Our scripture reading for today, to which I invite you to turn with me at this time, is found in the prophecy of Micah, the Old Testament so-called minor prophecy of Micah, the seventh chapter. Near the end of the Old Testament, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum Habakkuk, Micah chapter 7. We have been considering together these past few months the ministry of Micah, And today, our study of this particular prophecy draws to a close as we highlight several of the major themes that are contained in this final and seventh chapter. We begin our Scripture reading then in Micah 7, verse 1, reading to the end of the chapter. Hear then the word of the Lord. What misery is mine! I am like one who gathers summer fruit the gleaning of the vineyard. There is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the early figs that I crave. The godly have been swept from the land. Not one upright man remains. All men lie in wait to shed blood. Each hunts his brother with a net. Both hands are skilled in doing evil. The ruler demands gifts. The judge accepts bribes. The powerful dictate what they desire. They all conspire together. The best of them is like a briar, the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. The day of your watchman has come, the day God visits you. Now is the time of their confusion. Do not trust a neighbor. Put no confidence in a friend. Even with her who lies in your embrace, be careful with your words. For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, a man's enemies are the members of his own household. But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord. I wait for God, my Savior. My God will hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemy. Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. Because I have sinned against Him, I will bear the Lord's wrath until He pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light. I will see His righteousness. Then my enemy will see it and will be covered with shame. She who said to me, Where is the Lord your God? My eyes will see her downfall. Even now she will be trampled underfoot like mire in the streets. The day for building your walls will come. The day for extending your boundaries. In that day people will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates and from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain. The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants as the result of their deeds. Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest in fertile pasture lands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago. As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them my wonders. Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power. They will lay their hands on their mouths and their ears will become deaf. They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens. They will turn in fear to the Lord our God and we'll be afraid of you." Who is a God like you who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us. You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be true to Jacob and show mercy to Abraham as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago. Thus far, the reading of God's Holy Word. And as always, brothers and sisters, I ask and urge you to keep your Bibles open and handy as you look to God's Word together on this Lord's Day. Dear congregation of Jesus Christ, After enduring, along with you, several straight days of cloudy skies and a chilly, drizzling rain, this past Friday I boarded a plane for sunny Florida in order to take part in the ordination and installation service of our brother Stephen Wetmore at the Trinity Reformed Church of Cape Coral. And even when we consider the weather of a day such as this, I must say that the contrast between the weather in New Jersey and the weather in Florida could not have been more striking. In fact, as I boarded the plane in Newark, this elderly lady sat down next to me and she struck up a conversation. And she asked me if I was heading home to Florida or if I was just going to be visiting there. And then I asked her the same question. And as she began speaking, I wasn't at all surprised when I heard this sort of Jersey City accent coming through loud and clear that she said that she grew up in New Jersey and that she and her husband had only moved down there about 12 years ago in order to be near their children who had also moved down there. And then she pointed to her dear husband, who was seated across the aisle, and she said, look at him. He's freezing. He's all bundled up in a winter coat. And then she leaned over and whispered in my ear, but he's on Coumadin, you know. And then she said, but even so, it's freezing around here. That's why my husband says to live in Florida is like living in paradise. Then a couple of hours later, as our plane was making its descent into Fort Myers, she poked me, she pointed out the window and she said, see, see, I told you, it's like living in paradise. It's like living in paradise. Well, brothers and sisters, as I said, I must admit that there was quite a stark and striking difference in the weather that we have been having here in New Jersey and the weather that I found in Florida. But even so, even so, even with such a dramatic contrast, the contrast, the striking difference which is presented to us here in the words of our text in Micah chapter seven makes such a contrast between New Jersey and Florida pale by comparison, pale by comparison. And please know that I am speaking of a dramatic contrast in the spiritual realm, in the spiritual realm for notice. As we begin to work our way through these last words of the prophet Micah, penned under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so many years ago, we find ourselves being both confronted by and comforted with the fact that no matter how great or grievous our sins may be, no matter how great or grievous anyone's sins may be, And even though the unrepentant, unbelieving of this world, should they remain so, will in fact come under the full fury and just judgment of a righteous, almighty God, not only in time, but for all eternity. The fact of the matter, my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, is this. The Bible says that solely by God's grace, solely through faith in the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ all of God's people everywhere can and must rest and rejoice in The blessed hope that is found in being brought from misery To mercy being brought from misery to mercy think about that now then As we seek to take this journey, if you will, along with the prophet Micah from misery to mercy, we're going to notice that there are three key mile markers along the way. Mile marker number one, our text teaches us, is the recognizing of man's misery. That's mile marker number one, the recognizing of man's misery. For example, look at verse one of Micah 7 with me, if you would. Here the prophet Micah proclaims, what misery is mine. The Hebrew literally says, woe is me, woe is me, what misery is mine. Why so? He goes on to say, I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard. Boys and girls, young people, the gleaners were those who went through the harvest field after the reapers were through. And all of the best of the harvest had already been taken in and had been collected. And so you wouldn't expect to find much, and Micah says, sadly enough, that's what I find among the vineyard of God's people. I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard. There is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the early figs that I crave. He's saying that a prophet of God should be able to look out among the people of God and see incredible spiritual fruitfulness. But he only saw barrenness, and hence the cry, Woe is me, what misery is mine. And then he gives other examples as well. Look at verse two with me, please. He says that godly have been swept from the land. Not one upright man remains. Do you ever feel lonely as a Christian? I do. I increasingly feel lonely as a Christian, not in the life of the family of God, but in the country. in the culture. This is like reading the newspapers of today. The godly have been swept from the land. No one upright man remains. They are not living righteously. They are living immorally and selfishly, self-servingly. All men lie in wait to shed blood. Each hunts his brother with a net. Can you spell the word violence? It was running rampant in Micah's day. And then he goes on to say in verse 3, both hands are skilled in doing evil. The ruler demands gifts. The judge accepts bribes. The powerful dictate what they desire. They all conspire. Literally, they weave all this together. In other words, there was great corruption in high places. There was a lack of ethical, moral, spiritual leadership in the land. Everybody was in it for themselves. The best of them, verse 4, is like a briar, the most upright, worse than a thorn hedge. Then Micah proclaims, the day of your watchmen has come, the day God visits you. I believe previously in our study of Micah, we looked at Ezekiel 33, where Ezekiel talks about the watchmen on the walls of Zion. God's people are all called to be watchmen on the walls of Zion. And the day that the watchmen has foretold has now come. The day of judgment has come. The day of their reckoning with Almighty God has come. The day God visits you. Now is the time of their confusion. They're not going to know what to do. Then, friends, look over verses 5 and 6 with me. Sobering, sobering text. Do not trust a neighbor. Put no confidence in a friend. Betraying one another is everywhere. Friendships are being fractured seemingly without cause. Even with her who lies in your embrace, be careful of your words." Marriage vows being violated. The utter disintegration of the family unit. Think of it. Verse 6, For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises up against her mother. The violations of the fifth commandment of God's law are everywhere. A daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies are the members of his own household. Think of it. Think of what Micah is here prophesying. You know, I came across one Bible commentator who commented on this particular portion of the text, and he says this. Listen carefully, please. A condition of this sort is utterly contrary to the law of God and the natural relations that should exist. It manifests a time of complete social rebellion against constituted authority and natural relations. The paragraph reads almost like the daily newspaper of 20th century United States, end of quote. Friends, that man wrote that commentary in 1972, 20th century. And would you not agree with me that it is even more true today in 21st century USA? Think of it. Immorality running rampant. Sadly enough, many studies show there is no difference in the moral living, the moral lifestyle of Christians professing Christians or non-Christians. Violence in the land? If you're like me, you barely want to look at the newspaper lest we see another mass murderer letting loose with his heavy weaponry in a movie theater on a college campus. Young people, many of them hurting because of the divorce of their parents, the breakdown of the family. They don't know who they are or where they're going, and in many of them, why they're here. Hence the drugs and the drink and everything else. If you're told that you're nothing more than a highly evolved germ, evolutionary theory, what difference does it make what happens to me, you see? Somebody gave me a few newspaper headlines the other day, and I thank him for them. It helps us understand, brothers and sisters, where we're at in our country today. If you were here a few weeks ago, you know that we spoke extensively of President Obama's support for even the most heinous, horrific aspects of the abomination of abortion, so I won't repeat all that today. But did you see this headline in the Star Ledger of just a couple of weeks ago? Bill would let patients say when it's time to die. This is New Jersey. Quote, death with dignity act brings national debate to New Jersey. Euthanasia, mercy killing. Think about that. Legalized suicide. Another headline in the Star-Ledger reads, Governor, this is out of California, Governor Outlaws Therapy Aimed at Gay Minors. Did you read about this? I had missed this. Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation prohibiting a form of therapy aimed at changing a minor's sexual orientation from gay to straight. The first law of its kind in the nation, officials said yesterday. In other words, in California, it's illegal for a counselor, and I would suggest perhaps even a pastor, to try to convince someone that their homosexual lifestyle is sin. You can probably be arrested or charged with doing that because in California, it's against the law. You say, well, we don't live in the land of what some have termed the land of fruit and nuts in California. We live in New Jersey. It may be coming our way. Is conversion therapy a helpful treatment or is it child abuse? Conversion therapy is simply trying to convince a homosexual that they need to get out of that lifestyle. Is conversion therapy a helpful treatment or is it child abuse? New Jersey might be the next battleground on this issue, fighting away the gay. Perhaps coming to a legislature or courtroom near us. The sins that Micah prophesied against brothers and sisters some 2,500 years ago are multiplying, they are multiplying, they are multiplying, and they are speeding the coming of the day of the Lord today. But you know, boys and girls, when I was young, and maybe your parents have taught you this too, if you point a finger at somebody else, there's at least three or four fingers pointing back at you. And especially as we look forward to celebrating the Lord's Supper next Lord's Day, let's not primarily, first of all, be concerned about what's happening out there. Let's be concerned about what's happening in here, in your heart and life, in my heart and life, in your home, in your marriage, in my home, in my marriage, among our family, among our friends, you see. For example, take your psalters just for a moment. And turning it back with me, please, to page 9. Page 9 has part 1 of the Great Confession of the Reformed Faith known as the Heidelberg Catechism. You can see there on page 9, it's entitled, Man's Misery. The original German said, Man's Eiland. Eiland literally meant to be out of one's land. Because of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, we are estranged from God by nature. We all have this longing to have our Heavenly Father back. And that's why the great French philosopher Pascal said, there's a God-shaped vacuum inside each and every one of us that only God can fill. And if you try to fill it with something else, you're going to feel just as empty and worthless and meaningless as before. This great question 3 says, how do you come to know your misery? Your ailing? The fact that you are estranged from God and living in a country and in a culture that is described in Micah 7 verses 1 through 6. And what is that answer? Let's read it together. The law of God tells me. And then what does God's law require of us? And that answer together is, Christ teaches us this in summary in Matthew 22. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the great and first commandment, and a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Thank you. And so friends, we need to ask ourselves, Are you, am I, loving the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, with all our strength? Or not? And to the extent that we are not, and the Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, we need to confess those sins to God and claim the cleansing of those sins that is ours solely through the shed blood of Christ on Calvary. And similarly, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Who is your neighbor? Well, you say, my wife, my husband, my son, my daughter, my mom, my dad, my family, the people that live next door to me, my co-workers, my classmates, other members of the family of God, my friends, all true. But in the so-called parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus said, your neighbor is also the one who's the Samaritan in your life. the one whose name you don't even want to pronounce because there's so much enmity and anger there. That's your neighbor, Jesus said. Are we loving our neighbor as we love ourselves? Brothers and sisters, is there any reason that at the beginning of the seventh chapter, Micah cries out, woe is me, what misery is mine? And the recognizing of our misery It's the first mile marker along the journey from misery to mercy, from misery to mercy. Ah, but notice, the second key mile marker on the road from misery to mercy, our text teaches us, is reflecting on Micah's ministry, reflecting on Micah's ministry. For notice the shift in tone which we find in verse seven of Micah seven, especially in contrast to the first six verses. Look with me, if you would, at verse seven, please. Micah says, but as for me, that is by the grace and mercy of God in stark and direct contrast to those who are living immorally, violently, selfishly, corruptly, fracturing family ties and violating vows and all the rest. But as for me, but as for me, I watch the same word, by the way, used at the watchman in verse four. I watch in hope. What is hope? Someone wants to find hope as faith looking forward. I love that thumbnail. Hope is faith looking forward. But as for me, I watch in hope for Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel. Notice the four capital letters in Lord, that means Yahweh. I wait for God, Elohim, the mighty creator of heaven and earth who spoke galaxies into existence. I wait for Elohim, my savior, my God will hear me. My friends, as I was prayerfully meditating upon this text, watching in hope, waiting for the Lord, a particular text of Scripture came to my mind, and maybe it came to yours too. It's found in Isaiah 40, and if you want to turn with me, please do, after Job Psalm's Proverbs, if you want to just listen, that's okay. But in Isaiah 40, verses 27 and following, Isaiah 40, 27 and following, the prophet Isaiah, who, recall, was a contemporary of the prophet Micah, declares, why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord, Yahweh, my cause is disregarded by my God, Elohim. You feel that way today? That your way is hidden from God. He's disregarding what you're going through. I feel that way at times. But he goes on to say, verse 28, Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary in his understanding. No one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. But those who hope in Yahweh, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, and they will walk and not be faint." Now my dear, dear friends, to the extent that you and I understand that, to the extent that you and I believe that, to the extent that you and I profess that, to the extent that you and I practice that, The next several verses of Micah chapter 7 will bring to us the same kind of comfort and encouragement that it brought to him. For example, let's go to verse 8 of Micah chapter 7. He says, Do not gloat over me, my enemy. Though I have fallen, I will rise. In Proverbs 24, 16, God's Holy Word declares, For though a righteous man fall seven times, he rises again. Think of it. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. Sometimes when things seem dark in my life and you don't have an answer to a question or you don't know which way to go, I think of what Jesus said in John 8, verse 12, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of light. It's a promise which God gives to all those who trust in him, who trust in him. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. The Lord will be my light. And then, friends, in verse 9, if you'll just skim a couple of verses over, we find here that Micah goes on to confess that the Lord's judgment is just when He judges the sins of His people. And that's true, isn't it? In Hebrews 12, verse 6, we read, the Lord disciplines those He loves and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son. Sometimes the hardships we're going through are the discipline of the Lord trying to mold us and shape us after the image of Jesus Christ. And then again, if you'll skim over verses 10 through 13, Micah picks up on a theme which he has addressed earlier in his prophecy concerning the fact that even though the nations will be gloating over the seeming destruction of Jerusalem, the destruction of Zion, the defeat of the Church of Christ, if you will, God always promises that a remnant will remain. A remnant will remain. And prophetically, as he looks forward to the coming of the Mashiach, of the Christos, of the Christ, of the Anointed One, he says that good news of the Gospel is not only going to be brought to Israel, it is going to be brought to all the nations. It will be brought to all the nations. Think of it. In fact, turn back a page or two with me to Micah chapter 4. Verses 1 and 2. We considered this earlier together. Micah 4, 1 and 2. In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and people's will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. And again, in our Scripture reading, if you'll drop down to verse 11, that similar theme continues. The day for building your walls, that is Jerusalem, will come. The day for extending your boundaries. And that day people will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. Imagine the going forth of the gospel into countries like Libya and Syria and Egypt today How what glory would be brought to God for those peoples to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? Then in verse 13, it says the earth will become a become desolate Because of its inhabitants in the result of their deeds that speaking of Judgment Day once again, it's speaking of the final judgment. It's speaking of time when Jesus says it's closing time and It's closing time. The day of salvation now has passed, and now everyone will be called before the tribunal of God. We looked last time, we studied Micah together at being called into court, what that meant. That day, Micah says, is coming. That day is coming. Friends, notice once again, in verse 14, Micah picks up on a theme of a totally different tenor. which he has also previously raised in his prophecy. Verse 14, look with me please. Shepard your people with your staff. Shepard your people with your staff. If you're taking notes, Micah raised that theme in Micah 2 verse 12, Micah 2.12 and Micah 5.4 previously. Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, all pointing forward to the good shepherd of the sheep. In John chapter 10, verses 14 through 16 and thereabouts, Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. I lay down my life for the sheep. But there are other sheep who are not of this pen, that is Israel. They need to come in also. Think of it. All glory be to God. Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who lives by itself in a forest. Friends, I pondered and I studied that theme, the people of God portrayed as living by themselves in a forest. And again, if you're taking notes, please jot down these verses. Numbers 23, 9. Numbers 23, 9. John 17, 15. John 17, 15. 2 Corinthians 6, verse 17. 2 Corinthians 6, verse 17. Because in all those verses, God is calling His people, and He's calling you young people if you profess Christ, to live apart. We are to be in but not of the world. We are to be a separate people. What does light have to do with darkness? The apostle Paul said. God has set apart himself a holy people to live wholly before the face of a holy God. Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasture lands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days long ago." If you have a Bible map, you look east of Jordan, and way up in the north is Bashan, and a little lower is Gilead. These were incredibly fertile areas of the country. And they were used symbolically of agricultural fertility or prosperity on behalf of God's people. And friends, what these names, Bashan and Gilead, are representing is the tremendous blessing, the prosperity, the provision, if you will, which God gives to His people as the good shepherd of the sheep. You think of Psalm 23, verse 1, David said, The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul, et cetera. Revelation 6, turn there with me, if you would please, to the end of the Bible. Revelation chapter 6 speaks again of the Lord as our shepherd. And drop all the way down with me please to, excuse me, it's Revelation 7, I'm sorry, Revelation 7. Drop all the way down to verse 13 of Revelation chapter 7. Here we read, Revelation 7 verse 13, Then one of the elders, John writes, asked me, These in white robes, who are they and where did they come from? I answered, Sir, you know. And he said, These are they who have come out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will spread His tent over them. Never again will they hunger. Never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Think of it. All glory be to God. All themes that the prophet Micah has brought up repeatedly throughout this prophecy. And brothers and sisters, that is why reflecting on Micah's ministry, reflecting on Micah's ministry is the second key mile marker along the journey from misery to mercy. But let's go back to our text one last time together, where a third and final key mile marker along the road from misery to mercy is the mile marker of rejoicing in God's mercy. Rejoicing in God's mercy. For notice. After setting forth this sort of summary theme of the remainder of the chapter, in verse 15, where we read, As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them My wonders. Now, boys and girls, young people, think about that. When God brought His people out of Egypt, what wonders did He show? Well, He brought the great wonders of the ten plagues against the unbelieving Egyptians. He brought Pharaoh to his knees. He judged those who would not believe and would not repent of their sins. But at the same time he delivered with it with a mighty and miraculous hand his people bringing them safely through the waters of the Red Sea Drowning the armies of Pharaoh in the sea behind them and all the rest and yet all this was pointing to a far greater Deliverance a far greater salvation that is to be found only through the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them my wonders verse 16 Nations will see and be ashamed Deprived of all their power think of the world today They will lay their hands on their mouths and their ears will become deaf. The nations of the world, my dear friends in the Lord, will be so stricken with terror on that great day when Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead. They're not going to be able to speak, not be able to see. And as it were, they're not going to be able to hear. Think of it. In fact, in Revelation chapter 6, turn there with me again if you would near the end of the Bible, in Revelation 6 verses 15 through 17, the Apostle John puts it this way, on that great day when Christ comes on the clouds of glory, Revelation 6 verses 15 and following, last book of the Bible, then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man, hidden caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They call to the mountains and the 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 their wrath has come. And who can stand? And who can stand? The world will be stricken with terror when Christ comes in His full glory and power and majesty on His sovereign judgment throne. Verse 17, Micah 7, look with me please. They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. Where do we read that language elsewhere in the Scriptures? Genesis chapter 3, the fall of man. Minimally, it's an analogy of the nations coming into submission to the Christ. And it could also be a reference based on Genesis 3 of them being under the curse of Almighty God. They will come trembling out of their dens, they will turn in fear to the Lord our God, and will be afraid of you. Do you remember we studied in Micah chapter 4 verse 13, where the prophet says, Rise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, I will give you horns of iron, I will give you hooves of bronze, and you will break to pieces many nations? That's a prophecy of what Jesus said would occur in Matthew 16, verse 18, when Jesus said, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The victory of God's people over the pagan peoples of the world. And friends, notice now a final change in tone and tenor, if you will. In verse 18, Micah says, Who is a God like you? And I can't help but think this is sort of a play on his name. The name Micah means who is like Yahweh, who is like the Lord. And here at the close of the prophecy, he almost could have said Micah. And he says, who is a God like you who pardons? Wow, what a term. Hebrew transliterated is N-A-S-A. Boys and girls, young people, it's like our NASA. And NASA sends rocket ships up into the air. And it's an interesting analogy because NASA literally means to lift up and carry away. Translated, pardon. It literally means to lift up and carry away. And I was thinking of the scapegoat imagery of Leviticus 16, 21, where the high priest would confess all the sins of the people on the scapegoat. And then it said it was sent away into the wilderness, never to be found again. Scapegoat. Boys and girls, a scapegoat is somebody who you blame for what you did. Let's make them the scapegoat. Let's make them take the blame or the punishment for what we did. That was the imagery of the scapegoat. The sins were placed on his head and he carried the sins away. Pardoned, here it says. And who was our scapegoat? Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ. It says in Isaiah chapter 53, round verses 4 through 6, thereabouts, surely he, that is Christ, took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him, on Christ, the iniquity of us all. He's our scapegoat. He carries away our sins. He is the reason why it says here that who is a God like you who pardons, who lifts up and carries away sin? And stay with me here. and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance. That term forgive in the Hebrew literally means who passes over. Need I say more? Who passes over. The Passover lamb was slain, and if on your house you had the blood on the doorpost, the destroying angel bringing the plague against Egypt, passed over your house. And what did John the Baptist say in John 1 verse 29 when he saw Jesus coming toward him? He said, Behold, the lamb of God, the Passover lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. That's what we celebrate in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Think of it. who is a God like you, who pardons, who lifts up and carries away, and forgives, and passes over the transgression, not of everyone notice, passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance. Writes the great reformer John Calvin, God cannot be worshipped sincerely and from the heart until this conviction be fixed and deeply rooted in our hearts. that God is merciful, not in general, but toward us, because we have been once adopted by Him and are His heritage. And that's true, end of quote. And that is why the prophet Micah goes on to say, look at verse 18 with me, you do not stay angry forever. This holy, righteous, wrath-filled God will not remain angry forever. It says the same thing in Psalm 103, verse nine. You do not stay angry forever, but delight. to show mercy. Think about that. God is not simply merciful. He delights to show mercy. Think of it. You will again have compassion on us. You will tread our sins under foot notice and haul and hurl, not simply some of, but you will hurl all our iniquities, not onto the shoreline, but into the depths of the sea. How could this possibly be? Friends, how could it possibly be that sinners like you and me have all of our sins forgiven, all of our iniquity removed, that God takes every sin you and I have ever committed in our thought, word, and deed throughout the entire course of our lifetime, buries it in the sea, and tramples it underfoot? How could this be? The answer is given in verse 20. You will be true to Jacob and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago, Micah concludes this powerful prophecy by saying the reason that this can be, the reason this good news can be so is because our God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God. That's why. Wow. You know, in Jeremiah 31, 33 and 34, the prophet Jeremiah puts it this way. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be My people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor or a man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sin. No more. Question. Is that you, is that you? Is this text speaking about you? Namely, that God has made a covenant with you, that he has put his law in your mind and he has put his law in your heart, that he has said to you, I will be your God. and that you have responded to Him by saying, and I will be your people. Is that you? My friend, if in your heart of hearts you say, no, Pastor Kuchen, that's not me today, it's not me, then friends, even in this worship hour, pray for the grace of Almighty God to so move in your heart and in your mind that before you leave this sanctuary today, you recognize your misery, You reflect on Micah's ministry and you rejoice in God's mercy by repenting of your sins and professing faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Because then you too, my friend, along with all of the other members of the covenant community near and far, in time and for all eternity, will be able to rest and rejoice and the blessed hope of having taken this soul-saving, God-glorifying journey from misery to mercy. Amen. Let's bow our heads and our hearts together in prayer. Out of my bondage, sorrow and night, Jesus, I come. Jesus, I come. Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light, Jesus, I come to Thee. Out of my sickness, into Thy health. Out of my want, and into Thy wealth. Out of my sin, and into Thyself, Jesus, I come to Thee. O Lord our God, by Thy grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. May each and every one of us and ours hear and heed this clarion call which comes to us through the ministry of Micah to take and to safely make the journey from misery to mercy. Hear us, O Heavenly Father, O Faithful Father, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.