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welcome to everyone for our call to worship you can turn in your Bibles to psalm 97 psalm 97 beginning in verse 1 the Lord reigns but the earth rejoice let the multitude of Isles be glad clouds and darkness surround him righteousness and justice of the foundation of his throne a fire goes before him and burns up his enemies round about his lightnings light the world the earth sees and trembles the mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord at the presence of the lord of the whole earth the heavens declare his righteousness and all the people see his glory let all be put to shame who serve carved images who boast of idols worship Him all you gods zion hears and is glad and the daughters of judah rejoice because of your judgment so lord for you lord our most high above all the earth you are exalted far above all gods you who love the lord hate evil he preserves the souls of his Saints he delivers them out of the hand of the wicked light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart rejoice and the Lord you righteous and give thanks at the rim at remembrance of his holy name amen well please turn in your Trinity hymnal to him number three hymn number three will use the second tune will stand as we sing together you let us pray I blessed God and Holy Father we gather together again on this Sabbath day and we come to praise your great and awesome name you are the great and blessed God the one who has made the world the one who governs the world and the one who has in his grace and in his mercy redeemed his elect how we praise you for the spiritual blessings that we have received in Christ how we praise you that you have called us to yourself through the proclamation of the gospel how you've shown us our own sin and waywardness and you've shown us the glory in the efficacy of our Lord Jesus Christ we praise you for his life and his death and his resurrection we praise you as well for his current session at your right hand and we look forward to that day when he comes again in glory to judge the living in the dead and how we praise you as well that you have fit us and he would prepared us so that we may stand before him in judgment clothed in a righteousness not our own received by grace alone through faith alone and how we give all glory to You Father Son and spirit for such a great salvation we ask tonight that you would encourage and strengthen our hearts we would ask that you would dwell in our midst that we would know the nearness of God as our good that you would bless and encourage and strengthen each one of your weary Saints and say cause us to leave from this place having met with God cause us to leave having been more and more conformed under the image of Jesus Christ and may we go into this week with the fresh resolve to seek to honor and praise you in our daily lives we ask thee would forgive us now for all of our transgressions and our sins so we come on the Lord's Day as we consider the the holiness and the majesty of our God we see our own sinfulness and we confess that transgression now we asked for cleansing in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ scripture says that without the shedding of blood there is no remission and you have provided a great sacrifice you have provided a great high priest one who is not only priest with victim that one whose blood indeed takes away all of our transgression shins and washes us clean so father helped us to believe in the forgiveness of sins and help us to believe in the power of the Holy Spirit and may we know both this evening we ask that you would look with favor upon all those in our midst with temporal issues and trials and difficulties we know God that this is an imperfect world we know that as a result of sins entrance there is a great deal of suffering and sorrow and hardship we would ask that you would comfort and encourage the saints of Christ in this assembly we pray for those who are physically hindered those who have difficulties and and physical limitations we just commit them to you into the word of your grace and pray that you would uphold each and every one we all come weary as a result of our own sin and our own temptations and the world that we live in God and so we pray for spiritual strength for spiritual encouragement we pray that your word would feed our hearts and that you would encourage our souls and that you would help us to be able to wage battle in this lower world against the world the flesh and the devil himself and may we constantly and always continually think through the promises of God as revealed to us in the scripture may we never lose sight of what we have in terms of justification by faith alone and may we indeed by your grace know the power of the Spirit in our life of sanctification and as we considered in the confession study this morning Lord God help us to have that hope and that comfort at what the eternal state will bring to all of God's children we know that is a place described as a land where the Lord God most high dwells and where we will behold your face in light and glory where we will have no more sorrow no more pain no more suffering there will be no more death in that blessed place and we look forward to such times God may these things indeed promote in us a desire for holiness and righteousness may the coming of Christ impact us in such a way that we would indeed purify ourselves even as he is pure we ask that you would be merciful to other churches we thank you that we're not alone in this community we pray for those who do faithfully preach the gospel we pray that you would prosper them and bless them and keep them safe and cause there to be peace and unity in the churches we pray for pastors that are proclaiming truth that they would know the power of the Spirit and the ability God to set forth the truth as it is in Jesus Christ we pray for the entirety of this nation she would send your spirit and revive the people of God cause us to be a people of the of the scriptures and cause us to be a people of Prayer we pray God that you would cause us to be serious about the things of Christ to be a people that hunger and thirst after righteousness we pray as well that you would send that same spirit to awaken those who are dead in their trespasses and sins we know that political figures won't fix the problems in the land we know the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek for in that gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written the just shall live by faith may this be thundered forth throughout this country and may many people be turned from the service of their useless idols to the service of the true and the Living God we pray for your blessing upon the missionary enterprise for those in other nations that are seeking to proclaim Christ we think specifically of those in Muslim nations that they would be protected that they would be enabled by your spirit to proclaim the riches of the glory of Christ and we would long to see many many Muslims turn from their idols to the true and living God as well and lands that are steeped in potpourri lands that are steeped in atheism lands that are filled with false religion may your gospel go forth and make Christ indeed have dominion from sea to sea we thank you again for this opportunity to address you the holy and great God and we pray that you would be with us now and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well please turn with me again in your Trinity hymnal to 272 number 272 will stand as we sing together for our scripture reading you can turn to the prophet Ezekiel Ezekiel chapter 23 ezekiel 23 will read the first 21 verses the word of the lord came again to me saying son of man there were two women the daughters of one mother they committed harlotry in Egypt they committed harlotry in their youth their breasts were there embraced their virgin bosom was there pressed their names ojala the elder and a holy ba her sister they were mine and they bore sons and daughters as for their names samaria is a challah and Jerusalem is a holy law ahola played the harlot even though she was mine and she lusted for her lover's the neighboring Assyrians who were clothed in purple captains and rulers all of them desirable young men horsemen riding on horses thus she committed harlotry with them all of them choice man of Assyria and with all for whom she lost it with all their idols she defiled herself she has never given up her harlotry brought from Egypt for in her youth they had lain with her pressed her virgin bosom and poured out their immortality immorality upon her therefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lover's into the hand of the Assyrians for whom she lost it they uncovered her nakedness took away her sons and daughters and slew her with the sword she became a byword among women where they had executed judgment on her now although her sister a holy ba saw this she became more corrupt in her loss than she and inner harlotry more corrupt than her sisters harlotry she lusted for the neighbouring Assyrians captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously horseman riding on horses all of them desirable young men then I saw that she was defiled both both took the same way but she increased her harlotry she looked at men portrayed on the wall images of Chaldeans portrayed and Vermillion girded with belts around their waists flowing turbines on their heads all of them looking like captains in the manner of the Babylonians of kaldea the land of their nativity as soon as her I saw them she lost it for them and sent messengers to then in Chaldea then the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love and they defiled her with their immorality she was defiled by them and alienated herself from them she revealed her harlotry and uncovered her nakedness then I alienated myself from her as I had alienated myself from her sister yet xi multiplied her harlotry and calling to remembrance the days of her youth when she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt for she lusted for her paramours whose flashes like the flash of donkeys and whose issue is like the issue of horses thus you called to remembrance the lewdness of your youth when the Egyptians pressed your bosom because of your youthful breasts amen well a very graphic depiction of the sin of Israel notice specifically the identity of these two sisters in verse 4 samaria is a challah and Jerusalem is a holy ba the Samaria refers to the northern tribes the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the time that the prophet Ezekiel had written the northern tribes had already fallen to Assyria and so the lesson is a holy ba Jerusalem the southern kingdom had witnessed all that the North had done had witnessed the judgment of God upon them via Assyria and yet a holy ba nevertheless continues in the same path and is even more Grievous in their pursuit of such wickedness again it's a very graphic description and the metaphor of course two girls are two young women that are going after other men and this is how God likens idolatry it's a form of harlotry it's spiritual adultery to depart from the living and true God to go after the gods of the Assyrians as a whole lot did or to go after the gods of the Babylonians as a holy Bob did is the same as a marriage partner breaking that covenant via adultery so again a very strong metaphor a very strong representation of the sin of the northern tribes and of the southern tribes and of course Ezekiel's audience specifically is Judah the south calling them to reflect upon such things and to repent before the judgment of God would come upon them well let us pray our Father in heaven help us to have a view of sin in the way that you do help us to see it in all of its gross Ness and ugliness and wretchedness and may it never be the case that we would seek other things that we would seek to replace God with idols that we would not have the idols of gold and silver and we would not have Mammon captivate our hearts and minds that we would not have men or women or anything even things that may be legitimate may we nevertheless seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and know that other things will be added to us afterwards we pray father that you would help us as a local church learn the lessons of the profits help us as a local church to know the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit and may we indeed by your grace and for your glory hold fast to the written word and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well for our final him you can turn to number 400 in the Trinity hymnal will stand as we sing together number 400 you can turn in your Bibles to the prophet Micah Micah chapter 7 Micah chapter 7 last Sunday morning we looked at Hebrews 10 we saw their the Apostle sorted the people of God specifically by telling them that they were to believe the truth as it is in Jesus and he cites Habakkuk 242 for he says the just shall live by faith to Sunday night we looked at hibachi 3 to give an illustration of one who was indeed just who lived by faith want to carry that theme tonight with Micah the Prophet he is another example of a just one who lived by faith in the midst of some difficult and grievous circumstances it's helpful for us to consider these brethren and to see what lessons they have for the church as we face difficult times as well so I want to read Micah 7 verses 1 to 20 he says woe is me for I am like those who gather summer fruits like those who glean vintage grapes there is no cluster to eat or of the first ripe fruit which my soul desires the faithful man has perished from the earth and there is no one upright among men they all lie and wait for blood every man hunts his brother with a net 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 schemed together the best of them is like a briar the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge the day of your watchman and your punishment comes now shall be there perplexity 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 for Sun dishonours 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 therefore I will look to the lord I will wait for the god of my salvation my god will hear me do not rejoice over me my enemy when I fall I will arise when I sit in darkness the Lord will be alight to me 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 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 in the day when your walls are to be built in that day the decree shall go far and wide in that day they shall come to you from Assyria and the fortified cities from the fortress to the river from sea to sea and mountain to mountain yet the land shall be desolate because of those who dwell in it and for the fruit of their deeds Shepherd your people with your staff the flock of your heritage who dwell solitarily in a woodland in the midst of carmell let them feed invasion and Gilead as in the days of old as in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt I will show them wonders the nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might they shall put their hand over their mouths their ears shall be deaf 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 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 he will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities you will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea you will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham which you have sworn to our fathers from days of old amen let us pray father we thank you for this your word we pray now for the Ministry of your spirit again forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness and may we see another glimpse of what it is for the just to live by faith we thank you for the Prophet aback occurs we understood last week his status his position in the midst of the suffering and trial that was upon him and God made tonight be an encouragement with this prophet Micah these men faced difficulties and hardships and nevertheless they trusted in their god they found comfort and stability in their Lord may we likewise may we look unto you and may we have that confidence that you will indeed vindicate your church that you will indeed sustain your people that you will indeed Shepherd your people and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen now Micah was from the southern kingdom of Judah and in his prophecy he targets both kingdoms the North and the South are both Israel and Judah he was a contemporary that means he lived at the same time and prophesied at the same time as Isaiah the prophet in the south and Hosea in the north in fact if you compare Isaiah to which we just sang in him number 272 with micah chapter 4 you will see the similarities the nations will draw nigh unto zion to learn the law of god there's a hint of that in our section tonight we'll see as we move along as well his prophecy help shape the nation's policies also Micah's prophecy spared at least for a time Jeremiah the Prophet about a hundred years later Jeremiah was being accused of basically treason because he prophesied that the the temple was going to be destroyed and some of the person said but didn't micah of more shots say the same thing and that provided a temporary stay of judgment upon the Prophet Jeremiah his career his prophetic career was fraught probably from around seven thirty seven to six ninety bc now this means that he lived during the time of the Assyrian cap tivity that took place in 722 BC God had sent judgement via the Assyrians to the northern tribes that sister we just read up in Ezekiel chapter 22 ahola because of their sin because of their spiritual harlotry because of their apostasy and defection and so what he saw was the collapse of the northern kingdom as well he lived during the Assyrian attack upon Jerusalem that took place in 701 BC so both he and Isaiah had this sort of vantage point they saw the judgment of God in 722 with the northern tribes Assyria did not stop then but Assyria then invaded jerusalem not like it would happen later under the Babylonians but nevertheless it was an attack so chapters six and seven of our of this book are the third cycle of prophecy in Micah so we pick up in Chapter seven and there are three things we ought to observe in this section on the in the first place the prophets lamentation on behalf of the church when I use the word church with reference to Old Covenant Israel I mean the faithful the remnant the people of God and so verses 1 to 6 is his lamentation on behalf of the church secondly the prophets council given to the church in verses 7 to 13 and then finally the prophets prayer to Almighty God on behalf of the church in verses 14 to 20 but let's look at his lamentation much like Isaiah who said woe is me for I am undone I am a man of unclean lips and I live amongst a people of unclean lips from my eyes have seen the glory of Yahweh Micah starts off this seventh of chapter in the same way God has promised or there would be a there's a declaration of judgment in chapter 6 verses 9 to 16 and then Micah says woe is me and the first thing he points out is there's a lack of godly fellowship in Israel now don't think we're to universalize it I don't think that that Micah would say Isaiah wasn't a godly man or Hosea wasn't a godly and when he says there is none it's to be taken as a depiction of just how bad it is in Israel but it doesn't mean there's no remnant it doesn't mean there's no faithful but he is lamenting the reality that there's this lack of godly fellowship and oftentimes we can find ourselves in that position perhaps we're awkward and we have difficulty making friends and we're not the most outgoing person on a Sunday and a person's don't come to us then we can be a lonely people well loneliness and the lack of godly fellowship can create consternation in the heart of God's people and it certainly does so for Micah 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 and then he goes on to explain the faithful man has perished from the earth and there is no one upright among men you see what he is saying it's like this summer season when the fruits are so wonderful I mean isn't that one of the best things about summer you've got peaches you've got nectarines you've got plums you got pineapple you've got all this good stuff and he says it's kind of like that there's all this fruit to be had but when I go out to pick it it's gone there's nothing there there's no satisfaction there's no sweetness there's no joy and he likens that to Christian Fellowship or godly conference and he says the faithful man has perished from the earth and there is no one upright among men and then he explains this specifically he says concerning the disposition of men in society they all lie in wait for blood every man hunts his brother with the net now that probably doesn't mean the actual act of murder one of the things that's going on in the prophet Micah is corruption it is oppression in fact if you look at Mike a chapter 2 verses 1 and 2 whoa to those who devised iniquity and work out evil on their beds at morning light they practice it because it is in the power of their hand they covet fields and take them by violence also houses and seize them so they oppress a man and his house a man and his inheritance he's not talking about Assyrians he's not talking about Babylonia he's not talking about the heathen in the paga is talking about the the situation extent in Israel at his particular time notice in chapter 2 specifically verses 8 to 11 lately my people have risen up as an enemy you pull off the robe with the garment from those who trust you as they pass by like men returned from war the women of my people you cast out from their pleasant houses from their children you have taken away my glory forever arise in depart for this is not your rest because it is defiled it shall destroy yes with utter destruction if a man should walk in a false spirit and speak a lie saying I will prophesy to you of wine and drink even he would be the prattler of this people he is lamenting the situation facing him later on he is going to say that he himself tells the truth and he's rejected by the massive society so there was no godly fellowship in Israel at that time for the prophet Micah just to kind of give you the situation that the just shall live by faith have to put up with notice as well he highlights the presence of corruption in society the leaders the princes the the rulers were wicked verse 3 that they may successfully do evil with both hands the princes are the Prince asks for gifts the judge seeks a bribe and the great man utters his evil desire so they schemed together the leadership was guilty what happens when the leadership is guilty more often than not the people follow suit so there's this general society of corruption facing Micah in this particular time the just shall live by faith it doesn't always mean that circumstances are going to be pleasant it doesn't always mean that circumstances are going to be beneficial it doesn't always mean that everything's going to go our way we may face the position where there's no godly fellowship we may face a political situation where the princes are corrupt where the rulers are unjust where people are taking bribes and perverting justice how do we bear up how do we deal that's the thrust of this chapter the Prophet on behalf of the church laments for the church he will provide the remedy as we move along but notice that this decay are corrupt and in society doesn't stop with the leadership it even penetrates the family now this is most miserable in most wretched notice what he says in verses 5 and 6 do not trust and a friend do not put your confidence in a companion now that doesn't mean if you have a godly Christian front you can't trust him but remember he's already said he's like that man who goes out to pick the summer fruit and he comes back empty he is saying there is no friend that you can trust in this particular situation I mean if we didn't have all that Micah says we have Ezekiel 22 brethren do you actually think that as the Prophet there describes the Northern Kingdom things were well in their society I mean this is a snapshot of what's happening on the societal level and on the family level 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 I like what he does here because as he prescribes the remedy on how to deal with these particulars he describes just how bad it is which I think should indicate to us the just shall live by faith again not just in good times not just in bad times but in the worst of times if we didn't get that from a backache hopefully we'll get that from Micah these are the worst of times Dickens famous story it was the best of times and it was the worst of times there were seasons in Israel's life as the covenant people where it was indeed the best of times this wasn't one of them it was the worst of times and yet the just shall live by faith he says for son dishonours father daughter rises against her mother daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law a man's enemies and the men of his own household remember Jesus sites this particular verse talking about the division that existed when he came now that's the lamentation on behalf of the church now note his counsel given to the church in other words how do we deal with it now micah is speaking in the first person to be sure he is praying or he's lamenting for himself but he's also on behalf of the church of the people of God note specifically his counsel given to the church in verses 7 to 13 in the first place the God must look to Yahweh should we be surprised by verse 7 not if we're Bible readers right in the best of times what are we supposed to do we're supposed to look to God in the bad times what are we supposed to do we're supposed to look to God in the worst of times what are we supposed to do cash in and forget about it no we're supposed to look to God and that is precisely what he says in verse 7 therefore I will look to the Lord you see how the just shall live by faith he lives by faith he looks to the Lord he doesn't trust in his wife he doesn't trust in his companion he certainly doesn't trust in the princes of the judges who pervert justice for brides he doesn't trust or he doesn't look to the lack of godly fellowship rather he looks to Yahweh God is his sufficiency God is his all in all and I think what Micah says here in verse 7 is absolutely crucial for all of us it is easy to get our eyes off of the Lord isn't it in the good times what happens we look to the good times when things are happy in our family we find a great attachment to our family and that's not necessarily evil it becomes evil when we substitute the pleasure we receive from family with the pleasure we ought to be receiving from the Lord God when the bad times come what do we do we fret we panic we're in a full of anxiety we basically freak out in the worst of times we don't even want to get out of bed so we need this instruction and admonition therefore I will look to the Lord he looks to God Most High Calvin said the Prophet points out here the remedy to preserve the faithful from being led away by bad examples and that is to fix their eyes on God and to believe that he will be their deliverer I will wait he says for the god of my salvation I trust that the lord will right the wrongs in society and if the Lord does not right the wrongs of society in my lifetime I know based on a study of the confession of faith in chapter 31 I will go and be with christ I will behold the face of God in light and glory I will be in the presence of the one who saved my wretched soul from hell there's always better things on the horizon for the people of God and the prophet Micah says I will wait for the god of my salvation I won't freak out I won't panic I won't throw in the towel I won't give up because my god is the god of salvation and whether it's good times or bad times of the worst of times my god can be counted on that's what he says here I will are therefore I will look to the lord I will wait for the god of my salvation and notice what else the just who lives by faith understand the last clause in verse 7 my god will hear me brethren that is an affirmation of the Christian faith we don't pray to a god who has ears who cannot hear we pray to the Living God he hears his people the prayer of the upright is his delight Solomon tells us the psalmist says I love the Lord because he heard the voice of my supplication are we that bold and brazen to actually give conditions as to why we love god I love God because we should just love God shouldn't we absolutely we should love God because he's altogether lovely and worthy of our adoration but it's not wrong to tell God why we love him and in that instance I love the Lord because he heard the voice of my supplications I love that when everything's falling down around me I love that when there's chaos in society I love that when I can't even find companionship among the professed people of God or when I can't find safe haven in my own home I know and I love the fact that my god hears the voice of my supplication it's truly a blessing reality and a glorious thought the godly must look to Yahweh notice secondly by way of his counsel the godly must trust Yahweh's promise of vindication and this is verses 8 to 13 verses 8 to 13 there's four sub points here the remnant will rise remember in this instance the remnants doing well remember in this particular instance the northern tribes have been judged the southern tribes are going to ultimately be judged but note what he confesses or note how he counsels the church to consider these things he says in verse 8 do not rejoice over me my enemy when I fall I will arise isn't that faith isn't now that isn't that what the just who live by faith will say though I fall I will ride isn't that a confession of faith isn't that ascribing to God power and glory and majesty when I fall I will arise when I sit in darkness the Lord will be a light to me John Gill comments he says into outward afflictions and de-stresses 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 wise 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 noir from his justifying righteousness which is everlasting though I fall I will arise this is the confession this is how the jaws shall live by faith he says 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 favor of God he may fall but not totally or finally in other words this coincides with what we see in Hebrews 10 we are not of those who draw back to perdition but to those who believe for the saving of the soul this is what the godly understand he says nor is he utterly cast down the lord upholds him and raises him up again he rises as the church here believes are 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 him by faith and priced in a view of pardoning grace and mercy I love that statement he may fall but not totally or finally we may fall but by God's grace we will arise this is micah 78 and this ought to encourage the people of god notice the godly must trust you always promise of indication the remnant will rise secondly the remnants going to suffer the fact is that the remnant did fall they would be raised by God but there was consequences for the sins against is against God and that's verse 9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord you see the just who lives by faith doesn't pretend that they're sinless doesn't pretend that they're perfect doesn't pretend that all is absolutely well with them notice 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 Matthew Henry says when we complained to God of the badness of the times we ought to complain against ourselves for the badness of our own hearts the just shall live by faith not the perfect if we were perfect we wouldn't need faith in Christ we wouldn't need a perfect mediator we wouldn't need a perfect champion we wouldn't need that one who lived and died and rose again the just shall live by faith and that is consistent with the confession of sin it is consistent with saying I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him we haven't been altogether perfect we as the remnant micah is saying bear the brunt of some of this we haven't been what we ought to be in terms of covenant faithfulness to our God but we will bear the indignation we have sinned against him but we trust that he will plead our case that he will execute justice for us that it will bring us forth to the light we shall see his righteousness notice as well the remnant will be vindicated verse 10 then she who is my enemy will see in shame will cover her who said to me where is the Lord your God can almost hear it the voice or the the mouths of the Assyrians and 722 can almost hear it with the Babylonians and 86 where is yahweh where is your God especially as you know in the southern kingdom they're breaking down the temple where is the god of your temple where's the Lord of the Covenant where is the one that you have said will deliver you from all these sorts of things it was probably a joke among the Assyrians and probably a joke among the Babylonians they probably laughed at the Israelites as they were leading them back to Assyria and back to Babylon where is your God Israel notice what the Prophet says my eyes will see her now she will be trampled down like mud in the streets in other words the godly must recognize that the church will be vindicated she may see difficult times she may see hardship she may experience you know the worst of times but she needs to triumph in the understanding that God most high will never let her go and then the remnant will be victorious verses 11 to 13 in the day when your walls are to be built in that day the decree shall go far and wide in that day they shall come to you from Assyria in the fortified cities from the fortress to the river from sea to sea I take this as the restoration of Zion the restoration of the people of God and this idea that in that day they shall come to you from Assyria and the fortified cities from the fortress to the river from sea to sea consistent with what Micah for size fact you can go back to Micah for have already said this is similar exactly similar to what we see in Isaiah 22 Micah for now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and people shall flow to it many nations shall come and say come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob he will teach us his ways and we shall walk in his paths for out of zion the law shall go forth and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem he shall judge between many people's and rebuke strong nations afar off they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war anymore do you see what the prophet is envisioning he's envisioning at a time when Israel has preeminence when Zion has preeminence and the nations of the earth stream there and to hear the word of the Lord now that's not going to happen because of some geopolitical power it's going to happen as a result of the promised messiah of Micah 5 notice in Micah 52 but you Bethlehem Ephrathah though you are little among the thousands of Judah yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth are from of old from everlasting therefore he shall give them up until the time that she who is in labor has given birth then the remnant of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel and he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord in the majesty of the name of the Lord is God and they shall abide for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth and this one shall be peace you see all of this if I can use the word success concerning Zion is not tied to Zion it's tied to zions deliverer it's tied to zions Messiah it's tied to the Lord's Christ it's about Jesus and it's because of him the church or the people of God will be vindicated and it will be such that even the pagan nations will thought to hear the law of the Lord taught I think by the church notice finally terms of the larger context the prophets prayer to Almighty God verses 14 to 20 I want to break this down quickly into two sections first the petitions secondly the doxology it's good way to pray we ask God we petition God and then we dock so logically praise God Jesus teaches us this pattern in the Lord's Prayer we pray the petitions that God's name be hallowed that God's kingdom com that God's will be done we pray specifically for food for forgiveness for protection from the evil one and then what we dock so logically praise God for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory now and forever we speak well of God we sing praises to God and this is precisely the out of the prophets prayer in this instance he petitions God the first place for God's leadership verses 14 and 15 he says 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 invasion and Gilead as in days of old as in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt I will show them wonders God's leadership is spoken here in terms of faithful Shepherd a it appears in the other cycles of prophecy in chapter 2 and in chapter 4 and the leadership of Yahweh is going to be like when God led Israel out of Egypt notice secondly in terms of the petition he prays for God's victorious intervention in other words he trusts and he knows that that vindication will come but we trust and we know that the vindication of the church will come but we pray we petition we asked the Lord notice in verses 16 and 17 the nation shall see and be ashamed of all their might they shall put their hand over their mouths their ears shall be deaf 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 this is what we desire as your people the nations will be forted they'll no longer be siege of Jerusalem they'll no longer destroy the church the nations will suffer the fate of their leader note the illusion here to Genesis 3 14 the fact that they shall lick the dust like a serpent they shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth isn't this the curse pronounced upon the serpent in Genesis 3 14 linked of course to Genesis 3 15 and the promise that the soul-crushing seed of the woman would defeat the devil well these nations will go down with them and the nations will be afraid of the Lord our God 17b it's interesting I have a friend that sometimes calls and struggles a bit with the news he says you know when I watched the news it's all bad it seems like Satan's winning you know there's nothing about Jesus on the news you don't turn on the news and here you know 1800 people got converted you know and whatever during you know an evangelistic preaching series but that just doesn't happen so I think it kind of discourages and I watched the news and it just seems all bad it seems terrible doesn't seem like Jesus is on the throne doesn't seem like Jesus is going to win I don't think he's you know an apostate he's just struggling and agonizing and you know trying to find his way as a just one living by faith and I true typically try and remind him you know the news this is really not about people that do what they're supposed to do you know they don't have a segment at the end that you know brother so-and-so from whatever church got up and he worked at you know 19-hour day and he was faithful and he came home he kissed his wife and he let his family and devotions he had his you know hot dog and and a pop and he went to bed and he got up and he did that again you just don't get that right if you just look with the physical I you can get depressed and get discouraged but the just who lives by faith lays hold of passages like these and realize there's a day coming or the nation shall fear our God they won't lock him they won't blaspheme him they won't revile him anymore they will shudder in fear and that is precisely what Micah says they shall be afraid of the Lord our God and shall fear because of you Luther said whenever difficulties come we ought to sing the 46th song what does the 46 psalm tell us be still and know that I am God I will be exalted in among the nations I will be exalted among the earth you see the just who lives by faith lays hold of that whether it's good times bad times or the worst of times the just who lives by faith doesn't let go to of psalm 46 10 he doesn't let go of Micah the Prophet chapter 7 so he petitions the Lord in the form of a promise as well when the Prophet petitions he's God's mouthpiece and the praying of it means the actual securing of it so the Lord promises that he will thwart his enemies the nations will indeed suffer the fate of their demonic leader and the nations will be afraid of our God now notice doxology this is the crescendo the high point the end of his prophecy and what a what a crescendo it is note there is a question and then he provides the answer the question is in verse 18 a who is a god like you who is a god like you it's interesting because Micah's name means who is like Yahweh so Mike is basically citing Micah here he's saying who is a god like you this is similar to what we see in the song of Moses in Exodus 15 11 who is like you O Lord among the gods who is like you glorious and holiness fearful in praises doing wonders you see this same sort of scheme employed in Isaiah the prophet and 49 to 31 this is what the godly do when tough times com they focus on God and Micah's name provides the foil for the answer to come to encourage the people of God to encourage the jost who live by faith you need to consider your God you need to think through who he is you need to ponder you need to to meditate you need to contemplate so he asks who is a god like you now notice he answers in several ways first he is the God who pardons iniquity God the God who pardons iniquity who is a god like you pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage this is a good place for the justified or the just who live by faith to start he is a God who pardons iniquity you see armed with that knowledge this is why verse 9 is in the chapter in other words verse 9 would not be there if micah did not believe that God pardons iniquity the Apostles Creed tells us to vital important thing tells us all are historically vital important things but two things that are part of the church's confession I believe in forgiveness of sins I believe in the Holy Spirit as the other one but I believe in the forgiveness of sins this is what Micah has he says who is it God like you pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage this is why in verse 9 he says because I have sinned against him until he pleads my case and executes justice for me I will see his righteousness brethren you need to believe there is forgiveness for sin you need to understand it song 2511 in Psalm 133 and 4 and first on one night aren't in the Bible just as some sort of fodder but those are passages that the faithful they hold up the faithful know they're not perfect the faithful know they have many shortcomings but the faithful rejoice in the fact that God is a pardoning God he pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage notice the second aspect of his answer who is a god like you secondly he is the God who shows compassion to his people this is what we find I'm sorry yeah he is the God who shows compassion to his people he will again have compassion on us I'm sorry I missed something here let's go back for just a moment he pardons iniquity but notice it's explained or amplified in verse 18 he does not retain his anger forever because he delights in mercy you ever pawned her that he delights in mercy I'm a great Center Newton said but I have a great Savior I think that's consistent Christianity not saying go out and sing greatly but if you didn't send greatly blessed God that you have a great Savior bless God that you have one who delights and mercy do you delight in mercy is that something that that makes you actually happy I'm sure there's a pleasant feeling that we get from doing a good thing for others but can someone characterize us as people who delight in mercy this is our God he delights in mercy when we come to him confessing our transgression he doesn't just dole out a few units of forgiveness and say but don't go do it again now certainly the Word of God tells us don't know do again but he delights in mercy what a vivid expression of this is the father of the prodigal there's a man who delights in mercy right I love the vision of the prodigal at least as it suggests itself to my mind I see this old man that doesn't mean God's old thought is from everlasting to everlasting he's not plagued by age I've noticed in the 40s your eyes go and 50s I'm getting some pain in my teeth and I don't know what's left for me dawn you're going to have to tell me what's going to happen in my 60s God doesn't have those limitations or problems or issues but in that metaphor or in that parable we see this old man sitting on his porch and he's in the long flowing robes that the people in those ages war probably hots probably dusty and from a long way off he sees that prodigal and what does he do he runs and he falls on him not in anger not in you know rebuff not in punishment but he falls on him to kiss him he falls on him to put a ring on his finger he falls on him to put a robe on his back why because my son who was lost is now found my son who was dead is now alive it's good that we make merry it's good that we slay the fatted calf why father because I delight in mercy what's the prophet Jonah learn from God Jonah's that reluctant prophet who goes to preach to a people who he doesn't want to be saved if I say Jonah brother recently just reminded me of this if I say Jonah and then I say what was the miracle in the Book of Jonah probably eighty percent of God's people would say that big fish that swallowed Jonah and vomited him out on the land no you know what the miracle is in the prophet Jonah is that Nineveh turn from her sin that there was repentance rot in a pagan people and much to the chagrin of the Prophet he gets upset he gets mad he gets irritated God uses a lesson concerning a gourd and concerning a worm to teach the Prophet how miss might he is he tells Jonah you've had pity on this gourd you've had pity on a plant and should I not pity Nineveh in whom there are a hundred and twenty thousand that don't know the right hand from their left probably a reference to children so if we consider that fact and then we think in terms of adults there's a lot of people there and God says should I not pity Nineveh he delights in mercy what about Jesus when he's in the synagogue and that woman who's bent over she is plagued she's had this issue of blood for what 18 years and the Pharisees the leaders in the synagogue reprove her oh it's just a terrible seed and Jesus says think of it this woman who's been bowed down for 18 years has come to be healed and you're going to reprove her it is Christ it is his his character this is nature it is who God is to delight in mercy now I think there's a quote ascribed to Luther where he says something to the effect of sin boldly and people go wow you can't say that Luther and I think I know what he means I don't think he means you on your way home then I knock off a liquor store you know carrying a gun and it soon boldly never gonna do it do it no I don't think that's what he means I think that he means when you sent realize you've got Grace Mercy not so that you'll go sin that's the the thing that Paul condemns in Romans 6 but when we do said first John 21 we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous and this God delights in mercy he is the God he shows compassion to his people he will again have compassion on us he is the God who subdues our iniquity notice in verse 19 you will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities not only there's a part in our iniquities we have that in the gospel we have that Jesus breaks the power of reigning sin but he also gives us the grace to deal with remaining sent God's subdues our iniquities and then he uses this metaphor you will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea Gil comments never to be seen anymore do we forgive people this way well I remember you know 15 years ago you did this against me but you forgave me I know but I keep a list husbands and wives are good at this sometimes aren't they remember when you did this you know three years ago really a desert statute of limitations on some of this stuff all right I'm bad I'm evil let me be I don't know but this is what it says you will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea Gil says never to be seen anymore though they are seen with the eye of omniscience and taken notice of by the Eye of Providence yet not be held 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 anymore and like things cast into the sea destroyed and lost perhaps there may be some allusion to the Egyptians drowned it 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 sakes for Christ's sake even all of them for they have all been born by Christ and are covered blotted out and pardon not one remains Unforgiven isn't that enough to make the Jos to live by faith rejoice and you know kick their legs together and praise God from whom all blessings flow you see what the prophets doing he's telling you the just shall live by faith by looking to this God and then finally he is the God who is covenant Lee faithful verse 20 you give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham which you have sworn to our fathers from days of old this is the grand argument of covenant theology the God who is sworn the God who is promised the God who is covenanted is faithful he's not going to he is not going to forsake he is not going to let you go he is not going to leave you ever brethren in this chapter i think we survey and at least i think we appreciate the fact that there is no nothing new Under the Sun we see the depravity of man the lack of godly fellowship the lack or the presence rather of corruption in society see we can't say well you know Micah just doesn't know what it's like to live in the 21st century no we don't know what it's like to live in the eighth century BC we don't know what it's like to live amongst a people of unclean lips now certainly we live amongst a people of unclean lips but remember this was the covenant community as well we need to appreciate the confidence of the believer this is a tough one because we all want to find a friend or we want a spouse and I'm not saying distrust your wives or your husband's tonight you know you know roll over and you know don't have their godly praise God be thankful for that we need to realize where our confidence our hope our trust ultimately is is in the Lord Mark Twain said this he said if you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you this is the principal difference between a dog and a man i think what Twain was saying in his perceptive way is that men are not always the most trustworthy men are not always loyal men are not always committed to your well-being and certainly Micah saw that and he understood that and instead of saying forget it i'm going to go live on an island he says in verse 7 i will look to the lord as well i think that everything we see in this chapter the Prophet was carried by faith the just lived by faith was he just an optimist these have a positive outlook did he believe in the intrinsic goodness of man I certainly don't think so Davis commenting in another situation in another place in the Bible but I think it's appropriate here the circumstances that Micah face did not stimulate optimism this is not optimism it is faith he says some people are naturally optimistic they don't know better but faith can arise even when no reason for optimism exists and that is precisely what we find in my cup there was no reason for him to be optimistic it was faith that spoke it was faith that understood it was faith that laid hell of God and in that vein faith looks to the god of our salvation verse 7 faith realizes that though one falls he shall rise by the grace of God verse 8 faith recognizes one's own sin and lays hold of God's forgiveness verse 9 faith knows there is vindication for the people of God vs 10 to 13 faith submits to the rule of God verses 14 and 15 he doesn't ask that the Lord Shepherd his people so that the people will be recalcitrant and incorrigible and hard-hearted and stiff-necked and refuse his leadership now it is precisely the opposite faith submits to the rule of God and faith particularly focuses on the being and attributes of God that's what we find in verses 18 that's wanting Thomas makovski made this comment he said like a day that begins with the dark foreboding sky but ends in golden sunlight this chapter begins in an atmosphere of gloom doesn't it our verses 126 a happy section of Scripture do you go two verses 1 to 6 and you're you know daily reading and say wow that's great it's one of those passages that hopefully fills out the background so that you can appreciate seven to twenty makovski says like a day that begins with a dark foreboding sky but ends in golden sunlight this chapter begins in an atmosphere of gloom and ends in one of the greatest statements of hope and all the Old Testament clouds of gloom have rolled in on the horizon of the prophets life because of the disobedience of the people and the somber fate that awaited his nation but rays of hope such as the affirmations in verse 7 shone through the gloom it is in the great affirmation of faith that concludes the book verses 18 to 20 that the darkness is completely dissipated one may wonder why the Prophet did not succumb to utter pessimism in view of the conditions of his day the answer is in this chapter it was because of the triumph of faith the Prophet speaks here as a representative of the godly remnant it is the triumph of faith and may I end with this concluding observation that faith lays hold of that which faith knows in other words the justified or the just shall live by faith specifically the items indicated that I just ran through the god of our salvation forgiveness of sins the fact that he is all that is described here faith lays hold of knowledge it lays hold of information it lays hold of propositional revelation the take-home lesson is the just shall live by faith because they have fed their souls with the fodder of God's Word and they have something to cling to if you don't know this God if you don't understand theology proper if you don't give any time to the pursuit of knowing Scripture and knowing you know say our confession of faith you're going to be floundering you're going to be wavering you're going to have trials and difficulties it's the people who know their God that shall stand fast it is the people who know their God who have their faith fed from those rich and blessed strains that come from Zion if that material isn't present there's nothing for faith to lay hold up so if you do not read your Bible consistently if you do not attend church consistently if you are not seeking the Lord's faith consistently going to be hard for you even as a just man to live by faith because your faith has nothing to attach itself it do you realize that when Paul says that when aback acccess that when we see it displayed faith is it the power wow he's got faith so that's great you know people treat faith that way it doesn't matter what you believe you know an a for instance doesn't matter what God you sort of believe you can have a higher power whatever your faith attaches itself unto if it's a light bulb if that gets your boat going and that helps you to not bring well and that's great praise God from whom all light bulbs flow i guess i don't know but it's not nebulous it's not undefined it's not a blind leap faith lays hold of the Word of the Living God faith visits Micah 7 faith visit tobacco three faiths visits second Timothy faith visits Hebrews faith when everything comes crumbling down all around them doesn't say well forget it now it goes to the scripture it encourages its heart or encourages the Heartless study of who God is it concern considers his attributes as being as perfections is excellent it looks upon his great and glorious works you see this in the songs ascribe to ASAP ASAP witnessed horrific things going on in Israel and he also witnessed the absence of God there are times when he says God when are you going to come when are you going to vindicate when are you going to deliver you know what he does in the meantime he thinks back to the exodus he thinks back to the great deliverance that God wrought he thinks back to those works that steady him in the present and fortify him for the future brethren if you are not in Scripture and you are not reading theology if you want to know what good theology to read ask we can point you to some decent helpful books that aren't difficult it's amazing to me how many people think that this is out of their grasp I saw Mike Kirkpatrick recently he was telling me that one of the things he observed in Singapore where he ministered in the in the summertime is that he was dealing with very intelligent people i mean people that you know advanced degrees you know high-paying jobs interestingly enough high-paying jobs you can't leave your parents house because the cost of houses is so expensive and to purchase a car you have to buy a seventy thousand dollar permit before you can even buy and own a car so you've got you know 27 year old you know engineers making nine thousand dollars a month who can't move out of their parents homes so you know you think you got problems just hang out in singapore but one of the things he observed was that they know all this stuff in terms of you know engineering whatever it is but they think somehow theology is out of their grass and I wonder if that's the case with some of us we think that you know genin can like to read books they're weird that way no I don't think we're weird that way I think we're pretty normal you should want to read books you should want to fuel your heart you should want to know this God you should want to understand the prophets you should want to understand the Apostles you should want to and you can this is a blessing reality that the psalter sets forth and at least two instances that I know of the psalmist says the law of Yahweh makes wise the simple you may be a dim bulb when it comes to a hose two subjects out there but if you have the Holy Spirit the book of God is for you Birkhoff is for you except the sections on paino baptism those are resources that faith lays hold on Micah couldn't have got this crescendo in seven if he never knew his God and it's unfortunate brethren but there are those who are just and they are living by faith but that faith doesn't have that the being and the attributes of God to lay hold of that faith is not really understood justification that faith is not really understood the plan of God and the whole scheme of holy scripture that faith hasn't laid hold of of Genesis 3 15 and the significance of it for the rest of Scripture so brethren this is my plug please study your Bible study theology beware the Word of God is opened and preached and taught so that you the just shall live by faith let us pray God we thank you for your word we thank you for what I might get rights in this chapter it truly is amazing you are a God as described in verses 18 to 20 we thank you that you do pardon our iniquity we thank you that you subdue our iniquities cast our sins all our sins into the depths of the sea and I pray that in light of this we would pursue holiness and righteousness this the logic of the gospel Paul said what shall we say shall we continue in sin that grace may abound may it never be may these things encourage us to pursue those things that are pleasing in your sight but when we fall may we know that we will arise not because we're good but because you are laureus and wondrous and may we indeed know your nearness and your kindness and your goodness to us and help us as justified believers to live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and who gave himself for us go with us now we pray and we ask in Jesus name Amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed you