James 1:19-21

Listening and Doing
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (NIV)

James begins the last sentence in this little paragraph with the word "therefore." Whenever we see "therefore," we need to ask ourselves what it's "there for." Here it seems to do double duty, pointing back to James' statement in verse 18 that it is the word of God which gives us rebirth. It also points ahead to what will follow in verse 22 and beyond. James reminds us of the Word's ability to save in verse 21 when once again he mentions "the word planted in you, which can save you."  The Greek for this last phrase is a beautiful description of the "word." It says, "receive (or "welcome") in humility the implanted, able-to-save-(all) your-soul(s) Word."

It isn't anything that we do which saves us. Not even becoming angry--even over our own sins--can do anything to help. James says, is your mouth shut, and are your ears open? Listen to God's word. Because this is the able-to-save-your-soul word of God.

James 1:13-18

13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. (NIV)

God certainly tests our faith, as he did when he asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. he ccommanded Jonah to preach the gospel in the heart of enemy territory. He let Satan tears away Job's possessions, drain away Job's health, and even pick away at Job's marriage. But God does not tempt us to sin. James describes temptation growing into sin in terms of a growing person: it is conceived, is born, becomes full grown, and gives birth to another "child:" eternal death; damnation in hell. The birth which God gives us, however, is the rebirth we have through his word. This rebirth is the forgiveness of sins.

Here we have one of the many passages in the Bible which tells us that God creates the faith which saves us through means. Here, it is the means of his word, the gospel.  The Bible also talks about the word working in the same way (giving forgiveness of sins and creating or sustaining faith) when it comes to us in the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper (see for instance Ephesians 5:26 and Matthew 26:28).

James says that when we are "born again" through God's word, we are a kind of firstfruits. The firstfruits (described in part in Leviticus 23:9-14) were an offering of the first part of the harvest. The firstfruits offering was not large (just a "sheaf" Leviticus tells us). But more would follow. James is telling the Christians in Jerusalem that even if their numbers seem small, they should not despair. The full harvest of the entire Christian Church will follow. God creates faith through his word, and everyone who comes to faith does so through the means of the gospel (in word and Sacrament). Although it is not James' point here, we might also add that no one can come to faith in God or be saved, who does not do so through these means of grace, the gospel in word and sacrament. There is no other way to heaven, and to seek another road is to reject the gospel. As Peter told the Sanhedrin: "Salvation is found in no one else (than Jesus), for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

James 1:9-12

9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. 12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. (NIV)

Sometimes difficulties come to a believer. We are made to remember that things, possessions, do not last. When we are dead, they are gone, like the beauty of a flower, which is gone once it is dead. When a person who relies on his possessions is tested, what will happen? Will he put his faith in God?

Someone, maybe Ernie Pyle, once said: "There are no atheists in foxholes." In hard times, when we are in danger of losing everything we have in this life--our possessions, our loved ones, and even our own lives--many of us reach out to God. And we find that he is the one who has been reaching out to us, all along. When hard times come which strengthen our faith, we can be absolutely content with our position, whether rich or poor, because God has used our circumstance to bring us closer to him. The person who trusts in God when troubles come is actually built up by the test, like a muscle which becomes stronger when it is worked and tested. We might pray that God does not "work us out" too much by testing us, but that when he does, we do pray that he will build up our faith and make us faithful servants who do his will, and not our own.

James 1:1-8

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. (NIV)

Which James wrote this letter? It could be either the Apostle James (Son of Alphaeus) or James the Lord's brother, the acknowledged head of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15). The other prominent James of the New Testament, John's brother, was already martyred (Acts 12:2). For a variety of reasons, we must say that we cannot be 100% certain, but I am going to proceed under the assumption that it was James, the Lord's brother and pastor of the Jerusalem Christians.

James addresses this letter to "the twelve tribes scattered among the nations." He is writing to Jewish Christians. Notice that he also talks about their faith in these opening verses. That context for the letter is absolutely vital for our understanding of what James will say. When Paul and the other apostles wrote to Gentile Christians (such as the Galatians), they were writing to brand new believers, still infants in their faith, who needed to know the basic building blocks of sin, grace and faith (the doctrine or teaching that we call "justification" -- how we have been declared "not guilty" of our sins).  James is writing to Jewish Christians, people who have believed in God all their lives and now have been shown that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of their faith. James' emphasis is on how we live our lives in response to our salvation (we call this doctrine or teaching "sanctification"). James wants them to know that they can ask God confidently for wisdom and understanding and not doubt for a moment that God will give it.

James' words are hard-hitting, directed at people who should know better.  James is being firm with them, the way Jesus was firm with his listeners during the Sermon on the Mount.  In fact, a lot of this letter reflects the language of the Sermon on the Mount -- something we might expect from the brother of Jesus.

James warns his readers about trials and pains that will come.  He doesn't say we can avoid them; he says we can have joy when they come, because tests of our faith develop perseverance. What would we lack if we didn't have these trials and tests?  Don't such things also develop wisdom, empathy (shared feelings based on similar experience) and so forth?  Praise God who tests our faith and gives us the only means by which we can pass such tests -- his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Psalm 2:1-12

    1 Why do the nations conspire
        and the peoples plot in vain?
    2 The kings of the earth rise up  
        and the rulers band together against the LORD
        and against his Anointed One, saying
    3 “Let us break their chains,
          and throw off their shackles.”

The world does exactly what Psalm 1 warns us not to do. The world wants nothing to do with God. The world ("like sheep without a shepherd") is willing to listen to any shyster who claims to have found Jesus' bones and say, "See -- I knew it all along." The world is especially hateful of the doctrine of forgiveness, because to be forgiven implies that something needed forgiving. If I am forgiven, then something I did must not have been good. The world sneers at God.

What is God's response?

    4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
        the Lord scoffs at them.
    5 He rebukes them in his anger
        and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
    6 “I have installed my King
        on Zion, my holy hill.”
    7 I will proclaim the LORD's decree: 
        He said to me, “You are my Son;
            today I have become your Father.
    8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
        the ends of the earth your possession.
    9 You will rule them with a rod of iron;
        you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

God doesn't fear his own creation. God offers his gospel and his forgiveness despite what the heathen say about him. He sent his Son into the world to reign and to live and to die in our place and to rise again. And this Son is the one who will judge the world on the Last Day.

When God says of Christ, "You are my Son," he isn't only talking about one event in Nazareth involving a teenage girl engaged to a carpenter. The Son is the Son of God forever. He is eternally God's Son, and his relationship with the Father is eternal and it is unchanging. We praise God that he became human for us; it helps us understand his Father-Son relationship better. The great mystery is why -- but his answer is simply, "I love you."

    10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;
        be warned, you rulers of the earth.
    11 Serve the LORD with fear
        and celebrate his rule with trembling.
    12 Kiss his Son, or he will be angry
        and your way will lead to your destruction,
        for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
     Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (NIV)

You might be aware that the word for "son" in Hebrew is ben. A "Benjamin" is literally "the son of my right hand." The word here, however, isn't ben. It's bar. You've heard it before in names like "Barabbas" (son of the father)  and "Bartholomew" (son of Ptolemy). Bar is more common in the Aramaic language than Hebrew (Ezra 5:1, 2 and 6:14 all use it in Aramaic parts of the Bible), but it occurs in Proverbs 31:2 in a Hebrew passage probably written by Solomon.

We submit to Jesus Christ because he is truly God. Our lives are the time God has given to each of us in which we have time to come to faith in him, and do with that faith whatever we have the gifts to do. For one person, it might mean simply hanging on to that faith. For another, it might mean passing that faith along to another person, especially a child. For another, it might mean being a part of a community of believers that supports the faith of dozens or even hundreds of believers. And so on, and on.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 1:6

     6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,

          but the way of the wicked leads to desrtuction. (NIV)

What does it mean to be "righteous"? The person who is right with God is not a person who decided to be righteous, but a person God forgave. God is the one who reaches out to us with his gospel of forgiveness, and he makes us his own by removing the guilt of our sins forever.

Look at the widow of Zarephath. She didn't choose God. She was outside Israel, both physically and spiritually. But when Israel rejected God, Elijah was sent outside the land to the village of Zarephath in the far northwest, and she was given all of the blessings God had given Israel in miniature: She was given bread, she was given the word of God, a prophet was sent to her, and for the first time in the Bible, she was even permitted to experience what the resurrection is all about when Elijah raised her son from the dead. And unlike Israel, she put her faith in God and trusted in God's word. She said, "I know that you are a man of God, and the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth" (1 Kings 17:24).

The Lord watched over her, and made her his own. And the Lord will watch over you. Trust in him; trust his forgiveness, and all of his other blessings will be yours; even eternal life in Jesus.

Psalm 1:4-5

     4 Not so the wicked!

          They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 

     5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

          nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.  (NIV)

The prophet Hosea may have been thinking of this Psalm when he said, "They sins more and more... therefore they will be like chaff swirling from a threshing floor, like smoke escaping from a window" (Hosea 13:2,3). Chaff is the stuff left over when grain is beaten so that the good kernel of wheat can be removed. The farmer tosses everything into the air, and as the good kernels fall back down the light and useless chaff is blown away by the wind. On Judgment Day, God will sort the believers from the unbelievers, leaving no one in the middle. We are either Christ's followers or we aren't, and those who aren't will be sent away into hell.

A person shows his faith with the confession of his mouth and the confession of his life. He proclaims who his God is by what he says and does. He embraces the cross, or he rejects it. And so on the Last Day, "each person was judged acccording to what he had done... If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:13, 15).

So we hang on to Jesus. Because of Jesus, there will no longer be any curse (Rev. 22:3). As Jesus threshes mankind, we will keep on falling down at his feet. Our tears will be dried, our troubles will be over, our sins will be forgotten and forgiven, and we will have peace.

Psalm 1:3

      3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

          which yields its fruit in season

     and whose leaf does not wither—

          whatever they do prospers. (NIV)

The Hebrew word for "stream" is not the usual word for a river or even an arroyo or rain-fed gulch. It is peleg, a common word for "irrigation canal" or "channel." Sometimes it is used metaphorically for the channel cut by tears (Lam. 3:48) or even rain (Job 38:25). Here it is a reference to a hand-made channel of water: Hand-made, but here not man-made. The righteous man is planted by God himself next to a stream of water, which in turn was intentionally placed there by the hand of God.

Where we find ourselves in life is not an accident. We may be subject to the consequences of our own sins, or of the sins of others (like Joseph sold into slavery in Egypt), but God is still there, using our circumstances for our good. This verse is not meant to confuse us, or make us wonder how we got where we are. It's here for our comfort, reminding us that wherever we are, God is there, too. And God is able to bless us and work through us no matter how rough our lives become. Like Joseph in Pharaoh's prison, he may have work for us to do; work to which only hardship can lead us. But through it all, God is there, bringing forth fruit in our lives, and making us prosper.

Psalm 1:2

 2 But whose delight is in the law of the LORD,

          and who meditates on his law day and night. (NIV)

In the Psalms, the word "law" (torah) is used in a narrow sense and in a wider sense. The narrow sense is the one we probably think about first when we hear the word law; the sense of things God has commanded, and especially those things God commanded for his people Israel when they were with Moses in their forty years of wandering. These laws come in three varieties, the Ceremonial Law regulating the worship life of Israel and the sacrifices, the Civil Law regulating business and social issues like land, animals and marriage, and the Moral Law governing basic principals and providing the building blocks of justice: the Ten Commandments.

There is a wider sense of the word "law." The narrow sense of the law only convicts and puts up boundaries. A human being could never be right with God by keeping the law, because a human being is sinful from birth and even from conception. So the "law" in the narrow sense cannot be something a man delights in as we have here in the Psalm. The wider sense of "law" is the complete counsel of God: all of God's word, including both law and gospel. That "law and gospel" sense of torah is the meaning of "law" in places like Psalm 119:29, "be gracious to me through your law," in Psalm 119:174, "I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight," and Isaiah 42:4, "In his law the islands will put their hope."

The word for "meditate" in the parallel second half means "to mutter." In ancient times, it was considered rude and probably suspicious to read silently to oneself. People who could read, read aloud. But if they were reading only to themselves, they would probably mutter or mumble the words. And if a person were walking down the street and thinking about the Word of God, he would probably mutter to himself. It was a cultural habit with which we might not be comfortable, but the sense here is that a person who wanted to truly remember God's word would have it on his lips (not just a figure of speech) constantly.

The Shepherd of Hermas is a very early Christian book about a man who sees many visions and who appears to possess the spiritual gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 12:10, 14:22). In it, Hermas says "I was sitting in my house glorifying the Lord for everything I had seen and meditating on the commandments because they were beautiful, joyous, glorious and able to save the soul of man" (Similitude 6, chapter 1, verse 1). There, too, the sense of the laws and "commandments" is that they (1) are to be meditated upon and (2) that they are able to save souls. This is the sense we have in the Psalm. And so we mediate on the saving word of God.

That's how we can be prepared "in and out of season" for whatever happens (2 Timothy 4:2). The word of God should be part of our lives; and especially the great gospel of Jesus. It's because of Jesus that we know that the Lord has been gracious to us (Psalm 119:29), that we have the salvation we long for (Psalm 119:174), and it's in Jesus that we truly have hope (Isaiah 42:4).

O Lord, teach to meditate on your law and your gospel both day and night.

Psalm 1:1

The first Psalm sets the stage for the entire book of Psalms: Whom do we worship? And what does that path of worship involve? These questions must be answered before the worship in the Psalms can truly begin. Worship of the true God begins with trusting in God above all things. The second Psalm, which I would maintain is also introductory, shows our relationship with the Son of God.

1 1 Blessed is the one

          who does not walk in step with the wicked

       or stand in the way that sinners take 

          or sit in the company of mockers. (NIV)

The first Psalm doesn't contain any commands. It takes a gospel-centered approach to state the truth. There are only two ways for anyone. There is no "third" way. There is either the way of God, or the way of the wicked. The "wicked" in the Psalm would include hypocrites, unbelievers, apostates (people who have fallen away) and anyone else who rejects the true God. When Balaam the false prophet was speaking God's word by the grace of God and not by his own will (as his donkey did), he said longingly, "Who can count the dust of Jacob...? Let me die the death of the righteous" (Numbers 23:10).

The first Psalm presents these basics for us: (1) The way of the righteous is the only way that leads to life (avoid everything else, verses 1-3); (2) The way of the wicked leads only to death (verses 4-5), and (3) the two ways are separate (verse 6).

The three verbs, walk..., stand..., sit..., show a dangerously increasing familiarity with the ways of the unrighteous. Don't take his advice, don't hang out with him, and don't become him. The three words that describe the wicked also tell us something: The wicked (Hebrew resha'im) are people who are guilty of breaking God's commands, even in their thoughts. Sinners (chata'im) are guilty of sins they have committed in their deeds, stepping over God's line. Mockers (letsim) are those who have sinned with their words in foolish or sinful speech. This is a reminder that sin can happen in our thoughts, our words, and our deeds. Any sins break God's laws. All sins need to be forgiven by God.

That's what makes the Savior's work so essential. There is no way to approach our holy God in our sinful unholiness, unholy in our thoughts, our words and our actions. We need the Savior, whose actions, whose words and whose very thoughts made us right with God. His blood atoned for all of our sins, and now we can approach God with our prayers assured that he hears us and answers us. And more than that, we can rest assured that on the last day we will rise from our graves and stand before God unafraid, because our sins are forgiven.

We are at peace with God because we are blessed by the Man who never walked in the counsel of the wicked, who never stood in the way sinners go, and who never sat in the company of mockers. He stood in the counsel of the Father, he stood on the path of righteousness, and he sat upon the foal of a donkey and hung on the cross.

And for that we praise him with our lives. Teach us to praise you and live for you, Jesus.