Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of James 5:1
Go to now, [ye] rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon [you.]
Ch. Jas 5:1-6. Warnings for the Rich
1. Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl ] The words are nearly the same as those we have met with before in ch. Jas 4:9, but there is in them less of the call to repentance, and more of the ring of prophetic denunciation. The word for “howl,” not found elsewhere in the New Testament, is found in three consecutive chapters of Isaiah (Isa 13:6, Isa 14:31, Isa 15:3), which may well have been present to St James’ thoughts.
for your miseries that shall come upon you ] Literally, that are coming upon you, in the very act to come. The context points to these as consisting not merely in the cares and anxieties that come in the common course of things upon the rich, but in the special troubles that were to usher in the advent of the Judge. Historically, the words had their primary fulfilment in the woes that preceded the destruction of Jerusalem, but these were but the first in the series of “springing and germinant accomplishments” which will attain their completeness before the final Advent.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Go to now – Notes, Jam 4:13.
Ye rich men – Not all rich men, but only that class of them who are specified as unjust and oppressive. There is no sin in merely being rich; where sin exists peculiarly among the rich, it arises from the manner in which wealth is acquired, the spirit which it tends to engender in the heart, and the way in which it is used. Compare the Luk 6:24 note; 1Ti 6:9 note.
Weep and howl – Greek: Weep howling. This would be expressive of very deep distress. The language is intensive in a high degree, showing that the calamities which were coming upon them were not only such as would produce tears, but tears accompanied with loud lamentations. In the East, it is customary to give expression to deep sorrow by loud outcries. Compare Isa 13:6; Isa 14:31; Isa 15:2; Isa 16:7; Jer 4:8; Jer 47:2; Joe 1:5.
For your miseries that shall come upon you – Many expositors, as Benson, Whitby, Macknight, and others, suppose that this refers to the approaching destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and to the miseries which would be brought in the siege upon the Jewish people, in which the rich would be the peculiar objects of cupidity and vengeance. They refer to passages in Josephus, which describe particularly the sufferings to which the rich were exposed; the searching of their houses by the zealots, and the heavy calamities which came upon them and their families. But there is no reason to suppose that the apostle referred particularly to those events. The poor as well as the rich suffered in that siege, and there were no such special judgments then brought upon the rich as to show that they were the marked objects of the divine displeasure. It is much more natural to suppose that the apostle means to say that such men as he here refers to exposed themselves always to the wrath of God, and that they had great reason to weep in the anticipation of his vengeance. The sentiments here expressed by the apostle are not applicable merely to the Jews of his time. If there is any class of men which has special reason to dread the wrath of God at all times, it is just the class of men here referred to.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jam 5:1-6
Ye rich men, weep and howl
The miseries coming upon the rich
I.
THE COMING OF JUDGMENT. Weep and howl–weep, and do it in this open, violent manner, with loud, bitter cries of distress–do it wailing, shrieking, howling as was, and still is, so customary among the Orientals in times of mourning. Lament thus for, or over, the miseries that shall come upon you–more exactly and impressively, which are coming on, are already even now impending. These miseries were not simply those which in all circumstances the love and abuse of money entail, but specially, and in addition to them, the temporal judgments which were about to visit the guilty parties in this instance. They were to be the peculiar objects of vengeance; their treasures were to be rifled, their possessions wrenched from them, and stripped bare, they were to be subjected to hardships, all the heavier because of the pleasures once enjoyed and the losses thus sustained.
II. THE COMMENCEMENT OF JUDGMENT. Your riches are corrupted either their possessions of all kinds, these being afterwards spoken of in detail, or, as distinguished from what follows, those hoarded stores of grain, fruits, and other provisions, in which the wealth of Orientals largely consisted. To the latter the term corrupted could most properly be applied. They were rotting, perishing. Your garments are moth-eaten. In eastern countries one of the most valuable possessions was a stock of costly clothing, a number of dresses, wardrobes filled with a great variety of articles of apparel. They were moth-eaten–a way in which articles of dress, when long kept and little used, are often wasted, destroyed. Your gold and silver is cankered–rusted, corroded. The original word implies that it is so not partially, but entirely–as it were through and through its whole substance. This does not take place in regard to silver and gold as it does to iron and steel; but they are spoken of as undergoing the change to which metals generally are subject; and there is that which corresponds to it n their case, for they get discoloured, blackened, tarnished, wasted, corrupted-looking. And the rust of them shall be a witness against you–literally, shall be for a testimony to you–and shall eat your flesh asit were fire. In the moth-eaten garments, the cankered silver and gold, their sin no doubt appeared, but appeared in the judgments which had followed it, for in that process of destruction which had commenced there was the avenging hand of God visible. This is the prominent thing–the punishment already begun. The very objects on which they prided themselves, which they made an idol of, were smitten; and n every hole of the cloth, every spot on the money, there was a sign of the consumption that was coming on themselves, of the destruction that was impending over them, the servants of the mammon of unrighteousness. There was a testimony in their wasted, blackened stores–a testimony borne to the worm that dieth not, and the fire that cannot be quenched. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Treasure has been understood here in the figurative sense of a store of wrath, vengeance to be opened and emptied at the time mentioned. But it is obviously to be taken literally, and as referring to their material riches as detailed in the preceding verses. The last days are those introducing and issuing in the season of judgment which was approaching–the last days of the Jewish Church and nation, and, in many cases of the individual persons themselves; for what multitudes were then to perish by the sword, by famine, by disease, by captivity? They had gathered wealth for a season like this, when they could not enjoy it, could not retain it–when it was to become the prey of the rapacious invaders, or of the more needy and desperate of their own countrymen. But the literal translation of the original is in the last days–they had heaped treasure together, not for, but in the period thusdesignated. These days were already upon them–the days were begun, and hastening to their terrible close; and it was at a season like that, one fitter far for repentance and reformation, one calling them to break off their sins by righteousness, to prepare for impending judgment by turning to the Lord–one specially imposing on them the obligation to lay up treasure, not on earth but in heaven, where no moth or rust can corrupt, and where no thieves can break through and steal–it was then that they devoted their efforts to the gathering of riches, the storing of fruits, garments, and the precious metals. Here was the deepest guilt, here the most reckless, unprincipled infatuation.
III. THE CAUSES OF JUDGMENT.
1. Injustice. The wages of the workman should be paid honestly and punctually. To withhold it is a flagrant wrong, and such a wrong was committed by the rich men whose conduct the apostle is here denouncing. They kept it back by fraud. And in various ways may such fraud be perpetrated. The master may not pay at all the stipulated and earned wages. He may receive the service without remunerating the servant. Or he may make unjust deductions from the amount which has been agreed on. He may take advantage of his position and power, and on certain pretexts give less than was bargained for by the other party. And what is still more common, he may beat down the price of labour, and pay for it most inadequately. He may turn to account the competition which prevails and the necessities of the poor, so as to get work done for greatly less than its proper value. This hire, dishonestly retained, is represented by James as crying. Yes, from the coffers where it was treasured up, a loud, piercing call for vengeance rose to high heaven. Often, often, the oppressed are not listened to on earth, however just their claim and urgent their pleading. But they are heard in heaven. Here their cries are said to have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. He was able to vindicate the cause of the defrauded reapers who groaned and supplicated. He could call to account, and overwhelm with destruction, those who trampled on their dependents, and set all human law and right at defiance.
2. Luxury. Ye have lived in pleasure–that is, in a self-indulgent, sumptuous, effeminate manner. In the qualification, on the earth, there is an implied contrast with another region, where vengeance was stored up, and their portion was to be one of want and misery. And been wanton. This word conveys to us the idea of lewdness, lustfulness; but what is intended here is luxuriousness, voluptuousness. It does not necessarily involve indulgence in gross excesses, in coarse and degrading impurities. It intimates that the persons were devoted to earthly enjoyments, and regardless of expense in procuring them, for the term is expressive of extravagance, wastefulness. Ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. They have satiated, pampered their hearts, for there were seated the tastes and appetites which they gratified; there the craving for, and the sense of satisfaction, repletion, as they fed and dressed, fattened and adorned their bodies. And they had been doing this as in, or simply, in a day of slaughter. They were on the brink of destruction. God was about to draw His glittering sword and smite them in His anger. And yet in these circumstances they disregarded all warnings and signs; they revelled and wantoned as if they were perfectly secure. They were sunk in brutish insensibility. It was thus with the antediluvians: for they did eat and drink, they were married and given in marriage, until the flood came and took them all away.
3. Violence–violence going the length even of blood, of murder. Stephen was the first of a band of early martyrs whom the Jews, in the malignant unbelief, had put to death for their adherence to the gospel. The holiness, the righteousness of these victims of fanatical fury, instead of saving them, had excited the rage and drawn down the vengeance of their adversaries. And he doth not resist you–not only or chiefly because of a want of power, but because of the meekness of his character, his patience, endurance, long-suffering. He submits to your murderous violence. He commits his cause to God, and allows you to do your utmost, striving to exhibit the spirit of his crucified Master. And this made their guilt the greater. Their cruelty was the less excusable. It had no provocation. (John Adam.)
Avaricious rich men
It is not to rich men, simply as such, that James addresses himself. There was no sin in being rich. It is to the description of rich men whose characters he proceeds to portray, that he speaks–unprincipled, selfish, ungodly, wicked rich men. Weep and howl. Tears are the natural indication of grief: howling, or loud lamentation, of overwhelming distress. They had reason for both in the miseries that were coming upon them. They would be the chief objects of the plundering rapacity of the besieging foe; and, while the sword would be upon them for their riches sake–even to those of them who fell not a prey themselves, the very loss of all their accumulated stores, gathered with so much pains and care, would itself be one of their miseries from which the poorer would be exempt. True it is, however, with regard to all rich men of the same character, that miseries are coming upon them. What, then, is the character? Verses 2, 3. The word riches need not be confined to the precious metals alone: the silver and the gold are separately mentioned. Eastern riches consisted frequently, not in these alone, but also in stores of corn, and wine, and oil; and here, as in other places, garments–wardrobes of various descriptions of clothing, are mentioned, as forming part of such wealth. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten, is a part of the charge brought against them: the charge of avaricious selfishness–that, instead of giving away, they kept all to themselves; allowing what might have been distributed for the benefit of others, rather than part with it, to go to waste in their own stores; and allowing the moths to consume what might have clothed and comforted the naked. Had they given away as they ought to have done, their riches would not have been corrupted. That their riches were corrupted and their garments moth-eaten was thus their crime rather than their punishment–though as a part of their punishment–the effects of their selfish hoarding–it might also be regarded. The last days are susceptible of twointerpretations: of the time of Jerusalems destruction and the final overthrow of the Jewish economy; or of the end of the world. I do not think it at all unlikely that the apostle had both in his eye; on the same principle on which our Lord Himself appears to pass from the former to the latter–from the nearer to the more distant–in His remarkable address to His disciples in the twenty-fourth chapter of the Gospel by Matthew. In the sack and pillage of Jerusalem, how vain would all the pains appear which they had bestowed on the heaping together of their treasures. And in the great day of final reckoning they should find that, in having amassed for self, instead of having distributed for God and for fellow-men, they had only been heaping up evidence for their own crimination at the bar of Divine judgment. How different the case with those who, in the early days of the Christian Church, used their wealth as the inspired history describes: when they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, as every man had need; and distribution was made to all as need required. They had acted in conformity with the Lords own directions (Mt Luk 12:33). Of that treasure there would in the last days be no loss, nor any bitter lamentation over it. No enemy could touch it. And in the day of the Lord–the day of final account–it would tell in their favour as the evidence of the genuineness of their faith and love. The wealth of those addressed by James was not only selfishly hoarded, it was obtained by criminal oppression and cruelty (verse 4). This keeping back by fraud–under false and unworthy pretexts–of the reapers wages, to which they were rightfully entitled, was a fearful violation to explicit Divine precepts (see Lev 19:13; Deu 24:14-15). And it cried–cried against the unrighteous oppressor; cried to God; cried for just retribution; cried–in the same sense in which God said to Cain–The voice of thy brothers blood crieth unto Me from the ground. And, as God heard the voice of the blood of a murdered brother, so did He hear that of the hire of the defrauded labourers. Let Christians avoid even the remotest approach to such oppression. They ought to be examples of righteousness and love as the children of a just and merciful God. We have next, the manner in which they laid out their riches. We have seen how they were made: we learn now how they were used (verse 5). The verse expresses the extreme of self-indulgence; the gratification of every sensual desire. Like the infatuated king of Israel, in the days of his vanity, whatsoever their eyes desired they withheld not from them; they restrained not their hearts from any joy. The clause–ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter, is by many understood to mean their pampering themselves as in a day of killing for social festivity. But the meaning seems rather to be that they were pampering themselves as beasts were fed and fattened for a day of slaughter. They were preparing themselves for the knife. While thus feeding themselves without fear, they were only fitting themselves for final destruction. Their joy would be turned to sorrow; their mirth to heaviness. And, in addition to all this, while at the same time in full consistency with it, they were persecutors. Ye have condemned and killed the just (verse 6). This by some interpreted as having reference to Christ Himself: the just being in the singular number–the just or the just one. And without doubt this is one of His distinguishing designations. But, on the other hand, He doth not resist you is in the present time; and agrees better, consequently, with a charge of present persecution unto death, than with one relating to a deed so long past. This, therefore, favours the interpretation which makes it refer to the persecution of Christs followers, who resembled Him in character; of which we have so beautiful an exemplification in the case of the first martyr, Stephen. That there were persecutors still troubling the Church is evident from the admonitions to patience under such troubles, which immediately follow (verses 7, 8). Let us conclude with one or two reflections.
1. Surely the poorest Christian has no reason to envy the wealthy but wicked man of the world; no, even though he were to suffer, and suffer unto death, at his hands. The poorest Christian is rich in faith, and an heir of the kingdom which God hath provided for them that love Him. He has God Himself for his portion–a portion infinite in preciousness and fulness of blessing, and unfailing and everlasting in duration. Let him cherish godliness with contentment, and he is a happy man–happy in enjoyment, and happier in hope.
2. There may be rich men whose wealth has been acquired by honest means–who have been chargeable with no extortion; and who, in the use oftheir wealth, have not at all rioted in sensuality and libertinism, or abused the superiority which it imparted in evil-entreating and persecuting the godly. Let not such, on this account, sit at ease and flatter themselves with safety. Your riches may be a snare to you, notwithstanding. You may trust in your wealth. It may take away your heart.
3. Let Christians, whom Providence, in whatever measure, has favoured with this worlds wealth, remember the true use of riches. Bear in mind that in bestowing wealth upon you the universal Proprietor alienates nothing from Himself. Of the gold and the silver which He puts into your coffers He continues to say, just as He does of all yet in the bowels of the earth–The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine. And His command is, Honour the Lord with thy substance, and–not with the paltry remnants after all thine own selfish cravings have been fully satiated, but–with the first-fruits of all thine increase. (R. Wardlaw, D. D.)
The curse of wealth
A full purse, with a lean soul, is a great curse. (Bunyan.)
The gold poison
Gold is the worst poison to mens souls. (Shakespeare.)
God help the rich
God help the rich, the poor can help themselves.
Gold bought too dearly
Men may buy gold too dear.
Wealth disappointing
Very few men acquire wealth in such a manner as to receive pleasure from it. Just as long as there is the enthusiasm of the chase they enjoy it; but when they begin to look around, and think of settling down, they find that that part by which joy enters is dead in them. They have spent their lives in heaping up colossal piles of treasure, which stand at the end like the pyramids in the desert sands holding only the dust of kings. (H. W. Beecher.)
Too much and too little
He that hath too little wants feathers to fly withal; he that hath too much is cumbered with too large a tail. (Owen Feltham.)
The wounds of evil wealth
It were no bad comparison to liken mere rich men to camels and mules; for they often pursue their devious way over hills and mountains, laden with India purple, with gems, aromas, and generous wines upon their backs, attended, too, by a long line of servants as a safeguard on their way. Soon, however, they come to their evening halting-place, and forthwith their precious burdens are taken from their backs; and they, now wearied and stripped of their lading and their retinue of slaves, show nothing but livid marks of stripes. So, also, those who glitter in gold and purple raiment, when the evening of life comes rushing on them, have nought to show but marks and wounds of sin impressed upon them by the evil use of riches. (St. Augustine.)
Excessive wealth ruinous
Gotthold saw a bee flutter for a while around a pot of honey, and at last light upon it, intending to feast to its hearts content. It, however, fell in, and, being besmeared in every limb, miserably perished. On this he mused, and said, It is the same with temporal prosperity, and that abundance of wealth, honour, and pleasure, which are sought for by the world as greedily as honey is by the bee. A bee is a happy creature so long as it is assiduously occupied in gathering honey from the flowers, and by slow degrees accumulating a store of it. When, however, it meets with hoard like this, it knows not what to do, and is betrayed into ruin. (New Cyclo. of Illustrations.)
Unsatisfactory riches
Worldly riches are like nuts: many clothes are torn in getting them, many a tooth broke in cracking them; but never a belly filled with eating them. (J. Venning.)
Wealth too dearly bought
A ship bearing a hundred emigrants has been driven from her course, and wrecked on a desert island far from the tracks of man. There is no way of escape; but there are means of subsistence. An ocean, unvisited by ordinary voyagers, circles round their prison; but they have seed, with a rich soil to receive, and a genial climate to ripen it. Ere any plan has been laid, or any operations begun, an exploring-party returns to headquarters, reporting the discovery of a gold mine. Thither instantly the whole party resort to dig. They labour successfully day by day and month after month. They acquire and accumulate large heaps of gold. But spring is past, and not a field has been cleared, nor a grain of seed committed to the ground. The summer comes, and their wealth increases; but the store of food is small. In harvest they begin to discover that their heaps of gold are worthless. When famine star, s them in the face a suspicion shoots across their fainting hearts that the gold has cheated them. They rush to the woods, fell the trees, dig the roots, till the ground, sow the seed. It is too late! Winter has come; and their seed rots in the ground. They die of want in the midst of their treasures. This earth is the little isle, eternity the ocean round it; on this shore we have been cast. There is a living seed, but gold mines attract us. We spend spring and summer there; winter overtakes us toiling there, destitute of the bread of life, forgetting that we ought to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto us. (W. Armlet, D.D.)
Wealth seasoned by alms
The pious Jews believed that as salt seasoned food so did alms riches, and that he who did not give alms of what he had his riches should be dispersed. The moth would corrupt the bags, and the canker corrode the money, unless the mass was sanctified by giving a part to the poor.
Ruined by riches
Do not be over-anxious about riches. Get as much of true wisdom and goodness as you can; but be satisfied with a moderate portion of this worlds good. Riches may prove a curse as well as a blessing. I was walking through an orchard, looking about me, when I saw a low tree laden more heavily with fruit than the rest. On a nearer examination it appeared that the tree had been dragged to the very earth and broken by the weight of its treasures. Oh! said I, gazing on the tree, here lies one who has been ruined by his riches. In another part of my walk I came up with a shepherd who was lamenting the loss of a sheep that lay mangled and dead at his feet. On inquiry about the matter he told me that a strange dog had attacked the flock, that the rest of the sheep had got away through a hole in the hedge, but that the ram now dead had more wool on his back than the rest, and the thorns of the hedge held him fast till the dog had worried him. Here is another, said I, ruined by his riches. At the close of my ramble I met a man hobbling along on two wooden legs, leaning on two sticks. Tell me, said I, my poor fellow, how you came to lose your legs? Why, sir, said he, in my younger days I was a soldier. With a few comrades I attacked a party of the enemy and overcame them, and we began to load ourselves with spoil. My comrades were satisfied with little, but I burdened myself with as much as I could carry. We were pursued; my companions escaped, but I was overtaken and so cruelly wounded that I only saved my life afterwards by losing my legs. It was a bad affair, sir; but it is too late to repent of it now. Ah, friend, thought I, like the fruit tree, and the mangled sheep, you may date your downfall to your possessions. It was your riches that ruined you. When I see so many rich people as I do, caring so much for their bodies and so little for their souls, I pity them from the bottom of my heart, and sometimes think there are as many ruined by riches as by poverty. (Old Humphrey.)
Riches eating the flesh
Some strong poison is made of the rust of metals; none worse than that of money. (J. Trapp.)
Money an opportunity
Money, both inherited and accumulated, is a great talent or opportunity. Nothing astonishes me more than the fact that so many rich men utterly fail to realise what an opportunity wealth gives them. They go on heaping up useless wealth with which to curse their children. As though the mere accumulation of money was, in itself, a great gain! As though heaps of gold could protect them against all the ills to which flesh is heir! I am very glad that one millionaire–Mr. Carnegie, of Pennsylvania–realises that the best thing he can do with his money is to get rid of it, and that the worst thing possible would be to pile it upon the hapless head of his children. There seems to be, in some respects, even less public spirit among the wealthy men of our own time than distinguished the heathen patricians of old Rome. They delighted to spend their wealth in dignifying and adorning their great city. It is exceedingly strange to me that the immensely wealthy citizens of London do not use their millions to purify and to beautify this great capital. It is even more astonishing that those who profess and call themselves Christians, toil on and slave on, adding money-bag to money-bag, instead of using this mighty instrument to facilitate and encourage the evangelisation of mankind. Nearly every Christian and humanitarian organisation is crippled for want of more adequate resources. One of the greatest evils of the time is the miserliness of the wealthy. They are preparing for their children an awful retribution. The bitter and almost implacable hatred of the wealthy, which is the most dangerous social symptom of modern Europe, is the direct result of the awful way in which the wealthy have neglected to use their wealth for the public good. They are busily heaping up wealth, but they are also heaping up wrath against the day of wrath. They seem to have forgotten that wealth is a talent, an opportunity, a glorious opportunity, of serving God by serving men.
The troubles of the rich
Mr. Jay Gould, the American millionaire, thus confided his woes to a reporter: I am kept on the drive now from early in the morning till late at night, without any let up, day in and day out. The money Ive made has enslaved me. With financial success, cares, and responsibilities, and trials outnumbered go close together; and there is no escaping the embarrassments and troubles. A rich man ought to be judged pretty generously. He has a good deal more to contend with than people who are not rich generally suppose. Food and clothes and a place to sleep, thats all a man gets in this world, and I dont care how rich he is. The boy on the farm, the man who isnt driven to death to look after property that is in his name, they are the happiest–or ought to be.
Your riches are corrupted
Sordid sparing
1. Sordid sparing is a sure sign of a worldly heart. God gave us wealth, not that we should be hoarders, but dispensers. Seneca calleth covetous men chests. We think them men, and they are but coffers; who would envy a trunk well stored? Well, then, beware of withholding more than is meet Pro 11:24), of a delight in hoarding; it is a sure note that the world has too much of your heart.
2. Keeping things from public use till they be corrupted or spoiled is sordid sparing. When you lay them not out upon God, or others, or yourself, you are justly culpable. The inhabitants of Constantinople would afford no money to the Emperor Constantinus Palaeologus when he begged from door to door for a supply for the soldiers; but what was the issue? the barbarous enemy won the city and got all. The like story there is of Musteatzem, the covetous caliph of Babylon, who was such an idolater of his wealth and treasures that he would not dispend anything for the necessary defence of his city, whereupon it was taken, and the caliph famished to death, and his mouth, by Haalon, the Tartatian conqueror, filled with melted gold.
3. Covetousness bringeth Gods curse upon our estates. He sendeth corruption, and the rust, and the moth. There is nothing gotten by tenacity, by greedy getting, or close withholding. Not by greedy getting; when men will snatch an estate out of the hands of Providence, no wonder if God snatch it away again; ill gains are equivalent to losses (Mic 6:10). Not by undue withholding; it draweth mans curse and Gods too upon us Pro 11:26). God can easily corrupt that which we will not bestow, and cause a worm to breed in manna. Certainly there is a withholding that tendeth to poverty (Pro 11:24).
4. There is corruption and decay upon the face of all created glory, Riches corrupted, garments moth-eaten, gold and silver cankered. It is madness to set up our rest in perishing things, Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not (Pro 23:5)? It is not only against grace, but reason; confidence should have a sure and stable ground. Well, then, take Christs advice (Mat 6:19-20).
5. From the diversity of the terms–moth, corruption, canker, note that God hath several ways wherewith to blast our carnal comforts. Sometimes by the moth, sometimes by the thief, by rust or robbery; they may either rot, or be taken from us. Well, then, let the greater awe be impressed upon your thoughts. (T. Manton.)
The folly of avarice
We have here three kinds of possessions indicated. First, stores of various kinds of goods. These are corrupted, they have become rotten and worthless. Secondly, rich garments, which in the East are often a very considerable portion of a wealthy mans possessions. They have been stored up so jealously and selfishly that insects have preyed upon them and ruined them. And thirdly, precious metals. These have become tarnished and rusted, through not having been put to any rational use. Everywhere their avarice has been not only sin, but folly. It has failed of its sinful object. The unrighteous hoarding has tended not to wealth, but to ruin. And thus the rust of their treasures becomes a testimony against them. In the ruin of their property their own ruin is portrayed; and just as corruption, and the moths, and the rust consume their goods, so shall the fire of Gods judgment consume the owners and abusers of them. They have reserved all this store for their selfish enjoyment, but God has reserved them for His righteous anger. (A. Plummer, D. D.)
Wealth exposed to danger
Strolling along the banks of a pond, Gotthold observed a pike basking in the sun, and so pleased with the sweet soothing rays as to forget itself and the danger to which it was exposed. Thereupon a boy approached, and with a snare formed of a horsehair, and fastened to the end of a rod, which he skilfully cast over his head, pulled it in an instant out of the water. Ah me! said Gotthold with a deep sigh, how evidently do I here behold shadowed forth the danger of my poor soul! When the beams of temporal prosperity play upon us to our hearts content, so grateful are they to corrupt flesh and blood, that, immersed in sordid pleasure, luxury, and security, we lose all sense of spiritual damager, and all thought of eternity. In this state, many are, in fact, suddenly snatched away to the eternal ruin of their souls.
Wealth destructive
When Crates threw his gold into the sea, he cried out, Ego perdam te, ne tu perdas me. That is, I will destroy you, lest you should destroy me. Thus, if the world be not put to death here, it will put us to death hereafter. (T. Secker.)
Your garments are motheaten
Moth-eaten garments
In early days, besides silver and gold, which always and everywhere have been considered wealth, garments were stored up, and were regarded as an evidence of riches. Against these things time has a grudge. They wear out if you use them, and waste more if you do not. If you store them away, mildew and damp searches for them to rot them. If you too incautiously expose them to the cleansing air, you give knowledge of your treasure, excite cupidity, anti draw the thief to your dwelling. And while men covet, and the elements enviously consume your garments and your fabrics, there are insects created, it would seem, expressly to feed upon them. First is the moth miller. It is most fair, silent, harmless. And yet every housewife springs after it with electric haste. It is a dreaded pest–not for what it is, but for what it becomes. It is the mother of moths. And there are ten thousand moral moths just like them–soft, satiny, silent, harmless in themselves; but they lay eggs, and the eggs are not as harmless as the insects. There are sins that have teeth, and there are sins that have children with teeth. Could there, then, have been selected a figure more striking in its analogies than this? Could anything more clearly show to us the power of the sins of neglect? of the sins of indolence and of carelessness? of sins of a soft and gentle presence, that in themselves are not very harmful, but that are the breeders of others that are? of the silent mischiefs of the unused faculties or rooms of the soul, that are not ventilated, nor searched with the broom and the brush? men do well to watch and fight against obvious and sounding sins. They are numerous. They are armed and are desperate. They swarm the ways of life. Not one vice, not one temptation of which the Word of God warns us, is to be lightly esteemed. But these are not our only dangers. Tens of thousands of men perish, not by the lion-like stroke of temptation, but by the insidious bite of the hidden serpent; not with roar and strength, but with subtle poison. More men are moth-eaten than lion eaten in this life; and it behoves us in time to give heed to these dangers of invisible and insidious little enemies. The real strength of man is in his character. Now character is not a massive unit; it is a fabric, rather. It is an artificial whole made up by the interply of ten thousand threads. Every faculty is a spinner, spinning every day its threads, and almost every day threads of a different colour. Myriads and myriads of webbed products proceed from the many active faculties of the human soul, and character is made up by the weaving together of all these innumerable threads of daily life. Its strength is not merely in the strength of some simple unit, but in the strength of numerous elements. There are crimes that, like frost on flowers, in one single night accomplish their work of destruction. There are vices that, like freshets, sweep everything before them. Men may be destroyed in character and reputation, utterly and sudden. But there are other instruments of destruction besides these. We do well to mark them, and to watch against them; but we also do well to remember that a man may be preserved from crimes and from great vices, and yet have his character moth-eaten. Watch against little sins and little faults. First, aside from great vices and crimes, there are the moths of indolence. Indolence may be supposed to be morally wrong; but it is thought to be wrong rather in a negative way than otherwise. No, no! The mischief of water is not that it does not run, but that, not running, it corrupts, and corrupting breeds poisonous miasma, so that they who live in the neighbourhood inhale disease at every breath. The mischief of indolence is, not that it neglects the use of powers and the improvement of the opportunities of life, but that it breeds morbid conditions in every part of the soul. There is health in activity, but there is disease in indolence. There are moths also in things unsuspected. All men agree that a glutton and a drunkard are opprobrious and ignominous. But there are excesses from over-eating on this side of gluttony, and excesses from over-drinking this side of drunkenness. There are moths of appetite. There are many men who eat beyond the necessities of nature. They obscure their minds. There are many who, by taking too much food, twice or thrice a day repeated, keep all their feelings upon an edge, so that they are quick and irritable, or stupid and slow. There are many who, by mere over-eating, take from sleep its refreshment, and from their waking hours their peace, by the gnawing of the worm of appetite. This is a little thing. Your physician does not say much about it. Your parents hardly ever speak of it. It is a thing for every man to consider for himself. But it is a serious fact that two-thirds of the men who live a sedentary life impair their strength by the simple act of injudicious feeding–over-eating. And that which is true of food is still more true of stimuli: not alone of spirituous liquors, with regard to which you are warned abundantly, but also of domestic stimuli. I do not mean to be understood as saying that every man who employs tobacco is moth-eaten; that every man who indulges himself moderately in the use of tea and coffee is injured thereby. I do not mean to go so far as to say that every man who uses unfrequently and in small quantities, wines and liquors, is himself physically injured by them. But I do mean to say, comprehensively–and you know it is true–that in this sphere lie a multitude of mischiefs and of temptations, each of which is minute, but the sum of which is exceedingly dangerous. The carriage of our affections also develops a class of tendencies which are fitly included in this subject. There are many men who never give way to wrath on a great and sounding scale. It is wholesome to be mad thoroughly. It does a man good to subsoil him by stirring him up down to the bottom. I would that men were fretful less and angry more. For it is these little petty moths of perpetual fretfulness, moroseness, sourness; these little fribbles of temper that cut the thread of life–it is these that destroy men, inside and out. We read about some of the passions of which we see traces, but of the nature, and progress, and power of which we scarcely ever form an adequate conviction, either in others or in ourselves. Some of them are such as these: greediness, envy, jealousy. Youth is seldom afflicted with them. They are latent. They lie concealed. There is a sphere in mens lives into which they are accustomed to sweep a whole multitude of petty faults without judging them, without condemning them, and without attempting to correct them. There is a realm of moral moths for almost all of us. We all hold ourselves accountable for major morals, but there is a realm of minor morals where we scarcely suppose ethics to enter. There are thousands and thousands of little untruths, that hum and buzz and sting in society, which are too small to be brushed or driven away. They are in the looks; they are in the inflections and tones of the voice; they are in the actions; they are in reflections rather than in direct images that are presented. They are methods of producing impressions that are false, though every means by which they are produced is strictly true. There are little unfairnesses between man and man, and companion and companion, that are said to be minor matters, and that are small things; there are little unjust judgments and detractions; there are slight indulgences of the appetites; there are petty violations of conscience; there are ten thousand of these plays of the passions in men, which are called foibles or weaknesses, but which eat like moths. They take away the temper, they take away magnanimity and generosity, they take from the soul its enamel and its polish. Men palliate and excuse them, but that has nothing to do with their natural effect upon us. They waste and destroy us, and that, too, in the souls silent and hidden parts. (H. W. Beecher.)
The hire of the labourers
Various ways of oppressing the poor
1. When through greatness you challenge their labours without reward, as the gentry use the peasants of many countries, Woe be to him that useth his neighbour without wages (Jer 22:13), meaning Jehoiakim, who, in his pompous buildings used his subjects labour without hire.
2. When you give them not a proportionate hire, working upon their necessities, for then a great part of their labour is without reward; and it is flat covetousness to exact all your labours (Isa 58:3), when your reward is scanty and short.
3. When by cunning ye defraud them of their reward, either through bad payment or crafty cavils. The Lord saith, I will be a swift witness against those that oppress the hireling in his wages (Mal 3:5). So it is in the text, by fraud kept back. God knoweth what is oppression, though veiled under crafty pretences.
4. When you diminish or change their wages, as it is said of Laban that he changed Jacobs wages ten times (Gen 31:41).
5. When you delay payment. God commanded the Jews to do it before sunset (see Deu 24:14-15; Lev 19:30). It is a maxim of the law that not to pay it at the time is to pay the less, because of the advantage of improvement; and in the text it is said, kept back by fraud, though not wholly taken away, yet kept back entitled them to sin. The Lord, you know, rewardeth His servants ere they have done their work; we have much of our wages aforehand, &c. (T. Manton.)
Profane rich men
What shall we say then? Is it not lawful at all to resist injuries, but shall we suffer ourselves to be spoiled, robbed, injured, smitten, and murdered without resisting? by not withstanding them shall we animate them, encourage them to further mischief? Hereunto I answer, though it be commanded us that we shall not resist, and commended in the righteous men that they did not resist their oppressions, yet it followeth not that the righteous may not at all resist. For, touching the commandment of Christ and His apostle, it is apparent that they spake of impatient resisting, and of such resisting as was joined with greedy desire of private revenge, in which manner the saints of God are everywhere forbidden to resist. In other respects it is not unlawful to resist, but either by avoiding their oppressions; either by telling the wicked of their injuries or, finally, by repelling force by force; when we cannot have the lawful aid of magistrates it is lawful to resist the wicked when they oppress us, which doctrine may be warranted out of the infallible word of truth. Our Saviour Christ commanded His disciples to fly from city to city when they were persecuted, and so by avoiding injuries to make resistance, as it were, to their persecutors. And when Himself was in danger of stoning He conveyed Himself from them, and did not suffer the Jews to wreak their wrath upon Him. Neither by avoiding and shunning their injuries is it lawful only to resist the wicked, but also by telling them of the wicked oppressions and extreme cruelty which they show towards their brethren, though in the meantime our bodies be subject to their tyrannous outrage and fury (Joh 18:22-23). The first sin and evil condemned in thesewicked rich men against whom St. James dealeth is their fraudulent detaining of their hirelings wages, whereof he giveth special example in their harvest labourers. Yet for so needful, so painful and profitable a work they were unrewarded and their wages detained by fraud from them, no doubt an extreme point of evil dealing. The greatness of their sin the apostle amplifieth in most effectual manner, Behold, saith he, the hire of the labourers which have reaped your fields, which is by you kept back by fraud crieth, and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts. First, saith he, Behold of which speech there are divers uses. Sometimes it is used far a greater evidence and certainty of a thing. St. Jude, citing the words of Enoch for a great evidence of the Lords coming to judge the world, useth this phrase of speech: Behold the Lord cometh with thousands of His saints, to give judgment against all men, &c. In like manner, in this place, to assure them that their wickedness was certainly gone up into the cares of the Lord the apostle breaketh out in this manner: Behold the hire of the labourers, &c. Sometimes it is used in strange and wonderful things, which rarely are heard or seen, as Isaiah entreating of the extraordinary, rare, and wonderful manner of Christs conception, in this wise expresseth it: Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel. Our apostle, either to assure them of their punishment, or as wondering at the hard dealing of the wicked, may not amiss in this sense be thought to use it: Behold the hire of your labourers, &c., as a thing to be wondered at, that you would be so hard hearted as to defraud their labourers of their hire, the apostle breaketh out and saith, Behold the hire of your labourers, etc.
2. The hire of those labourers which reaped their fields was detained. This amplifieth their wickedness. To detain the wages of any labourer who by the toil and moil of his body, and in the sweat of his face, eateth his bread cannot be but a great sin; but to deny them their wages, by whom our fields are reaped, our corn and grain gathered into our garners, is no doubt a grievous sin before God.
3. The wages of their hired servants was by fraud kept back. To detain the wages of the hireling and servant, which for his living worketh with men, is an evil and sin by the law and Word of God forbidden (Lev 19:13). To withhold the daily relief of a man from him, what is it, but as much as lieth in us, to take his life from him; for we keep back the thing whereby he liveth, and this is murder before the Lord.
And this sin of fraudulent detaining the wages of the hired servants is divers ways committed.
1. When the hirelings wages are stopped altogether under some colourable pretence and intended matter, not right, not true, not just, but deceitful.
2. Moreover, this cruelty is done, and sin committed, when the wages are deceitfully deferred longer than the poor can well spare it.
3. Men become guilty hereof also when, through fraud, they misreckon the poor hireling being simple, or ally ways diminish of the wages of the labourer.
4. Finally, by changing the wages of the servant and workman to their hurt and damage.
5. To conclude, this sin is mightily amplified in that the cry thereof is said to ascend and come to the cars of the Lord of hosts. Here God is called the Lord of hosts, which attribute is oftentimes given unto Him because He hath all His creatures always ready as an innumerable and infinite host to fight at His pleasure against the wicked for the maintenance of His glory and defence of His servants. They shall be glad to do His commandment, and when need is they shall be ready upon earth, and when their hour is come they shall not overpass the commandment. St. James, therefore, partly for the terror of the wicked, who in due time shall feel the weight of His revenging hand, and partly for the comfort of His afflicted servants whose wages wicked men hold back by fraud, calleth Almighty God the Lord of hosts, as having a power always prepared, and an army evermore in readiness, to fight against His enemies and to defend His saints. Now, if the cries of their detained wages which work in our bodily and earthly harvest be entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts, how much more fearful judgment shall be pronounced against them–under how wretched condition are they who, by fraud or by force, keep back the wages of them that labour in the heavenly and spiritual harvest of the Lord? who sow the furrows of your hearts with the Divine seed of the Word of truth, and should reap the increase of their labours with great joyfulness. The first evil then in this place condemned is their fraudulent detaining of their labourers wages, the cry whereof entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts. This second evil and sin for which the apostle threateneth their destruction to the wicked is their sensuality and carnal life, which consisteth briefly in three thing.
1. Pleasure.
2. Wantonness.
3. Riotousness and excessive banqueting.
1. Pleasure here signifieth the deliciousness of men in this life, whereunto they give themselves that they, faring deliciously every day, may spend their time and life in pleasure like Epicures, by the which they are not only condemned as injurious unto others, but also are accused as misspending that which they detain from their workmen upon their own pleasures and delights.
2. Their sensuality also showeth itself in the wantonness of their lives, whereby carnal uncleanness is understood (Rom 13:13). Thereunto also most rich men are given. For riches minister matter of living deliciously; delicious living pricketh forward to fleshliness and bodily uncleanness. St. Cyril saith: In those which flow in prosperity, honour, and all worldly wealth, there is a sting of desire of deliciousness more vehement, and the mind moved with concupiscence is (as it were)carried away with the whole bridle, none staying it.
3. Of their sensuality the last and third branch is that they nourished their hearts as in the day of slaughter. Whereby their continual study to banquet and make merry is noted that their whole life might be, as it were, a continual day of feasting, by which they grew as fat as pork or brawn for Satan the devil to feed on in the day of judgment. The Hebrews call the days of feasting the days of slaughter, because at great feasts there is great killing, great slaughter. Calves from the stall, sheep from the fold, oxen from the pasture, kids from the goats, lambs from the ewes, deer from the forest, buck from the chase, fish from the sea, fowl from the fen, birds from the air, capons from the coop, pheasant from the wood, partridge from the covey, rabbit from the warren, and infinite the like are then slam to be devoured. The third sin and evil for which these men are subject to this judgment is their cruelty, which in these two things appeareth.
1. That they condemn the righteous men.
2. That they condemn them not only, but slay them when they make no resistance.
1. The wicked men of this world condemn the righteous at their pleasures, they give what sentence they lust against the just and godly men, they judge the innocent at their wills, if in all things they do not please them, which is great cruelty and a thing abominable before God (Pro 17:15).
2. Neither do these only wrongfully judge and condemn the righteous, but also they slay him, and he resisteth them not, this is fierceness and intolerable cruelty. Now, the righteous are slain divers ways.
(1) In heart by hatred, He that hateth his brother in his heart is a murderer, saith St. John.
(2) In tongue by slander, therefore Christ containeth it under the nature of murder, making it subject to like judgment
(3) By denying help in their misery wherein we suffer them to perish without succour.
(4) When by fraud or force, when by greedy courteousness or cruel extortion, whereby our hands are imbued by the blood of our brethren we take or hold from them, that which is their own; whereby, as much as in us lieth, we murder them.
(5) When, finally, we bereave men of their lives, which all agree with this place of St. James, and are found in the rich wicked men of this world. For–
1. They hate the godly poor men in their hearts.
2. They slander them with their tongues.
3. They withdraw their helping hands from them.
4. They detain their right from them.
5. And, to conclude, they cause their lives oftentimes to be taken from them, who, albeit themselves by themselves, do not always these things; yet by their means and power these are done, therefore are they said to do it.
Finally, there are times and seasons when by repelling force by force it is lawful to resist. When Christians are so narrowly bestead and so straightly beset with their enemies, as that they cannot have the aid of civil powers and lawful magistrates of the commonwealth, but must either resist by force, or be in danger of the loss of their lives and goods without all recovery or recompense; in such a case to resist I hold it lawful altogether. So that it be done in a moderate defence of ourselves, without private malice or desire of shedding of blood. (R. Turnbull.)
Sins of the wealthy
The three most important things about a mans wealth are these: How it was obtained; how it was enjoyed; how it is used. Lucre is not filthy itself; but if obtained by unjust means it becomes filthy lucre; or if it be enjoyed selfishly, lavishly, and carnally, it becomes filthy lucre; or if employed to carry out crafty and wicked designs by corrupting men to become instruments for evil in the hands of its owner, it is filthy lucre. It is to men who have so obtained and employed wealth that James calls out in tones of tremendous warning. In the midst of the shouts of their revelry he calls them to weep, in words spoken in tones of the old prophets (see Isa 13:1-22.). It is a call to arouse them from their self-contentment and self–sufficiency; dispositions frequently caused by great riches. He prophesies that miseries are coming upon them. He seems to hear the footfall of the approaching days of misery–misery that could not be warded off by all the wealth which they had gathered around them. In the picturesque phrases which follow, James alludes to the various kinds of wealth in his day. If a man acquired wealth beyond his own house and garden, what was he to do with it? There were three classes of things in which he ordinarily invested it–grain, clothes, and gold and silver coin. The first might be used in several ways. It might be stored for a rise in breadstuffs, something like our modern corners in grain; or it might be transported and sold; or it might be kept stored in vaults for the owners use if there should come at any time a famine or a war. With such wealth one might say (Luk 12:19), When the calamities came, the grain, which had been kept up at a high price, thus increasing the suffering of the poor, had become rotten in the bins. Another form of accumulation was in the shape of costly raiment, and even of plainer garments in greater quantities. In our day this kind of accumulation is almost unknown, because the fashions are so constantly varying. Not so then. As the prizes taken in ancient wars, we often hear of fine garments as amongst the treasures. In regard to that species of wealth James said: Your garments have become moth-eaten; and so he said of coin: Your gold and silver are rusted. Long kept out of circulation, and thus increasing the embarrassment of society, they had become spotted in the secret and safe places where they bad been concealed. The words of James must have brought back to his readers the exhortation of Christ (Mat 6:19-20). He announced to them that the rust of their money should rise up against them and condemn them, and come down upon them and punish them, that is, should eat into them, with an agony that should be like the burning of ones flesh; for their avarice, which had led them to such great injustice, which had warmed their hearts and burned out their neighbours, should be in them like the flaming fire. Here, again, we have the old prophetic thunder (Psa 21:9; Isa 10:16; Jer 5:14; Eze 15:7; Eze 28:18). To the Jews who lived when James wrote, this soon came to be literally true; for their substance and their flesh were destroyed when the city and the temple were burned. Josephus tells us that the flames consumed their dead bodies and their substance and their wardrobes. Whatever was spared from the flames fell into the hands of the Romans; and so it came to pass that the treasures which had been heaped up to produce for thrum a long season of quiet and comfort were all swept away; for they had planted their seed in a garden that lay over the heart of a volcano which was soon to burst. Their doing was aggravated by the injustice they bad used in the accumulation of their hoarded property. They had violated the law of justice and, as well, the law of benevolence, and had broken the precept of Moses (Lev 19:13; Lev 24:14-15). Perhaps there is no portion of the denunciation which could be brought home to the modern Christian community more decisively than this. The crying sin against the rich in every large city is the sin of keeping back the hire which belongs to the labourers. In addition to covetousness and oppression, James presents to the conscience the sin of voluptuousness. Supposing a certain amount of enjoyment to be possible to any one man in his lifetime, it is plain that the excesses of one day make drafts upon another day; it may be, upon all days. If he have a thousand days to live, and ten thousand dollars be put at his command, it is plain that he will have the purchasing power of ten dollars for every day in his life. But if he spend fifty dollars a day in the first hundred days, it is quite plain that he would have less than six dollars a day during the remaining nine hundred. And if he spend a hundred dollars a day for the first hundred days, the remaining nine hundred would be spent in absolute penury. This is a rigid mathematical calculation, which does not do justice to the case, for life is composed of so many factors, and each man has so many faculties and connections that an impairment of a man is a wider injury than the removal of anything which can be represented by numbers. To these destructive excesses great wealth tempts any man, no matter what may be his moral qualities. The fourth sin with which James charges the rich, the worldly, and the wanton Jews of his day, is the oppression of the righteous, even to the taking of their lives. If the application of the verse be made either to the good in general, or to the Lord Jesus in particular, there is something very striking in the omission of the conjunction, Ye have condemned, ye have killed, the Just, expresses the rapidity of the action and result of their maliciousness. They seemed so afraid that after condemning a good man He should escape slaughter, that they hurried up His death, although, as a lamb before the shearers is dumb, He opened not His mouth. (C. F. Deems, D. D.)
The moral evils of wealth
I am obliged to regard with considerable distrust the influence of wealth upon individuals. I know that it is a mere instrument, which may be converted to good or bad ends. I know that it is often used for good ends; but I more than doubt whether the chances lead that way. Independence and luxury are not likely to be good for any man. Leisure and luxury are almost always bad for every man. I know that there are noble exceptions. But I have seen so much of the evil effect of wealth upon the mind–making it proud, haughty, and impatient; robbing it of its simplicity, modesty, and humility; bereaving it of its large, and gentle, and considerate humanity; and I have heard such astonishing testimonies, to the same effect, from those whose professional business is to settle and adjust the affairs of estates–that I more and more distrust its boo, steal advantages. I deny the validity of that boast. In truth, I am sick of the worlds admiration of wealth. Almost all the noblest things that have been achieved in the world have been achieved by poor men; poor scholars and professional men; poor artisans and artists; poor philosophers, and poets, and men of genius. (Orville Dowry.)
Money
A philosopher has said, Though a man without money is poor, a man with nothing but money is still poorer. Worldly gifts cannot bear up the spirits from fainting and sinking when trials and troubles come, no more than headache can be cured by a golden crown, or toothache by a chain of pearls. Earthly riches are full of poverty.
The ingenuousness of fraud
Some frauds succeed from the apparent candour, the open confidence, and the full blaze of ingenuousness that is thrown around them. The slightest mystery would excite suspicion and ruin all. Such stratagems may be compared to the stars: they are discoverable by darkness, and hidden only by light. (C. Colton.)
The greedy disposition
The king vulture will not permit any other bird to begin its meal until his own hunger is satisfied. The same habit may be seen in many other creatures, including some men, the more powerful lording it over the weaker, and leaving them only the remains of the feast instead of permitting them to partake of it on equal terms. If the king vulture should not happen to be present when the dead animal has reached a state of decomposition, which renders it palatable to vulterine tastes, the subject vultures would pay but little regard to the privileges of their absent monarch, and would leave him but a slight prospect of getting a meal on the remains of the feast. Thus the greedy disposition, whether in the high or low, never concerns itself about the want of others. (Scientific Illustrations and Symbols.)
Insatiable greed
The father-lasher, or lucky proach, is a big-headed, wide-mouthed, staring-eyed little fish. Every atom of meat that you drop into the water within the range of his vision must be his; you perhaps intended the morsel for the goby or the blenny, but proach sees it, and proach must have it. They, indeed, may sail up towards the speck, but proach dashes up, bristling with indignation at their temerity, and snaps the food from their very noses. Not one of them can get a bit till preach is satiated, and I have often seen him lie with a morsel projecting from his mouth for some time, absolutely incapable of swallowing more, before he would relinquish the contest. (P. H. Gosse, in Good Words.)
The unscrupulous money-getter
The unscrupulous money-getter is not necessarily an able man. On the contrary, he often appears dull and stupid. But he is rapacious, cruel, and cunning, and he owes his success to these qualities. Notwithstanding the applause with which society greets his performances, they have much the same inspiration as those of the glutton. The glutton is thought but a dull animal, but his mode of catching deer shows much the same proportion of intelligence as that which is exhibited by the money-getter, or by the Arctic fox when he arranges cods heads as baits to catch crows. The glutton climbs into a tree in the neighbourhood of a herd, carrying up with him a quantity of a kind of moss of which the deer are fond, and when be sees any one of the herd approaching, he lets a portion of the moss fall. If the deer stops to eat, the glutton instantly descends on its back, and torments it by tearing out its eyes and other violence to such a degree that, either to get rid of its enemy, or to put an end to its sufferings, it beats its head against the trees till it falls down dead; for when the glutton has once fixed himself by his claws and teeth, it is impossible to dislodge him. After killing the deer he divides the flesh into convenient portions, and conceals them in the earth for future provision. In this he shows himself to be as prudential as the money-getter, who at the end of a nefarious financial success places his profits in various securities, and the balance in his bank for future use. (Scientific Illustrations and Symbols.)
Ye have lived in pleasure
Luxury
A day of slaughter! What day of slaughter? Who are slaughtered? The answer is in the context. The poor are slaughtered. The labourers whose hire is kept back by fraud. The luxury of the few is always obtained by the slaughter of the many. The few cannot live delicately on the earth without directly or indirectly keeping back by fraud the hire of the labourer. In a word, we ate all so tightly bound together in the bundle of life that extravagant expenditure anywhere always involves starvation somewhere else. Prodigality at one end of the scale must mean pauperism at the other end. What pestiferous delusion is more widely accepted than the notion that the extravagant expenditure of the rich is good for trade? How often have I heard people condemn the Queen of England because she does not spend more time in London holding costly leyden and drawing-rooms and concerts. Now, there is no doubt that if she wasted her money as most monarchs do, she would bring a great deal of temporal prosperity to some of our West-end tradesmen. But when we think of it, that temporary prosperity of the comparative few would be a great loss to the nation as a whole. Let me take a concrete example of this. The Queen holds a drawing-room. A young lady of high rank and of great wealth is to be presented. For this purpose she procures a court dress, which, with all its finery and lace and jewellery, is worth, say, 400. That sum of money has been calculated by a great authority to be the equivalent of 50,000 hours of labour–labour of the most tedious kind and fatal to the eyes. What is the advantage of expenditure of that luxurious sort? This poor, vain child wears it once or twice, and then the fruits of all that arduous toil is thrown away. Now, suppose the dressmakers and others had spent those 50,000 hours in making cheap, warm, and beautiful dresses for the half-clad and starving poor. Would they not have added a deal more to the sum of human health and happiness? Let us take another example. Some time ago a friend of mine was in the provinces, and was driving along the road near one of the great provincial palaces which belong to the British nobility. He began to speak of the aristocratic family who owned that estate. Ah, said the man who was driving him, we used to have a great deal of aristocratic company coming down here, and much money was spent on dinner-parties and wines. There was plenty of amusement. But now that the property has fallen into the hands of the heir, there is no more of that, and everything is going to the bad. Now, from this mans narrow point of view it appeared a dreadful matter that the old state of things was not continued. But look at the other side of the picture. The owner of that estate had also a very large property, inhabited by the poor, in one of the most miserable parts of London, full of public houses and hovels where the people were living in abject misery. The estate had been neglected for generations. Now, in the old time, when a handful of the rural tradesman were making money out of the prodigality and extravagance of the owner of the property, this London estate was utterly neglected, and thousands of the poor were suffering untold agonies. But the present owner having a conscience and being a Christian, instead of using the revenue for the purpose of diffusing a little trade among a handful of people in the country, is living a quiet life in a very simple home, and is using all the resources of her property to blot out the liquor-shops and the houses of infamy, and to build proper dwellings for the poor, where for generations they have been occupying hovels. Although a handful of people in a remote part of the provinces may suffer a certain amount of loss, it is an untold gain to thousands of people and to the human race that the wealth of that great property is no longer wasted in the old way. It is impossible to waste and save at the same time. Luxury and economy are as diametrically opposed as darkness and light. Luxury is any expenditure that is both costly and superfluous. I do not say a word about any little superfluity that does not cost much and which may give as much pleasure as it is worth. But when the superfluity is a very costly one, then it becomes a luxury, and must be denounced by every Christian and by every lover of the human race. It is astonishing what ingenious arguments have been used from time to time in defence of luxury. It has been argued, for example, that luxury is necessary to keep machinery at work. But, as Laveleye says, the object of machinery is to give us more leisure as well as more products. It is quite clear that in the better times which are coming we must not only give fair wages for every piece of work done, but we must also give men leisure to spend with their families, and to cultivate the higher aims of life. But there is another reply to this argument, and it is this. The money which is saved from luxury will give much more employment to machinery in other and healthier directions than it now gives in doubtful ways. It is very important in this particular discussion to remember that money is not hoarded now. If a man happens to have a good deal of money he does not bury it; that money is saved. When economy has saved money it is spent in employing labour. That is always a great gain to the human race. This brings us to the point from which we started, and is a fresh refutation of the delusion that luxury is good for trade. A distinguished French economist tells a good anecdote about himself, and shows how he discovered that prodigality was not an advantage to the human race; that it was an absolute and total delusion; and that the human race has no deadlier enemy than the spendthrift. On one occasion, when M. Say was a young man, he went to dine with his uncle, who produced some exceeding beautiful wineglasses, which he subsequently broke into pieces. He justified this extraordinary conduct by saying that every one must get a living, and he thought that by destroying his wineglasses he was a benefactor of the human race. That is a very simple illustration, but it precisely illustrates a widespread delusion which exists in West London, that waste and extravagance and destruction are beneficial and make trade. It was, of course, a matter of fact that if he broke six wineglasses it was to the benefit of some one in the neighbourhood, for he sent a servant the next day to buy some more. This incident set young Say thinking. If my uncle is really doing good, he had better proceed to smash all his crockery, and then to smash all his furniture, and then all the glass in the windows of his house; for glaziers, painters, and carpenters would be employed; and from this point of view his destructiveness would be a great benefit. When the argument is worked out, every one sees that there must be some delusion in it. If waste is for the good of trade, those Communists who set fire to many of the finest buildings in Paris were great benefactors. It has employed thousands of masons and painters to replace those buildings. Yes, but when you reflect, the answer is this: If none of this destruction had taken place, the money that has been used by the French Government to restore the public monuments, schools, and museums that were burnt would still be at their disposal, and might have been used to pay for other monuments, schools, railways, and museums. They would have retained their old property and had other property as well. Money is never well spent except, first, when it satisfies real human wants, and secondly, when it makes permanent improvements. (H. P. Hughes, M. A.)
Living in pleasure
1. A sin very natural to us. There were but two common parents of all mankind–Adam the protoplast, and Noah the restorer, and both miscarried by appetite: the one fell by eating, and the other by drinking. We had need be careful (Luk 21:34).
2. The sin is natural to all, but chiefly incident to the rich. There is, I confess, a difference in tempers; wealth maketh some covetous, and others prodigal; but the usual sin in the rich is luxury. Pride, idleness, and fulness of bread were the sins of Sodom, and they are usually found in great mens houses; they should be the more wary.
3. Though delicate living be a sin incident to wealthy men, yet their abundance doth not excuse it. God gave wealth for another purpose than to spend it in pleasures. Intemperance is odious to God, be it in any whatsoever they be.
4. Luxury is living in pleasure. God alloweth us to use pleasures, but not to live in them; to take delights, but not they should take us; to live always at the full is but a wanton luxury. (T. Manton, D. D.)
Aggravations of luxury
St. James words here are of a highly tragical character, and therefore the sentences are brief, abrupt, concise, and broken; the graphic metaphor reminds us of the style of the outpourings of Hosea. The difficulty here, as in other examples of the same kind of composition, is to catch the logical relation of the thoughts expressed, and trace out the consecutiveness of the clauses. He had charged them with laying up riches in the last days. There his purpose was to point out their folly with reference to the time in which they were engaged in their ungodly gain. Now he proceeds to show where they were doing this, in the land, the land of Israel, which was on the very point of being given over to the avenger. In the former chapter the visiting of the city by the rich for the purposes of gain had been adverted to, now he supposes them ripen the spot, and the day of vengeance at hand. Jerusalem was the central spot on which the thunderbolt was about to fall that would paralyse all Israel, Hebrews and Hellenists. As a matter of history it is well known that vast numbers of the Dispersion were involved in the catastrophe of the holy city. This passage, however, though addressed to, and by direct implication comprising the Dispersion, yet evidently conveys a prophetic warning and denunciation against the whole family of Israel, on whom the judgment was about to descend. (F. T. Bassett, M. A.)
End of gaiety
A Parisian gentleman who had educated his daughter Ninon for the gay world, on his death-bed thus addressed her, Draw near, Ninon: you see that nothing more remains for me than the sad remembrance of those enjoyments which I am about to quit for ever. But, alas! my regrets are as useless as vain; you, who will survive me, must make the best of your precious time
Poison in pleasures
It is said to have been a plan sometimes practised in the Middle Ages, to send poisoned flowers to princes or great persons, when a plot was laid against their life. Whether the fact be true or not, the moral it may suggest is true. (New Cyclopoedia of Illustration.)
A warning to the rich
A nobleman who lived in the neighbourhood of the Rev. Mr. D–, one day asked him to dine with him. Before dinner they walked into the garden, and after viewing the various productions and rarities with which it abounded, his lordship exclaimed, Well, Mr. D–, you see I want for nothing; and I have all that my heart can wish for. As Mr. D–made no reply, but appeared thoughtful, his lordship asked him the reason. Why, my lord, a man may have all these things, and go to hell after all. The words powerfully struck the nobleman, and through the blessing of God terminated in his conversion.
Take care of pleasure
It is said that where the most beautiful cacti grow, there the venomous serpents are to be found at the root of every plant. And it is so with sin. Your fairest pleasures will harbour your grossest sins. Take care, take care, of your pleasures. Cleopatras asp was introduced in a basket of flowers: so are our sins often brought to us in the flowers of our pleasure. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Sodden with pleasure
A soul sodden with pleasure is a lost soul. (J. C. Lees, D. D.)
Pleasures
Think not that a pleasure which God hath threatened, nor that a blessing which God hath cursed. (Quarles)
The pleasures of sense will surfeit, and not satisfy; the pleasures of religion will satisfy, but not surfeit. (Henry.)
The pleasures of sense and of religion
He buys honey too dear who licks it from thorns. Xerxes offered a reward to the man who would invent a new pleasure.
Living in pleasure
Ye have lain melting in sensual delights, which have drawn out your spirits and dissolved them. (J. Trapp.)
Ye have nourished your hearts
Nourished hearts
Pleasures nourish the heart, and fatten it into a senseless stupidity: nothing bringeth a dulness upon it more than they. There is a fish which they call the ass-fish, which hath its heart in its belly; a fit emblem of a sensual epicure. The heart is never more dull and unfit for the severities and masculine heights of religion than when burdened with luxurious excess; therefore Christ useth that expression, Let not your hearts be overcharged, etc. (Luk 21:36). Ah! do but consider how many reasons we have to be wary in our pleasures. Will the inconveniences they bring to your estates mow you? He that loveth corn, and wine, and oil, shall be poor (Pro 23:21). How often hath the belly brought the back to rags? Or will the mischiefs they bring upon the body move you? Lust, which is but the last end and consummation of all pleasures, sucketh the bones, and, like a cannibal, eateth your own flesh (Pro 5:11). Ah! but chiefly think of the inconveniency which your precious souls sustain; your hearts will be nourished and fattened. Pleasure infatuateth the mind, quencheth the radiancy and vigour of the spirit, the generous sprightliness of the affections. So the apostle speaketh of persons given to pleasures, that they are past feeling (Eph 4:1-32.); they have lost all the smartness and tenderness of their spirits. Oh! that men would regard this, and take heed of nourishing their hearts while they nourish their bodies. You should starve lust when you feed nature; or, as Austin, come to your meat as your medicine, and use these outward refreshments as remedies to cure infirmities, not to cause them; or, as Bernard, refresh the soul when you feed the body, and by Christian meditations on Gods bounty, Christs sweetness, the fatness of Gods house, &c., keep the heart from being nourished whenever you repair nature. (T. Manton.)
Running to death
Alas! the greatest part of this world run to the place of torment, rejoicing, and dancing, eating, drinking, and sleeping. (S. Rutherford.)
Ye have condemned and killed the just
The just
The true meaning is found, it is believed, in taking the just as the representatives of a class, probably of the class of those who, as disciples of Christ, the Just One, were reproducing His pattern of righteousness. Such an one, like his Master, and like Stephen, St. James adds, takes as his law the rule of not resisting. He submits patiently, certain that in the end he will be more than conqueror. It is not without interest to note that the title was afterwards applied to St. James himself. The name Justus (Act 1:23; Act 18:7; Col 4:11) was evidently the Latin equivalent of this epithet, and it probably answered to the Chasidim or Assideans of an earlier stage of Jewish religious history. It is as if a follower of George Fox had addressed the judges and clergy of Charles IIsreign, and said to them, Ye persecuted the friend, and he does not resist you. (Dean Plumptre.)
Taking advantage of meekness
Meekness of spirit commonly draws on injuries and indignities from unreasonable men. A crow will stand on a sheeps back, pulling off the wool from his side; she durst not do so to a wolf or mastiff. (J. Trapp.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER V.
The profligate rich are in danger of God’s judgments, because
of their pride, fraudulent dealings, riotous living, and
cruelty, 1-6.
The oppressed followers of God should be patient, for the
Lord’s coming is nigh; and should not grudge against each
other, 7-9.
They should take encouragement from the example of the
prophets, and of Job, 10, 11.
Swearing forbidden, 12.
Directions to the afflicted, 13-16.
They should confess their faults to each other, 16.
The great prevalence of prayer instanced in Elijah, 17, 18.
The blessedness of converting a sinner from the error of his
way, 19, 20.
NOTES ON CHAP. V.
Verse 1. Go to now] See Clarke on Jas 4:13.
Weep and howl for your miseries] St. James seems to refer here, in the spirit of prophecy, to the destruction that was coming upon the Jews, not only in Judea, but in all the provinces where they sojourned. He seems here to assume the very air and character of a prophet; and in the most dignified language and peculiarly expressive and energetic images, foretells the desolations that were coming upon this bad people.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Go to now: see Jam 4:13.
Ye rich men; he speaks to them not simply as rich, (for riches and grace sometimes may go together), but as wicked, not only wallowing in wealth, but abusing it to pride, luxury, oppression, and cruelty. Against these, either as looking on them as incurable, or upon supposition of their impenitency, he denounceth Gods judgments; and that whether they were unconverted Jews, vexing the believing Jews; or Gentiles, oppressing the Christian Jews; or Christians in profession and name, who yet were so vile in their practice, as to condemn and kill the just; and that they might more speciously do it, to draw them before the judgment-seats, &c.
Weep and howl; to denote the extremity of the calamities coming upon them, in which they should not only weep like men, but howl like wild beasts: see Jer 4:8; Mic 1:8; Joe 1:10,13.
For your miseries that shall come upon you; or, are coming upon you, to signify the certainty and nearness of them. The miseries he means may be both temporal and eternal.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. Go to nowCome now. Aphrase to call solemn attention.
ye richwho haveneglected the true enjoyment of riches, which consists in doing good.James intends this address to rich Jewish unbelievers, not so muchfor themselves, as for the saints, that they may bear with patiencethe violence of the rich (Jas 5:7),knowing that God will speedily avenge them on their oppressors[BENGEL].
miseries that shallcomeliterally, “that are coming upon you”unexpectedly and swiftly, namely, at the coming of the Lord (Jas5:7); primarily, at the destruction of Jerusalem; finally, at Hisvisible coming to judge the world.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Go to now, ye rich men,…. All rich men are not here designed; there are some rich men who are good men, and make a good use of their riches, and do not abuse them, as these here are represented; and yet wicked rich men, or those that were the openly profane, are not here intended neither; for the apostle only writes to such who were within the church, and not without, who were professors of religion; and such rich men are addressed here, who, notwithstanding their profession, were not rich towards God, but laid up treasure for themselves, and trusted in their riches, and boasted of the multitude of their wealth; and did not trust in God, and make use of their substance to his glory, and the good of his interest, as they should have done:
weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you; meaning, not temporal calamities that should come upon them at the destruction of Jerusalem, in which the rich greatly suffered by the robbers among themselves, as well as by the Roman soldiers; for the apostle is not writing to the Jews in Judea, and at Jerusalem; but to the Christians of the twelve tribes scattered in the several parts of the world, and who were not distressed by that calamity; but eternal miseries, or the torments of hell are intended, which, unless they repented of their sins, would shortly, suddenly, and unavoidably come upon them, when their present joy and laughter would be turned into howling and weeping.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Warnings to the Rich; Motives to Patience under Affliction. | A. D. 61. |
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. 6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. 7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. 10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. 11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
The apostle is here addressing first sinners and then saints.
I. Let us consider the address to sinners; and here we find James seconding what his great Master had said: Woe unto you that are rich; for you have received your consolation, Luke vi. 24. The rich people to whom this word of warning was sent were not such as professed the Christian religion, but the worldly and unbelieving Jews, such as are here said to condemn and kill the just, which the Christians had no power to do; and though this epistle was written for the sake of the faithful, and was sent principally to them, yet, by an apostrophe, the infidel Jews may be well supposed here spoken to. They would not hear the word, and therefore it is written, that they might read it. It is observable, in the very first inscription of this epistle, that it is not directed, as Paul’s epistles were, to the brethren in Christ, but, in general, to the twelve tribes; and the salutation is not, grace and peace from Christ, but, in general, greeting, ch. i. 1. The poor among the Jews received the gospel, and many of them believed; but the generality of the rich rejected Christianity, and were hardened in their unbelief, and hated and persecuted those who believed on Christ. To these oppressing, unbelieving, persecuting, rich people, the apostle addresses himself in the first six verses.
1. He foretels the judgments of God that should come upon them, v. 1-3. they should have miseries come upon them, and such dreadful miseries that the very apprehension of them was enough to make them weep and howl–misery that should arise from the very things in which they placed their happiness, and misery that should be completed by these things witnessing against them at the last, to their utter destruction; and they are now called to reason upon and thoroughly to weigh the matter, and to think how they will stand before God in judgment: Go to now, you rich men. (1.) “You may be assured of this that very dreadful calamities are coming upon you, calamities that shall carry nothing of support nor comfort in them, but all misery, misery in time, misery to eternity, misery in your outward afflictions, misery in your inward frame and temper of mind, misery in this world, misery in hell. You have not a single instance of misery only coming upon you, but miseries. The ruin of your church and nation is at hand; and there will come a day of wrath, when riches shall not profit men, but all the wicked shall be destroyed.” (2.) The very apprehension of such miseries as were coming upon them is enough to make them weep and howl. Rich men are apt to say to themselves (and others are ready to say to them), Eat, drink, and be merry; but God says, Weep and howl. It is not said, Weep and repent, for this the apostle does not expect from them (he speaks in a way of denouncing rather than admonishing); but, “Weep and howl, for when your doom comes there will be nothing but weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.” Those who live like beasts are called howl like such. Public calamities are most grievous to rich people, who live in pleasure, and are secure and sensual; and therefore they shall weep and howl more than other people for the miseries that shall come upon them. (3.) Their misery shall arise from the very things in which they placed their happiness. “Corruption, decay, rust, and ruin, will come upon all your goodly things: Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten, v. 2. Those things which you now inordinately affect will hereafter insupportably wound you: they will be of no worth, of no use to you, but, on the contrary, will pierce you through with many sorrows; for,” (4.) “They will witness against you, and they will eat your flesh as it were fire,” v. 3. Things inanimate are frequently represented in scripture as witnessing against wicked men. Heaven, earth, the stones of the field, the production of the ground, and here the very rust and canker of ill-gotten and ill-kept treasures, are said to witness against impious rich men. They think to heap up treasure for their latter days, to live plentifully upon when they come to be old; but, alas! they are only heaping up treasures to become a prey to others (as the Jews had all taken from them by the Romans), and treasures that will prove at last to be only treasures of wrath, in the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Then shall their iniquities, in the punishment of them, eat their flesh as it were with fire. In the ruin of Jerusalem, many thousands perished by fire; in the last judgment the wicked shall be condemned to everlasting burnings, prepared for the devil and his angels. The Lord deliver us from the portion of wicked rich men! and, in order to this, let us take care that we do not fall into their sins, which we are next to consider.
2. The apostle shows what those sins are which should bring such miseries. To be in so deplorable a condition must doubtless be owing to some very heinous crimes. (1.) Covetousness is laid to the charge of this people; they laid by their garments till they bred moths and were eaten; they hoarded up their gold and silver till they were rusty and cankered. It is a very great disgrace to these things that they carry in them the principles of their own corruption and consumption–the garment breeds the moth that frets it, the gold and silver breeds the canker that eats it; but the disgrace falls most heavily upon those who hoard and lay up these things till they come to be thus corrupted, and cankered, and eaten. God gives us our worldly possessions that we may honour him and do good with them; but if, instead of this, we sinfully hoard them up, thorough and undue affection towards them, or a distrust of the providence of God for the future, this is a very heinous crime, and will be witnessed against by the very rust and corruption of the treasure thus heaped together. (2.) Another sin charged upon those against whom James writes is oppression: Behold, the hire of the labourers, who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth, c., <i>v. 4. Those who have wealth in their hands get power into their hands, and then they are tempted to abuse that power to oppress such as are under them. The rich we here find employing the poor in their labours, and the rich have as much need of the labours of the poor as the poor have of wages from the rich, and could as ill be without them; but yet, not considering this, they kept back the hire of the labourers; having power in their hands, it is probable that they made as hard bargains with the poor as they could, and even after that would not make good their bargains as they should have done. This is a crying sin, an iniquity that cries so as to reach the ears of God; and, in this case, God is to be considered as the Lord of sabaoth, or the Lord of hosts, Kyriou sabaoth, a phrase often used in the Old-Testament, when the people of God were defenseless and wanted protection, and when their enemies were numerous and powerful. The Lord of hosts, who has all ranks of beings and creatures at his disposal, and who sets all in their several places, hears the oppressed when they cry by reason of the cruelty or injustice of the oppressor, and he will give orders to some of those hosts that are under him (angels, devils, storms, distempers, or the like) to avenge the wrongs done to those who are dealt with unrighteously and unmercifully. Take heed of this sin of defrauding and oppressing, and avoid the very appearances of it. (3.) Another sin here mentioned is sensuality and voluptuousness. You have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton, v. 5. God does not forbid us to use pleasure; but to live in them as if we lived for nothing else is a very provoking sin; and to do this on the earth, where we are but strangers and pilgrims, where we are but to continue for a while, and where we ought to be preparing for eternity–this, this is a grievous aggravation of the sin of voluptuousness. Luxury makes people wanton, as in Hos. xiii. 6, According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me. Wantonness and luxury are commonly the effects of great plenty and abundance; it is hard for people to have great plenty and abundance; it is hard for people to have great estates, and not too much indulge themselves in carnal, sensual pleasures: “You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter: you live as if it were every day a day of sacrifices, a festival; and hereby your hearts are fattened and nourished to stupidity, dulness, pride, and an insensibility to the wants and afflictions of others.” Some may say, “What harm is there in good cheer, provided people do not spend above what they have?” What! Is it no harm for people to make gods of their bellies, and to give all to these, instead of abounding in acts of charity and piety? Is it no harm for people to unfit themselves for minding the concerns of their souls, by indulging the appetites of their bodies? Surely that which brought flames upon Sodom, and would bring these miseries for which rich men are here called to weep and howl, must be a heinous evil! Pride, and idleness, and fullness of bread, mean the same thing with living in pleasure, and being wanton, and nourishing the heart as in a day of slaughter. (4.) Another sin here charged on the rich is persecution: You have condemned and killed the just, and he doth not resist you, v. 6. This fills up the measure of their iniquity. They oppressed and acted very unjustly, to get estates; when they had them, they gave way to luxury and sensuality, till they had lost all sense and feeling of the wants or afflictions of others; and then they persecute and kill without remorse. They pretend to act legally indeed, they condemn before they kill; but unjust prosecutions, whatever colour of law they may carry in them, will come into the reckoning when God shall make inquisition for blood, as well as massacres and downright murders. Observe here, The just may be condemned and killed: but then again observe, When such do suffer, and yield without resistance to the unjust sentence of oppressors, this is marked by God, to the honour of the sufferers and the infamy of their persecutors; this commonly shows that judgments are at the door, and we may certainly conclude that a reckoning-day will come, to reward the patience of the oppressed and to break to pieces the oppressor. Thus far the address to sinners goes.
II. We have next subjoined an address to saints. Some have been ready to despise or to condemn this way of preaching, when ministers, in their application, have brought a word to sinners, and a word to saints; but, from the apostle’s here taking this method, we may conclude that this is the best way rightly to divide the word of truth. From what has been said concerning wicked and oppressing rich men, occasion is given to administer comfort to God’s afflicted people: “Be patient therefore; since God will send such miseries on the wicked, you may see what is your duty, and where your greatest encouragement lies.”
1. Attend to your duty: Be patient (v. 7), establish your hearts (v. 8), grudge not one against another, brethren, v. 9. Consider well the meaning of these three expressions:– (1.) “Be patient–bear your afflictions without murmuring, your injuries without revenge; and, though God should not in any signal manner appear for you immediately, wait for him. The vision is for an appointed time; at the end it will speak, and will not lie; therefore wait for it. It is but a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Let your patience be lengthened out to long suffering;” so the word here used, makrothymesate, signifies. When we have done our work, we have need of patience to stay for our reward. This Christian patience is not a mere yielding to necessity, as the moral patience taught by some philosophers was, but it is a humble acquiescence in the wisdom and will of God, with an eye to a future glorious recompense: Be patient to the coming of the Lord. And because this is a lesson Christians must learn, though ever so hard or difficult to the, it is repeated in v. 8, Be you also patient. (2.) “Establish your hearts–let your faith be firm, without wavering, your practice of what is good constant and continued, without tiring, and your resolutions for God and heaven fixed, in spite of all sufferings or temptations.” The prosperity of the wicked and the affliction of the righteous have in all ages been a very great trial to the faith of the people of God. David tells us that his feet were almost gone, when he saw the prosperity of the wicked,Psa 73:2; Psa 73:3. Some of those Christians to whom St. James wrote might probably be in the same tottering condition; and therefore they are called upon to establish their hearts; faith and patience will establish the heart. (3.) Grudge not one against another; the words me stenazete signify, Groan not one against another, that is, “Do not make one another uneasy by your murmuring groans at what befalls you, nor by your distrustful groans as to what may further come upon you, nor by your revengeful groans against the instruments of your sufferings, nor by your envious groans at those who may be free from your calamities: do not make yourselves uneasy and make one another uneasy by thus groaning to and grieving one another.” “The apostle seemeth to me” (says Dr. Manton) “to be here taxing those mutual injuries and animosities wherewith the Christians of those times, having banded under the names of circumcision and uncircumcision, did grieve one another, and give each other cause to groan; so that they did not only sigh under the oppressions of the rich persecutors, but under the injuries which they sustained from many of the brethren who, together with them, did profess the holy faith.” Those who are in the midst of common enemies, and in any suffering circumstances, should be more especially careful not to grieve nor to groan against one another, otherwise judgments will come upon them as well as others; and the more such grudgings prevail the nearer do they show judgment to be.
2. Consider what encouragement here is for Christians to be patient, to establish their hearts, and not to grudge one against another. And, (1.) “Look to the example of the husbandman: He waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. When you sow your corn in the ground, you wait many months for the former and latter rain, and are willing to stay till harvest for the fruit of your labour; and shall not this teach you to bear a few storms, and to be patient for a season, when you are looking for a kingdom and everlasting felicity? Consider him that waits for a crop of corn; and will not you wait for a crown of glory? If you should be called to wait a little longer than the husbandman does, is it not something proportionably greater and infinitely more worth your waiting for? But,” (2.) “Think how short your waiting time may possibly be: The coming of the Lord draweth nigh, v. 8; behold, the Judge standeth before the door, v. 9. Do not be impatient, do not quarrel with one another; the great Judge, who will set all to rights, who will punish the wicked and reward the good, is at hand: he should be conceived by you to stand as near as one who is just knocking at the door.” The coming of the Lord to punish the wicked Jews was then very nigh, when James wrote this epistle; and, whenever the patience and other graces of his people are tried in an extraordinary manner, the certainty of Christ’s coming as Judge, and the nearness of it, should establish their hearts. The Judge is now a great deal nearer, in his coming to judge the world, than when this epistle was written, nearer by above seventeen hundred years; and therefore this should have the greater effect upon us. (3.) The danger of our being condemned when the Judge appears should excite us to mind our duty as before laid down: Grudge not, lest you be condemned. Fretfulness and discontent expose us to the just judgment of God, and we bring more calamities upon ourselves by our murmuring, distrustful, envious groans and grudgings against one another, than we are aware of. If we avoid these evils, and be patient under our trials, God will not condemn us. Let us encourage ourselves with this. (4.) We are encouraged to be patient by the example of the prophets (v. 10): Take the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Observe here, The prophets, on whom God put the greatest honour, and for whom he had the greatest favour, were most afflicted: and, when we think that the best men have had the hardest usage in this world, we should hereby be reconciled to affliction. Observe further, Those who were the greatest examples of suffering affliction were also the best and greatest examples of patience: tribulation worketh patience. Hereupon James gives it to us as the common sense of the faithful (v. 11): We count those happy who endure: we look upon righteous and patient sufferers as the happiest people. See ch. i. 2-12. (5.) Job also is proposed as an example for the encouragement of the afflicted. You have hard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, c., <i>v. 11. In the case of Job you have an instance of a variety of miseries, and of such as were very grievous, but under all he could bless God, and, as to the general bent of his spirit, he was patient and humble: and what came to him in the end? Why, truly, God accomplished and brought about those things for him which plainly prove that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. The best way to bear afflictions is to look to the end of them; and the pity of God is such that he will not delay the bringing of them to an end when his purposes are once answered; and the tender mercy of God is such that he will make his people an abundant amends for all their sufferings and afflictions. His bowels are moved for them while suffering, his bounty is manifested afterwards. Let us serve our God, and endure our trials, as those who believe the end will crown all.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Come now, ye rich ( ). Exclamatory interjection as in 4:13. Direct address to the rich as a class as in 1Ti 6:17. Apparently here James has in mind the rich as a class, whether believer, as in 1:10f., or unbeliever, as in Jas 2:1; Jas 2:6. The plea here is not directly for reform, but a warning of certain judgment (5:1-6) and for Christians “a certain grim comfort in the hardships of poverty” (Ropes) in 5:7-11.
Weep and howl ( ). “Burst into weeping (ingressive aorist active imperative of as in 4:9), howling with grief” (present active participle of the old onomatopoetic verb , here only in N.T., like Latin ululare, with which compare in Mt 5:38.
For your miseries ( ). Old word from (Ro 7:24) and like in Jas 4:9 (from to endure and a callus).
That are coming upon you ( ). Present middle participle of the old compound to come upon, used here in futuristic prophetic sense.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Go to. See on ch. Jas 4:13.
Weep and howl [ ] . Lit., weep, howling. The latter is a descriptive word, ol – ol – uz – o. Only here in New Testament, and denoting a more demonstrative and passionate expression of grief than weeping.
Miseries [] . Only here and Rom 3:16. See on be afflicted, ch. 4 9.
That shall come upon [] . Present participle. More correctly, as Rev., that are coming.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) The plutocratic rich who oppress the poor are called upon to (Gr. holouzontes) cry aloud, howling, because of miseries that shall come for their wicked ways. Luk 6:24; Pro 11:28.
2) It is prophetic irony with regards to the deceitfulness of selfishly gleaned and accumulated riches, desire and lust. This concerns the love of riches which is the root of all evil, 1Ti 6:17; Gal 6:7-8; Achan tried it, Jos 7:21-25; Solomon tried it, Ecc 2:8-11. Both the Barn Builder and Rich Man tried it. Luk 12:16-21; Luk 16:19-31.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1 Go to now. They are mistaken, as I think, who consider that James here exhorts the rich to repentance. It seems to me to be a simple denunciation of God’s judgment, by which he meant to terrify them without giving them any hope of pardon; for all that he says tends only to despair. He, therefore, does not address them in order to invite them to repentance; but, on the contrary, he has a regard to the faithful, that they, hearing of the miserable and of the rich, might not envy their fortune, and also that knowing that God would be the avenger of the wrongs they suffered, they might with a calm and resigned mind bear them. (136)
But he does not speak of the rich indiscriminately, but of those who, being immersed in pleasures and inflated with pride, thought of nothing but of the world, and who, like inexhaustible gulfs, devoured everything; for they, by their tyranny, oppressed others, as it appears from the whole passage.
Weep and howl, or, Lament, howling. Repentance has indeed its weeping, but being mixed with consolation, it does not proceed to howling. Then James intimates that the heaviness of God’s vengeance will be so horrible and severe on the rich, that they will be constrained to break forth into howling, as though he had said briefly to them, “Woe to you!” But it is a prophetic mode of speaking: the ungodly have the punishment which awaits them set before them, and they are represented as already enduring it. As, then, they were now flattering themselves, and promising to themselves that the prosperity in which they thought themselves happy would be perpetual, he declared that the most grievous miseries were nigh at hand.
(136) Many commentators, such as Grotius, Doddridge, Macknight, and Scott, consider that the Apostle refers at the beginning of this chapter, not to professing Christians, but to unbelieving Jews. There is nothing said that can lead to such an opinion: and if the two preceding chapters were addressed (as admitted by all) to those who professed the faith, there is no reason why this should not have been addressed to them; the sins here condemned are not worse than those previously condemned. Indeed, we find by the Epistles of Peter, and by that of Jude, that there were men professing religion at that time, who were not a whit better (if not worse) than many who profess religion in our age.
Besides, it was not unusual, in addresses to Christians, to address unbelievers. Indeed, Paul expressly says, “What have I to do to judge them that are without?”
That there were rich men professing the gospel at that time, is evident from Jas 1:10.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
RULES FOR DAILY CONDUCT
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
Jas. 5:1. Rich men.Always in Scripture, the men who are proud of their riches, centred in their riches, and are nothing but rich. The good man, who happens to have the trust of wealth, and is trying to use it faithfully, should not be thought of as addressed in Scripture reproofs. Howl.Only used here in the New Testament, but found in Isa. 13:6; Isa. 14:31; Isa. 15:3; weep with howling, a desperate form of distress. Illustrate by the woes that came on the rich in connection with the siege of Jerusalem. Shall come.Better, are now actually coming.
Jas. 5:3. Cankered.Rusted; used generally of the tarnish that comes over all metals exposed to the action of the air. Witness against you.For a witness to you, not testimony against, but warning lest. For the last.Better, in the last. Evidently in mind is the speedy fulfilment of our Lords predictions.
Jas. 5:4. Of the Lord of sabaoth. . Lord of hosts, especially characteristic name found in Malachi.
Jas. 5:5. Lived in pleasure.Better, ye lived luxuriously and spent wantonly. As in.Better, in. The rich men of Juda, in their pampered luxury, were but fattening themselves, all unconscious of their doom, as beasts are fattened for the slaughter (Plumptre).
Jas. 5:6. The just.Not specifically the Just One, but generally pious, righteous men.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Jas. 5:1-6
Rich Men that are Only Rich.This passage seems to have the character of an aside or parenthesis. It is difficult to conceive that persons of such character, worthy of such severe condemnation, could have been members of the Jewish Christian Churches. It is more reasonable to think that St. James sends this severe message to such as were persecuting the members of the Churches, and riding over them in the masterfulness of their pride, and that he designed to comfort the persecuted and distressed by the assurance that God was surely dealing with their persecutors, and that there could be no reason for envying their lot. The message is but an echo of our Lords saying, Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation (Luk. 6:24). It is important to make a careful distinction between persons who are rich and persons who are only rich. It is not wrong to be rich. It is not necessarily a hindrance to Christian life to be rich. A man may just as sincerely and acceptably lay his riches upon the altar of service as anything else that he has. But it is wrong to be a rich man and nothing else. It is wrong when that is all you can say about the man. It is woful wrong when you are compelled to say that he is a bad rich man. This message should not be taken as sent to all rich menonly to such rich men as St. James describes. This distinction and qualification needs to be kept in mind in treating all the New Testament references to rich men. With some care the circumstances of the rich Jews, in the time immediately preceding the final fall of Jerusalem, should be presented.
I. Riches with troubles.In the best of times to increase riches is to increase anxieties and troubles; and when hard times come, their strain is always felt most severely by the rich. For one thing, as riches increase, wants are multiplied, indulgences become necessities, and there is so much to give up, when banks break, ships founder, and speculations fail. The poor may feel the strain of troublous times first, but they do not feel it worst. It is but a little step from their usual limitations down into poverty; but it is a big step from the mansion to the workhouse. St. James sees, in the swiftly advancing miseries that were coming on the Jewish nation, the just judgment of God on men who were rich, and nothing else; at least, nothing else that was good. If a man is only rich, he can lose everything in a time of national calamity. If a man has character, and is rich in that way, all the woes of the world cannot take his riches away. Ward Beecher says: No man can tell whether he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has. We envy the rich; but perhaps we should not if we clearly saw that we must take riches with trouble. That truth may be borne in upon us by watching the faces of the carriage-folk in Hyde Park. It is a most rare thing to see a sunny face in middle-aged man or woman; discontent, weariness, envy, bad temper, well-nigh everywhere, so plainly revealing that, for them with all their riches, life is a failure and a bore. If it is thus when a country is peaceful and plenty abounds, what must be the troubles of the rich when Roman armies encircle the city, and drought and famine and pestilence stalk around? Riches can do so little to alleviate misery then; and a gaunt, famished crowd have no respect for any, but grasp and steal wherever they can. Bishop Wordsworth vigorously paraphrases Jas. 5:2-3 : Your wealth is mouldering in corruption, and your garments, stored up in vain superfluity, are become moth-eaten: although they may still glitter brightly in your eyes, and may dazzle men by their brilliance, yet they are in fact already cankered; they are loathsome in Gods sight; the Divine anger has breathed upon them and blighted them; they are already withered and blasted. When the rich man has character, then only is he prepared for the trouble-times of life; then only has he the treasure in heaven, which neither moth nor rust doth corrupt.
II. Riches with injustice.Behold, the hire of the labourers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth. It is making wholly wrong use of this passage to compel it to support modern socialistic schemes, which are based on the false assumption, that all employers of labour deal unfairly with their labourers. It would be as true to say that all labourers deal unfairly with their employers; and that is manifestly false. There are cases. Deal with the cases; but do not attempt to base a general law upon isolated cases. Oppressing the hireling in his wages was, however, a characteristic Jewish sin. The grasping avarice that characterised the latter days of Judaism showed itself in this form of oppression among others. And it should be recognised that the possession of riches easily becomes, or supports, a temptation to deal unjustly with the poor. Injustice may take form as
(1) failure to consider their due claims;
(2) reserve of the payments due to them through indifference or wilfulness;
(3) inattention to the things necessary to their physical, sanitary, and moral well-being. Happy is that man in the possession of riches who, having a sensitive conscience, finds it brings him no accusations of injustice.
III. Riches with self-indulgence.Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. The sentence is a severe one, and forcibly presents to us the self-centredness of the rich, pampering his appetiteevery sort of appetiteclothing in scarlet and fine linen, and faring sumptuously every day, like Dives. St. James, with the licence of poetic imagination, pictures them dressing themselves for death, fattening themselves for the day of slaughter. This self-indulgence is the supreme peril of the rich. They have no call to the exercise of self-restraint, and every moral fibre becomes relaxed. Self-indulgent people easily do wrong things.
IV. Riches with violence.Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one. Not Christ. St. James is speaking in a poetic vein, and giving point to his accusation by compelling them to think of some one case. Reference is directly to some cases of persecution, in connection with the Jewish Christian Church, which had aroused St. Jamess indignation. Of this all may be assured who suffer wrong in any way from the masterfulness and injustice of unprincipled rich menTheir cry enters into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. He is the avenger of all such.
SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES
Jas. 5:1-3. The Poverty of Riches.It is important to recognise that the rich man denounced in Scripture is never the man who merely has possessions. They may come to him by the accident of birth, or as the natural result of business ability. There is nothing wrong, or necessarily mischievous, in possession; and wealth is just as truly a trust from God, to be used in helpful ministries, as is any personal talent. But, like everything else frail man deals with, riches may be misused. They may come to be trusted in; they may take the souls confidence from God. They may spoil a mans relations with his fellow-man. They may seriously deteriorate a mans personal character. The peril of riches lies in their persuasion of the man to trust in them, and in their attraction of the man to seek them at any cost or sacrifice. They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare. Because riches so easily entice, persuade, and tempt, it is necessary to point out what a side of poverty there is even to great riches. Its purchasing power is the real test of the value of wealth. It is thus we estimate the differing values of gold and silver and copper. A thing is reckoned of no value if it has in it no purchasing power.
I. What can riches buy?Only what belongs to the range of material good. We need not think of that material good as in any narrow limitations. It includes all pleasant things meeting bodily needs and bodily desires; but it includes also all that ministers to mind, to artistic feeling, to society interests, and even to spiritual necessities. The rich man has at command whatsoever of good the material world can supply; and getting it for himself, he cannot help getting it for others to share with him. If man were only of the earth earthy, riches might secure supply of all his need.
II. What cannot riches buy?It has no purchasing power in any of the immaterial worlds. It cannot buy love. It cannot secure the noblest form of human servicethe service of love. Love is only bought with love. No coin was ever yet paid for it. True of the love of man to man. Sublimely true of the love of God to man. It is bought without money and without price.
Jas. 5:4. Loyalty to Workpeople.There are peculiarities in Eastern workpeople which partly explain the need for such advice as this. Eastern workpeople have no such personal independence as characterises even the labourers of our Western lands. They are more correctly associated with our idea of slaves. They have the spiritless character, the unintelligent submission, the disposition to shirk burdens, which we connect with our notion of slaves. In Eastern countries no kind of servant or workman can be trusted alone without direct personal supervision. Overseers are always appointed, to keep them at their duty. As a natural consequence, masters readily become severe and tyrannical, indifferent to the labourers well-being, and practically out of all sympathy with them. Moses had to legislate for their protection (Lev. 19:13). Prophets had to denounce the sin of oppressing the labourer (Jer. 22:13; Mal. 3:5). The grasping avarice that characterised the latter days of Judaism showed itself in this form of oppression. Christianity indirectly improves the position and relations of workpeople. It does not directly interfere with social conditions. Its principle is distinctly stated in the apostolic decision, Let every man wherein he is called, therein abide with God. It affects workpeople by improving them, and by altering the sentiments of their masters concerning them. A worldly master sees in his workpeople only persons with whose help he is to make money. A Christian master sees in his workpeople persons for whose all-round well-being he is responsible. There are some senses in which they cannot help themselves. Yet in those things their truest well-being is bound up. Loyalty to Christ means loyalty to them; and this brings upon the Christian a burden of responsibility to them. Let the Christian master feel his loyalty to those who serve him, and cherish a right spirit towards them; these will be sure to inspire right and wise and kindly deeds. How far the individual sense of loyalty and responsibility is likely to be destroyed by modern strikes, combinations, social, or rather socialistic, movements, must be left open to individual decision.
Jas. 5:5. The Moral Mischief of living delicately.It greatly surprises us that such intensely severe reproofs could be needed for persons in the actual membership of the early Christian Church. The R.V. renders this passage, Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure. We might render, Ye lived luxuriously, and spent wantonly. In this is severely reproved the misuse of the riches possessed. And riches are always misused when they are made to pamper bodily appetite. The word delicately is suggestive as reminding us that luxurious and wanton living as readily takes refined and artistic as coarse and animal forms. The point which may be worked out is that, no matter what may be the station, culture, or resources at command of the Christian professor, he is under absolute obligation to Christ to hold himself under all due self-restraint, and to put all his relations into wise and careful limitations. His moderation is to be known unto all men. This means a moral bracing himself up, to secure control of himself, and control of his circumstances; and with that control the man is safe amid temptations. But any form of self-indulgence unbraces a man, loosens and weakens the moral fibre. And when a man loses his power of self-restraint and self-rule in some one thing, he can never be certain of holding his power of self-restraint in any other. And, moreover, he has opened one gate of the city of Man-soul to the enemy, and the city is no longer safe. It is usually on the side of some bodily indulgence that Christian professors begin to fail. Moral mischief comes with indulgence at the table, or in drink; sometimes there is a relaxation which allows a man to be carried away by worldly pleasures or sensual attractionsthe lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life. The apostle gives the advice, which we may wisely apply in a variety of directions, when he bids us keep the vessel of our body in sanctification and honour. In relation to delicacy of eating and drinking, it should be better known than it is, that highly cooked and spiced foods bear mischievously on the animal feelings which are so closely associated with the moral life.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
THE END OF THE UNGODLY RICH
Text 5:16
Jas. 5:1.
Come now ye rich and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you.
2.
Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten.
3.
Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony against you and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days.
4.
Behold the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
5.
Ye have lived delicately on earth, and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.
6.
Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one; he doth not resist you.
Queries
371.
Where was the term come now last used? Why do you think it was repeated here?
372.
What is the difference between weep and howl?
373.
Is this weep any different from the weeping in Jas. 4:9? If so, what?
374.
What are the miseries that have come upon the rich man? (see the close of Chapter 4).
375.
What does it mean for something to be corrupted? (If you do not know, look it up in a dictionary).
376.
What is the difference between the term corrupted of Jas. 5:2 and rusted of Jas. 5:3?
377.
Can gold and silver really rust? Then why is the term used?
378.
How could a rusty coin be a testimony against the rich?
379.
Could this idea of rusty coins be a testimony against Christians today? How?
380.
Evidently the rust from the coins will not really eat the flesh . . . but what does the expression mean? (Be careful, for remember the faithful Christians body also rots in the grave!)
381.
What does the expression as fire tell us about the flesh being eaten?
382.
How do the great material blessings of America make this a particular warning to the churches in America to-day?
383.
What are the treasures of Jas. 5:3?
384.
The last days in verse three can have several possible meanings. See if you can think of about three applications.
385.
Why would James say behold when he already had the readers attention?
386.
In what way did the rich man practice fraud with his laborers?
387.
What is the subject of crieth out in Jas. 5:4?
388.
How could this possibly cry out? What does it mean?
389.
Sabaoth does not refer to the Sabbath. Look it up in a Bible Dictionary to determine the true meaning.
390.
How will this army react to the cries it hears in Jas. 5:4 b?
391.
How can a rich man live delicately?
392.
Although you may not count yourself as being rich, would it be possible for you to live delicately today? (Dont look for the answer just by comparing yourself with some rich who you think have more delicate lives than you . . . but measure your own possibility of delicate living in terms of what the expression must mean.)
393.
Is he condemning delicate living even though the money for it was not obtained by fraud?
394.
You have taken your pleasure is evidently used in a bad sense. What kind of pleasure is here condemned?
395.
Is it right to have any kind of pleasure? What?
396.
In the days of slaughter, what is to be (or being) slaughtered, and who does the slaughtering?
397. Do you think a day of slaughter refers to the rich mans death, or the final judgment? Why?
398.
What class of people have the rich really condemned and killed?
399.
In what way could it also be said they have condemned and killed Jesus?
400.
He doth not resist you could mean he doesnt fight back. Doth not is present tense, suggesting it is still going on. How does this (or should this) fit the Christians attitude toward his persecutors today?
Paraphrases
A. Jas. 5:1.
Come, come, now, you class of rich people, weep because of the future wrath of God, and shriek in the misery of whats coming to you.
2.
Your wealth is rotten, and your expensive clothing is already moth-eaten.
3.
Your gold and silver coins are tarnished, and the rust of your money will be used as a testimony against you; and your well-fed bodies shall be eaten by this rust because you have treasured for yourselves the fire which shall be in the last days.
4.
Consider this now, how you have held back on the wages of your tenant farmers who worked so hard in your fields. The Lord of hosts has heard the cries for justice of them that harvested your fields.
5.
With these wages kept back you have lived luxurious and self-indulgent lives; you have fattened yourselves right down to the day of the slaughter of the Lord.
6.
You have continually condemned and killed the righteous class, and to this day your victims cannot stop you.
B.*Jas. 5:1.
Look here, you rich men, now is the time to cry and groan with violent grief in view of all the terrible troubles ahead of you.
2.
For your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are becoming moth-eaten rags.
3.
The value of your gold and silver is dropping fast, yet it will stand as evidence against you, and eat your flesh like fire. That is what you have stored up for yourselves in that coming day of judgment.
4.
For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. Their cries have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
5.
You have spent your years here on earth having fun, satisfying every whim, and now your fat hearts are ready for the slaughter.
6.
You have condemned and killed good men who had no power to defend themselves against you.
Summary
You rich people who have slaughtered the weak and innocent only fattened yourselves for the day of your own slaughter in Gods judgment.
Comment
In these six verses James continues his discussion with the non-present and non-Christian rich. His opening remark, come now, is the same remark with which he started the discussion in Jas. 4:13. He is still discussing the same type of rich he mentioned in chapter two, who oppress the Christians and drag them before the courts. Here James is not concerned with their ungodly actions, but with their ungodly destiny.
Since the rich are not present, James must be speaking for the benefit of the Christian who will read his letter. Filled with frustration over an unceasing fraud at the hands of rich people, the saint might begin to wonder wherein is the justice of God. James makes it clear that vengeance belongs to Jehovah, and that Jehovah will exact payment for the oppressive and fraudulent treatment of others, Christian or not. The church of Jesus Christ must have the right perspective concerning the rich. Much of the epistle of James seems to be written for this purpose.
There is another perspective the Christian should vision correctly, also. This concerns the terrifying danger of riches. Money brings with it the ability to make money. What we really mean when we say that money makes money, is that he who has money can so manipulate his fellow man, and the law, so that he can make more money.
The rich can find legal loopholes about which the poor cannot even dream. The rich have plenty of time to scheme how they shall take money away from others. The poor man is so busy trying to earn his bread he has little time for such scheming. Money buys more than material possessions; it buys temptations, it buys smugness and self-satisfaction; it buys fraud and unchristian action. It also buys a great company of evil men who strive continually to encroach upon those same riches.
The weeping the rich man does is not a weeping of Godly sorrow, but a weeping over the terrible denunciation and future destruction predicted. It is not a sorrow over sin, but a sorrow over the results of sin. If the rich could really see their destiny and realize the justice that will be brought upon them, their weeping would reach the proportions of howling, or shrieking in terror. The miseries that shall come upon them are of such proportions that the very thought of it would make them howl like a dog that has just lost his tail.
Some commentators feel that the suffering herein described refers to the destruction of Jerusalem; or of the suffering the rich shalt have in the disappointments of this life. The language is so vivid, however, that both the magnitude and the certainty of the suffering would seem to indicate the justice of the judgment day when the Lord shall come again.
The corruption of their riches, the decay of the garments, of gold, and even the flesh of the rich man seem to indicate either a literal decay that shall be brought about by time; or a decay in the realm of spiritual values. In the latter sense, the good the riches could have done was not done, that the reward that could have come from proper usage is corrupted. The garments were used to nurture a body of sin and shameful oppression of the poor. The gold and silver were used to condemn, oppress, and persecute those that had little or nothing; and so their rust (misuse, if this view is correct) shall be a testimony against the rich man on the judgment day. Non use (i.e., non use for the purpose it should have been used) has caused the rust which is inclined to be a testimony to (or against) the rich.
In verse three, it is possible that the treasure laid up is the fire. If this is the intended reading, then the rust shall eat your flesh because you have treasured up fire. Thus the fire could be the fire of Gehennathe torture of the lost. Whether the rust shall eat your flesh like (as) fire, or the rust shall eat your flesh because you have treasured up fire, the meaning is not materially changed. In a very striking and vivid description the Holy Spirit here informs the Christian that the rich persecutors lot is not one to be envied, but rather one to be pitied.
It might seem that James here lays a charge directly against all rich people, but his context makes it quite clear that his charge is against the misuse of their riches. It is possible for a rich man to enter heaven, even though it will take special care and intervention of God Himself (see Mat. 19:23-26). It is also an established fact that the road to riches is so often a road of oppression of the poor and cheating and law circumvention. To become wealthy through covetousness or greed is idolatry. (Col. 3:5)
Rusted riches may also be laid to the charge of many wealthy people who die and leave their wealth to the State in taxes, or to relatives who are not Christian or who have no possibility of using it to glorify the cause of Christ Jesus. Many blessings also bring with them a charge of much responsibility. Worry over the possible misuse of fortunes has caused many rich folk (even Christians) to neglect and overlook the right usage of their fortunes. They finally die with their wealth giving no glory to God but all glory to the contentious and greedy spirit of the devil. No wonder God sees fit to keep so many of his own precious saints in a state that most of the world calls poverty. These saints are the truly rich, for God in His infinite wisdom has kept their lives beyond these temptations that they might not resist.
The rust of these condemned rich people is spelled out in verses four to six in very clear terms. They took advantage of their hired servants. These workmen needed their wages for their daily bread, yet they were robbed to add to the fat and delicate lives of their rich masters. The injustice done to the tenant farmer, or the hired man, will one day be made just. The cries of the persecuted poor will one day be the testimony that will cause the shrieks of their tormentors. The Lord of the Sabaoth will see to this justice. (Sabaoth means armies or hosts).
The rich man who takes his pleasure now from the poor is simply fattening himself for the day of his own slaughter. He has fed himself on the wages of the poor, and prepared his heart like sheep prepared for the kill; and he is already in the chute heading for the great slaughter-house of the judgment day.
As a final tribute to the magnitude of the testimony against him, the Holy Spirit says you have condemned, you have killed the righteous one. The righteous one could be a reference to the death of Christ through the death of His saints (Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me Mat. 25:40). Or, it could be referring to the suffering, even to death, of the righteous man that has been persecuted by the rich. Since this has been the subject of James, the latter seems to be the preferred meaning.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
CHAPTER IX
PRETENDED DEBATE WITH A RICH UNBELIEVER
Jas. 4:13 to Jas. 5:6
Introduction:
The title of this chapter is itself interpretive, and might introduce some discussion. There is no doubt but that James is here debating with a rich man; but is the rich man an unbeliever? Also, is this rich man present as James speaks, or present in the audience to which James writes? It would be better to settle these problems before beginning a more detailed study of the text.
The section in Jas. 5:1-6 is obviously addressed to the unbeliever. James here makes clear the calamities that are to befall him in the judgment so the persecuted Christian (to whom James is writing) will know that justice will prevail and that vengeance belongs to the Lord. After completing this section, he turns back to the Christian, and says, Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.
If Jas. 4:13-17 is addressed to the rich Christian, then there is a break of thought and a change of argument between the close of chapter four and the opening of chapter five. Jas. 4:13-14 of chapter four are in the same vein of condemnation as is the chapter five section. This is not conclusive, of course, but it does seem to be the most obvious and intended meaning.
One might ask, why argue with a person who will not hear the argument? This is done for the benefit of the reader rather than the call to repentance of the rich persecutor. There is no admonition for correction, nor call to repentance, as James made to the Christians in Jas. 4:8. Furthermore, the come now with which he introduces Jas. 4:13 is repeated in Jas. 5:1, indicating James is speaking to the same persons in both sections. This entire section does not contain the word brethren which James uses or implies in nearly every paragraph of the epistle.
All this seems to indicate James is turning aside and speaking to an imaginary figure who will probably never see his epistle. The rich persons being condemned really do exist, but they are not numbered among the brethren. So he tells the brethren what is going to happen to the rich man in this very dramatic fashion.
The style of argument is the diatribe of the Stoic philosophers. The debater turns to an imaginary opponent and argues with him as if he were present. It is a style of delivery that the Jewish and Greek speakers used often, and is effectively used by ministers and public speakers today.
The Christian at the time, even as now, was numbered from among the poorer classes of the world. His most avid persecutors were the enemies of Christ, especially religious people who followed some other doctrine than that of Christ. But the world was also filled with rich people who habitually made a practice of preying upon the poor. The rich man made no exception of the poor Christian. In fact, he was easy prey because of his meek demeanor. For this reason the Christian needed encouragement to hold fast to Christ in the midst of this ill treatment. The time would come when Gods justice would prevail and the rich persecutor would receive that which he had earned. So dont give up, brethren, says James, for the Lord will come and make all things right. (See Jas. 5:7-8).
TEN THREE-POINT SERMON STARTERS
THE PRESUMPTION OF MAKING PLANS WITHOUT GOD Jas. 4:13-17
1.
What we will do. (Go to this city, spend a year, trade, etc)
Do we really know what tomorrow will bring? Jas. 4:14 a.
2.
When we will do it. (Today; or tomorrow).
Do we really know when we will die? Jas. 4:14 b
3.
Why we will do it. (To get gain).
We should live to glorify Him. All other glorying is vain. Jas. 4:15-17.
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE? Jas. 4:14
1.
It is yours, to plan and do with as you will.
2.
Plans and preparations in this life are a shadow of what will come.
3.
This life is a vapor, soon gone to be replaced by eternity.
WHAT WE KNOW OF TOMORROW Jas. 4:13-17
1.
We think we know what we shall do. Jas. 4:13
2.
We should know it is in Gods hands, not ours. Jas. 4:14-15.
3.
We can know the Lords will for us in eternity. Jas. 4:17.
THE LORDS WILL Jas. 4:15-17
1.
We ought to be surrendered to it, whatever it is. Jas. 4:15.
2.
Our own will and vaunting that is contrary to Gods is sin. Jas. 4:16.
3.
The Lords will is good for me; to do good now and receive good in eternity. Jas. 4:17.
THE SIN OF OMISSION Jas. 4:17
1.
What we know of Gods will. (To Him that knoweth.)
A.
The saint, having Gods revelation, knows all things, or all He shall reveal. 1Jn. 2:20.
B.
The sinner, having the testimony of creation, knows the power and divinity of God, even if he has not heard the Word. Rom. 1:20.
2.
We do not that which we know to do. (and doeth it not)
A.
The more we know of His revelation, the more we realize our transgression.
B.
The uninformed sinner has not glorified God nor given Him thanks. Rom. 1:21.
3.
We all sin.
(But we have an Advocate and a propitiation, 1Jn. 2:1-2).
THERE SHALL BE WEEPING AND HOWLING Jas. 5:1
1.
Weeping for the spiritual torment and howling for physical torment.
2.
The miseries of eternal condemnation.
3.
They are surely coming upon the unjust and ungodly.
ROTTEN WEALTH Jas. 5:2-3
1.
Riches are corrupted. (When they are ill-gotten).
2.
Garments are moth-eaten. (When they foster selfishness and pride).
3.
Gold and silver are rusted. (When they are not used to bless God).
TREASURES LAID UP Jas. 5:1-3
1.
The bank that really counts is in heaven.
2.
The treasures of joy laid up in Christ Jesus.
3.
The treasures of fire and torment laid up for the devil.
THE LORD OF SABAOTH Jas. 5:4
1.
The hosts and armies of God.
2.
The leader of His armies.
3.
The enemy of His armies.
DELICATE LIVING Jas. 5:5 (At the expense of others).
1.
It is the taking of ones own selfish pleasure.
2.
It is preparing our hearts for a day of slaughter.
3.
It is condemning and killing the righteous.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) Go to now, ye rich.As in Jas. 4:3, it was Woe to you, worldly, so now Woe to ye rich: weep, bewailingliterally, howling for your miseries coming upon you. Comp. Isa. 13:6; Isa. 14:31; Isa. 15:3, where (in the LXX.) the same term is used;a picture word, imitating the cry of anguish,peculiar to this place in the New Testament. Observe the immediate future of the misery; it is already coming. Doubtless by this was meant primarily the pillage and destruction of Jerusalem, but under that first intention many others secondary and similar are included: for all riches certainly make themselves wings and fly away (Pro. 23:5). Calvin and others of his school fail to see in this passage an exhortation of the rich to penitence, but only a denunciation of woe upon them; in the sense, however, that all prophecy, whether evil or good, is conditional, there is sufficient room to believe that no irrevocable doom was pronounced by a Christian Jeremiah.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 5
THE WORTHLESSNESS OF RICHES ( Jas 5:1-3 ) 5:1-3 Come now, you rich, weep and wail at the miseries which are coming upon you. Your wealth is rotten and your garments are food for moths. Your gold and silver are corroded clean through with rust; and their rust is proof to you of how worthless they are. It is a rust which will eat into your very flesh like fire. It is a treasure indeed that you have amassed for yourselves in the last days!
Jas 5:1-6 has two aims. First, to show the ultimate worthlessness of all earthly riches; and second, to show the detestable character of those who possess them. By doing this he hopes to prevent his readers from placing all their hopes and desires on earthly things.
If you knew what you were doing, he says to the rich, you would weep and wail for the terror of the judgment that is coming upon you at the Day of the Lord. The vividness of the picture is increased by the word which James uses for to nail. It is the verb ololuzein ( G3649) , which is onomatopoeic and carries its meaning in its very sound. It means even more than to wail, it means to shriek, and in the King James Version is often translated to howl; and it depicts the frantic terror of those on whom the judgment of God has come ( Isa 13:6; Isa 14:31; Isa 15:2-3; Isa 16:7; Isa 23:1; Isa 23:14; Isa 65:14; Amo 8:3). We might well say that it is the word which describes those undergoing the tortures of the damned.
All through this passage the words are vivid and pictorial and carefully chosen. In the east there were three main sources of wealth and James has a word for the decay of each of them.
There were corn and grain. That is the wealth which grows rotten (sepein, G4595) .
There were garments. In the east garments were wealth. Joseph gave changes of garments to his brothers ( Gen 45:22). It was for a beautiful mantle from Shinar that Achan brought disaster on the nation and death on himself and his family ( Jos 7:21). It was changes of garments that Samson promised to anyone who would solve his riddle ( Jdg 14:12). It was garments that Naaman brought as a gift to the prophet of Israel and to obtain which Gehazi sinned his soul ( 2Ki 5:5; 2Ki 5:22). It was Paul’s claim that he had coveted no man’s money or apparel ( Act 20:33). These garments, which are so splendid, will be food for moths (setobrotos ( G4598, compare Mat 6:19).
The climax of the world’s inevitable decay comes at the end. Even their gold and silver will be rusted clean through (katiasthai, G2728) . The point is that gold and silver do not actually rust; so James in the most vivid way is warning men that even the most precious and apparently most indestructible things are doomed to decay.
This rust is proof of the impermanence and ultimate valuelessness of all earthly things. More, it is a dread warning. The desire for these things is like a dread rust eating into men’s bodies and souls. Then comes a grim sarcasm. It is a fine treasure indeed that any man who concentrates on these things is heaping up for himself at the last. The only treasure he will possess is a consuming fire which will wipe him out.
It is James’ conviction that to concentrate on material things is not only to concentrate on a decaying delusion; it is to concentrate on self-produced destruction.
THE SOCIAL PASSION OF THE BIBLE ( Jas 5:1-3 continued) Not even the most cursory reader of the Bible can fail to be impressed with the social passion which blazes through its pages. No book condemns dishonest and selfish wealth with such searing passion as it does. The book of the prophet Amos was called by J. E. McFadyen “The Cry for Social Justice.” Amos condemns those who store up violence and robbery in their palaces ( Amo 3:10). He condemns those who tread on the poor and themselves have houses of hewn stone and pleasant vineyards–which in the wrath of God they will never enjoy ( Amo 5:11). He lets loose his wrath on those who give short weight and short measure, who buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes, and who palm off on the poor the refuse of their wheat. “I will never forget any of their deeds,” says God ( Amo 8:4-7). Isaiah warns those who build up great estates by adding house to house and field to field ( Isa 5:8). The sage insisted that he who trusts in riches shall fall ( Pro 11:28). Luke quotes Jesus as saying, “Woe to you that are rich!” ( Luk 6:24). It is only with difficulty that those who have riches enter into the Kingdom of God ( Luk 18:24). Riches are a temptation and a snare; the rich are liable to foolish and hurtful lusts which end in ruin, for the love of money is the root of all evils ( 1Ti 6:9-10).
In the inter-testamental literature there is the same note. “Woe to you who acquire silver and gold in unrighteousness…. They shall perish with their possessions, and in shame will their spirits be cast into the furnace of fire” (Enoch 97: 8). In the Wisdom of Solomon there is a savage passage in which the sage makes the selfish rich speak of their own way of life as compared with that of the righteous. “Come on, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are present; and let us speedily use created things like as in youth. Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments: and let no flower of the spring pass by us. Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they be withered; let there be no meadow but our luxury shall pass through it. Let none of us go without his part of our voluptuousness; let us leave tokens of our joyfulness in every place; for this is our portion, and our lot is this. Let us oppress the poor righteous man, let us not spare the widow, nor reverence the ancient grey hairs of the aged…. Therefore, let us lie in wait for the righteous; because he is not for our turn and is clean contrary to our doings; he upbraideth us with our offending of the law, and objecteth to our infamy, the sins of our way of life” ( Wis_2:6-12 ).
One of the mysteries of social thought is how the Christian religion ever came to be regarded as “the opiate of the people” or to seem an other-worldly affair. There is no book in any literature which speaks so explosively of social injustice as the Bible, nor any book which has proved so powerful a social dynamic. It does not condemn wealth as such but there is no book which more strenuously insists on wealth’s responsibility and on the perils which surround a man who is abundantly blessed with this world’s goods.
THE WAY OF SELFISHNESS AND ITS END ( Jas 5:4-6 ) 5:4-6 Look you, the pay of the reapers who reaped your estates, the pay kept back from them by you, cries against you, and the cries of those who reaped have come to the ears of the Lord of Hosts. On the earth you have lived in soft luxury and played the wanton; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You condemned, you killed the righteous man, and he does not resist you.
Here is condemnation of selfish riches and warning of where they must end.
(i) The selfish rich have gained their wealth by injustice. The Bible is always sure that the labourer is worthy of his hire ( Luk 10:7; 1Ti 5:18). The day labourer in Palestine lived on the very verge of starvation. His wage was small; it was impossible for him to save anything; and if the wage was withheld from him, even for a day, he and his family simply could not eat. That is why the merciful laws of Scripture again and again insist on the prompt payment of his wages to the hired labourer. “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy…. You shall give him his hire on the day he earns it, before the sun goes down (for he is poor, and sets his heart upon it); lest he cry against you to the Lord, and it be sin in you” ( Deu 24:14-15). “The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning” ( Lev 19:13). “Do not say to your neighbour, ‘Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it’–when you have it with you” ( Pro 3:27-28). “Woe to him that builds his house by unrighteousness and his upper rooms by injustice; who makes his neighbour serve him for nothing, and does not give him his wages” ( Jer 22:13). “Those that oppress the hireling in his wages” are under the judgment of God ( Mal 3:5). “He that taketh away his neighbour’s living, the bread gotten by sweat, slayeth him; and he that defraudeth the labourer of his hire, defraudeth his Maker, and shall receive a bitter reward, for he is brother to him that is a blood-shedder” ( Sir_34:22 ). “Let not the wages of any man which hath wrought for thee tarry with thee, but give it him out of hand” ( Tob_4:14 ).
The law of the Bible is nothing less than the charter of the labouring man. The social concern of the Bible speaks in the words of the Law and of the Prophets and of the Sages alike. Here it is said that the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts! The hosts are the hosts of heaven, the stars and the heavenly powers. It is the teaching of the Bible in its every part that the Lord of the universe is concerned for the rights of the labouring man.
(ii) The selfish rich have used their wealth selfishly. They have lived in soft luxury and have played the wanton. The word translated to live in soft luxury is truphein ( G5171) . It comes from a root which means to break down; and it describes the soft living which in the end saps and destroys a man’s moral fibre. The word translated to play the wanton is spatalan ( G4684) . It is a much worse word; it means to live in lewdness and lasciviousness. It is the condemnation of the selfish rich that they have used their possessions to gratify their own love of comfort and to satisfy their own lusts, and that they have forgotten all duty to their fellow-men.
(iii) But anyone who chooses this pathway has also chosen its end. The end of specially fattened cattle is that they will be slaughtered for some feast; and those who have sought this easy luxury and selfish wantonness are like men who have fattened themselves for the day of judgment. The end of their pleasure is grief and the goal of their luxury is death. Selfishness always leads to the destruction of the soul.
(iv) The selfish rich have slain the unresisting righteous man. it is doubtful to whom this refers. It could be a reference to Jesus. “You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you” ( Act 3:14). It is Stephen’s charge that the Jews always slew God’s messengers even before the coming of the Just One ( Act 7:52). It is Paul’s declaration that God chose the Jews to see the Just One although they rejected him ( Act 22:14). Peter says that Christ suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust ( 1Pe 3:18). The suffering servant of the Lord offered no resistance. He opened not his mouth and like a sheep before his shearers he was dumb ( Isa 53:7), a passage which Peter quotes in his picture of Jesus ( 1Pe 2:23). It may well be that James is saying that in their oppression of the poor and the righteous man, the selfish rich have crucified Christ again. Every wound that selfishness inflicts on Christ’s people is another wound inflicted on Christ.
It may be that James is not specially thinking of Jesus when he speaks about the righteous man but of the evil man’s instinctive hatred of the good man. We have already quoted the passage in The Wisdom of Solomon which describes the conduct of the rich. That passage goes on: “He (the righteous man) professeth to have the knowledge of God, and he calleth himself the child of the Lord. He was made to reprove our thoughts. He is grievous unto us even to behold: for his life is not like other men’s, his ways are of another fashion. We are esteemed of him as counterfeits: he abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness: he pronounceth the end of the just to be blessed, and maketh his boast that God is his Father. Let us see if his words be true: and let us prove what shall happen in the end of him. For if the just man be the son of God, he will help him and deliver him from the hand of his enemies. Let us examine him with despitefulness and torture, that we may know his meekness and prove his patience. Let us condemn him with a shameful death: for by his own saying he shall be respected” ( Wis_2:13-24 ). These, says the Sage, are the words of men whose wickedness has blinded them.
Alcibiades, the friend of Socrates, for all his great talents often lived a riotous and debauched life. And there were times when he said to Socrates: “Socrates, I hate you; for every time I see you, you show me what I am.” The evil man would gladly eliminate the good man, for he reminds him of what he is and of what he ought to be.
WAITING FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD ( Jas 5:7-9 ) 5:7-9 Brothers. have patience until the coming of the Lord. Look you, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, patiently waiting for it until it receives the early and the late rains. So do you too be patient. Make firm your hearts for the coming of the Lord is near. Brothers, do not complain against each other, that you may not be condemned. Look you, the judge stands at the door.
The early church lived in expectation of the immediate Second Coming of Jesus Christ; and James exhorts his people to wait with patience for the few years which remain. The farmer has to wait for his crops until the early and the late rains have come. The early and the late rains are often spoken of in Scripture, for they were all-important to the farmer of Palestine ( Deu 11:14; Jer 5:24; Joe 2:23). The early rain was the rain of late October and early November without which the seed would not germinate. The late rain was the rain of April and May without which the grain would not mature. The farmer needs patience to wait until nature does her work; and the Christian needs patience to wait until Christ comes.
During that waiting they must confirm their faith. They must not blame one another for the troubles of the situation in which they find themselves for, if they do, they will be breaking the commandment which forbids Christians to judge one another ( Mat 7:1); and if they break that commandment, they will be condemned. James has no doubt of the nearness of the coming of Christ. The judge is at the door, he says, using a phrase which Jesus himself had used ( Mar 13:29; Mat 24:33).
It so happened that the early church was mistaken. Jesus Christ did not return within a generation. But it will be of interest to gather up the New Testament’s teaching about the Second Coming so that we may see the essential truth at its heart.
We may first note that the New Testament uses three different words to describe the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
(i) The commonest is parousia ( G3952) , a word which has come into English as it stands. It is used in Mat 24:3; Mat 24:27; Mat 24:37; Mat 24:39; 1Th 2:19; 1Th 3:13; 1Th 4:15; 1Th 5:23; 2Th 2:1; 1Co 15:23; 1Jn 2:28; 2Pe 1:16; 2Pe 3:4. In secular Greek this is the ordinary word for someone’s presence or arrival. But it has two other usages, one of which became quite technical. It is used of the invasion of a country by an army and specially it is used of the visit of a king or a governor to a province of his empire. So, then, when this word is used of Jesus, it means that his Second Coming is the final invasion of earth by heaven and the coming of the King to receive the final submission and adoration of his subjects.
(ii) The New Testament also uses the word epiphaneia ( G2015) ( Tit 2:13; 2Ti 4:1; 2Th 2:9). In ordinary Greek this word has two special usages. It is used of the appearance of a god to his worshipper; and it is used of the accession of an emperor to the imperial power of Rome. So, then, when this word is used of Jesus, it means that his Second Coming is God appearing to his people, both to those who are waiting for him and to those who are disregarding him.
(iii) Finally the New Testament uses the word apokalupsis ( G602) ( 1Pe 1:7; 1Pe 1:13). Apokalupsis in ordinary Greek means an unveiling or a laying bare; and when it is used of Jesus, it means that his Second Coming is the laying bare of the power and glory of God come upon men.
Here, then, we have a series of great pictures. The Second Coming of Jesus is the arrival of the King; it is God appearing to his people and mounting his eternal throne; it is God directing on the world the full blaze of his heavenly glory.
THE COMING OF THE KING ( Jas 5:7-9 continued) We may now gather up briefly the teaching of the New Testament about the Second Coming and the various uses it makes of the idea.
(i) The New Testament is clear that no man knows the day or the hour when Christ comes again. So secret, in fact, is that time that Jesus himself does not know it; it is known to God alone ( Mat 24:36; Mar 13:32). From this basic fact one thing is clear. Human speculation about the time of the Second Coming is not only useless, it is blasphemous; for surely no man should seek to gain a knowledge which is hidden from Jesus Christ himself and resides only in the mind of God.
(ii) The one thing that the New Testament does say about the Second Coming is that it will be as sudden as the lightning and as unexpected as a thief in the night ( Mat 24:27; Mat 24:37; Mat 24:39; 1Th 5:2; 2Pe 3:10). We cannot wait to get ready when it comes; we must be ready for its coming.
So, the New Testament urges certain duties upon men.
(i) They must be for ever on the watch ( 1Pe 4:7). They are like servants whose master has gone away and who, not knowing when he will return, must have everything ready for his return, whether it be at morning, at midday, or at evening ( Mat 24:36-51).
(ii) Long delay must not produce despair or forgetfulness ( 2Pe 3:4). God does not see time as men do. To him a thousand years are as a watch in the night and even if the years pass on, it does not mean that he has either changed or abandoned his design.
(iii) Men must use the time given them to prepare for the coming of the King. They must be sober ( 1Pe 4:7). They must get to themselves holiness ( 1Th 3:13). By the grace of God they must become blameless in body and in spirit ( 1Th 5:23). They must put off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light now that the day is far spent ( Rom 13:11-14). Men must use the time given them to make themselves such that they can greet the coming of the King with joy and without shame.
(iv) When that time comes, they must be found in fellowship. Peter uses the thought of the Second Coming to urge men to love and mutual hospitality ( 1Pe 4:8-9). Paul commands that all things be done in love–Maran-atha ( G3134) –the Lord is at hand ( 1Co 16:14; 1Co 16:22). He says that our forbearance must be known to all men because the Lord is at hand ( Php_4:5 ). The word translated “forbearance” is epieikes ( G1933) which means the spirit that is more ready to offer forgiveness than to demand justice. The writer to the Hebrews demands mutual help, mutual Christian fellowship, mutual encouragement because the day is coming near ( Heb 10:24-25). The New Testament is sure that in view of the Coming of Christ we must have our personal relationships right with our fellow-men. The New Testament would urge that no man ought to end a day with an unhealed breach between himself and a fellow-man, lest in the night Christ should come.
(v) John uses the Second Coming as a reason for urging men to abide in Christ ( 1Jn 2:28). Surely the best preparation for meeting Christ is to live close to him every day.
Much of the imagery attached to the Second Coming is Jewish, part of the traditional apparatus of the last things in the ancient Jewish mind. There are many things which we are not meant to take literally. But the great truth behind all the temporary pictures of the Second Coming is that this world is not purposeless but going somewhere, that there is one divine far-off event to which the whole creation moves.
THE TRIUMPHANT PATIENCE ( Jas 5:10-11 ) 5:10-11 Brothers, take as an example of patience in hardship the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Look you, we count those who endure blessed. You have heard of Job’s steadfast endurance and you have seen the conclusion of his troubles which the Lord gave to him, and you have proof that the Lord is very kind and merciful.
It is always a comfort to feel that others have gone through what we have to go through. James reminds his readers that the prophets and the men of God could never have done their work and borne their witness had they not patiently endured. He reminds them that Jesus himself had said that the man who endured to the end was blessed for he would be saved ( Mat 24:13).
Then he quotes the example of Job, of whom in the synagogue discourses they had often heard. We generally speak of the patience of Job which is the word the King James Version uses. But patience is far too passive a word. There is a sense in which Job was anything but patient. As we read the tremendous drama of his life we see him passionately resenting what has come upon him, passionately questioning the conventional arguments of his so-called friends, passionately agonizing over the terrible thought that God might have forsaken him. Few men have spoken such passionate words as he did; but the great fact about him is that in spite of all the agonizing questionings which tore at his heart, he never lost his faith in God. “Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope;” ( Job 13:15). “My witness is in heaven, and he that vouches for me is on high” ( Job 16:19). “I know that my redeemer lives” ( Job 19:25). His is no unquestioning submission; he struggled and questioned, and sometimes even defied, but the flame of his faith was never extinguished.
The word used of him is that great New Testament word hupomone ( G5281) , which describes, not a passive patience, but that gallant spirit which can breast the tides of doubt and sorrow and disaster and come out with faith still stronger on the other side. There may be a faith which never complained or questioned; but still greater is the faith which was tortured by questions and still believed. It was the faith which held grimly on that came out on the other side, for “the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning” ( Job 42:12).
There will be moments in life when we think that God has forgotten, but if we cling to the remnants of faith, at the end we, too, shall see that God is very kind and very merciful.
THE NEEDLESSNESS AND THE FOLLY OF OATHS ( Jas 5:12 ) 5:12 Above all things, my brothers, do not swear, neither by heaven nor by earth nor by any other oath. Let your yes be a simple yes and your no a simple no, lest you fall under judgment.
James is repeating the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount ( Mat 5:33-37), teaching which was very necessary in the days of the early church. James is not thinking of what we call bad language but of confirming a statement or a promise or an undertaking by an oath. In the ancient world, there were two evil practices.
(i) There was a distinction–especially in the Jewish world–between oaths which were binding and oaths which were not binding. Any oath in which the name of God was directly used was considered to be definitely binding; but any oath in which direct mention of the name of God was not made was held not to be binding. The idea was that, once God’s name was definitely used, he became an active partner in the transaction, but he did not become a partner unless his name was so introduced. The result of this was that it became a matter of skill and sharp practice to find an oath which was not binding. This made a mockery of the whole practice of confirming anything by an oath.
(ii) There was in this age an extraordinary amount of oath-taking. This in itself was quite wrong. For one thing, the value of an oath depends to a large extent on the fact of it being very seldom necessary to take one. When oaths became a commonplace, they ceased to be respected as they ought to be. For another thing, the practice of taking frequent oaths was nothing other than a proof of the prevalence of lying and cheating. In an honest society no oath is needed; it is only when men cannot be trusted to tell the truth that they have to be put upon oath.
In this the ancient writers on morals thoroughly agreed with Jesus. Philo says, “Frequent swearing is bound to beget perjury and impiety.” The Jewish Rabbis said, “Accustom not thyself to vows, for sooner or later thou wilt swear false oaths.” The Essenes forbade all oaths. They held that if a man required an oath to make him tell the truth, he was already branded as untrustworthy. The great Greeks held that the best guarantee of any statement was not an oath but the character of the man who made it; and that the ideal was to make ourselves such that no one would ever think of demanding an oath from us because he would be certain that we would always speak the truth.
The New Testament view is that every word is spoken in the presence of God and ought, therefore, to be true; and it would agree that the Christian must be known to be a man of such honour that it will be quite unnecessary ever to put him on oath. The New Testament would not entirely condemn oaths but it would deplore the human tendency to falsehood which on occasion makes oaths necessary.
A SINGING CHURCH ( Jas 5:13-15 ) 5:13-15 Is any among you in trouble? Let him pray. Is any in good spirits? Let him sing a hymn. Is any among you sick? Let him call in the elders of the Church; and let them anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, and pray over him; and the believing prayer will restore to health the ailing person, and the Lord will enable him to rise from his bed; and even if he has committed sin, he will receive forgiveness.
Here we have set out before us certain dominant characteristics of the early church.
It was a singing church; the early Christians were always ready to burst into song. In Paul’s description of the meetings of the Church at Corinth, we find singing an integral part ( 1Co 14:15; 1Co 14:26). When he thinks of the grace of God going out to the Gentiles, it reminds him of the joyous saying of the Psalmist: “I will praise thee among the Gentiles, and sing to thy name” ( Rom 15:9; compare Psa 18:49). The Christians they speak to each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in their hearts to the Lord ( Eph 5:19). The word of Christ dwells in them, and they teach and admonish each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in their hearts to the Lord ( Col 3:16). There was a joy in the heart of the Christians which issued from their lips in songs of praise for the mercy and the grace of God.
The fact is that the heathen world has always been sad and weary and frightened. Matthew Arnold wrote a poem describing its bored weariness.
“On that hard Pagan world disgust
And secret loathing fell;
Deep weariness and sated lust
Made human life a hell.
In his cool hall, with haggard eyes,
The Roman noble lay;
He drove abroad in furious guise
Along the Appian Way;
He made a feast, drank fierce and fast,
And crowned his hair with flowers–
No easier nor no quicker past
The impracticable hours.”
In contrast with that weary mood the accent of the Christian is singing joy. That was what impressed John Bunyan when he heard four poor old women talking, as they sat at a door in the sun: “Methought they spake, as if joy did make them speak.” When Bilney, the martyr, grasped the wonder of redeeming grace, he said, “It was as if dawn suddenly broke on a dark night.” Archibald Lang Fleming, the first Bishop of the Arctic, tells of the saying of an Eskimo hunter: “Before you came the road was dark and we were afraid. Now we are not afraid, for the darkness has gone away and all is light as we walk the Jesus way.”
Always the church has been a singing Church. When Pliny, governor of Bithynia, wrote to Trajan, the Roman Emperor, in A.D. 111 to tell him of this new sect of Christians, he said that his information was that “they are in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it is light, when they sing in alternate verses a hymn to Christ as God.” In the orthodox Jewish synagogue, since the Fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, there has been no music, for, when they worship, they remember a tragedy; but in the Christian Church, from the beginning until now, there has been the music of praise, for the Christian remembers an Infinite love and enjoys a present glory.
A HEALING CHURCH ( Jas 5:13-15 continued) Another great characteristic of the early church was that it was a healing Church. Here it inherited its tradition from Judaism. When a Jew was ill, it was to the Rabbi he went rather than to the doctor; and the Rabbi anointed him with oil–which Galen the Greek doctor called “the best of all medicines”–and prayed over him. Few communities can have been so devotedly attentive to their sick as the early church was. Justin Martyr writes that numberless demoniacs were healed by the Christians when all other exorcists had been helpless to cure them and all drugs had been unavailing. Irenaeus, writing far down the second century, tells us that the sick were still healed by having hands laid on them. Tertullian, writing midway through the third century, says that no less a person than the Roman Emperor, Alexander Severus, was healed by anointing at the hands of a Christian called Torpacion and that in his gratitude he kept Torpacion as a guest in his palace until the day of his death.
One of the earliest books concerning Church administration is the Canons of Hippolytus, which goes back to the end of the second century or the beginning of the third. It is there laid down that men who have the gift of healing are to be ordained as presbyters after investigation has been made to ensure that they really do possess the gift and that it comes from God. That same book gives the noble prayer used at the consecration of the local bishops, part of which runs: “Grant unto him, O Lord…the power to break all the chains of the evil power of the demons, to cure all the sick, and speedily to subdue Satan beneath his feet.” In the Clementine Letters the duties of the deacons are laid down; and they include the rule: “Let the deacons of the Church move about intelligently and act as eyes for the bishop…. Let them find out those who are sick in the flesh, and bring such to the notice of the main body who know nothing of them, that they may visit them, and supply their wants.” In the First Epistle of Clement the prayer of the Church is: “Heal the sick; raise up the weak; cheer the faint-hearted.” A very early Church code lays it down that each congregation must appoint at least one widow to take care of women who are sick. For many centuries the Church consistently used anointing as a means of healing the sick. In fact it is important to note that the sacrament of unction, or anointing, was in the early centuries always designed as a means of cure, and not as a preparation for death as it now is in the Roman Catholic Church. It was not until A.D. 852 that this sacrament did, in fact, become the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, administered to prepare for death.
The Church has always cared for her sick; and in her there has always resided the gift of healing. The social gospel is not an appendix to Christianity; it is the very essence of the Christian faith and life.
A PRAYING CHURCH ( Jas 5:16-18 ) 5:16-18 Confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other, that you may be healed. The prayer of a good man, when it is set to work, is very powerful. Elijah was a man with the same emotions as ourselves, and he prayed earnestly that it should not rain, and for three years and six months no rain fell upon the earth. And he prayed again and the heaven gave rain; and the earth put forth her fruit.
There are in this passage three basic ideas of Jewish religion.
(i) There is the idea that all sickness is due to sin. It was a deeply-rooted Jewish belief that where there were sickness and suffering, there must have been sin. “There is no death without guilt,” said the Rabbis, “and no suffering without sin.” The Rabbis, therefore, believed that before a man could be healed of his sickness his sins must be forgiven by God. Rabbi Alexandrai said, “No man gets up from his sickness until God has forgiven him all his sins.” That is why Jesus began his healing of the man with the palsy by saying, “My son, your sins are forgiven” ( Mar 2:5). The Jew always identified suffering and sin. Nowadays we cannot make this mechanical identification; but this remains true–that no man can know any health of soul or mind or body until he is right with God.
(ii) There is the idea that, to be effective, confession of sin has to be made to men, and especially to the person wronged, as well as to God. In a very real sense it is easier to confess sins to God than to confess them to men; and yet in sin there are two barriers to be removed–the barrier it sets up between us and God, and the barrier it sets up between us and our fellow-men. If both these barriers are to be removed, both kinds of confession must be made. This was, in fact, the custom of the Moravian Church and Wesley took it over for his earliest Methodist classes. They used to meet two or three times a week “to confess their faults to one another and to pray for one another that they might be healed.” This is clearly a principle which must be used with wisdom. It is quite true that there may be cases where confession of sin to each other may do infinitely more harm than good; but where a barrier has been erected because of some wrong which has been done, a man must put himself right both with God and his fellow-man.
(iii) Above all, there is the idea that no limits can be set to the power of prayer. The Jews had a saying that he who prays surrounds his house with a wall stronger than iron. They said, “Penitence can do something; but prayer can do everything.” To them prayer was nothing less than contacting the power of God; it was the channel through which the strength and grace life. How much more must this be so for a Christian?
Tennyson wrote:
“More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice
Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
For what are men better than sheep or goats
That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
For so the whole round earth is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.”
As the Jew saw it, and as indeed it is, to cure the his of life we need to be right with God and right with men, and we need to bring to bear upon men through prayer the mercy and the might of God.
Before we leave this passage there is one interesting technical fact that we must note. It quotes Elijah as an example of the power of prayer. This is an excellent illustration of how Jewish rabbinic exegesis developed the meaning of Scripture. The full story is in 1Ki 17:1-24; 1Ki 18:1-46. The three years and six months–a period also quoted in Luk 4:25 –is a deduction from 1Ki 18:1. Further, the Old Testament narrative does not say that either the coming or the cessation of the drought was due to the prayers of Elijah; he was merely the prophet who announced its coming and its going. But the Rabbis always studied Scripture under the microscope. In 1Ki 17:1 we read: “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” Now the Jewish attitude of prayer was standing before God; and so in this phrase the Rabbis found what was to them an indication that the drought was the result of the prayers of Elijah. In 1Ki 18:42 we read that Elijah went up to Carmel, bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees. Once again the Rabbis saw the attitude of agonizing prayer; and so found what was to them an indication that it was the prayer of Elijah which brought the drought to an end.
THE TRUTH WHICH MUST BE DONE ( Jas 5:19-20 ) 5:19-20 My brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and if anyone turns him again to the right way, let him know that he who has turned a sinner from his wandering way will save his brothel’s soul from death and will hide a multitude of his own sins.
In this passage there is set down the great differentiating characteristic of Christian truth. It is something from which a man can wander. It is not only intellectual, philosophical and abstract; it is always moral truth.
This comes out very clearly when we go to the New Testament and look at the expressions which are used in connection with truth. Truth is something which a man must love ( 2Th 2:10); it is something which a man must obey ( Gal 5:7); it is something which a man must display in life ( 2Co 4:2); it is something which must be spoken in love ( Eph 4:15); it is something which must be witnessed to ( Joh 18:37); it is something which must be manifested in a life of love ( 1Jn 3:19); it is something which liberates ( Joh 8:32); and it is something which is the gift of the Holy Spirit, sent by Jesus Christ ( Joh 16:13-14).
Clearest of all is the phrase in Joh 3:21, he who does what is true. That is to say, Christian truth is something which must be done. It is not only the object of the search of the mind; it is always moral truth issuing in action. It is not only something to be studied but something to be done; not only something to which a man must submit only his mind but something to which he must submit his whole life.
THE SUPREME HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT ( Jas 5:19-20 continued) James finishes his letter with one of the greatest and most uplifting thoughts in the New Testament; and yet one which occurs more than once in the Bible. Suppose a man goes wrong and strays away; and suppose a fellow-Christian rescues him from the error of his ways and brings him back to the right path. That man has not only saved his brother’s soul, he has covered a multitude of his own sins. In other words, to save another’s soul is the surest way to save one’s own.
Mayor points out that Origen has a wonderful passage in one of his Homilies in which he indicates these six ways in which a man may gain forgiveness of his sins–by baptism, by martyrdom, by almsgiving ( Luk 11:41), by the forgiveness of others ( Mat 6:14), by love ( Luk 7:47), and by converting a sinner from the evil of his ways. God will forgive much to the man who has been the means of leading another brother back to him.
This is a thought which shines forth every now and then from the pages of Scripture. Jeremiah says, “If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth” ( Jer 15:19). Daniel writes: “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever” ( Dan 12:3). The advice to the young Timothy is: “Take heed to yourself, and to your teaching; for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” ( 1Ti 4:16).
There is a saying of the Jewish Fathers: “Whosoever makes a man righteous, sin prevails not over him.” Clement of Alexandria says that the true Christian reckons that which benefits his neighbour his own salvation. It is told that an ultra-evangelical lady once asked Wilberforce, the liberator of the slaves, if his soul was saved. “Madame,” he answered, “I have been so busy trying to save the souls of others that I have had no time to think of my own.” It has been said that those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves; and certainly those who bring the lives of others to God cannot keep God out of their own. The highest honour God can give is bestowed upon him who leads another to God; for the man who does that does nothing less than share in the work of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of men.
-Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
FURTHER READING
James
E. C. Blackman, The Epistle of St. James (Tch; E)
J. B. Mayor, The Epistle of St. James (MmC; G)
C. L. Mitton, The Epistle of St. James
J. Moffatt, The General Epistles: James, Peter and Jude (MC; E)
J. H. Ropes, St. James (ICC; G)
Abbreviations
ICC: International Critical Commentary
MC: Moffatt Commentary
MmC: Macmillan Commentary
Tch: Torch Commentary
E: English Text
G: Greek Text
-Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
Fuente: Barclay Daily Study Bible
4. Denunciatory appeal to the rich for their oppression, self-indulgence, and persecution, Jas 5:1-6.
1. Go to now Note on Jas 4:13.
Rich men The rich men of St. James were something different from the honest and charitable possessors of wealth of which our Christianity has since furnished so many specimens. They displayed great outward pomp, Jas 2:2-3; they were political dynasts, ( ,) or potentates, Jas 2:6; they were blasphemers and persecutors, Jas 2:7; they used their power to defraud the labourers upon their broad acres, Jas 5:4; they held judicial positions, and used them to put the just man to death, Jas 5:6. They are, therefore, the Jewish ruling tyrant-class of the day, called rich men, because their gorgeous display of pomp and opulence is their prominent aspect to the Christian eye. Of the rich men of St. James’s day in the Roman empire generally, see note on Jas 5:6. But the strangest thing in interpreting the words of St. James is, the fact that leading commentators imagine these rich men to be Christians! Howl and shall come are both participles in the present tense. A literal rendering of the whole verse would be, Ho, now, ye rich men, weep! howling upon the miseries coming on. The howling aggravates the weep, likening them to a pack of eastern dogs.
‘Come now, you rich, weep and howl,
For your miseries that are coming on you.’
James enjoins the rich to weep and howl at what is coming on them. People weeping and howling in this way is a regular Old Testament picture. The Moabites wept and howled at what was coming on them in Isa 15:2-3. The drunkards were to weep and howl in the coming time of judgment when the supplies of wine would dry up (Joe 1:5). Now the rich also were to weep and howl because of the miseries that were coming on them. It is a sign of total misery (in total contrast with those who rejoice because they suffer for Christ’s sake – Jas 1:2). Compare also Isa 13:6; Isa 14:31; Isa 16:7; Isa 23:1; Isa 23:14; Isa 65:14; Amo 8:3).
‘For your miseries that are coming on you.’ This is amplified later as, ‘Their corrosion will be for a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh as fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days.’
Diatribe Against The Ungodly Rich ( Jas 5:1-6 ).
Notice the complete contrast between the rich as described here and those who are being tested and tried in the opening words of the letter, ‘count it all joy when you enter into testing’ (Jas 1:2) compared with ‘weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you’ (Jas 5:1). In this contrast we come to the heart of James’ letter. Those who are looking to God have much to rejoice in, while those who are friends of the world have nothing at all to rejoice in.
James has very much in mind here the unrighteous rich (in contrast with the careless rich in Jas 4:13) as seen in the light of the Old Testament, and his descriptions should be seen in that light, although he no doubt also drew on his experiences of what was happening in Jerusalem and Judea at that time. Certainly in the period between Jesus’ death and the destruction of Jerusalem the rich there had fleeced and ill-treated the people, as Josephus makes clear. And this was especially so in the time of the great famine and its aftermath, when many of the poor would be heavily in debt (Act 11:28). But most vivid in his mind were the Old Testament pictures. And he points out that just as the Old Testament had declared that they will reap what they have sown, not in a good sense, but in the worst possible sense, so will it be.
He was aware that in synagogues where his words were read (for many Christian Jews still worshipped alongside other Jews) and in churches which had grown substantially among the Gentiles, there were many rich who were ignoring the teaching of Jesus and of the Old Testament. Some of them may even have claimed to be Christians. These words are addressed to all of them, for all are subject to the law written in the heart.
Analysis.
a b Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten (Jas 5:2).
c Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh as fire (Jas 5:3 a).
d You have laid up your treasure in the last days (Jas 5:3 b).
c Behold, the hire of the labourers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, cries out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth (Jas 5:4).
b You have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter (Jas 5:5).
a You have condemned, you have killed the righteous one. He does not resist you (Jas 5:6).
Note that in ‘a’ the rich are to have misery heaped on them, and in the parallel this is because they had heaped misery on the righteous. In ‘b’ their riches are corrupted and their clothing moth-eaten, (their riches are dying around them) and in the parallel this had occurred while they had lived delicately and taken their pleasure, when others had been dying around them. In ‘c’ the corrosion of their riches will be a testimony against them, and in the parallel the hire of their labourers will cry out against them. And centrally they should recognise that they have indeed ‘laid up their treasure’ in the last days, a treasure which is rotten and useless (for they have laid it up on earth and not in Heaven).
There is a kind of semi-poetic flavour to his words here which we may depict as follows:
Come now, you rich, weep and howl,
For your miseries that are coming on you,
Your riches are corrupted,
And your garments have become moth-eaten,
Your gold and your silver are corroded,
And their corrosion will be for a testimony against you,
And will eat your flesh as fire,
You have laid up your treasure in the last days.
Behold, the hire of the labourers who mowed your fields,
Which is of you kept back by fraud cries out,
And the cries of those who reaped,
Have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth,
You have lived delicately on the earth and taken your pleasure.
You have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter,
You have condemned, you have killed the righteous one.
He does not resist (oppose) you.’
He Now Reminds Them That They Need To See Life In Terms Of The Last Day ( Jas 4:11 to Jas 5:12 ).
From this point on until Jas 5:12 there will be an emphasis on judgment, and on seeing life in the light of it. The passage parallels Jas 1:9-12, with its references to judgment, to the rich and poor and to the frailty of the rich. It proceeds in four stages:
o First he gives a warning against judging others in view of the fact that it is God and not them Who is Lawgiver and Judge. They need therefore to recognise their humble position and control their tongues accordingly, and leave judgment to God (Jas 4:11-12 a).
o That is then followed by the question as to how they can possibly judge others, both in view of the difference between them and God which has previously been described (Jas 4:11-12 a), and in view of their own brevity of life which is like a vapour that rapidly dissipates and is gone, this being something that should especially be considered by those who live to seek gain. They need to recognise that their whole life is subject to the will of God. And he concludes by pointing out that, knowing that they ought to be doing good, for them not to do so is sin. The suggestion is therefore that in the light of their frailty they would do better by concentrating on doing good rather than on making profits (Jas 4:12-17).
o He then exposes those who exploit others in order to build up wealth that is in the final analysis temporary and corruptible, reminding them that they too have to face the Last Day and that the cries of those whom they exploit reach up to God (Jas 5:1-6).
o After that He points ahead to the Lord’s coming as Judge, and advises all God’s people in the light of it to wait with patience and meanwhile not to judge others (Jas 5:7-12).
o And finally he stresses that if they are open and honest, avoiding the devious use of oaths, they will not fall under judgment (Jas 5:12).
There is also another interesting pattern. Commencing with the need not to judge others because it is God Who is the Lawgiver and Judge, and ending with the reminder that He will in His own time come to judge, he sandwiches in between them what the behaviour of the rich should be in the light of it. Those who go about seeking gain rather than doing good, and those who seek to exploit others and destroy the unresisting righteous, need to consider their ways. For life is uncertain, and riches corrupt. Neither can be relied on.
The Path of Death: Warning to the Rich – Jas 5:1-6 shows us the path of death by telling the rich man his end. Why this passage on rich people? The rich had misused the poor to obtain their wealth, and this will lead to death. James called the rich to the path of humility earlier in Jas 1:10. For those rich men who refuse this humble journey laid forth in this epistle, James speaks divine judgment upon them. God also wanted those who were being oppressed to see the dangers of wanting things other than God; for they had to live godly while enduring wrong suffering from the rich.
Divine Priorities according to the Book of Proverbs – We find in Pro 3:1-10 that God wants to bless us spiritually, mentally, physically, and financially. He lists these blessings in that priority. In other words, a person can go to Heaven is our hearts are right, even though he may not be educated, healthy or prosperous. God will bring these blessings to us in this order. When a person skips his spiritual needs and obtains wealth corruptly, the very wealth that he has obtained will be used to destroy him. This is the warning to the rich men who have used the labour of the poor to gain their wealth.
Illustration Having lived and working in African as a missionary during the larger part of my career, I have learned that many businessmen gain their wealth in Africa by withholding payment from workers. This tactic works well for many years because bribes are used to protect the business from prosecution. According to Jas 5:1-6, this same behavior was a problem among the Jewish community.
Jas 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Jas 5:1 Jas 5:1 “ weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you” Comments The phrase “weep and howl” shows an intensive structure in the Greek text, which literally reads, “weep while howling.” These rich men need to repent of their wrong doings since terrible things lie ahead for them if they do not repent.
Jas 5:1 Scripture Reference A warning to rich people who put their trust in riches:
Luk 18:24, “And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
1Co 1:26, “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:”
1Ti 6:9, “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.”
1Ti 6:17-19, “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”
Jas 5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
Jas 5:2 Jas 5:3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
Jas 5:3 Jas 5:3 “and shall eat your flesh as it were fire” – Comments We know that the word “fire” is used figuratively in the context of Pro 6:20-35 to represent the whorish woman. But the whorish woman is also figurative of a man’s love for the things of this world (Jas 4:4).
Jas 4:4, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
Thus, we can see an illustration of Pro 6:27 in the epistle of Jas 5:1-3 when the rich men are warned that their unrighteousness mammon will eat their flesh as fire.
Pro 6:27, “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?”
In other words, the more wealth that they have gained in an ungodly manner, the greater the fire that they will be subjected to in hell.
Jas 5:2-3 Comments The Corruption of the Rich Man – These rich men have laid up earthly treasurers. Note a similar statement from Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount:
Mat 6:19, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:”
Jas 5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
Jas 5:4 Deu 24:14-15, “Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.”
Jas 5:4 “which is of you kept back by fraud” – Comments Christians in developed nations may read this statement as an event that does not happen very often, as I used to read it. When I began to live in an underdeveloped nation, I saw this as a common event in a land where corruption held a stronghold. This type of situation can occur because widespread corruption makes it difficult for justice to rule. A few rich people get rich, while most people are defrauded and the nation gets poorer.
Jas 5:4 “and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth” Word Study on “the Lord of sabaoth” – The Greek word (Sabaoth) is a transcription of the Hebrew word (armies) (Strong) (G4519), which is derived from the Hebrew verb , which means, “to mass (an army or servants)” (Strong) (G6633). The phrase “Lord of sabaoth” is equivalent to “Lord of Hosts,” which is frequently found in the Old Testament.
Comments The phrase “the Lord of sabaoth” means, “the Lord of Hosts.” Why did James use this name? Just like God delivered those who cried to God in the Old Testament from many rich and warring nations, and as He delivered their cities from the approaching armies, so God will deliver us from the oppression of the enemy, because he is their Lord also, even of the Host of men and armies. The name Lord of Hosts describes God’s divine character of vengeance and judgment upon the sinner.
Illustration – Read Psalms 18.
Psa 18:17, “He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.”
Jas 5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Jas 5:5 Jas 5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
Jas 5:6 The Path of Faith and Patience – Once James lays the foundational truths in our lives that there are two ways to face trials, with humility or with pride, by becoming doers of God’s Word or by yielding to our own lusts (Jas 1:2-27), we are ready to receive much wisdom from God to help us overcome anything. James will then take us through a course of learning how to walk by faith in every area of our lives. He will show us how we demonstrate our faith by not showing partiality (Jas 2:1-26), by taming our tongue (Jas 3:1-18), and by managing our temper (Jas 4:1 to Jas 5:6).
Outline – Note the proposed outline:
1. Quick to Hear Jas 2:1-26
2. Slow to Speak Jas 3:1-18
3. Slow to Wrath Jas 4:1-12
4. Covetousness Jas 4:13 to Jas 5:6
5. Final Appeal: Patience and Prayer Jas 5:7-18
Jas 2:1-26 Quick to Hear: Overcoming Partiality by Refusing to Judge the Poor and Showing Him Mercy (Submitting our Hearts to God) One of the greatest temptations of the flesh is to show partiality among the various social classes of a church congregation. In Jas 2:1-26 we find a teaching on having faith towards God without showing partiality towards others. Jas 2:1-26 paints a picture of Jewish believers gathering in the synagogue (Jas 2:2) according to their tradition. They show partiality by seating the rich Jews in good seats near the front to be seen by others, while making the poor Jews sit or stand in the back. We know from the writings of Eusebius that James, the first bishop of the church in Jerusalem, worshipped and prayed in the Temple, showing that he sought to coexist with non-believing Jews as much as possible ( Ecclesiastical History 2.23.1-25). Thus, Jewish believers would have continued their tradition of worshiping in the Temple in Jerusalem and attending the synagogue as well as assembling with local believers. I have seen the partiality described in Jas 2:1-26 many times while a missionary in Africa, where the rich were seated in the front at functions and the poor stood outside on in the rear. This African custom was adopted by their churches as well, providing a vivid picture of this warning against showing partiality among the early church.
Outline – Here is a proposed outline:
1. Facing the Temptation of Showing Partiality Jas 2:1-7
2. The Path of Death Jas 2:8-13
3. The Path of Life Jas 2:14-26
Other Passages on Partiality – We find a similar passage of Scripture regarding warnings against partiality in 1Co 3:1 to 1Co 4:21, in which Paul teaches the Corinthians to stop showing partiality towards church leaders.
Covetousness: Overcoming Worldly Covetousness by Committing our Ways unto God (Trusting God in the Financial Realm) Another trial of faith we face is the temptation to worldly gain. We can see this being an issue in a local congregation, where Jewish synagogues traditionally consisted of those who struggled for power and influence in the local community.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. The Temptation to Boast Jas 4:13-14
2. The Path of Life Jas 4:15-17
3. The Path of Death Jas 5:1-6
Note these insightful words from Frances J. Roberts regarding human strategies:
“Thou needest make no plans nor resort to any clever strategy. Keep yourself in the love of God. Pray in the Spirit. Rejoice evermore. Set your affections upon Christ. God will do through you and for His glory such things as it pleases Him to do, and thou shalt rejoice with Him.” [119]
[119] Frances J. Roberts, Come Away My Beloved (Ojai, California: King’s Farspan, Inc., 1973), 83.
Jas 4:13-14 The Temptation to Boast James tells those of us who boast in our gains tomorrow that our lives are but a vapour, and we do not know what tomorrow holds.
Jas 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas 4:13 Jas 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:14 Pro 27:1, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”
Jas 4:14 “It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” – Comments – On two occasions in the epistle of James the Lord reminds us of the brevity of our lives (Jas 1:9-11, Jas 4:14). This reminder is placed within the message of the underlying theme of James, which is the perseverance of the saints. In Jas 1:9-11 we find an illustration in nature of the brevity of our lives. For we see how quickly it appears in all of its beauty. Within days it withers and dies.
Scripture Reference – Note similar verses:
Psa 39:5, “Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths. And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor . Selah. ( NKJV)
Psa 144:4, “ Man is like a breath ; His days are like a passing shadow.” ( NKJV)
Jas 4:14 Comments – Jas 4:14 says that we do not know what shall be on the morrow. This is because God wants us to learn to trust Him day by day. However, there are many occasions in which the Holy Spirit will reveal future events to us in order to protect us or to give us guidance or to prepare us for future events. For example, see find in the Scriptures that Paul and Peter knew their death was eminent, by special revelation. But most people do not know the day of their death.
2Ti 4:6, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.”
2Pe 1:14, “Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.”
Jas 4:15-17 The Path of Life The way we overcome covetousness for this world’s goods is to commit our ways unto the Lord.
Jas 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
Jas 4:15 Luk 22:42, “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
1Co 4:19, “But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.”
Jas 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
Jas 4:16 Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Jas 4:17 Scripture Reference – Note a similar passage:
Num 15:27-31, “And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. But the soul that doeth ought resumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.”
Various Admonitions in View of the Nearness of the Judgment.
Exhortation to the rich:
v. 1. Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
v. 2. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
v. 3. Your gold and silver is cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
v. 4. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
v. 5. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
v. 6. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
To the remarks which the author has written concerning the rich in the first part of his letter he now adds an exhortation in which he calls upon them directly to consider their ways: Come now, you rich men, weep with lamentation over your calamities which are impending. He wants the rich people to take notice, to stop for a moment in their mad scramble for wealth. For even a superficial consideration of their actual position will take all self-satisfaction and pretended happiness out of their heart and mouth, and cause them, instead, to weep bitterly, unto howling, over the miseries and calamities which are drawing near them. It is a prophetic warning of great energy. See Luk 6:24.
The reason why the rich people, those that put their trust in the wealth of this world, will be reduced to a state of pitiful lamentation, is given by the apostle: Your wealth is rotting, and your garments are becoming moth-eaten. Men in that condition believe that their money, their riches, are secure against every contingency, for which reason they also place their full trust in that which their hands have heaped up. But it is in fact decaying, putrefying; their confidence is resting upon a rotten foundation. And their rich and costly clothes and garments, which they have gathered from all the countries of the earth, are becoming moth-eaten. Such is that in which they find their delight, transient, perishable, without lasting value, yea, more, valueless in the sight of God. See Mat 6:19-20. The same is said in the next sentence: Your gold and silver is rusted, and their rust will be a testimony against you and shall consume your flesh like fire; you have heaped up treasure in these last days. The apostle uses strong figurative language. All the money upon which they that will be rich are relying with such complete abandon is covered with filth; it belongs to the perishable goods of this world, all of which will eventually return to the dust and be consumed at the end. This dust or filth or rust will testify against them that they have put their trust in such decaying matter. Instead of satisfying the soul forever, the time will come when this dust and rubbish for which men sold their immortal souls will prove a torment to them, eating into their bodies with the everlasting fire of hell. For the charge stands against them that they heaped up riches for themselves in these last days of the world. They were not satisfied with the blessing which the Lord places upon honest work, with the necessaries of life, but believed themselves under the obligation of storing up, of gathering together, wealth, never resting, never satisfied.
The sacred writer now shows in what manner this heaping up of riches was largely done: Behold, the hire of the laborers that have harvested your fields, of which you have defrauded them, is crying out, and the cries of the harvesters have come to the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. It is the ancient controversy between capital and labor which is here touched upon. The rich men hired the laborers for the purpose of harvesting the rich fields of grain which they should have looked upon as the blessing of the Lord. But after the workmen had performed their labor in storing the rich gifts of God’s goodness, which incidentally brought new riches to the owners, the latter calmly ignored the fact that the wages were to be paid. It is the same complaint which has arisen thousands of times since, the wealthy owners of farms and factories withholding from the men that work for them the wages due them, while they themselves pocket a disproportionate gain, thus defrauding both their workmen and the public. If only capitalists and laborers both would but heed the warning that it is God who in such cases hears the crying of even the senseless creature, and that the moaning of those that are wronged comes to His ears! He is the Lord of Sabaoth, the King of the heavenly multitudes, the almighty God, the righteous Judge.
There is another accusation that must be brought: You have reveled on the earth and lived a life of dissipation; you have fattened your hearts as in the day of slaughter. That is one of the chief temptations connected with wealth, one of the reasons why the curse of God often attends its acquisition, namely, that people use their wealth for the purpose of leading a life of pleasure, of enjoying this life to the full, of living deliciously and voluptuously, in dissipation and wantonness, in self-indulgence of every form. This is very fittingly expressed when the apostle says that they are fattening their hearts as in the time when slaughtering is done, for then they could eat and drink their fill, forget every form of temperate living, and make their belly their God, Php_3:19 . To carry out their aims, those that seek to be rich will not hesitate to use any measures that will bring them the money which they crave: You have condemned, you have killed the righteous, and he does not resist you. This illustrates the depths of depravity to which a person will be driven when once the lust for wealth has taken hold of his heart. There may be a righteous person standing in the way, as in the case of Naboth. But it seems that this fact merely inflames the desire of the covetous all the more. There are thousands of ways in which laws may be evaded or constructed to suit the ends of the wealthy, SO long as they are willing to pay a proportionate sum of money for the legal advice they want. Often enough sentence is passed upon him that is really in the right, and examples are not missing where the righteous person was put out of the way for the sake of a few paltry dollars. Being righteous, such a person will bear the ill-treatment, often in silence, realizing the uselessness of resisting the wrong. The entire description vividly paints conditions as they obtain also today, and in the very midst of the so-called Christian communities.
EXPOSITION
Jas 5:1-6
DENUNCIATION OF THE RICH FOR
(1) GRINDING DOWN THE POOR AND KEEPING BACK THEIR WAGES;
(2) LUXURY;
(3) MURDER.
The whole section resembles nothing so much as an utterance of one of the old Jewish prophets. It might almost be a leaf torn out of the Old Testament.
Jas 5:1
Go to now (see on Jas 4:13). The Vulgate there has ecce; here, agite. Ye rich men (see on Jas 2:6). Weep and howl, etc.; cf. Jas 4:9, but note the difference of tone; there, more of exhortation; here, more of denunciation. : only here in the New Testament, but several times in the LXX., in passages of which the one before us reminds us; e.g. Isa 10:10; Isa 13:6; Isa 14:31; Isa 15:2; Isa 23:1-18. 1, 6, 14. Miseries. : only again in Rom 3:16 (equivalent to Isa 59:7); frequent in the LXX.
Jas 5:2
Description of the miseries that are coming upon them. The perfects ( ) are probably to be explained as “prophetic,” in accordance with a common Hebrew idiom. For an instance of the prophetic perfect, used as here after , see Isa 23:1, Isa 23:14,” Howl for your stronghold has been wasted.“ The miseries coming upon the rich are thus announced to be the destruction of everything in virtue of which they were styled rich. Their costly garments, in a great store of which the wealth of an Eastern largely consists, should become moth-eaten. Their gold and silver should be rusted. Bengel notes on this passage: “Scripta haec suut paucis annis ante obsidionem Hierosolymorum;” and certainly the best commentary upon it is to be found in the terrible account given by Josephus of the sufferings and miseries which came upon the Jews during the war and siege of Jerusalem. The Jewish historian has become the unconscious witness to the fulfillment of the prophecies of our Lord and his apostle. : only here in the New Testament; in the LXX., Job 16:7. is also an in the New Testament; in LXX. used also of garments in Job 13:28.
Jas 5:3
With this and the preceding verse contrast our Lord’s words of treasure laid up in heaven, “where moth and rust do not corrupt” (Mat 6:19). Cankered (); better, rusted. Only here in the New Testament; never in the LXX. except Ecclesiasticus 12:11. The rust of them. : used here for “rust” as in the LXX. in Ezekiel’s parable of the boiling pot (Eze 24:6, etc)a passage which (according to one interpretation) may have suggested the following clause, “and shall eat your flesh,” etc. (see verses 9-12). Shall he a witness against you ( ). The rendering of the A.V. is quite defensible, but it is equally possible to take the words as the R.V. margin,” for a testimony unto you.” “The rust of them,” says Alford, “is a token of what shall happen to yourselves; in the consuming of your wealth you see depicted your own.” Two interpretations of the latter part of the verse are possible, depending on the punctuation adopted.
(1) As the A.V. and R.V., putting the stop after : “Their rust shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days.” The “fire,” if this rendering be adopted, may be explained from Eze 24:9, etc.
(2) Putting the stop after and before : “Their rust shall eat your flesh. Ye have heaped up as it were fire in the last days.” This has the support of the Syriac (“Ye have gathered fire for you for the last days”), and is adopted by Drs. Westcott and Herr. The “fire” will, of course, be the fire of judgment; and the expression, , may easily have been suggested by Pro 16:27, . The whole form of expression also reminds us of St. Paul’s “treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath” (Rom 2:5), to which it is exactly parallel, the “wrath in the day of wrath” there answering to the “fire in the last days” here. (The rendering of the Vulgate is evidently influenced by this parallel, as it has thesaurizastis iram). For the last days; rather, in the last days ( ); cf. 2Ti 3:1. If the words are connected with as suggested above, there is no difficulty in them. If the punctuation of the A.V. be retained, we must suppose that the writer is speaking from the point of view of the last day of all. “When the end came it found them heaping up treasures which they could never use” (Dean Scott). But the other view, though not so generally adopted, seems fat’ preferable.
Jas 5:4
accounts for the miseries that are coming upon them. Their sins are the cause. The language is modeled upon the Old Testament, and the special sin denounced is one that is expressly forbidden in the Law (see Deu 24:14, Deu 24:15, “Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy. At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it: for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee;” cf. Mal 3:5, “I will be a swift witness against those that oppress the hireling in his wages (LXX., )” Later allusions to the same sin are found in Tobit 4:14; Ecclesiasticus 34:22. Which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth. For of the Received Text, read (, B). It is possible to join the words with , but it is more natural to take them as the A.V. with . Reaped reaped ( ); R.V., “mowed reaped.” But it would seem that the words should have been reversed, as, judging by Old Testament usage, is always used of corn (Le 25:11; Deu 24:19; Isa 17:5; Isa 37:30; Mic 6:15); while is the wider word, including all “harvesting,” and used of in Psa 128:1-6. (127) 7; Jer 9:22. Into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. These words are adopted from Isa 5:9, , a Grecized form of the Hebrew , frequent in the LXX. Found in the New Testament only here and Rom 9:29 (in a quotation); elsewhere, e.g. in the Apocalypse, it is represented by (Rev 1:8, etc); so also in 2Co 6:18 (equivalent to 2Sa 7:8).
Jas 5:5
Further description of their sin. Ye have lived in pleasure (, here only) on the earth, and been wanton (, only here and 1Ti 5:6); ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. The of the Received Text (“as in a day,” etc., A.V) is quite wrong; it is wanting in , A, B, Latt., Memphitic. The clause seems to imply that they were like brute beasts, feeding securely on the very day of their slaughter. Vulgate (Clem), in die occisionis; but Codex Amiat., in diem occisionis. The actual expression, , may have been suggested by Jer 12:3, “Prepare them for the day of slaughter (LXX., ).“
Jas 5:6
The climax of their sin. Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one. Does this allude to the death of our Lord? At first sight it may well seem so. Compare St. Peter’s words in Act 3:14, “Ye denied the Holy One and the Just ();” St. Stephen’s in Act 7:52, “the coming of the Just One ( );” and St. Paul’s in Act 22:14, “to see the Just One ( ).” But this view is dispelled when we remember how throughout this whole passage the ideas and expressions are borrowed from the Old Testament, and when we find that in Isa 3:10 (LXX) the wicked are represented as saying, a passage which lies at the root of the remarkable section in Wis. 2., “Let us oppress the poor righteous man Let us condemn him with a shameful death.” It is probable, then, that passages such as these were in St. James’s mind, and suggested the words, and thus that there is no direct allusion to the Crucifixion (which, indeed, could scarcely be laid to the charge of his readers), but that the singular is used to denote the class collectively (cf. Amo 2:6; Amo 5:12). It is a remarkable coincidence, pointed out by most commentators, that he who wrote these verses, himself styled by the Jews, suffered death at their hands a very few years afterwards. He doth not resist you. According to the view commonly adopted, St. James simply means to say that the righteous man suffered this evil at their hands without resistance. Another interpretation seems more possible, taking the clause as interrogative, “Does he not resist you?” the subject, implied but not expressed, being God; as if he would say, “Is not God against you? “that God of whom it has already been said that he resists () the proud (comp. Hos 1:6, “I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel, but I will utterly take them away (LXX., )”)
Jas 5:7-20
CONCLUDING EXHORTATIONS
(1) TO PATIENCE (Jas 5:7-11);
(2) AGAINST SWEARING (Jas 5:12);
(3) TO PRACTICAL CONDUCT IN HEALTH AND IN SICKNESS (Jas 5:13, etc).
Jas 5:7-11
Exhortation to patience.
Jas 5:7
Be patient therefore. In his concluding remarks St. James reverts to the point from which he started (comp. Jas 1:3, Jas 1:4). is here given a wider meaning than that which generally attaches to it. As was pointed out in the notes on Jas 1:3, it ordinarily refers to patience in respect of persons. Here, however, it certainly includes endurance in respect of things, so that the husbandman is said where we should rather have expected (cf. Lightfoot on Col 1:11). Unto the coming of the Lord ( ); Vulgate, usque ad adventure Domiai. The word had been used by our Lord himself of his return to judge, in Mat 24:3, Mat 24:27, Mat 24:37, Mat 24:39. It is also found in St. Paul’s writings, only, however (in this sense), in Thessalonians (1Th 2:19; 1Th 3:13; 1Th 4:15; 1Th 5:23; 2Th 2:1, 2Th 2:8) and 1Co 15:23. St. Peter uses it in his Second Epistle (1Co 1:16; 1Co 3:4, 1Co 3:12), as does St. John (1Jn 2:28). Behold, the husbandman, etc. Consideration, exciting to patience, drawn from an example before the eyes of all. Until he receive; better, taking as the subject of the verb, until it receive. The early and the latter rain. of the Received Text has the authority of A, K, L, and the Syriac Versions; (with which agree the Coptic and Old Latin, if), . B and the Vulgate omit the substantive altogether. In this they are followed by most critical editors (e.g. Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Westcott and Hort), but not by the Revisers; and as the expression, , without the substantive, is never found in the LXX., it is safer to follow A and the Syriac in retaining here. (For “the early and the latter rain,” comp. Deu 11:14; Jer 5:24; Joe 2:23; Zec 10:1) “The first showers of autumn which revived the parched and thirsty soil and prepared it for the seed; and the later showers of spring which continued to refresh and forward both the ripening crops and the vernal products of the field” (Robinson, quoted in ‘Dictionary of the Bible,’ 2:994).
Jas 5:8
Application of illustration, repeating the exhortation of Jas 5:7, and supporting it by the assurance that “the coming of the Lord,” till which they are to endure, “is at hand.” Stablish your hearts. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. So Isaiah had announced (Isa 13:6), “The day of the Lord is near ( ).”
Jas 5:9
Grudge not, brethren; better, with R.V., murmur nota meaning which “grudge” had in the seventeenth century; cf. Psa 59:15 (Prayer-book version), “They will run here and there for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied.” What is the connection of this verse with the preceding? “Murmuring” implies sitting in judgment upon others, which has been expressly forbidden by the Lord himself. It is also the opposite to that to which St. James has been exhorting his readers. Lest ye be condemned; rather, that ye be not judged. , as in Mat 7:1. of the Received Text has absolutely no authority, nor has the omission of the article before in the following clause. Behold, the Judge, etc. The nearness of the judgment is expressed by saying that the Judge is actually standing “before the doors ( ).” So also our Lord, in his great discourse on the judgment, says (Mat 24:33), “When ye see all these things, know that he is nigh, even at the doors ( );” and comp. Rev 3:20, where he says, “Behold, I stand at the door ( ), and knock.”
Jas 5:10
The injunction is further strengthened by an appeal to the example of the prophets of the old covenant, an “example of suffering and of patience.” Read , with , B, and observe the anarthrous (cf. on Jas 4:10). Suffering affliction. .: here only in the LXX., Mal 1:13; 2 Macc. 2:26.
Jas 5:11
Behold, we count them happy. : only here and Luk 1:48 (comp. Jas 1:12, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation;” Dan 12:12, “Blessed is he that waiteth”). Which endure; rather, which endured, reading , with , A, B, Syriac, Latt. (quisustinuerunt). Ye have heard of the patience of Job. A book very rarely referred to in the New Testament; only here and in 1Co 3:19, where Job 5:13 is quoted. And have seen the end of the Lord. (“see”) is found in A, B, L, but of the Received Text has the support of , B, K, Vulgate (ridistis), and is now generally adopted. The “end of the Lord ( )” cannot possibly be interpreted of the death and resurrection of our Savior. The whole context is against this, and would certainly require the article. The Syriac Version rightly interprets the clause, “the end which the Lord wrought for him.” It dearly refers to the end which God brought about in the case of Job, whose “latter end the Lord blessed more than his beginning”. That the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy, : here only; never in the LXX, but equivalent to Hebrew ; cf. Psa 103:8, (102); Psa 111:4, (110), which may have suggested the phrase to St. James. : only here and Luk 6:36; several times in the LXX. is omitted entirely in K, L, and some manuscripts of the Vulgate; the article is also wanting in B.
Jas 5:12
Exhortation against swearing, founded on our Lord’s teaching in the sermon on the mount, Mat 5:33-37a passage which was evidently present to St. James’s thoughts. He, like his Master, “lays down rules and maxims and principles without specifying the limitations and exceptions.” The sermon on the mount, as interpreted by our Lord’s own actions, is a clear witness that this formed Ms method of teaching. If, then, his words do not touch the case of oaths solemnly tendered to men in a court of justice (and his own acceptance of an adjuration on his trial shows that they do not), no more do St. James’s. Both our Lord and his apostle had probably in view “only those profane adjurations with which men who have no deep-seated fear of God garnish their common talk”. The special oaths mentioned were those in vogue among the Jews, and just the very ones which our Lord himself had specified. On the need of such teaching as this, see Thomson’s ‘Land and the Book,’ p. 190: “This people are fearfully profane. Everybody curses and swears when in a passion. No people that I have ever known can compare with these Orientals for profaneness in the use of the names and attributes of God. The evil habit seems inveterate and universal. When Peter, therefore, ‘began to curse and to swear’ on that dismal night of temptation, we are not to suppose that it was something foreign to his former habits. He merely relapsed, under high excitement, into what, as a sailor and a fisherman, he had been accustomed to all his life. The people now use the very same sort of oaths that are mentioned and condemned by our Lord. They swear by the head, by their life, by heaven, by the temple, or what is in its place, the church. The forms of cursing and swearing, however, are almost infinite, and fall on the pained ear all day long.” So, too, Aben Ezra speaks of the practice of swearing as almost universal in his day, so that he says, “men swear daily countless times, and then swear that they have not sworn!” With regard to the translation of the verse, two renderings are possible:
(1) that of the A.V. and of the R.V. (text), “Let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay.”
(2) That of the R.V. margin, “Let yours be the yea, yea, and the nay, nay;” viz. those enjoined by our Lord (Mat 5:37), “Let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” On behalf of this latter rendering, may be pleaded
(a) the clearness of the reference to our Lord’s teaching; and
(b) the fact that this is the interpretation given to the clause in the two leading versions of antiquity, the Syriac and the Vulgate, both of which have exactly the same words here and in St. Matthew. Vulgate, Sit autem sermo vester est est, non non. Lest ye fall into condemnation. Happily the A.V. here follows the text of the Elzevirs, (, A, B, Latt., Syriac, Coptic), and so avoids the erroneous reading of Stephens, (K, L).
Jas 5:13-20
Exhortations with respect to practical conduct in health and sickness.
Jas 5:13
(1) Is any among you suffering? let him pray.
(2) Is any cheerful? let him sing praise.
Prayer in the narrower sense of petition is rather for sufferers, who need to have their wants supplied and their sorrows removed. Praise, the highest form of prayer, is to spring up from the grateful heart of the cheerful. (cf. Rom 15:9; 1Co 14:15; Eph 5:19).
Jas 5:14, Jas 5:15
Directions in ease of sickness. Let him call for the elders of the Church. Of the original creation of the presbyterate no account is given, but elders appear as already existing in Judaea in Act 11:30; and from Act 14:23 we find that St. Paul and St. Barnabas “appointed elders in every Church” which they had founded on their first missionary journey. Nothing, therefore, can be concluded with regard to the date of the Epistle from this notice of elders. The elders were to be summoned for a twofold purpose:
(1) that they might pray over the sick person; and
(2) that they might anoint him with oil in the Name of the Lord,
The result anticipated is also twofold:
(1) “the prayer of faith shall save the sick” (“save,” , here as in other passages, e.g. Mat 9:21, Mat 9:22, etc., refers to bodily healing); and
(2) “if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him.” Anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord. By the omission of the last words, , B has the striking reading, “anointing him with oil in THE NAME” (compare the use of absolutely in Act 5:41; 3Jn 1:7). A similar use is also found in the Epistles of Ignatius. The Vatican Manuscript, however, appears to stand quite alone in this reading here. If the words, , be admitted, they must be taken as referring to the Lord Jesus (contrast Act 14:10, ). So also in Act 14:15 the Lord ( ) who shall raise him up is clearly the Lord Jesus. Had God the Father been alluded to we should probably have had the anarthrous after the manner of the LXX. (see note on Jas 4:10). Unction is mentioned in connection with the sick also in Mar 6:13. The apostles “anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them;” and compare the parable of the good Samaritan (Luk 10:34), “pouring in wine and oil.” “Josephus mentions that among the remedies employed in the ease of Herod, he was put into a sort of oil bath The medicinal use of oil is also mentioned in the Mishna, which thus exhibits the Jewish practice of that day”. According to Tertullian, “the Christian Proculus, surnamed Torpacion, the steward of Euhodus,” cured with oil Severus, the father of Antonino (i.e. Caracalla), who “in gratitude kept him in his palace till the day of his death.” Tertullian, ‘Ad Scapulam,’ c. 4. (see Oehler’s notes on the passage). But in the case before us if, as in these other instances, the oil was used as an actual remedy,
(1) why was it to be administered by the elders? and
(2) why is the healing immediately afterwards attributed to “the prayer of faith”? These questions would seem to suggest that oil was enjoined by St. James rather as an outward symbol than as an actual remedy. A further question remains to which a few lines must be devoted. Is the apostle prescribing a rite for all times? On the one hand, we are told that the use of oil was connected with the miraculous powers of healing, and therefore ceased “when those powers ceased”. On the other hand, the passage is appealed to as warranting the Roman Catholic sacrament of extreme unction. With regard to the practice of the early Church, there is a constant stream of testimony to the use of oil for purposes of healing; e.g. the case in Tertullian already quoted, and many others in the fourth and fifth centuries. But
(1) as originally practiced it was administered by laymen and even by women.
(2) After the blessing of the oil was restricted to bishops it was still regarded as immaterial by whom the unction was performed. So Psalm-Innocent, ‘Ep. ad Decent.,’ 8, “Being made by the bishop, it is lawful not for priests only, but for all Christians, to use it in anointing in their own need or in that of their friends.”
(3) Not till the middle of the ninth century do we meet with any express injunction to the priest to perform the unction himself.
(4) “The restraint of the unction to the priest had momentous consequences. The original intention of it in relation to healing of the body was practically forgotten, and the rite came to be regarded as part of a Christian’s immediate preparation for death. Hence in the twelfth century it acquired the name of ‘the last unction,’ unctio extrema (Peter Lombard, ‘ Sent.,’ 4.23), i.e. as the Catechism of Trent asserts (‘De Extr. Unct.,’ 3), the last of those which a man received from the Church. In the thirteenth it was placed by the schoolmen among the seven rites to which they limited the application of the term sacrament”. In the sixteenth century it was definitely laid down at the Council of Trent,
(1) that it is a sacrament instituted by our Lord;
(2) that by it grace is conferred, sin remitted, and the sick comforted, “sometimes also” the recovery of health is obtained;
(3) that it should be given to those in danger of death, but if they recover they may receive it again (Session 14. c. 9). Further, the Catechism of the Council condemns as a grievous error the practice of waiting to anoint the sick “until all hope of recovery being now lost, life begins to ebb, and the sick person to sink into lifeless insensibility.” In spite of this, however, the common practice in the Roman Catholic Church at the present day appears to be to administer the rite only to persons in extremis. Turning now to the Eastern Church, we notice that a rite of unction has been continued there up till the present time. The service, which is a somewhat lengthy one, may be seen in Daniel’s ‘Codex Liturgicus,’ bk. 4. c.v.; and cf. Neale’s ‘Holy Eastern Church,’ Introd., vol. it. p. 1035, where it is noted that it differs from the Western use in three points:
(1) the oil is not previously consecrated by the bishop, but at the time by seven priests;
(2) the unction is not conferred only in extremis, but in slighter illness, and if possible in the church;
(3) it is not usually considered valid unless at least three priests are present to officiate. It has been thought well to give this slight historical sketch, as affording the best answer to the claims of Romanists by showing how they have gradually departed from the primitive custom and changed the character of the rite. But the sketch will also have shown that it is scarcely accurate to imply that unction ceased when the miraculous powers ceased. At the Reformation, when the English Church wisely rejected the mediaeval service for extreme unction, she yet retained in the first English Prayer-book a simple form of unction, to be used “if the sick person desire it,” consisting of
(1) anointing, “upon the forehead or breast only,” with the sign of the cross; and
(2) prayer for the inward anointing of the soul with the Holy Ghost, and for restoration of bodily health and strength. Thus the service was entirely primitive in character, and it is hard to see what valid objection could be raised to it. It was, however, omitted from the second English Prayer-book of 1552, and has never been restored. The justification, I suppose, of this disuse of unction must be sought in the entire absence of evidence that the primitive Church understood the passage before us as instituting a religious rite to be permanently continued. All the earliest notices of unction refer simply to its use for healing purposes.
Jas 5:16
Confess therefore your sins, etc. The authority for the insertion of (omitted in the Received Text) is overwhelming (, A, B, K, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic), as is also that for the substitution of for , which includes the three oldest manuscripts, , A, B, the two latter of which also read for . It is difficult to know exactly what to make of this injunction to confess “one to another,” which is stated in the form of an inference from the preceding. The form of the expression, “one to another,” and the perfectly general term, “a righteous man,” forbid us to see in it a direct injunction to confess to the clergy, and to the clergy only. But on the other hand, it is unfair to lose sight of the fact that it is directly connected with the charge to send for the elders of the Church. Marshall, in his’ Penitential Discipline,’ is perfectly justified in saying that St. James “hath plainly supposed the presence of the elders of the Church, and their intercession to God for the sick penitent, and then recommended the confession of his faults in that presence, where two or three assembled together in the Name of Christ might constitute a Church for that purpose”. We may, perhaps, be content with saying, with Bishop Jeremy Taylor, “When St. James exhorts all Christians to confess their sins one to another, certainly it is more agreeable to all spiritual ends that this be done rather to the curate of souls than to the ordinary brethren” (‘Dissuasive from Popery,’ II. Jas 1:11; cf. Hooker, ‘Eccl. Pol.,’ 6. Ecc 4:5, Ecc 4:7). The effectual fervent prayer, etc.; rather, the petition of a righteous man availeth much in its working. On the distinction between the narrower, and the wider word, see Trench on ‘ Synonyms,’ p. 179.
Jas 5:17, Jas 5:18
Illustration of the last statement of Jas 5:16, from the case of Elijah, “a righteous man” under the old covenant, but one “of like passions with us,” and therefore one from whose case it is lawful to argue to our own. Subject to like passions as we are. : simply “of like passions with us;” cf. Act 14:15, where it is used in just the same way. In the LXX. only in Wis. 7:3. He prayed earnestly. : a Hebraism, not infrequent in the New Testament (see Luk 22:15; Joh 3:29; Act 4:17; Act 5:28; Act 23:1-35. 14), in imitation of the Hebrew dissolute infinitive. For the incident alluded to by St. James, see 1Ki 17:1; 1Ki 18:1; but note
(1) that we are never told that the famine was in consequence of Elijah’s prayer; and
(2) nothing is said of the duration of time (three years and a half) during which it rained not upon the earth. All we read is that “after many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year;” but there is no clear indication from what period this “third year” is dated.
With regard to
(1), it may have been St. James’s own inference from the narrative, or may have been due to tradition. With regard to
(2), the very same time is mentioned by our Lord in his allusion to the same incident (Luk 4:25), “the heaven was shut up three years and six months.” And as the same period is said to be given in the Yalkut Shimeoni on 1Ki 16:1-34., it was probably the time handed down by tradition, being taken by the Jews as a symbol of times of tribulation (cf. Dan 7:25; Dan 12:7; Rev 11:2).
Jas 5:19
Final exhortation; introduced, as was the opening one (Jas 1:2), by the emphatic “my brethren.” The Received Text omits , but it is found in , A, B, K, Vulgate.
Jas 5:20
Let him know. So , A, K, L, Latt., Syriac, B has , “know ye.” After , , A, and Vulgate add . B has it after . And shall cover a multitude of sins ( ). The same expression occurs in 1Pe 4:8, “Charity covereth a multitude of sins.“ It is founded on Pro 10:12, , “Love covereth all sins,” where the LXX. goes entirely astray: : but cf. Psa 31:1; Psa 84:3, in the LXX. It is difficult to believe that St. Peter and St. James independently hit upon the rendering for the Hebrew , as there was nothing to suggest it, the LXX. never rendering by . Probably the one was consciously or unconsciously influenced by the other. The striking position which the words occupy here, as those with which the Epistle closes, would make them linger in the memory; and there is nothing to militate against the conclusion, which appeared probable on the occasion of previous coincidences between the two writers, that St. James is the earlier of the two (comp. on Jas 4:6). The expression used by the apostle leaves it undetermined whose sins are thus “covered,” whether
(1) those of the man who is “converted from the error of his way,” or
(2) those of the man who wins him back, and through this good action obtains, by the grace of God, pardon for his own “multitude of sins.” It has been well noticed that “there is a studied generality in the form of the teaching which seems to emphasize the wide blessedness of love. In the very act of seeking to convert one for whom we care we must turn to God ourselves, and in covering the past sins of another our own also are covered. In such an act love reaches its highest point, and that love includes the faith in God which is the condition of forgiveness” (Plumptre).
The Epistle ends abruptly, with no salutation and no doxology. In this it stands almost by itself in the New Testament; the First Epistle of St. John alone approaching it in the abruptness of its conclusion.
HOMILETICS
Jas 5:1-6
The judgment on selfishness.
Selfishness lay at the root of the sinfulness of the rich men, whose conduct is so sternly denounced. The sin
(1) displayed itself mainly in heaping together treasures and living in pleasure upon the earth, as did Dives in the parable; but
(2) it led them to injustice (Jas 5:4) and even murder (Jas 5:6). So now the selfishness of those who live in splendor and luxury, while they detain the money due to tradesmen, and neglect the payment of accounts rendered, is similar in character to this detaining the wages of the laborers of which the apostle speaks in such scathing terms. “Ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.” The judgment falls when least expected. In the days of Noah they were eating anti drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away. The judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, on Babylon in the night of Belshazzar’s feast, when men were cherishing their hearts in the day of slaughter,all these are well-known types of the suddenness of the judgment that is continually falling upon individuals now, when the Son of man comes to them as a thief in the night, and of that final judgment which shall fall upon the whole world at his last advent.
Jas 5:7-11
Four considerations moving the Christian to patience.
1. The example of the husbandmanan illustration from nature. If patience is needful in things of this life, is it not also in the world of grace?
2. The approach of the second advent.
3. The example of the prophets.
4. The example and experience of Joban instance of one whose latter end the Lord blessed more than his beginning. The nearness of the Lord‘s advent a reason for patience. To most men the thought of the advent is a thought of warning and of judgment. St. James, following his Master’s example, makes it a thought of consolation. “When ye see these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Thus Christians may test their spiritual condition by considering whether the thought of its approach is to them one of consolation or of warning.
Jas 5:12
Warning against the sin of swearing.
On this text see Barrow’s great sermon, serm. 15., ‘Against Rash and Vain Swearing,’ in which is discussed
(1) the nature of an oath” an invocation of God as a faithful Witness of the truth of our words or the sincerity of our meaning;”
(2) the lawful use of oaths, as showing our religious confidence in God, and as a service conducible to his glory;
(3) the harm of rash and vain swearing
(a) to society at large, and
(b) to the person who is guilty of it; and
(4) the folly and aggravation of the offence, in that it has no strong temptation alluring to itit gratifies no sense, yields no profit, procures no honor; the vain swearer has not the common plea of human infirmity to excuse him.
Jas 5:13
The power of Divine worship.
On this verse there is a striking sermon by J. H. Newman (vol. 3. No. 23), ‘Religious Worship a Remedy for Excitement.’ “There is that in religious worship which supplies all our spiritual needs, which suits every mood of mind and every variety of circumstances, over and above the supernatural assistance which we are allowed to expect from it.” Divine worship may thus be viewed as the proper antidote to excitement. In suffering, prayer; in joy, praise. These relieve the heart, and “keep the mind from running to waste; calming, soothing, sobering, steadying it; attuning it to the will of God and the mind of the Spirit, teaching it to love all men, to be cheerful and thankful, and to be resigned in all the dispensations of Providence towards us.”
Jas 5:14-18
The power and value of intercessory prayer
I. THE POWER AND VALUE OF INTERCESSORY PRAYER, enforced by the instance of the effect of Elijah’s prayersthe petitions of a man who was of like passions with us, and therefore one from whose ease it is fair to argue to our own. Intercessory prayer may be viewed as a privilege and work in which all can have their share. While Joshua is down in the valley fighting with Amalek, Moses in the mount must lift up holy hands to God in prayer; and when Moses lifted up his hands, Joshua and Israel prevailed. So with the Church’s warfare against her spiritual foes. Those who shall intercede and cry unto God day and night are needed equally with those who will bear the burden and heat of the day in the forefront of the battle. “They also serve who only stand and wait.”
II. THE NEED OF CONFESSION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF SIN. This most necessary part of repentance is taught throughout the Bible. It is seen under the Law in the ordinances of the day of atonement (Le 16:21), and in the directions with regard to the sin offering (Le Jos 5:1-5; cf. Num 5:6, Num 5:7). It is found in the ministry of the Baptist, and continued under the Christian dispensation (Act 19:18). How much of modern repentance is shallow and superficial, because men shrink from this! They excuse their sins, and content themselves with the general acknowledgment that they are sinners, instead of acknowledging the particular sins of which they are guilty, even to God in secret. In cases, too, where the fault has been against man, these confessions (sometimes the only reparation left) should be made to him who has been wronged; and in various sins we may say that “it is good to open the soul’s grief to a wise and kind friend. The act humbles, it tests the penitence; a fairer judgment than one’s own is gained, with the help of advice and prayers. If the need be felt great, or the soul’s questions be hard, the burdened one will naturally go to some discreet and learned minister of God’s Word,” as the Prayer-book directs him (see the first exhortation in the Communion Service).
III. ELIJAH A MAN OF LUKE PASSIONS WITH US; and yet he was one of the greatest saints under the old covenant, and honored in an especial way by exemption from the common lot of mortals, being taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire. Hence in our own case, too, holiness, even saintliness, is by God’s grace attainable (cf. Goulburn’s ‘Pursuit of Holiness’ c. 1).
Jas 5:19, Jas 5:20
The blessedness of winning back a single sinner from the error of his ways.
HOMILIES BY C. JERDAN
Jas 5:1-6
The judgments coming upon the wicked rich.
This apostrophe is so dreadful that we cannot imagine it to have been addressed to professing Christians. It would rather seem that the apostle here turns aside to glance at the godless rich Jews of his time, who were in the habit of persecuting the Church and defrauding the poor (Jas 2:6, Jas 2:7). His words regarding them are words of stern denunciation. Like one of the old Hebrew prophets, he curses them in the name of the Lord. Its design in doing so, however, must have been in unison with his life-work as a Christian apostle, laboring in “the acceptable time;” he sought, by proclaiming the terrors of the Lord, to persuade to repentance and a holy life. The paragraph breaks naturally into three sections. Jas 5:1 refers to the future; Jas 5:2, Jas 5:3 to the present; Jas 5:4-6 mainly to the past. We shall consider these three sections in the inverse order.
I. THE CAUSES OF JUDGMENT IN THE PAST. (Jas 5:4-6) James mentions three.
1. Heartless injustice. (Verse 4) The humane Law of Moses forbade that the wages of the hired laborer be kept back even for a single night (Deu 24:14, Deu 24:15); but these wicked men had paid no heed to that Law. They had grown rich by defrauding the poor. Instead of relieving the needy by a liberal charity, they had not even paid the lawful debts which they owed them. And does not this sin linger in the heart of Christendom? What was American slavery but just a crushing of the poor? What was villeinage in our own country but a defrauding of the laborers? It is net yet a century since the Scotch collier was attached by law to the coal-work where he had been bornthe right to his services being bought and sold with the mine itself. In more recent times our poets have once and again given voice to great social wrongs in weeds that have rung like a tocsin through the land (e.g. Mrs. Browning’s ‘Cry of the Children,’ and Hood’s ‘Song of the Shirt’). Or, to take the form of labor referred to in verse 4, we may askIs the condition of the English ploughman even yet what it ought to be, and what our rich landlords ought to help to make it? James says that the robbing of the poor is a “crying” sin. The victims themselves cry; and even their wages, fraudulently withheld, “cry out” also from the coffers of the rich. But there is One who has ears to ear, and a heart to resent, the injustice. “The Lord of hosts” will avenge the poor of the people who trust in him.
2. Lavish luxuriousness. (Verse 5) The wealthy, wicked Jews sinned, not only against righteousness, but against temperance. They were luxurious in their living, and prodigal in their expenditure. And this wasteful life of theirs was largely maintained at the expense of the poor whom they defrauded. It was “the hire of the laborers” that had built their magnificent palaces, and bought the beds of ivory upon which they lay. They did all this “on the earth,” and as if they “should still live forever” (Psa 49:9) here. They forgot that in their godless self-indulgence they were acting like “mere animals, born to be taken and destroyed” (2Pe 2:12). Unconscious of impending ruin, they were still living voluptuously; like the fat ox, which continues to revel among the rich pastures on the very morning of the “day of slaughter.”
3. Murderous cruelty. (Verse 6) By “the righteous,” or “just,” many understand the Lord Jesus Christ; this statement being a historic allusion to the scenes of Gabbatha and Calvary. And it is very probable that the murder of our Lord was in the apostle’s mind. But we judge that the words are rather to be regarded as describing a prevalent practice of the wicked rich in every age. They apply to the death of Jesus Christ, but also to that of Stephen, and to that of James the brother of John; and they were soon to be illustrated again in the martyrdom of the writer himself. For our apostle, by reason of his integrity and purity, was surnamed “the Righteous;” and he was by-and-by condemned and killed by the scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem. But why all this oppression of “the righteous”? It is inflicted simply because they are righteous. Every holy life is an offence to evil men. Because Christ was holy, he was crucified. Because Stephen was “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit,” he was stoned. Because James was truly righteous, he was thrown from the battlements of the temple, and killed with a fuller’s club. Finally, the apostle adds, “He doth not resist you.” The righteous man submits patiently to your persecuting violence. He endures your murderous cruelty with holy meekness. Jesus did so (Isa 53:7). Stephen did so (Act 7:60). James presently would do so: he is said to have offered the very prayer for his murderers which his crucified Master had done. Such patient endurance, however, only increases the guilt of the persecutors, and shall make their doom more awful.
II. THE FIRST DROPPINGS OF JUDGMENT IN THE PRESENT. (Verses 2, 3) The material for their punishment was being prepared, in accordance with the law of retribution, out of the very wealth on which they doted. “Of our pleasant vices” Divine Providence makes “instruments to plague us.” “Your riches are corrupted;” that is, their treasures of grain and fruits were already rotting in the storehouses. Since these were not being used to feed the hungry, God’s curse was upon them all. “Your garments are moth-eaten;” because these rich men did not clothe the naked out of their costly wardrobes, the moth was cutting up these with his remorseless little tooth. “Your gold and your silver are rusted;” that is, their money, not being used for doing good, lay in their treasure-chests morally cankered by the base avarice which kept it there. And that rust shall not only eat up the wealth itself; it shall also gnaw the conscience of its faithless possessor. It shall be a witness-bearer to his sin, and an executioner of it, is punishment, By-and-by, the remorseful thought of his unused riches shall torture his soul as with the touch of burning fire. These men had “laid up their treasure in the last days;” that is, immediately before the coming of the Lord in judgment to make an end of the entire Hebrew polity. And their wealth would avail them nothing in the presence of that great catastrophe. These corrupting treasures of theirs would corrupt still further into treasures of wrath. After the first droppings would come the deluge.
III. THE FULL FLOOD OF JUDGMENT IN THE FUTURE. (Vex. 1) The “miseries” spoken of refer primarily to the sorrows connected with the impending siege and ruin of Jerusalem. These were to fall with especial severity upon the influential classes; and the Hebrews of the Dispersion, in whatsoever land they might be, were to share them. The wealthy men among the unbelieving Jews had sinned most; so they were to suffer most. Well, therefore, might they “weep” at the prospect, as only Orientals can weep; and “howl” as only brute beasts can do. But these words point onward further in history than to the destruction of Jerusalem. The full flood of “miseries” which providence is preparing shall overtake the ungodly rich only at the Lord’s second coming, when he shall appear to judge the whole world. The ruin of Jerusalem was but a faint foreshadowing of the” eternal destruction” of the wicked which shall begin at that day (Mat 24:1-51). These “miseries” suggest solemn thoughts of the doom of eternity.
LESSONS.
1. To remember the moral government of God, and to make ready to meet him in the judgment (verses 1-6).
2. The sin of the wicked prepares its own punishment (verses 2, 3).
3. One of the greatest social wants of our time is that of mutual sympathy between the capitalist and the laborer (verse 4).
4. A Christian should avoid debt as he would avoid the devil (verse 4).
5. The right use of wealth is not to spend it upon self-indulgence, but to do good with it (verse 5).
6. A man has reason to suspect the purity of his own character, if no one ever persecutes him (verse 6).C. J.
Jas 5:7, Jas 5:8
Long-suffering in view of Christ’s coming.
These words strike one of the leading chords of the Epistle. There is no grace which its readers are more earnestly exhorted to cultivate than that of patience. In the preceding verses James has been denouncing the rich ungodly Jews. The Epistle was not addressed to them, however, but to the Christian Jews who were suffering from their oppression and cruelty. So, the apostle here resumes the ordinary tenor of his letter. He exhorts the Church to continue patient and unresisting, like the ideal “righteous one” of verse 6. He suggests the thought that the Lord’s coming, while it would usher in the doom of the wicked rich, would also bring deliverance to his own people. The same event which their oppressors should contemplate with weeping and howling (verse 1) would be to the righteous a joyful jubilee.
I. THE EXHORTATION. (Verses 7, 8, first parts) To wait constitutes a large portion of religious duty. Indeed, patience is not a segment merely of the Christian character; it is a spirit which is to pervade every fiber of it. In all ages spiritual wants and trials are the same; and believers, therefore, have always the same “need of patience.” To “wait upon God” is a frequent exhortation of Scripture. The cultivation of this patience is perfectly consistent with holy activity. It springs from the same root of faith from which good works spring. We show our faith not only by our active “works,” but also when we “endure, as seeing him who is invisible.” Again, Christian patience is to coexist along with the fullest sensibility of suffering. “Long-suffering” necessarily involves the consciousness of suffering; and so does “patience,” as the etymology of the word reminds us. Christian comfort does not come to us in connection with any incapability of sorrow; it comes as the result of the subjugation of the passions, and the cultivation of complete acquiescence in the Divine will. The apostle indicates the limit of this long-suffering”until the coming of the Lord.” What advent does this mean? To the early Hebrew Christians it meant mediately the impending destruction of Jerusalem. To us it means in like manner any interposition of Providence to deliver us from trouble, including our removal by death. But the ultimate reference, both for the early Church and for us, is doubtless to the Lord’s final advent at the close of time. Then the Savior shall appear as the Judge of all, and shall forever put an end to tyranny and wrong. The thought of that great event is surely well fitted to “stablish our hearts,” i.e. to strengthen them for patient endurance.
II. THE EXAMPLE. (Verse 7, second part) As an illustration of his subject, and in order to excite the grace of patience within the hearts of his readers, James introduces an allusion to the pursuits of husbandry. Think, he says, of the long-suffering of the farmer. His is a life of arduous toils and of anxious delays. He must wait for the “early rain” in the late autumn before he can sow his seed; and for the “latter rain” in April, upon which his crops depend for the filling of the ear before the harvest ripens. This patience is necessary. Although sometimes sorely tried, it is reasonable. The “fruit ‘ which the farmer desires is “precious;” it is worth waiting for. And his long-suffering is also full of hope. It has been rewarded by the bounty of Providence in former years; and besides, if he be a pious man, he remembers the Divine assurance that “seed-time and harvest shall not cease.” Now, says the apostle, afflicted Christians are to learn from this example a lesson of long-suffering. Trial and persecution are designed to yield an infinitely more “precious” harvest than that for which the husbandman waits. This harvest is “the fruit of righteousness””the fruit of the Spirit.” And spiritual fruit takes far longer time to mellow than the natural harvest does. So “it is good for a man quietly to wait” for it. We have the assurance that in spiritual husbandry the ultimate reward is never disappointing. “In due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
III. THE ENCOURAGEMENT. (Verse 8, second part) “The coming of the Lord is at hand.” This implies, first of all, that the Lord is sure to come. While no farmer possesses an absolute certainty in reference to the harvest on his own particular farm, every one who in the spiritual sphere “sows to the Spirit” may rest assured that the day of an abundant and blessed ingathering will arrive. The Lord Jesus, who came to our world nearly nineteen centuries ago, is to come again, His second coming is the greatest event in the future of the Church. It is the pole-star of her hopes. When he appears, the spiritual harvest shall be reaped. We, accordingly, shall cherish the true spirit of long-suffering, only in so far as we “love his appearing,” and realize that the purpose of it is to reward his people and take vengeance upon their enemies. It is a sign that our faith is weak, if we meditate seldom, and pray little, about our Lord’s second coming. How different was it in this respect with the apostles and the early Church! But, if the final advent was near in the first century, it is still nearer now; and in the interval what arrears of vengeance have been accumulating! It should be our comfort in the time of trouble to reflect that “the coming of the Lord is at hand.” The whole New Testament Church lies under the shadow of the second advent. It will be an event of infinite moment, and therefore it is never far away. To the view of God, with whom “one day is as a thousand years,” this event is nigh; and the men of faith learn to see it from God’s point of view. Compared, also, with the great eternity on the other side, the second advent seems “at hand.” What an encouragement does this thought supply, in the direction of devout patience, both in working and in suffering! It should be at once a spur and an anodyne, to know that the Lord is already on his way. For, when he comes, he will reward all service, and right every wrong, and take his people home to himself.C. J.
Jas 5:9-11
Bear and forbear.
Here we have another exhortation to patience, with other examples of its exercise. In Jas 5:7, Jas 5:8, however, the apostle has had in view the persecutions which believers suffer at the hands of the ungodly; while he now refers to the trial of patience which arises from collision of feeling among Christian brethren themselves.
I. A WARNING AGAINST IMPATIENCE WITH ONE ANOTHER. (Jas 5:9) “Murmur not, brethren,” implies that believers are apt within their hearts, if not also openly, to complain of each other. Indeed, it sometimes requires greater patience to bear with composure the little frictions of feeling to which close contact with Christian brethren exposes, than to endure open and overt wrongs at the hands of persons who are not such. The warning has a lesson:
1. For the family circle. What a happy society is that of a well-ordered family, where love reigns between husband and wife, and where the parents enjoy the confidence and obedience of wisely trained children! But this fireside happiness can be enjoyed only in connection with constant mutual forbearance. How prone, sometimes, are even husband and wife to misunderstand each other! And how often are households made unhappy by envying and quarrelling among the children! Let us remember that the persons who live in the same house with us are in the very best position for appraising the value of our Christian profession. They know at least whether we are learning to bear kindly with the infirmities of our own relations, and to endure with patience petty discomforts in domestic life. The grace of God within the soul will enable us to “walk within our house with a perfect heart” (Psa 101:2).
2. For the business circle. How many offences arise among Christian men when engaged in the toil and strain of commercial competition! One brother grudges the worldly successes of his neighbor; and perhaps his heart harbors against him uncharitable accusations of dishonest dealing. But, as Abraham long ago was content that Lot should appropriate to himself the best of the land rather than that their herdmen should quarrel, so still it will do a Christian man less harm to make sometimes what is financially a bad bargain, than to soil his soul by cherishing evil thoughts regarding any brother believer.
3. For the Church circle. There is apt to be murmuring and grumbling in ecclesiastical life. Sometimes the spiritual office-bearers of a congregation get but little thanks for the work which they do. Sometimes, also, the people forget that they ought to have large mutual patience with one another. The liberal progress-loving member is apt to groan over the attitude of his conservative let-things-alone brother; and the educated and cultured Christian may fail at times to forbear with the man of narrow and exclusive views. The exemplary Church member, while ready at all times to maintain and defend his own opinions, is yet willing gracefully to yield (wherever conscience does not forbid) to what the majority decide upon, that thereby he may promote the general peace and edification.
II. THE SANCTION BY WHICH THIS WARNING IS ENFORCED. (Jas 5:9) James employs a sweetly persuasive motive in the word “brethren.” To complain of each other is to sin against the highest and most sacred brotherhood. This motive, however, is only lightly touched, in passing. The apostle backs up his warning with a solemn sanction. Echoing, as he does so often, his Master’s words in the Sermon on the Mount (Mat 7:1), he speaks of the bar of God, and of the Lord Christ the Judge. To refuse to forbear with brethren, he says, amounts virtually to an assumption of the judicial office, and will expose one’s self to be “judged.” For what right have we to judge our brethren? We lack the necessary discrimination; our own hearts are impure; and we shall very soon have ourselves to appear before the judgment-bar. Already, indeed, “the Judge standeth before the doors.” He is near at hand, to discharge perfectly those functions which we are so prone to usurp; and, in doing so, to condemn all who may have been guilty of such usurpation.
III. THE ENCOURAGEMENT AFFORDED BY CERTAIN OLD TESTAMENT EXAMPLES. (Verses 10, 11) It should cheer us, under this and every other form of trial, to remember how the great seers and saints of old endured their afflictions.
1. The example of the prophets. (Verse 10) The Jewish Christians had a deep reverence for the memory of these noble men. The prophets had been the religious teachers of ancient Israel; through them the Divine Spirit himself had spoken. The influence which they exercised while they lived had sometimes been prodigious; indeed, their power was often greater than the power of the sovereign. Yet the lot of the prophets had been one of sore affliction. They were an example to the New Testament Church:
(1) Of suffering. Their trials came upon them as the result of the fidelity with which they “spake in the name of the Lord.” It was so with Moses, Elijah, Micaiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel. The Jews indeed were accustomed to confess that the prophets generally had been persecuted (Mat 23:1-39. 30, 37; Act 7:52; Heb 11:36-38). No wonder, then, since trouble fell on these great men, that it should fall on us. We may be well contented to follow in the faith that has been trodden by “the goodly fellowship.”
(2) Of long-suffering. We are to think also of the meekness of the prophets when enduring their unparalleled afflictions. They were sorely tried by the murmurings of their “brethren,” to whom they spoke the Word of God; yet how patiently they bore it all! They laid hold upon the Divine strength, and thus learned to bear and forbear. And so, despite their infirmities and occasional lapses from patience, of these men “the world was not worthy.”
2. The example of Job. (Verse 11) Although the Book of Job is a poem, our apostle evidently believed it to have an underlying basis of veritable history. The man Job actually existed; and his proverbial patience is an example to the Church. Think of the dreadful distresses which came thick and fast upon him. By successive strokes he was deprived of property, family, health, reputation, and true sympathy. Yet Job left his sufferings with God. He learned to forbear with the bigotry and stupidity of his friends. He evinced at last, in spite of some serious failures, a spirit of perfect submission to the Divine will. He interceded for his misguided comforters; and God forgave them. Job’s case, however, is introduced here chiefly with the view of pointing to “the end” or conclusion which the Lord gave to him (Job 42:12). His God, whom he feared, rewarded signally, even in this life, his wonderful patience. And the great lesson which we should learn from Job’s career is “that the Lord is full of pity, and merciful.” He is so in the very sending of trial, in the measure of it, in the grace which he gives to bear it, in the unraveling of its merciful purpose, and in the happy issues with which he rewards his people, when they “have been approved” (Jas 1:12). Trial is a goodly discipline intended to prepare for the “goodly heritage;” and thus they will be “bleared’ who shall have “endured.”C.J.
Jas 5:12
Against swearing.
The apostle has been exhorting to long-suffering under trials; and he now prohibits profanity. For impatience in the time of affliction may betray a man into speaking unadvisedly, and may even tempt him to take the Name of God in vain.
I. THE KIND OF SWEARING WHICH IS HERE PROHIBITED. We believe that James condemns only what is called profane swearing. He exhorts the brethren to abstain from hasty and frivolous oaths. Some commentators, indeed (as De Wette), some philosophers (as Bentham), some Fathers of the early Church, and some Christian sects (as the Quakers), interpret this command, with that of our Lord in his Sermon on the Mount (Mat 5:34-37), as an absolute condemnation of all kinds of swearing. The prevailing judgment of the Church, however, is that upon solemn occasions oaths may be not only lawful, but sometimes also dutiful. For what does an oath mean? It means, to call upon God to take notice of, and to ratify, some particular assertion. And Christian intelligence suggests that there can be nothing sinful in this, provided it be done only upon a solemn judicial occasion and in a reverent spirit. The words in the third commandment which are emphatic are evidently the words “in vain,” it being assumed that there is a lawful use of the Divine Name. Passages are to be found in the Old Testament in which God enjoins upon his people the taking of solemn oaths (Deu 6:13; Deu 10:20; Jer 12:16); and it was ordained in the Law given from Sinai, that persons accused of certain offences might clear themselves by an adjuration (Exo 22:10, Exo 22:11). Prophets and apostles often attested their inspired messages with an oath: e.g. Elijah (1Ki 17:1), Micaiah (1Ki 22:14), Paul (Gal 1:20; 2Co 1:23). The Lord Jesus Christ, when put upon his oath by the high priest, accepted the adjuration, although he had before been silent (Mat 26:63, Mat 26:64). And, highest of all, Jehovah himself is represented as swearing (Psa 110:4; Heb 6:13). When, therefore, Jesus and James say, “Swear not,” they do not forbid solemn oaths, if used sparingly, upon appropriate occasions, and as an act of worship; but only such swearing as is passionate, purposeless, profane.
II. THE NEED THAT THERE IS FOR SUCH A PROHIBITION. Colloquial swearing was a clamant sin among the Hebrews, as it still is among the Orientals. The people generally were adepts in the use of profane expletives. Rabbinical casuistry had devised many subtle refinements with the view of permitting indulgence in the habit on all occasions (Mat 23:16-22). The scribes taught that while it was sinful to swear expressly by the Divine Name, it was allowable to do so by heaven, by the earth, by the prophets, by Jerusalem, by the temple, by the altar, by the blood of Abel, by one’s own head, etc. The extreme commonness of this sin of careless swearing led our Lord, once and again, to rebuke it, and to point out the evil lying under it; and the Apostle James here catches up his spirit, and echoes his words. But we in this country require the apostle’s warning perhaps as much as the Christian Jews of “the Dispersion.” The strong tendency of human nature to the use of profane language is a remarkable illustration of our depravity. How much profanity, there is in the popular literature of the day, even in that section of it which is considered “high class,” and which is read by the cultured portion of the community! This objectionable element in many of our works of fiction is at once a symptom of much evil already existing, and a cause of more. How prevalent also is the sin of swearing in our public streets! It is distressing to overhear the most profane expressions coming sometimes from the lips of the merest children. And even persons who profess to fear God will allow themselves to use his Namein some mutilated form, it may beas a needless exclamation; or employ similarly the sacred word which expresses some Divine attribute; or swear by the dread realities of death and eternity. Christians ought to remember that all such forms of speech are an offence against the Majesty of heaven, and a grief to the heart of the Lord Jesus. In this region there should be a clear and wide separation between believers and unbelievers. Lips which use the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer”Hallowed be thy Name,” ought never to speak of God and of Divine things except in a spirit of reverent worship.
III. THE EARNESTNESS OF THE PROHIBITION. We have considered the matter of the apostle’s counsel; let us look now to his manner in giving it. He writes with burning earnestness. “But above all things, my brethren, swear not;” i.e. guard yourselves with peculiar care against the sin of profanity. We should exercise this special watchfulness for many reasons; amongst these, because:
1. Profane swearing is a great sin. It is utterly opposed to the Christian patience and long-suffering which the apostle has been inculcating. No man dare insult a fellow-creature as many men every day insult the Majesty on high. The great Jehovah should be contemplated with the profoundest reverence; but to swear is to insult him to his face.
2. This sin is very easily committed. Our corrupt nature is prone to it. The temptations which beset us are abundant. Both round oaths and minced oaths are to be heard everywhere. So, James says, “Let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay.” The bare word of a Christian man should be enough. Even to say, “Upon my word,” is to swear; such an asseveration is contrary to Christian simplicity. If one is strictly truthful, his simple “yes” or “no” will always be believed.
3. Swearing is a ruinous sin. James adds, “That ye fall not under judgment.” A foul tongue is the index of a foul heart. Indeed, the two act and react upon one another. The profane man, therefore, is destroying his own soul. He who swears by hell in jest may well tremble lest he go to hell in earnest. The Lord our God will not suffer him to escape his righteous judgment (Deu 28:58, Deu 28:59).
CONCLUSION. What need we have to offer the prayer of David”Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my tips” (Psa 141:3)!C. J.
Jas 5:13-15
Prayer and praise as a medicine.
The previous exhortation was a dissuasive against profane swearing. In these verses the apostle suggests that the right use of the Divine Name is reverently to call upon it in all time of our tribulation, and in all time of our wealth. The most healthful relief for a heart surcharged with deep emotion is to engage in religious worship. James refers here to three different cases.
I. THE CASE OF THE AFFLICTED. (Verse 13) The believer must not allow his trials to exasperate him. Instead of swearing over them, he should pray over them. That is a graceless heart which, when under the rod, challenges God’s sovereignty, or impugns his justice, or distrusts his goodness, or arraigns his wisdom. The child of God prays always, because he loves prayer; and especially when under trial, because then he has special need of it. He prays for a spirit of filial submission; for the improvement of his chastisement; and for the removal of it, if the Lord will. And only those who have proved the efficacy of prayer know how efficacious it is. Even to tell God of our trials helps to alleviate them. Prayer brings the soul near to him who bears upon his loving heart the burden of his people’s sorrows. As we pray, our cares and trials pass into the Divine breast, and we are made of one wilt with our Father. But, besides this, our petitions will be directly and substantially answered. God wilt give us either the particular blessing which we ask, or, if that would not be good for us, something still better. When we crave relief from present suffering we may get instead, as Paul did (2Co 12:7-10), the power of higher moral endurance.
II. THE CASE OF THE LIGHT–HEARTED. (Verse 13) Sorrow and joy constantly meet in human life. There are many people who are “cheerful:” some, because they are in easy circumstances; others, because they are of a buoyant disposition. Now, a Christian ought to keep his hilarity from running to waste by expressing his gladness in praise. Cheerfulness naturally overflows into song. And the believer is to use as the vehicle of his joy, not the favorite ditties of the worldly man, which are often full of levity and sometimes tinged with profanity, but “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” This counsel reminds us that praise is a means of grace, not for the congregation and the family alone, but also for the individual believer. Praise is the art of adoration; and its outward attire is music, the most spiritual of the fine arts. To “psalm” with voice and instrumental accompaniment affords the best safety-valve for joyous emotion. Music
“Gentlier on the spirit lies, (Tennyson)
It “is the art of the prophets, the only art that can calm the agitation of the soul; one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us” (Luther). Those German hymn-writers did well who wrote hymns for young people, housekeepers, miners, etc., to sing, instead of the profane songs of the day. And how thankful we should be for our treasures of sacred poetrythe grand old Hebrew psalms and our Christian hymns!
III. THE CASE OF THE SICK. (Verses 14, 15) The sick brother is to “call for the presbyters of the Church.” This implies that it belongs to the elders, or bishops, to visit the diseased and. infirm. In early times they were to do so, not only to render spiritual aid, but to exercise such “gifts of healings” (1Co 12:9) as they might possess. It is enjoined, or rather taken for granted, that they would “anoint” the sick man “with oil.” Why so? Either because this was the accredited medical panacea in that age (Isa 1:6; Luk 10:34), or because oil is a symbol of the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit, the Divine Healer (Mar 6:13). If we judge that the anointing was medicinal, the lesson is that in sickness we are to have recourse both to “the prayer of faith” and to the prescriptions of an enlightened pharmacy. If, however, we regard it as symbolicalperhaps the better viewin that case it would remind all parties that the miraculous cures were effected only by the Holy Spirit, whom the Lord Jesus had given. And so the apostle expressly says that the anointing is to be done “in the Name of the Lord,” and that “the prayer of faith” which accompanied it would be followed by a cure. The gift of healing was granted to the apostles as a temporary aid in the work of founding the Christian Church. At first, before the gospel was sufficiently understood, signs and wonders were needed as helps to faith. This gift would cease with the death of the last person who had been endowed with it by the last of the apostles. The injunction to use oil as a symbol was, therefore, only temporary. Many, however, have judged otherwise.
1. Roman Catholics, who base their rite of extreme unction upon this Scripture. But that so-called sacrament differs entirely from the ordinance before us. Here, it is the elders; there, a priest. Here, it is a sick man who is to be restored to health; there, one who is about to die. Here, the object of the anointing is the recovery of the patient; there, it is to prepare him for death.
2. The “Peculiar People” in England, and the “Tunkers“ in the United States, who in times of illness still rely upon this unction and prayer, rejecting all medical advice. At Mannedorf, in Switzerland, Miss Dorothea Trudel for many years superintended an establishment in which prayer was employed in preference to medicine for the cure even of the most serious diseases. And at Bad Boll, in Wrtemberg, Pastor Blumhardt has prosecuted upon a large scale a similar enterprise. Hundreds of cures have been authenticated as having been wrought in these institutions. What, then, are we to say to this? First of all, that the promised recovery is doubtless connected in verse 15, not with the anointing, but with the prayer, and with the faith which breathed in it. If there were faith on the part of the praying presbyter, and of the sick brother himself, his sickness would be healed; and his sins, of which perhaps his disease was a punishment, would be forgiven. But again, although we do not now look for evidently miraculous cures, “the prayer of faith” still pierces the supernatural; and thus it is as reasonable now as ever to pray for the recovery of the sick, provided also we diligently use, at the same time, the best physical means of cure; it is a Divine law, in every department of life, that we must employ the means if we would secure the blessing. During sickness, therefore, we must pray as if all depended upon player; and avail ourselves of medical skill as if we had no other resource than that. But what Christian can doubt the efficacy of prayer as a means of cure? If Jesus Christ and his apostles could heal the sick, may not our Father in heaven still, although in occult ways which medical skill cannot trace, touch the secret springs of human life? and may he not do so in answer to the prayers of his own people? Certainly diseases are under law. But even a medical man has some power to direct the action of the physical laws of disease. And is not the power of the Lawgiver greater still than that of the most eminent physician? Is it not literally omnipotent?
LESSONS.
1. Prayer, although by no means of the nature of a charm, is a real medicine for sickness.
2. While this is true, the supreme end of prayer is the attainment of spiritual blessing.
3. We should therefore ask more earnestly for the forgiveness of sins than for temporal mercies.C.J.
Jas 5:16-18
Mutual confession and prayer.
In the latter part of Jas 5:15 the apostle has hinted at the connection between sin and suffering. He proceeds now to urge upon the sick and the erring, on proper occasions to acknowledge to their brethren the sins of which they may have been guilty, if they would be “healed” in body and soul, as a result of the intercessions offered on their behalf.
I. THE DUTY. (Jas 5:16) It is twofold.
1. Mutual confession. The subject here is not confession of sin to God, although that is an essential part of true penitence (Pro 28:13; i Joh 1:8-10). Neither is it auricular confession to a priest; although the Church of Rome bases her doctrine of the necessity of such mainly upon this passage. That Church, while recommending the confession of venial sins, makes the rehearsal of all mortal sins essential to salvation. But history testifies that the confessional, instead of proving a means of grace, has been to an unspeakable degree a school of wickedness. The confession here spoken of is occasional, not regular. It is particular, not indiscriminate. It is mutual, “one to another,” and not on the one part only. It is in order to edification, and not for absolution. Christ has given his ministers no power to pardon sin. “The only true confessional is the Divine mercy-seat” (Wardlaw). The exhortation before us is addressed to the brethren generally, whether presbyters or ordinary members of the congregation. And it is only some sins which it is proper to confess to our fellow-men. There are many “secret faults” of impure thought and corrupt desire on which we should keep the lids closely down. But we ought to confess:
(1) Wrongs done to brethren. If on any occasion we have acted unjustly by a brother, or calumniated him to others, we should, so soon as we come to ourselves, confess our fault, ask his forgiveness, and make all possible reparation. Our Savior has enjoined this (Mat 5:23, Mat 5:24). It was a beautiful practice of the primitive Church to see that all quarrels among brethren were made up, in the spirit of Christian love, before the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. And the Church of England has an earnest counsel to the same effect in her Communion Service.
(2) Scandalous sins. A scandalous sin is one which, on account of its publicity, is a scandal, and is calculated to bring reproach upon religion. The discipline of the Church requires that such an offence be confessed openly. Discipline is an ordinance of Christ, and is intended to conserve the purity of the Church, as well as the spiritual profit of her members. A good man, therefore, when he has fallen into gross and open sin, should be willing to make public confession before the Church and to his fellow-members.
(3) Sins which deeply wound the conscience. There are occasions when we may profitably speak of such to a pious pastor or to some prudent Christian friend. “Certainly they are then more capable to give us advice, and can the better apply the help of their counsel and prayers to our particular case, and are thereby moved to the more pity and commiseration; as beggars, to move the more, will not only represent their general want, but uncover their sores” (Manton). Happy is the man who has such a friend, if any persons in the world should confer with one another about matters of spiritual experience, it is surely husband and wife. If such never “confess their sins one to another,” certainly they are not married in the Lord.
2. Mutual prayer. This is the main advantage to be derived from mutual confession. We should take our friends into our confidence about our sins, that we may induce them with intelligent sympathy to intercede for us. Not only are the spiritual officers of the Church to pray for the sick and the erring; this duty is incumbent upon the whole congregation. Any member who cherishes strong opinions about the remissness of the elders or of the pastor in sick-visitation, should labor as much as possible to supplement their deficiencies. We should all remember at the throne of grace the afflicted of our company, and those who have confessed sin to us. God wants us to pray “for all men,” and “for all the saints.” To pray for others will help to free us from spiritual selfishness; it will develop within us sympathy for brethren, and thus tend to knit the Church together in love.
II. AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO DISCHARGE THIS DUTY. It is an inestimable blessing to be able to engage on our behalf the spiritual sympathy and the earnest applications of our fellow-Christians. We have here:
1. A statement of the power of prayer. (Jas 5:16) It “availeth much.” The evolution of events is controlled by the living God, as the First Cause of all things; and prayer occupies the same place in his moral government that other second causes do. God is roused into action by the prayers of his people. Prayer is thus more than merely a wholesome spiritual discipline; it moves the arm of the Almighty, and virtually admits the believer who presents it to a share in the government of the world. The apostle recommends intercessory supplication as peculiarly effectual. The petitioner, however, must be “a righteous man.“ He who would intercede successfully must himself have faith in Christthat faith which is made perfect by holy deeds (Psa 66:18; Joh 9:31). “The supplication” of such a man “availeth much in its working,” i.e. when energized by the Holy Spirit, who “maketh intercession for us” (Rom 8:26). Mere routine prayer avails nothing. A form of sound words is not enough. We must put our heart’s blood into our request. Indeed, what we desire must be begotten within us of “the spirit of grace and of supplications.”
2. An historical example of this power. (Jas 5:17, Jas 5:18) With such examples the pages of the Old Testament are thickly strewn; but the apostle selects one case onlythat of Elijah. Although an extraordinary personage, and a very eminent prophet, Elijah was by no means a demigod: he was “a man of like passions [literally, ‘homoeopathic’] with us.” He bad the same human nature which we havethe same susceptibilities, dispositions, and infirmities. He, too, had his secret faults, and his presumptuous sins. But, being “a righteous man,” he was a man of prayer; and his success as a suppliant should be an example to us. Two special petitions presented by this prophet are cited.
(1) A prayer for judgment. (Jas 5:17) The Old Testament history does not mention the fact that the long drought which fell upon the land of Israel in the days of Ahab was sent in answer to the prayer of Elijah. It was so, however. The prophet had been brooding, among the uplands of Gilead, over the wickedness of the court and of the people; and at length he prayed by the Spirit that Jehovah, for his own glory and for the well-being of the nation, would send this drought upon the land. And God heard him, and closed the windows of heaven for three years and a half.
(2) A prayer for mercy. (Jas 5:18) This request Elijah presented upon Mount Carmel, on the evening of that memorable day when God had answered by fire, and the prophets of Baal had been slain. God had intimated to Elijah at Zarephath that he was about to send rain; and now the prophet wrestled for the fulfillment of the promise, and sent his servant seven times to the mountain-top to watch for the visible answer. And soon “the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.” Both of these chapters in Elijah’s life illustrate vividly the power that there is in “the prayer of faith.” And should any one ask, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” the answer is, that he is “with us” yet; and that prayer is still the golden key which opens the door of heaven, and brings us “in its working” salvation manifold.C.J.
Jas 5:19, Jas 5:20
The conversion of a sinner.
With this emphatic sentence the Epistle closes. There are no personal references, Christian greetings, or notices of friends, such as Paul would have had. Perhaps James ends thus abruptly, because he desires to impress upon his readers’ hearts this last thought, that every Christian should aim at being a soul-winner. We have here
I. A BROTHER GOING ASTRAY. The case supposed is the apostasy of a professing Christian. We must notice, at the outset, the supreme importance which our apostle ascribes here, and throughout his Epistle (Jas 1:18, Jas 1:21-23; Jas 3:14), to “the truth.” He strikes as loyal a note as Paul does, regarding the necessity of “consenting” to sound doctrine if one would live the Christian life. He assumes that all backsliding is aberration from the truth. His words cover both forms which apostasy may takeerrors of creed and of conduct. A brother may go astray:
1. As regards doctrine. Many in our times, alas! attach small importance to error of this kind. Libertines in practice are apt to be latitudinarians in opinion. Many “moral” men act as if they do not regard any of the doctrines of the creed as vital. Some really pious people seem to believe that the Christian life can be lived with equal success by men holding the most diverse views regarding the central facts of Christianity. But Scripture teaches that it is through the knowledge and faith of certain great truths alone that men’s hearts will be imbued with Christian principle, and their lives become acceptable to God. Among the essential doctrines are those of human depravity and inability; the Divine inspiration of Holy Scripture; the supreme Deity of Jesus Christ; his substitutionary atonement; and man’s dependence on the gracious indwelling of the Holy Spirit. To deny any of these doctrines is to “err from the truth,” and to “fall from grace.” Among the causes of such doctrinal aberration are
(1) pride of intellect;
(2) giving one’s self over to the guidance of speculation;
(3) aversion of heart to evangelical truth;
(4) the vanity of desiring to be thought independent;
(5) neglect of the means of grace. Or, again, a brother may err.
2. As regards practice. He may turn his back upon the gospel without formally renouncing any of its doctrines. Immorality is a departure from the faith, no less than error in opinion. To “walk in the troth” is to follow holiness. The man, therefore, who professes zeal for orthodoxy, and all the while is wallowing in sin, or becoming entangled with the world, is really a heretic. Such a man is a living lie against the truth. But what temptations there are everywhere to leave the narrow way! And do not professing Christians in large numbers succumb to these? The masses of our home heathen are in a great measure composed of members of Churches who have finally lapsed into worldliness. It is a sure sign of spiritual declension to cease to find pleasure in public worship, and to allow one’s place in the house of God to be empty.
II. ANOTHER BROTHER CONVERTING THE ERRING BROTHER. Usually the term “convert” is employed to describe that great moral revolution within the soul which is effected by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. And, doubtless, we may understand it here in this radical sense, as well as in its secondary meaning when applied to the reclamation of a backsliding believer. For there are members of the visible Church who are not true Christians. They make for some time a fair profession; but by-and-by they visibly fall away. Well, the counsels and prayers and pious example of a fellow-member of the congregation may be blessed to the real conversion of such. But, again, the erring one may be already a believer; and a brother believer may become instrumental in reclaiming him from his apostasy. This also is a conversion, although as such only supplementary to “the great change.” Simon Peter was a truly godly man when he denied his Master; yet Jesus called his repentance after that foul sin his “conversion” (Luk 22:32). Some Christians are in this sense converted many times. Their religious life ebbs and flows; and each turn of the tide after a period of declension amounts to a fresh conversion. Of course, it is only God who can “convert a sinner” in either sense. But he employs believers as his instruments. The Holy Spirit bestows his grace in connection with human prayer add effort (Act 26:18; Luk 1:15, Luk 1:16; 1Co 4:15; Phm 1:19). And any Christian may become such an instrument. James does not say, “If any preacher, or pastor, or elder, convert him;” the work may be accomplished by the humblest member of the congregation. Even a servant-maid, or a little child, may be honored to do it. Each member is bound to seek the spiritual good of every other member. For, we are our “brother‘s keeper.”
III. THE GLORIOUS RESULTS OF SUCH CONVERSION. The full flower of this glory shall bloom in eternity; but its bud appears just now in time. The ultimate result is the salvation of the soul; and the immediate result is the covering of many sins. But who can estimate the blessedness of such an experience? These last burning words of the Epistle remind us of the priceless value of the human spirit. Man is “the image and glory of God.” Think of the high endowments of the soul, its lofty powers, its immortal destiny, the price paid for its redemption, and the dreadfulness of its ruin, should it continue unsaved. The unconverted sinner is an heir-apparent to eternal death; and the backsliding professor, if he be not restored, must slip down into the same undone eternity. Now, the glorious effect of conversion is to deliver from the power of sin in the future, and from its guilt in the present. The convert’s sins are “a multitude,” for every day has contributed to their number; but now they are covered with the Redeemer’s merit. The blood-sprinkled mercy-seat hides the violated Law from Jehovah’s eye. And what a joy to the sinner to be made the subject of such a conversion! “Blessed is he whose sin is covered” (Psa 32:1). Where past sin is thus hidden, much future sin is prevented. This, therefore, is the best “turn“ which one can do to his neighborto “convert him from the error of his way.”
IV. THE ENCOURAGEMENT THUS SUPPLIED TO CHRISTIAN EFFORT. “Let him know” (verse 20). These animating words express the main thought in the text. The Christian worker must not forget that to restore an erring soul is one of the noblest of achievements. It is a far grander triumph than even to save a man’s natural life. Let him remember this for his comfort in thinking of the work which he has already done, and for his encouragement in seeking to do more. It is inspiring to realize that one has plucked brands from the everlasting burning, and helped to add new jewels to Immanuel’s crown. God works for this end; and as often as it is gained, there is joy in heaven in the presence of the angels. For this the apostles labored. For this the martyrs bled. For this evangelists toil. Who does not envy the life-work of men like Luther, Wesley, Whitefield, M‘Cheyne, when viewed in the light of a Scripture like this? Yet there are many humble Christians who have tasted of this joy, and whose heaven shall be “two heavens,” because they have “turned many to righteousness” (Dan 12:3).
LESSONS.
1. Let us beware of backsliding ourselves; and let us ask the Holy Spirit to “see if there be any wicked way in us.”
2. Let us be concerned about our erring brethren, and labor to compass their conversion.
3. Let us take encouragement to missionary effort from the melting motive presented in this closing counsel.C.J.
HOMILIES BY T.F. LOCKYEAR
Jas 5:1-6
The doom of misused wealth.
We have in these opening words an echo of Jas 4:9; but with a difference. There, a call to repentance; here, a denunciation. The very word “howl” recalls old prophecies of doom (Isa 13:6; Isa 14:31; Isa 15:3). So here, the coming doom. The destruction of Jerusalem? Yes; but this only the “beginning of sorrows.” The culminating judgments, and the second advent These rich, these delicate-living and pleasure-taking ones? Yes, let them weep and howl; for their miseries are coining upon them!
I. THE SIN OF THE RICH. Professedly religions or not, they were great sinners, and as sinners alone does he regard them. And as sinners he denounces them.
1. Indulgence. “Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure.” What is the law of the true life? A thankful acceptance of such joys as God gives, and increased service in the consecration of such joys. But they? Their pleasure was their all. They were pampering their lusts. Instead of making self a center from which, under God, all blessing should radiate, they made it a center to which all pleasure must converge.
2. Luxury. “Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.’ What is the law of property? A thankful use of such things as God gives, that we and the world may be the better for them. But they? They were guilty of a wanton accumulation of wealth, and so their very plenty was corrupting in its idleness. Like corn in a famine, heaped up and moldering.
3. Selfish oppression. “The hire of the laborers,” etc. What is the law of work? A mutual ministry of employers and employed, involving a recognition of the rights of labor. How spoke their Law on this matter, and the prophets (see Le 19:13; Deu 24:14, Deu 24:15; Jer 22:13; Mal 3:5)? But they? The words suggest sufficient. So their indulgence and luxury were not merely selfish in themselves, but at others’ expense. They, forsooth, were all in all, and others must work for them, and yet starve and be naked, while they heaped up their riches! Verily, they were thieves and robbers.
4. Ruthless persecution. “Ye have condemned, ye have killed,” etc. The historical fact; probably judicial tyranny, these rich men refusing justice to the poor, when pleading against the fraud perpetrated towards them by their rich employers. But what was the essential fact? Him, the Just One, they had virtually condemned and killed! Yes, for so they were filling up the measure of their fathers (see Mat 23:32; Mat 27:25). For the spirit which actuated them was the selfsame spirit of unjust cruelty which had actuated those to whom Stephen spoke of the Just One”of whom,” he said, “ye have been the betrayers and murderers.” So also James “the Just” was afterwards their victim.
II. THE DOOM OF THE RICH. Sin and judgment, in the ways of God, are ever closely joined. For
“Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small; 1. Thus their selfish indulgence was but indulgence for the slaughter; they were fattening themselves for the shambles. We are reminded of the time of’ the slaughter that came, when “the temple floors ran with blood, and the roofs raged in fire till all was utter desolation (see Punchard, Ellicotts Commentary ).
2. The canker of their wealth was premonitory of the judgment of remorse, that should eat their flesh as fire (Luk 16:24).
3. Their oppression and fraud, likewise, were marked by one eye, and the cries of the oppressed had entered the ears of the Lord of hosts. The Lord of hosts? Yes, power belonged unto him, and it had been written, “He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the pool also, and him that hath no helper” (Psa 72:12, etc).
4. And their murder of the Just One, as it really was? “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him” (Rev 1:7). Yes, judgment should come, swift and sure; “for as the lightning,” etc. (Mat 24:27). The great lesson is one of stewardship; let rich and poor alike learn this. And to all there is one Lord, and he cometh! yes, “to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity” (Psa 98:9).T.F.L.
Jas 5:7-11
The coming of the Lord.
Following the warnings for the rich, we have encouraging counsel for the poor. Yes, even the poor persecuted ones just spoken of in the previous verses. The coming of the Lord is set forth as being nigh at hand, and they are exhorted to a patient waiting till that coming be accomplished.
I. THE COMING OF THE LORD.
1. Its nature.
(1) For mercy: “to them that look for him unto salvation” (Heb 9:28). So here, “the end of the Lord,” etc. The “end” towards which God always works for his people is their deliverance; so shall it be emphatically then. Nor is the deliverance a cold, deliberate putting-forth of power; he is “full of pity.” So he saves out of the fullness of love that yearns towards the oppressed. But the pity and the deliverance are both alike “of grace,” for we deserve them not; so we are reminded, in that he is “merciful.”
(2) For judgment: “to them that obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath” (Rom 2:8). So here, “the judge standeth,” etc. The “end” towards which God is compelled to work, by the sins of men, is their judgment; so emphatically then. And the very pity of his heart becomes intenser indignation, when sin spurns his pity. And the judgment shall be one, therefore, of accumulating penalties; judgment because they “obey not the truth;” yet heavier judgment because they “obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2Th 1:8).
2. Its nearness. Certainly there is a seeming nearness in the apostolic days; how shall it be explained?
(1) Actually, it was very near, the intervening time being compared with the vast eons of God’s working; so 2Pe 3:8. And even we, studying the history of the past, can view the lapse of ages somewhat according to the measurement of God.
(2) Ideally, it was near indeed to those to whom it was the one burning, glowing hope. For illustration, the parting with a much-loved friend for a separation of many years: we dwell so fondly, in the lingering farewells, on the reunion time, that all the long interval is forgotten in the absorbing hope of that better day. So Christ, parting with his disciples: “I will come again” (Joh 14:3). So the disciples, looking for their Lord: his coming “draweth nigh.” Yes, the high mountain-peak stood out so clear and beautiful against the distant sky, that it seemed nigh, almost as one might touch it even now!
(3) Virtually, it was near. There might be many a climb before that mountain-peak should be gained, but each ascent of the intervening hills lessened the distance towards that high summit. So the successive “comings“ of the Lord, through all the ages, are preparing for and bringing near that advent, which shall be, after all, but the culmination of the judgments and deliverances that are proceeding now.
(4) Potentially, as has well been said, it might be even nearer then than now, for the spiritual alertness of the Church, and the rapidity of the evangelization of the world, were the fulfillment of conditions upon which depends the “hasting” of “the coming of the day of God”. So, then, in all these senses it might well be said, “the coming of the Lord is at hand;” “the Judge standeth before the doors.”
II. THE PATIENT WAITING. But as yet they must wait, and be patient in their waiting. For when the ideal of their hopes burned feeble and dull, and the weary routine of common life was oppressive to their hearts, how distant, sometimes, might that coming seem! And, seeming distant, it would actually become more distant, for their faith and work would slacken, and so his way would not be prepared. Yes, there must be a looking for their Lord, that they might rightly do his will, and also that they might patiently wait for his appearing. So, then, as regards this patient waiting:
1. Its character.
(1) Endurance of evil: one feature of the economy of redemption. Yes, “we call them blessed;” so Jas 1:2-4, Jas 1:12.
(2) Strength of heart: evil without could not touch that inward strength. In this consists the “blessedness” of the enduring. Therefore “stablish your hearts.”
(3) Trust in God: a God with us now; a God working for our deliverance hereafter. Having him, we have all things; and hoping in him, we shall not be put to shame.
2. Its encouragements.
(1) The processes of nature may teach us patience: “Behold, the husbandman waiteth,” etc.
(2) The prophets of grace teach the same patience: “Take, brethren, for an example,” etc. And the patience manifested by them was that of men who can “suffer, and be strong;” an active patience”spake.”
(3) The patience of Job is the typical example of God’s dealings, so mysterious and yet so merciful; and of man’s faith, so tossed and tried, yet cleaving to the God who, he is sure, will not forsake. One penalty of impatience and unfaith is mutual discontent: “Murmur not one against another.” As against this, the reward of patient trust in God is “the peace of God,” which “shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Therefore, for duty’s sake, for society’s sake, for your own hearts’ sake, for Christ’s sake, “be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord;” for “yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Heb 10:37).T.F.L.
Jas 5:12
Simplicity of speech.
Why “above all things”? Unless that this was one of their chiefly besetting sins. But, indeed, the intrinsic importance of the subject itself is sufficient warrant for the use of such words. It is the great subject of verityverity of speech. And, indeed, if the verities of speech be trifled with, soon all verity is gone; and if a man be not a true man, of what worth is he? “Swear not.” We need not take these words as prohibiting the use of the oath on solemn public occasions. For our Lord himself was put on his oath by the high priest (Mat 26:63, Mat 26:64), and accepted the position. Paul also (Rom 1:9; 2Co 1:23; Gal 1:20; Php 1:8) several times in his public communications with the Churches substantiated his words with some solemn formula. No; the world being what it is, imperfect, and some being so far under the influence of higher realities that, when brought consciously into their presence, they will speak truly, through fear, whereas apart from such avowed appeal to God they might not speak truly, it does appear to be quite lawful for society to take advantage even of this lower religious motive to secure true testimony, as before magistrates. And, this being so, the man who needs no such constraint, who lives always as before God, and whose word is therefore as good as his oath, will yet conform to the usages of society for the sake of their general benefit. It is, then, not the use of solemn speech on such public and special occasions that is here prohibited, but artificial asseverations in the common intercourse between man and man. And we may profitably considersimplicity of speech, and its reward.
I. SIMPLICITY OF SPEECH.
1. And first, as opposed to duplicity. For amongst the Jews certain ingenuities of oath-taking had become a veil for the most flagrant falseness. To the rabbis “the third commandment was simply a prohibition of perjury, as the sixth was of murder, or the seventh of adultery. They did not see that the holy Name might be profaned in other ways, even when it was not uttered; and they expressly or tacitly allowed many forms of oath in which it was not named, as with the view of guarding it from desecration. Lastly, out of the many forms thus sanctioned (as hereMat 5:33-37and Mat 23:16-22) they selected some as binding and others as not binding, and thus, by a casuistry at once subtle, irrational, and dishonest, tampered with men’s sense of truthfulness” (Plumptre, on Mat 5:33-37, in Ellicott’s ‘Commentary’). Our Lord’s words, in the sermon on the mount, and afterwards in Mat 23:1-39., were intended to smite through all this sophistry of falsehood; and James, in echoing our Lord’s words, “Swear not at all,” doubtless has the same end in view. For whether they solemnly invoked God’s holy Name, or used some seemingly less solemn formula, or used no formula at all, and yet were false, their lying was in reality lying against God, who is present everywhere, and without whom nothing is real and no speech is sacred. So, then, our Lord’s words, and the words of James, smote all the duplicity of the Jews in those days. And does not the same condemnation smite all the prevarications of our day? Whether with or without false oaths, all speech which insinuates the wrong meaning, under whatever cover of seeming veracity, is false, and must for safety’s sake be branded with its real name, lyingyes, lying against God! And so all shifty, misleading deeds; all transactions, whether of business or of political life, or in any other sphere, which have for their aim to convey wrong impressions, are lyinglying against God! Oh, let us learn, “Thou God seest me;” and let our yea be yea, and our nay, nay!
2. Again, as opposed to all flippant trifling. Doubtless, then as now, oaths were bandied about lightly from mouth to mouth in irreverent wantonness. This was to trifle with the God to whom the oaths referred. And so still; we make light of him when we lightly use these sacred names! But all flippant speech, whether with or without oaths, is equally a sin against God, if we would rightly regard it. How many there are who can scarcely speak but to jest! to whom life seems one huge comedy! Ah, God is not real to us, when the life which God has given can be so frivolously treated!
3. And yet again, as opposed to all artificial solemnities of common speech for the purpose of attesting its veracity. This leads us back to the thought with which we started. A true character needs “no vouchers. The man who protests his truth is almost certainly a false man; as, if certain coins out of a large number were marked “genuine,” we should at once suspect them to be spurious. Or, on the other hand, if they were ascertained to be genuine, we should naturally suspect the coins not so marked to be false; so a fortified manner of speech, if true itself, implies that speech when unfortified is not true. Yes, by our artificial asseverations we lay open our whole converse to suspicion. For all these reasons, then, let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay. Your speechlet it be simple, sacred, true.
II. ITS REWARD.
1. The reward of social life. Think of itwhen every man may trust his neighbor! Each of us is contributing his part towards this consummation by simplicity of speech, helping to build up the truthfulness of the world.
2. The reward of the man. And this? The man’s own trueness. For, as we have seen (on Jas 3:1-5), a man’s speech makes a man’s self; truth or falseness distils through all his nature from his words. And what better reward than this: a brave bearing towards men, a true faith in God?
Again, as a reminder, “that ye fall not under judgment.” Yes, every false asseveration, every false flippancy, every essentially false solemnity, he notes down; and the day of reckoning is at hand! Our untruth will eat our soul as doth a canker; and then?our own cankered, hollow self forever I Yes, that shall be our portion. For “all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.” Well may it be said, as was said once, “The first lesson of the Christian life is thisBe true; and the second thisBe true; and the third thisBe true.” But how? “I am the Truth.” Yes, thank God, this is our refuge. And so shall we “have boldness in the day of judgment; because, as he is, so are we in this world” (1Jn 4:17).T.F.L.
Jas 5:13-18
The life in God.
The guiding thought of these verses is the intimacy of connection between our life and God. And the Christian, above all, should realize this truth, so attested in the incarnation and ascension of our Lord. For heaven has come down to earth; nay, earth has been raised to heaven. So, then, according to these verses, our sorrowing and rejoicing are to be “in the Lord;” in sickness we are to seek our restoration from the Lord; at all times our effectual prayer is to be towards the Lord.
I. The thirteenth verse teaches us that the natural expression of all the Christian’s experiences should be Godward. “Is any among you suffering?” How readily we murmur against man, or in heart against God! For the natural effect of pain on the natural heart of man is to make it fretful and impatient. How must it be with the Christian? “Let him pray.” Yes; let him hide his suffering in the mighty love of God, like a troubled child flinging itself into its mother’s breast! “Is any cheerful?” How readily we vent our joy in levity and hilarious mirth! The true resource is thankful praise. Like the lark mounting up into the morning sky, so should we pour out our full heart to God. And so with all the manifold experiences of life, of which these are but two typical examples: all our life, waking and sleeping, work or rest, pleasure or pain, is to be a life in God. So will all our life run into worship; so shall we “pray without ceasing.” And so will those words be fulfilled to us
“Thrice blest whose lives are faithful prayers,
Whose loves in higher love endure; Or is their blessedness like theirs?”
II. Jas 5:14 and Jas 5:15 teach us that in sickness our faith should be in God.
1. In our Lord’s public healing, prominence was given to the fact that all healing is of God, but there was the recognition likewise of the use of proper means. Symbolized in his miracles: thus, “looking up to heaven,” he “touched his tongue,” etc.. So in practice prescribed by James: recognition of fact that only God can heal, but also of fact that God uses human means for effecting his healing workformer in exhortation to prayer, latter in direction to anoint with oil, which was perhaps the great symbol of medical remedies. What to us is the spirit of these directions now? Use the highest appliances of medical skill which God’s providence has in these latter days supplied to the world; but in and through all recognize God’s working. Pray to God for the exercise of his healing power, and if the sick one be raised up, know that “the Lord” hath raised him up. Yes, the Lord, the living Christ, who is the Healer still.
2. But what is the spiritual concomitant of the bodily healing? “If he have committed sins,” etc. These words, as to confession, have been more sadly misinterpreted, and more fatally abused, than the former, as to healing. What is the natural interpretation, as suggested by the whole connection? The sick man may have brought his sickness upon himself as the result of some secret sin; shall the elders pray for him? Yes, they may; but it must not be as for a saint of God. If the intercession is to avail, it must not proceed upon a total misunderstanding of the case, the faith being thus misplaced. No, the sick man must see the righteousness of the chastisement, and own it to his brethren, acknowledging his sin; then may they make penitent confession on his behalf, and “it shall be forgiven him.” If he desires their prayers, he must make at least some general acknowledgment of the character of the case. And with this thought another may be mingled. How much more quarrel and offense there is among Christian brethren, poisoning the life of Christian society, and corrupting its usefulness in the world! It was so then, as the chapters before have shown; it is so, alas! now. But when sickness comes, let this, at least, be a time for frank acknowledgment and mutual pardon. Such in part may be James’s meaning when he says, “Confess therefore,” etc. (verse 16).
III. Then the general principle of prayer is enunciated, with an illustration (verses 16-18).
1. The operativeness of prayer. “Availeth much.” We know not how, as in the case of the rain, but the fact is sure. God does not violate his own laws, but works through them; and, working through them, he yet can answer our supplications. For he lays his hands on the innermost springs that move the forces of the world, and they obey. We see only the succession of second causes; behind all these is the great First Cause, the living God.
2. The condition of availing prayer. “Of a righteous man.” Prayer is no talisman, operating with magic effect, but a child asking of a Father. Yes, this the meaning of the word “righteous.” Not faultless; for Elijah was of” like passions” with us. But one of the family, adopted through Christ into the household of God. And the prayer of such a one he heareth always.
So, then, the truth of all these verses, as we saw at the beginning, is the intimacy of union between our life and God. We see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. Yes, and upon us his brethren (Joh 1:51). And the link, on our part? Prayer. Wherefore, “pray always.”
“For so the whole round earth is every way T.F.L.
Jas 5:19, Jas 5:20
The salvation of a soul.
In the former verses he had supposed a possibly sinning man, when chastened, “sending” for the elders of the Church. Now the reverse side of the picture is presented, and we are taught that, not merely when transgressors send for us are we to visit them for their salvation, but unsolicited we are to seek them out, if by any means we may save. Of course the exact case here considered is that of one who has wandered, but the general principle enunciated is true in all its applications. Conversionits nature, its agency, its results.
I. ITS NATURE.
1. From falsehood to the truth. All sin implies willful self-deception.
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man.” Hence the reasonableness of religion; the beauty of holiness. And so conversion presupposes the working of “conviction.” Yes, a man must see and feel his mistake, and recognize the truth to which he has shut his eyes, before he can rightly come to God.
2. From wrong to right. For it is not enough to be convinced of error; mere knowledge of the truth can never save. This the mistake of Socrates, identifying virtue with knowledge, and vice with ignorance. No; not merely must the conscience be convinced, but the heart must be influenced, the will must be persuaded. “From the error,” truly; but “the error of his way.“ He has been walking in a wrong way; the way of transgression, of ungodliness. But One says, “I am the Way.“ We must come to him, we must “walk in him” (Col 2:6). For this is the way of holiness, the way to the Father. Conversion is never true and complete conversion till the converted one can say, “To me to live is Christ” (Php 1:21).
II. ITS AGENCY.
1. The power must be of God. Conversion in all its parts is ascribed ultimately to God in Scripture. Do we receive knowledge of the truth? It is because “God is light.” Do we receive the truth into our hearts, and live thereby? It is because “God is love.”
2. The instrumentality may be of men. May be, not must be. For God can illumine the mind which is untaught of man, and influence the will which is unmoved by man. But the rule is, employment of human means. “Go ye, and make disciples teaching them “(Mat 28:19). So here: “he which converteth shall save.” Our high honor; but our solemn responsibility. Yet a responsibility which we cannot shake off. How are we using it?
III. ITS RESULTS.
1. The individual result. “Save a soul from death,” Death? Death of the Soul! Understanding darkened; affections corrupted and debased; will depraved; whole order of nature out of course; God gone! Think of it: such capabilities, and such a doom! Ah, this is death indeed; and from this a soul may be saved by us! Yes, recovered to light, purity, strength, goodness, God! Oh, what a joy to put our hands to such a blessed work!
2. The general result. “Cover a multitude of sins.” Think of the dark blot on God’s universe, the defilement of his ways, which is caused by sin. Think of the atonement of Christ, and the gift of the Spirit, God’s own provision for the removal of the blot, the cleansing of the defilement. And then think of the special application of that rich provision of God’s grace which we are privileged to make. The glorious result at which he aims shall be, in part at least, produced through us; that “multitude of sins” shall be done away l Yes, for our efforts, the universe shall be fairer, God’s ways clearer, and the dawning of that day hastened, when “the Lord shall be to us an everlasting Light, and the days of our mourning shall be ended” (Isa 60:19, Isa 60:20).
But the result upon ourselves? The work is a sympathetic work, and its influence must therefore react upon us. Yes, we must be, or become, like what we strive to do. And so our saving love, with its included faith in God through Christ, shall wash us white (1Pe 4:8).T.F.L.
Jam 5:1. That shall come upon you. Which are coming upon you. This latter rendering is,I think, more agreeable to the original than our English version; the word being a participle of the present tense. Josephus particularly observes (Bell. Jud. 20. 30. 4:19.) how much the rich men suffered by the Romans in the Jewish war.
Jas 5:1 . That here the same persons are meant as in chap. Jas 4:13 , and not others, has already been observed on that passage: by , the of that passage is again resumed. [214]
] see chap. Jas 1:10 , Jas 2:6-7 ; the expression is not to be taken in a symbolical, but in its literal meaning (against Lange).
. . .] is not here to be understood, as in chap. Jas 4:9 , of the tears of repentance (Estius, Hornejus, Laurentius, de Wette, and others), for there is no intimation of a call to repentance. Correctly Calvin: falluntur qui Jacobum hic exhortari ad poenitentiam divites putant; mihi simplex magis denuntiatio judicii Dei videtur, qua eos terrere voluit absque spe veniae. [215] James already sees the judgment coming upon the rich, therefore the call ; that for which they should weep are the which threatened them. [216]
The imperative is not here used instead of the future (Semler: stilo prophetico imperat, ut rem certissimam demonstret, flebitis; Schneckenburger: aoristus imperativi rem mox certoque eventuram designat), but is to be retained in its full force. The imperative expresses not what they will do, but what they shall even now do, because their are nigh. The union of the imperative with the participle is not an imitation of the frequent combination of the finite verb with the infinite absolute of the same verb in the Hebrew (Schneckenburger), since here two different verbs are united together (de Wette, Wiesinger); also has not the same meaning as , but, as expressive of a more vehement affection, is added for the sake of strength. frequently in the O. T., Isa 13:6 ; Isa 14:31 ; Isa 15:3 ( ), and in other places, and indeed chiefly used in reference to the impending divine judgment (Isa 13:6 : , ). Calvin: est quidem et suus poenitentiae luctus, sed qui mixtus consolatione, non ad ululatum usque procedit.
] for your miseries , i.e. the miseries destined for you , namely, the miseries of the judgment; see Jas 5:3 : ; Jas 5:7 : . Thomas Aquinas, Grotius, Mill, Benson, Michaelis, Stier, Lange, Bouman refer this to the then impending destruction of Jerusalem; they are so far right, as the destruction of Jerusalem and the last judgment had not as yet been distinguished in representation; [217] but it is incorrect to refer it to the judgment itself, rather than to the miseries which will precede the advent of Christ; or with Hottinger, to find here only a description of the inconstancy of prosperity.
] not sc. (Luther: your misery which will come upon you ; so also de Wette, Lange, and others), but the impending, already threatening miseries; comp. Eph 2:7 .
[214] Whilst de Wette, Wiesinger, and others understand by the rich here addressed Christians, Stier has correctly recognised that such are here addressed “who are outside of the Christian church,” namely, those already mentioned in chap. Jas 2:6-7 , who practise violence on you , the confessors of the Lord of glory. His remark is also striking: “To them James predicts as a prophet, and entirely in the style of the old prophets, the impending judgment.”
[215] “Wiesinger indeed concedes the point to Calvin, but only in words; for “the design of James, as in the case of the prophets of the O. T., is certainly nothing else than that of moving them by such a threat if possible yet to turn.” If James has this design in these words, he has certainly not indicated it.
[216] That James by this intends the end of the Roman Empire (Hengstenberg), is proved neither from the Epistle of Peter, nor from Rev 18 , nor from any other indications in this Epistle.
[217] Wiesinger: “The question whether James thought on the destruction of Jerusalem or on the advent of Messiah is an anachronism; for to him both of these events occur together.”
IX. SEVENTH ADMONITION
DENUNCIATION AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE IMPENDING JUDGMENT ON THE RICH I. E., THE JUDAISTS PROPER COUCHED IN PROPHETIC STYLE. EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE OR TO THE PRESENTIMENT OF THE JUDGMENT
Jam 5:1-6
1Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.1 2Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver Isaiah 3 cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh2 as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud,3 crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as4 in a day of slaughter.5 6Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Analysis: The Judaists exhorted to repentance or to realize a presentiment of the judgment, Jam 5:1.Their condition: spiritual self-delusion, the corruptness and self-consumption of their supposed riches, Jam 5:2-3.Their positive sins resulting from such spiritual self-delusion. Their sins against the reapers of the harvest in Israel.Their unsuspecting assurance of their life of indulgence in the very day of -their judgment. The crime of the murder of the Just One, Jam 5:4-6.
The Judaists exhorted to repentance or to realize a presentiment of the judgment.
Jam 5:1. Well then, ye rich.Concerning the rich see Introduction, Jam 1:10; Jam 2:6-7. That the reference is not to the outwardly rich but to the rich in the sense of Old Testament (Psalms 73; Isaiah 5), Gospel (Mat 19:24; Rev 3:17) and symbolical usage may be expected from an Apostolical man, to say nothing of an Apostle. The ordinary construction put on this term would lead us to expect either that the Epistle ought to have driven the outwardly rich from the Church or that they would have excluded the Epistle from the Canon. But just as the Jewish Christians themselves have ceased to be known so also the Gentile Christian Church has suffered the majestic prophetical penitential discourse of the faithful Christian Apostle to the Jews to be reduced to the conception of a severe moral lecture. The repetition of does not prove that the reference here is to the same persons who are addressed in 4:18 (as Huther supposes). Nor is the reference at all to individuals as such; the persons addressed there are Judaists in a most perilous condition, while those addressed here are those who according to the last warning harden themselves by the self-delusion of their being theocratically rich. The entire prophetical lamentation must be judged according to its analogies in the Old Testament (Isa 2:22; Isa 3:9; Isa 3:19 etc.) the words of Christ (Matthew 23) and the Apocalypse (Revelation 18).
Weep unto howling.De Wette and al. take this as an exhortation to shed the tears of repentance; Huther agrees with Calvin who denies that there is any reference to repentance and considers the passage to be simplex denunciatio judicii dei, qua eos terrere voluit ab spe veni. Wiesinger takes a middle position: that the design of James, as in the case of the prophets of the Old Testament, is nevertheless none other than that of moving them, if possible, to turn from their perverse course. Huther, who objects that James nowhere intimates such design, overlooks 1, that also the strongest menaces of judgment in the Old Testament are at any rate hypothetical (see the Book of Jonah, Jer 28:7 etc.), 2, that the most assured foreseeing of the inevitability of the judgment as a whole still involves the possibility of individuals being wakened and saved in virtue of such menace, 3, that the Divine fore-announcement of such a judgment is at the same time made as a testimony of the truth for the future and designed to serve other generations as a warning and to conduce to their salvation. The strict construction of Huther is still more striking because he disputes Selmers exposition of the Imperative, viz. stilo prophetico imperat, ut rem certiss mam demonstret, and maintains that the proper force of the Imperative ought to be retained. This would therefore be a command to weep without any hope of salvation. The Participle ( used often to describe howling with reference to the near approach of the judgment, Isa 13:6; Isa 14:31 etc.) denotes weeping accompanied by constant howling, i.e. increasing unto howling.
Over your miseries.The impending judgments, not specified by the Apostle, but further alluded to only with respect to their premonitory symptoms.
Which are drawing near on you.There is hardly room to doubt that James refers primarily to the Jewish war and the destruction of Jerusalem; so Thomas Aquinas, Grotius, Michaelis and al. understand it. Huther cannot substantiate by any proof the remark that they (Thomas Aquinas, etc.) are not wrong in this respect, because in the Apostles mind the destruction of Jerusalem and the last judgment had not yet been distinguished. The are rather said to be , already approaching; whereas a very patient waiting is necessary with respect to the coming of the Lord, Jam 5:7, etc., although in the light of Christian hope (not of chiliastic calculation) it is near at hand. On you, by which Luther and others further define the approaching judgments, follows not from the literal expression but from the connection; also contains an allusion, favouring the construction. [See Appar. Crit. Note 1.M.].
Their condition: spiritual self-delusion, the corruptness and self-consumption of their supposed riches. Jam 5:2-3.
Jam 5:2. Your riches are corrupted.The verb ( . in N. T.), to make rotten or putrid, destroy by rottenness, signifies in 2 Perf. Pass. (as here) to rot, moulder, to be rotten or also to be in a state of rotting fermentation. But it has also the more general sense, to corrupt, to consume oneself (Sir 14:19). [ is Perf. Middle.M.]. The verb therefore does not necessitate us to understand with Gebser and al. =frumenta. The main question here is to determine whether this and the next expression denote the natural immanent judgment of sin as portents of the positive judgments, or the latter (Grotius, Bengel), so that future events are prophetically described as having already taken place (de Wette, Wiesinger, Huther and al.). But the reference is evidently to the former; the corrupting of riches and the moth-eaten garments denote immanent, natural corruptions. But here, as in the prophets (Isa 28:1-2; Isa 33:11-12; Jeremiah 7 etc.) and in our Lords eschatological discourse (Mat 24:28) these natural corruptions, as the judgment of the self-dissolution (consumption) of sin, are in their products the tokens of positive judgment. But the riches must be taken figuratively, not literally as is generally done. The prophetical idea of the rich corresponds to the prophetical idea of the riches. It denotes therefore externalized Judaistic righteousness with all its national prerogatives, of course connected with that outward worldly prosperity and ease which are the outward complements of such self-righteousness. It is matter of historical record that at the time when James wrote this Epistle, Jewish affairs had the appearance of spiritual prosperity (in point of orthodoxy and world-holiness), as well as of worldly flourishing in the reign (in part at least) of Herod Agrippa II. (See my Apost. Age. I. pp. 307, 312, 324).
And your garments.Doubtless in the sense of the splendid garment Jam 2:2.
Are become moth-eaten, , Job 13:28 : not found in Classic Greek and not elsewhere in the New Testament.
Jam 5:3. Your gold and your silver are eaten up with rust. is . in the New Testament. Gold and silver do not contract rust, hence Hornejus observes that it is populariter dictum, which is approved by Huther. Pott interprets the striking expression of the dimness of their burnish, others otherwise. According to Huther James did not anxiously calculate the difference of metals in his vivid concrete depiction; but this would be an intensely popular mode of expression. The words Isa 1:22, Thy silver is become dross are not a merely popular expression; on the contrary they are designed to bring out the unnatural fact that the princes of Israel are become rebellious and companions of thieves. It is then an unnatural phenomenon to which James adverts, of course in figurative language. It is as unnatural for gold and silver to be eaten up with rust as for the glory of Israel to be as corrupted as the glory of other nations corrupts, which may be compared to base metals.
And their rust shall be a testimony against you.Wiesinger, with whom Huther agrees, proposes the following interpretation: in the consuming of their treasures, to be brought about by an outward judgment, they see depicted their own. But the loss of outward wealth under the influence of outward corruption is by mo means evidence of the inward corruption of the losers. Oecumenius supposes that the rust on their gold and silver shall testify against the hardness of their heart, because they did not use them in doing good. This is correct as far as the reference is doubtless to a corruption inherent in their circumstances, but it lacks the due appreciation of the figurative sense: the rusting of your gold and silver, of your glory, represented by your leading men (see Isa 1:22-23), shall be a token that the nation is corrupted in its rich men in general. And this was actually the case. The leading men who in the spiritual life ought to have shone like tarnished silver and gold were rusted in legalism and dragged the majority of the self-righteous people into their own corruption.
And shall consume your flesh.The Plural is differently explained. The word stands simply for (Baumgarten), it denotes their well-fed bodies (Augusti), the fleshy parts of the body as contrasted with the bones (Huther who refers to 2Ki 9:36; and particularly to Mic 3:2-3). But these passages contain no allusion to a consuming fire; fire consumes bones as well as flesh. We therefore assume that the term flesh is here used in a bad sense as in Gen 6:3; Jer 17:5 and Joh 3:6, and that the Plural describes the life of the rich as exhibited in the carnalities or externals of religious, civil or individual life, in which they take delight. That consuming rust of the decayed, defunct and deadly legalism beginning at the gold and silver with which they decorate themselves, eats through the flesh of their customs, ceremonies and earthly possessions to the very destruction of their life. It is a rust which has the consuming energy of fire (Ps. 21:22; Isa 10:16-17). The rotten fixity, described as rust, in its last stage transforms itself into the fire of a revolutionary movement, into a fanatical, consuming conflagration of rebellion (see Rev 19:20), or in brief: absolutism becomes revolution. It is the consummated national self-dissolution, as it fully developed itself in the Jewish war and in Jerusalem besieged. The reference therefore on the one hand, is neither to consuming grief and want (Erasmus and al.), nor, on the other, already to the real, positive judgments (Calvin, Grotius, Wiesinger, Huther and al.). With respect to , Wiesinger, who adopts the punctuation of Cod. A and Oecumenius, and follows Grotius and Knapp, connects it with : tanquam ignem opes istas congessistis, et quidem ipsis extremis temporibus. Wiesinger cites as an analogy , Rom 2:5, to which Huther rightly objects that in the words the principal stress rests on . This is sufficient; his further remark that the fire denotes already positive judgment we consider, for the reason already given, to be incorrect, but this fire points to positive judgment. also is against Wiesingers construction, and so does the over bold metaphor: ye have as it were gathered fire in gathering your wealth.
Ye have heaped up treasure.The verb requires no definite specification of the object and the supply of (according to Rom 2:5. Calvin and al.) is superfluous and arbitrary. Moreover, the treasure, as Huther remarks, has been specified before.
In the last days.Not perchance the last days, and the last days are neither the last days of life, nor the last days before the advent of Christ (Huther). James refers to the last days before the final national judgment, alluded to in Jam 5:1, but not yet described. The gathering of treasure is done in the anticipation of a long happy future; this reprehensible heaping up treasure in the last days of their existence, immediately before the judgment involving not only the ruin of their treasure but also of their very existence, characterizes moreover their fearful want of apprehension (freedom from all misgiving and fear, assurance) and mad-like self-delusion. All their spiritual and worldly treasures are useless obstacles in the impending judgment, destined to vanish as the means of their self-delusion in order to make room for a fearful undeceiving. Thus the indication of positive judgment draws nearer, but the Apostle first refers to their decisive sins.
Their positive sins resulting from such spiritual self-delusion. Their sins against the reapers of the harvest in Israel. The unsuspecting assurance of their life of indulgence in the very day of their judgment. The crime of the murder of the Just One. Jam 5:4-6.
Jam 5:4. Behold the hire of the labourers.First decisive sin. Huther: Injustice towards those who work for them; Wiesinger: One case instead of many, a case moreover which clearly exposes the crying injustice of those rich men as the transgression of the express prohibition, Deu 24:14-15; Lev 19:13; Mal 3:5.And this is to be the whole meaning of this passage! But in the first place it is inconceivable that those wandering trafficking Jews of the dispersion (Jam 4:13) should all of a sudden be transformed into large landed proprietors, and in the second equally inconceivable that James should have occasion to reproach all the rich landlords of the dispersion with literally holding back the hire of their labourers. Here also we must again insist upon the symbolical sense of the passage. The first question is to determine the sense in which the term the harvest of Israel is used by the prophets (Isa 9:3; Joe 3:18), by John the Baptist (Mat 3:12), and by our Lord (Matt 4:85; Mat 9:38; cf. Rev 14:15-16).It denotes the time when the theocratic seed of God in Israel has become ripe unto harvest; on the one hand unto the harvest of judgment, on the other unto the harvest of salvation. The latter idea predominates here. The harvest of Israel was the ripened spirit-produce of the Old Testament, as manifested in the work of Christ; in the reapers we may aptly see the Apostles (according to Joh 4:35), and the first Christians in general. From them the rich in Israel kept back the hire in that they rejected their testimony in unbelief. And thus the voices of those reapers cried into the ears of the Lord of hosts, i.e., abandoning the figure: their sin against them cried out to God, even to God, the Lord of those hosts which were already on the point of approaching in order to execute the judgment of God on Israel.The labourers, , see 1Ti 5:18. is . in N. T. The expression imports moreover that Israels whole harvest of blessing has been brought home by these labourers into the Christian Church and that there is no other harvest besides it.
Which hath been kept back.We construe with Huther the hire which hath been kept back, crieth out from you, , as we read in Gen 4:10. the voice of thy brothers blood crieth unto me from the ground, because thus the injustice crying out for vengeance is laid to the charge of the evil-doers not to that of the labourers; the common construction which hath been kept back by you seems to be less opposed by taking in the sense of , than by the consideration that denotes a crying out for vengeance. Hence the connection is not: the hire of the mowers crieth out and this crying has come to the ears of God (Theile), but the crying out of the hire that has been kept back (Gen 18:20; Gen 19:13) on the one hand, is completed on the other by the of the reapers or the gatherers of the harvest, first as cries of complaint and cries for help (see Heb 5:7; Act 4:24 etc.; Act 12:5), and lastly also as cries for righteous recompense (Rev 6:10-11). And these, even more than the former crying have entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts; which would yield this sense: not only the unbelief of the unbelieving Jews but also the distress of the believing Christians induce the Lord of hosts to send forth His hosts unto judgment; as indeed the destruction of Jerusalem was not only a visitation of judgment on Judaism but also a visitation of salvation on the Christian Church. The crying out of Christian blood for mercy to enemies reaches also its limit in the induration of unbelievers; moreover we should distinguish the reapers themselves from their , here made objective. The term Lord of hosts hardly renders prominent the power of God, as that of Lord of the heavenly hosts only (Wiesinger, Huther); He is also Lord of the earthly hosts according to the prophets (Isa 4:3; Isa 18:7; Isa 24:21; Amo 9:4-5), and also. According to Christ (Mat 22:7). [Bede suggests the following reason Dominum exercituum appellat, ad terrorem eorum, qui pauperes putant nullum habere tutorem. This is the only passage in the New Testament where the term Lord of hosts is used in direct discourse. Rom 9:29 is a quotation.M.].
Second sin. Jam 5:5. Ye have lived high on earth. is . in the N. T. It comprehends the ideas: to live softly, voluptuously, gloriously and also extravagantly. In LXX. (Neh 9:25 and Isa 66:11) the fundamental idea is to take delight in something to revel. denotes living lewdly, luxuriously, especially in eating and drinking; but in Lxx. (Eze 16:49 and Amo 6:4) the idea of idle indulgence is decidedly predominant, probably also in 1Ti 5:6. Hence the two words would express not the definite antithesis delici et exquisita voluptas and luxuria atque prodigalitas (Hottinger), but that of positive sumptuousness in pleasure and sensuality and of negative sumptuousness in effeminate, careless indolence. We might therefore translate Ye have had your delight and have settled down on earth, or ye have become worldly and effeminate, or ye have bragged and made a show. The opposite order occurs in Luk 16:19 : the daily wearing of holiday-apparel denotes the idler, the sumptuous living, revelry. Huther strikingly points out the contrast of this sumptuous mode of life and the toilsome life of the labourers, also the contrast of such revelling on earth and the complaint which is made to the Lord in heaven. But we must not overlook in this revelling on earth the thought, that the earth, the earthly, figuratively taken, was the foundation in which their revelling struck root, and that the day of slaughter is the principal antithesis of revelling.
And fattened your hearts. in the opinion of several commentators denotes fattening, for the evident design of this clause is to show that the rich regarded and nourished their heart as an animal existence. Hence Huther is wrong in his correction of Luther, to pasture your hearts, better: to satiate. Luthers rendering is excellent and we should have retained it but for the necessity of holding fast to the other meaning that fattening the heart is at the same time indurating the heart ( ). The heart, however, is not a paraphrastic description of the body or individuality but denotes inward life, the kernel of spiritual. life (Act 14:17). Wiesinger asserts that involves per se the idea of passionate fondness of enjoyment, but Luk 21:34 is the last passage which makes good his assertion.
In the day of slaughter.On the omission of see Appar. Crit. Nor must be changed into . The rendering as on a day of slaughter (Luther, Wolf, Augusti) is consequently a double weakening of the thought. The comment of Calvin, Grotius, Bengel etc., that the day of slaughter is the day of sacrifice, when the slaughter of the victims is followed by banqueting, is altogether outside of the connection with the judgment. Calvin: Quia solebant in saerificiis solemnibus liberalius vesci, quam pro quotidiano more. Dicit ergo divites tota vita continuare festum. Huther rightly observes that the term in question is never used in this sense. De Wette sees in it a comparison to beasts, which on the very day of slaughter eat in unconcern. Huther thinks this comparison inappropriate, since beasts do not eat more greedily on the day of slaughter than at any other time. But this refutation rests on a misunderstanding. Beasts6 always eat greedily; their eating on the day of slaughter may therefore be used as a figure of the inordinate feasting of the obdurate on the very day of judgment. The analogy of 2Pe 2:12 only tends to strengthen the appropriateness of this construction. The thought is further intensified by the consideration that while beasts are led to pasture and fattened for the day of slaughter, these men laid themselves voluntarily out for feasting in the very day of slaughter. But we may suppose that this point of comparison must not be dissociated from the general and more lofty meaning of , viz. that of a day of judgment (Jer 12:3; Jer 25:34). In the last passage also the ideas day of judgment and day of slaughter are taken together in a literal sense, so also in Isa 53:7; Rev 19:17-18. But the day on which began Israels day of judgment which is developing itself into a day of slaughter, was the day of Christs crucifixion which connected with the day of the destruction of Jerusalem becomes in a symbolical sense one day of visitation. The Aorists here, therefore, are not used to indicate that the conduct of the rich is to be viewed from the future day of judgment at the second coming of Christ (Huther), but because their carnal arrogance and unconcern in the devilish revelling of their hearts culminated just on the judgment-day of Israel. Since then their day of slaughter is in process of development. Just as they had therefore collected together the treasures of legal righteousness in the last days, while the old time was on the wane, so they had reached the climax of their self-indulgent worldliness on the last day, the day of judgment.This leads to their third and greatest sin.
Jam 5:6. Ye have condemned, ye have killed the Just.The fact of modern commentators disputing the exposition of Oecumenius, Bede and Grotius that the Just signifies Christ, proves how far they have wandered from the text in the treatment of this Epistle. Only think of James, the witness of Christ, at the end of his course calling out to the obdurate of all the people of Israel: Ye have condemned and killed the Just and they not to have understood him to refer to the rejection and crucifixion of Christ! But to what or to whom else did they think he was alluding? Gebser and Huther [also AlfordM.] take collectively for ; i.e. oppressed, suffering Christians, and Huther says: The ground of the persecution is implied in the word itself; the Singular should be taken collectively, the idea absolutely (similarly Theile). But then surely Christ ought to be considered as standing at the head of these slain ones. Wiesinger (and de Wette) refers the term to continued persecution ad mortem usque and adds that all reference to Christ is so manifestly against the whole context of the passage, that refutation is altogether unnecessary. On the contrary, proof is almost unnecessary. Wiesinger objects first, that the Epistle is addressed to the dispersion. But at the Passover, when Christ was crucified, the dispersion also was represented at Jerusalem, and symbolically all Israel was already dispersed. The most important objection is the Present . This Present is certainly difficult. But is it more convenient to affirm concerning the collectively just man, that he had been killed by those rich and that he was still living than to affirm as much concerning Christ? The Vulgate probably alludes to Christ in rendering non restitit; so Luther, he hath not resisted you. But the Present forbids such a rendering. But also the common explanation: Ye have killed the Just, he does not resist you gives a thought which is not clear, at least not very distinct. It would perhaps be easier to suppose that the readers of the Epistle understood James to say: Christ does not resist you in His members, He still endures willingly all persecutions in His sufferings. But would this thought be a fitting conclusion of the great denunciation of those obdurate people? Nor is it the idea the just do not resist you. We understand therefore Bentleys conjecture of reading instead of (see Jam 4:6; 1Pe 5:5; Pro 3:34); still more the explanation of Benson to take the clause interrogatively. Giving to the fullest Middle sense, the question would read thus: Does He not bring up against you His army (as the executor of the punitive justice of the Lord of hosts)? or does He not rise against you in combat? At least it is easy to understand that with a predominantly ascetic turn of mind such a question might have been asked. But considering the importance of the matter, the interrogative form ought to be more distinctly marked: does he not already march against you, march against you in the tempest of war? Besides such an explanation might easily obscure the thought of the continuous suffering which Christ endures in His people. Hence one might light on the idea of rebellion, as we have it in Rom 13:2. He does not rebel against you, i, e. you are the rebels. But this again is not sufficiently clear. We read therefore: He stands no longer in your way, He does not stop you (in the way of death); He suffers you to fill up your measure. See Mat 23:32-38. And this dark, pregnant sentence is the concentration of the announcement that the judgment impending on them, is inevitable. [The clause seems to be ironical: He lets you alone (Hos 4:17).James was called by his contemporaries the Just and this reference to Jesus as the Just One is a touching illustration of his character, for a delineation of which the reader is referred to the Introduction.M.].
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Both the Gospel and James are altogether free from any and every Ebionite one-sidedness that wealth, as such, is sinful and poverty, as such, meritorious. James allows the possession and use of earthly riches, butin majorem Dei gloriam. While the rich are thus more privileged than others, they are also under doubly great obligations; but if they persistently acquit themselves of their discharge and use their riches only for the attainment of selfish ends which conflict with the law of love, then they are in all justice and reason liable to a u vobis divitibus cf. Luk 6:24; Mat 6:19-21.
2. Earthly wealth is not an absolute but a relative obstacle to entering the kingdom of God; cf. Mar 10:23-25.The history of many rich men, e.g. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea shows that this obstacle may be overcome. But this is impossible where covetousness reigns supreme and adopts every means of preserving or increasing earthly possessions. Here applies the Apostolic warning, 1Ti 6:17-19,compare also Plutarch, de cupiditate divitiarum, and the saying of Seneca, de benef. II. c. 27, concitatior est avaritia in magnarum opum congestus, also Sallust, in Catil. c. x. 4.A life of luxurious indulgence as the concomitant of wealth and dependence on that wealth coupled with unfeeling contempt of ones brother, according to the teaching of Christ Himself, deserves the judgment Luk 16:25. And the history of the destruction of Jerusalem as well as innumerable incidents taken from the history of the kingdom of God confirm the fact that such rich men are not rarely visited already here below with earthly calamity and outward distress apart from that judgment for eternity.
3. The rejection of the Messiah, to which James clearly alludes (Jam 5:6), as the work of the prominent Jews, as the murder of the Innocent and the Just was not only a heinous crime per se (cf. Act 3:13-15), but also the first of a series of crimes enacted on the members of the Body, after they had first laid hands on the Head, which terminated at last in the horrors of the Jewish civil war and were punished with the fall of the and the destruction of the temple.
4. Christianity imposes upon all men, blessed with earthly goods, the duty to ascertain and, if practicable, to satisfy the wants of their subordinates and servants and to consider themselves not as the lords but as the stewards of the capital confided to them, Luk 16:2; cf. Col 4:1.Those who neglect this duty and oppress the poor have even pursuant to the tenor of the Old Testament to bear the dreadful punishment of God. See e.g. Psalms 37.; Pro 14:31; Ecc 5:-7.
5. Indulgence as it were fattens men for the punishment of hella figure taken from the sacrificial victimsi.e. ripens them so much the more for torments. Heubner on Jam 5:5.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Wealth not an absolute superiority, poverty not an absolute evil.Those who have most possessions on earth, have also to lose most in times of common suffering and tribulation.Earthly riches from the nature of the case, are as transitory as their owners.The true Christian an omnia sua secum portans.The history of the rich fool is that of many (Luk 12:16-20).The degree to which the rich may be poor and the poor rich.Gods rich harvest-blessing changed into a curse through mans selfishness.It is possible to do evil, but not to do it unpunished.God is higher than the highest that oppress the poor, Ecc 5:8.The worldlings short joy followed by long pain.The murder of the Just One the most horrid manifestation of outward selfishness.The fact that evil is suffered here on earth no guarantee that it will not be punished (Jam 5:4-6).Threefold sin of the rich; 1, oppression of the poor (Jam 5:4), 2, selfish indulgence (Jam 5:5), 3, murder of the Just One (Jam 5:6).How the crime of the rejection of Christ is still continued in various ways by many among the rich of this world.The Christian has great cause to offer the prayer of Agur, Pro 30:7-9.The love of money the root of all evil (1Ti 6:10) and of idolatry, Col 3:5.
Starke: Cramer:If you get riches, set not your heart on them, Psa 62:11.A man may be very rich and yet be very wicked, Psa 73:12.
Augustine:Magna pietas! thesaurizat pater filiis; immo magna vanitas! thesaurizat moriturus morituris.Many who do not leave even children and know not whose shall be their riches (Luk 12:20) are so possessed of avarice, that they loathe parting even with a penny. O, unhappy rich!
Quesnel:Thus the rich ground their hope on things which decay and perish. Foolish building! Mat 7:26-27.
Langii op.:If there were many pious rich men, who did husband their wealth as the stewards of God, the need of the poor would be greatly lessened, Luk 8:2-3; Luk 22:35.
Hedinger:There are many who gather along with their gold a treasure of the wrath and vengeance of God, Rom 2:5.To defraud labourers of their hire they have earned is a sin that crieth out to heaven and is sure to be followed by the curse and most fearful vengeance of God, 1Th 4:6.The name of God the Lord of hosts is as terrible to the ungodly as it is consoling to the godly, Ps. 46:11, 12.Robbing the poor of their well-earned wages is murder, Exo 1:13-14.
Stier: (Jam 5:6):James refers primarily to the Lord, the Just One (Act 7:52) and he himself bore the honourable epithet the Just, he here (implicite) humbly declines that epithet. Yet again(here the inspiration of the Spirit affects the author of the Epistle so perceptibly and becomes here so remarkably prophetical that again)he is unconsciously prophesying of himself. An author, who lived soon after the Apostles (Hegesippus), gives us a full account, which is doubtless correct in its main features, of the martyrdom of James the Just, the Lords brother, shortly before the siege of Jerusalem. See Introd. p. 9 etc.; [also Excursus p. 18, etc.M.].(Jam 5:4). Surely the words of James apply to many of our contemporaries, and many a proud palace ought to have the appropriate inscription.Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness and his chambers by wrong.The treatment which poor labourers experience at the hands of our money-aristocrats and merchant princes, who in their avarice are just what those names import and nothing more, who refuse to know the Lord God and our Saviour, cries everywhere loud enough in our ears, and is it likely that this crying has not also entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts? Of Him, who commanded even Moses to say in the law: Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant, that is poor and needylest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee. Deu 24:14-15.
Jakobi:It is not the measure of wealth, but the measure of sin, which tells; everything depends upon the manner how earthly riches, be they great or small, have been acquired and are enjoyed; and hence those whom we can by no means call wealthy, may be just as ungodly and unrighteous, just as indulgent and voluptuous as those who are really rich. Our text is therefore addressed to all that are earthly-minded, to all worldly people that do not order their lives according to the rule to have, as though they had, and to buy, as though they possessed not. 1Co 7:29 etc.
Neander:James describes wealth in three different respects, viz. in garnered fruits of the field, in apparel, in gold and silver. All these, he says, the rich heap up without profit. Their treasures in gold and silver, for want of use, are eaten up with rust and will testify against them in judgment, finding them guilty because they suffered to perish for want of use that which they ought to have employed for the benefit of others. The rust consumes their own flesh, reminding them of their own perishableness and of the punishment that awaits them in the judgment, because instead of gathering durable riches, they have heaped up the fire of Divine punishment in treasures destined to be eaten up with rust.
Viedebandt:A Christian, as has been strikingly said, may own worldly possessions like Abraham, David and many more, for a beggars staff will no more take us to heaven than a golden chain or velvet fur will take us to hell. Christ says not; Ye cannot have God and mammon, but Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Riches, says Augustine, are gifts of God and therefore good in themselves, Lest men decry them as evil, they are also accorded to the good, lest they be valued as the best goods, they are also given to the evil; Holy Scripture therefore only forbids men to be proud of and to ground their hopes on uncertain riches. But although riches and righteousness are compatible with one other, yet those who are distinguished by their worldly possessions, should cherish in their souls a sacred fear of them.Riches are snares [German rhyme Schtze sind Netze.M.].A man lights hell-fire with his own hands if he suffers the fire of lusts to burn in his heart.Dr. Sauvergne, a physician, narrates the case of a miser, who had his money brought to his dying bed and expired with the words more gold, more gold!
Lisco:The dangers of wealth.Of twofold riches (earthly and heavenly).
Porubszky:The woe uttered over the rich. 1, what it means; 2, its application to our time, 3, when it will cease.
[Wordsworth: Jam 5:2.Although they may still glitter brightly in your eyes, and may dazzle men by their brilliance when ye walk the streets, or sit in the high places of this world; yet they are in fact already cankered. They are loathsome in Gods sight. The Divine anger has breathed on them and blighted them: they are already withered and blasted, as being doomed to speedy destruction; for ye lived delicately on the earth (Jam 5:5), and have not laid up treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt (Mat 6:20).
Even while shining in your coffers, they are, in Gods eye, sullied and corroded, and they will not profit you in the day of trial, but be consumed by His indignation: and the rust they have contrasted by lying idle as , and not being used as , will be a witness against yon at the Great Day; and will pass from them by a plague-like contagion and devour your flesh as fire.
Jam 5:5.A striking contrast. Ye feasted jovially in a day of sacrifice, when abundance of flesh of the sacrificed animals is on the table at the sacrificial banquet. Ye ought to have ruled the people gently and mildly; but ye have fed yourselves and not the flock, ye nourished your own hearts and not those of your people; ye have sacrificed and devoured them like sheep or calves of the stall fatted for the pampering of your own appetites. Cf. Eze 34:1-10. Cyril in Caten. p. 33.
Ye did this at the very time when ye yourselves were like victims appointed to be sacrificed in the day of the Lords vengeance, which is often compared by Hebrew prophets to a sacrifice, see below, Rev 19:17. Cf. Oecumenius and Theophylact here.
This was signally verified by the event. The Jews from all parts of the world came together to the sacrifice of the Passover A. D. 70, and they themselves were then slain as victims to Gods offended justice, especially in the Temple; particularly was this true of the rich, as recorded by Josephus, B. J. vi. passim.Their wealth excited the cupidity and provoked the fury of the factious zealots against them, and they fell victims in a day of slaughter to their own love of mammon; what was left of their substance was consumed by the flames, which burnt the city.Joseph. B. J. vii. 29, 32, 37.M.].
Footnotes:
[1] Jam 5:1. Cod. sin. insert after [so vulg.syr.copt.th.Arm.M.]
Jam 5:1. Lange: Well then, ye rich, weep unto howling over calamities which are drawing near on you.
Jam 5:1. [Go to now, ye rich, weep howling over your miseries which are coming upon you.]
Jam 5:2. Lange: Your riches are [already] corrupting, and your garments are become motheaten. [ corrupted M.]
[2] Jam 5:3. [2 Cod. Sin. A. inserts after .M.]
Jam 5:3. Lange: Your gold and the silver is rusted and their rust will be a testimony against you and shall consume your flesh [, your carnalities] as fire. Ye have heaped up treasure in the last [these last] days.
Jam 5:3. [Your gold and your silver are eaten up with rust and their rust shall be for a testimony to you . Ye heaped up treasure in the last days.M.]
[3] Jam 5:4. [3 Cod. Sin. B. read for M.]
Jam 5:4. Lange: which hath been kept back, crieth out from you, and the cries of the reapers have come to the ears of the Lord of hosts, [ have entered into the ears of the lord of hosts.M.]
[4]Jam 5:5. Cod. Sin. A. B. omit before ; so Vulg. and other versions; found in Rec., G K. and is probably an exegetical addition.
[5] Jam 5:5. [ Aeth. Pell Piatts edition. ut qui saginat bovem in diem mactationis.M.]
Jam 5:5. Lange: Ye have lived high on earth, ye have lived wantonly and fattened [like flesh] your hearts [as] in the day of slaughter.
Jam 5:5. [Ye lived in luxury on the earth and wantoned (Alford); ye fattened your hearts in. M.]
Jam 5:6. Lange: Ye have condemned, ye have killed the Just. He doth not resist you [any longer opposing and saving].
Jam 5:6. [Ye condemned, ye killed the Just One. He doth not resist you.]
[6]In German Fressen and Saufen are properly used to denote the eating and drinking of beasts, i. e. inordinate, greedy eating and drinking. Applied to human beings the terms are offensive and insulting, although the vulgar are apt to indulge in these choice terms with reference to themselves.M.
CONTENTS
The Church is here taught, in the Opening of this Chapter, the short-lived Enjoyments of the Wicked. God’s faithful Ones are reminded of the Blessedness of Patience; and what precious Advantages arise from Prayer.
Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. (2) Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. (3) Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. (4) Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. (5) Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. (6) Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
When the Reader hath duly pondered the many solemn things, which are here said of the ungodly and unregenerate, if the Lord be his teacher, I venture to think that it will strike him, as it doth me, that there can hardly be a passage more tremendously alarming, to shew the folly, as well as sin, of the rich worldling, than what is here said. Nothing can be more clear than the Lord’s design in it. The Holy Ghost is all along writing to the Church. His sole object is the instruction and comfort of the Church. In doing which, the Lord seems in these few verses, but still wholly in the Church’s hearing, and for the Church’s good; to turn to the unregenerate, and in this rousing apostrophe, to expostulate with them on their extreme folly. The images are finely chosen, being taken from the things which worldly men make their idol. Their contemptible nature is strongly expressed. The cobweb covering, and the canker even of gold, not only testify their folly, but become witnesses against them in the end, in that they could not use them themselves, neither would let others who needed them. But let not the Reader mistake, as if this address was delivered in a way of persuasion to them, but wholly for the benefit of the Lord’s people. Every part and portion in the word of God, is done with an eye to the Church, And whenever the Lord the Spirit steppeth aside to represent the final end of the ungodly, ordained of old to this condemnation, it is with the express design, to impress upon the minds of the Lord’s redeemed ones, by such awful repesentations, the nature of that distinguishing mercy vouchsafed them.
Jas 5:1
‘I had an hour’s baiting from Mrs. yesterday.
She got upon political preaching abused it very heartily acknowledged that religion had to do with man’s political life, but said a clergyman’s duty is to preach obedience to the powers that be was rather puzzled when I asked her whether it were legitimate to preach from Jas 5:1 , “Go to, now, ye rich men, weep and howl,” etc. asked whether it was possible for old women and orphans to understand such subjects; to which I replied, “No; and if a clergyman refuse to touch on such subjects, which belong to real actual life, the men will leave his church; and, as is the case in the Church of England, he will only have charity orphans, who are compelled to go, and old women to preach to”.’
F. W. Robertson’s Life (letter CXIII.).
Reference. V. 1-6. Expositor (5th Series), vol. ii. p. 373.
Jas 5:3
‘The wilderness had caressed him,’ says Mr. Joseph Conrad of an unscrupulous West African trader, ‘and lo! he had withered; it had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got into his veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to its own, by the inconceivable ceremonies of some devilish initiation. He was its spoiled and pampered favourite. Ivory? I should think so. Heaps of it, stacks of it You should have heard him say, “My intended, my ivory, my station, my river, my ” everything belonged to him. It made me hold my breath in expectation of hearing the wilderness burst into a prodigious peal of laughter, that would shake the fixed stars in their courses. Everything belonged to him but that was a trifle. The thing was to know what he belonged to, how many powers of darkness claimed him for their own. That was the reflection that made me creepy all over.’
Jas 5:3
There is a payment which Nature rigorously exacts of men, and also of Nations, and this I think when her wrath is sternest, in the shape of dooming you to possess money. To possess it; to have your bloated vanities fostered into monstrosity by it, your foul passions blown into explosion by it, your heart and perhaps your very stomach ruined with intoxication by it; your poor life and all its manifold activities stunned into frenzy and comatose sleep by it in one word, as the old Prophet said, your soul for ever lost by it…. Nature, when her scorn of a slave is divinest, and blazes like the blinding lightning against his slavehood, often enough flings him a bag of money, silently saying: ‘That! away: thy doom is that’.
Carlyle, Latter-Day Pamphlets (v.).
Jas 5:4
D. commenced life after a hard course of study as usher to a knavish fanatic schoolmaster at a salary of eight pounds per annum, with board and lodging. Of this poor stipend he never received above half in all the laborious years he served this man. He tells a pleasant anecdote, that when poverty, staring out at his ragged knees, had sometimes compelled him, against the modesty of his nature, to hint at arrears, Dr. would take no immediate notice, but after supper, when the school was called together for evensong, he would never fail to introduce some instructive homily against riches, and the corruption of the heart occasioned through the desire of them ending with ‘Lord, keep thy servant, above all things, from the heinous sin of avarice,’ etc…. which, to the little auditory, sounded like a doctrine full of Christian prudence and simplicity, but to poor D. was a receipt in full for that quarter’s demand at least.
Charles Lamb, on Oxford in the Vacation.
Often the religious are the weary; and perhaps nowhere else does a perpetual vision of Heaven so disclose itself to the weary as above lonely toiling fields.
James Lane Allen in The Reign of Law, p. 86.
Jas 5:4
There is not an imprisoned worker looking out from these Bastilles but appeals, very audibly in Heaven’s High Court, against you and me, and every one who is not imprisoned, ‘Why am I here?’ His appeal is audible in Heaven; and will become audible enough on Earth too, if it remains unheeded here. His appeal is against you, foremost of all; you stand in the front-rank of the accused; you, by the very place you hold, have first of all to answer him and heaven.
Carlyle, Past and Present (pt. 2Ch 6 ).
Jas 5:5
The days are gone by when the Seigneur ruled and profited. ‘ Le Seigneur ,’ says the old formula, ‘ enferme ses manants comme sous porte et gonds, du ciel la terre. Tout est lui, foret chenue, oiseau dans l’air, poisson dans l’eau, bete au buisson, l’onde qui coule, la cloche dont le son au loin roule .’ Such was his old state of sovereignty, a local god rather than a mere king. And now you may ask yourself where he is, and look round for vestiges of my late lord, and in all the countryside there is no trace of him but his forlorn and fallen mansion…. But on the plain where hot sweat trickles into men’s eyes, and the spade goes in deep and comes up slowly, perhaps the peasant may feel a movement of joy at his heart when he thinks that these spacious chimneys are now cold, which have so often blazed and flickered upon gay folk at supper, while he and his hollow-eyed children watched through the night with empty bellies and cold feet.
R. L. Stevenson, Forest Notes.
Reference. V. 5. B. J. Snell, The Widening Vision, p. 129.
Jas 5:6
History… is rather a record of excessive patience in the various nations of the earth than of excessive petulance.
John Morley, Compromise, p. 146.
‘I do not see at all,’ Eugnie de Gurin writes in her Journal, ‘how the spirit of revolt and the spirit of Christianity can ever form an alliance. Were there revolts against authority among the first Christians, who suffered oppressions severer than any which Christians have to suffer nowadays? The Theban legion, the Thundering legion did they draw the sword? Had they not the right to do it, if Poland has now the right? The martyrs do not seem, then, to have read God and Liberty, as M. de Lamennais reads these words. For the martyrs never raised a hand against the enemies of God and Liberty. I have been accustomed to think that the Spirit of Christianity consists in submission to God and to rulers, of whatever kind, and however they treat us; that the only weapon to be opposed to their tyranny is prayer, and then, if necessary, to suffer death unresisting and forgiving the slayer, as Jesus Christ Himself forgave.’
The Divine Husbandman
Jas 5:7
I. The husbandman waiteth. And see how out of the mouth of two witnesses this word shall be established how it shall be shown that it is His title Whose Name is above every name. ‘Let my Beloved come into His garden and eat His pleasant fruits’ says the spotless Bride in the Canticles: ‘she supposing Him to be the gardener’ it is the glorious penitent in the Gospel. So the perfection of holiness and the perfection of penitence join in telling us this one thing: that He whom we serve, though not as we would, Whom we love, though not as we shall, Whom we seek and shall some day find, that He among all His other marvellous titles, is the Husbandman of all husbandmen, the Gardener of all gardeners.
II. And here we have Him waiting waiting for what? The precious fruit of the earth. It is of no material fruit of this world that He is speaking. Of flowers He is indeed telling; but they are flowers which can only flourish round the true Rose of Sharon in a lovelier climate than this. Fruit He is indeed requiring: but fruit like that which the Tree of Life bears in the midst of the Paradise of God. And yet it springs from earth; it is brought forth by ourselves vile earth and miserable sinners. Job speaks of this in somewhat a different manner, but yet to the same effect: ‘Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone’. That true iron, the courage of the martyrs, and the endurance of the confessors, came from frames subject to like passions with ourselves. Brass, the material of God’s Altar, fit for spiritual sacrifice, is molten, in the fire of affliction, out of the stone, the hard stone of these unfeeling hearts of ours.
III. For this precious fruit that dear Lord is content to wait ‘And hath long patience for it’. So He had indeed. All the patience of those thirty-three years of humility and suffering all the patience of the bitter ascent up Mount Calvary, all the patience of the cross, all the patience of those forty hours in the grave.
IV. All the earth is indeed filled with the seed of precious fruit, the sleeping bodies of the servants of the Lamb. In this sense also ‘the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof. And for these also He who Himself lay in the same earth is waiting: knowing where every particle of that which was once His temple is laid up, watching over it in whatever transformation it undergoes seeing with that loving eye those His treasures in little quiet country churchyards, in great battle-fields, in the depths of the ocean, and foreknowing, too, the day when ‘the bones which He had humbled shall rejoice,’ when ‘the valleys also shall stand so thick with corn that they shall laugh and sing,’ when ‘the little hills shall rejoice on every side’. The firstfruits of this harvest is now expecting the rest
J. M. Neale, Sermons for the Church Year, vol. I. p. 25.
Jas 5:7
Waiting pure is perhaps the hardest thing for flesh and blood to do well.
George Macdonald, Donal Grant (ch. XIII).
After all, patience is very strong. Making a mistake at the outset of life is like beginning to wind a skein of silk at the wrong end. It gives us infinite trouble, and perhaps is in a tangle half through, but it often gets smooth and straight before the close. Thus, many a man has so conquered himself, for duty’s sake, that the work he originally hated, and therefore did ill, he gets in time to do well, and consequently to like. In the catalogue of success and failure, could such be ever truthfully written, it would be curious to note those who had succeeded in what they had no mind to, and failed in that which they considered their especial vocation. A man’s vocation is that to which he is ‘called’; only sometimes he mistakes the voice calling. But the voice of duty there is no mistaking, nor its response; in the strong heart, the patient mind, the contented spirit, especially the latter, which, while striving to the utmost against what is not inevitable, when once it is proved to be inevitable, accepts it as such and struggles no more. Still, to do this requires not only human courage, but superhuman faith; the acknowledgment of a Will diviner than ours, to which we must submit, and in the mere act of submission find consolation and reparation.
Mrs. Craik, Sermons Out of Church, pp. 287, 238.
Jas 5:7
By the stream through Tolworth Common spotted persicaria is rising thickly, but even this strong-growing plant is backward and checked on the verge of the shrunken stream. The showers that have since fallen have not made up for the lack of the April rains, which in the most literal sense cause the flowers of May and June. Without those early spring rains the wild flowers cannot push their roots and develop their stalks in time for the summer sun. The sunshine and heat finds them unprepared.
Richard Jefferies, Toilers of the Field, pp. 310, 811.
References. V. 7, 8. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xvii. No. 1025. F. D. Maurice, Sermons, vol. v. p. 1. 6. A. Sowter, Sowing and Reaping, p. 62. V. 7-9. Expositor (4th Series), vol. x. p. 138.
Jas 5:8
Dr. Marcus Dods was only twenty-four when he wrote: ‘Patience is the great dipus that every Sphinx opens up to. The present is not complete without the future, so for the future I wait, and in the present will try to find, not comfort and satisfaction, but work and contentment.’
Early Letters, p. 96.
Jas 5:8
Sydney Dobell, in 1855, spoke of ‘the second advent of our Lord’ as ‘the “high argument” on which I hope to spend my life. It has been almost since poetry first stirred in me the chosen theme of my hope, preparation, and ambition, but I do not intend to begin I should think it presumption to begin till I am past forty years old.’
Jas 5:9
National enmities have always been fiercest among borderers.
Macaulay, History of England (ch. XIII.).
References. V. 10. Expositor (5th Series), vol. vi. p. 380. V. 10-17. Ibid. vol. ii. p. 190.
Jas 5:11
Happy ye, whether the waiting be for short time or long time, if only it bring the struggle. One sure reward have ye, though there may be none else the struggle: the marshalling to the front of rightful forces will, effort, endurance, devotion; the putting resolutely back of forces wrongful; the hardening of all that is soft within, the softening of all that is hard; until out of the hardening and the softening results the better tempering of the soul’s metal, and higher development of those two qualities which are best in man and best in his ideal of his Maker strength and kindness, power and mercy.
Jas. Lane Allen, in The Reign of Law, p. 50 f.
Women, in a state of exaltation from excited feelings, imagining, because duty often requires self-sacrifice, that when they are sacrificing themselves they must needs be doing their duty, will often be capable of taking a resolution, when they are not capable of undergoing the consequences with fortitude. For it is one sort of strength that is required for an act of heroism; another, and a much rarer sort, which is available for a life of endurance.
Sir Henry Taylor, Notes on Life, p. 80.
‘We have been too long in the secret ourselves,’ says Newton in the preface to Cowper’s poems, ‘to account the proud, the ambitious, or the voluptuous, happy.’ References. V. 11. F. Bourdillon, Plain Sermons for Family Beading, p. 171. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxi. No. 1845.
Jas 5:12
One thing was notable about these women, from the youngest to the eldest, and with hardly an exception. In spite of their piety, they could twang off an oath with Sir Toby Belch in person. There was nothing so high or so low, in heaven or earth or in the human body, but a woman of this neighbourhood would whip out the name of it, fair and square, by way of conversational adornment My landlady, who was pretty and young, dressed like a lady and avoided patois like a weakness, commonly addressed her child in the language of a drunken bully. And of all the swearers that I ever heard, commend me to an old lady in Gondet, a village of the Loire. I was making a sketch, and her curse was not yet ended when I had finished it and took my departure. It is true she had a right to be angry; for here was her son, a hulking fellow, visibly the worse for drink before the day was well begun. But it was strange to hear her unwearying flow of oaths and obscenities, endless like a river, and now and then rising to a passionate shrillness, in the clear and silent air of the morning. In city slums the thing might have passed unnoticed; but in a country valley and from a plain and honest countrywoman, this beastliness of speech surprised the ear.
R. L. Stevenson, A Mountain Town in France.
Describing the life of the agricultural girl, in Field-Farming Women, Richard Jefferies observes: ‘Her mother shouts at her in a shrill treble perpetually; her father enforces his orders with a harsh oath and slap. The pressure of hard circumstances, the endless battle with poverty, render men and women both callous to each other’s feelings and particularly strict to those over whom they possess unlimited authority. But the labourer must not be judged too harshly: there is a scale in these matters; a proportion as in everything else; an oath from him, and even a slap on the ear, is really the counterpart of the frown and emphasised words of a father in a more fortunate class of life; and the children do not feel it, or think it exceptionally cruel, as the children of a rich man would. Undoubtedly, however, it does lessen the bond between child and parent.’
‘ Above all things, my brethren, swear not.’ If, as is generally assumed, this refers to the custom of using profane oaths in common conversation, how remote from modern ideas is the place assigned to this vice, which perhaps affects human happiness as little as any other that can be mentioned, in the scale of criminality, and how curiously characteristic is the fact that the vice to which this supremacy of enormity is attributed continued to be prevalent during the ages when theological influences were most powerful, and has in all good society faded away in simple obedience to a turn of fashion which proscribes it as ungentlemanly!
Lecky, Map of Life, pp. 51, 52.
Compare further the second chapter of Law’s Serious Gall.
Jas 5:12
While one man quarrels in a drunken brawl, the other will use his strength to overthrow tyrants and consolidate a nation. It was the glory of Garibaldi that while he achieved the latter task, he had used no deceit. Machiavellianism was to him enough to condemn a cause as a miserable one; his yea was yea, and his nay, nay, but was he then blunt and rugged? No.
Holman Hunt, History of Pre-Raphaelitism, vol. II. p. 245.
Jas 5:13
Never give way to melancholy; nothing encroaches more; I fight against it vigorously. One great remedy is, to take short views of life. Are you happy now? Are you likely to remain so till this evening? or next week? or next month? or next year? Then why destroy present happiness by distant misery, which may never come at all, and you may never live to see it? For every substantial grief has twenty shadows, and most of them shadows of your own making.
Sydney Smith.
References. V. 13. C. S. Horne, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlviii. p. 257. V. 14. J. R. Gregory, Preacher’s Magazine, vol. x. p. 23. V. 14, 15. Expositor (6th Series), vol. x. p. 135.
The Prayers of Luther At Coburg
Jas 5:16
During the months when the Diet of Augsburg was sitting in 1530, Luther was left behind by the Elector John the Constant in the fortress of Coburg. His companion, Veit Dietrich, tells us that he spent much of his time in prayer. In a letter to Melanchthon dated 30th June, Veit Dietrich wrote: ‘I cannot sufficiently admire the remarkable firmness, cheerfulness, faith and hope of the man in these most bitter times. These he nourishes steadily by more diligent meditation on God’s Word. Not a day passes on which he does not devote at least three hours to prayer, and those the hours most suitable for study. Once I happened to hear him praying. Good God, what spirit, what faith there was in his words! He pleaded with such reverence as if he felt himself to be talking with God, with such hope and faith as if he were speaking with a father and a friend. ‘I know,’ he said, ‘that Thou art our God and Father. I am sure, therefore, that Thou wilt destroy the persecutors of Thy children. If not, the danger is Thine as well as ours. The whole of this business is Thine; we have been compelled to meet it; defend us therefore.’ I, standing apart, heard him praying with a clear voice in almost these very words. My soul also burned with a strange ardour as he spoke so familiarly, so solemnly, so reverently with God, and as he prayed he pleaded promises from the Psalms like one who was sure that all the things for which he asked would come to pass.’
Corpus Reformatorum, vol. II. No. 755, col. 159.
Jas 5:16
Is there not such a thing as the doing of penance out of the Church, in the manly fashion?… Boldly to say we did a wrong will clear our sky for a few shattering peals.
Meredith, The Amazing Marriage (ch. XLIII.).
Now for the first time she remembered without indifference the affectionate kindness Dinah had shown her, and those words of Dinah in the bedchamber that Hetty must think of her as a friend in trouble. Suppose she was to go to Dinah and ask her to help her? Dinah did not think about things as other people did: she was a mystery to Hetty, but Hetty knew she was always kind. She couldn’t imagine Dinah’s face turning away from her in dark reproof or scorn, Dinah’s voice willingly speaking ill of her or rejoicing in her misery, as a punishment. Dinah did not seem to belong to that world of Hetty’s, whose glance she dreaded like scorching fire. But even to her Hetty shrank from beseeching and confession: she could not prevail on herself to say, ‘I will go to Dinah’; she only thought of that as a possible alternative, if she had not courage for death.
George Eliot, Adam Bede (XXXVII.).
We want some means of availing ourselves of the experience of other people. Of course we can do so to some extent by conversation with experienced persons or by reading good biographies. Yet many people have no friends from whom they can get much real moral help, and are unable to find their experiences exactly like those recorded in books…. How much help some suggestive thoughts of others might at times give to us, whether in the way of encouragement or warning! There seems a field open for spiritual experts who, like skilled physicians, might use their knowledge to recommend to one sick person a remedy that has proved effectual in a similar case. In one of Borrow’s books there is a graphic sketch of a man who went half his life in misery because he believed he had committed the unpardonable sin, till it was suggested to him that many other people were probably in the like predicament. Had he opened his mind to an experienced spiritual adviser, he might have obtained relief much earlier.
Miss Alice Gardner, The Conflict of Duties, p. 226.
Jas 5:16
The most considerable difference I note among men is not in their readiness to fall into error, but in their readiness to acknowledge their inevitable lapse.
Huxley.
Jas 5:16
A friend of mine told me that he had been at different times sensible of spiritual blessings bestowed on him through the prayers of particular persons at a distance. He was conscious of a special blessing, and he had a most distinct impression that that blessing came to him through the prayers of a particular person; and on asking the person afterwards, he learned that he had been praying for that very blessing on him. I like such a story exceedingly. I like to think of God… binding souls so close as to make them channels to each other of the water of life.
Erskine of Linlathen (in a letter to his cousin, 11th March, 1829).
Jas 5:16
‘This, dear madam,’ wrote Burns on New Year’s Day, 1789, to Mrs. Dunlop, ‘is a morning of wishes, and would to God that I came under the Apostle James’ description: the prayer of a righteous man availeth much. In that case, madam, you should welcome in a year full of blessings.’
References. V. 16. S. Pearson, Christian World Pulpit, vol. 1. p. 140. W. J. E. Bennett, Sermons Preached at the London Mission, 1869, p. 91. H. S. Lunn, Christian World Pulpit, vol. liv. p. 267. V. 16-18. W. H. Simcox, The Cessation of Prophecy, p. 65.
The Argument of Instances
Jas 5:17
This gives us the argument and the defence of a great example. Observe who it was that prayed; not a little obscure, uninfluential man, but a great prophet, whose other name was fire, who lived on high mountains and overheard the soft, rolling, thrilling anthems of heaven. There comes before us no man who has to make good his claim, who has to win our confidence by displaying before us some deeds heroic and beneficent; the man with whom we are now face to face is a man of established fame in Israel, indeed one of the very greatest sons of time. As he stands there, austere, determinate, tremendous in energy and in fiery zeal, I hear concerning him that ‘Elias prayed’.
I. If Elias prayed, and all these great men prayed, this throws upon us an immense responsibility. We ought to take care how we vote against these men. We should hold our mouths in resolute patience until the whole case has been gone over in the most scrutinising and penetrating manner before we say we will not pray. Can we take the responsibility of defying and despising all that we have learned from history? The prayer would not be altered if only the poorest creatures had prayed, the altar would lose nothing if it had only been surrounded by forsaken women and orphaned children and poor begging creatures that had to pick up their food from door to door, it would still be the altar; in this case, however, it is surrounded by such men as Moses and David and Solomon and Nehemiah and Hezekiah and Elias; all the lion souls of history, the great heroic men that led the civilisation of their age. Are we going to take the responsibility of rebuking our sires and ancestors, and pouring out the expectoration of our irrational contempt upon the whole current and upward movement of the religious thought of the centuries?
II. ‘Elias prayed.’ This cheers us by the most complete encouragement. The way has been made clear to us, we may speak now that these great voices have spoken; by the utterance of such prayers it seems as if a pathway had been cut in the very air itself along which and above which and in association with which our smallest souls may move. These men came back with great answers; God seemed for the time being to put the key of power upon the girdle of each, and enable each to open the door of heaven and take just what he wanted.
III. ‘Elias prayed.’ That would be a grand stopping-place, but there is not room enough there for all that the soul requires, so we come into the higher sanctuary, and find that ‘Jesus prayed’. He is never so truly near me as when he says, Let us pray. He would not always permit us to be with Him in prayer; the greatest spiritual acts of devotion and sacrifice must be completed in solitude: and Jesus went up into a mountain to pray; and Jesus left the disciples behind Him, and went forward, and fell on His face, and prayed: the cold mountains and the midnight air witnessed the fervour of His prayer.
Jesus prayed a second time; Elias prayed again; there are amended prayers, enlarged prayers, self-corrected prayers, so that we may go back in Gethsemane and say amid all the gathering glooms, Lord, let me recall that last prayer, and let me say in ampler language, language with infinitely more meaning in it, Not my will, but Thine be done. That prayer is always answered; that indeed is the Lord’s prayer, the first answer the cross, the second the crown.
Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. vii. p. 79.
Jas 5:17
What hinders us in comparing former events in the Church with what we now see, is that we are wont to regard St. Athanasius or St. Theresa and others as crowned with glory, and acting in regard to us as gods. Now that time has cleared our vision we see that they are so. But when this great saint was persecuted he was a man called Athanasius, and St Theresa was a nun. ‘Elias was a man subject to the same passions as ourselves,’ says St. Peter [?], to disabuse Christians of that false notion. But we must reject the examples of the saints as disproportioned to our state. They were saints, say we, they are not like us.
Pascal.
References. V. 17. C. Perren, Sermon Outlines, p. 267. R. W. Church, Village Sermons (3rd Series), p. 249.
Prayer and Temperament
Jas 5:17-18
This incident belongs to what we call the prescientific age.
These words assume God’s power as the hearer of prayer over all the forces of the firmament.
I. Alas! nowadays the message of science is often used to check man’s inclination to pray. It is a current axiom that natural law is unalterable. Are we face to face with a group of cast-iron necessities which allow of no mutual subordinations? We know that it is not so. One physical law is sometimes subjected to another, and all bow together to God’s interpretation of the moral interests of the universe. God could not so arrange the mechanisms of lifeless matter as to make them involve the negation of man’s fellowship with Himself. If prayer cannot be answered God is a force and nothing more, and moral motives are in His esteem trifling as the fine summer dust which settles upon the crank of the engine, without checking its movement.
II. But the moral difficulties that threaten to thwart our prayers are more stupendous and appalling than those suggested by the study of natural law. It is these which St. James has in view in the text before us. He is looking at prayer in its relation to human character rather than as it concerns the established order of the physical universe. Our own antecedent unworthiness to be heard and answered, is the supreme problem that troubles us as we come before God. This inspired writer tells us that the problem is not intractable. It has been solved in the prevailing supplications of men who are compounded of kindred elements. In heartening ourselves by this thought let us not assume that the efficacy of prayer is independent of all moral forces. There must be a core of genuine righteousness within us if our cries are to be heeded.
III. In the fulness of God’s grace and compassion all drawbacks of temperament and character have been already reckoned with. It is to a throne of mercy we come, not to a throne about which the unsullied angels of light cluster, and this means creatures of passion may draw near. Prayer becomes priceless through the name in which it is presented, however poor and mean and ignoble the petitioner himself.
Jas 5:19
It is characteristic of a good man neither to go wrong himself, nor to let his friend go wrong.
References. V. 19, 20. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. i. No. 46. C. Perren, Revival Sermons in Outlines, p. 339. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xix. No. 1137.
Jas 5:20
‘To save a soul.’ I can’t somehow realise the idea that I should ever be so honoured of God. To save my own soul, and wear through the long fight without losing my own crown, and without bringing disgrace on the cause of Christ, these have seemed the limit of my hope. 1 can go on working; I can give a little; I can add my labour to the heap in the hope that among other agencies I may help rather than retard the work of Christ But to ‘save a soul,’ as the direct result of my own direct effort, has scarce ever entered into my contemplation.
James Smetham, Letters, p. 112.
-We know how the sentiments of affection and charity suggest repeated attempts to save these erring brothers, and how keenly the tenderhearted feel that, after all hope of better things is gone, the claim on their affections still remains, and they must see that the morally worthless who are near and dear to them at least, shall be maintained in some fitting way. Love dies hard, and even if it be dead in all happier and brighter senses, a brother in distress is still a brother whose pains smart again, and ought to smart in our sympathies. They cannot cease to smart thus without our moral degradation.
Dr. Sophie Bryant, Studies in Character, p. 38.
When the power of reclaiming the lost dies out of the Church, it ceases to be the Church.
Sir John Seeley, Ecce Homo (ch. xx.).
‘In any one shows me a good man,’ said Mazzini, ‘I say, How many souls has he saved?’
If any of those who were awakened by my ministry did after that fall back (as sometimes too many did), I can truly say their loss hath been more to me than if one of my own children, begotten of my body, had been going to its grave… I have counted as if I had goodly buildings and lordships in those places where my children were born; my heart hath been so wrapped up in the glory of this excellent work, that I counted myself more blessed and honoured of God by this than if He had made me the Emperor of the Christian World; or the Lord of all the glory of the Earth without it. O these words, He that converteth a sinner from the error of his way doth save a soul from death…. These, I say, with many others of a like nature, have been great refreshment to me.
Bunyan, Grace Abounding, p. 286.
There are men who think men the plucking of sinners out of the mire a dirty business!
Meredith.
Jas 5:20
The man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established, seeks also to establish others.
Chinese Analects (VI. 28).
Reference. V. 20. J. Keble, Miscellaneous Sermons, p. 156.
Curious Identifications
Jam 5:11
Let us notice how very curiously, and in some cases how very eccentrically and frivolously, some men are identified in Holy Scripture. The texts might be a hundred in number: one will do to start with “Ye have heard of the patience of Job.” Thus we hear of men in little points, striking aspects, wise or silly anecdotes. Who knows anything about Job, except his patience? Who can quote any argument of the great sufferer? Who can recite his curse upon his birthday? Who knows how many chapters there are in the book of Job? Yet there is hardly a child in the world attached in any way to a Christian home or a Christian school who has not heard of the patience of Job. You never hear the whole man discussed. You never hear a whole sermon quoted, but some odd sentence, some little unhappy or infelicitous phrase into which the speaker may have been momentarily betrayed; but the whole genius of the discourse, the picture, the apocalypse, the miracle of thinking and the miracle of expression, these are never referred to. Some little curious sentence determines the man’s reputation. “Ye have heard of the patience of Job.” Can you prove it? When was Job patient? Was his patience a mere rumour? When did the Lord say to the patriarch, Job, you have been very patient under all this harrowing? When did Job ever pretend to be patient? Cannot more petulant, rasping, whining expressions be quoted from Job than from any man who ever lived?
“Ye have heard——” But we have heard so many things that are not true. When will men give over believing a single word they hear that is really not good, beautiful, musical, and divine? Thousands of years have not taken out of us the devil that wants to hear everything that is vicious and debasing. We have classified the great heroes of Bible history, so that now we have the whole of them in a kind of question and answer form. Thus: Who was the meekest man? Moses. Who was the most patient man? Job. Who was the strongest man? Samson. Who was the wisest man? Solomon. No grasp of the whole character. What do you know about Jeremiah? Listen: I have heard him called the weeping prophet. Exactly: and therein you have done the man infinite injustice. He could fly as high as Ezekiel, he could burn like Isaiah, and he could cry like a fountain. But all you have heard of him is that he is a weeping prophet. When shall we give over indicating or identifying men by little points, small peculiarities, frivolous idiosyncrasies? When shall we come to do them such justice as to grasp the whole unit and say, Here is a man of a many elements, personalities, and virtues; manifold, interplaying, mysterious music; complicated yet beautiful as light.
Some men can be struck oft in this frivolous one-sentenced way. Thus ( Deu 3:11 ) “Og.” What Og was this? This Og: “Behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? Nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.” That is all! Some men can therefore thus be indicated superficially because they are superficial: they have a large collection of autographs Oh! that is the man you mean? Yes. What more about him? Nothing. He is the man who has a large collection of insects. Is that all? Yes. Then pass on to the next character! Sometimes a man is known by his mere physical contour, peculiarity, strength, way of walking, his gait. One such man there was at Gath, “where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four-and-twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot,” and that is an end of him. The man could not help it. He fixed neither his stature, nor the number of his fingers and toes; but they were the making of him in history. Nothing more do we know about him, except that he was “the son of a giant.” This peculiarity of stature, and perhaps multiplication of digits, ran in the family. That is all. “Ye have heard of the patience of Job”; you have heard of Og’s bedstead; you have heard of the giant of Gath with the four-and-twenty fingers and toes: you have heard nothing of any of these men, unless it be in the later cases we have heard all there is to be known about them, in which case the instances are pitiful. Sometimes the Lord Jesus described men in a way that has a smile almost as broad as a laugh between the lines. “There was a certain rich man,” said he, “clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day.” You cannot add a word to that. You cannot imagine a more complete representation of gilded debasement, decorated degradation. Oh, how heartbreaking! that a man should be known as rich, clothed in purple and fine linen, and faring sumptuously every day!
Let us now come into another class of identifications, where the air is purer, where the light is the blessing of a summer day. There was a man called Caiaphas; but this name is not an uncommon one in the period and in the race to which he belonged. Which Caiaphas therefore was it? Now comes the point of identification, the descriptive clause: “Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.” Here is a man associated with a great idea. We know nothing of his stature, of his fingers, toes, bedstead, clothing; he stands in history associated with the sublimest thought: patriotism ennobled and sanctified; theology dark with excess of light. Caiaphas did not know what he was saying. What man has ever given expression to any great idea who knew the circumference of it? Who knows where one vibration of the air ceases to palpitate? Who then can tell where one real, living, divine thought ends its issues? Talk of expounding the prophets! who can do it? The very fact that they were prophets lifts them above our exposition. We can move in their direction, we can catch a portion of their spirit, we can represent some outline of their meaning: but the prophets themselves did not know what they were thinking about or praying about; they wondered what the Spirit meant when it spoke of suffering and death and millennium, and the wolf and the lamb feeding together like friends. There are those who would insist upon knowing what Paul means. Paul did not know himself. I do not want to know what Paul means, I want to know what the Holy Ghost meant when he spake through Paul. I do not interrogate the trumpet, I interrogate the trumpeter. So with regard to this Caiaphas. He laid down the most wonderful philosophy that was ever suggested, and did not know in all its fulness and unction and pathos the evangel which he declared. One man dying for the people, why, that is all history gathered up into one vivid sentence; that is the tragedy of life in one palpitating eager line. Who could die for the people except in symbol? Fear thou not: the Lion of the tribe of Judah hath strength to open the book, and the Son of God hath quality enough to die for the universe every day of the week.
This idea of substitution is one which I cannot explain, and which I cannot relinquish. It is to me the central idea of the atonement. You have followed my teaching but poorly, if you do not know how frequently I have said that the atonement cannot be explained. It can be felt, the eyes of the heart can see the mystery for a moment; that moment may be the moment of salvation. But the atonement is not a riddle to be guessed, it is not a proposition to be controverted; it is a fact to be received by the broken-hearted in their extremest self-disgust and self-helplessness. There are some who will not have the idea of substitution, on the ground that men are suffering for their own sins. I deny it; I join issue upon that statement; I call it, to begin with, a lie. No man is suffering for his sins, in the sense which makes suffering and sin equivalent terms. That is the vital point. A man has five thousand a year, robust health, genial spirits, rising reputation, equipages, and acres, and a score of servants answering a score of bells, what! he suffering for his sins? It is an irony that might be laughed at, but for the grave fallacy which makes it an obvious lie. A poor man, apparently penniless, breadless, friendless, homeless is not he suffering for his sins? No, not necessarily. We must understand the case before we pronounce upon it. Has it come to this, then, that a man sins and suffers, and there’s an end of it? Why, doth not nature herself teach you that nothing of the kind is known in all the social mystery of life? A man may suffer for another man’s sins: how then? “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents,” and yet he is blind. What about his grandparents, what about the line of heredity stretching far back through generations? The infant of seven days old is in pain for whose sins? Then there is a law of transference, is there, or a law of sequence? You must recognise that law in the fulness of its meaning before you talk about a man suffering for his sins and therefore there is no need to punish a man for them. That is loose, foolish, blasphemous, wicked talk. Life is not so superficial and lineal and easily measured and managed as all that: life is a tragedy. How one man can die for ten thousand ages, we cannot tell: but we cannot tell why there should be ten thousand ages. We are not called upon to tell: explanation does not lie within the range of our responsibility: we have enough or germ, suggestion, initial action in our own instinct and in our own social administration to give us a hint of the possibility of a grand vicariousness, a marvellous condescension on the part of God, by which his own death in the person of his Son shall be regarded as equal to the death of all who have sinned. Moreover, we cannot tell what sin is. It is not a term in the dictionary, it is not a mere word; before you can determine the matter of suffering you must determine the range, quality, issue, and whole mystery of sin. Sin is not an offence against the magistrate, or against the law, or against some conventional standard; sin goes farther and means more, and strikes God in the heart, and thus shakes the universe. What it means in all the fulness of its significance we shall know in eternity. Meanwhile, I say of my Saviour, He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him. How, why, I know not: but I feel that it being so the sinner may call upon him too, and thus be saved.
Let us relieve the agony of these considerations for a moment by turning to another instance of a remarkable reputation. The Apostle writes the word “Judas,” and his very hands seem seized with paralysis, “Judas,” and in a parenthesis he says, “Not Iscariot.” Blessed be God a man may be called “Judas” without being called “Iscariot.” We have to save ourselves from being confounded with some people. Sometimes the names are the same, but the qualities are infinitely different. Sometimes part of the name corresponds with the abhorred appellation, but we are saved by the fact that the other part is utterly distinct from the first. “Not Iscariot,” not the dealer in blood, not the betrayer of the Son of God, not the man who took thirty pieces of silver that he might sell his Lord; not the liar who blistered Time’s fairest cheek with the foulest kiss; not the damned! There are times when a man is bound to say that he has no connection with such and such deeds and issues.
Take another case, which shall be the last. “Mary is a name that occurs again and again in the New Testament. There were many Marys. I read thus in one case, “It was that Mary which” listen! “that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair,” the best Mary but one, the best but the mother of God. The practical question is, “How do we mean to be known?” By our stature, by our curiosities, by our fine clothing and fine faring; by the utterance of sublime ideas, by the conception of noble thoughts, by the doing of deeds that would be illustrious in moral majesty if they were not overwhelming first in moral pathos? We may leave no distinctiveness. A person may so live as not to be missed. That is an appalling thought; it is, however, an indisputable fact. The persons did nothing, said nothing, suggested nothing, lived in nothing and died in nothing, went for nothing. We may leave a bad distinctiveness, the man of evil habits, the drunken husband, the drunken father, the profane speaker, the man who never opened his mouth but to pollute the air. Or we may, blessed be God, leave a good distinctiveness. We may so live that many will miss us who were never supposed to have known us. We shed influences which we cannot follow. We can have individuality without ostentation. There is a fame of the heart, a fame of goodness, a fame of charity; there is a household glory. A man may be famous at home. The day has not begun until he comes in; the home is only a house until she who is loved appears upon the scene; the house is only furnished by the cabinet-maker, not lighted up by the genius of home, until such and such a life is realised in its holy and happy presence. How are we to be known? It is a poor fame that spreads itself over all the world but has no root at home; it is mere noise. There is nothing so contemptible as fame, if it be not rooted in conscience, in intelligence, and in appreciation at home. To be famous under his own roof, should be the ambition of every man. That lies within the power of all. If fame were a question of genius, statesmanship, production of the finest poem or the finest criticism of the day, why, that fame lies within the reach of ingenious devils; but we should covet the fame of love, the fame of household trust, the fame of the heart. Do not be known merely for little things, but never despise the things that are little. It will be a poor consequence if we are known as the most punctual people in the world, if we are known also as the most untruthful persons ever spoken to. It will be a very poor account to render at last that we were courteous beyond all that was known of civility, and yet we were oppressors of the poor and the helpless. Let us be known for sympathy, for prayerfulness, for that wondrous mystery of life which is called faith all the five senses gathered up and consummated in a sixth called faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. We walk by faith, not by sight. Faith shall have great harvesting. Reason sows in a little measurable plot that can be cut down in a day by any hireling hand. Faith sows upon the acreage of the universe and wants eternity in which to reap the harvest.
V
GENERAL ADMONITIONS AND APPLICATIONS
Jas 4:1-5:20 We will not examine the seventh general head of the analysis. James 4-5 consist of general admonitions and applications. In chapter 4 we have five of these. First, he speaks concerning the swaying of the passions, and shows that inordinate lusts originate strife and nullify prayer. The letter of James is remarkable for its analysis of human action. In tracing things to their fountain head, just as he traces sin in the abstract, so here he traces strife and faction in the concrete that when we covet things contrary to God’s law this lust leads us to make war upon all who oppose our selfish ends. The evil of yielding to these inordinate desires is manifested in the fact that a man’s prayers are unanswered. He comes before God with his petitions, but God does not hear him. He is not seeking God’s glory. He is not seeking God’s will, but he is seeking that he may obtain things to be consumed upon his appetites, and on this account his prayers are unanswered.
In the next place James shows that friendship with the world is enmity to God. With all the clearness of our Lord himself, who taught that we cannot love God and mammon, he sets forth the fact that one who seeks the friendship of the world is guilty of spiritual adultery. Spiritual adultery is idolatry. The soul has been espoused to Christ. To seek our greatest pleasure and happiness in the world is to be guilty of marital infidelity.
Just here we come upon two difficulties. In Jas 4:5 the common version reads, “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?” The new version reads, “Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?” The first difficulty is in finding the scripture which, according to the old version, James seems to quote. Commentators are unable to find any passage of scripture which reads, “The spirit which dwelleth in us lusteth to envy.” Indeed, there is no such scripture. Then to what scripture does James refer? Some have supposed that he referred to a scripture showing that the friendship of the world is enmity with God. This could be obtained from Matthew’s gospel, but that gospel was not yet written. And it is hardly probable that James has a back reference. We must look further on to find the scripture, and we do find it in the restatement at the close of verse Jas 4:6 : “Wherefore the scripture saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.”
Our next difficulty on that verse consists in determining what spirit is meant when it says, “Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?” In other words, does it refer to the Holy Spirit dwelling in the Christian, or does it refer to our own spirit? If we interpret it to mean our own spirit, then this is the idea: Those men whom James is rebuking were justifying their envyings and strife by charging it to God, since the envyings arose from the spirit which he made to dwell in them; that is, they were naturally so constituted that they could not help this envying. Hence, James would meet this statement by asking, “Does the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?” His form of question indicates a denial. Supported by his next statement, “But he giveth more grace”; that is, “suppose you say your envying comes from your corrupt soul; God did not corrupt your soul, and even though God did corrupt it, the corruption is your fault or Adam’s fault; yet there is no justification for yielding to it, since he has promised grace with which to overcome this envying, and the grace is stronger than the depravity.” If, however, we make the spirit that dwelleth in us mean the Holy Spirit, then the meaning, must be this, according to the marginal rendering: That Spirit which he made to dwell in us yearns for us, even unto a jealous envy. This follows the idea that the Lord God is a jealous God; he will brook no rival. And if the soul commits adultery by seeking the friendship of the world, it provokes the jealousy of the Spirit which he made to dwell in us. While the passage is exceedingly difficult, my own impression is that the first meaning given is the better one.
We now come to some of the most important directions in the Word of God (Jas 4:7-10 ), which reads as follows: “Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you.” This expression gives the means by which we obtain control of our passions, and by which we resist the enticements of the world. This text is twice expounded in the author’s first book of sermons. It constitutes a marvelous theme for a revival meeting. It shows that we must be under one leader or the other God or the devil. It not only calls upon us to resist the devil, but assures us that we have the power to resist him and turn him to flight. It is an exhortation to contrition, repentance, and faith. The contrition is expressed by the words, “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep. Humble yourself in the sight of God.” The reformation following repentance is expressed by cleansing of the hands from sin and purifying the heart from double-mindedness; the faith is expressed by submission to God.
It is greatly to be feared that much of the preaching of modern times has lost its depth and power. The plow does not run deep enough. There is no deep conviction of sin. There is no mourning for sin such as we find set forth in Zec 13 . We find our way to a modern profession of religion, dry-eyed. There is no weeping in it. And hence, feeling ourselves to be but little sinners, we need only a little Saviour.
The next admonition relates to censoriousness that spirit that continually judges another. Here James follows, as almost throughout the epistle, our Lord’s great Sermon on the Mount where he says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.” The censorious spirit, says James, violates the law of God and usurps the divine prerogative of judgment. There is one Judge and one Law maker.
From the evil of censoriousness he passes to consider the evil of the commercial spirit, a sin of which the Jews of the dispersion were pre-eminently guilty. It is true that their several captivities led to the deportation of many thousands of their people in different ages of the world. But a mightier power than the Assyrians, mightier than Nebuchadnezzar, mightier than Pompey, deported the Jews from their own land, and this was the spirit of trade. Cut off from the great honors of a free national government, all of their energies were turned to money making. Their merchant ships were on every sea; their peddlers in every land. As they were then, so they are now. James does not condemn commerce. They presumed on the uncertainty of the future and ignored God. Without counting on the brevity of human life and their ignorance of what a day might bring forth, without considering the providence of God, the Jew, incited by his love of trade, would say in mapping out his plans, “To-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade and get gain.” James said they should have said, “If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that.” His teaching harmonizes with the old proverb, “Man proposes, but God disposes.” The recklessness evinced by the Jews of the dispersion in yielding to a commercial spirit which took no account of time or the brevity of life or of the government of God in less degree characterizes the traders of the Gentile world today. Men leave God out of their calculations. Men consider not their own frailty or the uncertainties of life.
Jas 5 also is devoted to five applications of these admonitions. The first is a denunciation of the rich. Of course he means the Godless rich, and what he says is more needed now than when he said it. He sees the miseries of the rich coming upon them. They accumulate more wealth than they can use, and hence become corrupt. In their strenuous desire to become wealthy, they disregarded the rights of their employees. The men whose money made their wealth are treated as machines or as dumb brutes. The cry of the toilers goes up to the Lord of hosts, just as the Israelites in bondage in Egypt cried out and God heard their cry and came down to intervene. They are warned that they are sapping their virility by delicate living, and that in their greed to amass fortunes, they have not hesitated to kill the righteous. The pages of modern magazines and newspapers are ablaze with denunciations of millionaires and syndicates and their measures. Political parties are aligning themselves upon the issues raised between the rich and their employees, or between the rich men and the people who have been robbed by their methods of trade.
The general theme of this letter is patient endurance of affliction. In Jas 5:12 we have this language: “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath: but let your yea be yea, and your nay be nay; that you fall not under judgment.” James is not talking at all about oaths that one takes in a court room, nor oaths unto God, but he is discussing the question of the outlet of our emotions when we are in great trouble or great joy. He says that if we are in great trouble, we should not swear. Notice how common it is for men who are afflicted to curse. And in the same way some people, when they are very happy, give an outlet to their emotions in swearing. The thought of James is this: In the deep emotions which come to a human being in the vicissitudes of his life, never let swearing be the outlet.
Then he goes on to tell what shall be the outlet. He says, “If any of you are suffering, don’t swear, but pray. Let prayer be the outlet.” Again, if filled with great joy; if the heart is bubbling over with happiness, how may one keep from making a mistake in the outlet of these emotions? James says in that case, “Sing psalms.”
We will be sure to misinterpret this letter unless we understand what his object is. The object is to show both negatively and positively what outlet shall be given to the emotions when one is greatly stirred up, either from afflictions or joy. Just at the point of great suffering or great joy comes a danger. What are you going to say? Are you going to swear or pray or sing psalms?
James now comes to a case of sickness. “Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him.”
The first thought in connection with the scripture is the word, “elders.” Carefully note these scriptures: Act 11:30 , which precedes in time James’s letter; Act 14:23 ; Act 15:2 ; Act 15:4 ; Act 15:6 ; Act 15:22 ; Act 16:4 ; Act 21:18 . No one can read these passages about the elders without noting that there is a distinction between a layman and an elder that the latter has an office that he occupies a representative position. In the pastoral epistles there are many references to elders, and the term elder, (Greek, presbuteros ,) is used interchangeably with episkopos , “bishop” or “pastor,” showing that an elder was a preacher. The only difference I see between the New Testament churches and the Baptist churches of the present time upon that subject is that at the present time Baptist churches pay no sort of regard to any sort of elder in their church unless he is their pastor. In the New Testament churches the preachers of the church, those who had been set apart as God’s ministers, though only one of them could be pastor of the flock, yet every one of the others was treated as an officer of the church of Jesus Christ and entitled to consideration. In Acts II when Paul and the bishops took that collection to Jerusalem, they turned it over to the elders. If a man is sick let him send for the elders of the church. Good commentators see in that direction that when the elders respond to that invitation they come in a representative capacity. It is as if the church had been assembled to pray for the sick man. The preachers come together and pray in the name of the church.
The next thing is, What do they do? This scripture says, “Let them anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.” We come to this question, Was that oil to be used for medicinal purposes, as Dr. Eaton says in The Recorder, and as Dr. Winkler says in his Commentary on the Book of James I (A part of the “American Commentary,” and withal about the best commentary on James that I know.)
I cannot agree with these brethren. I don’t think that oil was used as a medicine. I think if there had been a desire to secure medical help, James would have said, “Send for the doctor.” But he says, “Send for the elders of the church and let them anoint him with oil.” Another reason why I don’t think oil was put upon the sick man for medicinal purposes is that while oil is a splendid remedy for some sickness, it is no remedy for a good many others. It is a good medicine when a man has a fever. The third reason is that it was not the oil that procured the recovery from sickness. It distinctly says that the prayer of faith and not the oil shall heal the man. It seems clear to my mind, then, that the anointing with oil was not to make doctors out of preachers.
Then it must have been used symbolically. A holy anointing of oil was poured upon the heads of kings, prophets, and priests, and this oil signified the influence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the Anointed One. He is not anointed with the symbolic oil, but with what the oil symbolizes. I think, then, that the use of the oil was symbolic of the accompanying power of the Holy Spirit, just as the laying on of the hands in ordination is a symbolic act. It symbolizes the descent of the Holy Spirit on the man ordained, to qualify him for preaching.
Here is another question: Is James giving a direction for all times? In other words, is that direction binding upon us now? Or was it simply carrying out what is expressed in Mar 6:13 ? When Jesus sent out the twelve apostles and told them to heal the sick, cast out demons, the record says (Mar 6:10 ), “They anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.” That is to say, it was in the apostolic days a miraculous, divine attestation of those who employed it. And James is living and writing in the days of the apostles. He is the earliest of the New Testament writers. At that time the apostles were still living and had that commission of our Lord to anoint with oil and heal the sick, and that commission through the apostles comes to the church.
My own judgment is that James speaks of the miraculous attestation of the church, and when the attesting was complete, the sign ended.
I have never felt that an obligation rested upon me as a preacher to go to the sick and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord in the expectation that they should be miraculously healed.
There are some good brethren who believe that this injunction was meant for all time, and so all along through the ages there have been those that held that the right thing to do with the sick was to send for the preachers and let the preachers carry out this injunction. I have never carried out the injunction because I did not believe the injunction rested on me. It is evident that this method of healing, a miraculous method, even in the days of the apostles, was not a constant thing. It was simply a sign occasionally used.
For instance, Paul says, “I left Trophimus at Miletus sick.” Why did not he anoint him with oil and raise him up, if this was the standing order? To Timothy, who was in feeble health, he prescribes wine, not oil. Timothy was a teetotaler and did not believe he ought to touch ardent drinks. Paul says in this particular case, “Use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake.” Why did not he tell them to anoint Timothy with oil? Paul had a thorn in his own flesh) but he did not send for the elders of the church to come and anoint him with oil.
My point is that these were directions of attestation, a marvelous manifestation of the miraculous power of the Spirit of God for specific purposes, just as tongues were for a sign. But tongues were to cease, and miracles were to cease, and prophecies were to fail just as soon as they accomplished their object. That is what James refers to here.
But one may ask me if at the present time I pray for sick people to get well. I say, “Yes.” Prayer is to be kept up; prayer never ceases. The anointing with oil that was a symbol of the miraculous power may cease, but the praying does not cease, and I pray for sick people that if it be God’s will they may get well. In some instances they do get well, but in some instances it is not God’s will that they should get well, so they die. When a man is invited to pray for the recovery of a sick person he ought to do it, and he ought when he prays to submit the disposition of the matter to the will of God, otherwise it would mean that if a little band of praying people got together it would stop death over the world, which was not the purpose of God. We cannot escape death.
The Roman Catholic Church establishes upon this passage of James what they call the sacrament of “extreme unction,” one of the seven sacraments. When a Catholic is given up by his physicians, and he is in articulo mortis , they anoint him, and on account of his dying state they call it extreme unction the last anointing. The trouble about getting that from this passage is that James prescribes a duty for recovery. They appoint a sacrament for the dying. The Romanist also tells us how that oil is to be made that it is valueless unless the bishop makes it and the priest anoints.
The Roman Catholic was at one time the state religion of England and continued so until the time of Henry VIII, and the Episcopalians retained in their ritual a great many things that had been handed down to them through the Romanists. Here is what their prayer book says must be done when a man is about to die. It is in the first prayer book of Edward VI: “If the sick person desires to be anointed, then shall the priest anoint him upon the forehead or breast only, making the sign of the cross, saying, ‘As with this oil I anoint thee, may Almighty God grant of his infinite goodness that thy soul inwardly may be anointed with the Holy Ghost who is the spirit of all strength from relief and sickness, and vouchsafe from his great mercy, if it be his perfect will to restore unto thee bodily health and strength to serve him.’ ” There is no harm in the prayer itself. From the particular case James enlarges: “Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” This extends beyond elders. The confession of sins is a doctrine of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. John the Baptist would not baptize a man who did not confess his sins. He baptized them in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. John says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.”
A question here arises about the confession, and on that is a great deal of remarkable history in the annals of the so-called churches. They have gotten themselves into a good deal of trouble on it. Some of them used to take the position that a man was under obligation to get up and confess every sin publicly that he had been guilty of since the church met before. Then they fell upon the method that the confession should indeed be made, but it should be made privately and let the preacher advise whether it should be made public. They tried that until one preacher made a public announcement of sin confessed without the consent of the man who confessed to him, and that created such a fury that they stopped it.
What James means is this: If I do wrong to a brother I must confess to him my wrong. If he wrongs me, he confesses that wrong to me. If I have sinned against God, I must confess that sin to God. The confession, then, must be made to the one who has been wronged. Sometimes a man wrongs the church, that is to say, he is guilty of such open, public, outrageous sin, like drunkenness, that a confession is due to the church and he must confess to the church in such a case. But suppose I have only had wrong thoughts in my mind, must I confess to the church? No, I should confess that to God. Go right along and confess that wrong fully to him, but not to the world.
Upon what James has said about confession the Romanists have another doctrine called “auricular confession,” or a confession in the ear. Every priest has a certain station in the church building, with a little bit of a window. He is shut up on the inside and puts his ear to that opening, and each member of the congregation is compelled once every year at least to come and whisper into the ear of the priest every sin he has committed. In that way they get possession of the secrets of the world. They know all the skeletons in every family. It becomes a tremendous power in their hands.
They connect this doctrine with penance. When a lady leans over and tells what sins she is guilty of, he prescribes a penance: “You must recite so many Ave Maria’s. You must fast so many days. You must pay so much money.” When the penance is performed, then they have their doctrine of absolution. The priest absolves from sin the one who has confessed and done penance. There is not one thing in this passage to warrant auricular confession with its attendant usage. In the time of the Protestant Revolution the Council of Trent passed a decree to this effect: “Let anyone be anathematized who denies that sacramental confession was instituted of divine right, or who denies that it is necessary to salvation, or who says that the manner of confession to the priest alone, which the church has observed from the beginning and doth still observe, is alien from the institution and command of Christ and is a human invention.” So they make it essential to salvation.
Many a time have persons come to me and started to tell things. I say, “Stop; hold on, I am no priest. I don’t know what you are going to tell me. It may be something you ought not to tell me. If it is absolutely essential to right advice that I know, you may tell me, but you must carefully think over in your mind before you make that confession.” Three times in my life I have had jarring, startling confessions made to me. It would beat a novel if I were to tell what they were, but I will not. I say to the one who is in trouble, if you have sinned against God, go and confess to God. If you have sinned against your neighbor, go and confess to your neighbor; but I am sure that because I am a preacher, I cannot be made the receptacle of every slimy thought that ever crawled through the minds of the people where I live, and of every evil imagination. I would rather be dead than have to listen to such things. But sometimes I have to let them tell me to get them out of the ditch they are in.
James then cites the case of the power of Elijah’s praying, and lest anyone might say that Elijah was a prophet, he goes on to state that Elijah was a man of like passions with us and be prayed that it might not rain and it rained not; and he prayed that it might rain and it did rain. That brings up the question whether it is the proper thing now to pray for rain.
I say, “Yes, pray for anything.” There is nothing in the world that man needs either in body or soul that should be excluded from the petition.
I never shall forget a statement made by Dr. Ford when he returned from England, having visited Mr. Muller, called “the man of faith.” When he got to the place he was very anxious to see the most remarkable man of faith living in the world, but Mr. Muller had gone away and had not returned. They were all assembled, and it was a time of horrible drought. Dr. Ford himself had been choked with dust in getting to the place where they had called all the people together to pray for rain. About that time Mr. Muller himself walked in, covered with dust. One of the deacons got up and said, ‘Mr. Muller, we are distressed about the drought, and we thought we ought to take it to the Lord. Is it right to pray for rain?” And he said, “Yes, let us pray.” Then he stood up and prayed just like a little child: “Oh Lord, look at the dumb brutes, lowing for water and perishing. See the travelers choked with the dust on the thoroughfares. See the people’s crops and gardens impoverished; Lord God, send rain to thy people.” And before they were dismissed the rain came that flooded all that section of the country. Dr. Ford in telling about it said the most impressive thing he ever witnessed in his life was Mr. Muller’s childlike manner and the faith with which he took hold of the promises of God.
The scientists say that to pray for rain is an attempt to change the laws of nature. Not a bit of it. Why, then, pray for anything else? The scientists say that the way to get wisdom is to study for it. There is not anything that we can pray for at all if we let that argument hold.
We now reach the last thing in the book: “My brethren, if any among you err from the truth.” James does not mean if he goes astray in doctrine. James does not discuss doctrine. To err from the truth with James was to go astray in practical religion from God. “And one convert him, let him know that he who converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.” What is the signification of “cover a multitude of sins”? Then, whose sins? The Romanist says it is the sins of the man who does the converting, as if to say, “Now if you want to accumulate a fund of righteousness that will be to your account by which you may be justified on the last great day, convert some one else from the error of his way and thus cover your sins.” That is the thought and that is the doctrine involved in it, but that was not the thought of James. It is not the converter’s sin that will be covered, for nothing is said about his sins, but it is the sins of the one to be converted that are to be covered.
Then, what does “cover” mean? There is a proverbial expression that charity covereth a multitude of sins. It is so used in the book of Proverbs. It is so used in the letter of Peter. That is to say, “Love is not censoriousness.” It does not look for specks and spots and deficiencies, and when it sees faults, it is more apt to put the mantle of charity over them than to unveil them. Does this mean that kind of covering of sin? I will tell you why I don’t think so. “He who converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.” It is his salvation that is accomplished. Here is a sinner who has erred in his life and has gone away from the law of God. He is one whose steps take hold of death and hell, and we are exhorted to try to save him by prayer, by faithful admonitions, by preaching to him the means of salvation, and then encouragement is given us that if we do become the means of his salvation, we have saved a soul from death and covered a multitude of sins. What does that “cover” mean? In Psa 32:2 David says, “Blessed is the man whose sin is covered. Unto him the Lord imputeth not iniquity.” There the covering gets its idea from the mercy seat, that the sin is counted covered which by faith has been placed in Jesus Christ and forgiveness comes. Paul quotes David: “Blessed is the man whose sin is covered,” and shows that it means justification, forgiveness of sins.
QUESTIONS
1. Of what do James 4-5 consist?
2. How many in Jas 4 ?
3. What is the first one, and its relation to prayer?
4. How does James characterize the friendship of the world?
5. What the two difficulties of Jas 4:5 , and what their solution?
6. What is taught in Jas 4:7-10 ?
7. What apprehension about modern preaching?
8. What admonitions on censoriousness, where is found the same teaching of our Lord, and in what does the sin consist?
9. What was the sin of which the Jews of the dispersion were preeminently guilty?
10. How did this sin cause their dispersion, and in what did it consist?
11. What prescription was given by James for those possessed with this spirit?
12. What is James’s attitude toward the problems of “capital and labor”?
13. What is the general theme of this letter?
14. What does James mean, both negatively and positively, by “swear not at all”?
15. What is prescription does he give for the outlet of sorrow or joy?
16. What is the distinction between elder and pastor, and what capacity of the elder here referred to?
17. Was the anointing oil here to be used as medicine? Give three reasons for your answer.
18. What then the use made of the oil?
19. Does James give a direction for all times? If not, then explain and give proof.
20. Is it right to pray for the sick? If so, how?
21. What “sacrament” of the Catholic Church based upon this passage?
22. What the fallacy of this Romanist position?
23. What does James say about confession, what remarkable history connected with it, and what the real meaning of the passage?
24. What institution of the Catholic’s based upon this passage, and what its evils?
25. Is it right to pray for rain? Illustrate.
26. In Jas 5:19 what is meant by “err from the truth”?
27. In Jas 5:20 whose sins are referred to?
28. What is meant by “cover a multitude of sins”?
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you .
Ver. 1. Go to now, ye rich men ] Those rich wretches mentioned Jas 2:6-7 , that blasphemed God and oppressed men. Magna cognatio ut rei sic nominis, divitiis et vitiis.
Weep and howl ] Better weep here, where there are wiping handkerchiefs in the hand of Christ, than to have your eyes whipped out in hell. Better howl with men than yell with devils.
That shall come upon you ] Gr. , that are even now stealing upon you.
1 6 .] Denunciation of woe on the rich in this world . These verses need not necessarily be addressed (as Huther) to the same persons as ch. Jas 4:13 ff. Indeed the repeated seems to indicate a fresh beginning. Commentators have differed as to whether this denunciation has for its object, or not, exhortation to repentance. I believe the right answer to be, much as De Wette, that in the outward form indeed the words contain no such exhortation: but that we are bound to believe all such triumphant denunciation to have but one ultimate view, that of grace and mercy to those addressed. That such does not here appear, is owing chiefly to the close proximity of judgment, which the writer has before him. Calvin then is in the main right, when he says, “Falluntur qui Jacobum hic exhortari ad pnitentiam divites putant: mihi simplex magis denuntiatio judicii Dei videtur, qua eos terrere voluit absque spe veni ,” except in those three last rather characteristic words.
1 .] Go to now (see above, ch. Jam 4:13 ), ye rich, go weep (the imper. aor. gives the command a concentrated force, as that which ought to be done at once and without delay), howling (the part. is not merely a rhetorical reduplication of , but describes the mode of the by a stronger and more graphic word, in the present, as thus habitual during the . (reff.) is a word in the O. T. confined to the prophets, and used, as here, with reference to the near approach of God’s judgments. Thus in Isa 13:6 , , ) over your miseries which are coming on (no supply of (see digest) is required after . These miseries are not to be thought of as the natural and determined end of all worldly riches, but are the judgments connected with the coming of the Lord: cf. Jas 5:8 , . It may be that this prospect was as yet intimately bound up with the approaching destruction of the Jewish city and polity: for it must be remembered that they are Jews who are here addressed).
Jas 5:1 . : See above Jas 4:13 . : according to the original prophetic conception these “miseries” which were to overtake the wicked, were to come to pass in the “Day of the Lord,” i.e. , during the Messianic Era; this belief became extended during the development of ideas which took place during the two centuries preceding the Christian Era. Whatever the reasons were which brought about the belief, it is certain that the expression “those days” came to be applied to a certain period which was immediately to precede the coming of the Messiah; without doubt a number of prophetical passages were regarded as suggesting this (see below). The descriptions given of these “days,” which are to foretell the advent of the Messiah, belong to apocalyptic conceptions; in their general outline the “signs” of these times are identical. Prophetical passages such as the following laid the foundation: “The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is laid up in store. The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him ”; then, on the other hand, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death ” (Hos 13:12-14 ); again. “ The day of thy watchmen, even thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity. Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide for the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother a man’s enemies are the men of his own house” (Mic 7:4-6 ); another characteristic which played a great part in the later apocalypse is contained in Joe 2:10 ff., “the earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. Cf. Zec 14:6 ff.; Dan 12:1 , etc., etc. Throughout the immense domain of apocalyptic literature these themes are developed to an enormous extent; they are familiar to us from the Gospels, Mat 24:25 ; Mar 13:14-27 ; Luk 21:9-19 . In Jewish literature references to them also occur with frequency; this period is called the time of “travail,” and more specifically, the “birth-pangs,” or “sufferings” of the Messiah Cheble ha-Meshiach , or Cheblo shel Mashiach , see Pesikta rab. , xxi. 34; Shabbath , 118 a ; Sanhedrin , 96 b , 97 a , etc., etc. See further Oesterley, The Doctrine of the Last Things , chap. 7. The great diffusion and immense popularity which the apocalyptic literature enjoyed makes it certain that the writer of our Epistle was familiar with the subject; the “miseries,” therefore, referred to in the passage before us may quite possibly have reference to the sufferings which were to take place in the time of travail preceding the actual coming of the Messiah. : only here in the N.T., but fairly frequent in the Septuagint, Isa 13:6 ; Joe 1:5 ; Joe 1:13 ; Jer 4:8 , etc.; in the first of these passages the connection is the same as here, , and see Luk 6:24 , “Woe unto you rich ,” which is strongly reminiscent of the verse before us.
James Chapter 5
The address at the beginning of the Epistle helps not a little to account for the peculiarity of the denunciation of the rich with which our chapter opens, as well as other passages afterwards and before it. If directed to the twelve tribes that are in the dispersion, there is no difficulty; if it contemplated like Peter’s two Epistles only such as are saints, not a little would sound harsh, to say the least. But as the inspired writer was led to take wider ground from the start, the true key of interpretation is put into our hands thereby.
“Come then, ye rich, weep, howling over your miseries that are coming on. Your wealth is corrupted, and your garments are become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver are rusted through, and their rust shall be for a witness to you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye laid up treasure in [the] last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who reaped your fields, that is kept back of you, [or, from you] calleth out; and the cries of those that reaped entered into the ears of Jehovah of hosts. Ye lived luxuriously on the earth and indulged yourselves; ye nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. Ye condemned, ye slew the just one: he doth not resist you” (vers. 1-6).
The day of the Lord could not but be prominent before a godly Israelite imbued with the reiterated warnings of the prophets; and it is still hanging over man on the earth. The covenant people of old were prone to regard themselves as exceptions; but for their delusion they had no warrant or even excuse from scripture. The more privileged, if faithless, are the more guilty. “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” The gospel brings in grace, and through faith deliverance; but the moral principles of divine government are immutable. God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, and unrighteousness of men that hold the truth in unrighteousness.
The poor are sinners no less than the rich; each have their special snares and dangers. But it is far harder for a rich man than for a poor one to follow Christ truly. Therefore, said He to His disciples, “Verily I say to you, It is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of the heavens. And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
Here however they in a general and unsparing way are warned solemnly of their miseries that are coming on. The reader may profitably compare Isa 2:7 to the end: only idols are not set forth by the Epistle as in the prophecy. But that day will deal with every one that is proud and lofty, and with every one that is lifted up, with every high tower, and every fenced wall, with all the ships of Tarshish and with all pleasant works of art. God is against their cherished wealth, and their endless store of raiment. To his eye that saw under the surface all was corruption, their gold and silver rusted throughout, the rust a witness to them and to eat their flesh as fire. The selfish unbelief that laid up treasures in closing days was no trifle in God’s sight.
But they are charged with wanton cruelty and fraud in their dealings with the labourers who reaped their fields. Their very wealth tempts the rich to withhold payment of wages to the poor; their own things are alone of moment in their eyes, while they postpone to a convenient season the claims of such as live from hand to mouth. But the debt cries aloud to Him Who ever feels for the poor, as He showed Who alone made Him fully known. Yes, the cries of the reapers, which may not have reached the rich, entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts, and His blow would fall when least expected.
The rich are next arraigned for their luxurious living on the earth, as if the God of heaven regarded it not. In a world of wretchedness and want, they indulged themselves, as if they were not stewards and had no account to render; they nourished their hearts in a day of slaughter, as heedless as the beasts slain for food of man.
Another charge follows, still more tremendous: “Ye condemned, ye slew the just one: he doth not resist you.” This made their guilt less excusable. “He did no sin, nor was guile found in his mouth; who, when reviled, reviled not again, when suffering, threatened not, but gave [himself] up to him that judgeth justly.”
At this point the Holy Spirit brings in the coming of the Lord. It is indeed a truth of the utmost moment and of the largest application practically; and all the inspired were led to interweave it into their communications.
“Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient for (or, over) it, until it receive early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Murmur (or, groan) not, brethren, one against another, that ye be not judged. Behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, brethren, for en example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of [the] Lord. Behold, we call them blessed who endured. Ye heard of the endurance of Job, and saw the Lord’s end; for the Lord is full of compassion, and merciful” (vers. 7-11).
What motive to long suffering so powerful as the Lord’s coming! Good shall then be at ease, and evil be smitten down all over the earth. He will have the glory to Whom it is due. The heavens and earth shall be united under His head ship Who is Heir of all things. His own, even in the body conformed to His image, as they once suffered with Him, shall then be glorified and reign with Him. Israel no longer idolatrous, the Jew despising no more their Messiah, shall have Him their King, Jehovah’s anointed King on His holy hill of Zion. All the nations will bow in willing subjection to His righteous sceptre, envious no more of His choice: all that see the elect people in that day shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which Jehovah hath blessed. In their Father’s kingdom on high shall the righteous shine forth as the sun; and, below, the Son of man shall send forth His angels, who shall gather out of His kingdom all stumbling-blocks and those that do iniquity. Then Jehovah will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth; and the earth shall answer the corn, and the wine and the oil; and they shall answer Jezreel. And Jehovah will sow her unto Him in the land, and will have mercy on her that had not obtained mercy; and He will say to them which were not His people, Thou art my people, and they shall say, My God. And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The sucking child too shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.
Such are the consequences of that glorious event. But His presence is more than all the rest to those that love Himself. Nor is there any truth which has a mightier effect (next to faith in His person, His love, and His death) in detaching from the world and its snares on the one hand, and in sustaining under its hatred and persecution on the other. Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. It is not the providential dealing with Jerusalem and the Jews, any more than death ridding sufferers from the troubles of this life. These are the misinterpretations of fallen Christendom. The truth is the hope of His own coming, which will first act on all the saints dead or living to give them consummated blessedness, and next on the land and people of Israel, as well as on all the earth.
Doubtless we have to await the moment of the Father’s will. So does the farmer for the good produce of the earth, till it receive the needed rain from above, both early and later. How much more should we stablish our hearts in patience, whose hope is so much more excellent, till the last believer is called! for the Lord’s coming hath drawn nigh. Can we not trust Him Who gave us His Son, and with Him all things?
There is another danger, besides impatience, which it corrects. We are apt to murmur, or groan, one against another. How unwise, ungracious, and unbelieving! With what measure we mete, it shall be measured to us again. To judge is to be judged. How much better to wait in patience, overcoming evil with good! Why should we judge? “Behold, the judge standeth before the door.” The time is at hand.
Incredulity says that this was the error of the apostolic church. On the contrary it was the simple strength of their hope; and they reaped the blessing it gave them. If they fell asleep, it was also to wait with Christ, instead of only for Him. It is the true, intended, and constant hope of the Christian, as living now as from the day of Pentecost. Christ Himself is waiting for that moment; so all saints were once, and all ought to be now.
Nor is our Lord the only pattern for us. “Take, brethren, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord.” We tread the same path with yet brighter hope, though in substance the same. Yet another incentive is added, of no slight force. “Behold, we call them blessed which endured. Ye heard of the endurance of Job, and saw the Lord’s end; for the Lord is full of compassion and merciful.” A whole book of scripture is devoted to this aim. How fully Job was vindicated against the detraction of friends! And how blessed of Jehovah, when self was judged! Let us be of good cheer, not hearing only, but truly profiting.
From the need of patient endurance we are next warned of the danger of light or thoughtless asseverations in ordinary speech: a common habit among both Jews and Greeks, but wholly unworthy of Him Who is the truth, the great exemplar for all who confess Him Lord.
“But before all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath; but let your yea be yea, and nay nay, lest ye fall under judgment” (ver. 12).
As sinning with the tongue is throughout denounced, so here in particular the lack of reverence. For though the oaths in question refer to the creature rather than to God, though they may affect care for His name by substituting other forms for His; who entitles men to adopt anything of the sort in daily intercourse? He is the Judge, Who has assured us that of every idle word that men speak they shall give account in the day that comes; “for by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”
Indeed on the mount, in the great series of discourses of which the first Gospel gives the summary, the Lord had pronounced on the same wrong. “Again, ye have heard that it was said to those of old time, Thou shalt not perjure thyself, but shalt perform to Jehovah thy vows; but I say to thee, Swear not at all: neither by the heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. No more shalt thou swear by thy head; for thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your word be yea, yea; nay, nay; for that which is more cometh of evil” (or, the evil one). The self-same duty is enforced as in this Epistle.
It is a total mistake to conceive that by either a judicial oath is forbidden. The specimens given preclude such an inference. They are not such as the magistrate puts in a court or other occasion; they were, or might be, the common phrases of every day. The sense therefore is clearly given by the A.V. rendering of “your communication.” It was not an answer to the demand of one entitled to ask in God’s name. This every one is bound to give. So our Lord was silent till the High Priest adjured, or put the oath, with that authority; as the O.T. claims it in Lev 5:1 . Here it is only the case of man with man. Even without a magistrate, but on an adequately solemn occasion we have the apostle confirming what he taught the saints by an equivalent as in Rom 1:9 ; Rom 9:1 ; 2Co 1:23 ; Gal 1:20 ; Phi 1:8 ; 2Th 3:5 ; so he adjures his brethren in 1Th 5:27 .
It is quite enough that in our converse with brethren or other men, our yea should be yea, and our nay nay. “That which is more cometh of evil.” The believer is as responsible to speak as to act as in the presence of God. This is his habitual privilege, and safeguard. It may be forgotten by others, or by himself to his loss. The evil one is a liar and the father of it. No small opportunity would it be to him if the Christian were not always watchful to speak truly, and needed such expletives to gain credit for it.
From this earnest exclusion of an approach to profane speech, we are next exhorted to the course that befits in suffering or in joy, as well as sickness.
“Doth any among you suffer trouble? let him pray. Is any happy? let him sing praise. Is any sick among you? let him call to him the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil, in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save (heal) the sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him” (vers. 13-15).
We are short in Christian intelligence if we do not know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to those that are called according to purpose. God often sends trouble as chastening for the good of His children. Sometimes as in 1Co 11 it is because of positive sin; but they totally mistake who suppose that it is restricted to that. Heb 12 puts it on ground quite independent of so sorrowful an occasion, and treats it as flowing from His Fatherly love, and for profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness. It is as much or more to hinder sin as in consequence of its indulgence. It often is a trial of faith and an honour from the Lord, as the apostles so well knew, and many a simple saint in no such prominence. For the disciples as such are called through many tribulations to enter into the kingdom of God.
But in any case “doth any among you suffer trouble? let him pray.” God is the resource in trouble; and the saint, instead of only bearing it or sinking under it, is exhorted to “pray.” He is encouraged to expect blessing in crying to God about the trouble. It is a practical victory over the enemy who seeks our loss by it, if our mildness or forbearance be made known to all men, and our requests be made known to God. With unbelief it is the contrary: insisting on our rights as and with men, as if God entitled any to such a plea; and making demands or requests on men, instead of looking only thus to God.
Then there is a time when one experiences circumstances of joy. “Is any happy? let him praise.” For gladness has its dangers no less, perhaps more, than trouble. It is apt to elate the spirit, throw us off our balance in the Lord, and expose us to levity in feeling, word and deed. The resource is to turn to Him in praise. Singing is not only due to Him Who gives happiness, but a safety-valve for His feeble ones, who easily at such a time slip from dependence. His praise recalls us to Himself.
There may also be the general or special need created by sickness. “Is any sick among you? let him call to him the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of [the] Lord.” It is good where any dealing of the Lord leads us to turn to Him, expecting not evil but good. In those days too, elders of the assembly were there, men of moral weight and spiritual judgment, whose place it was to intervene in difficulties of a personal as well as public nature. They might not be evangelists or teachers; but apt to teach they were required to be, men able to take up in love and truth and faithfulness the burdens of their brethren. The sick man is exhorted to summon such as they are to pray for him with that application of oil which Romanism has distorted so wholly from God’s mind. Extreme unction is a mere invention of superstition, to smooth the way when hope of recovery is gone.
It is remarkable that the inspired writer, though encouraging honour to the elders, attaches healing virtue, not to their official place or special art, but to prayer, and this of an efficacious sort through faith. He says “And the prayer of faith shall save [or, heal] the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” What a contrast this is with the gloomy superstition which sends “a priest” to absolve him and give extreme unction, because his death is regarded as inevitable! For if he recover, he will need the same hateful parody over again. Yes, unclean and drunken harlot, dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return, with no resurrection as being without life, nothing but a system of darkness and death.
Then comes the special character of the sickness, carefully discriminated from the common, “and if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him.” It is a nice and notable point in the true rendering of the clause that the sins are in the plural, the forgiveness is in the singular. It is right that each and all should be judged in order; but grace gives the forgiveness in full.
Verses 14, 15, fully present the blessing which rested on the assembly, and the honour God put on the elders. They were encouraged to pray for the sick and assured that the prayer of faith should heal him, and the Lord raise him up. The added clause took notice of sins done, which might trouble the heart, but it assures forgiveness. This leads to a more general statement which follows.
“Confess therefore your sins [or, ‘offences’ as in the common text] to one another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. A righteous [one’s] supplication hath much power if it work. Elijah was a man of like passions with us, and he prayed prayerfully that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again; and the heaven gave rain, and the earth sprouted forth its fruit” (vers. 16-18).
Here we find Christians exhorted, where failure came in, to confess their sins mutually, and so to pray, that healing might be granted. For there is a divine government which has ever thus dealt with the saints here below, as we may see in the Psalms as well as in the history of the ancient people of God. So there was outside Israel, as in the book of Job. Neither the gospel nor the church has changed this. The saving grace of God has appeared, as it did not till Christ and His work; but as surely as we call on a Father, He judges without respect of persons according to each one’s work, as the Lord taught the disciples in Joh 15 . Sovereign grace abides in all its efficacy; but God does not fail in faithfulness to deal with us if unfaithful. We are therefore enjoined to pass the time of our sojourning in fear, not as if we doubted, but on the contrary, as knowing consciously that we were redeemed with Christ’s precious blood as of an unblemished and spotless lamb.
This is the more consolatory in the present anomalous state of Christendom, where tradition has wrought boundless havoc with the truth, and ecclesiastical order has been swamped with inventions of men to please human activity and hide the ruin which lawlessness has everywhere brought about. Properly, elders needed apostolic authority, direct or indirect. Where this was not, and elders were lacking, or even men not easily found who had the qualities on which the apostle insisted to Timothy, the saints could and ought to confess their sins to one another with prayer; nor would the Lord’s grace fail toward the need. A righteous one’s supplication avails much, where really at work.
For this Elijah is cited, as one of like nature with ourselves, as indeed his inspired history reveals. But it also reveals how, as a judgment of God, rain should not fall for three years and six months because of a people rebellious and even apostate. Here we have, not the solemn sentence the prophets pronounced from God, but the inner work in the soul which preceded it, for which we are wholly indebted to this Epistle. He prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth sprouted forth its fruit; but we learn this second praying in the history as well as in the Epistle. Miracles it is a proud unbecoming thought to expect in the actual confusion that exists, yet with God and His word acknowledged. But God hears prayers with fatherly pleasure, and never fails to answer that which faith pours into His ears.
It is faith, practical faith, which has been urged, faith exercised in energetic prayer. The Epistle does not close without an earnest pressure of love in a similarly active way, and indeed in manifest connection.
“My* brethren, if any among you should err from the truth, and one turn him back, let him know that he that turned back a sinner from the error of his way shall save a [or, his||] soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins” (vers. 19, 20).
* The omission of the pronoun, as in the Text. Rec. according to the more modern copies, against the ancient and best authorities, both MSS. and Vv. detracts from the tenderness of the appeal.
“The way of” the truth seems an enfeebling addition, as in the Sinaitic and good cursives, besides venerable Versions. The weight of testimony is adverse.
The Vatican Uncial, etc., give the plural “Know ye.”
|| AP, some good cursives, and ancient Versions give “his.”
One of the saddest results of spiritual weakness among Christians is the rarity of restoration. Discipline even in extreme degree is no less due to our Lord, to our sacrificed Lord (1Co 5:7 , 1Co 5:8 ), than requisite in the best interests of the saints. For true love of our brethren is inseparable from loving God and keeping His commandments (1Jn 5:1 , 1Jn 5:2 ). But our God attests often and clearly and strongly His deep concern in the recovery of the straying and fallen; where self-righteousness displays its bitterness and indifference. Zeal for the credit of a sect or party and anxiety to stand well morally are as far as possible from the love we owe to Christ’s body and every member of it.
For we are exhorted to forgive (or, show grace to) one another, as God also in Christ forgave us (Eph 4:32 ); yea, to be imitators of God, as beloved children, and to walk in love, even as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us. But this love divine is meant to arm us against fellowship with the ways of darkness, seeing that we are light in the Lord to walk as children of light, the fruit of which is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth (Eph 5:7-9 ). Hence the spiritual, in a spirit of meekness, are to restore one taken in some fault, “considering thyself lest thou also be tempted.” Hardness is unworthy of a Christian. “If thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he should sin against thee seven times in a day, and seven times return to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him” (Luk 17:3 , Luk 17:4 ).
So here, if one brought back him that erred, or was led astray from the truth, let him know that in such a recovery he that brought him back from his way of error should “save a soul from death.” Here it is not a striking answer to the prayer of faith, but a rich cheer to the love that sought and won the wanderer. To have the sick healed and raised up as the fruit of prayer may strike the eye more; but how blessed to “save a soul from death”! Thus would our God encourage a spirit of grace in the thankful knowledge that love has its victories in a world of self and hatred and evil; and this, not only in regard of him that erred from the truth and its way, but in furnishing occasion, for that which is so pleasing to God in His government – to “cover a multitude of sins.” If love do not flow, wrongs multiply, and God chastens, it may be severely; for where is Christ in such a case? But if love prevail through His grace, God is glorified, and love covers a multitude of sins, which otherwise must draw out His rebukes.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jas 5:1-6
1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. 2Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! 4Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.
Jas 5:1 “Come now” This is parallel to Jas 4:13. It is the literary technique of diatribe. James presents truth by making a statement and then showing how some will react to this stated truth.
“you rich” This refers either to (1) rich believers as in Jas 1:10 or (2) exploiting unbelievers (cf. Jas 2:1-13). Wealth has its unique temptations and problems (cf. Mat 6:2-4; Mat 6:19-34; Luk 6:24; 1Ti 6:9-10; 1Ti 6:17).
“weep” This is an aorist active imperative, which speaks of urgency. It refers to eschatological judgment. In Jas 4:9-10 these commands are related to a call to repentance and humility like Mat 5:3-9; but this section, Jas 5:1-12, relates to the Second Coming and Judgment Day.
“howl” This is a present active participle used in an imperatival sense. This term is used in the OT to describe the pain of certain judgment (cf. Isa 13:6; Isa 14:31; Isa 15:2-3; Isa 16:7; Isa 23:1; Isa 23:14; Isa 65:14).
“miseries” This is a very strong term (cf. Rom 7:24; Rev 3:17).
“which are coming upon you” This is a present middle participle. This shows the certainty of God bringing mankind to account for their plans as well as their actions! This judgment is not only the future (eschatological) but also present (temporal). We reap what we sow (cf. Gal 6:7-8).
To fully understand this text two aspects of wealth must be understood: (1) the Jews considered wealth to be an evidence of God’s acceptance and blessing (cf. Deu 28:1-13), but they ignored the contextual covenantal responsibilities and warnings (cf. Deu 27:15-26), and (2) the wealthy Jews were often the very ones who persecuted the early Christians.
It is uncertain whether the ones referred to are wealthy Jews or worldly believers. They were expecting God’s blessing, but not so, judgment (cf. Isa 13:6). They had fattened themselves for judgment (cf. Jas 5:5; Jer 12:3; Jer 25:34).
Jas 5:2-3 “Your gold and your silver” There were three sources of wealth in the ancient world: (1) stored food; (2) clothing; and (3) precious metals. All three types of wealth are described by the perfect tense verbal forms denoting their complete and ongoing destruction: “rotted,” “moth-eaten,” and “rusted” (cf. Mat 6:19-20).
“consume your flesh like fire” Fire is often used as a symbol of God’s judgment. Here it is related to the form of destruction that can happen to accumulated earthly wealth. Humans think that wealth will protect them and help them, but it may well cause their destruction (cf. Luk 12:15-21; Luk 16:19-31). See Special Topic at Jas 3:6.
“the last days” This refers to the Jewish concept of two ages, one evil and one righteous. For Christians it relates to the period from the birth of Jesus until His Second Coming. In God’s plan (cf. Act 2:23; Act 3:18; Act 4:28; Act 13:29) the Messiah comes twice, once as Savior (cf. Joh 3:14-21) and later as Judge (cf. Joh 5:22; Joh 5:27; Joh 9:39; Act 10:42; Act 17:31). The last days refer to this period between the incarnation (God becoming a human) and the Parousia (Second Coming).
SPECIAL TOPIC: THIS AGE AND THE AGE TO COME
“that you have stored up your treasures” This reflects Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (cf. Matthew 6). James often alludes to Jesus’ words in this sermon. See Intro., Content, B. One wonders if he was present or if the early church used Matthew’s Gospel in their training of new believers (catechism).
Jas 5:4 “the pay of the laborers. . .which has been withheld by you” The poor needed their money every day in order to feed their families, but the rich withheld it to assure that they returned to work the next day (cf. Lev 19:13; Deu 24:14-15).
There is a manuscript variant in this verse which is typical of many of the variants in the scribal tradition. One term, aphustere, (found only here in the NT) found in MSS and B* , means “withhold payment” while apostere, which means “deprive one of something,” is found in MSS A, B2 and most later manuscripts, As for an interpretation or understanding of the meaning of the original author, these two options make little difference. UBS4 gives the second option an “A” rating (certain).
“cries out” This is literally “shrieks.” The cries of the exploited believer reach God (i.e., Deu 24:14-15)!
“has reached the ears of” The Bible often describes God in human terms: (1) human body parts; (2) human feelings; or (3) human relationships. Humans have no other language than human categories to describe a personal deity. This is called “anthropomorphisms” from the two Greek words anthrpos, meaning man, and morph, meaning form.
This type of language helps us express the biblical world-view that
1. God is a person and that humans made in His image represent “personal” attributes and characteristics. This is why God and mankind can understand and relate to each other.
2. Humans do not ultimately understand God. He is far greater and more majestic than our earth-bound, temporal categories. God has truly revealed Himself and we can trust His revelation, but He has not exhaustively revealed Himself because of the limited capacity and sinfulness of mankind.
SPECIAL TOPIC: GOD DESCRIBED AS A HUMAN (anthropomorphic language)
“of the Lord of Sabaoth” This is an OT title for deity (YHWH Sabaoth), which is used well over 250 times, but not in the Pentateuch (Genesis – Deuteronomy). It is used in the OT in several different senses.
1. To discuss all created things (cf. Gen 2:1; Neh 9:6; Isa 45:12).
2. To describe God in ancient royal categories
a. palace guards
b. royal entourage
c. Israel as the unique people of God (cf. 2Sa 7:26-29; Psa 46:7; Psa 48:8)
3. To describe God’s military aspect
a. the leader of Israel’s army (cf. Exo 12:41; 1Sa 17:45; 1 Sam. 60:12; Psa 24:8-10; Isa 31:4).
b. the leader of the heavenly angelic army (cf. Jos 5:14-15; Psa 147:4; Isa 40:26)
4. To describe and refute the ancient Mesopotamian and Canaanite belief that the heavenly lights represented angelic powers to be worshiped and placated (cf. Deu 4:19; Deu 17:3; Isa 24:21-23; Isa 40:26; Jer 8:2).
It is true that angels are depicted as stars (cf. Job 38:7; Jdg 5:20 and later Jewish apocalyptic literature), but they are servants of YHWH, not independent powers.
SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY
Jas 5:5 “lived luxuriously and led a life of wanton pleasure” This is similar to Jesus’ parable in Luk 16:19-31. The term denoted self-centered, extravagant lifestyle (cf. Luk 7:25; 1Ti 5:6; 2Pe 2:13).
“fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter” They were acting like pampered cattle, fattened for the market. This is so reminiscent of Amos’ preaching.
Jas 5:6 “You have condemned” This refers to the financial and judicial exploitation of widows, orphans, strangers, the poor, and the socially powerless and outcast. God is the defender of the needy and neglected (cf. Deu 10:18; Deu 24:17-21; Deu 26:12; Deu 27:19).
“put to death” This may possibly be like Jas 3:2 in the sense of violent acts or hateful attitudes (cf. Mat 5:21-26).
“the righteous man” Some link this to Jesus (because of the last phrase and Isa 53:7), but the context relates it to the suffering children of God, the saints.
“he does not resist you” This is possibly a question expecting a “yes” answer [see the modern translations of (1) The Twentieth Century New Testament; (2) Edgar J. Goodspeed; and (3) J. B. Rotherham]. If so, it relates to Mat 5:39. In this age God’s people should not react and retaliate, but they will testify on Judgment Day!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. Is wealth a sin?
2. List the three sins of these wealthy people.
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS TO Jas 5:7-12
A. The imminence of the Second Coming
1. James and other NT authors seem to assume the immediacy of the Lord’s return.
2. There is a tension in the words of Jesus Himself concerning His return. Most believers have been taught that Jesus is coming soon, suddenly, and unexpectedly (cf. Mat 10:23; Mat 24:27; Mat 24:34; Mat 24:44; Mar 9:1; Mar 13:30). But every generation so far has been wrong! The soonness (immediacy) of Jesus’ return is a powerful hope of every generation, but a reality to only one (and that one a persecuted one). Believers must live as if He is coming tomorrow, but plan and implement the Great Commission (cf. Mat 28:19-20; Luk 24:46-47; Act 1:8) as if He tarries.
Some passages in the Gospels (cf. Mar 13:10; Luk 18:8) and I and 2 Thessalonians are based on a delayed Second Coming (Parousia). There are some historical events which must happen first:
a. world-wide evangelization (cf. Mat 24:14; Mar 13:10)
b. the revelation of “the man of Sin” (cf. Mat 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2)
c. the great persecution (cf. Mat 24:21; Mat 24:24)
There is a purposeful ambiguity (cf. Mat 24:42-51; Mar 13:32-36)! Live every day as if it were your last, but plan and train for future ministry.
3. The believers’ proper response to the delayed Second Coming is patience. Several examples are given:
a. the farmer (cf. Jas 5:7)
b. the prophets (cf. Jas 5:10)
c. Job (cf. Jas 5:11)
4. The confident assurance and expectation of the return of the Lord is an existential hope of every generation of believers. H. E. Dana’s Jewish Christianity has a helpful comment:
“James believed in the imminence of Christ’s Second Coming. It cannot be justly charged that we have here a ‘mistake’ in the New Testament. James is faithfully recording the impression of his own religious consciousness, and though the actual extent of time was far beyond anything of which he dreamed, it was right for him to be on the watch for his returning Lord. Inspiration must keep within the verdict of Jesus that, ‘It is not for you to know the times or seasons, which the Father hath set within his own authority’ (Act 1:7). James could not know how near or distant in time was the Second Coming; he could only express its nearness in his own consciousnessand in that he was honest in his purpose and made no mistake” (pp. 124-125).
B. There is a continuing emphasis on a negative use of the tongue (Jas 5:9; Jas 5:12 as Jas 5:13-20 is a positive use of the tongue).
Go to. See Jam 4:13.
howl. Greek. ololuzo. Only here. An onomatopoeic word.
miseries. Greek. talaiporia. See Rom 3:16. Compare Jam 4:9.
shall come = are coming.
1-6.] Denunciation of woe on the rich in this world. These verses need not necessarily be addressed (as Huther) to the same persons as ch. Jam 4:13 ff. Indeed the repeated seems to indicate a fresh beginning. Commentators have differed as to whether this denunciation has for its object, or not, exhortation to repentance. I believe the right answer to be, much as De Wette, that in the outward form indeed the words contain no such exhortation: but that we are bound to believe all such triumphant denunciation to have but one ultimate view, that of grace and mercy to those addressed. That such does not here appear, is owing chiefly to the close proximity of judgment, which the writer has before him. Calvin then is in the main right,-when he says, Falluntur qui Jacobum hic exhortari ad pnitentiam divites putant: mihi simplex magis denuntiatio judicii Dei videtur, qua eos terrere voluit absque spe veni,-except in those three last rather characteristic words.
Chapter 5
Now in chapter five he takes on the rich. So this doesn’t apply to many of us.
Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days ( Jas 5:1-3 ).
So he speaks of the rich and heaping up treasure for the last days, talking of their gold and silver. And to me it is extremely fascinating how that the rich people have to worry about the security of their money. What is safe, what is a safe investment? You know, how safe are the banks? What if Mexico and Argentina default on their loans, what’s that going to do to the whole banking community? Is it going to bring it down like a row of dominos? Oh but it’s guaranteed by an agency of the federal government. Read the fine print. You know the whole banking system goes down, there isn’t enough in that agency to bail out American savings and loans.
So where can I put my money so that it can really be safe? How safe are T-bills, how solvent is the government? Man, it’s the greatest debtor of anything in the world; I guess 300 billion dollars. Well, buy gold buy silver. A lot of people bought gold and silver, and they bought gold and silver for 900 dollars, gold for nine dollars an ounce, and now they can get 349 dollars an ounce. But that is all an artificial value. I mean what can you do for gold, with gold, except to say, “Well, I’ve got so many Krugerrands.” It’s all an artificial. Diamonds, buy diamonds, invest in diamonds, you know. It’s all artificial value. It’s just a stone. Hey, when things get really bad you can’t eat it. You know when things are really bad that’s what you think about, “what am I going to eat?”
The Bible tells us that there’s coming a time that it’ll take a bag of gold to buy a loaf of bread. So when it really gets down to it and you really need something to eat you’re going to have to get rid of that gold, and who knows what value will be placed upon it at that time I mean.
You know I like a gold ring, this is not really a gold watch, it’s gold plate, cheap. But as far as true value, where is true value? The true value is only in spiritual things. That’s the only true value that we can really know, in spiritual things, not in the earthly material things. That value is all artificial. It’s like one poet said, “It’s only worth what you can get for it.” “Well,” but he says, “I have a house that’s woRuth 500,000 dollars.” Well, how much can you sell it for? “Well we’ve had it on the market you know for three years for 350,000 we haven’t sold it, but it’s woRuth 500.” No it’s not; it’s only worth what you can get for it. Artificial values. And those that have placed their whole thing into gold, those that have bought up gold and silver for the last days, how disappointed they’re going to be.
“Weep and howl,” James said, “for the misery that is coming upon them,” cause you’ve tried to set yourselves up for these last days, you’ve tried to hedge against inflation by getting into gold, by getting into silver but now they’re worthless.
Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped your fields, which is of you kept back from them through fraud, they cry: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath. You have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; you have nourished your hearts, as in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and killed the just one; and he did not resist you ( Jas 5:4-6 ).
So the Lord or James speaks out against the oppression of the poor or the oppression of the laborer by management, cries for inequity.
Verse seven he changes and now he is exhorting us to
Be patient for the coming of the Lord. For behold the husbandmen waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and has long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is drawing nigh ( Jas 5:7-8 ).
Now it is interesting to me that so many places in the scripture we are exhorted towards patience, as far as the return of Jesus Christ is concerned. Peter, exhorts towards patience for much the same reason, that the long suffering of God is the salvation of the lost. Here exhortation to patience because the Lord is waiting for the precious fruit of harvest.
If the Lord had come ten years ago where would a lot of you been tonight? Five years ago where would a lot of you been? So the Lord is waiting for the latter rain, that is the final harvest of souls. And I believe that we are beginning to see a tremendous harvest of souls through out the world that I do believe is the foreshadowing of the return of Jesus Christ. I think that the Lord is giving the final opportunity to man. We’ve come just about the end of the rope and God has thrown out for the final time the opportunity of people to get right with God, and I think that it will soon be over. But have patience establish your hearts. The Lord, the husbandman is waiting for the precious fruit of harvest.
Grudge not on against another, brethren, unless you be condemned, because the judge is standing at the door. Take the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering affliction, and of patience ( Jas 5:9-10 ).
So look what they endured, the prophets. Look what Jeremiah endured, look what Isaiah endured and others of the prophet, Elijah and Elisha, the things that they suffered because of their stand for God. They are an example of suffering, affliction and of patience.
Behold, we count them happy which endure. You’ve heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very full of pity and He’s of tender mercy ( Jas 5:11 ).
God is full of pity. And in the Psa 103:1-22 the Lord is full of pity. “For He knows our frame that we are but dust” ( Psa 103:14 ). God, when He looks at you, doesn’t expect to see a superman, or a super saint. He knows you’re dust anyhow. That’s why He’s so merciful, because He knows your frame. That is why we are not so merciful so many times on ourselves, because we think we are more than dust. “Well I’m a rock, I’m strong, I’m able, you know I can do it.” And then we get fractured, and we get discouraged and disappointed and we think that God is all upset with us. No, no, no. He’s not upset. He’s merciful. He knew all the time you were but dust. It was you that made the mistake, you that over estimated your capabilities, not God. You didn’t disappoint Him. He knew all the time. It was important that you know what He knows and so He lets you fall on your face. The Lord is full of pity and tender mercy.
But above all things, my brothers, swear not, neither by Heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yes be yes; and let your no, be no; lest you fall into condemnation ( Jas 5:12 ).
Now a man often times, if he is a liar, is constantly swearing that he is telling the truth. And that is why I am often suspicious of the person that is constantly affirming, “Oh, this is the God’s honest truth man.” I become very suspicious when they are constantly affirming that what they tell you is true. If it is true, than you don’t need to constantly affirm it. And James is actually saying don’t swear. “I’ll do it, I’ll do it, I promise I’ll do it, you know. Swear by Heaven, I’ll be there.” No, no, no. Just let your yes be a yes, and let your no be a no. Jesus said the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount. Be a man or a person of your word. If you say yes, mean yes, and if you say no, mean no. And don’t be the kind of a person that you have to swear to cause someone to believe you are telling the truth.
[Now] is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any happy? let him sing psalms. Is there any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of the faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up ( Jas 5:13-15 );
Now it is interesting a distinction is made between afflictions and sickness. And I don’t always know that we can discern between is this an affliction or is this a sickness. But it would seem that afflictions are used by God for the purposes of correction. That when afflictions come than I need to pray, I need to find out from God what He’s trying to teach me, what He’s trying to tell me.
You see our problem is that we are not often sensitive to the things of the spirit. There seems to be a spiritual dullness that is quite prevalent among the church. It’s like Romaine said, “He’s gotta beat you over the head with a two-by-four to get your attention before He can talk to you.” If God has to beat you over the head with a two-by-four and you’re afflicted then you need to pray and find out what God is trying to say. And so if you are afflicted than it says, “let him pray.” That is, God is probably trying to get your attention in some area of your life, and He sometimes has to use rather harsh or painful means.
In Psa 32:1-11 , as the Lord speaks to the psalmist, He said, “look, I want to guide you with my eye, don’t be like a mule who you have to put a bit in its mouth to lead it around” ( Psa 32:8-9 ). Now the bit is very painful and the reason the mule will turn when you pull on the reins is because it pulls the bit up against his mouth. It hurts. So he will turn his head, because it hurts.
Now God is saying to you don’t be so stubborn like a mule that I have to use painful processes to get you to turn. I would guide you with my eye, I want you to be sensitive to my will and my plan, and I’ll be glad to just guide you with my eye. God doesn’t want to guide us with painful processes, but He loves us so much that He will, because it is that important that I be guided by the spirit of God, and He knows it is for my best welfare that I walk in this path. And if I start to stray and it I won’t listen, He’ll use the bit or the bridal. He’ll pull me back into position. It maybe a painful experience, “Oh Lord what’s happening.” Well, you were off track. I wasn’t listening, I was headstrong, I was gonna do it.
Paul the apostle, the Lord used the bit and bridal with Paul because he was so headstrong so many times. But if you are afflicted, pray. If you’re merry, sing psalms, rejoice. If you’re sick, then call for the elders of the church. The elders of the church meet here on Saturday nights to pray for the sick.
The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord shall raise them up; and if they have committed sins they shall be forgiven ( Jas 5:15 ).
It is interesting that there seems to be a correlation here between sickness and sin at least in the deliverance of sickness and in the forgiveness of sins. And it is interesting how many sicknesses can be related to sin in a very direct way. And yet on the other hand, let me say that I think that it is a very dangerous error to try to relate all sickness to sin. And you are then putting yourself in the position of a judge and you’re judging wrongly many times, saying, “well they’ve got it coming to them.” And I think that is cruel and dangerous to say that all sickness is the result of sin in a person’s life. Not at all.
[Now] confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed [that is of your faults.] ( Jas 5:16 ).
I think that…you notice it doesn’t say confess your sins, it’s confessing your faults one to another. We confess our sins to God, and He’s faithful and just to forgive us. I may have a weakness in my life and I am very often confessing my faults to you. Not for you to just laugh at me, which you often do when I tell you of my problems on the freeway. Hey, but freeways are coming along. I’m improving. On the way to church this morning, two cars pulled out in front of me and I counted it all joy. I passed the test today, but that doesn’t guarantee tomorrow, but pray for me. “Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another.”
We each of us have our faults our failures, those areas in our lives where we need to yield more to the Spirit of God and find His strength and find His help. It’s good to have a prayer partner that you can just open up to and say, “Hey, I’m having a problem in this particular area pray for me will you.”
Confess your faults one to another, pray one for another, that you may be healed. For the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much ( Jas 5:16 ).
Our son in law was getting after our little three-year-old granddaughter, because her prayers seem to be developing sort of a rote. And he said, “Now Kristen, when you pray, you should pray not just quick little prayers, and the same prayer every time, but really start praying from your heart and really mean your prayers. Think about them and really mean your prayers when you talk to God.” Because she was usually just praying, “God bless our food, strengthen our bodies, in Jesus name, Amen,” and then start eating. So dinnertime came and they called on her to pray and she said, “Lord, bless our food. I mean really bless our food Lord.”
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. And this is the thing that I always get a charge out of.
Elijah was a man subject to the same things that we are ( Jas 5:17 ).
He was just like you. A man of like passions just like us. We usually read of these people in the Bible: Elijah, Elisha and Joshua and Moses and Paul and Peter. We usually think of them in a category that is sort of up here and I am down here. And we sort of think of the things that they did as completely unattainable by the common ordinary person. But Elijah was a man of like passions just like you, no different from you.
And yet he prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it did not rain on the earth for the space of three years and six months ( Jas 5:17 ).
Now can you imagine that? A man just like you praying and earnestly saying, “God don’t let it rain. Let these people learn through a draught to call upon Your name and all and cut off the rain.” A man of like passions just like you.
And yet he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth her fruit ( Jas 5:18 ).
Here was a man controlling the weather with his prayers. A man just like you. That amazes me.
Years ago when a lot of hippies were around here we had a (the hippies are still here but they have disguised themselves now. They shave.), but we had a summer camp up here at Idyllwild. In fact I think there is still a picture in the office of the summer camp that we had up there. And this one afternoon at dinnertime it started pouring rain, just pouring down. We had a tin roof and it seems to magnify even the intensity of the rain. But you know how the mountain summer rains are the thunderheads, and just really pouring. So at dinner time in the announcements, I announced that we would have the outside Victory Circle meeting, and the kids said, “We can’t have it. It is pouring rain.” I said, “No, I’ve asked the Lord to stop the rain at six o’clock so that we can have our Victory Circle. So we are going to have Victory Circle six o’clock outside.”
Five minutes to six the rain stopped. We had victory circle. At five minutes to seven, I said, “OK you better get into the Fellowship Hall pretty quick, because I asked the Lord to hold off the rain until the evening service.” So we got into the evening service, and at five minutes after seven it started pouring again. They said, “Ah ha, you said seven o’clock you told the Lord, and it’s five after seven.” I said, “Well, He knew better than I did that you needed more time to get into this place.”
All during the service it poured rain. And so I said after the service, “OK you can go up to snack bar for a half hour, but be in your cabins by ten thirty.” It quite raining. They went up and had their snacks and those that didn’t get in by ten thirty got soaked. It started raining again. Hey, I’ll tell you after that those kids sort of left a distance between themselves and me for a while.
But Elijah was a man of like passion and he prayed it would rain not and he prayed again and it rained. We so many times are guilty I think as the children of Israel of limiting that which God would do just by our unbelief.
[Now] if any of you err from the truth and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins ( Jas 5:19-20 ).
Now if one errs from the way and you convert him, you don’t convert him by confirming him that everything is all right. “Oh go ahead. God is merciful. God is gracious. It doesn’t really matter.” But you convert him by bringing him away from that sin, not giving him assurance in his sin. I don’t think we should ever assure anybody in sin. I don’t know that the Bible assures anybody who is in sin. It assures those that are in Christ. And all the scriptures that speak of assurance are to those that are in Christ. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ” ( Rom 8:1 ). But if you are not in Christ there is condemnation.
So if a person errors seek to turn them back to the walk of faith in Christ, for you will save their soul from death and you will hide a multitude of sins.
Next week we get into Peter’s epistles, which are fascinating and rich, and so we will do the first two chapters of first Peter next Sunday evening.
And now Father, even as James has exhorted us, help us that we might be doers of the Word and not hearers only. And as we have heard these exhortations from Your Word tonight, and as we were listening Your Holy Spirit spoke to our hearts about different areas, to some of us about our tongues, to others about envying and strife, to others about the lust, to others about the friendship with the world and the desire for worldly things. Lord, even as Your Spirit has spoken to our hearts tonight, let us give heed to the Word and be doers of the Word. Help us, Lord, that we might indeed love one another, pray one for another, encourage and strengthen one another, use our tongues to bless and to strengthen each other and to encourage each other that we might indeed be the children of God and bring forth fruit unto eternal life. In Jesus name, Amen. “
Jam 5:1. , ye rich men) [who have neglected the true enjoyment of riches in doing good, Jam 5:2-3.-V. g.] In the writings of the prophets, foreign nations are often addressed by apostrophe, although the prophecy would not come into their hands, but to the Jews. Under the same figure, the apostle speaks of the rich, though he does not so much write to the rich themselves, who are destitute of faith, as to the saints, that they may be induced to bear with patience the violence of the rich, Jam 5:7.-, miseries) This was written a few years before the siege of Jerusalem.-, coming upon you) unexpectedly and swiftly.
Jas 5:1-3
SECTION 11
Jas 5:1-6
THE RICH WARNED
Jas 5:1-3
1 Come now, ye rich,—Though the rich are here directly addressed, it is not likely that they were Christians. (1) There is to them no exhortation to repentance; (2) they are not admonished to a better life; and (3) there is to them no promise of reconciliation to God. On the contrary. they are “to weep and howl,” not in penitence, but in view of impending retribution and ruin. It would appear that the statement of the inspired writer is an apostrophe, wherein he turns aside, for the moment, to denounce the rich and to declare their ultimate doom. for the edification of the poor saints who were experiencing oppression at the hands of the rich. Though his readers are again and again called “brethren,” (e.g., four times in the six verses from Jas 5:7), in no instance are these so designated. In the section immediately preceding this (Jas 4:13-17), and applicable both to saint and to sinner, the rebuke is addressed to those who desired to be rich, and here to those already so, and whose interests were wholly in material things. That the statement of the writer is a solemn pronouncement of woe, rather than a call to repentance, indicates the utter abandonment to the world which was characteristic oi them. Of course, there may haYe been some who liad been Christians among them. The retribution and judgment announced arc that which await all who live as did these particularly in the mind of the author.
“Come now, ye rich”, (age nun hoi plousioi), age nun “come now,” second person singular; hoi plousioi, “the rich,” plural. This is an exclamatory interjection. Those thus addressed are first singled out individually, and then addressed collectively as a class. The rich are often condemned in the sacred writings. (Jer 4:8; Isa 5:8; Amo 3:10; Pro 1:28; 1Ti 6:19; Luk 6:24; Luk 18:24.) We are not from this to assume that there is merit in being poor, or sin in being rich. There, is per se, no virtue in poverty, nor vice in riches. A rich man may be, and often is, a good man, and a blessing to the world; and, contrariwise, some of the most corrupt characters on earth are povertystricken. The state of beggary to which Lazarus was reduced, did not guarantee to him an entrance into Abraham’s bosom, nor did the lovely linen garments and the richly laden table of the rich man provide the occasion for his descent into Hades. Riches and poverty are of outward circumstances and not directly related to the state of the soul-the determining factor in one’s salvation. However, one’s inner state is often affected by outward circumstances; and it is this which makes both poverty and riches important factors in one’s salvation. Either may be the means to lift one’s soul heavenward or drag it downward to destruction. All possessed of a considerable store of this world’s goods should carefully and prayerfully ponder these questions: (a) By what means were these material things obtained? (b) How are they being enjoyed? (c) To what use are they being put? If the means by which the wealth was obtained were improper; or, if their mere possession is that in which one finds chief interest; or, if they are not being properly used, then the terrible denunciation about to be delivered by James would be equally applicable to those thus possessed today.
weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. -It is by many believed that the reference here is to the terrible conditions to characterize the rich, unbelieving Jews (so vividly portrayed by the Jewish historian Josephus), at the destruction of Jerusalem, in A.D. 70, by the armies of Titus, the Roman General, when the rich suffered so greatly in the siege there maintained. But, the physical suffering of the poor (who, of course, greatly outnumbered the rich), was as intense in those terrible days as that of the rich; and it seems better to conclude that this is simply a picture of the retribution and judgment which shall come, at the end of the age, and following the general judgment, upon all those who have lived in the fashion here described.
The verbs “weep,” and “howl,” vividly denote the reaction which ought to characterize those whose doom is certain. Instead of the continual round of banqueting and revelry then characteristic of them, they should weep (klausate, ingressive aorist active of klaio, begin to cry out in grief, and “howl,” ( ololuzontes, present active participle of ololuzo, an onomatopoetic term.) Onomatopoeia, is “the formation of a word by imitating the natural sound associated with the object or action involved, for example, tinkle, buzz, chickadee.” (Webster’s New World Dictionary.) The Holy Spirit, through James, thus reproduces the sounds which these idle and wicked rich should make over their ultimate destiny. The tenses are significant. They are to begin to weep and to continue to howl over the “miseries” to befall them in judgment. The word “miseries” (from talai poriais) denotes hardship, sufferings, great distresses. This destiny was inevitable to them in their present condition. The phrase, “That are coming upon you,” is from tais eperchomenais (present middle participle), indicating that in undeviating fashion the difficulties threatened were marching upon them, and these they could neither avoid nor evade. When the day of destruction dawned how ineffectual would their riches be! In less than ten years, a vengeance was visited upon Jerusalem and the Jews, scarcely paralleled in the world’s history. When, at length, the besieged city fell before the conquering legions of Rome, the slaughter that followed was beyond description. Rich and poor were sought out and mercilessly killed; and all, without regard to their material and financial condition, suffered. And, if, as we believe, the writer describes the destiny of the rich in judgment, an even more terrible destruction awaits. In view of such a destiny, these ought even now to begin to weep and to howl continuously over their ultimate destiny.
2 Your riches are corrupted,—“Riches,” from ho ploutos, denotes that which is full, overflowing ; and sums up the earthly possessions of those described. It should be carefully noted that Jam es specifies whose riches are corrupted. Emphasis is on the “your.” We are not to conclude that all riches are corrupted. In Biblical parlance, a rich man, in the objectional sense, is not necessarily one possessed of large amounts of money or property, but one who has the wrong attitude toward what he has. It is not the number of dollars, but the attitude one has toward them, that determines whether one is rich in this sense or not. “And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were amazed at his words. . . . But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard it is for them that trnst in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!” (Mar 10:23-24.) The apostle John, in his Letter to his esteemed friend Gaius, indicates how safely rich one may be: “Beloved, I pray that in all things thou mayest prosper, and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” (3Jn 1:2.) So long as one’s soul prospers, the more of this world’s goods one possesses the greater one’s potentiality for good becomes. Riches are evil only when they impair the soul’s health, and become thorns which choke out the wheat. (Luk 8:14.)
The riches of those particularly described in our text were by the author of James regarded as already “corrupted,” (sesepen, second person active indicative of sepo, rotten; hence, has rotted). Being material in character, such would inevitably become their condition; but, spiritually speaking, this was already true; they were, in the sight of the Lord, even now rotten. How very vivid is the remarkable contrast here drawn! Men (and women, too) may appear in public in the most dazzling garments, they may be arrayed in the most alluring and attractive fashion, in the eyes of men; but, in God’s sight, these dashing symbols of wealth are, by the Lord, already regarded as rotten. We are to remember that in Oriental lands, riches, in addition to gold, silver and precious stones, consisted of highly perishable goods, such as grain, oil, food, and garments of many types and kinds. The destruction which all such perishable materials eventually suffer is a figure of the ultimate destruction which shall come upon their possessors from the improper use of wealth.
and your garments are moth-eaten.—(Setobrota gegonen, from ses, a moth, and brotos, to eat; and the perfect indicative of ginomai, to become; thus, literally, have become moth-eaten. It is worthy of note that the word “garments,” from himatia, usually described the outer garment, the expensive robe worn in public and thus easily shown off. These garments must inevitably suffer destruction by moths, and the body which they covered by worms. (Mar 9:43-48.) How ironical is the fact that the desire of the heart of some thus improperly to adorn the body leads to its own eternal destruction in the fire which is not quenched, and to the everlasting misery of the spirit which it clothes!
3 Your gold and your silver are rusted;—It will be observed that the general term for wealth (riches, ho ploutos) is used, and then the writer descends to particulars-garments, gold, and silver. To this day in the Arab world it is customary to accumulate such stores as one’s financial condition will permit of garments, shawls, robes, rugs, and household furnishings. All such wealth is, of course, susceptible of destruction from the ravages of the years, the corrupting influence of moisture, dry rot, and, in the case of garments, especially the moth.
The verb “rusted,” (katiotai, perfect passive indicative, from kata, and ioo), means to rust through, all the way to the bottom. The word thus used to denote the condition of gold and silver improperly held is more properly construed as figurative, inasmuch as gold and silver do not literally rust. Not all of the rich would allow their garments to be subjected to moths; not all of them would permit their wealth to rot, or their money to become cankered. Since such material possessions must eventually suffer destruction, it appears likely that James, in this section, figuratively describes the condition eventually to characterize all such, and typical of the end which must inevitably come upon those who hold their wealth improperly as did the rich particularly described in this section. Though silver and gold coins do not literally acquire rust, or deteriorate in this manner, and to the natural eye they may shine with dazzling brilliance, they may, through hoarding, become corroded in the sight of Gd and thus become a testimony against their possessors in the day of judgment. This, indeed, the writer next affirms:
and their rust shall be for a testimony against you,—The word “testimony,” here means a witness (marturion) The ruin often characteristic of their hoarded possessions portrayed and testified to their own destruction. It was thus a witness to their own eventual end. They were to experience destruction by the fire of God’s judgment, just as rust, corruption, and decay were destroying their earthly goods. When, from long possession, their garments deteroriated, their money became tarnished, and their jewels discolored, such testified to the improper use to which they had put such possessions. Rust witnesses to disuse, or improper use; and its existence evidences in unmistakable fashion that those in possession thereof have not handled that which is thus affected aright.
and shall eat your flesh as fire.—It is, in this section, affirmed that ( 1) the riches of those who are particularly warned are corrupted (have become rotten); (2) their garments have oeen rendered useless by moths; (3) their gold and silver have rusted (become tarnished and corroded); (4) these obvious signs of disuse witness to the sin of mishandling; and (5) the “rust” which has spotted their silver and gold will eventually “eat the flesh” of those addressed “as fire.” This latter statement must, of course, be regarded as figurative. It evidently means that as silver and gold must eventually suffer destruction when long hoarded, so they must suffer similar destruction in the punishment which awaited them, because of their miserliness and greed. This entire section is reminiscent of the familiar words of our Lord, when he said: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay np for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also.” (Mat 6:19-21.) Thus, in our text, the gold and silver are, by James, visualized as glowing metal (hugged closely to the heart, perhaps), and ultimately to consume the flesh, i.e., the life. As rust eats through, and destroys metal, so the greed, avarice and love for money which characterized these people would destroy them. This figure is a common one in the Old Testament: “And I will set my face against them; they shall go forth from the fire, but the fire shall deour them; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when I set my face against them.” (Ezek. 15:17.) “Therefore will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory there shall be kindled a burning like the burning of fire. And the light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy one for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.” (Isa 10:16.)
It should not be overlooked that the word “flesh,” in our text, is plural, literally, “your fleshes,” (tassarkas), and the reference is to every part of them. (Cf. Rev 19:18; Rev 19:21.) It is a solemn thought that the bodies on which the rich have lavished so much care, and which they have so richly laden with evidence of their material prosperity, shall suffer destruction in the fire of judgment to come. Here is indirect evidence of the resurrection of the body (of the wicked) which is denied by some materialistic sects. The reference of James to the destruction of these wicked persons is the same as that of our Lord, when he speaks of “thy whole body be cast into hell,” (Mat 5:29) ; “the hell of fire,” (Mat 5:22) ; and the destruction of “both soul and body in hell” (Mat 10:28).
Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days.—These of whom James wrote had (a) laid up treasure; (b) the time when it was “laid up” was “in the last days.” The phrase, “in the last days,” must undoubtedly refer to the period immediately preceding the coming of the Lord in Judgment. We reject, without hesitation, the view that James (and other New Testament writers), labored under the erroneous impression that the coming of the Lord and the end of the world were about to occur in their day. The “treasure” which these people had “laid up” for themselves was the condemnation which their conduct deserved. Paul, in a similar affirmation, wrote: “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treas1trest tlp for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” (Rom 2:5.) The bitter irony of this statement should not be lost upon us. Many there are in the world today who imagine themselves to be laying up a sizeable store of this world’s goods so that, like the foolish man, they may take their ease and be merry; but, who are, in reality, simply storing up wrath “against the day of wrath,” and the terrible retribution which must, because of their wickedness here, inevitably fall upon them. In the light of these solemn facts, all who are possessed of this world’s goods, whether little or much, should carefully and prayerfully review how such were obtained, how they are regarded, and to what use they are being put, that those thus possessed may avoid the destiny here described.
Approaching the conclusion of his letter, the writer addressed a terrible indictment and solemn warning to the rich. He showed the failure of possessions, and how they may become the curse of life.
Selfish life which results in oppression of the poor and consequent robbery of God is known by God. The teaching reveals remarkably the divine passion for justice.
To those who suffer, the writer addressed words full of tender comfort. He called them to patience. All that was said at the beginning of the letter concerning the value of trial in the life is taken for granted. Remembering that God is working through all these processes toward bringing the fruit to maturity and ripeness, it is necessary that His people have patience.
The final paragraph of the epistle contains advice and instructions for differing experiences and needs. “Is any .. . suffering?” “Is any . . . cheerful?” “Is any . . . sickly. Those who are in suffering are charged to pray. Those who are in circumstances of good cheer are to express themselves in praise to God. In dealing with sickness it is most important to remember that here sickness is connected with sin; the raising of the sick is united with forgiveness of sin. The particular cases of sickness were those which were evidently the result of wrongdoing.
In such cases the elders were to be called to act. The use of oil is in itself the indication for such necessity. Any other interpretation would make it a matter of superstition. The Christian man, however, will never depend on natural means alone. While recognizing the place and importance of means, the divine action is also recognized as the ultimate in all healing. The value of this exercise of confession and forgiveness is emphasized by the words with which the epistle closes.
CHAPTER 5
1-6. The practical neglect of God seen in the cruelty and luxury of the rich; and the appalling issue which awaits it.
1. , cf. on 4:13.
, cf. 1:10 f. 2:2-6. The chief question here is whether the rich, who are attacked and warned, were Christians or not.
In 1:10 f. the rich man referred to seems certainly to have been a Christian brother (see note); in 2:2 f. the rich visitor is apparently not a Christian, so the rich of 2:6. In the passage before us the rich as a class are apostrophised, without reference to their religious profession, in order to make clear to the Christian readers the folly of admiring or striving after riches. Those who possess riches, runs the argument, do not present an attractive example, so soon as the real character of their possessions and prospects is understood. Like pleasure (4:1-10), so also wealth-which is sought after in order to gain pleasure- is a false aim. The tone is thus not of an appeal to evil-doers to reform (contrast 4:7-10 and even 4:13-17), but of a threatening of judgment; and the attitude ascribed to the rich is that of 2:6 f., rather than of 1:10 f.. Some of the rich may be Christians, but it is not as Christians that they are here addressed. The purpose of the verses is partly to dissuade the Christians from setting a high value on wealth, partly to give them a certain grim comfort in the hardships of poverty (cf. 5:7-11).
The passage is highly rhetorical and in detail recalls the denunciations of the O. T. prophets. Many of the ideas are found in Wisd. 2, where the customary arrogance and selfishness of the rich, the transitoriness of their prosperity, and their treatment of the righteous are set forth. Luk 6:24 f. also forms a close parallel. Cf. Enoch 94:7-11, 96:4-8, 97:3-10, 98:4-16, 99:11-16, 100:6-13, 103:5-8.
The only important argument for supposing these rich to be Christians is that they are in form directly addressed. For a full statement of the arguments, see Zahn, Einleitung, 1, 4. But the form is the same as that of the prophetic denunciations of foreign nations, e. g. Isa 13:6 (Babylon), 15:3 (Moab); cf. Mat_23 (the apostrophe against scribes and Pharisees), and the regular form of Biblical Woes.
, lament. Cf. 4:9; but there the lamentation is connected with repentance, here it is the wailing of those who ought to look forward to an assured damnation. Cf. 6:15-17 (note , v. 15), Joe 1:5 .
, with howls of mourning. Cf. Isa 13:6 (against Babylon) , , Isa 15:2, Isa 15:3 (against Moab) , Amo 8:3 (note the following context), Zec 11:2, Isa 10:10, Isa 14:31 (against Philistia), 16:7 (Moab), 23:1 (Tyre), 23:1, 14 (ships of Tarshish), 65:14, Jer 48:20, Eze 21:12.
and both mean cry aloud (onomatopoetic), and both refer in earlier secular Greek to joyful crying, or to a cry raised to the gods in worship, seldom to a mere wail of grief or pain.
In the LXX is the ordinary representative of and means howl, especially in distress or from repentance. It is used only in the prophetic books, and nearly always in the imperative.
is the regular representative of Hebrew , except in Jeremiah, where in all the four cases of its use, 4:8, 29(47):2, 30(49):3, 32:20, it stands for ; cf. also , Jer 20:16, for . It means cry-with joy, triumph, battle fury, by way of sounding alarm, or the like.
Thus in the Greek O. T. there is a differentiation of meaning between the two words and . In the N. T. only occurs once, while is found but twice, Mar 5:36 ( , in the sense of a cry of grief), and 1Co 13:1 ( ). The explanation of the facts seems to be that in later Greek usage took the special sense of cry in distress, while retained a wider range of meaning.
, miseries, i. e. the sufferings of the damned, cf. vv. 7, 9, 18:7 f. 21:8, Psa 140:10, Enoch 63:10, 99:11, 103:7.
For the denunciation of future punishment against oppressors, cf. 2 Macc. 7:14, 17, 19, 35, 4 Macc. 9:9, 32, 10:11, 11:3, 23, 12:12, 19, 13:15.
The reference found here by many older, and some more recent, commentators to the destruction of Jerusalem is wholly uncalled for; it is equally wrong to apply this to the distress preceding the Last Judgment; and still worse to think merely of the loss of property by the rich.
, impending, cf. Eph 2:7, Luk 21:26, Hermas, Vis. iii, 9; iv, 1.
2-3. Your wealth is already, to any eye that can see realities, rotten, moth-eaten, and rusted. The rust of it will testify to you in the Day of Judgment how valueless it and your confidence in it are. And the worthlessness of your wealth will then be your ruin, for you have been storing up for yourselves only the fire of hell.
2. , has rotted, is rotten, i. e. of no value. The word is here used to apply (literally or figuratively) to every kind of wealth.
On the general idea, cf. Mat 6:19. In James it is not the perishability but the worthlessness of wealth that is referred to. The property-no matter what its earthly value, or even its earthly chance of permanence-is worthless if measured by true standards.
This and the following verbs in the perfect tense (, ) are picturesque, figurative statements of the real worthlessness of this wealth to the view of one who knows how to estimate permanent, eternal values. The perfect tense is appropriately used of the present state of worthlessness.
Others take the perfect tense in these verbs as describing by prophetic anticipation (cf. Isa 60:1) what will inevitably happen with the lapse of time. But this is unnecessary, and the change to the future in makes it unlikely. Notice also that the mention of the rusting of gold and silver points to a figurative meaning.
The view taken of these perfects carries the decision for a series of exegetical problems in vv. 2, 3 which are discussed in detail in the notes. A different view can be made clear by the following paraphrase, based on Huthers interpretation:
Your wealth will all perish in the Day of Judgment. The rust of it will testify to you beforehand of your own coming destruction, and the Judgment, when it has destroyed your possessions, will afterwards fall on you. You have been amassing treasure in the very days of the Judgment itself!
The idea that . gives the first specification of the actual sin of the rich, who show their rapacity by treasuring up wealth and letting it rot instead of using it to give to the poor or as capital to promote useful industries (cumenius, Calvin, Hornejus, Laurentius, Grotius, Bengel, Theile), is needless and far-fetched.
. On garments as a chief form of wealth, cf. Mat 6:19, Mat 6:1 Macc. 11:24, Act 20:33, also Hor. Ep. i, 6, lines 40-44, Quint. Curt. v, 63.
, cf. HDB, Moth, and EB, Moth.
The word is found elsewhere in the Bible only in Job 13:28 . In secular Greek it has been observed only Orac. Sib. ap. Theoph. Ad Autol. ii, 36 (fragm. 3, 1. 26), (of idol-images). Cf. Isa 51:8, Isa 50:9, Mic 7:4 (LXX), Job 32:22 (LXX).
3. , rusted, corroded. The preposition – has a perfective force, almost like rusted out, or rusted through, cf. the only other Biblical instance, Ecclus. 12:11 . Hence R.V. utterly rusted. See J. H. Moulton, Prolegomena, pp. 111 ff. The word is found in Epict. Diss. iv, 614, but is rare.
In fact, silver does not easily corrode so as to become worthless (cf., however, Ecclus. 29:10 f.), and gold not at all. On ancient knowledge of the freedom of gold from rust, see references in Wetstein. In the apparent references to the rusting of gold in Ep. Jer_11 and 24, tarnishing is probably meant. But Jamess bold figure has nothing to do with such expressions. He means that even the most permanent earthly treasure has no lasting value. Have rusted is equivalent to are worthless, and the writer is thinking of the present, although the present is illuminated by what he knows about the future.
Cf. Chaucer, Prologue to Canterbury Tales:
And this figure he addide yit therto,
That if gold ruste, what shulde yren doo?
, used in various relations in the N. T., Mat 8:4 (Mar 1:44, Luk 5:14), 10:18, 24:14, Mar 6:11 (Luk 9:5), 13:9 (Luk 21:13), Heb 3:5. It seems to mean for a visible (or otherwise clear and unmistakable) sign.
It is derived from an O. T. expression, found in Gen 21:30, Gen 31:44, Deu 31:19, Deu 31:26, Jos 24:27, in all which cases it represents or , which means to be a sign, or pledge, or symbol, usually with reference to some material object, a book, a stone, a group of animals. See also Job 16:8 (Jobs sickness as of his guilt), Mic 1:2. In Jos 22:27, Jos 22:28, Jos 22:34, Rth 4:7 is used in a different grammatical relation but in the same sense. In 1Sa 9:24, Pro 29:14, Hos 2:12, Mic 7:18, is found, due to a mistranslation but probably intended by the translator in the same sense.
So here the rust is the visible sign and symbol of the real state of the case-of the perishability of riches and hence of the certain ruin awaiting those who have no other ground of hope.
Others take to mean for witness of your rapacity (see above on ) or of your own coming destruction. The latter view corresponds with that which takes the perfects . in a future sense as prophetic of the Judgment.
, to you, giving you proof of the facts.
This is better suited to the context than against you, viz. in the judicial process of the Last Day. Cf. Enoch 96:4 for parallel to this latter.
, shall consume your fleshly parts, i. e. the perishability of your riches will be your ruin, you and your riches will perish together. The idea is of rust corroding, and so consuming, human flesh, like the wearing into the flesh of a rusty iron chain-a terrible image for the disastrous results of treating money as the reliance and the chief aim of life. For a somewhat similar turn, cf. Ecclus. 34(31):5.
is used as future of in LXX and N. T.
is found in secular writers of the devouring of a fire (Hom. Il. xxiii, 182), the eating of a sore (sch. Philoctetes, fragm.), the effect of caustics, and the like.
. The plural is used from Homer down, also by Attic writers and Plato, in a sense not distinguishable from that of the singular. So Lev 26:29, 2Ki 9:36, 2Ki 9:4 Macc. 15:15, Rev 17:16, 19:18, 21, Luk 24:39 (Tischendorf).
, since you have stored up fire, i. e. the fire of Gehenna. There is a play in the word (cf. vv. 2 f.), as in Mat 6:19; cf. a curiously similar play in Ecclus. 29:11.Pro 16:27 , . On the fire of hell, cf. Isa 30:33, Judith 16:17, Mat 5:22, and see P. Volz, Jdische Eschatologie, pp. 280 f. 285 f.; W. Bousset, Die Religion des Judentums2, p. 320.
On with the meaning since, see Lex. s. v., I, 4, b. (not quite adequate), L. and S. s. v., B, IV.
would more naturally be connected with the preceding (so WH. mg.), cf. Isa 30:27 . But this leaves without an object, which is impossible, unless, indeed, the text is defective and a word has dropped out. Windisch conjectures , cf. Rom 2:5. Syr omits and connects with the following sentence. Latin vt and vg connect with the preceding; but a wide-spread alteration (Cod. Amiat., not Cod. Fuld.) has relieved the difficulty by adding iram after thesaurizastis.
Cf. Mat 6:19, Mat 19:21, Mar 10:21, Luk 18:22, Rom 2:5 , Pro 1:18 (LXX), 2:7, Tob. 4:9 , 4 Ezr 6:5, 7:77 a treasure of works laid up with the Most High, Apoc. Baruch 24:1, and Charless note, Test. XII Patr. Lev 13:5, and Charless note.
, i. e. which shall be in the last days. The last days are the days of judgment, when punishment will be awarded. Cf. the same phrase in 2Ti 3:1 and (with the article) Act 2:17, Didache 16:3.
For the omission of the article with a superlative, cf. Winer-Schmiedel, 19. 9. Other similar phrases are (Joh 6:39 f., etc.), (1Jn 2:18), (1Pe 1:5), (Jud 1:18, etc.); see Lex. s. v. , 1 and 2, a.
The same expressions are found in the O. T., cf. Num 24:14, Deu 4:30, Isa 2:2, Isa 41:23, Jer 23:20, Eze 38:16, Dan 2:28, Hos 3:5, Hos 3:4 Ezra 13:16.
Other interpretations are possible for the last sentence of v. 3:
(1) With the punctuation, as above, by which is connected with the following, can be taken in the sense, as, as it were. But this is less forcible, since the writer who wrote the preceding and following denunciation would not be likely to hold back from the out-and-out threat of fire.
(2) can be connected with the preceding sentence, and made to begin a new sentence (so A.V., R.V., WH. mg., following Old Latin and Vg). In that case we must read: The rust of them will be for a witness and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the Last Days, etc. This makes a fairly suitable context for . But the following sentence is left mutilated, for requires an object; and the sense is weakened. Under this interpretation the Last Days have to be understood as already here.
4. As an example of the way in which the rich have been treasuring up fire for themselves, James specifies injustice to farm labourers, a conspicuous form of oppression from early O. T. times down. Cf. also v. 6. Hermas, Vis. iii, 9:6, has many points of similarity.
, cf. Deu 24:15 , Lev 19:13, Mal 3:5 , Ecclus. 31(34):25-27, Tob. 4:14, Ps.-Phocylides, 19 .
, labourers, especially used of farm labourers.
In O. T. only Wisd. 17:17, Ecclus. 19:1, 40:18, 1 Macc. 3:6, Psa 94:16 (Sym.). The word has thus almost no LXX associations. In the N.T., beside this passage in James it is used freely by Matthew (six times) and by Luke and Acts (five times), and four times in the Pauline and Pastoral epistles.
, reap. Only here in N. T. Cf. Lev 25:11, Deu 24:19, Isa 17:5, Isa 37:30, Mic 6:15.
, estates, farms, cf. Luk 12:16, Luk 21:21, Joh 4:35, Amo 3:9, Amo 3:10, Amo 3:11, Amo 3:2 Macc. 8:6. E.V. fields suggests too small a plot of ground; means not a fenced subdivision but the whole estate under one ownership.
, kept back, an appropriate word, rare in Biblical Greek. Cf. Neh 9:20; used intransitively in Ecclus. 14:14.
] B*.
] B3AP minnpler.
] KL.
The rare word found in B* has been emended to a more familiar one, cf. Mal 3:5, Ecclus. 4:1, 29:6, 31(34):27.
, by you, cf. 1:13. See Lex. s. v. , II, 2, d. bb. col. 59b. Cf. Winer, 47 (Thayers translation, p. 371), Buttmann, 147. 6 (Thayers translation, pp. 325 f.).
, cf. Deu 24:15; Gen 4:10 (blood of Abel), 18:20 f. 19:13 (sin of Sodom), Enoch 47:1 (prayer and blood of the righteous).
, cf. Isa 5:9, (i. e. the aggressions of the rich), Psa 18:7.
, Lord of Sabaoth, Lord of Hosts, . This term originally referred to Jahveh as the god of the armies of Israel, then as ruler of the hosts of heaven, i. e. the stars and heavenly powers. In LXX usually represented by (see Lex. s. v.), but in all cases in Isaiah and in nine others transliterated, as here and Rom 9:29. See HDB, Lord of Hosts, EB, Names, Smith, DB, Sabaoth, Sanday on Rom 9:29. The term is here used (after Isa 5:9) to suggest the almighty power and majesty of Him who will make the cause of the labourers his own, so in 3 Macc. 6:17 f..
5. Your luxurious life on this earth is nothing in which you can take satisfaction, it is but the preliminary to a day of punishment.
Cf. Luk 16:19-31 (Dives and Lazarus), Luk 6:24 f. 12:Luk 6:16-21. Cf. Enoch 98:11, 102:9.
, you have lived in luxury, lived delicately (R.V.). Derived from , to break down, enervate; it denotes soft luxury, not necessarily wanton vice. Cf. Neh 9:25 , Ecclus. 14:4; and for Luk 7:25, 2Pe 2:13, Ecclus. 14:16. Cf. Hermas, Sim. vi, 1:6 , Luk 16:19 .
The aorist is constative or summary (cf. J. H. Moulton, Prolegomena, p. 109), and is properly translated by the English perfect (A.V., R.V.).
, in contrast to heaven, or the next world; is the day which introduces the next world. Cf. Mat 6:19.
, given yourselves to pleasure. R.V. taken your pleasure is weaker than the original, and not so good as the antiquated been wanton of A.V. Cf. 1Ti 5:6, Ecclus. 21:15.
is a less literary word than , having worse associations in secular use, and suggesting positive lewdness and riotousness. This word and its cognates, , , , are each used a few times in LXX, Sym. and alii. Cf. Barn. 10:3, Varro ap. Non. p. 46. 12 spatula eviravit omnes Veneri vaga pueros. Hort, pp. 107-109, assembles many instances of the word from the LXX and other sources.
, you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. This declares, with a hard, ironical turn, what has been the real nature of the and , the life of luxurious pleasure; it is merely a fattening of the ox that he may be fit for slaughter.
Cf. Jer 46:21 , Xen. Mem. 2, 1:22 , Philo, In Flacc. 20 .
, i. e. the heart as the seat of pleasures, appetites, passions. See Lex. s. v. , 2. b. . Cf. Mat 15:19, Luk 21:34, Act 14:17, Psa 104:15, Jdg 19:5, Jdg 19:8, Hermas, Sim. v, 3:7.
, for (i. e. so as to be fat in) the day of slaughter. On this use of , cf. 1Th 3:13. The rendering of A.V., R.V., a day of slaughter, is wrong, cf. Rom 2:5, 1Pe 2:12. The article is omitted, as often in compact prepositional expressions, Blass-Debrunner, 255. Cf. Jer 12:3 , , 50:27, Isa 34:2, Isa 34:6, Eze 21:15, Psa 44:22, Orac. Sib. 5, 377-380. The Day of Judgment is meant. Cf. Enoch 94:9, Ye have become ready for the day of slaughter, 98:10, 99:6, Jer 25:34.
Many interpreters think that must refer to the time in which has been going on. Then the sense will be: You
have been occupied with pampering yourselves in the very day when you will be finally cut off. But this is unnecessary, and the words become less pregnant and significant, while it is not natural to speak of the present time as if the Day of Judgment itself (near though it may be) had already come.
] B*R 33 minn ff vg boh.
] A.
] cKL 048 minnpler syrutr Cyr.
As reading is unsupported error. The prefixing of changes and weakens the sense because of failure to note the allusion to the Day of Judgment in . This reading with is correctly enough paraphrased by aeth (ed. Platt) ut qui saginat bovem in diem mactationis.
6. By your oppression you are guilty of the blood of righteous men; do you not find them your enemies?
, condemned. Cf. Mat 12:7, Mat 12:37, Luk 6:37. The rich are judges, or at any rate control the courts.
, murdered. Cf. 2:11, 4:2. Oppression which unjustly takes away the means of life is murder. Cf. Ecclus. 4:1, 31(34):25-27:
,
,
.
Here, however, every kind of cruel conduct leading to the death of the poor and righteous is doubtless meant, including in some cases actual murder-whether violent or judicial (e. g. the execution of Stephen).
Cf. Enoch 99:15, 100:7, 103:11-15, Wisd. 2:20, Psa 37:32, Isa 57:1, Mat 23:35.
, singular, representing the class.
Cf. Isa 3:10, Isa 3:11, 57:1 (note v. 4 ), Wisd. 2:12, Enoch 95:7. The oppressed and the righteous are evidently the same persons. The rich here are not thought of as Christians. Cf. Amo 2:6, Amo 2:7, Amo 2:5:12, Amo 2:8:4, where the poor, the oppressed, and the righteous are the same.
In Luk 23:47, Act 3:14, Act 3:7:52, Act 3:22:14, 1Jn 2:1 (cf. 1Pe 3:18), is used of Christ, cf. Enoch 38:2, 53:6. It is not, however, likely that Christ would here be referred to so vaguely, although his death might naturally be included in the writers mind under . The attack is upon the rich as a class, and their misdeeds are thought of as characterising their whole history. Mat 23:35 is an excellent parallel; cf. also the reproaches in Act 7:51-53.
; does not he (sc. ) resist you?
(cf. Jam 4:6, 1Pe 5:5, Rom 13:2, Act 18:6, Pro 3:34) evidently relates to a highly formidable resistance, and probably the witness of the poor at the Day of Judgment is meant. Cf. Enoch 91:12 (and Charless note) 98:12, 104:3.
In Hos 1:6 is contrasted with , to show mercy; in Pro 3:34 with , be favourably inclined. It seems to be used of active opposition or resistance, not of a merely hostile attitude. So Est 3:4, Pro 3:15, Pro 3:4 Macc. 16:23 (Cod. ).
Other interpretations of v. 6 are to be rejected:
(1) If, with many interpreters, is taken as a positive statement instead of a question, it must probably refer to the deliberate non-resistance of the righteous on principle, as in Isa 53:7, 1Pe 2:23. But (a) this sense is wholly unsuited to the context, (b) the asyndeton after then becomes well-nigh impossibly violent, and (c) to end this powerful passage of triumphant denunciation with a brief reference to the submissive non-resistance of the righteous would be strange indeed.
(2) For this last reason the view that the meaning is, he offers you no effective resistance, is almost equally unacceptable.
(3) Hofmann and others take as impersonal passive, no opposition is made, cf. v. 15. But (Mayor) it is the middle, not the active, which means to resist.
(4) Some interpreters would supply as the subject of , taking the latter interrogatively. This would be in accord with the Jewish avoidance of the name of God wherever possible, and would form an allusion to 4:6; but it seems here unnecessary and unnatural.
In the interest of this last interpretation Bentley conjectured OKC for ; like most N. T. conjectures, it is unnecessary.
(5) By those who take to refer to Jesus Christ, is interpreted either interrogatively, as a warning of the Day of Judgment (cf. Mat 25:31 f.), or affirmatively, in the light of 1Pe 2:23.
7-11. Encouragement to patience, and constancy, and to mutual forbearance, in view of the certainty and nearness of the Coming of the Lord, and in view of the great examples of the prophets and Job, and of their reward.
With v. 7 begin the Counsels for the Christian Conduct of Life, which occupy the rest of the chapter and are contrasted with the censure of Worldliness in 4:1-5:6.
7. , be patient. This word has more the meaning of patient and submissive, that of steadfast and constant, endurance. But the two words are nearly synonymous. Cf. 1:3 f. 12, 5:11, Col 1:11, Col 3:12 (with Lightfoots notes), 1Co 13:4, 1Co 13:7, 2Co 6:4, 2Co 6:6, Heb 6:11 f. Heb 6:15, 2Ti 3:11. See Trench, Synonyms, liii.
is rare in secular Greek, but is common (as verb, noun, and adjective) in the LXX, partly with reference to Gods attribute of long suffering (e. g. Psa 86:15), partly in passages commending the virtue to men, e. g. Pro 19:11, Ecclus. 29:8, Baruch 4:25 , (suffer patiently) .
Enoch 96:1, 3, 97:1-2, 103:1-5 are good parallels, combined, as they are, with the series of Woes to which vv. 1-6 are so closely similar.
It is to be noted that the evil and hardship which are to be borne with patience, and which call out groans (v. 9), are not necessarily persecution, or unjust oppression, but may well be merely the privations, anxieties, and sufferings incident to the ordinary life of men. Note the reference to the example of Job (whose misfortunes were grievous sickness and the loss of children and property), and the special precepts about conduct in sickness, vv. 14 ff. Notice also , v. 13, a general word for being in trouble.
presents the exhortation as a direct corollary from the declaration in vv. 1-6 that judgment awaits the rich; but the paragraph as a whole is related to the main underlying thought of 4:1-5:6, not exclusively to 5:1-6. Cf. 2Th 1:6, 2Th 1:7.
, possibly in contrast to , v. 1.
, the coming of the Lord. Cf. Mat 24:3, Mat 24:27, Mat 24:37, Mat 24:39, 1Th 3:13, 1Th 3:4:15, 1Th 3:5:23, 2Th 2:1, 2Pe 1:16, 2Pe 1:3:4, 1Co 15:23, 1Th 2:19, 2Th 2:8, 2Th 2:1 Jn. 2:28, cf. Mar 14:62.
refers to Christ, cf. 1:1, 2:1, 5:14, 2Pe 3:12.
The word is found but five times in the LXX (Neh 2:6 (Cod. A), Judith 10:18, 2 Macc. 8:12, 15:21, 3 Macc. 3:17), and until the N. T. we do not find it used with reference to the Messiah at all. Nor does Gods coming to redemption and judgment appear to be referred to in Jewish sources by this term. Its natural associations in such use are with the advent, or visit (), of Greek kings to the cities of their realm; cf. Deissmann, Licht vom Osten2, pp. 278 ff., Light from the Ancient East, pp. 372 ff., and especially Brookes full note on 1Jn 2:28.
Test. XII Patr. Jud 1:22:2, is probably a Christian addition; it is not found in the Armenian version. It refers to Christ with the nave patripassianism characteristic of these interpolations. The quotations given by Spitta (p. 137) from the Testament of Abraham are of Christian origin, and refer to the of Christ (cf. Schrer, GJV, 32, V, 6).
.
The farmer has to wait, and to be patient; a comparison used as an argument, and introduced abruptly, as in 2:15, 3:4, 5. This comparison does not bear any special relation to the occupation of the readers. refers to the independent farmer, not to the .
We are here reminded of the parables of the Gospels, where the consummation of all things is repeatedly compared to a harvest, e. g. Mat 13:30; cf. also Ecclus. 6:19, Psa 126:5, Psa 126:6. For the thought, cf. (Wetstein) Tibullus, 2, 6. 21 f. and the apocryphal fragment quoted in Clem. Rom. 23:3-5 and Clem. Rom 11:2-4.
, the precious crop for which he longs. is added in order to make the comparison complete.
, over it, with reference to it.
Cf. the use of with , console, in 2Co 1:4,
1Th 3:7, and with , 2Co 12:21; also the more general use, Joh 12:15, Rev 22:16.
sc. . So R.V. A.V. and R.V. mg., with some interpreters, supply the farmer as subject.
] 048 (minnpauc) vg sah.
] (LP minnpler) syrpesh syrhcl. txt.
] * (c om ) min ff syrhcl. mg boh.
The shortest reading is to be preferred; the others represent two different methods of completing a supposedly defective text. It should be stated that B3KL minnpler read , the more usual form of the word.
Another possibility would be that the Syrian reading with , which clearly gives the best sense, is original; and either (1) that was accidentally omitted, so as to produce the text of B, and by a secondary conjecture () that of , or else (2) that for , not understood outside of Palestine and Syria, was directly substituted, so that the editor of the text of B, having to choose between two rival readings, cut the knot by refusing to accept either. But against this stands the weight of the external testimony to the omission, together with the argument from the shorter reading. In any case the reading is secondary.
sc. , the early and late rain. On the ellipsis, to which there is no complete parallel, cf. 3:11.
To fill the ellipsis, is sometimes supplied from the preceding (so many interpreters from Cassiodorius to Spitta), and then the reference will perhaps be to the succession of barley and wheat, Exo 9:31 f.; cf. Stephanus, Thesaur. s. v. ; Geoponica, i, 12:32, 37, with similar distinction of ; Xen. c. 17:4.
The sentence would then mean, until he receive it early and late, and would emphasise the continuance of the farmers anxiety until all the harvests are complete. But this does not well suit the comparison with the Parousia, where it is the event itself, not the completion of a series of processes, that is significant. Moreover, the O. T. parallels tell strongly against this interpretation, and there is no evidence that such a distinction had any place in popular usage.
The use of these terms for the two critical periods of rain is found in Deu 11:14, Jer 5:24, Joe 2:23, Zec 10:1 (LXX); cf. Jer 3:3, Hos 6:3. The comparison is drawn from a matter of intense interest, an habitual subject of conversation, in Palestine.
The early rain normally begins in Palestine in late October or early November, and is anxiously awaited because, being necessary for the germination of the seed, it is the signal for sowing. In the spring the maturing of the grain depends on the late rain, light showers falling in April and May. Without these even heavy winter rains will not prevent failure of the crops. Thus the farmer is anxious, and must exercise , until both these necessary gifts of Heaven are assured.
The special anxiety about these rains seems to be characteristic of the climate of Palestine and southern Syria, as distinguished from other portions of the subtropical region of the Mediterranean basin. Elsewhere, although the dry season and rainy season are quite as well marked, the critical fall and spring months are pretty certain to secure a sufficient rainfall, as in Italy, or else there is no hope of rain in them, as in northern Egypt in the spring. But in Syria these rains are usual yet by no means uniform or certain; hence only there do they take so prominent a place in the life and thought of everybody. See J. Hann, Handbuch der Klimatologie 3, iii, 1911, pp. 90-96, especially the instructive tables, pp. 12 f., 93; H. Hilderscheid, Die Niederschlagsverhltnisse Palstinas in alter und neuer Zeit, in Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palstinavereins, xxv, 1902, especially pp. 82-94; E. Huntington, Palestine and Its Transformation, 1911; EB, Rain.
It is instructive to observe that the v. l. belongs to the Syrian (Antiochian) text, the framers of which were familiar with a similar climate, while in Egypt ( boh, etc.) or else the shorter reading with no noun at all (B sah) was prevalent. The reading (or the corresponding interpretation) was likewise natural from the point of view of Italy and the western Mediterranean (ff Cassiodorius).
The question arises whether this may be a purely literary allusion, drawn from the O. T. passages and made without any personal knowledge of these rains and their importance. That is made unlikely by the absence of any other relation here (apart from the names of the two rains) to the language or thought of any one of the O. T. passages. The author uses a current phrase as if he were himself familiar with the matter in question. To suppose that to him and his readers this was a mere Biblical allusion to a situation of which they knew only by literary study would give a formal stiffness and unreality to the passage wholly out of keeping with the intensity and sincerity of the writers appeal.
The resemblance here to the O. T. is in fact less close than to the tract Taanith of the Mishna, where the date is discussed at which, if rain have not yet begun, it should be prayed for. The tract shows in many ways how deeply these seasons of rain entered into all the life of the people. See also JE, Rain.
The Apostolic Fathers and the apologists contain no reference to these terms for the rains of Palestine, and the names do not seem in any way to have become part of the early Christian religious vocabulary.
8. , as often in comparisons. Cf. Joh 6:57, Mat 6:10, 1Co 15:49, Php 1:20; , Jam 1:11, Jam 3:5.
, make your courage and purpose firm. Cf. 1Th 3:13, Psa 112:8, Ecclus. 6:37, 22:16, Jdg 19:5, Jdg 19:8. is common in N. T., cf. 1Pe 5:10, 2Th 2:17, Luk 22:32, Act 18:23, Rom 1:11, etc.
, cf. 1Pe 4:7, Mar 1:15, Mat 3:2.
9. , do not groan against one another. does not mean murmur, but groan, complain of distress, cf. Heb 13:17. It is frequently used in the LXX for the utterance of various kinds of pain and grief.
The more emphatic words here are , and the sentence means: Do not blame one another for the distress of the present soon-to-be-ended age. This, it is pointed out, is both wicked ( ) and needless ( ). We ought to cultivate patience in general, and we ought not to blame one another for our unmerited distress, for we should recognise that it is part of the inevitable and temporary evil of the present age.
The translation grudge (A.V.) means complain; cf. Psa 59:15 (A.V.), Shakespeare, 1. Henry VI, iii, 1, 176.
. They are themselves in danger of judgment, if they commit the sin of complaining of their brethren. Cf. 2:12 f. 4:12, 5:12, also Mat 7:1 (but there is here in James nothing of the idea that judging brings Judgment). As in 4:12, so probably here, God is the judge, and with the coming of the Lord (i. e. Christ), v. 7, Gods judgment appears; cf. Rom 2:16.
The sentence means hardly more than for that is wrong, cf. v. 12.
, cf. Mar 13:29, Mat 24:33.
10. , take as an example. Cf. Ecclus. 44:16,, 2 Macc. 6:28, 31, 4 Macc. 17:23, Joh 13:15; 1Pe 2:21, .
, of hardship coupled with patience, i. e. of patience in hardship, easily understood as a form of hendiadys.
Cf. 4 Macc. 9:8 , through this patient endurance of hardship.
and are somewhat rare words; they correspond well to English hardship. Cf. Mal 1:13, Jon 4:10, Jon 4:2 Macc. 2:26 f., Ep. Arist. 49:26, also Sym. in Gen 3:17, Psa 12:5, Psa 16:4, Psa 127:2.
. Cf. Mat 5:12, Mat 5:23:34, Mat 5:37, Act 7:52, Heb 11:33, 1Th 2:15, Luk 11:49, 2Ch 36:16.
It is noteworthy that the example of Christs endurance of suffering is not here referred to, as it is in 1Pe 2:21 ff.
. Cf. Dan 9:6 (Theod.) , Jer 20:9, Jer 44:16. . is added in order to point out that even the most eminent servants of God have been exposed to suffering and hardship, cf. Mat 5:12.
] BP minnmulti.
] .
] min.
] AKL 048 minnpler.
Difficult to decide; external authority is here against lectio brevior.
11. . Cf. 1:3, 12, Dan 12:12 , 4 Macc. 1:10, 7:22, , Mat 24:13.
refers to the prevalent habitual estimate of the worth of constancy. It sounds as if James had in mind some well-known saying like Dan 12:12.
, those who have proved themselves constant-a general class, not specific individuals.
] BAP minn ff vg syrpesh.hcl.
] KL 048 minnpler sah.
External evidence must decide; the meaning differs by only a shade.
.
This virtue was seen in Jobs refusal to renounce God, Job 1:21 f. Job 1:2:9 f. Job 1:13:15, Job 16:19, Job 19:25 ff. It had evidently already become a standing attribute of Job in the popular mind; in Tanchuma, 29. 4 (Schttgen, Horae hebraicae, pp. 1009 f.) Job is given as an example of steadfastness in trial and of the double reward which that receives. Cf. Clem. Rom. 17:3, 26:3, 2 Clem. Rom 6:8; this verse is the only mention of Job in the N. T., and has doubtless given rise to the modern saying, as patient as Job.
. Perhaps in the synagogue; cf. Mat 5:21, Mat 5:27, Mat 5:33, Mat 5:38, Mat 5:43.
, the conclusion wrought by the Lord to his troubles. Cf. Job 42:10-17, especially v. 12 .
is taken by Augustine, Bede, and many later interpreters to mean the death of Christ. But in that case not the mere death, but the triumph over death, would have had to be made prominent. The suggestion is at variance both with what precedes and with what follows; and the death of Christ is not likely to be introduced so ambiguously. If is supposed to refer to the Resurrection and Ascension, the main point of the comparison (suffering) is omitted: if it refers to the Crucifixion, the encouragement is wanting (Mayor).
sometimes means death, as Wisd. 3:19, cf. 2:16 . But it is not necessary to give it that meaning here.
, i. e. in the story of Job. Cf. Heb 3:19, Test. XII Patr. Benj. 4:1 , . (v. l. ).
.
Cf. Psa 103:8 (note v. 9 ), 111:4, 145:8, Exo 34:6, Ecclus. 2:7-11, Ps. Sol. 10:8, Test. XII Patr. Jud 1:19:3, Zab. 9:7.
means very kind. Apart from far later Christian use (e. g. Theod. Stud. p. 615, eighth century) it is elsewhere found only in Hermas, Sim. v, 7 4, Mand. iv, 3. Cf. , Hermas, Vis. i, 3:2, ii, 2:8, iv, 2:3, Mand. ix, 2, Justin Mart. Dial. 55; , Hermas, Sim. v, 4:4; , Hermas, Sim. viii, 6:1.
It seems to be equivalent to LXX . Like other words from () it must be of Jewish origin. This group of words is rather more strongly represented in the N. T. than in the LXX, and seems to have come into free popular use in the intervening period.
, merciful. In classical Greek only a poetic term for the more common (Schmidt, Synonymik der griech. Sprache, iii, p. 580). Frequent in the LXX for ; nearly always used of God; in the majority of cases combined with . Cf. Luk 6:36.
12-18. Do not break out into oaths. Instead, if in distress, pray; if well off, sing a psalm to God; if sick, ask for prayer and anointing, and confess your sins. Prayer is a mighty power; remember Elijahs prayer.
The exhortation relating to oaths appears to be parallel with . Do not put the blame for your hardships on your brethren: do not irreverently call upon God in your distress. Vv. 12-18 all relate to the religious expression of strong emotion.
12. , but especially, emphasising this as even more important than .
For the use of this formula near the end of a letter, cf. 1Pe 4:8, and see examples from papyri quoted in Robinson, Ephesians, p. 279.
. A reminiscence of Mat 5:34-37 (note especially v. 37 and the reference to and in vv. 34 f.).
. The accusative is the ordinary classical construction after ; with the dative, as found in Matthew is a Hebraism.
, for . See references in Lex. and Winer-Schmiedel, 14:1, note; also Mayors note, p. 167, J. H. Moulton, Prolegomena, p. 56.
, let your yea be yea (and nothing more).
This is simpler, and in every way better, than to translate, Let yours be the Yea, yea, i. e. the mode of speech commanded by the Lord in Mat 5:37.
It is not to be supposed that James had in mind any question of the lawfulness of oaths in a law-court in a Jewish or Christian country. To any oriental such a saying as this, or Mat 5:37, would at once suggest ordinary swearing, not the rare and solemn occasions about which modern readers have been so much concerned.
The commentators are divided on this point. Huther (Beyschlag) names many who hold that James meant to forbid all oaths, but a still larger number who think that only frivolous swearing was in his mind. Huthers own argument is that if he had meant to forbid serious oaths he would have had to mention explicitly the oath by the name of God.
The form here differs from that of the saying in Mat 5:37 , and it is a singular fact that the words of Jesus are quoted substantially in the form found in James by many early writers, including Justin Martyr, Apol. i, 16, Clem. Alex. Strom. v, 14, 99, p. 707, vii, 11, 67, p. 872.
The form in James is simpler and seems to correspond to a current Jewish mode of describing truthfulness. Similar language is found in Ruth rabba 3, 18, With the righteous is their yes, yes, and their no, no, ascribed to R. Huna ( 297 a.d.), quoting his contemporary R. Samuel bar-Isaac, and doubtless independent of the N. T.
The fact probably is that at an early date the text of Mat 5:37 was in the East either modified or misquoted by the influence of the more familiar current phrase, which also appears in James. In the later quotations, however, direct influence from Jam 5:12 is very likely to have come in. The theory that we have here in James and in these early writers the traces of an oral form of the sayings of Jesus preserved independently of Matthews Greek gospel is unlikely, and unnecessary. For a convenient presentation of the facts, see A. Resch, Aussercanonische Paralleltexte zu den Evangelien, ii, Matthaeus und Marcus, 1894 (Texte und Unters. x), pp. 96 f.
The commonness of oaths (often half-serious, half-profane) in daily speech in the ancient world, both Jewish and Gentile, does not need to be illustrated, cf. Ecc 9:2. The censure of the moralists seems to have proceeded both from the tendency to untruthfulness which made an oath seem needed (and which it intensified), from the dishonest distinctions between the valid and the invalid oath, and from the irreverence of profanity (Philo, De decal. 19 ). To these motives should be added the dread among the Greeks of an oath which might commit to unexpected obligations perhaps tragic in their result.
From Jewish sources there are consequently many sayings recommending either complete abstinence from swearing or at least the greatest possible restriction of the custom. Thus Ecclus. 23:9-11, 27:14. Philo discusses oaths in De decal. 17-19, and De spec. leg. ii, 1-6. His principle is that oaths are to be avoided when possible, that oaths should be taken by lower objects (the earth, the sun, the stars, the universe) rather than by the highest and eldest Cause, and he praises the man who by any evasion (cf. English, Oh My!) avoids the utterance of the sacred words of oaths. His abhorrence of oaths is due to their profane impiety and unseemliness, but he also lays stress on truthfulness and on the wickedness of false swearing and of swearing to do wrong.
Rabbinical teaching was to much the same effect, with varying degrees of rigour. Nedarim 20 a, Accustom not thyself to vows, for sooner or later thou wilt swear false oaths; Midrash Bemidbar r. 22, Not even to confirm the truth is it proper for one to swear, lest he come to trifle with vows and swearing, and deceive his neighbour by oaths; Midrash Wajjikra r. 6 (cf. Shebuoth 47 a), where all swearing is forbidden. See A. Wnsche, Neue Beitrge zur Erluterung der Evangelien aus Talmud und Midrasch, 1878, pp. 57-60, and E. Bischoff, Jesus und die Rabbinen, 1905, pp. 54-56.
In particular the Essenes refrained from oaths; Josephus, BJ, ii, 8 6: Every statement of theirs is surer than an oath; and with them swearing is avoided, for they think it worse than perjury. For they say that he who is untrustworthy except when he appeals to God, is already under condemnation, cf. Ant. xv, 10 4. Philo, Quod omn. prob. liber, 12, mentions among the doctrines of the Essenes , .
Similar reasons led to the discouragement of oaths by Greek moralists. Pythagoras himself is said (Diog. Laert, Pythag. 22, Jamblichus, Vita Pythag. 9 and 28) to have taught , , and this was certainly a principle of the Pythagoreans. See also Diodor. Sic. x, fragm. 92.
From the Stoic side comes the saying of Epictetus, Enchir. 335, , , , , , and that of the Stoically influenced Eusebius, in Stobus, Anthol. iii, 27, 13 , .
For other Greek sayings, cf. Chrilus of Samos (fourth century b.c.), (in Stobus, Anthol. iii, 27, 1); Menander, Sent. sing. 441 ; the statement of Nicolaus Damascenus (Stob. Anth. iv, 2, 25), , , ; Sosiades maxims of the Seven Sages, in Stobus, Anthol. iii, 1, 173 .
See R. Hirzels excellent monograph, Der Eid, 1902; L. Schmidt, Die Ethik der alten Griechen, 1882, ii, pp. 1-11; references in Mayor and Wetstein on Mat 5:37; Stobus, Anthol. iii, c, 27 .
With early Christian writers the objection to oaths was further increased by reason of the necessary association with heathen worship and formulas. The subject is discussed by Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Chrysostom, Augustine. See references in Mayor, K. F. Studlin, Geschichte der Vorstellungen und Lehren vom Eide, 1824, Oaths, in DCA.
, cf. v. 9, with the same meaning.
] BA minn ff vg boh sah syrutr.
] minn2.
] KLP 048 minnmulti.
The reading of KLP is a superficial emendation.
13-15. The negative precepts for behaviour under the trials of earthly existence ( , ) are followed by positive precepts for the conduct of life in the shifting scenes of this world. In trouble and joy, and in sickness, the first thought and the controlling mood should be Prayer.
13. ; is any in trouble? Cf. note on , v. 10; the word refers to calamity of every sort, and is not to be limited to the opposite of .
These short sentences, with question and answer, are characteristic of the diatribe; cf. Teles, ed. Hense2, p. 10. See Introduction, p. 12.
; is any in good spirits? , are not found in LXX, only in 2 Macc. 11:26. In the N. T. they are found elsewhere only in Act 24:10, Act 24:27:22, Act 24:25, 36-in both cases in passages of a distinctly Hellenic character.
, let him sing a hymn.
Cf. Eph 5:19, Rom 15:9, 1Co 14:15; , 1Co 14:26, Eph 5:19, Col 3:16.
Properly play the harp, hence frequent in O. T., especially in Psalms (forty times), for , sing to the music of a harp, e. g. Psa 7:17, Psa 98:4. But the word does not necessarily imply the use of an instrument.
14. ; is any sick? Cf. Mat 10:8, Joh 4:46, Act 9:37, Php 2:26 f.
, definite officers, not merely the elder men in general, cf. Act 20:17.
Presbyters as church officers are mentioned in the N. T. in Act 11:30, Act 11:14:23, Act 11:15:4, Act 11:6, Act 11:22, Act 11:23, Act 11:16:4, Act 11:20:17, Act 11:21:18, 1Ti 5:1, 1Ti 5:2, 1Ti 5:17, 1Ti 5:19 (?), Tit 1:5, 1Pe 5:1 (?), 3Jn 1:1. Jewish villages also had presbyters. On the origin and history of the Christian office of presbyter, see EB, Presbyter, Bishop, Ministry; HDB, Bishop, Church, Church Government, Presbytery.
The solemn visit here described gives a vivid picture of the customs of a Jewish town. James recommends it not as anything new, nor as excluding all other therapeutic methods. Visiting the sick (cf. Mat 25:36) was enjoined by the rabbis: Nedarim 39, He who visits the sick lengthens his life, and he who refrains shortens it; cf. Sanhedrim 101, 1 (Wetstein), where R. Elieser is visited in sickness by four rabbis; Shabbath 127 b; Sota 14 a. See Edersheim, Jewish Social Life, pp. 167 f.; S. Schechter, Studies in Judaism, second series, Philadelphia, 1908, pp. 99 f. and note 42, p. 311.
The following interesting passages have been brought to the attention of N. T. scholars by the aid of Dr. S. Schechter (see Fulford, St. James, pp. 117 f.): Samachoth Zutarti (ed. Chaim M. Horowitz, Uralte Toseftas, Mainz, 1890, pp. 28-31), From the time when a man takes to his bed, they come to him and say, Words neither revive one, nor do they kill. [After exhorting the sick man to set his worldly affairs in order, as Isaiah did Hezekiah, 2Ki 20:1, if he sees that the sick man is dangerously ill, the visitor says], Confess before thou diest, for there are many who have confessed and died not; others who did not confess have died. Again perhaps on the merit of thy confession thou wilt recover. If he can confess with his mouth, he does so. If not, he confesses in his heart. Both the man who confesses with his mouth and the man who confesses in his heart are alike, provided that he directs his mind to God and his understanding is clear. T. B. Shabbath 13 b, He who comes to a sick man says, May the Lord have mercy on you. He who comes to pay a visit to a sick man must not sit on a bed or on a chair; but let him wrap his mantle round him, and pray the mercy of God for the man. There is a divine presence at the head of the sick man.
Closely like the verse in James is Baba bathra 116 a, Let him into whose house calamity or sickness has come, go to a wise man (i. e. a rabbi) that he may intercede for him with God.
, cf. note on , 2:2, and EB, Church. . Cf. Ecclus. 38:9, 14.
, cf. Mar 6:13.
The aorist participle does not imply that the anointing is to precede the prayer; cf. Burton, Moods and Tenses, 139-141; Blass-Debrunner, 339; Moulton, Prolegomena, pp. 130-132.
The Jews, as well as other ancient peoples, used oil as a common remedial agent. In many cases, doubtless, the application had therapeutic value; often, however, in the lack of scientific knowledge it must (like many other remedies, ancient and modern) have owed its efficacy wholly to influence on the patients mind. Cf. Isa 1:6, Luk 10:34, and the evidence collected by Mayor; and see Oil and Anointing, in EB, and HDB Galen, Med. temp. ii, calls oil The best of all remedies for paralysis ( .)
Talm. Jerus. in Berakoth 3. 1, R. Simeon, the son of Eleazar, permitted R. Meir to mingle wine and oil and to anoint the sick on the Sabbath. And he was once sick, and we sought to do so to him, but he suffered us not. Talm. Jerus. in Maasar Sheni 53. 3, A tradition: Anointing on the Sabbath is permitted. If his head ache, or if a scall comes upon it, he anoints it with oil. Talm. Bab. in Joma 77. 2, If he be sick, or scall be upon his head, he anoints according to his manner. Talm. Jerus. in Shab. 14. 3, A man that one charmeth, he putteth oil upon his head and charmeth.
With these Jewish ideas may be compared the notion of the oil which flows from the tree of life in paradise and bestows physical and spiritual blessings (Apoc. Mos. 9, Vita Adae et Evae 36, Evang. Nicod. 19).
This use of oil for healing was combined with the appeal to spiritual forces, as we can see in Jam 5:14 and as is hinted in Mar 6:13. The reference in James is to an accepted popular custom, and the writer would hardly have been able to distinguish the parts played in the recovery by the two elements, or perhaps even to give any theory of the function of the oil. It is possible, as has often been suggested, that one motive for Jamess exhortation is to counteract the habit of seeking aid from superstitious, often heathenish, incantations and charms. The verse is often quoted to that end by later Christian writers (see references infra).
The same therapeutic use of oil (oleum infirmorum) in combination with religious rites continued in the earlier centuries of the Christian era, and is there, as among the Hebrews, carefully to be distinguished from that anointing (oleum catechumenorum, chrisma principale, etc.) which was the symbol of the conveyance of a character or grace.
The story told by Tertullian (Ad Scapulam, 4) is often quoted:
Even Severus himself, the father of Antoninus, was graciously mindful of the Christians; for he sought out the Christian Proculus, surnamed Torpacion, the steward of Euhodias, and, in gratitude for his having once cured him by anointing, he kept him in his palace till the day of his death.
Besides this case Puller, Anointing of the Sick, has collected a large number of narratives of cures through the administration of holy oil, written at various dates from the third to the seventh century, and attested by contemporary or nearly contemporary evidence. Many of them are cases of paralysis or blindness, and may well have been of an hysterical nature (see P. Janet, The Major Symptoms of Hysteria, 1907). During this period of church history it does not appear that the therapeutic anointing with oil was generally thought of as also having spiritual efficacy. Origen, Hom. ii in Lev_4, uses the passage in James to illustrate the remission of sin through penitence, but seems to pay no attention to the reference to anointing. Likewise Chrysostom, De sacerd. iii, 6, quotes James to prove the authority of priests to forgive sins, but seems to take no thought of the anointing. Other writers also make it plain that they think of the oil merely as a means of securing bodily health.
The value in the Christian church of such a popular substitute for pagan magic was felt at this time. Cyril of Alexandria, De adorat. in spir. et ver. vi, p. 211, urges his readers to avoid the charms and incantations of magicians, and fittingly quotes Jam 5:13-15, and likewise Csarius of Arles more than once quotes the verses on occasions when he is warning his people against the common recourse to sorcerers and superstitions, instead of which he recommends the consecrated oil. Cf. Append. serm. S. Augustini, serm. 265, 3, Migne, vol. xxxix, col. 2238, and serm. 279, 5, col. 2273; also the Venerable Bede, Exposit. super div. Jacob. epist., Migne, vol. xciii, col. 39.
From the fourth century on there are Greek and other oriental liturgies containing forms for blessing the holy oil, for instance in one of the oldest, the Sacramentary of St. Serapion (fourth century, Egypt), ed. Brightman, Journal of Theol. Studies, i, 1899-1900, pp. 108, 267 f.
The Latin forms are to the same effect. During these centuries the therapeutic use of oil consecrated by a bishop or a priest or a wonder-working saint was permitted to any person without distinction. The letter of Pope Innocent I to Decentius (Ep. 25, 8, Migne, vol. xx, cols. 560 f.), dated March 19, 416, says that sick believers have the right to be anointed with the holy oil of chrism, which, being consecrated by the bishop, it is lawful not for the priests only, but for all Christians to use for anointing in case of their own need or that of members of their household.
Before the end of the eighth century, however, a change came about in the West, whereby the use of oil was transformed into an anointing of those about to die, not as a means to their recovery, but with a view to the remission of their sins, and in connection with the giving of the viaticum. How far the change in the church may have been influenced by coexisting popular customs and ideas, which now forced themselves into legitimate usage, is not known. For instance, Irenus, i, 215, says that the gnostic Marcosii anointed the dying with oil and water as a protection of their souls against the hostile powers of the spirit-world.
In any case this history shows the transformation of a widespread popular practise, having religious associations but purely medicinal aims, into a strictly religious rite, limited to priestly administration and carefully ordered with fixed forms and established rules. The withdrawal of the rite from the sphere of popular medicine was doubtless fundamentally due to the advancing control of rational intelligence in the affairs of the church and to a sound progress in religious conceptions. It was felt that religious observances should have a spiritual purpose. But by retaining the physical element, and ascribing to it spiritual efficacy ex opere operato, there was brought about a different and more far-reaching intrusion of the physical into the sphere of the religious.
The sacrament of Extreme Unction is first mentioned by name as one of the seven sacraments of the church in the twelfth century. It was fully discussed by the schoolmen, and received authoritative definition in the decree of the Council of Trent, which declares that holy unction of the sick was established as a sacrament by Christ our Lord, implied (insinuatum) in Mark, and commended and promulgated to the faithful by James the Apostle and brother of the Lord (Sess. xiv, Doctrina de sacr. extr. unct. cap. i). Since that time such a view as that of Cardinal Cajetan, that James does not refer to the sacramental anointing of extreme unction (nec ex verbis nec ex effectu verba haec loquuntur de sacramentali unctione extremae unctionis, Comment. in ep. S. Jacobi, dated 1539), has been illegal in the Roman church.
In the Greek church the mystery of anointing () has retained in part its original purpose as a therapeutic process, and is administered to the sick while there is still hope of recovery. In the Russian use the recovery to health is the chief point, with the Greeks the main emphasis is on the forgiveness of sins.
F. Kattenbusch, lung, in Herzog-Hauck, PRE, 1904; F. W. Puller, The Anointing of the Sick in Scripture and Tradition, 21910; Oil and Unction, in DCA.
. Belongs with , anointing with oil with the use of the name; see Heitmller, Im Namen Jesu, 1903, pp. 86 f. The use of the name made this anointing a partly religious act and not a merely medicinal application.
] B omits. This is probably an error, but on the Name, with no genitive, cf. 3Jn 1:7, Act 5:41, Lev 24:11, Lev 24:2 Clem Rom_13 (and Lightfoots note), Ign. Eph_3 (and note), Pirke Aboth, iv, 7, cf. Jam 2:7.
15. . The prayer is the more important part of the process, but of course is not thought of as exclusively operative. Intercessory prayer was a familiar idea to Jews.
is elsewhere in the N. T. used of a vow. In secular Greek, vow and prayer are in many cases not easily distinguished; has there the meaning wish also. In the LXX it means vow in the vast majority of cases, but in Pro 15:8, Pro 15:29 has the sense of prayer. is regularly used for pray as well as vow.
, cf. 1:6.
, i. e. restore to health, cf. Mat 9:21f., Mar 6:56, Diod. Sic. i, 82 [ ] .
Some interpreters, both Protestant scholars (as von Soden) and Catholic (as Trenkle), have given this the meaning save to eternal life, while others have tried to include both ideas. But the natural meaning of the word in this context is decisive (so, among Roman Catholics, Belser).
, the sick man, cf. , v. 14.
is common in secular Greek in this sense, but is not found in LXX nor elsewhere than here in N. T. It is used, e. g. of gout and of disease of the eyes ( ), and there is no reason whatever for taking to mean the dying (von Soden).
. The word means raise from the bed of sickness to health, and is a virtual repetition of ; cf. 2Ki 4:31, Psa 41:10, Mar 1:31.
cannot refer here either to the awakening of the dead to life or to the resurrection.
. If , v. 14, is genuine, and refers to Christ, may have the same meaning. It would be more natural that it should mean God.
, and if, cf. Mar 16:18, Luk 13:9, and many other passages quoted in Lex.. s. v. .
, i. e. sins which have occasioned the sickness.
Sickness was generally held to be due to sin, cf. Mar 2:5 ff., Joh 9:2 f. Joh 9:5:14, 1Co 11:30, Deu 28:22, Deu 28:27, Psa_38, Isa 38:17, Ecclus. 18:19-21, Nedarim, fol. 41:1, No sick person is cured of his disease until all his sins are forgiven him, Test. XII Patr. Rub. 1:7, Sim. 2:12, Zab. 5:4, Gad 5:9 f.
, impersonal passive, cf. Mat 7:2, Mat 7:7, Rom 10:10, Blass-Debrunner, 130, Gildersleeve, Syntax, 176. This seems to refer not to general forgiveness but to the special sins in question.
16. , .
The confession is by the sick, the prayer by the well for the sick. The value of confession is as an expression of penitence, and as thus furnishing ground for the others prayers. On confession in Jewish piety, see S. Schechter, Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, ch. 18, and on the history of confession, see DCA, Exomologesis, Penitence, EB, Confess.
, since this is the method of securing healing ( ).
, not necessarily restricted to the presbyters.
refers to bodily healing, as is clearly shown by the context (cf. v. 14). The subject of is you who are prayed for. The sick persons own prayers for themselves are not in mind.
, prayer, with especial thought of petition, common in LXX and not infrequent in N. T., e. g. Php 1:19. Cf. Trench, Synonyms, li, Lightfoot on Php 4:6, Ellicott on Eph 6:18, commentaries on 1Ti 2:1.
, cf. v. 15 , 1:6 f.
, when it is exercised, exerted, put forth. The meaning is: A righteous mans praying has great effect when he prays. The participle adds but little to the sense; for more significant participles in the same construction, see 1:14.
On the verb , see J. A. Robinson, St. Pauls Ep. to the Ephesians, pp. 241-247, Mayor, ad loc. The word is used intransitively to mean be active, and transitively (as here) in the sense of effect, carry out, do. In certain instances in Paul (notably 1Th 2:13, 2Th 2:7, 2Co 4:13, Gal 5:6, Rom 7:5, Eph 3:20, cf. 2Co 1:6, Col 1:29) it is used in the passive, and the subject is an agent or power, which is made active, set at work, made to work. This is a step beyond the usual meaning, but such an explanation of these instances is better than (with Lightfoot) to take them as middle, which neither accords with usage nor follows inner fitness.
The Greek commentators on James take the word as passive, in the sense being made effective. This is thought of as accomplished either by the virtues of the one who prays or by the ensuing good conduct of him for whom the prayer is offered. Maximus Confessor, in Qustiones ad Thalassium, 57 (Migne, vol. xc, cols. 589-592, also Cramers Catena) offers both explanations. cumenius gives only the latter, as does Matthaeis scholiast, who writes [i. e. the needy mans] . Modern commentators sometimes interpret: when actuated by the Spirit, but it is not legitimate here to assume this altogether later use, from which the term energumen, possessed person, comes. Others take it as meaning made active, energised, and so as about equivalent to , effectual, or , earnest. But the writer would hardly have desired to restrict the power of a righteous mans prayer to exceptional cases where it showed more than ordinary intensity; the sentence owes its whole force to being an unqualified statement. Moreover there is no good evidence that the word was capable of bearing this sense.
The Latin ff has frequens, vg assidua, Luther, wenn es ernstlich ist. Of the English versions Wiclif and the Rhemish follow the Vulgate with continual; Tyndale, the Great Bible, the Geneva version, and the Bishops Bible follow Luther with fervent. A.V. has the combination effectual fervent,* while R.V. (under the influence of Lightfoot) takes the participle as middle and translates in its working.
17. Vv. 17 f. confirm by the example of Elijah the statement .
, cf. 1Ki 17:1, 1Ki 17:18:1, 42 ff.
The importance in Jewish popular thought of Elijahs relation to the famine is illustrated by Ecclus. 48:1-3, 4 Ezra 7:39.
Vv. 17, 18 are dependent on midrashic tradition in the following respects (cf. the similar dependence on Jewish tradition in Jam 2:23, Jam 5:11):
(1) Elijahs prayer that it might not 1Ki 17:1 speaks only of a prophecy. The idea of a prayer was an inference from the words, God, before whom I stand, in 1Ki 17:1; note also the prominence given to Elijahs prayer in his other great miracle, 1Ki 17:17-24; 1Ki 17:4 Ezra 7:39. This embellishment followed regular Jewish methods of interpretation; e. g. the Targum to Gen 18:22, Gen 19:27 translates stood by ministered in prayer. That Elijah procured the drought is directly stated in Ecclus. 48:3.
(2) The period of three years and six months. The same statement is made in Luk 4:25 , and is found in Jalkut Shimoni, fol. 32, Col_2, on 1 Kings: In the thirteenth year of Ahab there was a famine in Samaria for three years and a half (text in Surenhusius, , Amsterdam, 1713, p. 681). The O. T. basis for this midrash was 1Ki 18:1 (many days, in the third year). Various explanations for the precise definition of three years and six months are suggested by J. Lightfoot, Horae hebraicae on Luk 4:25, and by Surenhusius, pp. 680-682. For other Jewish estimates of the length of the drought, cf. Ruth rabba 1, 4 (Wetstein), fourteen months, and W. Bacher, Die Agada der Tannaiten und Amorer; Bibelstellenregister, on 1Ki 17:1, 1Ki 18:1.
It is possible, but not demonstrable, that the apocalyptic number of the half-week, three and one-half, may have had influence on the number here; cf. Dan 7:25, Dan 12:7, Rev 11:2, Rev 11:3, Rev 11:9, Rev 11:12:6, Rev 11:14, Rev 11:13:5.
(3) V. 18 is perhaps justified by 1Ki 18:42.
, suffering the like with us, i.e. a man like us. This should encourage us to take the example to heart, and is perhaps occasioned by the current tendency to emphasise superhuman traits in Elijah; cf. Ecclus. 48:1-22 for earlier, and JE, Elijah, for later developments in that direction.
, prayed a prayer. It was the prayer of Elijah, not any magic wrought by a superhuman being, which brought about the noteworthy result.
throws into relief the important idea of the sentence, much as in the classical analogies , marry in true wedlock, Demosth. p. 1002, 12, or the figurative and frequent , flee with all speed, Plato, Symp. p. 195 B, etc. These and other examples of the figura etymologica (some of which are also given in the grammars) are to be found, together with valuable distinctions and classifications, in Lobeck, Paralipomena grammaticae grcae, 1837, pp. 523-527. Speaking of the LXX idiom, which he does not, however, trace to its source in the Hebrew infinitive absolute, Lobeck says, haud aliena illa ab emphasis ratione, sed aliena tamen a Grcorum grcensium consuetudine, that is (J. H. Moulton), they are possible, but unidiomatic expressions.
In the LXX the idiom is much overworked, having been one of several convenient methods of representing the Hebrew infinitive absolute; cf. Gen 2:17 , Gen 31:30 (so Luk 22:15), etc., etc. Such a case as Joh 3:29 is to be regarded as imitative. Act 5:28 is probably a translation from Aramaic.
See Blass-Debrunner, 198, Buttmann, 133. 22, Winer, 4, 44, Rem. 3, 54. 3, J. H. Moulton, Prolegomena, pp. 75 f.
It may well be that Jamess phrase is directly or indirectly affected by this familiar Biblical idiom, but the A.V. prayed earnestly, R.V. prayed fervently, although they would be legitimate translations of a corresponding Hebrew phrase, introduce into this Greek verse what is not properly to be found there.
.
The infinitive with , like other expressions of purpose (cf. Php 1:9 ), is often, as here, reduced to the force of an object clause. Cf. 1Ki 1:35, Isa 5:6, Act 15:20. See J. H. Moulton, Prolegomena, pp. 216-218, Blass-Debrunner, 400, Winer, 44. 4, Buttmann, 140. 16.
, on the earth, cf. Luk 4:25 , Gen 7:12 (of the flood) , 1Ki 18:1 .
18. . For , cf. 1Sa 12:17, 1Ki 18:1, Act 14:17, in all which cases the subject is God.
For similar instances of the efficacy of prayer in bringing a severe drought to an end, cf. Jos. Antiq. xiv, 2:1, in the case of Onias, , and Epiphanius, Hr. lviii (lxxviii), 14, in a story of James himself.
19, 20. Conclusion. Final saying on the privilege of being instrumental in the restoration of an erring brother to the way of truth.
This seems to be a general appeal, equally related to all the preceding discussions of specific tendencies and dangers. As such, it forms a fitting conclusion and gives the motive of the whole tract.
With this conclusion Spitta well compares that of Ecclus. 51:30.
19. . In the first place in the sentence, as elsewhere in 2:1 only. In both cases there is an abrupt change of subject.
, err, wander.
The figurative use of wander and cause to wander, with reference to erring from truth and righteousness, is common in the O. T. especially in the prophets and Wisdom-literature. Cf. Wisd. 5:6 , Isa 9:16, Eze 34:4 (v. l. ), etc. Also in the N. T., cf. Heb 5:2, 2Pe 2:15, 2Ti 3:13, Rev 18:23, and Polyc. Phil. 6:1 . In Test. XII Patr. the evil spirits are called , and Beliar, their chief, is , cf. Charless note on Test. XII Patr. Rub. 2 1.
, cf. 1:18, 3:14 and notes.
The truth is here the whole code of religious knowledge and moral precept accessible to the members of the Christian church. To err from it means any departure from the right path in thought or conduct. Various examples of such erring have occupied the attention of the writer throughout his epistles; here, however, grave sin (v. 20) seems to be chiefly in his mind.
The use of in this comprehensive sense is not founded on the O. T. , , which ordinarily mean stability, faithfulness, or else conformity to fact, while in many cases in the O. T truth is hardly to be distinguished from practical righteousness, e. g. Hos 4:1. Yet in Dan 8:12, Dan 9:13 , and the Apocrypha, is occasionally employed in a sense more like that of Greek writers; so Ecclus. 4:28, 3 Macc. 4:16, 4 Macc. 5:10.
For the Greek usage, cf. Dion. Hal. De Thuc. jud. iii, , Plutarch, Gryll. p. 986 A .
In the N. T. this sense of a body of true principles is found in Paul (e. g. 2Th 2:10, Gal 5:7, 2Co 4:2, Eph 4:24), often in John (e. g. 8:32, 16:12, 18:37, 1Jn 3:19), and elsewhere. Yet even here the influence of the O. T. is to be seen in the strong moral element included in the conception. The truth is not merely an object of knowledge, as in secular usage, but a moral and religious ideal, Gods revealed will, to which the loyalty of the heart must be given. Cf. Rom 2:20 , Joh 3:21 .
See Cremer, Wrterbuch der neutest. Grcitt9, 1902, s. v. , Wendt, Der Gebrauch der Wrter , and im Neuen Testament, in Studien und Kritiken, 1883, pp. 511-547; V. H. Stanton, Truth, in HDB.
, turn, i. e. from error to the way of truth.
The norm of departure and return is sufficiently shown by the context; there is here no necessary indication that the word itself had already acquired the technical religious meaning of the modern verb convert, although such passages as Mat 13:15 (Isa 6:10), Luk 1:16, Luk 22:32, Act 3:19, Act 3:14:15, 1Th 1:9 show that that process had already begun. See Mal 2:6, Dan 12:3, Ecclus. 18:13, Eze 34:4 (Cod. A), Polyc. Phil. 6, Apost. Const. 2, 6, cf. 1Pe 2:25.
It is used in the sense of turn from an error by Lucian, De hist. conscr. 5, cf. Plut. Alc. 16. Cf. Test. XII Patr. Zab. 9:7, Dan 5:11, Benj. 4:5; for other passages, see Charless index.
The sense turn back, which the word seems to have here, is not wholly foreign to Greek usage (cf. Hippocr. 135 E, of a fever, recur), but it is rare, while in the LXX, following , that sense is very common. Cf. Mat 12:44.
20. . If the alternative reading, , is adopted, it is to be taken as probably imperative, cf. 2:1, 3:1, 5:7, etc.
] AKLP minn vg boh.
] B 69 1518 syrhcl.
om] ff sah.
The omission by ff sah is mere freedom of translation. As between and , the latter might have arisen from an attempt to eliminate the hard question, necessarily present with the reading , as to who (the converter or the converted) was the subject of the verb. The address justified the change to the unambiguous, but colourless, . On the other hand, it is unlikely that the influence of should have led to the change from the wholly unobjectionable to . The reading of is accordingly the harder reading, and to be preferred. This is one of the rare instances of an emended reading in B.
See P. Corssen, Gttingische gelehrte Anzeiger, 1893, p. 585, B. Weiss, Zeitschrift fr wissenschaftliche Theologie, vol. xxxvii, 1894, pp. 439-440.
, from the error of his way, cf. 1Jn 4:6 for contrast of and .
. For instances of in this sense with a human subject, cf. Rom 11:14, 1Co 7:16, 1Ti 4:16.
] For this reading (supported by all Greek witnesses, and by vgam fu Ambrst Cassiodor) ff with certain Vulgate Mss and Origlat reads salvat.
Similarly is translated with the present tense by vg and Origlat (but not by ff).
, i. e. the erring brothers soul, cf. 1:21 and note.
] BKL minnpler ff sah.
A ( ) P minn vg boh syrutr.
In the same connection it is to be noticed that B ff read for the of nearly all other witnesses. In both cases the shorter reading is to be preferred.
. The force of the sentence depends on this word, which expresses the seriousness of the situation when a man wanders from the truth, a seriousness which may easily be overlooked and forgotten. This sentence is no platitude, provided receives its proper emphasis. On , cf. 1:15 and 3:6 . Note how here, as in 1:15, death is the result of sin.
. in connection with sins usually means cause them to be forgotten, procure pardon, and that is the meaning here. Cf. Psa 32:1f. 85:2 (quoted Rom 4:7), Neh 4:5, Ep. ad Diogn. 9.
means the sins of the converter (so Roman Catholic commentators and some others); to refer it to the sins of the converted person, as many do, makes a bad anticlimax. See Origen, Hom. in Lev 2:5 where converting a sinner is included as one method of securing forgiveness of ones own sins.
Cf. Sohar 92. 18, Great is the reward of him who leads back sinners to the way of the Lord, 2 Clem. Rom_15 , Pistis Sophia, ch. 104, Pirke Aboth, v, 26, Whosoever makes the many righteous, sin prevails not over him.
1Pe 4:8 has a closely similar sentence, , introduced as if a familiar aphorism. It is also found in Clem. Rom. 49, 2 Clem. Rom_16. See Lightfoots notes on both passages.
Both 1 Peter and James are usually held to be dependent on the Hebrew of Pro 10:12, Hatred stirs up strife, but Love hides all transgressions (Toy). There, however, the sense is not exactly forgive (as in the above-mentioned passages from the Psalms, etc.), but rather hide, turn attention away from, other mens sins, as kindly feeling would suggest, cf. 1Co 13:6.
Similar is the meaning in the rabbinical passages quoted by Wetstein, where it is a question of keeping quiet about anothers sin, of refraining from gossip, not of forgiveness. So Pro 17:9 .
Moreover, the LXX of Pro 10:12 ( ) is wholly unlike the N.T. passages, and the resemblance of James to even the Hebrew text is too slight to justify the idea of direct influence upon him from that source. The sentence in 1Pe 4:8 may possibly have been influenced by Proverbs, but it is more likely that some familiar Greek aphorism (all the associations of which can no longer be traced) has been used by 1 Peter, while a part of the same form of words has been independently used, in a very different sense, by James.
See Lightfoot on Clem. Rom. 49 and 2 Clem. Rom_16, Resch, Agrapha, pp. 248 f., Ropes, Die Sprche Jesu die in den kanonischen Evangelien nicht berliefert sind, pp. 75 f.
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Winer G. B. Winer, A Grammar of the Idiom of the New Testament, Thayers translation, 21873.
Vg Vulgate.
Buttmann A. Buttmann, A Grammar of the New Testament Greek, Thayers translation, 1876.
DB Dictionary of the Bible.
Blass-Debrunner A. Debrunner, Friedrich Blass Grammatik des neutestamentlichen Griechisch, vierte vilig neugearbeitete Auflage, 1913.
Mayor J. B. Mayor, The Epistle of St. James, 1892, 21897, 31910.
Trench, R. C. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, 121894.
Schrer, E. Schrer, Geschichte des jdischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi, 41901-1909.
JE The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901-1906.
Burton, E. D. Burton, Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in New Testament Greek, 41900.
Herzog-Hauck, A. Hauck, Realencyklopdie fr protestantische Theologie und Kirche, begrndet von J. J. Herzog, 1896-1913.
DCA W. Smith and S. Cheetham, A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, 1893.
* Lightfoot, On a Fresh Revision3, 1891, p. 203, thinks the word effectual was introduced by inadvertence from a note in L. Tomsons N. T. of 1576.
Patiently Await the Lords Coming
Jam 5:1-11
There are many among the rich who are using money as a sacred trust. Not against these does the Apostle utter his terrible anathemas, but against those who make money by oppression and hoard it for their selfish ends. Riches, which have not been gotten righteously, ever bring a curse with them; and the rust of unused or misused wealth eats not only into the metal but into the misers flesh. In the light of this passage, it is as great a wrong to hoard up for selfish ends money entrusted as a stewardship, as it is to obtain it unrighteously.
There is a sense in which the Lord is ever at hand and present. But He shall come again at the end of this age. Then all wrongs shall be righted and the oppressed avenged. Everything comes to him who can wait for it; do not judge the Lord by His unfinished work. Be patient till He unveils the perfected pattern in glory. Await the end of the Lord!
Chapter Five – A Patient And Expectant Faith
The believer in Christ is a stranger and a pilgrim, passing on through a world arrayed in opposition against God. He sees confusion and strife on every hand, all the result of sin and rebellion against the only One who would have brought peace to this troubled scene had men but been ready to receive Him when He came in lowly guise proclaiming the near approach of the kingdom of the heavens. Because of their refusal to accept Him, wars and tumults have prevailed ever since, and factions among men of various callings have embroiled one with another in fierce contentions. The struggle between Capital and Labor is pictured in the first part of the present chapter. Nor will these difficulties ever be settled satisfactorily until the Lord returns again to take His great power and reign. To this glad event faith looks on in patience and expectancy.
Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh (Jam 5:1-8).
Money, we are told, answereth all things (Ecc 10:19). But no man can be certain that his wealth will abide. It may be swept away in a most unexpected manner. The day comes on apace when those who trusted in their riches will weep and howl in their distress as they face multiplied misery and wretchedness, for Riches profit not in the day of wrath (Pro 11:4). And he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool (Jer 17:11). Those who accumulate wealth by oppressing the poor and under-paying those who are employed by them, will find their riches become corrupted and their costly garments moth-eaten. The gold and silver they have stored up will become cankered, and the rust of them will become a witness against them, testifying to the greed and covetousness that led them to lay up vast stores of useless pelf that might have been used to the glory of God in alleviating human misery; or, if the heart had been right, in furthering the work of the kingdom of God.
Significantly we are told, Ye have heaped together treasure for (or, in) the last days. There is surely more than a suggestion here that just such conditions as are described shall prevail to an unusually large extent as the end draws on.
No demagogic labor-leader ever spoke out more strongly against this unfairness to the toilers than James does here, as, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he inveighs against such crass selfishness and cruel callousness concerning the needs of the working-classes. Behold, he exclaims, the hire (or wages) of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, that is, of Jehovah of Hosts. Men may think of God as an uninterested spectator, even if He sees at all the wrongs inflicted by one class upon another. But it is not so: on the contrary, He is deeply concerned about all the injustice and oppression which cause such bitter suffering. As of old, He heard the cries of the slaves in Egypt when they sighed and groaned because of their unfair and wicked treatment by the taskmasters of Pharaoh, so He still takes note of every wrong that the privileged and powerful inflict upon the poor and the downtrodden. When He maketh inquisition for blood, He remembereth them: He forgetteth not the cry of the humble (Psa 9:12).
Sternly James rebukes the selfish pleasure-lovers who revel in their luxuries, while those whose toil earned the money thus squandered are living in circumstances of the most distressing character. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth and been wanton, he exclaims; for wantonness which covers every form of lechery and immorality is ever the natural result of such unfeeling callousness concerning the rights of those in less fortunate circumstances. These selfish pleasure-lovers were just like fed cattle nourished for the day of slaughter. The doom is certain in the day of the Lords vengeance.
Their attitude toward the poor is the same in character as that of the world toward the Christ of God: Ye have condemned and killed the Just One; and He doth not resist you. Had they loved Him they would have loved those for whom He died, but having spurned Him we need not be surprised at their heartless indifference to the woes and griefs of those who, like Him, are despised and contemned.
What, then, is the remedy that James sets forth? What cure is there for all this industrial strife? Does he advocate that Christian workmen should join in association with godless confederations of toilers who know not God? Does he suggest that they should unite together and strike for the proper recognition of their just demands? Not at all, for in this case, as in all others, the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God (Jam 1:20). So James puts before the suffering children of God the blessed hope of the Lords return. Not until He takes over the reins of government will conditions ever be put right in this poor world. So he writes exhorting to patient, endurance unto the coming of the Lord. He uses a little parable to show that Christ Himself is the Man of Patience now while He sits upon the Fathers throne. For just as the farmer, having sown the seed, waits in patience for the harvest, knowing there must first be the early and then latter rain ere a good crop can be assured, so our blessed Lord, having commissioned His servants to sow the good seed waits expectantly at Gods right hand until the precious fruit of the earth is ready to be garnered. We, too, are exhorted to be patient, with hearts established in grace, looking up in faith as we realize that the very conditions depicted only emphasize the fact that the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
As objects of grace ourselves we can well afford to show grace to others, even though they treat us despitefully. So he adds:
Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms (Jam 5:9-13).
It is not for us to take judgment into our own hands; we are not to endeavor to repay in kind for the evil that unprincipled and wicked men do to us. If we attempt to revenge ourselves we shall fall under condemnation. The only One who can handle aright matters such as these is the Lord Himself; and as the Judge He stands at the door, waiting for the appointed time when He will deal with all who defy the divine law of love.
If any complain of the difficulty that is involved in patiently enduring such wrongs James points them to the prophets of God in all ages, who have left us examples of patience and long-suffering while enduring the afflictions heaped upon them by wicked men.
If our trials seem inexplicable as we reflect on the character of God, and we find ourselves questioning how a good God can permit such pain, and mental as well as physical anguish, as we are called upon to endure, he reminds us of the patriarch Job, who, when distressed beyond measure because of the ills he had to bear, yet endured as seeing Him who is invisible, and cried out, But He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold (Job 23:10). The end of the Lord was seen in him when he bowed in humility of spirit before God, exclaiming, I repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:6). Well may we take him as our example, and see too in the Lords final dealings with His poor, troubled servant, that He is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. Our real victory is found in that self-abasement that justifies God and condemns ourselves.
It ill becomes poor, frail mortals such as we to make strong asseverations, bound by oaths in which we use the sacred name of God and His heavenly abode, or even the earth He has created. In verse 12 we have an echo of our Saviours words as found in Mat 5:34-37. Oaths of every kind are forbidden. They not only dishonor God and His creation, but also they are most unbecoming on the lips of those who are but creatures of a day, whose every breath depends, from one moment to another, upon the mercy of the Lord.
So he concludes this section by admonishing the afflicted to seek recourse in prayer, assured that Gods ear is ever open to our cry. If any are merry-that is, cheerful of heart-let them sing, not the frivolous, empty songs of the world, however beautiful the melodies to which they are set, but psalms, sacred songs of praise, the expressions of a soul that finds its joy in God.
The next three verses bring before us faiths resource in times of illness.
Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much (Jam 5:14-16).
This passage has been the subject of considerable controversy, and is admittedly difficult to understand unless we keep in mind the special character of this Epistle, as a last message to the twelve tribes, as such, before the complete separation of Christianity from Judaism which the Epistle to the Hebrews insists upon. God, in condescending grace, meets people where they are, and this is a case in point.
When the twelve apostles went forth to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, they anointed the sick with oil, and God granted healing in response to their faith (Mar 6:13). This is the only other instance in the New Testament where this method is said to have been employed. It is significant because of its definite connection to the testimony to Israel. There may be some truth in the view some have held that the oil was in itself a healing ointment, and that God blessed the means used, in connection with the recovery of those who were ill. But James specifically declares, The prayer of faith shall save the sick; though this would not necessarily mean that any virtue residing in the oil itself was ignored, as God often blesses the means used when prayer also is answered.
The sick were to call for the elders of the church, or the assembly. In the present, broken condition of things in the church it might be difficult to say just where these are to be found. In the beginning it was a simple matter. Elders were appointed in every church, either by direct apostolic authority or by apostolic delegates, as in the instances of Timothy and Titus. It seems that where this special oversight was not available, assemblies appointed their own elders in accordance with the instructions given in the pastoral Epistles. With no direct apostolic authority today this is all that can be done, and is acted upon in many places. But are these recognized brethren actually elders of the Church? One does not want to raise needless questions, but in the endeavor to carry out literally the instruction given here in a day of ruin, they need to be faced honestly.
Throughout Scripture oil is the type or symbol of the Holy Spirit; and in connection with prayer for the sick it would have a beautiful significance. But whether any feel free to use it in this way now or not, it is always right for godly elder brethren to meet with the sick for prayer, and it is just as true now as in the beginning of the dispensation that God answers the prayer of faith.
In the case brought before us here it seems to be taken for granted that the illness is part of divine chastening because of sins committed. Therefore when the sick one called for the elders it would in itself be his acknowledgment of his failure. It is not said, however, as Rome would have us believe, that he confessed his sins to the elders: he confessed to God, and if to man also (as in the next verse), it was not as recognizing any special sacerdotal authority on the part of the elders.
It is important also to observe that two very different Greek words are used for sick in this verse. Is any sick among you? Here the word means ill, as with some disease. But where we read, The prayer of faith shall save the sick, the word means weak, or exhausted. It might refer to mental depression such as often accompanies illness, particularly when one is conscious that he is afflicted because of his own sins and indiscretions.
If he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. This has to do with the government of God in His own family (see 1Pe 1:17). The Father judges according to the behavior of His children. When in answer to the prayer of faith the depression of spirit is relieved and the sick one raised up, he may have the assurance of governmental and restorative forgiveness.
In the early days of what is now generally known as the Brethren Movement, Mr. J. N. Darby and Mr. J. G. Bellett were called in to many sick rooms in Dublin, where they acted literally upon the directions given here. Many remarkable healings were vouchsafed in answer to the prayer of faith; so much so that attention began to be centered upon these two brethren as special instruments used of God, in a way that troubled them, and they felt it wise to desist from going, but prayed together, or separately for the afflicted in a more private way, acting rather on verse 16 (Jam 5:16)than on verses 14 and 15 (Jam 5:14-15); God answered in the same grace as when the formal service was carried out.
This is ever faiths resource. Burdened hearts can and should confess their sins one to another when conscious that their illness is chastening for wrong done against the Lord. Then we can pray one for another that healing may ensue: for the earnest prayer of a righteous man is ever effective.
A Roman priest pointed to this scripture when insisting that it taught confession to one of his order. His hearer responded, I will confess my sins to you if you will confess yours to me. He refused to recognize the mutual confession here enjoined. There is nothing official or priestly about it.
Then again, there is no authority here for the Romanist sacrament of extreme unction, which consists in anointing with consecrated oil, one who is about to die. But in these verses the anointing is in view of the sick mans coming back to health, not preparation for death. So readily do Roman apologists seize on the most unlikely passages to bolster up their unscriptural practices and superstitious theories!
Having spoken of the effectiveness of fervent prayer the case of Elijah is introduced as an illuminating example of what is meant.
Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and die earth brought forth her fruit (Jam 5:17-18).
We are apt to think of prophets and other servants of God mentioned in Holy Writ as men who were of a different fibre than we are, but they were all of the same family of frail humanity, men of like passions with us, but men who dared to believe God and to give Him full control of their lives. In answer to Elijahs earnest prayer there was no rain in the land of Israel for three-and-a-half years, until godless Ahab was brought to utter despair. Then when the prophet at Carmel prayed, there was a sound of abundance of rain, bringing gladness to the hearts of men and refreshment to the parched earth. Comment is needless. The story points its own moral.
The Epistle closes rather abruptly, as we might think, with a word of encouragement for any who might be used of God to help restore an erring brother.
Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins (Jam 5:19-20).
The sinning one here, as in verse 15 above (Jam 5:15), is a believer who has gone astray from the path of subjection to the truth. To patiently go after such an one and to convert, or turn him again, to obedience to the Lord is to save a soul from death-physical death which is the last act of God in His government of His family-and to cover or hide a multitude of sins. This is to practise that charity which Peter also tells us shall cover the multitude of sins (1Pe 4:8), not our own sins of course, but those of the erring brother. By leading him to repentance, so that he judges himself and acknowledges his waywardness, he is restored to fellowship with God and preserved from going deeper into sin, so that the heavy hand of the Lord should have to be upon him in further chastening, even to shortening his life on earth as an evidence of the divine displeasure. This is the same as sinning unto death in 1Jn 5:16-17. Many a child of God has been taken Home far earlier than he would otherwise have been, because of wilfulness and insubjection of spirit.
In closing our study of this most practical Epistle let us emphasize anew the great importance of a faith that works-a faith that is evidenced by a life of devotion to the Lord, and of concern for the welfare of our brethren in Christ particularly, as well as for all men generally.
Jam 5:7-8
The lesson of Advent is a twofold one. It is a lesson of watchfulness; it is also a lesson of patience. They are the two contrasted tones heard all through that solemn discourse upon the Mount of Olives from which, as “in a glass, darkly,” through parable and figure, we have learned all that we can ever learn of that-
“Far-off Divine event
To which the whole creation moves.”
I. Patience is a lesson which we all need. We need it in the heat and eagerness of youth; we need it in the more firmly held purposes and severer tempers of manhood; we need it in forming our opinions and in ordering our lives, in judging our friends, in judging our enemies, in judging ourselves; we need it in our selfish plans and in our unselfish ones also. Impatience wears many disguises. It is indeed nearly related to several virtues; but the near relations of virtues are often not virtues themselves. To one it bears the appearance of frankness, which says out what others feel, which has no time or care to soften wholesome, if unpleasant, truth; to another it seems like proper spirit, resenting what should be resented, chafing at officious criticism, claiming a man’s freedom in thinking and judging; to still another it seems the expression of energy, or zeal, or fearlessness, pushing on when others hesitate, making light of imaginary obstacles, so intent on a great end as to have no time for minute consideration of the means. In the smallest spheres of life, in little societies, in the family, in the individual soul, impatience destroys peace, takes its happiness from effort, wears out prematurely hearts which, if this poison were absent, would bear and do great things in God’s service.
II. I suggest three points in respect of which especially the New Testament bids us connect the lesson of patience with the thoughts of the Second Advent: (1) Judging. “Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come.” “Let your moderation” (your fairness, largeness, gentleness of judging) “be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” Our Lord puts it in one word, not as a counsel of perfection, not as what in all cases we can actually do, but as an aim, an ideal, a warning: “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged.” We should make allowance, look always on the best side, hope all things, believe all things. “He hath committed all judgment unto the Son, because He is the Son of man.” (2) Bearing. Think how many times in the Epistles we hear the words “patience,” “endurance,” and almost always in the context, either in word or in thought, is the remembrance of this limit, this great hope, in which men can stand firm. Our trials are very various; they vary with our years, our circumstances, our temperament. “The heart knoweth its own bitterness,” but the great sweetener to all may be the thought that God knows it too; that He is disciplining us for the day when He comes to “restore all things,” to “bind up the broken-hearted,” when “all sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (3) Waiting. “O tarry thou the Lord’s leisure,” sings the Psalmist; “the patient waiting for Christ,” is St. Paul’s last word to the Thessalonians. Both of them knew that to anxious and eager hearts it was one of the hardest of lessons; but peace cannot be had unless it be learnt, nor true strength.
E. C. Wickham, Wellington College Sermons, p. 278.
References: Jam 5:7, Jam 5:8.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xvii., No. 1025; H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. i., p. 308; Ibid., vol. xiv., p. 88; E. H. Palmer, Ibid., p. 269. Jam 5:7; Jam 5:11.-Homilist, 2nd series, vol. i., p. 86. Jam 5:11.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxi., No. 1845; T. B. Brown, Christian World Pulpit, vol. v., p. 376; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 269; vol. iii., pp. 287, 326.
Jam 5:11
Note:-
I. The character here given to God: “The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.” (1) “Pitiful.” Pity is a feeling for, a feeling with, the distressed. The pity of God is of high quality and eminent degree. (2) “Of tender mercy.” It is kindness to the sinful, to the guilty and undeserving and ill-deserving. Tender mercy is mercy easily excited, not like a flow of water produced by machinery, but like a stream of water from a spring or well. The merciful Father is of tender mercy, and the tenderness of that mercy has not been produced by Christ; it is, on the other hand, expressed and manifested by Christ.
II. The character manifested. Observe the unfolding of this beauteous and glorious character. God has a purpose in all the afflictions of His saints, which when developed reveals God as very pitiful and of tender mercy. (1) Here, then, is something to believe. (2) Here is something to be ultimately seen: the end of the Lord. To be seen, there is the coming out of tribulation; to be seen, the being better and more happy for that tribulation; the comparison between the sufferings of the present time and the glory revealed; the light and transient appearance of affliction when in conjunction with an eternal weight of glory; the high purpose and supreme wisdom of God in the suffering of affliction; the end seen to be better than the beginning; and God proved, demonstrated, to be “very pitiful and of tender mercy.”
S. Martin, Comfort in Trouble, p. 28.
Jam 5:13
Religious Worship a Remedy for Excitements.
St. James seems to imply in these words that there is that in religious worship which supplies all our spiritual need, which suits every mood of mind and every variety of circumstances, over and above the heavenly and supernatural assistance which we are allowed to expect from it. Prayer and praise seem in his view to be a universal remedy, a panacea, as it is called, which ought to be used at once, whatever it be that affects us. Excitements are the indisposition of the mind; and of these excitements in different ways the services ‘of Divine worship are the proper antidotes. How they are so shall now be considered.
I. Excitements are of two kinds: secular and religious. First, let us consider secular excitements. Such is the pursuit of gain, or of power, or of distinction. A man may live from week to week in the fever of a decent covetousness, to which he gives some more specious names, till the heart of religion is eaten out of him. One very momentous use of prayer and praise with all of us is that it breaks the current of worldly thoughts. Our daily prayer morning and evening suspends our occupations of time and sense, and especially the prayers of the Church do this. The weekly services of prayer and praise come to us as a gracious relief, a pause from the world, a glimpse of the third heaven, lest the world should rob us of our hope and enslave us to that hard master who is plotting our eternal destruction.
II. Next, let us consider how religious excitements are set right by the same Divine medicine. Is any one desirous of gaining comfort to his soul, of bringing Christ’s presence home to his very heart, and of doing the highest and most glorious thing for the whole world? Let him praise God; let David’s holy Psalter be as familiar words in his mouth, his daily service, ever repeated, yet ever new and ever sacred; let him pray: especially let him intercede. Few are rich; few can suffer for Christ; all may pray. Other men will not pray for themselves; you may pray for them and for the general Church; and while you pray, you will find enough in the defects of your praying to remind you of your own nothingness and to keep you from pride while you aim at perfection.
J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. iii., p. 336.
Jam 5:13-16
The Visitation of the Sick.
I. To understand the clause which refers to anointing with oil, it must be remembered that in those early and simple days, when little was known about the structure of the human frame, and the healing art resolved itself very much into a rude kind of surgery, oil was regarded as a great restorative-as, indeed, it is now-and as the best form of medicine. In the Old Testament, Isaiah speaks of wounds and bruises which have never been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment; and in the New Testament, when the good Samaritan bound up the wounds of the traveller to Jericho, he gave oil as a medicine, and wine. Hence the application of oil is here prescribed possibly as the means which it might please God to bless to the sick man’s recovery, possibly only as a symbol of that recovery; but whether it be the prescribed means or symbol, no greater perversion of a Scriptural passage can be imagined than that which has found here a warrant for what Romanists call “extreme unction,” that is, anointing, as a religious ceremonial, a patient who is given over by a physician and about to die. While we pray for the recovery of our sick friend, we must at the same time remember that Almighty God works by means, and apply to the patient the remedies which a medical man prescribes; in a word, modern medicine, of whatsoever kind it be, corresponds to the ancient oil.
II. “If we have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” The Apostle naturally means, if in respect to his particular sickness he have committed sins. In a general sense we have all committed sins, and it is perfectly true that there is a deep connection between sin and disease; but at the same time it cannot be said of a particular case of sickness that the patient is suffering for his own sins.
III. Visitation of the sick may be made in the way of fraternal sympathy, as well as of ministerial duty. That gracious acknowledgment of the King in the day of final account, “I was sick, and ye visited Me,” will surely not be made to the clergy only, but to all who have brought the accents of sympathy and the consolations of religion to the bedside of the sick and suffering.
E. M. Goulburn, Penny Pulpit, New Series, No. 241.
Reference: Jam 5:14.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 132.
Jam 5:15
Among all the trials of life there is no occasion when we more deeply feel the need of God’s helping hand than when brought low by sickness ourselves, or when we tremble for the life of some member of our household or a near and valued friend. Unwavering confidence in God inspires the belief that whatever is really for the best our gracious Father will be sure to grant.
I. We should always be humble in our prayers. Doubtless many a petition is rejected by a higher tribunal for lack of humility in the hearts of those who presented it.
II. Importunate earnestness is another characteristic of successful prayer, if, at the same time, we have the spirit of submission to the wisdom of our heavenly Father.
J. N. Norton, Every Sunday, p. 351.
Jam 5:16
The Strength of Working Prayer.
I. The praying. It is not said “the prayer.” And the difference is worth observing. If it were said “the prayer,” it might seem as if the words of the prayer were like a charm, such as we read of in ancient fables, when some particular words repeated by any person are spoken of as able to produce some wonderful effect, so that, whoever uses them, they are regarded as equally powerful, the power, some mysterious imaginary power, being in the words themselves. It is the praying-the constant, earnest praying of the heart, not without words, no doubt, at least in general, but the constant, earnest praying of the heart-to which the effect is attributed by St. James.
II. It is the praying of a righteous man, not anybody’s praying. St. James is speaking of the continuous heart-praying of the man who, clinging to the righteousness which has been won for him in Christ, is earnestly bent on rendering to God in his own body, soul, and spirit, by the help of the Holy Ghost, the offering of a righteous and saintly life. That is the sort of man of whose praying the Apostle speaks.
III. That sort of praying by that sort of man is a very strong thing. It is stronger than the wind, stronger than the earthquake, stronger than the sea, stronger than anything in the world; for God is moved by it, and He moves all creation at His pleasure.
IV. Its strength lies in the energy of its working; it sets on foot a mighty system of energies. The angels of God exult, the souls of men are wrought upon, the course of human events is guided, the grace of God is won, the Holy Spirit of God is abundantly poured out, by the secret incessant working of the mighty spiritual power that belongs to the “praying of the righteous man.”
G. Moberly, Parochial Sermons, p. 225.
Fervent Prayer.
Intercessory prayer is but one part of the great system of intercession on which human life is organised. Intercession-it is simply a “coming in between.” We know the word well in Roman political history as the tribune’s veto. In its widest sense it may be applied to every act in which one human being is able to come in between another and some evil that might befall him. Nay, we may extend it even more widely still to the whole principle of mediation, by which one man is used to convey blessings to another. As it was with our Lord, so it is with the Church which He founded to represent Him when He should be gone. Its whole existence is one living act of intercession. Always and everywhere the Church is an intercessor; it is the expression of the mind of the Paraclete, standing by its very existence between God and the world, standing between the world and the forces of evil which threaten it. Intercessory prayer is but the expression of its intercessory life. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, that interdependence of man on man which is seen in the actions of daily life finds a new sphere of operations in our prayers. Not merely the actions, not merely the character and influence, but also the praying, of a righteous man becomes a great force.
I. It is a great force, first, because it forces us to keep up a true ideal of what those for whom we pray may be. It makes us, in George Macdonald’s striking phrase, “think of them and God together.” If I pray for any one, that implies that I have faith in him, that I believe he may be better than he is. Which of us does not know what a power for good this is? To know that some one does believe in us, that some one, knowing all our weakness, yet does believe that we can conquer our temptations; to be with some one who expects us to be better, this, even if it comes from those who have never knelt in prayer for us-this is an effectual intercession.
II. Intercession is, again, a great force because it pledges us to do the best we can for those for whom we pray. We cannot, in very shame, ask God to help those whom we are refusing to help ourselves when that help lies in our power; the very fact of intercession reminds us of the truth of the dependence of man upon man. We ask God to bless those for whom we care, and again and again He reminds us that His blessings are given through men, and the answer to our prayer is that we are sent on an errand of mercy.
III. Intercession is also such a great force because it brings into action the power of God, just as the tribune’s veto would have had no force if it had been spoken by him on his own responsibility. It was strong because armed with the strength of law; it was strong not with the strength of even a Tiberius Gracchus, but with the power of a sacrosanct authority: so our prayers are strong because they have the promise and the power of Christ behind them.
W. Lock, Sermon Year Book, vol. i., p. 1.
References: Jam 5:17.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. v., p. 96. Jam 5:17, Jam 5:18.-J. Davis, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxvii., p. 214.
Jam 5:19-20
Means of Salvation.
I. Let us see what character consists of, and then we may see where and in what way it may be changed. First of all, there is the character we bring with us into this world, which we call our nature; and then there is that second nature which education and habit impart. Christian divines in all times have taught that man comes into this world with a decided character, bent, or bias; they call it human depravity, and they account for it by original sin: and modern science is equally strong in maintaining that man comes into this world with the shaping influence of the past upon him and a depravity inherited from savage or animal ancestors. Anyhow here is the fact: a man comes into this world a positive and decided kind of being, with a nature of a fixed quality and texture, a nature which is a kind of concrete, a fusing together of all sorts of broken fragments and dust of the past, or, to take a more living illustration, a soul with all sorts of buried seeds in it.
II. Conduct in the long run modifies character, especially that product of habit which we call second nature. By not doing a thing for a certain time a man cares less about doing it, his health is better, his courage higher, his pleasure with others increased, his self-respect more ample. The old taste begins to decay. A joyful audacity fills the eye which once had a suspicious, hunted look. New habits and tastes are gradually formed. In other words, a new character arises from changed circumstances, from a changed condition of things. Leave men, in all which surrounds them and acts upon them, in precisely the same state, without the smallest change, and they must remain the same. They must be brought into contact with new powers, new saving forces, if they are to be renewed in the spirit of their minds. But since they cannot change themselves, but must be what they are, change must be thrust upon them; their salvation must be directly set up by a power outside themselves; they need a Saviour. This is the Divine law, and its great manifestation was the Son of God, who was Son of man, who is the perfect illustration of God’s dealings with man, the fulness of the Godhead bodily. He came to men, who without Him must have remained dead in trespasses and sins, and started them from the grave into newness of life.
W. Page Roberts, Liberalism in Religion, p. 147.
Danger and Effort.
I. There is, first, individual danger: the danger of erring from the truth. The danger may be either intellectual or moral, either the darkening of the understanding, or the corrupting of the heart. The allusion evidently is to one who, having known the truth, had departed from its safe and pleasant paths, and had come under the entanglements either of erroneous notions or of vicious life. And the twofold danger is in existence still. Moral error is, I need scarcely re mind you, more imminent and more disastrous than the other. It is quite possible to hold erroneous opinions in connection with a large charity. Wood, hay, and stubble are sometimes built with as clumsy materials on the true foundation; but where the danger is not intellectual, but moral, there is of necessity present alienation from God and the prospect of perpetual exile from the glory of His power. Heresy is not a trifling thing; it is to be resisted and deplored: but the deadliest heresy is sin, and there is danger in a world where every influence is a temptation, and where every passion is a tempter.
II. Take, next, the thought of individual effort: “If one convert him.” There is here a distinct recognition of the influence of mind over mind, that principle of dependence and of oversight which is involved in our mutual relationship as members of one family. Not the least of the endowments which make up our solemn stewardship is this mysterious and inseparable power of influence, one of the most important talents entrusted to us, and of which we shall have to give account at the judgment-seat of God. It is of universal bestowment; we are none of us without it. Your sphere is narrow, you say; your influence is small; you can do nothing for
Christ. One acorn is a very insignificant thing, but the majestic oak is its development of strength; one little rippling wavelet makes no account, but it is carried to the springtide, and the springtide were not perfect without it; one raindrop is hardly noticed as it falls, but it is enough for one rosebud’s life to make it blow. There is not one of you, however small and scanty and narrow your influence, who may not, by patient and prayerful toil, become a wise winner of souls.
W. M. Punshon, Penny Pulpit, Nos. 3674, 3675.
References: Jam 5:19, Jam 5:20.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. i., No. 45; vol. xix., No. 1137; Homilist, vol. iv., p. 332; Homiletic Quarterly, vol i., p. 251. Jam 5:20.-J. Keble, Sermons on Various Occasions, p. 156.
V. THE COMING OF THE LORD AND THE LIFE OF FAITH
CHAPTER 5
1. The oppression by the rich and their coming doom (Jam 5:1-6)
2. Be patient unto the coming of the Lord (Jam 5:7-12)
3. The prayers of faith and the life of faith (Jam 5:13-20)
Jam 5:1-6
The two classes whom James addresses stand out very prominently in this final chapter of his Epistle. The rich oppressors certainly are not believers but the unbelieving rich; they are not addressed as brethren; but others are in verse 7 and exhorted to patience. Both classes, the unbelieving rich and the believing remnant are confronted by the coming of the Lord. Go to now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have heaped together treasures in the last days.
The present age, which began with the death and resurrection of our Lord, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, is spoken of as the last days and the last time (Heb 1:2 and 1Jn 2:18); this age will be followed by the dispensation of the fullness of times, the times of restoration as promised by Gods holy prophets (Eph 1:10; Act 3:19-21), the age of the kingdom when Christ reigns and His saints with Him. And this present age will end with the coming of the Lord to execute judgment, to right all wrong and judge all unrighteousness. These rich Israelites heaped treasures together, and, as we shall see later, acted outrageously, thereby showing that they did not believe in the day of the Lord, when He will be manifested in judgment glory. Yet their own Scriptures announced exactly that which James here states. See Isa 2:10-20 and especially Zep 1:14-18. In anticipation of that coming day he calls on them to weep and howl, and announces the fate of their treasures.
Let us remember that the Epistle was written years before the destruction of Jerusalem. When Jerusalem fell, and even before its fall, many of the rich Jews became paupers; they were ruined, tortured and murdered, as Josephus tells us. The fall of Jerusalem with its awful horrors, in the year 70 A.D., was a judgment of the Lord, but not the day of the Lord and the coming of the Lord. What happened then to the stubborn unbelieving masses will happen again, only on a larger scale during the coming great tribulation and when the Lord returns in power and in great glory. We believe therefore, that this exhortation to the rich has a special bearing for the future, during the very end of the age.
But they were oppressing the poor as well. Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out; and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned, ye have killed the just One; he doth not resist you. Oppression of the poor, yea, the poor of their own people is another characteristic of the Jewish people. The prophet Amos rebuked it in his day, when the poor were downtrodden and robbed by the rich. It is so today and will be so in the future. And the money which was taken from the poor was used by the rich to live in luxury and wanton pleasures. The spirit they manifested in heaping treasures together, oppressing the poor and needy, robbing them, and living in pleasure, is the same which condemned and killed the Just One, the Lord Jesus Christ, who did not resist. To apply these words primarily and altogether to our Lord can hardly be done. What was done to the Lord of glory these unbelievers did to His true followers. It will be so again during the great tribulation, under Antichrist, when the godly remnant will be persecuted by those who side with the false Messiah. See Psa 79:1-3; Dan 12:1; Mat 24:9-25; Rev 11:1-19; Rev 12:1-17; Rev 13:1-18.
Jam 5:7-12
Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord is at hand. He addresses in these words the believers, the suffering remnant amongst the unbelieving masses which attended the synagogue. They are to be patient and suffer in patience, without resisting. The coming of the Lord, which is mentioned twice in these verses, is His visible and glorious manifestation, the same which our Lord speaks of in Mat 24:30-31. The first Epistle to the Thessalonians, which contains that unique revelation of the coming of the Lord for His saints, the resurrection of the holy dead and the sudden transformation of the living saints, to be caught up together in clouds to meet Him in the air (1Th 4:13-18) had not yet been given. The mystery we shall not all sleep but be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinth. 15:51-52), was then unknown. And let us note here, that this is one of the mysteries nowhere made known in the Old Testament.
The coming of the Lord, we repeat, is that coming which is so many times announced in the Prophetic Word of the Scriptures. The first generation of Christians expected to witness in the near future the personal reappearance of Christ on earth to close the old dispensation by punishing unbelievers, and delivering the Christians. These expectations were partly realized when the fall of Jerusalem closed the old Jewish dispensation by the destruction of the temple and the final cessation of the Levitical worship of Jehovah. At the same time misery and ruin befell the Jewish nation which had rejected and crucified our Lord. As regards any more exact fulfilment, the statements of the New Testament must be interpreted according to the principle laid down in 2Pe 3:8 and 1Jn 2:18. (This passage is from the New Century Bible. One is grateful to find this paragraph in a work which is more or less on the side of the destructive criticism.) That the destruction of Jerusalem and the judgment of the nation was predicted by our Lord is known to all, that the event when it came in the year 70 is the coming of the Lord, is not true.
James exhorts his suffering brethren to be like the husbandman who has to wait between the sowing time and the harvest. But here is another wrong interpretation. The latter rain of which James speaks has been foolishly interpreted as meaning a spiritual latter rain, another Pentecost. This is one of the star arguments of present day Pentecostalism with its supposed revival of apostolic gifts. The former and latter rain of which James speaks has no such meaning; it is purely the rainfall in nature. In Palestine there are two distinct rainy seasons, one in the spring, the other in the fall. (See Deu 11:14.)
Then follow other words of encouragement. Murmur not, brethren, one against the other, that ye be not judged; behold the judge standeth before the door. Among themselves they were to guard against any friction and fretfulness, always remembering Him who is the judge, and who standeth before the door. They were also to remember the examples in suffering and patience of the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, the patience of job, and how blessedly his suffering ended through the pity and mercy of the Lord. There is a warning also against oath making, such a common thing amongst the Jews. (See our Lords warning in the Sermon on the Mount, Mat 5:33-37).
Jam 5:13-20
The Epistle closes with practical exhortations to prayer and the exercise of faith. Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. A short but weighty instruction. Instead of murmuring, as their forefathers did, instead of complaining in suffering, prayer must be exercised. The godly in Israel always made prayer their refuge and especially are the Psalms rich in this direction. Is any cheerful? Let him sing psalms. The Psalms were used extensively in the synagogue. To teach upon this statement, as had been done, that the church should sing nothing but the Psalms, and reject the great hymns of the saints of God of all ages, born often in adversity and in deep soul exercise, is far fetched. Much in the Psalms does not express true Christianity at all. Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. This exhortation demands a closer scrutiny and examination. Of late this instruction by James has been greatly misapplied by faith-healers. There are many extremists who teach that here is a commandment to the church how sickness among the saints should be dealt with; that means, to alleviate bodily ills, must be fully discarded and if they are used, it is unbelief in the power of God and a hindrance to faith.
There are men and women all over Christendom, who go about with a message of healing of diseases, who anoint the sick by the hundreds and thousands, claiming that this is the only way that illness is to be treated. Then these same healers claim miraculous cures which are, after careful investigation, mostly found to be falsehoods. Some of these advocates of this method of healing, denouncing means and the use of physicians, were taken sick and had to use means to overcome their bodily ills. The entire subject of faith-healing we cannot examine here; nor can we enlarge upon the claims of Christian Science and other metaphysical cults and systems. Supernatural healing of diseases is claimed by Romish Catholicism, by the shrines and holy places of the Greek Orthodox church, by Spiritism, Mormonism and in many pagan systems. We confine our remarks to the passage before us.
It has been explained by some that the words of James mean that which should be done in case sickness unto death has seized upon a believer. It is then interpreted to mean Prayer shall save the dying man from the punishment of his sins; and after his death, the Lord will raise him up in resurrection. This view we reject. No prayer of faith is needed for the coming physical resurrection of a believer. Romanism has made out of it the sacrament of extreme unction which is another invention.
inasmuch as the anointing with oil seems to be the point most stressed by divine healers, we shall examine this first. What does it mean? Here we must remember the Jewish character of the Epistle. We have shown before that the believers who in James addresses were still closely identified with Judaism, hence they practised many things peculiar to Judaism. Anointing with oil was extensively used in the ceremonies of the Jews. Kings and priests were anointed, oil being liberally poured upon the head, denoting outwardly the fact of consecration to office, and symbolically the Spirit of God, which they needed for the exercise of their functions. Furthermore, oil was also very widely used for health and comfort. It was and is still a great remedial agent in the Orient.
The Good Samaritan poured into the wounds of the man who had fallen among the thieves oil and wine. Oil was used in cases of fever and most generally in skin diseases. Anointing the sick with oil was a general practice, as can be shown from talmudical literature. In Mar 6:13, we read, And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. Would they not have been healed if they had not been anointed with oil? The anointing with oil was an old custom which the disciples made use of, but the Lord in commissioning them in connection with the kingdom message did not tell them that they should anoint the sick with oil; they did it, for such was the universal practice. If James commands these Jewish believers who were sick to be anointed with oil he reaffirmed therefore this old Jewish custom. Oil is something beneficial to the body, a remedy, just as wine is recommended by the Spirit of God as a remedy for the ills of the body (1Ti 5:23). It is therefore an open question whether oil may not stand here also for legitimate means to be used in case of illness. Divine healers carry with them a small bottle of oil and daub the forehead with a drop of oil, but this is not the anointing commanded here. Where is the authority to say that a drop of oil must be put on the forehead?
But it is very striking that apart from this passage, in this transition Epistle, nowhere else in the New Testament (except in Mar 6:13), do we read anything about this anointing with oil in case of sickness. Why did not Paul write to Timothy, who often had infirmities, Call the elders, let them anoint you with oil, but instead of it, the divinely given remedy, a little wine, is urged upon him. And Paul was sick himself, suffered with his eyes, which probably was the thorn in the flesh. Trophimus was sick in Miletus. But nowhere this Jewish ceremony, anointing with oil, is mentioned. The Epistles which are the high water mark of divine revelation, are the Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians; we find nothing in these Epistles about healing of diseases by anointing and prayer. Nor is it mentioned in any of the other Pauline Epistles. In Corinthians the gift of healing is found among the gifts of the Spirit, but he who possessed that gift had no need of using oil besides. Our conclusion, then, is that the anointing with oil in this passage is something customary with the Jews, which is not meant to be perpetuated in the Church, for if such were the fact the Holy Spirit would have stated it elsewhere.
We pass over the question as to true elders, which are to be called. Many of those who go about as divine healers are women. Who has ever heard of women elders? In fact, in the public healing services which have become such a common thing in our days, the question of elders is entirely ignored. Big advertisements appear in the papers that services for the healing of the sick are to be held. As a result hundreds come and are ready to do anything, to believe anything, if only some hope is held out that they might be cured. They readily submit to the ceremony of having a little oil put on their foreheads, but the command, that the sick person, is to call for the elders of the church, those of authority, is ignored. The question is, Do we still have the elders in the apostolic sense? These are matters which are completely set aside by modern faith healers.
But the emphasis in the passage is on the prayer of faith. The prayer of faith, not the anointing with oil, shall save the sick. No believer denies the efficacy of believing prayer, yet always guarded by the condition of if it be His will. In case of sickness the child of God will not send for a physician in the first place, but the believer turns to the Lord and puts himself in His gracious and merciful hands. The passage here seems to be the matter of sickness as a chastening from the Lord on account of specific sins committed. In such a case when self-judgment has brought the matter into His light, the promise can be claimed the prayer of faith shall save the sick.
Was it intended to be a direction universally applicable to all cases, and to be carried out at all times, in all places, and under all conditions? Surely–most surely not. For note that there is no question at all as to the result: the prayer of faith shall save (it is certain) the sick and the Lord will raise him up.
Now, we know perfectly well that this is not and cannot be the invariable outcome of all sickness. The vast majority of mankind–yes, of Christians–has died as the result of some sickness: has this been because elders have not been called? Have they come to the end of that life here because they were not anointed with oil, and the prayer that always goes up from loving hearts was not the prayer of faith, and since not of faith, was sin? Who would not reject such conclusions with abhorrence? Yet are they inevitable, if this Scripture be pressed as being the one divinely given direction in the case of all sickness.
In it every act, every movement, must be in faith: that is recognizing the Lords hand in the sickness, and the Lords mind in removing it. But where is the great and precious promise on which faith can always rest, that shall make healing sure? In one case only, and that is if the sickness does not come from constitutional weakness, as with Timothy, or the hardship of a Christian devotion as with Epaphroditus, or any other natural cause–but as a chastening of the Lord for some specific sins committed, and this confessed and put away, the chastening ceases.
And this is naturally enough the point of view of such a writer as James. Freedom from sickness consequent on obedience was interwoven in the first covenant: And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest upon thee; but will lay them upon all that hate thee–is that what the Christian desires today: his diseases put on anyone else who may hate him? yet is that involved in that covenant.
What, then, more natural than that this writer, who, although Christian, is still on the ground of a regenerate and sincerely pious Jew, should regard sickness in a light that is common to both Christian and Jew–as a chastening for sin.–(F.C. Jennings, Our Hope.)
With this we leave this portion of the Epistle, which has led to so much misunderstanding. To help the reader in getting the true conception we add in a brief appendix, at the close of these annotations, the comment as it is given in the Numerical Bible.
Confess, therefore, your sins one to another, that ye may be healed. This brings out fully the fact that the sickness in view is on account of specific sins. When the sins are confessed and judged, grace intervenes, and God in mercy heals. Rome builds upon this passage the miserable invention of the confessional. But it does not mean confession to a man-made priest, but a simple confiding of believers among themselves.
The great value of prayer is next pointed out by James. The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working; this is a rendering adopted by many. He cites the case of Elijah. He was a man of like passions with us as we learn from the historical record of the Scriptures, which tells us of his great infirmities, as well as of his remarkable faith. He prayed fervently and rain was withheld, he prayed again and God answered his faith. The God of Elijah is our God still, who delights to answer the fervent prayer of the righteous man; the power of prayer can never be separated from the character of him who prays.
My brethren, if any among you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins. With this the Epistle ends abruptly. Faith must be manifested by love towards those who err. The exhortation finds an application in a general way, but primarily to those who know the truth and have backslidden. This is learned from the words if any among you; the application in a general way is also fully warranted. The ending without greeting has led some critics to assume, that the Epistle is made up of passages from sermons, compiled quite late, by a man by the name of James. The internal as well as the historical evidences refute this assumption.
sin
Sin. (See Scofield “Rom 3:23”).
Go: Jam 4:13
ye: Jam 1:11, Jam 2:6, Deu 8:12-14, Deu 32:15, Neh 9:25, Neh 9:26, Job 20:15-29, Psa 17:14, Psa 49:6-20, Psa 73:3-9, Psa 73:18-20, Pro 11:4, Pro 11:28, Ecc 5:13, Ecc 5:14, Jer 9:23, Mic 6:12, Zep 1:18, Mat 19:23, Mat 19:24, Luk 6:24, Luk 12:16-21, Luk 16:19-25, 1Ti 6:9, 1Ti 6:10, Rev 6:15-17
weep: Jam 4:9, Isa 13:6, Isa 22:12, Isa 22:13, Jer 4:8, Eze 19:2, Joe 1:5, Joe 1:11, Joe 1:13, Amo 6:6, Amo 6:7, Zec 11:2, Zec 11:3, Luk 6:25, Luk 23:28, Luk 23:29
Reciprocal: Gen 11:3 – they said one to another Lev 25:14 – General 2Ki 5:5 – go Job 15:20 – the number Job 15:29 – neither shall Job 20:28 – and his goods Job 24:24 – are exalted Job 27:8 – General Psa 4:6 – many Psa 73:12 – these Psa 103:6 – executeth Pro 1:19 – every Pro 8:18 – durable Pro 10:2 – Treasures Pro 10:22 – he Pro 11:17 – but Pro 13:11 – Wealth Pro 15:6 – in the revenues Pro 22:7 – rich Pro 22:16 – that oppresseth Pro 23:5 – riches Pro 30:14 – to devour Ecc 2:1 – Go to Isa 2:7 – land Isa 65:14 – ye shall Jer 5:7 – I had fed Jer 6:26 – make thee Jer 18:11 – go to Jer 25:34 – Howl Jer 47:2 – then the Jer 49:3 – Howl Eze 18:7 – hath not Eze 22:12 – greedily Eze 22:27 – to get Eze 26:13 – General Eze 30:2 – Howl Eze 34:4 – but with Eze 45:8 – and my princes Hos 7:14 – when Hos 9:1 – Rejoice Joe 1:8 – Lament Amo 4:1 – which oppress Mic 6:10 – the treasures Hab 2:6 – that increaseth Zep 1:11 – Howl Zec 11:11 – knew Mat 6:19 – General Mat 24:12 – because Mar 10:24 – trust Luk 1:53 – and Luk 12:19 – Soul Luk 12:21 – he Luk 12:33 – provide Luk 16:26 – between Luk 17:28 – General Luk 18:8 – when Luk 18:24 – How Luk 21:23 – great Act 2:45 – parted 1Co 7:31 – use 1Th 2:16 – for Jam 4:2 – lust 1Jo 3:7 – let
IN THE CLOSING verses of chapter 4 James was addressing those of his own people belonging to the prosperous commercial class, who professed to receive Jesus as their Lord. In the opening of the fifth chapter his thoughts turn to the rich Jews, and these, as we have before mentioned, were almost to a man found amongst the unbelieving majority. In the first six verses he has some severe and even scorching things to say about them, and to them.
The accusation he brings against them is threefold. First he charges them with fraud, and that of the most despicable character. They took advantage of the humblest people who were least able to defend themselves. Second, they were utterly self-indulgent, thinking of little but their own luxuries. Third, they persecuted and even killed their brethren who had embraced the faith of Christ, who are spoken of here as the just.
As a consequence, self-enrichment was their pursuit and they were successful in it. They heaped treasure together. Meanwhile the labourers who could not defend themselves cried out in their poverty, and the Christians, who very possibly might have defended themselves, followed in the footsteps of their Master and did not resist them. The rich men succeeded famously and seemed to have matters all their own way.
Appearances however are deceitful. In reality they were but like brute beasts being fattened for killing. Ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter, is how James puts it. If Psa 73:1-28 be read we discover that this is no new thing. Asaph had been greatly troubled observing the prosperity of the wicked, coupled with the chastenings and sorrows of the people of God; and he found no satisfactory solution of the problem until he went into the sanctuary of God.
In the light of the sanctuary everything became clear to him. He saw that the course to both the godless rich and the plagued and downtrodden saints could only be rightly estimated as the end of each came into view. A few moments before he had been near to falling himself because he had been consumed with envy at the prosperity of the wicked: now he exclaims, How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! Asaph himself was one of the godly, plagued all the day long and chastened every morning. Yet in the sanctuary he lifts his eyes to God with joy and confesses, Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. The end of the one was, brought into desolation. The end of the other, received to glory. The contrast is complete!
And that contrast is very manifest in our chapter. The amassed wealth of the rich was corrupted and cankered. Utter misery was coming upon them. As for the tried saints they had but to wait with patience for the coming of the Lord; then their glad harvest of blessing would be reaped, as verses Jam 5:7-8 make manifest.
These inspired threatenings of judgment found an almost immediate fulfilment in the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus. History informs us that most Christians took warning and left the city before it was invested by the Roman armies, while the unbelieving mass were entrapped and such miseries came upon them as all their weepings and howlings could not avert. Yet while a fulfilment it was not the fulfilment of these words. Ye have heaped treasure together, it says, for the last days. That means, not merely the last few years of that sad chapter of Jerusalems history, but the days just preceding the coming of the Lord.
You will notice how James corroborates his fellow-apostles, Paul, Peter and John. All four of them present the coming of the Lord as imminent, as the immediate hope of the believer. They say to us such things as, The night is far spent, the day is at hand. The end of all things is at hand. Little children, it is the last time. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. And yet nearly nineteen centuries have passed since these words were written. Were they mistaken? By no means. Yet it is not easy to get their exact view-point, and so understand their words.
An illustration may help. A drama is being enacted on the stage, and the curtain rises for the last act. It is the first public performance, and someone who has already witnessed it privately whispers to a friend, Now for the finish! It is the last act. Yet nothing seems to happen. The minutes pass, and the players appear to be absolutely motionless. Yet there is something transpiring. Very slow, stealthy movements are going on….Something is slowly creeping on to the stage. It needs good opera glasses and a very observant pair of eyes behind them to notice it! The crowd becomes openly impatient, and the man who said, Now for the finish, looks a fool. Yet he was perfectly right.
In the days of the Apostles the earth was set for the last act in the great drama of Gods dealings. Yet because God is full of longsuffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, (2Pe 3:9.) He has slowed down the working of iniquity. It is a very long time coming to a head-as we count time. It was perfectly true when the Apostles wrote that the next decisive movement in the drama was to be Gods public intervention, in the coming of the Lord; though for His coming we are still waiting today. We shall not wait for it in vain!
His coming is our hope, and these words of exhortation ought to come to us with tenfold force today. Are we tested, our hearts oppressed with the burden of unrighted wrongs? Be ye also patient, is the word for us. Do we feel unsettled, everything around and within seemingly insecure and shaking? The message comes to us, Stablish your hearts. Does it seem as if we are everlastingly sowing without effect? Do we plough and wait, and plough and wait, until we are tempted to think that we are but ploughing sands? Be patient, is the word for us, unto the coming of the Lord. Then we shall enjoy our grand Harvest-home.
We must remember however that the Lords coming will not only mean the judgment of the ungodly and the uplifting of the saints, but it will entail the righting of all that has been wrong in the relations of believers one with another. Verse Jam 5:9 bears on this. What is more common than grudges or complainings of believers one against another, and what more disastrous in its effects upon the spiritual health of the whole body of saints? Are we inferring that there are no causes of complaint, nothing that might lead to the cherishing of a grudge? There are probably more causes than we have any notion of, but let them not be turned into grudges. He who will sit in judgment, and assess everything-even as between believers-in perfect righteousness, is standing with His hand upon the handle of the door ready to enter the court; and he who is readiest to entertain and nurse a grudge will probably be himself the first to be condemned.
In all this we should be encouraged by the example of the prophets who have gone before, and particularly by the case of Job. We see them suffering affliction, enduring patiently and, in many cases, dying as the result of their testimony. Jobs case was special. Satan was not permitted to take his life and so remove him from our observation. He was to live so that we might see the end of the Lord in his case. And what a wonderful end it was! We can see the pity and tender mercy of God shining through all his disasters as we view them in the light shed by the finish of his story.
Jobs case was just a sample. What God wrought out for him He is working out for all of us, for He has no favourites. We cannot see to the finish of our own cases, but in the light of Jobs case God invites us to trust Him, and if we do we shall not grudge against our fellows any more than Job bore a grudge against his three friends when God had reached His end with him. Why, Job then was found fervently praying for his friends instead of grumbling at them! Let us trust God and accept His dealings, assured that His end according to His tender mercy will be reached for us at the coming of Jesus, and we shall see it then.
How important it is then that the coming of the Lord should really be our HOPE. If faith be vigorous it will be kept shining brightly before our hearts, and then we shall endure with patience, we shall be lifted above grudges and complaints, and we shall be marked too by that moderation of language to which verse Jam 5:12 exhorts us. He who lives in an atmosphere of truth has no need to fortify his words with strong oaths. The habitual use of them soon has the contrary effect to that intended. Even men of the world soon doubt the veracity of the man who cannot be content with a plain yes or no. The last words of the verse, lest ye fall into condemnation seem to infer this.
While we wait for the coming of the Lord our lives are made up of many and varying experiences. Going through a hostile world there are frequent afflictions. Then again there are times of peculiar happiness. Yet again, seasons of sickness come, and sometimes they come upon us as the direct result of committing sin. From verse Jam 5:13 to the end these matters are taken up.
The resource of the afflicted saint is prayer. We do not always realize this. So often we merely betake ourselves to kindly friends, who will listen to the recital of our troubles, or to wealthy and influential friends, who perchance may be able to help us in our troubles, and prayer falls into the background, whereas it should be our first thought. It is affliction which adds intensity to our prayers. You attend a meeting which may be described as our usual prayer-meeting, and it is, we trust, a profitable occasion. But even so how different it is when a number meet together to pray about a matter which burdens their hearts to the point of positive affliction. In meetings of that sort the heavens seem to bow down to touch the earth.
But here, on the other hand, are believers who are merry indeed, their hearts are full of gladness. It is spiritual gladness, at least to begin with. The danger is however that it will soon degenerate into mere carnal jollification. If spiritual gladness is to be maintained it must have an outlet of a spiritual sort. That spiritual outlet is the singing of psalms, by which we understand any poetical or metrical composition of a spiritual sort which can be set to music. The happy heart sings, and the happy Christian is to be no exception in this.
Just think of the range of song that is within our compass! Earths great singers have their portfolios of familiar songs, their repertoire they call it. We read that Solomons songs were one thousand and five, but how many are ours? In his days the heights and depths of love divine were not made known as they are in ours. We have the breadth and length and depth and height of divine revelation and the knowledge of the knowledge surpassing love of Christ as the subject matter for Christian song. There are moments, thank God, when very really we break forth with,
Sing, without ceasing sing,
The Saviours present grace. only let us be careful that our singing is of such a character as may further lift us up, and not let us down.
As to sickness the Apostles instructions are equally plain. It is viewed as being Gods chastening hand upon the saint, very possibly in the form of direct retribution for his sins. In this the church would be interested, and the elders of the church should be called in. They, at their discretion, pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lords name and he is healed, his sins being governmentally forgiven. It is evident from such a scripture as 1Jn 5:16 that the elders were to exercise their spiritual discernment as to whether it was, or was not, the will of God that healing should be granted. If they discerned it to be His will then they could pray the prayer full of faith and confidence, which would be without fail answered in his recovery.
Is this all valid for today? We believe so. Why then is it so little practised? For at least two reasons. First, it is not an easy matter to find the elders of
THE church though the elders of certain religious bodies may be found easily enough. The church of God has been ruined as to its outward manifestation and unity, and we have to pay the penalty of it. Second assuming the elders of the church are found and that they come in response to the call, the discernment and faith on their part, which are called for if they are to offer such a prayer of faith as is contemplated, are but very rarely found.
The faith, be it observed, is to be on the part of those who pray, that is of the elders. Nothing is said as to the faith of the one who is sick, though we may infer that he has some faith in the matter, sufficient at least to send for the elders in accordance with this scripture. We may infer too from the words that immediately follow in verse Jam 5:16 that he would confess his sins, if indeed he have committed them. We point this out because this passage has been pressed into service on behalf of practices not warranted by this or any other scripture.
The confession of which verse Jam 5:16 speaks is however not exactly confession to elders. It is rather one to another. This verse has nothing official about it as verses Jam 5:14-15 have. There is no reason why any of us should not practice prayer for healing after this sort.
The case supposed is that of two believers, and one has offended against the other, though neither apparently are entirely free from blame, and consequently both are suffering in their health. The main offender comes with heart-felt confession of the wrong he committed. The other is thereby moved to confess anything which may have been wrong on his side, and then melted before God they begin to pray for each other. If they have really forsaken their wrong-doing and are going in the way of righteousness they may expect to be heard of God and healed.
In connection with this Elijah is brought before us. Verse Jam 5:17 is particularly interesting inasmuch as the Old Testament makes no mention of the fact that he prayed that it might not rain, though we are given very full details of how he prayed for rain at the end of the three and a half years in 1Ki 18:1-46. He is introduced to us very abruptly in the opening verse of 1Ki 17:1-24 as telling Ahab that it would not rain, so this verse in James gives us a peep into scenes before his public appearance-scenes of private and personal dealings with God. Though of like passions to ourselves he was righteous, and burning with the fervency of a passion for the glory of God. Hence he was heard, and he knew that he was heard with an assurance that enabled him to confidently tell Ahab what God was going to do. Would that we resembled him, if only in a small degree!
We may learn in all this what are the conditions of effectual prayer. Confession of sin, not only to God but to one another; practical righteousness in all our ways; fervency of spirit and petition. Fervent prayer is not that which is uttered in loud stentorian tones, but that which springs from a warm and glowing heart.
The closing verses revert to the thought of our praying for one another for healing and restoration. Verse Jam 5:19 alludes to the conversion or bringing back of an erring brother, and from this we pass almost insensibly to the conversion of a sinner in verse 20. He who is used of God in this blessed work is an instrument in saving souls from death and the covering of many sins. Do we realise what an honour this is? Some people are for ever on the tack of uncovering sin, whether of their fellow-believers or of the world. The covering of sins in a righteous way is what God loves. Let us go in for it with all our hearts.
Jas 5:1. Go to is the same phrase as that in chapter 4:13. There it is a rebuke for those who are boastful of their expected gain, here it is against those who have obtained it by wrongful means which will be considered at verse 4. The miseries will come upon them at the day of judgment.
Jas 5:1. Go to now. Whoever may be the persons referred to in the preceding paragraph, we consider that the rich who are here addressed were unbelieving and wicked men not belonging to the Christian community. Some indeed consider that they are rich Christians;[1] but the crime charged upon them of condemning and killing the just cannot be applicable to believers. Hence, Stier correctly remarks: The rich men, whom St. James must here mean, are those already mentioned in chap, Jas 2:6-7 : those who practised violence on the disciples of Christ, the confessors of the Lord of glory, and blasphemed that good name by which they were called. To them St. James predicts, as a prophet and in the style of the old prophets, the impending judgment to which Jerusalem was doomed, the desolation of the land, and all the misery which he, like the Lord Himself, speaks of as His coming to judgment and salvation. It has also been disputed whether we have here a pure and unmixed denunciation of evil, or a call to repentance. Certainly there is in the words no invitation to repentance, but a mere declaration of vengeance. They are mistaken, observes Calvin, who consider that St. James here exhorts the rich to repentance. It seems to be a simple denunciation of Gods judgment, by which he meant to terrify them, without giving them any hope of pardon, for all that he says tends only to despair. But this must not be too absolutely assumed, for we learn in the case of Nineveh that all Gods denunciations are likewise exhortations to repentance.
[1] So Erdmann.
ye rich men: to be taken literally, rich in worldly wealth: the same who were formerly mentioned as the oppressors of believers (Jas 2:6-7). The allusion is not to rich men as a class, but to the unbelieving rich. The words are applicable to all the rich who are living without God in the world; and certainly the rich are under a peculiar temptation of setting their affections upon the things of this world. Riches are too frequently an obstacle to salvation, a weight which prevents the soul soaring upwards to heaven.
weep and howl for your miseries: literally, weep, howling over your miseries.
that shall come upon you: literally, that are coming upon you. The miseries here referred to are those which shall precede or occur at the advent of the Lord; and also, as in our Lords prophecy, those which occurred during the Jewish war, then close at hand, miseries which were typical of those which would occur at the advent. These miseries in the Jewish war fell heavily upon the rich. They as a class belonged to the moderate party, who, having much to lose, wished to avoid a war with the Romans, and therefore were especially persecuted by the Jewish zealots, who became the ruling party. Nor were these miseries confined to the Jews in Judea, but embraced the Jews of the dispersionthe twelve tribes, scattered abroad. There was at that time a general attack upon the Jews throughout the world. St. James, observes Bishop Wordsworth, like a Christian Jeremiah, is uttering a Divine prophecy of the woes that are coming on Jerusalem and the Jews throughout the world.
Division 5. (Jam 5:1-20.)
The end and the conditions of the way.
In this closing part of the epistle we are warned, as naturally, of the end at hand. It is most blessed comfort to realize that it is so, and yet we may need it as warning too. The way and the end are here put before us together, as they are, indeed, inseparable. The way has an ending proper to itself, and it is always right seriously to contemplate this. We may abuse the liberty of grace, not, indeed, by overvaluing it, but by our conception of what this means. The apostle’s word, “That, after having preached to others, I may not myself be cast away,” is taken either to qualify God’s grace itself, and to make us imagine that the apostle, after all, had some right and reasonable doubt of what might be the end with him; or else, by those who know the gospel better, it is simply put aside, left out of consideration, as if there were no meaning in it; and yet how fruitful for us should be the contemplation of the way by which, and by which alone, God brings us home! It belongs to that discernment of good and evil which the same apostle has told us comes to us as those who are accustomed to be exercised about it. “By reason of use, we have our senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” But James, as we realize in the way he speaks here, is still and ever in the synagogue. He is contemplating ends of the most opposite character, for opposite classes of people, to whom he addresses himself. There are the rich on the one hand, living luxuriously and in oppression of the poor. There are those who, in another spirit, are waiting for the coming of their Lord, but who need to be exhorted to patience because of the evil. Yet while we cannot but realize the different classes to whom he addresses himself, it does not follow that there is no profit for every one of us in the contemplation of this. The fact is that all prophecy, which is ever hastening on towards the end, and putting in the light of the end the present, to be illumined by it, has large use for us in this very way. We look at the world as a whole unit. We see the principles upon which men act, and how they work out in result. God, who makes all manifest at the end, is thus brought in everywhere, and we learn more deeply in His presence the character of the things which are contrary to Him, as well as the character of those which please Him. This is what we find in this last division.
1. He addresses himself in the first place to the rich. He threatens them with divine judgment. In his stern, strong language he bids them weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon them. Their riches, he says, are corrupted, and their garments moth-eaten; their gold and silver are eaten away, and their rust only remains, to be a testimony against them, and to eat their own flesh as fire. They have heaped up their treasure in the last days, ignoring entirely that they are the last days. With no thought of the coming judgment, they let the hire of the laborers who have harvested their fields, kept back wrongfully by them, cry in the ever-wakeful ears of the Lord of Hosts, (the “Lord of Sabaoth”). They have lived luxuriously on the earth in self-indulgence. They have nourished their hearts in a day of slaughter, when, as the thought suggests, their tables must be heaped up at whatever cost; nay, they have condemned and killed the just, suffering it unresistingly. It is perfectly plain, therefore, the class which is contemplated here.
But he turns to others who are the sufferers, and to whom the word is an exhortation to patience until He comes who will set all things right. In all that which seems for themselves so vain, in the labor barren to themselves, and which yields nothing except to the hand of the oppressor, he would have them yet consider themselves as laborers for God, as husbandmen waiting for the precious fruit of the earth, which must receive the early and the latter rain before it can be harvested. Harvest there will yet be of another sort than they may now deem. They are to be patient, stablishing their hearts, for indeed the coming of the Lord has drawn nigh. They are to avoid the fretfulness which so easily results from just these things which call for patience. Those that are brethren in a common faith may even thus easily murmur against one another. It may be in view of the better lot that some may seem to have; but the Judge of all standeth before the doors, and for suffering and patience they may take as examples the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord; most blessed, surely, to have been such, yet they are the very types of those persecuted and wronged for that very speaking; and in the endurance which is thus called for, have they not seen the blessing? Did they not know of the endurance of Job; and in his case was not the end of the Lord seen, that indeed the Lord, spite of all that might seem contradictory to it, is “full of compassion, and pitiful”?
The apostle here closes with a solemn warning against oath-making, the special force of which for Jews we may see in our Lord’s “sermon on the mount” (Mat 5:33-37). The law, with that recognition of human strength which as law it necessarily implied, condemned only the “forswearing,” while permitting the “swearing.” But the powerlessness of man has been amply demonstrated, and the Lord teaches that now it is this which is to be recognized in the common language of those who “cannot make one hair white or black.” How thoroughly is that faith, which is the apostle’s theme here, united with such complete giving up of self-confidence as faith supposes! We have had one example of this in the rebuke of all absolute promises as to “what shall be on the morrow.” The present exhortation is akin to that; and the lesson of self-distrust, by reason of its great unpalatableness to us, needs to be in various ways enforced.
2. Through all these exhortations, the emphasis, as one can easily see, is upon faith; and that is the great subject of the epistle. The fruitfulness of faith, of course, is pressed, as we know; but that only the more distinctly shows the prominence of it here; so in all that follows now to the end. In various conditions the one sufficiency is God. The one appeal is to Him. “Doth any among you suffer evil? Let him pray: not take things into his own hand, but refer them to Another. “Is any mirthful?” Let his joy be in God, and uttered to Him. “Is any sick, let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up” -a passage which, by some, has been used to deny the lawfulness of all natural means, as inconsistent really with this faith in God and appeal to Him; but we must take Scripture generally to decide in a matter of this kind, and not what is evidently, in some ways at least, exceptional. It awakens questions, moreover, which are hard to answer in the present condition of things. Where shall we find the elders of the assembly now if they are to be, at least, appointed in the regular way that we find in Scripture? Certainly one very distinct thing with regard to these is that the assembly did not, and could not, appoint them. Witness the apostle’s sending Titus to do so in Crete, or the specifications with regard to eldership given to Timothy at Ephesus; where already, as we know, there were elders that had been appointed before. Timothy, himself a young man and not an elder, was evidently an unsuited person for this, if there was any succession in the matter, if elders could appoint elders. The appointment is more distinctly assigned to Titus; without the thought, clearly, of the assemblies themselves being able to appoint them. In the history of the Acts it was the apostles that did so; still not the assembly. We have no apostles, manifestly, and no apostolic delegates, no one who can prove that he has a commission in such matters. No doubt, if we are content merely to think of those who fulfil the character required, without any official appointment, then we may avoid this difficulty; but it is plain we are only following an inference of our own in this case, and not the plain word of God with regard to it. Moreover, the anointing with oil in the name of the Lord seems to be the claim of an authority which those of whom we are speaking would be the last to assert. No doubt the emphasis is laid here upon the “prayer of faith,” to save the sick; and the prayer of faith certainly should not be lacking with us. We need not doubt how much we should gain if there were a more simple and constant reference to the Lord in these matters, and we cannot but remember the example of old of one who sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians, and died. The use of means that are in our hand may easily be perverted to the slighting of this way of faith; and it would certainly be far better to leave out the means in any case rather than to leave out the Lord. The distinct and united acknowledgment of our dependence upon Him in all these cases is due from us, and we suffer loss if God is not acknowledged; but then for this, no elders or anointing can be needed, and the prescription of these things makes it evident that something more is contemplated here than simply the prayer of faith. Even so, there is no prohibition of means, if there be no prescription of them; and in God’s ordinary way of working He certainly works by them. He could sustain us at any time without food, but we do not ordinarily expect Him to do this, although the food may profit nothing except the Lord please to use it. We cannot but remember in this way the prescription of a little wine to Timothy, while at the same time he was in the very midst of an assembly which had its regularly appointed elders. In Judaism let us remember how, at the beginning of it, God was pleased to act miraculously in a marked way; and in the beginning of Christianity in Jerusalem, we find the same signs and miracles accompanying the Word. This was a most suited testimony to the new doctrine being published, a testimony which was also recognized in our Lord’s case by the Jews as that which was to establish a new doctrine (Mar 1:27). The waning of all miraculous powers when once the testimony was established is marked, and cannot be denied. People may impute it, as they do impute it, to a lack of faith on the part of Christians; but with regard to such things one might certainly expect faith to be manifested as much as in other things. In fact, they would be things most earnestly clung to, for the manifest benefit and the display of power in them. On the other hand, the prevalence of corruption which, whatever may be our own individual views of truth, cannot but be acknowledged, would naturally make it less suited that the Church so failing should still preserve her ornaments; but the reason for the decline of miracles is evidently other than this. In the history of the Acts we find an apparent absence of such things, where, for instance, as in Berea, men were employed with the Word itself to test the doctrine by it. Although in general, as the Lord promised, miraculous signs did follow at the beginning those who believed, yet even then this was never universally true. It could not be pleaded as the necessary mark of Christian faith. “Are all workers of miracles?” says the apostle; and the question in itself supposes a negative answer. Thus, if a whole assembly lacked, there was no necessary failure, and need be no disappointment in this case; while in Corinth their “coming behind in no gift” was no necessary evidence of a right state of soul. It seems even, one would say, a matter of course that God never meant our daily lives to be full of manifest miracles. He never meant to demonstrate the truth after that fashion. He would leave it, rather, to its own inherent and spiritual power. Men easily crave miracles; but the whole generation in the wilderness, the constant witness of these, nevertheless perished for their unbelief. The miracles work no faith, although they might, and would, awaken attention to that which God presented as an object for faith; yet to those who believed in Christ, when they saw the miracles, He did not commit Himself (Joh 2:23-25). Every way it should be plain today that what goes for such amongst men commonly is no longer the mark upon true faith or the truth itself which calls for faith. The same things exactly can be wrought by those who deny Christian fundamentals as by those who profess them; and where is the evidence then? No set of men in the present day can be found who can adjust broken bones without surgery. If God wanted to show what He was doing, do we think that a broken bone would be a greater difficulty to Him than anything else?
Moreover, the signs and wonders of the time of the end are spoken of as rather giving evidence to falsity than to truth, to Antichrist than to Christ; and there will be signs and wonders wrought yet, which, as the Lord has said, would deceive, if it were possible, even the very elect. Thus, then, we can easily understand (and especially in such an epistle as the present -an epistle to that nation to whom God had testified by signs and wonders of old, and would repeat to them now, in evidence that Christ was in nothing behind Moses) how we should find a reference of this kind to powers which might connect themselves with the elders of the Christian assembly, and yet understand why James should leave us, as it were, at a loss how to apply these things to ourselves. We can never be wrong in believing that the prayer of faith is still really the power that will save the sick, let means be used or not used; but the use of means seems in general rather according to the Lord’s mind than against it. His common way is to work through that which He has Himself ordained, and there are plainly herbs for the healing of men. The very presence of such powers is proof that the Lord has given them; and if He has given them, it is for us. Faith can acknowledge Him in these, as well as be perfectly happy in trusting Him apart from all consideration of these. The prohibition of them, if God designed it, would surely be furnished to us.
Moreover, God at no time intended that things should be left, as it were, absolutely in man’s hands, even though it were the hand of faith, as the doctrines taught suppose. The prayer of faith may be that which saves the sick, and yet, after all, that be far from meaning that we can find in every case a faith which should do so. God has His own will and His own way; and while we can always reckon upon Him to answer the soul that looks to Him, yet the way of His answer we do not always know. The apostle prays that the thorn in the flesh might depart from him, but it did not depart. God turned it to greater blessing. That was an answer to the prayer, but it was not such an answer as men usually count as that. Could any one suppose that among Christians, if everything were absolutely right, the sick would always be raised up, that death would hardly obtain at all, except in the extremest old age? We may imagine any such fancies, but fancies they are, and nothing else. Yet it is plain there is an appeal to God advocated here which we are always right in making, and from which we may always expect an answer in the goodness of Him whom we address. More than this, the Lord may give distinct light as to His mind that will enable one, as to anything, to ask with assurance, without the possibility of denial. If we are near enough to God for this, we have cause indeed to be thankful; but we had better be humble about it, and be very sure that we have it before we claim it.
The apostle adds here with regard to a very possible case, that the sickness contemplated might be the result of sin itself -that if he be one that hath committed sin, it shall be forgiven him. Here is a case in which it is plain that appeal to God is of the greatest necessity. But we may be perfectly sure that here, also, it could not be within the will of others to secure this, but that there must be in the recipient of this forgiveness the state of soul in which God can grant it.
The apostle adds a more general admonition as to which there is no difficulty: “Confess” therefore, “your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” This still, however, needs wisdom for its application. The confession of sin itself may be looked at, as men look so much at confession to a priest, as if it were to work something merely as confession. Apart from the recognized need of confessing to another that in which we have wronged him, there may be, and no doubt are, cases where it would be good for any one burdened with the sense of wrong-doing to unburden himself, and find the help of another’s prayers. The acceptance of the humiliation of it may be good in itself; but, on the other hand, there is no general rule but will have its exceptions; or, rather, there is no principle that does not need wisdom in application. Nothing will do away with the need of this.
But the apostle enlarges here upon the value of prayer. “The fervent supplication of the righteous man,” he says, “availeth much.” Plainly, “the righteous man” here is one who is so simply, out and out for God, so that there is nothing to hinder the confidence in Him which this supposes. Elijah is adduced as an example here, a man who stood for God when all Israel was departing from Him; but, as he notes here, a man of like passions with ourselves -notes it, evidently, for our encouragement. We are apt to make exceptions of such men to excuse ourselves, alas, even from the blessing which was theirs in consequence of what they were. His infirmities are made known to us in the very record given to us of his faith; but the man of God was in him most eminent. Thus it was for the honor of God that “he prayed fervently that it might not rain;” not to serve any end of his own apart from this; and such prayers are of the sort that have wisdom in them, and secure answers. Thus he prayed, and it rained not on the earth for three years and six months; and again he prayed, and the heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth her fruit. The power of prayer can never be separated from the character of the man who prays, although God is pitiful, and can hear any man in his extremity; that is true, but that is not the prayer that is recorded here, or the prayer of which we can really say that it has power in it.
3. The apostle closes with one word of mingled exhortation and encouragement: “My brethren, if any one among you err from the truth, and one restore him, let him know that he that turneth back a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” It is the restoration of a believer, but who has wandered from God, that is contemplated here. The word used in our common version, “one convert him,” naturally tends to make us think of that which we ordinarily call conversion now. But the Lord talks, as we know, of Peter’s conversion when he too had erred from the truth, and the Lord’s grace brought him back. In the language of James, if, not in the epistle to the Hebrews, a converted man may be a sinner still; and, as we know, the saving of a soul from death does not necessarily mean a salvation from death eternally, but from that judgment of God which we have seen instanced in Corinth, where many were weak and sickly among them, and many slept. In this way, a multitude of sins would be covered, not simply by the love that individually covereth sins, of which we read elsewhere, but by the labor of that love for the restoration of a soul, which is the sure way, in the government of God over His people, for a multitude of sins to be covered.
These words may be considered wither relatively or absolutely.
Consider them, 1. With relation to the Jews, to whom they were written immmediately, and they are a prediction or denuncitation of that judgment which was coming upon the right men in the Jewish nation; which prediction, Josephus assures us, was fulfilled by the slaughter and spoiling of the rich Jews throughout Galilee and Judea, the zealots sparing none but the poor and low. Thus did the vengeance of God, and does to this day, pursue and follow that wicked people, who killed the Lord of Life, and their own prophets, who brought judgment on themselves to the uttermost.
Consider the words absolutely in themselves, and they are a severe and cutting reprehension to covetous rich men, for their sordid sparing of that wealth which God had given them for public service. And the apostle gives us,
1. A description of their sin. 2. A declaration of their punishment.
Observe, 1. A description of the sin of the covetous rich worldlings, they chose rather to have their goods to be corrupted and spoiled, than to be employed to good uses; their victuals might have refreshed the bowels of the hungry, but they rather suffered them to putrify and stink; the garments which lay useless in their wardrobes, might have clothed the backs of their naked brethren, but they had rather let them be moth eaten; their gold and silver might have been applied to many good uses, but they had rather it should be cankered, and rust in their chests.
Observe, 2. The punishment denounced against them for this their sin, the rust of their gold and silver shall witness against them; that is, their consciences shall at once convince them of their base covetousness, and torment them for it; and this corroding of their consciences shall have an impression upon their bodies, it shall eat their flesh as it were fire; and all that treasure which, with wrong to others, and violation of their own consciences, they had heaped together, was but heaped up for the spoiler, and the violence of the last days.
Learn from the whole, 1. That it is hard to possess riches without sin; a hard matter to have them, and not be hindered from heaven by them.
Learn, 2. That a covetous hoarding, and sordid sparing of wealth, which our suffering brethren want, brings a curse both upon our persons and estates.
3. That more miseries, and dreadful judgments, shall come upon wicked rich men, which, if believingly apprehended, would cause them now to weep and howl. We do not hurt with our wealth, say some; aye, but what good do you do with it? Where are the poor members of Christ, whom ye have relieved with the superfluities of your table? But can many say truly, they have done no harm with their estates?
Lord! what carelessness in religion, what contempt of God, what riot and excess is found amongst many that abound in wealth, who expend more upon a lust in one day, than would maintain a poor family many years.
Learn, 4. That in the day of judgment, not only our actions, but all the circumstances of our actions, shall be brought forth, and produced as arguments of conviction; the rusty iron, the cankered silver, the moth eaten clothes, shall be produced; the stones of the wall, built by oppression, shall cry, “Lord, we were built by oppression and violence;” and the beam out of the timber shall answer it, True, Lord, even so it is, Hab 2:11 The circumstances of men’s sins at the great day will be as so many memorials to put them in mind of guilt, and God in mind of vengeance: Your gold and silver is cankered, and the rust of it shall be witness against you.
The Abusive Rich Will Be Judged
The money and garments of those oppressive rich were going to waste. As shall be seen, this was from their being ill-gotten and hoarded up without any plan for their good use. That tarnished appearance would stand as a witness against the greed of those addressed and cause them to be condemned. James says they had actually stored up a large treasure to bringGod’s full wrath down upon them in the last day ( Jas 5:2-3 ). Paul gave a similar warning in Rom 2:5 . “But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”
The practice of refusing to pay the poor laborers even the meager wages they had been promised is condemned in the Old Testament ( Lev 19:13 ; Jer 22:13 ; Mal 3:5 ). The wages held back and hoarded cried, like the blood of Abel, for judgment against those who withheld them. The cries of those cheated were also heard by the Lord of hosts ( Jas 5:4 ).
This may be a reminder that God has the power to take vengeance in such cases and will use it. “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord….Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” ( Rom 12:19-21 ).
The rich lived the high life and indulged themselves in fulfilling of all their wants. Their stuffing themselves with pleasure was much like a hog being fattened for slaughter ( Jas 5:5 ). The Just, or Righteous, One James says they murdered is Christ ( Act 3:14 ; Act 7:52 ; Act 22:14 ; 1Jn 2:1 ). It was these self-indulgent rich who crucified Jesus. Yet, our Lord submitted to them without resistance ( Jas 5:6 ; Isa 53:7 ; 1Pe 2:21-23 ).
Jas 5:1. The unbelieving Jews, being exceedingly addicted to sensual pleasure, and very covetous, were of course grievous oppressors of the poor. Wherefore, to alarm these wicked men, and, if possible, to bring them to repentance, St. James, in the first paragraph of this chapter, sets before them, in the most lively colours, the miseries which the Romans, the instruments of the divine vengeance, were about to bring on the Jewish people, both in Judea and everywhere else, now deserted of God for their crimes, and particularly for the great crime of murdering the Just One, Jesus of Nazareth, their long-expected Messiah. So that, being soon to lose their possessions and goods, it was not only criminal, but foolish, by injustice and oppression to amass wealth, of which they were soon to be stripped. In this part of his letter the apostle hath introduced figures and expressions which, for boldness, vivacity, and energy, might have been used by the greatest tragic poet. See Macknight. Go to now Or, come now, ye rich men The apostle does not speak this so much for the sake of the rich themselves, as of the poor children of God, who were then groaning under their cruel oppression. Weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you Quickly and unexpectedly. The miseries of which he speaks were those which our Lord had pointed out in his prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, and in which this apostle foresaw they would soon be involved; miseries arising from famine, pestilence, and the sword. These fell heaviest on the Jews in Judea. But they extended also to the Jews in the provinces. The reader who desires to see a particular account of these calamities, may read Josephuss history of the Jewish war, where he will find scenes of misery laid open not to be paralleled in the annals of any nation. And as these were an awful prelude of that wrath which was to fall upon them in the world to come, so this passage may likewise refer to the final vengeance which will then be executed on the impenitent.
James Chapter 5
The two classes in Israel are distinctly marked here in contrast with one another, with the addition of the walk which the Christian ought to pursue when chastised by the Lord.
The apostle gives the coming of the Lord as the term of their condition, both to the unbelieving rich oppressors in Israel, and to the poor believing remnant. The rich have heaped up treasures for the last days; the oppressed poor are to be patient until the Lord Himself shall come to deliver them. Moreover, he says, deliverance would not be delayed. The husbandman waits for the rain and the times of harvest; the Christina for his Masters coming. This patience characterizes, as we have seen, the walk of faith. It had been witnessed in the prophets; and in the case of others we count them happy which endure afflictions for the Lords sake. Job shews us the ways of the Lord: he needed to have patience, but the end of the Lord was blessing and tender mercy towards him.
This expectation of the coming of the Lord was a solemn warning, and at the same time the strongest encouragement, but one which maintained the true character of the Christians practical life. It shewed also what the selfishness of mans will would end in, and it restrained all action of that will in believers. The feelings of brethren towards each other were placed under the safeguard of this same truth. They were not to have a spirit of discontent, or to murmur against others who were perhaps more favoured in their outward circumstances: the judge stood before the door.
Oaths displayed still more the forgetfulness of God, and the actings consequently of the self-will of nature. Yea, ought to be yea, and Nay, nay. The actings of the divine nature in the consciousness of the presence of God, and the repression of all human will and of sinful nature, is what the writer of this epistle desires.
Now there were resources in Christianity both for joy and sorrow. If any were afflicted, let them pray (God was ready to hear); if happy, let them sing; if sick, send for the elders of the assembly, who would pray for the sufferer and anoint him, and the chastisement would be removed, and the sins for which, according to Gods government, he was thus chastised, would be forgiven as regards that government; for it is that only which is here spoken of.
The imputation of sin for condemnation has no place here. The efficacy of the prayer of faith is set before us; but it is in connection with the maintenance of sincerity of heart. The government of God is exercised with regard to His people. He chastises them by sickness; and it is important that truth in the inner man should be maintained. Men hide their faults; theydesire to walk as if all were going on well; but God judges His people. He tries the heart and the reins. They are held in bonds of affliction. God shews them their faults, or their unbroken self-will. Man is chastened also with pain upon his bed and the multitude of his bones with strong pain. (Job 33:19) And now the church of God intervenes in charity, and according to its own order, by means of the elders; the sick man commits himself to God, confessing his state of need; the charity of the church acts and brings him who is chastised, according to this relationship, before God-for that is where the church is. Faith pleads this relationship of grace; the sick man is healed. If sins-and not merely the need of discipline-were the cause of his chastisement, those sins will not hinder his being healed, they shall be forgiven him.
The apostle then presents the principle in general as the course for all, namely , to open their hearts to each other, in order to maintain truth in the inner man as to oneself; and to pray for each other in order that charity should be in full exercise with regard to the faults of others; grace and truth being thus spiritually formed in the church, and a perfect union of heart among Christians, so that even their faults are an occasion for the exercise of charity (as in God towards us), and entire confidence in each other, according to that charity, such as is felt towards a restoring and pardoning God. What a beautiful picture is presented of divine principles animating men and causing them to act according to the nature of God Himself, and the influence of His love upon the heart.
We may remark, that it is not confession to the elders that is spoken of. That would have been confidence in men-official confidence. God desires the operation of divine charity in all. Confession to one another shews the condition of the church, and God would have the church to be in such a state, that love should so reign in it, that they should be so near to God, as to be able to treat the transgressor according to the grace they know in Him: and that this love should be so realised, that perfect inward sincerity should be produced by the confidence and operation of grace. Official confession destroys all this-is contrary to it. How divine the wisdom which omitted confession when speaking of the elders, but which commands it as the living and voluntary impression of the heart!
This leads us also to the value of the energetic prayers of the righteous man. It is his nearness to God, the sense that he has consequently of that which God is, which (through grace and the operation of the Spirit) gives him this power. God takes account of men, and that according to the infinitude of His love. He takes account of the trust in Himself, the faith in His word, shewn by one who thinks and acts according to a just appreciation of what He is. That is always faith, which makes sensible to us that which se do not see-God Himself, who acts in accordance with the revelation that He has given of Himself. Now the man who in the practical sense is righteous through grace, is near to God; as being righteous, he has not to do with God for himself with regard to sin, which would keep his heart a t a distance; his heart is thus free to draw nigh to God, according to His holy nature on behalf of others; and, moved by the divine nature, which animates him and which enables him to appreciate God, he seeks, according to the activity of that nature, that his prayers may prevail with God whether for the good of others or for the glory of God Himself in His service. And God answers, according to that same nature, by blessing this trust and responding to it, in order to manifest what He is for faith, to encourage it by sanctioning its activity, putting His seal on the man who walks by faith.[2]
The Spirit of God acts we know in all this; but the apostle does not here speak of Him, being occupied with the practical effect, and presenting the man as he is seen, acting under the influence of this nature in its positive energy with regard to God, and near to Him, so that it acts in all its intensity, moved by the power of that nearness. But if we consider the action of the Spirit, these thoughts are confirmed. The righteous man does not grieve the Holy Ghost, and the Spirit works in him according to His own power, but acting in the man according to the poser of his communion.
Finally, we have the assurance that the ardent and energetic prayer of the righteous man has great efficacy: it is the prayer of faith, which knows God and counts upon Him and draws near Him. The case of Elijah is interesting, as shewing us (and there are other examples of the same king) how the Holy Ghost acts inwardly in a man where we see the outward manifestation of poser. In the history we have Elijahs declaration: Jehovah liveth, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. This is the authority, the power, exercised in the name of Jehovah. In our epistle the secret operation, that which passes between the soul and God, is set forth. He prayed, and God heard him. We have the same testimony on the part of Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus. Only that in the latter case we have the two together, except that the prayer itself is not given-unless in the unutterable groan of Christs spirit.
Comparing Gal 2:1-21 with the history in Act 15:1-41, we find a revelation from God which determined Pauls conduct, whatever outward motives there may have been which were known to all. By such cases as those which the apostle proposes to the church, and those of Elijah and the Lord Jesus, a God, living acting, and interesting Himself in all that happens among His people, is revealed to us.
There is also the activity of love towards those who err. If any one departs from the truth, and they bring him back by grace, let it be known that to bring back a sinner form the error of his ways is the exercise-simple as our action in it may be-of power that delivers a soul from death; accordingly all those sins which spread themselves in their odious nature before the eyes of God, and offended His glory and His heart by their presence in His universe, are covered. The soul being brought to God by grace, all its sins are pardoned, appear no more, are blotted out form before the face of God. The apostle (as throughout) does not speak of the power that acts in this work of love, but of the fact. He applies it to cases that had happened among them; but he establishes a universal principle with regard to the activity of grace in the heart that is animated by it. The erring soul is saved; the sin put away from before God.
Charity in the assembly suppresses, so to speak, the sins which otherwise would destroy union and overcome that charity in the assembly, and appear in all their deformity and all their malignancy before God. Whereas, being met by love in the assembly, they go no farther, are, as it were (as regards the state of things before God in this world). dissolved and put away by the charity which they could not vanquish. The sin is vanquished by the love which dealt with it, disappears, is swallowed up by it. Thus love covers a multitude of sins. Here it is its action in the conversion of a sinner.
Footnotes for James Chapter 5
2: It is well to remember that this is carried out in respect of the governing ways of God, and thus under the title of Lord-a place which Christ specially holds, though here the term is used generally. Compare Jam 5:11, and the general Jewish reference of the passage. To us we have one God the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ. He is become Lord and Christ, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Jas 5:1. Go to now, or go now, ye rich men. He had taught them humility, because their glory vanished away as the flower of the field: chap. Jas 1:10. He now calls upon them to weep and howl over the ashes of their tombs and sanctuary, their warehouses and pleasant villas in flames, and Jerusalem the common grave of a ruined nation. It is indubitable that the early christians, from the words of Christ and of the prophets, knew that Jerusalem would be destroyed, and that the event would happen in that generation. The Spirit being poured out on the poor, blood and fire, and vapour of smoke, would attend the enemies of truth. The day that should burn as an oven and consume the wicked, both root and branch, would presently follow the rising of the Sun of righteousness on the church. The approach of the Roman legions against the rebellious city, and the incomparable horrors of the siege, had been three times foretold by our Lord, and always with tears; once in Galilee, once when riding on the untutored colt, and making his entry into Jerusalem, and once in the temple. The apostle therefore merely drops the hint, Ye see the day approaching. Heb 10:25. Those events, associated with luminous prophecies, greatly confirmed the faithful, and brought many over to the christian faith.
Jas 5:3-4. Your gold and silver is cankered, oxidized by lying in your bags and coffers. The rust shall be a witness against you, that you have not fed, as you ought to have done, the widow, the orphan, the blind, the lame; nay, you have withheld the extra rewards of harvest labours, attended with extra exertions. God has pledged himself to hear the cries of the poor.
Jas 5:5. Ye have lived in pleasure, eating the fat of sacrifices; epulati, as in Jerome, Ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Thus it reads in the Greek, but the spirit of the passage is as in Syrus. You have nourished your bodies, as victims are fed and nourished to the day of slaughter.
Jas 5:6. Ye have condemned and killed the just: . The word is given in the singular, and cannot be applied indefinitely to any particular martyr, as John, Stephen, and James, because in our scriptures it is the common title of Christ, who is called the Holy One, and the Just.
Act 3:14; Act 7:52. Paul also was called, that he might see that Just One, and hear the words of his mouth. Act 22:14. The reproof administered to these professors indicates that the crucifixion of Christ turned the scale of justice against the Hebrew nation.
Jas 5:9. Grudge not one against another: , be not contracted one towards another; let the liberality of God inspire you with liberal sentiments. He will give you the kingdom in due time.
Jas 5:11. Ye have heard of the patience of Job. He was the fifth from Abraham in the line of Ishmael, a fit example to be adduced here, because, like Job, the Hebrew christians had sustained joyfully the spoiling of their goods.
Jas 5:12. Above all things swear not. See the note on Mat 5:34. There is a remark in cumenius on this text which very much coincides with the society of Friends respecting swearing.
Jas 5:13. Is any merry; let him sing psalms. We have given us in the scriptures those delightful odes of thanksgiving, to raise our hearts above the sorrows of life. The primitive christians, it would seem, were eminent for sacred songs. Tertullian says, the wife sings to her husband. Jerome composed many hymns in his day; and those of St. Hilary, we are told, were sung all over France.
Jas 5:14-15. Is any sick among you; let him call for the elders of the church, to pray with and to comfort him. Peace of mind has a great tendency to restore the health of the body. Let them anoint him with oil, medically, to remove the complaint. Wise and aged men in those days were the common physicians of the poor. Sir John Chardin mentions a prevalent custom in the east, of applying a large emolient plaister to the abdomen, to remove interior complaints. Or let them anoint him in a religious view, that if it please God the sick may recover. Men then died in the church as we die; but means must not be despised. Our Lords disciples anointed many that were sick, and healed them. Mar 6:13. The papists adduce this text in favour of their extreme unction. Aye, but their oil is intended as a sign of pardon, and as a passport to heaven. The oil referred to by the apostle is sanative, that the sick may be healed, and that the joys of remission may exhilirate the heart.
Jas 5:16. Confess your faults one to another. This is chiefly relevant to the conscience, and is consoling to the mind. Confession of sin, one to another, is the way to vanquish pride, and to acquire a childlike simplicity. Nothing, says Masaillon, costs a man more than to acknowledge himself guilty. Pride is the first of our propensities; and as the secret conviction of our defects does not permit us to he ignorant, that if we confess ourselves to be what we really are, we shall merit the greatest contempt, we therefore have recourse to a mass of dissimulation concerning all that passes within, so that our whole life is in effect one continued disguise. In all our actions we assume the person of another, and never appear such as we really are. Rien ne coute plus a lhomme, qui de savouer coupable.
But what is most deplorable is, that our pride enters even into our humiliations; and in such sort, that the avowal of our crimes is no other than the criminal artifice to conceal them; and we carry our hypocrisy even to the foot of the tremendous tribunal, where we go to unbosom the secrets of our conscience, and to be judged before Jesus Christ.
Now, my brethren, the language of real contrition is humble, simple, natural, sincere; in such sort, that a soul truly touched, neither dissembles nor excuses its faults. Serm. sur la Confession. Though we reject auricular confession, yet a contrite sinner opening his heart to a minister greatly relieves his conscience.
Jas 5:17. Three years and six months. Three years only are mentioned in the old testament, but the six months mentioned by our Saviour, and St. James, were no doubt consonant to the received tradition of the nation. Yet the famine might occasion no more than the loss of three harvests.
Jas 5:20. He that converteth a sinner shall save a soul from death. All men by nature are sinners, and therefore need conversion; but those here referred to are the sinners mentioned in Jas 4:8, who had first been led astray by false teachers, and then became loose in their moral conduct. Such is the influence of false doctrine, that however trivial it may appear at first, it cannot be embraced without impairing the religious character, and bringing after it a train of evils. The sinners here described are said to be going on in the error of their way; not indeed that the way of all sinners is the effect of speculative error, for many go on in an evil course contrary to their convictions, and in violation of their own consciences. Yet in the fullest sense of the term, all sin is the effect of a departure from the truth, and the embracing of false and delusive notions of some kind or other, either in speculation or in practice. In some cases it may issue in pharisaical pride and self-righteousness, in others in antinomian presumption, indulging the vain hope of being saved at last, though living in error and in transgression.
But we are here assured that the way which the sinner has chosen leads to death, not to corporeal death only, but to that which sin produces, even death eternal, or the second death: Jas 1:15. The sinners way might begin in a single error, in a single act of wilful and flagrant transgression, which might have been pardoned on repentance; it is making sin his way, his course of action, habitually and perseveringly, that plunges him at last into the abyss of misery and woe, from whence there is no redemption.
How unutterably important therefore, and desirable, is the conversion of a sinner, to save him from such a fearful catastrophe; and how solicitous and laborious ought ministers and private christians to be, that so great a design may be accomplished. He that converteth a sinner shall save a soul from death, an immortal soul, capable of enjoying or suffering more than tongue can tell or heart conceive. All the boasted achievements of armies and navies are trifling when compared with this. If we gain for Christ a single friend only, he may be the means of bringing many more, and the work may go on multiplying and encreasing long after we are silent in the grave.
He shall also hide a multitude of sins. Only a small part of the evils of the human heart have been developed; we have seen the surface only, but cannot explore the depth. Jer 17:9-10. Who can tell how much evil was prevented by the conversion of Manasseh, who had already slain the Lords prophets, and filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. Who can estimate the evil prevented by the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the church of God, to say nothing of the good which he afterwards effected. Had none been converted to Christ, the world would ere this have been as Sodom and Gomorrha, and have suffered the vengeance of eternal fire.
Jas 5:1-6. From the merely careless rich James turns to the actively oppressive, the fellows of those whom he lashes in Jas 2:6 f. For him, of course, the prophetic Day of the Lord was more assured and more definite than to the Jews he addressed; he had in thought the apocalypse of Mark 13, which was to receive a first fulfilment in the fall of Jerusalem. Even Jews of the Dispersion would feel many reflex effects of that catastrophe.
Jas 5:2 recalls Mat 6:19. There was a kind of fuliginous vapour arising from the Dead Sea which rusted even gold, and this may have suggested the figure. For a testimony unto you is the figure of Mar 6:11. The dust of the city there is to be witness that the apostles have brought it their message; the rust of selfishly hoarded gold is similarly witness at the Judgement of the misuse of the stewardship of wealth. This night is thy life required of thee, is the message to these rich worldlings. The hire (Luk 12:20) . . . kept back by you crieth outit is another mute witness, like the rust; cf. the stones in Luk 19:40, Hab 2:11. On the OT title Yahweh Sebth, see 1Sa 1:3*. You fattened yourselves in a day of slaughter, like sheep grazing greedily an hour before the butcher comes. So follows the climax of the indictment. It may well be based on the magnificent passage in Wisdom 2, especially 20. That for James the righteous one was pre-eminently Jesus (Act 3:14) does not affect the wholly general reference of the term. It was indeed a special title of James himself, and occurs in Hegesippuss story of his martyrdom. He doth not resist you, echoes Isa 53:7; cf. especially Mat 23:35.
Verses 1 to 6 are addressed to rich men, and no doubt specially to those who make some claim of having the knowledge of God. They are bidden to weep and howl for the miseries that will take them, in contrast to their present living in luxury. How transient and empty are earthly richest God sees them as corrupted, decaying, and quickly at an end; and the garments of wealth as moth-eaten, not won from use, but from hanging, disused, in a closet.
The language here is sharp and scathing. When he speaks of gold and silver being cankered and rusted, it is of course the spiritual side of things of which he speaks: wealth is stored up with no concern for its proper use in relief of the needs of others, similar to the case of the wicked servant, who laid up the pound his master had entrusted to him, instead of making use of it. Such treasure, heaped together would be a witness against the wealthy in the last days of reckoning. And it would be as a consuming fire to their fleshly indulgence.
Verse 4 charges them with the oppression of laborers also, those whose work increases the riches of the employer, but are not given proper wages. God hears the cry of such. At their expense, the rich live in pleasure, indulging every selfish desire, nourishing not their spiritual life, but the lusts of their own hearts. It is like Nabal, satiated and drunken, at the time his sheep were shorn. 1Sa 25:36. Others suffer and are killed, while the rich indulge in every luxury. And the just, as sheep led to the slaughter, do not resist.
The world is well-nigh full of such abuse. Let the Christian have no part in such guilt. If one is rich in this world’s goods, let him be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to share what he has, with the genuine intention of pleasing God by the use of his abundance. (1Ti 6:17-19)
Yet beginning with verse 7 we see the proper attitude of the believer in regard to these evils. If he is oppressed, he is not to fight or make what he considers righteous demands. He is to be patient. For how long? Until the coming of the Lord! This is the only real hope of the child of God. It is vain to hope that men will willingly cease from oppression unless they are truly brought to God. But a Christian may learn to bear oppression in proportion as he rejoices in hope of the glory of God.
The farmer expects no crop until the seed has time to sprout and gradually grows and God designs this long waiting time as a picture of the long patience He has in dealing with us, so as to bring forth eventually the fruit that He seeks. And we too are to have the same patient character. It is God who sends the rain, whether early or latter, at the time of proper need, to bring it fruition the work of His grace. We cannot either hasten or delay it, so it is our wisdom to act in both faith and patience. It is this that leads to a true stablishing of the heart in sound, dependable characters and we are exhorted to this, for the coming of the Lord has drawn near.
But not only was there danger of retaliating against the oppression of the rich; there is that also of brethren nourishing a spirit of complaint against one another. But this is taking the place of judge, and the only true Judge stands ready to judge all that is wrongs and we may find that, because of our judging, we are exposed to judgment ourselves. This is not eternal judgment, of course, but that here and now.
We need patience in every direction, and in verse 10 are referred to prophets in the past, who have spoken in the Name of the Lord. Almost none of them was without persecution and affliction, and the patience with which they bore it is certainly an example for us.
Real happiness is not found in having everything favorable, but in enduring tribulation patiently. And the patience of Job to commended to us as an example. This was not primarily suffering from men, but from circumstances of adversity, though men added to it, some who despised him simply because he was down, others (his friends) who accused him unjustly. Job’s patience at first was more commendable than later on, when he bitterly complained; yet he did endure until God showed to him what was “the end of the Lord,” that is, the object the Lord had in mind in allowing all his affliction. The end proved that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. So it will prove in every cases
“But above all things, my brethren swear not.” It may seem strange that this negative is stressed above all others; but this is a vital New Testament teaching in contrast to the Old Testament. The dispensation of law proves man to be sinful and untrustworthy. Tested under a system where oaths and vows were allowed, he proved himself without strength to perform. The Lord Jesus therefore in Mat 5:33-37 solemnly forbid these things. Actually only God has a right to swear by heaven or by earths or by anything else, for He made them. Let me therefore remember to keep the creature place in confessed weakness: for to add the emphasis of an oath to our words is actually a mark of unseemly prides and places us in danger of falling into present judgment.
Now we have simple advice as regards the circumstances of daily life. If there is the trial of affliction, let one pray. This itself is a source of comfort and relief, for God’s presence is realized where there is simple, unaffected prayer. Does one’s heart overflow with rejoicing? Then to sing Psalms is a precious outlet for this.
If in sickness, one here is told to call for the elders of the assembly, that they may pray over him, and anoint him with oil in the Name of the Lord. We must remember of course that this epistle was written to Israelites at the introduction of the present dispensation of grace, when elders had been appointed in each assembly by the apostles. (Cf.Acts 14:23) After the church was established, there was no provision for the continuance of this appointing of elders, so that there are none definitely marked out as such today. Of course there is no doubt that there are still men who have the characteristics that make them elders in reality, though not as appointed to such office. As to the anointing with oil, Israelites would attach special significance to this, as in the case of the cleansed leper. Lev 14:16-18.
It seems very clear therefore that these instructions in the book of James were intended specifically for Jewish believers in the early church, for they could not possibly be a pattern for saints to follow down through the history of the church until now. On the other hand, John is the last of all the writers of Scripture, and he also gives Instruction as regards prayer for the sick, with assurance of the Lord hearing, so long as we ask according to His will. And in this case, he says nothing at all of calling for the elders, or of anointing one with oil. And of course he writes to all believers, the entire family of Gods so that we may fully take this for the day in which we lives and count much upon God in dependent, believing prayer.
Though these early Jewish believers were, in the case of sickness, instructed to call for the elders of the assembly, who would both pray over them and anoint them with oil in the Name of the Lord, yet let us observe that it is the prayer of faith, not the anointing, that saves the sick. This salvation of course is the delivering of one from his sickness. If his sickness was the result of having committed sins, this would be forgiven. John however (1Jn 5:1-21 :l2-15) stipulates that if one had “sinned unto death,” no recovery could be therefore it would not be faith to pray for his recovery. No doubt in every case some spiritual discernment would be required as to whether we could pray in faith; for this would no doubt involve not only the sin committed, but the circumstances and the motives connected with this.
Therefore it is becoming for saints to confess their offenses to one another, as matters requiring prayerful help; and while the healing here may be primarily that of recovery from illness, yet spiritual recovery is certainly just as needful. And in both directions “the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” What an incentive to a walk of practical righteousness, end also to unceasing, earnest prayer!
The example of Elias (Elijah) is a striking one. His nature was no different than ours (indeed he proved himself subject to discouragement and complaining): yet in faith he prayed earnestly that it might not rain. This is certainly a most unusual prayer (prayer for rain is generally more understandable); but he discerned the evil state of his nation to be such as required drastic measures, and there is no doubt that it was God who directed him in his prayer, and then restrained the rain for three and a half years.
And Elijah waited all this time before praying that the rain might fall again. Yet we must not think that the power was simply in his prayer. Rather, his prayer was subject to the Word of God, in which the power actually liest as Elijah himself declares, “I have done all these things at Thy word.” (1Ki 18:36) Dependent prayer will both lead to understanding the Word of God, and desiring that God’s will should be carried out. Notice too the long wait before the prayer resulted in blessing “the earth brought forth her fruit.” True prayer is not impatient, but can calmly wait upon God.
Now the epistle ends as practically as it begins. While games has given urgent exhortation as to our obeying the truth of God, yet now he faces the fact that saints do not always take such exhortation to heart. If this is the case, however, and one wanders from the truth, there is good work that another can do. By means of the truth itself, one may help in the recovery of another. This principle applies whether the wanderer has never been saved in the first place, or whether he is a believer. If by grace we are able to convert (or turn around) a sinner from the error of his way, this both saves a soul from death, and hides a multitude of sins, He is speaking herd of physical death, just as in Ezekiel l8:4: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” The term “soul” is used for the person, rather than the entity within him, also called “soul.” Compare also 1Pe 3:20. Indulging in sin may lead one to a premature grave, as 1Jn 5:1-21 :l6 shows us. Also, when one sin is indulged, it is practically bound to lead to what is worse, “a multitude of sins.” The Lord give His saints diligence to engage wholeheartedly in this good work of both caring for souls, and covering sins. As though not to take away the force of this, nothing is added by way even of a closing sentence.
5 The Coming of The Lord
(James 5)
The apostle has presented the beauty of the practical Christian life in the midst of a vast profession (James 1); he has given us the tests that prove the reality of those who profess the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ (James 2); he has warned us against the different evils that are found amongst those who make a profession of being in relationship with the true God (James 3 and James 4). Now, in the closing chapter (James 5), he clearly distinguishes between the two classes, on the one hand the vast mass of mere profession, on the other those in its midst who have personal faith in the Lord Jesus. When James wrote his Epistle, the twelve tribes formed the great profession, and the godly remnant the true believers. Today it is professing Christendom and true believers in its midst to whom these truths apply.
The apostle sets before us the true condition of each class, the one outwardly rich and prosperous, the other poor and suffering. He presents the Lord’s coming as ending both conditions. He exhorts the godly to quiet endurance in the midst of suffering, and shows that the sufferings they pass through form part of the Lord’s discipline for their blessing.
1. The rich in this world (Jam 5:1-6)
(Vv. 1-3). The apostle first appeals to those who, while making a profession of recognising the true God, yet having no personal faith in Christ, make riches and prosperity in this world their great object. Such would do well to look on to the judgment about to overwhelm the religious profession, and to weep and to howl in view of the miseries that are coming on them. Their possessions will not only fail and become corrupted, but they will be the means of their own destruction, even as a fire destroys. How often have riches, with all the opportunities they afford for the gratification of every lust, proved the truth of the apostle’s words, by becoming a means to destroy both body and soul. Your gold and silver … shall eat your flesh as fire. Moreover, time will soon be passed, for we are living in the last days (N.Tn.). Thus the rich in this world are warned that judgment is coming (verse 1), riches are failing (verse 2), men are being destroyed, body and soul, and time is passing (verse 3).
(Vv. 4, 5). Not only do unsanctified riches destroy their owners, but too often they lead to the poor being defrauded and persecuted, rather than being benefited. Moreover, apart from any persecution of the poor, riches tend to a life of idle luxury in which the poor are ignored and forgotten. Even with Christians, one has truly said, Riches are a positive danger for us, because they nourish pride, and tend to dispose the heart to keep aloof from the poor with whom the Lord associated Himself in this world (J.N.D.).
Nevertheless, the poor are the special care of the Lord. He is not indifferent to their needs, nor deaf to their cries. The Lord Himself became poor that we through His poverty might be rich. It is to the poor the gospel is sent; and God hath chosen the foolish, the weak, the base, the despised of this world. There may, indeed, be some mighty and some high-born that are called, but, says the Scripture, not many (1Co 1:26-29).
(V. 6). Further, the rich have not only defrauded and neglected the poor, but they have condemned and killed the Just. The One who can say, I am poor and needy, is not wanted by an easy-going profession which says, I am rich, and increased with goods. The rich in Israel condemned and killed the Just; the rich in Christendom put Him outside their door (Compare Psa 40:17 and Rev 3:17).
2. The poor of the flock (Jam 5:7-11)
(Vv. 7, 8). God is not indifferent to the wrongs of His poor people, nor to the rejection of Christ by the world. At present God does not generally show by any public intervention His care for His people. When He does intervene, it will be in judgment on the world. At present He is acting in grace, not willing that any should perish. For His public intervention we must await the coming of the Lord. To this time the apostle refers when he says, Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. In view of all that the Lord’s people may have to suffer, these two things are pressed upon them: present patience and the immediate coming of the Lord. When the Lord comes, it will be manifest that God has not been indifferent to the sufferings and wrongs of His people. When He comes, tribulation will overtake those who have troubled them, and those who have been troubled will be brought into rest (2Th 1:6-10). In the meantime, God’s people are called to exercise patience, like the husbandman who has to labour with long patience, waiting for the precious fruit of the earth. When He comes, His people will reap in heavenly blessings the precious fruit of their long patience. In view of the precious fruits we are going to receive, and the imminent coming of the Lord, the apostle says, Stablish your hearts.
True waiting for the Lord – not simply the doctrine of the second advent – will keep the soul in separation from the world with its riches, its pleasures and its wantonness. It will lift the soul above all suffering and slight, come from what quarter they may. It will enable the soul to endure patiently through every conflict; and to walk in calm confidence, not reviling when reviled, nor threatening when made to suffer wrongfully, even as Christ did not resist when condemned by the rulers of this world (1Pe 2:21-23).
(V. 9). In result we shall complain not one against another. Knowing that the Lord at His coming will put everything right, we are exhorted to go on in quietness of spirit, content with such things as we have, not complaining of our own lot, nor condemning others who appear to be in easier circumstances than ourselves, for the Judge standeth before the door. It is not for us to judge what is best for ourselves in our present circumstances. To complain is to condemn ourselves by calling in question His ways with us. We must allow that the Lord is the Judge and knows what is best for each one.
Moreover, we are to beware of a complaining spirit that is irritated by those who may be maligning us in secret. It is not for us to seek our revenge, but to endure patiently. The attempt to defend ourselves ends too often in acting in the flesh, thus taking ourselves out of the hands of the Judge and bringing ourselves under condemnation. Well for us to endure silently, knowing that the Judge stands before the door. He is not indifferent to the wrongs of His people. He has perfect knowledge of all that takes place, and He is just and impartial in His judgment. One has truly said, It is of all importance that we should hold in check the movements of nature. We should do it if we saw God before us; we should certainly do it in the presence of man we wished to please. Now God is always present; therefore to fail in this calmness and moderation is a proof that we have forgotten the presence of God (J.N.D.). Let us then seek grace to remember that not only the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, but also that the Judge standeth before the door.
(Vv. 10, 11). The apostle reminds us of two examples of men who, in the past, suffered and endured. In the prophets we see men who suffered unjustly and, instead of reviling their persecutors, took their sufferings patiently, with the result that they were happy in spite of what they wrongfully suffered. They are examples for ourselves when called to suffer unjustly for the Name of Jesus and the confession of the truth. We are to follow in the steps of Him who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously (1Pe 2:22; 1Pe 2:23). The Judge standeth before the door, and we do well to leave the judgment with Him.
Furthermore, we have the outstanding example of Job. In his case, we see not only the patience of a sufferer, but also the end of the Lord. If, in the presence of suffering and wrongs, we patiently endure, we shall find that in the end, The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. Job’s case is specially instructive, as in his troubles we learn that, whatever trials we are permitted to pass through, God uses them for our discipline. In all that Job passed through, we see the discipline and chastening of God for the blessing of His servant. Job had begun to take pleasure in his own goodness and trust in his own righteousness. To destroy Job’s confidence in himself and his own goodness, the malice of Satan is allowed, to a limited point, to sift him with terrible trials. The result of all the trials that Job passed through from Satan the accuser, from his wife and from his friends, was that he not only triumphed over all the power of the enemy, but through the trials he learned and judged the secret and unsuspected evil of his own heart. Taking pleasure in his own goodness, which indeed was real and owned of God, he had said, When the eye saw me, it gave witness to me; but when at last he gets into the presence of God, he says, Mine eye seeth Thee; wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes (Job 39:11; Job 42:5; Job 42:6).
By the grace of God, Job is triumphantly patient in the presence of trials, and by this same grace he is brought to know himself in the presence of the Lord. Then, having learnt his own heart, he ends by learning the heart of the Lord, for he found that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. God, having searched Job’s heart and rebuked his enemies, abundantly blessed him, for we read that the Lord turned the captivity of Job … also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before … so the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning (Job 42:10; Job 42:12).
(V. 12). The apostle has warned us against impatience in the presence of wrongs that would seek to revenge the wrongs in forgetfulness that the Judge standeth before the door. By thus taking our case into our own hands we may fall into condemnation (verse 9). Now he warns us that there is another way in which we may forget God and come under condemnation. In complaining against men, we may forget the presence of God; but also in defending ourselves we may so forget what is due to God that we seek to confirm our statements by irreverently invoking the Name of God, or heaven, or earth. It is the utmost irreverence, in the heat of passion, to use divine Names to seek to gain credit before men. The apostle therefore says, Above all things, my brethren, … let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay.
(V. 13). The apostle passes on to speak of our great resource in the presence of wrongs. He presumes that we are in the presence of a great profession and that the true people of God will suffer evil. He has warned us that, from whatever source the wrongs may come, whether from the world or our brethren, we are to beware of complaining and seeking to avenge ourselves against the wrongdoer (verse 9); and we are not to defend ourselves with oaths (verse 12). What then are we to do? His answer is simple: Does any one among you suffer evil? let him pray (N.Tn.). Our natural tendency is to revile when reviled, to meet charges with counter charges, and malice with malice. This is simply to meet flesh with flesh. God’s way for us is very different and very simple. In the presence of every wrong we have a God-given resource. Instead of taking things into our own hands we are to take them to God in prayer. We need not underestimate the wrong; we may face it in all its malice and evil; but having done so, we are to draw near to God and spread it out before Him in prayer. Thus the natural fleshly feeling of revenge will be subdued, the heart will be consoled and the spirit calmed. One has said, In every case of affliction, prayer is our resource; we own our dependence and we confide in His goodness. The heart draws near to Him, it tells out to Him its need and its sorrow, laying it down on the throne and the heart of God.
Moreover, it is not only our sorrows that may come in between our souls and God, but also our joys. So the apostle tells us, Is any happy? let him sing psalms. Our joys as our sorrows are to be the occasion of turning to God. There is an outlet for our sorrows in prayer, and an outlet for our joy in psalms.
(Vv. 14, 15). The apostle has spoken of the wrongs we may suffer at the hands of others. He now speaks of another form of affliction – the dealings of the Lord. Apart from what others may do in malice to wrong us, the Lord may deal with us in love for our blessing. Thus sickness may come upon us. This sickness may be from ills common to these mortal bodies, or it may be the direct chastisement of the Lord; but in either case our resource is prayer. We are not to view the sickness as a matter of accident, but to see the Lord’s hand in it; and turning to the Lord in faith, we shall find that He is ready to listen to and answer the prayer of faith. If sins have been committed, they shall be forgiven. Here, the fact of prayer and seeking the prayers of others expresses the submission of the soul to that which God has allowed, instead of giving way to complaints and murmurings that would be the expression of a heart in rebellion.
(Vv. 16-18). The prayer to God may be accompanied by confession to one another. There is no thought of confession to a priest or to an elder, but from one to another. One has truly said, Whatever may be the state of ruin in which the assembly of God is found, we can always confess our faults one to another, and pray for one another, that we may be healed. This does not require the existence of official order, but it supposes humility, brotherly confidence and love. We cannot indeed confess our faults without confidence in a brother’s love. We may choose a wise and discreet brother (instead of opening our hearts to indiscreet persons), but this choice alters nothing as to the guilty person’s state of soul. Not hiding the evil, but opening his heart, he frees his humbled conscience: perhaps also his body (J.N.D.).
To encourage us in prayer, the apostle turns our thoughts to Elias to show that the fervent supplication of the righteous man has much power (N.Tn.). Elias was a man of like passions as ourselves. Like us he had his seasons of failure and despondency, and yet, in answer to his prayer, the rain was withheld for three years and six months. In his history we see the display of outward power under the authority of God, for Elijah said, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word (1Ki 17:1). Here we are permitted to see the secret source of this public display of power. He prayed and God heard and answered his prayer.
Thus in all this portion of the Epistle we learn that, whether it be in the presence of wrongs from others, whether in sickness, or in wrongs that we ourselves may have done, prayer is our resource, and the prayer of faith – the fervent supplication of a righteous man – availeth much.
(Vv. 19, 20). The apostle closes the Epistle by leading away our thoughts from our wrongs and our sicknesses to think of the need and blessing of others. If any err from the truth, love will not be indifferent to the erring one, but will seek to bring him back, knowing that, if he is recovered, he is saved from the way of death and his sins are covered. Alas! offended vanity and malice that flow from jealousy will, to serve their own ends, uncover the sins of an erring one, even if long since confessed and the erring one restored. Love ever covers that which has been judged and put away.
Mr. D’s Notes on James
Jam 5:1-6
One of my relatives owned his own business, working hard, keeping everything going smoothly throughout his life. He poured many long hours, or you might say his life into the business looking forward to his retirement. He and his wife had a nice home, furniture and cars.
He had two children but they weren’t offered any help from their father, because he was laying his riches away for the future. He did nothing to benefit others with his money, and didn’t benefit himself very much. They lived fairly modestly for the wealth that they had accumulated.
One day someone found one hundred dollar bills lying around the alley behind his garage. He had forgotten to close his safe and the neighbor kids had found the open safe and were playing with the money.
He had a foul mouth and condemned anyone that did good for others. His brother-in-law was a minister, but I did not know this until the man’s funeral.
When retirement age arrived, he sold his business for a great deal of money and set out to enjoy his gain. Within six months the man was laying in a hospital with terminal lung cancer that had spread to his brain. He never left the hospital, though he lived another several months.
Slaving his entire life to gain riches, he laid up stores in earthly investments, not looking at his eternal bank account.
He didn’t get to enjoy his hard earned riches
Oh, how this man fits this passage of Scripture. It was of interest that only after he had been stripped of all desire for his wealth and stripped of his health did he consider spiritual things. God in His infinite grace reached down through a born again Presbyterian pastor to touch this man’s life for himself. The pastor mentioned in the funeral sermon that the man had opened his heart to God.
And the heavy blast strikes the reader. Oh, how appropriate to our own day. The rich in James day were probably the middle class of our day. Weep and howl for your miseries – this guy isn’t nice. Your riches are polluted and your clothes are rotting off your back. Moth-eaten – doesnt James know how offensive it is to intimate that you have moths in your home. When I was a kid that was like admitting you had mice or lice in the house.
James really lays out his thinking to the rich. The rich must have been way off base spiritually. We might make note that these were people that had not had a lot of good preaching down at First Baptist on the corner; they were saved but for the most part not well grounded in the Word. Jews with an Old Testament background, but no real New Testament teaching it would seem. Their pastor wasn’t a graduate of Jerusalem Bible College and seminary, but probably just a graduate of Read and Study Institute.
How does this link to the previous context might be your question. He has just pointed out that the planning without God is improper. Several commentators assume that he was speaking to Jewish businessmen of the day that would go to a different location and make a fortune and return home.
If this is the case, then he is just continuing to point out the folly of their way of life in an attempt to get the men to change their ways and to conform to the proper Christian living principles set forth.
This rather ties in well with the whole thought of the book – not giving preference to the rich etc. It would seem the rich were a problem among the believers in these churches.
Go to now, [ye] rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon [you].
The verb tenses are of note in this verse. They are told to weep, a one time act, but they are also told to howl which is a present tense or something that was to continue. They might weep, but that turns to howling when the full realization of their miseries is clear in their mind. These problems are to come upon them – this is also a present tense, something that is probably already upon the reader. “Come upon” can relate to an attack on someone. This isn’t just a problem of life, this is real misery. “Miseries” relates to hardship and calamity. Weep and howl when your calamity is upon you, oh rich man.
It would seem that these miseries are due to the sins of omission in the last verse of chapter four. They knew to do good, but did not do it, thus sinned.
Moving on, I would like to share the account of an old man in my hometown. I do not know his name, nor do I know where he lived, but the whole town knew the man. Every now and then he would come to town to buy groceries and supplies. He came to town in a horse and wagon. It wasn’t just a buggy; it was a freight wagon like Charles Ingles drove in “LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE” the type with just a rectangular box on four wheels and a seat on top.
This old man would drive into town from the south on the main paved highway. The only modern convenience his wagon appeared to have was a triangle danger, slow-moving sign on the back – reflective of course.
His appearance rather well fit a freight wagon driver. He was dirty, long hair with a long unkempt beard. His clothes were testament to his lack of darkening the door of a clothing store for quite some years. His coat had holes in it and was quite soiled.
Not a pretty sight, but it may give us some indication of what James was getting at when he mentions the rich people’s clothes were moth eaten.
Many in that day were wealthy to the point of having hundreds of garments; in fact one is to known to have owned over five thousand garments.
I am told that Jackie Onasis, when alive, had an entire large warehouse for storing her wardrobe – the out of date stuff of course. She kept a small wardrobe in every house that they owned and in every city that they visited.
Most would suggest, what is the purpose of buying this many items in the first place, and why hang onto them in a warehouse in the final place. What a waste of money and especially time, looking for them, buying them, cleaning them and then preparing them for storage.
This idea of moth eaten is of interest in the thought of our illustration. Imagine the rich person like Jackie Onasis hearing that the warehouse had been invaded by moths. What a loss, what a problem. Moral of the story, don’t buy a lot of clothes so you don’t have to go through such heartache.
Before we begin the verse, I might mention that some of the common commodities of the day were oils and grains, which spoil and rot. This may be what James had reference to, when he mentioned, “Your riches are corrupted.”
5:1 Go {1} to now, [ye] rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon [you].
(1) He denounces utter destruction to the wicked and profane rich men, and such as are drowned in their riotousness, mocking their foolish confidence when there is nothing indeed more vain than such things.
VI. MONEY AND PATIENT ENDURANCE 5:1-18
The final practical problem James addressed involves money. He wrote these instructions to warn his readers of a danger, to inform them of the ramifications of the problem, and to exhort them to deal with the situation appropriately. This is his third reference to the rich and the poor (cf. Jas 1:9-11; Jas 2:1-12). We might also consider Jas 4:13-17, as well as Jas 5:1-6, as dealing with the rich. [Note: For some helpful insights on the way Christians might speak and act when confronted with wealth, status, and power on the one hand, or poverty, ignorance, and helplessness on the other, see Duane Warden, "The Rich and Poor in James: Implications for Institutionalized Partiality," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 43:2 (June 2000):253-57.]
A. Warnings for the Rich 5:1-6
It is characteristic of James’ well-balanced style that he opened and closed his exhortations (in Jas 2:1 to Jas 5:6) with references to the rich. There is also a return in this chapter to encouragement to persevere in the will of God when tempted to depart from it (cf. ch. 1). Thus the book demonstrates a somewhat chiastic structure.
". . . wealth brings consternation [Jas 5:1], ends up in corrosion [Jas 5:2-3], and results in condemnation [Jas 5:4-6]." [Note: Blue, p. 832.]
1. The introduction of the problem 5:1
Again James confronted his readers as a prophet (cf. Jas 4:13). Rich people are usually happy that they have wealth. However, James challenged his rich readers to weep and howl in anguish, not repentance. The Bible nowhere condemns the rich for being rich. Money is not evil (cf. 1Ti 6:10). Nevertheless God’s Word consistently warns the rich of the temptations that financial abundance brings with it. These temptations include a false sense of security, a desire to control others, and personal pride. The rich should not rejoice too much. Material misery may be just around the corner (cf. Jas 1:10-11).
"The persons here addressed are not the same as those addressed in iv. 13. It is no longer the careless worldliness of the bustling trader which is condemned, but the more deadly worldliness of the unjust capitalist or landlord." [Note: Mayor, p. 153.]
Probably James had in mind the rich as a class, not exclusively wealthy believers or wealthy unbelievers.
Chapter 23
THE FOLLIES AND INIQUITIES OF THE RICH;
THEIR MISERABLE END.
Jam 5:1-6
HERE, if anywhere in the Epistle, the writer glances aside from the believing Jews of the Dispersion, to whom the letter as a whole is addressed, and in a burst of righteous indignation which reminds us of passages in the old Hebrew Prophets, denounces members of the twelve tribes who not even in name are Christians. In the preceding section such a transition is in preparation. When he is condemning the godless presumption of those seekers after wealth who dared, without thought of their own frailty and of Gods absolute control over their lives and fortunes, to think and speak confidently of their schemes for future gains, he seems to be thinking almost as much of unbelieving Jews as of those who have accepted the Gospel. Here he appears for the moment to have left the latter entirely out of sight, and to be addressing those wealthy Jews who not only continued the policy and shared the guilt of the opponents and murderers of Christ, but by scandalous tyranny and injustice oppressed their poor brethren, many of whom were probably Christians. The severity of the condemnation is not the only or the main reason for thinking that the paragraph is addressed to unconverted Jews. The first ten verses of chapter 4. are very severe; and there also, as here, the affectionate form of address, “brethren,” so frequent elsewhere in the Epistle, is wanting; but there is no doubt that those ten verses, like the paragraphs which immediately precede and follow them, are addressed to Christians. What is so exceptional in the passage now under consideration is the entire absence of any exhortation to repentance, or of any indication that there is still hope of being reconciled to the offended Jehovah. They are to “weep and howl,” not in penitence, but in despair. The end is at hand; the day of reckoning is approaching; and it is a fearful account which awaits them. In this respect there is a very marked difference between this paragraph and the one which follows it. In both the nearness of the Day of Judgment is the motive; but this nearness is to “the rich” a terror, to “the brethren” a comfort. This difference would be very difficult to explain if both paragraphs were addressed to believing Jews.
Throughout the Epistle there are strains which sound like echoes from the Prophets of the Old Testament, with whom St. James has much in common; but the passage before us is specially in their spirit. It would not surprise us to meet with it in Isaiah or Jeremiah. One or two similar passages are worth comparing: “Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! When thou hast ceased to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou hast made an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee”. {Isa 33:1} “Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil? Thou hast consulted shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and hast sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it”. {Hab 2:9} In the New Testament the passage which most resembles it is our Lords denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. {Mat 23:13-36}
“Go to now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you.” We have the same combination of words in Isaiah: “In their streets they gird themselves with sackcloth: on their housetops, and in their broad places, every one howleth, weeping abundantly”. {Isa 15:3} And in an earlier chapter we have a still closer parallel to the spirit of this verse: “Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand”. {Isa 13:6} The miseries to which St. James alludes are those which shall befall them at “the coming of the Lord” (Jam 5:8). It is the impending judgment of the tyrannous rich that is primarily in his mind. He may also have foreseen something of the horrors of the Jewish war and the destruction of Jerusalem, and in accordance with Christs prophecy may have considered these calamities typical of the judgment, or part and parcel of it. In the Jewish war the wealthy classes suffered terribly. Against them, as having been friendly to the Romans, and having employed Roman influence in oppressing their own countrymen, the fury of the fanatical party of the Zealots was specially directed; and although the blow fell first and heaviest upon the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea, yet it was felt by all Jews throughout the world.
They imagined themselves to be rich; they were really most poor and most miserable. So sure is the doom that is coming upon them, that in prophetical style St. James begins to speak of it as already here; like a seer, he has it all before his eyes. “Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver are rusted.” We have here three kinds of possessions indicated. First, stores of various kinds of goods. These are “corrupted”; they have become rotten and worthless. Secondly, rich garments, which in the East are often a very considerable portion of a wealthy mans possessions. They have been stored up so jealously and selfishly that insects have preyed upon them and ruined them. And thirdly, precious metals. These have become tarnished and rusted, through not having been put to any rational use. Everywhere their avarice has been not only sin, but folly. It has failed of its sinful object. The unrighteous hoarding has tended not to wealth, but to ruin. And thus the rust of their treasures becomes “a testimony against them.” In the ruin of their property their own ruin is portrayed; and just as corruption, and the moths, and the rust consume their goods, so shall the fire of Gods judgment consume the owners and abusers of them. They have reserved all this store for their selfish enjoyment, but God has reserved them for His righteous anger.
“Ye laid up your treasure in the last days.”
“There was the monstrous folly of it. The end of all things was close at hand; the last days” had already begun; and these besotted graspers after wealth were still heaping up treasures which they would never have any opportunity of using. The Authorized Version spoils this by a small, but rather serious, mistranslation. It has, “Ye have heaped up treasure together for the last days,” instead of “in the last days” ( ). The case is precisely that which Christ foretold: “As were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man”. {Mat 24:37-39} “Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed”. {Luk 17:28-30}
That the “last days” mean the days immediately preceding the Second Advent can scarcely be doubted. The context renders this very probable, and the exhortation in the next section renders it practically certain. “Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Murmur not, brethren, one against another, that ye be not judged: behold, the Judge standeth before the doors.” That the first Christians believed that Jesus Christ would return in glory during the lifetime of many who were then living, will hardly be disputed by any one who is acquainted with the literature of the Apostolic age and of the period immediately following. Nor, perhaps, will many at the present time care to dispute that this erroneous opinion was shared, for a time at any rate, even by Apostles.
“Ye are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time,” says St. Peter. {1Pe 1:5} “We that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in nowise precede them that are fallen asleep”; {1Th 4:15; cf. 1Co 15:51} and again, writing some years later, “In the last days grievous times shall come,” about which Timothy is to be on his guard, says St. Paul. {2Ti 3:1} And much nearer to the close of the Apostolic age we have St. John telling his little children that “it is the last hour”. {1Jn 2:18} Some twenty or thirty years later St. Ignatius writes to the Ephesians, “These are the last times. Henceforth let us be reverent; let us fear the longsuffering of God, lest it turn into a judgment against us. For either let us fear the wrath which is to come, or let us love the grace which now is” (11.).
Only very gradually did the Christian Church attain to something like a true perspective as to the duration of Christs kingdom upon earth. Only very gradually did even the Apostles obtain a clear vision as to the nature of the kingdom which their Lord had founded and left in their charge, for them to occupy until He came. Pentecost did not at once give them perfect insight into the import of their own commission. Much still remained to be learned, slowly, by experience. And if this was the case with Apostles, we need not wonder that it was so with James, the Lords brother. It is remarkable that Christs solemn warning against speculating as to the time of His return seems to have made only partial impression upon the disciples. “Of that day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is”. {Mar 13:32-33} But it is our gain that they were allowed for a time to hold a belief that the Lord would return very speedily. The Epistles and Gospels were written by men under the influence of that belief, and such influence is a very considerable guarantee for the honesty of the writers. It was because the rich whom St. James here denounces had no such belief in a speedy judgment, indeed had very little thought of a judgment at all, that they were guilty of such folly and iniquity.
Having indicated their folly in amassing wealth which was no blessing to themselves or others, but simply deteriorated by being hoarded, St. James passes on to point out their iniquity. And first of all he mentions the gross injustice which is frequently inflicted by these wealthy employers of labor upon those who work for them. The payment of the wages which have been earned is either unfairly delayed or not paid at all. “Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out.” Several passages in the Old Testament appear to be in the writers mind. “Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: in his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee.” {Deu 24:14-15; cf. Deu 24:17, and Lev 19:13} “And I will come near you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and that turn away the stranger from his right, and fear not Me, saith the Lord.” {Mal 3:5; cf. Jer 22:13} Perhaps also, “Their cry came upon unto God by reason of the bondage”; {Exo 2:23} and “The voice of thy brothers blood crieth unto me from the ground.” {Gen 4:10} The frequency with which the subject is mentioned seems to show that the evil which St. James here denounces had long been a common sin among the Jews. Tobit, in his charge to his son, says, “What is hateful to thee do not thou to others. Let not the wages of any man, which hath wrought for thee, tarry with thee (abide with thee all night), but give him it out of hand.” {/RAPC Tob 4:14} And in Ecclesiasticus, which St. James seems so often to have in his thoughts, we read, “The bread of the needy is the life of the poor; he that defraudeth him thereof ( ) is a man of blood. He that taketh away his neighbors living slayeth him; and he that defraudeth the laborer of his hire ( ) is a blood-shedder” (Sir 34:21-22).
But none of these passages determine for us a point of some interest in the construction used by St. James. The words translated “of you,” in “of you kept back by fraud,” literally mean “from you” ( , not ). Two explanations are suggested:
1. The fraudulent action proceeds from-them, and hence “from” becomes nearly equivalent to “by”; and the use of “from” (), rather than “by” (), is all the more natural because the word for “kept back by fraud” has the former preposition compounded with it.
2. “From you,” being placed between “kept back by fraud” and “crieth out” ( ), may go with either, and it will be better to take it with “crieth out:The hire kept back by fraud crieth out from you.” The wrongfully detained wages are with the rich employers, and therefore it is from the place where they are detained that their cry goes up to heaven. The passage quoted above from Exo 2:23 slightly favors this view, for there the Septuagint has, “Their cry came up unto God from their labors” ( ); but the passages are not really parallel.
The word used for “fields” () is worth noting. It implies extensive lands, and therefore adds point to the reproach. The men who own such large properties are not under the temptations to fraud which beset the needy, and it is scandalous that those who can so well afford to pay what is due should refuse. Moreover, the labor of mowing and reaping such fields must be great, and therefore the laborers have well earned their wage. The words “into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth” probably come from Isaiah, {Isa 5:9} and perhaps St. James was led to them by the thought that these extensive fields are the result of fraud or violence; for the Verse which precedes the words in Isaiah run thus: “Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no room, and ye be made to dwell alone in the midst of the land!” No other New Testament writer uses the expression “the Lord of Sabaoth,” although St. Paul once quotes it from Isaiah. {Rom 9:29} Bede may be right in thinking that its point here is that the rich fancy that the poor have no protector; whereas the Lord of hosts hears their cry. And there is possibly another point in mowers and reapers being selected as the representatives of all hired laborers. Calvin suggests that it is specially iniquitous that those whose toil supplies us with food should themselves be reduced to starvation; and to this it has been added that the hard-heartedness of the grasping employers is indeed conspicuous when not even the joy of the harvest moves them to pay the poor who work for them their hardly earned wage.
The second feature in the iniquity of the rich is the voluptuous and prodigal life which they lead themselves, at the very time that they inflict such hardships upon the poor. “Ye lived delicately on the earth, and took your pleasure; ye nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.” The aorists should perhaps be translated as aorists throughout these verses: “Ye laid up your treasureye lived delicately,” etc. rather than, “Ye have laid up, ye have lived,” etc. The point of view is that of the Day of Judgment, when these wealthy sinners are confronted by the enormities which they committed during their lives. But it is a case in which it is quite permissible to render the Greek aorist by the English perfect. “On the earth” may either mean “during your lifetime,” or may be in contrast to “entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.” All the while that the cry against their iniquity was ascending to heaven, as an accumulating charge that would at last overwhelm them, they were living in luxury on earth, thinking nothing of the wrath to come. It was the converse of the old Epicurean doctrine, so graphically described by the late Laureate in “The Lotus-eaters.” There it is the gods who “lie beside their nectar” in ceaseless enjoyment, “careless of mankind,” who send up useless lamentations, which provoke no more than a smile among the neglectful deities. Here it is the men who revel in boundless luxury, careless of the righteous God, whose vengeance they provoke by persistent neglect of His commands.
The meaning of “in a day of slaughter” is not easily determined. The “as”-“as in a day of slaughter”-must certainly be omitted. It was inserted to make more evident one of the possible interpretations of “day of slaughter.” “Ye fattened your heart with perpetual banqueting, as if life were made up of killing and eating.” “And in that day did the Lord, the Lord of hosts, call to weeping and to mourning, and baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: and behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine: let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”. {Isa 22:12-13} If this be the idea which is expressed by the words in question, then the meaning would be, “Ye fared sumptuously every day.” But it is possible that “in a day of slaughter” here balances “in the last days” just above. As the folly of heaping up treasure was augmented by the fact that it was done when the end of all things was at hand, so the iniquity of voluptuous living was augmented by the fact that their own destruction was at hand. In this case the wealthy owners, like stalled oxen, were unconsciously fattening themselves for the slaughter. Instead of sacrificing themselves to Gods love and mercy, they had sacrificed and devoured their poor brethren. They had fed themselves, and not the flock; and unwittingly they were preparing themselves as a sacrifice to Gods wrath. For a sacrifice, either willingly or unwillingly, every one must be.
Did any of those whom St. James here condemns remember his words when, a few years later, thousands of the Jews of the Dispersion were once more gathered together at Jerusalem for the sacrifice of the Passover, and there became unwilling sacrifices to Gods slow but sure vengeance? As already pointed out, it was the wealthy among them who specially suffered. Their prosperity and their friendship with the Romans provoked the envy and enmity of the fanatical Zealots, and they perished in a day of slaughter. Josephus tells us that it was all one whether the richer Jews stayed in the city during the siege or tried to escape to the Romans; for they were equally destroyed in either case. Every such person was put to death, on the pretext that he was preparing to desert, but in reality that the plunderers might get his possessions. People who were evidently half-starved were left unmolested, when they declared that they had nothing; but those who bodies showed no signs of privation were tortured to make them reveal the treasures which they were supposed to have concealed. {“Bell. Jud,” 5 10:2}
“Ye condemned, ye killed the righteous one; he doth not resist you.” Does this refer to the condemnation and death of Jesus Christ? This interpretation has found advocates in all ages-Cassiodorus, Bede, OEcumenius, Grotius, Ben-gel, Lange, and other modern commentators; and it is certainly attractive. St. Peter, addressing the Jews in Solomons Porch, says, “But ye denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted unto you, and killed the Prince of Life”. {Act 3:14-15} St. Stephen, in his speech before the Sanhedrin, asks, “Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed them which showed before of the coming of the Righteous One; of whom ye have now become betrayers and murderers.” {Act 7:52; cf. Act 22:14, and 1Pe 3:18} It is certainly no objection to this interpretation that St. James uses the aorist-“ye condemned, ye killed.” That tense might fittingly be used either of a course of action in the past, as in the aorists immediately preceding, or of a single action, as of Abrahams offering Isaac. {Jam 2:21} Nor is it any objection that in “He doth not resist you” St. James changes to the present tense. In any case the change from past to present has to be explained, and it is as easy to explain it of the present longsuffering of Christ, or of His abandoning them to their wickedness, as of the habitual meekness of the righteous man. Nor, again, is it any objection that the Jews addressed in this Epistle could not rightly be charged with the condemnation and death of Christ, for twenty or thirty years had elapsed since that event. It is by no means improbable that among the Jews then living there were many who had cried “Crucify Him” on Good Friday; and even if there were not, the words of St. James are quite justifiable. The Crucifixion was in a very real sense the act of the whole nation, far more so than was the murder of Zacharias the son of Jehoiada, and yet Jesus says to the Jews respecting Zacharias, “whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar.” If at the present day the English might be told that they condemned and killed Charles I, and the French be told that they condemned and killed Louis XVI, much more might the Jews in the middle of the first century be said to have condemned and killed Jesus Christ. But nevertheless, this attractive and tenable interpretation is probably not the right one; the context is against it. It is the evil that is inherent in class tyrannizing over class that is condemned, the rich oppressing the poor, and the godless persecuting the godly. “The righteous one” is here not an individual, but the representative of a class. The iniquitous violence which slew Jesus Christ and His martyrs, James the son of Zebedee and Stephen, illustrates what St. James says here, just as his own martyrdom does; but it does not follow from this that he is alluding to any one of these events in particular. The Book of Wisdom seems once more to be in the writers mind: “Let us oppress the poor righteous man; let us not spare the widow, nor reverence the ancient grey hairs of the aged Let us lie in wait for the righteous; because he is not for our turn, and he is clean contrary to our doings: he upbraideth us with our offending the law, and objecteth to our infamy the transgressings of our education He is grievous to us even to behold: for his life is not like other mens; his ways are of another fashionLet us examine him with despitefulness and torture, that we may know his meekness, and prove his patience. Let us condemn him with a shameful death; for by his own saying he shall be respected”. {Jam 2:10-20}
Julius Caesar on one occasion stated his financial position by confessing that he needed half a million of money in order to be worth nothing. The spiritual condition of many prosperous men might be expressed in a similar way. Caesar never allowed lack of funds to stand between him and his political aims; when he had nothing he borrowed at enormous interest. So also with us. In pursuing our worldly aims we sink deeper and deeper in spiritual ruin, and accumulate debts for an eternal bankruptcy. Riches are not a whir less perilous to the soul now than they were in the first century, and yet how few among the wealthy really believe that they are perilous at all. The wisdom of our forefathers has placed in the Litany a petition which every well-to-do person should say with his whole heart: “In all time of our wealth, Good Lord, deliver us.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Than tired eyelids upon tired eyes”
Though with patience he stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all.”
What souls possess themselves so pure,
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.”
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
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Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
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Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary