The Pulpit Commentary — Micah — Section 124

Ver11. 1-6.-The wa,il of a, true patriot oil the moral corrupUons of his country. "Woe is ID!' I for I am as when they have ga.there<i the summer fruits, As the gmpe- glee.nings of the vinta.ge: there is no clust.er to ee.t: my· soul desired the first-ripe fruit," eto. In these verses the prophet bewails t.he moral condition of hie country. The picture he draws of its wickedness is a very hideous one. It answers not only to the character of the people in the reign of Ah11z, but to their chl\racter under the reign <Jf other kings and in other times. Take the words l\8 presenting the Wllil of a. true patriot over the mornl corruptions of his country. "Woe is me I" eto. He mel\ne to say, "It is with me as one seeking fruit e.fler the har\test, grapes l\fter the vintage; there le not one cluster." There are several things that he bemol\ns. I. THE DEPARTURE OF EXCELLENCE FROM HIS COUNTRY, .. The good man Is perished <Jut of the earth." Who are the good men referred to here is not known. The statement is put in general terms, and may imply merely that there are no' good men to be found in the country. Or do the words, as some think, point especially to Hezekiah, Josiah, or to go,>d men unknown to fa.me? They had, however, departed, Wbether they had emigrated to dist.ant lands or gone into the great eternity, is not ea.id. The latter is the more probable idea. In any case, the departure of such men Iii a great loss-a loss which true patriots may well bemoan. Good· men ,are the "'lights of the world." They a.re the "salt of the earth." Their influence penetrates the mass, counteracts its tendency to corruption, removes its moral insipidity, ,gives it a new spirit--a ~pirit pungent and savoury. They are the conservators of the good and the peaceful reformers of the bad. "Perished out of the earth." It does not say, "perished out of being." They had left the land, but not the universe. ' They were thinking, feeling, active still. There is a sense, indeed, in which they could not perish <Jut of the land. Good men leave behind them principles, ideas, a. character;' which will live and spread and work to the end of time. , II. THE RAMPANCY OF AVllU0E IN HIS COUNTRY. The workings of avarice are indicated in the latter end of the second and two following verses. 1. Here we have its working amongst the general, community. "They all lie in wait'for blood ; they hunt every man his brother with a net.'' To get wealth for themselves was with them such a furiowi passion, th11.t the rights and lives of others were disregarded. ··.Their.avarice was as ravenotIS as the passion of a wild beast. Nay, they looked upon·men:'only e.s victims for their prey. Does not this avarice work thus in Engli~h society? Man has come to value man just in proportion as he can render him service, enrich bis exchequer, and advance his aggrandizement. What nets are spread out in every street, in every mart and office, in every journal, in order to catch men I "They hunt every man." 2. Here we ha11e its workillg amongst the higher classes. "That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: s::, they wrap it up." The idea seems to be this-that the "great man," the "prince," for some corrupt motive, seeks the condemnation of some innocent person; and the "judge, n for a bribe, gratifies his wish. .A judge from avarice will pronounce an innocent man guilty. All this 1s: done very industriously "with, two hands.'' The business must be despatched ae BOOn as possible, lest some event should start up·-to thwart them; and when it is done" they wrap it up. 0 "So they wrap it up.n Avarice, like all .sinful passions, seeks to wrap up its crimes. But the .Authorized Version is probably wrong, and the rendering should be "they weave it together,'' i.e. join in plotting (see Exposition). . III. THE MISCHIEVOUSNE!!S OF THE BEST IN BIS COUNTRY, .. The best of them is as a briar: the most upright is sharper than a thorn-hedge." There is a gradation of wickedness of the men in the country, but the best of them is like a prickly thorn and worse than a thorn-hedge. The prophet is so struck with this that the thought of retribution takes bold of him, and he says, "The day of thy watchmen and thy visita- tion cometh ; now shall be their perplexity.'' IV. THE LACK OF TRUTHFULNESS IN THE COUNTRY. "Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not con udence in a guide," etc. "Place no faith in a. companion; trust not a familiar friend ; from her that lieth in tby bosom guard the doors of thy mouth. For the son deRpiseth tLe father, the daughter riscth up against her mother, the daughter- in-law a!liainst her mothtr-in-law; a man's enemies are the members of his own family" (111. VII. 1--20.] THE BOOK OF MICAH. 127