THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF

JAMES

Commentary by A. R. F

AUSSETT

INTRODUCTION

HIS

is called by E

USEBIUS

([

Ecclesiastical History,

2.23], about the year 330

A.D.

) the

first of the Catholic Epistles, that is, the Epistles intended for general circulation, as

distinguished from Paul's Epistles, which were addressed to particular churches or individuals.

In the oldest manuscripts of the New Testament extant, they stand

before

the Epistles of Paul.

Of them, two only are mentioned by E

USEBIUS

universally acknowledged

(

Homologoumena

), namely, the First Epistle of Peter, and the First Epistle of John.

All,

however, are found in every existing manuscript of the whole New Testament.

It is not to be wondered at that Epistles not addressed to particular churches (and particularly

one like that of James, addressed to the Israelite believers scattered abroad) should be for a time

less known. The first mention of James' Epistle by name occurs early in the third century, in

RIGEN

[

Commentary

on John 1:19, 4.306], who was born about 185, and died

A.D.

254.

LEMENT OF

OME

([

First Epistle to the Corinthians,

10]; compare Jas 2:21, 23; [

First

Epistle to the Corinthians,

11]; compare Jas 2:25; Heb 11:31) quotes it. So also H

ERMAS

[

Shepherd

] quotes Jas 4:7. I

RENÆUS

[

Against Heresies,

4.16.2] is thought to refer to Jas 2:23.

LEMENT OF

LEXANDRIA

commented on it, according to C

ASSIODORUS

. E

PHREM THE

YRIAN

[

Against the Greeks,

3.51] quotes Jas 5:1. An especially strong proof of its authenticity

is afforded by its forming part of the old

Syriac

version, which contains no other of

the disputed

books

(

Antilegomena, [E

USEBIUS

, Ecclesiastical History,

3.25]), except the Epistle to the

Hebrews. None of the Latin fathers before the fourth century quote it; but soon after the Council

of Nicea it was admitted as canonical both by the East and West churches, and specified as such

in the Councils of Hippo and Carthage (397

A.D.

). This is just what we might expect; a writing

known only partially at first, when subsequently it obtained a wider circulation, and the proofs

were better known of its having been recognized in apostolic churches, having in them men

endowed with the discernment of spirits, which qualified them for discriminating between

inspired and uninspired writings, was universally accepted. Though

doubted

for a time, at last

the disputed books (James, Second Peter, Second and Third John, Jude, and Revelation) were

universally and undoubtingly accepted, so that no argument for the Old Testament Apocrypha

can be drawn from their case: as to

the Jewish Church had

no doubt;

it was

known not to be

inspired.

UTHER'S

objection to it ("an Epistle of straw, and destitute of an evangelic character") was

due to his mistaken idea that it (Jas 2:14-26) opposes the doctrine of justification by faith, and

not by works, taught by Paul. But the two apostles, while looking at justification from distinct

standpoints, perfectly harmonize and mutually complement the definitions of one another. Faith

precedes love and the works of love; but without them it is dead. Paul regards faith in the

justification of the sinner

before God;

James, in the justification of the believer

evidently before

men.

The error which James meets was the Jewish notion that their possession and knowledge of

the law of God would justify them, even though they disobeyed it (compare Jas 1:22 with Ro

2:17-25). Jas 1:3; 4:1, 12 seem plainly to allude to Ro 5:3; 6:13; 7:23; 14:4. Also the tenor of Jas

2:14-26 on "justification," seems to allude to Paul's teaching, so as to correct false Jewish

notions of a different kind from those which he combatted, though not unnoticed by him also

(Ro 2:17, &c.).

Paul (Ga 2:9) arranges the names "James, Cephas, John," in the order in which their Epistles

stand. James who wrote this Epistle (according to most ancient writers) is called (Ga 1:19), "the

Lord's brother." He was son of Alpheus or Cleopas (Lu 24:13-18) and Mary, sister of the Virgin

Mary. Compare Mr 15:40 with Joh 19:25, which seems to identify the mother of James the Less

with the wife of Cleopas, not with the Virgin Mary, Cleopas' wife's sister. Cleopas is the

Hebrew,

Alpheus the

Greek

mode of writing the same name. Many, however, as H

EGESIPPUS

USEBIUS

Ecclesiastical History,

23.1], distinguish

the Lord's brother

from the son of

Alpheus. But the Gospel according to the Hebrews, quoted by J

EROME

, represents James, the

Lord's brother, as present at the institution of the Eucharist, and therefore identical with the

apostle James. So the Apocryphal Gospel of James. In Acts, James who is put foremost in

Jerusalem after the death of James, the son of Zebedee, is not distinguished from James, the son

of Alpheus. He is not mentioned as one of the Lord's brethren in Ac 1:14; but as one of the

"apostles" (Ga 1:19). He is called "the Less" (literally, "the little," Mr 15:40), to distinguish him

from James, the son of Zebedee. A

LFORD

considers James, the brother of the Lord, the author

of the Epistle, to have been the eldest of the sons of Joseph and Mary, after Jesus (compare Mt

13:55), and that James the son of Alpheus is distinguished from him by

the latter

being called

"the Less," (that is, junior). His arguments against the Lord's brother, the bishop of Jerusalem,

being the apostle, are: (1) The Lord's brethren did not believe on Jesus at a time when the

apostles had been already called (Joh 7:3, 5), therefore none of the Lord's brethren could be

among the apostles (but it does not follow from Joh 7:3 that no one of them believed). (2) The

apostles' commission was to preach the Gospel

everywhere,

not to be bishops in a particular

locality (but it is unlikely that one not an apostle should be bishop of Jerusalem, to whom even

apostles yield deference, Ac 15:13, 19; Ga 1:19; 2:9, 12. The Saviour's last command to the

apostles collectively to

preach the Gospel everywhere,

is not inconsistent with each having a

particular sphere of labor in which he should be a missionary bishop, as Peter is said to have

been at Antioch).

He was surnamed "the Just." It needed peculiar wisdom so to preach the Gospel as not to

disparage the law. As bishop of Jerusalem writing to the twelve tribes, he sets forth the Gospel

in its aspect of relation to the law, which the Jews so reverenced. As Paul's Epistles are a

commentary on the doctrines flowing from the death and resurrection of Christ, so James's

Epistle has a close connection with His teaching during His life on earth, especially His Sermon

on the Mount. In both, the law is represented as fulfilled in love: the very language is palpably

similar (compare Jas 1:2 with Mt 5:12; Jas 1:4 with Mt 5:48; Jas 1:5; 5:15 with Mt 7:7-11; Jas

2:13 with Mt 5:7; 6:14, 15; Jas 2:10 with Mt 5:19; Jas 4:4 with Mt 6:24; Jas 4:11 with Mt 7:1, 2;

Jas 5:2 with Mt 6:19). The whole spirit of this Epistle breathes the same Gospel-

righteousness

which the Sermon on the Mount inculcates as the highest realization of the law. James's own

character as "the Just," or

legally righteous,

disposed him to this coincidence (compare Jas 1:20;

2:10; 3:18 with Mt 5:20). It also fitted him for presiding over a Church still zealous for the law

(Ac 21:18-24; Ga 2:12). If any could win the Jews to the Gospel, he was most likely who

presented a pattern of Old Testament righteousness, combined with evangelical faith (compare

also Jas 2:8 with Mt 5:44, 48). Practice, not profession, is the test of obedience (compare Jas

2:17; 4:17 with Mt 7:2-23). Sins of the tongue, however lightly regarded by the world, are an

offense against the law of love (compare Jas 1:26; 3:2-18 with Mt 5:22; also any swearing, Jas

5:12; compare Mt 5:33-37).

The absence of the apostolic benediction in this Epistle is probably due to its being

addressed, not merely to the believing, but also indirectly to unbelieving, Israelites. To the

former he commends humility, patience, and prayer; to the latter he addresses awful warnings

(Jas 5:7-11; 4:9; 5:1-6).

James was martyred at the Passover. This Epistle was probably written just before it. The

destruction of Jerusalem foretold in it (Jas 5:1, &c.), ensued a year after his martyrdom,

A.D.

69.

EGESIPPUS

(quoted in E

USEBIUS

[

Ecclesiastical History,

2.23]) narrates that he was set on a

pinnacle of the temple by the scribes and Pharisees, who begged him to restrain the people who

were in large numbers embracing Christianity. "Tell us," said they in the presence of the people

gathered at the feast, "which is the door of Jesus?" James replied with a loud voice, "Why ask ye

me concerning Jesus the Son of man? He sitteth at the right hand of power, and will come again

on the clouds of heaven." Many thereupon cried, Hosanna to the Son of David. But James was

cast down headlong by the Pharisees; and praying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not

what they do," he was stoned and beaten to death with a fuller's club. The Jews, we know from

Acts, were exasperated at Paul's rescue from their hands, and therefore determined to wreak

their vengeance on James. The publication of his Epistle to the dispersed Israelites, to whom it

was probably carried by those who came up to the periodical feasts, made him obnoxious to

them, especially to the higher classes, because it foretold the woes soon about to fall on them

and their country. Their taunting question, "Which is the door of Jesus?" (that is, by what door

will He come when He returns?), alludes to his prophecy, "the coming of the Lord draweth

nigh . . . behold the Judge standeth before the

door

" (Jas 5:8, 9). Heb 13:7 probably refers to the

martyrdom of James, who had been so long bishop over the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem,

"Remember them which have (rather, 'had') the rule (spiritually) over you, who have spoken

unto you the word of God; whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation."

His inspiration as an apostle is expressly referred to in Ac 15:19, 28, "

My sentence is,

" &c.:

"It seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us," &c. His episcopal authority is implied in the

deference paid to him by Peter and Paul (Ac 12:17; 21:18; Ga 1:19; 2:9). The Lord had appeared

specially to him after the resurrection (1Co 15:7). Peter in his First Epistle (universally from the

first received as canonical) tacitly confirms the inspiration of James's Epistle, by incorporating

with his own inspired writings no less than ten passages from James. The "apostle of the

circumcision," Peter, and the first bishop of Jerusalem, would naturally have much in common.

Compare Jas 1:1 with 1Pe 1:1; Jas 1:2 with 1Pe 1:6; 4:12, 13; Jas 1:11 with 1Pe 1:24; Jas 1:18

with 1Pe 1:3; Jas 2:7 with 1Pe 4:14; Jas 3:13 with 1Pe 2:12; Jas 4:1 with 1Pe 2:11; Jas 4:6 with

1Pe 5:5, 6; Jas 4:7 with 1Pe 5:6, 9; Jas 4:10 with 1Pe 5:6; Jas 5:20 with 1Pe 4:6. Its being

written in the purest

Greek

shows it was intended not only for the Jews at Jerusalem, but also for

the Hellenistic, that is, Greek-speaking, Jews.

The style is close, curt, and sententious, gnome following after gnome. A Hebraic character

pervades the Epistle, as appears in the occasional poetic parallelisms (Jas 3:1-12). Compare

"assembly":

Greek,

"synagogue," Jas 2:2,

Margin.

The images are analogical arguments,

combining at once logic and poetry. Eloquence and persuasiveness are prominent characteristics.

The similarity to Matthew, the most Hebrew of the Gospels, is just what we might expect

from the bishop of Jerusalem writing to Israelites. In it the higher spirit of Christianity is seen

putting the Jewish law in its proper place. The law is enforced in its everlasting spirit, not in the

letter for which the Jews were so zealous. The doctrines of grace, the distinguishing features of

Paul's teaching to the Hellenists and Gentiles, are less prominent as being already taught by that

apostle. James complements Paul's teaching, and shows to the Jewish Christians who still kept

the legal ordinances down to the fall of Jerusalem, the spiritual principle of the law, namely,

love manifested in obedience. To sketch "the perfect man"

continuing

in the Gospel law of

liberty,

is his theme.

CHAPTER 1

Jas 1:1-27. I

NSCRIPTION

: E

XHORTATION ON

EARING

, S

PEAKING, AND

RATH.

The last subject is discussed in Jas 3:13-4:17.

1. James

--an apostle of the circumcision, with Peter and John, James in Jerusalem,

Palestine, and Syria; Peter in Babylon and the East; John in Ephesus and Asia Minor. Peter

addresses the dispersed

Jews of Pontus, Galatia, and Cappadocia;

James, the Israelites of the

twelve tribes scattered abroad.

servant of God

--not that he was not an

apostle;

for Paul, an apostle, also calls himself so;

but as addressing the Israelites generally, including even indirectly the unbelieving, he in

humility omits the title "apostle"; so Paul in writing to the Hebrews; similarly Jude, an apostle,

in his General Epistle.

Jesus Christ

--not mentioned again save in Jas 2:1; not at all in his speeches (Ac 15:14, 15;

21:20, 21), lest his introducing the name of Jesus oftener should seem to arise from vanity, as

being "the Lord's brother" [B

ENGEL

]. His teaching being practical, rather than doctrinal,

required less frequent mention of Christ's name.

scattered abroad

--literally "which are in the dispersion." The dispersion of the Israelites,

and their connection with Jerusalem as a center of religion, was a divinely ordered means of

propagating Christianity. The pilgrim troops of the law became caravans of the Gospel

ORDSWORTH

greeting

--found in no other Christian letter, but in James and the Jerusalem Synod's Epistle

to the Gentile churches; an undesigned coincidence and mark or genuineness. In the original

Greek

(

chairein

) for "greeting," there is a connection with the "joy" to which they are exhorted

amidst their existing distresses from poverty and consequent oppression. Compare Ro 15:26,

which alludes to their poverty.

2. My brethren

--a phrase often found in James, marking community of nation and of faith.

all joy

--cause for the highest joy [G

ROTIUS

]. Nothing but joy [P

ISCATOR

]. Count

all

"divers temptations" to be

each

matter of

joy

ENGEL

fall into

--unexpectedly, so as to be encompassed by them (so the original

Greek

temptations

--not in the limited sense of allurements to sin, but

trials

or distresses of any

kind which test and purify the Christian character. Compare "tempt," that is, try, Ge 22:1. Some

of those to whom James writes were "sick," or otherwise "afflicted" (Jas 5:13). Every possible

trial to the child of God is a masterpiece of strategy of the Captain of his salvation for his good.

3. the trying

--the

testing

proving

of your faith, namely, by "divers temptations." Compare

(see my

Ro 5:3,

tribulation

worketh patience, and patience

experience

(in the original

dokime,

akin to

dokimion,

"trying," here; there it is

experience:

here the "trying" or

testing,

whence experience

flows).

patience

--The original implies more;

persevering endurance

and

continuance

(compare Lu

8:15).

Let endurance have a perfect

work

(taken out of the previous "

worketh

patience" or

endurance), that is, have its

full effect,

by showing the most perfect degree of endurance,

namely, "joy in bearing the cross" [M

ENOCHIUS

], and enduring to the end (Mt 10:22)

ALVIN

ye may be perfect

--fully developed in all the attributes of a Christian character. For this

there is required "joy" [B

ENGEL

], as part of the "perfect work" of probation. The work of God

in a man is the man. If God's teachings by patience have had a perfect work in you,

you are

perfect [A

LFORD

entire

--that which has all its parts complete, wanting no integral part;

1Th 5:23, "your

whole (literally, 'entire') spirit, soul, and body"; as "perfect" implies

without a blemish in its

parts.

5. English Version

omits "But," which the

Greek

has, and which is important. "But (as this

perfect entireness wanting nothing is no easy attainment) if any," &c.

lack

--rather, as the

Greek

word is repeated after James's manner, from Jas 1:4, "

wanting

nothing," translate, "If any of you

want

wisdom," namely, the wisdom whereby ye may "count it

all joy when ye fall into divers temptations," and "let patience have her perfect work." This

"wisdom" is shown in its effects in detail, Jas 3:7. The highest wisdom, which governs patience

alike in poverty and riches, is described in Jas 1:9, 10.

ask

-- (Jas 4:2).

liberally

--So the

Greek

is rendered by

English Version.

It is rendered

with simplicity,

12:8. God gives without adding aught which may take off from the graciousness of the gift

LFORD

]. God requires the same "simplicity" in His children ("eye . . . single," Mt 6:22,

literally, "simple").

upbraideth not

--an illustration of God's giving

simply.

He gives to the humble suppliant

without upbraiding him with his past sin and ingratitude, or his future abuse of God's goodness.

The Jews pray, "Let me not have need of the gifts of men, whose gifts are few, but their

upbraidings manifold; but give me out of Thy large and full hand." Compare Solomon's prayer

for "wisdom," and God's gift above what he asked, though God foresaw his future abuse of His

goodness would deserve very differently. James has before his eye the Sermon on the Mount

Introduction

). God hears every true prayer and grants either the thing asked, or else

something better than it; as a good physician consults for his patient's good better by denying

something which the latter asks not for his good, than by conceding a temporary gratification to

his hurt.

6. ask in faith

--that is, the persuasion that God can and will give. James begins and ends

with

faith.

In the middle of the Epistle he removes the hindrances to faith and shows its true

character [B

ENGEL

wavering

--between belief and unbelief. Compare the case of the Israelites, who seemed to

partly believe in God's power, but leaned more to unbelief by "limiting" it. On the other hand,

compare Ac 10:20; Ro 4:20 ("

staggered not

. . . through unbelief," literally, as here, "

wavered

not

"); 1Ti 2:8.

like a wave of the sea

-- Isa 57:20; Eph 4:14, where the same

Greek

word occurs for "tossed

to and fro," as is here translated, "driven with the wind."

driven with the wind

--from without.

tossed

--from within, by its own instability [B

ENGEL

]. At one time cast on the shore of faith

and hope, at another rolled back into the abyss of unbelief; at one time raised to the height of

worldly pride, at another tossed in the sands of despair and affliction [W

IESINGER

7. For

--resumed from "For" in Jas 1:6.

that man

--such a wavering self-deceiver.

think

--Real

faith

is something more than a mere

thinking

surmise.

anything

--namely, of the things that he prays for: he does receive many things from God,

food, raiment, &c., but these are the general gifts of His providence: of the things specially

granted in answer to prayer, the waverer shall not receive "anything," much less wisdom.

8. double-minded

--literally, "double-souled," the one soul directed towards God, the other

to something else. The

Greek

favors A

LFORD'S

translation, "He (the waverer, Jas 1:6) is a man

double-minded, unstable," &c.; or better, B

EZA'S

. The words in this Jas 1:8 are in apposition

with "that man," Jas 1:7; thus the "us," which is not in the original, will not need to be supplied,

"A man double-minded, unstable in all his ways!" The word for "double-minded" is found here

and in Jas 4:8, for the first time in Greek literature. It is not a

hypocrite

that is meant, but a

fickle,

"wavering" man, as the context shows. It is opposed to the single eye

(Mt 6:22).

9, 10.

Translate, "

But

let the brother," &c. that is, the best remedy against

double-

mindedness

is that Christian

simplicity

of spirit whereby the "brother," low in outward

circumstances, may "rejoice" (answering to Jas 1:2) "in that he is exalted," namely, by being

accounted a son and heir of God, his very sufferings being a pledge of his coming glory and

crown (Jas 1:12), and the rich may rejoice "in that he is made low," by being stripped of his

goods for Christ's sake [M

ENOCHIUS

]; or in that he is made, by sanctified trials, lowly in spirit,

which is true matter for rejoicing [G

OMARUS

]. The design of the Epistle is to reduce all things

to an equable footing (Jas 2:1; 5:13). The "low," rather than the "rich," is here called "the

brother" [B

ENGEL

10.

So far as one is merely "rich" in worldly goods, "he shall pass away"; in so far as his

predominant character is that of a "brother," he "abideth for ever" (1Jo 2:17). This view meets

all A

LFORD'S

objections to regarding "the rich" here as a "brother" at all. To avoid making the

rich a brother, he translates, "But the rich glories in his humiliation," namely, in that which is

really his debasement (his rich state, Php 3:19), just as the low is told to rejoice in what is really

his exaltation (his lowly state).

11.

Taken from Isa 40:6-8.

heat

--rather, "the hot wind" from the (east or) south, which scorches vegetation (Lu 12:55).

The "burning heat" of the sun is not at its

rising,

but rather at noon; whereas the scorching

Kadim

wind is often at sunrise (Jon 4:8) [M

IDDLETON

The Doctrine of the Greek Article

]. Mt

20:12 uses the

Greek

word for "heat." Isa 40:7, "

bloweth

upon it," seems to answer to "the hot

wind" here.

grace of the fashion

--that is of the external appearance.

in his ways

--referring to the burdensome extent of the rich man's devices [B

ENGEL

Compare "his ways," that is, his course of life, Jas 1:8.

12. Blessed

--Compare the beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:4, 10, 11).

endureth temptation

--not the "falling into divers temptations" (Jas 1:2) is the matter for

"joy," but the

enduring

of temptation "unto the end." Compare Job 5:17.

when he is tried

--literally, "when he has become tested" or "approved," when he has passed

through the "trying" (Jas 1:3), his "faith" having finally gained the victory.

the crown

--not in allusion to the crown or garland given to winners in the games; for this,

though a natural allusion for Paul in writing to the heathen, among whom such games existed,

would be less appropriate for James in addressing the Jewish Christians, who regarded Gentile

usages with aversion.

of life

--"life" constitutes the crown, literally,

the

life, the only true life, the highest and

eternal life. The crown implies a

kingdom (Ps 21:3).

the Lord

--not found in the best manuscripts and versions. The believer's heart fills up the

omission, without the name needing to be mentioned. The "faithful One who promised" (Heb

10:23).

to them that love him

--In 2Ti 4:8, "the crown of righteousness to them that love His

appearing." Love produces patient

endurance:

none attest their love more than they who suffer

for Him.

13. when . . . tempted

--tried by

solicitation to evil.

Heretofore the "temptation" meant was

that of

probation by afflictions.

Let no one fancy that God lays upon him an inevitable necessity

of sinning. God does not send trials on you in order to make you worse, but to make you better

(Jas 1:16, 17). Therefore do not sink under the pressure of evils (1Co 10:13).

of God

--by agency proceeding

from

God. The

Greek

is not "tempted

by,

" but, "from,"

implying indirect agency.

cannot be tempted with evil,

&c.--"Neither do any of our sins tempt God to entice us to

worse things, nor does He tempt any

of His own accord

" (literally, "of Himself"; compare the

antithesis, Jas 1:18, "

Of His own will

He begat us" to holiness, so far is He from tempting us of

His own will

) [B

ENGEL

]. God is said in Ge 22:1 to have "tempted Abraham"; but there the

tempting

meant is that of

trying

proving,

not that of seducement. A

LFORD

translates

according to the ordinary sense of the

Greek,

"God is

unversed

in evil." But as this gives a less

likely sense,

English Version

probably gives the true sense; for ecclesiastical

Greek

often uses

words in new senses, as the exigencies of the new truths to be taught required.

14.

Every man, when tempted, is so through being drawn away of (again here, as in Jas 1:13,

the

Greek

for "of" expresses the actual

source,

rather than the agent of temptation) his own lust.

The cause of sin is in ourselves. Even Satan's suggestions do not endanger us before they are

made

our own.

Each one has

his own peculiar

(so the

Greek

) lust, arising from his own

temperament and habit. Lust flows from the original birth-sin in man, inherited from Adam.

drawn away

--the

beginning

step in temptation: drawn away from truth and virtue.

enticed

--literally, "taken with a bait," as fish are. The

further progress:

the man

allowing

himself

(as the

Greek

middle voice implies)

to be enticed

to evil [B

ENGEL

]. "Lust" is here

personified as the harlot that allures the man.

15.

The guilty union is committed by the will embracing the temptress. "Lust," the harlot,

then, "brings forth sin," namely, of that kind to which the temptation inclines. Then

the

particular sin

(so the

Greek

implies), "when it is completed, brings forth death," with which it

was all along pregnant [A

LFORD

]. This "death" stands in striking contrast to the "crown of

life

" (Jas 1:12) which "patience" or

endurance

ends in, when it has its "perfect work" (Jas 1:4).

He who will fight Satan with Satan's own weapons, must not wonder if he finds himself

overmatched. Nip sin in the bud of lust.

16.

Do not err in attributing to God temptation to evil; nay (as he proceeds to show), "every

good," all that is good on earth, comes from God.

17. gift . . . gift

--not the same words in

Greek:

the first,

the act of giving,

or the gift in its

initiatory

stage; the second,

the thing given, the boon, when perfected.

As the "good gift" stands

in contrast to "sin" in its initiatory stage (Jas 1:15), so the "perfect boon" is in contrast to "sin

when it is finished," bringing forth

death

(2Pe 1:3).

from above

--(Compare Jas 3:15).

Father of lights

--Creator

of the lights in heaven

(compare Job 38:28 [A

LFORD

]; Ge 4:20,

21; Heb 12:9). This accords with the reference to the changes in the light of the heavenly bodies

alluded to in the end of the verse. Also, Father of the spiritual lights in the kingdom of grace and

glory [B

ENGEL

]. These were typified by the supernatural lights on the breastplate of the high

priest, the Urim. As "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all" (1Jo 1:5), He cannot in any

way be the Author of sin (Jas 1:13), which is darkness (Joh 3:19).

no variableness . . . shadow of turning

-- (Mal 3:6). None of the alternations of light and

shadow which the physical "lights" undergo, and which even the spiritual lights are liable to, as

compared with God. "Shadow of turning," literally, the dark "shadow-mark" cast

from

one of

the heavenly bodies, arising from its "turning" or revolution, for example, when the moon is

eclipsed by the shadow of the earth, and the sun by the body of the moon. B

ENGEL

makes a

climax, "no variation--not even the shadow of a turning"; the former denoting a change in the

understanding;

the latter, in the

will.

18.

(Joh 1:13). The believer's regeneration is the highest example of nothing but good

proceeding from God.

Of his own will

--Of his own good pleasure (which shows that it is God's essential nature to

do good, not evil), not induced by any external cause.

begat he us

--spiritually: a once-for-all accomplished act (1Pe 1:3, 23). In contrast to "lust

when it hath conceived,

bringeth forth

sin, and sin . . .

death

" (Jas 1:15).

Life

follows naturally

in connection with

light

(Jas 1:17).

word of truth

--the Gospel. The objective mean, as

faith

is the appropriating mean of

regeneration by the Holy Spirit as the efficient agent.

a kind of first-fruits

--Christ is, in respect to the resurrection, "the first-fruits" (1Co 15:20,

23): believers, in respect to regeneration, are,

as it were,

first-fruits (image from the

consecration of the first-born of man, cattle, and fruits to God; familiar to the Jews addressed),

that is, they are the first of God's regenerated creatures, and the pledge of the ultimate

regeneration of the creation, Ro 8:19, 23, where also the Spirit, the divine agent of the believer's

regeneration, is termed "the first-fruits," that is, the earnest that the regeneration now begun in

the soul, shall at last extend to the body too, and to the lower parts of creation. Of all God's

visible creatures, believers are the noblest part, and like the legal "first-fruits," sanctify the rest;

for this reason they are much tried now.

19. Wherefore

--as your evil is of yourselves, but your good from God. However, the oldest

manuscripts and versions read thus: "Y

E KNOW IT

(so Eph 5:5; Heb 12:17), my beloved

brethren;

BUT

(consequently) let every man be swift to hear," that is, docile in receiving "the

word of truth" (Jas 1:18, 21). The true method of hearing is treated in Jas 1:21-27, and Jas 2:1-

26.

slow to speak

-- (Pr 10:19; 17:27, 28; Ec 5:2). A good way of escaping one kind of

temptation arising from ourselves (Jas 1:13). Slow to speak authoritatively as a master or teacher

of others (compare Jas 3:1): a common Jewish fault: slow also to speak such hasty things of

God, as in Jas 1:13. Two ears are given to us, the rabbis observe, but only one tongue: the ears

are open and exposed, whereas the tongue is walled in behind the teeth.

slow to wrath

-- (Jas 3:13, 14; 4:5). Slow in becoming heated by debate: another Jewish fault

(Ro 2:8), to which much

speaking

tends. T

ITTMANN

thinks not so much "wrath" is meant, as an

indignant

feeling of

fretfulness

under the calamities to which the whole of human life is

exposed; this accords with the "divers temptations" in Jas 1:2. Hastiness of temper hinders

hearing God's word; so Naaman, 2Ki 5:11; Lu 4:28.

20.

Man's angry zeal in debating, as if jealous for the honor of God's righteousness, is far

from working that which is really righteousness in God's sight. True "righteousness is sown in

peace," not in wrath (Jas 3:18). The oldest and best reading means "worketh," that is,

practiceth

not: the received reading is "worketh,"

produceth

not.

21. lay apart

--"once for all" (so the

Greek

): as a filthy garment. Compare Joshua's filthy

garments, Zec 3:3, 5; Re 7:14. "Filthiness" is cleansed away by hearing the word (Joh 15:3).

superfluity of naughtiness

excess

(for instance, the

intemperate

spirit implied in "wrath,"

Jas 1:19, 20), which arises from

malice

(our natural,

evil disposition

towards one another). 1Pe

2:1 has the very same words in the

Greek.

So "malice" is the translation, Eph 4:31; Col 3:8.

Faulty

excess" [B

ENGEL

] is not strong enough. Superfluous excess in

speaking is also

reprobated as "coming of

evil

" (the

Greek

is akin to the word for "naughtiness" here) in the

Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:37), with which James' Epistle is so connected.

with meekness

in mildness

towards one another [A

LFORD

], the opposite to "wrath" (Jas

1:20): answering to "as new-born babes" (1Pe 2:2).

Meekness,

I think, includes also a childlike,

docile, humble,

as well as an uncontentious, spirit (Ps 25:9; 45:4; Isa 66:2; Mt 5:5; 11:28-30;

18:3, 4; contrast Ro 2:8). On "receive," applied to ground receiving seed, compare Mr 4:20.

Contrast Ac 17:11; 1Th 1:6 with 2Th 2:10.

engrafted word

--the Gospel

word,

whose proper attribute is to be

engrafted

by the Holy

Spirit, so as to be livingly incorporated with the believer, as the fruitful shoot is with the wild

natural stock on which it is engrafted. The law came to man only from without, and admonished

him of his duty. The Gospel is

engrafted

inwardly, and so fulfils the ultimate design of the law

(De 6:6; 11:18; Ps 119:11). A

LFORD

translates, "The

implanted

word," referring to the parable

of the sower (Mt 13:1-23). I prefer

English Version.

able to save

--a strong incentive to correct our dulness in hearing the word: that word which

we hear so carelessly, is able (instrumentally) to save us [C

ALVIN

souls

--your true selves, for the "body" is now liable to sickness and death: but the soul being

now saved, both soul and body at last shall be so (Jas 5:15, 20).

22.

Qualification of the precept, "Be swift to

hear

": "Be ye doers . . . not hearers only"; not

merely "Do the word," but "

Be doers" systematically and continually, as if this was your regular

business. James here again refers to the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 7:21-29).

deceiving your own selves

--by the logical fallacy (the

Greek

implies this) that the mere

hearing is all that is needed.

23. For

--the logical self-deceit (Jas 1:22) illustrated.

not a doer

--more literally, "a notdoer" [A

LFORD

]. The true disciple, say the rabbis, learns

in order that he may do, not in order that he may merely know or teach.

his natural face

--literally, "the countenance of his birth": the face he was born with. As a

man may behold his

natural face

in a mirror, so the hearer may perceive his

moral

visage in

God's Word. This faithful portraiture of man's soul in Scripture, is the strongest proof of the

truth of the latter. In it, too, we see mirrored God's glory, as well as our natural vileness.

24. beholdeth

--more literally, "he

contemplated

himself and hath

gone

his way," that is, no

sooner has he contemplated his image than he is gone his way (Jas 1:11). "Contemplate"

answers to hearing the word: "goeth his way," to relaxing the attention after hearing--letting the

mind go elsewhere, and the interest of the thing heard pass away: then

forgetfulness

follows

LFORD

] (Compare Eze 33:31). "Contemplate" here, and in Jas 1:23, implies that, though

cursory, yet some knowledge of one's self, at least for the time, is imparted in hearing the word

(1Co 14:24).

and . . . and

--The repetition expresses hastiness joined with levity [B

ENGEL

forgetteth what manner of man he was

--in the mirror. Forgetfulness is no excuse (Jas

1:25; 2Pe 1:9).

25. looketh into

--literally, "stoopeth down to take a close look into." Peers into: stronger

than "beholdeth," or "contemplated," Jas 1:24. A blessed curiosity if it be efficacious in bearing

fruit [B

ENGEL

perfect law of liberty

--the Gospel rule of life, perfect and perfecting (as shown in the

Sermon on the Mount, Mt 5:48), and making us truly walk at liberty (Ps 119:32, Church of

England Prayer Book Version

). Christians are to aim at a higher standard of holiness than was

generally understood under the law. The

principle

of love takes the place of the letter of the law,

so that by the Spirit they are free from the yoke of sin, and free to obey by spontaneous instinct

(Jas 2:8, 10, 12; Joh 8:31-36; 15:14, 15; compare 1Co 7:22; Ga 5:1, 13; 1Pe 2:16). The law is

thus

not made void, but

fulfilled.

continueth therein

--contrasted with "goeth his way," Jas 1:24, continues both

looking into

the mirror of God's word, and doing its precepts.

doer of the work

--rather, "a doer of work" [A

LFORD

], an actual worker.

blessed in his deed

--rather, "in his

doing

"; in the very doing there is blessedness (Ps 19:11).

26, 27.

An example of

doing work.

religious . . . religion

--The

Greek

expresses the

external service

or exercise

of religion,

"godliness" being the internal soul of it. "If any man think himself to be (so the

Greek) religious,

that is,

observant of the offices of religion,

let him know these consist not so much in outward

observances, as in such acts of mercy and humble piety (Mic 6:7, 8) as

visiting the fatherless,

&c., and keeping one's self unspotted from the world" (Mt 23:23). James does not mean that

these

offices

are the great essentials, or sum total of religion; but that, whereas the law service

was merely ceremonial, the very

services

of the Gospel consist in acts of mercy and holiness,

and it has light for its

garment,

its very

robe

being righteousness [T

RENCH

]. The

Greek

word is

only found in Ac 26:5, "after the straitest sect of our

religion

I lived a Pharisee." Col 2:18,

worshipping of angels."

bridleth not . . . tongue

--Discretion in speech is better than fluency of speech (compare Jas

3:2, 3). Compare Ps 39:1. God alone can enable us to do so. James, in treating of the law,

naturally notices this sin. For they who are free from grosser sins, and even bear the outward

show of sanctity, will often exalt themselves by detracting others under the pretense of zeal,

while their real motive is love of evil-speaking [C

ALVIN

heart

--It and the tongue act and react on one another.

27. Pure . . . and undefiled

--"Pure" is that love which has in it

no foreign admixture,

as self-

deceit and hypocrisy. "Undefiled" is the means of its being "pure" [T

ITTMANN

]. "Pure"

expresses the

positive,

"undefiled" the

negative

side of religious service; just as

visiting the

fatherless and widow is the active, keeping himself unspotted from the world, the passive side of

religious duty. This is the nobler shape that our religious exercises take, instead of the

ceremonial offices of the law.

before God and the Father

--literally, "before Him who is (our) God and Father." God is so

called to imply that if we would be like our Father, it is not by fasting, &c., for He does none of

these things, but in being "merciful as our Father is merciful" [C

HRYSOSTOM

visit

--in sympathy and kind offices to alleviate their distresses.

the fatherless

--whose "Father" is God (Ps 68:5); peculiarly helpless.

and

--not in the

Greek;

so close is the connection between active works of mercy to others,

and the maintenance of personal unworldliness of spirit, word, and deed; no copula therefore is

needed. Religion in its rise interests us about

ourselves

in its progress, about our

fellow

creatures:

in its highest stage, about the honor of God.

keep himself

--with jealous watchfulness, at the same time praying and depending on God as

alone able to keep us (Joh 17:15; Jude 24).

CHAPTER 2

Jas 2:1-26. T

IN OF

ESPECT OF

ERSONS

: D

EAD

, U

NWORKING

AITH

AVES

AN.

James illustrates "the perfect law of liberty" (Jas 1:25) in one particular instance of a sin

against it, concluding with a reference again to that law (Jas 2:12, 13).

1. brethren

--The equality of all Christians as "brethren," forms the groundwork of the

admonition.

the faith of . . . Christ

--that is, the Christian faith. James grounds Christian practice on

Christian faith.

the Lord

of glory

--So 1Co 2:8. As all believers, alike rich and poor, derive all their glory

from their union with Him, "the Lord of glory," not from external advantages of worldly

fortune, the sin in question is peculiarly inconsistent with His "faith." B

ENGEL

, making no

ellipsis of "the Lord," explains "glory" as in apposition with Christ who is

THE GLORY

(Lu

2:32); the true Shekinah glory of the temple (Ro 9:4).

English Version

is simpler. The glory of

Christ resting on the poor believer should make him be regarded as highly by "brethren" as his

richer brother; nay, more so, if the poor believer has more of Christ's spirit than the rich brother.

with respect of persons

--literally, "

in respectings

of persons"; "in" the practice of partial

preferences of persons in various ways and on various occasions.

2, 3.

"If there chance to have come" [A

LFORD

assembly

--literally, "synagogue"; this, the latest honorable use, and the only

Christian use

of the term in the New Testament, occurs in James's Epistle, the apostle who maintained to the

latest possible moment the bonds between the Jewish synagogue and the Christian Church. Soon

the continued resistance of the truth by the Jews led Christians to leave the term to them

exclusively (Re 3:9). The "synagogue" implies a mere

assembly

or congregation not necessarily

united by any common tie. "Church," a people bound together by mutual ties and laws, though

often it may happen that the members are not assembled [T

RENCH

and V

ITRINGA

]. Partly from

James' Hebrew tendencies, partly from the Jewish Christian churches retaining most of the

Jewish forms, this term "synagogue" is used here instead of the Christian term

"Church" (

ecclesia,

derived from a root, "called out," implying the union of its members in

spiritual bonds, independent of space, and called out into separation from the world); an

undesigned coincidence and mark of truth. The people in the Jewish synagogue sat according to

their rank, those of the same trade together. The introduction of this custom into Jewish

Christian places of worship is here reprobated by James. Christian churches were built like the

synagogues, the holy table in the east end of the former, as the ark was in the latter; the

desk

and

pulpit

were the chief articles of furniture in both alike. This shows the error of comparing the

Church to the temple, and the ministry to the priesthood; the temple is represented by the whole

body of worshippers; the church building was formed on the model of the synagogue. See

ITRINGA

[

Synagogue and Temple

goodly apparel . . . gay clothing

--As the

Greek,

is the same in both, translate both alike,

"gay," or "splendid clothing."

3. have respect to him,

&c.--though ye know not who he is, when perhaps he may be a

heathen. It was the office of the deacons to direct to a seat the members of the congregation

LEMENT OF

OME

, Apostolical Constitutions,

2.57, 58].

unto him

--not in the best manuscripts. Thus "thou" becomes more demonstratively

emphatic.

there

--at a distance from where the good seats are.

here

--near the speaker.

under my footstool

--not literally so; but on the ground, down by my footstool. The poor

man must either

stand,

or if he sits,

sit

in a degrading position. The speaker has a footstool as

well as a good seat.

4. Are ye not . . . partial

--literally, "Have ye not made distinctions" or "differences" (so as

to prefer one to another)? So in Jude 22.

in yourselves

--in your minds, that is, according to your carnal inclination [G

ROTIUS

are become judges of evil thoughts

--The

Greek

words for "judges" and for "partial," are

akin in sound and meaning. A similar translation ought therefore to be given to both. Thus,

either for "judges," &c. translate, "

distinguishers

of (that is,

according to your) evil thoughts";

or, do ye not

partially judge between

men, and are become

evilly-thinking judges (Mr 7:21)?

The "evil thoughts" are in the judges themselves; as in Lu 18:6, the

Greek,

"judge of injustice,"

is translated, "unjust judge." A

LFORD

and W

AHL

translate, "Did ye not

doubt

" (respecting your

faith,

which is inconsistent with the distinctions made by you between rich and poor)? For the

Greek

constantly means "

doubt

" in all the New Testament. So in Jas 1:6, "wavering." Mt 21:21;

Ac 10:20; Ro 4:20, "staggered not." The same play on the same kindred words occurs in the

Greek

of Ro 14:10, 23, "judge . . . doubteth." The same blame of being a judge, when one ought

to be an obeyer, of the law is found in Jas 4:11.

5. Hearken

--James

brings to trial

the self-constituted "judges" (Jas 2:4).

poor of this world

--The best manuscripts read, "those poor

in respect to the

world." In

contrast to "the rich in this world" (1Ti 6:17). Not of course

all

the poor; but the poor,

as a class,

furnish more believers than the rich as a class. The rich, if a believer, renounces riches as his

portion; the poor, if an unbeliever, neglects that which is the peculiar advantage of poverty (Mt

5:3; 1Co 1:26, 27, 28).

rich in faith

Their

riches consist

in faith.

Lu 12:21, "rich toward God." 1Ti 6:18, "rich in

good works" (Re 2:9; compare 2Co 8:9). Christ's poverty is the source of the believer's riches.

kingdom . . . promised

-- (Lu 12:32; 1Co 2:9; 2Ti 4:8).

Jas 2:8

The world's judgment of the poor contrasted with God's.

--Christians, from whom better things might have been expected; there is no marvel that

men of the world do so.

despised

--literally, "dishonored." To dishonor the poor is to dishonor those whom God

honors, and so to invert the order of God [C

ALVIN

rich--as a class.

oppress

--literally, "abuse their power against" you.

draw you

--Translate, "is it not

they

(those very persons whom ye partially prefer, Jas 2:1-4)

that

drag

you (namely, with violence)" [A

LFORD

before . . . judgment seats

--instituting persecutions for religion, as well as oppressive

lawsuits, against you.

"Is it not they that blaspheme?" &c. as in Jas 2:6 [A

LFORD

]. Rich heathen must here

chiefly be meant; for none others would directly blaspheme the name of Christ. Only

indirectly

rich Christians can be meant, who, by their inconsistency,

caused

His name

to be blasphemed;

so Eze 36:21, 22; Ro 2:24. Besides, there were few rich Jewish Christians at Jerusalem (Ro

15:26). They who dishonor God's name by wilful and habitual sin, "take (or

bear

) the Lord's

name in vain" (compare Pr 30:9, with Ex 20:7).

that worthy name

--which is "good before the Lord's saints" (Ps 52:9; 54:6); which ye pray

may be "hallowed" (Mt 6:9), and "by which ye are called," literally, "which was invoked" or,

"called upon by you" (compare Ge 48:16; Isa 4:1,

Margin;

Ac 15:17), so that at your baptism

into

the name" (so the

Greek,

Mt 28:19) of Christ, ye became Christ's people (1Co 3:23).

The

Greek

may be translated, "If,

however,

ye fulfil," &c., that is, as A

LFORD

, after

STIUS

, explains, "

Still

I do not say, hate the rich (for their oppressions) and drive them from

your assemblies; if you choose to observe the royal law . . . well and good; but respect of

persons is a breach of that law." I think the translation is, "If in very deed (or 'indeed on the one

hand

') ye fulfil the royal law . . . ye do well, but if (on the other hand) ye respect persons, ye

practice sin." The Jewish Christians boasted of, and rested in, the "law" (Ac 15:1; 21:18-24; Ro

2:17; Ga 2:12). To this the "indeed" alludes. "(Ye rest in the law): If

indeed

(then) ye fulfil it, ye

do well; but if," &c.

royal

--the law that is king of all laws, being the sum and essence of the ten commandments.

The great King, God, is love; His law is the royal law of love, and that law, like Himself, reigns

supreme. He "is no respecter of persons"; therefore to respect persons is at variance with Him

and His royal law, which is at once a law of love and of liberty (Jas 2:12). The law is the

"whole"; "the (particular) Scripture" (Le 19:18) quoted is a part. To break a part is to break the

whole (Jas 2:10).

ye do well

--being "blessed in your deed" ("doing,"

Margin

) as a doer, not a forgetful hearer

of the law (Jas 1:25).

Respect of persons

violates the command to

love all alike "as thyself."

ye commit sin

--literally, "ye work sin," Mt 7:23, to which the reference here is probably, as

in Jas 1:22. Your

works

are sin, whatever boast of the law ye make in words (see on

convinced

Old

English for "convicted."

as transgressors

--not merely of this or that particular command, but of the whole absolutely.

10.

The best manuscripts read, "Whosoever shall have kept the whole law, and yet

shall

have offended

(literally, 'stumbled'; not so strong as 'fall,' Ro 11:11) in one (point; here, the

respecting of persons

), is (hereby) become guilty of all." The law is one seamless garment

which is rent if you but rend a part; or a musical harmony which is spoiled if there be one

discordant note [T

IRINUS

]; or a golden chain whose completeness is broken if you break one

link [G

ATAKER

]. You thus break the whole law,

though not the whole of the law, because you

offend against

love,

which is the fulfilling of the law. If any part of a man be leprous, the whole

man is judged to be a leper. God requires perfect, not partial, obedience. We are not to choose

out parts of the law to keep, which suit our whim, while we neglect others.

11.

He is One who gave the whole law; therefore, they who violate His will in one point,

violate it all [B

ENGEL

]. The law and its Author alike have a complete unity.

adultery . . . kill

--selected as being the most glaring cases of violation of duty towards one's

neighbor.

12.

Summing up of the previous reasonings.

speak

--referring back to Jas 1:19, 26; the fuller discussion of the topic is given Jas 3:5-12.

judged by the law of liberty

-- (Jas 1:25); that is, the Gospel law of love, which is not a law

of external constraint, but of internal,

free,

instinctive inclination. The law of liberty, through

God's mercy, frees us from the curse of the law, that henceforth we should be free to love and

obey willingly. If we will not in turn practice the law of love to our neighbor, that law of grace

condemns us still more heavily than the old law, which spake nothing but wrath to him who

offended in the least particular (Jas 2:13). Compare Mt 18:32-35; Joh 12:48; Re 6:16, "Wrath of

the (merciful) Lamb."

13.

The converse of, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Mt 5:7).

Translate, "

The

judgment (which is coming on all of us) shall be without mercy to him who hath

showed no mercy." It shall be such toward every one as every one shall have been [B

ENGEL

"Mercy" here corresponds to "love," Jas 2:8.

mercy rejoiceth against judgment

--Mercy, so far from fearing judgment in the case of its

followers, actually

glorifieth against

it, knowing that it cannot condemn them. Not that

their

mercy is the ground of their acquittal, but the mercy of God in Christ towards them, producing

mercy on their part towards their fellow men, makes them to

triumph over judgment, which all

in themselves otherwise deserve.

14.

James here, passing from the particular case of "mercy" or "love" violated by "respect of

persons," notwithstanding profession of the "faith of our Lord Jesus" (Jas 2:1), combats the

Jewish tendency (transplanted into their Christianity) to substitute a lifeless, inoperative

acquaintance with the letter of the law, for change of heart to practical holiness, as if

justification could be thereby attained (Ro 2:3, 13, 23). It seems hardly likely but that James had

seen Paul's Epistles, considering that he uses the same phrases and examples (compare Jas 2:21,

23, 25, with Ro 4:3; Heb 11:17, 31; and Jas 2:14, 24, with Ro 3:28; Ga 2:16). Whether James

individually designed it or not, the Holy Spirit by him combats not Paul, but those who abuse

Paul's doctrine. The teaching of both alike is inspired, and is therefore to be received without

wresting of words; but each has a different class to deal with; Paul, self-justiciaries; James,

Antinomian advocates of a mere notional faith. Paul urged as strongly as James the need of

works as evidences of faith, especially in the later Epistles, when many were abusing the

doctrine of faith (Tit 2:14; 3:8). "Believing and doing are blood relatives" [R

UTHERFORD

What

doth it profit

--literally, "What is the profit?"

though a man say

--James' expression is not, "If a man have faith," but "if a man

say

he hath

faith"; referring to a mere

profession

of faith, such as was usually made at baptism. Simon

Magus so "

believed

and was baptized," and yet had "neither part nor lot in this matter," for his

"heart," as his words and works evinced, was not right in the sight of God. A

LFORD

wrongly

denies that "say" is emphatic. The illustration, Jas 2:16, proves it is: "If one of you

say

" to a

naked brother, "Be ye warmed, notwithstanding ye give not those things needful." The

inoperative

profession

of sympathy answering to the inoperative

profession

of faith.

can faith save him

--rather, "can such a faith (literally, 'the faith') save him?"--

the

faith you

pretend to: the empty name of boasted faith, contrasted with true fruit-producing faith. So that

which self-deceivers claim is called "wisdom," though not true wisdom, Jas 3:15. The "him"

also in the

Greek

is emphatic; the particular man who professes faith without having the works

which evidence its vitality.

15.

The

Greek

is, "

But

if," &c.: the "But" taking up the argument against such a one as "said

he had faith, and yet had not works," which are its fruits.

a brother,

&c.--a

fellow Christian,

to whom we are specially bound to give help,

independent of our general obligation to help all our fellow creatures.

--The

Greek

implies, "

be found, on your access to them."

16.

The habit of receiving passively sentimental impressions from sights of woe without

carrying them out into active habits only hardens the heart.

one of you

--James brings home the case to his hearers individually.

Depart in peace

--as if all their wants were satisfied by the mere words addressed to them.

The same words in the mouth of Christ, whose faith they said they had, were accompanied by

efficient deeds of love.

be . . . warmed

--with clothing, instead of being as heretofore "naked" (Jas 2:15; Job 31:20).

filled

--instead of being "destitute of food" (Mt 15:37).

what doth it profit

--concluding with the same question as at the beginning, Jas 2:14. Just

retribution: kind professions unaccompanied with corresponding acts, as they are of no "profit"

to the needy object of them, so are of no profit to the professor himself. So faith consisting in

mere profession is unacceptable to God, the object of faith, and profitless to the possessor.

17. faith . . . being alone

--A

LFORD

joins "is dead

in itself.

" So B

ENGEL

, "If the works

which living faith produces have no existence, it is a proof that faith itself (literally, 'in respect

to itself') has no existence; that is, that what one boasts of as faith, is

dead.

" "Faith" is said to be

"dead

in itself,

" because when it has works it is

alive,

and it is discerned to be so, not in respect

to its works, but in respect to

itself. English Version,

if retained, must not be understood to mean

that faith can exist "alone" (that is, severed from works), but thus: Even so

presumed

faith, if it

have not works, is dead, being by itself "alone," that is, severed from works of charity; just as

the body would be "dead" if alone, that is, severed from the spirit (Jas 2:26). So E

STIUS

18.

But

some

one will

say": so the

Greek.

This verse continues the argument from Jas 2:14,

16. One may

say

he has faith though he have not works. Suppose one were to

say

to a naked

brother, "Be warmed," without giving him needful clothing. "

But

someone (entertaining views

of the need of faith having works joined to it) will say (in opposition to the 'say' of the

professor)."

show me thy faith without thy works

--if thou canst; but thou canst not

SHOW

, that is,

manifest

evidence

thy alleged (Jas 2:14, "say") faith without works. "Show" does not mean

here to

prove

to me, but

exhibit

to me. Faith is unseen save by God. To

show faith to man, works

in some form or other are needed: we are justified judicially by God (Ro 8:33); meritoriously, by

Christ (Isa 53:11); mediately, by faith (Ro 5:1); evidentially, by works. The question here is not

as to the

ground

on which believers are justified, but about the

demonstration

of their faith: so in

Jas 2:18

). In Jas

the case of Abraham. In Ge 22:1 it is written, God did

tempt

Abraham, that is, put to the test of

demonstration

the reality of his faith, not for the satisfaction of God, who already knew it well,

but to

demonstrate

it before men. The offering of Isaac at that time, quoted here, Jas 2:21,

formed no part of the

ground

of his justification, for he was justified previously on his simply

believing in the promise of spiritual heirs, that is, believers, numerous as the stars. He was then

justified: that justification was

showed

or manifested by his offering Isaac forty years after. That

work of faith

demonstrated,

but did not contribute to his justification. The tree

shows

its life by

its fruits, but it was alive before either fruits or even leaves appeared.

19. Thou

--emphatic. Thou self-deceiving claimant to faith without works.

that there is one God

--rather, "that God is one": God's

existence,

however, is also asserted.

The fundamental article of the creed of Jews and Christians alike, and the point of faith on

which especially the former boasted themselves, as distinguishing them from the Gentiles, and

hence adduced by James here.

thou doest well

--so far good. But unless thy faith goes farther than an assent to this truth,

"the evil spirits (literally, 'demons': 'devil' is the term restricted to

Satan,

their head) believe" so

far in common with thee, "and (so far from being saved by such a faith) shudder (so the

Greek

),"

Mt 8:29; Lu 4:34; 2Pe 2:4; Jude 6; Re 20:10. Their faith only adds to their torment at the

thought of having to meet Him who is to consign them to their just doom: so thine (Heb 10:26,

27, it is not the faith of love, but of fear, that hath torment, 1Jo 4:18).

20. wilt thou know

--"Vain" men are not

willing

to know, since they have no wish to "do"

the will of God. James beseeches such a one to lay aside his perverse

unwillingness

to know

what is palpable to all who are willing to do.

vain

--who deceivest thyself with a delusive hope, resting on an unreal faith.

without works

--The

Greek,

implies

separate from the

works [A

LFORD

] which ought to

flow from it if it were real.

is dead

--Some of the best manuscripts read, "is idle," that is, unavailing to effect what you

hope, namely, to save you.

21. Abraham . . . justified by works

evidentially,

and before men (see on

2:23, James, like Paul, recognizes the Scripture truth, that it was his

faith

that was counted to

Abraham for righteousness in his justification before God.

when he had offered

--rather, "when he offered" [A

LFORD

], that is, brought as an offering

at the altar; not implying that he actually offered him.

22.

Or, "thou seest."

how

--rather, "that." In the two clauses which follow, emphasize "faith" in the former, and

"works" in the latter, to see the sense [B

ENGEL

faith wrought with his works

--for it was

by faith

he offered his son. Literally, "was

working (at the time) with his works."

by works was faith made perfect

--not was

vivified,

but attained its

fully consummated

development,

and is

shown to be real.

So "my strength is

made perfect

in weakness," that is,

exerts itself most perfectly, shows how great it is [C

AMERON

]: so 1Jo 4:17; Heb 2:10; 5:9. The

germ really, from the first, contains in it the full-grown tree, but its perfection is not attained till

it is matured fully. So Jas 1:4, "Let patience have her

perfect work,

" that is, have its

full effect by

showing the most perfect degree of endurance, "that ye may be perfect," that is,

fully developed

in the

exhibition

of the Christian character. A

LFORD

explains, "Received its realization, was

entirely exemplified and filled up." So Paul, Php 2:12, "Work out your own salvation": the

from

) works," its proper fruits (see on

salvation was already in germ theirs in their free justification through faith. It needed to be

worked out

still to fully developed perfection in their life.

23. scripture was fulfilled

-- Ge 15:6, quoted by Paul, as realized in Abraham's justification

faith;

but by James, as realized subsequently in Abraham's

work

of offering Isaac, which, he

says,

justified

him. Plainly, then, James must mean by

works

the same thing as Paul means by

faith,

only that he speaks of faith at its manifested development, whereas Paul speaks of it in its

germ. Abraham's offering of Isaac was not a mere act of obedience, but an act of faith. Isaac was

the subject of the promises of God, that in him Abraham's seed should be called. The same God

calls on Abraham to slay the subject of His own promise, when as yet there was no seed in

whom those predictions could be realized. Hence James' saying that Abraham was justified by

such

a work, is equivalent to saying, as Paul does, that he was justified by faith itself; for it was

in fact

faith expressed in action,

as in other cases saving faith is expressed in words. So Paul

states as the mean of salvation faith

expressed.

The "Scripture" would not be "fulfilled," as

James says it was, but contradicted by any interpretation which makes man's

works

justify him

before God: for that Scripture makes no mention of works at all, but says that Abraham's

belief

was counted to him for righteousness. God, in the first instance, "justifies the

ungodly

" through

faith; subsequently the believer is justified

before the world

as righteous through faith

manifested in words and works (compare Mt 25:35-37, "the righteous," Mt 25:40). The best

authorities read, "But Abraham believed," &c.

and he was called the Friend of God

--He was not so

called

in his lifetime, though he

was

so even then from the time of his justification; but he was

called

so, being recognized as such by

all on the ground of his works of faith. "He was the

friend

(in an active sense), the lover of God,

in reference to his works; and (in a passive sense) loved by God

in reference to his justification

by works. Both senses are united in Joh 15:14, 15" [B

ENGEL

24. justified and, not by faith only

--that is, by "faith without (

separated

from:

severed

Jas 2:20

). Faith to justify must, from the first, include

obedience in germ (to be developed subsequently), though the former alone is the ground of

justification. The scion must be grafted on the stock that it may live; it must bring forth fruit to

prove that it does live.

25.

It is clear from the nature of Rahab's act, that it is not quoted to prove justification by

works as such. She

believed

assuredly what her other countrymen disbelieved, and this in the

face of every improbability that an unwarlike few would conquer well-armed numbers. In this

belief she hid the spies at the risk of her life. Hence Heb 11:31 names this as an example of

faith,

rather than of obedience. "By

faith

the

harlot

Rahab perished not with them that

believed

not." If an instance of obedience were wanting. Paul and James would hardly have quoted a

woman of previously bad character, rather than the many moral and pious patriarchs. But as an

example of free grace justifying men through an

operative,

as opposed to a mere verbal

faith,

none could be more suitable than a saved "harlot." As Abraham was an instance of an illustrious

man and the father of the Jews, so Rahab is quoted as a woman, and one of abandoned character,

and a Gentile, showing that justifying faith has been manifested in those of every class. The

nature of the works alleged is such as to prove that James uses them only as

evidences of faith,

as contrasted with a mere verbal profession: not works of charity and piety, but works the value

of which consisted solely in their being proofs of faith: they were faith expressed in act,

synonymous with

faith

itself.

messengers

--spies.

had received . . . had sent

--rather, "received . . . thrust them forth" (in haste and fear)

LFORD

another way

--from that whereby they entered her house, namely, through the window of her

house on the wall, and thence to the mountain.

26.

Faith is a spiritual thing: works are material. Hence we might expect

faith

to answer to

the spirit, works to the body.

But James reverses this. He therefore does not mean that faith in all

cases answers to the body; but the

FORM

of faith

without

the working reality

answers to the

body

without the

animating spirit.

It does not follow that

living faith

derives its life from works,

as the body derives its life from the animating spirit.

CHAPTER 3

Jas 3:1-18. D

ANGER OF

AGERNESS TO

EACH, AND OF AN

NBRIDLED

ONGUE

RUE

ISDOM

HOWN BY

NCONTENTIOUS

EEKNESS.

1. be not

--literally, "become not": taking the office too hastily, and of your own accord.

many

--The office is a noble one; but few are fit for it. Few govern the tongue well (Jas 3:2),

and only such as can govern it are fit for the office; therefore, "teachers" ought not to be many.

masters

--rather, "teachers." The Jews were especially prone to this presumption. The idea

that faith (so called) without works (Jas 2:14-26) was all that is required, prompted "many" to

set up as "teachers," as has been the case in all ages of the Church. At first all were allowed to

teach in turns. Even their inspired gifts did not prevent liability to abuse, as James here implies:

much more is this so when self-constituted teachers have no such miraculous gifts.

knowing

--as all might know.

we . . . greater condemnation

--James in a humble, conciliatory spirit, includes himself: if

teachers abuse the office, we shall receive greater condemnation than those who are mere

hearers (compare Lu 12:42-46). C

ALVIN

, like

English Version,

translates, "masters" that is, self-

constituted

censors

and reprovers of others Jas 4:12 accords with this view.

2. all

--The

Greek

implies "all without exception": even the apostles.

offend not

--literally "stumbleth not": is void of offence or "slip" in word: in which respect

one is especially tried who sets up to be a "teacher."

3. Behold

--The best authorities read, "but if," that is,

Now whensoever (in the case) of horses

(such is the emphatic position of "horses" in the

Greek

) we put

the

bits (so literally, "the

customary bits") into their mouths that they may obey us, we turn about

also

their whole body.

This is to illustrate how

man

turns about his whole body with the little tongue. "The same

applies to the pen, which is the substitute for the tongue among the absent" [B

ENGEL

Not only animals, but

even ships.

the governor listeth

--literally, "the impulse of the steersman pleaseth." The feeling which

moves the tongue corresponds with this.

5. boasteth great things

--There is

great

moment in what the careless think "little" things

ENGEL

]. Compare "a world," "the course of nature," "hell," Jas 3:6, which illustrate how the

little tongue's great words produce great mischief.

how great a matter a little fire kindleth

--The best manuscripts read, "

how little

a fire

kindleth how great a," &c. A

LFORD

, for "matter," translates, "forest." But G

ROTIUS

translates

English Version,

"material for burning": a pile of fuel.

Translate, "The tongue, that world of iniquity, is a fire." As man's little world is an image

of the greater world, the universe, so the tongue is an image of the former [B

ENGEL

--omitted in the oldest authorities.

--literally, "is constituted." "The tongue is (constituted), among the members, the one

which defileth," &c. (namely, as fire defiles with its smoke).

course of nature

--"the orb (cycle) of creation."

setteth on fire . . . is set on fire

--habitually and continually. While a man inflames others,

he passes out of his own power, being consumed in the flame himself.

of hell

--that is, of the devil.

Greek,

"Gehenna"; found here only and in Mt 5:22. James has

much in common with the Sermon on the Mount (Pr 16:27).

7. every kind

--rather, "every nature" (that is, natural disposition and characteristic power).

of beasts

--that is, quadrupeds of every disposition; as distinguished from the three other

classes of creation, "birds, creeping things (the

Greek

includes not merely 'serpents,' as

English

Version

), and things in the sea."

is tamed, and hath been

--is continually being tamed, and hath been so long ago.

of mankind

--rather, "by the nature of man": man's characteristic power taming that of the

inferior animals. The dative in the

Greek

may imply, "Hath suffered itself to be brought into

tame subjection TO the nature of men." So it shall be in the millennial world; even now man, by

gentle firmness, may tame the inferior animal, and even elevate its nature.

8. no man

--literally, "no one of men": neither can a man control his neighbor's, nor even his

own tongue. Hence the truth of Jas 3:2 appears.

unruly evil

--The

Greek,

implies that it is at once

restless

and

incapable of restraint. Nay,

though nature has hedged it in with a double barrier of the lips and teeth, it bursts from its

barriers to assail and ruin men [E

STIUS

deadly

--literally, "death-bearing."

9. God

--The oldest authorities read, "Lord." "Him who is Lord and Father." The

uncommonness of the application of "Lord" to the Father, doubtless caused the change in

modern texts to "God" (Jas 1:27). But as Messiah is called "Father," Isa 9:6, so God the Father is

called by the Son's title, "Lord": showing the unity of the Godhead. "Father" implies His

paternal

love; "Lord," His dominion.

men, which

--not "men

who

"; for what is meant is not particular men, but men

genetically

LFORD

are made after . . . similitude of God

--Though in a great measure man has lost the

likeness

of God in which he was originally made, yet enough of it still remains to show what once it was,

and what in regenerated and restored man it shall be. We ought to reverence this remnant and

earnest of what man shall be in ourselves and in others. "Absalom has fallen from his father's

favor, but the people still recognize him to be the king's son" [B

ENGEL

]. Man resembles in

humanity the Son of man, "the express image of His person" (Heb 1:3), compare Ge 1:26; 1Jo

4:20. In the passage, Ge 1:26, "image" and "likeness" are distinct: "image," according to the

Alexandrians, was something

which men were created, being common to all, and continuing

to man after the fall, while the "likeness" was something

toward

which man was created, to

strive after and attain it: the former marks man's physical and intellectual, the latter his moral

pre-eminence.

10.

The tongue, says Æ

SOP

, is at once the best and the worst of things. So in a fable, a man

with the same breath blows hot and cold. "Life and death are in the power of the

tongue" (compare Ps 62:4).

brethren

--an appeal to their consciences by their

brotherhood

in Christ.

ought not so to be

--a mild appeal, leaving it to themselves to understand that such conduct

deserves the most severe reprobation.

11. fountain

--an image of the

heart:

as the

aperture

(so the

Greek

for "place" is literally) of

the fountain is an image of man's

mouth.

The image here is appropriate to the scene of the

Epistle, Palestine, wherein salt and bitter springs are found. Though "sweet" springs are

sometimes found near, yet "sweet and bitter" (water) do not flow "at the same place" (

aperture).

Grace can make the same mouth that "sent forth the bitter" once, send forth the sweet for the

time to come: as the wood (typical of Christ's cross) changed Marah's bitter water into sweet.

12.

Transition from the mouth to the heart.

Can the fig tree,

&c.--implying that it is an

impossibility:

as before in Jas 3:10 he had said it

ought

not so to be." James does not, as Matthew (Mt 7:16, 17), make the question, "Do men

gather figs of

thistles?

" His argument is, No tree "can" bring forth fruit inconsistent with its

nature,

as for example, the fig tree, olive berries: so if a man speaks bitterly, and afterwards

speaks good words, the latter must be so only seemingly, and in hypocrisy, they

cannot be real.

so can no fountain . . . salt . . . and fresh

--The oldest authorities read, "Neither can a salt

(water spring) yield fresh." So the mouth that emits cursing, cannot really emit also blessing.

13. Who

--(Compare Ps 34:12, 13). All wish to appear "wise": few are so.

show

--"by works," and not merely by profession, referring to Jas 2:18.

out of a good conversation his works

--by

general

"good conduct" manifested in

particular

"works." "Wisdom" and "knowledge," without these being "shown," are as dead as faith would

be without works [A

LFORD

with meekness of wisdom

--with the meekness inseparable from true "wisdom."

14. if ye have

as is the case

(this is implied in the

Greek indicative).

bitter

-- Eph 4:31, "bitterness."

envying

--rather, "emulation," or literally, "zeal": kindly, generous emulation, or zeal, is not

condemned, but that which is "bitter" [B

ENGEL

strife--rather, "rivalry."

in your hearts

--from which flow your words and deeds, as from a fountain.

glory not, and lie not against the truth

--To

boast of your wisdom is virtually a lying

against the truth (the gospel), while your lives belie your glorying. Jas 3:15; Jas 1:18, "The word

of truth." Ro 2:17, 23, speaks similarly of the same contentious Jewish Christians.

15. This wisdom

--in which ye "glory," as if ye were "wise" (Jas 3:13, 14).

descendeth not from above

--literally, "is not one descending," &c.: "from the Father of

lights" (true illumination and wisdom), Jas 1:17; through "the Spirit of truth," Joh 15:26.

earthly

--opposed to

heavenly.

Distinct from "earthy," 1Co 15:47.

Earthly

is what is

the

earth;

earthy,

what is of the earth.

sensual

--literally, "animal-like": the wisdom of the "natural" (the same

Greek

) man, not

born again of God; "not having the Spirit" (Jude 19).

devilish

--in its origin (from "hell," Jas 3:6; not from God, the Giver of true wisdom, Jas

1:5), and also in its character, which accords with its origin. Earthly, sensual, and devilish,

answer to the three spiritual foes of man, the world, the flesh, and the devil.

16. envying

--So

English Version

translates the

Greek,

which usually means "zeal";

emulation,

" in Ro 13:13. "The envious man stands in his own light. He thinks his candle cannot

shine in the presence of another's sun. He aims directly at men, obliquely at God, who makes

men to differ."

strife

--rivalry [A

LFORD

confusion

--literally, "tumultuous anarchy": both in society (translated "commotions," Lu

21:9; "tumults," 2Co 6:5), and in the individual mind; in contrast to the "peaceable" composure

of true "wisdom," Jas 3:17. James does not honor such effects of this earthly wisdom with the

name "fruit," as he does in the case of the wisdom from above. Jas 3:18; compare Ga 5:19-22,

works

of the flesh . . .

fruit

of the Spirit."

17. first pure

--literally, "chaste," "sanctified": pure from all that is "earthly, sensual

(animal), devilish" (Jas 3:15). This is put, "

first of all,

" before "peaceable" because there is an

unholy peace with the world which makes no distinction between clean and unclean. Compare

"undefiled" and "unspotted from the world," Jas 1:27; 4:4, 8, "purify . . . hearts"; 1Pe 1:22,

purified

. . . souls" (the same

Greek

). Ministers must not preach before a purifying change of

heart, "Peace," where there is no peace. Seven (the perfect number) characteristic peculiarities of

true wisdom are enumerated.

Purity

sanctity

is put first because it has respect both to God and

to ourselves; the six that follow regard our fellow men. Our first concern is to have in ourselves

sanctity; our second, to be at peace with men.

gentle

--"forbearing"; making allowances for others; lenient towards neighbors, as to the

DUTIES

they owe us.

easy to be entreated

--literally, "easily persuaded," tractable; not harsh as to a neighbor's

FAULTS.

full of mercy

--as to a neighbor's

MISERIES

good fruits

--contrasted with "every evil work," Jas 3:16.

without partiality

--recurring to the warning against partial "respect to persons," Jas 2:1, 4,

9. A

LFORD

translates as the

Greek

is translated, Jas 1:6, "wavering," "

without doubting.

" But

thus there would be an epithet referring to

one's self

inserted amidst those referring to one's

conduct towards others.

English Version

is therefore better.

without hypocrisy

--Not as A

LFORD

explains from Jas 1:22, 26, "Without deceiving

yourselves" with the name without the reality of religion. For it must refer, like the rest of the

six epithets, to our relations to others; our peaceableness and mercy towards others must be

"without dissimulation."

18.

"The peaceable fruit of righteousness." He says "righteousness"; because it is itself the

true wisdom. As in the case of the earthly wisdom, after the characteristic description came its

results;

so in this verse, in the case of the heavenly wisdom. There the results were present;

here, future.

fruit . . . sown

--Compare Ps 97:11; Isa 61:3, "trees of righteousness." Anticipatory, that is,

the seed whose "fruit," namely, "righteousness," shall be ultimately reaped, is now "sown in

peace." "Righteousness," now in germ, when fully developed as "fruit" shall be itself the

everlasting

reward

of the righteous. As "sowing in peace" (compare "

sown in dishonor," 1Co

15:43) produces the "fruit of righteousness," so conversely "the work" and "effect of

righteousness" is "peace."

of them that make peace

--"by (implying also that it is

for

them, and

their good) them

that work peace." They, and they alone, are "blessed." "Peacemakers," not merely they who

Jas 4:2

)

reconcile others, but who

work peace.

"Cultivate peace" [E

STIUS

]. Those truly wise towards

God, while peaceable and tolerant towards their neighbors, yet make it their chief concern to

sow righteousness, not cloaking men's sins, but reproving them with such peaceable moderation

as to be the physicians, rather than the executioners, of sinners [C

ALVIN

CHAPTER 4

Jas 4:1-17. A

GAINST

IGHTINGS AND

HEIR

OURCE

; W

ORLDLY

USTS

;

NCHARITABLE

UDGMENTS, AND

RESUMPTUOUS

ECKONING ON THE

UTURE.

1. whence

--The cause of quarrels is often sought in external circumstances, whereas internal

lusts are the true origin.

wars,

&c.--contrasted with the "peace" of heavenly wisdom. "Fightings" are the active

carrying on of "wars." The best authorities have a second "whence" before "fightings." Tumults

marked the era before the destruction of Jerusalem when James wrote. He indirectly alludes to

these. The members are the first seat of war; thence it passes to conflict between man and man,

nation and nation.

come they not,

&c.--an appeal to their consciences.

lusts

--literally, "pleasures," that is, the lusts which prompt you to "desire" (see on

pleasures;

whence you seek self at the cost of your neighbor, and hence flow "fightings."

that war

--"campaign, as an army of soldiers encamped within" [A

LFORD

] the soul;

tumultuously war against the interests of your fellow men, while lusting to advance self. But

while warring thus against others they (without his knowledge) war against the soul of the man

himself, and against the Spirit; therefore they must be "mortified" by the Christian.

2. Ye lust

--A different

Greek

word from that in Jas 4:1. "Ye desire"; literally, "ye set your

mind

(or heart)

" an object.

have not

--The lust of desire does not ensure the actual possession. Hence "ye kill" (not as

Margin,

without any old authority, "envy") to ensure possession. Not probably in the case of

professing Christians of that day in a literal sense, but "kill and envy" (as the

Greek

for "desire

to have" should be translated), that is, harass and oppress through envy [D

RUSIUS

]. Compare

Zec 11:5, "slay";

through envy, hate, and desire to get out of your way, and so are "murderers"

in God's eyes [E

STIUS

]. If literal murder [A

LFORD

] were meant, I do not think it would occur

so early in the series; nor had Christians then as yet reached so open criminality. In the Spirit's

application of the passage to all ages, literal

killing

is included, flowing from the desire to

possess so David and Ahab. There is a climax: "Ye desire," the individual lust for an object; "ye

kill and envy," the feeling and action of individuals against individuals; "ye fight and war," the

action of many against many.

ye have not, because ye ask not

--God promises to those who pray, not to those who fight.

The petition of the lustful, murderous, and contentious is not recognized by God as

prayer.

If ye

prayed, there would be no "wars and fightings." Thus this last clause is an answer to the

question, Jas 4:1, "Whence come wars and fightings?"

Some of them are supposed to say in objection, But we do "ask" (pray); compare Jas 4:2.

James replies, It is not enough to ask for good things, but we must ask with a good spirit and

intention. "Ye ask amiss, that ye may consume

(your object of prayer) upon (literally, 'in')

your lusts (literally, 'pleasures')"; not that ye may have the things you need for the service of

God. Contrast Jas 1:5 with Mt 6:31, 32. If ye prayed aright, all your proper wants would be

supplied; the improper cravings which produce "wars and fightings" would then cease. Even

believers' prayers are often best answered when their desires are most opposed.

The oldest manuscripts omit "adulterers and," and read simply, "Ye adulteresses." God is

the rightful husband; the men of the world are regarded collectively as one

adulteress,

and

individually as

adulteresses.

the world

--in so far as the men of it and their motives and acts are aliens to God, for

example, its selfish "lusts" (Jas 4:3), and covetous and ambitious "wars and fightings" (Jas 4:1).

enmity

--not merely "inimical"; a state of enmity, and that enmity itself. Compare 1Jo 2:15,

"love . . . the world . . . the love of the Father."

whosoever . . . will be

--The

Greek

is emphatic, "shall

be resolved

to be." Whether he

succeed or not, if his

wish

be to be the friend of the world, he

renders himself, becomes

(so the

Greek

for "is") by the very fact, "the enemy of God." Contrast "Abraham the friend of God."

5. in vain

--No word of Scripture can be so. The quotation here, as in Eph 5:14, seems to be

not so much from a particular passage as one gathered by James under inspiration from the

general tenor of such passages in both the Old and New Testaments, as Nu 14:29; Pr 21:20; Ga

5:17.

spirit that dwelleth in us

--Other manuscripts read, "that God hath made to dwell in

us" (namely, at Pentecost). If so translated, "Does the (Holy) Spirit that God hath placed in us

lust to (towards) envy" (namely, as ye do in your worldly "wars and fightings")? Certainly not;

ye are therefore walking in the flesh, not in the Spirit, while ye thus

lust towards,

that is,

with

envy

against one another. The friendship of the world tends to breed

envy;

the Spirit produces

very different fruit. A

LFORD

attributes the epithet "with envy," in the unwarrantable sense of

jealously,

to the Holy Spirit: "The Spirit

jealously desires

us for His own." In

English Version

the sense is, "the (natural) spirit that hath its dwelling in us lusts with (literally, 'to,' or 'towards')

envy." Ye lust, and because ye have not what ye lust after (Jas 4:1, 2), ye envy your neighbor

who has, and so the

spirit of envy

leads you on to "fight." James also here refers to Jas 3:14, 16.

6. But

--"Nay, rather."

--God.

giveth more grace

--ever increasing grace; the farther ye depart from "envy" [B

ENGEL

he saith

--The same God who causes His spirit to dwell in believers (Jas 4:5), by the Spirit

also speaks in Scripture. The quotation here is probably from Pr 3:34; as probably Pr 21:10 was

generally referred to in Jas 4:5. In

Hebrew

it is "scorneth the scorners," namely, those who think

"Scripture speaketh in vain."

resisteth

--literally, "setteth Himself in array against"; even as they, like Pharaoh, set

themselves against Him. God repays sinners in their own coin. "Pride" is the mother of

"envy" (Jas 4:5); it is peculiarly satanic, for by it Satan fell.

the proud

--The

Greek

means in derivation one who

shows himself above

his fellows, and so

lifts himself against God.

the humble

--the unenvious, uncovetous, and unambitious as to the world. Contrast Jas 4:4.

7. Submit to . . . God

--so ye shall be among "the humble," Jas 4:6; also Jas 4:10; 1Pe 5:6.

Resist . . . devil

--Under his banner

pride

and

envy

are enlisted in the world; resist his

temptations to these. Faith, humble prayers, and heavenly wisdom, are the weapons of

resistance. The language is taken from warfare. "Submit" as a good soldier puts himself in

complete subjection to his captain. "Resist," stand bravely against.

he will flee

--Translate, "he

shall

flee." For it is a promise of God, not a mere assurance from

man to man [A

LFORD

]. He shall flee worsted as he did from Christ.

8. Draw nigh to God

--So "cleave unto Him," De 30:20, namely, by prayerfully (Jas 4:2, 3)

"resisting Satan," who would oppose our access to God.

he will draw nigh

--propitious.

Cleanse . . . hands

--the outward instruments of action. None but the clean-handed can

ascend into the hill of the Lord (justified through Christ, who alone was perfectly so, and as such

"ascended" thither).

purify . . . hearts

--literally "make chaste" of your spiritual

adultery

(Jas 4:4, that is,

worldliness) "your hearts": the inward source of all impurity.

double-minded

--divided between God and the world. The "double-minded" is at fault in

heart;

the

sinner

in his

hands likewise.

9. Be afflicted

--literally, "Endure misery," that is, mourn over your wretchedness through

sin.

Repent with deep sorrow

instead of your present laughter. A blessed

mourning.

Contrast Isa

22:12, 13; Lu 6:25. James does not add here, as in Jas 5:1, "howl," where he foretells the

doom

of the impenitent

at the coming destruction of Jerusalem.

heaviness

--literally, "falling of the countenance," casting down of the eyes.

10. in the sight of the Lord

--as continually in the presence of Him who alone is worthy to

be exalted: recognizing His presence in all your ways, the truest incentive to

humility.

The tree,

to grow upwards, must strike its roots deep downwards; so man, to be exalted, must have his

mind deep-rooted in humility. In 1Pe 5:6, it is, Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of

God, namely, in His dealings of Providence: a distinct thought from that here.

lift you up

--in part in this world, fully in the world to come.

11.

Having mentioned sins of the tongue (Jas 3:5-12), he shows here that

evil-speaking

flows

from the same spirit of exalting self at the expense of one's neighbor as caused the "fightings"

reprobated in this chapter (Jas 4:1).

Speak not evil

--literally, "Speak not against" one another.

brethren

--implying the inconsistency of such depreciatory speaking of one another in

brethren.

speaketh evil of the law

--for the law in commanding, "Love thy neighbor as thyself" (Jas

2:8), virtually condemns evil-speaking and judging [E

STIUS

]. Those who superciliously

condemn the acts and words of others which do not please themselves, thus aiming at the

reputation of sanctity, put their own moroseness in the place of the law, and claim to themselves

a power of censuring above the law of God, condemning what the law permits [C

ALVIN

]. Such

a one acts as though the law could not perform its own office of

judging,

but he must fly upon

the office [B

ENGEL

]. This is the last mention of the law in the New Testament. A

LFORD

rightly

takes the "law" to be the old moral law applied in its comprehensive spiritual fulness by Christ:

"the law of liberty."

if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer . . . but a judge

--Setting aside the Christian

brotherhood

as all alike called to be

doers

of the law, in subjection to it, such a one arrogates the

office of a

judge.

12. There is one lawgiver

--The best authorities read in addition, "and judge." Translate,

"There is One (alone) who is (at once) Lawgiver and Judge, (namely) He who is able to save

and destroy." Implying, God alone is Lawgiver and therefore Judge, since it is He alone who can

execute His judgments; our inability in this respect shows our presumption in trying to act as

judges, as though we were God.

who art thou,

&c.--The order in the

Greek

is emphatic, "But (inserted in oldest

manuscripts) thou, who art thou that judgest another?" How rashly arrogant in judging thy

fellows, and wresting from God the office which belongs to Him over thee and

THEM

alike!

another

--The oldest authorities read, "thy neighbor."

13. Go to now

--"Come now"; said to excite attention.

ye that say

boasting of the morrow.

To-day or to-morrow

--as if ye had the free choice of either day as a certainty. Others read,

"To-day

and to-morrow."

such a city

--literally, "this the city" (namely, the one present to the mind of the speaker).

This city here.

continue . . . a year

--rather, "spend one year." Their language implies that when this one

year is out, they purpose similarly settling plans for to come [B

ENGEL

buy and sell

--Their plans for the future are all worldly.

14. what

--literally, "of what nature" is your life? that is, how evanescent it is.

It is even

--Some oldest authorities read, "For ye are." B

ENGEL

, with other old authorities,

reads, "For it shall be," the future referring to the "morrow" (Jas 4:13-15). The former expresses,

"Ye yourselves are transitory"; so everything of yours, even your life, must partake of the same

transitoriness. Received text has no old authority.

and then vanisheth away

--"afterwards vanishing as it came"; literally, "afterwards (as it

appeared),

so vanishing

" [A

LFORD

15.

Literally, "instead of your saying," &c. This refers to "ye that say" (Jas 4:13).

we shall live

--The best manuscripts read, "We shall

both

live and do,

" &c. The boasters

spoke as if

life, action,

and the particular kind of action were in their power, whereas all three

depend entirely on the will of the Lord.

16. now

--as it is.

rejoice in . . . boastings

--"ye boast in arrogant presumptions," namely, vain confident

fancies that the future is certain to you (Jas 4:13).

rejoicing

--boasting [B

ENGEL

17.

The general principle illustrated by the particular example just discussed is here stated:

knowledge without practice is imputed to a man as great and presumptuous sin. James reverts to

the principle with which he started. Nothing more injures the soul than wasted impressions.

Feelings exhaust themselves and evaporate, if not embodied in practice. As we will not act

except we feel, so if we will not act out our feelings, we shall soon cease to feel.

CHAPTER 5

Jas 5:1-20. W

OES

OMING ON THE

ICKED

ICH

: B

ELIEVERS

HOULD

ATIENT

UNTO THE

ORD'S

OMING

: V

ARIOUS

XHORTATIONS.

1. Go to now

--Come now. A phrase to call solemn attention.

ye rich

--who have neglected the true enjoyment of riches, which consists in doing good.

James intends this address to rich Jewish unbelievers, not so much for themselves, as for the

saints, that they may bear with patience the violence of the rich (Jas 5:7), knowing that God will

Jas 5:5

speedily avenge them on their oppressors [B

ENGEL

miseries that shall come

--literally, "that are coming upon you" unexpectedly and swiftly,

namely, at the coming of the Lord (Jas 5:7); primarily, at the destruction of Jerusalem; finally, at

His visible coming to judge the world.

2. corrupted

about to be destroyed

through God's curse on your oppression, whereby your

riches are accumulated (Jas 5:4). C

ALVIN

thinks the sense is, Your riches perish without being

of any use either to others or even to yourselves, for instance, your garments which are moth-

eaten in your chests.

garments . . . moth-eaten

--referring to Mt 6:19, 20.

3. is cankered

--"rusted through" [A

LFORD

rust . . . witness against you

--in the day of judgment; namely, that your riches were of no

profit to any, lying unemployed and so contracting rust.

shall eat your flesh

--The rust which once ate your riches, shall then gnaw your conscience,

accompanied with punishment which shall prey upon your bodies for ever.

as . . . fire

--not with the slow process of

rusting,

but with the swiftness of consuming

fire.

for the last days

--Ye have heaped together, not treasures as ye suppose (compare Lu 12:19),

but wrath against the last days, namely, the coming judgment of the Lord. A

LFORD

translates

more literally, "

these last days (before the coming judgment) ye laid up (worldly) treasure" to

no profit, instead of repenting and seeking salvation (see on

4. Behold

--calling attention to their coming doom as no vain threat.

labourers

--literally "workmen."

of you kept back

--So

English Version

rightly. Not as A

LFORD

, "crieth out

from

you." The

"keeping back of the hire" was,

on the part

the rich, virtually an act of "

fraud,

" because the

poor laborers were not immediately paid. The phrase is therefore not, "kept back

you," but

of you"; the latter implying

virtual,

rather than overt, fraud. James refers to De 24:14, 15, "At

this day . . . give his

hire,

neither shall the sun go down upon it, lest he

CRY

against thee unto

the Lord, and it be sin unto thee." Many sins "cry" to heaven for vengeance which men tacitly

take no account of, as unchastity and injustice [B

ENGEL

]. Sins peculiarly offensive to God are

said to "cry" to Him. The rich ought to have given freely to the poor; their not doing so was sin.

A still greater sin was their not paying their debts. Their greatest sin was not paying them to the

poor, whose wages is their all.

cries of them

--a double cry; both that of the hire abstractly, and that of the laborers hired.

the Lord of sabaoth

--here only in the New Testament. In Ro 9:29 it is a quotation. It is

suited to the Jewish tone of the Epistle. It reminds the rich who think the poor have no protector,

that the Lord of the whole hosts in heaven and earth is the guardian and avenger of the latter. He

is identical with the "coming Lord" Jesus (Jas 5:7).

Translate, "Ye have luxuriated . . . and wantoned." The former expresses

luxurious

effeminacy;

the latter,

wantonness

and

prodigality.

Their luxury was at the expense of the

defrauded poor (Jas 5:4).

on the earth

--The same earth which has been the scene of your wantonness, shall be the

scene of the judgment coming on you: instead of earthly delights ye shall have punishments.

nourished . . . hearts

--that is glutted your bodies like beasts to the full extent of your hearts'

desire; ye live to eat, not eat to live.

as in a day of slaughter

--The oldest authorities omit "as." Ye are like beasts which eat to

their hearts' content

the very day of their approaching slaughter, unconscious it is near. The

Introduction.

This gives a peculiar

phrase answers to "the last days," Jas 5:3, which favors A

LFORD'S

translation there, "in," not

"for."

6. Ye have condemned . . . the just

--The

Greek

aorist expresses, "Ye are

accustomed

condemn . . . the just." Their condemnation of Christ, "the Just," is foremost in James' mind. But

all the innocent blood shed, and to be shed, is included, the Holy Spirit comprehending James

himself, called "the Just," who was slain in a tumult. See my

appropriateness to the expression in this verse, the same "as the righteous (

just

) man" (Jas 5:16).

The justice or righteousness of Jesus and His people is what peculiarly provoked the ungodly

great men of the world.

he doth not resist you

--The very patience of the Just one is abused by the wicked as an

incentive to boldness in violent persecution, as if they may do as they please with impunity. God

doth "resist the proud" (Jas 4:6); but Jesus as man, "as a sheep is dumb before the shearers, so

He opened not His mouth": so His people are meek under persecution. The day will come when

God will resist (literally, "set Himself in array against") His foes and theirs.

7. Be patient therefore

--as judgment is so near (Jas 5:1, 3), ye may well afford to be

"patient" after the example of the unresisting Just one

(Jas 5:6).

brethren

--contrasted with the "rich" oppressors, Jas 5:1-6.

unto the coming of the Lord

--Christ, when the trial of your patience shall cease.

husbandman waiteth for

--that is, patiently bears toils and delays through hope of the

harvest at last. Its "preciousness" (compare Ps 126:6, "precious seed") will more than

compensate for all the past. Compare the same image, Ga 6:3, 9.

hath long patience for it

--"over it,"

in respect to it.

until he receive

--"until

receive" [A

LFORD

]. Even if

English Version

be retained, the

receiving of the early and latter rains is not to be understood as the object of his hope, but

the

harvest

for which those rains are the necessary preliminary. The early rain fell at sowing time,

about November or December; the latter rain, about March or April, to mature the grain for

harvest. The latter rain that shall precede the coming spiritual harvest, will probably be another

Pentecost-like effusion of the Holy Ghost.

8. coming . . . draweth nigh

--The

Greek

expresses present time and a settled state. 1Pe 4:7,

"is at hand." We are to live in a continued state of expectancy of the Lord's coming, as an event

always

nigh. Nothing can more "stablish the heart" amidst present troubles than the realized

expectation of His speedy coming.

9. Grudge not

--rather "Murmur not"; "grumble not." The

Greek

is literally, "groan": a half-

suppressed murmur of impatience and harsh judgment, not uttered aloud or freely. Having

exhorted them to patience in bearing wrongs from the wicked, he now exhorts them to a

forbearing spirit as to the offenses given by brethren. Christians, who bear the former patiently,

sometimes are impatient at the latter, though much less grievous.

lest . . . condemned

--The best manuscript authorities read, "judged." James refers to Mt 7:1,

"Judge not lest ye be

judged.

" To "murmur against one another" is virtually to

judge,

and so to

become liable to be

judged.

judge . . . before the door

--referring to Mt 24:33. The

Greek

is the same in both passages,

and so ought to be translated here as there, "doors," plural. The phrase means "near at hand" (Ge

4:7), which in the oldest interpretations [Targums of

Jonathan

and

Jerusalem

] is explained, "thy

sin is reserved unto the judgment of the world to come." Compare "the everlasting doors" (Ps

24:7, whence He shall come forth). The Lord's coming to destroy Jerusalem is primarily referred

to; and ultimately, His coming again visibly to judgment.

10. the prophets

--who were especially persecuted, and therefore were especially "blessed."

example of suffering affliction

--rather, simply, "of affliction," literally, "evil treatment."

11. count them happy

-- (Mt 5:10).

which endure

--The oldest authorities read, "which have endured," which suits the sense

better than

English Version:

"Those who in past days, like the prophets and Job, have endured

trials." Such, not those who "have lived in pleasure and been wanton on the earth" (Jas 5:5), are

"happy."

patience

--rather, "endurance," answering to "endure": the

Greek words similarly

corresponding. Distinct from the

Greek

word for "patience" Jas 5:10. The same word ought to

be translated, "endurance," Jas 1:3. He here reverts to the subject which he began with.

Job

--This passage shows the history of him is concerning a real, not an imaginary person;

otherwise his case could not be quoted as an example at all. Though he showed much of

impatience, yet he always returned to this, that he committed himself wholly to God, and at last

showed a perfect spirit of enduring submission.

and have seen

--(with the eyes of your mind). A

LFORD

translates from the old and genuine

reading, "see also," &c. The old reading is, however, capable of being translated as

English

Version.

the end of the Lord

--the end which the Lord gave. If Job had much to "endure," remember

also Job's happy "end." Hence, learn, though much tried, to "endure to the end."

that--A

LFORD

and others translate, "inasmuch as," "for."

pitiful . . . of tender mercy

--The former refers to the "feeling"; the latter, to the

act.

His

pity

is shown in not laying on the

patient endurer

more trials than he is able to bear; His

mercy,

His giving a happy "end" to the trials [B

ENGEL

12. But above all

--as swearing is utterly alien to the Christian meek "endurance" just

recommended.

swear not

--through impatience, to which trials may tempt you (Jas 5:10, 11). In contrast to

this stands the proper use of the tongue, Jas 5:13. James here refers to Mt 5:34, &c.

let your yea be yea

--Do not use oaths in your everyday conversation, but let a simple

affirmative or denial be deemed enough to establish your word.

condemnation

--literally, "judgment," namely, of "the Judge" who "standeth before the

doors" (Jas 5:9).

13. afflicted

--referring to the "suffering affliction" (Jas 5:10).

let him pray

--not "swear" in rash impatience.

merry

--joyous in mind.

sing psalms

--of praise. Paul and Silas sang psalms even in affliction.

14. let him call for the elders

--not some

one

of the elders, as Roman Catholics interpret it,

to justify their usage in

extreme unction.

The prayers of the elders over the sick would be much

the same as though the whole Church which they represent should pray [B

ENGEL

anointing him with oil

--The usage which Christ committed to His apostles was afterwards

continued with laying on of hands, as a token of the highest faculty of medicine in the Church,

just as we find in 1Co 6:2 the Church's highest judicial function. Now that the miraculous gift of

healing has been withdrawn for the most part, to use the sign where the reality is wanting would

be unmeaning superstition. Compare other apostolic usages now discontinued rightly, 1Co 11:4-

15; 16:20. "Let them use oil who can by their prayers obtain recovery for the sick: let those who

cannot do this, abstain from using the empty sign" [W

HITAKER

]. Romish extreme unction is

administered to those

whose life is despaired of,

to heal the

soul,

whereas James' unction was to

heal the body. C

ARDINAL

AJETAN

[

Commentary

] admits that James cannot refer to extreme

unction. Oil in the East, and especially among the Jews (see the Talmud,

Jerusalem

and

Babylon

), was much used as a curative agent. It was also a sign of the divine grace. Hence it was

an appropriate sign in performing miraculous cures.

in the name of the Lord

--by whom alone the miracle was performed: men were but the

instruments.

15. prayer

--He does not say

the oil

shall save: it is but the symbol.

save

--plainly not as Rome says, "save"

the soul.

but

heal

"the sick": as the words, "the Lord

shall raise him up," prove. So the same

Greek

is translated, "made (thee) whole," Mt 9:21, 22.

and if . . . sins

--for not all who are sick are so because of some special sins. Here a case is

supposed of one visited with sickness for special sins.

have committed

--literally, "

in a state of

having committed

sins," that is, be under the

consequences of sins committed.

they

--rather, "it": his having committed sins

shall be forgiven him. The connection of sin

and sickness is implied in Isa 33:24; Mt 9:2-5; Joh 5:14. The absolution of the sick, retained in

the Church of England, refers to the sins which the sick man confesses (Jas 5:16) and repents of,

whereby outward scandal has been given to the Church and the cause of religion; not to sins in

their relation to God, the only Judge.

16.

The oldest authorities read, "Confess,

THEREFORE

," &c. Not only in the particular case

of sickness, but universally confess.

faults

--your

falls

and

offenses,

in relation to one another. The word is not the same as

sins.

Mt 5:23, 24; Lu 17:4, illustrate the precept here.

one to another

--not to the priest, as Rome insists. The Church of England

recommends in

certain cases. Rome

compels

confession in all cases. Confession is desirable in the case of (1)

wrong

done to a neighbor; (2) when under a troubled conscience we ask

counsel

of a godly

minister or friend as to how we may obtain God's forgiveness and strength to sin no more, or

when we desire their intercessory prayers for us ("Pray for one another"): "Confession may be

made to anyone who can pray" [B

ENGEL

]; (3)

open

confession of sin before the Church and the

world, in token of penitence. Not

auricular confession.

that ye may be healed

--of your bodily sicknesses. Also that, if your sickness be the

punishment of sin, the latter being forgiven on intercessory prayer, "ye may be healed" of the

former. Also, that ye may be healed spiritually.

effectual

--intense and fervent, not "wavering" (Jas 1:6), [B

EZA

]. "When

energized

" by the

Spirit, as those were who performed miracles [H

AMMOND

]. This suits the collocation of the

Greek

words and the sense well. A righteous man's prayer is always heard generally, but his

particular request for the

healing

of another was then likely to be granted when he was one

possessing a special charism of the Spirit.

LFORD

translates, "Availeth much

in its working.

The "righteous" is one himself careful to avoid "faults," and showing his faith by works (Jas

2:24).

17. Elias . . . like passions as we

--therefore it cannot be said that he was so raised above us

as to afford no example applicable to common mortals like ourselves.

prayed earnestly

--literally, "prayed with prayer": Hebraism for

prayed intensely. Compare

Lu 22:15, "With desire I have desired," that is, earnestly desired. A

LFORD

is wrong in saying,

Elias' prayer that it might not rain "is not even hinted at in the Old Testament history." In 1Ki

17:1 it is plainly implied, "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.

" His prophecy of the fact was according

to a divine intimation given to him in answer to prayer. In jealousy for God's honor (1Ki 19:10),

and being of one mind with God in his abhorrence of apostasy, he prayed that the national

idolatry should be punished with a national judgment, drought; and on Israel's profession of

repentance he prayed for the removal of the visitation, as is implied in 1Ki 18:39-42; compare

Lu 4:25.

three years,

&c.--Compare 1Ki 18:1, "The third year," namely, from Elijah's going to

Zarephath; the prophecy (Jas 5:1) was probably about five or six months previously.

18. prayed . . . and

--that is, "and so." Mark the connection between the prayer and its

accomplishment.

her fruit

--her usual and due fruit, heretofore withheld on account of sin. Three and a half

years is the time also that the two witnesses prophesy who "have power to shut and open heaven

that it rain not."

19.

The blessing of reclaiming an erring sinner by the mutual consent and intercessory

prayer just recommended.

do err

--more literally, "be led astray."

the truth

--the Gospel doctrine and precepts.

one

--literally, "any"; as "

any

" before.

Everyone

ought to seek the salvation of

everyone

ENGEL

20. Let him

--the converted.

know

--for his comfort, and the encouragement of others to do likewise.

shall save

--future. The salvation of the one so converted shall be manifested hereafter.

shall hide a multitude of sins

--not his own, but the sins of the converted. The

Greek

verb in

the middle voice requires this. Pr 10:12 refers to charity "covering" the sins of others

before

men;

James to one's effecting by the conversion of another that that other's sins be covered

before God, namely, with Christ's atonement. He effects this by making the convert partaker in

the Christian covenant for the remission of all sins. Though this hiding of sins was included in

the previous "shall save," James expresses it to mark in detail the greatness of the blessing

conferred on the penitent through the converter's instrumentality, and to incite others to the same

good deed.