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1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
to the twelve tribes which are
scattered abroad, greeting.
1:2 My brethren,
count it all joy when ye fall into divers
temptations; 1:3
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh
patience.
1:4 But let
patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and
entire,
wanting nothing.
1:5 If any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all
men
liberally, and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
1:6 But let him ask in
faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth
is like a wave of the sea
driven with the wind and tossed.
1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the
Lord.
1:8 A double minded man is
unstable in all his ways.
1:9 Let the brother of low degree
rejoice in that he is exalted: 1:10
But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the
grass he shall pass away.
1:11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it
withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of
the fashion of it
perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in
his ways.
1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation: for when he is
tried, he shall receive the
crown of life, which the Lord hath
promised to them that love him.
1:13 Let no man say when he is
tempted, I am tempted of God: for God
cannot be tempted with
evil, neither tempteth he any man: 1:14 But
every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and
enticed.
1:15 Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin,
when it is finished, bringeth forth
death.
1:16 Do not
err, my beloved brethren.
1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh
down from the
Father of lights, with whom is no
variableness, neither
shadow of
turning.
1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we
should be a kind of
firstfruits of his creatures.
1:19 Wherefore, my beloved
brethren, let every man be swift to hear,
slow to speak, slow to wrath: 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not
the
righteousness of God.
1:21 Wherefore lay apart all
filthiness and
superfluity of
naughtiness, and receive with
meekness the engrafted word, which is
able to save your
souls.
1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your
own selves.
1:23 For if any be a
hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like
unto a man
beholding his natural face in a glass: 1:24 For he
beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and
straightway forgetteth what
manner of man he was.
1:25 But whoso looketh into the
perfect law of liberty, and continueth
therein, he being not a
forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this
man shall be blessed in his deed.
1:26 If any man among you seem to be
religious, and bridleth not his
tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's
religion is vain.
1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To
visit the
fatherless and
widows in their
affliction, and to keep
himself
unspotted from the world.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to:
James
Book: James
Chapter: 1
Overview:
How to apply to
God under troubles, and how to behave in
prosperous and in adverse circumstances.
(1-11) To look upon all
evil as proceeding from ourselves, and all good from
God.
(12-18) The duty of watching against a rash temper, and of
receiving the
Word of God with
Meekness.
(19-21) And of living
according thereto.
(22-25) The difference between vain pretences
and real religion.
(26,27)
1-11 Christianity teaches men to be joyful under troubles: such
exercises are sent from
God's
Love; and trials in the way of
duty will brighten our graces now, and our
Crown at last. Let us
take care, in times of trial, that patience, and not
Passion, is
set to work in us: whatever is said or done, let patience have
the saying and doing of it. When the work of patience is
complete, it will furnish all that is necessary for our
Christian race and warfare. We should not pray
So much for the
removal of affliction, as for
Wisdom to make a right use of it.
And who does not want
Wisdom to guide him under trials, both in
regulating his own
Spirit, and in managing his affairs? Here is
something in answer to every discouraging turn of the mind, when
we go to
God under a sense of our own weakness and folly. If,
after all, any should say, This may be the case with some, but I
fear I shall not succeed, the promise is, To any that asketh, it
shall be given. A mind that has single and prevailing regard to
its spiritual and eternal interest, and that keeps steady in its
purposes for
God, will grow
Wise By Afflictions, will continue
fervent in devotion, and rise above trials and oppositions. When
our
Faith and spirits rise and fall with second causes, there
will be unsteadiness in our words and actions. This may not
always expose men to contempt in the world, but such ways cannot
please
God.
No condition of
Life is such as to hinder rejoicing
in
God. Those of low degree may rejoice, if they are exalted to
be rich in
Faith and heirs of the
Kingdom of God; and the rich
may rejoice in humbling providences, that lead to a humble and
lowly disposition of mind. Worldly wealth is a withering thing.
Then, let him that is rich rejoice in the
Grace of
God, which
makes and keeps him humble; and in the trials and exercises
which teach him to seek happiness in and from
God, not from
perishing enjoyments.
12-18 It is not every
Man who suffers, that is blessed; but he
who with patience and constancy goes through all difficulties in
the way of duty.
Afflictions cannot make us miserable, if it be
not our own fault. The tried
Christian shall be a crowned one.
The
Crown of
Life is promised to all who have the
Love of
God
reigning in their hearts. Every soul that truly loves
God, shall
have its trials in this world fully recompensed in that world
above, where
Love is made perfect. The commands of
God, and the
dealings of his
Providence, try men's hearts, and show the
dispositions which prevail in them. But nothing sinful in the
Heart or conduct can be ascribed to
God. He is not the author of
the
Dross, though his fiery trial exposes it. Those who lay the
blame of
Sin, either upon their constitution, or upon their
condition in the world, or pretend they cannot keep from
sinning, wrong
God as if he were the author of
Sin.
Afflictions,
as sent
By God, are designed to draw out our graces, but not our
corruptions. The origin of evil and
Temptation is in our own
hearts. Stop the beginnings of
Sin, or all the evils that follow
must be wholly charged upon us.
God has
No pleasure in the
Death
of men, as he has
No Hand in their
Sin; but both
Sin and misery
are owing to themselves. As the
Sun is the same in nature and
influences, though the
Earth and clouds, often coming between,
make it seem to us to vary,
So God is unchangeable, and our
changes and shadows are not from any changes or alterations in
him. What the
Sun is in nature,
God is in
Grace,
Providence, and
Glory; and infinitely more. As every good
Gift is from
God,
So
particularly our being born again, and all its holy, happy
consequences come from him. A true
Christian becomes as
different a person from what he was before the renewing
influences of Divine
Grace, as if he were formed over again. We
should devote all our faculties to
God's service, that we may be
a kind of
First-fruits of his creatures.
19-21 Instead of blaming
God under our trials, let us open our
ears and hearts to learn what he teaches
By them. And if men
would govern their
Tongues, they must govern their passions. The
worst thing we can bring to any dispute, is
Anger. Here is an
exhortation to lay apart, and to cast off as a filthy garment,
all sinful practices. This must reach to sins of thought and
Affection, as
Well as of speech and practice; to every thing
corrupt and sinful. We must yield ourselves to the
Word of God,
with humble and teachable minds. Being willing to hear of our
faults, taking it not only patiently, but thankfully. It is the
design of the
Word of God to make us
Wise to
Salvation; and
those who propose any mean or low ends in attending upon it,
dishonour the
Gospel, and disappoint their own souls.
22-25 If we heard a sermon every
Day of the
Week, and an
Angel
from
Heaven were the preacher, yet, if we rested in hearing
only, it would never bring us to
Heaven. Mere hearers are
self-deceivers; and self-deceit will be found the worst deceit
at last. If we flatter ourselves, it is our own fault; the
Truth, as it is in
Jesus, flatters
No Man. Let the
Word of
Truth
be carefully attended to, and it will set before us the
corruption of our nature, the disorders of our hearts and lives;
and it will tell us plainly what we are. Our sins are the spots
the
Law discovers:
Christ's
Blood is the
Laver the
Gospel shows.
But in vain do we hear
God's
Word, and look into the
Gospel
Glass, if we go away, and forget our spots, instead of
Washing
them off; and forget our remedy, instead of applying to it. This
is the case with those who do not hear the
Word as they ought.
In hearing the
Word, we look into it for counsel and direction,
and when we study it, it turns to our spiritual
Life. Those who
keep in the
Law and
Word of God, are, and shall be, blessed in
all their ways. His gracious recompence hereafter, would be
connected with his present peace and comfort. Every part of
Divine
Revelation has its use, in bringing the sinner to
Christ
for
Salvation, and in directing and encouraging him to walk at
liberty,
By the
Spirit of
Adoption, according to the holy
commands of
God. And
Mark the distinctness, it is not for his
deeds, that any
Man is blessed, but in his deed. It is not
talking, but walking, that will bring us to
Heaven.
Christ will
become more precious to the believer's soul, which
By his
Grace
will become more fitted for the inheritance of the saints in
Light.
26,27 When men take more pains to seem religious than really to
be
So, it is a sign their religion is in vain. The not bridling
the tongue, readiness to speak of the faults of others, or to
lessen their
Wisdom and
Piety, are signs of a vain religion. The
Man who has a slandering tongue, cannot have a truly humble,
gracious
Heart. False religious may be known
By their impurity
and uncharitableness. True religion teaches us to do every thing
as in the presence of
God. An unspotted
Life must go with
unfeigned
Love and
Charity. Our true religion is equal to the
Measure in which these things have place in our hearts and
conduct. And let us remember, that nothing avails in
Christ
Jesus, but
Faith that worketh
By Love, purifies the
Heart,
subdues
Carnal lusts, and obeys
God's commands.