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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>M I C A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. V.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter we have,
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I. A prediction of the troubles and distresses of the Jewish nation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:1">ver. 1</A>.
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II. A promise of the Messiah, and of his kingdom, to support the people
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of God in the day of these troubles.
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1. Of the birth of the Messiah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:2,3">ver. 2, 3</A>.
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2. Of his advancement,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:4">ver. 4</A>.
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3. Of his protection of his people, and his victory over his and their
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enemies,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:5,6">ver. 5, 6</A>.
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4. Of the great world by it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:7">ver. 7</A>.
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5. Of the destruction of the enemies of the church, both those without,
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that attack it, and those within, that expose it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:8-15">ver. 8-15</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Mic5_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mic5_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mic5_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mic5_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mic5_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mic5_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Abasement and Distress of Zion; Birth of the Messiah Predicted; The Glory of Messiah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD VALIGN=BOTTOM ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 720.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath
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laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with
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a rod upon the cheek.
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2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, <I>though</I> thou be little among
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the thousands of Judah, <I>yet</I> out of thee shall he come forth
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unto me <I>that is</I> to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth <I>have
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been</I> from of old, from everlasting.
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3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time <I>that</I> she
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which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his
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brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
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4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, in
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the majesty of the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> his God; and they shall
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abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
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5 And this <I>man</I> shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall
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come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then
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shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal
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men.
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6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and
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the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he
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deliver <I>us</I> from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and
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when he treadeth within our borders.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here, as before, we have,</P>
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<P>
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I. The abasement and distress of Zion,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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The Jewish nation, for many years before the captivity, dwindled, and
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fell into disgrace: <I>Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of
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troops!</I> It is either a summons to Zion's enemies, that had troops
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at their service, to come and do their worst against her (God will
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suffer them to do it), or a challenge to Zion's friends, that had
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troops too at command, to come and do their best for her; Let them
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<I>gather in troops,</I> yet it shall be to no purpose; for, says the
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prophet, in the name of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, <I>He has laid
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siege against us;</I> the king of Assyria has, the king of Babylon has,
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and we know not which way to defend ourselves; so that the enemies
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shall gain their point, and prevail so far as <I>to smite the judge of
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Israel</I>--the king, the chief justice, and the other inferior
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judges--<I>with a rod upon the cheek,</I> in contempt of them and their
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dignity; having made them prisoners, they shall use them as shamefully
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as any of the common captives. Complaint had been made of the judges of
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Israel
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+3:11"><I>ch.</I> iii. 11</A>)
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that they were corrupt and took bribes, and this disgrace came justly
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upon them for abusing their power; yet it was a great calamity to
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Israel to have their judges treated thus ignominiously. Some make this
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the reason why the troops (that is, the Roman army) shall lay siege to
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Jerusalem, because the Jews <I>shall smite the judge of Israel upon the
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cheek,</I> because of the indignities they shall do to the Messiah, the
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Judge of Israel, whom they smote on the cheek, saying, <I>Prophesy, who
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smote thee.</I> But the former sense seems more probable, and that it
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is meant of the besieging of Jerusalem, not by the Romans, but the
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Chaldeans, and was fulfilled in the indignities done to king Zedekiah
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and the princes of the house of David.</P>
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<P>
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II. The advancement of Zion's King. Having shown how low the house of
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David should be brought, and how vilely the shield of that mighty
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family should be cast away, as though it had not been anointed with
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oil, to encourage the faith of God's people, who might be tempted now
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to think that his covenant with David and his house was abrogated
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(according to the psalmist's complaint,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+89:38,39">Ps. lxxxix. 38, 39</A>),
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he adds an illustrious prediction of the Messiah and his kingdom, in
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whom that covenant should be established, and the honours of that house
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should be revived, advanced, and perpetuated. Now let us see,</P>
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<P>
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1. How the Messiah is here described. It is he that is to be <I>ruler
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in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from
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everlasting,</I> from the <I>days of eternity,</I> as the word is. Here
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we have,
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(1.) His existence from eternity, as God: <I>his goings forth,</I> or
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<I>emanations,</I> as the going forth of the beams from the sun, were,
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or have been, <I>of old, from everlasting,</I> which (says Dr. Pocock)
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is so signal a description of Christ's eternal generation, or his going
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forth as the Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, that
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this prophecy must belong only to him, and could never be verified of
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any other. It certainly speaks of a going forth that was now past, when
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the prophet spoke, and cannot but be read, as we read it, his
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<I>outgoings have been;</I> and the putting of both these words
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together, which severally are used to denote eternity, plainly shows
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that they must here be taken in the strictest sense (the same with
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+90:2">Ps. xc. 2</A>,
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<I>From everlasting to everlasting thou are God</I>), and can be
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applied to no other than to him who was able to say, <I>Before Abraham
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was, I am,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+8:58">John viii. 58</A>.
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Dr. Pocock observes that the <I>going forth</I> is used
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+8:3">Deut. viii. 3</A>)
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for a <I>word</I> which <I>proceeds out of the mouth,</I> and is
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therefore very fitly used to signify the eternal generation of him who
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is called the <I>Word of God,</I> that was <I>in the beginning with
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God,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+1:1,2">John i. 1, 2</A>.
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(2.) His office as Mediator; he was to be <I>ruler in Israel,</I> king
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of his church; he was to <I>reign over the house of Jacob for ever,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+1:32,33">Luke i. 32, 33</A>.
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The Jews object that our Lord Jesus could not be the Messiah, for he
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was so far from being ruler in Israel that Israel ruled over him, and
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put him to death, and would not have him to reign over them; but he
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answered that himself when he said, <I>My kingdom is not of this
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world,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+18:36">John xviii. 36</A>.
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And it is a spiritual Israel that he reigns over, the children of
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promise, all the followers of believing Abraham and praying Jacob. In
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the hearts of these he reigns by his Spirit and grace, and in the
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society of these by his word and ordinances. And was not he <I>ruler in
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Israel</I> whom winds and seas obeyed, to whom legions of devils were
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forced to submit, and who commanded away diseases from the sick and
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called the dead out of their graves? None but he whose <I>goings forth
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were from of old, from everlasting,</I> was fit to be <I>ruler in
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Israel,</I> to be head of the church, and <I>head over all things to
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the church.</I></P>
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<P>
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2. What is here foretold concerning him.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) That Bethlehem should be the place of his nativity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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This was the scripture which the scribes went upon when with the
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greatest assurance they told Herod <I>where Christ should be born</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:6">Matt. ii. 6</A>),
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and hence it was universally known among the Jews that
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<I>Christ should come out of the town of Bethlehem where David was,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+7:42">John vii. 42</A>.
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<I>Beth-lehem</I> signifies <I>the house of bread,</I> the fittest
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place for him to be born in who is <I>the bread of life.</I> And,
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because it was the city of David, by a special providence it was
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ordered that he should be born there who was to be the <I>Son of
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David,</I> and his heir and successor for ever. It is called
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<I>Bethlehem-Ephratah,</I> both names of the same city, as appears
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:19">Gen. xxxv. 19</A>.
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It was <I>little among the thousands of Judah,</I> not considerable
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either for the number of the inhabitants or the figure they made; it
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had nothing in it worthy to have this honour put upon it; but God in
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that, as in other instances, chose to <I>exalt those of low degree,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+1:52">Luke i. 52</A>.
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Christ would give honour to the place of his birth, and not derive
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honour from it: <I>Though thou be little,</I> yet this shall make thee
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great, and, as St. Matthew reads it, Thou <I>art not the least among
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the princes of Judah,</I> but upon this account art really honourable
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above any of them. A relation to Christ will magnify those that are
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little in the world.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) That in the fulness of time he should be born of a woman
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Therefore will he give them up;</I> he will give up his people
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Israel to distress and trouble, and will defer their salvation, which
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has been so long promised and expected, <I>until the time,</I> the set
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time, <I>that she who travails has brought forth,</I> or (as it should
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be read) <I>that she who shall bring forth shall have brought
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forth,</I> that the blessed virgin, who was to be the mother of the
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Messiah, shall have brought him forth at Bethlehem, the place
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appointed. This Dr. Pocock thinks to be the most genuine sense of the
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words. Though the out-goings of the Messiah were <I>from
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everlasting,</I> yet the <I>redemption in Jerusalem,</I> the
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<I>consolation of Israel,</I> must be <I>waited for</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+2:25-38">Luke ii. 25-38</A>)
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until the time that <I>she who should bring forth</I> (so the virgin
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Mary is called, as Christ is himself called, <I>He that shall come</I>)
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shall <I>bring forth;</I> and in the mean time <I>he will give them
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up.</I> Divine salvations must be waited for until the time fixed for
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the bringing of them forth.</P>
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<P>
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(3.) That <I>the remnant of his brethren shall then return to the
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children of Israel.</I> The remnant of the Jewish nation shall return
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to the spirit of the true genuine children of Israel, a people in
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covenant with God; the hearts of the children shall be turned to the
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fathers,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+4:6">Mal. iv. 6</A>.
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Some understand it of all believers, Gentiles as well as Jews; they
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shall all be incorporated into the commonwealth of Israel; and, as they
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are all brethren to one another, so <I>he is not ashamed to call them
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brethren,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+2:11">Heb. ii. 11</A>.</P>
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<P>
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(4.) That he shall be a glorious prince, and his subjects shall be
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happy under his government
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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<I>He shall stand and feed,</I> that is, he shall both teach and rule,
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and continue to do so, as a good shepherd, with wisdom, and care, and
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love. So it was foretold. <I>He shall feed his flock like a
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shepherd,</I> shall provide green pastures for them, and
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under-shepherds to lead them into these pastures. He is the <I>good
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shepherd</I> that <I>goes before the sheep,</I> and presides among
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them. He shall do this, not as an ordinary man, but <I>in the strength
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of the Lord,</I> as one clothed with a divine power to go through his
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work, and break through the difficulties in his way, so as not to
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<I>fail,</I> or be <I>discouraged;</I> he shall do it <I>in the majesty
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of the name of the Lord his God,</I> so as plainly to evidence that
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<I>God's name was in him</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+23:21">Exod. xxiii. 21</A>)
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the majesty of his name, for <I>he taught as one having authority and
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not as the scribes.</I> The prophets prefaced their messages with,
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<I>Thus saith the Lord;</I> but Christ spoke, not as a servant, but as
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a Son--<I>Verily, verily, I say unto you.</I> This was feeding <I>in
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the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. All power was given him in
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heaven and in earth,</I> a <I>power over all flesh,</I> by virtue of
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which he still rules <I>in the majesty of the name of the Lord his
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God,</I> a name above every name. Christ's government shall be,
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[1.] Very happy for his subjects, for <I>they shall abide;</I> they
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shall be safe and easy, and continue so for ever. <I>Because he lives,
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they shall live also.</I> They shall lie down in the green pastures to
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which he shall lead them, <I>shall abide in God's tabernacle for
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ever,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+61:4">Ps. lxi. 4</A>.
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His church shall abide, and he in it, and with it, always, even to the
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end of the world.
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[2.] It shall be very glorious to himself: <I>Now shall he be great to
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the ends of the earth.</I> Now that he stands and feeds his flock,
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<I>now shall he be great.</I> For Christ reckons it his greatness to do
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good. Now he shall be <I>great to the ends of the earth,</I> for the
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uttermost parts of the earth shall be given him for his possession, and
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the ends of the world shall see his salvation.</P>
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<P>
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(5) That he shall secure the peace and welfare of his church and people
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against all the attempts of his and their enemies
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>):
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<I>This man,</I> as king and ruler, <I>shall be the peace when the
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Assyrians shall come into our land.</I> This refers to the deliverance
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of Hezekiah and his kingdom from the power of Sennacherib, who invaded
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them, in the type; but, under the shadow of that, it is a promise of
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the safety of the gospel-church and of all believers from the designs
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and attempts of the powers of darkness, Satan and all his instruments,
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the dragon and his angels, that seek to devour the church of the
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first-born and all that belong to it. Observe,
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[1.] The peril and danger which Christ's subjects are supposed to be
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in. The Assyrian, a potent enemy, <I>comes into their land</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>),
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<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,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+36:1,37:3">Isa. xxxvi. 1; xxxvii. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+32:1,2">Isa. xxxii. 1, 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Mic5_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mic5_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mic5_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mic5_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mic5_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mic5_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mic5_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mic5_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mic5_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Increase of the Church; Encouraging Predictions.</I></FONT></TD>
|
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 720.</TD></TR>
|
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
|
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<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people
|
|
as a dew from the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, 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 L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, 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.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Glorious things are here spoken of <I>the remnant of Jacob,</I> that
|
|
remnant which was raised of <I>her that halted</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+4:7"><I>ch.</I> iv. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
and it seems to be that <I>remnant which the Lord our God shall
|
|
call</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+2:32">Joel ii. 32</A>),
|
|
|
|
on whom the Spirit shall be poured out, the remnant that shall be
|
|
saved,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+9:27">Rom. ix. 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
I. That they shall be <I>as a dew</I> in the midst of the nations,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
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,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+2:23">Hos. ii. 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+38:28">Job xxxviii. 28</A>.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+110:3">Ps. cx. 3</A>,
|
|
|
|
<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>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+32:2">Deut. xxxii. 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
and all about them shall <I>wait for them as for the rain,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+29:23">Job xxix. 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+72:6">Ps. lxxii. 6</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+10:4,5">2 Cor. x. 4, 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
They shall have <I>courage which all their adversaries shall not be
|
|
able to resist</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+21:15">Luke xxi. 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
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,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>,
|
|
|
|
<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
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+45:5">Ps. xlv. 5</A>)
|
|
|
|
and be happily conquered and subdued,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+110:2">Ps. cx. 2</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+2:6-8">Isa. ii. 6-8</A>.
|
|
|
|
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,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+9:10">Zech. ix. 10</A>,
|
|
|
|
<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
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+20:7">Ps. xx. 7</A>);
|
|
|
|
but now God will <I>cut off their horses,</I> and <I>destroy their
|
|
chariots</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
as <I>David houghed the chariot-horses,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+8:4">2 Sam. viii. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
|
|
|
|
<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
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<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,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+20:27">Lev. xx. 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
The preaching of the gospel brought men off from using curious arts,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+19:19">Acts xix. 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<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>"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
These were planted and preserved in honour of their idols, and used in
|
|
the worship of them; these they were ordered to burn
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+12:2,3">Deut. xii. 2, 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
<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>
|
|
|
|
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