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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [James III].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J A M E S.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. III.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The apostle here reproves ambition, and an arrogant magisterial tongue;
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and shows the duty and advantage of bridling it because of its power to
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do mischief. Those who profess religion ought especially to govern
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their tongues,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:1-12">ver. 1-12</A>.
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True wisdom makes men meek, and avoiders of strife and envy: and hereby
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it may easily be distinguished from a wisdom that is earthly and
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hypocritical,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:13-18">ver. 13, to the end</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Jas3_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Government of the Tongue.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 61.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall
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receive the greater condemnation.
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2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in
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word, the same <I>is</I> a perfect man, <I>and</I> able also to bridle the
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whole body.
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3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey
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us; and we turn about their whole body.
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4 Behold also the ships, which though <I>they be</I> so great, and
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<I>are</I> driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a
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very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
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5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great
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things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
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6 And the tongue <I>is</I> a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the
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tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and
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setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of
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hell.
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7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and
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of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
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8 But the tongue can no man tame; <I>it is</I> an unruly evil, full
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of deadly poison.
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9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse
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we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
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10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My
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brethren, these things ought not so to be.
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11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet <I>water</I>
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and bitter?
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12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a
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vine, figs? so <I>can</I> no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The foregoing chapter shows how unprofitable and dead faith is without
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works. It is plainly intimated by what this chapter first goes upon
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that such a faith is, however, apt to make men conceited and
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magisterial in their tempers and their talk. Those who set up faith in
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the manner the former chapter condemns are most apt to run into those
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sins of the tongue which this chapter condemns. And indeed the best
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need to be cautioned against a dictating, censorious, mischievous use
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of their tongues. We are therefore taught,</P>
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<P>
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I. Not to use our tongues so as to lord it over others: <I>My brethren,
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be not many masters,</I> &c.,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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These words do not forbid doing what we can to direct and instruct
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others in the way of their duty or to reprove them in a Christian way
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for what is amiss; but we must not affect to speak and act as those who
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are continually assuming the chair, we must not prescribe to one
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another, so as to make our own sentiments a standard by which to try
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all others, because God gives various gifts to men, and expects from
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each according to that measure of light which he gives. "Therefore by
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not many <I>masters</I>" (or <I>teachers,</I> as some read it); "do not
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give yourselves the air of teachers, imposers, and judges, but rather
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speak with the humility and spirit of learners; do not censure one
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another, as if all must be brought to your standard." This is enforced
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by two reasons.
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1. Those who thus set up for judges and censurers <I>shall receive the
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greater condemnation.</I> Our judging others will but make our own
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judgment the more strict and severe,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+7:1,2">Matt. vii. 1, 2</A>.
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Those who are curious to spy out the faults of others, and arrogant in
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passing censures upon them, may expect that God will be as extreme in
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marking what they say and do amiss.
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2. Another reason given against such acting the master is because we
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are all sinners: <I>In many things we offend all,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Were we to think more of our own mistakes and offenses, we should be
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less apt to judge other people. While we are severe against what we
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count offensive in others, we do not consider how much there is in us
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which is justly offensive to them. Self-justifiers are commonly
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self-deceivers. We are all guilty before God; and those who vaunt it
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over the frailties and infirmities of others little think how many
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things they offend in themselves. Nay, perhaps their magisterial
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deportment, and censorious tongues, may prove worse than any faults
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they condemn in others. Let us learn to be severe in judging ourselves,
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but charitable in our judgments of other people.</P>
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<P>
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II. We are taught to govern our tongue so as to prove ourselves perfect
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and upright men, and such as have an entire government over ourselves:
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<I>If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able
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also to bridle the whole body.</I> It is here implied that he whose
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conscience is affected by tongue-sins, and who takes care to avoid
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them, is an upright man, and has an undoubted sign of true grace. But,
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on the other hand, <I>if a man seemeth to be religious</I> (as was
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declared in the first chapter) <I>and bridleth not his tongue,</I>
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whatever profession he makes, <I>that man's religion is vain.</I>
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Further, he that offends not in word will not only prove himself a
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sincere Christian, but a very much advanced and improved Christian. For
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the wisdom and grace which enable him to rule his tongue will enable
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him also to rule all his actions. This we have illustrated by two
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comparisons:--
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1. The governing and guiding of all the motions of a horse, by the bit
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which is put into his mouth: <I>Behold, we put bits into the horses'
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mouths, that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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There is a great deal of brutish fierceness and wantonness in us. This
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shows itself very much by the tongue: so that this must be bridled;
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according to
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+39:1">Ps. xxxix. 1</A>,
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<I>I will keep my mouth with a bridle</I> (or, <I>I will bridle my
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mouth) while the wicked is before me.</I> The more quick and lively the
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tongue is, the more should we thus take care to govern it. Otherwise,
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as an unruly and ungovernable horse runs away with his rider, or throws
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him, so an unruly tongue will serve those in like manner who have no
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command over it. Whereas, let resolution and watchfulness, under the
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influence of the grace of God, bridle the tongue, and then all the
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motions and actions of the whole body will be easily guided and
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overruled.
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2. The governing of a ship by the right management of the helm:
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<I>Behold also the ships, which though they are so great, and are
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driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small
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helm whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a
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little member, and boasteth great things,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:4,5"><I>v.</I> 4, 5</A>.
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As the helm is a very small part of the ship, so is the tongue a very
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small part of the body: but the right governing of the helm or rudder
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will steer and turn the ship as the governor pleases; and a right
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management of the tongue is, in a great measure, the government of the
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whole man. There is a wonderful beauty in these comparisons, to show
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how things of small bulk may yet be of vast use. And hence we should
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learn to make the due management of our tongues more our study,
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because, though they are little members, they are capable of doing a
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great deal of good or a great deal of hurt. Therefore,</P>
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<P>
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III. We are taught to dread an unruly tongue as one of the greatest and
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most pernicious evils. It is compared to a little fire placed among a
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great deal of combustible matter, which soon raises a flame and
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consumes all before it: <I>Behold, how great a matter a little fire
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kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity,</I> &c.,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>.
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There is such an abundance of sin in the tongue that it may be called
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<I>a world of iniquity.</I> How many defilements does it occasion! How
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many and dreadful flames does it kindle! <I>So is the tongue among the
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members that it defileth the whole body.</I> Observe hence, There is a
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great pollution and defilement in sins of the tongue. Defiling
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passions are kindled, vented, and cherished by this unruly member. And
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the whole body is often drawn into sin and guilt by the tongue.
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Therefore Solomon says, <I>Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to
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sin,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+5:6">Eccles. v. 6</A>.
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The snares into which men are sometimes led by the tongue are
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insufferable to themselves and destructive of others. <I>It setteth on
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fire the course of nature.</I> The affairs of mankind and of societies
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are often thrown into confusion, and all is on a flame, by the tongues
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of men. Some read it, <I>all our generations are set on fire by the
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tongue.</I> There is no age of the world, nor any condition of life,
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private or public, but will afford examples of this. <I>And it is set
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on fire of hell.</I> Observe hence, Hell has more to do in promoting of
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fire of the tongue than men are generally aware of. It is from some
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diabolical designs, that men's tongues are inflamed. The devil is
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expressly called a liar, a murderer, an accuser of the brethren; and,
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whenever men's tongues are employed in any of these ways, they are set
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on fire of hell. The Holy Ghost indeed once descended in <I>cloven
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tongues as of fire,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:1-4">Acts ii</A>.
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And, where the tongue is thus guided and wrought upon by a fire from
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heaven, there it kindleth good thoughts, holy affections, and ardent
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devotions. But when it is set on fire of hell, as in all undue heats it
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is, there it is mischievous, producing rage and hatred, and those
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things which serve the purposes of the devil. As therefore you would
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dread fires and flames, you should dread contentions, revilings,
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slanders, lies, and every thing that would kindle the fire of wrath in
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your own spirit or in the spirits of others. But,</P>
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<P>
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IV. We are next taught how very difficult a thing it is to govern the
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tongue: <I>For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and
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of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed, of mankind. But
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the tongue can no man tame,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
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As if the apostle had said, "Lions, and the most savage beasts, as well
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as horses and camels, and creatures of the greatest strength, have been
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tamed and governed by men: so have birds, notwithstanding their
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wildness and timorousness, and their wings to bear them up continually
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out of our reach: even serpents, notwithstanding all their venom and
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all their cunning, have been made familiar and harmless: and things in
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the sea have been taken by men, and made serviceable to them. And these
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creatures have not been subdued nor tamed by miracle only (as the lions
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crouched to Daniel, instead of devouring him, and ravens fed Elijah,
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and a whale carried Jonah through the depths of the sea to dry land),
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but what is here spoken of is something commonly done; not only hath
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been tamed, but is tamed of mankind. Yet the tongue is worse than
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these, and cannot be tamed by the power and art which serves to tame
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these things. No man can tame the tongue without supernatural grace and
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assistance." The apostle does not intend to represent it as a thing
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impossible, but as a thing extremely difficult, which therefore will
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require great watchfulness, and pains, and prayer, to keep it in due
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order. And sometimes all is too little; <I>for it is an unruly evil,
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full of deadly poison.</I> Brute creatures may be kept within certain
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bounds, they may be managed by certain rules, and even serpents may be
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so used as to do not hurt with all their poison; but the tongue is apt
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to break through all bounds and rules, and to spit out its poison on
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one occasion or other, notwithstanding the utmost care. So that not
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only does it need to be watched, and guarded, and governed, as much as
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an unruly beast, or a hurtful and poisonous creature, but much more
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care and pains will be needful to prevent the mischievous outbreakings
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and effects of the tongue. However,</P>
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<P>
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V. We are taught to think of the use we make of our tongues in religion
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and in the service of God, and by such a consideration to keep it from
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cursing, censuring, and every thing that is evil on other occasions:
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<I>Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men,
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who are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed
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blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
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How absurd is it that those who use their tongues in prayer and praise
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should ever use them in cursing, slandering, and the like! If we bless
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God as our Father, it should teach us to speak well of, and kindly to,
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all who bear his image. That tongue which addresses with reverence the
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divine Being cannot, without the greatest inconsistency, turn upon
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fellow-creatures with reviling brawling language. It is said of the
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seraphim that praise God, they <I>dare not bring a railing
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accusation.</I> And for men to reproach those who have not only the
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image of God in their natural faculties, but are renewed after the
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image of God by the grace of the gospel: this is a most shameful
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contradiction to all their pretensions of honouring the great Original.
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<I>These things ought not so to be;</I> and, if such considerations
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were always at hand, surely they would not be. Piety is disgraced in
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all the shows of it, if there be not charity. That tongue confutes
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itself which one while pretends to adore the perfections of God, and to
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refer all things to him, and another while will condemn even good men
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if they do not just come up to the same words or expressions used by
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it. Further, to fix this thought, the apostle shows that contrary
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effects from the same causes are monstrous, and not be found in nature,
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and therefore cannot be consistent with grace: <I>Doth a fountain send
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forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig-tree bear
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olive-berries, or a vine, figs? Or doth the same spring yield both salt
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water and fresh?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>.
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True religion will not admit of contradictions; and a truly religious
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man can never allow of them either in his words or his actions. How
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many sins would this prevent, and recover men from, to put them upon
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being always consistent with themselves!</P>
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<A NAME="Jas3_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas3_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Properties of Wisdom.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 61.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>13 Who <I>is</I> a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let
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him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of
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wisdom.
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14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts,
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glory not, and lie not against the truth.
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15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but <I>is</I> earthly,
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sensual, devilish.
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16 For where envying and strife <I>is,</I> there <I>is</I> confusion and
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every evil work.
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17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then
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peaceable, gentle, <I>and</I> easy to be intreated, full of mercy and
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good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
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18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that
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make peace.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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As the sins before condemned arise from an affectation of being thought
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more wise than others, and being endued with more knowledge than they,
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so the apostle in these verses shows the difference between men's
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pretending to be wise and their being really so, and between the wisdom
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which is from beneath (from earth or hell) and that which is from
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above.</P>
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<P>
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I. We have some account of true wisdom, with the distinguishing marks
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and fruits of it: <I>Who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge among
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you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of
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wisdom,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
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A truly wise man is a very knowing man: he will not set up for the
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reputation of being wise without laying in a good stock of knowledge;
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|
and he will not value himself merely upon knowing things, if he has not
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|
wisdom to make a right application and use of that knowledge. These
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|
two things must be put together to make up the account of true wisdom:
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|
who is wise, and endued with knowledge? Now where this is the happy
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|
case of any there will be these following things:--
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1. A good conversation. If we are wiser than others, this should be
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|
evidenced by the goodness of our conversation, not by the roughness or
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|
vanity of it. Words that inform, and heal, and do good, are the marks
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|
of wisdom; not those that look great, and do mischief, and are the
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|
occasions of evil, either in ourselves or others.
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|
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2. True wisdom may be known by its works. The conversation here does
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|
not refer only to words, but to the whole of men's practice; therefore
|
|
it is said, Let him show out of a good conversation his works. True
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|
wisdom does not lie in good notions or speculations so much as in good
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|
and useful actions. Not he who thinks well, or he who talks well, is in
|
|
the sense of the scripture allowed to be wise, if he do not live and
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|
act well.
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|
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3. True wisdom may be known by the meekness of the spirit and temper:
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|
<I>Let him show with meekness,</I> &c. It is a great instance of wisdom
|
|
prudently to bridle our own anger, and patiently to bear the anger of
|
|
others. And as wisdom will evidence itself in meekness, so meekness
|
|
will be a great friend to wisdom; for nothing hinders the regular
|
|
apprehension, the solid judgment, and impartiality of thought,
|
|
necessary to our acting wisely, so much as passion. When we are mild
|
|
and calm, we are best able to hear reason, and best able to speak it.
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|
Wisdom produces meekness, and meekness increases wisdom.</P>
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|
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<P>
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|
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|
II. We have the glorying of those taken away who are of a contrary
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|
character to that now mentioned, and their wisdom exposed in all its
|
|
boasts and productions: "<I>If you have bitter envying and strife in
|
|
your hearts, glory not,</I> &c.,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:14-16"><I>v.</I> 14-16</A>.
|
|
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|
Pretend what you will, and think yourselves ever so wise, yet you have
|
|
abundance of reason to cease your glorying, if you run down love and
|
|
peace, and give way to bitter envying and strife. Your zeal for truth
|
|
or orthodoxy, and your boasts of knowing more than others, if you
|
|
employ these only to make others hateful, and to show your own spite
|
|
and heart-burnings against them, are a shame to your profession of
|
|
Christianity, and a downright contradiction to it. Lie not thus against
|
|
the truth." Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. Envying and strife are opposed to the meekness of wisdom. The heart
|
|
is the seat of both; but envy and wisdom cannot dwell together in the
|
|
same heart. Holy zeal and bitter envying are as different as the flames
|
|
of seraphim and the fire of hell.
|
|
|
|
2. The order of things here laid down. Envying is first and excites
|
|
strife; strife endeavours to excuse itself by vain-glorying and lying;
|
|
and then
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>)
|
|
|
|
hereupon ensue confusion and every evil work. Those who live in malice,
|
|
envy, and contention, live in confusion, and are liable to be provoked
|
|
and hurried to any evil work. Such disorders raise many temptations,
|
|
strengthen temptations, and involve men in a great deal of guilt. One
|
|
sin begets another, and it cannot be imagined how much mischief is
|
|
produced: <I>there</I> is every evil work. And is such wisdom as
|
|
produces these effects to be gloried in? This cannot be without giving
|
|
the lie to Christianity, and pretending that this wisdom is what it is
|
|
not. For observe,
|
|
|
|
3. Whence such wisdom cometh: <I>It descendeth not from above,</I> but
|
|
ariseth from beneath; and, to speak plainly, it is <I>earthly, sensual,
|
|
devilish,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
It springs from earthly principles, acts upon earthly motives, and is
|
|
intent upon serving earthly purposes. It is sensual indulging the
|
|
flesh, and making provision to fulfil the lusts and desires of it. Or,
|
|
according to the original word, <B><I>psychike,</I></B> it is animal of
|
|
human--the mere working of natural reason, without any supernatural
|
|
light. And it is devilish, such wisdom being the wisdom of devils (to
|
|
create uneasiness and to do hurt), and being inspired by devils, whose
|
|
condemnation is pride
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+3:6">1 Tim. iii. 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
and who are noted in other places of scripture for their wrath, and
|
|
their accusing the brethren. And therefore those who are lifted up with
|
|
such wisdom as this must fall into the condemnation of the devil.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. We have the lovely picture of that wisdom which is from above more
|
|
fully drawn, and set in opposition to this which is from beneath:
|
|
<I>But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable,</I>
|
|
&c.,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:17,18"><I>v.</I> 17, 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe here, True wisdom is God's gift. It is not gained by conversing
|
|
with men, nor by the knowledge of the world (as some think and speak),
|
|
but it comes from above. It consists of these several things:--
|
|
|
|
1. It is pure, without mixture of maxims or aims that would debase it:
|
|
and it is free from iniquity and defilements, not allowing of any known
|
|
sin, but studious of holiness both in heart and life.
|
|
|
|
2. The wisdom that is from above is peaceable. Peace follows purity,
|
|
and depends upon it. Those who are truly wise do what they can to
|
|
preserve peace, that it may not be broken; and to make peace, that
|
|
where it is lost it may be restored. In kingdoms, in families, in
|
|
churches, in all societies, and in all interviews and transactions,
|
|
heavenly wisdom makes men peaceable.
|
|
|
|
3. It is gentle, not standing upon extreme right in matters of
|
|
property; not saying nor doing any thing rigorous in points of censure;
|
|
not being furious about opinions, urging our own beyond their weight
|
|
nor theirs who oppose us beyond their intention; not being rude and
|
|
overbearing in conversation, nor harsh and cruel in temper. Gentleness
|
|
may thus be opposed to all these.
|
|
|
|
4. Heavenly wisdom is <I>easy to be entreated,</I>
|
|
<B><I>eupeithes;</I></B> it is very <I>persuadable,</I> either to what
|
|
is good or from what is evil. There is an easiness that is weak and
|
|
faulty; but it is not a blamable easiness to yield ourselves to the
|
|
persuasions of God's word, and to all just and reasonable counsels or
|
|
requests of our fellow-creatures; no, nor to give up a dispute, where
|
|
there appears a good reason for it and where a good end may be answered
|
|
by it.
|
|
|
|
5. Heavenly wisdom is full of mercy and good fruits, inwardly disposed
|
|
to every thing that is kind and good, both to relieve those who want
|
|
and to forgive those who offend, and actually to do this whenever
|
|
proper occasions offer.
|
|
|
|
6. Heavenly wisdom is without partiality. The original word,
|
|
<B><I>adiakritos,</I></B> signifies to be without suspicion, or free
|
|
from judging, making no undue surmises nor differences in our conduct
|
|
towards one person more than another. The margin reads it, <I>without
|
|
wrangling,</I> not acting the part of sectaries, and disputing merely
|
|
for the sake of a party; nor censuring others purely on account of
|
|
their differing from us. The wisest men are least apt to be censurers.
|
|
|
|
7. That wisdom which is from above is without hypocrisy. It has no
|
|
disguises nor deceits. It cannot fall in with those managements which
|
|
the world counts wise, which are crafty and guileful; but it is sincere
|
|
and open, steady and uniform, and consistent with itself. O that you
|
|
and I may always be guided by such wisdom as this! that with Paul we
|
|
may be able to say, <I>Not with fleshly wisdom, but in simplicity and
|
|
godly sincerity, by the grace of God, we have our conversation.</I> And
|
|
then, <I>lastly,</I> true wisdom will go on to sow the fruits of
|
|
righteousness in peace, and thus, if it may be, to make peace in the
|
|
world,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
And that which is sown in peace will produce a harvest of joys. Let
|
|
others reap the fruits of contentions, and all the advantages they can
|
|
propose to themselves by them; but let us go on peaceably to sow the
|
|
seeds of righteousness, and we may depend upon it our labour will not
|
|
be lost. <I>For light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the
|
|
upright in heart; and the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the
|
|
effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
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