James 4:1 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

JAMES CHAPTER 4 James 4:1-6 Our evil lusts and passions tend to breed quarrels among ourselves, and to set us at enmity with God. James 4:7-10 The way to overcome them, and recover God's favour. James 4:11,12 Against detraction and censoriousness. James 4:13-17 We must not presume on the future, but commit ourselves to God's providence. Wars and fightings; either it may be understood properly of insurrections, and tumults, in which, possibly, some carnal professors might be engaged; or rather, strife and contention about outward things, wranglings among themselves, and going to law, especially before unbelieving judges, 1 Corinthians 6:1. Your lusts; Greek, pleasures, i.e. those lusts whereof pleasure is the end, which is therefore put for the lusts themselves: he means the over eager desire of riches, worldly greatness, carnal delights, Titus 3:3, where lusts and pleasures go together. That war; oppose and tumultuate against reason, conscience, grace, Romans 7:23 1 Peter 2:11. In your members; not only the members of the body, but faculties of the soul, exercised by them; all the parts of man unrenewed, Colossians 3:5, which are used as weapons of unrighteousness, Romans 6:13.