And when ye go to war in your land against the enemy that
oppresseth you
That enters in to invade it, to besiege cities, and distress the inhabitants of it:
then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets:
a "tara-tan-tara" with both of them, to call the several tribes together to join against the enemy; or to call them to fasting and humiliation, to repentance and prayer, to seek the Lord in the exercise of these, and cry for help and assistance, for victory and salvation; for, as Ben Gersom observes, by this alarm their hearts would be broken and become contrite, and they would return to the Lord, and he would have mercy on them when they pray unto him; for such a sound makes a man's heart shake and tremble, according to ( Amos 3:6 ) ; see ( Jeremiah 4:19 ) ; this is a third use of the trumpets, and in a mystical sense it may be observed, that saints are in a militant state, and have many enemies that come in to them to oppress them, sin, Satan, and the world; and the Gospel calls and encourages them to fight, furnishes them with armour, and assures them of victory, and directs them where to fight and with whom, and bids them endure hardness as good soldiers of Christ:
and ye shall be remembered before the Lord your God;
for a book of remembrance is written for them that fear God, humble themselves before him, and pray unto him:
and ye shall be saved from your enemies;
as Israel from their temporal, so the people of God from their spiritual enemies, being made more than conquerors through him that loved them.