James 5:13-15
I. Verse 13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
A. Afflicted - pray.
1. Afflicted - to undergo hardship, suffer trouble, (not sickness, see verse 14).
a. I Peter 4:12-19 - An affliction caused by standing for God's truth, not because of our sinfulness.
b. Being afflicted and praying about the affliction is directly related to verses 1-12 of this chapter.
c. Any person (especially saved people) who feel cheated (by saved people or lost people: by employer or employee) should pray about it before doing anything to try to straighten out the "problem".
2. Pray - More than just "wish" your troubles away, but like: (verse 14) elders praying for the sick, (verse 17-18), Elijah praying.
B. Merry - Psalms. Note order - sing - after getting merry, not in order to be merry.
1. Merry - joyfully, or simply in a good mood.
2. Sing Psalms (of David). To our shame, we don't memorize the Psalms, much less know the music they are sung to.
3. This is to keep us from forgetting God in times of joy.
4. Eph. 5:19 - The three kinds of songs to worship by:
a. Psalms - Those written in the book of Psalms.
b. hymns - a religious ode. (An ode is a poem set to music.)
c. spiritual songs - A song about some spiritual truth.
5. There are more songs to sing than the Psalms.
a. This teaches us that God doesn't object to people writing songs.
b. God has given some people the talent for music, and He expects them to use that talent for Him.
II. Verse 14,15 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: {15} And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
The sick - This is one who is near death because disease has made him impotent.
A. Cause of sickness. (The reason sickness comes.)
1. Sins (personal sins) - Remember Ex. 23:25 - God might keep sickness from us if we serve Him.
a. All sickness is the result of sin.
1) Some sickness is caused by personal sinfulness.
2) Some sickness is caused because we are sinners. (This is the sickness that just comes along - we have done nothing to cause it.)
b. I John 5:16 - Sin unto death, and sin not unto death. Some do die because of sin.
c. I Cor. 11:30 - Sick and some died because they took the Lord's Supper wrong.
d. A natural result of continued sin.
1) intoxicated (means to poison oneself.
2) Using tobacco - whether chewing, dipping, or smoking.
3) diet - eating everything in sight, or not eating the proper foods.
4) worry - causes physical damage to our bodies.
2. Satan -
a. Job 2:7 - God allowed Satan to attack Job.
b. Luke 11:13 - The woman whom Satan hath bound.
c. Acts 10:38 - Jesus healed those whom the devil had oppressed.
3. God allowing sickness for His own glory.
a. Paul - II Cor. 12:7 - God gave Paul a thorn in the flesh so Paul would learn to trust Him.
b. II Tim. 4:2 - Trophimus - Paul couldn't (or didn't) heal this man. It was evidently God's will that he be sick.
c. I Tim. 5:23 - Timothy to use a little wine for he was often sick.
d. II Kings 13:14 - Elisha got sick and died. He was not out of God's will or involved in any sin. No indication that his sickness and death was anything but a blessing from God.
B. Purpose of sickness. (What God wants us to learn through sickness.)
1. Power - II Cor. 12:7 - So we can learn faith and receive power through sickness and weakness.
a. We will find more strength and power than we have ever known before.
b. This is a new level of faith.
2. Productivity - through sickness and weakness we learn to depend on God more and more.
a. Fannie Crosby - blind, yet used of God to write many great hymns of faith.
b. II Cor. 1:6 - So we can learn to help others through our suffering.
c. John 15:2 - God prunes every vine so it will bring forth more fruit.
3. Purity
a. I Peter 5:10 - Perfection comes after suffering.
b. Job 23:10 - When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
c. Ps. 119:67 - Affliction helps us to keep His Word.
4. Praise
a. I Cor. 1:27-29 - "weak" can mean sickly. That no flesh should glory in His presence.
b. John 11:4 - Sickness of Lazarus was to glorify God.
c. John 21:19 - The death of Peter was to the glory of God.
5. How? - Shuts the devils mouth - See Job and how Satan complained to God that the only reason Job served God was because of prosperity and God had build a hedge around him.
C. Cure of sickness (This is a sickness unto death, but not the sin unto death). (It is also true that a person will be cured of their sickness only if it is God's will that they be cured. There is a time to be born, and a time to die, Eccl. 3:2)
1. Let - not a command, but an opportunity.
2. Elder - not an older man, but the spiritual leaders of the church (regardless of age).
3. Oil - A symbol of the Holy Spirit and a symbol of medicine used for healing (Good Samaritan - Luke 10:34).
a. We must trust more than the doctor, we must trust God to do all the healing.
b. A special anointing - Set aside for God's purposes: Lev. 8:10 - a type of the Holy Spirit.
c. A symbolic setting aside for the cause of Christ - God is not going to heal you to serve the devil.
4. Prayer - pray over him. (Like Elijah prayed - verse 17,18)
a. A special kind of sickness God put on a special person to be raised up to serve God from then on.
b. Faith - the faith of the one praying, not the faith of the sick person. Only when God gives the faith.
c. Prayer of faith - a different Greek word from "pray" of verse 14.
1) This word implies the earnest desire of the sick one is transferred to the elders who bring this wish before God.
2) Implies a submission to God's will while bringing the desire of the heart before God.
5. The Lord shall raise him up - in direct answer to the prayer of faith.
6. Sins are forgiven - If (verse 15) his sickness is caused by sin.
D. This scripture in no way adds credibility to the devil send "faith healers" in churches, on radio and television today. These people only deal with the body, leaving the spiritual man filled with lies, while the "healer" counts his money. (II Peter 2:15)