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Well, you can turn with me in 
your Bibles to Habakkuk chapter 3. Habakkuk is actually closer, but I'll 
just refer to him as the prophet, most likely. So Habakkuk chapter 
3, I'll begin reading in verse 1. A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet 
on Shigienoth. Oh Lord, I have heard your speech 
and was afraid. Oh Lord, revive your work in 
the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make 
it known. In wrath, remember mercy. God came from Teman, the 
holy one from Mount Paran, Selah. His glory covered the heavens 
and the earth was full of his praise. His brightness was like 
the light. He had rays flashing from his 
hand and there his power was hidden. Before him went pestilence, 
and fever followed at his feet. He stood and measured the earth. 
He looked and startled the nations, and the everlasting mountains 
were scattered. The perpetual hills bowed. His 
ways are everlasting. I saw the tents of Kushan in 
affliction. The curtains of the land of Midian 
trembled. O Lord, were you displeased with 
the rivers? Was your anger against the rivers? Was your wrath against the sea, 
that you rode on your horses, your chariots of salvation? Your 
bow was made quite ready. Oaths were sworn over your arrows. 
Selah. You divided the earth with rivers. 
The mountains saw you and trembled. The overflowing of the water 
passed by. The deep uttered its voice and 
lifted its hands on high. The sun and moon stood still 
in their habitation. At the light of your arrows they 
went, at the shining of your glittering spear. You marched 
through the land in indignation. You trampled the nations in anger. 
You went forth for the salvation of your people, for salvation 
with your anointed. You struck the head from the 
house of the wicked by lying bare from foundation to neck, 
Selah. You thrust through with his own 
arrows the head of his villages. They came out like a whirlwind 
to scatter me. Their rejoicing was like feasting 
on the poor in secret. You walked through the sea with 
your horses, through the heap of great waters. When I heard, 
my body trembled, my lips quivered at the voice, rottenness entered 
my bones, and I trembled in myself that I might rest in the day 
of trouble. When he comes up to the people, he will invade 
them with his troops. Though the fig tree may not blossom, 
nor fruit beyond the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail, 
and the fields yield no food, though the flock may be cut off 
from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will 
rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength. 
He will make my feet like deer's feet, and he will make me walk 
on my high hills. to the chief musician with my 
stringed instruments. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for 
the law, the prophets. We thank you for the New Testament 
and all of scripture that you have given for our prophet. We 
ask that your Holy Spirit would guide and lead us now. The prophet 
faced difficult trial, difficult times in his own age. We see 
the same sorts of things all around us. So help us to be steady, 
help us to be stable. We know that doesn't come as 
a result of reflection upon ourselves upon our ability, but it comes 
by reflecting upon who the living and the true God is. May we take 
our cue from this prophet, and may you give us the grace to 
be still and to know that you are God, to know that you will 
be exalted among the nations and in the earth. As well, our 
Father, help us to see that in the midst of trial, and in distress, 
and in affliction, and in suffering, we see that the gospel advances. 
We see that sinners are caught up with the big questions in 
life. May your church be evangelistic, and may your church be about 
gospel preaching in this age. And may you be glorified, and 
may you bless that word and cause it to run swiftly. As well, our 
God, we ask now that you would forgive us for all of our sin 
and unrighteousness, and just bless us with your word. And 
we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Well, there 
are a couple of major sections in the prophet Habakkuk. And 
in chapter one, the prophet is lamenting and he expresses that 
lamentation or that distress or that grief by actually questioning 
God. He questions God in a proper 
posture with the proper disposition, but there are things that don't 
make sense to him as he surveys Judah, as he surveys the current 
situation. In the first question, he basically 
asks how long, God, until you intervene? How long until you 
come to vindicate your people? As he surveys the southern kingdom 
of Judah, the northern kingdom was gone by this time. It's probably 
about 609 to 605 that Habakkuk the prophet writes. We know nothing 
of him other than his name, which is given to us in chapter one, 
verse one. But we do know that he had the 
same sort of distress that you see, say, for instance, in Jeremiah 
the prophet, and you see in Asaph, the psalmist, you see those psalms 
ascribed to Asaph. He was a man of great lament, 
despondency, sorrow. And we see that sort of an emphasis 
is legitimate to pray back to God. So in chapter one, the prophet 
says, how long until things are fixed in Judah? Well, I don't 
know that Habakkuk was ready for the answer that he got. God 
says, it's not going to get fixed. I'm going to send the Chaldeans, 
who were the Babylonians. They're going to come. They're 
a bitter and a hasty nation, and they're going to devastate 
the southern kingdom. Well, then that leads the prophet 
to his second question. God, you're holy, you're righteous, 
you're just. Basically, he says that the cure 
sounds worse than the original problem. So he gives vent to 
that, and then he takes his place, according to chapter two, verse 
one, to wait for the answer from God Most High. And then God Most 
High answers him very effectively in 2.4. And he underscores the 
reality that all of God's people have known throughout the ages. 
The just shall live by faith. Now that is obviously been appropriated 
in the New Testament to teach the doctrine of justification 
by faith alone. Not that we are saved by our 
works or we're saved by our law keeping, but we're saved by grace 
through faith in our Lord Jesus. But as saved by grace through 
faith, in our Lord Jesus Christ believers, we still stand by 
faith or trust in the living and true God. So that's what 
the prophet is told. You need to live by faith. And 
we see that exhibited in chapter 3, as the prophet composes a 
psalm. This was a psalm to be sung by 
the people of God, as is evidenced in verse 19, to the chief musician 
with my stringed instruments. So he was not only a prophet 
of God Most High, but he was a singer of some sort, a composer 
of psalms, and that's what he does here in chapter 3. O Palmer 
Robertson says, with reference to Habakkuk, it's not a weak 
faith, but a perplexed faith that torments the prophet. He 
doesn't have weak faith, but he has a perplexed faith. And 
I think all of God's people can enter into that. I think that's 
why God's people gravitate toward prophets like him, toward the 
prophet Jeremiah. We look at the world around us 
and it is disconcerting. We look at the trials that are 
facing us and it is grievous. We look at, in his particular 
instance, the intrusion of Babylon into the southern kingdom of 
Judah. That was certainly something that would test a man's faith 
or perplex a man. So I wanna look at three things 
in this Psalm. First, the prophet's petition 
to God in verses one to two. Secondly, the prophet's remembrance 
of God in verses three to 15. And then finally, the prophet's 
refuge in God in verses 16 to 19. But notice in the first place, 
with reference to his petition, verse one says, a prayer of Habakkuk, 
the prophet on Shigianoth. And then he offers, or he mentions 
his fear, he gives his petition, and then he provides his argument. 
Notice in the first place, his fear. Oh Lord, I have heard your 
speech and was afraid. Again, go back with me to chapter 
one. Verse 2, O Lord, how long shall 
I cry, and you will not hear? Even cry out to you violence, 
and you will not save. Why do you show me iniquity, 
and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are 
before me. There is strife, and contention 
arises. Therefore the law is powerless, 
and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous, 
therefore perverse judgment proceeds. When he says the law is powerless, 
he's not making a reflection on the law. He is simply saying 
that the Judahites, the covenant people of God, aren't keeping 
the law. They are vile. They are wretched. 
They are disobedient. And that's when the Lord responds 
to him that he's going to send Babylon. He's going to send the 
Chaldeans. He's going to send Nebuchadnezzar 
to devastate the southern kingdom. And then, as I said in verse 
12, he asks a second question. Are you from everlasting, O Lord 
my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, you 
have appointed them for judgment. O rock, you have marked them 
for correction. And then dropping down, he reflects 
upon what the Babylonians are going to do. They take up all 
of them with a hook. They're brutal. They catch them 
in their net and gather them in their dragnet. Therefore, 
they rejoice and are glad. Therefore, they sacrifice to 
their net. and burn incense to their dragnet, because by them 
their share is sumptuous and their food plentiful. Shall they 
therefore empty their net and continue to slay nations without 
pity?" He's saying, God, you're going to send the Babylonians 
against us. I just want a little bit of stability 
in Judah. I just want people to repent. 
I just want people to get a little bit better. God's saying, no, 
this is the problem when you break covenant. And so God is 
going to dispatch them and decimate the southern kingdom. So that's 
why in chapter 3 at verse 2, he says, Oh Lord, I have heard 
your speech and was afraid. In other words, the fear of God 
is coming to this prophet when he considers the judgment of 
God. It's not something that he just sort of doesn't think 
about. It's not something that he just 
relegates off into the cornfield. It's not something that he just 
disregards, but it affects him at a specific level such that 
he cries out to the Lord. He says, Oh Lord, I have heard 
your speech and was afraid. Lloyd-Jones says, our troubles 
can nearly all be traced to our persistence in looking at the 
immediate problems themselves instead of looking at them in 
the light of God. That's what Habakkuk's going 
to do. He doesn't minimize the fact that he's afraid. He doesn't 
minimize the fact that there are these hardships. He doesn't 
minimize the fact that they're facing decimation vis-a-vis the 
Babylonians, but he steadies himself in his faith in God, 
and he steadies himself by rehearsing the very person or being, rather, 
of God Most High. So he has this fear, and then 
he offers up this petition. And notice the God-centeredness 
of his petition. Verse 2b, he says, Oh Lord, revive 
your work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, 
make it known. not settle my perplexed soul, 
not fix everything so our economy is good, but rather revive your 
work. He identifies it specifically 
as God's project. He identifies it specifically 
as God's kingdom, the expression of God's kingdom on earth. So 
he says to God Most High, revive your work in the midst of the 
years. He, like Jesus, teaches us that priority in prayer. Hallowed 
be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. The prophet 
steadies himself in prayer to God by praying that God's will 
be done on earth as it is in heaven. And not only does he 
pray for revival, but he wants God to make known his ways. Notice, in the midst of the years, 
make it known. Again, Robertson says, by this 
petition, the prophet asks that the Lord will make known to the 
believing the program and plan that he has designed. Even as 
Habakkuk had agonized in coming to an understanding of the mysterious 
ways of God and finally had rested his case in the light of the 
revelation provided him, so he intercedes on the behalf of others 
that the Lord will make plain to them the understanding necessary 
for survival in the midst of calamity. He's not a selfish 
man. He doesn't just want his own 
fulfillment. He's not just looking for his 
own therapy. He's not just looking for his 
own comfort and blessedness. He wants the very nation of Judah 
of which he is part to understand the plan and program of God, 
to understand and be still and know that God most high is in 
control of all things. And then thirdly, in terms of 
the prophet's petition, notice the argument. He's got this fear, 
he's got this petition, and then he says, in wrath, remember mercy. This is what the prophet wants 
with reference to God Most High. In wrath, remember mercy. What 
do you think he's talking about in wrath? He's talking about 
Nebuchadnezzar. He's talking about the Babylonians. 
He's talking about the fact that they're going to go conquer the 
southern kingdom. They're going to destroy the 
city. They're going to raze the temple. They're going to burn 
it down. And they're ultimately going to enslave the people of 
Judah. And yet in this, in the midst 
of the hardship, in the midst of the affliction, in the midst 
of the difficulty and suffering, he prays to God to remember mercy. And you see that exhibited when 
you get to the prophet Jeremiah. The exiles in Babylon are protected 
by God. Or rather, Jeremiah is told to 
write a letter to those exiles in Jeremiah chapter 29. their 
specific instructions for how they are to conduct themselves 
while they're exiles in a foreign land. It's that particular chapter 
where 2911 is found. We're talking about this at lunch. 
You've heard the promise. I know the plans that I have 
for you. I know the blessing that I'm 
gonna confer upon you. That's not a text for the Christian 
high school to prepare their 17 year olds that everything's 
gonna be without any hardship in their current life. or as 
they embark in their college life. It is a letter to the exiles 
that after that exile, they will go back to the land of Judah. 
They will receive the covenant promises of God. They will not 
be cut off ultimately, but rather the Lord is chastening, but the 
Lord will visit them with that blessed promise. So the prophet 
fears, the prophet petitions, and the prophet lays forth as 
his argument in wrath, remember mercy. Now notice, secondly, 
the prophet's remembrance of God, verses 3 to 15. Habakkuk doesn't sit around and 
say, you know, I'm a great guy, and I dwell amongst a people 
that are great people, and I'm just going to trust that we're 
going to figure it out, we're going to sort it out, and we're 
going to make everything just right and peachy in the southern 
kingdom. No, that's not where the believer 
finds his comfort. That's not where the believer 
finds his strength. The believer finds his comfort 
and strength in the knowledge of God Most High. So in verses 
3 to 15, the prophet reaches back into redemptive history 
to remind himself of the mighty works of God Almighty. In this, 
he's like David in Psalm 68. In this, he's like Deborah in 
Judges 5. In this, he's like Moses in the 
Song of Moses in Exodus chapter 15. Essentially, it's sort of 
a collage. Remember when you were a kid 
and you had to make a collage? You cut out all the pictures 
and you put them on the poster board and there was supposed 
to be a central theme. that this collage spoke to, perhaps 
it was food, so you put bananas, and you put meat, and you put 
all that stuff, because that was the central theme. The central 
theme here is the faithfulness of God. And so he takes redemptive 
history, he builds himself a collage so that he can reflect upon the 
power, the perfections, the goodness, and the glory of God Almighty. 
And brethren, we need to learn from the prophet in this. I mentioned 
Asaph previously. Some of the Psalms are ascribed 
to Asaph. Asaph was a sorrowful dude. Asaph was a melancholic spirit. Asaph is the man of Psalm 73 
who lamented. He said, as for me, my foot nearly 
slipped. I would ponder the distress and 
the affliction of the people of God. I would see them suffering. I would see them undergo hardship. 
And then I'd look over and I'd see the rich. And they had no 
beef. They had no problem. Everything 
seemed to go well for them. You see, he describes what he 
saw, he describes how it affected him, and he describes how he 
got out of that rut. It wasn't until he went into 
the sanctuary of the Lord that he realized that thou hast set 
them in slippery places. In other words, the rich may 
be benefited now, but there's a day coming, the Day of Judgment 
specifically, wherein they will not succeed. Whereas the righteous, 
who have suffered and have known great affliction, on that Day 
of Judgment are going to hear, well done, good and faithful 
servant. But then you get into like Psalm 74, Psalm 77, and 
the psalmist is crying out to God. Essentially what is happening 
is that the heathen have trampled the temple. The heathen are in 
the sanctuary of God. It's Psalm 74, 11, that Asaph 
actually has the gall to say to God, remove your hand from 
your bosom and destroy them. In other words, it grieved Asaph 
to see what was happening to the true religion from the heathen 
surrounding them. So when there wasn't the obvious 
presence of God destroying them, he petitions God to do that. 
But do you know how he encourages his heart? He does it the way 
the prophet Habakkuk does. He looks back to redemptive history. He looks back to the Exodus. 
He understands the powerful deliverance of God that was on display then 
is available to the people of God today. And that is the way 
that we are to undergird our hearts so that we don't lose 
our minds, so that we don't come unglued, so that we don't succumb 
to the distress and the pressure and say, forget it, I'm just 
gonna lay on my couch until the day I die so I don't have to 
deal with it. Sort of like Scarlett O'Hara 
in Gone with the Wind. I'll think about that tomorrow. 
That is not an option for the believer. We're supposed to persevere. We're supposed to fight. We're 
supposed to pray. We're supposed to watch. We're 
supposed to be active. Now, brethren, God is good. He 
tells Elijah when Elijah is distressed and under the broom tree and 
despondent to the point where he wants to die. Elijah's not 
suicidal. Elijah says, if you want to take 
me though, Lord, go right ahead. I won't object to that. So he's 
despondent, he's sorrowful, not for the reasons why a lot of 
people think. The reasons why is because Israel 
was a mess. Israel was supposed to be faithful 
to Yahweh, but Israel is bowing the knee to Baal. Remember, he 
had just seen that victory on Mount Carmel. But Jezebel and 
Ahab weren't vanquished. There was still an Ahab and a 
Jezebel. And so his lamentation, his sorrow, 
his grief is not so much because he needs therapy, but rather 
it's so much because he sees the unfaithfulness of Israel 
at that particular time. So how does God respond to him? 
Basically, you go lay on the couch for a bit. So I want to 
make sure we know that. It's legit for the people of 
God, at times, to take their rest, right? Jesus, in the gospel 
narrative, come apart and rest a while. But Jesus, they're sinners 
to be saved. Yeah, and you're not going to 
do it, and you're not going to be useful in it unless you get 
some rest. We are not disembodied spirits. 
God's response to Elijah is to lie down, get some sleep and 
take some food. What a blessed, glorious God. But back to Habakkuk, notice 
the way that he encourages his heart is with this collage. What he does is, first of all, 
rehearse the glory of God, and then he reviews the power of 
God. And the rehearsal of the glory of God is in verses 3 and 
4. Teman is generally identified as a site in Edom, or Seir's 
territory. Perun is identified with Sinai. 
So the hymn traces the steps over which God led Israel as 
she journeyed to take possession of the promised land. So verse 
3, God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. 
His glory covered the heavens and the earth was full of His 
praise. Now notice, in his review of God's power, he looks at the 
created order, he looks at God's intervention with reference to 
His people, and he looks at God's destruction of His enemies. So 
again, when you find yourself in distress, when you find yourself 
sorrowful, when you find yourself perplexed, the way through it, 
the way out of it, is not typically by self-reflection. Self-reflection 
may cast you further into that hole than you ever even bargained 
for. You know the old proverb, when 
you're in a hole, stop digging? Well, when you're in a hole, 
stop thinking about you. You're not going to fetch yourself 
out of that hole. God is in the business of pulling 
us out of the hole. And the way that that occurs 
is through reflection upon who He is and what He does. And that 
is precisely where the prophet directs his attention. So notice 
he refers to God's glory in creation. Verse four, his brightness was 
like the light. He had rays flashing from his 
hand and there his power was hidden. He reflects then upon 
the plagues in Egypt. In verse five, before him went 
pestilence and fever followed at his feet. How did God vindicate 
Israel in the days of Pharaoh's bondage? How did God break his 
people free at that time of great oppression? He did it by plaguing 
them. He did it by judging them. He 
did it by covering them with flies and with boils and with 
frogs. I mean, the means by which God 
frustrated and confounded and ultimately defeated Egypt is 
masterful. And so the prophet sees that. 
Again, in the absence of such things, remember, right? We're not seeing God plague his 
enemies right now with frogs. I haven't read of, you know, 
any political leader waking up covered in boils. You know, so 
in the absence of that, we think back to what God has done in 
the past. Not necessarily to duplicate that, unless, of course, 
he is so inclined to do so, but we remember that God has his 
ways, and he has his means, and he has his power and ability 
to confound the enemies of his church. Notice as well, he refers 
to creation again. Verse 6, he stood and measured 
the earth. He looked and startled the nations 
and the everlasting mountains were scattered. The perpetual 
hills bowed. His ways are everlasting. Notice 
the vindication of God's people in verse 7. See, remember, in 
the absence of that demonstration, so 609, 605, the destruction 
of Judah would come around 586 or 587. So he's on the eve of 
that invasion by Babylon against the Southern kingdom. So in the 
absence of an immediate victorious response from God to vindicate 
us from our troubles, he goes back to the book of Judges. Notice 
in verse 7, I saw the tents of Cushon in affliction. That's 
Judges chapter 3. They gained victory by the Savior, 
by the judgeship of Ophniel. For those who haven't read the 
book of Judges, because they think it's kind of gory, you 
know, Sisera driving tent pegs into the, or Jael driving a tent 
peg into the head of Sisera. I know that doesn't really thrill 
a lot of believers in this new covenant setting. Judges is about 
Jesus. Judges is all about Jesus. What 
is Othniel? What is Japheth? What is Samson? 
What is Ehud? Yeah, Ehud. What is Barrett? They are typical. They are Savior 
figures. They are judges that bring deliverance 
to the nation of Israel. And so he reflects upon Othniel 
and the vindication of God's people. And then notice in 7b, 
the curtains of the land of Midian trembled. That's Judges 7 at 
the time of Gideon, who was the judge, who was the savior, who 
was the one that vindicated his people at that particular time. Now notice in verse eight, he 
says, Oh Lord, were you displeased with the rivers? Was your wrath 
or your anger against the rivers? Was your wrath against the sea 
that you rode on your horses, your chariots of salvation? Your 
bow was made quite ready. Oaths were sworn over your arrows, 
say law. You divided the earth with rivers. 
The mountains saw you and trembled. The overflowing of the water 
passed by. The deep uttered its voice and 
lifted its hands on high. The sun and moon stood still 
in their habitation. That's Joshua. Chapter 10, at 
the light of your arrows they went, at the shining of your 
glittering spear. So again, a rehearsal of the 
power and the omnipotence of God Most High is to steady, to 
comfort, and to encourage a perplexed faith in the midst of distress. And then notice specifically 
at verse 12. He says, you marched through the land in indignation. You trampled the nations in anger. You went forth for the salvation 
of your people, for salvation with your anointed. You struck 
the head from the house of the wicked by laying bare from foundation 
to neck. Selah. This is the point that 
I tried to make this morning, that salvation and damnation 
are inextricably connected. As God is saving Israel, God 
is judging the enemies. As God is delivering Israel, 
He is closing down the tyrant Pharaoh. As God is vindicating 
His bride, He is bringing judgment to bear upon Midian. When God 
saves, there is typically a reflex in terms of God's judgment upon 
the enemies of Yahweh. And again, for the prophet, he 
doesn't say, oh, those are themes I shouldn't consider. I should 
just be about love and compassion and kindness. Do you know that 
a Christian can be about love and compassion and kindness and 
love justice and righteousness and long for the vindication 
of Christ's bride? Those saints, those men, those 
souls of just men made perfect in Revelation 6. We looked at 
that this morning. How long, O Lord, until you avenge 
our blood? So the prophet encourages his 
heart. Not only with the salvation of 
Israel in the past, but with the damnation of the enemies 
of Israel in the past as well. Look at the text. Verse 12. This is obviously spoken in the 
manner of men. You marched through the land 
in indignation. You trampled the nations in anger. You went forth. Why? for the 
salvation of your people, for salvation with your anointed. I'm gonna give you a little thought 
here. Whenever you see a passage like 
we read next, you struck the head from the house of the wicked 
by laying bare from foundation to neck. Think Genesis 3.15. Think of the skull crushing seed 
of the woman actually eliminating the enemies of Yahweh. That's 
why there's so many headshots in the prophets. That's why David 
cuts off Goliath's head. That's why the various prophets 
use that imagery of God smashing heads, because it's Genesis 3.15. 
The champion, the Messiah, the deliverer will smash the head 
of the devil. So there are typological down 
payments until the vindication ultimately on the cross of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. But he is not averse to encouraging 
his heart with the judgment of God most high. Turn to Psalm 
136. Psalm 136, we reflected on this 
a couple of times as we moved through the plagues on Egypt 
in our studies in Exodus. But something we need to appreciate 
here, we need to observe in this context. Psalm 136. Let's just 
pick up in verse four. To him who alone does great wonders, 
for his mercy endures forever. To him who by wisdom made the 
heavens, for his mercy endures forever. To him who laid out 
the earth above the waters, for his mercy endures forever. To 
him who made great lights, for his mercy endures forever. The 
sun to rule by day, for his mercy endures forever. The moon and 
stars to rule by night, for his mercy endures forever. And then 
we see that refrain, don't we? That's constant in the song. Something good God does for His 
mercy endures forever. Now notice verses 10 and following 
are good that God does for His mercy endures forever. Now, we 
don't typically think this way. We think of, you know, he saved 
this person for his mercy endures forever. We typically don't think 
he removed this person for his mercy endures forever. We typically 
don't think that person choked to death on his soup for his 
mercy endures forever. And I'm not trying to be grim, 
I'm not trying to be a downer, but I am trying to show you that 
the judgment of God has never made the people of God squeamish. The judgment of God is something 
that the people of God rejoice in. Verse 10, to him who struck 
Egypt in their firstborn, for his mercy endures forever. Obviously 
a matter of perspective. If you're an Egyptian burying 
your firstborn whom Yahweh had killed, you wouldn't celebrate, 
for his mercy endures forever, would you? As you're digging 
that hole for your beloved, as you're putting that body into 
that grave, you're not thinking that Yahweh is merciful. But 
as I mentioned, the salvation of God is typically inextricably 
connected to the damnation of the reprobate. So when he struck 
Egypt, it was an expression of his mercy. Verse 11, and brought 
out Israel from among them, for his mercy endures forever. With 
a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, for his mercy endures forever. To him who divided the Red Sea 
in two, for his mercy endures forever. And made Israel pass 
through the midst of it, for his mercy endures forever. It's 
just here that the church of today says, yeah, mercy. God delivered Israel. God opened 
up the Red Sea so that these people could walk through without 
even getting their feet wet. But the psalm continues. The 
psalmist holds out the judgment of God as being an expression 
of his mercy. And why the church today has 
backed off from calling upon Yahweh to vindicate His bride 
in the execution of justice is beyond me, except from the quote 
that I read this morning. We've been emasculated and we're 
effeminate in the church today. Notice in verse 15, but he overthrew 
Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, for his mercy endured forever. Notice in verse 18, he slew famous 
kings for his mercy endures forever. Sihon, king of the Amorites. 
for his mercy endures forever. Og, king of Bashan. Again, if 
you're Mrs. Og, if you're Mrs. Sihon, you're 
not rejoicing in God's mercy. You're not delighting in the 
God of Israel. You're thinking quite the opposite 
most likely, but for the children of God, for the covenant people 
of God, for the church of God, when God flexes his mighty right 
arm before the nations, And when God brings judgment to bear upon 
his enemies, the church rejoices. There was another passage in 
Revelation, we just ran out of time, that I wanted to look at 
this morning, Revelation chapter 19. After the great whore is 
judged, after the false prophet is judged, after they're cast 
into the lake of fire, do you know what heaven responds with? 
Oh, that was a bit harsh, God. Oh, that was a bit over the top, 
God. Oh, we wouldn't have done it 
that way if we were God, no. Alleluia, alleluia. A fourfold alleluia of praise 
to God because he dealt with the whore and he dealt with the 
false prophet. Again, how we got into this place 
where we shy away from God's actual judgment of the wicked 
is beyond me. Again, we're not supposed to 
be vindictive. We're not supposed to be in a traffic situation 
and pray God's curses down upon somebody that's going a bit too 
slow. That's just not the right way to function or live. But 
when God exercises His power and He vindicates His bride, 
the church should respond with praise, with adoration, and not 
embarrassment. I used to teach at the Cascade 
Bible study every other Wednesday until the COVID came, and now, 
you know, that's done. You can't actually go encourage 
old people anymore. You can't teach the Bible. But 
whenever I would go there, well, there was an old doll, and whenever 
I'd call out an Old Testament text, her eyes would roll. Oh, 
boy, here we go again. You know, as far as she was concerned, 
the Old Testament was blood and guts and destruction and mayhem 
and woe. Well, I would say there's a lot 
more to it than that, but those elements are present. And when 
the godly witness the infliction of those things by Yahweh upon 
His enemies, they rejoice. They cry out, for His mercy endures 
forever. Paul says it is right with God. It is just with God to repay 
with trouble those who have troubled you. So the psalmist rehearses 
who God is. The psalmist encourages his heart 
with what God has done. Verses 14 and 15, you thrust 
through with his own arrows the head of his villages. They came 
out like a whirlwind to scatter me. Their rejoicing was like 
feasting on the poor and secret. You walked through the sea with 
your horses through the heap of great waters. So he petitions 
God. He then remembers God, and now 
notice thirdly, his refuge is in God. So after concerning himself 
with who God is, the glory that he has manifested, and the power 
that he has displayed in terms of the salvation of his people, 
and in terms of the judgment of his enemies, now he shows 
or demonstrates the refuge that he has in God. There's four things 
here we need to take. First, the Lord provides rest 
in the day of trouble. The Lord provides rest in the 
day of trouble. Notice in verse 16, Notice that 
I might rest in the day of trouble. In other words, as I reflect 
upon the coming judgment of God, as I reflect upon the announced 
by prophets judgment of God, Habakkuk isn't operating in some 
sort of a vacuum. He's not just thinking that perhaps 
God's going to send the Babylonians. Remember, you had a whole host 
of prophets in Old Covenant Israel, and several of them had prophesied 
not only the fall of the Northern Kingdom, but the fall of the 
Southern Kingdom. He knows this is a certainty. 
He knows that wrath is coming. He knows that this is an occasion 
and a cause for fear and for trembling. And yet that fear 
and trembling doesn't drive him away from God and doesn't further 
exacerbate his distress, but it's that fear and trembling 
that drives him close to God and gives him confidence and 
blessedness. Look at what he says, that I 
may rest in the day of trouble. When he comes up to the people, 
he will invade them with his troops. I, in the midst of difficulty, 
in the midst of trial, in the midst of perplexity, will still 
be able to find rest because of who God is. And interestingly, 
after the sermon this morning, we talked, a couple of brothers 
were talking about hell. That came up in the sermon this 
morning. Hell's a tough topic, brethren. Theologically, biblically, 
philosophically, it is what it is, as the Bible sets it forth. 
It is a true doctrine. Psychologically, for us as creatures, 
as finite beings, it's a bit tough to wrap one's mind around. 
Especially if you've been, you know, had beloved family members 
that have departed and they weren't in Christ. The thought of them 
consciously suffering in hell forever and ever and ever, world 
without end, amen? That can be a psychological challenge 
for the people of God. But that psychological challenge 
never trumps the biblical and the theological and, dare I say, 
philosophical truth of that particular doctrine. But notice Habakkuk. I hear these things, I know these 
things, I see these things, and I am given over to fear. There's trembling. Turn to the 
prophet Daniel, just back to Daniel in chapter 7. Look at 
how he responds when he receives the revelations from God. Daniel 
chapter seven, verse 28. This is the end of the account. 
As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me and my countenance 
changed, but I kept the matter in my heart. Brethren, we're 
not infinite beings. We're not impassable beings. We're not unchangeable beings. Things affect us and at times 
produce perplexity, confusion, distress, heartache, hardship. The Bible doesn't shrink back 
from that. The Bible doesn't say, how dare 
you Habakkuk ever question me? Notice that the prophet asked 
two hard questions of God. Two difficult questions from 
God. God not only doesn't rebuke him 
for ever daring to ask him a question, but he actually answers the question. It's kind of like that prayer 
of Samson after he kills the thousand Philistines with the 
jawbone of an ass. And he's really thirsty, and 
he basically says to God, Lord, you gave me this victory over 
the Philistines. You're going to let me die of thirst? People 
think he's a bit cheeky there. He's a bit arrogant. He's got 
a bit of chutzpah. Why is he talking to God like 
that? God doesn't think that at all. God provides water for 
him to drink. See, the Bible doesn't shrink 
back from biblical manhood and womanhood. The Bible doesn't 
shrink back from the prophet Habakkuk asking God, why is Israel 
in such a condition? Why is Israel such a mess? God 
says, well, I'm gonna send Babylon to correct that. And then of 
course Habakkuk says, but then the solution is worse than the 
original problem. The just shall live by faith 
is what God tells Habakkuk. You need to trust. Faith appropriates 
the various lessons that God has for his people. Notice in 
Daniel 8, verse 27, same sort of, Sort of a thing. And I, Daniel, fainted and was 
sick for days. Afterward, I arose and went about 
the king's business. I was astonished by the vision, 
but no one understood it. He wasn't a stoic. He wasn't 
an austere man. 10-8. Notice in 10-8. Therefore, 
I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength 
remained in me, for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, 
and I retained no strength. And then turn back to Psalm 119. 
Psalm 119 is a wonderful celebration, not only of God's word, but also 
the emotional response of God's people in the various tumults 
of life. I mentioned it this morning. 
The Psalmist says three different ways that it responds to the 
wicked who do not keep God's law. In verse 136, rivers of 
water run down from my eyes because men don't keep your law. But 
that doesn't negate verse 53, indignation has taken hold of 
me because of the wicked who forsake your law. Or 158, sometimes 
it's complex to be a Christian. Sometimes it's difficult. I think 
there's many times that we get it wrong, but we need to understand 
there's not one pat answer. Well, you always just need to 
cry over the wickedness. Well, that's what the prophet, 
the psalmist does, but he's also indignant at the thought of the 
wicked. And then notice in 158, I see the treacherous and am 
disgusted because they do not keep your word. You see, if we 
go into that mindset of the super sanctimonious and say, well, 
it's so unchristian, it's so ungodly, it's so unloving for 
you to get upset about the lawlessness and the rebellion and the viciousness 
that obtains out there, that's not reflecting upon scripture. 
There are times to cry over wickedness. There are times to be angry over 
wickedness. It is to image God. God is angry 
with the wicked every day, Psalm 711. But the bigger point is 
verse 120. Notice what he says. Psalm 119, 
120, my flesh trembles for fear of you and I am afraid of your 
judgments. I have preached on the fear of 
God on many occasions or at least alluded to it. I've described 
the filial fear and then the slavish fear. The slavish fear 
is you run and you hide under the piano. The filial fear is 
reverence, respect, honor given to our blessed God. I actually 
think it's a combination. Not only do we have the honor, 
the respect, and the reverence for God, but there is that tendency 
to want to run and hide under the piano, because He is a great 
God. He is the most high God, and 
it is legit, and it is consistent. When the creature comes into 
His presence to fear and tremble like the psalmist does. So back 
to the prophet Habakkuk, he rests or rather underscores the reality 
that God provides rest in the day of trouble. Secondly, the 
Lord provides joy in the midst of devastation. Look at verses 
17 and 18. He acknowledges the reality that 
they're going to lose everything. They're going to be deprived 
of everything. Verse 17, though the fig tree 
may not blossom, nor fruit beyond the vines, though the labor of 
the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food, though the flock 
may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, 
I will joy in the God of my salvation. You know what he's saying? Though 
Costco gets closed down, though Superstore has empty shelves, 
though the power grid fails, though we lose those added pounds 
that we garnered over the pandemic, though all of that happens, he 
says, yet I will rejoice in Yahweh. I will joy in the God of my salvation. You see, in the midst of deprivation, 
in the midst of hardship, in the midst wherein we have no 
access to those goods, we still have God. We still have Yahweh. We still have the Lord. Reminds 
me of J. Gresham Machen. He makes this 
observation, and I think it's beautiful. He says, if we value 
God solely for the things He can do, we make of Him a mere 
means to an ulterior end, and God refuses to be treated so. Such a religion always fails 
in the hour of need. If we have regarded religion 
merely as a means of getting things, even lofty and unselfish 
things, then when the things that have been gotten are destroyed, 
our faith will fail. When loved ones are taken away, 
when disappointment comes and failure, when noble ambitions 
are set at naught, then we turn away from God. We have tried 
religion, we say. We have tried prayer, and it 
has failed. Of course it has failed. God 
is not content to be an instrument in our hand or a servant at our 
back and call. He is not content to minister 
to the worldly needs of those who care not a bit for him. Has 
it ever dawned on us that God is valuable for his own sake? It did with Habakkuk. Though 
Costco is shut, though Superstore is gone, though the grid fails, 
though the internet doesn't work, yet I will rejoice in Yahweh. He says, has it ever dawned on 
us that God is valuable for his own sake, that just as personal 
communion is the highest thing that we know on earth, so personal 
communion with God is the sublimest height of all? If we value God 
for his own sake, then the loss of other things will draw us 
closer to him. We shall then have recourse to 
him in time of trouble as to the shadow of a great rock in 
a weary land. That's what Habakkuk is saying 
in Machenese, in a wonderful piece of prose. Though the fig 
tree may not blossom, nor fruit beyond the vines, though the 
labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food, 
though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no 
herd in the stalls, yet, yet, I will rejoice in the Lord. I 
will joy in the God of my salvation. And I love that. Joy is a noun, 
and he uses it like a verb. I will joy in him. Not I will 
rejoice in him. He just says, I will joy in him. 
No matter what happens, no matter the deprivation, no matter the 
loss, no matter what this bitter and hasty nation called Babylon 
does to us, they cannot take from the remnant the God of heaven 
and earth. They cannot separate us from 
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. You see 
why Paul writes Romans 8 or what frame of reference he has? He's 
got the law, he's got the prophets, he's got the knowledge of God 
in order to guide him as he composes that chapter with reference to 
our position in Christ. Thirdly, notice the Lord provides 
stability. Not only will I joy in the God 
of my salvation, but notice in verse 19, the Lord God is my 
strength. He will make my feet like deer's 
feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills. Think about 
that. Brethren, it's easy to say that 
when Costco's open. It's easy to say that when you 
have access to the internet. It's easy to see the stability 
when the blessings are profuse around you. When we are enjoying 
the temporal benefits of God, oh yeah, it's great to serve 
Him. But in the midst of loss and in the midst of deprivation, 
are we still able to joy in Him? Are we still able to see our 
stability in Him? He reaches to the Psalter. He 
reaches to 2 Samuel 22. This is David's language, Psalm 
18, 33, which comes from 2 Samuel 22 and verse 33. The Lord God is my strength. 
He will make my feet like deer's feet, and He will make me walk 
on my high hills. See that, how important the word 
of God is? How does the prophet encourage 
his heart? It's with God's word. How does 
the prophet encourage his soul? By verses three to 15, reflecting 
on what God did in the Exodus, what God's done in creation, 
what God did at the time of the judges, what God does in terms 
of his trampling the nations in order to vindicate and save 
his people. He knows his Bible, so that steadies him. He knows 
his Bible, so that secures him. He knows his Bible, so he finds 
refuge in that. And interestingly, Palmer Robertson 
makes this observation. Go back to Habakkuk 1 and verse 
1. Well, yeah, verse 1. Notice the 
burden or the oracle or the prophecy. But burden is a good translation, 
right? This was a burden for Habakkuk. This is tough. So he goes from, 
oh Lord, how long shall I cry and you will not hear, even cry 
out to you violence and you will not save. He goes from that to 
the Lord, God is my strength. He will make my feet like deer's 
feet. He will make me walk on my high hills. Robertson says, 
so a book beginning with complaint and distress ends in joy. Faith 
triumphs in life despite many calamities. Songs in the night 
anticipate the glad arrival of the eternal dawn in which the 
faithful shall receive their ultimate vindication. So the 
just shall live by faith was the appropriate response from 
God to Habakkuk. And it was that faith by which 
he encourages his heart, that understanding of who God is and 
that understanding of what God provides. And then the final 
thing, the Lord provides content for the church's worship. That's 
verse 19b, to the chief musician with my stringed instruments. 
This was to be sung or chanted by the faithful. This is to be 
rehearsed by the faithful. This is to be pondered by the 
faithful. We're to reflect upon it so that 
we find encouragement in our hearts when we find ourselves 
in like circumstances. And brethren, I'm not convinced 
that what we're facing presently is like circumstances. Of course, 
I wasn't convinced two years ago we'd end up in this state. 
So we shall see, but whatever happens in the coming days and 
in the coming months and years, God Most High is sovereign. God Most High is in control and 
God Most High is working out His purposes. For good, for those 
who love him, and for those who are the called according to his 
purpose. Romans 8.28 is not a promise to us in the midst of blessing. There would be no reason for 
Paul to have to remind people or encourage people that job 
promotions work for good, or that finding bags of money work 
for good, or that, you know, your kids professing faith in 
Christ works for good. Of course we know that. When 
he's talking about all things work for good, he must mean all 
bad things work for good. In the hand of God Most High, 
he's able to take crooked things and make them straight. In the 
hand of God Most High, he's able to take perplexities and make 
them an occasion for growth in grace for his people. So the 
prophet rehearses, the prophet reviews, the prophet then composes 
for the benefit of the church. In conclusion, Habakkuk teaches 
us that there is the presence of trial and difficulty in the 
believer's life, in case you didn't know that. I've often 
said that, you know, to younger believers. If you haven't really 
faced any trials, just kind of hold on. It's gonna happen. You know, you first get saved 
and everything's great and wonderful. You know, God hears every prayer. 
He answers everything. Every time you come to your Bible, 
your heart's warm, and then some sort of a trial or a difficulty 
hits, you think, wait a minute, is this normal? Yeah, it's normal. Ask any of the older brethren, 
ask anybody that's been in the way for some time, Yeah, trials 
and difficulties and hardships are part and parcel. It's God's 
way. Grace grows best in winter. We have to understand that. It 
is the storm that tests the metal of the sailor. It's not the calm. There is the distress of life 
so that we will be further conformed onto the image of our blessed 
Savior. Christ, according to Hebrews 5, verse 8, learned obedience 
through suffering. How do you think you and I are 
going to learn obedience? Just by reading a book by A.W. Pink? Now I'm the most obedient 
fellow on the face of the earth? No, it's going to be through 
suffering. It's going to be through hardship. It's going to be as 
we follow the man of sorrows who was acquainted with grief. 
There is going to be trial in your life. Secondly, the resolution 
of spiritual difficulty in the believer's life. The prophet 
pours out his heart in lament. That is a proper vehicle of prayer. Just like today, people are saying, 
and that's why I hit on imprecatory praying this morning, because 
there's people right now telling us you're not supposed to do 
that. Wagging their sanctimonious fingers at us, telling us we're 
not supposed to pray the Psalms of David. We're not supposed 
to imitate the Savior. If the Psalms of David are the 
prayers of Christ, shouldn't we pray the prayers of Christ? 
Shouldn't we pray with Christ, God, our Father, forgive them 
for they know not what they do? Well, of course you should pray 
that. Well, we can't pray that the Lord God dashes down his 
enemies and that the righteous will dance in their blood. Oh 
no, you can't do that. What do you mean? If Christ could 
pray that and not betray sinfulness, then why can't we? We follow 
the Savior. So imprecatory Psalms or imprecations, 
that's the word I've been searching for. That is a legitimate biblical 
category. But so is lament. So is crying 
out to God. So is pouring out your distress 
to him. Turn back to the Psalms. I don't 
wanna keep us late, I'm about done. But turn back to Psalm, 
I think it's 116. Psalm 116. And it's not. It's one of those ones that's 
gonna jump out of my head when I, oh yeah, 102, sorry. It's 
the subscription or superscription, I never know which is which. 
The little words that are verse one. So the English Bible here, 
it has under Psalm 102, the Lord's eternal love, that's italicized. 
That's supplied by the translators, so that gives you a bit of a 
title to what the Psalm is. But then notice the smaller words. 
That is verse one in the Hebrew Bible. That's inspired, that's 
given by inspiration of God. So are the Selahs, that's why 
we read the Selahs. That's given by God. God wanted 
the Psalter in such a way that there were Selahs sort of littered 
about. But here, notice the subscription or superscription. It says, a 
prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and pours out 
his complaint before the Lord. What is the remedy in times of 
perplexity? It's to pour out the heart to 
God. Doesn't Jesus teach this in Luke 
chapter 18? He taught this parable to men 
who were anxious or perplexed, that they ought not to have anxiety, 
but rather pray to God most high. So Psalm 102, a prayer of the 
afflicted when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before 
the Lord. Lament is a legitimate prayer 
category. But then the prophet comforts 
his heart in reflection on who God is and on what God does. And then the prophet theologizes 
his heart into stability, understanding the provision of God in terms 
of stability, in terms of joy, and in terms of God's being with 
him even in the midst of trouble. And then finally, the emphasis 
of chapter 2, verse 4. We're saved by grace through 
faith, but that does not mean that's it for faith. Our confession 
says that faith that justifies is alone, but it's always accompanied 
by all other saving graces. so that those justified have 
that confident trust in their God such that it stabilizes them 
for their journey in life. Walter Kaiser says Habakkuk's 
faith was not just salvific or saving, redemptive and personal. 
It was practical and mundane in its implications. It could 
stand the test of total crop failure and the destruction of 
everything one held dear. It did not depend on God's promise 
that he would always supply health, wealth, and prosperity in order 
to earn Habakkuk's trust, belief, and respect. He could still be 
loved and worshipped in the midst of tragedy. When the lid blew 
off everything, he was still the sole object of praise and 
adoration. The reason was simple. He was Lord. He was in charge. He would remain true to his word 
even at the end of the historic process when all else had come 
and gone. Thus in the face of all the extremities 
of life, we can go on because he goes on. Justified people 
really live and they live by faith. That's the message of 
the prophet Habakkuk. There will be problems, there 
will be hardships. It may even take the form of 
a nebuchadnezzar. I mean, God himself describes 
the Babylonians as a bitter and hasty nation. He says, I'm not 
sending you some chumps. I am sending you persons that 
are going to devastate you. But you need to learn there are 
consequences associated with covenant breaking. And you need 
to learn that God is faithful, that you'll go into captivity 
for 70 years, but then I will vindicate you and bring you back 
to Judah, and then Messiah shall come and bring his people out 
of the bondage of sin and wretchedness and depravity. Bless God Almighty 
that He has spoken to us through the prophets to encourage us 
in our tumultuous age. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, 
we thank you for what the prophet expresses in his psalm. And I 
pray that we would internalize this, that it would be a balm 
to our soul, that it would be that balm of Gilead that would 
bring great comfort to us. We ask God in heaven again that 
you would be merciful to this land, be merciful in terms of 
Ottawa and the politicians and the protesters all the various 
parts that are involved, we ask that you would indeed cause there 
to be revival among your people, awakening among those who are 
dead in their trespasses and sins, and the constant and continual 
progress of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, even here on earth. We 
know that he shall have dominion from sea to sea. We know that 
the knowledge of Yahweh will cover the earth as the waters 
cover the sea. So grant us grace, grant us that 
faith to hold onto these truths and help us to persevere. And 
we pray in the name and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation.