James 1:8

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James 1:8 Meaning and Commentary

James 1:8

A double minded man
A man of two souls, or of a double heart, that speaks and asks with an heart, and an heart, as in ( Psalms 12:2 ) who halts between two opinions, and is at an uncertainty what to do or say, and is undetermined what to ask for; or who is not sincere and upright in his requests, who asks for one thing, and means another, and asks amiss, and with an ill design; does not call upon God in truth, and in the sincerity of his soul; draws nigh to him with his mouth, and honours him with his lips, but his heart is far from him. Such an one is

unstable in all his ways;
he is confused in his mind; restless in his thoughts, unsettled in his designs and intentions; inconstant in his petitions; uncertain in his notions and opinion of things; and very variable in his actions, and especially in matters of religion; he is always changing, and never at a point, but at a continual uncertainty, both in a way of thinking and doing: he never continues long either in an opinion, or in a practice, but is ever shifting and moving.

James 1:8 In-Context

6 But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind;

7 8 for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

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9 Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up,

10 and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field.

Footnotes

• [a]. Included with James 1:7