mh_parser/vol_split/33 - Micah/Chapter 5.xml

<div2 id="Mic.vi" n="vi" next="Mic.vii" prev="Mic.v" progress="87.73%" title="Chapter V">
<h2 id="Mic.vi-p0.1">M I C A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Mic.vi-p0.2">CHAP. V.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Mic.vi-p1" shownumber="no">In this chapter we have, I. A prediction of the
troubles and distresses of the Jewish nation, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.1" parsed="|Mic|5|1|0|0" passage="Mic 5:1">ver. 1</scripRef>. II. A promise of the Messiah, and of
his kingdom, to support the people of God in the day of these
troubles. 1. Of the birth of the Messiah, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.2-Mic.5.3" parsed="|Mic|5|2|5|3" passage="Mic 5:2,3">ver. 2, 3</scripRef>. 2. Of his advancement, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.4" parsed="|Mic|5|4|0|0" passage="Mic 5:4">ver. 4</scripRef>. 3. Of his protection of his
people, and his victory over his and their enemies, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.5-Mic.5.6" parsed="|Mic|5|5|5|6" passage="Mic 5:5,6">ver. 5, 6</scripRef>. 4. Of the great world by
it, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.7" parsed="|Mic|5|7|0|0" passage="Mic 5:7">ver. 7</scripRef>. 5. Of the
destruction of the enemies of the church, both those without, that
attack it, and those within, that expose it, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.8-Mic.5.15" parsed="|Mic|5|8|5|15" passage="Mic 5:8-15">ver. 8-15</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Mic.vi-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5" parsed="|Mic|5|0|0|0" passage="Mic 5" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Mic.vi-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.1-Mic.5.6" parsed="|Mic|5|1|5|6" passage="Mic 5:1-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Mic.vi-p1.9">
<h4 id="Mic.vi-p1.10">The Abasement and Distress of Zion; Birth of
the Messiah Predicted; The Glory of Messiah. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Mic.vi-p1.11">b.
c.</span> 720.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Mic.vi-p2" shownumber="no">1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of
troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge
of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.   2 But thou, Bethlehem
Ephratah, <i>though</i> thou be little among the thousands of
Judah, <i>yet</i> out of thee shall he come forth unto me <i>that
is</i> to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth <i>have been</i>
from of old, from everlasting.   3 Therefore will he give them
up, until the time <i>that</i> she which travaileth hath brought
forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the
children of Israel.   4 And he shall stand and feed in the
strength of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mic.vi-p2.1">Lord</span>, in the majesty
of the name of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mic.vi-p2.2">Lord</span> his God; and
they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the
earth.   5 And this <i>man</i> shall be the peace, when the
Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our
palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight
principal men.   6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria
with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof:
thus shall he deliver <i>us</i> from the Assyrian, when he cometh
into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p3" shownumber="no">Here, as before, we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p4" shownumber="no">I. The abasement and distress of Zion,
<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.1" parsed="|Mic|5|1|0|0" passage="Mic 5:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. The Jewish
nation, for many years before the captivity, dwindled, and fell
into disgrace: <i>Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of
troops!</i> It is either a summons to Zion's enemies, that had
troops at their service, to come and do their worst against her
(God will suffer them to do it), or a challenge to Zion's friends,
that had troops too at command, to come and do their best for her;
Let them <i>gather in troops,</i> yet it shall be to no purpose;
for, says the prophet, in the name of the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
<i>He has laid siege against us;</i> the king of Assyria has, the
king of Babylon has, and we know not which way to defend ourselves;
so that the enemies shall gain their point, and prevail so far as
<i>to smite the judge of Israel</i>—the king, the chief justice,
and the other inferior judges—<i>with a rod upon the cheek,</i> in
contempt of them and their dignity; having made them prisoners,
they shall use them as shamefully as any of the common captives.
Complaint had been made of the judges of Israel (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Mic.3.11" parsed="|Mic|3|11|0|0" passage="Mic 3:11"><i>ch.</i> iii. 11</scripRef>) that they were corrupt
and took bribes, and this disgrace came justly upon them for
abusing their power; yet it was a great calamity to Israel to have
their judges treated thus ignominiously. Some make this the reason
why the troops (that is, the Roman army) shall lay siege to
Jerusalem, because the Jews <i>shall smite the judge of Israel upon
the cheek,</i> because of the indignities they shall do to the
Messiah, the Judge of Israel, whom they smote on the cheek, saying,
<i>Prophesy, who smote thee.</i> But the former sense seems more
probable, and that it is meant of the besieging of Jerusalem, not
by the Romans, but the Chaldeans, and was fulfilled in the
indignities done to king Zedekiah and the princes of the house of
David.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p5" shownumber="no">II. The advancement of Zion's King. Having
shown how low the house of David should be brought, and how vilely
the shield of that mighty family should be cast away, as though it
had not been anointed with oil, to encourage the faith of God's
people, who might be tempted now to think that his covenant with
David and his house was abrogated (according to the psalmist's
complaint, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.89.38-Ps.89.39" parsed="|Ps|89|38|89|39" passage="Ps 89:38,39">Ps. lxxxix. 38,
39</scripRef>), he adds an illustrious prediction of the Messiah
and his kingdom, in whom that covenant should be established, and
the honours of that house should be revived, advanced, and
perpetuated. Now let us see,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p6" shownumber="no">1. How the Messiah is here described. It is
he that is to be <i>ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been
from of old, from everlasting,</i> from the <i>days of
eternity,</i> as the word is. Here we have, (1.) His existence from
eternity, as God: <i>his goings forth,</i> or <i>emanations,</i> as
the going forth of the beams from the sun, were, or have been,
<i>of old, from everlasting,</i> which (says Dr. Pocock) is so
signal a description of Christ's eternal generation, or his going
forth as the Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds,
that this prophecy must belong only to him, and could never be
verified of any other. It certainly speaks of a going forth that
was now past, when the prophet spoke, and cannot but be read, as we
read it, his <i>outgoings have been;</i> and the putting of both
these words together, which severally are used to denote eternity,
plainly shows that they must here be taken in the strictest sense
(the same with <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.90.2" parsed="|Ps|90|2|0|0" passage="Ps 90:2">Ps. xc. 2</scripRef>,
<i>From everlasting to everlasting thou are God</i>), and can be
applied to no other than to him who was able to say, <i>Before
Abraham was, I am,</i> <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:John.8.58" parsed="|John|8|58|0|0" passage="Joh 8:58">John viii.
58</scripRef>. Dr. Pocock observes that the <i>going forth</i> is
used (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.8.3" parsed="|Deut|8|3|0|0" passage="De 8:3">Deut. viii. 3</scripRef>) for a
<i>word</i> which <i>proceeds out of the mouth,</i> and is
therefore very fitly used to signify the eternal generation of him
who is called the <i>Word of God,</i> that was <i>in the beginning
with God,</i> <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:John.1.1-John.1.2" parsed="|John|1|1|1|2" passage="Joh 1:1,2">John i. 1,
2</scripRef>. (2.) His office as Mediator; he was to be <i>ruler in
Israel,</i> king of his church; he was to <i>reign over the house
of Jacob for ever,</i> <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.32-Luke.1.33" parsed="|Luke|1|32|1|33" passage="Lu 1:32,33">Luke i. 32,
33</scripRef>. The Jews object that our Lord Jesus could not be the
Messiah, for he was so far from being ruler in Israel that Israel
ruled over him, and put him to death, and would not have him to
reign over them; but he answered that himself when he said, <i>My
kingdom is not of this world,</i> <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:John.18.36" parsed="|John|18|36|0|0" passage="Joh 18:36">John xviii. 36</scripRef>. And it is a spiritual Israel
that he reigns over, the children of promise, all the followers of
believing Abraham and praying Jacob. In the hearts of these he
reigns by his Spirit and grace, and in the society of these by his
word and ordinances. And was not he <i>ruler in Israel</i> whom
winds and seas obeyed, to whom legions of devils were forced to
submit, and who commanded away diseases from the sick and called
the dead out of their graves? None but he whose <i>goings forth
were from of old, from everlasting,</i> was fit to be <i>ruler in
Israel,</i> to be head of the church, and <i>head over all things
to the church.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p7" shownumber="no">2. What is here foretold concerning
him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p8" shownumber="no">(1.) That Bethlehem should be the place of
his nativity, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.2" parsed="|Mic|5|2|0|0" passage="Mic 5:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>.
This was the scripture which the scribes went upon when with the
greatest assurance they told Herod <i>where Christ should be
born</i> (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.2.6" parsed="|Matt|2|6|0|0" passage="Mt 2:6">Matt. ii. 6</scripRef>), and
hence it was universally known among the Jews that <i>Christ should
come out of the town of Bethlehem where David was,</i> <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:John.7.42" parsed="|John|7|42|0|0" passage="Joh 7:42">John vii. 42</scripRef>. <i>Beth-lehem</i>
signifies <i>the house of bread,</i> the fittest place for him to
be born in who is <i>the bread of life.</i> And, because it was the
city of David, by a special providence it was ordered that he
should be born there who was to be the <i>Son of David,</i> and his
heir and successor for ever. It is called
<i>Bethlehem-Ephratah,</i> both names of the same city, as appears
<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.19" parsed="|Gen|35|19|0|0" passage="Ge 35:19">Gen. xxxv. 19</scripRef>. It was
<i>little among the thousands of Judah,</i> not considerable either
for the number of the inhabitants or the figure they made; it had
nothing in it worthy to have this honour put upon it; but God in
that, as in other instances, chose to <i>exalt those of low
degree,</i> <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.52" parsed="|Luke|1|52|0|0" passage="Lu 1:52">Luke i. 52</scripRef>.
Christ would give honour to the place of his birth, and not derive
honour from it: <i>Though thou be little,</i> yet this shall make
thee great, and, as St. Matthew reads it, Thou <i>art not the least
among the princes of Judah,</i> but upon this account art really
honourable above any of them. A relation to Christ will magnify
those that are little in the world.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p9" shownumber="no">(2.) That in the fulness of time he should
be born of a woman (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.3" parsed="|Mic|5|3|0|0" passage="Mic 5:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>): <i>Therefore will he give them up;</i> he will give
up his people Israel to distress and trouble, and will defer their
salvation, which has been so long promised and expected, <i>until
the time,</i> the set time, <i>that she who travails has brought
forth,</i> or (as it should be read) <i>that she who shall bring
forth shall have brought forth,</i> that the blessed virgin, who
was to be the mother of the Messiah, shall have brought him forth
at Bethlehem, the place appointed. This Dr. Pocock thinks to be the
most genuine sense of the words. Though the out-goings of the
Messiah were <i>from everlasting,</i> yet the <i>redemption in
Jerusalem,</i> the <i>consolation of Israel,</i> must be <i>waited
for</i> (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.2.25-Luke.2.38" parsed="|Luke|2|25|2|38" passage="Lu 2:25-38">Luke ii. 25-38</scripRef>)
until the time that <i>she who should bring forth</i> (so the
virgin Mary is called, as Christ is himself called, <i>He that
shall come</i>) shall <i>bring forth;</i> and in the mean time
<i>he will give them up.</i> Divine salvations must be waited for
until the time fixed for the bringing of them forth.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p10" shownumber="no">(3.) That <i>the remnant of his brethren
shall then return to the children of Israel.</i> The remnant of the
Jewish nation shall return to the spirit of the true genuine
children of Israel, a people in covenant with God; the hearts of
the children shall be turned to the fathers, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Mal.4.6" parsed="|Mal|4|6|0|0" passage="Mal 4:6">Mal. iv. 6</scripRef>. Some understand it of all
believers, Gentiles as well as Jews; they shall all be incorporated
into the commonwealth of Israel; and, as they are all brethren to
one another, so <i>he is not ashamed to call them brethren,</i>
<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.2.11" parsed="|Heb|2|11|0|0" passage="Heb 2:11">Heb. ii. 11</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p11" shownumber="no">(4.) That he shall be a glorious prince,
and his subjects shall be happy under his government (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.4" parsed="|Mic|5|4|0|0" passage="Mic 5:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>He shall stand and
feed,</i> that is, he shall both teach and rule, and continue to do
so, as a good shepherd, with wisdom, and care, and love. So it was
foretold. <i>He shall feed his flock like a shepherd,</i> shall
provide green pastures for them, and under-shepherds to lead them
into these pastures. He is the <i>good shepherd</i> that <i>goes
before the sheep,</i> and presides among them. He shall do this,
not as an ordinary man, but <i>in the strength of the Lord,</i> as
one clothed with a divine power to go through his work, and break
through the difficulties in his way, so as not to <i>fail,</i> or
be <i>discouraged;</i> he shall do it <i>in the majesty of the name
of the Lord his God,</i> so as plainly to evidence that <i>God's
name was in him</i> (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.23.21" parsed="|Exod|23|21|0|0" passage="Ex 23:21">Exod. xxiii.
21</scripRef>) the majesty of his name, for <i>he taught as one
having authority and not as the scribes.</i> The prophets prefaced
their messages with, <i>Thus saith the Lord;</i> but Christ spoke,
not as a servant, but as a Son—<i>Verily, verily, I say unto
you.</i> This was feeding <i>in the majesty of the name of the Lord
his God. All power was given him in heaven and in earth,</i> a
<i>power over all flesh,</i> by virtue of which he still rules
<i>in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God,</i> a name above
every name. Christ's government shall be, [1.] Very happy for his
subjects, for <i>they shall abide;</i> they shall be safe and easy,
and continue so for ever. <i>Because he lives, they shall live
also.</i> They shall lie down in the green pastures to which he
shall lead them, <i>shall abide in God's tabernacle for ever,</i>
<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.61.4" parsed="|Ps|61|4|0|0" passage="Ps 61:4">Ps. lxi. 4</scripRef>. His church shall
abide, and he in it, and with it, always, even to the end of the
world. [2.] It shall be very glorious to himself: <i>Now shall he
be great to the ends of the earth.</i> Now that he stands and feeds
his flock, <i>now shall he be great.</i> For Christ reckons it his
greatness to do good. Now he shall be <i>great to the ends of the
earth,</i> for the uttermost parts of the earth shall be given him
for his possession, and the ends of the world shall see his
salvation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p12" shownumber="no">(5) That he shall secure the peace and
welfare of his church and people against all the attempts of his
and their enemies (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.5-Mic.5.6" parsed="|Mic|5|5|5|6" passage="Mic 5:5,6"><i>v.</i> 5,
6</scripRef>): <i>This man,</i> as king and ruler, <i>shall be the
peace when the Assyrians shall come into our land.</i> This refers
to the deliverance of Hezekiah and his kingdom from the power of
Sennacherib, who invaded them, in the type; but, under the shadow
of that, it is a promise of the safety of the gospel-church and of
all believers from the designs and attempts of the powers of
darkness, Satan and all his instruments, the dragon and his angels,
that seek to devour the church of the first-born and all that
belong to it. Observe, [1.] The peril and danger which Christ's
subjects are supposed to be in. The Assyrian, a potent enemy,
<i>comes into their land</i> (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.5-Mic.5.6" parsed="|Mic|5|5|5|6" passage="Mic 5:5,6"><i>v.</i> 5, 6</scripRef>), <i>treads within their
borders,</i> nay, prevails so far as to <i>tread in their
palaces;</i> it was a time of <i>treading down and of
perplexity</i> when Sennacherib made a descent upon Judah, took all
the defenced cities, and laid siege to Jerusalem, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.36.1 Bible:Isa.37.3" parsed="|Isa|36|1|0|0;|Isa|37|3|0|0" passage="Isa 36:1,37:3">Isa. xxxvi. 1; xxxvii. 3</scripRef>. This
represented the gates of hell fighting against the kingdom of
Christ, <i>encompassing the camp of the saints and of the holy
city,</i> and threatening to bear down all before them. When the
terrors of the law set themselves in array against a convinced
soul, when the temptations of Satan assault the people of God, and
the troubles of the world threaten to rob them of all their
comforts, then the <i>Assyrian comes into their land</i> and treads
in their palaces. <i>Without are fightings, within are fears.</i>
[2.] The protection and defence which his subjects are then sure to
be under. <i>First,</i> Christ will himself be <i>their peace.</i>
When the Assyrian comes with such a force into a land, can there be
any other peace than a tame submission and an unresisted
desolation? Yes, even then the church's King will be the
conservator of the church's peace, will be <i>for a
hiding-place,</i> <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.32.1-Isa.32.2" parsed="|Isa|32|1|32|2" passage="Isa 32:1,2">Isa. xxxii. 1,
2</scripRef>. Christ is our peace as a priest, making atonement for
sin, and reconciling us to God; and he is our peace as a king,
conquering our enemies and commanding down disquieting fears and
passions; he <i>creates the fruit of the lips, peace.</i> Even when
the Assyrian comes into the land, when we are in the greatest
distress and danger and have received a sentence of death within
ourselves, yet <i>this man may be the peace. In me,</i> says
Christ, <i>you shall have peace,</i> when <i>in the world you have
tribulation;</i> at such a time our souls may dwell at ease in him.
<i>Secondly,</i> He will find out proper instruments to be employed
for their protection and deliverance, and the defeat of their
enemies: <i>Then shall we raise against him seven shepherds and
eight principal men,</i> that is, a competent number of persons,
proper to oppose the enemy, and make head against him, and protect
the church of God in peace, men that shall have the care and
tenderness of shepherds and the courage and authority of
<i>principal men,</i> or <i>princes of men. Seven</i> and
<i>eight</i> are a certain number for an uncertain. Note, When God
has work to do he will not want fitting instruments to do it with;
and when he pleases he can do it by a few; he needs not raise
thousands, but seven or eight principal men may serve the turn if
God be with them. Magistrates and ministers are shepherds and
principal men, raised in defence of religion's righteous cause
against the powers of sin and Satan in the world. <i>Thirdly,</i>
The opposition given to the church shall be got over, and the
opposers brought down. This is represented by the laying of Assyria
and Chaldea waste, which two nations were the most formidable
enemies to the Israel of God of any, and the destruction of them
signified the making of Christ's enemies his footstool: <i>They
shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of
Nimrod in the entrances thereof;</i> they shall make inroads upon
the land, and put to the sword all that they find in arms. Note,
Those that threaten ruin to the church of God hasten ruin to
themselves; and their destruction is the church's salvation:
<i>Thus</i> shall he <i>deliver us from the Assyrian.</i> When
<i>Satan fell as lightning from heaven</i> before the preaching of
the gospel, and Christ's enemies, that would not have him to reign
over them, were <i>slain before him,</i> then this was
fulfilled.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Mic.vi-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.7-Mic.5.15" parsed="|Mic|5|7|5|15" passage="Mic 5:7-15" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Mic.vi-p12.6">
<h4 id="Mic.vi-p12.7">The Increase of the Church; Encouraging
Predictions. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Mic.vi-p12.8">b. c.</span> 720.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Mic.vi-p13" shownumber="no">7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst
of many people as a dew from the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mic.vi-p13.1">Lord</span>, as the showers upon the grass, that
tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.   8 And
the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of
many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young
lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both
treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.  
9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all
thine enemies shall be cut off.   10 And it shall come to pass
in that day, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Mic.vi-p13.2">Lord</span>, that I
will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will
destroy thy chariots:   11 And I will cut off the cities of
thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds:   12 And I will
cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no
<i>more</i> soothsayers:   13 Thy graven images also will I
cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou
shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.   14 And I will
pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy
cities.   15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury
upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p14" shownumber="no">Glorious things are here spoken of <i>the
remnant of Jacob,</i> that remnant which was raised of <i>her that
halted</i> (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Mic.4.7" parsed="|Mic|4|7|0|0" passage="Mic 4:7"><i>ch.</i> iv.
7</scripRef>), and it seems to be that <i>remnant which the Lord
our God shall call</i> (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Joel.2.32" parsed="|Joel|2|32|0|0" passage="Joe 2:32">Joel ii.
32</scripRef>), on whom the Spirit shall be poured out, the remnant
that shall be saved, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.9.27" parsed="|Rom|9|27|0|0" passage="Ro 9:27">Rom. ix.
27</scripRef>. Note, God's people are but a remnant, a small number
in comparison with the many that are left to perish, a <i>little
flock;</i> but they are <i>the remnant of Jacob,</i> a people in
covenant with God, and in his favour. Now concerning this remnant
it is here promised,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p15" shownumber="no">I. That they shall be <i>as a dew</i> in
the midst of the nations, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.7" parsed="|Mic|5|7|0|0" passage="Mic 5:7"><i>v.</i>
7</scripRef>. God's church is dispersed all the world over; it is
<i>in the midst of many people,</i> as gold in the ore, wheat in
the heap. Israel according to the flesh dwelt alone, and was not
numbered among the nations; but the spiritual Israel lies scattered
<i>in the midst of many people,</i> as the <i>salt of the
earth,</i> or as seed sown in the ground, here a grain and there a
grain, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Hos.2.23" parsed="|Hos|2|23|0|0" passage="Ho 2:23">Hos. ii. 23</scripRef>. Now this
remnant shall be <i>as dew from the Lord.</i> 1. They shall be of a
heavenly extraction; as <i>dew from the Lord,</i> who is the
<i>Father of the rain,</i> and has <i>begotten the drops of the
dew,</i> <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.38.28" parsed="|Job|38|28|0|0" passage="Job 38:28">Job xxxviii. 28</scripRef>.
They are <i>born from above,</i> and are not of the earth,
savouring the things of the earth. 2. They shall be numerous as the
drops of dew in a summer's morning. <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.110.3" parsed="|Ps|110|3|0|0" passage="Ps 110:3">Ps. cx. 3</scripRef>, <i>Thou hast the dew of thy
youth.</i> 3. They shall be pure and clear, not muddy and corrupt,
but crystal drops, as the <i>water of life.</i> 4. They shall be
produced silently and without noise, as the dew that distils
insensibly, we know not how; such is the way of the Spirit. 5. They
shall live in a continual dependence upon God, and be still
deriving from him, as the dew, which <i>tarries not for man,</i>
not <i>waits for the sons of men;</i> they shall not rely upon
human aids and powers, but on divine grace, for they are, and own
that they are, no more than what the free grace of God makes them
every day. 6. They shall be great blessings to those among whom
they live, as the dew and the showers are to the grass, to make it
grow without the help of man, or the sons of men. Their doctrine,
example, and prayers, shall make them as dew, to soften and moisten
others, and make them fruitful. Their speech shall <i>distil as the
dew</i> (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p15.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.32.2" parsed="|Deut|32|2|0|0" passage="De 32:2">Deut. xxxii. 2</scripRef>),
and all about them shall <i>wait for them as for the rain,</i>
<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p15.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.29.23" parsed="|Job|29|23|0|0" passage="Job 29:23">Job xxix. 23</scripRef>. The people
among whom they live shall be as the grass, which flourishes only
by the blessing of God, and not by the art and care of man; they
shall be beneficial to those about them by drawing down God's
blessings on them, as Jacob on Laban's house, and by cooling and
mitigating God's wrath, which otherwise would burn them up, as the
dew preserves the grass from being scorched by the sun; so Dr.
Pocock; they shall be mild and gentle in their behaviour, like
their Master, who comes down <i>like rain upon the new-mown
grass,</i> <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p15.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.72.6" parsed="|Ps|72|6|0|0" passage="Ps 72:6">Ps. lxxii. 6</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p16" shownumber="no">II. That they shall be <i>as a lion among
the beasts of the forest,</i> that <i>treads down and tears in
pieces,</i> <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.8" parsed="|Mic|5|8|0|0" passage="Mic 5:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. As
they shall be silent, and gentle, and communicative of all good, to
those that receive the truth in the love of it, so they shall be
bold as a lion in witnessing against the corruptions of the times
and places they live in, and strong as a lion, in the strength of
God, to resist and overcome their spiritual enemies. The <i>weapons
of their warfare are mighty, through God, to the pulling down of
strongholds,</i> <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.10.4-2Cor.10.5" parsed="|2Cor|10|4|10|5" passage="2Co 10:4,5">2 Cor. x. 4,
5</scripRef>. They shall have <i>courage which all their
adversaries shall not be able to resist</i> (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.21.15" parsed="|Luke|21|15|0|0" passage="Lu 21:15">Luke xxi. 15</scripRef>), as when the lion tears none
can deliver. When infidelity is silenced, and all iniquity made
<i>to stop her mouth,</i> when sinners are convinced and converted
by the power of the gospel, in the doctrine of its ministers and
the conversation of its professors, then the remnant of Jacob is
like a lion. This is explained, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.9" parsed="|Mic|5|9|0|0" passage="Mic 5:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>, <i>Thy hand shall be lifted up
upon thy adversaries;</i> the church shall have the upper hand at
last of all that oppose her. Her <i>enemies shall be cut off;</i>
they shall cease to be enemies; their enmity shall be cut off.
Christ's arrows of conviction shall be sharp in their hearts, so
that they shall fall under him; they shall yield themselves
subjects to him (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p16.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.45.5" parsed="|Ps|45|5|0|0" passage="Ps 45:5">Ps. xlv. 5</scripRef>)
and be happily conquered and subdued, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p16.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.110.2" parsed="|Ps|110|2|0|0" passage="Ps 110:2">Ps. cx. 2</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p17" shownumber="no">III. That they shall be brought off from
all carnal confidences, which they have relied on, that by the
providence of God they shall enjoy such a security that they shall
not need them, and by the grace of God they shall be brought to see
the folly of them and come off from them. It was the sin of Israel
that they furnished themselves extravagantly with <i>horses and
chariots,</i> and were <i>soothsayers</i> and <i>idolaters;</i> see
<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.6-Isa.2.8" parsed="|Isa|2|6|2|8" passage="Isa 2:6-8">Isa. ii. 6-8</scripRef>. But here it
is promised that they shall not regard them any more. The
tranquillity of the kingdom of Christ is intended in that promise,
which explains this, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.9.10" parsed="|Zech|9|10|0|0" passage="Zec 9:10">Zech. ix.
10</scripRef>, <i>I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the
horse from Jerusalem.</i> Note, It is a great mercy to be deprived
of those things in which we have reposed a confidence in
competition with God, which we have made our arm, and after which
we have gone a whoring from God. Let us observe the particulars:—
1. They had trusted in chariots and horses, and multiplied them
(<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.20.7" parsed="|Ps|20|7|0|0" passage="Ps 20:7">Ps. xx. 7</scripRef>); but now God
will <i>cut off their horses,</i> and <i>destroy their chariots</i>
(<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.10" parsed="|Mic|5|10|0|0" passage="Mic 5:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>), as <i>David
houghed the chariot-horses,</i> <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.8.4" parsed="|2Sam|8|4|0|0" passage="2Sa 8:4">2 Sam.
viii. 4</scripRef>. They shall not have them, lest they should be
tempted to trust in them. 2. They depended upon their strongholds,
and fortified cities, for their security; but God will take care
that they be demolished (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p17.6" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.11" parsed="|Mic|5|11|0|0" passage="Mic 5:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>): <i>I will cut off the cities of thy land;</i> I
will <i>throw down thy strongholds.</i> They shall have them for
habitations, but not for garrisons, for God will be their only
place of defence, their <i>high tower,</i> and <i>their
deliverer.</i> 3. Many of them depended much upon the conduct and
advice of their conjurors, diviners, and fortune-tellers; and those
God will cut off, not only as weak things, and insufficient to
relieve them, but as wicked things, and sufficient to ruin them
(<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p17.7" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.12" parsed="|Mic|5|12|0|0" passage="Mic 5:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>): "<i>I will
cut off witchcrafts out of thy hand,</i> that thou shalt no more
take hold of them, and stay thyself upon them, and <i>thou shalt
have no more soothsayers,</i> for thou shalt be convinced that all
their pretensions are a cheat." The justice of the nation shall cut
them off according to law, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p17.8" osisRef="Bible:Lev.20.27" parsed="|Lev|20|27|0|0" passage="Le 20:27">Lev. xx.
27</scripRef>. The preaching of the gospel brought men off from
using curious arts, <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p17.9" osisRef="Bible:Acts.19.19" parsed="|Acts|19|19|0|0" passage="Ac 19:19">Acts xix.
19</scripRef>. 4. Many of them had said to the work of their hands,
<i>You are our gods;</i> but now idolatry shall be abolished and
abandoned (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p17.10" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.13" parsed="|Mic|5|13|0|0" passage="Mic 5:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>):
"<i>Thy graven images will I cut off, and thy standing images,</i>
both those that were movable and those that were fixed; they shall
be destroyed by the power of the law of Moses and deserted by the
power of the gospel of Christ, so that <i>thou shalt no more
worship the work of thy hands,</i> but be ashamed that ever thou
hast been so deluded. Among other monuments of idolatry, <i>I will
pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee,</i>" <scripRef id="Mic.vi-p17.11" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.14" parsed="|Mic|5|14|0|0" passage="Mic 5:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. These were planted and
preserved in honour of their idols, and used in the worship of
them; these they were ordered to burn (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p17.12" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.2-Deut.12.3" parsed="|Deut|12|2|12|3" passage="De 12:2,3">Deut. xii. 2, 3</scripRef>), and, if they do not, God
will, so that they shall not have them to trust to. And so <i>will
I destroy their cities,</i> meaning the cities that were dedicated
to the idols, to some dunghill-deity or other, which they confided
in for their protection.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Mic.vi-p18" shownumber="no">IV. That those who stand it out against the
gospel of Christ, and continue in league with their idolatries and
witchcrafts, shall fall under the wrath of God, and be consumed by
it (<scripRef id="Mic.vi-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Mic.5.15" parsed="|Mic|5|15|0|0" passage="Mic 5:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>): <i>I
will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen</i> (that
is, upon heathenism), <i>such as they have not heard;</i>
idolatries shall be done away, and idolaters put to shame. I will
execute vengeance upon the heathen <i>who have not heard</i> (so
some read it), or who would not hear and receive the doctrine of
Christ. God will give his Son either the hearts or the necks of his
enemies, and make them either his friends or his footstool.</p>
</div></div2>