was a body of men gotten together, in view of the distressing circumstances here set forth for the purpose of fighting the enemy, of shaking off the yoke of the oppressor. Let us study these men for a moment. There were three hundred of them in all. So far as the record goes not one of their names has been preserved to us, save that of the leader only. The names are all omitted, but the qualities that characterized them are preserved. We are not told who they were, but we are told what kind of men they were: and it is to this point particularly that I desire to direct attention just here. A careful study of what is written here in regard to these men will reveal the following facts about them:

(1). They were fully conscious of the evils from which they were suffering, and earnestly desired to be rid of them. It matters not how these evils originated, the point to which I am directing attention here is, that these men recognized them as evil. They were not satisfied with conditions as they were. They wanted a change. They were tired of the oppression of the Midianites. They realized that they were being oppressed, and that it was not good for them to continue in the condition in which they were. And it is only where such a mental attitude exists that there can be any successful warfare against oppressive conditions. Unless the evil to be remedied is felt, and keenly felt, it is not likely that there will be any effort put forth to remedy it, or any prospect of securing the cooperation of those who are suffering in an effort to do so.

(2). They were men of courage, of splendid daring. They came in response to a call from Gideon. Gideon had thrown down the altar of Baal which his father had erected; and because his father refused to turn him over to be put to death by the Midianites, the adherents of Baal, a large force was collected to enforce the decree of death against him. It was under such circumstances that Gideon issued his call. We are told, “The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezar was gathered together after him. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; and they were also gathered together after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.”

As the result of this call some thirty-two thousand men came to his relief. Twenty-two thousand of these, however, came simply because they felt that they must come, but their hearts were not in it. They recognized the fact that there was danger in the step they were taking, that they might lose their lives in the conflict which was sure to ensue between them 

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