JRmes's C'hok.e of 6,nitrrtos e.nd 6p'l'/tr1<<(4 ! should not be sepe.rated, as in the A.V. To • If Rny mRn.' be won Id sny, 'seem to him• visit the fe.therle11 . . . and to keep him- irelf to he 6f'iirr1<os, a diligent observer of the self unspotted. Observe that our duty offices of religion, if e.ny me.n would renrler towards our fellow-men is placed first: theu a pure and undefiled 6pf1<Tit•l4 to God, let that towards ourselves. 'E1r1tr,d,rr«r6a.1 is him l-uow tbe.t this oonsists, not in outward the regule.r word for visiting the sick: of. lust:mtions or oeremonie.l observe.noes; nny, Ecclus. vii. 85, "Be not slow to visit the that there is a better 6p'l'/trit,l4 the.n thousands sick (µ+, ll1<1,., ,.,,.,,,.1ttn1T?r0a1 ii.p~o,trTov)." of rams and rivers of oil, ne.mely. to do The fatherless and widows (lipq,a.vol,s ita.1 justly and t.o love mercy, e.nd to we.lk hum- x>'ip,n). These ste.nd here (as so often in the bly with his God (Micah vi. 7, 8); or, Old Testament) as types of persons in dis- e.ooording to his own words, 'to visit the tress ; the " personie misere.biles " of the widows e.nd orphe.ns in their e.ffliction, and Canon Law (see e.g. Deut. x. 18 ; Ps. lxviii. to krep himself unspotted. from the world '" 5; lxxxii. 3; Isa. i. 17; and of. Ecclus. iv. (Trench on 'Synonyms,' p. 170 : the whole 10). "Be e.s a fe.ther uuto the fatherless, l'MSagll will well repay study. Referenoe and instead of an husband unto their mother; sllould also be made to Coleridge, 'Aids so shalt thou be as the son of the Most High, to Reflection,' p. 15). Bridleth not (µ~ and he shall love thee more than thy mother xaAiva-yr.,-yciiv). The thought is developed doth." To keep himself unspotted. Man's more fully e.fterwe.rds (see eh. iii. 2, etc., duty towards himself. (For 1£1r1r1.\ov, cf. 1 and for the word, cf. Polyc.,' Ad Phil.,' c. v.). Tim. vi. 14; 1 Pet. i. 19; 2 Pet. iii. 14.) Yer. 2i.-God and the Father; rather, J'rom the world. This olause may be con- our God and Father. The article (Tqi) nected either with .,.,.,p,iv or with 1£1T1r&l\ov, binds t.ogether e.,ji and DaTpl, so the.t they es in the phrase, 1<a.8apbs ci.1rb in Acts :a. 26,
HOMILETICS. Vers. 2--4.-Temptation as cause fur J°oy. What a reversal of the ordinary view, which regards trial and temptation as an unwelcome visitation I Prosperity is the blessing of the old covenant, adversity is the blessing of the new. Temptations should be regarded, not only as probations, i.e. as testing what we are, but as designetl also for moral discipline and improvement. The character the.t has never been tried may be innocent, but it is liable to be crushed. It is lacking in the strength and vigour which come from the formed habit of resistance, and therefore temptation may be the meallS of strengthening him who is subjected to it. It thus becomes an opportunity, and as such should be welcomed with joy. It produces patience, that "queen of virtues," which bears up under the heaviest weight, and purifies and ennobles the whole character. Patience mUBt next be allowed her "perfect work;" for the Christian can never consider himself T<.\e,os till he has come "to the perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." "Sweet a.re the uses of adversity, Whkh. like the toad, ugly and venomons, Wears yet a precions jewel in his head." (Shakespeare.) (On temptation regarded as an opportunity, see Mozley's 'l'arochial Sermons,' Sermon ii.) Vers. 5-8.-1. The need of wiadom, which Holy Scripture never, without a touch of irony, ascribes to any but God and good men, and which, therefore, is not merely intellectual wisdom, but rather that practical knowledge of things Divine which can en.able a man to say with the psalmist, " I am wiser than the aged, because I keep thy commandments." This it is, and not intellect and brilliancy, which is here promised to be given to all that ask in fait_h. (All_ through Scripture _th~ u~e of the terms "wise" and "foolish" should be noticed. It is the" fool" who said m his heart," There is no God." They are "fools" who make a mock at sin. The "wise" who shall "shine as the brightness of the firmament" are parallel with those" who turn many to right- eousness," etc.). 2. The reason why so many prayers remain unanswered. Man t.oo often betakes himself to prayer as a dernier ressort when all other means have failed, hoping against hope, not entirely disbelieving and yet not entirely believing; now cm. 1, 1-27.] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 7
buoyed up for e. moment with hope, and now again sinking into the depths of despair. 'l'o such a one there is not merely no promise; we are especially told that be is not to think that he will receive anything from the Lord. "A doubtful petitioner offers not to God e. steady hnnd or heart, so that God cannot deposit in it his gift" (Stier). " Faith and nnfaith can ne'er be equal powers; Unfaith in aught is want of faith in all." (Tennyson.)