Ver. 7. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
In this verse is the third example, fitly suited to the former : the angels had the blessings of heaven, the Israelites of the church, and Sodom of the world. But the angels upon their apostasy lost heaven ; the murmuring Israelites were shut out of Canaan ; and the Sodomites were, together with their fruitful soil and pleasant land, destroyed. You see heaven- mercies, and church-mercies, and world-mercies, are all forfeited by the creatures' ingratitude. This last instance is pro- pounded as the first part of a similitude, the reddition of which is in the next verse. In the words observe : —
1. The places or people judged. Sodom and Gomori-ah, and the cities round about them, in like manner. Those two cities are only mentioned here, as also Gen. xix. 24, because the principal ; in Hosea xi. 8, two others are only mentioned, Admah and Ze- boim ; but Deut. xxix. 23, all four are mentioned, ' The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and in his wrath.' Now the cities are mentioned rather than
220 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [VeK. 7.
the persons, to note the utter destruction of tlie places, together with the inhabitants ; for that clause, the cities about them in like manner, in the original, rov ofMolov rovroi<i rpoirov, the word for them is in the masculine gender, whereas cities, the next antecedent, is in the femi- nine ; therefore some refer it to the remote antecedent : the angels and Israelites, as they were punished, so Sodom and those cities in like manner. So Junius ; but I suppose, because cities doth not only imply the places, but the inhabitants, therefore the masculine gender was used by the apostle.
2. Their sin is specified, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh. Here are two great sins charged upon them. (1.) The first is, giving themselves over to fornication, iKiropveva-aaat, the word is unusual, and therefore diversely rendered. One trans- lation, defile themselves luith fornication, the Vulgar, exfornicatce, as noting the strangeness and abominableness of their lust ; but that is implied in the next expression. Our translation fitly rendereth it by such a phrase as signifieth their excess and vehement addictedness to unclean practices. (2.) The next sin is, goiyig after strange flesh. It is a modest and covert expression, implying their monstrous and unlawful lusts, contrary to the course and institution of nature, a filthiness scarce to be named, from them called Sodomies. The apostle Paul exprepseth it thus : Kom. i. 27, ' Leaving the natural use of the woman, they burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working that which is unseemly.' It is called here strange flesh, (japKo<i erepa^, ' other flesh,' as being other than what nature hath appointed, or because it is impossible that man and man in that execrable act should make ' one flesh,' as man and woman do. (3.) Their judgment is set down, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Sodom, we know, and the cities round about it, were consumed by fire and brimstone rained down from heaven, which, though a dreadful, was but a temporal fire : in what sense doth the apostle call it here ' eternal fire ' ? Some, to mollify the seeming austerity of the phrase, read thus, loere made an examjjle of eternal fire, suffering vengeance, that is, in that judgment which was executed upon them, God would give the world a type and figure of hell. Others by eternal fire under- stand the duration of the effects of tlie first temporal punishment, the soil thereabout wearing the marks of God's curse to this day. Others, not much differing from the former, by eternal fire understand an utter destruction, and labour to evince it from the use of the phrase in a like sense, and the parallel place in Peter : 2 Peter ii. 6, ' He turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, and condemned them with an overthrow,' that is, utterly destroyed them. But why we need to be so tender I know not, the Sodomites being generally repre- sented as men under everlasting judgment. Mat. xi. 24, and the tem- poral judgment making way for eternal, though as to the state of particular persons we judge not. See Kivet in Gen., Exercit. 97, p. 474.
3. Here is the end and aim of the judgment, are set forth for an €xam23le, that is, to be a notable document and instruction to the world to keep them under the law of God ; and therefore everywhere in the prophetic threatenings of the word is this instance alluded unto.
The words are explained, but how shall we accommodate them to
VeR. 7.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JUDE. 221
the apostle's purpose ? I answer — Very well ; there is a fit corre- spondency between the case in hand and this example ; the Sodomites went after strange flesh, and these apostates after strange opinions. These errors and opinions of theirs tended to sensuality, and so still there is a greater suitableness. The school of Simon, the Nicolaitans, the Gnostics, did defile themselves with monstrous and abominable lust, as the Sodomites did ; and therefore he threateneth them with a destruction like to that of Sodom, yea, with eternal fire, figured thereby ; especially they having been formerly enlightened with some knowledge of the truth, which the Sodomites were not. Let me now come to the observations.