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 sho... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse James 5:2. _YOUR RICHES ARE CORRUPTED_] σεσηπε. Are _putrefied_. The term πλουτος, _riches_, is to be taken here, not for _gold,_ _silver_, or _precious stones_, (for these could not _putrefy_,) but for the produce of the fields and flocks, the different stores of grain, wine, and oil, which t... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse James 5:3. _YOUR GOLD AND SILVER IS CANKERED_] Instead of helping the poor, and thus honouring God with your substance, ye have, through the principle of covetousness, kept all to yourselves. _THE RUST OF THEM SHALL BE A WITNESS AGAINST YOU_] Your putrefied stores, your moth-eaten garments,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse James 5:4. _THE HIRE OF THE LABOURERS_] The law, Leviticus 19:13, had ordered: _The wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee_ _all night until the morning_, every day's labour being paid for as soon as ended. This is more clearly stated in another law, Deuteronomy 24:15: _At his d... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse James 5:5. _YE HAVE LIVED IN PLEASURE_] ετρυφησατε. _Ye have_ _lived luxuriously_; feeding yourselves without fear, pampering the flesh. _AND BEEN WANTON_] εσπαταλησατε. _Ye have lived lasciviously_. Ye have indulged all your sinful and sensual appetites to the uttermost; and your lives have... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 6. _YE HAVE CONDEMNED_ AND _KILLED THE JUST;_ AND _HE DOTH_ _NOT RESIST YOU__._] Several by τονδικαιον, _the just one_, understand Jesus Christ, who is so called, Acts 3:14; Acts 7:52; Acts 22:14; but the structure of the sentence, and the connection in which it stands, seem to require that w... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 7. _BE PATIENT, THEREFORE_] Because God is coming to execute judgment on this wicked people, therefore be patient till he comes. He seems here to refer to the coming of the Lord to execute judgment on the Jewish nation, which shortly afterwards took place. _THE HUSBANDMAN WAITETH_] The _seed_... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 8. _BE YE ALSO PATIENT_] Wait for God's deliverance, as ye wait for his bounty in providence. _STABLISH YOUR HEARTS_] Take courage; do not sink under your trials. _THE COMING OF THE LORD DRAWETH NIGH._] ηγγικε. _Is at hand_. He is already on his way to destroy this wicked people, to raze the... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 9. _GRUDGE NOT_] μη στεναζετε. _Groan not_; grumble not; do not murmur through impatience; and let not any ill treatment which you receive, induce you to vent your feelings in imprecations against your oppressors. Leave all this in the hands of God. _LEST YE BE CONDEMNED_] By giving way to a... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 10. _TAKE - THE PROPHETS_] The prophets who had spoken to their forefathers by the authority of God, were persecuted by the very people to whom they delivered the Divine message; but they suffered affliction and persecution with patience, commending their cause to him who judgeth righteously;... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 11. _WE COUNT THEM HAPPY WHICH ENDURE._] According to that saying of our blessed Lord, _Blessed are ye when men shall_ _persecute and revile you-for so persecuted they the prophets which_ _were before you_. Matthew 5:11; Matthew 5:12, c. _YE HAVE HEARD OF THE PATIENCE OF JOB_] Stripped of all... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 12. _ABOVE ALL THINGS - SWEAR NOT_] What relation this exhortation can have to the subject in question, I confess I cannot see. It may not have been designed to stand in any connection, but to be a separate piece of advice, as in the several cases which immediately follow. That the Jews were n... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 13. _IS ANY AMONG YOU AFFLICTED? LET HIM PRAY_] The Jews taught that the meaning of the ordinance, Leviticus 13:45, which required the leper to cry, _Unclean! unclean_! was, "that thus _making known_ his calamity, the people might be led to offer up prayers to God in his behalf," _Sota_, page... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 14. _IS ANY SICK AMONG YOU? LET HIM CALL FOR THE ELDERS_] This was also a Jewish maxim. Rabbi Simeon, in _Sepher Hachaiyim_, said: "What should a man do who goes to visit the sick? _Ans_. He who studies to restore the health of the body, should first lay the foundation in the health of the sou... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 15. _AND THE PRAYER OF FAITH; SHALL SAVE THE SICK_] That is, God will often make these the means of a sick man's recovery; but there often are cases where _faith_ and _prayer_ are both ineffectual, because God sees it will be prejudicial to the patient's salvation to be restored; and therefore... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 16. _CONFESS YOUR FAULTS ONE TO ANOTHER_] This is a good general direction to Christians who endeavour to maintain among themselves the communion of saints. This social confession tends much to humble the soul, and to make it watchful. We naturally wish that our friends in general, and our rel... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 17. _ELIAS WAS A MAN SUBJECT TO LIKE PASSIONS_] This was _Elijah_, and a consistency between the _names_ of the same persons as expressed in the Old and the New Testaments should be kept up. The word ομοιοπαθης signifies of _the same constitution_, a human being just as ourselves are. See the... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 18. _AND HE PRAYED AGAIN_] This _second_ prayer is not mentioned in the history in express words, but as in 1 Kings 18:42, it is said, _He cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face_ _between his knees_; that was probably the time of the second praying, namely, that rain might come, as... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 19. _ERR FROM THE TRUTH_] Stray away from the Gospel of Christ; _and one convert him_-reclaim him from his error, and bring him back to the fold of Christ.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse James 5:20. _LET HIM KNOW_] Let him duly consider, for his encouragement, that he who is the instrument of converting a sinner shall save a soul from eternal death, and a body from ruin, _and shall hide a multitude of sins_; for in being the means of his conversion we bring him back to God, wh... [ Continue Reading ]