Ver. 14. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, 'prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord comethioith ten thousand of his saints.
The apostle urgetli another argument to imply the destruction of those seducers, and that is, the prophecy of Enoch. Whether this prophecy were written or not, the same Spirit that spake in Enoch in- spired our apostle : if he received it by tradition, it is here made authentic and put into the canon. ^ The Jews have some relics of this prophecy in their writings, and some talk of a volume, extant in the
^ Yid. Eez. et Estium in loc. VOL. V. T
290 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [VeR. 14,
primitive times, consisting of 4082 lines, called the Prophecy of Enoch; but that was condemned for spurious and apocryphal. Tertullian saith there was a prophecy of Enoch kept by Noah ia the ark, which hook is now lost. Be it so ; many good books may be lost, but no scrip- ture. But most probably it was a prophecy that went from hand to hand, from father to son. Jude saith, ' Enoch prophesied ;' he doth not say it is written, as quoting a passage of scripture. But why should he rather produce Enoch's prophecy, tlian a passage out of the authentic books of scripture, where are many such to this jmrpose? I answer — (1.) It was done by the providence of God, to preserve this memorial to the church. (2.) Because ancient things are more venerable, for by all men's confession those times were most simple and free partium studio, from factions and partialities ; there- fore all along the apostle ' bringeth instances of the most ancient date.
And Enoch, the seventh from Adam, that is, inclusive, putting Adam for the first. But why is this circumstance mentioned ? I answer — (1.) To commend the antiquity of the doctrine, the seventh in descent from Adam intimates that judgment was to be administered by Christ. (2.) Some observe a mystery ; the seventh person was a prophet ; as the seventh day was holy. (3 ) I think it is to distinguish him from Enoch, the son of Cain, who was the third from Adam, as Enoch, the son of Seth, was the seventh ; see Gen. iv. ] 7. Prophesied; that Enoch was a prophet is clear here, and may be gathered from Gen. v. 22, where he is said to ' walk with God,' a phrase proper to those that served the Lord in some near way of ministration. It is there applied to Enoch, who was a prophet, and to Noah, Gen. vi. 9, who was a ' preacher of righteous- ness,' 2 Peter ii. 5 ; and to Eli, 1 Sam. ii. 30, who was a priest. Of these, saying. ' Of these,' because of such like ; it is a general prophecy brought down to a particular case and instance. The Lord cometh ; that is, the Lord Jesus, appointed to be the judge of the world ; nay, mark it, Behold, the Lord cometh, as putting it before their eyes. Cometh, rjXOe, is come ; that is, he shall as certainly come as if he were come already. The Jews say the great excommunication llaranatha was instituted by Enoch; the word signifieth ' The Lord cometh.' With ten thousand of his saints ; it may be rendered with ' his holy myriads,' or ' ten thousands,' an uncertain number for a certain ; that was their highest and roundest reckoning. The meaning is, with huge multitudes of angels and saints : as the apostle, 1 Thes. iii. 13, ' At the coming of the Lord Jesus with all his saints ;' Zecli. xiv. 5, * The Lord my God shall come, and all thy saints with thee ;' not only the angels, but the saints do help to make up the triumphs of that day.
The notes are these : —
Ohs. 1. That what is spoken in the word in general doth as much concern us as if it were spoken to our own persons. Enoch prophesied of these, &c. Particulars are comprised in their generals ; some scrip- tures speak directly to every single person ; the Decalogue is most ex- press in this way, thou, thou, &c., as aiming to awaken every one to a sense of their (luty ; God doth as it were talk with every person immediately. The gospel indeed speaketh lai-gely, ' Come, all ye,'_&c., as excluding and exempting none out of the hopes of it ; yet sometimes
VeR. 14.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JUDE. 291
the gospel speaketh as particularly as the law, especially where the condition is annexed to the offer ; as Eom. x. 9, ' If thou believest in the Lord Jesus with thine heart/ &c. If yoti, as speaking to me ;i if thou, as speaking to thee, and every other man in particular. Well, then, though the word speaketh generally, take home your own share, as men cut a passage out of the common river to M-ater their own fields. Let not the scriptures ' speak in vain,' James iv. 5. We are all concerned when his speech is directed to men of our condition : Ps. xxvii. 8, ' Thou saidst, Seek ye my face ; ' and David subsumeth, * Thy face, Lord, will / seek.'