who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.
You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
You will be faithful to Jacob,
and show love to Abraham,
as you pledged on oath to our ancestors
in days long ago. (Micah 7:18-20)
There is a lot of grace indicated in these verses. Micah is marveling at his God, who has no equal in pardoning sin, forgiving transgression, showing mercy, having compassion, being faithful, and showing love. Yes, God wants the people to "shape up and do right," but the terms of God's grace don't seem to depend on that. In the face of the people's sin God's way is not never-ending punishment, but never-ending grace! Are the people to resist sin? Yes, but it seems a good deal of sin's defeat comes from God: "...you will treat our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."
Thank God for grace...
No comments:
Post a Comment