James Chapter 4 — Commentary and Notes on Verse 13

    Nowlisten,youwhosay,“Todayortomorrowwewillgotothisorthatcity,spendayearthere, carry on business and make money.”

    Having spoken about people who held the law in contempt, he now speaks against those who hold providence in contempt, promising themselves a long time in the world and a happy ending to their worldly projects, without any sense or thought of frailty or the sudden strokes of God. In this verse he gives a most accurate representation of their thoughts.

    Nowlisten. This is a phrase that provokes them to think, like awakening conscience or citing them before the presence and tribunal of God. The same words are used in 5:1.

    If we want to know how evil our actions are, it is good to review and reflect. We sin and go on in sin because we do not stop to think. There should be wise consideration beforehand to prevent sin, and faithful recollection to prevent going on in sin. God complains, “No one repents of his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’” (Jeremiah 8:6). This recollection cites the soul before three bars: conscience, God’s eye, and God’s throne or tribunal. It rouses the light of conscience by comparing the action or speech with a principle of reason or the Word, as in the present case. Thus: Am I Lord of future events, that I determine them so confidently? Do things depend on my will? Are my life or actions in my own power? It draws the soul into God’s presence, thus: do I want the jealous God, who disposes of human events and successes, to take notice of such speeches? And before God’s judgment seat thus: would I defend such actions or speeches before God’s tribunal? Will these worldly deliberations endure the severe search and trial of the great day?

    Youwhosay,“Todayortomorrowwewillgotothisorthatcity…” He imitates the way of speaking, or the thoughts, of the Jewish merchants. “Now we will go to Alexandria, or to Damascus, or to Antioch” (their usual trading places).

    Note1. Worldly hearts are all for worldly projects. Thoughts are the purest offspring of the soul and reveal its temper. People are what their desires are. “The noble man makes noble plans” (Isaiah 32:8). Worldly people are projecting how to spend their days and months buying and selling and making a profit. The fool in the Gospel is thinking of enlarging his barns and pulling down his houses and building bigger ones (Luke 12:17-18); this engrosses all his thoughts. One apostle describes such people in these words: “Their mind is on earthly things” (Philippians 3:19). Another says they are “experts in greed” (2 Peter 2:14); that is, they earnestly work out how to promote their gain and earthly aims. Gracious hearts are occupied with gracious projects and how they can be more thankful (Psalm 116:12)—how they can be more holy, more useful for God, more fruitful in every good work—what they must to do inherit eternal life. Think how much better this is, how much more appropriate to the purpose of our creation and the nature of our spirits. We were sent into the world not to grow great and pompous, but to enrich our souls with spiritual excellence.

    Note2. Worldly people think to enjoy their pleasures before they obtain them. People usually feed themselves with the pleasure of their hopes. Sisera’s mother’s ladies looked through the lattice, taking pleasure in the thought of a triumphant return (Judges 5:28-30). Thoughts are the spies and messengers of the soul; hope sends them out after the thing expected, and love after the thing beloved. When we look forward to something keenly, the thoughts spend themselves in creating images and suppositions of the happiness of enjoyment. If a poor man were adopted into the succession of a crown, he would take pleasure in thinking about the future honor and pleasure of the kingly state. Godly people, who are called to be “heirs together with Christ,” are wont to preoccupy the bliss of their future state, and so in a way they only feel that to which they are looking forward.

    Similarly, worldly people charm their souls with whispers of vanity and feed on the pleasant anticipation of that worldly delight to which they look forward. For example, young heirs spend on their hopes and riot away their estate before they possess it. So then, be careful—it is a sure sign of worldliness when the world is in your thoughts so often that you are always deflowering worldly pleasures by anticipating worldly desires and sin, and you have nothing to live on or to entertain your spirit with but these ideas of gain and pomp and the reversion of some external pleasure.

    Note3. Again, you may see their confidence in future events: “Wewillgo…spendayear there…” Note that worldly affections are usually accompanied by worldly confidence and are certainly much encouraged by it. They are doubly confident: confident of the success of their efforts (“Wewill…makemoney”), and confident of their lives continuing (“Wewill…spendayear there”). Desire cannot be nourished without assuming success. When people multiply their efforts, they little think of God or of the changes of providence; it is enough to undo their desire if they think it could be disappointed. Besides, when the means exist, there is not much we ascribe to the highest cause. First the world steals away our affections, and then it intercepts our trust; there is not only adultery in this (4:4) but idolatry (Ephesians 5:5).

    The world is not only our darling but our god; and that is the reason why worldly people are always represented as people who confidently assume things will happen. For example, in Luke 12:19, “I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’” Or Job 29:18—“I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.” They think now they have enough to secure them against all chances. So then, be careful about your confidence and trust; when you are getting an estate, is your expectation founded on faith or desire? When you have gotten an estate, on what is your assurance of contentment based—the promises or your external welfare?

    Note4. Worldly people are confident not only of the present but of their future welfare, which shows that the heart is stupidly complacent and utterly unaware of the changes of providence. “Tomorrow will be like today, or even far better” (Isaiah 56:12). “In their thoughts their houses will remain forever” (Psalm 49:11 [see NIV footnote]). People love to enjoy their worldly comforts without interruption, thoughts of death, or change. Every day is like a new life and brings sufficient care with it; we need not look at such a long time. But worldly people, in their cares, provide not only for the next day but for the next year, being confident they have a next year; they do not want even to think about things changing.

    “Spendayearthere,carryonbusinessandmakemoney.” He gives the chief example of carrying on business because too often these worldly thoughts and hopes and confidence are found in businessmen. But he means it of all sorts of people who undertake anything confident of their own wisdom and hard work, without the permission and blessing of providence.

    Note 5. Businessmen are very liable to thinking and speaking that savors of worldly presumption and confidence. At the stock exchange and markets they are always talking about commodities and profit and trading, without any thought of God. “The merchant uses dishonest scales; he loves to defraud” (Hosea 12:7). Your ordinary business takes you from place to place; take God along with you wherever you go. Of all people you should be most astute; in your business be mindful of God and of yourselves—of God’s providence and your own frailty—so that you are neither too much in the world, nor too confident in your own hard work.

    Note 6. From the whole verse, note that it is a vain thing to promise ourselves great things without the permission of providence. To say, “We will go” or “we will do such and such” is vain, for we are not lords of our lives, nor lords of our own actions: “My times are in your hands” (Psalm 31:15). “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1). Today we are, and tomorrow we are gone; we cannot tell what may be in the womb of the next morning. It is the same with our actions: “what [the righteous and the wise] do” is “in God’s hands” (Ecclesiastes 9:1). To get things done, and to do them successfully, we need counsel and a blessing. The prophet speaks of this: “I know, O LORD, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).

    But when do people promise themselves great things without the leave of providence? In many ways. The main ones are these:

    (1)      When they undertake things without prayer. You may speak of success only when you have asked God’s permission: “Submit to God and … what you decide on will be done” (Job 22:21, 28).

    (2)      When they are too confident of future contingencies and events without any submission to the will of God and boast merely on human likelihood (see Exodus 15:11 and Judges 5:28-30). “‘May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful.’ The king of Israel answered, ‘Tell him: “One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off”’” (1 Kings 20:10-11). Ben-Hadad wanted to strip Samaria so bare that he would not leave any dust there, but God disappointed him.

    (3)      When people’s efforts are set up in the place of God, we think everything depends on mundane causes, and so we neglect God.

    (4)      When people promise themselves a time to repent later on. Many think to themselves, “I will pursue pleasure and profit, and then spend my old age devoutly and quietly; first build and trade and bustle in the world, and adjourn God to the aches and dull phlegm of old age.” Foolish man decrees all future events as if they were all in his own control. So then, remember God all the time; this is a good idea for princes and for people who advise about public affairs. How often they prove unhappy because they do not seek God! The natural exercise of your faculties and the help of God’s grace all depend upon God’s good pleasure.