rd

James 4

1 Having shewed the cause of all wrong and wickedness, and also of all graces and goodness, 4 He exhorteth them to love God, 7 And submit themselves to him, 11 Not speaking evil of their neighbours, 13 But patiently to depend on God’s providence.
1.From whence are wars and contentions among you? are they not hence, even of your lusts, that afight in your members?
2.Ye lust, and have not: ye envy, and have indignation, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, and get nothing, because ye ask not.
3.Ye ask, and receive not because ye ask a miss, that ye might consume it on your lusts.
4.Ye adulterers and badulteresses, know ye not that the amity of the world is the enmity of God? *Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world, maketh himself the enemy of God.
5.Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The cspirit that dwelleth in us, lusteth after envy?
6.But the Scripture offereth more grace and therefore saith, *God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
7.*Submit yourselves to God: resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8.Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, & purge your hearts, ye wavering minded.
9.Suffer afflictions, and dsorrow ye, & weep: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into heaviness.
10.*Cast down yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
11.Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, or he that condemneth his brother, speaketh evil of the Law, and econdemneth the Law: and if thou condemnest the Law, thou art not an observer of the Law, but a judge.
12.There is one fLaw giver, which is able to save, and to destroy. *Who art thou that judgest another man?
13.Go to now ye that say, gToday or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain,
14.(And yet ye can not tell what shalbe tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and afterward vanisheth away)
15.For that ye ought to say, *If the Lord will, and, If we live, we will do this or that.
16.But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
17.Therefore, hto him that knoweth how to do well, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Notes

1-a.
For the Law of the members continually fighteth against the Law of the mind.
4-*.
1 John 2.15
4-b.
He calls adulterers here after the manner of the Scriptures, them which prefer the pleasures of the world to the love of God.
5-c.
The imagination of man’s heart is wicked, Gen. 6.5 and 8.21.
6-*.
Prov. 3.34, 1 Pet. 5.5
7-*.
Ephes. 4.27
9-d.
The Greek word signifies that heaviness, which is joined with a certain shamefastness, as appears in the countenance.
10-*.
1 Pet. 5.6
11-e.
In usurping the authority of judging, which is due to the Law
12-*.
Rom. 14.4.
12-f.
He shows that this severe judging of others is to deprive God of his authority.
13-g.
We ought to submit ourselves to the providence of God.
15-*.
Acts 19.21, 1 Cor. 4.19
17-h.
He answers to them, which said they knew what was good, but they would not do it.