James 2:5

James 2:5. Hearken, my beloved brethren. With this verse St. James commences to show the sinfulness of such conduct; and, first, it is in contradiction to the conduct of God.

Hath not God chosen the poor of this world; that is, either those whom the world esteems poor the poor in the opinion of the world; or those who are poor in relation to this world the poor in worldly wealth.

rich in faith. Rich in faith is not in apposition to the poor of this world, but the object or intention of God's choosing them that they might be rich in faith. Faith is not the quality, but the sphere or element, in which they were rich. These riches consisted in the spiritual blessings which faith procured, and especially in the sonship of believers in the heirship of the heavenly kingdom. ‘The rich in faith,' observes Calvin, ‘are not those who abound in the greatness of faith, but such as God has enriched with the various gifts of the Spirit which we receive by faith.'

and heirs of the kingdom, namely, not the spiritual kingdom of Christ on earth, but the heavenly kingdom.

which he hath promised to them that love him; the love of God being the essence of true piety. St. James did not require to prove the truth of this statement; the condition of the Jewish Christians of the dispersion, to whom he wrote, was proof sufficient that although there were a few rich among them, yet they were mostly chosen from among the poor. Compare with this the words of St. Paul: ‘God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty' (1 Corinthians 1:27). And the same statement holds good in the present day. The rich are under far greater temptations than the poor; they are led to trust in uncertain riches, and to seek their good things in this world, to fix their happiness here, and to forget ‘the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love Him.' ‘How hardly,' says our Saviour, ‘shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God' (Mark 10:23).