Micah

[0:00] to speak to you from this morning you will find in the second verse of the fifth chapter of the prophecy by Micah Micah's prophecy the fifth chapter and the second verse but thou Bethlehem Ephrata though thou be little among the daughters 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 Micah though among the lesser prophets was contemporary with Isaiah Micah's ministry and prophecy was mainly exercised toward Judah and Jerusalem though he did comprehend Israel also in his prophecies but Isaiah mainly concerned the other kingdom

[1:16] Micah's responsibility as contemporary with Isaiah seems to be to confirm to the Lord's people the impending judgments that God was bringing to bear upon them for their sin and departures from himself and we find that Micah as also Isaiah spend quite a portion of their prophetic life pronouncing condemnation upon the Lord's ancient people for their sin and their transgression but blessed be God speaking to his servants he again and again gives promise of subsequent deliverance the raising up of a deliverer the promise of the dark cloud of divine judgment giving place to mercy and favor restoration establishment of the kingdom once more in the favor and promise of God in a most manifested and real way now this chapter from which the text is taken opens with a pronouncement of humiliation now gather thyself in troops

[2:58] O daughter of troops you have laid siege against us they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek you see a rod shall smite the judge of Israel even the leading men shall be subject to such ignominy as to be smitten on the cheek by those who are going to be used by God in judgment against his offending people so my friends the humiliation forthcoming and pronounced prophetically by Micah and Isaiah together they speak of great humiliation immediately standing before the Lord's ancient and favoured and chosen people in the nations of Israel and of Judah and after these things we have the wonderful promise as I said of deliverance restoration and here it is but thou

[4:07] Bethlehem and 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 ever the mask how sovereign is the law in the choice of persons and places and times wherein his favour is to be made known and my friends here is a place Bethlehem Ephrata an insignificant little place though thou be little among the thousands of Judah who would have thought that the greatest honour and blessing that should be besowed upon this favoured nation should be given to Bethlehem

[5:13] Ephrata and yet God pleased so to do and how typical this is that the exercise of divine sovereignty the least expected the most unthought of position and place or the most unlikely person seems to be the favoured subject of the Lord's sovereign benefit and blessing we know that God brought forth David his chosen king from the same place and who would have thought that that son of Jesse would have been the one sovereignly favoured of God to be ruler in Israel he took him from among the sheepfold that he may reign over his people and my friends you remember the choice the choice even was so sovereign so unthinkable so unexpected that even good Samuel was somewhat baffled in mind and spirit through the exercise of God's pleasure why he said surely the Lord's anointed is before thee he says

[6:41] I've not chosen him no and there's another brother brought and another brother seven of them no none of these sons of Jesse is he have you any other sons says Samuel oh yes there's that young lad down with the sheep bring him says Samuel bring him forth he's the one he's the one that Jesse didn't send for that Jesse didn't assemble with the others for he is most unlikely unthinkable as the one whom God has set apart for this great honour to be the ruler of his people so my friends in the days preceding these days we find God working in an unexpected way and manner and so we have it regarding Bethlehem and we can go into the New Testament and we can see other developments of the same principle not the one whom men would choose

[7:49] God chooses think of the fishermen the fisherman Peter the fisherman Andrew think of Matthew the publican think of a man with a spirit of Mike Thomas we can see the sovereignty of God in choice and then we think of the proud Pharisee who was so self satisfied and so zealous in a wrong cause that he would persecute the church he would stand by and see Stephen stone and yet God chose him to be the great apostle to the Gentile people but thou Bethlehem in front and now let us then temper our judgments of things with the acknowledgement of God's absolute son

[8:57] God has a perfect right to do as he will when he will and where he will and my friends even in the great development of the greatest purpose of God manifest in this world the mystery of the incarnation we see it takes place at a place that is small insignificant Jerusalem is passed by other cities of Judah are neglected while God bestows the favor upon little Bethlehem Ephrata but thou Bethlehem Ephrata though thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be

[10:00] Judah in Israel now it's wonderful to appreciate the shells of God how God speaks with supreme authority my friends nothing can say his hand or say unto him what doest thou he says out of thee shall he come forth and you remember the subsequent history that brought this to pass why Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem at the time that Jesus was to be born of the virgin don't you you remember the decree that went forth from Caesar Augustus that men should go to their own city for the taxis and so God governs the universe and causes men that know him not that are strangers to the secrets of his face and his favour he causes them to act to the accomplishment and fulfilment of his purposes can we say that these things are just associated with the development of his purpose at that time and in this particular no my friends the world today is fulfilling the pleasure of God evil and good wicked unjust men equal with the just are working out

[11:38] God's purposes to the minutest degree but thou Bethlehem Ephrata though thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler of Israel oh how the Lord Jesus came forth unto God in the way that God had appointed in the way that divine wisdom had ordained he was to come forth of a virgin he was to be possessed of a pure humanity he was to be a child he was to be obeyed but he was to be poor he was to be lowly therefore he was born in a situation that is absolutely harmonious with

[12:46] God's purposes in and through his dear son and how the four of this world have been thankful to the Lord that Jesus Christ was not born among the great that he was not born among the dignitaries and exalted of this present time state but my friends he's as accessible to the poor as any other part of God's people yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel now we can't think of this just confined to the nation of Israel that is those that were of the seed of Abraham although we know the Lord had special favour toward his natural

[13:51] Israel yet Christ's authority his kingdom is a spiritual kingdom exercised among the spiritual Israel he shall come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel and the Lord is still the ruler in Israel he still has a chosen people he still has a separated people and he still exercises his power within them and among them they are his people formed for himself and they shall show forth his praise they are brought to submit to him to seek him to desire to know and to do his will they sing from their heart sometimes reign o'er us as king accomplish thy will and powerfully bring us forth from all earth he is the ruler in

[14:52] Israel is he your ruler are you a true Israel is the will of the Lord Jesus Christ is the power of the Lord Jesus Christ present in your heart and life is he your ruler he's to be a ruler in Israel he's to deliver man from the bondage of sin and self and Satan and he's to bring man to subjection unto his own will and his own wisdom now you see he shall be ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from old from everlasting this is no new development my friends the Lord Jesus Christ didn't begin at Bethlehem now he's from everlasting is the eternal son of the eternal father he is the word by whom the world was created he's the word by whom the world was framed or if you read the first chapter of the gospel by

[16:07] John you'll see a confirmation of that the word was with God and the word was God without him was not anything made that was made he was from everlasting whose goings forth have been from of old from everlasting and then what a promise is set forth in the fourth verse which follows on from this second verse concerning the favour and benefit that is to come through Jesus Christ to Israel 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 time won't permit me this morning to enlarge much upon this promise associated with this great ruler in Israel this promised

[17:24] Messiah this glorious man Christ Jesus who was to be born in Bethlehem in Brathe but he shall stand he shall stand and he still stands he still stands today in the midst of his church he still stands today amongst his people he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord he's the shepherd David experienced it in his day oh how he said the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want he maketh me to lie down in green pastures he leadeth me by still waters he restoreth my soul you children know that 23rd Psalm off by heart I suppose most of you if not all it speaks of this one this man was born in

[18:27] Bethlehem with Rata who is appointed as the shepherd of his people to feed the flock of God he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God they shall abide it also speaks of Jesus as the king as well as the shepherd he's a shepherd king he shall stand in the name in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God you see he not only rules and reigns as king but also he's a shepherd too he's a shepherd king oh what power associates with the exercise of his position and place in his church and among his people my friends he shall stand and feed in the strength of the

[19:29] Lord what a mercy that still the Lord Jesus stands and feeds his people what a mercy that he still reigns as king it says and they shall abide they shall abide why how shall they abide with the Assyrians coming with great and much deserved judgments threatening well they shall stand in Christ Jesus he'll feed his people he'll protect his people he'll secure his people he'll watch over his people my friends an exactly the same position and condition obtains today you know the promises of God a yea and amen in Christ Jesus as much today as in any other time past and as

[20:32] I sat to write my Christmas letter to you a few weeks ago now oh how sweet those two words were to me God is God is it was just at the time when the explosion took place in Birmingham and I felt the spirit of anarchy and revolution to be shaking us and yet to look above all the confusion of the present times and see that the Lord is still the same and he's still the same my friends in the midst of his church he's still the same shepherd king today as in days that are past oh that we may appreciate at this time the benefit and blessing bestowed by God in the fullness of his love by the gift of his dear son as Bethlehem the Ephrata who is to be a ruler unto him in

[21:37] Israel and my friends who is to feed his flock to stand and feed his flock and to reign in majesty in the name of the Lord this is the God that we worship this is Jesus Christ who is coming we today seek to celebrate in our hearts with thankfulness before him Amen Ouch