Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Micah
Book: Micah
Chapter: 3
Overview:
The cruelty of the princes, and the falsehood of the prophets.
(1-8) Their false security.
(9-12)
1-8 Men cannot expect to do ill, and fare
Well; but to find
that done to them which they did to others. How seldom do
wholesome truths reach the ears of those in high stations or in
authority! Those who deceive others are preparing confusion for
their own faces. The
Prophet had ardent
Love to
God and to the
souls of men;
Deep concern for his
Glory and their
Salvation,
and zeal against
Sin. The difficulties he met with did not drive
him from his work. He had this strength; not from and of
himself, but he was full of power
By the
Spirit of the
Lord.
Those who act honestly, may act boldly. And those who come to
hear the
Word of God, must be willing to be told of their
faults, must take it kindly, and be thankful.
9-12 Zion's walls owe
No thanks to those that build them up
with
Blood and iniquity. The
Sin of
Man Works not the
Righteousness of
God. Even when men do that which in itself is
good, but do it for filthy
Lucre, it becomes
Abomination both to
God and
Man.
Faith rests in the
Lord as the soul's foundation:
presumption only leans upon the
Lord as a prop, and would use
him to serve a turn. If men's having the
Lord among them will
not keep them from doing evil, it never can secure them from
suffering evil for
So doing. See the doom of wicked
Jacob;
Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a
Field. This
was exactly fulfilled at the
Destruction of
Jerusalem By the
Romans, and is
So at this
Day. If sacred places are polluted
By
Sin, they will be wasted and ruined
By the
Judgments of God.