2. Warning against the sway of the passions. 4:1-17.

a. Evil consequences of the passions (ver. 1-3): They engender strife (ver. 1); they are illusive (ver. 2); and they deprive prayer of its efficacy. (Ver. 3.)

1. In this chapter, the earnest warnings against the indulgence of selfish and carnal desires are continued. There can be no peace in a nature or in a community where the passions are unbridled. From whence come wars and fightings among you? Omit 'from'; repeat 'whence' before 'fightings,' and read, Whence come wars, whence fightings? 'Wars' indicate a chronic state of disturbance, 'fightings,' the daily dissensions and quarrels; the two serve to indicate how deplorable was the condition of the churches addressed; they were like tumultuous battlefields. The language expresses the lively emotion of the writer. Notice the bold transition from 3:18, and the question, 'Whence and whence? '

Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? The negative interrogatory occurs as an answer in the affirmative. 'Hence' designates the thing meant as if with outstretched finger; then follows the indication in words. ' Lusts,' in the original, pleasures, used by metonymy for the desires they awaken. (Luke 8:14.) These were the cause of the discords and strife prevailing in the churches ('among you'), and disturbing the peace of individual Christians. Their lusts were, as it were, encamped or arranged for battle in the members. They availed themselves of every sense and organ, as a vantage ground for carrying on the war against the soul (l Peter 2:11; Rom. 7:23; 6:12, 13), and against the peaceful fellowship and beneficent work of believers in the church relation. The Jews of this age were divided into bitter sects and relentless factions. The accounts given by Josephus of their vindictiveness and blood-thirstiness and rapacity toward each other seem well nigh incredible. Even the danger of the extinction of their nationality did not serve to reconcile them; but they continued to despoil and slaughter each other even when the Roman battering rams were thundering at the gates of Jerusalem.

Note. — That the passions are included under this general division, which relates specifically to wrath, need awaken no surprise, for "wrath" (ὀργή) had a similar scope to that of our word passion. It originally indicated any passionate emotion (according to its root), any impulse, even that of love. Hence, it occurs in the phrase "to turn one's affections (ὀργὰς) toward any one." Compare Tholuck, "Serm. on Mount," Matt. 5:21,22. Historically and psychologically all the passions are vitally connected, especially those here referred to — vindictiveness and voluptuousness. Suetonius' "Lives of the Caesars" illustrates this truth; also the story of John of Leyden, the excesses of the French Revolution, and so many other historic instances. A word in Latin corresponding to the Greek term (we refer to the word ira) is used by the Roman poets to signify spirit. Consult the origin, with its twofold meaning, of our word orgies, whose relationship indeed to orgé (wrath) can be seen at a glance. The classical reader will recall in this connection the orgies of the Bacchanalia — the frightful mysteries of license and murder, discovered and suppressed at Rome. Livy, "Hist." B. 39, §§ 8-19.

2. The sad consequences of these lusts are now depicted, (ver.2,3.) Ye lust and have not. The progress of sin from desire to act is here depicted in a style similar to that employed in 1:15. There, however, it is described as producing death in the transgressor; here as producing war in the church. How hostility to man arises from licentious or covetous desire is illustrated in the history of David, and Ahab. (2 Sam. 11:1, 2; 1 Kings 21:2-4.) The lust here is a desire for worldly goods and pleasures. In these respects many supposed that the people of God ought to have the advantage over others. Hence, they were offended by persecutions; they were obsequious to the wealthy, as persons whom God favored. The rich, instead of helping the poor, despised them; and, instead of exercising diligence in giving, employed diligence in gaining more. And the poor envied the rich, and reproached them as worldlings. Yet in neither case did the eager desire secure the possession of what it craved.

Ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain. 'Kill,' in the sense of intense and murderous hate, as in 1 John 3:15. Plumptre, however, takes it literally, and supports the interpretation by the state of Jewish society, of which Barabbas, the bandit, was a type (Mark 15:7; John 18:39, 40), the four thousand men that were murderers (Acts 21:38), and the bands of zealots and Sicarii who were prominent in the tumults of the final war with Rome. The objection to this view is that such atrocities could scarcely have been harbored in the churches to which James was writing, however rife they might be in Jewish society. But the desire which awakened hostility to others, however it might express itself in word or deed, failed of its end: "Ye kill and covet, and cannot obtain." Syriac: "It Cometh not into your hand."

Ye fight and war. This is the condition to which lust consigns its votaries; it disappoints them, and makes them mutual tormentors.

Yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Omit 'yet.' The discontent that they had arose from their neglect of prayer. A contented and a happy lot is the gift of God. (Phil. 4:6, 7.) Even for earthly goods we are encouraged to pray by the promises of God. Yet the prayer that prevails with God must be dictated by his Spirit, (Ver. 3.) He gives no audience to hatred, covetousness, and envy, when these passions even assume the guise of the virtues, and prostrate themselves before the mercy seat.

3. Ye ask, and receive not, because eye ask amiss. Here James explains what he had just said. It was true that the forms of devotion were observed; but these wicked petitions were not entitled to the name of prayer. Hence they received no answer.

That ye may consume it upon (Syriac, "pamper") your lusts. The fault was not in the desire for temporal blessings, for relief and comfort in the present life; but in the end for which such blessings were sought — to pamper the appetites and passions. To consume (Mark 5:26) is here used in a bad sense — to squander. Earthly blessings may be sought for our own good, or that of others; but not to satisfy what is lowest in our nature, and to strengthen what was against the soul. Monstrous as is the thought that the Holy One will minister to our lusts, the hope is cherished by many in every age. The Italian bandit offers prayer for success in his career of villainy, and so does the Cornish wrecker; and in the case of other inconsistent and rejected worshipers, the danger may be the greater, just because the anomaly is less flagrant. But the most singular of all the perversions of prayer was its use by so many mystical saints of the Middle Ages, to inflame their sensual imaginations with amorous raptures — a profanations of the divine love and beauty which still prevails in the common language of the convent. Baring Gould, "Origin and Development of Religion," I., 360-362. The language employed by the most eloquent of all the mystics ("Vie de St. Therese," XXIX., 2) we dare not quote, although it is cited with enthusiasm by Balmes' "Protestantism and Catholicity," p. 427.

b. Ungodliness of the passions. Ver. 4-6. They involve enmity to God (ver. 4); and they contemn his word. Ver. 5, 6.

4-6. James has indicated the ungodly nature of these desires (ver. 4-6), in which the disorders of the early churches originated. Instead of Ye adulterers and adulteresses, the best authorities read, "Ye adulteresses." The word is used in the figurative meaning familiar to the Jews, indicating apostasy from God. (Ps. 73:27; Isa. 57:3 seq.; Ezek. 23:27; Hosea 2:2, 4. Matt. 12:39; 16:4; 2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 2:4.) The use of the feminine is not to be explained by the fact that James was thinking of adulterous souls, whose unfaithfulness to God was like that of a wife to her husband; or that he intended to stigmatize them as effeminate (women rather than men); but rather because he had in view the churches, whose love of the world dishonored God, and was a breach of the covenant they had made with him. [In supposing that James here addresses churches instead of individuals, the author agrees with several good commentators; but we fail to see any valid reason for the supposition. The preceding verses are evidently addressed to persons, rather than to churches as such, and if the reference here is to a turning away from God to the service of sinful passions, it is natural to suppose that the writer has in view men rather than ecclesiastical societies. That the feminine is used is due to the fact that Christians, whether men or women, are conceived of as the spouse of God. — A. H.]

Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity With God? — better, friendship with the world. The world, with its seductive objects, its ungodly multitudes, and the principles by which its course is directed, is an empire revolted from God and under the control of his adversary. (1 John 2:15; 5:19.) Hence, devotion to it is incompatible with allegiance to God. (Matt, b:24; Luke 16:13.) The idea of friendship with the world implies conformity with worldly examples, the pursuit of honor and riches as supremely desirable ends, and a prevailing and paramount desire for the favor of the world — a course incompatible with the discharge of the duties due to God. (James 1:27; Rom. 12:2.) The text is an allusion. to Christ's declaration in Matt. 6:24. The same doctrine also inculcates in Rom. 8:7.

Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. A conclusion drawn from the principle just asserted. He who is ''minded to be" (compare Matt. 11:19), or who "desires to be" a friend of the world ('will' here is something more than a mere auxiliary), and hence adopts a worldly policy, and cultivates worldly fervor and associations; 'becometh' the enemy of God. The principle involves and necessitates antagonism to God's will; a heart set upon the world must be averse to religion. It was precisely this antagonism between the world and God's kingdom which drove the apostles from Jerusalem, and laid upon James the weighty responsibility of the Jerusalem pastorate. (Acts 12:17.) Baumgarten's "Apos. Hist.," § 20. Instead of " becometh," Cremer translates, "takes the character or condition, comes forward, appears," p. 303. [There is no article before the word 'enemy' in the Greek, and there seems to be no good reason for inserting it in English. The meaning of James may be thus expressed: 'Whosoever therefore makes it his choice or pleasure to be a friend of the world, takes his position as an enemy of God.' — A. H.]

5. The spirit of the world is condemned by the express teachings of God in his word. (Ver. 5:6.)

Do ye think that the scripture saith (it) in vain — speaks falsely or emptily. As this form of expression would seem to indicate a quotation, the words immediately succeeding have been diligently sought for in the Old Testament, but they cannot be found there. They are not in Scripture, nor, according to our view, did James intend to quote any other Scripture than that occurring in the next verse, "God resisteth the proud, etc." (Prov.3:34.) This quotation is suspended until James in his prompt and spirited way mentions and answers an objection. The meaning will be made clear by repeating 'do you think' before the second clause of the verse, as introducing the opinion of a world-loving and self-excusing objector.

The spirit that dwelleth within us (the better authorities read, which he planted in us) lusteth to envy (enviously). Do you say this, laying the charge of your worldly rivalries and animosities and discontents upon your Creator? Do you claim that an infirmity of nature, for which you are in no wise responsible, constrains you to feel and to live as the world does? The Holy Spirit is not intended here, and indeed is referred to nowhere in the Epistle, which deals almost exclusively with Christian ethics in contrast with Christian theology. Nor can the idea of "envious lusting," or longing, be properly associated with the Spirit of all grace. Such a connection is harsh, and without any Scriptural warrant. But there can be no objection to identifying the indwelling spirit with man's corrupt will (compare 3:16), for which, however, the worldly-minded professor pleads that he is not responsible. The last clause of this verse and the first of the next are thrown in parenthetically. See a similar example in 4:14, and note on that verse.

Note. — The only other admissible interpretation of this difficult passage is that which finds the Scriptural quotation already given in the previous verse cited here without being repeated: " Do ye think that the Scripture saith this in vain? " Those whom James addressed "knew" from the Scripture (ver. 4) that there was opposition between God and the world. God had put enmity between the seed of woman and the seed of the serpent from the time of the first temptation. (Gen.3:is.) And the entire inspired history is but a narration of the successive incidents of this ancient, irreconcilable conflict. Now it finds expression in the avowals of worshipers, Ps. 139:21, "Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am I not grieved with them that rise up against thee?" Now it is proclaimed in the stern remonstrances of prophets. (2 Chron. 19:2.) "Shouldst thou help the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord? Therefore is wrath upon thee from the Lord." James may have had reference either to this pervasive doctrine of Scripture, or else to some special text such as those we have quoted. If, as is not unlikely, Matthew's Gospel, which was specially addressed to the Jews, was then in circulation among them, the reference may have been directly to our Lord's declaration recorded there. (Matt. 6:24.) " No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." This last reference, which Benson favors, fits the connection easily. In the previous verse James had alluded to the antagonism between the world and God, as a truth of which his hearers had already been apprised. Then, upon the present supposition, he adds: Do you think that the Scripture saith this falsely? In opposition to the divine testimony. Do ye argue that the spirit of passionate envy, which disturbs your peace of mind and your church fellowship (ver. 1), has been implanted in you by God, and therefore cannot be contrary to his will? The error here advanced James had already confuted (1:13-18) by showing that it is contradicted by human experience and by the divine perfections. Accordingly, he contents himself now with showing that the infirmity of spirit is no justification of envy and strife. He says: God has given you grace superior to the lusts of nature; he has made provision for your relief in spiritual conflict. You have but to humble yourselves before him, in order to be delivered from envy and vain glory toward your fellows, (ver. 6.)

[De Wette supposes that the word spirit (τὸ πνεῦμα) here means the Holy Spirit who dwells in the hearts of Christians and loves them even to envy — that is, loves them with such ardor as to be envious, humanly speaking, of any hold which the world has on their affections. He would translate the passage thus: Or do ye suppose that the Scripture saith (this in ver. 4) in vain? Unto envy doth the Spirit which he caused to dwell in us love (us). But he giveth greater grace (than if he did not thus love us). I should hesitate to pronounce this an impossible sense. — A. H.]

6. But he giveth (the) more grace — Syriac, "Superior grace." Thus, almost in a word, does James crush the objection. Man's infirmity is no excuse for his transgressions, for God adapts his gifts of grace precisely to the needs of those who require and ask his succor. To those whose need is greatest the largest measure of grace is given. Thus the way is prepared for the quotation he has promised; the connection requires that wherefore he saith should be rendered wherefore it (the Scripture) saith, which introduces the suspended quotation.

God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble. The proud are those who seek for worldly advancement and mind high things (Rom. 1-1:16), and who therefore shrink from the reproaches and sacrifices connected with fidelity to the gospel. But in thus seeking worldly gains and glories, under whatever pretext, they incur the loss of the divine favor. The humble are those who, whatever may be their earthly station, recognize their spiritual weakness and poverty, and condescend to men of low estate. They cheerfully assume the cross of Christ, and trustfully rely upon God for strength and wisdom. And to these the grace they need is given. We may judge that this text was a favorite one among the early believers from its being quoted by Peter as well as James. (l Peter 5:5.)

c. Means of overcoming the passions. Ver. 7-10.

7-10. The practical conclusion follows. The submission to God is all that is needed to relieve the infirmities of nature, and to give victory in the sorest spiritual conflicts. The appeal is not to the proud (ver. 6) only (Huther), but to all. Nor is the submission that of obedience onlj-, but rather of dependence and trust. They who put themselves under God's care and government will find mercy and grace for everyday of need. (But) Resist the devil and he will flee from you. [The word 'but" should be inserted before "resist," according to the best editors and the earliest MSS. א A B. — A. H.] You need fear nothing from the enmity of the world, not even if it be impersonated in its prince. To resist God is ungrateful and rebellious folly; to oppose each other is to turn the Christian household into an arena of painful and inglorious strife. If you would show your manhood, arm yourselves against the devil, the author of all evil desires, especially of that presumption through which he himself fell, and to which he now tempts, in order that he may destroy you. If you must fight, if you aspire to glory, choose a foeman worthy of the steel; fight Satan, the malignant enemy of God and man. There may be, as Plumptre suggests, an indirect reference here to the history of our Lord's temptation. As Christ was prepared by gifts of the Spirit for that dread encounter, so the tempted believer may be assured that God will impart all the grace he needs (Ver. 6) for success in his spiritual conflicts. In this passage James gives an additional proof of the truth of the principle laid down in 1:14. As God is not the Author of sin (1:13), neither on the other hand can Satan betray into sin without the consent of the human will. Man's moral nature, when submissive to the control and guidance of the Holy Spirit, is unconquerable by all the arts and arms of hell. The right of direct appeal to God's word and his throne for grace and guidance (misnamed the right of private judgment) is clearly implied in the passage.

8. To the last admonition succeeds another, which also has a promise connected with it. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. God's fellowship is sought by repentance, faith, and prayer. Drawing nigh to God indicates a trustful and habitual resort to God amid life's trials and temptations, and pledges divine help to those who thus approach him. The verb occurs in Hosea 12:6, "Wait on " thy God continually. A similar lesson is given in 2 Chron. 15:2; Isa. 57:15; Zech. 1:3. It is not the same as "walking with God," like Enoch (Gen. 5:24), although he who draws nigh unto God will also walk with him, and show in character and life the effect of so high an association.

Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. This is added to show that something more than acts of devotion are necessary; the conduct must correspond to the profession. Nor did the ceremonial ablutions of the Pharisees suffice. Even the heathen Seneca knew that "no sea, no rivers can cleanse the right hand stained with crime and blood." The 'sinners' who were serving the lusts of the world (ver. 4) must cease to do evil and learn to do good. (Ps. 24:4.) The doubleminded (1:8; Syriac, "divided in mind "), who, while they wavered, showed that their hearts rather belonged to the world than to God, must submit their hearts to the influence of a Divine Spirit, and cultivate unfeigned love for the brethren. (1 Peter 1:22.) True piety is chastity of spirit; in its inner sanctuary God alone is shrined. The best comment on this passage is found in the Sermon on the Mount, where our Lord condemns the double-mindedness of the Pharisees. (Matt. 6:19-34.) " They professed to have their hearts set on heaven, while yet they were engaged in laying up for themselves treasures on earth. But where the treasure is, there will the heart be also. (ver. 19-21.) Their eye was not single in its aim, and therefore their spiritual vision was clouded and obscure, (ver. 22, 23.) They attempted to reconcile the incompatible services of two opposite masters — God and Mammon, (ver. 24.) They were cumbered and anxious about the things of this world, instead of seeking as their first and great concern the kingdom of God and his righteousness with the simple faith that all other things necessary would be added unto them." (ver. 25-34.) (Forbes' "Scripture Parallelism," 217, 218.) [The brevity of the original is very spirited, viz.: "Cleanse hands, sinners; purify hearts, double-minded"; or supplying ye: ''Cleanse hands, ye sinners; purify hearts, ye doubleminded." — A. H.]

9. Repentance is the way of return to God. This sorrow for sin is described and emphasized by three words. Be afflicted — spoken primarily of bearing external trouble, here for the sense of distress, as in Rom. 7:24: "O wretched man that I am." It is incorrectly referred by Grotius to bodily austerities, which in themselves have no religious value.

Mourn and weep. These words are frequently found together, as in Neh. 8:9; Mark 16:10. The Jews rent their garments, and used sackcloth and ashes in sign of mourning; and tears express grief in all ages and among all peoples. Here, as in the texts to which allusion is made (Luke 6:21,25), the sign is employed for the thing signified.

Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Let the consciousness of your eternal wretchedness eclipse the joys which life's seeming prosperities awaken, and thus work repentance and salvation. (2 Cor. 7:10.) The external change from laughter to mourning is a figure for the change of feeling, as the last clause shows. Heaviness — dejection, such as is shown in casting down the eyes in shame. The worldly pleasures they had sought for and enjoyed should produce a sense of shame and deep distress before God. (Prov. 10:23.) The passage recalls the figure of the Publican (Luke is:13), who "would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven" — not, indeed, to commend the attitude, but the penitential sorrow it expressed. In the second half of the verse is exhibited the parallelism of members, the well-known peculiarity of Hebrew poetry, which occurs also in the New Testament when the style rises to the elevation of rhythm. The parallelism is sometimes synonymous as here, and sometimes antithetic. (Winer.) The species of parallelism occurring here is also known as gradational; it is described by Forbes, " Symmetrical Structure of Scriptures," pp. 5-17.

10. Conclusion of the exhortation, based upon the assurance of ver. 6. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord. This passage resembles, but is not parallel to 1 Peter 5:6, which indeed is founded upon the same text (Prov. 3:34), but applies it to submission under affliction. Here James enjoins self-humiliation in the presence of the omniscient and offended Lord. The son of Sirach says: "Those who fear the Lord will humble their souls before him." (2:11.)

And he shall lift you up — better, and he will exalt you. An allusion to our Lord's words in Matt. 23:12; Luke 14:11. Yet this contrast often occurs elsewhere, as Job 5:11; Isa. 57:15; Ezek. 21:26. The promise relates as well to the present hidden, as to the future revealed, glory of the humble Christian. (Huther. 1 The humble sinner receives the divine favor, and enjoys the happiness arising from the divine fellowship. "The degraded worldling is 'lifted up' to a sphere of elevated thoughts and sublimer pursuits. The mourning penitent is 'lifted up' to the heights of a pure, giver celestial happiness. The slave of Satan is 'lifted up' to those heavenly places in which the King of Glory sits with his servants, and calls them friends." Patterson, "Expos." Compare Matt. 5:3, 4.

d. James urges (ver. 11-17) a warning against the passions on account of the presumption they inspire in our estimates (ver. 11, 12), and in our projects in secular life. Ver. 13-17.

11. Speak not evil one of another — better, Speak not against one another. (So the Syriac.) This admonition is connected with the preceding by the principle that humility before God carries with it lowliness toward his children. The frequent returns of the writer to this subject show that he is dealing with "the ever-besetting sin of his time and people." The sin condemned is calumny, which magnifies the faults and depreciates the virtues and character of others. The unnaturalness of the sin is already indicated by the relationship that Christians bear to each other. They are brethren, the children of the same Father, and should take no part in Satan's work of backbiting. (Rev. 12:10.)

He that speaketh evil of his brother (the passage must be rendered, speaketh against his brother), and (or) judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law. Speaking and judging are nearly synonymous; but the speaking presupposes the judgment. Calumny against a brother is evil in its source before it flows out into speech. Calumny is a violation of the law of love, which it condemns as of no authority, or as not founded upon right. It is more particularly an express violation of the law of Christ, who forbids the unkind judgments that prevail in common life. (Matt.7:1.)

But if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. The calumniator thus leaves the position which becomes him, as a subject of law. The law is promulgated, not that he may judge it, but that it may judge him. He is required to do it. But instead of rendering it a loyal obedience, he makes himself a judge, and promulgates a law by which his neighbor is condemned or absolved — a criminal presumption, as James now proceeds to show. Perhaps it may even be found that the law of God permits what the censorious professor condemns, in which case his condemnation of a brother condemns the law which absolves him, and directly impugns the wisdom and holiness of the Heavenly Lawgiver.

12. There is one lawgiver who is able to save and destroy. Tischendorf adds the words, "and judge," after lawgiver; so also the Syriac [with א A B P, Coptic, Ethiopia Versions. — A. H.] The text is more forcible in the original than in our Version; it may be rendered, One is the lawgiver and judge, he who is able, etc. (Rom. 14:4.) The judgment which discriminates the characters and seals the destinies of men belongs only to him who has given the law. Compare 1 Cor. 4:3-5. Besides a law is of no avail unless it have its sanctions; hence our sentence is idle, for we cannot execute it. The law has no efficacy unless administered by an Almighty and Eternal Judge (Matt. 10:28), " who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Who art thou that judgest another? The same rebuke in the same form is administered by Paul in Rom. 14:4. Instead of another read a neighbor (so in the Syriac), without the personal pronoun, as Mark 12:33; Rom. 13:10. The insignificance of the man is shown by contrasting him with the One Lawgiver and Judge of all. The standards of right among men vary; they know little of the law, and less of the hearts of others, and they are themselves the transgressors of law. When such beings undertake "to judge of motives and character without tangible and most convincing evidence," and on this ground pronounce unfavorable judgments against each other, they arrogate to themselves a wisdom, holiness, and power to which they have not the shadow of a claim. [Davidson's translation of ver. 11 and 12 represents the Greek text, in so far as the definite article is concerned, correctly. "Speak not against one another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother or judgeth his (literally the) brother, speaketh against law and judgeth law; but if thou judgest law, thou art not a doer of law, but a judge. One is the lawgiver and judge, who is able to save and to destroy; but who art thou that judgest thy (literally the) neighbor?'' — A. H.]

13. Now is shown the folly of the carnal desires and secular plans which lead us to forget our dependence upon God. (ver. 13-17.) Go to now, ye that say — better. Come now, etc., awakening attention. Here the imperative is used as an interjection as in § 1 a call to many, to whom the discourse now turns. The persons whom James addresses are worldlings, whether unconverted members of the Christian community, or aliens who persecuted the brotherhood and blasphemed the name of Christ. (2:7.) There is no reason to restrict the warning to either of these classes specifically. The writer addresses those who are the votaries of the world, and who will continue in its service notwithstanding his admonition. Hence his severity. Our Lord addressed the same class in the parable of the rich fool. (Luke 12:16, seq.) The same tone of contemptuous indignation which appears in the parable (ver. 20) is here manifest.

To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain. Some manuscripts have " to-day and to-morrow." This reading, which, however, is probably incorrect, would indicate a two-days' journey. 'Such a city' indicates some definite city to which the traveler proposes to journey. Instead of 'continue there a year,' etc., read, spend there a year, etc. The language describes the spirit of "the strangers of the Dispersion" then and now; and also expresses the confidence with which those whom James had in view anticipated the future. The aim of these journeys and business adventures was to get gain, which worldly men regard as true success in life. They turn this scene of probation into a

market, as once the sacred precincts of the temple were invaded for the sale of oxen and sheep and doves. And the calculations of the future are made without any thought of God, or any apprehension of death. The repetition of the 'ands' well expresses their presumptuous confidence. A large class of Oriental merchants are peddlers, restlessly adventuring from city to city in pursuit of gain. See "Arabian Nights," passim, and Bush's " Illustrations " on James 4:13. As for the Jews, they were widely distributed over the Roman Empire at the date of our Epistle. Strabo said: "Already a Jewish population has entered every city." The Jews occupied two of the five wards of the great commercial city of Alexandria. They had seven synagogues in Rome. They were in North Africa, and had penetrated to the banks of the Danube and to the remote coasts of Spain and Britain. And everywhere they were busily engaged in trade. Uhlhorn, "Conflict of Christianity," pp. 83, 84. Alzog ("Eccl. Hist.," §29) indicates the commercial spirit as an active cause of the Jewish Dispersion from the great metropolitan centre of Alexandria, where the Macedonian conqueror had permitted a Jewish colony to settle.

14. This verse is a parenthesis, interrupting for a moment the progress of the discourse. The writers of the epistles employ parentheses to express sometimes a limitation, sometimes a corroboration, sometimes a reason or more precise explanation, as here. (Winer.) Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. Carnal security should be disturbed by the uncertainty of the future. (Prov. 27:1.) "Boast not thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." Not careless presumption, but trust in a wise and merciful Providence, relieves the anxieties of life. (Matt.6:34.) Instead of 'whereas ye,' read ye who, which is the literal translation, and brings out the parenthetic character of the verse.

For what is your life? It is even a vapor (literally, for ye are a vapor) that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away. Even life is uncertain. No one can tell whether he will be alive on the morrow. The question means, Of what character is your life, implying its nothingness? Compare 1 Peter 2:20. " What glory is it? " This suggestion of the vanity of life is confirmed by a familiar figure (Job 7:7; Ps. 102:3), to which the connection of the life with the breath gives a striking appropriateness. In cold air the breath becomes visible in the form of vapor which soon disappears. The correct reading, "Ye are a vapor," gives peculiar strength to the figure. The warning is specially applicable in the case of the traveler (ver. 13), to whom the vehicle or vessel in which he sets forth may prove his coffin: and the refreshment on the way may work as poison, and prostrate him before he reaches his place of destination.

15. For that ye ought to say — literally, instead of saying. The previous verse shows the folly of such expressions as are given in ver. 13. Now James shows how we should speak in regard to the future.

If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that — read, we shall both live, etc. Not only the doing, but also the living, as the condition of doing, depends upon the will of God. To the Lord there is nothing uncertain or uncontrollable in the future. And his people may therefore commit themselves trustfully to his guardianship, knowing that the wise, mighty, and loving "Will which sways all times and seasons is enlisted in their behalf; and clinging to the divine assurance that all things shall work together for their good. The pious expression of our text became common among Christians. Paul wrote to the Corinthians (14:19): "I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will." And the formula still retains its place in the familiar speech of Christendom. When it is not uttered in connection with our purposes for the future, and it need not always be (compare 1 Cor. 16:5), its spirit should always be retained — the sense of dependence upon God for life and for success in all its legitimate enterprises. (Luke 12:29, 30.)

16. A contrast to the spirit and conduct just described and commended. But now indicates how the case really stands. Ye rejoice in your boastings — better, Ye boast in your vainglory — that is, in the impious and vain arrogance which trusts in the stability of earthly things. This is the sphere or state in which the boasting takes place. The plural form of the noun cannot be given without awkwardness in English. It indicates the various degrees of vainglory, and perhaps also may suggest the various occasions or modes in which it betrays itself. The persons referred to were animated by vainglory, which their presumptuous speech revealed. (Ver. 13; Prov. 27:1.)

All such rejoicing is evil — 'all such boasting.' Thus the condemnation, already implied in the contrast, finds expression. There is a boasting that is reasonable and good, like that of Paul in Christ Jesus (Phii.3:3), and in his cross (Gal. 6:14); or even in the infirmities which afforded an occasion for the display of God's saving power. (2 Cor. 12:9.) But the boastings of the vainglorious are unhallowed in their source, are false in their grounds, and are pernicious in their results. Wherefore, let him "that glorieth, glory in the Lord." (2 Cor. 10:17.)

17. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin. The general law of conscience is here asserted; but in such a way as to emphasize the condemnatory sentence just uttered, and also to indicate that the principle has a special application here. The idea is that where the " becoming" in morals is known, the neglect of it is the actual doing of evil. In such a case positive guilt is incurred. (John 15:22; Luke 12:47, 48.) God Will hold him gravely responsible who has held his truth captive in unrighteousness. (Rom. 1:18.) Hence those who know the insecurity of life and the uncertainty of the future, and yet repudiate the facts of their condition, and their dependence upon God, in their far-reaching and presumptuous calculations, act inconsistently and unbecomingly: contradict their own convictions; and sin the more grievously', because they sin against familiar knowledge. But the principle also enforces all the moral lessons upon which the writer has been insisting, and thus prepares his readers for the recapitulation of the subjects discussed, and the concluding of the Epistle. Alford: "Therefore we see in this example the truth of the general axiom," etc.