Does any one among you suffer evil? let him pray. Is any happy? let him sing psalms.
James gives two of the shortest commands in his letter. When life presses, pray. When the heart lifts, sing. But what trouble does he mean? Why does joy need an outlet at all? And what does "sing praise" ask of us?
Two Conditions, Two Outlets
The verse pairs opposite states of the soul and gives each one a place to go. Both spring from the same Spirit at work in the believer:
God has appointed two channels for the emotions that the Holy Spirit produces in the heart of the believer... Our sorrows should find expression before God in prayer, and our joys in song.
What links the two halves is not mood but direction. Whatever the heart carries, it carries to the same Person:
It is not only our sorrows that may come in between our souls and God, but also our joys... Our joys, like our sorrows, are to be the occasion of turning to God.
Suffering Wrong, and the Refusal to Retaliate
When someone wrongs us, prayer is not the first thing the heart wants to do:
Our natural tendency is to insult when insulted, to meet charges with counter charges, and malice with malice. This is simply to meet flesh with flesh. God's way for us is very different and very simple. In the presence of every wrong we have a God-given resource. Instead of taking things into our own hands we are to take them to God in prayer. We need not underestimate the wrong. We may face it in all its malice and evil. But having done so, we are to draw near to God and spread it out before Him in prayer.
Prayer is not giving up. Unbelief has its own answer to trouble, and it looks very different:
God is the resource in trouble. The saint should not simply bear it or sink under it. He is urged to "pray." He can expect blessing as he cries to God about the trouble... Unbelief does the opposite. It insists on our rights as men and with men, as if God gave anyone the right to such a claim. It makes demands or requests of men, instead of looking only to God in this way.
Prayer as the First Move
We often reach prayer only after other doors close. One writer names the substitutes we try first:
So often we simply go to kind friends, who will listen to the story of our troubles. Or we go to wealthy and influential friends, who may be able to help us. Prayer falls into the background, when it should be our first thought. It is affliction that adds intensity to our prayers.
Why Gladness Also Needs a Channel
The second half of the verse is not filler. Good times need a resource too:
Gladness has its dangers no less, perhaps more, than trouble. It is apt to lift up the spirit, throw us off our balance in the Lord, and expose us to lightness in feeling, word and deed. The resource is to turn to Him in praise. Singing is what we owe to Him who gives happiness. It is also a safety-valve for His weak ones, who at such a time easily slip out of dependence. His praise recalls us to Himself.
What "Sing Psalms" Does Not Mean
The word "psalms" has been read as a restriction to the Old Testament book of that name. Commentators here reject that reading:
This does not mean specifically the inspired psalms. People are apt to think of the psalms of David whenever the word is introduced. No doubt old habits and associations lead to this; but there is no ground for it in the Bible. No more is meant here than that, being happy, he is to give vent to his joy in the praise of the Lord.
God Gives Room for Your Actual Condition
Finally, the verse says something about God Himself. He does not require a set face from those who come to Him:
He gives our hearts liberty to determine the character of our communion with Him. Let it be, He says, according to your condition... This is not the way of a master, or a patron. The patron's pleasure or mood must set the tone of everything around him. It was dangerous to bring sadness into the presence of the Persian king. There was danger of death if anyone had a heavy face there (Nehemiah 1, 2). But God's presence gives room to the heart and its conditions, whatever they are.
Summary
- Two channels. Sorrow has an outlet in prayer and joy an outlet in song; both are the Spirit's work, and both run toward God.
- Instead of revenge. When wronged, you can meet flesh with flesh, or spread the whole wrong before God.
- First, not last. Prayer should be your first thought, not the door you try after friends and influence fail.
- Joy has a danger too. Gladness can unbalance the soul. Praise honours God and works as the safety-valve that recalls us to Him.
- Sing freely. "Psalms" is not a limit to David's book. It is permission to let joy out in praise. God's presence has room for whatever condition you arrive in.