or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." Chapter 4 basically draws the line that we must be careful of, like a tight rope walker watching our balance. We have no choice but to live in this world. We are directed to go into the world seeking who can be saved. In other words, we are to participate in the world, but look to the Lord for our guidance. If we are never satisfied with what we have, we need to look at our relationship with the Lord. If we catch ourselves being proud of our station in life, we need to examine ourselves. All of us are tempted, from time to time, it is wrong only when we savor the temptation. If we roll it, the temptation, around on our mental tongues, we are sinning against God. In Chapter 5 we begin to get more good advice on spiritual hygiene and spiritual first aid treatment. The advice runs from personal treatment to therapy by others. "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers, who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren lest ye be condemned: behold the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of 193 _______________________________________________________________________________ patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; and the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. 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 be nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 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: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he hath committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." In this chapter we have been given the tools wherewith we can seek spiritual first aid. First, we are told to read our Bibles, not just randomly, but selectively in the areas that cover our problem. We are next told to pray, again specifically. Two other areas are mentioned, one is hymn singing ( psalms ), and assembly with other Christians. Our church attendance, hymn singing, Bible reading, and prayer offering should all be regular not sporadic. The advice given in James 5 is for actions above and beyond our regular practice. If we are not successful after these actions then we are told to call on the elders ( deacons ) of our church to be prayed over with the anointing of oil in the name of the Lord. Lastly we all should have a spiritual mentor and/or confidant, wherein we can find the freedom to confess our faults freely, without fear. We are told that prayer with this 194 ______________________________________________________________________________ |
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