صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ; to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

But I exhort you, brethren, suffer the word of exhor- 22 tation for I have written a letter unto you in few words. Know that our brother Timothy has been set at liberty; 23 with whom, if he come soon, I will see you. Salute all 24 your leaders, and all the saints. They from Italy salute you.

Grace be with you all.

25

25

EPISTLE OF JAMES.

JAMES, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, CH. I. to the twelve tribes which are in the dispersion, greeting.

Think it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into divers 2 temptations; knowing that the proving of your faith works 3 patience. But let patience have a perfect work, that ye 4 may be perfect and whole, in nothing deficient. But if any 5 of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of God that gives to all simply and reproaches not, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting; 6 for he that doubts is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he 7 shall receive anything from the Lord, a double-minded 8 man, unstable in all his ways. Let the brother who is 9 humble glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humili- 10 ation because as a flower of grass he shall pass. For 11 the sun arose with its heat, and withered the grass, and the flower thereof fell away, and the beauty of its face perished so also will the rich man fade away in his ways.

Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when 12 he becomes approved, he will receive the crown of life,

13 which he promised to them that love him. Let no one say when tempted, I am tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted in respect of evils, and himself tempts 14 no one. But each is tempted when he is drawn away by 15 his own lust and enticed; then lust having conceived, brings forth sin; but sin when perfected begets death.

16, 17

Be not deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect present is from above, coming down from the Father of the lights, with whom is no variableness 18 neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruit of his creatures.

19

Ye know it, my beloved brethren; but let every man 20 be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. For man's 21 wrath works not God's righteousness. Wherefore putting off all filthiness and superabundance of viciousness, receive in meekness the implanted word, which is able to save 22 your souls. And become doers of the word, and not hearers 23 only, beguiling your own selves. Because if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a 24 man considering his natural face in a mirror: for he considered himself, and is gone away, and straightway 25 forgot what manner of man he was. But he that looked into the perfect law of liberty and continued, he that became not a forgetful hearer but a doer of work, this man will 26 be blessed in his doing. If any one thinks that he is

religious, and bridles not his tongue but deceives his 27 heart, this man's religion is vain. Religion pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit orphans and widows in their affliction, to keep himself unspotted from the world.

CH. II.

My brethren, hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus 2 Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in bright clothing, and there come in also a poor man in filthy 3 clothing; and ye look upon him that wears the bright clothing and say, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool;

did ye not then doubt in yourselves, and become judges 4
of evil reasonings ?

Hear, my beloved brethren. Did not God choose the 5
poor as to the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the
kingdom which he promised to them that love him? But 6
ye dishonoured the poor man. Do not the rich overpower
you, and is it not they who draw you to judgment seats?
Is it not they who blaspheme the good name by which ye 7
were called? Yet if ye fulfil the royal law according to 8
the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye
do well but if ye have respect to persons, ye work sin, 9
being convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoso- 10
ever shall have kept the whole law, but have stumbled in
one point, is become guilty of all.. For he that said, 11
Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill; now if
thou committest not adultery, but killest, thou art become
a transgressor of law. So speak and so do, as persons 12
about to be judged by a law of liberty. For the judgment 13
will be without mercy, to him that did not mercy; mercy
glories against judgment.

What is the profit, my brethren, if one say he has 14
faith, but have not works? can the faith save him? If a 15
brother or sister be naked, and deficient of daily food, and 16
one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be warmed and
filled, but give them not those things which are fit for the
body, what is the profit? So also the faith, if it have not 17
works, is dead, by itself. But one will say, Thou hast 18
faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without the
works, and I will shew thee the faith by my works. Be- 19
lievest thou that God is one? thou doest well: the demons
also believe and shudder. But wilt thou know, O vain man, 20
that the faith without the works is idle? Was not Abra- 21
ham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac
his son on the altar? Thou seest that the faith works with 22
his works, and by the works the faith was made perfect,
and the scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed 23
God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness, and
he was called God's friend. Ye see that by works a man 24

25 is justified, and not by faith only. And in like manner was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she received the messengers, and cast them out another way? 26 For as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

CH. III.

My brethren, be not many teachers, knowing that we 2 shall receive greater judgment. For in many ways we all stumble; if one stumbles not in word, he is a 3 perfect man, able to bridle even the whole body. But if we put bits into the horses' mouths, that they may obey 4 us, then we turn about their whole body. See also the ships, though they are so great and driven by fierce winds, they are turned about with a very small helm, whither5 soever the desire of the steersman wishes; so also the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. Behold, how great a fire, how great a wood does the tongue 6 kindle! A fire, that world of iniquity! the tongue is set among our members, both defiling the whole body, and setting on fire the wheel of life, and set on 7 fire by hell. For every nature of beasts, and of birds,

and of creeping things, and things in the sea, is tamed, 8 and has been tamed by the nature of man, but the tongue can no man tame; a restless evil, full of deadly 9 poison. Therewith we bless the Lord and Father; and therewith we curse the men who have been made after 10 the likeness of God; out of the same mouth come forth

blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought 11 not so to be. Does the fountain send forth out of the 12 same cleft the sweet and the bitter? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bring forth olives, or a vine figs? neither can salt water bring forth sweet.

13

Who is wise and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of his good conduct his works in meek14 ness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envy and party spirit 15 in your heart, glory not against the truth and lie. This

wisdom is not coming down from above, but earthly, un16 spiritual, demoniacal. For where envy and party spirit 17 are, there are tumult and every bad thing. But the

wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, forbearing, easily persuaded, full of mercy and good fruits, without doubting, without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteous- 18 ness is sown in peace by them that do peace.

CH.

WHENCE Come wars and whence fightings among you? IV. come they not hence, out of your pleasures that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill and envy, 2 and cannot obtain: ye fight and war. And ye have not, because ye ask not; ye ask and receive not, because ye 3 ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures, ye adul- 4 teresses. Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity to God? whosoever therefore wishes to be a friend of the world sets himself as an enemy of God. Do ye think 5 that the scripture speaks in vain? The spirit that he made to dwell in us longs unto envy, but he gives greater 6 grace. Wherefore it is said, God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble. Subject yourselves therefore to 7 God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you; draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse 8 hands, ye sinners; and make hearts chaste, ye doubleminded. Be afflicted and mourn, weep: let your laughter 9 be turned into mourning, and your joy into heaviness. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 10 Speak not against one another, brethren. He that 11 speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against law and judges law: but if thou judgest law, thou art not a doer of law but a judge. One is the lawgiver 12 and judge, who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbour ?

Go to now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go 13 into such a city, and will spend there a year, and will traffic and get gain, ye that know not what will be on 14 the morrow; for what is your life? For ye are a vapour, that appears for a little, and then disappears instead 15 of your saying, If the Lord will and we live, we shall also do this, or that. But now ye glory in your vain glory: all 16 such glorying is evil. Therefore to him that knows to do 17 good and does it not, to him it is sin.

« السابقةمتابعة »