A servant of Jesus Christ — Whose name the apostle mentions but once more in the whole epistle, James 2:1. And not at all in his whole discourse, Acts 15:14, &c.; or Acts 21:20. It might have seemed, if he mentioned him often, that he did it out of vanity, as being the brother of the Lord. To the tw... [ Continue Reading ]
My brethren, count it all joy — Which is the highest degree of patience, and contains all the rest. When ye fall into divers temptations — That is, trials.... [ Continue Reading ]
Let patience have its perfect work — Give it full scope, under whatever trials befal you. That ye may be perfect and entire — Adorned with every Christian grace. And wanting nothing — Which God requires in you.... [ Continue Reading ]
If any want — The connexion between the first and following verses, both here and in the fourth chapter, will be easily discerned by him who reads them, while he is suffering wrongfully. He will then readily perceive, why the apostle mentions all those various affections of the mind. Wisdom — To und... [ Continue Reading ]
But let him ask in faith — A firm confidence in God. St. James also both begins and ends with faith, James 5:15; the hinderances of which he removes in the middle part of his epistle. He that doubteth is like a wave of the sea — Yea, such are all who have not asked and obtained wisdom. Driven with t... [ Continue Reading ]
A doubleminded man — Who has, as it were, two souls; whose heart is not simply given up to God. Is unstable — Being without the true wisdom; perpetually disagrees both with himself and others, James 3:16.... [ Continue Reading ]
Let the brother — St James does not give this appellation to the rich. Of low degree — Poor and tempted. Rejoice — The most effectual remedy against doublemindedness. In that he is exalted — To be a child of God, and an heir of glory.... [ Continue Reading ]
But the rich, in that he is made low — Is humbled by a deep sense of his true condition. Because as the flower — Beautiful, but transient. He shall pass away — Into eternity.... [ Continue Reading ]
For the sun arose and withered the grass — There is an unspeakable beauty and elegance, both in the comparison itself, and in the very manner of expressing it, intimating both the certainty and the suddenness of the event. So shall the rich fade away in his ways — In the midst of his various pleasur... [ Continue Reading ]
Happy is the man that endureth temptation — Trials of various kinds. He shall receive the crown — That fadeth not away. Which the Lord hath promised to them that love him — And his enduring proves his love. For it is love only that "endureth all things.... [ Continue Reading ]
But let no man who is tempted — To sin. Say, I am tempted of God — God thus tempteth no man.... [ Continue Reading ]
Every man is tempted, when — In the beginning of the temptation. He is drawn away — Drawn out of God, his strong refuge. By his own desire — We are therefore to look for the cause of every sin, in, not out of ourselves. Even the injections of the devil cannot hurt before we make them our own. And ev... [ Continue Reading ]
Then desire having conceived — By our own will joining therewith. Bringeth forth actual sin — It doth not follow that the desire itself is not sin. He that begets a man is himself a man. And sin being perfected — Grown up to maturity, which it quickly does. Bringeth forth death — Sin is born big wit... [ Continue Reading ]
Do not err — It is a grievous error to ascribe the evil and not the good which we receive to God.... [ Continue Reading ]
No evil, but every good gift — Whatever tends to holiness. And every perfect gift — Whatever tends to glory. Descendeth from the Father of lights — The appellation of Father is here used with peculiar propriety. It follows, "he begat us." He is the Father of all light, material or spiritual, in the... [ Continue Reading ]
Of his own will — Most loving, most free, most pure, just opposite to our evil desire, James 1:15. Begat he us — Who believe. By the word of truth — The true word, emphatically so termed; the gospel. That we might be a kind of first — fruits of his creatures — Christians are the chief and most excel... [ Continue Reading ]
Let every man be swift to hear — This is treated of from James 1:21 to the end of the next chapter. Slow to speak — Which is treated of in he third chapter. Slow to wrath — Neither murmuring at God, nor angry at his neighbour. This is treated of in the third, and throughout the fourth and fifth chap... [ Continue Reading ]
The righteousness of God here includes all duties prescribed by him, and pleasing to him.... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore laying aside — As a dirty garment. All the filthiness and superfluity of wickedness — For however specious or necessary it may appear to worldly wisdom, all wickedness is both vile, hateful, contemptible, and really superfluous. Every reasonable end may be effectually answered without any... [ Continue Reading ]
Beholding his face in a glass — How exactly does the scripture glass show a man the face of his soul!... [ Continue Reading ]
He beheld himself, and went away — To other business. And forgot — But such forgetting does not excuse.... [ Continue Reading ]
But he that looketh diligently — Not with a transient glance, but bending down, fixing his eyes, and searching all to the bottom. Into the perfect law — Of love as established by faith. St. James here guards us against misunderstanding what St. Paul says concerning the "yoke and bondage of the law.... [ Continue Reading ]
If any one be ever so religious — Exact in the outward offices of religion. And bridleth not his tongue — From backbiting, talebearing, evilspeaking, he only deceiveth his own heart, if he fancies he has any true religion at all.... [ Continue Reading ]
The only true religion in the sight of God, is this, to visit — With counsel, comfort, and relief. The fatherless and widows — Those who need it most. In their affliction — In their most helpless and hopeless state. And to keep himself unspotted from the world — From the maxims, tempers, and customs... [ Continue Reading ]