5 Give ear, my dear brothers; are not those who are poor in the things of this world marked out by God to have faith as their wealth, and for their heritage the kingdom which he has said he will give to those who have love for him?
Happy are the poor in spirit: for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
So that is what comes to the man who gets wealth for himself, and has not wealth in the eyes of God.
And turning his eyes to his disciples he said, Happy are you who are poor: for the kingdom of God is yours.
Have no fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
And a heritage fair, holy and for ever new, waiting in heaven for you,
He who overcomes will have these things for his heritage; and I will be his God, and he will be my son.
From now on, the crown of righteousness is made ready for me, which the Lord, the upright judge, Will give to me at that day: and not only to me, but to all those who have had love for his revelation.
And to do good, having wealth in good works, being quick to give, taking part with one another;
But as it says in the holy Writings, Things which the eye saw not, and which had not come to the ears or into the heart of man, such things as God has made ready for those who have love for him.
For you see God's design for you, my brothers, that he has not taken a great number of the wise after the flesh, not the strong, not the noble: But God made selection of the foolish things of this world so that he might put the wise to shame; and the feeble things that he might put to shame the strong; And the low things of the world, and the things without honour, did God make selection of, yes, even the things which are not, so that he might make as nothing the things which are:
Those who have given me their love are loved by me, and those who make search for me with care will get me. Wealth and honour are in my hands, even wealth without equal and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even than the best gold; and my increase is more to be desired than silver. I go in the road of righteousness, in the way of right judging: So that I may give my lovers wealth for their heritage, making their store-houses full.
Which is a clear sign of the decision which God in his righteousness has made; to give you a part in his kingdom, for which you have undergone this pain;
And that having the eyes of your heart full of light, you may have knowledge of what is the hope of his purpose, what is the wealth of the glory of his heritage in the saints,
So that your lives might be pleasing to God, who has given you a part in his kingdom and his glory.
As full of sorrow, but ever glad; as poor, but giving wealth to others; as having nothing, but still having all things.
Judging a part in the shame of Christ to be better than all the wealth of Egypt; for he was looking forward to his reward.
For so the way will be open to you into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
And it was broken on that day: and the sheep-traders, who were watching me, were certain that it was the word of the Lord.
For this reason the Lord God of Israel has said, Truly I did say that your family and your father's people would have their place before me for ever: but now the Lord says, Let it not be so; I will give honour to those by whom I am honoured, and those who have no respect for me will be of small value in my eyes.
Now then, you wise, take note; you men of knowledge, give ear to me. Let it be far from God to do evil, and from the Ruler of all to do wrong.
Who has no respect for rulers, and who gives no more attention to those who have wealth than to the poor, for they are all the work of his hands.
So now, my sons, give ear to me; give attention to the sayings of my mouth;
Give ear to me then, my sons: for happy are those who keep my ways.
And the poor will have their joy in the Lord increased, and those in need will be glad in the Holy One of Israel.
But I will still have among you a quiet and poor people, and they will put their faith in the name of the Lord.
Now Jotham, on hearing of it, went to the top of Mount Gerizim, and crying out with a loud voice said to them, Give ear to me, you townsmen of Shechem, so that God may give ear to you.
The blind see; those who were not able to, are walking; lepers are made clean; those who were without hearing, now have their ears open; the dead come to life again, and the poor have the good news given to them.
And when they were on the way, a certain man said to him, I will come after you wherever you go. And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have resting-places, but the Son of man has nowhere to put his head.
And in time the poor man came to his end, and angels took him to Abraham's breast. And the man of wealth came to his end, and was put in the earth.
And I will give you a kingdom as my Father has given one to me,
Have any of the rulers belief in him, or any one of the Pharisees?
And if we are children, we have a right to a part in the heritage; a part in the things of God, together with Christ; so that if we have a part in his pain, we will in the same way have a part in his glory.
So let no one take pride in men. For all things are yours; Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And you are Christ's; and Christ is God's.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on James 2
Commentary on James 2 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 2
In this chapter the apostle condemns a sinful regarding of the rich, and despising the poor, which he imputes to partiality and injustice, and shows it to be an acting contrary to God, who has chosen the poor, and whose interest is often persecuted, and his name blasphemed, by the rich (v. 1-7). He shows that the whole law is to be fulfilled, and that mercy should be followed, as well as justice (v. 8-13). He exposes the error and folly of those who boast of faith without works, telling us that this is but a dead faith, and such a faith as devils have, not the faith of Abraham, or of Rahab (v. 14-26).
Jam 2:1-7
The apostle is here reproving a very corrupt practice. He shows how much mischief there is in the sin of prosoµpoleµpsia-respect of persons, which seemed to be a very growing evil in the churches of Christ even in those early ages, and which, in these after-times, has sadly corrupted and divided Christian nations and societies. Here we have,
Jam 2:8-13
The apostle, having condemned the sin of those who had an undue respect of persons, and having urged what was sufficient to convict them of the greatness of this evil, now proceeds to show how the matter may be mended; it is the work of a gospel ministry, not only to reprove and warn, but to teach and direct. Col. 1:28, Warning every man, and teaching every man. And here,
Jam 2:14-26
In this latter part of the chapter, the apostle shows the error of those who rested in a bare profession of the Christian faith, as if that would save them, while the temper of their minds and the tenour of their lives were altogether disagreeable to that holy religion which they professed. To let them see, therefore, what a wretched foundation they built their hopes upon, it is here proved at large that a man is justified, not by faith only, but by works. Now,