James 5:14

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: LET HIM CALL FOR THE ELDERS - not some one, as Romanists interpret it, to justify their extreme unction. The prayers of the elders over the sick would be much the same as though the whole church which they represent should pray (Bengel). ANOINTING HIM WITH OIL. The usage which Christ committed to His apostles was afterward continued with laying on of hands, as a token of the highest faculty of medicine in the Church; as we find in the Church's highest judicial function. Now that miraculous healing is withdrawn, to use the sign where the reality is wanting, would be unmeaning superstition. Compare other apostolic usages, now discontinued,...

14_Is any sick among you_. As the gift of healing as yet continued, he directs the sick to have recourse to that remedy. It is, indeed, certain that they were not all healed; but the Lord granted this favor as often and as far as he knew it would be expedient; nor is it probable that the oil was indiscriminately applied, but only when there was some hope of restoration. For, together with the power there was given also discretion to the ministers, lest they should by abuse profane the symbol. The design of James was no other than to commend the grace of God which the faithful might then enjoy, lest the benefit of it should be lost through contempt or neglect. For this purpose he ordered the presbyters to be sent for, but the use of the anointing must have been confined to the power of the Holy Spirit. The Papists boast mightily of this passage, when they seek to pass off their extreme u...

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 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 soul. The wise men have said, No healing is equal to that which comes from the word _of God_ and _prayer_. Rabbi Phineas, the son of Chamma, hath said, 'When sickness or disease enters into a man's family, let him apply to a wise man, who will implore mercy in his behalf.'" See _Schoettgen_. St. James very properly sends all such to the elders of the Church, who had power with God through the great Mediator, that they might pray for them. _ANOINTING HIM WITH OIL_] That St. James neither means any kind of _incantation_, any kind of _miracle_, or such _extreme unction_ as the Romish Churc

IS ANY SICK AMONG YOU? - In the previous verse the reference was to affliction in general, and the duty there urged was one that was applicable to all forms of trial. The subject of sickness, however, is so important, since it so often occurs, that a specific direction was desirable. That direction is to call in the aid of others to lead our thoughts, and to aid us in our devotions, because one who is sick is less able to direct his own reflections and to pray for himself than he is in other form of trial. Nothing is said here respecting the degree of sickness, whether it is that which would be fatal if these means were used or not; but the direction pertains to any kind of illness. LET HIM CALL FOR THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH - Greek “presbyters.” See the notes at Acts 15:2;...

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

IS ANY SICK AMONG YOU?.... Which is often the case; the bodies of the saints, as well as others, are liable to a variety of diseases; they are sick, and sometimes nigh unto death, as Epaphroditus was: and then, LET HIM CALL FOR THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH; in allusion to the elders of the congregation of Israel, Leviticus 4:15. By these may be meant, either the elder members of the church, men of gravity and soundness in the faith, persons of long standing and experience; who have the gift and grace of prayer, and are not only capable of performing that duty, but of giving a word of counsel and advice to the sick. It was a kind of proverbial saying of Aristophanes the grammarian; "the works of young men, the counsels of middle aged persons, and ευχαι γεροντων, "the prayers of ancient men" z:'' or rather officers of churches are meant, particularly

JAMES 5:14 tou/ kuri,ou {A} The reading tou/ kuri,ou is supported by the broadest spectrum of witnesses, whereas the omission of tou/ by A Y 81 _al,_ and of tou/ kuri,ou by B, probably arose through inadvertence in transcription. The readings VIhsou/ Cristou/ (6) and tou/ kuri,ou VIhsou/ (ù1356) are scribal glosses....

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

The key to this hard passage seems to lie in the climax, the example of Elijah, who in 1 Kings 17:1; 1 Kings 18:41 ff., is not said to have prayed for drought or for rain. His prayer is in the phrase before whom I stand a life in the Presence, bringing with it an instinctive knowledge of God's will; _cf._ Amos 3:7. The elders, therefore, of a faithful congregation may expect a Divine impulse prompting them to ask for physical recovery when God wills it; we may also believe that such united prayer is a real instrument in God's hands, just as much as the application of remedies like oil (_cf._ Isaiah 1:6;...