352 AN EXPOSITION', WITH XOTF.S, [JaS. IV. 6.
nialceth men loose and careless ; as when absolute promises are not considered in the analogy of faith. Absolute promises may be our first encouragement, but conditional promises must be our direction ; ihey are a plank cast out to save a sinking soul, but these show us the way how to get into the ark. Well, then, be not contented with sermon hints till you have gotten a pattern of sound words, and can discern the intent of (xod in the several passages of scripture, that you may rank them in their order ; as the apostle here showeth the reason why God saith ' he giveth grace to the humble.'
He saith. — Where doth God say so ? Some difference there is about referring this place to the right scripture from whence it is taken. Some conceive it was a holy proverb or known sentence among the Jews. But this cannot be. The phrase, he saith, seemeth to allude to some passage of scripture. Some refer it to P's. xviii. 27, ' Thou wilt save the afflicted people, and bring down the high looks:' but that is wide ; for humility here doth not im})ly a low, vile, and abject condition, but a grace and disposition of the mind ; and that place cited speaketh only of saving the afflicted pco])le of God. Many refer it to other general places ; but most probably it hath respect to Prov. ill. 34, where it is said, ' Surely he scorneth the scorners, and giveth grace unto the lowly.' The only doubt is how that ' he scorneth the scorners ' is here rendered ' he resisteth the proud.' I answer — It is done upon good grounds : partly because scorning and contempt of others is an immediate effect of pride ; and partly because it is so rendered by the Septuagint, avTLTurTeTai, toI<; v7r€p7](j)dvoi<;. And tlie apostles in their citations usually brought the words of that transla- tion, because it was much in use both among Jews and other nations. Some suppose James alludeth to Peter, 1 Peter v. 5-8, for this is but an epitome of that ])lace, and written after it, and so he may assert the divine authority of that elastic But I rather rest in the former opinion.
God resisteth the proud, auTiTdrreTai, standeth in battle-ari-ay, or in direct defiance and opposition against them : the proud man hath his tactics, and (;)lod hath his anti-tactics. Tiie word showeth that there is a mutual opposition between God and the proud: they bring forth their battalia against God, and God his battalia against them. And I do the rather note it because in the l*roverbs it is said, ' lie scorneth the scorners.' They slight God, and God slighteth them : ' Who is the Lord that I should fear him ?' and ' What is this Pharaoh ? ' They stand aloof from others, and God from them : Ps. cxxxviii. 6, * He knoweth the proud afar off.' Just as they do others;^ they ruin others to advance themselves, and God ruineth them: God still coun- teracteth the proud.
The proud. — In the Proverbs it is the scorners. Scorning is a great sign of ])ride : disdain of others comcth from overvaluing ourselves. God hath made every man an object of respect or pity; it is pride that maketh them objects of contempt, and in them their maker, Prov. xvii. 5. It is a description of wicked men to ' sit in the seat of scorners,' Ps. i. 1. It is a sin so hateful to God, that he taketli notice of disdainful gestures; ' Putting forth of the finger' in a scoff, Isa. Iviii. 9.
1 ' Magnum miraculum ! altus est Deus ; erigis te, et fugit a te.' — Aiujust,
JaS. IV. 6.] UrON THE epistle of JAMES. 353
But giveth grace. — It is meant spiritually, of such help and grace whereby they may overcome their carnal desires ; carnal lusts cannot be overcome but by the assistance of grace.
To ilie humble. — It is not taken for a vile and abject condition, but for the disposition of the soul ; and yet not for a moral humility, but for a holy broken ness and contrition ; as by proud, in a spiritual sense, are meant stiflp-necked and unhumbled sinners.
The main observations out of this latter clause, besides those hinted in the explication, are these: —
Ohs. 1. That of all sins God setteth himself to punish the sin of pride, avTirdTreraL. He abhorreth other sinners, but against the proud he professeth open defiance and hostility. One asked a philo- sopher what God was a-doing? He answered, Totam ipsius occu- pationem esse in elevcdione Jmmilmm, et superhorum dejectione — that his whole work was to lift up the humble and cast down the proud. It is the very business of providence ; the Bible is full of examples. This was the sin that turned angels into devils ; they would be above all, and under none, and therefore God tumbled them down to hell. Noluit Deus pati coJiabitationem superbicv, as one saith, God could not endure to have pride so near him. Then it wrecked all mankind when it crept out of heaven into paradise. You may trace the story of it all down along by the ruins and falls of those that entertained it. The time would fail me to speak of all. Pharaoh, and Herod, and Haman, and Nebuchadnezzar, are sad instances, and do loudly proclaim that all the world cannot keep him up that doth not keep down his own spirit. Herod did but endure the flatteries of others ; he had on a suit of cloth of silver, i and the sunbeams beating upon it, then the people cried, ' The voice of God, and not of man,' because the angels were wont to appear in shining garments ; now, because he rebuked them not, he was eaten up of lice : see Acts xii. Nay, I ob- serve God hath punished it in his own people ; there are sore instances of his displeasure against their pride. ' Uzziah's heart was lifted up,' 2 Chron. xxvi. 16, and then smitten of leprosy, and so died, dirb Xu'jrr)<i Koi d0vfji,La<;, out of grief and sorrow, as Josephus saith. David's numbering the people, and glorying in his own greatness, cost the lives of seventy thousand, So Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxix. 8, ' Wrath was upon him, and all Judah and Jerusalem.' These judgments on pride are sure and resolved. A man's pride will surely bring him low, Prov. xxix. 23. If they do not visibly light upon the first person, they overtake the posterity : Prov. xv. 25, ' The house of the })roud shall be destroyed.' All their aim is to advance their house and family, but within two or three ages they are utterly wasted and ruined. And I observe that judgments on pride are very shameful, that God may pour the more contempt upon them : ' After pride Cometh shame,' Prov. xi. 2 ; not only ruin, but shame. Herod in his royalty eaten up with lice. Pharaoh is not assaulted with armies, but with gnats and flies. Miriam smitten with leprosy, a nasty and shameful disease. Goliath, the swelling giant, falleth by the cast of a stone out of the sling of a ruddy youth.