The Pulpit Commentary — James — Section 58

forbearing, court,eous, considerate. Gentleness is just the outward aspect of the 11race of peaceableness, the vesture in which the peaceable spirit should be clothed. "Easy to be entreated;" accessible, compliant, open to conviction, and willing to listen to remonstrance. The wise me.n thinks more about his duties than his rights. "Full of mercy and good fruits ; " overflowing with feelings of kindness and compassion and finding a healthy outlet for these in acts of practical beneficence. " Without 11aria~ce;" ste&dy, persistent, unmistakable, never "divided in its own mind" ( eh. ii. 4 ; i. 6), and therefore never halting in the fulfilment of its mission. " Without hypocrisy;" per- fectly sincere, always really being what it seems and professes. Wisdom's ways are not tortuous. It knows that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. II. THE RESULTS OF TRUE WISDOM. (Ver. 18.) The fruit of the earthly wisdom is "confusion and every vile deed" (ver. 16), but the fruit of the heavenly wisdom con- sists in" righteousness." "Peace" is the congenial soil in which this wisdom takes root and grows ; the seed " sown" is the precious Word of God ; they "that make peace" are the spiritual farmers who scatter it in hope; and " righteousness" is the blessed harvest which shall reward their t.oil. The eternal recompense of the righteous shall be their righteowmess itself. The heavenly wisdom shall be its own reward in heaven. LESSONS. 1. The harmony between this doctrine e.nd the teaching of our Lord in the Beatitudes (Matt. v. 3-12), as well as that of Paul in his portraiture of love (1 Cor. xiii.). 2. The excellency and attractiveness of the true wisdom. 3. The rarity of its acquisi- tion, especially as regards its choicest features, even on the part of professing Christians. 4. The necessity of asking this wisdom from God himself. 6. The character of Jesus Christ our Model in our endeav.ours after it.-C. J. Vers. 1-12.-The ethics of speech. In these verses is dealt a rebuke against the craving for authority, which, as he reminds them, involves" heavier judgment." How? Partly as coming under judgment itself (see Matt. x.xiil. 8-10); partly as involving increased responsibility. And responsibility and judgment are very near akin. More especially, in these words of warning, he has in view that confused assembly of theirs. in which all vied t.ogether in attempts t.o speak. How great the danger of "stumbling" in such speech I A stirring up of impatience, rancour, strife. This leads to thoughts on the power of the tongue, for good and for harm; with practical conclusions as to the inconsistency of unbridled speech. L THE POWER oF THE TONGUE, L For good. (Vere. 2-5.) Speech? It is the quick, instinctive, volatile expression of the man. A subtle effluence, showing the inner life. And as the inner life is agitated and stirred, tossing first this way, then that, how readily may the words also be committed to the impulses of the heart I And as those impulses may so easily be, for the moment, wrong impulses, how easily may wrong words be spoken ! And so the transient feeling has fixed itself in a word that bites, and is not forgotten. And the feeling itself is fixed by the word that has uttered it; the man is committed to what otherwise he might have been glad to forget. James's first meaning, then, in the statement that the man who stumbles not in words is "a perfect man," is perhaps this: that one who has attained to mastery over so subtle and delicate an activity of the nature as speech, is perforce a man who has mastered all the more tangible and more controllable activities. The "whole body," all conduct, is bronght into subjection, if this element of life is rightly swayed. ls it not so? Your experience will tell you that this is the last, t_he most intrac~able_ of the activities which you are called on to subdue. But there 1s another meaning ID the words than thiB. The man who schools himself to such restraint as absolute mastery over speech implies, has not merely learned perfection of self-control in the matter of other and more tangible activities, but is learning a better perfection than that-even the self- restraint of his whole interior nature. To restrain conduct is much ; but to restrain thought, pnrpose, passion I to lay a firm, a mastering control on all the complex desires a.n4 impulses of our Dature I Oh, surely that is a perfection of self-restraint indeed I And the bridling of the tongue means thus the bridling of the unruly passions of the heart. The reatraM1,I of npression u the restraint of the impulse that auk, to eri;preaa itsel/ (see for converse of this law the former exposition, where we have noticed how the e;terci~ of & fa.cult, perfecw tp.e fa,culty tha~ iJ exerc~; eh. U. ~2). Do 10\l llQ$ olt, m. 1-18,] 'fBE GENERAt E1'ISTtE OF JAMES.