Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of James 4:10
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
10. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up ] Better, he shall exalt, so as to preserve the manifest allusion to our Lord’s words as recorded in Mat 23:12; Luk 14:12; Luk 18:14. Here again we have another striking parallel with St Peter’s language (1Pe 5:6). There is, however, a difference as well as an agreement to be noticed. While the other passages speak mainly of humility in its relation to man, this dwells emphatically on its being manifested in relation to God.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord – Compare Mat 23:12. See the notes at Jam 4:6. That is, be willing to take your appropriate place in the dust on account of your transgressions. This is to be in the sight of the Lord, or before him. Our sins have been committed against him; and their principal aggravation, whoever may have been wronged by them, and great as is their criminality in other respects, arises from that consideration. Psa 51:4, against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight. Luk 15:18, I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee. As the Being against whom we have sinned is the only one who can pardon, it is proper that we should humble ourselves before him with penitent confession.
And he shall lift you up – He will exalt you from the condition of a broken-hearted penitent to that of a forgiven child; will wipe away your tears, remove the sadness of your heart, fill you with joy, and clothe you with the garments of salvation. This declaration is in accordance with all the promises in the Bible, and with all the facts which occur on the earth, that God is willing to show mercy to the humble and contrite, and to receive those who are truly penitent into his favor. Compare Luk 15:22.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 10. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord] In Jas 4:7 they were exhorted to submit to God; here they are exhorted to humble themselves in his sight. Submission to God’s authority will precede humiliation of soul, and genuine repentance is performed as in the sight of God; for when a sinner is truly awakened to a sense of his guilt and danger, he seems to see, whithersoever he turns, the face of a justly incensed God turned against him.
He shall lift you up.] Mourners and penitents lay on the ground, and rolled themselves in the dust. When comforted and pardoned, they arose from the earth, shook themselves from the dust, and clothed themselves in their better garments. God promises to raise these from the dust, when sufficiently humbled.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Humble yourselves: the same duty pressed again, only with respect to the more internal part of it, the debasement of the heart, lest they should rest too much in the outward exercises before mentioned. They did lift up themselves through pride and emulation, and he shows them the best way to the truest exaltation, viz. humility, Mat 23:12; Pro 15:33; 18:12.
In the sight of the Lord; sincerely, as in the presence of the Searcher of hearts.
And he shall lift you up; as to your outward state and enjoyments, so far as God sees good for you; but, however, in grace here, and glory hereafter, Luk 14:11.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. in the sight of the Lordascontinually in the presence of Him who alone is worthy to be exalted:recognizing His presence in all your ways, the truest incentive tohumility. The tree, to grow upwards, must strike its rootsdeep downwards; so man, to be exalted, must have his mind deep-rootedin humility. In 1Pe 5:6, it is,Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, namely, in Hisdealings of Providence: a distinct thought from that here.
lift you upin part inthis world, fully in the world to come.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord,…. Which is done, when men, before the Lord, and from their hearts, and in the sincerity of their souls, acknowledge their meanness and unworthiness, their vileness, sinfulness, and wretchedness, and implore the grace and mercy of God in Christ, as did Abraham, Jacob, Job, Isaiah, Paul, and the publican; and when they walk humbly with God, acknowledging they can do nothing without him; owning their dependence on his grace, and ascribing all they have, and are, unto it:
and he shall lift you up; this is God’s usual way to lift up the meek, and exalt those that humble themselves; he lifts them from the dunghill, to set them among princes; he gives them a place, and a name in his house, better than sons and daughters; he adorns them with his grace; he clothes them with the righteousness of his Son, he grants them nearness to himself; and at last will introduce them into his kingdom and glory.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Humble yourselves (). First aorist passive imperative of , old verb from (1:9), as in Mt 18:4. The passive here has almost the middle or reflexive sense. The middle voice was already giving way to the passive. See 1Pe 5:6 for this same form with the same promise of exaltation.
He shall exalt you ( ). Future active indicative of , common verb from (height), used by Jesus in contrast with as here (Matt 23:12; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) Humble or afflict yourselves before the face of God, praying in a closet, privately, about your problems or worldliness. He shall lift you, James certifies, Job 22:29; Pro 29:23; Luk 14:11; Luk 18:14.
2) Every humble, penitent soul who earnestly calls upon God, imploring His pardon and His help, shall be lifted from shame and remorse in this life, and the life which is to come.
LOWER YET
I used to think that God’s gifts were on shelves one above the other; and that the taller we grew in Christian character the easier we could reach them. I now find that God’s gifts are on shelves one beneath the other; and that it is not a question. of growing taller but of stooping lower; and that we have to go down, always down, to get His best gifts.
– F. B. Meyer, in Alliance Weekly
He that is down need fear no fall,
He that is low, no pride,
He that is humble, ever shall
Have God to be his guide.
Bunyan
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
10 Humble yourselves, or, be ye humbled. The conclusion of what is gone before is, that the grace of God then be ready to raise us up when he sees that our proud spirits are laid aside. We emulate and envy, because we desire to be eminent. This is a way wholly unreasonable, for it is God’s peculiar work to raise up the lowly, and especially those who willingly humble themselves. Whosoever, then, seeks a firm elevation, let him be cast down under a sense of his own infirmity, and think humbly of himself. Augustine well observes somewhere, As a tree must strike deep roots downwards, that it may grow upwards, so every one who has not his soul fixed deep in humility, exalts himself to his own ruin.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(10) Humble yourselves . . .Read, Humble yourselves therefore before the Lord, and He shall lift you up. For thus saith the high and lofty One (Isa. 57:15), I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Comp. 1Pe. 5:6.) God, says Thomas Kempis, protects the humble and delivers him; He loves and consoles him; He inclines Himself towards the humble man, He bestows on him exceeding grace, and after his humiliation He lifts him up to glory; He reveals his secrets to the humble, and sweetly draws and leads him to Himself.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. Humble yourselves lift you up To pardon, holiness, and heaven.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.’
And the result of their humbling themselves before God is that ‘the Lord will exalt you.’ He will lift them up to share His glory (Isa 57:15). It is left open as to whether ‘the Lord’ is the Father (Jas 3:9) or ‘the Lord, Jesus Christ’ (Jas 1:1; Jas 2:1; Jas 5:7; Jas 5:14). Jesus Himself repeatedly declared that it was the man who humbled himself who alone would be exalted (Mat 23:12; Luk 14:11).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jam 4:10. Humble yourselves, &c. “In this manner lay yourselves at the foot of God with the lowest prostration and self-abasement, as offenders against his sacred Majesty, and with an affecting conviction that he knows your hearts and principally looks at them, and observes all the secret workings of corruption, on the one hand, and of contrite sorrow, on the other, that pass within them; and he will revive your drooping souls with a sense of his pardoning and recovering grace; will raise you up above all your fears and troubles, temporal and spiritual; and will exalt you to honour among his people in this world, and, if faithful unto death, to immortal glory in the world to come.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jas 4:10 . Conclusion carrying with it an O. T. colouring of the exhortation, in which what has hitherto been said is summed up.
] in reference to . . ., Jas 4:6 .
] i.e. (comp. Jas 4:7 ), not (Grotius).
] not = , 1Pe 5:6 : , but expresses that the self-abasement is to take place in consciousness of the presence of God, who gives grace only to the humble; comp. Sir 2:17 : .
] is to be referred both to the present concealed and to the future manifested glory of the humble Christian (comp. chap. Jas 1:9 ). The contrasted ideas and often occur; see in the O. T. Job 5:11 ; Eze 21:26 ; in the N. T. Mat 23:12 ; Luk 14:11 ; 1Pe 5:6 , and other places.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Ver. 10. Humble yourselves ] He beats often upon this most needful but much neglected duty of humiliation, and all is little enough; there being nothing that more goes against the heart and the hair with us, than to go downward; and yet it must be done, or we are undone.
And he shall lift you up ] The Lion of Judah rends not the prostrate prey. But as William the Conqueror ever held submission satisfactory for the greatest offences, and often received rebels into grace (Daniel’s Chron.), so doth Christ much more. The sun in the morning gathereth clouds, but then it soon scattereth them again; so doth the Sun of righteousness cast men down, that he may raise them up again.
” Deiecit ut relevet, premit ut solatia praestet,
Enecat ut possit vivificare Deus.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
10 .] Conclusion of the exhortation : the true way to exaltation, through humility. Calvin quotes from Augustine, “Sicuti arborem, ut sursum crescat, profundas subtus radices agere oportet, ita quisquis in humilitatis radice fixum animum non habet, in ruinam suam extollitur.” Be humbled before the Lord (ref. Matt. and 1Pe 5:6 ; but there is not = here. This latter gives more the realization in the soul of the presence of God, as drawing near to Him in humility: that, the subjection to Him in recognition of His providence and His judgments. , not Christ, but the Father: see on ch. Jam 1:7 ), and He shall exalt you (both here and hereafter: by His grace and counsel here (not exactly as Grot., who is too external throughout this passage, “Sublimes facie donis suis ”) to the hidden glory of His waiting children, and by His fruition and presence hereafter ( as 1Pe 5:6 ) to the ineffable glory of His manifested children. Cf. besides reff. Luk 1:52 ; Job 5:11 ; Eze 21:26 ).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Humble yourselves. Greek. tapeinoo. See 2Co 11:7.
LORD. App-98. A (B according to texts).
lift . . . up. Greek. hupsoo. See Joh 12:32.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
10.] Conclusion of the exhortation: the true way to exaltation, through humility. Calvin quotes from Augustine, Sicuti arborem, ut sursum crescat, profundas subtus radices agere oportet, ita quisquis in humilitatis radice fixum animum non habet, in ruinam suam extollitur. Be humbled before the Lord (ref. Matt. and 1Pe 5:6; but there is not = here. This latter gives more the realization in the soul of the presence of God, as drawing near to Him in humility: that, the subjection to Him in recognition of His providence and His judgments. , not Christ, but the Father: see on ch. Jam 1:7), and He shall exalt you (both here and hereafter: by His grace and counsel here (not exactly as Grot., who is too external throughout this passage, Sublimes facie donis suis) to the hidden glory of His waiting children, and by His fruition and presence hereafter ( as 1Pe 5:6) to the ineffable glory of His manifested children. Cf. besides reff. Luk 1:52; Job 5:11; Eze 21:26).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Humble: Jam 4:6, Jam 4:7
he: 1Sa 2:9, Job 22:29, Psa 27:6, Psa 28:9, Psa 30:1, Psa 113:7, Psa 147:6, Mat 23:12, Luk 14:11, Luk 18:14, 1Pe 5:6
Reciprocal: Exo 10:3 – humble Deu 8:2 – to humble 1Sa 2:7 – bringeth 2Sa 12:22 – I fasted 2Ch 7:14 – humble 2Ch 12:6 – humbled 2Ch 30:11 – humbled themselves 2Ch 32:26 – Hezekiah 2Ch 33:12 – humbled 2Ch 36:12 – humbled Job 33:17 – hide Psa 10:17 – humble Pro 6:3 – go Pro 15:33 – and Pro 22:4 – By Jer 13:15 – be Jer 13:18 – Humble Lam 5:15 – our dance Mat 5:3 – the poor Mat 18:4 – humble Luk 1:52 – put Luk 7:6 – for 2Co 7:7 – mourning Heb 12:9 – shall we not
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jas 4:10. This is virtually the same admonition as in verse 6.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jas 4:10. Humble yourselves. All the above exhortations are enforcements of humility.
in the sight of the Lord: that is, before the Lord, as in His presence. The Lord is, as is usual in the Epistle of St. James, not Christ, but God.
and he shall lift you up, or rather exalt you, both in this world by His grace, and in the next world to His glory. The true way to exaltation is through humility. Compare the very similar words in St. Peters Epistle: Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time (1Pe 5:6); and the words of our Lord: Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted (Mat 23:12). Humility is one of the rarest and one of the most lovely of all graces. It is the direct opposite of that contentious, envious, and resentful spirit which St. James here so vehemently condemns; peace and contentment are its inseparable associates. Humility is the true spirit of all obedience; submission is the perfection of virtue; and resignation to the Divine will is just another term for universal holiness.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
In concluding this section of direct advice (Jas 4:7-10), James sounded the same note with which he began: submission to God in humility, putting Him before self. This always results in God lifting one up both immediately and eventually. Since this is the condition in which God can use us, He will proceed to do so for His glory (cf. Mat 18:4; Mat 23:12; Luk 14:11; Luk 18:14; 1Pe 5:6).
"Ralph Bell, an associate evangelist with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, is a godly man who tells of learning grace-reliance in a deeply personal way. Bell is a Canadian-born black man who lives and ministers in the United States. As a young man, he struggled with experiences of racial insults and discrimination. Being so treated by fellow Christians, who were disobeying James’s instructions about impartiality, was especially hurtful. Bell shared his struggles with his mother, who counseled him to keep his eyes on Jesus, because Jesus would never disappoint him. As he sought to apply that advice, he began to find the grace to see others’ racism as their problem. He further sought grace from God to purify his own life of hatred toward those who mistreated him. In James’s terms, Ralph Bell humbled himself before the Lord, and he found himself being lifted up by the grace of God to be able to love his enemies. How does one love hostile and hurtful people? The answer is supernaturally, by relying on the grace that God gives to the humble." [Note: Stulac, p. 151.]