James 5:11

Verse 11. We count them happy which endure.] According to that saying of our blessed Lord, Blessed are ye when men shall persecute and revile you-for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Mat 5:11; Mat 5:12, c.

Ye have heard of the patience of Job] Stripped of all his worldly possessions, deprived at a stroke of all his children, tortured in body with sore disease, tempted by the devil, harassed by his wife, and calumniated by his friends, he nevertheless held fast his integrity, resigned himself to the Divine dispensations, and charged not God foolishly.

And have seen the end of the Lord] The issue to which God brought all his afflictions and trials, giving him children, increasing his property, lengthening out his life, and multiplying to him every kind of spiritual and secular good. This was God's end with respect to him but the devil's end was to drive him to despair, and to cause him to blaspheme his Maker. This mention of Job shows him to have been a real person; for a fictitious person would not have been produced as an example of any virtue so highly important as that of patience and perseverance. The end of the Lord is a Hebraism for the issue to which God brings any thing or business.

The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.] Instead of πολυσπλαγχνος, which we translate very pitiful, and which might be rendered of much sympathy, from πολυς, much, and σπλαγχνον, a bowel, (because any thing that affects us with commiseration causes us to feel an indescribable emotion of the bowels,) several MSS. have πολυενσπλαγχνος, from παλυς, much, ευ, easily, and σπλαγχνον, a bowel, a word not easy to be translated; but it signifies one whose commiseration is easily excited, and whose commiseration is great or abundant.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(11) We count them happy which endure.—Rather read it, we count them blessed which endure; or, as some critics would have it, endured. (See Mat_5:11, and 1Pe_2:19.) The heathen philosopher Solon called no one “happy” upon earth; but, with the mystery of pain around him, cried sadly, “Look to the end.” And the sated and weary soul of Solomon had no better thought than to praise “the dead which are already dead, more than the living” (Ecc_4:2). How different the teaching of St. James, himself taught by the example of the suffering Christ: verily, “he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than” the greatest and the wisest who know not of its light and peace (Mat_11:11).

The patience of Job.—The earliest notions current in the world were, doubtless, that on the whole prosperity came to those who lived morally and physically well, while adversity in body or mind followed closely on the wicked and improvident. It is easy to see how these opinions, even among the happier races who had not wandered far from God, gradually hardened into stern rules of judgment, by which each man saw in the chances and calamities of life an immediate effort of an avenging Deity. This was ages before a pious Asaph (Psalms 73) could reflect on the contradiction of experience in this matter, and be troubled at the “prosperity” of the wicked; or before the wise king could notice (Ecc_7:15; Ecc_8:14) the just man perishing “in his righteousness,” and the unjust prolonging “his days in wickedness”; “the fishes taken in an evil net,” and “the birds caught in the snare” (Ecc_9:12). It was ages earlier still than the presence of that Wiser than Solomon, who spoke of the hapless “eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell”—“Think ye that they were sinners above all?” (Luk_13:4-5). Job’s friends were so certain of his misdeeds, that they would not hear his self-defence; if God tried his endurance, man surely afflicted his patience. We can hear the three in council against him, becoming more zealous as they believe themselves the defenders of God’s justice. (See Job 4-22) They are shocked at Job’s obstinacy, and annoyed into vehement accusation against him, because he will “hold fast” to his “integrity.” It is a damning proof to them of his guilt. Not only had he been wicked, but now actually he is impious and rebellious; such conduct is not to be borne. “Is not thy wickedness great?” says Eliphaz (Job_22:5). Thou must have—nay, “thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing;” thou couldst not—nay, “thou hast not given water to the weary, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry:” truly thine iniquities are infinite.” Now, we know Job was innocent; God Himself bears witness to it (Job_1:8). And finally the suffering, patient, righteous man was declared to have spoken wisely: as Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar the contrary. They—types of a censorious piety—had conceived of God by their own faulty notions of religion, and fondly deemed they could enter into the motives of the Most High. Job for awhile had seemed to cloud his own belief with baser attributes, as (Job 16 et seq.) to a God who causelessly dealt in cruelty and pain; but through such fleeting mistakes he rose at last to the full conviction of His perfect truth and justice. It might be that He gave happiness to those who sought Him; it might be He allowed them misery—as the world would call it; but this nor that had part in the matter at issue. Earthly blessings “He gives to whom He wills, or leaves to the powers of nature to distribute among those who fulfil the laws” thereof; but “to serve him and love Him is higher and better than any mundane welfare, though it be with wounded feet and bleeding forehead, or an ash-heap and filthy sores” (Froude). This was the faith to which Job attained: higher, “clearer, purer, there is not possible to man.” In such like “patience” it were well for us that we should “possess our souls” (Luk_21:19).

And have seen the end of the Lord.—Better thus, Ye have heard . . . see also the end of the Lord. The reference is at once past and future: consider, i.e., what God wrought in the end of trial, on the faithful of old time, like Job; learn from it how great a deliverance He will also work for you. But “if ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established” (Isa_7:9). It is a mistake to understand here any allusion to the death of Christ, as if the Apostle spoke to those who witnessed it.

That the Lord is very pitiful.—St. James, in the fulness of his gratitude, seems to have coined a word for this single place. “Great-hearted” would be close to its meaning; but originally the bowels were thought to be the seat of the affections, and hence such terms of expression: as also in Gen_43:30; 1Ki_3:26; Isa_63:15; Lam_1:20; Php_1:8; 1Jn_3:17, et al.

“The Lord” here is Jehovah: under which name the Lord spake and wrought before He was made man. See Bishop Pearson On the Creed, in Article 2, proving the significance of κίριος, or Lord, as the right translation of the Hebrew El, Elohim, Shaddai, Adonai, and Jehovah. And compare Isa_40:3 with Mat_3:1; Mal_3:1 with Mat_11:10 and Jer_23:6.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jam_5:11

We count them happy which endure

Endurance

Most natural words for an apostle to use.

He lived in the days of persecution. He was the head of that Church in which his namesake James was slain, Peter imprisoned, and Stephen stoned. But when persecution ceases, when times of rest and quiet come, have the words still a meaning to us? Yes; they are as true as ever now. He alone who has endured is truly happy. An easy life brings not out the powers of the soul. It only tries the surface; it does not search what is deeper. This kind of life, doubtless, is good for some. God knows what is best for each. He has given to some few opportunities, slight abilities, regular duties. He has taken the stones of stumbling and the rocks of offence out of their way. Quietly and gently, yet surely, as we hope, do they travel forward to a truer and more perfect rest. This, then, is happiness. And yet not happiness in itself of the highest kind. They that endure are the truly happy. For--

1. Consider we are all sinners. Surely we should be thankful for that which makes us know ourselves; which gives us self-knowledge; which forces us to search ourselves, probe our hearts, and test our conduct; which awakes us from sleep; which calls forth dormant powers, and raises us into activity. Trials are as prophets of old; they are clothed in a sad dress, but they warn us. They tell us what is true happiness--not to enjoy, not to be careless, not to laugh; but to work hard, to labour steadily, to endure what has to be endured.

2. This was the life of Christ. Would you prefer to it the life of any prince, noble, prosperous merchant, merry-hearted youth? Doubtless they are happy in their way. But as gold is better than silver, so is the happiness of Christ a far higher happiness than theirs. And why do we count Christs life blessed? Because He endured.

3. This is that which does most good, and that which does most good is the happiest. He who attacks sin and ignorance, he who seeks out misery to relieve it, does the most direct good. Now, attack evil, ignorance, misery, we cannot, except with a contest. They are deeply seated. Then comes the struggle. With the struggle comes the endurance, the labour, the toil, the disappointment, the renewed struggle, more endurance.

4. Surely the right thing is work now, rest hereafter. Things show best by contrast. Tis the shadow that shows us what light is. It is ungenerous to wish to win heaven lightly. Should we expect, or even desire, ever to sail over an unruffled sea? Should the sea be as calm as the harbour? Should we be satisfied with the merits of Christ? Is there not something to be filled up? What is all that that is said about a great struggle, a race, a wrestling, a combat? Do we need no inward strivings, no hidden battle, no earnest prayers, no sorrowing for sin? We count the dead blessed who have endured; not simply as if so much affliction and sorrow and pain were so much expiation and satisfaction; but we count, as Christians, him happy who has endured after the pattern and model of Christs endurance. Nothing else can give us confidence or inspire us with a well-grounded hope. He who is dead may have had less or more to endure; still, something, be he who he may, he must have had to endure. This is the question: Has he endured it with a Christian patience? That which we would think of others, let us each think of ourselves. Endurance should form and fashion our character, try our powers, call out our activity, test our disposition, regulate our temper, teach us confidence in God, wean our souls from the world, join us nearer to the Divine life through Christ; at the same time make us more human, enable us to feel for others trials; on every side should it strengthen and improve us, so that in all sincerity we may bless God our Father, for that He has not left us without trouble, for that He has not sent us pain, for that He has made us to have not an over-easy life. (James Lonsdale, M. A.)

Suffering

It seems to me a perfectly fair question to ask, Was there ever any fully-developed soul who did not suffer intensely, and in that suffering develop the forces and talents within it, rising almost to the level of genius? Have you never felt in the presence of some mighty spirit, born with unusual powers, capable of accomplishing mighty things, rising in the sublimity of his forces to the transcendent heights of genius, yet never having been burned to the fibres of his soul by the consuming fire of pain and agony--have you not felt in the presence of such a life that, when the supreme moment of Christlike agony shall have come to him, he will burst the bonds binding him by reason of his limitations, and through the fires of his suffering spring into hitherto unknown powers and capabilities? Shall we dare to say that Lincoln could have been a Lincoln without his sufferings? Dante a Dante without his? Luther, Melancthon, Ridley, Cranmer, St. Augustine? Oh, how the pain of sin entered St. Augustines soul; how the biting chisel of violated law cut the fair beauty of holiness, engraved his character! and through his confessions we are enabled to see the process through which the angel of his spirit was let out. Dare we say that St. Augustine would have been what he was without all his sufferings? (S. R. Fuller.)

The goodly discipline

It is the supreme exercise of faith to believe in its goodness; to accept it as a beautiful, a precious, yea, even a blessed part of the heritage of benediction which we enjoy. It is hard to believe in the goodness of toil, and to break forth into praise as the nerves throb, and the flesh quivers under the strain. It is far harder to praise when the fibres of the soul are throbbing with anguish, and the heart reels under a pressure which it can no longer endure. The real question is, What is in the childs heart, not when it is tormented, but when it is in its right mind, and the hidden nature is free to express itself, to make known its secret thought, and to declare its love. If that be right with God, as Jobs was, the plaints and meanings enter into a compassionate ear, and are so many pleas, like the infants cry, for loving glances, tender touches, wooing words, and all the gentle efforts by which the Father strives to draw the moaning child to His bosom, and to hush him to rest in the arms of His love. It is a state of gracious discipline to which we are called in this life; not a home, not a rest, but a school of culture, a wilderness of pilgrimage, in which salvation is not through possession, but through hope. And for this goodly heritage, this scene and school of discipline, I call you this day to praise. For man constituted as he is, or rather as he has made himself by sin, tasks are good, and the sentence of toil is good. It is good to bring him back into that harmony with the Divine law from which he had withdrawn himself; good to remind him that he is living in Gods world, and not in his own, and that he must study and obey humbly the laws of its constitution if he would lift his hand, draw his breath, and eat his bread, The lesson was made hard; the work was to deepen into toil that would strain every fibre, and start every pore, that the lesson might be driven home, and that powers might be drawn forth and cultivated which, when the painful process of their first training was over, would be instruments of power and inlets of joy to the being through all the ages of eternity. Discipline takes up and carries on this ministry of the tasks of life. It carries it up into higher regions--the regions of spiritual experience and power. It is a still stronger and sharper reminder to man that he has placed himself in collision with the whole system of things around him, by the transgression of the Divine commandment; and that submission, believing submission, to the will which is above him, is the one secret of peace and blessedness. It would be very terrible for man, the sinner, in the physical world, if he could command successfully the stones to be made bread--that is, if he could make things obey him instead of God. It would but make for him a fools paradise for a moment, which his own selfish passions would soon convert into a hell. It would be still more terrible, were it possible for man, if he could lie, and cheat, and steal, or be arrogant, self-willed, lustful, tyrannous, or unjust, and live peaceably, free from storm and inward and outward wretchedness. If he could play the tyrant in his home, and find it a house of benediction, or in his state, and find it prosperous and strong; if he could play the hypocrite or the satyr in his own soul, and be honoured and loved of all men, live in peace and die in hope, it would be a training for a miserable and lost eternity. The pain of life throws back mans thought on his sin. He sees, or is meant to see, how his own selfishness, injustice, impurity, are armed with scourges to smite him, and will bury their thongs in his quivering flesh, and stain them with the starting blood, before they leave him to dream, if he can, that the way of the transgressor is peace. But it would be a dark mistake to imagine that the whole meaning of lifes discipline has relation to transgression, and that when it has convinced a man of sin, and set right his relations with the laws of the world around him, its work is done. The end of the Lord in much of our affliction is not so much to convert as to elevate, purify, and conform unto Himself. There is a strange absence of bitterness in this form of suffering; the pain may be terribly sharp, while within there is the perfect peaceful consciousness that the chastisement is the most tender and even yearning manifestation of the Divine love. Those deeply experienced in suffering learn lessons of unselfish thought and activity, of devotion to great ends of human good, of comfort, of healing, of teaching, of ministering, which make them the helpers and saviours of society. And what is true of the greatest, is true in minor measure of minor ministries of blessing. It is those who have learnt much in Gods high-school of discipline who best understand His mind and methods, and are His servants and ministers for the instruction of the world. It is suffering which unveils to us lifes inner mysteries, solves for us its deepest problems, shows us the true treasure-house of the wealth of being, and brings uncertain riches and possessions to their true weight--but a slight one--in the scale of life. The sorrowful find how little gifts and possessions can content them, can lighten their burden or soothe their pangs. They are open to the teaching which bids them lay up treasures in heaven; they know that a souls wealth lies absolutely in fellowship, sympathy, and love, and the fruit of noble, unselfish work. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)

Afflictions are blessings in disguise

A young man, who had long been confined with a diseased limb, and was near dissolution, said to a friend: What a precious treasure this affliction has been to me! It saved me from the folly and vanity of youth; it made me cleave to God as my only portion, and to eternal glory as my only hope; and I think it has now brought me very near my Fathers house.

Benefit of afflictions

A minister was recovering from a dangerous illness, when one of his friends addressed him thus: Sir, though God seems to be bringing you up from the gates of death, yet it will be a long time before you will sufficiently recover your strength and vigour of mind to preach as usual. The good man answered, You are mistaken, my friend; for this six weeks illness has taught me more divinity then all my past studies and all my ten years ministry put together.

Benefit of adversity

We are told of a merchant who lost his all in a storm, and then went to Athens to study philosophy. He soon discovered that it was better to be wise than to be wealthy, and said, I should have lost all unless I had lost much.

The honour of endurance

There lies a ship out in the stream I It is beautiful in all its lines. It has swung out from the pier, and is lying at anchor yonder; and men, as they cross the river on the ferry-boats, stand, and look at it, and admire it; and it deserves admiration. But it has never been out of port: there it stands, green, new, untried; and yet everybody thinks it is beautiful. It is like childhood, which everybody thinks is beautiful, or ought to be. There comes up the bay, and is making towards the navy-yard, another ship. It is an old ship-of-war. It has been in both oceans, and has been round the world many times. It has given and taken thunder-blows under the flag of its country. It is the old Constitution, we will suppose. She anchors at the navy-yard. See how men throng the cars, and go to the navy-yard, to get a sight of her I See how the sailors stand upon the deck, and gaze upon her I Some of them, perchance, have been in her; and to them she is thrice handsomer than any new vessel. This old war-beaten ship, that carries the memory of many memorable campaigns, lies there; and they look at its breached bow, its shattered rigging, its coarse and rude lines, its dingy sides, which seemed long since to have parted company with paint; and every one of them feels, if he is a true patriot, God bless you! old thing; God bless you! (H. W. Beecher.)

Secret of silent endurance

There lived in a village near Burnley a girl who was persecuted in her own home because she was a Christian. She struggled on bravely, seeking strength from God, and rejoicing that she was a partaker of Christs sufferings. The struggle was too much for her, but He willed it so; and at length her sufferings were ended. When they came to take off the clothes from her poor dead body, they found a piece of paper sewn inside her dress, and on it was written, He opened not His mouth. (Baxendales Anecdotes.)

Suffering, the common lot

The Mexicans to their new-born offspring, Child, thou art come into the world to suffer. Endure and hold thy peace. (Longfellow.)

The patience of Job

The pearl patience

We need to be reminded of what we have heard, for we are far too ready to forget. We are also so slow to meditate upon what we have heard that it is profitable to have our memories refreshed. We have, however, I trust, gone beyond mere hearing, for we have also seen in the story of Job that which it was intended to set vividly before our minds eye. I count it no small enrichment of our mind to have heard of the patience of Job, it comforts and strengthens us in our endurance; but it is an infinitely better thing to have seen the end of the Lord, and to have seen the undeviating tenderness and pity which are displayed even in His sorest chastisements. This is indeed a choice vein of silver, and he that hath digged in it is far richer than the more superficial person who has only heard of the patience of Job, and so has only gathered surface-truth. The patience of Job, as we hear of it, is like the shell of some rare nut from the Spice Islands, full of fragrance; but the end of the Lord, when we come to see it, is as the kernel, which is rich beyond expression with a fulness of aromatic essence. Note well the reason why the text reminds us of what we have heard and seen. When we are called to the exercise of any great virtue, we need to call in all the helps which the Holy Spirit has bestowed upon us. All our wealth of hearing and seeing we shall have need to spend in our heavenly warfare. In the present case the virtue we are called to exercise is that of patience, and therefore to help us to do it we are reminded of the things that we have heard and seen, because it is as difficult as it is necessary, and as hard to come at as it is precious when it is gained. The text is preceded by a triple exhortation to patience. We are most of us deficient in this excellent grace, and because of it we have missed many privileges, and have wasted many opportunities in which we might have honoured God, might have commended religion, and might have been exceedingly profited in our souls. Affliction has been the fire which would have removed our dross, but impatience has robbed the mental metal of the flux of submission which would have secured its proper purification. It is unprofitable, dishonourable, weakening; it has never brought us gain, and never will. I suppose we are three times exhorted to patience because we shall need it much in the future. Between here and heaven we have no guarantee that the road will be easy, or that the sea will be glassy. We have no promise that we shall be kept like flowers in a conservatory from the breath of frost, or that, like fair queens, we shall be veiled from the heat of the sun.

I. IT IS NOT AN UNHEARD OF VIRTUE TO BE PATIENT, Ye have heard of the patience of Job.

1. Observe well that the patience of Job was the patience of a marl like ourselves, imperfect and full of infirmity; for, as one has well remarked, we have heard of the impatience of Job as well as of his patience. The traces of imperfection which we see in Job prove all the more powerfully that grace can make grand examples out of common constitutions, and that keen feelings of indignation under injustice need not prevent a man becoming a model of patience.

2. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, that is, the patience of a greatly tried man. That is a very trite yet needful remark: Job could not have exhibited patience if he had not endured trial; and he could not have displayed a patience whose fame rings down the ages, till we have heard of it, if he had not known extraordinary affliction.

(1) Reflect, then, that it was the patience of a man who was tried in his estate. All his wealth was taken!

(2) Job was caused to suffer sharp relative troubles. All his children were snatched away without a warning, dying at a festival, where, without being culpably wrong, men are usually unguarded. He sits among the ashes a childless man. Ye have heard of the patience of Job. Oh, to have patience under bereavements, patience even when the insatiate archer multiplies his arrows!

(3) Ye have heard of the patience of Job under personal affliction. It is well said by one who knew mankind cruelly well, that we bear the afflictions of other people very easily; but when it touches our bone and our flesh trial assumes an earnest form, and we have need of unusual patience. Such bitter pain Job must have suffered.

(4) In addition to all this, Job bore what is perhaps the worst form of trial--namely, mental distress. The conduct of his wife must have muchgrieved him when she tempted him to Curse God, and die. And then those miserable comforters, how they crowned the edifice of his misery! They rubbed salt into his wounds, they cast dust into his eyes, their tender mercies were cruel, though well-intentioned. Woe to the man who in his midnight hour is hooted at by such owls; yet the hero of patience sinned not: Ye have heard of the patience of Job. Jobs was in all respects a most real trouble, he was no mere dyspeptic, no hysterical inventor of imaginary evil; his were no fancied losses nor minor calamities.

3. The patience of Job was the patience of a man who endured up to the very end. No break-down occurred; at every stage he triumphed, and to the utmost point he was victorious. Traces of weakness are manifest, but they are grandly overlaid by evidences of gracious power. The enemy could not triumph over Job, he threw him on a dunghill, and it became his throne, more glorious than the ivory throne of Solomon. The boils and blains with which the adversary covered the patriarch were more honour to him than a warriors gilded corslet. Never was the arch-fiend more thoroughly worsted than by the afflicted patriarch, and instead of pitying the sufferer, my pity curdles into contempt for that fallen spirit who must there have gnawed his own heart as he saw himself foiled at all points by one who had been put into his power, and one too of the feeble race of man.

4. We may once more say that the patience of Job is the virtue of one who thereby has become a great power for good. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, yes, and all the ages have heard of the patience of Job, and hell has heard of it too; and not without results in each of the three worlds. Among men the patience of Job is a great moral and spiritual force. If Job was patient under trial and affliction, why should not I be patient too? He was but a man; what was wrought in one man may be done in another. He had God to help him, and so have I; he could fall back upon the living Redeemer, so can I and why should I not?

II. IT IS NOT AN UNREASONABLE VIRTUE TO BE PATIENT, for according to our text there is great love and tenderness in it, Ye have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

1. We must have seen in Jobs story, if we have regarded it aright, that the Lord was in all. God was not away while His servant suffered; in fact, if there was any place where the thoughts of God were centred more than anywhere else in providence at that time, it was where the perfect and upright man was bearing the brunt of the storm.

2. The Lord was ruling too. He was not present as a mere spectator but as still master of the situation,

3. Moreover, the Lord was blessing Job by all his tribulation. Untold blessings were coming to the grand old man while he seemed to be losing all. It was not simply that he obtained a double portion at the end, but all along, every part of the testing process wrought out his highest good.

4. And when we come to look all Jobs life through, we see that the Lord in mercy brought him out of it all with unspeakable advantage. He who tested with one hand supported with the other. Such is the case with all afflicted saints. We may well be patient under our trials, for the Lord sends them; He is ruling in all their circumstances, He is blessing us by them, He is waiting to end them, and He is pledged to bring us through. Shall we not gladly submit to the Father of our spirits? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The patience of Job

His impatience is not once mentioned against him; but he is crowned and chronicled here for his patience. God passeth by infirmities where the heart is upright. (J. Trapp.)

The secret of patience

A Christian friend, visiting a good man under great distress and afflicting dispensations, which he bore with such patient and composed resignation as to make his friend wonder and admire it, inquired how he was enabled so to comfort himself. The good man said, The distress I am under is indeed severe; but I find it lightens the stroke very much to creep near to Him who handles the rod. (W. Denton.)

Christian patience

As Richard Baxter lay dying, in the midst of exquisite pains which arose from the nature of his disease, he said, I have a rational patience and a believing patience, though sense would recoil. Lord, when Thou wilt, what Thou wilt, how Thou wilt.

Learning patience

There is no such thing as preaching patience into people unless the sermon is so long that they have to practise it while they hear. No man can learn patience except by going out into the hurly-burly world, and taking life just as it blows. Patience is but lying-to and riding out the gale. (H. W. Beecher.)

Impatience under affliction

The truth is, when we are under any affliction, we are generally troubled with a malicious kind of melancholy; we only dwell and pore upon the sad and dark occurrences of Providence; but never take notice of the more benign and bright ones. Our way in this world is like a walk under a row of trees, checkered with light and shade: and because we cannot all along walk in the sunshine, we therefore perversely fix only upon the darker passages, and so lose all the comfort of our comforts. We are like froward children who, if you take one of their playthings from them, throw away all the rest in spite. (Bp. Hopkins.)

Trial beneficent

There is a glass containing a liquid. There is a sediment at the bottom of the glass, but it is all perfectly clear above, as clear as the water from the spring. But shake the glass, and the whole liquid becomes muddy. That was there before, but it was not perceived because all was still. Shake it, and it comes up. Do you understand that, Christian? You thought you were all right; you thought you were walking with God, but temptation came and showed you what you were. Job said, Once have I spoken--ah! and wrongly--but now, I will not answer. I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee; wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Behold, I am vile. Christian I your experience will not have been lost if it has taught you to know yourself. (S. H. Langston, M. A.)

Give God time

Suppose a man takes a great contract to build some large edifice in three or five years, and you go in three or five months, and criticise his work, and find fault with this and that. Would it not be unjust? Would he not say, Please to wait until the work is completed before you pass your judgment upon it: then I will hear what you have to say about it. God has a time in which to complete His work; and you are not to judge before the time. He that believeth shall not make haste. And when you see the end, you will be brought not only to submit to it but to approve it, and to see it is right. (S. H. Langston, M. A.)

The gladness of the gardener

It was said that a garden once became jealous of a park which adjoined it, because of a certain wonderfully beautiful bed of flowers with which the border between them was graced. The garden prayed the husbandman that she might have a bed of flowers too. Oh, but you cannot water it if you have it. You have no fountain; it would die. But the garden persisted: Why could I not have a fountain put in? The request was immediately granted. Axemen came in and hewed down trees; the sward was torn up with terribly large ploughshares; the garden groaned with pain, and hardly held still. Then the subsoil was probed for wandering and perilous roots, and the garden felt as if all its nerves were to quiver with unendurable agony. Then came men with spades, and channels of stone for drainage were laid; and by and by rocks were blasted with an awful roar of thunderbolts; and the garden screamed that it was aching with intolerable torments and lacerations. But nobody listened; there were nights that succeeded, concerning whose dreadful experiences that garden could never be made to speak in the after years. But one morning the surprise came; there was a rush of crystal spray in the air overhead, and the sunshine kindled it into rainbows. There was never a fountain like that fountain in any paradise of a prince. And the cool streams fell like gentle rain down on the bedof tulips and roses, the blossoming branches and the flowering shrubs. There was never a glory of hue and perfume, of nodding plumes and beading coronals, never such a bed of flowers in any parterre of a princess, as that. The garden, in deep quiet had nothing to say; it was very tired. But things would not need to be done over again. You see it requires courage to bear these agonies of tearing; but when the fountain plays, and the plants flourish, and the gardener comes in for a visit, the garden forgets the anguish in the discovery that the gardener is glad--glad for her sake. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)

Affliction profitable

Thomas Fuller wrote in reference to his own sufferings in the Civil War, I have observed that towns which have been casually burnt, have been built again, more beautifully than before; mud walls afterwards made of stone; and roofs, formerly but thatched, after advanced to be tiled. The apostle tells me that I must not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to happen unto me. May I likewise prove improved by it. Let my renewed soul, which grows out of the ashes of the old man, be a more pious fabric and stronger structure: so shall affliction be my advantage. (Tinlings Illustrations.)

The inward glory of affliction

The outside of a stained window looks dingy and unsightly, it has no beauty or attraction; and so the coloured windows of pain, sickness, or bereavement may, to the children of this world, appear gloomy and uninviting; but from within what a grand and radiant sight is disclosed!--the common, familiar sights of this world are hidden, but what tiring light and glory is revealed within. (H. Macmillan.)

Gods purpose in troubles

Troubles are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things. Far up the mountainside lies a block of granite, and says to itself, How happy am I in my serenity--above the winds, above the tree, almost above the flight of the birds! Here I rest age after age, and nothing disturbs me! Yet what is it? It is only a bare block of granite, jutting out of the cliff, and its happiness is the happiness of death. By and by comes the miner, and with strong and repeated strokes he drills a hole in its top, and the rock says, What does this mean? Then the black powder is poured in, and with a blast that makes the mountain echo the block is blown asunder, and goes crashing down into the valley. Ah! it exclaims, as it falls, why this rending? Then some one saws to cut and fashion it; and humbled now, and willing to be nothing, it is borne away from the mountain and conveyed to the city. Now it is chiselled and polished, till, at length, finished in beauty, by block and tackle it is raised with mighty hoistings, high in the air, to be the top-stone on some monument of the countrys glory. (H. W. Beecher.)

Wisdom of trials

Unthinking people would like a world where corn should grow spontaneously and plenty ever lie ready to hand. They would have their path beautified by flowers fairer than those of Eden, and refreshed by zephyrs balmier than those of the sunny south. They would banish care, and make work obsolete, How would all this issue? Doubtless in the degeneracy of our race into a crowd of soft and slothful Sybarites. God is too wise for this. He knows comfort to be of far less importance than character, and acts on that knowledge. (S. Coley.)

The Lord is very pitiful

The pitifulness of the Lord the comfort of the afflicted

We are far too apt to entertain hard thoughts of God. The horrible atheism of our depraved nature continually quarrels with the Most High; and when we are under His afflicting hand, and things go cross to our will, the evil of our nature becomes sadly evident. Let us never forget that our hard speeches and our suspicions of our God have always been libels upon Him. On taking a survey of our whole life, we see that the kindness of God has run all through it like a silver thread. Goodness and mercy have followed us all our days, even pursuing us when we have wickedly fled from them. Even our apparent ills have been real blessings. Let each restored man say, He healeth all my diseases. Let each tried one now say, Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. Let the aged man bring the Spoils of his experience and lay them down at the feet of the Lord who hitherto hath helped him. Our desire will be to help one another to avoid future mumurings.

I. Notice that when James is exhorting us to full confidence in God in the hour of trial, He gives us AN INSTRUCTIVE INSTANCE. He quotes the story of Job. Observe that when this apostle introduces Job it is with the view of pointing out the tender mercy of God in his case; and he begins by saying, Behold, we count them happy which endure.

1. The pitifulness and tender mercy of God are to be seen in the happiness of those who are called to suffer. We count them happy which endure.

This arithmetic is only known to faith, and must be learned of the Lord Jesus We--that is, the Church of God--count them happy who are counted worthy to suffer for Christs sake. I may venture to say that the more sensible part of mankind in some measure concur with the people of God in this accounting. We count that man happy who has passed through trial and hardship with a brave endurance. Such life is of an interesting and manly kind; but life without struggle and difficulty is thin and tasteless. How can a noble life be constructed if there be no difficulty to overcome, no suffering to bear? When we see what poor, paltry things those are who are nursed in the lap of luxury, and consequently never come to a real manhood, we count them happy that endure. This counting is not mere fancy, but it is a correct estimate: there is a happiness in affliction which none will doubt who have tasted it. When we look to the end of affliction, when we see all its comfortable fruit, when we mark what it corrects, and observe what it produces, we judge that it is no mean blessing. Happy is the man who has been enabled to endure; he rises from the deeps of woe like a pearl-finder from the sea, rich beyond comparison. The people of God find themselves more buoyant in the saltest seas of sorrow than in other waters. The Cross does in very deed raise us nearer to Christ when it is fully sanctified. Rare gems glisten in the mines of adversity. We never get so near to the source of all heavenly consolation as when earthly comfort is removed far away. God seemeth never so much a Husband to any as to the widow; and never so much a Father as to the fatherless. Endurance also works in the child of God a close clinging to God, which produces near and dear communion with Him. Sorrows reveal to us the Man of Sorrows. Griefs waft us to the bosom of our God. Beside, the Lord has a choice way of manifesting Himself unto His servants in their times of weakness. He draws the curtain about the bed of His chosen sufferer, and at the same time He withdraws another curtain which aforetime concealed His glory, He takes away the delights of health and vigour, and then He implants energy of another and a higher order, so that the inner man waxeth mighty while the outer man decayeth. So wondrously doth grace work beyond nature that it transfigures bodily sickness into spiritual health.

2. Now notice here the notability--I had almost said the nobility--of endurance. As one truly says, Jobs bones had lain to this day in the common charnel-house of oblivion if it had not been for his sufferings and his patience. Ye have heard of the patience of Job. But you would never have heard of Job if he had always been prosperous. Even in worldly histories it is by enduring hardness that men build their memorials. Who that has read the classics has not heard of Mutius Scaevola? and why? He was a valiant man, but he did not win his name by a common deed in battle. His fights are unrecorded; but you have heard of his laying his right hand upon the burning coals of an altar, to let Porsenna see how a Roman could endure pain without shrinking. When he suffered his right hand to burn he was writing his name in his countrys annals. A thousand instances prove that only by endurance can names be graven in the brass of history. To make a man a man, to bring his manhood forward, and to make other men see it, there must be endurance.

3. Once again, in order to see the pitifulness of God in sorrow, we must see the Lords end in it; for, saith the apostle, Ye have seen the end of the Lord. Gods end in affliction is that which proves that He is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. We see not so much how grace works as what it works. The design of the Lord is more to be noted than the method He pursues.

(1) First, remember that the Lords end in sending affliction to His people is corrective. Sanctified sorrow is a sharp frost which kills the germs of spiritual disease.

(2) Moreover, affliction is sent for the display of grace. Our graces lie asleep within us, like slumbering soldiers, until affliction strikes its terrible drum and awakens them. You know not what spirit you are of till you have been under tribulation. You count yourself rich, but in the fire your gold is tested. You reckon that your house is well built, but the flames find out the wood, and hay, and stubble. Self-knowledge is never sure if it come not of tests and temptations. Therefore we count them happy that endure, because they are less likely to be deceived. God is to be praised for the discovery of our graces, for thus affliction becomes a blessing without disguise.

(3) Further, our trials are an education for the future. I do not think that Job was fit to have any more substance until his heart had been enlarged by trouble; then he could bear twice as much as before. Prosperity softens and renders us unfit for more of itself; but adversity braces the soul and hardens it to patience. Beloved, I would not have you forget that the end of the Lord is always with His tried people to give them greater happiness as the result of it. Mark, in Job_31:40 it is written, The words of Job are ended, ended amid thistles and cockle; but the end of the Lord was very different, for He loaded His servant with pieces of money and earrings of gold, and blessed his latter end more than his beginning. Thine end, O thou that art tossed with tempest and not comforted, shall come forth from thy God when He shall lay thy stones with fair colours and thy foundations with sapphires. He will restore thy soul even in this life, and give thee joy and rest out of thy sorrow. As for the life to come, how little do we take it into our estimate! It is as the main ocean, and this life is no better than the village brook. The sorrows of time are a mere pins prick at the most, if we contrast them with the joy eternal. What shall we think of these temporary inconveniences when we reach eternal felicity?

II. OUR APOSTLE MAKES CONSOLING STATEMENT: The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

1. Observe that this is the teaching of Gods holy Word; and therefore if we have at this moment no evidence of it perceptible to sight or sense, we are bound to believe it all the same. Do not be persuaded by man or devil to think ill of thy God. He has a fathers heart even when He makes thee feel the strokes of His hand. Thy God cannot be unkind to thee. He cannot forsake thee.

2. But further, the text tells us that this truth may be seen; and while it is a matter of faith, yet it may be also a matter of sight. Beloved, it is true the Lord has burdened thee; is it not also true that He has sustained thee? Above is the billow, but underneath are the everlasting arms. See the pitifulness of God in this! How often the mercy of God is seen in sickness and suffering by His mitigating the pain and loss! Those who are washed in the blood of Jesus shall never be drowned in the sea of sorrow. Observe also the tender pity of God in forgiving the sin of His suffering people. When your child has a fever, it may be he is fretful, and begins to talk foolishly. Maybe he talks unkind things against those very persians whom in his heart he loves best. Do you ever say to the child afterwards, John, I am very grieved that you said such shocking things about me and about your mother? Far from it; you say, Poor dear, he does not know what he is talking about; he is wandering ill his mind. So does God deal with our naughtiness when we are under His hand; when He sees that it is rather weakness than wilfulness, He is very pitiful and full of compassion, and blots out the transgressions of His people.

3. See how the tenderness and pitifulness of God are also seen in the revelations lie makes to His saints. So also in the overrulings of our sorrows His love is conspicuous. He often sends a great sorrow that we may not be compelled to bear a greater one. Thank God for the preventive operations of His providence! Bless Him, above all, for the sweet rewards that come to His tried people when afterwards they bear the comfortable fruits of His righteousness, and especially when He comes to them in the riches of His grace, and turns their midnight into everlasting day. In closing the second head i should like to say I wish we could all read the original Greek; for this word, The Lord is very pitiful, is a specially remarkable one. It means literally that the Lord hath many bowels, or a great heart, and so it indicates great tenderness. The other word is the complement of the first--and of tender mercy. There is then, you see, in these two words, pity for misery and mercy for sin: there is inward pity in the heart of God, and outward action in the mercy of God; there is sympathy for suffering, and grace for guilt. These two things make up what we want.

III. THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED out of the whole subject.

1. The first is, be patient. The Lord never grieves us because lie likes to grieve us. He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. There is a needs be for every sorrow. Lie still, brother; let the Good Shepherd clip as lie pleases; though He may cut very close to the skin, He is very pitiful, and would only rid thee of that which would harm thee.

2. The next lesson is, be penitent. Seek the Lord while lie may be found, call upon Him while He is near. He welcomes all who repent; He is eager to forgive; delay no longer.

3. The last lesson is, be pitiful. If God be pitiful and of tender mercy, children of God, you are to imitate Him and to be pitiful too. (C. H.Spurgeon.)

And of tender mercy

The mercy of God

Probably no one who believes that God is, disbelieves that He is merciful. But wherein the action of His mercy takes effect is not so clear but that minds may differ about it. Sometimes we figure the mercy of God acting like the mercy of man in granting exemption from responsibilities and liabilities. Mercy is said to be shown to a convict when the penalty imposed by law is in part or altogether remitted.

There are difficulties in the way of thus construing the action of Gods mercy. One is its contrariety to what we see of God in nature, in whose phenomena we can nowhere see any cut-off interposed between causes and effects, but a stringently maintained law of consequences. That this law of nature is also a law of moral nature seems to be attested by the spiritual maxim: Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Another difficulty in the way of supposing that the mercy of God works by remission of consequences, like the mercy of man, is in the doubtful utility of such a method. It is hardly to be doubted that the moral tone of society would be far more healthful than it is were there less interference, in the name of mercy, with the consequences of violated law. For a man to imagine he may lie or steal, and escape the evil consequence, is most immoral and dangerous. It fosters this illusion, whenever a weak, good nature averts from a guilty back the scourge of just consequence, Mercy does not seek first to make men comfortable, but to make them morally sound and strong in conformity to right. For this, a strict subjection to the consequences of conduct, whether in the State or in the family, is indispensable. It is not in the way of release from any part of our just responsibilities that we must think of the mercy of God. Every man shall bear his own burden. Quite congruous with this is a saying in Psa_62:1-12, where we shall find the mercy of God if we are thus strictly subjected to the law of consequences: To Thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy; for Thou renderest to everyman according to his work. While this affirms the benevolence of strictly holding us to accountability for whatever is our work, it also permits us to think of a procedure which--at least, in comparison with human judgments--deserves to be called merciful. When we discriminate in a mans work that which is strictly his from that which is the work of his parents, or teachers, or of disease, or of the spirit of his time, even a wicked man appears less culpable. Many a man shows the work of his father, or of his surroundings, mixed with his own. If childhood has been subjected to a training which stunts virtue or piety, the resulting vice or scepticism of the man is not all his work. To unravel the tangled skein of responsibility, to crown each man with the pearls or thorns which are due to the work that is strictly his, is the perogative of that Divine judgment which the sinner, thus dealt with, may well deem merciful. In what appears to us the most execrable life, Omniscient may discriminate in the wreck the contributing agency of more than one wrongdoer. Where human judgments are unmerciful in loading one with the guilt of many, the mercy of God appears in apportioning to each no more than is strictly his own. To this we have to add the work of mercy in the forgiveness of sins--the blotting out of offences by the kiss that makes the prodigal again atone with the father--the inspirations of filial trust in the grace of God, by which the forgiven one is empowered to retrieve and repair the past, till the tear of repentance is dry in the joy of a complete remission of his sins. (J. M.Whiton, Ph. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5:11 Job was a man of great endurance because he remained faithful to God throughout his hardships (Job 1:20-21; 2:9-10) despite his complaints (Job 3:1-26; 12:1-3; 16:1-3).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Jas 5:11. Ἰδοὺ) See App. Crit. on the passage.—τοὺς ὑπομείναντας, those who have endured) in preference to those who have lived luxuriously. The Alexandrian Codex and Euthalius give weight to those which read ὑπομείναντας.[73]—ὑπομονὴν, endurance, patience) James returns to the subject with which he began: comp. ch. Jas 1:3, note. חקוה, Septuagint, ὙΠΟΜΟΝῊ, in Job 14:19. It here marks constancy attaining to the desired object.—ΤῸ ΤΈΛΟς ΚΥΡΊΟΥ) the end, which the Lord gave to Job.—ΕἼΔΕΤΕ, ye have seen) There is the same use of the word, with respect to a transaction long ago past, Heb 3:19. Patience and its end are in consonance, ch. Jas 1:4; Mat 24:13. James is not silent respecting the end of the patience of Job.—ὅτι, [“that”] since) This depends upon the words immediately preceding. It is a continued sentence. Patience is twice mentioned, and the Lord is twice mentioned. Sir 2:11, ΟἸΚΤΊΡΜΩΝ ΚΑῚ ἘΛΕΉΜΩΝ, ΜΑΚΡΌΘΥΜΟς ΚΑῚ ΠΟΛΥΈΛΕΟς, full of compassion and mercy, long-suffering and very pitiful.—πολύσπλαγχνος, very pitiful) He does not lay upon the patient more than he is able to bear.—οἰκτίρμων) He mercifully gives a happy issue. The figure Chiasmus: οἰκτίρμων, from εἴκω, to yield, denotes a tender affection even without respect to calamity or misery, as David says to the Lord, ארחמך, Psa 18:2.

[73] AB Vulg. and both Syr. Versions read ὑπομείναντας. So Lachm. rightly Rec. Text, with Memph. and Theb. Versions and inferior Uncial MSS., reads ὑπομένοντας: so Tisch. But this does not suit the connection so well, which plainly refers to those who had in former times endured.—E.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jam_5:11 assigns a new reason for the exhortation: Behold, we count happy them who endure; the μακαρίζειν of them is founded on the consciousness that God does not leave them unrewarded (Mat_5:12), which is clearly manifested in the life of Job, on which account James, in conclusion, refers to him. By the reading τοὺς ὑπομένοντας the idea is to be taken quite generally; whereas by the better attested reading τοὺς ὑπομείναντας it is to be limited to sufferers of the past time; the latter is more in conformity with the context (Wiesinger). The restricted reference to τοὺς προφήτας (Grotius, Baumgarten, Pott, Hottinger, Theile) is not to be justified.

τὴν ὑπομόνην Ἰὼβ ἠκούσατε] ὑπομόνη is not = perpessio (Storr), but the patience which Job displayed both in his afflictions and in his replies to the contradictions of his friends; Tob_2:12-14 (Vulg.; the text in the Greek ed. Tisch. reads differently) refers to the same example; also in Eze_14:14; Eze_14:20, Job is mentioned as a righteous man along with Noah and Daniel.

ἠκούσατε] may refer specially to the reading in the synagogue, but may be understood generally.

καὶ τὸ τέλος κυρίου] is, according to the connection given above, to be referred to and explained of the issue in which the sufferings of Job terminated: finem, quern a Domino habuit; so that κυρίου is the genit. subj. or causae (2Co_11:26); thus most expositors explain it. Others, as Augustin, Bede, Lyra, Estius, Thomas, Pareus, Wetstein, Lange, assume that by τέλος κυρίου the death of Christ is to be understood. Against this is not only the concluding clause, but also the context, which points to the end to which the pious sufferer is brought by the mercy of God, and on account of which he is accounted happy; apart altogether from the improbability that James should connect the example of Christ immediately with that of Job.[234]

With the reading εἴδετε this can only be understood of indirect seeing, namely, of clear perception by hearing (de Wette). The better attested reading, however, is ἴδετε, and it can only be regarded as an oversight that Wiesinger translates this ἴδετε by audiendo cognovistis, as it is not the indicative, but the imperative. The imperative is here certainly surprising, and was on that account changed into the indicative. Tischendorf has connected ἴδετε with what goes before, and then it is to be explained: Ye have heard of the patience of Job, look also at the end which the Lord gave. The connection with what follows would, however, be more suitable: Ye have heard of the patience of Job and the end which the Lord gave; see (i.e. recognise from this) that the Lord is πολύσπλαγχνος and οἰκτίρμων. Such an imperative, introduced ἀσυνδέτως, is not foreign to the style of James; comp. chap. Jam_1:16; Jam_1:19. With the Receptus, and also with the union of ἴδετε with τὸ τέλος κυρίου, ὅτι is not a particle of proof = for (de Wette, Wiesinger, Lange), since in the preceding words no thought is expressed which would be confirmed by this clause;[235] but an objective particle that; a twofold object is joined to the verb, the second definitely bringing forward the point indicated in the first; arbitrarily Theile translates it and certainly.

The subject to ἔστιν is at all events ὁ κύριος, which, according to the most important authorities, is to be retained as genuine.

πολύσπλαγχνος] is a complete ἅπ. λεγ. coined after the Hebrew רַב הֶסֶד (Wiesinger), which the LXX. translate πολυέλεος, see Exo_34:6, etc.; in Eph_4:32, 1Pe_3:8, is the related expression εὔσπλαγχνος.

οἰκτίρμων] in the N. T. only here and in Luk_6:36 (comp. Col_3:12 : σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ), frequently in O. T.; comp. with this passage, particularly Exo_34:6; Psa_103:8; and Sir_2:7 ff.

The reference to the mercy of God was to impress the readers, in their sufferings, with the hope that the reward of their patience would not fail them, and to encourage them to stedfast endurance.

[234] In a most unsatisfactory manner Lange seeks to justify this, by observing that James did thus connect the example of Abraham with that of Rahab. It is evidently inappropriate to place together Job as the great sufferer of the Old Testament, with Christ as the great sufferer of the New Testament.

[235] In a peculiar but highly arbitrary manner, Lange refers ὅτι to what directly precedes, uniting it with τὸ τέλος κυρίου in the sense that it is thereby specified what Christ was able to effect in entering upon His sufferings.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jas 5:11 . μακαρίζομεν : Cf. 4Ma 18:13 , used in reference to Daniel. Ἰώβ : Job occupies a high place of honour in post-biblical Jewish literature, cf. the pseudepigraphic work “The Testament of Job”. τὸ τέλος Κυρίου : the final purpose of Jehovah with regard to Job; it could not refer to Christ, for the whole passage is dealing with O.T. examples. πολύσπλαγχνος : ἅπ . λεγ . in N.T. οἰκτίρμων : only elsewhere in N.T. in Luk 6:36 ; cf. Sir 2:11 and often in the Septuagint.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

What end the Lord gave.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

count them happy-- (Mat 5:10).

which endure--The oldest authorities read, "which have endured," which suits the sense better than English Version: "Those who in past days, like the prophets and Job, have endured trials." Such, not those who "have lived in pleasure and been wanton on the earth" (Jam 5:5), are "happy."

patience--rather, "endurance," answering to "endure": the Greek words similarly corresponding. Distinct from the Greek word for "patience" Jam 5:10. The same word ought to be translated, "endurance," Jam 1:3. He here reverts to the subject which he began with.

Job--This passage shows the history of him is concerning a real, not an imaginary person; otherwise his case could not be quoted as an example at all. Though he showed much of impatience, yet he always returned to this, that he committed himself wholly to God, and at last showed a perfect spirit of enduring submission.

and have seen--(with the eyes of your mind). ALFORD translates from the old and genuine reading, "see also," &c. The old reading is, however, capable of being translated as English Version.

the end of the Lord--the end which the Lord gave. If Job had much to "endure," remember also Job's happy "end." Hence, learn, though much tried, to "endure to the end."

that--ALFORD and others translate, "inasmuch as," "for."

pitiful . . . of tender mercy--The former refers to the "feeling"; the latter, to the act. His pity is shown in not laying on the patient endurer more trials than he is able to bear; His mercy, in His giving a happy "end" to the trials [BENGEL].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

11 The patience of Job. Having spoken generally of the prophets, he now refers to an example remarkable above others; for no one, as far as we can learn from histories, has ever been overwhelmed with troubles so hard and so various as Job; and yet he emerged from so deep a gulf. Whosoever, then, will imitate his patience, will no doubt find God’s hand, which at length delivered him, to be the same. We see for what end his history has been written. God suffered not his servant Job to sink, because he patiently endured his afflictions. Then he will disappoint the patience of no one.

If, however, it be asked, Why does the Apostle so much commend the patience of Job, as he had displayed many signs of impatience, being carried away by a hasty spirit? To this I reply, that though he sometimes failed through the infirmity of the flesh, or murmured within himself, yet he ever surrendered himself to God, and was ever willing to be restrained and ruled by him. Though, then, his patience was somewhat deficient, it is yet deservedly commended.

The end of the Lord. By these words he intimates that afflictions ought ever to be estimated by their end. For at first God seems to be far away, and Satan in the meantime revels in the confusion; the flesh suggests to us that we are forsaken of God and lost. We ought, then, to extend our view farther, for near and around us there appears no light. Moreover, he has called it the end of the Lord, because it is his work to give a prosperous issue to adversities. If we do our duty in bearing evils obediently, he will by no means be wanting in performing his part. Hope directs us only to the end; God will then shew himself very merciful, how ever rigid and severe he may seem to be while afflicting us.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

11. we count them happy which endure …] Better, we call them blessed, the verb being formed from the adjective used in ch. Jas_1:12. Comp. Luk_2:48. The words may contain a reference to Dan_12:12.

Ye have heard of the patience of Job] Better, endurance, to keep up the connexion with the verb. It is singular that, though the book is once quoted (1Co_3:19, Job_5:13), this is the only reference in the New Testament to the history of Job. Philo, however, quotes from Job_14:4 (de Mutat. Nom. xxiv.), and he is referred to by Clement of Rome (1.17.26). The book would naturally be studied by one whose attention had been drawn, as St James’s manifestly had been, to the sapiential Books included in the Hagiographa of the Old Testament. It is obvious that he refers to the book as containing an actual history, as obvious that his so referring to it throws no light on the questions which have been raised, but which it would be out of place to discuss here, as to its authorship and date.

and have seen the end of the Lord] The words have received two very different interpretations. (1) They have been referred to the “end” which the “Lord” wrought out for Job after his endurance had been tried, as in Job_42:12. (2) The “end of the Lord” has been understood as pointing to the death and resurrection of Christ as the Lord who had been named in Jas_5:7, the highest example of patience in the Old Testament being brought into juxtaposition with the Highest of all Examples. On this view the passage becomes parallel with 1Pe_2:19-25. The clause that follows is, however, decisively in favour of (1), nor is there any instance of a New Testament writer using the term “end” of the passion and death of Christ. Mat_26:58, which is the nearest approach to such a use, is scarcely in point.

that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy] The first of the two adjectives, of which the nearest English equivalent would be large-hearted or perhaps tender-hearted, is not found in any other writer, and may have been a coinage of St James’s. The latter occurs in Sir_2:11, in close juxtaposition with a passage which we have already found referred to in the Epistle (Sir_2:11), and which may therefore have been present to St James’s thoughts. In this instance “the Lord” is clearly used in the Old Testament sense, and this, as has been said, determines the meaning of the previous clause.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold, we count them happy which endure,.... Affliction, with courage, constancy, and patience, and hold out to the end; for such shall be saved; theirs is the kingdom of heaven; they are happy now, and will be so hereafter: the Spirit of God, and of glory, now rests upon them; and it is an honour done them that they are counted worthy to suffer for Christ; and they will be glorified with him to all eternity; the consideration of which may serve to encourage and increase patience.

Ye have heard of the patience of Job; from the account which is given of him, and his patience, in the book that bears his name; how he behaved under every trial, which came one upon the back of another; as the plundering of his substance, the loss of his children, and of the health of his body; and yet in all this Job sinned not, nor murmured against God, nor charged him foolishly, and was a mirror of patience; and though he afterwards let fall some expressions of impatience, yet he was humbled for them, and brought to repentance: this shows, that as the Apostle James, so the Jews, to whom he writes, believed that there had been really such a man as Job; and that the book which bears his name is an authentic piece of holy Scripture, and contains a narrative of matters of fact; or otherwise this reference to him would have been impertinent. How long Job endured the chastenings of the Lord cannot be said. The Jews (y) say they continued on him twelve months, which they gather from Job 7:3.

And have seen the end of the Lord; that is, the happy end, or exodus, out of all his troubles; which the Lord gave "to him", as the Oriental versions add; for he gave him twice as much as he had before, and blessed his latter end more than his beginning, Job 42:10. Some understand this of the Lord Jesus Christ, both of his great patience in sufferings, in which he is an example to his people, and they would do well to look to, and consider him; and of the end of his sufferings, his glorious resurrection from the dead, and session at the right hand of God, where he is crowned with glory and honour; but the former sense is best:

that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy; as to Job, so to all his people; his paternal relation to them engages his pity towards them; nor does he willingly afflict them; and when he does, he sympathizes with them; he is afflicted with them, and in his pity redeems them; his heart moves towards them, and he earnestly remembers them, and works deliverance for them in his own time and way; and therefore it becomes them to be patient.

(y) Seder Olam Rabba, c. 3. p. 9.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Ver. 11. We count them happy] If they suffer as they should do, not else. Mithridates showed long patience, such as it was, forced and feigned. He was in a kind of fever called epialis, wherein men be cold without, but hot as fire within. This fever he quenched with his vital blood, shed with his own hand.

Ye have heard of the patience of Job] His impatience is not once mentioned against him; but he is crowned and chronicled here for his patience. God passeth by infirmities, where the heart is upright.

And have seen the end of the Lord] That is, how well it was with Job at the last. Or (as others will have it) what a sweet end the Lord Christ made; whereunto you were some of you eyewitnesses, and should be herein his followers.

And of tender mercy] Having for his motto that of the Emperor Rupert, Miseria res digna misericordia, Misery calleth for mercy.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold, we count them happy which endure - The word rendered “we count them happy” (μακαρίζομεν makarizomen,) occurs only here and in Luk 1:48, where it is rendered “shall call me blessed.” The word μακάριος makarios (blessed, or happy,) however, occurs often. See Mat 5:3-11; Mat 11:6; Mat 13:6, et soepe. The sense here is, we speak of their patience with commendation. They have done what they ought to do, and their name is honored and blessed.

Ye have heard of the patience of Job - As one of the most illustrious instances of patient sufferers. See Job 1:21. The book of Job was written, among other reasons, to show that true religion would bear any form of trial to which it could be subjected. See Job 1:9-11; Job 2:5-6.

And have seen the end of the Lord - That is, the end or design which the Lord had in the trials of Job, or the result to which he brought the case at last - to wit, that he showed himself to be very merciful to the poor sufferer; that he met him with the expressions of his approbation for the manner in which he bore his trials; and that he doubled his former possessions, and restored him to more than his former happiness and honor. See Job 13. Augustine, Luther, Wetstein, and others, understand this as referring to the death of the Lord Jesus, and as meaning that they had seen the manner in which he suffered death, as an example for us. But, though this might strike many as the true interpretation, yet the objections to it are insuperable.

(1) It does not accord with the proper meaning of the word “end,” (τέλος telos). That word is in no instance applied to “death,” nor does it properly express death. It properly denotes an end, term, termination, completion; and is used in the following senses: -

(a) To denote the end, the termination, or the last of anything, Mar 3:26; 1Co 15:24; Luk 21:9; Heb 7:3;

(b) An event, issue, or result, Mat 26:58; Rom 6:21; 2Co 11:18;

(c) The final purpose, that to which all the parts tend, and in which they terminate, 1Ti 1:5;

(d) Tax, custom, or tribute - what is paid for public ends or purposes, Mat 17:25; Rom 13:7.

(2) This interpretation, referring it to the death of the Saviour, would not accord with the remark of the apostle in the close of the verse, “that the Lord is very merciful.” That is, what he says was “seen,” or this was what was particularly illustrated in the ease referred to. Yet this was not particularly seen in the death of the Lord Jesus. He was indeed most patient and submissive in his death, and it is true that he showed mercy to the penitent malefactor; but this was not the particular and most prominent trait which he evinced in his death. Besides, if it had been, that would not have been the thing to which the apostle would have referred here. His object was to recommend patience under trials, not mercy shown to others; and this he does by showing:

(a) That Job was an eminent instance of it, and,

(b) That the result was such as to encourage us to be patient.

The end or the result of the divine dealings in his case was, that the Lord was “very pitiful and of tender mercy;” and we may hope that it will be so in our case, and should therefore be encouraged to be patient under our trials.

That the Lord is very pitiful - As he showed deep compassion in the case of Job, we have equal reason to suppose that he will in our own.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

We count them happy which endure; we ourselves count them happy that endure, and therefore should be patient, and not count ourselves miserable if we endure too.

Which endure; viz. patiently and constantly, Mat 5:10,11.

Ye have heard of the patience of Job; for which he was as eminent as for his sufferings; and though some signs of impatience be showed, yet his patience and submission to God being prevalent, and most remarkable to him, that only is taken notice of, and his failings overlooked.

And have seen the end of the Lord: Job’s patience is heard of, but God’s end seen: seeing being a clearer way of perception than hearing, is put in this latter clause, because God’s bounty and recompence was more evident than Job’s patience.

The end of the Lord; the good issue God gave to all Job’s sufferings, in restoring him to his former state, and doubling his prosperity.

That the Lord is very pitiful; full of bowels, Greek; the bowels being the seat of compassion, (in which we feel a stirring when strong affections are working in us), are frequently put to signify the most tender and movable affections, such as mothers have toward their children, Gen 43:30; 1Ki 3:26; Isa 43:15; Col 3:12; this seems to note the affection itself, or God’s readiness to show mercy, Luk 1:78.

And of tender mercy: this may imply acts of mercy suitable to a merciful nature, the former mercy within, and this mercy breaking out.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. Count them happy which endure—The noble saints of old are eulogized. We esteem them happy in having left such a record. Be thou like them, and you will be finally happy, too.

End of the Lord—The end which Jehovah has for the truly patient. “The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning.” Job_42:12.

Lord… mercy—Job’s example does not prove that you will have, like him, a prosperous latter end; but it does prove the character of our Lord; and that it is his nature to append a happy consequent to our patient antecedents.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold, we count them happy. Makarizein: only here and Luk_1:48 (comp. Jam_1:12, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation;". Dan_12:12, "Blessed is he that waiteth Which endure; rather, which endured, reading uJpomeinantav, with a, A, B, Syriac, Latt. (quisustinuerunt). Ye have heard of the patience of Job. A book very rarely referred to in the New Testament; only here and in 1Co_3:19, where Job_5:13 is quoted. And have seen the end of the Lord.

Idete ("see") is found in A, B, L, but eidete of the Received Text has the support of a, B, K, Vulgate (ridistis), and is now generally adopted. The "end of the Lord (tolov Kuriou)" cannot possibly be interpreted of the death and resurrection of our Savior. The whole context is against this, and Kuriou would certainly require the article. The Syriac Version rightly interprets the clause, "the end which the Lord wrought for him." It dearly refers to the end which God brought about in the case of Job, whose "latter end the Lord blessed more than his beginning". (Job_42:12; cf. Winer, "Grammar of New Testament Greek," p. 309) That the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy, Polusplacnov: here only; never in the LXX, but equivalent to Hebrew ds,j, br; cf. Psalm 103. (102.), 8; 111. (110.), 4, which may have suggested the phrase to St. James. Oijktirmwn: only here and Luk_6:36; several times in the LXX JO Kuriov is omitted entirely in K, L, and some manuscripts of the Vulgate; the article is also wanting in B.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

We count them happy that endured - That suffered patiently. The more they once suffered, the greater is their present happiness. Ye have seen the end of the Lord - The end which the Lord gave him.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

That is, all persons do judge and pronounce those that have suffered death, for righteousness sake, to be in a very happy condition; though they live persecuted, yet they die sainted. Living saints are an eye sore; by the strictness of their lives, and the severity of their reproofs, they torment a wicked world; but dead saints do not stand in the way of their lusts, they will therefore have a good word for the dead saints, whilst they hate and persecute the living; Behold, we count them happy which endure.

That is, "Ye have heard how eminent Job was, both for his sufferings and his patience, and you have seen (it is set before your eyes in his story) what an end the Lord made with him, giving him double in this world for what he lost; therefore, though you may be losers for God, yet fear not that you shall be losers by him."

Learn hence, 1. That it is good and useful in our afflictions, to propound Job’s pattern and example to our own imitation. He was famous for his suffering, and as famous for his patience: do you suffer various kinds of affliction? Do you suffer in your body, in your spirit, in your nearest relations, in your dearest earthly comforts? And under all these do you suffer the heaviest censures for hypocrisy?

It is but Job’s portion, and if you compare notes, not half of his condition neither: so for his patience, let us propound that for our pattern too, and take this encouragement to do it, namely, that though Job discovered much impatience, cursing the day of his birth, &c. yet that is not here mentioned, but mercifully pitied, and pardoned, and graciously overlooked. Where the heart is upright with God, infirmities are not mentioned by him.

Learn, 2. That our afflictions ought not so much to be considered in their nature and beginning, as in their issue and end. You have seen the end of the Lord. God gives always a gracious end, and a glorious end, to the afflictions of his people, and sometimes a temporal end also. Job had all these: let us, under the rod, wait upon God with Job’s patience, and he will give us Job’s end.

Learn, 3. What an affectionate regard God bears to his children in and under all their heavy sufferings; he is full of bowels, as the word signifies, truly compassionate, very pitful and of tender mercy. As he has pardon for their sins, so he has pity for their afflictions; he is pitiful as well as merciful, yea, very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Observe, lastly, that the book of Job is a real history, not a parable. There was such a man as Job, how else could his patience be propounded as a pattern? And whence is it that we find him numbered with Noah and Daniel? Eze 14:14. As they were real persons, and truly prevalent in prayer, so was he, Job 42:10.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. We count them happy which endured. We believe of them that all such have had a final reward. Ye have heard of the patience of Job. The enduring patience, which refused to distrust God, is meant. The end of the Lord. The conclusion in the case of Job wrought by the Lord, and how his endurance was blessed. The blessing that came on him is a demonstration that the Lord is very pitiful, and full of tender mercy.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

11. ὑπομείναντας אBP, Old Latin and Vulgate, ὑπομένοντας KL and several versions—the distinction is important, see below.

11. τοὺς ὑπομείναντας, those who endured, indicating special instances of endurance; τοὺς ὑπομένοντας would signify a class, generally ‘those who endure.’

ὑπομονήν. See ch. Jas 1:3 and also Trench N. T. Synonyms, Second Series.

τὸ τέλος Κυρίου, that which in the end Jehovah brought to pass for Job: ὃ γὰρ αὐτὸς ἠθέλησεν καὶ ἐποίησεν, Job 23:13; comp. Jas 5:7 of the same ch. ἐξαγάγοι δὲ εἰς τέλος τὸ κρίμα μου. For the genitive see Winer, pp. 309, 310. Others render this expression ‘the end of the Lord Jesus,’ the result of His sufferings. But such a reference would be less appropriate here, and if that meaning had been intended the expression would have been more explicit.

πολύσπλαγχνος. Here only in N.T., but σπλάγχνα, lit. the larger and more important internal organs, especially the heart, is frequently used in the sense of pity and compassion: Php 1:8 ἐπιποθῶ πάντας ὑμᾶς ἐν σπλάγχνοις Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, where see Bp Lightfoot, Luk 1:78 σπλάγχνα ἐλέους, ‘a compassionate heart,’ Col 3:12 σπλ. οἰκτιρμῶν, Phm 1:7 τὰ σπλ. τῶν ἁγίων ἀναπέπαυται διὰ σοῦ, and elsewhere. The verb σπλαγχνίζεσθαι is only found in the synoptic gospels, and is there used always to express the Lord’s compassion as a motive for healing.

With this verse the epistle as a whole connected subject appears to end. What follows is in the nature and manner of a postscript. It contains special warnings needed for the Churches, which had not fallen into the preceding argument.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11.] Encouragement to patience in affliction by O. T. examples. Take, my brethren, as an example of affliction (not, ‘of enduring’ or “suffering affliction,” E. V.: the word is strictly objective, and is found parallel with ξυμφορά and the like: so in reff.: and Thucyd. vii. 77, ἐλπίδα χρὴ ἔχειν, μηδὲ καταμέμψασθαι ὑμᾶς ἄγαν αὐτούς, μήτε ταῖς ξυμφοραῖς, μήτε ταῖς παρὰ τὴν ἀξίαν νῦν κακοπαθείαις (spoken by Nicias to the suffering Athenian army in Sicily): so Isocr. p. 127 c, μηδὲ μικρὰν οἴεσθαι δεῖν ὑπενεγκεῖν κακοπάθειαν: which examples are decisive) and of patience (beware of the hilly bendiadys, which indeed can have no place at all with the right meaning of κακοπάθεια) the prophets (so Mat 5:12) who spoke in the name (or, by the name. We may consider τῷ ὀνόμ. as equivalent to ἐν τῷ ὀν., or we may explain it as De Wette ‘by means of the name’) of the Lord (God).

11.] Another example, in which a further point is gained. Behold, we count happy them that have endured (see Mat 5:10. ὑπομείναντας may be a correction to suit the sense, and τέλος below, but it must be adopted as the most ancient reading, and it is connected with Matt. L. c., μακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι, they who have been persecuted): ye (have) heard of the endurance of Job; see also (not ‘and have seen,’ which Wiesinger renders even with the reading ἴδετε. The imperative is not as Huther auffallend, but natural enough, see ch. 1:6, 7) the end of the Lord (‘the termination which the Lord (in O. T. sense) gave:’ do not limit your attention to Job’s sufferings, but look on to the end and see the mercy shewn him by God); for (better than “that,” as Huther, al.: the sense being, ‘Job’s patience is known to you all: do not rest there, but look on to the end which God gave him: and it is well worth your while so to do, for you will find that He is’ &c. And this has apparently occasioned the repetition by the Apostle of the word ὁ κύριος, which has been left out by those who imagined that ὅτι introduced merely the result of the inspection, and that therefore no new subject was needed) the Lord is very pitiful (πολύσπλαγχνος, a word no where else found: coined after the Heb. רַב־חֶסֶד (Wiesinger), which the LXX render πολυέλεος, Exo 34:6 al., always joined with μακρόθυμος: see in Trommius. We have εὔσπλαγχνος, Eph 4:32; 1Pe 3:8) and merciful (reff. This remembrance of God’s pity and mercy would encourage them also to hope that whatever their sufferings, the τέλος κυρίου might prove similar in their own case).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. μακαρίζομεν τοὺς ὑπομείναντας. Cf. 1:3, 12, Dan 12:12 μακάριος ὁ ὑπομένων, 4 Macc. 1:10, 7:22, εἰδὼς ὅτι τὸ διὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν πάντα πόνον ὑπομένειν μακάριόν ἐστιν, Mat 24:13.

μακαρίζομεν refers to the prevalent habitual estimate of the worth of constancy. It sounds as if James had in mind some well-known saying like Dan 12:12.

τοὺς ὑπομείναντας, “those who have proved themselves constant”—a general class, not specific individuals.

τοὺς ὑπομείναντας] BאAP minn ff vg syrpesh.hcl.

τοὺς ὑπομένοντας] KL 048 minnpler sah.

External evidence must decide; the meaning differs by only a shade.

τὴν ὑπομονὴν Ἰώβ.

This virtue was seen in Job’s refusal to renounce God, Job 1:21 f. Job 1:2:9 f. Job 1:13:15, Job 16:19, Job 19:25 ff. It had evidently already become a standing attribute of Job in the popular mind; in Tanchuma, 29. 4 (Schöttgen, Horae hebraicae, pp. 1009 f.) Job is given as an example of steadfastness in trial and of the double reward which that receives. Cf. Clem. Rom. 17:3, 26:3, 2 Clem. Rom 6:8; this verse is the only mention of Job in the N. T., and has doubtless given rise to the modern saying, “as patient as Job.”

ἠκούσατε. Perhaps in the synagogue; cf. Mat 5:21, Mat 5:27, Mat 5:33, Mat 5:38, Mat 5:43.

τὸ τέλος κυρίου, “the conclusion wrought by the Lord to his troubles.” Cf. Job 42:10-17, especially v. 12 ὁ δὲ κύριος εὐλόγησε τὰ ἔσχατα Ἰώβ.

τὸ τέλος κυρίου is taken by Augustine, Bede, and many later interpreters to mean the death of Christ. But in that case not the mere death, but the triumph over death, would have had to be made prominent. The suggestion is at variance both with what precedes and with what follows; and the death of Christ is not likely to be introduced so ambiguously. “If τέλος is supposed to refer to the Resurrection and Ascension, the main point of the comparison (suffering) is omitted: if it refers to the Crucifixion, the encouragement is wanting” (Mayor).

τέλος sometimes means “death,” as Wisd. 3:19, cf. 2:16 μακαρίζει ἔσχατα δικαίων. But it is not necessary to give it that meaning here.

εἴδετε, i. e. in the story of Job. Cf. Heb 3:19, Test. XII Patr. Benj. 4:1 ἴδετε οὖν, τέκνα μου. τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὸ τέλος (v. l. ἔλεος).

πολύσπλαγχνός ἐστιν ὁ κύριος καὶ οἰκτίρμων.

Cf. Psa 103:8 (note v. 9 οὐκ εἰς τέλος ὀργισθήσεται), 111:4, 145:8, Exo 34:6, Ecclus. 2:7-11, Ps. Sol. 10:8, Test. XII Patr. Jud 1:19:3, Zab. 9:7.

πολύσπλαγχνος means “very kind.” Apart from far later Christian use (e. g. Theod. Stud. p. 615, eighth century) it is elsewhere found only in Hermas, Sim. v, 7 4, Mand. iv, 3. Cf. πολυσπλαγχνία, Hermas, Vis. i, 3:2, ii, 2:8, iv, 2:3, Mand. ix, 2, Justin Mart. Dial. 55; πολυεύσπλαγχνος, Hermas, Sim. v, 4:4; πολυευσπλαγχνία, Hermas, Sim. viii, 6:1.

It seems to be equivalent to LXX πολυέλεος. Like other words from σπλάγχνα (רַחֲמִים) it must be of Jewish origin. This group of words is rather more strongly represented in the N. T. than in the LXX, and seems to have come into free popular use in the intervening period.

οἰκτίρμων, “merciful.” In classical Greek only a poetic term for the more common ἐλεήμων (Schmidt, Synonymik der griech. Sprache, iii, p. 580). Frequent in the LXX for רַחֲמִים; nearly always used of God; in the majority of cases combined with ἐλεήμων. Cf. Luk 6:36.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Endure [υπομενοντας] . Present participle. But the later texts read uJpomeinantav, the aorist participle, which endured; referring to the prophets in the past ages. So Rev. On endured and patience, see on ver. 7. The end of the Lord [το τελος κυριου] . A peculiar expression. The happy conclusion to which God brought Job's trials.

Very pitiful and of tender mercy [πολυσπλαγχνος και οικτιρμων] . The former adjective only here in New Testament; the latter here and Luk 6:36. Rev., full of pity and merciful. Polusplagcnov, is from poluv much, and splagcna the nobler entrails, used like our heart, as the seat of the emotions. Hence the term bowels in the A. V. (Phi 1:8; Col 3:12, etc.). Compare eusplagcnoi, tender - hearted, Eph 4:32. The distinction between this and oijktirmwn, merciful, seems to be that the former denotes the general quality of compassion, while the latter emphasizes the sympathy called out by special cases, being the feeling which is moved to pain at another's suffering.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.