Tiago 4

Tiago 4:9

Meyer wrote that… It is better to mourn for sin than for its consequences. It is not difficult to do the latter. When we are reaping the bitter penalty of mistake and crime, it is easy to be regretful. "Oh, that I had not done this! Would that I had been more thoughtful and careful! Might I but have my chance again!" So we all exclaim often enough. But this is not sorrow for sin. That is deeper, nobler mourning far. Its tears are purer. In it is no taint of selfishness or dread of penalty. The convicted sinner weeps with unfeigned anguish, as he sees what his sin has meant to God, to Divine Love and human, to those who have passed beyond his recall, or must forever be influenced for the worse by his irrevocable past. And God carefully gathers up these tears, puts them in His bottle, writes them in His book. Thomas Brooks writes (1662) in his book The Crown and Glory of Christianity or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness "Turn to the Lord with weeping and with mourning." Joel 2:12 The best way to be holy is to accuse, indict, arraign, and condemn yourself for your unholiness. Greatly lament and mourn over your own unholiness, over your own wickedness. Go to your closet, and fall down before the most high and holy God, and mourn bitterly over … the unholiness of your nature, the unholiness of your heart, the unholiness of your affections, the unholiness of your intentions, the unholiness of your thoughts, the unholiness of your words, the unholiness of your life. Oh, who can look upon sin … as an offence against a holy God, as the breach of a holy law, as the wounding and crucifying of a holy Savior, as the grieving and saddening of a holy Sanctifier, and not mourn over it? Oh, who can cast a serious eye . . upon the heinous nature of sin, upon the exceeding sinfulness of sin, upon the aggravations of sin— and not have … his heart humbled, his soul grieved, his spirit melted, his mouth full of penitential confessions, his eyes full of penitential tears, and his heart full of penitential sorrow? The Christian mourns that he has sinned against … a God so great, a God so gracious, a God so bountiful, a God so merciful. Oh, how should a sinner fall a-weeping when he looks upon the greatness of his wickedness, and his lack of holiness! As ever you would be holy, mourn over your own unholiness. Those who weep not for sin here—shall weep out their eyes in hell hereafter! It is better to weep bitterly for your sins on earth, than to weep eternally for your folly in hell. (The Crown and Glory of Christianity or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness) Joy (5479) (chara [word study]) is a feeling of inner gladness, delight or rejoicing. Secular dictionaries define joy as the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or the emotion evoked by the prospect of possessing what one desires. The world's definition of joy is therefore virtually synonymous with the definition of happiness, for both of these "emotions" are dependent on what "happens". Joy is that inner feeling which often expresses itself in laughter. James is calling for an about face reversal from joy to gloom or dejection! Gloom (2726) (katepheia from kata = down + phaino = shine) means downcast in look or the condition of one whose eyes are cast down. It pictures a dejected, sorrowful countenance that reflects a heavy heart. Although katepheia is not used by our Lord in His description of the tax collector in Luke 18, his description of this man gives us an good sense of the meaning of downcast… But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner (hamartolos)!' (Luke 18:13) VGNT writes that of a secular use of katepheia that… the context suggests… “with eyes cast down for shame” and the same reference to the outward expression of the countenance underlies the only occurrence in Jas 4:9. Martin Luther You learn your theology most where your sorrows take you. (From John Blanchard's highly recommended collection - The Complete Gathered Gold- A Treasury of Quotations) Chrysostom put it well when he said that… Sorrow is given us on purpose to cure us of sin.