Holy Bible

Micah 4:1-5 The moral grandeur of the Christian Church J. L. Adamson. The gift of prophecy would have been to its possessor a source of the most exquisite misery if it had been restricted only to the dark passages of human history. But the future had a bright side as well as a dark, and it was as cheering to contemplate the former as it was dismal to apprehend the latter. As the sorrows of the prophets were greater, their joys also were higher than those of ordinary mere In the chapter immediately preceding the text the prophet had announced the future desolation of Zion and Jerusalem. The sins of her priests and princes, he foresaw, would attain such a height of aggravation that the very day itself would, in a manner, be dark over them. But as in the ashes of winter the husbandman can read the glories of spring, the prophetic eye could discern in the ruin of one city the establishment of another more glorious by far. Seine goes on to expatiate with rapture on the glory that was to follow. By "last days" are meant the times of the Messiah, or, in other words, the Christian era. The meaning is, that the Christian dispensation would be the last of all, and that no other economy would be after it. It was an economy that was to last until the end of time. In these "last days" it is foretold by the prophet that "the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills." In a mountainous region, among the multitude of hills that rise one above another in sublimity and grandeur, there is generally one that proudly and preeminently lifts its head above them all. It is seen from a greater distance than any of the others, and towers in glorious majesty over the heights which are allied to it. Under this bold and significant image, the prophet exhibits to us the moral grandeur and elevation of the Christian Church. It was, like the loftiest of mountains in an extensive range, to be visible from afar. A house, or temple, was to be reared on its summit. The Christian religion would surpass every other in majesty, and look down triumphantly on every other system of worship. This prophecy is fulfilled in part. Where is there a creed or system of theology that can compare with it? In the Gospel there is prominence, there is attractiveness, there is conspicuity. The hill of Calvary is more illustrious than the mountains of any land. He who was lifted up there, draws towards Him the eyes of many nations. The language of the prophet implies that, before this mountain could be exalted, there must be a shaking of the hills around. The prediction is to receive its full and perfect accomplishment in days still future — in, if we may so speak, the latest of the last days. Then indeed shall the mountain of the Lord's house rise sublimely above all the hills. There is reason, too, for believing, that just as at the first propagation of the Gospel, so likewise at its universal diffusion, there shall be a series of great and momentous changes in the political world. The great battle of contending principles must be fought out — the old warfare between sense and spirit must be renewed — and a period of intense misery must precede the final adjustment of the question. Nevertheless, truth which is mighty must prevail. At the close of the first verse the prophet intimates the triumph of the Gospel, and the immense number of its converts. "People shall flow unto it." The metaphor signifies that the triumph of the Gospel would be sure and certain, though it looked like a physical impossibility. The nations of the earth are not only compared to a river, but to a river flowing upward. To a certain extent this part of the prophecy has already been accomplished. The success of the Gospel hitherto in the world has been like the flowing of a river up a hill. Nothing, humanly speaking, could have been pronounced more improbable than the conversion of the nations to Christianity. It is the religion of purity; and the hearts of men are naturally unclean. It is the religion of benevolence and peace; but the spirit that is in men lusteth to envy. It is the religion of principle; and the heart of man is naturally disposed to content itself with forms. It were a curious enough question whether the age in which we ourselves live is an approximation to that glorious period of which the prophet speaks. But we dare not with certainty affirm it. While we rejoice in the symptoms of good, it becomes us, before pronouncing a positive judgment on the matter, to tremble at so many prognostications of evil. We may take warning against any fanatical use of this doctrine. The passage is not to be understood literally. The very terms of it intimate as much. The ultimate establishment of Messiah's throne will not interfere with the forms and modes of earthly government. There will be liberty and equality and fraternity. It will not be the grossly misnamed liberty, equality, and fraternity of infidel and republican France. It will be a liberty, not from the salutary restraints of government, but from Satan and the tyranny of evil passions. An equality, not of spoil, plunder, and substance, but of principle and unity of spirit. A fraternisation, not of robbery, under the mask of communism, but of love and generosity, and of men preferring one another in honour. ( J. L. Adamson. ) A vision of the latter-day glories The prophets frequently described what they saw with spiritual eyes after the form or fashion of something which could be seen by the eye of nature. The Church will be like a high mountain, for she will be preeminently conspicuous. I believe that at this period the thoughts of men are more engaged upon the religion of Christ than upon any other. The Christian religion has become more conspicuous now than ever it was. The Church will become awful and venerable in her grandeur. There is something awfully grand in a mountain, but how much more so in such a mountain as is described in our text, which is to be exalted above all hills, and above all the highest mountains of the earth. Now the Church is despised; the infidel barketh at her. But the day shall come when the Cross shall command universal homage. The day is coming when the Church shall have absolute supremacy. Now she has to fight for her existence. The day is coming when she shall be so mighty that there shall be nought left to compete with her. Here is the meaning of the text, the Church growing and rising up till she becomes conspicuous, venerable, and supreme. But how is this to be done? Three things will ensure the growth of the Church. 1. The individual exertion of every Christian. We shall indeed see something more than natural agency, but this is to contribute to it. 2. The Church has within her a living influence. This must expand and grow. 3. The great hope of the Church is the second advent of Christ. When He shall come, then shall the mountain of the Lord's house be exalted above the hills. We know not when Jesus may come. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) The established Church John Cumming, A. M. Such is the established Church predicted in ancient prophecy. Compare the similar prophecy in Isaiah 2. In the chapter immediately preceding this passage God denounces the severest and most unsparing judgments upon a guilty people. The text is couched in the language of promise. In order to cheer those on whom God was about to pour many and merited judgments, He gives them — not a precept, which would only depress them; not another threatening, for that might overwhelm them; not an invitation, for that they might not be able to obey — but a promise, causing the future to unbosom rays of light for the comfort of the present. From this prophecy, see that the last days of the Gospel are predicted as the brightest. Divisions and discords have been the history of the visible Church from its cradle downwards to the present hour. Notice the epithet. The Church of Christ is here called "a mountain." This symbol is taken from the fact that the sacred site of the temple at Jerusalem was a mountain — Mount Moriah. It suggests that the Church of Christ shall be exalted above all the obstructions or impediments of the world; principalities and powers bending before it. Notwithstanding then all the difficulties, discords, divisions, heresies, Schisms, errors, misconstruction, and misapprehensions that prevail amid the Church of God, not one of them is retarding in the least degree the ultimate and glorious outburst. The Church is beautifully and suitably symbolised by a mountain. A mountain is a fixed and stable thing. In Scripture strength and stability are represented by mountains. A mountain most suitably represents the varied climacterics of the Church of Christ, from this circumstance, that it is sometimes covered with clouds, and thereby involved in darkness, and swept by the hurricane, while at other times it basks and spreads its bosom before the uninterrupted and meridian sunbeams. This is precisely the history of the Church. A mountain is a place of safety or retreat. The true Church becomes a place of retreat, in which there is found the Rock of Ages, and the shadow of those wings beneath which there is safety. A mountain is a source of streams and rivulets. The dews descend from heaven upon it; those dews collect into streams, which irrigate and refresh the valley below. The Church of Christ is the great preserver of the earth. A mountain is the spot, standing on which we can see to the greatest distance. In this is shadowed one of the great functions which the Church of Christ is meant to discharge, namely, to enable the believer to see the Sun of Righteousness more clearly and distinctly. A mountain was selected in the ancient economy for those who sounded the trumpet of jubilee. And the "acceptable year of the Lord" ought to be proclaimed in the pulpits of every true and apostolic Church. It is predicted that this mountain "shall be established in the top of the mountains." "Establishment" is not to be understood as popularly applied to certain modern Churches. The passage does not mean that the Church is established or built upon Peter. There cannot be two foundations. If Christ be the foundation, there can be no room for another; whatever comes next must be laid upon the foundation, and must be part of the superstructure, and not the foundation. The Church is established on Christ, the Rock of Ages. This is a tried foundation. It is Called "precious." It is called a living rock, and the cornerstone. This foundation is an everlasting foundation. ( John Cumming, A. M. ) A missionary discourse Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons. II. A DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH. Such phrases as "the mountain of the Lord's house," and "Zion," signify, in such connection as this, the Church of God. The visible Church has, from "the beginning, always had an existence; but its boundaries have generally been very limited, and its situation has often been very obscure. But the Church shall be conspicuous to all; as on the top of the mountains. She shall be exalted above the hills. And philosophy, idolatry, superstition, and errors, shall no longer obstruct her view, or obscure her glory. And she shall be established. She has been tossed about by Commotions. One day she shall be no longer oppressed by persecutions, or disturbed by the arm of human power. II. A DISPOSITION IN ALL TOWARDS THE CHURCH. "All nations shall flow into it." Their movements shall he characterised by friendly cooperation. By a definite and sacred object. By proper intentions and correct views. By right dispositions. By confidence in the excellency of the Divine instructions. III. THE BLESSINGS RESULTING FROM THESE CIRCUMSTANCES. Taught from above, then, nations generally will own the authority of God, acknowledge His right to judge, and submit to His laws. IV. THE PERIOD OF THESE GREAT EVENTS, "In the last days." The Church of God has had her days; and these days have been somewhat commensurate with the progress of time, and with the limited or more extended population of the earth. Day of patriarchal Church was a day of small things. But patriarchs and prophets spoke of another day, of other days, which they called the "last days." Evidently the prophet referred to the days of the Gospel. Improvement — 1. Let our spirits be cheered though so few have hitherto embraced real Christianity. 2. We may well be excited to renewed exertions in rendering Divine truth conspicuous to all. 3. Let this prospect call forth the gratitude of all who already participate in the blessings of redemption. ( Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons. ) The law of the Spirit William R. Clark, M. A. Pentecost is the culminating point of Divine revelation. This great event is the focus of all prophecy. The text is not exhausted in its reference to Israel, but stretches forward to the renovation of mankind in the Church by the Holy Ghost. I. THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT IS AN UNIVERSAL LAW. Adapted to all men, in all circumstances, and in all times. Because it is the announcing of eternal principles, accompanied with Divine power to enforce them. II. HENCE ITS PREEMINENCE OVER ALL LAWS. It absorbs and expresses the truth of all other laws. All nations recognise it as something higher, deeper, more complete than their previous revelation or religion. III. MARK ITS EFFECTS. 1. In judgment (ver. 3). It is the conviction of right and wrong, good and evil. It is the conviction that right will be maintained and vindicated, and wrong put down. This must be the foundation of all real moral and spiritual life. 2. In producing obedience (ver. 2). Not mere conviction, but submission. 3. In working love. The real root of obedience. Leading men to mutual respect, and to a care for each other's good. 4. In producing safety and security, This can never be fully attained by mere external law and restrictive measures. The best laws will be obeyed only when men's hearts are in harmony with their requirements. The true way to safety is by the spirit of love and mutual consideration. The great lesson of Pentecost is this, — When love is universal, discord of acts and words and purpose will cease. ( William R. Clark, M. A. ) The promise of God regarding. His Church Joseph Parker, D. D. The sin of the Church had necessitated frequent denunciations and words of warning on the part of God. He had been speaking very tempestuously to His people; He now exhibits the gentler aspects of His character. There is a pause — a calm after tempest; and the sweet birds of promise troop forth with their notes of peace and gladness. I. THE CHURCH'S HOPE. "In the last days." etc. Who can interpret these words? Not the man of mere dates. The world has not seen its brightest day yet. The light is still struggling — not meridian glory. This world has a rich promise hidden in its heart, like the snow drops of winter — anticipatory of spring. Death is now in the majority. It shall not always be so. The Church, like youth, lives in hope — of brighter days to come — of what it is to be. Thou livest in the infinitive mood! II. THE CHURCH'S REVIVAL. "And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain. of the Lord...and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths," etc. (vers. 2, 3). Then shall the Church illustrate the fulness of meaning contained in the Saviour's words: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Souls shall be enfranchised, and know the liberty of infinitude, etc. III. THE CHURCH'S SECURITY. "They shall sit every man under his vine, and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid" (ver. 4). The history of human progress has been written in fear. "For fear of the Jews" the disciples had to move about cautiously, and assemble in quiet and concealed places. Not until "the doors were shut" could they worship with any sense of security. And through all subsequent ages the history of religious progress has thus been illustrated. In the fastnesses of the wilderness and fissures of the rocks, the low murmurings of sacred song have been heard by God alone, "for fear" of the persecuting hand; as in the days of the Covenanters, Lollards, and others. But behold, the days come — "the last days" — when doors shall be no longer shut, when bolts shall be all withdrawn, every gate thrown wide open, and no barrier intervene between the soul and its perfected liberty. IV. THE IMPROBABILITY OF ALL THIS. Looked at in the light of the present state of the world, this bright perspective is a dream — an extravaganza — insanity's wild vision. Look at the corruption of the world; look at a Church dying of doctrine; and see whether such a future be probable. Apart from "the Word of the Lord "it is not; but the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it" (ver. 4). What are the improbabilities of a frozen river, or field, in winter? Shall the waters ever flow again, or the field wave its ears of corn again? Yes. What is the guarantee? "The mouth of the Lord" that says: "seed time and harvest, summer and winter, shall not cease." The text speaks of a life flowing upwards "all people shall flow unto it" — to the "top of the mountains." Who ever heard of water flowing upwards, or fire burning downwards? You say to one unacquainted with electricity: "I can send a message to a friend in India, and get an answer in the course of an hour or two." "How utterly absurd," is the reply. There are laws that defy gravitation; a life sublimer than science, and more eloquent than music. Sceptical science says: "This thing cannot be." Faith says: "It shall be, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." ( Joseph Parker, D. D. ) The Gospel age Homilist. The "last days" means the times of the Messiah. I. THE TRUE RELIGION ON THE GOSPEL AGE WILL BECOME A GREAT POWER. The temple was the greatest thing in the religion of the Jews; it was the "mountain" in their scenery. The true religion is to become a mountain. The true religion, where it exists, is the biggest thing. It is either everything or nothing. II. THE TRUE RELIGION OF THE GOSPEL AGE WILL BECOME UNIVERSALLY ATTRACTIVE. "And people shall flow unto it." "This is a figurative expression, denoting that they shall be converted to the true religion. It indicates that they shall come in multitudes, like the flowing of a mighty river. The idea of the flowing of the nation, as of the movement of many people towards an object like a broad stream on the tides of the ocean, is one that is very grand and sublime" (Barnes). In this period the social element will be brought into full play in connection with true religion, 1. They will study its laws, in order to obey them. "He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths." 2. They will study its laws at the fountain head. "For the law shall go forth of Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem." III. THE TRUE RELIGION OF THE GOSPEL AGE WILL BECOME POWERFUL TO TERMINATE ALL WARS. 1. Here is the destruction of war. "Beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks." 2. Here is the establishment of peace. "Shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree." Most incredible must this prediction have been to the men of Micah's time; but it will be accomplished, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. If He has spoken it and it does not come to pass, it must be for one of three reasons — (1) Insincerity; which cannot be entertained. (2) Change of purpose; which is equally inadmissible. (3) Unexpected difficulties; which is an absurdity when applied to Omniscience. ( Homilist. ) Mountain top religion A. Maclaren, D. D. The true way to conquer temptations is not to fight them in detail, but to go up into a loftier region where they cease to be temptations. How is it that grown men do not like the sweetmeats that used to tempt them when they were children? They have outgrown them. Then outgrow the temptations of the world! How is it that there are no mosquitoes nor malaria on the mountain tops? They cannot rise above the level of the swamps by the river. Go up to the mountain top, and neither malaria nor mosquito will follow you, — which, being interpreted, is, live near Jesus Christ and keep your hearts and minds occupied with Him, and you will dwell in a region high above the temptations which buzz and sting, which infest and slay on the lower levels. ( A. Maclaren, D. D. ) The Saviour's kingdom Monday Club Sermons. The world has always had its dreams of a Golden Age. A better state of things than that which exists, has been felt to be not only possible, but normal, and so men have reasoned that what ought to be, either has been in the old time, or will be in the new. Either as a memory or a hope, this idea has done much to reconcile men to the confusion and contradictions of life. To the vagueness and mist of that human dream Scripture gives the sharpness and substance of fact. It speaks with positiveness. The Golden Age has not passed. Humanity is on the way to the realisation of its long hope. The Scripture idea, however, differs from the human in the importance which it attaches to the spiritual element. The transformations in society, which must precede the ushering in of the golden age, are moral, not material. Betterment of laws, advance in knowledge, multiplication of industrial arts, increase of wealth — these things cannot transfigure humanity. It is the established and recognised sovereignty of Christ and His truth on which the desired blessed ness depends. It is important to emphasise this truth at the present time, when religion is depreciated in the popular estimate. There is a prevalent idea that it is weak and on the wane. It has recently been said that "fifty years hence no one will go to church except for culture." Note that the function of religion is not limited to the regeneration of a single man. It works through the individual, upon the organic life of the race. And it employs varied methods. Sometimes it sparks on the surface of history; sometimes it works out of sight. There is a river in Kentucky that, after unrolling its silver thread through leagues of verdant meadows, suddenly disappears. The earth swallows it up. But though lost to view, its flow is not checked. It channels its way through the hidden rocks; it hollows out the vast halls and the glittering galleries of the Mammoth Cave. It springs the arches of that grandest of cathedrals, and inlays the rocky roof with stars, after the pattern of the heavens. The sculpture of the silent waters outstrips the skill of human artists. The weird and the beautiful, the quaint and the sublime are clustered in groupings, whose impressiveness is eloquent of the wonder workings of the Divine hand. So Christ's religion has its epochs of disappearance from the surface of life. But it works nevertheless, works persistently, works mightily. Divine truth never comes to a standstill. In sight, or out of sight it is forever busy. Standing at the easement of prospect, let us note some of the glories of the coming kingdom. 1. The acknowledged supremacy of the Christian Church (ver. 1). 2. A universal desire to know and obey the truth (vers. 1, 2). Till now, religious truth has had to be carried to men and pressed upon their attention. 3. An adjustment of international relations on the basis of righteousness (ver. 3). The two forces which men have always used for the regulation of international affairs, are diplomacy and war. The cunning of intrigue or the edge of the sword is employed to untangle or cut every knot of dispute. By and by righteousness shall be both the basis and substance of the international code. 4. Safety of life and property secured by individual piety (vers. 4, 5). One principal office of organised society is to surround with safeguards the individual man. Barbarism is every man for himself; communism is the rule of the caprice or frenzy of a mob; civilisation is the effort of all for the good of each; and yet the efficient agent in these widely diverse types of society is the same, — brute force. In the coming kingdom individual character is to be the security of society. 5. The elimination of the elements of weakness in society (vers. 6, 7). What is to be done with the dependent and dangerous classes? What society cannot do, God can, and by and by He will. The value of such an outlook as has been now attempted is incalculable. It gives men the inspiration of a great expectation; composure of mind in the midst of discouragements; and the true ideal of life. This blessed consummation, whether near or far off, is not so near but what it needs our help; it is not so far off but what we can make ourselves felt as a force in it. We need to clothe our selves in workman's garments, not in the ascension robes of those who sit down and dream about the second advent. ( Monday Club Sermons. ) The golden age J. H. Jowett, M. A. "But in the latter days it shall come to pass" The prophet lifts his eyes away to the latter days to gain refreshment in his present toil. He feasts his soul upon the golden age which is to be, in order that he may serve himself in his immediate service. Without the anticipation of a golden age he would lose his buoyancy, and the spirit of endeavour would go out of his work. Our visions always determine the quality of our tasks. Our dominant thought regulates our activities. What pattern am I working by? What golden age have I in my mind? What do I see as the possible consummation of my labours? There is your child at home. You are ministering to him in your daily attention and service. What is your pattern in the mind? What sort of a man do you see in your boy? How would you fill up this imperfect phrase concerning him, "In the latter days it shall come to pass"? Have you ever painted his possibilities? If you have no clear golden age for the boy your training will be un certain, your discipline will be a guesswork and a chance. Our vision of possibilities helps to shape the actuality. There is the scholar in the school. When a teacher goes to his class, be it of boys or girls, what kind of men or women has he in his eye? Surely we do not go to work among our children in blind and good humoured chance? We are the architects and builders of their characters, and we must have some completed conception even before we begin our work. I suppose the architect sees the finished building in his eye even before he takes a pencil in his hand, and certainly long before the pick and the spade touch the virgin soil. That boy who gives the teacher so much trouble, restless, indifferent, bursting with animal vitality, how is he depicted as man in your chamber of imagery? Do you only see him as he is? Little, then, will be your influence to make him what he might be. Let me assume that your work is among the outcasts. When you go to court and alley, or to the elegant house in the favoured suburb, and find men and women, sunk in animalism, trailing the robes of human dignity in unamiable mire, how do you see them with the eyes of the soul? "In the latter days it shall come to pass..." What? To the eye of sense they are filthy, offensive, repellant. What like are their faces, and what sort of robes do they wear in the vision of the soul? Are we dealing with the "might-be" or only with the thing that is? Sir Titus Salt was pacing the docks at Liverpool and saw great quantities of dirty, waste material lying in unregarded heaps. He looked at the unpromising substance, and in the mind's eye saw finished fabrics and warm and welcome garments; and ere long the power of the imagination devised ministeries for converting the outcast stuff into refined and finished robes. We must look at all our waste material in human life and see the vision of the "might-be." Surely this was the Master's way! He is always calling the thing that is by the name of its "might-be." "Thou art Simon," a mere hearer; "Thou shalt be called Peter," a rock. To the woman of sin, the outcast child of the city, He addressed the gracious word "daughter," and spoke to her as if she were already a child of the golden age; her weary heart leapt to the welcome speech. And so we have got to come to our work with visions of the latter days. I am not surprised, therefore, that all great reformers and all men and women who have profoundly influenced the life and thought of their day have been visionaries, having a clear sight of things as they might be, feeling the cheery glow of the light and heat of the golden age. In the latter days the spiritual is to have emphasis above pleasure, money, armaments. In whatever prominence these may be seen, they are all to be subordinate to the reverence and worship of God. Military prowess and money making and pleasure seeking are to be put in their own place, and not to be permitted to leave it. First things first! In the beginning God." This is the first characteristic of the golden age. "And many nations shall come and say: Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths." Then the second characteristic of the golden age is that people are to find their confluence and unity in common worship. The brotherhood is to be discovered in spiritual communion. We are not to find profound community upon the river of pleasure or in the ways of business or in the armaments of the castle. These are never permanently cohesive. Pleasure is more frequently divisive than cohesive. No, it is in the mountain of the Lord's house the peoples will discover their unity and kinship. It is in the common worship of the one Lord. "And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks." Then the third characteristic of the golden age is to be the conversion of merely destructive force into positive and constructive ministries. No energy is to be destroyed; it is all to be transfigured. The sword is to become a ploughshare; the weapon of destruction an implement of culture. After the Franco-German war many of the cannon balls were remade into church bells. One of our manufacturers in Birmingham told me only a week ago that he was busy turning the empty bases of the shells used in the recent war into dinner gongs! That is the suggestion we seek in the golden age: all destructive forces are to be changed into helpful ministries. Tongues that speak nothing but malice are to be turned into instructors of wisdom. All men's gifts and powers and all material forces are to be used in the employment of the kingdom of God. "They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree." There is to be a distribution of comforts. Life's monotony is to be broken up. Sweet and winsome things are to be brought into the common life. Dinginess and want are both to be banished. There is to be a little beauty for everybody, something of the vine and the fig tree. There is to be a little ease for everybody, time to sit down and rest. To every mortal man there is to be given a little treasure, a little leisure, and a little pleasure. "And none shall make them afraid." And they are not only to have comfort, but the added glory of peace. The gift of the vine and fig tree would be nothing if peace remained an exile. And now mark the beautiful final touches in this prophet's dream: "I will assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out and her that is afflicted." They are all to be found in God's family. "Her that halteth," the child of "ifs" and "buts" and fears and indecision, she shall lose her halting and obtain a firm and confident step. "And her that is driven out," the child of exile, the self-banished son or daughter, the outcast by reason of sin; they shall all be home again. "He gathereth together the outcasts." And along with these there is to come "her that is afflicted," the child of sorrows. The day of grief is to be ended, mourning shall be the thing of the preparatory day which is over; "He shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. ( J. H. Jowett, M. A. ) He will teach us of His ways Gaining knowledge of God E. B. Pusey, D. D. They do not go to God because they know Him, but that they may know Him. They are drawn by a mighty impulse towards Him. Howsoever attracted, they come, not making bargains with God what they should be taught, that He should reveal to them nothing transcending reason, nothing exceeding or contradicting their notions of God; they do not come with reserves, that God should not take away this or that error, or should not disclose anything of His incomprehensibleness. They co

Benson Commentary Micah 4:1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. Micah 4:1-5 . In the last days it shall come to pass, &c., — The first three of these verses are the same as Isaiah 2:2-4 , where see the notes. They evidently “contain a prophecy which was to be fulfilled by the coming of the Messiah; when the [believing] Gentiles were to be admitted into covenant with God, and the apostles were to preach the gospel, beginning at Jerusalem; when Christ was to be the spiritual Judge and King of many people, was to convince many nations of their errors and vices, and was to found a religion which had the strongest tendency to promote peace.” — Newcome. They shall sit every man under his vine, &c. — This shall be the effect of that peace foretold in the foregoing verse, every man shall securely enjoy his own possessions, and the fruits of his labours. The expressions are figurative, signifying a state of uninterrupted tranquillity. All people will walk every one in the name of his god — It is the practice of all people to serve their gods, and to be attached to the religion of their forefathers, though false and absurd. And surely it much more becomes us to cleave steadfastly to the service of the true God, and not to disobey his laws or forsake his ordinances, as we have too often done. This prophecy will be remarkably fulfilled at the time of the general conversion of the Jews, as has been observed in the notes on the parallel place in Isaiah. Micah 4:2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Micah 4:3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Micah 4:4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it . Micah 4:5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever. Micah 4:6 In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; Micah 4:6-7 . In that day — At that time; will I assemble her that halteth — Or, her that is weak, or bowed down; namely, the Jewish people, weakened with the hard usage of oppressing conquerors. And I will gather her that is driven out — Captive Judah, driven out from their own land. And her that I have afflicted — That I have subjected to great calamities. The calamity of the seventy years’ captivity in Babylon seems to be chiefly referred to: as if he had said, “Though I have broken the power of my people, removed them into captivity afar off, and afflicted them; yet will I restore them to their country, I will send them the Messiah, and will be always their king.” I will make her that halted a remnant — A part of them shall be preserved, as a seed which shall take root and increase, which shall continue to the coming of the Messiah, and in which the designs of my providence shall be accomplished. Micah 4:7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. Micah 4:8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. Micah 4:8 . And thou, O tower of the flock — Or, of Eder, as Archbishop Newcome and many others translate the word, considering it as a proper name; a tower in or near Beth-lehem; see Genesis 35:21 . Or, as some think, a tower near the sheep-gate in Jerusalem, ( Nehemiah 3:1 ; Nehemiah 3:32 ,) put here for the whole city. The word signifies a flock; the strong hold of the daughter of Zion — Hebrew, Ophel, a strong fort. Both expressions seem to be put for the whole city. Unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion — This was intended to signify the great honour coming to mount Zion, that the former dominion, the government, after seventy years’ captivity, should return to the former royal family, the house of David, and continue in it till Shilo came. This, in the type, was fulfilled after the restoration of the Jews to their own land under Zerubbabel and his successors; but the whole antitype concerns the Messiah’s kingdom. Micah 4:9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counseller perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. Micah 4:9-10 . Now — Now I have promised such great things to you, why dost thou cry out aloud — As a woman in the anguish of her travail? Here the Jewish people are addressed, as bewailing themselves under the miseries of their captivity. Is there no king in thee? — Thou hast lost the king Zedekiah, but thy God, thy king, is with thee. Is thy counsellor perished? — Hast thou none among thy wise counsellors left? Yet the Wonderful Counsellor is with thee. Messiah, the wisdom of the Father, hath the conduct of thy sufferings, deliverance, and re-establishment. For pangs hath taken thee as a woman in travail — This may be understood of the time when Zedekiah and his counsellors were seized by the Chaldeans. Be in pain, and labour to bring forth — Be like a woman in her pangs; bow thyself down, and show all the signs of excessive pain, for there is a sufficient cause. For now shalt thou go forth out of the city, &c. — Thou shalt not only have troubles, sorrows, and dangers, in the wars against the Babylonians; but shortly thou shalt be driven out from thy city and country, and have no habitation of thy own, but be forced to dwell in a foreign land. The Jews’ captivity is expressed thus, because their city and temple being destroyed, they should live in an obscure state. The same condition is elsewhere expressed by their living in the wilderness, Ezekiel 20:35 . And thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered — Thou shalt be carried away, even as far as Babylon; but there, where, according to all human probability, and the expectations of thine enemies, thou mayest seem to be cut off from all relief, even there shalt thou be delivered: — such is the power, and lovingkindness, and faithfulness of Jehovah thy God. Micah 4:10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. Micah 4:11 Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. Micah 4:11-12 . Now also — The time is at hand; many nations are gathered against thee — This may be understood of the Chaldeans and their associates, who pleased themselves with the thoughts of profaning the temple, laying waste the city of Jerusalem, and looking upon it in that condition. Or, it may be understood of the heathen nations round about Jerusalem, who should take occasion to insult the Jews in their calamity, should please themselves with seeing the temple profaned, and should gratify their spite with viewing Jerusalem in a forlorn condition. To look upon an enemy, signifies, in Scripture phrase, to behold his fall with delight. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord — But while they act in such a manner, and take pleasure in insulting over thee in thy calamitous condition, they are altogether ignorant of God’s designs in permitting this, and what is soon to follow, namely, that he will gather them as sheaves into the floor, to be trodden under foot, and broken in pieces, while he will deliver and restore to their own land his people, whose miseries these their enemies now please themselves with the thoughts of beholding. Micah 4:12 But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. Micah 4:13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. Micah 4:13 . Arise and thrash, O daughter of Zion — The daughter of Zion means the Jewish people, whose power and victory over their enemies are here foretold. The expressions made use of are figurative, alluding to the manner of separating the corn from the chaff in Judea, which was done chiefly by treading it with the feet of oxen. The purport of the passage is, that the Jews are here called upon to arise and tread down their enemies. For I will make thy horn iron, and thy hoofs brass — Thou shalt be enabled to do this with ease and safety. And thou shalt beat in pieces — Or, shalt bruise, many people — This might be spoken of the victories which the Jewish people, some time after their return, were to gain over the neighbouring nations, especially under the Maccabees and their successors. But the prophecy does not appear to have had a full accomplishment in these victories: nor has any event yet occurred in the history of the Jewish people which fully answers to it. This consideration has induced some commentators to expound the passage in a spiritual sense, namely, of bringing the Gentiles into subjection to Christ and his gospel, and of the victory which the Christian Church should obtain over her persecuting enemies after the conversion of the Roman emperor Constantine to the faith of Christ. Thus Dr. Pocock, Lowth, and many others understand it. The nations thought to have ruined Christianity in its infancy, but it proved victorious over them; those that persisted in their enmity were broken to pieces, Matthew 21:44 ; particularly the Jewish nation: but multitudes, by divine grace, were gained to the church, and, as is signified in the next clause, they and their substance were consecrated to the Lord Jesus, the Lord of the whole earth. We have reason to believe, however, that this prophecy will have a still more eminent and evident accomplishment, when all the enemies of the church shall be subdued, and the saints reigning with Christ shall have complete power over the nations, and shall rule the refractory with a rod of iron, Revelation 2:26-27 : compare this text with Micah 5:8-15 of this prophecy, and with Isaiah 14:2 ; Isaiah 41:15 ; Isaiah 60:12 ; Isaiah 61:5 ; on which places see the notes. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Micah 4:1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. ON TIME’S HORIZON Micah 4:1-7 THE immediate prospect of Zion’s desolation which closes chapter 3 is followed in the opening of chapter 4 by an ideal picture of her exaltation and supremacy "in the issue of the days." We can hardly doubt that this arrangement has been made of purpose, nor can we deny that it is natural and artistic. Whether it be due to Micah himself, or Whether he wrote the second passage, are questions we have already discussed. Like so many others of their kind, they cannot be answered with certainty, far less with dogmatism. But I repeat, I see no conclusive reason for denying either to the circumstances of Micah’s times or to the principles of their prophecy the possibility of such a hope as inspires Micah 4:1-4 . Remember how the prophets of the eighth century identified Jehovah with supreme and universal righteousness; remember how Amos explicitly condemned the aggravations of war and slavery among the heathen as sins against Him, and how Isaiah claimed the future gains of Tyrian commerce as gifts for His sanctuary; remember how Amos heard His voice come forth from Jerusalem, and Isaiah counted upon the eternal inviolateness of His shrine and city, -and you will not think it impossible for a third Judean prophet of that age, whether he was Micah or another, to have drawn the prospect of Jerusalem which now opens before us. It is the far-off horizon of time, which, like the spatial horizon, always seems a fixed and eternal line, but as constantly shifts with the shifting of our standpoint or elevation. Every prophet has his own vision of "the latter days"; seldom is that prospect the same. Determined by the circumstances of the seer, by the desires these prompt or only partially fulfill, it changes from age to age. The ideal is always shaped by the real, and in this vision of the eighth century there is no exception. This is not any of the ideals of later ages, when the evil was the oppression of the Lord’s people by foreign armies or their scattering in exile; it is not, in contrast to these, the spectacle of the armies of the Lord of Hosts imbrued in the blood of the heathen, or of the columns of returning captives filling all the narrow roads to Jerusalem, "like streams in the south"; nor, again, is it a nation of priests gathering about a rebuilt temple and a restored ritual. But because the pain of the greatest minds of the eighth century was the contradiction between faith in the God of Zion as Universal Righteousness and the experience that, nevertheless, Zion had absolutely no influence upon surrounding nations, this vision shows a day when Zion’s influence will be as great as her right, and from far and wide the nations whom Amos has condemned for their transgressions against Jehovah will acknowledge His law, and be drawn to Jerusalem to learn of Him. Observe that nothing is said of Israel going forth to teach the nations the law of the Lord. That is the ideal of a later age, when Jews were scattered across the world. Here, in conformity with the experience of a still unraveled people, we see the Gentiles drawing in upon the Mountain of the House of the Lord. With the same lofty impartiality which distinguishes the oracles of Amos on the heathen, the prophet takes no account of their enmity to Israel; nor is there any talk-such as later generations were almost forced by the hostility of neighboring tribes to indulge in-of politically subduing them to the king in Zion. Jehovah will arbitrate between them, and the result shall be the institution of a great peace, with no special political privilege to Israel, unless this be understood in Micah 4:5 , which speaks of such security to life as was impossible, at that time at least, in all borderlands of Israel. But among the heathen themselves there will be a resting from war: the factions and ferocities of that wild Semitic world, which Amos so vividly characterised, shall cease. In all this there is nothing beyond the possibility of suggestion by the circumstances of the eighth century or by the spirit of its prophecy. A prophet speaks:- "And it shall come to pass in the issue of the days, That the Mount of the House of Jehovah shall be established on the tops of the mountains, And lifted shall it be above the hills, And peoples shall flow to it," "And many nations shall go and say: "Come, and let us up to the Mount of Jehovah, And to the House of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us of His ways, And we will walk in His paths.’ For from Zion goeth forth the law, And the word of Jehovah from out of Jerusalem! And He shall judge between many peoples," "And decide for strong nations far and wide; And they shall hammer their swords into plough shares, And their spears into pruning-hooks: They shall not lift up, nation against nation, a sword, And they shall not any more learn war. Every man shall dwell under his vine And under his fig-tree, And none shall make afraid; For the mouth of Jehovah of Hosts has spoken." What connection this last verse is intended to have with the preceding is not quite obvious. It may mean that every family among the Gentiles shall dwell in peace; or, as suggested above, that with the voluntary disarming of the surrounding heathendom, Israel herself shall dwell secure, in no fear of border raids and slave-hunting expeditions, with which especially Micah’s Shephelah and other borderlands were familiar. The verse does not occur in Isaiah’s quotation of the three which precede it. We can scarcely suppose, fain though we may be to do so, that Micah added the verse in order to exhibit the future correction of the evils he has been deploring in chapter 3: the insecurity of the householder in Israel before the unscrupulous land-grabbing of the wealthy. Such are not the evils from which this passage prophesies redemption. It deals only, like the first oracles of Amos, with the relentlessness and ferocity of the heathen under Jehovah’s arbitrament these shall be at peace, and whether among themselves or in Israel, hitherto so exposed to their raids, men shall dwell in unalarmed possession of their houses and fields. Security from war, not from social tyranny, is what is promised. The following verse ( Micah 4:5 ) gives in a curious way the contrast of the present to that future in which all men will own the sway of one God. "For" at the present time "all the nations are walking each in the name of his God, but we go in the name of Jehovah forever and aye." To which vision, complete in itself, there has been added by another hand, of what date we cannot tell, a further effect of God’s blessed influence. To peace among men shall be added healing and redemption, the ingathering of the outcast and the care of the crippled. "In that day-‘tis the oracle of Jehovah-I will gather the halt, And the cast-off I will bring in, and all that I have afflicted; And I will make the halt for a Remnant, And her that was weakened into a strong people, And Jehovah shall reign over them In the Mount of Zion from now and forever." Whatever be the origin of the separate oracles which compose this passage Micah 4:1-7 , they form as they now stand a beautiful whole, rising from Peace through Freedom to Love. They begin with obedience to God and they culminate in the most glorious service which God or man may undertake, the service of saving the lost. See how the Divine spiral ascends. We have, first, Religion the center and origin of all, compelling the attention of men by its historical evidence of justice and righteousness. We have the world’s willingness to learn of it. We have the results in the widening brotherhood of nations, in universal Peace, in Labor freed from War, and with none of her resources absorbed by the conscriptions and armaments which in our times are deemed necessary for enforcing peace. We have the universal diffusion and security of Property, the prosperity and safety of the humblest home. And, finally, we have this free strength and wealth inspired by the example of God Himself to nourish the broken and to gather in the forwandered. Such is the ideal world, seen and promised two thousand five hundred years ago, out of as real an experience of human sin and failure as ever mankind awoke to. Are we nearer the Vision today, or does it still hang upon time’s horizon, that line which seems so stable from every seer’s point of view, but which moves from the generations as fast as they travel to it? So far from this being so, there is much in the Vision that is not only nearer us than it was to the Hebrew prophets, and not only abreast of us, but actually achieved and behind us, as we live and strive still onward. Yes, brothers, actually behind us! History has in part fulfilled the promised influence of religion upon the nations. The Unity of God has been owned, and the civilized peoples bow to the standards of justice and of mercy first revealed from Mount Zion. "Many nations" and "powerful nations" acknowledge the arbitrament of the God of the Bible. We have had revealed that High Fatherhood of which every family in heaven and earth is named; and wherever that is believed the brotherhood of men is confessed. We have seen Sin, that profound discord in man and estrangement from God, of which all human hatreds and malices are the fruit, atoned for and reconciled by a Sacrifice in face of which human pride and passion stand abashed. The first part of the Vision is fulfilled. "The nations stream to the God of Jerusalem and His Christ." And though today our Peace be but a paradox, and the "Christian" nations stand still from war not in love, but in fear of one another, there are in every nation an increasing number of men and women, with growing influence, who, without being fanatics for peace, or blind to the fact that war may be a people’s duty in fulfillment of its own destiny or in relief of the enslaved, do yet keep themselves from foolish forms of patriotism, and by their recognition of each other across all national differences make sudden and unconsidered war more and more of an impossibility. I write this in the sound of that call to stand upon arms which broke like thunder upon our Christmas peace; but, amid all the ignoble jealousies and hot rashness which prevail, how the air, burned clean by that first electric discharge, has filled with the determination that war shall not happen in the interests of mere wealth or at the caprice of a tyrant! God help us to use this peace for the last ideals of His prophet! May we see, not that of which our modern peace has been far too full, mere freedom for the wealth of the few to increase at the expense of the mass of mankind. May our Peace mean the gradual disarmament of the nations, the increase of labor, the diffusion of property, and, above all, the redemption of the waste of the people and the recovery of our outcasts. Without this, peace is no peace; and better were war to burn out by its fierce fires those evil humors of our secure comfort, which render us insensible to the needy and the fallen at our side. Without the redemptive forces at work which Christ brought to earth, peace is no peace; and the cruelties of war, that slay and mutilate so many, are as nothing to the cruelties of a peace which leaves us insensible to the outcasts and the perishing, of whom there are so many even in our civilization. One application of the prophecy may be made at this moment. We are told by those who know best and have most responsibility in the matter that an ancient Church and people of Christ are being left a prey to the wrath of an infidel tyrant, not because Christendom is without strength to compel him to deliver, but because to use the strength, would be to imperil the peace, of Christendom. It is an ignoble peace which cannot use the forces of redemption, and with the cry of Armenia in our ears the Unity of Europe is but a mockery. Micah 4:8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. THE KING TO COME Micah 4:8 - Micah 5:1-15 WHEN a people has to be purged of long injustice, when some high aim of liberty or of order has to be won, it is remarkable how often the drama of revolution passes through three acts. There is first the period of criticism and of vision, in which men feel discontent, dream of new things, and put their hopes into systems: it seems then as if-the future were to come of itself. But often a catastrophe, relevant or irrelevant, ensues: the visions pale before a vast conflagration, and poet, philosopher, and prophet disappear under the feet of a mad mob of wreckers. Yet this is often the greatest period of all, for somewhere in the midst of it a strong character is forming, and men, by the very anarchy, are being taught, in preparation for him, the indispensableness of obedience and loyalty. With their chastened minds he achieves the third act, and fulfills all of the early vision that God’s ordeal by fire has proved worthy to survive. Thus history, when distraught, rallies again upon the Man. To this law the prophets of Israel only gradually gave expression. We find no trace of it among the earliest of them; and in the essential faith of all there was much which predisposed them against the conviction of its necessity. For, on the one hand, the seers were so filled with the inherent truth and inevitableness of their visions, that they described these as if already realised; there was no room for a great figure to rise before the future, for with a rush the future was upon them. On the other hand, it was ever a principle of prophecy that God is able to dispense with human aid. "In presence of the Divine omnipotence all secondary causes, all interposition on the part of the creature, fall away." The more striking is it that before long the prophets should have begun, not only to look for a Man, but to paint him as the central figure of their hopes. In Hosea, who has no such promise, we already see the instinct at work. The age of revolution which he describes is cursed by its want of men: there is no great leader of the people sent from God; those who come to the front are the creatures of faction and party; there is no king from God. How different it had been in the great days of old, when God had ever worked for Israel through some man-a Moses, a Gideon, a Samuel, but especially a David. Thus memory, equally with the present dearth of personalities, prompted to a great desire, and with passion Israel waited for a Man. The hope of the mother for her firstborn, the pride of the father in his son, the eagerness of the woman for her lover, the devotion of the slave to his liberator, the enthusiasm of soldiers for their captain-unite these noblest affections of the human heart, and you shall yet fail to reach the passion and the glory with which prophecy looked for the King to Come. Each age, of course, expected him in the qualities of power and character needed for its own troubles, and the ideal changed from glory unto glory. From valor and victory in war, it became peace and good government, care for the poor and the oppressed, sympathy with the sufferings of the whole people, but especially of the righteous among them, with fidelity to the truth delivered unto the fathers, and, finally, a conscience for the people’s sin, a bearing of their punishment and a travail, for their spiritual redemption. But all these qualities and functions were gathered upon an individual-a Victor, a King, a Prophet, a Martyr, a Servant of the Lord. Micah stands among the first, if he is not the very first, who thus focused the hopes of Israel upon a great Redeemer; and his promise of Him shares all the characteristics just described. In his book it lies next a number of brief oracles with which we are unable to trace its immediate connection. They differ from it in style and rhythm: they are in verse, while it seems to be in prose. They do not appear to have been uttered along with it. But they reflect the troubles out of which the Hero is expected to emerge, and the deliverance which He shall accomplish, though at first they picture the latter without any hint of Himself. They apparently describe an invasion which is actually in course, rather than one which is near and inevitable; and if so they can only date from Sennacherib’s campaign against Judah in 701 B.C. Jerusalem is in siege, standing alone in the land, like one of those solitary towers with folds round them which were built here and there upon the border pastures of Israel for defense of the flock against the raiders of the desert. The prophet sees the possibility of Zion’s capitulation, but the people shall leave her only for their deliverance elsewhere. Many are gathered against her, but he sees them as sheaves upon the floor for Zion to thresh. This oracle ( Micah 4:11-13 ) cannot, of course, have been uttered at the same time as the previous one, but there is no reason why the same prophet should not have uttered both at different periods. Isaiah had prospects of the fate of Jerusalem which differ quite as much. Once more ( Micah 5:1 ) the blockade is established. Israel’s ruler is helpless, "smitten on the cheek by the foe." It is to this last picture that the promise of the Deliverer is attached. The prophet speaks:- "But thou, O Tower of the Flock, Hill of the daughter of Zion, To thee shall arrive the former rule, And the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Zion. Now wherefore criest thou so loud? Is there no king in thee, or is thy counselor perished, That throes have seized thee like a woman in childbirth? Quiver and writhe, daughter of Zion, like one in childbirth: For now must thou forth from the city, And encamp on the field (and come unto Babel); There shalt thou be rescued, There shall Jehovah redeem thee from the hand of thy foes"! "And now gather against thee many nations, that say, ‘Let her be violate, that our eyes may fasten on Zion! But they know not the plans of Jehovah, Nor understand they His counsel, For He hath gathered them in like sheaves to the floor. Up and thresh, O daughter of Zion For thy horns will I turn into iron, And thy hoofs will I turn into brass; And thou will beat down many nations, And devote to Jehovah their spoil, And their wealth to the Lord of all earth". "Now press thyself together, thou daughter of pressure: The foe hath set a wall around us, With a rod they smite on the cheek Israel’s regent! But thou, Beth-Ephrath, smallest among the thousands of Judah, From thee unto Me shall come forth the Ruler to be in Israel! Yea, of old are His goings forth, from the days of long ago! Therefore shall He suffer them till the time that one bearing shall have born. (Then the rest of His brethren shall return with the children of Israel.) And He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of Jehovah, In the pride of the name of His God. And they shall abide! For now is He great to the ends of the earth. And Such a One shall be our Peace." Bethlehem was the birthplace of David, but when Micah says that the Deliverer shall emerge from her he does not only mean what Isaiah affirms by his promise of a rod from the stock of Jesse, that the King to Come shall spring from the one great dynasty in Judah. Micah means rather to emphasize the rustic and popular origin of the Messiah, "too small to be among the thousands of Judah." David, the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, was a dearer figure than Solomon son of David the King. He impressed the people’s imagination, because he had sprung from themselves, and in his lifetime had been the popular rival of an unlovable despot. Micah himself was the prophet of the country as distinct from the capital, of the peasants as against the rich who oppressed them. When, therefore, he fixed upon Bethlehem as the Messiah’s birthplace, he doubtless desired, without departing from the orthodox hope in the Davidic dynasty, to throw round its new representative those associations which had so endeared to the people their father-monarch. The shepherds of Judah, that strong source of undefiled life from which the fortunes of the state and prophecy itself had ever been recuperated, should again send forth salvation. Had not Micah already declared that, after the overthrow of the capital and the rulers, the glory of Israel should come to Adullam, where of old David had gathered its soiled and scattered fragments? We may conceive how such a promise would affect the crushed peasants for whom Micah wrote. A Savior, who was one of themselves, not born up there in the capital, foster-brother of the very nobles who oppressed them, but born among the people, sharer of their toils and of their wrongs!-it would bring hope to every broken heart among the disinherited poor of Israel. Yet meantime, be it observed, this was a promise, not for the peasants only, but for the whole people. In the present danger of the nation the class disputes are forgotten, and the hopes of Israel gather upon their Hero for a common deliverance from the foreign foe. "Such a One shall be our peace." But in the peace He is "to stand and shepherd His flock," conspicuous and watchful. The country folk knew what such a figure meant to themselves for security and weal on the land of their fathers. Heretofore their rulers had not been shepherds, but thieves and robbers. We can imagine the contrast which such a vision must have offered to the fancies of the false prophets. What were they beside this? Deity descending in fire and thunder, with all the other features of the ancient Theophanies that had now become much cant in the mouths of mercenary traditionalists. Besides those, how sane was this how footed upon the earth, how practical, how popular in the best sense! We see, then, the value of Micah’s prophecy for his own day. Has it also any value for ours-especially in that aspect of it which must have appealed to the hearts of those for whom chiefly Micah arose? Is it wise to paint the Messiah, to paint Christ, so much a workingman? Is it not much more to our purpose to remember the general fact of His humanity, by which He is able to be Priest and Brother to all classes, high and low, rich and poor, the noble and the peasant alike? Is not the Man of Sorrows a much wider name than the Man of Labor? Let us answer these questions. The value of such a prophecy of Christ lies in the correctives which it supplies to the Christian apocalypse and theology. Both of these have raised Christ to a throne too far above the actual circumstance of His earthly ministry and the theatre of His eternal sympathies. Whether enthroned in the praises of Heaven, or by scholasticism relegated to an ideal and abstract humanity, Christ is lifted away from touch with the common people. But His lowly origin was a fact. He sprang from the most democratic of peoples. His ancestor was a shepherd, and His mother a peasant girl. He Himself was a carpenter: at home, as His parables show, in the fields and the folds and the barns of His country; with the servants of the great houses, with the unemployed in the market; with the woman in the hovel seeking one piece of silver, with the shepherd on the moors seeking the lost sheep. "The poor had the gospel preached to them; and the common people heard Him gladly." As the peasants of Judea must have listened to Micah’s promise of His origin among themselves with new hope and patience, so in the Roman empire the religion of Jesus Christ was welcomed chiefly, as the Apostles and the Fathers bear witness, by the lowly and the laboring of every nation. In the great persecution which bears His name, the Emperor Domitian heard that there were two relatives alive of this Jesus whom so many acknowledged as their King, and he sent for them that he might put them to death. But when they came, he asked them to hold up their hands, and seeing these brown and chapped with toil, he dismissed the men, saying, "From such slaves we have nothing to fear." Ah but, Emperor! it is just the horny hands of this religion that thou and thy gods have to fear! Any cynic or satirist of thy literature, from Celsus onwards, could have told thee that it was by men who worked with their hands for their daily bread, by domestics, artisans, and all manner of slaves, that the power of this King should spread, which meant destruction to [flee and thine empire] "From little Bethlehem came forth the Ruler," and "now He is great to the ends of the earth." There follows upon this prophecy of the Shepherd a curious fragment which divides His office among a number of His order, though the grammar returns towards the end to One. The mention of Assyria stamps this oracle also as of the eighth century. Mark the refrain which opens and closes it. "When Asshur cometh into our land, And when he marcheth on our borders, Then shall we raise against him seven shepherds And eight princes of men. And they shall shepherd Asshur with a sword, And Nimrod’s land with her own bare blades. And He shall deliver from Asshur, When he cometh into our land, And marcheth upon our borders." There follows an oracle in which there is no evidence of Micah’s hand or of his times; but if it carries any proof of a date, it seems a late one. "And the remnant of Jacob shall be among many peoples Like the dew from Jehovah, Like showers upon grass, Which wait not for a man. Nor tarry for the children of men. And the remnant of Jacob (among nations,) among many peoples, Shall be like the lion among the beasts of the jungle, Like a young lion among the sheepfolds, Who, when he cometh by, treadeth and teareth, And none may deliver. Let thine hand be high on thine adversaries, And all thine enemies be cut off!" Finally in this section we have an oracle full of the notes we had from Micah in The first two chapters. It explains itself. Compare Micah 2:1-13 and Isaiah 2:1-22 . "And it shall be in that day-‘tis the oracle of Jehovah-That I will cut off thy horses from the midst of thee, And I will destroy thy chariots; That I will cut off the cities of thy land, And tear down all thy fortresses, And I will cut off thine enchantments from thy hand, And thou shalt have no more soothsayers; And I will cut off thine images and thy pillars from the midst of thee, And thou shalt not bow down any more to the work of thy hands; And I will uproot thine Asheras from the midst of thee, And will destroy thine idols. So shall I do, in My wrath and Mine anger, Vengeance to the nations, who have not known Me." The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.