The Pulpit Commentary — James — Section 42

practise it 11re not guilty of I\ trifling impropriety, but of direct and palpable sin both against the Old Testament law and "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus:" II. To TRAN8GRE8S IN mm POINT JS TO TRANSGRi;;i!l! TIIE WHOLE LAW. (Vere. 10 11.) Let no one plead that regpect of persons in the Church is so trivi11l a fault thBt it ~ught to be overlooked, especially in view of the social and pecuniary benefits which may be expected to result from it. The apostle assures us that partiality is a sin, and thBt he who indulges in it disobeys the whole moral law. To unthinking minds this latter assertion may sound very doubtful doctrine, leading them to ask-Is t'b.is statement of the nature of casuistry, or is it sober truth in the form of paradox? Does it not seem contrary to true moral perspective to affirm that a man who is noted for his blameless life " becomes guilty of all" when he "stum hies in one point" ? Do not some sins, like some diseases, shut out the possibility of others which lie in an opposite direction? But a little consideration will reveal the deep moral truth of this saying. For: 1. The Lawgiver is one. (Ver. 11.) E,ery precept of the law possesses the same Divine authority. The sixth commandment is invested with the same solemn sanctions as the seventh. "God spake all these words." 'l'o disregard any one precept, therefore, is to violate the entire authority by which the whole Law has been ordained, It fol- lows from this that: 2. The Law itself is one. How immeasurably "the royal law" is exalted, in its grand essential unity, above human systems of jurisprudence! The common law of England has to submit to have its defects supplied, and its rigours mitigated, by equity; but how very far yet are our common law and equity and statute law from coalescing into a unity! But the Divine legislation forms a perfect code; for it is a perfect reflection and expression of the mind of God. The Bible juris- prudence knows no distinction between law and equity. It is independent of glosses and commentaries. It abhors legal fictions. Having for its Author the God of love, its vital unity is found in the principle of loving obedience. "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: love therefore is the fulfilment of the law" (Rom. xiii. 10). So, to "stnmble in one point" is to break the whole law. For, as has been said, the law is a seamless robe, which is torn although only a part be torn; or a musical harmony, which is marred if one voice be singing out of tune ; or a necklace of pearls, from which a single pearl cannot be dropped without breaking the string upon which the others hang, and letting them fall to the ground. 3. The spirit of obedience is one, True reverence for the law is inspired by love to the Lawgiver; and therefore obedience is impa.rtie.1, and strives to he perfect. Our first parents, in eating the forbidden fruit, fell from the spirit of obedience, and dishonoured the whole law. In like manner, the man who habitnally breaks one of the commandments shows that in principle he is disloyal, and that he would transgress any other precept were he exposed to similar temptation to do so. CoNCLUSION. We should not be able to contemplate this subject without being impressed with such considerations as these : 1. The obligation which rests upon us to render perfect obedience to the law of God. 2. The impossibility of our doing so in our own strength, or during the present life. 3. The necessity of clothing ourselves with the righteousness of Christ.-C. J. Vera. I::!, 13.-Law and judgment. In these weighty words James reminds his readers that they are on their way to a dread tribunal where they shall be judged according to their works, and where with what measure they mete it shall be measured to themselves. I. THE CERTAINTY OF JUDGMENT. The apostle takes the fact for granted. This certainty is attested by: 1. Human 'IUJ,ture. Man possesses intuitively the conviction of his moral responsibility. Conscience anticipates even now the sentence which shall proceed from the bar of God. If he be not our Judge, the deepest dictates of morality are illusions. 2. Divine pro~. While there is abundant evidence that the world is under moral government, it is also plain that there are many toequalities which require adjustment. The world is full of unredressed wrongs and undiscovered crimes. Provi- dtnce itself, therefore, points to a day of rectifications. 3. The Word of God. The Bible everywhere represents the Eternal as a moral Governor; and the New Testament in particular describes the final judgment as a definite future event which is to take place at the second advent of Christ. II. 'l'RE STANDARD OF JUDGMENT, The poor heathen, sine«! tb,ey sin without law.,  1'fIE GENtRAt EPtsrrtE OF JAMES. 87