Ver. 15. For ye ouglit to say, If the Lord luill, loe shall live, and do this or that.
^ ' Nemo tarn divos habuit faventes crastiniun ut possit sibi polliceri.' — Seneca. ' Prudens futuri temporis exitum Caligincsa nocte premit Deus.' — Horat. ^ So in both the first and second editions. Probably ' our whole thoughts.' — Ed. ^ 'Nescio an dicenda sit vita mortalis, an vitalis mors.' — Aug. Confess., lib. i.
392 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JaS. IV. 15.
Having disproved their confidence, he proceeded to rectify it by pressing them to a holy and reverent remembrance of God's provi- dence and their own frailty.
For ye ought to say, If the Lord will. — Here a doubt ariseth. Must we always of necessity use this form of speech, or such an express exception and reservation of providence? I answer — (1.) It is good to accustom the tongue to holy forms of speech ; it is a great help : the heart is best when there are such explicit and express exceptions of providence : ' If the Lord please,' ' If the Lord will,' ' If it please the Lord that I live.' A pure lip becometh a Christian, that they may be distinguished by their holy forms, as others are by their oaths, rotten speech, and unholy solicitations. Besides, it is useful to stir up reverence in ourselves, and for others' instruction. Such forms are confessions of divine providence and the uncertainty of human life. (2.) The children of God use them frequently : 1 Cor. iv. 19, ' But I will come unto you shortly, if the Lord will ;' so 1 Cor. xvi. 7, ' I must tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit;' so Kom. i. IQ, ' Making j-equest, if by any means I might have a prosperous journey to come unto you;' so Phil. ii. 19, ' I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly.' The children of God know that all their goings are ordered by the Lord ; therefore they often use these reser- vations of liis will and power. See also Gen. xxviii. 20, and Heb. vi. 3. (3.) The very heathens, by the light of nature, were wont to use these forms with some religion, and would seldom speak of any pur- pose of theirs without this holy parenthesis. Plato bringeth in Alci- biades asking Socrates how he should s])eak,i he answereth, Before every work thou must say, If God will. The Greek avv 6eoj, ^ by the leave or blessing of God, was commonly used in the beginning of every undertaking. What was the practice of the oriental nations, with the story in Bensira, you may see in Gregory's 'Observations on some Passages of Scripture/ cap. 20. And for the story of the great Turk's murdering one of liis Bassas for mentioning a confident purpose with- out any reservation of God's })leasure, you may see it in Lorinus and Salmeron on this place. (4.) When we use these forms, the heart must go ixhnvj; with the tongue : common speeches, wherein God's name is used, if the heart be not reverent, are but profanations. It is Austin's ^ counsel, Do you learn to have in your hearts what every one hath in his tongue : the speeches are common, but the signification is useful. (5.) It is not always necessary to express these forms: though there must be always either implicitly or expressly a sub- mission to the will of God, yet we cannot make it a sin to omit such phrases. The holy men of God have often i)ur[)osed things to come, and yet not formally expressed such conditions ; as in the third epistle- of John, ver. 10, ' \VliL'refore when I come, I will remember his deeds ;' and Rom. xv. 24, ' Whensoever I take my journey to Spain, I will come to you,' &c., and in other places.
' ''AXXa TTcDs XPV X^?"*" ; cui respondete : 8rt idv 0e6s id^X-rj.^— Plato in Timceo.
- See liriHsonius de Formulia, lib. i. pp. 68, 69.
•' ' Discite liabere in corde, quod habet omnis homo in lingua, rjuod vult Deus hoc agal : ipsa lingua popularis est plerunquc, sed doctrina ea.\utans.' — Aug. in Psal. xxxii. Cone. i.
JaS. IV. 15.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 393