James 4 James 4:1–6 Our evil lusts and passions tend to breed quarrels among ourselves, and to set us at enmity with God. James 4:7–10 The way to overcome them, and recover God’s favour. James 4:11–12 Against detraction and censoriousness.

Wars and fightings; either it may be understood properly of insurrections, and tumults, in which, possibly, some carnal professors might be engaged; or rather, strife and contention about outward things, wranglings among themselves, and going to law, especially before unbelieving judges, 1 Cor.

Ye lust; passionately and greedily desire. And have not; either soon lose, or rather cannot get, what ye so lust after. Ye kill; some copies have it, ye envy, and many suppose that to be the better reading, as agreeing with the context, and with James 3:14; envy being the cause of strife there, and…

Ye ask; he prevents an objection; q.d. Admit you do pray for the good things you want, or, though you pray for them. Ye ask amiss; though you pray for good things, yet you do not pray well, or in a right manner, not according to God’s will, 1 John 5:14, and therefore ye are not to complain of not…

Ye adulterers and adulteresses; he means adulterers and adulteresses in a spiritual sense, i.e. worldly-minded Christians, who being, by profession, married to the Lord, yet gave up those affections to the things of the world which were due to God only. The like expression is used, Matt.

Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain? Greek, emptily, or vainly, i.e. to no purpose. This question hath the force of a negation, q.d. It doth not speak in vain. Question. What is it which the Scripture doth not speak in vain? Answer.

But he; either the Spirit of God, if spirit in the former verse be understood of the Spirit of God; or God, if spirit be there taken for the spirit of man.

Submit yourselves therefore to God; viz. voluntarily and freely, and that not only in a way of obedience to all his commands, but (which is chiefly meant here) in a way of humility, and sense of your weakness, and emptiness, and need of his grace.

Draw nigh to God; by faith, which is a coming to God, Heb. 7:25; by true repentance, which is a returning to God, Hos. 14:1, Mal. 3:7; and by fervent prayer to him for the help of his grace, Ps. 25:1.

Be afflicted; humble yourselves for your sins, before mentioned, and in the sense of wrath approaching, if ye do not. And mourn, with inward sorrow of heart. And weep; show your inward grief by weeping, the usual expression and sign of it.

Humble yourselves: the same duty pressed again, only with respect to the more internal part of it, the debasement of the heart, lest they should rest too much in the outward exercises before mentioned.

Speak not evil one of another; viz. unless in the way of an ordinance, by reproof, admonition, &c., Lev. 5:1, 1 Cor. 1:11, 1 Cor. 11:18, 2 Cor. 11:13, 2 Tim. 4:14–15.

There is one lawgiver; one absolute, supreme, universal and spiritual Lawgiver, and who can simply and directly bind men’s consciences, and make laws for their souls, Prov. 8:15–16, Isa. 33:22, Acts 4:19.

Go to now; either this is a note of transition, or of command to inferiors, or rather of admonition to such as are stupid or rash, and tends to the awakening their attention, and stirring them up to the consideration of their duty, danger, &c.

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow; whether ye yourselves shall continue till then, or what else shall then be, or not be. In vain do ye boast of whole years, when ye cannot command the events of one day. For what is your life? This question implies contempt, as 1 Sam. 25:10, Ps.

For that ye ought to say: it is the real acknowledgment of God’s providence, and the dependence of all our affairs upon him, which is here required; and this is to be done, either expressly with the mouth in such like forms of speech as this is, so far as is needful for our glorifying God, and…

But now ye rejoice, or, glory; ye please yourselves with them. In your boastings; viz. of your carnal projects, and hopes of what you intend to do, and expect to get: q.d.

Either this may relate to all that the apostle had been before speaking of; q.d. I have admonished you of your duty, and now ye know what ye are to do, and therefore if you do it not it will be your sin: or, it may refer to what he was immediately before discoursing of, and may be spoken to prevent…