02.02. Chapter 2 - Verse 02-04

James 2:2-4. For if there come into your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; and you have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say to him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool; are ye not then partial in yourselves, and become judges of evil thoughts?

I have put all these verses together, because they make but one entire sentence. The apostle proveth how guilty they were of this evil from whence he dissuadeth them, by a usual practice of theirs in their ecclesiastical conventions.

If there come into your assembly.—The word in the original is, εἰς συναγωγὴν, ‘into your synagogue,’ by which some understand their Christian assembly for worship: but that is not so probable, because the Christian assembly is nowhere, that I can remember, expressed by συναγωγὴ, synagogue, but by ἐκκλησία, church; and in the church-meeting there may be, without sin, several seats and places appointed for men of several ranks and dignities in the world; and it is a mistake to apply the censure of the apostle to such a practice. Others apply it to any common convention and meeting for the deciding of controversies, establishing of public order, and disposing of the offices of the church; and by synagogue they understand the court where they judged all causes belonging to themselves.¹ Austin seemeth to incline to this sense for one part of it, namely, for a meeting to dispose of all offices that belonged to the church, which were not to be intrusted to men according to their outward quality, but inward accomplishments;² there being the same abuse in fashion in the primitive times which, to our grief, hath been found among us, that men were chosen and called to office out of a respect to their worldly lustre rather than their spiritual endowments, and the gold ring was preferred before the rich faith, a practice wholly inconsonant with Christian religion and with the dispensation of those times; God himself having immediately called fishermen, and persons otherwise despicable, certainly of little note and remark in the world, to the highest offices and employments in the church. If we take the words in this restrained sense, for a court or meeting to dispose of ecclesiastical offices and functions, the context may be accommodated with a very proper sense, for, according to their offices, so had they places in all church-meetings; and therefore the apostle Paul useth that phrase, ‘He that occupieth the room of the unlearned,’ 1 Corinthians 14:16; or, as it is in the original, τόπον ἰδιώτου, the place of the private person. The elders they sat by themselves,³ then others that were more learned, then the ignorants; the church herein following the custom of the synagogue, which (as the author of the Comment upon the Epistles, that goeth under the name of Ambrose, observeth) was wont to place the elders in chairs, the next in rank on benches, the novices at their feet on mats;⁴ and thence came the phrase of ‘sitting at the feet’ of any one for a disciple, as it is said Paul was ‘brought up at the feet of Gamaliel.’ And for the women, Grotius telleth us, that the first place was given to the widows of one man, then to the virgins, then to the matrons.⁵ Now, because they assigned these places preposterously, out of a regard of wealth rather than grace, and said to the rich, ‘Sit thou here, καλῶς, honourably,’ and to the poor, however qualified, ‘Stand thou there, or sit at my feet,’ the place of learners and idiots, the apostle doth with such severity tax the abuse, to wit, their carnal partiality in distributing the honours of the church. Thus you see the context will go on smoothly. But I must not limit the text to this one use of the court or synagogue; and therefore, if we take in the other uses of deciding all causes and differences be tween the members of the Church, &c., every passage in the context will have its full light and explication; for the apostle speaketh of judging, and of such respect of persons as is condemned by the law, James 2:9, which is an accepting of persons in judgment, Leviticus 19:15. And therefore I understand this synagogue of an assembly met to do justice. In which thought I am confirmed by the judgment and reasons of a late learned writer,⁶ who proveth that it was the fashion of the Jews to keep court in their synagogues; and therefore do we so often read those phrases. Matthew 10:17, ‘They shall scourge you in their synagogues;’ Acts 22:19, ‘Beaten in every synagogue;’ Acts 26:11, ‘I punished them in every synagogue,’ because, as he saith, where sentence was given, there justice was executed; and it is probable that, being converted to Christianity, they still held the same course. And it is very notable, which he quoteth out of Maimonides’ Sanhedrim, cap. 21, ‘That it is expressly provided by the Jews’ constitutions, that when a poor man and a rich plead together, the rich shall not be bidden to sit down, and the poor stand, or sit in a worse place, but both sit, or both stand:’ which is a circumstance that hath a clear respect to the phrases used by the apostle here; and the rather to be noted, because our apostle writeth to ‘the twelve tribes,’ Hebrews by nation, with whom these customs were familiar and of known use. So that out of all we may collect that the synagogue here spoken of is not the church assembly, but the ecclesiastical court or convention for the decision of strifes, wherein they were not to favour the cause of the rich against the poor; which is an explication that cleareth the whole context, and preventeth the inconveniences of the received exposition, which so far pleadeth the cause of the poor as to deny civility and due respect to the rich and honourable in Christian assemblies.

¹ ‘Per conventum significantur cœtus seu congregationes publicæ profanæ, in quibus conveniebant Christiani ut justis legibus et arbitris domesticas vel politicas communesque lites dirimerent.’—Hevar. in loc.

² ‘Nec sane, quantum arbitror, putandum est leve esse peccatum in personarum acceptione habere fidem Domini nostri Jesu Christi, si illam distantiam sedendi ac standi ad honores ecclesiasticos referamus; quis enim ferat eligi divitem ad sedem honoris ecclesiæ, contempto paupere instructiore atque sanctio re.’—Aug. Epist. 29.

³ ‘President probati quique seniores, honorem istum non pretio sed testimonio adepti.’—Tertul. in Apol.

⁴ ‘Synagogæ traditio est ut sedentes disputent, seniores dignitate in cathedris, sequentes in subselliis, novissimi in pavimento super mattas.’—Ambros. in primam ad Cor.

⁵ ‘Primus locus viduis univiris, proximus virginibus, deinde matronis.’—Grot, in loc.

⁶ Herbert Thorndike, in his book of the Right of the Church in a Christian State, printed at London, 1649. See pp. 38, 39. A man with a gold ring, χρυσοδακτύλιος, ‘a gold-fingered man,’ that is the force of the original word. The gold ring was a badge of honour and nobility; therefore Judah had his signet, Genesis 38:18-25; and Pharaoh, as a token that Joseph was promoted to honour, ‘took off his ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph’s, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen,’ Genesis 42:1-38. So Ahasuerus dealt with Mordecai, Esther 8:8. In goodly apparel.—This also was a note of dignity: Genesis 27:15, ‘Rebecca took the goodly garment of her son Esau;’ by which some understand⁷ the gorgeous priestly ornaments which be longed to him as having the birthright. So when the prodigal returned, the father, to do him honour, calleth for the best robe and a ring; some marks and ornaments of honour which were put on upon solemn days. But the luxury of after-times made the use more common. It is said of the rich man in the Gospel, Luke 16:19, that he was ‘clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared deliciously every day.’

⁷ Lightfoot in Gen. A poor man in vile raiment.—In the original, ἐσθῆτι ῥυπαρᾷ, ‘filthy, sordid raiment;’ it is the same word which the Septuagint use in Zechariah 3:3-4, where mention is made of the high priest’s ‘filthy garments,’ which was a figure of the calamitous state of the church; where the Septuagint have ἱμάτια ῥυπαρά. And you have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing.—Ἐπιβλέπειν is to gaze and observe with some admiration and special reverence.

Sit thou here in a good place, καλῶς, ‘in an honourable or worthy place;’ and so it noteth, either the rash disposal of the honours of the church into their hands, or the favouring of them in their cause, as before.

Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool.—Expressions of contempt and disrespect. Standing or sitting at the feet was the posture of the younger disciples. Sometimes standing is put for those that stood upon their defence; as Psalms 130:3, ‘If thou shouldst mark what is done, who can stand?’ that is, in curia, in court, as those that make a bold defence. So Ephesians 6:13, ‘Take the armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and when you have done all, to stand;’ that is, before God’s tribunal: it is an allusion to the posture of men in courts. This different respect of poor and rich bringeth to my mind a passage of Bernard, who, when he chanced to espy a poor man meanly apparelled, he would say to himself, Truly, Bernard, this man with more patience beareth his cross than thou: but if he saw a rich man delicately clothed, then he would say, It may be that this man, under his delicate clothing, hath a better soul than thou hast under thy religious habit. An excellent charity, and a far better practice than theirs in the text, who said to him in the goodly raiment, ‘sit,’ to the poor, ‘stand.’ To the rich they assigned ‘a good place,’ but to the poor the room ‘under the footstool.’ Are ye not partial in yourselves?—This clause is severally rendered, because of the different significations of the word διακριθῆτε. Some turn it without an interrogation, thus, ‘Ye were not judged in yourselves, but,’ &c.; as if the sense were—Though they were not judged themselves, yet they judged others by these inevident signs. But it is better with an interrogation; and yet then there are different readings. Some thus, ‘Are ye not condemned in yourselves?’ that is, do not your own consciences fall upon you? Certainly the apostle applieth the fact to their consciences by this vehement and rousing question; but I think διακριθῆτε must not be here rendered condemned. Others thus, ‘Have ye not doubted or questioned the matter in yourselves?’ for that is another sense of the word in the text. But here it seemeth most harsh and incongruous. Another sense of the word is, to make a difference; so it is often taken: διακρινόμενοι, ‘making a difference,’ Jude 1:22; οὐδὲν διεκρίνε, ‘He put no difference,’ Acts 15:9; and so it may be fitly rendered here, ‘Have ye not made a difference?’ that is, an unjust difference, out of carnal affection, rather than any true judgment. And therefore, for more perspicuity, we explain, rather than interpret, when we render, Are ye not partial? It is an appeal to their consciences in making such a difference: Are ye not counterpoised with perverse respects? Many times we may know the quality of an action by the verdict of conscience. Is not this partiality? Doth not conscience tell you it is making a difference which God never made? Sins directly disproportionate to our profession are against conscience, and in such practices the heart is divided. There are some disallowing thoughts which men strive to smother. And become judges of evil thoughts.—From the running of the words in our translation, I should have guessed the sense to be this, That by these outward appearances of meanness and greatness in the world, they judged of men’s hearts; which is here expressed by what is most transient and inward in the heart, the thoughts. But this κριταὶ διαλογισμῶν πονηρῶν, is to be taken in quite another sense.⁸ The meaning is, you altogether judge perversely, according to the rule of your own corrupt thoughts and intentions. Their esteem and their ends were not right, but perverted by carnal affections. They esteemed outward pomp above spiritual graces, which was contrary to reason and religion; and they proposed to themselves other ends than men should do in acts of choice and judicature. They had men’s persons in admiration, because of advantage; and did not weigh so much the merits of the cause, as the condition of the persons contending.

⁸ ‘Genetivus hic non est objecti, sed attributi.’—Grot. From these verses, besides the things touched in the explication, you may observe:—

Obs. 1. That men are marvellous apt to honour worldly greatness. To a carnal eye nothing else is glorious. A corrupt judgment tainteth the practice. A child of God may be guilty of much worldliness, but he hath not a worldly judgment. David’s heart went astray; but his judgment being right, that brought him about again, Psalms 73:1-28 : compare the whole psalm with the last verse, ‘It is good for me to draw nigh to God.’ Moses’ uprightness and love to the people of God was from his esteem: Hebrews 11:26, ‘Esteeming the reproach of Christ,’ &c. When men have a right esteem, that will make them prize religion, though shrouded under poor sorry weeds; but when their judgments and conceits are prepossessed and occupied with carnal principles, nothing seemeth lovely but greatness, and exalted wickedness hath more of their respect than oppressed grace. But you will say May we not show honour and respect to men great in the world if they are wicked?

I answer—There is a respect due to the rich, though wicked; but if it be accompanied with a contempt of the mean servants of God, it is such a partiality as doth not become grace. More particularly, that you may not mistake in your respects to wicked men, take a direction or two: (1.) Great men in the world must have respect due to their places, but the godly must have your converse and familiarity: ‘My delight is in the excellent of the earth,’ Psalms 16:3. A Christian cannot delight in the converse of a wicked man so as he can in the children of God; besides that the object in the eye of grace hath more loveliness, there is the advantage of sweet counsels and spiritual communion: ‘Comforted by the mutual faith of you and me,’ Romans 1:12. (2.) You must be sure not to be ashamed of the meanest Christians, to vouchsafe all due respects to them. Onesimus was a mean servant, yet, when converted, Paul counted him ‘above a servant, as a brother,’ Philemon 1:16. So the messengers of the churches are called ‘the glory of Christ,’ 2 Corinthians 8:23, such as Christ will boast of. Christ is ashamed of none but those that are ashamed of him: it is glory enough in the eye of Christ and grace that they are holy. (3.) You must own them for brethren in their greatest abasures and afflictions, as Moses did the people of God, Hebrews 11:25. (4.) Be sure to drive on no self-design in your respects; be not swayed by a corrupt aim at advantage: this will make us take Egyptians for Israelites, and perversely carry out our esteem. It chiefly concerneth ministers to mind this, that they may not gild a potsherd, and comply with wicked men for their own gain and advantage: it is a description of false teachers, 2 Peter 2:3, ‘Through covetousness they shall, with feigned words, make merchandise of you:’ they apply themselves to those among whom they may drive on the trade best; not to the saints, but to the rich, and soothe up them; where there is most gain, not where most grace: Hosea 7:3, ‘They made the rulers glad with their lies.’

Obs. 2. From that are ye not partial? He urgeth them with a question. To bring us to a sense of things, it is good to put questions to our consciences, because then we do directly return upon our own souls. Soliloquies and discourses with yourselves are of excellent advantage: Psalms 4:4, ‘Commune with your own hearts, and be still.’ It is a hard matter to bring a man and himself together, to get him to speak a word to himself. There are many that live in the world for a long time—some forty or fifty years—and all this while they cannot be brought to converse with their own hearts. This questioning of conscience will be of use to you in humiliation, faith, and obedience. (1.) In your humbling work. There are several questions proper to that business, as in the examination of your estate, when you bring your ways and the commandment together, which is the first rise of humiliation: you will find the soul most awakened by asking of questions. Oh! ‘what have I done?’ Jeremiah 8:6. Do I walk according to the tenor of this holy law? Can I say, ‘My heart is clean?’ Proverbs 20:9. Then there is a second question: When guilt is found out concerning the rigour of the law, and the sureness of wrath, every violation is death: will God be partial for thy sake? ‘His jealousy shall smoke against that man that saith, I shall have peace, though I walk in the way of mine own heart,’ Deuteronomy 29:19. Then there are other questions about the dreadfulness of wrath: Ezekiel 22:14, ‘Can my heart endure, and my hands be made strong, in the days that God shall deal with me?’ Shall I be able to bear up under torments without measure and without end? Can I dwell with those devouring burnings? Then there is a fourth question, after a way of escape: ‘What shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ Acts 16:30; or, as it is in the prophet, ‘Wherewith shall I come before God?’ Micah 6:6. With what recompense shall I appease his angry justice? Thus you see the whole business of humiliation is carried on in these interrogative forms. (2.) For the work of faith, these questions are serviceable, partly to quicken the soul to the consideration of the offer of God; as when the apostle had disputed of free justification, he enforceth all by a question, ‘What shall we then say to these things?’ Romans 8:31. Soul, what canst thou object and urge against so rich mercies? Paul, all the while before, had been but drawing the bow, now he letteth fly the arrow. ‘What shall we say?’ Partly because it maketh us more sensible of the danger of not believing: Hebrews 2:3, ‘How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?’ If I neglect God’s second offer, what will become of me? Thus it is an help to the work of faith. (3.) In the work of obedience these questions are serviceable; as when a temptation is like to carry it in the soul, it is good to come in with a smart question: Genesis 39:9, ‘How can I do this wickedness, and sin against God?’ So if the heart drive on heavily in duties of worship, ‘Offer it now to the governor; would he accept it at my hands?’ Malachi 1:8. Would I do thus to an earthly prince in an earthly matter? Thus you see questions are of singular use in every part of the holy life. Be more frequent in them; and in every matter take occasion to discourse with your own souls.

Obs. 3. From that judges of evil thoughts. Evils begin first in the thoughts: Matthew 15:19, ‘Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts;’ that is in the front of that black roll. Affections pervert the thoughts, and thoughts stain the judgment. Therefore, when God would express the wickedness of the old world, he saith, ‘The imagination of their thoughts were evil,’ Genesis 6:5. The reason of atheism is blasphemy in the thoughts: Psalms 10:4, ‘All their thoughts are that there is no God.’ The reason of worldliness is some wretched thought that is hidden in the bosom: Psalms 49:11, ‘Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue for ever.’ You see, then, there is reason why you should go to God to cleanse your spirits from evil thoughts, why you should be humbled under them, why you should watch against them: Isaiah 55:7, ‘Let the wicked man forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and return unto the Lord.’ Mark, not only his way, but his thoughts. Trace every corrupt desire, every inordinate practice, till you come up to some inward and hidden thought. There are implicit thoughts, and thoughts explicit: explicit are those that are impressed upon the conscience, and are more sensible; implicit are those which the scripture calleth ‘hidden thoughts,’ and the ‘sayings of the heart.’ Though the desires, purposes, actions, are according to them, yet we do not so sensibly discern them; for they are so odious, that they come least in sight. Many such there are; as this was the hidden thought implied in the text, that wealth is to be preferred before grace; and that made them judge so perversely. It is good therefore to wait upon the word, which ‘discovereth the thoughts and intents of the heart,’ Hebrews 4:12, that upon every experience you may refer things to their proper head and cause: sure there hath been a vile thought in me, that there is no God; that the world is for ever; that riches are better than grace; that the pleasures of sin are better than the hopes of life, &c. It is good to interpret every action, and to observe the language that is couched in it; your lives do but speak out these thoughts.

Obs. 4. That this is an evil thought, that men are to be valued by their outward excellency. It is against the dispensation of God, who putteth the greatest glory upon those that are of least account and esteem in the world. It is against the nature of grace, whose glory is not sensible, obvious to the senses, but inward and hidden: Psalms 45:13, ‘The king’s daughter is all glorious within.’ A Christian’s inside is best; all the world’s glory is in show, fancy, and appearance: Agrippa and Bernice ‘came with great pomp,’ Acts 25:23, μετὰ πολλῆς φαντασίας, with much show and fancy. Painted things have a greater show with them than real. Nazianzen saith, the world is Helena without, and Hecuba within: there is nothing answerable to the appearance; but now grace is under a veil, ‘it doth not appear what we shall be,’ 1 John 3:2. Thus Song of Solomon 1:5, the church is said to be ‘black, but comely;’ full of spiritual beauty, though outwardly wretched, and deformed with afflictions; which is there expressed by two similitudes, like ‘the tents of Kedar, and the curtains of Solomon.’ The tents of Kedar: the Arabians lived in tents, which were but homely and slender in comparison of city buildings, obscure huts, sullied and blacked with the weather, but rich within, and full of costly utensils; therefore we hear of ‘the glory of Kedar,’ Isaiah 21:16. And Solomon’s curtains may possibly signify the same thing. Josephus saith, Solomon had Babylonian curtains, of a baser stuff and work, to hide the curious imagery that was carved on the marble walls. The greatest glory is within the veil: ‘The hidden man of the heart’ is an ornament ‘of great price,’ 1 Peter 3:4. And as it is against the nature of grace, so it is against all right reason: we do not use to judge so in other cases: we do not prize a horse for the gaudry of his saddle and trappings, but for his strength and swiftness. That painter was laughed at who, because he could not draw Helena fair, drew her rich. We do not therefore judge it a good sword because it hath a golden belt. Well, then, if it be against providence, and grace, and reason, go by a wiser rule in valuing things and persons than outward excellency: do not think that faith best which the ruler professeth, John 7:48, nor those persons best that glitter most with worldly lustre. Christ cometh often in a disguise to us, as well as the Jews to us in his poor members.