James 4

9. Be afflicted--literally, "Endure misery," that is, mourn over your wretchedness through sin. Repent with deep sorrow instead of your present laughter. A blessed mourning. Contrast Isaiah 22:12 Isaiah 22:13 , Luke 6:25 . James does not add here, as in James 5:1 , "howl," where he foretells the doom of the impenitent at the coming destruction of Jerusalem.
heaviness--literally, "falling of the countenance," casting down of the eyes.

10. in the sight of the Lord--as continually in the presence of Him who alone is worthy to be exalted: recognizing His presence in all your ways, the truest incentive to humility. The tree, to grow upwards, must strike its roots deep downwards; so man, to be exalted, must have his mind deep-rooted in humility. In 1 Peter 5:6 , it is, Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, namely, in His dealings of Providence: a distinct thought from that here.
lift you up--in part in this world, fully in the world to come.

11. Having mentioned sins of the tongue ( James 3:5-12 ), he shows here that evil-speaking flows from the same spirit of exalting self at the expense of one's neighbor as caused the "fightings" reprobated in this chapter ( James 4:1 ).
Speak not evil--literally, "Speak not against" one another.
brethren--implying the inconsistency of such depreciatory speaking of one another in brethren.
speaketh evil of the law--for the law in commanding, "Love thy neighbor as thyself" ( James 2:8 ), virtually condemns evil-speaking and judging [ESTIUS]. Those who superciliously condemn the acts and words of others which do not please themselves, thus aiming at the reputation of sanctity, put their own moroseness in the place of the law, and claim to themselves a power of censuring above the law of God, condemning what the law permits [CALVIN]. Such a.one acts as though the law could not perform its own office of judging, but he must fly upon the office [BENGEL]. This is the last mention of the law in the New Testament. ALFORD rightly takes the "law" to be the old moral law applied in its comprehensive spiritual fulness by Christ: "the law of liberty."
if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer . . . but a judge--Setting aside the Christian brotherhood as all alike called to be doers of the law, in subjection to it, such a one arrogates the office of a judge.

12. There is one lawgiver--The best authorities read in addition, "and judge." Translate, "There is One (alone) who is (at once) Lawgiver and Judge, (namely) He who is able to save and destroy." Implying, God alone is Lawgiver and therefore Judge, since it is He alone who can execute His judgments; our inability in this respect shows our presumption in trying to act as judges, as though we were God.
who art thou, &c.--The order in the Greek is emphatic, "But (inserted in oldest manuscripts) thou, who art thou that judgest another?" How rashly arrogant in judging thy fellows, and wresting from God the office which belongs to Him over thee and THEM alike!
another--The oldest authorities read, "thy neighbor."

13. Go to now--"Come now"; said to excite attention.
ye that say--boasting of the morrow.
To-day or to-morrow--as if ye had the free choice of either day as a certainty. Others read, "To-day and to-morrow."
such a city--literally, "this the city" (namely, the one present to the mind of the speaker). This city here.
continue . . . a year--rather, "spend one year." Their language implies that when this one year is out, they purpose similarly settling plans for to come [BENGEL].
buy and sell--Their plans for the future are all worldly.

14. what--literally, "of what nature" is your life? that is, how evanescent it is.
It is even--Some oldest authorities read, "For ye are." BENGEL, with other old authorities, reads, "For it shall be," the future referring to the "morrow" ( James 4:13-15 ). The former expresses, "Ye yourselves are transitory"; so everything of yours, even your life, must partake of the same transitoriness. Received text has no old authority.
and then vanisheth away--"afterwards vanishing as it came"; literally, "afterwards (as it appeared), so vanishing" [ALFORD].

15. Literally, "instead of your saying," &c. This refers to "ye that say" ( James 4:13 ).
we shall live--The best manuscripts read, "We shall both live and do," &c. The boasters spoke as if life, action, and the particular kind of action were in their power, whereas all three depend entirely on the will of the Lord.

16. now--as it is.
rejoice in . . . boastings--"ye boast in arrogant presumptions," namely, vain confident fancies that the future is certain to you ( James 4:13 ).
rejoicing--boasting [BENGEL].

17. The general principle illustrated by the particular example just discussed is here stated: knowledge without practice is imputed to a man as great and presumptuous sin. James reverts to the principle with which he started. Nothing more injures the soul than wasted impressions. Feelings exhaust themselves and evaporate, if not embodied in practice. As we will not act except we feel, so if we will not act out our feelings, we shall soon cease to feel.