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Jam 2:1-9 It is not agreeable to the Christian profession to

regard the rich, and despise the poor.

Jam 2:10-12 The guilt of any one breach of the law.

Jam 2:13 The obligation to mercy.

Jam 2:14-19 Faith without works is dead.

Jam 2:20-26 We are justified, as Abraham and Rahab were, by

works, and not by faith only.

Have not; profess not yourselves, and regard not, or esteem not in others.

The faith of our Lord Jesus Christ; i.e. faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; not the author but the object of faith is meant, as Galatians 2:20 Galatians 3:22 Philippians 3:9.

The Lord of glory; Lord not being in the Greek, glory may be joined with faith, ( admitting only a trajection in the words, so frequent in the sacred writers), and then the words will run thus, the faith of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, i.e. the faith of his being glorified, which by a synecdoche may be put for the whole work of redemption wrought by him, which was completed by his glorification, as the last part of it; or, by a Hebraism, the faith of the glory, may be for the glorious faith. But the plainest way of reading the words is (as our translators do) by supplying the word Lord just before mentioned; Lord of glory, ( Christ being elsewhere so called, 1 Corinthians 2:8), i.e. the glorious Lord; as the Father is called the Father of glory, Ephesians 1:17, i.e. the glorious Father: and then it may be an argument to second what the apostle is speaking of; Christ being the Lord of glory, a relation to him by faith puts an honour upon believers, though poor and despicable in the world; and therefore they are not to be contemned.

With respect of persons; the word rendered persons signifies the face or countenance, and synecdochically the whole person; and, by consequence, all those parts or qualities we take notice of in the person. To respect a person is sometimes taken in a good sense, Genesis 19:21 1 Samuel 25:35. Mostly in an evil, when either the person is opposed to the cause, we give more or less to a man upon the account of something we see in him which is altogether foreign to his cause, Leviticus 19:15, or when we accept one with injury to or contempt of another. To have, then, the faith of Christ with respect of persons, is to esteem the professors of religion, not for their faith, or relation to Christ, but according to their worldly condition, their being great or mean, rich or poor; this the apostle taxeth in the Hebrews to whom he wrote, that whereas in the things of God all believers are equal, they respected the greater and richer sort of professors, because great or rich; so as to despise those that were poor or low. The Greek hath the word plurally, respects, which may intimate the several ways of respecting persons, in judgment or out, of judgment. This doth not exclude the civil respect we owe to magistrates and superiors upon the account of their places or gifts; but only a respecting men in the things of religion upon such accounts as are extrinsical to religion; or, with prejudice to others as considerable in religion as themselves, though inferior to them in the world.

For if there come unto your assembly; either church assemblies for worship, Hebrews 10:25; and in these we find some respect of men’s persons, which may here be blamed: see 1 Corinthians 11:20-22. Or their assemblies for disposing church offices, and deciding church controversies, &c.; for he speaks of such respecting men’s persons as is condemned by the law, Jam 2:9, which was especially in judgment.

A man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel; the usual ensigns of honourable or rich persons, Genesis 38:18,25 41:42 Luke 15:22 16:19.

And there come in also a poor man; the word signifies one very poor, even to beggarliness.

In vile raiment; filthy and sordid, Zechariah 3:3,4, the sign of extreme poverty.

And ye have respect to him; Greek, look upon, viz. with respect and veneration, or a care and concern to please him.

Sit thou here in a good place; an honourable place, either contrary to the usual orders of the churches, according to which, (as some say) the elder sat in chairs, the next to them on benches; and the novices on the pavement at their feet; the apostle taxing their carnal partiality in disposing these places to the people as rich, not as Christians; or it may note their disposing church offices to them that were rich, or favouring them in their causes rather than the poor.

Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool; the meanest places, and belonging to the youngest disciples: both are expressions of contempt.

Are ye not then partial in yourselves? Either, are ye not judged in yourselves, convicted by your own consciences of partiality, and accepting men’s persons? Or, have ye not made a difference? viz. out of a corrupt affection rather than a right judgment; and then it falls in with our translation; Are ye not partial? The Greek word is used in this sense, Acts 15:9 Judges 1:22.

And are become judges of evil thoughts; i.e. judges that have evil thoughts, or are evil affected: q.d. You evidence the corruptness of your affections by your thus perversely judging.

Hath not God chosen the poor? Not that God hath chosen all the poor in the world, but his choice is chiefly of them, 1 Corinthians 1:26,28. Poor he means in the things of this world, and in the esteem of worldly men; they are opposed to those that Paul calls rich in this world, 1 Timothy 6:17,18.

Rich: some insert the verb substantive to be between this and the former clause, and read: Hath not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich, &c. So Romans 8:29, predestinate to be conformed: the like defective speeches we find, John 12:46 2 Corinthians 3:6. And the verb understood here is expressed, Ephesians 1:4, after the same word we have in this text. And yet if we read the words as they stand in our translation, they do not prove that foresight of faith is previous to election, any more than that being heirs of the kingdom is so too.

In faith; either in the greatness and abundance of their faith, Matthew 15:28 Romans 4:20; or rather, rich in those privileges and hopes to which by faith they have a title.

And heirs of the kingdom; an instance of their being rich, in that they are to inherit a kingdom.

Which he hath promised to them that love him: see Jam 1:12, where the same words occur, only that which is here a kingdom, is there a crown.

But ye have despised the poor; God’s poor, viz. by your respecting persons.

Do not rich men? Either those that were unbelieving Jews or heathen; or such as made a profession of Christianity, but were not cordial friends to it; or, both may be included.

Oppress you; insolently abuse you, and unrighteously, either usurping a power over you which belongs not to them, or abusing the power they have.

And draw you before the judgment-seats; especially before unbelieving judges, 1 Corinthians 6:1,6: they would colour their oppression with a pretence of law, and therefore drew the poor saints before the judgment-seat.

Do not they blaspheme? If the rich here spoken of were Christians, then they may be said to blaspheme Christ’s name, when by their wicked carriage they caused it to be blasphemed by others, unbelievers, among whom they were, Romans 2:24 Titus 2:5, &c.; 1 Timothy 6:1: but if rich unbelievers be here meant, the rich men of those times being generally great enemies to Christianity; he would from thence show how mean a consideration riches were, to incline the professors of religion to such partiality as he taxeth them for.

That worthy name; or, good or honourable (as good place, Jam 2:3, for honourable) name of Christ; they blaspheme what they should adore.

By the which ye are called; or, which is called upon you, either, which was called upon over you, when you were baptized into it; or rather it is a Hebrew phrase, and, implies no more than (as we read it) their being called by it, as children are after their fathers, and wives after their husbands, Genesis 48:16 Isaiah 4:1; for so God’s people are called by his name, Deu 28:10 Ephesians 3:15.

If ye fulfil; or, perfect; the word signifnies to accomplish perfectly, but no more is meant by it than sincerity in observing the duties of the law in an indifferent respect to one as well as another, which he seems to oppose to their partiality in the law, by respecting some and neglecting others.

The royal law; either the law of God the great King, or Christ the King of saints; or rather, the royal law is the king’s law, i.e. the great law which is the same to all, rich and poor, the common rule by which all are to act, as, the king’s way, Numbers 21:22, i.e. the great plain way in which all are to travel. Here may likewise be a tacit reflection on the servile disposition of these accepters of men’s persons, evil becoming them that pretended to be governed by the royal law, which was to be observed with a more free and king-like spirit.

According to the Scripture: see Matthew 22:39 Galatians 5:14.

Ye do well; ye are not to be blamed, but commended. The apostle seems here to answer an objection they might make in their own defence; that in the respect they gave to rich men, they did but act according to the law which commands us to love our neighbour as ourselves: to this he replies partly in this verse by way of concession, or on supposition; that if the respect they gave to rich men were indeed in obedience to the law of charity, which commands us to love our neighbour as ourselves, then they did well, and he found no fault with them; but the contrary he shows in the next verse.