A10933:179
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…
A commentary upon the whole book of Judges Preached first and delivered in sundry lectures; since collected, and diligently perused, and now published. For the benefit generally of all such as desire to grow in faith and repentance, and especially of them, who would more clearly understand and make use of the worthy examples of the saints, recorded in divine history. Penned by Richard Rogers preacher of Gods word at Wethersfield in Essex.A commentary vpon the vvhole booke of Iudges Preached first and deliuered in sundrie lectures; since collected, and diligently perused, and now published. For the benefit generally of all such as desire to grow in faith and repentance, and especially of them, who would more cleerely vnderstand and make vse of the worthie examples of the saints, recorded in diuine history. Penned by Richard Rogers preacher of Gods word at Wethersfield in Essex.
London: printed by Felix Kyngston for Thomas Man, 1615
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Excellent is that saying of the Lord to this purpose in the Chronicles: 1The Ethiopians and the Lubims, were they not a great people? yet because thou diddest rest upon me, I delivered them into thy hands: but now thou hast done foolishly in relying on the King of Syria, and not on the Lord, therefore he leaveth thee to thyself to believe, and so driven and dissuaded from the contrary. Yet this causeth me oft to marvel, that we being so encouraged, neither the unbelievers ⟨p. 54⟩do hast or long and thirst for faith, as though it were little worth, neither can other who yet should be most ready, be brought to wait daily and constantly to grow in this grace of believing: neither do, although they have obtained already to believe; for all that, nourish faith as they are taught, that so they may abound therein with thanks-giving. And much it is to be lamented, that seeing God is not with us, to bless and beautify us otherwise; we should for all that neglect so great good, as we might get thereby, and rather with others, follow fancy and reason, sloth and example, and that is, to believe no more then we see. Oh woeful unbelief, that fillest our lives with so many fretting sorrows and deadly discomforts! True it is, that many to make their fault small, do answer, that the people that lived before the coming of Christ, might much easier believe then we now, because they read in the stories such examples, not only of Abraham, but also of Joshua 2and many of the people in the destroying of Jericho to have done so. And the Priests adventuring to set their feet on the waters, believing that they 3should give place to them to go over them on dry foot, as God had promised; with many other like. But they are grossly deceived who think so, even as much as they, who will say that in the dawning morning light a man may see as clearly, as at noontide. For who is ignorant of this, that the mystery of faith is nothing so clearly revealed in the old Testament, no, not by many degrees, as it is in the new? So that although some of the chief fathers, (who were to go before the people, and be lights to them, as Moses, Noah, Abraham, and others, received enlightening of God, more and in greater measure then we do in these days;