The Lord is Our Salvation
Notes
Transcript
Page 776, between Jonah and Nahum.
A week ago Wednesday, I attended a one day conference in Scottdale, put on by The Gospel Coalition of Arizona. The speaker was Mark Vroegop. He is the president of The Gospel Coalition, and a pastor in Indianapolis, IN. And the author of a few books, one of them called Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy. It’s a book I have had on my shelf since October of 2024, but have been afraid to read.
The subject matter of the conference and the subject matter of aforementioned book are the same: lament.
The conference was concerning what it means to lament and how pastors ought to lament. We’ve seen a fair amount of lament in the the Scriptures in the 2.5 years that I have been here, as the Psalms that I started with my first summer were book 3 of the Psalms. The Saddest of the Psalms. In book 3 you have the highest concentration of laments in the Psalms, some of those Psalms have elements of lament but not the full structure. And yet even beyond that 1/3 of the Psalms are laments. The lament is an important aspect of the Christian life - as if gives us a Biblical approach on how to speak to God when our experience and our theology don’t line up. When we know that God is good, but it doesn’t feel like it.
And I think it is safe to say that after the manner of how this year has begun, it is easy to relate to this passage, but also to the Biblical lament.
The general structure that Mark Vroegop identified for that of a lament is to Turn, Complain, Ask, Trust.
Turn to God in Prayer.
Complain to God.
Ask God Boldly
Trust in him.
While those are part of the traditional structure, not all laments follow this format perfectly, and some scholars have even identified 6 parts to a lament.
That being said there one of the key events that occurs in every virtually Biblical lament, with the exception is Psalm 88, is the offering of praise that is generally found at the end of the lament.
Micah in chapter Mc 1:8-9 begins the book by communicating that he is going to lament.
8 For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches. 9 For her wound is incurable, and it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.
And then here in chapter 7 following the witnessing of all of the sin that has been exposed, and the promise of judgment and deliverance - Micah begins to lament.
The Structure of our Text today does not perfectly fit the fourfold structure of the lament, as it misses the Ask portion. But it does match Turn, Complain, Trust and Praise.
Turn
Turn
We see the beginning structure of the lament as we open in verse 1, as Micah begins with “Woe is me”. He turns to God in prayer, and then he complains of the increasing evil on the earth. The turn section of this lament is implied, and made most clear by verse 7.
Woe - Micah begins with a woe. This common for the prophets. He also did this in chapter 2, as he pronounced a woe on the wicked, and now here his woe is upon himself. And thus he has oriented his prayers and his laments toward the Lord.
Complaint
Complaint
As Micah moves to complaint he has looked at the entire world around him, and complains that there is no one righteous. He does this by means of introducing a metaphor in verse 1, and then from verse 2 through verse 6, he elaborates on his metaphor and his complaint.
1 Woe is me! For I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned: there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
He begins with a metaphor to state that he is as when the summer fruit has all been gathered and the grapes have been gleaned. There is nothing left.
He comes to the orchard, or the vineyard too late. He is desperately hungry and there’s nothing left. Micah’s desire is to see righteousness. The picture here is that he is worn out by the wickedness in the world. While this book has certainly focused on the sins of Israel. Micah’s weariness over the lack of righteousness is all inclusive. Israel was supposed to be a light to the nations, a Holy People set apart for YHWH, and Micah tells us that the godly have perished from the earth. His scope is not just Israel. But his statement here demonstrates that even the best of the earth are not any better.
I think we have all come to the Lord like that at some point. I have nothing left - I am empty, and worn out - I am sick of the evil of the world around me. And maybe that is you this morning, and if that is you then this text ought to help guide you through that.
2 The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net.
Verse 2-6 - the godly have perished from the earth. No one is righteous - no one does good. This language is similar to that of Psalm 14.
And Micah further explains the sort of deeds that these people are committed through verse 6.
He has demonstrated the extent of the wickedness of the wicked. Last week, we read of the punishment that is promised on the wicked. And I made the assertion from that text, that each of us are just as guilty as those who are indicted here. So if there was any lingering of “well I’m not so sure about that. I have tried my best, I think I have done okay. Micah’s statements here are an all inclusive statement to speak of our depravity. The godly has perished from the earth. Micah is not just whining or being hyperbolic. He is not just having a bad day and reflecting it in a moody rant.
He has appropriately identified that all of mankind has been stained by sin and do not do good.
On our own, because of our sins, we are unable to please God.
In the constantly pressure to find a good guy and a bad guy in every situation, remember instead that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and the only hope for any of us is Jesus.
Micah goes on in detail in verse 2, that they all lie in wait for blood. Their hands are on what it evil. And not only are they pursuing evil - they excel at it. They have made it into a game and they are experts in evil. Even those who one would expect to uphold righteousness excel in evil. Princes and judges are once again mentioned as being bought as we read in chapters 2 and 3.
4 The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, of your punishment, has come; now their confusion is at hand.
He continues that even the best of the worst, are still like a brier or a thorn hedge. Hedges are often an obstruction, and thorns draw blood. Thorns are part of the results of the fall. God curses the ground declaring that it would bear thorns and thistles. Thorns were also extremely common. Normally we think of thorns and probably immediately think of Roses, but maybe we also think of lemon trees. In ancient Israel, there were over 70 species of thorn like plants. (Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible).
Trying your best is not good enough. Micah is telling us/them that the best of them is still awful.
5 Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms; 6 for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
This leads Micah to speak in a manner that sounds a bit cynical in verse 5. Trust no one. Don’t trust your neighbor, and have no confidence in a friend. Watch everything you say, so the one who lies in your arms may not use it against you. But the prophet is not being paranoid here in verses 5-6, so much as he is lamenting the increasing sinfulness in the world around him.
Micah’s lament then finds it’s most sobering and unfortunately most relatable aspect, as he comments on how the sinfulness of mankind has disrupted the family dynamic.
Son against father, daughter against mother, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. A man’s very enemies are the members of his household. And I know for some of you broken family dynamics are far too real. Whether it be through divorce, or sinfulness, or the results of past sins, or child rebellion… this can just feel too close to home.
This text illustrates a people who have disregarded the entirety of the second table of the law.
And his complaint, and the strength of his lament is there to emphasize the goodness of God. Because with verse 7 comes a shift in tone, even when the world around us is in chaos God is still good.
As much as he laments the evil of those around him, he then turns to praise God, and to show his trust in YHWH.
Let’s read verse 7 again…
7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.
Trust
Trust
In light of the wickedness around him and a seeming heaviness concerning what he expressed, Micah does not merely throw his hands into the air and give up.
Verse 7 - Micah turns back to instruct how he will live. He will not be bogged down by the evil in the world, he will look to the Lord. He may feel empty, he may feel barren - he might even have the temptation to just shut down and tune out because he’s overcome by what’s going on around him - BUT he still has the Lord.
(R.C. Sproul quote: I was searching through my phone this week for a specific photo of my kids and was reminded of a quote that I think perfectly sums up Micah’s statements here “I don’t always feel His presence. But God’s promises do not depend upon my feelings; they rest on his integrity.)
Though Micah looks to the vine in summer to find nourishment and it is empty, because of the wickedness around him. We can look to Jesus, the true vine. And Jesus will fill you with the fruit of righteousness that comes form him alone. (Phil 1:11).
Micah hungers and thirsts for righteousness - but he finds the himself wanting. And yet his response is to look to the Lord. And Micah’s desire here is reminiscent of what Jesus would tell his disciples in the sermon on the Mount. Even when you hunger and thirst for righteousness and it’s like a orchard after the summer fruit has been gathered, or the vineyard when the grapes are all gone, Jesus says you are blessed.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
It’s easy to feel like Micah.
It’s easy to look whatever is being reported in the news and have no idea who to trust. Right now we are inundated with endless amounts of propaganda. We are told “reject the evidence of our eyes and ears”, and to instead believe stories that are not true. You turn on one news channel and hear one perspective, and then you flip to another and hear the opposite, but then you see that President Trump or VP Vance say something and then someone you know just says that they are lying, and seemingly has a strong argument… or maybe they don’t - but it’s all so exhausting. It’s easy to just want to throw your hands up in the air and give up.
Think of the events of Minnesota last Sunday at Cities Church. A group of protestors invaded a church. While they thought their were exercising their first amendment right - they were violating someone else first amendment right - and acting in violation of other federal laws. There’s video evidence. And since then, there have been several arrests of the more significant figures. And as soon as you feel you can rejoice over justice coming to the unrighteous, we then get news that the judge refuses to prosecute.
And we begin to feel like Micah, where is justice? And there certainly are other issues that have come to play in recent years that ought to lead us to feel that way. But consider Micah’s response to that. Do not get bogged down by the cares of this world… instead look to the Lord.
7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.
That should provide immense comfort. When your hunger and thirst for righteousness seem insatiable - remember that the Lord will satisfy you. Wait for him. He will hear you. Even when it feels like you prayers are unable to pass the ceiling. Wait for the Lord.
And the theme of the Lord’s presence is the hope that Micah has for the remainder of this chapter. He looks at the enemy and says “Come what may, I will trust in the promises of God.”
That even though all the godly from the earth have perish… and even though I myself am dead in my trespasses and sin… I will look to the Lord. I will wait for the Lord. And what greater comfort is there to be found in this life than in the Shelter in the Shadow of the Almighty? In spite of whatever we may see, though the nations rage, those who take refuge in God are blessed.
The God of my salvation. Micah is waiting for the Shepherd King who will come from Bethlehem, who will shepherd his people and rule righteously in the strength of the Lord.
The God of his Salvation is Christ Jesus. We rejoice that Jesus saves to the uttermost, and that he cleanses us from all unrighteousness. That’s the radical thing about the gospel, is that being good enough doesn’t earn you salvation, but even for the worst of the worst salvation can be found for all who turn from their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ death on the cross is the perfect substitution for all of our sins. Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience to the faith. He took on human flesh, bearing the flesh of sinners, but knowing no sin himself, so that might take out place on the cross. He died the death we desereved so that we can be forgiven. The judgment that Micah has been speaking of in this book, and warning his people of is the same judgment that each of us deserve. But Jesus took the wrath of God upon himself so that those who believe in him do not need to.
(look around, if there is any non-believers, consider making a specific call.)
Jesus welcomes all who come to him. Who would repent of their sinfulness, and place their faith in him.
We do not have time to finish the book of Micah today, but even though Micah laments the excessive wickedness in the world around him. He takes comfort in the character of God. As he comes to the conclusion of the book, he celebrates that there is no one like God. There is no one like him who pardons iniquity.
Even though wickedness abounds in the world around us, and even in our own hearts, there is a God who forgives. He will cast all our sins in to the depths of the sea. And salvation comes only from faith in the name of Jesus Christ.
But also remember that when you are worn down by the cares of this world and evil around you that there is peace to be found in Jesus. When what you know is true about God, and what you experience is hard to reconcile, look to the Scriptures to help you lament and find rest in Christ. The good shepherd cares for his sheep.
