II. TnEY ARE IIOSTILF. TO TIIE D1vrni LoRD~HIP. "They set at nought dominion." Like the fallen nngola. Tho dominion here spoken of is not human magistracy, but the LC'rdship of Goel Almighty. 'fhey deny the Lord Jesus; they will not have this Man to reign over them. 'l'his evil temper springs: 1. From pride. 2. From Bdf-sufficien~y. B. From hatred of God. 4. From an_qer at all Divine restrnint in their evil actionB. III. TnEY REVILE THE ANOEUO HIF,RARCIIY. "They rail at dignities." Like the murmurers in the wilderness. They rail at celestial lordships. 1. Great i.~ the exces., qf an unsanctified tongue. 2. Fools rail at powers of whom they know nothing. 3. It is a great sin to put dishonour on celestial beings whom God has so highly honoured. IV. •rnE FOUNTAIN FROM WHICH TI!F,SE Sl~S ISSUE. "In their dreamings." This threefold manifestation of an evil mind has its origin in the self-delusion of sinners. Their dreaming implies : 1. That they li1Je in an umeal world, and have no true con- ception of the serious nature of sin. 2. That they are unconscious of the danger that threatens their immortal souls. 3. That they are insensible to all the warnings of coming judgment. 4. Dreaming is dangerous, for, like the hypocrite, the Binner shall /ly away as a dream (Job xx. 8).-T. C. Ver. 9.-.An angelic example/or human imitation. Jude then refers to an extraor- dinary incident not recorded in Scripture, but evidently contained in the old Jewish traditions respecting a contest of Michael the archangel with the devil. I. 'l'HE ARCHANGEL MxcHAEL--WBO WAS HE? 1. He appears as" OM of the chief princes" who stood up for God's people against the Persians (Dan. x. 13). 2. He appear11 as fighting. "Michael and his angels" against the devil and his angels (Rev. xii. 7). 3. He is probably the archangel whose voice is to be heard at the period rf our Lora'.• descent to /udgment~(l Thess. iv. 16.) 4. He is probably at the head of the good angel.•, as the devil is represented as at the bead of the evil angels. 5. Biyh as he is in rank, he is most active in dutiful service to God. II. THE STRIFE BETWEEN MICHAEL AND THE DEVIL. "But Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, dnrst not bring against him a railing judgment." 1. The incident here referred to occurred necessarily after Moses' death. 2. The dispute did not arise, as some think,from the effort of the devil to prevent the concealment of the body of Moses, whom God buried that no man might know the place of his sepulture. The reason usually assigned for the secrecy of the burial is that the Israelites might have worshipped the body of their great l:i.w.giver. But there is no evidence that the Israelites ever at any time showed a disposition to worship dead men's bones. Their inclination was rather to worship the powers of nature. 3. An ingenious and plausible explanation has been given of this strife in this wise. (1) We know that Moses and Elias appeared together at the Transfiguration (Luke ix. 29-33). '!'hey are called" two men."· Elias was certainly in the body-a glorified body, no doubt. Does not the similarity of statement imply that Moses was likewise in the body? (2) This would imply that Moses was rairnd up after his burial, but before he saw corruption, and was taken to heaven like Elijah and Enoch. God buried him, and the archangel watched over him that be shonld not see corruption. But why should the devil interfere with the archangel's watch? Is it that the devil has "the power of death" (Heh. ii. 14)? Is it that be has an interest in the corruption of our bodies, as the completion of that physical death which enters into the wages of sin? The contest may have arisen from the effort of Michael, on the one side, to secure the body of Moses from corruption till the moment when he, with his angels, would carry it into heaven, and from the effort of the devil, on t1e other side, to inflict the last stigma of death upon the great Israelite. '!'his explanation seems more plausible than any other that has been suggested of this mysterious conflict between the heads of the principalities of the spirit-world. The conflict suggests that: (a) Sin and holiness must necessarily come into conflict wherever they encounter each other. (b) Michael overcomes the devil. 11 He that is for us is far greater than all they that be ag,1inst us." Ilf. TIIE DEPORTMENT OF MICHAEL IN THIS STRIFE WITH THE DEVIL. "He durst not bring against him a railing jt,dgment, but said, The Lord rebuke thee." 1. It would have been inconsistent with angelical perfection to rail against the devil. 2. There is n9 cowardice ,n Michael not daring to sin. 3. What is Wl'ong for angels cannot be righl /<YI' men to do. 4. Michael lift the decisiun of the strife absolu.telv in <Jor.l'a handa. ii. 20 THE GENEHAT, EPISTLE OF JUDE. [l-25,
God'., 1J()wer restrains that of the devi:I. 6. The thought that we have a God into whose ha11ds we may commit 011r ca11se ought t-0 nw~·e us 11atient, forbearing, and forgiving, -T.C.