The Pulpit Commentary — Jude — Section 28

Ver. 1O.-The dephmible perverswn of knowledge. This verse is a prnctical applica- ti0n or the hiAt-0ric reference to the archangel Michael. I. THE LESSON oF IGNORANT DEPRECIATION. "But these rail at whatsoever thin11a they know not." 'l'hese were unseen spiritual powers whom they treat with mocki;g irre,·ercnce. 1. The ignO'/YI,nce in question is that conceited and contented ignorance of which the psalmist speaks. "They know not nor will understand, but walk on in dark- ness." They are" willingly ignorant" (Rom. i. 28). None are so ready to speak as the ignorant-. o~, it iR ignorance of things not 110ssible for man to know in his present life, and is therefore excusable. 2. The sinfulness of railing at such things. (1) It is great folly, for it is railing at what is the result or man's infirmity or his limited powers. " Ile that answereth a matter before he hea.reth it, it is a folly and a shame to him" (Prov. niii. 13). (2) It is great presumption. 3. It is great wickedness; for it is to impute evil where none may exist. It is to rejoice in the evil which may only exist in our own thoughts. How great is the ~n of railing at things which al"e worthy! We see how corrupt affections blicd the judgment. 4. We ought to reprove known evil, and to praise what we /.,--now to be good. JI. THE LESSON OF THE RUIN WROUGHT BY SENSUAL KNOWLEDGE. "And what they umlerstand naturally, like the creatures without reason, in these things they corrupt themseh·es." 1. The range and scope of natural knowledge. Jude refers here to the familiar o11ects of sense as equally obvious to both man and beast. (1) These evil y>crsons, like the irrational animals, readily discover the means of gratifying their desires. (2) They receive a.II their blessings, like the beasts, without thought or thanks to the Gi~er. (3) They cannot improve them spiritually any more than the heasts which only lil"e to eat. (4) They use them to excess, wallowing like swine in the mire of mere sensual enjoyments. (5) They are impatient of restraint in pr~ portion to the full ~njoyment of natural bounties. 2. The corruption that springs out of mere things of sense. (1) These evil men, by their abuse of natural blessings, bring disease upon themsekes. (2) They corrupt their moral nature. " Wice and women take away the heart" (Hos. iv. 11). Outward enjoyments make no man excel in beauty of character. (3) They are corrupted eternally. "Satan lies in ambush behind our lawful enjoyments." "They who sow to the :6.esh shall of the fl.esb reap corruption" (Gal. vi. 8).-T. C. Ver. 11.--,Three uamples of similar ungodliness. Another triplet, answering to the triplet of Sodom, the evil angels, the unbelieving Israelites. In both triplets there was an outrage aaainst nature, a contempt for Divine sovereignty, a revolt against dignities. I. A DEN~CllTION OF JUDGMENT. "Woe unto them I" 1. Wickedness has its end in woes. The end of it is" death." 2. T!.e m,Qst fearful woes are those tohich are spiritual in their nature. No outward calam~ty is so terrible as the wrath of G~d, no worldly misfortune so great as a seared conscience. 3. The woe does not come without warning. God foretells the ruin that it may be averted, as in the notable case of the Niuevites. 4. Ministers O'll,fJht to exhwit the terrors of the Law as well as the sweet promises of the gospel. IL THE GROUNDS OF THIS DEKUNC-J.ATION OF JUDGMENT. There is a threefold variety in godless transgression. L TJu,re is an outrage against the laws_ of ,iature. "For they went in the way of Cain." (1) 'l'hat was a way of hypocrisy. Ca.in offered a sacrifice, but in a faithless spirit. (2) It was a way of envy. II The spirit that dwelleth in UB lust~th to envy." In the case of Cain it was "the inlet to murder." ·who is able to stand before envy? It is its own punishment. .(3) It was a way of selfishness and hatred. Hatred led to the murder of Abel, and selfishness was stamped upon the interrogative answer to God's question: "Am ·I my brother•~ keeper?" (4) It was a way of violence and cruelty. "He who cared not how he served God regarded not how he used his brother. Cain begins with sacrifice and ends with murder." Those who plead for most liberty are a.pt to be most selfish an_d cruel. 2. There ill a reUgi01U opposition to Goi from interested m,Qtives. "And ran notously 1-2ii.J '!'HE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JUDK 27