Albert Barnes Commentary Micah 7:18

"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in lovingkindness." — Micah 7:18 (ASV)

Who is a God—(and, as the word means, a Mighty God) like You? He does not say, Who has made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them (Exodus 20:11); nor, Who tells the number of the stars and calls them all by their names (Psalms 147:4); nor, Who by His strength sets fast the mountains and is girded about with power (Psalms 65:6); but rather, who forgives!

For greater is the work of Redemption than the work of Creation. God is the one That pardons, and bears and takes away also, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage—that is, His heritage, which is a remnant still when the rest are blinded (Romans 11:7).

This forgiveness comes not from their merits but from His mercy. It is not His nature to retain His anger forever; not for anything in them, but because He delights in mercy, as He says, I am merciful, says the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever (Jeremiah 3:12). He declares, I am He that blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and will not remember your sins (Isaiah 43:25).

“For although God for a time is angry with His elect, chastening them mercifully in this life, yet in the end He has compassion on them, giving them everlasting consolations.”

Moses, after the completion of his people’s deliverance at the Red Sea, used a similar appeal to God, in unmingled joy. Then the thanksgiving was, glorious in holiness, awful in praises, doing wonders (Exodus 15:11). Now, it ran in a more subdued, yet even deeper, tone, taken from God’s revelation of Himself after that great transgression on Mount Sinai: forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. With this, Micah identified his own name.

This was the one message which Micah loved above all to proclaim; of this, his own name was the herald to his people in his day. Who is like the Lord—the Pardoner of sin, the Redeemer from its guilt, the Subduer of its power?

For such a claim was never made for any false god. The pagan gods were symbols of God’s workings in nature; they were, at best, representatives of His government and of His displeasure at sin. But, being the creatures of man’s mind, they could not freely pardon, for man dared not ascribe to them the attribute of a freely-pardoning mercy, for which he dared not hope.

“Who is a God like You, mighty not only to destroy but also to pardon?” This is the wondering thanksgiving of time, the yet greater amazement of eternity, as eternity will unveil the deep blackness of sin set against the light of God. And we, seeing God as He is, will see what that Holiness is against Which we sinners sinned. The soul that is truly penitent never wearies of this wondering love, asking, “Who is a God like You?”