James 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. James 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 elsewher... [ Continue Reading ]
_Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten_ The union of the two chief forms of Eastern wealth in this and the following verse, reminds us of the like combination in Matthew 6:19, "where moth and rust doth corrupt." Comp. St Paul's "I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or appare... [ Continue Reading ]
_Your gold and silver is cankered_ Literally, RUSTED, the word being used generically of the tarnish that sooner or later comes over all metals that are exposed to the action of the air. _shall be a witness against you_ Better, FOR A WITNESS TO YOU. The doom that falls on the earthly possessions of... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, the hire of the labourers_ The evil was one of old standing in Judæa. The law had condemned those who kept back the wages of the hired labourer even for a single night (Leviticus 19:13). Jeremiah (Jeremiah 22:13) had uttered a woe against him "that useth his neighbour's service without wage... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton_ Better, YE LIVED LUXURIOUSLY _and_ SPENT WANTONLY, the latter word emphasising the lavish and profligate expenditure by which the luxury which the former expresses was maintained. _ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter_ Many... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye have condemned and killed the just_ The words have been very generally understood as referring to the death of Christ, and on this view, the words "he doth not resist you" have been interpreted as meaning, "He no longer checks you in your career of guilt; He leaves you alone (comp. Hosea 4:17) t... [ Continue Reading ]
Comfort and Counsel for the Poor 7. _Be patient therefore_ More literally, BE LONG-SUFFERING. The logical sequence implied in "therefore" is that the "brethren" whom St James addresses should follow the example of the ideal "just man" of whom the previous verse had spoken. There is a _terminus ad qu... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be ye also patient_ Better, LONG-SUFFERING; as before. _stablish your hearts_ Better, STRENGTHEN. The strength is to come from the thought that the great Advent has come near, that there will be a great Court of Appeal from all man's injustice. Here, as before, we note a hope which was not fulfill... [ Continue Reading ]
_Grudge not one against another_ Better, perhaps, COMPLAIN NOT. The primary meaning of the verb is "to groan." To indulge in such complaints was to assume the office of the Judge, whose presence they ought to think of as not far off, even "at the door," and so brought with it the condemnation which... [ Continue Reading ]
_Take, my brethren, the prophets_ Better, as representing the emphatic order of the Greek, AS AN EXAMPLE OF AFFLICTION AND LONG-SUFFERING TAKE, MY BRETHREN, THE PROPHETS … The first of the nouns expresses simply the objective affliction, not the manner of enduring it. _the prophets who have spoken_... [ Continue Reading ]
_we count them happy which endure_ Better, WE CALL THEM BLESSED, the verb being formed from the adjective used in ch. James 1:12. Comp. Luke 2:48. The words may contain a reference to Daniel 12:12. _Ye have heard of the patience of Job_ Better, ENDURANCE, to keep up the connexion with the verb. It i... [ Continue Reading ]
Oaths 12. _above all things, my brethren, swear not_ The passage presents so close a parallel with Matthew 5:33-37 that it is almost a necessary inference that St James, if not himself a hearer of the Sermon on the Mount, had become acquainted with it as reported by others. Comp. _Introduction_, p.... [ Continue Reading ]
Affliction Sickness Confession 13. _Is any among you afflicted, let him pray_ The precepts point to the principle that worship is the truest and best expression of both sorrow and joy. In affliction men are not to groan or complain against others, or murmur against God, but to pray for help and stre... [ Continue Reading ]
_Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church_ The rule is full of meaning. (1) As regards the functions of the Elders of the Church. Over and above special gifts of prophecy or teaching, they were to visit the sick, not merely for spiritual comfort and counsel, but as possessing... [ Continue Reading ]
_and the prayer of faith shall save the sick_ The context leaves no doubt that the primary thought is, as in our Lord's words to men and women whom He healed, "Thy faith hath saved thee" "thy faith hath made thee whole" (Matthew 9:22; Mark 5:34; Mark 10:52; Luke 7:50; Luke 8:48; Luke 17:19; Luke 18:... [ Continue Reading ]
_Confess your faults one to another_ Better, with the old MSS. THEREFORE _confess_and TRANSGRESSIONS instead of _faults_. The noun includes sins against God as well as against men: the words refer the rule of this mutual confession to the promise of forgiveness as its ground. In details the precept... [ Continue Reading ]
Prayer and Conversion _The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much_ The words "effectual fervent" represent a single participle (_energumenè_), which is commonly rendered (as in 2 Corinthians 1:6; Galatians 5:6; 1 Thessalonians 2:13) by "working." That accordingly may be its meanin... [ Continue Reading ]
_Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are_ The word is the same as that used by St Paul in Acts 14:15. The reference to the history of Elijah (1 Kings 17:1; 1 Kings 18:1) is noticeable, as one of the coincidences on which stress has been laid as suggesting the inference that the Epistle wa... [ Continue Reading ]
_if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him_ Better, as the verb is passive, _if any of you_ BE LED ASTRAY. The "truth" here is obviously not the faith which was common to Jews and Christians, but specifically "the truth as it is in Jesus," the truth which the "brethren," who held the... [ Continue Reading ]
_from the error of his way_ The noun always involves the idea of being deceived as well as erring. Comp. 2Pe 2:18; 2 Peter 3:17; 1 John 4:6. _shall save a soul from death_ The soul is obviously that of the sinner who is converted. Death, bodily and spiritual, would be the outcome of the error if he... [ Continue Reading ]