1 Come now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. (For ill-gotten gains.)
2 Your wealth is corrupted (Because of their unjust oppression. Not Godly riches.), and your garments have become moth-eaten.
3 Your gold and silver is rusted; and the rust of them shall be for a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. You have treasured up (He is not talking about a nest-egg, He is talking about misers and robbers) for the last days. (See 2 Tim. 3:1.)
4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who reaped down your fields, which is arising from you kept back by fraud, cries: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. (Lord of Hosts. God know every injustice.)
5 You lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; you have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned and murdered the just One (Christ. Cp. Matt. 12:7; 27:19. Acts 3:14); and He does not resist you.
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and being patient for it (He wants all His children to come to repentance), until he receive the early and latter rain. (Cp. Joel 2:23. Farmers must be patient. They clear the land, cultivate the land, fertilize the land, and then plant seed. Then they wait. They wait for the rains. Be patient and wait for the True Messiah to return at the second advent. Spiritually, the early and latter rains are knowledge of our Father's Word. The early rain causes a seed to germinate and sprout into a plant. The latter rain allows the plant to mature and produce fruit.)
8 Be you also patient; establish your hearts (see Rom. 1:11): for the coming of the Lord has drawn near. (See Matt. 3:2)
9 Groan (or murmur) not against one another, brethren, in order that you not be condemned: behold, the Judge stands before the door. (Don't murmur against your brothers and sisters. Satan already has you in his pocket, if you have tendencies to murmur. You are not the judge. There is but One Judge, and He keeps a real good set of books. He is our Father.)
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets (i.e. the O.T. prophets), who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. (See Heb. 6:12. Get tough, you can handle it. If you think life is rough, you should compare your troubles to that which some of the prophets endured.)
11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. You heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very compassionate, and of tender mercy. (In the Hebrew language Job means "persecuted". Job did suffer affliction; however, in the end he received double that which he had before. Make note of this word "endure" in this last verse. Endurance is how we overcome affliction. The next time you get on a "poor me baby" trip, think about what happened to Job. Think about what Jesus Christ endured on the cross for you.)
12 But before all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by the heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest you fall into condemnation. (Be a man or woman of your words. Learn the Word of God and, absorb the latter rain which will allow you endure the affliction. Don't try to create your own new religion. Don't try to work out your own salvation. Do it God's way.)
13 Is any among you afflicted? (see 2 Tim. 2:3 and cp. v.10 above) let him pray. Is any merry? (see Acts 27:22) let him sing psalms. (See Rom. 15:9. Don't pray for the affliction to be removed. Satan will not be removed until the end of the millennium. It's okay to pray for the strength to endure affliction. Armed with the strength of God's promises and knowledge of His plan you will do just fine. There is nothing to fear. You will endure and conquer the affliction.)
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, having anointed him (cp. Mark 6:13) with oil in the name of the Lord: (Olive oil = El [God] ah Yah [Father]. You may anoint yourself and pray for healing. The power to heal does not belong to the elders.)
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
(God does it if we obey Him. You can anoint yourself for you are an elder, you have understanding of His Word. It is not the "oil" that does the healing, but the obedience of the sick believer, and his faith in following the Word of God. His faith is there because God's Word has stated that it should to be done in this manner for the healing. The act of anointing is the placing of the olive oil with a touch on the forehead, and it may look silly to the unsaved, but it is your obedience and faith in carrying out the act that brings about the healing.
This anointing applies to your homes also that are sick and filled with confusion and evil spirits. It is the place where the entire family comes together, and many times those spirits can cause trouble for the entire family. This is why we must also take control over our homes also, when necessary. When we anoint our homes, we are to use the example of the anointing in the first Passover, by anointing the doorpost where the entry into the home is. The anointing is to be the same as the anointing of the sick person, "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ". At Jesus name all evil must flee so don't forget to tell those evil spirits to go back to where they came from. They know personally where they belong.
Take a little oil and place it on the door mantle, and pray that the Father will protect all persons inside your home and that nothing evil can pass through that threshold and enter your home, "in Jesus name." It is not a ritual, but a prayer of faith. It works and it should be done as necessary.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed (see Luke 6:17. This makes it clear that the circumstances in view are those of 1 Cor. 11:30. The offenders were those who had wronged their brethren, or had shown an unbrotherly spirit, and so had brought chastisement upon themselves). The energized prayer of a just man is strong for much. (I.e. by the Holy Spirit. Confessing your faults one to another does not mean you should confess your sins to anyone that will listen. When you have a problem, talk it out with a good friend. And don't forget, there is power in prayer.)
17 Elijah was a man of like feelings as we are, and he prayed with prayer that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. (Prophetic 3 1/2 years, which has been shortened to 5 months. See Rev. 9:5. You don't have to be a special person to have God heal you or answer your prayers. Elijah wasn't a bit different than you are. He wasn't supernatural. God heard Elijah's prayer, and He stopped the rain for over three years. He hears your prayers too.)
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. (See Heb. 9:4. Cp. 1 Kings 17:1; 18:1,41-45. Elijah's praying for draught is first revealed in this passage)
19 Brethren, if any among you do err from the truth, and any one convert him;
20 Let him know, that he which converts a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover (cp. 1 Pet. 4:8) a multitude of sins. (This refers to Prov. 10:12. When you do a work for God, that work hides a multitude of sins. God is in control. Trust Him, and there is no reason for you to be afraid. He will protect you as the mountains roundabout Jerusalem protect her. Those are not my words. That is His promise.)