Vere. 12, 13.-" Glorious things" wpoken of the tMl,ll Israel. No member of "the goodly fellowship of the prophets" had a more vivid sense of the ultimate enfranchise- ment from all evil, awaiting the race, to be effected by the Messiah in due course, than was possessed by "Micah the Morasthite." Even as in the opening portion of his prophecy, he lingered, in thought and expression, upon the prevailing ungodliness, marking on every hand confusion and strife and wrong, he could yet see coming " the age of gold," when peace and harmony, purity and righteousness should secure the victory ; and of that gloriouR age, lo I he here sings, Just what the oasis is to the surrounding desert, or the silver lining to the Jark cloud, or the momentary pause in the storm, when for an instant the noise of tho waves is stilled, telling of the coming calm, that these two verses seem to be to the first three chapters of this book. of Scripture, and by their bright and hopeful tone the hearts of "the remuant" who 24 THE BOOK OF MIOAH. [en. u. 1-13
<lcplored the abounding iniquity of the times became, we doubt not, lifted up with dcrnut t.hankfulne~s and inspired with renewed strength. Are we to understand these bright pa~sages scattered throughout this prophecy, and alluding to a glory to be realized in the futnre, as referring &imply to happier days to be experienced by the Jewish nation, or are they to be regarded as having a more comprehensive range? 1Yhilst belie,·ing firmly that a glorious destiny is before the Hebrew nation, and that the working out of that destiny shall be not only for its own spiritual good, but also for the enrichment of the world (Rom. xi. 12), yet we should lose much of the force of the prophetic Scriptures in their allusions to " the latter-day glory," by limiting their utterances thus. We should not half realize the depth of meaning underlying these verses by simply regarding the passage as setting forth that the Jews, after a period of captivity in Babylon, should return again to their own land. Prophecy was designed to prepare the way of the Lord Ch1ist. And, thus viewed, it was marked by progres- sive stages. The work began in the revelation made through Moses of the will and Law of God. Then, after a time, followed the era of Samuel, who, with his contempo- raries and successors, laboured to maintain true religion in Israel, chosen of God as the nation through whom his purposes of mercy were to be unfolded, And following these, we come to the age of written prophecy, in which the holy seers, whilst not neglecting the claims of their own nation, took a wider range of vision and looked forward to a new co~enant affecting all nations, and to the coming of the Messiah as One who should establish a spiritual kingdom, whose claims were to be urged upon all the world, and unto whom men of every nation and kindred and tribe should turn, thW! forming the spiritual Israel over whom the Messiah should reign in righteousness (see Dr. Payne Smith's' Prophecy a Preparation for Christ'). Micah notably belonged to this more advanced period of the prophetic development, and hence his bright anticipa- tions of the glorious future are to be nnderstood as having this wider scope. He was contemporary with Isaiah, who constantly represented the Lord as reigning over the whole earth, and even the far-distant lands as bringing unto him their tribute. We are led to ask-How did they gain these broad and far-reaching conceptions of all the nations as gathering together, and becoming loyal to the God of the Hebrews, and becoming one as being alike citizens of the heavenly King? It was not natural for them to cherish such a notion as this. It involved their breaking away from their national traditions, and it did violence to all their prejudices as Jews. 'l'he Hebrews regarded themselves as the elect of God, chosen by him out of every nation to the highest dignity and honour. How, then, did this conviction, of the world-embracing character of the blessings of the Messiah's reign become developed in the minds, a~d expressed in the burning words of enthusiasm, by the tongues of men who shared m the national bias? There is no explanation of this remarkable phenomenon save one, even that they had it wronght in them, and were led to embrace it and proclaim it by the inspiration of God's own Spirit (Gal. i. 12). "Glorious things" are here spoken of the true Israel, the spiritual kingdom of the Redeemer, the Church of the living God. Observe- I. E:KLABGEMENT. (Ver. 12.) The good in the land were but few. The vast multitudes of the people, of all sorts and conditions, had corrupted their way. They had turned aside to the practice of iniquity in all its forms. It seemed as thou_gh true piety would soon be extinguished in the land. The hearts of the few who amidst the prevailing faithlessness were found faithful were na.turally despondent and depressed• .And the words of hope here spoken by the prophet were specially designed for the comfort and help of such. God, by the mouth of his holy prophet, reminded such that as there would be, in consequence of the nation's guilt, the scattering and the dispersing, so there should come a time of revival and regathering. The true Israel should not perish. As the shepherd gathers together the scattered members of his flock, so " the remnant according to the election of grace," now to be dispersed through sins not their own, should be watched over in their exile, and eventually be gathered as forming part of the Messiah's flock. Nor they alone; but as in the early days of tLeir national history, the more they were persecuted the more they multiplied and grew, so, as the result of the sorrows now in store, I here should be secured a great spiritual increase. Yea, further, whilst "all Israel ,hould be saved,"" the fulness of tLe Gentiles" should also comr in. And hence the obedient should be so multipliell OH, II, 1-13.] THE BOOK OF MIOAH. 25