A10933:930
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.
THE FORTY FIVE SERMON ON THE SEVENTH CHAPTER OF THE BOOK OF JUDGES.
THE FORTIE FIVE SERMON ON THE SEVENTH CHAPTER OF THE BOOKE OF IVDGES.
Now to go forward where I left, in this verse, God tells 1Gideon, that the people of his army were too many to give the victory unto, lest they should ascribe it to themselves. This speech of the Lord showeth, how unfit we be, to have any great matter committed to us, or to our trust and government, for we are most 2prone to abuse it: and therefore he is fain oft-times to take away many good things from us, lest they should much hurt us, though they might (if we could rightly use them) turn to our great good, and the benefit of others. This people of Israel, if they had gone altogether to the battle, and got the victory, they would not have acknowledged God to have given it them, but their own power and skill, and yet we know how miserable they were a little before, when Gideon himself complained in what distress they were, and how low they were brought: so that one would think, they were unfit enough to ascribe ought to themselves, and that they ought rather (having been brought from such bondage as they had been in before) yea and they might also easily have seen cause to give glory to God for it, if they with two and thirty thousand (especially so many thousands of them being faint-hearted soldiers) had subdued more then an hundred thousand persons. And this is the more odious in this people, because they would have abhorred such a lewd conceit or quality in themselves while they remained under bandage, yea, if they had been asked: What if by you (being but feeble and few in respect of your enemies:) the Lord would destroy the Midianites, would you not think God had fought mightily for you? Oh they would have confessed no less, but seen that it had been cause of great thanks. True; till the victory had been gotten: and then who but themselves had foiled the Midianites? So it may be Saul and Jeroboam while they were underlings, would have counted it a greater privilege, and themselves highly indebted to God, if he would have bestowed a less matter then a kingdom upon them, but when they had