Laughter (1071)(gelos from geláo = to laugh) means laughter and by metonymy merrymaking, rejoicing. Gelos was used of the leisurely, merry laughter of "gods" and men in their pleasures. This laughter is that of the fool who rejects God as the One Who determines reality and believes man to be an autonomous being. The verb gelao is used in Lk 6:21, 25 where it signifies loud laughter in contrast to demonstrative weeping. In the account of Jairus’ daughter, the related verb katagelao describes the scornful, superior laughter of those who ridiculed Jesus, believing that he could do nothing about someone already dead (Mt. 9:24, cp Sarah's scornful laughter in Ge 18:12). Luke 6:21 "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Luke 6:25 "Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. John MacArthur makes the point that... James is not condemning legitimate laughter or joy but rather the flippant, trivial, worldly, self-centered, sensual kinds that unbelievers revel in, despite, and often because of, their sinful pleasures. It corresponds to Jesus’ warning: “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep” (Lk 6:25), and is the opposite of a beatitude given a few verses earlier that is recorded only in Luke: “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” (Lk 6:21). In both verses Jesus used a verb form of the noun that in the present text is rendered laughter. NIDNTT notes that... The word group as a whole was in use in Greek literature from the time of Homer onwards and covered a whole range of meanings from free and joyous laughter to ridicule and scorn. The compound katagelao is an intensification, meaning either laugh loudly or sneer. The words were not only applied to men but also to the gods. K. H. Rengstorf (TDNT I 661) notes that for the Romans and the Greeks merry laughter was a divine characteristic which featured in the theophanies (cf. Virgil, Eclogues 4, 60 ff. where laughter following the birth of a child denoted its divine character). “gelos is a mark of deity which also spreads gelos in the world around” (K. H. Rengstorf, ibid.). (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan) There are 14 uses of gelos in the Septuagint - Gen 21:6; Job 8:21; 17:6; Pr 10:23; Eccl 2:2; 7:3, 6; 10:19; Jer 20:7; 48:26, 39; Lam 3:14; Amos 7:9; Mic 1:10 Genesis 21:6 And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me." Ecclesiastes 2:2 I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?" Ecclesiastes 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter, For when a face is sad a heart may be happy. As Ryrie says... Laughter is sometimes desirable (cp Ps. 126:2-note), but not when it reflects worldly frivolity. Martin observes that laughter to mourning while negative in one sense... should not be construed as though the preacher were a kill-joy. What the writer is saying is that the actions of (foolish) laughing and (senseless) rejoicing hold no place for Christians who refuse to turn to God’s paths. (Martin, R. P. Vol. 48: Word Biblical Commentary : James. Dallas: Word, Incorporated) Thomas Manton writes that... In this context he describes them as being worldly and as glorying in oppressing one another; he means here the sort of joy and laughter by which complacent sinners please themselves in their present success, putting off all thoughts of imminent judgment. Zodhiates comments that... Somebody said, “If you want to know whether a man’s life is made up of frivolous or serious things, watch what he laughs at.” If the Christian has to look at the same things as the worldly and unconverted people in order to laugh, then there is something radically wrong with his Christianity. A Christian believer cannot laugh at sin; he rather mourns because of it. The things that caused him to laugh before he became a Christian ought to cause him to mourn now after his repentance and regeneration. The laughter of his sinful life ought to become the mourning of his Christian life. The unconverted will not enjoy the believer’s company in their ungodly mirth, and he should not be able to enjoy the company of the unconverted. A Christian will enjoy laughter, probably even more than the unconverted, because he is really happy, but he will not laugh at the same things or with the same persons. (Zodhiates, S. Faith, Love, & Hope: An Exposition of the Epistle of James. Exegetical Commentary Series. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers) David Brainerd's journal on October 18, 1740 has this entry... "In my morning devotions my soul was exceedingly melted, and bitterly mourned over my exceeding sinfulness and vileness." The KJV is picturesque - rendering it as "your joy to heaviness". Heaviness means having a great weight, tending strongly to the center of attraction; sad; sorrowful; dejected; depressed in mind; grievous; afflictive; depressing to the spirits My soul before Thee prostrate lies; To Thee, her Source, my spirit flies; My wants I mourn, my chains I see; O let Thy presence set me free. (My Soul Before Thee Prostrate Lies)