Bible Commentaries

Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.

I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit. It is the same with me as with one seeking fruits after the harvest, grapes after the vintage. "There is not a cluster" to be found: no "first ripe fruit" [or early fig, bikuwraah ], (note, Isaiah 28:4) which "my soul desireth" (Maurer). So I look in vain for any good men left (Micah 7:2).

The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.

The good man is perished out of the earth. The Hebrew [ chaaciyd ] expresses 'one merciful and good in relation to man' rather than to God (Psalms 12:1 ).

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: so they wrap it up.

That they may do evil with both hands earnestly - literally, 'Their hands are for evil, that they may do it well'

(i:e., cleverly and successfully).

The prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire - "the great man, he" - emphatic repetition. As for the great man, he no sooner has expressed his bad desire (literally, the mischief or lust of his soul), than the venal judges are ready to wrest the decision of the case according to his wish.

So they wrap it up - the Hebrew [ `aabat ] is used of intertwining cords together. The "three-fold cord is not quietly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12); here the "prince," the "judge," and the "great man" are the three in guilty complicity. They wrap it up," - namely, they conspire to carry out the great man's desire at the sacrifice of justice.

The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.

The best of them is as a brier; the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge - or thorn: pricking with injury all who come in contact with them (2 Samuel 23:6-7; Isaiah 55:13. Hence, the promise in the renewed earth is, "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;" Ezekiel 2:6).

The day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh - the day foretold by thy (true) prophets as the time of "thy visitation" in wrath (Grotius). Or, 'the day of thy false prophets being punished;' they are specially threatened, as being not only blind themselves, but leading others, blindfold (Calvin). Now - at the time foretold, 'at that time:' the prophet transporting himself into it.

Shall be their perplexity - (Isaiah 22:5). They shall not know where to turn to.

Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.

Trust ye not in a friend - faith is kept nowhere: all to a man are treacherous (Jeremiah 9:2-6). When justice is perverted by the great, faith nowhere is safe. So, in Gospel times of persecution, "a man's foes (are) they of his own household" (Matthew 10:35-36; Luke 12:53).

Put ye not confidence in a guide - a counseler (Calvin) able to help and advise (cf. Psalms 118:8-9, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust the Lord than to put confidence in princes;" Psalms 146:3). Micah means the head of your family, to whom all the members of the family would naturally repair in emergencies. Similarly the Hebrew [ 'aluwp ] is translated in Joshua 22:14 "an head of the house," and "chief friends" in Proverbs 16:28 (Grotius).

Her that lieth in thy bosom - thy wife (Deuteronomy 13:6, "the wife of thy bosom").

For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.

For the son dishonoureth the father. The state of unnatural lawlessness in all relations of life is here described which is to characterize the last times, before Messiah comes to punish the ungodly and save Israel (cf. Luke 21:16, "Ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends;" 2 Timothy 3:1-3, "In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God").

Therefore I will look unto the LORD I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

Therefore I will look unto the Lord - as if no one else were before mine eyes.

I will wait for the God of my salvation. We must not only "look unto the Lord," but also "wait for Him." Having no hope from man, in whom no "trust" can be placed (Micah 7:5-6), the prophet looks unto the Lord. Micah speaks in the name of Israel, who herein, taught By the "visitation" of chastisement (Micah 7:4) to feel her "sin" (Micah 7:9), casts herself on the Lord as her only hope, in patient waiting (Lamentations 3:26). She did so under the Babylonian captivity; she shall do so again hereafter, when "the spirit of grace" shall be "poured" on her (Zechariah 12:10-13).

Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.

Rejoice not against me - at my fall.

O mine enemy - as Babylon, Edom, etc., were to Israel. A type of the great enemy of the believer and of the Church, Satan. The time shall come when the Church shall similarly say to him, "O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end" (Psalms 9:6 ).

When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. Israel reasons as her divine representative, Messiah, reasoned by faith, in His hour of darkness and desertion (Isaiah 50:7-8; Isaiah 50:10). Israel addresses Babylon, her triumphant foe (or Edom), as a female: the type of her last and worst foes (Psalms 137:7-8). "Mine enemy," in Hebrew [ 'oyabtiy ] is feminine.

When I fall, I shall arise - (Psalms 37:24; Proverbs 24:16).

I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.

I will bear - patiently.

The indignation of the Lord - His punishment inflicted on me (Lamentations 3:39). The indignation of the Lord - His punishment inflicted on me (Lamentations 3:39).

Because I have sinned against him. The true penitent "accepts of the punishment of his iniquity" (Leviticus 26:41; Leviticus 26:43): they who murmur against God do not yet know their guilt (Job 40:4-5).

Until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me - against my foe. God's people plead guilty before God; but, in respect to their human foes, they are innocent and undeserving of their foes' injuries.

He will bring me forth to the light - to temporal and spiritual redemption.

And I shall behold his righteousness - His gracious faithfulness to His promises (Psalms 103:17).

Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.

Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her - in seeing how utterly mistaken she was in supposing that I was utterly ruined.

Which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? - (Psalms 42:3; Psalms 42:10). The enemy virtually said to Israel, if He be "thy God," as thou sayest, let Him come now and deliver thee. So as to Israel's representative, Messiah (Matthew 27:43).

Mine eyes shall behold her - a just retribution in kind upon the foe who had said, "Let our eye look upon Zion. Zion shall behold her foe prostrate, not with the carnal, joy of revenge, but with spiritual joy in God's vindicating His own righteousness (Isaiah 66:24; Revelation 16:5-7).

Now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets - herself, who had trodden down me.

In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.

In the day that thy walls are to be built - under Cyrus, after the 70 years' captivity; and again, hereafter, when the Jews shall be restored (Amos 9:11; Zechariah 12:6).

In that day shall the decree be far removed - namely, the tyrannical decree [ choq ] or rule of In that day shall the decree be far removed - namely, the tyrannical decree [ choq ] or rule of Babylon shall be put away from thee - "the statutes that were not good" (Ezekiel 20:25, "Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live"). (Calvin.) Psalms 102:13-16; Isaiah 9:4. The Hebrew [raachaq] is rather, as the English version, shall be far removed or put away, than Maurer's translation, 'the boundary of the city shall be far extended,' so as to contain the people flocking into it from all nations (Micah 7:12; Isaiah 49:20; Isaiah 54:2 ).

In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.

In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria - rather, an answer to the supposed question of Zion, When shall my walls be built? The day (of thy walls being built) is the day when there shall come to thee,' or 'That is the day when there shall come to thee he (i:e., many) from Assyria,' etc. (Ludovicus de Dieu). The Assyrians (including the Babylonians) who spoiled thee shall come.

And from the fortified cities - rather, to suit the parallelism, 'from Assyria even to Egypt.' [Read, with fifteen manuscripts, for the Hebrew letter resh (r) the similar Hebrew letter, daleth (d): w

Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.

Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings. However glorious the prospect of restoration, the Jews are not to forget the visitation on their "land" which is to intervene for the "fruit of (evil caused by) their doings" (cf. Proverbs 1:31; Isaiah 3:10-11; Jeremiah 21:14).

Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

Feed thy people - prayer of the prophet in the name of his people to God, which, as God fulfils believing prayer, is prophetic of what God would do. When God is about to deliver His people He stirs up their friends to pray for them.

Feed - including the idea of both pastoral rule and care over His people (margin, Micah 5:4), regarded as a flock (Psalms 80:1; Psalms 100:3 ).

The flock of thine heritage. Our calamity must be fatal to the nation, unless thou, of thy unmerited grace, remembering thy covenant with "thine heritage" (Deuteronomy 4:20; Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 32:9), shalt restore us.

With thy rod - the shepherd's rod, wherewith he directs the flock (Psalms 23:4). No longer the "rod" of punishment (Micah 6:9).

The flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel - let thy people, who have been dwelling as it were in a solitude of woods (in the world, but not of it), scattered among various nations, dwell in Carmel - i:e., where there are fruit-bearing lands and vineyards (Calvin). Rather, 'which are about to dwell

(i:e., that they may dwell) separate in the wood, in ... Carmel' (Maurer); which are to be no longer mingled with the pagan, but are to dwell as a distinct people in their own land. Micah has here Balaam's prophecy in view (cf. Micah 6:5, where also Balaam is referred to). "Lo, the people shall dwell alone" (Numbers 23:9 : cf. Deuteronomy 33:28. "Israel shall then dwell in safety alone"). To "feed in the wood in Carmel" is to feed in the rich pastures among its woods. To "sleep in the woods" is the image of most perfect security, which hereafter shall be the portion of restored Israel: "I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods" (Ezekiel 34:25). So that the Jews' security as well as their distinct nationality is here foretold. Also Jeremiah 49:31.

Bashan - famed for its cattle (Psalms 22:12, "strong bulls of Bashan;" Amos 4:1). Parallel to this passage is Jeremiah 50:19. Bashan and Gilead, east of Jordan, were chosen by Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh, as abounding in pastures suited for their many cattle (Numbers 32:1-42; Deuteronomy 3:12-17).

According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.

According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I show unto him marvelous things - "thy

... him," both referring to Israel. So in Micah 7:19 the person is changed from the first to the third, "us ... our ... their." Yahweh here answers Micah's prayer in Micah 7:14, assuring him that as He delivered His people from Egypt by miraculous power, so He would again "show" it in their behalf (Jeremiah 16:14-15).

The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.

The nations shall see - the "marvelous things" (Micah 7:15; Isaiah 26:11, "Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see").

And be confounded at all their might - having so suddenly proved unavailing; that might wherewith they had thought that there is nothing which they could not effect against God's people. In Isaiah 26:11, "And be ashamed for their envy at the people."

They shall lay ... hand upon their mouth - the gesture of silence (Job 21:5; Job 40:4; Psalms 107:42, "All iniquity shall stop her mouth;" Isaiah 52:15, "The kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which hath not been told them shall they see"). They shall be struck dumb at Israel's marvelous deliverance, and no longer boast that God's people is destroyed.

Their ears shall be deaf - they shall stand astounded, so as not to hear what shall be said (Grotius). Once they had eagerly drunk in all rumours as so many messages of victories; but then they shall be afraid of hearing them, because they continually fear new disasters, when they see the God of Israel to be so powerful (Calvin). They shall close their ears, so as not to be compelled to hear of Israel's successes.

They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.

They shall lick the dust like a serpent - in abject prostration as suppliants (Psalms 72:9, "His enemies shall lick the dust;" cf. Isaiah 49:23, "They (kings and queens) shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet;" Isaiah 65:25, "Dust shall be the serpent's meat").

They shall move out of their holes - as reptiles from their holes, they shall come forth from their hiding-places, or fortresses, to give themselves up to the conquerors (Psalms 18:45, "The strangers (the foreign foes) shall ... be afraid out of their close places"). More literally, 'they shall tremble from' - i:e., tremblingly come forth from their coverts.

Like worms - rather, a general name for all kinds of reptiles or crawlers. So it is translated "serpents," Deuteronomy 32:24 [zoch

Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

Who is a God like unto thee. Micah herein alludes to the meaning of his own name (see Introduction), "Who is a God like the Lord?" This challenge was first given to pagandom and its false gods in the song of Moses, after God had executed judgment on the gods of Egypt first, and then upon Pharaoh at the Red Sea, (Exodus 15:11, "Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?") The prophets were God's champions for the truth against the growing apostasy in Israel. So now in Judah, when the same strife was beginning between Yahweh on one side and the idols and Jewish apostates on the other, Micah is sent forth on the Lord's side to vindicate His incomparable glory and mercy. Heretofore there had been no organized opposition to the prophets of God; as, for instance, none appears in Joel. From Micah's time it is constantly noticed by each successive prophet-Isaiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah.

That pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression - not conniving at it, but forgiving it; leaving it unpunished, as a traveler passes by what he chooses not to look into (Proverbs 19:11, "It is his (man's) glory to pass over a transgression"). Contrast Amos 7:8, "I will not again pass by them anymore," and "mark iniquities," Psalms 130:3, "if thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?"

Of the remnant of his heritage? - who shall be permitted to survive the previous judgment: the elect remnant of grace (Micah 4:7; Micah 5:3; Micah 5:7-8, "the remnant of Jacob").

He retaineth not his anger forever - (Psalms 103:9 , "He will not always chide; neither will he keep his anger forever;" Isaiah 57:16, "I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth").

Because he delighteth in mercy. God's forgiving is founded on His nature, which "delights in loving-kindness," and is averse from wroth.

He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

He will turn again - to us, from having been turned away from us. Henceforth His "anger is turned away from" Israel; God Himself is turned to His people (Hosea 14:4).

He will subdue our iniquities - literally, tread under foot, as being hostile and deadly to us. Without subjugation of our bad propensities, even pardon could not give us peace. When God takes away the guilt of sin, that it may not condemn us, He takes away also the power of sin, that it may not rule us.

And thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea - never to rise again to view, buried out of sight in eternal oblivion; not merely at the shore side, where they may rise again. Compare Jeremiah 50:20, "In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none: and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; for I will pardon them whom I reserve." As Israel's foe, Babylon-both the literal and the spiritual Babylon-shall sink to rise no more: like the stone cast by Seraiah into the Euphrates (in Jeremiah 51:61-64), and like "the great millstone" cast by the angel into the sea (in Revelation 18:21), so Israel's sins shall be "cast into the depths," never to rise against her.

Our ... their - change of person. Micah in the first case identifying himself and his sins with his people and their sins; in the second, speaking of them and their sins.

Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou

Thou wilt perform the truth - the faithful promise.

To Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham - thou shalt make good to their posterity the promise made to the patriarchs. God's promises are called "mercy," because they flow slowly from grace; "truth," because they will be surely performed (Luke 1:72-73; 1 Thessalonians 5:24).

Which thou hast sworn unto our fathers - (Psalms 105:9-10, "Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; and confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant"). The promise to Abraham is in Genesis 12:2-3, "I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed;" to Isaac, in Genesis 26:24, "I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed, for my servant Abraham's sake;" to Jacob, in Genesis 28:13-14, "I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee, and in thy seed, shall all the families of the earth be blessed." This unchangeable promise implied an engagement that the seed of the patriarchs should never perish, and should be restored to their inheritance as often as they turned wholly to God (Deuteronomy 30:1-2, "It shall come to pass when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord thy God hath driven thee, and shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice, according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations where the Lord thy God hath scattered thee").

Remarks:

(1) When the corruption is universal in a nation, and "the good man is perished out of the earth" (Micah 7:2), then judgment is near at hand.

(2) The ungodly are often more "earnest" (Micah 7:3) to "do evil with both hands," than the godly are to do good. All classes act in concert where their worldly aims are concerned, whereas how few join in intertwining that "three-fold cord" of united prayer which "is not quickly broken!" (Ecclesiastes 4:12.) The favour of "the great man" is generally more sought after, even at the sacrifice of principle, than the favour of God.

(3) The ungodly are like "a brier" or "thorn hedge" (Micah 7:4), hurtful to all who come in contact with them. But they shall not stand "in battle" before the Lord, when He shall come in "the day" "foretold by His watchmen," as the day of "visitation" for sin. He shall "go through the briers and thorns," He shall "burn them together" (Isaiah 27:4).

(4) When earthly friends fail us, and because of our religion "our enemies are the men of our own house" (Micah 7:6), our only and unfailing resource is, like the prophet, to "look unto the Lord" (Micah 7:7), as if there were no other one to look to in the universe.

Moreover, we must not only look unto, but also "wait for the God of our salvation." The believer, though all others forsake him, still finds unspeakable joy in knowing God to be his God. His confidence of being heard rests on this, "My God will hear me."

(5) The experience of the literal Israel and of the spiritual correspond. God chastises His children sorely, but does not give them over to death eternal (Psalms 118:18). The believer can in faith take up language similar to that of his crucified Lord in His hour of darkness (Isaiah 50:7-8; Isaiah 50:10), and such as Israel, under the Spirit's teaching, shall hereafter employ, "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me" (Micah 7:8). God is honoured by such trust in Him, when we cannot see or feel Him, and when Satan the enemy seems to be triumphant over us.

(6) To "rejoice" at the fall of the godly is a mark of a heart at enmity with God. When the world exults, saying, "Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it, so would we have it" (Psalms 35:21; Psalms 35:25), the child of God mourns, and commits his own cause and that of the Church to God.

(7) To accept of the punishment of sin, and to bear patiently God's indignation as justly deserved, is the sure forerunner of deliverance. So long as complaining and impatience continue, the chastisement has not yet effected the gracious end designed by Him. However innocent we may, as believers, feel ourselves in relation to our earthly adversaries, yet before God we must plead guilty, and, when chastised, must confess that we deserve even worse than we suffer. When we leave ourselves wholly in the hands of God we may rest confident that He will Himself "plead our cause and execute justice for" us (Micah 7:9). And though He suffer us to fall for a time, in order to make us feel our own exceeding weakness, He shall raise us up again. "He will bring forth" His people from "sitting in darkness" (Micah 7:8-9) "to the light" which He at once gives and is. Thenceforth we shall renounce all trust in righteousness of our own making, and shall walk in the light of His righteousness. Let our feeling be continually, "With thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light" (Psalms 36:9).

(8) Satan often suggests the unbelieving thought to the child of God in trial, "Where now is the Lord thy God?" (Micah 7:10.) It is the same taunt as Satan's agents threw against the suffering Saviour, "He trusted in God: let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God" (Matthew 27:43). But faith furnishes confident hope of divine deliverance at last, and patient submission to the will of God in the meantime. The triumph of the enemy over the people of God is short, and shall soon be reversed. Though cast down, we are not destroyed. Only wait, and our "eyes shall behold" the enemy, who so lately looked exultingly at us in our trial, cast down and destroyed forever.

(9) Though Zion's walls lie long in ruins, they shall be built at last (Micah 7:4). Let not them who love her despond, even when she is in the greatest depression. Many of those who, like Assyria and Egypt, were formerly her bitter foes, shall become by conversion her zealous friends (Micah 7:12).

(10) When God is about to restore Israel, He shall, as the preliminary thereto, pour out upon her people and her friends the spirit of supplication. "Feed thy people with thy rod" (Micah 7:14). The pastoral rod of the Good Shepherd is whatever instrumentality His power, His love, and His wisdom employ to restore the soul, to comfort the troubled heart, and to lead His people in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake, (Psalms 23:1-6.) Prayer is the sure precursor of every blessing.

(11) The Lord's people are now a separate people, in the world, but not of the world, "dwelling solitarily," and yet, like Jesus their Lord on earth, "not alone, because the Father is with" them (John 16:32). Israel, the people that "dwelt alone" (Numbers 23:9), is a lively type of the spiritual people of God. These are "the flock of God's heritage" (Micah 7:14).

(12) The deliverance out of Egypt is an earnest of a still more "marvelous" deliverance (Micah 7:15) about to be vouchsafed to Israel in the face of all "the nations" hereafter (Micah 7:16). Cavillers shall be struck dumb with astonishment, and, in silent "awe of" Israel and reverent "fear toward God" (Micah 7:17), "shall lay their hand upon their mouth" (Micah 7:16).

(13) The effect of God's wonderful mercy, exceeding so infinitely all that could have been expected, shall be, in the case of both the literal and the spiritual Israel hereafter, they shall burst forth into rapturous praises of God, of which Moses' song at the Red Sea was a type, "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity?" (Micah 7:18.) The elect "remnant" attribute the whole glory of their salvation to the sovereign grace of God, who chose a special "heritage" to Himself. His pardoning grace is no exceptional impulse, but is founded on His very nature, which "delighteth in mercy" (Micah 7:18). This is our encouragement now amidst the corrupt weaknesses of the old man within us, that as surely as He promises to take away the guilt of sin, "casting all our sins into the depths of the sea," never more to rise against us, so surely will He also break the power of sin, so that "He will subdue our iniquities" (Micah 7:19).

(14) God never can swerve from His everlasting "covenant" with Abraham, and with his seed, the literal and the spiritual Israel respectively. His "mercy" and His "truth" alike are pledged for the fulfillment of all His promises to His people; so that in His word and in His oath "we may have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us" (Hebrews 6:18).