Micah 7

Wait for the God of Salvation

1 Woe is me! For I have become ¹as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned: there is no cluster to eat, no ²first-ripe fig that my soul desires.

2 ³The godly has perished from the earth, and ⁴there is no one upright among mankind; ⁵they all lie in wait for blood, and ⁶each hunts the other with a net.

3 ⁷Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; ⁸the prince and ⁹the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together.

4 The best of them is ¹⁰like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of ¹¹your watchmen, of your punishment, has come; ¹²now their confusion is at hand.

5 ¹³Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard ¹⁴the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms;^[a]

6 for ¹⁵the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ¹⁶a man's enemies are the men of his own house.

7 But as for me, I will look to the LORD; ¹⁷I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

8 ¹⁸Rejoice not over me, O ¹⁹my enemy; ²⁰when I fall, I shall rise; ²¹when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.

9 ²²I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned against him, until ²³he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. ²⁴He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.

10 Then ²⁵my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who ²⁶said to me, "Where is the LORD your God?" ²⁷My eyes will look upon her; now she will be trampled down ²⁸like the mire of the streets.

11 ²⁹A day for the building of your walls! In that day the boundary shall be far extended.

12 In that day they^[b] will come to you, ³⁰from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt to ³¹the River, ³²from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.

13 But ³³the earth will be desolate because of its inhabitants, for the fruit of their deeds.

14 ³⁴Shepherd your people ³⁵with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest ³⁶in the midst of ³⁷a garden land;^[c] let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old.

15 ³⁸As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them^[d] marvelous things.

16 ³⁹The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; ⁴⁰they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf;

17 ⁴¹they shall lick the dust like a serpent, like the crawling things of the earth; ⁴²they shall come trembling out of their strongholds; ⁴³they shall turn in dread to the LORD our God, and they shall be in fear of you.

God's Steadfast Love and Compassion

18 ⁴⁴Who is a God like you, ⁴⁵pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression ⁴⁶for the remnant of his inheritance? ⁴⁷He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.

19 He will ⁴⁸again have compassion on us; ⁴⁹he will tread our iniquities underfoot. ⁵⁰You will cast all our^[e] sins into the depths of the sea.

20 ⁵¹You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, ⁵²as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.

Micah 7 Commentary

Chapter 7

The general prevalence of wickedness. (1-7) Reliance on God, and triumph over enemies. (8-13) Promises and encouragements for Israel. (14-20)

Verses 1-7 The prophet bemoans himself that he lived among a people ripening apace for ruin, in which many good persons would suffer. Men had no comfort, no satisfaction in their own families or in their nearest relations. Contempt and violation of domestic duties are a sad symptom of universal corruption. Those are never likely to come to good who are undutiful to their parents. The prophet saw no safety or comfort but in looking to the Lord, and waiting on God his salvation. When under trials, we should look continually to our Divine Redeemer, that we may have strength and grace to trust in him, and to be examples to those around us.

Verses 8-13 Those truly penitent for sin, will see great reason to be patient under affliction. When we complain to the Lord of the badness of the times, we ought to complain against ourselves for the badness of our hearts. We must depend upon God to work deliverance for us in due time. We must not only look to him, but look for him. In our greatest distresses, we shall see no reason to despair of salvation, if by faith we look to the Lord as the God of our salvation. Though enemies triumph and insult, they shall be silenced and put to shame. Though Zion's walls may long be in ruins, there will come a day when they shall be repaired. Israel shall come from all the remote parts, not turning back for discouragements. Though our enemies may seem to prevail against us, and to rejoice over us, we should not despond. Though cast down, we are not destroyed; we may join hope in God's mercy, with submission to his correction. No hinderances can prevent the favours the Lord intends for his church.

Verses 14-20 When God is about to deliver his people, he stirs up their friends to pray for them. Apply spiritually the prophet's prayer to Christ, to take care of his church, as the great Shepherd of the sheep, and to go before them, while they are here in this world as in a wood, in this world but not of it. God promises in answer to this prayer, he will do that for them which shall be repeating the miracles of former ages. As their sin brought them into bondage, so God's pardoning their sin brought them out. All who find pardoning mercy, cannot but wonder at that mercy; we have reason to stand amazed, if we know what it is. When the Lord takes away the guilt of sin, that it may not condemn us, he will break the power of sin, that it may not have dominion over us. If left to ourselves, our sins will be too hard for us; but God's grace shall be sufficient to subdue them, so that they shall not rule us, and then they shall not ruin us. When God forgives sin, he takes care that it never shall be remembered any more against the sinner. He casts their sins into the sea; not near the shore-side, where they may appear again, but into the depth of the sea, never to rise again. All their sins shall be cast there, for when God forgives sin, he forgives all. He will perfect that which concerns us, and with this good work will do all for us which our case requires, and which he has promised. These engagements relate to Christ, and the success of the gospel to the end of time, the future restoration of Israel, and the final prevailing of true religion in all lands. The Lord will perform his truth and mercy, not one jot or tittle of it shall fall to the ground: faithful is He that has promised, who also will do it. Let us remember that the Lord has given the security of his covenant, for strong consolation to all who flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before them in Christ Jesus.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 24:13; [Isaiah 17:6]
• 2. Hosea 9:10
• 3. [Psalms 12:1; Isaiah 57:1]
• 4. Psalms 14:1, 3
• 5. [Psalms 10:9; Hosea 6:8, 9]
• 6. Isaiah 9:19
• 7. [Zephaniah 3:7]
• 8. [Psalms 82:1, 2]
• 9. Micah 3:11
• 10. [2 Samuel 23:6, 7; Nahum 1:10]; See Ezekiel 2:6
• 11. See Ezekiel 33:2
• 12. [Micah 3:6, 7; Isaiah 22:5]
• 13. Jeremiah 9:4
• 14. [Psalms 141:3]
• 15. Ezekiel 22:7; [Matthew 10:21, 35; Luke 12:53]
• 16. Cited Matthew 10:36
• 17. [Lamentations 3:26]
• 18. [Jeremiah 50:11; Lamentations 4:21]
• 19. ver. 10
• 20. Psalms 37:24
• 21. Psalms 112:4
• 22. [Jeremiah 10:19]
• 23. See 1 Samuel 24:15
• 24. Psalms 37:6
• 25. ver. 8
• 26. See Joel 2:17
• 27. Micah 4:11
• 28. Psalms 18:42; See 2 Samuel 22:43
• 29. [Psalms 102:13]
• 30. [Isaiah 11:11, 16; Isaiah 19:23, 24; Isaiah 27:13; Hosea 11:11; Zechariah 10:10]
• 31. See Genesis 31:21
• 32. Zechariah 9:10
• 33. Micah 6:13
• 34. Psalms 28:9; [Micah 5:4]
• 35. Psalms 23:4
• 36. Jeremiah 50:19; [Zechariah 10:10]
• 37. See Joshua 19:26
• 38. Psalms 78:12; See Isaiah 11:16
• 39. [Isaiah 26:11; Isaiah 52:15]
• 40. See Judges 18:19
• 41. Psalms 72:9; Isaiah 49:23
• 42. Psalms 18:45
• 43. [Micah 4:1]
• 44. See Exodus 15:11
• 45. Jeremiah 50:20; See Exodus 34:7
• 46. Jeremiah 50:20; See Exodus 34:7
• 47. Psalms 103:9
• 48. Psalms 80:14
• 49. [Romans 6:14]
• 50. [Isaiah 38:17]
• 51. [Luke 1:72, 73]
• 52. Psalms 105:9, 10

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew bosom
• [b]. Hebrew he
• [c]. Hebrew of Carmel
• [d]. Hebrew him
• [e]. Hebrew their

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO MICAH 7

This chapter begins with a lamentation of the prophet, in the name of the church and people of God, concerning the general depravity and corruption of the times in which he lived, Mic 7:1-6; then declares what he was determined to do for his relief in such circumstances, Mic 7:7; comforts himself and the church with a good hope and firm belief of its being otherwise and better with them, to the shame and confusion of their enemies that now rejoiced, though without just reason for it, Mic 7:8-10; with promises of deliverance, after a desolation of the land for some time, Mic 7:11-13; and with the answer returned to the prayers of the prophet, Mic 7:14,15; which would issue in the astonishment of the world, and their subjection to the church of God, Mic 7:16,17; and the chapter is concluded with admiration at the pardoning grace and mercy of God, and his faithfulness to his promises, Mic 7:18-20.