Amen. Well, if you have a copy of God's word, please turn with me to the prophet Micah in chapter seven. Micah chapter 7. This is one of the most rich portions of Scripture. You'll know that not too long ago we were in it before looking at the final verses, but tonight we're going to return to the passage looking at it from a slightly different angle and look at verses 14 to 20. Let's give our attention now to God's Holy Word, Micah 7. We begin reading in verse 14. Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your heritage, who dwell solitarily in a woodland in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. As in the days of old when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them wonders. The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might. They shall put their hand over their mouth. Their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent. They shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth. They shall be afraid of the Lord our God and shall fear because of you. Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. you will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which you have sworn to our fathers from days of old." Would you pray with me? Lord God, would You take these glorious and precious words and by Your Spirit apply them to our hearts, we pray. In Christ's name, amen. At the core of the book of Micah is God's faithfulness. It was a time where God's people were either outwardly faithful but inwardly rebellious or openly rebellious. And in the midst of that time, Micah was raised up to cast down the pride of God's people and to convict them of their sin and rebellion against Him, to prophesy judgment against them, but also to assure them of God's restoration. to assure them that He would not leave them in judgment, He would not leave them in exile, but because of His faithfulness, He would restore them. So, you can sum up the book of Micah like this, judgment will be followed by restoration because of God's faithfulness. Judgment will be followed by restoration because of God's faithfulness. There's three sections to the book of Micah. Each one begins with judgment and ends with restoration. The first section is mostly judgment, and there's just a little glimmer of restoration at the end. And then there's less judgment and more restoration, and then by the time you get to the final section, it really is God speaking about his faithfulness and how that's gonna bring restoration to his people. So, you could name those three sections, judgment, restoration, and then faithfulness, because the final section is showing how that restoration which is coming is based in God's faithfulness. And that's where our passage tonight is found. Throughout this final section, God has been showing His people that He is a faithful God, and that is the basis of the restoration that is coming. And now, here right at the end of the book, what we see is the response of God's people to His faithfulness. We see them responding in prayer in verse 14. Then we see them responding in faith from verse 16 to verse 17, and then we see them responding in praise from verse 18. The prayer is bold, the faith is triumphant, and the praise is exuberant. So what I want to do tonight is I want to look at these three things, bold prayer, triumphant faith, and exuberant praise, and how we do these things in response to God's faithfulness. This is something that's very real for us, or should be very real for us, because we are not those who can look back at our lives and say that we are perfect, there's nothing amiss about our lives. We are those who have not lived in faithfulness in so many ways, but in faithlessness. And yet, in the midst of that, our hope is in our faithful God. And it's based on that, not on ourselves, that we can have this bold prayer, this triumphant faith, and this exuberant praise. So would you first look with me how we respond in bold prayer to God's faithfulness? Verse 14 is a prayer. It's the voice of the people crying out to God. And what are they crying out for? They're crying out for Him to provide for them, for Him to provide leadership for them, guidance, redemption, protection, comfort, blessing. Why am I saying all this? Because they say, shepherd your people. And that's what a shepherd does, right? He provides for his sheep. He guides them. He saves them from danger. He comforts them. He blesses them. And they're crying out for this. They're crying out that he would shepherd them. They're naming themselves as God's own possession, His heritage, His glory, and they're asking for something big. They're saying, feed us in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. Now, that may mean very little to you. Places in ancient Israel, what does that possibly have to do with anything? But these are places where God's people had at the height of their power, at the conquest during the empire period in David and Solomon, it's hearkening back to the glory days, to the days of God's might and power in His people. And He's saying, treat us like that as in days of old when you were with us, when you gave us victory, when we knew prosperity And that's what we want. And in contrast to the present situation where they're going downhill into exile, it's saying, save us. Be the God of faithfulness. Treat us as you did in days of old because you never change. But I also want you to notice that this prayer is not only a prayer for salvation and all that goes along with it, but it's a bold prayer. These people claim to be God's people, the flock of his heritage. But these are the people who have been disobedient and rebellious time and time and time again. These are the people who, in the days of the judges constantly wandered away from their God. These are the people who even before that, as we saw in the wilderness, right after God had redeemed them from Israel, were so, I mean Egypt, were so stiff-necked that God was saying, I can't even do anything with these people, they're so rebellious. These were the people who under their kings constantly went away from the Lord, brought in the worship of other gods, let their hearts go after other things. These were a wandering and rebellious and stiff-necked people. And they're on the edge of exile here because of all that they have done. And in the midst of that, they're still claiming to be God's people. Here, it's not the sort of arrogant claim of those who would say, well, God's not gonna send us into exile because we're his people. But this is the faithful remnant saying, God, you have promised to be a God to us. You've promised that you have put your love upon us, that we are your people. even despite all the rebellion and failure, we can still boldly claim this, not because of anything in us, but because of what you have said, because of your promise and because of your faithfulness. It's interesting, not even the prodigal son was this bold as he came back to his father. Remember, he said, Father, I've sinned against you. But here, God's people, in the midst of the sin of his people, the faithful remnant are saying, we are yours, God. One commentator said, In repentance, they plead not what they are in themselves, but what God had divinely constituted them to be. They plead not what they are in themselves, but what God had divinely constituted them to be. So, their claim is a bold one, their prayer is a bold one. And they're crying out based on their need. They say that they dwell solitarily in a woodland. Things are not like they used to be. The condition of God's people is rough and difficult, and as they will cry these things out in exile, it's gonna get even worse. This is not random. They are in this situation because of their sin. They're in this situation because God's righteous discipline against them, but Even in the midst of that, they are crying out based on their need. They're saying, we know God that we're in this dreadful situation because of our own sin, because you're righteous and you discipline your people. But yet, look at our difficulty, look at our need, and act for us. And they are requesting something. They're requesting that He would lead them and guide them and provide for them, shepherd them, feed them, as in the days of old. They're requesting abundant favor and prosperity. What I'm suggesting to you tonight is that we also can pray bold prayers, but even more so. We should be those who are praying for the church of God, even in the reduced, unfaithful state that she finds herself here in this land. And we ought to be praying bold prayers based on the fact that she is still God's heritage. we ought to be crying out to God based on the need that we find ourselves in. Yes, that need is because we have been unfaithful and God is righteous and He disciplines His people, but He still wants us to cry out based on that need. And we should be requesting great things of God. We can do all of this because God is a God of faithfulness. And that faithfulness is ultimately shown most clearly in the Lord Jesus Christ. who was sent to an unfaithful people, but was sent with grace and truth, was sent to bring the salvation that no one or anything could bring. He is the ultimate answer to this prayer of God's people who cry out, shepherd your people. Well, He is the Great Shepherd. He is the ultimate One who God sent in response to this prayer. And sometimes, in the midst of our sin, our discouragement, even our outward busyness, In the midst of our circumstances of various kinds, our spiritual sloth, we might be less confident that God will save us, will lead us and bring us back into places of confidence and joy in Him. But Micah's message is that God is a faithful God, and therefore we can and ought to respond to that faithfulness in bold prayer. We ought to be praying prayers like what we see in the Psalms, Psalm 85. Will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your mercy, Lord, and grant us your salvation. We ought to be boldly praying prayers like that, brothers and sisters. Do you pray boldly for God's salvation, His full salvation of you in Christ, His salvation of His church? Do you pray bold prayers? Even in the midst of your sin, even in the midst of the sad state of the church, are you praying bold prayers like this? Well, you ought to be, we ought to be as a congregation. The second response that we see in this text is triumphant faith in God's faithful salvation. In verse 15, what we're seeing is God's response to the prayer of the people. As in the days of old, when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them wonders. That's what God says in response to them. I will show you wonders. What does that mean? Well, remember what he did in Egypt. He sent wonder after wonder after wonder to show his almighty power, his saving power. power against the most powerful empire of its time. He reduced it to absolute rubble. All their wealth, all their crops, all their pomp, all their military might, it was in a smoldering ruin. And that's what he's saying, as I did back then, that's what I will do for you now. I will show you wonders. And it's then on the back of that that God's people respond back to him in verse 16. The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might and so on and so forth. What God's people are saying is we believe you. Our enemies will be in terror of you and will be overcome by your almighty power. We rest in your promise and in the promises that you have made to our fathers from days of old. If you look at the verses from verse 16 and 17, what we're seeing here is God's absolutely overwhelming power. This is a shock and awe campaign if you ever saw one. Sometimes in military terms, when an overwhelming military force goes in somewhere and they overcome the opposition by their powerful mind. It's called a shock and awe campaign. That's what we see here. The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their mind. They shall put their hand over their mouth. Their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent. They shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth. They shall be afraid of the Lord our God and shall fear because of you. The result of this shock and awe campaign is terror on the part of God's enemies. And what we're seeing here is God's people trusting in God's promise. The text here is building off of the Exodus, as we've seen, and so this language is drawing on the fact that God had utterly destroyed Pharaoh in the Red Sea. That's what God's people are supposed to look back on. But also, it's drawing on the original promise, the Protoevangelium back in Genesis 3. Do you see this language of snakes, of crawling in the dust of the earth? It's building off of the promise that the serpent would be utterly crushed. And so it's looking forward to Christ and the salvation that would come in him. I want you to notice also that there is a triumphant note about this faith. There is no sense of struggle here. The nations, yes, they do have some sort of mind, but they're ashamed of it because compared to God's mind, it's nothing. There's no sense of struggle here, only complete and utter victory is described here. And it's not wishful thinking. God's people are not saying, oh Lord, we hope that maybe sometime in the future you might possibly do this. They're saying, the nations shall see and being afraid. They're saying, you, Lord, are absolutely going to do this. This is triumphant faith. This is not even a situation like the Allied victory at D-Day. It was a great victory, but it was a great struggle to bring about that victory. This is more like if you cast your mind back to colonial times, the British military and all its might overcoming some tribe with bows and arrows or something like that. And, what we're seeing here is a little picture of Christ and His salvation. He is the apex of the wonders of God. It is His incarnation to come into this world. God Himself made man, God Himself taking on human form. A life of a real human being living out God's law perfectly, righteously. His death on the cross where God put to death. the penalty of sin for all His people, His resurrection, His reign, His second coming, and then His application of all that to us so that people with hard dead hearts are made alive and are transformed and changed after the image of Christ. These are the ultimate wonders of God that He will show His people. And one day, He will come again and He will overcome all opposition to Him in clear, undeniable terms. We read in the book of Revelation, and the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, Every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb for the great day of his wrath have come and who is able to stand. This is the wonders of God. Do you believe God when he says, I will show you wonders? Do you believe that he has shown wonders in his son and he's yet to show more wonders? Are you resting in Christ with the sort of triumphant faith that is described here? in light of the enemies of God in this world, in light of the devil, in light of your sin, You may feel overwhelmed at times by this world, by the attacks of the devil, but remember Christ has already won the decisive victory, and He is coming back to claim the full fruits of that victory, and it is absolutely, definitely going to happen. Faith requires us to rest in things that we don't see physically right now, but we know are true by the promise of God. The devil now, yes, is like a roaring lion. but He will be like a crushed serpent at the coming of Christ, not drowned in the Red Sea like Pharaoh, but in the lake of fire forever. The sinful powers of this world may seem strong and victorious, but they will be utterly conquered, running for fear of the wrath of the Lamb. Your sin may seem absolutely unconquerable. But you will be fully purified in mind and body and every single last desire and you will be fully cleansed and dressed in the white robes of the righteousness of Christ. You need to meditate on these things till confidence and joy flood you and compel you to confess with God's people of old that he is and will be victorious over his enemies. This is triumphant faith in God's faithful salvation. And then finally, we see here exuberant praise to our faithful God. It starts in verse 18, who is a God like you? This is a response to God's faithfulness. He is the God who saves from sin. He is the God who forgives and He is the God who conquers our sin. And Micah is so clearly basing this off of God's self-revelation in Exodus 34. We read it earlier. The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation. Iniquity, transgression, and sin, these are the words for sin in the Bible. This is saying the whole thing God is able to forgive and pardon. And we know how God does that. He does it in the Lord Jesus Christ. in giving us His perfect righteousness, in having judged really and truly our sins on His cross. But what God was doing back in Exodus 34 was revealing the core of who He is, a God who is long-suffering, and gracious and merciful and forgiving to those who utterly despise His ways, like the children of Israel did in making the golden calf. who is a faithful covenant-keeping God who will not give up on His people, who instead forgives their sins. And in Exodus 34, There is this tension, right? On the one hand, God is the God of mercy and grace and long-suffering, abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But then we go on to the fact that He by no means clears the guilty. And in some ways, you're wondering, how does this work? How does the tension work? Well, we know that takes us right to Christ, doesn't it? Because in Christ, God is both just and the justifier of those who trust in Christ. Because He looks upon us who are united to His Son, not in our own inequity, but in the righteousness of Christ. But more than that, God is not only wonderful and glorious and matchless and like no other God because He forgives and bears with us and continues to forgive us for the sake of Christ, but also because He subdues our iniquities. casting them into the depths of the sea. He does to them what he did to Pharaoh and his army. And this is wonderful news, isn't it? Because it's not just that God wipes our conscience clean of the guilt of sin. It's not just that He takes it away judicially, but in His work of salvation, through sanctification, He actually removes sin from us. And if we're truly in Christ, that's what we want, brothers and sisters, right? Isn't it? We don't just want to have the guilt of sin taken away. We don't just want to have the judicial consequences of sin taken away. We want it gone out of us. We want to be free from it. And that's what God says He does. He forgives us and He conquers our sin. And this is driven home by the last part of the book. It says in verse 20, you will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which you have shown to our fathers from days of old. You will give truth, that's the word for faithfulness, and mercy, that's the word for covenant love, chesed. And again, this is based off of Exodus 34 where we find these words. And he's saying, just as you promised back to the Israelites of old, just as you promised to Abraham and to Isaac and Jacob and were faithful to them, you will continue to be faithful to us. But you know what, brothers and sisters, we have something better than God just being faithful to the fathers. because we have seen His promises come true as He has brought forth Christ. For all the promises of God in Him are yes, and in Him are men. To the glory of God. So, brothers and sisters, our God, who is He? Fundamentally, at His core, He is a God who forgives sins. He is a God who conquers sin. He is a God who brings salvation to His people, unlike any other God. And that should call forth in us exuberant praise. If you know even but a little bit of the guilt and ickiness and the mire of your sin, Knowing that you have a God who forgives and who conquers your sin should give you joy in your heart. It should make you want to sing and to shout and to glorify Him, to say, who is a God like you? Exuberant praise. So how are we to respond to God's faithfulness in saving us? With bold prayer, triumphant faith, and exuberant praise, all of which is centered in Christ, who is the fullness and the glory of the salvation of our God. Let's pray. Oh Lord God, please, would you make Christ more lovely in our eyes? Would you help us to glory in him and in you more fully this week? Would you help us to pray more boldly based on your faithfulness in him? Would you help us to live our lives with confident, triumphant faith? And would you put a song of praise in our mouths? to our great, glorious, faithful, forgiving, conquering God. We pray in Christ's name, amen. Please would you take your hymnals and join with me to hymn 128, Great God of Wonders, hymn 128.