II. Division. — The Godly in Trial and Temptation should be Slow to Speak. Warning against Sins of the Tongue. 3:1-12.

1. Those who transgress in this particular will be the more severely judged. 3:1, 2.

1. With this verse begins the second great division of the Epistle, relating to sins of speech, and the collisions and offences against Christian charity caused by an unbridled tongue. The godly, in trial and temptation, should be slow to speak. (3:1-12.)

My brethren, be not many masters — that is, teachers. The office of teacher was in such honor among the Jews that many, however ill qualified for its discharge, were eager to assume it. Hence, our Lord's injunction. Matt. 23:8-10, and Paul's warning, Rom. 2:17. The same self-pleasing vanity led many to undertake the work of exposition and instruction in the early churches. This vain ostentation of knowledge already had led to wrangling, and produced much disorder, as it did subsequently in the Church at Corinth. (1 Cor. 14:29.) The Wanting is not against teaching; but against the conceit which led the incompetent to set themselves up as teachers, and to swarm into the office. [Says Alford, showing the connection of this exhortation with what precedes it, "Become not many teachers." The more the idea prevailed that faith, without corresponding obedience, was all that is needful, the more men would eagerly press forward to teach. — A. H.] "Wise is the old Jewish maxim, "Love the work of a teacher; but strive not after the honor." The warning is not against free, mutual exhortation (1 Cor. 11:26-33), but against the abuse of this privilege by the forward and contentious.

Knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. By a sudden change of person James applies the warning to himself also. "Condemnation": literally judgment, usually in the New Testament expresses an adverse decision or a sentence of punishment, as in 2:13; John 12:31; 1 Tim. 5:24. The language of our text seems borrowed from our Lord's warning to the Scribes and Pharisees, the blind and hypocritical guides of the Jews. (Malt. 23:14.) In such a case, the condemnation is greater than in that of those who do not undertake to teach, because their influence for evil is greater. (John 9:41.) A solemn thought for those who undertake to teach and rule others, without concerning themselves as to the improvement of their own faulty character and evil lives!

2. For in many things we offend all. The text confirms the last clause of the foregoing verse. We all fail in duty — literally, stumble; and so become liable to condemnation; but there is special danger of transgression 'in word,' for the proper management of the tongue requires the highest wisdom. The reference in the first clause of the text is not to the transgressions of teachers or their errors of doctrine, but to the various moral defects belonging to all men.

If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man. Instead of 'any man,' read any one. 'Word' does not relate to teaching only, but to speech in general; Syriac, discourse. 'A perfect man' is an adult (1 Cor. 14:20; Heb.5:14), one who has attained the end of his development. As applied to a Christian it indicates one whose moral growth is complete (Heb. 12:23), and whose trained and vigorous powers are in harmony with the will of God. The control of speech is the evidence that one has attained this standard of Christian manhood. That absolute perfection is not meant is shown by the first clause.

And able to bridle also the whole body. Omit 'and.' He who controls the tongue has all the other members subject to his command. The desires of the evil heart, which lead to sin (Matt. 15:19), are represented as pervading the members of the body, and dwelling in them (Rom.7:23); but he who has mastered the most reluctant of these organs has already performed the most default act of Christian virtue, and is now monarch of himself. In the verb to 'bridle' the metaphor of chapter 1:26 is recalled.

2. Reasons for the judgment denounced against the sins of the tongue. 3:3-12.

a. The wonderful power of the tongue. 3:3-6.

b. The power of man, the lord of Nature, to control the tongue. 3:7-12.

3. That the mastery of the tongue aids the mastery of the whole body is illustrated by a comparison: The case is like that in which we manage horses by bits in the mouth. Behold is to be rejected, but the particles which take its place (but if) are awkward in English. It would be best to render the whole verse. When we put bits into the mouths of horses, that they may obey us, we turn about their whole body. The use of the bit is at once the assertion and the means of mastery: it controls the mouth and the whole creature. As James is treating of the control of the tongue, the figure is happily selected. The moral lesson lies upon the surface of the text. He who has so great and easy a mastery over a brute creature, willful and powerful, should be able to govern himself.

4. Behold calls attention to the second comparison, which to James must have been the more impressive, as connected with his personal recollections of stormy Galilee. The rudder governs the huge bulk of the ship, even when the vessel is driven by furious winds. The rudder is described as very little, the superlative strengthening the contrast. Like a ship in the tempest is man amid the temptations and trials of life.

Whithersoever the governor listeth — literally, whithersoever the desire of the helmsman willeth. Such is the original, which is given in a condensed form in our version. Etymologically a 'governor' (gubernator) is a helmsman, the pilot, who stands at the rudder and guides the ship, and whose resolute will prevails against the violence of revolted nature.

5. Here the comparison is applied to the subject in hand. For even so read so also. The tongue is a little member of the body, as the rudder is but a small part of the ship. Yet it boasts great things; the idea is, not that the boasting is empty, and that great things are not performed by the tongue, a thought which would be inharmonious with the connection; but that it is so conscious of its power, as to be possessed by arrogant presumption. James here speaks of its boasting great things, rather than of its working great things, because the effects of its power are commonly deplorable, as he immediately proceeds to show.

Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! Instead of 'matter,' pile of materials, forest, is to be preferred as the primary meaning of the word, and as making the figure much more striking and beautiful; so in the Syriac. It was a common figure among the classic writers. Stobffius says: "A little torch can burn the summit of Ida." Homer speaks of "a spark, scarce seen, which fires a boundless forest." And Virgil draws an animated picture of the desolation resulting from fire dropped by a careless shepherd, which at length reaches the tree tops, "and wraps the forest in a robe of flame." The same figure occurs in Eccles. 11:32, and frequently in Philo. In its germ it is to be found in Prov. 10:27. In a country abounding in olive plantations, like Judea, these forest fires were especially destructive; the fire described by Virgil ("Georg" 2:302-314) originated among the wild olives. Here again James draws a figure from his own experience. And the tongue is a spark that may set families, churches, and societies on fire. [By a change of reading, which has much in its favor, and is adopted by Tischdorf, Tregellcs, Alf., Mey., Westcott and Hort, and others, this clause must signify either: " How great a fire, how great a forest does it (viz., the tongue) kindle; " or, "how small a fire kindles how great a forest" — the word which takes the place of " little" before "fire," meaning ordinarily "how great," but sometimes " how small." I prefer the second interpretation: "How small a fire kindles how great a forest! " By omitting 'and' before the clause, Davidson translates: "Behold, how great a fire, how great a wood, does the tongue kindle! A fire, the world of unrighteousness, the tongue sets itself among our members," etc. This is the reading and punctuation of Tischendorf. But the 'and' (καὶ) is supported by the uncials א A B C K L P against א, and should, therefore, be retained. — A. H.]

6. Here the comparison, in the latter part of the foregoing verse is applied. And from the mighty destructive jiower of the tongue it may be concluded that he who understands how to bridle it has indeed attained a complete and noble manhood, (ver. 2.)

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. Such a fire as I have described is the tongue, so insidious and so deadly. When surrendered to evil thoughts, desires, and purposes, it is a world of iniquity, in which every variety of evil finds a place, and exerts its destroying power. In the original, 'world' is emphatic — that world or the world. So is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body. A better rendering would be: So the tongue among our members is that which defileth, etc., which, although not precisely literal, expresses nearly enough the sense of the original. [The latest editors omit the word meaning 'so,' as forming no part of the original text. With this omission, Alford translates thus: "The tongue is that one among our members which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature"; and Davidson thus: "The tongue sets itself among our members, both defiling the whole body, and setting on fire the wheel of life"; and Huther, in Meyer's Commentary, gives a German translation identical in sense with Davidson's. — A. H.] Words are not mere idle breath which go forth and are lost in empty air. The impure or wrathful utterance is infectious to the blood of the utterer — a moral leprosy, influencing all the members and defiling all the actions.

And setteth on fire the course of nature — better, the wheel or circle of life. Life is represented as a wheel that is set in motion at our birth and rolls onward. The same figure occurs in Anacroon, "Ode 4."

For fast away our moments steal
Like the swift chariot's rolling wheel;
The rapid course is quickly done,
And soon the race of life is run;
Then, then alas! we droop, we die,
And sunk in dissolution lie.

The inspired writer speaks, as it were, in accents broken by indignation, in representing the terrible mischiefs of the tongue. Now it is a world of iniquity, a fullness of unrighteousness; now the axle upon which the wheel of life revolves and by which it is set on fire. The Syriac translator in striving to smooth the sentence has destroyed much of its spirit.

And it is set on fire of hell — literally, being set on fire of Gehenna. As the fiery tongues of Pentecost were from above, these tongues, burning with unhallowed fire, arc kindled from below. And the participle (the present) indicates that the flame is being continually communicated. The word Gehenna appears only in the Synoptic Gospels and here. It was the name of a valley to the west and south of Jerusalem, where children were burned alive by the idolatrous Jews in honor of Moloch, and is supposed from their piercing cries to have received its name, which signifies, " the valley of lamentation." After the horrid rites, once performed there, had been prohibited by Josiah (2 Kings 23:10), the place became a common, where all the filth of the city was deposited, and the dead bodies of animals were cast and consumed in flames that were kept continually burning. This horrible place was called the Gehenna of Fire, and was a symbol of hell, where the wicked will be punished forever, (Isa. 66:24; Matt. 5:22,29; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43-47; Luke 12:5.) Hence the idea of James in our text is that the evil tongue is inflamed by hell, is under the devil's control, is doing his work, and is preparing for his doom.

b. Man as the lord of nature has power to control the tongue. Ver. 7-12.

7. This and the following verse indicate the tameless power of the tongue which, to his disgrace, man, the lord of nature, fails to subdue. For every kind (literally, nature) of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents (reptiles), and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind. The enumeration is intended to embrace all creatures, those that walk, those that fly, those that crawl, those that swim. So in Gen. 9:2. Their nature is inferior to man's nature, and does homage to it. He has made the domestic animals his servants, the wild animals his vassals. The horse draws his chariotc; but when he wills the lion also submits to the yoke. The hound hunts for him; but if he demands, the cormorants will pursue the fish at his bidding, and the falcon strike his quarry in the air. He can call the timid fish and birds around him, and charm the serpent of its venom, and lure the scaly and savage leviathan from his deeps. History is full of instances in which man's nature has thus asserted its power over that of all other creatures. Cassian relates that the Apostle John kept a ta file partridge as a pet — a circumstance too frequent to be worthy of mention, except that it associates our text with the history of the disciple whom Jesus loved.

8. But the tongue can no man tame. 'But' introduces a contrast to the preceding verse. 'The tongue' referred to is not that of others, but one's own. Not even the glorious, powerful nature of man can repress its quick sallies and passionate outbursts. In the best it is but imperfectly tamed; in others it exercises an overmastering power. The tongue is personified as a wild creature.

It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 'It is' does not appear in the original; if left out, the close of the verse would be an exclamation expressive of moral indignation. Instead of 'unruly,' uncontrollable, the best authorities read 'restless,' the same word as in 1:8. Hermas says: "An evil spirit is calumny and a restless demon." 'Full of deadly poison ' may be an echo of Psalm 140:3, "Adders' poison is under their lips," which Paul quotes in Rom. 3:18. " A word of evil from the old Serpent consigned our race to death, and, like Satan's tongue, are in a degree the tongues of all his children." And perhaps more destructive than the words of the wicked is the language of wrath, impurity, or impiety, uttered by those who claim to be the disciples of Jesus Christ. The verses immediately ensuing show that James had the case of such wayward and inconsistent brethren especially in view.

9. Notwithstanding the difficulty of controlling it, the misuse of the tongue is inconsistent with the Christian profession, and deeply criminal and malignant. Therewith bless we God, even the Father. The best authorities substitute "Lord" instead of 'God,' as in the Syriac; hence it would be better to read our Lord and Father. _ 'Therewith' indicates that the tongue is the means and instrument we employ: it is repeated in the second clause to mark the contrast more distinctly. To ' bless God' is to celebrate his name and acts with praises (Ps. 145:21), recognizing him as the sovereign and majestic Lord, and the loving and gracious Father. (Matt, 11:25.)

Therewith curse we men which (who) are made after the similitude of God. James associates himself with those whom he addresses, because the sin he is denouncing is the sin of human nature. Yet it is not the less to be reprobated. To wish evil to men who, although defiled by sin, are yet spared by God, and have not finished their probation, is to arrogate to ourselves the right of deciding their destiny. Besides, even the sinner retains the similitude of God. In his intellectual and moral qualities man represents God on earth, has the lordship of nature, and is capable of knowing, loving, and serving the great Creator. (Gen. 1:26.) As God's noblest creature, and as our neighbor, he should receive from us, hot hatred, but love, (Matt. 5:44.) Even in man's fallen state "an indelible nobility remains." (Bengel.) If he is " the scandal," he is at the same time "the glory of the universe." (Pascal.) Hence he who curses man, sins against the Eternal and Blessed One, who made man, and who rules and loves him. To praise God and curse men with the same tongue is to maintain only tiie hollow semblance of piety. Thus James condemned the fierce intolerance of his own people, and not less that which, in succeeding centuries, has stained the records of Church history with tears and blood. The most bitter conflicts and crusades of tongue, pen, and sword have been waged on the Jesuitiotil pretext that they were prosecuted "for the greater glory of God." The frightful massacre of St. Bartholomew, when the streets of Paris ran blood, was celebrated by a Te Deim at Rome. A medal struck to commemorate the event bore the inscription: "Piety excited justice."

10. Out of the same mouth. The passage repeats in brief what has just been said. The emphasis is on ' same.' In Hebrew, the word for blessing and cursing is the same; hence it is a question among translators whether the appeal of Job's wife to the afflicted patriarch is ironical, " Bless God and die "; or is a cry of indignation and despair, "Curse God and die." [The Revised Version translates Job 2:9: "Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still hold fast thine integrity? renounce God, and die" — that is, bid farewell to God, and die. — A. H.] The tongue, as it were with one effort, can utter either a blessing or a curse, or both. But God has consecrated it to the kindly work of blessing. To use it both for cursing and blessing is to contravene the design of its Maker and the order of nature, and to pervert the precious and sacred gift of speech. The warning added is presented in the form of a general maxim. (Winer.)

11. The unnaturalness of the course reprobated is illustrated by a figure. Send forth at the same place — literally, spurt forth at the same orifice. 'The place' is the opening in the rock, through which the spring water gushes.

Sweet water and bitter — literally, the sweet and the bitter. 'Water' is understood. Palestine is a land abounding in springs (Deut. 8:7), many of which, however, are impregnated with mineral substances, as salt and sulphur. The springs on the hill country of Judea, sloping toward the Dead Sea, are brackish, and so are many others: Plumptre: "Compare the sweetening of the spring which supplied the college of the sons of the prophets (2 Kings 2:19), and the symbolic healing of the waters. (Ezek. 47:9.)" The opening at the fountain corresponds to the mouth, and the stream to the tongue, or the flow of speech; the uniformity of nature's inarticulate language condemns the man from whose mouth comes blessing and cursing. His course has no analogue in nature.

12. Another local comparison shows the impossibility of reconciling these opposites. The same truth is taught in Matt. 7:16, 17: "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" The idea is that the product in every case must correspond to the cause orkind from which it springs. Hence, the same source cannot produce opposites.

Can the fig tree bear olive berries? either a vine figs? The vine and fig tree were common in every Oriental courtyard. (2 Kings 18:31.) The olives abounded, and they gave its name to the height which, on the east, overlooked Jerusalem. These various gifts of Providence, for which the Jews were wont to praise God, are indicated as familiar instances to prove that nothing can produce aught that is contrary to its own nature.

So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. The best authorities read, Neither can salt water (in the spring) yield fresh. [Alford: "Neither can salt water bring forth sweet"; Davidson: "Neither can salt water bear sweet"; Bible Union: "Neither can salt water yield fresh." I do not find any word signifying "fountain," "spring" in the text, which appears to have the best support. The Revised Version, it will be observed, reads, "Neither can salt water yield sweet," and this is probably the best rendering of the Greek. — A. H.] In this declaration something more is meant than the unnaturalness of the conjunction of blessing and cursing, which is indicated in the previous verse. The conjunction is impossible; blessing and cursing cannot issue from the same lips. Those who curse men cannot praise God. The blessing is hypocritical, and hence distasteful to him to whom it is rendered; it is flavored and "tainted with the bitterness of the cursing"; it is not praise at all. Johnstone: "An unrenewed heart is a deep well of bitterness, and salt water cannot yield fresh."

III. Division, 3:13-4:17. The Godly UNDER Trial and Temptation should be Slow to Wrath and its Kindred Impulsive Passions. Compare note on 4:1.

1. Gentleness and moderation of Christian wisdom depicted. 3:13-18.

13. In this verse begins the third general division of the Epistle, containing the development of the admonition of 1:19, "Slow to wrath." The discussion extends to the conclusion of chapter 4. The first paragraph of

every case must correspond to the cause or I the division (ver. 1318) discriminates between the false and the true wisdom. The false wisdom was the kind of which James' readers boasted, and which, they supposed, qualified them to be teachers in the house of God. (3:1.)

Who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge among you? Literally, Who is wise and knowing. The direct question, with its immediate answer, gives vivacity to the discourse. There is a like construction in Ps. 34:12-14. The synonyms "wise and knowing" occur also in Deut. 1:13; 4:6, Septuagint, where they indicate the qualifications of those who are competent to exercise authority. Compare also the description of the false teachers of Isa. 5:20, 21, who were "wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight," who called "evil good and good evil"; who "put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." It would seem that James had this passage in his mind. (3:11.) He addressed those who claimed to have the moral character and the intellectual accomplishments which qualified them to be teachers in the church, and indicated to them what outward tests must indicate these claims.

Let him shew out of a good conversation his works. As 'conversation,' in the sense in which it occurs here, is obsolete, conduct should be substituted, as it should be in so many other passages. (Ps. 37:14; Gal. l:13; l Peter 1:15.) Let him show by good conduct his works, as the expressive manifestations of wisdom; so some. Others, with Neander, interpret 'works' as in apposition with "conduct" — "works performed in the gentleness expressive of wisdom."

The meekness of wisdom is the gentleness characteristic of wisdom, and proceeding from it. According to this last interpretation, which we prefer, the text would read, Let him show this, in his good conduct — his works in meekness of wisdom. The works of this sort would be the sign required, instead of the conceited and contentious self-assertion in which these teachers abounded. He who has true wisdom is apt to say but little about himself, and is willing even to sacrifice his own pretensions in the interest of peace.

14. But if ye have bitter envying and Strife in your hearts. So different from the meekness of wisdom was the temper of those whom James addressed. 'Envy' may easily assume the name of religious zeal; it was indeed the temper of the Jews against the Gentile converts (Acts 13:45), and would be more naturally cherished by one aspiring teacher against another. As the word in the original has also a good meaning (like the English word zeal which comes from it), bitter is introduced to indicate its true character here. 'Strife' may be rendered factiousness, party spirit — a temper so injurious to Christian fellowship, and so troublesome to the early churches. It was the besetting sin of the Jews (Rom. 2:8; 10:3; Acts 7:51), and it greatly disturbed the churches of Corinth (2 Cor. 12; 20), Galatia, (Gal. 5:20), and Rome. (Phil. 1:15.) It is the temper of hirelings (as the etymology of the word indicates) and of political candidates — not that becoming the disciples of the meek and lowly Jesus. 'Heart' (singular in the Greek) is in contrast with the speech of teachers boasting of their wisdom.

Glory not, and lie not against the truth. Glorying has reference to others over whom we esteem ourselves to have the advantage. Thus the Jews gloried over the Gentiles; pluming themselves over their superior religious privileges, while abusing them, and saying: "This people who have not the Law are cursed." And thus in their turn the Gentiles afterward gloried over the Jews. (Rom. 11:18.) Both needed to know that in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availed anything, nor uncircumcision; but a new creature. Lying against the truth has reference to the doctrine which they themselves acknowledged, yet which they repudiated b)' their partialities and hostilities against their own brethren. It was no single truth they opposed, such as "the brotherhood of mankind in Christ," as in the claim (Rom. 3:29), that God was the God of the Jews only; but they rejected the whole gospel of love, meekness, and long suffering, in making the Christian communion a theatre of envy and partisanship. This was a misrepresentation of the truth of God, and a hindrance to its advancement.

15. In this and the next verse the character of false wisdom is indicated: This wisdom descendeth not from above — better, This wisdom is not that which descendeth from above. True wisdom is heavenly in its origin and spirit, and is won by prayer, (1:5.) But the wisdom vaunted (ver. 14) has another character! and another source.

But is earthly, sensual, devilish. These three adjectives form a climax. Instead of coming 'from above,' the wisdom designated here rather and only belongs to earth, as indeed we find its expressions everywhere in secular life, among the societies of unregenerate men. (Phil. 3:19.) How different this from that heavenly wisdom displayed in the history of Jesus Christ! 'Sensual.' This is perhaps a good translation here; for no word which precisely answers the original exists in English. The term is rendered in Jude 19, as here, "sensual." In 1 Cor. 15:44, and 2:14, it is rendered, "natural." The Syriac paraphrases it. "from the devices of the soul." It applies to man as an animal, whose mental and emotional nature corresponds to and is apt to be engrossed by the interests and pleasures of the world. The subject is unfolded largely by Ellicott's " Destiny of the Creature," pp. 99-120, and is popularly, yet satisfactorily, set forth in President Hopkins' " Strength and Beauty," p. 176, seq. Perhaps our word, carnal, would most nearly express the true meaning. The wisdom referred to is carnal, as it harmonizes with the depraved desires and affections, and proceeds from them. It is carnal, as it arises in the impulses of a nature which has not yet received from the Spirit of God a higher life that apprehends God, communes with him, and lives under the influence of an unseen world. (1 Thess. 5:23.) Conscience, unselfish philanthropy and faith lie beyond the sphere of carnal and secular wisdom. Further, this wisdom is 'devilish' — literally, demoniacal, like that of the unclean spirits, who took possession even of the bodies of men in those days. James alludes to the demons more than once (2:19), for he himself had seen their unhappy victims. And now, in the bickerings, the envies, the bitter conflicts, the egotistical boastings, the crafty intrigues, and the false doctrines of those who wished to be teachers, he detected the demons in their endeavor to take possession of the body of Christ. The Apostle Paul instances some of the doctrines of demons, by which the faith and harmony of the Gentile churches was assailed, (1 Tim. 4:1-5.)

Note. — Cremer (p. 625) remarks that the three predicates — earthly, sensual, devilish — express a logical sequence and enhancement; earthly as the fit antithesis of 'from above; ' because earthly, therefore sensual (1 Cor. 15:48); therefore also destitute of the Spirit: and because destitute of the Spirit actually opposed thereto — that is, devilish.

16. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. A confirmation of the judgment pronounced against the false wisdom. It is condemned by its evil results. 'Envying and strife' may be rendered, as in ver. 14, envy and party spirit. The result of the indulgence of these unhallowed sentiments is a destruction of harmony, a society in disorder and uproar, a chaotic turbulence, which cannot come from God — for God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, (1 Cor. 14:33.) Parallel to our text is Prov. 26:28, Septuagint, where the original for the word "ruin" is the same as that rendered by 'confusion' in our text. A flattering mouth worketh "ruin." There is a tone of contempt in the expression every evil, or vile deed. It indicates something base and shameful, as in John 3:20, involving distress of conscience and scandal before the world. As all history proves, envy and partisanship have no respect to moral considerations. This spirit, now, alas! threatening the peace of our Republic, once wrought the ruin of the world.

17. The true wisdom is now described as to its spirit and expressions. What its character and value are is implied in the expression. That is from above. It is heavenly. (Prov. 2:6.) "The Lord giveth wisdom."

Pure. This is the eminent characteristic of heavenly wisdom; it is, first of all, chaste and stainless, free from any kind of vice. (2 Cor. 7:11; Titus 2:5) in Contrast with the wisdom that is sensual, (ver. 15.)

Peaceable. Peace follows after purity here, as in the Sermon on the Mount. (Matt. 5:8, 9.) The wisdom that is free from vice and self-seeking ever tends to harmony and concord. The practical effect of this temper is shown in the next verse, which indicates that James had the Sermon on the Mount in mind. Compare Matt. 5:9. Peace may well be valued by believers, as Christ's special gilt (Coi. 1:20); as a spirit which composes earth's discords, while it allies earth with heaven,

Gentle, or mild and forbearing (1 Tim. 3:3)j the Corresponding noun is rendered "moderation" (Phil. 4:5), "a readiness to waive all rigor and severity " (Conybeare); a willingness rather to suffer wrong than to provoke or perpetuate strife. Thus it is closely connected with 'peaceable.'

Easy to be entreated — tractable, ready to yield, easily persuaded by advice and correction, perhaps also gaining its ends by persuasion.

Full of mercy and good fruits — rich in the fruits of love, for love to man produces mercy (1:27; 2:13), and love to God is displayed in the manifold activities of a consecrated life. The good fruits are the contrast to every vile deed, (ver. 16.)

Without partiality, and without hypocrisy indicate the same qualities as the previous phrase, but couched in a negative form. The mercy of heavenly wisdom is not chilled by human respects, and its good fruits are not sacrificed to secular interests, and supplanted by pious semblances. Those whom James addressed were, many of them, partial in their dealings with men, and hypocritical in their conduct toward God. These various qualities here commended belong to the truly wise; hence, they are ascribed to wisdom itself.

18. Only where this heavenly wisdom is can the results which Christians are appointed to accomplish be realized. The fruit of righteousness, not the fruit which is righteousness — a genitive of apposition (Huther) — but the fruit produced by righteousness. This fruit is regarded as containing in itself seed, which being planted produces a harvest of a similar kind.

Peace is the condition upon which its successful cultivation depends. So that the gentle wisdom, which has just been described, is not only excellent in itself, but is necessary for the promotion of the cause of truth and virtue on earth.

Of them that make peace — better, by those who. The peacemaker is the successful sower of the immortal seed. "The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." Johnstone: " Love is the true spirit of the herald oft he God of love." In regard to this portraiture of true wisdom, as compared with Paul's picture of love, 1 Cor. 13, Plumptre remarks: "Differing as the two teachers did, in many ways, in their modes of thought and language, one fastening on the more practical, the other on the more spiritual aspects of the truth, there was an essential agreement in their standard of the highest form of the Christian character. One teacher held out the right hand of fellowship to the other. (Gal. 2:9.) Lovc is Wisdom, and Wisdom is love." This verse is in contrast with ver. 16, where the harvest sown by ambition and contention is indicated.

Note. — The peculiar form of the Greek implies not only that the work is performed by the persons referred to, but that the result is to be enjoyed by them. The dative implies possession. (Winer.) Angus, "Ann. Bib.": "Ambition and strife have their fruit (ver. 16); so the work of peace has righteousness for its fruit, 'sown' now, to be enjoyed forever." Compare Matt. 5:9.