Ver. 1. Jude the servant] To distinguish him from Judas the traitor, lest he should suffer by mistake, as Nicholas the deacon is thought to do, as if he were the author of the sect of the Nicolaitans, which Christ hated. This Jude or Judas, was also surnamed Lebbaeus, that is, hearty; as Hooper the martyr was called hearty Hooper. He was indeed a hearty friend to the truth, earnestly contending for the faith once delivered unto the saints; and (haereticorum malleus) a hammer against heretics, whom he describeth here to the life, and opposeth them to his utmost. To them that are sanctified] Or to them that are beloved, as other copies have it. Preserved] “Kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,” 1 Peter 1:5.
Ver. 2. Mercy unto you, &c.] Mercy from the Father, peace from the Son, and love from the Holy Ghost.
Ver. 3. Of the common salvation] That wherein all saints have a share. For the faith] That faith of the gospel, Philippians 1:27, the doctrine of faith. Once delivered] Once for all, not only as but one only rule, but as but once sent to a nation. So that if lost, or any way corrupted, it will not be given again; another edition of it is not to be expected. Contend earnestly for it, therefore, conflict one after another, as t he word επαγωνιζεσθαι signifies. Hold fast the faithful word, as with both hands, Titus 1:9. [See Trapp on “Tit 1:9”] Resolve either to live with the gospel, or to die for it. Be zealous in the defenee of it, and strive your utmost. When Carolostadius opposed Luther’s consubstantiation, but weakly, faintly, and insufficiently, Zuinglius said he was sorry that so good a cause wanted shoulder. Non satis humerorum haberet. In the conference at Possiacum in France, Beza (speaker for the Protestants), entering into the matter of the Eucharist, spake with such heat, that he gave but ill satisfaction to those of his own party (saith the author of the History of the Council of Trent), so that he was commanded to conclude. How true this is I know not; sure it is, that in falling forward is nothing so much danger as in falling backward; so he that contendeth earnestly for the truth, though he may carry some things indiscreetly, yet he is far better than a faint chapman or a feeble champion. Austin was much heartened and hardened in his Manichism, because he met with weak opponents, such as his nimble wit could easily overturn.
Ver. 4. For there are certain men] Not worthy to be named, as that rich glutton, Luke 16:19. Crept in unawares] παρεισεδυσαν, stealing their pa ssage, and making as if they minded nothing less. Thus Socrates (the writer of the Ecclesiastical History) was a close Novatian, as the learned Jacobus Billius observeth; he favoureth that heresy all along his history, sed ita oblique, ut minus perspicaci Lectori non tam dolori suo atque irae obsequi quam veritatis rationem habere videatur, but he doth it so cunningly, that a man would think he did it out of pure regard to the truth. (Observat. Sacrar. i. 26.) So Spondanus, the epitomizer of Baronius, drinks to his readers the pernicious poison of Hildebrand’s heresies, quasi aliud agens, as if he intended no such matter. Ordained to this] Gr. προγεγραμμενοι, written down, enrolled, set down in the black bill. Turning the grace of our God] Gr. μετατιθεμενοι, translating it from its proper end, perverting it, by arguing from mercy to liberty, which is the devil’s logic. Corruptio optimi est pessima. The corruption of the best is the worst. Learned men have conceived, saith Plutarch, that as of oxen, being dead and rotten, there breed bees, of horses wasps, of asses beetles; so men’s bodies, when the marrow melteth and gathereth together, do bring forth serpents. The grace of God, if turned into wantonness, becometh the “savour of death unto death.”
Ver. 5. Afterward destroyed] Their preservation was but a reservation, as was Sennacherib’s, Pharaoh’s, and theirs whom God threatened to destroy, after that he had done them good, Joshua 24:20.
Ver. 6. Kept not their first estate] Their original integrity or principality. Of this sin of the angels, the cause was the will of the angels, good in itself (but mutable and free), not by working either, but by not working, saith a divine. But left their own habitation] Being driven thence and hurried into hell. He hath reserved in everlasting chains, &c.] There are two sorts of chains, saith Mr Leigh. First, those which torment the devil, God’s wrath, and his own conscience. Secondly, those which restrain him, his own finiteness, and God’s providence.
Ver. 7. Giving themselves over] In scortationem effusae, wearying and wearing themselves out with that beastly sin, εκπορνευσασαι εκ επιτασιν habet; as did Proculus, Messalina, and Lais, who died in the act of uncleanness. (απεθανε βινουμενη, Athen. xiii.) The word here used signifies, saith Aretius, Scortationi immori, et contabescere illius desiderio, To waste and consume with that cursed concupiscence. Such a one was that filthy lecher mentioned by Luther, who desired no other heaven than to live always here, and be carried from one stews to another. He died between a couple of notorious strumpets. And going after strange flesh] [See Trapp on “Ge 19:5”] Are set forth] Gr. προκεινται, are thrown forth. For an example] Herodotus saith the like of the destruction of Troy, that the ruins and rubbish t hereof are set forth for an example of this rule, των μεγαλων αδικηματων μεγαλαι εισι και αι τιμωριαι παρα του Θεου, that God greatly punisheth great offences.