  one  to  another  ?  First, 
 because  the  elder  is  not  a  specially  consecrated  confessor-priest, 
 but  a  brother  in  Christ ;  consequently,  he  who  confesses  in  his 
 presence  does  no  more  than  what  generally  brethren  may  and 
 should  do  before  one  another.  Every  Christian  ought  to  be 
 able  to  be  to  another  a  priest  who  receives  confession  and  mini- 
 sters absolution.  St  James  then  extends  the  position,  and  at 
 the  same  time  lays  down  an  absolutely  universal  rule  for  mutual 
 confession  of  sins,  about  which  alone  a  long  sermon  might  be 
 preached.  Not  only  should  the  afflicted  and  tempted  soul  con- 
 fess to  the  elder  called  in  ;  but  every  one,  when  there  is  occasion 
 for  it,  that  is,  when  he  has  sinned  against  his  brother,  should 
 confess  his  sins  to  his  brother.  How  much  more  should  he  have 
 heart  and  courage  to  do  so  in  the  presence  of  the  elder,  already 
 marked  out  by  the  confidence  of  the  church  !  Alas,  that  there 
 should  be  many  single  pastors  in  great  communities,  through 
 whose  want  of  pastoral  intercoui'se  with  the  multitudes  of  their 
 flock  it  has  come  to  pass  that  the  sick  would  more  readily  and 
 sincerely  open  their  minds  to  others  than  to  them  !  But  would 
 that  all  the  sick  were  ready,  whether  to  the  elder  or  to  any  other, 
 to  pour  out  the  acknowledgment  of  their  sins  !  This  is  the  great 
 matter  in  all  brotherly  and  official  visitation  of  the  sick  ;  with- 
 out that  the  desired  talking  and  praying  has  no.  ground  to  pro- 
 ceed upon,  and  often  exerts  no  influence.  Most  vain  is  the  late 
 summons  of  the  minister,  when  the  best  season  for  the  care  of 
 the  soul  is  past ;  most  unhappy  in  evangelical  communities  is 
 the  superstition  which  attaches  specific  power  or  merit  to  the 
 
486  OKDI^;A^XE  FOR  THE  SICR. 
 
 visit  of  the  clergy  as  an  external  work.  But  most  deplorable  is 
 the  perversion  of  the  Communion  of  the  sick.  It  is  observable 
 that  St  James,  mentioning  the  anointing  with  oil,  does  not  say 
 anything  about  offering  the  sick  man  the  consecrated  bread  and 
 wine.  In  the  first  ages  of  the  Church  there  can  be  found  no 
 trace  of  such  an  application  of  the  Eucharist.  By  this  we 
 would  not  intimate  that  the  subsequent  and  present  custom  is 
 simply  wrong  and  sinful.  But  assuredly  this  is  wrong,  that 
 people  who  for  many  long  years  have  never  sought  the  Lord's 
 table  should  finally  only  in  the  fear  of  death  stretch  out  their 
 hands  to  His  body  and  blood,  in  mere  anxiety  about  their  own 
 souls,  and  without  any  fellowship  with  the  church  in  their  hearts. 
 There  is  danger  of  our  making  the  Communion  at  sick-beds  an 
 evangehcal  "  final  unction ;"  and  worse  than  that  of  the  Roman- 
 ists, as  being  a  perversion  of  a  sacrament  really  instituted  by 
 Christ.  Finally,  the  indi^ddual  partaking  of  the  Eucharist, 
 without  any  fellowship  in  breaking  and  distribution,  is  some- 
 what opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the  institution ;  and  we  ought  at 
 least  to  be  careful  that  the  members  of  the  family  or  other 
 friends  should  be  present  on  every  such  occasion. 
 
 But  let  us  return  to  our  text.  Confess  your  sins  one  to 
 another,  and  prai/  for  one  another,  that  ye  may  he  whole.  Thus 
 St  James  imposes,  not  only  the  receiving  of  confession,  but  also 
 the  intercession,  upon  eveiy  member  of  the  chm'ch  in  common 
 with  the  elders,  upon  every  brother  for  his  brother.  But  when, 
 in  connection  with  the  confession  of  sin,  he  speaks  quite  gene- 
 rally of  being  healed,  we"  plainly  see  that  he  refers  pre-eminently 
 to  spiritual  health,  to  the  cure  of  the  soid — "that  ye  may  be 
 at  all  events  healed  of  your  sins  ! "  To  the  healing  of  the  body, 
 also,  the  prayer  of  faith  will  avail  only  when  to  that  very  end 
 it  is  a  prayer  of  faith ;  that  is,  not  only  the  prayer  of  a  believer, 
 but  offered  in  faith,  in  that  confidence  of  the  attainment  of  the 
 present  object  which  can  alone  make  the  supplication  for  bodily 
 help  possible  to  be  granted.  Often  in  our  own  hearts  we  must 
 think — I  cannot  here  pray  for  bodily  cure ;  or  the  Lord  pre- 
 vents it  by  His  Spirit — Thou  shalt  not !  But  in  other  cases, 
 and  those  not  a  few,  the  obstacle  is  in  our  own  weakness  of  faith  ; 
 and  with  reference  to  this,  St  James  encouragingly  adds — The 
 prayer  of  the  righteous  man  availeth  much,  if  it  is  earnest.  He 
 who  thus  mightily  and  effectually  would  summon  the  other  helps  of 
 
JAMES  V.  14-18.  487 
 
 God,  must  obviously  be  himself  a  righteous  man  in  his  faith 
 before  God ;  and  then  must  be  able  to  take  with  him,  for  this 
 special  case,  the  whole  might  of  his  trust  in  the  power  of  God. 
 Such  a  prayer  is  not  a  begging  and  whimpering  extorted  by  the 
 flesh,  nor  is  it  a  thoughtless  demand  on  the  ground  of  a  promise 
 lightly  understood ;  this  effectual  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  is 
 an  exceedingly  great  and  imfrequent  thing.  But  it  availeth 
 even  for  external  requests  :  if  not  for  all — for  the  Lord  might 
 here  withstand  the  mightiest  faith,  according  to  His  comisel,  as 
 He  did  the  Apostle's  cry  for  dehverance  from  his  thorn — yet 
 it  availeth  much,  very  much  more  than  our  weak  faith  generally 
 conceives  or  hopes. 
 
 This  power  of  prayer  St  James  finally  confirms  by  a  great 
 example  from  Holy  Scripture.  He  was  himself  called  "the 
 Just,"  and  celebrated  as  mighty  in  prayer;  but  he  naturally 
 abstains  from  referring  to  any  experiences  of  his  own,  preferring 
 now,  at  the  close  of  his  Epistle,  to  resort  once  more  to  the 
 treasures  of  the  Scripture  history,  from  which  he  had  already 
 derived  examples  of  suffering  and  patience.  After  the  manner 
 of  the  Old  Testament,  and  for  the  encouragement  of  our  weakness, 
 the  ancient  Scriptures  present  very  many  examples  of  the  hear- 
 ing of  prayer  in  external  things.  How  many  might  St  James 
 have  mentioned!  He  now  selects  the  great  Elijah;  but  he 
 wisely  adds  a  single  word  which  holds  good  of  all  the  typical 
 and  illustrious  saints  of  old.  We  must  not  say — But  that  was 
 a  special  time,  and  those  were  special  saints !  The  whole 
 Scripture  knows  nothing  of  that  false  reverence  which  would 
 place  Prophets  and  Apostles  far  above  us,  and  beyond  the  reach 
 of  our  imitation.  Of  every  holy  man  it  may  be  said,  as  it  is 
 here  said  of  Elias — he  was  a  man  like  ourselves;  properly,  a 
 man  of  like  passions,  subject  to  the  same  weakness  and  sensa- 
 tion (as  in  Acts  xiv.  15) ;  no  other  than  a  man,  in  himself  sin- 
 ful, mortal,  oppressed, —  in  himself  of  the  same  condition  and 
 character  as  w^e.  He  was  as  we  are,  and  we  hke  him:  the 
 grace  of  God  which  he  possessed  is  equally  open  and  ready 
 for  us.  The  power  of  God  in  him  is  also  at  our  disposal,  if  we 
 pray  as  he  prayed ;  for  Elijah,  like  every  other  man,  obtained 
 and  accomplished  that  wdiich  makes  him  so  great  before  our 
 eyes,  only  through  prayer.  Then  came  the  unknown,  and  never 
 before  mentioned,  stranger  from  Gilead,  and  stood  suddenly 
 
488  ORDINANCE  FOR  THE  SICK. 
 
 like  a  messenger  from  heaven  before  the  idolatrous  king — "As 
 the  Lord  God  of  Israel  liveth,  before  whom  I  stand,  there 
 shall  not  be  dew  nor  rain  these  years,  but  according  to  my 
 word ! "  (1  Bangs  xvii.  1).  This  sounds  almost  as  if  the  Lord 
 had  sent  him  directly  with  only  this  message ;  but  in  the  last 
 word,  "but  according  to  my  word,"  there  is  already  hinted 
 what  the  Apostle  here  conclusively  explains  :  EHjah  had  prayed 
 a  prayer  that  it  might  not  rain,  and  it  rained  not  upon  that 
 earth — or,  as  we  say,  in  the  land — for  three  years  and  six  months. 
 Thus  the  long  drought  and  dearth  (the  duration  of  whidi  our 
 Lord  also,  Luke  iv.  25,  so  expressly  marks)  was  invoked  by 
 the  prayer  of  a  man  zealous  for  the  honour  of  God,  just  as 
 afterwards  the  fire  was  called  do^vn  from  heaven  for  a  testimony. 
 Thus,  as  St  James  probably  would  incidentally  intimate,  by 
 this  example,  the  effectual  prayer  of  a  righteous  man  may 
 indeed  call  down  punishments,  judgments,  and  visitations  upon 
 sinners,  may  pray  for  salutary  sickness  instead  of  healing  in 
 the  name  of  the  Lord.  But  here  it  means  pre-eminently — 
 Become  first  what  Elias  was,  who  stood  before  the  Lord,  and 
 then  mayest  thou  do  as  Elias  did.  Then  wilt  thou  also  be 
 able  in  due  time  to  speak  as  he  did,  when  the  evil  had  endured 
 long  enough — He  frayed  again,  and  the  heaven  gave  rain,  and 
 the  earth  brought  forth  her  fruits.  This  second  prayer,  with 
 its  urgency,  is,  notwithstanding  the  already  presupposed  grant- 
 ing of  it,  1  Kings  xviii.  41-45,  expressly  related ;  but  it  is 
 remarkable  that  in  the  first  verse  of  the  chapter  the  Lord  had 
 already  said  to  Elijah — Go,  show  thyself  unto  Ahab;  and  I 
 will  send  rain  upon  the  earth !  Whence  we  should  further  learn, 
 that  prayers  of  this  kind  are  appointed  beforehand  by  the 
 Lord  Himself,  and  then  by  His  Spirit  put  into  the  hearts  of 
 His  servants ;  that  both  go  together  or  meet — the  power  of 
 God  and  the  faith  of  man. 
 
 So  much,  however,  is  certain,  that  God  would  often  give  us 
 such  prayers,  even  in  our  day,  if  He  found  in  us  the  requisite 
 faith.  As  heaven  and  earth  heard  the  voice  of  Elijah  the  man 
 of  God,  so  do  all  the  powers  of  Natm^e  still  obey  the  voice  of 
 praying  faith.  The  God  of  Elijah  still  liveth,  and  is  the  same; 
 but  the  faith,  the  spirit,  and  the  power  of  Elijah  have  become 
 rare ;  he  has  few  successors,  who  have  received  his  mantle,  to 
 strike  the  waters  with  it.     Where  is  the  Lord  God  of  Elijah  ? 
 
JAMES  V.  19,  20.  489 
 
 (2  Kings  ii.  14).  And  yet  Christ  saith  to  His  disciples,  that 
 they  in  faith  should  do  greater  works  than  Himself  had  done ; 
 how  much  greater  works  than  those  of  all  the  men  of  God 
 before  Him  !  He  who  can  pray  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  hath  the 
 greatest  promise  and  the  most  effectual  strength.  May  the 
 Lord  increase  in  us  the  spirit  of  faith ! 
 
 xxxn. 
 
 THE  GREATEST  NEED,  AND  THE  GREATEST  WORK  OF  FAITH. 
 
 (Ch.  V.  19,  20.) 
 
 Brethren,  if  any  of  you  do  err  from  the  truth,  and  one  convert  him ;  Let 
 him  know,  that  he  which  converteth  the  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way 
 shall  save  a  soul  from  death,  and  shall  hide  a  multitude  of  sins. 
 
 Faith  does  all !  It  is  faith  that  is  always  in  question  !  Faith 
 it  is  that  is  wanting !  This  is  the  doctrine  and  testimony  of  the 
 whole  Epistle  of  St  James,  in  common  with  all  Scriptm^e. 
 Those  who  are  rich  in  faith,  and  therefore  heirs  of  the  kingdom, 
 heirs  of  the  promise  to  those  who  love  Him  in  faith,  hath  God 
 chosen  (ch.  ii.  5).  If  I  thus  believe  with  Prophets  and  Apostles, 
 if  I  thus  believe  with  all  the  holy  men  who  even  before  Christ 
 were  made  righteous,  and  availed  much,  through  faith — I  also 
 belong  to  all  the  chosen  of  God!  Of  every  one  of  them  it  is 
 said,  as  of  Ehas — He  was  a  man  like  ourselves — concerning 
 which  word  much  more  might  be  said.  Even  for  the  operation 
 of  faith  and  its  effectual  prayer  upon  external  nature,  so  that 
 heaven  and  earth  must  hearken  to  us,  like  Elijah,  the  word 
 holds  good  also — We  are,  in  God's  power,  of  like  power  with 
 him  !  Our  faith  may  remove  mountains  (^latt.  xvii.  20) — and 
 why  not  now  pray  a  brother  into  soundness?  But  we  have 
 already  seen  how  St  James  wisely  Kmited  the  exercise  of  faith 
 in  relation  to  this,  and  already  hinted  at  the  greater  need  of 
 the  soul,  and  to  that  which  alone  is  good  for  the  true  raising 
 up  of  the  man.  But  he  wiU  not  close  his  Epistle  with  this  simple 
 hint;  he  will  more  explicitly  declare  at  the  end  what  man's 
 greatest  distress  is,  and  what  his  best  help ;  consequently,  what 
 
490       GREATEST  NEED,  AND  GREATEST  WORK  OF  FAITH. 
 
 is  the  greatest  work  of  faith,  which  in  its  charity  would  bring 
 God's  help  to  a  brother.  ISTo  one  should  be  tempted  to  think  at 
 the  conclusion,  in  opposition  to  the  tenor  of  the  whole  Epistle, 
 that  the  works  of  faith  which  it  demands  are  pre-eminently  great 
 things  of  the  kind  which  Elijah  wrought.  The  one  great  work 
 of  faith  is  love,  which  showeth  mercy ;  that  is,  before  and  above 
 all,  the  true  mercy  of  God  to  the  soul  of  a  brother  in  sin. 
 
 Wherefore  and  to  what  end  did  EHjah  pray  first  for  drought, 
 and  then  for  rain  ?  In  order  that  the  might  and  honour  of  the 
 Lord  against  Baal  might  be  manifest  to  all  Israel,  erring  from  the 
 truth.  He  would  fain  by  such  signs  have  converted  all  the  sinners 
 from  the  error  of  their  way,  the  whole  people  from  their  idolatry ; 
 but  this  indeed  all  his  faith  availed  not  to  do,  on  account  of  the 
 unbelief  of  those  sinners.  But  Ave  see,  however,  how  consistent 
 with  all  it  is  that  St  James  should  in  the  conclusion  speak  of 
 the  conversion  of  sinners.  He  shows  us  the  greatest  need  in  the 
 Church ;  and  here,  where  the  least  help  and  the  utmost  power 
 of  God  is  concerned,  the  greatest  ivork  of  faith,  which  is  mighty 
 and  effectual  in  love. 
 
 Brethren,  if  any  of  you  do  err  from  the  tmith  :  this  is  much 
 worse  than  what  went  before — Is  any  man  sick  among  you  ? 
 This  is  the  real  and  greatest  distress,  which  demands  help  from 
 the  faith  which  exists  in  the  Church  for  the  good  of  the  bre- 
 thren !  If  any  of  you  err — this  seems  at  first  to  have  a  gentle 
 sound,  like  that  other  word — If  a  man  be  overtaken  in  a  fault 
 (Gal.  at[.  1).  But  when  we  read  on,  we  mark  that  St  James 
 means  here  a  much  greater  erring  than  that.  Indeed,  brethren 
 ought  not  to  err  or  be  overtaken  in  fault ;  every  error,  even  of 
 knowledge,  from  the  truth,  might  be  perilous  in  its  consequences 
 upon  the  life  ;  although,  in  our  state  of  partial  knowledge,  not 
 every  error  of  knowledge  and  understanding  is  actually  hurtful, 
 because  the  heart  may  be  better  than  the  head.  But  St  James 
 is  not  speaking  of  such  slight,  and  possibly  not  dangerous,  eiTors ; 
 he  means  an  erring  fro7n  the  truth  which  is  an  actual  wandering, 
 an  error  of  the  loay,  in  which  the  sinner  walks.  An  Apostle 
 says — I  have  no  greater  joy  than  to  hear  that  my  children  walk 
 in  the  truth  (3  John  4)  ;  and  every  loving  brother  imitates  him 
 — I  have  no  greater  joy  than  this,  to  see  my  brethren  walking 
 in  the  truth.  Consequently,  there  is  no  distress  that  troubles 
 me  more,  than  to  see  that  there  are  many  who  walk  in  the  error 
 
JAMES  V.  19,  20.  491 
 
 of  their  ways !  St  James  speaks  afterwards  of  death ;  he  means, 
 therefore,  a  perfect  and  entire  departure  from  the  way  of  life. 
 He  does  not  say  merely — And  one  teach  him,  or  help  him  to 
 right  judgment ;  but  he  speaks  of  a  needful  and  absolute  con- 
 version of  the  sinner. 
 
 And  yet  such  a  sinner  is  a  man  among  you^  a  brother,  a  mem- 
 ber of  the  Church  of  Christ !  Yerily,  that  there  are  such  among 
 us,  is  the  greatest  trouble  of  our  times.  Then,  when  St  James 
 wrote,  the  people  with  few  exceptions  came  not  unconverted  into 
 the  community ;  and  the  growing  up  of  those  born  in  it  was  on 
 the  whole  a  sanctified  growth  in  the  blessing  of  grace.  Therefore 
 St  James  thought  especially  of  those  who  had  knowTi  the  truth, 
 but  who  had  been  unfaithful  to  it ;  of  those  also,  the  worst  and 
 most  wretched,  who  had  not  relinquished  the  knowledge  and  the 
 confession  of  the  truth,  but  who  were  not  obedient  to  it  in  the 
 conduct  of  their  life,  who  walked  not  in  it.  Thus  here,  if  we 
 w^ould  rightly  apprehend  our  text,  he  does  not  speak  of  unbe- 
 Hevers  without,  the  Jews  and  the  heathens ;  nor  of  those  who, 
 like  multitudes  of  heathens  now,  had  never  heard  the  word; 
 nor  of  those  who,  like  the  Jews  of  that  time,  had  heard  the 
 Gospel  abundantly  preached,  but  had  never  received  it.  The 
 sinners  to  be  converted  were  in  the  midst  of  the  Church,  bore 
 the  good  Name  by  which  we  are  called,  had  the  w^ord  of  truth 
 in  their  lips — and  yet  walked  in  the  error  of  their  ways  to 
 death ! 
 
 We  now  think  naturally — looking  at  oiu'  present  churches — 
 of  such  people  as  in  those  days  could  scarcely  have  been  found, 
 but  of  whom,  alas,  there  are  yqvj  many  now — ignorant, neglected, 
 never  rightly  taught,  much  less  converted,  who  yet  are  called 
 Christians !  This  is  never  the  case  without  fault  of  their  own, 
 because  from  their  baptism  upwards  grace  and  truth  has  come 
 near  to  them  and  offered  itself  in  the  ordinances  of  the  Church ; 
 but  never  also  without  the  guilt  of  others,  who  have  neglected 
 them  and  suffered  them  to  stray.  Alas,  these  are  the  most 
 wretched  of  all  blind  in  the  way  in  which  Christ  is  for  ever 
 passing  by,  but  who  know  not  to  cry — Have  pity  on  us  !  (Luke 
 xviii.  35-39).  They  walk  in  the  error  of  their  way,  in  death 
 and  unto  death  I  And  then  we  think  further  of  those  who  are 
 misled  and  entangled  in  false  doctrine,  who  hold  the  error  of 
 unbeKef  or  "superstition  for  truth,  and  walk  accordingly.     And 
 
492      GREATEST  KEED,  AND  GREATEST  WORK  OF  FAITH. 
 
 then  we  must,  moreover,  think  of  those  who  know  without 
 doing ;  of  the  people  whose  heads  are  filled  with  right  know- 
 ledge, but  who  are  without  the  faith  of  the  heart  and  the  obe- 
 dience of  the  life  ;  the  corpses  of  faith  without  works,  which  are 
 clothed  only  mth  words.  But  these  most  ^vretched  ones  are 
 proud,  and  confident  in  their  cry — Behold,  we  are  not  blind, 
 but  see ;  we  live,  and  are  not  dead  !  Is  not  this  for  a  lamenta- 
 tion in  the  congregation  of  God  ?  Nevertheless,  it  is  not  merely 
 any  one  man  among  us  here  or  there ;  alas,  many,  many  walk 
 in  all  such  errors  of  their  way  to  death,  erring  variously  from 
 the  truth !  If  it  were  only  one  who,  being  called  a  Christian, 
 was  in  such  a  state — that  would  be  incomparably  a  greater 
 distress  than  if  a  brother  or  sister  among  us  were  naked  and 
 destitute  of  daily  food.  That  such  misery  is  frequent,  that  it  is 
 predominant  in  some  of  our  fallen  churches,  is  more  lamentable 
 than  if  plague  and  pestilence,  dearth  and  famine,  and  all  sorts 
 of  physical  distress,  were  blighting  us  everywhere.  This  is  the 
 most  piercing  and  crying  need  of  souls,  which  should  be  helped 
 of  all  who  have  faith  and  love  to  help  it. 
 
 What  then  is  the  greatest  work  of  faith  in  love,  the  most 
 needful,  the  hardest,  the  most  glorious,  and  at  the  same  time 
 the  most  obvious,  work  for  every  man  who  sees  the  need  of  his 
 brother  ?  The  converting  of  such  sinners  among  us  !  We,  who 
 have  returned  to  the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  our  souls,  should 
 not  indeed  forget  the  other  sheep  without,  whom  the  good  Pas- 
 tor calls  to  Him,  the  heathens  who  are  to  be  turned  from  dark- 
 ness to  light  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God,  nor  Israel 
 after  the  flesh,  hardened,  but  not  absolutely  rejected !  St  James 
 knew  well  that  there  were  many,  since  Barnabas  and  Saul, 
 of  whom  the  Spirit  had  said — Separate  them  unto  Me  for  the 
 work  to  which  I  have  called  them  !  (Acts  xiii.  2).  Assuredly, 
 he  did  not  mean  to  invade  the  special  province  of  those  whose 
 business  it  was  to  extend  the  Church  by  missionary  labours  ;  nor 
 to  interfere  with  the  common  duty  of  the  brethren  to  maintain 
 and  forward  on  their  jom'ney  those  wdio  thus  go  forth,  and  so 
 to  be  fellow-helpers  to  the  truth  (3  John  8).  But  now  he  is 
 speaking  of  the  obvious,  and  as  it  were  still  more  pressing,  work 
 of  faith  and  love  which  is  imposed  upon  every  Christian,  though 
 by  every  Christian  too  easily  neglected,  of  labouring  to  save  the 
 sinners  in  the  Church  !  and  to  convert  whom  is,  for  two  reasons, 
 
493 
 
 more  hard  than  to  gather  into  the  Church  the  heathens  without. 
 He  among  us  who  errs  from  the  truth,  who  falls  from  the  grace  of 
 baptism  and  the  Church's  ordinances — and  such  St  James  has  in 
 view, — opposes  a  mightier  obstacle  ;  similarly,  more  faith  and 
 love  and  patience  are  demanded  in  labouring  among  them,  than 
 are  demanded  in  preaching  to  those  who  sit  in  the  darkness  of 
 heathenism.  Do  we  not  all  know,  alas,  that  it  is  harder  to  preach 
 to  our  f ellow-to^vnsmen  and  fellow-countrymen  than  to  a  strange 
 people  ? — that  working  at  a  distance,  with  a  certain  consideration 
 and  respect  shown  to  us,  is  more  easy  than  the  persevering  grap- 
 pling with  those  who  are  sinning  around  our  very  doors  ?  How 
 many  of  us  are  careless  and  weak-hearted  in  the  face-to-face 
 testimony  which  our  neighbours  require  ! 
 
 Nevertheless,  because  it  is  the  greatest  trouble  of  the  Church 
 that  there  are  in  it  sinners  walking  the  way  of  death,  St  James 
 issues  a  most  urgent  summons,  valid  to  this  day,  upon  all  whose 
 hearts  are  free  to  work  among  the  Lord's  people.  Brethren, 
 if  any  man  among  you  do  err  from  the  truth,  and  any  man  con- 
 vert him  : — by  this  general  expression  he  teaches  no  other  than 
 that  the  obligation  is  urgent  upon  each  on  behalf  of  each.  No 
 man  may  dare  to  say,  concerning  any  man  whom  he  sees  wan- 
 dering in  error  with  a  multitude  of  sins — What  have  I  to  do 
 with  him  ?  Am  I  called  to  convert  him  ?  Is,  then,  this  great 
 work  a  specific  duty,  for  which  a  man  must  receive  the  setting 
 apart  of  a  new  and  express  vocation  ?  No,  it  is  the  natural  and 
 common  impulse  of  all  who  live  in  the  new  birth,  their  first  love, 
 and  their  first  vow  of  gratitude.  He  who  has  truly  repented, 
 has,  like  David  in  his  penitential  psalm,  promised  the  Lord — 
 So  will  I  teach  transgressors  Thy  way,  that  sinners  may  be 
 converted  to  Thee  (Ps.  li.  15).  Alas  that  so  little  afterwards 
 remains  of  that  converting  zeal  of  first  love  which — however 
 mocked,  and  however  impure  or  unwise  it  may  sometimes  be — 
 springs  from  the  deepest  fountain  of  grace  !  Alas  that  we  so 
 soon  forget  and  neglect  to  pay  our  vows  to  the  Lord  ! 
 
 Assuredly,  it  is  a  great  thing  to  which  St  James  calls  every 
 one  who  has  faith  and  love  to  hear  the  call.  Am  I  to  convert 
 the  erring  sinner  before  me,  w^ho  is  among  us  :  what  means 
 that  ?  I  must  bring  him  back  to  the  truth  from  which  he  errs ; 
 bring  him  back  to  the  right  icay,  help  him  from  death  to  life  ! 
 I  should  bring  him  with  a  word  of  mine  to  Christ,  who  is  the 
 
494      GREATEST  NEED,  AXD  GREATEST  WORK  OF  FATTH. 
 
 way,  the  truth,  and  the  life  !  How  may  this  be  ?  First  of  all, 
 there  must  be  the  rectifying  of  the  error  of  his  way,  the  encoun- 
 tering his  present  ignorance  with  sound  instruction,  with  good 
 and  patient  testimony.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  Christian  to 
 teach  the  ignorant,  wherever  he  may  find  them.  Utter  not  too 
 rashly  after  the  Apostle  his  solemn  word — He  that  is  ignorant, 
 let  him  be  ignorant*!  (1  Cor.  xiv.  38).  He  said  that,  only  after 
 he  had  done  faithfully  all  he  could  do,  and  while  he  was  still 
 doing  all,  to  remove  the  ignorance  ;  as  not  till  the  end  of  Scrip- 
 ture, after  all  the  riches  of  grace  and  instruction,  do  we  hear — 
 He  that  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still !  (Rev.  xxii.  11).  If  the 
 mind  of  Christ  dwell  in  you,  you  will  feel  His  compassion, 
 and  sympathise  like  Him  with  those  who  are  ignorant  and  out 
 of  the  way  (Heb.  v.  2).  But  then  the  speaking  and  teaching  is 
 not  enough,  even  with  regard  to  the  pre-eminently  ignorant, 
 still  less  with  those  who  know,  without  obeying,  the  truth.  We 
 must  call  them  into  the  way  of  truth  by  meek  supplication ;  we 
 must  lay  hold  of  them,  and  guide  them,  yea,  constrain  them,  by 
 earnest  admonition ;  we  must  take  mth  us  witnesses  and  helpers 
 in  this  common  work  of  God's  power  ;  some  we  must  save  with 
 fear,  pulling  them  with  the  violence  of  an  angel  out  of  the  fire 
 of  Sodom  (Jude  23).  ^'\"liat  a  field  in  our  days  for  the  love  of 
 those  who  love,  for  the  faith  of  those  who  believe  !  ^lany,  how- 
 ever, will  not  be  converted  ;  but  do  not  many  only  wait,  and  alas 
 wait  long  in  vain,  until  one  shall  undertake  with  all  earnestness 
 the  work  of  his  conversion  ?  Lying  in  the  way  along  which  the 
 priestly  people  walk,  and  finding  even  among  Christians  no  good" 
 Samaritan  to  take  compassion  upon  them  !  Indeed,  to  succour 
 only  one  of  these,  demands  much  mighty,  effectual  love, — much 
 of  that  love  which  beareth  all  things,  believeth  all  things,  hopeth 
 all  things,  endureth  all  things  (1  Cor.  xiii.  7) — much  strong  faith, 
 from  which  alone  such  love  can  flow — much  patience  and  labour, 
 mMoh  prayer  to  the  Lord  for  his  poor  soul.  But  all  these  expres- 
 sions belong  naturally  and  necessarily  to  a  genuine  and  sound 
 spirit  and  life  of  Christianity.  What  is  the  strongest,  most  endur- 
 ing might  in  the  salvation  of  souls  around  thee  ?  Thy  own  holy 
 conversation,  thy  walking  in  the  light  which  shines  around  thee, 
 thy  own  persevering  progress  in  the  way  of  life  with  firm  and  cer- 
 tain steps.  Thus  many  were  to  be  won  by  the  conversation  of 
 their  wives,  without  the  word  (1  Pet.  iii.  1).    No  man  will  be 
 
JAMES  V.  10,  20.  495 
 
 vy-anting  in  piiestly  \Yorks  and  fruits,  of  wLom  the  Lord  can 
 utter  the  great  testimony — The  law  of  truth  is  in  his  mouth  ;  he 
 walketh  with  Me  in  peace  and  equity,  and  turneth  many  away 
 from  iniquity  (Mai.  ii.  6).  He  who  is  thus  minded  will  never 
 fail  to  desire  to  convert  many  from  their  sin  ;  but  many  will, 
 without  any  express  will  of  his  o^vn,  be  enlightened  and  drawn 
 by  the  silent  energy  of  his  holy  life. 
 
 With  friendly  encouragement,  St  James  tells  us  at  the  con- 
 clusion why  such  a  work  is  the  greatest  and  most  glorious  I  He 
 has  no  specific  promise  for  it,  he  has  no  specific  reward  to  offer; 
 but  the  rich  recompense  is  in  the  vrork  itself ;  the  act  of  convert- 
 ing a  sinner  is  in  itself  so  great  and  sublime,  to  be  compared 
 with  no  other  in  its  glory  and  godlikeness.  It  accomplishes  the 
 will  of  God;  it  leads  to  the  goal  of  all  God's  design  and  work 
 for  every  erring  and  lost  soul,  that  it  should  not  perish.  He 
 who  lays  hold  of  this,  should  .know  that  the  brother  who  hath 
 converted  a  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way  hath  saved  a  soul 
 from  death  !  Luther  thus  expresses  the  greatness  of  the  work 
 accomphshed ;  St  James,  however,  has  made  it  a  promise,  that 
 the  exliortation  and  stimulus  may  never  cease  :  he  that  con- 
 verteth  the  sinner  shall  help  a  soul  from  death,  shall  deliver  him 
 from  death,  shall  save  him  I  And,  when  he  has  experienced 
 how  glorious  a  thing  it  is  to  save  one  soul,  he  will  strive  to 
 save  a  second,  and  then  others ;  he  will  not  rest  with  that  first 
 work  of  love.  O  let  us  put  our  hands  to  this  most  noble  work, 
 to  save  souls  from  the  death  of  sin,  from  the  damnation  of 
 hell !  This  is  infinitely  more  than  all  benevolence  to  their 
 bodily  needs ;  and  infinitely  more  than  that  lesser,  and  often 
 useless  work,  of  merely  sa\ing  people  from  their  errors,  con- 
 verting fro7n  their  opinions, — possibly  to  your  own  opinions  in- 
 stead of  to  the  truth,  and  to  a  holy  hfe  in  the  way  of  truth. 
 But  woe  to  every  man  who,  on  the  other  hand,  helps  sl  sinner 
 on  the  way  to  death  by  seduction  or  offence ;  who,  with  his 
 dead  faith,  buries  the  dead ! 
 
 The  Lord  alone  can  help  and  save  souls.  But  tliis  He 
 does  through  instruments  of  His  power,  vessels  of  His  grace. 
 Therefore  the  Scripture  does  not  shrink  from  attributing 
 boldly  to  us  poor  sinners  the  salvation  of  our  fellow-sinners. 
 The  Apostle  aimed  to  save  some  of  his  own  people  in  the 
 fiesh  (Rom.  xi.  14).     He  promises  Timothy  the  bishop,  that  in 
 
496   GREATEST  XEED,  AND  GREATEST  WORK  OF  FAITH. 
 
 doing  his  duty  he  should  both  save  himself  and  those  that 
 heard  him  (1  Tim.  iv.  16).  Similarly  he  speaks  of  the  wife 
 saving  her  husband,  and  the  husband  saving  his  wife  (1  Cor. 
 ^di.  16).  Yes,  brethren,  we  may  save  one  another,  and  help 
 one  another  to  escape  from  death  :  this  is  a  great  blessing,  the 
 greatest  and  most  precious  promise  of  rich  grace  for  our  poor 
 souls  !  When  you  would  appropriate  this  in  faith,  your  unbe- 
 lieving fear  may  rise — Alas,  so  many  are  there  of  these  wan- 
 derers and  sinners  in  the  Church,  who  may  dare  to  set  his  hand 
 to  this  work?  But  the  text  does  not  suppose  that  you  are  to  con- 
 vert them  all;  it  does  not  even  speak  of  many ;  but  only  of  one, 
 and  primarily  that  one  who  most  perplexes  and  grieves  you,  who 
 is  most  directly  thrust  upon  your  regards.  Make  the  beginning 
 in  thine  own  sphere;  and  neglect  not  the  one,  in  thy  anxiety  for 
 great  things.  Look  not  at  what  the  sinner  is  in  the  world's 
 view,  neglect  not  and  despise  not  the  very  least  among  them  ! 
 For  one  soul,  created  by  God,  and  which  Christ  hath  pur- 
 chased with  His  blood,  is  worth  more  than  the  whole  world, 
 which  would  be  too  small  a  price  for  its  ransom.  He  who 
 saveth  one  soul  from  death  hath  done  a  great  work ;  he  hath 
 won  for  Christ  a  new  heir  of  the  inheritance,  and  for  himself 
 a  brother  thankful  to  all  eternity. 
 
 He  who  shall  effect  this — says  St  James  finally — shall  cover 
 the  multitude  of  sins;  or,  a  multitude  of  sins.  What  does  he 
 mean  by  that  ?  Does  it  mean  the  sins  of  him  who  converts,  as 
 if  his  own  trespasses  were  repaired  and  atoned  for  by  the  merit 
 of  this  good  work  ?  Very  far  from  it.  He  who  would  convert 
 others,  is  understood  to  be  converted  himself;  and  therefore 
 has  no  longer  a  multitude  of  sins  to  be  covered.  Otherwise, 
 leave  that  work  untouched,  and  care  first  for  thine  own  soul! 
 For  if  the  blind  lead  the  blind,  both  shall  fall  into  the  ditch 
 (Matt.  XV.  14).  St  James  speaks  of  the  sins  of  the  sinner  who 
 is  converted  ;  and  would  teU  us,  that  in  every  individual  sinner 
 in  the  error  of  his  ways  there  is  a  multitude  of  sins.  Yea,  verily, 
 the  life  of  man  without  grace  and  truth  is  full  of  nothing  but 
 sin,  which  waxes  from  day  to  day,  eating  round  and  round  in 
 endless  corruption,  until  a  final  stop  is  put !  Seest  thou  the 
 sinner  and  the  error  of  his  way  before  thme  eyes,  then  thou 
 must  see  and  know  the  multitude  of  his  sins,  without  the  ne- 
 cessity of  his  first  confessing  them.     Then  comes  in  the  work 
 
JAIIES  V.  19,  20.  497 
 
 of  charity^  to  cover  transgressions  and  sins — as  St  James,  like 
 St  Peter,  quotes  the  saying  of  Solomon  (IPet.  iv.  8  ;  Prov.  x.  12). 
 Thus,  first.  If  thou  hast  love,  thou  wilt  not  be  terrified  at  this 
 multitude  of  sins,  as  if  grace  would  no  longer  cover  them ;  thou 
 wilt  not  fear,  as  if  nothing  could  be  done ;  thou  wilt  not  judge 
 and  condemn,  as  if  salvation  were  impossible.  Then,  when  be- 
 fore thine  own  eyes  the  sin  of  thy  redeemed  and  called  brother  is 
 covered,  do  thou  thy  best  to  bring  him  to  the  atonement  for  him- 
 self ;■  set  before  him  the  mercy-seat,  that  he  may  actually  receive 
 forgiveness,  and  with  it  new  life,  freedom  from  sin,  and  sancti- 
 fication  unto  final  blessedness.  This  is  very  different  from  that 
 false  and  effeminate  covering  of  sin  with  the  so-called  mantle 
 of  charity;  that  will  not  suffice  to  cover  and  take  away  sin, 
 either  now  or  in  the  day  of  the  Lord ;  their  multitude  will  remain 
 beneath  it,  unforgiven  and  unhealed. 
 
 Hide  a  multitude  of  sins  I  This  is  the  remarkable  abrupt 
 conclusion  of  the  whole  Epistle ;  which  adds  no  other  word, 
 that  this  one  may  ring  out  for  ever.  Let  us  observe,  first,  how 
 St  James  here,  also,  in  the  last  word  once  more  derives  all,  all 
 from  the  grace  of  reconciliation;  and  presupposes  the  entire 
 new  life  of  the  sinner  saved  from  sin,  his  walking  in  the  truth, 
 as  the  necessary  result  when  the  multitude  of  his  former  sins  is 
 truly  covered.  But  let  us  observe,  further,  how  he  requires  of 
 those  who  have  received  grace,  the  works  and  energies  of  that 
 grace  which  proceed  from  one  soul  to  another !  The  last  and 
 most  urgent  cry  of  his  heart — Save  others  from  death,  as  the 
 Lord  has  saved  you !  he  utters  in  the  form  of  affectionate 
 promise ;  and  with  that  he  suddenly  breaks  off,  as  if  nothing 
 further  or  higher  remained  to  be  said.  But  tliis  cry  must  be 
 urged  upon  all  for  ever,  as  long  as  sinners  are  around  us  in  the 
 multitude  of  their  sins.  It  is  as  if  he  had  said — "  Brethren,  I 
 have  done  my  part  in  this  Epistle,  that  none  of  you  may  remain 
 in  sin  and  error ;  but  my  Epistle  has  not  accompHshed  all ; 
 aU  my  exhortation  and  teaching  will  leave  something  yet  to  be 
 done — let  it  be  your  care  to  do  it  among  yourselves,  that  the 
 work  of  salvation  may  go  on  !" 
 
 The  same  words  let  us  hear  for  ourselves.  The  multitude 
 of  sinners'  sins  is,  alas,  most  awfully  before  our  eyes !  Let  him 
 who  can  joyfully  make  his  boast — Blessed  is  the  man  whose 
 transgressions  are  forgiven,  whose  sin  is  covered!  (Ps.  xxxii.  1) — 
 
 2i 
 
498      GREATEST  NEED,  AND  GREATEST  WORK  OF  FAITH. 
 
 think  of  his  neighbour,  and  desire  to  bring  him  to  the  same 
 blessing !  Let  work  in  faith  and  labour  in  love  (1  Thess.  i.  3) 
 go  on  in  the  Church  for  the  salvation  of  souls  I  The  word 
 which  has  been  preached  to  us,  and  dwelleth  among  us,  is  far 
 from  ha\dng  accomplished  its  work !  Christ  hath  died  and 
 risen  again  for  all ;  but  those  who  live  are  not  yet  His,  not 
 even  in  His  Church.  By  His  people  He  works,  for  the  con- 
 tinual putting  away  of  multitudes  of  sins  ;  saving  one  soul  after 
 another  from  death.  This  is  the  work  of  the  love  which  His 
 Holy  Spirit  sheds  abroad  in  the  hearts  of  believers.  Mav  this 
 love  never  fail  I     Amen. 
 
GENERAL  INDEX  TO   PASSAGES 
 
 TREATED  OF  IN  THE  EIGHT  YOLUMES  OF 
 "WOEDS  OF  THE  LORD  JESUS." 
 
 Matt,  iii  15, 
 „      iv.  10, 
 
 23, 
 
 IV.  17, 
 iv.  19, 
 v.-vii. 
 
 V.  1-48, 
 V.  25,  26, 
 vi.  1-8, 
 vi.  9-13, 
 vi.  14^34, 
 vi.  19-21, 
 vi.  25-33, 
 vii.  1-29, 
 vii.  7-11, 
 vii.  13,  14,  21- 
 viii.  3,  4, 
 viii.  11, 12, 
 viiL  7-13, 
 viii.  20-22, 
 viii.  26, 
 viiL  32, 
 ix.  2-6, 
 ix.  9-13, 
 ix.  15-17, 
 ix.  22, 
 ix.  24, 
 ix.  28-30, 
 ix.  36-38, 
 X.  5-42, 
 X.  19,  20, 
 X.  26-33, 
 X.  34-36, 
 X.  37,  38, 
 xi.  4-30, 
 xii.  3-8, 
 xii.  10,  11, 
 xii.  11-13, 
 xii.  25-45, 
 xii.  31,  32, 
 xii.  48-50, 
 xiii.    . 
 xiii.  11-17, 
 xiii.  3-9,  18-23, 
 xiii.  24-30,  37-43, 
 xiii.  31-33. 
 xiii.  44-50, 
 xiii.  51,  52, 
 xiii.  57, 
 xiv.  16-19, 
 
 Page 
 
 .   Vol  i.  28 
 
 Mat 
 
 i.  34 
 
 i.  81 
 
 85  and  iii.  451 
 
 ,, 
 
 i.  90 
 
 i.  100 
 
 5, 
 
 iv.  13 
 
 „ 
 
 i.  209 
 
 18  and  iii.  527 
 
 jj 
 
 i.  249 
 
 J1 
 
 iv.  13 
 
 „ 
 
 iv.  13 
 
 „ 
 
 i.  275 
 
 ui.  527 
 
 jj 
 
 iv.  52 
 
 J) 
 
 i.  341 
 
 „ 
 
 iv.  52 
 
 ,, 
 
 i.  345 
 
 i.  352 
 
 ^^ 
 
 L362 
 
 ,, 
 
 L367 
 
 „ 
 
 i.  374 
 
 i.381 
 
 J 
 
 L391 
 
 i.  404 
 
 ,, 
 
 i408 
 
 i.414 
 
 .^ 
 
 i416 
 
 ), 
 
 ii.  28 
 
 „ 
 
 iv.  11 
 
 iv.  11 
 
 ^^ 
 
 iv.  13 
 
 >, 
 
 iv.  69 
 
 ,1 
 
 ii.  59 
 
 „ 
 
 ii.  125 
 
 iv.  67 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ii  137 
 
 1, 
 
 ii.  140 
 
 ,1 
 
 iv.  11 
 
 ii.  189 
 
 j^ 
 
 ii.  193 
 
 7? 
 
 ii.  201 
 
 J, 
 
 ii.  213 
 
 ,, 
 
 ii.  229 
 
 ,, 
 
 ii.  248 
 
 1) 
 
 ii.  258 
 
 )/ 
 
 ii.  267 
 
 ,» 
 
 iii.  429 
 
 ,) 
 
 ii.  270 
 
 '? 
 
 Matt.  xiv.  27,  29,  31, 
 XV.  3-20,  ■     . 
 XV.  24,  26,  28, 
 XV.  32-34,      . 
 xvi.  2-4, 
 xvi.  6,  8,  11, 
 xvi.  13-28,    . 
 xvii.  7,  9.  11,  12 
 xvii.  17-21,   . 
 xvii.  20. 
 xvii.  22,  23,  . 
 xvii.  25-27,   . 
 xviii.  3-20 
 xviii.  6,  7,  15,  21, 
 xviii.  12,  13, 
 xviii.  22-35,  . 
 xix.  4-14, 
 xix.  17-xx.  16, 
 XX.  16, 
 
 XX.  18-28,      . 
 xxi.  19-22, 
 xxi.  24-44, 
 xxii.  2-14, 
 xxii.  18-21, 
 xxiL  29-32, 
 xxii.  37^5, 
 xxiii.  2-39, 
 xxiii.  12, 
 xxiii.  37-39, 
 xxiv.  and  xxv. 
 xxiv.  2,  4-28, 
 xxiv.  22-51, 
 xxiv.  17,  18,  23-28, 
 xxiv.  29-44, 
 xxiv.  45-51, 
 xxv.  1-13,     . 
 xxv.  14-30,   . 
 xxv.  31-46,   . 
 xxvi.  2, 
 xxvi.  10-13, 
 xxvi.  18, 
 xxvi.  21-25, 
 xxvi.  26-28, 
 xxvi,  29, 
 xxvi.  31-34,  , 
 xxvi.  36-42.,  . 
 xxvi.  45,  46, . 
 xxvi.  50, 
 xxvi.  52-54,  • 
 
 Page 
 
 Yol.  ii.  277 
 
 ii.  283 
 
 ii.  303 
 
 iL311 
 
 ii.  315  and  iv.    13 
 
 u.  321  and  iv.    11 
 
 ii.  328 
 
 ii.  361 
 
 ii.  372 
 
 iv.  250 
 
 ii.  384 
 
 ii.  386 
 
 ii.  392  and  iii.  397 
 
 iv.  250 
 
 iv.  107 
 ii.  429 
 iii.     1 
 
 m. 
 
 iv. 
 
 uu 
 
 22 
 
 52 
 
 62 
 
 97 
 
 iii.  105 
 
 iii.  131  and  iv.    69 
 
 iiL145 
 
 iii.  157 
 
 iii.  176 
 
 iii.  204  and  iv.      4 
 
 iv.   69 
 
 iv.    59 
 
 iii.  244 
 
 iii.  251 
 
 iv.    13 
 
 37-41,  iv.  269 
 
 iii.  279 
 
 iii.  300 
 
 iii.  305 
 
 iii.  318  and  iv.  321 
 
 iii.  331 
 
 Vll.        1 
 
 vi.  58 
 vii.  7 
 vii.  40 
 vii.  67 
 vii.  163 
 vii.  182 
 vii.  218 
 vii.  260 
 vii.  276 
 vii.  290 
 
500 
 
 GENEKAL  INDEX  TO  PASSAGES. 
 
 Page 
 
 Page 
 .   Vol.  vii.  298 
 
 Matt.  xxvi.  55,  56, 
 
 Vol.  vii.  298 
 
 Mark  xiv.  48,  49,    . 
 
 >i 
 
 xxvi.  64, 
 
 vii.  321 
 
 n 
 
 xiv.  62, 
 
 vii.  321 
 
 n 
 
 xxvii.  11,       . 
 
 vii.  341 
 
 11 
 
 XV.  2, 
 
 vii.  341 
 
 11 
 
 xxvii.  46, 
 
 vii.  479 
 
 11 
 
 XV.  34, 
 
 vii.  479 
 
 11 
 
 xxviii.  9,  10, 
 
 viii.    90 
 
 11 
 
 xvi.  14, 
 
 viii.  138 
 
 n 
 
 xxviii.  18-20, 
 
 viii.  277 
 
 xvi.  15-18,     . 
 
 viii.  227 
 
 Mark  i.  15,              .        i. 
 
 81  and  iii.  451 
 
 LUK 
 
 E  ii.  49, 
 
 i.  18 
 
 11 
 
 i.  17, 
 
 i.    85 
 
 J, 
 
 iv.  4,  8,  12,      . 
 
 i.  34 
 
 „ 
 
 i.  25, 
 
 iii.  375 
 
 ,J 
 
 iv.  4, 10, 
 
 i.  85 
 
 „ 
 
 i.  38, 
 
 iii.  378 
 
 ^J 
 
 iv.  17-27, 
 
 iii.  429 
 
 „ 
 
 i.  41-44, 
 
 i.  341 
 
 ^, 
 
 iv.  35, 
 
 iii.  375 
 
 11 
 
 ii.  5,  8,  8-11,  . 
 
 i.  374 
 
 ^J 
 
 iv.  43, 
 
 iii.  378 
 
 „ 
 
 ii.  14-17, 
 
 i.  381 
 
 ^J 
 
 V.  4-10, 
 
 iii.  451 
 
 „ 
 
 ii.  19-22, 
 
 i.  391 
 
 ^^ 
 
 V.  13,  14, 
 
 i.  341 
 
 „ 
 
 ii.  23-28, 
 
 ii.  125 
 
 ^^ 
 
 V.  20,  22-24,    . 
 
 i.  374 
 
 „ 
 
 iii.  3-5, 
 
 ii.  137 
 
 ^J 
 
 V.  27-32, 
 
 i.  381 
 
 11 
 
 iii.  9, 17, 
 
 iii.  381 
 
 JJ 
 
 V.  35-39, 
 
 i.  391 
 
 H 
 
 iii.  23-29,       . 
 
 ii.  140 
 
 ^J 
 
 vi.  3-5, 
 
 ii.  125 
 
 11 
 
 iii.  33-35,       . 
 
 ii.  189 
 
 ^J 
 
 vi.  8-10, 
 
 ii.  137 
 
 11 
 
 iv.  11,  12,  21-25, 
 
 ii.  201 
 
 ^J 
 
 vi.  20-49, 
 
 i.  90,  326 
 
 11 
 
 iv.  3-9,  13-20, 
 
 ii.  213 
 
 )> 
 
 vii.  9, 
 
 i.  345 
 
 »1 
 
 iv.  26-29,       . 
 
 iii.  384 
 
 11 
 
 vii.  13,  14,       . 
 
 iii.  454 
 
 )) 
 
 iv.  30-32,       . 
 
 ii.  248 
 
 11 
 
 vii.  22-35,       . 
 
 ii.    59 
 
 11 
 
 iv.  35-39,  40, 
 
 i.  362 
 
 11 
 
 vii.  40-50,       . 
 
 iii.  458 
 
 „ 
 
 V.   8,9,19, 
 
 i.  367 
 
 u 
 
 viii.  5-8,  11-15, 
 
 ii.  213 
 
 „ 
 
 V.  30-34, 
 
 i.  404 
 
 5> 
 
 viii.  10,  16,  18, 
 
 ii.  201 
 
 „ 
 
 V.  36-41  (43), 
 
 i.  408 
 
 viii.  21, 
 
 ii.  189 
 
 „ 
 
 vi.  4, 
 
 iii.  429 
 
 1) 
 
 viii.  22-25,      . 
 
 i.  362 
 
 11 
 
 vi.  8-11, 
 
 ii.      1 
 
 viii.  30-39,      . 
 
 i.  367 
 
 vi.  31,  37-41, 
 
 ii.  270 
 
 11 
 
 viii.  45-48,      . 
 
 i.  404 
 
 „ 
 
 vi.  34, 
 
 i.  416 
 
 11 
 
 viii.  50-54,  (55.  56), 
 
 i.  408 
 
 11 
 
 vi.  50, 
 
 ii.  277 
 
 11 
 
 ix.  3-5, 
 
 ii.      1 
 
 11 
 
 vii.  6-23, 
 
 ii.  283 
 
 11 
 
 ix.  13-16, 
 
 ii.  270 
 
 11 
 
 vii.  27,  29,      . 
 
 ii.  303 
 
 ix.  18-27, 
 
 ii.  328 
 
 11 
 
 vii.  34-36,      . 
 
 iii.  391 
 
 11 
 
 ix.  41, 
 
 ii.  372 
 
 11 
 
 viii.  2,  3,  5,    . 
 
 ii.  311 
 
 11 
 
 ix.  44, 
 
 ii.  384 
 
 11 
 
 viii.  12, 
 
 ii.  315 
 
 J) 
 
 ix.  48-50,         .     ii.  3C 
 
 )2  and  iii.  397 
 
 11 
 
 viii.  15,  17-21, 
 
 ii.  321 
 
 11 
 
 ix.  55,  56, 
 
 iii.  474 
 
 „ 
 
 viii.  23,  25,  26, 
 
 iii.  395 
 
 11 
 
 ix.  58-60, 
 
 i.  352 
 
 11 
 
 viii.  27 — ix.  1, 
 
 ii.  328 
 
 11 
 
 ix.  62, 
 
 iii.  480 
 
 11 
 
 ix  9,  12,  13, 
 
 ii.  361 
 
 )) 
 
 X.  2,     . 
 
 i.  416 
 
 ix.  16,  19,  21,  29,      . 
 
 ii.  372 
 
 X.  2-16, 
 
 iii.  484 
 
 >) 
 
 ix.  31, 
 
 ii.  384 
 
 X.  18-24, 
 
 iii.  488 
 
 11 
 
 ix.  33-50,       .      ii.  3[ 
 
 )2  and  iii.  397 
 
 X.  26-37, 
 
 iii.  498 
 
 >1 
 
 X.  3-16, 
 
 iii.      1 
 
 X.  41,  42, 
 
 iii.  515 
 
 X.  18-31, 
 
 iii.    22 
 
 xi.  2-13, 
 
 iii.  527 
 
 „ 
 
 X.  33-45, 
 
 iii.    62 
 
 xi.  17-36, 
 
 ii.  140 
 
 11 
 
 xi.  14,  22,  26, 
 
 iii.    97 
 
 xi.  28, 
 
 iv.      1 
 
 11 
 
 xi.  29  ;  xii.  11, 
 
 iii.  105 
 
 xi.  39-52, 
 
 iv.      4 
 
 11 
 
 xii.  15-17,     . 
 
 iii.  145 
 
 xii.  1-12, 
 
 iv.    11 
 
 » 
 
 xii.  24-27,      . 
 
 iii.  157 
 
 xii.  14-59,       . 
 
 iv.    13 
 
 51 
 
 xii.  29-87,      . 
 
 iii.  176 
 
 xii.  42-46,       . 
 
 iii.  300 
 
 11 
 
 xii.  38-40,      . 
 
 iii.  204 
 
 xiii.  2-9, 
 
 iv.    38 
 
 11 
 
 xii.  43,  44,      . 
 
 iii.  424 
 
 xiii.  8-21,        . 
 
 ii.  248 
 
 •)) 
 
 xiii.  2,  5-23, 
 
 iii.  251 
 
 xiii.  12,  15,  16, 
 
 iv.    47 
 
 11 
 
 xiii.  24-33,    . 
 
 iii.  279 
 
 xiii.  24-30,      . 
 
 iv.    52 
 
 11 
 
 xiii.  34-37,     . 
 
 iii.  300 
 
 xiii.  32-35,      . 
 
 iv.    69 
 
 11 
 
 xiv.  6-9, 
 
 vi.    58 
 
 xiv.  3-5, 
 
 iv.    67 
 
 11 
 
 xiv.  13-15,     . 
 
 vii.      7 
 
 xiv.  8-35, 
 
 iv.    69 
 
 „ 
 
 xiv.  18-21,     . 
 
 vii.    40 
 
 J^ 
 
 XV.  4-xvi.  31, 
 
 iv.  101 
 
 11 
 
 xiv  22-24,     . 
 
 vii.    67 
 
 ^^ 
 
 XV.  4-10, 
 
 iv.  107 
 
 11 
 
 xiv.  25, 
 
 vii.  163 
 
 „ 
 
 XV.  11-32.       . 
 
 iv.  121 
 
 11 
 
 xiv.  27-30,    . 
 
 vii.  182 
 
 J 
 
 xvi.  1-13. 
 
 iv.  163 
 
 11 
 
 xiv.  32-39,    . 
 
 .  vii.  218 
 
 1} 
 
 xvi.  15-3J,      . 
 
 iv.  200 
 
 )) 
 
 siv.  41,  42,    . 
 
 vii.  260 
 
 u 
 
 xvii.  1-10,       . 
 
 iv.  250 
 
GENERAL  INDEX  TO  PASSAGES. 
 
 501 
 
 Papre 
 
 ) 
 
 Pace 
 
 LCK 
 
 E  xvii.  3,  4, 
 
 .     Vol.  ii.  429 
 
 John  vi.  26-58, 
 
 .      Vol.  V.  149 
 
 ^^ 
 
 xvii.  14,  17-19, 
 
 iv.  264 
 
 „      vi.  61-G5,       . 
 
 V.  205 
 
 ^^ 
 
 XTiii.  2-8, 
 
 iv.  287 
 
 „      vi.  67-70, 
 
 V.  225 
 
 ^^ 
 
 xviii.  10-14,  . 
 
 iv.  297 
 
 „      \-ii.  6-8, 
 
 V.  233 
 
 J) 
 
 xviii.  16,  17,  . 
 
 iii.      1 
 
 „      vii.  16-29,      . 
 
 V.  243 
 
 xviii.  18-30,    . 
 
 iii.    22 
 
 „      vii.  33, 34,      . 
 
 V.  270 
 
 JJ 
 
 xviii.  20-37,   . 
 
 iv.  269 
 
 „      vii.  33,  38,      . 
 
 V.  276 
 
 JJ 
 
 xviii.  31-33.  . 
 
 iii.    62 
 
 „      viii.  7, 10,  11, 
 
 V.  293 
 
 J^ 
 
 xix.  5,  9.  10,  . 
 
 iv.  314 
 
 „      viii.  12-19,     . 
 
 V.  314 
 
 » 
 
 xix.  12-27,      .   iv.,  3 
 
 21  and  iii.  138 
 
 „      viii.  21-58,     . 
 
 V.  330 
 
 » 
 
 xix.  19,  20,     . 
 
 vii.    67 
 
 „      ix.  3-7,  35-37, 
 
 V.  421 
 
 ;t 
 
 xix.  40,  42-44, 
 
 iv.  328 
 
 „      ix.  39-x.  18,  . 
 
 V.  448 
 
 11 
 
 XX.  3-18, 
 
 iii.  105 
 
 „      X.  25-30, 
 
 V.  484 
 
 t) 
 
 XX.  23-25,       . 
 
 iii.  145 
 
 „      X.  32-38, 
 
 V.  494 
 
 XX.  34-38,       , 
 
 iii.  157 
 
 „      xi,  4,  7,  9-11,  14, 15, 
 
 r-l 
 
 ^^ 
 
 XX.  41-44, 
 
 iii.  176 
 
 „      xi.  23,  25,  26, 
 
 \'i.    20 
 
 )) 
 
 XX.  46,  47  (xi.  39-5 
 
 2,  xiii. 
 
 „      xi.  34,  39-44, 
 
 vi.    33 
 
 34,  35),       . 
 
 iii.  204 
 
 „      xii.  7,  8, 
 
 vi.    58 
 
 )? 
 
 xxi.  3,  4, 
 
 iii.  424 
 
 „      xii.  23-36,      . 
 
 vi.    75 
 
 >7 
 
 xxi.  6,  8-24,  . 
 
 iii.  251 
 
 „      xii.  44-50,      . 
 
 vi.  101 
 
 51 
 
 xxi.  25-36,      . 
 
 iii.  279 
 
 .,      xiii.  7-20,       . 
 
 vi.  110 
 
 )) 
 
 xxii.  1, 
 
 vii.  285 
 
 ;,      xiii.  21» 
 
 vii.    40 
 
 » 
 
 x\ii.  8-12,      . 
 
 vii.      7 
 
 „      xiii.  23-29,    . 
 
 ,  vii.  168 
 
 ?» 
 
 xxii.  15-18,    . 
 
 vii.    32 
 
 „      xiii.  26,  27,    . 
 
 vi.  142 
 
 »J 
 
 xxii.  21,  22,    . 
 
 vii.  168 
 
 „      xiii.  31-35,     . 
 
 vi.  150 
 
 ?> 
 
 xxii.  22, 
 
 vii.    40 
 
 „      xiii.  36-38,    .    vi.  1< 
 
 3  and  A-ii.  170 
 
 xxii.  25-30,    . 
 
 vii.    16 
 
 „      xiv.  1-31,       . 
 
 vi.  176 
 
 ,, 
 
 xxii.  31-34,    . 
 
 vii.  170 
 
 „      xiv.  1-10,       . 
 
 vi.  182 
 
 ?J 
 
 yxii.  34, 
 
 vi.  173 
 
 „      xiv.  11-24,     . 
 
 vi.  209 
 
 »» 
 
 xxii.  35-38,     . 
 
 vii.  199 
 
 „      xiv.  25-31,     . 
 
 vi.  245 
 
 ?» 
 
 xxii.  40-42,  46, 
 
 vii.  218 
 
 „      XV.  1-6, 
 
 vi.  266 
 
 /» 
 
 xxii.  46, 
 
 vii.  260 
 
 „      XV.  7-17, 
 
 vi.  286 
 
 xxii.  48, 
 
 vii.  276 
 
 „      XV.  18-25,      . 
 
 vi.  301 
 
 >» 
 
 xxii.  52,  53,    . 
 
 vii.  298 
 
 „      XV.  26-xvi.  4, 
 
 vi.  319 
 
 » 
 
 xxii.  67-70,    . 
 
 vii.  336 
 
 „      xvi.  5-15,       . 
 
 vi.  335 
 
 n 
 
 xxiii.  3, 
 
 vii.  341 
 
 „      xvi.  16-24,    . 
 
 vi.  373 
 
 M 
 
 xxiii.  28-31,  . 
 
 vii.  415 
 
 „      xvi.  25-33,     . 
 
 vi.  397 
 
 xxiii.  34, 
 
 vii.  434 
 
 „      xvii. 
 
 vi.  421 
 
 >» 
 
 xxiii.  43, 
 
 vii.  446 
 
 ,,      xviii.  4,  7,  8, 
 
 vii.  265 
 
 1) 
 
 xxiii.  46, 
 
 ^^ii.    27 
 
 „      xviii.  11, 
 
 vii.  290 
 
 )> 
 
 xxiv.  17,  27,  . 
 
 \'iii.  100 
 
 „      xviii.  20,  21,  23, 
 
 vii.  304 
 
 »/ 
 
 xxiv.  36^1,  . 
 
 viii.  138 
 
 „      xviii.  34-37, 
 
 vii.  341 
 
 xxiv.  44-49,  . 
 
 viii.  387 
 
 „      xix.  11, 
 
 vii.  383 
 
 'JOIFN 
 
 i.  38-51, 
 
 i.    48 
 
 „      xix.  26,  27,    . 
 
 vii.  467 
 
 )) 
 
 ii.  4-8, 
 
 i.    61 
 
 „      xix.  28, 
 
 viii.      1 
 
 »> 
 
 ii.  16-19, 
 
 i.    67 
 
 „      xix.  30, 
 
 viii.    18 
 
 » 
 
 iii.  3-21, 
 
 iv.  359 
 
 „      XX.  15-17, 
 
 viii.    50 
 
 ?j 
 
 iv.  7-26, 
 
 V.        1 
 
 „      XX.  19-23,      . 
 
 viii.  138 
 
 >? 
 
 iv.  32-38,       . 
 
 V.    50 
 
 „      XX.  26-29,      . 
 
 viii.  177 
 
 V 
 
 iv.  48-50,       . 
 
 V.    66 
 
 „      xxi.  5,  6,  10,  12, 
 
 viii.  205 
 
 55 
 
 V.  6,  8,  14,      . 
 
 V.    74 
 
 „      xxi.  15-22,     . 
 
 viii.  229 
 
 V.  7.  19^7,    . 
 
 V.    83 
 
 Acts  i.  4-8, 
 
 viii.  410 
 
 1» 
 
 vi.  5, 10-12,  , 
 
 ii.  276 
 
 1  Cor.  xi.  24,  26,     . 
 
 vii.    67' 
 
 vi.  20, 
 
 ii.  277 
 
 THE  END. 
 
WiovU  ^ublislIjfK  bv  C.  anti  €,  Clark,  etJtnturg:!). 
 ^       In  one  volume,  8vo,  price  8s.  6d., 
 
 CALYIN: 
 
 HIS    LIFE,    LABOURS,    AND    WRITINGS. 
 
 BY  FELIX  BUNGENER, 
 
 Author  of  the  '  History  of  the  Council  of  Trent,'  etc.,  etc. 
 
 OPINIONS  OF  THE   PRESS. 
 
 '  M.  Bungener's  French  vivacity  has  admirably  combined  with  critical  care 
 and  with  admiring  reverence,  to  furnish  what  we  venture  to  think  the  best 
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 In  two  volumes,  Svo,  price  14s.  (1300  pages), 
 
 THE  INSTITUTES  OP  THE  CHEISTIAN  EELIGION, 
 
 BY    JOHN    CAIiVrN. 
 
 TRANSLATED    BY    HENRY    BEYERIDGE. 
 
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 Edinburgh:  T.  &  T.  CLARK.    London:  HAMILTON,  ADAMS,  &  CO. 
 
"mox'hi  3^Mi^l)t'ti  bo  C.  ana  €.  Claris,  €iftni5urg;f). 
 In  Two  Volumes,  crown  8vo,  price  10s.  6d., 
 
 MODERN    PANTHEISM: 
 
 ESSAY  ON  EELIGIOUS   PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 By    M.    EMILEI    SAISSET, 
 
 Professor  of  the  History  of  Philosophy  in  the  Faculty  of  Letters  in  Paris. 
 
 TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  FRENCH. 
 
 WITH 
 
 MARGINAL  ANALYSIS,  NOTES,  CRITICAL  ESSAY,  AND 
 PHILOSOPHICAL  APPENDIX. 
 
 The  original  draft  of  this  work  obtained  the  prize  offered  by  the  Academy  of 
 Moral  and  Political  Sciences  on  the  following  subject:  Examen  Critique  des 
 Principaux  Systemes  Modernes  de  Theodicee.  The  second  edition  carried  off  the 
 first  of  the  great  Monthyon  Prizes  of  the  French  Academy. 
 
 This  work  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  noble  testimony  of  reason  to  the 
 Personahty  of  God.  The  Metaphysics  of  Pantheism,  from  Spinoza  to  Hegel,  is 
 accurately  analyzed.  The  strength  and  weakness  of  the  Theistic  systems  of 
 Descartes,  Malebranche,  Leibnitz,  and  Newton,  are  tested  and  ascertained. 
 M.  Saisset  has  shown  that  Pantheism  alternately  dilates  the  Being  of  beings  into 
 the  monstrous  God  who  is  All,  or  dilutes  Him  into  the  shadowy  God,  who  is  no- 
 thing ;  that  it  is  founded  upon  precarious  deductions  from  that  experience  which 
 it  condemns  ;  that  its  vaunted  principles  are  word-jugghngs,  false  to  the  verge  of 
 madness  ;  that  it  leads  the  soul  to  an  abyss  of  darkness,  without  morahty,  im- 
 mortality, or  God.  He  has  done  this,  not  merely  by  demonstrating  the  impotence 
 of  human  reason,  but,  with  metaphysical  good  sense  as  weU  as  subtlety,  showing 
 that  God  is  hght  as  well  as  darkness,  and  that  reason  has  its  strength  as  well  as 
 its  weakness. 
 
 *  As  a  handbook  to  the  theological  side  of  modem  speculation,  it  is  a  most  valuable 
 addition  to  philosophical  literature.  The  translation  is  clear  and,  at  the  same  time, 
 idiomatic ;  it  is  English  in  its  language,  French  in  the  transparency  of  its  expression.'— 
 Saturday  Revieio. 
 
 '  M.  Saisset  is  as  honest  and  impartial  as  a  critic  can  be.' — Rev.  F.  D.  Maurice. 
 
 *  On  the  whole,  we  have  in  this  book  a  great  work  well  translated  and  carefully  edited. 
 Some  passages  there  are  in  the  text,  never  in  the  notes,  which  a  Christian  will  suspect  as 
 erroneous,  or  lament  as  deficient.  But  to  those  great  truths  which  Aquinas  has  called 
 "the  preamble  of    the  faith,"  it  forms  a  solid  and  beautiful  testimony.' —  CArisfian 
 
 Edinburgh:  T.  &  T.  CLARK.    London:  HAMILTON,  ADAMS,  &  CO. 
 
DATE  DUE 
 
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 CAYLORO 
 
 PHINTEOINU   S.A. 
 
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