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You may turn in your Bibles to 
the prophet Habakkuk, if you will. We're going to look specifically 
at verses 17 to 19 in chapter three. But in order to appreciate 
what the prophet says in verses 17 to 19, we need to understand 
something about specifically chapter one and the entirety 
of chapter three. The book breaks down into three 
major sections corresponding to the three chapters. The first 
is a dialogue between the prophet and God. The prophet asks questions 
of the Lord, and then God the Lord answers him. And then in 
chapter two, we see that God will, in fact, bring judgment 
to bear upon Babylon. And then chapter three takes 
up the psalm of the prophet. the psalm of the prophet, his 
reflection, if you will, his meditation upon what he has learned 
and his response to our great God. So I'll just pick up reading 
in chapter three at verse one, a prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet 
on Shigionoth. 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, you were displeased, 
or 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 laying 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 strained instruments. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for your holy word. We thank 
you for this great testimony of the prophet. We just ask now 
that you would guide us by your spirit and help us to understand 
the lessons of the text, help us to understand the circumstances 
that this brother faced, to realize that in the midst of perplexity 
and trial and difficulty, nevertheless, the saint of Christ can joy in 
his salvation. We just praise you, God in heaven. 
We thank you, Lord most high. And we pray now that you would 
direct our study and we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 
Amen. Well, the only thing we know 
about this particular prophet, the personal piece of information, 
is his name. The reference to Chaldeans in 
chapter one, verse six, indicates that it's the Babylonian. And 
more than likely, the prophet prophesied just prior to the 
destruction of Jerusalem, which would occur via Babylon under 
the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar. Very specifically, the scholars, 
the commentators, date him, date Habakkuk the prophet from about 
608 BC to about 605 BC. He is ministering to the southern 
tribes of Judah. By this time, the northern tribes 
had already been taken away into Assyria, so all that is left 
is the southern kingdom. And so it is a very difficult 
situation in which he lives. Now, on the throne at this particular 
time was the king Jehoiakim. Now, Jehoiakim engaged in vicious 
wickedness. He was an ungodly man. to the 
core. It wasn't just that he was a 
spineless wimp, but rather he was actively opposed to God, 
the God of Israel. He made treaties with other nations 
that were just unrighteous and unholy and ungodly. So this is the historical setting 
in which the prophet lived. He understood that Babylon was 
going to come. In fact, just look for a moment 
at chapter 3. Those verses I said we're going 
to focus on primarily. Specifically, let's look at verses 
18 and 19. He says, 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. And if you met a man, or you 
met a woman, or you talked to somebody in the back of the church, 
and this was their testimony, and this was their report, it 
would be quite admirable. Hopefully you would say, wow, 
this brother, this sister is a person of faith. They believe 
God. They trust God. The justified 
by faith is living by faith. And that's an encouraging thing. 
But then if you press further and you started to talk to them 
and they said, you know, five years ago, I was diagnosed with 
cancer and ten years ago, my husband was a terrible human 
being. They just had a life of woe and trial and travail. And 
nevertheless, they were able to say what they were saying 
in terms of their faith commitment to the Lord God. It makes you 
appreciate it that much more. And I think it's important for 
us not to just focus on chapter three, verses 17 to 19. and this 
great expression of faith on the part of the prophet. But 
to see the historical circumstances, to see how this man was pressed, 
to see how he questioned God in a righteous way, it wasn't 
ungodly, but how he was struggling with the prophesied events that 
were going to occur to his people, to his nation. You go back for 
just a moment to chapter one. He asks two primary questions. The first is an ethical issue. The second is a theological one. You notice in chapter one, verse 
two, he says, Oh, Lord, How long shall I cry and you will not 
hear? Even cry out to you violence 
and you will not say. 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. You see what he is 
saying? He is saying that I've looked 
out at society and I am not pleased at what I'm seeing. I've looked 
out at Judah, the covenant community of God Most High, and we are 
living in a wretched state. He's essentially saying, God, 
how is it the case That your people, that we, have come to 
the place where we are in utter rejection of you and in utter 
rebellion against you. He is speaking about the conditions 
that was going on at the time under the wicked leadership of 
Jehoiakim that was rampant in society. And so then the Lord 
says how he's going to deal with this situation. This is when 
he introduces the Chaldeans. He introduces the Babylonians. 
He says, I am raising up a bitter and a hasty nation, and I am 
going to send them into Judah, and they are going to devastate 
your covenant community. Probably not the answer Habakkuk 
wanted, is it? Just imagine for a moment, you 
look out at the scene in Canada or in the United States and you 
say, Lord God, it's horrible, it's wretched, they're murdering 
babies, they're murdering the elderly, they're murdering the 
terminally ill, they're engaged in all manner of lawlessness 
and wickedness. What are we hoping in that prayer? 
We're hoping that God will snap his fingers and just cause everybody 
to repent and society to smooth out and get all better. That's 
probably what the prophet had in mind. So what does God say? 
I'm going to send Nebuchadnezzar. I'm going to send Babylon and 
they're going to utterly desecrate the land. Wait a minute. The solution is worse than the 
problem. The answer is more difficult 
than the original question that then leads to his question in 
verse 12. Are you not from everlasting? Oh, Lord, my God, my holy one. 
We shall not die. Oh, Lord, you have appointed 
them for judgment. Oh, rock, you have marked them 
for correction. You are of pure eyes than to 
behold evil and cannot look on wickedness. Why do you look on 
those who deal treacherously and hold your tongue when the 
wicked devours a person more righteous than he? Why do you 
make men like fish of the sea, like creeping things that have 
no ruler over them? The idea here is that corrective 
justice, the prophet desired, but not destruction from the 
hand of Babylon. You see his perplexity. You see 
his issue. Some people have looked at this 
and said, Habakkuk here is having a crisis of faith. He's not having 
a crisis of faith. Robertson says, not a weak faith, 
but a perplexed faith torments Habakkuk. Habakkuk asks the questions 
that perplex many believers. How can a righteous and holy 
God not just snap his fingers and make things right. Well, 
the righteous and holy God, according to his sovereign plan and purposes, 
oftentimes uses things that seem severe to us to bring glory to 
his name and to bring good to his people. Spending a little 
bit of time here in chapter one, just so you can appreciate Habakkuk's 
situation. He is not lamenting. He is not 
whining. He is not crying that the air 
conditioning on his SUV went out. Lord, how do you expect 
me to drive to church an hour and a half when there's no air 
conditioning? That's not his issue. That's 
not his problem. He is not a whiner. He is not 
a grumbler. Mark Dever says it this way. 
In short, Habakkuk is puzzled exactly because he knows and 
believes that God is both powerful and good. His prayer is not merely 
an example of cosmic whining that somehow made it into the 
Bible. It is an inquiring prayer of 
a believer in anguish who knows he can approach this good and 
sovereign God with honesty. So they're facing a crisis. They're 
facing a sanction. They are facing the very judgment 
of God most high. He asks the question. The Lord 
answers the question. The underlying theme is in chapter 
2, verse 4, behold the proud. His soul is not upright in him, 
but the just shall live by his faith. Robertson translates this 
way. The justified by faith shall 
live by his steadfast trust in the living God. So in the midst 
of calamity, in the midst of Nebuchadnezzar, in the midst 
of the Babylonian armies, in the midst of the destruction 
of Jerusalem, in the midst of the sacking of the city, in the 
midst of exile, in the midst of woe, in the midst of trial, 
in the midst of travail, this holds true. The justified by 
faith shall live by his steadfast trust. So that's the historical 
occasion. Chapter one, a couple of questions 
offered up by the prophet, answered by God. Chapter two, basically 
God is going to bring judgment upon Babylon after he finishes 
with them. And then chapter three, as I 
mentioned, is his prayer. It is his psalm, and it breaks 
down into three sections. his prayer, secondly, his remembrance 
of God, and thirdly, his refuge in the Lord Most High. Notice 
his prayer. Verse 2, O Lord, I have heard 
your speech and was afraid. That's a good response when we 
are confronted with the holiness of God. That is a good response 
when we are confronted with the sovereignty of God. That is a 
good response when we come face to face with the impending judgment 
of God. I have heard your speech and 
was afraid. It promoted in his heart that 
righteous response to God. You see, sometimes people ask 
the Lord questions and sometimes they do it in a bad way. They 
ask God questions, and if he doesn't respond the way they 
think he should, well, then they're going to be bitter, they're going 
to be angry, they're going to take their marbles and go home, 
or they're not going to serve him anymore. Not so with the 
prophet. You see, there's nothing wrong 
with asking these particular questions. What is necessary 
is that you are content with his answer. And we see the evidence 
that Habakkuk was, in fact, as he says, O Lord, I have heard 
your speech and was afraid. Notice his particular petition. He says, O Lord, revive your 
work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make 
it known. Lord God, let it not come to 
an end, though there may be destruction. Though Babylon does come upon 
us, there is a day coming of restoration. And Lord God, I 
pray that you will revive... Notice how he calls it here. 
He calls it your work. You see, the prophet isn't bent 
on his own comfort, upon his own creature habits, or upon 
his own creature comforts. He is bent on the glory and the 
majesty and the name and the honor of God Most High. You see, 
you can always tell a bad question to God. There's selfish ends 
in view. Good questions promote the fear 
of God, a trust in him, a confidence in his government, and a desire 
that his work would be exalted in the land. 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. He says, even as the prophet 
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 behalf of others 
that the Lord will make plain to them the understanding necessary 
for survival in the midst of calamity. Revive your work in 
the midst of the years. God bless the faithful, cause 
them to realize these lessons, cause them to find their refuge 
and their confidence in you, Lord, promote the good of Zion. That is the essence of this prayer. 
And then notice his argument. He has a fear. He has a petition. And then he offers up an argument 
at the end of verse two. He says in the midst of the years, 
make it known in wrath, remember mercy. What a beautiful argument. He doesn't say, remember our 
good works. In your wrath, remember that 
we don't deserve it. In your wrath, remember how good 
we are. No, he has no good works to offer 
up. He has nothing in terms of covenant 
community faithfulness to argue before the Lord. No, he says 
and recognizes that God is wrathful and righteously so because of 
the sinfulness and rebellion of the people. What he casts 
himself upon is mercy. In wrath, remember mercy. Brethren, we ought to pray that 
way. When we look around the nations, when we see the turmoil, 
when we see the issues, when we see the calamity, when we 
see the trial, what is our argument? Bless them because America is 
a righteous nation? Bless them because Canada is 
faithful and upright? No, God, in your wrath, remember 
mercy. And notice, secondly, the prophet 
remembers God. This is important. You will never 
be a Habakkuk 3, 17 to 19, guy or girl, without what precedes. You see, he does what Asaph did. What happens when Babylon is 
coming? What happens when Jehoiakim is 
on the throne? What happens when your life is 
in shambles? What is the potential danger 
or the tendency? It is to forget the goodness 
of God, right? Oh, no, not me, Pastor. I'm just 
always thinking about how good God is. Okay, well, there's some 
of us in here that probably need to be reminded from the prophet 
here. Asaph does this in Psalm 77. Asaph does this in Psalm 
79. Asaph does this in Psalm 74. 
You know what Asaph's complaint is? The nations are destroying 
your people. What could he possibly encourage 
himself with in the midst of that? History. God's faithfulness 
in the past. What God's done before. You see, 
what God has been, God has promised to be. And while currently we 
may be suffering his wrath, While currently we may be suffering 
His displeasure, while currently we may be suffering at the hands 
of Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar, we have a certain steady confidence 
that the God of the Exodus is the God and Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, who will do great and wondrous things in the future. That's what the prophet does 
in verses 3 to 15. He recalls the mighty works of 
God. You see, brethren, when you're 
tried, when you're perplexed, when you're having difficulty, 
when it seems that everything is falling down all around you, 
you need to look to God. You need to consider His promises. You need to look at history. 
You need to remember. This is Moses' repeated exhortation 
on the plains of Moab in the book of Deuteronomy. It is to 
recall the mighty works of God that is fuel for current steadiness, 
that is fuel for current refuge-seeking in the Lord. While there are 
trials, we trust in the rock-solid God of heaven and earth. That's 
the point of verses 3 to 15. Just several things that he does 
here. He rehearses the glory of God. 
It's like he puts together a collage. You know what a collage is? At 
least the children do. You're probably going to make 
them in school. A collage. You cut out a lot of pictures 
and you put it on the paper, right? There might be a theme. 
How good your life is. You cut out a picture of an apple. 
You cut out a picture of your dog. You cut out a picture of 
your mom and dad. Got a picture of your Hot Wheels and all that 
stuff. It's a collage that testifies to how good your life is. That's 
what 3 to 15 is. It is a theological collage upon 
which the prophet, in the midst of trial, in the midst of difficulty, 
in the midst of chaos, is nevertheless going to buoy himself and find 
his confidence in God the Lord. This is primarily one of the 
problems why Christians falter. Because if things aren't going 
swimmingly, we get discouraged, we get depressed, and we get 
downcast, forgetting the glory, the power, and the majesty of 
God. He may not be acting right now 
to bless you with everything you think you ought to have, 
but that doesn't mean He's forgotten you. That doesn't mean he's done 
with you. That doesn't mean that he has 
stopped being God for you. So he constructs or he puts together 
this theological collage. A similar thing is found in the 
book of Exodus. The Song of Moses is a theological 
collage. In Judges 5, the Song of Deborah, 
theological collage. And also the Psalter, Psalm 68, 
again is a collage of what God has done. Upon that is where 
we gain our confidence. Is everybody with me? Everybody 
following? I think there's great new covenant 
application to this. Yeah, you're going to face trials 
in this world. You're going to face difficulties 
in this world. You may be bypassed for a promotion 
in this world because you're a Christian. You may not get 
the best jobs. You may not get the best things. 
You may not get the best in life. Does that mean God has forgotten 
you? God has abandoned you? God is 
done with you? No. And if the prophet here encourages 
his soul with the Exodus, if the prophet here encourages his 
soul with the display of God's power at Sinai, if he encourages 
his soul with the plagues of Egypt, with the power of God 
over creation, with the vindication of his people, he goes to the 
book of Judges, victory under Othniel, he goes to the book 
of Judges, victory under Gideon, He goes to the book of Judges 
to rehearse God's power and glory in vindicating His people. And 
it's kind of an interesting connection in that respect, because the 
book of Judges was not a time when everything was hunky-dory 
in Israel. Remember those cycles of sin, 
oppression, repentance and deliverance? It's kind of an interesting connection 
the prophet lays hold of there. Judges was a difficult time in 
Israel's history, but nevertheless God acts. What could the prophet 
be implicitly suggesting? These are difficult days we are 
facing. Nevertheless, God will act. You see, you've got to think 
theologically. You cannot suppose that theology 
is for a few guys in the church that like to buy books. You cannot 
suppose that theology is for the few guys who have iPads and 
listen to sermonaudio.com. You're not to suppose that theology 
is some academic enterprise or exercise. Theology is the lifeblood 
of your confidence, of your steadfastness, and of your, dare I say it, sanity. If we were facing utter desecration 
at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, how would we fare? I mean, we are a soft people, 
brethren. Come on, we're not the Huguenot 
marching into battle singing Psalm 68. That's just not where 
we're at. We're not with William Wallace 
on horses, painting our faces half blue and laughing as that's 
just not what we're about. We're a soft people. So if Nebuchadnezzar 
and Babylon is coming to town, we are going to fall apart. We're 
already basket cases and we have everything you could ever imagine. 
We have, you name it, we live in one of the most affluent societies 
and the most affluent ages in the universe. We fall apart at 
the drop of a pin. What this prophet is doing is 
he's girding up his soul. He's strengthening his heart. 
He is seeking fortification. He is rehearsing the providence. He is rehearsing the power. He 
is rehearsing the presence of God Most High over his creation. and over his people. In other 
words, the prophet is doing theology in his own soul, in his own mind, 
and it's upon that foundation that the prophet's refuge is 
expressed in verses 16 to 19. He says in verse 16, When I heard 
my body tremble, 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. All of this stuff is somewhat 
overwhelming to him. Do you ever feel like this? Do 
you ever get in a position like this, this quivering, this trembling, 
this falling apartness? I mean, the thought of Babylon 
coming, the thought of the glory and majesty of God Most High, 
he is entertaining a lot of thoughts in the space of a very few chapters. 
It's on this basis that he then makes this confession in verses 
17 to 19. Notice verse 17, he says, 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. Let's just exegete that in a 
modern mindset. You know what he's saying? He's saying if I open my refrigerator 
and there's nothing there. I go to my pantry and I'm on 
my last can of green beans. I get in my car and I've got 
a gallon of gas left and I make it to Superstore and there's 
nothing on the shelves. The power grid's about to go 
down. We are facing utter destitution. Remember, Babylon is coming. Nebuchadnezzar's coming. They're 
not coming to play games. They're not coming to trade theory. 
They're not coming to theologize. They're certainly not going to 
come wipe out Jerusalem and then pay Jerusalem reparations for 
the next several decades. It's the way we fight wars today. 
We go and bomb people and then we pay them for the rest of their 
existence. That's not how Nebuchadnezzar 
rolled. We are coming in to destroy you. You see what the prophet's 
envisioning? You see what the prophet is thinking? 
He's asked these questions of the Lord. The Lord has responded. 
The Lord has told him that Nebuchadnezzar or Babylon will, in fact, fall. 
But not until they finish the job that the Lord has dispatched 
them on. He never questions the sovereignty 
of God, never says, but you're God and why would you? No, he 
resolves, he is resolute in the place and purpose of God most 
high. What he is saying in verse 17 is a reality for him. Have 
we been pressed this far? Have we been pushed this far? 
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. No food, no power, no grocery 
stores, no gasoline. You know, there might be a day 
when we wish we could pay $4 a gallon for gasoline, because 
that means there's gasoline. May not always be the way it 
looks now. We always think it's going to get better. Habakkuk 
didn't think that. Habakkuk understood the writing 
on the wall. He knew things were going to get a whole lot worse. No money, no stability, and you 
know what? No freedom. They would be exiled 
to Babylon. They would be away from their 
country. They would be away from their homes. They would be away 
from their businesses. They would be away from everything 
they held near and dear. You see the situation. It's pretty 
bleak. It's pretty difficult. It's pretty 
harsh, if you will. That's what makes verse 18 amazing. Again, you talk to someone in 
the back of the church. Oh, I have great joy in my God. brought 
up, my parents loved me, they cared for me, they disciplined 
me lovingly, I always had food, I went to the best school. That's 
good, you should have a good profession of faith. When that 
person professes faith like this and says, my life was miserable, 
it was terrible, it's horrible, they beat me up, I spent time 
in prison, whatever the case may be, you say, wow, that's 
pretty amazing, that's an interesting profession of faith. You see, 
while we took the time to sort of paint the context, I think 
verse 18 makes more sense and is more appreciable when we consider 
the vantage point of the prophet, though I have nothing to eat 
and history would bear this forth. What does Jeremiah say in the 
book of Lamentations? What does he describe in terms 
of the siege of Jerusalem? You see, this isn't theory for 
the prophet. All you have to do is flip a 
few pages, probably back because it's not set chronologically, 
go back a few pages to the Book of Lamentations. What does Jeremiah 
describe during the siege of Jerusalem? The compassionate 
ladies, the gentle women, were boiling their children and eating 
them because they were starving to death. This isn't a theoretical 
idea with the prophet Habakkuk. When he says, though the fig 
tree may not blossom, and nor fruit beyond the vines, though 
the labor of the olive may fail, the fields yield no food, though 
the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no hurt 
in the skulls, when he says, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, 
I will joy in the God of my salvation, praise God Almighty. Because in the midst of trial, 
in the midst of difficulty, in the midst of being destitute, 
in the midst of exile, in the midst of bondage, in the midst 
of all of that, certain basic biblical truth does not change. I will rejoice in the Lord. I will, I love the language that 
he uses, I will joy in the God of my salvation. I will joy in 
it, whatever my situation is, no matter how hungry I am, no 
matter where I find myself in Babylon, no matter who's on the 
throne, no matter what administration is messing things up, I will 
joy in the God of my salvation. Because Nebuchadnezzar cannot 
take that away. Famine cannot take that away. There is nothing that can separate 
us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
This is a Romans 8 moment for the prophet of Israel in the 
6th century B.C. or the latter part of the 7th 
century B.C. It's a beautiful and a wonderful 
statement. Notice the essence of it is we 
will rejoice in the Lord because of the Lord. Not in what He gives 
us. I mean, He gives us salvation. 
But that's the Lord, right? What is salvation in its essence? 
But that God is our God and we are his people. You see, oftentimes 
our joy, our happiness, our delight, our ability to praise him is 
dependent upon what he gives us. See, the prophet here isn't 
a fair weather fan. He's not one that is rooting 
for Yahweh as long as the thugs, as long as the bad people are 
put down. He is rooting for Yahweh even when there's no food. He 
is rooting for Yahweh even though there is oppression. He is rooting 
for Yahweh in the midst of all things. He says, I will rejoice 
in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. I think it's hard for us to jump 
back into this context and realize this is a real man. Though all 
we know is his name, he probably had a wife. He probably had children. 
He was probably actually thinking what's going to happen to them. 
587, 586, that's when the city collapsed. So 20 years from the 
point that he is saying this? How would you be responding if 
you knew that in 20 years, life as you knew it would end? Well, 
I'd better work harder. I'd better make more money. I'd 
better fix my plans. I'd better, no, I will rejoice 
in the Lord, he says. This is the prophet's refuge. He rejoices in the Lord because 
of the Lord, not because of what he gives us. We don't follow 
the Lord because he feeds us. We don't follow the Lord because 
he keeps the meanies away. We don't follow the Lord because 
he makes our path always happy and joyful. We follow the Lord 
because of the Lord. That's the essence of Habakkuk's 
statement of faith. Notice the refuge taken. The 
Lord God is my strength. Verse 19. He will make my feet 
like deer's feet. and He will make me walk on my 
high hills. He is my strength and He will 
sustain me. This is a quote from Psalm 18.33, 
comes from 2 Samuel chapter 22. This idea of Him making my feet 
like deer's feet, He will make me walk on my high hills. He 
will exalt me in the midst of trial, in the midst of difficulty, 
in the midst of all of these things. The fact that I am in 
Jesus, The fact that I am clothed with a righteousness not my own, 
the fact that I enjoy a present current salvation is enough to 
make me giddy with happiness." That's what he's saying. You 
come to him and you say, why are you so happy? You just ask 
God about what's happening. He said, I'm sending a bitter 
and a hasty nation. That's God's description of Babylon. God says, 
I'm sending a bitter and a hasty nation to destroy you. They must 
have really been bad. And in the midst of this, the 
prophet finds his refuge, he finds his comfort, he finds his 
strength, and he finds his joy in the Lord Most High. Robertson 
says, 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. It's beautiful. Beautiful. That's the perspective that God's 
people need to adopt. The resolution of spiritual difficulty 
in the believer's life is indicated in this chapter. Remember the 
Lord. Understand theology. It doesn't 
mean you have to come up, you know, come out at 630 on a Saturday 
morning. Please read your scriptures. 
Listen to sermons. Understand what God is doing. 
Understand what God has done. We stand in the present, reflecting 
on the past so that we're ready for the future. That's what God 
calls us to think and do. We are told to fill our minds 
understand, to know our God. The people who know their God 
engage in mighty exploits. The prophet rehearsed the Scriptures. 
He considered God's work in history. It settled his troubled soul. 
As he rehearses, as he recounts, as he considers God's handiwork 
in the midst of deliverance, this causes him, it brings him 
to this place of saying, I will rejoice in the Lord, no matter 
what the circumstances, no matter what the situation. It doesn't 
matter how hungry I get. It doesn't matter if I ultimately 
die of famine. I will still rejoice in my God. He sounds just like Job. Though 
he slay me, yet will I trust him. Brethren, this kind of a 
mindset is absolutely crucial for the saint of Jesus Christ 
in the New Covenant. The confidence of the prophet. 
The confidence of the prophet is expressed in these last few 
verses. I will rejoice in the Lord. You notice it has the sound of 
a resolution. Sometimes we are bantered and 
tossed about because we have not resolved. You ever thought 
in your head, what if I went out on the street and somebody 
took a gun and put it right between my eyes and said, do you believe 
in the Lord Jesus? You know, the time to decide 
that question isn't when you're looking down the business end 
of a 45. The time to answer that question 
is now. Resolve. I will not deny my Lord. I will never deny Jesus Christ. There is a holy resolution that 
the people of God ought to imbibe. That's what he says. Though these 
things happen, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the 
God of my salvation. I am not going to let circumstances 
treat me like that. I am not going to be the victim 
of my surroundings. I am not going to be tossed to 
and fro based on what happens to me. There's something about 
that militant Christianity that we've lost something of. I will 
rejoice. There is that ethic in the Psalter 
in Psalm 119. David says, I will not sin against 
you. Holy resolution. Godly resolve. Don't wait to decide these things 
when there is no food. Make the determined effort to 
rejoice in God. And then finally, verse 4 of 
chapter 2 is the linchpin of this mindset. Remember, this 
is the text that the Apostle Paul employs over and over again 
in his gospel ministry. Remember Romans 1.16, I am not 
ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation 
for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the 
Greek. He says, for in it the righteousness of God is revealed 
from faith to faith, that just as it is written, or just as 
it is written, the just shall live by faith. Habakkuk 2.4. And here in the context of Habakkuk 
2.4, the justified by faith shall live by his steadfast trust in 
the Lord God Most High. When Christ is our source of 
joy, comfort, strength, We can only imitate the thought of verses 
18 and 19. Do you realize, brethren, if 
you are in Christ, if you have a righteousness which is not 
your own, whatever happens to you tomorrow, as bad as it may 
possibly be, you'll still go to bed a Christian tomorrow night? Do you realize that if the next 
30 years of your life is 30 years of misery, and woe and despair 
and tragedy and travesty. At the end of that 30 years, 
you're still a believer in Jesus. You see why Habakkuk can say, 
yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. Walter Kaiser said this. He says 
Habakkuk's faith was not just salvific, redemptive and personal. It was practical and mundane 
in its implications. The justified by faith shall 
live by his steadfast trust in God. Yes, we're justified by 
faith in a redemptive, salvific sense, but as justified by faith 
believers, how do we live? We believe God. We trust God. We rest our souls upon God. That's what he is saying. He 
says it's not just salvific, redemptive and personal. It is 
practical and mundane. You know what mundane means? Mundane means the day to day 
life. Mundane means the washing diapers 
or washing rear ends or dealing with noses or going to work and 
punching the time clock. That is the mundane. How do you 
get through the mundane? You have a steadfast trust in 
the God of the mundane. He says 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. That's not being 
held out here. In fact, it's just the opposite. 
The Baptist was the anti-Health, Wealth, and Prosperity preacher. 
He was the anti-Freddie Price. He was the anti-Benny Hinn. He 
was not preaching the gospel that if you believe on Jesus, 
you'll never have troubles in your life. No, he lived according 
to the gospel that says, the justified by faith shall live 
by their steadfast trust in the true and living God, even in 
the midst of calamities. He says 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 
warned. 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 take-home message 
this evening. If you want to be able to say 
Habakkuk 3, 18 and 19, in light of Habakkuk 3, 17, in light of 
Habakkuk chapter 1, then you need to remember who God is. 
You need to steady your soul on good theology and you need 
to believe God who has spoken. That's it. From perplexity to 
joy. From fear to faith, the prophet's 
movement has been theological in nature, reflecting upon the 
person and character of God. And it's in this that he's able 
to confess, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the 
God of my salvation. You ever realize or you need 
to realize that if you have Christ, you have everything. I know we 
say that and we think, oh, yeah, you know, be one of those refrigerator 
magnets sort of things. No, it really is true. This is 
why Habakkuk could face the uncertainty of entering in to the 6th century 
BC, realizing that everything he knew and held dear to heart 
would be gone. Didn't change who God was, didn't 
change his promises, didn't change the reality that Habakkuk was 
safely folded in the arms of Christ and he had a salvation 
that would stand the test of time. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank you for this confession of the prophet. We 
ask God in heaven that you would help us to consider these things, 
help us to consider this book in light of our own situations, 
help us to find comfort and encouragement, and help us to take seriously 
Habakkuk 2.4. The justified by faith shall 
live by a steadfast trust in the living and true God. We thank 
you that you have promised. We thank you that you have acted. 
We thank you that you will never leave us nor forsake us. I pray 
that we would receive much comfort and encouragement from this passage 
of Scripture and that we truly would joy in the salvation that 
you have provided. Go with us now and watch over 
us in this coming week. Bless your people with peace. 
Bless your people with grace and with strength. And we pray 
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.