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You can turn with me in your 
Bibles to Micah the prophet, chapter 7. Micah chapter 7. So with our study in Habakkuk 
last Sunday night and the psalmist this morning, this completes 
our mini-series on how to focus on God so that we don't lose 
our minds. Micah 7 is somewhat similar to 
the prophet Habakkuk that we saw in Habakkuk 3. The connection, 
I'll explain the differences, but I do want to read, first 
of all, Micah 7, beginning in verse 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. 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 scheme together. The best of them is like a briar, 
the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge. The day of your 
watchmen and your punishment comes, now shall be their 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 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. 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 a light 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 Carmel. "'Let them feed in Bashan 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. "'The 
nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might. "'They shall 
put their hand over their mouth. "'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. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, thank you for the written word of the living and true God. 
Thank you that you've given it to us by inspiration of the Spirit, 
that it's profitable to us for doctrine, reproof, correction, 
and instruction in righteousness. And in these unsettled times, 
these chaotic times in which we live, may you fortify our 
hearts and strengthen us and cause us to focus upon God most 
high. to take the cue from the prophets, 
from the apostles, and may we indeed focus on that one who 
is sovereign, who has absolute and unrivaled authority, and 
the one who is over all things for the good of his church. Forgive 
us now for our sins and fill us with your Holy Spirit, and 
we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
Well, the prophet Micah hailed from the southern kingdom of 
Judah, and he prophesied to both the northern kingdom and the 
southern kingdom. He was a contemporary of Isaiah 
in the south and Hosea in the north. If you read Micah 4, right 
alongside of Isaiah 2, you will see the similarities. His prophecy 
ultimately helped shape the nation's policies and his prophecy spared 
Jeremiah's life about a hundred years later. You can read about 
that in Jeremiah 26 verses 17 to 19. Most likely his career 
was from about 730 BC to 690 BC. That means that he lived 
during the Assyrian siege of the Northern Kingdom, of which 
he prophesied. As well, he lived during the 
Assyrian attack upon Jerusalem that happened in 701 BC, which 
also he prophesied. Now, chapters 6 and 7 are the 
third cycle of prophecy in Micah, and Micah is another man who 
is an example of the just who lives by faith. We saw that in 
Habakkuk. Habakkuk asks questions of God. He wonders about God's plan in 
terms of the nation. God tells him, I'm going to send 
Babylon to decimate the nation. And so then, the prophet Habakkuk 
is told, the just shall live by faith. And in chapter 3, we 
see that psalm wherein he praises God and shows his dependence 
upon God. So Habakkuk is looking at the 
absolute devastation of the southern kingdom that will come as a result 
of God's judgment, and he's using Babylon. Now, the psalmist this 
morning was focused on the nations outside of Israel. Remember Psalm 
46 at verse 6, it says, the nations rage, the kingdoms were moved, 
he uttered his voice, the earth melted. So while Psalm 46, he's 
thinking about the external threat to the people of Israel, what 
we find in Micah 7, similar to Habakkuk, the problem is with 
his own nation, but even more focused in the effect that it 
would have upon the faithful remnant at the time that the 
prophet Micah lived. Habakkuk shares that as well, 
but Habakkuk's concern is a bit bigger in terms of the decimation 
of the southern kingdom. Micah is more practical in nature. He starts off with his own lament. 
He starts off with his own, woe is me. Why does he do that? Well, 
we'll look first at the prophet's lamentation for the church in 
verses 1 to 6. We'll notice secondly, the prophet's 
counsel to the church in verses 7 to 13. And then finally, the 
prophet's prayer to Almighty God in verses 14 to 20. So the 
correction always is, or the corrective always is, to look 
at God. Verse 7, I think, is key to the 
chapter. He says, Therefore I will look 
to the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation, my God 
will hear me. Let's first look at what predicated 
this statement on his behalf. Notice in the first place the 
lack of godly fellowship that affected the prophet in the nation 
of Israel. He didn't see Leviticus 19 in 
play. He didn't see obedience to that 
second great commandment. He didn't see the camaraderie 
and the love that is to be expressed among the people of God. Notice 
in verse 1, woe is me. And then he gives this illustration 
of a frustrated farmer. He says, 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. 
By the time summer comes along, there's only a few things left. 
There's slim pickings. And so the frustrated farmer 
laments that particular condition. So Micah says that he is like 
that man. He too is frustrated. Notice 
the explanation that he gives in verse 2a. He says, The faithful 
man has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among 
men. Now I think he's speaking hyperbolically. Isaiah was a contemporary, as 
was Hosea. So those were two righteous men, 
godly men, but he didn't have contact with them. As far as 
he was concerned and as far as he could judge, the covenant 
community was bankrupt. In the prophet Isaiah, for instance, 
in chapter 5, the prophet condemns those who call evil good and 
good evil. Well, that same sort of a mindset 
was operative at the time of the prophet Micah. And so Micah 
looks around and finds nothing in terms of horizontal relationship. The church lacks love. The church 
lacks fellowship. The church lacks connection. 
The church is not being what it ought to be. And Micah doesn't 
just sort of write that off. He doesn't just sort of say like 
people did in Canada for two years, well, I don't need that. 
No, we desperately need community. We desperately need the people 
of God. We desperately need those covenant blessings that the Lord 
has given to His people. So that evokes from him this 
cry, this, woe is me. It does show him that the frustrated 
farmer is a good parallel for his particular condition. And 
the explanation again, the faithful man has perished from the earth 
and there is no one upright among men. And then notice, he goes 
on to highlight the corruption in society. So yeah, he's got 
to reckon with the reality that judgment is ultimately going 
to come, but it's not near his lifetime. The Southern Kingdom 
will be devastated, but it's not in his wheelhouse. He has 
to deal with the problems of living in a faithless age. And 
he responds by exhibiting great faith. The just man, justified 
by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, lives by faith, steadfast 
trust in our blessed Yahweh. So notice his general statement 
concerning corruption in society at 2B. It says, they all lie 
in wait for blood. Every man hunts his brother with 
a net. Now, the reference is not necessarily 
to physical acts of murder. Most likely, what is in view 
is exploitation. The sinful oppression of one 
another that the prophet has already condemned. Look back 
at chapter 2 in verses 1 and 2. Micah chapter 2 at verse 1. Notice, woe to those who devise 
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." Same sort of 
emphasis in 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 and 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. So there 
was a horrible condition at the time of the prophet. So back 
to chapter 7 at verse 2b, he gives this brief explanation. 
They all lie in wait for blood. Every man hunts his brother with 
a net. Then he moves on to the corruption 
of the leadership. He's not indicting the leadership 
in Nineveh. He is not indicting the leadership 
in, you know, among the Amorites, or the Jebusites, or the Hittites, 
or the Hivites, or Assyria. He is dealing with the leadership 
in the covenant people, among the covenant people. Notice that 
they may successfully do evil with both hands. Verse 3. The 
prince asks for gifts, the judge seeks a bribe, and the great 
man utters his evil desire, so they scheme together. The best 
of them is like a briar, the most upright is sharper than 
a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen and 
your punishment comes, now shall be their perplexity." You see 
what he's doing? Woe is me. I live in a messed 
up generation. I live in a generation that's 
been given the blessed law of Leviticus chapter 19, but they 
have repudiated it. They have rejected it. There 
is no love in the hearts of my fellows. There is no companionship. There is no faithfulness. There 
is no camaraderie one with another. It is the case that even the 
leadership is corrupt. But it's not just society in 
general, it's not just the leadership particularly, but it also extends 
to the family in Israel at that particular time. Notice what 
he says in verses 5 and 6. He says, 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. See, this is a desperate condition 
that the prophet finds himself in. This is a horrific situation, 
and it's obvious why he says in verse 1, woe is me. I am frustrated. I am destitute. The corruption 
in the society, the corruption among the leadership, and then 
the lack of love and camaraderie in the home. It would be too 
much to take. I mean, as messed up as things 
may be, presently, we do have one another. There is a sense 
where we can apply that well-worn term. We're all in this together. 
We still have the church. We still have family. We still 
have camaraderie. We still have fellowship. Micah 
didn't have that. That's why he says, woe is me. Notice he goes on in verse six, 
a passage cited by our Lord Jesus. 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. So as we look 
at the prophet's lamentation for the church, we see how comprehensive 
it is. We see how extensive it is. We 
see just how bad the situation was at the time that he lived. 
So with Habakkuk, he knows that Babylon is coming to devastate 
the southern kingdom. So what does he do? He focuses 
on God. With this particular prophet 
Micah, he knows that ultimately judgment is going to come because 
the nation has been unfaithful and God will visit them with 
covenant curses, but it's a ways off for him. But nevertheless, 
he looks around society, he looks around at his people, and he 
finds that they're enemies. He looks at his people and he 
finds that they're strangers. He looks at his government and 
he finds that they're corrupt. He looks at the bench in Israel. 
Brethren, there is a lot of legislation in the Old Testament concerning 
the bench. We saw it there in Leviticus 
chapter 19. Don't show partiality to a poor man. Don't rule based 
on emotion. Don't rule based on appearance. 
Don't rule based on your heartstrings being pulled. Rule based on the 
law of God most high. That's why justice is blind. That's why Lady Justice has a 
blindfold over her eyes. It reflects the prophet Isaiah 
chapter 11. There were persons that had an 
expectation of Messiah that he would be blind and deaf from 
Isaiah chapter 11, but it was metaphorical. It was an analogy. It was to demonstrate that his 
judgment will be accurate. It will be according to justice 
and it will be according to the law. And so the prophet Micah 
sees judges in Israel taking bribes. He sees the princes asking 
for gifts. Most likely they were asking 
with teeth. Think princes today, do they 
just simply ask? No, they confiscate, they take, 
they steal, they breach the eighth commandment without any regard 
whatsoever to private property. The thought that they could have 
confiscated or closed our accounts is horrifying, brethren. If anyone 
should have this evocation of woe is me, it ought to be us 
in the Western world at the thought that our private property can 
vanish like that at the behest of government because we spent 
it in a way that they don't approve of? Woe is us! We need to start 
taking notice of what is happening. So the kinds of things that we 
see are the kinds of things that the prophets saw. Now that moves 
us to the prophet's counsel to the church in verses 7 to 13. 
Yes, he is speaking in the first person, but then he opens that 
up and he then includes the remnant. He includes the faithful. Again, 
he was speaking hyperbolically. It's not the case that there 
was no one. God's always had his remnant. 
He is making a general observation about the condition of society. 
So notice the two pieces of counsel he gives to the church. First, 
the believer must look to God, verse 7, and then secondly, the 
believer must trust God's promises in verses 8 to 13. So notice, 
verse 7, therefore. Therefore. It's an implication, 
right? Whenever you see that, you've probably heard hokey Bible 
teachers tell you that. Whenever you see a therefore, 
ask what it's there for. That's not altogether bad advice 
or bad counsel. Why is the therefore there? Well, 
because he's just lamented. He has just described the woeful 
conditions obtained in Judah. And now he says, therefore, I 
will look to the Lord. Because if I look to the society, 
if I look to the princes, if I look to the judges, if I look 
to the wife of my bosom, if I look to family members, I will be 
discouraged, I will be bankrupt, I will be left empty. So where 
does he look? Of course he looks to God. God 
never leaves, God never forsakes. If there is no godly companions 
in a society, that doesn't mean that God has ceased. God doesn't 
stop being that God to the person that's in that particular situation. 
So he says, therefore, I will look to the Lord. That's where 
my help comes from. Society, leadership, and family 
do not care one whit about him, so he goes to the one that does, 
and that is God most high. Calvin says 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. That's 
the point in Micah 7. That's the point in Habakkuk 
3. That's the point in Psalm 46. That's the point from Genesis 
1 to Revelation 22. Fix your eyes on God. The just 
shall live by faith. That's what the prophet is commending 
to us. Notice, he not only looks to 
God, but he waits for God. I will wait for the God of my 
salvation. See, there's not this impetuousness 
on the part of the prophet. There's no deals on his part. 
If you don't give me a friend, if you don't fix my wife, if 
you don't get these corrupt judges and princes out of the mix, then 
I'm not gonna follow you anymore. No, I will wait on the God of 
my salvation. What does Peter tell us? He tells 
us, or James tells us, we need to humble ourselves in the sight 
of God, and in his time, he will lift us up. There is this idea 
that whenever we pray, whenever we say God, he is duty-bound 
and obligated to answer us right now. I'm sorry, but that's just 
not how it works. And I fear at times in the Christian 
church, we don't think no is a sufficient answer. No is a 
most sufficient answer. You parents know that, right? 
You have told your children on many occasions, no. Now, if they 
said, well, that's not an answer, what would you say to that? Oh, 
really? It's not an answer? It is most certainly an answer. 
But the point is that we wait for the God of our salvation. This is what faith is about, 
brethren, justified freely by His grace through faith in our 
Lord Jesus. Now that we're justified, now 
that we're saved, now that we're living the Christian life, now 
that we're in this arena of sanctification, we have faith in God, we have 
faith in His promises, we have faith in His provision. And then 
notice he speaks to God. So he says, I will look to the 
Lord. I will wait for God. And then the last part, my God 
will hear me. That's a confident expectation. 
He may not deliver me right now. He may not fix my wife right 
now. He might not depose these wicked judges and princes right 
now, but I know my God will hear me. We have that surety. We have that blessed confidence. 
We have that reality. Turn to Luke 18, where Jesus 
underscores this lesson in a most blessed way. Luke chapter 18, 
specifically at verse one. Then he spoke a parable to them 
that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. You see that 
close parallel and connection? Men always ought to pray and 
not lose heart. What happens if you don't pray? 
Yeah, you're right. You're going to lose heart. You 
see, there is a close connection in this particular passage that 
men always ought to pray and not lose heart. And he said, 
there was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard 
man. Now there was a widow in that city and she came to him 
saying, get justice for me from my adversary. And he would not 
for a while. But afterward, he said within 
himself, though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because 
this widow troubles me, I will avenge her. Lest by her continual 
coming, she weary me. Those are not good motives, but 
hey, she gets her verdict. That's not, you know, the cry 
of the noble judge. That is simply, I don't want 
her to keep hassling me and bugging me. But nevertheless, he gives 
her the response that she is after. Now notice in verse 6, 
then the Lord said, hear what the unjust judge said. And shall 
God not avenge His own elect to cry out day and night to Him, 
though He bears long with them? It's not always the case that 
you pray, and the next day you get the pony. Or you pray, and 
the next day you've got plane tickets to Rio. That's just not 
the way it happens. There is a perseverance. Most 
of the commentators refer to her as the importunate widow. She would not stop till she got 
the verdict. She asked, she sought, and she 
knocked, and God avenges his elect who cries to him day and 
night. Back to Micah 7. So the believer 
must look to God, but then the believer must trust the promises 
of God. Notice in verses 8 to 13. 8 tells 
us that the remnant will rise. Judah and Israel before her, 
the northern kingdom, had a lot of ups and downs, right? I mean, 
722 was the final down for the northern kingdom when the Assyrians 
came and obliterated that. 586 would be the final down for 
Judah when Babylon would come to obliterate them. Now there 
would be revival, there would be restoration. Judahites would 
return back to their land in preparation for the coming of 
the Messiah. So there's this pattern of rising 
and falling. But notice the confidence of 
the prophet with reference to the church. Verse 8, he says, 
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. John Gill makes this observation. 
He says, into outward afflictions and distresses which come not 
by chance, but by divine appointment. or into the temptations of Satan. He's describing what does this 
fall and arising look like. Could be outward afflictions 
and distresses. Could be the temptations of Satan. And by 
them, which sometimes is suffered for wise purposes, or into sin. There's times, obviously, we 
fall into sin, and by God's grace, we arise out of that sin. If 
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. My little children, I write these 
things so that you do not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have 
an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. 
So he says, 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 a 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. Praise God for that. 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 could, 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." So this is a blessed 
reality for the people of God, that though we may fall, we don't 
fall in. God protects us, God rescues 
us, God keeps us, and God enables an arising out of that mess. Notice the second promise, the 
reality that they're not altogether innocent when they fall. They're 
not altogether perfect. It's not the case that the remnant 
godly can say, I don't know why any of this is happening to me. 
I mean, I'm so upright, I'm so good, I'm so morally pure. No, that's leftism. That's not 
biblical Christianity. This prophet knows the reality 
that sometimes we fall because of God's chastening hand. Look 
at verse 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. 
You see, the prophet is a realist. The prophet understands much 
of the problems that had obtained in Judah at this time wasn't 
just the external threat of foreign enemies. It was the internal 
reality of defection and apostasy from God Almighty. And with reference 
to the remnant, they had to deal with that. They themselves would 
have sinned. They themselves would have been 
chastised. They themselves would have undergone a degree of suffering. Matthew Henry says, when we complain 
to God of the badness of the times, we ought to complain against 
ourselves for the badness of our own hearts. Right? It's not 
just, wow, I can't believe how messed up everybody else is out 
there. I can't believe there's no godly 
companionship. I can't believe these princes 
and these judges. I can't believe my beloved. I 
can't believe my sister or my brother. I can't believe myself. I can't believe that blood-bought 
children of the living and true God are still prone to wander 
and still prone to leave the God that we love. I can't believe 
that so often and so frequently we have to make good on Jesus' 
teaching about seven times seventy in terms of forgiveness. Remember 
that? Peter says, if my brother comes to sin against me, seven 
times do I forgive him in the day? Peter's probably thinking 
he's extremely large-hearted. I've got this sort of pain in 
the neck for a brother, and he's got this problem in terms of 
sin, and he keeps coming to me and wearying me. Do I forgive 
him up to seven times? What does Jesus say? Seven times 
70. The point that Jesus is making 
is not to count them. It's not to take out your phone 
app. Oh, there's, you know, 213. That's not the point. The point 
is, forgive one another, even as God in Christ has forgiven 
you. You see, brethren, as persons 
conquered by sovereign grace, as persons washed in the precious 
blood, we ought to be persons that recognize our own sinfulness, 
and we ought to have a large heart in terms of giving forgiveness 
to others in need. God has forgiven us and He does 
so up to 7 times 70 in a day. Notice as well, another promise 
in verse 10, the remnant will be vindicated. The remnant will 
be vindicated. Look at verse 10. Then she who 
is my enemy will see and shame will cover her who said to me, 
where is the Lord your God? He says, my eyes will see her. 
Now she will be trampled down like mud in the streets. Curious 
language for somebody emasculated and effeminate. He's not emasculated 
and effeminate. The church militant speaks in 
that kind of language, not in a vindictive spirit, not in a 
pick-on-people sort of a mindset, but in light of the righteous 
judgment of God Most High. We've seen many texts recently. I'm not going to duplicate that 
effort now. Revelation 6, Revelation 19, 2 Thessalonians 1, Joshua 
21, and the imprecatory Psalms of David and the anathemas of 
Paul. This is a sin-cursed world. People 
do wicked, horrible things. We ought to be large-hearted 
and we ought to forgive. But there are those instances 
and occasions where persons are vicious, and when God judges 
them or takes them out, the righteous see it and they rejoice. Solomon 
says as much in the Proverbs. That is to image God. We have 
a longing and a yearning for justice and righteousness. If 
that occurs, why wouldn't we praise God for it? And so the 
prophet here understands that the righteous will be vindicated. 
But then notice, the fourth promise, in verses 8 to 13, is that the 
remnant will be increased. It's not just the case that she'll 
be vindicated, it's not just the case that her enemies will 
be trampled down like mud, but it is the case she's going to 
be built up. It is the case that there is a glorious future for 
the people of God. Notice in verse 11. 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. Go back 
to Micah chapter 4, it's the same sort of an emphasis. Micah 
4, prophesying of the time of Messiah. Verse 1, 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, 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 path. for out of Zion the law 
shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He 
shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar 
off. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears 
into pruninghooks. Nations shall not lift up sword 
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But 
everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree." 
You know what that means? It's used in other places in 
the Old Testament. It means peace. It means tranquility. It means 
that God is so good that it's not just the spiritual. It's 
not just heaven that he secures for his people. The psalmist 
blessed God for loading him daily with benefits. Do we do that? We have lots of benefits. We 
have a lot of good things. So this idea of verse four, everyone 
shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree. It was said 
at the time of the reign of Solomon, an effect of Solomon's reign. 
And no one shall make them afraid for the mouth of the Lord of 
hosts has spoken. For all people walk each in the name of his 
God, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever 
and ever. So back to 7, 11, and 12. He prophesies that Zion is 
going to be built up. The church is going to grow. 
People from outside of Israel will come to Israel for their 
God, for their Messiah. And then in verse 13, those who 
do not will be vanquished. Those who do not will be punished. 
Those who do not will be dealt with in strict justice. Yet the 
land shall be desolate, because of those who dwell in it, and 
for the fruit of their deeds." So we've seen the lamentation, 
we've seen the counsel, now let's look finally at the prophet's 
prayer to Almighty God. He has two sections here. First, 
the petitions, verses 14 to 17, and then doxology, verses 18 
to 20. Notice his petitions. In the 
first place, he wants God's leadership. He wants God's leadership. That's 
not a surprise, is it? The princes want gifts and judges 
want bribes. So what does he want? He wants 
God to lead. Notice the language in verse 
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, as in the days when you came out of the 
land of Egypt, I will show them wonders. So God's leadership 
is spoken of here in terms of faithful shepherding, something 
that the prophets already done. Go back for just a moment to 
chapter 2 at verse 12. Chapter 2 at verse 12. I will 
surely assemble all of you, O Jacob. I will surely gather the remnant 
of Israel. I will put them together like sheep of the fold, like 
a flock in the midst of their pasture. They shall make a loud 
noise because of so many people. The one who breaks open will 
come up before them. They will break out, pass through 
the gate and go out by it. Their king will pass before them 
with the Lord at their head. He uses the same convention in 
chapter 4 beginning in verse 6. So this image or idea of shepherding 
is what the prophet wants. And you can completely understand 
this urge on his part. He has seen defective leadership. He has seen apostasy. He has 
seen sin and rebellion. He has seen them call good evil 
and evil good. So shepherd your people with 
your staff. He uses the language that evokes 
the Exodus. Notice in verse 15, as in the 
days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them 
wonders. That's a great parallel. God 
shepherded Israel right out of Egypt through the infliction 
of plagues upon their oppressors. And then the second petition 
is in verses 16 and 17. It is for God's intervention. He wants leadership in Israel 
by Yahweh himself. But for those nations outside 
of Israel, he wants justice. He wants judgment. He wants God 
to deal with that. Notice in verse 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. 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. See, for the prophet 
here, he doesn't think this is untoward. He doesn't think this 
is inconsistent. He doesn't think that this is 
somehow not Christian. No, it is absolutely positively 
Christian. The Christian engages in love 
to God and love to man. And there's a sense wherein generally 
we love and have a benevolence for all men everywhere. But that 
does not mitigate the desire in the Christian heart for the 
eradication of wickedness and for the vindication of the Most 
High and His righteousness. Brethren, abortionists need to 
be stopped. And that is God's prerogative. 
God is able to do that. I'm not advocating we go out 
and we see for them into the next world. But I am suggesting 
that it's not ungodly and it's not unrighteous to pray that 
the Lord stops this barbarism that is celebrated. Interesting, 
over the last two years, the countries of the earth were all 
caught up in the mitigation of a virus, and all the while the 
wholesale slaughter of babies kept on intact, unabated. That is absolutely horrific, 
and if we cry out to God for His justice, that is a Christian 
disposition. That is legit, and that is okay, 
even if the gospel coalition tells you it's not. So the nations 
will be thwarted, the nations will suffer the fate of their 
leader. Don't miss the allusion in verse 
17 to the garden. 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. Genesis 3, 14. So the 
Lord God said to the serpent, because you have done this, you 
are cursed more than all cattle and more than every beast of 
the field. On your belly you shall go and you shall eat dust 
all the days of your life. That prophecy in Genesis 3, 14 
and 15 displays victory on the part of the man born or the seed 
born of the woman in verse 15, but it also underscores the decimation 
of the devil himself, verses 15 and 14. And that is evoked 
by the prophet as a good thing in terms of God's dealings with 
the nations. And don't you love what he says 
at the end of verse 17? They shall be afraid of the Lord 
our God and shall fear because of you. Do you ever just kind 
of wish the church feared God more than they do? I mean, not 
even the pagans or the heathens. I mean, certainly, I'd like them 
to be afraid. I'd like them to understand that 
our God is a consuming fire. But there is an absence and a 
lack of the fear of God in the churches of God today. We treat 
God as if he's a fellow. We treat God as if he's a buddy. 
We treat God as if his only purpose in this world is to make sure 
everything goes great for us. We relegate him to the position 
of a Coca-Cola. We relegate him to the position 
of a fellow. We have these chatty pastors 
with their hands in their pockets and their latte in the other 
hand. We have chatty people that are more consumed with just the 
very basic principles of how to get along with one another. 
versus the knowledge of God Most High and the fear that that inevitably 
promotes in the person who knows their God. The fear of the Lord 
is the beginning of life, Solomon says. And those who are absent 
of or have no fear of God, they need to believe the gospel. They 
need to look unto the Lord Jesus Christ. So Micah prophesies a 
time when the nations will be afraid of God. That's something 
we ought to pray for, for sure, but we certainly ought to pray 
that the churches of Christ today would show something of that 
fear. And this is a concept that you see in Deuteronomy, but you 
also see it in Hebrews chapter 12. The same language in Deuteronomy 
4, that our God is a consuming fire, is the same language in 
Hebrews 12, that our God is a consuming fire. In fact, the apostle in 
Hebrews 10 says it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands 
of the living God. When did we lose this concept 
of the fear of the Lord for the people of God? When did we get 
to this levity and this sort of surface level approach? Those who know their God, fear 
their God. Now notice, finally, his doxology. That simply means praise, worship. And he brings this about by first 
asking a question. Notice in verse 18. He makes a play on his own name 
because the name Micah means who is like the Lord. That's what Micah means, who 
is like the Lord. So he asks that question. Verse 
18, who is a God like you? He's consistent with the song 
of Moses in Exodus 15, 11. Who is like you, O Lord, among 
the gods? Who is like you, glorious in 
holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? He's like the 
prophet Isaiah. Have you not heard? Have you 
not seen? Have you not pondered the greatness of Yahweh, who 
has the stars named, who has the knowledge of every star that 
He has created? I read the facts about this one 
time. I'm not a scientist. I am a fool 
when it comes to such things. So I had to write something in 
my Bible. here in the margin, my very generous margin in my 
Cambridge Bible here. But in Isaiah 40, verse 25, to 
whom then will you liken me or to whom shall I be equal, says 
the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and 
see who has created these things, who brings out their host by 
number. He calls them all by name, by the greatness of his 
might and the strength of his power, not one is missing. I 
read that there's a hundred billion galaxies that each contain about 
a hundred billion stars. That's staggering, brethren. 
I mean, that just, wow, we are really nothing. We are really 
minuscule. We are really tiny. In fact, 
that's exactly what he says prior. Notice in verse 15 in Isaiah 
40. Behold, the nations are as a 
drop in a bucket and are counted as the small dust on the scales. You see, we see what's going 
on in the nations of the earth right now, and it's sort of scary. 
It's kind of terrifying, especially when we consider the type of 
leadership that's leading us through it. But when we look 
at a passage like this, That's not a commentary that 
God doesn't care for his creation. It is the commentary that God 
is so sovereignly glorious over his creation. It is the infinite 
over the finite. It is the creator over the creature. The emphasis in the prophet Isaiah, 
when he asks these questions, is to draw out the mind to this 
God, because that's what settles the soul. And that's what the 
prophet Micah does. Notice, who is a God like you? And now he fleshes it out particularly. He rehearses what God has done. There is no other God like you 
because you're the only one that does things like this. Notice 
in the first place, he is the God who pardons iniquity. Verse 
18, notice he doesn't say, who is a God like you who judges 
the nations, who holds them in contempt, who brings his enemies 
to frustration and dashes them down? That's not a perplexing 
question. It's not a perplexing question 
at all. The C.S. Lewis wrote the problem of pain. John Gerstner a few years later 
said, that's not a problem. Sinners deserve pain. There's actually a problem of 
pleasure. that sinners actually get to 
eat a steak, or get to drink water, or get to have conjugal 
relations with their spouses. That's what's surprising. I think 
that that's the tact that Micah is taking here. Who is a God 
like you? Again, it's not a huge perplexing 
thing that a righteous God punishes sinful man. But it is perplexing 
that that righteous God provides forgiveness for that man. And 
that's what the prophet is drawn out with. Notice, who is a God 
like you? Pardoning iniquity and passing 
over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage. We sing 
amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like 
me. I once was lost, but now I'm 
found, was blind, but now I see. Think about what Newton calls 
grace there. He calls it amazing. Has the church lost sight of 
the amazingness of grace? Micah didn't. Micah pondered 
that, Micah reflected upon that, Micah rehearsed that, and Micah 
utilized it as a means to praise God, because you pardon iniquity 
and you pass over the transgression of the remnant of your heritage. 
Notice, he shows compassion to his people. Verse 19, he will 
again have compassion on us. That is a most blessed promise, 
a most blessed commitment on the part of our covenant God. 
He is the God who subdues iniquity. Look at that. And will subdue 
our iniquities. If you have problem with remaining 
corruption, cry out to God. Don't try to hide it. Don't try 
to fake it. Don't try to deny it. God actually 
is in the business of sanctifying His people. He not only justifies 
us freely by His grace, but Christ is our sanctification as well. 
And so the Lord God Most High is well able to subdue our iniquities. And then notice, He is the God 
who casts all our sins away. And the language at the end of 
verse 19 is truly glorious. You will cast all our sins into 
the depths of the sea. Again, John Gill, I think his 
comment is very appropriate here. He says, never to be seen anymore. 
Though they are seen with the eye of omniscience, it's not 
as if God actually does forget. When it speaks of Him forgetting, 
God doesn't have that capacity. God doesn't have memory one day 
and the absence of memory another day. That's accommodated language 
to show us or tell us something about God's great mercy. It is 
as if He forgot our sin. He goes on to say, so 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 anymore, and like things cast 
into the sea, destroyed and lost. Perhaps there may be some allusion 
to the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea." I think there is. 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 born by 
Christ, and are covered, blotted out, and parted. Not one remains 
unforgiven. That is enough to make the people 
of God do a holy jig until Jesus comes again. And then he ends 
with the covenant faithfulness of our God. Notice in verse 20, 
you will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which you 
have sworn to our fathers from days of old. Very often, Psalmists 
and prophets evoke the God of covenant. It is to show us the 
stability. It is to show us that this relationship 
is impenetrable, to show us that nothing can destroy those who 
are in Christ Jesus. Well, in conclusion, we see first 
the depravity of man. When you look at Micah chapter 
seven, you realize there's nothing new under the sun. I mean, the 
sorts of things that we see in our own generation, lo and behold, 
generations before us saw them as well. We are not the delicate 
snowflakes that we like to think that we are. People who have 
gone before us have gone through very hard and very trying circumstances, 
but they have demonstrated the maxim that the just shall live 
by faith. Secondly, the confidence of the 
believer is in God. The therefore in verse seven 
underscores that reality very powerfully. You can ultimately 
only trust in God. I know that sounds bleak, because 
we're all, or most of us are married, and we like to think 
we can trust our spouses, and we can't. But in a time of decay 
that was existent at this, or like Micah saw, it was a horrible 
situation. Mark Twain makes this observation. 
He says, 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. Men don't always treat each other 
as they ought. That's the grim reality. So where 
is the confidence ultimately to be placed? It's in God most 
high. The Psalmist says, do not put 
your trust in princes, nor in a son of man in whom there is 
no help. Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, 
whose hope is in the Lord his God. We sang that at the outset 
of our worship tonight, Psalm 146. And then finally, the triumph 
of faith. The triumph of faith. Was Micah 
just an optimist? You know, you kind of meet those 
people, right? I mentioned Asaph this morning. 
Asaph, to me, strikes me as a pessimist. He's the cup half-empty guy. And I've always found that pessimists 
want to defend themselves. I'm not a pessimist. Why not? 
If you are, that's OK. I mean, it's not the case that 
everybody's happy, peppy, bubbly all the time. It's not the case 
that everybody walks around with smiles on their faces. It's not 
the case that everybody is a cup half full sort of a guy. It is 
the case that there are some among us that are half cup empty 
sorts of guys. And ASAPH certainly seems to 
be that kind of a fellow. I, of course, am right in the 
middle. I'm a medium. I'm not optimist or pessimist. 
I'm kidding. I probably am the half-empty sort of a guy, as 
my wife is probably going, yeah, yeah, for sure. But was Micah 
just an optimist? Did he just have that grit and 
determination? I doubt it. The just shall live 
by faith, not by optimism. Dale Ralph Davis, in a comment, 
not on Micah 7, but somewhere else, makes this observation. He says, with reference to the 
situation, it was in 1 Samuel 14, he says, the circumstances 
did not stimulate optimism, but this is not optimism, it is faith. Some people are naturally optimistic, 
they don't know any better, but faith can arise even when no 
reason for optimism exists. See, he doesn't live by optimism. He doesn't live by pessimism. He doesn't live by realism. He 
lives by faith in the Son of God who loved us and who gave 
himself for us. Thomas McCombsky says, to close 
one's eyes to the working of God, no matter how small the 
evidence may be, is to open the door to despair. In other words, 
Micah had that proper perspective in the midst of societal collapse. Where shall I go? It's like Jesus 
says to Peter, do you want to leave as well? Peter says, Lord, 
to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal 
life in John 6, 68. I think it was Luther who said, 
if he bears a sword at me, I'm still going to come to him. That's 
what faith does. And in the prophet, chapter 7 
of Micah, we see that faith looks to the God of our salvation. 
Verse 7. Faith understands that though 
that man may fall, he will by grace arise. Verse 8. Faith recognizes one's own sin 
and lays hold on God's forgiveness, according to verse 9. Faith knows 
there is vindication coming for the people of God. Verses 10 
to 13. And that keeps a bounce in his step. He knows that everything 
he sees presently isn't the end of the story. He knows that the 
enemies of God will ultimately meet their just end. Faith submits 
to the rule of God, verses 14 to 15. He doesn't cry out, shepherd 
us, but for the fact that he wants to submit to God most high. 
And faith particularly focuses on the being and perfections 
of God most high in verses 18 to 20. Again, McCombsky says, 
like a day that begins with a dark foreboding sky, but ends in golden 
sunlight. Look at the passage. Woe is me. And then he ends how he does. 
Woe is me, and then he ends on that rehearsal of the God of 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of infinite mercy and grace, 
the God whose compassions are new each day, the God who has 
the power and the love for his people that he will subdue their 
iniquity. So 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 in 
all of the Old Testament. Clouds of gloom have rolled in 
on the horizon of the prophet's life because of 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. While most of the chapter is 
written in the first person, a corporate concept begins in 
verse 8 that cannot be limited to that prophet alone. He starts 
with woe, he ends up in joy, and that because the just shall 
live by faith. That is what the prophets commend 
to us, that's what the psalmist commends to us, that's what the 
New Testament commends to us. So in the midst of chaos, trial, 
and despair, we walk by faith in the Son of God who loved us 
and who gave himself for us. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you so very much for what the prophet teaches 
us concerning who God is. And Lord, I pray that all of 
us would focus upon you, that all of us in our individual lives, 
and as families, and as a church, and workers, and as citizens 
in society, just give us that proper perspective to realize 
that what we see happening now isn't the end of the story, and 
that if it is, and Christ comes in glory to judge the living 
and the dead, we will be most blessed. We thank you for the 
glory of the gospel of our salvation. We thank you for our blessed 
savior and champion. And God, help us to extol him, 
help us to praise and glorify you, and help us to be faithful 
in this world. And we ask these things through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation.