These things thus set down, in the last place we are taught how we should draw near to God, which the apostle expresseth in these words: “Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purge your hearts, you double-minded.”. James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Learn, 1. The priests before they ministered at the altar, and the people before they prayed, always washed their hands, thus intimating the purity with which we ought to approach God. I. 5, οὐ μὴ διψυχήσῃς, πότερον ἔσται ἢ οὔ, and the identical words in Did. Worshipping with a pious heart is evidently the manner of drawing nigh to God, which the apostle had in mind when he penned the text. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Verse 8 continues ten commands to believers. Could such a sacrifice as this, think you, have been demanded by “the Father of mercies,” the possessor of infinite wisdom, the God of righteousness and justice, if it had not been necessary for the purpose for which it was required--the expiation of human guilt, and the deliverance of those to whom it attached, from the degradation and the ruin into which it had brought them? It is our pleasure to be in the society of those we love, and to converse with them. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners - There may possibly be an allusion here to Isaiah 1:15-16; “Your hands are full of blood; wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil.” The heart is the seat of motives and intentions - that by which we devise anything; the hands, the instruments by which we execute our purposes. One of the three instances in the New Testament in which the word is not used of ceremonial purification. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/james-4.html. James 4:8. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/james-4.html. 6 But he giveth more grace. We have often seen that to sanctify signifies to separate a thing or person from profane or common use, and consecrate it or him to God. But in order to draw nigh to God, conversion from the former nature is necessary; therefore καθαρίσατε χεῖρας … ἀγνίσατε καρδίας. We hence learn what is the true character of repentance. 8Draw nigh to God. The essential excellence of what is done by a moral agent, consists in its recognition of the existence, and in its submission to the will of Him who ruleth over all. 8. and purify your hearts. Johnson says: "If we wish God very near to us we must seek to dwell very near to him." But what some cavil at, and say, that God’s grace is secondary to our preparation, and as it were the waiting-maid, is only frivolous; for we know that it is no new thing that he adds now to former graces and thus enriches more and more those to whom he has already given much. "Commentary on James 4:8". Psalms 24:4 : ἀθῶος χερσὶ καὶ καθαρὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ. 2. God has enjoined it. Granting that you are as harmless as amiable, as deserving of esteem as you are thought to be, still it is all unavailing. Ye sinners; you that are openly and notoriously vicious, whose wickedness appears in your ordinary practices: so such are called, Matthew 11:19 Mark 2:15 Luke 7:37 15:2 John 9:31. "It is noteworthy that the more common "brethren" by which James usually addressed his readers, gives way to this sharp term of reproach in this instance. We may address him directly in prayer; we may approach him by meditation on his character; we may draw near to him in the ordinances of religion. But who shall come “into the tabernacle of God, or rest upon His holy hill” (Psalms 15:1), except the man “of uncorrupt life”? No person is accused nor even specifically admonished except the guilty ones. Single-mindedness involves singleness of purpose, namely, living for the glory of God rather than for both God"s glory and our own selfish desires (cf. The cleansing of the hands consists in withdrawing them from evil and in employing them in good works; the sanctification of the heart, in contending with impure desires, and in the cultivation of a holy disposition. It may be inferred from what is said here that no one can hope for the favor of God who does not abandon his transgressions. 3. That is the measure of your sinfulness; and if your humility should be in proportion to your sinfulness, what limit can be set to it? Come near to God. The duty of worshipping God is no less the dictate of reason and of common sense, than of Scripture. In Titus 2:12, Paul writes of the grace of God training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, that is, to deny what the self desires.Self-denial requires genuine humility in submission, or it is merely a counterfeit. III. Purify your heart from the love of creatures, so that your affections be not divided betwixt God and this world, like persons of two minds (3) or two souls. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. They were thus to make them clean by doing good and eschewing evil (Isaiah 1:16-17). In Titus 2:12, Paul writes of the grace of God training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, that is, to deny what the self desires.Self-denial requires genuine humility in submission, or it is merely a counterfeit. for I am undone; because I [am] a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. The main thing is first stated, to draw nigh to God: and then the things which are previously necessary, to cleanse their hands and to purify their hearts — an allusion probably to the practice among the priests of the law, of washing themselves before they engaged in the service of the temple. College Press, Joplin, MO. Let your whole conduct be changed; cease to do evil learn to do well. Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. 1887. The others are 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:3. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hmc/james-4.html. ... (James 4:8; see also James 1:5-8). Note, James has a tremendous amount of love for these brethren, but there at times when love must speak plainly. So men have always deemed it proper to specially regard and honour those high in authority. The true exaltation must be in the truth. Learn, 4. Reflection / Devotion / Commentary Monday, October 12, 2015. | 245 views. "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". Heinrich Meyer's Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament, Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible, Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament, Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges, τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν ἡγνικότες ἐν τῇ ὑπακοῇ τῆς ἀληθείας, Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament, George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, E.M. Zerr's Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament, "Sorry bud, didn"t mean nuttin by it bro! If you saw two persons working together in the same shop or the same field, both blessed with the faculty of speech, and delighting to converse with all others, but never conversing with each other, what would be your conclusion? 1. Not sure how people that live, outwardly conservative lives can be the problem, when they are the ones doing what is right. The cleansing of the hands refers to external, and the purification of the hearts to internal purity; the one to the absence from contention, and the other to freedom from those lusts which were the cause of contention; the external and the internal must correspond: we must have ‘clean hands and a pure heart’(Psalms 24:4). https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/james-4.html. Used by permission of Broadman Press (Southern Baptist Sunday School Board). "Commentary on James 4:8". Aser. 10 Humble … 1. THERE ARE PROPER PLACES AND TIMES, AS WELL AS DUE DISPOSITIONS, OF DRAWING NIGH TO GOD. 2012. Draw nigh to God, — This seems to be an allusion to the manner in which the Jews in general, or rather the priests, drew nigh to God, by going to the temple, while the Shechinah, the glorious emblem of the divine presence, was there. When we exhort you to be humble, we do not exhort you to think yourselves worse or meaner than you really are. Mouton. ), Mourn savourly and soakingly, with a deep and downright sorrow, so as a man would do in the death of his dearest friend. In calling them sinners he meaneth not them which are subject by natural infirmity to the committing of sin, as all men are so long as they rest and remain upon the face of the earth, but hereby he noteth their heinous and horrible iniquities. Observe here, 1. "Commentary on James 4:8". Cleanse therefore your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. 2. “Men ought always to pray and not to faint.”--“Continuing instant in prayer.”--“Pray without ceasing.”. "He will draw near to you"-Fellowship and intimacy with God are conditional. Mark! David Peach walks through James 4 offering a great Bible study and commentary on how you can yield to God’s will for your life. BibliographyZerr, E.M. "Commentary on James 4:8". But under the new dispensation, the holy of holies is wherever God’s omnipresence is, and the penitent heart is its own priest, able to offer an acceptable incense. The heart was required of them as well as of us (Isaiah 29:13-14). It provides safety. O Lord,” Psalm 26:6. But, this exceptional case aside, no man is to humble himself before his fellow-man. A true humility sees the truth regarding itself, that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, and cries out for God. Only God has the right to prescribe the terms upon which men may approach him, and these are outlined in Hebrews 10:22ff, where faith, repentance and baptism are laid out as preconditions of drawing near to God "in Christ.". 1801-1803. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Copyright StatementThese files are public domain.Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. You must draw nigh to God in all His ordinances. Draw nigh to God (εγγισατε τωι τεωι — eggisate tōi theōi). Contributed by Rodney Johnson on Oct 24, 2020. To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use our convenient, Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you -, 4. James 4:8. ἐγγίσατε τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐγγίσει ὑμῖν: here, again, we have what to Christian ears sounds rather like a reversal of the order of things; we should expect the order to be that expressed in such words as, “Ye did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). 1. It is better to have your good things to come, than here (Luke 16:21). It is man’s finality in the kingdom of God as contrasted with his finality in the kingdom of Satan. "Commentary on James 4:8". Version. 1700-1703. Do not suppose that you have any refuge in the paucity of your misdeeds. 2. "George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary". The priests in the sanctuary drew nigh to God (Exodus 19:22), as we should now. In contrast to the last exhortation and promise is the exhortation ἐγγίσατε τῷ θεῷ, united in a similar manner with a promise. And now the way by which they can submit to God and draw near to him is explained. What is required now is genuineness of action and heart. A true humility is alive, and bears fruit in a new and holy life. Go to. Prayer. James 4:8, ESV: "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." BibliographyHaydock, George Leo. BibliographyTrapp, John. James wrote to help them. 1905. Copyright StatementCopyright 2008. Bible Verses, Quotes, Christian Answers, Songs and More. God magnifies the sacred influences that bless the souls that come to him. The design of the apostle is, evidently, to state one of the conditions on which we can make an acceptable approach to God. This is not to be done by ceremonial ablutions, moral services, or evangelical ordinances; this is God's work only, as appears from his promises to cleanse his people from their sins, by sprinkling clean water upon them; from the end of Christ's shedding his blood, and the efficacy of it; and from the prayers of the saints, that God would wash them thoroughly from their iniquity, and cleanse them from their sin, and create clean hearts in them: and yet such exhortations are not in vain, since they may be useful to convince men of their pollution, who are pure in their own eyes, as these hypocritical, nominal professors, might be; and to bring them to a sense of their inability to cleanse themselves, and of the necessity of being cleansed elsewhere; and to lead them to inquire after the proper means of cleansing, and so to the fountain of Christ's blood, which only cleanses from all sin. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and [your] joy to heaviness. Cleanse therefore your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Kind of seems James has something on his mind here. Draw nigh—The reverse of resist. "Commentary on James 4:8". Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/james-4.html. It’s interesting that this word appears only in the book of James (James 1:8; 4:8). Learn, 3. If you feel and cherish that humbleness of mind which just conceptions of your guilty and depraved and wretched condition are calculated to generate; and if in the midst of this self-reproach you are ready to throw your fortunes unreservedly upon the merits of that dispensation which Divine grace offers to you as your all-sufficient refuge, then there is no insuperable barrier between you and the salvation which you need. None but the clean-handed can ascend into the hill of the Lord (justified through Christ, who alone, being perfectly so, 'ascended' there) (Psalms 24:3-4). Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ice/james-4.html. If, while we seek an external reformation, we still give indulgence to the secret corruptions of the heart, it is clear that we can have no true religion. It is not unusual in scripture to put that first which is visible first, as calling before election, 2 Peter 1:10. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." (J. It is a most excellent, yea, an essential means of nourishing the new nature, and of causing the soul to prosper. Cleanse your hands-purify your hearts; be outwardly and inwardly pure. on ἐγγίζειν, Isaiah 29:13; Hebrews 7:19. καὶ ἐγγιεῖ ὑμῖν] corresponding to the preceding φεύξεται ἀφʼ ὑμῶν. We wash our hands every day; but, when to dine with some great man, we scour them with balls. There may be an endless variety in the mode and in the measure of sinning with which different individuals are chargeable. That they who draw nigh to God, must cleanse their hands; because the sins of our hands do keep us at a distance from God, and God at a distance from us. "Commentary on James 4:8". Personally, don"t think I"ve heard any preaching like that in years. "Draw near to God"-"come near, approach" (Thayer p. 164). He wrote to encourage them to live asChristians should, i… 1. Prayer is the way to a life of communion with God--a means of keeping up an acquaintance with, and of growing in the knowledge of God. That double-minded men have corrupt hearts: double- mindedness is a dividing of the heart between God and something else: whereas God calls for the whole heart, the whole mind, the whole soul, the whole strength. Ans. By clean hands the scriptures generally mean "hands not polluted with any vice or wickedness." 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