The Pulpit Commentary — James — Section 88

the sins of whiob they me.y he.ve been guilty, if they would be« healed" in body and soul. as a rernlt of the intercessions offered on their behalf. I. THE DUTY. (Ver. 16.) It is twofold. 1, Mutual confession. The subject here is not confession of sin to God, although that is an essential part of true penitence (Prov. xxviii. 13; 1 John i. 8-10). Neither is it auricular confession to a priest; alt.bough the Church of Home bases her doctrine of the necessity of such mainly upon ihis passe.ge. That Church, while recommending the confession of venial sins, me.kes the rehearsal of all mortal sins essential to sa.l vation. But history testifies that the 00nfessiona.l, instead of proving a means of grace, has been to an unspeako.ble degree a school of wickedness. The confession here spoken of is occasional, not regular, It is particular, not indiscriminate. It is mutual," one to another," and not on the one part only. It is in order to edification,'and not for absolution. Christ has given his minis- ters no power to pardon sin. "The only true confessional is the Divine mercy-seat" (Wardlaw). The exhortation before us is addressed to the brethren generally, whether J)resbyters or ordinary members of the congregation. And it is only some sins which it is proper to confess to our fellow-men. There are many "secret faults" of impure thought and corrupt desire on which we should keep the lids closely down. But we ought to confess: (1) Wrongs done to brethren. If on any occasion we have acted unjustly by a. brother, or calumniated him to others, we should, so soon as we come to ourselves, confess our fault, ask his forgiveness, and make all possible reparation. Our Savionr has enjoined this (Matt. v. 23, 24). It was a beautiful practice of the primi- tive Church to see that all quarrels among brethren were made up, in the spirit of Christian love, before the celebration of the Lord's Supper. And the Church of England has an earnest counsel to the sa.me effect in her Communion Service. (2) Scandalous sins. A scandalous sin is one which, on account of its publicity, is a scandal, and is calculated to bring reproach upon religion. The discipline of the Church requires that such an offence be confessed openly. Discipline is an ordinance of Christ, a.nd is intended to conserve the purity of the Church, as well as the spiritual profit of her members. A good man, therefore, when he has fallen into gross and open sin, shonld be willing to make public confession before the Church and to his fellow- members. (3) Sins which deeply wound the conscience. '!'here are occasions when we may profitably speak of such to a pious pastor or to some prudent Christian friend. •• Certainly they are then more capable to give us advice, and can the better apply the help of their counsel and prayers to our particular case, and are thereby moved to the more pity and commiseration; as beggars, to move the more, will not only represent their general want, but uncover their sores" (Manton). Happy is the man who has such a friend. If any persons in the world should confer with one another about matters of spiritual experience, it is surely hnsband and wife. If such never "confess their sins one to another," certainly they are not married in the Lord. 2; Mutual prayer. This is the main advantage to be derived from mutual confess10n, We should take our friends into our confidence about our sins, that we may induce them with intelligent sympathy to intercede for us, Not only are the spiritual officers of the Church to pray for the sick and the erring; this duty is incumbent upon the whole congregation. Any member who cherishes strong opinions about the remissness of the elders or of the pastor in sick-visitation, should labour as much as possible to su\lple- ment their deficiencies. We should all remember at the throne of grace the afflicted of our company, and those who have confessed sin to us. God wants us to pray "for all men.," and "for all the saints." To pray for others will help to free us from spiritual sel.fu;hness ; it will develop within us sympathy for brethren, and thus tend to knit the Church together in love. II. AN ENCOUBAGEMENT TO DISCHABGE THIS DUTY. It ie an inestimable blessing to be able to engage on our behalf the spiritual sympathy and the earnest appli~ations of our fellow-Christians. We have here: L A. atatement of the power of prayer, ~Ver.16.) It " availeth much." The evolution of events is controlled by the living God, e.s the Fin1t Cause of all things; and prayer occupies the same place in hie moral government that other eecond causes do. God is roused into action by the prayers of his people. Prayer is thus "'lore than merely a wholesome spiritual discipline; it moves the ~rm of the Almighty, an~ virtually admits the believer who presents it to a share m the govc,mment of the w tld. The apostle recommends intercessory supplication as pecu- OR, V, 1-20,] THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. 83