James

James 5: The compassionate Lord hears His people

Begin in prayer

Before James 5 speaks of waiting and prayer, please ask the Lord to show your family that He is full of compassion and mercy. Ask Him to teach you to wait for His coming, to pray, and to see Christ in each verse.

For Yahweh your God is a merciful God. He will not fail you, neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them.

Deuteronomy 4:31

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy, and teach us to wait for His coming and to pray. Help us to see Jesus and to be more like Him. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

James warns the rich who have kept back their workers’ wages that misery is coming upon them. Their workers’ cries have reached the Lord of Armies, and James says that they have condemned and murdered the righteous one. James tells his brothers to be patient until the Lord comes, as a farmer waits for the early and late rain. The prophets and Job endured, and the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Those who suffer should pray, those who are cheerful should sing, and the sick should call for the elders. James ends with prayer for one another and with turning a sinner back from the error of his way.

As you read James 5, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The compassionate Lord hears His people and calls them to wait for His coming.

The workers' withheld wages cry out against rich men whose treasure will testify against them at judgment. Those cries reach the Lord of Armies, so suffering believers can wait for His justice. A farmer's patience helps them understand, for the early rain serves the sowing and the late rain the coming harvest. The Lord's timing also governed Job's suffering, whose outcome showed His compassion and mercy. This coming Judge hears grumbling too, so patient waiting includes truthful speech and peace with fellow believers. The sick should call the elders, who pray and anoint with oil in the Lord's name. James places the raising up and forgiveness in the Lord's hands, and urges confession and prayer together. Christ's people must also seek the wanderer, for turning a sinner back saves a soul from death and covers many sins.

How does James 5 show us that the compassionate Lord hears His people and calls them to wait for His coming?

The Lord hears the cries of workers who are wronged.

Rich men kept back workers' wages by fraud and spent their wealth on pleasure. The workers' cries have reached the Lord of Armies, and the rich men's corroded gold will testify against them. James says they condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist them. Their riches cannot protect them when the miseries of judgment come.

The coming Lord calls His people to patience and truthful speech.

A farmer waits for early and late rain, because the crop depends on what he cannot command. Likewise believers must establish their hearts, since the Lord's coming is at hand. They must stop grumbling against each other, for the Judge stands at the door. Job's outcome shows that this Judge is full of compassion and mercy. Before Him their yes must be yes and their no must be no, without swearing by heaven, earth or another oath.

The Lord raises the sick and hears His people's prayers.

Sufferers should pray, the cheerful should sing, and the sick should call the elders to pray and anoint with oil. James promises healing through the prayer of faith, the Lord's raising up, and forgiveness if the sick person has committed sins. Believers must confess their offenses and pray for each other, for the prayer of a righteous person has great effect. Elijah shared their human nature, yet when he prayed, rain stopped and later fell again.

God uses His people to turn wanderers back.

James leaves the church with a person who has wandered from the truth. If someone turns that sinner back, he saves a soul from death and covers a multitude of sins. Indifference would leave the wanderer facing death, so love acts and calls him back to Christ. Only Jesus removes sin, and He uses His people's words to call a sinner home.

Memorise

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

James 5:11

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, have I asked the Lord who is full of mercy to forgive my sin?

James points to Job and says you “have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” In those days the rich held back the wages of their workers, and the workers cried out. The Lord heard every cry. He has not forgotten the suffering of His people.

The Lord showed His compassion most fully at the cross. The Lord Jesus suffered, and He suffered for others. He carried the sins of His people, and He left not one of them behind. That sacrifice is enough for ever. Then God raised Him from the grave, and one day He will come again. The Judge at the door is the same Jesus who gave Himself for His people.

So come to Him now. Confess your sin to the Lord, turn from it, and put your trust in Jesus. Pray to Him. In Him there is forgiveness for sinners who come, and compassion that never runs out. Then wait for His coming with patience, and sing praises.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy, and that Jesus suffered for His people. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Please also pray with your children when one of them is sad or sick.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

Keep yourselves in God’s love, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.

Jude 21

Lord Jesus, thank You that You are full of compassion and mercy, and that You carried the sin of Your people. Please forgive our sin, and help us to wait for Your coming and to pray to You. Amen.