Micah 6:2

Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord's controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth,.... These are the words of the prophet, obeying the divine command, calling upon the mountains, which are the

Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD's controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord's controversy.

Hear ye, O mountains: in the first verse God directs Micah to take the mountains and hills for witnesses; now in this verse he doth call upon those mountains to hear: it is a prosopoeia, an elegant personating of hearers and witnesses, as 2:2. Some by mountains understand princes and nobles, and by strong foundations of the earth inferior magistrates, as ; but it may as well, or better, be an appeal to these creatures in so just a cause for their Creator. The Lord’ s controversy, whose sovereign Majesty may well command what he pleaseth, and expect to be obeyed, and whose unparalleled goodness to Israel ought to have been uncontroverted motives to obey him in all things; yet the sovereign goodness is slighted and disobeyed; on which he now impleads his people, brings his action against them. Ye strong foundations of the earth; called before hills: it is an explanation of the former, mountains; or it may be an appeal to those deep foundations which are hid from any eye, and which seem most remote from what is done on earth; but the ill carriage, the disobedience, and sin of Israel is so notorious, that the whole creation may be subpoenaed witnesses against them. The Lord hath a controversy with his people; covenant, redeemed, and only people, as . He will plead with Israel; no longer put off the cause, nor forbear to punish them and right himself, he will bring the cause to hearing judgment, and execution too. Hear ye, O mountains: in the first verse God directs Micah to take the mountains and hills for witnesses; now in this verse he doth call upon those mountains to hear: it is a prosopoeia, an elegant personating of hearers and witnesses, as 2:2. Some by He will plead with Israel; no longer put off the cause, nor forbear to punish them and right himself, he will bring the cause to hearing judgment, and execution too.

Micah 6:2 Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD’ S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. Ver. 2. Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord’ s controversy] Although the people would neither hear nor obey God, the prophet doth; and, according to command, he summoneth the mountains to hear and testify; the Lord seeming to say unto him, as once he did to Ezekiel, "But thou, son of man, be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house; but hear what I say unto thee, and do it." It might seem to him a senseless thing to cite the mountains. But he knew that if God command a thing, to argue or debate upon it were bold presumption, to search the reason of it proud curiosity, to detract or disobey it flat rebellion. To the mountains and foundations of the earth he applies himself; haply with like mind and in like manner as the host of Nola did to the churchyard, and there called at the graves of the dead, Oh, ye good men of Nola, come away; for the Roman censor calls for your appearance; for he knew not where to call for a good man alive. And ye strong foundations of the earth] Those "roots of the mountains," Jonah 2:7; yet not so strong but God can shake them, Job 9:5-6 Nahum 1:5-6; and that by so weak a creature as air, gotten underground, and seeking a vent. He can lift them off their foundations, Deuteronomy 32:22, and carry them to another place to hear his controversy, as he did the hill in Herefordshire, A. D. 1571, and that other in the territories of Bern, that removing out of his place in an earthquake, covered a whole village, that had ninety families in it. For the Lord hath a controversy with his people] Learn to tremble before this great God, who "sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers," Isaiah 40:22; which he can shake out of their place at pleasure, and send them packing to hell. O consider what a fearful thing it is to be at controversy with God, and to have him both our accuser, witness, and judge. O the terror of the Lord at that great and last day of the world! Utinam ubique de hoc iudicio differetur! "Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us" (but they shall reply, We are witnesses against you for your detestable unthankfulness), "and to the hills, Cover us," Luke 23:30, but they shall echo out, Cover us; for who can dwell with this devouring fire? who can abide these everlasting burnings? And he will plead with Israel] At which time they shall find that an empty title hath but an empty comfort; and that tribulation and anguish shall be on every soul of man that doeth evil: but of the Jew first, because of his privilege, and then of the Gentile, Romans 2:9.

Verse 2. Hear ye, O mountains] Micah, as God's advocate, summons this people into judgment, and makes an appeal to inanimate creation against them. He had spoken to the priests, to the princes, to the people. He had done every thing that was necessary to make them wise, and holy, and happy; they had uniformly disobeyed, and were ever ungrateful. It was not consistent with either the justice or mercy of God to permit them to go on without reprehension and punishment. He now calls them into judgment; and such was the nature of their crimes that, to heighten the effect, and show what reason he had to punish such a people, he appeals to inanimate creation. Their ingratitude and rebellion are sufficient to make the mountains, the hills, and the strong foundations of the earth to hear, tremble, and give judgment against them. This, then, is the Lord's controversy with his people, and thus he will plead with Israel.

2. ye strong foundations] ‘Strong’ should rather be enduring. The hills have outlived generation after generation of rebellious Israelites. with his people] The phrase is very significant in this connexion; if anything could awaken Israel’s conscience, it would be the thought of the special mercies of which he had been the recipient.

Hear, ye strong (or, it may be, ye enduring,) foundations of the earth - Mountains and rocks carry the soul to times far away, before and after. They change net, like the habitable, cultivated, surface of the earth.

JEHOVAH AND ISRAEL IN — THE , Micah 6:1 to Micah 7:20.With Micah 6:1, begins a new series of utterances.