The circumstances around these words I have read are very instructive, and, in some respects, very sad. King David was on his death bed. A few days after this, he was called from time into eternity; his journey done. Like the Apostle Paul, David could say: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day.” But, the question arose: who should succeed King David on the throne? He had several sons, and it was no doubt a question among the family as to who should be the successor. But, God had already told David who…

Martin Luther said that the Epistle of James was the ‘Epistle of Straw.’ In other words, it was not very comfortable to lay down upon. This is true. If you read this epistle from beginning to end, it has some very sharp and pointed things to say about man’s fallen nature, and about those dispositions that fallen nature displays. And, there is not a child of God who is awake to the things of God but will read through the Epistle of James and find those things that condemn and convince him or her of sin. That does not mean we should not read it; it is all the more reason we should read it. “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me,…