James 4:16. But now ye rejoice, &c.— But you, on the contrary, glory in your boasting projects,—(respecting the gain they were to make by their traffic, James 4:13.)—you take pleasure in this confident and arrogant manner of talking. See 1 John 2:16. read more
James 4:17. Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good, &c.— "Perhaps some of you, who so much value yourselves for your uncommon wisdom and knowledge, may object and say, These are plain obvious truths, and what we knew so well before, that there was no occasion to speak of them. But, in answer to such an objection, I would observe, that I have now carefully put you in mind of these things; and therefore, if you do not practise accordingly, you will be the more criminal. For he who knows... read more
15. Literally, "instead of your saying," &c. This refers to "ye that say" (James 4:13). we shall live—The best manuscripts read, "We shall both live and do," &c. The boasters spoke as if life, action, and the particular kind of action were in their power, whereas all three depend entirely on the will of the Lord. read more
16. now—as it is. rejoice in . . . boastings—"ye boast in arrogant presumptions," namely, vain confident fancies that the future is certain to you ( :-). rejoicing—boasting [BENGEL]. read more
17. The general principle illustrated by the particular example just discussed is here stated: knowledge without practice is imputed to a man as great and presumptuous sin. James reverts to the principle with which he started. Nothing more injures the soul than wasted impressions. Feelings exhaust themselves and evaporate, if not embodied in practice. As we will not act except we feel, so if we will not act out our feelings, we shall soon cease to feel. read more
1. The self-centered person 4:13-16 read more
C. Self-reliance 4:13-17As in the previous chapters, James began with the exposition of a practical problem and moved on to its larger contextual problem, that is, its context in life. He already identified the source of interpersonal and inner personal conflicts as self-centeredness and explained that criticism places the critic in a seat that only God should occupy. Now he pictured a self-centered person living his or her life. He did this to enable his readers to see the root of this problem... read more
The merchant should have made his planning in conscious dependence on God recognizing His sovereign control over all of life (cf. Acts 18:21; 1 Corinthians 4:19; 1 Corinthians 16:7; Philippians 2:19; Philippians 2:24). The Latin phrase, deo volente ("God willing," abbreviated D.V.) remains in use even today among some Christians."A study of the use of this conditional clause ["If the Lord wills . . ."] in the NT makes it clear that we are not to repeat it mechanically in connection with every... read more
James rebuked those of his readers who were living with this God-neglecting attitude. They derived joy from feeling that they controlled their own destiny. Here is the picture of the "self-made man" taking credit for what God has given him. Boasting of this kind is unrealistic. It betrays an attitude that puts man in God’s place. For this reason it is evil.In these verses James presented four arguments that show the foolishness of ignoring God’s will: the complexity of life (James 4:13), the... read more
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Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - James 4:15
James 4:15. For that ye ought to say,— Instead of which you ought to say, If the Lord will, and we shall live, we will do this, or that. Pious men have such a tacit sense of their dependance upon God, when they do not express it in words; so ought we to understand Romans 15:28. 1 Corinthians 16:5. Indeed, the having in our minds such a constant regard to the providence of God, and such a due sense of our own frailty and mortality, is of much more moment than the outwardly expressing it; though,... read more