James 5

This article is about a book chapter of the Bible. For James V, see James V of Scotland.
James 5

Epistle of James 3:13-4:4 on the recto side of Papyrus 100, from the 3rd century.
Book Epistle of James
Bible part New Testament
Order in the Bible part 20
Category General epistles

James 5 is the fifth (and last) chapter of the Epistle of James in the New Testament of the Christian Bible.[1][2] The author identifies himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" and the epistle is traditionally attributed to James the brother of Jesus.[3][4]

Text

Structure

This chapter can be grouped (with cross references to other parts of the Bible):[7]

Verse 11

New King James Version

Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.[8]

Verse 12

New King James Version

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.[9]

Verse 16

New King James Version

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.[10]

This must be understood of sins committed against one another; which should be acknowledged, and repentance for them declared, in order to mutual forgiveness and reconciliation; and this is necessary at all times, and especially on beds of affliction, and when death and eternity seem near approaching. It is not the same as auricular confession, used by the Papists; which is of all sins, whereas this is only of such by which men offend one another; that is made to priests, but this is made by the saints to one another, by the offending party to him that is offended, for reconciliation, whereby a good end is answered; whereas there is none by the other, and very often bad consequences follow.[11]

The healing comprises both corporeally and spiritually.[11]

Not any man's prayer; not the prayer of a profane sinner, for God hears not sinners; nor of hypocrites and formal professors: but of the righteous man, who is justified by the righteousness of Christ, and has the truth of grace in him, and lives soberly and righteously; for a righteous man often designs a good man, a gracious man, one that is sincere and upright, as Job, Joseph of Arimathea, and others; though not without sin, as the person instanced in the following verse shows; "Elias, who was a man of like passions", but a just man, and his prayer was prevalent: and not any prayer of a righteous man is of avail, but that which is "effectual, fervent"; that has power, and energy, and life in it; which is with the Spirit, and with the understanding, with the heart, even with a true heart, and in faith; and which is put up with fervency, and not in a cold, lukewarm, lifeless, formal, and customary way: it is but one word in the original text; and the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "daily"; that prayer which is constant and continual, and without ceasing, and is importunate; this prevails and succeeds, as the parable of the widow and the unjust judge shows. Some translate the word "inspired": the Spirit of God breathes into men the breath of spiritual life, and they live, and being quickened by him, they breathe; and prayer is the breath of the spiritual man, and is no other than the reverberation of the Spirit of God in him; and such prayer cannot fail of success: it may be rendered "inwrought"; true prayer is not what is written in a book, but what is wrought in the heart, by the Spirit of God; who is the enditer of prayer, who impresses the minds of his people with a sense of their wants, and fills their mouths with arguments, and puts strength into them to plead with God, and makes intercession for them according to the will of God; and such prayer is always heard, and regarded by him: this has great power with God; whatever is asked, believing, is received; God can deny nothing prayed for in this manner; it has great power with Christ, as Jacob had over the angel, when he wrestled with him; and as the woman of Canaan, when she importuned him, on account of her daughter, and would have no denial: such prayer has often been of much avail against Satan, who has been dispossessed by it; even the most stubborn kind of devils have been dislodged by fasting and prayer: it has often been the means of preserving kingdoms and nations, when invaded by enemies, as the instances of Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah show; and of removing judgments from a people, as was often done, through the prayers of Moses, as when fire and fiery serpents were sent among them; and of bringing down blessings as rain from heaven by Elijah; and of delivering particular persons from trouble, as Peter was delivered from prison, through the incessant prayer of the church for him: and this power, and efficacy, and prevalence of prayer, does not arise from any intrinsic worth and merit in it, but from the grace of the Spirit, who influences and endites it, directs to it, and assists in it; and from the powerful mediation, precious blood, and efficacious sacrifice of Christ; and from the promise of God and Christ, who have engaged, that whatever is asked according to the will of God, and in the name of Christ, shall be done. The Jews have had formerly a great notion of prayer: the power of prayer, they say,[12] is strong; and extol it above all other services: they say,[13] it is better than good works, or than offerings and sacrifices; and particularly, the prayer of righteous men: says R. Eliezar.[14]

to what is, "prayer of righteous men" like? it is like a shovel: the sense is, that as the shovel turns the corn on the floor, from one place to another, so prayer turns the holy blessed God from wrath to mercy.[11]

Verse 17

New King James Version

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.[15]

The apostle gives an instance of earnest and fervent prayer, and of the efficacy of it in Elias; who is the same with the prophet Elijah, or Elijah the Tishbite; who, by the Septuagint in Malachi 4:5 is called Elias, as here, and elsewhere, in the New Testament: of him James says, that he was a "man", contrary to the notion of some of the Jewish writers, who affirm, that Elijah was not born of a father and mother, but was an angel, who was clothed with the four elements of the world;[16] but he was not only born, but born in sin, as others are, and was by nature no better than others; and he himself confesses that he was no better than his fathers, (1 Kings 19:4) . And the apostle further observes; concerning him, that be was "subject to like passions as we are"; both in body and soul; he was subject to hunger and weariness, and was fed by ravens, and by the widow of Zarephath, and by an angel; and he was subject to reproach, affliction, and persecution, being charged by Ahab as a troubler of Israel, and persecuted by Jezebel, who sought his life; he was a mortal man, and liable to death, and requested to die, and must have died, had it not been for the wonderful power of God, which translated him, that he should not see death; and he was not free from sinful passions, as impatience, fear, and unbelief, (1 Kings 17:20) (1 Kings 19:3-5, 1 Kings 19:10, 1 Kings 19:18) . And he prayed earnestly; or prayed in prayer; an Hebraism: it is said[17] of one, that, "he prayed his prayer"; and of others, that, "they prayed prayers"; though the phrase here seems to design something more than bare praying; a praying, not merely externally, or formally, and with the lip only, but with the Spirit, and with the understanding, and with the heart engaged in it, with inwrought prayer. The prophet prayed with much earnestness, with great vehemence and intenseness of Spirit, as this Hebraism denotes; his prayer was fervent, and it was constant, and importunate, and was continued till he had an answer: he may be thought to have prayed each of the seven times he sent his servant to look out for a sign of rain, (1 Kings 18:43), he first prayed,[18]

this is not recorded in express words, but may be gathered from (1 Kings 17:1) where he says, "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"; so the passage is understood by the Jewish interpreters: the phrase, "before whom I stand", is paraphrased by one of them[19] thus; "before whom I am used to stand", "in prayer"; and it is a common saying with the Jews, there is no standing ever mentioned, but prayer is intended; (See Gill on Matthew 6:5) And the other phrase, "according to my word", is, by another,[20] interpreted to this sense, that the rain should not descend naturally, according to the custom of the world, but it should descend when Elijah, "prayed for it", and so it was,[18]

Thas was on the land of Israel, which is only meant; it rained in other parts of the world, for the drought in those times was not universal: and this was,[18]

This exactly agrees with the words of Christ, (Luke 4:25) and this was in judgment upon the land of Israel, for the idolatry it was filled with in the times of Ahab: and this instance of prayer is mentioned, not with a view that it should be imitated; we are not to pray for judgments, unless we have a divine order for it, as Elijah had; but to show the efficacy of prayer made according to the will of God.[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Halley, Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary. 23rd edition. Zondervan Publishing House. 1962.
  2. ↑ Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012.
  3. ↑ Davids, Peter H (1982). I Howard Marshall and W Ward Gasque, ed. New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Epistle of James (Repr. ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans. ISBN 0802823882.
  4. ↑ Evans, Craig A (2005). Craig A Evans, ed. Bible Knowledge Background Commentary: John, Hebrews-Revelation. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Victor. ISBN 0781442281.
  5. ↑ 20. James: Introduction, Outline, and Argument. Bible.org
  6. ↑ The New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room, Institute for New Testament Textual Research (INTF), Münster.
  7. ↑ James 4 NKJV
  8. ↑ James 5:11
  9. ↑ James 5:12
  10. ↑ James 5:16
  11. 1 2 3 John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible - James 5:16
  12. ↑ Zohar in Exod. fol. 100. 1.
  13. ↑ T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 32. 2.
  14. ↑ T. Bab. Succa, fol. 14. 1. & Yebamot, fol. 64. 1
  15. ↑ James 5:17
  16. ↑ Zohar in Gen. fol. 31. 1. & Imre Binah in ib.
  17. ↑ Ib. in Exod. fol. 4. 2. & in Numb. fol. 79. 2.
  18. 1 2 3 4 John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible - James 5:17
  19. ↑ R. David, Kimchi in loc.
  20. ↑ Vid. Laniado in loc.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gill, John. Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746-1763). 

External links

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