Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - James 1:19-27

In this part of the chapter we are required, I. To restrain the workings of passion. This lesson we should learn under afflictions; and this we shall learn if we are indeed begotten again by the word of truth. For thus the connection stands?An angry and hasty spirit is soon provoked to ill things by afflictions, and errors and ill opinions become prevalent through the workings of our own vile and vain affections; but the renewing grace of God and the word of the gospel teach us to subdue... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - James 1:22-24

1:22-24 Prove yourselves to be doers of the word, and not only hearers, for those who think that hearing is enough deceive themselves. For, if a man is a hearer of the word and not a doer of it, he is like a man who looks in a mirror at the face which nature gave him. A glance and he is gone; and he immediately forgets what kind of man he is. Again James presents us with two of the vivid pictures of which he is such a master. First of all, he speaks of the man who goes to the church... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - James 1:24

For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way ,.... He takes a slight glance of himself, and departs: and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was ; he forgets either his spots, blemishes, and imperfections; or his comeliness and beauty; the features of his face, be they comely or not: so a bare hearer of the word, who is not concerned to practise what he hears, while he is hearing, he observes some things amiss in himself, and some excellencies in Christ; but, when the discourse... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 1:19-27

Deeds, not words. 1. The right spirit for the Christian is the receptive ; ready to hear, and to receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is to be as the seed falling on the good ground (comp. Matthew 13:3 , etc). A heathen philosopher has noted that man has two ears and only one mouth ; showing that he should be more ready to hear than to speak. 2. A receptive spirit is not alone sufficient. Action must follow. Holy Scripture is a mirror, in which a man may see... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 1:19-27

The law of the new life. "Ye know this, my beloved brethren;" viz. that ye have been begotten again by God. But now, from this vantage-ground, he presses the necessity of a consistent life. They have espoused, by God's grace, a new ideal of character and conduct; let their whole life show forth its power. This is the topic of the whole passage, and it divides itself very naturally into the related subjects of—meekness, self-knowledge, and practical religion (see Punchard, in Bishop... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 1:22-25

Hearers and doers. The writer has said in James 1:21 that the wise hearer is a " receiver " of the Word, and he now proceeds to emphasize the fact that he is also a "doer" of it. " Receiving " represents the root of the Christian life, and "doing" indicates its fruit. I. THE INJUNCTION . ( James 1:22 ) Very many hearers of the gospel are not sufficiently upon their guard against the dreadful danger of being " hearers only." Some, when the service is over, seldom think... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 1:23-24

Illustration from life, showing the folly of being led astray. His natural face ( τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ ); literally, the face of his birth. The expression is an unusual one, but there is no doubt of its meaning. In a glass ; rather, in a mirror , ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ : cf. 1 Corinthians 13:12 , δἰ ἐσόπτρου . The mirror of burnished brass. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 1:24

Observe the tenses; literally, He considered ( κατενόησε ) himself , and has gone away ( ἀπελήλυθε ), and straightway forgot ( ἐπελάθετο ) what he was like (compare note on James 1:11 ). read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - James 1:23-24

For if any be ... - The ground of the comparison in these verses is obvious. The apostle refers to what all persons experience, the fact that we do not retain a distinct impression of ourselves after we have looked in a mirror. While actually looking in the mirror, we see all our features, and can trace them distinctly; when we turn away, the image and the impression both vanish. When looking in the mirror, we can see all the defects and blemishes of our person; if there is a scar, a deformity,... read more

Group of Brands