If any man among you seem to be religious
By his preaching, or praying, and hearing, and other external
duties of religion, he is constant in the observance of; and who,
upon the account of these things, "thinks himself to be a
religious man", as the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions
render it; or is thought to be so by others:
and bridleth not his tongue;
but boasts of his works, and speaks ill of his brethren;
backbites them, and hurts their names and characters, by private
insinuations, and public charges without any foundation; who
takes no care of what he says, but gives his tongue a liberty of
speaking anything, to the injury of others, and the dishonour of
God, and his ways: there seems to be an allusion to ( Psalms 39:1 ) .
But deceiveth his own heart;
with his show of religion, and external performances; on which he
builds his hopes of salvation; of which he is confident; and so
gives himself to a loose way of talking what he pleases:
this man's religion is vain;
useless, and unprofitable to himself and others; all his
preaching, praying, hearing, and attendance on the ordinances
will be of no avail to him; and he, notwithstanding these, by his
evil tongue, brings a scandal and reproach upon the ways of God,
and doctrines of Christ.
