---- Rectory, Hereford.
There is no uncanonical epistle attributed to this apostle, although the
one received by the English from the Greek and Latin churches was
pronounced uncanonical by Luther. The passage to which Jeremy Taylor
refers, is iv. 13, 14., which he interpreted as referring to an unlawful
inquiry into the future:
"Go to now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a
city and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas
ye know not what shall be on the morrow: for what is your life? It is
even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth
away."
Hug (Wait's Trans., vol. ii. p. 579.) considers the apostle as reproving
the Jews for attempting to evade the national punishment threatened them,
by removing out of their own country of Judaea. Probably, however, neither
Taylor nor Hug are correct in departing from the more obvious
signification, which refers to the mercantile character of the twelve
tribes (i. 1.), arising mainly out of the fact of their captivities and
dispersions ([Greek: diasporai]). The practice is still common in the East
for merchants on a large and small scale to spend a whole season or year in
trafficking in one city, and passing thence to another with the varied
products suitable respectively to each city; and such products were
interchanged without that extreme division of labour or despatch which the
magnitude of modern commerce requires. The whole passage, from James iv.
13. to v. 6. inclusive, must be taken as specially applicable to the sins
of mercantile men whose _works_ of righteousness St. James (iii. 17-20.)
declared to be wanting, in proof of their holding the _faith_ necessary,
{624} according, to St. Paul (Rom. iii. 27.), for their salvation.