7 Therefore be patient , brethren , until the coming of the Lord . The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil , being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient ; strengthen your hearts , for the coming of the Lord is near . 9 Do not complain , brethren , against one another , so that you yourselves may not be judged ; behold , the Judge is standing right at the door . 10 As an example , brethren , of suffering and patience , take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord . 11 We count those blessed who endured . You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on James 5:7-11
Commentary on James 5:7-11
(Read James 5:7-11)
Consider him that waits for a crop of corn; and will not you wait for a crown of glory? If you should be called to wait longer than the husbandman, is not there something more worth waiting for? In every sense the coming of the Lord drew nigh, and all his people's losses, hardships, and sufferings, would be repaid. Men count time long, because they measure it by their own lives; but all time is as nothing to God; it is as a moment. To short-lived creatures a few years seem an age; but Scripture, measuring all things by the existence of God, reckons thousands of years but so many days. God brought about things in Job's case, so as plainly to prove that he is very pitiful and of tender mercy. This did not appear during his troubles, but was seen in the event, and believers now will find a happy end to their trials. Let us serve our God, and bear our trials, as those who believe that the end will crown all. Our eternal happiness is safe if we trust to him: all else is mere vanity, which soon will be done with for ever.