James 3:9

Therewith bless we the Lord and Father; and therewith curse we men, who are made after the likeness of God:

Bless we ... curse we ... Note the use of "we" as in James 3:2; here again the use of it does not indicate any guilt on the part of James in this particular. As Ward said, "The we of pastoral tact shows how far James could go in his desire to win rather than repel."[28]

Bless we the Lord ... "The Jewish custom, whenever they named God, of adding, `Blessed be he,'"[29] very likely lies behind this.

The Lord and Father ... Scholars have busied themselves to find out where James got this expression, but as Lenski said, "He coined it!"[30] The two titles have only one article, showing that James intended for us to read both titles as pertaining to Jesus Christ our Saviour, attesting his divinity and Godhead.

Made after the likeness of God ... is a reference to Genesis 1:26, the sin and inconsistency of the same tongue blessing God and cursing men lying in the fact of man's likeness to God, any curse of men, therefore, being actually a curse against God in the likeness of men, therefore being actually a curse against God in the likeness of his creation.

[28] Ronald A. Ward, op. cit., p. 1230.

[29] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 611.

[30] Ibid.