The Pulpit Commentary — Micah — Section 122

I.~ desire to. The most sacred motives forbid. The promise of pardon is accompanied "1t.h th~ assuran?e ?f the purifying Spirit (Ezek. xx:xvi. 25-27; Rom. viii. 1, 2; 1 Cor. vi. 11). Sm 1s a serpent to be crusheo under the heel (Rom. xvi. 20). It is a foe to be conquered, and who saall be conquered because we are" not under the Law, but under grace" (Rom. vi. 14). The victory is God's, though the blessedness of it is ours (Ps. xcviii. 1), "He will subdue our iniquities." VII. .. Tuou WILT OAST ALL THEIR BINS INTO THE DEPTHS OF THm BEA." Thie indica_~ the complete_ness of the Divine salvation. Elsewhere we have the promise {Ps. cm. 12). Hezekiah says, " Thou hast cast all my sins behind my back," so that the accuser cannot get them without going behind the very throne of God ; and God himself will never turn to see them. Here the figure is still more striking· sins cast not in the shBllows, subject t.o the tidal waves which might throw them up into sight again, but int-0 the depths of the sea (of. Jer. l. 20). Other figures are used to teach the same truth-the cloud blotted out, never to be seen again (Isa. xliv. 22) ; sin for- ~otte~, even by God himsel_f (Isa. xliii. 25). Such is God's matchless mercy in pardon- mg sm. And when our sins are finally subdued as well as pardoned, cast into the .depths of the sea, while we are standing on the eternal shore, justified, sanctified, .glorified, then we shall sing the final song," Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory ·through our Lord Jesus Christ." And because we are already being saved by a Godof such matchless mercy, in whom we have placed our trust, we have no fear as to the issue (Rom. viii. 38, 39). .. We lift our hands exulting In thine Almighty favour, The love Divine, which ma.de us thine, Shall keep us thine for ever." E.S.P. Vers. 18, 19.-.. A par1UJning God." In the days of Micah the social and religious condition of Jerusalem was deplorable. .All through the country evils prevailed, but they were worst at its centre. Instinctively the vicious make their way to a crowded city. If vice is condemned in the nation, its disgracefulness is less conspicuous in a crowd; and if vice is not condemned, the city affords the best opportunities for the gratification of unholy desire. It still needs courage and wisdom to recognize and combat evils prevailing in great cities, and God still requires knights of the cross who will fight, not as of old for the grave of Christ, but for his Church. Micah was one of these. The prevalent sins of the prophet's days were threatening the existence of society, loosening the ties which gave unity to the nation, and dividing into factions members of the same family. The wealthy were sucking the very life-blood of the poor, and the judges openly asked for bribes, without the smallest sense of shame; so that the prophets were not only the teachers of truth, but also the tribunes of the people. Unbelief in God lay at the root of such wrong-doing, for unless rulers recognize responsibility to him, one of the greatest safeguards against their abuse of authority is destroyed. Persuading themselves that God was such a one as themselves, idolatry prevailed, and although the temple still stood and its worship was as gorgeous as ever, unreality and hypocrisy rendered such religion worse than useless. A few voices were lifted up boldly against this condition of things. Isaiah and Micah stood side by side in their protests, and did much to stem the tide of iniquity. With all their vigorous denunciation of sin, however, hope was constantly held out to the sinner, and never was the mercy of God more clearly set forth than in the words of our text. Seven hundred years after this prophet's death, Wise Men from the East came to Jerusalem inquiring for him who was born to be the King of the Jews and the Light of the world. They were answered in the words of Micah, and it was through following his directions that they saw and worshipped the infant Jesus. Even in our day we may say, "He being dead yet speaketh." While the splendid orations of Cicero and Demosthenes have no influence over modern society, and the speeches recorded by Tacitus and Thucydides have only their marvellous literary value, the words of this aucient prophet meet our necessities, give us guidance and comfort, emboldening us to trust in the mercy of a pardoning God. The subject of Divine pardon suggested here ·will now have our con&idcratioJJ.. <Jn. VTT. 1-20.] THE BOOK OF MICAH. 12S