He taketh occasion from the former exhortation, which pressed to rejoice in miseries, to speak of the opposite case, prosperity. Some suppose the words to be an irony,^ wherein the apostle discovereth his low conceit of worldly glory : all their exaltation is humiliation ; and therefore, if he will glory, let him glory in his vileness, and the un- settledness of his condition. That is all they can boast of — a low en- joyment that may be soon lost. But I suppose it is rather a direction ; for he speaketh by way of advice to the rich Christian or brother, which will appear more fully by a view of the words.
But the rich. — It noteth the noble, the honourable, those that are dignified with any outward excellency, more especially those that did as yet remain untouched or unbroken by persecution. Some observe he doth not say ' the rich brother,' as before, ' the brother of low degree/ but only generally ' the rich.' Few of that quality and rank give their names to Christ. But this may be too curious.
In that, &c. — You see here wanteth a verb to make the sense entire 1 Tho. Lyra.
VOL. IV. B
66 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JaS. I, 10.
and full. What is to be understood ? (Ecumenius ssath. alaxweado), ' Let him be ashamed,' considering the uncertainty of his estate ; others, much to the same sense, Ta-neivovadoi, let him be humbled in that he is made low, as if the opposite word to Kavx^t-f^Ooi, were to be intro- duced to supply the sense. So it would be a like speech with that, 1 Tim. iv. 3, where in the original it runneth thus, KtokvovTOJv rya/jLetv koI airkyeaQai twv /Spcofxcirav, ' forbidding to marry, and to abstain from meats ; ' where there is a defect of the contrary word ' commanding,' which we in our translation supply, and read, ' forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats,' as Epiphanius, citing that place, readeth it with that addition, kcoXvovtwv yafxelv koI KcXevovrcov aire'^ea- 6aL ^pwfjidTOJv. So 1 Tim. ii. 12, ' I suffer not a woman to teach, but to be in silence.' The opposite word to suffer not, or forbid, is under- stood, that is, ' I command her to be in silence.' So here, ' Let tlie brother of low degree glory in that he is exalted ; ' and then ' the rich be humbled in that he is made low.' Many go this way. But this seemeth somewhat to disturb the series and order of the words. _ I always count that the best sense which runneth with, a smooth plain- ness ; therefore I rather like the opinion of others who repeat Kavxacrdco, used in the former verse, ' Let him rejoice, the poor man, in that he is spiritually exalted ; the rich in that he is spiritually humbled.' So that grace maketh them both even and alike to God, and in regard of divine approbation they stand upon the same level — the poor that is too low he is exalted, the rich that is too high he is humbled ; which to both is matter of glory or joy.
He is made low. — Some say outwardly and in providence, when his crown is laid in the dust, and he is stripped of all, and brought into the condition of the brother of low degree. But this is not so proper ; for the apostle spcaketh of such a making low as will consist with his being rich ; made low whilst TrXoivo-to?, rich, and high in estate and esteem. Some more particularly say, therefore made low, because, though honourable for riches, yet, because a Christian, no more esteemed than if poor, but accounted base and ignominious. But this doth not suit with the reason at the end of the verse, ' because as the flower of the field he shall pass away.' More properly, then, it is understood of the disposition of the heart, of a low mind in a high condition ; and so it noteth either such humility as ariselh from the consideration of our own sinfulness (they are happy indeed whom God hath hurnbled with a sense of their sins), or from a consideration of the uncertainty of all worldly enjoyments. When our hearts are drawn from a high esteem of outward excellences, and we live in a constant expectation of and preparation for the cross, we may be said to be made low, though never so much exalted, which I suppose is chiefly intended, and so it suiteth with the reason annexed, and is parallel with that of the apostle : 1 Tim. vi. 17, ' Charge the rich men of this world that they be not high-mi r dcd, and trust not in uncertain riches.' The meaning is, that the glory of their condition is, that when God hath made them most high, they are most low in their own thoughts.
Because as the floicer of the grass he shall pass away. — He ren- dereth a reason why they should have a lowly mind in the midst of their flourishing and plenty, because the pomp of their condition is but
JaS. I. 10.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 67
as a flower of the field, which fadeth as soon as it displayeth its glory. The similitude is often used in scripture : Ps. xxxvii. 2, ' They shall soon be cut down as the grass, and wither as the green herb ; ' so Job xiv. 2, ' He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down ; ' so Isa. xl. 6, 7, ' All flesh is grass, and the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field. The grass withereth, and the flower fadeth, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it ;^ so also in many other places. I shall improve the similitude in the notes. Only observe here, that the apostle doth not say that his riches shall pass away as a flower, but he shall pass away, he and his riches also. If we had a security of our estate, we have none of our lives. We pass and they pass, and that with as easy a turn of providence as the flower of the field fadeth.