James 4

Notes

Ver. 1-3. To dissuade you from a carnal and wrathful temper, seriously think how all the strifes and contentions which prevail among you take their rise from indulged lusts; and how the indulgence of corrupt affections renders your very prayers altogether unsuccessful, and wicked in their principles, motives, and ends. 4. And remember that whosoever of you professed Christians indulge such eager appetites after the pleasures and enjoyments of this world as alienate your hearts from God, are guilty of an adulterous breach of covenant with him, and of admitting his rival into your heart instead of him; for an excessive fondness for the things of this world, and of conformity to worldly men, stands in direct opposition to the holy nature and will of God, and is utterly inconsistent with that supreme love and affection which ye owe to him. 5. Do ye think the Scriptures of the Old Testament unworthy of your regard, which so strongly remonstrate against pride, envy, and covetousness, and represent our inward corruptions as so impetuous in their pursuits after earthly things, as to make us envy every one who hath more than ourselves?—Or do ye think that the Spirit of God, who dwelleth in all of us who are true believers, would excite such a worldly disposition in us! 6. No, he, and God by him, increases our humility, self-denial, love, and goodness, and thus disengages us from the gratification of corrupt affections; and therefore, to encourage our hopes and prayers for all needful assistance, he declares in his Word that he sets himself to oppose and debase them who are ambitious, haughty, self-conceited, and self-sufficient, placing their whole confidence and happiness in the things of this life, or in their own wisdom, strength, or deserts; but freely bestows more and more grace, comfort, and blessings, upon such as have humble thoughts of themselves, and of the emptiness of all earthly enjoyments, and place their whole happiness in himself. 7. In humble dependence therefore on his free favour and gracious influence, yield up yourselves obedientially and unreservedly to his direction, disposal, authority, and will, manifested in his Word and providence, and be content with such things as ye have. And if Satan, by subtle devices or furious temptations, attempts to dishearten you in or draw you off from the ways of duty, give not place to him, but exercise all your graces in opposition to him, and he will flee from you as a conquered enemy. 8. And if ye would maintain your ground, prevail against and get rid of temptations; be much employed in humble and fiducial approaches to God, through Christ, in the way of duty, and he will graciously come near to you, directing, relieving, and comforting you according to his promise. And whereas, through the influence of Satan and your own hearts, some of you have rendered yourselves notorious sinners before God, see that by faith ye apply the Word, blood, and Spirit of Christ for your purification, and beg of him to reform you from violence, murder, extortion, bribery, and other like wickedness of practice; and to purge your hearts from pride, envy, covetousness, and other indwelling lusts, and so thoroughly renew you in heart and life, that your cares and services may no longer be divided between him and the world. 9, 10. Instead of that jollity, mirth, and gaiety with which ye have shamefully gratified your sensual appetites, apply yourselves to deep penitential sorrow and evangelical religious mourning, on account of your provocations, and for fear of God's judgments—deeply humbling yourselves before him, whom ye have so often and so highly offended, and who knows and principally regards the secret workings of your hearts; and he, in his own time and way, will revive your drooping souls with a sense of his pardoning and the influence of his recovering grace, and will raise you above all your fears and troubles, and exalt you to honour and comfort in this world, and to immortal glory in the next. 11. And always carefully avoid rash censuring and reviling of one another, aggravating and needlessly exposing one another's infirmities, or raising and propagating false reports to each other's prejudice; for, if ye slander, rashly judge, and condemn your neighbours or fellow-Christians, ye practically condemn the wisdom, equity, and holiness of God's law, which forbids such conduct, and perhaps allows what you condemn; and if once ye pretend to censure God's law, ye plainly renounce all obedience to it, and exalt yourselves as judges above it. 12. When the almighty God, who has infinite power and authority to reward the obedient and punish the disobedient, is the alone Lawgiver and Lord of men's consciences, who can enact and execute laws as he pleases, how presumptuous is it for you, foolish, weak, fallible, and sinful creatures, to take upon you to judge and condemn any for that in which they are accountable only to God? 13, 14. And why are any of you so self-sufficient, and insensible of your dependence on him, as to promise yourselves long life or prosperity, and much trade on earth, without regard to him, when you, and all that you have, are in the most precarious and uncertain condition, entirely dependent on his sovereign will and providence, and may suddenly and unawares be cut off. 15-17. Nothing ought therefore to be either projected or pursued by you but in express submission to the favour, direction, assistance, and blessing of God; and your sinful and confident boasting, as if your life and transactions were independent of him, is extremely unchristian and shameful; and it is the more aggravated in your case, as the Scripture, as well as your own consciences, certainly testify to you that an humble and submissive manner of forming and declaring your intentions is alone right and good, acceptable to God, and suited to the relations in which he stands to you.

Reflections.—What dreadful work do the lusts of pride, covetousness, and envy make in the world! They create contention and strife in societies, religious or civil, or even in a man's own mind; excite wicked desires and attempts; lead to the neglect of prayer, or sinful and carnal requests; and produce an adulterous alienation of the heart from God, by an undue attachment to the world. Very hateful are they to God, contrary to the influences of his Spirit, and inconsistent with our dependence on him, either as men or Christians.—Extensive is the work of a Christian. Humbly should he submit to and hold familiar fellowship with God; resolutely guard against and resist the temptations of Satan; purify his heart and conversation, by a believing improvement of Jesus' Word, Spirit, and blood; humbly bewail and repent of his sinfulness; guard against all reviling or rash censuring of others, from a regard to God's authority; and in all his ways acknowledge and resignedly depend on his sovereign will.