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AN 
 
 AMERICAN COMMENTARY 
 
 ON THE 
 
 NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 ALVAH HOVEY. D.D., LL.D. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 
 
 1420 Chestnut Street. 
 
COMMENTARY 
 
 ON THE 
 
 EPISTLE OF JAMES. 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWIN T. WINKLER, D. D. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 
 
 1420 Chestnut Street. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1888, by the 
 
 AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 
 
 in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at AA/'ashington. 
 
INTRODUCTION TO THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 
 
 I. AUTHOR OF THE EPISTLE. 
 
 The title assumed by our author, "Servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ" 
 (1 : 1), would of itself naturally suggest the conclusion that he was not an apostle, and 
 hence that he must be identified neither with James the son of Zebedee, nor James 
 the Little, the son of Alphgeus — both of whom were upon the apostolic lists — but rather 
 with the James whom the gospels and epistles designate as " the Lord's brother" (Matt. 
 13 : 55 ; Mark 6:3; Gal. 1 : 19), and who, as appears from the history (Acts 12 : 17 ; 
 15 : 13 ff. ; 21 : 18 seq.), and also from Paul's testimony (Gal. 2 : 9), had great influence in 
 the mother-church at Jerusalem. James the Elder, the son of Zebedee, and the brother 
 of John the Evangelist, fell a victim at an early period (about A. D. 42) to his impetuous 
 zeal in propagating the gospel. (Acts 12 : 2.) Even sooner than he does James, the son of 
 Alphaeus, disappear from the evangelic history, having probably encountered a similar 
 fete in regions remote from Palestine. James, the brother of the Lord, and the brother 
 of Jude (Jude 1), lived, says Hegesippus, until the destruction of Jerusalem was near at 
 hand ; and during that period (extending according to Josephus to the year A. D. 63), 
 exercised pastoral authority in the metropolitan church of the Jewish Christians. The 
 Jews recognized him as a righteous man, and tradition gives him the title of "the Just." 
 To this eminent disciple every probability assigns the authorship of the Epistle — a conclu- 
 sion in which the majority of interpreters are agreed. 
 
 Yet there is a pretty general unwillingness to accept the literal statement that this 
 James was the brother of our Lord ; the deep-rooted prejudice in favor of the celibacy of 
 the Virgin Mother being the main difficulty in the way. 
 
 Hence, some have insisted that James, the Lord's brother, was the same person as 
 James the Little, the son of Alphaeus. They argue that Alphaeus is the Greek form of 
 the Hebrew Cleophas ; that Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and the mother of James and 
 Joses (Mark 15 : 40), was sister to Marj', the mother of Jesus ; that James was therefore 
 the cousin of Jesus, and that merely that remoter relationship may be indicated by the 
 title, "Brother of the Lord." 
 
 But these positions are not tenable. For, 1. The evidence is not entirely satisfactory 
 that Alphaeus and Cleophas are the same name. 2. It is highly improbable that two 
 sisters should have each had the same name. 3. It i? quite certain that Mary, the wife 
 of Cleophas, was not the sister of Mary, the wife of Joseph. There were four women at 
 the cross of Jesus, one of whom was "his mother's sister." (John 19 : 25.) She was not 
 named by John, who here displays his characteristic modesty, for she was his own mother, 
 Salome ; but this omission is supplied by the other evangelists. (Matt. 27 : 56 ; Mark 
 15 : 40.) 4. The employment of the title " brother" to indicate a cousin is contrary to 
 usage. The more tender title for such a kinsman could only be used under special cir- 
 cumstances, but by no means as a common designation. 5. And finally, neither James, 
 
 6 
 
6 INTEODUCTION TO THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 
 
 nor any other of the brothers of Jesus, was ranked among the twelve. " The brothers of 
 Jesus " were distinguished from the apostles, both during the early ministry of our Lord 
 (Matt. 12 : 46), and after the resurrection, when for the first time they believed on him. 
 (John 7:5; Acts 1 : 14.) The phraseology of Gral. 1 : 19 and 1 Cor. 15 : 7 does not 
 contradict this conclusion — the former of these texts signifying " other of the apostles saw 
 I not, but I saw James," and the latter that Christ appeared not only to James, but to 
 all the apostles. 
 
 Other interpreters, however, who recognize James with his brothers and sisters as the 
 members of Mary's immediate fiimily (Matt. 12 : 46 ; Luke 8 : 19), maintain (after Ori- 
 gen) that these were not the children of Mary and Joseph, but the children of the latter 
 by a previous marriage. But this conclusion is also without just grounds, and is plainly 
 dictated by a low idea of the sacredness of the marriage relation, an idea wholly foreign to 
 the inspired writers, and to the Hebrew people. As to the evangelists, they have no 
 hesitation in representing Mary as the wife of Joseph, after the birth of our Lord. For, 
 1. Jesus is designated as Mary's "first born son," an expression which naturally, if not 
 necessarily, implies that other children followed. 2. It is stated that Joseph "knew not 
 his wife " until after the birth of Jesus (Matt. 1 : 25), which proves that he did then 
 assume the full conjugal relation. 3. There is nothing whatever to warrant the supposi- 
 tion that Joseph was a widower at the time when he married Mary, or that the brothers 
 and sisters of Jesus were not Mary's children by Joseph. And in this connection it may be 
 added, as Angus shrewdly observes, that if they were Joseph's elder children, Jesus would 
 not have been the heir to David's throne. (Note on Matt. 13 : 55.) 4. We read of only 
 one wife to Joseph ; and it is she who appears as the head of the family, in the circle of 
 their children, the type of the household of the redeemed. (Matt. 12 : 50.) This common 
 association suggests that jMary was their mother, a conclusion which Lightfoot would neg- 
 ative by the suggestion that our Lord's brethren, being always in the company, and under 
 the direction of Mary, may be explained by the fact that Joseph was already dead. This 
 is not, indeed, impossible ; and yet in John 6 : 42, Joseph seems referred to as then living : 
 "Whose father and mother we Joioio.''' 5. And finally, the main argument upon which 
 Lightfoot relies, that had James been the son of Mary, Jesus would not have committed 
 her to the care of John, does not avail if, as is quite conceivable, John was in a condition 
 to take care of Mary, as James and the other brothers could not. But see Lightfoot on 
 Galatians, Diss. II. 
 
 II. CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS. 
 
 The characteristic qualities of James may to some extent be inferred from the Epistle. 
 That he was a man of culture may be concluded from his easy and generally perspic- 
 uous Greek, which, however, is not without a tinge of Hebrew symbolism and sententious- 
 ness : and also from the form of the Epistle, which is arranged after the order of a 
 Greek oration, and already aflFords a type of the modern sermon, having an exordium, a 
 division into three heads which are separately considered, and finally a peroration by 
 recai)itulation. Especially do the allusions of James show a familiarity with the ethical 
 books of his people, both the canonical and the apocryphal. 
 
 That James had a poetic sym]iathy with nature is apparent in the number of figures 
 and local allusions which he employs, and which are racy of Palestine. Thus he speaks 
 of the sea in phrases full of expression (1 : 6 ; 3 : 4) ; of the flowers (1 : 10) ; of the fig, 
 the olive, and the vine (3 : 12) ; of the fresh and salt springs of his native country (3 : 11, 
 
INTRODUCTION TO THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 7 
 
 12) ; of the drought (5 : 17, 18) ; of the Simoom from the Arabian Desert (1 : 11) ; and 
 of the early and tlie hitter rains. In the changeful objects around liim he discerned the 
 types of spiritual and eternal realities. 
 
 Further, that our writer was pre-eminently, as he denominates himself, " a servant of 
 God and of our Lord Jesus Christ," appears from the entire tone of his Epistle. He 
 commended faith, heavenly wisdom, and prayer ; he urged docility, reticence, and self- 
 control ; he insisted upon fraternity, charity, and forgiveness ; he proclaimed that a reli- 
 gion which had no restraining influence over the passions and no formative influence over 
 the character and the conduct was utterly worthless in the sight of God. In the spirit, 
 and in not a few of the expressions, of his Epistle, he displays a striking family hkeness 
 to that greater preacher who gave the world the sermon on the Mount. James also em- 
 ploys the didactic style, sentences sharply proverbial, and a variety of illustrations and 
 examples, as the best appliances for interesting and instructing the popular mind. He 
 dispensed "wisdom's dole at wisdom's gate." (Prov. 8 : 34.) 
 
 III. DESTINATION OF THE EPISTLE. 
 
 The difficulty of deciding satisfoctorily to what class of readers the Epistle was 
 addressed, shows that it belongs to the archaic age of Christianity, when nice distinctions 
 had not yet been established ; when the Jews of the Dispersion (1:1) had not yet 
 set themselves against the Lord and his anointed ; when the Jewish Christians still 
 recognized their place of worship, as a synagogue (rendered " assembly " in our Version, 
 2 : 2) and retained much of the old ritual service (1 : 27) ; and when believing Gentiles 
 were regarded as having entered into fellowship with Israel, just as the proselytes 
 had been recognized as Jews. The age was chaotic. The light shone in the darkness 
 and the darkness comprehended it not. These peculiar circumstances explain the inde- 
 terminateness of the address. Those whom James had mainly in view were, beyond 
 all question, Jewish Christians, who had been begotten through the word of truth 
 (1 : 18); who had exercised faith in Christ (2: 1, 14); and had been baptized into 
 his name (2 : 7) ; and whose hope in persecution was fixed upon the coming of the 
 Lord (5 : 7). But, in the address, James comprehended others also. With a love 
 that followed his people in their estrangements, and with a prescient hope that many of 
 them would be convicted of sin through their own violated law, and be brought to repent- 
 ance and salvation, he addressed his Epistle to the Jews of the Dispersion, the twelve 
 tribes whose nationality was now broken up. He appealed to the rich among them, who 
 largely belonged to the sect of the Sadducees, and had control of the civil power which 
 they employed against the poor Christians, and he urged them to the exercise of justice 
 and humanity. He attacked the barren orthodoxy of the Pharisees, who supposed that 
 their knowledge of God sufficed for salvation, and whose teachings were not without a 
 pernicious influence upon the Christians themselves. And he corrected the false estimates 
 of the worth of that mere ceremonial worship, which prevailed extensively among all 
 classes. In short, the Epistle, as it had the character, had also the scope of a sermon. 
 
 Not only the salutation (1:1; comp. Matt. 15 : 24 ; 1 Peter 1:1), but also the simi- 
 larity of the themes discussed, and even of the expressions used, show that the author 
 of this Epistle had in view the same classes of persons to whom our Lord preached, and 
 to whom the First Epistle of Peter was addressed. They also illustrate the character and 
 condition of these persons, by presenting the themes most famiharly insisted, upon by the. 
 earliest preachers of Christianity. 
 
8 INTRODUCTION TO THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 
 
 To the Sermon on the Mount, the allusions of James are distinct and frequent : Com- 
 pare 1 : 2, on joy in trial, with Matt. 5:12; James 1 : 4, on Christian perfection, with Matt. 
 5 : 48 ; James 1 : 5 ; 5 : 15, on prayer, with Matt. 7 : 7-12 ; James 1 : 9 ; 4 : 11, on the 
 exaltation of the lowly, with Matt. 5 : 3, 4 ; James 1 : 20, on the wrath of man, with Matt. 
 5 : 22 ; James 2 : 13, on judgment without mercy, with Matt. 6 : 14, 15 ; 5:7; James 2 : 
 14, on faith without works, with Matt. 7 : 21-23 ; James 3 : 17, 18, on peaceful and gentle 
 wisdom, with Matt. 5:9; James 4: 7, on friendship with the world, with Matt. 6 : 24 ; 
 James 4: 11, on censorious judgments, with Matt. 7: 1-5; James 5 : 2, on perishing 
 riches, with Matt. 6 : 19 ; James 5 : 10, on the endurance of the prophets, with Matt. 5 : 
 12 ; James 5 : 12, on swearing, with Matt. 5 : 33-37.^ 
 
 On the other hand, Peter as freely repeats the language and thought of James, as the 
 latter quotes from the Sermon on the Mount. Compare 1 : 2, on joy in temptations, 
 with 1 Peter 4 : 12, 13 ; James 1 : 11, on the withering grass and fading flowers, with 1 
 Peter 1 : 24; James 1 : 18, on spiritual birth, with 1 Peter 1 : 3, which supplements it; 
 James 1 : 21, on amendment of life and growth in knowledge, with 1 Peter 2:1; James 
 2 : 7, on blaspheming the name of Christ, with 1 Peter 4 : 14, where this is instanced in 
 the reproach of Christ's people ; James 3 : 13, on commending the gospel by good conduct, 
 with 1 Peter 2 : 12 ; James 4 : 1, on the lusts warring within, with 1 Peter 2:11; James 
 4 : 6, on God's dealings with the proud and the humble, with 1 Peter 5 : 5, 6 ; James 4 : 7, 
 on submitting to God and resisting the devil, with 1 Peter 5 : 6-9 ; James 4 : 10, on 
 humility and exaltation, with 1 Peter 5:6; and, finally, James 5 : 20, on hiding a multi- 
 tude of sins, with 1 Peter 4 : 8, which explains the statement. In some of these 
 instances of parallelism the two writers doubtless drew from the common source indicated 
 above. On the relation of the two Epistles, Van Oosterzee remarks: "The twofold 
 tendency of the Epistles of Peter, consolation and exhortatioii, is, in the Epistle of James, 
 blended into one." " N. T. Theol.," | 31, 6. 
 
 IV. AIM OF THE EPISTLE. 
 
 The primary design of the Epistle was to encourage holy living amid the peculiar 
 temptations and trials to which the Jewish Christians were exposed. Hence, whatever 
 considerations were calculated to produce patient steadfastness, unworldliness, and mutual 
 serviceableness were earnestly insisted upon ; those offences which disturbed the purity 
 and peace of the churches were sternly reprobated ; and, in particular, the abuse of the 
 doctrines of Divine Sovereignty as related to sin, and of salvation by faith, was emphatically 
 condemned. On the other hand, the oppressors of Christians were denounced for their 
 injustice, and were threatened with speedy retribution. The homiletical character of the 
 Epistle allowed easily of such changes of address. The letter was sent to the care of no 
 special church or group of churches. It is a catholic, or general. Epistle ; it was intended 
 to be multiplied and circulated as widely as possible, so that it might correct improprieties 
 in the growing and poorly-supplied churches, and instruct the minds and consciences of 
 individual believers. 
 
 V. TIME OF COMPOSITION. 
 
 From the style and contents of the Epistle, we may infer that it was the first of this 
 class of New Testament writings — a place which it holds in the oldest manuscripts. 
 
 lAthanasius states that the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew was translated into Greek by James, the Bishop of 
 Jerusalem. Tom. II., p. 102, Stanley's "Sermons and Essays," p. 291 n. 
 
INTRODUCTION TO THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 9 
 
 Compare Stanley's "Apostolic Age," p. 290. There are, however, but few indications to 
 fix the date of composition. It was written, probably, but not certainly, when the dis- 
 ciples were already called Christians (2 : 7, A. D. 43 ?), and hence, after the establishment 
 of the Christian Church at Antioch. (Acts 11 : 26.) The knowledge of the gospel was 
 already widely extended. Various churches had now been established, with their elders 
 and places of worship. (5: 14; 2: 2.) Troubles had begun to arise from the ambi- 
 tion of the teachers (3 : 1), as well as from the oppressions of wealthy and powerful 
 persecutors. (2 : 6; 5: 1-6.) From this la.st circumstance it may be concluded that 
 the Christian communities of those days consisted mostly of the laboring poor. The 
 Epistle certainly belongs to the early Apostolic Age, and nothing in its contents contradicts 
 the judgment of Neander, that its date precedes the time when separate Gentile churches 
 were formed, before the relation of Jews and Gentiles in the Christian Church had been 
 brought under discussion. Most modern interpreters and historians assign it to the year 
 45. So Alford. Nor is there any ground to question the prevaling opinion that this letter 
 to the Tribes of the Dispersion was written at Jerusalem. 
 
 VI. AUTHENTICITY. 
 
 The most important evidence of the authenticity of this Epistle is its reception into 
 the Peshito, the venerable Syriac Version of the New Testament, which was made in the 
 second century, and in a region lying beside Palestine. The Syrian, Ephrem, also 
 quotes from it, ascribing it to James, the brother of the Lord. It is alluded to in that 
 ancient Christian document, "The Shepherd," of Hermas, and is cited by Clement of 
 Rome, Irenaeus, Origen, and others of the early Christian writers. When the claims of 
 the Epistle were considered at the Council of Nice, in the fourth century, all doubt as to 
 its canonical authority was set at rest, and it was received as an inspired writing both by 
 the Eastern and the Western churches. At the Reformation, the question as to its claims 
 was revived by Erasmus, Luther, and others, and has, from time to time, been recalled 
 by subsequent Christian writers. The main argument against the authenticity of the 
 Epistle is, however, theological — the apparent contradiction between the doctrine of 
 James and that of the Apostle Paul. But this difficulty clearly belongs to the department 
 of interpretation, rather than that of historical evidence, and should be left for adjustment 
 to the interpreter. An able contribution to the discussion has been made by Neander, 
 who argues that there can be no discrepancy between the two writers, Paul and James ; 
 since, without having any reference to each other, they addressed different classes of people 
 from different standpoints, using, however, the same familiar examples : and the great 
 Expositor precisely indicates the position of this Epistle among the other and later writings 
 of the New Testament, when he says of James, that "he received the new spirit under 
 the old forms." How the doctrinal objections to the Epistle are to be met, will be most 
 satisfactorily shown in the exposition of the texts in which these difficulties are found. 
 The great body of interpreters agree in recognizing the authorship of James, and the 
 integrity of the Epistle in its component parts. 
 
 The doubt entertained by many (like Eusebius), at first, in regard to the canonical 
 character of the Epistle is explained, not only by the seeming opposition in doctrine 
 between Paul and James — a circumstance to which reference has already been made — but 
 by the fact that the Epistle was specially committed to the charge of Jewish Christians, 
 who were separated to some extent from the other believers ; and also that James, 
 although a brother of the Lord, and a man of apostolic weight, was not an apostle. Yet, 
 
10 INTRODUCTION TO THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 
 
 as Pluther shrewdly remarks, "These circumstances, while they interferred witli the 
 general reception of the Epistle at the first, add to the historic value of the ancient 
 testimonies when it was accepted finally. ' ' The distinction between this Epistle and the 
 spurious writings which claimed an apostolic origin is marked. The latter contain matters 
 false and foolish — contrary either to the proprieties of providence, or to the truth of 
 doctrine or history ; the former is characterized by a self-evidencing truth, solemnity, and 
 majesty beseeming a message from the King of kings. Among the writers of the New 
 Testament, James held a place and displayed a character closely resembling those of 
 John the Baptist among the heralds of the New Dispensation. 
 
 VII. ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 
 
 Tlie Analysis of this Epistle is rendered difiicult by two circumstances. 1. The style 
 is sententious and proverbial, resembling that of the Sermon on the Mount, to which the 
 author makes frequent allusion. 2. The themes discussed are so related to each other 
 that they here and there overlap the author's divisions ; so that subjects, which have 
 their own appropriate place in the argument, are sometimes resumed and sometimes 
 anticipated. Yet the plan is, in its main outlines, regular and even rhetorical ; having an 
 Introduction, or Theme, with its Divisions, which are considered in their order, and a 
 Practical Conclusion, in which the argument is recapitulated. 
 
 Introduction. — The persons addressed and the occasion of the Epistle. (1 : 1-18.) 
 
 1. Greeting. To the Jews of the Dispersion, in especial those of them who had been 
 converted to Christianity. (Ver. 1.) 
 
 2. Occasion. The trials and temptations of his readers, whom he exhorts to stead- 
 fast, patient, and prayerful endurance. (Ver. 2-18.) 
 
 1) Exhortation to cheerful steadfastness nnder trials. (Ver. 2-12.) 
 
 a. Amid conflicts and afflictions believers have reason to rejoice. (Ver. 2-4.) 
 h. Superiority to affliction may be secured by praj-er. (Ver. 5-8. ) 
 c. Another help to heroic steadfastness is a just estimate of the conditions of 
 life, and also of the results of trials borne in a Christian spirit. (Ver. 9-12.) 
 
 2) Exhortation to cheerfd steadfastness under temptations to sin. (Ver. 13-18.) 
 a. Argument from the nature of God. (Ver. 13.) 
 
 h. From the experiences of men under temptation. (Ver. 14, 15.) 
 c. From the divine dispensation. (Ver. 16-18.) 
 Theme and Division. — Characteristics of patient and godly sufferers. They must 
 be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. (Ver. 19, 20.) 
 
 I. Division. — Amid their trials and temptations, the godly should be swift to hear. 
 This theme James develops by showing what is involved in the reception of the divine 
 word, and by replying to the Antinomian objection to his proposition so far as the 
 preceptive part of the word is concerned. (1 : 21-2 : 26.) 
 
 1. The icord must be received as the inner law. (Ver. 21.) 
 
 2. And as the ride of life. (Ver. 22-25.) 
 
 3. The speech must be regidated by it. (Ver. 26.) 
 
 4. And the social intercourse. (1 : 27-2 : 1 3. ) 
 
 a. In society the gospel enjoins a ritual service of charity. (Ver. 27.) 
 
 b. In the church it is the principle of fellowship. (2 : 1-9.) 
 
 c. It sanctions all the precepts of the Second Table of the Law. (Ver. 10, 11.) 
 
 d. And enforces them by the decisions of the final judgment. (Ver. 12, 13.) 
 
INTRODUCTION TO THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 11 
 
 5. Refutation of the objection that faith by itself suffices. (Ver. 14-26.) 
 
 a. Saving faith is practical. (Ver. 14.) 
 
 b. Worthlessness of an'inoperative faith (ver. 15-17) : to the needy (ver. 15, 16) 
 
 to tlie professor of it. (Ver. 17.) 
 
 c. True faith must have works (ver. 18-26) : else there is no evidence of its 
 
 existence (ver. 18) ; nor any strength and blessedness in the experience of 
 professors. (Ver. 19). Confirmation from Abraham's example (ver. 
 20-24); and Rahab's. (Ver. 25, 26.) 
 
 II. Division. — Amid trials and temptations, the godly should be slow to speak. 
 Warning against sins of the tongue, and the collisions and offences to Christian charity 
 and fellowship thence arising. (3 : 1-12.) 
 
 1. Those transgressing in this particular will be severely judged. (3 : 1, 2.) 
 
 2. Grounds of the judgment. (Ver. 3-12.) 
 
 a. The wonderful power of the tongue. (Ver. 3-6.) 
 
 h. The power of man, Nature's lord, to rule it. (Ver. 7-12.) 
 
 III. Division. — Amid trials and temptations, the godly should be slow to wrath, and 
 also its kindred impulsive passions. (3: 13; 4: 17.) 
 
 1. Gentleness and moderation of Christian wisdom depicted. (3 : 13-18.) 
 
 2. Warning against the sway of the passions. (4: 1-17.) 
 
 a. Their evil consequences (ver. 1-3) : they engender strife (ver. 4:1), they are 
 illusory (ver. 2), and they deprive prayer of its efficacy (ver. 3). 
 
 6. Ungodliness of the passions (ver. 4-6) : they involve enmity to God (ver. 4), 
 and oppose his word (ver. 5, 6). 
 
 c. Means to overcome these desires. (Ver. 7-10.) 
 
 d. Warning against the presumption they inspire (ver. 11-17) : in men's estimates 
 
 (ver. 11, 12), in their secular projects (ver. 13-17). 
 Conclusion. — Duties of the tempted and tried recapitulated and reinforced. 
 (5: 1-20.) 
 
 1. Swiftness to hear. (Ver. 1-11.) Let them heed the assurances of the word 
 
 in regard to the speedy end of all their present complications : the future it 
 forecasts for prosperous wickedness (ver. 1-6), and for afflicted piety (ver. 7-11). 
 
 2. Slowness to speak. (Ver. 12-18.) Let them nse the gift of the tongue piously, 
 
 hence, not in swearing (ver. 10), but in prayer (ver. 13-18), which must be 
 seasonable (ver. 13), intercessory (ver. 14-16), and trustful (ver. 16-18). 
 
 3. Slowness to roratJi. (Ver. 19, 20.) Let Christ's people, instead of contending 
 
 with injurious men, seek to save them. 
 
 Note. — It would perhaps be esteemed a display of pedantry sbotild the writer of this brief CommentarT 
 give a list of the nuiuerous works consulted in its preparation. He needs only say that he has availed himself 
 of the aid afforded by the best authorities, and has used all the diligence in coming to correct conclusions which 
 a career of manifold occupation would allow. Yet he must be permitted to express his special obligations to 
 the learned labors of Winer in the department of New Testament grr-nmar, of Huther in interpretation, and ot 
 Lisco in analysis. He is also indebted to Bengel's fruitful hints, and .lohustone's and Pluniptre's popular 
 expositions, and, among historical works, to Neander's " Planting and Training of the Church," and to Stanley's 
 "Sermons and Essays on the Apostolic Age." Only the necessarily contracted limits of the present work have 
 prevented its author's drawing more largely from these rich stores. And he must add, in conclusion, that he 
 has derived no little encouragement and aid from the scholarly criticisms and acute suggestions of Prof Thomas 
 J. Dill, of Howard College, who must, however, be held, in no respect, as responsible for the conclusions to which 
 the author has arrived. 
 
THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 JAMES, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered 
 abroad, greeting. 
 
 1 James, a i servant of God and of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, to the twelve tribes which are of the Disper- 
 sion, 'i greeting. 
 
 1 Gr. bondservant i Gr. wUhethjoy. 
 
 Ch. 1: 1-18. The Grekting and the 
 Occasion of the Epistle. 
 
 1. James, the authorof this Epistle, was not 
 the son of Alphaeus, but a full brother of the 
 Lord, whose name occurs in the family list. 
 
 (Matt. 13:55, 56; Mark 6: 3.) Nor WaS he One of 
 
 the twelve apostles; for he was not even 
 a disciple at the time when the number of 
 these "witnesses of the resurrection" was 
 made up. (john6: 70; 7: s.) He did not possess 
 the qualifications which the disciples regarded 
 as necessary for the apostolic office (Acts i : 21, 22), 
 and therefore could not have been elected by 
 them to the apostleship after our Lord's ascen- 
 sion. Nor have we any evidence that James 
 was miraculously designated to that office, as 
 Paul was. Further, James did not claim 
 the dignity, as the apostles were wont to do. 
 
 (Rom. 1 : 1 ; 1 and 2 Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:1; Titus 1 : 1 ; 1 Peter 1:1.) 
 
 Nor, finally, did he perform the proper apos- 
 tolic work: he was not sent forth to testify to 
 the resurrection of Jesus, but remained at 
 Jerusalem, where he was held in honor as the 
 Lord's brother (Gal. 1: 19), and as an eminent 
 saint, and where he presided over the church 
 until A. D. 62 or 63, when he suflfered mar- 
 tyrdom. See Introduction L 
 
 A servant of God and of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ — literally, a bondsman. Here the 
 whole phrase indicates a person subject to 
 the divine government, employed by God for 
 the performance of his will, holding himself 
 at the divine disposal, and devoted in par- 
 ticular to the extension of the gospel of Christ 
 among men. The lowest service to God is 
 honorable. The title was not official, but was 
 applied not only to apostles (Acts*: 29; Rom. i: 1), 
 but to preachers, teachers, and to the disci- 
 ples in general. (Act3 2: is; Eph. 6: 6.) All the 
 Lord's people are servants, bearing his name, 
 representing him in example, testimony, and 
 advocacy, and doing his will. 'God and the 
 Lord Jesus Christ' are mentioned together to 
 indicate the harmony of both the dispensa- 
 
 tions of revealed religion — the Old, which 
 recognized God as the sovereign of Israel ; 
 and the New, which acknowledged the Lord 
 Jesus Christ as the Head of the Church. 
 (James 2: 1.) The Tcverence of James for both 
 would conciliate the good will of those whom 
 he addressed. (Acts26: 6,7.) It is observable 
 that the name of Jesus Christ occurs but once 
 again in this Epistle. (James 2 : 1.) The omis- 
 sion suggests the modesty and discretion of 
 the writer, who would not even seem to urge 
 any claim to consideration on the score of his 
 natural relationship to Jesus. (2Cor. 5: 16; Mark 
 10: 43-45.) A union with Christ in service and 
 spirit is the only relationship that abides. 
 
 To the twelve tribes that are scattered 
 abroad — literally, "to the twelve tribes in 
 the Dispersion." SeeJohn7:35. The Syriac 
 Version adds, "among the Gentiles." Hack- 
 ett: "The Jewish nation consisted of those 
 who were descended from the twelve tribes, 
 which fact justified the expression historically, 
 though the twelve tribes had now lost their 
 separate existence. Many of the Israelites 
 who had been led away in the Assyrian and 
 Babylonian Captivity never returned to Pal- 
 estine. They settled among the Gentiles, 
 engaged in various avocations, and main- 
 tained their national traditions and synagogue 
 worship. These centres of religious truth 
 and influence prepared the heathen for Chris- 
 tianity. And the Jews abroad were more 
 accessible to the gospel than the communities 
 in Palestine, which were set against Chris- 
 tianity by persecuting rulers, and were 
 prejudiced by the imposing ritual service at 
 Jerusalem. Hence the special eflforts put 
 forth by apostles and evangelists to win the 
 tribes 'in the Dispersion.'" Yet our Epistle 
 was not exclusively addressed to the Jews in 
 foreign countries, or even to the Christians 
 among them ; for those in Palestine were also 
 in dispersion, the old tribal limits having 
 been broken in every direction. Probably 
 
 13 
 
14 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. I. 
 
 2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into 
 divers temptations ; 
 
 2 Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into 
 
 3 manifold Hemptations ; knowing that the proving of 
 
 the address was from the head of the church 
 at Jerusalem to all the Jewish converts outside 
 of the metropolis, especially to the members 
 of the Church who had been scattered by per- 
 secution, and had fled to Judea, Samaria, 
 Phenice, Cyprus, and Antioch. Acts 8: 1; 
 11: 19; compare 1 Pet. 1: 1. Some of the 
 dispersed spoke Greek only — hence they were 
 called Hellenists (Acts 9: 29); others spoke the 
 Aramean. Jahn "Arch." g 324. That the 
 former were by far the larger class, may be 
 inferred from the fact that James' letter to 
 the dispersed Jews was written in Greek. 
 Upon the extent of the Dispersion, see com- 
 ment on James 4 : 13. Greeting — wishes joy. 
 A salutation common among the Greeks, and 
 familiar to James also. See Acts 15: 28. The 
 usual Hebrew salutation was "Peace." The 
 term here adopted corresponds with the design 
 of the Epistle, and prepared its readers for 
 the call to "joy" in the next verse. The 
 preacher brought to the tried and tempted a 
 message of consolation and cheer, thus per- 
 forming his pastoral work as "the minister of 
 the circumcision." (Gai. 2 9.) He wrote to 
 them in the language in common use among 
 the remoter tribes in the Dispersion, thus ful- 
 filling the promise that God's favor would 
 
 follow his exiles. (^Ezek. 11 : 16.) 
 
 2-18. Occasion of the Epistle. 
 
 The trials and temptations of the Jewish 
 Christians, which called for exhortations to 
 steadfast, prayerful, and patient endurance. 
 Here two divisions occur: I. (2-12). Exhorta- 
 tion to cheerful steadfastness under persecu- 
 tions and other outward trials; II. (13-18). 
 Call to Christians to resist the temptations by 
 which they were beset. 
 
 1) In the exhortation to patience under 
 trials the following is the train of thought: 1 
 (ver. 2-4). Believers have reason to rejoice 
 amid their manifold conflicts and afflictions; 
 2 (ver. 5-8). Superiority to afiiiction may be 
 obtained by prayer, which endows the soul with 
 a lofty and otherwise unattainable wisdom ; 3 
 (ver. 9-12). Another help to heroic steadfast- 
 ness in trial is a correct estimate of the exter- 
 nal condition of life and also of the results of 
 trials borne in a Christian spirit. 
 
 a. 2-4. Believers have reason to rejoice 
 amid their manifold conflicts and aflaictions. 
 
 2. My brethren— a favorite expression with 
 James. It marks most of the paragraphs of 
 the present Epistle, as ver. 19, 2: 1, 14; 3:1; 
 4: 11; 5: 7, 9, 12, 19. Characteristically it 
 was altered in the beginning of his address at 
 the Jerusalem Conference. (Acts 15: 13.) The 
 allusion was not to the common descent of the 
 Jewish Christians, but to that new relation of 
 sympathy and serviceableness which believers 
 sustain to each other; all had alike a share in 
 the welfare and administration of the Church. 
 Comp. Baumgarten "Ap. Hist.," Acts 15: 23. 
 Another reason, besides that given in ver 1, 
 for writing the Epistle: it was sent by a serv- 
 ant of the Lord, and a brother in the Chris- 
 tian family. When ye fall into divers 
 {manifold) temptations. Sj'riac: "Many 
 and various trials." Here the occasion of 
 writing the Epistle appears. The Jewish 
 Christians were beset with various tempta- 
 tions, against whose depressing and seductive 
 influence they needed to be warned. That 
 the trials referred to were more than troubles 
 and persecutions, is suggested hy the use of a 
 kindred word in ver. 13, where internal temp- 
 tations are indicated. The term here, how- 
 ever, is intended to suggest the whole theme 
 in the mind of the writer, while at the same 
 time it is limited in its present application by 
 "fall into," so as to be surrounded by (n-epur- 
 iaare), as the traveler in the parable "fell 
 among" thieves. (Lukeio: 30.) In classic Greek 
 the verb applies to difficulties and contests. 
 Accord inglj' the 'temptations' here introduce 
 the whole subject, while yet they are, in some 
 sort, a contrast to those indicated in ver. 13. 
 They are rather the temptations that environ 
 us than those that dwell within us. They are 
 the trials arising from the conflicts, sufferings, 
 and troubles encountered by believers in a 
 sin-stricken and hostile world. Luke 8: 13 
 compared with Matt. 13: 21. Thus they are 
 'manifold,' embracing all the relations of life, 
 in any of which the Christian may be tempted 
 to apostasy or despair. Hence, they are of 
 various forms and many kinds. (2 Cor. 6: 4 seq.; 11 : 
 23seq.) Besides the trials common to all men, 
 
Ch. I.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 15 
 
 3 Knowing (his, that the trying of your faith worketh 
 patience. 
 
 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may 
 be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 
 
 4 your faith worketh 'patience. And let 'patience 
 have (7.V perfect work, that ye may be perfect and 
 entire, lacking in nothing. 
 
 1 Or, sted/aaln 
 
 Christians are exposed by their principles and 
 profession to others peculiar to theuiiclves. 
 Count It all joy. An allusion to the greet- 
 ing of joy in ver. 1, which must have awak- 
 ened surprise, and which accordingly Jarnes 
 now proceeds to explain and justify. Joy is 
 used metonyniically for a cause or matter of 
 rejoicing. 'AH joj',' entire joy; the idea is 
 akin to that of 2 Cor. 4: 17, where suffering is 
 represented as belittled by its glorious results; 
 here it is represented as quite done away. 
 There is "a jt)y of battle" when there is an 
 assurance of victory. The beneficial effects of 
 each trouble, steadfastly endured, more than 
 compensate for the immediate pain it inflicts. 
 (Heb. 12:11.) Under the gospel, trials change 
 their character; they are an exercise of forti- 
 tude, a rich contribution to experience, a test 
 of the consolations of the Spirit, a call to trust 
 in God, and to pity and pardon toward men, 
 and a preparation for heaven. Thus each 
 trial becomes to the Christian mind the disci- 
 pline of a Father's hand, and an occasion for 
 joy and thanksgiving; it ceases to be afflic- 
 tion ; it is all joy. See an illustration and 
 list of the trials over which faith may triumph, 
 2 Cor. 11 : 24-28. 
 
 3. Knowing thi.s introduces the warrant, 
 at least in part, of the previous exhortation. 
 The inspired writers frequently appeal to the 
 knowledge which Christians may derive either 
 from experience or the gospel promises, as an 
 argument for steadfastness, (i Cor.isiss; Coi.3:24; 
 4: 1; Heb. 10: 34, etc.) The participle is closely 
 connected with the imperative of the previous 
 verse, and shares its meaning: "you ought 
 to know this." That the trial of your 
 faith — the jiroving of your faith. Cremer: 
 the verification of faith. The trying of faith 
 not only indicates the testing of its quality, 
 but also the happy results of that test (com- 
 pare 1 Peter 1 : 7, the only other passage in 
 which the word occurs), for the writer pro- 
 ceeds on the supposition that the trial will be 
 borne Christianly : a genuine faith exposed to 
 the fires of aflrtiction (Rom. 5: 3,4) will be as fur- 
 nace-proven gold. Thus gloomy night brings 
 out the stars. Faith here doe.s not signify the 
 
 doctrine of Christ, but that confidence in the 
 gospel of Jesus Christ which is the centre of 
 Cliristian character, and the necessarj^ foun- 
 dation of Christian conduct. Worketh pa- 
 tience — or constancy ; the effect of the trial. 
 (Rom.5:3.) The Syriac reads: "Maketh you 
 possess patience." This virtue is earnestly 
 commended by our Lord. (Matt. 10 : 22; 24: 13.) 
 It is closely connected with hope, both in the 
 Septuagint and the Xew Testament. See 2 
 Thess. 3: 5; Eev. 3: 10; Rom. 15: 5, 13. 
 Hope is the ground of constancy; hence, the 
 words are used interchangeably. Here, how- 
 ever, James deals with patience only as it is a 
 part of the Christian character. The tried 
 believer not only endures in this or that in- 
 stance, but he acquires the power of endur- 
 ance, a manly robustness of spirit. (Luke 21: 19.) 
 A personal conviction of the power of faith, a 
 clear conscience, and a cheerful expectation 
 impart constancy, and so prepare the tempted 
 soul for new conflicts and new victories. 
 Patience is too passive a term to express at 
 once the voluntary and daily endurance of 
 hardships and outrages for religion's sake, 
 and also the steadfast maintenance of a pious 
 course of life notwithstanding these diflicul- 
 ties; hence, the word is translated in Rom. 2: 
 7, "patient continuance." Such was the spirit 
 of the disciples who, after having been 
 scourged on account of their fidelity to Christ, 
 "departed from the presence of the Council, 
 rejoicing f;hat they were counted worthy to 
 suffer shame for his name." Acts 5: 40, 41; 
 compare 1 Peter 4: 16; consult note on James 
 5 : 8, De Wette. The thought is not pursued 
 as in the parallel passage, 1 Peter 1:7; instead 
 of encouraging Christian hope as Peter does, 
 James adds an admonition, (ver. 4.) 
 
 4. But let patience have her (a) perfect 
 Avork. The scope of the duty now under 
 consideration ; the constancy now to be dis- 
 played under affliction will have other occa- 
 sions also for its exercise and must be main- 
 tained even to the end of life. (Neander's 
 "Planting and Training of the Christian 
 Church," B. vi. Ch. 3.) Thus must its work 
 be perfected and its glorious career be accom- 
 
16 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. I. 
 
 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, 
 that giveth to all meii liberally, and upbiaideth not: 
 and it shall be given him. 
 
 5 But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of 
 God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not ; 
 
 plished. (2Tim.4:7.) Constiincy is iiot Simply 
 a negative virtue, a mere submission and res- 
 ignation under calamity, like an immovable 
 rock amid the waves : it is inspired by hope 
 (2 Thess. 3:5), and is diligent in the performance 
 of good works (Eom. 2: 7; 2 Cor. 12 : 12), Hke a Sol- 
 dier familiar with hardships and perils, and 
 pressing on to the conquest of new fields. 
 That ye may be perfect and entire, Avant- 
 ing nothing — lacking iii nothing. Here 
 again the effect on character is indicated. 
 Bengel: "The perfect work is followed by 
 the perfect man." See this illustrated in the 
 case of the approved preacher (2Tini. i: 15), and 
 in that of Abraham (James2:22), whose faith 
 •was made perfect by works. That [to the end 
 that) indicates that this ennoblement of 
 nature and enlargement of energy should be 
 had in view, and diligently striven after by 
 the Christian sufferer. 'Perfect and entire' 
 are synonyms; both terms were applied to 
 sacrifices, but there is nothing to show such a 
 reference here; 'perfect' is properly what 
 has attained its aim, 'entire' what is com- 
 plete in all its parts. Suffering believers 
 should seek to be perfect in the development 
 of character, and entire in the discharge of 
 the duties allotted to their several spheres in 
 life. When this end should be attained they 
 would be 'lacking in nothing' either as re- 
 spects the moral nature or the conduct. In 
 its proper signification, the word would be 
 ' lagging behind,' i. e.— behind the aim set be- 
 fore Christians— a sharp contrast to 'perfect' 
 which attains the goal. The Jews needed the 
 exhortation, to prepare them for the approach- 
 ing days of trial, but as a nation they did not 
 steer toward the Christian ideal ; hence they 
 were left behind by other nations and 
 stranded in history. That absolute perfection, 
 however, is not attained by any in this life, 
 James teaches, when he says that in many 
 things we all offend. James 3: 2; compare 
 2: 13. Yet so much the greater the necessity 
 of keeping the highest aim in view. (Heb. 6: i; 
 
 2 Peter 1: 5-8.) 
 
 b. 5-8. The support of cheerful constancy is 
 found in prayer, through which a wisdom un- 
 attainable by nature is secured. 
 
 5. "Whence it is to be sought. "But" is in 
 
 the original, although it has been unfortu- 
 nately left out in the beginning of this verse 
 in the Common Version. James meets an 
 objection or complaint which the reader 
 might naturally urge : "You set before me 
 an impossible aim ; the work of moral per- 
 fection is too hard; cases occur which de- 
 mand a superior judgment to distinguish be- 
 tween right and wrong. (Pbil. l: lO; Eom. 12: 2; 
 
 coi.4:5.) To this practical difficulty, the text 
 is a reply. If any of you lack wisdom- 
 is wanting in, properly, is left behind by; 
 more literally, come short of. Prayer is the 
 necessary and efficient resort of those not in 
 the condition referred to in ver. 4; of those 
 who are consciously wanting in Christian 
 wisdom ; who are below the Christian ideal ; 
 whose feebleness in faith and constancy (ver. 3), 
 and whose imperfection in character and con- 
 duct (ver. 4), are disclosed by the ordeal of 
 trials. Among the Gentiles, wisdom was the 
 favorite theme of philosophy and rhetoric. 
 (1 Cor. 1:17.) But no one imagined that the 
 ideal man of philosophy could be found, or 
 undertook to apply the stoical precepts to his 
 own case. (Cicero " Tusc. Quests." 2: 22; 
 Epictetus. "Disc." 2: 19, 24.) On the con- 
 trary a want of correspondence with the 
 higher law was defended as " naturally and 
 divinely justifiable." (Von Harless' "Sy.stem 
 of Christian Ethics," ^12.) AmongtheJews 
 wisdom was practical ; it embraced what a 
 man should know, what he should be, and 
 what he should do. " Behold the fear of the 
 Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil 
 is understanding." Compare the praises of 
 wisdom in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the 
 book of Jesus Sirach. The wisdom enjoined 
 by James must not be restricted to the circum- 
 stances of the present case. It is the cause of 
 the perfect work (ver. 4), the solid foundation 
 of Christian conduct: for it is "that spiritual 
 discernment rooted in faith, living, urging to 
 action in whatever relates to the life mission 
 of Christians, as well in general as in particu- 
 lar crises; hence also in persecutions (ver. 2), 
 which would otherwise be changed into inner 
 temptations, instead of being the way to per- 
 fection." (Huther and Briickner.) Let him 
 ask of God— by whom alone it can be given 
 
Ch. I.] 
 
 JA^IES. 
 
 17 
 
 6 But let biiu ask in faith, nothing wavering : for be 
 that wavereih is like a wave of the sea driven with the 
 wind and tossed. 
 
 6 and it shall be given him. But let hiui ask iu faith, 
 uolliing doubting: for he that doubtuth is like ihc 
 
 7 surge of the sea driven by the wind aud tossed, i'or 
 
 (Prov.2: 6), and who has promised to bestow 
 this superiuitural gift (Jamess: is, n) upon such 
 as seek it by tlie prayer of faith, (ver. 6; James s: 
 i3seq.) Wlieti nature fails amid the sharp 
 conflicts of life, help to the struggling, aspir- 
 ing soul is afforded by a Power above nature 
 — a power kindly accessible and efficient — the 
 primal fountain of light and love, (i JolqS: h.) 
 A sense of spiritual poverty is a blessing when 
 it leads tlie humbled soul to God; the more 
 deeply the tree is rooted in the ground, the 
 higher it lifts its top into the sunlight. That 
 giveth to all men liberally. In the origi- 
 nal ' men ' does not occur, and it is not needed 
 in the translation : 'that giveth' is a partici- 
 ple agreeing with 'God.' The sense of the 
 passage would be expressed by a repetition, 
 'the giving God that giveth,' etc. He is the 
 giving One. Prayer for the supply of our 
 needs is encouraged by God's cordiality in 
 giving — by the temper and the policy of the 
 King of heaven. " Tliat giveth to all," not 
 only to those who ask aright (Bengel) or even 
 ask at all ; so great is his loving fatherly care! 
 He giveth "simply" or "freely," as the 
 Syriac reads. The rendering of awAi? by 
 liberally is incorrect. The idea is that God's 
 gifts are not ostentatious, or interested, or 
 embarrassed with conditions, exceptions, or 
 counter demands, as the gifts of the rich 
 (ver 10) were wont to be; but that they are 
 granted from a pure desire to bless. ^Matt.6: 22; 
 Rom.i2:8.) And upbraidcth not. This does 
 not repeat the same thought in a negative 
 form (Winer), but indicates a new feature in 
 the mode of the divine giving, which does 
 not offensively recall the benefits already 
 given, or rebuke the applicant who asks for 
 more. Not unfrequently the rich giver re- 
 proaches the poor for their folly, improvi- 
 dence, and sloth, and so makes his gifts hu- 
 miliating and detested. God, on the contrary, 
 neither bargains with the suppliant, nor rails 
 against him — he gives. And it shall (will) 
 be given him. Another encouragement to 
 the petitioner is afforded by the direct prom- 
 ise of a favorable response to his application. 
 God has pleasure in giving to all; but he "is 
 rich unto all that call upon him." (Rom. lo: 12; 
 Matt.7:7.) The clausc is impersonal and the 
 
 principle it asserts is general (uohns: h), the 
 object for which prayer is made being put in 
 the background; and yet no doubt there is a 
 special reference here to the wisdom needed 
 and implored by believers in trial. Compare 
 Solomon's prayer for wisdom, and the gra- 
 cious answer. (1 Kings 3 : a-l2 ; 2 Chron. 1 : 10-12.) 
 
 6. From ver. 6-8 we have shown how wis- 
 dom is to be sought; what the character of 
 acceptable prayer must be. But let him ask 
 in faith, nothing waLxering— doubting. The 
 Greek word for 'but' (6e), like the German 
 abe7', is used in paiticular where an explana- 
 tion is annexed, whether as an integral part 
 of the sentence, or as a complete sentence, as 
 here. (Winer.) It indicates that the thought 
 is pursued, as also does the injunction, 'Let 
 him ask,' which is repeated from ver. 5. Trust 
 in God is indispensable to right and accept- 
 able prayer; the 'faith' which, relying upon 
 God's power, good will, and faithfulness, 
 assures itself of a gracious answer. James 
 magnifies the office of faith here, as the condi- 
 tion of acceptance with God. Compare Mark 
 11: 24; Matt. 21: 21; Mark 11: 23; Rom. 4: 
 
 20. Nor does he contradict himself when, in 
 the subsequent chapter, he vindicates its prac- 
 tical character. 'Nothing doubting' {doubt- 
 ing not at all) expresses the same idea as 'in 
 faith,' but strengthens it by putting it in a 
 negative form. Compare Rom. 4: 20: "(Abra- 
 ham) staggered not (wavered not) at the prom- 
 ise of God through unbelief, but was strong in 
 faith, giving glory to God." See Matt. 21: 
 
 21. Doubt is the conflict of belief and unbe- 
 lief, in which unbelief is gaining ground. 
 Hermar: "Remove thy doubting, and thou 
 needest not doubt in asking anything from 
 God." For he that wavereth {douhtefh) is 
 like a wave of the sea, driven with th3 
 Avind and tossed. Tor' (yap) may occur 
 several times in succession with a change of 
 reference; in such passages it often gives the 
 ground of a series of separate thoughts, sub- 
 ordinate one to another. (Winer.) One dis- 
 suasive against doubting is derived from the 
 character of the doubter, which has no sta- 
 bility, but is swayed by external circum- 
 stances : this is compared to a wave of the sea. 
 There can be no peace or constancy, which 
 
18 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. I. 
 
 7 For let not that man think thait he shall receive 
 any thing of the hord. 
 6 A doubleminded man is unstable in all his ways. 
 
 let not that man think i that he shall receive any 
 
 8 thing of the Lord ; a doubleminded man, unstable 
 
 9 in all his ways. But let the brother of low degree 
 
 1 Or, that a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways, shall receive any thing of the Lord. 
 
 comes from wisdom, in a spirit inconstantly 
 fluctuating here and there, now swelling with 
 hope, now sinking into despondency, as for- 
 tune changes. (131.57:20,21.) Only when the 
 tempted soul cleaves firmly to God can it be 
 tranquil, secure, and triumphant. Then faith, 
 itself unmoved, moves mountains. (Matt. 21 : 21.) 
 The wind-tormented billow, aimlessly moving 
 to and fro, is a lively picture of the unrest of 
 a doubting soul. During the residence of 
 Mary's family at Capernaum, on the Sea of 
 Galilee, James often beheld the natural phe- 
 nomenon which he here refers to — that sheet 
 of water being often disturbed by violent tem- 
 pests, such as the one Bartlett describes in his 
 " Footsteps of Our Lord and His Apostles." 
 First the cool breeze rushed down the ravines 
 that lead to the lake, and began to ruffle its 
 placid bosom. "As it grew darker, the breeze 
 increased to a gale, the lake became a sheet of 
 foam, and the white-headed breakers dashed 
 proudly on the rugged beach; its gentle mur- 
 mur was now changed into the wild and sor- 
 rowful sound of the whistling wind and the 
 agitated vvaters. Afar off was dimlj' seen a 
 little barque, struggling with the waves, and 
 then lost sight of amidst the misty rack." 
 Comp. Matt. 8: 24. James had himself been 
 a doubter (until after the resurrection of 
 Jesus), and could therefore describe this class 
 from his owii experience. (Neander's "Plant- 
 ins;," etc., p. 326.) A similar expression is 
 found in Heb. 13: 9: "Be not carried about 
 with divers and strange doctrines." In like 
 manner Jude describes this class as "wander- 
 ing stars" (ver. 13), and "clouds driven by the 
 winds." (Ver. 12.) 
 
 7. Another reason for the warning of ver. 
 6— the prayers of the doubter will not be 
 heard. Liet not that man think. Thus the 
 hope that God's favor may be secured by 
 something merely external is denounced ; see 
 a similar expression in Matt. 3: 9 — 'Think 
 not.' The expression, 'that man,' breathes 
 contempt. "Such a man as that shall have 
 nothing given to him." That he shall (will) 
 receive anything from the Lord — that is, 
 of the things prayed for. He may share with 
 others in such benefits as the Lord, the giver 
 
 of all good, bestows and scatters with indis- 
 criminating bounty (ver. 5) ; but he shall re- 
 ceive nothing in answer to prayer. Hence, 
 the spiritual blessing of wisdom is unattain- 
 able by the doubter. 
 
 8. A double-minded man (is) unstable 
 in all his ways. The verb 'is' (which is 
 not in the Greek) should not occur in the 
 translation; for both 'double-minded man' 
 and 'unstable in all his ways' are in apposi- 
 tion to ' that man,' in ver. 7 (so in the Syriac), 
 and explain why no blessing is imparted in 
 such a ca.se. The characteristics of the doubter 
 have already been exhibited in a figure (ver. s); 
 he is now plainlj' described both as to his 
 spirit and his conduct. 'A double-tninded 
 man ' — such, in character, is the doubter. He 
 has, as it were, two souls contending with each 
 other — the one turned to God, the other turned 
 away from God, and hence to the world ; he 
 wishes to be the friend of God and the friend 
 of the world at the same time, although the 
 friendship of the world is enmity to God. 
 (James4:4.) This was the cause of Solomon's 
 defection. (iKiacsii: 6.) He wavers between 
 faith and unbelief. Hence, he is unprepared 
 to receive the blessings he asks, or even to 
 offer the kind of prayer upon which the gift 
 is conditioned. Double-mindedness is neither 
 the ground of the wavering (Wiesinger), nor 
 its result (Lange), but its characteristic spirit. 
 (Huther.) See note on James 4: 8. Un- 
 stable in all his ways.' The outer conduct 
 will correspond with the internal discord. 
 The double-minded man, yielding now to this 
 inclination or motive, now to that, is fickle 
 and unreliable in his undertakings and acts. 
 
 (Pa. 91: 11; Jer. 16: 17; Prov. 3: 6.) As JcSUS Siracll 
 
 (2:12) says: "He walks upon two roads." 
 This discord both in the inner and outer life 
 prevents the reception of the heavenly gift of 
 wisdom. Only a heart single and sincerely 
 devoted to God may expect his spiritual bless- 
 ings. (Matt. 6: 22.) Adams (on 2 Peter) 
 quaintly describes such a person as an ill- 
 broken horse having no pace, and a bat which 
 has both wings and teeth, but is neither beast 
 nor bird (p. 488). The adjective is applied 
 by Hippocrates to fevers which observe no 
 
Ch. I.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 19 
 
 9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is I 10 glory in his high estate: and the rich, in that he is 
 exalted: made low : because as the flower of the grass he shuU 
 
 10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as 
 the flower of the grass he shall pass away. | 
 
 periods, and by Demosthenes to variable 
 winds. 
 
 c. 9-12. Another help to heroic steadfastness 
 in trials is a correct estimate of the external 
 and spiritual conditions of men, and also of 
 the results of trials endured in a Christian 
 spirit. 
 
 The two extremes of Christian social life 
 are here designated — that of the poor(ver. 9), 
 and that of the rich. (ver. lo, ii.) The exhor- 
 tation in ver. 12 is addressed to both. All 
 classes are enibraced by Christianity. (2:n; 
 
 5:13.) 
 
 9. (But) let the brother of low degree. 
 
 'But,' which the English Version omits, is 
 important as showing that the writer brings 
 into contrast the state of the lowly brother 
 whom God exalts, with that of the waverer 
 (ver. 8), for whoni there is no hearing at the 
 mercy seat. The title 'brother,' indicating 
 the intimacy and tenderness of the Christian 
 relation, is considerately applied to the poor, 
 rather than to the rich. (ver. lo.) The ' low 
 degree' refers to poverty; and this not only 
 as imposing limitations and cares from whicli 
 affluence is exempt, but as exposed to worldly 
 reproach and carnal temptations, prejudicial 
 to steadfastness. It indicates Christians who 
 live at once in a state of poverty and a 
 time of persecution. Huther makes the ex- 
 pression indicate the Christian in his entire 
 lowly condition in the world, as one con- 
 temning riches, rejected by the world, in- 
 wardly troubled, and walking in humility 
 before God; but this is to spiritualize the 
 text, rather than to interpret it. That the 
 poor in. spirit have tlie kingdom of heaven 
 is true (Matt. s: 3), but that truth is not asserted 
 here. In that he is exalted — glory in his 
 exaitntioii — the Christian dignity now pos- 
 sessed and hereafter to be displayed. The 
 elevated thought that the poor saint is now 
 a son of God, and that he has an inheritance 
 of glory, will prove a safeguard against de- 
 spondency, and under trial and privation. 
 Let him estimate his privileges at their true 
 value, and he will find therein consolation, 
 strength, and joy. The figure in this and the 
 following verses is an oxymoron, where the 
 
 words or phrases are apparently contradic- 
 tory ; but, in fact, are congruous, because 
 used in diflTerent senses. In Scripture, the 
 oxymoron usually, if not always, displays in 
 a lively manner the contrast between natural 
 and spiritual conditions. So in 1 Cor. 7: '22. 
 "The servant" {bondsman) called in the 
 Lord, is the Lord's freeman, the freeman 
 called, is Christ's bondsman." (Weisinger. ) 
 "He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he 
 that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." 
 (Matt. 10: 39.) This figure was more common 
 anciently than it now is. In the spirit of 
 .James, Chrysostom says: "Scatter, that thou 
 mayest not lose; keep not, that thou maj'est 
 keep; lay out, that thou mayest save; spend,, 
 that thou mayest gain." In verses 9, 10. the 
 subject of the sentence indicates believers in 
 their secular and civil state; the object indi- 
 cates their spiritual condition. 
 
 10. But the rich in that he is made low 
 — literally, in his huniilintion. After 'rich,' 
 brother is to be supplied, as it is expressed 
 after 'poor' in the parallel member of the 
 sentence. In such a connection, both the 
 adjectives, 'poor' and 'rich' (ver. 9,10), which 
 answer the one to the other, must have the 
 same noun, "brother," and to each of these 
 nominatives the same verb, 'let (hitn) glory,' 
 must serve. Any other construction would 
 be strained and unnatural. Difficulties of in- 
 terpretation must not be allowed to disturb 
 the grammatical order, and pervert the plain 
 meaning of the text : ' But let the rich brother 
 glory in his humiliation.' The rich brother, 
 in the Dispersion, was exposed to persecution 
 as well as the poor brother. Although now 
 favored of fortune, and abounding in worldly 
 goods, he was in danger of losing his posses- 
 sions, on account of his adherence to the gospel. 
 And the rich brother in the church (compare 
 1 Tim. 6: 17-19) needed the resources of 
 heavenly wisdom as well as others. The 
 cause of his glorying was that riches had, in 
 his estimation, ceased to have any substantial 
 value. What gave him worldly distinction 
 and splendor had lost its glory, having been 
 eclipsed b3' the nobler blessings he possessed 
 as a Christian ; he had the same high dignity 
 
20 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. I. 
 
 11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning I 11 pass away. For the sun ariseth with the scorching 
 heat, but it withereth the grass, and the tiower ihereol | wind, and withereth the grass ; and the flower there- 
 
 as that imparted to his needy and now suffer- 
 ing brother — a glory independent of all secu- 
 lar conditions, superior to reproach ('i sam.6:22) 
 and to pain. (2Cor. 12: ».) He was humbled, 
 yet exalted in recognizing the vanity of all 
 earthly glory. Because as the flower of 
 the grass (a flower of grass) he shall {will) 
 pass away. This is the ground of appeal to 
 the rich brother to rejoice in his humiliation. 
 He has been released from dependence upon 
 the earthly pomp and fortune, which, as a dis- 
 ciple of Christ, he must expect to lose. Soon 
 he will cease to be distinguished from the poor 
 of the believing company ; as a rich brother he 
 will 'pass away,' he will cease to be. As the 
 flower which gives beauty to the grass soon 
 withers, so in his case whatever decorates the 
 earthly life will certainly disappear. 'Flower' 
 does not here indicate the bud or shoot, asinlsa. 
 11: 1 (Septuagint), but the bloom itself. The 
 figure, which is further developed in ver. 11, 
 occurs also frequently in the Old Testament. 
 It indicates the fortune of man in general, 
 (jobu: 1.) He cometh forth like a flower, and 
 
 is cut down. (Isa. 40: 6, 7; Ps. lOS: 15; IPeterl: 24.) 
 
 But, what is especially observable, this com- 
 parison, which is used in the Old Testament 
 to depress the pride of the ungodly, is here 
 employed to sustain the courage of believers. 
 Note. — These verses (9, 10) show how un- 
 christian is the union of Church and State, by 
 which the arbitrary distinctions of earthly 
 societies are sought to be perpetuated in the 
 kingdom of God. For here it is intended that 
 these accidents of wealth and rank shall disap- 
 pear in the presence of a greater than earthly 
 monarchs, and in the reception and enjoy- 
 ment of prerogatives which the world cannot 
 confer. (1 cor. 16: 20; 1 xhess. 5: 26.) Here the rich 
 and the poor meet together before the Lord 
 — the Maker and the Kedeemer of them all. 
 In the fact that the poor man, rather than the 
 rich, is called a brother, the genius of Aposto- 
 lic Christianity finds expression. Says Quinet, 
 in his "Roman Church and Modern Society," 
 § IX : " In the ideal of the Christian Church, 
 everj'thing was done by the people: priests, 
 deacons, bishops, becamesuch by election, and, 
 as it were, sprang from the public conscience. 
 Now [among the Establishments] nothing in 
 the Church is done by the people; never more 
 
 through them is the voice of God interrogated. 
 This is what authorizes me to say that the 
 spirit of modern institutions, in replacing 
 everything upon this basis of the public con- 
 science, of the sovereignty of the people, is 
 incontestibly in its principle nearer the Chris- 
 tian ideal, than is at the present day the 
 organization and institution of the Church." 
 Compare a modern Pastoral with an Apos- 
 tolic Epistle; in the former, the Church, 
 meaning the clergy, is always magnified; in 
 the latter, the Christian brotherhood; in the 
 former, we vainly seek for such an address as 
 that of Paul to the Corinthians: "All the 
 brethren salute you " ; or that which James 
 despatched in the name of the apostles and 
 elders aiid brethren unto the brethren in An- 
 tioch. (Actsi5:23.) The subject is worthy of 
 comment, since it shows how profound is the 
 chasm which separates the hierarchical 
 churches from those founded by Christ's 
 apostles. The policy of the Vatican, in its 
 contest for temporal sovereignty and secular 
 possessions, has no warrant in the New Testa- 
 ment. 
 
 11. For the sun is no sooner risen, etc. 
 In the original, the illustration in this verse is 
 given in the form of an incident, a past event 
 of familiar observation. The verbs are in the 
 aorist, which indicates facts that have already 
 taken place, and these verbs coming together, 
 as they do here, express the rapid succession 
 of the events. (Winer.) Literally, the text 
 would read : " For the sun rose with the burn- 
 ing wind, and withered the grass; and the 
 flower thereof fell off, and the grace of tlie 
 fashion of it perished : so also will the rich 
 fade away in his ways.-' This mode of ex- 
 pression gives vivacity to the picture (Isa.40:7) 
 in the original ; yet it cannot be transplanted 
 without awkwardness into English. ' The sun 
 rose with the burning heat.' The reference 
 appears to be to the simoom — in Palestine an 
 east wind, which comes arid and scorching 
 from the Arabian deserts. It is often referred 
 to in the Old Testament, (hos. 12: i; i3: is; Jcr. 
 18: 17; Ezek. 17: 16; Job 7: 21.) ("Winer's "Realwort- 
 erbuch.) Grimm's and Huther's objection 
 to this reference that the sun is here said 
 to wither, and not the heat, does not avail; 
 for what is eflfected by the winds attending 
 
Ch. I.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 21 
 
 falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth : so 
 also sliall the rich man fade away in his ways. 
 
 12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation : for 
 when he is tried, he sliall receive the crown of lite, 
 which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 
 
 of falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perish- 
 eth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his 
 goings. 
 
 12 Blessed is the man who endureth temptation: for 
 when he hath been approved, he shall receive the 
 crown of life, which t/ie Lord promised to them that 
 
 13 love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I 
 
 the sunrise (Jooahtis) may be referred to 
 the sun itself; just as the ravages of an in- 
 vading host are charged upon their leader. 
 So also shall the rich mau fade away in 
 his ways. The ways are a figure for the 
 manner of life; here they represent the pro- 
 jects and undertakings, the pomps and 
 pleasures belonging to a state of earthly pros- 
 perity. Whatever temporal possession, what- 
 ever favorable external circumstance adorns 
 the earthly life, will be withered by perse- 
 cution. 'Also' emphasises the resemblance 
 to the figure. As the flower which glorifies 
 the grass drops off, and the beauty of its ex- 
 ternal appearance (Ps. 104: M, Luke 12: 56; Matt. 16:3) 
 
 perishes in the hot blast of the desert, so also 
 does the rich man, in the season of calamity, 
 lose whatever distinguishes him from his fel- 
 lows; and such experiences those believers 
 who were now thriving in their possessions, 
 activities, and enterprises, must expect to en- 
 dure. These reverses of fortune are tragical 
 only in the case of the wealthy unbeliever, 
 who, in losing his wealth, loses everything. 
 
 (Ps. 49: 5-20; Luke 12 : 16-21; le': 19-26.) 
 
 12. Encouragement both to those who are 
 in depressed circumstances, and to those who 
 will be reduced to tliat condition by the perse- 
 cutions of the enemies of the gospel. What 
 they prize most higlily, their choicest good, is 
 not e.vposed to any contingency, and will not 
 fade away. This assurance of blessing con- 
 cludes one of the trains of thought introduced 
 in ver. 2. Blessed is the man that endur- 
 eth temptation — who amid the tribulations 
 occasioned by his Christian profession adheres 
 to the duties of piety. The texts recalls Ps. 
 1, and unfolds its deeper meanings; as in 
 that Psalm, (ver. i) so here, there is no 'is' in 
 the original; the omission in both cases 
 strengthens the ascription. There is no 
 emphasis upon 'the man,' as if the person in 
 view were distinguished from soft and effemi- 
 nate professors, who easily give way in trial ; 
 the emphasis rather falls upon 'endureth.' 
 It is one thing to bear the cross, another to 
 endure under the burden, in the ways and 
 
 spirit indicated in ver. 3, 4, 9-11. Temptation 
 refers to those various troubles and calamities, 
 permitted by God for tne purpose of testing 
 the faith, piety, and virtue of his people. 
 When temptations produce the intended 
 effect, then they bring approval and reward. 
 (Matt. 5: 11,12.) For whcn he is tried {approved) 
 he shall receive the crown of life. ' For' 
 indicates the reason of the blessing. The 
 believer who has patiently borne the ordeyl 
 of affliction, and who is ' approved ' after due 
 examination and trial of his case, will receive 
 a glorious recompense of grace. It is not 
 certain that either the contests of athletes, or 
 the purification of metals by fire is here 
 referred to, although both may be used in the 
 way of illustration. The figure of reward is 
 striking. 'The crown of life' is the same us 
 "the crown" — i. e., "life," the second noun 
 being equivalent to an appositivc according to 
 a common usage, as when we say, "The city 
 of New York," meaning only " the city. New 
 York." There may here also be no reference 
 to the reward of victors in the Greek games ; 
 as among the Jews a crown or diadem in itself 
 suggested royal power or eminent glory, (ps. 
 21: 3; wisi. of Sol. 5: 16, 17.) Life is the crowu with 
 which God's steadfast confessor will be 
 
 adorned (Rev. 2: lO; l Peter 5: 4; 2 Tim. 4:8) — that life 
 
 which alone deserves the name, life spiritual 
 from its beginning, and hereafter perfect, 
 blissful, and eternal, and thus beyond the 
 reach of human malice and temporal 
 calamity ; a blessing, to obtain which the 
 persecuted Christian may joyfully consent to 
 suffer and to die. Which the Lord (/if) 
 hath promised to them that love him. 
 'The Lord' is not in the original ; read 'he,' 
 referring' not to Christ, but to God. The 
 certainty of the reward is indicated by the 
 fact that it is promised by the Sovereign of 
 heaven. The divine engagements are unlike 
 the promises of fickle fortune, (ver. 10, 11.) Re- 
 wards are assured to those who endure trial 
 from love to God, in contrast with the "double 
 minded." (ver. 8.) Love produces endur- 
 ance; for those who love God appreciate the 
 
22 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. I. 
 
 13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted 
 of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither 
 templet h he any man : 
 
 am tempted i of God : for God 2 cannot be tempted 
 14 with 3 evil, and he himsell tempteth no man: but 
 
 1 Gr./rom i Or, i» untried in evil 3 Gr. evil things. 
 
 kindly wisdom that measures and controls the 
 trials of life, and the blessed end to which 
 these trials lead. Hence those who love the 
 Lord, and those who endure temptation are 
 the same. Compare Kom. 8: 28. In the 
 theology of James, love is the essence of true 
 faith; hence the repetition of this phrase. 
 (James 2: 5.) Compare the whole passage with 
 2 Tim. 4: 8. "Henceforth there is laid up 
 for me the crown of rijjhteousness which the 
 Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that 
 day; and not to me only but unto all them 
 also that love his appearing." 
 
 2) 13-18. Exhortation to steadfast and pa- 
 tient endurance under temptation of sin. It is 
 natural to one swayed by temptation to vindi- 
 cate himself by the plea of necessity, and to 
 urge that circumstances, which God orders, 
 have exercised an irresistible power over his 
 intellect, his passions, or his will. James 
 shows the futility of this plea by appealing to 
 the nature of God (ver. is) — to the experiences 
 of men under temptation (ver. u, is) — and 
 finally to the divine dispensations, (ver. le-is.) 
 
 a. Argument from the nature of God. 
 
 13. Let no man say when he is tempted, 
 1 am tempted of (from) God. Here temp- 
 tation is taken in the same sense as in the 
 previous verses ; but the attitude of the persons 
 now considered is different from that of those 
 previously addressed. Both classes are tempted 
 to apostasy by the danger of death, of suffer- 
 ing, or of loss of goods. But the former 
 endure temptation ; the latter dally with it, 
 and seek for grounds to justify them in yield- 
 ing to its seductions or threatenings. Thus, 
 what was a salutary trial in one case, becomes 
 in the other case a motive and allurement to 
 sin, through the unhallowed desires or crimi- 
 nal fears it has awakened. James indicates 
 what apostates, in such a case, were wont to 
 'say'; 'I am tempted from God.' 'He it is 
 who so orders these circumstances that I have 
 no alternative but to give way.' This pre- 
 text was familiar, doubtless, to the Phari- 
 sees, who were fatalists (Josh. "Bell.Jud." 2:8, u), 
 
 and was current among the Jewish people. 
 "Wisd. of Jesus, son of Sirach," 15: 11-22. 
 It is also the common resort of men every- 
 
 where to cast the blame of their sins upon 
 providence. Hom. "Iliad" v. 86: "I am 
 not in fault, but Jove and Fate." Plautus : 
 "God drove me on." Perhaps the apostates 
 perverted passages of the Old Testament, such 
 as Exod. 9 : 16. But on the contrary, as James 
 had already insisted, God allows trial so as to 
 make men better; the evil arising from it 
 comes from another source; let no one trace 
 it to him! For God cannot be tempted 
 with evil, neither tempteth he any man. 
 The first clause may signify either that God 
 is untempted, or that he cannot be tempted; 
 both amount to the same thing in this passage. 
 The holiness of God disproves the pretext of 
 the apostate; God is unversed in temptation, 
 and even inaccessible to it. In his dealings, 
 he acts according to his own nature, just as 
 men do. Hence he has no experience of evils, 
 cannot be contaminated with them, cannot be 
 tempted by them. The conclusion follows 
 that the origin of evil cannot be found in God. 
 He cannot induce men to do what is wholly 
 repugnant to his own nature and will. 
 
 Note. — In reference to the apparent contra- 
 diction of this text with other passages, it may 
 be ob.served that where God is said to tempt 
 
 men (Exod. 15: 25; Judg. 3: 1-i; 1 Cor. 10: 13), theSC paSSagCS 
 
 signify that God tests men, not to allure to 
 sin, but to give an opportunity of overcoming 
 it, for which purpose he apportions the trial 
 to the strength (i cor. lo: is), and also gives the 
 aid of his Holy Spirit (James 4: 6), the light of 
 nature, the voice of conscience, and the warn- 
 ings of his law. When blinding and harden- 
 ing of heart are ascribed to God, the evil is 
 the result of a trial abused. The work of 
 temptation in its evil character is, already in 
 the Book of Job, and more frequently in the 
 New Testament, ascribed to Satan. (Matt. 4: i; 
 1 Cor. 7:5.) Yet not in such a sense that the 
 blame of yielding to it may be shifted from 
 ourselves. The idea that God is the Author 
 of Sin, either through his decrees, or the cir- 
 cumstances in which he places us, or the 
 desires and opportunities he gives us, or on 
 accountof his withholding restraining grace, is 
 monstrous. All the expressions of his will, 
 whether uttered in Scripture, or the system of 
 
Ch. L] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 23 
 
 14 But every mau is tempted, when he is drawn 
 away of liis own lust, and enticed. 
 
 15 Tlien wlien lust hatb conceived, it bringeth fortli 
 sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth deatli. 
 
 each man is ' tempted, when he is drawn away by 
 
 15 his own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it 
 hath conceived, beareth sin: and the sin, when it is 
 
 16 fullgrown, bringeth forth death. Be not deceived, 
 
 1 Or, tempted by Ats oum luets, being drawn away b; it, and enticed. 
 
 nature, or the general drift of his providence, 
 proclaim that the wrong is harmful and unlit 
 to be done. The free agency he bestows on 
 men may indeed be perverted to wrongdoing; 
 but it was bestowed as the necessary condition 
 of virtue and piety ; neither of which can 
 exist without liberty of choice. Hence the 
 existence of moral evil does not impugn either 
 the benevolence or the holiness of God. He 
 is not tempted with evil neither tempeth he 
 any man. Seneca said (Ep. 95): "The gods 
 can neither suffer wrong nor inflict it." How 
 much wiser this heathen was than some who 
 profess to be Christians ! 
 
 b. Argument from the experiences of men. 
 Ver. 14-15. 
 
 14. The efficient cause of sin is found, not 
 in God, but in the evil heart of man. (Matt. 
 15: 19.) Every man — or, each one, is here 
 antithetic to 'no mtm,' in the previous verse. 
 His own is also expressive, standing in oppo- 
 sition to "he." (ver. 13.) Whatever the 
 circumstances of the case may be, that which 
 allures men to sin (as tish or game are enticed 
 by a bait, 3: 7) is within us, not without. It 
 is 'lust,' an evil concupiscence (Rom. 7: 7), an 
 inordinate love for sensual delights and 
 worldly advantages; a disposition, temper, 
 and habit of soul indocile to the purity of 
 Christian truth, and the power of Christian 
 motive. No suggestion of evil can mislead 
 us until we embrace it. The inspired writer 
 makes his representation more spirited by 
 personifying Lust, Sin, and Death. The idea 
 of a harlot (introduced by the amatory figures 
 derived from the arts of hunting and fishing), 
 isdistinctly brought forward in the verbs "con- 
 ceived " and "brought forth." (ver.15.) As 
 the fish or game is drawn out from its place 
 of security, and is enticed into the snare or 
 net, so by the harlot Lust the man is drawn 
 to herself; that he is captured is implied in 
 his being enticed. See 2 Peter 2 : 14, 18, where 
 the same word occurs in the Greek. ' Drawn 
 away' implies movement; ' enticed ' implies 
 state. Compare Ps. 1 : 1, where the succes.sive 
 stages of progress in sin are represented by 
 walking, standing, and sitting. 
 
 Note. — The manner in which James de- 
 scribes the operations of man's free agency in 
 its abuse, is almost paradoxical. The desire 
 for the forbidden object — the gold which 
 attracts the covetous, the beauty which attracts 
 the sensual — ^is the man's own ; yet no sooner 
 is it encouraged, than it becomes alien and 
 mtilignant to its possessor — a net to catch in 
 tlie path of error, a hook that pierces the 
 eager tongue through the bait of pleasure. 
 The same idea is involved in the familiar 
 word "habit" — first the man has the habit, 
 and then the habit has the man. 
 
 15. Then when lust hath conceived, it 
 bringeth forth sin. Then the transition 
 from the sinful desire to the sinful act is 
 described. The figure of ver. 14 is retained, 
 and is pursued, so as to show the fruit pro- 
 ceeding from the meretricious enticement. 
 When the evil inclination is not promptly 
 suppressed, but, on the contrary, is cherished 
 with pleasure (compare Gen. 3: 16), the will 
 of the man is surrendered to it, and is impreg- 
 nated by it. Sin follows the seduction as 
 naturally as birth follows conception. The 
 pampered sensuality which thus produces sin 
 is itself sin, as in nature everj'thing produces 
 its own kind; yet the sin indicated here is 
 externtil, whether apostasy or some other sort 
 of sin. This natural history of temptation is 
 related to show that temptation cannot come 
 from God. As, both grammatically and rhe- 
 torically. Lust and Sin are feminine, neither 
 of them should be represented by the neuter 
 pronoun 'it.' The text would be more fitly 
 rendered: 'Then Lust, having conceived, 
 bringeth forth Sin.' Sin,when it is finished, 
 bringeth forth death. 'Sin' (in the first 
 clause, without the article) indicates the gen- 
 eral character of the fruit of lust, whatever 
 its outward expression may be. James repre- 
 sents sin as something having its own life, and 
 continually developing itself, and at length 
 reaching maturity and exercising a supreme 
 and destructive power over human nature. 
 It was not to his purpose to draw any distinc- 
 tion here between the single finished deed — 
 sin which incurs the sentence of death, and 
 
24 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 JAl 
 
 ^ES. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 [Ch. 
 
 I. 
 
 16 Do not 
 
 17 Every 
 
 err, my beloved brethren, 
 good gift and every perfect 
 
 gift 
 
 is 
 
 from 
 
 17 my 
 pel 
 
 beloved brethren 
 feet gilt is from 
 
 . Every good 
 above, coming 
 
 igift 
 dowi 
 
 and every 
 from the 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 lOr, 
 
 giving. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 the completed course of sinning, the impious 
 and wicked life which receives the award of 
 perdition. In any case, sin, when it has 
 attained its full form and strength, is the 
 mother of death. Tlie soul that has yielded 
 to temptation suffers the loss of that life which 
 is alone worthy of the name, and also the 
 inner misery arising from sin, having its 
 beginning on earth, and after the death of 
 the body, enduring and increasing forever. 
 Evil gives birth to evil ; the evil desire is 
 followed by the evil act, and this by death 
 spiritual and eternal. The idea is not that 
 men are made mortal by sin ; for here death 
 is the opposite of that life which God has 
 promised to them that love him (ver. 12) ; it is 
 eternal death. "The wages of sin is death; 
 but the gift of God is eternal life." Kom. 6: 
 23; compare James 5: 20. That temptation 
 leads to death proves that it cannot proceed 
 from God who is the Author of life. Yet it 
 deserves to be added, as showing the harmony 
 of ver. 14, 15 with ver. 13, that this order of 
 the Divine Government, which connects sor- 
 row and death with sin, also illustrates the 
 goodness of God. The odiousness of sin thus 
 displayed may aid the guilty in the work of 
 repentance and reformation, may restrain the 
 tempted, confirm the virtuous in good prin- 
 ciples and habits, and urge the philanthropic 
 to more vigorous efforts for the restoration of 
 the fallen and the well being of their race. 
 Peabody: "Christianity the Religion of 
 Nature," p. 104. 
 
 c. Argument from the Divine Dispensa- 
 tions. Ver. 16-18. 
 
 16. Do not err, my beloved brethren. 
 James thus introduces an additional proof 
 that God is not the author of evil. He has 
 been arguing that God's nature excludes the 
 possibility, now he appeals to the great facts 
 of his administration. God is the Author of all 
 good. He is the fountain of the hopes that men 
 cherish, and theblessings thatthey receive, not 
 of the evils that they commit. ' Do not err.' 
 The same formula occurs elsewhere after the 
 denial of .some false opinion, as in 1 Cor. 6:9; 
 15: 33; Gal. 6:7. It introduces an appeal 
 to Christian consciousness and experience to 
 
 confirm the writer's statement. In all the 
 other passages it is translated in the Common 
 Version, " Be not deceived." The warning 
 was important here, because no falsehood can 
 be more mischievous and impious than that 
 which James was opposing. To regard God 
 as the author of sin would be a rejection of 
 the whole system of Christian faith and 
 morals. 'My beloved brethren' not only 
 shows the importance of the subject discussed, 
 but also the aflfection of the writer. In warn- 
 ing, he sought to conciliate; and he assumed 
 the tone of persuasion because he loved. So 
 fatal an error needed to be corrected in lan- 
 guage of solemn tenderness. And in appealing 
 to the fraternal relation which unites believers 
 to each other, he at the same time reminded 
 his readers of the filial relation which they 
 all sustained to the Head of the Christian 
 family. To entertain doubts in regard to the 
 goodness of God, would quench the filial spirit 
 of reverence, gratitude, and love. Errors in 
 religion cannot but aflfect the character and 
 conduct; and most prejudicial of all are those 
 errors which depress our trust in God. 
 
 17. The third proof that God is not the 
 author of sin is derived from his abounding 
 and continuous beneficence. If all good 
 comes from God, temptation to evil cannot. 
 This verse is antithetic to ver. 14, 15. As from 
 lust comes sin, and then death, the perfected 
 fruit of sin, so, on the other hand, proceeds 
 from God the good and the perfect. Every 
 good gift and every perfect gift— 6oon. 
 This phrase forms a perfect hexameter, and 
 may be the fragment of an early church 
 hymn. The substantives are different in the 
 original, although from the same verb: the 
 first is the act of giving, in which resides the 
 moral quality 'good' ; the second rather indi- 
 cates the boon itself— it is a free gift, which is 
 'perfect' as suited to the needs of its recipient, 
 whether they be physical or spiritual. (Rom. 
 5:16.) "We must suppose more than natural 
 gifts to be here referred to — not only provi- 
 dential bounties, but gifts of the Spirit, right- 
 eousness, peace, and joy. God's good gifts 
 are the opposite of lust-engendered sins; and 
 God's perfect gifts the opposite of sin-engen- 
 
Ch. L] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 25 
 
 above, and comet h down from the Father of lights, 
 with whom is uo variubleuess, neither shadow of turn- 
 ing. 
 
 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of 
 truth, that we should be a kindof firstfruits of his crea- 
 tures. 
 
 Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, 
 18 neither shadow that is cast by turning. Of his own 
 will he brought us forth l)y the wonl of truth, that 
 we should be a kiud.of firstfruits of his creatures. 
 
 dered death, (ver. i«, is.) Divine in its origin 
 is every blessing we desire, hold, or expect — 
 whatever tends to completeness and happi- 
 ne.ss, whatever tends to righteousness and 
 piety. This principle is the redeeming feat- 
 ure in Matthew Arnold's system. He de- 
 scribes the Hebrew intuition of God as the 
 conception of the Eternal that makes for 
 righteousness, and as a revelation needed to 
 breathe emotion into the laws of morality, 
 and to make morality religion. ("Literature 
 and Dogma," p. 87.) Is from above — that 
 is, from heaven, like the new birth of the 
 human soul. (John 3: 3, margin.) With the 
 text compare Acts 14: 17; John 6: 32. And 
 Cometh down from the Father of lights — 
 literally, coming dovm, a participle comple- 
 mentary to the preceding clause, and empha- 
 sizing the thought that God is the Author of 
 our blessings. 'The Father of lights' — liter- 
 ally, of the lights — that is, the heavenly orbs. 
 (18.135: 7; jer. 4 : /3.) God is Called their Father, 
 because he has created and ever sustains 
 them. The light they shed is therefore a 
 reflection of his. Their glor^' and beneficence 
 are at once a religious argument and a divine 
 revelation, (isa. 40:26; Ps. ht: 4.) Whatever they 
 symbolize and express must be in their cause. 
 Hence, nothing dark or evil can issue from 
 him. (iJohni:5.) With whom is no vari- 
 ableness, neither shadow of turning 
 may be translated with whom is no change or 
 shadoiv from turning. The reference i.^ to the 
 apparent revolutions of the heavenly bodies. 
 They change their position, and they fall into 
 obscurity and eclipse. There is nothing like this 
 in God, whose transcendent glory is disturbed 
 by no shadows (compare " Book of Wis- 
 dom " 7: 20; "Knapp's Theology," ? 20), and 
 \vhose nature, purposes, and dispositions are 
 unchanging. He is entirely and unalterably 
 good, and so transcends what is most admir- 
 able in creation. From such a being only 
 good and perfect gifts can come. James rec- 
 ognized God as One who dwelt 'above' the 
 trials and temptations of which he had been 
 speaking, above the firmament whose blue 
 depths are so oft beclouded, above the stars 
 
 whose glory is so oft bedimmed; and adored 
 him as the unchanging Father of lights, and 
 as our Father in heaven (ver. is), whose mercy 
 endureth forever. 
 
 18. This verse gives a more convincing proof 
 of God's purity ; it is found in those spiritual 
 creations which render him a higher glory 
 than the orbs of light. The importance of 
 the thought is shown by the fact that it 
 crowns the exordium, and is the foundation 
 on which the whole succeeding argument is 
 built. Of his own will begat he us. 'Be- 
 gat' is an allusion, by contrast, tover. 15, where 
 the same word is used in the original. It sig- 
 nifies a birth which is not according to the 
 order of nature — there the monstrous progeny 
 of lust and sin, here virtuous souls super- 
 naturally generated by God (2Peieri:4), and 
 having more glory than the stars; the same 
 creative power kindles the lights of earth and 
 the lights of heaven. Moral darkness cannot 
 proceed from such a being. His nature is 
 contrary to evil. This appears also from the 
 motive which engages in the new creation — 
 his own will. The Syriac gives: "He saw fit 
 and begat." Compare Eph. 1: 5 James 
 teaches that regeneration is not the result of 
 chance or cajirice or fate, but of the free, de- 
 liberate will of God. (John 1 : 13 ; 1 Peter 1 : 
 23. See also "the good pleasure of his will," 
 Eph. 1:5.) The writer has Jewish Christians 
 especially in view, as the sequel shows, but 
 the principle applies to all believers. With 
 the word of truth. The argument is 
 strengthened by this addition. The means 
 employed in regeneration is the truth, the 
 pure and blessed gospel, revealing God's na- 
 ture and will and the way of salvation. 
 (Eph. 1:13.) That Ave should be a kind of 
 firstfruits of his creatures. The object of 
 the work of creation was worthy of a holy 
 God. He designed to produce a higher style 
 of creatures, separated from the world, incor- 
 porated into his family, devoted to noble and 
 immortal ends. According to the Jewish 
 law, the first fruits, as the choice portion of 
 the harvest, and as its symbol and pledge, 
 were consecrated to God. (Num. \&:u; Lev. 23: lO; 
 
26 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. I. 
 
 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man 
 be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath : 
 
 19 1 Ye know this, my beloved brethren. But let 
 
 1 Or, knotv ye. 
 
 Deut. 26: 2.) So with the first begotten of a 
 family. (Deut. 21:17; Gen. 49: 3.) HcTe James is 
 not considering the state of Christians in gen- 
 eral, but that of the early disciples whom he 
 addressed, and who had received the first 
 fruits of the Spirit. (Kom. 8: 23.) They were 
 'a kind of first fruits' of the creation of God 
 (the figure is modestly softened). All believ- 
 ers are his creatures in a special sense, as his 
 workmanship (Eph. 2: lo) and his oflfspring. 
 (ijohns: 1,2.) But the early believers were the 
 chief and noblest part of the new creation, if 
 not more holy and devoted than all the others, 
 yet sanctifying them all. They were the ear- 
 liest confessors and martyrs of the faith, and 
 its only apostles. Like the peaks of the 
 mountains, they first caught the light of the 
 coming day that was to bless the whole world. 
 The author of our Epistle was soon called to 
 shed the sacred blood which should be the 
 seed of the churches of the future. Those 
 ancient saints were the first fruits of the gos- 
 pel harvest. And as in Judoa, the remaining 
 harvest followed after the presentation of the 
 first fruits, so should the salvation of believers 
 ever extend more widely from this beginning. 
 A powerful motive to them to endure in trial 
 and temptation ! In this text James renders 
 a noble tribute to the gospel : it is the word of 
 truth, and, as such, God's instrument of re- 
 generation. Patterson: " Its divinity secures 
 its truth, and both are satisfactorily proved 
 by miracles performed and prophecies ful- 
 filled; by the testimony of Christ and the 
 martyrdom of the apostles; by the majesty of 
 Scripture doctrine, and the purity of Scrip- 
 ture ethics; by the adaptation of both to the 
 intellect, the conscience, and the heart, and 
 by the practical effects which have followed 
 in their train." 
 
 Note. — In this verse we think that the 
 aorist would have been more appropriately 
 translated by our perfect ("he has begotten 
 us"), as has been done in the Common Ver- 
 sion. (James 2 : 5, 6 ; 5 : 3, 5, 11.) Our perfect is a 
 
 tense peculiarly appropriate in letters or 
 speeches addressed by the living to the living 
 in relation to matters within their common 
 experience. For in the use of the perfect the 
 
 speaker regards the action or condition, 
 though past, as included within a period of 
 time still present; and this he is permitted to 
 do, if that action or condition is co7inected 
 with the present. It may be thus connected 
 either by the present existence of the subject, 
 as, "I have been young, but now am old," or 
 by the present continuance of the result, as, 
 "Milton has written as noble works in prose 
 as in poetry" ; or by the present continuance 
 of some attending circumstance of time or 
 place, as, "Many important discoveries have 
 been made in the present century"; "Upon 
 this continent a great civil war has been 
 fought." It will be evident from these illus- 
 trations that the aorist will sometimes appear 
 in Greek where our idiom more naturally 
 employs the perfect. Nor is any violence 
 done to the sense of the original by the 
 change; for, as Winer observes, "It often de- 
 pends upon the writer which of the two tenses 
 he will use, as the difi'erence between them is 
 sometimes very slight." For this acute criti- 
 cism upon a much-disputed point, we are 
 indebted to Prof. T. J. Dill, of Howard Col- 
 lege. 
 
 19, 20. Theme and Division of the 
 Epistle. 
 
 19. This verse and the next exhibit the 
 main divisions of the Epistle, which specify 
 the characteristics of a child of God under 
 trials and amid temptations. They show 
 wherein is to be exercised the steadfastness 
 which James has been commending in the 
 general introduction to the Epistle. In par- 
 ticular the exhortation "to hear" refers to 
 the "word of truth" (ver. is), and is resumed 
 and explained, (i: 21-2: 26.) The injunction in 
 regard to restraint in speech is unfolded 
 in chapter 3: 1-12. That in regard to the 
 temper and spirit is developed in chapter 3: 
 13-4: 17. And the threefold division is re- 
 called, as we shall see, in chapter 5. 
 
 Wherefore. This word is not justified by 
 the highest authorities, which give instead, 
 ye know or know ye. The imperative is more 
 suitable, as a form of address (compare chap. 
 1 : Ifi), but does not accommodate itself to the 
 demands of the sentence. It should read : 
 
Ch. L] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 27 
 
 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteous- 
 ness of God. 
 
 21 Wherefore lay apart all tilthiuess and superfluity 
 
 every man he swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to 
 
 20 wrath : for the wrath of man worketh not the right- 
 
 21 eousuess of God. Wherefore putting away all tillhi- 
 
 ' Ve know it, my beloved brethren ; but let 
 every man, etc. Let your elevation in God's 
 esteem (ver. w) lead to tlie study of the word 
 and improvement in virtue. The begotten of 
 a holy God must themselves be holy ; and to 
 every man (contrast to 'no man,' ver. 13) 
 the means of spiritual discipline is the perfor- 
 mance of the duties here indicated. My be- 
 loved brethren. A modeof address common 
 among early believers, (icor. id:58;2 leters: u.) 
 Christian fellowship is helpful to the attain- 
 ment of the ideal of the Christian life. The 
 lessons here inculcated recall those of the 
 
 Jewish sages. (Pmv. 13: 3; I4: 29; EccI. S: 2.) Swift 
 
 to hear — the divine word is specially referred 
 to ; a ready reception of it and a cordial sub- 
 mission may well be indicated as the first dut^' 
 of disciples. Fraternal counsel is implied. 
 Slow to speak involves deliberation in 
 judging as well as speaking in regard to life's 
 trials, and in regard to the truth of God upon 
 which human virtue and happiness depend. 
 (Prov. 10: 19.) "Speak neither against God, nor 
 improperly of God — but for God." There 
 was great freedom of exhortation and teach- 
 ing in the early Church; James warns his 
 readers that this involved grave responsibility. 
 (Neander, "Planting and Training," p. 356.) 
 Slow to wrath. Wrath is not simply dis- 
 pleasure; but active, passionate anger, which 
 may manifest itself either in impatience under 
 God's dealing, or viiidictiveness under inju- 
 ries and reproaches from men, or disputatious 
 bitterness in maintaining what may be re- 
 garded as the truth. Compare chap. 3: 13. 
 'Wrath' easily assumed in that day, as it does in 
 ours, the guise of conscientiousness. Huther: 
 "The warning points to Christians who used 
 the gosi^el as the Pharisees did the Law, not 
 for their sanctification, but for the satisfaction 
 of their lust of condemning and contending." 
 Compare chap. 3. The conduct of Christians 
 in their assemblies is specially but not exclu- 
 sively refered to. 
 
 20. This verse gives the ground of the 
 warning, 'be slow to wrath.' As, in the orig- 
 inal, the definite article is wanting in the two 
 instances where it occurs in the English, the 
 literal translation is : For m,an'' s wrath work- 
 eth not God's righteousness. For the wrath 
 
 of man. Wrath is a powerful passion, and 
 works efiectively in secular and political 
 affairs; it is, however, alien to the Christian 
 society, and to the kingdom of Gud. (1 Tim. 2: a.) 
 It is closely related, as the etymology shows, 
 totheother impulsive passions, and is treated as 
 their representative. (3: 13-4: 17.) The right- 
 eousness of God is that righteousness which 
 pleases God, and which he requires. Com- 
 pare Acts 4: 19; Gal. 6: 10. It is the opposite 
 of the sin or iniquity which the unregenerate 
 heart works. (Matt. 7: 23; james2: 9.) Wrath Can- 
 not be pleasing to God; for there is no pas- 
 sionate violence in his nature; his law is love, 
 and his cause is hindered by an intemperate 
 zeal. The warning of our text was specially 
 needed by the Jews, who had a zeal for God, 
 but not according to knowledge (Rom. 10:2), 
 and who thought that they were serving God 
 by violent outbursts against those whom they 
 regarded as sinners and heretics. (John 16:2.) 
 A similar thought occurs in Eccl. 7: 9, "Be 
 not hasty in thy spirit: for anger resteth in 
 the bosom of fools." Our text is more specific 
 than Matt. 5: 22. No emphasis falls upon the 
 word man, as if the inspired writer were here 
 warning against a passion more intense and 
 constant than thatof the child, and more vehe- 
 ment and violent than thatof the woman. The 
 principle applies to all classes and cases. Lu- 
 ther: "Anger and punishment are not prohib- 
 ited when God's command and the necessity 
 of the case require; but wrath which springs 
 from personal impulse and p ission, and 
 which is a brief madness." By a spirit so 
 contrary to its own the cause of Religion can- 
 not be promoted. On the contrary, only a 
 temper serene under injury and submissive 
 in affliction, as it is of divine origin, is fitted 
 to receive and propagate the truth. See next 
 verse. 
 
 I. Division, 21-2: 26. The Godly in 
 Trial and Temptation must be Swift to 
 Hear. 
 
 1. The word must be received as the inner 
 law. Ver. 21. 
 
 21. Wherefore lay apart (better, putting 
 off, as a defiled garment) all filthiness. In 
 this verse the exposition of the first division 
 of the Epistle begins, the heed and honor to 
 
28 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the en- 
 grafted word, which is able to save your souls. 
 
 22 But be ye doers of the word, aud not hearers only 
 deceiving your own selves. ' 
 
 [Ch. I. 
 
 ness and overflowing of i wickedness, receive with 
 meekness the ^implanted word, which is able to 
 
 22 save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and 
 
 23 not hearers only, deluding your own selves For if 
 
 1 Or, malice 2 Or, inborn. 
 
 be accorded to the word. 'Wherefore' points 
 back to the previous verse, and prepares for 
 the injunction in regard to the manner of re- 
 ceiving the word. 'Filthiness' is the syno- 
 nym of wickedness ; the adjective is used in a 
 similar figurative sense in Rev. 22: 11: "He 
 that is filthy let him be filthy still." It rep- 
 resents sin as the defilement of human nature, 
 and hence embraces, not only immorality, 
 but wrath also. (Actsis: 20; i PeterS: 21.) And 
 superfluity of naughtiness— that is, abund- 
 ance or excess of maliciousness. The evil 
 here condemned is that which is opposite to 
 meekness, as the connection shows; it is the 
 wickedness which finds expression and plea- 
 sure in injuries to others. (Epii.4: 31. coi.a: s: Titus 
 3: 3.) It is the active hostility which disturbs 
 Christian fellowship, and vitiates the inculca- 
 tion of Christian truth. The evil which lurks 
 within, and that which streams out into life, 
 must be repressed and rejected, that there 
 may be place and opportunity for the good to 
 grow. (iPeter2:i;Eph. 4;22, 23.) In meckness re- 
 ceive the engrafted (better, implanted) 
 word. 'Meekness' is a spirit, gentle and 
 kindly under provocation. It is, specially. 
 Christian love and forbearance in reference 
 to others, (i Peter 3: 15.) Thosc whom James 
 addressed were not to hear the word that it 
 might be used as a weapon of maliciousness, 
 nor were they to indulge toward its unsparing 
 teachers an angry stubbornness or impetuous 
 opposition, which would eifectually "bar the 
 ear, the mind, the heart, the life against the 
 truth." On the contrary, the word was to be 
 received and taken to heart (Matt. 13 : 23)^ work- 
 ing deliverance from sin inwardly. The ex- 
 pression is paradoxical. They had already 
 received' the word ; they were to receive it 
 again and again that their spiritual life might 
 flourish. The word is the gospel, which is 
 compared to seed. (1 Peter 1:23 ; Luke 8: 4.) Which 
 is able to save your souls. Here is the 
 ground of the exhortation. Heed and honor 
 the word as the agency which God employs 
 to save you. The gospel is "the power of 
 God unto salvation unto every one that be- 
 lieveth." (Kom. i: 16; johnc: 63, es.) It convcvs 
 
 [ transcendent blessings to the soul. As those, 
 therefore, who would enjoy the pre:,ent sup- 
 ports and graces that it conveys, and the 
 future blessedness that it pledges, you are 
 required to submit your natures to its trans- 
 forming influence. To give up our sins by a 
 genuine repentance and to embrace the gospel 
 with faith and docility is the only method by 
 which the immortal soul can be saved ; then 
 the word becomes for us and in us "mighty 
 through God." 
 
 2. The word must be heeded as the rule of 
 life. Ver. 22-25. 
 
 22. That the word must be received as the 
 rule of life is now shown in the paragraph. 
 (Ver. 22.25.) Hence it must be not only obeyed 
 (ver. 22-24), but pondered and persisted in. 
 (Ver. 25.) But be ye doers of- the word. 
 'But' connects this verse with the previous 
 one, and guards the reader against the sup- 
 position that a mere recognition of the truth 
 of the gospel suflBces for salvation. It is not 
 necessarily implied that those to whom the 
 injunction was addressed had not obeyed at 
 all. Johnstone: "The believer should al- 
 ways be becoming in larger measure what he 
 is already in some measure, wise, holy, and 
 happy." The doers of the word are the ob- 
 servers of the gospel, those who recognize it 
 as prescribing a line of conduct, and who 
 obey its prescriptions as their law. (ver.25.) 
 " Truth is for life. " And not hearers only, 
 deceiving your OAvn selves. The passage 
 is an allusion to the "Sermon on the Mount." 
 (Matt. 7: 24.) The Same thought occurs in Rom. 
 2: 13. The use of this word 'hearers,' in- 
 stead of 'readers,' refers us to an age when 
 the gospel was known for the most part only 
 through the communications of the living 
 teacher. Those who satisfy themselves merely 
 with an ineflPective knowledge of the word, 
 cheat or defraud themselves. The term ren- 
 dered 'deceiving' meant originally, drawing 
 false conclusio7is, but it came to suggest the 
 idea of loss as well as of delusion. Compare 
 the Septuagint, Gen. 31 : 7, 41. God's people 
 are not actors, to whom a solemn but empty 
 role of profession has been assigned, but 
 
Ch. L] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 29 
 
 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, 
 he is like uutu a man beholding his natural face in a 
 
 24 For he behokleth himself, and goelh his way, and 
 straightway forgetteth what mauner of man he was. 
 
 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty. 
 
 any one is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he 
 is like unto a man beholding his i natural face in a 
 
 24 mirror: fur he beholdeth himself, and goeth away, 
 and straightway forgetteth what manner of man be 
 
 25 was. But he that looketli into the perfecl law, the 
 
 1 Gr. the /ace 0/ hie birth. 
 
 factors .sent out to trafBc for him with heavenly- 
 graces and temporal things. (Adams, on 2 
 Peter p. 00(3. ) 
 
 2a. For. The statement made in verse 22 is 
 now confirmed by a comparison. The mere 
 hearer of the word is likened to one who idly 
 beholds his image in a mirror. The mirrors 
 used by the ancients were of polished metal. 
 (Kxod.38: 8; Job 37: 18.) Usually the imperfect image 
 they gave was employed to indicate our 
 scanty knowledge of divine things, which we 
 see as by means of a mirror "darkly," as in 
 1 Cor. 13: 12, although glass may be here 
 meant, or talc. But here the fact that the 
 mirror does give an image, otherwise unseen, 
 is made to illustrate the principle under con- 
 sideration. It exhibits to the beholder his 
 natural face, literally, the face of his birth, 
 the face he was born with. This is distin- 
 guished from the real man— the moral 
 physiognomy— the true portrait of the soul. 
 The word of God can alone exhibit the man 
 as he is, and reveal to him the disorders and 
 defilements of unregenerate nature. (i Cor. 
 u: 24,25.) And he who hears the word and is 
 not a doer, simply looks into the mirror. 
 That the observation is careless and hasty, 
 although not indicated by the words, is im- 
 plied in the figure and in the language of the 
 next verse. 
 
 24. For introduces the explanation of the 
 figure, which is given in the narrative form— 
 "for he beheld himself and has gone away, 
 and straightway he forgot what manner of 
 man he was (in the mirror)." A common 
 experience is represented (so also in ver. 11) 
 as a single past event. The mere hearing of 
 the word does not benefit the man any more 
 than did his transient look into the mirror. 
 (Matt. 7: 24. seq.) The haste and carelessness 
 with which he has turned to other matters is 
 indicated, not only by straightway, but by 
 the repetition of the conjunctions. The re- 
 sult is forgetful ness. (2Peteri;9.) The reflec- 
 tion of the mirror does not remove the stains 
 and disorders it discloses; the revelations of 
 the word are of no advantage unless they in- 
 
 duce a spiritual change. They show to a 
 man his moral condition, his want of con- 
 formity to the requirements of God, and be- 
 ing forgotten they leave him unreformed and 
 unblest. 
 
 Note — Our translators decided wisely when 
 they declined to transfer the Greek idiom in 
 this passage into our language; indeed we 
 cannot but admire their judgment in the 
 translation of the aorist in almost every in- 
 stance where it occurs in our Epistle. In 
 twelve instances, where it has reference to 
 historical events (2; 21-25; 5: n, is), they ren- 
 der it as the exact equivalent, of the histori- 
 cal perfect of the Latins. Thirteen times 
 they render it by our perfect tense, with the 
 auxiliary "have"; here the reference is to 
 events occurring in indefinite past time. 
 Usually the habitual actions of the parties ad- 
 dressed, or else the dealings of God with his 
 people. (2: 5, 6; 5: 3, 5, 11.) There is but one 
 exception (5: 10), where the historical event 
 should have been given in the narrative form, 
 "the prophets who spoke." In nine instances 
 the aorist has been translated by the present, 
 the reference being made, with one exception, 
 to general fitcts ; the assertions are valid for all 
 times, and therefore also for the present. Com- 
 pare the fading flower (i: n), the observer at 
 the mirror (i: "), the social customs. (2: •». etc.) 
 The text 4: 5 is exceptional ; here the perfect 
 would have been more appropriate. Prof. 
 Dill, of Howard College, has carefully grouped 
 and illustrated these passages; but his essay 
 upon the subject is too elaborate for reproduc- 
 tion here. 
 
 25. Here the figure is retained; but, in con- 
 trast with the negectful hearer, who receives 
 no benefit from the word, the hearer to whom 
 it imparts a blessing is described. The one 
 looks, the other gazes; the one continues, 
 the other goes away; the one forgets, the 
 other observes and does. The beginning of 
 this verse adopts the narrative form of ver. 24. 
 
 Whoso looketh into gives a stronger idea 
 than beholding; it implies that the beholder 
 bends towards the object he regards with 
 
30 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. I. 
 
 and continiieth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, | law of liberty, and so continueth beine not a l.pqrer 
 
 but a doer ol the work, this mau shall be blessed in his 1 that forgetteth, but a doer that workelh tliis Yuan 
 
 ^^\f ^ , ,. . I 26 shall be blessed in his doing. If any luau'i tliinketh 
 
 26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and | himsell to be religious, while he bridleth not his 
 
 1 Or, eeemeth to he. 
 
 earnest scrutiny. Compare Coleridge "Aid 
 to Refl." Aph. 23 n. Peter uses the same 
 word to express the interest of angels in the 
 work of redemption, and in allusion also to 
 the Cherubim stooping over the mercy seat. 
 (iPeteri: 12.) The perfect law of liberty. 
 The gospel, as containing the rule of Chris- 
 tian life— the truth which as received into the 
 heart makes the believer free (John 8: 32.) from 
 the bondage of ceremonies (Acts is: 10), and 
 from the despotism of the passions. The 
 inspired writer doubtless has in view the most 
 debasing and miserable of servitudes. (Jahn's 
 "Archeology" ^ 172.) "The code of ethics 
 which had been proclaimed by Christ, and of 
 which the Sermon on the Mount remains as 
 the great pattern and example." (Plumptre.) 
 This new law was 'perfect' because it was 
 spiritual. And it was a 'law of liberty' be- 
 cause it transformed the nature, brought it 
 under the influence of elevating and com- 
 manding motives, and thus produced an un- 
 constrained and joyful obedience to God. 
 (Rom. 8:2.) The sense of spiritual liberty is 
 a holy impulse to serve God. Even under 
 the Old Dispensation, those who entered into 
 the deeper spirit of the law experienced its 
 sweetness, (ps. i9: s-ii.) In every age — 
 
 He is the freeman whom the truth makes free. 
 
 And all are slaves beside. 
 And continueth therein. This does not 
 express the idea of James. 'Therein' should 
 be stricken out. The idea is that the beholder 
 continues looking into the law, so as to com- 
 prehend it and be prepared to carry out its 
 prescriptions. The hearer must attend to and 
 utilize the discoveries of the law, as one lin- 
 gers at the mirror and attentively scrutinizes 
 its reflections, so that the person may be im- 
 proved and adorned. He being not a for- 
 getful hearer. 'A forgetful hearer,' is, liter- 
 ally, hearer of forgetfidness, the genitive of 
 the noun expressing quality, being used in the 
 place of the adjective. Thus, in Luke 16: 8, 
 "Steward of injustice" signifies "unjust 
 steward." The .same form of expression 
 appears in chapter 2: 4, "judges of evil 
 thoughts," for "evil-thinking judges." But 
 
 a doer of the Avork. 'The' should be omit- 
 ted. ' A doer of work ' is an emphatic expres- 
 sion, indicating the necessary effect of the 
 law upon one who attends to it; then it can- 
 not but awaken the pious activity. This 
 man is also emphatic; certainly he, and only 
 he, will enjoy the liberty and probity which 
 the law enjoins and confers. Shall be 
 blessed in his deed. There is doubtless 
 here a reference to the beatitudes of the 
 Sermon on the Mount, (Matt. 5: s-n), which 
 Jesus not only promised, but experienced. 
 (John 4: 34.) The blessing connected with a life 
 of pious conduct is real, and abiding; it goes 
 out into a future that has no bounds. In his 
 deed (or, works, the singular being used for 
 the plural), not by it. Salvation by works is 
 not implied, but the correspondence and in- 
 separableness of obedience and salvation. [It 
 would, I think, be more correct to translate 
 the clause, "shall be blessed in his doing.'' 
 The doer of Christian work finds a blessedness 
 which he does not consciously seek, in doing 
 this work. "It is more blessed to give than 
 to receive." (Acts20: 35.) In like manner every 
 act of service to the Lord is in deepest har- 
 mony with the spiritual constitution of man, 
 and brings into his soul true peace.— A. H.] 
 
 3. The speech must be regulated by the word. 
 Ver. 26. 
 
 26. Having insisted upon the authority of 
 the word as the rule of life, James proceeds 
 to show that the speech must be regulated and 
 guided by it. If any man among you seem 
 to be religious. 'Among you' should be 
 omitted. The meaning of religions can 
 scarcely be expressed, except by a para- 
 phrase. It relates not to the essence of 
 religion, but to its external service; not to 
 piety, but to worship (so in the Syriac)— a 
 sense in which the adjective is still used in 
 the unreformed countries of Europe. The 
 member of a monastic order, whose life is 
 largely devoted to acts of worship, is called a 
 " religious." The text may be rendered : If 
 any one think himself to be a tvorshipper, not 
 bridling his tongue, but deceiving his own 
 heart, this man" s worship is vain. Johnstone 
 
Ch. 1] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 31 
 
 bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, 
 this luan's religion is vain. , , ^ „ , i »i „ 
 
 ■n I'ure rtligiou and undefiled before God and the 
 Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in 
 iheir affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the 
 world. 
 
 tongue but deceiveth his heart, this man's religion 
 27 is vain. Pure religion and iiudetiKd belore 'our 
 God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and 
 widows in their affliction, and to keep himsclt un- 
 spotted from the world. 
 
 1 Or, God and our Fattier. 
 
 translates religious by "observants of religious 
 service," and religion by "religious service." 
 'Seem,' imagine himself, implies tliat the 
 opinion is false, (mhu.6: 7; i cor.s: is.) Among 
 the Jews, religion largely consisted in external 
 services ; and it was natural that one who dili- 
 gently devoted himself to their performance 
 should regard himself as peculiarly acceptable 
 to God. To this Paul referred (Acts 26: 5), where 
 the same word is used for ' religion' as in this 
 verse. And bridleth not his tongue— does 
 not hold his longue in check. An apt figure, 
 which James repeats (3:2.3), and which is 
 common in the Greek poets. The importance 
 of the subject leads him to discuss it more at 
 large (3: 112), and again in the conclusion of 
 his Epistle. {5:12-18.) But the immediate ref- 
 erence here is not to the number and enormity 
 of the sins of the tongue, but to the presumed 
 religious use of that member. James is 
 rebuking those whose zeal exhausts itself in 
 intemperate speech for what they regard as 
 the truth and cause of God, and who suppose 
 that this is true religious service. But de- 
 ceiveth his own heart. The condemnation 
 already implied in the previous clause is 
 now asserted. The term is more general and 
 stronger tiian that in ver. 22. A licentious 
 and intemperate tongue cannot perform even 
 a sincere service to God. The thought is 
 brought out more distinctly in the character- 
 ization of such service— it is 'vain,' it is not 
 only fruitless, but unsubstantial. Compare 
 1: 20. Like James, the Jewish philosopher, 
 Philo, condemned those who practiced &ritunl 
 religion (same word as in our text) instead of 
 holiness. 
 
 4. The social intercourse must be regulated 
 by the toord. 1 : 27-2 : 13. 
 
 a. In society, the gospel enjoins a ritual 
 service of charity. 
 
 27. Now, to the unacceptable religious 
 service of the unbridled tongue (ver. 26) is 
 opposed pure religion (worship) and unde- 
 filed before God. 'Pure' and 'undefiled' 
 have kindred meanings which it is not easy to 
 distinguish. Yet, from their connection with 
 
 the appositives, to visit the afflicted and to 
 keep aloof from a polluting world, we agree 
 with Bengel in referring the first to the in- 
 most principle of religious service, self- 
 forgetful and self-sacrificing love; and the 
 second to our relations with the external 
 world. The being whom we adore is a Holy 
 Qod. He is the Father in whom the fatherless 
 findeth mercy. (p«- 6» ■ »•) And we serve him 
 acceptably when we cultivate a spirit like his 
 own. The general thought of the text has 
 been finely expressed by Coleridge (" Aids to 
 Ref. Aph.," 23): "The outward service of 
 ancient religion, the rites, ceremonies, and 
 ceremonial vestments of the old law, had 
 morality for their substance. They were the 
 letter, of which morality was the spirit; the 
 enigma, of which morality was the meaning. 
 But morality itself is the service and cere- 
 monial of the Christian religion. The scheme 
 of grace and truth that became, through Jesus 
 Christ, the faith that looks down into the 
 perfect law of liberty, has light for its gar- 
 ment; its very robe is righteousness.'' Is 
 this, to visit the fatherless and widows 
 in their affliction. 'This,' preceding the 
 (Greek) infinitives, gives emphasis. To exer- 
 cise pitiful and helpful love to the needy is to 
 render acceptable worship to God. ' To visit' 
 (the species for the genus) is to seek out, in 
 order to relieve, to care and provide for, as 
 God visits his people. Luke 7 : 19. Compare 
 Matt. 25 : 36, 43 ; Jer. 23 : 2. ' Fatherless and 
 widows' (by synecdoche of part for the whole), 
 stand for all the afflicted and uncared for whom 
 it may be in our power to relieve. These two 
 cla.sses are the types of earth's sufl^erers. 
 (jf,b29:i2.) The church to which James be- 
 longed specially cared for them. (acis9:m.) 
 Paul demanded, in his Epi.stle to Timothy, 
 that widows should not be neglected. (iTin.. 
 5:3,9.) And to keep himself (one'.s self) 
 unspotted from the world. 'And,' pre- 
 ceding this second infinitive clause, is not in 
 the original. Its omission makes the sentence 
 more impressive. The course commended is, 
 to guard one's self from the world, so as not 
 
32 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. II. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 M 
 
 Y brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, Ike Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 
 
 1 My brethren, i hold not the faith of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, the Lurd of glory, with respect of per- 
 
 1 Or, do ye, in accepting persona, hold the faith . . . glory t 
 
 to be contaminated by it. Compare Matt. 
 16: 12. The world is not only "the mass of 
 unrenewed humanity," which is separated 
 from God, and is under the control of Satan 
 (iJoha5: 19), and subject to secuhir interests and 
 carnal passions, but whatever circumstances 
 and objects inflame the lusts of nature. Be- 
 lievers must come in contact with the world ; 
 but, unlike the Pharisees, who sought to 
 guard hand or skirt from what was cere- 
 monially unclean, they were commanded to 
 guard their minds and hearts from its con- 
 taminating influence. What need there was 
 of vigilance (iTim. 5: 21) and prayer (Johnu: 15) 
 against this danger, Tholuck has shown in 
 his essay on "The ^Natureand Moral Influ- 
 ence of Heathenism." Translated by Prof. 
 Emerson in "Biblical Repository " 1832, Nos. 
 v., VI., VII. A more terrible indictment was 
 never written, nor a more fearful warning. A 
 similar injunction to that in the last clause of 
 our text was given by .James in the letter sent 
 by the .Jerusalem Conference to the Gentile 
 churches. (Acts 15 : 20-29.) What was needed 
 was not the external ablutions punctiliously 
 observed by so many, but the internal purity 
 of which those rites were the sign. Clemens 
 ("Horn." xi. 28) says: "The essential thing 
 in worship is to be pure." 
 
 b. In the Church the word is the principle 
 of impartial and cordiiil fellowship. 2: 1-9. 
 
 1. In the last verse of the previous chapter, 
 James states that the divine service of Chris- 
 tianity is charity. He now proceeds to con- 
 sider the gospels as the principle of conde- 
 scension and fraternity, a theme to which 
 chapter 2: 1-9 is devoted. The theme is pre- 
 sented in the form of a warning against the 
 odious social distinctions prevalent in the 
 churches, distinctions based upon gifts of 
 fortune only. My brethren appropriately 
 and impressively introduces the admonition. 
 Christ's disciples have an intimate and sacred 
 bond of union in the common relationship 
 they bear to the glorious Lord. Have not 
 the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 
 Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 
 
 For 'have not' read hold not. The emphatic 
 form of the text would be better represented 
 by: "Let it not be with respects of persons 
 that ye hold." ' Respects of persons' are fav- 
 orable estimates of others, based, not upon 
 what is praiseworthy in them, but upon exter- 
 nal appearances and relations, as beauty, 
 power, and splendor of dress, wealth, etc. 
 (Gal. 2: 6; Eom. 2: 11.) James uscs the plural to 
 condemn all the forms and instances in which 
 this vice finds expression. Christianity per- 
 mits no depreciation of the lowly, wretched, 
 and poor; hence, true faith cannot be held in 
 connection with unrighteous disdain for those 
 who enjoy no external advantages. 'The 
 faith of our Lord' (objective genitive) signi- 
 fies the faith in our Lord. Such faith not only 
 confers on its possessor, but also recognizes 
 in other men, a glory far transcending all 
 worldly honor. Hence, he who despises a 
 human being because he is poor, or, in partic- 
 ular contemns a friend of Jesus because he is 
 clothed in an humble and soiled garb, cannot 
 be a true disciple of so great a Lord. He was 
 no respecter of persons (Matt. 22: le); but, on the 
 contrary, even preferred the poor. 'The 
 Lord of glory' (genitive of qualit}'^): 'the 
 Lord,' which is not in the original, is repeated 
 in our version to suit the structure of the sen- 
 tence in English ; better, 02ir glorious Lord. 
 He issued from and he returned to the eternal 
 glory (John 17: 5), and he bestows glory upon 
 his disciples. (Rom.8:i8.) Before him wealth 
 and rank are trifles, in comparison with char- 
 acter, and Christians also should so regard 
 them. The Syriac makes the genitive qualify 
 faith, "the faith of glory," or "the glorious 
 faith." 
 
 2-4. In these verses is given an example 
 of the unchristian partiality which called for 
 the admonition in ver. 1, and an indication 
 of the source of this conduct. The verbs used 
 in the Greek (aorists in this and the subse- 
 quent verses, especially in ver. 4, where the 
 aorist indicative is used) show that the inci- 
 dents are regarded as having already taken 
 place. A literal rendering into English would 
 be awkward. Johnstone: "See what you 
 
Ch. II.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 33 
 
 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with 
 a gold ling, in goodly apparel, and there come in also 
 a poor luau in vile raiment; 
 
 3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay 
 clothing, and say unto him, fiit thou here in a good 
 
 Elace ; and say to the poor, stand thou there, or sit 
 ere under my footstool : 
 
 2 sons. For if there come into your i synagogue a 
 man with a gold ring, in line clothing, and there 
 
 3 come in also a poor man in vile clothing; and ye 
 have regard to nim that wearetli the hue clothing, 
 and say, feit thou here in a good place ; and ye say 
 
 1 Or, assejnblj/. 
 
 have done, and consider the state of the heart 
 thus revealed." For assigns the reason for 
 the admonition : a sinful partiality had been 
 shown in an obsequiousness to the rich and 
 distinguished and a heartless depreciation of 
 the poor. Unto your assembly— literally, 
 into your synagogue, the place where a Chris- 
 tian church assembled for divine worship. 
 This would be the sj'nagogue, if the commu- 
 nity had become Cliristian. (Vitringa, "De 
 Syn. Vet.," I., 3, 2.) In an^' event, the Jew- 
 ish Christians would give the familiar name 
 to the place where they resorted to worship 
 (Epiph. "Hteres," 30; Stanley, "Jewish 
 Ch.," III., 517; Lightfoot, "On Phil." 150), 
 and they would be apt to adopt the same 
 internal arrangements. That the sj'nagogue 
 indicates the place, rather than the assembly, 
 seems clear from the reference to seats in the 
 next verse. Some of the seats were accounted 
 more honorable thtm others, (ver. 3.) The 
 synagogues were accessible to all; so were 
 the Christian assemblies, (icor. u:25.) Burder 
 improperly represents the assembly as a court 
 of judicature. 
 
 [Yet is it not better to understand the words, 
 "your synagogue," in this place as meaning 
 "your assembly," referring to the people 
 who met for worship, rather than to the place 
 where they met? See Thayer, " Lexicon of 
 the N. T.," s. V. (Tvvaytoyri, z. a.; also Cremer, 
 " Theol. Lex.," s. v., and compare Luke 12: 
 11; Acts 9: 12; 13: 43; 26: 11; and 2 Thess. 2: 
 1; Heb. 10: 25. Punchard says: "This is the 
 only place in the New Testament where the 
 Jewish word is used for a Christian congrega- 
 tion." " N. Test. Commentary," etc., Ed. by 
 C. J. Ellicott, on this verse. But the com- 
 pound word eirt<7u>'ay(ov^ in Heb. 10: 25 is per- 
 haps best understood in the same way : " Not 
 forsaking our own assembly." — A. H.] 
 
 A man with a gold ring, in goodly 
 apparel. Literally, a man gold-ringed, in 
 shining apparel. In that age rings were a 
 more marked evidence of wealth and rank 
 than they are now. They once distinguished 
 3 " i 
 
 senators and knights, but were now in more 
 general use. The rich men of the empirci 
 some of them, wore a ring on every joint, or 
 even had six rings to a linger. Grorgeous 
 clothing was also in great request, striking 
 effects in dress, which among us have been 
 toned down by Protestant Christianity, — 
 "combinations of gold embroidery with Tyr- 
 ian purple and crimson," and the like. The 
 robe thrown in mockery upon our Lord was 
 of this sort. (Luke23:u.) A poor man in 
 vile raiment. A dress soiled and begrimed, 
 such as the laborer is wont to wetir — the 
 opposite of the elegant and brilliant robes of 
 the rich. The term here is the same as that 
 in the Septuagint of Zech. 3: 3, 4, where the 
 high priest is represented as clothed in 
 squalid garments, instead of the splendid 
 dress appropriate to his oflBce. The specific 
 idea is uncleaniiness. Compare 1 : 21 ; Rev. 
 22: 11. There is no occasion for discussing 
 the question whether the persons referred 
 to here were members of the Church or Chris- 
 tian guests coming in from abroad, or casual, 
 unconverted attendants upon the public ser- 
 vice. James is not drtiwing any sharp distinc- 
 tion between such persons and the Church ; 
 but is denouncing a partiality based only upon 
 externals, and expressing itself in a place of 
 Christian worship. The men referred to might 
 be either Christians (ver. 5) or persons seeking 
 instruction in Christian doctrine, or drawn to 
 the synagogue merely by curiosity. In any 
 case, they all were entitled to courtesy — 
 nothing more and nothing less. 
 
 3. And ye have respect unto him — liter- 
 ally, look upon him, implying favorable re- 
 gard, as in Luke 1: 48; 9: 38; in this case 
 with reverence and admiration. The splen- 
 did dress attracts the eye; the character of 
 the man himself is whollj' overlooked. The 
 words describing the rich man's attire are the 
 same as in ver. 2. Sit thou here in a good 
 place — literally, pleasantly. The idcti of 
 convenience is prominent ; but thjit of honor 
 is not excluded. This is also iDiii^jlSttdi in the 
 
34 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. II. 
 
 4 Are ye not theu partial in yourselves, and are be- 
 come judges of evil thoughts? 
 
 5 Heiirken, luy 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? 
 
 to the poor man, Stand thou there, or sit under my 
 
 4 footstool; 1 are ye not divided ^^ in your own niiud, 
 
 5 and become judges with evil thoughts? Hearken' 
 my beloved brethren ; did not God choose theui 
 that are poor as to the world lo be rich in faith, and 
 heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them 
 
 1 Or, do ye not make distinctions 2 Or, among yoursetv 
 
 contrasts, 'sit' and 'stand,' 'here' and 'there, 
 'in a good place' and 'under my footstool.' 
 In the synagogues that part of the structure 
 which pointed toward Jerusalem and where 
 there was a chapel, with four columns, which 
 contained the sacred parchments, was es- 
 teemed the most honorable place. The up- 
 permost seats were those nearest the chapel. 
 (Matt.23:6.) In the cliurches, the seats of 
 honor would be those occupied by the elders 
 of the church, and near to the Eucharistic 
 table. These would also be most convenient 
 to those who wished to enjoy or conduct the 
 service. It is implied that those persons, 
 whether deacons or other ushers, who took 
 charge of this matter, acted by the authority 
 and according to the will of the church. Say 
 unto him. 'Unto him' should be omitted. 
 And say to the poor, stand thou there or 
 sit (here) under my footstool. The ad- 
 dress shows utter indifference either to the 
 comfort or the sensibility of the poor man. 
 'Either go yonder, where you can see and hear 
 only bystanding; or if you wouldcome nearer, 
 then sit on the floor.' Others had not only 
 comfortable seats, but also stools to rest the 
 feet upon. [The word 'here' after "sit" did 
 not probably belong to the original text. It 
 is omitted by Lach., Tisch., and Tregelles, 
 after A B C— A. H.] 
 
 4. Are ye not then partial in your- 
 selves? Omit 'then.' This is not the point 
 which the writer needs to urge. The partiality 
 of feeling is proved already by the partiality' 
 in conduct. The verb retains the same signi- 
 fication as in 1 : 6, and constantly elsewhere 
 in the New Testament. Do you not doubt 
 within yourselves? Do you not doubt your 
 own faith and the honor it confers, when you 
 make such distinctions? Do you not tamper 
 with, and discredit the faith (ver. i), which 
 proclaims external splendor and riches as 
 worthless in religion, while you yourselves 
 magnify them by your servility? The ques- 
 tion in the original is in the past tense, as 
 relating to something which had already 
 occurred. And are become judges of evil 
 
 thoughts? (Genitive of quality.) Evil- 
 thinking judges, who are swayed by the per- 
 verse opinions which distinguish the votaries 
 of the world from the followers of Christ. 
 Whenever such distinctions prevail in a 
 church, the mere creed has no validity. At 
 heart its members prefer the transitory to the 
 enduring, and their conduct is in conflict 
 with their consciences and their religion. 
 Plumptre: "In acting as they did, men 
 made themselves judges between rich and 
 poor and with 'base reasonings' ; or, better, 
 perhaps, what we call 'base calculations' 
 gave a preference to the former. These evil 
 thoughts are the cause of their partial and 
 odious decisions.'' 
 
 5. James proceeds to show how perverse 
 and unchristian was the conduct he reproved. 
 On the one hand, to depreciate the poor was 
 to contravene God's loving purposes toward 
 them. (ver. 5.) On the other hand, to flatter 
 the rich, as such, was to encourage the arro- 
 gant spirit which was now raging against 
 Christians (ver. e), and the dread Lord whose 
 name they bore. (ver. 7.) First comes the 
 urgent call Hearken (attend to this), my 
 beloved brethren. (i:i6, 17.) The argu- 
 ment here as in the succeeding verses is put 
 in the spirited form of a question. 
 
 Hath not God chosen the poor of this 
 world. Better rendered. Did not God choose 
 the poor as to this world ? Compare 1 Cor. 
 1 : 27. God did not choose all the poor, but 
 the poor in preference to the rich. The 
 church at Jerusalem was poor, and so in 
 general were the early Christians. Our text 
 indeed refers to those who are poor in the esti- 
 mation of the world, but only those who are 
 destitute of worldly substance are so esteemed. 
 God's preferences create a presumption in 
 favor of the poor, which Christians should 
 recognize in estimating the relations and ad- 
 justing the civilities of life. It is not per- 
 mitted us to contemn that cla.ss from which 
 the heavenly King is wont to select his 
 heralds and his heirs. (Lake 6: 20 : Matt. 5: 3.) 
 Rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. 
 
Ch. II.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 35 
 
 6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men 
 oppress you, and draw you belore the judgment seals? 
 
 7 Do not they blaspheme thai worthy name by the 
 which ye are called ? 
 
 6 that love him ? But ye have dishonoured the poor 
 man. Do not the rich <)|)i)ress you, and theuiselvc-s 
 
 7 drag you before the judgmtul-seats? Do not they 
 blaspheme the honourable name 'by the which ye 
 
 8 are called? Howbeit if ye lullil the royal law, ac- 
 
 1 Gr. which was called upon you. 
 
 Insert to be before 'rich.' Thu hiith is not 
 the wealth itself; but the sphere in which 
 the wealth is enjo^-ed. Believers are rich 
 through faith; by this principle they are re- 
 lated to an invisible world, and enjoy the 
 blessings of the Spirit, righteousness, and 
 peace, and joy. Heirs of the kingdom. 
 In addition to ineonij)arable blessings now, 
 believers have glorious prospects. However 
 poor as to the world, they are "if children, 
 then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with 
 Christ, to an inheritance incorruptible, unde- 
 filed, and that fadeth not away." Kom. 8: 
 17; 1 Peter 1: 4. (Storr's "Diss, on King- 
 dom of Christ," ? 8.) Which he halh 
 promised to them that love him. To 
 faith is given the riches of grace; to love the 
 dignities of heaven. The divine kingdom, 
 as promised to these trustful hearts, is that 
 future and perfect order of things which will 
 ensue when Christ solemnly returns from 
 heaven ; when the dead will be restored to 
 life; when all the sorrows that oppress the 
 present life will be removed, and all the 
 powers hostile to God will be subdued. (Matt. 
 
 6: 10:26:29:L-akel3: .TO;2PeterI; 11.) (Grimm.) The 
 
 allusion is to such assurances of our Lord as 
 are recorded in Luke 6: 20; 12: 31, 32, 
 " Blessed are ye poor for yours is the king- 
 dom of God." "Fear not little flock; it is 
 your Father's good pleasure to give you the 
 kingdom." The poor to whom these promises 
 are given are those who are endowed with 
 faith and love, kindred sentiments, of which 
 the second is the beautiful undergrowth of 
 the first. External poverty is indeed not in 
 itself a blessing; it becomes so "in as far 
 only as the want of earthly treasures and 
 earthly comforts leads us to seek a more en- 
 during treasure and a more abiding consola- 
 tion." (Forbes "Scrip. Parallelism," p. 109.) 
 0. But ye— in contrast with God, who 
 honors the poor, and chooses them as the 
 heirs of his kingdom. Have despised the 
 poor — better, hut ye disgraced the poor. The 
 verb (in the aorist) refers to the case indicated 
 in ver. 2, 8. Those whom James addressed 
 had not only despised the poor in their hearts, 
 
 but had expressed their contempt bj' discrimi- 
 nating against them. 'The poor' (a mascu- 
 line adjective-noun in the singular, with the 
 article) stands for the whole class; Winer; 
 Syriac, "the poor man." Do not rich men 
 oppress you? Plumptre : "Lord it over 
 you." Another argument against obsequious- 
 ness to the rich is derived from their notorious 
 oppressions. In Judea the wealthy were, for 
 the most part, Sadducees (Jos. "Ant.," 13, 
 10, 6), who, although they had little faith to 
 contend for, were yet foremost in their perse- 
 cutions of the early Christians. "The aris- 
 tocracy' of the priesthood" belonged to this 
 sect. Compare Acts 4: 1, 6; 5: 17. Violence 
 in enforcing the payment of debts is not here 
 referred to, but the persecutions which were 
 dictated by the love of rule and the pride of 
 station. And draw you before the judg- 
 ment seats — better, and do not they drag you 
 (the same verb occurs Acts 21 : 30) into courts 
 of justice. The rich used violence towards 
 the Christian poor, even in bringing them 
 before the magistrates and invoking against 
 them the authority of law. It was from that 
 class that persecutions chieflj' came; hence, 
 those who belonged to it were entitled to no 
 special consideration in the house of God. 
 They, omitted in our version, is emphatic: Is 
 it not they who drag you? So in the next 
 verse. 
 
 7. Do not they blaspheme that worthy 
 name? — 7s it not they that blaspheme the 
 v}orthy name? The rich do not only perse- 
 cute the poor believers ; they also revile the 
 sacred name of Christ (i Peter4: i6), after whom 
 the disciples were called. (Acts ii: 26.) First, 
 doubtless, they were called Christ's people, 
 then Christians, just as we were first called 
 baptized people, then Baptists. ("Broad- 
 mead Records," pp. 15, 18.) By the which 
 ye are called?— literally, ivhirh v)as named 
 upon you, a Hebraism indicating that they 
 belonged to him whose name they bore. 
 Thus I.srael bore God's name, in sign of alle- 
 giance to him. (Deut. 28: 10.) The Jewish per- 
 secutors denounced the claim of our Lord to 
 be the Messiah whom the prophets had her- 
 
36 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. II. 
 
 8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, 
 Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well : 
 
 y But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, 
 and are convinced of the law as trausgressors. 
 
 cording to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
 
 9 hour as thyself, ye do well: but if ye have resjiect 
 
 of persons, ye commit sin, being convcted by the 
 
 10 law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the 
 
 aided, and they strove to constrain the disci- 
 ples by threats and violence to imitate their 
 example. (Acts 26: 11.) The name which in- 
 flamed the hostility of the Sadducean priests 
 was a 'worthy name,' honored by all believ- 
 ers, and deserving honor from all men. It 
 was the very hope and glory of Israel that 
 was outraged by the maledictions of the pow- 
 erful, and in the persons of Christ's perse- 
 cuted people. Hence, in their partiality to 
 the rich, the disciples not only acted foolishly, 
 but made themselves guilty of infringement 
 upon that reverence which they owed to the 
 name of Christ. (Huther.) Stanley claims 
 that all the early baptisms were in the name 
 of the Lord Jesus, which implies the Trinity: 
 the fuller formula came into use at a later 
 period. Neander also holds that the name 
 here referred to was not Christ, but Jesus. 
 ("Planting and Training of the Church," 
 p. 334.) 
 
 8. If ye fulfil the royal law, according 
 to the Scripture — yet if ye fulfil, or if indeed 
 ye fulfil. For James has in view a possible 
 objection, that in depreciating the wealthy he 
 was violating the law of love, which embraces 
 them as well as the poor. In reply James 
 commends the law, and magnifies it as a 
 'royal law,' an eminent command, having a 
 royal supremacy over all others. (Rom. i3:8-io; 
 Gai.5:u.) The Syriac translator regarded the 
 law as royal, because coming from the Hea- 
 venly King. (iJohn4:2i.) It is a sacrcd dutj', 
 enjoined under the Old Dispensation (Lev. itf:i8) 
 and re-afRrmed by our Lord (Matt. 22: 39), as the 
 principle of all right conduct in human so- 
 ciety. Compare Kom. 13: 9, 10; and, as the 
 spirit of the divine kingdom, Mark 12: 34. 
 'Law' here signifies a single command. 'Ac- 
 cording to the Scripture' is merely "a form 
 of citation." (Meyer.) Under the gospel this 
 law is termed 'new,' from its prominence, its 
 higher motive, its divine example, and its 
 broader influence. (Farrar's " Life of Christ," 
 2: 295.) Ye do well. The words have a 
 certain tone of ironical concession. The .Tews 
 accepted the law as a summary of the whole 
 body of moral legislation in reference to the 
 relations of man with man. They did not 
 
 dispute that it was of the greatest consequence 
 and utility; that it was excellent and worthy 
 of God, and that it had every claim to con- 
 sideration from all men. Whether, however, 
 they fulfilled it or not was questionable; and 
 whether they had this or sonietliing else in 
 view, in their flattering attentions to tiie rich, 
 was also worthy of consideration. Tlie lan- 
 guage suggests something stronger than doubt 
 in the writer's mind. Thou shalt love thy 
 neighbor as thyself. This command is not 
 only repeated by Christianity, but transfig- 
 ured in it. Here love to others becomes the 
 love of service and the spirit of sacrifice. "A 
 new commandment I give unto you that ye 
 love one another, as I have loced you.'''' (Joim 
 13:34,35.) Without love wc are nothing. (1 Cor. 
 13:1-3.) .Tames indeed contents himself with 
 repeating the law in the form in which it had 
 been accepted by the .Tewish people; but the 
 influence of this command, as repeated in the 
 gospel and commended by the examjjle of its 
 Author, has been unprecedented ; it has 
 changed the whole aspect of domestic and 
 social life. The compassionate love which 
 makes so many sacrifices and establishes so 
 many institutions for the relief of the wants 
 and woes of men was a virtue unknown to 
 antiquity. See the fine sketch of Christian 
 benevolence given bj' Uhlhorn. ("Conflict 
 of Christianity." p. 191-205.) 
 
 9. An answer to the pretext of the objector 
 in ver. 8. But if ye have respect to per- 
 sons — literally, if ye respect persons — ye 
 commit sin. Compare Matt. 7 : 23; Acts 10 : 
 35. The partiality you display, instead of 
 honoring the law, breaks it. The very code 
 to which you appeal designates you as the 
 guilty transgressors of its requirements. The 
 language is emphatic — it is sin that ye comtnit. 
 And are convinced (being convicted) of the 
 law as transgressors. Some think that the 
 law hero referred to is that in Lev. 19: 15, 
 or Deut. 16: 19, which indeed has respect to 
 judgments, but may be extended to include 
 marks of honor in the public assembly. Others 
 adduce the ver^' law of love (ver.s) as violated 
 bj' respects of persons; all are not loved when 
 some are depreciated. The latter reference is 
 
Ch. II.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 37 
 
 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet 
 offead in oue puint, he is guilty of all. 
 
 11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said 
 also. Do not kill. Now if thou commit no aduliery, yet 
 if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. 
 
 whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is be- 
 ll Come guilty of all. For he who said. Do not com- 
 n)it adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou 
 dost not commit adultery, but killest, thou art be- 
 12 come a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and 
 
 to be preferred. Those who respected persons 
 violated the hiw as a whole, the law in its 
 spirit. Yet the violation of a single precept 
 would involve the transgressor in the guilt 
 of rebellion against the heavenly Lawgiver. 
 
 (Ver. 10.) 
 
 c. The gospel sanctions all the prescrip- 
 tions of the Second Table of the Decalogue; 
 those relating to our relative duties. Ver. 
 10, 11. 
 
 10. For occurs both in ver. 10, 11, which 
 present the proof that partial discrimi- 
 nations are criminal. James lays down the 
 principle that he who violates one of the 
 commandments breaks all. A law proceed- 
 ing from God, and claiming the heart of the 
 creature, cannot be honored, unless it be 
 wholly and sacredly observed. The same 
 ethical paradox is found in the Rabbinical 
 writings. Rabbi Johanan says: "He who 
 does all things save one is guilty of all the 
 rest." Whosoever shall keep {hath kept) 
 the whole law. The moral law is primarily 
 referred to; yet the principle would also em- 
 brace the Christian Uiw, which the converted 
 Jews acknowledge. And yet offend {hath 
 offended) in one point. The sense is very 
 well expressed by the noun, which is supplied 
 in our version. Some, however, would prefer 
 "commandment" instead of "point." He 
 is guilty of all — better, has become guilty ; 
 he has sinned against all, and has become 
 liable to a corresponding punishment. As 
 in cases involving capital punishment one 
 offence is fatal, so under the government of 
 God the knowing and persistent violation of 
 one precept suffices to condemn, making the 
 observance of all other duties nugatory. When 
 a servant of the Lord does only what he 
 chooses, he follows, not the will of the Master, 
 but his own. He has no reverence for the 
 law, and no piety toward the Lawgiver; 
 hence even his formal acts of obedience, 
 arising from lower motives, are violations of 
 the moral code. " It is probable enough," 
 says Plumptre, "that the Pharisees, who mis- 
 represented the teaching of James in the 
 Church of Antioch, laid stress on these words 
 as including circumcision and the ceremonial 
 
 law, as well as the precepts which were moral 
 and eternal." (Actus : 1,5, 24.) 
 
 Note.— The principle of our text needed to 
 be asserted among the Jews, who were po.s- 
 sessed by "an insatiable spirit of casuistry," 
 and who were fond of debating the relative 
 value of the precepts of the law. Compare 
 Matt. 22: 34-40. Some regarded the law as to 
 fringes and phylacteries as of first importance ; 
 others the command requiring that the name 
 of Gi>d should be honored ; others the require- 
 ment of ablution. The disciples of Hillel 
 regarded certain positive precepts as of no 
 importance. A variety of curious illustra- 
 tions has been collected by Farrar. (" Life of 
 Christ," pp. 238-241.) On the contrary, the 
 object of the law is to test the spirit of obedi- 
 ence, and that spirit questions nothing that is 
 demanded. 
 
 11. The principle of the foregoing verses is 
 established by the specification of laws which, 
 however diverse in character, rested on the 
 authority of the one supreme Lawgiver. He 
 that said, Do not commit adultery, said 
 also. Do not kill. These two command- 
 ments (Exoj. M: 13,14) are specified because they 
 are the first belonging to the second table of the 
 moral law. The fifth ('Ommandment belongs to 
 the first table, dutj' to parents being regarded as 
 religious service by the Jews (Jos. "Ant.," 
 B. 6: 6; comp. 1 Tim. 5: 4), as well as by the 
 Greeks and Romans. (Taylor Lewis : "Pla- 
 tonic Theology," 87-94.) In the New Testa- 
 ment, the prohibition of adultery alwaj's pre- 
 cedes that of murder [Except probublj'- in 
 Mark 10: 19. See Revised Version.— A. H.], 
 showing that this was then the traditional 
 order. Now, if thou commit no adultery, 
 yet if thou kill, thou art become a trans- 
 gressor of the law. The conclusion refers 
 back to ver. 9. In religion the law is the 
 will of the Lawgiver; hence he who violates 
 the law in one particular violates it wholly. 
 Huther: "James, indeed, could have argued 
 also from the inner connection of all the 
 commandments, or from the fact that the 
 transgression of one commandment betrayed 
 a defect of character which made the ful- 
 filling of the rest of the law impossible; 
 
38 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. II. 
 
 12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be 
 judged by the law ol' liberty. 
 
 ly For he shall have judgment without mercy, that 
 hath shewed no mercy ; aud mercy rejoiceth against 
 judgment. 
 
 so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of 
 13 liberty. For judgment is without mercy to him 
 that hath shewed no mercy: mercy glorieth against 
 judgment. 
 
 but since he did not, such observations must 
 not be arbitrarily thrust into his words." 
 
 d. The duties we owe to men are sanctioned 
 by the final judgment. Ver. 12, 13. 
 
 12. So speak ye, and so do, as they that 
 shall be judged by the law of liberty. 
 Tlie gospel claims for the moral law the 
 solemn sanctions of the judgment, (ver. 12, i3.) 
 And the speech, as well as the conduct, must 
 be subjected to this ordeal. (Matt. 12: 37.) The 
 law is, as it were, the instrument through 
 which the judgment passes. The imperatives 
 here are in the present tense, indicating an 
 action already begun, and to be continued ; 
 or, one that is permanent and frequently 
 occurring. Hence this form is commonly 
 employed in the measured and dispassion- 
 ate language of laws and moral precepts. 
 (Winer.) The law of liberty. A favorite 
 phrase of James, com])are 1: 25, indicating 
 the preceptive will of God as the will of man, 
 subdued by grace, cheerfully surrenders to it. 
 Our Lord uses similar language. (JohQ8:32.) 
 So also does Paul (Rom. 8:2, 15) though else- 
 where he speaks of the law, when enforced 
 upon the reluctant will, as gendering to bond- 
 age. (Gal. 4: 24.) To the renewed will the law 
 is liberty, while at the same time it is the 
 rule of life and the standard of judgment. 
 And that grace in the heart which produces 
 free-will obedience to God (iPeter2:i6) will 
 awaken a pitying love toward the poor whom 
 so many were wont to despise, (vere ) 
 
 13. This passage shows the importance of 
 the tender humanity recommended (1=27), 
 and discloses the vital spirit of the law of 
 liberty. For he shall have judgment, etc. 
 — better, The judginent will be without mercy 
 to him that shewed no mercy. The law of 
 retribution here proclaimed is derived from 
 our Lord's sermon (Matt. 7 : 1, 2), "Judge not, 
 that ye be not judged. For with what judg- 
 ment ye judge, ye shall be judged : and with 
 what measure ye mete, it shall be measured 
 unto you again." Compare also Matt. 5: 2-5, 
 26 ; 6 : 12-15 ; 18 : 21-35. Mercy is a species of 
 love; it is benignity toward the unfortunate, 
 with the desire and effort to help them. (Matt. 
 9: 13.) With this gracious principle the law is 
 
 charged by the gospel ; it flows from God to 
 man, and from man to his fellows; and it 
 will serve as a criterion of character in the 
 day of final account. And mercy rejoiceth 
 against judg^irient. Omit 'and.' Instead 
 of 'rejoiceth' read 'glorieth.' The believer, 
 although a sinner, has in his own loving heart 
 the assurance that the condemning sentence 
 of the law will not be inflicted upon him ; but 
 rather expects the rewards of grace, being 
 confident tliat God will not condemn the 
 imitators of his goodness. 
 
 Earthly power doth then .«how likest God's, 
 
 When mercy seasons justice. 
 
 How many are the illustrations of this fine 
 text! Our Lord's definition and commenda- 
 tion of mercy in the parable of the Good 
 Samaritan ; the necessity of forgiveness to 
 acceptable prayer; the parable of the Unjust 
 Debtor; the picture of the last judgment, with 
 the merciful and the unmerciful divided from 
 each other inexorably and forever! Mercy is 
 the sign of the grace that makes the sinner 
 safe, and thus it becomes the joyful conscious- 
 ness of safety. Mercy and judgment are the 
 great moral influences by which religion 
 regulates the lives of men. 
 
 5. Warning against the error that specula- 
 tive faith, which does not heed tlte preceptive 
 part of the word, suffices for salvation. Ver. 
 14-26. 
 
 14. Saving faith is practical. This para- 
 graph, extending to ver. 26, closes the first 
 division of our Epistle. It is devoted to the 
 refutation of the objection that faith by itself 
 suflBces for salvation. In the present verse 
 James insists that saving faith must be practi- 
 cal. The writer has already indicated faith 
 as the condition of salvation, in declaring 
 that God begets men by the word of his truth 
 (i:~i8), and in enjoining them to receive with 
 meekness the engrafted word, which is able 
 to save the soul. But now he attacks the 
 prevalent opinion that faith without works 
 can save. The Jews regarded faith, when 
 existing alone, as saving, and in this sense in- 
 terpreted the famous passage of Habakkuk. 
 (2:4.) They used, as a morning and evening 
 passport to the throne of grace, the text : 
 
Ch. II.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 39 
 
 14 What doth, it profit, my brethren, though a man I 14 What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he 
 
 say he hath faith, and have not works? can iaith save 
 him? 
 
 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of 
 daily food, 
 
 16 And one of you say unto them. Depart in peace, 
 be t/e warmed and tilled ; notwithstanding ye give them 
 
 hath Iaith, but liave not works? can that Iaith save 
 
 15 him? If a brother or sister be naked, and in lack 
 
 16 of daily food, and one of you say unto ibem. Go in 
 peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give 
 
 "Hear O Israel; the Lord our God is one 
 Lord" (Deut.6:4); and with this proclamation 
 of the Divine Unity, the dying gave their 
 souls to God. To those who clung to the as- 
 surance that this sufficed for salvation, James 
 addressed the argument of this passage. Com- 
 pare 2: 19; Mutt. 7: 21 seq. What doth it 
 profit my brethren — literally, What is the 
 profit ? The assertion is stronger, as put into 
 an interrogative form. Though a man (any 
 one) -say he hath faith, and have not works. 
 No special emphasis should be laid upon the 
 verb 'say,' as if the statement were a mere 
 pretence. Yet neither should the sharpness 
 of its meaning be disregarded. The persons 
 in question, having no works to approve their 
 faith, could profess it only by words. 'Faith' 
 here does not occur in the Pauline sense of 
 persuasion. The only faith which can exist 
 in the case supposed is not a believing with 
 the heart unto righteousness; it is not the re- 
 ception of truth as the principle of a new life ; 
 it is a mere intellectual conviction, a specu- 
 lative tenet, external to the affections and the 
 conscience, and remote from the activities of 
 life ; a dead notion sepulchred in the brain. 
 The works referred to are such as are the 
 evidences of a living faith and the fulfillment 
 of the law of liberty. Can faith save him ? 
 In the original the article precedes faith (the 
 faith). Some suppose that the article here is 
 equivalent to the demonstrative pronoun : can 
 that faith (such a faith as that) save him. 
 Others emphasize the pronoun him (such a 
 a man as he is). We think that a stress should 
 be laid upon both the article and the pronoun ; 
 but especially upon the article. The faith 
 here spoken of is certainly not the principle 
 which receives with meekness the engrafted 
 word. The salvation is that which the man 
 expects in the future, (i Thess. 5: 8.) James 
 has in view not so much any present privileges 
 and assurances, but rather a full and final 
 deliverance from evil, the fullness of the 
 blessing of the gospel of Christ. The sever- 
 ance of fiiith and works, which was main- 
 tained commonly among the Jewish people, 
 
 was exhibited in the spirited rebuke of Paul. 
 (Rom. 2: iT-M.) Yet no inspired writer has more 
 impressively insisted upon the necessary con- 
 nection between faith and salvation. Com- 
 pare John 3 : 16. 
 
 6. Worthlessnessof an inoperative faith — to 
 the needy (ver. 15, 16) ; to the professor of 
 religion. Ver. 17. 
 
 15. James now proceeds to adduce a case 
 involving that most sacred obligation of 
 Christians — the exercise of pitying love. 
 (1:27; 2: 13.) The cuse is that of a brother 
 or sister in sore need. The case would indeed 
 apply to all the descendants of the patriarchs, 
 who formed one family ; but it here directly 
 applies to members of the Christian com- 
 munity, whose relationship was the more 
 intimate, because it was spiritual and eternal. 
 
 (Acts 10: 23; 11: 1; 1 Cor. 5: 11.) This cirCUmstanC9 
 
 made the example more impressive. Be 
 naked, and destitute of daily food. The 
 
 want of clothing, and of the nutriment to 
 sustain life from day to day, indicates absolute 
 destitution. Our Lord had already required, 
 by the most solemn sanction, that such dis- 
 tresses should be relieved. (Matt. 25: 36-43.) That 
 the Christians of Judea were many of them 
 reduced to such extremities may be inferred 
 from the collections made in their behalf by 
 the Gentile churches (1 Cor. 16; 1; Kom. 
 15: 26), and from the earnest expostulation of 
 1 John 3: 17. It has been suggested that, 
 probably at this time, the famine predicted 
 by Agabus prevailed (Aotsu: 28-30), and that the 
 Jewish converts, wrapped up in the pride of 
 race and of orthodoxj', had resigned the care 
 of their poor to the foreign Christians. 
 
 16. Depart in peace. An expression of 
 kindly feeling, which would be an insult, if 
 not accompanied by an act of charity and 
 relief. It was then in familiar use. (Luke 7: 50; 
 8: 48; Acts 16 : 36.) Be ye Warmed and filled — 
 get yourselves clad (Job3i;2o), and may you 
 have food in abundance; or, more exactly, 
 warm yourselves, feed yourselves. Sympathy 
 is sweet, if one has nothing more to give to 
 those who are starving and shivering; but 
 
40 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. II. 
 
 not those things which are needful to the body ; what 
 dolk il profit .' 
 
 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being 
 alone. 
 
 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have 
 works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I 
 will shew lliee my faith by my works. 
 
 19 Thou believest that there is one God ; thou doest 
 well : the devils also believe, and tremble. 
 
 them not the things needful to the body ; what doth 
 
 17 it profit? Eveu so fuith, if it have not works, is 
 
 18 dtad in itself, i Yea, a man will say, thou hast faith, 
 and I have works: shew me thy faith apart from thy 
 works, and 1 by my works will shew thee my faith. 
 
 19 Thou believest that -God is one; thou doest well: 
 
 20 the demons also believe, and shudder. But wilt 
 
 1 Or, But some one will say 2 Some ancient authorities read there is one God. 
 
 sympathy alone, from one who can give 
 relief, is a mockery, as the style of the appeal 
 is made to indicate. Generous words are a 
 poor substitute for food and clothing; yet 
 how widely this kind of charity still prevails 1 
 Notwithstanding ye give them not those 
 things which are needful for the body— 
 those things necessary to its maintenance. 
 What doth it profit? Either to those who 
 are in want, or those who send them empty 
 away, without a stick from the wood-pile, or a 
 garment from the wardrobe, or a crust from 
 the cupboard, to "warm and fill." 
 
 17. Even so taith, if it hath not works, 
 is dead, being alone — better, So also faith, 
 if it have not luorks, is dead in itself. Here 
 the illustration is applied— a barren assent to 
 a dogma is as worthless as lip charity. This 
 is also Paul's teaching in Rom. 2: 13: "Not 
 the hearers of the law are just before God; 
 but the doers of the law shall be justified." 
 A Christian name without works of piety 
 has as little substance and vitality in it as a 
 Christian brotherhood without acts of charity. 
 The works spoken of are not added to faith, 
 but spring out of it, as shoots from a living 
 germ. A faith without works is dead in itself; 
 its very root is dead. It bears the same rela- 
 tion to the saving faith required by the gospel 
 as a corpse does to a man. And as a lifeless 
 body can do nothing, a faith without works 
 can profit nothing— its unproductiveness suf- 
 fices to show that it has no life or power. 
 
 c. Genuine faith must be connected with 
 works, else there is no evidence of its existence 
 (ver. 18), nor any strength and blessedness in 
 the experience of professors (ver. 19). The 
 principle confirmed by the example of Abra- 
 ham (ver. 20-24) ; and Rahab. Ver. 25, 26. 
 
 18. Yea a man may say— rather, but 
 some one will say. This objection may with 
 certainty be anticipated (com]>are 1 Cor. 15: 
 35), from some one who judges between the 
 two parties, .James and his opponent, and who 
 proposes to settle the disagreement by a com- 
 
 promise. The person here intervening neither 
 represents the Gentile convert (Plumptre), 
 nor the Jewish Christian whom James op- 
 poses (Huther), but some indifferent person, 
 who regards both James and his opponents 
 as one-sided, and who decides accordingly. 
 A slight addition will make the meaning of 
 the passage apparent: "but some one v/ill 
 say: that thou (James' opponent) hast faith 
 and I (James) have works." The difference 
 between you two is, that the one values the 
 truth of Christianity, and the other its ethical 
 system. 
 
 Shew me thy faith without thy w^orks, 
 and I will shew thee my faith by my 
 works. The reply of James is, that without 
 works faith cannot be proved to exist at till ; 
 for without works, it has no expression. You 
 cannot show your ftiith, except by works of 
 piety and philanthropy. On the contrary, 
 the works I do, prove that I have faith, for 
 without faith I could not do them. The 
 difference between us is not merely contro- 
 versial, but vital. This is expressed in a 
 very spirited manner by James' challenge. 
 "Vainly do we glory in the gospel, unless 
 we are also in love with virtue." [Possibly 
 the sense of this expression may be brought 
 to light by a more literal translation of the 
 best-supported text: "Show me thy faith 
 without the works" — which real faith pro- 
 duces — "and I will show thee from my works 
 the faith" which produces them. — A. H.] 
 
 19. Thou believest that there is one 
 God — better, that God is one. This article of 
 faith, common to Jews and Christians, and 
 distinguishing revealed religion from the i)op- 
 ular heathenism, is selected as representing 
 an orthodox creed. Thou doest well— thou 
 hast accepted the priiuary truth of religion. 
 The devils (demons) also believe (it) and 
 tremble (shudder). The demons, who are 
 the angels and ministers of the devil (Matt. 9: 34; 
 12:24), like their master, "abode not in the 
 truth" (John 8 : 44; I Tim. 4: 1), aiid Were the pa- 
 
Cii. II.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 41 
 
 20 But wilt thou know, vain man, that faith with- 
 out works is dead ? 
 
 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, 
 when he had ottered Isaac his sou upon the altar? 
 
 thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works 
 
 21 is barren? Was not Abraham our lather justified 
 
 by works, in that he ottered up Isaac his sou upoa 
 
 trons of idolatry, (i cor. lO: 20.) Yet they have 
 never lost their belief that there is one God, 
 although tins transcendent truth produces no 
 change in their character, and sheds no gleam 
 of hope upon the darkness of their future des- 
 tiny. They hate the infinitely perfect One, 
 and await with terror the coming of that day 
 when he will cast them into the lake of fire. 
 
 (Matt. 8: 29.) 
 
 The sarcasm is terrible. A faith which ' 
 merely a matter of knowledge does not save, 
 it does not even recognize God to be what he 
 is, our highest good; it does not change the 
 character ; it does not give assurance of future 
 salvation and blessedness, and through that 
 assurance find present peace ; it is the faith of 
 demons, who, at the thought, shudder like 
 Eliphaz (Job*: 15.), when the condemning spirit 
 passed before him. Monotheism chastises 
 where it does not chasten the transgressor. 
 ",In his crimes, it is not the heavy irons of 
 his prison, but the deep eye of his Judge, from 
 which he shrinks; and in his repentance he 
 weeps, not upon the lap of Nature, but at the 
 feet of God." (" Westminster Review," 1852, 
 p. 18.3.) 
 
 20. James now proceeds to prove the neces- 
 sity of uniting works with faith, from the ex- 
 ample of Abraham, the father of believers, 
 (ver. 20-24.) Wiltthou kiiow? by proofs from 
 scriptural examples, whose authority you 
 acknowledge. The question expresses the 
 assurance of triumph. O vain man. 'O' 
 occurs in the New Testament only in ad- 
 dresses of adjuration and censure. (Matt. 17 : i7 ; 
 Luke24: 25; Eoni. 9: 20.) 'Vain,' Corresponding to 
 "liaca" in Matt. 5: 22, is the same as empty, 
 indicating, not intellectual, but moral defect. 
 The epithet, forbidden to revenge, is permitted 
 in fraternal and official correction. (Matt. 23: 17, 
 
 19; Luke 24: 25; Gal. .S: 1,3.) The pOSSCSSOr of the 
 
 faith here referred to had no real worth, no 
 spiritual riches. That faith without works 
 is dead. Compare 2 Peter 1 : 8. The last 
 word varies in the manuscripts. In some the 
 word is ^^dead," in others it is ^''idle"; in 
 either case the meaning would be substan- 
 tially the same: that which has no life, profits 
 no one, and eflTects nothing. It is like capital 
 
 which lies idle, and brings no interest — dead 
 capital. Only from love, and in work, does 
 faith truly live. [Here too the article before 
 'works,' in the Greek text, may well be 
 noticed: "that faith without the works" — 
 that is, its works, or the works which it natu- 
 rally produces, 'is idle.' — A. H.] 
 
 31. Was not Abraham our father? The 
 example of Abraham was of high authority 
 among the Jews, because he was their most 
 illustrious progenitor, and enjoyed the special 
 favor of God. Accordingly, James appeals 
 to his case, to show that works must accom- 
 pany faith as its fruits, and that without 
 works a profession of faith is valueless. Jus- 
 tified by works. This statement seems to 
 be contradictory to what James says in ver. 
 23, where Abraham's 'faith' is declared to 
 have been imputed to him for righteousness, 
 and al.<o to Paul's argument upon the same 
 text and example. (Rom.3: 28, >eq.) The prom- 
 inence which one of these writers assigns to 
 works and the other to faith, although they 
 both were dealing with the same case, is to be 
 explained by the different ends they had in 
 view. Both of them taught that saving faith 
 is operative (Gai. 5: 6; James 2: is.); but Paul, 
 arguing against formalists, who taught that 
 meritorious works are the condition of salva- 
 tion, insisted upon the necessity of faith; 
 while James, arguing against Antinomians, 
 who claimed that the profession of an ortho- 
 dox faith suffices, insisted upon the necessity 
 of a life of practical godliness. How deeply 
 rooted was this Antinomianism among the 
 Jews appears from the rabbinical discussion 
 of the subject. Compare Lightfoot, "Comm. 
 on Galatians," Note on " Faith of Abraham." 
 The genius of interpreters and theologians 
 has diligently addressed itself to the task of 
 harmonizing these two writers; yet the diffi- 
 culty is not less great in reconciling the state- 
 ments, which James himself makes in the 
 present paragraph, for he too declares that 
 Abraham's fiiith was accounted to him for 
 righteousness, while yet he maintains that the 
 patriarch was ju.stified by works, and that the 
 latter justification was in some way the ful- 
 fillment of the former imputation of right- 
 
42 
 
 
 
 
 JAJV 
 
 IE 
 
 s. 
 
 [Ch. 
 
 11. 
 
 22 Seest thou how 
 by works was faith 
 
 23 And the Script 
 
 faith wrought with his works, and 
 made perfect ? 
 ure was fultilled which saith, Abri- 
 
 22 the altar ? i Thou seest that faith wrought with his 
 
 23 works, and by works was faith made perfect ; and 
 the scripture was fultilled which saith, And Abra- 
 
 
 
 
 1 Or, 
 
 Seest thou . 
 
 . perfect. 
 
 
 
 eousness which had occurred many years be- 
 fore. In the first case, Abraham believed 
 God, and was accepted as righteous ; in the 
 second, he obeyed God and was approved as 
 righteous. It is this hist condition, in which 
 operative faith receives the divine approval, 
 to which James applies the term justification. 
 The ancient believer was proved to be right- 
 eous by his conduct, and the divine declara- 
 tion that he was righteous was thus established 
 as true. This meaning of the verb, to justify, 
 to declare or prove to be what one should be, 
 or professes to be, appears in various passages 
 of Scripture, as in Matt. 11: 19, "Wisdom is 
 justified of her children" — is proved by their 
 conduct to be true and divine. We learn in 
 1 Tim. 3: 16 that Christ was "justified in the 
 Spirit," proved by his deeds and teachings 
 to possess a divine nature. So Kom. 4: 3. 
 Abraham had a faith which God accepted as 
 righteousness; that he had a faith of this 
 character was proved by the sacrifice of Isaac. 
 When he had offered his son Isaac upon 
 the altar. Thattheson was actually laid upon 
 the altar showed that he was a victim devoted 
 to certain death. (Gen. 22:9.) Among the vari- 
 ous " works" which sprung from Abraham's 
 faith, this is specified, because it was the most 
 conspicuous of them, and because it was spe- 
 c'lally honored and rewarded. (Gen. 22: is-is.) 
 How it pleased God appears from his renewal 
 of the promise on this account to Isaac, and 
 through him to his posterity, whom James 
 was now addressing. (Gen. 26: 2-5.) The promise 
 had already been given to Abraham as a be- 
 liever (Gen. 12: 2, 3), but now it was solemnly 
 renewed as a reward of his act of faith. The 
 honor in which this act was held among the 
 Jews appears from the eulogy of Jesus Sirach, 
 44: 20. The greatness of the sacrifice is also 
 intimated here, in the addition, his son. 
 On that wonderful occasion Abraham was 
 justified by his work. 
 
 32. Instead of seest thou how, etc. — thou 
 seest that — faith wrought with his works. 
 Such is the conclusion to be drawn from the 
 example of Abraham. The faith he had, in- 
 stead of being a mere intellectual tenet, was 
 an active principle, operating continuously 
 
 in the production of good works. His godly 
 life had its root and support in faith. The 
 two, faith and works, went together, the 
 spiritual life within expressing itself in out- 
 ward conformity with the revealed will of 
 God. The Syriac Version, reads: "Seest 
 thou that his faith aided his works?" And 
 by works Avas faith made perfect. This 
 signifies something more than that the works 
 verified or confirmed the faith : they displayed 
 its perfection; in them faith revealed its ex- 
 cellence and glory. The verb occurs in a 
 similar sense in 2 Cor. 12: 9. " My strength 
 is made perfect in weakness;" then it is ex- 
 erted and is demonstrated in its genuineness 
 and power. It is true, no doubt, as Huther 
 observes, that faith in producing works be- 
 comes ever more fully what according to its 
 nature and design it should be, and that, as 
 the power of love increases and perfects itself 
 through the practice of the works of love, 50 
 also faith grows and perfects itself through 
 the performance of its appropriate works. 
 But it may be questioned whether such an 
 idea is even suggested by the previous verse, 
 of which the present is simply the conclusion. 
 What is implied there, however, that the 
 faith existed prior to the works, is more dis- 
 tinctly intimated here. 
 
 23. And the scripture was fulfilled. 
 'The Scripture' signifies the passage or say- 
 ing which is immediately quoted. The lan- 
 guage, which is such as usually indicates the 
 accomplishment of a prediction, cannot be 
 taken literally; for the text quoted (Gen. is: 6) 
 was not a prophecy, but only a statement that 
 Abraham had faith and was accepted bj' God 
 as righteous. But neither the profession of 
 the patriarch nor the approving sentence of 
 God would have been justified, had not Abra- 
 ham given an external manifestation to the 
 vital principle and the high character with 
 which he had been credited. Both of them 
 were invisible, until they found expression 
 in the practices of a pious life. The text was 
 a prophecy, only as it promised a career of 
 excellence; and in the works of Abraham 
 the happy augury was fulfilled. The result 
 of the trial showed why God assigned such 
 
Ch. II] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 43 
 
 ham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for 
 righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 
 
 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justitied, 
 and not by faith only. 
 
 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justitied 
 
 ham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him 
 for righteousness; and he was called the friend of 
 
 24 God. Ye see thiit by works a man is justilied, and 
 
 25 not only by faith. And in like uiuuner was not 
 also Kahab the harlot justitied by works, in that she 
 
 value to Abraham's faith ; its heroical and 
 supernatural energy therein appeared. Abra- 
 ham believed (^od and it Avas imputed 
 unto him for righteousness. God gra- 
 ciously accepted and rewarded the patri- 
 arch's trust in him as righteousness. (Rom.*: 3-5.) 
 This is the Pauline idea of justification ; 
 James accepts the doctrine, but his phrase- 
 ology is different in part and is less precise, 
 (ver. 24.) And he was called the friend of 
 God. So certain and so high was tiie right- 
 eousness Abraham possessed, that he was also 
 designated by the distinguished title of the 
 friend of God. This title appears twice in our 
 Version: in 2 Chron. 20: 7, where "thy 
 friend'' is literally "thy beloved,'" and in 
 Isa. 41 : 8. It was commonly applied to 
 Abraham among the Jews, and appears in 
 Philo. It is a common title of Abraham 
 among the Arabs of the present daj', who 
 designate H(!bron the city of Abraham by 
 the name El Khali), the Friend. That Abra- 
 ham was a righteous man eminently was ac- 
 knowledged by every one. We attain the 
 same honor by imitating the example set by 
 the Father of the Faithful. Jesus says "Ye 
 are mj' friends if ye do whatsoever I com- 
 mand you." (John 15: 14.) 
 
 Note. — Dr. J. G. Kosenmueller adduces 
 this passage as one of the proofs to show that 
 the fulfillments of prophecy may take place in 
 something which only resembles the literal 
 and historical sense; but incorrectly. For, 
 as in strictness there was no real prophecy in 
 the divine acceptance of believing Abraham 
 as righteous, the subsequent evidence that he 
 was righteous cannot be regarded either as a 
 real or as an accommodated fulfillment. The 
 conduct of Abraham proved him to have 
 such a character as the word of God has a.s- 
 cribed to him. The facts of the case verified 
 the estimates of inspiration, and confirmed 
 the oracle of divine approval. The verb 'ful- 
 filled ' does not change its meaning here, but 
 is used metaphorically. 
 
 24. Then how should be omitted. Ye see 
 that by works a man is justified — declared 
 to be a righteous man. No doctrine of re- 
 ligion accepted, no profession of religion 
 
 made, can prove this. The performance 
 of life's duties in the fear of God pro- 
 claims the genuineness of the disciple's pro- 
 fessions and his possession of divine grace. 
 And not by faith only — (Syriac) "faith 
 alone." This indicates that faith justifies; 
 yet to that state of justification which James 
 is considering, and which embraces the be- 
 ginning and the whole progress of the Chris- 
 tian experience, works are as necessary as 
 faith. There must be faith, such as Abraham 
 cherished, to establish the relation of inti- 
 macy with God ; but, as time and opportunity 
 summon the believer, there must be good 
 works also, in order to approve his righteous- 
 ness; and to him, as he was to Abraham, God 
 is the friend and patron. 'Faith onb'' sig- 
 nifies faith by itself, having no influence or 
 forth-putting. Neither does Paul command 
 this sort of faith ; but rather a faith that 
 works by love and produces purity. Both 
 Paul and James recognize faith as a principle, 
 without which acceptable works cannot be 
 performed and salvation cannot be attained. 
 But the teaching of Paul upon the subject is 
 deeper, and yet more sharply defined; and to 
 this extent confirms the view of tho.se who 
 regard his epistle as later than that of James, 
 who gives the practical view. The principle 
 here stated by our author is the rule of the' 
 final judgment. 
 
 Note— Neander and others hold that the fa- 
 natical faith which James was denouncing was 
 rather a perversion of Judaism than of Chris- 
 tianity, being identical with that described in 
 Matt. 23 : 15. Stanley indicates its two forms. 
 1. A blind reliance upon the privileges of the 
 chosen race, like the Mohammedan belief 
 that a death in battle is a passport to heaven. 
 Compare Jer. 7 : 4; 2 Mace. 12: 43-45; Eccles. 
 7: 4. Also James 1: 13; Jos. "Ant." 13: 
 5, 9. This presumptuous confidence was dis- 
 played in the last siege of Jeru.salem. 2. A 
 trust in their orthodox belief in the unity of 
 God. (Ver. 19; Rom. 2: n.) For later references, 
 compare Stanley's "Apostolic Age," p. 
 301, n. 
 
 25. Likewise also— better, ond in like 
 manner. Was not Rahab the harlot justi- 
 
44 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. hi. 
 
 by works, when she had received the messengers, and 
 had sent Ihem out another way? 
 
 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith 
 without works is dead also. 
 
 received the messengers, and sent them out another 
 26 way? For as the body apart from the spirit is 
 dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. 
 
 M 
 
 Y brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we 
 shall receive the greater condemnation. 
 
 CHAPTEK III. 
 
 1 Be not many of you teachers, my brethren, know- 
 
 fied by works? Rahab was a Gentile, deliv- 
 ered from destruction by a faith which in- 
 duced her to run the risk of death, in the 
 service of God's people. Hence, her example 
 was memorable. (Heb. ii:3i.) She also belonged 
 to that unhappy class to whom a new hope 
 was imparted by Christ's gracious words in 
 Matt. 21 : 31, 32. If Abraham's faith might 
 be regarded as something apart, to which 
 none dared to aspire, then Rahab's might 
 afford an encouraging example. The two 
 represented the divisions of the human race, 
 nationally as Jew and Gentile, socially as 
 male and female. This woman, alien as she 
 was to the blood of Abraham, and depraved 
 as were the masses of the heathen world, was, 
 like Abraham, 'justified by the works of 
 faith.' When she had received the mes- 
 sengers and sent them out another way. 
 The narrative style is best preserved by omit- 
 ting ' had' before the verbs. She entertained 
 the Jewish spies, and, when they were in 
 danger, sent them away with urgent haste, as 
 the verb implies. (Josh. 2: is, i6.) They were 
 let down by a window on the wall, and so 
 departed by a different way from that by 
 which they had entered her house. These 
 acts approved Rahab's faith, and entitled her 
 to the favor of the Israelites. Hence, her life 
 was spared ; she was thus formally excepted 
 from the sentence pronounced upon the in- 
 habitants of Jericho. (Job. 6: 25.) She was 
 made a member of an eminent Jewish family 
 (Matt. 1:5), and thus became an ancestress of 
 our Lord. Rahab was, doubtless, an inn- 
 keeper — a class whose moral character in hea- 
 then lands was so infamous that its members 
 were not allowed to enter the Christian 
 churches, except on the condition of changing 
 their occupation. The heathen tavern was a 
 brothel. Compare "Apost. Constitutions," 
 B. VIII., C. 32. 
 
 26, For as the body Avithout the spirit 
 is dead, so faith without works is dead 
 also. Thus the argument is concluded by 
 repeating the sentence of ver. 17, and adding 
 
 the figure of a body without the spirit. 
 James describes man popularly as consisting 
 of body and spirit. The latter is the breath 
 of life communicated by the Creator. (Gen. 2: 
 7;6:n; R..v.ii:ii.) When this vital spirit is 
 withdrawn, the man becomes a carcass. As 
 worthless as this decaying, frail sembhince of 
 our humanity is faith apart from \vork:i. The 
 individual members of the comparison are 
 not to be connected, as if the body corre- 
 sponded with faith and the spirit with works. 
 The general thought is that an inoperative 
 faith is as worthless as a lifeless carcass. [It 
 may be worthy of notice that there is no 
 article before the word "spirit" in the Greek 
 original. Hence the clause might be trans- 
 lated, "As the body without spirit (or a 
 spirit) is dead," etc. ; and as the meaning of 
 the expression is entirely satisfactory without 
 adding the article in translation, it is perhaps 
 safer to translate literally. — A. H.] 
 
 II. Division.— The Godly in Trial and 
 Temptation should be Slow to Speak. 
 Warning against Sins of the Tongue. 
 3: 1-12. 
 
 1. Those who transgress in this particular 
 will be the more severely judged. 1: 1, 2. 
 
 1. With this verse begins the second great 
 division of the Epistle, relating to sins of 
 speech, and the collisions and offences against 
 Christian charity caused by an unbridled 
 tongue. The godly, in trial and temptation, 
 should be slow to speak. (3:1-12.) My breth- 
 ren, be not many masters— that is, teach- 
 ers. The office of teacher was in such honor 
 among the Jews that many, however ill 
 qualified for its discharge, were eager to 
 assume it. Hence, our Lord's injunction. 
 Matt. 23: 8-10, and Paul's warning, Rom. "z; 
 17. The same self-pleasing vanity led many 
 to undertake the work of exposition and in- 
 struction in the early churches. This vain 
 ostentation of knowledge already had led to 
 wrangling, and produced much disorder, as 
 it did subsequently in the Church at Corinth. 
 
Ch. III.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 45 
 
 2 For in many things we offend all. If any man of- 
 fend not in word, the same (*• a perlect uiau, and able 
 also to bridle the whole body. 
 
 3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they 
 may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 
 
 4 Behold also the ships, which though thet/ be so 
 
 2 ing that we shall receive heavier^ judgment. For iu 
 many things we all stumlile. If any stuniblelh not 
 in word, the same is a perlect man, able ti> bridle tlie 
 
 3 whole body also. Now if we put the horses' bridles 
 into their mouths, tliat they may obey us, we luru 
 
 4 about their whole body also. Behold, the ships also, 
 
 (i Cor. 14: 29.) The Wanting is not against teach- 
 ing; but against tlie conceit which led the in- 
 competent to set themselves up as teachers, 
 and to swarm into the oflBce. [Says Alford, 
 showing the connection of thisexhortatiun with 
 what precedes it, ".Become M0< many teachers." 
 The more the idea prevailed that faith, without 
 corresponding obedience, was all that is need- 
 ful, the more men would eagerly press for- 
 ward to teach.— A. H.] "Wise is the old 
 Jewish maxim, "Love the work of a teacher; 
 but strive not after the honor." The warning 
 is not against free, mutual exhortation (i Cor. 
 It: 26-33), but against the abuse of this privilege 
 by the forward and contentious. Knowing 
 that we shall receive the greater con- 
 demnation. By a sudden change of person 
 James applies the warning to himself also. 
 "Condemnation": \itera,UyJudg7nent, usually 
 in the New Testament expresses an adverse 
 decision or a sentence of punishment, as in 
 2: 13; John 12: 31 ; 1 Tim. 5: 24. The lan- 
 guage of our text seems borrowed from our 
 Lord's warning to the Scribes and Pharisees, 
 the blind and hypocritical guides of the Jews. 
 (Malt. 23: It.) In such a case, the condemnation 
 is greater than in that of those who do not 
 undertake to teach, because their influence 
 for evil is greater. (John9:4i.) A solemn 
 thought for tho.se who undertake to teach and 
 rule others, without concerning themselves as 
 to the improvement of their own faulty char- 
 acter and evil lives! 
 
 2. For in many things we offend all. 
 The text confirms the last clause of the fore- 
 going verse. We all fail in duty— literally, 
 stumble; and so become liable to condemna- 
 tion ; but there is special danger of transgres- 
 sion 'in word,' for the proper management of 
 the tongue requires the highest wisdom. The 
 reference in the first clause of the text is not 
 to the transgressions of teachers or their errors 
 of doctrine, but to the various moral defects 
 belonging to all men. If any man offend 
 not in word, the same is a perfect man. 
 Instead of ' any man,' read any one. ' Word ' 
 does not relate to teaching only, but to speech 
 
 in general; Syriac, discourse. 'A perfect 
 man' is an adult (i Cor. i4: 20; Heb.5: i4), one 
 who has attained the end of his development. 
 As applied to a Christian it indicates one 
 whose moral growth is complete (Hch. 12:23), 
 and whose trained and vigorous powers are 
 in harmony with the will of God. The con- 
 trol of speech is the evidence that one has 
 attained this standard of Christian manhood. 
 That absolute perfection is not meant is shown 
 by the first clause. And able to bridle also 
 the whole body. Omit 'and.' He who 
 controls the tongue has all the other members 
 subject to his command. The desires of the 
 evil heart, which lead to sin (Matt. 15 : 19), are 
 represented as pervading the members of the 
 body, and dwelling in them (Rom.7:23); but 
 he who has mastered the most reluctant of 
 these organs has already performed the most 
 diflacult act of Christian virtue, and is now 
 monarch of himself. In the verb to 'bridle' 
 the metaphor of chapter 1 : 26 is recalled. 
 
 2. Reasons for the judgment denounced 
 against the sins of the tongue. 3 : 3-12. 
 
 a. The wonderful power of the tongue. 3: 
 3-6. 
 
 b. The power of man, the lord of Nature, to 
 control the tongue. 3: 7-12. 
 
 3. That the mastery of the tongue aids the 
 mastery of the whole body is illustrated by a 
 comparison: The case is like that in which we 
 manage horses by bits in the mouth. Behold 
 is to be rejected, but the particles which take its 
 place {but if) are awkward in English. It 
 would be best to render the whole ver.-e. When 
 we put bits into the mouths of horses, that they 
 may obey us, we turn about their whole body. 
 The use of the bit is at once the assertion and 
 the means '>f mastery : it controls the mouth 
 and the whole creature. As James is treating 
 of the control of the tongue, the figure is hap- 
 pily selected. The moral lesson lies upon the 
 surface of the text. He who has so great and 
 easy a mastery over a brute creature, will- 
 ful and powerful, should be able to govern 
 himself. 
 
 4. Behold calls attention to the second 
 
46 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they 
 turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever 
 the governor listelh. 
 
 5 Kven so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth 
 great things. Behold, how great a matter a little tire 
 kindleth! 
 
 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity so is 
 the tongue among our members, that it detilelh the 
 
 [Ch. III. 
 
 though they are so great, and are driven by rough 
 winds, are yet turned about bv a very small rudder 
 
 5 whiiher the impulse ot the steersmiin willeth So' 
 the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great 
 things. Behold 1 how much wood is kindled by how 
 
 C small a fire! And the tongue is 2 a fire: 3 the world 
 ot iniquity among our members is the tongue, which 
 
 1 Or, *„«, great a /orcC 2 Or, afire, tkat .orld of ini^uiu, ,- ,/,e tongue is a^::o^:;:;,;rZ~,:e^;^,;::^:;^, ^, , Or tnat^„li 
 
 »/ '»wmty, the. tongue, is among our members that which, <tc. 
 
 comparison, which to James must have been 
 the more impressive, as connected witii his 
 personal recollections of stormy Galilee. The 
 rudder governs the huge bulk of the ship, 
 even when the vessel is driven by furious 
 winds. The rudder is described as very little, 
 the superlative strengthening the contrast. 
 Like a ship in the tempest is man amid the 
 temptations and trials of life. Whitherso- 
 ever the governor listeth— literally, ivhith- 
 ersoever the desire of the helmsman willeth. 
 Such is the original, which is given in a con- 
 densed form in our version. Etymologically a 
 'governor' {gubernator) is a helmsman, the 
 pilot, who stiinds at the rudder and guides the 
 ship, and whose resolute will prevails against 
 the violence of revolted nature. 
 
 5. Here the comparison is applied to the 
 subject in hand. For even so read so also. 
 The tongue is a little member of the body, as 
 the rudder is but a small part of the ship. 
 Yet it boasts great things; the idea is, not 
 that the boasting is empty, and that great 
 things are not performed by the tongue, a 
 thought which would be inharmonious with 
 the connection ; but that it is so conscious of 
 its power, ar to be possessed by arrogant pre- 
 sumption. James here speaks of its boasting 
 great things, rather than of its working great 
 things, because the effects of its power are 
 commonly deplorable, as he immediately 
 proceeds to show. Behold, how great a 
 matter a little fire kindleth! Instead of 
 'matter,' pile of materials, forest, is to be 
 preferred as the primary meaning of the word, 
 and as making the figure much more striking 
 and beautiful ; so in the Syriac. It was a 
 common figure among the classic writers. 
 Stobffius says: "A little torch can burn the 
 summit of Ida." Homer speaks of "a spark, 
 scarce seen, which fires a boundless forest." 
 And Virgil draws an animated picture of the 
 desolation resulting from fire dropped by a 
 careless shepherd, which at length reaches the 
 tree tops, " and wraps the forest in a robe of 
 
 flame." The same figure occurs in Eccles. 
 11 : 32, and frequently in Philo. In its germ 
 it is to be found in Prov. 10: 27. In a coun- 
 try abounding in olive plantations, like Judea, 
 these forest fires were especially destructive; 
 the fire described by Virgil ("Georcr." 2: 
 302-314) originated among the wild olives. 
 Here again James draws a figure from his 
 own exj)erience. And the tongue is a spark 
 that may set families, churches, and societies 
 on fire. [By a change of reading, which has 
 much in its favor, and is adopted by Tisch- 
 dorf, Tregellcs, Alf., Mey., Westcott and 
 Hort, and others, this clause must signify 
 either : " How great a fire, how great a forest 
 does it (viz., the tDngue) kindle;" or, "how 
 small a fire kindles how great a forest"— the 
 word which takes the place of " little" before 
 "fire," metining ordinarily "how great," but 
 sometimes " how small." I prefer the second 
 interpretation: "How small a fire kindles 
 how great a forest! " By omitting 'and' be- 
 fore the clause, Davidson translates: "Be- 
 hold, how great a fire, how great a wood, does 
 the tongue kindle! A fire, the world of un- 
 righteousness, the tongue sets itself among 
 our members," etc. This is the reading and 
 punctuation of Tischendorf. But the 'and' 
 (tal) is supported by the uncials X A B C K L 
 P against x, and should, therefore, be re- 
 tained.— A. H.] 
 
 6. Here the comparison, in the latter part 
 of the foregoing verse is applied. And from 
 the mighty destructive jiower of the tongue it 
 may be concluded that he who under.nands 
 how to bridle it has indeed attained a com- 
 plete and noble manhood, (ver.2.) And the 
 tongue is a fire, a Avorld of iniquity. 
 Such a fire as I have described is the tongue, 
 so insidious and so deadly. When surren- 
 dered to evil thoughts, desires, and purposes, 
 it is a world of iniquity, in which every vari- 
 ety of evil finds a place, and e.xerts its destroy- 
 ing power. In the original, 'world' is em- 
 phatic— Mai world or the world. So is the 
 
Ch. III.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 47 
 
 whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; 
 and it Is set ou tire of hell 
 
 7 For every kiud of btasts, and of birds, and of ser- 
 pents, and of things in the sua, is tamed, and hath been 
 tamed of mankind : 
 
 defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the 
 
 7 wheel of 'nature, and is set on tire by hell. For 
 
 every - kind of beasts and birds, of cree|iing things 
 
 and things in the sea, is tamed and hath been tamed 
 
 1 Or, birth 2 Gr. nature. 
 
 tongue among our members, that it de- 
 fileth the whole body. A better rendering 
 would be: So the tongue among our members 
 is that which defileth, etc., which, although 
 not precisely literal, expresses nearly enough 
 the sense of the original. [The latest editors 
 otnit the word meaning 'so,' as forming no 
 part of the original text. With this omission, 
 Alfurd translates thus: "The tongue is that 
 one among our members which defileth the 
 whole body, and setteth on fire the course of 
 nature"; and Davidson thus: "The tongue 
 sets itself among our members, both defiling 
 the whole body, and setting on fire the wheel 
 of life"; and Huther, in Meyer's Comment- 
 ary, gives a German translation identical in 
 sense with Davidson's. — A. H.] Words are 
 not mere idle breath which go forth and are 
 lost in empty air. The impure or wrathful 
 utterance is infectious to the blood of the 
 utterer — a moral leprosy, influencing all the 
 members and defiling all the actions. And 
 setteth on fire the course of nature — 
 better, the wheel or circle of life. Life is rep- 
 resented as a wheel that is set in motion at 
 our birth and rolls onward. The same figure 
 occurs in Anacroon, "Ode 4." 
 
 For fast away our moments steal 
 
 Like the swift chariot's rolling wheel; 
 
 The rapid course is quickly done, 
 
 And soon the race of life is run ; 
 
 Then, then alas ! we droop, we die, 
 
 And sunk in dissolution lie. 
 
 The inspired writer speaks, as it were, in 
 accents broken by indignation, in represent- 
 ing the terrible mischiefs of the tongue. Now 
 it is a world of iniquity, a fullness of unright- 
 eousness; now the axle upon which the wheel 
 of life revolves and by which it is set on fire. 
 The Syriac translator in striving to smooth 
 the sentence has destroyed much of its spirit. 
 And it is set on lire ofheli— literally, 6^in^ 
 set on fire of Gehenna. As the fiery tongues 
 of Pentecost were from above, these tongues, 
 burning with unhallowed fire, arc kindled 
 from below. And the participle (the present) 
 indicates that the flame is being continually 
 
 communicated. The word Gehenna appears 
 only in the Synoptic Gospels and here. It 
 was the name of a vallej' to the west and south 
 of Jerusalem, where children were burned 
 alive by the idolatrous Jews in honor of 
 Moloch, and is supposed from their piercing 
 cries to have received its name, which signi- 
 fies, " the valley of lamentation." After the 
 horrid rites, once performed there, had been 
 prohibited by Josiah (2 Kings 23: lo), the place 
 became a common, where all the filth of the 
 city was deposited, and the dead bodies of 
 animals were cast and consumed in flames 
 that were kept continually burning. This 
 horrible place was called the Gehenna of Fire, 
 and was a symbol of hell, where the wicked 
 will be punished forever, (isa. 66:24; natus: 22,29; 
 
 10: 28; 18: 9; 23: 15,33; Mark 9 : 43-47; Luke 12 : 5.) HcnCB 
 
 the idea of James in our text is that the evil 
 tongue is inflamed by hell, is under the 
 devil's control, is doing his work, and is pre- 
 paring for his doom. 
 
 b. Man as the lord of nature has power to 
 control the tongue. Ver. 7-12. 
 
 7. This and the following verse indicate the 
 tameless power of the tongue which, to his 
 disgrace, man, the lord of nature, fails to 
 subdue. For every kind (literally, nature) 
 of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents 
 {reptiles), and of things in the sea, is 
 tamed, and hath been tamed of man- 
 kind. The enumeration is intended to 
 embrace all creatures, those that walk, those 
 that fly, those that crawl, those that swim. 
 So in Gen. 9: 2. Their nature is inferior to 
 man's nature, and does homage to it. He has 
 made the domestic animals his servants, the 
 wild animals his vassals. The horse draws 
 his chariotc; but when he wills the lion also 
 submits to the yoke. The hound hunts for 
 him ; but if he demands, the cormorants will 
 pursue the fish at his bidding, and the falcon 
 strike his quarry in the air. He can call the 
 timid fish and birds around him, and charm 
 the serpent of its venom, and lure the scaly 
 and savage leviathan from his deeps. History 
 is full of instances in which man's nature has 
 
48 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. III. 
 
 8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly 
 evil, full ofdeadl}' poison. 
 
 9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and 
 therewith curse we men, which are made after the 
 similitude of God. 
 
 10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and 
 cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 
 
 8 iby 2 mankind: but the tongue can no man tame; 
 
 9 il is a restless evil, il is full of deadly poison. There- 
 with bless Wf the Lord and Father; and iherewith 
 curse we men, who are made after the likeness of 
 
 10 God : out of the s;ime mouth comet h forth blessing 
 and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not 
 
 11 so to be. Uoth the fountain send forth from the 
 
 1 Or, unto i Gr. tlie huii 
 
 thus asserted its power over thtit of all other 
 creatures. Cassian relates that the Apostle 
 John kept a ta file partridge as a pet — a cir- 
 cumstance too frequent to be worthy of 
 mention, except that it associates our text 
 with the history of the disciple whom Jesus 
 loved. 
 
 8. But the tongue can no man tame. 
 'But' introduces a contrast to the preceding 
 verse. 'The tongue' referred to is not that 
 of others, but one's own. Not even the 
 glorious, powerful nature of man can repress 
 its quick sallies and passionate outbursts. In 
 the best it is but imperfectly tamed ; in others 
 it exercises an overmastering power. The 
 tongue is personified as a wild creature. It 
 is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 
 'It is' does not appear in the original; if left 
 out, the close of the verse would be an ex- 
 clamation expressive of moral indignation. 
 Instead of 'unruly,' uncontrollable, the best 
 authorities read 'restless,' the same word as 
 in 1: 8. Hermas says: "An evil spirit 
 is calumny and a restless demon." 'Full 
 of deadly poison ' may be an echo of Psalm 
 140: 3, "Adders' poison is under their lips," 
 which Paul quotes in Rom. 3: 18. " A word 
 of evil from the old Serpent consigned our 
 race to death, and, like Satan's tongue, are in 
 a degree the tongues of all his children." 
 And perhaps more destructive than the words 
 of the wicked is the language of wrath, im- 
 purity, or impiety, uttered byjthose who claim 
 to be the disciples of Jesus Chri.st. The verses 
 immediately ensuing show that James had 
 the case of such wayward and inconsistent 
 brethren especially in view. 
 
 9. Notwithstanding the dilBeulty of con- 
 trolling it, the misuse of the tongue is incon- 
 sistent with the Christian profe.ssion, and 
 deeply criminal tind intilignant. Therewith 
 bless we God, even the Father. The best 
 authorities substitute "Lord" instead of 
 'God,' as in the Syriac; hence it would be 
 better to read our Lord and Father. _ ' There- 
 with ' indicates that the tongue is the means 
 
 and instrument we employ : it is repeated in 
 the second clause to mark the contrast more 
 distinctly. To ' bless God' is to celebrate his 
 name and acts with praises (Pa. us: 21), recog- 
 nizing him as the sovereign and majestic 
 Lord, and the loving and gracious Father. 
 (Matt, u: 25.) Therewith curse we men 
 which (w/;o)are made after the similitude 
 of God. James associates himself with those 
 whom he addresses, because the sin he is 
 denouncing is the sin of human nature. Yet 
 it is not the less to be reprobated. To wish 
 evil to men who, although defiled by sin, are 
 yet spared by God, and have not finished 
 their probiition, is to arrogate to ourselves the 
 right of deciding their destiny. Besides, even 
 the sinner retains the similitude of God. In 
 his intellectual and moral qualities man repre- 
 sents God on earth, has the lordship of nature, 
 and is captible of knowing, loving, and serving 
 the great Creator. (Gen. i: 26.) As God's nt)blest 
 creature, and as our neighbor, he should re- 
 ceive from us, hot hatred, but love, (siatt. 5: 44.) 
 Even in man's fallen state "an indelible 
 nobility remains." (Bengel.) If he is " the 
 scandal," he is at the same time "the glory 
 of the universe." (Pascal.) Hence he who 
 curses man, sins against the Eternal and 
 Blessed One, who made man, and who rules 
 and loves him. To praise God and curse men 
 with the same tongue is to maintain only tiie 
 hollow semblance of piety. Thus James con- 
 demned the fierce intolerance of his own 
 people, and not less that which, in succeeding 
 centuries, has stained the records of Church 
 history with tears and blood. The most bitter 
 conflicts and crusades of tongue, pen, and 
 sword have been waged on the Jesuitiotil pre- 
 text that they were prosecuted "for the greater 
 glory of God." The frightful massacre of 
 St. Bartholomew, when the streets of Paris 
 ran blood, was celebrated by a Te Deinn at 
 Rome. A medal struck to commemorate the 
 event bore the inscription: "Piety excited 
 justice." 
 10. Out of the same mouth. The passage 
 
Ch. III.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 49 
 
 11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place 
 sweet u'ttter and bitter? ,. v • o 
 
 12 Can the fij; tree, my brethren, bear olive berries; 
 either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield suit 
 water and fresh. 
 
 repeats in brief what has just been said. The 
 emphasis is on ' same.' In Hebrew, the word 
 for blessing and cursing is the same; hence it 
 is a question among translators whether the 
 appeal of Job's wife to the afflicted patriarch 
 is ironical, " Bless God and die " ; or is a cry 
 of indignation and despair, "Curse God and 
 die." [The Revised Version translates Job 
 2:9: "Then said his wife unto him, Dost 
 thou still hold fast thine integrity? renounce 
 God, and die"— that is, bid farewell to God, 
 and die.— A. H.] The tongue, as it were with 
 one eff'ort, can utter either a blessing or a 
 curse, or both. But God has consecrated it to 
 the kindly work of blessing. To use it both 
 for cursing and blessing is to contravene the 
 design of its Maker and the order of nature, 
 and to pervert the precious and sacred gift of 
 speech. The warning added is presented in 
 the form of a general maxim. (Winer.) 
 
 11. The unnaturalness of the course repro- 
 bated is illustrated by a figure. Send forth 
 at the same place— literally, spurt forth at 
 the same orifice. 'The place' is the opening 
 in the rock, through which the spring water 
 gushes. Sweet water and bitter— literally, 
 the sweet and the bitter. 'Water' is under- 
 stood. Palestine is a land abounding in 
 springs (oeut. s:?), many of which, however, 
 are impregnated with mineral substances, as 
 salt and sulphur. The springs on the hill 
 country of Judea, sloping toward the Dead 
 Sea, are brackish, and so are many others: 
 Plumptre: "Compare the sweetening of the 
 spring which supplied the college of the sons 
 of the prophets (2 Kings 2: 19), and the symbolic 
 healing of the waters. (Ezen. *7 : 9.)' ' The open- 
 ing at the fountain corresponds to the mouth, 
 
 •and the stream to the tongue, or the flow of 
 speech; the uniformity of nature's inarticu- 
 late language condemns the man from whose 
 mouth comes blessing and cursing. His course 
 has no analogue in nature. 
 
 12. Another local comparison shows the 
 impossibility of reconciling these opposites. 
 The same truth is taught in Matt. 7: 16, 17: 
 "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of 
 thistles?" The idea is that the product in 
 
 12 same opening sweet lonter and bitter? can a fig tree, 
 my brethren, yield olives, or a vine figs? neither 
 can salt water yield sweet. 
 
 kind from which it springs. Hence, the same 
 source cannot produce opposites. Can the 
 fig tree bear olive berries? either a vine 
 figs? The vine and fig tree were common in 
 every Oriental courtyard. (.! Ki..gsi8:3i.) The 
 olives abounded, and they gave its name to 
 the height which, on the east, overlooked 
 Jerusalem. These various gifts of Provi- 
 dence, for which the Jews were wont to praise 
 God, are indicated as familiar instances to 
 prove that nothing can produce aught that is 
 contrary to its own nature. So can no foun- 
 tain both yield salt water and fresh. The 
 best authorities read, Neither can salt water 
 (in the spring) yield fresh. [Alford : "Nei- 
 ther can salt water bring forth sweet" ; Da- 
 vidson : " Neither can salt water bear sweet ' ' ; 
 Bible Union: "Neither can salt water yield 
 fresh." I do not find any word signifying 
 "fountain," "spring" in the text, which ap- 
 pears to have the best support. The Revised 
 Version, it will be observed, reads, "Neither 
 can salt water yield sweet,^ ' and this is probably 
 the best rendering of the Greek.— A. H.] In 
 this declaration something more is meant 
 than the unnaturalness of the conjunction of 
 blessing and cursing, which is indicated in 
 the previous verse. The conjunction is im- 
 possible; blessing and cursing cannot issue 
 from the same lips. Those who curse men 
 cannot praise God. The blessing is hypocriti- 
 cal, and hence distasteful to him to whom it 
 is rendered; it is flavored and "tainted with 
 the bitterness of the cursing" ; it is not praise 
 at all. Johnstone: "An unrenewed heart is 
 a deep well of bitterness, and salt water can- 
 not yield fresh." 
 
 III. Division, 3: 13-4: 17. The (^odlt 
 UNDER Trial and Temptation should be 
 Slow to Wrath and its Kindred Impul- 
 sive Passions. Compare note on 4: 1. 
 
 1. Gentleness and mnderatioji of Christian 
 vnsdoni depicted. 3 : 13-18. 
 
 13. In this verse begins the third general 
 division of the Epistle, containing the devel- 
 opment of the admonition of 1 : 19, "Slow to 
 wrath." The discussion extends to the con- 
 clusion of chapter 4. The first paragraph of 
 
 every case must correspond to the cause or I the division (ver.is-is) discnmmates between 
 4 » 
 
50 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. III. 
 
 13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge 
 among j'ou? iel him shew out of a good conversation 
 his works with meekness of wisdom. 
 
 l-l But if ye liave bitter envying and strife in your 
 hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 
 
 the false and the true wisdom. The false wis- 
 dom was the kind of which James' readers 
 boasted, and which, they supposed, qualified 
 them to be teachers in the house of God. 
 (3: 1.) Who is a wise man, and endued 
 Avith knowledge among you? Literally, 
 Who is wise and knowing. The direct ques- 
 tion, with its immediate answer, gives vivacity 
 to the discourse. There is a like construction 
 in Ps. 34: 12-14. The synonyms "wise and 
 knowing" occur also in Deut. 1: 13; 4: 6, Sep- 
 tuagint, where they indicate the qualifications 
 of those who are competent to exercise au- 
 thority. Compare also the description of the 
 false teachers of Isa. 5 : 20, 21, who were 
 "wise in their own eyes and prudent in their 
 own sight," who called "evil good and good 
 evil"; who "put bitter for sweet, and sweet 
 for bitter." It would seem that James had 
 this passage in his mind. (3: ii.) He addressed 
 those who claimed to have the moral charac- 
 ter and the intellectual accomplishments 
 which qualified them to be teachers in the 
 church, and indicated to them what outward 
 tests must indicate these claims. Let him 
 shew out of a good conversation his 
 works. As 'conversation,' in the sense in 
 which it occurs here, is obsolete, conduct 
 should be substituted, as it should be in so 
 
 many other passages. (Ps- 37: U; Gal. l: 13; l Peter 
 
 1:15.) Let him show by good conduct hi'S 
 works, as the expressive manifestations of 
 wisdom ; so some. Others, with Neander, 
 interpret 'works' as in apposition with "con- 
 duct" — "works performed in the gentleness 
 expressive of wisdom." The meekness of 
 wisdom is the gentleness characteristic of 
 wisdom, and proceeding from it. According 
 to this last interpretation, which we prefer, 
 the text would read, Let him show this, in 
 his good conduct — his works in 7neekness of 
 wisdom. The works of this sort would be the 
 sign required, instead of the conceited and 
 contentious self-assertion inwhich these teach- 
 ers abounded. He who has true wisdom is 
 apt to say but little about himself, and is will- 
 ing even to sacrifice his own pretensions in 
 the interest of peace. 
 
 14. But if ye have bitter envying and 
 
 13 Who is wise and understanding among yon? let 
 him shew by his good life his works in meekness of 
 
 14 wisdom. But if ye have bitter jealousy and faction 
 in your heart, glory not and lie not against the 
 
 15 truth. This wisdom is not a wisdom that cometh 
 
 Strife in your hearts. So diflTerent from the 
 meekness of wisdom was the temper of those 
 whom James addressed. 'Envy' may easily 
 assume the name of religious zeal; it was in- 
 deed the temper of the Jews against the Gen- 
 tile converts (Acts 13:45), and would be more 
 naturally cherished by one aspiring teacher 
 against another. As the word in the original 
 has also a good meaning (like the English 
 word zeal which comes from it), bitter is 
 introduced to indicate its true character here. 
 'Strife' may be rendered factiousjiess, party- 
 spirit — a temper so injurious to Christian fel- 
 lowship, and so troublesome to the early 
 churches. It was the besetting sin of the Jews 
 (Rom. 2: 8;io: ;i; Acts 7 : 5i), and it greatly disturbed 
 the churches of Corinth (2Cor. 12; 20), Galatia, 
 CGai.5:20), and Komc. (Phii.i:iD.) It is the 
 temper of hirelings (as the etymology of the 
 word indicates) and of political candidates — 
 not that becoming the disciples of the meek 
 and lowly Jesus. 'Heart' (singular in the 
 Greek) is in contrast with the speech of teach- 
 ers boasting of their wisdom. Glory not, 
 and lie not against the truth. Glorying 
 has reference to others over whom we esteem 
 ourselves to have the advantage. Thus the 
 Jews gloried over the Gentiles; pluming 
 themselves over their superior religious privi- 
 leges, while abusing them, and saying: "This 
 people who have not the Law are cursed." 
 And thus in their turn the Gentiles afterward 
 gloried over the Jews. (Rom. n:i8.) Both 
 needed to know that in Jesus Christ neither 
 circumcision availed anything, noruncircum- 
 cision ; but a new creature. Lj'ing against 
 the truth has reference to the doctrine which 
 they themselves acknowledged, yet which 
 they repudiated b}' their partialities and hos-' 
 tilities against their own brethren. It was no 
 single truth they opposed, such as "the 
 brotherhood of mankind in Christ," as in the 
 claim (Rom. 3: 29), that God was the God of the 
 Jews only ; but thej' rejected the whole gospel 
 of love, meekness, and long suffering, in mak- 
 ing the Christian communion a theatre of envy 
 and partisan.ship. This was a misrepresenta- 
 tion of the truth of God, and a hindrance to 
 its advancement. 
 
Ch. III.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 51 
 
 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is 
 earlbly, sensual, devilish. 
 
 IG For where euvyiug and strife is, there is con- 
 fusion and every evil work. 
 
 down from above, but is earthly, i sensual, demunia- 
 
 16 cal. For where jealousy and faction are, iheie is 
 
 17 confusion and every vile deed. But the wisdom mat 
 
 1 Or, natural; or, animal. 
 
 15. In this and the next verse the character 
 of false wisdom is indicated: This wisdom 
 descendeth not from above — better, This 
 wisdom is not that which descendeth from above. 
 True wisdom is heavenly in its origin and 
 spirit, and is won by prayer, (i: &•) But the 
 wisdom vaunted (ver. u) has another character 
 !?nd another source. But is earthly, sen- 
 sual, devilish. These three adjectives form 
 a climax. Instead of coming 'from above,' 
 the wisdom designated here rather and only 
 belongs to earth, as indeed we find its expres- 
 sions everywhere in secular life, among the 
 societies of unregenerate men. (pmi. 3: i9.) 
 How different this from that heavenly wis- 
 dom displayed in the history of Jesus Christ ! 
 ' Sensual.' This is perhaps a good translation 
 here; for no word which precisely answers 
 the original exists in English. The term is 
 rendered in Jude 19, as here, "sensual." 
 In 1 Cor. 15: 44, and 2: 14, it is rendered, 
 "natural." The Syriac paraphrases it. "from 
 the devices of the soul." It applies to man as 
 an animal, whose mental and emotional na- 
 ture corresponds to and is apt to be engrossed 
 by the interests and pleasures of the world. 
 The subject is unfolded largely by EUicott's 
 " Destiny of the Creature," pp. 99-120, and is 
 popularly, yet satisfactorily, set forth in Presi- 
 dent Hopkins' " Strength and Beauty," p. 176, 
 seq. Perhaps our word, carnal, would most 
 nearly express the true meaning. The wisdom 
 referred to is carnal, as it harmonizes with 
 Uie depraved desires and affections, and pro- 
 ceeds from them. It is carnal, as it arises in 
 the impulses of a nature which has not yet 
 received from the Spirit of God a higher life 
 that apprehends God, communes with him, 
 and lives under the influence of an unseen 
 world. (I Thess. 5: 23.) Conscicncc, unselfish 
 philanthropy and faith lie beyond the sphere 
 of ciirnal and secular wi.sdom. Further, this 
 wisdom is 'devilish' — literally, demoniacal, 
 like that of the unclean spirits, who took pos- 
 session even of the bodies of men in those 
 days. James alludes to the demons more than 
 once (2: 19), for he himself had seen their un- 
 happy victims. And now, in the bickerings. 
 
 the envies, the bitter conflicts, the egotistical 
 boastings, the crafty intrigues, and the false 
 doctrines of those who wished to be teachers, 
 he detected the demons in their endeavor to 
 take possession of the body of Christ. The 
 Apostle Paul instances some of the doctrines 
 of demons, by which the faith and harmony 
 of the Gentile churches was assailed, (i Tim. 
 
 *: 1-5.) 
 
 Note. — Cremer (p. 625) remarks that the 
 three predicates — earthly, sensual, devilish — 
 express a logical sequence and enhancement; 
 earthly as the fit antithesis of 'from above; ' 
 because earthlj', therefore sensual (icor. i.t: is) ; 
 therefore also destitute of the Spirit : and be- 
 cause destitute of the Si)irit actually opposed 
 thereto — that is, devilish. 
 
 16, For where envying and strife is, 
 there is confusion and every evil work. 
 A confirmation of the judgment pronounced 
 against the false wisdom. It is condemned by 
 its evil results. 'Envying and strife' may be 
 rendered, as in ver. 14, envy and party spirit. 
 The result of the indulgence of these unhal- 
 lowed sentiments is a destruction of harmony, 
 a society in disorder and uproar, a chaotic 
 turbulence, which cannot come from God — 
 for God is not the author of confusion, but of 
 peace, (icor. u:33.) Parallel to our text is 
 Prov. 26: 28, Septuagint, where the original 
 for the word "ruin" is the .same as that ren- 
 dered by 'confusion' in our text. A flatter- 
 ing mouth worketh "ruin." There is a tone 
 of contempt in the expression every evil, or 
 vile deed. It indicates something base and 
 shameful, as in John 3: 20, involving distress 
 of conscience and scandal before the world. 
 As all history proves, envy and partisanship 
 have no respect to moral considerations. This 
 spirit, now, clas! threatening the peace of our 
 Republic, once wrought the ruin of the world. 
 
 IT. The true wisdom is now described as 
 to its spirit and expressions. What its char- 
 acter and value are is implied in the expres- 
 sion. That is from above. It is heavenly. 
 (prov.2:6.) "The Lord giveth wisdom." 
 Pure. This is the eminent characteristic of 
 heavenly wisdom; it is, first of all, chaste and 
 
52 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. III. 
 
 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, 
 then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full oi 
 mercy and good iruits, without partiality, and without 
 hypocrisy. 
 
 16 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of 
 them that make peace. 
 
 is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle> 
 easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, 
 18 without 1 variance, without hypocrisy. And the 
 fruit of righteousness is sown in peace -ioT them 
 that make peace. 
 
 1 Or, doubt/ulnesa ; or, partiality 2 Or, by. 
 
 stainless, free from any kind of vice. (2 cor. 
 7:11; Titus 2: 5) in Contrast with the wisdom that 
 is sensual, (ver. is.) Peaceable. Peace fol- 
 lows after purity here, as in the Sermon on 
 the Mount. (Maa. s: 8, 9.) The wisdom that is 
 free from vice and self-seeking ever tends to 
 harmony and concord. The practical etfect 
 of this temper is shown in the next verse, 
 which indicates that James had the Sermon 
 on the Mount in mind. Compare Matt. 5: 9. 
 Peace may well be valued by believers, as 
 Christ's special gilt (Coi. 1 : 20) ; as a spirit which 
 composes earth's discords, while it allies earth 
 with heaven, lilentle, or mild and forbear- 
 ing (iTim. 3: 3)j the Corresponding noun is ren- 
 dered "moderation" (Pbii.4:5), "a readiness 
 to waive all rigor and severity " (Conybeare); 
 a willingness rather to suffer wrong than to 
 provoke or perpetuate strife. Thus it is closely 
 connected with 'peaceable.' Easy to be 
 entreated— tractable, ready to yield, easily 
 persuaded by advice and correction, perhaps 
 also gaining its ends by persuasion. Full of 
 mercy and good fruits — rich in the fruits 
 of love, for love to man produces mercy (1:27; 
 2; 13), and love to God is displayed in the 
 manifold activities of a consecrated life. The 
 good fruits are the contrast to every vile deed, 
 (ver. 16.) Without partiality, and without 
 hypocrisy indicate the same qualities as the 
 previous phrase, but couched in a negative 
 form. The mercy of heavenly wisdom is not 
 chilled by human respects, and its good fruits 
 are not sacrificed to secular interests, and sup- 
 planted by pious semblances. Those whom 
 James addressed were, many of them, partial 
 in their dealings with men, and hypocritical 
 in their conduct toward God. These various 
 qualities here commended belong to the truly 
 wise; hence, they are ascribed to wisdon) 
 itself. 
 18. Only where this heavenly wisdom is 
 
 can the results which Christians are appointed 
 to accomplish be realized. The fruit of 
 righteousness, not the fruit which is right- 
 eousness—a genitive of apposition (Huther)— 
 but the fruit produced by righteousness. 
 This fruit is regarded as containing in itself 
 seed, which being planted produces a harvest 
 of a similar kind. Peace is the condition 
 upon which its successful cultivation de- 
 pends. So that the gentle wisdom, which has 
 just been described, is not only excellent in 
 itself, but is necessary for the promotion of 
 the cause of truth and virtue on earth. Of 
 them that make peace — better, by those 
 who. The peacemaker is the successful sower 
 of the immortal seed. "The wrath of man 
 worketh not the righteousness of God." John- 
 stone: " Love is the true spirit of the herald 
 oftheGodof love." In regard to this por- 
 traiture of true wisdom, as compared with 
 Paul's picture of love, 1 Cor. 13, Plumptre 
 remarks: "Differing as the two teachers did, 
 in many ways, in their modes of thought and 
 language, one fastening on the more practical, 
 the other on the more spiritual aspects of the 
 truth, there was an essential agreement in 
 their standard of the highest form of the 
 Christian character. One teacher held out 
 the right hand of fellowship to the other. 
 (Gal. 2:9.) Lovc is Wisdom, and Wisdom is 
 love." This verse is in contrast with ver. 16, 
 where the harvest sown by ambition and con- 
 tention is indicated. 
 
 Note. — The peculiar form of the Greek 
 implies not only that the work is performed 
 by the persons referred to, but that the result 
 is to be enjoyed by them. The dative implies 
 possession. (Winer.) Angus, "Ann. Bib.": 
 "Ambition and strife have their fruit (ver. le) ; 
 so the work of peace has righteousness for its 
 fruit, 'sown' now, to be enjoyed forever." 
 Compare Matt. 5 : 9. 
 
Ch. IV.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 53 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FROM whence come wars and fightings among you? 
 come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in 
 your members? 
 
 1 Whence come wars and whence come fightings 
 among you ? come they not hence, even of your pleas- 
 
 2 ures tnat war in your members? Ye lust, and have 
 
 2. Warning against the sway of the passions. 
 4: 1-17. 
 
 a. Evil consequences of the passions (ver. 
 1-3): They engender strife (ver. 1); they are 
 illusive (ver. 2); and they deprive prayer of 
 its efficacy. (Ver. 3.) 
 
 1. In this chapter, the earnest warnings 
 against the indulgence of selfish and carnal 
 desires are continued. There can be no peace 
 in a nature or in a community where the pas- 
 sions are unbridled. From whence come 
 Avars and fightings among you? Omit 
 'from'; repeat 'whence' before 'fightings,' 
 and read, Whence come wars, whence fightings ? 
 'Wars' indicate a chronic state of disturb- 
 ance, 'fightings,' the daily dissensions and 
 quarrels; the two serve to indicate how de- 
 plorable was the condition of the churches 
 addressed; they were like tumultuous battle- 
 fields. The language expresses the lively 
 emotion of the writer. Notice the bold tran- 
 sition from 3: 18, and the question, 'Whence 
 and whence ? ' Come they not hence, even 
 of your lusts that war in your members? 
 The negative interrogatory occurs as an an- 
 swer in the aflSrmative. 'Hence' designates 
 the thing meant as if with outstretched finger; 
 then follows the indication in words. ' Lusts,' 
 in the original, pleasures, used by metonymy 
 for the desires they awaken. (LukeS: u.) These 
 were the cause of the discords and strife pre- 
 vailing in the churches ('among you'), and 
 disturbing the peace of individual Christians. 
 Their lusts were, as it were, encamped or 
 arranged for battle in the members. They 
 availed themselves of every sense and organ, 
 as a vantage ground for carrying on the war 
 
 against the soul (l Peter 2: ll; Rom. 7: 23; 6: 12, 13), 
 
 and against the peaceful fellowship and bene- 
 ficent work of believers in the church rela- 
 tion. The Jews of this age were divided into 
 bitter sects and relentless factions. The ac- 
 counts given by Josephus of their vindictive- 
 nessand blood-thirstiness and rapacity toward 
 each other seem well nigh incredible. Even 
 the danger of the extinction of their national- 
 ity did not serve to reconcile them ; but they 
 continued to despoil and slaughter each other 
 
 even when the Roman battering rams were 
 thundering at the gates of Jerusalem. 
 
 Note. — That the passions are included 
 under this general division, which relates 
 specifically to wrath, need awaken no sur- 
 prise, for "wrath" (ipvi) had a similar scope 
 to that of our word passion. It originally in- 
 dicated any passionate emotion (according to 
 its root), any impulse, even that of love. 
 Hence, it occurs in the phrase "to turn one's 
 affections (opyas) toward any one." Compare 
 Tholuck, "Serm. on Mount," Matt. 5 : 21,22. 
 Historically and psychologically all the pas- 
 sions are vitally connected, especially those 
 here referred to — vindiciiveness and voluptu- 
 ousness. Suetonius' "Lives of the Caesars" 
 illustrates this truth ; also the story of John of 
 Leyden, the excesses of the French Revolu- 
 tion, and so many other historic instances. 
 A word in Latin corresponding to the Greek 
 term (we refer to the word ira) is used by 
 the Roman poets to signify spirit. Consult 
 the origin, with its twofold meaning, of our 
 word orgies, whose relationship indeed to 
 orge (wrath) can be seen at a glance. The 
 classical reader will recall in this connection 
 the orgies of the Bacchanalia— the frightful 
 mysteries of license and murder, discovered 
 and suppressed at Rome. Livy, "Hist." B. 
 39, R 8-19. 
 
 2. The sad consequences of these lusts are 
 now depicted, (ver.2,3.) Ve lust and have 
 not. The progress of sin from desire to act 
 is here depicted in a style similar to that em- 
 ployed in 1 : 15. There, however, it is de- 
 scribed as producing death in the trans- 
 gressor; here as producing war in the church. 
 How hostility to man arises from licentious 
 or covetous desire is illustrated in the history 
 
 of David, and Ahab. (2 Sam. 11 : 1, 2 ; 1 Kings 21 : 2-4.) 
 
 The lust here is a desire for worldly goods 
 and pleasures. In these respects many sup- 
 posed that the people of God ought to have 
 the advantage over others. Hence, they were 
 offended by persecutions ; they were obsequi- 
 ous to the wealthy, as persons whom God 
 favored. The rich, instead of helping the 
 poor, despised them ; and, instead of excrcis- 
 
54 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. IV. 
 
 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, 
 and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, 
 because ye ask not. 
 
 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that 
 ye may consume it upon your lusts. 
 
 4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that 
 
 3 not: ye kill, and i covet, and cannot obtain ■ ye fight 
 and war; ye have not, because ye ask not Ye 
 ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye 
 
 4 may spend j7 in your pleasures. Ye ^adulteresses 
 
 1 Gr. are jealous 'ilti'if.U, who break your marriage vow to God. 
 
 ing diligence in giving, employed diligence 
 in gaining more. And the poor envied the 
 rich, and reproached them as worldlings. 
 Yet in neither case did the eager desire secure 
 the possession of what it craved. Ye kill, 
 and desire to have, and cannot obtain. 
 'Kill,' in the sense of intense and murderous 
 hate, as in 1 John 3: 15. Plumptre, however, 
 takes it literally, and supports the interpreta- 
 tion by the state of Jewish society, of which 
 Barabbas, the bandit, was a type (Markis:?; 
 johuis: 39,40), the four thousand men that were 
 murderers (Acts 2i:38), and the bands of zealots 
 and Sicarii who were prominent in the tu- 
 mults of the final war with Kome. The 
 objection to this view is that such atrocities 
 could scarcely have been harbored in the 
 churches to which James was writing, how- 
 ever rife they might be in Jewish society. 
 But the desire which awakened hostility to 
 others, however it might express itself in 
 word or deed, failed of its end: "Ye kill and 
 covet, and cannot obtain." Syriac: "It 
 Cometh not into your hand." Ye fight and 
 Avar. This is the condition to which lust con- 
 signs its votaries; it disappoints them, and 
 makes them mutual tormentors. Yet ye 
 have not, because ye ask not. Omit 'yet.' 
 The discontent that they had arose from their 
 neglect of prayer. A contented and a happy 
 lot is the gift of God. (Phu. 4: 6, 7.) Even for 
 earthly goods we are encouraged to pray by 
 the promises of God. Yet the prayer that 
 prevails with God must be dictated by his 
 Spirit, (ver. 3.) He gives no audience to ha- 
 tred, covetousness, and envy, when these pas- 
 sions even assume the guise of the virtues, 
 and prostrate themselves before the mercy 
 seat. 
 
 3. Ye ask, and receive not, becaus eye 
 ask amiss. Here James explains what he 
 had just said. It was true that the forms of 
 devotion were observed ; but these wicked 
 petitions were not entitled to the name of 
 pra3'er. Hence they received no answer. 
 That ye may consume it upon (Syriac, 
 "pamper") your lusts. The fault was not 
 
 in the desire for temporal blessings, for relief 
 and comfort in the present life; but in the 
 end for which such blessings were sought— to 
 pamper the appetites and passions. To con- 
 sume (Mark 5: 26) is here uscd in a bad sense— to 
 squander. Earthly blessings may be sought 
 for our own good, or that of others; but not 
 to satisfy what is lowest in our nature, and to 
 strengthen what was against the soul. Mon- 
 strous as is the thought that the Holy One 
 will minister to our lusts, the hope is cher- 
 ished by many in every age. The Italian 
 bandit offers prayer for success in his career 
 of villainy, and so does the Cornish wrecker; 
 and in the case of other inconsistent and re- 
 jected worshipers, the danger may be the 
 greater, just because the anomaly is less fla- 
 grant. But the most singular of all the per- 
 versions of prayer was its use by so many 
 mystical saints of the Middle Ages, to inflame 
 their sensual imaginations with amorous rap- 
 tures—a profVination of the divine love and 
 beauty which still prevails in the common 
 language of the convent. Baring Gould, 
 "Origin and Development of Religion," I., 
 360-362. The language employed by the most 
 eloquent of all the mystics ("Vie de St. 
 Therese," XXIX., 2) we dare not quote, al- 
 though it is cited with enthusiasm by Balmes' 
 "Protestantism and Catholicity," p. 427. 
 
 b. Ungodliness of the passions. Ver. 4-6. 
 They involve enmity to God (ver. 4); and 
 they contemn his word. Ver. 5, 6. 
 
 4-6. James has indicated the ungodly na- 
 ture of these desires (ver. 4-6), in which the dis- 
 orders of the early churches originated. In- 
 stead of Ye adulterers and adulteresses, 
 the best authorities read, "Ye adulteresses." 
 The word is used in the figurative meaning 
 familiar to the Jews, indicating aposta.«y from 
 
 God. (Ps. 73: 27; Isa. 57 : 3 seq. ; Eiek. 23: 27 ; Hosea2: 2, 4. 
 Matt. 12: 39; 16:4; 2 Cor. 11:2; Key. 2: 4.) The USC Of 
 
 the feminine is not to be explained by the 
 fact that James was thinking of adulterous 
 souls, whose unfaithfulness to God was like 
 that of a wife to her husband ; or that he 
 intended to stigmatize them as effeminate 
 
Ch. IV.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 55 
 
 the friendship of the world is enmity with God ? whoso- 
 ever therefore will be a frieud of the world is the enemy 
 of God. _, . . _, 
 
 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, Ihe 
 spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 
 
 know ye not that the friendship of the world is 
 enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be 
 a friend of the world luaketh himself an enemy 
 
 5 of God. Or think ye that the scripture ' speaketh 
 in vain? ^Dolh the spirit which ^ he made to 
 
 6 dwell in us long unto envying? But he giveth 
 
 1 Or, laitk in vain 2 Or, The spirit which he made to dwell in us he yearneth for even nnto jealous envy. Or, That spirit which he 
 
 made to dwell in us yearneth for us even unto jealous envy 3 Some ancieut authoritie a lead dwelleth in u». 
 
 onism to God's will; a heart set upon the 
 world must be averse to religion. It was pre- 
 cisely this antagonism between the world and 
 God's kingdom which drove the apostles from 
 Jerusalem, and laid upon James tlie weighty 
 responsibility of the Jerusalem pastorate. 
 ^Actsi2:i7.) Baumgarten's "Apos. Hist.," ^ 
 20. Instead of " becometh," Cremer trans- 
 lates, "takes the character or condition, comes 
 forward, appears," p. 303. [There is no arti- 
 cle before the word 'enemy' in the Greek, 
 and there seems to be no good reason for 
 inserting it in English. The meaning of 
 James may be thus expressed: 'Whosoever 
 therefore makes it his choice or pleasure to be 
 a friend of the world, takes his position as an 
 enemy of God.' — A. H.] 
 
 5. The spirit of the world is condemned by 
 the express teachings of God in his word. 
 
 (Ver. 5: 6.) 
 
 Do ye think that the scripture saith (it) 
 
 in vain— speaks falsely or emptily. As this 
 form of expression would seem to indicate a 
 quotation, the words immediately succeeding 
 have been diligently sought for in the Old 
 Testament, but they cannot be found there. 
 They are not in Scripture, nor, according to 
 our view, did James intend to quote any other 
 Scripture than thatoccurring inthe next verse, 
 "God resisteth the proud, etc." (Prov.3:34.) 
 This quotation is suspended until James in 
 his prompt and spirited way mentions and 
 answers an objection. The meaning will be 
 made clear by repeating 'do you think' be- 
 fore the second clause of the verse, as intro- 
 ducing the opinion of a world-loving and 
 self-excusing objector. The spirit that 
 dwelleth within us (the better authorities 
 read, which he planted in us) lusteth to envy 
 (enviously). Do you say this, laying the 
 charge of your worldly rivalries and ani- 
 mosities and discontents upon your Creator? 
 Do you claim that an infirmity of nature, for 
 which you are in no wise responsible, con- 
 strains you to feel and to live as the world 
 does? The Holy Spirit is not intended here, 
 
 (women rather than men); but rather because 
 he had in view the churches, whose love of 
 the world dishonored God, and was a breach 
 of the covenant they had made with him. 
 [In supposing that James here addresses 
 churches instead of individuals, the author 
 agrees with several good commentators ; but 
 we fail to see any valid reason for the suppo- 
 sition. The preceding verses are evidently 
 addressed to persons, rather than to churches 
 as such, and if the reference here is to a turn- 
 ing away from God to the service of sinful 
 passions, it is natural to suppose that the 
 writer has in view men rather than ecclesi- 
 astical societies. That the feininine is used is 
 due to the fiict that Christians, whether men or 
 women, are conceived of as the spouse of God. 
 —A. H.] Know ye not that the friend- 
 ship of the world is enmity Avith God?— 
 hetter, friendship -with the world. The world, 
 with its seductive objects, its ungodly multi- 
 tudes, and the principles by which its course 
 is directed, is an empire revolted from God 
 and under the control of his adversary. 
 (1 John 2: 15; 5: 19.) Hcncc, devotion to it is in- 
 compatible with allegiance to God. (Matt, b: 24; 
 Luke 16: 13.) The idea of friendship with the 
 world implies conformity with worldly ex- 
 amples, the pursuit of honor and riches as 
 supremely desirable ends, and a prevailing 
 and paramount desire for the favor of the 
 world — a course incompatible with the dis- 
 charge of the duties due to God. (James i: 27; 
 Rom. 12:2.) The text is an allusion. to Christ's 
 declaration in Matt. 6: 24. The same doc- 
 trine also inculcates in Rom. 8: 7. Whoso- 
 ever therefore will be a friend of the 
 world is the enemy of God. A conclusion 
 drawn from the principle just asserted. He 
 who is ''minded to be" (compare Matt. 11: 
 19), or who "■desires to be" a friend of the 
 world ('will' here is something more than a 
 mere auxiliary), and hence adopts a worldly 
 policy, and cultivates worldly fervor and 
 associations; 'becometh^ the enemy of God. 
 The principle involves and necessitates antag- 
 
56 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. IV. 
 
 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, »more grace. 
 God resisleth the proud, but giveth grace unto the 
 humble. 
 
 Wherefore the scripture saith, God 
 
 1 Gr. a greater grace. 
 
 and indeed is referred to nowhere in the 
 Epistle, which deals almost exclusively with 
 Christian ethics in contrast with Christian 
 theology. Nor can the idea of "envious 
 lusting," or longing, be properly associated 
 with the Spirit of all grace. Such a connec- 
 tion is harsh, and without any Scriptural 
 warrant. But there can be no objection to 
 identifying the indwelling spirit with man's 
 corrupt will (compare 3: 16), for which, how- 
 ever, the worldly-minded professor pleads that 
 he is not responsible. The last clause of this 
 verse and the first of the next are thrown in 
 parenthetically. See a similar example in 
 4: 14, and note on that verse. 
 
 Note. — The only other admissible interpre- 
 tation of this difficult passage is that which 
 finds the Scriptural quotation already given 
 in the previous verse cited here without be- 
 ing repeated : " Do ye think that the Scrip- 
 ture saith this in vain ? " Those whom James 
 addressed "knew" from the Scripture (ver. 4) 
 that there was opposition between God and 
 the world. God had put enmity between the 
 seed of woman and the seed of the serpent 
 from the time of the first temptation. (Gen.3: is.) 
 And the entire inspired history is but a nar- 
 ration of the successive incidents of this an- 
 cient, irreconcilable conflict. Now it finds 
 expression in the avowals of worshipers, Ps. 
 139: 21, "Do not I hate them, O Lord, that 
 hate thee? and am I not grieved with them 
 that rise up against thee?" Now it is pro- 
 claimed in the stern remonstrances of pro- 
 phets. (2 Chron. 19: 2.) "Shouldst thoU help 
 
 the ungodly and love them that hate the 
 Lord ? Therefore is wrath upon thee from 
 the Lord." James may have had reference 
 either to this pervasive doctrine of Scripture, 
 or else to some special text such as those we 
 have quoted. If, as is not unlikely, Mat- 
 thew's Gospel, which was specially addressed 
 to the Jews, was then in circulation among 
 them, the reference may have been directly 
 to our Lord's declaration recorded there. 
 (Matt. 6: 24.) " No man can serve two masters; 
 for either he will hate the one and love the 
 other, or else he will hold to the one and de- 
 spise the other. Ye cannot serve God and 
 
 mammon." This last reference, which Ben- 
 son favors, fits the connection easily. In the 
 previous verse James had alluded to the an- 
 tagonism between the world and God, as a 
 truth of which his hearers had already been 
 apprised. Then, upon the present supposi- 
 tion, he adds: Do you think that the Scrip- 
 ture saith this falsely? In opposition to the 
 divine testimony. Do ye argue that the spirit of 
 passionate envy, which disturbs your peace of 
 mind and your church fellowship (ver. i), has 
 been implanted in you by God, and therefore 
 cannot be contrary to his will? The error 
 here advanced James had already confuted 
 (i: 13-18) by showing that it is contradicted by 
 human experience and by the divine perfec- 
 tions. Accordingly, he contents himself now 
 with showing that the infirmity of spirit is 
 no justification of envy and strife. He says: 
 God has given you grace superior to the lusts 
 of nature; he has made provision for your 
 relief in spiritual conflict. You have but to 
 humble yourselves before him, in order to be 
 delivered from envy and vain glory toward 
 your fellows, (ver.e.) 
 
 [De Wette supposes that the word spirit (t6 
 nveiifia) here means the Holy Spirit who dwells 
 in the hearts of Christians and loves them 
 even to envy — that is, loves them with such 
 ardor as to be envious, humanly speaking, of 
 any hold which the world has on their affec- 
 tions. He would translate the passage thus: 
 Or do ye suppose that the Scripture saith 
 (this in ver. 4) in vain? Unto envy doth the 
 Spirit which he caused to dwell in tcs love (us). 
 But he giveth greater grace (than if he did 
 not thus love us). I should hesitate to pro- 
 nounce this an impossible sense. — A. H.] 
 
 6. But he giveth {the)moTe grace — Syriac, 
 "Superior grace." Thus, almost in a word, 
 does James crush the objection. Man's in- 
 firmity is no excuse for his transgressions, for 
 God adapts his gifts of grace preciselj' to the 
 needs of those who require and ask his succor. 
 To those whose need is greatest the largest 
 measure of grace is given. Thus the way is 
 prepared for the quotation he has promised ; 
 the connection requires that Avherefore he 
 saith should be rendered wherefore it {the 
 
Ch. IV] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 57 
 
 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the 
 devil, and he will tiee from you. 
 
 8 Draw nigh to Uod, and he will draw nigh to you. 
 Cleanse i/oitr hands, i/e sinners; and purify i/ou?" hearts, 
 ye doubieminded. 
 
 resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. 
 
 7 Be subject therefore unto Uod ; but resist the devil, 
 
 8 and he will tiee Ironi you. Draw nigh to (iod, and 
 be will draw uigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye 
 sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubieminded. 
 
 Scripture) saith, which introduces the sus- 
 pended quotation. God resisteth the proud 
 but giveth grace to the humble. The 
 
 proud are those who seek for worldly advance- 
 ment and mind high things (Rom. i-i: i6), and 
 who therefore shrink from the reproaches and 
 sacrifices connected with fidelity to the gospel. 
 But in thus seeking worldly gains and glories, 
 under whatever pretext, they incur the loss 
 of the divine favor. The humble are those 
 who, whatever may be their earthly station, 
 recognize theirspiritual weaknessand poverty, 
 and condescend to men of low estate. They 
 cheerfully assume the cross of Christ, and 
 trustfully rely upon God for strength and 
 wisdom. And to these the grace they need is 
 given. We may judge that this te.xt was a 
 favorite one among the early believers from 
 its being quoted by Peter as well as James. 
 
 (l Peter 5: 5.) 
 
 c. Means of overcoming the passions. Ver. 
 7-10. 
 
 7-10. The practical conclusion follows. 
 The submission to God is all that is needed 
 to relieve the infirmities of nature, and to 
 give victory in the sorest spiritual conflicts. 
 The appeal is not to the proud (ver. 6) only 
 (Huther), but to all. Nor is the submission 
 that of obedience onlj-, but rather of depend- 
 ence and truJt. They who put themselves 
 under God's care and government will find 
 mercy and grace for everyday of need. (But) 
 Resist the devil and he will flee from 
 yon. [The word 'but" should be inserted 
 before "resist," according to the best editors 
 and the earliest MSS. X A B.— A. H.] You 
 need fear nothing from the enmity of the 
 world, not even if it be impersonated in its 
 prince. To resist God is ungrateful and re- 
 bellious folly ; to oppose each other is to turn 
 the Christian household into an arena of 
 painful and inglorious strife. If you would 
 show your manhood, arm yourselves against 
 the devil, the author of all evil desires, espe- 
 cially of that presumption through which he 
 himself fell, and to which he now tempts, in 
 order that he may destroy you. If you must 
 fight, if you a.e|>ire to glory, choose a foeman 
 worthy of the steel ; fight Satan, the malig- 
 
 nant enemy of God and man. There may be, 
 as Plumptre suggests, an indirect reference 
 here to the history of our Lord's temptation. 
 As Christ was prepared by gifts of the Spirii 
 for that dread encounter, so the tempted be- 
 liever may be assured that God will impart 
 all the grace he needs (ver. e) for success in his 
 spiritual conflicts. In this passage James 
 gives an additional proof of the truth of the 
 principle laid down in 1: 14. As God is not 
 the Author of sin (i: i3), neither on the other 
 hand can Satan betray into sin without the 
 consent of the human will. Man's moral 
 nature, when submissive to the control and 
 guidance of the Holy Spirit, is unconquerable 
 by all the arts and arms of hell. The right 
 of direct appeal to God's word and his throne 
 for grace and guidance (misnamed the right 
 of private judgment) is clearly implied in the 
 passage. 
 
 8. To the last admonition succeeds another, 
 which also has a promise connected with it. 
 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh 
 to you. God's fellowship is sought by re- 
 pentance, faith, and prayer. Drawing nigh 
 to God indicates a trustful and habitual resort 
 to God amid life's trials and temptations, and 
 pledges divine help to those who thus ap- 
 proach him. The verb occurs in Hosea 12: 6, 
 "Wait on " thy God continually. A similar 
 lesson is given in 2 Chron. 15: 2; Isa. 57: 15; 
 Zech. 1:3. It is not the same as "walking 
 with God," like Enoch (Gen. 5:24), although 
 he who draws nigh unto God will also walk 
 with him, and show in character and life the 
 eff"ect of so high an association. Cleanse 
 your hands, ye sinners, and purify your 
 hearts, ye doubieminded. This is added 
 to show that something more than acts of de- 
 votion are necessary; the conduct must cor- 
 respond to *he profession. Nor did the cere- 
 monial ablutions of the Pharisees suffice. 
 Even the heathen Seneca knew that "no sea, 
 no rivers can cleanse the right hand stained 
 with crime and blood." The 'sinners' who 
 were serving the lusts of the world (ver. 4) 
 must cease to do evil and learn to do good. 
 {p».n:i.) The doubieminded (1:8; Syriac, 
 "divided in mind "j, who, while they wav- 
 
58 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. IV. 
 
 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter 
 be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 
 
 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and 
 be shall lift you up. 
 
 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep ; let your laughter 
 be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 
 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he 
 shall exalt you. 
 
 ered, showed that their hearts rather belonged 
 to the world than to God, must submit their 
 hearts to the influence of a Divine Spirit, and 
 cultivate unfeigned love for the brethren. 
 (1 Peter 1: 22.) True piety is cliastity of spirit; 
 in its inner sanctuary God alone is shrined. 
 The best comment on this passage is found in 
 the Sermon on the Mount, where our Lord 
 condemns the double-mindedness of the Phar- 
 isees. (Matt. 6: 19-34.) " They professed to have 
 their hearts set on heaven, while yet they 
 were engaged in laying up for themselves 
 treasures on earth. But where the treasure 
 is, there will the heart be also. (ver. 19-21.) 
 Their eye was not single in its aim, and 
 therefore their spiritual vision was clouded 
 and obscure, (ver. 22, 23.) They attempted to 
 reconcile the incompatible services of two 
 opposite masters — God and Mammon, (ver. 24.) 
 They were cumbered and anxious about the 
 things of this world, instead of seeking as 
 their first and great concern the kingdom of 
 God and his righteousness with the simple 
 faith that all other things necessarj' would 
 be added unto them." (ver. 25-34.) (Forbes' 
 "Scripture Parallelism," 217, 218.) [The 
 brevity of the original is very spirited, viz.: 
 ^^ Cleanse hands, sinners; purify hearts, dou- 
 ble-minded"; or supplying ye: ''Cleanse 
 hands, ye sinners; purify hearts, ye dotible- 
 minded." — A. H.] 
 
 9. Kepentance is the way of return to God. 
 This sorrow for sin is described and empha- 
 sized by three words. Be afflicted — spoken 
 primarily of bearing external trouble, here 
 for the sense of distress, as in Rom. 7: 24: 
 "O wretched man that I am." It is incor- 
 rectly referred by Grotius to bodily austeri- 
 ties, which in themselves have no religious 
 value. Mourn and Aveep. These words are 
 frequently found together, as in Neh. 8:9; 
 Mark 16:10. The Jews rent their garments, 
 and used sackcloth and ashes in sign of 
 mourning; and tears express grief in all ages 
 and among all peoples. Here, as in the texts 
 to which allusion is made (Luke 6: 21,25), the 
 sign is employed for the thing signified. Let 
 your laughter be turned to mourning, 
 and your joy to heaviness. Let the con- 
 
 sciousness of your eternal wretchedness eclipse 
 the joys which life's seeming prosperities awa- 
 ken, and tlius work repentance and salvation. 
 (2 Cor. 7:10.) The external change from laugh- 
 ter to mourning is a figure for the change of 
 feeling, as the last clause shows. Heaviness 
 — dejection, such as is shown in casting down 
 the eyes in shame. The worldly pleasures 
 they had sought for and enjoyed should pro- 
 duce a sense of shame and deep distress before 
 God. (Prov. 10: 23.) The passage recalls the 
 figure of the Publican (Luke is : 13), who "would 
 not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven" 
 — not, indeed, to commend the attitude, but 
 the penitential sorrow it expressed. In the 
 second half of the verse is exhibited the par- 
 allelism of members, the well-known peculi- 
 arity of Hebrew poetry, which occurs also in 
 the New Testament when the style rises to the 
 elevation of rhythm. The parallelism is 
 sometimes synonymous as here, and some- 
 times antithetic. (Winer.) The species of 
 parallelism occurring here is also known as 
 gradational ; it is described by Forbes, " Sym- 
 metrical Structure of Scriptures," pp. 5-17. 
 
 10. Conclusion of the exhortation, based 
 upon the assurance of ver. 6. Humble 
 yourselves in the sight of the L.ord. This 
 passage resembles, but is not parallel to 1 Peter 
 5: 6, which indeed is founded upon the same 
 text (Prov. 3:34), but applies it to submission 
 under affliction. Here James enjoins self- 
 humiliation in the presence of the omniscient 
 and offended Lord. The son of Sirach says : 
 "Those who fear the Lord will humble their 
 souls before him." (2: n.) And he shall 
 lift you up — better, and he loill exalt you. 
 An allusion to our Lord's words in Matt. 23: 
 12; Luke 14: 11. Yet this contrast often 
 occurs elsewhere, as Job 5: 11; Isa. 57: 15; 
 Ezek. 21 : 26. The promise relates as well to 
 the present hidden, as to the future revealed, 
 glorj' of the humble Christian. (Huther. 1 
 The humble sinner receives the divine favor, 
 and enjoys the happiness arising from the 
 divine fellowship. "The degraded worldling 
 is 'lifted up' to a sphere of elevated thoughts 
 and sublimer pursuits. The mourning peni- 
 tent is 'lifted up' to the heights of a pure, 
 
Ch. IV.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 59 
 
 11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that 
 speakbth evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, 
 speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law : but if 
 thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but 
 a judge. 
 
 12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to 
 destroy: who art thou that judgest another? 
 
 11 Speak not one against another, brethren. He that 
 speaketh against a brother, or judgeth bis brother, 
 speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but 
 if thou judgest the law, thou art not a duer of the 
 
 12 law, but a judge. One on/i/ is the lawgiver and 
 judge, even he who is able to save and to destroy : 
 but who art thou that judgest thy neighbour? 
 
 celestial happine.«s. The slave of Satan is 
 'lifted up' to those heavenly places in which 
 the King of Glory sits with his servants, and 
 calls them friends." Patterson, "Expos." 
 Compare Matt. 5: 3, 4. 
 
 d. James urges (ver. 11-17) a warning 
 against the passions on account of the pre- 
 sumption they inspire in our estimates (ver. 
 11, 12), and in our projects in secular life. 
 Ver. 13-17. 
 
 11. Speak not evil one of another — bet- 
 ter, Speak not against one another. (So the 
 Syriac.) This admonition is connected with 
 the preceding by the principle that humility 
 before God carries with it lowliness toward 
 his children. The frequent returns of the 
 writer to this subject show that he is dealing 
 with "the ever-besetting sin of his time and 
 people." The sin condemned is calumnj', 
 which magnifies the faults and depreciates 
 the virtues and character of others. The un- 
 naturalness of the sin is already indicated by 
 the relationship tliat Christians bear to each 
 other. They are brethren, the children of 
 the same Father, and should take no part in 
 Satan's work of backbiting. (Kev. I'i: lo.) He 
 that speaketh evil of his brother (the 
 passage must be rendered, speaketh against 
 his brother), and (or) judgeth his brother, 
 speaketh against the law, and judgeth 
 the law. Speaking and judging are nearly 
 synonymous; but the speaking presupposes 
 the judgment. Calumny against a brother is 
 evil in its source before it flows out into 
 speech. Calumny is a violation of the law of 
 love, which it condemns as of no authority, 
 or as not founded upon right. It is more par- 
 ticularly an express violation of the law of 
 Christ, who forbids the unkind judgments 
 that prevail in common life. (Matt.7:i.) But 
 if thou judge the law, thou art not a 
 doer of the law, but a judge. The calum- 
 niator thus leaves the position which becomes 
 him, as a subject of law. The law is promul- 
 gated, not that he may judge it, but that it 
 niaj' judge him. He is required to do it. But 
 instead of rendering it a loyal obedience, he 
 
 makes himself a judge, and promulgates a 
 law by which his neighbor is condemned or 
 absolved — a criminal presumption, as James 
 now proceeds to show. Perliaps it may even 
 be found that the law of God permits what 
 the censorious professor condemns, in which 
 case his condemnation of a brother condemns 
 the law which absolves him, and directly 
 impugns the wisdom and holiness of the 
 Heavenly Lawgiver. 
 
 12. There is one lawgiver who is able 
 to save and destroy. Tischendorf adds the 
 words, "and judge," after lawgiver; so also 
 the S^'riac [with X A B P, Coptic, Ethiopia 
 Versions. — A. H.] The text is more forcible 
 in the original than in our Version ; it may 
 be rendered, One is the laiogiver ayid judge, 
 he loho is able, etc. (Rom. i4:4.) The judg- 
 ment which discriminates the characters and 
 seals the destinies of men belongs only to 
 him who has given the law. Compare 1 Cor. 
 4: 3-5. Besides a law is of no avail unless it 
 have its sanctions; hence our sentence is idle, 
 for we cannot execute it. The law has no 
 efficacj' unless ndministered by an Almighty 
 and Eternal Judge (wa". lo: 28), " who is able to 
 destroy both soul and body in hell." Who 
 art thou that judgest another? The same 
 rebuke in the same form is administered by 
 Paul in Kom. 14: 4. Instead of a?ioMer read 
 a neighbor (so in the Syriac), without the per- 
 sonal pronoun, as Mark 12: 33; Rom. 13: 10. 
 The insignificance of the man is shown by 
 contrasting him with the One Lawgiver and 
 Judge of all. The standards of right among 
 men vary ; they know little of the law, and 
 less of the hearts of others, and they are 
 themselves the transgressors of law. When 
 such beinrs undertake "to judge of motives 
 and character without tangible and most con- 
 vincing evidence," and on this ground pro- 
 nounce unfavorable judgments against each 
 other, they arrogate to themselves a wisdom, 
 holiness, and power to which they have not 
 the shadow of a claim. [Davidson's transla- 
 tion of ver. 11 and 12 represents the Greek 
 text, in so far as the definite article is con- 
 
60 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. IV. 
 
 13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we 
 will go into such a city, and continue there a year, aud 
 buy and sell, and get gaii. : 
 
 • 14 Whereas ye know not viha.t shall be on the morrow. 
 For what is your life ? It is even a vapour, that ap- 
 peareth lor a little time, and then vanisheth away. 
 
 13 Go to now, ye that say, to-day or to-morrow we 
 will go into this city, and spend a year there, and 
 
 14 trade, aud get again; whereas ye know not what 
 shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For 
 ye are a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, 
 
 cerned, correctlj'. "Speak not against one 
 another, brethren. He that speaketh against 
 a brother or judgeth his (literally the) 
 brother, speaketh againbt law and judgeth 
 law; but if thou judgest law, thou art not a 
 doer of law, but a judge. One is the lawgiver 
 and judge, who is able to save and to destroy ; 
 but who art thou that judgest thy (literally 
 the) neighbor?''— A. H.] 
 
 13. Now is shown the folly of the carnal 
 desires and secular plans which lead us to 
 forget our dependence upon God. (ver. 13-17.) 
 Go to now, ye that say — better. Come 
 now, etc., awakening attention. Here the 
 imperative is used as an interjection as in 
 g 1 a call to many, to whom the discourse 
 now turns. The jiersons whom James ad- 
 dresses are worldlings, whether unconverted 
 members of the Christian community, or 
 aliens who persecuted the brotherhood and 
 blasphemed the name of Christ. (2: 7-) There 
 is no reason to restrict the warning to either 
 of these classes specifically. The writer ad- 
 dresses those who are the votaries of the 
 world, and who will continue in its service 
 notwithstanding his admonition. Hence his 
 severity. Our Lord addressed the same class 
 in the parable of the rich fool. (Luke 12: 16, seq.) 
 The same tone of contemptuous indignation 
 which appears in the parable (ver. 20) is here 
 manifest. To-day or to-morrow we will 
 go into such a city, and continue there 
 a year, and buy and sell, and get gain. 
 Some manuscripts have " to-day and to-mor- 
 row." This reading, which, however, is proba- 
 bly incorrect, would indicate a two-days' 
 journey. 'Such a city' indicates some defi- 
 nite city to which the traveler proposes to 
 journey. Instead of 'continue there a year,' 
 etc., read, spend there a year, etc. The lan- 
 guage describes the spirit of "the strangers 
 of the Dispersion" then and now; and also 
 expresses the confidence with which those 
 whom James had in view anticipated the fu- 
 ture. The aim of these journeys and busi- 
 ness adventures was to get gain, which 
 worldly men regard as true success in life. 
 They turn this scene of probation into a 
 
 market, as once the sacred precincts of the 
 temple were invaded for the sale of oxen and 
 sheep and doves. And the calculations of the 
 future are made without any thought of God, 
 or any apprehension of death. The repetition 
 of the 'ands' well expresses their presumpt- 
 uous confidence. A large class of Oriental 
 merchants are peddlers, restlessly adven- 
 turing from city to city in pursuit of gain. 
 See "Arabian Nights," passim, and Bush's 
 " Hlustrations " on James 4: 13. As for the 
 Jews, they were widely distributed over the 
 Roman Empire at the date of our Epistle. 
 Strabo said: "Already a Jewish population 
 has entered everj' city." The Jews occupied 
 two of the five wards of the great commercial 
 city of Alexandria. They had seven syna- 
 gogues in Rome. They were in North Africa, 
 and had penetrated to the banks of the 
 Danube and to the remote coasts of Spain 
 and Britain. And everywhere they were 
 busily engaged in trade. Uhlhorn, "Con- 
 flict of Christianity," pp. 83, 84. Alzog 
 ("Eccl. Hist.," §29) indicates the commer- 
 cial spirit as an active cause of the Jewish 
 Di-spersion from the great metropolitan centre 
 of Alexandria, where the Macedonian con- 
 queror had permitted a Jewish colony to 
 settle. 
 
 14. This verse is a parenthesis, interrupting 
 for a moment the progress of the discourse. 
 The writers of the epistles employ parentheses 
 to express sometimes a limitation, sometimes 
 a corroboration, sometimes a reason or more 
 precise explanation, as here. (Winer.) 
 Whereas ye know not what shall be on 
 the morrow. Carnal security should be dis- 
 turbed by the uncertainty of the future. 
 (proT. 27: I.) "Boast not thyself of to-morrow; 
 for thou knowest not what a day may bring 
 forth." Not careless presumption, but trust 
 in a wise and merciful Providence, relieves 
 the anxieties of life. (Mau.6:34.) Instead of 
 ' whereas ye,' read ye who, which is the literal 
 translation, and brings out the parenthetic 
 character of the verse. For what is your 
 life? It is even a vapor (literally, /o?- ye 
 are a vapor) that appeareth for a little 
 
Ch. IV.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 &l 
 
 15 For that ye out/ht to say, If the Lord will, we shall 
 live, and do this, or that. 
 
 IG But now ye rejoice iu your boastings: all such re- 
 joicina is evil. , . , j j 
 
 17 Therefore to hiiu that knoweth to do good, and 
 doeth it not, to him it is sin. 
 
 15 and then vanisheth awwy. ^For that ye ought to 
 
 say. If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do 
 
 IG tins or that. IJut now ye glory in your vauntings: 
 
 17 all such glorying is evil. To him therelore who 
 
 knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is 
 
 sin. 
 
 1 Gr. Instead of your saying. 
 
 time and then vanisheth away. Even life 
 is uncertain. No one can tell whether he 
 will be alive on the morrow. The question 
 means, Of what character is your life, imply- 
 ing its nothingness? Compare 1 Peter 2: 20. 
 " What glory is it? " This suggestion of the 
 vanity of life is confirmed by a fan.iliar figure 
 (Job 7: 7; Ps. 102: 3), to which the connection of 
 the life with the breath gives a striking appro- 
 priateness. In cold air the breath becomes 
 visible in the form of vapor which soon dis- 
 appears. The correct reading, "Fe are a 
 vapor," gives peculiar strength to the figure. 
 The warning is specially applicable in the 
 case of the traveler (ver.is), to whom the 
 vehicle or vessel in which he sets forth may 
 prove his cotRn: and the refreshment on the 
 way maj' work as poison, and prostrate him 
 before he reaches his place of destination. 
 15. For that ye ought to say— literally, 
 instead of saying. The previous verse shows 
 the folly of such expressions as are given in 
 ver. 13. Now James shows how we should 
 speak in regard to the future. If the Lord 
 will, we shall live, and do this or that- 
 read, we shall both live, etc. Not only the 
 doing, but also the living, as the condition of 
 doing, depends upon the will of God. To the 
 Lord there is nothing uncertain or uncontrol- 
 lable in the future. And his people may 
 therefore commit themselves trustfully to his 
 guardianship, knowing that the wise, mighty, 
 and loving "Will which sways all times and 
 seasons is enlisted in their behalf; and cling- 
 ing to the divine assurance that all things 
 shall work together for their good. The pious 
 expression of our text became common among 
 Christians. Paul wrote to the Corinthians 
 (1. 4 : 19) : "I will come to you shortly, if the 
 Lord will." And the formula still retains its 
 place in the familiar speech of Christendom. 
 When it is not uttered in connection with 
 our purposes for the future, and it need not 
 always be (compare 1 Cor. Ifi: 5), its spirit 
 should always be retained— the sense of de- 
 pendence upon God for life and for success in 
 all its legitimate enterprises. (Luke 12: 29,30.) 
 
 16. A contrast to the spirit and conduct 
 just described and commended. But now 
 indicates how the case really stands. Ye 
 rejoice in your boastings— better, Ye boast 
 in your vainglory — that is, in the impious 
 and vain arrogance which trusts in the stabil- 
 ity of earthly things. This is the sphere or 
 state in which the boasting takes place. The 
 plural forin of the noun cannot be given 
 without awkwardness in English. It indi- 
 cates the various degrees of vainglory, and 
 perhaps also may suggest the various occa- 
 sions or modes in which it betrays itself. The 
 persons referred to were animated by vain- 
 glory, which their presumptuous speech re- 
 vealed. (Ver. 13; Prov. 27 : 1.) All SUCh rejoiciug 
 
 is evil— 'all such boasting.' Thus the con- 
 demnation, already implied in the contrast, 
 finds expression. There is a boasting that is 
 reasonable and good, like that of Paul in 
 Christ Jesus (Phii.3:3), and in his cross (Gai. 
 6: 14) ; or evcu in the infirmities which afforded 
 an occasion for the display of God's saving 
 power. (2Cor.i2:9.) But the boastings of the 
 vainglorious are unhallowed in their source, 
 are false in their grounds, and are pernicious 
 in their results. Wherefore, let him "that 
 glorieth, glory in the Lord." (2Cor. lO: n.) 
 
 17. Therefore to him that knoAveth to 
 do good and doeth it not, to him it is 
 sin. The general law of conscience is here 
 asserted; but in such a way as to emphasize 
 the condemnatory sentence just uttered, and 
 also to indicate that the principle has a special 
 application here. The idea is that where the 
 " becoming" in morals is known, the neglect 
 of it is the actual doing of evil. In such a 
 case positive guilt is incurred. (John is: 22; Luke 
 12 : 47, 48.) God Will hold him gravely responsi- 
 ble who has held his truth captive in un- 
 righteousness. (Rom. 1:18.) Hcncc thosewho 
 know the insecurity of life and the uncer- 
 tainty of the future, and yet repudiate the 
 facts of their condition, and their dependence 
 upon God, in their far-reaching and pre- 
 sumptuous calculations, act inconsistently 
 and unbecomingly : contradict their own con- 
 
62 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. V. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 GO to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your 
 miseries lliat shall come upon you. 
 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are 
 moth-eaten. 
 
 1 Go to now, ye rich, weep and howl for your 
 
 2 miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches 
 are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 
 
 victions; and sin the more grievously', be- 
 cause they sin against familiar knowledge. 
 But the principle also enforces all the moral 
 lessons upon which the writer has been insist- 
 ing, and thus prepares his readers for the re- 
 capitulation of the subjects discussed, and the 
 concluding of the Epistle. Alford: "There- 
 fore we see in this example the truth of the 
 general axiom," etc. 
 
 Conclusion. — Duties of the tempted and 
 tried recapitulated and reinforced. 5 : 1-20. 
 
 1. 1-11. Swift to hear the revelations of the 
 word; in regard to prosperous wickedness 
 (ver. 1-6); and afflicted piety. Ver. 7-11. 
 
 1. Here the conclusion of the Epistle begins, 
 recapitulating and enforcing the duties of the 
 tempted and tried. In the first section (ver. i-u) 
 the writer exhibits the end of those complica- 
 tions which disturbed the trust of the early 
 believers in the providence of God, and made 
 them slow to receive the assurances of the 
 word. He indicates, therefore, the future of 
 prosperous wickedness (ver. i-e), and of afflicted 
 pietj'. (Ver. 7-11.) Yet there is no break in 
 the discourse: having shown that worldly 
 greed is impious and evil, he now considers 
 its present workings and its final result. Go 
 to now. This phrase, which is now obsolete, 
 should read covie 7iow. It is a call to atten- 
 tion, indicating that something important 
 and urgent is to be said. Here it introduces 
 a prophetic denunciation. Ye rich men. In 
 the original, we have the nominative with the 
 article, which is allowable in calling and com- 
 manding. The persons addressed are persons 
 without the Christian pale. They are not 
 only persons possessed of wealth, but also 
 idolatrous of it, as the connection shows. 
 (Luke6:24.) They have secured that which 
 their hearts chiefly value, and which they 
 deem the source of happiness and the groat 
 aim of life. And they abuse it. (ver. 4.6.) 
 Weep and howl for your miseries that 
 shall come upon you — literally, weep, wail- 
 ing for yottr miseries that are coming. This 
 is not a call to repentance, like 4: 9, but an 
 animated proclamation of judgment. The 
 
 implication is that the persons addressed 
 would pursue their evil course, and reap the 
 destructive consequences. However prosper- 
 ous they seem, they must soon weep and wail, 
 for their reverses and ruin are near at hand. 
 And the sorrow should have no solace, be- 
 cause produced by a divine judgment. (isa.i3:6.) 
 The miseries are those attendant upon the 
 destruction of Jerusalem ( Luke 19 : 43, 44), and 
 also upon the final judgment. The two events, 
 of which the former was the symbol and the 
 pledge of the latter, are grouped together by 
 James. The cares and anxieties which wealth 
 brings with it are left out of sight, as un- 
 worthy of attention in view of the threaten- 
 ing calamities. 
 
 2. The coming judgment is figuratively de- 
 scribed. The wealth of the Orientals consisted 
 mainly in coin and clothing. See Acts 20: 33. 
 They trafficked in costly garments, or kept 
 them for ostentation. (Kzra2: 69;Neh. 7: 70.) Their 
 riches were peculiarly insecure and perish- 
 able; they might even be "consumed before 
 
 the moth." (jublS: 28; Isa. 5O: 9; 5I: 8; Matt. 6: 19.) 
 
 Riches is the general term, under which gar- 
 ments and coin (ver. a) are the specifications. 
 Are corrupted. The decay of the wealth is 
 a figure to show that it had become worthless. 
 The present tense indicates the certainty of 
 the event predicted, and its near approach. 
 Compare note on 5: 7. "Wealth, with the 
 curse of God upon it, is poverty and wretch- 
 edness. Are moth-eaten — literally, are be- 
 come moth-eaten. In this state the rich stuffs 
 would be well nigh worthless, if not altogether 
 so. Compare Isa. 51: 8. "The moth shall 
 eat them up like a garment, and the worm 
 shall eat them like wool." The age in which 
 the gospel was first preached to the poor was 
 eminently an age of covetousness. The secret 
 of happiness was supposed, even by the reli- 
 gious teachers of the Jewish people, to be 
 discoverable in luxury and pleasure. (Mntt. 23: 
 4; Luke 16: 14.) Hencc they adopted any means, 
 however unrighteous, to secure affluence. 
 (Jos. "Ant." XIII. 3: 4, 5.) They needed 
 the stern admonition of James the Just, that 
 while they felicitated themselves in being 
 
Ch. v.] 
 
 3 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 tire. Ye have heaped treasure together 
 for the last days. 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 63 
 
 3 Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their 
 rust shall be for a testimony i against you, and shall 
 eat your flesh as tire. Ye have laid up your treasure 
 
 4 in the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers 
 
 rich and increased in goods and having need 
 of nothing, they were on thecontrary wretched 
 and destitute. Compare John's warning to 
 tlie Church of Laodicea. (Rev.3:n.) The 
 communism and self-sacrifices of the Pente- 
 costal helievers were a generous reaction and 
 protest against the spirit of their people and 
 their times. (Acts 2.) 
 
 3. Continuation of the denunciation of the 
 judgments which will befall the rich. Your 
 gold and silver is cankered— litcally, is 
 rusted. The expression is hyperbolical ; for 
 gold and silver never rust. James does not 
 refer to the black tarnish which unused silver 
 contracts, or the green discoloration of hoarded 
 gold ; but to the loss of value which occurs in 
 other metals through rust. The rusted metals 
 correspond to the motheaten garments: they 
 are worthless. The wealth which you have 
 regarded as a substantial possession, and from 
 which you promise yourselves so much, will 
 be destroyed. And the rust of them shall 
 be a witness against you — literally, to you. 
 According to our version the dative is that of 
 advantage or disadvantage {dativus coynmodi 
 et incommodi). The rendering to you implies 
 that the rust that had gathered upon the 
 unused treasures would testify to the hard- 
 heartedness of their possessors. Compare the 
 words of Horace, "Odes," B. 2, Ode 2. "There 
 is no brightness to silver concealed in the 
 avaricious earth, O Crispus Sallust', a foe to 
 wealth unless it shines by moderate use." 
 According to the latter rendering the melan- 
 choly ruins of fortune would betoken the 
 destruction of those who foolishly relied upon 
 them. And shall eat your flesh as it were 
 fire. The judgment upon the riches extends 
 also to their possessors. The ' flesh ' — literally, 
 the fleshy imrts—\s, & figure for the wealthy 
 who are designated by that part of the body 
 which they were wont to pamper. This is 
 represented as consumed by the rust, as the 
 fleshy parts of Jezebel were consumed by the 
 dogs. (2King89: 36.) The keen anguish of the 
 punishment is indicated by the gnawing fire, 
 which tortures while it consumes. The divine 
 judgments are oftentimes described as a 
 
 devouring fire. (Ps. 2I: 9; laa. lO: 1G, n; 30: 27; Mark 
 
 9: 44; Amos 5 ; 6.) Dcstruction is usually implied ; 
 but the additional idea of torment clearly 
 enters into it (Ezek. i5:7), as here. Not only 
 the destruction of that which the rich prized 
 above all things will aflilict them with a pain 
 as keen as if fire devoured their flesh, but to 
 this will be added remorse for wasted oppor- 
 tunities, for criminal pleasures, and for the 
 guilt incurred in the acquisition of deceitful 
 riches. Ye have heaped treasure together 
 for {in) the last days. The vanity of the 
 excessive pursuit of wealth by those whom 
 James addressed was shown in the fact that 
 the judgment they had incurred was just 
 about to befall them. The inspired writers 
 did not discriminate, in these warnings, be- 
 tween the last days of the Jewish polity 
 (which were a type and prophecy of the final 
 judgment), and the final judgment itself. 
 They contented themselves in declaring the 
 nearness of the "coming of the Lord" 
 
 (1 Cor. 15: 51; 1 Thess. 4 : 15; IJohn 2 : 18) ; and in Warn- 
 ing those to whom they spoke and wrote to be 
 ready for it. This clause, as explained by 
 what precedes, has a kindred meaning to that 
 of Rom. 2: 5. "But, after thy hardness and 
 impenitent heart, treasures! up unto thyself 
 wrath against the day of wrath and revela- 
 tion of the righteous judgment of God." 
 These were the very days when the treasures 
 amassed should bear their testimony, and call 
 down the consuming sentence of God upon 
 their guilty possessors. The covetous, who 
 were laying up treasure even by fraud and 
 oppression (ver. 4-6), ought rather to be making 
 ready for the coming Judge, (ver. s; Luke i7; 26-30.) 
 See note on 5 : 7. 
 
 Note. — In ver. 3, 5, and 6, we have not 
 changed the rendering in our Common Ver- 
 sion of the aorist by the perfect, believing 
 that an endeavor to preserve the precise 
 character of the original in these instances 
 would give an air of stifl^ness to the transla- 
 tion. 
 
 4. The ground of the judgment was the 
 unrighteousness exercised in the acquisition 
 and use of riches, (ver. 4-6.) Here unrighteous- 
 
64 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. V. 
 
 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped 
 dowu your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, 
 crieth: aud the cries of them which have reaped are 
 entered into the ears of the Lord of .Sabaotb. 
 
 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been 
 wanton ; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of 
 slaughter. 
 
 who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back 
 by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that 
 reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of 
 
 5 Sabaoth. Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and 
 taken your pleasure ; ye have nourished your hearts 
 
 6 in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned, ye 
 
 ness toward laborers is specified. An im- 
 proved translation of the present verse would 
 be: "'Behold the hire of the laborers who 
 reaped your fields, which is fraudulently kept 
 back by you, crieth out ; ayid theories of those 
 that reaped have entered into the ears of the 
 Lord of Hosts." Behold, the hire of the 
 labourers who have reaped your fields. 
 ' Behold,' indicates that something worthy of 
 earnest attention is about to be spoken. The 
 mode in which the wealth had been accumu- 
 lated was iniquitous. The money due to the 
 laborers who had gathered harvests for the 
 wealthy was withheld— Syriac " wrongfully 
 retained" — a wrong which the law did not 
 tolerate even for a single night, (i.ev. i9: i3.) 
 Against such evil doers a woe was denounced 
 (jer.22:i3), and a swift judgment predicted. 
 Mai. 3:5; compare Job 31: 38, 39. Crieth 
 out — demanding vengeance as with a loud 
 clamor, (oen. 4: 10 1 Exod. 2: 23.) To Condemn to 
 hunger those whose labors supply us with 
 bread is a crime that cries to heaven. For 
 they are more than hirelings: they are God's 
 wards. The bounteous Giver of the harvest 
 assigns a due portion thereof to those who 
 gather it. To wrong even the hireling of the 
 fields is to break an ordinance of heaven. 
 (Ps. 126:5, 6.) In this age poverty was regarded 
 as a rrime and pity for the necessitous as a 
 weakness. (Virgil," Geor." ii. 499. ) ButChris- 
 tianity came forth from the carpenter's shoj) 
 at Nazareth, to dignify honest and useful 
 labor, and to assert the right of the poor man 
 to enjoj' the fruits of his toil and satisfy the 
 needs of his nature. A large number of the 
 early Christians supported themselves by their 
 daily labor, (i The<s. 4: ii.) And the cries of 
 them which have reaped are entered 
 into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth 
 (hosts). The almightiness of God to redress 
 and avenge is indicated by the title " Lord 
 of the (angelic) hosts." Compare Rev. 4: 8 
 with Isa. 6: 3. The Ruler of the armies of 
 heaven has sovereign power over all the mul- 
 titudes of earth among whom he represses the 
 strong and saves the weak. (Rom. 9: 29.) The 
 
 hosts he gloriously rules are the stars and the 
 angels. Ps. 24: 10; compare Deut. 4: 19; 
 1 Kings 22: 19. And he hears the cr3' of the 
 oppressed on earth, who aj)peal to him for 
 
 deliverance. (Gen. is : 21; 19: IS; Exod. 2: 23; 3: 9; 2 
 
 Sam. 22: 7 ; ; s. 18 : 6 ; Isa. 5 : 9.) James uses the He- 
 brew title of the supreme King of the Uni- 
 verse, as he is writing to Jews among whom 
 this title was familiar; it occurs not less than 
 twenty-three times in Malachi. 
 
 5. The rich were also unrighteous in the use 
 they made of their riches, which they devoted 
 not to the relief of the wearj' and poor labor- 
 ers, but to the gratification of their own lusts. 
 While those by whom their wealth was cre- 
 ated suflTered, they lived in voluptuousness 
 and debauchery. Ye have lived in pleas- 
 ure on the earth, and been wanton — 
 Syriac, "revelled." Ye have lived in volup- 
 tuousness and in luxury. The picture of such 
 a life had already been drawn by our Lord in 
 the parable of the rich man. (Luke i6: 19.) They 
 sought for nothing higher than earthly de- 
 lights, unmindful of that wrath which was 
 about to be "revealed Irom heaven against 
 all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." 
 (Rom. 1: 18.) The form of the verb (the gnomic 
 aorist) indicates that this was the habit and 
 character of their lives. Ye have nourished 
 your hearts, as in a day of slaughter — 
 better, ye have pampered your hearts in a day 
 of slaughter. 'Your hearts' implies more 
 than yourselves. Agreeably to the ph^-sio- 
 logical views of antiquity, the heart and the 
 stomach were closely connected ; hence the 
 idea of the pleasures of eating is here sug- 
 gested. Compare Acts 14: 17. (Winer.) 'In 
 a day of slaughter' is not equivalent to for a 
 day of slaughter, as some suppose, but is 
 parallel to "in the last days." Ver. 8. See 
 Jer. 12: 3; 25: 34. While they were care- 
 lessly and greedily pampering their appetites 
 and passions, the day of their judgment had 
 already dawned. They were like oxen feast- 
 ing on a day of butchery; like Belshazzar 
 revelling, while an armed and bloodthirsty 
 foe was at his palace gates. (Luke 21 : 34.) 
 
Ch. v.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 65 
 
 6 Ye liave condemned and killed the just ; and he 
 dolh not resist you. 
 
 7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of 
 tlie Lord. Behold, the husbandmen waiteth for the 
 precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for 
 It, until he receive the early and latter rain. 
 
 have killed the righteous owe ; he doth not resist 
 you. 
 
 Be patient therefore, brethren, until the 'com- 
 ing ol the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waitetll 
 lor the precious fruit of the earth, being patient 
 over it, until -it receive the early and latter rain. 
 
 I Qt. presence 2 Or. he. 
 
 6. Ye have condemned and killed the 
 
 just, and he doth not resist you. Another 
 sin of the rich was that they shamefully per- 
 verted the influence they had, in oppressing 
 and even murdering the righteous. The 
 original is more spirited than our rendering. 
 It is : Ve have condemned, ye have killed the 
 just man; he doth not resist you. The rich 
 are charged with doing what thej- caused the 
 judges and executioners to do, as well as with 
 tlie guilt of those iniquitous sentences which 
 thej' themselves pronounced and inflicted. 
 The chief priests and elders persuaded the 
 multitude to reject the Lord. (Matt. 27: 20.) And 
 the same "rulers" (ActsS: 17) and "princes" 
 (1 Cor. 2: 8) who wcre guilty of the blood of the 
 Lord were also foremost in the persecutions 
 of his people. 'The just' {man) expresses 
 the whole class, just as 'the poor' {man) does 
 in 2: 6. The case of Jesus is not specifically 
 referred to, because James is charging the 
 wealthy and powerful with a crime which 
 they were accustomed to commit. A parallel 
 to this passage is found in "Wisdom of Solo- 
 mon 2: 10-20. It is an interesting circum- 
 stance that James himself was commonly 
 Known as "the Just," even among the Jews. 
 Hegesippus thus describes his martyrdom: 
 "The Scribes and Piiarisees threw down the 
 Just from the pinnacle of the temple, and 
 said, ' Let us stone James the Just! ' and they 
 began to stone him ; for he had not been 
 killed by the fall, but turning round, knelt 
 and said : 'I beseech thee, Lord God and 
 Father, forgive them, for they know not what 
 they do.' But while they were thus stoning 
 him, one of the fullers took the club with 
 which he used to press the clothes and struck 
 the head of the Just. Thus he sulfered mar- 
 tyrdom." The legend, to which indeed little 
 importance is to be given, serves nevertheless 
 to illustrate the meaning of our text. 'He 
 doth not resist you.' This circumstance em- 
 phasizes the unrighteousness and criminality 
 of the rich, who are unmoved by the patient 
 sufferings of their innocent victims. It also 
 implies that, being allowed full scope of action 
 5 I 
 
 here, they might the more certainly expect to 
 be called to account for their conduct here- 
 after. (Amos2:6, 7; 5:12; 8:4.) That a menace is 
 
 involved in the expression appears from what 
 immediately follows. The meekness of the 
 just is "the dead calm before the earth- 
 quake." 
 
 7. Suflfering believers are cheered, and are 
 exhorted to patient endurance, (ver. 7-11.) Be 
 patient therefore, brethren. The 'breth- 
 ren' are contrasted with the rich and power- 
 ful, and are assigned to the class of the just 
 (ver. 6) whom thcse persecute. And they must 
 vindicate their claim to this high association 
 by exhibiting the long suffering which is a 
 distinguishing characteristic of the just, when 
 under persecution for righteousness' sake. 
 Unto {until) the coining of the Lord. The 
 return of Christ is pointed to as a day of retri- 
 bution, when the good and the evil would, 
 each of them, experience the destiny he had 
 been preparing for. After Clirist's coming, 
 the just, now suffering on earth, would be- 
 come blessed spirits in the better world. Like 
 their Master, they would exchange the cross 
 for the crown. The earl\- Christians had no 
 knowledge of the time of this coming, which 
 yet they supposed to be nigh ; and thej' could 
 not distinguish between his coming to destroy 
 Jerusalem, and hiscoming to judge the world. 
 The former was the foreshadowing and the 
 assurance of the latter. Behold the hus- 
 bandman waiteth, etc. Instead of and 
 hath long patience for it, road being pa- 
 tient over it; and instead of until he re- 
 ceive, read until it receive. It is the opinion 
 of some interpreters that a drought prevailed 
 during the very year when this Epistle was 
 written. Compare Acts 11 : 28. This circum- 
 stance would give special weight and aptness 
 to the illustration. The same illustration 
 occurs in Eccles. 6: 19, The husbandman 
 after sowing is not hopeless or impatient, be- 
 cause some time must elapse before the har- 
 vest appears to reward his toil. And, like 
 him, the Christian must keep himself in pa- 
 tience until the precious fruit, of his toils for 
 
66 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. V 
 
 God is matured and reaped. There were two 
 heavy rainfalls in Palestine — one in autumn, 
 
 the other in spring (Deut. 11:U; Jer. 5:24; Joel 2: 23), 
 
 the rainy season extending from October 
 until !March. When these duly appeared, a 
 good harvest might reasonably be expected. 
 The "early rain" fell in the month of Octo- 
 ber; the "latter," in the month of March. 
 By the first the soil was softened for husban- 
 dry; by the second, the swelling grain was 
 fed. 
 
 Note. — 'The coming of the Lord' speci- 
 fically denotes the visible return of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ from heaven to raise the dead, to 
 hold the final judgment, and to establish the 
 kingdom of God solemnly and gloriously. 
 (2 Thess. 1 : 6, 7.) In general it indicates any par- 
 ticular interposition for the punishment of 
 Messiah's enemies, or for the discipline or 
 deliverance of his people, (phu. *: 5; Heb. 10:25.) 
 Hence the judgments about to befall the 
 churches of Asia Minor were described as the 
 personal visitations of Christ. (Rev. 2: 5, 16.) 
 "/ will come quickly, and take away thy 
 candlestick." (Rev. 2: 5.) " /wi^^ come on thee 
 quickly." It is clear enough that the earlj' 
 Christians could not distinguish between such 
 occasional visitations of the Heavenly King 
 and his final coming. Hence both were con- 
 founded in the question of the disciples. 
 (Matt.24:3.) "Tell US wheu shall these things 
 [the calamities of Jerusalem] be, and what 
 shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the 
 end of the world?" Nor have we any reason 
 to suppose that the disciples were afterwards 
 apprised of the time fixed either for Christ's 
 return to destroy the Jewish State, or to judge 
 tlie world. 
 
 The Lord indeed taught his disciples that 
 the two events were not simultaneous. In 
 the account given by Matthew, we have the 
 answer to the questions of the disciples in 
 regard to both events. Mark and Luke give 
 Christ's explanation of but one— the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem, which was to be preceded 
 by signs and portents; the other should come 
 like a thief in the night. See my article on 
 "The Coming of Christ," in Ford's "Reposi- 
 tory,'' March. 1879. Paul also distinguished 
 between the Comings. He warned the Phil- 
 ippians that "the Lord was at hand." (Piiii. 
 4:5.) But he urged the Thessalonians not to 
 be disturbed by the impre.«sion that the daj' of 
 
 Christ was at hand, declaring that the times 
 were not yet ripe for our Lord's coming. 
 These texts would be contradictory, unless 
 ditTerent comings had been intended. All the 
 disciples looked for the Lord's appearing 
 (Col. 3:4), yet Peter also, like Paul, warned 
 his readers against expecting the speed3' ad- 
 vent of Christ, reminding them that "one 
 day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and 
 a thousand years as one day." (2Peter3: 8.9.) 
 
 How, then, shall we explain those passages 
 which imply that the day of Christ might at 
 any moment break upon the world ? In three 
 respects the coming of Christ was near. 1. 
 Christ comes at the day of death, when the 
 destiny is forever decided. (2Cor. 5:8.) Those 
 who are "absent from the body" are "'pres- 
 ent with the Lord.^^ This day is near to every 
 one. 2. The overthrow of the Jewish polity 
 was at hand when the epistles were written. 
 This event was aptly described as a day of 
 divine visitation ; for it vindicated the honor 
 of Christ, rolled away the reproach of his 
 death, arrested the persecutions of his people, 
 and gave them' new proofs of his guardian 
 care; for, warned by his prophecy (Matt. 24: 
 15-18.), they had already betaken themselves to 
 a safe retreat in Pella, beyond Jordan, when 
 their enemies were falling beneath the Roman 
 sword. 3. The general judgment was near as 
 computed by the Dispensations of the eternal 
 God (2 Peter 3: 8, 9), wlio mcasures the ages by 
 his own existence, and to whom our ages are 
 "as yesterday," and "as a watch in the 
 night." (Ps.90:4.) It must also be observed 
 that the prophets, like all speakers passion- 
 ately assured of the future, use the figure of 
 promptness or nearness to indicate certainty. 
 Lowth, in his "Lectures on Hebrew Poetry" 
 (§ 15, p. 162, Lond. Ed., 1836), calls attention 
 to the frequency with which the prophets use 
 the present tense to indicate what will cer- 
 tainly occur in the future, as in the prophetic 
 narrative of Sennacherib's invasion of Pales- 
 tine. Isa. 10: 28-32. Compare the burden of 
 Babylon, Isa. 13: 6: "The day of the Lord 
 is at hand." Also the punishment of Israel, 
 Ezek. 7: 6: "The end is come," etc. So with 
 the primeval curse, which was not immedi- 
 ately inflicted, nor is yet exhausted, Gen. 2 : 17: 
 "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou 
 shalt surely die." And so with the gospel 
 promise of deliverance, John 5; 25: 'The 
 
Ch. v.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 67 
 
 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the 
 coming of tlie Lord drawfth nigh. 
 
 9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye 
 be condemned: behold, the judge slaudeth before the 
 door. 
 
 I 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the 
 
 9 looming of the Lord is at hand. Murmur not, 
 
 brethren, one against another, that ye be i;ot 
 
 judged: behold, the judge standeth before the 
 
 10 doors. Take, brethren, for an example of suffer- 
 
 1 Gr., presence. 
 
 hour is coming, and now is, when the dead 
 shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and 
 they that hear shall live." In this way the 
 certainty of the event was indicated, and the 
 attention of men was fi.\ed upon the prophecy. 
 The same figure, the hypotyposis, is familiar 
 in secular poetry and oratory. 
 
 8. The appeal, with the motive for heeding 
 it, is renewed. Patience is encouraged by 
 the nearness of the Lord's coming, (i Peter4: ?; 
 Kom.i3:H.) Storr's " Diss. on Kingdom of 
 Heaven," §9. Be ye also patient. 'Also' 
 refers to the husbandman, who is an example 
 in patience to the believer. Stablish (or 
 strengthen) your hearts by anticipating the 
 Advent of Christ, when the injustice and 
 violence of men will be redressed. Patience 
 is the attribute — not, as is commonl}' sup- 
 posed, of the weak, but of the strong (iThess. 
 3: 13, 1 1'eters: 10) ; and Christian hope is the 
 secret of Christian strength. Plumptre: 
 "The promise of the Second Advent has been 
 to believers in Christ what the promise of the 
 First Advent was to Abraham and the patri- 
 archs. They saw the far-off fulfillment, 
 knowing not the times and the seasons, and 
 it made them feel that ihey were 'pilgrims 
 and strangers' (Heb. u: is), and so purified and 
 strengthened them." And, so far as the case 
 of those to whom James wrote was concerned, 
 the coming of the Lord to redeem them from 
 the persecutions inflicted upon them by a 
 proud and dominant Judaism, was near at 
 hand; although, as the event proved, the 
 time of the general and final retribution was 
 yet far distant. The early disciples were 
 assured of the certainty of the Lord's coming, 
 and were taught that it might be expected at 
 anytime. (2 Thess. i : 4-8.) Thus they were en- 
 couraged patiently to wait for it. But they 
 were also warned against undue excitement, 
 or any presumption in regard to it. (2Thess. 
 2:1-*), and were admonished that God's ap- 
 pointed time might embrace centuries in its 
 sweep. (2Peter3:8.) Compare Angus. "Christ 
 our Life," 32.3-333. 
 
 INoTK. — The frequent appeals enjoining 
 patience and hope are thought bj' Bensen and 
 
 Stanley to indicate the year 42 as the date of 
 the Epistle, a period when a train of calamities 
 befell that vast Jewish population dwelling 
 upon the plains of Babylonia (Stanley, " Es- 
 says and Sermons," p. 294), wiien, in the 
 expressive language of Milman ("Hist. Jews," 
 2: 185): "The skirts of that tremendous tem- 
 pest, which was slowly gathering over the 
 native country and metropolis of the devoted 
 people, first broke, and discharged their heavy 
 clouds of ruin and aesolation, one by one, 
 over each of their remoter settlements." 
 
 9. Another admonition founded on the 
 ajjproach of the Judgment. Judge not 
 one against another — that is. Murmur not. 
 Those who suffer are wont to complain, and 
 easily become fretful and captious toward 
 their nearest and must loved associates. They 
 groan because they suffer more than others 
 who are, they think, more faulty than them- 
 selves, or because they do not receive from 
 others due attention and sympathy. They 
 easily imagine themselves the unhappj' victims 
 of inhumanity or injustice. And, asour Epistle 
 shows, such complaints were not always with- 
 out foundation. Lest ye be condemned. 
 For if the complaint were groundless, the 
 false judgment would be criminal ; if it were 
 just, the complainant would have usurped the 
 prerogatives of the coming Judge — an oiRce 
 most unsuitable for a sinful man, who is soon 
 to stand his own trial before the Searcher of 
 hearts. Another thought is suggested by the 
 use of the word brethren. Dinter: "Even 
 he who has injured still remains thy brother, 
 thy Father's son, the purchase of thy Re- 
 deemer — one to whom thou must wish good 
 rather than evil." Behold the judge stand- 
 eth before the door — that is, at the door. 
 (Literally, before the doors.) This expression 
 indicates the nearness of the judge, who might 
 present himself at any moment. (Matt. 24:33: 
 Marn 13: 29.) He will bcst know and judge what 
 awards to impart and to inflict. And the rule 
 of his judgment will condemn the uncharit- 
 able (Matt. 7:1), to whom he will assign the 
 measure which they have meted out to others. 
 
 [In the textus reccptus there is no article 
 
68 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. V. 
 
 10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spokeu 
 in the name of the Lord, for an examjjle of sutt'eriug 
 affliction, and of patience. 
 
 11 Behold, we 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 
 tender mercy. 
 
 ing and of patience, the prophets who spake in the 
 11 namd of the Lord. Behold, we call them blessed 
 wIjo endured : ye have heard of tlie ' patience of 
 Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, how that 
 the Lord is full of pity, and merciful. 
 
 1 Or, endurance. 
 
 before the word 'judge,' but tlie autliors of 
 our Common Version inserted one, because 
 the context leaves no room for doubt that 
 James refers to the Supreme Judge. And a 
 careful examination of the best MSS. shows 
 that they have the article. This is true of 
 X A B K L P, while no important uncial 
 sustains the textus receptus in omitting the 
 article. Let the work of textual criticism be 
 encouraged, till the sources of knowledge 
 have all been examined. — A. H.] 
 
 10. Take, my brethren, the prophets 
 Avho have spokeu, etc. The rendering is 
 improved by omitting 'my,' which is not 
 expressed in the original, and by changing 
 'have spoken' into spoke. For an example 
 of suftering affliction, and of patience 
 — better, an example of offiiction, and of 
 patience. 'An example' to cheer the heart, 
 and an example to influence the conduct of 
 suiferine: believers, was afforded by the history 
 of the prophets of earlier times. (Matt. 5: 12.) 
 The favor they had with God, and the dignity 
 of the ofl3ce they bore, did not exempt them 
 from suffering ; nor did their afflictions, how- 
 ever unmerited and extreme, induce them to 
 surrender their trust in God, or renounce 
 their sacred, but arduous mission. They 
 relied on the grace of him who sent them, 
 and they expected a final reward at his hands. 
 'The prophets who spo]<e in the name of the 
 Lord,' who uttered their warnings, promises, 
 and appeals by divine authority. (Jer. 20:9; 
 44: 16; Dan. 9: 6.) They protested against the 
 wor.ship of idols, and against the prevalent 
 vices of their people, as transgressions of the 
 law of God, and, on this account, they were 
 all of them persecuted, and some of them 
 killed. (Malt, vs: 29, 30; Luke 13: 33, 34.) There Were 
 also prophets in the Christian churches (1 Cor. 
 
 12: 10; Eph.2: 20; Rev. 22 : 9), who WCrC expOSed tO 
 
 similar trials ; but James could not have re- 
 ferred to these, inasmuch as his Epistle was 
 written to them, as well as to other believers, 
 all of whom he sought to inspire by the recol- 
 lections of the heroic days of old. (Heb. u: 
 
 35-38.) Yet there was a close relationship be- 
 tween the Old and the New Testament 
 prophets ; they both were instructed in the 
 divine mysteries and purposes of grace, and 
 communicated tliem to others. Hence, in the 
 case of the Old Testament prophets, says 
 Cremer (p. 569): "Their preaching was a 
 predicting, a foi-etelling of the salvation yet to 
 be accomplished : while, in the case of the New 
 Testament prophets, it was a 2nibiication of the 
 salvation already accomplished.'" Hence, in 
 Eph. 3:5; 2: 20, they are named side by side 
 with apostles as the foundation of the Church. 
 They were for the Church what the seers of 
 old were for Israel, and needed the encour- 
 agement of their memorable example. 
 
 11. Nor was the case of the prophets pecu- 
 liar in this respect. The entire class of trium- 
 phant sufferers to which they belonged is now 
 honored and blest. (Mntt. 24: is.) Behold, we 
 count them happy which endure — read, 
 who have endured. We assure ourselves that 
 God has not left the pious sufferers of the past 
 unrewarded. (Matt. 5: 12.) Among these. Job (to 
 whose history this is the only New Testament 
 reference) was conspicuous. This patriarch, 
 whom James recognizes as a real character, 
 was a memorable example of patient endur- 
 ance under troubles and unmerited reproaches. 
 The story of Job was recited in the syna- 
 gogue reading, and must have been generally 
 known. It is referred to in Ezek. 14: 14-20. 
 Paul quotes from the book (s: is) in 1 Cor. 3: 
 19. What the Jews knew of their law and his- 
 torj' was chiefly derived from oral instruction ; 
 hence, hearing is more frequently mentioned 
 than reading. This was the case even with 
 
 the rich and noble. (1 Kiug»4: S; 2Kiags 12: U; Isa. 
 29: IS; Jer.lSK: 4; Rev. 1 : 3.) And haVC .SCCn the 
 
 end of the Lord; that the Lord is very 
 pitiful, and of tender mercy. According 
 to Tischendorf the reading should be: "Be- 
 hold also the end of the Lord" — the happy 
 result which the Lord brought forth from the 
 affliction (genitive of cause) ; and see from 
 this history ' that the Lord is very pitiful and 
 
Ch. v.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 69 
 
 12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, I 12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, 
 neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by | neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any 
 
 of tender mercy.' No finer example could 
 James present (save that of the First of Suf- 
 ferers) than tliat of the patriarch whose story 
 exhibits the extremes of prosperous integrity, 
 terrible sufferings, persistent endurance, glo- 
 rious deliverance, and eminent blessedness — 
 a portentous yet transient thunder-cloud 
 which passes away with a rainbow of peace 
 and promise on its breast. The sufferings of 
 his servant brought out into brighter relief 
 the tender compassions of God. Believers 
 might be assured from this history that God 
 would not lay upon them more than they 
 were able to bear, nor let them suffer longer 
 than was necessary and beneficial to them. 
 
 Upon the history of this patriarch and the 
 book that records it, Herder ("Hist. Heb. 
 Poetry," Dial. 5, ad Jinem) eloquently re- 
 marks : " If he, the patient sufferer, was here 
 the recorder of his own afflictions and tri- 
 umphs, of his own wisdom, first victorious in 
 conflict and then humbled in the dust, how 
 blest has been his trials, how richly rewarded 
 his pains! In a book full of imperishable 
 thoughts, he still lives, gives utterance to the 
 sorrows of his heart, and extends his triumph 
 over centuries and continents. Not only, 
 according to his wish, did he die in his nest, 
 but a phoenix has sprung forth from his ashes, 
 and from that odorous nest is diffused an in- 
 cense which gives, and will forever give, 
 reviving energy to the faint and strength to 
 the powerless. He has drawn down the 
 heavens to the earth, encamped their host 
 invisibly around the bed of languishing, and 
 made the aflHictions of the sufferer a spectacle 
 to angels; yea, has taught that God looks 
 with watchful eye upon his creatures, and 
 exposes them to the trial of their integrity for 
 the maintenance of his own truth and the 
 promotion of his own glory." (5: ii.) 
 
 A brilliant literary genius of England has 
 confounded heaven itself with such a posthu- 
 mous influence, regarding it as her noblest 
 aim to live: 
 In thoughts sublime that pierce the world like stars, 
 And with their mild persistence urge men's search 
 To vaster issues. This is life to come, 
 Which martyred men have made more glorious 
 For us who strive to follow. May I reach 
 That purest heaven, be to other souls 
 
 The cup of strength in some great agony, 
 Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love, 
 Beget the smiles that have uo cruelty, 
 Be the sweet presence of a good diilused. 
 And in diffusion ever more intense, — 
 So shall I join the choir invisible 
 Whose music is the gladness of the world. 
 
 —George Eliot. 
 
 All these high aspirations religion encour- 
 ages, but it gives them a scope and a precious- 
 ness of which the gifted sceptic had no know- 
 ledge : it crowns them with the revelation of 
 a personal God, and the assurance of a per- 
 sonal immortality. 
 
 2. 5 : 12-18. Slowness to speak. Religious 
 use of the tongue, not in swearing (ver. 12) ; 
 but in prayer and song (ver. 13-18) ; in season- 
 able worship (ver. 13) ; intercessory worship 
 (ver. 14-16) ; trustful worship. Ver. 16-18. 
 
 12. As the previous verses of this chapter 
 (i-n) recapitulated and enforced the duties of 
 tried believers, as demanded by reverence for 
 the divine word (they must be swift to hear), 
 James now recalls the second theme of the 
 Epistle (slow to speak), giving warnings and 
 directions in regard to the pious use of the 
 tongue. (Ver. 12-18.) The tongue, he observes, 
 in the first place, must not be employed in 
 swearing, (ver. 12.) There must be no irrever- 
 ence in its most sacred act, the utterance of 
 the name of God in an appeal to his throne. 
 Above all things, my brethren, swear 
 not. This warning is to be laid to heart as 
 the most important of all. It reproduces our 
 Lord's injunction. (Matt. 5: 33.37.) That solemn 
 judicial oaths are not prohibited to Christians 
 is evident from our Lord's answer to Caia- 
 phas, when put on oath in the usual form 
 (M:itt. 26: 63, 64); and from Paul's use; in his 
 inspired writings, of expressions which are 
 
 of the nature of an oath. (Rom. l: 9; 2Cor. l; 23; 
 
 Gal. 1: 20; Phil. 1: 8.) It is also evident from the 
 fact that swearing in the name of God was 
 not only permitted under the Old Dispensa- 
 tion (Deut.6: 13; 10: 20; P8.63: 11), but WES CVCn 
 
 predicted by the prophets as a sign of the 
 future conversion of the world to God. (i»a. ss: 
 16; Jer. 12: 16; 23: 7, 8.) It is the carclcss and the 
 familiar use of oaths which James condemns. 
 A careless oath is criminal, because every 
 oath involves an appeal to God. (Man. 23: 16-22.) 
 
70 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. V. 
 
 any other oath : but let your yea be yea ; and your nay, 
 nay ; lest ye I'all into coiideuiuation. 
 
 lo Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any 
 merry ? let him sing psalms. 
 
 other oath : but ^let your yea be yea, and your nay, 
 nay ; that ye fall not under judgment. 
 
 13 Is any among you sutfering? let him pray. Is 
 
 14 any cheerful ? let him sing praise. Is any among 
 
 1 Or, let yours be the yea, yea, and the nay, nay. Compare Matt. 5 : 37. 
 
 A habitual oath is criminal, because it depre- 
 ciates the simple word, and shows an inditier- 
 ence to truth, "which stands in striking con- 
 trast with the earnestness of the Christian 
 Spirit." Clement of Alexandria ("Strom." 
 vii. 8) proudly remarks that "it is indignity 
 for a Christian to be put upon his oath." 
 The yes or no of a true man always suffices. 
 The forms of swearing here mentioned were 
 those common among the Jews. Lest ye 
 fall into condemnation. This shows the 
 importance of the prohibition. The frivolous 
 swearer will incur tiie judgment of the Great 
 Day. Profane expletives were common in 
 our Lord's day, and then, as now, they were 
 expressions of impiety toward God, and the 
 resort of fraud and falsehood toward men. 
 (.Matt. 23: 16-22.) And the irreverence for God, 
 thus displayed and encouraged, strikes at the 
 foundation of religion and morality. Hence, 
 James' emphatic 'above all.' 
 
 13. Yet while God's name should not be 
 abused by trivial oaths, every occasion of life 
 should recall it. The afflicted should pour 
 out their hearts to him in prayer, the joyful 
 in sacred song. These are the proper modes 
 of appeal to God. Is any among you af- 
 flicted? Let him pray. The affliction may 
 be either of the mind or of the body. The 
 pain is softened, and the murmur is hushed, 
 as the suffering Christian reminds himself of 
 the wisdom, power, and love of God, and sub- 
 mits himself trustfullj' to the divine provi- 
 dence. Thus he receives guidance and help, 
 and is strengthened for the courageous endur- 
 ance of his sufferings. Is any merry (cheer- 
 ful)! Let him sing psalms — literally, let 
 him play — that is, upon the harp. As such 
 music (the psalm) was the accompaniment 
 of sacred song, it came to indicate the words 
 themselves. The "psalm," as distinguished 
 from the hymn and the spiritual song, re- 
 quired the use of an instrument of music. 
 See Trench on New Testament Synonyms, 
 Part II., § 28. The "hymn" was a song of 
 praise. The "spiritual song" was a lyrical 
 expression of Christian experience. All these 
 varieties were familiar to Christian antiquity, 
 
 as we learn from Col. 3: 16 (consult Light- 
 foot on the passage), and Eph. 5: 19. We 
 may suppose James to have embraced them 
 all in his injunction. Prosperity and happi- 
 ness cease to be seductive when they are 
 traced to their Author, and welcomed as the 
 gift of a loving Father. Gratitude to God 
 will lead to a wise use of fortune. The char- 
 acter of worship must correspond with the 
 sad or the cheerful spirit of the worshiper. 
 Hence the prayer must be genuine and true. 
 (John*: 23, 24.) In regard to the worship by 
 music, Plumptre remarks: "It is perhaps 
 specially characteristic of James that he con- 
 templates what we may call the individual 
 use of such music, as well as the congrega- 
 tional, as a help to the spiritual life. We are 
 reminded of two memorable instances of this 
 employment in the lives of George Herbert 
 and Milton. Compare also Hooker's grand 
 words on the power of Psalmody' and Music. 
 'Eccl. Polity,' V. 38." Pliny, in his letter 
 to Trajan (Ep. 9: -), speaks of the hymns which 
 the early Christians used to sing among them- 
 selves to Jesus Christ as God. None of these 
 hymns survive ; j'et some of the passages in 
 the epistles, which are full of lyric rapture, 
 may give some idea of what they were. Such 
 is the hymn to Christian love in 1 Cor. 13, 
 and the paean of Christian assurance in Kom. 
 8: 31-39. See also 1 Tim. 3: 16, which rings 
 like a battle-song. Compare Pressens6, 
 "Apost. Era," p. 372, s. In the age to 
 which the gospel was given. Christian life spon- 
 taneously expressed itself in song. (Actsie: 25.) 
 One of the most laudable objects of the sys- 
 tems of modern education is the recovery of 
 this last accomplishment which, after having 
 been made an art too fine for popular use in 
 the last century, has been well nigh sup- 
 planted by instrumental music in this. Per- 
 sonal enjoyment of singing, which is all that 
 James here specifies, would lead to congrega- 
 tional singing. Mr. Ellerton sketches the 
 liturgical use of hymns in Smith's "Diet. 
 Antiq.," p, 801, ? 99. 
 
 14. Another kind of pious appeal to God is 
 indicated — intercessory prayer in behalf of 
 
Ch. v.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 71 
 
 14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders 
 of the church; and let them pray over him, anoint- 
 ing him with oil in the name ol the Lord: 
 
 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and 
 
 you sick? let him call for the elders of the church I 
 
 and let them pray over him, i anointing him with 
 
 15 oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of 
 
 faith shall save him that Is sick, and the Lord 
 
 1 Or, Itaving anointed. 
 
 those afflicted by sickness, (ver.u-ie.) Is any 
 sick among you ? The language is general, 
 seeming to indicate any case of sickness (Miitt. 
 10:8: Luke 4: 40); but the Connection would Seem 
 to imply that the case intended was that of 
 one who, in addition to his bodily ailment, 
 was also suffering spiritually, and was shaken 
 in faith. For, in addition to the remedy cus- 
 tomarily used for the relief of pain (Mark 6: is' 
 Luke 10; 34), prayer was also to be employed for 
 the cure and the forgiveness of the patient. 
 (ver. 15.) Let him call for the elders of 
 the chnrch. These were the presiding officers 
 of the church (the name having been trans- 
 ferred from the synagogue) who were more 
 than one in number, because anciently there 
 seems to have been but one church in a city or 
 community, with several preaching places, 
 instead of separate churches as now. (Aots20: 17.; 
 They were in no respect different from bishops, 
 their Greek title (as Jerome on Titus 1: 7 ad- 
 mits). Hence the names of elders and bishops 
 are interchanged (Acts 20: 17,28; tuusI: 5,7), and so 
 also are the offices. (1 Peter 5: 1,2.) Besides the 
 extraordinary office of the apostle (an eye wit- 
 ness of the resurrection, Acts 1: 22), there 
 were but two ecclesiastical officers, that of the 
 bishop and that of the deacon. (Phii. 1 : 1 ; 1 Tim. 
 3:1,8.) From the diverse origin and associa- 
 tions of these titles, the name bishop marked 
 the duty, that of elder the dignity of the same 
 office. In the case of affliction here indicated 
 these officers were to be called in. And let 
 them pray over him, anointing him with 
 oil in the name of the Lord. The oil was 
 not to be used to produce any magical effect; 
 for it was, as we observed above, the common 
 means of healing. Celsus prescribed rubbing 
 with olive oil as a remedy for fever. Herod 
 used oil baths. To its use in healing an allu- 
 sion is made by the prophet Isaiah, (i:*-) 
 Yet in connection with its use, as doubtless in 
 the case of the disciples (Marks: 13), a new ef- 
 ficacy was communicated to the friendly 
 ministry by the prayer of faith, (ver. 15.) The 
 elders prayed, as the organs of the Church, 
 and in dependence upon the blessing of the 
 Lord, in whose name the act was done. On 
 
 the supposition that the gifts of healing 
 (icor. i2:»)j with other miraculous powers of 
 the early Church, have ceased, the Greek 
 Church observes the injunction of James by 
 the united prayer of the elders for the cure of 
 the sick, the natural remedies being also used 
 — a practice warranted by the inspired in- 
 junction. The Roman Catholic Church has 
 adopted, instead, an ordinance of its own in- 
 vention called the sacrament of extreme unc- 
 tion, which is administered not as here to 
 those who may hope for recovery, but only to 
 dying persons, and which is supposed to im- 
 part to them spiritual healing. This sacra- 
 ment is entirely unwarranted by James' teach- 
 ings, which now are followed wlien we use 
 the appropriate means of healing, and pray 
 and trust that God will make them effectual, 
 and when, with still stronger faith, we invoke 
 spiritual blessings upon the sufferer, whom 
 Satan hath bound. (Lukeis: is.) How strangely 
 the simple direction has been abused! Oil 
 when blessed by a bishop is regarded by 
 Romani.sts as having a miraculous efficacy, as 
 imparting spiritual blessings, and even invest- 
 ing lifeless objects with sanctity. Hence it 
 becomes an object of sujjerstitious veneration. 
 " The prayers" says Fleury, " may in case of 
 necessity be omitted, and the unction alone 
 used." Edgar has an instructive chap- 
 ter upon this subject (chap. 15) in his "Varia- 
 tions of Popery." Mr. Scudamore gives a 
 learned and dry account of sacerdotal and 
 sacramental follies in oil, in Smith's "Diet. 
 Chris. Antiq.," pp. 2(XX). 
 
 15. Such intercessory prayer is encouraged 
 by the salutary result that may be expected 
 from it. And the prayer of faith shall 
 (wiU) save the sick — Syriac, "will heal him 
 who is sick." The prayer of faith (genitive 
 of the subject) is the prayer which faith offers. 
 The elders who offer the prayer must have 
 confidence in its acceptance. (John 14 : 13, 14.) 
 Yet the faith of the sick man who has sent 
 for them, and prays with them, is also im- 
 plied. Compare Matt. 9: 22; Luke 7: 50; 
 8: 48, and so many other cases where our 
 Lord in healing had regard to the faith of the 
 
i'L 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 [Ch. V. 
 
 the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have eoiumitted 
 sins, they shall be forgiven him. 
 
 16 Coufess your faults one to another, and pray one 
 for another, that ye may be healed. The eflectual fer- 
 vent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 
 
 17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, 
 
 shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, 
 
 16 it shall be forgiven him. Coufess therefore vour 
 sins one to another, and pray one for another, 'that 
 ye may be healed. The supplication of a righteous 
 
 17 man availeth much in its working. Elijah was a 
 man of like i passions with us, and he prayed ^fer- 
 
 1 Or, nature 2 Gr. with prayer. 
 
 sufferer. In this case, not the oil, but the 
 praj'er is represented as instrumental in pro- 
 curing the desired blessing. On account of 
 this, the Lord Jesus (Aot.s9:34) will raise the 
 sick man from his bed of languishing. And 
 if he have committed sins, they {it) shall 
 be forgiven him. Even if the sickness 
 sliould have been caused by the man's sins 
 (compare 1 Cor. 11: SO}, the case would not 
 be desperate. In response to the prayer of 
 faith, the sins themselves should be forgiven, 
 of which the cessation of the sickness would 
 be the evidence. The absoluteness of the 
 promise diplays the coloring of the age of 
 miracles (icor. 12:9), yet it must not be con- 
 fined to that age; wherever a corresponding 
 faith is exercised, a corresponding result will 
 occur. See this subject as unfolded in Dr. 
 Mell on "Prayer." The ordinary petition 
 of faith has the humble limitation, "not as I 
 will, but as thou wilt." (uatt. 26: 39.) Yet 
 such a faith, while it does not demand the 
 healing of the body, may not the less confi- 
 dently assure itself of the forgiveness of the 
 contrite, believing soul, Plumptre: "It is 
 noticeable that the remission of sins thus 
 promised is dependent not on the utterance 
 of the quasi-judicial formula of the absolvo te 
 (that was not used indeed at all until the 
 thirteenth century) by an individual priest, 
 but on the pra^'ers of the elders as represent- 
 ing the Church. Compare John 20: 23, where 
 also the promise is in the plural, " Whosesoever 
 sins ye remit." Under a spiritual dispensa- 
 tion a merely verbal, oflScial forgiveness has 
 no value; evil is not conquered except by 
 faith, which, deriving strength from a higher 
 sphere, struggles with it, casts it away, and 
 rises beyond it "into magnificence of rest." 
 See Ruskin's illustration of this principle in 
 art, "Modern Painters," p. 300. 
 
 16. The general conditions upon which 
 such grace is imparted are mutual confessions 
 and prayer, to which accordingly believers 
 are exhorted. Confess your faults {trans- 
 gressions) one to another. According to 
 the Vatican manuscrij)!, Confess therefore, 
 
 etc. The exhortation implies that the sick 
 man confessed his transgressions to the elders, 
 when they prayed for him, acknowledging 
 his sins against God and his fellow-men ; and 
 it further requires that such confessions should 
 be made not only by the private members of 
 the church to the elders, but by believers to 
 each other. These confessions might be in 
 public, as those mentioned in Matt. 3: 6; 
 Acts 19 : 18, 19, or such as are made in the 
 class meetings of Methodists; or they might 
 be in private intercourse. (iJohni:9.) The 
 confession of wrong doing and of desert of 
 punishment, as it is the first step of reforma- 
 tion, is therefore a condition of forgiveness. 
 And, like the confessions, the mutual prayers 
 might also be in public or private. The inter- 
 cessions of believers for each other have as 
 large a scope and as rich a promise as the 
 intercessions of the elders for the sick. Here, 
 however, without excluding necessarily its 
 proper meaning, the healing is used in a 
 figurative sense, as in Heb. 12: 13; 1 Peter 2: 
 24, having special reference to the spiritual 
 maladies, of which the "transgressions" were 
 the symptoms. The effectual fervent 
 prayer of a righteous man availeth 
 much. It is diflBcult to decide upon the pre- 
 cise meaning of the participle here translated 
 by the two words effectual ferve?it. It signi- 
 fies an inworking praj'er — a prayer by which 
 the worshiper is, as it were, possessed (Rom. 8; 26), 
 and which is therefore fervent and strenuous, 
 and will take no denial. Compare Gal. 2:8; 
 Eph. 3: 20. That such desires for the welfare 
 of others, or for the prosperity of the cause of 
 Christ, will be accompanied by active exer- 
 tions, follows as a matter of course. The 
 prayers must be those of a 'righteous man ' — 
 that is, a man whose will is in conformity with 
 the will of God. 
 
 17. An incident in the history of the prophet 
 Elijah shows the power of such praj'cr. (ver. 
 17, 18.) Elias was a man, subject to like pas- 
 sions as we are. Instead of 'subject to,' etc., 
 read of like passions with us. Thus the great 
 prophet is described by James, in order that 
 
Ch. v.] 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 73 
 
 and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain : and it 
 rained not on the earth by the space of three years and 
 six months. 
 
 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, 
 and the earth brought forth her fruit. 
 
 19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and 
 one convert him ; 
 
 vently that it might not rain ; and it rained not on 
 
 18 the earth for three years and six months. And he 
 prayed again ; and the heaven gave rain, and the 
 earth brought forth her fruit. 
 
 19 My brethren, if any among you do err from the 
 
 20 truth, and one convert him ; ^ let him know, that be 
 
 1 Some ancieot authoriiies read know ye. 
 
 his readers might be persuaded to follow his 
 example. He was not elevated above the 
 ordinary conditions of our humanity, but was 
 a man of like constitution and nature with 
 ourselves. Compare Acts 14: 15, having the 
 same feelings and passions as we. Syriac . 
 "Of sensations like us.' And he prayed 
 earnestly that it might not rain. This 
 prayer of Elijah is not mentioned in the 
 ancient record, (i Kings n-.is.) Yet the state- 
 ment of James suffices; and indeed it may be 
 concluded that Elijah was a man of prayer, 
 not only on account of his steadfast faith 
 (i KingsiT: i), but from the incidental account 
 of his posture as a worshiper on the summit 
 of Carmel. (i Kings is : 42.) There is an allu- 
 sion to this history in Kev. 11 : 6, 12. And it 
 rained not on the earth by the space of 
 three years and six months. Luke 4: 25 
 makes the same statement as to the duration 
 of the drought. This is not contradicted bj' 
 the account of the termination of the drought 
 in the third year, if we suppose that "the 
 third year" marks the length of Elijah's 
 residence at Zarephath, which, allowing a 
 year for his seclusion at the Brook Cherith 
 (1 Kings 17: 2-8), would be the fourth j'ear of the 
 famine. 'The earth' may signify only the 
 chastised la7id of Palestine. Compare Luke 
 4:25; 21:23; Kom.9:28. A similar drought 
 occurred at about the time when James wrote. 
 The people were instant in prayer; and at a 
 time when the clouds promised no response 
 were blest with a copious shower. Jos. 
 "Ant.," 18: 8, 6. Eusebius mentions a par- 
 allel instance of an answer to prayers for 
 rain in the case of the Thundering Legion in 
 the war with the Marcomanni. " Hist." 5 : 5. 
 18. And he prayed again — better, and 
 again he prayed. It is noticeable that this 
 second prayer, uttered by Elijah, was founded 
 upon the promise previously given, before he 
 set forth from Zarephath. (i Kings is : 1.42.) This 
 circumstance suggests that the first prayer 
 also was preceded by a revelation of God's 
 will. Without such warrant, it is not safe to 
 
 invoke a judgment upon wrongdoers, whether 
 of drought or of fire "as Elijah did." And 
 the heaven gave rain, and the earth 
 bronght forth her fruit— such as she is 
 
 accustomed to bear. Both these personifica- 
 tions express strikingly the success of Elijah's 
 prayer. And the refreshment and relief thus 
 obtained encourages our intercessions for 
 others, that they may receive the richer bless- 
 ings of the skies. For here too a promise 
 may be pleaded: "I will pour water upon 
 him that is thir>ty, and floods upon the dry 
 ground. I will pour my Spirit upon thy 
 seed and my blessing upon thine offspring. 
 And they shall spring up as among the grass, 
 as willows by the watercourses. One shall 
 say, I am the Lord's, and another shall call 
 himself by the name of Jacob ; and another 
 shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, 
 and surname himself by the name of Israel." 
 (isa. 44: 3-5.) Perhaps this latent suggestion in 
 the passage prepared the way for the succeed- 
 ing verses which relate to the conversion and 
 salvation of souls. 
 
 3. Slowness to wrath. Instead of striving 
 with men as rivals or persecutors, seek to 
 save them. Ver. 19, 20. 
 
 19. Instead of the wrath, which James de- 
 nounces as contrary to the genius of the 
 gospel (3: 13; 4: 17), he exhibits the Christian 
 spirit as a loving interest in the salvation of 
 sinners — a thought with which the Epistle 
 appropriately ends. Brethren, if any of 
 you do err from the truth — better, if any 
 one arnonff you be led astray from the truth. 
 The expression indicates a wandering away 
 from the principles of the gospel, and from 
 sach a course of life as those principles require 
 and enforce; it embraces errors of the under- 
 standing, such as unbelief and superstition, 
 and also departures from the \\&ys of duty 
 and virtue. The word of truth is the word 
 of life, and the way of truth is the way 
 of life. And one convert him — recall the 
 wandering soul to faith and virtue. Such was 
 the grand office assigned to John the Baptist 
 
74 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sin- 
 ner from the error of his way shall save a soul from 
 death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. 
 
 [Ch. V. 
 
 who converteth a sinner from the error of his wav 
 shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a mul- 
 titude of sins. 
 
 among the erring Jews at the beginning of 
 the Gospel Dispensation. (Luisei: le, n.) And 
 to the same sublime office of philanthropy is 
 every Christian called. 
 
 20. Let him (the converter) know the 
 great results achieved by such evangelistic 
 undertakings and labors. That he who 
 converteth a sinner from the error of his 
 Avay. The general definition of a sinner is a 
 wanderer from the truth, (ver. 19.) Error is 
 the contrast to the truth. This proposition, 
 which serves as the foundation of Wollaston's 
 ingenious treatise on "The Keligion of Na- 
 ture," ^ 1, on Moral Good and Evil, pp. 4-52, 
 is here assumed as undoubtedly true. Just as 
 certainly as truth saves, error degrades and 
 destroys. Shall save a soul from death. 
 The ' soul ' is that spiritual part which, through 
 the divine blessing and in the use of the means 
 of grace, may attain eternal salvation, and 
 which, on the other hand, by the neglect or 
 rejection of the gospel, incurs eternal ruin. 
 He who converts a sinner saves a soul from 
 destruction, and thus secures for an endan- 
 gered and guilty fellow creature an eminent 
 and abiding good. Of all philanthropists, the 
 zealous, loving Christian is the greatest. He 
 alone saves the soul from the loss of that life 
 which alone is worth the living; from that 
 misery begotten by sin, beginning on earth, 
 enduring and increasing after the death of the 
 
 body, and continuing forever. And shall 
 hide (cove?-) a multitude of sins. This is 
 commonly regarded as meaning that the sins 
 of the person converted are, as it were, hidden 
 from the eyes of God, in being forgiven. 
 These are 'a multitude'; for every act of a 
 moral agent has a moral character, and there- 
 fore a heart at enmity to God is perpetually 
 sinning against him. "The plowing of the 
 wicked is sin." Yet we prefer to regard the 
 phrase as having the meaning of the parallel 
 passages, Prov. 10: 12; 1 Peter 4 : 8, etc., 
 whose theme is the covering of sins by charity. 
 Labor for the spiritual welfare of others would 
 be the most effective way of soothing the dis- 
 cords which James is here recalling, as he 
 shows the more excellent way of charity. 
 Christians would find it easier to forgive the 
 wrongs and insults of others, if they regarded 
 others as fellow sinners needing the gospel 
 and journeying with them to the bar of God. 
 However numerous these sins may be. Chris- 
 tian charity can cover them all. Solomon 
 says: "Love covereth all sins." Peter says: 
 " Love shall cover the multitude of sins." It 
 can hardly be in a different meaning that 
 James uses the same proverbial phrase. The 
 Syriac reads: "He who turneth the sinner 
 from the error of his way will resuscitate his 
 soul from death, and will cover the multitude 
 of his sins." 
 

 
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