James 1:17 ESV

Charles Simeon's Horae Homileticae - James 1:16-17

DISCOURSE: 2358GOD THE ONLY SOURCE OF ALL GOODJames 1:16-17. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.THERE is much evil in the world. But people are little aware from whence it proceeds. We forget that at the first creation there was no such thing as evil, either natural or moral, in the whole universe. God, it is true, could have prevented the... read more

C.I. Scofield

Scofield's Reference Notes - James 1:17

gift Two words are used in the original for "gift," the first meaning the act of giving; the second, the thing given. read more

Chuck Smith

Chuck Smith Bible Commentary - James 1:1-27

Let's turn to James chapter one. James introduces himself as the bondslave of God and of Jesus Christ. It's a title that most of the apostles delighted to take. Renouncing any claim for any rights, turning their lives over totally to God and to the lordship of Jesus Christ, they did not consider their lives their own. They were bereft of ambitions in a personal way. They lived solely to serve the Lord and to please Him.A bondslave was just that, one who lived completely for his master. He had... read more

Joseph Sutcliffe

Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments - James 1:1-27

James 1:1 . James, a servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ. He does not style himself an apostle, because he would not assume any superiority; yet the majesty of his address is the language of an ambassador of Christ, and apostle of the Lord. “A servant of God,” the Father of all, “and of Jesus,” by which we understand that James associates the Saviour as one with God, and arrays him in the robes of glory: James 2:1. Paul also calls him the Lord of glory, as he calls God, the... read more

Joseph Exell

The Biblical Illustrator - James 1:17-18

James 1:17-18Every good gift … is from aboveGifts front, aboveIt is not from the lowest but from the highest points that the best things in the world always come.We get from the sky, and not from the earth, all those gracious influences without which our world would be only a gigantic lifeless cinder roiling through space. Light and heat come down to us from above; and so do the sunshine that warms and quickens and beautifies everything, and the rain and the dew that refresh the face of nature.... read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - James 1:17

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Ver. 17. Every good gift, &c. ] A hexameter verse in the Greek; as little intended perhaps by the apostle as the first line in Tacitus, which yet may be scanned a long verse. And perfect giving ] Not temporals only (which are good gifts), but spirituals also, those perfect givings. The greatest excellencies in us do as much depend... read more

Samuel Bagster

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge - James 1:17

good: James 1:5, James 3:15, James 3:17, Genesis 41:16, Genesis 41:38, Genesis 41:39, Exodus 4:11, Exodus 4:12, Exodus 31:3-Joshua :, Exodus 36:1, Exodus 36:2, Numbers 11:17, Numbers 11:25, 1 Chronicles 22:12, 1 Chronicles 29:19, 2 Chronicles 1:11, 2 Chronicles 1:12, Proverbs 2:6, Isaiah 28:26, Daniel 2:21, Daniel 2:22, Daniel 2:27-Amos :, Matthew 7:11, Matthew 11:25, Matthew 11:26, Matthew 13:11, Matthew 13:12, Luke 11:13, John 3:27, Acts 5:31, Acts 11:18, Romans 6:23, Romans 11:30, Romans... read more

John Wesley

Wesley's Explanatory Notes - James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.No evil, but every good gift - Whatever tends to holiness.And every perfect gift — Whatever tends to glory.Descendeth from the Father of lights — The appellation of Father is here used with peculiar propriety. It follows, "he begat us." He is the Father of all light, material or spiritual, in the kingdom of grace and of glory.With whom is no... read more

Daniel Whedon

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible - James 1:17

17. Literally, every good giving and every perfect gift. Both the act of giving and the gift are named, one as good and the other as perfect. Father of lights Physically, he is Father of the material luminaries which beam upon us from above; spiritually, he is Father of all the heavenly and blessed lights which make the world of our soul luminous, and guide us to the land of lights. Of these spiritual lights the heavenly luminaries are a symbol. No variableness So... read more