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Father, we come to holy ground 
and we pray for the Spirit to guide and lead us now. We pray, 
Lord, that this prayer would be our prayer, that we would 
recall the wondrous works of our God, that we would fill our 
minds and our hearts in trials and difficulties and times of 
tribulation. I pray that you would just give 
us that understanding of Scripture. Give us that understanding that 
the justified by faith shall live by a steadfast trust in 
his God. We pray now that you would indeed 
cleanse us from all sin, Wash us, purify us, and fill us with 
those good things that Your Word has for us. And we pray through 
Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, we notice three particular 
sections in this final chapter of Habakkuk, the prophet. The 
first is the prophet's prayer, verses 1 and 2. Secondly, the 
prophet's contemplation of God in verses 3 to 15. And then the 
prophet ends with his response and confidence in verses 16-19. Just a couple of observations 
though. Notice it says in verse 1, a 
prayer of Habakkuk the prophet on Shigionot. No one knows what 
that means. It's found elsewhere only in 
Psalm 7. The fact that this was to the 
chief musician with stringed instruments would indicate that 
it was some sort of a musical or some sort of a liturgical 
word, as are the Selahs. No one really knows what the 
Selah means, though some have argued that it's a time to stop, 
to meditate, and then to move on. You'll see the Selah is written 
in the book of Psalms as well. So some have concluded or some 
believe that Habakkuk was one of those prophets that composed 
hymns or composed psalms for worship in the temple. Whether that's the case or not, 
we certainly don't know a whole lot about this prophet other 
than when he prophesied and why and the things that we've already 
covered in this particular book. But if you remember, I told you 
that Lloyd-Jones' messages or sermons on this was entitled, 
From Fear to Faith. Warren Wiersbe entitled his, 
From Worry to Worship. And I think you can see that 
now. We start off again with those complaints and the distress 
of the prophet. And as the Lord has taken him 
by the hand and led him along and answered his questions, and 
given him doctrine and given him understanding, this causes 
the prophet then to get on his face before the Lord to worship 
and to adore. And notice, with reference to 
the prophet's prayer, he first of all indicates his fear. He 
indicates his fear. O Lord, I have heard your speech 
and was afraid. The fear of God is a wonderful 
thing. The fear of God is a blessing 
to the soul. The fear of God in the Bible 
isn't necessarily hiding under the piano, but it is to reverence 
God. It is to honor God. Though there 
may be a bit of the hiding underneath the piano type of fear mingled 
with it. The fear of God is a fitting 
response to his message of judgment. It would have been quite odd 
or quite outside of the character of man for Habakkuk to say, Oh, 
Lord, I have heard your speech. And that's just grand. That's just wonderful. No, He's 
told the prophet that He is raising up a nation that is very bitter, 
very hasty, that's going to come in and dispossess them of their 
land. Well, certainly this would cause 
fear in the heart of this prophet. A righteous, a godly, upright 
fear. It's as if the prophet now has 
assumed a God-word reference to the things that trouble him. 
Remember Asaph in Psalm 73. He looks around at society and 
he sees his righteous brothers and sisters suffering. He sees 
them losing. He sees them with failure. He 
sees them tried. He sees them with tribulations. 
And then he notices the ungodly and how they have everything. 
There are no pangs in their death. There is no difficulty that plagues 
them. They have the best cars. They 
have the best houses. They have the best of everything. 
And for Asaph, this created a real dilemma in his heart. In fact, 
he starts the psalm with that confession, God is good to Israel. That's his starting point. But 
then he tells us, but as for me, my foot nearly slipped. When I saw these things, he said, 
it really plagued me and it really tried me. It wasn't until he 
says, I went into the sanctuary and then I understood. Then everything 
made sense. In other words, he got a God-Word 
perspective. That's what you and I need to 
get. That's what Abbakit got here. O Lord, I have heard your 
speech and was afraid. There's no more questioning. 
There's no more complaining on the part of the prophet. There's 
no more dialogue. There is simply worship and praise 
and adoration and submission to the righteous government of 
his God. Walter Kaiser said, neither contemplation 
nor worship of the living God can take place while mortals 
are still proudly projecting themselves as equals or advisors 
to the Lord of the universe. Now, he's not suggesting that 
that's what Habakkuk was doing, but he's making that general 
application. We don't genuinely worship. We 
don't genuinely adore and praise God while we have projected ourselves 
as equals to God or as His advisors. We need that spirit of fear to 
overtake our hearts. We need that spirit of fear to 
prepare us to enter in before the High King of Heaven. Dr. Martin 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. Amen and amen a hundredfold. You see the prophet's difficulty. 
He sees problems in Judah. God says, I'm going to take care 
of Judah with the Babylonians. Then the prophet sees problems 
with that sort of event. Well, what about this, Lord? 
He's not thinking God's thoughts after him. He's not looking at 
it in the light of God. That's why God graciously does 
answer his questions so that he can advise him, so that he 
can inform him, and so that now the prophet can make heads or 
tails of reality by looking at things in light of God. Notice his petition. He says, 
O Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years. In the midst 
of the years, make it known. He prays for the preservation 
or reviving of life. Remember that Habakkuk was a 
part of a believing remnant. There were those in Israel or 
in Judah that had not become utterly faithless. There were 
those in the kingdom of Judah that were faithful, that needed 
to press on. And so, the prophet prays here, 
revive your work in the midst of the years. And notice, the 
prophet is concerned now specifically with God. Before it was, Judah's 
got problems. Judah's got bigger problems with 
Babylon coming. But now his concern is your work. He is submissive to the cause 
of God. He is truly in line with our 
Lord's prayer. Praying first for the glory of 
the name of God, and then for the advancement of the kingdom 
of God, and for the doing of the will of God. Revive your 
work in the midst of the years. And then he says, Lord, as well. in the midst of the years, make 
it known. Propagate understanding. And 
I believe that Robertson is right here. He says, by this petition, 
the prophet asks that the Lord will make known to the believing 
the program and plan that He has designed. In other words, 
the Bacchic doesn't want this message only for himself. He 
wants all the faithful to hear this. If he had these questions 
and these complaints and these laments, certainly there were 
others in Judah that would have the same problems. And so the 
prophet says, in the midst of the years, make it known. 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. So he's jealous 
that the people of God know the plan of God, the ways of God. 
That they too will submit themselves unto his hand and unto his government. So in his prayer we see his fear, 
his petition, and then notice thirdly his argument. The very 
end of verse 2, in wrath, remember mercy. Isn't that beautiful? 
How did David pray in Psalm 51, verses 1 and 2? Lord, remember 
all the good things that I've done, and may that outweigh the 
bad. No, he casts himself wholly on 
God's mercy. See, a backet cannot bring the 
righteousness of Judah as an argument. He cannot present the 
righteousness of the southern tribes to God as a reason why 
the Lord should exercise any sort of compassion toward them. 
He casts himself solely upon God. He says, in wrath, remember 
mercy. He knew that God was going to 
pour out wrath. He knew that God was going to 
execute the vengeance of the covenant upon the southern tribes. And yet he prays that in the 
execution of that wrath, God remember mercy. He knew God to 
be a merciful God. He knew God to be long-suffering. 
He knew Him to be gracious and kind. He knew Him to be the God 
of Holy Scripture. And so He pleads, not our merit, 
but God's mercy. Notice, secondly, the prophet's 
contemplation of God, verses 3-15. Now, you parents with children 
will know that often they come home with the assignment to make 
a collage. If you're not parents, perhaps 
you remember when you were a child and in school you were told to 
make a collage. Isn't that a fun word? Collage. What did you do when you made 
a collage? You cut out a bunch of pictures and you pasted them 
on a board. You might have a certain theme. 
You might have a theme about weather. So you'd cut out pictures 
of lightning, or pictures of clouds, or pictures of rain, 
or pictures of snow, and you'd put that all on this board, and 
that would form a collage to teach you something about the 
weather. That's what the prophet's doing 
in verses 3 to 15. He has got a collage. He is making 
a collage, an assortment of word pictures concerning the faithfulness, 
the glory, the majesty and the excellence of God. If you want 
to compare this convention used, you can look at Moses' song in 
Exodus 15. You can look at Deborah's song 
in Judges 5. You can look at David's victory 
chant in Psalm 68. Basically, it is a time when 
the writers of Scripture gather up all the works of God, or all 
the acts of God that bear on their particular theme, They 
put it down on this collage in order to proclaim a message concerning 
the glory of our God. Notice in verses 3 and 4, he 
highlights the exodus, the exodus out of Egypt. The words, Timan 
and Mount Paran, are indicative of that route. Their teeming 
is generally identified as a site in Edom. And Perun is identified 
with Sinai. This hymn traces the steps over 
which God led Israel as she journeyed to take possession of the promised 
land. You see what the prophet is doing? 
He wants this collage on the faithfulness and power of God 
to fortify and strengthen his own soul. He has prayed, he has 
offered up petition, he has sought the Lord, and now he is rehearsing 
the wonderful works that our Lord God does. You see, genuine 
Christians do not have amnesia. Genuine Christians use their 
memory. Genuine Christians feed their 
memories so that they'll be able to draw off of them in difficult 
times and rehearse the God who has always proven himself to 
be faithful. This is why you need to be familiar 
with Exodus 15, with Judges 5. Why you need to understand the 
victory chant of Psalm 68. Why you need to avail yourself 
of the minor prophets. Why you need to study the life 
and ministry and death and resurrection of Jesus. Why you need to go 
from Acts 1 to 28 to see God's faithfulness in caring for His 
people and His church. You need to fill your mind with 
those thoughts of God so that when despair, trial, or difficulty 
come, you can draw from it, build yourself a collage, and find 
strength and help to persevere in the midst of trial. God came 
from Timan, the Holy One from Mount Paran. 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." 
Probably again a reference to the Exodus and there specifically 
at Sinai. The next verse indicates the 
ten plagues in Egypt. Before him went pestilence and 
fever followed at his feet. God's power is demonstrated over 
creation in verse 6. In verse 7, it's recalled in 
the victory that God gave to His people. Specifically, this 
reference, I saw the tense of cushion and deflection. You can 
look it up later in Judges 3, verses 7 to 11. the victory of 
Israel when they were oppressed by Cushon Reshathim, when Ahphiel 
was the judge. See, we read that stuff. You 
know, that's obscure. That's ancient history. What 
does that have to do with us? Well, it brought Habakkuk out 
of a funk. It brought Habakkuk out of turmoil. Why should you read Judges? So 
that you can be a happy Christian. Why should you meditate on Othniel, 
the judge? So that you can step out in faith 
toward your God. The next reference, in verse 
7, the curtains of the land of Midian trembled. Probably Judges 
7, verse 13. That man has that dream of a 
loaf of barley bread coming into the camp of Midian. The interpretation 
is, oh, this is Gideon with the sword of the Lord to put down 
the Midianites. You see, the prophet's collage 
includes the victory of God over His enemies. The prophet's collage 
includes the kindness of God to judge Othniel. The kindness 
of God to judge Gideon. The victory of God is displayed 
and placed on His collage so that He can be filled with strength 
and the ability to live by His faith. In verse 8, there is a 
question posed. O Lord, were You displeased with 
the rivers? Was Your anger against the rivers? Was Your wrath against the sea 
that You rode on Your horses, Your chariots of salvation? Your 
bow was made quite ready. Oaths were sworn over Your arrows. 
You divided the earth with rivers, the mountains saw you and trembled." 
The prophet's asking the question, were you upset with the created 
order? Is it rivers? Is it seas? I mean, there were 
times where God opened the rivers. There were times when the mountains 
quaked. The prophet's saying, are you angry with the created 
order? Are you angry with the inanimate creation that you have 
made to display your glory? He says in verse 10, 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. Joshua 
10, 12 to 14. Joshua gained military victory 
in a battle because God caused the sun and moon to stand still. At the light of your arrows they 
went, at the shining of your glittering spear. God, is it 
the creation that you're angry with? The answer comes in verse 
12. No, it's not the rivers. It's 
not the seas. It's not the mountains. It's 
rebel nations. It's the peoples of the earth. 
It's the conspirators. Not the mountains or the rivers, 
but Babylonians. Ungodly and rebellious Judeans. Israelites. Covenant breaking. peoples. That's what angers the 
Lord. Verse 12, you marched through 
the land in indignation. You trampled the nations in anger. So, God's anger is directed toward 
the wickedness of the nations of the earth who rebel against 
Him. It isn't the sea. It's you and 
me. And he highlights how God delivers 
His people. Verses 13 to 15, you went forth 
for the salvation of your people, for salvation with your anointed, 
the Messiah, the Christ. Some have hypothesized here that 
he's speaking of Cyrus. God in Isaiah calls Cyrus His 
anointed, His Messiah. Cyrus was the Persian king to 
whom Babylon would fall. If it is indeed Cyrus, Cyrus 
is sort of a down payment of a greater Messiah, a greater 
Christ, a greater anointed one who would come. The one in whom 
all the victories of the Lord would be gained, even Jesus Christ. You struck the head from the 
house of the wicked by laying bare from foundation to net. 
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 heat of great waters." So the prophet 
here contemplates God. He makes this collage. And may 
I just say, brethren, it is not simply a duty to read the Scripture. It is a privilege and it is one 
of the things that you will find in your life that will fortify 
you. Sometimes, children, why should 
I read the Bible? And generally, as parents, we 
say, well, the psalm says, Thy word I have hidden in my heart 
that I might not sin against you. We might encourage them 
to hide the word so that they're able to stand fast or stand strong 
in the midst of trouble, in the midst of temptation. You know, 
when you're perplexed or when you're down or you're depressed, 
what does James say? Is anyone among you happy? Let 
him sing the Psalms. Is anyone among you down? Let 
him pray. There are biblical antidotes 
to the problems that we face. Habakkuk is not alone. He's not 
an isolationist ace. He's not, wow, I can't believe 
this guy has these complaints. We all have them. He just expresses 
them. God answered so that, and gave 
him these answers in such a way and inscripturated it, so hopefully 
we won't ask the same questions, but we'll learn what strengthened 
him. You've got to get a piece of 
paper and write Bible verses on it. You've got to get a theme 
and write Bible verses or marshal up texts to strengthen you. Brethren, please do it. There's 
no magic here with a backache. It's not like God said, look, 
here's what I want you to do. I want you to this, this, this, 
this, this. No. He does what comes natural to 
the Christian. He prays and he thinks about 
God. Nine times out of ten, that ought 
to pull you out of your trouble. Nine times out of ten, that ought 
to pull you out of, and I say funk, that's what Jay Adams calls 
depression, a blue funk. Sometimes we get into that. We 
don't know how. We don't know why. We don't even 
have a reason. In fact, Spurgeon says one of the most distressing 
examples of this melancholy is the causeless kind. And when 
bad things happen and we feel miserable, we know why. But when 
we feel miserable and there's no bad thing, we really have 
a problem then. But what do we do when we're 
there? We fortify ourselves and we buoy ourselves with the Bible. That's what he's doing. He's 
recalling the mighty works of God. So next time you feel bad, 
or you feel down, or you feel tried, or you feel depressed, 
just think from Genesis to Revelation. Think about God. He did this 
with Aphneal. He did this with Gideon. He did 
this with David. He forgave David after David's 
sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. He not only forgave him, but 
He used him as a mighty king and promised a great dynasty 
that is fulfilled in His Son, Jesus. And oh, there's a world 
to think about with Jesus. I mean, He lived, He died, He 
rose again. He ever lives to make intercession 
for me. You see, you keep these thoughts 
before you. You roll them around your mind. 
You meditate. You contemplate. You take it 
out like a multifaceted gem and you study it. That's the importance 
of Holy Scripture. Habakkuk filled himself with 
the knowledge of God. And that's what brought him, 
thirdly, to his response and confidence. So, verses 16 to 
19. Notice the first thing. There's 
a reverential awe. Verse 16, if this is not the 
fear of God, I don't know what is. 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." There's that fear again. When I hear God, when I know 
God, when I understand God, there's no room for pride. There's no 
room for me thinking I'm really something. I am not. This world is about God. It's 
about His glory. It's about His honor. And the 
sooner I recognize that, the happier I'll be. You can compare 
later in your own study the prophet's physical affliction with Daniel 
7, 28, Daniel 8, 27, and Daniel 10, verse 8. There were times 
when the prophet Daniel saw and heard things that caused physical 
suffering. I mean, face it. I just don't 
think we get it. God is telling Habakkuk, this 
nation called Babylon that have just come onto the scene, they're 
going to come in and destroy everything you love. Well, what 
do we do with that? Oh, great! Yippee! No, it caused 
him pain. It caused him trembling. That 
trembling before the Word of God is consistent with the psalm. 
Psalm 119, 120. My flesh trembles in fear of 
you. Isaiah 66, God inhabits or God 
is enthroned on high. The earth is His footstool, but 
who does He look upon? To Him who is of a contrite spirit. To Him who is lowly. and to him 
who trembles at his word." These are all consistent responses 
with the rest of the Bible. The reverential awe of the prophet. Notice in verses 17 and 18, the 
prophet's joyful devotion in the midst of loss. The prophet's joyful devotion 
in the midst of loss. Not just devotion. One thing, 
I'll suck it up and I'll knuckle under, God, but I'm not going 
to like it. That's not devotion, is it? God says, here's what 
I'm going to do. You need to deal with it? Okay, 
I'll deal with it. He not only deals with it, but 
he deals with it with a smile on his face. And probably one 
of the most popular verses from this book, verse 17, except for 
verse 20 of chapter 2, again, the text that churches use to 
keep everybody quiet in the church sanctuary, But back at 317, notice 
what he says, "...though the fig tree may not blossom, nor 
fruit be on 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." 
Now, just think for a moment. It's not always easy for us to 
maintain a confident, let alone a joyful devotion and trust in 
God when things are going well, is it? I mean, for us it'd be, though 
the superstore may not have meat and Price Smart not sell milk, 
Though the bread be off all the Costco shelves, and though we 
be in great want, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy 
in the God of my salvation." You see, it's one thing to serve 
God happily with a full freezer of meat, with cupboards rich 
with groceries. with an abundance of clothes 
and electronics items that just make our lives so much easier. I mean, brethren, face it, do 
you always joyfully, confidently trust God with all the good stuff 
you've got? Probably not. Now, put yourself 
into Judah in the late 7th century BC. Jehoiakim is on the throne 
and he's a wretch. There's no justice in Judah. 
So much so that the very law that you love looks paralyzed. You complain to God about that 
and the Lord says, you know what Habakkuk? I know. I know it a 
lot more than you. And this is what I'm doing. I'm 
going to raise Babylon up and I'm going to destroy Judah. So 
not only you've got Jehoiakim on the throne, but you've got 
another man on a throne who's going to come in and devastate 
everything you love and hold dear. The brethren, face it. We love and hold dear to our 
stuff. Don't, you know, oh, well, you know, I'd be glad to get 
rid of it all. Oh, okay. You'll be glad to get rid of 
it all? Yeah, sure. I know that's what we like to 
think, but we've all grown accustomed to running water. We all probably 
like the refrigerator. The washing machine is quite 
a useful tool. The car, I mean, come on. Do 
you know how much you don't have to walk because of the car? So 
it's one thing to say, oh yeah, I'll get rid of all that when 
we got it. But Habakkuk is really looking at devastation. He is 
really looking at destruction. And he says, though these things 
be true, Though all this loss is incurred, though all of these 
problems will be about, then, or yet, he says, I will rejoice 
in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The prophet demonstrates here 
the heart of true devotion. We will rejoice in the Lord because 
of the Lord. That's where we need to be. Not 
we rejoice in the Lord because of what He gives us. Not we rejoice 
in the Lord because, now this isn't always wrong, but because 
He delivers us. In fact, in the psalms, He says, 
I love the Lord because He's heard my supplication. But you 
know, we've got to penetrate at times even deeper than that 
and love Him and devote to Him for Him. Not for what He gives 
us. He doesn't make an argument or 
a deal with God. Lord, if You just cause the fig 
tree to blossom, then I'll remain faithful to You. No. This is 
the heart of true devotion right here. Yet I will rejoice in the 
Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. I love that. I've always been perplexed by 
that phraseology. I will joy in the God of my salvation. It's a verb. I will joy. What does that mean? I will just 
joy. Just be happy in God. Alright? I will joy. I'll just 
have joy in God. That's where all of us need to 
be, man. Not, I will joy because He gives me this, but I will 
joy because of Him. I rejoice in God. I rejoice in 
the Giver, whether or not He gives. I love my father. I love my mother. Not if they 
give me something, but because of their person, because of who 
they are. That's where Habakkuk has come 
full circle. And then verse 19, the refuge 
taken in God. The Lord God is my strength. He will make my feet like deer's 
feet, and He will make me walk on my high hill." Psalm 18, verse 
33. 2 Samuel 23. Habakkuk is filling 
his mind, filling his heart with King David's words. Habakkuk 
goes to the Scripture. Habakkuk urges God, or pleads 
with God, these texts. The Lord 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." 
What a great song to sing in worship. We need to have someone 
with some musical ability to put a back at three to music. Well, there's three observations 
and then we close. The first, the resolution of 
spiritual difficulty. The prophet moves from complaint 
and lament to praise and worship. The prophet moves from complaint 
and lament to praise and worship. The prophet did this through 
prayer. The prophet did this through 
rehearsing the scriptures. The prophet did this not with 
some magical retreat, but with simple means used to usher himself 
into the presence of God. The understanding of who God 
is and what he intends in this world. ought to settle the spiritual 
tumults that plague the believer. We need to fill our minds and 
hearts with who God is and with what He's doing. And we need 
to be content to not know everything. I think that's one of our problems. 
We like to know everything. We're like the little kid that 
says, can we do this? And you say, no. He says, why? 
Because this. Why? Because this. Why? We're 
forever asking why. It's not always wrong to ask 
why. If we don't ask why of some text, we're not going to understand 
the Bible. Why is it that way? Oh, okay, 
I'll go here. It's good help. Six little wise men, when you 
interpret Scripture, who, what, why, where, when, and how. Those 
are good helps to understand the Scripture. There's some things 
that God has not told us. God may never tell us, and we 
need to be content with that. Well, why is it that way? Because 
God is God. We need to be content with that 
answer. If we understand God's word and His ways, we can move 
from fear to faith and from worry to worship. A second observation 
is the confidence of the prophet. The confidence of the prophet. 
Things are tough in his day and age, and yet he took pen to paper 
and he wrote the things that he wrote in this particular book. He speaks of God's victory. He speaks of God's power. He speaks of salvation wrought 
with your anointed. He has spoken in chapter 2 that 
the earth would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of 
the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. I mean, everything looked 
bleak out there, and yet Habakkuk is able to look beyond the bleakness 
to the God who sits enthroned on high. He has confidence in 
the midst of trial. He has confidence in the midst 
of great suffering. He has confidence because he 
has God. And then thirdly, the necessity 
of the justified by faith to live by his steadfast trust. That was a bit of an amplified 
rendering of the just shall live by his faith. We take all that 
the Bible has to say, we learn that the justified by faith shall 
live by his steadfast trust in God. When we have Christ, brethren, 
we have everything. Isn't that a blessing? And do 
we believe that? I mean, it's, you know, it's 
late. I know it's later at night. It's Sunday. We're all tired 
and all that sort of thing. Yeah, yeah, we have everything. 
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, whatever you say. Let's pray and amen it and 
let's go, man. I got Christ. I got everything. 
But I want you to know that. It's like Lloyd-Jones says somewhere 
else. We need to, at times, take ourselves 
by the scruff of the neck and talk to ourselves. The problem 
is, he says, is that we don't talk to ourselves enough. Right? Well, if I talk to myself, 
people think I'm nuts. No, talking to yourself has a 
rich and long heritage in the biblical revelation. Bless the 
Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy 
name. Psalm 103 is an account of David talking to himself. 
Psalm 42 and 43, David's talking to himself. Why are you downcast, 
O my soul? You need to do that. You need 
to step outside and you say, what's your problem? What's happening 
here? You've got God, hope in Him. 
Oh yeah, okay, alright, alright. That's right. When we have Christ, 
brethren, we have everything. We're not looking for Christ 
and. We're not looking for Christ plus. Christ isn't an addition 
to our religious plethora of idols that we can help to cope. 
Christ is all. Paul can say in Philippians, 
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Walter Kaiser summarizes this 
book with this statement, and then we'll pray. Listen. He says, 
"...Abbottick's faith was not just salvific." That means with 
reference to our salvation. His faith was not just salvific, 
redemptive and personal. It was practical and mundane 
in its implications. You know what mundane means? It means common. It means the 
toilet overflowed. It means the washer broke. It 
means the kid came home with an F. It means you bounced a 
check. It means you had difficulties 
with your neighbor. It means you got caught up in 
a web of gossip that is very difficult to extricate yourself 
from. The mundane, the this world stuff. Habakkuk's faith was not just 
salvific, 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. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
pray that this would be our understanding of this wonderful prophet of 
the late 7th century B.C. God, we pray that you would give 
us this mindset, that you would give us this worshipful attitude, 
that Christ would be the source of our devotion, Christ in himself, 
Christ in his person and work. Whether there are crops, whether 
there are crop failures or devastations or what appear to be wicked men 
ruling in high places, help us nevertheless to rejoice in our 
Lord. Help us to join the God of our 
salvation and to live by faith. And we pray now that you would 
go with each one of us, and we ask through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen.