1 2 Tim. ii. 1, ' My son, be strong in the grace that is iu Christ Jesus.'
Vek. 6.j UrON THE EPISTLE OF JUDE. 195
dishonour,' ' who art thou that re])liest upon God,' dvTa7TOKpivufxevo<; ? Eom. ix. 20, that will be disputing the sovereignty of God, and ask the reason why he giveth grace to some and not to others ? Wonder at it till thou canst understand it. Disputare vis mecum ? mirare mecuni, et clama, 0 aliitudo ! i God's decrees are hard meat, not easily digested by carnal reason. A proud creature cannot endure to hear of God's sovereignty ; it awakeneth our security to hear of a distinction in the counsels of God, and that grace runneth in a narrower channel than whole mankind. Do but consider ; amongst the angels some are passed by and others confirmed. And who art thou, 0 man, that replicst ? (6.) In the election of angels, pardoning mercy is not so much glorified as in the election and calling of men ; 2 then was grace shown but not mercy ; none of the fallen angels were saved, but fallen man is called to grace in Christ. We were all ' in our blood ' when God said ' live ; ' the whole lump and mass of mankind was fallen. Probably, next to the free counsels of God, that was the reason the whole human nature fell ; but not the whole angelical nature, but only a part of it, so that the kind itself needed not to be repaired. Their sins argued more malice because of the height of their understanding ; they sinned without a tempter. But the reason of reasons is, the will and gracious good pleasure of God, who was willing to show pardoning mercy to us, and not to them ; the good angels had confirmation, but we redemption ; we are reconciled, they continued : love after a breach made is more remarkable. (7.) From the sin in general by which they fell. It was by pride. See the danger of this sin ; it always goeth before falling. The angels lost their holiness out of a desire of greatness ; they would be over all and under none ; it is dan- gerous when men mind rather to be great than good. In scripture we have two notable instances of the fall by pride, and our restoration by humility. The angels fell by pride and aspiring, and Christ restored mankind by being humble, lowly, and submitting himself even to the death of the cross. Adam would be as God, and so ruined us ; and Christ, that was God, became as man, and so saved us. To counter- work Satan, he layeth aside the glory of his Godhead ; he layeth aside the glory of his Godhead and puts on a humble garb, saving us not by power, but by suffering. Well, then, look upon pride as the sure fore- runner of a fall. (8.) Observe, the particular fact is uncertain, though the general sin may be known ; as how this pride was discovered, whether in a thought, or by some bold attempt, is not known ; it doth not so much pertain to edification and salvation to know their sin, as to know our own. The scriptures direct us to look inward ; it is more for our profit to keep out Satan's power than to know the circumstances of his fall ; let us not fall with him. Peter would know John's end, but Christ rebuketh him, ' What is that to thee ? follow thou me,' John xxi. 20-22. We betray our duties by our curiosity ; surely we should be more at home, and look to our beam, that we may not ascite others before the chair of censure, but ourselves before the tribunal of conscience. (9.) Observe, that the first sin that ever was, was a pun-
^ Augustine.
" Vide Ireuceum, lib. iv. cap. 78 ; Damas. lib. ii. Ortb. Fid., cap. 3 ; et Xeiremb., Theoph., &c.
196 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [VeR. 6.
ishment to itself : ' They kept not their first estate.' The sin is expressed in such a phrase as doth imply their loss. Duty hath its reward in its mouth, as the sacks of the patriarchs their moneys ; so sin its punish- ment. Never think that you shall get anything by offending God ; you do but defile, and debase, and degrade yourselves from your own ex- cellency when you sin. It is hell enough to turn away from God, and misery enough to pollute and stain his image in our souls. The fall of the angels is described to be a departure from their own happiness.
2. Consider it with application to yourselves. First, apply it for humiliation. We left rrjv ctp-^ijv, ' our first estate,' as well as the angels : ' God made man upright, but they sought out many inven- tions,' Eccles. vii. 29. Eead your own guilt and apostasy in the sin of the angels ; usually the page is whipped to show the prince's fault, but here the princes and noblest part of the world are set out to us for exami)les, that in their ruin and dreadful fall we might understand our own. Do but observe the parable ; they had ap-^i-jv, an original estate of happiness and holiness, and so we ; they fell soon, so we ; they fell by pride, so we : the angelical fall is our glass ; we are a kind of devils, and apostates from God. They were driven out of heaven, so we out of paradise ; they are punished with darkness, and so we. Secondly, Apply it for caution ; there is a new beginning in Christ. The apostle saith, Heb. iii. 14, * We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold rrjv apxv^, the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.' If we should break with God again upon this new stock, there will be no more sacrifice for sin. Faith, which is the gift of God's grace, is the beginning and root of a new life in Christ. If we should forfeit this, we cannot expect God will deal with us any more.