James 1:9 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Let the brother St. James does not give this appellation to the rich; of low degree Poor and tempted, or brought low by his sufferings for Christ, and humbled in spirit thereby; rejoice that he is exalted To be a child of God, and an heir of eternal glory; let him think of his dignity as a Christian, and entirely acquiesce in his low station in life, which will continue only for a short season, and which God has wisely appointed for his eternal good. Or, let him rejoice that he is thought worthy to be called to suffer for Christ, Acts 5:41; Philippians 1:29. But the rich Let the rich rejoice in that he is made low Is humbled by a deep sense of his true condition, and brought to have low thoughts of all worldly excellences, and to be prepared for sufferings. The Greek is, εν τη ταπεινωσει αυτου, in his humiliation, as the word is rendered Acts 8:33; where it is used to express the humiliation of Christ by his various sufferings. And as it is here opposed to υψει, exaltation, in the preceding verse, it may signify the humiliation of the rich man, by his being stripped of his riches and possessions, of his liberty, and his being made liable to lose his life on account of the gospel. Here, therefore, the apostle advises the rich to glory when they lose the uncertain riches of this life, and are exposed to other sufferings, for the sake of truth and a good conscience, with the favour and approbation of God. For the sun, &c. Literally, For the sun arose with a burning heat, and withered the grass, and the flower fell off, and the beauty of its form perished. There is an unspeakable beauty and elegance, both in the comparison itself and the very manner of expressing it; intimating both the certainly and the suddenness of the event. So shall the rich man fade away in his ways In the midst of his various pleasures and enjoyments.