Giacomo 4:8 Commento

In this chapter we are directed to consider, I. Some causes of contention, besides those mentioned in the foregoing chapter, and to watch against them (Jam 4:1-5). II. We are taught to abandon the friendship of this world, so as to submit and subject ourselves entirely to God (Jam 4:4-10). III. All detraction and rash judgment of others are to be carefully avoided (Jam 4:11, Jam 4:12). IV. We must preserve a constant regard, and pay the utmost deference to the disposals of divine Providence (Jam 4:13 to the end).

INTRODUCTION TO JAMES 4 In this chapter the apostle gives the true cause of contentions and strifes; and cautions against intemperance, covetousness, pride, detraction, and vain confidence. Having, in the latter part of the preceding chapter, inveighed against strife and contention, he here shows from whence they spring, from a covetous desire of riches and honour; and which yet are not obtained, because they did not ask these things of God with submission to his will; or they asked with a wrong view, namely, to gratify their lusts, Jam 4:1 and he dissuades from such unlawful desires, partly because they were no other than adultery; and partly because indulging them was declaring themselves enemies of God, Jam 4:4 and he deters from pride, under the name of envy, proud men being generally envious; from the sense of the Scripture, which says, not in vain, that the spirit lusts unto it; and from the consequence of it, such as are proud being resisted by the Lord, when he gives more grace to humble ones, Jam 4:5 hence follow several exhortations, and various duties relating to humility; as to submit to God, and resist the devil, encouraged thereunto by this motive, he will flee, Jam 4:7, to draw nigh to God in a way of religious worship, who will draw nigh in a way of grace to his people; to purity of action, and of heart, or to that which is outward and inward, Jam 4:8 to be humbled, mourn, and weep, instead of joy and laughter, Jam 4:9 to lie low before the Lord, who will raise such up, Jam 4:10 and not to speak evil of anyone, since this is judging a brother; nay, a speaking evil of the law, and a judging of that; which is to invade the prerogative of God, the lawgiver, who is able to save, and to destroy; and therefore one man should not take upon him to judge another, Jam 4:11 and as another instance of great neglect of God, and his providence, and disrespect unto it, the apostle takes notice of a common practice among men, and even professors of religion, who resolve to go to such a place, and continue so long, and there make merchandise, and promise themselves success; not considering what frail short lived creatures they are, and how much all depends upon the will of God; and which they should consider, submit to, and be determined by, Jam 4:13 and he reproves them for their boastings and joy in them, as evil, Jam 4:16, and observes, that it is not enough to know what is right and good, unless it is done; and that such knowledge is but an aggravation of the evil of sin committed, Jam 4:17.

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you,.... This must be understood consistently with the perfection of God's immensity and omnipresence: the saints draw nigh to God when they present their bodies in his sanctuary; when they tread in his courts, and attend his ordinances; where they always find it good for them to draw nigh unto him; and blessed is the man that approaches to him in faith and fear: they draw nigh to him when they come to the throne of his grace, for grace and mercy to help them; when they draw near to him in prayer with true hearts, and lift them up with their hands to God; when in the exercise of faith and hope they enter within the vail, and come up even to his seat; and lay hold on him as their covenant God and Father; and he draws nigh to them by granting them his gracious presence, by communicating his love to them, by applying the blessings of his grace, by helping them in times of need and distress, and by protecting them from their enemies; the contrary to which is expressed by standing afar off from them. Now this is not to be understood as if men could first draw nigh to God, before he draws nigh to them; for as God first loves, so he first moves; he takes the first step, and, in conversion, turns and draws men to himself; though this does not respect first conversion, but after acts in consequence of it; nor is it to be considered as a condition of the grace and favour of God, in drawing nigh to his people, but is expressive of what is their duty, and an encouragement to it: cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double minded; the persons addressed are not the profane men of the world, but sinners in Zion, formal professors, hypocritical persons; who speak with a double tongue to men, and who draw nigh to God with their mouths, but not with their hearts; who halt between two opinions, and are unstable in all their ways: cleansing of their hands and hearts denotes the purity of outward conversation, and of the inward affections; and supposes impurity both of flesh and spirit, that the body and all its members, the soul and all its powers and faculties, are unclean; and yet not that men have a power to cleanse themselves, either from the filth of an external conversation, or from inward pollution of the heart; though a man attempts the one, he fails in it; and who can say he has done the other? Job 9:30. This is not to be done by ceremonial ablutions, moral services, or evangelical ordinances; this is God's work only, as appears from his promises to cleanse his people from their sins, by sprinkling clean water upon them; from the end of Christ's shedding his blood, and the efficacy of it; and from the prayers of the saints, that God would wash them thoroughly from their iniquity, and cleanse them from their sin, and create clean hearts in them: and yet such exhortations are not in vain, since they may be useful to convince men of their pollution, who are pure in their own eyes, as these hypocritical, nominal professors, might be; and to bring them to a sense of their inability to cleanse themselves, and of the necessity of being cleansed elsewhere; and to lead them to inquire after the proper means of cleansing, and so to the fountain of Christ's blood, which only cleanses from all sin.

For God, approaching is not a repulsion of those who approach; for He wants to be the cause of salvation for all, not of death. In fact, He repels no one, unless they think they should be kept away from His sight. For behold, those who distance themselves from you will perish, as it is said. For each person either joins or separates themselves from your piety through their actions. For he who performs things that he fears being caught for avoids God, just as that person who is hidden by walls and surrounded by darkness considers himself unseen by the Lord God.

One of the hermits said, ‘No one can see his face reflected in muddy water; so the soul cannot pray to God with contemplation unless it is first cleansed of harmful thoughts.’

Approach God, and he will approach you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners: and purify your hearts, you double minded. "purify your hearts, you double minded." 'Double of mind' refers to those who do not wish to live in a certain way but are driven and carried away by the wickedness of men. For they do not dwell in the house under the Lord in one way. Moreover, that the soul is also called life will be sufficiently taught to us in Job. "Skin for skin, all that a man has will he give as a ransom for his life." (Job 2:4)

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you: Draw near to the Lord by following His footsteps in humility, and He will draw near to you through mercy, freeing you from distress. For no one is far from God in terms of regions, but in terms of affections. Indeed, dwelling in one place on earth, both he who is diligent in virtues and he who wallows in the filth of vices, one is far from God, the other has God near. Hence the Psalmist says: "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him in truth" (Psalm 145). Again: "Salvation is far from sinners" (Psalm 119). That same salvation of which we sing: "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?" (Psalm 27). And the Lord Himself, when He encouraged us to draw near to Him by saying: "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11), immediately demonstrated that this should be fulfilled not by feet but by actions when He added: "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart" (ibid.).

Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. This is truly to draw near to the Lord, namely to have purity of works and simplicity of heart. "Innocent," he says, "with clean hands and a pure heart, this one shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy" (Psalm 25). And this is truly the Lord drawing near to us, to give to us simply those gifts of His mercy which we seek. For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee deceit, and will withdraw from thoughts that are without understanding (Wisdom 1).

The apostle calls double-minded those who do not wish to live uniformly, but are constantly led and carried away by the pressure of people, and do not dwell in the house of the Lord with one mind, for God settles "those of one mind in a home" ("the solitary in a home") (Ps. 68:6). And that life is also called "soul" is evident from the words of the prophet: "skin for skin, and all that a man has he will give for his soul" ("skin for skin, and a man will give everything he has for his life") — that is, for his life (Job 2:4).

The origin of wars and contentions, and the wretched lot of those who are engaged in them, Jam 4:1, Jam 4:2. Why so little heavenly good is obtained, Jam 4:3. The friendship of the world is enmity with God, Jam 4:4, Jam 4:5. God resists the proud, Jam 4:6. Men should submit to God, and pray, Jam 4:7, Jam 4:8. Should humble themselves, Jam 4:9, Jam 4:10. And not speak evil of each other, Jam 4:11, Jam 4:12. The impiety of those who consult not the will of God, and depend not on his providence, Jam 4:13-15. The sin of him who knows the will of God, and does not do it, Jam 4:16, Jam 4:17.

Draw nigh to God - Approach Him, in the name of Jesus, by faith and prayer, and he will draw nigh to you - he will meet you at your coming. When a soul sets out to seek God, God sets out to meet that soul; so that while we are drawing near to him, he is drawing near to us. The delicacy and beauty of these expressions are, I think, but seldom noted. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners - This I think to be the beginning of a new address, and to different persons; and should have formed the commencement of a new verse. Let your whole conduct be changed; cease to do evil learn to do well. Washing or cleansing the hands was a token of innocence and purity. Purify your hearts - Separate yourselves from the world, and consecrate yourselves to God: this is the true notion of sanctification. We have often seen that to sanctify signifies to separate a thing or person from profane or common use, and consecrate it or him to God. This is the true notion of קדש kadash, in Hebrew, and ἁγιαζω in Greek. The person or thing thus consecrated or separated is considered to be holy, and to be God's property; and then God hallows it to himself. There are, therefore, two things implied in a man's sanctification: 1. That he separates himself from evil ways and evil companions, and devotes himself to God. 2. That God separates guilt from his conscience, and sin from his soul, and thus makes him internally and externally holy. This double sanctification is well expressed in Sohar, Levit. fol. 33, col. 132, on the words, be ye holy, for I the Lord am holy: אותו מלמעלה ארס מקדש עצמו מלמטה מקישין, a man sanctifies himself on the earth, and then he is sanctified from heaven. As a man is a sinner, he must have his hands cleansed from wicked works; as he is double-minded, he must have his heart sanctified. Sanctification belongs to the heart, because of pollution of mind; cleansing belongs to the hands, because of sinful acts. See the note on Jam 1:8, for the signification of double-minded.

AGAINST FIGHTINGS AND THEIR SOURCE; WORLDLY LUSTS; UNCHARITABLE JUDGMENTS, AND PRESUMPTUOUS RECKONING ON THE FUTURE. (Jam. 4:1-17) whence--The cause of quarrels is often sought in external circumstances, whereas internal lusts are the true origin. wars, &c.--contrasted with the "peace" of heavenly wisdom. "Fightings" are the active carrying on of "wars." The best authorities have a second "whence" before "fightings." Tumults marked the era before the destruction of Jerusalem when James wrote. He indirectly alludes to these. The members are the first seat of war; thence it passes to conflict between man and man, nation and nation. come they not, &c.--an appeal to their consciences. lusts--literally, "pleasures," that is, the lusts which prompt you to "desire" (see on Jam 4:2) pleasures; whence you seek self at the cost of your neighbor, and hence flow "fightings." that war--"campaign, as an army of soldiers encamped within" [ALFORD] the soul; tumultuously war against the interests of your fellow men, while lusting to advance self. But while warring thus against others they (without his knowledge) war against the soul of the man himself, and against the Spirit; therefore they must be "mortified" by the Christian.

Draw nigh to God--So "cleave unto Him," Deu 30:20, namely, by prayerfully (Jam 4:2-3) "resisting Satan," who would oppose our access to God. he will draw nigh--propitious. Cleanse . . . hands--the outward instruments of action. None but the clean-handed can ascend into the hill of the Lord (justified through Christ, who alone was perfectly so, and as such "ascended" thither). purify . . . hearts--literally "make chaste" of your spiritual adultery (Jam 4:4, that is, worldliness) "your hearts": the inward source of all impurity. double-minded--divided between God and the world. The "double-minded" is at fault in heart; the sinner in his hands likewise.