It is to be observed, that the prophecy is couched in general terms, and relates to the house of Joseph no less than to the house of Judah.

PROPHECY XXXIII.

The certainty of the restoration of Judah and
Israel.

Micah ii. 12. I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee: I will surely gather the remnant of Israel*: I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah †, as the flock in the midst of her fold: they shall make a great noise by reason of the multitude of men. 13. He that breaketh down, is come up. before them: they have broken down the wall,

and

* I will surely gather the remnant of Israel.] "This promise relates to the general restoration of the Jewish nation." Mr. Lowth in loc.

"God is

+ I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah.] "often styled the shepherd of Israel, and his care over his people "is compared to that of a shepherd over his flock-Bozrah is a "noted place in Idumèa, where there were large flocks of "sheep." Mr. Lowth in loc.

He that breaketh down is come up before them.] "He, that "shall break the bonds of their captivity, or break through "all obstacles that hinder their return home. The Jewish

commentators generally understand the breaker, and their

and have passed through the gate, and have gone out by it and their king passeth before them, even the Lord* at the head of them.

COMMENTARY.

The general restoration of Israel is here predicted, under the image of a shepherd gathering together his flock into the fold and an oblique intimation is given, which Micah sufficiently explains in the succeeding prophecy, that he should be made in the hand of the Lord an instrument of judgment upon his enemies. He that breaketh down is Jehovah the Messiah; who is represented like a general leading on his troops to the work of destruction.

"king that follows, of the same person, viz. the Messiah, as may "be seen in Dr. Pocock upon the place-The words feem parallel "to that expression of Zechariah (Chap. xii. 8.) As the angel "of the Lord before them, or at the head of them. Some of "the Jews indeed, with a little variation, expound their king of "the Messiah, and the breaker of his forerunner Elijah, as Dr. "Pocock observes." Mr. Lowth in loc.

Their king-even the Lord.] "The Messiah, who is both "their God and their king, shall conduct them as their captain " and general. Compare Isaiah lii. 12. Hos. i. 11." Mr. Lowth in loc.

PRO

PROPHECY XXXIV.

The glories of the Millennian church-The mystic birth of the Jewish nation-The overthrow of the Antichristian confederacy partly by the instrumentality of the Jews -The advent of Christ

He protects the now converted Jews, and destroys the mystic Assyrian-The instrumentality of the Jews in the conversion of the Gentiles.

Mich iv. 1. And in the end of days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and the nations shall flow unto it. 2. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 3. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks :-nation shall not lift up the sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 4. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree;

and

and none shall make them afraid. 5. Though all people walk every one in the name of his god, yet we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for. ever and ever. 6. In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out*, and her that I have afflicted 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. 8. And thou, O daughter of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.

10.

9. Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: although now thou goest forth out of the city, and dwellest in the field, and goest to Babylon; yet there shalt thou be delivered, there shall the Lord redeem thee from the hand of thy enemies.

* I will gather her that is driven out.] "This relates to the "calling of the Jews from their several dispersions into the "Church." Mr. Lowth in loc.

+ Her that was cast far off, a strong nation.] "The Jews, when "they return from their several dispersions, shall be victorious

46

over

all their enemies." Mr. Lowth in loc.

11. And

11. And now many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. 12. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord *, neither understand they

his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. 13. Arise, and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass; and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will devote their gain unto the Lord with a curse of utter destruction, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. v. 1. Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: siege he hath laid against us with a rod they have smitten upon the cheek the tribes of Israel.

* They know not the thoughts of the Lord.] Antichrist and his followers are blindly bent upon accomplishing their own purposes; and thus ignorant of what is foretold respecting them in Scripture, they rush upon their own destruction. Daniel uses language exactly to the same purpose: "None of "the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Dan. xii. 10.

+ With a rod they have smitten upon the cheek the tribes of Israel.] So the Lxx, Εν ῥαβδῳ πατάξεσιν επι σιαγονα τας φυλας To Iopanλ and the Arabic, Fusti percutient genam familiarum Israelis. Both these versions have plainly read waw and not DD. Compare Isaiah ix. 4-xiv. 4, 5, 6—xxx. 31, 32-Ezek. xx. 37. In the Hebrew, the Syriac, and the Arabic, what is the first verse of the fifth chapter of Micah in our version is arranged as the last verse of the fourth chapter, agreeably to the plain import of the context. I have accordingly supposed the paragraph to end with this verse.

VOL. II.

P

2. But