James Expounds on Faith Volume 44

 The Warning Against Worldliness Part 6

James 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. KJV Note: NKJV=New King James Version

The Apostle James goes on and adds more for us to do within our own souls because of our past unfaithfulness to our Great God and King Jesus Christ with these next words to the scattered Jewish beleivers and to we believers today and of every era and generation, "Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness." (James 4:9) (KJV). In verse 9, the very first little English phrase 'be afflicted' is translated by the Greek word talaipōreō (used this one time only in the entire New Testament) meaning to be wretched, that is, realize one's own misery: - be afflicted. The English word 'mourn' in verse 9 is translated by the Greek word pentheō meaning to grieve (the feeling or the act): - mourn, bewail. The English word 'weep' in verse 9 is translated by the Greek word klaiō meaning to sob, that is, wail aloud. In other words, our very own personal infidelity or unfaithfulness to our Father in Heaven should cause us to weep and mourn and feel the wretchedness of our souls before Him prompting our grieving and bewailing before His Throne as we turn ourselves back to Him (repentance) and to faithfulness to His Holy Word, as we here in these words from the Psalmist, "Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes." (Psalms 119:67-68)(NKJV) and also these words from the Psalmist, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver." (Psalms 119:71-72)(NKJV) and also these words from the 🥠 Prophet Ezekiel, "Those who survive will escape and be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, each for his iniquity." (Ezekiel 7:16) (NKJV). When the Apostle James writes, 'let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness', he is simply saying that being comfortable in our sins is a dangerous place for the inner man 👨 or inner woman 👩 to ever get to, for instead of this being our condition we should be in deep 😔 sorrow over our sins and be grieved mourning that we went astray, that is, away from the right path and direction. We should find ourselves to be downcast within our souls with deep sadness over our unfaithfulness to our Triune God who loves us so much and so deeply, that we should always and at all times want to be wrapped up in His love 😍, just as Moses declared to the people of Israel with these words (so are we God's chosen children 🧒 who have a Father in Heaven who always wants us close to Him for His satisfaction and for our safety), "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt." (Deuteronomy 7:6-8)(NKJV). Just like He brought the children of Israel out of their enslavement to the Nation of Egypt, He has redeemed us, regenerated us, and resurrected us from our spiritual death and brought us out of our bondage or enslavement to sin, therefore, when we go back to Egypt we greatly grieve Him and in turn we should be greatly grieved that we have hurt or Heavenly Father. Amen!!!

Here is what Albert Barnes had to say of James 4:9, "That is, evidently, on account of your sins. The sins to which the Apostle refers are those which he had specified in the previous part of the Chapter, and which he had spoken of as so evil in their nature, and so dangerous in their tendency. The word rendered 'be afflicted' means, properly, to endure toil or hardship; then to endure affliction or distress; and here means, that they were to afflict themselves - that is, they were to feel distressed and sad on account of their transgressions. Compare Ezra 8:21. The other words in this clause are those which are expressive of deep grief or sorrow. The language here used shows that the Apostle supposed that it was possible that those who had done wrong should voluntarily feel sorrow for it, and that, therefore, it was proper to call upon them to do it. (All who feel true sorrow for sin, do so voluntarily; but it is not intended by this assertion to insinuate that repentance is not the work of the Spirit. He operates on men without destroying their freedom, or doing violence to their will: 'in the day of His power they are willing'. Nor is it improper to call on men to do that for which they require the Spirit’s aid. That aid is not withheld in the hour of need; and everywhere the Bible commands sinners to believe and repent.) It would seem that the persons referred to, instead of suitable sorrow and humiliation on account of sin, gave themselves to joyousness, mirth, and revelry. See a similar instance in Isaiah 22:12-13. It is often the case, that those for whom the deep sorrows of repentance would be peculiarly appropriate, give themselves to mirth and vanity. The Apostle here says that such mirth did not become them. Sorrow, deep and unfeigned, was appropriate on account of their sins, and the sound of laughter and of revelry should be changed to notes of lamentation. To how many of the assemblies of the vain, the gay, and the dissipated, might the exhortation in this passage with propriety be now addressed! The word here rendered heaviness occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means dejection, sorrow. It is not gloom, melancholy, or moroseness, but it is sorrow on account of sin. God has so made us that we should feel sorrow when we are conscious that we have done wrong, and it is appropriate that we should do so."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…