James 1:2

James 1:2. My brethren: the constant form of address in this Epistle; his readers were his brethren, both on account of their nationality and of their Christian faith; both in the flesh and in the Lord.

count it all joy, that is, complete or pure joy a joy which excludes trouble and sorrow. Some suppose a reference here to the greeting of James, wherein he wishes his readers joy.

when ye fall into, when ye become unexpectedly surrounded or encompassed by. The idea of surprise is here to be taken into account Trials are not to be sought for or rushed into; believers fall into them.

divers temptations. The adjective ‘divers' does not indicate the different sources from which the temptations proceed, but rather the different forms which they assume. Temptations are generally regarded in two points of view enticements to sin, and trials or tests of character; here it is evident that they are chiefly regarded in the latter point of view, though the former is not excluded (see note to James 1:13). They are outward trials as contrasted with inward temptations to evil. St. James may primarily allude to those trials to which, in the form of persecution, the Jewish Christians were exposed from their unbelieving countrymen; but the epithet ‘divers' would appear to include temptations or trials of all kinds. It is not the mere falling into trials that is the cause of joy; but the beneficial effects which result from them, as is evident from the verse which follows.