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you you you you well good evening everyone it's a joy to be back in the house of the lord again this evening do we gather together for worship so um with that we can turn our bibles to psalm 24 for our call to worship psalm 24. [Music] psalm 24 a psalm of david the earth is the lord's and all its fullness the world and and those who dwell therein for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters who may ascend into the hill of the lord or who may stand in his holy place he who has clean hands and a pure heart who has not lifted up his soul to an idol nor sworn deceitfully he shall receive blessing from the lord and righteousness from the god of his salvation this is jacob the generation of those who seek him who seek your face selah lift up your heads o you gates and be lifted up you everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in who is this king of glory the lord strong and mighty the lord mighty in battle lift up your heads o you gates lift up you everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in who is this king of glory the lord of hosts he is the king of glory well we can sing turn in our hymnals ventus to psalm 46 c psalm 46 c can you please stand and sing together [Music] oh [Music] foreign uh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] well let us pray our gracious our loving heavenly father what a joy it is to gather again in your house on your on your day the lord's day a day of worship a day of rest and a day to come together with your people here to sing your praises and to worship you and lord we we we we thank you for this and we praise you that we have this one day in seven that you have that you have given unto us that that you have made the sabbath for man and that we can have this day to come together to worship you and to to have a day of rest and lord we do praise you for that and we thank you that that we can come here this evening and gather together to worship you and lord i pray that you would receive our praises this this evening lord i pray that you would be pleased to be among us with your with your holy spirit lord send him in a powerful way to to be among us here to to lift up our hearts in worship and in praise and adoration for you to fill our hearts with wonder with the with the fear of the lord and and with a with a love for you as our father in heaven and lord we do thank you that we can call you father lord what a humbling thought that is that we can that we can call the high king of heaven the creator of all things the the yahweh that we can call you father and lord we thank you that this is that this is because of the god that that that you are a god as as nehemiah said that you are that you are ready to pardon that you are full of of of mercy and and lord we we we praise you for that that that you have you revealed yourself to moses that you forgive all types of sin and iniquity and transgression and and yet by no means let the guilty go unpunished and lord we thank you that that this that this problem that we have then as we all see ourselves as guilty before you that that has been taken away atoned for paid for by our savior the lord jesus christ and lord and we greatly rejoice in the gospel of our lord jesus christ and lord i pray that that if there are any here among us this evening who do not know you and who have not trusted in christ in in the savior and the one who has who has who has paid in full that debt that taken that guilt upon himself so that you may be a forgiving god and and that you and that you can give out forgiveness and without sacrificing your justice lord that that the savior who who in in our place condemned he stood sealed our pardon with his blood hallelujah what a savior is our savior so lord i pray that that if there are any here tonight who do not know you that you would that you would shine the light of the gospel of our lord jesus christ into the hearts that you would revive the the dead hearts hearts that are against you hearts that are contrary to you and hearts that cannot understand the the things of the of god for they are spiritually discerned that that you would would revive those hearts and and and show the savior shine the light on the savior lord that they would see him as as as altogether lovely as chief among ten thousand as the only way of salvation the only hope they have of of reconciliation to you that they would that they would would would realize that that there is nothing that we can bring nor nothing that we need to bring that has all been provided for by by by you that you have provided an atonement for our sin as as the as david said lord and we we rejoice in that and we thank you for the gospel of our lord jesus christ lord i pray that you would that you would bless our pastor this evening as he preaches your word i pray that that you bless him with your holy spirit fill him lord with with the holy spirit to to proclaim the truth as it is in your word and that and to proclaim the gospel of jesus christ lord we pray that that that he would be a means for the edification of your people here that that we would be grow grow up in in our most holy faith that we would be edified and and and leave here with seeing your praises leave here with uh with a firmer faith strengthen faith leave here with a um [Music] with our hearts being encouraged just and especially in light of the of the the given circumstances in our world and in our nation lord there's so much evil so much confusion so much wickedness tyranny lord it grieves our hearts when we look at these things but yet lord we do we are greatly encouraged that as we have just sung that that you are our you are our strength you are our help that god speaks and all is peace from war the nation cease lord we look to you and we appeal to you that you would bring peace in this in in our in our country lord we we we are such a uh a low point lord we might say in our country right now we just pray that you would you would would heal our land that you would grant grant peace grant the freedom grant we ask that you would remove wicked leaders lord we pray that that you would we pray for our leaders lord it is it is hard it is hard to pray for them lord sometimes we must admit and we confess our sin that you know we ask that you would forgive us of our sin and lord we do pray for our leaders that you would that you would save them that you would would turn them from their wicked ways and that and that they would turn in repentance and faith to you and that and that they would turn their their leadership to a way that that brings honor and glory to you that obeys your laws and and and where where evil is condemned as evil and where and where righteousness is is is set forth as righteousness lord where we find ourselves now where evil is called good and good is called evil we are so contrary to your word and lord we do stand in need of your punishment and you're in deserving of your your punishment and lord we do ask that you would be gracious to us lord we do pray for the other countries around this world as well there's so much so much turmoil lord we do pray for again for the nation of myanmar we ask that you would bring bring peace in that land and lord we especially pray for the for the work there that we so often pray for that that you would watch over that orphanage then that that compound their lord in the middle of such hot fighting we just pray again for for peter and the leaders there we pray that you strengthen them lord we we we know that no man can do this on his own strength but lord we ask that you would continue to to strengthen him and all the workers there we pray for the children there lord so many of them now close to 400 we hear that are there and we just pray that you would be that you would would comfort those little ones there lord they have seen so much more than any person should ever see in their lifetime and and lord such young children and so many so damaged and so so these having seen witness such evil and lord i pray that you would grant healing lord only you can can grant healing from such trauma and such such seeing such horrific things and enduring such horrific things and lord we pray that you would bring healing and that you would bring it through the gospel of the lord jesus christ lord we just pray that you would that you that you would work in a mighty work lord in that in that compound there lord there's it is in the midst of such darkness such evil such such wickedness and and lord we pray that you would that you would use this to further your kingdom that you would be glorified in this by through the salvation of many there and and and among those children lord that that we rejoice as we heard this morning that even in the midst of this they still have sunday school they still have times of worship and times of prayer and lord i just pray that you would use the gospel message to to save many many of those children all of them lord nothing is too nothing is too hard for you lord we do pray that you would would be with them in in the next several days as they seek to relocate or we just pray praise you for your your amazing providence and your provision of of a new location to go to and and funds to purchase it funds to do build new walls build houses and and and facilities there lord we just pray that the work would be done speedily we pray for much wisdom to to mrs hamilton in in in guiding all this from afar we pray for much wisdom to those involved in this and lord we just pray for the safety of of those children and workers as they seek to to to relocate in the from through through such warfare such such dangerous situation and lord we just pray that that this that this this orange grove where they are going and reestablishing would be a haven of rest for them that they would it would be a a resting place for them lord would they be able to find some time of of of no threats lord no threats at all where they can just relax and they can and they can recuperate somewhat from the from the intense stress of the past a few a year or so that they have gone through so lord we just again we just pray your your hand of protection over them and and and we praise you for such amazing protection in the past and we just thank you for your faithfulness and your your goodness in in that regard lord we do pray for for for the the church the persecuted church in this world lord there are so many who suffer we just pray for them we pray that you that you strengthen your people and we pray that that you use these the the suffering of your people and and these these things that that that terrible things that that would happen that you would turn them and and use them for the furtherance of the of your kingdom lord we just we as we survey history we see how you have used the the the wickedness of man and the and uh and the the the the darkness of satan and and his his work as as he attacks your people have you have turned that and used it in to advance your kingdom and lord we just pray again that you would continue to work that way that you would continue to grow your kingdom where we praise you and we thank you that you have told us so clearly in your word that that you will build your church and that the gates of hades cannot prevail against it so lord we greatly rejoice in that we know that we are we are on the winning team lord and we and we we have that that to look forward to we know that that we are headed for for glory and and for the to be to spend eternity in the kingdom of the son of your love to spend eternity in emmanuel's land in in uh the new heavens the new earth we're in righteousness dwells lord we do look forward to that as we have as we have heard this morning lord we just we we we rejoice at the thought that there is a future for us as your people a future where there is nothing corrupted nothing corrupting it no nothing defiled nothing changing about it lord but that is eternal and that is it is pure and that there is there is no evil present therein and lord we just rejoice in that and our hearts are encouraged by that thought and that that that keeps us going lord in the midst of of this of the of the various trials of this temporal world so lord i do pray that you would that you would would bless our fellow churches as well lord we we just thank you for the church in surrey thank you for pastor mike there we ask that you bless him thank you for his faithful preaching there and we just pray that you would use him to your honor and glory use him to to as a means to edify your people to proclaim the gospel and to save sinners lord we we thank you for the work in dryden we just pray for for for josh we pray for dan we pray that you give them wisdom as they seek to lead that church there and i pray for for dan as he begins his studies we just ask that you would would equip him lord if it is your will that that you are calling him and to to this position of leadership there i just pray that that you would equip him that you would that you would qualify him as as a as a as a as as qualified qualified man according to your word to as an elder to lead to serve in your church lord we just thank you that that you that you do raise up men we thank you that you that you equip men lord when we look at these qualifications in your word of of eldership or how can we meet those standards but we do thank you that you have promised that you will build your church you have promised that you will give men to your church to to lead to to lead the church and to to be a means for the for the edification and the growth of your church and we just pray that you would continue to raise up men whom you call whom you equip to serve in your kingdom and lord we we we also thank you for the work in vernon the church there lord we we look forward with eager anticipation and in hopefully the the near future to to see that church planted their biblically ordered church and we just pray that you we work all things to that end lord we pray that you give wisdom to all involved there we pray that you would would give give patience give discretion give give give much wisdom here lord even in our church as well as as there is process that must take place biblical uh following you the the biblical guidelines that you have given lord and i just pray that we would as a church would take these things seriously and take our rules seriously as as as as all partakers of this church plant in vernon so lord we just thank you for that and we pray that you would be glorified in that as well lord i pray that you would would be pleased to bless us now as we continue on in worship we pray again that you receive our praises lord we we we thank you for your son the lord jesus his work on our behalf that he came he lived a perfect life of perfect holiness a perfect obedience to your law lord how how we rejoice in that or for without that or perfect righteousness none of us would be able to to enter heaven lord we and we we also thank you and praise you for his his atoning death where he and we're in he took that record of debt that was a contrary to us that was that was against us as paul says and he nailed it to his cross paid it in full lord we rejoice in that we rejoice in the gospel of our lord jesus christ and i pray that our hearts will be filled tonight with with a wonder of of your love your great mercy and and love for our savior the lord jesus and it's in his name we pray all this amen our next hymn is number 540 540 and you can stand and we'll sing together [Music] uh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] with [Music] uh [Music] is [Music] [Music] our old testament scripture reading this evening is from leviticus chapter 18 leviticus 18. we'll read the entire chapter leviticus chapter 18 then the lord spoke to moses saying speak to the children of israel and say to them i am the lord your god according to the doings of the land of egypt where you dwelt you shall not do and according to the doings of the land of canaan where i am bringing you you shall not do nor shall you walk in their ordinances you shall observe my judgments and keep my ordinances to walk in them i am the lord your god you shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments which if a man does he shall live by them i am the lord none of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him to uncover his nakedness i am the lord the nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover she is your mother you shall not uncover her nakedness the nakedness of your father's wife you shall not uncover it is your father's nakedness the nakedness of your sister the daughter the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother whether born at home or elsewhere their nakedness you shall not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter their nakedness you shall not uncover for theirs is for theirs is your own nakedness the nakedness of your father's wife father's wife's daughter begotten by your father she is your sister you shall not uncover her nakedness you shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister she is near of kin to your father you shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother sister for she is near of kin to your mother you shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother and you shall not approach his wife she is your aunt you shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law she is your son's wife you shall not uncover her nakedness you shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife it is your brother's nakedness you shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter you shall nor shall you take her son's daughter to or her daughter's daughter to uncover her nakedness they are near of kin to her it is wickedness nor shall you take a woman as a rival to her sister to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as long as she is in her customary impurity moreover you shall not lie carnally with your neighbor's wife to defile yourself with her and you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to molech nor shall you profane the name of your god i am the lord you shall not lie with a male as with a woman it is an abomination nor shall you mate with any animal to defile yourself with it nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it it is perversion do not defile yourselves with any of these things for by all these the nations are defiled which i am casting out before you for the land is defiled therefore i visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it and the land vomits out its inhabitants you shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments and shall not commit any of these abominations either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you for all these abominations the men of the land have done who were before you and thus the land is defiled lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it as it vomited out the nations that were before you for whoever commits any of these abominations the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people you shall therefore you shall keep my ordinance so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you and that you do not defile yourselves by them i am the lord your god well in this in this chapter we see a couple couple things that i want to point out one is um is the one of the questions that or here we find the answer to one of the questions that's often charged against christianity and it might even be a question that sometimes has arisen in our minds is how why did god allow the the canaanites to be destroyed you know by by israel that's not that wasn't fair of god um you know that that question that you know the old testament god he was a he was an angry god a mean god and he just destroyed this whole nate this whole um ethnicity of and women and children you know just so that his people could go in the land but but in here we find we find the answer to that and actually it goes back to genesis chapter 15 god says to abraham there he says that i'm going to give you this land abraham is in cain and he says i'm going to give you this land but first your people are going to go for 400 years elsewhere and they're going to be afflicted there and but the reasoning there god says is because the iniquity of the amorites is not yet complete and then now 400 years later we see that this society has become has become as as we see here in verse 21 or sorry in verse um in verse 24 that that all this these these sexual immorality that we have just read there um you know and and in child sacrifice that this society has has just degenerated to such a low level there and that god is using the israelites as a means of punishment upon them so it is a righteous judgment upon these um upon these nations there so it's not that they were innocent innocent people just going about their daily lives no they lived a life of just absolute perversion and and um and debauchery quite frankly there and um but then one thing to uh one thing to note is is that um as we see the this passages is bookended with with i am the lord your god he starts that way in verse uh in verse two and then he and then that's the last sentence and we find it throughout as well and um and and and the the the what god is saying is that you are my people i've called you you're my special people you need to obey my laws i have given you this is how you are to conduct yourself and and in when we when we see this how does god want us to conduct ourselves in this in the sense here of sexuality it it leaves no there's no other room for sexual relations other than biblical marriage as god has instituted at creation with one man and one woman it's just it's very clear there that is that is the way that the lord has has set up marriage and it's a beautiful thing in that sense but one thing we see then with this is that is that one thing that was common to is common not only to the canaanites it's been it's common through through all of ancient near eastern um various religions the the the eastern mystical religions the you we see it all throughout history is that the one thing that defines pagan worship or just anything other than apar than from the true worship of the true and living god is sexual immorality of all types and and kinds and child sacrifice and and when we look at our own nation it's not uh it's not a it's not a stretch to to realize that you know we we might not um sacrifice our children by throwing them into the arms of moloch and having them then roll down into the into the fire in his mouth or in his belly um you know where it might not be like like the aztecs where you know the the the beating hearts are cut out and they're thrown down from the top of the ziggurat but we have we're we're sacrificing our children on the idols to ourselves through through abortion and and our our land is at a state that's we find ourselves not not not much different than what we have just read here and and you know sexual perversion there's no there's no question about about that it's just such a such a hot topic today and it's something that people are just trying to pervert more and more and more and celebrate and allow and have all these you know these various ways of just twisting the the way that god has instituted sexual relations to be and and child sacrifice through through the you know through abortion and it's really uh when we when we think of that and we see how how god has has has judged the canaanites god has judged nations throughout all of history that um that and that is the one defining thing as i said it is sexual perversion it is child sacrifice and that is the undoing of a nation and we and we we we find ourselves there now and it's uh it's it's something it's a warning it's a warning for us as you know to to sound the alarm that we are to we should be sounding the alarm and other the other thing is that we should be in much prayer for our nation you know we see in the last the last few days just the you know the way the state that we're in right now as a nation and it's alarming and um you know we we just we cry out to god for for for mercy and i think we we cry out like habakkuk says actually i believe pastor is going to preach on that um in wrath remember mercy and that has ought to be our prayer for our nation at this time as well so but i'll let our pastor teach more on that so let us let us pray oh lord we thank you for your word again lord we do we do when we come to passages like this and lord we know that that these passages tell us of of of your your way your laws how we are to live a life that pleases you lord we know that that you used your people to to judge the canaanites lord we know it was all part of your plan of of of covenant faithfulness your plan of of of bringing about the messiah through the line of abraham but yet lord we we we know that that when a nation leaves your laws and a nation a nation follows after other gods whether it be moloch or whether it be the god of self and and and lord we just we know we stand deserving of your judgment and so lord we do cry out with habakkuk in wrath remember mercy lord we do pray for our nation again we pray that you would grant healing we pray you would grant repentance we pray that you would work by the power of your holy spirit to to to revive the hearts of dead sinners lord then that many would turn in repentance from from where how the wicked ways that we have we have gone down the wicked paths we have followed the sin that we have celebrated and promoted that we would turn from that and cry out to you for mercy and again as nehemiah said chris said that you are ready to pardon and you are you are full of mercy and abundant and loving kindness and lord we appeal to your mercy on us and and and we just thank you that you that you are such a good doing god and lord we we we know that your justice is also is also glorious lord you you your justice is brings glory to you as well and so lord i pray you help us to accept your your judgment and and to bring you glory to you through that as well and and to give you glory for that so lord we just pray that you'll bless us now as we as as we as we continue in worship we pray this in christ's name amen our final hymn then before the preaching is 543 543 stand and sing that together please [Music] oh [Music] foreign um [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] well you can turn with me in your bibles to habakkuk chapter 3. book 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 shigeonoth o lord i have heard your speech and was afraid o 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 demon the holy one from mount perein selah his glory covered the heavens and the earth was full of his praise his brightness was light the light he had rays flashing from his hand and there his power was hidden before him when indepen 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 kusan in affliction that the curtains of the land of midian trembled oh lord you 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 salah you divided the earth with rivers the mountains saw you and tremble 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 say law 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 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 uh 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 or 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 the southern kingdom of judah the northern kingdom was gone by this time it's uh 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 you see in in asap the the psalmist you see those psalms ascribed to asaph he was a man of great lament despondency sorrow and we see that say uh that sort of 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 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 1 chapter 2 verse 1 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 as the prophet composes a song 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 three oh 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 disconcerted 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 want to 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 3 to 15 and then finally the prophet's refuge in god in verses 16 to 19. the notice in the first place with reference to his petition verse 1 says a prayer of habakkuk the prophet on shigeonoth and then he offers or he mentions his fear he gives his petition and then he provides his argument notice in the first place is fear oh lord i have heard your speech and was afraid again go back with me to chapter 1 verse 2 oh 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 his second question are you from everlasting o 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 and then dropping down he reflects upon what judas 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 uh 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 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 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 often to 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 the 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 v 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 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 uh uh comfort and 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 raise 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 isaiah or rather jeremiah is told to write a letter to those exiles in jeremiah chapter they're 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 i know the plans that i have for you i i know the blessing that i'm going to confer upon you that's not a text for the christian high school to prepare their 17 year olds that everything's going to 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 the 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 this 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 a 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 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 uh 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 that has 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 uh 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 under gird 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 and 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 if you want to take me though lord go right ahead i i won't 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 need of baal remember he had just seen that victory on mount carmel but jezebel and ahab weren't vanquished there was still an uh 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 and 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 the first or 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 three and four timon is generally identified as a sight in edom or seers territory parent 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 demon the holy one from mount perein saylock 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 light 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 with flies and and with boils and and with frogs i mean the the the means by which god frustrated and confounded and ultimately defeated egypt is 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 the destruction of judah would come around 586 or 587 so he's on you know the eve of that that invasion by the 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 kushon in affliction that's judges chapter 3. they gained victory by the savior by the judgeship of othniel for those who haven't read the book of judges because they think it's kind of gory you know cicera driving tent pegs into the jail driving a tent bank into the head of cicero 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 jephthah what is samson what is he hood uh uh uh yeah ehood what a what is a a 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 oats were sworn over your arrows say la 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 and 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 bear from foundation to neck say 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 those souls of just men made perfect in revelation 6. we looked at that this morning how long oh 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 going to 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 bear from foundation to net 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 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 move through the plagues of 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 4. 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 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 now 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 are 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 with an outstretched arm for his mercy endures forever to him who divided the red sea into 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 day 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 be 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 4 of 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 asian again if you're mrs ogg if you're mrs scihon you're not rejoicing in god's mercy you're not delighting in 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 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 four-fold alleluia of praise to god because he dealt with the 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 you know be in a in a traffic situation and pray god's curses down upon somebody that's going a bit too slow i you know that that 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 heritage the the cascade uh bible study every other wednesday until the covid came and now you know that's that's done you can't actually go encourage old people anymore you can't teach the bible but whenever i would go there there was an old doll and and whenever i'd call out an old text or 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 ra 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 walk 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 when i heard my body trembled my lips quivered at the voice rottenness entered my bones and i trembled in myself 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 a 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 we're 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 i am i'm given over to fear there's trembling turn to the prophet daniel just back to to daniel in chapter 7. look at how he responds when he receives the the revelations from god daniel chapter 7 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 forever 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 gonna let me die of thirst people think he's a bit cheeky there he's a bit arrogant he's got a bit of hut spot 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 going to send babylon to correct that and then of course habakkuk says but then the 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 you know 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 retain 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 7 11. but the bigger point is verse 1 20. notice what he says psalm 1 uh 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 and 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 present presence to fear and tremble like the psalmist does so back to the prophet of backing 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 full dam 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 the 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 it reminds me of jay gressam machin 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 said at naught then we turn away from god we we have tried religion we say we 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 the 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 machines in a wonderful piece of prose though fig 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 hurt 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's 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 call 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 cost goes 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 or 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 psalm 22 or a second samuel 22 this is david's language psalm 18 33 which comes from second 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 you 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 3 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 19 be 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 or 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 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 kid's professing faith in christ works for 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 a 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 need you didn't know that i've often said that you know to 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 unto 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 i 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 them telling us we're not supposed to pray the psalms of david we're not supposed to imitate the savior if the prayers or the psalms of david are the prayers of christ shouldn't we pray the prayers of christ shouldn't we pray with christ god or 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 impres impres impregatory songs 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 want to keep us late i'm about done but turn back to psalm i think it's 1 16. psalm 116 and it's not it's one of those ones that's going to jump out of my head when i oh yeah one 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 1 in the hebrew bible that's inspired that's given by inspiration of god so are the salahs that's why we read the say laws that's given by god god wanted the psalter in such a way that there were sei laws 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 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 bomb 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 and all the various parts that are involved we ask that you had indeed caused 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 on to 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 [Music] you you