Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of James 4:8
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded.
8 10. The Call to Repentance
8. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you ] The “nearness to God,” to which the promise is attached, is primarily that which is involved in all true and earnest prayer, but it should not be forgotten that it includes also the approximation of character and life. We are to walk with God as Enoch walked (Gen 5:24). The former sense is prominent in the LXX. use of the verb employed by St James, as in Hos 12:6, where in the English we have “ wait on thy God continually,” and Psa 119:169. An illustration of its meaning in the second clause is found in Job 19:21, where it answers to the English “have pity on me.”
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners ] The words contrast, with an implied reference to our Lord’s teaching in Mat 15:1-9, the true cleanness of hands, which consists in abstinence from the evil that defiles (Psa 24:4; 1Ti 2:8), with the merely ceremonial cleanness on which the Pharisees laid stress. Comp. Ch. Jas 1:27.
purify your hearts ] The verb implies the same kind of purity as the adjective used in Ch. Jas 3:17, primarily, that is, chastity of heart and life. It has here a special emphasis as contrasted with the “adulteresses” in Jas 4:4, and with the special aspect of the “double-mindedness” which that word implied. See note on Ch. Jas 1:8.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you – Compare 2Ch 15:2. This declaration contains a great and important principle in religion. If we wish the favor of God, we must come to him; nor can we hope for his mercy, unless we approach him and ask him for it. We cannot come literally any nearer to God than we always are, for he is always round about us; but we may come nearer in a spiritual sense. We may address him directly in prayer; we may approach him by meditation on his character; we may draw near to him in the ordinances of religion. We can never hope for his favor while we prefer to remain at a distance from him; none who in fact draw near to him will find him unwilling to bestow on them the blessings which they need.
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners – There may possibly be an allusion here to Isa 1:15-16; Your hands are full of blood; wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil. The heart is the seat of motives and intentions – that by which we devise anything; the hands, the instruments by which we execute our purposes. The hands here are represented as defiled by blood, or by acts of iniquity. To wash or cleanse the hands was, therefore, emblematic of putting away transgression, Mat 27:24. Compare Deu 21:6; Psa 26:6. The heathen and the Jews were accustomed to wash their hands before they engaged in public worship. The particular idea here is, that in order to obtain the favor of God, it is necessary to put away our sins; to approach him with a desire to be pure and holy. The mere washing of the hands, in itself, could not recommend us to his favor; but that of which the washing of the hands would be an emblem, would be acceptable in his sight. It may be inferred from what is said here that no one can hope for the favor of God who does not abandon his transgressions. The design of the apostle is, evidently, to state one of the conditions on which we can make an acceptable approach to God. It is indispensable that we come with a purpose and desire to wash ourselves from all iniquity, to put away from us all our transgressions. So David said, I will wash my hands in innocency; so will I compass thine altar. O Lord, Psa 26:6.
(To obtain the favor of God, it is necessary to put away our sins – is somewhat unguarded phraseology. If the favor of God were not obtained but on this condition, none ever would obtain it. The passage is a strong injunction to holiness and singleness of heart: it does not say, however, that by these we obtain acceptance with God. Of his favor, holiness is the fruit, the effect, and not the cause. The sinner must not think of getting quit of his sins to prepare him for going to God by Jesus; but he must first go to Jesus to prepare for laying aside his sins. Yet in every approach to God, it is true there must be a desire to be free from sin; and this doubtless is the view of the commentary; indeed it is so expressed, though some words are objectionable.)
And purify your hearts – That is, do not rest satisfied with a mere external reformation; with putting away your outward transgressions. There must be a deeper work than that; a work which shall reach to the heart, and which shall purify the affections. This agrees with all the requisitions of the Bible, and is in accordance with what must be the nature of religion. If the heart is wrong, nothing can be right. If, while we seek an external reformation, we still give indulgence to the secret corruptions of the heart, it is clear that we can have no true religion.
Ye double-minded – See the notes at Jam 1:8. The apostle here seems to have had his eye on those who were vacillating in their purposes; whose hearts were not decidedly fixed, but who were halting between good and evil. The heart was not right in such persons. It was not settled and determined in favor of religion, but vibrated between that and the world. The proper business of such persons, therefore, was to cleanse the heart from disturbing influences, that it might settle down in unwavering attachment to that which is good.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jam 4:8
Draw nigh to God
Draw nigh to God
I.
THE DUTY here required of us by the apostle principally implies a life of prayer and devotedness to God, as contrasted with the careless indifference or the dull formality of nominal or pretended Christians.
II. THE ENCOURAGEMENT given to perform this duty. What great reason have we to be animated in our Christian warfare by the presence and support of the Lord of hosts!
III. THE IMPORTANCE of obeying this injunction to our final happiness and security. (John Grose, M. A.)
The reasonableness and blessedness of prayer
Worshipping with a pious heart is evidently the manner of drawing nigh to God, which the apostle had in mind when he penned the text. Under the Jewish dispensation, drawing near to God in worship was a more literal thing than it is under the Christian dispensation. In the temple, God had His dwelling-place as a King in His palace. It will not be understood from this that Jewish worship was only of this outward, ceremonial character. The heart was required of them as well as of us (Isa 29:13-14). Nevertheless, under the Christian dispensation, the worship of God is more strictly of a spiritual character. The duty of worshipping God is no less the dictate of reason and of common sense, than of Scripture. It has been the sentiment of mankind, universally, that children ought to cherish peculiar respect fur their parents. So men have always deemed it proper to specially regard and honour those high in authority. Can those who thus honour parents and magistrates deny the obligation to do homage to Him who is at once their Maker, their Sovereign, and their Judge? Prayer.
I. ITS REASONABLENESS.
1. God has enjoined it. It must be counted reasonable to do what God has commanded, and most unreasonable to disregard His positive injunctions. Men ought always to pray and not to faint.–Continuing instant in prayer.–Pray without ceasing.
2. The reasonableness of prayer may be shown from the example of the Saviour.
3. The reasonableness of prayer is manifest when we consider what we are–
(1) As needy and dependent creatures. Every hour of our lives brings with it wants which must be supplied, or we suffer and die.
(2) As sinful and unworthy creatures. No one has, or can have, any other idea of prayer, than as being addressed to the mercy of God; and when that mercy invites us freely to come and make known our desires, it is most unreasonable in us not to avail ourselves of the privilege.
(3) As dying and accountable creatures. Who can feel easy in view of future accountability, whose heart has never been sufficiently grateful to acknowledge the Divine goodness, nor sufficiently humble to confess its sins and seek the Divine forgiveness?
4. As showing the reasonableness of prayer, consider the benefits of a persevering attendance on this duty. Prayer is the way to a life of communion with God–a means of keeping up an acquaintance with, and of growing in the knowledge of God. It is a most excellent, yea, an essential means of nourishing the new nature, and of causing the soul to prosper. It is a good preservative from sin; as it is said, praying will make us leave sinning, or sinning will make us leave praying.
II. THE BLESSEDNESS OF PRAYER.
1. This may be seen by considering the nature of the exercise itself. Prayer usually embraces three things–praise, confession, and supplication. The ascription of praise to God is certainly a delightful exercise to every grateful heart. A grateful heart is burdened with a sense of obligation until it finds relief in rendering a tribute of thanks to Him who is the Giver of every good and every perfect gift. Confession of sin is a part of prayer full of blessedness. What a blessed hour was that to the poor prodigal when he came to himself, and said, I will arise and go to my father. Supplication, too, as a part of prayer, is a blessed exercise.
2. We may learn the blessedness of prayer by its effect on the character of him who offers it, and also by the blessings bestowed in answer to it. (F. Snyder.)
Draw nigh to God
I. SHOW WITH WHAT TEMPERS AND DISPOSITIONS OF MIND WE MUST DRAW NIGH TO GOD.
1. If we are truly and devoutly desirous of drawing nigh to God, one of our earliest considerations will naturally be, how unfit we are to come to Him. This will lead us to a serious examination of ourselves: to a review of our past conversation; and a comparison of it with the rule of His commandments.
2. We must draw nigh to God with firm resolutions of continuing, through His grace, in His service during our whole lives.
3. We must draw nigh with sincerity.
By sincerity I mean here a desire to know and do the whole will of God.
II. THERE ARE PROPER PLACES AND TIMES, AS WELL AS DUE DISPOSITIONS, OF DRAWING NIGH TO GOD.
1. Can we approach without ardent love?
2. It becomes us, when drawing nigh to Got, to cherish the spirit of obedience.
3. Our most intense desires should ascend above all temporal blessings.
II. THE PROMISE AFFORDED.
1. Several things are implied in this promise.
(1) It imports the manifestation of His presence. He is ever nigh, but He makes Himself known in a gracious manner only to those who seek Him.
(2) It implies infinite condescension.
2. Several benefits are imparted by the fulfilment of this promise.
(1) The mind derives from it pure and sacred pleasure. A soul in converse with her God is heaven.
(2) A state of security ensues. If God draw nigh to us, it is not to forsake us immediately afterwards. But if God be with us, we have nothing to fear.
III. CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PERFECTIONS OF GOD AND HIS RELATIONS TO US, AS MOTIVES AND INDUCEMENTS FOR DRAWING NIGH TO HIM.
1. In coming to God, we come to Him who is the blessed and only Potentate; the King of kings, the Lord of lords; who only hath immortality; who, by His word, framed the worlds; and, by the same word of power, upholdeth all things; in whom we live, and move, and have our being.
2. In coming to Him, we come to our Redeemer.
3. In coming to Him, we come to our Judge. (T. Townson, D. D.)
The approach of a devout mind to the Almighty
1. There are certain indispensable prerequisites.
(1) We must possess a knowledge of God.
(2) We must be convinced of our dependent state.
(3) We must embrace the plan of reconciliation by Jesus Christ.
2. There are certain dispositions which must be the accompaniments of prayer.
3. Communion begets resemblance. And can we have been often with the holy God, and not be holy? (O. A. Jeary.)
Drawing near to God
1. Touching the commandment, and the precept enjoined, is to draw near to God. That we are commanded to draw near unto God, doth it not insinuate unto us that naturally we are estranged and alienated from Him? Isa 59:2; Jer 5:25).
2. To which short precept is set down a like promise: draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Which promise is as a reason to move us to draw near to God. He is ready to offer Himself, and is pressed at hand to all such as come near unto Him, to make them to feel the comfort of His presence. God may be said to draw near to man divers ways.
(1) By the manifestation of His majesty, as to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and others (Gen 12:7; Gen 17:1; Gen 18:1; Gen 26:1; Gen 28:13; Gen 32:24; Exo 33:23; Exo 24:1; Exo 3:2).
(2) He draweth near also unto man by the revelation of His will. He drew nearest thus to Israel His people, to whom He gave His law and statutes, whereby He became familiar unto them.
(3) By the graces of His Spirit, which imparting unto men He draweth near thereby unto them (Joh 14:18; Mat 28:20; Act 2:1; Act 3:3).
(4) God draweth near to men by pouring out His temporal benefits upon them, health, wealth, honour, and sending them deliverance out of their trouble (Deu 4:7; Php 4:5; Psa 69:18; Psa 119:151; Psa 34:18; Psa 46:1).
(5) God draweth near unto men in offering His mercy, showing His favour, assisting with His help, multiplying His livingkindness unto them.
(6) God finally draweth near unto us in a spiritual union with man, through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, whereby God is united unto us and we to Him, by which means God dwelleth among us, and is made manifest in the flesh, as St. John and St. Paul speak. And therefore Christ is Emmanuel. Where, then, the apostle saith draw near to God, and He will draw near to you, he speaketh chiefly of drawing near by His grace, favour, mercy; who enlargeth His lovingkindness towards all those which with reverence and fear draw near unto Him.
3. These things thus set down, in the last place we are taught how we should draw near to God, which the apostle expresseth in these words: Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purge your hearts, you double-minded.
(1) Men draw near to God by outward profession, though it be not always in sincerity of heart. Thus did the people of Israel in outward profession, and with their mouths, draw near to God, which as a token of hypocrisy is condemned (Isa 24:13; Isa 58:2-3).
(2) Men also draw near to God by faith in Jesus Christ, whereby they have entrance unto Him (Rom 5:1).
(3) Men draw near to God also by prayer, whereby we ascend, as it were, to heaven, and approach near to the presence of God.
(4) Neither do men draw near to God by prayer only, but also by repentance, which is a returning again to God, whom, through the sins and iniquities of our lives, we have left and forsaken.
(5) Men are said, moreover, to draw near to God when they seek to His holy ark, when they run to His Word to ask counsel.
(6) By reposing all trust and confidence in God, and clinging constantly unto Him, whereof Psa 73:28.
(7) Of none of all these the apostle here seemeth to speak properly, but of another drawing near, which is by purity and sincereness of life, whereof chiefly in this place he speaketh, which be commendeth unto us in these words, Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purge your hearts, you double-minded, which I take not for a new precept, but with Bede and others as the manner of performing that which is now enjoined.
Let us then consider the place–
1. In calling them sinners he meaneth not them which are subject by natural infirmity to the committing of sin, as all men are so long as they rest and remain upon the face of the earth, but hereby he noteth their heinous and horrible iniquities.
2. By wavering or double-minded he noteth the shameful hypocrisy which was crept in, even into their lives, which made some show of religion, And had a pretence of godliness, but in their hearts were full of ungodliness.
3. The words bearing this signification, the matter followeth, that men in purity and sincerity of their lives draw near unto God, which consisteth in two things.
(1) In cleaning of their hands.
(2) In purging of their hearts before God. (R. Turnbull.)
Communion with God
I. THE MEANING. We are to understand it as conveying a gracious promise of conscious and sensible communion with the Father of our spirits.
II. THE MANNER.
1. The sinner must draw nigh unto God by the way of His own appointment, and that way is Christ.
2. In drawing nigh unto God a sinner must have a sense not only of his own unrighteousness, but of his own helplessness.
3. You must draw nigh to God in all His ordinances.
4. With clean hands and a pure heart.
III. THE MOTIVES.
1. The graciousness of the invitation.
2. The greatness of the benefit to be secured.
3. The certainty of the result.
4. The dreadful consequences of continued estrangement. (Alex. Hislop.)
Communion with God
If you saw two persons working together in the same shop or the same field, both blessed with the faculty of speech, and delighting to converse with all others, but never conversing with each other, what would be your conclusion? That they loved each other? By no means; but the reverse. If you saw one person using every art to please another, and to draw him into conversation, and the second person avoided his presence, and refused intercourse, what would you think? That the second person loved the first? Surely not. It is our pleasure to be in the society of those we love, and to converse with them. Prayer is speaking to God. Worship is coming into His presence, and waiting upon Him–is listening to His voice.
Approaches to God
The mother of Artaxerxes was wont to say, that they who would address themselves unto princes must use silken words: surely he that would approach unto God must consider, and look as well to his words as to his feet. He is so holy and jealous of His worship, that he expects that there should be preparation in our accesses unto Him: preparation of our persons by purity of life (Job 11:13); preparation of our services by choice of matter (Joh 9:1); preparation of our hearts by finding them out, stirring them up, fixing them, fetching them in, and calling together all that is within us to prevail with God. (Bp. Reynolds.)
Let your laughter be turned to mourning
Carnal joy exchanged for godly sorrow
1. It is a good exchange to put away carnal joy for godly sorrow; for then we put away a sin for a duty, brass for gold; yea, we have that in the duty which we expected in the sin, and in a more pure, full, and sweet way. God will give us that in sorrow which the world cannot find in pleasure; serenity, and contentment of mind. When the world repenteth of their joy, you will never repent of your sorrow (2Co 7:10). The saddest duties are sweeter than the greatest triumphs, and the worst and most afflicted part of godliness is better than all the joys and comforts of the world. It is better to have your good things to come, than here (Luk 16:21).
2. An excellent way to moderate the excess of joy is to mix it with some weeping. The way to abate one passion is to admit the contrary: in abundance there is danger; therefore in your jollity think of some mournful objects. (T. Mouton.)
Mourning for sin
Mourn savourly and soakingly, with a deep and downright sorrow, so as a man would do in the death of his dearest friend. The Greek word, , imports a funeral grief. (J. Trapp.)
Laughter turned to mourning
Turn all the streams into one channel, that may drive the will, that may grind the heart. Meal was offered of old, and not whole corn. (J. Trapp.)
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He shall lift you up
Lividly as in Gods sight
The heart is naturally at enmity with God. Hence humility is the first of Christian virtues: not that God wishes to see us debased, but that self-abasement is in accordance with the truth of our character, and is the way to exaltation. To use a very rude metaphor, just as a man cannot go up another hill till he has gone down the one on which he happens to be, so a soul cannot be exalted in God until it has thoroughly come down from self. And what is that exaltation which God accomplishes for the soul? It must be the only true and permanent exaltation. Exaltation in Satans kingdom must be debasement, for it is exaltation in sin, and sin depresses and debases. The exaltation, then, in this case must be an illusion. The true exaltation must be in the truth. It must be in the region where God dwells. It must be in righteousness and holiness. Such an exaltation implies satisfaction and joy. It also implies its own continuance, because of its Divine character. It is mans finality in the kingdom of God as contrasted with his finality in the kingdom of Satan. There is one phrase especially in our text on which we desire to lay stress: In the sight of the Lord. Our humility is to be wrought in His sight. This implies, in the first place–
1. That the humility is not a humbling of ourselves before our fellow-men. The abjectness and servility of one man to another are not pleasing to God. If we injure our fellow-man, we are to take the attitude of penitence before him. But, this exceptional case aside, no man is to humble himself before his fellow-man.
2. The believers humility is therefore, in the second place, a true humility. It will not do to present to God the outward prostration for the inward repentance, the words of humility for the self-renunciation of the heart. A true humility is alive, and bears fruit in a new and holy life. A true humility sees the truth regarding itself, that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, and cries out for God. The man abandons self for God. He abhors self, and finds a refuge in Jesus Christ, who is made unto him wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. This is the glorious lifting up which always accompanies a true humility. What! says an objector, is that a true humility which is humble in order to be exalted? Yes, it is. It would not be if the exaltation were to be in the line of the humility; that is, if the man was to be exalted in the very pride from which he humbles himself. But when the man is to be exalted by the Divine grace and the Divine Spirit, that is a true humility which foresees this exaltation, and acts in view of it. It is not a humility of despair, but of faith. It know its own worthlessness, but it knows also the Lords grace.
3. The believers humility, being in the sight of the Lord, implies a life in the sight of the Lord. He sees Him who is invisible, and his motives come from that source, so invisible to the world. The Lords light shines on him, and that light reveals sin in the heart. He is never found justifying himself, or flattering himself with human purity and excellence. His comfort comes from no such proud and false source, but from resting his evil heart on the pardoning and cleansing love of his Redeemer. And in that love he finds a true holiness springing up in his soul.
4. The believers humility implies a life of prayer. We cannot see God without praying to Him as the source of pardon and holiness, the only guardian and guide of the soul. (H. Crosby, D. D.)
Humility explained, and its necessity enforced
Humility stands opposed to pride. And as pride consists in our entertaining higher ideas of ourselves than truth will warrant, and in our presuming upon these, both in feeling and in practice, as if they were just and correct, so humility consists in our entertaining accurate notions of what we really are in relation to some one above us, and in preserving that station which a regard to our real merits requires us to occupy, as to the sentiments we cherish and the conduct we maintain, with respect to those under whom we are placed. The humility inculcated in my text is humility in reference, not to another creature more exalted than ourselves, but to God, who is immeasurably exalted above all creatures. And in this simple relation, even though we had done nothing to offend Him, humility is at once graceful and necessary; for, as we owe everything to Him, and as we depend upon Him for everything, it would be presumptuous, undutiful, to have one thought towards Him or to make one movement before Him, which proceeded on the supposition that we were not so indebted and so dependent. But the humility enjoined upon us not only respects our relation to God as His creatures, whose every faculty must be traced to Him–it also respects our relation to Him as His sinful creatures–who are thus removed at a still greater distance from Him than they naturally were, and liable to His high and holy indignation. When we exhort you to be humble, we do not exhort you to think yourselves worse or meaner than you really are. We only exhort you to form a just and precise valuation of what you really are, as compared with what you ought to be, according to the rule which has been Divinely enacted, and to maintain the conduct which such an appreciation is calculated to produce. And this exhortation is highly important in the first place, because, unless we have just notions of what we are as sinners, we can neither perceive the value, nor be prepared for the reception of any scheme that may be devised for our deliverance; and in the second place, because, among the principles of our fallen nature, pride is that which has perhaps the greatest ascendancy over our minds, and prevents us from giving heed to those considerations which go to determine what we really are, and by doing so, to fix us at our proper level. The great and vital fact with respect to you is, that you are stained with sin. There may be an endless variety in the mode and in the measure of sinning with which different individuals are chargeable. Do not suppose that you have any refuge in the paucity of your misdeeds. It is the nature of sin itself, and not its multiplicity merely, which subjects you to degradation. It is its power in the soul, and not its actual and manifold exhibition in the outward conduct, by which you are debased. But which of you can venture to say that your transgressions are few in number? Consider the extent–the strictness–the spirituality of that law to which you are subject. That is the measure of your sinfulness; and if your humility should be in proportion to your sinfulness, what limit can be set to it? Humility, however, is so mortifying to the human mind, that before it can obtain a settlement there, every attempt is made to discover reasons for believing that it is neither necessary nor appropriate. And one of the most common refuges in which the natural pride of man fortifies itself, is the self-righteous plea of what is called innocence and amiableness of character. Granting that you are as harmless as amiable, as deserving of esteem as you are thought to be, still it is all unavailing. The essential excellence of what is done by a moral agent, consists in its recognition of the existence, and in its submission to the will of Him who ruleth over all. And yet God has not been in all your thoughts, and God has not been in all your ways. And the pervading guilt which such a consideration throws into it is incalculably aggravated by your not only resting upon its merits with satisfaction, but actually supposing it sufficient to secure the favour of that very Being whom it has so dishonoured, neglected, and disowned. But we must not neglect to remind you of that affecting display of the evil of sin, and of the degradation of the sinner, as these appear in the sight of the Lord which has been made in the Cross of Christ. Could such a sacrifice as this, think you, have been demanded by the Father of mercies, the possessor of infinite wisdom, the God of righteousness and justice, if it had not been necessary for the purpose for which it was required–the expiation of human guilt, and the deliverance of those to whom it attached, from the degradation and the ruin into which it had brought them? Had we nothing more to tell you than that you are sinners, it would only fill you with mortification, hopelessness, and anguish. But after having told you all that we can add intelligence as pleasing as that which went before it was painful. We can speak of blessings that are to follow in its train, and that are sufficient to compensate you a thousandfold for all the distress which may have been inflicted upon your feelings by our delineations of the abject state to which you are reduced as transgressors. We would persuade you to humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, that He may, in consequence, lift you up. This is the arrangement established by the Author of salvation. The humility that is enjoined is connected with the privilege that is to follow it, in another way than that of either natural or acquired right. The connection is just as necessary, but it is of a different kind. When the sinner is made humble, he is merely undergoing a part of that moral process which must take place, in order that he may be raised from the death of sin to the life of holiness and peace. If you feel and cherish that humbleness of mind which just conceptions of your guilty and depraved and wretched condition are calculated to generate; and if in the midst of this self-reproach you are ready to throw your fortunes unreservedly upon the merits of that dispensation which Divine grace offers to you as your all-sufficient refuge, then there is no insuperable barrier between you and the salvation which you need. The devices of Gods wisdom become acceptable to you, the offers of His mercy become welcome to you, the hopes of His favour become precious to you, the whole manifestation of His redeeming love becomes available to you. (A. Thomson, D. D.)
Humility in Gods sight
In one of our western cities is a physician who is very skilful in doctoring the human eye. I went one day into his office. On the wall was a large painting of an eye. It seemed to look at me when I went in. I could get into no part of the room without the eye seeing me; and the last thing that I saw as I went out was that eye looking at me. 1 have often thought of that picture, and said to myself, that in some such way Gods all-seeing eye follows me all my life through. And it makes me feel humble, and leads me to be careful; humble, because I must be so small, so weak, and so wicked in Gods sight; careful, for surely I shall want God to see only that which will please Him as He shall look me through and through. (J. G. Merrill.)
Deep root, tall growth
As a tree, the more deeply it is rooted in the earth, the taller it groweth and mounteth the higher; even so a man, the more humble and lowly that he is, the more and higher doth the Lord exalt him.
Christian humility the way of an exaltation
Our humiliations work out our most elevated joys. The way that a drop of rain comes to sing in the leaf that rustles in the top of the tree all the summer long, is by going down to the roots first, and from thence ascending to the bough. (H. W.Beecher.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 8. Draw nigh to God] Approach HIM, in the name of Jesus, by faith and prayer, and he will draw nigh to you-he will meet you at your coming. When a soul sets out to seek God, God sets out to meet that soul; so that while we are drawing near to him, he is drawing near to us. The delicacy and beauty of these expressions are, I think, but seldom noted.
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners] This I think to be the beginning of a new address, and to different persons; and should have formed the commencement of a new verse. Let your whole conduct be changed; cease to do evil learn to do well. Washing or cleansing the hands was a token of innocence and purity.
Purify your hearts] Separate yourselves from the world, and consecrate yourselves to God: this is the true notion of sanctification. We have often seen that to sanctify signifies to separate a thing or person from profane or common use, and consecrate it or him to God. This is the true notion of kadash, in Hebrew, and in Greek. The person or thing thus consecrated or separated is considered to be holy, and to be God’s property; and then God hallows it to himself. There are, therefore, two things implied in a man’s sanctification:
1. That he separates himself from evil ways and evil companions, and devotes himself to God.
2. That God separates guilt from his conscience, and sin from his soul, and thus makes him internally and externally holy.
This double sanctification is well expressed in Sohar, Levit. fol. 33, col. 132, on the words, be ye holy, for I the Lord am holy: , a man sanctifies himself on the earth, and then he is sanctified from heaven. As a man is a sinner, he must have his hands cleansed from wicked works; as he is double-minded, he must have his heart sanctified. Sanctification belongs to the heart, because of pollution of mind; cleansing belongs to the hands, because of sinful acts. See Clarke on Jas 1:8, for the signification of double-minded.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Draw nigh to God; by faith, which is a coming to God, Heb 7:25; by true repentance, which is a returning to God, Hos 14:1; Mal 3:7; and by fervent prayer to him for the help of his grace, Psa 25:1.
And he will draw nigh to you; by the manifestation of his grace and favour to you, particularly giving you strength against the devil and your lusts.
Cleanse your hands; reform your actions, amend your lives. Hands, the principal instruments of bodily actions, being put for the actions themselves; cleanness of hands signifies the innocency of the outward conversation, Job 22:30; Psa 24:4; 26:6; Isa 33:15,16.
Ye sinners; you that are openly and notoriously vicious, whose wickedness appears in your ordinary practices: so such are called, Mat 11:19; Mar 2:15; Luk 7:37; 15:2; Joh 9:31.
And purify your hearts; your thoughts and inward affections, from whence the evils of your outward actions proceed, Isa 60:7; see 1Pe 1:22; 1Jo 3:3.
Ye double minded; either by the former he understands the profane, and by these, hypocrites, or the same by both, viz. such as had wicked hearts, and led wicked lives; only he shows wherein true repentance consists, viz. in the reformation both of the inward and outward man.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. Draw nigh to GodSo “cleaveunto Him,” De 30:20,namely, by prayerfully (Jas 4:2;Jas 4:3) “resisting Satan,”who would oppose our access to God.
he will draw nighpropitious.
Cleanse . . . handstheoutward instruments of action. None but the clean-handed can ascendinto the hill of the Lord (justified through Christ, who alone wasperfectly so, and as such “ascended” thither).
purify . . . heartsliterally”make chaste” of your spiritual adultery (Jas4:4, that is, worldliness) “your hearts”: the inwardsource of all impurity.
double-mindeddividedbetween God and the world. The “double-minded” is at faultin heart; the sinner in his hands likewise.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you,…. This must be understood consistently with the perfection of God’s immensity and omnipresence: the saints draw nigh to God when they present their bodies in his sanctuary; when they tread in his courts, and attend his ordinances; where they always find it good for them to draw nigh unto him; and blessed is the man that approaches to him in faith and fear: they draw nigh to him when they come to the throne of his grace, for grace and mercy to help them; when they draw near to him in prayer with true hearts, and lift them up with their hands to God; when in the exercise of faith and hope they enter within the vail, and come up even to his seat; and lay hold on him as their covenant God and Father; and he draws nigh to them by granting them his gracious presence, by communicating his love to them, by applying the blessings of his grace, by helping them in times of need and distress, and by protecting them from their enemies; the contrary to which is expressed by standing afar off from them. Now this is not to be understood as if men could first draw nigh to God, before he draws nigh to them; for as God first loves, so he first moves; he takes the first step, and, in conversion, turns and draws men to himself; though this does not respect first conversion, but after acts in consequence of it; nor is it to be considered as a condition of the grace and favour of God, in drawing nigh to his people, but is expressive of what is their duty, and an encouragement to it:
cleanse [your] hands, ye sinners, and purify [your] hearts, ye double minded; the persons addressed are not the profane men of the world, but sinners in Zion, formal professors, hypocritical persons; who speak with a double tongue to men, and who draw nigh to God with their mouths, but not with their hearts; who halt between two opinions, and are unstable in all their ways: cleansing of their hands and hearts denotes the purity of outward conversation, and of the inward affections; and supposes impurity both of flesh and spirit, that the body and all its members, the soul and all its powers and faculties, are unclean; and yet not that men have a power to cleanse themselves, either from the filth of an external conversation, or from inward pollution of the heart; though a man attempts the one, he fails in it; and who can say he has done the other? Job 9:30. This is not to be done by ceremonial ablutions, moral services, or evangelical ordinances; this is God’s work only, as appears from his promises to cleanse his people from their sins, by sprinkling clean water upon them; from the end of Christ’s shedding his blood, and the efficacy of it; and from the prayers of the saints, that God would wash them thoroughly from their iniquity, and cleanse them from their sin, and create clean hearts in them: and yet such exhortations are not in vain, since they may be useful to convince men of their pollution, who are pure in their own eyes, as these hypocritical, nominal professors, might be; and to bring them to a sense of their inability to cleanse themselves, and of the necessity of being cleansed elsewhere; and to lead them to inquire after the proper means of cleansing, and so to the fountain of Christ’s blood, which only cleanses from all sin.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Draw nigh to God ( ). First aorist active imperative of , late verb from (near) as in Mt 3:2. With dative case again of personal relation. The priests in the sanctuary drew nigh to God (Ex 19:22), as we should now.
Cleanse your hands ( ). First aorist active imperative of , to cleanse, from dirt in a ritual sense (Exod 30:19-21; Mark 7:3; Mark 7:19). Here it is figurative, as in Hos 1:16; Ps 24:4. If we always had clean (from sin) hands and hearts?
Ye sinners (). A sharp term to strike the conscience, “a reproach meant to startle and sting” (Ropes).
Purify your hearts ( ). First aorist active imperative of , old verb from (Jas 3:17), ceremonially (Acts 21:24; Acts 21:26), but here morally as in 1Pet 1:22; 1John 3:3. Anarthrous use of as of (wash hands, purify hearts).
Ye double-minded (). As in 1:8.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Purify [] . One of the three instances in the New Testament in which the word is not used of ceremonial purification. The others are 1Pe 1:22; 1Jo 3:3.
Double minded [] . Compare ch. 1 8.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) (Gr. engisate) “Get near God and stay there.” This is an imperative or urgency with the pledge that He will get near to you, even while you often miss the mark in sins. Cleanse or wash your hands and if you are two-minded or double-soul, purify the heart of you, 2Ch 15:2; Mal 3:7; Heb 10:19-22.
2) “Clean hands” refer to physical cleansing required of Old Testament saints before entering to worship – so should Christians live clean lives, in the members of their body, Psa 51:10; 1Jn 1:8.
3) “Purifying hearts” refers to spiritual cleansing from spiritual adultery, of which, through worldliness they were guilty, whereas double minded means divided affections – such is caused by the conflict of the Spirit in the saved, split personality complexes, conflict of double standards, Rom 7:15; Rom 7:21.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
8 Draw nigh to God. He again reminds us that the aid of God will not be wanting to us, provided we give place to him. For when he bids us to draw nigh to God, that we may know him to be near to us, he intimates that we are destitute of his grace, because we withdraw from him. But as God stands on our side, there is no reason to fear succumbing. But if any one concludes from this passage, that the first part of the work belongs to us, and that afterwards the grace of God follows, the Apostle meant no such thing; for though we ought to do this, yet it does [not] immediately follow that we can. And the Spirit of God, in exhorting us to our duty, derogates nothing from himself, or from his own power; but the very thing he bids us to do, he himself fulfills in us.
In short, James meant no other thing in this passage, than that God is never wanting to us, except when we alienate ourselves from him. He is like one who brings the hungry to a table and the thirsty to a fountain. There is this difference, that our steps must be guided and sustained by the Lord, for our feet fail us. But what some cavil at, and say, that God’s grace is secondary to our preparation, and as it were the waiting-maid, is only frivolous; for we know that it is no new thing that he adds now to former graces and thus enriches more and more those to whom he has already given much.
Cleanse your hands. He here addresses all those who were alienated from God and he does not refer to two sorts of men, but he calls the same sinners and double-minded Nor does he understand every kind of sinners, but the wicked and those of a corrupt life. It is said in Joh 9:3,
“
God does not hear sinners;”
in the same sense a woman is called a sinner by Luke. (Luk 7:39.) It is said by the same and the other evangelists, “He drinketh and eateth with sinners.” He, therefore, does not smite all indiscriminately to that sort of repentance mentioned here, but those who are wicked and corrupt in heart, and whose life is base and flagitious or at least wicked; it is from these he requires a purity of heart and outward cleanliness.
We hence learn what is the true character of repentance. It is not only an outward amendment of life, but its beginning is the cleansing of the heart. It is also necessary on the other hand that the fruits of inward repentance should appear in the brightness of our works. (133)
(133) In the seventh verse he seems still to continue military terms, “Set yourselves, therefore, in array under God: stand up against the devil, and he will flee from you.” It is especially to be observed, that the first thing is to be under the banner and protection of God, and then we can successfully stand up against the devil: apart from God, we have no power to resist him.
The order in the following verse, the eighth, is worthy of notice, as an example of what is very common in Scripture. The main thing is first stated, to draw nigh to God: and then the things which are previously necessary, to cleanse their hands and to purify their hearts — an allusion probably to the practice among the priests of the law, of washing themselves before they engaged in the service of the temple. They were to wash their hands as though they had been stained with blood, as the crime of murder had been imputed to them in Jas 4:2 : and they were to purify their hearts from the covetings and ambitious desires which they had entertained. Except those things were done they could not draw nigh to God. And further, to draw nigh to God was necessary before they could set themselves in array under his authority, so that there is a connection between this verse and the former: the ultimate object, stated first, was submission to God, and to be under his protection; and all that follows was necessary for that purpose. The regular order would be, Purify your hearts, cleanse your hands, draw nigh to God, and be subject to him. But this mode of statement, by going backward instead of forward, is to be met with in all parts of Scripture. See on this subject the Preface to the third volume of Calvin’s Commentaries on Jeremiah.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
FROM WHERE WE ARE TO WHERE WE SHOULD BE
Text 4:8b10
Jas. 4:8 b.
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners: and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.
Jas. 4:9.
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas. 4:10.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you.
Questions
318.
Cleanse your hands obviously means something other than washing the hands with soap. To what kind of sins does the expression refer?
319.
Who are the sinners referred to in Jas. 4:8?
320.
Does purify your heart refer to the same thing as cleanse your hands?
321.
Of what in the book of James does the expression double minded remind you?
322.
What does it mean to be afflicted?
323.
Why be afflicted?
324.
Is there any difference between mourning and weeping?
325.
Should one coming to Jesus in repentance always weep? When do you think some action other than weeping would be permissible?
326.
Laughter over what is referred to in Jas. 4:9?
327.
Abraham laughed and was not reprimanded, Sarah laughed and was reprimanded.
328.
When might it be proper to laugh over something God has said?
329.
Is James discouraging a Christian from laughing and having joy?
330.
What is to be heavy in Jas. 4:9? (It isnt joy . . . joy is gone; but where was joy just before it left?)
331.
Is the humility of Jas. 4:10 a character trait that James wishes the saint to develop, or is it a humble deed of some type he wants performed? If a deed, what sort of deed would be a humble deed?
332.
Is not all that we do in the sight of the Lord? Then why this particular admonition to so humble ourselves?
333.
Does the Lord promise to exalt everyone who is humiliated?
334.
What kind of exaltation should one expect of the Lord?
335.
Note who is the author of this humiliation and of this exaltation.
Paraphrases
A. Jas. 4:8 b.
Purify those ungodly hands, you sinning Christians, and set your heart right as well as your life; you have the mind to love the world as well as Christ.
9.
Realize your wretchedness and weep; let the glad sound of your worldly pleasures be turned into mourning and your joy in spiritual adultery be turned to a downcast state of shame.
10.
Bow to the will of God and He will lift you out of your downcast state.
B.*Jas. 4:8 b.
Wash your hands, O sinners, and fill your hearts with God alone to make them pure and true to Him.
9.
Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and sincere grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter and gloom instead of joy.
10.
Then when you feel your worthlessness before the Lord, He will lift you up, encourage and help you.
Summary
Repent of your adultery with the world, both in your heart and your life, and you can be renewed in your relationship to Christ as His bride.
Comment
How the spiritual adulterer should feel, what his state is in relation to God, what has alienated him from God and what, in general, can draw him back to God has been discussed. Now James gets to the point of what to do about the condition. How can the Christian who has been a friend (or has been flirting) with the world get from where he is to where he should be? He has been instructed to draw nigh to God, but how does he go about this?
Repentance is the answer. Sinful deeds, sinful hearts, and double minds must be changed. James might have said, repent and purify yourselves, and worship the Lord. His expression is much more colorful: Cleanse your hands ye sinners.
Perhaps because man does so many things with hands, the hands have been, in literature of all times, symbolic of work and deeds. This is also true of the scripture.
The Jews had a custom of lifting their hands heavenward when they prayed. Paul, in saying that a mans prayer should be coupled with holy deeds, said I desire therefore that men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands . . . (1Ti. 2:8). Pilate washed his hands before the people, thus trying publicly to disclaim responsibility for the terrible deed of crucifying the Righteous One. Today we still use the expression, My hands are clean, meaning I didnt do it!
So James says, cleanse your hands. Evil deeds themselves must be put aside. The action by which the Christian shows friendship with the world must be changed. Sorrow is not enough; for it must be a Godly sorrow that leads to repentance of the deed. Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2Co. 7:1).
Note that James is preaching repentance to the Christian. Here he calls the Christians (among you, Jas. 4:1) sinners. When the Christian sins and continues to sin, he is facing death itself, James closes with that warning in Jas. 5:19-20.
In addition to changing the deed, James says the heart must also be made right. Just as one can make himself an enemy of God by wishing to be a friend of the world (Note comments on Jas. 4:4) so also a man can make himself a friend of God by having his heart freed from contamination. Physical adultery can exist in the heart. Should a Christian continue loving and wishing for the sensuous satisfactions of this earth contrary to the Spirit of Christ then he is continuing in spiritual adultery, even if he no longer does the deeds which he longs to do.
This spiritual adultery of the heart is usually a part-time occupation. So the doubleminded is also admonished to cease embracing both God and the pleasures of sin. This doublemindedness is the same as that described in Jas. 1:8. There it ruined the prayer life; here it makes the heart impure.
The condition of this adulterous Christian is really serious! He should honestly look at his state and see how wretched it really is. The be afflicted means to be in distress, or be wretched. A wealthy man who was on the verge of losing all his money on a poor financial venture would be in a wretched state. He would have a hard time sleeping and food would not digest in his stomach because of his unhappiness, his uncertainness. But what is this Christian about to lose? The pearl with out price has almost slipped from his grasp. He is about to lose the costliest gift ever given to any man: his souls salvation. This should make him quake in his danger and fill him with misery.
Verse ten summarizes the solution. Our humility and subjection is to be toward the Lord and not toward the devil nor this world. This humiliation is an act of surrender, or resigning ones own will to the will of God.
In this, Christianity is different from all other teachings, for the road to mastery is a road of service. Success comes through recognition of failure. Righteousness comes only after one has recognized his true sinful state. Exaltation is given by God to those who humble themselves before Him. This is the reversal of all human judgment and wisdom. Has not man learned that he who toots his own horn the loudest shall be heard? Is not the road to success paved with the failure of others? So logic, as well as human nature, tells us that if we would succeed quickly we must do all we can to bring failure to others: our competitors!
Man is ever a miserable failure at exalting himself. The man who brags the loudest and seems most successful in exalting his own virtues ends up in isolation; being detested by his fellow men. And, even if he is right in his estimation of his own superior ability and decision, his accomplishments are resented and his decisions are unpopular.
On the other hand, humiliation before the Lord and loving service to fellow mankind brings exaltation for God and sincere appreciation from mankind, (or at least a portion of mankind.) This kind of subjection and service is not for the purpose of getting a seat at the head of the table, or on the right or left hand of Jesus in heaven. This subjection and service is accomplished because it is the hearts desire, and real joy comes from this action. There would be pleasure in the subjection without the exaltation; and there would be a drive for loving service without the reward of appreciation. But how much sweeter these rewards make service! Great is the wisdom of God that by regeneration He would make His nature a pleasure for the Christian, and then give added rewards beside. God wants nothing but that which is good for us; and truly He will give happiness to us in as great an amount as our subjection to will allow.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(8) Draw nigh to God . . .God waiteth to be gracious (Isa. 30:18). Like the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15), He beholds us while we are yet a great way off, and runs, as it were, to hasten our return. He has no pleasure in the death of him that dieth (Eze. 18:32). But who shall come into the tabernacle of God, or rest upon His holy hill (Psa. 15:1), except the man of uncorrupt life? Surely, the penitent as well; the murderous hands which all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten, the hearts polluted with the most abominable lusts, may and must be cleansed; sinners and double-minded (refer to Jas. 1:8) though they be, and both in one, the Lord of mercy will draw nigh to them, if they to Him: all their transgressions shall not be mentioned, they shall live and not die (Eze. 18:21-22).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. Draw nigh The reverse of resist. The former should be done to God, the latter to the devil the two sides of the great battle for possession of the human soul. The drawing nigh to God was ritually symbolized by the approach of the people, and especially the priests, to Jehovah in the holy of holies. But under the new dispensation, the holy of holies is wherever God’s omnipresence is, and the penitent heart is its own priest, able to offer an acceptable incense.
Cleanse hands sinners The sinner is the actual transgressor; his hands are stained with blood or other blot of sin; he must cleanse by reformation that he may spread clean hands in prayer to God. In vain does the wild guerilla imagine that his sanguinary deeds are done in the divine behalf and winning the divine favour.
Hearts Imply a deeper change, that the doubleminded, no longer serving the world, may have a single heart for God.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.’
Then they can once more approach God, and He will draw near to them. He will welcome them in friendship. Then they will be able to ask and He will give (contrast Jas 4:3), because their hearts will be right towards Him. In the same way once Joshua had been cleansed he too was able to draw near to God (Zec 3:6). Drawing near to God continually will be the way by which they will be able to continue in their new walk of holiness.
Note the contrast with Jas 4:7 b. When they resist the Devil by submitting to God he will flee, when they draw near to God He will draw near to them. For the one thing that the Devil cannot stand is God, while those who submit to Him may come to Him without fear, knowing that they will be received. This picture is of a host welcoming his honoured guest.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
‘Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you doubleminded.’
And now the way by which they can submit to God and draw near to him is explained. It is first of all by being cleansed. They are to cleanse their hands by letting go of all that has defiled them and walking in the will of the Father (compare Isa 1:16; Psa 26:6), and purify their hearts by fixing them firmly on God (see 1Jn 3:3) and obeying the truth (1Pe 1:22), no longer being doubleminded. For a doubleminded man is unstable in all his ways (Jas 1:8).
‘Cleanse your hands.’ The hands were the means by which men performed their actions. They were thus to make them clean by doing good and eschewing evil (Isa 1:16-17). The cleansing of the hands therefore indicates the cleansing of their personal, practical behaviour.
‘Purify your hearts.’ This emphasises the need for them to be cleansed within, in the inner man, which is responsible for men’s thoughts (Mar 7:21-23). The time for ceremonies is past. What is required now is genuineness of action and heart.
Alternately it might be saying, ‘do not just wash your hands, make sure that you wash your hearts as well’, but that weakens the statement and does not really fit in with the pattern which is of continual positive action in response to God’s commands.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jam 4:8. Draw nigh to God, This seems to be an allusion to the manner in which the Jews in general, or rather the priests, drew nigh to God, by going to the temple, while the Shechinah, the glorious emblem of the divine presence, was there. Christians may all of them now draw nigh to God, as a holy nation, and a royal priesthood. 1Pe 2:9. By clean hands the scriptures generally mean “hands not polluted with any vice or wickedness.” The ancient Jews used to wash their hands before they went to sacrifice, or to religious worship, as the Jews do to this day, before they go into the synagogue to worship: and to this custom the apostle seems to allude in this verse. See Psa 24:4. Mat 27:24. 1Ti 2:8.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jas 4:8 . In contrast to the last exhortation and promise is the exhortation , united in a similar manner with a promise. Whilst the devil is to be kept at a distance by resistance, we are to draw nigh to God. “ is not to be limited to prayer, but is to be understood generally of man’s turning to God” (Wiesinger). Comp. on , Isa 29:13 ; Heb 7:19 .
] corresponding to the preceding . Similar expressions in 2Ch 15:2 ; Isa 57:15 ; Zec 1:3 .
But in order to draw nigh to God, conversion from the former nature is necessary; therefore . The cleansing of the hands consists in withdrawing them from evil and in employing them in good works; the sanctification of the heart, in contending with impure desires, and in the cultivation of a holy disposition. The external and the internal must correspond; comp. Psa 24:4 : . Pott erroneously supposes the first expression to be a symbolical designation of , and denies its reference to the externa vitae integritas (Carpzov). The reason why James names the hands is not only because they are the principal organa operandi, but also because that he, with , does not think exclusively on prayer; see 1Ti 2:8 . On , comp. 1Pe 1:22 ; 1Jn 3:3 .
] This address, designating the present condition of the addressed, shows the necessity of ; , because instead of God, who chose them for His possession, they serve the lusts ( , Jas 4:1 ) of the , corresponding to , Jas 4:4 ; , because they would at the same time be Christians. De Wette’s explanation is too weak: ye undecided (between God and the world); Schneckenburger’s remark: hic sensu latiore sumendum quam, Jas 1:8 , is incorrect, for there has its reason in the Christian giving his heart to the world instead of to God; see Test. Aser. III. p. 691: .
Calvin correctly remarks: non duo hominum genera designat, sed eosdem vocat peccatores et duplices animo. [200]
[200] Kern: As James considers man in reference to the divine grace as the receiver , so, on the other hand, he takes into account the free self-activity of man as the condition by which a relation of unity of man with God takes place.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 2371
REPENTANCE URGED [Note: For Ash-Wednesday.]
Jam 4:8-10. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
THE season of Lent has been set apart by the Church for the purpose of calling all her members to deep humiliation of soul before God: and, were it observed according to the intention of those who destined it to this holy use, there can be no doubt but that it would tend exceedingly to the advancement of religion in the world. So, at least, the reformers of our Church judged; as appears from the peculiarly solemn service which is appointed for the day with which this season commences. And I cannot but think, that, whilst we value ourselves on an increased freedom from the errors of superstition, we have reason to fear that we have suffered loss in respect of real piety; since, with the forms of religion, we have relinquished also, in no small degree, the spirit of it. Not that a becoming reverence for this season has altogether ceased. On the contrary, a discourse which was not pertinent to the occasion would very generally be deemed unseasonable and indecorous: so that I have at least your prejudices and your expectations in my favour, whilst I propose to your consideration the solemn subject before us.
In the Apostles exhortation we see,
I.
An encouragement to repentance
A person under conviction of sin is ready to fear that God will not receive him to mercy
[Nor is this without reason, when we consider how awfully we have all departed from our God. Though in him we live and move and have our being, and are bound by all possible ties to obey and honour him, we have altogether contemned [Note: Psa 10:13.] his authority, and lived without him in the world [Note: Eph 2:12.]. We have in our hearts said to him, Depart from me; for I desire not the knowledge of thy ways [Note: Job 21:14.]. We have altogether forgotten him [Note: Jer 2:32.], and wished that there were no God [Note: Psa 14:1.], or, at least, that, as to his claims upon us, he might be made to cease from before us [Note: Isa 30:11.]. Would it be wonderful, therefore, if God, in his righteous indignation, should execute on all, what he certainly will execute on every impenitent offender, a sentence of utter and everlasting exclusion from his presence [Note: Pro 1:24-31.]? This is merited by all; and therefore might well be apprehended by all, if God, of his unbounded mercy, had not assured us of his willingness to receive returning penitents.]
But God has declared, that, if we draw nigh to him, he will draw nigh to us
[He will not despise the prayer of the poor destitute [Note: Psa 102:17.], or cast out any who come unto him in his Sons name [Note: Joh 6:37.]. However great or long-continued their sins may have been, he will not withhold his mercy from them [Note: Isa 1:18.]. No, in truth: he will incline his ear unto them, and hear them: he will look down upon them from the habitation of his holiness and his glory [Note: Isa 63:15.]; yea, he will rend the heavens, and come down [Note: Isa 64:1.]; and at their cry he will answer, Here I am [Note: Isa 58:9.]. Even before the supplication is well uttered, he will answer; and whilst they are yet speaking, he will hear [Note: Isa 65:24.]. No language can express the depth of the condescension which he will manifest to the poor suppliant, or the riches of that grace which he will impart to the believing penitent. Pardon, peace, holiness, glory, are not too great for him to bestow on the most unworthy of men, who call upon him with their whole hearts.]
But, that we may not miscarry in the exercise of this duty, the Apostle gives us,
II.
A direction for the acceptable performance of it
Our repentance must be attended with,
1.
A sincere renunciation of all evil
[Oh! cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and think not to find acceptance with God, whilst ye hold fast iniquity of any kind. Hear what God said to his people of old: When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hands, to tread my courts?&.hellip; When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash ye; make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes: cease to do evil: learn to do well [Note: Isa 1:12-16.]. In truth, the very prayers of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord [Note: Pro 21:27; Pro 28:9.], Look, I pray you, to all the habits of your past life; your conduct in your respective trades and callings, no less than in your common intercourse with mankind: and, as God enjoins you to shake your hands from holding of bribes, so I would say, Shake your hands from holding of unjust gains of any kind, and from retaining any evil which you have been wont to perpetrate [Note: Isa 33:15.].
Nor is this sufficient: you must put away evil from the heart, as well as in the act: for if you regard iniquity in your heart, the Lord will not hear you [Note: Psa 66:18.]. Your heart must be right with God [Note: Psa 78:37.], who demands the whole of it for himself [Note: Pro 23:26.], and will not accept a divided heart [Note: Hos 10:2.]. Purify your hearts then, ye double-minded: for ye cannot serve God and mammon too [Note: Mat 6:24.]. You must not love the world, nor any thing that is in it, if you would approve yourselves to God [Note: 1Jn 2:15-16.]: the very desire to retain friendship with the world is constructive treason, and a decisive proof of enmity against God [Note: ver. 4. See the Greek.]. See, then, that ye be Israelites indeed, in whom is no allowed guile [Note: Joh 1:47.]. Then, whether it be under the fig-tree, or in any place whatever, God will behold you with complacency; and not only listen to your prayers, but exceed in his answers your largest petitions or desires [Note: Joh 1:48-51. with Eph 3:20.].]
2.
A deep contrition for all your past iniquities
[A forsaking of sin is not sufficient. There are many grounds on which some lust may be subdued: a change of age, or even of our circumstances in life, may operate to the abstaining from some sins, whilst yet the evil of them may never have been truly felt. Sin, of whatever kind, is hateful in the sight of God; and must become so in our eyes. Be afflicted therefore, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into heaviness: humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, if ever ye would be lifted up. It is the broken and contrite heart, which God will not despise [Note: Psa 51:17.]: and all repentance that falls short of that, will only prove a repentance that must itself be repented of [Note: 2Co 7:10-11.]. But, if ye come to God with a holy and ingenuous shame, even though you had been as wicked as Manasseh himself, you shall not be rejected: for all manner of wickedness shall be forgiven unto men [Note: Mat 12:31.]; nor will God ever suffer any human being to seek his face in vain [Note: Isa 45:19.]. No, verily; if he see one prostrating himself before him in dust and ashes, he will lift him up, just as the father in the parable did his prodigal son; testifying over him the joy with which he will restore him, not to his favour only, but to all the blessedness that he himself is able to impart [Note: Luk 15:20-24.]. He that thus sows in tears, shall surely reap in joy [Note: Psa 126:6.]: and he who thus humbles himself, shall surely be exalted [Note: Luk 18:14.].]
Application
1.
It may be, that some amongst you doubt the necessity of such a repentance
But who amongst you is not a sinner before God? or, who amongst you has not been double-minded, giving at least a portion of his heart to the creature, when the whole of it should have been fixed on God? I accuse not any one amongst you of gross sin: but as corresponding with the character drawn in my text, I must accuse every child of man, I grant there is a great diversity in the guilt of different men: but there is no man so innocent as not to need repentance, and repentance too of the very kind that is here required. I pray you therefore, brethren, not to rest satisfied with a few faint acknowledgments of your guilt; but to abase yourselves before God, even as holy Job did, in dust and ashes ]
2.
There may possibly be others, also, who doubt its efficacy
[You may perhaps have sought the Lord for some time, and not yet have obtained an answer of peace. But does this discourage you? Think, I pray you, how long God sought after you, and followed you with his invitations and entreaties to return unto him. Think, I say, of this; and then you will acknowledge, that, if you cried to him for a hundred years, and yet obtained an answer only at the last hour, you would have no reason to complain. But God has gracious designs in delaying the manifestations of his favour towards you. He desires to humble you the more deeply before him, and to prepare you more fully for the due reception of his favour. St. Peter says, Humble yourselves under his mighty hand, and he will exalt you in due time [Note: 1Pe 5:6.]. And who is the best judge what the due time is? Surely you may well leave this matter to Him who cannot err; and who, having given you his dear Son, will surely with him also freely give you all things [Note: Rom 8:32.]. You yourselves do not give to your child a thing the instant that he cries for it, but judge of the fittest season wherein to give it. Wait, then, the Lords leisure; assured, that the vision, though delayed, shall not tarry beyond the period which you yourselves, if you saw things as clearly as God does, would be the foremost to assign for it [Note: Hab 2:3.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Ver. 8. Draw nigh to God ] viz. In duty, and he will draw nigh to you in mercy. Sanctify him, Lev 10:3 , and he will satisfy you, Psa 91:16 . The very Turks are remorseless to those that bear up, but they receive humiliation with much sweetness.
Cleanse your hands ] For there is no coming near God, Jos 24:19 . The very heathens knew this; and had therefore their coena pura before their solemn sacrifices; and the sacrificers were appointed to purify themselves some days before. (Godw. Antiq. Demosth.) We wash our hands every day; but, when to dine with some great man, we scour them with balls. God will be sanctified in all them that draw nigh to him, Lev 10:3 , he will be served like himself, he will be no loser by us.
Ye double minded ] Ye that have your hearts divided between two, and as it were cloven asunder. Out with the corruption that cleaveth to your hearts; and then there will be a constancy and an evenness in your mouths and manners.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
8 .] draw near to God, and He will draw near (here better ‘ will :’ in speaking of the divine dealings, positive declarations are better softened: cf. Joh 16:23 , E. V. Not that this is always observed: cf. Rev 7:17 , E. V.) to you . But it is only the pure in heart and hand that can approach God: therefore Purify your hands (the hands being the external organs of action, and becoming polluted by the act, as e. g. by blood in the act of murder: cf. Isa 1:15 , : Isa 59:3 ; 1Ti 2:8 . And, for both the particulars here mentioned, Psa 23:4 , ), ye sinners: and make chaste your hearts (in allusion to above), ye double-minded (ye whose affections are divided between God and the world. The Apostle is addressing not two classes of persons, but one and the same: “Eosdem vocat peccatores et duplices animo ,” Calv.).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Jas 4:8 . , : here, again, we have what to Christian ears sounds rather like a reversal of the order of things; we should expect the order to be that expressed in such words as, “Ye did not choose me, but I chose you” (Joh 15:16 ). The words before us seem to be a quotation (inexact) from Hos 12:6 (Sept.), . The Hebrew phrase is a technical term for approaching God for the purpose of worship, e.g. , Exo 19:22 ; Jer 30:21 ; Eze 44:13 . There is an extraordinary passage in Test. of the Twelve Patriarchs , Dan. vi. 1, 2 which runs, “And now, fear the Lord, my children, and beware of Satan and his spirits. Draw near unto God and to the angel that intercedeth for you, for he is a mediator between God and man” (the latter part here is not a Christian interpolation). : Cf. Psa 24:4 , ; in Is. Jas 1:16 we have, , , and in Sir 38:10 , , . In each case it is a metaphorical use of language which otherwise expressed the literal ritual washing; the former, taken from the latter, was in use at least as early as exilic times. : the close connection with this word and the which follows almost immediately recalls the language in Sir 5:9 , . : the thought of these, as well as of the preceding words, is an adaptation of Psa 72 (73) 13, , . The verb ( ) means originally to sanctify oneself preparatory to appearing before the Lord by separating oneself from everything that might cause uncleanness; the idea of separating oneself is still present in the passage before us, because mourning implied temporary withdrawal from the world and its doings. Mayor quotes in connection with this verse, Hermas, Mand. , ix. 7, . : Cf. Hos 10:2 , and in addition to the passages referred to above, Jas 1:8 , cf. Barnabas xix. 5, , , and the identical words in Did. iv. 4.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
purify. Greek. hagnizo. See Act 21:24. Used of Levitical purifying four times. Used here, 1Pe 1:22. 1Jn 3:3, in a spiritual sense.
double minded. See Jam 1:8.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
8.] draw near to God, and He will draw near (here better will: in speaking of the divine dealings, positive declarations are better softened: cf. Joh 16:23, E. V. Not that this is always observed: cf. Rev 7:17, E. V.) to you. But it is only the pure in heart and hand that can approach God: therefore-Purify your hands (the hands being the external organs of action, and becoming polluted by the act, as e. g. by blood in the act of murder: cf. Isa 1:15, : Isa 59:3; 1Ti 2:8. And, for both the particulars here mentioned, Psa 23:4, ), ye sinners: and make chaste your hearts (in allusion to above), ye double-minded (ye whose affections are divided between God and the world. The Apostle is addressing not two classes of persons, but one and the same: Eosdem vocat peccatores et duplices animo, Calv.).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Jam 4:8. , draw near) The flight of the devil is followed, in the order of nature rather than of time, by an approach to God, in holy prayer, Jam 4:2-3.-, He will draw near) as propitious. A most joyous word.-, cleanse) That you may be able to put to flight the devil.-, purify) that ye may be able to approach God, having laid aside adultery of soul.-, ye double-minded) who give yourselves both to God and to the world, Jam 4:4. The form of address varies in this Epistle; and at one time they are addressed as holy brethren, at another time as sinners, at another time as waverers. The double-minded man is at fault in heart; the sinner, in his hands likewise.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
sinners
Sin. (See Scofield “Rom 3:23”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Draw nigh to God: Gen 18:23, 1Ch 28:9, 2Ch 15:2, Psa 73:28, Psa 145:18, Isa 29:13, Isa 55:6, Isa 55:7, Hos 6:1, Hos 6:2, Zec 1:3, Mal 3:7, Heb 7:19, Heb 10:22
Cleanse: Job 9:30, Job 16:17, Job 17:9, Psa 18:20, Psa 24:4, Psa 26:6, Psa 73:13, Isa 1:15, Isa 1:16, Isa 13:15, Mat 15:2, Mat 27:24, 1Ti 2:8, 1Pe 3:21
purify: Psa 51:6, Psa 51:7, Psa 51:10, Jer 4:11, Eze 18:31, Eze 36:25-27, Mat 12:33, Mat 23:25, Mat 23:26, Luk 11:39, Luk 11:40, Act 15:9, 2Co 7:1, 1Pe 1:22, 1Jo 3:3
ye double: Jam 1:8
Reciprocal: Gen 27:21 – Come Gen 35:2 – clean Lev 15:5 – General Lev 15:6 – General Lev 15:8 – General Lev 15:10 – General Lev 15:13 – wash Num 8:6 – cleanse them Num 8:7 – wash their Num 29:7 – afflict Deu 4:7 – who hath 1Sa 14:36 – Then said the priest 2Sa 22:21 – cleanness 2Ch 25:2 – but not 2Ch 30:6 – turn again Job 11:14 – put it far Job 20:18 – and he shall Job 36:10 – commandeth Ecc 7:3 – is better Isa 22:12 – call Jer 4:14 – wash Jer 7:3 – Amend Jer 25:5 – Turn Lam 3:57 – drewest Eze 14:6 – Repent Eze 18:21 – if the Dan 4:27 – break Dan 9:3 – with Joe 1:8 – Lament Joe 2:12 – with fasting Zec 7:3 – Should Mat 5:8 – are Mat 18:35 – from Mar 7:4 – except Luk 15:19 – make Joh 11:55 – to purify Act 2:40 – Save 1Ti 1:5 – a pure Tit 2:12 – denying Tit 2:14 – purify Jam 1:21 – filthiness Jam 3:17 – first
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jas 4:8. This verse also indicates a voluntary action on the part of man. The Lord has made full provision for the spiritual welfare of the human creature, hence it is necessary for man to make the next move. Cleanse your hands specifies what is to be done, and ye sinners designates to whom the demand applies. No person is accused nor even specifically admonished except the guilty ones. To purify means to remove all mixture of evil desires, and the heart can be thus purified only “by [the] faith” Act 15:9. Double minded is explained at chapter 1:8.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jas 4:8. Draw nigh to God: not to be limited to prayer, but to be understood of our intercourse with God generally.
and he will draw nigh to you. Compare the words of Zechariah: Turn ye unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts (Zec 1:3).
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners. The priests before they ministered at the altar, and the people before they prayed, always washed their hands, thus intimating the purity with which we ought to approach God. The hands are specially mentioned as being the instruments of wickedness.
and purify your hearts. The cleansing of the hands refers to external, and the purification of the hearts to internal purity; the one to the absence from contention, and the other to freedom from those lusts which were the cause of contention; the external and the internal must correspond: we must have clean hands and a pure heart(Psa 24:4). There is not much difference in the two words here rendered cleansing and purifying: the former is freedom from stain or blemish, the latter is consecrated or set apart.
ye double-minded: having, as it were, two soulsthe one professing to be attached to God, and the other really attached to the world. The epithets sinners and double-minded refer not to different, but to the same class of persons.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. Man by nature, since his fall, is afar off from God, not barely by a natural distance as a creature, but also by a moral distance as a sinner; God made man near him, but when man sinned, he departed from him; now we draw nigh to God by conversion, and in all the actings of repentance; there is a first and a second coversion; a first conversion from a sinful state, a second conversion from sinful acts, by both we draw nigh to God; but the drawing nigh to God here principally intended, is by approaching to him in prayer, and in the use of every holy ordinance: and humbling of the soul before God, is a drawing nigh unto him; hence it is that good men delight so much in prayer, and other holy duties; they meet with God in them, and draw near to God by them; and they that meet with God, meet with all delights.
Observe, 2. As the duty required, draw nigh to God, so the encouragement annexed, he will draw nigh to you: God will certainly draw nigh to that Christian, in a way of mercy, who prepareth his heart to approach and draw near to him in a way of duty; the Lord is nigh to all them that call upon him; nigh to comfort, nigh to quicken, nigh to guide, nigh to support.
Mark! to signify to us our deep pollution, and universal pollution; we are called upon both to cleanse and to purify, and that both our hands and our hearts.
Quest. But why is cleansing of the hands set before purifying the heart? Must we sweeten the streams before the fountain?
Ans. It is not unusual in scripture to put that first which is visible first, as calling before election, 2Pe 1:10. And because grace (having once entered the heart) discovers itself by an immediate cleansing of the hands; so that if we would have a holy life, we must get a clean heart.
Learn, 1. That unclean persons can have no communion with God.
2. That they who draw nigh to God, must cleanse their hands; because the sins of our hands do keep us at a distance from God, and God at a distance from us. Commerce with God in an ordinance is one thing, and communion with him is another; a man may have a commerce or trade with an enemy for profit sake, whilst he refuses to hold communion with him in a way of friendship and intimacy of acquaintance.
Learn, 3. That double-minded men have corrupt hearts: double- mindedness is a dividing of the heart between God and something else: whereas God calls for the whole heart, the whole mind, the whole soul, the whole strength.
Learn, 4. That this double-mindedness hinders both our drawing nigh to God, and God’s drawing nigh to us; a heart divided between God and the world, between conscience and lust, between religion and self interest, will hinder all intercourse and sweet communion betwixt God and us in the duty of prayer. Cleanse therefore your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Verse 8
Your hands; your conduct.–Ye double-minded; ye who hesitate, undecided, between God and the world.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded.
All verbs in this verse are aorist – one time occurrences, with the exception of the one relating to God, which is a future – you need to act before He will act might be the thought. Add to that the fact that the ones relating to us are imperatives – not options.
In short, you cannot live your life without sin and impurity in your life; you cannot live your life away from God and expect closeness. Won’t happen, no matter how much you want it to be true. You cannot have it both ways. The New Testament is clear on the fact that we serve God or mammon; we walk with God or walk with the world. This is a clear and present choice for every believer. His closeness depends on us, not Him.
Several imperatives:
a. Draw close to God: How is this done? Get close to where He is, where you can talk to Him without shouting. Be in prayer; be in tune with His word. True, He is everywhere, so you can draw close to Him in nature; just don’t take a rod or gun or skis with you to get between you and the one you seek to draw close to.
When you have a moment of time that is not taken, give thought to Him or His word. When lying in bed awake, give thought to Him or His word. Take those moments to talk with Him. When you realize you are watching a television show that you shouldn’t be watching, shut it off and spend time with Him.
b. Cleanse your hands: Cleanse relates to the cleaning out of impurity. The act of cauterizing a wound not only cleans the wound of germs, but seals it for healing.
c. Purify your hearts: While you are cleaning up the hands, clean up the source of what pollutes them, your heart – get your mind and life straight with God.
Question. How do you maintain a pure heart – a pure mind while you watch the sleazy on television? You might be able to keep the effect to a minimum, but it is there, it is constant as long as the set is on. You should be constantly purifying your heart, every time your mind skips where it ought not, every time your mind tracks with the swearing on the screen, every time temptation raises its head to tempt you into improper thought or life.
Remember, these were one time acts that James mentions, not minute by minute acts that most television programs would require.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
While resisting Satan on the one hand, we must also draw near to God on the other. When we do, He will draw near to us. To draw near to God we must go through a purification process reminiscent of what the priests in Israel underwent. We must wash our hands, symbolic of our outward actions, as well as our divided hearts, symbolic of our inner attitudes and motives. We clean them by confession and repentance. We must remove sin from our hands and duplicity from our hearts. Single-mindedness involves singleness of purpose, namely, living for the glory of God rather than for both God’s glory and our own selfish desires (cf. Jas 1:8).