Who is a God like unto Thee

If you open your Bibles with me to Micah chapter 7, I think we're all familiar with verse 18. We just sang it. Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage, he retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again. He will have compassion upon us. He will subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers, from the days of old. You remember Micah's name means who is like Jehovah. That's what his name means translated. And the conclusion of his book, he brings to a crescendo an expression of praise that mirrors his own name. when he says, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who is a God like unto thee?

The glory of God that pardoneth iniquity, the glory of God is most beautifully and most perfectly displayed in his delight to show mercy towards sinners. We know that the heavens declare his glory and that the earth is his handiwork. And we see the glory of God in his creation. We know that the law shows forth his glory. In Exodus chapter 30, Three, Moses asked the Lord, show me thy glory. And the Lord took him up on the mountain of the law. But even there, the glory of God was seen in his mercy. Let's turn to that passage in just a moment, for just a moment. Exodus. Exodus chapter 33, 34. Well, 33 is where he said, show me thy glory. And then in 34, Lord takes Moses up on Mount Sinai.

And in Exodus chapter 34, verse 6, and the Lord passeth before him and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands and forgiving iniquity and transgressions of sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.

Sin must be paid for. But that's the glory that the believer glories in, that the Lord would fulfill the demands of his own law, and that that he would justify by the blood of Christ those who were unable to keep his law, so that the fulfillment of that word is always true. He will by no means clear the guilty. But through the work of Christ, through the mercy that the Lord has shown toward his people, we see his glory most vividly demonstrated in the forgiveness of sin, even on the mountain of the law. We see it in Providence, and we see God's glory as he fulfills his purpose in Providence.

It was interesting, the hymn that we were singing, there's a line in there that said God would devise a plan. And the word plan is nowhere to be found in the Bible. God doesn't have plans. We know what we meant when we sang that, and I know what Don meant when he wrote it. But my point is that our God is a God of purpose. He is a God of purpose. He doesn't just make plans. He purposes all things for His glory and for our good.

And when the Lord enables us to believe that, we see in His providence Not only in our own lives, but in the larger picture of the world, we see the hand of God fulfilling his purpose and bringing glory to himself by showing goodness toward his children.

In heaven, the Bible says that the city has no need for the sun or moon, for the glory of God will be the light thereof. And yet, even in heaven, even in heaven, it is his mercy that accentuates and that gives those that are there to reason, to rejoice in. Let me show you that, Revelation chapter five. Let me show you what I'm trying to, trying to say here, even in heaven, we know that we're going to see him as he is and be made like him.

And we know that the radiance of his glory is going to be such that the heavens will have no need for the sun or the moon as we have it. There'd be no darkness and no unrighteousness. It'd be his glorious presence. But what is it that warms the hearts of the believers in seeing his glory even there?

Well, look at Revelation chapter 5, verse 9. And they sung a new song, saying, thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred tongue and people and nation. So that we see that the glory of God is most perfectly demonstrated even in heaven, even in heaven, by what he did in showing mercy towards sinners. And that's what Malachi is saying. Let's go back to our text. Malachi is rejoicing in God, who, yes, is all-powerful and all-wise and in absolute control of all things. And we glorify him for that.

But nothing overwhelms us more about God than the fact that he would show mercy toward us. And no believer would ever accuse God of wrongdoing because he's not pleased to show mercy toward anyone. Everyone, I'm sorry, everyone. I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy. God, you have the right to do that. Lord, the fact that you would show mercy toward me, that you would single me out, that you would reveal yourself to me, that you would pardon my sin, that you would pass over my transgressions, why? Why? Nothing, nothing inspires the believer's spirit and heart more than that.

In all the other demonstrations of God's glory that we see in the law and in creation and in providence, it is his mercy. It is his mercy that shows forth his greatest glory. And as is true with all the attributes of God, they are on full display. His mercy is on full display at Calvary's Cross, where God, through the sacrifice of his son, was able to be just and justify sinners like us at the same time.

What moves us? What inspires us to worship Him? What inspires us to love Him or to follow Him more than His mercy, the forgiveness of our sin? Let's take verse 18 phrase by phrase. Who is a God like unto thee? Everything begins in our salvation with the wonder of his person. The wonder of his person. The Lord reveals himself as being holy. He's other than we are in every way.

And Malachi is just overwhelmed with that. The Lord told Isaiah, remember the things of old, for I am God and there is none else. I am God and there is none like me. There is none like me. I'm incomparable. There's nothing to compare me to. And to do so would be to blaspheme our God. He's too glorious to be compared to anything. He's other than everything. We err greatly when in our flesh we devise an image of God that is like us.

And when the Lord's pleased to reveal his salvation to us and his mercy to us, he begins by revealing himself to us. I love how the Lord dealt with Job. After Job heard the gospel, the Lord told Job, he said, he said, gird yourself up like a man. I'm going to ask you a few questions. You've been, you've been justifying yourself and you've been interrogating me and you've been accusing me of wrongdoing. Job did. Job told God it wasn't fair what was happening to him. And then for the next three chapters, God just simply asked Job, Job, where were you when I? And he points to Job to see the work of God, to the glory of God. And Job's mouth is shut. He says at the end, he said, I spoke without knowledge. Spoke of things I didn't understand, things I didn't know, but now mine eyes have seen thee, mine eyes have seen thee, and I repent in dust and ashes.

Our salvation and our lives all begin with the wonder and the glory of His person. Who is a God like unto thee? No, there is none other. The disciples were brought to that place when they said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal life. We know and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. We don't have any other place to go.

Simeon was caught up. in the glory of his person when Mary and Joseph brought the Lord Jesus into the temple at eight days old to be circumcised and Simeon held that baby. And the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Simeon was there in his hands and he knew it. And he looked upon him and he said, Lord, you take me home now. The consolation of Israel is here. This is the man that's going to be our savior. and he gloried in the person that he was holding.

Even those Roman soldiers that nailed our Lord to the cross, when the earth shook and the sky was blackened and the Lord cried out, from the cross it is finished, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Even those Roman, those hardened Roman soldiers that had been on that, had been to that scene many, many times with other men. They were accustomed to crucifixion. It may have been a gory sight for others, but for them, they were numb to it.

And yet they said, surely, surely, this is the Son of God. To be held in wonderment of our Lord, those officers that went out to arrest him, and they came back and said, never a man spake like this man. We just were, we were just unable to do anything with this person.

Who is a God like unto thee? Micah is under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, demonstrating by these, by this Crescendo of praise, the very meaning of his own name. Who is like Jehovah? It's a rhetorical question. A rhetorical question is really not a question at all, is it? It's a statement put in the form of a question for the purpose of emphasis. And what greater emphasis could we give than who is a God like unto thee?

Turn with me to Exodus chapter 15. Exodus 15. This is the song of Moses. Children of Israel have just crossed the Red Sea. They have just witnessed the Lord drowning Pharaoh and his army, and they are safe now. And Moses writes this song and leads the children of Israel in singing this song. And he says in verse He says in verse 10, thou wilt blow with the wind and the sea covered them. They sank as lead in the mighty waters.

Who is like unto thee? Who could do such a thing other than our God? Oh, Lord, among the gods. I heard someone recently said, well, you know, the Bible talks about gods. And so there must be other gods. Any god other than Jehovah is nothing but a figment of a man's imagination. That's all it is. It's a fabricated god that he's made in the factory of his own darkened imagination. And he's no god at all. And any other gospel other than the gospel of Christ is no gospel at all.

So when the scripture says, Lord among the gods he's talking about among all the other perceived gods all the other manufactured gods that that men that men have have made up there's nothing like they they can't save they can't do what you just did you know everything that Moses did in Egypt I brought this out a couple of weeks ago, and somebody said, I never knew that. The 10 plagues in Egypt, from the Nile River to the frogs and all the things that happened, all those things represented one of the Egyptian gods. And the Lord wasn't trying to show the Egyptians that he was greater than their gods. The children of Israel never had any experience with any god other than the gods of Egypt. And the Lord is demonstrating his glory, showing them that those Egyptian gods can't save you.

I'm the only one that can save you. And now that's what Moses is saying. Who's like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee? Glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders, for thou stretchest out thy right hand, and the earth swallowed them. Lord, you're the only God that's able to save. None of those other imaginary gods can do what you've done. And all the gods of of man's imagination is that none of them can save. They can't save because they don't exist.

Let's go back to Malachi chapter seven. not only the wonder of the person of our God, but we see in this glorious declaration of Micah's praise, we see the greatness of our God's pardon, that pardoneth iniquity, that pardoneth iniquity. Our sin is not merely a weakness on our part. It's not merely, you know, you hear people say, well, men are flawed. Well, yeah, we are. But our sin's a lot worse than just a flaw.

Our sin is nothing short of rebellion against God. That's what it is. It's man raising his fist to heaven and rebelling against the God of over all gods. The creator and sustainer of all things, the only God that can save. What greater sin is there than treason against God? And yet that's what sin is.

David said, against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that thou might be justified. Lord, you're justified in your assessment of what you say about me. But I want you to think with me about this because usually when the word sin is mentioned, Our minds often go to those shameful acts that are performed in the flesh, even as I read those passages in Ephesians chapter two. Yes, it involves that. But I think that there's something worse than that. There's something worse than that. And that is self-righteousness.

He pardons. iniquity. We don't need the Holy Spirit to convince us that something's wrong or to convict us when we do something wrong. But what an amazing thing it is when we're brought to believe that our righteousnesses are as filthy rags before God. That those things that we do, believing that God is obligated to reward us for them, that's self-righteousness. That's man setting himself up on the throne of God. That's man believing that he can obligate God to save him. And that's what iniquity means, that pardoneth iniquity.

I mean, what's a greater threat to our nation right now? What's a greater threat to our nation right now, in our form of government, in our powers of authority. Is it the criminal that's out there on the street committing crimes one-on-one? Or is it those that are plotting insurrection and treason and seeking to shift the emphasis of our democracy over towards socialism and communism? You see what I'm saying? There's something worse than just the one-on-one crimes that men commit. It's the attempt to overthrow the king is the greatest crime. And yet, that's what we all did. That's what we all, by nature, do. We all believe. that God's obligated to respond to our free will. We all believe by nature that God's obligated to reward us for our good works.

And it's not until the Lord shows the greatness of his pardoning, mercy, that a believer is just brought to well my case. Who's a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity? Lord, you didn't just take care of the shameful things that I was guilty of. Someone, we were talking the other night, and someone said that they had somebody ask them, have you Have you made a list and repented of all of your sins? Of all of your sins?

And that's a question coming from someone who believes that sin is nothing more than a behavioral problem. And when God shows us that our sin is so much greater than that, it goes so much deeper than that, that we can never really comprehend how sinful we are. and that sin is not just what we do, sin is what we are, and that the Lord has pardoned that, that he has put away our sin, and that he has imputed to us a righteousness in Christ that makes us acceptable in the sight of God. That's what Micah's saying. Who's a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity? that you, Lord, you could have left me right where I was, believing what I believed and what everybody else believes, but you pardoned it. You made me to have some understanding of what I am and how needful I am for mercy. And I don't need mercy for just this and that. I need mercy for me. I need mercy for everything.

For Lord, if you judged me for the best thing that I've ever done, man at his very best state is altogether vanity. To be brought to believe that is to have your iniquity pardoned. To believe that if God judged you worthy for heaven based on the best thing you ever did in your whole life, you'd go to hell for it. If you believe that, God's done something for you. He's pardoned your iniquity.

And what an amazing thing that the Lord would cause me to believe. that I have no righteousness, I have nothing to offer God for my salvation, and I'm completely dependent upon Him and His mercy. This is why the glory of God is most demonstrated in the hearts of His people by showing forth the mercy in the saving of their souls and the forgiveness of their sin.

Titus chapter 2 verse 14 says, he gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity. From all iniquity. All the things that we do. to try to earn favor with God, he would redeem us from those things and purify to himself a people zealous for good works. They lived their whole life in darkness. As we read in Ephesians chapter two, just like the rest of the world, under the authority of the prince of the power of the air, going about doing things that they thought would earn them favor with God.

And God says, now you know that those are dead works, but I'm going to make you zealous for good works. Let me give you a real simple way to determine whether or not something you do is a good work or a dead work. As soon as you do something and believe that it's good, it's no longer good. A good work is a work that's done in faith, in faith, looking to Christ. How many times we've We've been offended because somebody didn't appreciate something we did for them. Or we pat ourselves on the back, or we go about thinking, well, I did something really good. As soon as we get to thinking like that, our good works become dead works.

I looked up this word, pardoneth. Now, the verbs in the King James that end with E-T-H are participles. That's why the E-T-H is there. That just means that you could end that word with I-N-G. It means that it wasn't a one-time thing. It means that it is a continual work. that the Lord does.

Yes, he pardoned our sin. Yes, our sin is covered by the blood of Christ. Yes, he's buried in the depths of the sea. Yes, he's put them away by the sacrifice himself. Yes, he separated them from us as far as the East as from the West, and he remembers them no more. And yet we still struggle, don't we? And we still keep coming back again and again and again for more pardoning. Lord, pardoneth my iniquity. Lord, I'm so sinful. I need the blood of Christ. I need the forgiveness of my sin again and again and again.

And this word pardon, and I feel pretty certain that whenever NASA was created, that What is it, National Aeronautics Space Administration? NASA, that acronym, NASA? I'm pretty sure that when they came up with that acronym that no one even considered the fact that that word is the Hebrew word, N-A-S-A, is the Hebrew word for pardon.

And literally, it means, and this is interesting, it means to lift up. To lift up. NASA. He pardoned us. I must be lifted up. And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men to me. When the Lord Jesus was lifted up off the earth, suspended between heaven and earth, and became the sacrifice for our sin, that's where we have, that's in whom we have our pardon. He pardoneth our iniquity. And he continues to pardon it. And he continues to lift us up. The first time this word pardon is found in the Old Testament is in Genesis chapter four, after Cain had killed his brother Abel and the Lord cursed him and said, you're going to be a fugitive and a vagabond throughout the world.

And Cain cried out and Cain said, my punishment is greater than I can bear. My punishment is greater than I can bear. I've got to have it lifted off of me. I can't bear this. And the Lord put a mark on him. Now I'm not saying that Cain was saved or anything. I'm telling you that's a picture of what God has done for us. My punishment is greater than I can bear. And that word mark is a word token. Lord, I need a token for good. I need you to mark me and set me apart lest I die.

The second time that word, this word NASA or pardon is used in the Old Testament is in Genesis chapter 7 concerning the ark. When the ark was sitting there on dry ground and the floodwaters came, the Bible says that the ark was lifted up on the waters above the earth. And so the very instrument of judgment and destruction that destroyed the world was the thing that lifted up the ark. And in that we see a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ being lifted up. And the very judgment of God that will stand against this world lifts us up.

He pardoneth iniquity and this pardon is a complete pardon. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity whereby they have sinned against me and I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned and whereby they have transgressed against me. All their iniquity. It is finished. It is finished. All sin, all God's people's sin had been put away. Who's a godlike unto thee that can pardon my iniquity?

And look at the next, and passeth by the transgressions, the perfection of his justice. He passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage. There's no passing by our transgression. Notice the word transgression now is different from sin, I mean, different from iniquity. Transgression is a direct violation of the law of God. Transgression is those things that men usually think about when they think about sin.

And how is God gonna pass by my transgressions? Well, the same way he passed over the children of Israel in Egypt before he delivered them, he's going to apply the blood of an innocent lamb, a lamb that is proven to be without spot and without blemish. And those that are behind the blood, God said, when I see the blood, I'll pass by you. Now, the point that I'm making here is that this passing by also has the meaning of justice.

God can't just pass over our sin without satisfying his divine justice. And it's only through the shed blood of Christ that justice can be satisfied. that the penalty for sin can be paid for. There's no other payment that will satisfy God's justice other than the blood of Christ. And there's no other person that can fulfill God's righteousness other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And so God does not sacrifice his justice on the altar of his mercy.

He becomes just and he justifies so that mercy and truth meet together at Calvary's cross. He passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage. God saw the travail of the Lord Jesus' soul, and God said, I'm satisfied. Justice has been satisfied. You know, our courts of law are called the justice system, but rarely is justice ever ever really satisfied in this world? You know, someone comes out of prison, and what does the world say? Well, they've paid their debt to society. Well, what if they killed somebody? Did they pay their debt to them?

You know, is that, you can't pay your debt to, the point being is you can't pay off our debt. And then we call our prison systems our correctional facilities. And yet I read one statistic that said within nine years after release, 83% of prisoners released within nine years are rearrested and put back in prison. 83% recidivism rate. That's not much of a correction system, is it? My point being that only the Lord can correct and only the Lord can exact perfect justice.

And that's exactly what he does and what he did for his people in Christ. He passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage. In closing, let's look at the last phrase He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. God doesn't show mercy just because of a legal loophole or a legal contract has been fulfilled. Justice is required. God is a holy and just God. But he doesn't show us mercy just because it's legally required of him to show mercy. And he's not reluctant to show mercy toward his people. He delights in showing mercy.

Oh, we need to remember that. Every time we find ourselves distant from him, every time we find ourselves in a pig pen, feeding on the husk that the swine eat, and we think, well, my You know, I'll go back to my father and I'll beg with him. You know, maybe he'll receive me. Maybe he'll at least put me in the servant's house and let me work as a servant in the back of the house. And where was the father the whole time? Where was he? He was out at the end of the driveway waiting. He waiting, watching for that son. He knew he was coming. There was no reluctance on the part of the father.

All the reluctance was on the part of the prodigal. And that's always true. Any reluctance that we have, any reluctance, any hesitancy, any barrier between us and God, we put there. God says, I delight in showing mercy. He is plenteous in mercy. Like a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. that come to him. But God, who is rich in mercy, with great love were with he had loved us.

Can we read that Ephesians chapter two? Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. I pray the Lord will remind us often, it's the goodness of God that leadeth to repentance. It's the love of Christ that constraineth us, that draws us to him.

And that's what our Lord's telling us here, brethren. There's no God like our God. There's no God that's able to pardon our iniquity, to lift it up off of us, to take it away. There's no God that is able to satisfy divine justice and pass over the transgressions of our sins like our God.

And why does he do it? Why does he do it? The first cause of our salvation, the very first cause of our salvation, is that he has loved us with an everlasting love. It was the love of God that started it all and keeps it all. All those whom he foreknew, he loved them. He did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, and all that he predestinated, he called. And all that he called, he justified, and all that he justified, he glorified. It all started with foreknowledge, God knowing us and loving us. He delights, he delights in showing mercy. All right, Tom. Number 19 in the spiral hymnal, let's stand together.

Who is a God like unto Thee

Sermon Transcript

About Greg Elmquist

Comments

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Who is a God like unto Thee

Sermon Transcript

About Greg Elmquist

Comments

More from Greg Elmquist

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Greg Elmquist

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book