James 5:12

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. BUT ABOVE ALL - as swearing is utterly alien to Christian 'endurance.' SWEAR NOT - through impatience, to which trials may tempt you (James 5:10). In contrast stands the proper use of the tongue (). Referring to , etc. LET YOUR YEA BE YEA - do not use oaths in everyday conversation: let a simple affirmative or denial be enough to establish your word. CONDEMNATION - judgment of "the Judge" who "standeth before the door" ...

12_But above all things_. It has been a common vice almost in all ages, to swear lightly and inconsiderately. For so bad is our nature that we do not consider what an atrocious crime it is to profane the name of God. For though the Lord strictly commands us to reverence his name, yet men devise various subterfuges, and think that they can swear with impunity. They imagine, then, that there is no evil, provided they do not openly mention the name of God; and this is an old gloss. So the Jews, when they swore by heaven or earth, thought that they did not profane God’s name, because they did not mention it. But while men seek to be ingenious in dissembling with God, they delude themselves with the most frivolous evasions. It was a vain excuse of this kind that Christ condemned in Matthew 5:34. James, now subscribing to the decree of his master, commands us to abstain from these ind

12-18 The sin of swearing is condemned; but how many make light of common profane swearing! Such swearing expressly throws contempt upon God's name and authority. This sin brings neither gain, nor pleasure, nor reputation, but is showing enmity to God without occasion and without advantage It shows a man to be an enemy to God, however he pretends to call himself by his name, or sometimes joins in acts of worship. But the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. In a day of affliction nothing is more seasonable than prayer. The spirit is then most humble, and the heart is broken and tender. It is necessary to exercise faith and hope under afflictions; and prayer is the appointed means for obtaining and increasing these graces. Observe, that the saving of the sick is not ascribed to the anointing with oil, but to prayer. In a time of sickness it is not cold and forma...

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 notoriously guilty of _common swearing_ is allowed on all hands; and that swearing by _heaven, earth, Jerusalem_, the _temple_, the _altar_, different parts of the _body_, was not considered by them as _binding_ _oaths_, has been sufficiently proved. Rabbi Akiba taught that "a man might swear with his _lips_, and annul it in his _heart_; and then the oath was not binding." Matthew 5:33, c., where the subject is considered in great detail. _LET YOUR YEA BE YEA_, c.] Do not pretend to say _yea_ with your li

BUT ABOVE ALL THINGS - That is be especially careful on this point; whatever else is done, let not this be. The manner in which James speaks of the practice referred to here, shows that he regarded it as a sin of a very heinous nature; one that was by all means to be avoided by those whom he addressed. The habit of swearing by various things was a very common one among the Jews, and it was important to guard those who from among them had been converted to Christianity on that subject. SWEAR NOT - See this command illustrated in the notes at Matthew 5:33. Nearly the same things are mentioned here, as objects by which they were accustomed to swear, which are referred to by the Saviour. BUT LET OUR YEA BE YEA - Let there be a simple affirmation, unaccompanied by any oath or a

EXPOSITION JAMES 5:1 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. JAMES 5:1 GO TO NOW (see on James 4

BUT ABOVE ALL THINGS, MY BRETHREN, SWEAR NOT,.... As impatience should not show itself in secret sighs, groans, murmurings, and repinings, so more especially it should not break forth in rash oaths, or in profane swearing; for of such sort of swearing, and of such oaths, is the apostle to be understood; otherwise an oath is very lawful, when taken in the fear and name of God, and made by the living God, and is used for the confirmation of anything of moment, and in order to put an end to strife; God himself, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and angels, and good men, are in Scripture sometimes represented as swearing: and that the apostle is so to be understood, appears from the form of swearing prohibited, NEITHER BY THE HEAVEN, NEITHER BY THE EARTH, NEITHER BY ANY OTHER OATH; of the like kind; such as are forbidden, and cautioned, and reasoned against by our Lord, in Matthew 5:34

V. THE COMING OF THE LORD AND THE LIFE OF FAITH CHAPTER 5 _ 1. The oppression by the rich and their coming doom (James 5:1)_ 2. Be patient unto the coming of the Lord (James 5:7) 3. The prayers of faith and the life of faith (James 5:13) James 5:1 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

JAMES 5:12. A disconnected maxim, warning Jews against a very prevalent sin, and again directly quoting the unnamed Master (Matthew 5:34 ff; cf. Matthew 23:16). The Quaker-like self-control which makes Yes or No carry more weight than a whole string of oaths, is a virtue not inappropriately commended after that of patience. Before all things is not a relative phrase; a warning to guard the sacredness of God's Name, and avoid the condemnation of the Third Commandment, is declared to be among the first things. Probably _mg._ is right, as the words are so close to Matthew 5:37. Our Lord's own habit of doubling a word for emphasis is well

THE WORTHLESSNESS OF RICHES (James 5:1-3)...