^RY OF PRINCflJ^ 
 
 BS 
 
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J 
 
 AN EXPOSITION 
 
 THE EPISTLE OE JAMES, 
 
 Btxm 0f Distaursfs. 
 
 THE REV. JOHN 'ADAM, 
 
 FREE SOUTH CHUECH, ABEKDEEN. 
 
 EDINBURGH: 
 T. & T. CLARK, 88 GEORGE STREET. 
 
 LOJTDON: HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. DUBLIX; J. KOBERTSON AND CO- 
 
 MDCOCLSVII. 
 
BDIXBUKOH : 
 l-HITTTEU BY LOUIMBB AND v,ILLII : 
 CLYDE STKKET. 
 
TREFACE. 
 
 Upwards of three years ago I delivered Lectures on the 
 Epistle of James, in the ordinary course of my pulpit minis- 
 trations. I felt special interest in the subject, and I had 
 reason to believe that the interest extended to not a few 
 of my people. This circumstance, together with the con- 
 viction that scarcely any other part of New Testament 
 Scripture has received less full and satisfactory treatment, 
 led me afterwards to engage in a fresh study of the Epistle, 
 with all the additional appliances, critical and expository, I 
 was able to command. The result is presented in the fol- 
 lowing series of Discourses. While much has been changed, 
 the old form has been preserved, and thus there will appear 
 in many parts the style of the pulpit rather than of the 
 press, — the former admitting of, indeed calling for, greater 
 amplification than the latter. My endeavour has been to 
 make the whole sufficiently plain and practical for ordinary 
 reading ; while I have attempted an exactness of exposition, 
 and a closeness of treatment, that may render it in some 
 degree helpful to those who are seeking to ascertain the 
 meaning and master the difficulties of the Epistle. 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 In the preparation of the Discourses, I have availed 
 myself of all the assistance to be obtained from the labours 
 of others in the same field, so fiir as it was within my 
 reach. In adc^tion to the commentaries in general use, I 
 have habitually consulted the more exact and critical ones 
 of Calvin, Bengel, and Alford. To the separate expositions 
 of Neander, Sticr, and Wardlaw, I have been not a little 
 indebted. Among the older -writers on James, Manton 
 appears to me to hold the foremost place, in respect both of 
 correctness of interpretation and fulness of practical appli- 
 cation. I have read with much pleasure and profit Dr 
 Guthrie's eloquent discourses on select portions of the 
 Epistle. I do not mention other works, as I have not found 
 them of any material service. Of course, I have repaired 
 to a variety of quarters for help in dealing with certain 
 passages, and with the subjects brought up by them for 
 discussion. While thus acknowledging my obligations, I 
 may be allowed to say that I have followed no one implicitly, 
 but have exercised my own judgment. Among the authori- 
 ties consulted in the preparation of the Appendix, I may 
 specially mention the following : — Neander's Planting and 
 Training of the Christian Church, Alford's Prolegomena, 
 Stanley's Apostolical Age, Davidson's Introduction, Smith's 
 Dictionary of the Bible, article ' James. ' 
 
 The duties of the minister of a lar^e consrefration in a 
 city are many and heavy. They leave little time for tlic 
 prosecution of other studies than those bearing on .weekly 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 preparation for the pulpit. It will not disarm criticism to 
 state, however truly, that the writer has fully his o^vn share 
 of these burdens, and that, with more leisure, the Exposi- 
 tion might have been much more satisfactory. He doubts 
 not, however, that with all its defects — and no one can be 
 more sensible of them than the Author — it will be received 
 with a measure of favour by those for whom it is spe- 
 cially intended, the members of his own congregation. 
 
 Aberdeen, April, 1867. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I. Trial a Blessing, .... Chap. 
 
 II. Wisdom — How to be obtained, 
 HI. Poor and Eich Believers, . 
 
 IV. Enduring Temptation, 
 
 V. Evil : its Origin, 
 VI. Evil: its Issue, . 
 
 VII. All Good Gifts from Above, 
 vni. The Hearing and Eeception of 
 Divine Word, . 
 IX. Doers, not Hearers only, 
 X. Vain Religion and True, 
 XI. Respect of Persons, . 
 xn. Offending in one Point, 
 xni. Judgment without Mercy, 
 XIV. Faith without Works, 
 XV. Justification by Works, 
 XVI. All not to be Teachers, 
 XVII. The Tongue Destructive and Untameable, « 
 xviii. The Tongue — Its Blessing and Cursing, ,, 
 XIX. The Wisdom which is not from Above, r 
 XX. The Wisdom which is from Above, . . 
 XXI. Wars and Fightings — Whence they 
 
 Proceed, ...... i 
 
 xxn. The Friendship of the World Enmity 
 
 WITH God, , 
 
 xxiii. Submittinq Ourselves to God, -. . . 
 XXIV. Judging cub Brethren, . . . i 
 
 i. 1-4, 
 
 Page 
 1 
 
 i. 5-8, 
 
 17 
 
 i. 9-11, 
 
 31 
 
 i. 12, 
 
 45 
 
 i. 13-16, 
 
 58 
 
 i. 13-16, 
 
 72 
 
 i. 17, 18, 
 
 86 
 
 i. 19-21, 
 
 . 100 
 
 i. 22-25, 
 
 114 
 
 i. 26, 27, 
 
 . 128 
 
 ii. 1-7, 
 
 . 143 
 
 ii. 8-11, 
 
 . 158 
 
 ii. 12, 13, 
 
 . 172 
 
 ii. 14-19, 
 
 . 187 
 
 ii. 20-26, 
 
 200 
 
 iii. 1, 2, 
 
 , 214 
 
 iii. 3-8, 
 
 . 228 
 
 iii. 9-12, 
 
 . 241 
 
 iii. 13-16, 
 
 254 
 
 iii. 17, 18, 
 
 267 
 
 iv. 1-3, 
 
 iv. 4-6, 
 iv. 7-10, 
 iv. 11, 12, 
 
 281 
 
 295 
 309 
 32-2 
 
Vlll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 XXV. Sinful Confidence REGAKDl^•GTUE Future, Chap. iv. 13-17, 334 
 
 XXVI. TuE Miseries coming upon tiie Rich, . . v. 1-G, 346 
 xxvii. Patient Waiting FOR THE Lord's Coming, . v. 7-11, 3C0 
 
 XXVIII. Prohibition of Swearing, . . . . v. 12, 374 
 XXIX. The Afflicted, the Merry, and the 
 
 Sick ExjiORTED, v. 13-15, 386 
 
 xxi. Mutual Confession and Prayer, . . , v. 16-18, 39a 
 
 XXXI. Converting A Sinner — the Blessed Effect, r v. 19, 20, 412 
 
 A P r E JN D I X. 
 
 I. By what Jame.s the Epistle was written, 
 
 II. To what Persons it was written, . 
 
 in. At what place and time it was written, 
 
 IV. For what purpcse it was written, 
 
 V. With what authority it was written, . 
 
 423 
 432 
 434 
 437 
 
 438 
 
EXPOSITION OF JAMES. 
 
 TRIAL A BLESSING. 
 
 " .Tames, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to 
 th". twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My 
 brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers teinptation.s ; 
 knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patimce. 
 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be per- 
 fect and entire, wanting nothing." — James i. 1-4. 
 
 HERE were two apostles named James. One of 
 them was the 'son of Zebedee, and brother of 
 John. It is generally agreed that he could not 
 have been the author of the present Epistle, for he suffered 
 martyrdom at a very early period, having been put to death 
 by Herod Agrippa, as we find recorded in the 12th chapter 
 of the Acts of the Apostles. The state of matters here 
 exposed and dealt with had not then arisen ; and we must 
 suppose this letter, so full of remonstrance and rebuke, to 
 have been written at a time considerably later. The other 
 James was the son of Alpheus, and brother of Jude. It 
 has been much disputed whether there was not a third 
 disciple so called, who, while not one of the twelve, presided 
 over the Church at Jerusalem, and exercised a powerful 
 influence, especially among the Jewish believers. It is the 
 decided opinion of not a few eminent biblical scholars that 
 there was, and to him they attribute the authorship of this 
 Epistle. Without entering here into any discussion of the 
 subject, which could not be done very satisfactorily or profit- 
 
 B 
 
2 TRIAL A HLPISSINO. 
 
 al)ly, 1 may state tliat the reasons for such a view, while 
 not destitute of plausibility, appear to me far from decisive, 
 'i'here is uo necessity, in my opinion, for supposing that there 
 w;us any other than these two, the sons of Zebedee and 
 Alpheus — the latter of whom, from his relationship to the 
 Lord, being his cousin, might, according to Scriptural usage, 
 be spoken of as his brother. To distinguish him from his 
 fellow-apostle of the same name, he was designated the Less, 
 or the Little, because probably of his age or his stature. 
 From his saintliness of character, and the Nazarite strict- 
 ness of his life, he also bore the honourable title of " James 
 tlie Just." 
 
 This letter was written, doubtless, from Jerusalem, the 
 scene of his ministry throughout ; for he always appears 
 there in the New Testament history, and authentic tradi- 
 tion testifies that he closed his career in that city, having, 
 according to one account, been cast dowTi from the temple, 
 then stoned, and finally despatched by a blow from a 
 fuller's club ; thus, like tlie other of the same name, obtain- 
 ing the crown of martyrdom. The Epistle was designed to 
 stimulate Christians to bear more patiently, and improve 
 more faithfully, the trials to which they were subjected, and 
 to warn them, in the most urgent manner, against certain 
 evils which had spnmg up among them, and seriously 
 threatened the very life of religion. It is throughout prac- 
 tical, dealing not with doctrine but with duty, not with the 
 creed but with the character and conduct of those addressed. 
 Wiiih' containing much that is consolatory, it is, generallv 
 speaking, severe in its tone, sharp, searching, condenmatory. 
 It is unsparing in its exposures, and pungent in its rebukes. 
 It probes the wound deeply, and lays open the festering 
 sons, in order to arouse worldlv, inconsistent, backslidinsr 
 ('hristians to a sense of their danger, and prepare tiie way 
 for fresh and full applications of the gospel remedy. It is 
 w '11 known tliat, at one time, Luther spoke in disparaging- 
 
TRIAL A BLESSING. 6 
 
 terms of this jDortion of Scripture, influenced by the mis- 
 taken idea that it contradicts the teaching of Paul on the 
 vital subject of how a sinner is justified ; but more careful 
 study and enlarged experience seem to have changed his 
 views, and corrected the error into which he had fallen. 
 There is no opposition between the two apostles, as we shall 
 afterwards be able to make apparent, the design of James 
 being only to guard against certain abuses, to bring out the 
 inseparable connection between faith and holiness, a true 
 belief on the one hand, and good works on the other. He 
 struck at Antinomian principles and habits, which had already 
 besfun to manifest themselves to the ruin of souls and the 
 dishonour of the gospel. The blow needed then, and not less 
 at many a time since then, is needed still, for do we not see 
 strong and deplorable tendencies towards a divorce between 
 doctrine and duty — a professed adherence to Christ as a 
 Saviour, and a practical obedience to Christ as a Sovereign ? 
 Many try to put asunder what God has joined by a bond 
 never to be really broken. In these opening verses, to which 
 we proceed to direct your attention, in humble dependence 
 on the Spirit's teaching and blessing, we have — - 
 
 I. The Author. — " James, a servant of God and of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ." "James." — We are to understand the dis- 
 ciple of that name, as we have already seen, who was the 
 son of Alpheus, and the Saviour's own near relative, — who 
 was one of the twelve, and, as such, presided over the 
 Church at Jerusalem — who, by reason of his saintly charac- 
 ter and commanding influence, was classed by Paul along 
 with Peter and John, whom he terms " pillars." He styles 
 himself here " a servant of God." He makes no mention 
 of his apostleship. The explanation may be that it was 
 not called in question, and so did not require to be -vindicated 
 or asserted. It was otherwise with Paul's, for he was not 
 one of cur Lord's personal attendants like the rest, but was 
 
4 TRIAL A BLESSING. 
 
 brought in afterwards, " as one bom out of due time." His 
 labours among the Gentiles, and defence of their rights, 
 excited the suspicion and hostility of his countrymen, who 
 were attached to the customs of their fathers. This title 
 may have been a kind of official designation, indicative, not 
 only of his personal character, but also of his ministerial 
 calling ; or it may simply have been expressive of his devo- 
 tion to the work and will of God, in common with all his 
 true people. In either case, it was of a simple, modest, 
 unassuming description. He conies down to a level with 
 the rest of his brethren. He claims no distinction but 
 what the whole of them, in substance, possess. The 
 feeblest, meanest saint may say with the Psalmist, — " Lord 
 truly I am thy servant ; I am thy servant, and the son o 
 thine handmaid : thou hast loosed my bonds." ^ And yet 
 while in this respect low, in another how high the title her 
 taken. We never can get beyond it, never rise above it 
 no, not in a state of glory — not when at the- perfection c 
 our being. No creature, not even the archangel neares 
 the throne, can climb higher; nor does he desire. Th> 
 moment he were to do so, he should be turned into a devil 
 for what but this spirit peopled hell with the hosts of dark 
 ness ? It is said of the redeemed and unfallen inhabitant, 
 of the new Jerusalem, " His servants shall serve him."' 
 
 " And of the Lord Jesus Christ." Here comes in the 
 distinctively Christian element. The Old Testament saints 
 might be, and olten were, honoured by having the former 
 part of this designation applied to them, by being called 
 " the servants of God." James had much of the spirit 
 which animated these ancestral worthies. In his character 
 aiwl habits he resembled one of the ancient priests or pro- 
 phets. Eut by what he thus added he marked out himself 
 and his fellow-disciples from all who preceded. The two 
 })arts wei'e perfectly consistent, the two masters but one in 
 
 ' Pg. cxvi. IG. - Ruv. xxii. 3. 
 
TRIAL A BLESSING. 5 
 
 reality. He did not cease to be a servant of God by being 
 a servant of Jesus Christ, whatever Jewish partisans might 
 allege to the contrary. So far from that, he thus, in the 
 only sense now jjossible, and in a higher, better sense than 
 ever was j)ossible, under the dispensation which had gone 
 before, became " a servant of God." It is obvious to remark 
 that the place here assigned to Jesus, the connection in 
 which He appears, attests his supreme divinity ; for had it 
 not been monstrous, impious in the extreme, to have classed 
 any mere creature, however great and high, along with 
 Jehovah, and to have spoken of standing in the same rela- 
 tion of subjection to the one as to the other? We can 
 explain and justify the language only by the fact, that he 
 was the fellow and equal of the Father, " the brightness of 
 his glory, and the express image of his person." 
 
 II. The Address. — "To the twelve tribes that are scattered 
 abroad, greeting." Ten of these tribes were anciently 
 carried away by the king of Assyria, and afterwards, to a 
 great extent, absorbed and lost in the population of the 
 region to which they were transported. But remnants of 
 them survived, and were mixed up with the dispersed of 
 Judah. The nation was originally known as that of the 
 twelve tribes, and it continued to be so spoken of wheii all 
 its dissevered parts, its widely scattered members, were 
 meant to be included. Thus Paul says, " Unto which pro- 
 mise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, 
 hope to come."^ The Jews were spread abroad far and 
 wide, by reason of their captivity, their enterprise as a 
 ">eople, the central situation of their land, and the relations 
 into which they had been brought with the great empires 
 !)f antiquity. In consequence of these and other providen- 
 ial arrangements and dealings, they might be described as 
 " scattered abroad," as in a state of dispersion. This was 
 ^ Acts xxvi. 7. 
 
TKIAL A BLESSING. 
 
 designed to exercise an influence on the Gentiles, among 
 wlioni they settled or sojourned, and to prepare the way 
 ultinuitely for tlic entrance and reception of the gospel 
 throughout far distant regions. James had in view Jews, 
 not simply as such, but as Christians; that is, believers of 
 his own nation. They were his special charge ; and that it 
 was to them he now wrote, is evident from the nature and 
 design of the Epistle. They were the true Israel. They 
 were the seed of Abraham, not after the flesh only, but also 
 after the Spirit. They were the proper representatives of 
 the holy nation, the peculiar people ; and as much may have 
 been indicated by the language here used. While they 
 were directly addressed, the Gentile converts were not 
 excluded, for they formed with them one church and com- 
 nuulit3^ Nor did the apostle fail to make most pointed 
 references to the state of things anions their antichristian 
 brethren — a state of things by which they were more or less 
 injuriously affected. Their outward condition, as thus 
 scattered abroad, was a kind of reflection of the spiritual 
 condition of God's people in all lands and ages. They 
 are strangers and sojourners on the earth ; they are 
 wanderers, wayfarers, at a distance from home, and engaged 
 in seeking a country. They are citizens of heaven ; their 
 Father's house and native land are there ; their inheritance 
 and their hearts are not below, but above. Their present 
 state is one of dispersion. 
 
 " Greeting," literally wishing them joy, and that joy the 
 purest, the highest, the best. This was no formal, empty 
 compliment, as it came from the pen of the apostle ; nor 
 had the expression, as used by him, a merely earthly, 
 national signification. It was indicative of the real, intense 
 desire of his soul, and had a new depth of meaning from the 
 Christian sphere and element into which it had been brought. 
 It was not the usual apostolic salutation, but it is worthy of 
 notice that it occurs in tlie Epistle, prepared according to the 
 
TRIAL A BLESSING. 7 
 
 advice, and drawn up, most probably, by the hand of James, 
 which, at a critical juncture, was adopted and issued by the 
 Council at Jerusalem : " And they wrote letters by them 
 after this manner : The apostles and elders and brethren 
 send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles 
 in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia."i It was thus the angel 
 addressed Mary, " Hail," — that is, joy to thee — " thou that 
 art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee : blessed art thou 
 among women." ^ And Judas, the traitor, basely, hypocriti- 
 cally used the same word in saluting Jesus at the time of 
 the betrayal: "Hail, Master, he said, and kissed him."^ 
 This was its vilest prostitution. 
 
 III. The Exhortation with which the Epistle opens. — Vers. 
 2, 3, 4. It relates to the endurance of trials; and here we 
 have two things inviting our attention. 
 
 1. Hoiu they luere to regard their trials. — Ver. 2, " My 
 brethren," he says, — my brethren both by nature and grace, 
 alike as Jews and Christians, as children of Abraham and 
 children of a better father, the God of Abraham — " count 
 it" — that is, reckon, esteem, think it — "all joy," pure, 
 perfect joy — joy of the highest kind, and, indeed, of every 
 kind — joy not in some small measure, but in the very 
 largest, not in certain but the whole of its elements and 
 aspects. It is a strong, comprehensive, emphatic expression. 
 "When ye fall into divers temptations" — The language points 
 to our being unexpectedly surrounded by, involved in these 
 temptations. It does not apply to the case of those who 
 recklessly rush into them, who by their own presumption or 
 folly bring them upon themselves. No happy effects can be 
 looked for then, and the feelings suited to such circum- 
 stances are the reverse of joyful. Fear, sorrow, shame should 
 predominate. He speaks not simply of temptations, but of 
 "divers," that is, manifold, various temptations. He exhorts 
 1 Acts XV. 23. 2 Luke i. 28. ^ Matt, xxvi- 49. 
 
8 TRIAL A BLESSING. 
 
 US to be affected in this way, not merely under one or two 
 of them, but under any number, succession, combination of 
 them, — under them not only when they are of this or that 
 kind, but whatever kind they happen to be of, — under them 
 not only when they come singly and go speedily, but even 
 when they rush upon us from every side, and seem as if 
 they would never take their departure. 
 
 But is there not something strange, paradoxical, perplex- 
 ing, impracticable in such an exhortation ? Does it not 
 'ven stand directly opposed to other declarations and require- 
 nents of the Divine Word on the subject ? Was not our 
 Li )rd'.s language to the disciples on the night of the betrayal, 
 "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation?"^ 
 Does he not teach his people in all ages to plead, "Lead us 
 not into temptation, but deliver us from evil?" - How are 
 w«» to reconcile passages like these with that now under con- 
 sideration ? There is no difference, so far as the term em- 
 ployed is concerned, for it is the same throughout ; but there 
 may be as respects its acceptation. Sometimes it signifies 
 temptation, in the ordinary sense of the word, inducements 
 or enticements to sin, objects presented, influences used with 
 evil intent, to lead astray. More generally it means simply 
 trials, tests of character, circumstances designed and fitted 
 to prove us, and hence very specially afflictions, troubles, 
 painful dispensations of providence; for these most of all serve 
 that purpose. The former do not procqed from God, and 
 ought to be deprecated ; the latter do come from him, and 
 should be welcomed. And thus James here but reiterates 
 the teaching of the Great Master, — " Blessed are ye, when 
 men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all 
 manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, 
 and bo exceeding glad ; for so persecuted they the prophets 
 which were before you. "3 Many in early times found it pos- 
 si))lt' to obey the injmiction. The apostles — " And they de- 
 
 1 Matt, xwi n. 2 M:itt. vi. 13. 3 Ji..itt. v. 12. 
 
TRIAL A BLESSING. 9 
 
 parted from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they 
 were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name."^ Paul — 
 " I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our 
 tribulation."^ Rising still higher, he says, "And not only 
 so, but we glory in tribulation also."^ Nor did even ordi- 
 nary Christians fall short of this attainment. — " For ye had 
 compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoil- 
 ing of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in 
 heaven a better and an enduring substance.'"* 
 
 But, suppose the word to have the same signification in 
 all these cases, there is no conflict, no difference in reality. 
 Trials of any kind, such as earthly losses, bodily afflictions, 
 domestic sorrows, spiritual assaults, are painful in their na- 
 ture ; for the present they are not joyous, but grievous. 
 Not only so, there is an element of danger in every one of 
 them, there is the risk of failure, of dishonouring God in the 
 fires, and losing the benefit of the visitation. We instinc- 
 tively shrink from suffering, and, sensible of our own weak 
 ness, as well as not forgetful of past shortcomings, we may 
 well guard against all needless entering into temptation, and 
 even fervently pray that, if it be the Lord's will, we may be 
 exempted from the perilous ordeal. But when, in ways 
 unsought and unexpected, we are providentially brought into 
 such circumstances, then, however numerous, diversified, and 
 complicated our troubles, whatever the magnitude or accu- 
 mulation of them, we may, we should feel not only calmly 
 submissive, but even gratefully glad. We are in a Father's 
 hand, his purposes are all wise and gracious, and, in the 
 very midst of our heaviness, we should greatly rejoice. But 
 how are we to turn the streams of sorrow into rivers of 
 pleasure ? How are we to extract songs from sighs ? We 
 lire told in what follows. 
 
 2. Why they were thus to regard their trials. — Ver. 8, 
 ■ Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh 
 
 1 Acts V. 41. 2 2 Cor. vii. 4. 3 Rom. v. 3. * Heb. x. 34. 
 
10 TRIAL A HLP:SSING. 
 
 patience." They were to rise above the present smart, and 
 think of the gracious design and the profitable issue — of the 
 blessed ends these dispensations were both intended and 
 fitted to serve. If we remember, as we ought, how apt 
 we are to deceive ourselves, — how ready to rest in mere 
 appearances and empty notions, when all is prosperous and 
 pleasant, — how we need to be shaken and sifted to know 
 what in reality and at bottom we are, — how many flatter 
 themselves and impose on others for a time, and at length 
 come out in all the filthiness of the flesh ? — we shall hail 
 whatever searches us through and through, even though it 
 may pierce like a sword, or scorch like a furnace. Yes, we 
 shall willingly bear all that, if thereby we may have clearer 
 evidence of our calling and election of God, a sweeter, fuller 
 sense of acceptance in the Beloved, with greater holiness of 
 heart and life, increased meetness for the heavenly inherit- 
 ance. In view of the blessed fruits thus to be reaped, we may 
 well "count it all joy when we fall into divers temptations," 
 even as the courageous, patriotic soldier does when the 
 trumpet summons him to the charge, for, while danger 
 has to be encountered, and life, it may be, sacrificed, it 
 furnishes him with the opportunity of proving his devotion 
 to his king and country, of showing that he not only looks 
 well on the day of peaceful parade, but is possessed of a 
 courage which fails not when the enemy comes on and the 
 battle is joined. 
 
 But how is the result brought about? " Knowing this," 
 he says, — knowing it as you do, both by the testimony of 
 God's Word and the experience of God's people, — knowing 
 it as a thing often evidenced and indubitably certain, — "that 
 tiie trying of your faitii worketh patience." Faith is the 
 primary, radical grace of the Christian character. From it, 
 as a root, all the others spring; on it, as a foundation, all 
 the others are built. It is the grand principle of the new life, 
 which glows jui it gi'ows, and declines as it declines. Every- 
 
TRIAL A BLESSING. 11 
 
 thing depends on it, and hence its soundness and strength 
 are of vital importance. It needs proving, and that it can 
 have only by means of divers temptations. It must pass 
 through fiery trials. It must be cast into seven times heated 
 furnaces. More precious than gold which perishes, it must 
 be still more carefully and severely tested. This grace is 
 ofte'n counterfeited. Many mistake fancy or feeling for it, 
 delusive hopes, carnal confidences. Such persons have had 
 impressions, convictions, and have come to entertain an idea, 
 perhaps a confident one, of their own safety. How difficult 
 is it to determine whether we are leaning on the creature 
 or on the Lord, whether we are drawing our comfort from 
 worldly streams or from the heavenly springs ! When the 
 sun of prosperity is shining brightly on us, we often con- 
 found its light with that of the Sun of Righteousness. But 
 wait until dark clouds gather in the sky, until the rivers of 
 earthly joy cease to flow, — wait until our refuges fail, our 
 gourds wither, — wait until friends forsake, hopes vanish, and 
 troubles come rushing upon us like an armed man, then we 
 are searched, sifted, tried. The false perishes, the true re- 
 mains. The dross is consumed ; the gold comes out entire 
 and purified. What discoveries are then made, some of 
 them humbling and painful, others very animating and 
 delightful. 
 
 " It worketh patience," — endurance, perseverance, which is 
 more than calm submission to the divine will, even resolute, 
 energetic constancy, stedfastness in the doing of that will, 
 a standing out, a holding on, and pressing forward in spite 
 of the sufferings undergone. Hence it is said elsewhere, 
 " Knowing that tribulation" — which corresponds to the try- 
 ing or proving in the present case, for it is effected by means 
 of tribulation — "worketh patience, and patience experience."^ 
 This is the result brought about, the effect produced. Such 
 dealings not only evince the reality of faith, but promote its 
 
 1 Eom. V. 3, i. 
 
I 2 TRIAL A BLISSING. 
 
 growth, for they stir it into more conscious and vigorous 
 exercise. Amidst the shaking of the storm it does more than 
 keep its ground, for in order to do that it requires to take a 
 firnKT hold than before of its great object. It must cling 
 to Christ with a death-like grasp, which it does, not by any 
 inherent power, any necessary or natural action of its own, 
 but by the effectual agency of the Spirit, on whose working 
 it is dependent, from its first rise, through all its stages and 
 actings, on to its full maturity and final triumph. Thus 
 the believer is more closely united to his Lord, cleaves to 
 him more simply and tenaciously, and hence he remains 
 stedfast, bears up under every burden, presses forward in the 
 heavenward way, not only in spite of, but even by means of, 
 ^he most adverse influences ; for grace, with an art far 
 surpassing the skill of the mariner, knows how to convert 
 hindrances into helps, contrary winds into propitious breezes. 
 He resembles the tree which " thrives by the rude concus- 
 sion of the storm," becoming more firmly rooted by the 
 blasts that toss its branches and threaten its destruction. 
 The most tried Christians are the strongest. The proving 
 of faith issues in endurance, and at every step this endurance 
 Srows less difficult and less precarious. Carried through 
 one affliction, supported under it beyond all our expectations, 
 enabled to see the gracious design, and to reap the precious 
 fruits of it, we are better prepared for welcoming and bear- 
 ing another. Past evidences of the Divine love, wisdom, 
 and faithfulness in the time of need, stablish the heart and 
 )anish fears in prospect of impending and imder the pressure 
 of present trials. Thus there is a going from strength to 
 strength in the path of suffering. 
 
 But here the apostle pauses, as it were, and turns aside 
 f(ir a moment to exhort thosi' win mi lie addresses regarding 
 this patience. He says, ver. 4, " But let patience have 
 jer perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting 
 nothing." Let this endurance not stop short in its course, 
 
TRIAL A BLESSING. 13 
 
 not be arrested in its progress ; let it produce its full effect, 
 work out its complete result. How needful the counsel ! 
 What is more common than for it to be hindered, not al- 
 lowed to exercise its due influence and achieve its crowning 
 triumphs ? Its action is weakened by the risings of passion 
 by rebelliousness of spirit, by some new form of trial, or th n 
 long continuance of the same trial. We grow weary, grasjf^ 
 at premature deliverances, have recourse to questionable 
 expedients. We are not willing to wait God's time and waiJ 
 of extrication. Moses, the meekest of men, lost his temper 
 and failed at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh. Job wai 
 famous for his patience, and yet corruption was stirred i.v^ 
 him by the events and speeches which called grace into 
 play, — thus marring its beauty, enfeebling its streng-th, an ^■ 
 counteracting its effects. In order to have its perfect worlc 
 it must act, not partially, but fully; and, I add, it must act" 
 not temporarily, but permanently. It is he that endureth 
 unto the end who shall be saved. Nothing short of this is 
 required and involved. 
 
 The purpose of the whole, and the effect, when realized, 
 is, "that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." 
 Let It be perfect, and we are perfect; so wide is the influence, 
 so precious are the fruits of the grace of patience. The 
 language here may be, and generally is, understood in a 
 relative, and not in the absolute sense of being sanctified 
 wholly, brought into sinless conformity to the Divine will, 
 made thoroughly and finally meet for heaven. It may be 
 expressive of Christian completeness or maturity, — of the new 
 life in its full development, its well-balanced, vigorous exer- 
 cise. He who is not only sound but strong, no longer a 
 babe but now a man, is so far perfect. "Entire" — that is, 
 having every requisite element and feature, and each in its 
 proper place, all that enters into stability and consistency of 
 character, to the exclusion of whatever is of an ojDposite 
 tendency, and might have the effect of marring or weakening/ 
 
 ' Trench's .Svnunyuj,.;, 74. 
 
14 TRIAL A BLESSING. 
 
 As if that were not enoudi, he adds, " wantincj nothino:," — 
 nothing essential to spiritual manhood, to the thoroughness 
 of our personal Christianity. In proportion as we have 
 this endurance at work, we possess grace in all its varied 
 forms and ripest fruits — grace adequate to every duty and 
 emergency. But, while this appears to be what is intended, 
 patience must not stop short of still higher attainments and 
 rusults. Some, indeed many and great defects cleave to us 
 so long as we are in the body. None can say, any more 
 than Paul, I have attained, or am already perfect. This 
 believer has one conspicuous want, that another. Here 
 passion is not subdued, there worldliness is cropping out. 
 Some lack charity, others lack faithfulness. Hence discipline, 
 and with it endurance, must be life-long. It must hold oii 
 through all changes, trials ; and it is only when it comes out 
 of the last and sorest ordeal of all, the conflict with the 
 king of terrors, that its work stands forth in the highest 
 sense perfect, and we, as the subjects of it, and by means of 
 it, are absolutely perfect too, entire, wanting nothing. 
 
 1. See here the mxirlc to ivh'ich lue should ever he pressing 
 foinjuard. — Christians, you are not to be satisfied with 
 holiness that is partial either in its extent, its compass, or 
 in its degree. You are to seek that it may fully pervade 
 every power and relation of your being, according to the 
 petition of the apostle for the Thessalonians — " And the 
 very God of peace sanctify you wholly ; and I pray God 
 your •vyhole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless 
 unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."^ It is often 
 otherwise. How common is it to see it leaving departments 
 of the heart and life almost untouched. Here the field is cul- 
 tivated and productive, there it is lying well nigh in a state of 
 nature, with the briers and thorns springing up and spreading 
 over it apparently unchecked. No believer is to tolerate any 
 sich limited, circumscribed holiness. He is to be ashamed 
 ' 1 Thesa. V. 23. 
 
TEIAL A BLESSING. 15 
 
 of it, afraid of it, and not to rest without the clearest evi- 
 dence that the leaven is at work in every part, operating 
 wherever corruption has left the traces of its presence. You 
 should aim steadily, constantly at consistency, completeness 
 of Christian character ; and not only so, but at absolute 
 perfection. We are not to think our task finished so long 
 as we want anything, as sin has the least power or place in 
 our souls, as we do not reflect fully the image of our Lord 
 and Saviour. We must ever be leaving what is behind, and 
 reaching forward to what is before ; we must be putting off 
 the old man and putting on the new, mortifying the flesh 
 and waxing stronger in spirit ; we must be adding to our 
 faith knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly 
 kindness and charity ; we must cultivate these graces, and 
 be bringing forth their appropriate fruits to the utmost ; we 
 must be feeling with the Psalmist, that we shall be satisfied 
 only when we behold God's face in righteousness, and awake 
 with his likeness. 
 
 2. See the discipline by which alone this mark can he 
 reached. — There must be endurance to the end; and that 
 comes only in the way, and as the fruit of trial. The gold 
 cannot be tested and refined without the furnace. It is 
 the lashing waves, the roaring breakers, which round and 
 polish the smooth pebbles of the beach. It is only by beino- 
 burned or bruised that certain spices reveal their fragrance. 
 Jesus himself learned obedience by the things which he suf- 
 fered — he, the Great Captain of Salvation, was made perfect 
 through suffering. All the shining multitude before the 
 throne came out of "great tribulation." Let us then wel- 
 come these divers temptations. We may be in heaviness 
 for a season by reason of them ; but the thought of the 
 gracious design, and of the blessed effects, should reconcile us 
 to them, and make us count it all joy when we fall into 
 them. The way in which we regard them, the spirit in 
 which we bear them, is one of the most decisive tests of 
 
1 6 TRIAL A BLESSING. 
 
 progress. It is not the troubles themselves, but our feeling 
 and exorcises under them, on which the results depend. 
 They determine nothing of themselves ; they may harden 
 instead of softening — they may stir up corruption, instead of 
 strengthening grace. Let us, then, guard against all repin- 
 ing, all despondency, all hard thoughts of God, and kiss the 
 rod by which we are smitten. Thus the greatest pains here 
 will yield the sweetest pleasures hereafter. Let us drink of 
 these pleasures even now in preparation for, in anticipation 
 of, the eternal fulness of them above. 
 
 Sinners, that you were persuaded to come and undergo 
 this blessed training for honour, glory, and immortality. 
 It is blessed, whatever you may think to the contrary. 
 Your trials are but the bej^inningf of sorrows. There is 
 nothing about them, present or prospective, to minister joy. 
 You sometimes, indeed, take comfort from them, imagining 
 that suffering here you will be exempted from it hereafter. 
 This is a gross and fatal delusion. No ; unless you repent 
 of sin and believe the gospel, the darkness is to be followed 
 by no morning light, but is to deepen into the gloom of an 
 endless night — into the blackness of outer darkness for 
 ever. Come to Jesus and all will be at once changed. 
 Then you will be children of God, and your afflictions will be 
 turned into fatherly chastisements, trials of faith and pa- 
 tience, a loving, wise, holy discipline preparing you for the 
 eternal inheritance. Then you will be able to take the 
 comfort of that gracious assurance, — " We know that all 
 things work together for good to them that love God, to 
 them who are the called according to his purpose." ^ Then 
 you may warrantably sing, 
 
 " Let troubles rise, anil termrs frown, 
 Aud (lays of darkness full ; 
 'rhrouj,'li him all dangers we'll defy, 
 Aud more than coiniuer all.'' 
 
 ' Rom. viii. 23. 
 
WISDOM — HOW TO BE OBTAINED. 17 
 
 II. 
 
 WISDOM— HOW TO BE OBTAINED. 
 
 " If any of yon lack ivisdom, let him ash of God, that 
 giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it 
 shall he given him. But let Jtim ask in faith, nothing 
 loavering. For he that ivavereth is like a wave of the sea 
 driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man 
 think that he shall receive a^iy tiling^ of the Lord. A 
 double minded man is unstable in all his luays." — James 
 i. o-S. 
 
 HAT precedes has reference to the light m which 
 Christians should regard, and the manner in 
 which they should bear their manifold trials. 
 They were to reckon it all joy when they fell into divers 
 temptations, because, however painful these temptations 
 might be in themselves, as coming from the hand of God, 
 they were most gracious in their design, and, if only rightly 
 improved, were sure to be most profitable and precious in 
 their results. They were alike intended and fitted to try 
 faith, the reality and strength of it, and thus to work 
 patience, endurance, perseverance. They not only test and 
 prove what has already been imparted, but largely promote 
 its stability and progress, contribute to its permanence 
 and power. The gold is not simply preserved in the fur- 
 nace; it is separated from the dross; it is refined, purified. 
 The strong tree not merely stands when shaken by the 
 winds of heaven; it becomes more firmly fixed than ever; 
 it takes a faster, deeper hold of the soil in which it is 
 rooted. But how apt are we to get weary of suffering, 
 
 C 
 
18 WISDOM — IK^W TO BE ORTAIXED. 
 
 restless, fretful, rebellious, especially when our troubles 
 continue long, when, instead of passing away, they rather 
 multiply and increase. We then pant and struggle for 
 deliverance. We are more anxious to be released from 
 them than to be made submissive under them; and the 
 cessation of them, much more than the improvement of 
 them, is what we are concerned about. Hence James 
 inteiposes an exhortation, "Let patience have her perfect 
 work" — let lier not stop short, but persevere, be still exer^ 
 cised, until the full fruit is reaped, the grand result accom- 
 plished, until the end designed by God in all these dealings 
 is secured; and that is nothing less than that his people 
 may attain the maturity of Christian character, the lofty 
 stature of spiritual manhood, — "may be perfect and entire, 
 wanting nothing." Now he proceeds, "If any of you lack 
 wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, 
 and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." This verse 
 and those which follow are closely connected with the 
 preceding ones, as we shall endeavour to make apparent in 
 our exposition. Consider then, 
 
 I. The leant supposed. "If any of you lack wisdom." — 
 /The term wisdom has often a very comprehensive significa- 
 
 Ation in Scripture, being equivalent to piety, godliness, true 
 religion, in the whole compass of its principles and duties. 
 
 /The one is employed as a kind of s}aionym of the other. 
 Here it has a more detinite and restricted sense, approach- 
 ing nearer to the natural and ordinary meaning of the word. 
 
 Y Wisdom is far more than knowledge or understanding. We 
 may have vast stores of information, we may even have 
 high powers of mind, and, after all, be little if any better 
 than the merest simpletons. It is a peculiar combination 
 of the intellectual and the moral. It is that endowment 
 wliich brings every other to bear on the proper regulation 
 of tlie coiuhx't. Tt (lict.itcs the c'lu>ice of wort In > ads, and 
 
WISDOM — HOW TO BE OBTAINED. 19 
 
 the employment of the most suitable means for the accom- 
 plishment of these ends. It gives a perception of what is 
 
 X^ right and fitting — a perception too not inoperative, but 
 exercising a decisive influence on practice. As a gracious 
 thing, a spiritual gift, it is an enlarged acquaintance with 
 the Divine revelations and dispensations, an insight into 
 
 ■ the meaning of the Word, and the plan of Providence, 
 especially as they bear on character and conduct, with a 
 state of feeling and a course of action in harmony with their 
 teaching. It consists in seeing what is the mind of God, 
 .^ what he would have us believe and do, and in yielding 
 ourselves up to his will as thus ascertained, in the face of 
 all opposition from without and from within, in defiance 
 alike of frowns and flatteries fitted to turn us aside. 
 
 He says here, "If any of you lack wisdom." Does this 
 imply a doubt in the apostle's mind whether there was 
 among them such a deficiency? No; to the last all Chris- 
 tians have much wanting in this respect. Whatever they 
 may have naturally of sound sense, sagacity, judiciousness, 
 spiritually not a little folly still cleaves to them, and gives 
 too many umnistakeable proofs of its existence. They need 
 
 Xto be taught of God, to have their feet guided into the ways 
 of peace, to have ever fresh supplies out of these unsearch- 
 able treasures of wisdom and knowledge which are laid up 
 for them in the living Head, the Lord Jesus. They are 
 blind, perverse, deceived, ready to fall into the most fatal 
 
 /\ mistakes, and to pursue courses equally sinful and foolish. 
 
 ' [Of all this James was perfectly aware. The language is 
 equivalent to, whosoever among you lacks wisdom. Or the 
 supposition made, the apparent doubt expressed, may rather 
 be explained in this manner. The present exhortation is 
 closely connected with what precedes, and is to be viewed 
 accordingly. Believers are to count it all joy when they 
 
 ' fall into divers temptations — but how is that possible? Is 
 such a thing not strange, paradoxical, impracticable ? Under 
 
20 WISDOM — HOW TO BE OBTAINED. 
 
 these triahs tlicy arc to let patience have its perfect work; 
 
 j they are to endure without fretting or fainting, without 
 grasping at questionable expedients or premature deliver- 
 ances, seekinj; through all and above all the attainment of 
 a spiritual maturity, a Christian completeness, in which 
 nothing shall be awanting. We can well imagine them 
 saying, "Who is sufficient for these things?" Here there 
 is required no ordinary clearness and range of vision. How 
 are we to pierce the darkness of the Divine dispensations, 
 and get at the meaning of his dealings? How can we 
 thread our way through the perplexities of these manifold 
 temptations? How are we to solve the difficult questions 
 they involve, and take at all times the path which they 
 are designed to lead us into? How are we to disentangle 
 ourselves from the sophistries of the natural mind and heart, 
 from the seductions of the world, and the wiles of the devil, 
 and, amidst the tumult of trouble without and conflict 
 within, hear the heavenly Father's voice, interpret its real 
 meaning, and shape our course as it prescribes? W^isdom, 
 
 »i what wisdom, is needed for every part of it — for the regu- 
 lation alike of our views, feelings, words, and actions in 
 seasons of trial ! Then, most of all, are we in danger of 
 , getting bewildered and misled, of being driven from our 
 moorings, and made the sport of tumultuous winds and waves. 
 Well, says the apostle, if any of you realise this in your 
 own cases, if you are sensible of your want of wisdom, if 
 you feel unable to cope with these divers temptations, to 
 solve such problems, escape from such snares, tlien, here is 
 the remedy, — go and have your lack supplied, go and be 
 divinely fitted for tlie fiery ordeal. 
 
 II. Tin' rrnu'di/ prescribed. It is set forth, along with 
 certain explanations and warnings, in the rest of the passage. 
 What is its nature ? What is the remedy ? 
 
 1. It is askuirj of God. — Ver. o. "Let him ask," says the 
 
WISDOM — HOW TO BE OBTAINED. 21 
 
 Vapostlc. It is not let liim study ; let him speculate ; let 
 him search human systems ; let him ransack the recesses of 
 his own being ; let him cultivate and strain his intellectual 
 powers to the utmost. It is thus men left to themselves 
 have engaged in the pursuit of wisdom. They have laboured 
 to discover it for themselves, and, though failure has marked 
 their efforts, they have still been drawn onwards and raised 
 above many disappointments by bright prospects and large 
 promises for the future, as the traveller in the East is some- 
 times imposed on by the deceitful mirage of the desert. 
 
 yFar_ simpler and more effective is the Scriptural method — 
 
 /^"Let him ask," that is all, only ask. But of whom ? Is 
 it of philosophers and sages so-calle.d, of the Aristotles and 
 Platos of antiquity, or of their ajiplauded successors in more 
 modern times, whether home or foreign ? No ; however 
 wonderful the powers and attainments of some of these have 
 been, and we are far from depreciating them in their own 
 place, they cannot bestow this gift, for they have not had 
 it in any high and holy sense themselves. Is it of priests 
 ; and prophets, of those holding sacred offices and possessing 
 ■ special, spiritual qualifications ? No ; they cannot effec- 
 tually impart it, however much of it they may have received 
 and manifested in their teaching. It is " of God" — the 
 
 Vv omniscient, all- wise, "only wise God." He has it as one of 
 his infinite perfections; it is an essential attribute of his 
 nature. He can communicate it to creatures truly, efficaci- 
 ously, savingly, by his inspired Word and his Holy Spirit. 
 And he is not less willing than able to do it, as his promises 
 testify, and his dealings demonstrate. Mark how he is here 
 spoken of by James in enforcing this duty of asking. 
 
 .J Hq^Is "God that giveth to all men liberally, and up- 
 braideth not." " God that giveth." — The expression is 
 peculiar and emphatic. It is literally "the giving God," 
 that God of whom this is characteristic, to whom giving 
 specially, distinctively belongs. He is infinitely full, all- 
 
•J 2 WISDOM — now TO BE OHTAIXKD. 
 
 sufficient of and for himself. Ho neither net-cIs nor can 
 receive anything, properly speaking. With him there is 
 only imparting, constant, unwearied communicating; and 
 where there is a rendering back to him, it can only be of 
 what he has previously bestowed, both as regards the dis- 
 position and the offering. He is like the river which flows 
 on without intermission, spreading fertility and beauty all 
 along its course, or rather like the glorious sun, which never 
 ceases scattering its rays, filling the whole heaven with its 
 light and heat, though we Cannot always see its shining. 
 Y He "giveth to all men." The term "men" is supplied by 
 the translators of our Bible, as the difference of type indi- 
 cates. The statement, wide as it is in this form, admits of 
 extension. His goodness reaches far beyond human beings. 
 "The eyes of all wait upon thee ; and thou givest them their 
 meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest 
 the desire of every living thing. "^ But, while we are not 
 the only, we are the chief objects of his care and recipients 
 of his bounty. How manifold the blessings which are 
 showered down on men of every country, condition, and 
 character, — men without any distinction or exception what- 
 ever! Paul told the Athenians that the Deity "is not wor- 
 shipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, 
 seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things."^ But 
 while thus true in the largest, most absolute sense of the 
 expre.'^sion, and apposite as well as true, fur the immense, 
 boundless, spontaneous liberality of God furnishes a strong 
 inducement to follow the course here prescribed, — that of 
 seeking wisdom in the Avay of pleading for it at the heavenly 
 footstool, and is urged for that very purpose in the 14oth 
 Psalm — still we are most jnobably to regard the statement 
 as limited to genuine suppliants, the giving in question 
 being conditioned by the asking. His ear and hand are 
 open to all who come in the manner here set forth by the 
 ' Va. cxlv. 15, 16. 2 Acts xvii. 25. 
 
WISDOM HOW TO BE OBTAINED. 23 
 
 apostle. His grace is dispensed without i3artiality or dis- 
 tinction. It is not restricted to certain nations, but, over- 
 leaping all divisions of colour and country, is free to the 
 whole of mankind. He listens not merely to favoured 
 classes or particular individuals, but to as many as call on 
 his name in spirit and in truth. He is no respecter of 
 persons. The one requisite is asking. Where there is 
 that, the giving is never wanting. No real seeker is sent 
 empty away. 
 
 And now, mark his mode or style of giving. He does 
 Y it "liberally;"^ more literally and exactly, he does it 
 "simply." We have the corresponding noun thus rendered 
 in the Epistle to the Romans, — "He that giveth, let him do 
 it with simplicity."^ God confers blessings really and 
 purely, without stint and without condition. There is 
 nothing partial or hesitating about it, nothing connected 
 with the act which vitiates or impairs it, as there often is 
 when performed by menr Theirs is generally a mixed and 
 modified giving, a giving and a withholding, — the one witli 
 the hand, the other with the heart, — a giving and a taking, — 
 that is, doing it from a regard to certain returns to be made, 
 certain benefits to be received in consequence, — a giving 
 accompanied by terms that detract from the graciousness of 
 the act, and impose no light burden on those who accept 
 the favour. God does it not thus; no, it is a free, single, 
 simple thing in his case; it is giving and that without 
 mixture, that entire and alone, — giving from the pure native 
 love of giving. This, of course, is akin to, and may be 
 regarded as including, the idea of liberality. He invites us 
 to come with large petitions, because he delights to bestow 
 large blessings. He says, "Open thy mouth wide, and I 
 will fill it." Nor does he confine himself to what is asked. 
 Often he far exceeds his people's requests. It was thus 
 he dealt with Solomon. "And God said unto him. Because 
 
 ^ a-yrXui ' Rom. xii. 8. 
 
24 WISDOM — now TO BK OliTAIN'KD. 
 
 thou litist asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself 
 long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor haBt 
 asked tlie life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself 
 understanding to discern judgment: behold I have done 
 according to thy words: lo! I have given thee a wise and an 
 understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before 
 thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And 
 I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both 
 riches and honour: so that there shall not be any among 
 the kings like unto thee all thy days."^ 
 
 "And upbraideth not." He indulges in no reproaches. 
 He connects his bestowal of gifts with no recriminations. 
 These are richly merited; never might they so justly be 
 heaped on any head as on ours, when we draw near to the 
 heavenly footstool with our petitions. He might point to 
 the past, and ask. How much have I given you already, 
 and what use have you made of these my former favours? 
 or, keeping to the present, he might say. Think of your 
 weakness and unworthiness, how unlit you are to appear 
 before me, how ill-prepared to receive any such blessing; 
 or, directing the view forward, he might chill our hearts 
 and shut our mouths by declaring, I know the miserable 
 improvement you are sure to make of whatever I bestow; 
 how you will break all these promises, falsify all these pro- 
 fessions, and play the fool still, in spite of my largest and 
 best benefactions. He does indeed seem at times tlius to 
 chide suppliants, as witness our Lord's language to and his 
 treatment of the Syrophenician woman, who came to him 
 .seeking hi? interposition in behalf of her possessed daughter. 
 But he does it only to stir up desire, try faith, and prepare 
 the soul for appreciating more highly, and receiving more 
 gratefully, what, for the moment, he appears to withhold. 
 He does it to furnish new arguments, which the heaven- 
 taught petitioner takes up and urges with irresistible effect. 
 1 1 Kings iii. 11, 12, 13. 
 
WISDOM HOW TO BE OBTAINED. 25 
 
 The apostle adds, "And it shall be given him." There 
 is here no peradventure, no mere chance or probability of 
 success. There is absolute certainty. In much seeking 
 there is loss of time and labour ; but here it is far other- 
 wise. Many dig for treasure, and never find it; but in 
 this field there is no possibility of failure. James may 
 have had before his mind, when thus writing, that most 
 precious passage in our Lord's Sermon on the Mount which 
 treats of prayer: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and 
 ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for 
 everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; 
 and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what 
 man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give 
 him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a ser- 
 pent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts 
 unto your children, how much more will your Father who 
 is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"^ What 
 encouragement is there here for those who lack wisdom, or 
 indeed any blessing, to have recourse to this quarter for the 
 needed supply! 
 
 2. It is asking in faith. — " Let him ask in faith." 
 Here is another necessary element. He must not only go V 
 to the right quarter, but also go in the right manner. He ' 
 must apply to the real giver; but, more than that, he must 
 apply in the spirit and way that giver prescribes. Faith 
 is absolutely essential in all our religious exercises. "But 
 without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that 
 Cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a 
 rewarder of them that diligently seek him." It is spe- 
 cially insisted on as requisite to the success of our approaches 
 to the mercy-seat: "And all things whatsoever ye shall ask X 
 in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. "^ In this same Epistle 
 we read, " And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and V 
 the Lord shall raise them up."* We must draw near, con- 
 fiding in the ability and willingness of God to grant our 
 1 Matt. vii. 7-11. - Heb. xi. 6. 3 Matt. xxi. 22. ^ Jam. v. 15. 
 
 '/ 
 
2G WISDOM — now TO BE OBTAINED. 
 
 requests, resting in the truth of liis word, the certainty of 
 his ])rumises, aud pleading for all through the infinite 
 merits of the adorable Redeemer, having respect to his 
 finished work, and it alone, as the ground of our acceptance 
 and our expectations. It is by him only we can have access 
 to the Father, and be admitted to his gracious presence, 
 that we have any plea to urge, the slightest claim to be 
 heard and answered. They who do not believe in him 
 with mind and heart, who come in their o^vn name, or that 
 of any other being on earth or in heaven, can meet with 
 nothing but rejection and condemnation. 
 
 And as if that were not sufficient by itself, he adds 
 
 y "Nothing wavering." We are to ask without doubting, 
 fluctuating, vacillating, — not carried hither and thither by 
 conflicting influences. It refers first and chiefly to prayer. 
 It is not to be irregular, inconstant, fitful — urgent to-day, 
 formal, perhaps neglected altogether, to-moiTow. It is not 
 to be for this and the other thing by turns; now for one 
 blessing, then for a diflcrent, as if we knew not what 
 we lacked or desired, as if neither our wants nor wishes 
 had any fixed, definite character, had any real and deep 
 hold of our spirits. Above all, we are not to oscillate, like 
 
 X a pendulum, between faith and unbelief, distrust and confi- 
 dence, at one time pleading with boldness, filling our mouths 
 with arguments, bringing forth our strong reasons, and anon, 
 it may be, saying or thinking there is no use of asking; we 
 are too unworthy to be heard, we have been, and still will 
 be, sent empty away. There is much of this motion with- 
 out progress, this miserable indecision, this sinful wavering, 
 this halting between two opinions, this yielding to opposite 
 principles and influences. 
 
 And this wavering is illustrated and enforced by a strik- 
 ing figure : " For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, 
 driven with the wind and tossed." What more unstable, 
 restless, chaijgeable! Such a wave is now carried toward 
 
WISDOM — HOW TO BE OBTAINED. 27 
 
 the shore, then hurled , back from it ; now it mounts to 
 heaven, then it goes down into the depths. It is in cease- 
 less motion, and yet, with all its rising and falling, there is 
 / in reality no progress. So is it with many persons. They 
 I are not at ease, but anxious and agitated. They are any- 
 ' thing but stablished and settled in their convictions and 
 habits. Borne along by strong feelings at certain seasons, 
 you would think them decidedly, even ardently, religious. 
 But while their emotions have been deeply stirred, their 
 principles have not been thoroughly changed. The world 
 regains its old hold of their hearts, and soon you may find 
 them as eagerly devoted to its interests, and as entirely 
 conformed to its ways, as those who make little or no pro- 
 fession. For God in one situation, they are for Baal in 
 another. They try hard to serve two masters. They are 
 driven backward and forward between them, endeavouring 
 to please both, unwilling to break with either. Like Reu- 
 / ben, unstable as water, they cannot excel. They are ever 
 rising and falling, advancing and receding by turns; they 
 are waves tossed hither and thither by all kinds of winds 
 above and currents beneath, that is, influences from with- 
 out and impulses from within. Believers have their fluctua- 
 tions also. They have many ups and downs in their con- 
 dition and their exjserience. Often are they in the midst 
 of tuniult; and the confusion around may be little in com- 
 parison with the confusion within. But still faith is the 
 ruling, predominant power in them; it guides them through 
 these tempestuous tossings, and under its influence the storm 
 is changed into a calm. They have fixed, settled, abiding, 
 governing principles. Their doubts, questionings, fears, do 
 not drive them from their moorings; do not destroy, though 
 they may disturb, their confidence; and even that they do 
 only temporarily and occasionally. 
 
 Having told us what wavering is like, the apostle now 
 explains and enforces the warning against it, by declaring 
 
28 WISDOM — HOW TO BE OBTAINED. 
 
 that it nuist l)e fatal to .success in ])rayer. Ver. 7, " For 
 let not that man think that he shall receive anything of 
 the Lord." In point of fact, he does receive from him 
 many a thing. He is constantly cared for and supported 
 by that Lord whom he distrusts. He is fed, clothed, pro- 
 tected, blessed with countless temporal, and not less with 
 high spiritual privileges. But he need expect nothing in 
 answer to prayer, as the fruit of his asking. He has no 
 good reason to look for the least portion, or any kind of 
 favour, by coming to the footstool of mercy. Why? His 
 wavering hinders God from giving. It closes the open ear, 
 and turns away the full hand; it shuts up heaven, and in- 
 tercepts the showers of blessing. While faith unlocks, it 
 bars the Divine storehouse. Such a suppliant dishonours, 
 insults God to his face, by doubting the truth of his word, 
 by treating him as unworthy of confidence, by not drawing 
 near in the way he has prescribed as that in which alone 
 access can be had, and benefits obtained. We see this 
 among men themselves; for what more efficacious in procur- 
 ing favours than a generous trust, and what has a stronger 
 tendency to prevent their bestowal than unmistakeable signs 
 of suspicion, — than questioning the truth, challenging the 
 character of the party to whom the request is preferred? 
 But this wavering unfits us for receiving, as well as hinders 
 the Lord from giving. What use could we make of the 
 blessing sought, if it were granted? The vmsteady hand 
 cannot hold the full cup, but spills its contents. So the 
 undecided, vacillating man cannot turn to good account 
 heavenly benefactions. He would be sure to lose them, to 
 waste them, to remain as empty as if he had never been 
 filled. Those who have no stability, no fixed principles and 
 plans, are little the better for anything they obtain. We often 
 see this in temporal matters. Some persons are so change- 
 able, irresolute, unreliable, that any help you give them is 
 of little service. It is practically very much the same 
 
WISDOM HOW TO BE OBTAINED. 29 
 
 whether they have or want; for whatever they may get soon 
 disappears. This feature of the case is brought out strongly 
 in what is added. 
 
 Ver. 8, " A double minded man is unstable in all his 
 ways;" or, continuing the account of the waverer who is to 
 receive nothing, James says of him, " He is a double minded 
 man, unstable in all his ways." Double minded — that is, he 
 has a divided spirit, he is drawn in two opposite directions — 
 now heavenward, then earthward. The meaning is not that he 
 is hypocritical, deceitful ; that he is one thing, and pretends to 
 be another. He is distracted, fluctuating, vacillating, in- 
 clined to good and evil by turns, — with his feelings moved, 
 but his principles unfixed, — with a sense of what is right, but 
 a love of what is wrong ; having a selfish desire to serve God, 
 but a still stronger reluctance to abandon mammon. The con- 
 sequence is, that such a man " is unstable in all his ways." 
 Now he goes forward, then backward ; now to the one side, 
 then to the other. It is not only in prayer that his divided 
 mind appears ; that is but a manifestation of what comes out 
 in every department of his conduct. It is only an index of 
 his character generally. He is unsteady, uncertain, not to 
 be depended on in his whole course of action. He wants 
 the resolute will, the fixed purpose ; he wants strength of 
 mind and deep religious principle. 
 
 ■ 1. Let us realise our need of wisdom. — It is indispen- 
 sable if we are to get good from our trials. Without it, we 
 will not discern the hand or the purpose of God in our 
 divers temptations. Without it, we will not see either the 
 source of support under them, or the door of deliverance from 
 them. Without it, we will make comparisons and draw con- 
 clusions equally erroneous in their nature, and injurious in 
 their influence. Without it, we will fret and murmur, 
 we will rise in rebellion, or sink in despondency ; and so 
 render the yoke more galling, instead of lightening it 
 by a calm, submissive, confiding, God -honouring spirit. 
 
30 WISDOM now TO BK OIJTAIN'Kn. 
 
 Without it, we will flee to false refuges, and perhaps 
 adopt means of cure worse a great deal than the dis- 
 ease itself. And we need it not only for the bearing and 
 improvement of trial, but for the whole of our Christian 
 work and warfare. We require the wisdom of the serpent 
 amidst the snares and perils by which at every step we are 
 surrounded. Not restrained and regulated by it, zeal often 
 defeats its own ends, and injures the cause which it seeks to 
 advance. In proportion as we are taught of God, and 
 grow in grace, we cannot but feel our lack of this heavenly 
 gift — the wisdom that cometh down from above. Have you, 
 my brethren, learned that lesson ? You must, to some ex- 
 tent, if you have entered the school of the heavenly Master. 
 2. Ld iLS see hoio this and every ivant is to he supplied. — 
 W^e must go out of ourselves, and rise far above all creatures. 
 We must repair to the only good, the only wise God. Ask of 
 him, brethren. Ask largely. He is "theGod that giveth," — 
 giveth simply, givetli without upbraiding. We please not 
 him by coming with narrow and poor requests. Though not 
 in other respects, yet in this we are to seek great things for 
 ourselves. Ask boldly. I do not moan in a presumptuous 
 or self-sufficient, but in a hopeful, confiding, filial manner. 
 Be humble, but not timid ; be lowly, but not fearful, despond- 
 ing in spirit. Lay hold of the exceeding great and precious 
 promises which are all yea and amen in Christ Jesus. Fill 
 your mouths with arguments. Like Jacob, wrestle with the 
 angel of the covenant until you obtain the blessing. " My 
 God shall supply all your need, according to his riches in 
 glory by Christ Jesus." " Now, unto him that is able to do 
 exceeding abundantly, above all that we ask or think, accord- 
 ing to the power that worketh in us, — unto him be glory in 
 the Church, by Clirist Jesus, throughout all ages, world with- 
 out end. Amen."^ 
 
 ' Phil. iv. 19 ; Eph. iii. 20. 21. 
 
POOR AND RICH BELIEVERS. 31 
 
 III. 
 
 POOR AND RICH BELIEVERS. 
 
 " Let the brother of lotu degree rejoice in that he is 
 exalted; but the rich in that he is made low: because as 
 the jioimr of tlie grass he shall 2Mss aiuay. For the sun is 
 no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it wither eth the 
 grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the 
 fashion of itperisheth: so also shall the rich man fade 
 aivay in his ways." — James i. 9, 10, 11. 
 
 HE apostle sets out in his Epistle by speaking of 
 trials, Avliich were then in a very special sense the 
 portion of Christians. He calls on those here 
 addressed to receive them with joy, and bear them with 
 patience, because of the gracious ends they are fitted and 
 designed to serve, the precious issues they are sure to 
 have, if so regarded and improved. But, in order to this, 
 much wisdom is needed, for only by means of it can we 
 discern the Divine hand and purpose in such dealings, learn 
 from them the lessons which they are intended to teach, 
 and act so as to reap the fruits of them in progressive holi- 
 ness and ultimate perfection. James exhorts as many as 
 feel the lack of this heavenly gift to come to the mercy-seat 
 for it, to seek it from that God who giveth to all men libe- 
 rally, and upbraideth not, assuring them that their request 
 will be granted. But we cannot succeed in our application 
 for this or any other spiritual benefit merely by asking, for 
 all acceptable asking must be in faith, without wavering. 
 We must draw near, believing that God is both able and 
 
.32 POOR AND RICH BELIEVERS. 
 
 ready to bless us, that liis resources are both sufficient and 
 available, that his pronnses are equally large and sure — 
 believing not less that Jesus is the one Mediator, and not 
 only desiring, but expecting a gracious answer, solely on the 
 ground of his infinite merit and all-prevailing intercession. 
 If we approach in doubt, distrust, carried backwards and 
 forwards like a wave of the sea driven by the -wind and 
 tossed, we can receive nothing. How can we? — seeing we 
 thereby dishonour God to whom we present our petitions, 
 by the want of confidence we manifest, the unworthy sus- 
 picions we cherish; and seeing also we show ourselves unfit to 
 grasp and turn to account the blessings thus unsteadily, if we 
 may not even say sceptically, supplicated. Here the apostle 
 has still a reference to the temptations or trials of the righteous, 
 as is evident from the verses which folloAv those now before us 
 as the subject of discourse. He brings out their effect on 
 two classes among them, the poor and the rich, and teaches 
 how that effect should be regarded in both cases. Let us 
 then consider, as the Lord the Spirit may enable us, the truths 
 here inculcated. 
 
 I. The hvo classes of persons addressed. — They are poor 
 and rich believers. Let us look at them separately. 
 
 1. Poor Christmns. — He appeals at the outset to " the 
 brother of low degree." He calls the party addressed 
 a brother, that is obviously a brother in the faith of the 
 gospel, a member of the same spiritual family. It wa.s thus 
 (Christians then spoke of, and to each other. They rea- 
 lised the close and endearing relationship which subsisted 
 lietween them, the existence of a fraternal bond by which 
 they were knit together, — a bond not of a merely figurative 
 or formal nature, but most true, intimate, and endearing. 
 As children of God by union with his Son Jesus Clirist, they 
 were brethren, and they acknowledged, saluted, loved one 
 another accordingly. They felt and owned the ties of grace 
 
POOR AND RICH BELIEVERS. 33 
 
 not less than those of nature. He is not simply a brother, 
 but one " of low degree" — that is, in humble circumstances. 
 The apostle thus designates the poor saints, those having 
 little of this world's substance, those in a needy, afflicted tem- 
 poral condition. We are to understand the term " low" as 
 referring not to spiritual state but to earthly station. This 
 we think abundantly evident from the contrast with the 
 rich which follows, though some of high name take the 
 opposite view, supposing that it points to the Christian whose 
 faith is comparatively feeble, who is weak, depressed, poor 
 inwardly rather than outwardly. James had called on them 
 generally, irrespective of any such distinctions among them, 
 to count it joy Avhen they fell into divers temptations, and 
 now he specially presses this on the class here addressed. 
 The brother of low degree, without wealth, without rank, 
 without influence, without any of the coveted possessions or 
 advantages of earth, is exhorted to exult, to glory, as the word 
 rendered "rejoice" properly signifies. 
 
 2. Rich believers. — Here he says simply, " the rich," 
 and as the other party was the man poor temporally, so 
 this doubtless, and still more evidently, is the man rich 
 temporally. He is one possessed of this world's wealth, or 
 of what is valued in the same way, and connected with 
 similar distinction, as, for example, power, honour, fame — 
 earthly eminence of whatever kind. And the person thus 
 singled out represents not this class of people generally, but 
 those of them who are God's children, who belong to the 
 household of faith. It is still a " brother" whom he ad- 
 dresses. This has been disputed from the language which 
 follows, and seems to apply only to natural men who are 
 destined to perish with all their treasures. But these could 
 not have been said to be made low in any sense correspond- 
 inof to the made hisfh in the former case, which the contrast 
 requires. To speak of their money as constituting their 
 debasement is not warrantable, for in itself it is nothing of 
 
 D 
 
34 POOR AND RICH BELIEVERS. 
 
 the sort, but a valuable talent committed to the charge of 
 its possessors, and so far conferring on them means of greater 
 usefulness ; and either to call on them in a spirit of irony to 
 glory in it as a humiliation, or to change the language, as 
 has been done, into a statement of the fact that they actually 
 do glory in it, is equally unnatural. We doubt not — ex- 
 plain as we may what comes after — that his appeal here is 
 still to Christians, but Christians in a different condition 
 from those previously exhorted. Both had reason to rejoice, 
 notmthstanding the wide separation between them in all 
 outward respects. The lowest and the highest alike had 
 matter of boasting or exultation. The gospel brought them 
 thus together, and placed them on the same platform of 
 spiritual privilege. In Jesus all classes meet and have a 
 common heritaj^e of blessing. 
 
 II. Tlie hvo grounds of boasting recommended ; and 
 1. In the case of the poor brother, it is his exaltation. — 
 " Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted." 
 But how exalted? In what sense or respect? Have the words 
 not an aspect of self-contradiction? How can the same 
 person be in the dust and on a throne, at once of low 
 degree and of highest dignity? It looks strange, paradoxical, 
 perplexing. The contrast lies between the temporal and 
 the spiritual, v.liat he is as a man, and what as a Christian. 
 He is to rise above his outward poverty and the depression 
 connected with it, and to glory in the elevation to which he 
 has been raised, the treasures of wliich he has become pos- 
 sessed, as one of God's people. The natural man is low 
 indeed. The poorest in respect of the body is poorer still, 
 poorer for in respect of the soul. There is a need greater 
 than that of the neediest creature that can be found in all 
 the abodes of want and misery. Wc are guilty, condemned, 
 owing an infinite debt to Divine justice by reason of our 
 countless sins, and utterly unable to pay a single farthing of 
 
POOR AND RICH BELIEVERS. 85 
 
 the dread amount. We are equally beggared in character, 
 for there is in us no good thing ; our hearts are deceitful 
 above all things and desperately wicked ; we are moral 
 lepers, diseased from head to foot, carnal, sensual, devilish, 
 the slaves of the vilest lusts and the darkest passions. We 
 are debased even unto hell as regards the principles and 
 practices of oiu" depraved nature, tried by heaven's all-perfect 
 standard, seen by the eye of the Holy One of Israel. The 
 best of our money is reprobate silver ; our boasted treasures 
 are like those of the raving lunatic, purely imaginary. Our 
 peace is false, our hope a delusion, and while dreaming of 
 safety, we are rapidly sinking into an eternity of utter misery 
 and black despair. The idea we have of ourselves is far 
 from being a decisive criterion of our real state, for one of 
 the very worst features of our case is blindness, insensibility 
 to its true features. The Laodiceans were but a type of 
 multitudes among ourselves. " Thou sayest, I am rich and 
 increased with goods, and have need of nothing ; and knowest 
 not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and 
 blind, and naked." ^ 
 
 How great is the change which takes place when a man, 
 from being a Christian only in name, becomes one in 
 truth ; from being a mere professor, becomes a real be- 
 liever ! He experiences then a new birth, which intro- 
 duces him into, and makes him a member of, the most 
 opulent and honourable of families, one of God's regenerated 
 and adopted children. He enters on the high privileges of 
 such a relation, enjoying the favour and fellowship of his 
 heavenly Father, having access to him at all times with 
 filial freedom, and obtaining from him in due season, and in 
 fitting measure, every needed blessing. He has the features 
 and feelings, as well as the standing and rights of a son — a 
 loftiness of character corresponding to his nobility of rank; 
 for he is a new creature in Christ Jesus, a bearer of the 
 
 1 Eev. iii. 17. 
 
36 POOR AND men RELIEVERS. 
 
 Divine image, a partaker of the Divine nature, which raises 
 him immeasurably above the wisest, purest, best of this 
 world's heroes, philosophers, statesmen, moralists, — the most 
 renowned of its so-called sages and oracles. He has inex- 
 haustible treasures at his disposal, a provision adequate to 
 every possible want and exigency of his condition, if not the 
 actual possession of, at least a sure title to, whatever can 
 minister to his safety and happiness. Taken from the 
 dunghill, he sits among the princes; and, high as be is already, 
 he is advancing toward a height of glory, transcending not 
 only his attainments, but even his conceptions. He is the 
 heir of a portion, in comparison with which all the estates 
 and dignities of earth are not worthy to be named. His is 
 an inheritance incorruptible, uudefiled, and that fadeth not 
 away. He is destined to a crown of righteousness, a king- 
 dom that cannot be moved, — to a share in the very throne 
 which Christ occupies, at the right hand of the Father. Well 
 may the poor man rejoice in this pre-eminence, well may 
 he lose sight of his low degree, rise far above all its priva- 
 tions and humiliations, and exult in his being thus spiritually 
 exalted. There is here a real, solid ground of glorying. It 
 exists too, in special strength, with enhanced excellence, in 
 the case of the class of persons here specified. All may, 
 sliould rejoice in this elevation, but they ought to do it very 
 particvdarly. It amjjly compensates for all that is mean 
 and trying in their earthly condition. Only consider one or 
 two of its distinctive features. 
 
 This is a real exaltation. The changes Avhicli are spoken 
 of in such language, which are regarded as elevating those 
 on whom they pass, are often quite unworthy of being so 
 viewed. The word and the idea are associated wth petty 
 possessions, honours, offices, which are of little, if of any real 
 vfilue, — which confer no proper dignity or distinction, and are 
 thought nothing of by the wiser sort of people. If they 
 raise in one direction, they perhaps lower in another. They 
 
POOR AND EICH BELIEVERS. 37 
 
 are followed by a deterioration of character, which is dearly 
 purchased by any improvement of status they effect. The man 
 sinks as the official rises. But this exaltation brinjjs the sub- 
 jects of it into an entirely new sphere, and affects the whole 
 state and destiny, all the relations and prospects of the parties. 
 It lifts them to a height immeasurably above the loftiest 
 pinnacles of earthly greatness, and that in respect of every 
 element of their being and blessedness. And it is as lasting 
 as it is real. The exaltation which is worldly, temporal 
 in its nature, is short-lived at best, and it is subject to 
 sudden and terrible reverses. Those who stand highest are 
 the readiest to be hurled to the dust, as towering spires 
 to be struck by lightning. At all events, death casts 
 down the most elevated ; it reduces the mighty and the 
 mean, the rich and the poor to the same level. But this 
 advancement is permament. No doubt within certain limits 
 it too is subject to a species of fluctuation. The Christian 
 knows changes, and sometimes to a most painful and 
 humbling extent. He falls, and thereby sustains great loss. 
 He sins, and suffers in consequence. But his gracious state 
 is essentially stable, enduring, immutable. So far from ter- 
 minating, as every other kind of promotion does, with life, 
 it is only then and thus that his reaches its destined and 
 everlasting perfection. His crown fadeth not away. His 
 kingdom cannot be moved. His is not only an exceeding 
 gi'eat, but an eternal weight of glory. He shall go no more 
 out of that temple in which he is to be made a pillar. 
 What a contrast to the distinctions of wealth, rank, power, 
 here below ! How large and lasting the spiritual as com- 
 pared with the temporal ! 
 
 So far we have viewed the exhortation generally; but 
 doubtless it carries a special reference to the temptations or 
 trials treated of both in the preceding and succeeding verses. 
 The exaltation was closely connected with them; it resulted 
 in no small degree from the suffering they involved. Such 
 
8 POOR AND RICH BKLIEVERS. 
 
 dispensations seem fitted only to depress, prostrate, reduce to 
 a low do<j^rce. But they do the very reverse. They cast 
 down, but they also raise up; they empty, but only in order 
 to fill us with something far better. If they abase with one 
 hand, they elevate with the other. For consider how they link 
 v.s with, and assimilate us to the Lord Jesus. He was a man 
 of sorrows, — he was the chief of sufferers, — he passed through 
 the deepest, darkest waters of affliction. The cross was but 
 the close and climax of a long course of cruel treatment and 
 painful endurance. When we are persecuted for righteous- 
 ness' sake, when we are brought into trouble for our attach- 
 ment to him and faithfulness in his service, we are more 
 thoroughly bound up with him, as it were identified with 
 him ; for we participate in his sufferings, fill up the measure 
 of them, as Paul testifies, and in consequence have our con- 
 nexion, as members, with the great Head of the mystical body 
 made both more apparent and more intimate. These trials 
 purify and ennoble the character. Even Jesus was thus 
 /\ perfected. Gold needs the furnace if it is to be purged 
 from its dross, and presented in its purity and brightness. 
 All the graces of the Christian are strengthened by such 
 - means, and some of them, as patience, for example, can in 
 no other way be exercised, developed, matured. They also 
 prepare for the eternal glory. They do not constitute the 
 whole or any part of the title to it, but they illustrate, con- 
 firm, verify that title. They form us to a meetness for it 
 by their transforming influence in the hands of the Spirit. 
 Suffering with Christ now, we are prepared for reigning 
 with him hereafter. Bearing his cross, we are thus tried 
 and fitted for sharing his throne. Blessed, ennobling dis- 
 cipline ! 
 
 2. In the case of the rich brother, it is his humiliation. 
 " But the rich, in that he is made low." The Christian is not 
 to glory in his temporal distinction, his worldly elevation. 
 That had been forbidden long before: "Thus saith the Lord, 
 
POOR AND RICH BELIEVERS. 39 
 
 Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the 
 mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory 
 in his riches."-^ It is not his being lifted high, but his being 
 brought down, which is to constitute his ground of boasting. 
 As the poor believer was to rejoice in his exaltation, the 
 wealthy one is to rejoice in his humiliation. As the former 
 of these terms must be understood spiritually, so must the 
 latter; for it is only thus there can be a proper contrast, as 
 is evidently intended. Some, indeed, suppose that the 
 \ reference here is to the spoiling of earthly goods, — the losses 
 ipersons had sustained by persecution for their faithfulness. 
 
 iBut that could have been only in certain cases, whereas the 
 exhortOLtiQH JiereJs^quite general. Besides, it had furnished 
 by itself no adequate reason for exultation, nothing to com- 
 pare v/ith that presented in the former instance. The 
 natural tendency of wealth is to fill men with pride, self- 
 confidence, vain-glory. It renders them supercilious to 
 those under them, fortifies them in their opposition to the 
 humbling doctrines of the gospel, and fosters a spirit the re- 
 verse of that lowly, dependent, confiding one which Christianity 
 demands and produces. This influence and effect of riches 
 may be seen in many patent and painful examples. Often is 
 the subject referred to in Scripture : " Hemove from me 
 I vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me 
 with food convenient for me: lest I be full, and deny thee, 
 and say, Who is the Lord?" "Charge them that are rich 
 in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in 
 uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly 
 .all things to enjoy." "And Jesus looked round about, and 
 Isaith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have 
 [riches enter into the kingdom of God ! And the disciples 
 were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, 
 and saith unto them. Children, how hard is it for them that 
 trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God ! It is 
 
 1 Jer. ix. 23. 
 
40 POOR AND RICH BELIEVERS. 
 
 easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than 
 for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."^ There 
 is no more formidable barrier in the way of that poverty of 
 spirit which is a fundamental characteristic of all Christ's 
 disciples. AVhen then, the affluent, those of high position and 
 ample fortune, are delivered from this snare ; when they are 
 enabled to see the emptiness of all their treasures, and no 
 longer to pride themselves in them; when they realize the 
 worthlessncss of any distinction they confer, and the danger 
 which the possession of them involves; when they are made 
 willing to take their places in the dust as poor, vile sinners, 
 bad as the lowest, the worst of their fellows, — to come as mere 
 debtors, bankrupts, beggars, pleading for mercy at the 
 heavenly footstool, — to cast away their own righteousness as 
 filthy rags, and put on the spotless robe offered to them in 
 the gospel, — to abase themselves before God, and walk with- 
 out high looks and haughty bearing among men, — they have 
 good reason to rejoice, exult, glory. In this humiliation 
 lies their defence against evils of terrible power and endless 
 duration. In it there is wrapt up a distinction not only 
 nobler far than their earthly one, but a distinction without 
 which that other is often a curse instead of a blessing. 
 \/What satisfaction does it yield ! — a peace, a pleasure such as 
 "^ millions of money cannot impart. Increase of substance is 
 not seldom but an increase of care; for, while it may lighten 
 or remove some burdens, it imposes new and often heavier 
 ones. And for what fulness of joy does it prepare, to « 
 what height of glory does it conduct ? It leads to and issues 
 in an eternal exaltation. 
 
 This being made low is, not less than the other, the fruit 
 of temptations and trials. These are often the means of 
 bringing down those whose looks are high, and laying them 
 prostrate in the dust of self-abasement. It is thus that 
 many enter the kingdom. God employs painful dispensa- 
 ■ * Prov. XXX. 8, 9; 1 Tim. vi. 17 ; Mark x. 23-25. 
 
POOR AND RICH BELIEVERS. 41- 
 
 tions of providence to awaken them out of tlieir security, to 
 humble their proud hearts, and to prepare them for sub- 
 mission to the doctrines of the gospel. But for affliction, 
 the strait gate had never been passed through by not a few 
 of those who are walking in the narrow way of life and 
 holiness. The_ case, of .Manasseh. was one of a class which 
 appears in every age of the Church's history. And the 
 same means are needed to keep believers low, for there is a 
 natural tendency to rise again, to become high-minded as 
 before. The influence of wealth and station is ever in this 
 direction. They act on the corruption which still remains 
 in the best, and minister to all kinds of presumptuous, self- 
 exalting fancies. Their working requires to be continually 
 counteracted, and nothing is more effectual for the purpose 
 than the discipline of trial. It is thus the wild luxuriant 
 growths are cut down; and, while the process is sharp, the 
 result is precious. By such dealings we learn how little 
 money or position can do for us, how dependent we ever 
 are on God, and are weaned from that earth which is so full 
 of care and sorrow, however many of its good things we 
 may possess. The experience of the Psalmist has been very 
 often exemplified : " Before I was afflicted I went astray; 
 but now have I kept thy word."^ 
 
 James enforces the exhortation by the consideration that 
 earthly riches are perishable, transitory in their nature, and 
 that all who trust in them, identify themselves with them, 
 are doomed to speedy destruction: "Because as the flower 
 of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner 
 risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the gi'ass, and 
 the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion thereof" 
 (that is, the beauty of its appearance) " perisheth : so also 
 shall the rich man fade away in his ways." By these 
 "ways" we are to understand his course of life, his pur- 
 poses, schemes, and enjoyments. This is true of all human 
 ' Ps. cxix. 67. 
 
42 POOR AND RICH BELIEVERS. 
 
 beings, fis such, for they are frail, short-lived. Often are 
 we reminded of the fact in Scripture. The apostle here 
 evidently refers to the passage in Isaiah : "The voice said. 
 Cry. And he said, Wliat shall I cry i All flesh is grass, 
 and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the 
 gi-a.ss withereth, the flower fadeth ; because the Spirit of the 
 Lord bloweth upon it : surely the people is grass. "^ Turn- 
 ing to the Psalms, we have the same natural and expressive 
 figure: "Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are 
 as a sleep : in the morning they are like grass that groweth 
 up. In the morning it groweth up; in the evening it is 
 cut down, and withereth." " As for man, his days are as 
 grass ; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth : for the 
 wind passeth over it, and it is gone ; and the place thereof 
 shall know it no more."" The only distinction among us 
 as regards outward things, is like that between the grass and 
 its flower. The latter stands out in the field, and attracts 
 attention by its beauty and fragrance. But what does that 
 avail when the sun pours down its scorching heat, or the 
 east wind strikes it with its deadly blast ? The whole then 
 disappears, the flower as well as the plain green blades 
 around it; yea, the more rapidly of the two, because of its 
 delicacy. It droops, fades, perishes utterly. In like manner, 
 wealth cannot ward off, frequently it draws down the wither- 
 ing, destructive storms of heaven. It increases the dangers 
 of those who possess it, for they are exposed to many assaults 
 and losses in consequence. It produces feelings and fosters 
 habits which ill fit men for withstandincr those shocks, and 
 bearing those burdens, from which none here are entirely 
 exempt. It invites, hastens the decay, instead of preventing 
 its approach or retarding its progress. Are we then to 
 rejoice in a thing of that sort ? Are we to pride ourselves 
 on any .such distinction ? Here, assuredly, is no adequate 
 ground of glorying. 
 
 ' Isa. xl. 6, 7. 2 Pa. xc. 5, 6 ; ciii. 15, 16. 
 
POOR AND ETCH BELIEVERS. 43 
 
 1. / address the 'poor — those of low degree. Are you 
 Christian brethren? Do you belong to God's family? 
 Then you have been made high, set among the princes of 
 his people, and it is your privilege, your duty to rejoice, 
 even glory in that exaltation. Fret not because of your 
 humble lot and narrow circumstances, — your temporal wants, 
 burdens, crosses. These are doubtless heavy, trying, pain- 
 ful, at times well nigh overwhelming; but you have a position 
 and a prospect which may well raise you al)Ove the depres- 
 sion, vexation, and sorrow which, in themselves, they are 
 fitted to produce. How gTeat and noble are you as children 
 of God and heirs of heaven ! Think of your spiritual eleva- 
 tion, and you will feel that you have better matter of boast- 
 ing than had you all the wealth, honour, and power the 
 world contains. But are you not believing brethren ? O 
 then come and be exalted ! How gladly would you climb up 
 among the rich and the titled of earth ! How eagerly would 
 you seize any opportunity, and undergo any toil that might 
 pave the way for such an elevation! Here is something 
 higher, better far to which you may be raised! you may 
 have God for your portion, and heaven for your home, — full 
 acceptance, perfect holiness, eternal glory. Lay hold of Jesus as 
 offered in the gospel. He became poor that those believing 
 on him might thus be made for ever rich. He invites the 
 meanest of your number. Those who have not a farthing in 
 their pockets, and nothing but rags on their backs, those 
 who are paupers, beggars, outcasts, are welcome. The only 
 qualification required is want, misery, ruin. His salvation 
 is absolutely free, without money, and without price. Cast 
 yourselves down at his feet, and he will exalt you in due 
 season. Yea, he will begin to do it from that very moment. 
 2 . / address the rich — those of high degree. Have you, 
 my brethren, been made low, poor in spirit? Have you 
 been emptied and taught the lesson of your own sinfulness, 
 vileness, and hell-desert ? Have you cast your own right- 
 
44 roOIl AND RICH BELIEVERS. 
 
 eousness away, and come as needy and perishing to Jesus 
 for the blessings of salvation ? If so, you have cause to 
 rejoice, yea to glory. Your wealth cannot satisfy, and it 
 will .soon vanish as if it had never been, like the flower of 
 grass, but in this abasement, this emptying before God, 
 you have a spring of sweetest peace, gladsome hope, eternal 
 happiness. Be thankful for your humiliation. Seek ever to 
 be kept low; be afraid of the coming in and the rising up 
 again of a proud, self-sufficient spirit. Nothing can be 
 more alien to the gospel, nothing more deadly in its influ- 
 ence. And if there be any rich here who are still trusting 
 in their wealth, are high-minded by reason of it, — let me tell 
 them that their ground of glorying is poor indeed. It will 
 soon pass away, and they will pass away along with it like 
 the grass which withers, or the flower which fades. Come 
 and be made rich toward God, rich for eternity. Come to 
 Jesus. It is a hard thing, but not an impossible one, for 
 you to be saved. The camel cannot go through the eye of 
 a needle, but — what is more difficult far, were nature alone 
 at work — you will be brought through the strait gate into 
 the kin<rdom of God. 
 
ENDURING TEMPTATION. 45 
 
 IV. 
 ENDURING TEMPTATION. 
 
 " Blessed is the tnan that endureth temptation : for when 
 he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, luJdch the 
 Lord hath promised to them that love him." — James i. 12. 
 
 NE great object of the writer of the present Epistle 
 was to direct and comfort Christians, under the 
 heavy trials to which they were subjected in the 
 early days of the Church's history. He enters at once on 
 this topic, exhorting his brethren in the faith to count it 
 all joy when they fell into divers temptations. These 
 temptations were not matter of joy, considered in them- 
 selves, but they were so in their effects ; and it is with 
 reference to them that they were to be regarded in such a 
 light, and received with such a welcome. It became those 
 so visited to look well to the influence and issue, to the 
 results of their afflictions, as everything depended on them; 
 and to this James earnestly urges the believers here ad- 
 dressed. In order to get the good of our trials, we must 
 deal with them aright ; we must understand and improve 
 them properly, but that requires much of the wisdom which 
 Cometh down from above. Hence he directs them to have 
 recourse to prayer for this needful discernment, encouraging 
 them by the fact that God gives to all liberally, and up- 
 braideth not, but warning them at the same time, that if 
 they would succeed in their petitions for this or any other 
 blessing, they must present them in faith, not wavering, for 
 he who asks in doubt, with double mind, is like a wave of 
 the sea driven by the wind and tossed ; and such a man 
 need not expect to receive anything in the way of answer. 
 
40 ENDURING TEMPTATION. 
 
 Having made a special application and appeal to the two 
 classes of rich and poor among them, the apostle here re- 
 turns to the precise subject with which he set out, the case 
 of tempted, suffering saints, and administers to them the 
 most precious consolation. "Blessed is the man that endureth 
 temptation : for when he is tried, he shall receive the 
 crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that 
 love him." Consider then as the Spirit may enable us, 
 
 I. The man wlio is blessed. We read in Job, " Behold, 
 happy is the man whom God correcteth." ^ With this 
 statement probably in view, James says here, " Blessed is 
 the man that endureth temptation." In this, as in the second 
 verse, temptation is equivalent to trial. All trial has in it 
 an element of temptation. It presents certain openings and 
 inducements to sin; it is fitted, whether it is designed or 
 not, to act on the corrupt propensities of our nature, and 
 draw us into forbidden courses. It would not bear the 
 character and serve the purpose of trial were it otherwise. 
 There would be nothing in it to withstand, to put us to 
 the proof, to test our dispositions and principles. In like 
 manner all temptation has in it an element of trial. It 
 must be yielded to or resisted ; we must fall or stand be- 
 fore it ; and in either case it operates so as to manifest 
 what we really are, whether we have grace or not ; and if 
 we have, in what degree of strength or purity. But still 
 the two are to be clearly distinguished,; and a thing is 
 very different viewed as the one or the other. Here, then, 
 we are to understand troubles, afflictions of whatever kind, 
 all that calls for sul (mission, endurance — all that causes 
 pain, anxiety, apprehension. The temptation may assume 
 an I'udless variety of forms. It does so in the case of each 
 individual Christian ; and with much that is essentially the 
 same, there is much that is circumstantially different ia 
 
 > Job V. 17. 
 
ENDURING TEMPTATION. 47 
 
 every particular believer. It may be ouiivard in its nature. 
 It may be jDersonal or domestic affliction. It may be disease, 
 long continued and painful disease, with its wearisome days 
 and nights, with its weakness and suffering, aggravated, it 
 may be, by neglect and want, privation and dependence, as 
 it is in numberless instances. It may be poverty with its 
 toils and cares, with the burdens it lays on the body, and 
 the still heavier ones it often throws on the mind ; for 
 anxieties and fears press with a weight in comparison with 
 which the severest labours may be light as a feather. It 
 may be persecution, with its reproaches and injuries, its 
 pains and penalties, its spoliations, bonds, tortures, and even 
 its taking away of life — no rare thing in primitive times, 
 and not unheard of even in these later days. Under one 
 aspect or another, with more or less of violence, according to 
 circumstances, it is the portion of all the faithful. It may 
 be family difficulty or distress, for what crosses arise from 
 heat of temper, perverseness of disposition, incongruity of 
 character, from alienations, feuds, perplexities, entangle- 
 ments of all kinds, originating in the various relations we 
 sustain and situations we occujjy, as members of households. 
 Or the temptation may be more internal, spiritual in its 
 nature. It may lie in the buffetings of Satan, in seasons of 
 darkness and depression, in peculiar and painful experiences, 
 in terrible fears and fightings within. Every Christian has 
 to pass through the furnace, while in the case of some it is 
 heated seven times. We must all, through much tribula- 
 tion, enter the kingdom of heaven. " As many as I love," 
 says God, "I rebuke and chasten." "If ye be without 
 chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, 
 and not sons." ^ 
 
 Now mark, the blessed man is he that e7idureth tempta 
 tion. The emphasis lies on the endureth. It is not, as in 
 the second verse, the falling into temptation — it is not the 
 
 1 Rev. iii. 19 : Hcb. sii. 8. 
 
48 ENDURING TEMPTATION. 
 
 mere experience or undergoing of trial wliich is here in 
 question. Tliat by no means necessarily renders a person 
 blessed ; often it does the very reverse*. Afflictions are not 
 joyous but grievous in themselves ; and it is with reference 
 to tlit'ir influence and issues — to the effects they produce, 
 that they can confer any such distinction. Alas ! how many 
 are smitten, and yet receive no correction. They are not 
 softened, but hardened in the furnace. The base, impure 
 elements arc not purged out, but more deeply engrained, 
 burned in by the fire. They come out of their troubles the 
 same worldly, ungodly men and women they were when 
 they entered them, or rather more obdurate and hopeless — 
 farther than ever from the kingdom of heaven. If you, my 
 brethren, know no examples of this kind, your experience 
 and mine do not coincide. I have seen people tried in every 
 possible way, crushed under a succession and accumulation 
 of the most painfiil personal and domestic visitations, dealt 
 with in a manner fitted to arrest the most careless, and 
 arouse the most apathetic — to stir every sensibility of our 
 nature, and break the very strongest ties which can bind 
 human beings to the earth ; and after all manifesting not 
 the slightest change to the better, but, on the contrary, 
 going on at an accelerated pace in the road to ruin, 
 running with even increased hardihood and reckless- 
 ness a downward career. The old habits were renewed, 
 if indeed they were for an instant abandoned, and any 
 former symptoms of relenting and improvement grew weaker 
 and vanished away. This is no fancy picture. May not 
 some of you now addressed see yourselves in the glass I am 
 holding up ? And are such persons blessed ? No ; they 
 are wretched ; whether they feel themselves to be so or not, 
 that is their real condition. Their temptation has brought 
 no boon to them ; it has entaihnl a curse, laid them under 
 a deeper, darker, lu>avier condemnation. None are more 
 (■(•rt:i,inly and terribly doonieil : and what they shall hear 
 
ENDURING TEMPTATION. 49 
 
 at last will be not " Come ye blessed," but " Depart ye 
 cursed." 
 
 It is the man who endureth temptation, and that 
 is equally removed from two extremes. We are " neither 
 to despise the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when 
 we are rebuked of him."^ We are not to manifest a 
 proud, bold, defiant spirit under trial, to summon up 
 resolution and refuse to bend under the blow, to treat it 
 with a kind of stoical indifference or apathy. That is not 
 Christianity. We are to feel, to give scope and exercise to 
 the sensibilities of our nature, within due limits, of course ; 
 we are to be moved by affliction of whatever sort it may 
 be. And it is only thus it can serve the purpose of trial, 
 can test our characters, can prove and improve our graces. 
 We are not called to do violence to any of the essential 
 principles or sinless sentiments of humanity. There is a 
 place for them, and our duty is, not to destroy them, but 
 to restrain and regulate their exercise. On the other hand, 
 we are not to faint under the rebuke, we are not to yield 
 to distrust, not to sink down in despondency. There is 
 to be neither defiance nor despair. We are to bear the 
 visitation, to be patient and persevering in the midst of 
 afflictions. We are not to rise in rebellion against him 
 who smites, as little are we to resign ourselves to the 
 stroke in a drooping, abject spirit. We are to seek no 
 unlawful or doubtful methods of extrication from our per- 
 plexities, but calmly to wait for God's time and way of 
 deliverance. We are to suffer rather than sin, and be far 
 more concerned about the fruit of trial than the cessation 
 of trial. We are to see the hand of our heavenly Father 
 in all that befalls us, to recognise ever his power, wisdom, 
 faithfulness, and love, to guard against everything Hke 
 charging him foolishly, like questioning either the equity 
 or the goodness of any of his dealings. We are to apply to 
 
 1 Heb. xii. 5. 
 
 E 
 
1)0 ENDURING TEMPTATION. 
 
 him for needful guidance and strength, to repress the risings 
 of impatience, unbelief, self-will, and to fall back ever on 
 the sure promises of his Word and provisions of his cove- 
 nant. Thus to wait, thus to suffer, thus to endure, be our 
 troubles what they may in kind, in degree, in continuance, 
 in combination, is to act in the manner here described, and 
 so to have an unquestionable title to the blessing pro- 
 nounced by the apostle. 
 
 II. The respect in which he is blessed. — " For when he is 
 tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath 
 promised to them that love him." " When he is tried" — that 
 is, after he has been tried — after he has been thus tested — 
 after he has come out of the furnace as gold seven times 
 purified. It may be rendered, when he has become 
 approved, when by means of the trial he has been shown 
 to be genuine, and not reprobate silver. " He shall receive 
 the crown of life" — .^^hall receive it then, at the last, after 
 the completion of this process of sifting and refining. The 
 reference is to the future inheritance of the saints — to the 
 kingdom of heaven. It is the prospect of that which 
 makes the believer blessed for ever. It is spoken of here 
 as a crown ; and that mode of representation is frequent in 
 Scripture. Thus, " Henceforth there is laid up for me a 
 crown of righteousness, 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." "And when the chief 
 Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory 
 that fadeth not away." " Be thou faithful unto death, and 
 I will give thee a crown of life."* The crown was anciently 
 the emblem and the reward of victory. It was the grand 
 prize carried off in the famous Grecian games to which 
 there are so many allusions in the apostolic writings. It 
 was the proud trophy borne off by the successful competi- 
 
 ' 2 Tim. iv. S : 1 Pot. v. 4 ; R -v. ii 10. 
 
ENDURING TEMPTATION. 51 
 
 tor; and, though the materials of which it was composed 
 were poor and perishable, fading leaves of laurel, or such 
 like, the crown was valued more than the most precious 
 treasures, more than thousands of gold and silver. And 
 here it has the same significance. It is indicative of 
 spiritual triumph — of the battle fought and the victory won. 
 It is conferred only on him that overcometh. Those who 
 draw back — who run only for a short time — who do not 
 endure unto the end — who are not faithful unto death, can 
 never wear the heavenly diadem. It is to the conqueror, 
 the valiant, victorious soldier of the Cross, that all the 
 promises of everlasting life and glory are given. It is also, 
 and in its own nature, a symbol of honour and power. It 
 is the accompaniment and expression of royal dignity and 
 authority. And so it tells us that, whatever the humilia- 
 tion of the believer here below, whatever the contempt 
 heaped on him, whatever his poverty and meanness in the 
 estimation of the world, he is to be highly exalted — he is 
 to sit down among the princes, to reign with Christ, to be 
 a king and a priest unto God and the Father. All reproach 
 is to be wiped away; and as in the case of the Lord him- 
 self, the cross is to be exchanged for the crown. And 
 mark the crown, which elsewhere is described as one of 
 righteousness and of glory, is here spoken of as one of life — 
 that is, it consists in life ; it is, as it were, composed of 
 this material. It is not one of fading laurel, like that of 
 the ancient victor. It is not of perishable substance Or 
 w ^rkmanship. No ; it is made up of Hfe, and of no ordi- 
 nary life. This is not mere existence; that might be no 
 blessing — it wiU be none to the finally impenitent and 
 unbelieving. In one sense they are to live for ever, as 
 much so as the righteous ; but how wide and deep, how 
 teiTible the difference between the future states of these 
 two classes ! It is here literally and exactly the life — that 
 is to say, the well-known life which is promised to those 
 
52 ENDURING TEMPTATION. 
 
 who fight the good fight of faith, and triumph in the con- 
 flict. HiTC is life worth the having — life most blessed, 
 never-ending, all-pcrft-ct, — life in comparison with which 
 every other is little better than death. To every one of 
 the saints, as well as to their glorious Head, the words are 
 applicable, " Thou settest a crown of pure gold on his 
 head. He asked life of thee, and thou gavcst it him, even 
 length of days for ever and ever."i 
 
 But is the man that endurcth perfectly sure of this pre- 
 cious, imperishable crown ? What reason has he to expect 
 any such glorious portion ? Here is his warrant, his 
 guarantee, — " which the Lord hath promised to them that 
 love him." This he has done, not in any particular passage 
 referred to, but generally and in substance throughout his 
 whole word. The apostle thus condenses what is spread 
 out at large in many of the exceeding great and precious 
 promises. The believer does not earn the crown by his 
 trials ; he does not procure it by means of personal merit. 
 He has no self-acquired claim or title. It is a thing pro- 
 mised, and that of God's free and sovereign grace, of his 
 mere absolute good-will. Sufferings only prepare for it, 
 they do not purchase it ; they fit for its enjoyment, but do 
 not confer any right to have it bestowed. This is the clear, 
 express, uniform doctrine of Scripture on the subject. Sal- 
 vation is, neither in whole nor in part, deserved by any of 
 its recipients. Nothing done or undergone by them has 
 redeeming virtue or renovating power. It has no merit or 
 efticacy, no influence of this kind in obtaining the pardon 
 of sin, or the cleansing of the heart. No ; the crown is the 
 fruit of the cro.ss ; not any cross borne by us, but that which 
 was endured by the Lord Jesus. All spiritual life is the 
 result and the reward of his atoning death. The only 
 obedienco properly taken into account is that which he 
 rendered in t'le room, and for the sake, of the guilty. He 
 
 ' Pa. xxi. 3, 1. 
 
ENDURING TEMPTATION. 53 
 
 alone is worthy ; and it is as united to him, identified with 
 him by faith in his name, that his people are in any sense 
 entitled to the eternal recompense. 
 
 As it is thus gracious, so the blessedness is not present 
 but future, in respect of its full possession and enjoyment. 
 It is a thing as yet not given, but only promised, so long as 
 the believer is here below. It is bestowed after he has 
 endured temptation, after he has been tried ; and the pro- 
 cess which must thus be completed goes on while corrup- 
 tion retains any place in him, and the influences of an evil 
 world still surround him — to the last moment of his conflict 
 with the powers of darkness within and without. He never 
 leaves the field of battle until he ascends before the throne, 
 a final and unchallenged conqueror. He never comes fully 
 out of the furnace while there remains a single particle of 
 dross to be purged away. It is only at death that he enters 
 on his great inheritance. He is here the heir rather than 
 the proprietor, the man of large prospects rather than of 
 large possessions. But the issue is absolutely certain, 
 secured, as it is, by the promise of that God who cannot lie, 
 whose word is settled in heaven and abideth forever. Not 
 only so, he is favoured with present pledges and earnests 
 of the future glory. In the hope of it he has an element 
 of strength and comfort, by which he is invigorated and 
 gladdened amidst all his struggles and sorrows. In the 
 sense of God's love, the light of his countenance, in the 
 existence and exercise of those graces which animate his 
 bosom, pregnant, as they are, with a peace which passes all 
 understanding, with a satisfaction infinitely superior to every 
 earthly gratification, whether bodily or mental, he has large 
 foretastes of the fulness of joy, the rivers of pleasure, which 
 are at God's right hand for evermore. He not only is to 
 be, but already is, most truly and fully blessed. 
 
 On whom is this crown to be bestowed ? The question 
 is an important one ; and we are not left without a perfectly 
 
o4t KNDUUING TEMPTATION. 
 
 distinct and definite answer. Most needful is it to allow 
 here no room for mystification or misapprehension. Wc 
 are excectlingly prone to grasp at the promises, to lay claim 
 to the blessings they contain, and comfort ourselves with 
 the hope of their ultimate possession. We are too ready to 
 do this in forgetfulncss of the state and character of those 
 to whom they belong, of the qualifications which must be 
 found in all who have any part or lot in this heritage. We 
 put asunder what God has indissolubly joined. We have no 
 reasonable excuse for so doing. We cannot plead that we are 
 loft in the dark as to the persons really interested. The 
 Divine Word brings clearly out who may, and who may not, 
 warrantably appropriate the provisions of the covenant, the sure 
 mercies of David. So here the crown is said to be promised 
 " to them that love him," that is, to those who thus prove 
 themselves the Lord's people. Their love does not constitute 
 their title to it, but it establishes and manifests that title. 
 It is the grand distinction of the Christian, the very root 
 and essence of the character which the gospel requires and 
 produces. It comprehends both faith and obedience. It 
 springs from the one and issues in the other. In it they 
 meet, and apart from it neither can exist. It rises out of 
 faith, has its origin and its support in that primary, funda- 
 mental grace of the Spirit. Hence we read that " faith 
 worketh by love." In believing, the soul so apprehends and 
 gra.sps the mercy of God in Christ, that the deep-rooted 
 enmity of the natural heart is slain, and adoring gratefid 
 affection is implanted in its place. Hostility is turned into 
 friendship and fellowship. We are thus introduced into a 
 relation, and brought under infiuences, which revolutionise 
 all our principles and feelings. And thus awakened within 
 us, love leads naturally and necessarily to obedience. When 
 genuine, it is always followed by submission to the Divine 
 authority and zeal for the Divine glory. " He," said Jesus, 
 " that hath my commandments, and kcepeth them, he it is 
 
ENDURING TEMPTATION. OO 
 
 that loveth me."^ We cannot but seek to please and 
 honour those to whom we are sincerely attached. Their 
 will becomes a kind of law to us, and their interests are 
 watched over with the most jealous care. All this holds 
 good in the highest degree, when love to God is raised to 
 the throne, and established as the governing principle of 
 our being. Hence it is represented as " the fulfilling of the 
 law," — " the end of the commandment," as the sum and sub- 
 stance of the whole decalogue. Nothing is more constantly 
 and strongly insisted on in Scripture as characteristic of the 
 true believer. " He that loveth father or mother more than 
 me, is not worthy of me ; and he that loveth son or daughter 
 more than me, is not worthy of me." ^ The thrice-repeated 
 question addressed to the fallen Peter by his Lord was, 
 "Lovest thou me ?" " If any man," says Paul, " love not the 
 Lord Jesus, let him be Anathema Maran-atha."^ In a 
 variety of passages both of the Old and New Testaments 
 we have language, like that of the text, used for the purpose 
 of marking out God's people, by that feature which is the 
 most prominent and distinctive in their character, and is 
 virtually inclusive of every other. " For we know that all 
 things work together for good to them that love God, 
 to them who are the called according to his purpose." 
 " Hearken, my beloved brethren. Hath not God chosen the 
 poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom 
 which he hath promised to them that love him ? " ^ 
 
 And this statement serves to bring out the only true 
 spring and the only Scriptural kind of endurance. The 
 source of it is love to God and his son Jesus Christ. It is 
 this which sweetens the most bitter cup, and eases the 
 heaviest burden. It keeps down dark suspicions and rebel- 
 lious murmurs. It enables us to take a right view of the 
 gracious design of the Divine dealings, and to kiss the rod 
 Avhich is seen to be held in a Father's hand, and used not 
 
 1 Jolmxiv. 21. 2 5iatt. x. 37. 3 i Cor. xvi. 22. * Rom. viii. 28 : James ii. 5 
 
56 ENDURING TEMPTATION. 
 
 for his pleasure, but solely for our profit. It changes the 
 whole aspect of Providence, and imparts a peace and a 
 strength which sustuin under the severest temptations or 
 trials. And any constancy, perseverance, which has not this 
 element in it, yea, which is not rooted in it, is not Chris- 
 tian and cannot be crowned with the life everlasting. The 
 Lord looks not merely or chiefly to our holding out under 
 our troubles, but to the spirit in which this is done, the 
 views and feelings by which we are actuated in bearing 
 our burdens. Natural force of character, resoluteness of 
 will, a determination not to yield to adversity, may be 
 commendable enough in certain respects, and may carry 
 persons a very great length, but all that is widely different 
 from the gracious, patient, filial endurance to which the 
 promise is given. " And though," says Paul, " I bestow 
 all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body 
 to be burned, and have not charity " — that is love — " it 
 profiteth me nothing." ^ 
 
 Hoiv needful is it for us to endure ! This is the only 
 way to the kingdom. It is a gi-eat means of preparation 
 for receiving the eternal cro^vn. Such a discipline is most 
 salutary, indeed absolutely necessary. We are in danger of 
 making far too little of the passive graces. The endurance 
 of the text is certainly not confined to them, for it implies 
 far more than mere submission, even a resolute holding on, 
 a steady, persistent progress, the faithful discharge of all 
 duty under our divers temptations. But it does largely 
 require and involve these, so that the place they hold is 
 one of the gi'eatest influence and importance. In this age 
 of ours a bustling activity is aj)t to be thought well nigh 
 everything, and there is danger of losing sight of what oftien 
 is a far higher exercise of Christian principle, a nmch nobler 
 feature of Christian character — patient waiting, holy resigna- 
 tion, immovable constancy. Let us cultivate this spirit. 
 
 > 1 Cor. xiii. 3. 
 
ENDURING TEMPTATION. 57 
 
 Let us seek to have deeply rooted in us all those graces of 
 which endurance is the ripe and precious fruit. 
 
 How blessed are they who do endure ! They have the 
 promise of a crown of life, and that promise cannot fail to 
 be fulfilled. It is given by God, whose word, like his 
 nature, is stable, abiding, imperishable. And is not the 
 reward as glorious as it is certain ? Here is power, honour, 
 happiness, with which all that is so called among men can- 
 not for a moment be compared. This crown plants no 
 thorns in the head it encircles. Unlike every earthly one, 
 it brings with it no cares, no sorrows ; and it shall never 
 either fade on, or be plucked from, the brow of its possessor. 
 It consists of life in fellowship with all holy beings, and in 
 the full fruition of God himself to all eternity. Believers, 
 shrink not then from your trials; submit to them; be 
 patient under them; and while they endure, see that you 
 endure. When ready to faint, think of the glorious issue, 
 and thus be stimulated to persevere in running the race set 
 before you, until you reach the goal and obtain the prize. 
 And, O sinner, let me entreat you to take up the cross if 
 ever you would wear the crown. It is only through the 
 one you can possibly get at the other. To you the kingdom 
 is offered. Believe in Jesus, and so enter on the path which 
 conducts to glory, honour, and immortality. 
 
68 LviL: rry onioiN. 
 
 V. 
 
 EVIL: ITS ORIGIN. 
 
 " Ld no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of 
 God : for God cannot he tempted with evil, neither tempteih 
 he any man : but every man is tempted, when he is drawn 
 away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath 
 conceived, it bringeth forth sin : and sin, when it is 
 finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved 
 brethren." — James i. 13-16. 
 
 AMES is here treating of temptation. In the pre- 
 ceding verse he pronounces the man blessed who 
 "endures" it, — that is, not the man who simply 
 undergoes it, experiences it; for that is common to all 
 human beings, and involves no special honour or happiness 
 whatever, but the man who bears it patiently, does not 
 faint or fail under it, passes through and emerges from it, 
 as the gold which has been cast into the hottest furnace 
 comes out of it entire and brighter, purer than it was 
 before. Why is such an one blessed ? The answer is, 
 "For when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, 
 which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." 
 But all do not thus suffer and improve temptation. Many 
 derive from it no profit. They do not stand the fiery 
 ordeal. They are not proved by it in such a way as 
 thereby to become approved. The issue is often the very 
 reverse, the stirring up of evil dispositions and desires, the 
 commission even of open and heinous transgression. The 
 furnace softens and purifies some, but it hardens others. 
 When that is the result, who is responsible for it ? To 
 
EVIL: ITS ORIGIN. 59 
 
 whom does the blame attach ? Is God imj)licated to any 
 extent or in any respect ? Has he to do, whether more or 
 less, with the sad and sinful consequences ? He sends trial, 
 that undoubtedly, but does he intend it for such a purpose? 
 or is he answerable for the actual effect which is produced ? 
 Here James guards the reader against every idea of the 
 kind, and traces the whole evil done by man, first, back to 
 its proper source, and then forward to its final issue. He 
 says, in this case the temptation is not from God, the 
 inducement to sin, and the influence by which it is yielded 
 to, are not from him but from ourselves. Let us then pro- 
 ceed, in humble dependence on Divine teaching, to considt-r 
 these two points: 
 
 I. The source of such temptation. 
 
 II. The issue of such temptation. 
 
 I. Its source. From what does it proceed? AVhere do 
 we find its real, proper, primary spring? We have it 
 opened up here, alike negatively and positively. We must 
 look at the matter under both aspects. 
 
 1. Negatively. It does not originate with God. That 
 James asserts at the outset, most expressly and emphati- 
 cally. He vindicates him from every such charge. " Let 
 no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God." 
 It is here clearly implied, on the one hand, that some are 
 ready to say this, either with their lips or in their hearts, 
 are ready to throw the blame of their sins on God, to 
 make him the author of them rather than themselves, to 
 vindicate instead of condemning themselves, and to do it at 
 his expense. There had been no warning of the sort, had 
 there been no danger of uttering such a sentiment, enter- 
 taining such an idea. We are not put on our guard in Scrip- 
 ture against merely hypothetical or imaginary errors. There 
 must be a tendency in this direction, a disposition to flee 
 to a refuge of this description. It has been supposed that 
 
60 EVIL: ITS ORIGIN. 
 
 the reference is to the fatalism which characterized many of 
 the Jcws;^ but for that there seems to be no good warrant. 
 Doubtless James had something in view which suggested, 
 called ioi til the warning; but the error is a common one, 
 and has ever been found springing up, under this or that 
 foiTO, in the soil of our depraved nature. It appeared at a 
 very early period, and is indeed co-eval with the fall itself. 
 When Adam was charged with the first sin committed on 
 earth, that of eating the forbidden fruit, he laid the blame 
 on Eve, and through her, on God himself. " And the man 
 said, The woman tvhom thuu gavest to be ivltJi one, she gave 
 me of the tree, and I did eat."^ She in turn defended her- 
 self by accusing the serpent, and really, though not expressly, 
 him who had allowed it to be there and her to come under 
 its seductive influence. " And the Lord God said unto the 
 woman, What is this that thou hast done ? And the 
 woman said. The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat."^ In 
 every age men have sought to cast the burden off them- 
 selves, and if possible to implicate the great Author of their 
 being in the impurities of their character and conduct. They 
 have done it in various ways. 
 
 Some have identified sin with God, with his veiy nature. 
 They have espoused the Pantlieistic philosophy, which 
 makes good and evil alike emanate from him, yea, alike 
 constitute him, be equally manifestations and features of 
 him, parts of the universal, all-embracing Deity. Not a few 
 who stop short of that monstrous but fascinating system, 
 yet bring matters to the same issue, so far as the responsi- 
 bility of their vices and crimes is concerned. They attri- 
 bute them to Divine suggestion. It has not been uncom- 
 mon to trace the foulest deeds to ideas and impulses of 
 heavenly origin. Fanaticism has often gone this length, 
 sincerely but not less impiou.sly. It is true that God is 
 represented in Scripture as exercising some kind of internal 
 » Stanley's Apostolical Age, p. 312. * Gen. iii. 12. 3 Gen.iii. 13. 
 
EVIL: ITS ORIGIN. 61 
 
 influence giving colour to such a plea, as blinding men's 
 minds, and hardening their hearts. This he does judicially, 
 not leading them into new, but punishing them for past 
 transgressions. He thus withdraws restraint, leaves them 
 exposed to all kinds of assault, and even shuts them up to 
 certain courses, without, however, either laying them under 
 the necessity of falling into sin or prompting them to its 
 commission. 
 
 Less directly, but not less really, is the same thing done 
 by those who find a shelter in their corrupt dispositions and 
 desires, in those propensities and j)assions which strongly 
 incite to and issue in evil courses. ' Why have they these 
 tendencies? Why, if it were not meant that they should 
 follow them, indulge them? And if not, if it be wrong to 
 do so, are they gi'catly to blame, seeing they are thus con- 
 stituted? Why have they been brought into existence, 
 subject to powerful internal influences of that kind? Why, 
 to be impelled by forces which not one in a thousand is 
 able successfully to resist, — that carry men away with a 
 might and mastery which they cannot withstand, or only 
 with the utmost difficulty, — by means of a constancy and 
 energy of effort which very few can be expected to exert ? 
 Genius has boldly, defiantly urged this plea in defence of 
 irregular habits, of gross excesses, and rolled back on the 
 Author of our being the guilt of the darkest misdeeds. 
 Persons of this stamp have appealed to him, as knowing 
 that he has framed them with passions wild and strong, and 
 have traced their wildest wandering to light from heaven.-^ 
 And what is perhaps worse, their blind and foolish admirers 
 have endorsed the impious plea, and deemed it sufficient 
 excuse for the foulest immorality and profanity to talk of 
 the poet's galloping blood and quick nerves, of "the gun- 
 powder in his composition," separating liim from tame, cold 
 precisians, and raising him far above the common rules of 
 
 ^ Burns. 
 
G2 EVIL: ITS ORIGIN. 
 
 judgment and action. Many think in the same way, while 
 they may shrink from the open avowal of such a sentiment. 
 Those j)artic'S forgot that God made man upright, after his 
 own imago, without an evil tendency, without one lust, 
 vanity, or imperfection in his constitution. Everything of 
 the sort is the fniit of the full, of the change wrought in us 
 by apostasy, of our voluntary, wilful, presumptuous rebellion 
 against the authority of heaven. All that is corrupt is of 
 ourselves. The origin of it is human and Satanic; it is 
 not, in whole or part. Divine. Lay it where we may, we 
 cannot lay it at the door of our Creator. He is blameless 
 ill this matter. And tliey forget, too, that the evil principles 
 and lustings not only should, but may be withstood. They 
 have been so by many. This can be done, within certain 
 limits, by the exercise of our natural powers, by listening to 
 the voice of reason and conscience, which sounds more or 
 less distinctly in every human bosom. And it can, univer- 
 sally and etfoctually, by that grace which is provided in the 
 gospel of Jesus Christ, which is offered to all, and is suffi- 
 cient for all, — that grace which can subdue depravity in 
 even its worst forms, its most powerful and subtle workings, 
 and bring forth in us every fruit of righteousness, every 
 beauty of holiness. They who seek it not, who accept it 
 not, have as.suredly no reason to charge any but themselves 
 with the sins they commit, and the death they thereby 
 incur. They and they alone are responsible. 
 
 Others say, in effect, that they are tempted of God, 
 because of the position tlioy occupy, the circumstances in 
 which they art; placoil, and the objects by which they are 
 surrounded. They are thus tempted in a way, as they 
 allege, which necessitates their falling. Here, they plead, 
 are we encompassed by ensnaring and corrupting influences 
 of all kinds ; we are in an evil world ; the scenes we wit- 
 ness, the persons we meet, arc fitted to kindle the flame of 
 lust and passion, to lodge the spark, and then fan it into a 
 
EVIL: ITS ORIGIN. 63 
 
 blaze. They have a direct and powerful tendency to repress 
 what is good and stimulate what is bad in our bosoms. We 
 are acted on by a vast, complicated machinery, ever moved 
 and regulated by the prince of darkness. Have we pros- 
 perity? It is ever full of snares in which many are taken. 
 Have we adversity as our portion ? It has its anxieties, 
 troubles, perils, and to stand amidst these without falling 
 is well nigh impossible. High or low, rich or poor, young 
 or old, learned or ignorant, we have each that in our condi- 
 tion which not only tries, but tempts ; and for that is not 
 the gTeat Disposer of affairs, he who has fixed our position 
 and appointed our lot, is not he responsible ? He fills and 
 directs that stream which is flowing all around, carrying us 
 down by its constant, swollen, resistless current. How can 
 we bear up against it, and if we are swept away by it, is it 
 at all wonderful? — are we greatly at fault, or is not he 
 rather who placed us there, who subjects us to these mighty 
 and incessant temjatations, from v/liich he might have ex- 
 empted us had he so pleased ? God does it, and he could 
 have ordered things far otherwise, he could have shielded 
 us from all such malign influences. Is he not a partner, 
 then, to say the least, in our iniquities ? May we not im- 
 pute them, partially if not wholly, to him ? No ; the idea 
 is monstrous, it is blasphemous. Those who entertain th« 
 thought overlook the fact, that we have often very much to 
 do with these circumstances ourselves. How common a 
 thing is it to choose our own way, regardless of the will of 
 God, and presumptuously to place ourselves in that situa- 
 tion, and among those objects, on which we afterwards cast 
 the blame of the sins we there commit, of the errors and 
 impurities into which we are there seduced ! Lot went into 
 the vale of Sodom, attracted by the richness of the pastures, 
 by the beauty and fertility of the country around, heedless 
 of the horrible corruption which reigned among its inhabi- 
 tants, and with what propriety could he devolve on the 
 
64 EVIL: ITS ORIGIN. 
 
 Divine disposer of his, as of all affairs, the consequences 
 which ensued to himself and his family? Further, these 
 persons fail to realise the truth, that circumstances in 
 themselves have comparatively little power over us, that 
 they derive their mastery, not from what is in them, but 
 what is in us, — from the dispositions and desires on which 
 they operate. It is their relation to a certain state of mind 
 and heart, their adaptation to principles and propensities 
 that hold sway within, which invests them ■\\dth so terrible 
 an influence. They are little, they may supply the spark, 
 but the explosive material, t)ie gunpowder, is in the bosom; 
 and without it there would be no discharge. We may not 
 then attach so much importance to them; for by themselves 
 they explain, they account for nothing. And they forget 
 that these very circumstances which are complained of are 
 meant to furnish a wholesome discipline, to supply that 
 moral and spiritual training which we need, and that in the 
 exercise of reason and conscience, — above all, by grace 
 sought and obtained, we are to control, to govern them, to 
 rise superior to them, and, instead of allowing them to be 
 masters, make them our servants. Let no man then say 
 that, in these respects or any others, he is tempted of God ; 
 let him guard against the most distant approach to such 
 fold blasphemy. Let him repel the imagination as the off- 
 spring of hell, and see in it, not a covering for his con'up- 
 tion, but the depth and dreadfulness of that corruption. So 
 far from anything of the kind, God sets before us the most 
 powerful inducements to reject evil under every form, — to 
 avoid it as we shoukl a serpent in our path. How autho- 
 ritative the commands, how awful the sanctions of his law ! 
 while the operations of his providence, and indeed the very 
 constitution of our being, which is his workmanship, supjily 
 us witli the most convincing evidence that he hates sin and 
 punishes its commission. 
 
 James gives a reason for this, he fouuds it on the Divine 
 
EVIL: ITS ORIGIN. 65 
 
 nature itself. " For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither 
 tempteth he any man." " He cannot be tempted with 
 evil." Others have rendered this, he is unversed in evil, 
 has no experience of it, is entirely, necessarily free from it, — 
 which is indeed a gi'eat truth, and clearly implied in the 
 statement before us, whether or not it be the exact thing 
 here expressed. Taking the language as it stands, — which 
 conveys what is ordinarily understood by the original, and 
 is perfectly appropriate in this connection, though that has 
 been questioned, — it intimates that he cannot be moved, 
 touched by any solicitations or inducements to wrong-doing. 
 He cannot yield to them, cannot be affected by them, even 
 to the smallest extent, or for a single instant. It is true 
 that he is sjjoken of as having been tempted, for example, 
 by the children of Israel in the wilderness. But that only 
 expresses the fact that men act toward him as if he could 
 be tempted, or in a way fitted to put him to the proof, to 
 provoke his righteous displeasure, and make him proceed 
 against them, as it were just for him actually to do because 
 of their offences. It is not in the least degree opposed to 
 the statement here, which is to the effect that he cannot 
 be influenced by evil, so as to be dra^vn into it, turned to- 
 ward it — so as to feel its power, or experience its contamina- 
 tion. He is infinitely far removed from it, raised above it, 
 under all its forms. He is so because of the absolute per- 
 fection of his being and blessedness. He has no want to be 
 supplied, no desire to be gratified. He can gain nothing, can 
 receive nothing. His happiness is complete, absolute, admit- 
 ting neither of diminution nor enlargement. What induce- 
 ment, then, can evil present to him, what bribe can it offer to 
 such a being? It has nothing in him on which to fasten, by 
 which to prevail. It overcomes us by appealing to our neces- 
 sities, our cravings, and promising to satisfy them by holding 
 out the prospect of profit or pleasure of some kind. Thus our 
 
«jC f:vil: its origin. 
 
 first parents were carried away by the idea that the for- 
 hiddcn fruit was good for food, and fitted to communicate a 
 god-hke wisdom. And the Divine holiness, not less than 
 the Divine sufficiency, removes him beyond the reach of all 
 temptivtion. In liiin there is no bias or weakness on which 
 to lay hold, by acting on which evil may triumph. It is 
 met, repelled by every property and perfection of his nature. 
 Were it even possible for him to be rendered more blessed 
 l)y what is offered, as it is not, his essential, infinite purity 
 would reject with abhorrence every such means of obttiining 
 it, and keep him at an immeasurable distance from all con- 
 cession and contamination. 
 
 " Neither tempteth he any man." The two statements 
 are closely connected. The one follows from, and is based 
 on, the other. He who cannot be tempted cannot tempt. 
 The perfection which excludes the former manifestly also 
 excludes the latter. He whose holiness shuts out all solici- 
 tjition to evil will not, cannot present such solicitation. 
 His spotless, glorious character is opposed equally to either 
 supposition. There is a sense in which he does what is l^ere 
 ilenied, for he is said to have tempted Abraham when he 
 called him to offer up Isaac on the altar. The meaning, 
 however, in that and similar cases, is quite different. He 
 tries, pi'oves, — that is what is intended. He uses means to 
 bring out what men really are, not for his own information, 
 for he needs none, but for wi.se and holy purposes connected 
 with their own interests and those of others. He subjects 
 them to dealings fitted to test them, to evidence their prin- 
 ciples and dispositions, the nal and hidden elements of their 
 cliaracters. Often they do not stand fhe ordeal; they fall 
 into sin. Evil and not gooil comes out in the process, but 
 tiiat is not the intended or proper result, — that is not the 
 carrying out of God's design, but a perversion, an abuse of 
 tiic creature's. It is not his but our doing. The trial was 
 his, but not the temptation. He has not Knl us astray; he 
 
EVIL: ITS ORIGIN. 67 
 
 has not sought to do anything of the kind; he has not 
 done it, whatever some may blasphemously assert or in- 
 sinuate to the contrary.^ 
 
 2. Positively. It originates with Tnan hiimself. It springs 
 from elements which have their seat in his own bosom. Ver. 
 14, " But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of 
 his own lust, and enticed." We find the real source of 
 temptation, not in God, but in ourselves. The apostle 
 traces it, not to solicitations from above, but to influences 
 from within. It rises from, it centres in, " lust." This 
 term is not limited here, as it often is in common use 
 among us, to sensual passion, to licentiousness. It is far 
 more general and comprehensive. It denotes strong desire 
 of any kind; and here, as often elsewhere, it means irregular, 
 sinful desire — desire either of what is not lawful, or of what 
 is lawful in an inordinate degree. It may be evil in its 
 very nature, irrespective of extent, or it may be so only by 
 reason of perversion and excess. There is much of this in 
 every bosom. It is the corrupt principle in its various 
 tendencies and motions, — its striving, craving for certain 
 objects and indulgences. It is the body of sin in its mani- 
 fold appetites and members. Here is the primary, prolific 
 source of transgression. Here lie the deep roots of the great 
 upas tree, whose deadly shade spreads so far, and whose 
 poisonous fruits are so abundant. It is operated on by ex- 
 ternal scenes and circumstances suited to it, but these would 
 be harmless if left to themselves. Wine is a creature of 
 God, and good in itself; but meeting and ministering to 
 the craving of the intemperate, of what excesses and of what 
 crimes is it the occasion ? Money is a precious talent, and 
 may be turned to the best account; but the avaricious man 
 pursues it as the chief good, sacrificing his highest interests, 
 and often steeping himself in crime, that he may secure its 
 
 ^Trench's Synonyms, p. 268. "Djus tentat ut doceat ; diabolus tentat ut 
 decipiat." — Aug. 
 
68 EVIL: ITS ORIGIN. 
 
 acquisition. So is it with other tendencies that might 
 be specified. 
 
 The apostle says, " his own hist," and this is a significant 
 and emphatic circumstance. Each person has a particuhir 
 hist, a master-passion, an evil tendency, which has the chief 
 infiuence in determining his conduct and moulding his cha- 
 racter. All of us have sins that do more easily beset us, by 
 reason of the special principles and propensities which hold 
 sway in our bosoms. One is governed by the love of 
 pleasure, another by the love of power. This man is ambi- 
 tious, that is covetous. Here it is the filthiness of the flesh, 
 there it is the filthiness of the spirit, which is dominant. 
 But what is brought out by " his own," is that the lust by 
 which we are tempted is a thing strictly belonging to our- 
 selves. It excludes the idea of foreign action or influence; 
 it confronts and condemns the imagination that God is at 
 all implicated in the matter. And, indeed, it goes farther, 
 and does not permit our throwing the blame of our mis- 
 deeds, as we often do, even on Satan. No doubt he is a 
 great seducer. He pre-eminently bears the name of the 
 tempter; l>ut he docs not, and cannot, compel men to sin. 
 He only acts on the con-upt tendencies of our nature, and 
 these are the real fountain-heads of disobedience. But for 
 them he would be shorn of his present power, and gain few, 
 if any, of his triumphs. Let us beware of attributing to 
 the devil, bad as he is, what truly belongs to ourselves. He 
 may have burdens imposed on him which our own shoulders 
 should alone carry. Our own lust is more to be dreaded 
 tiian all his wiles and assaults, though these are ever to be 
 watched and feared. 
 
 But the temptation in question, that which i.ssues in sin, 
 operates, takes effect, has its success in the manner here 
 described. — " When he is drawn away of his own lust 
 and enticed." The lust is evil in itself, as we shall after- 
 wards show; but as it sim])ly exists, it may be withstood. 
 
EVIL: ITS ORIGIN. 69 
 
 mortified, destroyed, as it actually is by multitudes. We 
 take tlie first step in the direction of real and overt acts of 
 disobedience, when we allow ourselves to be drawn away 
 and enticed by it; for it acts in both cases, brings about the 
 latter step as well as the former, in this downward process. 
 These two ways of its acting are regarded by many as in- 
 dicative of distinct means or methods by which it prevails — 
 force and fraud, power and deceit. Now, there can be no 
 doubt that both are employed, violent onsets at one time, 
 artful stratagems, cunning wiles at another. But I appre- 
 hend they are designed rather to describe the process in the 
 order it takes place, not without an allusion perhaps to the 
 practices of the fisher and hunter. The animal to be caught 
 is driven, if possible, out of a place of safety, and then 
 allured into the pit or net in which it is to be snared. In 
 like manner, we first leave the shelter of those principles, 
 influences, situations, which are fitted to guard us, to keep 
 us safe and right. We break loose from the restraints of 
 various kinds which have helped to hold us back from evil, 
 and gradually yield to the enticements presented, to the 
 fascinations of vanity or vice, of folly or wickedness. The 
 one step precedes and prepares for the other. Men cannot 
 indulge their passions, cannot plunge into forbidden pleasures, 
 without being drawn away from sound views, and salutary 
 fears, and wise advisers, once jsossessed of power, once effec- 
 tual in keeping them back; and then being led, sometimes 
 gently, slowly, at others more rapidly and violently, by this 
 bribe or that opportunity, into sin from which they once 
 would have recoiled with horror. Here we must pause, and 
 reserve the latter part of the subject for a separate discourse. 
 1. Observe here where sin has its origin. It is not in 
 God. The very idea is blasphemous. No; it is in our- 
 selves. And there it is, not in our original constitution, 
 nor in our actual circumstances, but in our corrupt natures 
 — in those hearts which are deceitful above all things, and 
 
70 KVIL : ITS ORIGIN. 
 
 desperately wicked. This is the fountain-head, and objects, 
 events, persons around only serve to draw forth the water 
 from this deej), dark, filthy well within. O brethren, look 
 there for the explanation of your failures and falls. " Out 
 of the heart," said Jesus, " proceed evil thoughts, murders, 
 adulteries, fornications, thefts, false-witness, blasphemies ; 
 tliese are the things which defile a man."^ Let us not 
 blame our external condition. It may be trying, but its 
 power for ill arises from our internal principles and propen- 
 sities. Let us not blame our fellow-creatures. They often 
 tempt and pollute us, and we ovight certainly to avoid con- 
 tact as much as possible with the vain and the vicious, for 
 " evil communications corrupt good manners." We cannot 
 take fire into our bosoms without being burned. But were 
 we pure, they would not defile us, as they often do ; had we 
 not the combustible materials in us, they would not kindle 
 the conflagration. Let us not blame even Satan, at least 
 in the way of defending ourselves, of palliating or excusing 
 our own conduct. He has enough to answer for, and we 
 are certainly not called to be his advocates. But let us 
 l)eware of removing to his what should rest on our own 
 shoulders. Let us blame ourselves. This is right, and it 
 alone is safe. The leper's cry should be ours, — " Unclean, 
 unclean." The publican's prayer should be ours, — " God be 
 merciful to me a sinner." 
 
 2. See here hoiv sin is to he mastered. It is not by a 
 system of regulations or restraints. It is not by fencing it 
 muiid and hemming it in from without. We do not 
 despise this in its own place. We admit that it has a 
 certain, often a great influence. But it is at best like set- 
 ting limits to the infection ; it is not rooting out the 
 disease. It is not even the most effectual method of keep- 
 ing it within bounds. Why, in the hour of strong tempta- 
 tions, these restrictions may be powerless as the Aviths with 
 > Matt. XV. 19. 
 
EVIL : ITS ORIGIN. 71 
 
 whicli the Philistines bound Samson. No, we must strike 
 at the root of the tree within. We must grapple with and 
 overcome the foe in the citadel of the heart. Mere skir- 
 mishes, drawing lines around and taking outposts, will avail 
 nothing if we leave him strong, undisturbed in the fortress. 
 In other words, we must deal with the inner man, with the 
 soul, where corruption has its seat, lust its stronghold. We 
 must have it cleansed, renovated. We must be born again 
 by the Spirit. We must be made new creatures in Christ 
 Jesus. We must have the old heart, that of stone, taken 
 away, and the heart of flesh given. We must be restored 
 to the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and true 
 holiness. It is only thus we can have our evil propensities 
 and passions effectually subdued, — by the introduction of 
 gracious principles and affections held in check, brought 
 into subjection, and ultimately driven out altogether. 
 This is the one decisive, infallible remedy. It is provided, 
 offered in the gospel. Jesus is there, alike with his blood 
 to cleanse us from the guilt, and with his Spirit to deliver 
 us from the power of all sin. Invite him to come in and 
 cast out the strong man armed that keepeth the house ; 
 entreat him to dispossess that foul demon, that cruel 
 destroyer. He is ready to respond to your call, and bestow 
 on you all the blessings of a free and full salvation. Cry 
 with David, " Create in me a clean heart, God, and 
 renew a right spirit within me."^ Regenerate me ; and if 
 thou hast done this, sanctify me wholly, give me grace to 
 mortify all my members which are upon the earth, help me 
 to die daily unto sin and live unto righteousness. It is 
 well, it is needful to be circumspect and careful without, 
 but the seat of influence, the scene of victory or defeat, is 
 within. The wise man knew that, and proclaimed it in 
 words which it becomes us to ponder and apply. — " Keep thy 
 heart with all diligence ; for out of it are the issues of life."' 
 
 1 Ps. li 10. » Prov. iv. 23. 
 
72 EVIL: ITS ISSUE. 
 
 VL 
 
 EVIL: ITS ISSUE. 
 
 " Let no man say when Jie is tempted, I am tempted of 
 God: for God cannot he tem^pted with evil, neither tempteth 
 he any man : hut every man is tempted, when he is draw^i 
 atvay of his oivn lust, and enticed. TJien when lust hath 
 conceived, it hriiigeth forth sin; and sin, when it is 
 finished, hringeth forth death. Do not ei^, my beloved 
 brethren." — James i. 13-16. 
 
 AN bad no sooner fallen than he showed a strong 
 disposition to cast the blame of his sin on others, 
 and even on God himself. He traced the fatal 
 deetl he had done, first to a felloAV creature, and then to the 
 infinitely great, good, holy Author of his being. When 
 charged with eating the forbidden fruit, Adam excused him- 
 self by accusing the woman who gave him the fruit; and, 
 going beyond her, accusing not less God, who gave him the 
 woman. The same tendency has characterized all his pos- 
 terity in this respect ; the children have borne the image of 
 their father. James here earnestly warns his readers against 
 it in a way which clearly enough intimates that they were 
 not free from clanger. " Let no man say when he is tempted, 
 I am tempted of God." Why, his nature forbids it, his in- 
 finite perfection excludes the possibility of any such thing. 
 For it is added, " God cannot be tempted with evil, neither 
 tempteth he any man." He sends trials, but not tempta- 
 tions. He is not the originator of solicitations or entice- 
 ments to sin; and in so far as these are presented to us, 
 however they may meet and mingle with his dealings, they 
 are foreign to the proiXT intent and object of his dealings. 
 
EVIL: ITS ISSUE. 
 
 73 
 
 But, as usual, the Divine Word passes from the merely 
 negative to the positive view of the subject, and lays open 
 the true source of the evil in all such cases. It lies not in 
 God, but in man himself ; not in what is without, but what 
 is within, his own bosom. It is traced to his lust, depraved 
 inclination, — the impulses, desires, cravings of the carnal 
 mind. By these he is really drawn away and enticed. Per- 
 sons and objects act on the corrupt heart, stir up its pro- 
 pensities, fan the flame of passion, present all kinds of 
 opportunities for and incitements to sinful indulgence. 
 But they put nothing into us, they only bring out what was 
 in us all along. The power is there, the ensnaring, over- 
 mastering influence is there; and the scenes, transactions, 
 circumstances which we are so ready to blame for our errors, 
 vices, and crimes, would be harmless, were it not for these 
 vile affections and principles to which they are adapted, on 
 which they operate. Having gone back to the source of 
 evil, he here traces it forward to its issue ; having told us 
 where it begins, he shows us where it terminates. In our 
 last discourse we dealt with the former of these topics, and 
 now we are prepared to consider the latter. Such tempta- 
 tion has a twofold effect, — one immediate, sin, the other 
 ultimate, death. 
 
 I. Sin. " Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth 
 forth sin." Lust, that is, impure or inordinate desire, as we 
 have already explained, at first harlot-like, — for that idea runs 
 through the whole passage, — draws away its victims, entices 
 them into its snares, with an art resembling that of the 
 skilful fisher or hunter. Having so far worked on them, 
 got them into its embrace, it conceives, as it were becomes 
 pregnant. This is a decisive stage in the process. It de- 
 termines all that follows. It leads at once to the bring- 
 ing forth of sin, and by another step to the bringing 
 forth of death. What, then, is its nature? What are we 
 
74 EVIL: ITS ISSUE. 
 
 to understand by this conception? It is produced by, it 
 consists in, the union of lust with the will, the passing of 
 prompting into purpose, desire into determination. It 
 takes place when the two meet and mingle, when inclina- 
 tion, instead of encountering resistance, secures acquiescence. 
 It is consenting, yielding to the workings of corruption, and 
 lending ourselves to the doing of its bidding. When, instead 
 of praying and striving against evil stirring within us and 
 seeking to lejid us captive, we tolerate it, dally with it, let 
 it gain strength, and finally obtain the entire mastery, then 
 the impure, criminal union is consummated. The actual 
 transgression straightway ensues. The open, wicked deed 
 is the natural, necessary consequence. The will is the great 
 active, motive power, governing the man and determining 
 his whole conduct. The eyes, the ears, the hands, the feet, — 
 all the members of the body, and not less the faculties of 
 the mind, understanding, memory, imagination own its con- 
 trol and obey its behests. What it dictates we do, what it 
 demands we give, so far as we are not prevented by obstacles 
 which we cannot surmount. Hence sin is produced. It 
 comes forth to view as the infant does when born into the 
 world. Evidently what the apostle speaks of here is the 
 formal, final act, which results from the preceding process 
 he has described. It is the direct, positive violation of the 
 Divine law, to which the man has been carried on by temp- 
 tation. The language certainly implies that there is some- 
 thing in it which does not belong to any of the elements or 
 movements from which it proceeds. It is sin in the strongest 
 sense of the word, — sin actual, obvious, complete in its nature. 
 But are we to infer from this that there is nothing of the 
 kind until it is brought forth — nothing that can be so 
 called with propriety in the conception which goes before, 
 or, at all events, in the lust by which we are drawn away 
 and enticed ? Is all faultless which precedes and prepares 
 for the birth of the monster ? No, brethren. 
 
EVIL : ITS ISSUE. ; O 
 
 1. Hiere can be no doubt as to the nature and ^esert of 
 the conception. As we have explained it, that is the sub- 
 mission of the will to the promptings of corruption, consent 
 given to the solicitations from without, and the impulses 
 from within, in the direction of what ife sinful. It is the 
 giving ourselves up to be voluntary servants, slaves of that 
 law which is in the members. We thereby embrace the 
 evil, and it matters little whether action follow or not, 
 whether we do or do not give effect to the decision in an 
 outward course of conduct. The will is morally the man; 
 what it does he does, and everything else is a comparatively 
 secondary and mechanical affair. He who plans a robbery 
 is a real thief, though in point of fact he may not take away 
 a farthing's worth of his neighbour's property. He may 
 have been defeated in his design, he may not have found 
 the fitting opportunity, he may have failed in courage when 
 the resolution had to be carried into effect. The intention, 
 the purpose was there, and that is enough ; for while human 
 tribunals can deal only with palpable acts, the Divine law 
 is fettered by no such restrictions. God looks not merely 
 on the outward appearance as man does ; he sees and 
 searches the heart, and its counsels determiue not only the 
 life led by us, but the judgment formed of us prior to, apart 
 from, that life in its actual realisation. Suppose we are 
 not answerable for the rising up of the foul harlot, lust, for 
 the efforts it makes, the blandishments it practises, we cer- 
 tainly are for not rejecting its offers and escaping from its 
 impure embraces. There is no compulsion brought to bear 
 on us; we have a certain power of resistance; and for not 
 exercising it to the utmost, and crying for Divine strength 
 to be perfected in our weakness, we are clearly and wholly 
 without excuse. Every man knows and feels that he is 
 responsible for all such concessions. The will is not over- 
 mastered by force, but is seduced from its allegiance, and 
 plays the traitor. To maintain the opposite is to rob us of 
 
7G EVIL : ITS ISSUE. 
 
 our free agency, to make us mere machines, the passive in- 
 struments of a power we cannot witlistand. That were to 
 deny the possibility of sin altogether, not inward only, but 
 outward also. But we do not stop there, we go still back- 
 ward. 
 
 2. It is not otheinvise ivlth the hist that conceives. We 
 find sin lurking in its bosom, marking every one of its 
 forms and motions. This is denied in the Romish theology, 
 and largely ^ on the authority of the language used in the 
 passiige now under consideration. According to that sys- 
 tem, concupiscence, evil desire, corrupt inclination, in its 
 first risings or movements, has not the nature of sin, and it 
 acquires this only on being fully consented to, on its issuing 
 in the deliberate purpose, or actual performance of what the 
 Divine law forbids. The Council of Trent, while admitting 
 that it is thus represented, expressly so called in Scripture, 
 lays down the position that it is spoken of there in such a 
 way, not because it is really and strictly anything of the 
 kind, but solely because it proceeds from and tends toward 
 sin.^ Our Confession of Faith teaches a doctrine diametri- 
 cjilly the opposite, its words being : " This corruption of 
 nature during this life doth remain in those that are regene- 
 rated ; and although it be through Christ pardoned and 
 mortified, yet both itself and all the motions thereof are 
 truly and properly sin."" The statement may be substan- 
 tiated on grounds of reason. The effect reveals the nature 
 of the cause by which it is produced. The two necessarily 
 correspond. The fruit is good or bad according as the tree 
 on which it grows is the one or the other. The seed sown 
 and the crop reaped are the same kind of gi'ain, however 
 different in aniount, and, it may be, also in quality. The 
 child has the nature of its parent. In bringing forth, the 
 species reproduces itself 'JMu- law applies to the case in 
 question. • Lust cannot be the prolific source of sin without 
 ' Cou. Trid. ijcaa. v. 5. ' West. Couf., chap, vi., sec. 5. 
 
EVIL : ITS ISSUE. 77 
 
 partaking of it itself, without having it entering into its 
 composition, mingling with all its elements and actings. 
 Were the fountain-head pure, the waters which issue from 
 it would not be so polluted and jDoisonous. And the testi- 
 monies of Scripture on the subject are numerous and explicit. 
 One of the commandments of the moral law is directed 
 against coveting, that is, lusting after what is our neigh- 
 bour's. The works of the flesh enumerated by Paul largely 
 consist of inward dispositions, mental tendencies. Jesus 
 himself represents evil thoughts as among the things which 
 defile a man, and he tells us that whosoever looks on a 
 woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her 
 already in his heart. What is often more involuntary, 
 instinctive, than hasty, causeless anger ? and yet he makes 
 it a species of murder, and declares that a person charge- 
 able with it is in danger of the judgment. 
 
 But we are not left to inference, however direct and 
 obvious. We have this concupiscence expressly called sin, 
 as even the decree of the Council of Trent admits, while 
 assuming the right to explain away and set aside the lan- 
 guage. Thus, " What shall we say then ? Is the law sin ? 
 God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for 
 I had not known lust, except the law had said. Thou shalt 
 not covet." " But I see another law in my members, war- 
 ring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into 
 captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."^ And 
 what could be more decisive than the following? "Because 
 the carnal mind is enmity against God : for it is not subject 
 to the law of God, neither indeed can be."^ Does any one 
 ask, how can I be held responsible for a thing thus belong- 
 ing to the very constitution of my being, that lies beyond 
 the control of the will, at least in its first stages, in those 
 early risings and actings of it we are now considering ? Lust 
 is a feature and function of our inner man as fallen, 
 1 Eom. vii. 7, 23, 2 jjom. viii. 7. 
 
78 FA'IL : ITS ISSUE. 
 
 depraved ; and that inner man, as such, wc may not trace 
 to God, the great Maker and Governor. We may not hold 
 him answerable for it, as the Popish theory of human nature 
 in its original state does ; no, but ourselves, ourselves alone. 
 He created us in his own image, and we lost, defaced its 
 divine features by our wilful and inexcusable apostasy. He 
 made us upright, but we -liave sought out many inventions. 
 We may not exculpate ourselves, may not roU the blame off 
 ourselves because we inherit these corrupt inclinations, but 
 are rather to see in them the natural and necessary results 
 of our great departure from. God, the sin and shame of man 
 himself. And, further, let it be noted how much of our 
 lust is, in a far more direct and personal way still, the work- 
 manship of our own hand, the fruit of our own doings. 
 We produce and foster it, either entirely originating it or 
 immensely strengthening it ; in short, we make it what it 
 actually is by association and indulgence, by the scenes we 
 frequent, the companions we choose, the habits we form, 
 the lives we lead. Every movement of coiTuption in the 
 soul, every impulse toward evil which arises within, every 
 unholy desire, even iu its very first rise, as the merest 
 embryo, is chargeable on us, and lays us under a load of 
 guilt and condemnation. 
 
 James says nothing in opposition to these principles. He 
 is dttiling with temptation. He shews whence it proceeds, 
 that so f;ir as it prompts and leads to sin, tliis f is owing to 
 tiie existence and working of lust within. He begins with 
 that, its origin and nature being taken lV)r granted, and 
 from that point traces the process by which it reaches its 
 fuU and fatal issue. This it does by drawing away and 
 enticing its victims, by gaining over the will, and receiving 
 its consent. Actual transgression follows on conception ; it 
 is the child of the unholy union. Thus does he clear God, 
 roll away from him the impious charge of tempting us, and 
 lay the whole resi)unsibility and blame of our falls at the. 
 
EVIL : ITS ISSUE. 79 
 
 door of man himself. He is the guilty party, and let his 
 dispositions or his circumstances be what they may, con- 
 science testifies that he, and no other, is the true and 
 culpable evil-doer. All systems which teach or involve the 
 opposite of this — and there are such systems — are con- 
 demned, not only by the Bible, in passages like the one 
 now under consideration, but also by the very constitution 
 of our nature, by that mysterious witness for God which 
 exists and makes its voice heard more or less in every 
 human bosom. 
 
 II. Death. This is the ultimate issue. " And sin, when 
 it is finished, bringeth forth death." Sin itself is the 
 offspring of lust ; but in turn it becomes a parent. In due 
 time it gives birth to a child, " a grizzly terror," a dark, 
 devouring monster. In a sublime passage of Paradise Lost, 
 founded on these very words of James, Milton describes the 
 mother as full of hon-or at the sight of her own progeny : 
 
 " I fled and cried out death, 
 Hell trembled at the hideous name, and .«igh'd 
 From all her caves, and back resounded death." 
 
 This takes place when sin is finished ; and the most 
 important question here is, how are we to understand that 
 expression ? 
 
 Some regard it as pointing to a completed course of 
 transgression, a career of rebellion carried on to a close, 
 brought to a termination. The act naturally prepares for 
 and passes into the habit ; one step downward leads to 
 another, until at last the dark abyss is reached. God 
 allows men to go certain, often great lengths in wickedness; 
 he lets them sow to the flesh largely and long, before he 
 calls them away to reap the harvest of corruption. " Be- 
 cause sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, 
 therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them 
 
80 EVIL : ITS ISSUE. 
 
 to do cvil."i It is only after they have continued indulging 
 their lusts, corrupting their way, as it were fattening them- 
 selves for the slaughter, that the avenging stroke descends, 
 and consigns them to the place of torment. Some of the 
 causes lead more manifestly and rapidly down to the final 
 destruction than others. We see this in the case of natural 
 death, which is the precursor of the second and the eternal 
 one to the children of disobedience. Vice implants the 
 seeds of disease, it ruins the health of the strongest, and 
 brings those who yield themselves up to its power down to 
 a premature grave. Intemperance, more deadly than 
 devouring war or pestilence, is slaying its tens of thousands ; 
 and how many of these miserable victims perish in the 
 midst of their days, and even in the very opening of life ? 
 Licentiousness soon eats like a cancer into the vitals ; it 
 sends rottenness into the bones, and the parties who trade 
 in it, the poor creatures that walk our streets, for example, 
 run but a short career. And the pains of dissolution, in 
 such cases, are only the beginning of sorrows, unless when 
 mercy sought and found by faith in Jesus, the Saviour of 
 the lost, interposes to pluck brands from the burning. In 
 this there is a great truth, illustrating the Divine forbear- 
 ance, the long-suffering extended to the workers of iniquity. 
 But James, we apprehend, speaks here of the act of sin 
 which follows the submission of the will to impure or 
 inordinate desire. Whenever Just conceives, it brings forth 
 sin ; and that child in every instance grows up, and, on 
 arriving at maturity, in turn becomes a parent — its issue 
 being death. There is no transgression which is not preg- 
 nant with this hideous progeny. The eating of the for- 
 bidden fniit was fatal in the case of our first parents, with 
 tlieir whole posterity, and still, by all such acts of disobedi- 
 ence, we in effect destroy ourselves. They carry the ele- 
 ments of eternal ruin in their bosom. They do so in respect 
 
 1 Eccl. viii. 11. 
 
EVIL : ITS ISSUE. 8 1 
 
 of desert. The law connects every violation of its precepts 
 with death, as its righteous, inevitable punishment. The 
 execution of the sentence may be long deferred, but nothing- 
 is more certain. And indeed it is in part inflicted from the 
 time the sin is committed. The evil deed passes away as 
 soon as done, but the guilt remains, staining, burdening the con- 
 science; and not only so, for a virus proceeds from it, an active, 
 malign influence which continues to operate, and that in an 
 ever-widening, augmenting degree. The natural tendency of 
 it is to darken the mind and harden the heart, to increase the 
 strength of depravity and fasten more firmly its yoke, to lead 
 on to repetitions of the same act, and to others still more 
 heinous in their nature. It is a root of bitterness. It dis- 
 turbs and defiles ; it is equally fatal to real peace and inward 
 soundness. It draws after it a series of sad and terrible con- 
 sequences. It has wrapt up in it multiplied evils which 
 develop themselves more and more fully, advancing from 
 bad to worse, unless in so far as they are checked and over- 
 come by counteracting influences. But it is not finished, 
 does not attain completeness, does not produce its mature 
 and final result, until it issue in inevitable separation from 
 God, and the endurance of his wrath to all eternity. 
 " Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants 
 to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of 
 sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness ? ' ' 
 " What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are 
 now ashamed ? for the end of those things is death." " For 
 the wages of sin is death ; but the gift of God is eternal 
 life, through Jesus Christ our Lord." ^ 
 
 How ten-ible the death which sin, when finished, thus 
 
 brings forth ! That of the body is but the passage to the 
 
 region where it reigns in all its horrors. Even that is a dark 
 
 and dreadful thing in itself; it shakes the stoutest hearts, and 
 
 1 Rom. vi. 16, 21, 23. 
 
82 LML : ITS ISSUE. 
 
 makes those quake who never blanched before mortal foe. 
 What images of the other do the Scriptures of truth pre- 
 sent ! — An undying worm, a bottomless pit, a lake that 
 bums with fire and brimstone, a scene of wailing and gnash- 
 ing of teeth, a place of torment where there is no alleviation, 
 not oven a drop of water, and from which there is no escape. 
 These representations do not exceed, but fall short of the 
 reality. No words can express, no thoughts of ours grasp 
 the miseries of the reprobate hereafter. Sin is the cause ; 
 it kindles these flames, it prepares and fills this Tophet. 
 Its effects are sad enough here, but they are only partial 
 and preliminary. They are merely faint tokens, slight fore- 
 tastes of those which are to extend through the coming 
 eternity. Its , nature will not be fully manifested, its work 
 will not be fully done until it brings forth its brood of future 
 terrors, the pains of hell for ever. 
 
 James adds an equally tender and solemn warning. Ver. 6. 
 "Do not err, my beloved brethren." These words point 
 both backward and forward. They respect what goes be- 
 fore, and introduce what comes after, by way of confirmation. 
 They form the transition from the one to the other, and so 
 may be viewed in connexion with either. There is here 
 implied, exposure to error. We are prone to go astraj' as 
 to the origin of temptation ; for that is the matter in hand, 
 and to which reference is made by the apostle. It is natural 
 for us to roll guilt off ourselves, to excuse our sins by the 
 circumstjinccs iu which we are placed, the influences from 
 without to which wc are subjected, if we do not even seek a 
 covert in the impulses, the passions of our evil hearts, — thus 
 tracing them up in effect to the great disposer of our lot 
 and Father of our spirits. Nothing is more common than 
 for men, yea, and Christians, to clear themselves at the ex- 
 pense of others, and, what is worse far, at the expense of 
 the all-holy God himself. The language intimates not less 
 ihc danger of error iu this matter. It is not a light thing 
 
EVIL : ITS ISSUE. 83 
 
 to fall into such a mistake. On the contrary, it is perilous 
 in the extreme. It perverts our views of the Divine cha- 
 racter, it deadens the sense of sin, it renders us blind and 
 insensible to the only effectual remedy, it fosters pride, self- 
 deception, and fatal delusion. It is pregnant with evils of 
 incalculable magnitude and eternal duration. And, let me 
 say, the warning is as much needed now as ever. Men are 
 as prone to err as they were in the apostle's days ; and it i.s 
 not one whit safer for them to do it at present than it was 
 in primitive times. It is of infinite moment that we should 
 guard against, and put away from us, all self-justifying, God- 
 accusing tendencies ; that we should feel how deeply and 
 inexcusably guilty we are, and that we should trace all our 
 falls toihe evil that is within us, to the corruption of our 
 natures, to those hearts which are deceitful above all things 
 and desperately wicked. The devil will mislead us here if 
 he can, and seek, by his artful devices, his manifold wiles, to 
 deaden the conscience and turn us away from that gospel 
 which goes to the root of the matter, providing as it does 
 for the renovation of the inner man, for making us new 
 creatures, with lust subjugated to the dominion of holy, 
 divine principles, implanted and ever quickened into exer- 
 cise by the indwelling Spirit. Remember, that to err here 
 involves no merely trivial fault or trifling danger, but is a 
 thing always serious, and, alas ! often fatal. Had it been 
 otherwise, we should not have had this solemn, emphatic 
 warning. 
 
 Reverting, in conclusion, to the part of the subject with 
 which we have been specially occupied in this discourse, let 
 me press on your attention two important lessons. 
 
 1. Beware of lust. Guard against its first rising. Its 
 tendency is ever to go on from small beginnings to the most 
 fatal issues. We should check it, crush it at once, avoiding, 
 as we would death, all cherishing of it, or playing with it, 
 all concessions to it under the idea t'lat we may allow it to 
 
si KVIL: ITS ISSUE. 
 
 proceed a certain length, and then stepping in, prevent its 
 L'adiiig to any bad ctni.sequencos. Eveiy moment of dally- 
 ing with it increa.se.s its power and insures its triumph. It" 
 the whole strength of the will be not brought into the field 
 against it at once, it may soon disarm opposition, and turn 
 that will into its ready minister and guilty accomplice. 
 Having. drawn away its victims and enticed them, it con- 
 ceives. The criminal purpose is formed, and the birth of 
 actual sin follows, as a matter of course. The way to fall 
 gi'ievously is to allow momentary impulses to pass into 
 formed desires, and these again to ripen into deliberate con- 
 sent, which leads the whole man captive, and converts every 
 member into an instrument of unrighteousness. Here, if 
 anywhere, let us nip evil in the bud, let us hate and with- 
 stand the first and faintest inclination, let us cast out of us 
 •the very thought of wickedness, for that is both sin itself 
 and the parent of sin. The least leak not instantly closed 
 may let in a flood of waters, and drown us in destruction 
 and perdition. Delays are proverbially dangerous, and 
 never are they more so than in dealing with lust. 
 
 2. Beware of sin. It often seems small, trivial; but 
 how great and terrible is it in its consequences! It looks 
 liarmless, like the horse which the Trojans received as a 
 present from the departing Greeks; but it was packed full 
 of armed men, who, leaping out, opened the gates of that 
 city, which for ten long years had withstood all the assaults 
 of the gi'eatest warriors. It is pregnant with danger, 
 misery, ruin, — with every evil in time and in eternity. It 
 lays us at once under the sentence, and works steadily on 
 until at length it brings us under the power of death, that 
 death which is danmation, — " everlasting destruction from 
 the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power." Sin 
 has subjected us to this doom, and it will not have finished 
 its dire work until it has brought forth the actual infliction 
 of tlie righteous sentence in all its horrors. It is gi'owing 
 
evil: its issue. ^ 85 
 
 lip, and approaching that completeness which is to result in 
 a brood of endless miseries. My brethren, realise your con- 
 dition and prospects, and be thankful that there is a way of 
 escape from the wrath to come. Jesus, the eternal Son of 
 God, submitted to the accursed death of the cross, that he 
 might deliver us from the merited death of the pit; he 
 drank to the dregs the cup of penal suffering, that he might 
 put into our hands the cup of salvation. Believe on him, 
 lay hold of him, as offered freely in the gospel, and you 
 shall not perish. Through the merit of his blood, and by 
 the power of his Spirit, he cancels the guilt and destroys 
 the power of that sin which, when finished, but only when 
 finished, and not when thus arrested and cut off, bringeth 
 forth death. Let us flee under the covert of his righteous- 
 ness, into the arms of his love, and then the destroyer can- 
 not touch us; for having done his worst on the Surety, he 
 has no claim against, and no power over, those whom the 
 Surety represented and shelters. This is the wondrous, 
 glorious plan of salvation, designed and framed for the end, 
 " that as sin hath reigned unto death, so might grace reign 
 through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our 
 Lord." 
 
80 ALL GOOD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 
 
 VII. 
 
 ALL GOOD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 
 
 " Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, 
 (vnd Cometh doivn from the Father of lights, ivith whoon is 
 no variableness, neither shadoiv of turning. Of his own 
 loill begat he us with the ivord of truth, that we should be 
 a kind of flrst-finiits of his creatures." — James i. 17, 18. 
 
 N the preceding verses, James warns his readers 
 against expressing or entertaining the idea that, 
 when tempted, they were tempted of God. From 
 the beginning men have been ready to implicate him more 
 i>r less directly in the sin with which their characters and 
 conduct have been stained. Stopping short, it may be, of 
 the monstrous pantheistic system which attributes good and 
 t^vil alike to the Deity, associates them closely and equally 
 with his very existence, they yet so excuse themselves by 
 the propensities and passions with which they were born, 
 or by the circumstances in which they have been placed, as 
 virtually, if not avowedly, to bring a charge against the 
 author of their being and disposer of their lot. The 
 apostle repels the horrid supposition as one contrary to the 
 nature of God ; for he can neither be tempted with nor 
 tempt to evil, and he traces everything of the kind to man 
 liimsclf, to the lust of his own bosom, to those corrupt 
 tendencies and cravings which external objects act upon, 
 rouse to exercise, fan into a flame, but which really contain 
 within themselves the elements and the power of all trans- 
 gression. When conception has taken place by the sub- 
 mission of the will to desire, actual, open sin is brought 
 forth ; and when that sin is finished, has run its full course, 
 
ALL GOOD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 87 
 
 developed its latent principles, its legitimate consequences, 
 death ensues. Not satisfied, however, with the defence of 
 the Divine character and procedure, with repelling the idea 
 that evil, or any solicitation to it, can originate with him, 
 James goes on to establish the same thing more positively 
 and absolutely, by showing that he is the author of all 
 good, natural and spiritual ; that from him comes down 
 whatever is contrary to and destructive of evil, which 
 therefore must be alien to him, the offspring of a different 
 parent altogether. By the solemn and tender warning, 
 " Do not err, my beloved brethren," the apostle passes from 
 the one view of the subject to the other. It introduces the 
 confirmation of what goes before, which these verses con- 
 tain. Let us then consider here, as the Lord the Spirit 
 may enable us, 
 
 I. The general truth, that God is the giver of everything 
 good. 
 
 II. The more special truth, that God is the quickener of 
 all the saved. 
 
 1 . The general truth, that God is the giver of everything 
 good. He is presented under this aspect in the 17th verse. 
 " Every good gift and every perfect] gift, is from above." 
 Here a distinction is evidently intended, but its exact 
 nature is not so easily determined. By the one kind of 
 gift, the "good," some understand temporal mercies; by 
 the other, the " perfect," spiritual blessings. The former 
 has been supposed to have respect to the earlier stages of 
 the divine life — the latter to its final maturity and hea- 
 venly completeness. But the view we take, though it has 
 been overlooked, is founded on a strict adherence to the 
 meaning of the terms here employed by the sacred writer. 
 The words rendered "gift" are not the same in the original. 
 They are closely related, but not identical. The one^ sign 
 
 ^ 'So<ri( 
 
88 ALL GOOD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 
 
 fies properly the act of giving, the other^ the thing given. 
 This distinction is nut always observed, for the first is 
 nearly connected -with, and naturally passes into the second. 
 Still it is not to be disregarded in the present instance, 
 for it cannot be without reason that the expression is varied. 
 A little before God is represented as he " who giveth libe- 
 rally and upbraideth not." He stands pre-eminent, alone in 
 his mode of giving. In his case, act and object entirely har- 
 monize. It is no rare thing for men to confer their gifts 
 in a way that detracts greatly from the value of them, and 
 from a motive that contrasts with the appearance presented, 
 the thing done, looked at apart, in itself. The grossest 
 selfishness can put on the garb of benevolence. Sinister 
 ends may be cloaked under liberal contributions. Indeed, 
 there are alwa^^s vitiating elements more or less in our 
 giving. It is never wholly free from corrupt ingredients. 
 All giving which is really, absolutely good, — ^good in its 
 origin and exercise, — good Avithout any mixture of evil, is 
 I'rom the hand of the infinitely, only good God. " And 
 every perfect gift." — Here he speaks of what is bestowed, 
 of the benefaction itself. By " perfect" we are to under- 
 stand complete of its kind, without radical defect, what is 
 adequate, entire, fitted to serve the end, to accomplish 
 the piurpose intended. There is nothing bad about it, no 
 base alloy along with the precious metal, no fly in the oint- 
 ment. Every gift of this description, be it natural or 
 spiritual, providentifd or gracious, ranging from common, 
 week-day mercies up to the highest, crowning blessings of 
 salvation, 'is of Divine origin and communication. 
 
 In a certain obvious sense, the things refenvd to may be 
 from below. Tlu^y may spring up from the ground, in the 
 shape of fruits and flowers ; they may be dug out of its 
 lowest depths, as are the coal and iron which minister to so 
 many of our wants, as rv^ <'v.n the silver and gold Avhich 
 
ALL GOOD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 89 
 
 are among tlie most valued of earthly objects, being the 
 medium through which all that is purchasable maybe obtained. 
 But would there be any waving crops for the reaper to cut 
 down were it not for the genial influences of heaven ? and 
 these are again from a far higher source than themselves. 
 Would there be any treasures of the mine had they not 
 been stored there ? and even if there were, what would they 
 avail without the power, not from man but from his Maker, 
 by which they are discovered, dug, and employed ? Through 
 whatever channel they reach us, in whatever quarter they 
 present themselves to view, they are all from above, — pri- 
 marily and properly from above. And they are so not 
 merely as being originally from a celestial region, but as 
 coming from a Divine bestower. They are from God him- 
 self, — from God alone. They may be the result and the 
 reward of our own skill and industry. They may be the 
 natural increase of what we ourselves have diligently sown. 
 They may be the wages of labour, labour of the mind or the 
 body. They may be immediately conferred on us by our 
 fellow-creatures. The child receives food, clothing, educa- 
 tion, training from its parents. The poor are often 
 indebted to the rich for their benefactions. But, I repeat, 
 let the medium of communication be what it may, let the 
 means employed to obtain them be what they may, the 
 real, ultimate source, the great, original fountain-head whence 
 all the streams issue, is above, is in the bosom of the 
 infinitely good God, is there alone. 
 
 Now, mark how he, the great giver, is here described. 
 He is called " the Father of lights" — literally of the lights. 
 The primary, direct reference, apparently, is to the grand 
 luminaries of the firmament — the sun, moon, and stars of 
 heaven. These majestic orbs, before which so many 
 nations, in all ages, have bowed down to worship, are pre- 
 eminently the lights of the natural world, and they were 
 at first created, as they are still sustained, by Jehovah. As 
 
90 ALL GOOD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 
 
 their maker, originator, he may be appropriately termed 
 their Father. Tlius, in an analogous sense, we read in the 
 book of Job, " Hath the rain a father ? or who hath begot- 
 ten the drops of dew ?"^ Light is the brightest, purest, 
 most gladsome of all material elements ; and hence it is very 
 often used in Scripture as an emblem of knowledge, holi- 
 ness, and joy, — of all excellence, intellectual, moral, and 
 spiritual, ^ — of whatever is most precious and perfect. "God 
 is light, and in him is no darkness at all." His people are 
 called " children of light." The angels who sung at crea- 
 tion's birth are spoken of as "the morning stars." All the 
 glory of heaven is often represented by the same symbol. 
 Everything which resembles this element, of which it is a 
 fitting figure, is here pointed at in the remarkable designa- 
 tion. The bright orbs above shadow forth a higher, nobler 
 splendour than their own, that which adorns the world of 
 spirits, the kingdom of grace and glory. The whole of this 
 light, shine where it may, proceeds from him, has him as its 
 great source and centre. In regard to it the creating, 
 originating fiat went forth from him as really as in the case 
 of that which illumines this earthly scene of ours, — " Let 
 there be light, and there was light." 
 
 But men are not uniform, undeviating in their spirit and 
 actings. They change, at one time they go in opposition to 
 what they have done at another. The most regular and 
 constant of them are subject to disturbing influences, which 
 turn them more or less i^ide from their ordinary state of 
 feeling and course of conduct. And is it not so even with 
 the material symbols here introduced by the apostle ? But 
 God is not only infinitely clearer and purer, he is also 
 steadier, more constant than tlie great orbs of heaven. 
 Hence, it is added, " with whom is no variableness, neither 
 sliadow of turning." He has no variableness about him, 
 no change, alternation, no fluctuation or uncertainty ; no, 
 
 ' Job xjcxviii, 28. 
 
ALL GOOD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 91 
 
 not the least degree of it, not the most distant approach to 
 anything of the kind, for he is without even " the shadow 
 of turning." There is not the sHghtest trace or vestige 
 of such turning. The reference may be to the shadow 
 caused by the revolutions of the celestial bodies, and which 
 depends entirely on their movements. The idea of muta- 
 bility to any extent, of any sort, is wholly excluded. In 
 these terms there may be, as is generally supposed, an 
 implied contrast between the Father of lights and the lights 
 themselves. They rise and set, they wax and wane, they 
 are bright at one time and dark at another, they are hidden 
 with clouds, they suffer eclipse, they vary in position and 
 aspect. But there is nothing like this in their Divine 
 parent. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. 
 He is the Lord, and he changeth not. They have their 
 revolutions, but with him there is no species of turning. 
 
 Were it not that the astronomical cast of the language 
 in the original favours this idea, we might think of resem- 
 blance rather than contrast. These great lights have a 
 wonderful constancy and uniformity. They shine on ever 
 the same, not disturbed, not darkened, not shaken by all 
 the agitations and tumults of this lower region. Look up, 
 and there they are, walking in brightness, as they did long 
 centuries ago, and as they are now doing in the most remote 
 quarters of the globe, unaffected by the fierce storms and 
 flitting scenes of which our world is the theatre. They are 
 far above the noise and dust, the traffic and turmoil of 
 earth, with whatever is unstable and uncertain ; and how 
 much is so here below ? Fitting emblems of the great 
 Father, who, unlike creatures, is immutably good, holy and 
 blessed! The orbs of heaven have not always the same 
 appearance, but that arises mainly from our position, our 
 relation to them, and not from any change in themselves. 
 What can be more regular than their movements and influ- 
 ences ? See how the time of eclipses can be calculated 
 
 r 
 
92 ALL G()(JD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 
 
 long before to the very minute. And so is it with God, 
 whose dealings often seem to differ greatly, to be now 
 briglit, then gloomy, at one season radiant as the morning, 
 at another dark as midnight. They are, however, regu- 
 lated by the same principles, directed to the same ends, and 
 they tlius alternate in adaptation to the characters and 
 circumstances, the doings and wants of the creatures. 
 
 All good, then, comes from him, all kinds and degrees of 
 it, natural and spiritual. Every blessing, great and small, 
 whether for the body or the soul, is of his bestowal. There 
 are many secondary causes ; but he rises above them all, 
 and is the one supreme, original author of our mercies. We 
 may be under obligations to our brethren, and we actually 
 are so in a multitude of fespects; but we stop short of the 
 great and, in some sense, exclusive benefactor, when we 
 ascend not to " the Father of lights." And so nothing but 
 good comes from him — no evil whatever. This would be 
 change of the completest, direst description. This would be 
 far more than the shadow, even the reality of turning. It 
 would be to contradict himself, to become a parent of dark- 
 ness. It cannot be. He sends trials, troubles, no doubt, 
 but these are often blessings in disguise, and the very best 
 blessings. They do more for those who improve them 
 aright than anything else. They yield the peaceable and 
 precious fruits of righteousness. Night and storm have 
 their beneficial influence in the natural world, and so have 
 IVowning providouces in the spiritual. The judgments in- 
 flicted on the ungodly, the strokes of vengeance, are to be 
 explained by the sins which call them forth, and must be 
 traced back to man himself, rather than to the loving graci- 
 ous author of liis being. Even these, as they proceed from 
 him, aie often made to serve the most beneficent purposes 
 in the case of those on whom they are sent, and others. At 
 all events, and on tlie largest view of them, they conserve 
 the highest principles and interests, the purity of the Divine 
 
ALL GOOD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 93 
 
 character, the honour of the Divine government; and with 
 these the greatest good of the universe is inseparably, eter- 
 nally connected. 
 
 II. The more special truth that God is the quickener of 
 all the saved. — Ver. 18. This is brought forward as the 
 highest example and strongest confirmation of the jDreceding 
 statements, while it is designed to lead on to the practical 
 application and appeal which follow. God originates all 
 spiritual life in men, and what good is comparable to that, 
 what so conclusively and directly opposed to the idea that 
 evil, as temptation to sin, or in any other form, can proceed 
 from him. How can he do anything to darken and defile, 
 seeing that it is he who kindles the light of life and arrays 
 in tlie beauty of holiness.^ The two are manifestly and . 
 wholly conflicting, and the author of the one cannot be also 
 the author of the other. James speaks of regeneration. It 
 is evident that " begat " here is to be understood, not in the 
 natural sense, but the spiritual ; for he adds, that it was 
 effected by ''the word of truth." And he views it with 
 special reference to himself and his readers. There is some- 
 thing particvilar and emphatic in the "us" and the "we" 
 of the present verse. At the same time, the langTiage is 
 substantially applicable to all God's people, of every condi- 
 tion and period. There is no admission to his favour and 
 family, no possibility of being one of his sons and daughters, 
 but by being born again. Mark, 
 
 1 . The origin of this regeneration. " Of his o-vvn will 
 begat he us." It is here attributed to God as its author. It 
 is effected by him, and him alone. Of this its nature is 
 sufficient evidence. The change is a great and radical one, 
 lying at the foundation of all life and holiness. It resembles 
 our birth into the world, inasmuch as it introduces us to an 
 entirely new sphere and state of being. We pass in it from 
 the carnal to the spiritual, from the earthly to the heavenly. 
 
94 ALL GOOD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 
 
 We are thenceforth actuated by wholly different views, feel- 
 insfs. desires, and motives. The conscience is awakened, so 
 that it condemns us for our sin, and especially for our un- 
 belief The understanding is enlightened, enabling us to 
 see divine things in their reality, excellence, and magnitude. 
 The will is emancipated from the bondage of lust and pas- 
 sion, and, turning away from the vanities or the vices it once 
 preferred, it chooses the good part, it embraces the offered 
 salvation of the gospel. Christ begins to be the great 
 central object of attraction. Implicit reliance is placed on 
 him as the Lord our righteousness for acceptance with the 
 Father. The influences of his Spirit are earnestly sought 
 and cherished. His love is felt to be better than wine, and 
 all is counted loss for the excellency of his knowledge. This 
 is not a reformation, but a renovation. It is a work of 
 creation. It is not the drawing forth or stimulating of a 
 latent life, but the origination of a nnv life altogether, and 
 that of the highest kind — spiritual, eternal, divine. And 
 the testimony of the word on the subject is abundant and 
 explicit. " A new heart also will I give you, and a new 
 spirit will I put within you ; and I will take away the stony 
 heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of 
 flesli." " But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love 
 wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, 
 hath quickened us together with Christ." ' All who under- 
 stand anything of its nature, see that it cannot possibly be 
 othervN'ise. 
 
 But more is here stated. James says, " of his own will 
 begat he us." It is literally having willed, or because he 
 willed, he thus begat the parties intended. A man may per- 
 form a great work, and yet have borrowed the idea of it, or 
 received the impulse to it, from another. He may have had 
 it suggested to him, and have carried out what did not 
 originate with himself. He may have yielded to influences 
 
 > Ezek. xxxvi. 26 ; Eph. ii. 4, 5. 
 
ALL GOOD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 9o 
 
 from without. It is otherwise in this instance. When he 
 regenerates, God acts according to the counsel of his own 
 will, his own free, sovereign piurpose. It is always a most 
 spontaneous, gracious proceeding. It is wholly self-moved. 
 The new birth is never necessitated or merited by the crea- 
 ture. There is nothing about us to deserve it, to draw 
 down the Divine power and mercy for its accomplishment. 
 Often is this important truth taught in Scripture. " For by 
 grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not of yourselves ; 
 it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should 
 boast." "Not by works of righteousness which we have 
 done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the wash- 
 ing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." 
 " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 who, according to his abimdant mercy, hath begotten us 
 again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ 
 from the dead." ^ And here we have a circumstance of 
 great consequence, one bearing closely, decisively on the 
 apostle's argument ; for he who, of his own free choice be- 
 gets us, thereby imparting to us a new nature, a holy cha- 
 racter, will not, cannot tempt us to sin — will not, cannot 
 design to lead us into evil. The one shuts out the possi- 
 bility of the other. 
 
 2. The instrument of this regeneration. " The word of 
 truth," the word which is truth — truth without mixture of 
 error, truth the purest and highest, truth absolute, divine. 
 Jesus prayed, " Sanctify them through thy truth ; thy word 
 is truth." It is the Spirit who is the efficient agent in 
 working this change. Hence Nicodemus was told that 
 "we must be bom of water and of the Spirit;" and hence, 
 too, we read of " the washing of regeneration and renewing 
 of the Holy Ghost." But he ever operatss by i.ieans of 
 the lively oracles, inspired Scripture, the doctrine of the 
 gospel. Through it, by it, -he exerts his mighty, saving 
 1 Eph. ii. 8, 9 ; Tit. iii. 5 ; 1 Pet. i. 3. 
 
96 ALL GOOD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 
 
 power on the souls of sinners. Its facts, commands, invita- 
 tions, warnings, examples, are employed in opening the eyes, 
 awakeninfj the consciences, subduing the wills of the rebel- 
 lious. These are not sufficient, they are impotent in them- 
 selves, but, when used by liiia, made his sword, they prevail 
 over every obstacle, and are indeed quick and powerful. 
 " Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incor- 
 ruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for 
 ever."^ By it faith is produced, and on it faith is based. 
 The reading of it may be made effectual for salvation. As 
 we search the Scriptures, or even as we carelessly turn over 
 the sacred pages, some passage may be brought home to us 
 with arresting, subduing, transforming power. It was thus 
 that peace first entered the dark, troubled bosom of Augus- 
 tine. It was from the old Bible found in the library at 
 Erfurt that Luther learned the way of life, and began not 
 only to walk in it himself, but to guide into it the feet of 
 multitudes. It was as his eyes rested on the precious 
 words, " the blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanseth us 
 from all sin," that one of those noble soldiers of the cross, 
 wliom the army of our Queen has furnished. Captain Vicars, 
 was led to that resolution, and entered on that course, which 
 was followed by a career of eminent consistency and devoted- 
 ness. But more frequently it is the Avord preached which is 
 thus blessed. What numbers on the day of Pentecost were 
 pricked in their hearts, and brought to the feet of Jesus by 
 Peter's sermon. And in all ages God has specially honoured 
 this ordinance. Despised by men, foolishness in their esti- 
 mation, it has pleased him by means of it to save them that 
 believe. Hence Paul could speak of having begotten the 
 Corinthians through th(^ gospel. He had done it not effi- 
 ciently but instrumentally, as the publisher of the truth 
 wliich, having been lodged in their hearts by the Spirit, 
 became the seed of a new, holy, heavenly life. This word is 
 ' 1 Pot. i. 23. 
 
ALL GOOD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 97 
 
 all pure, and is proved to be so by the influence it exerts, 
 the holiness it produces in all who come under its power. 
 
 3. The design or object of this regeneration. " That 
 we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures." This 
 is true of all believers, and so the words are understood by 
 not a few interpreters. The first-fruits of old were conse- 
 crated to God; they were brought into the temple and 
 presented to him there as his portion, and hence they fitly 
 symbolize whatever stands in a near relation to him, what- 
 ever belongs to him in a special way, by peculiar ties. His 
 people are in closest fellowship with him ; they are his 
 heritage, his treasure, as no others are — his as chosen, re- 
 deemed, called, sanctified by him, and his not less by volun- 
 tary dedication, by cheerful, loving surrender. The rest of 
 men are aliens and outcasts, far from God in comparison. 
 The first-fruits, as thus set apart for him, and as the pledge 
 of the coming harvest, had- associated with them the idea 
 of distinction, excellence, preciousness. In like manner, 
 true Christians are not only nearer, but higher than all 
 other creatures. They rise above angels even, by reason 
 of their interest in, and union with, the eternal Son, Jesus 
 Christ. They are linked with the Godhead by bonds pecu- 
 liar to themselves. This was designed in their salvation. 
 The purpose was to raise up a holy, glorious family out of 
 our fallen, apostate race, — -a family ranking far above not only 
 the lost part of mankind, but high and pure orders of being. 
 This is both true and important. But we doubt not that 
 here the special reference is to James himself and those 
 immediately addressed in this Epistle. The language has 
 respect to that early age of the Church's history, — to be- 
 lievers then, as the first-fruits of the great harvest afterwards 
 to be gathered all over the world. They had a certain 
 precedence, they were the pledge, the earnest of a large 
 future vintage. They stood at the head of that multitude, 
 
 H 
 
98 ALL GOOD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 
 
 jiast luimbering, who were to be saved out of eveiy kindred, 
 and tongue, and people, and nation. One aim of God 
 in begetting them by his word, though neither the only nor 
 the chief one, was that tliey might occupy this place, enjoy 
 this distinction, and give promise of the glorious reaping in 
 future ages. He speaks of the " creatures," and this term, 
 perhaps, goes beyond the redeemed. It points probably to 
 that wider deliverance, — that emancipation extending to 
 nature itself, which is associated with the manifestation of 
 the sons of God hereafter. " The creature itself also," says 
 Paul, " shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into 
 the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know 
 that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain 
 together until now."^ 
 
 We may learn here a lesson of gratitude. All good and 
 perfect gifts come down from above. How many of these 
 have we received ! What blessings have descended on us 
 ever since we had a being! Think of our providential 
 bounties, think of our religious privileges, — think, above all, 
 of our spiritual and saving mercies, and of what acknowledg- 
 ments are due to him from whom they all issue ! What is 
 more detestable than ingratitude ! and what ingratitude 
 cm be compared with that of those whose hearts are stirred 
 by no sense of obligation, no feeling of thankfulness to the 
 Fatliiu- of lights, the great bestower of every good and per- 
 fect gift ? They must be a kind of moral monsters. 
 
 We may learn also a lesson of huinUity. We have ni»t 
 the slightest claim to any of these benetits. We never 
 could properly have had any, but by sin wo have forfeited 
 every vestige of title we might have had, and become sub- 
 ject to God's wrath and curse for ever. If we are Chris- 
 tians, if we have experienced the new birth — and witlu»ut 
 that change we may be Christians in name, but we cannot 
 be in reality — God has begotten us, and he has done it of 
 1 Kom. viii. 21, '22. 
 
ALL GOOD GIFTS FROM ABOVE. 99 
 
 his own will, in the exercise of his sovereign, grace, his in- 
 finite mercy. We have nothing to boast of, no woi'th, no 
 merit, for our righteousness is no better than filthy rags, and 
 our proper place is the dust of self-abasement. O let us 
 not forget this, but put away that pride which is so natural 
 to us, so deeply rooted in us, but which so ill becomes us, 
 and is most offensive to the great God, our Saviour ! 
 
 And, finally, we may learn a lesson of holiness. Is God 
 the giver only of good ? Is his begetting us the greatest, 
 best proof that evil cannot proceed from him, that he stands 
 essentially opposed to all sin, at the utmost possible distance 
 from everything of the kind ? Then clearly, if we would 
 act in accordance with the nature and design of our new 
 birth, if we would show ourselves the children of this Father 
 of lights, we must cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the 
 flesh and spirit, we must ever seek to be sanctified wholly in 
 heart and life, in soul and body. Careless men and women, 
 — ye who are worldly and wicked, — ye who can not only tam- 
 per with evil, but trade in it, I beseech you, do not deceive 
 yourselves. The fruit reveals the nature of the tree. Pro- 
 fess what you may, you have not been born again, and that 
 ye must be — remember it, my brethren — yes, ye must be 
 thus born again if you would enter the kingdom of God. I 
 entreat you not to rest short of regeneration. Blessed are 
 the subjects of it, live at what time, or be they of what 
 condition, they may. Theirs is the place nearest the throne, 
 the highest in dignity, in happiness, in glory, through all 
 eternity. 
 
100 THE HKARING AND RECEPTION 
 
 VIII. 
 
 THE HEARING AND RECEPTION OF THE DIVINE 
 
 WORD. 
 
 " Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift 
 to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man 
 workefh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore, lay 
 njmrt all Jilfhiness and superfiidty of naughtiness, and, 
 receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to 
 save your souls." — James i. 19-21. 
 
 LL God's gifts and works lay on us heavy responsi- 
 bilities, they impose solemn obligations. They 
 are designed and fitted to exercise a certain in- 
 fluence, to produce a definite and decisive result. We can 
 neither receive the one nor experience the other without 
 being bound by new ties to the love and service of the 
 Divine benefactor. Privilege and duty are inseparably 
 connected, and the higher the privilege, the more binding 
 and sacred the duty. We may forget this, many do, all 
 indi'ed more or less; but assuredly the fault is not attribut- 
 able to Holy Scripture, for there the principle is laid down 
 and pressed home times without number. James has been 
 vindicating God fn^m the charge of tempting men to sin, — 
 a charge which, however monstrous, has been, and still is, 
 often made, sometimes directly, but more frequently by im- 
 plication, under disguise. He shows that the real source of 
 evil is in ourselves, in the lust of our depraved hearts, by 
 wliicli we are drawn away and enticed, led tlirough a pro- 
 cess whicli he calls conception into actual transgression, and 
 thereby brought under the power of death. He goes a step 
 
OF THE DIVINE WORD. 101 
 
 farther, and proves that nothing of the sort can possibly 
 proceed from God, inasmuch as he is the great, original, 
 exclusive, immutable fountain of all good, and more par- 
 ticularly as he is the sole author of that highest kind of 
 good — the spiritual life to which his people have been be- 
 gotten of his own free sovereign will, and by his effectually 
 applied word. As the recipients of so many and peculiar 
 benefits, as the subjects of so great and blessed a change, it 
 becomes these regenerated ones to feel and act in the 
 manner they are enjoined to do in the verses which fall 
 now to be considered. Here, as everjrwhere, James is 
 eminently practical. He never satisfies himself with laying 
 down general truths, but at once brings them to bear on 
 character and conduct. This was necessary, for not a few 
 of those whom he addressed were sadly deficient in Chris- 
 tian consistency and fruitfulness. We have here a twofold 
 exhortation drawn from, founded on what goes before, pre- 
 sented by way of inference. We may say that, generally, 
 the one part of it relates to the hearing, and the other to 
 the reception, of the Divine word. Consider, then, as the 
 Lord the Spirit may enable us, 
 
 I. The hearing of the ^uord. — Ver. 19, "Wherefore," in- 
 dicating the connexion with what precedes, showing that here 
 there is a deduction, an inference, a duty resulting from the 
 Divine character and workmanship, as there unfolded. The 
 reading in the original is doubtful, and some prefer that 
 which makes it an api^eal to their acquaintance with the 
 truths he was teaching and enforcing. " Know ye," or "ye 
 know" these momentous facts now stated, and being aware 
 of them, see that ye act in accordance with them, that they 
 have the practical influence on you which they ought to 
 exert. And what that was he proceeds to unfold in the 
 exhortations which follow. " My beloved brethren," — ad-, 
 dressing them again with the utmost tenderness, recognisino- 
 
102 thp: hearing and reception 
 
 fully alike tlieir natural and gracious relation to himself, 
 the apostolic writer, notwithstanding the grave errors and 
 defects by which they were still marked. And this manner 
 of dealing with them was both strongly indicative of his 
 affection for them, and powerfully fitted to secure their 
 compliance with his counsels. " Let every man," — every man 
 among them, without exception, whatever his age, position, 
 or attainments. These words introduce three particulars, 
 which, while so far distinct and separate, are nearly related, 
 closely connected, as here presented by James. They con- 
 tribute to one common issue. Look at them in order. 
 
 1. "Be swift to Jiear." — "Swift," that is ready, eager. 
 " To hear," — what ? Not everything assuredly. There is 
 much that is profane, that is impure, that is erroneous. 
 There is a great deal, too, which is vain, frivolous, and, if 
 not polluting, still unprofitable. It wastes precious time, 
 and serves no good purpose. We cannot be too slow to 
 hear speaking of this description. The more we turn away 
 our ears from it the better. It is right to be tardy in our 
 movements toward it — rather, it is right to quicken our 
 steps as much as possible in the opposite direction. The 
 reference here is evidently to " the word of truth," men- 
 tioned immediately before as that by which God had begot- 
 ten the believers, who are addressed as a kind of first-fruits 
 of liis creatures. That James had it in view throughout, is 
 f'lear from the latter part of the 21st verse. — " And receive 
 with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your 
 souls." It had been the instrument of their regeneration, 
 the means by which all that was gracious in their character 
 and state had Ijeen imparted ; but much as it had done 
 for them already, its work was not yet finished, indeed it 
 was little more than begun. The new life originated 
 l)y it had to be maintained, developed, matured — it had to 
 bo nourished and r.iist'd up from infantile weakness to 
 manly strength and stature. This c;in be done only by the 
 
OF THE DIVINE WORD. 103 
 
 Divine word, by it published and applied, carried home to the 
 mind and heart " in demonstration of the Spirit and of 
 power." " Sanctify them through thy word, thy word 
 is truth." " As new-born babes desire the sincere 
 milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby."'^ All then 
 who would know what is required of them as God's children, 
 and would be fitted for the doing of their heavenly Fatlier's 
 ■will, must come into close contact, and hold habitual con- 
 verse, with the sacred Scriptures. They must be " swift to 
 hear." 
 
 This is applicable to the reading of the Bible. There is 
 a voice there, a Divine utterance, the sound of which goeth 
 forth as often as we open its pages. We profit or not 
 according as we recognise, or fail to recognise, the living 
 speaker. Alas ! how many never come into his presence 
 wliiie perusing the lively oracles. They use their eyes, but 
 not their ears ; they deal with the written letter without listen- 
 ing to that poAverful voice which proceeds from the Lord most 
 high. The silence is not broken. There is no call from the 
 excellent glory, none that startles the slumbering soul, and 
 stirs up its dormant faculties to exercise. The secret of 
 getting good from the study of the word is this swift hear- 
 ing — hearing it all coming forth directly from the moutli 
 of God, and addressed as certainly and directly to us as if 
 it were thundered forth to us by name from the open firma- 
 ment. But there is a special reference in the expression to 
 the 'preaching of the gospel, the proclamation of it by the 
 lips of those entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation. 
 It is largely as thus presented that it is made instrumental 
 in the work of conversion and sanctification ; for " it hath 
 pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them 
 that believe." And this was very specially the case in that 
 early age when the present Epistle was written ; for the 
 Church had not the completed canon of Scripture then as 
 1 John xvii. 17 : 1 Pet. ii. 2. 
 
104 Tlin nEARING AND RECEPTION 
 
 it has now, arul so was more dependent on oral teaching. 
 We are to hearken as it is spoken to us on the Sabbath 
 and at otlier times, to listen as to God himself addressing 
 us through the instrumentality of his ambassadors. 
 
 We are to be " swift to hear." That implies very 
 obviously that we are to seize all opportunities of hearing. 
 We are to rejoice when it is said unto us, " Let us go into 
 the house of the Lord." We are to repair with alacrity 
 to the sanctuary. Our spirit should be the opposite of that 
 which animates those who seek excuses for absenting them- 
 selves from public ordinances, and rest satisfied Avith an 
 irregular, partial attendance. We should have nothing in 
 common with the class who forsake the assembling of them- 
 selves together, and prefer to spend the sacred hours of the 
 Sabbath in amusement or idleness. And we should not think 
 it enough that we appear at the ordinary and stated diets 
 of worship, but should invite and embrace other opportunities 
 of becoming better acquainted with that word, whose grand 
 distinction and crowTiing excellence is, that it is able to save 
 the soul. Not less does it imply fixed attention in hear- 
 ing. Wo may be where the gospel is preached, there 
 frequently, systematically, and yet have our ears closed 
 against the entrance of truth, so as to profit no more than 
 if we were absent. How many sit under the glad tidings 
 without listening to them, without receiving them into the 
 head, not to speak of the heart, — sit in a state of listless 
 inditt'erence, with minds vacant, asleep, or, rather, it may 
 be, engrossed with worldly things, as busy about their 
 merchandise, or their fanns, as if they were in the market- 
 place instead of the sjinotuury ? WHiat a want of tliat deep 
 interest and eager attention which ought to characterize 
 those who are privileged to have addressed to them 
 the message of reconciliation ! If we would comply with 
 this exhortation, we nuist both hasten where we may 
 1 Pa. cxxii. 1. 
 
OF THE DIVINE WORD. 105 
 
 hear, and, when there, hearken with fixed and ready 
 minds. 
 
 2. "Slow to speak." — The one is intimately connected 
 with the other. ( If we would be swift to hear, we must be 
 slow to speak ; for as we open our mouths, we close our 
 ears, we get impatient of listening, and, instead of learning, 
 we are eager to be teaching.y We often see the relation be- 
 tween the two practically exemplified. What stands most 
 in the way of many being ready to hear ? What but their 
 being so ready to speak. They have httle time or taste for 
 receiving instruction — they think themselves so well quali- 
 fied for giving it, and are so much employed in exercising 
 and exhibiting their gifts in this respect. They will not be 
 patient scholars who are in hot haste to be teachers. We 
 are not forbidden to speak altogether ; indeed, the very 
 opposite is here implied, for what is enjoined is to be slow 
 to do it, not to abstain from doing it entirely. Our Lord 
 does not impose silence on his disciples, as Pythagoras did 
 on his hearers. We are, it is true, to utter nothing that is 
 impure, profane, or false, — nothing that is polluting, or even 
 unprofitable ; for of every idle, as well as of every bad word, 
 we are to give an account in the day of judgment. " Let 
 no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth," says 
 Paul, "but that which is good to the use of edifying."^ 
 But to open our lij)s is often an imperative duty. We are 
 to reprove evil-doers at fitting seasons, and in a right 
 spirit. We are to instruct the ignorant and the erring as 
 God gives us the opportunity. We are, as Christians, " to 
 exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day; lest any 
 of us be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." ^ We 
 are to seek and seize occasions of speaking a word in season. 
 We are never to shrink from an open confession of Christ, 
 when his truth is opposed, when his claims are set at nought, 
 and the interests of his kingdom are placed in jeopardy. 
 1 Eph. iv. 29. 2 Heb. iii. ] 3. 
 
106 THE HEARING AND RECEPTION 
 
 To keep silence ilnv, were base unfaithfulness. It were to 
 play the coward, and even the traitor. In such circum- 
 stances, we are to avow our attachment and allegiance in a 
 <listinct, energetic, unmistakeable manner. But even when 
 we are in the path of duty, when we are yielding obedience 
 to the will of the Master, we are to be "slow to speak." 
 AVe are to weigh the matter well, and proceed calmly, 
 thoughtfully, deliberately. We are to guard against all 
 rash, reckless judgments, and to be very sure of our ground 
 before we pronounce on the characters or the conduct of 
 others. We are not hastily to set ourselves up as teachers, 
 as instructors, of our fellow-creatures ; but are ever to re- 
 member that for such work there must be much previous 
 listening and learning, special preparation, and a Divine 
 warrant. And so James says afterwards, " Be not many 
 masters " ^ — that is, teachers. When constrained to break 
 silence, we should do it, not under some sudden impulse, or 
 in a random way, but from conviction and with deliberation. 
 Often is this inculcated in Scripture, and by its decisions 
 must we be guided, not by human theories, nor our own 
 fancies, whatever appearance of zeal and devotedness they 
 may present to superficial or partial observers. " Be not 
 rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to 
 utter any thing before God : for God is in heaven, and thou 
 upon earth; therefore let thy words be few." "In the 
 multitude of words there wauteth not sin ; but he that re- 
 fraineth his lips is wise." "He that kecpeth his mouth, 
 keepeth his life ; but he that openeth wide his lips shall 
 have destruction." " The tongue of the wise useth know- 
 ledge aright: Imt the mouth of fools poureth out foolish- 
 
 " 2 
 
 ness. 
 
 3. " Shno to wrath.'' — While being "swift to hear" is a 
 powerful means of sustaining and strengthening the Christian 
 life, Ix'ing "swift to speak" is fitted to inflame corruption 
 ' James iii. 1. ' Eccl. v. 2 ; Trov. x. 10 ; xiii. 3 ; xv. ii. 
 
OF THE DIVINE WORD. 107 
 
 and stir up imlioly passions. He that is always ready witli 
 his tongue, will likely be often carried away by heat of 
 feeling, and wrapt in the flame of sinful anger. He thus 
 sets both himself and others on fire, he acts on them and 
 they react on him in this respect. There is a place for 
 \\Tath, and that is here intimated, for you observe it is not 
 wholly forbidden. We are only to be slow to it, not speedy, 
 not hasty. We are commanded "to be angry and sin not." 
 There is a legitimate, a righteous indignation. It was ex- 
 hibited by our Lord himself — meek, patient, pure without 
 spot, as he was ; and it has been felt by the most gentle, 
 forbearing, and saintly of his servants in all ages. It is 
 awakened by wrong done to oiu: fellow-creatures, or to the 
 great God, our Maker and Saviour. Had it not been for it, 
 no such deadly blows had been struck at systems of error 
 and oppression as were necessary to effect their overthrow, 
 — ^no such deliverances had been wrought and privileges 
 secured as those we now enjoy. But this wrath, alas ! is too 
 apt to pass due bounds, to have mingled with it what is sin- 
 ful. It is prone to rush beyond those limits within which 
 alone it can be harmless and right. It is not a safe, but a 
 dangerous thing, and it becomes us in respect of it to be 
 slow, circumsjject, deliberate. There may be a special 
 reference to impatience, rebelliousness, displeasure in regard 
 to God's calls and dealings. His word and his providence 
 often excite anger in the bosom. But we are not to restrict 
 it thus, for every such feeling is entirely prohibited as being 
 most unwarranted and sinful. We are to be slow to anger, 
 even where it is allowable to entertain it. We are not to 
 be easily provoked, not to be readily set on fire, as many 
 are, — we are ever to be sure that there is a sufficient cause. 
 " He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and 
 he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city." ^ 
 This last injunction is enforced by a weighty considera- 
 1 Prov. xvi. 32. 
 
108 THE HEARING AND RECEPTION 
 
 tion. \vT. 20, " For the wrath of man worketh not the 
 righteousness of God." "The wrath of man," — -Uterally 
 wrath of man, any such wrath, whatever the extent to wliicti 
 it goes, or whatever the circumstances in which it appears. 
 By "the righteousness of God" we are to understand neither 
 the righteousness which is inherent in the Divine character, 
 nor the righteousness which is imputed to his believing 
 people. It is that which belongs to and is distinctive of 
 his kingdom, that which he requires in all the subjects of it, 
 and calls them to strive after, both in themselves and others. 
 Such a passionate, angry spirit does not further his cause, it 
 promotes not, it works not out, those holy ends for which 
 the Church exists and souls are brought into its fellowship. 
 Assuming the name and appearance of faith, zeal, attach- 
 ment to truth, contending for orthodoxy, it professes to aim 
 at such a result, and those actuated by it often imagine 
 that they are thereby advancing the interests of righteous- 
 ness. But no; it necessarily and absolutely fails. It mis- 
 represents the go.spel of love, peace, and good- will. It per- 
 verts the judgment, often prompting or sanctioning the 
 adoption of measures which are harsh, violent, persecuting — 
 measures reprehensible in themselves, and the best fitted to 
 defeat the object which is professedly pursued. It kindles 
 the flame of controversy, and divides the friends of truth 
 instead of subduing its enemies. It thus puts obstacles in 
 the way of God's cause and glory. How often has it done 
 incalculable injury to Christian enterprises! How often has 
 it hindered the Spirit's work in the world without, and in 
 the souls of believers themselves ! "An angry man stirreth 
 up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression."^ 
 
 II. The reception of the word. — Ver. 21, " Wherefore," — 
 seeing that ye have been thus begotten again, and that 
 such passions further not but greatly hinder the work of 
 1 Trov. xix. 22. 
 
OF THE DIVINE WORD. 109 
 
 righteousness which you should be carrying forward in your- 
 selves and others, act in the manner here prescribed. The 
 exhortation consists of two parts, the former preparatory in 
 its nature, clearing the ground, removing obstacles, and so 
 making way for the latter. He would have his readers, 
 
 1. " Lay apart all Jilthiness and superfluity of naughti- 
 ness." The evil to be got rid of is represented as a foul 
 garment or sore encumbrance. It is the same expression as 
 we have in passages like the following: — "That ye put off, 
 concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is 
 corrupt." "But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, 
 malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth." 
 "Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypo- 
 crises, and envies, and all evil speakings, as new born babes 
 desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow 
 thereby." " Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin 
 which doth so easily beset us.."^ " Filthiness," — this as well 
 as "superfluity," is connected by some with "naughtiness," 
 and restricted to the defilement connected with its pre- 
 valence within. Thus it marks the impure nature and pollut- 
 ing effect of that bad disposition. Others take it in the wider 
 sense of sin generally. In every instance, under every 
 form, it is a foul, abominable thing, and may most appro- 
 priately be spoken of as filthiness. Hence Paul exhorts the 
 Corinthians to "cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the 
 flesh and spirit." The limited sense falls in more exactly 
 with the specific and pointed nature of the whole passage. — 
 " And superfluity of naughtiness." Naughtiness is either 
 wickedness, badness in general, or malice, enmity in parti- 
 cular. The latter is the root of that sinful wrath which 
 James has been warning them against, and probably is the 
 thing immediately in view. It overflows in the hasty words 
 and angry passions of which he has been speaking. They 
 were to lay it apart in its "filthiness," as staining the soul 
 ^ Eph. iv. 22 ; Col. iii. 8 ; 1 Pet. ii. 2,3; Heb. xii. 1. 
 
1 1 THE HEARING AND RECEPTION 
 
 to wliicli it adhert'd, as spreading pollution within as well 
 as without, and in its "superfluity," that is, as issuing in 
 those outbreaks, those abounding manifestations of it on 
 which he has been specially fixing attention. Assuredly he 
 does not mean that it might be retained within certain 
 limits, — that it was not the thing itself, but only its excess, 
 the overflowing of it, that was to be put away. He refers 
 here to its native tendency, and to those workings of it 
 which were more immediately connected with his present 
 purpose. It is to be entirely laid apart. Wc are to deal 
 thus with all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. 
 None of it is to be spared. The least of it is vastly too 
 nmch, and may not be tolerated. The whole of this 
 Amalek is doomed, and woe to him who acts Saul's part, 
 and makes any exception when carrying on the work of 
 destruction. 
 
 2. "And Teceive vjith meekness the engrafted ivord, 
 which is able to save your souls." — This is the end to 
 which the other is only the means. Such evil dispositions 
 hinder the entrance of the Divine testimony, and so are to 
 be laid apart, put away. We arc to "receive the word," 
 that is, admit it into our souls, which we do by believing. 
 Faith accepts it, appropriates it, makes it our own, lodges 
 it within us as a real and abiding possession. This grace has 
 not only a perceptive, but also a receptive power. Under its 
 influence, the heart, once shut, barred, opens and welcomes 
 into all its chambers the doctrmes of the gospel, and with 
 > them, not less readily or fully, its precepts. This is to be 
 clone " with meekness," gentleness, mildness, — with a dispo- 
 sition the opposite of an angry, malicious spirit. No other 
 can be suited to receiving the word, which, in its very nature, 
 is humbling to our pride, and, being all impregnated with 
 love, cannot dwell where enmity luis and continues to re- 
 tain its seat. The one must make way for the other. If 
 we insist on keeping our evil passions, we cannot admit it, 
 
i/ 
 
 OF THE DIVINE WORD. Ill 
 
 for it is diametrically opposed to them, and finds room for 
 itself only by their expulsion. And mark how he describes 
 the word which is to be thus received. He calls it "the 
 engrafted word." Often is it spoken of under the emblem 
 o\ seed sown, here it is the kindred one of a shoot planted 
 or engrafted. The latter operation or process is well known. 
 It is of the very nature of the word to be what it is here 
 represented as being. Its virtue consists in, depends on its 
 being planted or engrafted. It can effect nothing other- 
 wise. It is only as thus rooted or inserted in the soul that 
 it possesses any vitality, produces any fruit. He designates 
 it here, then, by a property or feature which is eminently 
 characteristic of it, which is essential to the exercise of that 
 power, the accomplishment of that end, he is about to men- 
 tion. Or, probably, the explanation of this epithet is that 
 the word had already been lodged within the persons hero 
 directly addressed. They had been begotten by it, and 
 hence, in their case, it was engrafted. It had been inserted 
 into the old and'wild stock of nature by the Spirit, and thus 
 had changed the whole character of the tree and its produc- 
 tions. What they were now to do was to receive it more ^ 
 fully. They were to seek by means of it to strengthen 
 what had been wrought, to promote the growth of grace, and 
 so to bring forth more fruit to the glory of their God and 
 Saviour. We need ever to be appropriating afresh Divine 
 truth, using it as the aliment of the spiritual life, drawing 
 from it the motives to, and the materials for, holy living. 
 
 "Which is able to save your souls." " Your souls," that 
 is your whole persons, whicli are here designated by their 
 principal part, that in which corruption chiefly dwells, and 
 on which destruction chiefly falls. This is the word's '' 
 highest excellence, its crowning distinction. It can do what 
 is here ascribed to it, not efficiently, but only instrumentally. 
 It does it by the power of the Holy Spirit, in whose hand 
 it becomes a hammer to break the rock in pieces, a sv/^ord 
 
112 THK HEARING AND RECEPTION 
 
 to pierce through all the liostile array of ignorance, pride, 
 passion, unlx'licf. It reveals and offers salvation, spreads 
 out the blessings of it, and commends them to our accept- 
 ance. This is necessary, but it is not enough. We are not 
 sensible of our need of them, and we are not willing to re- 
 ceive them, even when so far convinced of our necessities. 
 Were it to do nothing more, we should still perish. But it 
 imparts, conveys salvation. Applied by the Spirit it opens 
 our eyes, shows us our sin and misery, our utter ruin and 
 ".absolute helplessness. Revealing Jesus in his suitableness 
 and sufficiency, it draws us sweetly but irresistibly toward 
 him, enables us to believe on him, to embrace him, as freely 
 offered in the gospel; and thus we'are pardoned, accepted, taken 
 into God's favour and family. By this process it lodges in us 
 the seeds of all holiness, and it afterwards promotes the 
 growth of them, stimulates and strengthens all gracious 
 principles. It sanctifies, and thus, while it changes the 
 whole state, it purifies the whole character. In this way it 
 is able to save, and does it, delivering alike from the curse 
 and the dominion of sin, from all the evils which the fall 
 lias brought on us, and putting us in possession of every 
 blessing, oilminating in, crowned with, life for evermore. O 
 how mighty is the word when effectually applied! It can 
 subdue the hardest and cleanse the filthiest. It can turn 
 the fiercest rebels into the most obedient and devoted ser- 
 vants. It can change persecutors into apostles. Yes, it is 
 able, fully, universally able, to save our souls. 
 
 Brethren, receive this ivord. — It can do nothing for you 
 while rejected. It exerts its saving power only by being 
 admitted. Think it not enough to have it spread out be- 
 fore you in the Bible. You must have it rooted within you 
 by the Spirit. It must be planted, engrafted, brought into 
 closest contact witli the- heart, made to penetrate the depths 
 of your being, in oriler to your becoming "trees of righteous- 
 ness." This is done on your part by believing, laying hold 
 
OF THE DIVINE WORD. 113 
 
 of the gospel, embracing the truth concerning Jesus as a 
 Saviour. O satisfy not yourselves with hearing ! That is 
 needful, and is here strongly recommended. But it must 
 be followed by receiving, if your souls are not to perish, and 
 that all the more miserably. Open your ears, but, above 
 all, open your hearts, for the entrance of that word which is 
 the power of God unto salvation. Doubt not its efficacy. 
 Nothing can withstand it when only admitted. Put it to 
 the proof, and you shall not be disappointed as to the result . 
 Believers, receive it more fully. — In your case it has been 
 engrafted. You have been under the knife of the great 
 husbandman. See that you act in a way fitted to promote 
 growth and fruitfulness. This is to be done by putting 
 away all those things which obstruct the continued and 
 larger entrance of the truth, — speaking when there should be 
 silence, heat of passion, "all filthiness and superfluity of 
 naughtiness." Spare none, of these roots of bitterness, these 
 noxious and wild growths, which drain away the strength of 
 the soul, and hinder the progress of whatever good has been 
 planted within. Cut them down entirely, that the ground 
 may thereby be cleared for the reception of the heavenly 
 seed, and for bringing forth in large measure the fruits of 
 righteousness. Come more and more closely into contact 
 with the Divine word ; take it into your hearts by an appro- 
 priating faith. Feed in its green pastures, repose beside its 
 still waters. Let it be your study all the day, and that for 
 the purpose, not only of understanding its meaning, which 
 is needful, and in its own place most important, but for the 
 purpose of drawing nourishment from it, and growing up by 
 means of it to the stature of perfect men in Christ Jesus. 
 Thus shall you advance spiritually, be sanctified wholly, and, 
 at length, made fully meet for the inheritance of the saints 
 in liiiht. 
 
1 1 4 DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY. 
 
 
 IX. 
 
 DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY. 
 
 " But be ye doers of the ivord, and not hearers only, 
 deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the 
 word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his 
 natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and 
 goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth wJiat manner of 
 man he was. But luhoso looheth into tJte 'perfect law of 
 liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful 
 hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in 
 his deed." — James i. 22-25. 
 
 ^•^AMES had been exhorting those addressed by him 
 in this Epistle to be " swift to hear," and again, 
 to " receive with meekness the engrafted word," 
 
 which has the distinction of being able to save the soul. 
 But such calls might be misunderstood and perverted. 
 It was necessary to show what they really involved, 
 what they must lead to and issue in if dealt with 
 properly, complied with fully. This the apostle does, both 
 guarding and enforcing them, both shutting out a false, 
 and pressing home the safe and sound, view of their import. 
 The hearing he had spoken of was not a mere hearing, but 
 one connected with doing, resulting in obedience. The re- 
 ceiving behoved to be of that deep and thorough, that in- 
 ternal and effectual kind which secures the retention of the 
 thing, which prompts to, and confirms in, a corresponding 
 course of conduct. And how needful is it still to urge this 
 on the attention of members of the Church, professors of 
 
DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY. 115 
 
 religion! How common is it now, as it was then, to open 
 the ear while closing the heart, to listen and assent to the 
 testimony of Scripture, and yet never bend the will, never 
 conform the life to its high and holy requirements! How 
 large the number of those who sit under the sound of the 
 gospel, as compared with the number of those who exhibit 
 the spirit and walk in the ways of the gospel ! How much 
 is there of the faith which is dead being alone, a faith with- 
 out works, vivified and vindicated by no fruits of righteous- 
 ness! Let us then proceed to consider, in humble depend- 
 ence on Divine teaching, these two things in the passage, 
 
 I. The exhortation. 
 
 II. The illustration. 
 
 I. The exhortation. — Ver. 22, "But be ye doers of 
 the word, and .not hearers only, deceiving your own 
 selves." " But be ye doers of the word."— The word 
 here intended is, of course, the Divine word, that word 
 which is all given by inspiration of God, and has the 
 grand distinction of being able to save sinful, ruined 
 souls. The doers of it are those who are ruled by 
 it, who really and practically comply with its require- 
 ments, who not only read, hed-r, understand, and believe it, 
 but submit to its authority, regulate their tempers and lives 
 by its precepts, walk not in their own ways, not according to 
 the course of the world, but in the path of its holy com- 
 mandments and ordinances. The term, too, is expressive 
 of continuance, permanence. It is not applicable to him 
 who responds to the demands of Scripture now and then, 
 who acts by impulses and at intervals. The man of fits and 
 starts, of temporary feelings and efforts, — the man who enters 
 the vineyard, and, after working a little, after beginning well, 
 leaves off to return a week, a month, a year hence, is not a 
 doer. Nothing so spasmodic and intermittent, so fluctuating 
 and uncertain is meant; no, but a habitual, systematic ser- 
 
1 1 G DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY. 
 
 vice, a sustained aud enduring obedience. We must live 
 a id move in this element, we must find our occupation here 
 the chief employment and delight of our existence. It is 
 only such doiug that constitutes a doer of the word. 
 
 " And not hearers only." — This is what the apostle is 
 anxious to guard against. Mark what it really is which he 
 condemns. It is not being hearers, — very far from that. He 
 had a little before exhorted them to be " swift to hear." 
 We are to listen to God speaking to us in his holy word, 
 we are to listen to him as he utters his voice in every page, 
 in every verse, line, syllable of the lively oracles. We are 
 to read, search the Scriptures, opening our ears constantly 
 and earnestly to that testimony which they contain. We 
 are to hearken to him as he addresses us by his servants in 
 the preaching of the gospel. That is alike our duty and 
 our privilege. It is the inlet of all that is gracious and 
 saving, the medium through which alone the fulness of 
 Christ can enter into and take the place of our emptiness. 
 " Faith," says Paul, "cometh by hearing, and hearing by the 
 word of God."^ They who neglect the Bible, who allow it, 
 as, alas! many do, to lie silent in their drawers or on their 
 shelves, — who shut it up and put it away that they may not 
 be disturbed by its solemn, startling utterances,— they who 
 forsake the assembling of themselves together as the manner 
 of some was, and still is, — who seldom come up to the 
 .sanctuary, satisfying their consciences with a Sabbath's at- 
 tendance now and then, or, if they are more regular, with a 
 half instead of a whole day's attendance, — who, when pre- 
 sent, pay little or no attention to the truth set before them, 
 but wander in mind and heart on the mountains of vanity, 
 are busy with their buying and selling, as the Jews of old 
 were in the temple; — these persons have no countenance 
 given to them in the teaching of James, nor of any other 
 sacred writer. They must go elsewhere than to this book 
 
 ' Rem. X. 17. 
 
DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY. 117 
 
 for a defence of or an excuse for their conduct. What he 
 warns against is being hearers only — hearers and nothing 
 more, hearers and going no farthe'r. It is the stopping short 
 here, resting in it 'which he condemns. He would have us 
 this, but not this merely. He finds no faidt with those who 
 are hearers, it is with those who are hearers simply and 
 solely, " not doers." 
 
 He adds, " deceiving your own selves." It means to 
 draw a false inference, to mislead by erroneous reasoning. 
 This is what multitudes do in their own cases. They rest 
 satisfied with their hearing. They imagine it will suffice. 
 It is a pious, if not a saving exercise. It is indicative of a 
 hopeful, if not an absolutely safe condition. It marks them 
 out from others, from the vicious and careless, from the 
 despisers of Divine things, the neglecters of sacred ordi- 
 nances. To listen to sermons and then talk about them, 
 or the minister who preaches them ; to criticise, judge, pro- 
 nounce on what is sound, or the reverse, to be zealous for 
 the creed or the church to which they are attached, — this 
 is all, or nearly all the religion of large numbers. Or they 
 may found on certain feelings, impressions, convictions, 
 with which their hearing is connected. They see it may 
 be their sins, and mourn over them to some extent. They 
 have their ease in Zion disturbed, their consciences awakened, 
 their sensibilities stirred. Thus aroused, they make con- 
 fessioiLS, resolutions, promises. Perhaps they even expe- 
 rience a kind of pleasure in this respect, resembling that 
 Herod who heard John the Baptist gladly, or the stony 
 ground of the parable, which represents a class of persons 
 " who hear the word, and anon with joy receive it." They 
 may practise a piece of self-deception. Whatever the founda- 
 tion on which they build, whatever the process by which 
 they reach the conclusion in their own favour — all who think 
 well of themselves, who say peace, peace, who believe that they 
 are God's people, and on the way to heaven, while they are 
 
1 1 8 DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONT.T. 
 
 hearers only and not doers, — all such must, and do delude 
 themselves. They are helped to this result. The father 
 of lies tries to persuade them; he plies every device and 
 wile that is fitted to suggest, and then confirm, the inference 
 that they are all right as to their spiritual state and char- 
 acter. He labours to hide from us the truth, and to draw 
 us into the meshes of soul-ruining error. He is as subtle 
 and deceptive as when he beguiled Eve, and ruined the 
 wliole race in our first parents. His snares are as cunningly 
 laid, and as assiduously employed, as ever. But it is as 
 much our work as his — this false reasoning and consequent 
 imposition. It is not forced upon us, it is not thrust into 
 our minds and made to overbear our own convictions. 
 Terrible as is Satan's power, it is not thus mighty, irresis- 
 tible. We admit his suggestions. We fall in with his 
 perversions, for they foster our ease, our pride, our worldli- 
 ness. They are pleasing to us as natural men, and we put 
 out the light which would lay them open in their real 
 character. We turn away from the truth which is contrary 
 to them, because it is humbling and painful. We open the 
 door to his lies, and bid them welcome ; and thus it is that 
 we deceive ourselves. The devil has his hand in it, but 
 still more are our own evil hearts mixed up with it, 
 " for they are deceitful above all things, and desperately 
 wicked." 
 
 We are exceedingly apt to be thus misled ; and hence 
 the need of such warnings. They are very conspicuous in 
 our Lord's teaching. There we have line upon line, precept 
 upon precept, so fur as this point is concerned. " Then 
 shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy 
 presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he 
 shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are ; depart 
 from iiie, all ye workers of iniquity." "Not every one that 
 saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of 
 heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in 
 
\ 
 
 DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY. 119 
 
 heaven."i And how striking the representation given of 
 the danger against which we are here warned when, in 
 closing his Sermon on the Mount, he spoke thus : " There- 
 fore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth [ 
 them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house ' 
 upon a rock : and the rain descended, and the floods came, 
 and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell "n 
 not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that \ 
 heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be 
 likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the 
 sand : and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the 
 winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great 
 was the fall of it."^ The servant, then, was here only 
 following the example, and declaring the mind of the great 
 Master himself. 
 
 II. The illustration. — The exhortation is enforced by 
 means of a comparison. As we have now seen, our Lord 
 employs one in his Sermon on the Mount — that of building 
 on the sand. James makes use of another, also most apt 
 and expressive — ^that of looking into a mirror. We have 
 here, 
 
 1. A 'picture of the mere hearer. " For if any man be 
 a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man 
 beholding his natural face in a glass : for he beholdeth 
 himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what 
 manner of man he was." He is compared to a person who, 
 after looking at himself in a mirror, takes his departure, and 
 soon thinks no more of the appearance he presented. 
 "He is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a 
 glass," — literally, " the face of his birth, "^ the countenance 
 with which he was born, — marking out the external, mate- 
 rial sphere within which the figure lies, and suggesting all 
 
 1 Luke xiii. 26, 27 ; Matt. vii. 21. 2 Matt; vii. 24-27. 
 
 2 TO "^^oiTwxoi Trts yivtrtuf avrou 
 
120 DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY. 
 
 the more directly and vividly the spiritual counterpart, the 
 moral visage which belongs to us as the posterity of Adam, 
 the sin-marred lineaments of the soul. He sees it with all 
 its peculiarities, more or less pleasing, reflected in the glass 
 l)efore Avhich he stands, there confronting him so that he 
 ran not but note its outlines, its features. At the time 
 when James wrote, mirrors were generally made of polished 
 metal ; and it is with reference to the modem substitute for 
 this that the original is thus translated. 
 
 The hearer of the gospel does something remarkably 
 ' similar. In his case the glass, that into which he looks, is 
 Y not conscience, as"" some have supposed,^ but evidently the 
 Divine word. Hence, we read elsewhere, " Beholding, as in 
 a glass, the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same 
 image."^ It presents a correct and complete delineation of 
 (the face of the soul, that is, of our natural character and 
 f condition as fallen, sinful creatures. It unfolds the corrup- 
 l tion which has put its foul impress on every part of our 
 being, the dark lusts and passions that hold sway within us, the 
 features and workings of our carnal, enmity-possessed minds. 
 It gives not the false and flattering representations drawn 
 by the philosopher or the worldling, — representations Avhich 
 are so pleasing to our pride, but that true, faithful, con- 
 sistent account of our being, not as it is on the outside or 
 the surface merely, but in its very lowest depths, in its 
 most hidden recesses, which bespeaks the hand of him who 
 kuijweth what is in man, who searches our hearts and tries 
 our reins, who compasses us about behind and before, and 
 is perfectly acquainted with all our ways. There the mask 
 we often wear is torn oif, and the deformities which lie 
 beneath are made to appear, to stand out clear, conspicuous, 
 incontrovertible. Tliere the disguises which hide so many 
 from themselves are rent in twain, and they are revealed to 
 the'.r o\vn view in a manner they cannot resiatw* question, 
 
 1 Jer. Taylor (Works, vol. i. 19), and others. / * Cor iii. 18^ 
 
DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY. 121 
 
 however humbling, offensive, alarming may be the discovery. 
 It is the great business of the preacher to hold up this mir- 
 ror, not, as one^ remarks, to paint and exhibit beautiful 
 pictures, which is sometimes all that is done in the pulpit, 
 and, when done, is vastly popular, — it is, I repeat, to raise 
 aloft the glass of Divine truth, to set forth faithfully alike 
 the law and the gospel ; and when he fulfils his mission in 
 this respect, the hearer whose case is here delineated, finds 
 himself confronted with an image of himself on which, for 
 the moment at least, he cannot but fix his gaze. He does 
 not thrust it away from him, and he turns not aside from it as 
 do many. He does not withdraw to a distance, or push the 
 mirror toward his neighbour. He looks into it more or 
 less closely. He listens to the word, attends to the message 
 being delivered, and the consequence is a sight of himself. 
 The hkeness varies greatly as to distinctness of outline and 
 depth of impression. Self is in some measure presented to 
 view, and is recognised. Thus it was with the woman of 
 Samaria. After her interview with Jesus at the well, she 
 Avent into the city, and said to the people of it, " Come, 
 see a man who told me all things that ever I did, is not 
 this the Christ?" No longer on earth, he is still speaking 
 in the Bible. 
 
 The apostle proceeds jB^th^'thg-^eomparison. The man 
 having beheld himself, '^oeth his way,/ is off to his business 
 or his pleasure, to meet nS'^'InenHs, or pursue his journey. 
 He is soon engaged with other matters. In a few moments 
 the appearance he presented is forgotten. He thinks no 
 more of his countenance — the impression passes away as if 
 it had never been. The beholding in this case corresponds 
 to the hearing and its effects in the other. As the looker 
 turns away from the glass, so does the mere hearer from the 
 word. The latter leaves the sanctuary, and the bodily de- 
 parture is connected with a mental one far greater. The 
 
 1 Stier on James. 
 
122 DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY. 
 
 attention is relaxed, or rather drawn off, and directed toward 
 an entirely different class of subjects. It ceases to be occu- 
 pied with the self-disclosing truths of revelation, and becomes 
 absorbed in other interests and objects than those of the soul 
 and eternity. The mind goes back to its pursuit of lying 
 vanities ; and thus comes the deep and sad forgetfulness. 
 Convictions fade away, feelings cool down, and the old 
 security returns. O, how much of this is there every 
 Sabbath ! Numbers are impressed under the preaching of 
 the gospel ; they do get glimpses of their sin and misery, 
 the plagues of their hearts and the impurities of their lives ; 
 they do realise, in some measure, their need of salvation, 
 and the quarter where alone it is to be obtained. But the 
 service closes, they go home to their families, and when 
 they awake on the Monday morning, they are as. ready, 
 perhaps, to run the former course of worldliness, ungodli- 
 ness, as ever they were before. " O Ephraim, what shall 
 I do unto thee ? Judah, what shall I do unto thee ? 
 for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early 
 dew it goeth away."^ 
 
 2. A 'picture of the real doer. — Ver. 25, "But whoso 
 looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, 
 he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this 
 man shall be blessed in his deed." Here the comparison 
 begins to be dropped. The figure and the thing represented, 
 symbol and substance, blend together; no longer kept 
 separate, they pass into each other. 
 
 Observe what this man looks into. It is " the perfect 
 law of liberty." Here is his mirror. Different views have 
 been taken of it by interpreters. Many understand by it 
 Divine revelation in general, many the gospel in particular. 
 But clearly what is specially intended is neither the one nor 
 the other, but the law. We found not merely on that term 
 being employed, but on the fact that James is treating ex- 
 
 1 Hosea vi. 4. 
 
DOEES, NOT HEARERS ONLY. 123 
 
 pressly of doing, of holy living, of Christian practice. You 
 will notice, too, that in the next chapter he continues to 
 write still in a similar strain, where he puts his meaning 
 beyond question by quoting two of the commandments of 
 the Decalogue, and then makes use of the very expression 
 which occurs here, — "So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall 
 be judged by the law of liberty." It is presented, however, 
 not in its letter, but its spirit; not as separate from, but as 
 incorporated with, the gospel, as fulfilled in om- stead by 
 Christ, and given to his people by him, to be the rule of 
 their obedience. So far from being abrogated, it has been 
 magnified and made honourable by him ; and, while it is not 
 by doing what it requires that we can live, yet live we can- 
 not without doing what it requires. Faith is not opposed 
 to it under this aspect. So far from that, it establishes it 
 by laying hold of the complete, all-meritorious, divine right- 
 eousness of Jesus, and by. striving after conformity to it in 
 its full extent, and from the purest motives. He calls it 
 "perfect." It is so in itself, as the transcript of God's per- 
 fect character, and as leading all who apprehend and use 
 it aright forward to man's perfect stature. It is this alike 
 in its nature and its effect. And it is " the perfect law of 
 liberty." It is a law of bondage to those who look into it 
 in its covenant form, and strive to earn heaven by their own 
 merits. It is a heavy, crushing yoke to all who have not 
 been renewed in the spirit of their minds, who are still under 
 the influence of legal, slavish principles. But in regenera- 
 tion it is written on the heart, and the new creature is in 
 harmony with it, delights in it, so that conformity to it is 
 no longer a forced, but a spontaneous thing, — no longer a 
 task or burden, but a pleasure. The believer, being de- 
 livered from its sentence of condemnation, and from the 
 dominion of sin, — being received into favour and animated by f --i 
 love, runs now in the way of the Divine commandments. He ; > 
 acts not by constraint or from fear, but under the prompting 
 
124 DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY. 
 
 of gracious affection. Thus he is free, not by being released 
 
 . I from law, but by having it wrought into his being, made the 
 
 ' ' movinrf, regulating power of his new existence. He feels 
 
 that Christ's yoke is easy, and his burden light, that " his 
 
 commandments are not grievous." 
 
 Notice, now, how this man deals with the mirror thus 
 described. "Whoso look^th into the perfect law of liberty." — 
 We have here a different word from that which expresses 
 the beholding in the former instance. It signifies to stoop 
 down and come close to an object, so as to see it clearly and 
 fully. It points to a near, minute, searching inspection. 
 We have it applied to the action of the disciples when they 
 bent forward and gazed intently into our Lord's sepulchre. 
 And it is the term employed when it is said, "which things 
 the angels desire to look into," — there being probably a refer- 
 ence to the position of the cherubim, as turned toward the 
 mercy-seat over the ark of the covenant. No doubt tlie 
 other verb is also indicative of earnest attention, but we cannot 
 be wrong in inferring that a distinction, a difference, is here 
 denoted. And, in this case, it is not a temporary exercise. 
 The eyes are not soon averted and directed to other objects. 
 For it is added, "and continueth therein," — continueth still 
 I \ looking into the perfect law, meditating on its requirements, 
 seeking to understand their nature and feel their power. 
 He does not go away from the glass like the mere hearer, 
 but still contemplates himself as there exhibited, sees in its 
 brightness his many filthy spots, and attains thus to fuller 
 discoveries and deeper impressions. He is arrested, and 
 cannot turn liis steps or his eyes toward other objects. This 
 is characteristic of every one truly penetrated and subdued 
 \\ by the inspired word. He continues, and the effect appears. 
 Such a man is "not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the 
 work." He remembers the truth apprehended, and strives 
 to reduce it to practice. He hides it in his heart, as well 
 as his memory, that he may be restrained from sin, and 
 
DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY. 126 
 
 stimulated to duty. He is a "doer," a real, habitual, per- 
 severing doer. The influence in his case is deep and last- 
 ing. It moulds his temper and his conduct. It sets all his 
 powers of mind and body in motion. He is a "doer of the 
 work," or literally of work, pointing not to this or that act 
 of obedience, but to a constant, thorough, loving, free course 
 of service. In all things he aims at doing the will of God, 
 and he so far succeeds. His whole life is consecrated to the 
 great Master, and though he often turns aside, often inter- 
 mits the business of his high calling, it is only under the 
 influence of strong temptation; and it is only temporarily, 
 for he soon recovers himself, and sets forward more vigor- 
 ously than before in the way to heaven. 
 
 "This man" — emphatically, not the other, not any other- — 
 this man, he, he alone, "shall be blessed in his deed" or his 
 doing. He shall be blessed, not only after or through his 
 doing, not merely on account of it, or by means of it, but in 
 his doing. There is to be a great and eternal recompense. 
 "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the 
 joy of thy Lord." "Blessed are they that do his command- 
 ments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and 
 may enter in through the gates into the city."^ That is a 
 sure and precious truth; but there is also a present recom- 
 pense. The very act carries in it the blessing. The one 
 brings the other in its bosom. Obedience is its own reward. 
 It yields an exquisite satisfaction, and, while it leads on in 
 a heavenward progress, draws down large foretastes of the 
 fulness of joy, the rivers of pleasure, which are at God's right 
 hand for evermore. And this was understood and explained 
 of old, when there was far less of that liberty which char- 
 acterizes the law under the gospel, for, to the same effect, 
 David testifies, "in keeping of them," — the commandments 
 — "there is great reward."^ 
 
 Are you hearers only ? — Are you satisfied with reading 
 
 1 Matt. XXV. 21 ; Rev. xxii. 14. ^ Ps. xix. 11. 
 
{' 
 
 12G DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY. 
 
 the word, listening to preaching, belonging to the Church, 
 — with privileges, professions, passing impressions, partial 
 amendments? Many go no farther. The heart is not really 
 changed. The life is not brought into subjection to the 
 Saviour. There is no doing of the Divine will, doing it cor- 
 dially and habitually. Well, such persons may have fine 
 houses, but they are houses with sand, not rock, for their 
 foundation. They are sure to come down sooner or later, 
 down with a terrible crash, burying the foolish occupants in 
 their ruins, unless they make a speedy escape. Mere hearers, 
 you get glimpses of yourselves in the glass, and you are 
 moved for the moment; but away you go to your vanities 
 and vices, to your money-making and pleasure-hunting, and 
 you forget the filthy spots, the hideous impurities and de- 
 formities so lately discovered. You repair not to the foun- 
 tain opened for the washing away of sin and uncleanness. 
 You flee not to that Saviour who can fashion you after his 
 own glorious likeness, making you new creatures. On you 
 no blessing is pronounced, — no, but woe, curse, destruction 
 everlasting. So far from your hearing being of any benefit 
 to you, it will condemn you, it w ill be a millstone about your 
 necks, a fire to consume you like stubble. O rest not in it, I 
 beseech you, as you would not perish, but ha.sten to become 
 doers, by believing Avith mind and heart in Christ; for this is 
 the first and the great work, the work which must precede, 
 and is sure to issue in every other! Embrace the gospel. 
 Escape to the stronghold while you are prisoners of hope. 
 Strive to enter in at the strait gate, and cry to him who can 
 effectually bring you in, and set you in the way which con- 
 ducts to the life everlasting. 
 
 Arc ymi doers, real, though not perfect doers? Then you 
 
 are blessed, — blessed though you may still have heavyburdens 
 
 [ to carry, and sore trials to endure, — blessed whatever your 
 
 earthly circumstances and your spiritual troubles. In the 
 
 service of God you have a spring of comfort, the flow of which 
 
DOERS, NOT HEAEERS ONLY. 127 
 
 neither the heat of summer nor the cold of winter can inter- 
 rupt. The more you devote yourselves to it, the greater will 
 be your enjoyment. Hearken more and more to the com- 
 mandments, so shall your peace be like a river, and your right- 
 eousness as the waves of the sea. And soon you shall stand 
 before the throne, having come out of all tribulation, and there, 
 in perfect doing you shall have perfect blessedness, finding, 
 as you shall, that full conformity to God carries wrapt up in 
 it the full fruition of God. "Therefore are they before the 
 throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple : 
 and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 
 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither 
 shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, 
 which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and 
 shall lead them unto living fountains of waters : and God shall 
 wipe away all tears from their eyes."^ 
 
 1 Eev: vii. 15, 16, 17. 
 
128 VAIN RELIGION AND TRUE. 
 
 VAIN RELIGION AND TRUE. 
 
 "// any man among you seem to be religious, and 
 hridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this 
 man's religion is vain. Pure religion, and undefiled, 
 before God and the Father, is this, To visit the fatherless and 
 widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted 
 from the world." — James i. 26, 27. 
 
 N all ages men have been prone to satisfy them- 
 selves with the mere hearing of God's word. 
 They have thought it enough to sit under the 
 sound of the gospel, without submitting to its authority and 
 exhibiting its spirit. They have substituted privileges and 
 professions in the room of the principles and practice of re- 
 ligion. How many found their hopes on reading the Scrip- 
 tures, listening to sermons, possessing knowledge, and such 
 like, while their hearts and lives are not conformed to the 
 perfect law, are adorned with none of the beauties of holi- 
 ness ! One thing is lacking, but then that is everything — 
 the doing of the word, the keeping of the commandments, 
 the walking in the paths of righteousness. Our Lord 
 strikingly warned all of this tendency, and of the fatal con- 
 sequences of yielding to it, by comparing those who should 
 bear his sayings and not do them, to a man who foolishly 
 built his house on tlic sand, where it fell as soon as the 
 storm arose ; and those who should hear his sayings and do 
 them, to a man who wisely built his house on a rock, where 
 it stood unshaken amidst all the fury of the tempest. 
 James presses home the same truth in the preceding 
 
VAIN RELIGION AND TRUE. 129 
 
 verses, and he does it also by means of an exceedingly ap- 
 propriate and expressive figure or illustration. It is that 
 of two persons, the one of whom, having beheld his natural 
 face in a glass or mirror, straightway goes off and forgets 
 the appearance he presented ; while the other, having looked 
 at himself far more intently, and continuing to do so, makes 
 fuller discoveries, receives deeper impressions, which exert a 
 real, decisive, lasting influence on his whole conduct. But 
 there is still room for self-deception. There may be a great 
 deal of what seems doing of God's work, which yet may 
 be entirely vitiated by some vital flaw, proved to be worth- 
 less by some evil habit or practice. There may be a fly 
 in the ointment, spoiling all its flavour. James here specifies 
 such a radical defect, one already alluded to in the exhorta- 
 tion — to be slow to speak— and much dwelt on at a subse- 
 quent part of this Epistle. In these verses we have two 
 things for consideration, and in dealing with them, as we 
 proceed to do, let us earnestly seek the teaching and bless- 
 ing of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 I. A specimen of vain religion. 
 
 II. The nature of true religion. 
 
 I. A specimen of vain religion. — Ver. 26, "If any man 
 among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, 
 but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain." 
 The matter is presented, as you observe, in the form of a 
 supposition ; but there can be no question that James 
 pointed to what actually existed among those whom he 
 addressed. He was dealing with a real case, while he 
 spoke of it thus indirectly, hypothetically. The particular 
 sin mentioned must have been specially prevalent among 
 his readers, as we see from other parts of the Epistle, and 
 it had all the significance, all the deadly influence which 
 he here states. "If any man among you," — any man, be 
 
 K 
 
130 VAIN RELIGION AND TRUE. 
 
 he who he may, be his standing and authority, his profes- 
 sion and position, what they may, among you Christians. By 
 putting the matter thus, he would lead them to deal with 
 themselves individually, one by one, to look each at his own 
 particular, personal case, and inquire whether the supposition 
 was realized in regard to himselt'. "Seem to be religious." 
 " Seem," — that is not so much to others as to himself — if he 
 think that this is his character and condition. It is more 
 than the bare appearance, which may easily impose on 
 those around; it is the impression, conviction in our own 
 minds that we are devout, God's triie worshippers, and ser- 
 vants. The term religious points to the outward manifes- 
 tation of pious feeling, the observance of sacred ordinances, 
 the performance of sacred offices. " And bridleth not his 
 tongue," — restrains not its licence, curbs not, governs not 
 this unruly member ; " but deceiveth his o'svn heart " — 
 namely, with the idea that he may be in a gracious state, 
 may be a true Christian, while giving the reins to his 
 tongue. Persons who fear and avoid grosser sins are apt 
 to think very little of this offence, and not to regard it as 
 at all inconsistent with real godliness. Indeed, they are 
 sometimes ready to draw inferences from it in theu* own 
 f\ivour, taking it as an evidence of faithfulness and zeal, 
 inability to bear them that are evil, ardent attachment 
 to the truth and cause of the Saviour. " This man's re- 
 ligion is vain." — Yes, however multiplied its observances, 
 however exact its external forms, — it is vain, fruitless, with- 
 out value, without effect. It possesses no reality, and it 
 brings no blessing. It is not soul-sanctifying, and therefore 
 cannot be soul-saving. They who have nothing better can 
 never return and come to Zion as the ransomed of the Lord. 
 They have neither the title nor the moetness, the state nor 
 the character, without which heaven's gate cannot be entered. 
 With these preliminary remarks, let us examine a little 
 more cloKcly both the sin here sp cificd, and the evidence 
 
VAIN EELIGION AND TRUE. 131 
 
 it furnishes, the inference it warrants, according to the 
 apostle. 
 
 1. The sin specified. — It is that of not bridling the 
 tongue. As we are afterwards told in this Epistle the 
 tongue is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. It is a fire, 
 a world of iniquity. It resembles a wild beast that needs 
 to be tamed. It is like a horse which requires the bit, must 
 be held in with the bridle. The man does not thus command 
 and restrain it who indulges in profane or imj)ure conver- 
 sation. The blasphemer, the swearer, he who takes God's 
 great name in vain, or who lets filthy communications of 
 any kind proceed out of his mouth, is exposed to this charge 
 in the most obvious manner and the most heinous form. 
 But this case is not precisely that which is here intended, 
 for such an one can scarcely persuade himself that he is a 
 Christian; it is hardly possible that he who does that can 
 seem either to others or himself to be religious. He openly 
 casts off all fear of God, and is an avowed, daring rebel 
 against the Majesty of heaven. Rarely can he be mistaken by 
 any party, for he carries about with him the patent badge 
 of thorough subjection to the foul spirit that worketh in the 
 children of disobedience. There is no disguise about him, and 
 self-deception can with difficulty go such a length, far as un- 
 C![uestionably it does go in many instances. I am aware, 
 however, that there are examples of the kind, men known 
 to be, and acknowledging themselves as being, profane swear- 
 ers, yet claiming the highest privileges of Christ's Church, 
 and apparently quite unable to comprehend the refusal of them 
 on the ground of what they consider so venial an offence. 
 
 The person who speaks uncharitably, maliciously, slan- 
 derously, who gives ready utterance, free circulation to calum- 
 nies, suspicions, insinuations — who propagates false charges, 
 or true ones in a bitter, envious, or malignant spirit — he 
 assuredly bridles not his tongue. The reviler, the backbiter, 
 the whisperer, the reckless, abusive partisan, the inventor 
 
132 VAIN RELIGION AND TRUE. 
 
 and publisher of bad names and injurious rumours, — all such 
 are clearly involved in this condemnation. When we in- 
 dulge in any sort of detraction habitually and deliberately, 
 when we make a practice of it — for the best are many a time 
 drawn more or less into it, to their great sorrow and shame 
 afterwards — we illustrate the declaration of the apostle. 
 And O how common is this among those who seem to be 
 religious ! They do not regard it as at all inconsistent with 
 their profession of godliness. On the contrary, they often 
 mistake it for honesty, faithfulness, zeal, for attachment to 
 truth and righteousness, jealousy for the Divine honour, 
 hatred of what is evil, the working of a candid, fervent, 
 fearless, outspoken spirit. They cover it over with fine 
 names, with plausible pretences, and imagine it all highly 
 proper and commendable. They do not think it at variance 
 with piety, perhaps they plume themselves on it as an evi- 
 dence and fruit of piety. It is melancholy to reflect how 
 often this is done, how many suppose they are doing God 
 service by rending the good name of their brethren, than 
 which nothing brings fouler dishonour on his cause and his 
 people. They deceive their own hearts in the matter. 
 And short even of this the sin here specified may exist, 
 may reign. We may not bridle the tongue as regards vain, 
 light, foolish talking. Our speech, if free from the bad 
 feeling of those whose words are spears and arrows, may l)e 
 trivial, frothy, unprofitable. It may signally want dignity, 
 gravity, purity, — it may be the very opposite of being "with 
 grace seasoned with salt." It may be occupied with trifles, 
 and may ill comport with seriousness, either on the part of 
 the speaker or the hearers. 
 
 Such is the fatal flaw, the damaging, deadly evil here 
 mentioned by the apostle; and every reader of the Bible 
 must be well aware Iidw emphatically Christians are put on 
 tiiiir guard against it, as wholly inconsistent with all the 
 principles they profess, and the walk they ever ought to 
 
VAIN RELIGION AND TRUE. 1,33 
 
 maintain. Take a few specimens of its utterances on the 
 subject. " What man is he that desireth life, and loveth 
 many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from 
 evil, and thy lips from speaking guile." "Lord, who shall 
 abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 
 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and 
 speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not 
 with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh 
 up a reproach against his neighbour." " In the multitude 
 of words there wanteth not sin : but he that refraineth his 
 lips is wise." " He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life; 
 but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction." 
 " Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, 
 but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may 
 minister grace unto the hearers." "Neither filthiness, nor 
 foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient; but 
 rather giving of thanks." '- But now ye also put off all these; 
 anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out 
 of your mouth." ^ And taking up the language of the 
 Psalmist already quoted, Peter adopts and reiterates it thus : 
 "Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contra- 
 riwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye 
 should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see 
 good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips 
 that they speak no guile." ^ God's people are deeply 
 sensible at once of the magnitude of this sin, and of their 
 constant tendency to fall into it, and hence their prayers are 
 earnest and frequent to be guarded against it, delivered from 
 it, under all its forms. David testifies — "I said, I will take 
 heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue ; I will 
 keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me." 
 And he pleads — " Set a watch, Lord, before my mouth ; 
 keep the door of my lips." ^ How full and decided is Scrip- 
 ture on the subject! 
 
 ' Ps. xxxiv. 12, 13; xv. 1-3; Prov. x. 19; xiii. 3 ; Eph. iv. 29; v. 4; Col. iii. 8. 
 2 1 Pet. iii. 9, 10. 3 pg. ^xxix. 1; cxli. 3. 
 
i:U VAIN RELIGION AND TRUE. 
 
 2. Tlif evidence it fuimishes. — The qiiestion is, Why does 
 James make so much of the bridling of the tongue ? Why 
 is so great importance attached to this species of sclf-re- 
 straiut? Why is the neglect of it so significant and fatal 
 as it is here represented as being? We have the principle 
 laid down at the 10th verse of the following chapter, — " For 
 whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet oftend in one 
 point, he is guilty of all." Set any part of the Divine statute- 
 book at nought, and you in effect trample on every part ; you 
 strike at the foundation of the entire structure. It indicates 
 a rooted rebelliousness, whatever appearances of submission, 
 and even whatever acts of submission, there may be in cer- 
 tain duties and for certain purposes. And it matters not 
 how little, trivial the sin may be which is thus dominant. 
 It has the same significance. It shows that the gospel has 
 not obtained that thorough and universal supremacy, that it 
 does not exercise that paramoimt and all-pervading control, 
 which belongs to it when it comes into the soul with the 
 power of the Holy Ghost. Why, the less the thing, the 
 more decisive often is its meaning and influence. Thus a 
 straw will d(i wliat a heavier body cannot — it will show how 
 the wind is blowing. The real working of the inner man 
 is seen in connexion Avith a matter of this kind; while in 
 reference to greater things people are more on their guard, 
 and thus act with more caution, and perhaps with less 
 honesty. Hence it has been truly said, — "So-called trivialities 
 are the sure test of the inner mind and character. Con- 
 scientiousness down to the farthing is the stamlard of an 
 lidiKmrable piety; little acts and single words show the full 
 and pure spirit of obedience in the soul."^ 
 
 The tongue, let it be remembered, is regulated and ruled 
 l)y the heart; for "out of the abundance of the heart the 
 mouth speaketh. A good man, out of the good treasure of 
 his heart, bringeth forth good things; and an evil man, out 
 
 1 Stier. 
 
VAIN RELIGION AND TRUE. 135 
 
 of the evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things."^ The one is 
 the index of the other. The stream corresponds to the 
 hidden spring, and tells us what are its qualities. We must 
 go within, to the centre of our being, for the real and deep 
 seat of all true religion. Its native sphere, its proper 
 home, is that heart where our Lord places the treasure. 
 Above all things, it is demanded by him whose we are, and, 
 when it is not right before him, nothing is or can be right. 
 There is the man, and when the Divine authority is not 
 established there, — when the kingdom of heaven has not 
 been brought in and set up there, in all its supremacy, then 
 our professed worship and service is not real, is not spiritual, 
 is not acceptable. In that case our godliness is but the 
 form of it and not the power — our religion, however orthodox, 
 punctilious, pretentious, is a mere make-believe, a piece of 
 deception, a lying vanity, baptize it by what name, deck it 
 out with what ornaments we please. Now, it must be so 
 where there is no bridling of the tongue. When that un- 
 ruly member is allowed to run riot, and trample on all in 
 its way by its hard speeches, its charges, and calumnies, and 
 curses, — this proves that far more than the mouth is wrong, 
 for it is only an instrument, an organ — moving exactly as 
 it is moved. A defect there points to one deeper far, one 
 within, one in that quarter by which the whole complexion 
 of our character and conduct is decided. 
 
 And yet again the sin which, in a sense, is begun with 
 speech, does not end there, but goes a great deal farther. It 
 spreads in every direction, and involves often the most ex- 
 tensive evil influences and consequences. It kindles all 
 kinds of strife and debate, it ministers to the corruption 
 from which it proceeds, gives it a new impulse, and leads it 
 on to new manifestations. As it issues from a fountain of 
 impurity, it becomes in turn such a fountain itself, and the 
 bitter waters flowing forth from it carry desolation and 
 1 Matt. xii. 04, 35. 
 
136 VAIN RELIGION AND TRUE. 
 
 death to quarters which had otherwise been fresh and fruit- 
 ful. In how strong hmguage does James speak of it at a 
 subsequent part of this Epistle ! " And the tongue is a fire, 
 a world of iniquity : so is the tongue among our members, 
 that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the 
 course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every 
 kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things 
 in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 
 but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full 
 of deadly poison."^ From these and similar considerations 
 we can understand why so great prominence is given to the 
 bridling of the tongue, why so much is made to depend on 
 it as regards the reality and worth of religion, why a radical, 
 habitual defect here proves any one's religion to be vain, 
 whatever may be its appearances of excellence in other 
 respects. 
 
 II. The nature of time religion. — Ver. 27, " Pure reli- 
 gion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit 
 the fatherless and widows in their afiliction, and to keep 
 himself unspotted from the world." He speaks here of 
 " pure religion and undefiled." As before, religion is to 
 be taken in the special and limited sense of its outward 
 service, — the form, the body, which it assumes. The reference 
 is not to it in its whole compass, including its inner ele- 
 ments and actings, its informing principles and affections. 
 Its animating, pervading spirit is supposed, — and the proper 
 expression, the open, tangible manifestation of it is intended. 
 It consists not, as many of the Jews, even after their adop- 
 tion of Christianity, wore ready to suppose, in ritual obser- 
 vances, but in moral duties of the kind here described. 
 " 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 garment, — its very robe is right- 
 ' Jam. iii. 6, 7, 8. 
 
VAIN RELIGION AND TRUE. 137 
 
 ' Pure and undefiled, " — characterizing it 
 both positively and negatively. " Pure," — that is genuine, 
 sound, as it were, clean, like the region from which it comes, 
 and to which it returns. " Undefiled," — not contaminated 
 by any corrupt, earthly mixture, not polluted or stained by 
 the introduction of carnal, beggarly elements. " Before 
 God and the Father" — God, who is the Father, the pater- 
 nal relation being specially mentioned, it may be, with 
 reference to them as begotten by the word of truth, and so 
 his spiritual children. " Before him," meaning in his pre- 
 sence, or in his estimation. Men may view it very differ- 
 ently ; but this, and this alone, is pure and undefiled religion 
 before him, and everything depends on his judgment. 
 With him we have, above all, to do, and our ideas and 
 practice should be decided by a Divine, and not by any 
 human standard. " Is this," consists in this, not meaning 
 that it is confined to the. particulars which follow. It 
 embraces gracious principles and affections which are now 
 left out of sight, the subject treated of by the apostle being 
 definite and limited.^ And even as regards outward duties, 
 which are those embraced in the peculiar term rendered 
 religion, only such are singled out as bore on the writer's 
 present purpose, — these, however, being highly significant 
 and representative in their character. 
 
 1. "To visit the fatherless and widows in their afflic- 
 tion." Observe the parties — " the fatherless," orphans, 
 those deprived of parents. In the mention of them there 
 may be an allusion to God, as here presented to view in 
 the character of a father. Such children are in a peculiarly 
 desolate and distressing condition. They stand greatly in 
 need of sympathy and assistance. They are fit objects of 
 
 ^ Coleridge's Aids to Reflection, Aph. 23. 
 
 ■- " St James is not herein affirming, as we sometimes hear, these offices to be 
 the sum total, nor yet the great essentials of true religion, but declares them to 
 be the body, the i^na-xeia, of which godliness, or the love of God, is the 
 informing soul." — Trench's Synonyms, p. 171. 
 
158 VAIN RELTOIOX AND TRUE. 
 
 pity, — none more so in general. " Widows," those deprived 
 of their husbands. They have been sorely tried, they are 
 solitary and defenceless. When poverty is added to their 
 bereavement, as it often is, their case is most affecting, and 
 well fitted to touch every heart that has any bowels of 
 mercy. These two classes are spoken of in Scripture as 
 specially interested in the Divine care and compassion. 
 Thus the Psalmist says, — " A father of the fatherless, and a 
 judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation."^ They 
 are taken here as representatives of all the needy, distressed, 
 all those who should be comforted and helped by the faith- 
 ful, so far as they have the opjjortuuitics and the means of 
 so doing. 
 
 The duty specified is that of visiting these parties, which 
 includes every kind of friendly office, — counsel, aid, defence, 
 soothing their sorrows, supplying their wants, vindicating 
 their rights. But the term has a more definite meaning, 
 and is intended, we doubt not, to convey an important 
 lesson. We are not merely to render them assistance, to 
 exert ourselves in their behalf at a distance. We are not 
 to be satisfied with acting through a substitute, — a friend, a 
 minister, a missionary, an agent of some religious or chari- 
 table society. We are to come into contact with them — to 
 go to them in person. We are to enter their dwellings, 
 and let them see in look, word, and action, the kind feelinfrs 
 by which we are animated. We are to dciil with them as 
 the prophet did with the Shunammite's child ; for it was 
 not the staff he sent by his servant, but his own warm em- 
 brace which restored her sou to life. And this is perfectly 
 practicable. All have more or less time for such offices. 
 Even those hardest pressed may do not a little in the way of 
 personal effort, if so disposed. And we are to act thus to- 
 ward them " in their affliction," — marking out the nature 
 and design of the visitation. We are to repair to them in 
 ' Vs. Ixviii. 5. 
 
VAIX KELIGION AND TRUE. 139 
 
 the season of their distress — when they are poor, tried, 
 sorrowful — when they stand in need of our sympathy and 
 support. It is no evidence of religion to frequent their 
 dwellings when they are rich, prosperous, and joyful. There 
 is no test of principle or feeling in that, — no pity, no self- 
 denial required for such attentions. The most ungodly are the 
 readiest to go in these circumstances. Interest, enjoyment, 
 various motives — some of them discreditable enough — may 
 then turn men's steps to the houses of the fatherless and 
 the widows. The visiting here is not for profit or pleasure, 
 — it is not that which is ceremonious or social, — it is that 
 which is called forth by affliction, and is designed to lighten 
 its heavy burden. 
 
 2. "To keep himself unspotted from the world."^ — Here 
 strict purity is enjoined. The world is corrupt and defiling. 
 Christians, while separated from it, are still living in it, and 
 so are apt to be drawn into contact with its impurities. 
 They are not to seek escape from these by going out of 
 it, they are not to avoid its contamination by withdraw- 
 ing from its society and its business. That is the monkish 
 system, but it is alike unwarranted and ineffectual. We 
 are to be lights amidst its darkness, salt amidst its corruption. 
 We cannot discharge our duty toward it in a state of isolation, 
 and as much is here implied. We are to keep ourselves 
 unspotted from it, that is, while surrounded by it we are to 
 hold carefully aloof from its pollutions — while moving up 
 and down in it we are to have no fellowship with any of its 
 " works of darkness." " And be not conformed to this 
 world ; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your 
 mind." " Know ye not that the friendship of the world is 
 enmity with God ? Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend 
 of the world is the enemy of God." " Love not the world, 
 neither the things that are in the world. If any man love 
 the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all 
 that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of 
 
140 VAIN RELIGION AND TRUE. 
 
 the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is 
 of tlie world. "^ And, mai-k, we are not even to be spotted 
 by it, we are to guard against the slightest stain, avoiding 
 not only its grosser sins, but even those which are deemed 
 its most venial ones, — all its vanities as well as its vices. 
 From everything of the kind we are to " keep ourselves." 
 In the highest sense this is God's work, and hence Jesus 
 prayed to the Father not to take his people out of the 
 world, but to " keep them from the evil." He alone can 
 do it effectually, and he does it by his mighty power. But 
 it is also ours, for we are to employ means, to put forth 
 efforts for the purpose. We are to be anything but passive 
 in the matter. Hence Paul says to Timothy, " Keep thy- 
 self pure." 
 
 Now, mark these two things go together, and may not be 
 separated. Some are great sticklers for the former, while they 
 entirely overlook, perhaps contemptuously reject, the latter. 
 They lift up charity, beneficence, the visiting of the father- 
 less and widows, to the skies. They heartily respond to one 
 part of the definition here given of pure and undefiled reli- 
 gion. Others reverse the process. They are eloquent on 
 the subject of purity. They cry up separation from the 
 world; but what of Christian liberality and effort, kindness 
 to the poor, sympathy with and sacrifices for the afflicted. 
 The two must go hand in hand together. There must be 
 both the generous heart and the circumspect walk, goodness 
 in union with holiness. And when genuine, they spring 
 from, and are pervaded by, godliness. They are rooted in a 
 filial relation to the Father above, in a right standing before 
 him, and a gracious conformity to him; with him they 
 orginate, and to him they have respect in all their 
 actings. 
 
 All of us have a religion. What is its character ? Is it 
 vain, empty, worthless, exercising no power, bringing no 
 
 * Rom. xii. 2 ; Jam. iv. 4 ; 1 John ii. 15, 16. 
 
VAIN RELIGION AND TRUE. 141 
 
 blessing? There is a great deal of such religion. It con- 
 sists in professions and privileges, in ordinances and obser- 
 vances. It is made up of opinions more or less sound — of 
 forms more or less imposing. There may be feelings too, 
 deep impressions, strong convictions. But it reigns not over 
 the heart and life — it fills not the former with tender symi- 
 pathies, nor does it keep the latter from worldly pollutions. 
 It produces neither the beneficence nor the purity which is 
 characteristic of true Christianity ; and its real nature is 
 often shown by little things, by the prevalence of some evil 
 habit of no great enormity. There may be much freedom 
 from gross excesses; but the unbridled tongue, or other evi- 
 dence of the absence of a constraining fear of God, may 
 prove that the old man, not the new, holds supremacy within. 
 Those on their guard with reference to vicious indulgen- 
 ces and immoral practices, may yet in ways like this let out 
 their want of all gracious, principle. Get rid of such a 
 religion. It will be of no service when you most need it — 
 instead of holding you up it will drag you downward, it 
 will sink you deeper. Cast it away, and seek a better — 
 seek it in Jesus, in his all-cleansinor blood and life-sfiving: 
 Spirit. 
 
 Believing brethren, your religion is of the right description. 
 It is pure and undefiled. Let it be so in an ever-increasing 
 
 // degree. Rest less in opinions, though these are most im- 
 portant — less in feelings, though they too are of great in- 
 fluence; and seek ever to exhibit the practical power of the 
 gi'ace you have received, in " works of faith and labours of 
 
 ' love." Let your walk resemble our blessed Lord's — let it 
 be marked as his was by beneficence and purity. Do good 
 to all men as you have the opportunity. Have an open 
 heart and open hand, so far as your circumstances permit. 
 Remember the place which deeds of charity done from a 
 right motive are to have in the judgment. The very least 
 of them is to have its great reward. And while blessing 
 
142 VAIN RELIGION AND TRUE, 
 
 Others watch over yourselves. Guard against all pollution. 
 In the world, never be of it ; surrounded by it, yet be sepa- 
 rate from it, that is, in spirit, character, and behavioui. 
 Follow after that holiness without which no man shall see 
 the Lord ; and let every increase of it only urge you foi- 
 ward the more resolutely toward the perfection of it; for 
 while never attained here, it is yet to be ever more and 
 more nearly approached, and is at length to be enjoyed 
 above by all the faithful. 
 
EESPECT OF PERSONS. 143 
 
 XI. 
 
 RESPECT OF PERSONS. 
 
 "My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if 
 there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in 
 goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor 'man in vile 
 raiment; and ye have respect to him that tueareth the gay 
 clothing, and say unto him, Sit tltou here in a good place; 
 and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my 
 footstool: are ye not then p)artial in yourselves, and are 
 become judges of evil thoughts ? Hearken, my beloved 
 brethren. Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich 
 in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised 
 to them that love him ? But ye have despised the 'poor. 
 Do not rich men oppress you, and dratu you before the 
 judgment-seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy no.me 
 by the which ye are called?" — James ii. 1—7. 
 
 AMES deals with the gospel very specially in its 
 practical aspects and relations. He brings it to 
 hear on every part of the character and conduct 
 of its professed adherents. He exposes in the strongest 
 terms the sin and danger of those who satisfy themselves 
 with hearing the Divine word without doing it — who rest 
 in their supposed faith, while not evidencing it by those 
 fruits of righteousness of which it is ever productive when 
 genuine, vital, saving in its nature. He also lays open, with 
 an unsparing hand, certain corrupt tendencies which had 
 appeared in the Church, various forms in which Antinomi- 
 anism was showing itself, even where the general principles 
 
144) RESPECT OF PERSONS. 
 
 of the parties infected witli the evil k'aven were compara- 
 tively sound and scriptural. One of these sad perversions 
 he assails here — that of respecting persons. It manifested 
 itself, as we see, at a very early period, under the eyes of 
 the apostles themselves, for James clearly treats here of no 
 hypothetical or remote state of matters, but of one that was 
 real, actual, and present. Such a loud note of warning was 
 greatly needed, for this sin was to work a world of mischief 
 ill the Church's subsequent history. It spread its malign 
 influence in primitive times, and was largely the means of 
 introducing many of those abuses by which the gospel was 
 so soon and so deeply corrupted. It has not ceased to 
 operate stiU, and to tell most injuriously on the manage- 
 ment of ecclesiastical affairs, with which the credit and suc- 
 cess of Christianity are in a variety of ways closely connected. 
 Let us now proceed to consider as the Lord the Spirit may 
 enable us : — 
 
 I. Tlie sin against which the warning is directed. — 
 Vers. 1-4. Here we have the sin stated, and then illus- 
 trated, by means of a case, an example. Look at it, then, 
 in both these respects. 
 
 1. It is stated. — Ver. 1, "My brethren," he begins, ad- 
 dressing them in an affectionate, conciliatory manner, well 
 fitted to gain their confidence and compliance. He calls on 
 them not to hold, in a certain way, "the faith of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ." He had spoken immediately before of true 
 and undefiled religion, of what it consists in, practically re- 
 garded, — of how it comes out inaction, namely, visiting the 
 fatherless and widows in their affliction, and keeping our- 
 selves unspotted from the world. Now, he traces it up to 
 its vital root, its underlying ground, its radical, essential 
 principle, faith, "the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ." It is 
 this wliich alike determines the state and forms the cha- 
 racter of the really religious, — of those who are so in the 
 
RESPECT OF PERSONS. 145 
 
 scriptural sense of the expression. It is only by believing 
 with the whole mind and heart that we are united to the 
 Saviour, and reap the benefits of his great redemption. It is 
 thus we are sprinkled with the blood of atonement, and 
 sanctified by the Spirit of holiness. It is the inlet to all 
 gracious influences and heavenly blessings. Faith lies at the 
 foundation of the entire Christian structure. By it alone 
 can forgiveness of sins be obtained ; by it alone can the fruits 
 of righteousness be produced. It is now spoken of as gene- 
 rally as possible, to bring out strongly how utterly inconsis- 
 tent with it, under every form and in every measure, is that 
 practice which is here condemned. The two are directly, 
 essentially opposed in their very nature. The faith is indeed 
 taken as representative of, and as equivalent to, that religion, 
 of which it is so fundamental and prominent a part, — the re- 
 hgion of Christ. It is as if James had exhorted them not to 
 hold, not to profess the gospel, of which this grace is pre- 
 eminently distinctive, "with respect of persons." He sets 
 forth the great object of faith with much fulness, for the pur- 
 pose of making all the more distinct and complete that con- 
 trast and contrariety which he is seeking to establish. "Our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. "^ — And to this most comprehensive name 
 and designation is appended the additional title, "the Lord 
 of glory." You see that in the latter "the Lord" is supplied 
 by our translators, but quite warrantably and correctly, so as 
 to bring out the sense, for other proposed methods of render- 
 ing the original are far less natural and probable. 
 
 Well does the Saviour deserve to be so called. He does 
 so in his eternal and essential being, as the second person of 
 the Godhead. John says, "we beheld his glory, the glory 
 as of the only begotten of the Father." Another sacred 
 writer describes him as being "the brightness of his (the 
 Father's) glory, and the express image of his person." He 
 possessad every Divine perfection and prerogative. All the 
 
 L 
 
146 RESPECT OF PERSONS. 
 
 blessedness and greatness of the Deity were his from ever- 
 lasting. They belonged to him as the Son, by necessary, 
 inalienable right, and admitted neither of diminution nor 
 increase. As Mediator, and he is here sjioken of as such, 
 he has a derived, delegated glory. He has been rewarded 
 for his toils and sufferings, for his humiliation unto death, 
 the death of the cross, by being raised up and set at the 
 right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. There he reigns, 
 the head of all principality and power, having written on 
 his vesture and his thigh that name which is above every 
 name, " King of kings and Lord of lords." He presides over 
 all the affairs of his Church, of the world, of the universe — 
 saving his people, subduing his enemies, and accomplishing 
 the purposes of infinite love, wisdom, and holiness. And, 
 at last, he is to come again, not in lowliness as of old, but 
 "with power and great glory." Before him every knee is to 
 bow, and to him every tongue is to confess. He is here in- 
 troduced as suchaLord,to intimate, as we may infer, that faith 
 brings us into contact with a glory which should cast into 
 tlj# shade all that boars the name on earth, and keep us 
 from despising any of those so related to him, however poor 
 they may be in the world, however humble or needy in their 
 temporal circumstances. 
 
 " Have not tlie faith of our Lord Jesus Christ," — that is, 
 hold it not — " with respect of persons." It is more exactly in 
 thsinwith respect of persons, in the practice of anything so 
 incongruous, so contradictory as this is, anything so obviously 
 and wholly opposed to its very nature. And it is strictly in 
 rcspectings of persons, the plural being used to indicate the 
 various forms and ways of doing what is here forbidden. By 
 it wo are to understand partiality, favouritism, unduly pre- 
 ferring one before another, making a tlistinction and differ- 
 ence among men, not on the gi'ound of character or renl 
 worth of any kind, but of fortune, of outward condition, of 
 worldly position and possessions. This is often condemn' <1 
 
RESPECT OF PERSONS. 147 
 
 in Scripture, and that very specially by the Divine example ; 
 for God is entirely exempt from all such improper bias, from 
 even the most distant approach to unfairness in his dealings 
 with any of his creatures. Thus : — " For the Lord your God is 
 God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and 
 a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward. 
 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, 
 and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment." 
 "Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, 
 Ye are ungodly? How much less to him that accepteth not 
 the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the 
 poor? for they all are the work of his hands." " Then Peter 
 opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God 
 is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that 
 feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with 
 him."-^ 
 
 This elevating of one at the expense of another may be 
 done by setting up the poor over the heads of the rich, giving 
 them an undue place and preference. Such a thing does 
 sometimes occur, and in the bosom of the Church itself. 
 
 ■m 
 
 There is a suspicion, a jealousy, an envy of the wealthy in 
 many quarters, which seeks to deprive them of their legitimate 
 influence, to prevent them from exercising, or to fetter them 
 in exercising, rights which belong to them in common with 
 all classes, and which no one thinks of interfering with in the 
 case of the very humblest of the people. We have seen them 
 looked on with distrust and dislike, subjected to censure 
 and reproach for doing what the meanest might have done 
 without remark, and what, but for the circumstance of their 
 riches, would have excited not the very slightest feeUng. 
 That is wrong, and really falls within the range of the 
 apostle's warning in the passage. But the usual way of 
 erring here is by going in exactly the opposite direction, and 
 hence the example which follows. 
 
 1 Deut. I. 17, 18 ; Job xxxiv. 18, 19 ; Acts x. 34, S5. 
 
148 RESPECT OF PERSONS. 
 
 2. It is illustrated. — Vers. 2, 3, 4. Here he shows, by 
 means of a particular case, how this respect of persons is 
 wont to manifest itself, in what way it most frequently ap- 
 pears. He puts it hypothetically, but he evidently points 
 to what had been really, actually occurring among those 
 addressed by him, to a display of this unchristian spirit, this 
 sinful partiality to which they were not at all strangers. 
 Their consciences must have borne witness to the faithful- 
 ness of the picture which he here so graphically draws. 
 " For," — this is what I mean, here is a specimen of the kind 
 of thing I am warning you against, — "if there come into your 
 assembly" — that is, your congregation, your meeting, or 
 place of meeting for Divine worship. Some have thought 
 that the reference is rather to a gathering of another and 
 loss sacred description, one for settling disputes among the 
 members of the Church; and the peculiar term here employed 
 for assembly, literally, synagogue, is regarded by them as 
 favouring this idea. But the use of it may be accounted 
 for by the parties to whom James wrote — the Jews, and nearly 
 everything in the passage is against such a supposition. It 
 brings out the ofifensiveness of the proceeding, that it took 
 place in the sanctuary, where, even more than in a court of 
 justice, everything of the sort was most unseemly and incon- 
 sistent. We can less easily imagine persons of the kinil 
 described coming into, or having anything to do with, the 
 more private meetings which believers had for determining 
 differences among themselves. But strangers, those without, 
 both Jews and heathens, were in the habit of visiting the 
 places where Christians gathered together for stated religious 
 exercises, being actuated in doing so, sometimes by incipient 
 conviction, sometimes by mere curio.sity, — by these and other 
 niotivf^ more or loss creditable. We have this fact speci- 
 ally mentioned by the apostle Paul in writing to the 
 Corinthians ; — " If therefore the whole Church be come to- 
 gether into one place, and all sp':'ak with tongues, and thcra 
 
EESPECT OF PERSONS. 149 
 
 come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they 
 not say that ye are mad ? But if all prophesy, and there 
 come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is con- 
 vinced of all, he is judged of all : and thus are the secrets 
 of his heart made manifest; and so, falling down on his 
 face, he will worship God, and report that God is in you of 
 a truth. "^ These parties from without required to be ac- 
 commodated, and that would not be so easily done as among 
 us, but would give more scope for the exercise of partiality 
 in the comparatively small and private rooms where they 
 held their assemblies, than in our large, regularly-constructed 
 churches, with their open pews, ample space, and established 
 order. 
 
 " If there come in," he says, " a man with a gold ring, 
 in goodly apparel" — one. who appeared by these marks to be 
 a person of superior position, one of the better classes, as 
 they, are called. " With a gold ring," literally, gold-fingered, 
 having his hands adorned probably with more than a single 
 ring, it might be with several. It was no uncommon thing 
 in ancient times, any more than it is at present, to have the 
 fingers thus loaded. Here it is represented as indicative of 
 social distinction, of considerable wealth and rank on the 
 part of the individual so bedecked. It could scarcely be so 
 viewed now, for who is not gold-fingered in these days of ours ? 
 Indeed, so general has this become, that it is no mark of 
 superiority or of substance, but often rather the reverse. " In 
 goodly apparel," — having a splendid garment, as the word 
 signifies, bright, shining, glittering, either from its colour or 
 its ornaments. Here we have a gentleman walking in, 
 elegantly dressed, possibly with the look and air of a person 
 who was conferring great honour on the little congregation 
 by his presence. But another enters, and what a contrast! 
 "And there come in also a poor man in vile raiment." 
 Here is one of mean condition, as shown by his filthy, sordid 
 1 Cor. xiv. 23, 24, 25, 
 
I.jO respect of persons. 
 
 attire, the dirt and rags with wliicli he is covered. " And 
 ye have respect to hira that weareth the gay clothing," 
 marking the deference paid to him by saying, " Sit thou 
 here in a good place," — sit here, near the speaker, in the 
 midst of the assembly, in a comfortable and honourable seat; 
 while your langxiage to the poor is, "Stand thou there" — 
 stand, that is suitable and sufficient for you; and stand 
 there, away at a distance, behind the others, it may be in 
 some remote comer, some inconvenient position; or, " Sit 
 thou here under my footstool;" if you sit at all among us 
 let it be on the ground beneath, at my feet, in a mean, low 
 situation of that kind. Supposing them to act in such a 
 manner, he asks, vcr. 4, " Aie ye not then partial in your- 
 selves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?" " Are 
 ye not partial in yourselves?" do ye not make distinctions 
 among yourselves, or are ye not at issue with yourselves ? 
 Is not this way of acting at variance with your principles as 
 Christians? Is there not a wide difference between the faith 
 you profess and the course you thus pursue? Paul warned 
 Timothy against the same thing in language illustrative of 
 that here employed: — "I charge thee before God, and the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe 
 these things without preferring one before another, doing 
 nothing by partiality."^ " And are become judges of evil 
 thoughts," — not of evil thoughts in others, in those whom 
 you treat thus unfairly. The thoughts were in themselves 
 the judges, and a2)})eared in these proceedings. Are ye not 
 actuated by them in dealing as you do with the two classes, 
 rich and poor? Do you not fonn your estimates and regu- 
 late your conduct by false principles? 
 
 Now, what is it that he condemns ? Is it showing any 
 deference to those of larger means and higher station ? 
 Certainly not. The Bible fully recognises the distinction 
 of ranks, the subordination of classes in society ; and it not 
 
 1 1 Tim. V. 21. 
 
RESPECT OF PERSONS. 151 
 
 only allows, but obliges all Christians to regard these grada- 
 tions, and give to their fellow-creatures the respect, the 
 honour due to them in their several places and relations. 
 There is nothing here in the slightest degree at variance 
 with that. What he condemns is honouring the rich at 
 the expense of the poor, — cringing to the one and trampling 
 on the other, and doing this, besides, in the house of God, 
 in the Church of Christ, where all should meet on the same 
 footing, should be viewed and treated as standing on a 
 common level, — where all worldly distinctions should be 
 obliterated, laid aside as having no place there, whatever 
 they may have in the ordinary relations of life and arrange- 
 ments of society. That is the respect of persons which he 
 warns his readers against ; and the exhortation is still 
 needed. The same evil exists, though not appearing in 
 precisely the same form. There may be, there is not a 
 little partiality in the sanctuary itself. It comes out in a 
 variety of ways and quarters. Favour is still shewn to the rich 
 man, where it is neither his right nor his interest to have 
 any, but to rank along with the poorest of his brethren. 
 
 This is done at times by softening down or keeping back 
 the truth from fear of offending certain influential classes 
 or parties. There is often a shameful cowardice and un- 
 faithfulness evinced in denouncing sin, exposing error, and 
 enforcing duty, where they are concerned. There is a with- 
 holding or modifying of what they need but dislike, of what 
 might wound their pride and rouse their opposition. We 
 have a noble example of the opposite in the case of Howe 
 when acting as one of Cromwell's chaplains. He found 
 that a fanatical and dangerous notion regarding answers to 
 prayer prevailed at court, and was held strongly by the 
 Protector himself, — a notion which some who knew better 
 did their utmost to encourage. Regarding it with abhor- 
 rence, Howe thought himself bound, when next called to 
 preach before Cromwell, to expose the fallacies on which it 
 
1 n 2 rfspp:ct of persons. 
 
 rested, and the pernicious consequences to which it led. 
 '' This accordingly he did, doubtless to the no small sur- 
 l)rise and chagrin of his audience. During his discourse, 
 Cromwell was observed to pay marked attention ; but as 
 his custom was, when displeased, frequently knit his brows, 
 and manifested other symptoms of uneasiness. Even the 
 terrors of Cromwell's eye, however, could not make Howe 
 quail in the performance of an undoubted duty; and he 
 proceeded in a strain of calm and cogent reasoning to fulfil 
 his honourable but difficult task. When he had finished, a 
 ]K^rson of distinction came up and asked whether he knew 
 Avhat he had done ? at the same time expressing his appre- 
 hension that he had irretrievably lost the Protector's favour. 
 Howe coolly replied that he had discharged what he consi- 
 dered a duty, and could leave the issue with God."^ This 
 was worthy of his sacred office, and his own noble cha- 
 racter. 
 
 The same thing is frequently done in the way of pursuing 
 a subservient course of conduct toward the rich with the 
 view of gaining their favour. Nothing is more common 
 than to cringe to them, to fawn on them, to act an accom- 
 modating part, to sacrifice conviction and independence in 
 deference to their opinions and wishes. Those who should 
 be far above all such meanness, and who, actuated by the 
 fear of God, should know no other fear, — the ministers of the 
 gospel, the rulers of the Church — are too ready to bow before 
 a money-power, and show a cowardly timidity when the cir- 
 cumstances call for manly courage. And this perhaps goes 
 even the length of relaxing discipline, so far as the faults of 
 the favoured class are concerned. Conduct which brings 
 down ecclesiastical dealing and censure on others may be 
 passed over in them, — their station shielding them from the 
 condemnation which lights on their humbler brethren. What 
 could be baser? and yet we are afraid that it is not of rare 
 
 1 Life of Howe, by Rogers, p. 82. 
 
RESPECT OF PERSONS. 153 
 
 occurrence. By means like these some still hold the faith 
 of Christ with respect of persons. 
 
 II. The reasons hy which the warning is enforced. 
 There are two, and they are contained in verses 5, 6, 7. 
 
 1. The poor are the special objects of the Divine regard. 
 — Ver. 5, He says, " Hearken." There is a call to atten- 
 tion. He seeks to arrest them, and turn them away from 
 such partiality by the powerful consideration he is about to 
 present. " My beloved brethren," — he thus addresses them 
 most affectionately, tenderly, in a way fitted to commend 
 his appeal. They had greatly erred, and he is far from 
 sparing them, but he deals with them in a conciliatory and 
 paternal spirit. " Hath not God chosen the poor of this [ 
 world rich in faith ? " He has chosen them in his eternal 
 decree, the exercise of his sovereign, electing love ; and in 
 pursuance of this, chosen- them by calling them out and 
 separating them to himself, through the effectual operation 
 of the Holy Ghost. The two are related as cause and con- 
 sequence, purpose and fulfilment. And whom has he thus 
 chosen ? " The poor of this world,"^ — the poor in respect of 
 it, in the things of it, the poor temporally. They consti- 
 tute the class to which the man in vile raiment belonged. 
 " Rich in faith,"' — that is, God has chosen them to be this, — ■ 
 he has destined them to it, and made them it by his elec- 
 tion and calling. James speaks here rather of the province 
 than of the measure of faith. It is not the material of 
 which the wealth consists, but the element, the sphere, the 
 region within which it lies. It corresponds to the world in 
 the other clause, and marks out the spiritual counterpart. 
 The treasure is that of salvation. It consists of the bene- 
 fits of redemption, the sure mercies of David, — of pardon, 
 acceptance, holiness, peace, hope, victory; and finally, of 
 eternal life itself with all its blessedness and glory. Here 
 is whatever can satisfy, ennoble; riches which never disap- 
 
154 RESPECT OF PERSONS. 
 
 point, nevcT fly away — -riches which, instead of being torn 
 away by death, are then only more surely possessed and 
 largely enjoyed. By faith the whole of this fortune is re- 
 ceived and retained. It is the grace which appropriates all 
 the fulness of Christ, brings into the soul his blood-bought 
 treasures. " And heirs of the kingdom which he hath pro- 
 mised to them that love him." The Christian is rich at 
 present. He has large possessions, and these belong to the 
 domain of faith. But he has also bright, glorious prospects. 
 Already he is a son, and that is much ; but he is thereby 
 also an heir, and as such has the highest expectations. 
 His inheritance is a kingdom, than which there is nothing 
 greater, nobler, more coveted here below. He is to wear a 
 crown and occupy a throne, he is to reign with his Lord for 
 ever. This kingdom is represented as " promised to them 
 that love him," — not as if this were to constitute their title, 
 as if by means of it they were to establish a claim, and ob- 
 tain possession of the future glory. No ; it simply marks 
 the character of those who are to be admitted to it here- 
 after. They, and they only, who have their natural enmity 
 destroyed and love to God implanted in their hearts, can 
 sit down in the kingdom above. 
 
 From the beginning the poor have been thus distinguished. 
 " The poor have the gospel preached to them." " And he 
 lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye 
 p(X)r, for yours is the kingdom of God." "But God hath 
 cho.sen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise ; 
 and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to con- 
 found the things which are mighty ; and base things of the 
 woi'ld, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, 
 and things which are not, to bring to nought things that 
 are: that no flesh should glory in his presence."^ In all 
 ages since then to the present day, they have had the same 
 K])iritual pre-eminence. They have been chosen, that is, 
 
 ' Mutt. ii. 5; Luke vi. 20; 1 Cor. i. 27-29. 
 
RESPECT OF PERSONS. 155 
 
 principally, predominantly, for we are certainly not to take 
 it in the sense of exclusively. There have been many con- 
 spicuous exceptions. Abraham, Job, David, and other 
 eminent saints, have had large possessions. It is a hard 
 thing, but, blessed be God, not an impossible thing for a 
 rich man to pass through the strait gate of the kingdom. 
 
 Here, then, was the Divine standard of honour ; but the 
 parties addressed by James had reversed it in the way of judg- 
 ing and acting which they followed. " But ye have despised 
 the poor ; " the poor man, pointing back to the one singled 
 out and spoken of immediately before. They had done so, 
 as was evident by the treatment to which they had sub- 
 jected him ; for it could have proceeded from nothing, and 
 was indicative of nothing, but contempt. Thus they cast 
 down, trampled on the representative of that class which 
 God had chosen to be the special objects of his favour, the 
 children of his family, and the heirs of his kingdom. They 
 went directly in opposition to him, and had in this circum- 
 stance reason to be alarmed and ashamed. 
 
 2. The rich had shown themselves the great eneinies of 
 Christ's j)cople and jjerson. — He appeals to his readers, 
 "Do not rich men oppress you ?" lord it over you, exercise 
 their power against you, — " and draw you," drag you ; for it 
 implies force, violence, — " before the judgment-seats." They 
 did so by vexatious law-suits, by false charges, by persecut- 
 ing measures. They carried them there when the arm of 
 the magistrate was put forth, and the rage of the multitude 
 broke out against the Church. And at other times, when 
 the storm was not raging so fiercely, the more influential of 
 the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles tried every kind of 
 expedient to harass and destroy the little flock ; and the 
 corrupt, hostile rulers were too ready to prostitute the 
 judgment-seats to such a purpose. Not only so, he asks, 
 " Do they not blaspheme that worthy name by the which 
 ye are called ?" The reference is not to the lives of incon- 
 
1 5 G RESPECT OF PERSONS. 
 
 sistent Christians, but to the foul-mouthed charges and 
 curses of avowed enemies of the gospel. The worthy or 
 honourable name intended is that of Christ. It had been 
 put on them at baptism, and they bore it ever after. By 
 it they were known, distinguished. It was their glory. 
 What title, then, had this class to such a preference ? Did 
 their relation to tlie Church, either in its members or its 
 Head, call for any special consideration or favour at the 
 hands of believers ? Quite the reverse. Those who fawned 
 on them, who bowed down to them, shewed a want of self- 
 respect, and, still more, a Avant- of proper regard to their 
 great Master's interest and honour. 
 
 The rich may here learn a lesson. Wealth gives no 
 pre-eminence in the sanctuary. It elevates temporally, but 
 not spiritually. Instead of conferring any advantage in 
 this respect, it does the reverse. It is productive of 
 entanglements and dangers without number. The burdens 
 it imposes, and the obstacles it raises, make it far more 
 difficult for its possessors than for any others to enter the 
 kingdom. They should not be high-minded bat fear, and 
 instead of claiming the loftiest place, be afraid of losing 
 even the lowest. The rich in this world are seldom rich in 
 faith, and the latter distinction is the only real and proper 
 one in the spiritual province. 
 
 The poor, too, may learn a lesson. Repine not at that 
 condition which is connected with such an advantage, 
 which bnngs such a blessing. But imagine not for a 
 moment that your poverty of itself will secure for you the 
 kingdom. That were a fearful, a fatal delusion. It only 
 confers on you certain facilities for laying hold of it, for 
 entering into it by faith in Jesus. And if with these you 
 come short of it, — if you reject the great salvation, your con- 
 demnation must be all the heavier, — your misery all the 
 deeper through eternity. Oh, seek and prize spiritual 
 blessings, the treasure of the gospel ! Here is the surest 
 
RESPECT OF PERSONS. 157 
 
 wealth, here the highest dignity. Thus may you be set 
 among the princes. You are not shut out from these 
 unsearchable riches; yea, you more readily than others 
 may draw near and claim them as your portion for ever. 
 Poor in this world, become rich in faith, and then you 
 shall be rich indeed. 
 
 And finally, the Church also may learn a lesson. Let 
 her see to it that there be no respect of persons within her 
 sacred domain, in the spiritual region over which she pre- 
 sides. Character, not condition, should be everything in 
 her estimation. Rich and .poor should stand on the same 
 level, and receive the same treatment. Yea, if she may 
 make a distinction, should it not be in favour of those whom 
 her Lord has specially chosen for himself, and who in all 
 ages have been the great bulk and body of the excellent of 
 the earth. When she lays herself down at the feet of men 
 because of their wealth or power, their rank or office, — when 
 she cringes and flatters, her glory, if not gone, is departing, 
 her crown is tottering, if it has not already fallen. She is 
 not to carry herself proudly to any ; but while loving, humble, 
 holding out a welcome to all, she is not to forget the real 
 standard of honour and sphere of her influence. She is not 
 to repel the rich, but she is to cherish the poor as her 
 special care and treasure. 
 
158 OFFENDING IN ONE POINT. 
 
 XII. 
 
 OFFENDING IN ONE POINT. 
 
 "If yc fulfil the royal laiv according to the Scripture, 
 Thou sJtalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: hut 
 if ye have respect to j^ersons, ye commit sin, and are con- 
 vinced of the law as transgressors. For ivhosoever shall 
 keep the ivhole law, and yet offend in one paint, he is guilty 
 of cdl. For he that said, Do not commit adidtery, said 
 also. Do not kill. Now, if thou commit no adultery, yet 
 if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the laiu." — 
 James ii. 8-11. 
 
 . . . . * 
 
 lVMES is here warning his readers against respect 
 
 of persons, as a thing inconsistent with the faith 
 of Christ which they professed. He illustrates 
 the Avorking of this sinful partiality, this undue preferring 
 of one before another, by an example; and, while the case 
 is put in a hypothetical form, it is quite evident that he 
 points to what had really been taking place among them, to 
 actual transactions of the very kind he describes. He sup- 
 poses two men coming into their assembly — that, doubtless, 
 for public worship — one of them having a gold ring and a fine 
 dress, the other, a poor person, in mean, sordid attire; and 
 such a marked difference being made between them, that 
 lie with the gay clothing is invited to sit down among them, 
 in a prominent and honourable place, while he with the vile 
 raiment is ordered to stand at a distance, away behind the 
 others, in some remote, oljscure corner, or, if allowed to take 
 a seat at all, one under the speaker's footstool, on the ground 
 beside it; — and the apostle asks, if acting in such a way, 
 
OFFENDING IN ONE POINT. 159 
 
 they were not partial in themselves, at issue with themselves 
 as Christians, and judges of evil thoughts, that is, judges 
 actuated by evil thoughts, under the influence of false 
 principles? 
 
 He then enforces the warning by two powerful reasons. 
 First, the poor, not the rich, are the special objects of the 
 Divine favour. Temporally depressed, they are spiritually 
 exalted. God has been pleased to choose them, not ex- 
 clusively, indeed, but principally, for the most part, to be 
 rich in faith, and heirs of his everlasting kingdom. The 
 history of the Church from the beginning confirms the re- 
 presentation which is here given. Thus they were reversing 
 his standard of honour, they were contemning those on whom 
 he was conferring peculiar distinction. Secondly, the rich 
 had shown themselves the chief enemies of Christ's people 
 and person. They dragged believers before the judgment- 
 seats, and they openly, impiously, blasphemed that worthy 
 name by which they were called. What claim had they, 
 then, to be set up over others? There was no justice, no 
 propriety, in paying such homage to them in the sanctuary, 
 in making them so much more welcome than the friendly 
 and deserving poor who came into their assemblies. Now 
 James brings out specially and prominently the sinfulness of 
 this conduct of theirs, proves that it was a violation of the 
 Divine law, and a violation which involved them in the guilt 
 of trampling the whole of that law under foot. Looking up 
 for the Spirit's teaching and blessing, I call you to observe, 
 
 I. To respect persons is to transgress the law. — Vers. 
 8,9. " But if ye fulfil the royal law" — " yet if," or, " if, how- 
 ever," ye fulfil the royal law. This may be introduced in reply 
 to a supposed objection, the objection, namely, that the law 
 requires us to love our neighbour, be he rich or poor, be he 
 chosen or not in the way alleged, be he friend or foe to the 
 professors and interests of Christianity — yes, to love him 
 
IGO OFFENDING IN ONE POINT. 
 
 as we do ourselves; or it may rather be brought in for the 
 purpose of illustratiug and confirming the apostle's own 
 argument — as if he had said, I mean nothing in opposition to 
 the great principle here quoted, nothing like the withholding 
 of love from the one class any more than the other. I am 
 far from meaning that you should hate the rich, — that you 
 should drive them from your assemblies, — that you should 
 treat them with any disrespect or unkindness. I should de- 
 plore everything of the sort, the must distant approach to it; 
 and I expressly guard against such a construction and per- 
 version of this my language. 
 
 " K ye fulfil the royal law " — " fulfil " it, that is, if ye 
 obey it in its completeness, — if ye choose and endeavour 
 to do so ; for he speaks in this way without giving the 
 least .sanction to the idea that men can keep it perfectly — 
 can fulfil it, except in a modified sense, to a limited extent. 
 He points to desire and effort in that direction. He calls 
 it " the royal law." It is the moral law which he thus 
 designates. He quotes the latter half of it — that which con- 
 tciins our duty to our fellow-creatures, being the part of it 
 now in question, relating to the subject under discussion. 
 But the whole of it, the first great commandment as well as 
 tliis, the second, is thus characterized. Why is it so named ? 
 Various reasons have been given, all of them setting forth 
 some property or avspect of it, alike true and important. 
 The correct one, however, as we doubt not, is that which 
 finds the explanation of the epithet in its being the king 
 of all law, — the supreme, ultimate, all-regulating law. It is 
 the final, perfect stimdard of judgment and conduct. It is 
 the rule of right which limits and controls every other. All 
 codes are inferior, subordinate to it, bound to be conformed 
 to it, of real validity and stability only in so far as shaped 
 after its modrl, in harmony with its principles and precepts. 
 They nmst give way to it in every case of collision. To it 
 we owe entire, absolute allegiance. To it all apjicals uiu^t 
 
OFFENDING IN ONE POINT. 161 
 
 be carried. By it all characters and actions must be tried. 
 It is to stand out with this pre-eminence at last, " the royal 
 law," towering aloft and exercising universal sway when the 
 statute-books of earth, like the magical ones of the Ephe- 
 sians, are to be consigned to the flames. It is to retain its 
 full authority and receive undivided homage when the 
 master-pieces of human legislation shall have perished for 
 ever. He says, " If ye fulfil the royal law according to the 
 Scripture." — Many fulfil it in a very different way, namely, 
 according to their own feelings and fancies, or according to 
 the glosses and perversions of it which prevail in tlie world 
 around. They keep it, not in its exceeding length and 
 breadth, its spirituality and purity, as unfolded throughout 
 the Divine word by its great giver and only infallible in- 
 terpreter, but in the outward letter of it, the formal, nar- 
 row precept ; and even there fail, while they take credit for 
 success. That is not to fulfil it at all, — it is not to do it 
 according to the Scripture, which is the sole authoritative 
 depositary and exponent of the royal law. 
 
 " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." That is the 
 summary of the last six commandments. We find their con- 
 tents thus compendiously stated both in the Old and New 
 Testaments. " Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge 
 against the children of thy people ; but thou shalt love thy 
 neighbour as thyself : I am the Lord." " Jesus said unto 
 him. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 
 with all thy soul, and with aU thy mind. This is the first 
 and great commandment. And the second is like unto 
 it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two 
 commandments hang all the law and the prophets." ^ Every 
 fellow-creature, whether rich or poor, high or low, near or 
 distant, good or bad. Christian or heathen, Jew or Gentile, 
 is our neighbour in the scriptural sense of the expression ; 
 
 ' Lev. six. 18 ; Matt. xxii. 37-40. 
 
 M 
 
162 OFFENDING IN ONE POINT. 
 
 a7id the love we bear to him is to be as sincere, genuine, 
 tliorough, as that we bear to ourselves. The one is to be 
 essentially the same in kind as the other. In such a case, 
 he says, " Ye do well," — ye act a commendable part — I have 
 nothing to object. This is your duty, and, if you discharge it, 
 I am far from finding fault — I rejoice. But is it anything of 
 the sort you are doing ? Is the way of acting which I am 
 condemning traceable to a right spirit ? is it to be regarded 
 as obedience to the royal law ? Alas ! no ; it is wholly dif- 
 ferent, and this he goes on to make manifest in what 
 follows. 
 
 Ver. 9, " But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit 
 sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors." " If 
 ye have respect to persons," — if ye show partiality, undue 
 preference of the rich to the poor, — if you honour the one 
 and despise the other by such conduct in your assemblies 
 as has been pointed out, that is not fulfilling the law, that 
 is anything but loving thy neighbour as thyself On the 
 contrary, by so doing you commit sin, or, more exactly and 
 forcibly, it is sin you are working. Yes, it is that, though 
 you may call it rendering obedience. The poor man is 
 your neighbour as well, as much as the rich, — the poor is on 
 the same level with him in relation to the law's require- 
 ments ; and where is your love to him when you treat him 
 in such a manner, make him stand at a distance, or sit on 
 the gi'ound ; while you invite the wealthy, gaily-clothed 
 visitor to take a foremost place, the most comfortable and 
 honourable seat in your assembly. That is a violation of 
 the commandment, and " you are convinced of the law as 
 transgressors." Convinced here means con\'icted, proved to 
 be guilty, brought in as such, whetluT you realise it or not, 
 whether you are troubled about it or not, whether the deci- 
 sion is sanctioned and felt, or not so acknowledged in the 
 depths of the conscience. The evidence is complete, the 
 sentence is just and sure, be the evil-doer aware of it, 
 
OFFENDING IN ONE POINT. 163 
 
 sensible of it, or the reverse. How ? By special prohibi- 
 tions of that very favouritism, partiality, which you have been 
 exhibiting. Thus, — " Ye shall do no unrighteousness in 
 judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, 
 nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness 
 shalt thou judge thy neighbour."^ This is but one of a 
 class of passages to the same effect. We do not need, how- 
 ever, to go beyond that very requirement, that royal law 
 regarding our neighbour, to which these persons probably 
 referred in self-defence, to which they appealed, it may be, 
 as justifying their treatment of the rich stranger. The 
 difference they put between the rich and the poor man ran 
 manifestly in the face of the legal obligation, and thus by it 
 they were convicted as transgressors. 
 
 II. To transgress the law in one, is to transgress it in 
 every point. — Ver. 10, " For whosoever shall keep the whole 
 law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." The 
 Jews looked on the law as consisting of a multitude of 
 detached and minute requirements. They understood not 
 its essential unity, the gi'and underlying principle which 
 pervades and binds together, as it were brings into one, its 
 many and varied precepts. They made distinctions among 
 the parts into which they thus broke it up, as to their rela- 
 tive obligation and importance. Some they set aside, while 
 others, and these not embracing the weightier matters, they 
 scrupulously observed. They believed that they coidd com- 
 pensate by strict obedience in this, for partial compliance 
 or systematic neglect in that direction. James dissipates 
 entirely such an idea, which was perhaps lurking in the 
 minds of those now addressed, and about to be employed 
 for the purpose of defending their conduct or easing their 
 consciences with regard to their respecting of persons. He 
 disposes of it by laying down the great principle of the 1 0th 
 ^ Lev. xix. 15. 
 
104 OFFENDING IN ONE POINT. 
 
 verse. " For whosoever shall keep the whole law," — where 
 he simply makes the supposition, without deciding anything 
 as to man's ability to do this, a subject on which Scripture 
 gives no uncertain sound — " and yet ofiFend in one point," 
 — literally, stumble, fall, that is, disobey, transgress; and in 
 one point, any single part or precept of the Divine statute- 
 book — "he is guilty of all," namely, all the commandments, — 
 he is chargeable with trampling on its every prohibition; he 
 has thereby committed a breach, a violation of the whole, 
 and is exposed to the consequent condemnation. This may 
 seem a hard saying, but it is true, and the reasons of it can 
 be stated and defended. The justice, the necessity of what 
 James here asserts, will appear from the following considera- 
 tions : — 
 
 1. Look at the law itself. In opposition to the Jewish 
 mode of viewing it, a mode which, we fear, is too common 
 among ourselves, it is characterized by a deep, essential, all- 
 pervading unity. It has manifold relations. It deals with 
 the heart and life, the thoughts, words, and actions; with 
 men of all ages and conditions, as bound up with and owing 
 duties to each other as members of families, of communities, 
 of churches, — as occupying an endless variety of situations 
 with consequent obligations, both in temporal and spiritual 
 respects. It consists of many parts, branches off into a 
 multitude of enactments corresponding to the extent and 
 diversity of its demands. It lays down not only general 
 rules to direct us, but special and detailed instructions, 
 which are greatly needed by reason of our blindness and 
 partiality. It condescends on the application to be made 
 of it in this and that relation. It specifies the fniits of 
 righteousness in all their variety, and does not leave us to 
 infer merely what they must be from the nature of that tree 
 on which they grow, or the vital sap from which they 
 spring and by which they arc pervaded, when genuine, 
 acceptable. But, in perfect harmony with this, it consists 
 
OFFENDING IN ONE POINT. 1G5 
 
 of one great, all-comprehensive principle. The whole obe- 
 dience it demands can be expressed in a single monosyllable. 
 " Love worketh no ill to his neighbour ; therefore love is 
 the fulfilling of the law." " Now the end of the command- 
 ment is charity" — that is, love — " out of a pure heart, and 
 of a ofood conscience, and of faith unfeigned."^ That, 
 again, divides itself into two parts, according to the two 
 grand objects of the affection, — God on the one hand, and 
 man on the other. Hence the way in which it is summed 
 up by Jesus in the passage already quoted from the gospel 
 of Matthew. It then branches out into the ten command- 
 ments, which were written on the tables of stone by the 
 Lawgiver's own finger, and given to Moses on Mount Sinai. 
 Even these were but a brief compendium of it ; and we find 
 it unfolded in its exceeding length and breadth, its multi- 
 plicity of requirements, throughout . the whole Scriptures 
 both of the Old and New Testaments. All that is precep- 
 tive there, declarative of duty, belongs to it, and is but the 
 development, the application in the special circumstances of 
 the case, whatever these may be. 
 
 The matter standing thus, to break it in one respect is to 
 break it in every respect — in its entirety, its unity. You 
 cannot trample on a single jot or tittle of it without thereby 
 treading on the principle of which it is the expression, the 
 coming forth in a particular direction for a particular pur- 
 pose. You cannot isolate any of its enactments, cannot 
 separate them from their very essence — the love which is 
 the burden, the sum and substance of every one of them, 
 without exception. To stumble, offend in the least point, is 
 to be guilty of going against all its prohibitions, because of 
 the bonds which hold together the commandments composing 
 it, the principle in which the whole of it is comprehended. 
 You cannot maim an arm or a leg without maiming the 
 entire body, for the injured member is an integral part of 
 1 Rom. xiii. 10 ; 1 Tim. i. 5. 
 
1()G OFFENDING IN ONE POINT. 
 
 it, thoroughly one with it, and essential to its completeness. 
 Break only a single link of a chain, and the effect is the same 
 as if you were to break a hundred, — yea, every link of it, for its 
 continuity is at end, and it is good for nothing. In like 
 manner, when we pass into the moral region, the witness 
 who utters a lie, let it be the least imaginable, brings dis- 
 credit on the whole of his evidence, however correct other- 
 wise, and stands branded a false, perjured person, as really 
 as if he had not spoken a word of truth. It is so here, 
 because of that unity which is characteristic of the Divine 
 law. 
 
 2. Look at the subjects of the law. When we consider 
 tliem we are led to the same conclusion. They must obey, 
 not in an external, formal way, but, by the very nature of 
 the case, from a central, universal, all-constraining motive. 
 There must be a unity in them exactly corresponding to the 
 unity in the law. Its great comprehensive demand is love, 
 as Ave have seen, and by this affection or principle alone can 
 it be fulfilled. Without it there is, and can be, no obe- 
 dience. There may be the name and appearance of it, but 
 the reality, the essence of it, is wholly wanting. The in- 
 ternal element must unfold itself in harmony with the multi- 
 plicity of reciuirements. The development of the one must 
 accord with the development of the other — the rule of duty. 
 There cannot be a failure in any respect but by a foilure 
 of this, the spring of all true submission and service. That 
 within us, apart from which none of the Divine statutes can 
 be honoured, is found so far lacking; and the deficiency is to 
 be viewed, not simply in relation to the particular enactment 
 disregarded, but to the entire code with which it is con- 
 nected. In such a case you withhold that which is de- 
 manded in every precept of the royal law. The root of the 
 tree is shown to be affected, and that tells on the stem and 
 all the branches. 
 
 3. Look at the author of the law. It has been given by 
 
OFFENDING IN ONE POINT. 167 
 
 God, and bears throughout his impress. His authority is 
 stamped equally on every part of the statute-book. In our 
 obedience we are to have respect above all to him, to regard 
 not the mere enactment, but him from whom it proceeds — 
 his will as expressed, and his glory as concerned in the 
 matter. This James illustrates by quoting two of the com- 
 mandments, the sixth and seventh of the Decalogue,— these 
 being selected probably as standing at the head of those 
 containing our duty to our neighbour; for the fifth occupies 
 a kind of intermediate position between the two tables, and 
 the seventh takes the precedence of the sixth, according to 
 an order which we find in certain other passages where they 
 are adduced. He who said " Do not commit adultery," said 
 also "Do not kill." Now, if we keep the former and yet violate 
 the latter requirement, we transgress the law, we trample on 
 the will of which it is the exponent, the authority on which 
 it is all based, as really as if we set not one but both pre- 
 cepts at defiance. We array ourselves against God if we 
 challenge any of his claims, resist any of his demands; and 
 it matters not how many we comply with, we are rebels, and 
 exposed to the doom they merit. Deliberately to disobey 
 in a single point is to strike at the whole supremacy and 
 glory of the Divine Lawgiver. He who does so is neces- 
 sarily " guilty of all." 
 
 But does not this view of the matter lie open to grave 
 objections? Does it not make all sin equal? If by each 
 individual transgression, be it of what nature it may, we 
 break the whole law, how can we, in any case whatever, be 
 either less or more culpable? Is not every act of disobedi- 
 ence great or small, on such a theory, as universally and 
 thoroughly bad as possible? No, brethren. By offending 
 in one point, we do become guilty of all, but we may be so 
 in varying degrees. Violations of human law, even when 
 they are most real and complete, differ widely, and so there 
 is a scale of punishments ranging from a trifling fine or a 
 
168 OFFENDING IN ONE POINT. 
 
 short imprisonment to death itself. It is not otherwise with 
 the supreme rule of duty. Some sins in themselves, and by 
 roASon of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight 
 of God than others. This is taught us in Scripture by the 
 way in which they are often compared as greater or less, by 
 the heavier condemnation attached to some of them ; and its 
 testimony on the subject is confirmed by the government of 
 the world and the light of conscience. To take away any 
 part of our neighbour's property is bad, but to take away 
 his life is vastly worse; to disregard the Divine will is never 
 a slight offence, but to blaspheme the Divine name involves 
 a deeper and more desperate wickedness. To trample on 
 even the least commandment is, in effect, to trample on the 
 whole law ; but we may do that more or less wilfully, reck- 
 lessly, impiously. There is nothing here opposed to that, 
 and it is only by a very obvious, transparent perversion of 
 the apostle's language that the objection can, for a moment, 
 be maintained. 
 
 Again, does it not involve men equally in sin they do 
 and do not commit? If I am guilty of all by offending in 
 one point, is not that really the same as if I had failed in 
 every point ; and thus am I not placed, by my transgression 
 of a single precept, in the very position I should have occu- 
 pied had I set at nought the whole Decalogiio ? If I am 
 luld as violating the entire law, then am I not hold as 
 violating equally the part I have broken and the part I have 
 not broken? Acts of disobedience have this universal 
 character; but it is one thing constructively, and another 
 thing actually, to trample on all tlie commandments. 
 Offences of every kind are deadly in their nature; but wo 
 are answerable only for those we commit, and the degree of 
 our guilt and misery depends on their number and magni- 
 tude. Any one sin lands us in condemnation and ruin, but 
 that does not interfere with the fact that each individual's 
 case is judged, and his doom determined, by the exact kind 
 
OFFENDING IN ONE POINT. 169 
 
 and amount of transgression with which he is chargeable. 
 There is no force in such an objection. 
 
 In conclusion, we may learn from this subject the follow- 
 ing important practical lessons: — • 
 
 1. The 'permanent obligation of the Decalogue. — At- 
 tempts have recently been made to set it aside as a merely 
 Jewish institution, a part of the old, abrogated Mosaic 
 economy. But, you observe, James appeals to it as still 
 in force ; he quotes the very terms of it as of indubitable 
 validity. It is the authoritative embodiment of the moral 
 law, — that law which, resting on the nature of God, is the 
 very foundation of his throne. Instead of having been done 
 away, it has been magnified by Christ, rendered more in- 
 stead of less obligatory; and his people are under it as 
 much as any others. This is clearly implied in the passage. 
 James is addressing such, and he proceeds on the supposi- 
 tion that they are bound by its requirements. They are 
 released from it in its covenant form, but laid more than 
 ever under it as the rule of life, the standard of righteous- 
 ness. It is written by the Spirit in their hearts, and they 
 obey it in a free, loving manner. The new nature is in 
 harmony with it, leading them forward in the path it pre- 
 scribes, enforcing sweetly, irresistibly, all its demands. It 
 is no longer a merely external thing, commanding, threaten- 
 ing; but also an internal, moving, drawing, constraining. 
 They run in the way of its commandments; they delight^ 
 in it after the inward man ; its yoke is easy, its burden 
 hght, for its curse is gone, and the spirit of bondage has 
 been exchanged for that of liberty, that of adoption, where- 
 by we cry, " Abba, Father." 
 
 2. TJie irajpossibility of compensating for transgression. — 
 Not a few entertain such an idea. They imagine that by 
 acts of obedience they may make up for acts of rebellion. 
 They set the one over against the other, and dream of thus 
 effecting an equilibrium, or even turning the scale in their 
 
170 OFFENDING IX ONE POINT. 
 
 favour. No; by every sin we violate the whole law, we be- 
 come guilty of all, and no partial compliance can meet that, 
 can counteract or even diminisli it in the slisfhtest decree. 
 Dream not of squaring accounts thus, of striking a balance. 
 The thing is impossible. Even had we what is good, it could 
 never atone for the evil; but that we have not naturally. 
 Sin mingles with all; our very best doings are polluted and 
 condemning. Our righteousnesses are filthy rags, rather re- 
 vealing and aggravating than covering our nakedness and 
 uncleanness. There can be no compensation. We can get 
 our infinite debt cancelled only by the sprinkled blood, the 
 appropriated merit of the Lord Jesus. Believing on him, our 
 guilt is swept away. It is at once blotted out, and the curse 
 gives way to the blessing, even life for evermore. Let us all 
 flee to him, let us by faith enter into him, and then to us 
 there shall be no condemnation. 
 
 3. The necessity of a universal obedience. — We are not 
 to break up the Divine law, and observe some parts of it, 
 while we neglect others. Wlien we choose among the com- 
 mandments, we make our own will, rather than God's, the 
 rule we adopt. We are to disregard neither the weightier 
 matters, which the Pharisees overlooked, nor the lighter 
 ones, in which they were so scrupulously exact, but are to 
 attend to both in their proper place and order. We are not 
 to do this that we may establish a righteousness of om* own, 
 for there is no possibility of success in such an attempt; and 
 it is forbidden by the gospel, which reveals another way of 
 acceptance suited to the condition of sinners, — that by the 
 mediation and merit of the Lord Jesus. But having come 
 to the fountain of his blood, having laid hold of his law- 
 magnifying obedience, and by faith made it our own, we are 
 under the influence of grateful love, like Zacharias and 
 Elisabeth of old, to be found walking in all the command- 
 ments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. Let us con- 
 stantly have regard to the Divine will, and seek to have every 
 
OFFENDING IN ONE POINT. l7l 
 
 action, word, thought, "brought into captivity to the obe- 
 dience of Christ." " Then," said David, " shall I not be 
 ashamed when I have respect to all thy commandments." 
 Again, — "Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all 
 things to be right, and I hate every false way." To the 
 same effect is the apostolic exhortation; "Whether, therefore, 
 ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of 
 God." 
 
17:^ JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCY. 
 
 ■ XIII. 
 
 JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCT. 
 
 " So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by 
 tJie law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without 
 mercy that hath shewed no mercy; and inercy rejoiceth 
 against judgment." — James ii. 12, 13. 
 
 HE apostle had been warning his readers very speci- 
 ally against a particular sin, that of respecting 
 persons. They had been acting in a manner 
 which rendered his animadversions necessary; for while he 
 puts the case hypothetically, it is evident that he has here 
 in view what had been really taking place among them, — a 
 f marked i^refereuce of the rich to the poor in their religious 
 ' assemblies. He urges strong reasons against anything of 
 the kind, reasons drawn from the favour with which God 
 regarded those whom they despised, and from the hostility 
 manifested toward Christ's people and person by those whom 
 they honoured. He then fortifies his argument by other 
 considerations fitted to guard it from misconstruction, and 
 bring out the deep, sinfulness of the partiality, the favouritism 
 he was condemning. Ho was' saying nothing at variance 
 with the commandment which requires us to love our neigh- 
 bour as ourselves; for he was not advocating hatred or con- 
 I tempt of either party, but due and equal regard to both, by 
 Avitbholding which they were going in the face of the law, 
 and were consecjuently convicted by it as transgressors. 
 Was this a small matter ? Supposing it to be an offence, 
 was it. not a slight one, and might it not easily be compen- 
 sated by strict compliance, rigid observance in other respects ? 
 
JUDGMENT TTITHOTTT ISrRRCY. 173 
 
 Such an idea was too common among the Jews, and it still 
 prevails very extensively. James answers no ; for he who 
 offends in one point is guilty of all, violates the whole rule 
 of duty, every part and precept of that rule. He does so 
 by reason of the unity of the law, the sum and substance 
 of which, in both tables and in all its commandments, is 
 love. He does so, because the principle of obedience is 
 single, indivisible; and any trespass whatever is indicative 
 of a want, a failure in this, the deep root, the vital sap of 
 all the fruits of righteousness. And finally, he does it be- 
 cause the entire statute-book is stamped with the same 
 Divine authority; and thus to set at nought one of its re- 
 quirements is to resist the authority on which not only that, 
 l^ut every other precept, depends for its obligation and 
 sanction. Now he adds a general and comprehensive ex- 
 hortation, the meaning of which, and its bearing on what 
 goes before, will come out- as we proceed with its considera- 
 tion. Mark, then, 
 
 I. Tlie directioii which is here given. — Ver. 12, "So 
 speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law 
 of liberty." It embraces three things, which we proceed to 
 notice in their natural order. 
 
 1 . Tliey were to he judged. He calls on them to order 
 their words and actions, "as they that shall be judged." 
 The thing was future, but as real and certain as if it had 
 been, past or present. It is destined to take place at the 
 last day, the day of the Lord's second coming. The testi- 
 monies to this great event are clear, varied, and irresistible. 
 Even apart from revelation, the evidence of it is strong and 
 conclusive. The Divine administration of the world pro- 
 claims it ; for while, on the whole, men are now dealt with 
 according to their character and conduct,- — and thus we have 
 decisiveproof of a moral government,— there are, at the same 
 time, so many exceptions and anomalies, so many things 
 
174" JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCY. 
 
 apparently at variance with the general rule, that we can 
 conceive of no solution of the problem, no way in which 
 conflicting appearances can be harmonized, and all inequalities 
 be rectiticd, but that which the doctrine of a general and 
 final judgment furnishes. The human constitution even 
 certifies it, for conscience not only passes sentence on our 
 dispositions and actions, but it unmistakeably suggests the 
 idea, and awakens the fear, of a higher tribunal, — one more 
 authoritative and unerring than its own, where all its 
 decisions are to be revioAved, and where verdicts are to be 
 brought in fraught with eternal consequences. And when 
 we do turn to the Bible, the truth is there taught, both 
 directly and by implication, in a large number of passages. 
 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of it ; David, in 
 the Psalms, again and again refers to it ; and Daniel describes 
 it in language of the gi'catest sublimity. Our Lord himself 
 foretells it, giving even many details of the august proceedings, 
 as in the 25th chapter of Matthew's gospel. The apostles 
 follow his steps here, — for Paul, James, Peter, John, and 
 Jude, all speak of it in terms of no doubtful import, in 
 tones full of Divine authority. What, for example, can be 
 either clearer or grander than the closing utterances of the 
 New Testament on the subject ? " And I saw a great white 
 throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth 
 and the heaven fled away ; and there was found no place 
 for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand 
 before God ; and the books were opened : and another 
 .book was opened, which is the book of life : and the dead 
 were judged out of those things which were written in the 
 books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the 
 dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the 
 dead which were in them: and they were judged every man 
 according to their works. And death and hell were cast into 
 the lake of fire. This is the second death." Again : "And 
 behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with rao, to give 
 
JUDGMENT WITBOUT MERCY. 175 
 
 every man according as his work shall be."^ The judgment, 
 then, is most certain. What we have to do is to realise it, 
 to take it home to ourselves, to live under the impressions 
 which it is fitted to produce. 
 
 2. They were to he judged^ by "the law of liberty." — 
 The law thus characterized is no other than the Divine, the 
 moral law. It is the same evidently which is spoken of in 
 the 8th verse, and is there called " the royal law." It is 
 that quoted — " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," 
 which is the second of the two great commandments that 
 make up the Decalogue. This is to be the one exclusive 
 standard of decision in all causes at the day of judgment. 
 We are not to be tried by the defective and false rules which 
 are in such common use and high repute here among men. 
 The issue is not to turn on our natural ideas of right and 
 wrong, on our partial, perverted, and often most erroneous 
 views of duty. Neither is. it to proceed on the maxims and 
 customs of the world. Its statute-book, its authorities and 
 precedents, are to be of little account at the heavenly tri- 
 bunal. Everjrthing is to be done in righteousness ; and 
 here is the only complete, infallible criterion of righteous- 
 ness. There shall be no appeal then but to the law and 
 the testimony. By it all characters and actions are to be 
 tried, according to it all sentences are to be pronounced and 
 destinies fixed. 
 
 But mark how it is here designated. It is called " the 
 law of liberty." We have had it introduced under the same 
 title in a former passage: "But whoso looketh into the per- 
 fect law of liberty, and. continueth therein."^ We are cer- 
 tainly not to understand by this that it grants liberty to do 
 anything that is evil, — that it allows liberty to be taken with 
 its own requirements and sanctions. No law had been 
 needed, and assuredly none had been given for such a pur- 
 pose. Its object is the very reverse. It is to restrain men 
 
 > Rev. XX. 11, 12, 13, 14; xxii. 12. 2 Ch. i. 25. 
 
176 JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCY. 
 
 from the commission of sin. In common with all law, it 
 exists for the end of being kept, not of being broken. It 
 is indeed said — " Knowing this, that the law is not made 
 for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, 
 for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for 
 murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for man- 
 slayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves 
 with njankiud, for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured per- 
 sons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to 
 sound doctrine."^ The meaning, however, is not that it is 
 given to encourage, but to check and condemn these parties, 
 to evince their guilt in acting thus, and shut them up to the 
 righteousness of Christ for acceptance. 
 
 It is the law of liberty, because, in the case of God's people, 
 and they are spoken of here, its curse is taken away. That 
 once lay on them, involving a terrible bondage ; for they 
 were bound over by reason of it to eternal death, to the 
 pains of hell for ever. Whether feared, felt, or not, this 
 fettered the soul, held it fast in the most abject and fatal 
 captivity. Our Lord bore the penalty in his own person, 
 exhausted it by the shedding of his most precious blood, and 
 through faith in him it is rolled away, ceases to press on 
 the sinner, and in its place there is not only pardon but full 
 acceptance, the enjoyment of the Divine favour, a title to 
 heaven with all its glory. The chains are broken and the 
 believer Avalks forth emancipated ; for, saith the apostle, 
 " there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." 
 He is no longer dependent on his own fulfilment of the law 
 for the life everlasting ; through the infinite mercy of God 
 his transerressions of it are not marked against him, and he 
 Bttinds on the ground, not of a personal, but of a vicarious 
 obedience, — that of his great substitute and surety. He is to 
 be tried by it, not apart from the gospel of salvation, but, 
 on the contrary, as incorporated with it — not in its original 
 » 1 Tim. i. 9, 10. 
 
JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCY. 177 
 
 covenant form, but as thus magnified by the Son of God in 
 our nature on behalf of all the redeemed, and then given 
 to them to be the supreme rule of their character and con- 
 duct. And thus it obtains a ready, cordial acquiescence. 
 The conscience being purified and the heart renewed, it meets 
 with a loving response in all its height and depth of require- 
 ment. It is no longer an external thing, commanding with 
 stern voice and terrible threats, but an internal, written on 
 the fleshly tables of the mind, and sweetly constraining, by 
 impulses springing up spontaneously in the heaven-born 
 soul, to follow after holiness, to abound in all the fruits of 
 righteousness. 
 
 Thus it exercises a far greater influence by reason of 
 the very freedom which now marks it, and secures an 
 obedience as wide in its range, full in its extent, as it is 
 sound in its principle. Under this aspect it not only ceases 
 to exact from us the punishment of sin, but it also breaks 
 in us the power of sin. While it makes us debtors to Divine 
 mercy, instead of relaxing, it mightily confirms and enlarges, 
 the claims of Divine authority. What consideration, then, 
 could have been better fitted to induce those here addressed 
 to feel and act in the manner the apostle was now inculcating? 
 Releasing them from slavish fear on the one hand, it 
 heightened the obligation to be dutiful and tender to all 
 their brethren on the other. 
 
 8. They were to live as about to be judged by this hnu 
 of liberty. — He exhorts them so to speak and so to do, as 
 persons destined to be, and who perfectly knew that they 
 were destined to be, thus judged. In efl:"ect, he calls on 
 them to realise the great fact, to act under the influence of 
 it, to regulate alike their words and deeds with reference to 
 it, to say all and do all in the view of the future account to 
 be rendered. " So speak ye,"— that is, as a habit; let this 
 be your constant practice. He had alluded to speech 
 before; — " Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be 
 
 N 
 
178 JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCY. 
 
 swift to bear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." " If any man 
 among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his 
 tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is 
 vain."^ And he does it again very specially and fully in 
 the Srd chapter. The importance of it, the distinct and 
 decisive place it is to have in the judgment, is brought out 
 in several passages. " He that kcepeth his mouth keepeth 
 his life, but he that openeth wide his lips shall have 
 destruction." " If any man offeml not iu word, the same 
 is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body." 
 " But I say unto you. That every idle word that men shall 
 speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judg- 
 ment : for by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by 
 thy words thou shalt be condemned."^ The reason of this 
 is given in connexion with the text last quoted, — " genera- 
 tion of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things ? 
 for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 
 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth 
 forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure 
 bringeth forth evil things."^ Well, he says, "so speak ye," — 
 not only act but speak as those about to be judged. Watch 
 over your words ; keep the door of your lips ; guard against 
 all transgression of the law in this respect. Avoid what- 
 ever it condenms, not merely everything profane and 
 impure, but everything vain and unprofitable. And, in 
 particular, remembering what is due to your neighbour 
 according to the commandment, and what you need your- 
 selves at the hand of God, be considerate and charitable, be 
 just, be tender in the language you use both to and regard- 
 ing your brethren of mankind, most of all your brethren in 
 the faith of the gospel, whatever may be their earthly con- 
 dition. 
 
 " And so do,"— so act, adds the apostle ; speak, but not 
 
 1 Jam. i. 19, 26. » Prov. xiii. 3 ; Jam. iii. 2 ; Matt. xii. 36, 37. 
 
 3 Matt. xii. 34, 35. 
 
JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCY. l79 
 
 that only, act also as tliose who are about to be judged by 
 the law of liberty. It is not enough to make high profes- 
 sions, you must exhibit and maintain a corresponding 
 practice. Fine speech will not suffice ; there must be pure 
 conduct. We must be doers of the Divine will, not hearers 
 or talkers only. The Lord is to drive away at last all the 
 workers of iniquity, whatever their claims or expectations 
 in other respects. Nothing is more frequently or emphati- 
 cally insisted on in his word, and no part of Scripture 
 dwells on it more distinctively and energetically than the 
 present Epistle. And when we think how strict the scrutiny 
 is to be, how unable the holiest are to bear it, considered 
 in themselves, we ought to be gentle and merciful in all 
 our relations and transactions with our fellow-creatures. We 
 should guard against everything like cruelty and partiality — ■ 
 like a rigid, exacting, oppressive way of dealing with any 
 class or individual among them. 
 
 The exhortation, then, is to the effect that we should 
 live with the day of judgment in view, and regulate speech 
 and action with reference to the standard then to be 
 employed, the decisions then to be pronounced. Nor let 
 us for an instant imagine that thought and feeling are 
 excluded, because they are not expressly mentioned. We 
 are plainly told elsewhere that the secrets of the heart are 
 then to be brought to light, and the whole scriptural view 
 and estimate of character not only takes them in, but 
 attaches to them a determining and supreme influence. They 
 are here embraced, for they are a kind of inward speaking and 
 doing, and they impart their real moral elements and fea- 
 tures to all our formal, outward speaking and doing. " I the 
 Lord search the heart ; I try the reins, even to give every 
 man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his 
 doing." " Therefore judge nothing before the time, until 
 the Lord come, who both will bring' to light the hid- 
 den things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels 
 
180 JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCY. 
 
 of the hearts, aud then shall every man have praise of 
 God."^ 
 
 II. Tlie reason hij ^vhich it is enforced. — Ver. 13, 
 " For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath 
 shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment." 
 James speaks here as from the day of doom itself, like one 
 looking back to the transactions of life as over, as things of 
 the past, not of the future or the present. His statement is 
 to the effect that those persons who shew no mercy, who work 
 none in the case of their fellow-creatures, shall find none at 
 the Divine tribunal hereafter, but be dealt with in strict 
 justice, according to its rigid, unmitigated requirements, 
 apart from any modifying influence or mingling element of 
 mercy. Having acted, not in the spirit of the law of liberty, 
 but in opposition to it, they shall reap no benefit from it 
 themselves at the great future assize. 
 
 Before I attempt to explain and vindicate the principle 
 of procedure here laid down, let me call your attention to 
 the circumstance that this is no isolated, solitary declaration, 
 but one repeated, expanded, and illustrated in many passages 
 of Scripture, and that both of the Old and New Testaments. 
 " With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with 
 an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; with the 
 pure thou wilt shew thj^self pure; and with the fro ward thou 
 wilt show thyself froward." " Whoso stoppeth his ears at 
 the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not 
 be heard." " Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain 
 mercy." "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our 
 debtors. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your 
 heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not 
 men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your 
 trespasses."'^ The same lesson is strikingly taught in the 
 
 1 Jer. xvii. 10 ; 1 Cor. iv. 5. 
 * Ps. xviii. 25, 26 ; I'rov. xxi. 13 ; 51;itt. v. 7 ; vi. 12, 14, 15. 
 
JUDGMENT WITHOUT MEECY. 181 
 
 parable of the two servants, where the one having had an 
 immense debt freely remitted by his master, acted with the 
 greatest cruelty toward the other who was owing him a 
 comparatively small sum, and was righteously delivered up to 
 the tormentors in consequence. " So likewise," it concludes, 
 " shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye, from your 
 hearts, forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."^ 
 I need not quote the lengthened statement of our Lord to the 
 same effect in the 25 th chapter of Matthew, where he gives 
 so detailed an account of the judgment, representing the de- 
 cision, as regards both the righteous and the wicked, as 
 tiurning on this circumstance, determined by this principle. 
 
 How, then, is the language to be understood ? Is the 
 meaning that, by shewing mercy to man, we are to procure 
 mercy from God ; and that by withholding it in the one case, 
 we forfeit it in the other? No; for that would make salva- 
 tion depend on doings of our own, be the fruit of personal 
 merit, than which nothing is more manifestly and wholly 
 opposed to the pervading spirit and express declarations of 
 the Bible. By the deeds of the law no flesh living can be 
 justified. We are assured that it is not by works of right- 
 eousness which we have done that any of us are to be saved. 
 Indeed, if exercising mercy were to entitle us to receive it, 
 then it would be destructive of mercy, — it would shut it out 
 altogether, for there should then be a claim to it, a right to 
 it acquired, and equity, justice coming in, where were its 
 exclusive place, — its sole supremacy ! No; what is intended 
 is obviously this — -by not exhibiting such a loving spirit, not 
 acting such a compassionate part toward our feUow-creatures, 
 we prove ourselves utterly destitute of the Christian charac- 
 ter, for we want one of its most essential elements and 
 features. Is not the gospel the grandest manifestation ever 
 given to the universe of the perfection in question ? Is it 
 not throughout stamped with, pervaded by, the mercy of its 
 \ Matt, xviii. 35. 
 
182 JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCY. 
 
 Divine author ? Now, it leaves its own impress on all who 
 helieve its doctrines, and so enjoy its blessings. It brings 
 into conformity with itself as many as come under its 
 power. They are made children of God, bearing his image, 
 copying his example in all imitable respects. They cannot, 
 then, but share in his compassions, cannot but possess and 
 reflect as well as experience them, through the regenerating 
 power of the Holy Ghost. If we do not shew mercy, Ave 
 )iut it beyond dispute that we have no part or lot in redemp- 
 tion, no interest in Jesus, for we are without his Spirit. 
 
 So we must fail, perish in the judgment. We must sink 
 under the condemnation of the law, for it has never become 
 to us the law of liberty. We have been all along in bond- 
 age, and must go to grind in the eternal prison-house. 
 No other professions or qualities will avail where this is 
 awanting. " Is not this the fast that I have chosen ? to 
 loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, 
 and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every 
 yoke ? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that 
 thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house ? when 
 thou seest the naked, tliat thou cover him; and that thou 
 hide not thyself from thine own flesh ? Then shall thy 
 lijfht break forth as the morning, and thine health shall 
 spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before 
 thee ; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward." 
 " Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down 
 his life for us : and we ought to la}'' down our lives for the 
 brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his 
 l)rother have need, and sliutteth up his bowels of compassion 
 from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?"^ 
 
 He adds, — " And mercy rejoiceth against judgment." It 
 rejoiceth, — literally, glorieth, boasteth. Well may one ex- 
 claim, "Grand word, memorable axiom !"^ Here we have 
 the other side of the matter, the converse of the foregoing 
 
 1 Is. Iviii. 6, 7, 8 ; 1 John iu. 16, 17. » Bengel. 
 
JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCY. 183 
 
 statement. Some sort of collision or contest is supposed 
 between tliese two — mercy and judgment. They have 
 their respective interests and claims ; and these appear to 
 be opposed, irreconcileable. They cannot have both abso- 
 lutely their own way, and the one or the other must gain 
 the ascendancy. But mercy carries the day, it prevails in 
 the conflict. How ? Is it by trampling on judgment ? Is 
 it by robbing it of any of its rights, doing violence to any 
 of its principles ? No ; it is by meeting its demands, and 
 honouring it more than had it been allowed to hold undis- 
 puted sway and reign without a rival. This has been 
 effected by the mission and mediation of the Lord Jesus. 
 He took the nature and the pltice of the guilty, — he bore 
 their sins in his own body on the tree, and, by the pouring out 
 of his infinitely precious blood, made a real and full atone- 
 ment. By this means he satisfied all the claims of Divine 
 justice. He fulfilled the violated law of heaven both in 
 its precept and its penalty, — he magnified it and made it 
 honourable. God can pardon, accept, glorify those who 
 believe in his Son, however vile, heU-deserving they are in 
 themselves, — he can let his mercy flow forth to them in all 
 its streams of blessing; and that not only without any 
 sacrifice of righteousness, but so as to declare it more fully, 
 to establish it more firmly than it could have been by the 
 infliction of the terrible, the eternal punishment due to the 
 workers of iniquity. He delights in this, for his nature is 
 love, and so he has and can have no pleasure in the death 
 of sinners. Thus the one, while doing no injury to the 
 other but guarding, elevating it, yet rejoiceth against it, 
 exults as victor. 
 
 And what is thus enacted in the justification of believers 
 has its counterpart in their sanctification. God's way of 
 dealing with them has a transforming, assimilating influ- 
 ence. His mercy toward them produces mercy in them 
 toward their brethren. They have the Spirit of Christ 
 
184 JUDGMENT WITHOUT MKRCY. 
 
 dwelling and working within them, and he imbues them 
 more and more with tliat love which originated and reigns 
 in the plan of redemption. He makes them deeply feel 
 how much they are indebted to it ; and, owing all to it 
 themselves, how can they be cruel, exacting, and oppressive 
 in their transactions with their fellow-creatures ? They 
 learn thus to be forbearing, forgiving, to yield not a little 
 rather than press their rights to the utmost. They copy 
 the Divine procedure feebly, imperfectly indeed, but still 
 really and progressively. They do so, not by constraint, 
 but willingly ; and triumphs of this kind, instead of being 
 wning from them by a sense of duty, are sweetly won by 
 the principles and promptings of that new nature which 
 they possess. So far from causing regret, they impart an 
 exquisite satisfaction, — a delight which infinitely more than 
 compensates for any sacrifice made. Thus the children are 
 merciful, as their Father also is merciful. And the bearing 
 of all this on the argmnent of the passage is obvious. How 
 was it fitted to enforce that consideration for the poor, that 
 impartial and tender treatment of them, the want of which 
 James was condemning, and the duty of which he was 
 inculcating? It could not but produce the deepest impres- 
 sion on the hearts of Christians, and turn them away from 
 the practices which had drawn down on them these apos- 
 tolic censures. 
 
 Realise, brethren, the fact of judgment. Nothing is 
 more certain. " So, then, every one of us shall give an 
 account of himself to God." " We must all appear before 
 the judgment-seat of Christ," — the great white throne, and 
 be either acquitted or condemned, raised to heaven or con- 
 signed to hell. He who came of old to work salvation is to 
 come again to administer justice, and already he is standing 
 at the door, about to enter. The criminal who has been 
 apprehended, imprisoned, indicted, may, by some strange in- 
 terposition, escape the trial which is fixed and at hand; but 
 
JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCY. 185 
 
 no human being can avoid the necessity of answering at the 
 Divine tribunal for all the deeds done in the body. Neither 
 the least nor the greatest, the craftiest nor the mightiest, can 
 procure exemption. You and I must be at the bar, and 
 there have our destinies fixed for ever. 
 
 Mark the rule of this judgment. It is the law of God,^ — 
 that universally and exclusively. The standards by which 
 many try themselves here, — the opinions of their fellows, 
 the customs of the world, the privileges of the Church, 
 are to have no validity in the last day's proceedings. Their 
 worthlessness will then be apparent to those who once were 
 the foremost in their defence. In the case of believers the 
 law is not to be applied in its covenant form, as that on 
 the footing of which life is to be bestowed or death inflicted. 
 But still it is to be the supreme rule by which all charac- 
 ters and actions are to be tried; and those not interested 
 in the gospel, not united to Christ, are to be dealt with on 
 its terms alone, — the penalty being not lightened, but 
 greatly increased, by the gospel, when the latter has been 
 rejected. 
 
 Observe, too, the matter of judgment. It is our speak- 
 ing and doing. Our words and actions are to be brought to 
 the test of the law of righteousness. They are to be 
 scrutinized, not to the exclusion of thought and feeling, but 
 along with them, — these latter being their very root and 
 essence. The secrets of the heart are to be disclosed, and 
 the hidden things of darkness dragged to light. What can 
 escape when the j udge is omniscient ? How carefully, 
 then, should we watch our speech and behaviour, saying 
 nothing, doing nothing, fitted to cover us with shame at the 
 world's assize. 
 
 And, finally, note what I may term the 'principle of 
 judgment. Shewing mercy now, we are to receive it then; 
 withholding it from others, we are to want it ourselves. If 
 we exhibit not here the loving, gracious spirit of the gospel, 
 
180 JUDGMENT WITHOUT MERCY. 
 
 this must hereafter prove us to have liad neither part nor 
 lot with Christ ito the matter of salvation, and so condemna- 
 tion shall come down on us in all its dreadfulness. On the 
 other hand, if we are forbearing, comj)assionate, and liberal 
 — if we do good to all men as we have the opportunity, 
 especially to them that are of the household of faith, this 
 cannot but manifest our possession of the divine nature, and 
 80 of that spotless righteousness which alone justifies the un- 
 godly. Thus shall we receive the joyful invitation, " Come, 
 ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for 
 you from the foundation of the world." 
 
FAITH WITHOUT WORKS. 1S7 
 
 XIV. 
 
 FAITH WITHOUT AVORKS. 
 
 " What doth it ]3rofit, my brethren, though a man say 
 he hath faith, and have not works'} can faith save him? 
 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 
 and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye 
 warmed and filled; nothivithstanding ye give them not those 
 things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit ? 
 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 
 Yea, a man may say TJiou hast faith, and I have works : 
 shew me thy faith without thy worJcs, and I will shew thee 
 my faith by my works. -Thou believest that there is one 
 God; thou doest %vell: the devils also believe, and tremble.'' 
 — James ii. 14-19. 
 
 AMES has been warning his readers against certain 
 practices which were anything but consistent with 
 the faith of the gospel. He reasons on the sup- 
 position that the law, not the ceremonial but the moral 
 law, was still binding, and that Christians were under un- 
 diminished, yea, increased obligations to regulate their dis- 
 positions, principles, and actings by its requirements. But 
 views and tendencies had crept in which struck at the 
 root of all real obedience, holy living, good works, — mak- 
 ing it necessary to go deeper into the matter, and vindicate 
 the gospel way of salvation from the imputation cast on it, 
 the dishonour done to it, by their Antinomian ideas and 
 habits. He does this in the passage on the exposition of 
 which we are about to enter, and which, as many of you, 
 doubtless, are aware, has given rise to a great deal of theo- 
 
188 FAITH WITHOUT WORKS. 
 
 logical discussion, jiiul much diversity of opinion. Some of 
 the statements appear to conflict with those of the apostle 
 Paul on the same subject. At first sight it looks as if the 
 one advocated the doctrine of justification by works only, 
 the other that of justification by faith alone. On the supposi- 
 tion that both writers were equally inspired by the Spirit 
 of God, there can be no real contrariety between the two 
 representations ; and it can be clearly enough seen that there 
 is none, when we go beneath the surface and examine the 
 true teaching of these apostles. Among those who admit 
 that there is no opposition, but perfect harmony, some adopt 
 one mode of reconciliation, some another. Thus, as regards 
 the verses before us now, they differ mainly on the ques- 
 tion whether the faith spoken of by James, and which, ac- 
 cording to him, cannot save or justify, being without works 
 and so dead, is merely an alleged or pretended thing, — a 
 faitli claimed, but not possessed by the person, — or is so far 
 an actual, existing, b&na fide thing, but radically defective, 
 simply intellectual in its nature, and so falling greatly short 
 of that which unites the soul to Christ, and is a grace of the 
 Holy Spirit. Those embracing the latter view, — which, for 
 reasons that will come out in what follows, appears to us 
 the correct one, — are not agreed among themselves on the 
 point whether the apostle is dealing with a perversion of 
 Jewish or of Christian faith, with a Pharisaical or an evan- 
 gelical error on the subject. We cannot doubt that he refers 
 to opinions which had crept into the New Testament Church, 
 and alike the general bearing of the Epistle, and the various 
 terms which he here employs, carry us beyond the narrow 
 Judaical explanation for which some eminent writers con- 
 tend.^ Let me now proceed with the explanation of the 
 passage. 
 
 I. Tlie insufficiency of faith without ivorhs is intimated. — 
 
 1 Dean Stanley and others. 
 
FAITH WITHOUT WORKS. 189 
 
 Ver. 14, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say 
 he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?" 
 Here he asks what is the profit if a man say he has faith, 
 without having works, if he make such a statement regarding 
 himself spiritually. What benefit can result from a pro- 
 fession of that sort? What is he the better? While in- 
 terrogatory in form, the language is equivalent to a strong 
 and emphatic negative, to a flat denial of there being any 
 kind of profit in such a case, the very least advantage 
 accruing from the claim supposed to be preferred. "Say he 
 hath faith, and have not works." — In the say here, inter- 
 preters not a few find the key to the whole passage. It 
 marks the difference-, as they think, between a mere boaster, 
 an empty pretender, and a real believer. The man affirms 
 that he has the grace in question, but he does so falsely. 
 He has none of it, nothing like it, nothing to which the 
 term may be applied. Eaith is professed, but it is not 
 possessed. The mouth confesses, but the heart does not 
 believe; — not even the mind, the understanding. Now, we 
 cannot regard James as here treating of a person who sets 
 up such a claim, while destitute of all warrant or foundation 
 for it, having absolutely nothing of the sort, — nothing 
 bearing any resemblance to it, capable of being mistaken for 
 it, — nothing passing under the name or having the smallest 
 appearance of faith. Surely there could be no dispute on 
 the point that a mere pretence of this kind could not benefit 
 a man, could not serve the least purpose before God, — that an 
 empty, baseless profession could not justify a sinner, nor even 
 contribute in the slightest degree to such a result. That 
 must have been as evident as possible. Besides, James goes 
 on to credit the speaker in question with faith of some sort, 
 with having it in some sense, and he reasons qn that 
 supposition. He asks, "Can faith save him?" — that is 
 surely the thing itself, however understood and explained. 
 Again; — "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" — 
 
190 FAITH WITHOUT WORKS. 
 
 implying, of course, that it may somehow exist apart from 
 works, dissociated from them — exist by itself alone. Once 
 more ; " Thou believest that there is one God, thou doest 
 well." He does not dispute the fact, he admits it, gives 
 them credit for it, but shows that it cannot profit, for the 
 devils themselves do as much, they believe, and yet so far 
 is that from being of benefit to them, that it makes them 
 tremble. Still there is a significance in the "say," — some- 
 thing in the circumstance that the interrogation is put in 
 that particular form, not though a man have, but say that 
 he has ; and, probably, it is this, — the person claims to have 
 faith, right, scriptural, evangelical, saving faith, which is not 
 really the case, for what he has, while dignified with the 
 name, and bearing the same general character, as belief, is not 
 such in the deep, spiritual import of the term. So far he 
 speaks falsely. He is a mere professor. 
 
 "And have not works," — that is, those dispositions and 
 actions, those habits a.nd ways of life, which are the effects 
 and the evidences of faith seated in the heart. He points, 
 not to what is ceremonial, but what is moral, practical con- 
 formity to that law which is universally and eternally binding. 
 The want is that of obedience, of holiness, of a walk and 
 conversation such as becometh the gospel, of that doing of 
 the Divine will which cannot but result from sound, sancti- 
 fied inward affections and principles. The man brought 
 forward here is destitute of the fruits of righteousness. He 
 has works — these in abundance, but not such works, not 
 those which proceed from a new state and nature, from a 
 believing appropriation of that grace of God which bringetli 
 salvation, and effectually teaches all who receive it, that, 
 denying ungodliness and worldy lusts, they should live 
 soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. 
 
 How common a character and case have we here described! 
 What numbers say the same thing, prefer the same claim! 
 Every member of the Church, every parent who comes for- 
 
FAITH WITHOUT WORKS. 191 
 
 ward with his child to the baptismal font, every individual 
 who sits down at the Sacrament of the Supper, and others 
 by different means, do, in effect if not in form, by act if not 
 by word, assert their possession of the faith of the gospel. 
 And how many of these have not works, except indeed those 
 of the flesh, vile principles and passions, habits and actions, 
 bearing the evident marks of the corruptions from which 
 they proceed ? Yes, numbers of them are carnal in their views, 
 designs, and practices, actuated manifestly by the old, bad 
 heart of unbelief — by the spirit that dwells and reigns in 
 the children of disobedience. They belong to the multi- 
 tude who do evil, — to the enemies of the cross of Christ, — 
 to the lovers of pleasure more than the lovers of God, — 
 to those who seek not the things above but the things 
 below, and whose treasure is on earth, not in heaven. What 
 profit is there in such a case? What is the benefit resulting, 
 the advantage accruing? . None. This is what is meant, 
 though not expressed. It is so clearly implied that it does 
 not require to be stated. It comes out more forcibly thus 
 than had it been in so many words asserted. He asks again, 
 "Can faith save him?" — that is, such a faith as can alone 
 belong to a person of this description — such a faith as can 
 exist apart from good works, from the duties of obedience, 
 from the fruits of righteousness, from the beauties of holi- 
 ness. Can any faith thus isolated, thus barren, accomplish 
 this effect, conduct to this blessed issue? Can it save either 
 meritoriously or instrumentally, save in one way or another? 
 Can it bring deliverance from sin and its consequences? 
 Can it carry with it a title to, heaven, or produce in us a 
 meetness for heaven? Can it restore us to the favour, or 
 conform us to the image of God? No; is the reply which 
 he leaves to be supplied. He allows the understanding and 
 conscience of every reader to answer. Could it be needful 
 to state what was so evident? 
 
192 FAITH WITHOUT WORKS. 
 
 II. Tlie insufficiency of faith without works evidenced; 
 and it is so by various considerations. We have for this 
 purpose, 
 
 1. A coniiiarison or illustration. He takes a familiar 
 case, and by means of it brings out the inadequacy, the un- 
 profitableness of the faith claimed. Vers. 15, 16, "If a 
 brother or sister," — that is, not a natural, but a spiritual 
 brother or sister, a Christian of either sex, a fellow-disciple, 
 man or woman. And this was fitted to evince more clearly 
 and strongly the obligation to render assistance, to relieve 
 the necessities mentioned, than had the party been merely 
 an ordinary neighbour, one connected by no ties, and possess- 
 ing no claims, but those of a common humanity. There 
 was a gracious relationship rendering sympathy and help all 
 the more incumbent. "Be naked," — if clothed at all, 
 clothed so poorly, scantily, that this language might appro- 
 priately enough be employed, — "and destitute of daily food," 
 — of the bread that perisheth, fiimishing from the want of 
 it, without sustenance as well as without raiment for the 
 body, — "and one of you say unto them. Depart in peace " — 
 keep up your spirits, be not cast down, some one will 
 come to your relief, and supply your necessities — be of 
 good cheer, banish all your fears, and go away from my 
 presence comforted. "Be ye warmed and filled," — warmed 
 as naked, and so shivering with cold, — filled, as empty, 
 stanang with hunger. "Notwithstanding, ye give them 
 not those things which are needful for the body." It is, 
 of course, supposed that the persons speaking thus have 
 the power to relieve the indigent brother or sister — have 
 the means of doing so at their disposal, if they only had the 
 will, the inclination to apply them for that purpose. Were 
 they unable to assist, they could not be blamed. If poor 
 themselves, good wishes might be all they had to give ; and 
 in that case, in such circumstances, these wishes when sincere, 
 heartfelt, are worth not a little. They betoken sympathy 
 
FAITH WITHOUT WORKS. 193 
 
 and thus they help to sustain and cheer the sufferer. 
 It is otherwise when the rich, — -those having abun- 
 dance of this world's substance, enough and to spare, — 
 deal only in fine and fair words, merely make high pro- 
 fessions which cost nothing, satisfy themselves with 
 speaking kindly, without doing or bestowing what is 
 needful. 
 
 What more hollow and heartless than to use the lan- 
 guage, while not exhibiting the spirit and bringing forth 
 the fruits, of Christian charity! What more hypocritical 
 and base than to pour forth the best wishes and prayers, 
 and yet refuse to take a step or perform an act fitted to 
 make good, to carry into effect these same wishes and prayers ! 
 How entirely destitute of all right principle and feeling must 
 they be who indulge in cheap sympathy of this sort — in 
 liberal addresses and messages — while they never put their 
 hands into their full pockets, but allow the naked and the 
 hungry to go from their presence unrelieved, — pitied very 
 lauch, but helped not the least ! Again, how common is 
 this way of acting! What a deal of such charity is there 
 in the world, and also in the Church ! So much, that if it 
 could clothe the body, there should be few in rags, — if it 
 f'ould fill the belly, there should be few indeed hungry. 
 There is abundance of talk — no end of professions and pro- 
 mises. But the labour, the money, the practical self-deny- 
 ing effort and sacrifice called for, how scarce are they — how 
 seldom forthcoming! "What doth it profit?" asks James. 
 Does that benefit either party? Does it bear any of the 
 i'eatures, or serve any of the purposes, of that Christian 
 charity which the gospel requires and produces? Will it 
 avail before Him who is to judge the world in righteous- 
 ness? Will it stand a single human being in stead at that 
 day when kind deeds done to Christ's disciples for his 
 sake are to be the exclusive test and mark of love to him- 
 
 o 
 
104 FAITH wrriiorT works. 
 
 s^>ll7 No man cuu niistiike the one for the other. So 
 transparent and scandalou.s a pretext can never be accepted 
 for the gracious affection and principle, the name of which 
 it takes, the language of which it employs, the credit and 
 honour of which it arrogates. No. " Whoso hath this 
 world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth 
 up his bowels of compassion from him, how dweUeth the 
 love of God in him?"^ 
 
 Now he applies the similitude. Ver. 17, "Even so" — in like 
 manner— "faith, if it have networks," — -is not accompanied by 
 them as its proper result, its legitimate and necessary fruit 
 — " is dead, being alone." If it deal in mere talk, in high 
 professions, and prove not itself by deeds of righteousness, 
 actual compliance with the Divine requirements, — it has n<i 
 vitality, no energy, no power, — it exerts no practical influ- 
 ence. It is thus lifeless, "being alone," or more exactly, in 
 itself, by itself, — not only in some respect or to some effect, 
 but wholly, absolutely, in its very nature, in its root as well as 
 its branches. It is not merely dead, so far as the produc- 
 tion of fruit or the doing of works is concerned, but from 
 beginning to end, having no element of vitality about it 
 whatever. It is not that it becomes thus dead because cer- 
 tain things do not follow, — it was never anything else in 
 reality. Irrespective of all besides, it is this in itself. It 
 cannot exercise, because it does not possess, the least living 
 ]K)wer. 
 
 2. A challenge. Ver. 18, "Yea, a man may say, Thou 
 Inust faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without 
 thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works." It 
 has been disputed what man is here intended. Some sup- 
 pose him to be a Pharisaical Jew or a proud moralist. Ad- 
 dressing the boastful claimant of faith, he asks, Why make 
 wo much of this attainment ? I have works, and with them 
 J ;un satisfied. That is my religion, my righteousness, and 
 
 • 1 John iii. 18. 
 
FAITH WITHOUT WOBKS. 195 
 
 I deem it far preferable. Can you evidence your believing 
 in any other way than by doing ? What is it by itself, — 
 what standing alone ? In my doing is there not manifested 
 the best, the only real kind of believing ? But i^ is obvi- 
 ously, we think, a genuine Christian who is represented as 
 comintr forward here, — one who follows the sound and sensible 
 course of uniting faith with works, of bringing his creed 
 and his conduct into harmony. He advances and throws 
 down the challenge to the Antinomian boaster. " Thou hast 
 faith," — that thou dost boldly assert, that is thy confident 
 profession, and with it thou art well pleased. " I have 
 works," and am perhaps stigmatized as a legalist, a sort of 
 self-righteous Jew, instead of being an evangelical, emanci- 
 pated Christian. Well, here is my appeal, here the demand 
 I make,—" Shew me thy faith without thy works," mani- 
 fest this alleged grace of yours, furnish evidence of its exist- 
 ence. In itself it lies within, — it is a spiritual thing, and 
 consequently invisible. It must come out in order to be 
 judged of, to give proof of its reality, and this is most 
 clearly necessary. But how can it, except by means of good 
 works, holy living ? There is no other way practicable, 
 conceivable. Exhibit it to me, if you can, in the absence of 
 such fruit. Let me see the possession of which you are so 
 proud, the thing on which yoii take your stand so confi- 
 dently? Loud talk, high professions, will not do; they are 
 worthless if not borne out by the habitual course of con- 
 duct. That is the only true, decisive test of what principles 
 hold sovereign sway within. " And I will shew thee my 
 faith by my works," — literally, out of them, for these are 
 not separate things, but at bottom the same, the one spring- 
 ing up, putting forth its vital energy and coming out to 
 view, in the other. I will present it to you in these its 
 visible, tangible operations and effects. In the flowing 
 stream, so fructifying and beautiful, you shall have patent 
 evidence of that deep, hidden fountain whence it all issues. 
 
196 FAITH WITHOUT WORKS. 
 
 What could have been more condemnatory and crushing 
 than the challenge thus given ! 
 
 3. An example. — It is one of a very startling and ter- 
 rible description. " Thou believest that there is one God." 
 He still addresses the Antinomian pretender. In doing so 
 he goes back to the most elementary truth of religion, to 
 that which was the radical article in the creed alike of Jews 
 and Christians, distinguishing both from the heathen, poly- 
 theistic world around. He singled it out as being of this 
 primary, fundamental kind, and made much of by those 
 with whom he was now dealing. They were largely imbued 
 with the old Jewish spirit ; and this doctrine of the Divine 
 unity was the badge and the glory of Israel among the 
 nations. They believed it, if they believed anything what- 
 ever; and thus it was admirably fitted to serve the apostle's 
 present purpose. It was allowing them every advantage. 
 " Thou doest well." This is right, good, so far as it goes, — 
 it is to be commended. He does not call their doing so in 
 question; he admits it, and gives them credit for such faith 
 as it implied. 
 
 But then, may not there be an assent to the truth stated, 
 or to any other truth of the sort, an intellectual conviction 
 of it, which is without profit? May it not be held in 
 unrighteousness ? May there not be a belief of it which is 
 destitute of all saving influence or effect ? Yes, for " the 
 devils also believe and tremble." They are as fully per- 
 suaded as any human being can be that there is one God, 
 and one only. They clearly understand and fully admit 
 that primary article. They have no doubt about it men- 
 tally, — they receive it as an indisputable verity. But what 
 the better are they in consequence ? Does their faith 
 bring them any deliverance ? does it yield them even the 
 least relief ? No ; it only certifies their endless, boundless 
 misery. It awakens terror instead of inspiring hope. 
 Thoy tremble, shudder; the idea conveyed being that of the 
 
I 
 
 FAITH WITHOUT WORKS. 197 
 
 hair standing on end. They are believers, and that is 
 what follows. Now, if we are believers only of their sort, 
 if we are simply constrained by evidence to assent to cer- 
 tain truths, as they are, — if we have convictions of the under- " 
 standing which exercise no sanctifying influence on the 
 heart and the life, — are we safer than they, have we less 
 reason to quake than these spirits of darkness in their 
 eternal dungeons ? Nothing could have been better fitted 
 to shew that the profession of faith, and even the possession 
 of it, apart from the consideration of its nature and effects, 
 was not sufficient to secure any man's safety. Much might 
 bear the name and semblance of it, might even have not a 
 little of its general character, while destitute of that vital 
 element, that transforming power which gives it all its 
 virtue and value. 
 
 How worthless, then, my brethren, is a merely nominal 
 faith ! There are many with whom it is entirely a matter 
 of profession. Like the man represented in the passage, 
 they say we believe ; but they only say it, and so far are 
 they from shewing it, that their lives prove it to be wholly 
 awanting. By the name they bear, the privileges they 
 enjoy, the course the}- pursue at communions and other 
 sacred seasons, they advance the claim here supposed to be 
 preferred. But where there is nothing to substantiate it in 
 the conduct, where, on the contrary, there is a great deal 
 fitted to manifest its groundlessness, it is a presumptuous 
 and lying pretension. Instead of protecting any man, of 
 doing him the smallest good, it aggravates his guilt, and 
 drags him down to a deeper damnation. It is not a shield 
 to cover, but a sword to smite its possessor. To be Chris- 
 tians, believers only in name, is a miserable thing, and 
 blind must they be who urge it in their behalf, and found 
 on it any hope of salvation. 
 
 How worthless, too, is a merely intellectual faith ! Th;it 
 is rather what we are expressly warned against in the pas- 
 
198 FAITn WITHOUT WORKS. 
 
 sage. Tlierc is a belief whicli is not nominal, l)ut real, so 
 I'ar as it goes, and yet is miserably defective, wholly ineffec- 
 tual as regards our highest, our eternal interests. It is a 
 bare a.'ssent to doctrines. It is a reception by the under- 
 standing, in a more or less active and thorough way, of 
 certain truths of Divine revelation. But, momentous as 
 these often are, and in their nature fitted to stir the depths 
 of our being, to revolutionize the character and the life, 
 they produce little or no impression. They enter the head, 
 but they descend not into the heart, which remains cold, 
 hard, dead as it was before. They control not the conduct, 
 but leave it to be shaped by inclination, by habit, by 
 fashion, and similar influences, as formerly. The class of 
 persons whose faith is of this kind do not even go so far as 
 the very devils, — they do not tremble at the power, the 
 holiness, and the justice of that God in whose existence and 
 government they believe. They may be perfectly sound, 
 indeed great sticklers for orthodoxy. Tliey may range 
 themselves on the side of evangelical principles and parties. 
 They may even lead the van in contending for the doctrines 
 and the institutions of religion. But the works of faith 
 and labours of love are awanting. There are no pure, bright 
 gi-accs of the Spirit. You search in vain for the beauties 
 of holiness. O, my brethren, rest not for a moment in 
 believing after that fashion ! It is defective, it is worthleSvS. 
 The will is not in it, the affections are not in it, the strong- 
 est, highest, best part of the man lies without and beyond 
 its sphere altogether. See that you lay hold of Jesus in a 
 realizing, appropriating manner, — hold of him as the only 
 Saviour for you, ruined sinners, — hold of him with the grasp 
 of those who are ready to sink into perdition. Let us all 
 apply to ourselves the test which the passage supplies. 
 Let us not be satisfied with names and appearances, with 
 creeds and confessions, with doctrines, however sound, and 
 even with convictions, however clear, — let us remember that 
 
FAITH WITHOUT WORKS. 199 
 
 we must be renewed in the spirit of our minds, created in 
 Christ Jesus unto good works, — that we must be found walk- 
 ing in the paths of righteousness, conscientiously and con- 
 stantly doing the will of our Father in heaven. Thus, and 
 thus only, can we prove ourselves his children, heirs of the 
 kingdom, — true, thorough, accepted believers in the glorious 
 gospel. 
 
'200 JUSTIFICATION nV WORKS. 
 
 XV. 
 
 JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 
 
 "But ivilt thou know, vain man, that faith without 
 works is dead? Was not Ahraham our father justified by 
 tvo7'ks, uhen he had offered Isaac his son ^ipon the altar? 
 Seest thou how faith wrought ivith his xoorks, and by works 
 was faith made perfect ? And the scripture was fulfilled 
 which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed 
 unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend 
 of God. Ye see then how that by worl^ a man is justified, 
 and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the 
 harlot justified by works, when she had received the mes- 
 sengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the 
 body without the spirit is dead, so faith udthout works is 
 dead also." — James ii. 20-2C. 
 
 AMES is here exposing the vain pretences of those 
 who laid claim to faith while destitute of works. 
 He asks what profit there is in such a faith, if it 
 can save him who boasts of its possession. He compares 
 it io a mock charity, which deals in fair speeches and good 
 wishes, but gives nothing, does nothing, for the relief of the 
 needy, naked brother or sister. The one is as false and 
 worthless as the otlier. He then silences and condemns the 
 Antinomian pretender by means of a supposed challenge 
 from a true Christian, — one who combined believing with 
 doing, whose profession and practice were in harmony. 
 "Sht>w me thy faitli without thy works, and I will shew thee 
 my faith by my works." He even confronts and confounds 
 him with the experience of devils. They yield an intel- 
 
JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 201 
 
 lectual assent to the existence and unity of God, with other 
 doctrines of his word; they cannot but admit the certain 
 truth of these, and they do it, but they are thereby only 
 certified of their eternal, hopeless doom. And so far are 
 they from being delivered or relieved, that they tremble in 
 consequence. Now he proceeds to confirm his teaching by 
 scriptural examples, adducing those of the patriarch Abra- 
 ham and the harlot Rahab. 
 
 The passage is not without difficulty, from its apparent 
 opposition to the statements of Paul on the same subject. 
 Obviously on the surface there is what has all the look of 
 a direct contradiction. Turn to the Epistles of the one 
 apostle, especially those to the Romans and Galatians, and 
 there you have such clear and decisive declarations as the 
 following: — "Therefore, by the deeds of the law shall no flesh 
 be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of 
 sin." "Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by 
 faith, without the deeds of the law." "Knowing that a man 
 is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of 
 Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that 
 we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the 
 works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh 
 be justified."^ Then pass to the other writer, and you 
 read in these verses, — "Was not Abraham our father justified 
 by works, when he had offered Isaac his son on the altar." 
 "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and 
 not by faith only." We are well assured that there is and 
 can be no real contrariety between the two, for both were 
 equally inspired by the same holy, all- wise, unerring Spirit; 
 but while those who receive the whole Scriptures as a Divine 
 revelation, admit this as a matter of course, they are not 
 agreed as to the manner in which the reconciliation is to be 
 effected. Some find the solution in a twofold sense of the 
 word justify, holding that Paul means by it what takes place 
 
 1 Rom. iii. 20, 28 ; Gal. ii. 16. 
 
202 JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 
 
 when a sinner is accepted as righteous before God, James 
 what takes place when he is proved, or shewn to have been 
 so accopti'd, which is done by the sanctity of his life, the 
 consistency of his walk, his acts and habits of obedience. 
 The latter is the manifestation and confirmation of the for- 
 mer, its evidence, its certification. Others discover the key, 
 not in a different use of terms, but a different point of view, 
 ■ — not in their sj^eaking of two things under a common name, 
 but of one and the same thing, not, however, under the same 
 aspect, not in the same relation. Paid insists on justification 
 by faith in opposition to those who tru.sted, either wholly or 
 partially, in their own doings. James contends for the prac- 
 tical, work-producing power of that faith by which this 
 justification is effected. The one overturns the foundation 
 of those who rested on the law, the other that of such as 
 abused the gospel. The one assails the self-righteous 
 legalist or moralist, the other the Antinomian professor, the 
 merely nominal or intellectual believer. 
 
 We prefer the latter method of harmonizing the apostles, 
 though it is not that most generally adopted. It appears 
 to us scarcely warrantable to suppose that the term referred 
 to is not used here in its proper, recognised signification — 
 that it point.s to some vindication before men, instead of, as 
 elsewhere, to a real acquittal and acceptance before God. 
 James is here speaking of a higher tribunal than any earthly 
 one, and of a for more momentous verdict than is ever there 
 pronounced Light is thrown on the meaning by such a 
 ({uestion as that of the 14th verse — "Can faith save him?" 
 sliowing that ho has here under discussion nothing short 
 of that supreme, eternal issue — the soul's salvation. And 
 on the other theory, why does he say that the justification 
 is not by faith only? seeing it is not by faith at all, but by 
 works only, so far as man's observation and judgment are 
 concerned. The reasons for and explanation of the view 
 now stated will come out more fully as we proceed with the 
 
JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 203 
 
 exposition of the passage, which we desire to do in humble 
 dependence on the Spirit's teaching and blessing. 
 
 I. TJie example of Abraham. Vers. 20-24. — He brings 
 it forward with a pointed and severe appeal by way of in- 
 troduction. He addresses it to the false, formal Christian 
 with whom he is professedly arguing. " But," — showing 
 that he is now going on to another proof still more decisive 
 and condemnatory in its nature, — "Wilt thou know?" — 
 which has the force of. Art thou willing to know, art thou 
 open at all to conviction, disposed to let in the light on the 
 subject? He thus intimates plainly enough that opposition 
 here arose, not from want of evidence or information, not 
 from honest doubt or difficulty, but from perverseness of 
 spirit, from a shutting out of the light, from resistance to 
 what was most certain and obvious. How much of the 
 infidelity and error which: still prevail is to be traced to the 
 same origin, to a corrupt bias, — a love of darkness, an un- 
 williness to know any better! "O vain man!" — so he 
 designates the pretender, and most fitly. It is literally, 
 empty man, hollow professor, destitute of all real religion, 
 whatever thou mayest allege to the contrary, ^ — ^destitute of 
 all but some lifeless, inoperative, good-for-nothing notions, 
 which can never find acceptance with that God who re- 
 quireth truth and loveth righteousness. "That faith," — 
 all faith, whatever passes under the name and is taken for it, 
 — "without works " — aj^art from, separate from works, or 
 as it is more exactly, the works, that is, those which pro- 
 perly belong to faith, which should accompany it, and will 
 do so when it is genuine, — "is dead," — a thing devoid of 
 vitality and value, — a thing heartless, powerless, worthless. 
 
 He now adduces the example of Abraham which war- 
 ranted this appeal, was fitted to scatter to the winds such 
 an idea as that he was now combating, and indeed should 
 have prevented its ever being entertained in any quarter 
 
204 JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 
 
 fur a moraont. Ver. 21, "Was not Abraham our father 
 justified by works ?" He was writing to Jews, to them 
 principally, if not exclusively; and with them the example 
 of the great patriarch was likely to have the higliest autho- 
 rity and influence. The apostle and they equally looked to 
 him as their father, their national progenitor, their head 
 and founder as a people. He was this to the Gentiles too ; 
 to them, however, not in a natural, but a spiritual respect. 
 He is the father of the faithful in all ages and countries. 
 " Was he not justified by works ?" asks James ; and not 
 satisfied with a general inquiry of that kind, he proceeds to 
 specify the work, the deed falling under this category by 
 which, peculiarly and pre-eminently, he was thus justified, 
 the offering of his son Isaac on the altar, — that is, the bring- 
 ing of him to the altar in oi'der to the offering up of him, 
 the laying and binding him there as a sacrifice, and so, in 
 effect, doing all that was commanded, though the business 
 was not actually carried through; for the victim was not 
 really slain, in consequence of a special Divine interposition. 
 Never was there a more remarkable or memorable instance 
 of obedience ; and if any work done by man could procure 
 God's favour, that was entitled to be so distinguished and 
 rewarded. Think for an instant of the circumstances. 
 
 Isaac was an only son, and so much beloved. He had 
 been given by special promise, and a promise the fulfilment 
 of which had been deferred until natural law seemed to 
 render the thing a sheer impossibility. With him were 
 bound up all the hopes of Abraham's family, and, far more, 
 the spiritual destinies of the whole human race, for from 
 him, according to the flesh, was that Messiah to be de- 
 scended, in whom all the nations of the earth were to be 
 blessed. He had now grown up to man's estate, and 
 become the solace and stay of the aged patriarch. How 
 dreadful, then, the command to surrender, to slay him as a 
 sacrifice ! The act was unnatural. It was the violent takiutr 
 
JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. • 205 
 
 away of human life where there was no crime to be punished, 
 no cause to be avenged, and that by the hand of the victim's 
 own father. And the consequences were apparently about 
 to be as fatal as the deed viewed in itself was monstrous. 
 What was to become of all those bright visions of the future 
 which had been spread out before the eye of faith ? what 
 of all those exceeding great and precious promises which 
 the mouth of the Lord had spoken ? And yet, Abraham 
 delays not, hesitates not, but at once makes preparation for 
 the sacrifice, and sets out for the distant place where it was 
 to be offered. He travels one whole day, then a second, 
 and on the third he sees afar off the destined spot, to which 
 he advances with his doomed son alone. He builds the 
 altar, lays the wood in order, binds Isaac upon it, stretches 
 forth his hand, and takes the knife that he may strike the 
 fatal blow. But God, having made sufficient proof of his 
 ' ^rvant, miraculously interposes, and, declaring his satisfac- 
 tion with the spirit manifested, provides a ram for a burnt- 
 offering. What must have been the patriarch's feeling, 
 what his perplexity and anguish, in having so terrible a duty 
 laid on him, and what his joy and thankfulness at the 
 opportune and marvellous deliverance ! 
 
 Here we encounter two difficulties, the first more general, 
 the second more particular in its nature. Look at them 
 carefully. The statement made so plainly, that Abraham 
 was justified by works, appears to be directly opposed to 
 the teaching of the apostle Paul on the same subject, and, 
 indeed, to the whole strain of Bible doctrine, both in its 
 central principles, its gi^eat outlines on the one hand, and 
 its special deliverances, its express utterances, on the other. 
 Some of the passages we have already quoted, and we need 
 not adduce them again. Then, further, the specification of 
 the work, in connexion with which his acceptance took place, 
 the offering of his son Isaac, seems to conflict with the un- 
 doiibted fact that his acceptance dated from a much earlier 
 
20G • JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 
 
 period; for the very language of the Old Testament, to 
 ■which James here makes his appeal, was spoken long before. 
 " Abraham believed God, and. it was imputed unto him for 
 righteousness." The solution most commonly adopted is, 
 that the justification referred to is not the same that Paul 
 treats of, but one subsequent in time, — one not in rela- 
 tion to God, but with reference to men, — one evidencing, 
 proving the former, — a manifestation and vindication in the 
 view of the world, by means of his obedience, of that 
 gracious state into which he had originally been brought by 
 faith, and by it alone. We are not satisfied with that ex- 
 planation, as has already been intimated ; for there is not 
 the least hint of a difference of signification, and to intro- 
 duce anything of the kind tends to confusion. It opens the 
 door to a great latitude of interpretation, to an easy escape 
 from every sort of difiiculty. Let us see how the matter 
 stands, without having recourse to such an expedient. 
 
 1. That James does not make justification depend on 
 works to the exclusion of faith, nor even on works in addi- 
 tion to faith, will appear from the following considerations: — 
 
 First, This deed of Abraham was pre-eminently one of faith. 
 It was obviously so on the face of it, and is adduced tis such 
 by the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews. It was this 
 which gave it all its excellence, and, indeed, it was this 
 which made it so mucli as defensible. In itself it was un- 
 lawful and unnatural; it had been a dreadful crime, thus in- 
 dependently, absolutely considered. It was because he acted 
 in obedience to the Divine command, believing in God's 
 supreme right to dispose of his son as he jileased, and not 
 less in God's perfect ability to make good his promise, even 
 if it should be by the raising up of Isaac from the ashes to 
 which he might be reduced on the altar — it was thus that 
 it tested and proved the patriarch's spirit, and that it re- 
 dounded so greatly to his honour. It was nothing, then, 
 apart from this grace; indeed dissevered from it, the trai»sac- 
 
JUSTIFICATIO^x"^ r.Y WOEKS. 207 
 
 tion bad stood against Abraham, instead of being in his 
 favour. 
 
 Secondly, James brings this grand element and feature 
 of it prominently forward. Ver. 22, " Seest thou how faith 
 WTOUght with his works, and by works was faith made per- 
 fect?" "Seest thou?" or directly, thou seest, as an in- 
 dubitable fact ; — " h'ow faith," or simply that faith "wrought 
 with his works." It prompted them, effected them; it 
 operated on and by them, coming out thus in action, and 
 thereby into manifestation. It was the principle from which 
 they proceeded, and without which, if we can suppose them 
 existing at all, they had been radically, essentially defective 
 — they had been wholly different in their nature and value. 
 " And by works was faith made perfect" or complete. They 
 do not add anything to this grace, — they are not joined to it, 
 so that they supply some lack, render it what it was not 
 before. They do, however, more than reveal or evidence it, 
 which is all that many will allow to be implied in the lan- 
 guage, — they develop it, mature it after a fashion. The 
 latent, vital element in it thus comes out, unfolds itself, and 
 is thereby not only shewn but strengthened. It is like the 
 tree which stands forth crowned, complete, when laden with 
 its summer fruit. That fruit all springs from the inward 
 life, — the natural, essential propQrties of the tree acted on 
 by favourable external influences. The faith is in itself 
 quite entire from the first moment of its production; for it 
 contains, has wrapt up in it, aU the qualities and virtues- 
 "which ever appear. It is so viewed and dealt with by God; 
 but it is perceived by men to be this, and also attains its 
 full measure of growth, only by means of the works of right- 
 eousness. Their place, you observe, then, is subordinate, 
 ministerial, — merely helping forward what is here called its 
 perfection. It is still and ever the great thing, indeed, 
 the exclusive thing it is made by Paul to be in the matter 
 of a sinner's justification. 
 
208 JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 
 
 Thirdly, He appeals to it as a fulfilment of the saying — 
 " Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him," — 
 reckoned to him, put to his account, — " for righteousness." 
 Here we have no mention of works at all, no place, great 
 or small, assigned them, and we find none in connexion 
 ■with the original utterance of that declaration. There was 
 nothing but faith in the ancient transaction, — there is 
 nothing but the same in the record of it, or testimony 
 to it now quoted. He credited God, and his doing so was 
 counted unto the patriarch for righteousness. Now, in no 
 sense could Abraham's offering of Isaac have been a fulfilment 
 of that word had it not been distinctively, pre-eminently 
 a grand exercise of the grace in question — a special, won- 
 derful act of believing. And therefore we arrive at the 
 conclusion, that the doctrine of James is not that justifica- 
 tion is by works to the exclusion of faith, nor even by works 
 in addition to faith, but simply by faith, only however of 
 such a kind that it does not reside in the head without 
 moving the heart and regulating the life, — that it does not 
 lie dormant, inoperative within, but conducts to, and mani- 
 fests itself in, all holy conversation and godliness. It is 
 thus we understand the 24th verse — "Ye see, then, how 
 that by Avorks a man is justified, and not by faith only," — 
 that is, not by it when accompanied by no evidence of 
 vitality, not by it as a thing isolated and unproductive, — a 
 thing continuing to stand solitary and alone, — a thing which 
 yields no fruit, prompts to no obedience. That is no saving 
 grace in the system of Paul any more than of James. It is 
 against reliance on a belief of that impotent, worthless sort 
 that the whole argument of the ])assage before us is directed. 
 2. The other, the more special difficulty, falls now to be 
 considered, but it admits of being disposed of much more 
 easily and briefly. How could Abraham be justified by 
 wt.rks, or by anything else, at the offering of Isaac, seeing 
 he was justified long before ; for these words, " Abraham 
 
JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 209 
 
 believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteous- 
 ness," were spoken regarding him at a much earlier period 
 of his history. The explanation seems to be this : then 
 the Scriptural statement on the subject received a remark- 
 able verification and accomplishment, was in a very full and 
 special way realized. It was perfectly true from the first ; 
 bvit the faith which justified as soon as manifested was then 
 illustriously exercised and proved, — it was signally dis- 
 played, and the whole transaction thus confirmed and vin- 
 dicated. The believing which had been imputed to him 
 for long was raised to its loftiest height, and so very 
 peculiarly reckoned to him with this blessed effect. The 
 memorable deed drew forth the testimony from the angel 
 of the covenant, — " By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord ; 
 for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not with- 
 held thy son, thine only son ; that in blessing I will bless 
 thee, and in multiplying' I will multiply thy seed as the 
 stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the 
 sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his ene- 
 mies ; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth 
 be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. "^ 
 
 In connexion with this it is added, " And he Avas 
 called the Friend of God." What a distinction! It speaks 
 of the most intimate union and fellowship between the 
 parties. The great, holy Jehovah loved, trusted, delighted 
 in the patriarch, and never more so than on this memorable 
 occasion when his faith shone out in so signal an act of 
 obedience. Owned and trusted before as standing in such a 
 relation, he was now raised higher and brought nearer, — 
 invested more fully than ever with the pre-eminent title. 
 We find him bearing it in the Old Testament Scriptures ; 
 and to that circumstance there is here a reference. Thus 
 Jehoshaphat prayed, — " Art not thou our God, who didst 
 
 1 Gen. xxii. 16-18. 
 
 P 
 
2 1 JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 
 
 •hive out the iuhaliitants of this land before thy people 
 Israel, aud gavcst it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for 
 ever?" We read in the prophetic page of Isaiah, — "But 
 thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the 
 seed of Abraham my friend."^ When we go back to his 
 history, as recorded by Moses, there is abundant evidence 
 of his having actually been what he was thus called. The 
 name was but eocpressive of the position he occupied, the 
 privileges he possessed. It was no barren title. How was 
 he taken, if I may so speak, into the Divine confidence ? 
 " And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing 
 which I do?" and what stronger proof is there of friend- 
 ship ? Thus Jesus testified to his disciples, — " Henceforth 
 I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what 
 his lord doeth : but I have called you friends : for all things 
 that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto 
 you."^ So it appears that, great as the honour is, it i.s 
 shared by all believers, and the holier they are, the more 
 devoted, the clearer evidence have they, and the larger 
 enjoyment of the wonderful relationship. 
 
 II. The example of Rahah. — Ver, 25, "Likewise wa« 
 not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had 
 received the messengers, and had sent them out another 
 way." Why was lier case adduced ? She was a woman, 
 and so l)i'l<)nged to that sex which is the feebler, and has 
 too often been greatly degiaded and despised. She was of 
 an alien race, and the people whose blood flowed in her 
 veins were not only strange, foreign, but morally vile, infa- 
 mous to such a degree that they were doomed to extirpa- 
 tion by Divine command for their outrageous, incorrigible 
 wickedness. She was herself, too, an evil-doer, one of a 
 gross and flagTant description. She was a harlot. Attempts 
 iuive been made to soften down the term, to give it a different 
 
 1 2 Chron. xx. 7 ; Isaiah xli. 8 ; 2 Join iv. 16. 
 
JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 211 
 
 and better meaning ; but tbese are quite unwarranted, and 
 in no degree successful. Her former infamy only enhanced 
 the sovereignty and power of that grace by which she was 
 forgiven, sanctified, and saved. The deed which distin- 
 guished her was less illustrious than the patriarch's, and was 
 even marked by no small imperfection in the performance. 
 Thus her case was fitted to encourage those who might have 
 been deterred by that of Abraham, as being of so transcen- 
 dant, singular a character, that it did not admit of being 
 reached or even approached by ordinary mortals. 
 
 Her history is recorded in the 2nd chapter of Joshua. 
 She lived in Jericho, and there received the two spies sent 
 out of Shittim to view the land of Canaan. She concealed 
 them when they were sought after by the king ; and having 
 put the men who were searching for them on a false scent, 
 not without a sacrifice of truth on her part, she directed 
 them how to effect their escape, letting them down over the 
 wall of the city by a window. " She sent them out another 
 way," — ^literally, thrust them forth,— denoting the haste and 
 fear which marked the proceeding ; and it was by another 
 way than that by which they had entered her dwelling, or 
 perhaps than that taken by the pursuers. Thus she treated 
 those who were about to be the destroyers of her home and 
 her people. She did it at the greatest risk to herself, for 
 had she been detected acting what would have been deemed 
 a treacherous and treasonable part, her li^e would have been 
 speedily sacrificed. She did it because she believed in the 
 God of Israel, — believed that the invaders were commissioned 
 by him, and so were destined to succeed in their enterprise. 
 She was influenced by faith; and it was the presence, the 
 pre-eminence of it which made her conduct so noble, so 
 memorable. It is thus we have it represented in the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews: — ^"By faith the harlot Rahab 
 perished not with them that believed not, when she had 
 received the spies with peace. "-^ In this way she was jus- 
 
 i Heb. xi. 31. 
 
2 1 2 JUSTIFICATION BY WOJIKS. 
 
 tified ; and her case teaches the same lesson, leads to the 
 same conclusion as that of Abraham. It was so with her, — 
 it could not be otherwise, in view of the great principle 
 with which James here closes. 
 
 Ver. 26, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, 
 so faith without works is dead also." We might naturally 
 have expected a statement exactly the reverse. Were it 
 not more correct and fitting to represent faith as the spirit, 
 and works as the body? Here, however, we have faith as 
 the body, and works as the spirit. What Ave are to under- 
 stand is this — that the principle which produces works, the 
 vital, operative element or power in the faith, is the real 
 spirit of the faith, and without this it is no better than a 
 lifeless carcase. It may bulk largely in profession, in adher- 
 ence to a somid, well-proportioned creed, in confident speeches, 
 and imposing observances, — it may have a stately form, a 
 finely-shaped embodiment, but there is no breath in it, no 
 animating, active soul. No ; it is a corpse, however attired 
 and adorned. Its members may be complete, its features 
 may even be fair; but it is dead, decaying, and fit only to be 
 buried. 
 
 brethren, James here deals with an error which is 
 awfully common ! Prevalent in primitive times, it has come 
 down to the present day, and is as pestiferous and deadly 
 as ever. Many of you claim to be Christians, in other 
 words, justified persons. Now, men are justified by faith 
 alone, not however by that faith which is alone. It is a 
 vital, operative, powerful principle, producing a holy life, 
 leavening the whole character, putting its stamp upon the 
 man both inwardly and outwardly. It impregnates all the 
 springs of thought, feeling, and action. It goes down to the 
 very roots of our being, and makes the tree which grows 
 \ip from them sound, vigorous, and fruitful. What then of 
 your belief? What influence does it exert? What effect's 
 dofs it produce ? Are you obedient to God in all ex- 
 
JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 213 
 
 tremities, — like Abraham, withholding nothing that he 
 demands, however dear may be the object, however great 
 the sacrifice ? Are you ready to run risks and incur danger 
 in reliance on him, as did Rahab ? What avails your say- 
 ing or even thinking that you have faith ? The question is, 
 What are its fruits ? Where are the practical proofs of its 
 existence and exercise ? Is its impress on your character 
 and conduct ? A test is laid down in the passage, and by 
 that test it must stand or fall, — and you along with it, my 
 brethren. Failing here, it is reprobate silver. It may 
 glitter like gold, but it is mere tinsel. It may pass current 
 among men, but it is sure to be rejected by God. No plea 
 will be listened to at last, no claim, where holiness is awant- 
 ing, and when the parties urging it can be addressed as the 
 workers of iniquity. " If any man be in Christ, he is a new 
 creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are 
 become new." I beseech you, be n otsatisfied with a poor, 
 dead carcase, which you should loathe, which you should 
 hasten to bury out of your sight as fit only for the sepulchre. 
 Seek the true, heavenly grace, which penetrates the lowest 
 depths alike of our intellectual and emotional nature, which 
 in every instance is wrought by the mighty Spirit of God, 
 and which unites the soul by a tie, never to be broken, with 
 the living Lord above. Rest not without that faith which, 
 confiding in Jesus as a Saviour, also obeys him as a sove- 
 reign, — which, accepting him as the great propitiation, not 
 less copies him as the great pattern. So shall you certainly 
 be found among that glorious company of believing men and 
 women who, with this as their grand, their only distinction, 
 are to come from the east and the west, and sit down with 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 
 
*J 1 4? ALL NOT T(D BE TEACHERS. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 ALL NOT TO BE TEACHERS. 
 
 " My brethren, he not miany Tnasters, knowing that xce 
 shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many 
 things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the 
 same is a perfect man, and able also to bindle the whole 
 body." — James iii. 1, 2. 
 
 ERE James seems to enter on a new subject, and 
 yet it is connected in no very remote way with 
 that which is handled in the preceding chapter. 
 What he there argues so strongly against is a vain profession 
 of faith, — the saying that we have that grace, when we are 
 destitute of it in reality, — laying claim to it in words, while 
 not shewing it forth in works, — boasting of having it without 
 giving practical evidence of its possession. It is the as- 
 sumption of the name dissociated from the life of a believer. 
 Such parties would be and were ready to use the tongue 
 freely and largely. The strength which should have been 
 expended in the doing of the Divine will was turned into 
 another channel, and employed in noisy talk, in presump- 
 tuous teaching. This class of persons are not sl(nv to speak; 
 their religion, indeed, mainly consists in fluent and confident 
 utterances. The same spirit Avhich makes them think so 
 well of themselves, which deludes them with the idea that 
 they are in a state of safety, because they have got some of 
 the notions and forms of godliness, leads them to stand forth 
 and assume a superiority in relation to their brethren. In 
 their ignorant self-sufheiency they imagine that they have 
 ma.stered all, or nearly all, they need to learn; and instead 
 
ALL NOT TO BE TEACHERS. 215 
 
 of any longer receiving, should be imparting instruction. 
 The bench of the pupil is not their proper place, but the 
 chair of the teacher. They disdain the pew and claim the 
 pulpit. And hence it is not in a loose, general way, — it is 
 not without design and connexion, that James passes from 
 the condemnation of a nominal, notional faith, to a warning 
 against intrusion into the master's office, and a full exposure 
 of the sins of the tongue. In these opening verses of the 
 chapter to which we proceed to direct your attention, we 
 have two things calling for consideration. 
 
 I. A warning given.- — " My brethren, be not many mas- 
 ters." "Be not," — that is, become not — "many masters," 
 which term is to be understood here in the sense of teachers. 
 The word often signifies that with us, as when we speak of 
 the masters of the Grammar School ; but often something 
 different, referring to the _exercise of authority, not to the 
 giving of instruction. Attempts have been made to fix on 
 the original language another meaning, but they have in no 
 degree succeeded. What James says is equivalent to this, — 
 Let not many of you become teachers, — let not that state of 
 things prevail in which large numbers rush into such a place, 
 take to themselves such an office. 
 
 From the earliest days of the Christian Church, stated 
 persons were set apart for this work in a regular way; and 
 the apostles were very careful in laying down the qualifica- 
 tions requisite, and guarding against rash assumption of the 
 function. Great latitude was allowed to the ordinary mem- 
 bers of the congregation. They were jjermitted and en- 
 couraged to exercise freely their gifts for the general 
 edification. But how numerous are the passages in the 
 New Testament which intimate that not a few were too eager 
 to speak, aspired to be masters, when it had been better 
 for others, and for themselves also, to have kept silence in 
 public ! It was felt that repression, sometimes even stern, 
 
21G ALL NOT TO BE TEACHERS. 
 
 severe rebuke was necessary. Liberty was abused ; vain, 
 presumptuous men, moved by self-conceit, ambition, envy, 
 false zeal, and even by more sordid considerations and baser 
 feelings, as by the greed of filthy lucre, became preachers of 
 the word, and hesitated not to withstand, yea, to traduce 
 the apostles themselves. Outside of the Church, among the 
 adherents of the old Jewish economy, there were numbers of 
 such characters. " Behold," says Paul, " thou art called a 
 Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, and 
 knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more 
 excellent, being instructed out of the law ; and art confident 
 that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them 
 which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher 
 of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the 
 tiuth in the law."^ Within it a large crop of them appeared. 
 " Now, the end of the commandment is charity out of a 
 pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned; 
 from which some having swerved, have turned aside unto 
 vain jangling ; desiring to be teachers of the law ; under- 
 sta.nding neither what they say, nor whereof they afiirm." 
 " Holding fast the faithful word, as he hath been taught, 
 that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and 
 to convince the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and 
 vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circum- 
 cision; whose moutlis must be stopped, who subvert whole 
 houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's 
 sake." " Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and 
 strife, and some also of good will. The one preach Christ 
 of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to 
 my bonds."" 
 
 Now, while seeking that the heralds of the cross should 
 
 be multiplied greatly, and sent forth on every side with 
 
 tlie me.<<sage of reconciliation, James, and not he only, but 
 
 Paul, Peter, John, Jude, also found it necessary to lift up 
 
 • Roin. ii. 17-20. * 1 Tim. i. 5-7 ; Tit. i. 9-11 ; Phil i. 16, 16. 
 
ALL NOT TO BE TEACHERS. 217 
 
 a warning voice against presumptuous intruders, and to 
 defend the sacred office from the entrance of the ignorant 
 novice, the hypocritical pretender, and the pestilent heretic. 
 They sought to impress all with a deep sense of the diffi- 
 culty and responsibility of the work, to awaken a salutary 
 fear of the peculiar dangers to which such a position exposed 
 them, and of the dreadful consequences both to themselves 
 and others of unfaithfulness and failure. 
 
 Now, this is applicable to ourselves in no small degree. 
 On the one hand, there is need of encouragement, induce- 
 ment, stimulus ; on the other, of dissuasion, repression, 
 restraint. It is to be regTetted that so few are seeking to 
 become teachers of the word, preachers of the gospel. The 
 fields are wide as the wide world, and they are white unto 
 the harvest. Never were the nations of the earth so acces- 
 sible as they are at present to the heralds of salvation. 
 The obstacles of long ages have been cast down and cleared 
 away most marvellously; and not only through the length 
 and breadth of Europe and America, but in the vast em- 
 pires of Asia, and among the barbarous tribes of Africa, 
 there is a great door open for the messengers of peace to 
 enter. And yet, at such a time as this, all churches are 
 complaining of the small number of young men who are 
 coming forward to the ministry. We hear from the highest 
 quarters of the falling off in England, and it is not better — 
 it is perhaps worse — among ourselves. Our divinity students 
 are diminishing to an extent that is startling, alarming. 
 I have seen it publicly stated, that in by far the largest 
 Presbytery of our Church only three entered the Hall this 
 year for the first time ; and from the whole of that most 
 populous and influential district in the centre of which it is 
 situated, a half-dozen or so can hardly be mustered.^ Look 
 still nearer, and in this numerous congregation, embrac- 
 ing so many young men, and with the rare facilities 
 
 1 This was written at the close of 1863. Things are now somewhat better. 
 
2 1 S ALL NOT TO BE TEACHERS. 
 
 which schools and colleges at the very door furnish, 
 there are scarcely any setting their faces toward the sacred 
 office ! 
 
 The reasons of such a state of things are too obvious and 
 natural, though we can scarcely allow that they are adequate 
 and satisfactory. The worldly inducements in this direc- 
 tion are small, — may I not say shamefully so, — and with 
 the multiplied openings for talent, energy, and attainment 
 in the various departments of trade ; in the more lucrative 
 learned professions ; in the public services of the country, 
 civil and military, at home and abroad; in the fields of exer- 
 tion which our far-reaching Colonies present,- — it is not to be 
 wondered at that our aspiring youth, even when not destitute 
 of serious views, of religious principles, are drawn aside from 
 a walk where they can expect but a bare subsistence, with 
 all that inferiority of position and pressure of care which 
 such a condition of matters involves, and are carried into 
 those more attractive paths which promise advancement 
 and affluence, perhaps fame and fortune, combined too with 
 large opportunities of usefulness. I do not say this in 
 respect of want, — if I may use the apostle's language, — but 
 from a deep conviction that the better or wealthier classes 
 in our congregations need to have their attention aroused 
 on the subject, and to be brought to realise the fact that 
 we are threatened with a great danger, which is to be attri- 
 buted in no small degree to the meagre and unworthy sup- 
 port that is given to those who are entrusted with the holy 
 ministry. The truth is that many, even in the best situa- 
 tions, manage to meet the demands which are made on 
 them, and to live in anything like comfort, only by other 
 means than those they derive from their strictly professional 
 duties, often very much to the injury of the pastorate and 
 the people. 
 
 With all this, I am far from justifying such as stand aloof 
 from the sacred calling because of these temporal discourage- 
 
ALL NOT TO BE TEACHERS. 219 
 
 ments. Were its nature, its claims, its advantages in higher 
 respects more considered, — were persons more deeply imbued 
 with the love of Christ and of souls, — had they a larger mea- 
 sure of the Spirit of Him who, though infinitely rich, for 
 our sakes became poor, even unto the accursed death of the 
 cross, that we through his poverty might be made eternally 
 rich, — did they feel more strongly their own obligations to 
 redeeming mercy, they would surmount all these barriers, 
 and, in the face of narrow circumstances, yea, of penury and 
 want, say with the prophet, '* Lord, here am I, send me." 
 O ! had we the self-sacrificing mind of the Master, his delight 
 in doing the will of the Father and finishing his work, by 
 labouring for the salvation of the lost children of men, then 
 should there be no such lack as we are now deploring. I 
 beseech those who have life still before them, and a profes- 
 sion to choose, to think of this — yes, however high their 
 position and bright their prospects, to think of it with 
 reference to themselves, to consider, as in God's sight, what 
 is their duty in this respect. But, with equal earnestness, 
 I exhort others not to put unnecessary obstacles in their 
 way, — not to expose them to undue temptations, — ^not to dis- 
 courage the timid and the tried, but rather to smooth their 
 path by giving them the assurance of all proper sympathy 
 and support, while they are devoting themselves to the 
 Church's, or rather to the Lord's service. 
 
 All that is quite consistent with the exhortation or 
 warning here given by James. While, in a certain sense, 
 we can and do say be many teachers, — in another, and that 
 here intended, we say be not many teachers. K-ush not too 
 eagerly and hastily forward,^ — look well to your warrant and 
 qualifications for the office of imparting religious instruc- 
 tion, of preaching the gospel. Take not this work rashly, 
 presumptuously upon yourselves. But comparatively few 
 are fitted for it and called to it ; and, as regards by far the 
 greater part, their business is to listen and learn, — their 
 
220 ALL NOT TO BE TEACHERS. 
 
 place is manifestly in the pew, not in the pulpit. There is a 
 strong tendency, in times of spiritual awakening, which 
 requires to be met and checked by such an admonition. 
 When there is much religious excitement, numbers of the 
 young and inexperieneed, carried away by feelings which 
 we can well understand, think it their duty to come forward 
 in public as masters, and too often imagine that they are 
 wiser than their teachers. Now, all we axe disposed to say 
 here is, that there is great need of caution and care in this 
 matter. Persons should be adequately instructed and some- 
 what confirmed themselves, — not mere novices in the faith, — 
 before they either venture of their own accord, or are 
 pushed forward by others, into prominent positions. They 
 should realise the difficulty and responsibility of the work 
 they undertake, and remember that a fluent tongue, without 
 a trained and well-stored mind, and, above all, without 
 weight of character and holiness of life, will not greatly 
 advance the cause of religion. They and their friends 
 should not forget how easily vanity, self-conceit, spiritual 
 pride creep in, and how necessary it is to be fortified against 
 perilous influences of that sort, by proved solidity and sted- 
 fastness in the faith of the gospel. God forbid that we 
 should discourage men whose hearts are filled with the love 
 of Christ from opening their mouths wide, and testifying to 
 perishing sinners of the precious Saviour they have found. 
 We wish such were multiplied greatly. In this sense, would 
 that all the Lord's people were prophets ! These generally 
 will feel that they have a large enough field for all their 
 energy and zeal, while abiding in their proper callings, 
 without intruding into the sphere of the stated teacher. 
 The more stable and advanced among them, too, may go 
 lengths, and do things with comparative safety and pro- 
 priety, which it would ho dangerous and ^vTong in the 
 extreme for raw, untried persons, mere novices in Cliristian 
 knowledge and attainment, to attempt. They do not 
 
ALL NOT TO BE TEACHERS. 221 
 
 always reflect that they themselves may do what it may 
 be most unwise and perilous for those of fewer years and 
 of less maturity to do ; and so, from the best of motives, 
 may push others forward, when they should rather counsel 
 them to hold back. This is one of the subjects which it is 
 exceedingly difficult to handle with due delicacy, and so as 
 to keep the right medium. Partisans on either side, led 
 away by extreme and partial views, are ready to find fault ; 
 but, without fear or flinching, we must declare the whole 
 counsel of God, and not turn away from any portion of it, 
 especially when, unsought, it crosses our path and demands 
 full and fair treatment. Here it stands written, so clearly 
 that he who runneth may read, " My brethren be not" — 
 become not — "many teachers ;" for there is no reasonable 
 doubt that this, and nothing else, is what is meant by the 
 term rendered " masters" in our version. 
 
 II. T}ie warning enforced. — And it is so by two weighty 
 considerations, which are closely connected and serve to con- 
 firm and complete each other. 
 
 1. The consequence of unfaithfulness and failure.— 
 This we have in the latter part of ver. 1. " Knowing that 
 we shall receive the greater condemnation." The work of 
 spiritual teaching is one which involves great responsibility, 
 and when ■ it is not performed properly, — which, alas ! is so 
 likely to happen,- — the result must be what James here de- 
 scribes. He evidently proceeds on such a supposition, as 
 comes out clearly in the 2nd verse, where the other con- 
 sideration is adduced. "Knowing"- — as we do, at all events 
 should do — well aware of the solemn fact as we either are, 
 or ought to be, for the matter is not doubtful but most 
 reasonable in itself, and plainly revealed in Scripture,^ — 
 " that we," — we who are teachers, we who occupy that im- 
 portant and responsible position, for he speaks as one of their 
 number,- — "shall receive the greater condemnation," which 
 
222 ALL NOT TO BE TE.\.cnEIlS. 
 
 does not mean merely judgment, but, as usually in the New 
 Testament, adverse judgment, a sentence finding the party 
 guilty and inflicting some penalty, — equivalent therefore to 
 punishment. The reason of this is obvious. The offences 
 of persons holding such an office are peculiarly aggravated 
 and injurious. They are far more destructive to men and 
 dishonouring to God than those of their brethren. Their 
 words are heard by multitudes, and are invested with an 
 authority which gives them great influence. Their lives are 
 widely seen and closely scrutinized. Inconsistencies, blem- 
 ishes in them, whatever their orthodoxy or their eloquence, 
 are most damaging and deadly. Thus there is justly, inevi- 
 tably a " greater condemnation," a darker doom, a heavier 
 punishment, a lower hell when they are not faithful. 
 
 Mark here how the apostle includes himself. He says, 
 "we shall receive." He does so in a spirit of humility and 
 self-distrust, which serves to bring out more forcibly the 
 magnitude of the danger against which he is warning his 
 readers. We find Paul writing in a similar manner : " But 
 I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest 
 by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself 
 should be a castaway."^ The most eminent ministers of 
 the Chiirch in all ages have felt this, and to such an extent, 
 that they have often shrunk back at first from the sacred 
 office altogether. It was so with Ambrose, who, when 
 elected Bishop of Milan, fled from the city, and had to be 
 searched out and brouglit back from his place of conceal- 
 ment. It was so with the still more celebrated Father, 
 Augustine, who went forward to receive ordination only 
 after the most urgent solicitations. It was so ^\^th our o^vn 
 noble Reformer, John Knox, for he, when called to the 
 ministry in the Castle of St Andrews, first made an in- 
 effectual attempt to address the congregation that had 
 chosen him, and then bursting into tears, rushed out of the 
 
 » Cor. ii. 27. 
 
ALL NOT TO BE TEACHERS. 223 
 
 assembly, and hid himself in his own chamber. His History 
 records " that his countenance and behaviour, from that day 
 till the day he was compelled to present himself in the 
 public place of preaching, did sufficiently declare the grief 
 and trouble of his heart, for no man saw any sign of mirth 
 from him, neither had he pleasure to accompany any man 
 for many days together."* What a lesson is here to all who 
 either have entered on, or are looking forward to, the work 
 of spiritual teaching ! 
 
 2. The danger of unfaitJtfuIness and failure. — This is 
 implied in the latter part of the 1st verse, which we have 
 now been considering, for "the greater condemnation " 
 there spoken of proceeds on such a supposition. Here, how- 
 ever, it is brought out clearly and expressly. The one sup- 
 plies the link essential to the completeness of the other. We 
 have first a general statement — -"For in many things we 
 offend all." " In many things," — or, on many occasions, often- 
 times. " We offend,"- — that is, literally, trip, stumble, fall, 
 meaning we err, transgress, fail in duty. " All," — we all, 
 without exception, do this, saints and sinners, teachers and 
 taught, alike thus offend. Here, again, James includes 
 himself in the number. We find his brother apostle, John, 
 doing the same — "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive 
 ourselves, and the truth is not in us."^ There is no abso- 
 lute perfection so long as we are in the body. Some have 
 advanced a claim of the kind, but it has been a dream, a 
 delusion. They know little either of the Divine law or of 
 the human heart, who to the last are not ready to cry with 
 the leper — " Unclean, unclean ;" and who feel not tliat the 
 publican's prayer is exactly suited to them — " God be 
 merciful to me a sinner." 
 
 Having made this acknowledgment, which was fitted to 
 explain what goes before, and prepare the way for what fol- 
 lows and bears on the special case in the apostle's view, he 
 
 ^ M'Crie's Life of Knox. ^ 1 John i. 8. 
 
224 ALL NOT TO BE TELVCHERS. 
 
 adds, — "If any oftend not in word, the same is a perfect 
 man, and able also to bridle the whole body." He thus 
 returns to the tongue, with the use and abuse of which he 
 was more particidarly dealing. "If any man offend not in 
 word," — err not, transgress not in speech, including not merely 
 what is uttered, considered in itself, but also the manner in 
 which, and the motive from which, it is uttered. Were one 
 faultless in this respect, — were he never to trip, to stumble 
 in speaking, he should be a perfect man, — a person every 
 way complete. The statement may be regarded as hypo- 
 thetical. Suppose an individual blameless here, he should be 
 blameless throughout. But that cannot be, as the imme- 
 diately preceding clause most emphatically declares; for there 
 it is testified that all, including the apostles themselves, 
 offend, fail in duty. Or we may rather understand the 
 term as employed in a sense it often bears in the New 
 Testament Scriptures, as meaning merely a certain Christian 
 entireness or completeness, high and symmetrical spiritual 
 attainments. Hence we read, — " Not as though I had 
 already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow 
 after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am 
 apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself 
 to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting 
 those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those 
 things which are before, I press toward the mark for the 
 prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us 
 therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in 
 anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even 
 this unto you."i Thus, it is explained by what is added — 
 "And able also to bridle the whole body." The body needs 
 t(j be restrained. Its members are unruly. They are 
 ministers of sin, instruments of unrighteousness. The power 
 that is adequate to the government of the tongue is sufficient 
 for the subjugation and management of all those corporeal 
 1 riiil. iii. 12-lJ. 
 
ALL NOT TO BE TEACHERS. 225 
 
 organs in whicli corruption works, and through which it 
 breaks out in acts of open rebellion. So difficult is it to 
 subdue, that he who obtains the mastery there cannot be 
 defeated in any quarter whatever. And the one achieve- 
 ment is not only a guarantee of the other, but a direct and 
 effectual means of accomplishing the other. The tongue 
 inflames, stirs up evil alike within and around the person. 
 By its untruths, perversions, flatteries, calumnies, and such 
 like, it kindles the worst passions and works a world of 
 mischief. Put a bridle on it, and you thereby go a great 
 way toward reining in the whole body. You hold in the 
 restless and violent member which sets all the others in 
 motion. 
 
 Now, all this has a very obvious bearing on the business 
 and responsibility of religious teachers. Their danger is 
 great and special. They are much engaged in speaking. 
 The work is difficult in its- nature, for it is anything but easy 
 to declare aright the whole counsel of God, — to do it without 
 mixture of error, — to do it with the wisdom, the love, the 
 patience, the faithfulness that are requisite, in order to 
 make a good impression and secure a favourable issue. 
 It exposes to peculiar temptations, to pride, vanity, dogma- 
 tism, self-deception, — to an assumption of superiority, a desire 
 of applause, an abuse of power. The risks then of offending 
 are vastly increased in the case of such parties. They ought 
 to be deeply sensible of this, that they may not run without 
 being sent ; and that when sent, they may be humble, watch- 
 ful, circumspect, jealous over themselves, afraid of injuring 
 souls and dishonouring God, — of falling under that greater 
 condemnation, which must be the result of unfaithfulness 
 and failure in this high and holy service. 
 
 My brethren, it becomes us teachers to lay this most 
 seriously to heart. All of us, ministers and people, habitually 
 offend. We constantly transgress, and thereby incur the 
 
 Q 
 
•2 20 ALL NOT TO BE TEACHERS. 
 
 l)i\ine displeasure. The smallest condemnation is great 
 enough. It is in every instance a burden too heavy to he 
 borne, and must sink those lying under it into the blackness 
 of outer darkness. The thing itself, apart from degrees, is 
 intolerable and eternal. The doom even of him whose sins 
 are the fewest in number and the least in magnitude, is hor- 
 rible beyond description or conception. We all need a great 
 salvation. Nothing less precious than the blood of Jesus 
 can wash away the guilt we have contracted. Yes, nothing 
 short of his infinite, Divine merit can secure the cancelling 
 and rolling away of that condemnation which rests on every 
 one in a natural state. Let us all realize our need of him, 
 and betake ourselves to him,' for the pardon of past sin, and 
 for the grace of his Holy Spirit, that we may serve God sin- 
 cerely and fully in the future. But we who are masters in 
 Israel, have reason to feel that our responsibility is pecu- 
 liarly great, — that our offences have aggravations of no ordi- 
 nary kind, and that no condemnation can compare with ours, 
 should we be found not faithful to our trust, — not true minis- 
 ters of the Lord Jesus. Well may we exclaim with the 
 apostle, — "Who is sufficient for these things?" But we 
 are not sent a warfare on our own charges. And if only, 
 sensible of our o^vn weakness and wants, we throw our- 
 selves on the promises of the word, and commit all 
 our way to the chief Master, we shall be strengthened 
 for duty and delivered from blood-guiltiness. Let all 
 who attempt teaching remember this, — make sure of the 
 Divine call, and go foi^ward in a spirit of deep humility and 
 8 -If-jealousy. Let none rush into places which they are 
 nrither appointed nor qualified to occupy; and, on the other 
 hand, let none hold back when the Lord summons them to 
 enter the vineyard as labourers. And this concerns hearers 
 also. If it be so with your religious teachers, does it not 
 become you, the people, to pray for us, to hold us up by 
 eviTv nirans in your power ? So tu do is alike your interest 
 
ALL NOT TO BE TEACHERS. 227 
 
 and your duty. Ministers would offend less did they receive 
 the sympathy and support to which they are entitled. How 
 weighty, then, the work in which we are now engaged, preach- 
 ing the word of the truth of the gospel ! The Lord grant 
 that the result may not be greater condemnation in the case 
 either of speaker or hearers, but that both may be saved 
 and rejoice eternally together. 
 
228 TIIE TONGUE DESTRUCTIVE AND UNTAMEABLE. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 THE TONGUE DESTRUCTIVE AND UNTAMEABLE. 
 
 " Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may 
 obey us; and we tui^n about their whole body. Behold 
 also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven 
 of fierce tvinds, yet they are turned about with a very small 
 helm., luhithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the 
 tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Be- 
 hold, how great a matter a little fire Jdndleth ! And the 
 tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity : so is the tongue 
 among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and 
 setteth on fire the course of nature ; and it is set on fire 
 uf hell. For every land of beasts, and of birds, and of 
 serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been 
 tamed of mankind : but the tongue can no man tame ; it 
 is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." — James iii. 3-8. 
 
 MONG the Antinomian tendencies which James 
 deals with so plainly and strongly in his Epistle, 
 the abuse of the tongue, improper speech, occupies 
 a place of great prominence. It is a prevalent and deadly 
 evil at all times, a source of constant and boundless mischief. 
 Then it seems to have been peculiarly so among false and 
 imworthy professors of religion. They were ready to talk, 
 to set up as teachers, to substitute words for works, the lan- 
 guage of the lip for the testimony of the life. They did 
 not realize the responsibility connected with such an office as 
 that of master, the difficulty of discharging it aright, and 
 the aggravated condemnation to which they exposed them- 
 selves by unfaithfuhiess and failure. To restrain and govern 
 
THE TONGUE DESTRUCTIVE AND UNTAMEABLE. 229 
 
 properly this little member of the body was about the 
 summit of attainment in any circumstances; and the pro- 
 bability of success was greatly heightened in the case of 
 those who had to employ it so frequently and publicly, and 
 concerning matters of such sacred importance, as had the 
 preachers of the gospel, the instructors of their fellow- 
 creatures in the truths of Christianity. The wisest, the 
 holiest, the best might well shrink back from a position of 
 the kind; and in all ages they have entered on the work 
 with fear and trembling, under the pressure of a Divine call 
 brought home to them with irresistible conviction. How then 
 could they whose faith was merely a thing of the mouth, 
 a thing only professed, not possessed, or even they who 
 were but novices, — comparatively ignorant, inexperienced, 
 and feeble, though real believers, — venture upon it as some 
 of them, many of them seem to have been doing? From this 
 James goes on to speak generally of the tongue, of the vast, 
 and for the most part, evil influence which it exercises, — of 
 its wild, untameable nature,- — of the sin and destruction, 
 boundless in extent and endless in variety, of which it is the 
 instrument. Looking for the guidance and blessing of the 
 Spirit, let us proceed to consider, 
 
 I. The immense and Tnischievous power of the tongue. — 
 Vers. 3, 4, 5, 6. This, as you perceive, the apostle brings 
 out by means of certain comparisons. It is a very small 
 organ, and yet it produces very great results. Thus it re- 
 sembles other things in nature which are here specified and 
 used for the purpose of illustration. There are three of 
 these, and, 
 
 1. The horse-bit. Ver. 8, "Behold, we put bits in the 
 horses' mouths, that they may obey us ; and we turn about 
 their whole body." This comparison is suggested by what 
 he had said in the preceding verse about bridling the whole 
 body, and by the part which the tongue plays alike in the 
 
230 THE TONGUE DESTRUCTIVE AND UNTAMEABLE. 
 
 one case and the other. The horse is a strong and fleet 
 animal, — it is naturally wild and ungovernable. Were the 
 rider at its mercy, without any effective power of control, he 
 should be borne wherever it pleased, or rather, be soon hurled 
 from its back altogether as it pursued its impetuous course, 
 and indulged in all kinds of capricious and violent move- 
 ments. How is it that he can subdue its fiery temper, re- 
 gulate its every motion, and render it obedient to his wishes? 
 How can he mount it with safety, and make it carry him 
 in what direction, at what speed, and to what distance he 
 chooses ? He puts the bit into its mouth, and by the rein 
 attached turns it hither and thither, to the right hand or 
 the left, backwards or forwards, with the greatest ease 
 and certainty. He has but to pull this little thing, and 
 thus he manages the whole body of the most high-spiritetl 
 steed that sets its foot on the hunting field or on the race- 
 course. How wonderful the command which by such means 
 man has over this noble and powerful animal ! His 
 dominion is complete, and the instrument of it is the small, 
 apparently insignificant bit. Without it he could derive 
 neither profit nor pleasure from the use of the horse, indeed 
 he could not venture on the use of it at all except at the peril 
 of his life. Behold, then, how great the effect of what in 
 itself is so little. 
 
 2. The ship's rudder. — Ver. 4, " Behold also the ships, 
 which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce 
 winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, 
 whithersoever the governor listeth." The ships are large 
 and heavy bodies. They could be spoken of in such terms — 
 as " so great " — in the age of James, and how much more 
 so at the present day! There were then no huge Warriors 
 or Black Princes, not to say gigantic Great Easterns. In 
 no respect is the difference between ancient and modern 
 times more marked and wonderful than in that of naval 
 architecture. And these ships are " driven about by fierce 
 
THE TONGUE DESTRUCTIVE AND UNTAMEABLE. 231 
 
 winds." They are not only of immense size, bulky, un- 
 wieldy in themselves, but are exposed to severe gales — often 
 to violent storms, which sweep them along in their fury, and 
 toss them about at their wild pleasure on the raging waters. 
 What can resist or control these tempests of the deep, and 
 direct the labouring vessel on its destined course in spite of 
 them, or even rescue it from speedy destruction? The helm 
 or rudder in the hand of the steersman, or, as he is here 
 called, the governor. It is the instrument of management 
 and the means of safety. It is the counterpart of the horse- 
 bit. Comparatively a small thing, — how little in relation to 
 the whole floating bulk of which it foi'ms so important a part! — 
 it regulates the ship's motions, points and keeps it toward 
 the desired haven in the face of opposing winds and waves, 
 — yea, taking advantage of these, and turning them all to 
 account. What power it possesses! How much depends 
 on its action, and the manner in which it is handled! The 
 slightest inclination or bend of it may determine the safety 
 or the ruin of the noblest vessel, with the most valuable 
 cargo and hundreds of far more valuable lives. Some years 
 ago, one false movement of it sent a steamer on our pier 
 instead of into our harbour, and many of you, doubtless, 
 remember the scene of desolation which our beach pre- 
 sented. 
 
 These two comparisons are so far applied in the first half 
 of the 5th verse: — ■" Even so the tongue is a little member, 
 and boasteth great things." It is little in relation to the 
 entire body, and to other organs and members of that 
 body. How much less is it, for example, than the hands 
 or feet ! — " It boasteth great things," says the apostle. 
 We rather expect a statement to the effect that it worketh, 
 accomplisheth, great things, brings about grand results, like 
 the horse's bit or the ship's rudder in a lower sphere ; for 
 he is illustrating, not its pretensions, but its power, — not its 
 vain glory, but its actual and paramount influence. Hence 
 
232 THE TONGUE DESTRUCTn'E AND UNTAMEABLE. 
 
 pome do violence to the word here employed, for the purpose 
 of extracting from it such a meaning. But there is no 
 necessity for anything of the kind, seeing the doings of the 
 tongue are fully set forth afterwards ; and James now indi- 
 cates rather the way in which they are effected, its mode of 
 operation, the means it employs. It is largely by its 
 vaunting, by its great swelling words, its high-sounding 
 professions and demands that it succeeds. But there is yet 
 another graphic illustration, and one which brings out, as the 
 preceding two do not, the mischievous, destructive nature of 
 the power it exercises. 
 
 3. The little fire. — Ver. 5, "Behold, how great a matter 
 a little fire kindleth!" — more literally, how great a wood! 
 — what a forest! — and this makes the apostle's representation 
 so much more graphic and forcible. A scarcely perceptible 
 spark may set a vast heap of combustible material in a blaze, 
 or even a wood of immense extent and the largest growth, 
 ;ind stop not until it has burned the whole down to ashes. 
 Of the dangerous and destructive nature of this element we 
 have daily proof; for we can scarcely open a newspaper 
 without reading of some fire in which valuable property, or 
 it may be, more valuable lives have perished. We have to 
 adopt many precautions against it, as in the construction of 
 our houses, and in the insuring of them and their contents. 
 Starting from this comparison, and making special use of it, 
 James unfolds, in strong and startling terms, the vast and 
 deadly power of the tongue. 
 
 He calls it a fire, and so it is represented elsewhere in 
 Scripture. " What shall be given unto thee ? or what shall 
 he done unto thee, thou false tongue? Sharp arrows of the 
 mighty, with coals of juniper." " An ungodly man diggeth 
 up evil, and in his lips there is as a burning fire."^ How 
 penetrating and consuming a thing is fire I When it breaks 
 K)Ose and is allowed full scope, how does it waste, desolate, 
 
 ' Ps. cxx. 3, 4 ; Prov. xvi. 27. 
 
THE TONGUE DESTRUCTIVE AND UNTAMEABLE. 233 
 
 and devour ! It spreads with awful rapidity, with resistless 
 fury, and destroys right and left without partiality or pity. 
 It spares nothing that will burn,- — the most beautiful and 
 costly objects sink into the same ruin with the most com- 
 mon and worthless. And how painful where there is the 
 capacity of feeling ! What torture it inflicts, what excru- 
 ciating sufferings it causes ! Who does not shrink with 
 horror from the flames ? The persecutor has been able to 
 devise few, if any, more terrible modes of putting his vic- 
 tims to death than that by the faggot, — that by burning. 
 Meet emblem of the human tongue ! When moved by 
 anger, malice, envy, jealousy, ambition, avarice, and such 
 like fierce passions, corrupt inclinations, how does it scorch, 
 blast, consume ! It devours what is more valuable to a 
 man than anything else, — his reputation, his character. It 
 robs him of what millions of money cannot purchase, — his 
 good name, and with it, perhaps, his inward peace. It 
 wounds him more deeply than could the galling chain on 
 his limbs, or the sharpest sword piercing his bosom. It can 
 carry desolation and anguish into the inmost recesses of his 
 spirit, and, making an end of all that is pleasant and pre- 
 cious there, leave only, as it were, blackened walls and 
 empty chambers, where stood once the stately, well-stored 
 mansion. And the fire which burns thus fiercely may be 
 insignificant indeed in its origin. It may be a single word, 
 —yea, less than that, — a tone, an accent ; it may be a 
 monosyllable, or even the manner of pronouncing a mono- 
 syllable. From a beginning so small, from the least move- 
 ment of this little member, many conflagrations proceed, 
 extending to whole nations, — reaching, it may be, the earth's 
 utmost limits. That is no wild fancy, no bare possibility, 
 but what has again and again been matter of actual occur- 
 rence. 
 
 He proceeds; — " A world of iniquity," — a strong and com- 
 prehensive expression. It intimates that in this diminutive 
 
234 THE TONGUE DESTRUCTIVE AND UNTAMEABLE. 
 
 organ is wrapt up a vast amount and an endless variety of 
 initjuity. It is the instrument of a great deal, and every 
 possible kind of evil. Who can declare the magnitude or 
 the number of the offences of which it is the author ? By 
 it the heretic pronmlgates his unsound, soul-destroying, and 
 God-dishonouring doctrines. By it the liar utters his 
 conscious falsehoods, and accomplishes his base purposes. 
 By it the seducer pours forth his flatteries, and destroys his 
 unsuspecting victims. By it the slanderer propagates those 
 injurious reports by which he blasts the reputation of his 
 brethren. By it the swearer profanes the name of his 
 Maker. By it the traitor spreads sedition, and disturbs the 
 peace of whole nations. It speaks blasphemy, diffuses error, 
 kindles strife, — it inflames every passion, stimulates every 
 vice, originates every crime. It breaks hearts, embitters 
 families, distracts communities, divides and destroys churches. 
 We cannot exhaust its deadly doings. It is indeed " a 
 world of iniquity." 
 
 " So is the tongue," — such is its place and its power — 
 "among our members, that it defileth the whole body." 
 This explains and justifies the foregoing awful title, — " a 
 world of iniquity." It goes back to the first two compari- 
 sons, especially that of the bit which serves to turn about 
 the horse's whole body. The tongue does something similar 
 in the case of man himself. It excites those impure lusts, 
 and prompts those sinful deeds of which the other corporeal 
 organs and members are the instruments, and by which, 
 consequently, they are polluted. It sets in motion that evil 
 which extends to and embraces every part of the corporeal 
 system. It turns the eye to the viewing of vanity. It 
 opens the cjir to filthy talking, false teaching, and all kinds 
 of corrupting communications. It moves the hands to do 
 Satan's work, and the feet to walk in those paths which go 
 down to the chaml)ers of death. It carries contamination 
 into the entire framework of our being, staining it with 
 
THE TONGUE DESTRUCTIVE AND UNTAMEABLE. 235 
 
 vicious indulgence, and often filling it with loathsome disease. 
 Everywhere its foul spots, its baneful effects, are manifest. 
 
 "And setteth on fixe the course of nature." This is a 
 very peculiar expression,'^ and it has been interpreted in 
 widely different senses. By some it is taken as equivalent to 
 the physical frame of man, the compass of its members and 
 motions, but that makes it the same as the whole body 
 mentioned immediately before ; and we cannot suppose that, 
 having spoken of it directly and plainly, he would now 
 introduce it again in terms thus figurative and obscure. 
 Others understand by it human life, either that of the 
 individual or of successive generations. In both cases that 
 life may be compared to a wheel, as here, — a wheel which 
 begins to run at birth, and continues to run until death ; 
 while, as regards the race, it ceases not, but still rolls on as 
 the fathers pass away, and the children take their places. 
 The tongue kindling it at- first keeps it burning ever after, 
 and all the more fiercely as its motions become more rapid. 
 This organ does thus light a flame at every stage and step 
 of existence, and it perseveres in doing so amidst all the 
 changes of time, all the turns of affairs, all the varieties of 
 men and measures, of races and religions. Others under- 
 stand the expression in some such sense as that conveyed 
 by the rendering in our version. So far-reaching and ter- 
 rible is the power of the tongue, that it wraps in a con- 
 suming blaze the whole sphere of nature, the entire orb of 
 creation, the world in its full extent, and through every 
 part of its vast and complicated structure. Its conflagra- 
 tions embrace all earth's scenes, objects, and interests, — 
 directly or indirectly they affect whatever lies within this 
 immense domain. To what element or region do they not 
 penetrate ? Where shall we get above, beneath, beyond 
 their fierce heat and devouring flames ? The choice lies 
 between these last two interpretations, and it is not easy 
 
 1 Tot r^o^on rnt yiviftuf. 
 
23 G THE TONGUE DESTRUCTIVE AND UNTAMEABLE. 
 
 to decide which should be preferred. Either gives an 
 appropriate and forcible meaning to the peculiar and difficult 
 language of the apostle. 
 
 This part of the dreadful picture is not yet complete. 
 Something remains to be added, not only important in 
 itself, but strikingly illustrative of all those elements and 
 features which have been already presented. " And it is 
 set on fire of hell." The form of expression implies that 
 it is so habitually, constantly. It not only once was, it not 
 only hereafter will be, but now is, as a present and enduring 
 fact, thus kindled. The tongue is a fire, but how is it 
 ignited ? Whence come the sparks which make it blaze so 
 fiercely and fatally ? The answer is here plainly given. 
 It is hell-lighted. The devil perverted man's powers at 
 first; and he still inflames the coiTuption which he was the 
 means of introducing into our nature. He applies the 
 torch to the combustible materials which are stored up in 
 every part of our mental and physical constitution. He 
 is still the great tempter and destroyer. He is an actual 
 and an active being. His prison-house, the pit of hell, is 
 a terrible reality. Men may doubt or deny its existence, — 
 they may regard it as a mere bugbear, but that only proves 
 how effectually Satan can yet blindfold, mislead, hoodwink, 
 as he did at the beginning — " Thou shalt not surely die." 
 It is the region of devouring flames, of unquenchable fire ; 
 and to it we are ultimately to trace those baleful conflagra- 
 tions which the tongue is the instrument of kindling. It 
 is here identified with the devil and his angels, for whom 
 it has been provided, and who send forth from it all evil 
 and destructive influeucos. 
 
 II. The wild, untameable nature of the tongue. — Vers. 
 7, 8, " For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of ser- 
 pents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been 
 tamed of mankind : but the tongue can no man tame ; it 
 
THE TONGUE DESTRUCTIVE AND UNTAMEABLE. 237 
 
 is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." This is closely 
 connected with what goes before. It serves to evidence, in 
 the strongest way, that immense and mischievous power 
 which he had been attributing to the particular member of 
 which he is here treating. It is such that it cannot be 
 subdued, that it defies all attempts to bring it under con- 
 trol. It is more untractable than the fiercest animals. 
 He divides these animals into four great classes. They 
 consist of " beasts," by which we are to understand here 
 quadrupeds; "birds," winged creatures; " serpents," reptiles ; 
 and " things in the sea," those living in that element. He 
 says, " every kind" of these, or rather every nature of them, 
 — referring to that distinguishing character or disposition 
 which each species of them possesses, — " is tamed, and hath 
 been tamed"- — for the thing is of old standing, a well-ascer- 
 tained and enduring fact, — " of mankind," or, more liter- 
 ally, by man's nature, for it is the same term as before, 
 being rendered " kind" both times in our version. All the 
 brutal tribes have yielded to the paramount influence of us 
 human beings. They have been overcome by the power, 
 the skill, or the kindness of our superior race. Their 
 nature has in every instance been subdued and softened by 
 our nature. The statement here made is a general one, 
 and thus understood it is not open to dispute. Many of 
 the animals now thoroughly domesticated, and of the great- 
 est utility, as, for example, the horse and the dog, were 
 originally fierce in disposition and wild in their habits. 
 The huge elephant has been made obedient to man's will, 
 so that in eastern countries it toils submissively for his 
 pleasure or his profit. The lion was broken in by the 
 ancient Egyptians, and employed by them both in war and 
 hunting. Our zoological gardens and travelling menageries 
 show how tigers, leopards, bears, and even savage hyenas 
 can be restrained and managed by the hand, and especially 
 by the eye of their keeper. Of the flying tribes several 
 
238 THE TONGUE DESTRUCTIVE AND UNTAMEABLE. 
 
 species are commonly and easily tamed, as almost every 
 cottage testifies ; while creatures so cruel as the hawk and 
 the eagle have been, to a large extent, subjugated. Of old, 
 asps, and other deadly serpents, were wonderfully brought 
 under man's influence ; and still in India they are exhibited 
 and handled with perfect impunity. Of things in the sea 
 we have it recorded, that various kinds of fishes have under- 
 gone the same change, — that even the crocodile has not been 
 proof against the overmastering and mollifying effects of 
 human treatment. 
 
 But tlie wilder tongue sets at defiance those efiforts and 
 arts which prove sufficient in the case of the most savage 
 animals. No man can tame it as James here declares. 
 No authority can hold it in check, no kindness extract its 
 bitterness. It breaks through every restraint; whatever the 
 influences brought to bear on it, the fire ever and anew bursts 
 forth, kindled and fed by hell beneath. Who can here con- 
 trol his brother? Who can even completely control himself? 
 Grace is the great subjugating power, it can and does work 
 wonders, and yet is but partially successful in this quarter. 
 It does not entirely tame the wild tongue, and it rather 
 heightens than overcomes or checks the injurious effects 
 which folloAv from its utterances, when these are evil in their 
 nature. In that case they are more uncontrollable and in- 
 jurious. "It is an unruly evil." It cannot be restrained. 
 It is an ungovernable mischief. According to another 
 reading, it is "a restless evil," ever stirring and changing, — 
 thus eluding the grasp, baffling all attempts to put on it a 
 bridle. And he closes this part of the description with the 
 awful words, "full of deadly poison." So is it represented 
 elsewhere in Scripture. The Psalmist says, — "They have 
 sharpened their tongues like a serpent: adders' poison is 
 imder their lips." ^ How does poison spread through the 
 system, and often in a form so subtle that it cannot be de- 
 
 1 'Pe. cxl. 3. 
 
THE TONGUE DESTRUCTIVE AND UNTAMEABLE. 239 
 
 tected by the most searching and skilful analysis ! How 
 does it, rapidly in some cases, slowly but surely in others, 
 kill its victims! In like manner slander spreads and pene- 
 trates, imperceptibly it may be, but steadily and deeply. 
 It wounds affection, blasts character, ruins peace, and even 
 in cases not a few destroys life itself. Many droop and die, 
 pierced by its fatal arrows. It tells most cruelly on sen- 
 sitive and noble natures. Often does it kill, as certainly as 
 the deadly hemlock or the subtle strychnine. And error, 
 flowing like venom from the tongue, while far less feared and 
 shunned, is yet more extensively and permanently destructive. 
 It affects larger numbers, and these in more vital respects. 
 It slays not the body, but the soul, which is infinitely more 
 precious. So far as man's higher being and eternal inte- 
 rests are concerned, it is a death-bringing poison. Not too 
 strong then is the language here employed by the apostle. 
 It is not less true than terrible. 
 
 Realize then, brethren, the power of the tongue. It is 
 like the horse's bit or the ship's rudder; yea, it is like the 
 fire which, though a little thing in itself, can burn up a large 
 forest. How careful then should we be in the use we make 
 of this member ! We should keep watch over the door of our 
 lips, that we offend not in word. Let us remember what 
 responsibility attaches to us connected with all we speak, 
 what effects may follow from the very briefest, hastiest utter- 
 ances, . Many people, .alas! many Christians even, allow 
 themselves liberties in this respect, which are most sinful and 
 hurtful. They are thoughtless, reckless, in the language they 
 employ. They scatter firebrands on every side in the charges 
 and calumnies they invent or propagate, in the strifes and 
 controversies they raise or foster. They are ever whispering 
 suspicions, if not thundering denunciations. A very large 
 part of their whole discourse is made up of unworthy in- 
 sinuations and uncharitable judgments, — of backbiting, tale- 
 bearing, fault-finding, — of scandal and gossip. They can 
 
240 THE TONGUE DESTRUCTIVE AND UNTAMEABLE. 
 
 scarcely say a good word of one without some material draw- 
 back, some significant qualification, which well nigh neutral- 
 izes all their commendations. It is our duty to exercise 
 vigilance, to use restraint ; but while doing so, we ought ever 
 to feel that the tongue is untameable by human means, that 
 no care or effort of man's can bring it into subjection, and 
 that it can be efifectually subdued only by the sovereign and 
 almighty grace of God our Saviour. That grace acts on the 
 heart, where lies the evil in its root, — it slays the cor- 
 ruption which reigns there, — it implants a new, a holy, a 
 Divine nature, and thus brings this unruly organ under a 
 controlling power from within. It quenches the flames of 
 that hell which kindles and feeds the fire in the unconverted. 
 It overthrows the dominion of Satan by the removal of guilt 
 and the renovation of the soul, and thus delivers the tongue 
 from subjection to the great deceiver and destroyer. In this 
 way the poisoned fang is extracted. It is turned into an 
 instrument of blessing. The great, the only cure, is this 
 internal one, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth 
 speaketh. Thus, and thus only, do we go to the root of the 
 evil. O let us seek to have that member, which is the dis- 
 grace of most, made our glory! Let us not rest until, 
 instead of being hell-lighted, it is heaven-kindled, healing 
 where it formerly wounded, edifying where it once destroyed. 
 Let us remember that our words are to have a decisive place 
 in the coming judgment, that by them we shall either be 
 justified or condemned. Let us feel our need of continually 
 praying with the Psalmist. — "Set a watch, O Lord, before 
 my mouth. Keep the door of ray lips. Incline not my 
 heart to any evil thing, to practise wickod works with men 
 that work iniquity."' 
 
 > Ps. cxli. 3, i. 
 
THE TOXGUE ITS ELESSI>7G AND CURSING. 241 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 THE TONGUE— ITS BLESSING AND CUESING. 
 
 " Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and there- 
 with curse we men, which are made after the siTYiilitude of 
 God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and 
 cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth 
 a fountain sendj forth at the soAne place siueet water and 
 bitter ? Can the Jig-tree, my brethren, bear olive-berries ? 
 either a vine, figs? so can 7io fountain both yield salt 
 water and fresh." — James iii. 9—12. 
 
 |AMES is stiU treating of the tongue. In the pre- 
 ceding verses he illustrates its immense and mis- 
 chievous power. As the hit controls the horse's 
 whole body, and the helm all the movements of the largest 
 ship, so it, small like them, exercises vast influence in the 
 higher sphere to which it belongs. A little fire can set a 
 great heap, yea an extensive wood or forest in a blaze, and 
 reduce it speedily to ashes. It is such a fire, diminutive in 
 size, but rapidly and widely destructive in its effects. A 
 single word, or even tone, may kindle a flame which shall 
 spread on every side, — scorching, consuming, devastating, — 
 and be extinguished only in scenes of desolation, it may be, 
 only in torrents of blood. " It is a world of iniquity," — 
 embracing in itself an immense amount and every kind of 
 evil, sins countless in number and endless in variety. The 
 tongue is the grand instrument of the heretic, the liar, the 
 swearer, the seducer, the tale-bearer. What passion does 
 it not inflame, what vice does it not stimulate, what crime 
 
 R 
 
242 THE TONGUE ITS BLESSING AND CURSING. 
 
 does it not sujrsrest and defend? How does it embitter 
 hearts, divide families, disturb communities, and even defile 
 and destroy cliurcbcs! Who can tell the thousandth part 
 of the iniquity committed by it, traceable to it, of which it 
 is either directly or indirectly the author? The title here 
 given to it is a strong one, but it is only expressive of its 
 real character, as all history and experience as well as 
 Scripture attest. The apostle explains and vindicates it by 
 adding: "It defileth the whole body," — stirring, as it does, 
 those lusts, and prompting those misdeeds, connected with 
 which the other members and organs are employed, and by 
 which they are polluted. " It setteth on fire the course of 
 nature," — the ceaseless wheel of human existence, or, as 
 some take it, the entire circle of creation,- — for its conflagra- 
 tions embrace the world in its widest extent, and through 
 its every sphere and order of being. It has this terrible 
 character and power because it is itself hell-kindled. Thence 
 comes the torch which ignites it, which sets it a-burning at 
 first, and ever after keeps it burning. Its flames are to be 
 traced back to the abode and actings of the devil and his 
 angels. From this James passes to another feature of it, 
 closely allied, however, to the former, and well fitted to con- 
 firm and deepen the impressions made by these awful state- 
 ments. He sets forth its wild, ungovernable nature. Every 
 kind of beast, bird, serpent, and thing in the sea, has 
 been tamed by man, subdued more or less, in some cases 
 brought into most thorough and permanent subjection, — as, 
 for example, the hoi'se, the dog, and even the huge elephant. 
 But the human tongue cannot be thus mastered, for to the 
 last, and after all means have been used, it remains " an 
 unruly evil, full of deadly poison." He still pursues the 
 same theme, dwelling now specially on its inconsistency, — its 
 extreme and unnatural inconsistency. Let us then proceed 
 to consider as the Lord the Spirit may enable us. 
 
THE TOXGUE ITS BLESSING AND CURSING. 243 
 
 I. Tlie inconsistency of the tongue. — It does two things 
 which are contrary to each other, — so directly and essentially 
 opposed, that it is extraordinary, inexplicable how they can 
 be the work of the same organ. Look at both for a little. 
 
 1. Its blessing of God. — "Therewith bless we God, even 
 the Father." This is the great end for which the human 
 tongue exists — this the highest employment in which it can 
 be engaged— the noblest purpose to which it can be de- 
 voted. To " bless God " is to praise him, to adore him for 
 his excellencies, to thank him for his benefactions. It is to 
 express our admiring views of his being, character, and 
 government, — of all that he is and has done in nature, pro- 
 vidence, and especially in redemption. It is to testify our 
 grateful sense of what he has wrought for us and bestowed 
 upon us, of his mercies, personal and relative, temporal and 
 spiritual, common and saving. We do this in various ways. 
 
 We thus bless him in our praises. These are sung either 
 more privately in our own dwellings or more publicly in the 
 sanctuary. They are a most precious and important part of 
 Divine worship — that part which brings the earthly into 
 closest accord with the heavenly temple ; and while the great 
 thing is to have the soul thoroughly engaged in the exercise, 
 to be making melody in our hearts to the Lord, yet the 
 voice performs no -mean function in the matter, and is to be 
 cultivated with all care — prepared, improved by every means 
 in our power. How different the effect when a congregation 
 sing with musical skill as well as with a devout spirit, — when 
 they do it with taste, not less than with fervour ! The im- 
 pression on our own feelings is far more delightful and 
 powerful. We are moved and elevated, and especially is that 
 the case with the finest and most susceptible natures. Devo- 
 tion is thereby promoted. And can we doubt which is most 
 acceptable to the great object of worship ? Supposing the 
 gracious, spiritual element equal in both, and certainly there 
 is no reason why it should be less, but rather not a little 
 
24-i- THE TONGUF ITS BLESSING AND CURSING. 
 
 wliy it should be more, where there is this careful, con- 
 scientious training and attainment for which I am contend- 
 ing, — supposing that, I say, must not the song ascend in, 
 sweeter strains which testifies of our efforts to qualify our- 
 selves for so noble an exercise, to serve God with that which 
 has cost us something, — testifies of our cultivation of all the 
 powers with which we have been endowed, and our conse- 
 cration of them to our Maker's honour? He requires, above 
 everything, the soul, but he will have the body also; the 
 mem])ers and organs of the one, not less than the faculties 
 and affections of the other. And this must be evident to 
 all, for there could be no united, harmonious praise without 
 a measure of art and effort ; and why, if carried so far, 
 should they not be carried as far as possible, that so, in the 
 very best manner, we may discharge this delightful, heavenly 
 duty? I have been the more led to make these remarks, that 
 the ministers of our Church are instructed by the General 
 Assembly to direct the attention of their people to-day in 
 their several congregations to the subj ect of psalmody. 
 
 We thvis bless God also in our prayers, whether these be 
 secret, domestic, or public. In them adoring and thankful 
 praises constitute no small or subordinate element. We 
 extol the Lord for his infinite perfections, we give him the 
 glory due unto his great and holy name. We testify our 
 obligations to him for his mercies without number, and lay 
 ofiferings of gi-ateful homage on his altar. We are com- 
 manded "in ever}i;hing by prayer and supplication, with 
 thanksgiving, to let our requests be made known unto God." 
 We are to visit the throne of grace, not simply to ask new 
 supplies, but also to acknowledge those already received. 
 We are to come, not only to get, but likewise to give, even 
 the sacrifice of adoring, loving, joyful hearts. This we are 
 too much in the habit of forgetting, thereby both committing 
 grcjit sin and incurring great loss in our approaches to the 
 mercy-seat. The language, however, may be, and diubt- 
 
THE TONGUE ITS BLESSING AND CURSING. ii^5 
 
 less should be, taken here iu a yet wider, more general sense, 
 as meaning that we bless God by whatever we say conducive 
 to his honour. All that manifests his character, commends 
 his truth, advances his cause, has in it such an element. 
 Every holy, gracious word spoken in his service and for his 
 glory may be so described. We may thus most certainly and 
 effectual^, though indirectly, use our tongue in the manner 
 here specified. 
 
 You observe that he does not simply say God, but " God, 
 even the Father." And it is not without reason that this 
 is added. He is the Father of all men, as having made 
 them, and that in his OAvn image. This truth is often 
 grossly perverted, being applied in ways that are dangerous 
 and misleading, but it does not admit of reasonable question. 
 His providence and his word alike proclaim his general 
 paternal character. But in a quite special sense he is the 
 Father of his people. He stands in a peculiar relation to 
 them, one corresponding to, and yet far transcending the 
 parental tie among us creatures. They are his sons and 
 daughters, both by regeneration and adoption, — by being, 
 through Christ, partakers of the divine nature, and in pos-- 
 session of full filial standing, with all its inestimable rights 
 and privileges. They are his children, as no others are, 
 the members of his family, the heirs of his kingdom. They 
 alone can draw near in the spirit of sonshi}), saying, "Abba, 
 Father." Here it brings out his gracious character, in re- 
 spect of which he so pre-eminently deserves to be blessed; 
 and it marks the position and profession of those who act 
 iu this way, for they are his redeemed offspring, or, at all 
 events, persons bearing their name, assuming their appearance, 
 speaking their language. This makes the inconsistency 
 which he is insisting on the more manifest and inexcusable. 
 
 2. Its cursing of Tnen. — "And therewith curse we men, 
 which are made after the similitude of God." Some do the 
 one, some the other, by means of the tongue. But many 
 
240 TFi:-: ToNTinK — iTs rlessiko an'd crRsrya. 
 
 do both, as is evident from the following verse: — "Out of 
 the same mouth procecdeth blessing and cursing." Often is 
 this organ employed in the work of cursing men. The 
 swearer uses it for such a purpose. He utters by it his 
 horrible oaths, pronounces damnation on his fellow-creatures, 
 sends them summarily to hell, imprecates on them all the 
 vengeance of high heaven. He often thinks little of what 
 he is saying, yet even that indicates the most fearful hard- 
 ness of heart, recklessness of character. But persons far re- 
 moved from such profanity, who would be shocked at it, — 
 persons not only bearing the Christian name, but consist- 
 ently professing and zealously contending for the Christian 
 faith, indulge in the same hateful practice. Rome lays an 
 anathema on all beyond her own pale, and consigns them to 
 hopeless perdition. And, in addition to a general and 
 sweeping condemnation, she formally and fully, with bell, 
 bo<ik, and candle, curses at the altar those who, for any 
 reason, fall under her displeasure. So-called Protestants 
 are often largely imbued with the same spirit, and are not 
 slow to follow in her footsteps. They share in her exclu- 
 siveness, and pronounce all who have not certain figments on 
 which they pride themselves, without the pale of the Church 
 and of salvation. Even the most orthodox and charitable 
 Christians are not wholly exempt from this anathematizing 
 tendency. We are far too ready to pass sentence on our 
 brethren, and in effect, if not in form, to curse such as do 
 not happen to agree with us in some respects, and these, it 
 may be, of quite secondary importance. We are certainly 
 not to spare error, we are ever to deal faithfully with its 
 advocates and adherents. We are to witness for the truth, 
 the whole truth of God, openly, boldly, and at whatever 
 cost, — speaking out manfully, not mincing matters where 
 tlie honour of Christ and the welfare of souls are concerned; 
 but then, we both may and should do all this without 
 heat, without bitterness, without ill-will, without anything 
 
THE TONGUE ITS BLESSING AND CURSING. 247 
 
 savouring of or approaching to the language of malediction. 
 In this, as in the former case, the expression is to be under- 
 stood in its widest acceptation, and as including all scornful 
 and injurious speaking, all spiteful and wicked words 
 in regard to our fellow-creatures. Everything of this 
 sort is of the nature of cursing, — it has in it more or less of 
 that element,^ — ^it partakes in one degree or another of that 
 character. 
 
 And mark the aggravating circumstance, that which in- 
 volves the frightful inconsistency charged against the tongue 
 — " men, which are made after the similitude of God." We 
 were at first created in his image, stamped with his moral 
 lineaments in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness. 
 And in a sense too, as the language here obviously implies, 
 we still bear that likeness. It is no doubt sadly marred 
 and mutilated, throughout defiled and disfigured by the fall, 
 well-nigh quite obliterated in consequence of our apostasy. , 
 It is not, however, wholly destroyed. Traces of it, few and 
 faint, indeed, but still real, indubitable, remain,- — ruins of 
 the original temple, telling what it once was, and what 
 again by grace it may become. Not only have we an intel- 
 lectual, immortal nature, by which we are linked with and 
 assimilated to that God who is a spirit; but we have the 
 moral power of conscience with its convictions, its sense of 
 right and wrong, of truth and duty ; wants and cravings ; 
 apprehensions and aspirations — so many relics of the law 
 written on the heart of man at first, which speak of a 
 higher origin and destiny, — a glory which, though departed, 
 has left some feeble, struggling rays, that serve at least to 
 reveal, if not also in a small degree to relieve, the darkness. 
 There is nothing here at variance with the doctrine of our 
 total depravity, our deep, all-pervading corruption, as the 
 fallen posterity of Adam. In confirmation of these views 
 we find Calvin remarking on the statement of the apostle 
 now under consideration : " Should any one object that the 
 
2 l-S THE TONGUE ITS BLKSSIXG AND CURSENG. 
 
 image of God in Imm.-iri nature was destroyed by the trans- 
 gression of Adam, it must be acknowledged that it was 
 miserably distigured ; but yet some lineaments of it still 
 appear." After declaring that all righteousness, and even 
 the power of choosing spiritual good, has passed away from 
 us, he remarks — " But many excellent gifts by which we 
 surpass the brutes remain;" adding, " he then who worships 
 and honours God in truth will dread reproaching men."^ 
 On this ground James rests the inconsistency with which 
 he here charges the tongue. Such cursing is in reality a 
 cursing of God himself, whom we yet bless, — a cursing of 
 liini in man, who is not only his workmanship, but his 
 reflection, his image, — not merely a being formed by his 
 hand, but formed after his likeness. Due regard to him 
 enforces and gives effect to the Divine command, " Honour 
 all men." We strike at him in our brethren. We cannot 
 keep the first table of the law, and at the same time set at 
 nought the second. So closely are they joined, that any- 
 thing of the kind is an utter impossibility. The violation 
 of either is the violation of both. 
 
 The strangely, outrageously inconsistent nature of the 
 whole proceeding is still more clearly and forcibly exhibited 
 l>y bringing the two contrary things together, placing 
 them side by side, presenting them in sharpest contrast. 
 Ver. 10, " Out of the same mouth pix)ceedeth blessing and 
 cursing." The same mouth may mean not merely the 
 Rami! organ of the hunum body, but that organ as it belongs 
 to and is used by the same jierson. Some do the one, 
 some the other ; but not a few both the one and the other. 
 Now they are employing their tongue in praise of God. 
 then in condemnation of man ; and often they not only 
 rapidly pass from the blessing to the cursing, but even mix 
 up the two and caary them on together. There it is that 
 the flagrant, shocking contradiction appears. It is maui- 
 
 1 C'-ivlviii on Jaiiius. 
 
THE TOZ^GUE ^ITS BLESSING AND CURSING. 249 
 
 fested in a variety of ways, certain of which we have already 
 indicated. 
 
 Addressing them tenderly, and appealing to them in 
 their Christian character on the subject, he says, — " My 
 brethren," — that is, in the bonds of the gospel, in the spi- 
 ritual family of God, — " these things ought not so to be." 
 Such a state of matters is wrong, sinfijl in itself, and spe- 
 cially so as exhibited within the Church, coming out among 
 professing believers. It is even incongi'uous, unnatural to 
 a degree that nothing the least like it obtains in any other 
 part of creation. It is at variance with the laws of the 
 material world itself, to go no higher. There is not a 
 water-spring nor a fruit-tree which does not utter its con- 
 demnation. This James proceeds to evince in the latter 
 part of the passage. 
 
 II. The uniiaturahiess^ of this inconsistency. Yers. 11, 
 12, "Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet 
 water and bitter ? Can the fig-tree, my brethren, bear 
 olive-berries ? either a vine figs ? So can no fountain both 
 yield salt water and fresh." All material objects are linked 
 with spiritual truths in Scripture, and thus are fitted by 
 association to instruct and edify in the highest respects. 
 Not only so, but the properties and processes which appear 
 in the domain of nature are conformable to the laws which 
 pervade the higher sphere of grace, and should be exem- 
 plified in our character and conduct as Christians. The 
 former are thus capable of illustrating and commending the 
 latter. " Doth a fountain send forth at the same place" — 
 the same hole, chink, or fissure, as in the rock whence it 
 issues — " sweet water and bitter ? " No — nothing of this 
 kind is ever witnessed. The water which flows from the 
 spring may have either, but it cannot have both of these 
 qualities. It may indeed afterwards undergo a change, it 
 may lose its original properties, and be turned into the 
 
2')() THE TONGUE — ITS BLESSING AND CURSING. 
 
 opposite of what it was, by reason of the soil through wliich 
 it runs, or the purposes to which it is applied. What was 
 sweet may hy certain mixtures become bitter. But at first, 
 in its own nature, and apart from all foreign ingredients, it 
 is wholly the one or the other. There is no such inconsis- 
 tency in the material region. He passes to a higher 
 department, the vegetable kingdom, and shews that there 
 too plants and trees bring forth a single kind of fruit, and 
 that which is suited to the order, the species to which they 
 belong. " Can the fig-tree, my brethren, bear olive-berries, 
 either a vine figs ?" Of course it cannot. Any such thing 
 would be a monstrosity. The question now is, not whether 
 the fruit is good or bad, but whether it is not throughout 
 of one sort, and that which accords with the nature of the 
 tree on which it is produced. It is so in both respects — it' 
 is so with unvarying certainty. No natural law is either 
 more absolutely fixed or more thoroughly understood. Then, 
 returning to the spring, not without reference to the inter- 
 nal, hidilen source from which all our words proceed, he 
 adds, "So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." 
 He wishes to fix attention on the inconsistency manifested 
 in the use of the tongue, and lead them to the right expla- 
 nation of its origin. 
 
 This anomaly does seem to be exhibited in the moral 
 world, if not in the material. But it is so more in appear- 
 ance than reality. That water is often the same which 
 looks different. What to some tastes and tests is fresh, 
 when thoroughly examined, is found to be salt as the ocean. 
 Much that to our earthly senses is sweet, to the spiritually- 
 discerning is bitter indeed. Thus the blessing of many is 
 formal, if not even false, having nothing gracious in it, no 
 love or homage of the heart, no element or cpiality fitted to 
 render it acceptable to the great object of worship. In its 
 origin and essence it is not opposed to, nor, indeed, different 
 from the cursing of man, with which it is associated. The 
 
THE TONGUE ITS BLESSING AND CURSING. 251 
 
 latter reveals the true nature of the common source, or 
 there may be two fountains where only one is perceptible. 
 The former supposition applies to nominal and hypocritical 
 Christians, — this latter to living, genuine believers. They 
 have an old man and a new, corruption and grace both 
 existing and working within them; and as the one or the 
 other gains the ascendancy, and, for the time, governs the 
 tongue, the stream of discourse that issues from it is whole- 
 some or deleterious, — fresh as that of the bubbling spring, or 
 salt as that of the briny deep. It is thus we reconcile 
 seeming inconsistencies, which are both painful and sinful 
 in their nature. The saint cannot, and yet, in point of fact, 
 he does sin, and that continually. As animated by the 
 Spirit, he speaks what is honouring to God and profitable 
 "to man,- — as still more or less actuated by Satan, his conver- 
 sation is light, worldly, uncharitable, unedifying, — if not, as 
 it sometimes comes too near being, false, impure, or profane. 
 When he would do good, evil is present with him, — the law 
 of the mind being ever resisted, and too often overmastered 
 by the law in the members. Christians are not to rest 
 satisfied with this fact, as if it relieved them of responsibility 
 and blame in the matter. No; they are to seek the closing 
 up of one of these fountains, that with the salt water; and 
 as they grow in grace, as the work of their sanctification 
 advances, this is effected. They are to mourn over every 
 bitter drop that issues from the tongue or other organ, and 
 feel how sinful, unnatural it is that anything of the kind 
 should proceed from them,- — God's redeemed and regenerated 
 people. There is a different reading of the latter clause, 
 according to which it runs, " Nor can salt bring forth sweet 
 water." This resembles the comparison of the tree, the 
 stream corresponding with the spring whence it flows, being 
 the same in its composition, except when and so far as 
 affected by foreign elements. In like manner, if from the 
 tongue come cursing, there cannot issue from it blessing, — 
 
2 •'2 THE TONGUE ITS BLEf^SIXG AND CmrjING. 
 
 tluit which is so truly. What appears good is not so in reality. 
 WTiat has a saintly sound has nothing else saintly about it, 
 being only sound. All is formal, if not hypocritical. 
 
 Let us devote the tongue to its proper employment, — 
 that is, blessing God. When it speaks the praises of his 
 name, gives him thanks for his countless benefits, temporal 
 and spiritual, commends him to sinners or to his people, it 
 performs the noblest service of which it is capable. Then 
 it is our glory — of all our members, its ofiice is the most 
 honourable and heavenly. It associates us with angels be- 
 fore the throne, whose adoring songs ascend, day without 
 night, as the sound of many waters. Little in itself, it be- 
 comes great by reason of such an exercise. And let us evrr 
 use it in a manner consistent with this sacred emplo}'Tnent. 
 Let it never be exerted in cursing our brethren of mankind. 
 How often is it made the insti'ument of execrating them, 
 slandering them, — of venting all kinds of charges, calumnies, 
 and suspicions ! What malice, uncharitableness flows from 
 it, like water from a fountain ! Men have scarcely ceased 
 singing the praises of God before they turn to the work of 
 injuring the reputation, and wounding the peace, of their 
 fellow-creatures. They think little or nothing of their hard 
 speeches, their backbiting, tale-bearing, and faidt-finding. 
 This is gi'ossly inconsistent. It is rebuked, condemned by 
 the very laws and processes of nature. The spring, the tree, 
 teaches us that it is a monstrosity. We cannot walk abroad, 
 we cannot use our eyes, without having its incongruousness 
 made apparent. Let Christians be thoroughly ashamed of 
 this contradictory way of speaking, and not thus dishonour 
 their tongues and themselves. Remember that whatever 
 appearances there may be to the contrary, the stream will 
 be as the spring whence it issues. Let the one be bitter or 
 sweet, salt or fresh, so must bo the other. Now, with us 
 the great primary fountain is the heart. It is the real 
 source of speech and action. The tongue is only a secondary 
 
THE TONGUE ITS BLESSING AND CURSING. 253 
 
 one, depending on the original and deeper well within. In 
 so far as anything like cursing proceeds from us, whether in 
 its grosser forms, or its more refined and disguised aspects, 
 it proves either that no renovation has been effected there, 
 or that corruption is still very strong, if not absolutely 
 dominant. It is well fitted to awaken fear, and lead to 
 inquiry as to our character and state spiritually. Has there 
 been any gracious cleansing at the fountain-head ? Has the 
 wonder-working cross been cast into the waters of bitterness 
 and made them sweet? Let us examine ourselves as to 
 this vital matter, and not rest satisfied without decisive 
 evidence that we are indeed born again, and that having tho 
 washing of regeneration we are experiencing more and more 
 the renewing of the Holy Ghost. 
 
254 THE ^yISDOM which is not it.om above. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 THE WISDOM WHICH IS NOT FROM ABOVE. 
 
 " Who is a luise man, and endued with knowledge 
 among you ? let him shew out of a good conversation his 
 works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have hitter 
 envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not 
 against the truth. This wisdom desoendeth not from 
 above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For ivhere envying 
 and strife is, there is confusion, and every evil work." — 
 James iii. 13-16. 
 
 HOSE on whose spirit and conduct James is here 
 animadverting laid claim to superior wisdom. 
 They had high ideas of their own attainments, 
 and thus it was that they assumed authority over their 
 brethren, that, not content with the place of members, 
 they aspired to that of teachers in the Church. Instead of 
 being slow to speak, according to the apostolic injunction, 
 they were in haste to do it, making free and large use of 
 their tongue. But while on the one hand they blessed God 
 with that member, on the other they cursed man with it, 
 indulged in bitter, malevolent, denunciatory speeches. They 
 were actuated by a proud, domineering, contentious spirit. 
 They were sadly mistaken in the personal estimate which 
 they formed. They thought of themselves far more highly 
 than they ought to have done, and gloried in that of which 
 they had reason rather to be ashamed. James here shows 
 how true wisdom will manifest itself, bringing out the 
 contrast which its actings present to those of the parties 
 whom he now addressed. Ho sets forth its distinctive 
 
THE WISDOM WHICH IS NOT FRO:j AEOVE. 255 
 
 features, and that both positively and negatively, by telling us 
 alike what they consist in and what they are opposed to — ■ 
 thus exposing the false pretences of those who advanced 
 claims which were destitute of every kind of right, warrant, 
 or foundation. Let us proceed to consider these two things, 
 seeking, as we do so, the guidance and blessing of the 
 Spirit. 
 
 I. The prescribed course — that required by and indica- 
 tive of true tvisdom. Ver. 13, "Who is a wise man, and 
 endued with knowledge among you ? let him shew out of 
 a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom." 
 Many were ready to arrogate to themselves this distinc- 
 tion. They came forward and occupied places, undertook 
 duties, in a manner which betokened a high estimate of 
 their own abilities and attainments. The apostle asks here 
 who really was that which numbers professed to be, who 
 among them was wise and endued with knowledge ; and 
 probably the individualizing way in which he puts the 
 question was designed to intimate, that such a person was 
 much rarer among them than they generally supposed, that 
 only one here and there out of their many teachers 
 answered to the description. How are we to distinguish 
 between the two qualities mentioned? "Wise" — that is, 
 gifted with spiritual discernment and discretion, with 
 capacity and enlightenment in regard to Divine things. It 
 is the power of seeing clearly what is right, and of choosing 
 and acting accordingly. It is a just perception of truth 
 and duty — a perception that influences, determines the con- 
 duct, and is not merely speculative, theoretical in its nature. 
 " Endued with knowledge" — having large information, 
 acquaintance with facts, doctrines, precej)ts. A man may 
 have a great deal of knowledge, and yet be utterly destitute 
 of wisdom. And, on the other hand, wisdom is to no small 
 extent dependent on knowledge, for this latter supplies the 
 
25 G THE WISDOM WHICH IS NOT FROM ABOVE. 
 
 data, the materials necessary for its guidance. The ablcf?t, 
 those whose intellects are the clearest, and whose judgments 
 arc the soundest, must work in the dark, — they must 
 stumhle and err egregiously if they lack requisite informa- 
 tion. Religion is often represented under this aspect. It 
 is the highest and indeed the only true wisdom. It illumi- 
 nates and renovates the subjects of it, so that they see what 
 is supremely needful and valuable, make choice of it in pre- 
 ference to all else, and adopt the right method of securing 
 it by falling in with the gospel, embracing the Lord Jesus 
 as a Saviour, coming to God through the blood of the great 
 atonement. All besides is folly. Let the men of the 
 world designate and dignify it with what titles tho}^ please, 
 this is what it is in the judgment of heaven, and that 
 judgment is ever according to truth. The five virgins of 
 the parable who had oil in their vessels with their lamps — 
 that is, the saving grace of God in their hearts, and so were 
 ready to go in with the bridegroom to the marriage, are 
 called wise ; while the other five, who had lamps but no 
 oil with them — that is, had nothing but a profession of 
 religion, and Avho, awaking to a sense of their fatal want 
 when too late, were consequently shut out from the nuptial 
 banquet, are termed foolish. 
 
 Well, how is such a person to proceed ? How is he to 
 pi'ove his character, how evince his wisdom ? " Let him 
 shew out of a good conversation his works." He is to 
 manifest what he really is, to give open evidence of his 
 spiritual understanding and prudence. His light is to 
 shine, his principles are to appear. Nothing is said of 
 words, nothing of teaching. The apostle makes mention of 
 something far more practical and decisive. The basis of all 
 is "a good conversation" — that is, a good course of con- 
 duct, for the term " couver.sation " has this wider sense in 
 Scripture. The grand general effect is to be aconsistent, godly 
 walk, — a walk rognlattd by tlie doctrines and the preccptr> 
 
THE WISDOM WHICH IS NOT FROM ABOVE. 257 
 
 of Christianity. Out of it he is to shew his works — that is, 
 rising from the even tenor of his way, the fair and fertile 
 field of holy living, special, individual works of faith and love 
 are to stand forth prominent, conspicuous. These fruits of 
 the Spirit are to come out as the separate, noticeable features, 
 and prove the nature of the tree on which they are found 
 growing. Grace is to reign throughout, but it is to exhibit 
 its presence and power in services and sacrifices, in definite, 
 particular results, peculiarly entitled to be called works. 
 In short, the evidence here insisted on is obedience to the 
 Divine commandments, — a conversation, both in its general 
 character and its more special elements and aspects, such as 
 becometh the gospel. It is not profession but practice, not 
 talking but acting, not teaching but exemplifying the truth 
 as it is in Jesus. And the same is done in other parts of 
 Scripture. " Let your light so shine before men, that they 
 may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is 
 in heaven." "Brethren, be followers together of me, and 
 mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. 
 For many walk of whom I have told you often, and now tell 
 you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of 
 Christ." " Having your conversation honest among the 
 Gentiles ; that, whereas they speak against you as evil- 
 doers, they may, by your good works, which they shall 
 behold, glorify God in the day of visitation."^ 
 
 He adds, " with meekness of wisdom." Here is the 
 disposition, the spirit in which their works were to be shewn 
 forth out of a good conversation. In it lies the special dis- 
 tinction and difference between the true and the false wis- 
 dom, which he unfolds in this passage. The expression is 
 remarkable, — "the meekness of wisdom," — that is, the meek- 
 ness which is characteristic of wisdom, which is its proper 
 attribute. Meekness is gentleness, mildness, submissive- 
 ness. Wisdom is a thing calm, quiet, peaceful. It is not 
 1 Matt. V. 16 ; Phil. iii. 17, 18 ; 1 Pet. ii. 12. 
 
258 THE WISDOM WHICH IS NOT FROM AB0\T:. 
 
 fierce, violent, contentious. It is not passionate, disputatious, 
 or tumultuous. It looks at matters with a steady, patient 
 mind, and shapes its course with deliberation and caution. 
 It knows how weak and prone to err the very best are, arid 
 what need there ever is for consideration and forbearance. 
 The man who is boisterous 'and overbearing, who is swept 
 along by the heat of his temper, who cannot brook opposi- 
 tion, who cares not what confusion and strife lie causes, is 
 not esteemed wise, but rather foolish. We associate this 
 high quality with self-command, with control over the 
 passions, with a large measure of equanimity, with the ab- 
 sence of excitement, even in trying circumstances and 
 amidst manifold provocations. When we see one angry, 
 noisy, hasty, we never think of trusting him in any matter 
 requiring clearness of perception and coolness of judgment. 
 It is a proof that he wants wisdom ; and indeed it would be 
 fatal to its exercise if he possessed it, for it would prevent 
 the cjilm and deliberate use of his powers. 
 
 Let us not mistake however. This meekness is not a 
 feeble, crouching, despicable thing; on the contrary, it is 
 strong, noble, and victorious. It is consistent with the 
 utmost firmness; and indeed that is saying little, for it is 
 essential to true and enduring firmness. The fiery, passionate 
 man is always and necessarily weak. He cannot control 
 himself, and how then can he govern others? He is buf- 
 fetted, tossed hither and thither at the mercy of his own 
 excited feelings. He is inevitably changeable. The calm, 
 self-restrained man sees far and bears long, — he forms his 
 purposes cautiously, and adheres to them steadily. He is 
 proof against those agitations froni within and from without 
 which drive so many from the path of truth and duty. 
 Jesus was meek and lowly in heart, — he did not strive nor 
 cry, when reviled he reviled not again, when he suffered 
 he threatened not; and yet he was most perfectly stedfast, 
 iir.nioveable as a rock in the prospect of, yes, and under the 
 
THE WISDOM WHICH IS NOT FROM ABOVE. 259 
 
 pressure of, sorrows and sufferings, not only infinitely be- 
 yond human endurance, but even as far beyond human 
 conception. He was not shaken by Gethsemane with its 
 anguish, and as little by Calvary with its still more varied 
 and intolerable agonies. And so, in all ages, the gentlest 
 of his servants have been the strongest, the most stable and 
 invincible. Those whom insults and injuries have been 
 least able to provoke, hav^ not seldom been the very men 
 who have braved the greatest dangers, undergone the 
 greatest hardships, and, with dauntless courage, sealed their 
 testimony to Christ and the gospel with their blood. Think 
 of the meek, lamb-like pair, Henry Martyn and Daniel 
 Corrie, whose friendship was so close, and whose characters 
 were so similar. Where shall we find any more resolute, 
 unbending than they were? — never turning aside, never 
 hesitating in their self-denying career,^ — not counting their 
 lives dear to them, that they might finish their course 
 with joy, and the ministry they had received of the Lord 
 Jesus. 
 
 It is also consistent with the most ardent zeal. The 
 true, lasting zeal burns with a steady, continuous glow. 
 That which blazes up suddenly and violently often dies 
 out very sjDeedily. That which has a gi'eat appearance, and 
 makes a loud noise, is not seldom short-lived. Meekness 
 is wide as the poles asunder from indifference, insensibility. 
 Along with it, under it, there may be the warmest affections, 
 — a faith and love of no ordinary fervour and power. We see 
 this in the sainted men to whom I have already referred. 
 They were animated by a zeal which consumed them as 
 that of their Divine Master did him, — a zeal which bore 
 them on where others would have fainted and failed, bore 
 them on amidst difficulties and discouragements before 
 which mere flesh and blood must have sunk, and burned in 
 their bosoms until their worn-out frames descended into the 
 grave, and their released sj)irits ascended to the place of 
 
260 THE WISDOM WHICH IS NOT FROM ABOVE. 
 
 everlasting rest before the throne. Who of mortals dared 
 more or accomplished more than Moses, the leader and law- 
 giver of Israel ? — and yet was not he the meekest of men < 
 The prophet testifies — " In quietness and in confidence shall 
 be your strength."^ 
 
 II. The opposite caurse — ivhat it is, and what it indi- 
 cates. — Ver. 14, " But if ye have bitter envying and strife 
 in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth." 
 " But if," — implying, not obscurely, that this was no mere 
 supposition, but the actual and painful fact in too many 
 instances, — " ye have bitter envying and strife in your 
 hearts." The word rendered " envying," is literally zeal, 
 but it often has the meaning of jealousy, emulation, rivalry. 
 It is this unholy kind of zeal which the apostle speaks of 
 here, and not that which is but ardent love, fervent, flaming, 
 irrepressible charity. The latter is a sweet, blessed thing, 
 — healing instead of causing divisions, — making instead 
 of destroying peace. The other is altogether different in its 
 nature, and is here characterized as bitter, — not without a 
 reference perhaps to the bitter water mentioned in the pre- 
 ceding context. It originates in bitter feelings, not in 
 attachment to tinith, but in opposition to persons, — in selfish, 
 ambitious, crooked designs. Its root is evil. It appears in 
 bitter actings, venting itself, as it does, in speeches and pro- 
 ceedings fitted to wound, alienate, exasperate. It scatters 
 firebrands, reckless of feelings and of consequences. And 
 it issues in bitter results, causing conflicts, separations, and 
 manifold evils. "And strife,"— rivalry. This is the 
 natural consequence of such envying, — such unhallowed and 
 envenomed zeal. It kindles the flame of contention. There 
 is a stiTiggling for selfish cuds and interests, for some kind 
 of distinction or advantage. It is the parent of controversy, 
 with all that passion and violence by which it is so often 
 
 * Isa. XXX. \o. 
 
THE WISDOM WHICH IS NOT FEOM ABOVE. 261 
 
 marked. He says, if ye have this " bitter envying and 
 strife in your hearts." It is " in your hearts," not in your 
 conduct, your proceedings. No ; and the manner in which 
 the thing is put here teaches, as it doubtless was designed 
 to do, more than one important lesson. The spring of this 
 whole evil lies within, in the region of the heart. It is all 
 to be traced to its carnal lusts, its depraved principles and 
 propensities. And it must be dealt with there, if dealt 
 with thoroughly, dealt with to any good purpose. You can 
 get rid of the fruits only by cutting down the deadly upas 
 tree on which they grow so luxuriantly. You must go 
 within and lay the axe to the root of it, by mortifying your 
 corruptions, putting off the old man and on the new, dying 
 unto sin and living unto righteousness. The only effectual 
 cure is that sought by the Psalmist in the prayer, — " Create 
 in me a clean heart ; Lord, renew a right spirit within me." 
 Again, it intimates that there might be much of this envy- 
 ing and strife in the bosom, while it did not fully appear, 
 but was skilfully disguised in the life. There it might be 
 covered over with high and plausible professions, made to 
 take the name and the aspect of attachment to truth, of 
 faithfulness, of zeal. But however kept down or dressed 
 out in the conduct of the j)arties, when traced to its internal 
 seat and seen as working in the heart, it was this hateful 
 thing — bitter jealousy and rivalry. And still farther, it 
 teaches that we are not to judge here by mere appearances; 
 for as in one case our decision might be too favourable as 
 we have seen, so in another it might be the very opposite. 
 It is not always what outwardly seems to be envying and 
 strife that is so in reality. There are those who cry out 
 against all decided courses and controversial proceedings, 
 who would rather yield everything than enter into a conflict 
 or debate for its maintenance. This however is wrong in 
 itself, and fitted to be most injurious. We are to contend 
 earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the 
 
2(52 THE WISDOM WHICH IS NOT FROM ABOVE. 
 
 saints, and we may do it most resolutely without being in 
 the least degree actuated by such a spirit. 
 
 He says, if ye have these feelings in your hearts, "glory 
 not, and lie not against the truth." "Glory not," — boast not 
 of your alleged wisdom, pride not yourselves on any sucli 
 supposed attainment. This they were exceedingly disposed 
 to do, but without 'good reason. No exultation of the kind 
 was justified in their case by the faith of Jesus. It was in 
 opposition to the truth of the gospel, which is here intended 
 by the apostle. It was against it, as their evil tempers too 
 clearly proved. The glorying was not in accordance, but in 
 conflict Avith it, — not in its favour, but at its expense and to 
 its injuiy. And "lie not," — bringing out still more strongly 
 the contrariety, the direct and thorough antagonism. They 
 professed to believe, and even presumed to teach the 
 Christian system. They set themselves up as its witnesses 
 and advocates. Well, by the spirit they manifested, and 
 the conduct to Avhich it led, they flatly contradicted the 
 truth, they misrepresented its whole nature and design. 
 Their practice was far more likely to be regarded and 
 followed than their profession or their preaching. Now, its 
 testimony was wholly false, — it was in flagrant opposition to 
 the religion of peace and goodwill. By the name they bore, 
 the language they used, the position they occupied, they in 
 effect said, — Look at us, and see what the gospel really is 
 when exhibited in life, embodied in character! And then, 
 when any one did obey the call, he found in their principles, 
 passions, and proceedings, a gross caricature, a foul libel, an 
 utter perversion of all that is most distinctively Christian. 
 In every age nothing has raised 4ip more formidable barriers 
 in the way of the gospel, nothing been more injurious to the 
 \ cause of the Saviour, than the inconsistencies of his professed 
 followers. Their evil tempers and habits have been taken 
 as an exemplification of the system, and many parties, too 
 well instructed to fall into this error, have yet used them as 
 
THE WISDOM WHICH IS NOT FROM ABOVE. 2(»3 
 
 weapons by which to withstand the efforts of ministers and 
 others for their conversion. Missionaries, from India and 
 elsewhere, tell us that this is perhaps the very greatest hind- 
 rance with which they have to contend, and that no argu- 
 ment is more frequently used, or more difficult to combat. 
 
 He now characterizes the so-called wisdom of these par- 
 ties. Ver. 15, "This wisdom descendeth not from above;" 
 or more pointedly, is not such as descendeth from above, — it 
 is not that, it has nothing in common with that, which so 
 descendeth. It is wholly different from the heavenly in its 
 origin and nature. It is not God-given, not the fruit of the 
 Spirit's working. On the contrary, it is " earthly, sensual, 
 devilish." Look at these -dark, hateful features. It is 
 " earthly." It belongs to this lower, clouded sphere, — this 
 world of sin and sense, and bears throughout its impress. 
 It is prevalent in earthly affairs. It distinguishes those 
 who are skilled in the m«.nagement of them, and is perhaps 
 not only highly valued, but of much real utility. It may 
 gain men a reputation for ability, for discretion, for sagacity, 
 and raise them to professional or political eminence. Not 
 to be despised in its own place, this has nothing spiritual 
 and saving in its composition. It is marked by earthly 
 principles. Its calculations and its plans are formed on the 
 basis of the opinions, maxims, and habits which prevail in 
 society. Self-interest and expediency go a great length 
 with it, and often shut out all higher considerations of truth 
 and duty. Instead of adhering to the straight, narrow way 
 of right, it for the most part turns into crooked paths, be- 
 cause this is commonly done; and if not commended, is at 
 least winked at by the great majority of people. And it is 
 devoted to earthly objects. It seeks not heavenly ends and 
 interests, but those which are worldly. Gain rather than 
 godliness is what it pursues. It labours for the meat which 
 perishes, not for that which endures unto everlasting life. 
 It is at home in other markets than the one in which we 
 
264 THE WISDOM WHICH IS NOT FROM ABO'S'E. 
 
 are counselled to buy fine gold, white raiment, and eye- 
 salve. " Sensual." This term^ does not here convey the 
 idea which is usually associated with it, that of something 
 licentious, or at least luxurious. The wisdom spoken of 
 may not be gross, coarse, or low, bi\t refined and even fasti- 
 dious. The epithet in the original is rather equivalent to 
 natural. It denotes what belongs not to the higher sphere 
 in man, to the spirit strictly and properly, but to the lower, 
 the mind bordering on, and largely influenced by, the fleshly 
 or animal part of our constitution. AVhat is intimated is, 
 that this wisdom, however imposing it may seem, and how- 
 ever useful it may really be, pertains not to our nobler 
 being, — the soul, as it is when possessed and purified 
 by the Holy Ghost. It is limited to the narrow, inferior 
 domain of self, with its circle of objects and interests. It 
 is unspiritual. Another feature yet remains, and the most 
 repulsive of all, — "devilish." It is demoniacal, satanic. 
 Not from above, it is from below. The tongue was said to 
 be set on fire of heU; and the wisdom which keeps company 
 with envying and strife has the same origin. The serpent 
 beguiled our first parents Avith the promise that, by eating 
 of the forbidden tree, they should become as gods, know- 
 ing good and evil; and the fruit of this attainment soon 
 appeared in the spirit which animated the fratricidal Cain. 
 The devil is the great father of deceit and falsehood. And 
 it resembles its author. It is all pervaded Jty his temper, 
 and stamped with his impress. What a dark and dreadful 
 description ! 
 
 This account of it he justifies by the effects which it pro- 
 duces. Ver. 16, " For where envying and strife is, there is 
 confusion and every evil work." The wisdom consists with, 
 if not in, "envying and strife;" and where such a spirit 
 prevails, what are its natural fruits, its inevitable results ? 
 The terms are the same as those used in the 1 4th verse, 
 
 1 ip^X"^ 
 
THE WISDOM WHICH IS NOT FROM ABOVE. 265 
 
 without the qualification of bitter, that being understood 
 and not requiring repetition. " There is confu,sion," — dis- 
 order, anarchy, tumult, — all kinds of agitation and disturb- 
 ance. We have too many evidences that these feelings let 
 loose the demon of discord, break through restraint, subvert 
 authority, destroy peace. What commotions do they raise 
 in the bosoms of persons who entertain them, proving fatal, 
 as they do, to all inward tranquillity ! How do they disturb 
 families, communities, churches ! They are indeed roots of 
 bitterness. — " And every evil work." They are productive 
 of whatever is bad and base, of all sorts and measures of 
 wickedness. There is no error, no folly, no vice, no crime 
 to which they do not readily conduct. They shut out every- 
 thing good, they open the door to everything evil. As the 
 fruit reveals the species of tree on which it grows, so do 
 the effects here the nature of tliose princiijles from which 
 they proceed. 
 
 1. Let us guard against this spirit. — Is it not extensive 
 in its prevalence ? How common are envying and strife, 
 jealousies, rivalries, contentions ! They may be, they often 
 are, associated with a profession of faith, and a claiiu to 
 wisdom. But that makes the matter worse instead of better. 
 It not only involves a gross self-deception, but increases 
 their power for evil, renders them far more dangerous and 
 deadly. Is the spirit not hateful in its nature ? It is alike in 
 origin and character, demoniacal. It is of and like the old 
 serpent, the devil. It is so much of hell brought up from 
 beneath, and transferred to this earthly sphere. Nothing 
 is more alien to the character of God and the design of the 
 gospel. And when connected, as it often is, with high 
 spiritual pretensions, 25ei'haps even with the office and work 
 of teaching the truth, it is doubly odious. Then it is a 
 practical lie of the most offensive and hideous description. 
 How is it loathed by all holy, loving beings in the universe ! 
 And is it not disastrous in its effects ? How many does it 
 
200 THE WISDOM WHICH IS NOT FROM ABOVE. 
 
 prejudice against the gospel, and seal up in their scepticism 
 and ungodliness ! What disorders and alienations does it 
 cause in Christian communities ! It is the parent of con- 
 fusion and of every evil work. It hardens sinners, embitters 
 hearts, divides families, disturbs neighbourhoods, rends 
 churches. Such is this wisdom. Boast as it may, pretend 
 what it may, it is " earthly, sensual, devilish." 
 
 2. Let us give proof of the opposite. — Let us manifest 
 our wisdom and knowledge in a good conversation. The 
 real test of our religious principles is our habitual course of 
 conduct. The light must shine out and shew itself in a 
 sanctified character, in works of faith and labours of love. 
 There must be not merely the leaves of profession or 
 the buds of promise, but the fruits of righteousness. We 
 must be not hearers of the word only, but doers also. And 
 let us never forget that true heavenly wisdom is marked by 
 meekness. It is not clamorous and pretentious, it is not 
 bitter and violent, like much that passes under the name. 
 It is imbued with the mind, and stamped with the image of 
 its Divine Author. How can we belong to Christ if we are 
 without his gentleness? How can we have learned of him 
 if we are not meek and lowly in heart ? Try yourselves as 
 to whether you have his Spirit in this respect, for without 
 that Spirit you are none of his, whatever claim you may 
 prefer or position you may occupy. Faith in him as a 
 Saviour must ever lie at the foundation; but that should, 
 and, when genuine, will be followed by conformity to him as 
 our great example. If he has been made unto us wisdom, 
 this will shew itself in the meekness that then will run 
 through our whole conversation, and be the ornament of 
 every good work. These two things cannot be separated; 
 and where the one is entirely awanting, there the other 
 cannot really exist. 
 
THE WISDOM WHICH IS FROM AI30VE. 267 
 
 XX. 
 
 THE WISDOM WHICH IS FROM ABOVE. 
 
 " But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then, 
 peaceable, gentle, and easy to he entreated, full of mercy 
 and good fruits, ivithout partiality, and without hypocnsy. 
 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them 
 that make peace." — James iii. 17, 18. 
 
 T the time when James wrote there were many 
 pretenders to wisdom, and to the very highest 
 ^ kind of wisdom. Tliey assumed responsibilities, 
 and undertook duties i"or the discharge of which this 
 gift was peculiarly, pre-eminently necessary. They set 
 up as public teachers of religion, — not satisfied with 
 membership in the Church, they aspired to and intruded 
 into the office of the ministry. Their spirit and con- 
 duct made it loo evident that the claim was unAvarranted 
 and presvimptuous, without right or reason, originating 
 either in self-deception or in sheer hypocrisy. They had 
 bitter envying and strife in their hearts, not the charity 
 and peace which are characteristic of the gospel and of all 
 true believers in it, but those ambitious, jealous, malignant 
 feelings which are directly antagonistic to it in their nature, 
 and are works of the flesh, not fruits of the Spirit. These 
 baneful principles and passions were not confined to the 
 bosom, they came out and produced their appropriate and 
 hateful results. They spread confusion, anarchy, commo- 
 tion, tumult — agitating and separating persons, families, 
 communities, churches. They were indeed prolific of 
 every evil, of all kinds of error and impurity, defection 
 
2G8 THE WISDOM WHICH IS FROM ABOVE. 
 
 and disorder. Their boasted wisdom, then, was not that 
 which descends from above, but earthly, sensual, devilish. 
 From it the apostle turns to that which it took the name 
 and the credit of; — he sets forth the qualities and effects of 
 the true heavenly wisdom, in contrast with those of the 
 counterfeit, which he had unfolded in the preceding con- 
 text. Let us then consider, in humble dependence on 
 Divine teaching, 
 
 I. The nature of this ivisdom. — Ver. 17, " But," — mark- 
 ing the transition from that which he had been describ- 
 ing, — " the wisdom that is from above." All wisdom, even 
 that which is simply natural, may be so designated. It is 
 Divine in its origin. Our intellectual and moral endow- 
 ments are bestowed on us by that God who is alike the 
 former of our bodies and the father of our spirits. His 
 inspiration has given us understanding. We have nothing 
 which we have not received. But James speaks here of 
 that wisdom which is conferred in a way of special grace, 
 which is directly, peculiarly, supernaturally from above. It 
 is procured for men by the Saviour's merit, and is wrought 
 in them by the Saviour's Spirit. It is gi'anted in connexion 
 with prayer, according to what we read in a prex^eding part 
 of this Epistle, — " If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of 
 God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; 
 and it shall be given him."^ Religion is often represented, 
 described by some one or other of its leading features or 
 properties. It is summed up in faith, in charity, in the 
 fear of God, or such like comprehensive principle. Very 
 frequently it is set forth under the name and the aspect of 
 wisdom. It is so most justly and appropriately. The 
 vitality, the power of it in men begins with a process of 
 illumination, with the shining in of a Divine light, which 
 rectifies all the previous ideas, decisions, and tastes. The 
 
 ' Jiuu. i. 5. 
 
THE WISDOM WHICH IS FEOM ABOVE. 269 
 
 subjects of this change look beneath the surface and see the 
 substance, the deep reality of things ; they estimate them 
 according to their proper value, no longer setting the wants 
 of the body above the necessities of the soul, — the interests 
 of time above the concerns of eternity, — the pleasures of the 
 world above the glories of heaven. They apprehend 
 vividly and impressively the end of their being, — that for 
 which we were made, and on the attainment of which alone 
 we can find true and everlasting happiness. And the 
 mighty influence put forth upon them not only opens their 
 eyes, but subdues their wills, moves and moulds their hearts, 
 so that they choose the good which is disclosed to them, 
 and adopt the scriptural means of securing it by believing 
 in Jesus Christ, embracing him as their Lord and Saviour, 
 coming to God for pardon, holiness, eternal life, — for every 
 blessing of redemption, through the merit of his atoning 
 blood, and by the supplicated grace of his Holy Spirit. In 
 this perception, appreciation, and j)ursuit of the one thing 
 needful, lies wisdom, the highest, the only real wisdom. 
 " And unto man he said. Behold, the fear of the Lord that 
 is wisdom ; and to dejDart from evil is understanding." 
 " So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our 
 hearts unto wisdom." " Happy is the man that findeth 
 wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding : for the 
 merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, 
 and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious 
 than rubies : and all the things thou canst desire are not to 
 be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right 
 hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways 
 are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." 
 " And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of 
 Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and 
 the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a 
 people prepared for the Lord."^ Hence Christ is said to be 
 
 ^ Job xxviii. 28 : Ps. xc. 12 ; Prov. iii. 13-17 ; Luke i. 17. 
 
270 THE WISD05I Wllicn IS FROM ABOVE. 
 
 the wisdom of God to all who believe ; the Scriptures are 
 spoken of as able to make men "wise unto salvation;" and 
 those who were ready to enter with the bridegroom, having 
 the oil in their vessels, are called " the wise virgins." So 
 much for it as coming down from above ; and now what are 
 its properties, what its distinctive features ? 
 
 1 . The most internal and fundamental of these is purity. 
 This stands on the front, and properly, necessarily. It "is 
 first pure," says the apostle. It is so, both in its nature 
 and in the influence which it exerts. It is holy and makes 
 holy. It has no fellow.ship with the works of darkness. 
 It forms the character of those whom Jesus pronounced 
 blessed, as- being "pure in heart." This wisdom is not 
 merely or chiefly an intellectual thing, — it is mainly moral, 
 spiritual. Its illumination is ever connected with sanctifi- 
 catiou. Perception and appreciation, vision and volition, 
 light and love, go here hand in hand together, and the one 
 would be poor and powerless without the other. The \n\\ 
 and the affections must be moved through the mind; but 
 they in turn act decisively on the mind, and it is only thus 
 we can have clear, realizing, impressive views of religious 
 truths and objects. We can know nothing aright of the 
 things of God without a taste or relish for them. In so 
 far then as we are animated by this gracious principle, we 
 shall be holy in character and conversation, we shall turn away 
 from every kind of uncleanness in belief and in practice, we 
 shall have sujireme respect to the Divine will at all times, 
 and ever seek to be perfect, as our Father in heaven is per- 
 fect. The carnal, impure man, — the man who regards ini- 
 quity in his heart, — Avho lives under the power of sin, is and 
 must be destitute of the wisdom that is from above. He 
 wants that which is its most radical and distinctive quality, 
 which is of its very essence. We are too much in the habit 
 of limiting, if not even of somewhat perverting, this state- 
 ment, by understanding it as teaching that we are first of 
 
THE WISDOM WHICH IS FROM ABOVE. 271 
 
 all to have respect to doctrinal soundness ; and only after 
 that, and in so far as consistent with it, to seek the main- 
 tenance or the restoration of peace. This may be a legiti- 
 mate enough inference from the language or application of 
 it, — we doubt not its being so, — but it is not its primary and 
 proper meaning; and how often, when used in such a man- 
 ner, is that meaning entirely forgotten, the purifying influ- 
 ence of heavenly wisdom in the hearts and lives of its pos- 
 sessors. Many a time is the text employed, not only to the 
 subversion of that charity which is nowhere more fully 
 commended and enforced, but also to the casting into the 
 shade of that personal holiness which stands on the very 
 front of it, and is, alas! frequently sacrificed in those bitter 
 contendings which the words are brought forward to justify. 
 It calls us first, and above all, to look homeward and in- 
 ward. 
 
 2. We have its qualities as they are of a more external 
 and manifest kind, as they apjDear in the dispositions and 
 actings toward others. Several of these are mentioned, 
 Some of them closely connected, as is marked by the way in 
 which they are here grouped. When it is said, — "Then 
 peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and 
 good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy," we 
 are not to suppose that it must be first pure, and only 
 after that peaceable, and so on in the order stated. No ; 
 for it has all these properties and features from the very be- 
 ginning. The distinction is rather between what it is in- 
 ternally, in its influence on the person himself, and then, as 
 resulting from that, what it is externally, in its bearing on 
 his relation to his fellow-creatures around him. Notice 
 briefly these separate qualities. 
 
 "Peaceable." This is the opposite of that characteristic 
 of the false wisdom which the apostle had been speaking of, 
 namely, ''envying and strife." The true, the heavenly, is 
 disposed to peace, it follows after, it delights in peace. It 
 
272 THE WISDOM WHICH IS FROM AliuVE. 
 
 animates its possessor with such a spirit, so that he desires, 
 though he cannot always secure this blessing. It is not in 
 his power sometimes. Hence Paul says, — "If it be possible, 
 as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." And 
 David complains, — "I am for peace : but when I speak, they 
 are for war." A price may be demanded for it which the 
 Christian is not at liberty to give, whatever the value of the 
 thing itself and the strength of his desire to obtain it. He 
 may not purchase it by the sacrifice of God's truth, by the 
 surrender of his own conscientious convictions, by any course 
 or act of unfaithfulness to the great Master. The peace 
 which is procured in such a way is too costly, and it is really 
 little worth, for it is got by the destruction of the only solid 
 basis on which it can ever rest, of the very principles which 
 alone can give it vitality and stability. But while, in this 
 respect, purity must always take the precedence, the divinely 
 wise should be, and will be peaceable in their clinging to it 
 and standing up for it, — peaceable in keeping hold of it and 
 defending it, for they will do so in a calm, conciliatory spirit; 
 and by seeking, as the issue of all their contend ings, the very 
 blessing, which for the time they are compelled to forego. A 
 contentious, quarrelsome disposition is not from above, it is 
 from below, — it is not Christian, it is Satanic. Nothing 
 should be more characteristic of the heaven-born than the 
 opposite, one placable, pacific. "Blessed," said Jesus, "are 
 the peace-makers : for they shall be called the children of 
 God."- 
 
 " Gentle" — mild, forbearing. It corresponds to the 
 "meekness of wisdom" spoken of in a preceding verse. It 
 is ranked by Paul among the fruits of the Spirit. These 
 are " love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, 
 faith, meekness, temperance."^ How is it enforced by the 
 same apostle ! He exhorts Titus to put them in mind 
 " To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, 
 
 1 Horn. xii. 13; Vs. cxx. 7. 2 Matt. v. 0. 3 Gal. v. 22, 23. 
 
THE WISDOM WHICH IS FROM AEOVE. 273 
 
 shewing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also 
 were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers 
 lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hatiful, and 
 hating one another."^ A really peaceable disposition may 
 be connected with not a little roughness and harshness of 
 manner. There may be a sternness, a severity which repels 
 others, and does injustice to the genuine principles and 
 affections of the bosom. This wisdom should subdue and 
 soften the spirit, should infuse into it a real tenderness and 
 sweetness, and it must so far as it is imparted and has free 
 course. Yes; for it embraces a sense of our own obligations 
 to infinite mercy, matchless long-suffering, — it assimilates 
 us to him from whom it all proceeds, for Christ is made 
 unto his people wisdom ; and how conspicuous was this 
 feature in his character! And it teaches us that such is 
 the disposition which not only becomes us as Christians, 
 but is the most effectual in winning over others to the faith 
 of the gospel. How was it exemplified by the great Master ! 
 " He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the 
 lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall 
 gently lead those tliat are with young." " Take my yoke 
 upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in 
 heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." "Now I 
 Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentle- 
 ness of Christ."^ And the most eminent of his servants 
 have resembled him the most closely in this respect. 
 Thus the great apostle of the Gentiles could write of him- 
 self in these terms : " For many walk of whom I have told 
 you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the 
 enemies of the cross of Christ." " But we were gentle among 
 you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children : so, being affec- 
 tionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted 
 unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, 
 
 1 Tit. iii. 2, 3. 2 Is. xl. ] 1 ; ]Matt. xi. 29 ; 2 Cor. x. 1. 
 
 T 
 
274' THE WISDOM WHICH IS FROM ABOVE. 
 
 because yc wore dear unto us#"^ Even those wlio have 
 been, above others, men of war, called to contend for the 
 truth of God on many a battle-field, have yet been distin- 
 guished by this gi'acious, attractive feature. What deep 
 springs of sensibility were there in Luther's bosom, — springs 
 from which the sweetest waters flowed ! Bold as a lion in 
 the face of his Lord's adversaries, lie could be, and often 
 was, gentle as a lamb. The late Bishop Wilson was as out- 
 spoken, decided, and fearless as most men, but withal, how 
 tender ! When on one occasion an officer of high rank was 
 opposing his plans for the spiritual good of a Station in 
 India, and that before a large and distinguished party, his only 
 reply was given in the tears which flowed. As we saw in 
 our last lecture, this is consistent with the most immoveable 
 firmness, with the most flaming zeal ; and, instead of being 
 a weakness, is rather a proof and an element of strength. 
 It is the way to victory. 
 
 " Easy to be entreated" — readily persuaded, compliant. 
 It is not obstinate, unbending, impLicable. It is indeed 
 stedfast in its adherence to truth and duty. It refuses to 
 be moved by arguments and appeals, by bribes, or threats, 
 or blows, when the great interests of righteousness are at 
 stake, and when to yield were to be unfaithful, to commit 
 sin, to dishonour the Master. Then it stands like a rock 
 amidst the pelting of the storm or the lashing of the waves. 
 But still it is " easy to be entreated." It is willing to 
 learn, whoever may be the teacher, and however disagree- 
 able may be the lesson. It does not draw itself up and 
 turn away when it is approached and addressed by those 
 who may have given some cause of offence, — it does not then 
 keep at a distance in a haughty, morose, unrelenting spirit. 
 It is ready to listen to reason and remonstrance. It does 
 not reijuire much persuasion to induce it to forgive injuries 
 and be reconciled to adversaries. It insists not on studious 
 
 1 Phil. iii. 18; 1 Thess. ii, 7, 8. 
 
THE ^VISDOM WHICH IS FROM ABOVE. 275 
 
 etiquette, nor on carefully adjusted and elaborately expressed 
 acknowledgments. In this respect its possessors have the 
 mind of him whose ear is open to the cry of sinners, rebels, 
 and who is always standing waiting to be gracious — ready 
 to pardon. 
 
 ''Full of mercy and good fruits.'" — These two are 
 closely connected in the mode of expression, and this accords 
 with their real relation. Mercy is compassion, pity, and 
 has respect to the offending and the miserable. It is an 
 essential feature of the heavenly wise, as we have seen be- 
 fore, " For he shall have judgment without mercy, that 
 hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judg- 
 ment." ^ They are themselves indebted for everything to the 
 exercise of it on God's part, and so they cannot but exhibit 
 it in their dealings with their needy fellow-creatures. It 
 manifests itself with respect to temporal distress, and still 
 more with reference to spiritual destitution. This wisdom 
 has not merely a little of it, but is full of it, according to the 
 text. The mercy which has its spring here, not only flows but 
 overflows. It is cherished, not toward a narrow circle of 
 objects, but one large and stretching far beyond those barriers 
 which limit the sympathies of many. It is shown, not on 
 rare occasions, but frequently, habitually, well-nigh as often 
 as the appeal is made or the need discovered. And it is 
 not a half-hearted thing, not a shallow, superficial feeling, 
 soon exhausted and gone, — for it is not only real but deep 
 and enduring. Nor is it a mere sentiment, a passing, in- 
 operative emotion of the bosom, with little or nothing in the 
 shape of definite, practical effects. With too many it goes 
 no farther, rises no higher. This however is "full of good 
 fruits," — for these fruits are to be connected not only with 
 the wisdom, but also, and more immediately, with the mercy. 
 They correspond to the " every evil work " of the false wis- 
 dom. The true, the heavenly, is a productive, powerful 
 
 ' Jam. ii. 13. 
 
276 THE WISDOM Wllini IS FROM ABOVE. 
 
 thing, and gives evidence of its existence in the large bene- 
 factions which it bestows. It constrains those under its 
 iuiiuenco to spend time, and strength, and substance in 
 efforts to relieve the distressed. They scatter blessings with 
 o[)cu hand, and even where they are least deserved. They 
 go aljout, like their Lord, doing good to the bodies, and 
 especially to the souls of their fellow-creatures. 
 
 " Without partiality and without hypocrisy." — These 
 close the series. They are connected by " and " in our 
 version, but its authority is doubtful. They may not in- 
 ap})ropriately be classed together. The former of the two 
 characteristics has been taken in different senses, as, without 
 wrangling, without doubting ; but the rendering here is to be 
 preferred. The heavenly wisdom is impartial. It does not 
 respect persons, and in this it condemned many of those 
 whom James now addressed ; for, as we have seen, the favour 
 shewn to the rich at the expense of the poor was one of 
 their besetting sins, — one of their prevalent, corrupt practices. 
 Their ecclesiastical proceedings, and even their religious 
 assemblies, were* marked by the grossest and most offensive 
 partiality. Neither is it one-sided in its attachment to 
 truth and duty. It does not choose this and reject that ; 
 but embraces the whole will of God in its regards. And 
 it is equally unprejudiced with reference to the modes of 
 usefulness, means and ways of doing good, being largely free 
 from that narrow-mindedness w^hicli is so common in these 
 respects, and which forces itself on our view in so many 
 quarters. It is also " without hypocrisy." There is about 
 it no feigning, no j)retence, no insincerity. It is open, trans- 
 parent, con.sistent. With it the reality and the semblance, 
 the substance and the form, coiTespond. There was a sad 
 lack of this among those to whom James was writing, which 
 made it needful to bring out clearly and strongly the present 
 property of the heavenly wisdom. Such, then, are its cha- 
 racteristics. How noblo, how Divine a thing does itapi)(.'ar! 
 
THE WISDOM WHICH IS FROM A150VE. 277 
 
 How beautiful these varied features, and what an attractive 
 whole do they constitute ! 
 
 II. Tlie resvJt of tJds wisdom, — Ver. 18, "And the fruit 
 of righteousness is sown in peace of them that makepeace/' 
 He had summed up his account of the false wisdom by the 
 statement, " For where envying and strife is, there is con- 
 fusion and every evil work." This is the counterpart in 
 the case of the other. It yields precious fruit — the fruit of 
 righteousness. The expression may mean, either that the 
 fruit springs from, or consists in righteousness. We under- 
 stand it in the latter sense. This is its substance, its 
 nature. And so we read in the Epistle to the Hebrews of 
 chastisement yielding " the peaceable fruit of righteousness 
 unto them which are exercised thereby." Righteousness is 
 conformity to the will of God, and largely taken, as it is here, 
 embraces the discharge of all the duties we owe directly to 
 him, as well as those we are bound to perform toward our 
 fellow-creatures. It is equivalent to holiness of heart and 
 life in all its parts ; indeed, to true religion in the whole 
 compass of its personal influence and effects. The state- 
 ment embraces it, whether as belonging to ourselves or im- 
 parted to others, and both as a present attainment and an 
 eternal reward. Now, it is the possession and practice of 
 the believer in proportion to the measure of his sanctifica- 
 tion, his progress in the divine life ; — hereafter, it is to be 
 bestowed on him in absolute, unchangeable perfection. He 
 is to wear it as his glorious and unfading crown. It is a 
 gi'owth, it springs from a vital germ which expands and at 
 length comes to this maturity. It is sown, — that is, the seed 
 which produces the fruit, — and how? " In peace." This is 
 the spirit in which alone we can prepare the way for any 
 such blessed harvest. We cannot really promote righteous- 
 ness in ourselves or others, but as we are animated by a pacific 
 disposition, and act in a corresponding manner. As we 
 
27s THE WISDOM WUICH IS FllOM ABOVE., 
 
 have seen, "envying and strife" lead to "confusion and every 
 evil work." Angry passions and fierce contendings are fatal 
 to spiritual advancement and usefulness. It is not amidst 
 tlie din of controversy, and when acting under the feelings 
 which it engenders, that we are to scatter the precious seed 
 so that it shall yield its increase. No; we must proceed 
 calmly, gently, patiently, — in a loving, tender, Christ-like 
 manner. And the more the state of the sower finds its 
 counterpart in the nature of the soil, the harvest becomes 
 both surer and larger. The one must be characterized by 
 peace as well as the other. It is not amidst jealousies and 
 rivalries, — it is not in hearts torn and tossed, that gracious 
 principles take root or make progress- There Satan has 
 his fitting field of operations, — there he finds his congenial 
 element and builds up his kingdom. That Spirit whose 
 emblem is the pure and gentle dove, either enters not at all, 
 or soon leaves such bosoms. His saving presence is vouch- 
 safed and his saving work accomplished amidst a very differ- 
 ent state of things. This husbandry is carried on " by them 
 that make peace," — make it not merely in the sense of re- 
 conciling persons at variance, but of promoting it in all other 
 respects, and by every means in their power. They alone can 
 sow the Divine seed aright,— can plant the trees of righteous- 
 ness. They only bring forth either in themselves or their 
 fellows that fruit which is unto holiness. Li and by them, 
 as his chosen instruments, that Spirit works who is the real, 
 eifectual quickener and sanctifier, who alone can prepare 
 souls for and usher them into the perfect purity and blessed- 
 ness of heaven. 
 
 Is this a correct, account of the heavenly wisdom? Is 
 this the character of true religion ; for with it the wisdom 
 oi' our text is not only identified, but really identical ? Then, 
 brethren, how rare is it, how little of it exists 1 Do we 
 often see anything corresponding to the desci-iption here 
 given ? Where are these lovely, placid features ? Where 
 
THE WISDOM WHICH IS FROM ABOVE. 279 
 
 these soft, gentle, graceful movements ? Where this spirit, 
 pure, yet peaceful and pitiful? Where this hand, ever 
 stretched out, not to strike, but to succour, — not to deal 
 blows, but to scatter blessings ? We have plenty of noise, 
 bustle, activity, — abundance of a certain kind of zeal and 
 effort. But O ! where ls Christianity with the lineaments it 
 here bears, so beautiful, so benign ? And the rarity of it is 
 a very sad affair; for this wisdom is not merely an ornament, 
 it is a necessity. Destitute of it we are undone — without 
 it we perish. It is the way to salvation — indeed it is itself 
 salvation. It is another name for religion, as it dwells in 
 the heart, and influences the character and conduct. In it 
 lies the life of our spirits. Well may we prize it above 
 rubies, and seek it as men do hidden treasures. Do any 
 ask, is it attainable? and if so, by what means, in what 
 manner ? Yes, it may become our sure portion, our eternal 
 possession. But the way of securing it is often mistaken. 
 Here we cannot succeed by talent, or learning, or effort. 
 Intellectual abilities and attainments can achieve much in 
 many fields, but in this they can do little or nothing. We 
 may have them and exert them to the utmost, without 
 ceasing to be the merest fools, spiritually considered. We 
 may have all knowledge, and be ignorant as babes or as 
 savages in the matters of the soul and salvation. In vain 
 shall we re^Dair in search of it to human schools and 
 systems. These have their place and value; but whatever 
 they may do for the mind, they cannot subdue the will, 
 they cannot sanctify the heart, they cannot either jDurge tlie 
 defiled conscience or transform our corrupt moral nature ; 
 and without this we are and must be destitute of heavenly 
 wisdom. No ; it comes from above, — directly, specially, 
 supernaturally from God. He is the author of it, he and 
 no other. He gives it only through the mediation of his 
 Son Jesus Christ, and by the effectual working of his Holy 
 Spirit. He must graciously send it down if it is ever to 
 
2 so TUE WISDOM WIIICU IS FROM ABOVE. 
 
 enter our souls, mould our characters, and rule our lives. 
 Are we then simj)ly to remain passive, waiting helplessly for 
 its bestowal? Have we no efforts to make, no means to 
 employ ? Yes, we are to supplicate God for it, to ask it at 
 his footstool, — pleading ever the merit of the Saviour, receiv- 
 ing and resting on him as the only ground of a sinner's hope 
 i'or eternity. Drawing near thus, we shall not be sent 
 empty away. Our prayer shall be heard, and this Divine 
 gift be imparted, either in its primary elements as a new 
 thing altogether, or in greater strength and fulness where, 
 liaving been already planted, it is growing up toward 
 heavenly maturity. O, let all of us, whether learned or 
 ignorant, sages or fools in other respects, seek to be made 
 wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus ! 
 
WAES AND FIGHTINGS WHENCE THEY PROCEED. 281 
 
 XXI. 
 
 WARS AND FIGHTINGS— WHENCE THEY 
 PROCEED. 
 
 " From whence come wars and fightings among you ? 
 Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your 
 members ? Ye lust, and have not : ye hill, and desire to 
 have, and cannot obtain : ye fight and war, yet ye have 
 not, because ye ask not. Ye Ojsk, and receive not, because 
 ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." — 
 James iv. 1-3. 
 
 T the close of the last chapter, James unfolds the 
 nature and results of heavenly wisdom. While 
 among its properties or features purity has the 
 first place assigned it, he makes nothing more prominent 
 about it than its peaceable character. It is eminently 
 pacific, and is shewn to be so by the dispositions it infuses 
 and the effects it produces. A very different state of mat- 
 ters from that which must have flowed from its operation 
 prevailed among the parties who were now addressed, and 
 the apostle naturally passes from the one to the other, 
 inquiring into the origin of that envying and strife by 
 which they were so sadly distinguished. The picture here 
 presented is one of the darkest that can well be conceived. 
 It is so much so that some have doubted whether anything 
 of the kind could have existed among professing Christians 
 in that early age of the Church's history, and have supposed 
 that the description applies not to them, but to the unbe- 
 lieving Jews of the period. We know that they were split 
 up into hostile and furious factions, — that they were agitated 
 
2.S2 WARS AND nonTIXGS WnENCE THEY PROCEED. 
 
 by the worst passions, which broke out continually in 
 deadly feuds, bloody contests, and brought down on them 
 at leu<;th that terrible vengeance which crushed the nation, 
 destroyed their temple and city, and scattered them as a 
 people over the face of the whole earth. Diflicult, however, 
 and distressing as it may be to an'ive at the conclusion, 
 there is no escape from it, that the same parties are appealed 
 to here as in the context both before and after, and who 
 are there once and again called brethren, evidently not 
 merely in the natural sense of the term, as being descend- 
 ants of Abraham, like the apostle himself, but in the higher, 
 the religious sense, — brethren in the fellowship of the gospel, 
 in the faith of Jesus. The explanation seems to be that 
 the persons being Jews according to the fle^h were largely 
 imbued with the spirit of their countrymen, had still many 
 of the same carnal principles and passions at Avork within 
 tliem, were more or less drawn into disputes, and mixed up 
 with proceedings similar to those for which they were so 
 notorious. We are apt to imagine that the Church was 
 purer, and that its members were more perfect at first than 
 was actually the case ; for while in large numbers there was 
 an exemplification of the gospel such as has never been 
 surpassed, and in some respects never equalled in succeeding 
 times, yet we have indubitable evidence that many false 
 professors crept in among the faithful, and that not a few, 
 even of the latter, — that is, of Christians who were so in 
 reality and not in name only, — were marked by deplorable 
 defects both in belief and practice. We cannot read Paul's 
 Epistles to the Corinthians and Galatians, nor those of 
 Peter, John, and Jude, any more than this of James now 
 before us, without discoveriug manifold proofs of grievous 
 imjierfection, confusion, and error. And we need not 
 greatly wonder at this, considering the state of Judaism on 
 the one hand and heathenism on the other, out of which 
 they had been brought; also the horrible corruption in the 
 
WARS AND FIGHTINGS WHENCE THEY PROCEED. 283 
 
 midst of which they lived, and by the presence of which 
 they could not but be affected in a certain degTee. Let us 
 proceed, then, to direct your attention to these two things 
 contained in the verses — the question asked, and the 
 answer given. May we be taught of God while so 
 engaged. 
 
 I. The question proposed. — Ver. 1, "From whence come 
 wars and fightings among you ? " " Wars and fightings, " — 
 these were contentions, feuds, sometimes leading to and 
 terminating in oj)en violence, — often indeed having such an 
 issue. They even occasionally went the length of murder, 
 as appears from what follows. The existence of them is 
 here taken for granted, and the inquiry made is as to their 
 origin. The fact of them was indubitable, and the only 
 question was regarding their cause. We have no very 
 particular information as to the nature of these contests, 
 the parties by whom they were waged, or the matters to 
 which they related. It has been supposed that they were 
 between rival teachers who disputed with one another about 
 their respective opinions, and stiU more for personal autho- 
 rity and distinction ; or that they were between opposing 
 sects, such as the apostle's countrymen were apt to fall into 
 amonsf themselves, and also in relation to the Gentile 
 Cluistians. Able interpreters have connected them with 
 the civil, political conflicts which agitated and divided the 
 Jtiwish people at this period of their history, and prepared 
 the way for the memorable destruction which soon came on 
 them at the hands of the victorious Romans. But it would 
 appear, from what is added, that they were rather struggles 
 about ordinary temporal affairs, about worldly interests and 
 objects, about influence, reputation, position, and especially 
 property, money, gains, — what more than once the apostle 
 calls "hlthy lucre." What they sought was prosperity of 
 that earthly kind ; and all striving to secure it they got 
 
284; WARS AND FIGHTINGS WHENCE TIIEY PROCEED. 
 
 into collision, — they envied, jostled, assailed, injured one 
 another. 
 
 Alas ! this state of things has not been confined to the 
 early age, nor to Jewish converts. It exists at the present 
 day, and among us Gentile Christians. What wars and 
 fightings still among the members of the Church ! How 
 often are these members drawn up in hostile array, not 
 standing side by side as brethren, but in opposite ranks as 
 adversaries, antagonists ! It is not uncommon to find those 
 who belong to the same congTegation not on speaking tenus 
 with each other. Not rarely, when mini.sters wish to bring 
 together the families of a district into one place for religious 
 exercises, it is matter of delicacy and difficulty to select a 
 house which all are willing to enter. And it is not better, 
 but worse, with the various sections of the Church. These 
 are not, as they should be, like divisions of the same great 
 host, marching and warring under their several colours and 
 leaders against a common enemy, but like so many diifercnt 
 armies, each using its weapons for the destiTiction of all the 
 others. O, what controversies and contentions ! What 
 angry passions, bitter rivalries, furious contests ! What 
 emulation, jealousy, strife, rancour, among the professed 
 disciples of the same Master, the adherents of that gospel 
 which is all animated with love, and pregnant with peace, — 
 all designed and fitted to destroy hatred, heal divisions, and 
 bind men together in the bonds of a tender, blessed brother- 
 hood! When shall Judah not vex Ephraim, and Ephraim 
 not envy Judah ? When shall they, watchmen and people 
 alike, with the voice sing together ? 
 
 II. The answer given. — He traces these wars and fight- 
 ings, first to the prevalence of lust, and then, in connexion 
 with that, to the neglect of prayer or its abuse. 
 
 1. The prevalence of lust. — "Come they not hence," he 
 asks, "even of your lusts that war in your members?" 
 
WARS AND FIGHTINGS WHENCE THEY PROCEED. 285 
 
 This is equivalent to a strong affirmation that they do, as 
 is evident from what follows. It is a reply to the foregoing 
 question. Hence he goes on to say, — turning the supposi- 
 tion made into a direct and positive statement of fact, — 
 "Ye lust, and have not; ye kill, and desire to have, and can- 
 not obtain." You observe he does not find the explanation 
 of them in external circumstances, in temptations, provoca- 
 tions from without. The parties would probably have 
 alleged these themselves. They would have thrown the 
 blame on others, on the spirit shewn, and the conduct pur- 
 sued by their opponents. Or they would have spoken of the 
 times in which they lived, the situations in which they 
 were placed, the necessities under which they were laid, 
 and made out a plausible case in their own favour. We 
 ai-e always ready thus to excuse ourselves, — ready to shift 
 the responsibility and guilt from our own shoulders, — to find 
 in persons and events a- sufficient justification or apology. 
 But the apostle traces these unseemly conflicts home directly 
 to themselves, to their own bosoms, and appeals to their con- 
 sciences in confirmation of the charge he advances. " Come 
 they not hence, even of your lusts," — literally, your plea- 
 sures, — the objects of them being put for the desires them- 
 selves, — the gratification sought, for the craving, the appetite 
 that sought it. And what were these lusts? Just those 
 which are most characteristic of human nature as fallen, 
 depraved, and the working of which we see continually 
 around us in the world. There was pride, a high, inordinate 
 opinion of themselves, of their own merits and claims, lead- 
 ing them to aim at self-exaltation, at authority, pre-emi- 
 nence; — envy, grudging at the prosperity of others, prompt- 
 ing efforts to pull them down and climb into their places; — 
 avarice, covetousness, the greed of gain, the love of money, 
 the desire to be rich, stirring up all kinds of evil passions, 
 and giving rise to crooked designs, plans, and plots of every 
 description. These and such like are always the true cause 
 
2SG WARS AND FIGHTINnS WTIENCE THEY PROCEED, 
 
 of our wars and fightings. They are the often hidden, hut 
 the real root from which the Litter fruits are produced. No 
 doubt the world allures, the devil tempts, — no doubt there 
 are many incitements and influences at work all around by 
 which Christians are more or less affected. But what gives 
 them their power ? Why are we so readily carried away by 
 them ? The only satisfactory answer is, " The heart is de- 
 ceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." It is 
 thronged with lusts, it is inflammable, full of combustible 
 material; and hence the spark falling on it is enough to set 
 it in a blaze, to wrap it in the flames of fierce and devour- 
 ing passion, " Which war in your members." — These are 
 the bodily organs, and also the mental faculties, especially 
 the former. The lusts are attached to them, connected 
 with them, as the instruments by which they work, through 
 which they come into active and open manifestation. 
 Hence we read, " Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal 
 body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof : neither 
 yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness 
 unto sin : but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are 
 alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of 
 righteousness unto God."^ There they war, there tliey 
 pitch their camp, make their attacks, draw up and fight 
 their battles. 
 
 Against what enemies do they direct their assaults? Who 
 are the opposite parties in this conflict ? We may give 
 various replies. We may say that the war is waged with 
 the mind, the soul, — with the higher part of the man's own 
 nature, — with its principles, interests, and relations, "But 
 I see," says Paul, " another law in my members, warring 
 against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity 
 to the law of sin which is in my members,"' Another 
 apostle thus exhorts the faithful, — "Dearly beloved, I beseecli 
 you, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which 
 
 1 Rom. vi. 12, 13. » Rom. tu. 23. 
 
WARS AND FIOnTIXaS— -WHENCE THEY PROCEED. 287 
 
 war against the soul."^ Or we may answer that they are 
 in conflict with one another, — that they are fighting among 
 themselves, these depraved propensities. The love of plea- 
 sure demands one thing, the love of power or gain a different. 
 Sensual passion calls for its gross gTatifications, a selfish re- 
 gard to influence or interest stands in the way of such indul- 
 gence. But they are rather represented here as a class 
 united for a common purpose, having a common character 
 and cause. Hence, what seems intended is, that they are 
 arrayed in us against our fellow-men, engaged in the enter- 
 prise of putting down those who come into competition with 
 us, whose plans and concerns are 'at variance with ours ; 
 and of exalting ourselves, accumulating wealth, climbing to 
 power, securing some sort of coveted distinction. They are 
 an army rent by many quarrels, broken up into many 
 factions, but in tliis respect possessed of a perfect unity, and 
 thoroughly devoted to the- same object. The apostle brings 
 out this more fully; and in a detailed manner. 
 
 Ver. 2, '•' Ye lust, and have not; ye kill, and desire to 
 have, and cannot obtain ; ye fight and war, yet ye have 
 not." "Ye lust, and have not" — have not what you so 
 strongly and irregularly desire. How often are those who 
 give way to such covetous cravings doomed to bitter disap- 
 pointment? What the parties had not in this instance were 
 those worldly gains, honours, and other advantages on which 
 their hearts were set, and for which they strained and 
 struggled. We have noAv a farther step, and a terrible 
 one, taken under the influence of this lust. " Yc kill, and 
 desire to have." Ye kill — that is, ye murder. The state- 
 ment is clear, precise, unmistakeable; and all the attempts 
 which have been made to alter it or modify it must be pro- 
 nounced mere evasions. It presents a very obvious difficulty, 
 — the difficulty of supposing Christians, under any circum- 
 stances, going so far as literally and violently to take away 
 * 1 Pet. ii. 11. 
 
2S8 WARS AND FIGHTINGS — WHENCE THEY PROCEED. 
 
 the life of others in the prosecution of their earthly, selfish 
 designs. How is it to be solved ? Some understand by it 
 the cherishing of a murderous intent, harbouring the 
 thought which is pregnant Avith death, and would issue in 
 it if fully carried out in action. They illustrate and explain 
 it by the language of our Lord in his Sermon on the Mount. 
 " Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou 
 slialt not kill; and whosoever shaD kill shall be in danger of 
 the judgment: but I say unto you. That whosoever is 
 angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger 
 of the judgment ; and whosoever shall say to his brother, 
 Raca, shall be in danger of the council; but Avhosoever 
 shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."^ But 
 the apostle's statement here seems to point to a real matter- 
 ol'-fact transaction, to an actual occurrence, a thing visible, 
 tangible, outstanding. It is possible to kill in other ways 
 than by dealing a fatal blow, giving the poisonous draught, 
 or committing any deed by which a chai'ge of murder could 
 be substantiated. By envious rivalries and bitter animosi- 
 ties, — by fiilse accusations and cruel persecutions, we may 
 woimd the spirit, weaken the strength, and shorten the days 
 of our fellow-creatures. We may as truly take away the 
 life as if we used some lethal Aveapon for the purpose. The 
 Psalmist speaks of the words of the wicked as spears and 
 arrows, as a sliarii sword. It was probably so among the 
 persons here addressed. However, we are perhaps not to 
 stop short of the most literal sense of the expression, but to 
 regard it as intimating, that so far did they carry their feuds 
 and factions, their wars and fightings, that they really killed 
 one another in certain extreme cases. Such violent outbreaks, 
 with fatal results, were by no means uncommon among the 
 Jews; and Christians of that nation were apt to be drawn 
 into a participation in these contendings, with the responsi- 
 bility and guilt which they involved. Wo see in Old 
 ' Matt. V. 21, l!2. 
 
WARS AND FIGHTINGS WHENCE THEY PROCEED. 289 
 
 Testament history how Ahab, David, and others lusted to 
 this dreadful extent, — lusted so as to seek the indulgence of 
 carnal appetite and passion by the destruction of the fellow- 
 creatures who stood as barriers in the way of their gratifica- 
 tion. 
 
 "And desire to have" — desire in an eager, even an 
 envious manner, as the word signifies ; for this was what 
 dictated the murder spoken of, and, remaining after its 
 perpetration, sought, through the medium of it, the coveted 
 object or pleasure. " And cannot obtain," No ; not even 
 after employing such dreadful means for the purpose. Ye 
 get not the satisfaction ye craved -and expected — often not 
 so much as the thing in which ye looked for that satisfac- 
 tion. How frequently does this happen ? Many know the 
 truth here by painful experience. Under the influence of 
 insatiable cravings, men silence the voice of conscience, set at 
 nought the restraints of law, trample on honour, principle, 
 life itself; and, after all, either miss what they dare and 
 sacrifice so much for, or get it only to find that what they 
 imagined would be sweet, is utterly insipid, if not intensely 
 bitter. They lose their pains; their killing, while a crime, 
 proves also a mistake. " Ye fight and war." Here he 
 returns to the point from which he started. He began with 
 asking, " From whence come wars and fightings among 
 you?" He traces them to their deep, internal root, — to 
 lust seated and stirring in the heart, — lust of which we 
 have here the full development, the ripe and poisonous 
 fruit. All failed to secure what they were so sinfully de- 
 sirous to obtain. Their fierce contendings gained not their 
 object, — they satisfied not the cravings, they supplied not 
 the Vf^ants by which they were prompted. Still the persons 
 had not, they were as needy and hungry as ever. But the 
 apostle connects with this a further explanation. The one 
 was not complete without the other. It is, 
 
 u 
 
290 WARS AXD FianXINOS WnENTJE THEY TROCEED. 
 
 2. The. neglect or ahicse of prayer. — Why was it that 
 after all their lusting and struggling it could be said to the 
 parties, — "Ye have not?" Here is the reply in the last 
 clause (jf ver, 2, — "Because ye ask not." He means, ask 
 not in prayer. They neglected this exercise. They went 
 not with their wants and desires to the heavenly footstool. 
 They sought not from God the blessings they were so 
 anxious to obtain. In this it is implied that they might 
 and should have asked, and, if so, it follows that the things 
 must have been lawful in themselves, such as we are not 
 forbidden to plead for at the mercy-seat. We are to carry 
 there our temporal circumstances as well as our spiritual 
 cases. The concerns of the jDresent life may be, should be, 
 matter of prayer, though not to the same extent as those of 
 the future. And how did this account for their not having? 
 Had they taken their requests to God, a twofold result 
 would have ensued. Their immoderate desires had been 
 checked, abated, kept within proper limits, for this very 
 dealing with him regarding them, — the bringing of them into 
 contact with his holy presence, must have had a controlling, 
 restraining, rectifying influence. Then, so far as lawful, as 
 for their own good and the Divine glory, their petition had 
 been granted. Thus their wars and fightings would have 
 been prevented, their evil tendencies would have been re- 
 pressed, and the disastrous effects they produced have been 
 prevented. The sad issues of that lust which had grown 
 in neglect of this exorcise, and by disappointment increased 
 the felt bitterness, had been thus averted. 
 
 But some might repel the charge and say, — "We do 
 ask." The apostle anticipates such a defence, and so pro- 
 ceeds: — Ver. 3, "Ye ask and receive not." How does that 
 happen? Does it not contradict the explanation of the not 
 having which had now been presented? Does it not run 
 directly in opposition to the Lord's express promise, "Ask, 
 and ye shall receive?" No; for he adds, — assigning the reason 
 
WAES AND FIGHTINGS — AVHENCE THEY PROCEED. 291 
 
 of the failure, — "Because ye ask amiss/' badly, with evil in- 
 tent. Ye do it in a spirit and for a purpose that are not 
 good, but evil. And this is brought out expressly in what 
 follows. "That ye may consume it upon your lusts" or 
 pleasures, — literally in them, in the exercise of them, in the 
 way of satisfying their cravings. What you really desire 
 and aim at is, that you may devote what you pray for to such 
 a purpose. It is not forbidden to seek temporal gains; but 
 they did it not to apply them to proper objects, but to ex- 
 pend them in selfish, if not impure gTatifications. Nothing 
 is more common. Why, we may even plead for spiritual 
 blessings in the same manner. We may supplicate wisdom, 
 not to glorify God by it, but to exalt ourselves, — not to benefit 
 our brethren by it, but to make it conduce to our own pride 
 and importance. We may ask pardon merely for the safety 
 it involves, for the comfort it brings, from a regard to ease 
 and enjoyment, and not to any higher and holier purpose. 
 We may make grace the minister of sin, and value it for 
 the release from restraint, — the liberty to live as we please 
 which it is supposed to confer. There cannot be a grosser, 
 a more wicked or inexcusable perversion of it; but it is far 
 from being rare, and simply because men are actuated by the 
 spirit which James is here reprobating. Of course, such 
 prayers are not answered. They are an insult to the Ma- 
 jesty of heaven. They are a j)rofanation of the holiest. 
 Instead of going up as the fragrant incense, they are like 
 smoke, black and blinding. "If I regard iniquity in my 
 heart, the Lord will not hear me." "The Lord is far from 
 the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.'* 
 "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even 
 his prayer shall be abomination." "And when you spread 
 forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you ; yea, when 
 ye make many prayers, I will not hear : your hands are full 
 of blood." "Now we know that God heareth not sinners: 
 but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will. 
 
292 WARS AND FIGHTINGS WHENCE THEY PROCEED. 
 
 bim lie beareth."^ Yes, they who ask in such a manner, 
 tlius amiss, continue to want, and all their fancied receiving 
 is imaginary and delusive. We may learn from this passage 
 several things regarding those wars and fightings of which 
 it treats. 
 
 1. Their sad 'prevalence. — They abounded in primitive 
 times, and can there be any doubt as to their doing so at 
 present. We hear the angry words and see the flashing 
 weapons on every side. And this state of matters exists 
 where harmony and peace might have been expected to 
 reign, in the bosom of the Church, among the disciples of the 
 Lord Jesus. How are they arrayed against each other ; 
 into what sects and parties are they divided! Instead of 
 standing together in one close phalanx and giving battle to 
 the common enemy, their strength is largely spent in* war- 
 ring among themselves. They are like rival hosts, instead 
 of parts of the same great army. Within even the individual 
 sections of the Church what differences prevail! Why, 
 what jealousies and rivalries are to be met with in the bosom 
 of single congregations ! And this spirit extends far be- 
 yond these limits, and is seen characterizing multitudes who 
 bear the Christian name, in all the relations of life, as mem- 
 bers of families and of society. What striving and crying, 
 what bitterness and violence, what feuds and factions! We 
 cannot use our ears or our eyes without having abundant 
 evidence presented of the perpetuation of that melancholy 
 and disastrous state of things which James so faithfully 
 exposes and so loudly condemns. 
 
 2. TJielr true origin. — That is here fully laid open. 
 They are to be traced to the lusts of the flesh and of the 
 mind, the evil, corrupt cravings of the Innnan heart. They 
 spring from ambition, avarice, envy, malice, revenge — these 
 and similar depraved principles and passions. Their root is 
 inttrnal. It is because purity and peace do not reign 
 
 » Pb. Ixvi. 18 ; Prov. xv. 29 ; xxviii. 9 ; Is. i. 15 ; John ix. 31. 
 
WAES AND FIGHTINGS — WHENCE THEY PROCEED. 293 
 
 within that wars and fightings prevail without. Nothing is 
 more coninion than for people to account for them differently. 
 We are ready to throw the blame off ourselves and lay it, 
 if possible, on others, — often really, though covertly, on God 
 himself. We attribute our controversies and contentions to 
 the times in which we live,^ — to the influences which are at 
 work around us, — to the views and spirit which characteri^ie 
 those with whom we are brought into contact. We are 
 attacked, and so obliged to resist. At all events, we receive 
 great provocation; and no wonder though we give way to 
 strong feelings. Many go farther, and take credit for their 
 strife and envying. They put it down to faithfulness, to zeal, 
 to attachment to truth, and opposition to what is erroneous 
 and wrong. We are to contend, and that earnestly, for the 
 faith once delivered to the saints ; but we ought ever to do 
 this with the meekness of wisdom, in the spirit of him who 
 did not strive nor cry, — making it evident that we act under 
 a painful necessity, that we have no wish to wound or 
 exasperate, and that instead of hating we love those with 
 whom we are thus warring. Let us not deceive ourselves. 
 We stop short of the real explanation, if we find it not 
 largely in the lusts that lodge and work in our members. 
 
 3. Tlieir effectual cure. — That will not be found in out- 
 ward arrangements, in any system of repression and restraint. 
 No doubt circumstances may do something, checks may do 
 something; but the evil is within, and can be dealt with effec- 
 tually only by an internal curative process. All remedies that 
 do not ojDerate on the heart must necessarily and utterly fail. 
 On its state our tempers and lives depend. Love and peace 
 reigning there cannot but sweeten the whole disposition 
 and conduct, and make us healers of division instead of 
 stirrers up of strife, — blessings and not, as many are, curses 
 to the world around. Let us seek its renewal by the power 
 of the Holy Sj)irit. In no other way can our lusts receive 
 a deadly blow, and lose their fatal supremacy. The old man 
 
2!) 4- WARS AND FIGHTINGS — WHENCE THEY PROCEED. 
 
 falls only before tlie new, dominant corruption before sove- 
 reitrn ^ace. And if this radical, essential change has been 
 wrought, let us plead that its great Avithor may continue 
 to dwell and work mightily within us, enabling us to 
 mortify the deeds of the body, to walk not after the flesh 
 but after the Spirit, — to cling to the Cross, as alike the 
 ground of our safety and the source of our strength. The 
 more simply we trust and closely we follow Christ, we shall 
 put away from us these wars and fightings, with the lusts 
 which cause them, and prove ourselves the children of God 
 by acting the part of peacemakers. 
 
THE FRIENDSHIP OF THE WORLD, ETC. 295 
 
 XXII. 
 
 THE FRIENDSHIP OF THE WORLD ENMITY 
 WITH GOD. 
 
 " Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the 
 friendsldp of the world is enmity with God ? Whosoever 
 therefore ivlll he a friend of the ivorld, is the enemy of 
 God. Bo ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The 
 spirit that dtvelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth 
 more grace : wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, hut 
 giveth grace unto the humble." — James iv. 4-6. 
 
 ]ARS and fightings prevailed among those here ad- 
 dressed. They were rent asunder by feuds and 
 factions, which sometimes reached such a height 
 that life was sacrificed, murder committed. James traces 
 this deplorable state of matters, these tierce controversies 
 and contentions, to the violent, sinful desires by which the 
 parties were actuated; or, as he expresses it here, to the lusts 
 which warred in their members. They eagerly sought after 
 worldly possessions and distinctions, temporal interests and 
 objects, in the hot pursuit of which they got into collision 
 with one another, and each laboured to secure his own ends 
 at the expense of his brethren. The root of the evil was 
 within, — it lay not in outward circumstances and relations; 
 no, but in inward principles and passions, in the workings 
 of that heart which is deceitful above all things and desper- 
 ately wicked. He connects the result also with the neglect 
 or abuse of prayer. They did not ask what they wanted at 
 the heavenly footstool; for, had they done so, their cravings 
 would have been kept within proper bounds, — these, so far 
 
20 G THE FIlIENDSniP OF THE WORLD 
 
 as irregular, unlawful, would have been repressed, and, so 
 far as right in their nature and moderate in their mea.sure, 
 would have been gratified. And if they should allege that 
 in certain cases they did ask, did come to God with their 
 requests, that helped not the matter; for if they did it at all, 
 it was amiss, it was with evil intent, even to consume what 
 they pleaded for upon their lusts, and thus, regarding 
 iniquity in their hearts, how could they expect to be heard 
 and answered ? The apostle still addresses them in the 
 language of most pointed warning and rebuke, bringing out 
 in the darkest colours the unfaithfulness, impurity, and 
 baseness which the course they had been pursuing involved. 
 We have here two things, to the consideration of which Ave 
 proceed in humble dependence on Divine teaching and 
 blessing. 
 
 I. The remonstrance addressed to the parties. — Yer. 4, 
 "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friend- 
 ship of the world is enmity with God? WTiosoever there- 
 fore will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God." 
 "Ye adulterers and adulteresses," — &-uch is the designation 
 he srives them, the character he ascribes to them, the title 
 under which the present appeal is made to them by the 
 apostle. Only the latter of the two terms, "adulteresses," is 
 of undoubted authority, and can be confidently founded on; 
 but the omission of the former, "adulterers," so far from 
 weakening the representation, makes it all the more appro- 
 priate and forcible. The language is not to be understood 
 in the literal sense, as denoting a violation on their part of 
 the seventh commandment, but in the figurative, as expres- 
 sive of spiritual infidelity and uncleanness. He speaks of 
 their conduct, not toward a fellow-creature, but toward the 
 oreat God their Saviour. James himself was a Jew, and he 
 
 O 
 
 was dealing in this Epistle sj^ccially with his OAvn country- 
 men, professing Christians of the seed of Abraham, who were 
 
ENMITY WITH GOD. 297 
 
 perfectly acquainted with this way of speaking, this mode of 
 representation; for how coriimon is it in those Old Testament 
 Scriptures which they knew so well and revered so much ? 
 Ancient Israel had been received into a covenant relation with 
 God, — they had been selected and separated from among the 
 nations of the earth for himself. They were brought near 
 and united to him as no others were,- — ^betrothed, married to 
 him, — taken to be his bride, his spouse, having him as at once 
 their maker and husband. In consequence of this peculiar 
 connexion, when they dej^arted from him by reason of an 
 evil heart of unbelief, when they went away from his wor- 
 ship and service after the lying vanities of the Gentiles, 
 when they fell into the sin of idolatry — as, alas ! they often 
 did — they were charged by him through the prophets with 
 the commission of adultery. The unfaithfulness in the one 
 case was fitly represented and denominated by the infidelity 
 in the other. The guilt of such conduct was immensely 
 aggravated by their position and privileges as a people, — by 
 the close, tender, sacred tie which bound him and them to- 
 gether. In like manner, all who enter the New Testament 
 Church, who avowedly take God to be theirs and give 
 themselves up to be his, who profess to fall in with the 
 gracious offer of the great Bridegroom, and, by sacramental 
 sign and seal, ratify their surrender, — these stand in a simi- 
 lar relation, one even more intimate and inviolable, because 
 of the higher, holier nature of the evangelical dispensation. 
 He claims, and is entitled to their constant, supreme, undi- 
 vided love,— to the most stedfast attachment and devoted 
 service. To him their whole hearts and lives should be 
 consecrated. When they tui-n aside from him, when they 
 admit the world into his place, and, falling down before it, 
 worship it under any of its forms, — when they give their 
 affections to the creature, instead of to him, the Creator, — 
 when they pollute themselves by sinful contact with the im- 
 purities of earth, they are guilty of breaking their marriage 
 
298 Tin: friendship of the world 
 
 vows, of dishonouring their true husband, of committing 
 spiritual adultery. They do it in the highest sphere and 
 in the foulest manner. Their conduct resembles that of 
 those who violate most basely the closest of earthly unions, 
 who trample on the most sacred of human obligations, and 
 plunge themselves into criminality and disgrace about as 
 black and infamous as any known among men. "N^lio does 
 not shrink back with horror from such an imputation? 
 Who would not sink under the merited application of the 
 term in its literal, ordinary accei^tation? And should we 
 be more easily reconciled to it in the spiritual sense, as de- 
 noting unfaithfulness, not to a human partner, but to the 
 heavenly Lord? Should we not tremble at the thought of 
 acting toward our Divine Husband so as to incur this re- 
 proach, as to bring down on us this condemnation? Let us 
 remember our espousals, our marriage, the covenant relation 
 into which we profess to have entered, and, if we are be- 
 lievers, actually have entered. Let us guard our souls 
 from the attractions and the arts of all other lovers, — let 
 us have nothing any more to do with idols. The Lord is 
 jealous of the affections and the services of his people. 
 
 Addressing them thus, James proceeds with his remon- 
 strance, — " Know ye not that the friendship of the world is 
 enmity with God?" He appeals to them as by no means 
 ignorant of the fact he was about to state, the argument he 
 was about to employ. As Christians they were perfectly 
 aware of it, they had often heard and acknowledged it ; and 
 this made their conduct so strange, so sinful, so inexcusable. 
 Do you require to be told this, are you unacquainted with 
 what is so clear and certain as that " the friendship of the 
 world is enmity with God ?" The world here, as so often 
 elsewhere, is equivalent to the men and things, — the persons 
 and interests around us, as lying in the wicked one, as 
 estranged from and at war Avith God, — regulated by other 
 princij)les than his will, and devoted to other purposes than 
 
ENMITY WITH GOD. 299 
 
 his glory. Its people, pursuits, and pleasures, as they 
 belong to it, as they are animated by its spirit and employed 
 in its service, are carnal, impure, full of evil, corrupting in 
 their influence. The Christian is in it, but not of it; he 
 sojourns within its borders, but he belongs to another 
 country. In his new birth he is separated from it, trans- 
 lated out of its darkness into that kingdom which is not of 
 this world, and thenceforth has his citizenshii^ not below 
 but above, — not on earth but in heaven. Hence, the friend- 
 ship of it, — the love of it, leading to a close connexion, 
 an intimate walking and converse with it, is " enmity with 
 God;" that is, involves a state, a relation to him of hostility, 
 hatred. The two objects are directly opposed, essentially 
 antagonistic. We cannot combine them, we cannot recon- 
 cile them, as many attempt to do, and even fancy that they 
 have succeeded in doing. We must choose between them 
 as rival masters. If we- cleave to the one, we must turn 
 away from the other, — so far as we love the one we cannot 
 but hate the other. 
 
 Of course, we are not to stand aloof from our fellow- 
 creatures, even the worst of them, nor to regard them with 
 any but the kindest feelings. Of course, we are not to 
 abandon the ordinary avocations and advantages of earth, 
 as if all contact with them were defiling, at least perilous. 
 We are not to be misanthropes, we are not to be anchorites. 
 We are not to retire to a desert, nor shut ourselves up in a 
 cloister. Certainly not. But faithfulness to God requires 
 that we should be on no such friendly footing with the 
 world as to have our chosen associates among those who 
 walk in its ways, — as to be animated by those carnal, corrupt 
 principles which hold sway within its borders, — as to be 
 devoted to the selfish interests and ends which there exer- 
 cise paramount influence. We are to breathe a different 
 spirit, and pursue a different course. We are to have our 
 hearts set supremely on things above, not on things below, 
 
300 THE FRIENDSHIP OF THE WORLD 
 
 which are ever to i)e kept in tlieir own inferior, subordinate 
 place. They arc to serve, not to reign. They are to wait 
 and minister at the footstool, not to occupy the throne 
 itself. How often are we warned in such strains as the 
 following, shewing both how ready we are to go astray here, 
 and how deadly is the sin of so doing ! — " 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 despise the other. 
 Ye cannot serve God and mammon." " Wherefore, come 
 out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, 
 and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 
 and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and 
 daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." " Love not the 
 world, neither the things that are in the world. If any 
 man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 
 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the 
 lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, 
 but is of the world." " For whatsoever is born of God over- 
 cometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the 
 world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, 
 but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"^ 
 
 He presses this home still more closely by way of par- 
 ticular inference from the great principle now stated. 
 " Whosoever, therefore" — ^yes, be the profession or position, 
 be the creed or office of the l)arty what it may; it matters 
 not who or what he happens to be — " whosoever therefore 
 will be a friend of the world," — will be it, has his heart 
 turned in this direction, is minded, disposed to be on such 
 a footing with it, wishes it, — he Avho forms the purpose, 
 cherishes the desire, admits the inclination to be a friend 
 of the world, — " is the enemy of God," thereby becomes 
 this, is constituted it, as the original term signifies. In 
 that exercise of tlu- will, that movement of the inner man, 
 he commits the spiritual adultery here charged. Let him 
 
 1 Matt. vi. 24 ; 2 Cor. vi. 17, 18 ; 1 John ii. 1.5, 16, v. 4, 5. 
 
ENmTY WITH GOD. 301 
 
 stop short of the actual, open infidelity, — ^let him avoid out- 
 ward pollution, and keep up appearances as before, — he is 
 inwardly and so really a base traitor, an apostate, an enemy. 
 He has chosen the other master. He has embraced the 
 world, and thereby cast off the heavenly Lord and husband. 
 He has to do with one whose name is Jealous, one who will 
 have an entire love or none at all, who will have us wholly 
 to himself, or reject us utterly. He will have no divided 
 affection or service. Remember this, beloved brethren, and 
 be true to your espousals. 
 
 II. Tlie coiifirination or enforcement of it from Scri'p- 
 ture. 
 
 • 1. Ver. 5, "Do ye think that the Scripture saith in 
 vain, the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?" 
 These words have given rise to much discussion, and have 
 received I know not how many different interpretations. 
 The perplexity arises from two circumstances. The first is, 
 that there is no passage in any part of the Bible exactly 
 corresponding to that which appears here as cited from it ; 
 and the second is, that in itself it is not a little obscure, and 
 may be taken in several and even opposite senses. To get 
 rid of the former difficulty some expositors adopt the ex- 
 pedient of breaking the verse up into two divisions, and 
 reading both interrogatively. "Do you think that the Scrip- 
 ture speak eth in vain?" — that it has no meaning, or should 
 have no effect, when condemning, as it loudly does, such 
 friendship with the world as he had been warning them 
 against. Then, — "Doth the spirit that dwelleth in us lust 
 to envy ?" — that is, the Holy Ghost, who makes his abode in 
 the heart of the believer. But the form of expression in 
 the original is the usual one employed when introducing a 
 quotation, the words of which immediately follow ; and that 
 objection is so nearly insuperable as to render such a method 
 of explaining the text at the very least highly improbable. 
 
302 THE FRIENDSHIP OF THE WORLD 
 
 By those holding, and that rightly, to the idea that the 
 latter half of the verse is a quotation, many attempts have 
 been made to fix on the particular passage intended by the 
 apostle, and a considerable number of places have been 
 pointed out both in the Old and New Testaments. While 
 most of these bear a certain resemblance, some a close one, 
 to the words before us, there is in none of them an exact 
 accordance, in none anything like a verbal correspondence. 
 And the natural, reasonable explanation appears to be, that 
 it is more the general spirit and sense of Scripture than its 
 precise terms which James here adduces. He interprets 
 its meaning, exhibits its substance, as contained in not a 
 few passages; and that he presents in language infallibly 
 determined, dictated by that Divine influence which guided 
 him when thus ^vriting. Of course, our idea of the place 
 more specially referred to, more immediately in view, sup- 
 posing there was such, will depend greatly on the way in 
 which we understand the statement. 
 
 As given in our version, " the spirit that dwelleth in 
 us " is the natural one, our own human one, indeed the 
 carnal mind; and that it lusteth to envy, does not admit of 
 dispute. It stirs up and manifests itself in this hateful 
 feeling. The fact is brought out in many a Scriptural 
 testimony, and it is evidenced by the widest, largest experi- 
 ence. It had been referred to very plainly by the apostle 
 himself in the preceding chapter. "But if ye have bitter 
 envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not 
 against the truth." ^ And this meaning harmonizes well 
 enough with the tone of remark and remonstrance here; for 
 what room and need was there for the warning given, seeing 
 that envy was largely at the root of those rivalries and con- 
 tentions which drew them into, and assimilated them to, 
 this present evil world. It shewed that the word bore testi- 
 mony to that native tendency which issued in such results, 
 
 ' Jam. ii. H. 
 
ENMITY WITH GOD. 303 
 
 and that for the purpose of putting us on our guard against 
 it, and warning us of the fatal consequences of yielding to 
 its power. But there is a serious difficulty in the way of 
 supposing that this is the spirit meant, for the language is 
 that usually applied, not to our natural mind, but to the 
 Holy Ghost. Mark the expression — "that dwelleth in us," — 
 and compare it with the language of passages like the fol- 
 lowing : — "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot 
 receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but 
 ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." 
 " Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the 
 Spirit of God dwelleth in you ?" "But if the Spirit of him 
 that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that 
 raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal 
 bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."^ There is a 
 different reading preferred by high modern authorities, 
 which does not, however,, materially affect the meaning. 
 According to it, the rendering will be — " the Spirit he has 
 placed or caused to dwell in us;" and then we may illus- 
 trate it by such language as that of the Old Testament 
 promise; — " And I will put my Si^irit within you, and cause 
 you to walk in my statutes."^ In confirmation of this way 
 of understanding the words, the next verse begins, — " But he 
 giveth more grace." Who is intended? None is mentioned 
 before, unless it be the Spirit, whose province it is to impart 
 grace at first, and to increase it afterwards in the case of 
 believers. If we adopt this view, we must render the rest 
 of the statement in accordance with it, for the Holy Ghost 
 does not, and cannot, lust to envy. Some turn it into an 
 interrogation. Does he do anything of the kind ? But 
 that mode of dealing with the passage we have disposed of 
 already. Others exactly reverse the meaning, making it 
 " lusteth against envy." Such a sense, however, can be 
 extracted from the original only by a violent process, for if 
 ^ Johnxiv. 17 ; 1 Cor. iii. 16 ; Kom. viii. 11. 2 Ezek. xxxvi. 27. 
 
304 THE FRIENDSHTP OF THE WORLD 
 
 not an impossible, it is an unnatural and improbable signi- 
 fication. More than one recent interpreter of high name 
 gives it thus, — "The Spirit jealously desireth us,"^ — taking 
 the "to envy" adverbially, as is often done in similar 
 phrases. He claims us entirely for himself; he cannot 
 brook any rival; and, therefore, where his influence is 
 paramount, the love of the world must be excluded. This 
 agrees well with the idea of the man-iage relation implied in 
 the preceding verse, where the unfaithful among them are 
 addressed as adulteresses, and it powerfully enforces the 
 warning against that friendship which is enmity with God. 
 
 The question remains, if so, what part or parts of Scrip- 
 ture has the apostle here in view? That beautiful passage 
 in Deuteronomy has been fixed on, which is so strikingly 
 descriptive of the 3'earning tenderness and parental solici- 
 tude of Divine affection ? " For the Lord's portion is his 
 people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him 
 in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he 
 led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple 
 of his eye." And with this compare what follows: — "They 
 provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abomina- 
 tions provoked they him to anger. "^ I should, however, 
 rather find in it a reference to those texts, of Avhich there 
 are several, which represent him as a jealous God in the 
 case of his covenant people, and as such forbidding all con- 
 tact with idolatry, all putting of others in his place, all 
 attempts to combine his love and service with those of any 
 rival. " For thou shalt worship no other God : for the 
 Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." " Ye 
 shall not go after other gods of the people, which are 
 round about you: for the Lord thy God is a jealous God 
 among you." And Josliua said unto the people, " Ye can- 
 not serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous 
 God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 
 
 * Neander and Alford. ' Deut. xx.xii. 9, 10, 16. 
 
ENMITY \\aTH GOD. 305 
 
 If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will 
 turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath 
 done you good."^ With this view what follows quite har- 
 monizes. 
 
 2. Ver. 6, "But he giveth more grace." God, by his 
 Spirit, imparts grace in an increasing measure. If the heart 
 be loyal to him, though the natural mind may lust to envy, 
 he sends down supplies of heavenly wisdom and strength to 
 subdue corruption, not only to repress its workings, but to 
 weaken its power, and at length destroy its very existence; 
 or, according to the other view, because he so desires his 
 people and is jealous of them, he bestows on them more 
 abundant grace. Having warned, the apostle now comforts. 
 At the thought of the Lord's high demands, of his exclusive 
 claims, of the way in which he regards his bride and will 
 be regarded by her, they might be afraid ; but this was fitted 
 to reassure them and inspire them with humble confidence. 
 Not satisfied with what he confers at first, he gives after- 
 wards more and more, according to their necessities and 
 requests. Thus his love manifests itself, and thus he fits 
 them for meeting his strict and large requirements. What 
 should become of believers were it not for these continued 
 and growing suj)plies ? They should perish utterly. But 
 if God be jealous, he withholds not what may enable them 
 in an increasing degree to resist the seducers who beset 
 them, and cleave to himself with faithful and devoted 
 hearts. 
 
 And this he does, according to his own declaration ; — • 
 " Wherefore, he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth 
 grace unto the humble." The quotation is from the 
 Septuagint rendering of Prov. iii. 34, — " Surely he scometh 
 the scorners, but he giveth grace unto the lowly." It i's 
 cited in the same form by PetGr in his 1st Epistle.^ " He 
 
 1 Ex. xxxiv. 14; Deut. vi. 14, 15; Joth. xxiv. 19, 20. " 1 Pet. v. 5. 
 
 X 
 
.•?()() THE FRIENDSIIII' <)F TIIF. WORLD 
 
 rcsisteth tlio proud," as the expression implies, he sets 
 himself in battle array against them, — he confronts them as 
 an adversary, — he meets them so as to defeat their plans and 
 hring down their loftiness. He does this by. the very con- 
 stitution of human nature, — for men instinctively and irre- 
 sistibly dislike, oppose, and have a pleasure in thwarting 
 such persons. He does it by the dispensations of his pro- 
 vidence; for how often does he order events so as to con- 
 fiiuiul and overwhelm those actuated by this evil .spirit I 
 Scripture furnishes us with many examples, as those of 
 Haman, Nebuchadnezzar, and Herod. History is full of 
 them ; and our own experience, however limited, must supply 
 not a few illustrations. He does it veiy signally by the 
 plan of salvation, by the Cross of Christ, which is designed 
 and fitted to prostrate the jiroud; for it strips us of every 
 shred of merit, it leaves us nothing whatever of which to 
 l)oast, and it refuses its blessings to any but those wlio lie 
 doAvn in the dust of self-abasement, and are Avilling to be 
 debtors to sovereign mercy for all spiritual good things in 
 time and in eternity. 
 
 " But he giveth grace unto tlie humble." They are the 
 special objects of his regard. " For thus saith the high and 
 lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; 
 I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is 
 i>f a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the 
 humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."^ Our 
 Lord's very first benediction ran — " Blessed are the poor in 
 spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."^ He makes 
 them wliat they are, and then delights in their lowli- 
 ness, which so well befits them as sinners; and is that dis- 
 pusition, — that way of habitually judgingand feeling, — which, 
 abasing self, gives him all the glory. He exalts them often 
 in worldly respects. He bestows on them far greater things 
 than they have ever sought for themselves. Above all, he 
 1 U. Ivii. 15. » :\Ialt. r. 3. 
 
ENMITY WITH GOD. 307 
 
 enriclies them spiritually. He imparts grace to them in 
 varied form and large measure. He manifests to them his 
 favour. He communicates to them his Spirit. He sends 
 down light, strength, comfort according to their wants, — and 
 the name of these is always legion. The very disposition 
 itself is a crowning blessing. It is pregnant with peace. 
 What a precious gift the humility, not to speak of all that 
 follows in its train! It is a satisfying and ennobling portion. 
 So true is it that "God giveth grace unto the humble." 
 
 Are we God's people ? Let us then realize the closeness 
 and sacredness of our relation to him. We are married to 
 him, and he demands our devoted love and faithful service. 
 He will not allow any other being or object to share along 
 with him the throne of the heart, but resents every attempt 
 and suggestion of the kind. And forget not that the world 
 is a foreign and hostile power. Whatever it may possess, 
 and however it may be disguised, it is his adversary. It is 
 a foul and devouring idol. Friendship with it is enmity 
 with him. The two are irreconcilable. They can never 
 be combined. We cannot serve two masters — God and 
 mammon. Many try to please both, and fancy themselves 
 successful. But they are grievously mistaken, for every 
 step in its direction carries them so far away from him, and 
 all submission to the one is rebellion against the other. Let 
 Christians beware of its influence, for it is stealthy and de- 
 ceitful. It is ever around us, pressing on us ; and it is only 
 by cherishing a deep sense of the danger, and exercising 
 the most constant and j ealous watchfulness, that we can pre- 
 vent its maHgn and fatal ascendancy. The best defence and 
 preservative is to have the heart filled to overflowing with 
 the love of God, — so shall the evil spirit not find the house 
 empty, but full, and be unable to effect an entrance. 
 
 Are some of you not God's people? See, brethren, how 
 you may be admitted into his friendship; yea, how you may 
 have him, your Maker, as your husband. Surely it were a 
 
308 THK FRIENDSHIP OF THE WORLD, ETC. 
 
 blessed thing to be thus united to one so great and gracious, 
 — one who can supply our cvciy want, and deliv^er us from 
 every evil, — one who can be infinitely more to us than the 
 nearest and dearest of earthly relatives. His grace alone 
 can draw us into and fix us in this state of spiritual wed- 
 lock. And how are any made its subjects? It is only in 
 the way of being abased, emptied of our own self-sufiiciency, 
 divested of all fancied merit, and laid at the feet of Jesus. 
 Look to him, come to him as a Saviour. Enter by faith 
 into him, so shall you be accepted of God and enjoy his cove- 
 nant love, his precious and eternal friendship. 
 
SUBSnTTING OURSELVES TO GOD. 309 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 SUBMITTING OURSELVES TO GOD. 
 
 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, 
 and he will flee from you. Draxu nigh to God, and he 
 will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; 
 and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be afflicted, 
 and mourn, and iveep: let your laughter he turned to 
 mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves 
 in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."- — James 
 iv. 7-10. 
 
 |ANY of the evils which prevailed among those here 
 addressed by the apostle arose from their enter- 
 taining high thoughts of themselves, and thus 
 seeking great things for themselves. They longed and 
 struggled for worldly substance and distinction, — for a larger 
 share of earthly advantages and honours. They thereby 
 got into collision with one another, and tried, by means even 
 the foulest, to accomj)lish their carnal, ambitious, selfish 
 purposes. Hence wars and fightings arose, feuds and fac- 
 tions sprung up with disastrous, sometimes with fatal con- 
 sequences. James traces this sad state of matters to the 
 lusts in their members, and sets forth the inconsistency, the 
 unfaithfulness, the violation of sacred obligations, the break- 
 ing of covenant bonds which it involved. By such conduct 
 they were guilty of spiritual adultery; they endeavoured to 
 combine utterly irreconcilable things, the world's friendship 
 and God's, forgetting that they are as. directly, essentially 
 opposed as light and darkness, love and hatred. On the 
 one hand, he reminds them that the Scripture bears testi- 
 
'> 1 SUBMITTIXG OURSELVi:S TO GOD. 
 
 inony, and not \n vain, to this envious lusting of the natural 
 mind, — thus putting them on their guard against it, and pror 
 claiming the need of vigilance on their part, with ])rayer for 
 Divine help, in order to its mortification; or, as some under- 
 stand it, bears testimony that the Holy Ghost, who dwells 
 in believers, is jealously desirous of them, wishes to have 
 and keep them exclusively for their heavenly husband, that 
 Lord to whom they are betrothed, manied. On the other 
 hand, he animates them by the assurance that he to whom 
 they thus belong, to whom they are wedded, gives more and 
 more grace to his people, for the cracifixion of the old man 
 with its lusts, for the eradication of all the roots of bitter- 
 ness; and does so-- in accordance with the Old Testament 
 oracle, — "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the 
 humble." He follows up these inquiries, warnings, and re- 
 monstrances by the direct calls, the pointed and urgent ap- 
 peals which were so appropriate and necessary in the cir- 
 cumstances. They are before us in the verses which we 
 proceed to consider, praying for the Spirit's presence and 
 power. 
 
 I. Tlie duty of submitting ourselves to God. — "With this 
 the passage both commences and closes. The apostle begins 
 with it in ver. 7, and returns to it in ver. 10, for the two 
 exhortations are substantially the same. "Submit your- 
 selves therefore to God." This has special reference to what 
 goes immediately before, — " God resisteth the proud" — 
 arrays himself against them as an enemy — "but giveth grace 
 unto tlio humble," manifests his favour and dispenses his 
 Spirit to them, deals with them in a manner infinitely sur- 
 passing that of the dearest friend, of the nearest and fondest 
 of eartldy relatives. Would we escapt^ his jirostrating blow, 
 would we enjoy his heavenly blessings, we must cast awny 
 pride and clothe ourselves with lowliness, — we must not 
 stand before him in an attitude of defiance, but bow before 
 
SUBMITTING OURSELVES TO GOD. 311 
 
 him in one of supplication and abasement. This submis- 
 sion has its commencement and abiding root in the reception 
 of Christ as a Saviour. "For they being ignorant of God's 
 righteousness, and going about to establish their own right- 
 eousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteous- 
 ness of God." The natural heart rebels against a gratuitous 
 justification, against the renunciation of every personal claim, 
 and the acceptance of a salvation for which we are wholly 
 indebted to the mercy of God and the merit of Jesus. It 
 cannot brook the humiliation of taking all as a free gift, — 
 of standing on what is not our own, but another's, and (^f 
 having nothing to boast of, nothing to glory in, but that 
 despised object, the cross. And when having felt the bur- 
 den of sin, the worthlessness of our own works, and the 
 Divine adaptation of the gospel to our wants and Avoes, wc 
 come down from our loftiness, cast away the weapons of our 
 rebellion, and count all Jbut loss for the excellency of' the 
 knowledge of Christ, — when we receive him as the end of the 
 law for righteousness, seek to be cleansed in no fountain but 
 that of his atoning blood, to be credited with no obedience 
 but that which he rendered, then the first fundamental, ir- 
 reversible step of submission is taken. The old, proud, 
 stubborn spirit yields, is dispossessed, and a new, meek, 
 compliant one succeeds. 
 
 The surrender thus made is not a temporary or an isolated 
 thing ; no, it is both permanent and productive, — it abides 
 and fructifies. It leads to a lasting and unlimited submis- 
 sion. Whatever weakens faith, mars its simplicity, draws 
 the soul away from the cross, substitutes any other object 
 of boasting for it, brings self into the place of the Saviour ; 
 that strikes at the vital principle of all right feeling and 
 acting toward God, and necessitates such a call as that 
 here given by the apostle. The law is not abrogated by the 
 gospel. It is placed on a firmer basis, and enforced by 
 more powerful motives than ever. It has higher claims, 
 
o [ 2 SUBMITTING OURSELVES TO GOD. 
 
 Stronger bonds. And hence, if we respond fully to this 
 appeal, we must submit to the Divine authority, as there 
 embodied. Our wills must be regulated by his, and we 
 must yield a cordial and universiil obedience to his holy 
 commandments. We must have no other master. The 
 world's opinions and practices, its words and ways, must not 
 bo allowed to interfere. Our standard of judgment and 
 action must be the law and the testimony. Our one great 
 inquiry must be that of Paul when first arrested and sub- 
 dued; — "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" And 
 when he utters his voice we must instantly obey, however 
 the inclinations and reasonings of the flesh may oppose, 
 wliatever the sacrifices to be made and the sufferings to be 
 endured. And this submission must extend also to God's 
 providence, — to his dispensations and dealings with regard 
 to us in all relations. How ready are we to rebel at these 
 when they are adverse, — not in accordance with our own 
 wishes and schemes ! How often do we fret and murmur ! 
 We turn away from the bitter cup, — we would drink only 
 what is sweet and soothing. We question the goodness, 
 the wisdom, perhaps even the equity of the Divine proced- 
 ure, so far as we are concerned. We charge him foolishly, 
 presumptuously. Now, this spirit must be subdued. 
 These rebellious risings must be got under. We must take 
 what he is pleased to send, must kiss even the rod by which 
 we are smitten. We must resign ourselves into his hands, 
 and be willing that he should choose for us, not we for 
 ourselves. This is difficult — O how difficult — but it is in- 
 dispensable. Without a measure of it there is not, and 
 cannot be, the full submission here enjoined. It is a wide, 
 comprehensive duty. How much does it embrace ? And 
 it must be rendered willingly. It is not to be yielded as a 
 matter of necessity, — a thing forced, constrained. Many do 
 it because they cannot help themselves. They say we must 
 submit. They rise not up in fierce resistance, because to 
 
SUBMITTING OURSELVES TO GOD. 313 
 
 do SO were wholly unavailing, if not impossible. But we 
 are to acquiesce in God's dealings, to accept tliem ; to wish 
 them not other than they are, except in entire subjection to 
 his holy, all-wise, most blessed v/ill. And how beneficial is 
 this course in its influence and results? The danger is 
 averted which the opposite spirit involves; for does it not 
 stand written, "God resisteth the proud?" The blessing 
 is obtained which these words secure to all so feeling and 
 acting, — " He giveth grace unto the humble." 
 
 II. Tlie 'manner in which, or the steps hy which, this 
 submitting of ourselves to God is effected. — The thing is 
 extremely difficult; there is much opposition to be encoun- 
 tered, especially from one quarter ; and hence, if we would 
 succeed, we must follow the course here prescribed. 
 
 1. We must ivithstcind Satan. — " Resist the devil, and 
 he will flee from you." -The being here spoken of, the 
 devil, is no mere evil principle or power, but a real, living, 
 active, mighty spirit, the prince of darkness, the leader of 
 hell's fallen legions. He is called " the god of this world ;" 
 and by ten thousand wiles he seeks to draw those who have 
 separated from it back into its friendship again. He is 
 the great, chief rebel in the universe; and not only does he 
 refuse submission to Jehovah himself, but he opposes, and, 
 if possible, prevents it on the part of others. He is the 
 tempter, deceiver, destroyer. He meets Christians at every 
 turn, and, now by furious assaults, then by artful disguises 
 and flatteries, tries their fidelity, devotedness, endurance. 
 Often does he lead them far astray, — often make captives of 
 those who seemed to be clean escaped from his dire domi- 
 nion. Where he cannot devour he can defile, — where he 
 cannot deal a fatal blow he can inflict many a deep and 
 painful wound. How are we to overcome this fell adver- 
 sary, this demon of the pit, stained with the blood of mil- 
 lions of souls? "Resist the devil," is the apostle's reply, 
 
oil- SUBMITTING OURSELVES TO GOD. 
 
 "and ho will fleo from you." In like manner Peter, 
 speaking of him as a roaring lion, says, — " Whom resist, sted- 
 fast in the iaith."^ To the same effect Paul exhorts the 
 Ephesians " not to give place to him,"-— that is, not to afford 
 an opportunity to him, not to make room for him, as is 
 done by submission, concession. If we yield a single step, 
 he will instantly press his advantage. Let us allow him the 
 least footing, — let us begin to treat with him, — let us hold 
 parley, and we are sure to be snared and taken by this wily, 
 watchful, powerful adversary. Our safety is not to give 
 way a hair's-breadth, nor for a single moment. It is to 
 confront the tempter at once, for then he retires discomfitted. 
 He may, he will return to the attack, but wo become more 
 and more able thus to repel him and gain repeated victories. 
 This is the course to be folloAved in all cases, let the devil 
 assume what form and apf)roach from what direction he 
 may. Instead of submission here, our constant watchword 
 is to be resistance — uncompromising, unceasing, growing 
 resistance. 
 
 But in order to success, let us ahvays remember two 
 things, which arc of the last importance in this contest. 
 We must encounter him in Divine strength. In ourselves 
 we are Aveak and Avavering, unable to stand for a moment 
 before this terrible assailant ; and it is only by that 
 gracious trust in God which enlists him on our side, and 
 places all his infinite resources at our disposal, that we can 
 prevail. No arm but his can drive Satan back, and that 
 arm is stretched out in defence of those who, feeling their 
 need of it, plead for and rely on its forth-putting. And 
 we must employ against him spiritual weapons. " For the 
 weapons of our warfare," says Paul, "are not. carnal, but 
 mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds."^ 
 A heavenly panoply is provided for us, and no other can 
 enable us to conquer. We must, above all, take the shield 
 
 * 1 Pet. V. 9. 2 Eph. iv. 27. 3 2 Cor. x. 4. 
 
SUBMITTIXG OURSELVES TO GOD. 3 I •"> 
 
 of faith and the sword of the Spirit. The Divine word, 
 firmly believed and wisely applied, is invincible. By it our 
 Lord himself triumphed in the wilderness. He met every 
 temptation by, " it is written." And thus foiled, the devil 
 at length took his departure. In the same way must his 
 people ward off the deadly thrusts of this foe, and, assuming 
 the offensive, carry the war into his own territory. Acting 
 thus, they quench his fiery darts, and drive him from the 
 field in utter rout. 
 
 2. We must approach God. — Ver. 8, " Draw nigh to 
 God, and he will draw nigh to you." Thus only can we be 
 enabled to resist the devil. Not otherwise can we render 
 submission and have it accepted. "Draw nigh to God," 
 says James, — nigh by the new and living way which has 
 been opened for us, the blood of his only-begotten Son, Jesus 
 Christ, — nigh in the exercise of faith, and by means of the 
 prayer which faith prompts, animates, renders powerful and 
 prevailing. Return to him from all backsliding. Press 
 near to him in spite of all obstacles. Enter into his im- 
 mediate presence, seeking there pardon of sin, the enjoyment 
 of his favour, and supplies of grace for the mortification of 
 corruption and the discharge of every duty pertaining to the 
 heavenly calling. The apostle encourages them to comply 
 by the assurance, "And he will . draw nigh to you." 
 Zechariah was commissioned to declare in his name, " Turn 
 ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto 
 you, saith the Lord of hosts." ^ He will meet your advance, 
 he will not keep aloof from you, whatever your past incon- 
 sistency, unfaithfulness, — your going back to the world, your 
 covetous, adulterous solicitation of its friendship. He will 
 blot out your transgressions, shew you his favour, and give 
 you his Spirit. 
 
 Does this imply that it is not God but man himself who 
 takes the initiative and the lead in the matter ? Does he 
 1 Zech. i. 3. 
 
3 1 G SUBMITTING OURSELVES TO GOD. 
 
 make the first advance ? Does the movement begin on his 
 side ? Does the reconciliation, — either originally or subse- 
 quently, either at conversion or after backsliding, — proceed 
 primarily from us, whether as sinners or as believers? No; 
 it is always and necessarily from God. He is ever the prime 
 mover, not only preceding but actuating us; not only draw- 
 ing nigh before us but prompting, causing our drawing 
 nigh, whensoever anything of the kind really takes place. 
 His grace brings us; his Spirit sweetly yet efficaciously dis- 
 poses and enables us to approach. He does it through the 
 very invitation and promise which he thus gives, by the 
 very solicitation and inducement which such words as these 
 contain. By means of them and similar assurances he at- 
 tracts, constrains, inspires hope, and secures compliance. 
 He thus puts forth his gracious power, and to it every move- 
 ment on our part is to be traced. Hence Jesus said, " No 
 man can come to me, except the Father, which hath sent me, 
 draw him." With this agrees the language of the Messianic 
 Psalm, — " Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy 
 power;" and the request of the spouse, "Draw me, we will 
 run after thee."^ When rightly understood, there is no- 
 thing in the exhortation before us inconsistent with these 
 and similar passages. A profound interpreter well remarks 
 here, — " When God thus spcaketh to us, that of itself is his 
 own first drawing nigh to us in the attraction of soliciting 
 grace." ^ He must visit and quicken us before we turn our 
 faces, or take a single step Zionward. 
 
 But coming near to God implies certain feelings and 
 exercises, — a state of mind and heart suited to a proceeding 
 so decisive and momentous. There must be preparatory to 
 it, or rather involved in it, the putting away of sin. It 
 brings us into contact with the Holy One of Israel. " For 
 thou art not a God that hath plrasuro in wickedness; neither 
 shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in 
 '. Jolin vi. 11 ; 1'b. ex. 3 ; tsoug of Sol. i. 3. - Stier. 
 
SUBMITTING OURSELVES TO GOD. 317 
 
 thy sight : thou hatest all workers of iniquity." " If I re- 
 gard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." 
 " Now we know that God heareth not sinners : but if any 
 man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he 
 heareth."-^ Hence James couples with the call to draw 
 nigh to him the injunction, " Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, 
 and purify your hearts, ye double-minded." We are cer- 
 tainly not to interpret this in the sense that we can enter 
 the holiest only after we have thus purged away our filthi- 
 ness. In that case we should never approach God at all; 
 for it is only by coming to him that we can get the strength 
 necessary for the purpose. We can sanctify ourselves by his 
 grace alone, — by it sought and obtained. But we are to 
 draw nigh ever with sincere desires to be delivered from all 
 sin; and not less with strenuous endeavours actually to for- 
 sake every evil way, to have no fellowship with the unfruit- 
 ful works of darkness. To- profess to be seeking the Diviiie 
 forgiveness and favour while cherishing and practising con- 
 sciously, wilfully what he hates, is mockery, — an insult to 
 the Majesty of heaven, a profanation of the mercy-seat. 
 " Cleanse your hands," — in allusion, perhaps, to the words of 
 the Lord by the prophet; — " And when ye spread forth your 
 hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make 
 many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 
 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your 
 doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil."^ The 
 hands are mentioned as being the instruments of wicked- 
 ness. They were stained in the case of the parties addressed, 
 with their covetous dealings and questionable gains, with 
 deeds of violence, and in some cases even with the blood of 
 their victims. They were to put away all such practices. 
 But God will not be satisfied with mere outward cleansing ; 
 he must have inward also, and that chiefly. Hence it is 
 added, "Purify your hearts." We find both thus conjoined 
 1 Ps. V. 4, 5; Ixvi. 18; John ix. 31. 2 ig. j. 15^ iq. 
 
n 1 .S SUEMITTIXG OURSfXVES TO OOD. 
 
 by the Psalmist, — " Who shall ascend into the hill of the 
 Lord ? and who shall stand in his holy place ? He that hath 
 clean hands and a pure heart; who liath not lifted up his 
 soul inito vanity, nor sworn deceitfully."^ Their bosoms 
 were defiled by those lusts which Avarred in their members; 
 and any acceptable approach necessarily involved the putting' 
 of them away. He calls the parties in view " sinners," for 
 many of them were open and daring transgressors; and then 
 "double-minded;" for whatever their appearance and pro- 
 fession, not a few of them were divided between the world 
 and God, — they were not sincere, not stedfast in his covenant. 
 They were. drawn in opposite directions, being without sim- 
 plicity and fixedness of purpose. The eye was not single, anil 
 hence the whole body was full, not of light, but of dark- 
 ness. 
 
 There must also be godly sorroAv for sin. The renuncia- 
 tion of it can be made only through unfeigned and profound 
 contrition. We cannot put this evil thing away without 
 grieving over it, feeling how bitter and dreadful it is, how 
 dishonouring to God and destructive to ovirselves. A great 
 variety of expression is here employed to intimate that the 
 repentance must be real, deep, thorough. " Be afflicted," — 
 be distressed, be wretched. Let sin weigh heavily upon 
 you, making you sad, miserable in spirit. "Mourn and 
 weep." Be not sullen. Keep not silence. Let not emotion 
 be shut up, but allowed to flow forth in all its natural and 
 proper channels. "Let your laughter be turned to mourning, 
 and your joy to heaviness," or humiliation. The term 
 literally signifies the casting down of the eyes, which is in- 
 dicative of dejection or shame. We have a striking exampli' 
 of it in the case of the publican; for he, " standing afar olf, 
 would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but 
 smote upon his breast, saying, — God be merciful to me a 
 sinner." These latter expressions point to the outward 
 
 W. xxiv. 3, 1. 
 
SUBMTTTDTG OURSELVES TO GOD. 319 
 
 tokens of the inward feeling. All the signs of sorrow are 
 nothing apart from the reality ; they are indeed then an im- 
 position, a mockery. But they should not, and will not, be 
 Avanting when the heart is truly smitten. It is implied that 
 there was not a little levity among the persons addressed. They 
 did not perceive in any clear and impressive way their un- 
 happy condition. Still noching is more common ; no people 
 iire gayer than those who have reason to be the saddest. 
 None laugh so loudly as those who should be weeping 
 bitterly. "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion." He 
 calls on them to repent thus really and deeply if they had 
 never done so before ; to do it again, and more thoroughly, 
 if they had backslidden. The exhortation is not less appro- 
 priate than it is unwelcome to multitudes of both classes 
 among ourselves. 
 
 Having thus unfolded the steps by which they were to 
 render submission, he returns to the point from Avhich he 
 started. Ver. 10: "Humble yourselves in the sight of the 
 Lord, and ho shall lift you uj)." The one exhortation is 
 ■• substantially the same as the other. We are to abase our- 
 j selves, to cast avv^ay our pride, to come down from our lofti- 
 'i uess. We are to do it before God, in his presence. There 
 fc wo are to confess our sins, there to supj^licate his grace and 
 ' bow to his authority. There we are to be ashamed, con- 
 founded, not opening our mouths except in self-condemna- 
 tion. And what encouragement have we to comply with 
 the call in the assurance, the promise by which it is 
 accompanied. " And he shall lift you up." He shall exalt 
 you, it may be in temporal resiDects, certainly in spiritual. 
 He shall honour you here and hereafter, conferring on you, 
 as his children, present grace and future glory, — now the 
 foretastes, then the full fruition of heavenly blessedness. 
 The design and the effect of his dealings are thus declared 
 by himself, — "To set up on high those that be low; that those 
 who mourn mav be exalted to safetv." "Thus saith the 
 
320 SURMITTIXn OUP.SELVES TO GOD. 
 
 Lord God, Remove the diadein, and take off the crown : this 
 shall not be the same : exalt him that is low, and abase him 
 that is high." " And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be 
 abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."^ 
 There was perhaps no lesson that Jesus was at greater pains 
 to impress on the minds and hearts of his hearers. He em- 
 ployed for the purpose, not only statement and argument, 
 but striking illustration, — not only that of parable, but of 
 visible symbol, as when he set the little child in the midst 
 of his disciples, and said, — " Verily I say unto you, Except 
 ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not 
 enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore 
 shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest 
 in the kingdom of heaven."^ 
 
 Brethren, let me call on you to submit yourselves, to 
 humble yourselves. Naturally all of us are in a state of 
 rebellion. We are proud, defiant, determined to be our own 
 masters, ready ever to ask, with the hardened Pharaoh, 
 " Who is the Lord, that we should obey his voice?" And 
 this spirit often reigns where Christianity is professed, among 
 members of the Church, not less than among the careless, 
 godless multitude without. It is more sinful, hateful, and 
 hurtful when thus disguised, when brought into the sanc- 
 tuary, and associated with the forms and the language 
 of religion. Hypocrisy is added to the original and native 
 wickedness which it involves. This was tlie case of many 
 here addressed by the apostle. Submit to that righteous- 
 ness Divine by which alone any sinner can be justified. 
 Stoop to receive it as a sovereign gift, as a thing wholly un- 
 merited. Bow to the authority and the dealings of the groat 
 Governor. You cannot do this without a terrible conflict. 
 The devil, — that chief enemy of souls, — will oppose you 
 at every step; but you have only to resist him, in depend- 
 ence on that Lord who is stronger than he, and so shall he 
 » Job V. 11; Ezek. ixi. 26 ; Matt. xiiu. 12. « Matt, xviii. 3, 4. 
 
SUBMITTING OURSELVES TO GOD. 321 
 
 flee from you utterly discomfitted. The weakest are thus 
 sure to come off more than conquerors. Draw near to God, 
 and he will not turn away from you, but, on the contrary, 
 hasten to meet and embrace you, as the father did the pro- 
 digal in the parable. But see that you approach renouncing, 
 putting away the sin which has dishonoured and provoked 
 him. Mourn over it with a true and bitter sorrow. Thus 
 shall you be lifted up, raised to the enjoyment of the Divine 
 favour, and ultimately to the possession of eternal glory. 
 O what inducements have we to take our rightful place be- 
 fore the Lord, to abase ourselves in the very dust, to humble 
 ourselves as little children ! 
 
 And backsliding believers, hasten ye to return. Let 
 those who have been casting off the Master's yoke and 
 taking their own self-willed course, be humbled and ashamed 
 more deeply than ever. Far as you have wandered, daringly 
 as you have rebelled, highly as you exalted yourselves, he 
 is ready to receive you back, and still put you among the 
 children. Come down, that you may know the mingled 
 sweetness and bitterness of a broken heart and a contrite 
 spirit ; and that through a new repentance you may obtain 
 joy and honour such as you have never yet experienced. 
 " He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the 
 needy out of the dunghill; that he may set him with princes, 
 even with the princes of his people." "He preserveth not 
 the life of the wicked : but giveth right to the poor. He 
 withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with 
 kings are they on the throne: 3'^ea, he doth establish them 
 for ever, and they are exalted."^ 
 
 ^ Ps. cxiii. 7, 8 ; Job xxxvi. 6, 7. 
 
322 JUDGING OUR BRETHREN. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 JUDGING OUR BRETHREN. 
 
 ^'Speah not evil one of another, brethren. He that 
 speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh 
 evil of the laiv, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the 
 law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. TJiere is 
 one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art 
 thou that judgest another?" — James iv. 11, 12. 
 
 [N a previous part of the Epistle James deals very 
 fully auJ specially with sins of the tongue, the 
 offences committed by that unruly organ. Here 
 he briefly returns to the same subject, as being intimately 
 connected with those contentions and their causes, of Avhich 
 he had been treating in the opening verses of the present 
 chapter. Evil speaking was one of the bitter fruits of the 
 lusts which warred in their members, — of pride, envy, malice, 
 covetousness, and such like corrupt principles and propensi- 
 ties. It largely mingled in, and contributed to, the feuds 
 and factions, — those " wars and fightings," as the apostle 
 terms them, — with which he charges the persons whom he 
 was now addressing. He thus naturally reverts to it in this 
 connexion, as a prominent manifestation of that bad spirit 
 which they had been indulging, and itself, in turn, a prolific 
 source of the strife and violence, the controversies and col- 
 lisions — issuing sometimes even in the taking away of life, — 
 which drew down on thrin liis merited remonstrances and 
 rebukes. It was the very opposite of the duty inculcated in 
 the verges which immediately precede; for what can be more 
 directly contrary, what two things more alien, antagonistic 
 
JUDGING OUR BRETHREN". 323 
 
 in their nature, than submitting ourselves to God, humbling 
 ourselves in his sight, as he calls upon all to do, and speak- 
 ing evil of our brethren, assuming the office of their censors 
 and judges? The one suggested the other by a well-known 
 law of our mental constitution, sanctified and employed by 
 the Holy Ghost; and hence the exhortation here delivered 
 against this j^articular sinful habit. May the Lord teach us 
 savingly and to profit, as we proceed to consider the truths 
 here contained. 
 
 I. What is here forbidden. — It is speaking evil of, and 
 judging our brethren. It is bringing charges against, and 
 passing sentence on, our fellow-men, and especially our fel- 
 low-Christians, for they are the brethren here referred to by 
 the apostle. It is depreciating and denouncing them, — their 
 actions, motives, designs, characters. We are not only per- 
 mitted, but called, bound at times, to do what may be con- 
 founded with this, but is indeed essentially different. We 
 may have to enter the court of justice, and from the witness- 
 box give evidence against others. We may have to testify 
 publicly to their misdeeds, and help to bring down on them 
 merited condemnation and punishment. Obedience to con- 
 stituted authority, regard to the welfare of society, respect 
 for the claims of truth and right, without the mixture of a 
 single particle of malevolence, may impose on us such an 
 obligation. In acting thus we comply with the will of God, 
 the great lawgiver, and may be actuated by the very kindest 
 feelings toward all our brethren, — not excepting those against 
 whom our testimony is borne. In the Church, not less than 
 the State, judicial proceedings, trials, and decisions are neces- 
 sary. The unworthy must be excluded or expelled from its 
 membership, kept out or driven out of its communion. 
 The erring must be subjected to the exercise of discipline. 
 The good must be approved and honoured. The ecclesiastical 
 rulers cannot perform their duties, the functions of their 
 
324 JUDOING OUR BRETIIREN. 
 
 office, any more than the civil, without having recourse to 
 -such iiieasures, for which there is the most express scriptural 
 authority. And even in private life, and for the regulation 
 of our own conduct, we must so far act as judges. How 
 can we otherwise come out from the world and be separate, 
 as is matter of explicit Divine requirement? How can we 
 keep aloof from the workers of iniquity, and make com- 
 panions of those who fear God and follow Christ? How can 
 we guard against the evil comnnmications which corrupt good 
 manners? "By their fruits ye shall know them" is a prin- 
 ciple laid down in the Bible; and while great caution is 
 always to be exercised, and charity is ever to be brought 
 largely into play, we still not only may, but must, decide 
 against many who make no pr(.)fcssion, and multitudes even who 
 make some, it may be an exceedingly high, profession of religion. 
 There is nothing here in opposition to that; it is an entirely 
 different kind of speaking and judging which is forbidden. 
 
 1. As to si)ca1dn(j. — "Speak not evil one of another," — 
 that is, from a spirit of enmity or envy, from the lusts war- 
 ring in the members, — do it not except under some such 
 necessity, with some such sanction as we have referred to; in 
 which case it is but uttering the truth, bearing a faithful 
 testimony, not speaking evil in the ordinary and bad i;ense 
 of that expression. How common is the sin here condemned, 
 and how little is it thought of by men in general; alas ! often 
 by Christians themselves! It pervades society, high and 
 \o\i, worldly and religious. If you were to abstract from all 
 our speaking that portion of it which deserves to be called 
 evil speaking, Avoukl not the part taken bear a very large 
 proportion to the part left behind? A great deal of the talk 
 which goes on in the daily intercourse of life comes under 
 this category. It is more or less stamped with this character. 
 It assumes a variety of forms. The worst of these is the 
 invention and propagation of Avilful falsehoods against our 
 brithrcu. There are thu:sc who deliberately concoct, get 
 
JUDGING OUR BRETHREN. 325 
 
 up unfounded and injurious charges, who originate and dis- 
 seminate base calumnies. Such is their malice, that they 
 give birth and currency to the most unwarranted imputa- 
 tions, hesitaticg not to represent their own wishes and fic- 
 tions as actual occurrences, matters of fact, — schemes formed, 
 crimes committed by those whom they dislike. They say 
 what they do not believe, what they cannot but know to be 
 contrary to reality, in order to damage the reputation of 
 others, and thereby promote their own interests or gratify their 
 own passions. It amounts to nearly the same thing when 
 persons have their minds so poisoned that they imagine 
 evil, and publish it without good grounds, in a spirit of 
 blind, credulous malevolence. This is exceedingly base, 
 indicative of the deepest, darkest depravity. It shews 
 that the worst principles and feelings hold the ascendancy. 
 It is to outrage truth, and do it under the prompting of 
 malignant hatred. Stopping short of this, some are guilty 
 of the sin by exaggerating, colouring the conduct of their 
 fellow-creatures, and then speaking of it to their disadvan- 
 tage. Nothing is more common than to circulate injurious 
 reports, and that not as they were received, but with altera- 
 tions, either in the way of adding new particulars or sup- 
 pressing modifying circumstances. Things are put in a 
 stronger light, and made to assume proportions and features 
 as different as possible from the original ones. There is 
 a great deal of this heightening of offences, representing 
 matters as worse than they really are, even than they were 
 reported to us as being, and then sounding them forth with 
 open mouth, that they may blacken the character, lower 
 the position, and destroy the comfort of our neighbours. 
 Others are involved in the same charge by spreading abroad, 
 repeating maliciously or heedlessly, what they happen to have 
 heard against their brethren. They may never have in- 
 quired as to its truth, — never have searched into the ground 
 of the allegations, — never have considered whether they are 
 
32G JL'DGIXG OUR BRETHREN. 
 
 prol)ablo or the reverse. They eagerly take up tlie rumour, — 
 the worse it is the better, — and in the face, it may be, of all 
 likelihood, without the least pains to ascertain the facts, 
 they hasten to make it known as widely as possible. They 
 have a delight in carrying it from ear to ear, either pro- 
 claiming it openly, or, what is perhaps baser, whispering it 
 in secret. They may invent nothing, change nothing, but 
 they shew their malignity, or, at all events, their reckless- 
 ness, by committing themselves to wdiat after all may be a 
 pure invention of some enemy, or the foolish mistake of 
 some blunderer. How careful should we be in sifting before 
 we circulate anything which is fitted to wound the spirit, 
 to stab the reputation, to injure the prospects of a fellow- 
 creature, especially of a felloAv-Christian ! And we may be 
 guilty of this 'evil speaking by unnecessarily diffusing even 
 what we have ascertained to be perfectly correct. What 
 call have Ave to publish the faults of our brethren ? Ls 
 there any obligation laid upon us to say what we know 
 against them ? to pour into the ears of others what has 
 rcsached our own, or been seen by our eyes, and so lower the 
 esteem entertained for them, substitute distrust and dislike 
 in the place of confidence and affection ? There are cases 
 in which it is our duty to do this ; but it becomes us to be 
 very sure that there is a sufficient warrant before we do it, 
 and to take special care that we are not actuated by a hostile 
 spirit, by any malicious or envious feelings. 
 
 2. As to judging. — We are repeatedly Avarned against 
 such judging. Thus our Lord said, "Judge n<it, that ye 
 be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall 
 be judged; and with what measure ye mrte, it shall be 
 measured to you again." So Paul, — "Let not him that 
 eateth despise him that eateth not ; and let not him that 
 (>ateth not judge him that eatrth : for God hath received 
 him. Who art thou that judge.st another man's servant ? 
 to his own master he standeth or fjilleth." " Therefore 
 
JUDGING OUR BRETHREN. 327 
 
 judge notliing before the time, until the Lord Qome, who 
 both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and 
 will make manifest the counsels of the hearts ; and then 
 shall every man have praise of God."^ We must often pro- 
 nounce on conduct, and the Scripture has laid down the rule 
 according to which we are to decide. When it is applied, 
 certain inferences as to character and state are legitimate, 
 inevitable. But here we are to j^'oceed with the greatest 
 caution. Are the actions such as they are represented, or 
 appear to us as being ? Are we not regarding them with 
 prejudiced minds, with jaundiced eyes, under some pervert- 
 ing or obscuring influence ? Are we not mistaken ; do we 
 know all the circumstances ? Then, though they may be 
 wrong, are they not partially explained by the peculiar 
 position, temperament, and temptations of the parties ? Can 
 they not be accounted for Avithout supposing a radical want 
 of sound principle, of Christian spirit ? Are there not, side 
 by side with them, others which bear a favourable testi- 
 mony, which seem to indicate a fundamental soundness of 
 character ? When we take in the whole, does not one 
 feature throw light on another ? does it not modify the 
 sentence which without it might have been justly pro- 
 nounced ? Then let us never forget our own feeble powers 
 and narrow views, our tendency to limit the range of 
 Christian faith and practice ; to make a great deal of some 
 elements, and little or nothing of others, which yet may be 
 as prominent, or even more so, in Scriptural representation 
 and requirement. Let us also remember that there is a 
 region which we cannot enter, and where much may be 
 concealed of which we ca,n take no coo^nizance — a resfion 
 where all the springs of action, the principles of conduct 
 lie, that of motive. God alone can deal with it ; to him it 
 belongs to search the hearts and try the reins of the children 
 of men. When we consider such things as these, how care- 
 1 Matt. vii. 1, 2,; Rom. xiv. 3, 4 ; 1 Cor. iv. 5. 
 
328 JUDGING OUR BRETHREN. 
 
 fill sbould we be in passing sentence on the character and 
 condition of our brethren ? How strenuously should we 
 avoid all attempts at oracular and authoritative decisions in 
 such matters ? We are not to ascend the throne, we are 
 not to usurp the Divine prerogative of judgment. 
 
 II. Why it is forbidden. — Why are Ave not to speak 
 evil of, or judge others? Two great reasons are given. 
 
 1. Because it involves a condemnation of the Divine 
 law. — " He that spcaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth 
 his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law." 
 The law here is the moral law as animated, unfolded, inegu- 
 lated by the gospel. It is that which is called in this 
 Epistle " the royal law," and " the perfect law of liberty." 
 It is wiitten in the pages of Scripture, and transferred to 
 the hearts of all who believe in the Lord Jesus. It is 
 engi-aven in the inward parts, by the finger of the Spirit, in 
 the work of regeneration and the process of sanctification. 
 The new nature is in harmony with it, and to obey it is 
 the instinctive impulse and the deliberate choice of the 
 faithful, apart from any outward command or threuteuing. 
 
 Now, speaking evil of a brother is speaking evil of the 
 law, for the brother may be all the while keeping it, and 
 the conduct condemned may be exactly that which it 
 demands, dictates. When the charges made are false, — as 
 in such cases they so often are, — when the dispositions or 
 actions found fault with are not wrong but right, when they 
 are prompted and regidated by the very law itself, then 
 abuse of the one is abuse of the other. This frequently 
 happens. How common a thing has it been for Christians 
 to be blamed, reproached, persecuted for opinions and pro- 
 ceedings which yet were in accordance with the principles 
 of moral rectitude, it may be with the express requirements 
 of the Divine statute-book! Many a time are they still 
 stigmatized as evil-doers, when they are only doing the will 
 
JUDGING OUR BRETHREN. 329 
 
 and copying the example of their great Master. All such 
 speaking is in reality directed against the authority which 
 has been obeyed, the rule which has been followed, the law 
 itself. Thus of old the Jews insisted that the Gentile 
 converts should observe much of the Mosaic ritual, many of 
 the ceremonial institutions, and they, passed sentence on 
 those who asserted and exercised their Christian liberty. 
 They differed also widely among themselves as to the mea- 
 sure of exemption allowed or demanded by the gospel in 
 their own case. But, in casting off the Jewish yoke, these 
 more enUghtened believers did not violate that higher code 
 on which the Mosaic rested, for it made no such claims ; on 
 the contrary, they kept it according to the principles of the 
 new and free dispensation which had taken the place of the 
 old typical system. And even when sin has been com- 
 mitted, when occasion has been given for the evil speaking, 
 it is against the law, — as if it were not sufficient to arraign, 
 condemn, expose such conduct, — as if its sentence were not 
 enough, and we must come to its help, must supplement 
 its deficiency, and take its work into our hands. It does 
 not need our interference ; and to step thus into its place, 
 to usurp its prerogatives, is to depreciate it, to represent it 
 as imperfect and powerless, and so to load it with reproach. 
 This is to judge it, to set ourselves over it, to pronounce on 
 it, instead of allowing it to decide regarding us and all 
 others. It is to condemn it in the brother whom we pre- 
 sume to condemn. In such a case, what is directed against 
 him is directed against it. In bringing him, we drag it also 
 to our bar, and claim an authority over it to which we have 
 not the shadow of a title. 
 
 2. Because it amounts to a usuYpation of the office of 
 the only lawgiver. — "But if thou judge the law, thou art 
 not a doer of the law, but a judge." By such conduct thou 
 dost become a judge of the law, and that is inconsistent 
 with being a doer of the law. One acting thus does not 
 
330 JUDGiN(; orii nuExiiREX. 
 
 ap]ily it to himself", and regulate hj it his own speech and 
 bL'havioiir. He withdraws from its control, he goes directly 
 and flagrantly in opposition to its anthority ; for it forbids 
 and condemns this way of dealing with our brother. From 
 the first it prohibited everything of the kind, and the New 
 Testament confirms and enforces its demands in this 
 respect. We withdraw from the position of subjection to 
 it, which is our rightful one, and occupy another to which 
 we have no claim whatever. We cease to be doers, and 
 become judges. And the daring presumption, the impious 
 inconsistency of setting ourselves up in any such capacity, 
 is brought out in ver. 1 2 — " There is one lawgiver, who is 
 able to save and to destroy ; Avho art thou that judgest 
 another?" "There is one lawgiver," or, one is the lawgiver. 
 In the highest sense God alone sustains that character, dis- 
 charges that office. All others who bear the title are 
 inliuitely inferior, — they act by a delegated authority, and 
 are bound to base their every enactment on his statute- 
 book. They have no absolute, supreme right to command. 
 That belongs necessarily and exclusively to him by whom 
 "kings reign and princes decree justice." By reason of his 
 etcvjial perfection and universal proprietorship, his will must 
 give law to all intelligent beings ; and it is only as included 
 in it and consonant with it, that earthly codes have any 
 real validity and binding power. He is also judge ; and in 
 many copies this term is found following that of lawgiver. 
 The one depends on the other, the latter on the former. 
 The ultimate legislative carries with it judicial authority. 
 He who is entitled to make and issue, is also entitled to 
 maintain and vindicate the law, to determine every question 
 aflfectiug its observance, and to mete out, as the case may 
 require, commendation or condemnation, rewards or punish- 
 ments. This is God's prerogative, and every interference 
 with it is an impious usurpation. It is a presumptuous, 
 a profane seizure of his throne. 
 
JUDGING QUE BRETHEEN. 331 
 
 That he only is qualified to be, and actually is, both the 
 one and the other, is shewn by this, that he " is able to 
 save and to destroy." He can carry into effect his high 
 decisions, he can dispense eternal recompenses. He " is 
 able to save," — to save those who not only deserve but are 
 doomed to perish, so far as their legal position is concerned, 
 — he can deliver them from the infliction of the penalty 
 which they have incurred, from the power of sin, from the 
 flames of hell, from all evil in the present life and the future. 
 He can do this in his capacity of lawgiver and judge, — do 
 it in a way of perfect righteousness, without any sacrifice of 
 his authority or his justice. He can rescue the rebellious 
 by the marvellous provision of the gospel, the mission and 
 merit of his only-begotten Son, the Lord Jesus. Without 
 the least infringement on the principles of his government, 
 or the perfections of his character, he can pardon and purify, 
 admit to his favour and presence for evermore all who 
 heartily receive the message of reconciliation. He does it, 
 for every believing one is taken from the horrible pit and 
 miry clay, — ^he has the curse removed and the crown substi- 
 tuted. " And to destroy." Man can inflict heavy penalties. 
 He can imprison, banish, execute ; but his power extends 
 only to the material part and the present life. It reaches 
 not to our higher being and immortal existence. But it is 
 otherwise with the great God, for in his case there is no 
 limit whatever. Hence Jesus said, — " Fear not them which 
 kill the body^ but are not able to kill the soul; but rather 
 fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in 
 hell."^ He can follow us from this world into the next, and 
 plunge us into an abyss of fathomless, endless misery. He 
 can punish us with " everlasting destruction from the pre- 
 sence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." Man 
 has often the impiety to pronounce such a sentence. It is 
 no uncommon thing for him to damn his brother, but he 
 has no resources by which to cany it into effect. He is 
 1 Matt. X. 28. 
 
332 JUDGING OUR BRETHREN. 
 
 impotent, and thereby stands revealed as a usurper of the 
 Supreme Ruler's function. Hence the apostle asks, "Who 
 art thou that judgest another?" Hast thou any such 
 authority, hast thou any such ability? Canst thou make 
 good thy verdicts ? Is thine arm strong enough to do either 
 the one or other of these things, to save or to destroy ? No. 
 And why then dost thou presume to sit in judgment on thy 
 brother ? Poor, weak, erring mortal, thou leavest thy proper 
 place, — thou invadest the province of the Most High when 
 thou dost anything of the kind. Think who thou art, and 
 surely thou must instantly shrink back from all interference 
 with the rights of the one lawgiver. 
 
 Learn here, brethren, these important lessons: — 
 1. Tlie sin to he avoided. — It is that of evil speaking, — 
 and what is more common ? It pervades all ranks and 
 classes of the community. What forms the staple of most 
 of the conversation that goes on when people meet, whether 
 more casually or on set occasions ? Is it not the defects, 
 real or imaginary, of their fellow-creatures? Most tongues 
 are busy aspersing the characters, exposing the faults, and 
 ridiculing the weaknesses of others. AVhat .slanderous 
 charges are made ! What uncharitable judgments pro- 
 nounced ! All kinds of evil surmise.^ are eagerly entertained 
 and diligently propagated. How many backbiters and 
 whisperers ! Nor is this confined to the wicked and the 
 worldly; for, alas! it is largely prevalent among those who 
 profess that religion, which is wholly alien, antagonistic to 
 everything of the sort, and brands with its severest condem- 
 nation all such treatment of our brethren. Let us be on 
 our guard against it, setting a watch on the door of our lips, 
 keeping the heart with all diligence, for out of the abund- 
 ance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Let us not encourage 
 but check it in others, shewing our aversion to it, our ab- 
 horrence of it, in ways not to be mistaken. God forbid that 
 the commonness of the sin should render us insensible to its 
 
JUDGING OUR BRETHREN, 383 
 
 heinousness. It is one that does foul dishonour alike to the 
 law and to the gospel. 
 
 2. TJie place to be occujned. — We are to be not judges 
 of the law, but doers. That is our proper character and 
 calling. Our business is not to pronounce upon its claims, 
 but to comply with them,— not to assume authority over it, 
 but to submit to its authority. We are to be ruled by it 
 in heart and life, walking in all its commandments and ordi- 
 nances blamelessly. We are not merely to hear its voice, 
 to understand its meaning, and to own its obligation, but to 
 do its bidding. We are not to satisfy ourselves with pro- 
 mising or professing obedience, — we are willingly and con- 
 stantly to render obedience. We are ever to aim at the 
 keeping of it in all its exceeding length and breadth. Are 
 you doers ? You are not over law, but under law ; not 
 sovereigns, but servants. Forget not this fact as they do 
 who speak evil of, and judge their brethren. 
 
 3. The laivgiver to be feared. — God is that lawgiver. 
 He is possessed of supreme authority, of infinite power. 
 He vindicates his title by the might of his arm, both in 
 saving and destroying. He can rescue us from that eternal 
 destruction to which we are all exposed as transgressors. 
 He can pardon our sins, accept us as righteous, adopt us 
 into his family, beautify us with holiness, and at last admit 
 us to his heavenly kingdom and glory. He can do it for 
 the sake of Jesus, who magnified the law and made it 
 honourable. This vicarious obedience being put to our ac- 
 count when we believe, he can bestow on us the great re- 
 ward of eternal life. He delights thus to save, but he is 
 able also to destroy. O, how terrible the death which he 
 inflicts on the obstinately rebellious, the finally impenitent ! 
 He can and will cast both soul and body into hell fire. 
 How impotent is man in comparison ! Let us be afraid of 
 resisting his authority, of incurring his displeasure. Let us 
 dread his wi'ath and seek his favour. Let us flee to Jesus, 
 in whom he is both a just God and a Saviour. 
 
334! SINFUL CONFIDE>X'E RKGARDING THE FUTURE. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 SINFUL CONFIDENCE REGARDING THE FUTURE. 
 
 "Go to noiv, ye that say, To-day or' to-morroiu, ive will 
 go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and, 
 sell, and get gain; whereas ye Jaioiv not what shall he on 
 the morroiv. For what is your life ? It is even a vapour, 
 that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 
 For that ye ought to say. If the Lord will, ive shall live, 
 and do this, or that. But notv ye rejoice in your boast- 
 ings : all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that 
 hioweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." — 
 Jamf^ iv. 13-17. 
 
 HE persons here addressed were full of worldly de- 
 sires and projects. The lusting with which they 
 are charged had respect largely to the acquisition 
 of earthly gains and honours ; and it was in the pursuit of 
 these temporal interests that they got into collision with one 
 another, and even to such an extent that the apostle could 
 speak of their " wars and fightings." From this root all 
 kinds of jealousies and rivalries sprung up, the fruit of 
 which appeared in dissensions and divisions of the most 
 painful, humiliating, and injurious description. The parties 
 were also distinguished by a presumptuous confidence. 
 That came out in the charges which they brought against 
 their brethren, and the judgments they pronounced on 
 them; for in these they virtually condemned the Divine law 
 itself, and usurped the place of the only Lawgiver, that God 
 who is able to save and to destroy. The spirit which mani- 
 fested itself in this way had a wider influence; it stamped 
 
SINFUL CONFIDENCE REGARDING THE FUTURE. 335 
 
 their sentiments and proceedings in other respects. The 
 two tendencies to which I have now adverted, showed them- 
 selves very prominently and offensively in the purposes and 
 plans for the future which were formed and avowed. It is 
 with this aspect or working of them, that James deals in the 
 verses now to be considered. May the Lord direct and 
 bless us, — may he lead us into the spiritual understanding, 
 and bring us under the saving power of the truths declared 
 by the apostle! Mark then, 
 
 I. Tlie spirit vjhich is here condemned. — Yer. 13, "Go 
 to now, ye that say. To-day or to-morrow," — to-day and to- 
 morrow, as some read it, — "we will go into such a city, and 
 continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain." "Go 
 to now," — come now, — the opening particle being one of 
 exhortation or incitement. It is designed to arouse atten- 
 tion. Let us consider tbe matter, let us reason together. 
 " Ye that say,"- — do it ojDenly, audibly it may be, or but 
 secretly and silently, — say it in the sentiments you cherish, 
 if not in the words you utter. It is at the spirit rather 
 than the language that James strikes — at the spirit which 
 either did find expression, or would have found it, in such 
 language, Notice here two things involved in the avowal 
 of these parties. 
 
 1. The confident expectation of prolonged existeiice. — 
 " To-day or to-morrow, we will go into such a city" — or 
 this city, some one perhaps in the apostle's view — " and 
 continue there a year," — sjDend there a twelvemonth. It 
 was largely in the way here referred to that merchants car- 
 ried on their business, transporting their goods from town to 
 town, and disposing of them by sale or barter. Here was a 
 purpose formed, a resolution adopted, in which there was no 
 recognition whatever of the uncertainty of life, or of depend- 
 ence on God, — in which the future was calculated on with 
 unhesitating confidence. They talked and planned as if 
 
33C SINFUL CONFIDENCE RECUIDING THE FUTURE. 
 
 they bad a lease of existence, as if they might boast not 
 merely of days, weeks, mouths, but even of years to come; 
 aud as if they might make arrangements and entertain pros- 
 pects for a long while, without a fear of being cut off in the 
 meantime by the great destroyer. Death was left out of view, 
 or thrust very far away, instead of being seen standing at 
 the door, and ready every moment to force an entrance. It 
 was not taken into account. They schemed and resolved as 
 if they had it under their own control, and could ward it 
 oft" until they had carried through their contemplated enter- 
 prises, and secured all their desired worldly advantages. In 
 this they have many folloAvers. How common is it still for 
 people to feel, speak, and act as if they might go where and 
 when they pleased, might remain and traffic in any place 
 fcM" any time they deem proper ! In forming their plans 
 they look far before them, and provide not for the sudden 
 interruption, the speedy termination of all earthly pursuits 
 by the assault of the last enemy. Their projects and pros- 
 pects are not modified by the conviction that in the twink- 
 ling of an eye they may themselves be amidst the dread 
 realities of eternity. They will stay here or remove hence 
 for a definite and lengthened season, — they will do this or 
 the other thing next year or the following, it may be at a still 
 more remote period. Thus do multitudes presume on the 
 permanence of that which is fleeting as the air, uncertain as 
 the wind, — that which the next moment may be gone like the 
 vapour which the morning sun dissipates, or the passing 
 breeze sweeps away without leaving a trace of it behind. 
 
 2. The conjidoit expectation of worldly success. — Observe 
 the purpose to which this prolonged life is to be devoted — 
 not to the highest ends of existence, not to preparation for 
 eternity, not to the service of Cod and the good of their 
 brethren ; no, but to the prosecution of earthly business, 
 and the acquisition of earthly substance. It is to be spent 
 in buying and selling, and making gain thereby. There is 
 
SINFUL CONFIDENCE REGARDING THE FUTURE. 337 
 
 no mention of anything but trade, traffic, and consequent 
 profit. There is not a word of seeking first the kingdom of 
 God and his righteousness, of working out their own salva- 
 tion, of laying up treasures in heaven. All is materiiil, 
 secular, temporal. The whole scheme has for its object 
 money-making. The animating motive is the desire and 
 expectation of riches. And while the end is thus low and 
 worldly, there is the utmost confidence as to the ability to 
 secure it, as to the certainty of its being realized. "We will 
 buy and sell, and get gain," — do it without fail, prosper in 
 our dealings, carry off large profits. The result is regarded 
 as no doubtful matter. No fear of failure is indicated, no 
 sense of dependence on God is manifested. There is no 
 recognition of the Divine will, none even of the ordinary con- 
 tingencies to which all parties and proceedings are exposed. 
 The thing is viewed as being wholly in the hands of the 
 persons themselves, and' as sure by reason of their own 
 abilities and exertions. Man himself is to do all; he is to 
 bring about the issue, and that issue is to be exactly what 
 is desired, — one indubitably and comj)letely successful. In 
 both these respects a self-sufficient, ungodly spirit appeared, 
 which loudly called for solemn remonstrance and severe re- 
 buke. The apostle does not withhold it, and hence he pro- 
 ceeds in the strain which follows. 
 
 II. The grounds on which this spirit is condemned. — 
 And here we have, 
 
 1. The notorious uncertainty of huTJian life. — "Whereas 
 ye know not what shall be on the morrow." To the same 
 effect the wise man says, — "Boast not thyself of to-morrow; 
 for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." This 
 is literally and obviously true; it is proved by universal and 
 constant experience. We see the strangest events taking 
 
 1 Prov. xxvii. 1. 
 
 Z 
 
338 SINFUL CONFIDENCE REGARDING THE FUTURE. 
 
 place, contrary to all anticipation and probability. While? 
 we can review the past, we cannot foresee the future. No 
 doubt we may reasonably expect certain things to happen, 
 and may, nay, should shape our course, form our plans ac- 
 cordingly. We may even calculate on them with a large 
 measure of certainty. We may properly proceed on the 
 general stability and uniformity of the laws and processes 
 of the natural world. We may be sure that Providence will 
 work out results in harmony with well-known moral prin- 
 ciples; that the government of God deals with men's actions 
 and determines their issues, both in the case of individuals 
 and communities, not at random, not arbitrarily, but ac- 
 cording to that standard of rectitude which is embodied in 
 the law and borne witness to by our own consciences. The 
 purposes and predictions of the all-wise and omnipotent 
 ruler of the universe cannot fail of accomplishment; and 
 these, so far as ascertained by us, may be anticipated with 
 perfect confidence, though even as regards them times, 
 places, and circumstances, are left indefinite. But with re- 
 spect to the vast mass of events, to nearly the whole mul- 
 titude of human relations, interests, and transactions, it is 
 impossible to say what \rill be on the morrow. By a sudden 
 stroke of fortune the poor man may be raised to affluence, 
 or by one of a contrary kind the rich man may be reduced 
 to beggary. Many a one has risen to find himself stripped 
 by a single blow of all his possessions, no longer a Dives 
 but a Lazarus. The throne which apparently stood staljle 
 and secure in the morning has been tottering, it may be 
 overturned, before evening; and the monarch who sat on it 
 compelled to escape for his life as a disguised and trembling 
 fugitive. Before we are aware friends may be alienated, 
 plans defeated, prospects blighted. Dangers may gather 
 round us, disgrace may settle down on us, and a bright day 
 of prosperity be turned into a dark, dismal night of adver- 
 sity. The dearest objects Tiiriy b-:; snalchtd away, and Me 
 
SINFUL CONFIDENCE REGARDING THE FUTURE. 339 
 
 may be left solitary and alone, our former joy gone, and a 
 bitter sorrow come in its place. 
 
 Especially is this the case with that life, on the retaining 
 of which all our earthly possessions and enjoyments depend. 
 " It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then 
 vanisheth away." Every kind of emblem and representa- 
 tion is employed in Scripture which is fitted to convey an 
 idea of its frailty, brevity, and uncertainty. It is a pilgrim- 
 age, a dream, a sleep, a shadow ; it is like an eagle hasten- 
 ing to the prey, a tale that is told, a swift post, a fading 
 leaf, a shepherd's tent, a thread cut off by the weaver. 
 And the figure here is not the least expressive ; for 
 what is lighter, what more evanescent and fleeting, than a 
 mist or exhalation, which the sun's heat or the passing 
 breeze dissipates in a few minutes, leaving not the faintest 
 trace of it behind. • You see it rising from the earth, and 
 it may be very picturesque and beautiful as it curls upward 
 to the sky, — you turn away to look at some other object 
 for an instant, and in that brief interval it has disappeared 
 as if it had never been, — you seek for the vapour, but it is 
 gone never to return. What more transient than the airy 
 clouds— spreading, dissolving, moving, vanishing, the sport of 
 every wind that blows? Such is human existence. It is 
 of short duration at the very longest, — a momentary thing in 
 comparison with eternity, in which it issues, and by which 
 it should be measured. How soon do the threescore 
 years and ten or the fourscore flee away, so that the most 
 aged may truly speak, as Jacob did, of their days as being 
 both few and evil! And then how uncertain ! Some fatal 
 accident or mortal malady may strike down the youngest, 
 strongest, fairest in an instant, and consign them to the 
 house appointed for all living. While saying peace and 
 safety, sudden destruction often comes on men as travail on 
 a woman with child, and they do not escape. How many 
 are cut off with little or no warning, without time to bid 
 
340 SINFUL COXFIDENCE REGARDING THE FUTURE. 
 
 a hasty farewell to the nearest on earth, or even to breathe 
 a prayer to God for mercy! The ship may founder and go 
 down at once, carrying with it hundreds of human beings, 
 and turning the merry laugh into the wild shriek of misery 
 and despair. Or far away from the dangers of the deep, we 
 may lie down on our beds in perfect health, and wake up, 
 as did Thackeray the other night, amidst the dread realities 
 of eternity. Why, we may be carried otf in the sanctuary 
 itself, — as such memorable events as the massacre at Cawn- 
 pore, and the appalling catastrophe at Santiago, are fitted 
 to demonstrate. There is but a single step between any of 
 us and death. We know this perfectly,- — we know that we 
 stand on slijipery places, and may soon be brought into 
 destruction ; that the arrow may be already on the string, 
 which is to enter our vitals and lay us where the darkness 
 is as darkness itself. The dearest friend, the nearest rela- 
 tive,- — the one who is the desire of our eyes and the joy of 
 our hearts, — may be snatched from us ere to-morrow. Our 
 houses may be empty and desolate, and all that made them 
 glad removed far away before another sunrise. We may 
 have our own countenances changed and our days ended quite 
 as soon. This very night our souls may be required of us ; 
 and never do we tempt God more to deal with us thus than 
 when we forget him, like the rich fool, and are thinking 
 only of the goods we have laid up for many years, and of 
 the increased gains we expect to make by our buying and 
 selling, our travel and traffic. How then can we speculat(^ 
 and plan as we do, — how calculate on living and trading for 
 a long time to come, — how look upon and dispose of tlie 
 distant future as if it were a sure and available possession ! 
 We are familiar with this truth ; indeed, the extreme ob- 
 viousness, triteness of it takes the edge off it, and prevents 
 its producing any deep impression. But it is most solemn, 
 notwitl>standiug, and ought to iniluence all the purposes wt' 
 form and prospects wo entertain. 
 
SINFUL CONFIDENCE REGARDING THE FUTURE. 341 
 
 This ignorance of the future is indeed a most wise and 
 gracious appointment of heaven. It is conducive to our 
 happiness and well-being. It is fitted to detach us from 
 the world, w"hich we hold by so uncertain a tenure ; to stir 
 us up to ingtant and constant preparation for that eternity 
 which any moment we may be called to enter ; to form and 
 foster in us a spirit of humble, hourly dependence on God, 
 who not only foresees but orders all events. It exempts us 
 from a great deal of anxiety and suffering which otherwise 
 should be our portion, and, checking presumption, tends to 
 keep us watchful, submissive, and confiding. . It is Avell that 
 we are thus ignorant of the future, — that it is not given to 
 us to know the times and the 'seasons. " Sufficient unto the 
 day is the evil thereof" 
 
 2. Tlie dependence on the Divine tvill ivhich befits the 
 creature. — Ver.-15, "For that ye ought to say, If the Lord 
 will, we shall live, and do this, or that." Their language 
 was, " To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and 
 continue there a year." Here there was no recognition of 
 God, of his right and power to continue or terminate their 
 existence, — to order their lot and appoint their work ac- 
 cording to his good pleasure. They speak with confidence, 
 without qualification, — as if they were absolute masters 
 of their own lives and fortunes. They should ever have 
 brought in, as a necessary condition, " if the Lord will." We 
 see this counsel beautifully exemplified by Paul. To the 
 Ephesians, beseeching him to remain longer with them, he 
 said, — " I must by all means keep this feast that comeih in 
 Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will."^ 
 Again, he writes to the Corinthians, — " But I will come to 
 3'-ou shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of 
 them which are puffed up, but the power. "^ What James 
 means is not merely or chiefly that we should be in the 
 habit of emploj'ing such language, but that we shoiild 
 
 1 Acts xviii. 21. 2 i Cor. iv. 19. 
 
342 SINFUL CONFIDENCE REGAHDING THE FUTURE. 
 
 cherish the sentiment, the conviction which it expresses. 
 The words, however proper, arc little, indeed nothing in 
 themselves, — they may, thoy often do, degenerate into an 
 empty, heartless form. They are uttered without a single 
 feeling of dependence, even without a single thought of him 
 whose name is used, and in that case profaned. We are 
 not forbidden to look forward to the future, and provide for 
 our prospective wants, personal and domestic. Within cer- 
 tain limits tliis is right, necessary. We could not otherwise 
 discharge many of the most incumLcnt duties, and should be 
 reduced to a level with those lower creatures which live only 
 in, and for the present. As little are we forbidden to be 
 diligent in business, and to expect profit as the result. 
 Why, this is matter of express and urgent requirement. 
 But we are to do all recognising the Divine will, cherishing 
 a sense of dependence on God for life and health, for ability 
 to work and success in working. 
 
 3. The sinfulness of all such proud confidence as they 
 had been exhibiting. — " But now ye rejoice in your boast- 
 ings: all such rejoicing is evil." They were glad, jubilant, 
 where they had reason to be afraid and ashamed. By their 
 "boastings" we are to understand the manifold workings of 
 that self-sufficient and vain-glorious spirit by which they were 
 animated. They presumptuously calculated on life, health, 
 and prosperity. They entertained high expectations and 
 bright prospects, and by these they were elated. Hence 
 they expressed themselves in language of the kind which 
 James is here condemning. They spoke as if the future 
 were in their hands, and as if their success were assured. 
 In doing so there was a kind of exultation, an open glory- 
 ing, the origin of which lay in the pride, the confidence 
 which had possession of their bosoms. They rejoiced in 
 their boabtings; and he adds, " All such rejoicing is evil." 
 It has a bitter, poisonous root, springing up as it does from 
 arrogant pretensions, from ambitious schemes and delusive 
 
SINFUL CONFIDENCE REGARDING THE FUTURE. 343 
 
 hopes, from trust, not in God, but ourselves. And its in 
 fluence is bad, for it conceals from men their fearful danger, 
 and fosters a spirit the very opposite of that humble, de- 
 pendent one, which should characterize the Christian. In 
 its nature it is a carnal, corrupt, wicked thing, having no- 
 thing in common with that rejoicing in the Lord which is 
 alike the privilege and the duty of all who believe. 
 
 Having thus remonstrated w4th them regarding the spirit 
 which came out in the language he represents them as using, 
 he concludes with the general inference in ver. 17, "There- 
 fore to him that knoweth to do good, and doetli it not, to 
 him it is sin." The case in hand fell under this principle; 
 it was one of the exemplifications of the maxim. When 
 people are fully aware of their dut}^ and yet fail to do it, 
 either by positive transgression or by omission, neglect, they 
 are chargeable with sin, which, in these circumstances, be- 
 comes peculiarly heinous. Ignorance does not excuse dis- 
 obedience, but knowledge greatly aggravates its guilt. This 
 lesson Jesus taught most emphatically. "And that servant, 
 which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, 
 neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many 
 stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things 
 worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For 
 unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much re- 
 quired : and to whom men have committed much, of him 
 they will ask the more."^ While admitting of the most 
 general application, the statement is here made with special 
 reference to what immediately precedes. As professing 
 Christians, the persons addressed were well acquainted with 
 the right way of feeling and speaking respecting the future. 
 They were perfectly aware that they could not calculate on 
 life for a single day, and that they were absolutely dependent 
 on God for preservation, prosperity, and every blessing. 
 They were not in the darkness of nature, for they enjoyed 
 
 1 Luke sii. 17, 43. 
 
^44. SINFUL CONFIDENTE REGARDINf; TUE FUTURE. 
 
 tliu light of the gospel, and could not but be familiar with 
 trutlis so elementary and obvious. And now they were 
 better instructed than ever by reason of what the apostle had 
 written to them on the subject. They knew the good which 
 it was incumbent on them to do, but that was not enough; 
 f(jr if they did it not, tlieir sin, in not doing it, would be all 
 the greater. How guilty must they be if they continued to 
 cherish such a spirit, to use such language, after lessons so 
 clear and remonstrances so solemn ! Having been faithfully 
 warned, it became them no longer to fomi plans and cherish 
 expectations in the self-confident way they had been doing, 
 but to leave the future in the hands of God, to spend each 
 day as if they might never see another, and be far less 
 concerned about gains on earth than about trtiasures in 
 heaven. 
 
 1. Lei us realize our unceHain tenure of life. — We 
 know both from God's word and providence that death is not 
 only sure but near, that any day or hour it may lay its dread 
 arre.st on us, and rudely put an end to all our earthly plans 
 and prospects. We see the young, the healthy, the strong, 
 the beautiful, suddenly struck down by the king of terrors. 
 Neither age nor rank, neither character nor fortune, can con- 
 stitute a defence or procure exemption for a single moment. 
 We admit this as a general truth, — admit it as applicable to 
 ourselves in common with all mankind. But practically we 
 deny it; we act as if we had obtained a lease of life, and 
 could confidently calculate on the future. We speculate and 
 scheme on the supposition that we are to be spared for years, 
 and be continued in full possession of every present power and 
 opportunity. We may not use the language which the apostle 
 here condemns, but we entertain the sentiments and cherish 
 the feelings of which it is the expression. How foolish ! 
 how sinful! Let us remember that we stand on ylip])ery 
 j>laees, that the judge is at the door ready to enter, and that 
 in such an lutur as we think not the Son of Man cometh. 
 
SINFUL CONFIDENCE REGARDING THE FUTURE. 345 
 
 Let US ever be aloft on our Avatch -tower, that we may not 
 be taken by surprise, but be found waiting for the approach, 
 and prepared for the assault of the last enemy. 
 
 2. Let us realize our entire dependence on God. — We 
 have everything from liini, and we have it by his sovereign 
 pleasure. He has given us all our blessings, and he can 
 continue or recall them when and as he chooses. Our 
 Maker at first, he is our daily Preserver. We have not a 
 power nor a privilege which he does not bestow. We should, 
 then, take him into all our calculations. We should recosf- 
 nise him in every plan we form and prospect we entertain. 
 We should seek his counsel continually, and feel that what- 
 ever success attends any of our efforts is due to him who 
 enabled us to make them, and then directed them to a 
 favourable issue. This is the spirit we ever ought to 
 cherish and exhibit. Let us guard against vain confidence, 
 self-sufficiency. Let us feel that we are poor, helpless, hell- 
 deserving creatures. Let us take thankfully whatever God 
 is pleased to send. Let us commit our way to him, and be 
 willing that he should dispose of us as he seeth meet. Let 
 us hang upon him in conscious weakness and childlike con- 
 fidence. The gospel is peculiarly fitted to teach us this 
 lesson. It is all designed and suited to humble our pride, to 
 strip us of our fancied merit, and to render us debtors to 
 sovereign grace for every blessing of salvation. It is only 
 before the cross we can be thorougl/ly emptied, and delivered 
 from those boastings in which it is najtural for us to rejoice. 
 Sinners, take up your places there : believers draw nearer to 
 it than ever, if you would be cured of the proud, worldly 
 spirit which prevailed in the days of James, and, alas ! still 
 infects so widely and fatally the members of the Christian 
 <Jhurch. O let our plans have respect more to eternity than 
 to time, and let our great endeavour be, not to make earthly 
 gain by our buying and selling, but, through faith in Jesus 
 and a life of holiness, to lay up treasure in heaven. 
 
346 THE MISERIES COMING UPON THE RICH. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 THE MISERIES COMING UPON THE RICH. 
 
 " Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your 
 TTiispries that shall come upon you. Your riches are cor- 
 rupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold 
 and silvzr is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a 
 witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. 
 Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, 
 the hire of the lubourers vjhich have reaped down your fields, 
 which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth : and the cries 
 of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the 
 Lord of sabaofh. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, 
 and been ivanton ; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a 
 day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just ; 
 and he doth not resist you." — Jajmes v. 1-6. 
 
 WO general questions have been raised in connexion 
 with this i^assage, which it may be right for us to 
 notice briefly before entering on the exposition. 
 The first is, were the parties here addressed by James within 
 or without the New Testament Church ? — Averc they pro- 
 fessed believers or avowed unbelievers as regards the gospel ? 
 The prevailing, and, as we doubt not, correct opinion is that 
 they did not belong to the Christian community; that 
 they were men of the world, having their portion in this 
 life ; that their religion, so far as they had any, was Judaism 
 or heathenism, chiefly, if not exclusively, the former. Many 
 as were the corruptions which existed among those bearing 
 the Saviour's name, dark and deplorable the stains that 
 marked their character and conduct, — as we see from this 
 
THS MISERIES COMING UPON THE RICH. 3 4-7 
 
 whole Epistle, — we cannot conceive of their having sunk into 
 the state, and reached the depth of wickedness which is 
 here described. No; the persons were rather of the class 
 spoken of in a preceding chaj)ter; — "Do not rich men op- 
 press you, and draw you before the judgment-seats? Do 
 not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are 
 called." ^ The apostle turns aside for a moment and addresses 
 himself to them, not because of their union with, but anta- 
 gonism to, those wdiose case occupied him here, — ^because 
 they were mixed up with the members of the Chruch, not 
 by friendly, but by hostile relations and proceedings. 
 
 The second question is, what was the purpose of James 
 in so writing? Was it simply to denounce vengeance, or 
 was there any ulterior and gracious design ? Was there 
 under the stern and terrible condemnation a real and in- 
 tended, though indirect, call to repentance? No doubt he 
 meant to proclaim their dreadful danger, to warn them of 
 the imjDending destruction ; but in this he cannot have 
 sought merely to torment them before the time, or to leave 
 them at last without excuse, but must have aimed at arrest- 
 ing them in the course they were pursuing, and turning 
 them from it to faith and holiness by awakening in them a 
 sense of their condition, a salutary fear of the consequences. 
 With these preliminary remarks, I proceed to the considera- 
 tion of the passage itself, in which we have strikingly set 
 forth the coming, the commencement, and the causes of 
 judgment. 
 
 I. The coming of judgment. — Ver. 1, "Go to now, ye 
 rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come 
 upon you." He begins, "Go to now," — which is a repeti- 
 tion of what we have in ver. 13 of the previous chapter. 
 The opening particle is used in both cases to excite atten- 
 tion, to fix it on something of importance about to be 
 1 James ii, 6, 7. 
 
348 THE mSKRIES COMING UPON THE RICH. 
 
 uttored. Come now, mark what I am about to say, consider 
 well the matter, " Ye rich men." He addresses this parti- 
 cular class of persons. He denounces them, not because 
 they happened to be rich. There is nothing wrong in the 
 mere circumstance of having wealth, — that viewed in itself 
 involves not the slightest criminality. Some of the most 
 devoted and honoured of God's servants have had much of 
 this world's substance. Abraham, Job, David, and others 
 had large possessions. So had one over whom the grave has 
 very recently closed, — one.whose earthly position was all but 
 the highest, and whose spiritual rank was not inferior.^ But 
 the rich are exposed to peculiar temptations, and most fall 
 under their power. In the case of this class the entrance to the 
 kingdom is very narrow and difficult, like the eye of a needle; 
 and how can the camel force its way through and obtain 
 admission? They generally remain without, not only so, 
 they hinder others who approach, and often persecute those 
 who are within. It was because of their vices and crimes 
 that James addressed them in such language; — it was not 
 because they had money, but because they had got it in wrong 
 ways, and were devoting it to bad purposes. It was not the 
 wealth, but the sins mixed up with it, Avhich involved them 
 in this condition and condemnation. 
 
 " Weep and howl," — weep, and do it in this open, violent 
 manner, with loud, bitter cries of distress, — do it wailing, 
 shrieking, howling, — as was, and still is, so customary among 
 the Orientals in times of mourning. They gave expression 
 to their deep feelings of sorrow in noisy, wild lamenta- 
 tion, which resounded on every side and was heard at (i 
 distance. And this call is designed to intimate that the 
 judgments about to visit them would not be light ones, but 
 heavy, desolating, overwhelming, — such as might weD, even 
 in prospect, move them to tears, and to every other mani- 
 festation of sore grief, heartfelt anguish. Lament thus 
 
 ' The latt! Duchess of Gordon. 
 
THE MISERIES COMING UPON THE RICH. 349. 
 
 " for, " or over, " the miseries that shall come upon you,"— 
 more exactly and impressively, "which are coming on," are 
 already even now impending. These miseries Avere not simply 
 those which in all circumstances the love and abuse of money 
 entail, but specially, and in addition to them, the temporal 
 judgments which were about to visit the guilty parties in 
 this instance. There is most probably a primary, though 
 by no means an exclusive, reference to the destruction of 
 the Jewish capital and commonwealth, to the Roman in- 
 vasion, with all the terrible ruin it caused. The predicted 
 events were near at hand; and while the desolating stroke 
 was to fall on all classes, high and low, rich and poor alike, 
 yet it was to light with increased, pre-eminent severity on 
 the wealthy. They were to be the peculiar objects of ven- 
 geance; their treasures were to be rifled, their possessions 
 wrenched from them, and stripped bare, they were to be 
 subjected to hardships, all the heavier because of the plea- 
 sures once enjoyed and the losses thus sustained. Speak- 
 ing of that period, our Lord said, — " For then shall be great 
 tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world 
 to this time, no, nor ever shall be."^ And yet these were 
 to be only the first drops of vengeance. All miseries here 
 are nothing in comparison with those which await the un- 
 godly hereafter. The Roman poAver could inflict a heavy 
 blow; but the direct, immediate stroke of Divine wrath is 
 heavier far, for it crushes the soul as well as the body, and 
 it crushes not only for time," but for eternity. From 
 it there is no release, under it there is no alleviation. 
 Jerusalem was a horrible scene during the siege, and espe- 
 cially at its close ; but it is infinitely surpassed by that re- 
 cejitacle of the finally lost, from which the smoke of the 
 torment ascendeth evermore, and all the chambei s of which 
 resound with weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. 
 
 1 Matt. xxiv. 21. 
 
350 THE MISERIES COMING UPON THE RICH. 
 
 II. The commencement of judgment. — Vers. 2, 3, " Your 
 riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 
 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall 
 be a witness against you, and shall cat your flesh as it 
 were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last 
 days." " Your riches are corrupted," — either their posses- 
 sions of all kinds, these being afterwards spoken of in detail, 
 or, as distinguished from what follows, those hoarded stores 
 of grain, fruits, and other provisions, in which the wealth of 
 Orientals largely consisted. To the latter the term " cor- 
 rupted " could most properly be applied. They were rotting, 
 perishing. " Your garments are moth-eaten." In eastern 
 countries one of the most valuable possessions was a stock 
 of costly clothing, a number of dresses, wardrobes filled with 
 a gi-eat variety of articles of apparel. We have many allu- 
 sions to this well-known fact in Scripture. Joseph gave all 
 his brethren changes of raiment, but to Benjamin five 
 changes. When Naaman the Syrian set out on his journey 
 to Elisha the prophet, he took with him, as part of the pre- 
 sent he carried, ten changes of raiment; and when Samson 
 proposed his riddle to the Philistines, the forfeit on either 
 side was to be " thirty sheets and thirty change of gaiTnentsl" 
 They were moth-eaten, — a way in which articles of dress, 
 when long kept and little used, arc often wasted, destroyed. 
 Thus; " For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and 
 the worm shall cat them like wool: but my righteousness 
 shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to gene- 
 ration."^ And both here and in what follows there is an 
 obvious reference to the words of our Lord himself in his 
 Sermon on the Mount : — " Lay not up for yourselves trea- 
 sures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and 
 where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for your- 
 selves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth 
 corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 
 
 1 Is. li. 8. 
 
THE MISERIES COMING UPON THE RICH. 351 
 
 for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."^ 
 " Your gold and silver is cankered," — rusted, corroded. The 
 original word implies that it is so not partially but entirely, 
 — as it were through and through its whole substance. This 
 does not take place in regard to silver and gold, as it does 
 to iron and steel; but they are spoken of as undergoing the 
 change to which metals generally are subject; and there is 
 that which corresponds to it in their case, for they get dis- 
 coloured, blackened, tarnished, wasted, corrupted-looking. 
 " And the rust of them shall be a witness against you," — ■ 
 literally, " shall be for a testimony to you,"- — " and shall eat 
 your flesh as it were fire." 
 
 Is he charging them with crime, or speaking to them 
 rather of punishment, when he represents their garments as 
 moth-eaten, and their silver and gold as cankered? Does 
 he bring them in guilty of the sin of hoarding up treasures, 
 of not using them, not laying them out as talents committed 
 to their stewardship, means by which to rlorify God and 
 benefit their brethren, but storing them, collecting and 
 keeping them until they presented these appearanK3es ? Was 
 the rust to bear witness against them at tiie day of judg- 
 ment, — evidence to the effect that they had not employed 
 these good gifts for worthy 23urpos8s, but in a spirit of base, 
 sordid avarice, shut them up in their coffers, laid them 
 past away from the light and air of heaven, until they had 
 gathered such marks of decay ? That vieAV, which is the 
 common one, does not harmonize well with verse 5, where 
 the same parties are spoken of as having lived luxuriously, 
 as having fattened themselves by their indulgences, as hav- 
 ing been devoted to carnal and expensive enjoyments. This 
 rather indicates a liberal, if not even a lavish expenditure, 
 a spending freely on their own lusts of the riches they had 
 amassed, — not a miserly penuribusness, but a life of plea- 
 sure. In the moth-eaten garments, the cankered silver and 
 1 Matt. VI. 19, 20, 21. 
 
352 THE ^SERIES COMING UPON TUE RICH. 
 
 gold, their sin no doubt appeared, but appeared in the 
 judgments which had followed it,, for in that process of 
 destruction which had commenced there was the avenj^incf 
 hand of God visil)le. This is the prominent thing, — the 
 punishment already begun. The very objects on which 
 they prided themselves, which they made an idol £)f, were 
 smitten ; and in every hole of the cloth, every spot on the 
 money, there was a sign of the consumption that was com- 
 ing on themselves, of the destruction that was impending 
 over them, the servants of the mammon of unrighteousness. 
 There was a testimony in their wasted, blackened stores, — 
 a testimony borne to the worm that dieth not, and the fire 
 that cannot be quenched. They had only to look at their 
 treasures, and this they should be . compelled yet to do, in 
 order to see their own condition, the proof of what was soon 
 and surely to descend on themselves, the curse that was to 
 light on their guilty heads and remain there for ever. 
 Why, this rust was to be an executioner as well as a wit- 
 ness-bearer. It was to "eat their flesh as it were fire;'" — 
 the evidence it furnished, the tokens of Divine displeasure 
 it displayed, were to awaken the conscience sooner or later, 
 — and how dreadful, consuming, torturing a thing is an 
 angry, accusing conscience! It kindles .a devouring flame, 
 it burns with a heat wliich is a foretaste of, and will be a 
 main element in, the agonies of the bottomless pit. Some- 
 times it literally wastes the body, the anguish of the bosom 
 leaving traces of its severity in the emaciated physical 1 
 frame of the sufl^'erer. 
 
 " Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days." 
 Treasure has been understood here in the figurative sense 
 of a store of wrath, vengeance to be opened and emptied at 
 the time mentioned. But it is obviou.sly to be taken lite- 
 rally, and as referring to their material riches, as detailed 
 in the preceding verses. The "last days" are those intro- 
 ducing and issuing in the season of judgment which was 
 
THE MISERIES COMING UPON THE RICH. 858 
 
 approaching, — -tlio last days of tlie JeAvisli Church and 
 nation, and, in many cases, of the individual persons them- 
 selves ; for what multitudes were then to perish by the 
 sword, by tamine, by disease, by captivity? They had 
 gathered wealth for a season like this, when they could net 
 enjoy it, could not retain it, — when it was to become the 
 prey of the rapacious invaders, or of the more needy anvl 
 desperate of their own countrymen. They had accumulated 
 stores for such a time, and in so doing had been guilty of 
 signal folly and infatuation. What could they expect from 
 them but an increase of danger and misery? for they would 
 be rendered thus more open to assault, and more subject to 
 heavy loss in the general wreck and ruin. But the literal 
 translation of the original is " ht^ the last days," — the}^ had 
 heaped treasure together, not for, but in the period thus desig- 
 nated. These days- were already upon them, — the days were 
 begun, and hastening to their terrible close ; and it was at a 
 season like that, one fitter far for repentance and reformation, 
 one calling them to break off their sins b}^ righteousness, to 
 prepare for impending judgment by turning to the Lord, — 
 one specially imposing on them the obligation to lay up 
 treasure, not on earth but in heaven, where no moth or 
 rust can corrupt, and Avhere no thieves can break through 
 and steal, — it was then that they devoted their efforts to the 
 gathering of riches, the storing of fruits, garments, and the 
 precious metals. Here was the deepest guilt, here the 
 most reckless, unjjrincipled infatuation. This made their 
 conduct peculiarly foolish and wicked. 
 
 III. TJie causes of judgment. — Three are specified by 
 James. 
 
 1. Injustice. — Ver. 4, " Behold, the hire of the 
 labourers who have reaped dovm. your fields, which is of 
 
 :i A 
 
Sr, 1. TlIK MISKRIKS COMINT. UPON THP: RICH. 
 
 yoii kojjt back by fraud, ciietli ; and the cries of them who 
 have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of 
 Sabaoth." The wages of the workman should be paid 
 lionestly and punctually. " The labourer," said Jesus, " is 
 worthy of his hire."^ To withhold it is a flagrant wrong, 
 and such a wrong was committed by the rich men wIkjsc 
 c(jnduct the apostle is here denouncing. They kept it baek 
 "by fraud." And in various ways may such fraud be perpe- 
 trated? The master may not pay at all the stipidated and 
 earned wages. He may receive the service without remun- 
 erating the servant. Or he may make unjust deductions 
 fioin the amount which has been agreed on. He may take 
 advantage of his position and power, and on certain pretexts 
 give less than was bargained for by the other party. And 
 what is still more common, he may beat down the price of 
 labour, and pay for it most inadequately. He may turn to 
 account the competition which prevails and the necessities 
 of the poor, so as to get work done for greatly less than its 
 proper value. The most aggravated form of this initjuity is 
 found wliere the system of slavery exists. That Satanic in- 
 stitution reduces men to the rank of mere beasts of burden, 
 mere goods and chattels. It robs them not only of wages, 
 but of all human rights together, and tramples alike on every 
 feeling and prerogative of our nature. 
 
 This hire, dishonestly retained, is represented by. James 
 as crying. Yes, fi'om the coffers where it was treasured up. 
 a loud, piercing call for vengeance rose to high heaven. 
 Til us God testified to C'ain, " The voice of thy brother's 
 l)lood crieth unto me from the ground."" The money 
 fraudulently gained was not silent. Stored away, locked 
 up, it rested not, — it held not its peace, but appealed, and 
 not in vain, for righteous retribution. And the victini.s 
 themjj^lves joined in the wrathful demand. Often, often, 
 the oj)pressed are not listened to on earth, however just 
 • Luke X. 7. " Gen. iv. 10. 
 
THE MSERIES COmNG UPON THE RICH. 3.) 5 
 
 their claim and urgent their pleading. But they are heard 
 in heaven. Here their cries are said to have "entered 
 into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." Sabaoth signifies 
 hosts, armies ; and it is not without good reason that God 
 is now spoken of under this title. 'It was familiar to the 
 Jews, being often used in the Old Testament ; and it was 
 fitted to strike terror into the rich and powerful oppressors, 
 who are here denounced. He was able to vindicate the 
 cause of the defrauded reapers who groaned and suppli- 
 cated. He could call to account, and overwhelm with 
 destruction, those who trampled on their dependents, and 
 set all human law and right at defiance. He had not only 
 the Roman legions at his disposal, but mightier and more 
 nmltitudinous hosts, those heavenly armies which, though 
 unseen, are countless and irresistible. Well might the 
 robbers of the poor tremble at the thought that the Lord 
 of Sabaoth was hearing these condemning cries, and prepared 
 to send forth the ministers of vengeance ! 
 
 2. Luxury. — Ver. 5, "Ye have lived in pleasure on the 
 earth, and been wanton : ye have nourished your hearts as 
 in a day of slaughter." "Ye have lived in pleasure," — 
 that is, in a self-indulgent, sumptuous, effeminate manner. 
 In the qualification, " on the earth," there is an implied 
 contrast with another region, where vengeance was stored 
 up, and their portion was to be one of want and misery. 
 The force of it appears in the reply made to the rich man 
 in the parable when he sought relief, after he had lifted up 
 his eyes in hell : " And Abraham said. Son, remember 
 that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and like- 
 wise Lazarus evil things : but now he is comforted, and thou 
 art tormented."^ "And been wanton." This word conveys 
 to us the idea of lewdness, lustfulness; but what is intended 
 here is luxuriousness, voluptuousness. It does not neces- 
 sarily involve indulgence in gross excesses, in coarse and 
 
 ^ Luke xvi. 25. 
 
85 G Tur: miseries coming upon the hich. 
 
 ilcgruding impurities. It iiitiraatos that the persons wore 
 devoted to earthly enjoyments, and regardless of expense in 
 procuring them, for the term is expressive of extravagance, 
 wastefulness. It might be properly laid to the charge of 
 the prodigal, who scattered his suhstauce in riotous living; 
 while the former expression is applicable to the rich man, 
 already referred to, who fared sumptuously every day.^ They 
 resembled those described by the prophet, — " That lie upon 
 beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, 
 and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the 
 midst of the stall ; that chant to the sound of the viol, and 
 invent to themselves instruments of music, like David; 
 that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the 
 chief ointments : but they are not grieved for the affliction of 
 Joseph."^ " Ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of 
 slaughter." They had satiated, pampered their hearts, for 
 thei'e were seated the tastes and apjietites which they grati- 
 fied ; there the craving for, and the sense of satisfaction, 
 repletion, as they fed and dressed, fattened and adorned 
 their bodies. And they had been doing this "as in," or 
 simply, " in a day of slaughter." They were on the brink 
 of destruction. God was about to draw his glittering sword 
 and smite them in his anger. And yet in these circum- 
 stances they disregarded all warnings and signs; they revelled 
 and wantoned as if they were perfectly secure. They thus 
 resembled the cattle, which feed at their case on the rich 
 pastures when about to be led forth to the shambles. All 
 unconscious of their impending fate, they eat as fully and 
 comfortably on the day of their death as they ever did be- 
 fore. Such is the allusion here, and not, as some have sup- 
 posed, to a time of feasting, when oxen and fatlings are 
 killed. They were sunk in brutish insensibility. It was 
 thus witli the antediluvians; fur tliey did eat and drink, they 
 
 ' Trench's Synonyms, p. 103. 2 Amos vi. 1, 5, 6. 
 
THE MISERIES COMING UPON THE RICH. 357 
 
 married and were given in marriage, until the flood cc.me 
 and took tlicm all away. 
 
 3. Vlohnce, — violence going the lengtli even of blood, of 
 iTiUvder. Ver. 6, "Ye have condemned and killed the just, 
 and he doth not resist you." B}^ the just or the righteous 
 many have understood him who was so by pre-eminence — 
 the Lord Jesus himself. He is repeatedly spoken of under 
 this title. " But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and 
 desired a murderer to be granted unto you." " Which of 
 the proj)hets," asked Stephen, "have not your fathers per- 
 secuted? And they have slain them which sheAved before 
 of the coming of the Just One ; of whom ye have been the 
 betrayers and murderers."^ But the apostle seems to refer; 
 not to a single transaction long past, but to a practice con- 
 tinued until then; for he ssijs, "and he doth not resist 3^ou," — 
 using the present tense. They had been shedding the blood 
 of his faithful followers. Stephen was the first of a band of 
 early martyrs v/hom the Jews, in their malignant unbelief, 
 had put to death for their adherence to the gos23el. The 
 holiness, the righteousness of these victims of fanatical fury, 
 instead of saving them, had excited the rage and drawn 
 down the vengeance of their adversaries. It is well worthy 
 of notice that James here prospectively described his own 
 fate; for by the sanctity of his life, the strictness of his ad- 
 herence to the law for the sake of his weaker brethren, he 
 earned the title of the "Just;" and he was at last cruelly 
 killed by his own infuriated countrymen. " And he doth not 
 resist you," — not only or chiefly because of a v;^ant of power, 
 but because of the meekness of his character, his patience, 
 endurance, long-suffering. He submits to your murderous 
 violence. He commits his cause to God, and allows you to 
 do your utmost, striving to exhibit the spirit of his crucified 
 Master. And this made their guilt the gTeater. Their 
 criielty was the less excusable. It had no provocation. In 
 
 1 Acts iii. 14 ; vii. 52. 
 
I] 68 TIIK MISERIES COMI.\(i UPON THE RICH. 
 
 thus condemning and killing the just they were actuated by 
 a malignant hostility, by a bitter, unrelenting enmity. 
 
 Yo poor, remember tlie day of judgment! Then all 
 abuses are to be rectified, all injustice and wrong repaid. 
 Then the rich and mighty are to be dealt Avith on tlie same 
 principles as yourselves, and heavy is to be their reckoning. 
 p]iivy them not their possessions, for these are apt to pass into 
 treasures of wrath. Murmur not because of your wants and 
 sufferings. Be patient, even when subjected to harsh and 
 iTijurious treatment. Consider how soon this earthly state 
 o^ things is to terminate, and how little it will concern us 
 then, whether we were millionaires or beggars. the great 
 matter is to be rich toward God, is to have an inheritance', 
 not below, but above! Let it be your daily concern to lay 
 up treasures in the heavens. Take hold of Jesus, enter 
 into his infinite fulness, imbibe and exhibit his spirit, so shall 
 you stand accepted in that day when the fiery tempest is to 
 be rained on the heads of all whose portion was in the pre- 
 sent life. Then it shall fare well with every poor Lazarus; 
 his poverty and his sores shall no more come into remem- 
 brance, or come only to enhance the bliss and glory of the 
 new Jerusalem. 
 
 Ye rich, remember the da}' of judgment! On it you arc 
 to 1)0 arraigned and tried. Y(ju may have no master here, 
 but you have one above, and he is then to reckon with you 
 regarding your stewardship. You must give an account of 
 how you got your money. Was it by defrauding your 
 Labourers? Was it by cheating your customers? Was it In- 
 unjust dealings or oppressive courses? Was it in any way 
 contrary to the law of God, and injurious to the interests of 
 your brethren? Have you grounil the faces of the poor, and 
 filled your coffers at their expense? These questions may 
 be put aside now, but you shall be unable to evade them 
 l:t'rcafter. And you mu.st declare, too, how you have cm- 
 pfoi/rd your riches. Hive you sjieut them in doing goo;l, in 
 
THE MISERIES COMING UPON THE RICH. 359 
 
 honouring the great Giver and benefitting your fellows? 
 Have you devoted them to useful, beneficent purposes, or 
 have you stored them, hoarded them up, like the moth-eaten 
 garments, or the cankered silver and gold of the worldly Jews 
 in the apostles' times? If not, have you expended them on 
 yourselves, in the gratification of taste and appetite, in living 
 delicately, luxuriously, splendidly? Brethren, see that your 
 gains are honestly got, and see also that they are rightly 
 used. Remember the great account, the day of reckoning. 
 What miseries are coming on you, if you walk in the foot- 
 steps of these old oppressors! Yea, if, though you avoid 
 their crimes, you trust in uncertain riches and not in the 
 living God, your doom must be similar. O is not judgment 
 already begun! In present cares and losses, in signs of 
 danger and decay, have you not a testimony to the perishable 
 nature of all your treasures? And may you not read very 
 clearly there, not ^/iei?" -ultimate fate only, l)ut yoii)' own 
 also, unless you turn away from them to the unsearchable 
 riches of Christ? Choose, accept these, and so have a por- 
 tion which has in it no bitterness, and can never suffer 
 diminution or decay. 
 
3oO PATIENT WAJTKCa FOR THJ: LORD's COMING. 
 
 XXVII. 
 PATIENT WAITING FOR THE LORD'S COMING. 
 
 " Be patient therefore, brethren, unto tJie coming of the 
 Lord. Behold, the husbandman ivaiteth for the precious 
 fridt of the earth, and hath long patience, for it, until he 
 receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; 
 stablish your hearts : for the coming of the Lord drdweth 
 nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye 
 be condemned : behold, the judge standeth before the door. 
 Take, m,y brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the 
 name of the Lord, for an example of suffering ajfliction, 
 and of pai/i^iice. Behold, we count them happy which 
 endure. Ye have heard of the patiisnce of Job, and have 
 seen the end of the Lord ; that the Lord is very pitiful, and 
 of tender mercy ." — Jami:s v. 7-11. 
 
 N the previous verses of this chapter, James ad- 
 ^j dresses worhily, rich men, and warns tliem of the 
 miseries which were coming upon them surely and 
 swiftly. In the holes of their moth-eaten garments, and 
 the rusted-like appearance of their silver and gold, there 
 was a testimony borne to that destruction which was about 
 to overtakt;} themselves ; and the witness was also to be a 
 kind of executioner, torturing and consuming the spirit as 
 lire eateth the flesh. The causes of these judgments are 
 so far specified. They were the peculiar and flagrant sins 
 of this class of persons. Their rapacity stands in the fore- 
 ground. They had frauilulently kept back the hire of the 
 labourers who had reaped down their fields ; and this dis- 
 honest gain, like Abel's blood of old, called to heaven for 
 
PATIENT WAITING FOR THE LOED's COMNG. 361 
 
 vengeance. The victims of their injustice were making 
 tlieir appeal too ; and though their bitter cries might not be 
 heard by the wrong-doers or by earthly judges, they were 
 entering into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, v/ho was to 
 avenge them speedily. After this comes their luxury. 
 They got not their money aright, and as little did they 
 spend it aright. They lived in pleasure and were wanton. 
 They sought sensuous gratifications, gave the reins to their 
 appetites, occupied themselves much, like those spoken of 
 by the prophet, in eating flesh and drinking wine, — resem- 
 bled not a little the rich man of the parable, who was 
 clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously 
 every day. There is, finally, their cruelty, oppression. 
 They had condemned, and even gone the length of killing 
 the just, God's righteous servants and people, who had 
 patiently submitted, offered no resistance to their perse- 
 cuting violence. And now, turning from them to Christians, 
 the apostle exhorts the latter to continued forbearance and 
 endurance, seeing their adversaries were soon to be called 
 to account and rewarded according to their doings ; while 
 they were to be set for ever free from all the troubles under 
 which they had been suffering. We have, 
 
 I. The exhortation here given.- — "Be patient therefore, 
 brethren." The "therefore" marks the connexion with what 
 goes before. These things being so, seeing that your op- 
 pressors, though for the time powerful and unresisted, are to be 
 certainly and speedily brought to destruction — feel and act in 
 this manner. He now addresses "brethren," — a different 
 class altogether from the rich men whom he had been de- 
 nouncing. He calls on them to " be patient." He says, sufiVr 
 long, — continue to endure. Fret not, murmur not, rebel not 
 at any of the Divine dealings. However you may be treated, 
 either by God himself or by cruel, persecuting men, give not 
 way to angiy, bitter feelings. Let nut foolish charges come 
 
3G2 PATIENT W.UTING FOR THE LORD's COiUNG. 
 
 from your lips, nor tumultuous passions rise in your bosoms. 
 Be calm, submissive, resigned. Nor does that exhaust 
 Scriptural patience. We may bear a great deal without 
 complaining, from natural sweetness of temper, or natural 
 strength of character, — from stoical pride, or fatalistic prin- 
 ciples. But this grace has ever respect to the Divine will ; 
 it leads us cordially to acquiesce in that will, to acknow- 
 ledge that it is ever right, wise, and good in its allotments. 
 Under its influence we think of God as the supreme ruler 
 and disposer — of the perfections of his being, — the purposes 
 of his grace, — the promises of his word, — the experience of 
 his people ; and these supply the most jwwerful reasons for 
 accepting whatever he is pleased to send, and kissing even 
 the rod by whicli we are smitten. And it implies not less 
 resolute perseverance in the Christian course. In propor- 
 tion as we are animated by it, we both wait and work, con- 
 tinue looking for the future hai'vest, and doing everything 
 in the way of necessary preparation for its coming. We 
 press forward in the face of all difficulties and dangers; 
 h'ave what is behind and reach forth to what is before ; do 
 whatsoever our hands find to do with our might ; abandon 
 not the duties of our high calling, but remain " stedliu^t. 
 unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for- 
 asmucli as we know that our labour is not in vain in tlu' 
 Lord. ' 
 
 The exhortation is repeated in verse 8, after the illustra- 
 tion of the husbandmen, and by way of applying it to the 
 case of Christians. " Be ye also patient," — patient like the 
 fanner; — wait long, wait hopefully and perseveringly, as h<^ 
 does for the days and the fruits of harvest. To the same effect 
 lie adds, "Stablish your hearts." Let them be fixed and 
 firm. Are they ready to faint and fail, to get anxious and 
 distrustful, restless, fretful? Pray God t-o strengthen and settle 
 tliem, — seek by all appointed means to have them con- 
 firmed, stayed on the everlasting rock, that they may be 
 
PATIENT W.VITIXG FOR THE LORD's COMING. 3G3 
 
 resolute, enduring, not shaken by trial, not moved away 
 from the faith and obedience of the gospel, by any bur- 
 den you are called to bear, any conflicts you are called to 
 wage. Be stedfast, humbly confident, of good courage. 
 And the considerations which he presents in immediate 
 connexion with this injunction are powerfully fitted to have 
 the effect of thus stablisliing the hearts of believers, namely, 
 the blessedness and the nearness of the final, eternal issue- 
 We have substantially, if not formally and in express 
 terms, the same thing reiterated, the same duty inculcated 
 in verse 9, — "Grudge not one against another, brethren." 
 Do not murmur, give not way to impatience, exercise and 
 manifest forbearance as regards the members of the house- 
 hold of faith themselves. The only difference here is that 
 he refers to how they should feel and act toward their fel- 
 low-Christians. They were to be long-suffering under all 
 the injuries and insults to which they were subjected by 
 oppressors without, but not less were they to exhibit this 
 spirit under the wrongs of every kind which might be 
 inflicted on them by brethren within. These they might 
 find it more difficult in some respects to receive without 
 offering resistance, without uttering complaint, without 
 shewing signs of anger or vexation. But here they were 
 to be jealous over themselves, to bring the same grace into 
 play, and, in spite of all provocations to the contrary, to let 
 brotherly love continue. Thus they were not to grudge one 
 against another. 
 
 Now mark the duration or limit of the patience to 
 which we are here exhorted by the apostle, — ■" Unto the 
 coming of the Lord." There may be a reference to that 
 Coming in judgment which was impending over the Jewish 
 nation at the time when this was written, — -that coming at 
 wliich their temple and city were to be destroyed, their 
 civil and ecclesiastical polity completely broken uj), and the 
 people scattered over the face of the whole earth, to be a 
 
set PATIENT WAITING FOP. THE LORD's COMING. 
 
 hissing, a bye-word, and a reproach. Then the rich oppres- 
 sors of the saints, spoken of in the preceding verses, were 
 to be great, special sufferers, — tiiey were to be robbed of 
 their treasures, given up to rapacious spoilers, and in man}' 
 cases subjected to the most dreadful of deaths. Then the 
 persecuted Christians were to obtain a signal deliverance, 
 and reap, in no small degree, the fruit of their faith and 
 patience. But we doubt not that James looks here beyond 
 tliat approaching crisis, and directs the view to the final 
 advent, of which this Avas the precursor and sign, — the 
 advent which, from the beginning, has been the pole-star of 
 the Church's hopes. The other, the earlier event, was to 
 be local in its sphere and limited in its influence, — it was 
 to give release only to a certain portion of the tried dis- 
 ciples, namely, those in Judca ; and even as regards them the 
 release was to be but partial. There was still to be need 
 for patience, well-nigh as much need as ever. That grace 
 must be exercised to the very end of the Christian course, 
 —to the day, the hour of admission into the rest and joy of 
 the Di\'ine presence. As respects the faithful at large, it 
 will be required until the p,ctual appearing of the great 
 God, our Saviour; and as respects them individually, it is 
 necessary until the moment of death, which is practicaUy 
 and substantially the second coming to us personally. It 
 is no objection to this view of the passage that the event in 
 question is spoken of as being very near. It is uniformly 
 so represented in New Testament Scripture, — not that the 
 apostles either were mistaken on the subject, or dcrdt with 
 it in a manner fitted to mislead. The opposite of these 
 sup])()sitions is apparent, especially in the latter of Paul's 
 Epistles to the Thessalouians. No; but it was so great 
 and glorious an epoch, that it swallowed up, as it were, all 
 intervening time, and was seen in the light, and measured 
 by the duration, of the eternity which lies beyond, — the 
 eternity at the threshold of which it stands. Then tho 
 
PATIENT WAITING FOR THE LORD's COMING. 365 
 
 grand harvest is to be reaped. Tlien they who sow in 
 tears are to cany back the sheaves rejoicing. Hope is to 
 pass into fruition, and waiting for the Lord to be exchanged 
 for waiting on him in his heavenly kingdom. 
 
 II. The considerations and examples by ivhlch the exhor- 
 tation is enforced. And, 
 
 1. The considerations. — These are two, the nature and 
 the nearness of the issue. As regards the former, its 
 nature, he appeals both to fear and hope, a doom to be 
 avoided, and a recompense to be obtained. He says, vcr. 
 9, " Grudge not one against another, lest ye be condemned," 
 — literally, judged, but here evidently to the effect of being 
 condemned. There was danger of this, seeing Jesus had 
 declared; — "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with 
 what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what 
 measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. "^ If 
 we exhibit unchristian tempers, if we are fretful, impatient, 
 rebellious murmurers, complainers, have we not reason to be 
 afraid i)! the view of the Lord's coming ? What right have 
 we to expect acquittal, acceptance, but as we give evidence 
 of a true faith, by bringing forth in our dispositions and 
 lives the fruits of righteousness ? In proj)ortion as these 
 are awanting, we have cause for misgivings, apprehensions ; 
 and when there is any signal, outstanding shortcoming, we 
 may well tremble at the prospect of the great white throne, 
 and its righteous, im.partial awards. To be confident, joy- 
 ful, — to be anticipating a welcome and a crovv'n at last, while 
 the flesh, not the spirit, is appearing, — while corruption, 
 not grace, is actively at work, is perilous in the extreme. 
 How many thus deceive themselves and perish ! There is 
 room and need for solemn warning, for salutary fear in tliis 
 respect. " Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left 
 us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come 
 
 1 Matt. vii. 1, 2. 
 
nnC PATIENT WAITING FOR THE LORD's COMING. 
 
 short of it."^ Then tins grudging, involving as it duus a 
 judging of our brethren, not only falls within these general 
 ronsiderations, but is expressly forbidden, and represented as 
 a condemnatory thing by the Lord Jesus. But the apostle 
 would rather inspire hope, animate them by those bright 
 ])rospects which the righteous are warranted to entertain. 
 They who endure unto the end, who trust and wait to the 
 last, who let patience have its perfect work, are to have a 
 sure and glorious harvest. They are to reap the reward of 
 all their watching and warfare, as certainly as the husband- 
 man does of his labours, — and how miich more abundantly ! 
 What is his return at the best, in comparison with theirs ( 
 Their barns are to be filled with the most precious and in- 
 exhaustible supplies, with all that can minister to their 
 safety, comfort, and honour for eternity. They are to 
 hunger no more, neither thirst any more, to be needy and 
 sorrowful, tempted and oppressed no more; they are to 
 possess and enjoy the fulness of the infinite Gpd himself. 
 Well might they be patient in the view of an issue so 
 transcendent and triumphant. 
 
 Another weighty consideration was its nearness. This 
 is a circumstance clearly introduced and .strongly urged, well 
 adapted to sustain and animate them under all their trials, 
 to raise them above that impatience which is so prevalent. 
 Not only was the end glorious, but that end was not distant. 
 They were not to be required to wait long for the reaping 
 time. Thus, ver. 8, " The coming of the Lord draweth 
 nigh," — literally, has drawn near, and is consequently now 
 at hand. Again, ver. 9, "Behold the judge staudeth before 
 the door." The judge, — that is, the Lord Jesus, for to him 
 all judgment has been committed. He is to ascend the 
 throne at last, and decide the destinies of every huninii 
 being. This function belongs to his kingly ofiice, and it is 
 also a part of his stipulated and well-earned reward as 
 
 ' Heb. iv. 1. 
 
PATIENT WAITING FOR THE LORD'S COMING. oG7 
 
 Mediator. He " standeth before the door,"-^ — he has come 
 very near, he is at the gate, and may enter on his work at any 
 moment. He is already a witness of all persons and trans- 
 actions, and soon he will summon every one to his bar and 
 deal with them according to their deserts; for righteousness, 
 not mercy, is then to reign, and his people are to be ac- 
 cepted and rewarded as entitled to it, through his own merit 
 imputed to them, and his own Spirit put within them. 
 Was not that fitted to serve the purpose for which it is here 
 introduced, to keep believers from growing impatient under 
 the injurious treatment of others, whether those without or 
 those within, seeing he was so speedily to take the work of 
 judgment into his own hand, and vindicate their righteous 
 cause ; to keep them too from passing sentence themselves, 
 from grudging at or condemning their brethren, lest they 
 should fall under his swift rebuke for such uncharitable con- 
 duct ? What better adapted to this end, — to uphold them 
 under influences of a depressing and exhausting kind, so 
 that they should still hope and advance, w.-iit and work — as 
 also to guard them against the entrance <.f those feelings 
 which break out in complaints, murmurs, and similar mani- 
 festations — what, I say, than the nearness of the Saviour's 
 return ? What motive could be more powerful ? and, in 
 point of fact, none was more potent and prevailing in primi- 
 tive times. And should it not be equally so now ? indeed, 
 in some respects more so, seeing the advent is by many 
 centuries less remote. To-day the effect should be not 
 diminished but increased. 
 
 2. Tlie exannples by ivhich it is enforced. — These are the 
 three following : — 
 
 1. The husbandman. — Ver. 7, "Behold the husbandman 
 waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long 
 patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain." 
 
 1 An evident allusion to the eastern practice of the judge taking his stand 
 before the gates of the city. 
 
SG8 PATIENT WAITING FOll THE LORD's COMINO. 
 
 The S'oed committed to the ground does not spring up at 
 once, nor yield its increase until long afterwards. It lies 
 buried in the earth like a thing wholly dead and lost; and 
 when it does appear, it takes months before it reaches ma- 
 turity. All that time it is exposed to changes of weather 
 and a variety of dangers. But the farmer waits for the 
 precious fruit — precious as the food of man and beast — 
 precious to him as the return for his outlay and labour. 
 Yea, he has "long patience f^r it," — literally, over it, as it 
 were watching it, marking its progress. He has to feel and 
 act in this manner for a protracted season, and amidst many 
 things fitted to try him severely; and he perseveres in doing 
 so until he receives both the early and latter rain, not only 
 that of autumn, which was necessary to the preparation of 
 the ground, for the reception of the seed, but also that of 
 spring, preceding and bringing in the harvest. From him 
 Christians should learn a lesson. This is their sowing-time, 
 the great reaping is to come hereafter. It is incumbent on 
 them to exhibit the same spirit, to wait calmly and steadily 
 for the eternal ingathering. And well may they imitate the 
 husbandman, for in their case the issue is both absolutely 
 certain and infinitely glorious. There is no ultimate risk, 
 no possibility of loss, so far as they are concerned. The 
 farmer's crops may fail altogether, or his fields may yield 
 only a scanty increase, but the believer's harvest is equtilly 
 sure and plentiful. Nothing can rob him of his everlasting 
 reward, of the perfect holiness and happiness laid up for 
 him in the kingdom of his Father. 
 
 "2. Tlw- prophets. — James passes from the natural sphere 
 to the spiritual, — from the sowers of the seed which is cor- 
 ruptible, to the sowers of that which is incorruptible, — tho 
 word of God that livrth and abideth for ever. Vcr. 10, 
 "Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the 
 name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, 
 and of patience." He directs them to the Old Testament 
 
PATIENT WAITING FOR THE LORD'S COMING. 369 
 
 seers, whose high and holy function is evidenced by their 
 having spoken in the name of the Lord, delivered those 
 messages which they received directly from him and were 
 commanded to publish with his authority. They were his 
 special ministers, the organs through which he communicated 
 with ancient Israel. They were thus invested with a sacred 
 character, and occupied a most honourable position. Chris- 
 tians were to take them for an example of "suffering afflic- 
 tion." This does not refer to the spirit in which they en- 
 dured their trials, — -that comes afterwards in the "patience," 
 — but simply to the fact of their having been subjected to 
 trials, called to bear many evils. And who can read their 
 histories without finding abundant evidence that they had 
 generally a hard lot, heavy burdens to carry, sore troubles 
 to pass through? Was it not so with Moses, who was not 
 only the leader in a most perilous enterprise, but the leader 
 of a rebellious, discontented, impracticable people? Was it 
 not so with Elijah, with Isaiah, with Daniel, and very 
 specially with Jeremiah, the weeping prophet? Hence we 
 have passages like these respecting them from the lips of 
 Christ himself. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, 
 hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and 
 garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say. If we had 
 been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been 
 partakers with them in the blood of 'the prophets. Where- 
 fore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children 
 of them which killed the prophets." "O Jerusalem, Jeru- 
 salem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which 
 are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy 
 children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under 
 her wings, and ye would not!"^ In like manner Stephen 
 asked, — -"Which of the prophets have not your fathers per- 
 secuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of 
 
 1 Matt, xxill. 29-31, 37. 
 
 2 B 
 
370 PATIKXT V.'AITIXG FOR THE LORD'S COillXr.. 
 
 the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been the 
 betrayers and murdorors."^ "And of patience." They 
 were as much noted f«>r the spirit in which they suflfercd as 
 for the extent to which they suffered. They manifested a 
 wonderful submission in bearing, and perseverance in doing 
 tlie Divine will, amidst trials the most varied, complicated, 
 and severe. How seldom do they complain of the treat- 
 ment to which they were subjected! How little do we hear 
 from themselves of their persecutions! Who among them 
 had a heavier burden laid on him than the lawgiver of Israel? 
 and yet we read of him, — "Now the man Moses was very 
 meek, above all the men which Avcre upon the face of the 
 earth," ^ No doubt they had their imperfections, their 
 times of rebellion, discontent, fretfulness. Moses even con- 
 spicuously failed on one memorable occasion, and his sinful 
 anger drew down on him a signal token of the Divine dis- 
 pleasure. Still, generally speaking, they were distinguished 
 by this grace, and so were a pattern to the faithful in all 
 subsequent ages. What was true of the Old Testament 
 saints as a whole was specially, pre-eminently true of them, 
 that "through faith and patience" they had inherited the 
 promises. 
 
 3. Job. — Yer. 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." His example is introduced by the state- 
 ment, " We count them happy which endure." James may 
 have referred in this to the words of Jesus himself: "Blessed 
 are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for 
 theirs is the kingdom of heaven."^ This is true only of 
 those who do not fail under the trial, who bear it not merely 
 in a good cause, but also in a submissive, stedfast spirit. 
 His servants and people enter into his mind, and form th 
 same estimate in this respect. What peace, joy, have the 
 
 ' Acts vii. 52. "-' Num. xii. 3. ^ Matt. v. 10. 
 
PATIENT V7AITING FOR THE LORD's C05IING. 37 1 
 
 saints often in the very midst of their sufferings ! — yes, 
 and by reason of their sufferings ! The Lord draws specially 
 near to them, and is found a present help in trouble. 
 They rest on him more simply, cling to him more closely, 
 receive from him more fully than at other times. Think 
 what must have been the feelings of the three faithful 
 Hebrews in the burning fiery furnace, seeing they were 
 not only miraculously preserved there, but had walking 
 with them a glorious companion, whose form was "like the 
 Son of God." And still happier are they in respect of the 
 effects and issues of their affiiction. When borne aright, 
 with patience, endurance, it exercises a transforming influ- 
 ence, it greatly j)romotes growth in grace, and with this 
 advance peace spreads and deepens like a river. It con- 
 ducts to and terminates in heaven, — indeed, it "worketh 
 for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 
 
 " Ye have heard," he 'says, " of the patience of Job." 
 It was proverbial. Never was saint more severely tried. 
 In one day he was stripped of his large property, bereaved 
 of his numerous family, and soon afterwards smitten with 
 the most painful and loathsome bodily disease. Thus 
 naked, destitute, the friends who professed to comfort him 
 embittered his sufferings by their hard speeches, their cruel 
 reproaches. So far he yielded to an improper spirit, but 
 ultimately he rose above it, justified God in all his deal- 
 ings, and submitted meekly to the overwhelming chastise- 
 ment. They had actually seen, or were called to see " the 
 end of the Lord," that is, the end given by him in Job's 
 case, the termination of the patriarch's heavy, crushing 
 trials. After a time prosperity returned, children grew up 
 around him again; and it stands recorded, "So the Lord 
 blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning."^ 
 And what is the inference? "What lesson did it teach, 
 what impression was it fitted to convey? The apostle tells 
 
 1 Job xlii. 12. 
 
372 PATIKXT WAITING FOll THE LORD'S COMINO. 
 
 US, in the closing words of the verse, " that the Lord is 
 veiy pitiful, and of tender mercy." He is full of compas- 
 sion. 'He shewed himself so in Job's case; and that was 
 n<j solitary instance. Exceptional in some of its features, 
 it was but an exemplification of that character which 
 remains ever the same, and cannot but come out in a 
 similarly loving, gracious way of acting toward all his 
 people. 
 
 Christians, be patient. Cultivate, exercise this gi-ace ; 
 let it have its perfect work. Manifest it under all the 
 sufferings to whicli you are subjected, in all the labours to 
 which you are called in tlie Master's service, and that until 
 the very end of your course here below. Be patient in 
 b<ariny, — not rebelling, complaining, fretting when trials 
 come upon you, when they are of a severe and unexpected 
 nature, or when they are of long continuance. We are 
 exceedingly apt to faint and fail undex certain kinds of 
 aflfliction, and tinder all kinds of it, if lingering, protracted. 
 Be patient in ivoi-kliiy. We are prone to glow weary in 
 well-doing. Making little progTess, meeting with much 
 opposition and many discouragements, our hands hang down 
 and our knees become feeble. Seeing, perhaps, no appear- 
 ance of success, — discovering, it may be, signs rather o\ 
 things going back after strenuous effort, we are tempted to 
 relinquish the task, and trouble ourselves no more about 
 the matter. Let us yield to no such feeling, but, haviiiL;- 
 entered the vineyard, labour on, believing that "in du. 
 season we shall reap, if we faint not." Be patient in VMui- 
 iiitj, — waiting for the fruit of toil, — waiting for tl; 
 triumphs of Christ's cause, — waiting for the entrance into 
 the heavenly home and inheritance. Let us not give way 
 to un])elief because of present failures, delays, and hopi > 
 deferred, but realizing the certainty of the final issue, let \i> 
 possess our souls in peace, and fully expect all that tli 
 Lord has promised. 
 
PATIENT WAITING FOE THE LOED'S COMING. 873 
 
 Christians, be patient. How strong the motives, how 
 great the encouragements to cultivate and exercise this 
 spirit ! Well may you endure. There is before you a glo- 
 rious reaping-time, an everlasting harvest of blessedness. 
 It is perfectly sure. The husbandman may have his hopes 
 sadly disappointed. The weather may prevent the growth 
 of his crops, or destroy them when ripe before they can be 
 cut down and stored. But no such casualties can either 
 hinder or diminish the heavenly ingathering. It is near 
 also. The waiting-time is but short,— short in relation to 
 eternity,-^short, for at the longest this life is like " a 
 vapour, that appeareth for a little, and then vanisheth 
 away." And finally, it is large, ample. There is to be no 
 stinted return, no scanty increase, but a most plentiful har- 
 vest, more than enough to fill all barns, — an inheritance 
 incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, — an 
 exceeding great and eternal weight of glory. 
 
 I cannot close without reminding sinners that, in their 
 case also, a reaping-time is coming. There is before you a 
 harvest too, but one of Divine wrath and endless misery. 
 How fearful the prospect ! Realize it, for blindness, unbe- 
 lief, indifference, instead of diminishing, must deepen its 
 hori'ors. Have done with your sowing to the flesh, for its 
 only produce is corruption. Set about sowing to the Spirit, 
 that of the Spirit you may reap life everlasting. Comply 
 with the call of the gospel, so shall you be sprinkled with 
 the cleansing blood of Jesus, and have this patience, with 
 every other grace, implanted in your bosoms. 
 
374 PROHIBITION OF SWEAKING. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 PROHIBITION OF SAVEARING. 
 
 " But above all things, my hrethren, siuear not ; neither 
 by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath : 
 but let your yea be yea ; and your nay, nay ; lest ye fall 
 Into condcranation." — James v. 12. 
 
 p^!N drawing his Epistle toward a close, the apostle in- 
 troduces certain special and detached exhortations, 
 applicable to Christians always and every where, but 
 having a particular reference to the circumstances of those 
 who were immediately addressed. They were subjected to 
 temptations and troubles, which rendered such counsels, 
 commands, warnings, and encouragements peculiarly suitable, 
 urgently needful. While the present prohibition has an 
 isolated, independent appearance, it is connected in a 
 general way with what precedes. The faithful amidst their 
 h%avy afflictions, — the outward persecutions by an ungodly 
 world, combined with the inner Conflicts of the Divine hfe, — 
 were in danger of getting impatient, of growing weary in 
 well-doing, and thinking the promised and final harvest long 
 deferred. James puts them on their guard against this 
 tendency, urging them to endure, to suffei;, without failing 
 or complaining, — to hold on with stedfast hearts until the 
 Lord's coming. He enforces the duty of so feeling and 
 acting by such considerations as the nature of the final 
 issue, for how glorious the eternal reaping of the saints, and 
 the nearness of it, for the judge was already standing at 
 the door ; as also by such exum]jlos as those of the husband- 
 man, who haij iirst to labour hard, and then to wait long 
 
PROHIBITION OF SWEAMNG. 37^ 
 
 for the precious fruits of the earth, — =-the prophets who, as a 
 class, were equally remarkable for the severity of their 
 trials, and the calm constancy of their spirits under them, — 
 and Job, who, amidst' overwhelming calamities, manifested 
 a patience which was proverbial. 
 
 Situated as they were, assailed, harassed, tempted, they 
 might be apt to give way to passion, and under provocation, 
 irritation of feeling, arising from unworthy treatment, might 
 speak unadvisedly with their lij)s, and that to the extent of 
 falling into the sin of swearing. They might in anger, if 
 not even in some cases on purpose and from policy, utter 
 oaths, especially of the kind which the Jews regarded as 
 involving little or no criminality, as being comparatively or 
 entirely harmless, because the name of God was carefully 
 avoided. We know how Peter was betrayed into -the 
 offence on a memorable occasion; and, without going his 
 length in profanity, they might, in moments of excitement 
 and difficulty, be drawn into something similar. Hence, 
 probably, the warning of the text, which bears a striking 
 resemblance to one by our Lord in his Sermon on the 
 Mount. " Again, ye have heard that it. hath been said by 
 them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt 
 perform unto the Lord thine oaths: but I say unto you, 
 Swear not at all ; neither by heaven ; for it is God's throne : 
 nor by the earth; for it is his footstool : neither by Jerusa- 
 lem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou 
 swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair 
 white or black. But let your communication be Yea, yea ; 
 Nay, nay ; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of 
 evil." ^ At a later period he spoke out as strongly on the 
 same subject. " Woe unto you, ye blind guides! which say. 
 Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but 
 whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a 
 debtor. Ye fools, and blind ! for whether is greater, the 
 1 Miitt. V. 03-37 
 
:>/ (> PPvOKlBITIuX OF SWEARING. 
 
 ^oid, or the temple that sanctificth the gohl ? And, Whoso- 
 ever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing ; hut whosoever 
 sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools, 
 and blind ! for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that 
 sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the 
 altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And 
 whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him 
 that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, 
 sweareth by the throne of God, and by liim that sitteth 
 thereon."^ 
 
 Let us now proceed to consider the prohibition con- 
 tained in these words of the apostle, and let us do it in 
 simple dependence on the teaching and blessing of the Holy 
 Spirit. The question then is, what is here forbidden ? I 
 answer it both negatively and positively. 
 
 I. li is not every kind of sivearing ivh'tch is forhiddcn. 
 Some have thought and maintained the opposite. Both 
 in early and later times the words of Jesus, and of James 
 his inspired servant, have been regarded as decisive against 
 all oaths whatever, as prohibiting them in all cases, even 
 the most solemn and special. This was the view of several 
 of the ancient Fathers. It was espoused by certain sects 
 in the middle ages, wdiich separated more or less from the 
 coiTuptions of the Papacy. And in the present day the 
 Quakers and others refuse to swear, believing, as they do, 
 that the practice is expressly forbidden, and so luichristian, 
 unlawful in its nature. The general opinion, however, of 
 the Church from the beginning has been difterent. It has 
 been to the effect that the reference is not to judicial and 
 sacred oaths — not to those ordinarily appointed to be taken 
 in giving evidence, professing allegiance, and on other impor- 
 tant occasions ; that it is not to the use l^ut the abuse of 
 such a method of confirming testimony and guarding against 
 
 1 Mutt, xxiii. l()-22. 
 
PROHIBITION OF SWEAKIXG. 377 
 
 falsehood. And the reasons for understanding the language 
 ill this manner seem quite conclusive. 
 
 1. Scripture at large gives its sanction to this kind of 
 swearing. — It does so in many places, and in various ways. 
 The practice is warranted, authorized by express command. 
 It is positively and formally enjoined, and so made not only 
 a thing lawful, but obligatory. " Thou shalt fear the Lord 
 thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name."^ 
 Again, to the same effect we read, " Thou shalt fear the 
 Lord thy God ; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou 
 cleave, and swear by his name."" That obedience in this 
 respect was not to be confined to Old Testament times, was 
 not meant to be binding merely under the law of Moses, is 
 evident from the fact that it is mentioned as characteristic 
 of the latter days, as marking the new state and spirit of that 
 blessed Messianic period. " That he who blesseth himself 
 in the earth, shall bless4iimself in the God of truth; and he 
 that sweareth in the earth, shall swear by the God of truth ; 
 because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they 
 are hid from mine eyes."^ It is also sanctioned by authori- 
 tative example. Thus to begin at the lowest point of the 
 scale, we find it practised by the most eminent of God's in- 
 spired servants under both dispensations, alike by prophets 
 and apostles. Take one or two specimens. Elijah, — "And 
 Elijah the Tishbite, who v/as of the inhabitants of Gilead, 
 said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before 
 whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, 
 but according to my word." Micaiah, — " And Micaiah 
 said. As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that 
 will I speak." Paul, — " Now the things which I write unto 
 you, behold, before God, I lie not." " Moreover, I call God 
 for a record upon my soul, that to spare you, I came not as 
 yet unto Corinth."^ When we rise from the disciples to the 
 
 ' Deut. vi. 13. ^ Deut. x. 20. 3 Isa. Ixv. 16. 
 
 * 1 Kings xvii. 1 ; xxii. 14 ; Gal. i. 20 ; 2 Cor. i. 2o. 
 
 I 
 
378 PROHIBITION OF SWEAPaNO. 
 
 Master himself, we have his high and decisive confirmation. 
 His "Verily, verily, I say unto you," was a solemn assevera- 
 tion, and especially when he stood before Caiaphas, did ho 
 condescend to swear, for he there took a judicial oath in 
 what was then the usual way of so doing. "And the hi<:h 
 priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the 
 living God, that thou tell us Avhether thou be the Christ, 
 the Son of God." And Jesus assenting, adopting the obli- 
 gation involved, stooping to be thus bound, replied, " Thou 
 liast said,"^ or, it is even as thou sayest. Ascending still, 
 from the Mediator to Jehovah himself in his unveiled 
 majesty, free from all the humiliation and infirmities of 
 humanity to which Christ submitted when he appeared and 
 spoke among men, we hear of him deigning to employ this 
 same expedient in order to establish his word and strengthen 
 the faith of his people. Twenty-throe times in the Old 
 Testament we have the solemn adjuration, "As I live, saith 
 the Lord," and repeatedly we have something still more 
 formal and express. " And the angel of the Lord called 
 unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said. By 
 myself have I sworn, saith the Lord; for because thou hast 
 done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only 
 son; that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I 
 will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as tlie 
 sand which is upon the sea-shore." " I have sworn by my- 
 self, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, 
 and shall not return. That unto me every knee shall bow, 
 every tongue shall swear." "For whi-n God made promise 
 to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware 
 by himself, saying. Surely blessing I will bless thee, and 
 multiplying I will multiply thee. . . . For men verily swear 
 by the greater ; and an oath for confirmation is to them an 
 end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to 
 shew unto tl.' Ik ivs of promise the immutability of liis 
 ' Matt. X.V-. i. GC. 
 
PROHIBITION OF SWEARING. 3 / 9 
 
 counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutablo 
 things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might 
 have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay 
 hold upon the hope set before us."^ Here the apostle calls 
 attention to the wonderful fact, and gives the reason for 
 such a proceeding both among men and on the part of God 
 in his dealings with his creatures. What, then, can be 
 more obvious and indubitable than the inference that on 
 important occasions, in judicial and other grave cases, we 
 may warrantably make an appeal to the all-seeing and sin- 
 avenging One that we speak the truth in what we are testi-. 
 fying. If we do it with proper views and feelings, we do 
 nothing wrong; for the act in itself is lawful, scriptural, — ■ 
 in certain circiim stances not only permitted, but obligatory. 
 2. The -passage under consideration is not directai 
 against such swearing. — -If it had been intended to pro- 
 hibit all oaths, then the- most common and awful of them, 
 those containing the name of the great and holy Jehovah, 
 those in which it is taken most plainly and expressly in 
 vain, would surely have been specified. But of them there 
 is no mention whatever. When the apostle says, — " Swear 
 not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any 
 other oath," he evidently means by the last expression any 
 other similar to the ones condescended on by him, not in- 
 cluding that by the Divine name, which, as the most weighty 
 and sacred of all, would have been put on the very front of 
 the whole, had it been under consideration. He is not 
 treating of transactions in which it was employed. Had he 
 intended the prohibition to apply to it, we should not have 
 been left to infer this, but have had it clearly, unmistake- 
 ably stated. And as this appears from the very terms of 
 the passage, it may be gathered also, I think, from the 
 nature of the case. What is there wrong about an oath, — 
 about it viewed simply in itself? Putting aside for the 
 
 1 Gen. x.\ii. 15-17 ; Lia. :dv. 2J ; Heb. vi. 13, 14, 16-18. 
 
3 so PROIIIDITION OF SWEAUING. 
 
 present the Diviue s<anction, wliicli, as we have seen, it fully 
 has, is it not defensible on rational and religious grounds? 
 It is an express recognition of tlie great God as seeing and 
 hearing us, — as now the witness, and soon to he the judge of 
 our conduct, — as the upholder of truth and avenger of false- 
 hood. It is an appeal to him which, if made in a proper 
 spirit, with solemn feelings, testifies to our faith in his being 
 and our fear of his displeasure. It is an act of deference, — 
 homage to his righteous character and infinite majesty. It 
 is a sacred thing, of the nature of worship. But it is said 
 we should speak truly, without any such sanction being 
 necessary. So we should; but the oath in special cases, in 
 grave matters, may exercise a powerful influence on our 
 own minds, may help us to realize more deeply the Divine 
 presence and the future retribution, may confirm our resolu- 
 tion to do right, and fortify us against temptation. Then 
 it serves the purpose of satisfying others, inspiring greater 
 confidence in our testimony. Thus in itself there is nothing 
 about it at all dishonouring to God, but the very reverse, — 
 nothing inconsistent witli the most reverential spirit and 
 habitual truthfulness. 
 
 II. It is only a certain hind of swearing that is here 
 forbidden. — And the question now is, what kind ? It is 
 passionate and profane, light and useless, common and con- 
 versiitional swearing. Oaths of this sort seem to have 
 abounded among the Jews, as we learn from both sacred and 
 secular history. They largely indidged in the wicked prac- 
 tice. Thoy were encouraged in it by their teachers, who 
 introduced a number of casuistical distinctions, lowering 
 thus the sentiments of the people on the subject, and lead- 
 ing them to believe that by certain precautions they might 
 do it with impunity. To these miserable cavils, these 
 salvos to the conscience, our Lord refers in language of 
 merited condemnation and rebuke. They appear to have 
 
PROHIBITION OF SWEARING. 381 
 
 imagined that there was little or nothing wrong in the 
 thing, provided they did not bring in the name of God, 
 which they regarded with great, even superstitious rever- 
 ence, that by the exclusion of it they avoided a violation of 
 the third commandment, and had no reason to fear the 
 penalty there threatened. Hence they swore by heaven 
 and earth, — by Jerusalem, the temple, the altar,- — ^by their 
 heads, and other objects. By means of this patent subter- 
 fuge they reconciled themselves to the habit, thus keeping 
 the letter while trampling on the spirit of the law, — the re- 
 sult being that they dishonoured God not the less, while 
 they miserably deceived themselves. Jesus exposed the 
 hollowness of the pretence; he brought out the fact that all 
 these sanctioned oaths of theirs contained a real though in- 
 direct and disguised appeal to Jehovah; that he was under 
 and in all the objects specified; that he was meant though 
 not mentioned. He was disobeyed, his name desecrated, not- 
 withstanding the evasion practised. The sin was essentially 
 the same, in some respects even aggravated. 
 
 And is there less need for the warning at the present 
 day and among ourselves ? There is much profane swear- 
 ing in the midst of us, as any one who passes along our 
 streets will soon perceive. The oaths which fall upon our 
 ears are horrible, and all the more so that they often come 
 from the hps of boys, and even of girls. It is most dis- 
 tressing to hear those of tender years blaspheming, shouting 
 out in anger or in sport the names of God and Christ, and 
 making as free with hell and damnation as if they were the 
 merest trifles. And how sadly leavened with the same 
 thing is our current literature, not excepting the higher and 
 more fashionable part of that literature. There the most 
 profuse and offensive swearing is introduced, and the example 
 is followed and set by ladies who aspire to eminence not 
 only as authors, but also as Christians. In their writings 
 the Divine titles are brought in with an unholy familiarity, 
 
SS2 PROHIBITION OF SWEAr.ING. 
 
 aiiJ every right principle and feeling is shocked by the 
 frequency and levity of the appeals which are made to him 
 before whom angels veil their faces. It is alleged, in de- 
 fence of the practice, that writers must delineate characters 
 as they actually are, must put into their mouths the lan- 
 guage they are in the habit of using. Well, it is to be 
 hoped that many people swear less than they are repre- 
 sented as doing by certain of our novelists. As authors have 
 the choice of the subjects they treat and the persons they 
 describe, riglit ])rinciple and even good taste would dictate 
 a different selection from that often made. There can be 
 no question that the influence thus exerted is bad, and the 
 effect deeply injurious. Young persons, and indeed others 
 as well, get accustomed to such liberties, — they lose the 
 awe with which they naturally regard the gi*eat God, and 
 cease to be wounded by the grossest profanity. It is a 
 perilous thing thus to tamper with the instinctive and duti- 
 ful reverence of the heart, and to breed disregard of tlie 
 dread Majesty of heaven. 
 
 Then many follow in the footsteps of the Jews, and 
 imagine that they avoid the sin forbidden in the third com- 
 mandment, by excluding the literal name of God, the actual 
 tenn from the oaths they utter. They interlard their dis- 
 course with them ; but they substitute for the infinite One 
 perhaps some heathen deity. Thus an eminent writer, 
 lately deceased, makes one of his characters, after coming 
 out of a great affliction and undergoing a great change, 
 swear by Jupiter ; and he explains his doing so by remark- 
 ing that he can no longer use the truly Divine name in this 
 manner. Or they employ abstract terms, as goodness, 
 mercy, which have no meaning, but as they refer to him, 
 who alone possesses and exercises the qualities they express. 
 Or, as in the instance before us, hi.s works Tire appealed to, 
 tlic heavens and the soul being most generally dragged in 
 after this fashion. These and such like expressions are of 
 
PROHIBITION OF SV7EARING. 383 
 
 frequent occurrence in conversation, and are largely sanc- 
 tioned by numbers wlio would shrink from what is knoAvn 
 as profane swearing with horror. But they are open to the 
 charge which Christ brought against similar ones among the 
 Jews; they really, though not verbally, bring in Jehovah, 
 and are essentially a taking of his thrice holy name in vain. 
 This may not be intended, but the fact remains, and care- 
 ful consideration will justify tlie Saviour's view of the 
 matter. Hence the language of James in the verse we are 
 now expounding. 
 
 " But," — marking the contrast between the spirit he had 
 been recommending, and that he was about to warn them 
 against, — "above all things"- — all things I have -written 
 on this subject, or rather all things to which you may be 
 tempted in certain circumstances. Feel and say what you 
 may, utter no oath. While abstaining from evil of every 
 kind, be specially careful in this respect. The offence is 
 not a trifling one ; it is great, heinous. It is presump- 
 tuous, irrational in its nature, and hardening in its effect. 
 It savours of profanity ; it serves no good purpose whatever ; 
 and • it exercises a most baneful influence on those who 
 indulge in the practice. "My brethren" — the appeal here 
 made is to Christians. They are called, in a peculiar way, 
 to avoid everything of the sort, — to keep at the utmost 
 distance from all cursing. "Swear not" — swear not as a 
 habit, nor in passion ; swear not excej)t in those cases and 
 for those ends which have Divine sanction. " Neither by 
 heaven, neither by the earth," — then apparently common 
 forms of adjuration — "neither by any other oath," that is 
 similar to those now mentioned. However harmless they 
 may seem to be, by reason of God's name not being intro- 
 duced, they really, though indirectly, appeal to him, and 
 constitute a violation of the third commandment. " But 
 let-your yea be yea ; and your nay, nay" — that is, satisfv 
 yourselves with a simple affirmation or denial, as the case 
 
38-i PTionriuTioN of swF.Amxn. 
 
 may require. Let your hare word suffice. Seek not to 
 strengthen it by any such means. The habit of doing so 
 involves want of due reverence for God, and due regard to 
 truth. Wliile this is what is directly intended, we , may 
 unilerstand the apostle as saying, let your yea be a real yea, 
 and your nay a real nay ; that is, let alike the one and the 
 other be expressive of your exact meaning, and let them be 
 verified in your course of action. Let them not disguise, 
 but declare your genuine thoughts and feelings. And this 
 is enforced by the consideration, " lest ye fall into condem- 
 nation" — the condemnation which the law threatens so 
 emphatically. "Thou slialt not take the name of the Lord 
 thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him giiiltless 
 that taketh his name in vain."^ He may escape punish- 
 ment on earth, but he is sure to be overtaken by the 
 vengeance of heaven. Judginent cannot but follow, — 
 judgment at the hands of him who can recompense evil- 
 doers, even to the extent of casting both soul and body into 
 hell-fire. Well may the thought of him restrain from^ all 
 such liberties with his name, express or implied, direct" or 
 disguised. 
 
 Brethren, let us have the fear of God deeply rooted in our 
 spirits. Let us realize his glorious majesty, his awful holi- 
 ness, his inflexible justice, his almighty power, his constant 
 presence, and, crowning all, his infinite goodness. Let us 
 remember with what mingled love and reverence he should 
 be regarded ; how sacred, inviolable to us should be every 
 thing pertaining to him, — his distinctive titles, perfections, 
 and operations. This will keep us from taking liberties 
 with him, — from the most distant approach to a profane or 
 light use of his great and holy name. We will then tremble 
 to appeal to liim under any form, in any respect, except on 
 weighty occasions and with awe-struck feelings. how 
 abhorrent to such ;ts have seen his glory, and tasted that he 
 
 ' Ex. XX. 7. 
 
PROHIBITION OF SWEARING. 385 
 
 is gracious, all those oaths, whether great or small, open or 
 minced, direct or indirect, which many utter with thought- 
 less levity ! They grate painfully on the ear, — they wound 
 the sj)irit. Let us put away everything of the kind, and 
 shew that we both understand and mean what we say when 
 we pray, "Hallowed be thy name." 
 
 This fear, too, will ever constrain us to speak the simple, 
 naked truth, without the aid of any such sanction. Having 
 God always before us, our yea will be yea, our nay, nay ; 
 our bare assertion good, trustworthy, — more so even than 
 that of those who are constantly appealing to heaven, and 
 backing up their statements by ail sorts of asseverations. 
 Here and everywhere let us receive and obey the word of 
 the great Master. Any other course is fitted to lead us 
 grievously astray, and land us in condemnation. Let us 
 dread that, for heavy as man's judgment often is, it is not 
 to be compared with God's. May his displeasure ever be to 
 us more than death, and his favour better than life ! By faith 
 in Jesus we can escape the one and obtain the other. We 
 must first receive him as a Saviour, then obey him as Lord, 
 if we would be taken out of, and, kept from falling into, 
 condemnation. 
 
 2 C 
 
38G THE AFFLICTED, THE MERRY, 
 
 ' XXIX. 
 
 THE AFFLICTED, THE MERRY, AND THE SICK 
 EXHORTED. 
 
 " Is any among you affiicted? let him jway. Is any 
 merry'} let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? 
 let him call for the elders of the church ; and let them pray 
 over him, anointing him ivith oil in the name of the Lord: 
 and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord 
 shall raise him up ; and if he have committed sins, they 
 shall he forgiven him." — James v. 13, 14. 
 
 N the preceding verses the apostle warns those 
 addressed against swearing, not swearing of a 
 judicial and sacred kind, but that which is light, 
 common, profane, — not oaths taken on special occasions, 
 and for important purposes, but oaths uttered in conversa- 
 tion from levity or passion. The condition of Christians 
 was then one of great trial. They were subjected to many 
 temptations, dangers, and sufferings; and in these circum- 
 stances they might be apt to gi-ow impatient, to yield to 
 irritation of feeling, and, under provocation, speak unad- 
 visedly with their lips, going even the length of that apostle 
 who, at a critical juncture, "began to cui-se and to swear." 
 Every approach to this was to be carefully avoided. Nei- 
 ther in anger nor in fear were they to be betrayed into 
 anything so impious. The Jews, led by their teachers, 
 made certain casuistical distinctions, which reconciled them 
 to the practice in question. They imagined that, if they 
 excluded the Divine name, the mere term God, from their 
 oaths, they thereby escaped from the guilt of violating the 
 third commandment, and might utter them with impimity, 
 
AND THE SICK EXHORTED. 387 
 
 even propriety. The Saviour laid open the miserable sub- 
 terfuge; and shewed that, whatever the object sworn by,- — as 
 the heavens, the head, the temple, — there was a real, though 
 disguised appeal to Jehovah, and the very same sin com- 
 mitted as if he had been expressly mentioned. The 
 believers to whom James was writing, being Jews, might be 
 led away by this error, which so extensively prevailed and 
 had so high a sanction ; and hence it was fitting that they 
 should be put on their guard against the danger. Here he 
 tells them how they should conduct themselves in all con- 
 ditions, and especially in their troubles. Their feelings, 
 whether joyful or sorrowful, were to find vent, but in a very 
 different way, — not in cursing, but in blessing, — not in im- 
 precations, but in praise and prayer. Three cases are speci- 
 fied ; and to these in their order we now call your attention. 
 
 I. TJie afflicted. — "Is any among you afHicted?" asks 
 the apostle. Is any of you in trouble, of whatever kind, — 
 it might be outward or inward — it might be bodily or 
 mental, personal or domestic, arising from ordinary trial, 
 spiritual conflict, or religious persecution ? " Many are the 
 afflictions of the righteous." They have those common to 
 men, and, in addition, those peculiar to themselves as 
 Christians. What is the suitable attitude and exercise in 
 these circumstances? In what quarter, and in what way. 
 is relief to be obtained? "Let him pray," answers James. 
 The troubled one is exhorted to repair to the throne of 
 grace, to draw near to God as seated there, and pour out 
 his heart in supplication. He is neither to rise in defiance, 
 nor to sink in despair; he is not to rebel or murmur, to 
 bring false charges, or enter false refuges. He is to betake 
 himself to prayer. He is to spread out all his cares, his 
 sorrows, his wants, never forgetting his sins; to acknowledge 
 the Divine wisdom, justice, goodness in all that comes upon 
 him, and seek the blessings he stands in need of as a mat- 
 
nSS THE AFFLICTED, THE MERRY, 
 
 i<r of sovereign, undeserved fiivour. Tlie very exercise has 
 a soothing and sustaining influence., We cannot enter the 
 secret ])lace and lift up our souls to God without being 
 lightened, strengthened, calmed, — raised as on a rock above 
 the surrounding waters. And then there is the assurance 
 of a gracious answer. Not only are we tranquillized and 
 elevated by the very act v.hen real, spiritual, but we obtain 
 what we ask, — support under the trial, or deliverance from 
 it, as may be most beneficial for us and honouring to the 
 Lord. Yes, wlien we seek in faith without wavering, we 
 have an express warrant to expect this; and how many 
 have found it made good in their blessed experience! This 
 is the remedy in our days of darkness and distress, when 
 we can turn from earth to heaven, unbosom ourselves freely 
 to our Father there, grasp his faithful promises, and feel 
 tliat all will be overruled for our welfare, — that whatever may 
 be the temporal issue, these things are ordained to work 
 out for us a far more exceeding, even an eternal weight of 
 glory. " And call upon me in the day of trouble ; I will 
 deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." " Thou calledst in 
 trovible, and I delivered thee : I answered thee in the 
 secret place of thunder." "Then they cried unto the Lord 
 in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their dis- 
 tresses." " And lest I should be exalted above measure 
 through the abundance of the revelations, there was given 
 to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buftVt 
 me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing 
 I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 
 And he said unto me, 'My grace is suftioicnt for thee : for 
 my strength is made perfect in weakness."^ We have here 
 the experience' of the Divine Saviour himself. " And ho 
 was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled 
 <lown, and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove 
 this cup from me ; neverthcloss, not my will, but thine, be 
 
 > Vs. 1. 15 ; Ixxxi. 7 ; cvii. G : 2 Cor. xii. 7-9. 
 
AND THE SICK EXHORTED. 389 
 
 done. And there appeared unto him an angel from heaven, 
 strengthening him."^ 
 
 II. Tlie merry.— "Is, anj?- mcny?" Are you cheerful, 
 joyful? Are you in a prosperous condition, in a happy 
 frame? Are you comfortable in your circumstances and your 
 feelings? Is God smiling on you outwardly or inwardly, — 
 it may be in both respects? Is he surrounding you with 
 tokens of his favour, giving you manifold reasons for thank- 
 fulness? "If so," says the apostle, "sing psalms;" or simply, 
 as the original signifies, "Let him sing." The word prim- 
 arily means to play on an instrument; then to accompany 
 one with the voice; then as here merely to chant, to praise 
 vocally. In the original there is nothing corresponding to 
 "psalms" in our version, though that term is closely con- 
 nected with the verb here used. We have it rendered quite 
 generally in other passages where it occurs. "And that the 
 Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy ; as it is written. 
 For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and 
 sing unto thy name." "What is it then? I will pray with 
 the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also : I 
 will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understand- 
 ing also."^ Thus the passage has no bearing on the ques- 
 tion largely agitated at present, whether psalms only, or 
 hymns as well, are to be employed in Divine worship, and 
 if both of them may be used, which is to be preferred. It 
 does not help in the slightest degree to determine anything 
 of the kind, though the opposite has been recently main- 
 tained with no little confidence. The apostle does not mean 
 assuredly that the ajjlided should never thus sing, that 
 praise is not suitable in their circumstances. The very re- 
 verse is often the case. Many a time it happens that never 
 have they more cause for thanksgiving, adoration, than in 
 the midst of their deepest trials. They feel it, and mingle 
 
 ' Luke xxii. 41-13. ^ Eom. sv. 9. ; 1 Cor. xiv. 15. 
 
390 THE AFFLICTED, THE MERRY, 
 
 with their tears and groans songs of gratitude and triumph. 
 Paul speaks of believers glor}dng in their tribulations. He 
 and Silas were beaten at Philippi, thrust into the inner 
 prison, and there made fast in the stocks; but rising above 
 all reproach and suffering, their praises were heard in tho 
 gloomy cells all around. Neither is it meant that the 
 meiTy are not to pray, that this exercise is not appropriate 
 or needful in their condition. Why never do they require 
 more to betake themselves to the heavenly footstool, for 
 they are open then to special and perilous temptations; and 
 unless they are on their guard and seek help of God, the 
 joyfulness is likely to be soon turned into mourning. But 
 he teaches what is peculiarly suited to, in harmony with, 
 the states of feeling, the circumstances and frames of the 
 parties. Prayer becomes him who is afflicted, praise him 
 who is merry. Tracing all we have to the great Father of 
 lights, from whom every good and perfect gift descends, our 
 souls should swell with grateful emotions, and these should 
 find expression in the accents of adoration and thanksgiving. 
 Now, we should qualify ourselves to the best of our ability 
 for this service of song. The voice ought to be cultivated, 
 and the taste improved to the utmost; for every power, 
 bodily as well as mental, should be devoted to God, and 
 rendered as efficient as possible. How much of the ele- 
 vating and ennobling influence of praise depends on the 
 way in which this part of worship is performed ! But un- 
 doubtedly the great thing is the heart, — to be making 
 melody there, though no sounds at all should be heard, or 
 those heard should be harsh and dissonant. If we fail there, 
 if holy affections do not swell in our bosoms, no outward 
 execution, no strains, however sublime, can find any fiivour 
 with him who requires to be worshipped in spirit and in 
 truth, — whose first and last demand is, "Give me thine heart." 
 Let that never be forgotten. And we are not to confine 
 the exhortation here to public occasions, but are in private, 
 
AND THE SICK EXHORTED. 39 1 
 
 in our houses and closets, so far as we possess the ability, to 
 sing praises. At all events, we may and should do it in- 
 wardly. " Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and 
 spiritual song-s, singing and making melody in your heart 
 to the Lord." 
 
 IIL The sich. — "Is any sick among you?" Here we 
 have a particular case or kind of . affliction singled out, and 
 special directions regarding it given. It is that of bodily 
 infirmity or disease. What was to be done in such circum- 
 stances ? " Let him call for," — that is, send for, — "the elders 
 of the church." By the elders we are not to understand 
 merely the seniors in years, but those so named officially, — 
 those presiding over the congregation to which the unwell 
 person belonged, — the presbyters who, in New Testament 
 language, are one and the same Avith the bishops, as candid 
 Episcopalians themselves frankly admit.^ They included, 
 as we believe, both teaching and ruling elders, the pastor or 
 pastors and those associated with him or them in the spi- 
 ritual government of the particular Christian community. 
 Learn, in passing, from this part of the exhortation these im- 
 portant lessons. First, The office-bearers of the church are 
 to stand in a special relation to, and take a special charge 
 of, the sick members. They are to be ready to repair to 
 their dwellino-s, and minister to their necessities. This 
 class has a peculiar claim on the interest, sympathy, and 
 assistance of those appointed to watch over the flock. They 
 in particular should not be peglected, but visited, prayed 
 for and with, exhorted, comforted, relieved, as their circum- 
 stances require. Then there is the greatest need of the con- 
 solations of God's word, and the mind is more open to im- 
 pression than at other times. Secondly, This work of visi- 
 tation should not be confined to the minister, but belongs to 
 the elders as well; to them not exclusively, of course, but 
 
 1 Eph. V. 19. 2 Alford, Ellicott, and others. 
 
392 THE AFFLICTED, THE MERRY, 
 
 along with the pastor. Too often is all this work thrown 
 on the latter, as if it were his business alone, entirely anl 
 solely his duty. It is thought to rest on him singly, — at 
 least it comes to this very generally in practice. Why so ? 
 Not seldom it is more than he can overtake; and even when 
 it IS otherwise, why should his brethren in the eldership not 
 go hand in hand with him in the performance of this ser- 
 vice ? For what are these spiritual overseers of the flock 
 appointed ? Is theirs only a kind of honorary office ? Is 
 it merely formal or ornamental ? Nay, verily; they arc 
 presbyters too, and we see how they should be employed. 
 Thirdly, They should be sent for when thus needed. They 
 ought to go uncalled, of course, when they know the 
 circumstances, but often they are ignorant of these. No- 
 thing is more common than for ministers, and elders too, to 
 be upbraided and blamed for neglect in this respect. A 
 person has been ill for a few days; and if not visited in that 
 time, great wonder, and even it may be gi'eat displeasure 
 is expressed, so that the scene at meeting is one of alterca- 
 tion, of accusation and defence, instead of willing service 
 and thankful welcome. How do people suppose that we are 
 to be made aware of their condition ? Are we, by some 
 mysterious instinct or some magnetic influence, to get the 
 information ? Are we to go from house to house and gather 
 intelligence ? I have often been surprised at the unreason- 
 ableness of many parties in this matter. If they want a 
 physician they call him, and never dream of his coming 
 otherwise. If they really value and desire the minister or 
 elder, should they not act in a similar manner ? Often have 
 persons been long sick and thought themselves sadly over- 
 looktnl, when the simple explanation has been tliat thrir 
 state was wholly unknown to the pastor. I would exhort 
 those who are disposed to be severe on us to ask themselves, 
 Have we complied with the apo.stolic injunction, have we 
 sent for them in our trouble ? 11" so, and they have either 
 
AND THE SICK EXHORTED. 393 
 
 refused or neglected to come, you may not unwarrantably 
 find fault and administer rebuke. 
 
 "And let them," the elders, "pray over them," — that is, 
 do it standing as it were over the sick person,— or it may 
 simply mean with reference to him, in his behalf. This 
 is the special thing to be done in such visits. We are to 
 plead for the sufferer, to carry the case to God's mercy-seat, 
 asking present sujaport, ultimate deliverance, and, above all, 
 the sanctified use of the affliction. The diseased are un- 
 doubtedly to do this for themselves. They are not to look 
 on ministers and elders as having a priestly character, as 
 able, in some mysterious, magical way, to benefit them by 
 their prayers. Such an idea, we fear, too often prevails. 
 No; if they devolve this duty on others, if they expect to 
 have it performed, as it were, by deputy, they are grievously 
 mistaken. If they supplicate not themselves, in vain will 
 any of us do it for them; and the hope which rests on a 
 foundation of the kind is false and worthless. 
 
 It is added, " anointing him with oil in the name of the 
 Lord." In the East, oil was believed to have no small 
 medicinal virtue, and so it was, and still is, applied in the 
 case of certain diseases. To this fact there are distinct re- 
 ferences in Scripture. " From the sole of the foot even 
 unto the head there is no soundness in it ; but wounds, and 
 bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, 
 neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment,"' — or oil, 
 as in the margin. When the Samaritan saw the man who had 
 fallen among thieves and was lying half-dead, he "went to him, 
 and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine." ^ But here 
 it .was employed, not as a means of healing, but in a kind of 
 symbolical, sacred character. When the disciples first went 
 forth they made use of it in connection with the miraculous 
 cures they performed. " And they cast out many devils, 
 and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them."^ 
 » Isa. i. 6. 2 LuTje x. 34. » Mark vi. 13, 
 
304- THE AFFLICTED, THE MERRY, 
 
 Now, it was obviously designed to occupy a similar place, to 
 servo a similar purpose. Under the Old Testament it was a 
 typical thing; and it continued to be so also under the New, 
 as we see from the parable of the ten virgins. Thus it re- 
 presented the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit, by 
 whose power the supernatural recovery in all such cases was 
 efifected. This is the light in which it is to be viewed here, 
 as a sign relating to, and limited to those extraordinary 
 bodily restorations which that early age of the Church wit- 
 nessed. It was to be done, the anointing, " in the name of 
 the Lord," — that is, of the Lord Jesus. When the oil was 
 applied to the sufferer, it was to be pronounced, its sanction 
 invoked. The authority for, and the virtue of, the act were 
 to be associated with his name, — that is, with himself, for to 
 h im it pointed, of him it was descrij^tive. Now mark the 
 effect. 
 
 Ver. 15, "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick." 
 The prayer of faith is the prayer which faith offers, which 
 springs from, and is characterized by, this fundamental grace 
 of the Sjairit. Li the working of miracles a special faith was 
 requisite. This seems to be implied when we find it 
 ranked among the extraordinary gifts that marked the 
 apostolic period. "To another faith by the same Spirit."^ 
 And the words of Jesus lead to the same conclusion. When 
 Peter and the others wondered greatly at the withering 
 away of the fig-tree, he said unto them, — " Have faith in 
 God. For verily I say unto you. That whosoever shall say 
 unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast 
 into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall 
 believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; 
 he shall have whatsoever he saith." ^ Observe the effect is 
 connected, not with the anointing, but with the prayer. 
 There lay the real virtue. It was the great thing, and it 
 as proceeding from, and animated by, the faith in question- 
 1 1 Cor. xii. 9. 2 ^ilark xi. 22. 23. 
 
AND THE SICK EXHORTED. '395 
 
 We see its place and power in actual cases. When Peter 
 came into the chamber where the dead body of Dorcas lay, 
 how did he proceed? "He kneeled down, and prayed; and 
 turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she 
 opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up."^ 
 Take another example. "And it came to pass, that the 
 father of Publius lay sick of a fever, and of a bloody flux : 
 to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on 
 him, and healed him."^ When the apostle speaks of it 
 saving, we are to understand it in the sense of healing. It 
 is used, not with reference to the soul, but to the body; not 
 to the burden of sin, but the burden of disease. This is 
 made evident by the explanatory clause that follows, and 
 also by the way in which it is distinguished from the gift 
 of forgiveness in the latter part of the verse. 
 
 James adds, "And the Lord shall raise him up," — up from 
 his bed of sickness, from his state of weakness. "And if he 
 have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." The "if" 
 does not imply any doubt as to the fact that every such one 
 had committed sins. All men, whatever their country, 
 character, or condition, have broken the Divine law and in- 
 cuiTed its penalty. There is none righteous. We are by 
 nature children of disobedience and of wrath, and what we 
 are originally that we are also actually. He refers to 
 special sins, evil habits and practices closely connected with 
 the bodily state of the persons. Men's misdeeds are oftdh 
 the cause of their miseries. They are productive of mani- 
 fold infirmities and diseases. They are so more or less 
 directly. We can frequently see the connexion, the one 
 thing following on the other in a way not to be mistaken. 
 In many cases again the link, though hidden, really exists. 
 The moral and the physical are thus bound up together. 
 The apostle says these sins shall be forgiven, — not, however, 
 by the mere prayer of tlie elders, still less by the anoint- 
 
 1 Acts is. 40. ^ Acts xxviii. 8. 
 
39 " THE AFFLICTED, THE ilEURY, 
 
 ing with oil, irrespective of a right state of thought and 
 feeling on tlie part of the sul'fercrs themselves. They had to 
 make confession, they had to repent of their doings sincerely 
 and dce2)ly, they had to betake themselves in faith to the 
 Lord Jesus; and it was only when they did so that the effect 
 could follow, the pardon be bestowed. All this is implied 
 though not stated. How blessed the result! Not mere 
 bodily healing, but spiritual as well ; not the removal of 
 disease only, but the removal of guilt also, with its con- 
 demning and deadly |)0',ver. 
 
 Roman Catholics found entirely on the present passage for 
 their so-called sacrament of Extreme Unction. It is ad- 
 ministered only to persons who are at the point of death, and 
 consists in anointing with the sacred oil their eyes, ear.-, 
 nofttrils, mouths, and hands ; while the priest absolves them 
 from all the sins, however heinous, committed by these 
 members. They profess to see here a warrant for the prac- 
 tice, and hence the Council of Trent declares, — "Whosoever 
 shall affirm that extreme unction is not truly and properly 
 a sacrament instituted by Christ our Lord, and published by 
 the blessed apostle James, but only a ceremony received 
 from the fathers, or a human invention, let him be accursed." 
 But manifestly there is no sanction for anything of the kind 
 in these words before us ; and it is only by a process of 
 straining, indeed perversion of the gi'ossest description, that 
 Kbmani.sts can extract from them the semblance of support. 
 The rite is deferred until all hope of recovery is gone, until the 
 party is in the last extremity, well-nigh in the very article 
 of death. It is not performed with a view to his restora- 
 tion as here, but "to prepare him for departure, as a sort of 
 I)assport to heaven. The occasion, design, and effect of it 
 are as different as possible. Instead of resemblance, there is 
 a perfect contrast. It is a part of the mystery of iniquity, 
 deliberately and skilfully framed to increase the ghostly power 
 of the priesthood. The explanation of the act here referred 
 
e AND THE SICK EXHORTED. 397 
 
 to lies in the fact that miraculous cures were wrought in 
 certain cases, and in such cases the unction was a kind of 
 sign or symbol. It ceased with the circumstances in which 
 it originated, and with which it was connected. It was 
 temporary, and has passed away. 
 
 Let us turn to spiritual account all our varied states and 
 frames. We are here subject to many changes of condition 
 a.nd feeling. At one time we are. afflicted, at another merry. 
 Now we are in the enjoyment of health, then prostrated 
 under a load of sickness. In all these we should be pro- 
 perly exercised — in all should act a Christian part suited 
 to the circumstances. Our trials should lead us to the 
 heavenly footstool, to God for support under them, for 
 deliverance from them, and, above all, for grace to reap 
 from them the precious fruits of righteousness, which 
 they are fitted and designed to prodvice in the case of 
 the faithful. Our mercies should open our mouths in 
 thanksgiving. We should sing aloud o'l the Divine 
 loving- kindness. And the sacrifice of prr.'se should be 
 offered, not by the lip only, but by the life also. When 
 stretched on beds of languishing, let us repair first and 
 cliiefly to the Lord himself; but let us, at the same time, 
 seek the counsels and the prayers of his people, especially of 
 liis servants. How many gather round them at such a sea- 
 son those who can hinder but cannot help them spiritually! 
 How often do we see the newspaper, and even the novel, in 
 the hand, instead of the Bible ! How often do we find the 
 gossiping neighbour in the chamber in jslace of some wise, 
 heavenly counsellor! Yet let us beware of the error of 
 those who, when danger is apprehended, send for the minister 
 or elder, and seek his prayers as a kind of charm, as if they 
 had a mystical, magical influence, as if they had a virtue 
 lilie the extreme unction of the Papist. Let us guard 
 against everything of this sort ; but nothing can be more 
 suitable then than to invite the presence of the elders of 
 
398 TIIK AFFLICTED, THE MERRY, ETC. 
 
 the church, that they may administer counsel and comfort. 
 To all the states there arc appropriate exercises. Let us 
 engage in them, thus complying with the apostolic exhorta- 
 tion in the passage. 
 
 Let us also see here the fact and the secret of prayer's 
 power. The reality and the greatness of its power will come 
 before us more fully in the verses which follow. But here 
 mark how it proves effectual for the saving of the sick, for the 
 raising of them up, for securing the forgiveness of their sins ! 
 How docs it prevail ! What blessings does it obtain ! But the 
 secret of this efficacy is here specially disclosed. It is faith. 
 In proportion as it proceeds from, and is pervaded by, this 
 grace, docs it reacli the loving heart and move the almighty 
 arm of our Father in heaven. Destitute of it, prayer is not 
 heard, — it is impotent, worthless. It is what we ask believ- 
 ing, that we are to receive. Let us remember this and 
 plead, ever resting on the Divine word, laying hold of its 
 great promises, and, above all, of him in whom these pro- 
 mises are all yea and amen. Thus we shall not be sent 
 empty away, whether it be for ourselves or for others that 
 we pour out our hearts at the mercy-seat. 
 
MUTUAL CONFESSION AND PRAYER. 399 
 
 XXX. 
 
 MUTUAL CONFESSION AND PRAYER. 
 
 " Confers your faults one to another, and pray one for 
 another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent 
 prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Ellas was a 
 man subject to like passions as we are, 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. And he 
 prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth 
 brought forth her fruit." — James v. 16, 17, 18. 
 
 N the preceding ^verses the apostle directs the sick 
 Christian to send for the elders of the church, 
 who were to pray over him, " anointing him with 
 oil in the name of the Lord." The act here referred to 
 was of a symbolical kind, representing the agency of the 
 Spirit, by whom immediately and efficiently all miraculous 
 cures and all 'gracious deliverances were accomplished. It 
 differed in every essential respect from that extreme unction 
 which Romanists have deduced from it, and contend for as 
 one of the Sacraments. The two present a complete con- 
 trast, as we showed in our last lecture. Even in the tem- 
 porary and extraordinary circumstances to which it seems to 
 have been limited, this anointing held a subordinate place; 
 and the favourable result promised is attributed not to it, 
 but to the spiritual exercise of which it was the accompani- 
 ment. What is called the prayer of faith, — that is, the 
 prayer springing from, and characterized by faith, — was to 
 avail for the healing of the sick, doubtless in the special, 
 supernatural way which marked that early period of the 
 
 
400 MUTUAL CONFESSION AND PRAYER. 
 
 Church's history. It was also to be attended with inward 
 and saving benefits, for if the sufferer had committed sins, — 
 that is, apparently, particular sins connected with the bodily 
 disorder, which had been the means of bringing it upon him, 
 — they were to be forgiven. The cause as well as the effect, 
 the guilt as well as the punishment, was to be removed in 
 consequence of the believing supplications of the presbjrters. 
 The apostle now extends the exhortation. Their converse 
 and their confidence in such times were not to be limited to 
 ecclesiastical or official persons. Christians were to open 
 their mouths one to another, and were to plead with God 
 one for another. There was to be mutual acknowledgment, 
 and along with it there was to be mutual intercession. 
 Brother was to confess to brother, — brother was to pray for 
 brother. Let us proceed, then, to consider these verses in 
 humble dependence on the Sj^irit's teaching and blessing. 
 We have in them a twofold duty inculcated. 
 
 I. Mutual confession.— VcT. IC, "Confess your faults 
 one to another." What is the obvious meaning? Un- 
 doubtcdly, that they were to acknowledge their ofiFences, 
 trangix'ssions, to their fellow-Christians. Brethren were to 
 do this among themselves, freely, spontaneously, as the cir- 
 cumstances might require. Two questions here arise. 
 
 1 . What faults are to be thus confessed ? — Assuredly 
 not all faults, open and secret alike, the plagues of the 
 heart and the misdeeds of the life equally and without 
 exception. We are not to regard the exhortation as thus 
 unlimited, as imposing an obligation to make any such 
 universal, unrestricted disclosure. The Romish Church con- 
 tends for nothing short of this in her confessional. She 
 allows no mortal sin, as she calls it, inward or outward, 
 none, however peculiar in its nature or remote in its com- 
 mission, to be concealed. Every wicked design and desire, even 
 every impure inclination and imagination, must be brought 
 
MUTUAL CONFESSION AND PRAYER. 401 
 
 up and poured into the ear of tlie priest. The crimes perpe- 
 trated and the crimes contemplated, — the lusts indulged in 
 the life, or only cherished in the heart, — the deeds of dark- 
 ness done, with the most hidden and hideous workings of 
 depravity within,— must alike, with all their loathsome 
 features and details, be laid bare before the ghostly father. 
 This cannot be here intended. No ; for the effect could 
 only be injurious, degrading and polluting, and that to 
 both the parties concerned in the affair. It would defile 
 ourselves to recall thus, to give definite form and articulate 
 expression to feelings and fancies, which were perhaps dis- 
 missed almost as soon as they arose, which were chased 
 away as vile, impure, horrible. To fix them in the 
 memory, to utter them in words, were to keej) the mind 
 in contact with them, — to lay it open to their continued 
 contamination, instead of having them at once buried out of 
 sight, as too offensive to be tolerated for a moment. How 
 is it possible to treasure up, and then draw forth and spread 
 out, such abominations without having our moral sensibili- 
 ties blunted, our characters corrupted and debased by the 
 process ? Any course like that which Rome prescribes, 
 instead of being helpful to, is destructive of purity. And 
 what must be the influence on the other party in the 
 transaction ? Who could listen, as his daily business, to 
 all the folly and filth which has been practised, or even 
 imagined, by all sorts of persons, embracing the most vicious 
 and criminal, the most profligate and abandoned members 
 of society? Who could be the common recejDtacle for the 
 accumulated impurity and impiety of hundreds, thousands of 
 lives, — yea, hearts, — without having fatal injury done to 
 every moral principle and power of his nature; without, 
 indeed, being converted into a walking, whited sepulchre, — 
 a kind of monster, however disguised in sacerdotal attire ? 
 Surely little short of a miracle could avert such a result. 
 
 2 D 
 
402 MUTUAL CONFESSION AND PRAYER. 
 
 It would require angelic sanctity, or a higher still, to stand 
 an ordeal of this description. And history amply proves 
 that the actual effect in most cases has been precisely what 
 might have been anticipated. There is nothing about 
 Popery, vile as the whole system is, fouler, blacker, — nothing 
 more infamous and ruinous, — than the confessional. The 
 crimes and miseries which are to be traced to it baffle all 
 calculation, both as regards number and magnitude. 
 
 What faults, then, does the apostle mean ? We may 
 suppose first, and chiefly, those committed against our 
 brethren. If we have done them wrons:, — if we have de- 
 frauded or calumniated them, — if we have treated them 
 unjustly, unkindly, or improperly in any way, we should 
 acknowledge it to them candidly and fully. We should tell 
 them of it, make all the reparation in our power, and seek 
 reconciliation with them, for it is only thus we can find access 
 to God, and obtain acceptance for whatever gifts we may 
 bring to the altar. And along with these offences, we may 
 rank those which have been hurtful to the Church and to 
 the world, — those which have had an injurious influence, 
 not so much on individuals, perhaps, as on the cause of 
 Christ, the interests of religion generally. If we have, by 
 our inconsistencies and defects of character and conduct, 
 grieved the souls of the righteous, and given occasion to the 
 enemies of the gospel to blaspheme, then there should be 
 repentance, not only before the Lord, but even before the 
 brethren. Everytliing of the kind should be owned and 
 deplored more or less openly. And still more broadly, 
 whatever sins may be weighing on the niind, causing us 
 trouble of spirit, involving us in perplexity and distress, 
 these it is often our duty and interest to confess to others, 
 that they may aid us with their counsel, and, above all, their 
 prayers ; that, knowing the circumstances of our case, they 
 may be better able alike to speak to us and to plead for us 
 intelligently and specially. There is always room here for 
 
MUTUAL CONFESSION AND PRATER. 403 
 
 the exercise of Christian discretion. We must wisely con- 
 sider when it is for the honour of the Master an^ the bene- 
 fit of our souls thus to divulge the secrets of our personal 
 spiritual history, — when to lay open the heart to our 
 brethren on earth as well as to our Father in heaven. 
 
 2. To what 'persons are these faults to he confessed J 
 — " One to another," says James. This may be under- 
 stood either too narrowly or too widely. It has been 
 the former by Romanists. They found largely on the 
 passage their secret, sacramental, auricular confession, which 
 seems to have been originated in the ninth, and was 
 rendered obligatory in the thirteenth century, — that is, 
 full periodical confession to a priest, who upon it is 
 authorized to grant absolution or impose penance. Now, 
 this is a manifest and glaring perversion of the apos- 
 tle's exhortation. There is not a single word here of 
 priest or presbyter. True, in the preceding context, the 
 elders of the Church are mentioned, but they were very 
 different persons from those contended for by E,ome as alone 
 entitled to receive confession. And then there is obviously 
 a transition from them to the ordinary members of the 
 Church, to the Christian brethren generally. It is " one to 
 another." The believers were to do it among themselves. 
 They were to do it mutually. It is as binding on priest as 
 on people. Pastor and flock are on the same level in the 
 matter. There is no distinction of place or office, — no refer- 
 ence here to anything of the sort. Well may a Church 
 which has no better warrant for its dogmas and practices 
 endeavour to keep the Bible out of sight ; for who that 
 reads it with the least intelligence and independence of 
 mind can fail to see how wide is the departure from its 
 teaching, how direct and daring the contrariety, not only to 
 its obvious spirit, but even to its express letter. No man, 
 without doing shocking violence to Scripture, can draw from 
 the passage now before us the slightest reason for or justifi- 
 
404 MUTUAL CONFESSION AND PRAYER. 
 
 cation of the Confessional. The plain, undeniable meanin* 
 of it contradicts every such inference. Who can find the 
 priest, and him alone, in the " one another?," — who papal 
 absolution or penance in the prayer and healing which are 
 mentioned ? 
 
 But it may also be taken too broadly. We are not 
 thus to acknowledge our faults to all the brethren, to 
 believers generally and indiscriminately. We are not gra- 
 tuitously to blazen them abroad, to proclaim them in the 
 hearing of the whole Christian community. There is to be 
 selection and limitation. It is only Avithin certain bounds 
 that this is a duty. We are thus to confess our offences to 
 those who have been injured by us in any way, the parties 
 against whom they have been committed, — to those with 
 whom we are intimately acquainted, connected by inter- 
 course, or some other tie, — and finally, to those in whom 
 we have confidence, who are able to direct and assist us, to 
 give us faithful counsel, and offer for us prevailing prayer. 
 Here, as well as in the former case, there is large room for 
 wisdom, discretion. Yes, as regards the persons to whom, 
 not less than the matters about which, we make confession. 
 
 II. Mutual prayer. — " And pray one for another." The 
 elders of the church were to pray for the sick members; 
 but this office was not to be confined by any means to the 
 elders, whether teaching or ruling. The members of the 
 church were and are to do it for one another as well. This 
 IS U)o often forgotten. It is very generally overlooked. 
 We should have fewer criticisms and censures were it rea- 
 lized and remembered. Nothing is more common than 
 to find fault with the ministers and elders of congrega- 
 tions for neglect in this respect. They may be to blame ; 
 alas! they are so too frequently. It is sad that such occa- 
 sion should be given for these charges. But then, however 
 specially the work in question may belong to them, it 
 
MUTUAL CONFESSION AND PRATER. 405 
 
 certainly does not belong to them exclusively. Brethren, 
 step you in and perform your part, if they are found 
 failing in theirs. It is " one for another." It is brother 
 for brother, irrespective of office altogether. " That ye 
 may be healed." The reference is still to the case of the 
 sick; and the blessing supposed to be sought is restora- 
 tion to health, though not exclusively, as we see from 
 other parts of the passage. As much now as in the days of 
 miracles are we to trace bodily cures to the Divine physician, 
 and to plead for them from him,' while using all the means 
 of recovery recommended by human skill. We are never 
 to stop short of him in our necessities and deliverances, 
 corporeal as well as spiritual. But clearly, the exhortation 
 is applicable to the latter, to the maladies and troubles of 
 the soul, telling how we should act in order to their remo- 
 val. Not less, but still more, should they carry us to the 
 mercy-seat, both for ourselves and our brethren. Now, the 
 duty of such mutual prayer i» enforced by a general state- 
 ment, and then by a particular example of its great efficacy. 
 Let us consider, then, 
 
 1. The general statemient. — "The effectual fervent 
 prayer of a righteous man availeth much." The meaning 
 is, that it has great power, prevails so as to bring down 
 large blessings. It not only exercises a mighty influence on 
 the mind of him by whom it is offered, but also on the 
 procedure of him to whom it is offered. It moves the very 
 arm of omnipotence. Of course, it changes not his all-wise, 
 immutable counsels, but it is a part of the means, — an ele- 
 ment in the process through which he conducts his govern- 
 ment and fulfils his purposes. 
 
 Observe whose prayer thus availeth. It is that of the 
 "righteous man." By him we are not to understand either, 
 on the one hand, the merely moral; or, on the other, the 
 entirely sinless man. The former has no such j)lace as- 
 signed him in Scripture, the latter does not exist here below. 
 
40 G MUTUAL CONFESSION AND PRAYER. 
 
 James speaks of the Christian, of him whose faith laying- 
 hold of Jesus as a Saviour invests him with merit, justifies 
 him before God, makes him legally righteous, and, at the 
 same time, working powerfully within him, transforms more 
 and more his character, clothes him with the beauties of 
 holiness, renders him personally righteous. It is his plead- 
 ing that has such influence. It is not every one's cry that 
 will enter into the Divine ear, and draw down rich blessings. 
 " If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear 
 me." " The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the 
 Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight." " The 
 Lord is far from the wicked : but he heareth the prayer of 
 the righteous." "Now we know that God heareth not sin- 
 ners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his 
 will, him he heareth." ^ 
 
 Now, notice ivhat prayer thus availeth, for it is not 
 every prayer even of a righteous man that has this efficacy. 
 It is "the effectual fervent prayer," says the apostle. There is 
 but a single word in the original for the two here used, "effec- 
 tual fervent." The rendering is not very happy, for, of course, 
 an effectual prayer is one that availeth; the former character- 
 istic does not account for, but is substantially identical with 
 the Matter. The term used by James has been translated and 
 viewed in various ways, all bringing out important and aji- 
 propriate meanings. According to some, it signifies in- 
 wrought or inspired, that is suggested, dictated by the Spirit. 
 All acceptable, prevailing prayer has such an origin. It 
 comes from heaven before it ascends to heaven. It is given, 
 and so r.eceived by God. Hence we have the promise, " I 
 will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabi- 
 tants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications;" 
 and the full statements of Paul on the same subject ; — "Like- 
 wise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know 
 not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spiiit 
 1 Ps. Ixvi. 18 ; Prov. xv. 8,' 29 ; John ix. 31. 
 
MUTUAL CONFESSION AND PRAYER. 407 
 
 itself maketh intercession for us with groanings ■which can- 
 not be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth 
 what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh interces- 
 sion for the saints according to the will of God." Others 
 take it as equivalent to sincere, earnest, fervent, importunate. 
 This also is essential. AVhat is cold, formal, heartless, can- 
 not succeed. It was not thus Jacob prevailed when he 
 wrestled with the angel of the covenant, and was called 
 Israel, because as a prince he had power with God. The 
 promise runs, — " And ye shall seek me, and find me, when 
 ye shall search for me with all your heart. "^ This quali- 
 fying term is closely connected with the availeth much, 
 and may intimate that it does so as working, effective. The 
 prayer of the righteous man has large influence, has great 
 and blessed results, because it is a thing operative, active, 
 containing and putting forth gracious energy. Any way, we 
 have -here a most animating truth, and it is now illustrated 
 and enforced. 
 
 2. The 'particular example. — It is that of Elias or 
 Elijah. The apostle says, — Ver. 17, " Elias was a man sub- 
 ject to like passions as we are, 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." He "was a man 
 subject to like passions as we are,"- — that is, affected in a 
 similar manner, haviug the same nature, feelings, and in- 
 firmities as other human beings. So you remember when 
 the poor, idolatrous multitude at Lystra wished to pay Divine 
 honours to Paul and Barnabas, the latter cried out, — "Sirs, 
 why do ye these things? We also, are men of like passions 
 with you, and preach unto you, that ye should turn from 
 these vanities unto the living God."^ James introduces the 
 statement to obviate an objection which his readers might 
 be ready to advance. They might be disposed to say Elias 
 was a most wonderful personage; he was a kind of unearthly, 
 J Zech. xiL 10 ; Eom. viii. 26, 27. 2 Jer. xxix. 13. 3 Acta liv. 15. 
 
408 MUTUAL CONFESSION AND PEAYER. 
 
 superhuman being. He stood by himself, and his example 
 is not applicable to frail, ordinary niortiils. No doubt he 
 was in many respects singular, pre-eminent; but still he was 
 one of mankind, possessed of all their dispositions and affec- 
 tions, — all their wants and weaknesses. He was not separated 
 from his brethren by a wide gulf; he was among them, of their 
 number. "He prayed earnestly that it might not rain." 
 It is literally, "he prayed with prayer," — a Hebraistic and 
 remarkable expression. It may intimate either that he did 
 it fervently, or did it specially. It may be indicative of the 
 intensity of his spirit in the exercise, or the definiteness of 
 the pleading, the concentration of his desires on this object 
 leading him to give it a particular and prominent place in 
 his petitions. Many present their supplications very differ- 
 ently. They pray without prayer. They go through the 
 form, but the reality is awanting. The words may be sound 
 and appropriate ; but there are no longings of soul, no 
 groanings that cannot be uttered. WTiat he sought was that 
 the rain of heaven might be withheld, — not that in askingthis 
 he was actuated by a passionate or revengeful spirit; no, but 
 by a regard to the welfare of Israel, and the glory of the 
 God of Israel. It was that they might be corrected for their 
 profit, and that, by the display of righteousness and its 
 effects, the Divine character and government might be vin- 
 dicated. His motives were neither cruel nor selfish. It is 
 wurthy of notice, however, that the narrative in 1st Kings 
 makes no mention of prayer on the occasion referred to by 
 the apostle. Elias is introduced simply as saying to Ahab, — 
 "As the Lord God of Israel livcth, before whom I stand, 
 there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to 
 my word."^ But it is evident from the nature of the case, — 
 and it is here stated imder the infallible guidance of the 
 Spirit, — that he did engage in this exercise. It had been pre- 
 sumptuous, impious in him to utter such language, to make 
 
 * 1 Kings xvii. 1. 
 
MUTUAL CONFESSION AND PRAYER. 409 
 
 any announcement of the kind without an express Divine 
 warrant; and that obviously had been given in the way 
 which was naturally to be supposed, in answer to earnest, be- 
 lieving supplication. Now mark the effect. "And it 
 rained not on the earth," or the land, Palestine, "for the 
 space," — that is, for the period, — ^"of three years and six 
 months." The same time is specified by our Lord himself. 
 "But I tell 5^ou of a truth, many widows were in Israel in 
 the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years 
 and six months, when great famine was throughout all the 
 land."-^ Tui'ning, however, to the Old Testament account, 
 there is an apparent discrepancy. Thus we read,- — "Audit 
 came to pass, after many days, that the word of the Lord 
 came to Elijah in the third year, sajdng. Go, shew thyself 
 unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth." ^ The 
 natural explanation is that this dates from the prophet's 
 call to repair to Zarephah, mentioned at verse 9 of the 
 foregoing chapter, and does not embrace the season, probably 
 about a year, which he spent by the brook Cherith. The 
 two make up the period here stated. 
 
 Ver. 18, "And he prayed again, and the heaven gave 
 rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit." Here too, the 
 circumstance that Elias prayed is not recorded in the Old 
 Testament, but it is clearly to be inferred. " So Ahab 
 went up to eat and to drink : and Elijah went up to the top 
 of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and 
 put his face between his knees, and said to his servant. Go 
 up now, look toAvard the sea. And he went up, and looked, 
 and said. There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven 
 times. And it came to pass, at the seventh time, that he 
 said. Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like 
 a man's hand. And he said. Go up, say unto Ahab, Pre- 
 pare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee 
 not. And it came to pass, in the mean while, that the 
 1 Luke iv. 25. 2 i Kings xviii. 1. 
 
410 MUTUAL CONFESSION AND PRAYER. 
 
 heaven was black with cIducLs and wind, and there was a great 
 raiu."i The attitude he assumed was that of the humble, 
 prostrate suppliant, and doubtless his soul was wrestling 
 with the God of Israel. Both cases illustrate the power of 
 the righteous man's prayer, — the latter what was specially in 
 view, its availing for bringing down blessings, for opening 
 the storehouses of heaven. It was eminently fitted to 
 stimulate and encourage Christians to plead both for them- 
 selves and for others. 
 
 1. Let us then confess one to another. — Let us frankly 
 acknowledge the faidts we have committed. Especially is 
 it fitting that we should do this to any brother whom we have 
 injured. We should not allow feeling or interest to prevent 
 us from expressing our regrets, and making all the repara- 
 tion in our power. Nothing is more difficult. But grace 
 can and will triumph over our natural reluctance, and con- 
 strain us to comply with the apostolic exhortation. And 
 how proper often that we should lay open our transgres- 
 sions to others, when no such personal reason exists ! We 
 are first, and chiefly, to spread them out before the Lord, 
 remembering that he who covereth them ' from him, wlio 
 confesses them not to him, cannot find mercy. But we may 
 derive the greatest good from disclosing them likewise to 
 believing brethren. This is fitted to ease the burdened 
 mind ; and it opens the way for them to give us suitable 
 counsel, and send up special prayer in our behalf. Many 
 are the benefits to be reaped from free and confidential 
 intercourse of this kind, from the unbosoming of ourselves 
 spiritually to one another. Were it done more frankly 
 and fully, some who are now weak and languishing would 
 be healed, blessed, both in body and soul, — strengthened 
 alike outwardly and inwardly. Let us then, while avoiding, 
 abhorring the confessional of the priests, not neglect confes- 
 bion to the bretliren. 
 
 ^ 1 Kiiiffs xviii. 42-45. 
 
MUTUAL CONFESSION AND PEATEE. 411 
 
 2. Let us pray one for another. — We must first plead 
 for ourselves. We are never to end there, but we are 
 alwa3^s to begin. It" we have not learned the efficacy 
 of prayer in easing our own burdens, relieving our own 
 necessities, we cannot have recourse to it in a real ivay, and 
 with any good result as regards our brethren. Have we 
 transacted with God in the holiest respecting our own salva- 
 tion ? Have we indeed drawn near to him through the 
 Mediator, Jesus Christ, and found pardon, peace, purity ? 
 Then let us go beyond our own individual cases, and bear on 
 our spirits those of our fellow-men, especially of our fellow- 
 believers. Let us plead for their temporal and, above all, 
 for their eternal welfare. Let those of them in affliction be 
 particular objects of concern at the mercy-seat. How great 
 the power of prayer ! It can open heaven and bring down 
 showers of gracious influence. The days of miracles have 
 parsed away, but not those of wonderful works done and 
 large blessings bestowed in answer to the believing cries of 
 God's people. Let us then come frequently and boldly to 
 the throne, that we may obtain, both for ourselves and 
 others, all that is needful alike for the body and the soul, 
 for the present life and that which is eternal. 
 
412 CONVKRTLNG A SINNER- 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 CONVERTING A SINNER— THE BLESSED EFFECT. 
 
 "Brethren, if any of you do err from the ti^th, and one 
 convert him ; let him hiovj, that he which converteth the 
 sinner from the error of his vxiy shall save a soul fro'fri 
 death, and shall hide a 'multitude of sins." — James v. 
 19, 20. 
 
 HESE verses are obviously enough connected with 
 what goes before. There the apostle exhorts to 
 mutual confession and prayer. Christians were to 
 feel and manifest a deep interest in their brethren. Particu- 
 larly in times of sickness their sympathies were to flow out, 
 they were to open their minds to each other, and were to 
 wrestle with God for each other. They wore encouraged to 
 do so by the assurance that the effectual fervent prayer of 
 the righteous man availeth much, has great power ; and by 
 a remarkable example of its efficacy, when the rain was first 
 withheld for years, and then given abundantly, in the days 
 aiy^ by the pleading of Elijah the prophet. But there were 
 worse ailments and dangers tlian the bodily ones to which 
 he had been chiefly referring. AVhat of spiritual maladies ? 
 What of those cases in which not temporal but eternal 
 death was threatened ? What of souls wandering from the 
 way of truth and safety, becoming the prey of a worse cor- 
 ruption than that of the grave, sinking under the power of 
 tliat sin which is the most fatal of all diseases? Surely the 
 faithful were to exert themselves for the reclaiming of such 
 deceived, wandering, perisliing ones, — surely they were to put 
 forth the utmost efforts for bringing about this hiijhest kind 
 
THE BLESSED EFFECT. 413 
 
 of recovery. There was a loud call then for fraternal counsel 
 and correction. The erring brother was in a particular 
 manner to be the object of their supplication and exertion, 
 and no stronger inducement could be presented to labour in 
 this field and for this purpose than what James here ad- 
 duces in these closing words of his Epistle. May the Spirit 
 of life and power rest on us as we proceed to direct your 
 attention to the case supposed and the issue involved ! 
 
 I. The case supposed. — It consists of two parts, one of 
 their number going astray, and another converting this 
 erring brother. We must briefly consider both in their 
 order. 
 
 1. One of them going astray. — " Brethren, if any of you 
 do err from the truth," — or be seduced, drawn away from the 
 truth. The truth here is that of Christianity, of the gospel ; 
 that too which is central in its nature, primary in its im- 
 portance. It is fundamental, essential, scriptural truth. It 
 may and does embrace both the doctrinal and the practical 
 elements, — both what relates to conviction, and what re- 
 lates to conduct. The erring in question might be of either 
 kind; it might be either false belief or unholy living, — a 
 renunciation of the principles of the faith, or a retention of 
 these, with a disregard of its precepts. It might take the 
 shape of heresy or immorality. The two are equally de- 
 partures from the truth as it is in Jesus, and are so represented 
 in the Divine word. Thus Paul, speaking of Hymeneus 
 and Philetus, says of them, " Who concerning the truth have' 
 erred, saying that the resurrection is past already ; and over- 
 throw the faith of some."^ Elsewhere he tells us how when 
 he saw that certain parties " walked not uprightly, according 
 to the truth of the gospel," he remonstrated with Peter on the 
 subject.^ They are closely connected.. They act and re-act 
 on each other. Radically unsound views in religion naturally, 
 1 2 Tim. ii. 18. 2 Qal. ii. 14. 
 
414« CONVERTING A SINNER 
 
 necessarily affect the course of conduct pursued, the whole 
 spirit and habits of the parties. They are the springs, and 
 the streams must correspond. They are the seed, and it 
 determines the kind of crop to be reaped. A lax creed 
 generally results in a lax practice. Lower the person and 
 work of Christ as many do, and you thereby lower his claims 
 to our love, confidence, and obedience, — all the motives 
 and duties which are derived from or enforced by his Cross. 
 Misunderstand the plan of salvation by his blood, and you 
 are landed in superstitious ritualism or Antinomian licenti- 
 ousness, and indeed the two often go together. Deny the 
 Divine origin, the plenary inspiration of Scripture, and the 
 effect cannot but soon appear in disregard of its require- 
 ments, in a relaxation of the bonds by which it restrains 
 human coiTuption, in a casting off of its authority when 
 it dictates what we should do, as well as when it teaches 
 what we should believe. 
 
 On the other hand, depraved inclination naturally leads 
 to doctrinal aberrations. When the will takes a wrong 
 direction, it too often and too easily draws the understand- 
 ing after it ; and the head, instead of maintaining its inde- 
 pendence and supremacy, yields to the paramount influence 
 of the perverted, wicked heart. When men give way to 
 lust and passion,- — when they wish to pursue forbidden 
 courses and to enjoy impure pleasures, they dislike those 
 strict principles which are most at variance with the desires 
 they are cherishing and the habits they are forming. They 
 seek reasons for discarding them, and, either more violently 
 or gradually, cast them off for others of a more tolerant and 
 loose description — others that will not disturb the con- 
 science and interfere with the gratification of the evil 
 propensities under whose power they have fallen. It is 
 in the love of sin, — in aversion to that holiness which the 
 Bible requires, in the state of the heart and the habits of 
 the life, — that we are to find the explanation of no iucon- 
 
THE BLESSED EFFECT. 415 
 
 siderable part of the scepticism and heterodoxy which pre- 
 vail. Evil-doers want a cover for their conduct, and they 
 are not long in getting what is fitted to serve the purpose. 
 Infidel objections, heretical reasonings, seem most plausible 
 and forcible in consequence of the moral perversion which 
 exists, and they are accej)ted because the way has been 
 prepared, the door opened by the actings of the carnal mind. 
 It is not want of evidence, it is not the real difficulties and 
 mysteries of the faith, which prove the main stumbling- 
 block ; no, but opposition to the personal claims of the gos- 
 pel, rebellion against the nature and number of its practical 
 demands. 
 
 The erring from the truth here spoken of, whether pri- 
 marily and chiefly in the one or the other of these directions, 
 was manifestly of a deep and serious kind, — it was such as 
 threatened the soul with death, as, if allowed to have free 
 course, must have issueH in death. It was no slight de- 
 parture from the right path, no mere difference of oi^inion 
 on some subordinate point, or partial inconsistency of con- 
 duct under the influence of temptation or misapprehension. 
 It was not the adoption of false views, or the indulgence of 
 sinful propensities, of whatever sort, to whatever extent ; 
 no, but such an aberration as involved a substantial rejection 
 of Christianity, — it might not be in the way of open apostasy, 
 of a return either to Judaism or heathenism, for the name 
 might be retained and a profession still kept up, — while its 
 essential facts and principles were denied, or its main de- 
 mands and designs set at nought. We may find illustra- 
 tions of what is intended in the defections which are taking 
 place in- the midst of ourselves. How many who once 
 belonged to a Protestant Church and adhered to an orthodox 
 creed, — who ranked even high among the teachers of the 
 Divine Word, seemed zealous, as they were able ministers 
 of the gospel, have gone over to Romanism, and are now 
 exerting their utmost power in support of the mystery of 
 
41 G CO>n'ERTINO A SINNER 
 
 iniquity, the man of sin and son of perdition, the great 
 Antichrist ! How many more, while still retaining their 
 places, and so shewing themselves less honest than these 
 poor perverts, — while clinging to a communion whose stand- 
 ards are comparatively sound and evangehcal, — while serving 
 at its altars and eating its bread, are devoted to a super- 
 stitious ritualism little different from the rankest Popery 
 on the one hand, or to a sceptical rationalism not far 
 removed from absolute infidelity on the other. They are 
 ^putting the Church in the place of Christ, or reason in that 
 of revelation. Then what numbers, though holding the 
 same opinions they ever did, are giving the lie to all their 
 professed principles, by plunging into vanities and vices, by 
 falling and remaining under the power of sins of a kind 
 inconsistent with the idea of their having any part or lot in 
 the matter of salvation ! And others yet have lapsed into 
 heathenism in the very midst of light and privilege, — they 
 have become totally estranged from the ordinances of the 
 sanctuary, from all religious duties and observances, and are 
 sunk in the deepest ignorance, insensibility, and impurity. 
 Our Home Mission operations are carried on largely among 
 those who have been more or less connected with the Chris- 
 tian Church, and who, in most instances, have lost the 
 standing they once had in its membership. These, and 
 similar cases, may help to explain and exemplify the erring 
 from the truth to which the apostle here refers. 
 
 2, Another reclaiming the erring brother. — " And one 
 convert him," literally, turn him, bring him back, — that is, 
 from the state into which he has fallen. But clearly much 
 more is implied than merely rescuing him from error, whether 
 doctrinal or practical, that of false opinion or sinful conduct. 
 It goes beyond efifecting a change of views or of habits, the 
 reception of an orthodox creed, or a reformation of the out- 
 ward life. Men may renounce what is false, and embrace 
 what is true, — they may cease to be sceptical or heretical. 
 
THE BLESSED EFF2CT. 417 
 
 and become sound in the faith without having their souls 
 saved from death, and the multitude of their sins covered. 
 They may abandon the vices and vanities of the world, — they 
 may put away the impurities and follies by which they have 
 been seduced, — they may discharge moral duties and observe 
 religious ordinances as they did not before, and yet continue 
 in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity. They may 
 be widely different from what they were in profession, senti- 
 ment, and walk, without being new creatures in Christ 
 Jesus. There may be great turnings, which yet fall far 
 shurt of true conversion, — whether as it takes place at first or 
 afterwards, when the Lord's people are reclaimed from their 
 wanderings, healed of their backslidings, and reinstated 
 again in the enjoyment of the Divine favour and fellowship. 
 1'here is in both cases a real heart-process. And we may 
 regard both as here embraced. Some who are thus drawn 
 away from the truth never were really under its power. 
 They professed without having embraced the faith of the 
 gospel. They belonged to the visible Church, but were not 
 enrolled among its living members. These are turned m a 
 real and thorough way only by being brought back to that 
 God from whom they have all along been going astray. 
 Any new change of opinion or practice on the part of such 
 persons falls vastly short of the conversion which is here in- 
 tended. What they need is to be arrested in that downward 
 career of which particular errors or sins are but steps or 
 signs of progress, — to have the whole course of thought and 
 feeling, desire and motive, reversed and made to flow, not 
 earthward, but heavenward, — to have not this doctrine or 
 tliat duty restored to its rightful place, but the living Saviour, 
 who is himself the truth, admitted and enthroned within. 
 Nothing short of this comes u]^ to what is intended, and 
 secures the blessed result here described. But others are 
 real Christians who have been seduced by the g"-oat de- 
 
 2 E 
 
41 >S COm'ERTING A SINNER — 
 
 coiv'iT. Thcv have gone astray in either of the ways men- 
 tioned, ami that so grievously that, were they left to persist 
 in the course entered on, they should eternally perish. It is 
 so inconsistent with a state of grace, so fitted to eat out the 
 life of the spirit, so defiling and deadly in its nature, that 
 were they not vspeedily recovered out of it, they must, after 
 all, be castaways. But the constitution of the covenant 
 provides against such an issue, and one of the chief means 
 employed to prevent it is prayer and effort on the part of 
 fellows-Christians. The sound brother is to interest himself 
 in the fallen one, is faithfully yet tenderly to deal with him, 
 and labour to bring him out of the snare of the devil; and 
 when his exertions are blessed, when the wanderer returns, 
 is re-admitted into favour, and enters pn a new course of 
 believing stedfastness and holy v.'^alking again, then he is 
 converted in the sense that Peter was after his grievous fall. 
 This conversion is always and wholly a Divine opera- 
 tion. No fellow-creature can turn back either one who 
 never was in the path of life, or one who has forsaken that 
 way and entered on a course of defection. In all its stages 
 as act and work, the process of recovery is carried on, not 
 by the power of man, but by the power of God. No arm 
 but that of Omnipotence is adequate to the achievement, 
 cither in its commencement or any of its subsequent grada- 
 tions. But means, instruments, are employed. There is a 
 certain agency by which it is accomplished in all those who 
 undergo it after arriving at years of understanding. The 
 Spirit is the great efficient turner, but he does it by that 
 Divine word whi<,'h is his sword, and as such is quick and 
 |)()werful, — is perfect, converting the soul. And he makes 
 large vise of human beings, of the ministers of the gospel 
 and others, in publishing and applying that word, in bring- 
 ing it to bear upon the souls of perishing sinners. He 
 moves them to ulter it by tin ir lii)s, to commend it by 
 their lives, to te;ich and exemplify it, to set it before the 
 
THE BLESSED EFFECT. 419 
 
 erring in various ways, and to plead for the forth-put- 
 ting of those saving influences which alone can render it 
 efficacious. They are thus vessels into which the treasure 
 is put and by which it is distributed. They are channels of 
 blessing. They are fellow-workers with God. Hence they 
 are often represented as doing that which they are only 
 humble instruments in bringing about. Paul was sent to 
 the Gentiles " To open their eyes, and to turn them from 
 darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, 
 that they might receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance 
 among them who are sanctified by faith that is in me."-^ In 
 like manner he says ; — " For though ye have ten thousand 
 instructers in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers : for in 
 Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel."^ It 
 is thus we are to understand the term in this passage, — 
 " and one convert himj' — this one being employed for that 
 purpose by the God of salvation. To him the issues from 
 death belong, to no being on earth or heaven, but to him 
 alone. From first to last, the recovery of lost souls is a 
 Divine oj^eration. 
 
 II. The issue involved. — Ver. 20, " Let him know that 
 he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way, 
 shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of 
 sins." "Let him know" — why? For his comfort amidst 
 all his difficulties and trials, for his encouragement in using 
 means, putting forth efforts for such a purpose. The fact 
 was fitted to stimulate all Christians to engage in this 
 blessed work, for it is not confined to any particular class, 
 as the ministers of the gospel. " Let him know that he 
 who converteth the sinner." Neither before nor now is there 
 any limitation. It matters not who or what he be, whether 
 in the priest's office or in some secular calling. All may 
 labour in this field, and all may inherit the blessing here 
 promised. And mark, it is "converteth the sir,/tiey.'" Thy 
 1 Act3 sxvl. 18. 2 I Cor. iv. 15. 
 
420 CONVERTING A SINNER 
 
 statement is more general tlian before, and, as we are war- 
 ranted to suppose, of set purpose. It is no longer simply 
 the erring brother, the fallen follow-Christian, whose case is 
 treated of, but the language applies to any poor, perishing 
 sinner, whether he is within the Church or without it, — 
 whether he has been a professed believer or an open, avowed 
 d(>spiser of the gospel. Observe, too, that it is one such 
 the apostle speaks of, not several, not many. It brings out 
 the value of the soul of a single true convert. We are 
 too ready to overlook this, and think it is scarcely worth 
 while to labour for the salvation of an individual. It 
 is not thus heaven regards the matter. " Likewise, I say 
 unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels 
 of God over one sinner that repenteth." ^ What he 
 is said to be converted from is "the error of his way," — 
 not the error of his views, but something deeper, more 
 pervasive and fatal in its nature, — something affecting 
 the whole course he is pursuing, its direction and destina- 
 tion. He that does this "shall save a soul from death." 
 The death here is the second, that which is eternal, the 
 everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the 
 glory of his power which awaits the workers of iniquity. 
 Who can describe or conceive its horrors? All the pains and 
 miseries which men here endure are nothing in comparison. 
 Tiiey have many interruptions and alleviations, it has none; 
 they are soon over, it never ends. To save the life of a 
 fellow-creature when in peril is deemed a praiseworthy deed, 
 — it often brings badges of honour, it excites even the admi- 
 ration and CTatitude of whole nations, — but to save a soul 
 when ready to sink into hell is something greater far, and 
 secures for the deliverer a nobler reward. "And shall hide 
 a multitude of sins," not on the part of him who converts, 
 but of him who is converted. The former view of the 
 matter, which a few iiit'Tprcters have taken, is false and 
 dangerous. No dt.ed of this or any other kind, nothing 
 ' i.-.;'..o XV. n. 
 
THE BLESSED EFFECT. 421 
 
 done by us can cover so much as one of our countless trans- 
 gressions. The apostle is evidently speaking of the effect in 
 the case of the person saved, and it is the best, the highest 
 recompense the other can receive to be the instrument of 
 working such a deliverance. Tlie sins of the converted one 
 are hidden by his being led to Jesus, whose blood washes 
 them all away,- — such is its marvellous efficacy. This is the 
 only way they can disappear from view, consistently with the 
 claims of the Divine law and the perfections of the Divine 
 character. Here they sink out of sight, they are covered 
 by the great atonement. God, before whose face they were 
 set, casts them behind his back; yea, into the deep sea of his 
 everlasting forgetfulness. Blessed, glorious result! Who 
 that realizes it is not fired with the holy ambition of thus 
 converting were it but one sinner, and does not feel that a 
 single such trophy infinitely surpasses the most coveted and 
 renowned of earthly triumphs? 
 
 What need is there for seeking the conversion of our 
 brethren? Alas! how many within the Church are Chris- 
 tians only in name, not in reality. They have a form of 
 godliness, but they den}^ its power. They are hastening 
 onward to an undone eternitj'^, and one destined to be all the 
 more dreadful by reason of the privileges they now enjoy 
 and the profession they are making. Theirs is to be a deeper 
 hell, — theirs a greater damnation. O should not those who 
 love the Saviour and souls, those who have cause to suspect 
 their condition and have opportunities of dealing with 
 them, should not they leave no means untried which are 
 fitted, by the Divine blessing, to arrest them in their down- 
 ward course and lead them into the way of life! But we 
 are not to confine our eft^orts to the Church, however much 
 they may be there required, we are to go far beyond its 
 limits. V/e are to think of the perishing all around. We 
 are to extend our regards to the whole human family. The 
 Lord's command is to preach the gospel to every creature, to 
 
422 CONVERTING A SINNER, ETC. 
 
 make disciples of all nations. Let us enter into his mind 
 and give etfect to his will in this respect. Let us seek to 
 be deeply imbued with a missionary spirit. O! to bo con- 
 cerned as we should be about a perishing world, to give God 
 no rest and ourselves none until the very ends of the earth 
 8oe his salvation. 
 
 What stimulus is there here to such effort! How great, 
 wonderful, the result when a sinner is converted ! A soul 
 is saved from eternal death, a multitude of sins is covered. 
 What misery thus averted ! What blessedness secured ! 
 And such triumphs may be won, such trophies carried off by 
 all Christians, They are not confined to any favoured class 
 or calling. The members as well as the ministers of the 
 Church may labour in this field and there achieve equal, or 
 even greater success. The most humble, obscure believei 
 may have the honour of converting erring brethren or rebel- 
 lious sinners. The weakest parts, the poorest circumstances, 
 the most contracted sphere and limited influence interpose 
 no effectual barriers. Love and zeal can surmount every 
 obstacle of the kind, and gain the greatest victoriis. As 
 all enjoy the privilege, let all feel the obligation. Our first 
 business is ever to make our own calling and election sure, 
 to work out our personal salvation with fear and trembling; 
 but having done that, let us care for tlie perishing and 
 endeavour to gather souls to Shiloh. Be it ours to raise 
 \:j) the fallen, to reclaim the Avandering, to heal wounded 
 saints and dying sinners. We could not have greater en- 
 couragement, a more powerful stimulus than that w'hich is 
 here presented. Let \is go forward under the animating, 
 inspirijig influence of these closing words of the Epistle, — 
 " He that converteth a sinner from the error of his way 
 shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of 
 si us." 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 BY WHAT JAMES THE EPISTLE WAS WRITTEN. 
 
 The question of the authorship of the Epistle is briefly refei-red to 
 iu the opening discourse ; but we propose to enter here a little more 
 fully into the subject than would there have been suitable. The 
 writer of it was James, as we find expressly stated at its commence- 
 ment. There were however two, if not three, apostolic persons 
 who bore that name. TJiere was James, the son of Zebedee and 
 brother of John. He suffered martyrdom at the hands of Herod 
 Agrippa, as we find recorded, Acts xii., vei's. 1, 2. This event took 
 place most probably ad. 44; and it is generally agreed that the 
 state of matters represented in the Epistle could not have arisen 
 at so early a period. For this, and other reasons, we must set aside 
 the idea that he was the author. Then there was James, the son 
 of Alpheus, also one of the twelve. Was it his production? 
 Many Biblical scholars of eminence reply in the negative, and 
 maintain that it proceeded from a thiixl of the name, the James who 
 presided over the Church at Jerusalem (Acts xii. 17 ; xv. 13 ; 
 xxi. IS), and is called by Paul "the Lord's brother" (Gal. i. 19). 
 It cannot well be doubted that the last-mentioned party, whoever 
 he may have been, was the sacred writer in this instance. His 
 close connexion with the Jewish Christians, his special interest in 
 them, and great authority among them, made it eminently suitable 
 for him to address them in the commanding manner here adoptt^d. 
 The ascertained traits of his character and habits of his life all 
 harmonize exactly with the general design and tone of the Epistle. 
 But was he a difierent person from the son of Alpheus? Were 
 the two not identical 1 Were they not in reality one and the same 
 James'? The question is more easily asked than answered. It is 
 
4-2t APPKNDTX. 
 
 pronounced by Ncandcr, a tliorouglily competent judge, one of tho 
 most dillioult in the apostolic liistoiy. Let me fii-st state briefly, as 
 summarily as T can, the grounds on which T think their identity 
 may be; maintained, and then reply to the only arguments of any 
 great weight which can be nrgcd on the othca- side. 
 
 1. James, the son of Ali)heus, might properly be designated the 
 Lord's brother. Speaking exactly, he was his cousin. This may 
 be made out clearly enough. The mother of Jesus had a sister 
 who, like herself, was called Mary, and she was the wife of Cleo])has, 
 or rather Clopas (John xix. 25). We are to identify her husband 
 so named with Alpheus, for these are only different and ordinary 
 ways of rendering the same Hebrew word into Greek. This Mary 
 had two sons, James and Joses (Matt, xxvii. 50; Mark xv. 40). 
 In all probability she had a third, Jude or Judas; for there can 
 scai'cely be any doubt that the ellipsis is properly supplied when in 
 the lists of the aj)ostles he is made to ajipear as the brother of James 
 (Luke vi. IG; Acts i. 13.) This is strongly confirmed by the 
 Epistle of Jude, where the writer calls himself " the brother of 
 James." Without taking for granted the point in dispute, we may 
 say that there is a presumption in favour of a fourtli, Simon, — the 
 pi-esumption arising from the manner in which he is introduced 
 between James and Jude in the two catalogues of the apostles to 
 which we have last referred. Well, these sons of Mary and 
 Alpheus were our Lord's cousins-german. But how does that ex- 
 ])lain Paul's language'? Thus; — according to Suriptural usage, they 
 might be denominated his brethren, for that term often signifies 
 nothing more than relatives. Many examples of this might bo 
 adduced. Abraham said to Lot, who was his nephew, "We be 
 brethren." Jacob told Ivachel that he was her father's brother, 
 being in reality his nephew, Moses, addressing the Jews, .sjtolco 
 of the children of Esau as "their brethren." We need not mul- 
 tiply illustrations. 
 
 We advance a step farther, and remark that this is not only a 
 legitimate, but the most natural view to take of the language in 
 this instance. On the contrary suj>position, we must have two 
 sets of fii-st cousins, three, it not four, of them on eilher side, aU 
 bearing exactly the same names (jNIatt. xiii. ;■>.'>). And tliis diffi- 
 culty is not really met by bringing forward, as has been done, a 
 number of casrs in which the same thing o(cui"s, .so far iia sep;na(o 
 individuuls arc concerned. Besides, if these wove our Lord's 
 
BY Vv'HAT JAMES THE EPISTLE WAS WRITTEN. 425 
 
 lirotliers in the strict, literal sense of the term, they must either have 
 been the sons of Joseph by a former marriage, as some believe, or 
 the sons of IMary herself, as others conclude. Now, no clear, de- 
 cisive mention is made of either in connexion with children of his 
 or her own, as standing in the parental relation to any, with the 
 exception of the miraculously-conceived, heaven-sent child, Jesus. 
 It appears to me a circumstance pointing strongly in the same 
 direction, that on the cross our Saviour committed liis mother to 
 the charge of John ; for Joseph being now evidently dead, would it 
 not have been natural to have entrusted her to the filial care of her 
 own family, if she really had such a family] Tt is said, but they 
 probably were still unbelievers, and so unable to sympathise with her 
 fully. But the ties of blood exist prior to and independently of those 
 which grace originates ; and they are ever recognised, preserved, and 
 honoured by Christianity. There is, however, every reason to sup- 
 pose that the brethren were disciples at this time ; at all events, he 
 perfectly knew that they wei'e very soon to become such, for we 
 find them assembled along with the apostles immediately after his 
 resurrection (Acts i. 13, 1-4). It maj' be urged that the same argu- 
 ment would apply to the cousins ; but there is a great diiFerence 
 in such a case between a mother's own sons and those of a sister. 
 On these gi'ounds we think the inference warranted. 
 
 2. It is natural to suppose that it was this James, the son of 
 Alpheus, and no other who presided over the Church at Jerusa- 
 lem.* He who was placed at the head of the Christian community 
 there, occupied a highly distinguished position and exercised a most 
 commanding influence. He is i-epresented as speaking last in the 
 apostolic council, and giving forth that decision which was unani- 
 mously adopted by the assembly (Acts xv. 13-22). Paul classes 
 hmi along with Peter and John, calling them " pillars," and even 
 srivino' him the first rank, so far as the order of the names is con- 
 cerned (Gal. ii. 9). Is it at all pi-obable that any one not of the 
 number of the specially called and qualified apostles woiild have 
 been elevated to such a place, — that he would have been deferred to, 
 
 * This is conceded by Dr Davidson, who j^et contends that Janies, the Lord's 
 brother, was a different per.-;on. His view, which is so far peculiar, renders it 
 necessary for him, not only to understand Gal. i. 19 in an unnatural sense, as 
 we shall afterwards shew, but to sup; osu that Paul speaks of one James in the 
 first, and of another in the second chajjter of that Epistle ; while there is not the 
 slightest hint to that effect, but, on the contrary, everything fitted to convey 
 the very opposite iujpression. 
 
42 G app::ndix. 
 
 as he evidontlv w.is, liml he nut [)ossoss<^J that high anil sp^-cial 
 authority with which they were invested? Then, if we assign the 
 position to a dilfereut person, — to a James who did not behing to 
 the twelve, — wliat became of the son of Alpheusl He drops 
 wholly out of sight, and another of the same name is bmught for- 
 ward without the slightest intimation of tlie change, any word 
 fitted to prevent a confusion natural, inevitable in the circum- 
 stances. Thus Luke, in his Gospel and the earlier j)art of the Acts, 
 speaks only of two v, iio Vv\ re t-o called. In the twelfth chapter of 
 the latter booJc he ro^;<tnls the death by martyrdom of one of them, 
 he being the .son of Zebedee. Tiitn he goes on with his nari'ativc, 
 introducing a James again and again as a prominent actor, without 
 the faintest hint that he is not the other of the two, the only other 
 referred to in all that ])recedes. What are we to infer from this 
 way of writing, but that the Jamci thus distinguished was the son 
 of Alpheus. 
 
 3. The James who ruled the Jewish Church, and was the Lord's 
 brother, is both expressly and by implication represented as one 
 of the twelve. He is so directly by Paul. " But other of the 
 apostles saw I none, save James, the Lord's brother" (Gal. i. 19). 
 Attempts have been made to sliew that this does not necessarily 
 rank him among those strictly called apostles, as that term is 
 sometimes used in a wider sense, being applied to Barnabas, for 
 exam2)le ; and also, as the form of expression in the original does 
 not absolutely require that the " save" (e/'/xj^j should qualify "other," 
 but may refer to the whole preceding clause. Granting the jiroba- 
 bility of either sujiposition, none can deny that the natural and 
 ordinary meaning of the language is against both, and that, to say 
 the very least, we have here the strongest presumption in favour 
 of our conclusion. Besides, this view is strikingly confirmed and 
 placed almost beyond (piestion, wlien we turn to Acts; for icferring 
 to the same visit to Jerusalem, Luke writes, " But Barnabas took 
 him (Paul) and brought him to the apostles, and dechired unto 
 them how he had seen the Lord in the way" (ix. 27.) He was 
 introduced to the apostles, while he himself tells us in Galatians 
 that he saw Peter, and him only, with the exception of James ; and 
 if the latter had not been one of the twelve, how could the plural 
 have been correctly used in the historian's account of the transac- 
 tion 1 This appears well-nigh decisive. 
 
 Without going into minute details, we have set forth the evidence 
 
BY WHxVT JAMES THE EPISTLE WAS WEITTEX. 427 
 
 in favour of the identity. But not a little that is plausible Ima 
 been advanced on tbe otlier side, and we must now briefly notice 
 the leading objections to the view x^e have been advocating. 
 
 Some of the arguments for the opposite view scai'cely require any 
 notice. It is said that Mary, the wife of Clopas, is called the 
 mother of James and Joses (IMatt. xxvii. 56 ; Mai-k xv. 40); and 
 that on the supposition of the four brethren mentioned, Matt. 
 xiii. 55, being her sons, two of them, James and Judas, were 
 apostles, and that she would not have been spoken of as the mother 
 of Joses in preference to Judas, who must have stood so much 
 higher, and been far better kno\vn as one of the twelve. But there is 
 no improbability in the matter if he was the older of the two, while 
 it is easy to conceive a variety of circumstances fitted to account 
 for the selection. It is urged that in one of these passages he is 
 designated the Less, and that, as in all likeliliood the son of Zebe- 
 dee was dead before this was written, it could only be inteneled to 
 distinguish him from another James still living, namely, the Lord's 
 brother. But we ai'e all familiar with the fact that titles of the 
 kind, when once given, become almost indissolubly associated with 
 the person, and continue to be used long after the original reason 
 for them has ceased to exist. They obtain a lasting hold, and even 
 acquire a sort of sacredness. It is brought forv/aixl as a circum- 
 stance of great weight, well-nigh decisive of the question, that th(-y 
 are always found along with Mary, the mother of Jesus. We have 
 already mentioned that she was nearly related to them, being 
 their avmt ; and it is ]u-obable that she and their mother lived 
 together, the two widowed sisters with their children making one 
 family. 
 
 The real difficiiltics of the case are the two following : — 
 L The brethren of the Lord are represented as not believing in 
 him at a time subsequent to the calling of the twelve apostles. 
 How, then, could any of them be of the number of these apostles] 
 The passage founded on, and deemed decisive, is this, — " His breth- 
 ren said unto him, Depai't hence, and go into Judea, thot thy 
 disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For ther e is 
 no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be 
 known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. 
 For neither did his brethren believe in him" (John vii. 3-5). And 
 this is supposed to be greatly strengthened by what is recorded 
 toward the close of the preceding chapter, "Then said Jesus unto 
 
428 APPENDIX. 
 
 the twflvo, Will yo also go away? TJ.en Simon Peter answcrrd 
 liiiu, Lord, to ^vlJ()rn shall we go] thou hast the words of eternal 
 life. And we believe and are sux'e, that thon art that Christ," the 
 Son of the living God" (John vi. 67-G9). There is here an obvious 
 difficulty, but it is by no means insuperable. The unbelief charged 
 against the brethren may not have been absolute, but only partial 
 and temporary. During the whole time of the Saviour's earthly 
 career, the apostles were weak, timid, and irresolute. They bad 
 manifold doubts and misgivings. On one occasion Peter, foremost 
 tliough he was in confessing his Master's divinity, refused to credit 
 tliat Master's testimony, to the effect that he was about to suffer 
 and die at Jerusalem, and had to be severely rebuked for tlie pre- 
 sumptuous spirit lie manifested. On another still later he so 
 yielded to base distrust, to unbelieving fear, as to deny Jesus with 
 every circumstance that could aggravate the falsehood. We all 
 know, too, how faithless Thomas was with reference to the resur- 
 rection. At this time they may have been convinced of his 
 Messiahshi[), but perplexed, as they often were, at his way of acting, 
 at his not courting that publicity which seemed to befit his character 
 and his claims. And with respect to Peter's noble confession at 
 tiiecl'ise of the preceding chapter, — not to urge that there was a con- 
 siderable interval between the two incidents, in which there might 
 be many changes of thought and feeling, — the very question then 
 put to the twelve which di-ew it forth, •' Will ye also go away?" 
 implied something on their part like doubt or wavering, a tendency 
 that rendered such an inquiry not inappropriate. But even if we 
 take the word, "believe," in the strongest sense, it doesnot necessarily 
 follow that the statement made applied to all the brethren. In 
 /)ther cases similar language has to be limited. Thus two of the 
 Evangelists tell us that the thieves railed on Jesus during the cru- 
 cili.xion, while the third, Luke, expressly excepts the one who be- 
 came penitent. When in the house of Simon at Bethany, Mary 
 poured the box of ointment on his head, jMatthew states that the 
 discii)k'S had indignation, and asked what w;'.s the purpose of such 
 waste? Are we to infer that this was the universal feeling? We 
 Bhould have arrived at a different conclusion, even had no other in- 
 formation been given. But Mark explicitly restricts it to some of 
 their number, while John singles out and mentions only Judas 
 Tscariot, with whom, ns wc may suppose, a few moi-e or less sym- 
 pi;thized. Other examples of the same kind might be adduced. 
 
BY WHAT JATvIES TH3 EPISTLE WAS WRITTEN. 429 
 
 Only two of the brethren can witli any certahity bs said to hava 
 ranked among the twelve. TIih rest of them, not only Joses and 
 SinfDn, but relatives not a few it may be, were probably still 
 sceptical, and these may have been the brethren spoken of in this 
 instance. Such is perhaps the more natural and satisfactory solu- 
 tion of the difficulty. 
 
 2. The other objection is, that th?y are represented during our 
 Lord's life and after his death as distinct from the apostles. We 
 read, "After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, 
 and his brethren, and his disciples" (John ii. 12). A list of the 
 eleven is given ; and then it is added, — " These all continued with 
 one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary 
 the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren " (Acts i. 14-). " Have 
 we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, 
 and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?" (1 Cor. ix. 5). Tt 
 does not follow tliat, because the two are thus distinguished, they 
 were entirely different parties, for we may well suppose tliat those 
 of the twelve who were pei'soually related to Christ were spe- 
 cially mentioned because of that circumstance, vindoubtedly one of 
 great interest. We have this cleai-ly shewn in the last of the 
 passages now qiioted ; for not only are the brethren of the Lord 
 classed by themselves, but Cephas or Peter is named by himself, 
 and he, beyond all question, was one of the apostles. For the rea- 
 sons stated, or some other, a distinction was made in this instance. 
 Besides, only two, or at most three, of these kinsmen could have 
 been ranked along with the twelve. The rest had a different posi- 
 
 'on altogether, accounting for the way of speaking adopted. 
 
 y On these grounds, then, we maintain the identity. It would ill 
 become us to be confident where the highest authorities, both of 
 earlier and later times, are divided, and where all who study the 
 subject carefully must admit that the difficulties are very great in- 
 dead. Still we think the evidence presented warrants the inference 
 that James, the head of the Church at Jerusalem and author of 
 tills Epistle, was no otlier than James, the son of Alphcuis, and 
 apostle of the Loi'd Jesns. This view was maintained bj^the more 
 eminent and i-eliable fathers, as Clement (of Alexandria), Chrysos- 
 torn, Jerome, and Augustine. In modern days, opinion has b^en 
 much divided, but it has very decidedly preponderated in favour of 
 the identity. 
 
 The aiithor of our Epistle, thus identified with the son of 
 
430 APPENDIX. 
 
 Al})hcus, was clioscn, along with liis brother Jude or Jiulas, to a 
 place among the twelve apostles. We hear little of him during our 
 Lord's lilV'time. — the other of the same name standing forth rOore 
 prominently in the transactions of that period. Between the resur- 
 rection and ascension, his Master favoured him with a special 
 manifestation of himself, as Paul informs us (1 Cor. xv. 7); for 
 while there is nothing in the language to make it certain that it 
 was not rather the son of Zebedee who was thus honoured, it luis 
 been always believed that it was the future head of the Jewish 
 Christian community. We next hear of him in connexion with 
 Paul's tirst visit to Jerusalem after his conversion, which was paid 
 probably in the year 40. Then Barnabas took him and brought 
 him iinto the a})Ostles (Acts ix. 27) ; and he tells us himself (Gal. 
 i. ID), that it Avas Peter and James to whom he was thus intro- 
 duced. In 44 Herod Agrippa killed the other James Avith the 
 sword, and cast Peter into prison. The latter was miraculously 
 rek^ased, on which occasion he directed word to be sent unto 
 James and the brethren (Acts xii. 1 7), shewing the high position 
 he now occupied. About six years later the Apostolic Council 
 was held, when he delivered the judgment which was unanimously 
 acquiesced in by the assembly (Acts xv. 13-22). His ])lace in the 
 Church, and well-known ])ersonal attachment to the Mosaic law, 
 were well-fitted to give great, decisive, irresistible weight to his 
 way of settling the vexed qiiestion. It was at this time most likely 
 that Paul had that intercourse and made that agi'eement with 
 *' James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars," which he 
 speaks of in his E})istle to the Galatians (ch. ii. U). A little after 
 tliis, some rigid Jewish Christians came down to Antioch from 
 James, when Peter, from unworthy fear, acted in a trimming man- 
 ner and had to be openly withstood (Gal. ii. 11-1. 'i). A.D. 57 or 
 58, Paul paid another visit to Jerusalem, when, in the presence of 
 the elders, hi; narrated to Jani».'s, whose authority and influence arc 
 conspicuous on the occasion, wliat things God had wrought among 
 the Gentiles by his ministry (Acts xxi. 18, 19). 
 
 The subsequent history of the apostle must be sought in ancient 
 tradition, which hercy as elsewhere, is very far from being consis- 
 tent and reliable. It records a great many things regarding him 
 which are not only highly im])robable, but manifestly false and 
 absurd. It may he taken for certain that he lived very simply and 
 strictly, bearing not a little resemblance in appearance and habits 
 
BY AYHAT JAMES THE EPISTLE WAS WRITTEN. 431 
 
 to some of the ancient prophets. He commanded the respect, 
 the reverence of all classes, not even excepting many of his un- 
 believing countrymen, his proper name being almost lost in the 
 title of the Just. He was a rigid observer of the Mosaic law, 
 though doubtless there is much exaggeration in the repoi'ts handed 
 down of his practices in that respect. This gave him great weight 
 with the Jewish Christians, whose narrowness, however, he did not 
 share, for we see how openly and cordially he recognised the posi- 
 tion and labours of the free, unfettered apostle of the Gentiles. We 
 are not for a moment to suppose, — as a certain class of modern inter- 
 preters are too much disposed to do, — that he was all along only half 
 a New Testament believer; that Christianity never fully jjenetrated 
 his inner man, never thoi'oughly pervaded his character and liabits, 
 but that in these respects he remained a kind of old Israelite. That 
 is a most unwarrantable and unworthy view to entertain, one wholly 
 inconsistent with the place he occupied, and with his teaching in this 
 Epistle. His Judaism was of that sort wdiich Paul himself was 
 quite willing to conform to for the sake of his less enlightened and 
 liberal countrymen, to whose spiritual good James was specially 
 devoted, provided it was not substituted for or added to the aton- 
 ing work, the infinite meiit of Jesus as a ground of acceptance. 
 We pass over, as scarcely yorthy of credit or even notice, the 
 stories told about his dress and his ways otherwise ; for if not 
 entirely false, they are evidently marked by rvoss exaggeration. 
 
 Like his namesake, he at last suffered martyi-dom. Of the time 
 and manner of his death we have conflicting acconnts. In a })as- 
 sage, the genuineness of which has been much disputed, Josephus 
 informs us that Ananus, the high priest, thinking that he had a 
 lit opportunity because Festus the Procurator was dead, and 
 Albinus, his successor, had not yet arrived, called a meeting of the 
 Council, and having brought before it the brother of him who is 
 called Christ, James by name, and some others, accused them as 
 transgressors of the law, and had them delivered up to be stoned. 
 The date of this event some fix as early as a.d. 60, others as late 
 as 64. We have a much more detailed nan-ative of the last scene 
 in a fi'agment of Hegesippus, preserved by Eusebius. The author 
 of it was a Christian, of Hebi-ew descent, who wrote in the reign 
 of the Antonines, and lived at Pome between the years 
 157-176. According to him the death of James did not take place 
 until a later period, happening only a shoi t time before the destruc- 
 
432 APPENDIX. 
 
 tion of Jerusalem. His account has evidently many fabulous 
 cloments in it, and cannot be regarded as worthy of any gi-eat 
 credit. He tells us that certain of the Scribes and Pharisees set 
 James on a pinnacle of the temple, at the feast of the passover, for 
 the purpose of dissuading the assembled people from believing on 
 Jesus as the Messiah. Instead of doing that, he lifted up a loiul 
 testiuiony for his Lord, which had the effect of convincing many ; 
 and then the parties whose device had been foiled, in their rage, 
 cast hiiu down from the lofty terrace or battlement on which he 
 was staiuling. Not being killed by the fall, he began to pray for 
 thtun, when they, unmoved by this spectacle, set about stoning him ; 
 and, as they were doing so, a fuller took the club with which he 
 used to press the clothes, and striking the Just one on the head 
 despatched him forthwith. Hegesippus adds, " And so he bore 
 witness, and they buried him in the place by the temple, and the 
 pillar still remains on the sj)ot by the temple. He has been a true 
 witness, both to Jews and Gentiles, that Jesus is the Christ, and 
 immediately Vespasian besieged them." 
 
 IT. 
 
 TO WHAT PERSONS IT WAS WRITTEN. 
 
 We have touched on this point also in the opening discourse ; 
 but Jis different views have been entertained reganling it, a few 
 additional i-emarks may be desirable. The parties addressed were 
 evidently the writer's own countrymen. That appears from the 
 language of the 1st vei-se, "To the twelve tribes scattei'ed abroad, 
 greeting." This must be understood in a natural sense, not a 
 epiritual, — literally, not figuratively. Though ten of the tribes had 
 be.en carried away into Assyria, and, to a large extent, absorbed 
 and lost in the population of the regions to which they had been 
 ti'ansported, yet remnants of them survived, both in theii* native 
 land and throughout tlie East. They were linked together with their 
 bretlu'en of the other two tribes, the members of wliich were also, 
 from a variety of reasons, scattered far jind wide over other coun- 
 tries. When the whole nation was .sjwken of, when it was viewed 
 
TO WHAT PERSONS IT WAS WRITTEN. 403 
 
 as embracing, consisting of all its dispersed members, it was still 
 represented, as it is here, by the apostle. Thus Paul, when plead- 
 ing before Agrippa, spoke of the promise nnto Avhich " our twelve 
 tribes, instantly serving God day and night, desire to come." 
 j\Iany things in the Epistle accord with this idea of its Jewish 
 destination. The chosen people were peculiarly addicted to the 
 sins chiefly condemned in it, and they were so to a remarkable 
 extent about this period of their history. James calls the church 
 a synagogue ; and the forms of swearing to which he refers were 
 those in vise among them, as we learn from other scriptural testi- 
 monies. But while Jews, they were also Christians — the former/ 
 by natural descent, the latter by religious belief. They were the 
 apostle's fellow-disciples. They were the professed followers of 
 Jesus. The corruptions which abounded among them, the evil 
 passions and vicious habits which characterized them, may seem at 
 variance, — indeed incompatible with the idea that they had ever 
 embraced the faith of the gospel. But painful, startling as is the 
 picture here drawn, there is no gi'ound for questioning the fact 
 that it is a picture of persons who belonged to the Christian 
 Church of that period. The writer addresses them in the capacity 
 of a servant, not of God only, but also of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 He calls them throughout brethren, and evidently not in the 
 merely natural sense, but the gracious, the spiritual. He rep^-e- 
 sents them as having, in common with himself, been begotten by 
 the Word of Truth, and thus made a kind of first-fruits of his 
 creatures, (i. 18.) He speaks of them as having faith, and that in the 
 distinctively New Testament accejotation of the terra, " the faith of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ." (ii. 1.) There can be no mistake as to 
 the worthy name by which they were called, (ii. 7.) And he 
 exhorts them to wait patiently for the second advent, as their 
 sure and joyful reaping-time. (v. 7, 8.) There is no doubt 
 a considerable difiiculty connected with some passages, — very 
 specially with that in which he addresses rich men as grossly 
 unjust-, rapacious, luxurious, even as actual persecutors, yea, 
 murderers of the faithful, (v. 1-6.) Tt is not easy to con- 
 ceive of such parties as belonging to the Christian community. 
 Some, bearing more or less these features, may have been really in 
 it ; but we are most probably to understand James as here refer- 
 ring to men without it, yet so related to those for whom the 
 Epistle was intended, or otherwise so situated, as to be reached by 
 
 2 F 
 
434 APPENDIX. 
 
 his solemn expostulations, warnings, and rebukes. We liave 
 endeavoured to exj)lain the sense and application of these strong 
 statements in our exposition of the passages where they occur. 
 
 III. 
 AT WHAT PLACE AND TIME IT WAS WRITTEN. 
 
 As to the place, there is every probability that it was Jerusalem. 
 There James seems to have resided in a much more permanent 
 manner than we find the other apostles doing in any of theii* fields 
 of labour. It was a centre from which he had ready access to the 
 Jews in all those countries, whether more or less remote and fre- 
 quented, where they were dispersed. It has been observed, too, 
 that there is a variety of allusions in the Epistle to natural 
 phenomena, which exactly accord with the idea that it was ^vritten 
 in Palestine. 
 
 As to the time, there is far gi'eater uncertainty. Opinion is 
 much divided on the subject. The general belief used to be that 
 it dated from a comparatively late period, — perha])s somewhere 
 about the year GO, — it might be either a little before or after. 
 This conviction was based on two circumstances. First, It was 
 thought that the cori-uptions which James deals with, so flagi-ant 
 in their nature and extensive in their influence, could not have 
 crept in among Christians for a considerable time after the recep- 
 tion of the gosjiel ; that they indicate a falling away, a deep degene- 
 racy, which could have gone .such a length only after being for not 
 a few ycai"s in progi-ess. It was jiresumed that for a sea.son after 
 their adherence to the faith of the gospel, the paities must have 
 been very different indeed, and that a somewhat lengthened interval 
 was required to account for the prevalence of the evils here ex]iosed 
 and condemned. Secondly, It was infeiTed from various statements 
 and apparent ix'ferences that James must have written after certain 
 Epistles of Paul had been put in circulation, and that in particular 
 he controverts a perversion of that apostle's teaching on the sub- 
 ject of justification by faith. 
 
 Now, however, it is the prevalent belief of Biblical scholars that 
 
AT WHAT PLACE AND TIME IT WAS WRITTEN. 436 
 
 the place in the canon wliich it held, according to an ancient 
 arrangement of the ISTew Testament, as the first of the epistolary 
 writings, is the correct one ; and that it must have been penned at 
 a comparatively early period, probably about the year a.d. 45, — 
 certainly before 50. This view is also based on two grounds. 
 First, It is maintained that the style of teaching in it, the form of 
 doctrine, is of a simjjle, rudimentary type, and points to a time 
 when all was primitive and practical. Secondly, It is thought that 
 it could not have been prepared after the Apostolic Council, recorded 
 in the 15th chapter of Acts, seeing there is no reference in it to the 
 controvei'sy then settled as to the standing of the Gentile converts, 
 as to the relaxation of the Mosaic law in their favour. 
 
 It were presumptuous in us to speak confidently where the most 
 competent judges, — men like Neander, Stanley, Alford, Davidson, 
 and many others, — decidedly adopt the opposite view; but we can- 
 not help thinking that the arguments in favour of the later date 
 are not so easily set aside as these writers suppose. It is difficult to 
 conceive that the state of things here described could have existed 
 without a great and even lengthened process of declension. It is 
 indeed alleged that the Jews addressed had simply added a faith in 
 Jesus as the Messiah to their old Judaism, and that they were only 
 nominally and formally Christians. But that does not agree with 
 the representation given in other respects, and we cannot but re- 
 gard it as at variance with the idea we are warranted to entertain 
 of the Apostolic Ministry and the primitive Church. Besides, we 
 question whether, in a genei-al way, or even to any great extent, 
 the Jews did thus attach themselves to Christianity, except under 
 a far deeper conviction, a far more transforming influence. Then 
 the apparent allusions to Epistles of Paul, — that to the Romans, 
 for example, which dates from about the year 58, — seem too distinct 
 and decided to be easily explained away. Compare the following 
 passages by way of specimen, for they are only a selection : — " My 
 brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations ; 
 knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." 
 (James i. 2, 3.) " And not only so, but we glory in tribulation also : 
 knowing that tribulation worketh patience." (Rom. v. 3.)— r" Then, 
 when lust hath conceived, it bringeth foi'th sin ; and sin, when it is 
 finished, bringeth forth death." (Jam. i. 15.) " I had not known 
 lust, except the law had said. Thou shalt not covet. But- sin, 
 taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner 
 
4-*><i APPENDIX. 
 
 of cououi)iscence. For without tlie law sm was dead.. For I was 
 alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin 
 revived, and I died." (Rom. vii. 7, 8, 9.) — " But be ye doers of the 
 word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (Jam. i. 22.) 
 " For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers 
 of the law shall be justified." (Rom. ii 13.) Take only one other 
 example, — " There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to de- 
 stroy : who art thou that judgest another]" (Jam. iv. 12.) "Who 
 art thou that judgest another man's servants to his own master he 
 sta;ndeth or falleth; yea, he shall be holden up: for Uod is able to 
 make him stand." (Rom. xiv. 4.) With regard to the disputed 
 matter of justification, it does look as if the apostle here had in 
 view some perversion of the evangelical teaching on that subject. 
 He uses the exact terms employed by Paul {dixaiouaOa/, ex '^riencug, 
 i^ ipyujv), and also the very examples, those of Abraham and RahaVj, 
 whicli he adduces. It is siiid that it was a Jewish eiTor he was 
 combatting, that of making a correct belief a substitute for practi- 
 cal godliness. But this in substance was the very abuse which 
 Paul himself had to contend against; and the fact of the Jewish 
 tendency in that direction, — an ancestral disposition to rely upon 
 tlieir national creed, — rendered them all the more Liable to go astray 
 here, so that warning was peculiarly needful in their case. We can 
 .scarcely doubt that it was the distinctively New Testament faith, 
 that of the gospel, which was perverted by the persons now ad- 
 dressed. 
 
 With respect to the positive arguments on the other side, I 
 venture to affirm that they are not very forcible. As to the simple, 
 primitive form of the doctrine, that is sufficiently accounted for 
 by the design of the writer. He was dealing with practical abuses 
 rather than with heretical tendencies. He was not so much teach- 
 ing as exhorting, warning, rebuking. Then, with reference to the 
 want of any allusion to the Apostolic Council, the circumstance, 
 while undoubtedly having some weight, is far from being decisive. 
 James was not called to introduce that matter ; for he wjis writing 
 here to Jews almost, if not quite, exclusively,— not ttj mixed, but 
 si^parate religious communities. Thei-e might be, probably were 
 (ientile converts among them ; but they were comparatively few, 
 and practically did not require to be tjiken into account. He does 
 not touch on the relation cif the one class to the otlier. His influ- 
 ence with those specially addi-essed, his believing countrymen, was 
 
AT WHAT PLACE AND TIME IT WAS WRITTEN. 437 
 
 likely to be all the greater that he did not arouse their prejudices, 
 did not distract their attention by entering into matters of disputa- 
 tion. Thex'e was no occasion now to do so, and wisdom dictated 
 such a course as that the apostle pursued. 
 
 The view we have advocated admits of being strengthened by 
 the apparent allusions which the Epistle contains. Thus, there 
 seems to be a decided refei-ence to those dreadful evils that were 
 coming on the Jewish nation, to those impending calamities which, 
 before many years, were to terminate in the destruction of Jerusa- 
 lem. It is thought that the opening verses of the fifth chapter 
 point, not doubtfully, to the already gathering judgments of heaven. 
 Then the rich men were to sufier overwhelming miseries and 
 receive the reward of theii- exactions and cruelties. On these 
 grounds, we are not pre])ared to abandon the opinion which has 
 been given up by the majority of recent critics and interpreters. 
 We have, however, candidly stated the arguments on both sides 
 of the question. 
 
 IV. 
 
 FOR WHAT PURPOSE IT WAS WRITTEN, 
 
 James seems to have had a twofold object in thus writing to 
 the believing Jews of the dispersion. First, His Epistle was de- 
 signed to direct and comfort them under the trials to which they 
 were then subjected. It is evident, that the persons addressed were 
 in a state of suffering. They were sharing in those general troubles 
 which had begun to come on the Jewish people, and were soon to 
 issue in their destruction as a nation. The storm was gathering 
 ^nd making itself felt, not only in Palestine, but far beyond its 
 borders. In addition, they were doubtless exposed to heavy 
 afflictions as the disciples of the Lord Jesus. They had to encoun- 
 t(;r persecutions from their unbelieving countrymen, and also from 
 tlie heathen in those idolatrous regions where they resided. They 
 v/ere dragged before the judgment-seats. In these circumstances, 
 they did not exhibit the faith and patience, the calm, resolute, 
 C'hrist-like endurance which befitted their character and prospects. 
 They needed to be exhorted and animated to manifest the right 
 
438 APPENDIX. 
 
 spirit, and act in a worthy nianno* under those trials. The whole 
 nature and design of that discipline to which they were sul> 
 jected required to be set before them, as it faithfully is here by the 
 apostle. Secondljj, It was written to warn them against a form of 
 godliness as dissociated from its power. They had fallen into 
 gi'ievous practical errors. They were too much disposed to rest in 
 being hearers of the word withoixt being also doers. Numbers 
 were satisfied with a faith which did not produce good woi'ks, 
 fruits of righteousness. They substituted belief in a doctrine for 
 the pui-suit and possession of holiness. The result of such a radical 
 mistake was that they had become the prey of many evil passions 
 and habits. James saw and deplored this deep degeneracy. He 
 lifted up liLs voice in condemnation of such a grievous perversion 
 of the gospel. He warned them against resting in a profession, a 
 creed, a sj^stem, — in a formal, lifeless religion, however orthodox, 
 — against dreaming of being justified by a faith that did not purify 
 the heart and rule the conduct, that did not prove its vitality and 
 power by bringing forth all the fruits of holy living. He sought 
 to correct their misai)prehension and misrepix'sentation of evange- 
 lical principles, and to urge them forward in tlie path of Christian 
 obedience. 
 
 WITH WHAT AUTHORITY IT \\ Ab W IlITTEN. 
 
 We may preface our remarks on this subject by the solemn and 
 suitable words of Manton. " Concerning the Divine aiithority of 
 tliis Epistle," he says, " I desire to discuss it with reverence and 
 trembling ; 'tis dangerous to loosen foundation-stones. I sliould 
 wholly have omitted this part of the subject, but that the difter- 
 ence is so famous ; and to conceal known adversaries is an argu- 
 ment of fear and dLstiiist. The Lord grant that the cure be not 
 turned into a snare, and that vain men may not unsettle them- 
 selves by what is intended for an establi.shment.'" Tlie canonical 
 authority of the Epistle has been matter of questicm. That it was 
 
 * Manton — Prcf.'ice to Commentary. 
 
WITH WHAT AUTHORITY IT WAS WRITTEN. 439 
 
 more or less disputed in primitive times is evident from the 
 doubtful way in which it is spoken of by'Origen as an Epistle 
 ascribed to James (ug sv rfj (pspofjbsvfj 'lazuij3ou i'jriffToXj^ anyvoiijjiv); by 
 Eusebius, who represents it as I'eputed spurious (iorsov d's ug voDsviTai 
 fih) ; and by Jerome, who says that James wrote only one Epistle, 
 which is asserted to have been issued by another in his name ; but 
 gradually, in process of time, it has obtained authority (quae et 
 ipsa ab alio quodam sub nomine ejus edita asseritur, licet paulatim 
 tempore procedente obtinuerit auctoritatem). These writers, how- 
 ever, seem to have had little personal difficulty on the subject, for 
 they quote and treat the Epistle as inspired Scripture. At the 
 time of the Reformation, and subsequently, the old doubts were 
 revived and entertained more or less by eminent men, — such as 
 Luther, Erasmus, and others. They were chiefly influenced by 
 internal grounds, and not by want of external evidence. At a 
 still more recent date, certain German critics have followed in 
 their footsteps, and said all that great learning and a perverse 
 ingenuity can urge against this part of Divine revelation. It is 
 not difficult to account for, the suspicions with which the Epistle 
 was early regarded. The uncei'tainty as to its author had its own 
 influence. The style of teaching that characterized it, so difierent 
 from that of Paul's writings; the seeming opposition of the doctrine 
 of James on the subject of justification to that of the apostle of 
 the Gentiles ; the exclusive address and reference to Jewish Chris- 
 tians which mark it ; — these, and other circumstances, were, well 
 fitted to afiiect, in a greater or less degree, its reception throughout 
 the Church. But we have quite satisfactory evidence of its inspired, 
 canonical aiithority. If we have been correct in ascribing it to 
 James the apostle, that of itself is decisive of the question, for 
 there never would have been any doubt regarding it had that been 
 clear and cei'tain. The striking agreement between several pas- 
 sages in it and parts of the 1st Epistle of Peter, make it manifest 
 that the two writers were intimately united in their views of 
 Divine truth and their mode of presenting it ; that they had asso- 
 ciated closely together, and were under the same infallible guid- 
 ance. It is a most important circumstance that it is fou.nd in the 
 ancient Peshito Version, which was prepared, if not in the 1st, as 
 high authorities believe, in the early part of the 2nd century, for 
 the benefit of the Syrian Christians. As many of the Jews to 
 whom James wrote lived in the reerion where that version was 
 
440 APPENDIX. 
 
 made and used, it constitutes a strong testimony in favour of the 
 apostolic origin and Divine inspiration of the Epistle. Though 
 not ex[)rcssly quoted by the very earliest Christian writers, it 
 is not doubtfully referred to by them in a variety of passages. 
 This can be shewn in the case of Clement (of Rome), Hermas. and 
 Irenaeus. In process of time it was fully recognised and emjjloved 
 by all the great Greek Fathers, — as Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, 
 Gregory Nazianzen, Chrysostom, and othei-s. So in the "West, 
 about the period when the canon of Scripture became fixed and 
 certain, it was fully regarded as a part of sacred Scripture. Ft 
 was sanctioned as such by the Council of Carthage a.d. 397. It 
 is not needful for us to prosecute the subject farther. The objec- 
 tions of German assailants of its canonical authority hax-e been 
 triumphantly met by writers both at home and abroad, and it is 
 not for us to enter into the details of such a discussion. We con- 
 fidently accept and rest in this Epistle as a precious part of that 
 Scripture which " is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable 
 for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous- 
 ness ; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished 
 unto all good works." 
 
 LonnCKK ANP OILLIM, mlXTMlx, CLTDE STXIT.ET, KDI.Nnt'Uon. 
 
BS2785.8.A19 
 
 An exposition of the Epistle of James m 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Speer Library 
 
 00062 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 GAYLORD #3523PI Printed in USA