The Judge Before the Door
James 5:9
Grudge not one against another, brothers, lest you be condemned: behold, the judge stands before the door.


This explains why conscience is always gloomy after sin; it is because He who is the eternal righteousness casts His shadow across the threshold of the soul. In some Eastern houses there are no windows, the doorway serving for lighting as well as for passage. A party of us lunching by invitation in a Druze house in the Lebanons had to drive away the curious villagers who looked in at us through the door, the only opening, because they made it so dark that we could not see the food. God fills the whole light-way of the soul when He looks in at us, and unless He shines on us with the light of His countenance, His stern righteousness makes the soul all dark within.

(J. M. Ludlow, D. D.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

WEB: Don't grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won't be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.




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