He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
Micah 7:19 ASV
“Compassion upon us …”
This is a promise of forgiveness to the righteous remnant, to all that are “in Christ Jesus.” These last two verses are in no sense “a doxology.”
It is not a prayer for God to do the glorious things mentioned, but a promise that “HE WILL DO THEM.” The ASV should be followed here.
God never cancelled or abrogated the glorious promises made to the patriarchs.
The promise that he would “bless all the families of the earth” in Abraham is now being fulfilled in the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Messianic age is clearly identified here as the time when those precious promises would indeed be fully and completely realized.
The casting of sins into the sea indicated that they would be put completely out of God’s sight, “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalms 103:12), and remembered no more forever (Jeremiah 31:34), and “blotted out” (Acts 3:19).
Before concluding this study of Micah, we again call attention to the “remnant” concept which appears on every page of it.
The idea of a remnant is an extremely important one, it helps to solve the dilemma of how to reconcile the absolute righteousness and the everlasting love of God.
God could judge his people, and destroy them, but nevertheless save enough of them (the remnant), penitent and purified, to serve as the nucleus of a renewed Israel.
Therefore, instead of reading the alternate passages of doom and blessing as the blundering result of some “editor’s” rearranging of the text of this prophecy, may men read the one as applicable to the disobedient, and the other as glorious encouragement for the “righteous remnant.”
Unto Jesus Christ our Lord be the glory, and the power, and the dominion forever and ever.
Amen!
Check out our follow up post regarding Acts 3
Psalms 139:23-24
