Preaching to you tonight from
Micah chapter 5 and verse 7. But when I got into my office
this morning, I couldn't get past verse 4. So if you will,
let's go back to Micah chapter 5. Micah chapter 5. The more I study this passage,
the bigger, the richer, the more instructive It gets. This is
a chapter full of promised blessings of grace. To be bestowed upon
God's elect in Christ Jesus, the Lord. The title of my message
tonight is Christ, our prince, priest, provider and protector. Christ, our prince, our priest,
our provider, our protector. Micah spoke for God as his prophet
in a dark, dark day. God sent his prophet Micah to
declare his mind and his will to his covenant people and to
declare his indignation against all who oppose Zion and Zion's
God. Era, heresy, idolatry were rampant
on every side. The worship of God was perverted
by almost everyone who professed to worship God. Those men who
should have spoken for God and taught the people the way of
God were themselves self-serving idolaters and would pervert all
things concerning the worship of God, God's prophets and God's
priests, as it is in our day. So it was in Micah's day. The
Lord God speaks by his prophet Jeremiah and says a wonderful
and horrible thing is committed in the land. The prophets prophesy
falsely and the priests bear rule by their means. And my people. Love to have it
so. When I look around me today,
I find the same state of affairs. But even in such a dark, dark
day as this is, in such dark, dark days as Micah and his generation
experienced, even in such days as these, God always has a Micah,
one to stand forth in his name. a Jeremiah, one to proclaim his
truth, and Elijah, one to defy Baal and the prophets of Baal. God Almighty never leaves himself
without a witness. Never. When you think he has,
think again. And God's prophets, God's witnesses,
are all faithful men. Faithful to his word faithful
to his glory faithful to his gospel faithful to the souls
of men and faithful in proclaiming it listen to what he says How
beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth
good tidings that publishes peace God's servants bring good tidings
The gospel is not good advice or good counsel. It's good tidings. I The gospel is not a word from
God about what you ought to do for God. It is a word from God
about what God has done, is doing, and shall do for sinners. It
is good news. Him that publisheth peace, peace
by the blood of his cross. Him that bringeth good tidings
of good, that publisheth salvation. Not salvation, hopefully. not salvation possibly, not salvation
in potential, but publisheth salvation accomplished by Christ
the Redeemer. And the saith to Zion, Thy God
reigneth. Now understand what Isaiah has
declared. All God's servants bring good
tidings. They publish peace. They bring
good tidings of good things. They publish salvation finished. They declare to Zion that God
sits on his throne and reigns sovereignly. And any preacher
who doesn't is not God's servant. Any message that speaks otherwise
is not the gospel. Thy watchman shall lift up the
voice. That is all the watchman Lift
up one voice. Lift up one voice. With the voice
together, they shall sing, for they shall see eye to eye when
the Lord shall bring again Zion. In this chapter, Micah chapter
five, God's people are repeatedly described as a remnant, the remnant
of Jacob. What is a remnant? What is a
remnant? That's a pretty good description
of you and me, a remnant. A remnant is the last piece of
cloth on a boat. It's usually considerably shorter
than what has been cut before. The remnant is the last piece
of cloth on a row. And it's either thrown away are
sold considerably below what the other cloth is sold for because
it's useless, it's of no value. God speaks here of his people
as a remnant. God gets glory to himself in taking that which is useless,
and of no value among men, that which is useless and of no value
in their own eyes, and saving them by his grace. I am so glad
that he says old sinners. So very glad. God deals in remnants. It is true today, and it was
true in Micah's day, God's church and people are a poor, needy
remnant, a remnant scattered among the nations, an elect remnant,
a redeemed remnant, a protected remnant, a people on whom God
has set his seal. And he says, touch not the earth.
until I've sealed the 144,000 in their foreheads. Micah tells us that we're God's
remnant. Particularly and distinctly,
he tells us that we are God's remnant in Christ's hands, under
Christ's care, given to Christ, our prince, our priest, our provider,
and our protector. Look at verse four. And he shall
stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of
the name of the Lord his God, and they shall abide. For now shall he be great unto
the ends of the earth." How blessed it is to contemplate
and feast our souls upon the rich manifestations of God's
mercy, love, and grace to sinners in Christ Jesus. To see in the
midst of surmounting gloom and trouble and heartache, him who
is the stay and support of his people in all times and in all
circumstances. Oh, may God now set our eyes
and our hearts on him. The chapter begins with these
words, now gather thyself in troops. Oh, daughter of troops,
he hath laid sage against us. Without question, and I keep
reminding you of this, there is a historic reference. The
passage clearly, historically, refers to the Chaldeans who gathered
in battle against Zedekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
I'm sure there is also a prophetic historic reference to Titus Vespasian
who finally invaded and destroyed Jerusalem and the nation of Israel. But if all you find in the book
of God or in any portion of the book of God is marvelous prophetic
history, You've got nothing good for your soul from it. If all
you find in this chapter is marvelous, divinely inspired prophetic history,
you've got no benefit to your soul. The passage is intended
by God the Holy Spirit to teach us of Christ and him crucified. and of God's marvelous free grace
in him. Experientially, as we experience
God's word and the grace of God in his mighty saving operations
upon our souls, these troops are all the troops of hell arrayed
against us. Who can number these hellish
truths? Sins and lust. Temptations and
corruptions. Passions and tempers. Evil thoughts
and horrid imaginations. Blasphemies and adulteries. Anger and wrath. Envy and murder. every uncleanness, every wild
beast of wickedness. That's what's in us. And that's
what Satan raises against us as soon as the Lord God begins
his work of grace upon us. And yet, blessed be the captain
of our salvation, our leader, our commander, of the elect remnant,
he is the savior, and we are brought to be more than conquerors
through him that loved us. Triumphant over hell itself,
triumphant over the passions of our own souls, triumphant
over the evil of our own hearts, they shall smite the judge of
Israel with the rod upon the cheek. Again, historically, we
may see Zedekiah in this, but spiritually, experimentally,
prophetically, these words find their point of fulfillment in
the Lord Jesus who was smitten with the reed. I realize that
I'm repeating myself here, but I'm doing so deliberately. I
like that word judge when it refers to our Savior. The psalmist
refers to him as a father of the fatherless. A judge of the
widows is God in his holy habitation. A judge of widows? We tend to
think about a judge as one who sets in judgment and exercises
severe justice. But the word judge, as it is
used here, refers primarily not to God's justice, but to his
tender care and infinite wisdom and good The Lord God is the
judge of the widows and that he is the discerner of all things
concerning his own. And he is the judge, the discerner
and discriminator of all things for we who are his widows married
to him in Christ Jesus, the Lord. God, our savior is called here
a judge, not a husband of widows. Why? Because the Lord Jesus, the precious
judge of Israel, the judge of the widow, knew what it was to
be deserted and in solitude to cry, my heart within me is desolate. Because of that, he learned in
the school of human suffering. Because of that which he learned
as he walked on this earth in sorrow and anguish. Therefore,
he is able to succor them that are tempted, able to help our
souls, able to discriminate and to supply all the necessities
of his suffering people. When gathering clouds around
thy view, when days are dark and friends are few, On him I
lean who not in vain experienced every human pain. He knows my griefs, allays my
fears, and counts and treasures up my tears. So many of God's people this
night Enduring heartache. Many, many friends I have around
the world. Enduring great heaviness. Some of you enduring heaviness
unknown to me or anyone else but you and God. The Lord Jesus
is your judge. That is, he with great wisdom,
discernment, and discrimination orders the affairs of your life.
for your benefit as one who is the protector of the widow. He's the judge. And concerning
him, we have this glorious indisputable prophecy in verse 2. But thou
Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto
me, that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been
from of old, from everlasting. He was set up in the covenant
of grace as our surety, our safeguard, our security. Now, watch this,
verse three. Therefore will he give them up
until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth,
then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children
of Israel. Without question, this is a prophecy
of the day when God's elect, his remnant, those who are redeemed
by the blood of Christ are brought to Christ Jesus, the Lord, given
life and faith in him. They are brought to him and they
all shall be brought to him, given up in the world, scattered
among the nations until the time of soul travail when they are
born again by God, the Holy Spirit. You see all this remnant shall
be born again. All this remnant, the redeemed
of the Lord, shall be made partakers of the divine nature. All this
remnant, God's chosen ones, shall be brought to Christ, brought
to life in Christ and with him in the blessed new creation of
grace, blessed with every blessing of grace. All right. In verse
four, Micah speaks of our exalted Christ. the great glorious incarnate
God, who having fulfilled all righteousness, having obtained
eternal redemption for us with his own blood, entered in once
into the holy place and sat down on the right hand of the majesty
on high, having purged our sins, he fully accomplished all he
was sent here to accomplish, and now he stands forever. He's seated at the right hand
of the majesty on high. But Micah speaks of him as standing. Watch this. And he shall stand
and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name
of the Lord his God. And they shall abide, for now
shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. He shall stand. He shall feed. He shall do so
in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of
the Lord his God. And they, they who are fed by
him, they who are born of him, those who are gathered to him
shall abide. For now shall he be great unto
the ends of the earth. Because he stands in the majesty
of his God, all the people, God's elect tribunate, Those coming
to him shall abide. The scattered ones who are gathered
in shall, not may, shall, not might, shall abide. Then comes the glorious climax
of this prophecy. Now shall he be great unto the
ends of the earth. First, Micah describes our Lord
Jesus, our prince. He shall stand. The crucified Christ, risen again
from the dead, seated in heaven, is called our exalted prince,
the judge, the ruler of Zion, when he was set up as our head
and representative in the covenant of grace. All heaven was filled with praise,
but there was one who looked on this whole affair. When the
Lord God said to him, ask of me and I will give you the heathen
for your inheritance. There was one who looked upon
the whole thing, the whole scheme and purpose of grace in which
God would save chosen sinners and exalt his son. There was
one who looked upon Christ, the God man with envy and malice
and rage, and he set himself to destroy God and his Christ
and his people. Oh, Lucifer, son of the morning,
How art thou fallen from heaven? For thou hast said in thine heart,
I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God. I will also, I will sit also
upon the mountain of the congregation in the sides of the north. I
will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like
the most high, yet thou shalt be brought down to the lowest
hell. to the sides of the pits. Yes,
bless God. Be assured, my friends, Satan
and all who oppose God's Christ shall be brought down to the
pit of everlasting destruction. But it is our privilege, our
privilege now to move away from the scene of their destruction
and ruin, darkness and gloom, To contemplate the great with
glory and majesty and grace of Him who is our God and Savior
who stands forever in heaven. Look at Him. Meditate on Him. Oh, my soul,
fix your eyes on Him. Always on Him. If you want reason
to rejoice, meditate on Him. If you want reason to be moved
away from darkness and gloom, think on Him. Meditate on Christ's
person and work. Look at Him in the days of His
youth while He walked on this earth. He dwelt in seclusion
deliberately. He sought nothing of the world's
riches or fame or applause, nothing. Throughout His entire life, Our
Lord Jesus manifested one singular heart desire, the glory of God,
the will of God, the glory of God in the salvation of his people. Behold the intensity of his desire
to meet the host of hail and accomplish our salvation. Our
Lord Jesus. that he might encounter Satan's
rage, courted damnation, that his people might be delivered
from sin and from all the pains and penalties of hell and of
sin, from guilt and the power of sin, that we might live forever
in the loving embrace of the triune Jehovah. With determination, Bob, he courted
damnation. With determination, he courted
the wrath of God as our substitute, that we might be delivered from
damnation and the wrath of God. His disciples, whom he seemed
to at least outwardly favor with his presence, accompany him to
Gethsemane. where he learned truly to sympathize
with his tried and tempted people. The Lord left them and walked
about a rock's throw from them, and in dejection he cries, my
soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. He said, Abba,
Father, all things are possible with thee. Take away this cup
from me. Nevertheless, not what I will,
but what thou wilt. For the cup must be drunk to
its last bitter drinks. Disappointment, distress, and
desertion is sinless soul experienced intense dissatisfaction. Oh, who can enter into the sufferings
of our substitute? All the disappointments, all
the distress, all the sorrow, all the sufferings he endured
for his people. Were experienced by him at one
time as our substitute. All the suffering. All the sorrows,
all the distress, all his people could ever know to all eternity
came upon him at once. Such sorrow, such suffering,
not even the damned in hell shall ever understand. Not even the
damned in hell shall ever experience. The brother born for adversity
was driven out to be mocked and beaten, spit upon and insulted
by the rabble. And finally at Golgotha's Hill, nailed to the curse tree, made
sin for us and made a curse for us, made to be cursed that we
might never be cursed but forever blessed. Made to be sin that
we might never bear sin, but ever be made the righteousness
of God in him. In his sufferings, all the sins
of his people were put away. By his death, all the justice
of God was fully satisfied and righteousness perfectly brought
in. In his blood, Every spot was
washed from his elect And in him God the father beholds with
the delight of his heart his people and Says this is my beloved
son in whom I was well pleased three days later After the Outpouring of God's wrath after
the desolation of his soul after his desertion and death three
days later after he was buried in the tomb as one guilty he
was raised up as one justified from sin by the spirit of truth
and at last seated on the right hand of the majesty on high and
given power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to
as many as the father had given him. Now, having accomplished
the redemption of our souls, having defeated the devil on
his own territory, having glorified the father, having entered into
the holiest of all to plead for and represent his brethren and
take possession of our inheritance for us, we see the glorious fulfillment
of this ancient prophecy. And he shall stand and feed in
the strength of the Lord and in the majesty of the name of
the Lord his God. Here is our blessed priest. The
heathen may rage and the people may imagine a vain thing. Satan
may roar and vent his rage against us. And the very disciples themselves
may believe not. And yet our Lord Jesus prolonged
his days forever. The pleasure of the Lord prospers
in his hand and he makes intercession for the transgressors. In his
resurrection power, in his ascension glory, in his indisputable rule
of all things at the father's right hand, he stands. Now, this doesn't refer to the
posture of his body. as I am standing here and you're
sitting there. This doesn't refer to the posture
of his body. This refers to the permanence
of his place. He stands. He stands forever
unchanged and unchangeable. Jesus Christ the saint yesterday
and today and forever Because he stands and intercedes as our
advocate in heaven the father's will stands The father's purpose
stands the father's decree stands the father's word stands Nothing
shall be altered. He stands He stands to He stands as our provider. The word feed here implies the
character of a shepherd. He feeds. This is not confined
just to feeding, to furnishing his flock with food, but it takes
into consideration and includes all the discharge of the office
of a shepherd. He causes his sheep to rest.
He leads them beside still waters. He restores them when they go
astray. He heals them when they're wounded
or sick. And he defends and secures them
in all their way, in all their day and forever. We're often tossed to and fro,
rough doubts and fears and uncertainties and fierce temptations. Presses
down. Bitter disappointments break
our hearts. But our merciful, faithful friend. At the court
in heaven stands in all the glories of his Godhead, combined with
all the tenderness and perfection of his humanity as our great
provider to care for his own. And every paying that rends the
heart, the man of sorrows bears apart, he sympathizes with the
grief and brings the suffering saint relief. When he had by
himself purged our sin, he sat down with the right hand of the
majesty of the Father on high and the Father saying to him,
sit thou at my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. He's sitting there indicates
certainly the perfection of his work and the completion of his
work and the efficacy of his work. I would remind you of Stephen. Remember Stephen, as he was being
stoned to death, he called upon the Lord. And there was one who rushed
to hold the clothes of those who stoned him, but he calls
on the name of the Lord And he saw Jesus standing to receive
him. And the stones, each one of them,
by God's eternal decree. Can you imagine the pain? The
pain. Lots of ways of dying. Can you
imagine the pain of being stoned to death? And David, those stones,
each one of them by God's decree, sweet messages of grace to take
Stephen out of the world of misery and woe into the world where
none is known. Our God does all things well. Our Savior rules and uses even
that which we commonly esteem to be evil for our everlasting
good. Our troubled and tried ones tossed
with tempest and not comforted, whom Satan delights to worry
and fret with malicious glee, whom he taunts and jeers and
mocks. They are under the constant care
of our Lord Jesus. And from the mountaintop of your
distress, He will run to your relief and cause you to know
his grace in the midst of difficulty. He's our protector. He stands
and feeds in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the
name of his God. He receives his poor, trembling
ones and ministers to us, meeting all the necessities of those
he loves and saves by his grace. This is the Christ I love, the
Christ I trust, the Christ I worship, the Christ I call you to believe. He shall stand. Saul of Tarsus runs to Damascus. He has some
warrants in his hand. He runs to Damascus to destroy
the church of God. He's been persecuting them all
over the place. But on his way to Damascus, he
saw a light brighter than the sun in its glory. It knocked
him off his horse. And he heard a voice from heaven.
Those around him knew something was going on, but they didn't
understand the voice. Because the voice spoke just to him.
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And thus the Lord Jesus identifies
himself with his members. You're persecuting my people,
you're persecuting me. You, you touch my people, you
touch the apple of my eye. And the glorious prince, ever
the protector of his own. Sooner or later, they're made
and enabled to acknowledge that he is their protector in all
things. And yet, all the while, as Saul
is running to destroy them, the Lord Jesus is gathering in one
of the remnant of Jacob to his brethren, just as Micah here
prophesied he would. Who can withstand him? Who can resist him? Who can thwart
His purpose? He shall stand. Zion stands with hills surrounded. How blessed we are to be under
His care, protected by Him who stands forever. stands as our
Savior, as our priest, as our provider, as our protector, the
Prince of Heaven and the Prince of Glory. As assuredly as he
stands, they shall abide. They shall abide. All whom he
gathers shall abide, kept by him as the apple of his eye.
Abide with him. Abide in his grip. Abide in his
heart. Abide his bride, his wife, who
hateth putting away. His people whom he will never
divorce. His people whom he will never
let leave him. His people who shall never be
barred from his embrace and the kisses of his mouth. Never pushed
away. His people, they shall abide,
abide forever. His purpose shall stand. His
church shall stand. None shall be harmed after all
and brought at last into heaven's everlasting glory. Oh, I want you to know these
things. Paul prayed for the Ephesian saints.
that you might know the riches of the glory of His grace, that
you might know the power of His grace, that you might know His
infinite love. The knowledge of His grace, of
His love, of His salvation sustains your soul in the midst of great
darkness. Job in his trial. Job was tried. Job was tried. And yet, in the midst of his
troubles and tribulations, this sustained his soul in peace.
He said, I know that I shall be justified. I know that my
Redeemer liveth. And I know that thou canst do
everything. I know that I shall be justified
because Christ is my prince, my priest, my provider and my
protector. I know that my Redeemer liveth
and I know that He can do everything. He can do everything. Did you hear? He can do everything
and He has sworn that He performs all things for me. Amen.