Albert Barnes Commentary James 4:6

"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore [the scripture] saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble." — James 4:6 (ASV)

But he giveth more grace. The reference here is undoubtedly to God. Some have regarded this clause as a continuation of the quotation in the previous verse, but it is rather to be considered a declaration of the apostle himself. The writer had just spoken of envy and of the crimes that grew out of it. He thought of the wars and commotions of the earth, and of the various lusts that reigned among men. In contemplating these things, it seems to have suddenly occurred to him that not all were under their influence; that there were cases where men were restrained, and where a spirit opposite to these things prevailed.

Another passage of Scripture struck his mind, containing the truth that there was a class of men to whom God gave grace to restrain these passions and subdue these carnal propensities. They were the humble, in contrast to the proud. He states the fact that God giveth more grace; that is, in some instances, God confers more grace than in the cases referred to. To some, He gives more grace to overcome their evil passions and subdue their corrupt inclinations than He does to others. The meaning may be expressed this way: "It is true that the natural spirit in man tends to envy, thus leading to all the sad consequences of envy. But there are instances where higher grace or favor is conferred, where these feelings are subdued, and these consequences are prevented. These are not found among the proud, whom God always resists, but among the meek and the humble. Therefore, submit yourselves to His arrangements; resist the devil; draw near to God; purify yourselves, and weep over your past offenses, and you will find that the Lord will lift you up and bestow His favor upon you" (James 4:10).

Wherefore he saith. The reference here is to Proverbs 3:34: Surely he scorneth the scorners; but he giveth grace unto the lowly. The quotation is made exactly from the Septuagint, which, though not entirely literal, expresses the sense of the Hebrew without essential inaccuracy. This passage is also quoted in 1 Peter 5:5.

God resisteth the proud. The proud are those who have an inordinate self-esteem, a high and unreasonable conceit of their own excellence or importance. This pride may extend to anything: beauty, strength, attainments, family, country, possessions, rank, or even religion. A man may be proud of anything that belongs to him or can in any way be construed as part of himself or as pertaining to him.

This does not, of course, apply to a correct estimate of ourselves or to the mere knowledge that we may excel others. One may know that he has more strength, higher attainments in learning or the mechanic arts, or greater wealth than others, and yet properly have no pride in the case. He has only a correct estimate of himself and attaches no undue importance to himself on account of it. His heart is not lifted up; he claims no undue deference to himself; he concedes to all others what is their due. He is humble before God, feeling that all he has and is amounts to nothing in His sight; he is willing to occupy his appropriate place in the sight of God and men and to be esteemed just as he is. Pride goes beyond this, giving a man a degree of self-estimation not warranted by anything he possesses. God looks at things as they are and therefore abhors and humbles this arrogant claim (Leviticus 26:19; Job 33:17; Psalms 59:12; Proverbs 8:13; Proverbs 16:18; Proverbs 29:13; Isaiah 23:9; Isaiah 28:1; Daniel 4:37; Zechariah 10:11).

He shows this resistance to pride not only in the explicit declarations of His word but also in the arrangements of His providence and grace:

1. In His providence: in the reverses and disappointments that occur; in the necessity of abandoning the splendid mansion we had built, or in disappointing us in some favorite plan by which our pride was to be nurtured and gratified.
2. In sickness: taking away the beauty and strength on which we had so much valued ourselves, and bringing us to the sad condition of a sickbed.
3. In the grave: bringing us down to corruption and worms. Why should one be proud who will soon become so offensive to his best friends that they will gladly hide him in the grave?
4. In the plan of salvation, He opposes our pride. Not a feature of that plan is fitted to foster pride, but all is adapted to make us humble:
   1. The necessity for the plan—that we are guilty and helpless sinners.
   2. The selection of a Savior—One who was so poor, so despised by the world, and put to death on a cross.
   3. Our entire dependence on Him for salvation, with the assurance that we have no merit of our own and that salvation is all of grace.
   4. The fact that we are brought to embrace it only by the agency of the Holy Spirit, and that if left to ourselves we would never have one right thought or holy desire—all this is fitted to humble us and bring us low before God. God has done nothing to foster the self-estimation of the human heart, but how much has He done to stain the pride of all glory! (Compare to Isaiah 23:9, and see Barnes on Isaiah 23:9).

But giveth grace unto the humble. The meaning is that He shows them favor; He bestows upon them the grace needful to secure their salvation. This He does for these reasons:

1. Because they feel their need of His favor.
2. Because they will welcome His teaching and value His friendship.
3. Because all the arrangements of His grace are adapted only to such a state of mind. You cannot teach one who is so wise that he already supposes he knows enough; you cannot bestow grace on one who has no sense of the need of it. The arrangements of salvation are adapted only to a humble heart.