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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A87554	An exposition of the Epistle of Jude, together with many large and useful deductions. Lately delivered in XL lectures in Christ-Church London, by William Jenkyn, Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The first part.	Jenkyn, William, 1613-1685.	1652 (1652)	Wing J639; Thomason E695_1; ESTC R37933	518,527	654

enemies A greater punishment undoubtedly to those proudest of creatures then was that to Bajazet whose back famous Tamberlane used for an horsblock to raise him up to his Steed when he caused him to be carried up and down as a spectacle of infamy in all his triumphant journeys 2. By the last judgment there shall be an accession of punishment to these angels in respect of their restraint because then they shall be unable to seduce the wicked or to hurt the elect any more Their chain now more loose shall then be so strait that they shall never come neer nor among the Saints of God A vehement vexation to those malicious spirits whose element is mischief and their torment restraint from doing hurt They now deem it some lessening of their torment to be suffered to tempt men to sin They think themselves hereby somewhat revenged on God as he that defaceth the picture of his enemy when he cannot come at his person easeth his spleen a little or as the dog somewhat breaks his rage by gnawing the stone when he cannot reach the thrower They now walk abroad as it were with their keeper but then they shall be closely confin'd yea dungeon'd Now they contain their hell then their hell shall contain them In short As the punishment of wicked men shall be at the full when their souls and bodies are reunited and both cast into hell so the torment of these angels shall be compleated when at the last day they shall be so fettered in their infernall prison as that there will be no possibility of stirring forth They are now entred into divers degrees of punishment but the full wrath of God is not powred out upon them till the day of judgment OBSERVATIONS 1 No secrecy can shelter sin from Gods observation Observ 1. He who will make sins known to conscience and all spectators must needs know them himself Sins are undoubtedly written in if they be read out of the book God need not wrack no nor ask the offender to know whether he hath sinn'd or no he searcheth the heart Jer. 17.10 Psal 11.4 he tryeth the reins his eyes behold his eye-lids try the children of men He compasseth he winnoweth our paths and is acquainted with all our wayes Psal 139. Whither shall we flie from his presence He understands our thoughts afar off knows them long before they come into us and long after they are gone away from us All the secrets of our hearts are dissected anatomized and bare-fac'd in his eyes He who knew what we would do before we did it must needs know what we have done afterwards There 's nothing existing in the world but was before in Gods knowledg as the house is first in the head before erected by the hand of the Artificer He made us and therefore knows every nook and corner and turning in us and we are sustained and moved by him in our most retired motions How plainly discerned by him is the closest hypocrite and every Divel though in a Samuel's mantle We can onely hear but God sees hollownesse We do but observe the surface but Gods eye pierceth into the entrails of every action He sees not as man sees Man looketh on the outward appearance but God looketh on the heart How exact should we be even in secret walkings we being constantly in the view of so accurate an observer We should set the Lord always before us The eye of God should ever be in our eys the presence of God is the counterpoyson of sin Whensoever thou art sinning remember that all thou dost is book'd in Gods omniscience Latimer being examined by his Popish Adversaries heard a pen walking behind the hangings to take all his words this made him wary how he express'd himself but more cause have we to fear sin since God writes down every offence and will one day so read over his book to Conscience that it shall be compell'd to copie it out with infinite horror God did but read one page one line of this book one sin to the conscience of Judas and the terror thereof made him his own executioner 2 How foolish are sinners Observ 2. who are so despairing at and yet so fearlesse before the pronouncing of the last sentence Most irrationall is that resolution Because sentence against an evill work is not executed speedily therefore to be fully set to do evill Eccles 8.11 How wise were it to argue contrarily Because the sentence is deferr'd therefore let us labour to have it prevented and to say with the Apostle 2 Pet. 3.11 What manner of persons ought we to be The deferring of judgment is no signe of its prevention the speedy repentance of sinners would be a much more comfortable prediction Wrath when it is to come may be fled from when once it is come it is unavoidable Christians be as wise for your souls as the Egyptians were for their cattel who fearing the threatning of bail took them into houses Faith in threatnings of judgment may prevent the feeling of judgments threatned For your souls sake be warned to get your pardon in the blood if ever you would avoid the sentence of the mouth of Christ If the Judg give you not a pardon here he will give you a sentence hereafter It 's onely the blood of Christ which can blot the book of Judgment Judg your selves and passe an irrevocable sentence upon your sins if you would not be sentenc'd for your sins Repent at the hearing of Ministers in this your day for if you put off that work till God speaks in his day Repentance it self will be unprofitable If you harden your hearts here in sin the heart of Christ will be hardened hereafter in his sentencing and your suffering The great work of poor Ministers is the prevention of the dreadfull sound of the last Sentence Knowing the terror of the Lord they warn you All the hatred we meet with in the world is for our loving plainness herein but we will not cease to warn you with tears as well as with sweat we can better bear your hatred here then either you or we bear Gods hereafter and we had rather your lusts should curse us here then your souls to all eternity If our voyce cannot make you bend Gods will make you break If you will not hearken is it not because the Lord will slay you 3 Great is the sinfulness of rash judgment Observat 3 It 's a sin that robs Christ of his honour whereby a man advanceth himself into Christs Tribunal and which takes the work of judgment out of Christs hand and therefore the Apostle Rom. 14.10 1 Cor. 4 5. strongly argues a-against it from the last judgment Christians commit this sin both by a curious inquisition into the wayes of others for this end that they may finde out matter of defamation and principally by passing of sentence or giving of censure against the persons and practices of others without a

Christian of strong grace that can bear the strong wine of his commendations without the spiritual intoxication of pride It s as hard humbly to hear thy self praised as it is patiently to hear thy selfe reproached That Minister of whom I have heard was a rare example of humility who being highly applauded for a sermon preach'd in the Vniversity was by a narrow observer found weeping in his study presently after for fear that he had sought or his auditors unduly bestowed upon him applause Lutb pref in Gen. Ridiculum est si anxius es quomodo honoraretur homo nondum creatus tu es nihil Nieremb de ador in spir How heavenly was the temper of John the Baptist when he said Christ shall increase but I shall decrease It was a good fear of Luther namely lest the reading of his books should hinder people from reading the Scriptures Would wee account our selves nothing and indeed in our selves we are so we should think it as ridiculous a thing to be solicitous for our own as for that mans honour who is not yet created 5. The better the persons are who become wicked Observ 5 the more obstinate they are in wickednesse When angels fal into sin they continue in it with pertinacy the hottest water cooled becoms the coldest They whose light of knowledg is most angelicall sin with highest resolution and strongest opposition against the truth The greater the weight of that thing is which falls the more violent is its fall and the greater is the difficulty to raise it up again They who leave God notwithstanding their clear light are justly left by God to incurable darknesse None should so much tremble at sin as those who are inlightned obstinacy is most like to follow their impiety It may be impossible to recover them Seducers saith the Apostle wax worse and worse and do not only shew themselves men in erring but divels in persevering But of this before Ver. 4. 6. The happinesse of beleevers by Christ Observ 6. Est in nobis per hanc Dei gratiam in bono recipiendo perseveranter tenendo non solum posse quod volumus verum etiam velle quod possumus Aug. de cor gra c. 11. 1 Pet. 1.5 1 Pet. ult 10. is greater than that of Angels meerly as in the state of nature These had a power to stand or fall we by Christ have a power whereby we shall stand and never fall By creation the creature had a power either to abide with God or to depart from him But by Regeneration that fear of God is put into the hearts of his people whereby they shall not depart from God Jer. 32.40 And this power of not falling is in them indeed but not from them The faithfull are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation They are stablish'd setled strengthned Created will hath a power to will to presevere in that which is good Prima gratia data primo Adamo est quâ fit ut habeat homo justitiam si velit sed gratia potentiae est in secundo Adamo quâ fit ut velit tantóque ardore diligat ut carnis voluntatem contraria concupiscentem voluntate spiritus vincat August de Cor. gra c. 12. but it hath not the will it selfe to presevere neither the act of preseverance as the regenerate will hath Of this before p. 64 65. 83 84 85 c. 72 73. Thus far of the sift part of this verse viz. the defection of these angels The second followes namely their punishment and herein first that of the prison is considerable which is twofold 1. Everlasting chains 2. Darknesse EXPLICATION For the first Everlasting chains It may here be inquired 1. What we are to understand by these chains 2. How and why these chains are everlasting 1. What is meant by chains The word in the Originall is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in bonds which bonds are not to be taken literally for those materiall instruments or bonds whereby things are bound that they may stand firm and steddy or persons are hindred from acting what they would or drawn whither they would not but metaphorically as are also those chains into which Peter saith these fain angels were delivered for that condition 2 Pet. 2.4 of punishment and woe wherein they shall remain like prisoners in bonds Certus inclusos tenet locus nocentes utque fert fama impios supplicia vinclis saeva perpetuis domant Senec. in Herc. Fur. The Metaphor being taken from the estate of malefactors who in prison are bound with chains to hinder them from running away that so they may be kept to the time of judgement and execution or who by the Mittimus of a Justicer are sent to the Gaol there to lie in chains till the Sessions And thus these angels are kept in chains or bonds of three sorts 1. They are in the chain of sin bound by the bond of iniquity as the phrase is * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 8.23 and Prov. 5.22 the wicked are said to be holden with the cords of their sins and deservedly may sins be called bonds or chains they both holding sinners so strongly as that without an omnipotent strength they can never be loosed as also being such prison-bonds as goe before their appearing at the bar of the last and dreadfull Judgement The bonds of sin wherein wicked men are held are often by the goodnesse and power of God loosed but the bonds of sin wherein wicked angels are held shall be everlasting there is and ever shall be a total inability in those cursed creatures to stir hand or foot in any wel-doing they are in arctâ custodiâ Non dicit Apostolus peccavit ab initio sed peccat nam ex quo diabolus peccare coepit nunquam peccare definit Bed A peccatis nunquam feriatur quia sicut non dormitabit neque dormiet qui custodit Israel it a nunquam dormitat neque dormit qui impugnat Israel Est in 1 John 3.8 Vid. Jun. in Jud. Non voluntatis confessio sed necessitatis extorsio Hier. close prisoners in these chains of iniquity stak'd down wedg'd wedded to sin chained as it were to a block hence it is said 1 John 3.8 that the divell sinneth from the beginning whereby may be noted not only how early he began but also how constantly he poceedeth in sin for as Bede well observes it is not said he sinned but he sinneth from the beginning to note saith he that since he began he never ceased to sin he keeps no holy dayes makes no cessation from pride and other impieties and as he sleeps not who keeps so neither doth he who opposeth Israel he walketh about seeking c. 1 Pet. 5.8 to this purpose our Saviour saith John 8.44 that the divell hath no truth in him to note his utter impotency saith Junius to any thing of goodnesse and integrity and when he speaks a lie he