WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.780 And if you've got a copy of the Bible, you want to look it up on your phone, it's on Micah chapter 7. 00:00:07.640 --> 00:00:09.540 ! It's on the Black Church Bible, page 780. 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:13.339 Music has great power, doesn't it? 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:19.300 Music can soothe a savage beast. 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.100 Music can rouse a nation to war. 00:00:24.100 --> 00:00:32.620 Music can calm the fears, can't it, of a frightened child in the middle of the night when its mother sings to it. 00:00:34.039 --> 00:00:42.359 August the 23rd and the 24th, 1572, it was on the transition from the one day to the next 00:00:42.359 --> 00:00:48.780 that the King of France authorized the state-sanctioned persecution of the French Huguenots. 00:00:48.780 --> 00:00:58.380 In the middle of the night began this formal persecution, quite literally the execution of as many Reformed Christians as they could find. 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:05.560 The King had been convinced that this was the best course of action to get rid of this theological blight. 00:01:06.620 --> 00:01:13.060 And so some estimates say that 3,000 people may have been killed in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:16.359 Some people put the slaughter as high as 30,000. 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:18.400 They were killed on those two days. 00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:27.879 And in the face of that persecution, many of the Reformed Christians fled from France and they sought shelter in Geneva and Switzerland. 00:01:29.620 --> 00:01:36.659 And as they walked to Geneva, Switzerland, their voices choked with emotion and misery. 00:01:37.560 --> 00:01:41.299 They sang famously, they sang the opening lines of Psalm 74. 00:01:41.299 --> 00:01:44.540 Oh God, why do you cast us off forever? 00:01:44.540 --> 00:01:48.180 Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? 00:01:48.580 --> 00:01:55.480 Remember your congregation, which you've purchased of old, which you've redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage. 00:01:56.680 --> 00:01:58.660 Remember Mount Zion where you have dwelt. 00:01:58.659 --> 00:02:07.539 Like singing songs to a small frightened child, a fear-stricken child in the middle of the night in order to reassure them. 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:11.199 Those Christians were singing songs to themselves. 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:14.719 They were singing the songs of the people of God. 00:02:16.079 --> 00:02:20.039 Songs that had comforted the people of God for many ages. 00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:31.379 In the midst of a time when it felt like God had forgotten them, those songs, those psalms reminded them that God is present even in the midst of suffering. 00:02:33.139 --> 00:02:38.120 And so Micah chapter 7, at the end of his prophecy, he looks to the horizon. 00:02:39.259 --> 00:02:41.259 Because God has given him a view of the future. 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:46.819 And in that view of the future, Micah sees suffering on the horizon. 00:02:48.179 --> 00:02:55.379 He sees a path that leads to the people of God being kicked out of the land and judgment. 00:02:57.159 --> 00:03:00.479 And it would have been a cause of great alarm and fear. 00:03:00.579 --> 00:03:05.239 But as he looks to the horizon and he sees this judgment, he sees the signs of the times. 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:07.479 He soothes himself with a song. 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:13.859 A song that reaches into Israel's past, which will give him hope in the present. 00:03:14.679 --> 00:03:17.039 As well as the expectation of redemption in the future. 00:03:18.699 --> 00:03:26.120 And so it was in this way that in the midst, in the prospect of suffering, that Micah found hope. 00:03:27.899 --> 00:03:32.299 And what I want to do tonight is really to reflect upon this song of the people of God. 00:03:32.300 --> 00:03:41.620 As how you and I, in the midst of difficult days and maybe trial, that it can be a means that we may receive comfort. 00:03:43.540 --> 00:03:46.880 And we know, if you know the story of the Bible, that ultimately comes to the Lord Jesus. 00:03:48.100 --> 00:03:49.980 So three headings, they're not very memorable. 00:03:50.280 --> 00:03:52.580 First of all, the wild vineyard that Micah looked at. 00:03:54.500 --> 00:03:58.980 Secondly, why it was and how it was that Micah looked to the Lord. 00:03:58.979 --> 00:04:04.539 And then thirdly, to think through the victory song that Micah concludes the prophecy with. 00:04:04.939 --> 00:04:06.659 Verse 1 to 6, look at the wild vineyard. 00:04:07.299 --> 00:04:14.039 If you read the Old Testament, this picture of a vineyard is constantly used to describe God's relationship with his people. 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:16.659 He uses this image in Isaiah 5. 00:04:17.219 --> 00:04:18.599 God created a vineyard. 00:04:18.699 --> 00:04:19.480 He planted it. 00:04:19.579 --> 00:04:21.939 He put a wall around it to protect it. 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:23.699 He built a tower in it. 00:04:23.779 --> 00:04:26.019 And inside there was to be grapes. 00:04:26.019 --> 00:04:30.019 And God expected Israel to yield that fruit. 00:04:31.539 --> 00:04:36.180 The aim was that the vineyard would create wine for the owner. 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:37.560 It would be a source of great joy. 00:04:38.819 --> 00:04:40.740 The same parable appears in Psalm 80. 00:04:41.919 --> 00:04:45.199 And it's this imagery that Micah takes up when he looks at Israel. 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:46.379 Look at verse 1. 00:04:46.379 --> 00:04:48.219 He says, 00:04:48.219 --> 00:04:58.639 Woe is me, for I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned, but there's no cluster to eat. 00:04:59.899 --> 00:05:02.600 No first ripe fig that my soul desires. 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:05.459 The prophet looks out into the land. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:09.480 He goes out into the field, the Lord's vineyard. 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:11.519 But he couldn't see fruitfulness. 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:15.819 In fact, he only can see violence and bloodshed. 00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:20.379 And so ultimately the prophet didn't like what he saw. 00:05:21.579 --> 00:05:23.099 He says, can you see verse 2? 00:05:23.159 --> 00:05:24.719 The godly have perished from the land. 00:05:25.259 --> 00:05:28.859 And it's marked by violence and bloodshed. 00:05:29.859 --> 00:05:36.060 Verse 3, he says, and the leaders, they didn't seek to lead the people in justice and righteousness. 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:37.219 But rather they were corrupt. 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:38.240 They sought bribes. 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:41.819 And those who were great in the eyes of the Lord uttered evil. 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:47.100 And so in verse 4, even the very best of them are like a briar. 00:05:47.300 --> 00:05:50.840 The most upright of them are like a thorn hedge. 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:57.160 And these observations confirm what Micah has shown us in the first six chapters. 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:01.460 And Israel's sin has reached a tipping point. 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:03.280 And God will visit them in judgment. 00:06:04.980 --> 00:06:07.560 He would carry both kingdoms. 00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:08.839 Israel had been divided into two. 00:06:09.019 --> 00:06:10.420 The southern kingdom and the northern kingdom. 00:06:10.540 --> 00:06:12.379 And they'd be taken out of God's land. 00:06:13.819 --> 00:06:16.360 And the situation in Micah's day has become so dire. 00:06:17.780 --> 00:06:20.439 That within Israel, evil has become like a plague. 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:24.379 And Micah is saying, this is not something that's far off. 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:25.600 This is coming on the horizon. 00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:27.579 It's something that's near. 00:06:28.019 --> 00:06:29.939 The chickens have come home to roost. 00:06:31.620 --> 00:06:32.600 Look at verse 5. 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:33.939 Even in the homes of the godly. 00:06:34.939 --> 00:06:36.220 Put no trust in the neighbor. 00:06:36.220 --> 00:06:38.920 Have no confidence in a friend. 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:44.440 Guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms. 00:06:45.780 --> 00:06:47.640 For the son treats the father with contempt. 00:06:47.780 --> 00:06:49.200 The daughter rises up against her mother. 00:06:49.300 --> 00:06:50.800 The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 00:06:51.080 --> 00:06:53.100 A man's enemies are the man of his own household. 00:06:53.100 --> 00:06:57.160 We use the same thing, don't we? 00:06:57.180 --> 00:06:58.320 That blood is thicker than water. 00:06:58.420 --> 00:06:59.460 But not so here. 00:07:01.080 --> 00:07:07.460 Micah says that evil has become so prevalent that family members are turning on one another. 00:07:07.459 --> 00:07:11.299 And here he recounts, doesn't he? 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:16.919 He says to the man, he says, the one who lies in your arms, presumably his wife, you can't trust her. 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:23.759 So prevalent and widespread, the wickedness was throughout the land. 00:07:25.640 --> 00:07:29.879 And so no longer did the people of Israel treat each other as they should have. 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:34.379 As fellow recipients of God's grace and kindness. 00:07:34.700 --> 00:07:36.700 They looked on each other as competitors. 00:07:37.620 --> 00:07:38.920 And the competition was cutthroat. 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:40.220 They were ruthless with each other. 00:07:40.220 --> 00:07:51.780 And so as we know the Old Testament, as you look through the Old Testament, you see aspects where their relationships are ones of beauty and commitment and sacrifice. 00:07:52.980 --> 00:07:56.140 Think of the relationship between Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi. 00:07:57.560 --> 00:07:59.640 And Ruth looks out for her mother-in-law. 00:07:59.780 --> 00:08:01.940 She says where you will go, I will go. 00:08:02.060 --> 00:08:03.620 Where you stay, I will stay. 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:04.840 Your God will be my God. 00:08:04.940 --> 00:08:06.720 Your people will become my people. 00:08:06.840 --> 00:08:08.180 Where you die, I will die. 00:08:08.180 --> 00:08:10.759 Where you're buried, I'll be buried. 00:08:11.060 --> 00:08:14.000 She was willing to march into death for her mother-in-law. 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:17.860 But not so in Micah's day. 00:08:20.139 --> 00:08:27.740 God's judgment on Israel, the people of God, who have again and again spurned his love as he withdraws his grace. 00:08:31.740 --> 00:08:34.820 The sun of God's love was setting. 00:08:34.820 --> 00:08:41.340 And so cold and darkness comes sweeping over the land like a torrent. 00:08:43.100 --> 00:08:50.260 And in the face of such evil, in the face of darkness, in the face of a dire situation, which you might be facing tonight as far as you know, 00:08:50.800 --> 00:08:55.920 what are we to do when the night of sin and judgment and darkness is upon us? 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:58.879 That brings us to our second point. 00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:05.719 It brings us to Micah's repeated refrain that we find again and again in the Psalms. 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:15.899 When things are bleak and there's nowhere left to turn, the people of God always look to the Lord. 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:19.059 They're only saving hope. 00:09:19.059 --> 00:09:26.799 So you look at verses 1 to 6, how bleak the situation is, how widespread the horrors of what is going on, 00:09:27.479 --> 00:09:30.139 and the fact of God's judgment that it will come soon. 00:09:30.259 --> 00:09:35.439 But verse 7, it begins, as for me, we saw it, didn't we, this morning in Psalm 17. 00:09:37.059 --> 00:09:39.799 As for me, I will look to the Lord. 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:42.939 I will wait for the God of my salvation. 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:43.759 God will hear me. 00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:44.879 God will hear me. 00:09:48.500 --> 00:09:53.479 I think in life today, if you're anything like me, that when you're in a difficult situation, 00:09:53.659 --> 00:09:57.719 you somehow think that maybe technology will alleviate the problems. 00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:03.899 Or maybe when you're ill, you think the medicine will heal me. 00:10:03.899 --> 00:10:10.419 Or you find yourself in a difficult circumstance and you think, well, my mates will never let me down. 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:12.840 Or my family will come to my aid. 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:14.480 And those things are good things, aren't they? 00:10:16.919 --> 00:10:21.579 But the truth is this, there will come a point in your life and in my life when all those things will fail us. 00:10:24.059 --> 00:10:27.819 And where do you look when you've reached the bottom of the pit of despair? 00:10:27.820 --> 00:10:33.520 Well, according to the Bible, according to the psalmist, there's only one place to look when you're at the bottom, 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:34.340 and that is to look up. 00:10:36.120 --> 00:10:37.760 And so Psalm 130 says, 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:40.379 Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord. 00:10:40.420 --> 00:10:41.460 O Lord, hear my voice. 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:45.500 Let your ears be attentive to my pleas for mercy. 00:10:45.860 --> 00:10:46.760 And that's what Micah says. 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:48.520 He says, look to the Lord. 00:10:48.680 --> 00:10:49.800 There's nowhere else you can go. 00:10:51.020 --> 00:10:52.820 But as for me, I will look to the Lord. 00:10:52.900 --> 00:10:54.340 I will wait for the God of my salvation. 00:10:54.500 --> 00:10:55.560 My God will hear me. 00:10:55.559 --> 00:11:02.739 Such was the nature of Christ's own cry at the cross. 00:11:03.179 --> 00:11:03.739 Think about it. 00:11:03.779 --> 00:11:04.779 The people rejected him. 00:11:05.879 --> 00:11:08.079 His disciples fled from him, even on the cross. 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:10.919 And he cried out to the only one who could hear. 00:11:12.139 --> 00:11:13.079 He cried out to me, 00:11:13.119 --> 00:11:15.279 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:11:16.619 --> 00:11:18.399 In the depths of his despair, 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:21.779 he knew that God was the only one who would hear. 00:11:21.779 --> 00:11:25.279 Reuben showed us, and he's so powerfully and so helpfully on Good Friday. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:28.360 If you weren't here, you need to watch that sermon on YouTube. 00:11:29.740 --> 00:11:32.199 And because what we were shown there is that in Psalm 22, 00:11:33.959 --> 00:11:36.539 he's quoting, Jesus is quoting Psalm 22. 00:11:37.939 --> 00:11:40.620 And in verse 24 of Psalm 22, and we're told this, 00:11:40.720 --> 00:11:43.699 He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted. 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:47.220 And he, God, has not hidden his face from him, 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:49.059 but has heard when he cried to him. 00:11:49.059 --> 00:11:53.759 And Jesus quotes those words of despair 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:57.259 to give voice to the darkness 00:11:57.259 --> 00:11:59.879 that had fallen on him. 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:04.219 But to also signal to the people of God, 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:05.639 like Micah does, 00:12:05.739 --> 00:12:08.799 that the Lord is the only one to whom we can go to. 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:14.779 In times of trial and tribulation, 00:12:16.459 --> 00:12:19.339 he ultimately is the only one we can call out to in prayer. 00:12:21.219 --> 00:12:24.359 And it might even seem that he has abandoned us, 00:12:25.419 --> 00:12:28.759 as if no one listens, but he is there. 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:32.759 And so the prophet's confidence in the Lord 00:12:32.759 --> 00:12:34.359 leads him to turn to the Lord, 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:36.560 and like those persecuted saints 00:12:36.560 --> 00:12:38.360 walking from France to Geneva, 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:40.779 they sang the songs of old 00:12:40.779 --> 00:12:44.159 to comfort their souls in the midst of trials. 00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:47.080 So too the prophet starts singing. 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:50.379 He sings a song from verse 8 00:12:50.379 --> 00:12:52.419 to the end of the chapter, 00:12:52.519 --> 00:12:53.720 which brings us to our final point, 00:12:53.779 --> 00:12:54.440 which you might think, 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:55.960 oh, he must be close to the end of his sermon, 00:12:56.100 --> 00:12:57.720 but that's not true. 00:12:58.980 --> 00:13:01.340 He sings a song of God's faithfulness in the past. 00:13:01.340 --> 00:13:04.480 In verses 8 to 10, 00:13:04.879 --> 00:13:06.759 he tells the surrounding nations 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:10.759 that though they may rejoice in Israel's apparent fall, 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:12.700 that the Lord will actually be a light to them. 00:13:15.160 --> 00:13:16.879 In chapter 6 of Micah, 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:17.759 you might remember, 00:13:17.899 --> 00:13:18.560 you probably told that, 00:13:19.139 --> 00:13:21.120 the ungodly were trying to blame God 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:22.060 for their circumstances. 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:27.400 But the prophet acknowledges his own role. 00:13:29.080 --> 00:13:30.600 He acknowledges his own sin. 00:13:32.300 --> 00:13:34.040 And as he sings this song, 00:13:35.300 --> 00:13:36.800 in looking to the Lord, 00:13:36.980 --> 00:13:39.519 he sees the Lord in all his exaltation. 00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:44.280 He sees the Lord as he is, 00:13:44.340 --> 00:13:45.180 that he's righteous, 00:13:46.180 --> 00:13:47.580 and he's holy, 00:13:47.759 --> 00:13:48.759 he's different to you and I, 00:13:49.040 --> 00:13:49.740 he's not like we are. 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:53.220 And Micah immediately recognizes his own sinfulness. 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:54.120 So verse 9, 00:13:54.280 --> 00:13:55.139 can you look there? 00:13:55.139 --> 00:13:58.060 I will bear the indignation of the Lord, 00:13:59.060 --> 00:14:00.660 because I've sinned against him. 00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:03.860 Until he pleads my cause, 00:14:04.340 --> 00:14:06.340 and executes judgment for me, 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:07.960 he will bring me out to the light. 00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:09.920 I shall look upon his vindication. 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:10.300 And so, 00:14:10.680 --> 00:14:12.340 the prophet owns his own sin. 00:14:12.420 --> 00:14:13.480 That's a very difficult thing to do, 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:13.800 I think. 00:14:15.780 --> 00:14:16.620 He owns his own sin, 00:14:16.660 --> 00:14:18.060 and he knows that the Lord will deliver him. 00:14:18.059 --> 00:14:20.759 In other words, 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:22.139 he falls upon the Lord, 00:14:22.259 --> 00:14:24.179 and he asks him for mercy. 00:14:24.319 --> 00:14:24.599 And again, 00:14:24.659 --> 00:14:25.899 that's a very difficult thing to do. 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:29.239 We read, 00:14:29.439 --> 00:14:29.839 for example, 00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:30.739 in verse 14, 00:14:30.740 --> 00:14:34.379 where he says, 00:14:34.460 --> 00:14:35.960 shepherd your people with your staff, 00:14:36.060 --> 00:14:38.539 the flock of your inheritance, 00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:40.279 who dwell alone in a forest, 00:14:40.379 --> 00:14:41.680 in the midst of a garden land. 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:43.519 Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead, 00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:44.840 as in days of old, 00:14:45.080 --> 00:14:47.620 as in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:49.399 I will show them marvelous things. 00:14:49.700 --> 00:14:50.860 The nations shall see, 00:14:50.980 --> 00:14:52.279 and be ashamed of all their might. 00:14:52.279 --> 00:14:54.399 They shall lay their hands on their mouths, 00:14:54.560 --> 00:14:56.200 and their ears shall be deaf. 00:14:56.200 --> 00:14:59.040 They shall lick the dust of a serpent, 00:14:59.300 --> 00:15:00.600 like the crawling things of the earth. 00:15:00.820 --> 00:15:02.200 They shall come trembling out of their strongholds. 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:04.560 They shall turn in dread to the Lord our God, 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:05.460 and they shall be in fear of you. 00:15:05.660 --> 00:15:06.400 So we read that. 00:15:06.500 --> 00:15:07.520 We don't pick it up. 00:15:07.620 --> 00:15:08.840 But if I was to say to you, 00:15:09.640 --> 00:15:10.320 so many jokes, 00:15:10.420 --> 00:15:11.320 so many sneers, 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:13.540 and all those oh so nears, 00:15:14.259 --> 00:15:15.800 what would I be singing? 00:15:17.680 --> 00:15:18.780 It's coming home, isn't it? 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:19.180 Isn't it? 00:15:19.540 --> 00:15:20.600 Thirty years of hurt. 00:15:20.900 --> 00:15:22.020 Jewels remain still gleaming. 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:23.680 We know it, don't we? 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:26.539 Because it reminds us of a bygone age, 00:15:26.620 --> 00:15:28.079 hopefully an age that will never come again. 00:15:31.019 --> 00:15:32.219 It never will come again. 00:15:33.479 --> 00:15:34.639 But those songs, 00:15:34.719 --> 00:15:35.839 they're singing songs of the past. 00:15:35.939 --> 00:15:36.559 And of course, 00:15:36.739 --> 00:15:38.379 this is a song of the past. 00:15:39.479 --> 00:15:41.559 Because Micah is singing about the Exodus. 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:45.639 He's singing about how God had led the people out of slavery, 00:15:45.739 --> 00:15:47.299 and how he judged Pharaoh and the armies. 00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:50.219 And Micah looks down the barrel of God's judgment. 00:15:50.379 --> 00:15:51.419 He knows it was coming, 00:15:51.419 --> 00:15:54.019 and he sings this song to remind himself 00:15:54.019 --> 00:15:57.360 that God, 00:15:57.719 --> 00:16:01.399 God is a God of judgment. 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:04.059 He will deal in judgment, 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:05.779 but he is also a God that saves. 00:16:08.579 --> 00:16:11.459 He knew that the dark clouds of God's covenant curse 00:16:11.459 --> 00:16:14.539 would only conceal the sunlight of God's redemption 00:16:14.539 --> 00:16:15.740 for so long. 00:16:15.740 --> 00:16:19.060 He looked and saw the judgment to come, 00:16:19.220 --> 00:16:20.680 but he knew behind that, 00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:21.919 salvation will come too. 00:16:24.379 --> 00:16:25.299 Assyria and Babylon, 00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:28.180 they'll come and they'll take God's people into exile, 00:16:29.180 --> 00:16:30.460 but in the end, 00:16:30.539 --> 00:16:31.560 they will receive God's judgment. 00:16:31.700 --> 00:16:33.440 They will lick dust like a serpent. 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:34.500 And again, 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:36.620 you're reminded of a song that you've sung before, 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:37.500 of Genesis 3, 00:16:37.620 --> 00:16:38.320 of a serpent. 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:41.700 That ancient serpent, 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:42.100 Satan, 00:16:42.180 --> 00:16:42.980 who will lick dust, 00:16:42.980 --> 00:16:44.820 that God himself would descend 00:16:44.820 --> 00:16:45.740 to lead the people 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:47.840 on a last and greater exodus. 00:16:50.139 --> 00:16:51.259 And God would bring them 00:16:51.259 --> 00:16:52.879 to more than a return to the land. 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:53.860 He will bring forgiveness 00:16:53.860 --> 00:16:54.800 and eternal life. 00:16:58.060 --> 00:17:00.860 He's singing the song of Exodus, 00:17:01.060 --> 00:17:01.279 isn't he? 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:02.759 But he's singing it at a higher octave. 00:17:04.140 --> 00:17:05.019 He's reflecting, 00:17:05.220 --> 00:17:07.500 there's more coming than what you had in the past. 00:17:07.500 --> 00:17:11.720 There's more than just coming back to the land, 00:17:11.980 --> 00:17:13.220 but eternal life is coming. 00:17:14.579 --> 00:17:15.480 So verse 18, 00:17:15.579 --> 00:17:16.579 these amazing verses, 00:17:17.019 --> 00:17:18.079 who is a God like you, 00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:19.039 pardoning iniquity, 00:17:19.720 --> 00:17:21.059 passing over transgression 00:17:21.059 --> 00:17:22.480 from the remnant of his inheritance. 00:17:23.099 --> 00:17:25.160 He does not retain his anger forever, 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:27.799 because he delights in steadfast love. 00:17:28.579 --> 00:17:30.220 He will again have compassion on us. 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:32.279 He will tread our iniquities underfoot. 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:34.140 You will cast all our sins 00:17:34.140 --> 00:17:35.279 into the depths of the sea. 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:37.319 You will show faithfulness to Jacob 00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:38.839 and steadfast love to Abraham 00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:40.980 as you've sworn to our fathers 00:17:40.980 --> 00:17:42.200 from the days of old. 00:17:44.339 --> 00:17:45.879 Just as God remembered his covenant, 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:47.700 his promise to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:49.539 and he delivered Israel from Egypt, 00:17:49.980 --> 00:17:51.200 so Micah knows that God 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:52.399 will continue to be faithful. 00:17:54.980 --> 00:17:56.299 That part of God's people, 00:17:56.399 --> 00:17:57.079 that remnant, 00:17:57.319 --> 00:17:59.899 they would receive God's steadfast love. 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:03.139 And just notice what he's saying. 00:18:03.299 --> 00:18:04.539 Micah is not only going, 00:18:04.539 --> 00:18:07.440 God is not only going to forgive us our sins, 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:09.599 but he's going to trample them underfoot. 00:18:10.740 --> 00:18:12.460 And he's going to take our sins 00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:13.599 into the depths, 00:18:13.799 --> 00:18:14.799 out into the sea, 00:18:14.940 --> 00:18:16.740 and he'll drop it into the bottom of the ocean. 00:18:19.180 --> 00:18:19.799 What's he saying? 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:20.539 He's saying, isn't he, 00:18:20.639 --> 00:18:22.819 that the curse of exile will be broken. 00:18:22.940 --> 00:18:23.759 It will come to an end. 00:18:23.899 --> 00:18:26.180 God himself will end it. 00:18:26.399 --> 00:18:28.480 He will do away with our rebellion. 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:33.360 And so there's no more reason for exile. 00:18:34.579 --> 00:18:36.059 Because the sins will be gone 00:18:36.059 --> 00:18:37.339 because of the nature of his love. 00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:41.660 It's a love that pardons sin. 00:18:42.940 --> 00:18:44.819 That passes over transgression. 00:18:45.819 --> 00:18:47.099 And the prophet recounts it 00:18:47.099 --> 00:18:48.559 in the strongest possible terms. 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:49.519 Look at verse 19. 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:52.519 He'll again have compassion on us. 00:18:53.619 --> 00:18:55.940 He will tread our iniquities underfoot. 00:18:56.039 --> 00:18:58.359 He'll cast our sins to the depths of the sea. 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:01.920 And that again is a song we've sung before 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:03.259 because that's exactly what happened 00:19:03.259 --> 00:19:05.180 to the Egyptians and Pharaoh, wasn't it? 00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:08.119 Except this time, 00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:10.200 it's not Pharaoh that's chucked into the bottom of the sea. 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:12.000 And it's not his armies 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:13.180 that are plunged into the depths. 00:19:13.180 --> 00:19:14.940 It's my sin. 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:18.240 My selfishness. 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:19.600 My rebellion. 00:19:21.100 --> 00:19:22.500 It's taken from me 00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:24.279 and put into the bottom of the sea. 00:19:24.580 --> 00:19:25.720 And God puts up a sign saying, 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:26.259 no fishing. 00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:29.880 And what Micah saw from a distance, 00:19:30.019 --> 00:19:32.060 what he saw dimly on the horizon, 00:19:33.060 --> 00:19:34.380 we see clearly 00:19:34.380 --> 00:19:36.500 because of what the Lord Jesus came and did. 00:19:38.560 --> 00:19:40.920 And all of these things come to us in him. 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:43.220 And so Micah says, 00:19:43.300 --> 00:19:44.600 in verse 14, 00:19:44.820 --> 00:19:45.519 Micah says, 00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:48.019 shepherd your people with your staff, 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:50.080 the flock of your inheritance. 00:19:51.019 --> 00:19:53.160 And that causes us to look to Christ 00:19:53.160 --> 00:19:53.620 who said, 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:54.840 I am the good shepherd 00:19:54.840 --> 00:19:56.380 who lays down his life for the sheep. 00:19:59.620 --> 00:20:01.660 And when he casts our sins into the sea, 00:20:01.860 --> 00:20:04.180 when he tramples my rebellion underfoot, 00:20:05.080 --> 00:20:06.960 when he forgives and he pardons 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:09.080 the things that I'm too ashamed even to name, 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:12.579 it's as if he puts me on the shoulders 00:20:12.579 --> 00:20:13.319 of the Lord Jesus, 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:14.019 the good shepherd, 00:20:14.299 --> 00:20:15.879 who leads us and guides us. 00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:20.179 And what Micah is doing here, 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:21.139 he's saying to you and I, 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:23.759 Exodus is a pattern of the deliverance 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:26.019 that was led by Moses. 00:20:26.099 --> 00:20:26.639 It's a pattern. 00:20:28.819 --> 00:20:29.240 And again, 00:20:29.379 --> 00:20:30.919 the New Testament sings this song, 00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:32.299 but with a higher octave, 00:20:32.379 --> 00:20:32.599 doesn't it? 00:20:32.619 --> 00:20:33.220 Because he says, 00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:35.960 there is one that is greater than Moses 00:20:35.960 --> 00:20:36.620 that is here. 00:20:38.579 --> 00:20:39.980 One greater than Moses 00:20:39.980 --> 00:20:41.440 that leads the final Exodus, 00:20:41.620 --> 00:20:42.180 the Lord Jesus, 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:44.559 who takes my sins and my sorrows, 00:20:44.740 --> 00:20:46.220 he makes them his very own, 00:20:46.460 --> 00:20:47.880 and he takes them to the bottom of the sea. 00:20:49.180 --> 00:20:50.440 And he drowns them 00:20:50.440 --> 00:20:51.640 so they can rise no more. 00:20:55.100 --> 00:20:55.960 It's not appealing. 00:20:57.799 --> 00:20:59.299 The skeletons in your cupboard, 00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:00.819 the guilt and the regrets, 00:21:01.079 --> 00:21:02.200 can be taken away tonight. 00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:04.980 That you don't have to live with them anymore. 00:21:06.539 --> 00:21:09.279 You can be freed from the ghosts of your past. 00:21:12.279 --> 00:21:13.759 And so what Micah is saying is, 00:21:13.940 --> 00:21:14.620 look to the horizon. 00:21:14.819 --> 00:21:15.580 Judgment is coming. 00:21:16.600 --> 00:21:17.480 Trials are coming. 00:21:20.700 --> 00:21:21.940 But look to Christ. 00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:24.960 Look to the Lord Jesus. 00:21:27.140 --> 00:21:30.240 Who is a pardoning God like you? 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:33.200 Pardoning iniquity 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:34.880 and passing over transgression 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:36.380 for the remnant of his inheritance. 00:21:36.759 --> 00:21:38.980 He does not retain his anger forever 00:21:38.980 --> 00:21:42.279 because he delights in steadfast love. 00:21:43.980 --> 00:21:46.720 He will again have compassion upon us. 00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:52.579 He will tread our iniquities underfoot. 00:21:53.700 --> 00:21:55.599 You will cast all our sins 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:56.759 into the depths of the sea. 00:21:56.759 --> 00:22:00.339 You will show faithfulness to Jacob 00:22:00.339 --> 00:22:03.079 and steadfast love to Abraham 00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:06.519 as you have sworn to our fathers 00:22:06.519 --> 00:22:08.759 from the days of our world. 00:22:14.900 --> 00:22:15.900 Let's draw stamps there. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:16.299 Let's pray. 00:22:16.299 --> 00:22:46.279 Thank you.