A Paraphrase on the New Testament, James
The General (or Catholick) Epiſtle of JAMES (the Apoſtle, ſay moſt Copies.)
Whether the Writer was one of the Twelve, called the Son of Alpheus; or rather, the Son of Cleophas, Couſin-German to Jeſus, and called his Brother, is uncertain.
The drift of the Epiſtle is; 1. To eſtabliſh the Chriſtian Jews in a well ordered, religious Courſe of Life, and fortifie them againſt Tribulations. 2. To ſhame a ſort of Sectaries, who miſunderſtood, and abuſed the Doctrine of Juſtification by Faith, and turned Religion into Opinion; and yet were not only Magiſterial Boaſters of their great Knowledge; but did it by a cenſorious, contentious Contempt of others, and making Oſtentation of their ſuppoſed Wiſdom, as Hereticks uſe to do, by a proud and wrangling ſelf-exalting way. 3. To reprove the Over-valuing of the Rich, and their Contempt of the Poor, and the Guilt of Senſuality, Worldlineſs and Pride, that had corrupted ſome among them.
1. JAmes a ſervant of God, and of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, to the twelve tribes which are ſcattered abroad greeting.
1. Note 1. Ten of the Tribes, ever ſince the Reign of King Hoſhea, were ſcattered by Captivity, and the reſt were in great numbers diſperſed through much of the Roman Empire; partly by the many Inſurrections and Wars which had brought them to Ruine by Conquerours; and partly, by ſmalneſs and poverty of their Countrey; ſo that at firſt the Apoſtles, when they travelled into Heathen Countreys, began their Preaching, & Church-gathering with the Jews Synagogues, which they found there.
2. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. 3. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
2, 3. Note 1. He ſpeaketh not of direct Temptations to ſin, as caſt into us by the Devil, or carnal allurements, and fleſhly appetite and luſts; but of Tryal by ſuffering for Chriſt and Righteouſneſs, chiefly; and partly next for ſuch correcting Tryals from God, as tend to our amendment.
2. It is not the ſuffering that is matter of joy, in it ſelf, but the good effects of a proved Faith, and increaſed Patience. Tryals, becauſe they tend to this, ſhould be received with joy; but when they cauſe this, much more.
4. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
4. Note 1. The care of a tryed, ſuffering Chriſtian ſhould be to look to his Faith and Patience (as the Goldſmith doth to his Gold in the fire) and to ſee that they be duly and fully exerciſed, and have their perfect work.
2. A full or perfect exerciſe and uſe of Patience in great Tryals, ſhewe…h a ſtrong, entire Chriſtian, and hath great joy; when a lame uſe of Patience mixt with much impa…ience, ſheweth a lame Chriſtian, and giveth but little joy.
3. To deſpair, or fret, or ſwell, with bitter, revengeful thoughts againſt our Perſecutors or Enemies, is contrary to ſound Chriſtianity.
5. If any of you lack wiſdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it ſhall be given him.
5. Wiſdom is neceſſary both for the guidance of you in all your difficulties and duties, and the management of all your religious affairs: And all Parties pretend to the greateſt Wiſdom, to draw People to be their Diſciples. But if you would be truly wiſe, ſeek it not by running unto Hereticks, but by ſincere prayer to God, who is the bounteous giver of it, and doth not, as Hereticks, reproach you with your weakneſs, but mercifully vouchſafeth to teach the humble.
Note 1. Prayer is a great and neceſſary means to get true Wiſdom. But as for outward things, ſo for Wiſdom, we muſt not only pray, but labour, and uſe God's other helps. Study without Prayer, maketh but ungodly talkers, whoſe dreaming knowledge will but condemn them: And Prayer without Study, and learning of the wiſe, is but a ſelf-deceiving idle tempting of God.
6. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering: for he that wavereth is like a wave of the ſea, driven with the wind, and toſſed. 7. For let not that man think that he ſhall receive any thing of the Lord.
6, 7. But ſee that your Belief of God's Power and Goodneſs, and the truth of his Promiſes to faithful Supplicants, be firm and ſound; for if you doubt and waver in this, you will but be toſt about like a wave of the Sea: When you cannot truſt God, every temptation and difficulty will overthrow both your hope, and your innocency: And ſuch have no promiſe that God will hear them; it is but preſumption to expect it.
Note; That the Faith here mentioned is not an aſſurance of our own ſincerity, and that God will give us what we ask, as being ſurely fit to receive it: But it is a reſolute cleaving to the Chriſtian Verity, and a ſound belief that God is moſt able, and faithful in performing all his Promiſes, and will give all the good which we aſk, and are meet to receive. Diſtruſting our ſelves is not diſtruſting God.
8. A double-minded man is unſtable in all his ways.
8. A man whoſe mind and heart hangs doubtful and unreſolved between God and the World, Chriſt and Infidelity, Heaven and Earth, Holineſs and Sin, is fickle, and ſtill untruſty.
9, 10. Let the brother of low degree rejoyce in that he is exalted; But the rich, in that he is made low:
9, 10. You muſt not judge of your felicity by your outward things, but take that for beſt which God, as a Father, provideth for you. If he advance you, gladly and thankfully acknowledge it; if he take you down, and deprive you of riches, be not only patient, but thankful that God will chuſe for you, according to his wiſdom, who knoweth better what you are fit for, and what is fit for you, than you can know.
10, 11. Becauſe as the flower of the graſs he ſhall paſs away. For the ſun is no ſooner riſen with a burning heat, but it withereth the graſs, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the faſhion of it periſheth; ſo alſo ſhall the rich man fade away in his ways.
10, 11. For riches are too inconſiderable things to make any great, juſt alteration on our minds: They are tranſitory, and ſo is man, like the flower, whoſe ſweetneſs you may uſe for a moment, but it fadeth preſently before the heat of the ſcorching Sun.
12. Bleſſed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tryed he ſhall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promiſed to them that love him.
12. It is the tryed Chriſtian that is the bleſſed man, who after ſuffering and temptation holds faſt his integrity. God will give him that Crown of Life, which he hath promiſed to all that ſincerely love him.
13. Let no man ſay when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.
13. But as to the ſeducing ſort of temptation, which is not to try our conſtancy, but to draw men to ſin and ruine; let no man charge that on God as his doing; for as God cannot be tempted to ſin, nor poſſibly love it, ſo he tempteth no man to it (much leſs forceth them to it, or unreſiſtibly, by determining premotion, makes them ſin.)
14. But every man is tempted, when he▪ is drawn away of his own luſt, and enticed. 15. Then when luſt hath conceived, it bringeth forth ſin: and ſin, when it is finiſhed, bringeth forth death.
14, 15. But the courſe of temptation, ſin and death, is this: Firſt, fleſhly appetite, luſt and phantaſie, by ſtrongly inclining men to their carnal objects and intereſts, prevail with their Judgments, either to take part with theſe luſts, or not to oppoſe them; and ſo, by theſe luſts, Satan, the greater tempter, doth his work, which he could not do without them. And when theſe luſts, or carnal affections, have bribed the underſtanding to be erroneous or remiſs, and have drawn the will to a ſinful yielding or conſent, this ſin conceived by luſt in the heart, doth bring ſorth the fruits of a ſinful practice in the life, and then God's Juſtice puniſheth it with death, when it hath reſiſted and driven away his offered grace.
16, 17. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableneſs, neither ſhadow of turning.
16, 17. Be not deceived about the cauſes of good and evil; ſin and death are from our ſelves; but every good and perfecting gift is of God's free grace and donation, even from above, from the Father of Lights, who (as the Sun is the ſame in its nature and action, though Earth and Clouds, oft interpoſing, make it ſeem to us as varying by its riſing and ſetting, and turning away its light into ſhadows, when the change is not in it, ſo) God is unchangeable, and our changes and ſhadows are not from any mutability, or ſhadowy alteration in him, but from our ſelves.
18. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we ſhould be a kind of firſt-fruits of his creatures.
18. It was of his own good will and grace that he hath regenerated us by the true word of the Goſpel (and not of any deſert of ours) and hath made us as the firſt-fruits, ſanctified to him (ſo that all good is of God, and all evil of our ſelves and the Devil.)
19. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be ſwift to hear, ſlow to ſpeak, ſlow to wrath.
19. Therefore watch over your ſelves, if you would be ſafe; and particularly obſerve theſe three Rules: 1. Be ſwift to hear as humble Learners, while proud men are forward to be Teachers, before they were ever profitable Learners. 2. Be ſlow to ſpeak, and not as proud men, full of words becauſe full of ſelf-conceit, readier to teach than to learn, telling what they think they know, while the humble are learning to know more; and when in multitude of words there is ſeldom innocency; but the raſh and talkative ſay that which muſt be repented of. 3. Be ſlow to wrath.
20. For the wrath of man worketh not the righteouſneſs of God.
20. For a wrathful mind is very unfit for that righteouſneſs which God requireth in and of us: It puts the mind out of a compoſed, holy frame, and unfits it for communion with God: It blindeth and perverteth the Judgment, and deſtroyeth holy love and peace. A wrathful man ſcarce loveth his neighbour as himſelf, nor doth as he would be done by.
21. Wherefore lay apart all filthineſs, and ſuperfluity of naughtineſs, and receive with meekneſs the engrafted word, which is able to ſave your ſouls.
21. Alſo caſt away all filthineſs out of your thoughts, affections, ſpeech and practice, and all excrementitious naughtineſs, (or that ſuperfluity, which is but proviſion for the fleſh, to ſatisfie its luſt;) and with humble, tractable meekneſs, receive God's Word, not only opinionatively, but as the graff is taken into the tree, or your food, when it is digeſted into blood & fleſh, thus made an innaturalized Word; and ſo received & digeſted, it will ſave your Souls.
22. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own ſelves.
22. But to think that bare hearing the Word will ſave you, is but ſelf-deceit: There muſt be inward practice by meditation, and outward practice in true obedience.
23. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glaſs: 24. For he beholdeth himſelf and goeth his way, and ſtraightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
23, 24. An unprofitable cuſtom of bare hearing, and not doing, is but like a man's looking his face in a glaſs, who ſo goeth away, and minds it no more, or forgets it, which neither feedeth nor cloatheth him, nor cureth his diſeaſes; ſuch are theſe cuſtomary, dull Speculators.
25. But whoſo looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man ſhall be bleſſed in his deed.
25. But he that well conſidereth the Covenant of Grace, or the Goſpel, which is Chriſt's Law of Liberty, or Liberation, giving us deliverance from the Jewiſh Law, and from ſin, and guilt, and wrath, and death, and dwelleth in the ſtudy of it, till it turn to ſpiritual life digeſted and ingraffed in him, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of that which is required to Salvation▪ even ſound Faith, Repentance, ſincere Obedience, and Patience, this man ſhall be bleſſed in ſo doing.
Note 1. They groſly deny Chriſt to be King, which ſay that he hath no Law. 2. His Goſpel Covenant hath Precepts, Rewarding Promiſes, and Penal Threats, and therefore is a proper Law. 3. It giveth pardon on condition of Faith and Repentance (to be performed by Divine Grace) and Salvation on condition of added Obedience and Perſeverance, and ſo is a Law of Liberty. Chriſt is the Author of Eternal Salvation to all them that obey him. 4. This doing his commands, which is made his impoſed condition, is the neceſſary entitling qualification for bleſſedneſs, Rev. 22.14. Bleſſed are they that do his Commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the Gates into the City.
26. If any man among you ſeem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this mans religion is vain.
26. If any man among you ſeem to others, or himſelf, to be religious, (and perhaps of a higher form than others) and yet bridleth not his tongue from backbiting, ſlandering, or reproaching his Brethren, to render them contemptible and unlovely, and from ſpeaking ill of men without either truth, or a juſt call; this man's ſinful practice doth ſhew that his Religion is but ineffectual and vain, and doth but ſerve to deceive his own heart: For that which doth not ſave men from ſin, will not ſave them from juſtice.
27. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father, is this, to viſit the fatherleſs and widdows in their affliction, and to keep himſelf unſpotted from the world.
27. There is great contending among Chriſtians, whoſe way of Religious Worſhip is the pureſt, and beſt pleaſing to God. That is the pure and undefiled Religion in God's ſight, who is our Father, which is effectual to ſound practical Charity, and to a pure, unſpotted, holy life; even with true Love and Liberality, to relieve thoſe that are in diſtreſs, and to keep heart and life clean from the love of the World, and the temptations of wicked, worldly men, (as ſeeking in hope for a better World.)
CHAP. II.
1. MY brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt the Lord of glory, with reſpect of perſons.
1. And you that profeſs to believe the Glory of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, which the pooreſt Chriſtians ſhall partake of equally with the rich, and to which all worldly glory is but vanity, muſt not now make a great difference in the Church between rich men and the poor, by a worldly reſpect of perſons for their riches.
2. For if there come unto your aſſembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in alſo a poor man, in vile raiment: 3. And ye have reſpect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and and ſay unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and ſay to the poor, Stand thou there, or ſit here under my footſtool: 4. Are ye not then partial in your ſelves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
2, 3, 4. If in your Church-Aſſemblies you inordinately ſhew reſpect to men for gay cloathing, as rich, and ſet light by men, that by their garb ſeem poor, do you not ſhew a carnal partiality, by overvaluing wealth, and a Judgment miſguided by evil eſtimation?
Note 1. That this ſpeaketh not againſt honouring Magiſtrates, but Riches. 2. Nor againſt a prudent reſpect to the Rich, ſo far as by their wealth they may be engaged to do more good than others. 3. And I think thoſe miſtake, that rather expound this of meetings of Biſhops for Judicature (as Dr. Hammond) than other Church-Aſſemblies: For, 1. If they mean any forcing Judicatures, Chriſtians had none ſuch, there being then no Chriſtian Magiſtrates that had the power of the Sword. 2. And if Biſhops had been like our Dioceſans, and ſo diſtant, they could not have travelled ſo far as ſuch muſt do to keep up ordinary Judicatures, without a total deſerting their chief work for their Flocks. 3. And as they truly were (Congregational Biſhops) over no more than one of our Pariſhes, their diſtance between City and City was too great for this, without the like omiſſions. 4. Chriſtians having then no Judicial Power but as Arbitrators, the Contenders choſe what Arbitrators they thought beſt. 5. Their Publick Church-Government was exerciſed in the ſame Aſſemblies which met for Worſhip, which therefore are liker here to be mentioned with reſpect to their moſt uſual buſineſs, and not the rarer. 6. It is the whole Church, and not the Biſhops only, that is here admoniſhed. 7. It is too hard a cenſure for ſuch men to uſe, as are pleading for too much honour to Biſhops, to ſuppoſe them ſo early guilty of ſo much partiality and carnal reſpect to fine cloths and riches, and ſo much Injuſtice in Judging as this Doctor's Expoſition doth ſuppoſe: It's liker to be the vulgars fault.
5. Hearken my beloved brethren, Hath not God choſen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom, which he hath promiſed to them that love him?
5. Conſider how God himſelf confuteth your overvaluing rich men, and vilifying the poor: Is it not moſtly of the poor that your Churches conſiſt? Is it not them that God hath choſen, poor in the World, but rich in Faith, to be here made Heirs, and hereafter Poſſeſſors of that Kingdom of Glory, which he hath promiſed to them that truly love him.
6, 7. But ye have deſpiſed the poor. Do not rich men oppreſs you, and draw you before the judgment ſeats? Do not they blaſpheme that worthy name, by the which ye are called?
6, 7. Yet you deſpiſe the poor, whom God himſelf chuſeth and honoureth: And doth not your own experience and ſuffering condemn you? Who is it but rich men that oppreſs you by tyranny, and draw you, like Malefactors, before their Courts of Judicature? Do they not blaſpheme the name of Chriſt, and reproach your Religion?
8. If ye fulfil the royal law, according to the ſcripture: Thou ſhalt love thy neighbour as thy ſelf, ye do well.
8, I perſuade you, not to hate men for their riches, but not to think that theſe allow you ſo partial a differencing: If you obey God's great Command, as the Scripture teacheth you; to love all ſorts of your neighbours as your ſelves, according to the various degrees of their trueſt amiableneſs (be they rich or poor) you then do well.
9. But if ye have reſpect to perſons, ye commit ſin, and are convinced of the law as tranſgreſſors.
9. But if you thus inordinately reſpect men differently for their wealth, not only the Goſpel of Love, but the Law of Moſes convinceth you as ſinners, Exod. 23.3. Lev. 30.15. Deut. 1.16, 17.
10. For whoſoever ſhall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 11. For he that ſaid, Do not commit adultery; ſaid alſo, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a tranſgreſſor of the law.
10, 11. And that Law condemneth all that continue not in all things therein written, to do them; and we are bound by God's Law inforce to univerſal Obedience. If you keep all other Commands, and preſumptuouſly break one, you are contemners of the Law, and ſo interpretatively break all.
12. So ſpeak ye, and ſo do, as they that ſhall be judged by the law of liberty.
12. And though you are delivered from Moſes's Law, and the Covenant of Works, remember that Chriſt is your King, and Law-giver, and you are not lawleſs; therefore ſo ſpeak, and ſo do, as they that are under his Law of Liberty and Grace, and ſhall be judged by it, by Juſtification or Condemnation.
13. For he ſhall have judgment without mercy, that hath ſhewed no mercy; and mercy rejoyceth againſt judgment.
13. For though this be a Law of Mercy, it will condemn the unmerciful without mercy: It hath its conditions of life or death, though none but what conſiſt with Grace: But the merciful ſhall find mercy at Judgment: And God's mercy in Chriſt as the cauſe, and their mercy to men for his ſake, as the condition, will prevail againſt condemning Judgment.
14. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man ſay he hath faith, and have not works? can faith ſave him?
14. Is not a meer wordy Profeſſion an unprofitable thing to your ſelves, as well as to others? Will profeſſing Chriſtianity, and ſaying you believe, profit you to Salvation, if you obey not Chriſt, and live not according to the Goſpel.
15, 16. If a brother or ſiſter be naked, and deſtitute of daily food, And one of you ſay unto them, Depart in peace, be you warmed, and filled: notwithſtanding ye give them not thoſe things which are needful to the body: what doth it profit?
15, 16. Will good words cloath the naked, or feed the hungry? Is it not like a mocking of them?
17. Even ſo faith, if it hath not works, is dead being alone.
17. Even ſo your notional knowledge and belief, and the bare profeſſi…n of Faith, if it produce not the fruits of Obedience, Love and Mercy, is but an uneffectual, dead thing in it ſelf, ſhewing a dead Soul, and is dead as to your Juſtification and Salvation.
18. Yea, a man may ſay, Thou haſt faith, and I have works: ſhew me thy faith without thy works, and I will ſhew thee my faith by my works.
18. Any one may ſay to this man, if thy Religion be ſound, it will have life and power, and be known by its fruits: Canſt thou ſhew and juſtifie thy Religion or Belief, without any good works or fruits, as I can do mine by them?
19. Thou believeſt that there is one God, thou doeſt well: the devils alſo believe, and tremble.
19. It is part of thy Religion to believe that there is One God: This is well done; it is a moſt fundamental Truth, but it ſaveth not the Devils that believe it and tremble.
20. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21. Was not Abraham our father juſtified by works, when he had offered Iſaac his ſon upon the altar?
20, 21. But art not thou a vain man, that knoweſt not that Faith is but a dead Opinion, uneffectual to juſtifie and ſave, if it be uneffectual to Works? Doſt thou not diſcern how plainly the Scripture confuteth thee? Was it not Doing in Faith, or a Faith that cauſed working Obedience, by which Abraham was juſtified, who was the Father of the Faithful? when he offered his Son Iſaac, and God ſaid, Gen. 22.16. Becauſe thou haſt done this thing, and haſt not withheld thy Son, thy only Son, in bleſſing I will bleſs thee, &c.
22. Seeſt thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
22. You may ſee that his Faith made him obey God's Command, and the obedient working of it, did conſtitute it a ſound, effectual Faith, without which it could not juſtifie him.
23. And the ſcripture was fulfilled which ſaith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteouſneſs: and he was called the friend of God.
23. And this is the true ſenſe of the Scripture, which ſaith, Abraham believed, &c. that is, he ſo far believed and truſted God, as to offer up his Son; and this truſt working by ſuch Obedience, or this practical effectual truſt, was ſo accepted by God, that though he was not perfect without ſin, God accounted him a righteous man, that was meet for the free Salvation of his Grace, and to be called, The Friend of God.
24. Ye ſee then how that by works a man is juſtified, and not by faith only.
24. You ſee then that by ſuch neceſſary doing God's will, which is the product of an effectual Faith, and ſheweth it to be lively and ſincere, and not a dead Opinion, a man is accounted juſt by God, accord…ng to the Covenant of Grace through Chriſt, and not only by bare believing, or not by believing only without obeying.
25. Likewiſe alſo, was not Rahab the harlot juſtified by works, when ſhe had received the meſſengers, and had ſent them out another way?
25. And was it not by Doing by Faith, or a Faith cauſing Obedience that Rahab was juſtified?
26. For as the body without the ſpirit is dead, ſo faith without works is dead alſo.
26, For as it is a dead ſpiritleſs body that cannot ſtir ſo it is a dead, notional, uneffectual belief, that commandeth not a man's life and action: It's dead in it ſelf, and dead as to mens Juſtification and Salvation.
Annotations:
NOthing but mens miſunderſtanding the plain drift and ſenſe of Paul's Epiſtles, could make ſo many take it for a matter of great difficulty to reconcile Paul and James, where there is no conſiderable ſhew of contradiction. I have ſhewed the ſcope and ſenſe of Paul before the Epiſtle to the Romans, 1. That his arguing is to prove that it is not the Law of Moſes that can juſtifie any man as a meer doer of it; nor any works at all in commutative Juſtice, making the reward to be of debt for the value of the works, and not of free grace; but that Juſtification muſt needs be of Gods free gift, and therefore by the Merits of our Redeemer; and therefore that a fiducial accepting practical Belief of Gods free Gift, Covenant or Promiſe, of Grace and Glory, for, in, and with Chriſt, is the condition on our part (to be performed by his Grace) which is our Moral Qualification, or receptive diſpoſition, on which God by his Covenant giveth us right to the foreſaid free Gifts (Chriſts Grace and Glory.) This Faith Paul never deſcribed by ſome one ſingle Phyſical act of the Soul, but as a Moral act of the man; as we uſe the Word in humane converſe: As if one ſay, if you will truſt me as your Phyſician, I will cure you, if you take me for your Tutor, I will teach you; Here to truſt or take him, ſignifieth a conſenting truſt, to be medicined and to be taught by ſuch a one. If one ſay to a condemned Beggar, truſt me and I will give thee a Lord-ſhip in a Foreign Land; it ſignifieth a truſt conſenting practically to go with him and truſt his Convoy, and forſake his own Country. And James never queſtioned this Doctrine; But ſome Vain Men (as James calls them) miſunderſtand this and ſpin us out a Web of their own Vanity, & feign it to be Paul's Doctrine. 1. They ſay that Paul by Faith meaneth not Faith, by which we are ſaid to be juſtified, but only Chriſt, (who doubtleſs is a chief object of that Faith.) 2. That God the Father, or the Holy Ghoſt, are none of the object of Faith as it is juſtifying. 3. That it is not Chriſt himſelf, as Prophet or King, but only as Prieſt that is this object. 4. That it is not all Chriſts Prieſt-hood, but only Sacrifice and Righteouſneſs, that is this object, and not his Heavenly Interceſſion. 5. that it is not Chriſts Sacrifice and Righteouſneſs as meerly meritorious of our Pardon and Life, but as it was paid and performed by Chriſt as our ſurety in our Legal Reputative Perſon, and ſo is imputed to us as our own, becauſe done by another in our name and ſtead, as one payeth a debt by another that was bound for him. 6. That ſo far as Faith is here meant, it is but one ſingle Phyſical act of Faith in Specie: and there they are utterly diſagreed. 1. Whether it be an act of the underſtanding, or will, or both? 2. Whether one act can be the belief of many objects, viz. of Chriſts Sacrifice, Obedience, Promiſe, Pardon, Heaven? &c. 7. Yea many ſay that it is but one individual act that we are juſtified by (which no mortal man can know, the individuation of the Souls acts being obſcure and the objects being always many conjunct) and they ſay that it is only our firſt act of Faith, and that all following acts of the ſame ſpecies, finding us juſtified, cannot juſtifie us any more than works. 8. They ſay that Faith juſtifieth only as an Inſtrumental Cauſe, and not as a Moral qualifying receptive condition or diſpoſition. 9. They ſay that believing in the Father & the Holy Ghoſt, and hoping for Heaven, and praying for Mercy; and Repenting of Sin, and Loving God and our Saviour, and his Word and Saints, and Thankfulneſs for Grace, and Obedience to Chriſt, and Patience and forſaking all for him, are the works which Paul meaneth to exclude from Juſtification, and ſo is Faith in Chriſts Righteouſneſs as an Act, but not as an Inſtrument. 10. They are utterly diſagreed whether Faith juſtifie by appropriating only Chriſts active Righteouſneſs, or alſo his Paſſive, or alſo his Divine Righteouſneſs and Perfection. 11. They ſay that by [Imputing Faith for Righteouſneſs] is meant that not our Faith, but Chriſts Righteouſneſs, is Imputed in it ſelf (and not its merited effects only) to be our own, becauſe we performed it by him. 12. They ſay that it is the very Law of Innocency and Works that juſtifieth us, as having perfectly fulfilled it in and by Chriſt. 13. they (moſt) hold that in Chriſt we have both perfectly kept the Law, from birth till death, by imputed obedience, and yet ſatisfied for not keeping it by his ſufferings, as if perfect obedience imputed could conſiſt ith ſin. 14. They ſay that Gods corrections are no puniſhments becauſe elſe Chriſts Suffering was inſufficient, and God ſhould puniſh one ſin twice. 15. And that our pardon and juſtification is perfect as ſoon as we believe. 16. And that no more is needful to our continued Juſtification, than to its beginning. 17. And that yet more is needful to our Salvation than to our final Juſtification. Many ſuch humane Inventions man's brain hath ſpun out, and made a Doctrine of their own, and called it Paul's.
And James, having to do with carnal Goſpellers, that thought to be ſaved for being of a right Opinion, and calling this, Faith, doth 1. Tell them that this is not that true Chriſtian Faith which hath the promiſe of Juſtification and Salvation, but that that is a powerful, practical belief and truſt. 2. Therefore their Doing that which Faith conſents and engageth them to do, muſt juſtifie that Faith to be ſound, which muſt juſtifie them as the condition of life. 3. And that therefore this Efficiency or Doing of this practical Faith, is part of the condition of their Juſtifications, and it juſtifieth the man himſelf, 1. As it juſtifieth his Faith, and ſo juſtifieth him to be a ſound Believer, and not an Infidel or Hypocrite. 2. In that the effectual, operative nature, and conſent to obey, is eſſential to that Faith it ſelf. 3. In that as a Faith accepting Chriſt, and conſenting to obey him as the Author of Eternal Salvation, is the condition of our firſt entring into a ſtate of Life and Juſtification, ſo our performance of that conſent by ſincere obedience and perſeverance, is the condition of our Juſtification, as continued and conſummate at Judgment, and ſo of our final Salvation. 4. In that ſincere Holineſs and Obedience is the very matter that muſt juſtifie men, againſt the virtual or actual accuſation of Satan, that they were not holy and obedient, but ungodly or hypocrites: As Faith it ſelf is the matter of our Juſtification againſt the accuſation, that we were not Believers. Now James ſpeaketh of no other Faith than Paul doth: But 1. He ſpeaketh of another thing under the name of [Works.] 2. And he ſpeaketh of a working Nature in Faith for our Juſtification begun, and of the Deeds themſelves, as needful to its continuance. And, in a word, he ſpeaketh of ſuch Juſtification by no ſort or works, 1. In oppoſition to Chriſt or free Grace; or 2. In coordination with him; 3. But in meer inſtituted ſubordination to him. And no Chriſtian muſt aſcribe to any Faith, Works, or act of Man, the leaſt part of the Office of Chriſt.
CHAP. III.
1. MY brethren, be not many maſters, knowing that we ſhall receive the greater condemnation.
1. And as I thus admoniſh you againſt the Errour of Hypocrites, who take their dead Opinions and Profeſſions for a Juſtifying Faith; ſo muſt I do againſt another Vice, which that ſort of Hypocrites are guilty of: Their Pride and Self-conceit maketh them think that their knowledge is much higher than other Chriſtians; and that they are the fitteſt men to be Teaching Maſters, and Reprovers; and ſo they are all forwarder to Teach, and Magiſterially Cenſure others, and uſe their Tongue to contemn others as ſhort of them in knowledge, and to boaſt of themſelves; and all their Talk runs in a Teaching, and not a Learning way. But I warn you to avoid this proud and maſterly ſpirit; for it will make your ſin the greater, and without excuſe, and increaſe your condemnation.
2. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the ſame is a perfect man, and able alſo to bridle the whole body.
2. Your zeal goeth out by cenſuring others, as great ſinners in compariſon of you (perhaps for not obſerving your Ceremonies and Traditions, or not taking you for their Teaching Maſters;) But fear ſin in your ſelves; yea, leſt your cenſorious, reproachful, unbridled Tongues, ſhould prove worſe than that which you cenſure others for. He that hath moſt power to rule his Tongue, and ſinneth not in words, is like to be the moſt perfect Chriſtian, and can rule his actions by the ſame Obedience and Wiſdom which doth rule his Tongue.
3. Behold, we put bitts in the horſes mouths, that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body.
3. As we rule the whole bodies of Horſes by a Bridle in the mouth; ſo, could you bridle your mouths it would both ſignifie a power to rule your lives, and much promote, this.
4. Behold alſo the ſhips, which though they be ſo great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very ſmall helm, whitherſoever the governour liſteth.
4. So the Pilot by ſo ſmall a thing as the Helm, ruleth great Ships, that are under the force of Winds.
5. Even ſo the tongue is a little member, and boaſteth great things:
5. And man's Tongue is but a ſmall part of the body, though it boaſt great things; and the Government of that little member, is a great part of the Government of the man.
5, 6. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth: And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: ſo is the tongue amongſt our members, that it defileth the whole body, and ſetteth on fire the courſe of nature, and it is ſet on fire of hell.
5 6. The Tongue in the body, and the World, is like fire among much combuſtible matter. As a little fire kindleth much; ſo this little member doth both kindle defiling paſſions and guilt in our own bodies, and alſo kindle hatred, rage and ſtrife in the World, and ſet on fire the Societies and Affairs of Mankind in the World, being it ſelf ſet on fire by the Devil, and uſed by helliſh temptations, to helliſh deſigns in diabolical employment.
7. For every kind of beaſts and of birds, and of ſerpents, and things in the ſea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 8. But the tongue can no man tame,
7, 8. For all ſorts of Animals have been maſtered by Man: But the Tongue of another who can maſter? [when we have ſo much ado to ſubdue our own.]
8, 9. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poiſon. Therewith bleſs we God, even the Father; and therewith curſe we men, which are made after the ſimilitude of God. 10. Out of the ſame mouth proceedeth bleſſing and curſing:
8, 9. It is to us, and in the World, an unruly evil, (till Grace ſhall tame it) and infecteth our ſelves and the ſocieties where we live, with the mortal Poiſon of many great ſins. The ſame Hypocrites, who praiſe God and worſhip him with it, do reproach their Brethren with it; not only Men that have ſome of Gods Image in their natural faculties, but thoſe that are Gods true Servants, better than themſelves, who are renewed to Gods Image in Holineſs by Grace.
10. 11. My brethren, theſe things ought not ſo to be. Doth a fountain ſend forth at the ſame place ſweet water and bitter? 12. Can a fig-tree, my brethren, bear olive-berries? either a vine figs? ſo can no fountain both yield ſalt water and freſh.
10, 11, 12. Do you not perceive that your ill reproachful Tongues, which vilifie, ſpeak evil of and condemn, good Chriſtians for not being of your minds, do confute themſelves, when the ſame Tongues profeſs to honour God, and boaſt of Wiſdom and Religion in your ſelves: If you were as Wiſe and Godly, as you profeſs, your Tongues would not, by ſpeaking ill of your Brethren, ſhew the contrary. No Fountain ſends forth ſweet water and bitter, freſh and ſalt, no Fig tree brings ſorth Olives; The tree is known by its fruits.
13. Who is a wiſe man and endued with knowledge amongſt you? let him ſhew out of a good converſation his works with meekneſs of wiſdom.
13. Are any among you, indeed, as much wiſer and knowing and excelling others, as you would be thought when you cenſure or deſpiſe them: Shew it if you would have any wiſe man believe you, not by proud boaſting or talking againſt others, but by the true fruits of the Spirit, even a better converſation than theirs in all your dealings, and by more good works, with that humble meekneſs which ſignifieth true Wiſdom.
14. But if ye have bitter envying and ſtrife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not againſt the truth, 15. This wiſdom deſcendeth not from above, but is earthly, ſenſual, deviliſh,
14, 15. But if you have a bitter Zeal, and envy and uncharitable heart-riſing and ſtrife againſt your Brethren; pretending truth, Orthodoxneſs, or Religion for your ſwelling envy and emulation, and talking and preaching down Love and Peace, to make thoſe that differ from your ſide, to ſeem hateful, or contemptuous, in compariſon of you, your profeſſion of greater knowledge and religiouſneſs, is but proud boaſting, and lying againſt the truth: This Wiſdom, and this Preaching and Courſe, is not of God, not ſuch as he will own. It is from an earthly, and ſenſual Principle, your own praiſe, or profit, or Magiſterial will, or ſome carnal intereſt is at the root; if you could know your ſelves you might ſee this: Yea it is ſo far from excelling others, that it is a deviliſh Wiſdom, a Deviliſh Zeal, and Deviliſh Preaching and diſputing, which you glory in.
16. For where envying and ſtrife is, there is confuſion, and every evil work.
16. For where envious Zeal and Strife prevail, there is ſtill Faction and unquietneſs, (or Sedition, Tumults and unſetledneſs ſtill for change;) and this cheriſheth all ſorts of evil works, which men will think to be all good or lawful, to ſerve their contentious Zeal and to further their changes and carnal ends.
17. But the wiſdom that is from above is firſt pure, then peaceable, gentle, and eaſie to be intreated, full of mercy & good fruits, without partiality, and without hyprocriſie. 18. And the fruit of righteouſneſs is ſown in peace of them that make peace.
17, 18. But if you would know among the ſeveral pretenders, whoſe knowledge, and religiouſneſs, and zeal is from above, the fruit of the Spirit, which God will own? Theſe are the ſure marks of it. 1. It is firſt for true purity of heart and life: It will not chuſe ſin, on any pretence, ſo far as men can know it. If any be for wilful, deliberate conformity to ſin, or for a looſe and ſenſual life, or againſt ſerious godlineſs, and a holy, heavenly, ſober and juſt life, this is not from the Spirit of God. 2. It is next to this, addicted to peace, and will ſeek it by all lawful means. 3. It is addicted to put the beſt ſenſe of another man's caſe, and to a gentle, and not a rigid, cenſorious Judgment. 4. Eaſily yielding to good perſuaſions, and not ſtiff in ill Opinions or ways. 5. Full of mercy to others, and of all good works or fruits to his power, as being devoted to do good. 6. Without cenſorious partiality, as Sectaries, that can ſee nothing but what ſeemeth to make for their own Party and Opinions, (or, without a wavering unreſolvedneſs in the Chriſtian Religion.) 7. Without Hypocriſie, or falſe pretendings. And though the erroneous and contentious in both extreams, do uſe to vilifie or abhor Peace-makers, who ſerve God according to this ſupernal Wiſdom, yet theſe men, who labour to make peace, are ſowing, in this work of peace, the fruit of true Righteouſneſs, as guiltleſs of the crimes of the extream contenders, and of the tumults cauſed by them: And when the Harveſt of God's Judgment cometh, they ſhall reap this fruit to themſelves: And if the Countreys, where they live, are worthy of ſuch fruit, they muſt reap it from this ſeed of peace-making labours.
CHAP. IV.
1. FRom whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your luſts, that war in your members?
1. The Jews are in frequent Seditions and fightings among themſelves, in which many erroneous Chriſtians joyn with the unbelievers, in a blind Zeal for their Law and Nation. And do you think it is from true Zeal that their Wars ariſe? No, it is from their own ſenſual, worldly luſts, that firſt war in themſelves, and then diſturb the common peace.
2. Ye luſt, and have not: ye kill, and deſire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, becauſe ye ask not.
2. You Covet, and fight, and kill, in your miſtaken deſires of your Law and Liberties; and you do but loſe your blood and labour, by going your own ſinful way, and not ſeeking to God for Counſel, conduct and ſucceſs, who muſt give all good, and that in his own way.
3. Ye ask, and receive not; becauſe ye ask amiſs, that you may conſume it upon your luſts.
3. Yea you will be Religious in your ſin, and make your Prayers to God for deliverance from the Roman Power, and for your Countrys Liberty. But they are carnal Prayers; and God rejecteth them; for it is but that you may live in great Plenty, Power and Pleaſure, enjoying ſenſual proſperity, that you pray to God for your deliverance.
4. Ye adulterers, and adultereſſes, know ye not that the friendſhip of the world is enmity with God? whoſoever therefore will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God.
4 You that by your perfidiouſneſs to God, are like perfidious adulterers, loving the World beſt, whilſt God is in your mouths, know ye not that this love of the World, as his Competitor, is enmity to God, and that he is God's Enemy that ſo loveth it predominantly?
5. Do ye think that the ſcripture ſaith in vain, The ſpirit that dwelleth in us luſteth to envie?
5. Is it not true, which the Scripture ſaith, of the evil inclination of Mans Heart, as luſting after worldly Pomp and Pleaſure, and to envy and ſtrife, that they may obtain it?
6. But he giveth more grace, wherefore he ſaith, God reſiſteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
6. But Gods Grace is of a contrary tendency, and would teach you better things; but he giveth it to the humble, and not to the proud, for he is againſt ſuch, as its ſaid, &c.
7. Submit your ſelves therefore to God: reſiſt the devil, and he will flee from you.
7. If ye would be delivered and live in ſafety, ſubmit your ſelves to Gods Government and Will, and go the way which he preſcribeth: Conquer Satan, and you need not fear his forces, and do but reſolutely reſiſt him, and you conquer him.
8. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you: cleanſe your hands, ye ſinners, and purifie your hearts ye double-minded. 9. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heavineſs, 10. Humble your ſelves in the ſight of the Lord, and he ſhall lift you up.
8, 9, 10. Draw nigh to that God againſt whom you have rebelled, and he will draw nigh to you for your deliverance, and will not forſake you. Cleanſe your hands by Reformation from your ſins, and your hearts from your halting between God and the World: Bewail your former ſin, by ſelf-afflicting mourning and weeping. Turn your ſenſual pleaſures into godly ſorrow, and your carnal mirth into penitent tears: Humble your ſelves before that God whom you have offended, and then he will lift you up, and ſave you better than your Seditions.
11. Speak not evil one of another (brethren) he that ſpeaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, ſpeaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
11. And give over your reproach and cenſoriouſneſs againſt the Gentile Chriſtians, that do not obſerve your Ceremonial Law, by which you encourage their Perſecutors; for both the Law of Chriſt, and the Law of Moſes, which you profeſs to own, do bid you love your Neighbour as your ſelf, and forbid ſuch uncharitable cenſures; ſo that by condemning your Brethren, you condemn the Law: And this is not to keep either Moſes's Law or Chriſt's, but to ſet your ſelves above both, by making your ſelves Reproving Judges of them.
12. There is one Law-giver, who is able to ſave, and to deſtroy: who art thou that judgeſt another?
12. Chriſt, and none elſe (ſaith Dr. H.) hath Authority to give Laws to us: There is but one Law-giver, who hath the abſolute and final power of life and death eternal, Salvation and Damnation. Who art thou that dareſt arrogate this Judgment? Or what power haſt thou to judge or anathematize another, any further than truly to tell men whom Chriſt will judge and caſt away?
13. Go to now, ye that ſay, To day or to morrow we will go into ſuch a city, and continue there a year, and buy and ſell, and get gain: 14. Whereas ye know not what ſhall be on the morrow: for what is your life? it is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vaniſheth away.
13, 14. You are too much ſet on wordly proſperity; and you plot for gain, as if you were ſecured of long abode on Earth; and you lay your deſigns with preſumptuous confidence, where and how long you will dwell, trade and gain, when as your Life on Earth is a meer uncertain fugitive vapour, quickly gone,
15. For that ye ought to ſay, If the Lord will we ſhall live, and do this, or that. 16. But now ye rejoyce in your boaſtings: all ſuch rejoycing is evil.
15, 16. Whereas ye ſhould remember the uncertainty and ſhortneſs of your lives, and deſign and do all in ſubmiſſive dependance on the will of God: But you fetch your comfort from wordly things by your own vain preſumption of long Life, and hope of worldly proſperity: all ſuch preſumptuous carnal comforts are evil.
17. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is ſin.
17. And the brevity of Mans Life, and the vanity of worldly gain, are things ſo notorious and undeniable to all men, eſpecially to Chriſtians, that to let theſe vanities looſen you from Chriſt and your obedience, is utterly unexcuſeable.
CHAP. V.
1. GO to now ye rich men, weep and howl for your miſeries that ſhall come upon you.
1. But as to tho…e that will yet cleave to the World, and take no warning, let me tell you to your ſorrow, that dreadful miſeries are coming upon you, the fore ſigh… of which ſhouhld make you weep and howl inſtead of your deceitful joy.
2. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments moth-eaten. 3. Your gold and ſilver is cankered, and the ruſt of them ſhall be a witneſs againſt you, and ſhall eat your fleſh as it were fire: ye have heaped treaſure together for the laſt days.
2, 3. What are theſe vanities which you have ſo inordinately affected. Your beloved riches are not only corruptible, but corrupted by you, to your own ſin and hurt: your rich cloathing is a moth-eaten vanity. The gold and ſilver, which you have treaſured up, is cankered and ruſty, and the guilt ſignified by that ruſt, ſhall condemn you, and corrode your Conſciences as fire. At great coſt and labour you have treaſured up riches, but it is in effect, to be a prey to your Enemies in the day of your Deſtruction, and a witneſs in God's day of Judgment againſt your ſelves to your own confuſion.
4. Behold the hire of the labourers, which have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped, are entred into the ears of the Lord of ſabbaoth (or hoſts.)
4. You Jews are addicted to Covetouſneſs, and by that to Injury and Oppreſſion, and you deny poor labourers their wages, and defraud them; and God heareth their cries, and will revenge them on you.
5. Ye have lived in pleaſure on the earth, and been wanton: ye have nouriſhed your hearts, as in a day of ſlaughter.
5. Your Riches have been proviſion for your ſenſuality: You have by them made proviſion for the luſts of the fleſh, and lived in pleaſure, revelling, and luxury, and laſciviouſneſs, and have fed and cheriſhed the fleſh, and its delights, as in a continual feaſt.
6. Ye have condemned and killed the juſt, and he doth not reſiſt you.
6. Your Riches have lift you up into power, which you have abuſed to condemn and kill innocent men, who have not reſiſted you, but endured all.
Note 1. Some think that the Jewiſh Chriſtians are here meant, to whom James wrote; but ſure they were not ſo degenerate. 2. Some think it was the Gnoſtick Hereticks. 3. I think it much more probable, that by an Apoſtrophe he ſpeaks to the Rich Infidels, to introduce his Exhortation to the Chriſtians to Patience.
7. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord: behold the huſbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8. Be ye alſo patient, ſtabliſh your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
7, 8. But as for you, perſecuted Chriſtians, bear all this patiently, without diſcouragement, tiredneſs, or wavering in your Faith: For the time is ſhort, and the coming of Chriſt for your deliverance is not far off: If in your Huſbandry or Tillage you look not to reap as ſoon as you have ſowed, but wait for the Harveſt and Fruit, and for the Showers that muſt ripen it; ſhould you not more patiently wait for greater things? when the time will quickly come?
9. Grudge not one againſt another, brethren, leſt ye be condemned; behold, the Judge ſtandeth before the door.
9. Make not too great a matter of your wrongs, nor quarrel among your ſelves, (as the Jewiſh Zealots, mentioned by Joſiphus, did) leſt while you condemn one another, all condemn themſelves, and biting and devouring one another, you be devoured one of another: Stay but a little, and the Judge, who is at hand, will avenge you of your Enemies, and end all your quarrels, which ignorance and pride have made, and kept up, among your ſelves.
10. Take, my brethren the prophets, who have ſpoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of ſuffering affliction, and of patience.
10. You juſtly honour the Prophets, who have ſpoken, as ſent from God: Remember how they were uſed, and how they ſuffered, and let them be your Example, and imitate them in Patience.
11. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have ſeen the end of the Lord: that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
11. It is part of our Faith, to believe that they are happy who patiently ſuffer for Righteouſneſs ſake: You have heard of Job's patience, and of the end which God intended and accompliſhed, which tells us that God is full of pity and mercy to us, when he afflicteth us.
12. But above all things, my brethren, ſwear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea, be yea: and your nay, nay: leſt ye fall into condemnation.
12. And I muſt ſpecially exhort you to avoid cuſtomary, needleſs ſwearing, by Heaven or Earth, or any oath; but let Yea and Nay ſerve you, and be true of your word, that you be not drawn into a juſt ſuſpicion of falſhood, (or condemned for prophaning the name of God.)
Note 1. That this is ſo far from forbidding neceſſary oaths, for ending ſtrife, that it is but to confirm them, by preſerving the due reverence of them.
2. The true nature of an oath is by our ſpeech [to pawn the reputation of ſome certain or great thing, for the averring of a doubted leſſer thing;] and not only (as is commonly held) an appeal to God, or other Judge. As to ſwear [by the Fire, by the Temple, by my Faith or Truth, by the Life of Pharaoh, by the Heavens, &c.] is as much as to ſay [If this be not true, then the Fire burneth not, the Temple is not holy, I am a Lyar, Pharaoh is no King, as ſure as Heaven is Heaven, &c.] ſo [the Lord liveth] is [This is as true as that God liveth.]
13. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him ſing pſalms.
13. In your affliction, have preſent recourſe to God by prayer (in Faith and Hope) and when you are chearful and merry, turn it to God's praiſe and thankſgiving for his mercies, in ſinging holy Songs to God.
Note; That it is not only David's Pſalms that they are tyed to, but ſuch as are by men fitted to their proper caſes; which confuteth them that condemn all humane Forms of compoſed words in God's Service.
14. Is any ſick among you? let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15. And the prayer of faith ſhall ſave the ſick, and the Lord ſhall raiſe him up; and if he have committed ſins, they ſhall be forgiven him.
14, 15. When any of you is ſick, let him ſend for the Biſhops of Paſtors of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with Oil in the name of the Lord, as a ſign and means which he hath appointed for miraculous Cures: And if it be the Prayer of Faith, and he be a perſon capable and fit for that deliverance, it ſhall recover him from his Sickneſs, and God ſhall raiſe him; and if his Sickneſs be a corrective puniſhment for any ſin that he hath committed, God will forgive him, and take off that penalty, if he repent.
Note 1. That this implieth, that each Church had divers Elders: And whereas Dr. H. thinks it meaneth one ſingle Biſhop, who, the Ancients ſay, viſited all the ſick, you may ſee then how great their Dioceſſes were. Should all the ſick men in London, or in many Counties, ſend for the Biſhop, he would come but to a few of them, at leaſt forty or eighty Miles off: But it will be ſaid, He may do it by others: And why not give Orders and Sacraments by others (as Lay-men now uſe the Keys?) And if the work be proper to Biſhops, thoſe others then are made Biſhops; if not, others may do it.
2. Anointing (being healthful to dry bodies in thoſe hot Countries) was uſed by Chriſt's appointment for miraculous Cures, and never made a Duty or Sacrament to continue when Miracles ceaſe.
3. Sickneſſes are uſually corrective puniſhments for ſin; and to forgive the ſin as to that penalty, is to remit the puniſhment, and heal the ſick.
4. The promiſe of pardon and recovery preſuppoſeth the perſon penitent, and fit for that deliverance.
16. Confeſs your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed: the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
16. Therefore Penitently confeſs your faults to one another (eſpecially to the Elders that viſit you) and pray one for another; for this is the likely way of your recovery: The effectual, fervent, inſtant Prayer of a Righteous Man is of great force or prevalence.
Note. 1. An impenitent man is unfit for Pardon, and therefore, for deliverance from puniſhment: and he that doth not penitently confeſs and bewail his ſin, cannot be judged a true Penitent; and therefore cannot be prayed for with that Faith and Hope as we may do for the Penitent. 2. This is not to be a cuſtomary thing, or only to a Prieſt, but it's a duty both in Sickneſs and Health, wherever the expreſſion of Repentance to others is a duty. By which alas, we know how rare true Repentance is, when even profeſſors of Zeal in Religion are ſharp in cenſuring and blaming others; and except a very few humble Souls, if they be never ſo juſtly blamed or reproved, do ſwell againſt the reprover with pride and indignation as if he were their Enemy: And they that ſeparate from the Churches for want of Diſcipline, are earneſt for it for others, but cannot bear it on themſelves; nor ſo much as endure a confutation of their errors, but take him to ſpeak againſt Godlineſs, who ſpeaketh againſt their miſtakes and faults; and two many (like the Prophane) will turn again and all to rend him.
17. Elias was a man ſubject to like paſſions as we are, and he prayed earneſtly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the ſpace of three years and ſix months. 18. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
17, 18. Think not that Prayer is a vain or uneffectual thing, though we be frail and faulty men: Elias was but a man, liable both to ſufferings, and to a troubled mind in them; as we are; yet on his earneſt Prayer, it rained not on an Idolatrous Perſecuting Country for three years and a half; and at his Prayer, it rained again, and the Land was fruitful.
19, 20. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the ſinner from the errour of his way, ſhall ſave a ſoul from death, and ſhall hide a multitude of ſins.
19, 20. I beſeech you, Brethren, be neither negligent or diſpairing to the cure of men in error, nor yet impatient with thoſe that would detect your Errors, and convince you and bring you to Repentance (as proud impenitent Perſons are:) But know that (as all men, alas are too prone to error) if any man err from the truth (through ignorance or a corrupted will,) and one convert him, he that converteth a ſinner from his error in mind or life, doth not only do that which tendeth to ſave his life from Gods puniſhing ſtroak, but alſo ſhall ſave his Soul from everlaſting death, and procure the Pardon of his manifold ſin, not only ſo far that the Church, but God himſelf, ſhall receive him into a reconciled ſtate.
Note 1. That error and ſin are the way to death and miſery. 2. Converting the erroneous ſinner, is the way to ſave him. 3. One man may be ſaid to ſave another, (much more a man himſelf) by converting him, without derogating from Chriſts Salvation, but in ſubordination to it. 4. Therefore all Chriſtians, but ſpecially Miniſters, ſhould be diligent and ſkilful to convert erroneous ſinners, and the erroneous patient and thankful for their help.
Note; If it be the Gnoſticks, as Dr. H. ſaith, that James here and Paul in his Epiſtles ſo greatly warn the Chriſtians againſt, alas, too great a part of the Church Governours, Biſhops and their Clergys abroad on Earth, ſeem turned very like theſe by him deſcribed Gnoſticks. 1. In being for Worldly intereſt, Wealth and Pleaſure. 2. In being for Ceremonies. 3. In joining with the Ʋngodly Enemies of Piety. 4. In being Latitudinarians, or Licentious againſt ſtrictneſs and tenderneſs of Conſcience, and Adiaphoriſts in things not Adiaphorous. 5. In being Perſecutors. And if baſe underling Gnoſticks or Nicolaitans, could ſo trouble the Churches then, what a caſe muſt thoſe Countrys be in, where they are got into the Epiſcopal Chair, and claim the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, to execute their Pride and Luſts over Princes and People of all ſorts, ſure Borborites or Gnoſticks are not the leſs ſuch, nor the leſs dangerous, for being called Biſhops, and having Power, Wealth, and Intereſt.