17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.



Ver. 17. Was wroth with the woman] Who yet had done him no wrong; but he and his are mad with malice (when their designs miscarry especially), and are ready to sue the Church, as he in Cicero did another, quod totum telum corpore non recepieset, because he had not taken into his body the whole dagger wherewith he had stabbed him. (Orat. pro C. Rab. Posth.)



To make war] That war which is mentioned Rev_13:7.



With the remnant of her seed] As a little seed grain is reserved out of a great heap for store, which is nothing to the whole crop; so is the small number of true believers reserved by grace, nothing to the whole field and crop of the world.



Which keep the commandments] A just description of a godly Christian. Boni catholici sunt qui et fidem integram sequuntur et bonos mores. To be sound in faith and holy in life, this is the kernel of Christianity. (Aug.)