God, who says, " Vengeance is mine ; I will repay." But he acted as a magistrate who was authorized to punish the treason of which these persons had been gviilty. Considered as an act of ingratitude only, it was exceeding sinful ; for what could be more base than to refuse a meal to those who had at the peril of their own lives delivered the whole nation from the yoke of Midian; and were now, though only three hundred iu number, following the remaining fugitives, fifty times as nu- merous as themselves, in order to extirpate them entirely? But it was treason, both against the state, and against God : it was the very way to prevent the execution of Gideon's designs against the enemies of God and his people : and, if God had not miraculously renewed the strength of the victors, this refusal of food to them would have done more to vanquish them than all the hosts of Midian had been able to effect. If Gideon had demanded that the men of Succoth and of Penuel should join in the pursuit, he would have required no more than he was authorized to do*^ : and he might justly, considering whose cause he was engaged in, have punished them severely for a refusal ^ : but when his request was so moderate, and his necessity so urgent, and the probable consequences of their refusal so injurious to the whole nation, he did right in making an example of such wicked traitors.]
Having vindicated this act of justice, let us proceed to notice,
II. The lessons it suggests to us —
It is very instructive to us both,
1. In a civil view — [The men of Succoth and of Penuel well illustrate the character and conduct of many amongst ourselves. The bur- thens of war must of necessity be borne by all the nation^: and methinks they should be cheerfully borne by every member of the commmiity: for, to whom do we owe our security, but to those who are standing forth in our defence, and, under God, are combating our enemies with success ? It is true, we feel the pressure of the taxes as a bvu'then ; and by means of them we are deprived of comforts which we might othervdse enjoy : but what are our privations in comparison of those which are experienced by our fleets and armies? Little do we think
^ The Ephraimites had not only acknowledged this, but had thought themselves slighted because it had not been done, ver. 1.
e See Judg. v, 23.
^ Preached at the time of the French Revolution. Of course, if made the subject of a discourse, it must be accommodated to existing circumstances. But it will be found generally applicable in a time of war.