Albert Barnes Commentary Micah 7:9

"I will bear the indignation of Jehovah, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, [and] I shall behold his righteousness." — Micah 7:9 (ASV)

I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him - This is the disposition of all penitents when struck by God or under chastisement from Him. It is the Lord; let Him do what seemeth Him good (1 Samuel 3:18). So let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so? (2 Samuel 16:10). He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope. (Lamentations 3:29).

The penitent acknowledges the just sentence of God. Knowing that he deserves far more than God inflicts, he is thankful to endure it “until He remove it, until He plead my cause and execute judgment for me”—that is, until God Himself thinks the punishments inflicted are enough and judges between me and those through whose hands they come.

The judgments that God righteously sends, and which man suffers righteously from Him, are unrighteously inflicted by those whose malice He overrules, whether it is that of evil men (such as the Assyrian, the Chaldean, or the Edomite) or of Satan. The end of the chastisements of His people is the beginning of the visible punishment for their misdeeds, for those who misused the power that God gave them over His people.

Hence it is said, Daughter of Babylon, the wasted! Blessed he that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. (Psalms 137:8). But all is from the mercy of God. So He says, He shall bring me forth to the light of His Countenance, His favor, and His truth. Micah speaks in the name of those who were penitent and so were forgiven; yet, because they were under punishment, they seemed to lie under the wrath of God. For although God immediately remits the eternal penalty of sin, we still see daily how punishment pursues the forgiven sinner, even to the end of life. The light of God’s love may not, on grounds which He knows, shine uninterruptedly upon him. We would not know the blackness of the offence of sin, and would never know the depth of God’s mercy, were it not for our punishment.

The indignation of God toward the penitent is an austere form of His love. So then, penitents may well say, in every grief, sickness, visitation, or disappointment, I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him. He says, I shall behold His righteousness, because they had a righteous cause against man, although not toward God; and God, in His just judgment on their enemies, showed Himself as the righteous Judge of the world.