The Pulpit Commentary — Micah — Section 100

howev~r, iill!tCBd o_f bringing forward the cha.rge, abdic:ites, as it were, hia right, and leaves 1t to the guilty party to state the ca.se. In the a.ppeal to lofty and ever-during mountain&, in which the puny affairs of man could excite no prejudice, and which might therefore be regarded as quite impartial juages, there ia something inexpressibly 1mblime." The appeal to inanimate nature: 1. Indicates the earn6Stnus qf the prophet. He would l!OOm to speak with such vehement earnestness ns if he would. wake the dend mountains and hills to hear his voice, and shake the very " foundations of the earth,,. with his thunde!'II. He would cry aloud and spare not. Every minister should be earnest. " Passion is reason " here. 2. Suggests the stupidity of the people. Perhaps the prophet meant to compare them to the dead hills and mountains. .As firmly settled in sin were they as the mountains, as hard in heart as the rocks. 3. Hints the· uni'IHrl"sality of his thema. His mission had no limitation; his doctrine was no secret,. it was as open and free as nature. III. liEBE 18 A CHALLENGE TO :MAN TO FIND FAULT WITH DIVINE DEALINGS. • "{)' my peoJJle, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee.? . Testify against me." His challenge: 1. Implies tha.t they could bring nothing against h.im. "What have I done unto thee?" which means, "I have done nothing., I, have not treated you with injustice, I have laid on you no intolerable burdens, I dare you to charge me with any act unrighteous or unkind." What fault has the sinner to find with God? 2. Declares that he bad done everything for them. He here reminds them of: (1) His delivering them from Egyptian bondage. "I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants." (2) What be did for them on the way to Canaan. "I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam," Moses the lawgiver, Aaron the priest, and Miriam the prophetess. (3) What he did for them in Canaan. "0 my people, remember now what Balak King of Moab consulted," etc. He not only furnished them with inspired teachers, but counteracted the designs or false ones, as in the case of Balaam, who was engaged .by .Balak. to ourse-them, ,but was inspired by Heaven to bless them. If the Israelites could find no faillt with God, and if he did so much for them, how stand we here in this country and in. this. age under the full light of the gospel dispensation? What more could he have, done- for us than he has? etc. CoNCLUSION. Sinner, you are in the great moral court of the universe, yo.u. are- arraigned before your Judge, you are commanded to listen to his voice.• Inanimat& nature around is a witness against you in this court; the very timbers of the wall will cry out against you. You are commanded to give a full explsnation of your conduot. If you have any fault to .find with the Almighty, bring it forth. If you have no.t,. ponder until your heart breaks into penitence and gratitude at the -memory of his- wonderful mercies to you.-D. T. Vers. 6-8.-Fellowship with God. "Wherewith shall.I come before the.Lord, and- bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with cah-es of JL year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with,•ten, tholllllLllds of ri vere of oil ? " etc. We raise from these words three general observations- L TB.AT A LOVING nLLOWBHIP WITH THE GBE.AT GOD JS THE ONE URGENT NEED. OP' H'll1UlfITY. "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord?" .The language is that of,a. 110ul .convinced of its sin, and roused to a sense of the importance of. frieudship with the- Almighty. "Wherewith shall I come?" Come I mugt; I feel that distance from him. is my great sin and misery. 1. Lovlng fellowship with the· great God is essential tO' the happiness of moral intelligenceB. Reason suggests this. All souls a.re the offspring. of God; and where can children find happiness but in -the.friendship, the intercourse, and the pre110nce of their loving Father? Conscience indicatea .this.. Deep in the· moral sonls of all men is the yearning for intercourse with the Infinite, The hearts of- .all "cry out for the liviag God." 'l'he Bible teaches this. What mean such utterances. as these: "Come now, a11d let us reason together;" "Return to the Lord;" "Come unto. me," etc.? Not more impossible is it for a planet to shiue when cut off from the sun, a river to flow when cut olf from the fountain, a branch to grow when severed from ~he root, than for a soul to be ha.ppy apa.r.t from God. " In thy presence is fulness ~f Joy." 2. Man, in his unregenerate state, is estran,qed .and far away from God. He 1s reIJresented as a loa;t sheep wandering in the wilderness away from the fold, as the. CII, VI, 1-16,] TlIE BOOK OF MICAH. 103