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And the cities of the plain.

SECT. many awful scenes, in which the Divine ven- and Gomorrah, and i. geance has had its triumph over sinful mortals; the cities about them Jude as particularly Sodom and Gomorrah, and the in like manner, giving themselves over cities about them, in like manner with them, com- to fornication, and mitting fornication, and, by yet grosser and going after strange flesh, are set forth more unnatural licentiousness, going after for an example, sufstrange and detestable gratifications of their fering the vengeance pampered and indulged flesh, are set forth for an of eternal fire. example to other presumptuous sinners; suffering that, which really appears a most lively emblem of the vengeance of eternal fire, having their lovely and fruitful country turned into a So these dreamers 8 kind of hell upon earth. also, in their luxurious indulgencies, suffer these filthy dreamtheir thoughts to be amused with vain and despise dominion, polluted imaginations, whereby they defile the and speak evil of flesh, which ought to be sacred, together with dignities. the spirit, to the service of God. They make light of dominion, and authority derived from the supreme Sovereign, and speak evil of dig9 nities, of persons in the most honourable sta

8 Likewise also

ers defile the flesh,

tions: Whereas we have heard in tradition, 9 Yet Michael the that Michael the archangel, when contending contending with the archangel, when, in dispute with the devil, concerning the devil, he disputed body of Moses, which the angel was to bury about the body of

that the vengeance here spoken of must be the loss of their cities, rather than their souls, and produces instances to show, that av is used in a sense consistent with this interpretation.

Our

• Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner with them: rov OM TOOLS TROTV] Some have pleaded, that this seems to imply, that the sin of the angels was fornication; and consequent 8 Dreamers : ενυπνιαζόμενοι.] ly, that this epistle is not authentic. But there seems no necessity for interpreting translators render this, filthy dreamers. the expression with such extreme rigour, The context shews they deserve the epias if it must mean that their sin was of thet; but as the Greek does not express the same kind; it is sufficient that the com- it, I judged it most faithful to the original parison holds in this, that they were both to omit it. There guilty of very great wickedness. are some who refer Tov qulov relais rgoTov, in like manner with them, to the cities about them, who sinned in the same manner with Sodom and Gomorrah; nor is it any objection to this, as some have supposed it is, that los cannot agree with Ecoμa nas Foμogga; for in reality, these nouns are of the neuter gender, (see Luke xvii. 29; Mark vi. 11; Gen. xiii. 10,) in the Seventy. And if they were not, nothing is more common than an enallage of gender, in such a case as this, where T8 must refer to the men who inhabited these cities.

Vengeance of eternal fire.] Dr. Whitby has brought many arguments to prove,

h Body of Moses] Archbishop Tillotson, (see his Works, Vol. II p. 158,) and many other good writers, think this illustrated by Deut. xxxiv. 6. He supposes, that had the devil been able to discover to the Jews the place where Moses was interred, they would afterwards have paid an idolatrous honour to his remains; and it would have gratified his malice exceedingly, to have made him an occasion of idolatry after his death, who had been so great an enemy to it in his life. To prevent this, he thinks that Michael buried the body secretly. This proves by the way, that good angels are sometimes concerned in limiting the power of devils, which must no doubt be a great vexation

He describes the character of these deceivers.

but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

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Jude

Moses, durst not privately, and he would have revealed, did not SECT. bring against him a railing accusation, presume to bring against him a railing accusation, i but had so much reverence for the Divine presence, as to speak with moderation and gentle- 9. ness, even to that great enemy of God and men; and said, The Lord rebuke thee for this outrage, and teach thee to restrain such shock. 10 But these speak ing expressions. (Compare Zech. iii. 2.) But 10 evil of those things these daring and impious men blaspheme what which they know not but what they indeed they know not; and what they naturally, know naturally, as as the irrational animals know, the things brute beasts, in those which tend to the gratification of their inferior things they corrupt part, the low circle to which their knowledge

themselves.

and care is confined, in these they are corrupted, by the gross and scandalous abuse of them, to the dishonour of God, and to their own infamy. 11 Wo unto them! and destruction. Wo be unto them, and wo 11 for they have gone will attend them; for they have gone in the way in the way of Cain, and rangreedily after of Cain, that persecutor and murderer, while, the error of Balaam like him, they have despised the appointed for reward, and per- method of God's mercy; and they have run on

with prodigious eagerness in the description of
Balaam's reward; enslaved, like him, to mean
secular views, they have abandoned themselves
to sin and ruin, till at length they have perished

to those malignant spirits. But Mr. Bax-
ter suggests it as a doubt, whether it were
about the dead body of Moses, or Moses
exposed on the water, that there was this
contention. Baxter's Works, Vol. II. p.

341.

A railing accusation.] Archbishop Tillotson suggests, that the archangel was afraid the devil would have been too hard for him at railing. The words seem to me to intimate, that the angel thought it a part of the reverence due to God, not to mention his name and judgment, in a furious passionate manner, but mildly and gently. Witsius thinks the devil blasphemed, and that the angel did not accuse him, but referred the matter to the judgment of the great day. Witsius Miscel. Vol. II. IV. 6.628. See also the Commentary of this learned author in loc. whose remarks on all the verses are framed with great erudition and accuracy. Perhaps xx oxunσa κρίσιν επενεγκειν βλασφημίας may signify, that he did not pass judgment upon his blasphemy, but referred him to God.

The Lord rebuke thee.] It is highly probable the apostle refers to some ancient

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book, in which this fact was thus mentioned, and speaks upon the supposition of its truth, which the persons he reasoned against, did not dispute. And the argument does not lie in any regard she wn to the devil as a dignitary, and one who exercises dominion over subordinate evil spirits; for to be a leader of a band of such inexcusable rebels could entitle him to no respect; but it seems to arise from the detestable character of the devil; as if he had said, If the angel did not rail even against the devil, how much less ought we against men in authority, even supposing them in some things to behave amiss? To do it therefore when they behave well, must be a wickedness yet much more aggravated.

Naturally know.] Compare the notes on the parallel texts in 2 Pet. ii. for the illustration of this and other passages which occur here.

m Have perished.] This is a genuine trace of a prophetic spirit, which speaks of things certainly future, as if they were past. And as such I thought proper to il lustrate it in the paraphrase.

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i.

Reflections on the danger of Christians from seducers.

SECT. in the contradiction of Korah; like him they have ished in the gainopposed God's appointed messengers, and his saying of Core. Son, to whom he has devolved the conduct of

Jude

11 his church; and methinks, like him and his company, I see them already struck by the lightning of God's wrath, and overwhelmed with remediless destruction.

verse

IMPROVEMENT.

How happy are the people of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in 12 him are called, sanctified, and kept by the Divine omnipotence, through faith unto salvation! For mercy and peace shall be multiplied upon them, till mercy hath, as it were, finished his commission, and conducted them to eternal peace. We learn from the example of the apostle before us, of how great necessity it is, in some circumstances, if ministers would promote the common 3 salvation of their hearers, to guard them against the prevailing errors of the day, and to excite them earnestly to strive for the faith once delivered to the saints, as for a prize of the highest importance. May we rightly discern its nature, and be very careful, that while we are attempting to exert a Christian zeal, we do not mingle with it our own mistakes, and our own irregular passions, in such a manner as to tear in pieces what we are so eager to preserve. In short, let us learn from scripture, what that faith is, and what the importance of its respective articles are; and let us always be endeavouring to maintain it in the spirit of love.

May all who would disturb the church by pernicious doctrines, 4 or scandalous practices and especially, they who would ungratefully turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, and thereby deny the only true God, and our Saviour, reflect upon the awful judgment of God on the rebel angels, and on sinful men, not on 5,7 the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah only, but even on his own people, 5 whom he had delivered from Egypt, when they proved obstinate and unbelieving; and as we dread an exclusion from the heavenly Canaan; yea, as we dread the chains of darkness, and the vengeance of eternal fire; let us avoid and abhor the character 8, &c. described in the following verses: the dream of lewdness, the brutal indulgence of sensuality, the contradiction of Korah, the 11 covetousness of Balaam, and the malignity of Cain. God has written down their condemnation and destruction in the eternal records of his word; that they might be for a sign, and that 4 others may hear and fear, and take heed that they do not so wickedly.

These persons were spots in their love feasts:

SECT. II.

The apostle pursues the character of the scandalous professors he had mentioned before; and concludes with exhorting the Christians to whom he wrote, to endeavour to secure their own edifi cation in faith and love, and to do their utmost for the preservation and recovery of others. Jude, ver. 12, to the end.

JUDE 12.
HESE are spots

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JUDE 12.

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ii.

Jude

MUST further proceed to caution you, my SECT. of charity, when they brethren, against those wicked and seducing feast with you, feed- men, who are so desirous of insinuating theming themselves with- selves into the Christian church, and whose at- 12 out fear; clouds tempts to corrupt it are so unwearied, and, in ter, carried about many instances, so fatal. These are spots in of winds: trees your love feasts, which tend to expose them to whose fruit wither the reproach of the adversary; [who,] when they eth, without fruit, banquet with you, feed themselves without fear,

they are without wa

and will run into excesses, which if they be not
resolutely suppressed, will be imputed to the
whole body. They make indeed a great pro-
fession of their designs of usefulness in the
church, but they are clouds without water, from
which no refreshment or fruitfulness is to be
expected; borne about by the winds of tempta-
tion, hither and thither, without any command
of themselves; and if when they first tookup-
on them the Christian profession, they gave
some better hopes, as many of them perhaps
did, they are like trees, whose early buddings
are withered, and so now remain without fruit;
yea, not only so, but are twice dead: succes-
sive summers and winters have passed over
them, and they have been continually growing

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but it seems to me, that popiva is much more exactly rendered, as in this version, and the appearance of a tautology avoided.

Love feasts.] So I chose to render b Whose early buddings are withered.] agawass, as it is well known the primitive We render this, whose fruit withereth; Christians had such feasts, though it seems that from the abuse of them by persons of a character like those here described, they were soon laid aside. See Mr. Hallet on the subject, Notes and Disc. Vol. III. Disc. 6. Dr. Lightfoot, and Dr. Whitby, who follow him, are not for referring the ayaza here mentioned to the Christian's feasts of charity; in opposition to whom, the learned reader may consult Witsius's Commentary on the place.

© Twice dead.] Some explain this of natural corruption and apostasy; but the gloss in the paraphrase seems much more easy and genuine. There is an admirable strength and spirit in the description given in the following verses.

350

ii.

And were like the fierce waves of the sea.

SECT more fit for fuel, and so are now good for twice dead, plucked nothing but to be utterly rooted up, to be taken up by the roots; away from the plantation, which they only

Jude

12

13

cumber, dishonour, and deform, and cast into

ness for ever.

the fire. Their passions are violent and impetu-13 Raging waves ous, like so many fierce waves of the sea, furious- of the sea, foaming out their own shame : ly foaming out the irregular tumults of their wandering stars, to hearts; and in them, their own shame; wan- whom is reserved the dering stars, which though for a while they blackness of darkmay glitter, will soon have ended their course, will be found, notwithstanding all their blaze, destitute of any real and permanent light of their own, and in the number of those to whom blackness of darkness is reserved for ever, and will soon be driven to an eternal distance from the great Original of light and happiness, to 14 which they shall never return. And indeed, 14 And Enoch alwhen I consider their characters and their ac- so, the seventh from tions, I may say, that according to the ancient Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Betradition, Enoch also, the seventh in lineal de- hold, the Lord comscent from Adam, prophesied against them, and eth with ten thoudescribed their crimes and their condemnation, sands of his saints, when he said, behold, the Lord comes with myriads of his holy ones, attended with legions of angels in his descent for this important purpose: For he comes to execute judg- 15 To execute ment upon all according to their respective judgment upon all, works; and by witnesses that cannot be con- that are ungodly afronted, particularly to convict all the ungodly

15

a Wandering stars.] The Jews are said to have called their teachers stars; and they are represented under that emblem, Rev. i. 16; i. 1. And as the planets seem to have a very irregular motion, being sometimes stationary, and sometimes retrograde, they are proper emblems of persons so unsettled in their principles, and so irregular in their behaviour, as these men were.

• Enoch prophesied.] A precious fragment of antediluvian history is here preserved to us, as it seems by the special providence of God, who taught the apostle Jude to distinguish between what was genuine and spurious in the tradition. It can by no means be proved, that this is a quotation from that foolish book, called Enoch's prophecy, as Bishop Sherlock has very rightly urged; nor would it prove the inspiration of the book from whence it was taken, but only the truth of this particular passage. Sherlock on Proph

and to convince all

p. 188, 189, 5th Edit. Compare 2 Tim. iii. 8, and the note there.

f

Prophesied against them.] Mr. Blackwall, (Sacr. Class Vol. I. p. 164,) has shewn by adequate authorities, that @papleure Tls may be rendered, prophesied against these. Perhaps this may explain what was said before, of their being registered to this condemnation, ver. 4 Some have thought the coming of the Lord here mentioned, was his coming attended with angels, to bring on the deluge. If it refers to his coming to the universal judgment, it is a most remarkable testimony to a future state, not indeed in the Mosaic economy, but previous to it. And perhaps Moses omitting this, (as I think it almost certain he knew it,) is to be resolved into the restriction under which he wrote, agreeable to the principles which the learned Dr. Warburton has so largely stated in his Divine Legation, &c.

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