Micah 4:7

And I will make her that halted a remnant,.... That is, make a reserve of her, and not utterly cut her off for her halting or sinning; that there may be a seed, a posterity descending from her, that

And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

Her that halted: see this phrase opened, , and in this chapter, . A remnant; which, as they were preserved for a seed, so they should as fruitful seed take root and increase, and continue to the coming of the Messiah. That was cast far off; that was cast off by God, and by the hands of Babylonians were carried away captives into remotest parts of the Babylonish kingdom. A strong nation; so the Jews did grow up in multitudes and strength, as appears by the Jewish wars which were by them waged in the days of the Maccabees. The Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion; the true God, Lord of heaven and earth, shall be their God alone, him they shall obey in his worship, law, and temple in Jerusalem. From henceforth, even for ever, i.e. to the end or period fixed for the Mosaic and legal institutions, for a very long time, not simply for ever. This was partly fulfilled to this people in their return, and reestablishment ill their own land arid in Jerusalem; but the final, full, and eternal accomplishment hereof is now fulfilling, and shall continue so, under the Messiah, till fulfilled in the gathering all the elect to Christ in grace on earth, and in glory in heaven.

Micah 4:7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.Ver. 7. And I will make her that halted a remnant] Yea, a renowned remnant, Zephaniah 3:19. Not many Jews were converted in comparison to the Gentiles; hence they are called a remnant. They both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets; they have also persecuted us, saith the apostle, or cast us out, as by an ostracism; and they "please not God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles," 1 Thessalonians 2:15-16. Thus the generality of them then: and so to this day they continue cross, and cursing Christ and his followers thrice a day in their synagogues (Jerome in Isaiah. Buxtorf. Synag.). Howbeit at this present time, also, there is a "remnant according to the election of grace," Romans 11:5, and that remnant became the seminary of the Christian Church. And her that was cast far off a strong nation] Numerous and valorous. Vide fidem et passionero martyrum, et de genre robusta non ambiges, saith Jerome here: Consider the faith and patience of the martyrs, and you will easily yield them to be a strong nation indeed. Christians have showed as glorious power in the faith of martyrdom as in the faith of miracles. They can do that which others cannot turn their hands to; they can suffer wrongs best of any; compel them to go a mile, they will be content to go two, yea, as far as the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace will carry them. There is nothing that they dare not undertake and undergo for the glory of their God. This courage in Christians heathens counted obstinace (Tertull. in Apolog.), but they knew not the power of the Spirit nor the privy armour of proof that the saints have about their hearts, which maketh them insuperable, more than conquerors. And the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion] i.e. In the Christian Church, out of which went the law, that is, the gospel, Micah 4:2. See Isaiah 40:9; Isaiah 52:7 Hebrews 12:22. There shall Christ reign, and so he did ever: but now he shall declare himself to be "Messiah the Prince," Daniel 9:25, Lord and Christ, Acts 2:36, Saviour and Sovereign. As King Hebrews 1:1-14. Of rebels makes them subjects, willing to be ruled by him; 2. He preserves them in that privilege by his Spirit; 3. He gives them laws far better than those of the twelve tables in Rome, which yet far exceeded (saith Cicero) all the learned libraries of the philosophers in worth and weight; 4. He sweetly inclineth their wills to yield universal obedience thereunto, and to cross themselves so they may please him; 5. He rewards them with comfort and peace here, and with life eternal hereafter; 6.

(6, 7) Her that halted.—Like flocks wearied with heat and journeyings. The promise immediately refers to the return when God would re-establish the Jews, and eventually come Himself to the restored Temple. And, further, His own promise sanctions the words of Micah as to the abiding character of His rule, that legacy which He left to the Church—“Lo, I am with yon alway, even unto the end of the world.”

Verse 7. Her that halted a remnant] I will preserve them as a distinct people after their return from captivity, for the farther purposes of my grace and mercy. And the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion] The Chaldee is remarkable here, and positively applies the words to the Messiah: "But thou, O Messiah, of Israel, who art hidden because of the sins of the congregation of Zion, the kingdom shall come unto thee."

7. And I will make … a remnant] i.e. I will treat Israel, in spite of her ‘halting’ condition, as the ‘remnant’ to which the Messianic promises belong. shall reign] Strictly, will have become king; i.e. will have assumed the royal functions, without the dubious intervention of a merely human representative. So Isaiah 24:23; Isaiah 52:7.

And her that was cast off a strong nation - The prophecy, that there should be a remnant, was depressing. Yet what a remnant should it be! A remnant, which should multiply like the stars of heaven or the sand on the sea-shore.

7. A remnant — The nucleus of a new kingdom of God (see on Amos 5:15). The Messianic hopes all center around this remnant and the nation growing out of it.