“Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which You have sworn to our fathers from days of old.” (vv.18-20)
In our reading today, the prophet Micah asked, “Who is a God like you?” (v.18). None–He’s incomparable! The proof is that He pardons and forgives. His anger is replaced by compassion. He rejoices to show mercy. He doesn’t forgive grudgingly or even matter-of-factly. Rather, it’s something He loves to do, something that gives Him great pleasure.
When God forgives, it’s 100 percent! Not only is His forgiveness perfect in erasing any trace of our sin, it’s a joyous act of mercy by a God who delights to forgive His people. And when He forgives, sin is gone–as far as the east is from the west. The Lord puts it behind His back and tramples it underfoot. He hurls it into the depths of the sea. He’s not filing it away in His mind waiting to bring it up again. It’s gone.
Are you worried about what you’ve done in the past? Rejoice! God has “cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (v.19). Are you still concerned about your sins? Rejoice! “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17). And “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions” (Isaiah 44:22).
If you have put your faith in Jesus and asked Him to forgive you, the past is truly forgotten. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). Trust and rejoice!
The Truth: “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25).
