Matthew Poole and continuators on James 2:1

1 MY brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of glory , with respect of persons .

Profess not your selves, and regard not, or esteem not in others.

i. e. Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; not the author but the object of Faith is meant, as Gal. 2.20. and 3.22. Phil. 3.9.

Lord not being in the Gr. Glory, may be joined with Faith (admitting only a trajection in the Words so frequent in the Sacred Writers) and then the words will run thus, the Faith of the glory of our Lord Iesus Christ, i. e. the Faith of his being glorified, which by a Synecdoche may be put for the whole work of Redemption wrought by him, which was compleated by his Glorification, as the last part of it; or, by an Hebraism, the Faith of the Glory, may be for the glorious Faith: But the plainest way of reading the Words is (as our Translators do) by supplying the word Lord ▪ just before mentioned, Lord of Glory (Christ being elsewhere so called, 1 Cor. 2.8.) i. e. the glorious Lord, as the Father is called the Father of Glory, Eph. 1.17. i. e. the glorious Father; and then it may be an argument to second what the Apostle is speaking of Christ being the Lord of Glory; a relation to him by Faith, puts an honour upon Believers, though poor and despicable in the World; and therefore they are not to be contemned.

The word rendred Person, signifies the Face or Countenance, and synecdochically the whole Person; and by consequence all those parts or qualities we take notice of in the Person. To respect a Person is sometimes taken in a good sense, Gen. 19.21. and 1 Sam. 25.35. Mostly in an evil, when either the person is opposed to the cause, we give more or less to a Man upon the account of something we see in him which is altogether foreign to his cause, Lev. 19.15, or when we accept one with injury to, or contempt of another. To have then the Faith of Christ with respect of Persons, is to esteem the Professors of Religion, not for their faith, or relation to Christ, but according to their Worldly condition, their being great, or mean, rich or poor; this the Apostle taxeth in the Hebrews to whom he wrote, that whereas in the things of God, all Believer's are equal, they respected the greater and richer sort of Profes[illegible: 1 letter]ors, because great or rich; so as to despite those that were poor or low. The Gr. hath the Word Plurally, respects, which may intimate the several ways of respecting persons in Judgment or out of Judgment. This doth not exclude the civil respect we owe to Magistrates and Superiours upon the account of their Places or Gift[illegible: 1 letter], but only a respecting Men in the things of Religion upon such accounts as are extrinsical to Religion; or, with prejudice to others as considerable in Religion as themselves, though inferiour to them in the World.

Marginal references: Lev. 19.15. Deut. 1.17. and 16.19. Prov. 24.23. Matth. 22.16. Ver. 9.