When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, [and] a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God [is] with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. Ver. 1. _When thou goest out to battle._] It is not unlawful, therefore, to... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,_ Ver. 2. _That the priest shall approach._] For some priests ordinarily went along with the army; not to be _Tuba rebellionis,_ as the Papists said of Zuinglius, nor _evangelium flamme... [ Continue Reading ]
And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; Ver. 4. _For the Lord your God is he._] _Quid metuit homo in sinu Dei positus, Deo armatus?_ Creatures of... [ Continue Reading ]
For the LORD your God [is] he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. Ver. 5. _And hath not dedicated it._] By prayers, hymns, and other holy solemnities then usual; Neh 12:27 Psa 30:1 _title_ that "the house of David might be as God, as the Angel of the Lord before... [ Continue Reading ]
And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man [is there] that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. Ver. 6. _That hath planted a vineyard._] This privilege might encourage men t... [ Continue Reading ]
And what man [is he] that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not [yet] eaten of it? let him [also] go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it. Ver. 7. _That hath betrothed a wife._] A commendable custom, even among heathens also: _Placuit, despondi; nuptiis hi... [ Continue Reading ]
And what man [is there] that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her. Ver. 8. _That is fearful and faint hearted._] This cowardly passion dispirits a man, expectorates his manliness, and exposeth him to... [ Continue Reading ]
And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man [is there that is] fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart faint as well as his heart. Ver. 9. _Captains of the armies to lead the people._] As Hannibal did, of whom... [ Continue Reading ]
When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. Ver. 10. _Then proclaim peace unto it._] Heb., Shall call unto it for peace. This hath been the practice of most nations. The Romans sent their _caduceum et hastam._ The herald was commanded to throw his weapons on... [ Continue Reading ]
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, [that] all the people [that is] found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. Ver. 11. _And open unto thee._] As Tournay in France did to our Henry VIII, with ten thousand pound sterli... [ Continue Reading ]
And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: Ver. 13. _Thou shalt smite every male thereof._] Let them pay for their pervicacy. So Caesar answered the Adviatici, that he would have spared their city if they had yielded... [ Continue Reading ]
But thou shalt utterly destroy them; [namely], the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee: Ver. 17. _The Hivites and the Jebusites._] The Girgashites are not reckoned among the rest, as neither are they... [ Continue Reading ]
When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field [is] man's [life]) to employ [them] in the siege: Ver. 1... [ Continue Reading ]