Jude 1:16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaks great swelling words… 1. Insinuators. The whisper, the shrug of the shoulder, the half sentence containing a surmise of the other half, and the warning of some awful revelation to come respecting the servant of God and his character, mark these men in every age. They succeed to create distrust of the ministry, and dry up the fountain of Christian sympathy and prayer. 2. Fault-finders. Nothing is done to please them. They are on the alert to find out mistakes. They turn even the love feast into a scene of embitterment. 3. Libertines. The root of their character is a love of sin — some form of gross immorality. They hate the truth because it exposes their villainy and shame. 4. Pretenders. They are full of ostentation, fond of tall talk. To the ignorant, loud swelling words sound grandly, but to the wise, "the crackling of thorns under a pot." 5. Dissemblers. They put on smiling face, and speak smooth words to persons of rank, to secure their approbation and gain their support. They subject principles to appearances. Let the mantle of Jude fall on our ministers. (T. Davies, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. |
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