through their faith, and to possess the Kingdom which he has promised to those who love him? But you-you insult the 6 poor man! Is not it the rich who oppress you? Is not it they who drag you into law-courts? Is not it they who malign that 7 honourable Name which has been bestowed upon you? Yet, if 8 you keep the royal law which runs-Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thou dost thyself,' you are doing right; but, if you 9 worship rank, you commit a sin, and stand convicted by that same law of being offenders against it. For a man who has laid the Law, as a whole, to heart, but has failed in one particular, is liable for breaking all its provisions. He who said Thou shalt not commit adultery' also said 'Thou shalt not murder.' If, then, you commit murder but not adultery, you are still an offender against the Law. Therefore, speak and act as men who are to be judged by the 'Law of Freedom.' For there will be justice without mercy for him who has not acted mercifully. Mercy triumphs over Justice. On 'Faith and ་་ ΙΟ II 12 13 14 15 16 18 20 My Brothers, what is the good of a man's saying that he has faith, if he does not prove it by actions? Can such faith save him? Suppose some Brother Works.' or Sister should be in want of clothes and of daily bread, and one of you were to say to them—“ Go, and peace be with you; find warmth and food for yourselves," and yet you were not to give them the necessaries of life, what good would it be to them? In just the same way faith, if not followed by 17 actions, is, by itself, a lifeless thing." Some one, indeed, may say- "You are a man of faith, and I am a man of action." 'Then show me your faith," I reply, "apart from any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions." It is a part of 19 your Faith, is it not, that there is one God? Good; yet even the demons have that faith, and tremble at the thought. Now do you really want to understand, you foolish man, how it is that faith without actions leads to nothing? Look at our ancestor, Abraham. Was not it the result of his actions that he was pronounced righteous after he had offered his son, Isaac, on the altar? You see how, in his case, faith and actions 22 went together; that his faith was perfected as the result of his actions, and that in this way the words of Scripture came true-" "Abraham believed God, and that was regarded by God as righteousness," and "He was called the friend of God." You see, then, that it is as the result of his actions that a man is pronounced righteous, and not of his faith only. Was not it 25 the same with the prostitute, Rahab? Was not it as the result of her actions that she was pronounced righteous, after she had welcomed the messengers and hastened them away by a different road? Exactly as a body is dead without a spirit, 26 so faith is dead without actions. 8 Lev. 19. 18. 11 Exod. 20. 13-14; Deut. 5. 17-18. 23 Gen. 15. 6; Isa. 41. 8. 21 Gen. 22. 2, 9. 21 22 23 24 On of the Tongue. 2 I do not want many of you, my Brothers, to I { the Control become teachers, knowing, as you do, that we who teach shall be judged by a more severe standard than others. We often make mistakes, every one of us. Any one who does not make mistakes when speaking is indeed a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body as well. When we put bits into horses' mouths, to make them 3 obey us, we control the rest of their bodies also. Again, think 4 of ships. Large as they are, and even when driven by fierce winds, they are controlled by a very small rudder and steered in whatever direction the man at the helm may determine. So 5 is it with the tongue. Small as it is, it is a great boaster. Think how tiny a spark may set the largest forest ablaze! And the 6 tongue is like a spark. Among the members of our body it proves itself a very world of mischief; it contaminates the whole body; it sets the wheels of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by the flames of the Pit. For while all sorts of beasts 7 and birds, and of reptiles and creatures in the sea, are tameable, and actually have been tamed by man, no human being 8 can tame the tongue. It is a restless plague! It is charged with deadly poison! With it we bless our Lord and Father, 9 and with it we curse men who are made 'in God's likeness.' From the very same mouth come blessings and curses! My ΙΟ Brothers, it is not right that this should be so. Does a spring give both good and bad water from the same source? fig tree, my Brothers, bear olives? or a vine bear figs? No, nor can a brackish well give good water. Against false Can a 12 Who among you claims to be wise and intelli- 13 gent? Let him show that his actions are the outWisdom. come of a good life lived in the humility of true wisdom. But, while you harbour envy and bitterness and a spirit 14 of rivalry in your hearts, do not boast or lie to the detriment of the Truth. That is not the wisdom which comes from above; 15 no, it is earthly, animal, devilish. For, where envy and rivalry 16 exist, there you will also find disorder and all kinds of base actions. But the wisdom from above is, before every thing 17 else, pure; then peace-loving, gentle, open to conviction, rich in compassion and good deeds, and free from partiality and insincerity. And righteousness, its fruit, is sown in peace 18 by those who work for peace. Against What is the cause of the fighting and quarrel- 1 4 Party-Strife. ling that goes on among you? Is not it to be found in the desires which are always at war within you? You crave, yet do not obtain. You murder and 2 rage, yet cannot gain your end. You quarrel and fight. You do not obtain, because you do not ask. You ask, yet do not 3 receive, because you ask for a wrong purpose-to spend what 9 Gen. 1. 26. you get upon your pleasures. Unfaithful people! Do not 4 you know that to be friends with the world means to be at enmity with God? Therefore whoever chooses to be friends with the world makes himself an enemy to God. Do you sup- 5 pose there is no meaning in the passage of Scripture which asks-'Is envy to result from the longings of the Spirit which God has implanted within you?' No; the gift that God gives 6 is for a nobler end; and that is why it is said-' God is opposed to the haughty, but gives help to the humble.' There- 7 fore submit to God; but resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Make 8 your hands clean, you sinners; and your hearts pure, you vacillating men! Grieve, mourn, and lament! Let your 9 laughter be turned to mourning, and your happiness to gloom! Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. ΙΟ I I Do not disparage one another, Brothers. He who disparages his Brother, or passes judgement on his Brother, disparages the Law and passes judgement on the Law. But, if you pass judgement on the Law, you are not obeying it, but judging it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge-he who 12 has the power both to save and to destroy. But who are you that pass judgement on your neighbour? Against Oppression. 13 15 16 17 Listen to me, you who say 'To-day or to-morrow Presumption. We will go to such and such a town, spend a year there, and trade, and make money,' and yet you do 14 not know what your life will be like to-morrow! For you are but a mist appearing for a little while and then disappearing. You ought, rather, to say 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.' But, as it is, you are constantly boasting presumptuously! All such boasting is wicked. He, then, who knows what is right but fails to do it-that is sin in him. Listen to me, you rich men, weep and wail for I 5 Against the miseries that are coming upon you! Your 2 riches have wasted away, and your clothes have become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are rusted; and 3 the rust on them shall be evidence against you, and shall eat into your very flesh. It was fire, so to speak, that you stored up for yourselves in these last days. I tell you, the wages of 4 the labourers who mowed your fields, which you have been fraudulently keeping back, are crying out against you, and the outcries of your reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts! You have lived on earth a life of extravagance and 5 luxury; you have indulged your fancies in a time of bloodshed. You have condemned, you have murdered, the Righteous One! 6 Must not God be opposed to you? 6 Prov. 3. 34. 3 Prov. 16. 27. 4 Deut. 24, 15, 17; Mal. 3. 5; Isa. 5. 9. 5 Jer. 12. 3. Christian IV.-CONCLUDing ExhortatTIONS. Be patient, then, Brothers, till the Coming of 7 Patience. the Lord. Even the farmer has to wait for the precious fruit of the earth, watching over it patiently, till it has had the spring and summer rains. And 8 you must be patient also, and not be discouraged; for the Lord's Coming is near. Do not make complaints against one 9 another, Brothers, or judgement will be passed upon you. The Judge is already standing at the door! Brothers, as an example of the patient endurance of suffering, take the Prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those who displayed such endurance blessed! You have heard, too, of Job's endurance, and have seen what the Lord's purpose was, for the Lord is full of pity and compassion.' Against ΙΟ II Above all things, my Brothers, never take an 12 oath, either by heaven, or by earth, or by anything else. With you let 'Yes' suffice for yes, and 'No' for no, so that you may escape condemnation. The Power of Prayer. If any one of you is in trouble, let him pray; 13 if any one is happy, let him sing hymns If 14 any one of you is ill, let him send for the Officers of the Church, and let them pray over him, after anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The 15 prayer offered in faith will save the man who is sick, and the Lord will raise him from his bed; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one 16 another and pray for one another, that you may be cured. Great is the power of a good man's fervent prayer. Elijah was 17 only a man like ourselves, but, when he prayed fervently that it might not rain, no rain fell upon the land for three years and a half. And, when he prayed again, the clouds brought rain, 18 and the land bore crops. My Brothers, should one of 19 you be led astray from the Truth, and some one Blessedness bring him back again, be sure that he who brings 20 of Saving a sinner back from his mistaken ways will save that man's soul from Death, and throw a veil over The a Soul. countless sins. 7 Deut. 11. 14. 11 Dan. 12. 12; Ps. 103. 8. 20 Prov. 10. 12. |