Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Micah 7:20
Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, [and] the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
20. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob ] For the saints of old still ‘live unto God’ (i.e. in the sight of God they are alive), and still take an interest in the affairs of their successors; comp. Jer 31:15, Luk 16:25-31, Joh 8:56, Rev 6:9-11. This was not only a popular belief at the Christian era (comp. Mat 27:47; Mat 27:49), but is endorsed by our Lord and by the New Testament writers. ‘Truth’ here means ‘faithfulness;’ the promises alluded to are such as Gen 22:16-18; Gen 28:13-14.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob and the mercy to Abraham – What was free mercy to Abraham, became, when God had once promised it, His truth. Abraham also stands for all those, who in him and his Seed should be blessed, those who were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world Eph 2:12, in no covenant or relation with God, as well as those who were the children of the faith; pagan, as well as Jews. Jacob represents these who were immediately his children, such of the children of Israel, as were also the true Israel and children of faithful Abraham. In both ways the gift to Abraham was mercy, to Jacob, truth. So also Paul saith, Jesus Christ was a Minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. Rom 15:8-9 yet mercy and truth Psa 25:10, together, are all the paths of the Lord; they met together Psa 85:10 in Christ; yea Christ Himself is full of Mercy as well as Truth Joh 1:14 : and woe were it to that soul to whom He were Truth without mercy. Rup.: For to be saved, we look not so much to the truth of the Judge as to the mercy of the Redeemer. And mercy, in the counsel of God, reacheth wider than truth; for truth is given to Jacob, the father of one nation, Israel; but mercy to Abraham, the father of many nations Gen 17:5; Rom 4:17. Isaac, it may be, is not here mentioned, because all to whom the blessing should come are already spoken of in Jacob and Abraham; in Jacob, all to whom the promise was first made; in Abraham, all nations of the world who should be blessed in his Seed, through the mercy of God overflowing the bounds of that covenant. Isaac is, in his sacrifice, chiefly a type of our Lord Himself.
Which Thou hast sworn unto our fathers – That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation Heb 6:18.
From the days of old – Alb.: From eternity, in the counsel of God; in promise, from the foundation of the world, as is said in the hymn of Zacharias, As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began Luk 1:70. Pococke: The inspired hymns of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of Zachariah take up the words of the prophet, and shew that they are already fulfilled in Christ, although they shall be more and more fulfilled unto the worlds end, as Jew and Gentile are brought into His fold; He remembering His mercy, as He spake to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever Luk 1:54-55. To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remnember His holy covenant, the oath which He sware to our father Abraham that He would grant unto us Luk 1:72-74.
I too, Jerome subjoins, sealing the labor of my little work by calling upon the Lord, will say at the close of this tract, O God, who is like unto Thee? Take away the iniquity of Thy servant, pass by the sin of my decayed soul, and send not Thine anger upon me, nor rebuke me in Thy indignation; for Thou art full of pity and great are Thy mercies. Rcturn and have mercy upon me; drown mine iniquities, and cast them into the depth of the sea, that the bitterness of sin may perish in the bitter waters. Grant the truth which Thou didst promise to Thy servant Jacob, and the mercy which Thou didst pledge to Abraham Thy friend, and free my soul, as Thou didst sware to my fathers in the days of old; As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Then shall mine enemy see and be crowned with confusion, who now saith unto me, where is now thy God? Eze 33:11. Amen, Amen, O Good Lord Jesus.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 20. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob] The promises which he has made to Jacob and his posterity. Not one of them can ever fall to the ground. “And the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn;” viz., that “in his Seed all the families of the earth should be blessed;” that the Messiah should come from ABRAHAM, through his son ISAAC, by JACOB and DAVID; be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel. And this promise, and this oath, God has most signally fulfilled by the incarnation of Christ, who was sent to bless us by turning away every one of us from his iniquities; and for this purpose he was delivered for our offenses, and rose again for our justification; and repentance and remission of sins are preached in his name to all nations. The proclamation was first made at Jerusalem; and that the prophet refers to this, is evident from the use made of these words by Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, when, under the full afflatus of the Spirit of God, he quoted this prophecy of Micah, as fulfilled in the incarnation of Christ, Lu 1:72-73. The Chaldee paraphrases this last verse with spirit and propriety: “Thou wilt give the truth to Jacob his son, as thou hast promised by oath to him in Beth-el. And the mercy to Abraham and to his seed after him, as thou didst swear to him amidst the divisions. Thou wilt be mindful of us on account of the binding of Isaac, who was bound upon the altar before thee.
And thou wilt do us that good, which, from the most ancient days, thou hast promised to our fathers by an oath.” Between the divisions, refers to the covenant made between God and Abraham, Ge 15:9-11; Ge 15:17-18. Well might the prophet exult in his challenge to earth and hell. WHO IS A GOD LIKE UNTO THEE! Hell is speechless, earth is dumb. Infidels dare not open their mouths!!! Hallelujah! mi El camocha! JESUS is the mighty God and Saviour, pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin, and saving to the uttermost all that come unto God through him. Blessed be God! Reader, lay this to heart.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thou, O God of mercy, wisdom, power, and faithfulness, whoever are honoured with being thine instruments and servants in doing somewhat herein, the work is thine, thou wilt raise up a deliverer, Cyrus shall be thine anointed to do this great work.
Wilt perform, Heb. give, actually bestow what thou hast in mercy promised.
The truth; nothing so certain as the word of God, it is the truth by way of eminency, his promise is yea and amen.
To Jacob; the posterity of Jacob; he was that plain-hearted man who now gives name to all the upright and honest among his seed, which God will never finally cast off; though now carried captive, they shall be restored, rebuilt, and re-established, shall flourish, as Mic 7:10-12, and this as they are a type of a more gloriously redeemed people.
The mercy: it was mere grace in God to promise Abraham and his seed such excellent privileges, which Abrahams natural seed did inherit; but both this seed and this mercy looked beyond the natural descendants of Abraham, and beyond their return to the land of Canaan whence they were carried. The mercy to Abraham was, that in his seed all nations should be blessed and holpen, Luk 1:51,55,68.
To Abraham; not only as father to Israel after the flesh, but to him as father of the faithful.
Which thou hast sworn; not that there was on Gods part any need of such confirmation, but that on our part all doubt might be removed, and we by the immutable things of God might have strong consolation, as Heb 6:18.
Unto our fathers; because this mercy was frequently repeated in the promises to the fathers after Abrahams time, by which promises a mercy to be perpetuated in Abrahams seed, till the redemption of the Israel of God by the Messiah, (of which all temporal deliverances of Israel were figures,) should be effected. From the days of old; ever since Abrahams days, and Gods gracious adopting his seed to be the peculiar people of God: into this we do, as Israel did, resolve our assurance of final deliverance. Amen.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
20. perform the truththefaithful promise.
to Jacob . . . AbrahamThoushalt make good to their posterity the promise made to thepatriarchs. God’s promises are called “mercy,” because theyflow slowly from grace; “truth,” because they will besurely performed (Luk 1:72;Luk 1:73; 1Th 5:24).
sworn unto our fathers(Psa 105:9; Psa 105:10).The promise to Abraham is in Ge12:2; to Isaac, in Ge 26:24;to Jacob, in Ge 28:13. Thisunchangeable promise implied an engagement that the seed of thepatriarchs should never perish, and should be restored to theirinheritance as often as they turned wholly to God (Deu 30:1;Deu 30:2).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob,…. That is, the promise made to Jacob, the Lord would faithfully perform and make good to his posterity, natural and spiritual, especially to those who are Israelites indeed;
[and] the mercy to Abraham; the gracious promises made to him, which sprung from mere grace and mercy; all respecting his natural and spiritual seed; and especially the promise of the coming of the Messiah, that seed of his in which all nations of the earth were to be blessed; and which is the eminent instance of the mercy and grace of God to Jews and Gentiles, that walk in the steps of Abraham; see Lu 1:68;
which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old; or the promises both of multiplying the seed of Abraham, and of giving them the land of Canaan, and of the Messiah springing from them, were confirmed by an oath, Ge 22:16. The Targum is,
“thou wilt give the truth of Jacob to his sons, as thou hast sworn to him in Bethel; the goodness of Abraham to his seed after him, as thou hast sworn to him between the pieces; thou wilt remember to us the binding of Isaac, who was bound upon the altar before thee; thou wilt do with us the good things which thou hast sworn to our fathers, from the days of old;”
which Kimchi interprets of the three fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The faithful confirm here the former truth, that God had deposited his covenant with them, which could not be made void: and hence also shines forth more clearly what I have said before, that the faithful do not learn by their own understanding what sort of Being God is, but embrace the mercy which he offers in his own word. Except God then speaks, we cannot form in our own minds any idea of his grace but what is uncertain and vanishing; but when he declares that he will be merciful to us, then every doubt is removed. This is now the course which the Prophet pursues.
He says, Thou wilt give truth to Jacob, mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn to our fathers; as though he said, “We do not presumptuously invent any thing out of our own minds, but receive what thou hast once testified to us; for thy will has been made known to us in thy word: relying then on thy favor, we are persuaded as to thy gratuitous pardon, though we are in many respects guilty before thee.” We now then understand the design of the Prophet.
As to the words, it is not necessary to dwell on them, for we have elsewhere explained this form of speaking. There are here two expressions by which the Prophet characterizes the covenant of God. Truth is mentioned, and mercy is mentioned. With respect to order, the mercy of God precedes; for he is not induced otherwise to adopt us than through his goodness alone: but as God of his own will has with so great kindness received us, so he is true and faithful in his covenant. If then we desire to know the character of God’s covenant, by which he formerly chose the Jews, and at this day adopts us as his people, these two things must be understood, that God freely offers himself to us, and that he is constant and true, he repents not, as Paul says, as to his covenant: The gifts and calling of God, he says, are without repentance, (Rom 11:29😉 and he refers to the covenant, by which God adopted the children of Abraham.
He says now, Thou wilt give, that is, show in reality; for this, to give, is, as it were, to exhibit in effect or really. Thou will then give, that is, openly show, that thou hast not been in vain so kind to us and ours, in receiving them into favor. How so? Because the effect of thy goodness and truth appears to us.
Thou hast then sworn to our fathers from the days of old. The faithful take for granted that God had promised to the fathers that his covenant would be perpetual; for he did not only say to Abraham, I will be thy God, but he also added, and of thy seed for ever. Since, then, the faithful knew that the covenant of God was to be perpetual and inviolable, and also knew that it was to be continued from the fathers to their children, and that it was once promulgated for this end, that the fathers might deliver it as by the hand to their children; they therefore doubted not but that it would be perpetual. How so? for thou hast sworn to our fathers; that is, they knew that God not only promised, but that having interposed an oath, by which God designed to confirm that covenant, he greatly honored it, that it might be unhesitatingly received by the chosen people. As then the faithful knew that God in a manner bound himself to them, they confidently solicited him, really to show himself to be such as he had declared he would be to his own elect.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(20) Thou wilt perform.The closing words in the prophecy of Micah are gloriously taken up some centuries later by Zechariah: As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began: that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He sware to our father Abraham, that He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life (Luk. 1:54-55).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
REFLECTIONS
READER! let us beg for grace to follow the Prophet’s example, and in times of general corruption, as the present, instead of lamenting that we are constrained to dwell with Mesech, and to have our habitation among the tents of Kedar; make these situations profitable by accepting them as they are really meant, to compel our hearts to leave the society of unfaithful and false men, for the sweet communion of our faithful and true God. Help me, thou dear Emmanuel, to be looking unto thee, and waiting for thee, as the Lord God of my salvation! Take, my soul, the same assurance as the Prophet did, for sore thou hast equal cause, since now redemption work is finished, and complete; and say, as he did, My God will hear me. Yes! if thou canst really and truly call Jesus thy God; surely thou canst with confidence really and truly say, my God will hear me. And though the enemy may for the moment rejoice; though thou mayest for the hour walk in darkness; yet still, amidst all, thou knowest thy God is Mine everlasting light, and thy God thy glory! And, my soul! let not the Prophet exceed thee, either in admiration, or in love, at beholding the peerless grace of a covenant God in Christ. Hath not the Lord in thine instance, as in his, remembered his faithfulness and truth to a thousand generations; and for Jesus sake pardoned thy sins, and cast them into the depths of the sea of Jesus blood! Hail thou blessed Lord! still shall that song swell in every note, and be the last on the trembling lips of time, and the first and last through all the periods of eternity; to Him who hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and made us Kings and priests to God and his Father, be glory forever. Amen.
Farewell Micah! farewell faithful servant of thy God! I bless the Lord for having sent thee into his service, and having commissioned thee to the delivery of so many precious things as are contained in this prophecy; and if there were no other, for that blessed one concerning my Lord’s place of nativity. Surely thy God meant that this part of thy prophetical writings should be peculiarly directed to counteract the dreadful heresy of the last days, concerning the God head of my Lord. For how could any Being, less than an eternal Being, have his goings forth from everlasting! Thanks be to God for the services of his Prophets! Blessed, blessed forever be Jehovah for the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mic 7:20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, [and] the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
Ver. 20. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham ] Heb. Thou wilt give; for all is of free gift. His love moved God to promise, his truth binds him to perform; 2Sa 7:18 ; 2Sa 7:21 , “For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these things.” Having made himself a voluntary debtor to his people, he will come off fairly with them; and not be worse than his word, but better. Hence, Rev 10:1 , Christ is said to have a rainbow upon his head; to show that he is faithful and constant in his promises, and that tempests should blow over, the sky be cleared. “For this is as the waters of Noah unto me,” saith the Lord: “for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart,” &c., Isa 54:9-10 . God hath hitherto kept promise, with nights and days, Jer 33:20 ; Jer 33:25 , that one shall succeed the other; therefore much more will he keep promise with his people.
Which thou hast sworn unto our fathers
Gloria Deo in excelsis.
Thou wilt perform, &c. Quoted in Luk 1:72, Luk 1:73.
sworn unto our fathers. Reference to Pentateuch (Gen 50:24. &c.) App-92. See Psa 105:9, Psa 105:10, Psa 105:42,
Gen 12:2, Gen 12:3, Gen 17:7, Gen 17:8, Gen 22:16-18, Gen 26:3, Gen 26:4, Gen 28:13, Gen 28:14, Psa 105:8-10, Jer 33:25, Jer 33:26, Luk 1:54, Luk 1:55, Luk 1:72-74, Act 3:25, Act 3:26, Rom 11:26-31, Heb 6:13-18
Reciprocal: Gen 24:27 – of his Gen 32:10 – truth Exo 34:6 – truth Num 23:19 – or hath he Deu 7:12 – Lord Deu 9:5 – that he may 1Ki 8:20 – hath performed 1Ki 8:23 – who keepest 2Ki 13:23 – because of his covenant Psa 40:10 – lovingkindness Psa 43:3 – send Psa 61:7 – prepare Psa 69:13 – in the Psa 71:22 – even Psa 85:10 – Mercy Psa 89:1 – thy faithfulness Psa 98:3 – remembered Psa 100:5 – and his truth Psa 105:42 – Abraham Psa 115:1 – for thy mercy Psa 117:2 – General Psa 119:90 – faithfulness Psa 146:6 – keepeth truth Jer 51:5 – though Zec 1:3 – and Luk 24:27 – and all Joh 1:17 – grace Act 26:6 – the promise Rom 3:4 – let God Rom 11:28 – are beloved Rom 15:8 – for the 1Th 5:24 – Faithful Rev 15:3 – just
WHO IS A PARDONING GOD LIKE THEE?
Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which Thou hast sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
Mic 7:20
Listen! We shall not hear many more Old Testament words before Advent; this is almost the last sound of the Old Testament trumpet before Isaiah takes up the strain to proclaim an Incarnate Saviour. And the words are all the more remarkable because they come from Micah, the prophet of whom what we most readily remember is that he alone foretells Bethlehem as the Saviours birthplace. He has been sent from the land of Judah, to which he belonged, to bear a testimony to the kingdom of Israel. And his testimony, for the greater part of it, is one of stern reproof and warning. The nation was far gone in wickedness of every kind; their doom was near at hand. Yet before they fell the Lord gave them this solemn admonition, with here and there glimpses interspersed of a coming and brighter day. For so it has ever been: no nation falls unwarned, though warnings now are not spoken by a prophets voice, but are enshrined in the word once written for all mens learning.
And now, at the very close, there is a complete change of strain, these closing verses contain a rich, full Gospel message, glad tidings of great joy to every stricken and mourning heart. It came too late for Israel as a nation; but doubtless there were souls among that godless people, like the seven thousand in Elijahs day, to whom it would bring peace and joy. It bears peace and joy still to all who have learned to mourn for sin.
Let us hear what Micah tells us of the God with whom we have to do.
I. He is great, because rich in mercy.(a) This is the special note of the one true God. Mark it well. Many in the present day, who think they are good Protestants, shrink from this attitude of God. They cannot deny it; it is too clearly revealed. But they put it in the background, and almost try to hide it, while they dwell on the renewing work of grace to train the soul to holy living. Quite true, and precious truth! Never forget it. Never cease to impress it on yourself, and on all whom you can influence, that an accepted and pardoned believer must needs have received from the Holy Spirit, as the seal of his acceptance, the new heart and the right mind, and be trained by the same Holy Spirit to earnest walking and fighting the good fight of faith. But still this is not the truth which lies at the foundation, not that which made the heart of the prophet glow within him as he exclaimed, Who is a God like unto Thee? He knew full well, as Apostles knew in after-days, that we must first set forth the free mercy of God; and the more firmly we do so the more clearly do we establish His greatness as far above all so-called gods. (b) Mark the full and unqualified language. Words seem to fail him to bring out his thought. See how it struggles for expression. Pardoneth, passeth by, retaineth not anger, delighteth in mercy, will turn again, will have compassion, will subdue our iniquities, will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Could you frame other or stronger language? He who rejects or shrinks from the truth of Gods unbounded mercy to sinners may be ever so wise as the modern world reckons wisdom; but he is not in the way of making men wise unto salvation.
II. This assurance is based on promise.(a) To Israelites the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You see, Micah had no doubt of the old story of the call of Abram and the special dealing with Isaac and Jacob. To him these were no fancies, no vague traditions, passed from mouth to mouth from generation to generation. The story was true if ever history was true. The call was no dream of Moses, or of any one writing in his name: it was a real call, a real separating of one nation to be the Lords own; and they, with all their faults, had (almost in spite of themselves) kept alive in the world the knowledge of the one true God. Yes, and is that covenant now dead? Israel herself does not think so. Though dispersed and homeless, she still claims her fathers birthright, and looks onward to the day when she shall once more be settled in their Promised Land and sit enthroned on Gods holy hill. How this may be I know not; they have much to learn first of Gods dealings with them. Meanwhile, their existence and the living power of their traditions are a standing witness to the truth of the old record and the reality of the old covenant. (b) Then, secondly, to us it is a type of our spiritual inheritance. When the Holy Spirit, by the pen of Micah, speaks of the truth assured to Jacob, the mercy to Abraham, we cannot think that His words point to an earthly land of promise or an earthly kingdom as the beginning and ending of it all. Nay, surely, He bids us look to the reign of the true King, of Him Whose day Abraham saw afar off, and rejoiced to see. Brethren, cling to that belief. For here also the unbelieving spirit of the day comes in, and would fain persuade you to separate the promise of present happiness or future glory from all reference to the Cross of Jesus, or to the faith by which we are joined to Him. Not so speaks the Scripture. Even the Old Testament prophet can teach us deeper things. For even under the old covenant the Chosen People had ever to look to the undeserved mercy of their God. Far more must we, if we claim to be among His adopted ones now, be ever looking to the death of Jesus, and delighting to think how our Father has sealed to us all His promises by giving His Son to die for us and to rise again.
Mic 7:20. Perform the truth means that God will prove the truth of all His promises to Jacob or Israel, which had first been made to Abraham the founder of the race.
Mic 7:20. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob Thou wilt perform to his posterity what thou didst promise to Jacob. And the mercy to Abraham As the promises given to Abraham were made to him and to his seed after him, so the Scriptures speak of the blessings bestowed upon his children, as if they were actually made good to him their progenitor. Among the promises made to Abraham and the other patriarchs, one important one was, that their seed should possess the land of Canaan. This promise, with those of a spiritual nature, will receive its final accomplishment in the conversion and restoration of the Jewish nation in the latter times. That people are said to be beloved for their fathers sakes, Rom 11:28; and therefore we have reason to expect, that the mercies promised to their fathers will be made good to them, in Gods due time; for the gifts and callings of God are without repentance, Rom 11:29.
7:20 Thou wilt perform the {u} truth to Jacob, [and] the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
(u) The Church is assured that God will perform the truth of his merciful promise, which he had made long ago to Abraham, and to all that would apprehend the promise by faith.
The basis of Micah’s confidence was that God would be faithful to His promises to Jacob and loyal to His commitment (Heb. hesed) to bless Abraham (cf. Gen 12:2-3; Gen 13:15; Gen 15:18-21; Gen 17:7-8; Gen 17:13; Gen 17:19; Gen 17:21; Gen 28:13-14; Gen 35:10-12; Gen 48:4; et al.). These were ancient promises that God had sealed with His oath, vowing to fulfill them (e.g., Gen 22:16-18; cf. Rom 4:13; 2Co 6:16; Heb 4:1-10; Heb 8:10; 1Pe 2:9; Rev 1:6; Rev 5:10; Rev 21:3; Rev 21:7).
"Like a day that begins with a dark, foreboding sky but ends in golden sunlight, this chapter begins in an atmosphere of gloom and ends in one of the greatest statements of hope in all the OT." [Note: McComiskey, p. 440.]
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)