Yers. H-17.-Prayer and its response. How mysteriously great is the privilege ,,f pmyer ! How wonderful that finite creatures may thus draw near to the Infinite, cn.rrying their needs into the Divine presence, breathing their desires into the ear of (3od, and obtaining from him all required mercy and grace I We think of the patriarch who, weary and worn with his wanderings, slept, with a stone for his pillow, and we l'pell.K of the ladder he beheld connecting the spot where he lay with the very throne of God, as his vision; but the thought of prayer changes this into o. blessed reality, for C'ommnnication between earth and heaven has been established, and thus human ~pirits rise to God, and enrichments descend from him to satisfy men's deepest needs I Prayer, in the highest conception of it, is a thoughtful communion with God, It is intercourse with God. It is sympathetic contact with him. It is an exercise in which we engage that we may have fellowship with the Invisible, and may thus understand the Divine will,and become increasingly disposed to become obedient thereunto, Helpful, indeed, is the influence we derive from communion with the pure and holy amongst men; then say how elevating must be contact with him who is perfect in purity) the Eternal Spirit I But prayer is also supplication. We have wants. God has constituted us dependent beings. Needs, both temporal and spiritual, press upon us at times with a heavy weight. And prayer is the soul, deel'lY conscious of these necessities, coming to God with intense desire seeking their supply. Our supplications, however, should rise beyond our own individual wants. Prayer should be presented by us on· behalf of others. In this holy exercise we should seize upon interests broader than those per- taining to our own personal life, and, with a true concern, should bear these up before \he throne of God. As the great Intercessor pleads for us before his Father's throne; so we also in our measure are to be intercessors for men. The Prophet Micah comes before us in these verses as exercising this intercessory function. Note here-. L THE DEVOTED SEER PLEADING WITH GoD ON BEHALF OF HIS PEOPLE. (Ver. 14.) Ohllerve : L He makes mention of their peculiar relationship to the Most High : (1) As being his chosen servant.6. "Thy people;"" the flock of thine inheritance." (2) As separated from the nations to his praise: "which dwell solitarily." 2. He r.ecalls the former manifestations to them of the Divine goodness in the bestowment of rich blessings. "The days of old." 3. He supplicates the Divine Shepherd to be with them in the dark days now before them, sustaining them and enriching them with plenty (ver. 14). II. THE Drvn.-i& RESPONSE TO THE EARNEST SUPPLICATION OF THJC P,B.OPHET, 1. The prophet was assured that there should be deliverance wrought for his people by Divine interposition (ver. 15). 2. It was declared to him that the foes who would irinmph over them should ultimately be covered with confusion and shame (vers. 16, 17). Intercessory prayer is still an essential part of the ministry of the Church; it is mighty and prevailing ; it commands and wields the forces of heaven. ·•~The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much'-' (Jas. v. 16). r.
V,ers. 18, 19.-Theforgiving God. No words could P9.Ssibly have been more appro- .priat.e than these by way of bringing this brief, book_ of p~ophecy to 8: close.r: Whe11 we think of the degenerate character of the age m which this prophet hved, and when we remember that he had constantly to deal with human guilt and depravity, to declare the Divine judgrnents, and to endeavour by warnings and threatenlngs to bring home ui men a sense of their sinfulness,-what could be more fitting than that, in ~losing his contribution to the Divine oracles, he should expatiate, as he does here 110 impressively, upon Jeho,..ah as being the forgiving God, His design in these verses clearly was to extol the grace and mercy of the Lord his God; As he thought of the Divine forgiving love, he felt that with the Most High none can compare; •,iWith warmest admiration, combined with the profoundest adoration, he asks," Who is a God like iunto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and· passeth by the· transgression of the remnant of his heritage?" (ver. 18). And instead of attempting to answer bis own i.oquiry, he indicates wh1.t his answttr would be by enlarging yet furthur upon God'a <:ll, VII, 1-20.] THE IlOOK OF MICA.II. 11::;