Micah 6:8

He hath showed me, O man, what [is] good,.... This is not the answer of the prophet to the body of the people, or to any and every one of the people of Israel; but of Balaam to Balak, a single man,

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

The prophet answers the inquiry made otherwise than these inquirers did expect: You who make this inquiry might have spared this pains. He, God himself, hath already plainly enough told you this. Thee, O Jews, every one of you, might from the law of God know what would please your God, and with what you ought to come before him; you might have read, , that he delighteth in your obeying his word; and more early, 13,20. the same practical rule was laid down. What is good in itself for you, and well-pleasing to your God; from his own mouth your holy and righteous fathers did know, and so might you, what is that good with which you should appear before God. What doth the Lord require of thee? what so much? or what without? or doth he require any thing without? It is a question that must be resolved in a negative, comparative, or absolute; the Lord doth not require sacrifice without moral duties, nor doth he require sacrifice so much as such duties after mentioned. To do justly; to render to every one what is their due, superiors, equals, inferiors, to be equal to all, and oppress none, in body, goods, or name; in all your dealings with men carry a chancery in your own breasts, and do according to equity. To love mercy; be kind, merciful, and compassionate towards all that need your kindness, do not use severity towards any; though the laws of man did not require you to remit of your pretences, and if you exacted all your right you did not break the laws of men, yet you should have respect to the law of love, and show mercy with delight in showing it, . To walk humbly with thy God; in all duties which immediately refer to the precepts of the first table, in all religious exercise and deportment toward God, keep the heart sincerely humble toward God; think highly of him, his laws and determinations, murmur not against the final determinations God by his providence makes, complain not of any of his precepts; know and own it, thou art an unprofitable servant if thou hast done all, .

Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?Ver. 8. He hath showed thee, O man, what is good] i.e. what is right, just, and acceptable to himself. He showed it by the light of Nature; for Aristotle (Nature’ s secretary) saith, It is not likely that God is so well pleased with the costliness of the sacrifices as with the godliness of the sacrifices. He hath showed it much more by the light of Scripture; there he hath told thee what is the unum necessarium, one thing necessary; in comparison whereof all other things are but side businesses; what is the totum hominis, the whole duty of man, sc. to "fear God, and keep his commandments," Ecclesiastes 12:13; what is the bonum hominis, as here, yea, the summum bonum, or chiefest good of man attainable in this life, viz. communion with God and conformity to God. And what doth the Lord require of thee] But thee? Quia in omni creatura terrena nihil melius fecit te, ipse quaerit te a te, quia perdideras te in te, as Augustine elegantly paraphraseth this text: Inasmuch as God hath among all earthly creatures made nothing better than thee, therefore he requireth thee of thee. But to do justly, and to love mercy] This is the sum of the second table; as that which followeth is of the first, to walk humbly with thy God. Here then is a brief of the whole Bible, a little Bible, as the eleventh to the Hebrews is by one not unfitly called a little book of martyrs. Do this and live: do this here enjoined, and thou shalt never fall; yea, thou shalt go gallantly into heaven, as St Peter hath it, 2 Peter 1:10-11. Certa semper sunt in paucis, saith Tertullian. Things simply necessary, whether to be believed or practised, are few in number but many in virtue; in sight small, but great in weight; like gold, which being solid, is contracted into a narrow room; but may be drawn into so large an extent that one angel may cover an acre of ground, as the naturalists have observed. To do justly is the duty, not only of magistrates, whom God hath intrusted with the administration of his earthly kingdom, by the due execution of vindictive and remunerative justice, but also of all other persons in their various places and stations, whose rule must be that golden saying of our Saviour, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets," Matthew 7:12. And to love mercy] This is more than to show mercy; for that a man may do, and yet, for want of love, lose all, 1 Corinthians 1:3.

(8) To do justly . . .—God “setteth more by mercy than by sacrifice.” So also in Ecclesiastes: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man.”

Verse 8. He hath showed thee, O Man, what is good] All the modes of expiation which ye have proposed are, in the sight of God, unavailable; they cannot do away the evil, nor purify from the guilt of sin. He himself has shown thee what is good; that which is profitable to thee, and pleasing to himself. And what is that? Answer, Thou art - I. To do justly; to give to all their due. 1. To God his due; thy heart, thy body, soul, and spirit; thy wisdom, understanding, judgment. "To love him with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength, and thy neighbour as thyself." This is God's due and right from every man. 2. Thou art to give thy neighbour his due; to do to him as thou wouldst that he should do to thee, never working ill to him. 3. Thou art to give to thyself thy due; not to deprive thy soul of what God has provided for it; to keep thy body in temperance, sobriety, and chastity; avoiding all excesses, both in action and passion. II. Thou art to love mercy; not only to do what justice requires, but also what mercy, kindness, benevolence, and charity require. III. But how art thou to do this? Thou art to walk humbly with thy God; הצנע, hatsnea, to humble thyself to walk. This implies to acknowledge thy iniquity, and submit to be saved by his free mercy, as thou hast already found that no kind of offering or sacrifice can avail. Without this humiliation of soul there never was, there never can be, any walking With God; for without his mercy no soul can be saved; and he must be THY God before thou canst walk with him. Many, when they hear the nature of sin pointed out, and the way of salvation made plain through the blood of the Lamb, have shut their eyes both against sin and the proper sacrifice for it, and parried all exhortation, threatening, c., with this text: "God requires nothing of us but to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with him." Now I ask any man, Art thou willing to stand or fall by this text? And it would cost me neither much time nor much pains to show that on this ground no soul of man can be saved. Nor does God say that this doing justly, c., shall merit eternal glory. No. He shows that in this way all men should walk that this is the duty of EVERY rational being but he well knows that no fallen soul can act thus without especial assistance from him, and that it is only the regenerate man, the man who has found redemption through the blood of the cross, and has God for HIS God, that can thus act and walk. Salvation is of the mere mercy of God alone; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. The manner of raising attention, says Bp.

8. The prophet denies that any external forms will make up for the want of spiritual qualities. The sacrifice of the heart is what God demands; but “man convinced of sin is ready to sacrifice what is dearest to him rather than give up his own will and give himself to God” (W. Robertson Smith). The passage reminds us of Isa 1:10-15, Hosea 6:6. Evidently Hezekiah’s reformation had been purely external (comp. Isaiah 29:13). He hath shewed thee] viz. Moses in the Law, especially in Deuteronomy. what doth the Lord require of thee …] Comp. Deuteronomy 10:12, ‘And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul?’ to do justly …] The opposite of Israel’s present characteristics (comp. Micah 6:10, Micah 2:1-2, Micah 3:2-3; Micah 3:9-10). to walk humbly with thy God] Humility is the primary religious virtue in the Old Testament (comp. Isaiah 2:12).

He hath shewed thee - Micah does not tell them now, as for the first time; which would have excused them.

2. Hear ye, O mountains — In Micah 6:2 the prophet turns to the mountains to tell them what is coming, in order that they may know what is expected of them.