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Micah Chapter
Seven
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO MICAH 7
This
chapter begins with a lamentation of the prophet, in the name of the church and
people of God, concerning the general depravity and corruption of the times in
which he lived, Micah 7:1; then
declares what he was determined to do for his relief in such circumstances, Micah 7:7; comforts
himself and the church with a good hope and firm belief of its being otherwise
and better with them, to the shame and confusion of their enemies that now
rejoiced, though without just reason for it, Micah 7:8; with
promises of deliverance, after a desolation of the land for some time, Micah 7:11; and
with the answer returned to the prayers of the prophet, Micah 7:14; which
would issue in the astonishment of the world, and their subjection to the
church of God, Micah 7:16; and the
chapter is concluded with admiration at the pardoning grace and mercy of God,
and his faithfulness to his promises, Micah 7:18.
Micah 7:1 Woe is me! For I
am like those who gather summer fruits, Like those who glean vintage grapes; There
is no cluster to eat Of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires.
YLT
1My wo [is] to me, for I
have been As gatherings of summer-fruit, As gleanings of harvest, There is no
cluster to eat, The first-ripe fruit desired hath my soul.
Woe is me!.... Alas for me unhappy man that I am, to live in such an age,
and among such a people, as I do! this the prophet says in his own name, or in
the name of the church and people of God in his time; so Isaiah, who was
contemporary with him, Isaiah 6:5; see
also Psalm 120:5;
for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the
grape gleanings of the vintage; when there are only an apple or a pear or
two, or such sort of fruit, and such a quantity of it left on the top of the
tree, or on the outermost branches of it, after the rest are gathered in; or a
few single grapes here and there, after the vintage is over; signifying either
that he was like Elijah left alone, or however that the number of good men were
very few; or that there were very few gathered in by his ministry, converted,
taught, and instructed by it; or those that had the name of good men were but
very indifferent, and not like those who were in times past; but were as refuse
fruit left on trees, and dropped from thence when rotten, and when gathered up
were good for little, and like single grapes, small and withered, and of no
value; see Isaiah 17:6;
there is no cluster to
eat; no large number or society of good men to converse with, only
here and there a single person; and none that have an abundance of grace and
goodness in them, and a large experience of spiritual and divine things; few
that attend the ministry of the word; they do not come in clusters, in crowds;
and fewer still that receive any advantage by it;
my soul desired the first ripe fruit; the company
and conversation of such good men as lived in former times; who had the
firstfruits of the Spirit, and arrived to a maturity of grace, and a lively
exercise of it; and who were, in the age of the prophet, as scarce and rare as
first ripe fruits, and as desirable as such were to a thirsty traveller; see Hosea 9:10. The
Targum is,
"the
prophet said, woe unto me, because I am as when good men fail, in a time in
which merciful men perish from the earth; behold, as the summer fruits, as the
gleanings after the vintage, there is no man in whom there are good works; my
soul desires good men.'
Micah 7:2 2 The
faithful man has perished from the earth, And there is no one
upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every man hunts his brother
with a net.
YLT
2Perished hath the kind out
of the land, And upright among men -- there are none, All of them for blood lie
in wait, Each his brother they hunt [with] a net.
The good man is perished out of the earth,.... Here the
prophet expresses in plain words what he had before delivered in figurative
terms. The "good" or "godly" man, as in Psalm 12:1; is one
that has received the grace of God, and blessings of grace from him, and lives
a godly life and conversation; who has the good work of grace begun in him and
is found in the performance of good works, and does his duty both to God and
man from godly principles; and particularly is kind and merciful to the poor
and needy, and those in distress. The complaint is, that there were few, or
scarce any, of this character in the earth, in the land of Israel, where there
used to be great numbers of them, but now they were all dead and gone; for this
is to be understood, not of the perishing of their graces or comforts, much
less of their perishing in their sins, or perishing eternally, but of their
corporeal death:
and there is none upright among men; that are upright
in heart and life; that have right spirits renewed in them, are Israelites
indeed, in whom there is no guile; and walk uprightly, according to the rule of
the divine word, truly honest, faithful men; very few such were to be found,
scarce any; see Psalm 12:1;
they all lie in wait for blood; for the substance,
wealth, and riches of men, which is as their blood and life; is their
livelihood, that on which they live; this they wait for an opportunity to get
from them, and, when it offers, greedily seize it; and stick not even to shed
blood, and take away life, for the sake of gain:
they hunt every man his brother with a net; as men lay
nets for fish, and fowl, and beasts, and hunt them till they have got them into
them; so these men laid snares, not for strangers only, but for their own
brethren, to entangle them in, and cheat and defraud them of their substance;
and this they would do, even to the destruction of them, as someF19חרם "ad necem", Tigurine version; "anathema,
caedes", Drusius; "ad occasuinem", ibid. render it; for the word
also signifies "anathema", destruction, as well as a "net".
So the Targum.
"betray
or deliver his brother to destruction.'
Micah 7:3 3 That
they may successfully do evil with both hands— The prince asks for gifts, The
judge seeks a bribe, And the great man utters his evil desire; So
they scheme together.
YLT
3On the evil [are] both
hands to do [it] well, The prince is asking -- also the judge -- for
recompence, And the great -- he is speaking the mischief of his soul, And they
wrap it up.
That they may do evil with both hands earnestly,.... Or
"well"F20להיטיב
"bene", Drusius. , strenuously, diligently, to the utmost of their
power, labouring at it with all their might and main; as wicked men generally
are more industrious, and exert themselves more to do evil than good men do to
do good; and even weary themselves to commit iniquity: or, "instead of
doing good", as Marinus in Aben Ezra, take a great deal of pains to do
evil; work with both hands at it, instead of doing good. The Septuagint and
Arabic versions render it, "they prepare their hands for evil"; the
Syriac version is, "their hands are read? to evil, and they do not do
good"; with which agrees the Targum,
"they
do evil with their hands, and do not do good.'
Some
make the sense to depend on what goes before and follows; "to do evil,
both hands" are open and ready, and they hurt with them; "but to do,
good the prince asketh, and the judge for a reward"F21So
Grotius. ; forward enough to do evil, but very backward to do any good office;
the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and, if they
do it, must be bribed, and have a reward for it, even persons of such high
character; but this sense is not favoured by, the accents; besides, by what
follows, it seems as if the "prince", by whom may be meant the king
upon the throne, and the "judge" he that sits upon the bench under
him, sought for bribes to do an ill thing; to give a cause wrong against a poor
man, and in favour of a rich man that will bribe high:
and the great man he uttereth his mischievous desire; the
depravity, corruption, and perverseness of his soul; who is either some great
man at court, that, being encouraged by the example of the prince and judge,
openly and publicly requires a bribe also to do an ill thing; and without any
shame or blushing promises to do it on that consideration; or a counsellor at
the bar, who openly declares that he will speak in such a cause, though a bad
one, and defend it, and not doubt of carrying it; or else this is some rich
wicked man, that seeks to oppress his poor neighbour, and, being favoured by
the prince and judge he has bribed, does without fear or shame speak out the
wickedness of his heart, and what an ill design he has against his neighbour,
whose mischief, hurt, and ruin, he seeks:
so they wrap it up together; or, "twist it
together"F23יעבתוה
"contorquent", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius;
"contorquere solent", Burkius; "contortuplicant", Junius,
Grotius; so R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 38. 2. ; as cords are, which thereby
become strong; slid so these three work up this mischievous business, and
strengthen and establish it; and such a threefold cord of wickedness is not
easily broken or unravelled: or, "they perplex it"F24"A
radice עבת quae intricare significat, atque confusum
reddere, atque perplexum", Sanctius, ; as thick branches of trees are
implicated and wrapped together; so these agree to puzzle and perplex a cause,
that they may have some show of carrying it with justice and truth. So the
Vulgate Latin version renders it, "they trouble it"; confound the
matter, and make it dark, dubious, and difficult. The Targum is, "they
corrupt it"; or deprave it; put an ill sense on things, and make a wrong
construction of them.
Micah 7:4 4 The
best of them is like a brier; The most upright is sharper than a
thorn hedge; The day of your watchman and your punishment comes; Now shall be
their perplexity.
YLT
4Their best one [is] as a
brier, The upright one -- than a thorn-hedge, The day of thy watchmen -- Thy
visitation -- hath come. Now is their perplexity.
The best of them is as a brier,.... Good for
nothing but for burning, very hurtful and mischievous, pricking and scratching
those that have to do with them:
the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge; which, if a
man lays hold on to get over, or attempts to pass through, his hands will be
pricked, his face scratched, and his clothes tore off his back; so the best of
these princes, judges, and great inch, who put on a show of goodness, and
pretended to do justice, yet fetched blood, and got money out of everyone they
were concerned with, and did them injury in one respect or another; or the best
and most upright of the people of the land in general, that made the greatest
pretensions to religion and virtue, yet in their dealings were sharp, and
biting, and tricking; and took every fraudulent method to cheat, and overreach,
and hurt men in their property:
the day of thy watchmen; either which the true
prophets of the Lord, sometimes called watchmen, foretold should come, but were
discredited and despised, will now most assuredly come; and it will be found to
be true what they said should come to pass: or the day of the false prophets,
as Kimchi and Ben Melech; either which they predicted as a good day, and now it
should be seen whether it would be so or not; or the day of their punishment,
for their false prophecies and deception of the people:
and thy visitation cometh; the time that
God would punish the people in general for their iniquities, as! well as their
false prophets, princes, judges, and great men; who also may be designed by
watchmen:
now shall be their perplexity: the prince, the judge,
and the great man, in just retaliation for their perplexing the cause of the
poor; or of all the people, who would be surrounded and entangled with
calamities and distresses, and not know which way to turn themselves, or how to
get out of them.
Micah 7:5 5 Do
not trust in a friend; Do not put your confidence in a companion; Guard the
doors of your mouth From her who lies in your bosom.
YLT
5Believe not in a friend,
trust not in a leader, From her who is lying in thy bosom keep the openings of
thy mouth.
Trust ye not in a friend,.... This is not said to
lessen the value of friendship; or to discourage the cultivation of it with
agreeable persons; or to dissuade from a confidence in a real friend; or in the
least to weaken it, and damp the pleasure of true friendship, which is one of
the great blessings of life; but to set forth the sad degeneracy of the then
present age, that men, who pretended to be friends, were so universally false
and faithless, that there was no dependence to be had on them:
put ye not confidence in a guide; in political matters, in
civil affairs, as civil magistrates, judges, counsellors; or in domestic
matters. The Targum renders it, in one near akin. Kimchi interprets it of an
elder brother; and Aben Ezra of a husband, who is to his wife the guide of her
youth; and in religious matters as prophets, priests who were false and
deceitful. It may design a very intimate friend, a familiar acquaintance, who
might of all men be thought to be confided in; of whom the word is used, Psalm 55:13;
keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom; from a wife,
and much more from a concubine or harlot. The Targum is,
"from
the wife of thy covenant keep the words of thy mouth;'
divulge
not the thoughts of thine heart, or disclose the secrets of it, to one so near;
take care of speaking treason against the prince, or ill of a neighbour; it may
be got out of such an one, and who may be so base as to betray it: or utter not
anything whatever that is secret, the divulging of which may be detrimental;
for, in such an age as this was, one in so near a relation might be wicked enough
to discover it; see Ecclesiastes 10:20.
Micah 7:6 6 For
son dishonors father, Daughter rises against her mother, Daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law; A man’s enemies are the men of his own
household.
YLT
6For a son is dishonouring a
father, A daughter hath stood against her mother, A daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law, The enemies of each [are] the men of his house.
For the son dishonoureth the father,.... Speaks contemptibly
of him; behaves rudely towards him; shows him no respect and reverence; exposes
his failings, and makes him the object of his banter and ridicule; who ought to
have honoured, reverenced, and obeyed him, being the instrument of his being,
by whom he was brought up, fed, clothed, and provided for; base ingratitude!
the daughter riseth up against her mother; by whom she
has been used in the most tender and affectionate manner; this being still more
unnatural, if possible, as being done by the female sex, usually more soft and
pliable; but here, losing her natural affection, and forgetting both her
relation and sex, replies to her mother, giving ill language; opposes and
disobeys her, chides, wrangles, and scolds, and strives and litigates with her,
as the Targum: or rises up as a witness against her, to her detriment, if not
to the taking away of her life:
the daughter in law against her mother in law; this is not
so much to be wondered at as, the former instances, which serve to encourage
and embolden those that are in such a relation to speak pertly and saucily; to
reproach and make, light of mothers in law, as the Targum; or slight and abuse
them:
a man's enemies are the men of his own house; his sons and
his servants, who should honour his person, defend his property, and promote
his interest; but, instead of that, do everything that is injurious to him.
These words are referred to by Christ, and used by him to describe the times in
which he lived, Matthew 10:35; and
the prophet may be thought to have an eye to the same, while he is settling
forth the badness of his own times; and the Jews seem to think be had a regard to
them, since they sayF25Misn. Sotah, c. 9. sect. 15. , that, when the
Messiah comes, "the son shall dishonour his father", &c. plainly
having this passage in view; and the; whole agrees with the times of Christ, in
which there were few good men; it was a wicked age, an adulterous generation of
men, he lived among; great corruption there was in princes, priests, and
people; in the civil and ecclesiastical rulers, and in all ranks and degrees of
men; and he that ate bread with Christ, even Judas, lifted up his heel against
him. The times in which Micah the prophet here speaks of seem to he the times
of Ahaz, who was a wicked prince; and the former part of Hezekiah's reign,
before a reformation was started, or at least brought about, in whose reigns he
prophesied; though some have thought he here predicts the sad times in the
reign of Manasseh, which is not so probable.
Micah 7:7 7 Therefore
I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my
salvation; My God will hear me.
YLT
7And I -- in Jehovah I do
watch, I do wait for the God of my salvation, Hear me doth my God.
Therefore I will look unto the Lord,.... Here the prophet, in
the name of the church and people of God, declares what he would do in such
circumstances, since there was no dependence on men of any rank, in any
relation or connection with each other; he resolved to look alone to the Lord,
and put his trust in him; look up to the Lord in prayer, use an humble freedom
with him, place a holy confidence in him, expect all good things from him, and
wait for them; look to Christ in the exercise of faith, which is, in New
Testament language, a looking to Jesus; and the Targum interprets this clause
of the Word of the Lord, the essential Word, who is to be looked unto, and
believed in, as the Son of God, who is the true God, and eternal life; as the
Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world; as the Mediator between God
and men: as in all his offices of Prophet, Priest, and King; as the Lord our
righteousness, and as the only Saviour and Redeemer of men; and that for all
things; when in darkness, for light; when weak, for strength; when sick, for
healing; when hungry, for food; when disconsolate, for comfort; in short, for
all supplies of grace here, and for eternal glory and happiness hereafter; and
though he is in heaven, and not to be seen with our bodily eyes, yet he is held
forth in the word of the Gospel, and the ordinances of it; and is to be seen
there with an eye of faith:
I will wait for the God of my salvation; who is the
author both of temporal, and of spiritual, and eternal salvation; for the light
of his countenance, when he hides himself; for the performance of promises he
has made; for answers of prayer put up to him; for discoveries of pardoning
grace, having sinned against him; for help and assistance in all times of need;
for the salvation of the Lord, for an application of it, for the joys and
comforts of it; and for Christ the Saviour, his coming in the flesh, which all
the prophets and Old Testament saints were looking and waiting for: and who,
doubtless, was upon the mind and in the view of the prophet when he uttered
these words,
my God will hear me; this is the language of
faith, both to say that God was his God, and that he would hear and answer him;
the former is the ground of the latter; God has an ear to hear when his people
cry; and sooner or later it appears that he does hear, by giving an answer of
peace unto them, which issues in their salvation they have been praying,
looking, and waiting for. The Targum is,
"my
God will receive my prayer.'
Micah 7:8 8 Do
not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in
darkness, The Lord will be a light to me.
YLT
8Thou dost not rejoice over
me, O mine enemy, When I have fallen, I have risen, When I sit in darkness
Jehovah is a light to me.
Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy,.... These are
the words of the prophet in the name of the church, continued in an apostrophe
or address to his and their enemy; by whom may be meant, literally, the
Chaldeans or Edomites, or both, who rejoiced at the destruction of Jerusalem,
and the calamities the people of the Jews were brought into at it; see Psalm 137:7;
spiritually, Satan the great enemy of mankind, and especially of the church and
people of God, to whom it is a pleasure to draw them into any sin or snare, and
to do them any hurt and mischief; and also the Inert of the world, who hate and
persecute the saints; and watch for their haltings, and rejoice at their falls
into sin, and at any calamity and affliction that may attend them, though there
is no just reason for it; since this will not always be the case of the saints,
they will be in a better situation, and in more comfortable circumstances; and
it will be the turn of their enemies to be afflicted, punished, and tormented:
when I fall, I shall arise; or, "though I
fall"F26כי נפלתי
"quamvis cecidi", Drusius, Burkius. , or "have fallen";
into outward afflictions and distresses, which come not by chance, but by
divine appointment; or into the temptations of Satan, and by them, which
sometimes is suffered for wise and purposes; or into sin, which even a good
man, a truly righteous man, is frequently left unto; but then he does not fall
from real goodness, from true grace, nor from his justifying righteousness,
which is everlasting, and connected with eternal life: he may fall from a
lively exercise of grace, from steadfastness in the faith, and a profession of
it; but not from the principle of grace, nor a state of grace; or from the love
and favour of God: he may fall, but not totally or finally, or so as to perish
everlastingly; nor is he utterly cast down, the Lord upholds him, and raises
him up again; he rises, as the church here believes she should, out of his
present state and condition, into a more comfortable one; not in his own
strength, but in the strength of the Lord, under a sense of sin, by the
exercise of true repentance for it, and by faith in Christ, and in a view of
pardoning grace and mercy; see Psalm 37:24;
when I sit in darkness; or "though"F1כי אשב "quamvis
sedero", Drusius; "quamvis sedeam", Burkius. . The Targum is,
"as
it were in darkness;'
not
in a state of unregeneracy, which is a state of total darkness, but in
affliction and distress; for, as light often signifies prosperity, so darkness
adversity, any afflictive dispensation of Providence; and especially when this
attended with desertion, or the hidings of God's face; it is to be, not without
any light of grace in the heart, or without the light of the word, or means of
grace; but to be without the light of God's countenance; which is very uncomfortable,
and makes dark providences darker still; see Isaiah 50:10; yet,
notwithstanding all this,
the Lord shall be a light unto me; by delivering
out of affliction; by lifting up the light of his countenance; by causing
Christ the sun of righteousness to arise; by sending his Spirit to illuminate,
refresh, and comfort; by his word, which is a lamp to the feet, a light to the
path, a light shining in a dark place; see Psalm 27:1. This
passage is applied by the JewsF2Debarim Rabba, parash. 11. fol. 245.
3. to the days of the Messiah.
Micah 7:9 9 I
will bear the indignation of the Lord, Because I
have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case And executes justice for me. He
will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness.
YLT
9The indignation of Jehovah
I do bear, For I have sinned against Him, Till that He doth plead my cause, And
hath executed my judgment, He doth bring me forth to the light, I look on His
righteousness.
I will bear the indignation of the Lord,.... The
Targum prefaces these words with
"Jerusalem
saith;'
and
they are the words of the prophet, in the name of Jerusalem or the church,
resolving in the strength of divine grace to bear the present affliction, which
had at least some appearance of divine indignation in it; not against the
persons of God's people, who are always the objects of his love, and towards
whom there is no fury in him; but against their sins, which are displeasing and
abominable to him; and this is not in a vindictive way, for such indignation
they could never bear; nor can any creature stand before it, or bear up under
it; and, besides, Christ has bore the wrath and indignation of God in this
sense for them but it here means the displicency and indignation of God in
fatherly chastisements, consistent with the strongest love and affection for
them; and to bear this is to be humble under the mighty hand of God, quietly to
submit to it, and patiently to endure the affliction, without murmuring and
repining, till the Lord pleases to remove it. The reason follows,
because I have sinned against him; the best of men sin; sin
is the cause and reason of all affliction and distress, whether temporal or
spiritual. The consideration of this tends to make and keep good men humble,
and quietly submit to the chastising rod of their heavenly father, which they
see it is right and proper should be used; and as knowing that they are
chastised and afflicted less than their iniquities deserve; and that it is all
for their good; a sense of sin stops their mouths, that they have nothing to
say against God. The word חטא here used sometimes
signifies the offering an expiatory sacrifice for sin to God; and GussetiusF3Ebr.
Comment. p. 923. thinks this is the meaning of it here; and observes, that with
the oblation of a contrite heart, and works of charity, the satisfaction of
Christ is to be pleaded, and in our way to be offered up to God the Judge,
through faith flying to it; whereby the mind is disposed to bear correction
patiently, in hope that favour will quickly shine forth in help and
deliverance:
until he plead cause, and execute judgment for me; Christ the
mighty Redeemer, and powerful and prevalent Mediator, not only pleads the cause
of his people with God his Father, and obtains all blessings of grace for them;
but he also pleads their cause against their enemies, an ungodly people that strive
with them, persecute and distress them; and will in his own time do them
justice, and execute vengeance, his righteous judgments, on those that hate
them, and rise up against them, as he will on all the antichristian party:
he will bring me forth to the light; like a person taken out
of prison, or out of a dungeon, to behold and enjoy the light of the sun and
day. The sense is, that he will openly espouse the cause of his church, and
give her honour and glory publicly before men; bring forth her righteousness as
the light, and her judgment as the noon day; and make her innocence appear as
clear as the day, and bring her at last to the light of glory; see Psalm 37:6;
and I shall behold his
righteousness: the equity of his proceedings with his people, in chastising and
afflicting them, that they are all right and good; his justice in punishing
their enemies, and executing judgment on them; his goodness and beneficence to
the saints, all his ways being mercy and truth; his faithfulness in the
fulfilment of his promises; and the righteousness of Christ, which justifies
them before God, renders them acceptable to him, will answer for them in a time
to come, and introduce them into his everlasting kingdom and glory.
Micah 7:10 10 Then
she who is my enemy will see, And shame will cover her who said to me, “Where
is the Lord your God?” My eyes will see her; Now she will be trampled down Like
mud in the streets.
YLT 10And see doth mine enemy,
And cover her doth shame, Who saith unto me, `Where [is] Jehovah thy God?' Mine
eyes do look on her, Now she is for a treading-place, As mire of the
out-places.
Then she that is mine enemy shall see it,.... The
Chaldeans and Edomites shall see people of the Jews rising out of their
calamities, brought out of the darkness of their captivity in Babylon, and
enjoying the light of peace and prosperity in their own land. Some editions of
the Targum, and Jarchi and Kimchi, have, in their glosses on this verse and Micah 7:9, Rome, of
whom they interpret this enemy, as Mr. Pocock observes; and so R. EliasF4In
Tishbi, p. 227. says the Targum is, "then shall Rome see"; by which
they mean the Christians, in opposition to the Jews; otherwise it would not be
amiss to interpret it of Rome Papal, or antichrist, in opposition to the church
of God; seeing the antichristian party will see witnesses of Christ, slain for
his sake, rise again, and ascend to heaven, or be brought into a glorious and
comfortable state; see Revelation 11:12;
and may be applied to any age of the church, and to any particular saints
raised out of a state of darkness and affliction into a prosperous one, in the
sight of their enemies, and in spite of them, to their great mortification; see
Psalm 23:4;
and shame shall cover her which said unto me, where is the Lord
thy God? as the Heathens; the Chaldeans, did to the Jews, Psalm 115:2; and
which must be very cutting to them, as it was to David, Psalm 42:10; when
they flouting and jeering said, where is thy God thou boastedst of, and didst
put thy trust and confidence in, that he would deliver and save thee? what is
become of him, and of thy confidence in him? The Targum is,
"where
art thou that art redeemed by the Word of the Lord thy God?"
but
when they shall see that the Lord God has returned unto them, and wrought
salvation for them, they will be ashamed of their flouts and jeers; and by
reason of their sad disappointment, add the change of things for the worse to
them, who now will be brought into calamity and distress themselves:
mine eyes shall behold her; the enemy: their fall,
as the Targum; being in a most despicable and ruinous condition, under the
vengeance of the Almighty; and that with pleasure and satisfaction, not from a
private spirit of revenge, but because of the glory of divine justice, which
will be displayed in their righteous destruction; see Psalm 58:10;
now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets; that is,
entirely conquered, and utterly destroyed; reduced to, the utmost meanness, and
had in the greatest contempt: this was fulfilled when Babylon was taken by the
Medea and Persians; and when the Edomites were conquered and brought into subjection
to the Jews by the Maccabees; and will be the case of all the enemies of Christ
and his church, of all the antichristian states, one day.
Micah 7:11 11 In
the day when your walls are to be built, In that day the decree shall go
far and wide.[a]
YLT
11The day to build thy walls!
That day -- removed is the limit.
In the day that thy walls
are to be built,.... These words are not spoken to the enemy, as some think;
either the Chaldeans, the walls of whose city, Babylon, being demolished by the
Persians, it would be a long day or time before they were rebuilt and when
their power of sending their decrees abroad among the nations would be far off:
or to the enemy that should think to build up their walls with the spoils of
Israel, in the time of Gog and Magog, and when their decree determined over the
nations and Israel would also be far off; but they are the words of the prophet
to the church and people of God, comforting them with observing, that there
would be a day when the walls of Jerusalem, and the temple, which would lie in
ruins during their captivity, would be rebuilt; and which was fulfilled in the
times of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah; and so the Targum,
"that
time the congregation of Israel shall be built;'
and
which had a further accomplishment, in a spiritual sense, in the first times of
the Gospel, when the church of Christ was built up, and established in the
world and will still have a greater completion in the latter day, when the
tabernacle of David, or church of Christ, shall be raised that is fallen, and
its breaches closed, and ruins repaired, Amos 9:11;
in that day shall the decree
be far removed; which, as it literally respects Jerusalem, and the rebuilding of
that after seventy years captivity, may signify either the decree of God
concerning that captivity, which would then cease, according to the time fixed
by it; or the cruel laws and edicts of the Babylonians, which should no more
bind and press the Jews, and be as a heavy yoke upon them; those statutes,
which were not good, that were given them. So the Targum,
"at
that time the decrees of the nations shall cease;'
or
the decree of Artaxerxes, forbidding and hindering the rebuilding of the city:
but if the phrase "far removed" signifies its being divulged and
spread far abroad, as it is interpreted by some; then it may refer to the
decree of Cyrus for rebuilding the city and temple; and which was revived and
confirmed by Darius Hystaspis, and by Darius Longimanus, and which was
published everywhere; and by means of which the Jews from all parts were
encouraged to come up to their own land, and proselytes with them; and which
sense suits well with what follows: and as this, in a spiritual sense, may have
regard to the church of Christ in Gospel times, it may signify the removal of
human laws, traditions, rites, and ceremonies, respecting religious things,
among the Gentiles, and their giving way to those of God and Christ; or the
promulgation of the Gospel in all parts, called a decree, Psalm 2:6; because
a revelation of the decrees of God, respecting the salvation of men, and to
which it owes its efficacy; by means of which many would be brought to the
church, and the kingdom of Christ be enlarged, and spread everywhere, as
follows:
Micah 7:12 12 In
that day they[b] shall come
to you From Assyria and the fortified cities,[c] From the
fortress[d] to the
River,[e] From sea
to sea, And mountain to mountain.
YLT
12That day -- even unto thee
it doth come in, From Asshur and the cities of the fortress, And from the
fortress even unto the river, And from sea to sea, and mount to mount.
In that day also he
shall come even to thee,.... Which words also are not directed to the enemy, as some
interpret them; as to Chaldea or Babylon; and the sense be, that Cyrus should
come thither, and take it; or any more remote enemy of the Jews in the latter
day, to whom the day of the Lord should come, or his decree of vengeance or
judgment upon them, or any enemy to waste and destroy them; but they are a
continued address to Jerusalem or the church, signifying that "he",
the people of the Jews, the body of them, with the proselyted Gentiles, should
come from all parts to Jerusalem to rebuild it upon the decree of Cyrus; and
that multitudes of all, or at least many nations, should flock to the church of
Christ, upon the publication of the Gospel:
from Assyria: where many of the Jews, and even of the ten
tribes, were, whither they were carried captive:
and from the fortified cities; in Assyria,
and other countries, where the Jews might be placed, either as prisoners, or to
do servile work, as repairing the fortifications; or for the defence of the
country, from which they were to be and were released upon Cyrus taking of
Babylon; and was a type of the redemption by Christ from greater bondage. It
may be rendered the cities of Egypt, as Kimchi observes, here and in 2 Kings 19:24; and
so Ben Melech: it is interpreted by some Matzor, being the same with Mitzraim,
which is the name for Egypt; and the sense would be more easy, as well as the
words run more smoothly, thus, "shall come from Assyria even to the cities
of Egypt": and then it follows,
and from the fortress even to the river; or from
Egypt, to the river Euphrates, which was one of the boundaries of the land of
Israel:
and from sea to sea; from the Persian sea to
the Mediterranean sea, or from the Red sea thither, and from the several
maritime parts where they inhabited:
and from mountain to mountain; from Mount
Taurus to Carmel, or Lebanon, or Hor; or from the several mountains to which
they had fled to, safety, and where they had dwelt. It may respect the extent
of the church and kingdom of Christ in the latter day, enlarged by the numerous
conversions of Jews and Gentiles in all parts of the world. The Jews shall be
gathered from all places where they are, and join themselves to the church of
Christ; and these several places, particularly Assyria, Egypt and the islands
of the sea from whence they shall be brought, are mentioned in other
prophecies; see Isaiah 11:11;
though this may respect, not barely the conversion and gathering of them to
Christ and his church, but of the Gentiles also in those several countries,
thus; they "shall come from Assyria, and the fortified cities"; that
is, from the Turkish empire; the land of Assyria, and its fortified cities,
being in the possession of the Turks, and in whose dominions many Jews at this
day reside; and not only they, but multitudes in the Ottoman empire, shall be
converted in the latter day, and become members of Christian churches;
signified by the flocks of Kedar, and the rams of Nebaioth, that shall be
gathered to the church, and minister there, Isaiah 60:7; and
they shall come "from the fortress even to the river"; from everyone
of the fortified cities before mentioned to the river Euphrates, which will be
dried up to make way for the kings or kingdoms of the east, for their
conversion to Christ, and embracing his Gospel; even the large kingdoms of
Persia, Tartary, China, &c. Revelation 16:12;
or "from Egypt to the river Euphrates"; and so signifies the same as
before, Egypt being part of the Turkish dominions; or else the Roman
jurisdiction, spiritually called Egypt, may be meant, Revelation 11:8;
and in several Popish countries are many Jews, who will be called from thence;
as well as many of the Papists themselves shall be called out of mystical
Babylon, and embrace the true religion of Christ: "and from sea to
sea"; this is a well known description of the amplitude of Christ's church
and kingdom in Gospel times, especially in the latter day; see Psalm 72:8; or, as
it may be rendered, "the sea from the sea"F5וים מים "et mare a
mari", Montanus, Burkius. ; that is, the inhabitants of the sea, or of the
islands of it, shall come from thence to the church, see Isaiah 11:11; these
are the same with the abundance of the sea, that shall be converted to Christ,
and join his people in the latter day, as in our isle and others, Isaiah 40:5;
"and from mountain to mountain"; or rather, "and mountain
shall come to the mountain"F6והר ההר "et mons veniet ad montem", Cocceius,
Burkius. ; that is, the inhabitants of the mountain, or of Rome, that is
situated on seven mountains, of mystical Babylon, the great mountain; these
shall be called from hence to Mount Zion, the church of the living God, where
Christ with the 144,000 will be; and which shall then be established on the top
of the mountains, and all nations shall flow unto it, Revelation 14:1.
The Targum is,
"at
that time the captives shall be gathered from Assyria, and the strong cities,
and from Churmini (or Armenia), the great and the fortified cities, even unto
Euphrates, and the western sea, and the mountains of the mountain.'
Micah 7:13 13 Yet
the land shall be desolate Because of those who dwell in it, And for the fruit
of their deeds.
YLT
13And the land hath been for
a desolation, Because of its inhabitants, Because of the fruit of their doings.
Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate,.... Not the
land of Chaldea, as some; or the land of the nations, as Jarchi and Kimchi; but
the land of Israel. That part of it, which was possessed by the ten tribes, was
made desolate by Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and that which was inhabited by
the two tribes, by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and this desolation was to
be, "notwithstanding" the above prophecies, and prior to the
fulfilment of them. So some render the words, as in the margin of our Bibles
"after the land hath been desolate"F7והיתה
הארץ לשממה "postquam
fuerit haec terra desolationi", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator,
Tarnovius, Drusius. ; and it is observed, partly to prevent wicked men
promising themselves impunity from the above prophecies; and partly to prevent
despair in good men, when such a desolation should be made. And then again it
was made desolate by the Romans, previous to the spread and establishment of
the church of Christ, by the success of the Gospel in the Gentile world, in the
first times of it; and by the conversion of the Jews, and bringing in the
fulness of the Gentiles, in, he last times of it;
because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings: because of
the sins of the inhabitants of the land of Israel: the desolation made by the
kings of Assyria and Babylon was for the idolatry of Israel and Judah, and
other sins; and the desolation made by the Romans for the Jews rejection of the
Messiah.
Micah 7:14 14 Shepherd
Your people with Your staff, The flock of Your heritage, Who dwell solitarily in
a woodland, In the midst of Carmel; Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, As
in days of old.
YLT
14Rule Thou Thy people with
Thy rod, The flock of Thine inheritance, Dwelling alone [in] a forest in the
midst of Carmel, They enjoy Bashan and Gilead as in days of old.
Feed thy people with thy rod,.... These are either the
words of God the Father to Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep, calling
upon him to do his office as such; to feed the people he had given him, the
sheep of his hand, the flock of his pasture, by his Spirit, and with his word
and ordinances; see Zechariah 11:5; or
of Christ to his ministers, his undershepherds, to feed his sheep and his lambs,
the people committed to their care and charge, with wholesome words, with sound
and good doctrine, by faithfully preaching the Gospel, and administering the
ordinances to them: or rather the words of the prophet, a prayer of his to God
or Christ, to take care of the people of God in their desolate state, in
captivity; to guide and lead them, protect and defend them, by his power and
providence, as a shepherd directs, leads, governs, and preserves his flock with
his pastoral crook or rod; or, as before, to feed the church of God as a
shepherd does his flock, lead them into good pastures, and secure them from all
their enemies: and this, being a prayer of faith, may be considered as a
prophecy or prediction of what would be; and so some render the words, "thou
shalt feed thy people", &c.F8רעה
"pasces", so some in Vatablus. . The Targum is,
"feed
thy people with thy word, the people of thine inheritance, in the age which is
to be renewed;'
in
the new world, the world to come; plainly referring to the times of the
Messiah;
the flock of thine heritage; who are like to sheep
for their harmlessness and innocence, and to a flock of them, being associated
together, and folded in the church; and though but a little flock, yet the lot,
the portion, the inheritance of Christ; all which is a strong reason for his
feeding, keeping, and preserving them, being committed to his care and charge
for that purpose:
which dwell solitary in the wood; dwell alone
in the world, which is like a wood and a wilderness; separated from the men of
the world; distinguished by the grace of God, chosen and called out from among
them, and different from them both in principle and practice: this may have
respect to the Jews, in their dispersion, living separate from and unmixed with
the nations of the world; or rather to their dwelling in safety and security
under the protection of the great Shepherd, the Messiah, David their Prince,
when they shall be returned to their own land in the latter day:
in the midst of Carmel; or of a fruitful field,
as Carmel was; enjoying all happiness and prosperity, temporal and spiritual:
let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old; places in the
land of Israel famous for rich and fat pastures; and so express the great
plenty of good things wished for, and which will be enjoyed by the Jews when
converted to Christ, and replaced in their own land; and are an emblem of those
spiritual good things, and of those rich and green pastures of the word and
ordinances, which the great Shepherd is desired to lead, and does lead, his people
into; see Psalm 23:1; these
places are now in the hand of the Turks, and so the words may be a petition for
their conversion, as well as for the Jews, that this country may no more be
inhabited by Heathens, but by the Israel of God, as GulichiusF9Apud
Burkium in loc. very well observes.
Micah 7:15 15 “As
in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them[f] wonders.”
YLT
15According to the days of
thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt, I do shew it wonderful things.
According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt,.... This is
an answer of the Lord to the prayer of the prophet, assuring him, and the
church he represents, and on whose account he applies, that there would be as
great a deliverance wrought for them, and as wonderful things done, as when
Israel was brought out of the land of Egypt, which was effected with a mighty
hand, and an outstretched arm, and was attended with amazing events; as the
plagues in Egypt; the passage of the Israelites through the Red see, and the
destruction of the Egyptians in it:
will I show unto him marvellous things; that is, unto
the people of the Lord, the flock of his heritage, the solitary and peculiar
people, fed and preserved by him: as the deliverance out of Egypt; was the
Lord's work, so the deliverance from Babylon; as the one was the work of his
power upon the heart of Pharaoh to let the people go, so the other as great an
act of his power working upon the mind of Cyrus, stirring him up to let the
captives go free, without price or reward; yea, to furnish them with
necessaries by the way, and to rebuild their city and temple: and as Pharaoh
and his host were drowned in the Red sea, so the kingdom of Babylon was
swallowed up by the Medes and Persians; yea, in some respects the latter
deliverance exceeded the former, and erased the remembrance of it; see Jeremiah 16:14; and
that redemption by Christ, which both these were typical of, was greater and
more marvellous than either, being a deliverance from, and an abolition and
destruction of sin, Satan, the law, hell, and death, and attended with things
the most wonderful and surprising; as the birth of Christ of a virgin; the
miracles done by him in life, and at death; the doctrines of the Gospel
preached by him and his apostles, and the amazing success of them, especially
in the Gentile world, being testified and confirmed by signs, wonders,
miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost. This passage, both by ancient and modern
JewsF11Zohar in Gen. fol. 16. 1. 2. & in Exod. fol. 4. 2. &
in Deut. 99. 2. & 118. 3.
Chizzuk Emunah, par. 1. c. 32. p. 277. , is applied to the times of the
Messiah. So in an ancientF12Zohar in Exod. fol. 4. 2. Vid. ib. in
Gen. fol. 16. 1. 2. & in Numb. fol. 99. 2. & in Deut. 118. 3. book of
theirs, speaking of the times of the Messiah, they say,
"from
that day all the signs and wonders, and mighty works, which the Lord did in
Egypt, he will do for Israel, as it is said, "according to the days of thy
coming out of the land of Egypt", &c.'
It
is also said, by a modern writerF13R. Isaac Chizzuk Emunah, par. 1.
c. 32. p. 277. of theirs,
"because
of the miracles and wonders which shall be in the days of the Messiah, such as
the gathering of the captives, the resurrection of the dead, and the
destruction of Gog and Magog, besides other miracles and wonders, the end of
the redemption is called the end of wonders in Daniel 12:6; and
this is that which God has promised by his prophets, particularly Micah, Micah 7:15;
"according to the days", &c. and from what follows, with the rest
of the verses to the end of the book, it is manifest that these promises are
not yet fulfilled, but will be fulfilled in the days of the Messiah.'
From
whence it appears, that it was the sense of the ancient Jews, as well as some
modern ones, that miracles would be wrought in the days of the Messiah; though
some of them reject them, and look not for them; particularly MaimonidesF14Hilchot
Melachim, c. 11. sect. 3. says,
"let
it not enter into thine heart that the King Messiah hath need to do signs and
wonders; as that he shall renew things in the world, or raise the dead, and the
like; these are things which fools speak of; the thing is not so.'
But
however, certain it is, the ancient Jews expected miracles to be done by the
Messiah; hence some, in the times of Jesus, said, "when Christ cometh,
will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?" John 7:31; and
accordingly the miracles Jesus did were full proofs of his being the Messiah,
and were wrought for that purpose, and owned as such; wherefore the above Jew,
though he is right in the application of this passage to the times of the
Messiah, yet is wrong in saying these promises are not yet fulfilled, since
they have had a full accomplishment in the Messiah Jesus; nor is another to be
looked for, or such miracles to be hereafter wrought.
Micah 7:16 16 The
nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; They shall put their
hand over their mouth; Their ears shall be deaf.
YLT
16See do nations, and they
are ashamed of all their might, They lay a hand on the mouth, their ears are
deaf.
The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might,.... The
Chaldeans or Babylonians, when they shall see the wonderful things done by the
Lord in the deliverance of his people out of their hands, shall be ashamed of
their own power and might, in which they trusted, and of which they boasted;
but now shall be baffled and defeated, and not able to stop the progress of the
arms of Cyrus, or detain the Jews any longer their captives; or they shall be
confounded at the power and strength the Jews will have to repossess their
land, rebuild their city and temple, under the encouragement and protection of
the king of Persia; and as this may refer to a further accomplishment in Gospel
times, it may respect the confusion the Gentile world would be in at the mighty
power and spread of the Gospel, in the conversion of such multitudes by it, and
in the abolition of the Pagan religion. Kimchi interprets this of the nations
that shall be gathered together with Gog and Magog against Jerusalem in the
latter day; see Ezekiel 38:15;
they shall lay their hand upon their mouth: be silent,
and boast no more of themselves; nor blaspheme God and his word; nor insult his
people; nor oppose his Gospel, or open their mouths any more against his truths
and his ordinances:
their ears shall be deaf; hearing so much of the
praises of God, of the success of his interest, and of the happiness of his
peopled dinned in their ears, they will be stunned with it, and scarce know
what they hear; become deaf with the continual noise of it, which will be
disagreeable to them; and will choose to hear no more, and therefore through
envy and grief will stop their ears at what is told them.
Micah 7:17 17 They
shall lick the dust like a serpent; They shall crawl from their holes like
snakes of the earth. They shall be afraid of the Lord our God, And
shall fear because of You.
YLT 17They lick dust as a
serpent, as fearful things of earth, They tremble from their enclosures, Of
Jehovah our God they are afraid, Yea, they are afraid of Thee.
They shall lick the dust
like a serpent,.... Whose food is the dust of the earth, according to the curse
pronounced on it, Genesis 3:14; and
which is either its, natural food it chooses to live on, as some serpents
however are saidF15Vid. Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 1. c. 44.
col. 27. to do; or, going upon its belly, it cannot but take in a good deal of
the dust of the earth along with its food; and hereby is signified the low,
mean, abject, and cursed estate and condition of the seed of the serpent, wicked
and ungodly men, the enemies of Christ and his people; who wilt be forced to
yield subjection to him and his church, and will pretend the most profound
respect for them, and the highest veneration of them. The allusion seems to be
to the manner of the eastern nations, who, in complimenting their kings and
great men, bowed so low to the ground with their faces, as to take up with
their mouths the very dust of it. Particularly it is said of the Persians, that
they first kiss the pavement on which the king treads, before they speak unto
him, as Quistorpius on the place relates; and Valerius MaximusF16L.
7. c. 3. sect. 2. says, that when Darius Hystaspis was declared king by the
neighing of his horse, the rest of the six candidates alighted from their horses,
and prostrated their bodies to the ground, as is the manner of the Persians,
and saluted him king; and HerodotusF17Polymnia, sive l. 7. c. 12.
observes the same, custom among the Persians; and to this custom the poet
MartialF18"Et turpes humilesque, supplicesque, Pictorum sola
basiate regum". Epigram. l. 10. Ep. 71. refers; and Drusius says it is a
custom in Asia to this day, that, when any go into the presence of a king, they
kiss the ground, which is a token of the great veneration they have for him. The
phrase is used of the enemies of the, Messiah, and of the converted Jews and
Gentiles at the latter day, and is expressive of their great submission to
them; see Psalm 72:9;
they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth; who put out
their heads and draw them in again upon the least notice or approach of danger;
or like serpents, as Jarchi and Kimchi, which lurk in holes, and creep out of
them oft their bellies, or any other creeping things. The wordF19ירגזו "contremiscent", Munster, Tigurine version,
Cocceius; "frement, sive tumultuabuntur", Calvin; "trepide
prorepent", Burkius. here used signifies a tremulous and tumultuous
motion, like the wriggling of a worm out of the earth; or the hurry of ants, when
their nests are kicked or thrown up: this is expressive of the confusion and
perturbation of the enemies of the Lord and his people; of the Babylonians, who
were obliged in a hurry to leave their palaces, as the Targum and Aben Ezra
interpret their holes, and their fortresses and towers, and deliver them to the
Medes and Persians; and of Gog and Magog, and the antichristian states, who
will be obliged to abandon their places of abode, and creep out of sight, and
be reduced to the lowest and meanest condition;
they shall be afraid of the Lord our God: because of
the glory of his majesty, the greatness of his power, and for fear of his
judgments:
and shall fear because of thee; O God, or Israel, as
Kimchi; the church of God, whom they despised and reproached before; but now
shall be seized with a panic, and live in the utmost dread of, because of the
power and glory of God in the midst of them, and lest they should fall a
sacrifice to them.
Micah 7:18 18 Who
is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression
of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because
He delights in mercy.
YLT
18Who [is] a God like Thee?
taking away iniquity, And passing by the transgression of the remnant of His
inheritance, He hath not retained for ever His anger, Because He -- He
delighteth [in] kindness.
Who is a God like
unto thee,.... There is no God besides him, none so great, so mighty, as
he; none like him for the perfections of his nature; for the works of his
hands; for the blessings of his goodness, both of providence and grace; and
particularly for his pardoning grace and mercy, as follows:
that pardoneth iniquity: that "lifts"
it up, and "takes" it away, as the wordF20נשא "tollens", Montanus, Tigurine version, Calvin;
"aufercus", Drusius; "qui aufers", Grotius. signifies; thus
the Lord has taken the sins of his people off of them, and laid them on Christ,
and he has bore them, and carried them away, as the antitype of the scapegoat,
never to be seen and remembered any more; and whereas the guilt of sin lies
sometimes as a heavy burden upon their consciences, he lifts it up, and takes
it away, by sprinkling the blood of Christ upon them, and by applying his
pardoning grace and mercy to them: pardon of sin is peculiar to God; none can
forgive it but he against whom it is committed; forgiveness of sin is with him,
promised by him in covenant, proclaimed in Christ, by him obtained and
published in the Gospel:
and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? the people of
God are his portion, his lot, and his inheritance; they are a remnant according
to the election of grace, chosen of God, taken into his covenant, redeemed by
Christ, and called by grace, and brought to repent and believe; these God
forgives, even all their transgressions, sins, and iniquities of every kind;
which is here expressed by another word, "passing them by", or
"passing over them": sin is a transgression or passing over
the law, and pardon is a passing over sin; God taking no notice of it, as if he
saw it not; not imputing it to his people, or calling them to an account for
it; or condemning and punishing them according to the desert of it; but hiding
his face from it, and covering it:
he retaineth not his anger for ever; that which he seemed to
have against his people, and appeared in some of the dispensations of his
providence, is not continued and lengthened out, and especially for ever, but
it disappears; he changes the course of his providence, and his conduct and
behaviour to his people, and, hews them his face and favour, and manifests his
forgiving love; which is a turning himself from his anger; see Psalm 85:2;
because he delighteth in mercy; which is
natural to him, abundant with him, and exercised according to his sovereign
will and pleasure, very delightful to him; he takes pleasure in showing mercy
to miserable creatures, and in those that hope in it, Psalm 147:11; this
is the spring of pardon, which streams through the blood of Christ.
Micah 7:19 19 He
will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast
all our[g] sins Into
the depths of the sea.
YLT
19He doth turn back, He
pitieth us, He doth subdue our iniquities, And Thou castest into the depths of
the sea all their sins.
He will turn again,.... From his
anger, and show his face and favour; which is not inconsistent with his
everlasting and unchangeable love; for anger is not opposite to love, and is
only a displicency at sin, and not at the persons of his people; and, properly
speaking, is not in God; is rather in appearance than in reality; when his
people sin against him, he shows himself as if he was angry; he turns away from
them, and withdraws his gracious presence and sensible communion from them; but
when they are brought to a sense of sin, and acknowledgment of it, he returns
to them, manifests his love to them again, and applies his pardoning grace,
which is the thing believed would be done; it is only another expression of that,
as all the rest that follow are: the prophet, or the church, dwells on this
article of grace, and heaps up words to express it by, as if they could never
say too much or it, or sufficiently explain it. The Targum is,
"his
word shall return;'
he will have compassion upon us; the Lord is naturally
compassionate; he is full of compassion, he has a heart of compassion; these
are tender mercies, and never fail, and which are exercised in a sovereign way;
pardon of sin flows from hence; every manifestation or it is a display thereof:
sin brings afflictions on the saints, and then the Lord pities them, and is
afflicted with them; sin grieves them, and he is as it were grieved for them;
it wounds them, and then, as the good and compassionate Samaritan, he pours in
the oil and wine of pardoning grace, and heals them; they are, while in this
state, in such circumstances often as need his compassion, and they may be
assured of it, Psalm 78:38;
he will subdue our iniquities; which maybe understood
also as a further explanation of the grace of pardon: sin is an enemy to God
and his people; it is too strong and mighty for them; it reigns over them in a
state of nature; they are under the power of it, and cannot get rid of it, its
influence, guilt, and punishment; Christ has conquered it, made an end of it,
and took it away; God tramples upon it, as a conqueror does upon the necks of
his enemies; it ii subdued by him, and is under his feet; which he treats with
contempt, disdains to look upon, keeps it under, so that it shall never rise
again to the condemnation of his people; he overcomes the provocation of it,
removes the guilt by pardon, and secures from the punishment of it: or this may
be considered as the effect of pardon; as what is done in consequence of it, by
the Spirit and grace of God in sanctification; when not only the deeds of the
body are mortified through the Spirit, or the outward conversation reformed,
but the inward power of sin is weakened; it is laid under the restraints of
efficacious grace, and is kept under by it; so that it shall not and cannot
have the dominion over the saints again, of which they may be confident, Romans 6:14;
and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea; never to be
seen any more; though they are seen with the eye of omniscience, and taken
notice of by the eye of providence, yet not beheld with the eye of avenging
justice, that being satisfied by Christ; besides, all the sins of God's people
have been removed from them to Christ, and by him carried away into the land of
oblivion; so that they are no more to be seen on them, who are through his
blood and righteousness without fault, spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;
and, being out of sight, they are out of mind, never remembered any more, and
like things cast into the sea, destroyed and lost: perhaps there may be some
allusion to the Egyptians drowned in the Red sea; and what is cast into the
sea, especially into the depths of it, is irrecoverable, not to be fetched up
again, nor does it rise more; and so it is with the sins of God's people,
forgiven for Christ's sake, even "all" of them; for they have all
been bore by Christ, and are covered, blotted out, and pardoned, not one
remains unforgiven; see Isaiah 38:17. This
is an apostrophe of the prophet unto God. The Targum is,
"and
he will cast into the depths of the sea all the sins of Israel;'
and
it may denote their being loathsome and abominable to him, and therefore here
cast by him. It is very common in Jewish writings to say of anything that is
useless, abominable, accursed, and utterly rejected, that it is to be east into
the salt sea. For instance
"Aquila
the proselyte divided an inheritance with his brother (a Gentile), and he cast
the profit of it into the salt sea: three doctors there were; one said, the
price of the idol he cast into the salt sea; another said, he cast the price of
his part of the idol into the salt sea; and the other said, he cast the idol
itself into the salt seaF21T. Hieros. Demai, fol. 25. 4. .'
Again
it is saidF23Ibid. Sotah, fol. 19. 1. Vid. ibid. Avoda Zara, fol.
39. 2. & Nazir, fol. 53. 1. ,
"a
sin offering, whose owner is dead, goes into the salt sea.'
The
Heathens used sea water for the purgation and expiation of sin; hence the poetF24"Suscipit,
O Gelli, quantum non ultima Thetis, Nec genitor lympharum abluit Oceanus".
Catullus. , to aggravate the wickedness of a very wicked man, observes, that
the ocean itself could not wash away his sins. And CiceroF25Oratio
2. pro Sexto Roscio. , speaking of the law of the Romans for the punishment of
parricides, which ordered that they should be sewed up alive in sacks, and cast
into the river, observes the wisdom and propriety of it; they would not, says
he, have them cast naked into the river, lest, when they should be carried into
the sea, they should pollute that by which other things that are defiled are
thought to be expiated. So Iphigenia is made to sayF26Euripides in
Tauro. that the sea washes away all the sins of men. These are the Jewish and
Heathenish notions; whether there is any allusion to them may be considered;
however, certain it is, that nothing short of the fountain opened for sin and
uncleanness, or the sea of Christ's blood, can wash away sin; that cleanses
from all sin; and happy are they whose sins are cast in thither, or are
expiated and purged away thereby!
Micah 7:20 20 You
will give truth to Jacob And mercy to Abraham, Which You have sworn to
our fathers From days of old.
YLT
20Thou givest truth to Jacob,
kindness to Abraham, That thou hast sworn to our fathers, from the days of
antiquity!
Thou wilt perform the
truth to Jacob,.... That is, the promise made to Jacob, the Lord would
faithfully perform and make good to his posterity, natural and spiritual,
especially to those who are Israelites indeed;
and the mercy to Abraham; the gracious
promises made to him, which sprung from mere grace and mercy; all respecting
his natural and spiritual seed; and especially the promise of the coming of the
Messiah, that seed of his in which all nations of the earth were to be blessed;
and which is the eminent instance of the mercy and grace of God to Jews and
Gentiles, that walk in the steps of Abraham; see Luke 1:68;
which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old; or the
promises both of multiplying the seed of Abraham, and of giving them the land
of Canaan, and of the Messiah springing from them, were confirmed by an oath, Genesis 22:16. The
Targum is,
"thou
wilt give the truth of Jacob to his sons, as thou hast sworn to him in Bethel;
the goodness of Abraham to his seed after him, as thou hast sworn to him
between the pieces; thou wilt remember to us the binding of Isaac, who was
bound upon the altar before thee; thou wilt do with us the good things which
thou hast sworn to our fathers, from the days of old;'
which
Kimchi interprets of the three fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)