Adam Clarke's Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible · 야고보서 1장

야고보 일반서신 서문

이 서신의 저자와 기록 시기에 관해서는 신약의 다른 대부분의 부분보다 더 많은 의문과 더 다양한 견해가 있었다. 이 주제에 관한 고대와 현대 저자들의 견해를 길게 논의하는 것은 진리를 확립하거나 독자에게 덕을 세우는 데 별 도움이 되지 않을 것이다.

라드너, 미하엘리스, 맥나이트는 이 책의 저자와 기록 시기와 정경적 권위에 관한 논쟁을 상당히 다루었다. 그러므로 이 문제가 어떤 난점들을 안고 있는지 살펴보고 싶은 독자는 그들에게 의지할 수 있다.

이 서신은 베드로, 요한, 유다의 서신들과 함께 보편서신이라고 불린다. 보편이라는 말은 καθολικη, 곧 κατα, '통하여', 와 ὁλος, '전체', 에서 온 말이다. 이 명칭을 적용하는 이유에 대해 에큐메니우스는 야고보서 1장 주해에서 다음과 같이 말한다. Καθολικαι λεγονται αυται, οἱονει εγκυκλιοι· ου γαρ αφωρισμενως εθνει ἑνι η πολει, αλλα καθολου τοις πιστοις· "이 서신들은 보편적, 일반적, 또는 회람 서신이라고 불린다. 그것들이 한 민족이나 한 도시에 쓰인 것이 아니라 어디에 있는 믿는 자들에게나 쓰였기 때문이다."

그러나 이 서신들이 처음에는 널리 유통되는 데 어느 정도 어려움이 있었고, 마침내 어디서나 받아들여졌다는 점을 생각하면, 이들이 보편이라는 명칭을 얻은 것은 결국 정경으로 보편적으로 인정되었기 때문일 가능성이 더 크다. 따라서 여기서 보편이라는 말은 정경이라는 뜻으로 이해해야 한다.

문제의 이 서신을 쓴 사람이 누구였는지는 말하기 어렵다. 우리가 확실히 아는 것은 그의 말에서 알 수 있듯이 그의 이름이 야고보였고, 그가 하나님과 주 예수의 종이었다는 사실뿐이다. 신약에는 이 이름을 가진 두 사람이 언급된다. 곧 큰 야고보라고도 불리는 세베대의 아들 야고보와, του μικρου, 곧 작은 자 또는 어린 자인 야고보, 알패오의 아들이며 우리 주님의 형제라고 불리는 야고보다. 그러나 이 둘 중 하나인지, 그중 하나라면 누구인지, 아니면 둘과는 다른 같은 이름의 다른 사람인지는 만족스럽게 결정할 수 없는 문제다. 미하엘리스는 평소의 능력으로 이 문제를 검토했으나 결론을 유보한다. 다만 세베대의 아들 야고보가 저자이며, 이 서신이 신약의 어떤 서신보다 먼저 기록되었다는 견해 쪽으로 기운다. 다른 큰 권위자들은 이것을 우리 주님의 형제라고 불리고 예루살렘 교회의 주관자 또는 감독이었던 야고보에게 돌린다. 이 견해가 옳다고 인정하더라도, 야고보가 어떤 의미에서 우리 주님의 형제라고 불리는지에 대해서는 일치가 없다. 이 말의 의미에 관해 네다섯 가지 다른 견해가 있기 때문이다. 마태복음 13:55, 13:56에서 우리는 우리 주님의 형제라고 불린 네 사람이 있었음을 알게 된다. "이는 그 목수의 아들이 아니냐? 그의 어머니는 마리아라 하지 않느냐? 그의 형제들은 야고보와 요셉과 시몬과 유다가 아니냐? 그의 누이들은 다 우리와 함께 있지 아니하냐?" 일반적으로 여기의 야고보가 이 서신의 저자이며, 그와 함께 언급된 유다 또는 유다가 이 모음의 마지막에 놓인 서신의 저자라고 인정된다. 그러나 여기서 쓰인 형제라는 말의 의미에 관해서는 학자들의 견해를 제시할 필요가 있다.

1. 이들은 요셉이 이전 결혼에서 얻은 자녀들이었다고 여겨진다. 이것은 매우 오래된 견해다. 요셉이 복되신 처녀와 결혼할 때 홀아비였다고 가정하는 데에는 아무 개연성 없는 점이 없기 때문이다.

2. 이들은 요셉과 그의 아내 마리아의 자녀들, 곧 우리 주님이 나신 뒤에 모두 태어난 자녀들이었다고 여겨진다. 이것은 매우 그럴듯한 견해다. 이에 대한 몇 가지 이유는 마태복음 13:55 주해를 보라. 또한 마태복음 1:25 주해도 보라.

3. 그들이 우리 주님의 형제라고 불린 것은, 자식 없이 죽은 요셉의 형제 중 한 사람의 아내에게서 난 자녀들이었고, 요셉이 모세의 율법에 따라 그 과부를 취하여 죽은 형제에게 씨를 세워 주었기 때문이라는 견해다. 이것은 매우 그럴듯하지 않다. 이 경우라면 요셉이 형제의 아내에게서 아들 하나만 얻으면 되었을 터인데, 여기서는 여러 자매 외에 네 명이 나타나기 때문이다.

4. 글로바, 곧 알패오라고도 불린 사람이 복되신 처녀의 자매, 역시 마리아라고 불린 여인과 결혼하여 위의 자녀들을 낳았고, 이들이 히브리 사람들의 일반 관습에 따라 우리 주님의 형제라고 불렸다는 견해다. 히브리 사람들은 같은 가문의 더 가까운 친족 가지들, 곧 형제자매의 자녀들, 다시 말해 사촌들을 형제라고 불렀다. 그러므로 이들은 우리 주님의 이모의 자녀들이었으므로, 이 관습에 따라 그의 형제라고 불린 것이다. 이 견해들 가운데 첫째와 둘째가 내게는 가장 그럴듯해 보인다. 그러나 현대 저자들의 대부분은 마지막 견해를 취한다.

두 야고보 가운데 작은 야고보가 이 서신의 저자였다는 것은, 맥나이트 박사가 라드너와 다른 이들을 따라 논박할 수 없다고 생각한 바다. 나는 그가 요약한 라드너의 논증을 인용하겠지만, 내 판단으로는 이 저자들 중 누구도 문제의 요점을 입증하지 못했다.

"사도들의 목록, 마태복음 10:2, 마가복음 3:17, 누가복음 6:14, 사도행전 1:13에서 우리는 야고보라는 이름을 가진 두 사람을 발견한다. 첫째는 세베대의 아들, 마태복음 10:2이며, 둘째는 모든 목록에서 알패오의 아들이라고 불린다. 이 사도들 중 하나가 갈라디아서 1:19에서 주님의 형제라고 불린다. 그러므로 사도는 열둘뿐이었고, 세베대의 아들 야고보는 우리가 아는 한 어떤 점에서도 우리 주님과 친족 관계가 없었으므로, 주님의 형제라고 불린 사도 야고보는 알패오의 아들 야고보, 곧 작은 야고보 또는 젊은 야고보라고도 불린 그 사람임이 틀림없다. 그가 그리스도와 어떤 관계였는지는 마가복음 15:40과 요한복음 19:25를 비교하면 드러난다. 앞의 구절에서 마가는 십자가에 못 박히실 때 그곳에 있던 여인들에 대해 말하면서 이렇게 말한다. '멀리서 바라보는 여인들도 있었는데, 그 가운데 막달라 마리아와 작은 야고보와 요세의 어머니 마리아와 살로메가 있었다.' 뒤의 구절에서 요한은 같은 여인들을 말하면서 이렇게 말한다. '예수의 십자가 곁에는 그의 어머니와 그의 어머니의 자매, 글로바의 아내 마리아와 막달라 마리아가 서 있었다.' 그러므로 요한이 언급한 우리 주님의 어머니의 자매, 글로바의 아내 마리아는 마가가 작은 야고보와 요세의 어머니 마리아라고 부른 사람일 가능성이 매우 높다. 따라서 그녀의 아들들인 야고보와 요세는 어머니 쪽으로 우리 주님의 사촌들이었다. 그리고 히브리 사람들이 가까운 친족들을 형제라고 불렀으므로, 우리 주님의 사촌이었던 알패오의 아들 야고보가 갈라디아서 1:19에 언급된 주님의 형제 야고보일 가능성이 매우 크다. 이 견해를 세 가지 사정이 확증한다.

1. 우리 주님의 어머니의 자매 마리아의 아들들인 야고보와 요세는 마태복음 13:55와 마가복음 6:3에서 명백히 예수의 형제들이라고 불린다.

2. 우리 주님의 어머니의 자매의 아들 야고보가 마가복음 15:40에서 작은 자라는 명칭으로 다른 야고보와 구별되므로, 마가가 자기 목록에서 세베대의 아들 야고보와 구별하기 위해 알패오의 아들이라는 명칭을 붙인 야고보가 바로 그 사람이라고 생각할 충분한 이유가 있다. 야고보와 요세의 어머니 마리아가 요한복음 19:25에서 글로바의 아내라고 불린 것은 사실이다. 그러나 글로바와 알패오는 같은 이름을 서로 다르게 발음한 것이다. 하나는 히브리식 표기에 따른 것이고 다른 하나는 헬라식 표기에 따른 것이다.

3. 마태복음 13:55에서 예수의 형제들이라고 불린 사람들 가운데 세 사람이 사도 목록에 언급된다. 야고보와 시몬과 유다다. 나는 이들이 주님의 형제들이며, 사도로서 자매나 아내 등을 데리고 다닐 권리가 있었다고 말해진 사람들이라고 본다. 고린도전서 9:5.

히에로니무스도 주님의 형제 야고보가 그렇게 불린 것은 그가 우리 주님의 어머니의 자매 마리아의 아들이었기 때문이라고 생각했다. 야코부스 항목. 라드너는 정경론 제3권 63쪽에서 이렇게 말한다. '히에로니무스는 우리 주님의 형제들이 그의 어머니의 자매의 아들들이었다고 말한 최초의 사람인 듯하다. 이 견해는 마침내 아우구스티누스에게 받아들여졌고, 최근에 매우 널리 퍼졌다. 로마 가톨릭 일반의 견해이며, 라이트풋, 위치우스, 람페, 그리고 많은 개신교도들의 견해이기도 하다. 반면 오리게네스, 에피파니우스, 그리고 헬라인과 라틴인의 다른 고대 저자들은 주님의 형제 야고보가 처녀의 자매의 아들이 아니라, 우리 주님의 법적 아버지로 여겨진 요셉이 처녀와 약혼하기 전에 죽은 이전 아내에게서 얻은 아들이었다고 보았다. 개신교도들 가운데 보시우스, 바스나주, 케이브도 같은 견해였고, 로마 가톨릭 가운데서는 발레시우스가 같은 견해였다. 에피파니우스와 테오필락투스는 요셉의 첫 아내가 알패오의 과부였다고 보았다. 알패오는 요셉의 형제였으므로, 요셉이 그에게 씨를 세워 주려고 그녀와 결혼했고, 따라서 그 결혼에서 난 야고보가 알패오의 아들이며 우리 주님의 형제라고 알맞게 불렸다는 것이다.' 그러나 고대인들과 현대인들이 히브리 사람들에게 가까운 친족들이 형제라고 불렸다는 사실과, 알패오와 글로바가 서로 다르게 기록된 같은 이름이라는 사실을 기억했다면 이런 가정들은 생략될 수 있었을 것이다. 알패오의 아들 작은 야고보는 주님의 가까운 친족일 뿐 아니라 사도였고, 일반적으로 여겨지는 바와 같이 주님께서 부활하신 뒤 그에게만 따로 나타나심으로 특별히 영예롭게 하신 사람이다. 고린도전서 15:7. 이러한 사정들과 그의 개인적 공로가 합쳐져, 그는 사도들 가운데서도 매우 주목받는 사람이 되었고, 사도들은 그를 예루살렘에 머물게 하여 그곳 교회를 감독하게 했다. 라드너는 이 임명이 스데반의 순교 직후에 이루어졌다고 말한다. 그는 이 견해를 뒷받침하며, '일곱 집사의 선택 이후까지는 베드로가 항상 사도들 가운데 의장으로서 먼저 말한다. 그 뒤에 성 야고보에 대해 말해지는 모든 것은 그가 예루살렘 교회를 주재하고 있었음을 함축한다'고 관찰한다. 정경론 제3권 28쪽. 예를 들어 예루살렘의 사도들과 장로들이 이방인에게 할례를 행해야 하는지 검토하려고 모였을 때, 많은 논쟁이 있은 뒤 베드로가 말했고, 사도행전 15:7, 이어 바나바와 바울이 말했다. 사도행전 15:12. 그들이 말을 마치자 야고보가 전체를 요약하고 이방인들을 교회 안으로 받아들일 조건들을 제시했다. 사도행전 15:19-21. 온 회중은 이에 동의했고, 야고보의 의견에 맞추어 이방인들에게 편지를 썼다. 사도행전 15:22-29. 여기서 야고보가 예루살렘 교회의 주관자였기 때문에 예루살렘 공의회를 주재했다고 추론된다.

"크리소스토무스는 사도행전 15장 강해에서 이렇게 말한다. '야고보는 예루살렘의 감독이었으므로 마지막에 말했다.' 이 공의회 때 바울은 자신이 이방인 가운데 전파한 복음을 자신이 기둥들이라고 부른 세 사도에게 알렸다. 그리고 그들이 자신에게 주어진 영감과 기적의 능력을 알고 친교의 오른손을 내밀었다고 말하면서, 갈라디아서 2:9에서 야고보를 먼저 언급한다. '내게 주신 은혜를 알고, 기둥으로 여겨지는 야고보와 게바와 요한이 나와 바나바에게 친교의 오른손을 주었다.' 이것은 바울이 첫 장에서 주님의 형제라고 불렀던 야고보가 사도였을 뿐 아니라 예루살렘 교회의 주재 사도였음을 함축한다. 같은 장에서 바울은 공의회 뒤에 일어난 일을 설명하며 갈라디아서 2:11에서 이렇게 말한다. '베드로가 안디옥에 왔을 때, 야고보에게서 온 몇 사람이 오기 전에는 이방인들과 함께 먹었으나, 그들이 오자 할례자들을 두려워하여 물러나 자신을 따로 세웠다.' 이것은 야고보가 예루살렘에 거주하며 그곳 교회를 주재했고, 유대인 신자들에게 크게 존중받았음을 보여 준다. 같은 사정은 사도행전 21:17에서도 나타난다. 누가는 유대의 성도들을 위한 연보를 가지고 바울이 예루살렘으로 간 일을 기록하면서 사도행전 21:18에서 이렇게 말한다. '바울이 우리와 함께 야고보에게 들어가니 모든 장로들이 있었다.' 더 나아가 야고보가 사도들에게서 받은 존중은 누가가 기록한 두 사실에서도 드러난다. 첫째, 바울이 회심한 지 삼 년 뒤 예루살렘에 왔을 때, 바나바가 그를 데리고 베드로와 야고보, 곧 주요 사도들에게 데려갔다. 사도행전 9:27과 갈라디아서 1:19를 비교하라. 둘째, 주후 44년 유월절 무렵 베드로가 감옥에서 기적적으로 풀려난 뒤, '그가 마리아의 집에 이르렀는데 거기에는 많은 사람이 모여 기도하고 있었다'(사도행전 12:12). 그리고 주께서 어떻게 그를 감옥에서 이끌어 내셨는지 그들에게 말한 뒤, '이 일을 야고보와 형제들에게 알리라'고 말했다. 사도행전 12:17. 이러한 세부 사항들은 라드너가, 그리고 그보다 앞서 휘트비와 케이브가, 주님의 형제 야고보가 엄밀한 의미에서 참으로 사도였음을 보이려고 언급한 것이다. 따라서 유세비우스가 그를 칠십 제자 가운데 두었을 때 그는 잘못한 것이다. 교회사 제7권 12장.

"야고보서가 일찍부터 영감된 기록으로 여겨졌다는 것은 다음 사실에서 분명하다. 곧 제2베드로서, 요한2서와 요한3서, 유다서, 요한계시록은 회심한 유대인들을 위해 2세기 초에 만들어진 신약의 첫 시리아어 번역본, 곧 페시토에서 빠져 있는 반면, 야고보서는 한 번도 의심받지 않은 책들과 똑같이 그 안에 자리를 얻었다. 이것은 매우 무게 있는 논증이다. 이 서신을 받아 전달받은 유대인 신자들이야말로, 그것이 보내지지 않았고 아마 기록된 지 오래 뒤까지 그것을 알 기회가 없었을 회심한 이방인들보다 그 진정성을 훨씬 더 잘 판단할 수 있었기 때문이다. 그러므로 유대인 신자들이 이 서신을 받아들였다는 사실은 그들이 그것을 사도 야고보가 쓴 것으로 알고 있었다는 부인할 수 없는 증거다. 반면 이방인 신자들이 이 서신을 몰랐다는 사실은 그 진정성에 대한 추정조차 되지 않는다.

"초기 회심한 이방인들이 야고보서를 거의 알지 못했던 것은 여러 원인 때문이었을 수 있다. 예컨대 그것이 유대인들에게 보내졌고, 그 안에 들어 있는 문제들이 유대인들에게 직접 관련된 것이었기 때문이다. 이런 이유로 유대인 신자들은 그것을 이방인들에게 전달할 필요가 없다고 생각했을 수 있다. 그리고 그것이 그들에게 알려졌을 때에도, 그들은 다음 이유들 때문에 그것을 영감된 기록으로 받아들이기를 주저했을 수 있다.

1. 저자는 서두에서 사도라는 칭호를 취하지 않고, 단순히 자신을 하나님과 주 예수 그리스도의 종 야고보라고 부른다.

2. 고대인들 가운데 많은 이들이 이 서신의 저자를 의인 야고보라고 부름으로 그의 사도직을 의심스럽게 만들었다.

3. 또한 그들은 그를 그리스도의 사도라고 하지 않고 보통 예루살렘의 감독이라고 말함으로 그렇게 했다.

그러므로 이 서신이 회심한 이방인들에게 일반적으로 받아들여지지 않았고, 따라서 그들의 글에서 자주 인용되지 않은 것은 조금도 이상한 일이 아니다. 그러나 뒤에 이 서신이 처음부터 유대인 신자들에게 받아들여졌다는 점, 그들의 사용을 위해 시리아어로 번역되었다는 점, 바울도 사도였지만 때로는 그리스도의 종이라는 호칭으로 만족했다는 점, 빌립보서 1:1, 빌레몬서 1:1, 또 때로는 자기 이름 외에는 아무 호칭도 취하지 않았다는 점, 데살로니가전서 1:1, 데살로니가후서 1:1, 그리고 사도 요한도 자기 서신들 어느 곳에서도 자신을 사도라고 부르지 않았다는 점이 고려되자, 야고보서 저자가 사도일 자격이 있다는 사실은 더 이상 의심받지 않았다. 그는 일반적으로 알패오의 아들이며 주님의 형제인 야고보로 인정되었고, 그의 서신은 면밀한 검토 뒤 영감된 기록으로 받아들여졌다. 에스티우스도 이렇게 말한다. 그는 4세기 이후에는 어떤 교회나 교회 저술가도 이 서신의 권위를 의심한 일이 없고, 오히려 4세기 이후 총회나 지방 회의, 로마 주교들 또는 다른 정통 저자들이 발표한 성경 목록들이 한결같이 이 서신을 정경 가운데 포함한다고 단언한다.

"야고보서를 인용한 고대 저자들이 많지 않다는 유세비우스의 언급에 대해, 학자들은 로마의 클레멘스가 그것을 네 차례 인용했고, 이그나티우스도 에베소인들에게 보낸 그의 진정한 서신 10, 12, 17, 30절에서 그렇게 하며, 오리게네스도 창세기 제13강해 5절에서 그렇게 한다고 관찰했다. 고대인들이 그것을 더 일반적으로 인용하지 않은 것은, 이미 언급한 것들 외에도 다음 이유들 때문이었을 수 있다.

1. 그것은 온 유대 민족에게 써서 그들 가운데 널리 퍼진 오류와 악습을 바로잡으려 한 것이었으므로, 이방인들은 자신들이 그것과 거의 관계가 없다고 생각하고 사본을 구하려 애쓰지 않았을 수 있다. 이로 인해 그것은 성경의 다른 몇몇 책들만큼 그들 가운데 널리 알려지지 않았다.

2. 이 서신의 교리가 율법의 행위 없이 믿음으로 의롭다 하심을 받는다는 바울의 교리와 겉으로 충돌하는 듯 보였기 때문에, 가장 오래된 저자들이 그것을 덜 중시했을 수 있다. 후대에 바로 같은 이유로 루터가 그것을 배척하고, 멸시를 보이기 위해 그것을 epistola straminea, 곧 지푸라기 또는 겨 같은 서신이라고 부른 것과 같다.

"결론적으로, 밀의 견해에 따르면 야고보서가 영감된 기록이라는 권위는 사도 바울과 베드로에 의해 풍부하게 확립된다. 그들이 자기 글들에서 이 서신에 들어 있는 것들과 비슷한 많은 생각과 표현을 가지고 있기 때문이다. 예를 들면 다음과 같다.

베드로전서 1:3: 예수 그리스도의 부활을 통하여 우리를 거듭나게 하사 산 소망에 이르게 하셨다. 야고보서 1:18: 그가 뜻하신 바에 따라 말씀으로 우리를 낳으셨다. 로마서 5:3, 5:4: 환난은 인내를 이루고, 인내는 연단을 이룬다는 것을 안다. 야고보서 1:3: 너희 믿음의 시험이 인내를 이룬다는 것을 안다. 로마서 2:13: 율법을 듣는 자가 하나님 앞에서 의로운 것이 아니라, 율법을 행하는 자라야 의롭다 하심을 받을 것이다. 야고보서 1:22: 너희는 말씀을 행하는 자가 되고 듣기만 하는 자가 되지 말라. 그렇게 하면 그릇된 추론으로 자신을 속이는 것이다. 로마서 7:23: 내 지체 안에서 다른 법이 내 마음의 법과 싸우는 것을 본다.

베드로전서 2:11: 영혼을 거슬러 싸우는 욕망들. 야고보서 4:1: 그것들이 너희 지체 안에서 싸우는 너희 욕망에서 나오지 않느냐? 베드로전서 5:8, 5:9: 너희 대적 마귀, 믿음에 굳게 서서 그를 대적하라. 야고보서 4:7: 마귀를 대적하라. 그러면 그가 너희에게서 달아날 것이다. 베드로전서 5:6: 하나님의 능하신 손 아래서 낮아지라. 그가 너희를 높이실 것이다. 야고보서 4:10: 하나님 앞에서 낮아지라. 그가 너희를 높이실 것이다. 로마서 14:4: 남의 집 종을 정죄하는 너는 누구냐? 야고보서 4:12: 너, 다른 이를 정죄하는 너는 누구냐? 베드로전서 4:8: 사랑은 많은 죄를 덮는다. 야고보서 5:20: 많은 죄를 덮을 것이다."

맥나이트의 서문을 보라.

작은 야고보가 우리 주님의 사촌이었을 수도 있고, 심지어 요셉의 이전 아내에게서 난 우리 주님의 형제였을 수도 있으며, 심지어 처녀에게서 난 형제였을 수도 있다는 것은 전적으로 가능하다. 또한 그가 사도였고 유대인들과 그리스도인들 가운데 뛰어난 사람이었다는 것도 쉽게 믿을 수 있다. 그리고 그가 이 서신의 저자였다는 것도 가능하다. 그러나 나는 여전히 이 문제에 관해 결정적이거나 만족스러운 증거가 없다고 주장해야 한다. 작은 야고보의 사도직에서 이 서신의 진정성에 대한 증거를 끌어내는 것은 순환논증이다. 이 사람이 이 서신의 저자였다는 것이 입증되지 않았기 때문이다. 이 서신이 정경이라는 주된 적절한 증거는, 그것이 그리스도의 교회에 의해 보편적으로 받아들여졌고, 하나님께 영감받은 것으로 모든 사람이 인정한 기록들 가운데 아무 거리낌 없이 편입되었다는 사실에서 취해야 한다.

끝맺기 전에, 이 서신의 저자에 관한 미하엘리스의 견해를 언급하겠다. 그는 이렇게 말한다. "모든 것을 고려할 때, 나는 세베대의 아들 야고보가 이 서신의 저자가 아니었다고 주장할 근거를 보지 못한다. 적어도 한 가지 사정은, 이 서신이 정말로 큰 야고보가 쓴 것이며 복음이 아직 이방인들 가운데 전파되지 않았던 때에 기록되었다는 견해를 지지하는 추정적 논증을 제공한다. 그것은 곧 이 서신 안에 유대인 회심자들과 이방인 회심자들 사이의 화합을 권면하는 말이 없다는 점이다. 이방인들이 교회 안에 받아들여진 뒤에는 그런 권면이 절대적으로 필요하게 되었다. 만일 이 서신이 사도행전 15장에 언급된 예루살렘 사도회의 뒤에, 그리고 젊은 야고보에 의해 기록되었다면, 적어도 이방인 회심자들에게 유리하게 젊은 야고보가 제안했던 그 회의의 결정에 대한 어떤 암시라도 들어 있을 것이라고 기대할 수 있었을 것이다. 또한 이 서신이 유대인 회심자들에게 이방인 회심자들을 자기 형제로 여기라고 권고했을 것이라고 기대할 수 있었을 것이다." - 신약개론.

이 서신 자체는 거룩한 정경 안의 다른 모든 서신과 성격이 전혀 다르다. 그 문체와 방식은 그리스도인 사도라기보다 유대인 선지자의 것에 더 가깝다. 순전히 그리스도교적인 주제를 거의 건드리지 않는다. 우리의 복되신 주님은 그 안에서 단 두 번, 야고보서 1:1과 2:1에서만 언급된다. 그러나 그의 기적이나 가르침, 그의 죽음이나 부활, 또는 그로 말미암은 어떤 구속에 대해서도 말하지 않는다. 이 서신은 사도적 문안 없이 시작하고, 사도적 축도 없이 끝난다. 요컨대 우리의 복되신 주님에 대한 두 번의 짧은 언급이 없었다면, 우리는 이것이 어떤 그리스도인 저자의 작품인지 알지 못했을 것이다. 이것은 옛 언약과 새 언약 사이에 있었던 세례 요한의 사역처럼, 유대교와 그리스도교 사이를 잇는 일종의 연결 고리로 여겨질 수 있다. 그 안에는 계획도 배열도 없다. 그러나 진지한 사람이 유익 없이 읽을 수 없는 귀중한 교훈들이 많이 들어 있다.

작은 야고보는 주후 62년경 예루살렘에서 순교했고, 이 서신은 그의 죽음 얼마 전에 기록된 것으로 여겨진다. 나는 이것이 우리 주님의 승천 후 오래지 않아 쓰인, 알려지지 않은 저자의 작품이라고 믿지만, 통상적인 연대기를 따라 61년에 쓴 것으로 날짜를 잡겠다. 그것이 참된 날짜라고 생각해서가 아니라, 일반적으로 채택되는 날짜이기 때문이다.

그는 흩어진 열두 지파에게 말한다. 야고보서 1:1. 그들이 십자가 아래에서 기뻐해야 함을 보여 준다. 그 고난에서, 특히 인내의 증가와 완성에서 영적 유익을 얻을 수 있기 때문이다. 야고보서 1:2-4. 그들은 모든 사람에게 후히 주시는 하나님께 지혜를 구하라는 권면을 받는다. 야고보서 1:5. 그러나 그들은 믿음으로 구해야 하며 의심하는 마음으로 구해서는 안 된다. 야고보서 1:6-8. 부자와 가난한 자에게 주는 지침. 야고보서 1:9-11. 시험을 견디는 사람의 복됨. 야고보서 1:12. 사람들이 어떻게 시험을 받아 하나님에게서 떠나가게 되는가. 야고보서 1:13-15. 하나님은 빛들의 아버지이시며, 모든 선한 것은 그에게서 나온다. 야고보서 1:16-18. 성급한 말과 잘못된 성정에 대한 경계. 야고보서 1:19-21. 우리는 말씀을 행하는 자가 되어야 하며, 단지 듣는 자에 머물러서는 안 된다. 그렇지 않으면 거울로 자기 본래 얼굴을 보고도 거울이 치워지면 자기가 어떤 사람이었는지 잊어버리는 사람들과 같게 된다. 야고보서 1:22-24. 우리는 자유롭게 하는 완전한 율법을 들여다보고 그 안에 계속 머물러야 한다. 야고보서 1:25. 순수한 경건의 본질과 속성. 야고보서 1:26, 1:27.

하나님의 종 야고보 - 이 사람에 대한 설명, 아니 더 정확히는 그에 관한 추측들은 서문을 보라. 그는 자신을 사도라고 부르지도 않고, 그리스도의 형제라거나 예루살렘의 감독이라고 말하지도 않는다. 그가 세베대의 아들인 큰 야고보였는지, 우리 주님의 형제라고 불린 작은 야고보였는지, 아니면 같은 이름을 가진 다른 사람이었는지는 우리가 알지 못한다. 이 점들에 관한 저자들의 단정은 주목할 가치가 없다. 교회는 늘 그를 그리스도의 사도로 받아들여 왔다.

흩어져 있는 열두 지파에게 - 유대 밖에 살면서 무역이나 상업을 위해 이방인들 가운데 체류하던 유대인들에게 한 말이다. 그들이 그리스도교로 개종했는지 아닌지는 구별하지 않는다. 이때 문명 세계의 대부분 지역, 특히 아시아, 그리스, 애굽, 이탈리아에는 일부는 여행 중이고, 일부는 체류 중이며, 일부는 거주 중인 유대인들이 있었다. 나는 이것을 유대인 신자들에게만 제한해야 할 이유를 보지 못한다. 이 서신은 관련될 수 있는 모든 사람에게 보내졌고, 특히 우리 주 예수 그리스도의 믿음을 받은 이들에게 보내졌다. 더더욱 이것을 스데반에 관한 박해로 흩어진 사람들에게만 한정해서는 안 된다. 사도행전 8:1 이하, 11:19 이하. 야고보가 이 서신을 쓸 때 열두 지파가 실제로 존재했다는 것은, 맥나이트 박사가 다음 사실들에서 분명하다고 본다.

"1. 고레스가 자기 영토 안의 모든 유대인에게 본토로 돌아가도록 허락했음에도, 그들 가운데 많은 사람이 돌아가지 않았다. 이것은 그들이 앗수르와 바벨론으로 포로로 끌려가도록 허락하신 하나님의 목적에 부합하는 일이었다. 하나님은 흩어진 유대인들이 이방인들에게 전하게 될, 하나님의 존재와 완전하심에 관한 지식을 통해 이방인들 가운데 자신을 알리고자 하셨기 때문이다. 이것이 또한 하나님께서 열 지파가 자기 땅으로 결코 돌아가지 못하도록 정하신 이유였다. 호세아 1:6, 8:8, 9:3, 9:15-17.

2. 고레스의 칙령에 따라 돌아온 열두 지파 사람은 비교적 소수였고, 계속 이방인들 가운데 살았다는 사실은 다음에서 드러난다. 고레스의 후계자 중 하나로 인도에서 구스까지 백이십칠 지방을 다스린 아하수에로 때에, 에스더 3:8, 유대인들은 그의 왕국 모든 지방의 백성들 가운데 흩어져 있었고, 그들의 법은 다른 모든 백성의 법과 달랐으며, 그들은 왕의 법을 지키지 않았다. 그러므로 그들은 자기 관습을 고수함으로써 자기들이 살던 모든 민족 가운데서 구별된 상태를 유지했다.

3. 우리 주님의 승천 다음에 있었던 오순절에, 사도행전 2:5, 2:9, 하늘 아래 각 나라에서 온 경건한 유대인들이 예루살렘에 거주하고 있었다. 곧 바대인, 메대인, 엘람인 등이 있었다. 그만큼 유대인들은 많았고, 세상 모든 나라에 널리 흩어져 있었다.

4. 바울이 아시아와 유럽을 여행했을 때 그는 유대인들이 매우 많다는 것을 발견했다. 이방인의 유명한 모든 도시에는 그들이 하나님께 예배하려고 모이는 회당들이 있었고, 이방인 가운데서 온 많은 개종자들도 그들과 함께했다. 바울은 그들에게도 복음을 전했다.

5. 같은 사도는 아그립바 왕 앞에서 한 연설에서, 열두 지파가 그때 존재하고 있었으며 조상들에게 주신 약속을 바라보며 밤낮으로 하나님을 섬기고 있었다고 확언했다. 사도행전 26:6.

6. 요세푸스는 고대사 제1권 14, 12장에서 한 지역이 유대인들을 다 수용할 수 없었으며, 그들이 아시아와 유럽의 번성한 도시 대부분과 여러 섬과 대륙에 살았고, 그 수가 이방인 주민보다 크게 적지 않았다고 말한다. 이 모든 것에서 흩어진 유대인들이 유대에 있던 유대인들보다도 더 많았다는 사실이 분명하다. 또한 야고보가 이 편지를 흩어져 있는 열두 지파에게 보낸 것은 매우 적절했다. 열두 지파는 그때 실제로 존재했고, 지금도 존재한다. 비록 옛날 자기 땅에서처럼 별도의 거주지로 구별되어 있지는 않지만 말이다.

문안하노라 - Χαιρειν, 곧 건강하라라는 뜻이다. 이는 단순한 호의의 표현이며 그들의 번영을 바라는 말이고, 일반적인 인사 형식이다. 사도행전 15:23, 23:26, 요한2서 1:11을 보라.

온전히 기쁘게 여기라 - 우리가 시험이라고 번역하는 πειρασμος라는 말은 고난, 박해, 또는 어떤 종류의 시련을 뜻한다. 여기서도 이 의미로 쓰였으며, 마귀의 암시나 일반적으로 시험이라는 말로 이해되는 것을 가리키는 것이 아니다.

The trying of your faith - Trials put religion, and all the graces of which it is composed to proof; the man that stands in such trials gives proof that his religion is sound, and the evidence afforded to his own mind induces him to take courage, bear patiently, and persevere.

Let patience have her perfect work - That is, Continue faithful, and your patience will be crowned with its full reward; for in this sense is εργον, which we translate work, to be understood. It is any effect produced by a cause, as interest from money, fruit from tillage, gain from labor, a reward for services performed; the perfect work is the full reward. See many examples in Kypke.

That ye may be perfect and entire - Τελειοι, Fully instructed, in every part of the doctrine of God, and in his whole will concerning you. Ὁλοκληροι, having all your parts, members, and portions; that ye may have every grace which constitutes the mind that was in Christ, so that your knowledge and holiness may be complete, and bear a proper proportion to each other. These expressions in their present application are by some thought to be borrowed from the Grecian games: the man was τελειος, perfect, who in any of the athletic exercises had got the victory; he was ὁλοκληρος, entire, having every thing complete, who had the victory in the pentathlon, in each of the five exercises. Of this use in the last term I do not recollect an example, and therefore think the expressions are borrowed from the sacrifices under the law. A victim was τελειος, perfect, that was perfectly sound, having no disease; it was ὁλοκληρος, entire, if it had all its members, having nothing redundant, nothing deficient. Be then to the Lord what he required his sacrifices to be; let your whole heart, your body, soul, and spirit, be sanctified to the Lord of hosts, that he may fill you with all his fullness.

If any of you lack wisdom - Wisdom signifies in general knowledge of the best end, and the best means of attaining it; but in Scripture it signifies the same as true religion, the thorough practical knowledge of God, of one's self, and of a Savior.

Let him ask of God - Because God is the only teacher of this wisdom.

That giveth to all men liberally - Who has all good, and gives all necessary good to every one that asks fervently. He who does not ask thus does not feel his need of Divine teaching. The ancient Greek maxim appears at first view strange, but it is literally true: -

Αρχη γνωσεως της αγνοιας ἡ γνωσις.

"The knowledge of ignorance is the beginning of knowledge."

In knowledge we may distinguish these four things: -

1. Intelligence, the object of which is intuitive truths.

2. Wisdom, which is employed in finding out the best end.

3. Prudence, which regulates the whole conduct through life.

4. Art, which provides infallible rules to reason by.

Let him ask in faith - Believing that God IS; that he has all good; and that he is ever ready to impart to his creatures whatever they need.

Nothing wavering - Μηδεν διακρινομενος· Not judging otherwise; having no doubt concerning the truth of these grand and fundamental principles, never supposing that God will permit him to ask in vain, when he asks sincerely and fervently. Let him not hesitate, let him not be irresolute; no man can believe too much good of God.

Is like a wave of the sea - The man who is not thoroughly persuaded that if he ask of God he shall receive, resembles a wave of the sea; he is in a state of continual agitation; driven by the wind, and tossed: now rising by hope, then sinking by despair.

Let not that man think - The man whose mind is divided, who is not properly persuaded either of his own wants or God's sufficiency. Such persons may pray, but having no faith, they can get no answer.

A double-minded man - Ανηρ διψυχος· The man of two souls, who has one for earth, and another for heaven; who wishes to secure both worlds; he will not give up earth, and he is loth to let heaven go. This was a usual term among the Jews, to express the man who attempted to worship God, and yet retained the love of the creature. Rabbi Tanchum, fol. 84, on Deuteronomy 26:17, said: "Behold, the Scripture exhorts the Israelites, and tells them when they pray, לא יהיה להם שתי לבבות lo yiyeh lahem shetey lebaboth, that they should not have two hearts, one for the holy blessed God, and one for something else." A man of this character is continually distracted; he will neither let earth nor heaven go, and yet he can have but one. Perhaps St. James refers to those Jews who were endeavoring to incorporate the law with the Gospel, who were divided in their minds and affections, not willing to give up the Levitical rites, and yet unwilling to renounce the Gospel. Such persons could make no progress in Divine things.

Let the brother of low degree - The poor, destitute Christian may glory in the cross of Christ, and the blessed hope laid up for him in heaven; for, being a child of God, he is an heir of God, and a joint heir with Christ.

But the rich, in that he is made low - Εν τῃ ταπεινωσει· In his humiliation - in his being brought to the foot of the cross to receive, as a poor and miserable sinner, redemption through the blood of the cross: and especially let him rejoice in this, because all outward glory is only as the flower of the field, and, like that, will wither and perish.

For the sun is no sooner risen - We need not pursue this metaphor, as St. James' meaning is sufficiently clear: All human things are transitory; rise and fall, or increase and decay, belong to all the productions of the earth, and to all its inhabitants. This is unavoidable, for in many cases the very cause of their growth becomes the cause of their decay and destruction. The sun by its genial heat nourishes and supports all plants and animals; but when it arises with a burning heat, the atmosphere not being tempered with a sufficiency of moist vapours, the juices are exhaled from the plants; the earth, for lack of moisture, cannot afford a sufficient supply; vegetation becomes checked; and the plants soon wither and die. Earthly possessions are subject to similar mutations. God gives and resumes them at his pleasure, and for reasons which he seldom explains to man. He shows them to be uncertain, that they may never become an object of confidence to his followers, and that they may put their whole trust in God. If for righteousness' sake any of those who were in affluence suffer loss, or spoiling of their goods, they should consider that, while they have gained that of infinite worth, they have lost what is but of little value, and which in the nature of things they must soon part with, though they should suffer nothing on account of religion.

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation - This is a mere Jewish sentiment, and on it the Jews speak some excellent things. In Shemoth Rabba, sec. 31, fol. 129, and in Rab. Tanchum, fol. 29, 4, we have these words: "Blessed is the man שהיה עומד בנסיונו shehayah omed benisyono who stands in his temptation; for there is no man whom God does not try. He tries the rich, to see if they will open their hands to the poor. He tries the poor, to see if they will receive affliction and not murmur. If, therefore, the rich stand in his temptation, and give alms to the poor, he shall enjoy his riches in this world, and his horn shall be exalted in the world to come, and the holy blessed God shall deliver him from the punishment of hell. If the poor stand in his temptation, and do not repine, (kick back), he shall have double in the world to come." This is exactly the sentiment of James. Every man is in this life in a state of temptation or trial, and in this state he is a candidate for another and a better world; he that stands in his trial shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. It is only love to God that can enable a man to endure the trials of life. Love feels no loads; all practicable things are possible to him who loveth.

There may be an allusion here to the contests in the Grecian games. He is crowned who conquers; and none else.

Let no man say - Lest the former sentiment should be misapplied, as the word temptation has two grand meanings, solicitation to sin, and trial from providential situation or circumstances, James, taking up the word in the former sense, after having used it in the latter, says: Let no man say, when he is tempted, (solicited to sin), I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he (thus) any man. Thus the author has explained and guarded his meaning.

But every man is tempted - Successfully solicited to sin, when he is drawn away of his own lust - when, giving way to the evil propensity of his own heart, he does that to which he is solicited by the enemy of his soul.

Among the rabbins we find some fine sayings on this subject. In Midrash hanaalam, fol. 20, and Yalcut Rubeni, fol. 17, it is said: "This is the custom of evil concupiscence, יצר הרע yetser hara: To-day it saith, Do this; to-morrow, Worship an idol. The man goes and worships. Again it saith, Be angry."

"Evil concupiscence is, at the beginning, like the thread of a spider's web; afterwards it is like a cart rope." Sanhedrim, fol. 99.

In the words, drawn away by his own lust and enticed, ὑπο της ιδιας επιθυμιας εξελκομενος και δελεαζομενος, there is a double metaphor; the first referring to the dragging a fish out of the water by a hook which it had swallowed, because concealed by a bait; the second, to the enticements of impure women, who draw away the unwary into their snares, and involve them in their ruin. Illicit connections of this kind the writer has clearly in view; and every word that he uses refers to something of this nature, as the following verse shows.

When lust hath conceived - When the evil propensity works unchecked, it bringeth forth sin - the evil act between the parties is perpetrated.

And sin, when it is finished - When this breach of the law of God and of innocence has been a sufficient time completed, it bringeth forth death - the spurious offspring is the fruit of the criminal connection, and the evidence of that death or punishment due to the transgressors.

Any person acquainted with the import of the verbs συλλαμβανειν, τικτειν , and αποκυειν, will see that this is the metaphor, and that I have not exhausted it. Συλλαμβανω signifies concipio sobolem, quae comprehenditur utero; concipio foetum; - τικτω, pario, genero, efficio; - αποκυεω ex απο et κυω, praegnans sum, in utero gero. Verbum proprium praegnantium, quae foetum maturum emittunt. Interdum etiam gignendi notionem habet. - Maius, Obser. Sacr., vol. ii., page 184. Kypke and Schleusner.

Sin is a small matter in its commencement; but by indulgence it grows great, and multiplies itself beyond all calculation. To use the rabbinical metaphor lately adduced, it is, in the commencement, like the thread of a spider's web - almost imperceptible through its extreme tenuity or fineness, and as easily broken, for it is as yet but a simple irregular imagination; afterwards it becomes like a cart rope - it has, by being indulged produced strong desire and delight; next consent; then, time, place, and opportunity serving, that which was conceived in the mind, and finished in that purpose, is consummated by act.

"The soul, which the Greek philosophers considered as the seat of the appetites and passions, is called by Philo το θηλυ, the female part of our nature; and the spirit το αρῥεν, the male part. In allusion to this notion, James represents men's lust as a harlot; which entices their understanding and will into its impure embraces, and from that conjunction conceives sin. Sin, being brought forth, immediately acts, and is nourished by frequent repetition, till at length it gains such strength that in its turn it begets death. This is the true genealogy of sin and death. Lust is the mother of sin, and sin the mother of death, and the sinner the parent of both." See Macknight.

Do not err - By supposing that God is the author of sin, or that he impels any man to commit it.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above - Whatever is good is from God; whatever is evil is from man himself. As from the sun, which is the father or fountain of light, all light comes; so from God, who is the infinite Fountain, Father, and Source of good, all good comes. And whatever can be called good, or pure, or light, or excellence of any kind, must necessarily spring from him, as he is the only source of all goodness and perfection.

With whom is no variableness - The sun, the fountain of light to the whole of our system, may be obscured by clouds; or the different bodies which revolve round him, and particularly the earth, may from time to time suffer a diminution of his light by the intervention of other bodies eclipsing his splendor; and his apparent tropical variation, shadow of turning; when, for instance, in our winter, he has declined to the southern tropic, the tropic of Capricorn, so that our days are greatly shortened, and we suffer in consequence a great diminution both of light and heat. But there is nothing of this kind with God; he is never affected by the changes and chances to which mortal things are exposed. He occupies no one place in the universe; he fills the heavens and the earth, is everywhere present, sees all, pervades all, and shines upon all; dispenses his blessings equally to the universe; hates nothing that he has made; is loving to every man; and his tender mercies are over all his works: therefore he is not affected with evil, nor does he tempt, or influence to sin, any man. The sun, the source of light, rises and sets with a continual variety as to the times of both, and the length of the time in which, in the course of three hundred and sixty-five days, five hours, forty-eight minutes, and forty-eight seconds, it has its revolution through the ecliptic, or rather the earth has its revolution round the sun; and by which its light and heat are, to the inhabitants of the earth, either constantly increasing or decreasing: but God, the Creator and Preserver of all things, is eternally the same, dispensing his good and perfect gifts - his earthly and heavenly blessings, to all his creatures, ever unclouded in himself, and ever nilling Evil and willing Good. Men may hide themselves from his light by the works of darkness, as owls and bats hide themselves in dens and caves of the earth during the prevalency of the solar light: but his good will to his creatures is permanent; he wills not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may come unto him and live; and no man walks in wretchedness or misery but he who will not come unto God that he may have life. See diagram and notes at the end of this chapter.

Of his own will begat he us - God's will here is opposed to the lust of man, James 1:15; his truth, the means of human salvation, to the sinful means referred to in the above verse; and the new creatures, to the sin conceived and brought forth, as above. As the will of God is essentially good, all its productions must be good also; as it is infinitely pure, all its productions must be holy. The word or doctrine of truth, what St. Paul calls the word of the truth of the Gospel, Colossians 1:5, is the means which God uses to convert souls.

A kind of first fruits - By creatures we are here to understand the Gentiles, and by first fruits the Jews, to whom the Gospel was first sent; and those of them that believed were the first fruits of that astonishing harvest which God has since reaped over the whole Gentile world. See the notes on Romans 8:19, etc. There is a remarkable saying in Philo on this subject, De Allegoris, lib. ii. p. 101: God begat Isaac, for he is the father of the perfect nature, σπειρων εν ταις ψυχαις, sowing seed in souls, and begetting happiness.

Swift to hear - Talk little and work much, is a rabbinical adage. - Pirkey Aboth, cap. i.15.

The righteous speak little, and do much; the wicked speak much, and do nothing. - Bava Metzia, fol. 87.

The son of Sirach says, cap. v. 11: Γινου ταχυς εν τῃ ακροασει σου, και εν μακροθυμιᾳ φθεγγου αποκρισιν. "Be swift to hear, and with deep consideration give answer."

Slow to wrath - "There are four kinds of dispositions," says the Midrash hanaalam, cap. v. 11: "First, Those who are easily incensed, and easily pacified; these gain on one hand, and lose on the other. Secondly, Those who are not easily incensed, but are difficult to be appeased; these lose on the one hand, and gain on the other. Thirdly, Those who are difficult to be incensed, and are easily appeased; these are the good. Fourthly, Those who are easily angered, and difficult to be appeased; these are the wicked." Those who are hasty in speech are generally of a peevish or angry disposition. A person who is careful to consider what he says, is not likely to be soon angry.

The wrath of man - A furious zeal in matters of religion is detestable in the sight of God; he will have no sacrifice that is not consumed by fire from his own altar. The zeal that made the Papists persecute and burn the Protestants, was kindled in hell. This was the wrath of man, and did not work any righteous act for God; nor was it the means of working righteousness in others; the bad fruit of a bad tree. And do they still vindicate these cruelties? Yes: for still they maintain that no faith is to be kept with heretics, and they acknowledge the inquisition.

All filthiness - Πασαν ῥυπαριαν. This word signifies any impurity that cleaves to the body; but applied to the mind, it implies all impure and unholy affections, such as those spoken of James 1:15, which pollute the soul; in this sense it is used by the best Greek writers.

Superfluity of naughtiness - Περισσειαν κακιας· The overflowing of wickedness. Perhaps there is an allusion here to the part cut off in circumcision, which was the emblem of impure desire; and to lessen that propensity, God, in his mercy, enacted this rite. Put all these evil dispositions aside, for they blind the soul, and render it incapable of receiving any good, even from that ingrafted word of God which otherwise would have saved their souls.

The ingrafted word - That doctrine which has already been planted among you, which has brought forth fruit in all them that have meekly and humbly received it, and is as powerful to save your souls as the souls of those who have already believed. I think this to be the meaning of εμφυτον λογον, the ingrafted word or doctrine. The seed of life had been sown in the land; many of them had received it to their salvation; others had partially credited it, but not so as to produce in them any saving effects. Besides, they appear to have taken up with other doctrines, from which they had got no salvation; he therefore exhorts them to receive the doctrine of Christ, which would be the means of saving them unto eternal life. And when those who were Jews, and who had been originally planted by God as altogether a right vine, received the faith of the Gospel, it is represented as being ingrafted on that right stock, the pure knowledge of the true God and his holy moral law. This indeed was a good stock on which to implant Christianity. This appears to be what the apostle means by the ingrafted word, which is able to save the soul.

But be ye doers of the word - They had heard this doctrine; they had believed it; but they had put it to no practical use. They were downright Antinomians, who put a sort of stupid, inactive faith in the place of all moral righteousness. This is sufficiently evident from the second chapter.

Deceiving your own selves - Παραλογιζομενοι ἑαυτους· Imposing on your own selves by sophistical arguments; this is the meaning of the words. They had reasoned themselves into a state of carnal security, and the object of St. James is, to awake them out of their sleep.

Beholding his natural face in a glass - This metaphor is very simple, but very expressive. A man wishes to see his own face, and how, in its natural state, it appears; for this purpose he looks into a mirror, by which his real face, with all its blemishes and imperfections, is exhibited. He is affected with his own appearance; he sees deformities that might be remedied; spots, superfluities, and impurities, that might be removed. While he continues to look into the mirror he is affected, and wishes himself different to what he appears, and forms purposes of doing what he can to render his countenance agreeable. On going away he soon forgets what manner of person he was, because the mirror is now removed, and his face is no longer reflected to himself; and he no longer recollects how disagreeable he appeared, and his own resolutions of improving his countenance. The doctrines of God, faithfully preached, are such a mirror; he who hears cannot help discovering his own character, and being affected with his own deformity; he sorrows, and purposes amendment; but when the preaching is over, the mirror is removed, and not being careful to examine the records of his salvation, the perfect law of liberty, James 1:25, or not continuing to look therein, he soon forgets what manner of man he was; or, reposing some unscriptural trust in God's mercy, he reasons himself out of the necessity of repentance and amendment of life, and thus deceives his soul.

But whoso looketh into the perfect law - The word παρακυψας, which we translate looketh into, is very emphatic, and signifies that deep and attentive consideration given to a thing or subject which a man cannot bring up to his eyes, and therefore must bend his back and neck, stooping down, that he may see it to the greater advantage. The law of liberty must mean the Gospel; it is a law, for it imposes obligations from God, and prescribes a rule of life; and it punishes transgressors, and rewards the obedient. It is, nevertheless, a law that gives liberty from the guilt, power, dominion, and influence of sin; and it is perfect, providing a fullness of salvation for the soul: and it may be called perfect here, in opposition to the law, which was a system of types and representations of which the Gospel is the sum and substance. Some think that the word τελειον, perfect, is added here to signify that the whole of the Gospel must be considered and received, not a part; all its threatenings with its promises, all its precepts with its privileges.

And continueth - Παραμεινας· Takes time to see and examine the state of his soul, the grace of his God, the extent of his duty, and the height of the promised glory. The metaphor here is taken from those females who spend much time at their glass, in order that they may decorate themselves to the greatest advantage, and not leave one hair, or the smallest ornament, out of its place.

He being not a forgetful hearer - This seems to be a reference to Deuteronomy 4:9 : "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life." He who studies and forgets is like to a woman who brings forth children, and immediately buries them. Aboth R. Nathan, cap. 23.

Shall be blessed in his deed - In Pirkey Aboth, cap. Deuteronomy 4:14, it is said: "There are four kinds of men who visit the synagogues,

1. He who enters but does not work;

2. He who works but does not enter.

3. He who enters and works.

4. He who neither enters nor works.

The first two are indifferent characters; the third is the righteous man; the fourth is wholly evil."

As the path of duty is the way of safety, so it is the way of happiness; he who obeys God from a loving heart and pure conscience, will infallibly find continual blessedness.

Seem to be religious - The words θρησκος and θρησκεια, which we translate religious and religion, (see the next verse), are of very uncertain etymology. Suidas, under the word θρησκευει, which he translates θεοσεβει, ὑπηρετει τοις θεοις, he worships or serves the gods, accounts for the derivation thus: "It is said that Orpheus, a Thracian, instituted the mysteries (or religious rites) of the Greeks, and called the worshipping of God θρησκευειν threskeuein, as being a Thracian invention." Whatever its derivation may be, the word is used both to signify true religion, and superstition or heterodoxy. See Hesychius, and see on James 1:27 (note).

Bridleth not his tongue - He who speaks not according to the oracles of God, whatever pretences he makes to religion, only shows, by his want of scriptural knowledge, that his religion is false, ματαιος, or empty of solid truth, profit to others, and good to himself. Such a person should bridle his tongue, put the bit in his mouth; and particularly if he be a professed teacher of religion; ho matter where he has studied, or what else he has learned, if he have not learned religion, he can never teach it. And religion is of such a nature that no man can learn it but by experience; he who does not feel the doctrine of God to be the power of God to the salvation of his soul, can neither teach religion, nor act according to its dictates, because he is an unconverted, unrenewed man. If he be old, let him retire to the desert, and pray to God for light; if he be in the prime of life, let him turn his attention to some honest calling; if he be young, let him tarry at Jericho till his beard grows.

Pure religion, and undefiled - Having seen something of the etymology of the word θρησκεια, which we translate religion, it will be well to consider the etymology of the word religion itself.

In the 28th chapter of the 4th book of his Divine Instructions, Lactantius, who flourished about a.d. 300, treats of hope, true religion, and superstition; of the two latter he gives Cicero's definition from his book De Natura Deorum, lib. ii. c. 28, which with his own definition will lead us to a correct view, not only of the etymology, but of the thing itself.

"Superstition," according to that philosopher, "had its name from the custom of those who offered daily prayers and sacrifices, that their children might Survive Them; ut sui sibi liberi superstites essent. Hence they were called superstitiosi, superstitious. On the other hand, religion, religio, had its name from those who, not satisfied with what was commonly spoken concerning the nature and worship of the gods, searched into the whole matter, and perused the writings of past times; hence they were called religiosi, from re, again, and lego, Iread."

This definition Lactantius ridicules, and shows that religion has its name from re, intensive, and ligo, I bind, because of that bond of piety by which it binds us to God, and this he shows was the notion conceived of it by Lucretius, who labored to dissolve this bond, and make men atheists.

Primum quod magnis doceo de rebus, et Arctis

Religionum animos Nodis Exsolvere pergo.

For first I teach great things in lofty strains,

And loose men from religion's grievous chains.

Lucret., lib. i., ver. 930, 931

As to superstition, he says it derived its name from those who paid religious veneration to the memory of the dead, (qui superstitem memoriam defunctorem colunt), or from those who, surviving their parents, worshipped their images at home, as household gods; aut qui, parentibus suis superstites, colebant imagines eorum domi, tanquam deos penates. Superstition, according to others, refers to novel rites and ceremonies in religion, or to the worship of new gods. But by religion are meant the ancient forms of worship belonging to those gods, which had long been received. Hence that saying of Virgil: -

Vana superstitio veterumque ignara deorum.

"Vain superstition not knowing the ancient gods."

Here Lactantius observes, that as the ancient gods were consecrated precisely in the same way with these new ones, that therefore it was nothing but superstition from the beginning. Hence he asserts, the superstitious are those who worship many and false gods, and the Christians alone are religious, who worship and supplicate the one true God only. St. James' definition rather refers to the effects of pure religion than to its nature. The life of God in the soul of man, producing love to God and man, will show itself in the acts which St. James mentions here. It is pure in the principle, for it is Divine truth and Divine love. It is undefiled in all its operations: it can produce nothing unholy, because it ever acts in the sight of God; and it can produce no ungentle word nor unkind act, because it comes from the Father.

The words καθαρα και αμιαντος, pure and undefiled, are supposed to have reference to a diamond or precious stone, whose perfection consists in its being free from flaws; not cloudy, but of a pure water. True religion is the ornament of the soul, and its effects, the ornament of the life.

To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction - Works of charity and mercy are the proper fruits of religion; and none are more especially the objects of charity and mercy than the orphans and widows. False religion may perform acts of mercy and charity; but its motives not being pure, and its principle being defiled, the flesh, self, and hypocrisy, spot the man, and spot his acts. True religion does not merely give something for the relief of the distressed, but it visits them, it takes the oversight of them, it takes them under its care; so επισκεπτεσθαι means. It goes to their houses, and speaks to their hearts; it relieves their wants, sympathizes with them in their distresses, instructs them in Divine things and recommends them to God. And all this it does for the Lord's sake. This is the religion of Christ. The religion that does not prove itself by works of charity and mercy is not of God. Reader, what religion hast thou? Has thine ever led thee to cellars, garrets, cottages, and houses, to find out the distressed? Hast thou ever fed, clothed, and visited a destitute representative of Christ?

The subject in James 1:11 suggests several reflections on the mutability of human affairs, and the end of all things.

1. Nature herself is subject to mutability, though by her secret and inscrutable exertions she effects her renovation from her decay, and thus change is prevented from terminating in destruction. Yet nature herself is tending, by continual mutations, to a final destruction; or rather to a fixed state, when time, the place and sphere of mutability, shall be absorbed in eternity. Time and nature are coeval; they began and must terminate together. All changes are efforts to arrive at destruction or renovation; and destruction must be the term or bound of all created things, had not the Creator purposed that his works should endure for ever. According to his promise, we look for a new heaven and a new earth; a fixed, permanent, and endless state of things; an everlasting sabbath to all the works of God.

I shall confirm these observations with the last verses of that incomparable poem, the Faery Queene, of our much neglected but unrivalled poet, Edmund Spenser: -

"When I bethink me on that speech whylear,

Of mutability, and well it weigh;

Me seems, that though she all unworthy were

Of the heaven's rule; yet very sooth to say,

In all things else she bears the greatest sway;

Which makes me loath this state of life so tickle,

And love of things so vain to cast away;

Whose flow'ring pride, so fading and so fickle,

Short Time shall soon cut down with his consuming sickle.

Then gin I think on that which Nature sayd,

Of that same time when no more change shall be,

But stedfast rest of all things, firmly stayd

Upon the pillours of eternity,

That is contrayr to mutability:

For all that moveth, doth in change delight:

But thenceforth all shall rest eternally

With him that is the God of Sabaoth hight:

O that great Sabaoth God, grant me that Sabaoth's sight!"

When this is to be the glorious issue, who can regret the speedy lapse of time? Mutability shall end in permanent perfection, when time, the destroyer of all things, shall be absorbed in eternity. And what has a righteous man to fear from that "wreck of matter and that crush of worlds," which to him shall usher in the glories of an eternal day? A moralist has said, "Though heaven shall vanish like a vapour, and this firm globe of earth shall crumble into dust, the righteous man shall stand unmoved amidst the shocked depredations of a crushed world; for he who hath appointed the heavens and the earth to fail, hath said unto the virtuous soul, Fear not! for thou shalt neither perish nor be wretched."

Dr. Young has written most nervously, in the spirit of the highest order of poetry, and with the knowledge and feeling of a sound divine, on this subject, in his Night Thoughts. Night vi. in fine.

Of man immortal hear the lofty style: -

"If so decreed, th' Almighty will be done.

Let earth dissolve, yon ponderous orbs descend

And grind us into dust: the soul is safe;

The man emerges; mounts above the wreck,

As towering flame from nature's funeral pyre;

O'er desolation, as a gainer, smiles;

His charter, his inviolable rights,

Well pleased to learn from thunder's impotence,

Death's pointless darts, and hell's defeated storms."

After him, and borrowing his imagery and ideas, another of our poets, in canticis sacris facile princeps, has expounded and improved the whole in the following hymn on the Judgment.

"Stand the Omnipotent decree,

Jehovah's will be done!

Nature's end we wait to see,

And hear her final groan.

Let this earth dissolve, and blend

In death the wicked and the just;

Let those ponderous orbs descend

And grind us into dust.

Rests secure the righteous man;

At his Redeemer's beck,

Sure to emerge, and rise again,

And mount above the wreck.

Lo! the heavenly spirit towers

Like flames o'er nature's funeral pyre;

Triumphs in immortal powers,

And claps her wings of fire.

Nothing hath the just to lose

By worlds on worlds destroy'd;

Far beneath his feet he views,

With smiles, the flaming void;

Sees the universe renew'd;

The grand millennial reign begun;

Shouts with all the sons of God

Around th' eternal throne."

Wesley

One word more, and I shall trouble my reader no farther on a subject on which I could wear out my pen and drain the last drop of my ink. The learned reader will join in the wish.

"Talia saecla suis dixerunt, currite, fusis

Concordes stabili fatorum numine Parcae.

Aggredere O magnos (aderit jam tempus!) honores,

Cara Deum soboles, magnum Jovis incrementum.

Aspice convexo nutantem pondere mundum,

Terrasque, tractusque maris, coelumque profundum:

Aspice, venturo laetentur ut omnia saeclo.

O mihi tam longae maneat pars ultima vitae,

Spiritus, et quantum sat erit tua dicere facta!"

Virg. Eclog. iv.

There has never been a translation of this, worthy of the poet; and to such a piece I cannot persuade myself to append the hobbling verses of Mr. Dryden.

2. Taken in every point of view, James 1:17 is one of the most curious and singular in the New Testament. It has been well observed, that the first words make a regular Greek hexameter verse, supposed to be quoted from some Greek poet not now extant; and the last clause of the verse, with a very little change, makes another hexameter: -

Πασα δοσις αγαθη, και παν δωρημα τελειον,

Εστ' απο των φωτων Πατρος καταβαινον ανωθεν.

"Every goodly gift, and every perfect donation,

Is from the Father of lights, and from above it descendeth."

The first line, which is incontestably a perfect hexameter, may have been designed by St. James, or in the course of composition may have originated from accident, a thing which often occurs to all good writers; but the sentiment itself is immediately from heaven. I know not that we can be justified by sound criticism in making any particular distinction between δοσις and δωρημα· our translators have used the same word in rendering both. They are often synonymous; but sometimes we may observe a shade of difference, δοσις signifying a gift of any kind, here probably meaning earthly blessings of all sorts, δωρημα signifying a free gift - one that comes without constraint, from the mere benevolence of the giver; and here it may signify all spiritual and eternal blessings. Now all these come from above; God is as much the Author of our earthly good, as he is of our eternal salvation. Earthly blessings are simply good; but they are imperfect, they perish in the using. The blessings of grace and glory are supreme goods, they are permanent and perfect; and to the gift that includes these the term τελειον, perfect, is here properly added by St. James. There is a sentiment very similar to this in the ninth Olympic Ode of Pindar, l. 41: -

• • Αγαθοι δε

Και σοφοι κατα Δαιμον' ανδρες.

Man, boast of naught: whate'er thou hast is given;

Wisdom and virtue are the gifts of Heaven.

But how tame is even Pindar's verse when compared with the energy of James!

3. In the latter part of the verse, παρ ᾡ ουκ ενι παραλλαγη, η τροπης αποσκιασμα, which we translate, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, there is an allusion to some of the most abstruse principles in astronomy. This is not accidental, for every word in the whole verse is astronomical. In his Πατηρ των φωτων, Father of lights, there is the most evident allusion to the Sun, who is the father, author, or source of all the lights or luminaries proper to our system. It is not only his light which we enjoy by day, but it is his light also which is reflected to us, from the moon's surface, by night. And it is demonstrable that all the planets - Mercury, Venus, the Earth, the Moon, Mars, Ceres, Pallas, Juno, Vesta, Jupiter, Saturn, Saturn's Rings, and Herschel, or the Georgium Sidus, with the four satellites of Jupiter, the seven satellites of Saturn, and the six satellites of the Georgium Sidus, thirty-one bodies in all, besides the comets, all derive their light from the sun, being perfectly opaque or dark in themselves; the sun being the only luminous body in our system; all the rest being illumined by him.

The word παραλλαγη, which we translate variableness, from παραλλαττω, to change alternately, to pass from one change to another, evidently refers to parallax in astronomy. To give a proper idea of what astronomers mean by this term, it must be premised that all the diurnal motions of the heavenly bodies from east to west are only apparent, being occasioned by the rotation of the earth upon its axis in an opposite direction in about twenty-four hours. These diurnal motions are therefore performed uniformly round the axis or polar diameter of the earth, and not round the place of the spectator, who is upon the earth's surface. Hence every one who observes the apparent motion of the heavens from this surface will find that this motion is not even, equal arches being described in unequal times; for if a globular body, such as the earth, describe equally the circumference of a circle by its rotatory motion, it is evident the equality of this motion can be seen in no other points than those in the axis of the circle, and therefore any object viewed from the center of the earth will appear in a different place from what it does when observed from the surface. This difference of place of the same object, seen at the same time from the earth's center and surface, is called its parallax.

As I shall make some farther use of this point, in order to make it plain to those who are not much acquainted with the subject, to which I am satisfied St. James alludes, I shall introduce the following diagram: Let the circle OKNS. in the annexed figure, represent the earth, E its center, O the place of an observer on its surface, whose visible or sensible horizon is OH, and the line EST, parallel to OH, the rational, true, or mathematical horizon. Let ZDFT be considered a portion of a great circle in the heavens, and A the place of an object in the visible horizon. Join EA by a line produced to C: then C is the true place of the object, and H is its apparent place; and the angle CAH is its parallax; and, because the object is in the horizon, it is called its horizontal parallax. As OAE, the angle which the earth's radius or semidiameter subtends to the object, is necessarily equal to its opposite angle CAH, hence the horizontal parallax of an object is defined to be the angle which the earth's semidiameter subtends at that object.

The whole effect of parallax is in a vertical direction; for the parallactic angle is in the plane passing through the observer and the earth's center, which plane is necessarily perpendicular to the horizon, the earth being considered as a sphere. The more elevated an object is above the horizon, the less the parallax, the distance from the earth's center continuing the same. To make this sufficiently clear, let B represent an object at any given altitude above the visible horizon OAH; then the angle DBF, formed by the straight lines OB and EB produced to F and D, will be the parallax of the object at the given altitude, and is less than the parallax of the same object when in the visible horizon OAH, for the angle DBF is less than the angle CAH. Hence the horizontal parallax is the greatest of all diurnal parallaxes; and when the object is in the zenith, it has no parallax, the visual ray passing perpendicularly from the object through the observer to the earth's center, as in the line Zoe.

The quantity of the horizontal parallax of any object is in proportion to its distance from the place of observation, being greater or less as the object is nearer to or farther removed from the spectator. In illustration of this point, let I be the place of an object in the sensible horizon; then will LIH be its horizontal parallax, which is a smaller angle than CAH, the horizontal parallax of the nearer object A.

The horizontal parallax being given, the distance of the object from the earth's center, EA or EI, may be readily found in semidiameters of the earth by the resolution of the right-angled triangle OEA, in which we have given the angle OAE, the horizontal parallax, the side OE, the semidiameter of the earth, considered as unity, and the right angle AOE, to find the side EA, the distance of the object from the earth's center. The proportion to be used in this case is: The sine of the horizontal parallax is to unity, the semidiameter of the earth, as radius, i.e. the right angle AOE, the sine of ninety degrees being the radius of a circle, is to the side EA. This proportion is very compendiously wrought by logarithms as follows: Subtract the logarithmic sine of the horizontal parallax from 10, the radius, and the remainder will be the logarithm of the answer.

Example. When the moon's horizontal parallax is a degree, what is her distance from the earth's center in semidiameters of the earth?

From the radius 10.0000000 Subtract the sine of 1 degree 8.2418553 Remainder the logarithm of 57.2987 1.7581447

Which is the distance of the moon in semidiameters of the earth, when her horizontal parallax amounts to a degree. If 57.2987 be multiplied by 3977, the English miles contained in the earth's semidiameter, the product, 227876.9, will be the moon's distance from the earth's center in English miles.

The sun's horizontal parallax is about eight seconds and three-fifths, as is evident from the phenomena attending the transits of Venus, of 1761 and 1769, as observed in different parts of the world: a method of obtaining the solar parallax abundantly less liable to be materially affected by error of observation than that of Hipparchus, who lived between the 154th and 163d Olympiad, from lunar eclipses; or than that of Aristarchus the Samian, from the moon's dichotomy; or even than that of modern astronomers from the parallax of Mars when in opposition, and, at the same time, in or near his perihelion. The sun's horizontal parallax being scarcely the four hundred and eighteenth part of that of the moon given in the preceding example, if 227876.9, the distance of the moon as found above, be multiplied by 418.6, (for the horizontal parallax decreases nearly in proportion as the distance increases), the product will be the distance of the sun from the earth's center, which will be found to be upwards of ninety-five millions of English miles.

When we know the horizontal parallax of any object, its magnitude is easily determined. The apparent diameter of the sun, for example, at his mean distance from the earth, is somewhat more than thirty-two minutes of a degree, which is at least a hundred and eleven times greater than the double of the sun's horizontal parallax, or the apparent diameter of the earth as seen from the sun; therefore, the real solar diameter must be at least a hundred and eleven times greater than that of the earth; i.e. upwards of 880,000 English miles. And as spherical bodies are to each other as the cubes of their diameters, if 111 be cubed, we shall find that the magnitude of the sun is more than thirteen hundred thousand times greater than that of the earth.

The whole effect of parallax being in a vertical circle, and the circles of the sphere not being in this direction, the parallax of a star will evidently change its true place with respect to these different circles; whence there are five kinds of diurnal parallaxes, viz. the parallax of longitude, parallax of latitude, parallax of ascension or descension, parallax: of declination, and parallax of altitude, the last of which has been already largely explained; and the meaning of the first four, simply, is the difference between the true and visible longitude, latitude, right ascension, and declination of an object. Besides these, there is another kind of parallax, called by modern astronomers the parallax of the earth's Annual Orbit, by which is meant the difference between the places of a planet as seen from the sun and the earth at the same time, the former being its true or heliocentric place, and the latter its apparent or geocentric place. The ancient astronomers gave the term parallax only to the diurnal apparent inequalities of motion in the moon and planets; Ptolemy, who lived in the second century, calling prosaphaeresis orbis what is now named the parallax of the great or annual orbit. This parallax is more considerable than the diurnal parallax, as the earth's annual orbit is more considerable than the earth's semidiameter. This parallax, when greatest, amounts in Mars, the nearest superior planet, to upwards of forty-seven degrees; in Jupiter to near twelve degrees; in Saturn to more than six degrees, etc. In the region of the nearest fixed stars, i.e. those new ones of 1572 and 1604, double the radius of the earth's orbit does not subtend an angle of a single minute of a degree; whence it is evident the nearest fixed stars are at least hundreds of times more distant from us than the Georgium Sidus is, whose greatest annual parallax amounts to upwards of three degrees. The annual parallaxes of the fixed stars are, in general, too minute to be measured; hence their distances from the earth must be inconceivably great.

Any farther description of parallax would be useless in reference to the subject to be illustrated.

The words τροπης αποσκιασμα, shadow of turning, either refer to the darkness in which the earth is involved in consequence of its turning round its axis once in every twenty-four hours, by means of which one hemisphere, or half of its surface, is involved in darkness, being hidden from the sun by the opposite hemisphere; or to the different portions of the earth which come gradually into the solar light by its revolution round its orbit, which, in consequence of the pole of the earth being inclined nearly twenty-three degrees and a half to the plane of its orbit, and keeping its parallelism through every part of its revolution, causes all the vicissitudes of season, with all the increasing and decreasing proportions of light and darkness, and of cold and heat.

Every person who understands the images will see with what propriety St. James has introduced them; and through this his great object is at once discernible. It is evident from this chapter that there were persons, among those to whom he wrote, that held very erroneous opinions concerning the Divine nature; viz. that God tempted or influenced men to sin, and, consequently, that he was the author of all the evil that is in the world; and that he withholds his light and influence when necessary to convey truth and to correct vice. To destroy this error he shows that though the sun, for its splendor, genial heat, and general utility to the globe and its inhabitants, may be a fit emblem of God, yet in several respects the metaphor is very imperfect; for the sun himself is liable to repeated obscurations; and although, as to his mass, he is the focus of the system, giving light and heat to all, yet he is not everywhere present, and both his light and heat may be intercepted by a great variety of opposing bodies, and other causes. St. James refers particularly to the Divine ubiquity or omnipresence. Wherever his light and energy are, there is he himself; neither his word nor his Spirit gives false or inconsistent views of his nature and gracious purposes. He has no parallax, because he is equally present everywhere, and intimately near to all his creatures; He is never seen where he is not, or not seen where he is. He is the God and Father of all; who is Above all, and Through all, and In all; "in the wide waste, as in the city full;" nor can any thing be hidden from his light and heat. There can be no opposing bodies to prevent him from sending forth his light and truth, because he is everywhere essentially present. He suffers no eclipses; he changes not in his nature; he varies not in his designs; he is ever a full, free, and eternal fountain of mercy, goodness, truth, and good will, to all his intelligent offspring. Hallelujah, the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth! Amen.

In concluding these observations, I think it necessary to refer to Mr. Wakefield's translation of this text, and his vindication of that translation: Every good gift, and every perfect kindness, cometh down from above, from the Father of lights, with whom is no parallax, nor tropical shadow. "Some have affected," says he, "to ridicule my translation of this verse, if it be obscure, the author must answer for that, and not the translator. Why should we impoverish the sacred writers, by robbing them of the learning and science they display? Why should we conceal in them what we should ostentatiously point out in profane authors? And if any of these wise, learned, and judicious critics think they understand the phrase shadow of turning, I wish they would condescend to explain it." Yes, if such a sentiment were found in Aratus, or in any other ancient astronomical writer, whole pages of commentary would be written on it, and the subtle doctrine of the parallactic angle proved to be well known in itself, and its use in determining the distances and magnitudes of the heavenly bodies, to the ancients some hundreds of years before the Christian era.

The sentiment is as elegant as it is just, and forcibly points out the unchangeableness and beneficence of God. He is the Sun, not of a system, but of all worlds; the great Fountain and Dispenser of light and heat, of power and life, of order, harmony, and perfection. In him all live and move, and from him they have their being. There are no spots on his disk; all is unclouded splendor. Can he who dwells in this unsufferable and unapproachable light, in his own eternal self-sufficiency, concern himself with the affairs of mortals? Yes, for we are his offspring; and it is one part of his perfection to delight in the welfare of his intelligent creatures. He is loving to every man: he hates nothing that he has made; and his praise endureth for ever!