A commentary upon the whole book of Judges Preached first and delivered in sundry…A commentary vpon the vvhole booke of Iudges Preached first and deliuered in sundrie…

whereas this sanctifieth not the rest, that is behind, but maketh all their goods execrable to them and theirs, till restitution be made either in kind, or to the poor (the true heirs of such goods) if it cannot otherwise be, to the pleasing of God, as a fruit of their unfeigned repentance So no man ought to buy or hire that which is passed over to another before, nor covet wife, servant, goods, of another mans (for that is nothing else but a taking of his right from him) nor to receive stolen goods for their advantage. So neither should the Pope usurp dominion: S. Peter ¹(whose successor he saith he is) forbidding dominion over the flock, for he hath no such authority, as neither hath the best minister of Christ.

whereas this sanctifieth not the rest, that is behind, but maketh all their goods execrable to them and theirs, till restitution be made either in kind, or to the poore (the true heires of such goods) if it cannot otherwise be, to the pleasing of God, as a fruit of their vnfained repentance So no man ought to buy or hire that which is passed ouer to another before, nor couet wife, seruant, goods, of another mans (for that is nothing else but a taking of his right from him) nor to receiue stolne goods for their aduantage. So neither should the Pope vsurpe dominion: S. Peter ¹(whose successor he saith he is) forbidding dominion ouer the flocke, for he hath no such authoritie, as neither hath the best minister of Christ.

1. 11. Pet. 5. 3.

Gideon answereth, God shall reign over them, (an holy speech) for where ¹shall they be found that will refuse a thing much less then a kingdom being offered? nay, how greedily would many have fastened upon a matter of small value, being offered them, as the kingdom here was to him? But some will ask, Might not God reign over them though he had also? I say, Yes. Neither was he of the Anabaptists opinion, who think that such civill government and subjection of people to Kings repugneth to Christian liberty. And God reigned over his people, when yet Saul, and after him David reigned over them also: but his meaning was, that the order that God had set (of governing by such as had no continued government,) should stand, and not be perverted by or for him or his: but contrariwise, to his power he would hinder it. And God reigned indeed in the Commonwealth of the Israelites, which flourished in Gideons time, wherein the Elders were chosen by common consent, some ecclesiastical to give the meaning of the law, and others civill and temporal, as men call it, to rule the people thereby: in which office if they did not well carry themselves, they were both punished and put from their places. And if any war fell out, the Lord himself stirred up Guides and Judges, and they were not chosen by men, as appears both by Chapter 1. 1. and after neither did their children succeed them: and thus the Lord both in peace and war ruled over them, and so Gideon meant, that the office of the Judge was no ordinary magistracy, such as the King is: but a temporary and occasional, much like to the Dictatorship of the Romans, in respect of the use whereto it served: although otherwise of divine election, immediately, not by men. By this answer, the singular modesty, and the religious staidness and good government of Gideon appeareth: who having occasion so fairly offered of possessing and enjoying the kingdom, refuseth it as resolutely, as they offered it earnestly. He is indeed the strong man, who standeth out stoutly, when the brunt cometh: now Gideon's sincerity and courage is tried: and now he playeth the part of a truly heroical captain, in rejecting the tentation that was set before him.