CRITICAL NOTES.
Micah 4:5. Name] i.e. profession, and in the strength of Jehovah (cf. 1 Samuel 17:45; Zechariah 10:12; Proverbs 18:10). Heathen gods can do nothing for them.
Micah 4:6. Halteth] Like sheep wearied in a journey. “Limping denotes the miserable condition into which the dispersed have been brought” (cf. Psalms 35:15; Psalms 38:18). [Keil]. This salvation will not fail, for all the miserable and scattered shall be assembled.
Micah 4:7. Reign] Expresses a perfect monarchy, as it never existed in present or past. “Micah does not mention the descendants of David here, but Jehovah himself, not to exclude the kingdom of David, but to show that God will prove that he was the author of that kingdom, and that all power is his. The prophet therefore indicates a certain difference here between that shadowy kingdom and the new kingdom which God will openly manifest at the advent of the Messiah” [Calvin].
Micah 4:8. Tower] Keeping up the metaphor from sheep, Jerusalem is the tower from which the king guards the flock. Messiah the Shepherd (chap. Micah 5:3); Israel the sheep (chap. Micah 7:14). Unto thee] Affirms more than to thee; expressing the conquest of every obstacle that blocks up the way to the goal [Keil].
HOMILETICS
CHRISTIANITY THE ONLY GUARANTEE FOB BETTER DAYS.—Micah 4:5
The prophet has just predicted a bright future for the Church. But Jehovah alone can bring it to pass. “For” idols are impotent, and those who worship them can do nothing. Christianity is the only hope of mankind. Human systems can never accomplish the work of God.
I. Ancient systems did not bring better days. What have the myths of Egypt, Persia, and India done? What did the religions of Greece and Rome accomplish? Many nations excelled in wealth, intelligence, and refinement, but were degraded in morals. Religion is always more potent than philosophy and culture. The latter can never affect the former. An inferior never changes the character of a superior power. Hence false religions become worse, gravitate to the centre of evil, and lose all influence to elevate and bless the world.
II. Modern systems cannot bring better days. If history and experience determine the fate of nations in the past; if Christianity has been the only power to cope with heathenism and eradicate evil, will the verdict for the future differ from the past? We may advance in commercial prosperity, education, and civilization, without improvement and elevation in morals. The religions of intellect and of emotion, of imagination and sentiment, the theories of philosophy and utility—which are the boast of the present day—will never abolish war and bring the anticipated millennium. In man we cannot trust. In systems half-human and half-divine we have no guarantee for the future. Our faith must stand not in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. With this we shall be safe, happy, and triumphant. God has promised, and will accomplish better days.
“’Tis coming on the hills of time.
And this old world is growing brighter;
We may not see its dawn sublime,
But high hopes make the heart throb lighter.”
THE ZEAL OF IDOLATERS AN INCENTIVE TO CHRISTIAN LIFE
We may take Micah 4:5 as a resolution of Jewish and Gentile converts to cling to God and walk in his ways, exciting themselves by the example and spirit of idolaters, who were zealous and pertinacious in their ungodly course.
I. Every one has a god. It is a trite but true saying that man will worship. If he does not love the true, he will a false god—an idol. Under the Gospel, and in heathen nations, idolatry is prevalent.
II. Every one makes a profession of his god. “Every one in the name of his god”—that is, under the law and in conformity to the will of his god.
1. It is an open profession. They are not afraid nor ashamed of their profession.
2. It is a consistent profession. They “walk” in the fear, and not against the authority, of their god. Their moral conduct does not contradict their religious faith.
3. It is a stedfast profession. They “will walk.” They were constant and persevering in their practice. They were determined not to forsake their worship; for a nation will seldom change its gods (Jeremiah 2:11).
4. It is a universal profession. For all will walk, “every one,” &c. Hence if these idolaters were so earnest and resolute, what should we do? says the prophet. Their ardour should kindle our indifference; their exactness shame our inconsistency; and their numbers provoke our efforts. Our confession and resolution should be, “We will walk in the name of the Lord our God.” This not occasionally, for since there is nothing unreasonable or wearying in this service, it should be “for ever and ever.”
THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST.—Micah 4:6-8
From the salvation promised even those that are scattered abroad and dwelling in misery will not be excluded. God will finally remove all impediments and bring his people together into one glorious and perpetual kingdom in Christ Jesus.
I. The seat of the kingdom. “The Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion.” Zion is the place from which the law went out (Micah 4:2), and a type of the Christian Church (Isaiah 40:9; Isaiah 52:7). Jerusalem was the special abode of Jehovah, the seat of theocratic government, and the centre of prescribed worship. The Church now is the Mount of God, for elevation and dignity. Here he deigns to dwell, to bless his people, and rule the world. “The city of the Great King.”
II. The subjects of the kingdom. Jew and Gentile, the distant and most degraded, will be gathered together. Persons that are despised and forgotten by human governments, the indigent, and the poor, will become citizens of the Great King.
1. The morally weak. “Her that halteth.” Men are spiritually tired, maimed, and disjointed. Moral halting had been the chief sin of Israel, serving God and Baal (1 Kings 18:21). Men halt, hesitate, and counterfeit in God’s service now.
2. The hopelessly scattered. “Her that is driven out.” Jews carried away by force, and Gentiles led by dumb idols (1 Corinthians 12:2). All that are dispersed like a flock from the fold of God. “I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out” (Zephaniah 3:16).
3. The grievously distressed. “Her that I have afflicted.” Men are not merely driven out from God, but are sick and afflicted in body and mind. When God afflicts them they are specially dear to him. All grievances shall be redressed, and all distempers healed. “I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick” (Ezekiel 34:13-16).
III. The glory of the kingdom. The glory of the theocracy was obscured by the sins of kings and priests. Earthly monarchies decay and undergo eclipse; but the glory of this kingdom excelleth.
1. It will be dignified. The kingdom will come to the Church with a glory exceeding “even the first dominion.” It will shine with a greater lustre than the reigns of David and Solomon.
2. It will be strong. “A strong nation.” (a) Strong in numbers. The remnant scattered and depressed shall be restored and multiplied, like the stars of heaven or the sands on the sea-shore. (b) Strong in victory. It will no more be subdued by petty monarchs or neighbouring confederacies. But its strength is not human might, temporal greatness; but strong in spiritual warfare, in faith, and achievements. “A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation.”
3. It will be perpetual. The Lord shall reign over them, “even for ever.” The valour and strength of David, the honour and wisdom of Solomon, were but shadows of this kingdom. The King eternal is not subject to mortality, nor exposed to danger. The glory of the Church and the height of its felicity are the constant presence and prerogatives of Christ Jesus. “The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Micah 4:5. Contrasts in worship.
1. Men of the world reject God.
2. Men of the world worship their own god.
3. But Christians are determined to love and serve Jehovah. That which is the scandal to the world, to them is a motive to firmness and to union. There are different persuasions in the world, let us be true and cleave together in the right way. “We will walk in the name of the Lord.”
Micah 4:6-8. The flock of Christ.
1. The flock in a state of helplessness. Halt, scattered, and afflicted.
2. The flock gathered together by the Good Shepherd. Gathered by providence and found by grace.
3. The flock defended. From the “tower of the flock,” they are—
(1) inspected;
(2) environed;
(3) shielded. The Church is designed to be a defence and tower of spiritual strength. “At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered together unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem.”
Micah 4:7. The Lord shall reign. As King, he—
1. Of rebels makes them subjects, willing to be ruled by him.
2. He preserves them in that privilege by his Spirit.
3. He gives them laws far better than those of the twelve tables in Rome, which yet far exceeded (saith Cicero) all the learned libraries of the philosophers in worth and weight.
4. He sweetly inclineth their wills to yield universal obedience thereunto, and to cross themselves so they may please him.
5. He rewards them with comfort and peace here, and with life eternal hereafter.
6. He destroys all the enemies of his Church, and then, at last, delivers up the kingdom to his Father (1 Corinthians 15:24); not his essential kingdom as God, but his economical kingdom as mediator [Trapp].
Micah 4:8. The world is a field, the Church a fold in that field; and a strong fold (strong as a tower), yea, a stronghold; Ophel, as it is styled in the next words; and that of the daughter of Zion, that is, of the Christian Church, the inviolable security whereof is here noted [Ibid.].
Come and arrive. He twice repeats the assurance, in equivalent words, for their fuller assurance, “to make the good tidings the gladder by repeating and enforcing them” [Pusey].
Micah 4:1-8. The kingdom of God.
1. Its central point: the glorified and exalted Zion, the source of the statutes and revelations; and through grace, the ancient, chosen seat of God’s dominion.
2. Its citizens: those who how towards it thirsting for righteousness, longing for salvation.
3. Its order: God’s law and God’s peace (Micah 4:3).
4. Its blessedness: rest, security, prosperity (Micah 4:4).
5. Its duration: eternal, like God himself (Micah 4:5) [Lange].