The Pulpit Commentary — James — Section 68

w·u are t.o "re~ist" the devil; we mnst not dispute or parley with him. We must not "gi_ve pl11.ce" to him (Eph. iv. 27) by cherishing covetousness or envy; for, if we allow him any place at all, he may speedily tnke possession of the entire area of the heart. If, on the contrary, we "stand up against" Satl\n, "he will flee" from us, The power of the truth, the power of faith, the power of prayer, will silence his artillery. There is no giant tempt11.tion which may not be overcome with some small stone out of the brook of Holy Scripture, if we hurl it from the s!ina of faith, and with an arm isnided by the Roly Spirit. 2, We must come near to God~ (Ver. 8.) The design of all Satan's assaults 1s to prevent us from doing so; and the best way in which to "resist" him is resolutely to "draw nigh." What a blessed privilege to us sinners to be allowed to approach to the holy, just, and merciful Jehovah! He has opened for us a new and li¥ing way of access by the blood of Jesus. We draw near (1) when we pray, for prayer is just the ~onverse of the soul with God;. (2) when our deepest soul-longings 1'0 out towards him, who alone can be our Portion; and (3) when, e.lona with our ~upplications and our heart-yearnings, we live a pure and godly life. No:' shall any man who truly seeks God seek him in vain. God will be propitious to him, and visit him, and take up his abode with him. 3. We must put away our sins. (Vers. 8, 9.) For we cannot really" draw nigh" to God if we persist in hugging them. The act of coming near involves repentance; it carries with it resolutions and endeavours after amendment. We n.,ust "cleanse our hands" from the open sins of which our neiah- boun; may be cognizant, and "purify our hearts" from those secret faults which :re known only to God. Self-loathing should possess us when we realize our covetousness and double-mindedness, our divided affections and unstable spiritual purposes. Our repentance must be such as to involve us in misery; and we must cry out to God for pardon. Does any one object that we have in this 11. somewhat gloomy picture of the religious life? The answer is, that such is only a representation of it upon one side. Here we see the shadows of the life of grace; but its shadows are only the reflection of its joys. It is a blessed mourning of which the text speaks ; and they that mourn thus "shall be comforted." Godly repentance is the true humility; and it conducts to the highest exaltation. "He shall exalt you" (ver. 10), giving you always" more grace" in this life, and a rich reversion of glory in the life to come.-C. J, Vers. 11, 12.-Evi'l-apeaking and evu-judging. Here James still continues his ~-arning against the spirit of selfishness and worldliness. In these two verses he issues a solemn interdict against the habit of calumny and unjust censure of brethren. For evil-speaking is one of the most familiar manifestations of that spirit of strife which he has already rebuked. L Tm: PROHIBITION. (Ver. 11.) 1. Fundamentally it is directed against evil-judg- i11g. The apostle's words are to be interpreted according to their spirit. He does not condemn all judging. God has implanted within us the critical faculty, the judgment; and we cannot avoid using it. Indeed, it is a Christian duty to pronounce upon con- duct and character. We require to do so within our own breasts for our own moral guidance; while to judge publicly is a function of the civil magistrate and of Church rulers. What James condemns here is evil-judging-all judging that is censorious or calumnions. We are not to judge rashly, harshly, uncharitably. Even good Chris- tians are tempted to transgre88 in this matter in many ways: e.g. from listening to mere rumour, from trusting to our own first impressions, from narrow-mindedness, from self-conceit from mistaken views of the sufferings of others, from forgetting that we cannot look into our neighbours' hearts. In forming our judgments of conduct and character we should have regard to such principles as these: (1) We have no right to come to an unfavourable conclusion unless we possess full knowledge of a.II the facts. (2) We ought to guard against undue severity of judgment. (3)_ We must not allow bad motives to warp our decisions. (4) Wheu acts are capable either of a favourable or an unfavourable construction, we are bound in charity to take the favourable view. 2. But the prohibition refers also to the expression of our judgments. It forbids evil• Mpeaking. The vitest form of this sin consists in the wilful creation of false reports age.inst brethren. To originate such is literally diabolical. True C~ristians may seldom fall into this lowest and guiltiest form of calumny ; but how rea.d1ly do some of us yield our~elvcs to the circt1lalion of slanders which have beeu poured i11tQ our ear11I OH, IV. 1-17.] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 63