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Habakkuk
Chapter Three
Habakkuk 3
Chapter Contents
The prophet beseeches God for his people. (1,2) He calls
to mind former deliverances. (3-15) His firm trust in the Divine mercy. (16-19)
Commentary on Habakkuk 3:1,2
(Read Habakkuk 3:1,2)
The word prayer seems used here for an act of devotion.
The Lord would revive his work among the people in the midst of the years of
adversity. This may be applied to every season when the church, or believers,
suffer under afflictions and trials. Mercy is what we must flee to for refuge,
and rely upon as our only plea. We must not say, Remember our merit, but, Lord,
remember thy own mercy.
Commentary on Habakkuk 3:3-15
(Read Habakkuk 3:3-15)
God's people, when in distress, and ready to despair,
seek help by considering the days of old, and the years of ancient times, and
by pleading them with God in prayer. The resemblance between the Babylonish and
Egyptian captivities, naturally presents itself to the mind, as well as the
possibility of a like deliverance through the power of Jehovah. God appeared in
his glory. All the powers of nature are shaken, and the course of nature
changed, but all is for the salvation of God's own people. Even what seems
least likely, shall be made to work for their salvation. Hereby is given a type
and figure of the redemption of the world by Jesus Christ. It is for salvation
with thine anointed. Joshua who led the armies of Israel, was a figure of Him
whose name he bare, even Jesus, our Joshua. In all the salvations wrought for
them, God looked upon Christ the Anointed, and brought deliverances to pass by
him. All the wonders done for Israel of old, were nothing to that which was
done when the Son of God suffered on the cross for the sins of his people. How
glorious his resurrection and ascension! And how much more glorious will be his
second coming, to put an end to all that opposes him, and all that causes
suffering to his people!
Commentary on Habakkuk 3:16-19
(Read Habakkuk 3:16-19)
When we see a day of trouble approach, it concerns us to
prepare. A good hope through grace is founded in holy fear. The prophet looked
back upon the experiences of the church in former ages, and observed what great
things God had done for them, and so was not only recovered, but filled with
holy joy. He resolved to delight and triumph in the Lord; for when all is gone,
his God is not gone. Destroy the vines and the fig-trees, and you make all the
mirth of a carnal heart to cease. But those who, when full, enjoyed God in all,
when emptied and poor, can enjoy all in God. They can sit down upon the heap of
the ruins of their creature-comforts, and even then praise the Lord, as the God
of their salvation, the salvation of the soul, and rejoice in him as such, in
their greatest distresses. Joy in the Lord is especially seasonable when we
meet with losses and crosses in the world. Even when provisions are cut off, to
make it appear that man lives not by bread alone, we may be supplied by the
graces and comforts of God's Spirit. Then we shall be strong for spiritual
warfare and work, and with enlargement of heart may run the way of his
commandments, and outrun our troubles. And we shall be successful in spiritual
undertakings. Thus the prophet, who began his prayer with fear and trembling,
ends it with joy and triumph. And thus faith in Christ prepares for every
event. The name of Jesus, when we can speak of Him as ours, is balm for every
wound, a cordial for every care. It is as ointment poured forth, shedding
fragrance through the whole soul. In the hope of a heavenly crown, let us sit
loose to earthly possessions and comforts, and cheerfully bear up under
crosses. Yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not
tarry; and where he is, we shall be also.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Habakkuk》
Habakkuk 3
Verse 1
[1] A
prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.
Upon Sigionoth — A
musical instrument.
Verse 2
[2] O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work
in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath
remember mercy.
Thy speech — In
answer to the inquiry made chap. 1:13,14.
Was afraid —
Trembled at what thou speakest.
In the midst of the years — Even before the seventy years are expired.
Make known —
Thy truth, wisdom, power, and compassion.
Verse 3
[3] God
came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. /*Selah*/. His glory
covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
God —
The God of our fathers, discovered himself from Teman, a mountain not far from
mount Sinai, where the law was given.
Paran —
Near Sinai.
His glory —
This the prophet mentions as a support of his faith, that God so gloriously
appeared among their fathers.
Full of his praise — Of
works which were worthy of all praise.
Verse 4
[4] And
his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there
was the hiding of his power.
As the light — Pure,
clear as the sun, but much more dazzling.
His hand —
The face of Moses shined; the face, yea, hands of our God, shine with glorious
light.
There — In
that light wherewith he appeared.
The hiding —
Which discovered much of it, but hid much more; it was light inaccessible.
Verse 5
[5] Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet.
Before him —
When God was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, he made the pestilence go
before him, so preparing room for his people.
Verse 6
[6] He
stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and
the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways
are everlasting.
He stood —
Gave his presence with Joshua, as one that stood by while the work was done.
The land —
The promised land.
He beheld —
Looked with a frowning countenance.
Drove asunder —
Cast them out, his eye did this, for he looked on them, and did this.
His ways —
The wisdom, goodness, justice, holiness, and power of God, which he shews in
governing his people.
Verse 7
[7] I
saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian
did tremble.
The tents —
The people that dwelt in them.
Arabia —
Near whose borders Israel marched.
In affliction — In
fear and pain, lest that mighty people should fall on them.
The curtains —
Those that dwelt within them; these people dwelt in tents, which were made up
on the sides with curtains.
Verse 8
[8] Was
the LORD displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was
thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy
chariots of salvation?
The sea —
The Red Sea.
Ride — As
a general in the head of his army.
Upon thine horses —
Alluding to the manner of men.
Salvation —
No; but he came to save his people.
Verse 9
[9] Thy
bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word.
/*Selah*/. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.
Thy bow —
One part of armour is put for the whole. The Lord is represented as armed, in
readiness to smite through all his enemies.
According to the oaths — In pursuance of his oath made to our fathers, and their posterity.
Cleave the earth —
When they were to march through a dry and thirsty land.
Verse 10
[10] The
mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by:
the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.
Overflowing —
The inundation which at that season was wont to be very great in and round
Jordan, passed away at the word of God; the waters below flowed, and ran from
those above, which stood on a heap to make a path for Israel.
The deep —
Either the deep channel in which Jordan flowed, or the Red Sea with dreadful
roaring parted its waters.
Lift up his hands —
Its waves which stood on an heap.
Verse 11
[11] The
sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they
went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.
Stood still — At
the prayer of Joshua.
In the light —
Which was most miraculously continued.
Verse 13
[13] Thou
wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine
anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by
discovering the foundation unto the neck. /*Selah*/.
With thine anointed —
Under the conduct of thine anointed, Joshua, the type of the Messiah.
Thou woundest —
Gavest a deadly wound to the kings of Canaan.
The house of the wicked — The courts of these kings were houses of the vilest wickedness.
By discovering —
Destroying all from head to foot.
Verse 14
[14] Thou
didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as
a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.
Villages —
All the cities and all the unwalled towns.
They —
The inhabitants of Canaan.
As a whirlwind —
With violence invading me on every side.
To scatter — To
disperse and drive away the Israelites.
Their rejoicing —
They rejoiced in full confidence of swallowing up Israel unawares.
Verse 15
[15] Thou
didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.
Didst walk —
Thou heldest on thy way, from thy entering in on the east of the land, to the
west thereof.
Verse 16
[16] When
I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered
into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of
trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his
troops.
When I heard —
What dreadful desolations God threatened against Israel.
My heart trembled —
Another effect of surprising fears and astonishment.
Rottenness — A
decay of all my strength.
That I might rest —
These fears made me betake myself to God, that I might rest in him.
He — The king of Babylon.
The people —
The Jews.
Verse 17
[17]
Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines;
the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the
flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
The labour —
The labour bestowed upon the olive.
Yield no meat —
Corn.
Flock — Of
sheep.
Verse 19
[19] The
LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will
make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed
instruments.
Like hinds feet —
That I may escape to God my refuge.
He will make me — To
conquer and triumph.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Habakkuk》
Revival—The Welsh
(Heb. 3.2)
In front of Moriah Chapel in Lughour, South Wales, which was built in 1892, is the statue of Evan Roberts, the young man so mightily used in the Welsh Revival, 1904~1905. At that time he was under deep conviction of sin and a tremendous struggle went on within him until he yielded to the claims of Christ and consecrated his life to the Lord’s service. Yielded to God and filled with the Spirit, he preached with much power the Gospel of Christ, and many souls were saved through his preaching. The revival had to begin first in Evan Roberts. ── Archibald Naismith《Outlines for Sermons》
Hab. 3.17~19
Trust with Joyfulness
The author of the following lovely poetic paraphrase in the Doric
of Scotland calls it very fittingly—‘LIPPENIN’:
Though nae flouer come on the fig tree,
Though nae grapes growe on the vine;
Toom be a’ the olive presses
And the wheat-ears wilt and dwine.
Suld nae flock at e’en be fauldit,
And the byre nae Lowin’ hear;
Still I’ll trust in God my Saviour,
Want, nor hunger, sall I fear.
He’s the spring o’ a’ my gledness,
Gars my step wi’ smeddum stert,
Throwe the mirk His praise I’m singin’,
Softly singin’ in my hert.
── Archibald Naismith《Outlines for Sermons》
Habakkuk’s Prayer (v.2)
I.
Revive Thy work in the midst of the
years
II.
Reveal Thy power in the midst of the
years (Make known)
III.
Remember mercy in the day of Thy
wrath
── Archibald Naismith《Outlines for Sermons》
03 Chapter 3
Verses 1-19
Verse 1-2
A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.
God devoutly addressed
This chapter presents to us God in three aspects, as devoutly
addressed, as poetically portrayed, and as triumphantly enjoyed.
I. It was composed
for general use. It is not an extemporaneous address; it is a settled form of
devotion. Pre-arranged forms of devotion are both scriptural and expedient.
There is a set form given to the priests for blessing the people in Numbers 6:2-3. Psalms 92:1-15. is called a psalm for the
Sabbath, and 102. a prayer for the afflicted. Hezekiah commanded the Levites to
“praise the Lord in the words of David and of Asaph the seer,” which is Psalms 106:1-48. And Christ Himself gave
His disciples a form of prayer. Whilst it is scriptural it is also expedient.
To get a whole congregation into the channel of devotion, a pro-arranged form
seems desirable.
II. It was in
prospect of a terrible calamity. “O Lord, I have heard Thy speech, and was
afraid.” Terrible was the calamity now looming on the vision of the prophet.
The Chaldean army was approaching; the ruthless troops would soon be in his
country, sack Jerusalem its metropolis, and bear his countrymen away into
captivity. In view of this the prayer is addressed. “Call upon Me in the day of
trouble,” etc. Surely, if men fully realised the predicted judgments that will
fall on this world, prayer would be the habitude of their souls.
III. It was for a
revival of divine work. “Revive Thy work in the midst of the years, in the
midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.” Kiel thus renders the
passage--“Jehovah, Thy work in the midst of Thy years call to life, in the
midst of the years make it known.” This may mean, Perfect the work of
delivering Thy people; let not Thy promise lie as it were dead, give it new
life by performing it. Do it now, in the midst of the years, when our
calamities are at their height, when Thy wrath seems to be at high tide and
terrible. Now “revive Thy work.” Three thoughts are suggested--
1. The work of human deliverance is the work of God.
2. This work of God may appear to decline.
3. This decline of God’s work can only be overcome by His intervention.
“Revive Thy work.” (Homilist.)
Verse 2
O Lord, revive Thy work.
Revival
I. What is meant
by the work of
the lord, and its revival?
1. It may mean the work of creation. Or the preservation and
government of the world. At other times it means the works of Christ; or the
work of the ministry.
2. What is meant by a revival of this work?
(1) A deeper work of grace in the hearts of those who are the
children of God by faith in Jesus Christ.
(2) When the number of believers increases. When conviction seizes
the hearts of sinners, and causes them to become true penitents; when that
conviction ends in true conversion.
II. What is
comprehended in this prayer?
1. That the Lord would pour out of His Spirit upon His people, and
accomplish in them His gracious promises.
2. That the Lord would have mercy upon sinners.
3. That the end may be answered for which Jesus Christ came into the
world, the Spirit was given, and ordinances instituted.
III. What induces
the saints thus to pray?
1. The love they have to the children of God.
2. The love they have to sinners.
3. The hatred they have to sin.
4. A desire that all those evils may be removed out of the world
which are the consequences of sin.
5. The promises of God.
IV. What manner of
person ought he to be who thus prays? In order to ensure a suitable
correspondence between his prayer and practice--
1. He himself must abstain from every appearance of evil.
2. The person who prays for a revival must use all the means in his
power to do good. By example, reproof, speech in season, etc.
3. He must cultivate a spirit of tender affection for all his
Christian friends, that love and unity may reign in the Church. (B. Bailey.)
Revival of the Lord’s work
This prophecy was probably written during the reign of the good
King Josiah, who attempted a serious religious reformation. It proved to be
only partial and temporary. It was reluctant and counterfeit on the part of
many of the people; as was evinced by their speedy return to idolatrous
practices after the untimely death of the distinguished reformer. What was the “burden” the prophet
saw? It was intimated to him that the decree of God was unalterable, and that
the day of visitation was at hand; and the very people are named who should be
the instrument of God’s righteous judgments on treacherous Judah. Turn now to
the exercise in which the prophet engaged, in the certain anticipation of
national calamity. It was the exercise of prayer. In his prayer there were
three special petitions. Although the condition of his countrymen was
dangerous, and their banishment inevitable, yet so long as a remnant was
preserved, their case was not desperate. If he could not see his friends
reformed and regenerated in their native country, he would plead for their
conversion in a foreign land. “O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the
years.” This is an earnest supplication for the revival of God’s work of grace,
in the hearts of His people, in the time of outward distress. Do this “in the
midst of the years,” that is, during the seventy years of captivity. While
these melancholy years pass heavily along, let the work of repentance commence;
let the tears of godly sorrow flow. The second petition is, “In the midst of the
years make known.” Make known Thy character, and perfection, and grace, during
the years of captivity, to those now estranged from Thee. If they were
unmindful of Thee in the time of prosperity; in the day of adversity let them
consider. Make Thy faithfulness known as a God still in covenant with them, as
still willing to be reconciled to them. The third petition is, “In wrath
remember mercy.” Wrath is incurred, judgment is threatened, the sword is
unsheathed, and vengeance must be inflicted. But see how the man of God
perseveres in prayer. If judgment may not be altogether averted, it may be
mitigated. We must bear the indignation of the Lord, in submitting to slavery
in a foreign land, and in being deprived of the soul-refreshing ordinances of
religion. But, gracious Father, “in wrath remember mercy.” It were easy to
prove that all the petitions in this prayer were literally and remarkably
fulfilled. That there was a revival of religion during the captivity, may be
proved from the grateful and devout sentiments of the captives in the
announcement of their enlargement. “When the Lord turned again the captivity,”
etc. We find a confirmation also in the character of those who returned from
Babylon. God had evidently granted them, in the words of Ezra, “a little
reviving”; and their first care on their return to Palestine was to rebuild the
temple, which was lying in ruins. And as a decisive proof that the prayer of
the prophet had received a gracious answer during the captivity, we find that
the Jews were henceforward cured of what may be called their hereditary and
besetting sin--the degrading and God-dishonouring sin of idolatry. The second
part of the prophet’s prayer was not less clearly answered. Was not much made
known to Ezekiel, by the spirit of prophecy, during the captivity? Was not much
made known to Daniel? Behold then the efficacy and fruit of prayer. The third
part of the prayer was as remarkably answered as the other two parts. “In wrath
remember mercy” In every circumstance that tended to mitigate the rigour of
their bondage, God was fulfilling the prayer of the prophet. Learn--
1. That sin incurs the displeasure of God.
2. That prayer is the only way of averting the judgments of God.
3. That the extension
of religious knowledge is the only rational means for effecting a national
reformation.
4. That while Jehovah is the Supreme Governor of the universe,
religion is His great work in the world. (James Glen, A. M.)
On revivals of religion
I. What, in a
Christian sense, is a revival of religion? It cannot better be described than
by a representation of its origin and effect in the case of individuals and
Christian communities. When is there a revival of religion in individuals?
Suppose such as need this revival to consist of two classes. One made up of
such as have a “form of godliness.” They have a general faith in Christianity,
and educational relations with it, and they do not openly violate any of its moral rules.
Still, these persons may be examples of a sort of negative religion only. They
may be spiritually inanimate and drowsy. If these men are the subjects of a
genuine religious revival, their lukewarmness is abandoned. Then there is in
them a consistency of character. The other class is formed of the notoriously
abandoned and corrupt. In these, there is a general abdication of restraint,
both moral and religious. When these are the subjects of a revival, their moral taste is
changed. Their hatred of sin is excited. Their respect for Divine ordinances is
enkindled. Survey the operation of a revival of religion on Christian
communities. Since the first age of the Gospel, Churches and societies have
been found in the lukewarm condition of the Church in Laodicea. A more awful
state of a Christian community is supposable, a state not merely of lukewarmness,
but of positive corruption and wickedness. If a revival of religion take place,
there will be an united, vigorous, persevering effort, on the part of the
members, to display in all its excellence and worth the Christian character.
Nor is this revival manifest in things exclusively religious. It will appear in
their worldly and social state; in their habits of industry and sobriety, etc.
Give the reasons why the class of Christians, denominated liberal, have not
thought favourably of, nor promoted revivals.
1. The means used to bring them about do not appear to be in
accordance with the spirit and instructions of Scripture.
(1) These means are heated and impassioned addresses to the feelings
and passions, tending to produce an unnatural excitement of the imagination,
and of the whole man, which interrupts cool reflection, and a sober and
edifying attendance on religious duties. What an entire contrast do these means
exhibit to those adopted by the Saviour and His apostles!
(2) The persons who are held up to the world as having experienced a
revival of religion, too often display fruits which are equally at variance
with the test of character established by Him who spake as never man spake.
Review the lessons of Jesus, enforcing secret devotion, guarding His disciples
against ostentation and vain boasting, inculcating upon them humility. We
cannot persuade ourselves to believe that a suspension of Christian charity is
evangelical proof of advancement in religion.
(3) The reason which has equally operated with others, is a
knowledge of the unhappy consequences which have followed. Review the state of
our Churches and towns. Where such revivals have been brought about, there will
be seen a multiplication of religious societies; Christians engaged in bitter contentions
and controversies; members of families alienated from each other.
II. What are the
means by which a truly Christian revival of religion may be brought about?
1. Every member of society, however ignoble and obscure, may have an
agency in this great work.
2. Those more elevated either by wealth, rank, education, etc., have
a still greater degree of responsibleness. See in this matter the importance of
family religion, and the value of attendance on the duties of the Sabbath,
habitual piety, and the solemn act of prayer. (W. Thayer.)
Revival of the Lord’s work
The writer of this book mourned over the spiritual degeneracy of
his times, and was apprehensive of the entire removal of the privileges which
were so much despised. The “years” mentioned were years of spiritual declension
and backsliding, and prevailing wickedness, and consequently years of God’s
righteous displeasure; and therefore he says, “O Lord, revive Thy work in the
midst of the years.”
1. In what does this work consist? By the “work of the Lord” we are
to understand the redemption and recovery of this ruined world. This is the
work which the Holy Spirit, through the medium of His enlightening, renewing,
and sanctifying influence on the human heart, is ever active in promoting.
Surely it is a work of the greatest interest and importance. This work may be
said to be making progress in the world, when a general interest is felt in
matters of religion.
2. What is the object of the prayer in regard to the work of the
Lord? In the moral government of God, there exists an inseparable connection
between the offering of prayer and the obtaining of spiritual blessings. In answer
to prayer we find that in Scripture God has often promised the richest
manifestations of His grace. But nowhere has He warranted us to suppose that
without prayer these blessings can be obtained. The object of the prophet in
this prayer was that God would grant a revival to the Jewish Church. And we
have no reason to doubt that in answer to prayer, God will yet arise, and plead
HIS own cause in the world, and revive His own work. Whatever be the
relationship in which we stand to those around us, we have, as Christians, a
message given us to all, and that is the message of God the Father’s love, and
of God the Son’s death, and of God the Spirit’s sanctifying grace, a message so
plain that none can mistake it, so imperative that none with impunity can
neglect it, and so pressing that none can delay it. (John Lindsay.)
God’s work in the midst of the years
Time, like eternity, is full of God, and of the glory of His
power. God’s ceaseless work in nature is maintained unchanging “in the midst of
the years.” But there is a work of God to which everything in nature is
subordinate. It is His work of grace; His work of redemption and recovery in
this lost world; His work of establishing His own kingdom in the hearts of men.
In the mind of the prophet, this work of God was identified with the welfare of
that chosen nation, that peculiar people, which God had placed in covenant
relation with Himself. What lessons may we gather from the prophet’s words? In
the first and second chapters of his prophecy, the prophet sees God’s judgments
coming upon Israel, then upon Israel’s oppressors. We see what years those were
of which the prophet speaks in the text. They were years of declension and
prevailing wickedness, and years of God’s displeasure. The prophet’s first and
foremost thought is that of the paramount importance of God’s spiritual and
saving work. Then he knows--the spirit of faith assures him--that God’s great
work will live, and will outlive every catastrophe. He not only prays that God
will make His work to live, but that He will make it known. Learn--
1. The prayer for the revival, or the keeping alive of God’s work, is
the spontaneous utterance of a heart touched by God’s Spirit.
2. God’s work is often going on in the world when it is not seen or
made known, when even His own people are not permitted to discern its progress.
3. Sometimes it is necessary for God to carry on His work by dispensations
of wrath.
4. Blessed are the years in which God makes known His work as a work
of power and mercy. (Leonard Bacon, D. D.)
Revival in the midst of the years
The utterance of God made the prophet afraid. The period of
chastening must be fulfilled. But one thought fills the prophet’s mind: during this period of
suffering the work of God might be revived. God in His wrath remembers mercy
most when He does not stay His chastening, but deepens penitence, stirs up
prayer, creates heart-searching and earnest endeavours after a new life.
I. The first part
of the prayer is that God would revive His work. We believe in a God who works,
now and always, both in the natural and in the spiritual. God not merely wills,
He works. Work occupies a foremost place in the Divine arrangement. God’s works
on matter illustrate and explain His working on mind. There is one feature
common to both the natural and the spiritual sphere, the requirement of human
co-operation. God waits on man’s working. On account of the sin and sloth and
heedlessness of man, God’s work declines, and God seems to withdraw. It is here
that a place for revival is found. And explanation of it includes both the
Divine sphere and the human. God’s working in nature goes on in cycles. So does
man’s working all through. Uniformity of action would not be adapted to man.
The fluctuation which covers the regions of politics, literature, science, and
art, extends also to religion. Religious earnestness is under the same law. An
enthusiasm is awakened at times for the supreme object of religion which it is
not in human nature to sustain. The departure of such a period may be either
the deepening and broadening of the channels of life, or it may be a period of
stagnation. This is true of the individual, as well as of society at large.
Revival is a fervour or intensity resolved on the highest aims, a deeper sense
of the meaning of life, a determination to subordinate all to God. The fact
that such times in a community are often characterised by excitement, and by a
kind of contagion in which religion seems to be less a matter of individual
conviction than a diffused influence is, again, only in accordance with the
laws of human nature. Why should the spread of religious conviction not be
aided by the contagion of feeling? May not genuine and deep feeling be aroused
in this way? Why may not the surging of a vague enthusiasm through the hearts
of men work great things in religion as in other matters? If religion is a
genuinely human thing; if it is in the true sense the most human of all, must
it not partake of the usual characteristics of human feeling? What a force
there is in the expression
of the text, Make Thy work to live: put life into Thy work. How often the work seems to have
everything but life. Life comes, and all is changed. God’s working is the hope
of the natural world, and equally of the spiritual. We wait for God. And our
waiting utters itself. It is an eager, earnest feeling that pours itself out in
supplication. It is in this way that our energy most fully unites itself with
the Divine.
II. The prayer is
also that God would “make known.” That is, reveal Himself and Divine truth. The
prayer is, that God would not only work but reveal; that God would show men the
reality. Clouds lie between them and the spiritual and eternal. It is well that
these two things are joined together, reviving of God’s work, and making known.
III. What weight is
given to the prayer by the addition, “in the midst of the years”? There is an
argument, or plea, in the thought, that many years are gone beyond recall, and
that so many years fewer are to come. The irrevocable past, as it rises before
us, brings bitter regrets. How different those years might have been! The words
seem suggestive of the confusion and darkness of time. And the fleetingness and
evanescence of the years rise before us in contrast to the immutable and
eternal of the Divine life. (J. Leckie, D. D.)
The necessity of a great spiritual change throughout the
world:--
I. As to the state
of the professing Church of Christ.
1. Note the ignorance of the Church.
2. The divisions of the Church.
3. The worldly conformity of the Church.
4. The want of activity in the Church.
5. The deadness of prayer in the Church.
II. As to the state
of the unconverted and ungodly world.
1. In relation to civil governments, and to publicly recognised
social institutions and authorities. Refer to despotism, corruption, war, etc.
2. In direct relation to religion. Nominal Christians. Note the
positive crimes by which the country is stained; Sabbath-breaking,
profane-swearing, fraud, drinking, etc.
III. Certain systems
which must by. Swept away. Such as popery, Judaism, infidelity, Mohammedanism,
heathenism. Surely we may well pray, “O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of
the years.” (James Parsons.)
.
Means of promoting the revival of religion
.
1. Does the man of sincere goodness observe vice prevalent, and
spreading its unhappy influence through all ranks and degrees of the community?
This is a powerful inducement to desire and to work for its reformation.
2. The decay of religion is not more owing to open wickedness than to
inconsiderate negligence. A good man, who has the happiness of the species at
heart, will offer up his most fervent petitions to the Father of Lights, that
He would be pleased to spread abroad in the breasts of the people a spirit of
prayer and reformation. (James Rudge, D. D.)
The revival of the Lord’s work
1. The prayer of the text rises to heaven in the time of affliction.
2. The prayer of the prophet is founded upon need.
3. Observe whose work it is that is implored to be revived--it is the
work of God. And He alone can accomplish it.
4. Consider the use of certain means for the spread and establishment
of the Divine work. He has commanded us to call upon His name, to trust in Him,
to seek Him, to repent of our misdoings, to do battle against evil wherever
found, and to assemble ourselves together for Divine worship. (W. Horwood.)
Nature and origin of revivals
I. The state
calling for a revival. A revival is a return to life and vigour from a state of
languor and decay. The Church of Christ needs revival. It is not in a lively
state as to deep and practical godliness. There are comparatively few
flourishing Churches. There is much disunion. There is a low standard of
devotedness to Christ. This state of things calls for a revival in the Church
generally. As individuals is our condition satisfactory? Is there not a state
of worldliness, lukewarmness, and formality? The apostle speaks of many in his
day as having “the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” This
surely is a state calling for a revival.
II. The nature of
the revival of God’s work. What is God’s work in the heart of man? It is very
different from man’s work. It is marked by a new birth. It is marked by
Christian graces. It is marked by walking in all good works. It is the work of
grace in the heart of man. What is the revival of this work?
1. An increase of zeal on the part of God’s people.
2. An awakening among careless sinners.
III. The only source
from which it can flow. “O Lord, revive Thy work.” The Holy Spirit is the great
source of the revival of the work of grace in the heart of man. If you desire
revivals, the means must be diligently used--reading God’s Word, prayer in
secret, social prayer, public worship, self-examination; but if you stop at the
means you deceive yourselves; this is the proper posture for the Christian, “My
soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him.”
IV. The time in
which it should be sought. “In the midst of the years.” Before the day of
sickness comes. Before the day of old age comes. Before the judgments of God
come on the world. Before the Saviour appears Before the final sentence is
pronounced. Seek a revival, while the day of grace continues; while God’s
ministers invite you. While opportunity is afforded. Then--
1. Search into the state of your own hearts.
2. Seek revival from God by prayer in private. Devote yourselves
afresh unto God. (E. Bickersteth, A. M.)
God’s work revived
I. The work itself.
The salvation of the sinner is the peculiar work of Jehovah. It implies the
exercise of infinite mercy. It requires Divine care.
II. Why may it very
properly be called God’s work? Because it glorifies God.
III. When may God be
said to revive his people? When His people are preserved alive. When His people
grow in grace. When His people axe led to surmount trouble, affliction, and
sorrow. When the backslider is restored. (Hugh Allen, M. A.)
Lent, a season of revival to the soul
The Christian life has its ebb and flow, like the currents of the
ocean, and no one
need hope to preserve the same uniform frames and feelings at every step of his
earthly probation. If we are ever enabled to do right, it is because tim good
Lord has helped us. There is a revival which we all need; such a revival as
shall lead us to forsake our sins, and crucify our corrupt affections and
lusts; such a revival as shall render us more devout and devoted to God’s
service. I mean nothing akin to the unwholesome modern system of revivals. The
Church has a revival system of her own, which has been practised with most
abundant success from the earliest days of Christianity until now. Her revival
season begins with the four weeks of Advent, when she calls men to repentance
and amendment, that they may make themselves ready to welcome the Saviour
afresh on the return of His birthday. Another revival season is the forty days
of Lent; when the motive appealed to is the love of God, manifested in the gift
of His only Son. Throughout the whole sacred season, His life, His teaching,
His miracles are kept constantly before us, deepened in its penetrating power
by lastings and prayer. (John N. Norton.)
Revivals
I. The chief need
of the world to-day is a general revival of the Christian religion. The preconceptions
of most of us are not favourable to revivals. Theories, however, cannot stand
for a moment against stubborn facts. There is one fact which renders a revival
necessary for a vast number of people. All scientists recognise that
retrogression is as much a fact of nature as is evolution or progress. History
is full of illustrations of the decay of races and the decline of nations. Only
one remedy is open to us, when the decay concerns our religious life. It is a
revival--the regaining, by a supreme moral effort, of the spiritual heights
which have been lost.
II. Revivals are
normal. We are inclined to think that with the world and the Church in an ideal
state, a movement closely corresponding to revivals would still take place.
Life moves in periods or cycles.
III. Both the
history of the church and the bible confirm this view of Christian progress.
The Church has always made her great conquests under revival influences.
Revival of religion was inaugurated by the Wesleys and Whitefield. Puritanism was
a great religious revival. The Reformation began as a revival of religion. The
Christian Church was born in a revival which swept three thousand souls into
the kingdom on the day of Pentecost.
IV. How may we
promote a revival?
1. By earnest prayer.
2. By determined, personal effort. (J. W. Bashford.)
Lessons of the Reformation
1. The Reformation was providential. It was the handwriting of God
visible to men.
2. It was a reformation of the Church. It was a conten tion raised
within, about, and by the Church.
3. It was a reformation of doctrine. It began on a point of doctrine.
Its weapons were argument and learning.
4. It was a reformation of public worship. Here, most especially, it
came in touch with the people.
5. It was a reformation of personal piety. If it had not led to this,
all else would have been of little moment. But this it did. Upon us it devolves
not to be heedless of the lessons of the Reformation, but to profit by them,
and transmit them to others. (J. B. Remensnyder, D. D.)
Religious revivals -
I. Genuine
religion is the work of God in the soul. “Thy work.” What is genuine religion? Not
theology, not ceremony, but simply this, supreme love to God. The production of
this in the soul is the work of God. He produces it, it is true, by means; nevertheless,
no one else can or does produce it but Himself.
II. This work of
God in the soul is liable to decay. There are many things in and outside of man
that tend to impair, weaken, and destroy this supreme love. Carnal impulses,
impure associations, social influences, engrossing worldly cares, these are all
detrimental. They are to it like a blighting atmosphere to vegetation.
III. This decay
should be overcome by a revival. “Revive Thy work.” Revive this supreme
love--quicken, energise it, give it more force and influence in the soul! This is the true
revival. (Homilist.)
The revival of God’s work implored
I. Some
particulars respecting this work.
1. The work itself; or what is meant by the work here spoken of? It
is certainly the work of Divine grace in the souls of mankind.
2. Why it may be called God’s work. Because no one but God can effect
it.
3. When God may be said to revive it. God revives His work when souls
are raised from the death of sin to the life of righteousness; and when they
grow in grace.
II. How we may and
should contribute towards its revival.
1. We should labour for it.
2. We should live for it.
3. We should pray for it.
III. Why we should
thus interest ourselves in its revival.
1. We are excited to this by piety.
2. We are urged to this
by philanthropy, or love to mankind.
3. We are obligated to this by prudence.
4. We are animated to this by a well-supported hope. Applications--
(1) The state of God’s work among us should excite correspondent
affections in us.
(2) We should consider and deplore our deficiencies.
(3) We should improve our convictions by renewed application to God;
for pardoning mercy, and gracious help. (Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)
Revivalism
Following closely upon Jeremiah, Habakkuk was face to face with the
woes which were hastening for the dissolution of the kingdom of Judah. He, more
than any other of the prophets, represents the perplexities, not of the nation,
but of the individual soul, the peculiar trial which tormented so many exalted
spirits of his day. He saw with grief the increasing contrast of sin and
prosperity, innocence and suffering--this was his burden. It is essentially
personal: he
takes it all upon himself. Our text is always a good, a wise, a necessary
prayer. The work of the Lord is never so forward that we need not pray, for its
further advance. But what is to be said about the movement known as
Revivalism”? It begins with, and proceeds upon the assumption that man can only
be reconciled to God in one particular way. It recognises but one type of
religion, and that the most delusive one. It repudiates the idea that God is
ever pleased with a dutiful, earnest, moral life. It regards as positively
dangerous a mere intellectual grasp of the Christian faith. Revivalism tells
you that, unless at a certain time, and at a certain place, and under
conditions that you can recall and define, you have undergone an emotional
process which has changed the whole drift of your life, and given you an
assurance of nearness to God hitherto unfelt, you are not a Christian at all.
Revivalism confronts you like a spiritual footpad, and holds to your head the
pistol of modern pharisaism:
“Are you a Christian? Is your soul saved? Have you found the Lord?” The answer
involves an awful alternative. You must either surrender the liberty wherewith
Christ hath made you free to the monstrous claims of this pretentious crusade,
or consent to be branded as an outcast from the flock of the Good Shepherd.
This barrier of separation between converted and unconverted has no sanction to
which any follower of Jesus Christ is called upon to submit. We must not,
however, cease to pray, “O Lord, revive Thy work.” Revive it, O Lord, in
politics, in public life, in commerce, in trade, in toil of every kind, so that
in all places and at all times men shall realise Thy presence. (R. H.
Haddew, B. A.)
The law of revivals
Are revivals of religion under law, or the result of any
previously operating and well-defined cause? By the revival of religion we mean
a quickened state of religious activity and prayer, resulting in the conversion
of sinners, the increased efficiency of the Church, and all the effect of the
Divine Spirit in conjunction with the appointed means of grace. Our position
is, that it is a rule of God’s economy to bestow His grace or Spirit upon the
employment of means, just in proportion as those means are adapted to the
result. Observe that the results are predicated, not of the means as a power in
themselves, but of the Spirit’s conformity to this law of operation.
1. In favour of our position our first argument is from analogy.
There is such a law of adaptation in all the world of nature--an established
and reliable connection between means and end, and results correspond with the
nature--the perfection or imperfection of the antecedent cause. This law is
observable in all the world of industry, science, and art. It is fair to infer
that the same law is observed in the spiritual world, and that the results--the
quickened graces, the conversions, the ingatherings to the Church--will be in
proportion to the wise, diligent, and prayerful use of the means of grace.
2. The second argument is derived from the facts of Christian
experience. The early apostles and Christians were successful, in a very
remarkable degree, in producing moral changes, in the conviction and conversion
of sinners. Everything objective and visible seemed to forbid success. But they
were filled with the Spirit. They went forth to their work with an ardour
unparalleled. They preached to save, they were wise to win souls. We can trace
the connection between appropriate means and the sublimest results. This
principle of wise adjustment of means to ends is universally acknowledged.
3. This law must be acknowledged as true, else there is no ground of
confidence in the use
of Gospel means.
Learn--
1. As Christian workers, to graduate our success. As a general rule
it will be in proportion to the aptness, skill, persistency, and prayerfulness
of our labours.
2. The responsibility and guilt of those Churches who reap no fruit
of their labour. There must be responsibility and guilt somewhere. (S. D.
Burchard, D. D.)
Spiritual revival
The “work of the Lord” means the salvation of immortal souls, and
the extension of our Redeemer’s kingdom.
I. The prosperity
of God’s work is the chief business of God’s people. The prophet sees into the
future, and instead of being overwhelmed by coming calamities, he realises how
immeasurably greater is the welfare of the soul than the welfare of the body,
and his earnest, heart-prompted entreaty is, “O Lord, revive Thy work in the
midst of the years “
II. The work of God
in the soul may so decline as to stand in need of revival. Does our spiritual
life still retain all the freshness and charm of its birth? Is it, as it ought
to be, more real, more intense, more earnest, more fully developed by
the lapse of time?
III. Although the
work of God within us may decline, yet there is a power that can revive it. God
can make the dry bones to live, and God can breathe a new life even into the
soul that seems to be dead, so deathlike is its sleep. Why does God every year
perform the miracles of the spring-time? That we may have perpetually before
our eyes illustrations of His reviving power. Then axe you not anxious that a
mighty revival of this spiritual life should be experienced in your own souls,
and in the souls of those who are dear to you? If you are, pray for it. (John
F. Haynes, LL. D.)
Revivals
Literally, to revive is to live again. It supposes life possessed,
life departed, life restored. Sometimes it means to infuse fresh vigour,
increased animation, where life is weak and drooping, though not extinct. When
Habakkuk says, “O Lord, revive Thy work,” he does not imply that God’s work had
died out, only that it was in a low and declining state. Mercy he
implores--pardoning, restoring, reviving mercy. This is the object we seek when
we ask God to revive His work in us and amongst us. A revival of religion
supposes it to exist, but to be in a low and declining state. Let every Church
be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain. The Divine favour will be
restored, and the Church will be revived. Such a Church God will own and bless.
What is necessary to a revival?
1. To recognise the fact that a revival is needed. Well satisfied
with our present need, we neither desire nor seek anything better.
2. We must know and feel that guilt is incurred by our lukewarmness
and worldly-mindedness. Are we in a declining state? Then it is not simply our
misfortune, but our sin, for which God will call us to account. We must see,
too, the individual and personal character of our responsibility and guilt.
3. If a better state of things is to be brought about, we must
sincerely and heartily repent of our sins, confess and forsake them all, and
look to Him who has graciously promised, “I will heal their backslidings.” The
invitations and promises of our God are all based on this principle, “Draw nigh
unto God, and He will draw nigh unto you.” This humility, this repentance, this
brokenness of heart generally precedes a revival of religion in our Churches.
4. There must be faith in God, in Christ, in His Holy Word. Faith in
God’s character, His perfections, His excellences. Faith in the promises of
God.
5. Faith must lead to prayer. Each must pray, all must pray; only ask
in faith, nothing doubting. If there be an increase of real prosperity in the
Church, there must be an increase of believing prayer. When once Christian
Churches and Christian ministers shall thus wrestle with God in prayer, depend
upon it, God is on His way, and soon shall they behold the wonderful workings
of His power. (Thoughts for Week Evening Services.)
Revival
The symptoms and evidences of spiritual life in possession and
active operation, on the part of the Church collectively and of the individual
believer, are many, and are such as may be easily recognised.
I. A deep sense of
the need of revival. It is in this as in regard to personal spiritual concerns.
There must be felt need before there can be fervent prayer. Let us now consider
more particularly what is really needed at the present time, or in what
respects revival may be said to be needed.
1. We require a revival of personal religion. The influence and power
of personal religion and of well-founded, deeply rooted convictions of the efficacy
and power of the Word of God, and of the Gospel of His Son in the hand of the
Holy Spirit, cannot be overestimated.
2. We require a revival of family religion. Let there but be a
revival of personal holiness vouchsafed throughout the land, and religion in a
more open and public form would be sure to follow.
3. We require a revival of national religion.
II. An
acknowledgment of God as the Author of this much needed revival. The prophet
calls it His work. Yes, the revival of the work of grace in the individual
soul, of spiritual vitality in the Church, and of real and lively regard for
the glory of God and the supreme authority of His law, in the supreme and
subordinate legislative assemblies of the nation, is the work of God. Hence God alone
can revive it.
III. The necessity
of prayer to produce the revival of God’s work. As well as Zerubbabel, the
prophet Habakkuk knew that this great work was not to be accomplished by might
or by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord; but clearly as he understood this,
no less strongly did he feel his obligation to pray for it. (A. Stirling.)
How can a Church be brought into a revival condition
This is a very important question; for the conversions in any
Church will generally be in proportion to the average spiritual life of the
Church. This is the law. Of course, there are exceptions. Men fish through the
ice in midwinter and catch a large supply; and so it is possible for a pastor
to dip right through the crust of worldliness and formality, with which the
Church is covered, and bring out converts by the score. But a fisher of men
that can do this must be endowed with a powerful personality and an uncommon
zeal. But taking it for granted, then, that the first thing is to bring the
Church into a revived condition, how shall we proceed? Now, we remember that in
physics it is said, that, in thawing a cake of ice, all the heat which you pour
in below the melting point becomes latent and disappears, but that having
raised the whole temperature up to the melting point, it takes but little heat
to keep it thawing. It is exactly so with a Church. There is what may be called
the zealothemial point in the spiritual thermometer. When the temperature of
the body is below that point, you may pour in sermons and prayers and
pleadings, and all will soon be absorbed and lost. But once bring the condition
above that point, and a little effort will keep converts coming constantly. (A.
J. Gordon, D. D.)
Stimulants not required for a revival
Use nourishments instead of stimulants in your efforts to bring up
the spiritual tone of the Church. By stimulants, we mean frantic appeals,
severe denunciations, stinging rebuke. These rouse for the Sabbath on which
they are employed, but their effect is exhausted before the week is over, and
the application must be repeated next Sunday, and so on, week after week. By
nourishment, we mean the Scriptures unfolded, expounded, and steadily applied.
“The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (A.
J. Gordon, D. D.)
Revivals commence with the few
Begin with a part of the Church instead of attempting to move the
whole mass together. Those of us who were country boys know how impossible it
is to make a fire out of green logs alone; but if we can get some dry sticks
kindled around and underneath these green logs, we can make a very hot fire
with them. Don’t begin your revival by trying to rouse the whole unseasoned mass
of Church members, but begin with a few of the most spiritual, and from these
work out towards the others. Lyman Beecher said, in answer to the question, How
can we promote a revival in the Church?--“First get revived yourself, then get
some brother Church member revived, and the work has begun.” That is practical
wisdom. (A. J. Gordon, D. D.)
In wrath remember mercy.--
The limitations of Divine wrath
What the prophet now subjoins is intended to anticipate an
objection; for this thought might have occurred to the faithful--“there is no
ground for us to hope pardon from God, whom we have so grievously provoked, nor
is there any reason for us to rely any more on the covenant which we have so
perfidiously violated.” The prophet meets this objection, and he flees to the
gracious favour of God, however much he perceived that the people would have to
suffer the just punishment of their sins, such as they deserved. He then
confesses that God was justly angry with His people, and yet that the hope of
salvation was not on that account closed up, for the Lord had promised to be
propitious. Since God then is not inexorable towards His people,--nay, while He
chastises them He ceases not to be a Father,--hence, the prophet connects here
the mercy of God with His wrath. The word “wrath” is not to be taken according
to its strict sense, when the faithful or the elect are spoken of; for God does
not chastise them because He hates them; nay, on the contrary, He thereby
manifests the care He has for their salvation. Hence the scourges by which God
chastises His children are testimonies of His love. But the Scripture
represents the judgment with which God visits His people as wrath, not towards
their persons, but towards their sins. Though then God shows love to His
chosen, yet He testifies when He punishes their sins that iniquity is hated by
Him. When God then comes forth as it were as a judge, and shows that sins
displease Him, He is said to be angry with the faithful; and there is also in
this a reference to the perceptions of men; for we cannot, when God chastises
us, do otherwise than feel the accusations of our own conscience. Hence then is
this hatred; for when our conscience condemns us, we must necessarily
acknowledge God to be angry with us, that is with respect to us. When therefore
we provoke God’s wrath by our sins, we feel Him to be angry with us; but yet
the prophet connects together things that seem wholly contrary--even that God
would “remember mercy in wrath”; that is, that He would show Himself displeased
with them in such a way as to afford to the faithful at the same time some
taste of His favour and mercy by finding Him to be propitious to them.
Whenever, then, the judgment
of the flesh would lead us to despair, let us ever set up against it this
truth--that God is in such a way angry that He never forgets His mercy--that
is, in His dealings with His elect. (John Calvin.)
Habakkuk’s prayer
Wrath and mercy are here put in juxtaposition the one to the
other. The wrath spoken of is the wrath of a holy, omnipotent God, Who can dare
to meet that wrath? If we want to know the extent, the fury, the power of that
wrath, we have only to look to the Saviour, the very Son of the very eternal
God, the Father’s co-equal, co-eternal Son, when He stands as the substitute of
His people, as the representative of His Church, the sword of God’s wrath falls
upon Him. This wrath will come upon a guilty and sinful world in the last days.
It will come as the messenger of God to purge His Church from its alloy, and
its imperfections, and its impurities, and the fire shall burn them up. But in
the text there is a word of mercy for God’s Church. Say ye to the righteous
that it shall be well with him. Whatever judgments may come upon us, nothing
can come beyond what we deserve. What then have we to do? To pray for mercy.
Nothing can be done without mercy. (T. Mortimer, A. M.)
Verses 3-15
God came from Teman.
God poetically portrayed and practically remembered
The Bible contains many grand songs and odes. But this song
of Habakkuk stands in peerless splendour amongst them all.
I. Poetically
portrayed. God is here presented, not as the Absolute One, whom “no eye hath
seen or can see,” nor as He appears to philosophical or logical minds, but as
He appears to a lofty imagination Divinely inspired. To the prophet’s
imagination He appears as coming from Teman and Mount Paran, which refers to
the visible display of His glory when He gave the law upon Mount Sinai amidst
thunders and lightnings and earthquakes. Then indeed His glory covered the
heavens. But whilst we take this as a poetic representation, we must not fail
to notice some of the grand truths which it contains.
1. That God’s glory transcends all revelations. The brightness of the
Shekinah, in which He appeared on Sinai and elsewhere to the Jews, however
effulgent, was but a mere scintillation of the infinite splendour of His being,
the mere “hiding of His power.” All His glory as seen in nature, both in the
material and the spiritual universe, is but as one ray to the eternal sun.
2. That God’s power over the material universe is absolute. He makes
the mountains tremble, and the seas divide, and the orbs of heaven stand still
3. That God’s interest in good men is profound and practical. All His
operations, as here poetically described, are on behalf of His chosen people.
II. Practically
remembered. Why did the prophet recall all these Divine manifestations to the
Hebrew people in past times? Undoubtedly to encourage in himself and in his
countrymen unbounded confidence in Him, in the critical and dangerous period in
which they were placed. The Chaldean hosts were threatening their ruin. Under
these perilous circumstances he turns to God, he calls to mind and portrays in
vivid poetry what He had been to His people in ancient times.
1. He recalls the fact that God had delivered His people m ancient
times from perils as great as those to which they were now exposed. From the
Egyptians, the Canaanites, the Philistines, etc.
2. That God had done this by stupendous manifestations of His power.
Manifestations of His power in the sea, in the mountains, in the orbs of
heaven, etc.
3. That what God had done for His people, He would continue to do.
“His ways are everlasting,” or, as Kiel renders it, His are ways of the olden
times. The idea perhaps is, that He has an eternal plan, fixed and settled.
What He has done for them, He will still do. Thus the prophet remembered the
days of old and took courage. (Homilist.)
Verse 4
He had horns coming out of His hand.
The horn as a symbol
The use of the word “horn” as a metaphor to express strength and
honour is of very ancient origin. It appears to have arisen from the expression
in Exodus 34:29, Moses’ “face shone,” or,
literally, “emitted rays,” where the Hebrew word karan--from keren, a
horn--means “to shoot forth horns,” hence applied to the horn-like rays of
light. But it was frequently translated, as in the Latin Vulgate, “put forth
horns”; and from this absurd translation arose the belief that Moses actually
had horns, and, as we know, he is always so depicted in mediaeval paintings
when bearing the tables of stone, and the grotesque error has been too often
followed by modern artists. The horn was naturally a symbol of strength; for in
its horns lay the strength of the aurocks or bison, long since extinct,
erroneously translated “unicorn” in our version, and which was the strongest
and mightiest land animal known to the Israelites. When represented as worn by
Moses, horns became naturally an emblem also of honour, and thus of royal power
and dignity. One of the daily prayers of the Jews at the present day is, “Soon
may the Branch, the Root of David, spring up, and His horn be excellent.” This
petition may have been in use before the time of Zacharias, and may have
suggested this utterance. The metaphor was also used among others than the
Jews. An Arabic expression speaks of the sun’s rays as the horns of a deer. The
horn on either side of the head is employed on the coins of Alexander the
Great, and of some of his successors, the Seleucid kings of Syria, as well as
by the Ptolemies. From his well-known coins is doubtless derived the Arabic
epithet of Alexander the Great, “the two-horned king.” In the prophetical books
of the Old Testament, as well as in the Apocalpyse, the horn is frequently used
as a metaphor for a king or kingdom, as in this song of Zacharias; for example,
the two horns of Media and Persia, the horn of the king of Grecia, the ten
horns or kingdoms, the horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake great things.
In former times, a single horn, generally of silver, fastened over the
forehead, was not an uncommon Syrian decoration of great men; but the fashion
now lingers only in the Lebanon, where on gala days the married women of rank
wear a silver horn about a foot long, fixed upright on the head, over which is
thrown the veil. I have only once seen the horn worn, though specimens have
several times been offered to me for sale by the villagers. In the vision in Habakkuk 3:4, “He had horns coming out of
His hand,” the rendering should be, as in Exodus, “ rays of light, or
lightnings, darted from His hand.” (H. B. Tristram, D.D.)
And there was the hiding
of His power.
God’s reserved power
The prayer with which this prophecy concludes is one of the most
remarkable pieces of composition ever written with pen, whether inspired or
uninspired. The imagery employed is an impassioned setting forth of God’s
majesty and beneficence as He led His people through the wilderness. The
prophet comforts himself in the assurance that the same Jehovah is the God of
Israel still The chief interest of the text lies in its concluding words--the
hiding of His power. The thought is, the Divine concealments which accompany
all Divine revelations.
I. What do the
words mean, as applied to the events he mainly has in mind? The imagery here
may have been suggested by the pillar of cloud and flame which led the host.
When God’s hand was stretched out to work some miracle of deliverance, to feed
the famishing multitude, to make rivers for them in the desert, or to smite the
foe that withstood them, a glory streamed from it wholly Divine. In the imagery
of the prophet,
these rays of glorious manifestation were as horns, so often, in the poetical
and prophetical Scriptures, used as symbols of power and sovereignty, coming
out of His hand. And yet, so far from all these great acts of God constituting
a full display of Him as He is, in reality they were but as hidings of His
power. If you study closely those manifestations of God’s goodness and power
which were then and thus made, you will see that this was so. Look at them--
1. As His providences on behalf of His people. Behind the providences
there was a grace--more mighty, more amazing than the providences: Incidents then which
seemed to intend some present deliverance, or some national restitution merely,
we find now to have meant far more. Of even the smitten rock we read, “That
Rock was Christ.” Concerning the manna, we find Christ declaring, “I am that
Bread from heaven.” And the innocent victim from the flock, brought for
sacrifice, led one, in the power of inspiration, to point to Jesus and say,
“Behold, the Lamb of God!”
II. This of which
we speak cannot be a merely arbitrary thing in God. Something in His
dispensations without an adequate Divine reason. It results partly from the
fact that in all the Divine dealings with us, it is God dealing with man. It
must be the Study of a whole eternity for man to find out God or God s doings
unto perfection. He must be full of concealments. And this applies even to the
most common events and exigencies. It is impossible that God should, at each
stage in our onward course, make us understand all things as He understands
them. God leads us blindfold. God’s concealments are not arbitrary; they are a
necessity; and while they are so, they serve, in a most Divine way, the
purposes of human instruction.
III. What is meant
here by the hiding of God’s power is the key to much of the mystery of His
dispensations, both in providence and in grace. It is easy to say that what we
see is the result of the operation of instituted laws and conditions. But this
cannot be an exhaustive theory of the universe and of man’s relation to it. The
difficulties of providence have their solution, if not in any of our expedients
for accounting for events, still in what we know of God’s infinite power and
resources. What a hiding of power it was which the world saw in Jesus;--a
wonderful manifestation indeed, yet a far more wonderful concealing, with the
great reality breaking through only as the fit occasion served. (J. A.
Smith, D. D.)
The hiding of His power
They saw marvellous light, exceeding power and magnificence; but,
after all, there was even then only a partial display. Omnipotence had not
shown itself, more was concealed than was unfolded.
I. In the realm of
nature there are hidings of God’s power. When the geologist, physiologist,
chemist, have told us all they know, we find they have left wondrous secrets
unrevealed. Concerning the world of creation there is more unknown than known.
We have not exhausted, and surely we cannot exhaust the resources of God.
II. In the revelations
of spiritual truth there are hidings of God’s power. The universe is a
revelation. But by “revelation” we understand direct knowledge of the character
and the will of God, His relation to His creatures, His purposes and work in
them, and their future destiny. Revelation, like all other things, has been
progressive. While much was given, much was withheld for the “fulness of time.”
What an enor mous difference is perceptible between the knowledge of God which
the earliest people possessed and that which shines full orbed m Jesus Christ!
And is it not still
true? Do we know all, though we know so much? Are there not fresh revelations
to come, through the power of the promised Teacher of the Church in every age?
III. In his
providences there is the hiding of His power. By Divine providence is meant the
foresight and control which God exercises over national and individual life. He
does not reveal all He has in store for us at any one moment. There are
reserves, hidings of Divine help until want presses, then the help will come,
and come in fullest measure. As individuals we do not know for what we are now
being prepared. God is educating and disciplining us by various processes. What
truths should we learn from this? Reverence; confidence; hope. (William Braden.)
God’s hidden power
Habakkuk seems to have been wonderfully impressed with a sense of
God’s majesty and power. And well he might be. We are astonished at the
exhibitions of His creative power. But there is an unseen power--an invisible
and subtle agent in the Divine arm, and in the Divine government. The Almighty
often works in disguise, in a way, at least, in which we do not at the time
recognise His hand. He often throws a thick cloud around His plans, and a mask
about His operations which even the eye of faith cannot penetrate. Behind a
screen He devises His most stupendous purposes. Look at some manifestations of
hidden power.
I. As natural and
physical forces. Illustrations in nature. Acorn. Corn grains in mummy cases.
Elements of gunpowder. Steam, or power concealed in water-drops. Electricity.
Telephone.
II. As moral and
spiritual forces. The latent power there is in the simple Gospel of Christ and
its institutions. There is power sufficient in the Gospel to evoke a spirit of
faith and Christian heroism that will lead a million martyrs to the stake. How
small and feeble in the beginning was the Church! The little mustard seed was
the fit emblem to represent it. Is not the thought of the concentration of
God’s vast
powers--His hidden resources, as they shall be developed and brought to bear
upon the Church and the world in the next century, well-nigh overwhelming? When
art, science, and philosophy shall walk hand in hand with religion, there will
be such a revealment of power as snail astonish corn men and angels. (J. L.
Harris.)
The hiding of God’s power
In this chapter we have Habakkuk’s earnest prayer for deliverance
from the foes of his people. He describes Jehovah’s revelation of Himself at
Sinai and at Gibeon as ground for believing that He will again interpose in
behalf of Israel.
I. In the works of
creation God’s omnipotence is hidden. God never makes display; in all His works
we have evidences of restrained power. In nature nothing is forced to its
utmost tension. All the objects of creation around us show marks of deliberate
wisdom and restrained strength. The fruits of the earth. The flowers of the
garden, the seasons, etc. Through all nature we see horns coming out of His
hand--rays from the central sun of His omnipotence. But with regard to
omnipotence, in all its essential grandeur, there is the “hiding of His power.”
II. In God’s
providential dealings with the race there is the hiding of His power. There are
many wrongs on earth that need righting. All things in providence proceed
according to an eternal plan. His worlds circulate, so do His providential
dealings. God’s worlds circulate quietly and without clashing; so do His
providences; issuing from the source of all harmony and light they are
gradually evolving light out of darkness, harmony out of discord, life out of
death, happiness out of grief.
III. In Christ’s
redemptive work there was the hiding of His power. Through our Saviour’s life
there was “the hiding of His power.” Two methods are used to impress people
with the idea of power. The passive method. The stock in trade of some public
speakers is the trick of appearing wise. The demonstrative method of
manifesting power is more popular. But how remarkably free from all display was
the life of Christ. The death of Christ brings out this idea very forcibly.
Lessons--
1. The hollowness of mere religious display.
2. That God has no absolute need of man’s help in forwarding the
interests of His kingdom.
3. Our need to get into sympathy with God. (Alex. Macfarlane.)
The hiding of Divine power
“It is the glory of God,” says an inspired writer, “to conceal a
thing.” “He holdeth back the face of His throne, and spreadeth a cloud upon
it.” Up to a given point all is clearness, beyond that all is mystery. It is
revelation so far, it is reservation onward. And this, not to keep our
curiosity and sense of wonder on perpetual stretch of seeking to pry into the
hidden, but out of pity to our feeble finite eyes, which would be
blinded for ever were the infinite blaze to be outpoured upon us. Concealment
is absolutely necessary:
“the holding back” is a boon. Full unfoldment would be cruel on the Divine
Side, and inevitable death on the human side. Mystery, however, is a
comparative term:
what is mystery to a child is plain to a man. What is mystery to a peasant is
intelligible and simple to a philosopher. What is mystery to a philosopher is
easy reading to the saint in glory. The finite will never outgrow mystery. The
depths of infinity, whether of power, of wisdom, or of love, can never be
sounded by any human plumb-line of thought. However vast and rich may be the
revelations given, Deity ever must be hidden in the abstract and absolute
sense. Seeing God in His works is not seeing Him in His essence; beholding Him
in His Word is not beholding Him as He is; even gazing on Him as incarnated in
His beloved and sinless Son is not to see Him in the unclouded majesty and
mystery of His Being. As the sun conceals more power than it can ever display,
so Jehovah hides more might in the abysses of His nature than He can ever show.
Bright beamings He gives apportioned to our strength of vision, but beyond that there is gracious
reservation, there is merciful “hiding.” “Power!” Habakkuk was awed and
impressed by the “horns” and “hidings” of this glorious attribute. “Once have I
heard this,” says the Psalmist, “yea, twice have I heard it that power belongeth
unto God.” A God without power--power to will, to think, to act, to create, to
conserve, to govern, to reward and punish--would be, could be no God at all.
Almightiness is an essential of Godhood, Omnipotence as well as eternity must
inhere as an attribute in a Being existing from necessity. Its evolutions are
vast, varied, minute, and majestic. In type of careering worlds and wheeling
systems Jehovah has written the language of His power on the glorious page of the
heavens. And what voluminous emblems and evidences of mightiness we have in the
world of mind, and what in the universe of truth! Next to God Himself, man
wields a power almost omnipotent; and through him Jehovah is bringing to bear
upon races, tribes, nationalities, soul-worlds, evolutions of His almightiness,
which effect magnificent reforms in mind and morals, and lead them up to
imperial heights of moral and immortal honour, holiness, and truth, or sink
them by wilful obstinacy and rebellion to depths of ruin and woe. Are storms
and earthquakes, and rolling seasons and fruitful showers, and quickening
Sunshine the result of wilful rebellious forces of caprice, or rioting powers
of accidentalism? Do they look like it? Is it in the nature of caprice to be so
unerringly regular in its freaks and doings as the revolutions of the seasons?
Could an unconscious energy--a blind force--which is only another name from the
vocabulary of scepticism for “Chance.”--could it possibly be so transcendently
wise in its exploits and infinitely clever in its achievements as the miracles
and manifestations of the power to be witnessed on the theatre of our globe? A
thousand times no! These are the workings of Omnipotence through the medium of
the material by which humanity may learn and receive constant assurance that
verily there is a God to whom power belongeth, and that despite the most
astounding manifestations thereof there still is and ever will be what the
prophet has declared, “the hiding of His power.” But, I am asked, does creation
apart from revelation afford proof that this power, the effects of which we
see, is centred in and exercised by a person? Decidedly so. I would ask,
in reply, do the effects beheld show evidences of thought, intelligence,
wisdom? “Laws” argue a lawgiver, and a lawgiver argues an intelligent, personal
being. Therefore nature does afford presumptive evidence that power, the effects of which we
see, has behind it personality--that it is wielded by an imperial will,
governed by an all-wise mind, and obedient to an infinite spirit. To supplement
nature, Jehovah has graciously given us revelation. Power uncentred in an
intelligent Personality, supposing it were possible, would be lawless, reckless,
ruinous! Power is centred in the Living God. And His presence and power in
nature is the source of all force, energy, and law, and the necessary condition
of any course of events. While omnipotence in Jehovah is one as an
attribute, nevertheless it is varied in its exertions and manifestations
according to the mediums through which it operates. Seen in creation over
matter, it is physical; in prophecy over mind, it is intellectual; in
providence over events and circumstances, it is sovereign and judicial; in
religious influences on conscience, character, life, it is moral. The seat of
power is the Will. According to the teaching of this sacred book, the
infinitude of power has been hidden in Jesus Christ. God, so to speak, has
compressed Himself into the limits of the human. Omnipotence, with every other
attribute of Divinity, has been presented in mysterious condensation in the
person of the Loges. “Christ,” says St. Paul, “is the power of God and the
wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). What
demonstrations thereof He gave when tabernacling in human form. From His look
and touch and word outbeamed the “horns,” while behind the veil of flesh were
the “hidings” of Onmipotence. The Cross is the centralisation of the highest
power--the concentrated power of love! Christianity is moral plenipotence. “The
Gospel is the power of God.” It creates not new worlds, but clean hearts. It
subdues not earthly kingdoms, but rebel wills. Yes; the world is what it is
to-day through the living revolutionising power of Christianity. “Without Jesus
Christ,” says Pascal, “the world would not even exist; for either it would have
been already destroyed, or it would have become like a hell.” Remember, it is not
the human, but the Divine through the human, which has produced such effects.
It is not the instrumentality, but the God-power through which it has wrought
such supernatural changes in all lands where it has had full and unfettered
sway. The age of physical miracles may be among the vestige of the past, but moral miracles,
perhaps, were never so plentiful and constant as to-day. This, indeed, is the
mighty power of God. The power of truth over mind, light over darkness, love
over hate, divinity over human sin, sorrow, woe. Nothing can withstand it.
What? I am not quite so sure of that. Moral power with Jehovah is powerless to
effect a moral change in man if there be no concurrence of will. Physical might
with Him is illimitable, nothing can withstand it; but moral might can only successfully
work when and where there is voluntary acquiescence on the creature-side in the
Divine will. Hence the slowness of Gospel progress of which our sceptical
enemies accuse us, far from being evidence of failure, is a glaring and
terrible illustration of man’s deep-seated depravity and stubborn unwillingness
to accept salvation. Did He proceed on the principle of coercion in the realm
of truth, human hearts and wills would bend in subjection before Him as golden
grain before the breeze; but it would be the subjection of trembling slaves,
and not the loyal, loving homage of sons. Compulsion makes serfs, but not
saints. From “the hiding of His power”--His grand reserve of forces--at His
bidding, shall yet sally forth battalions of might to accomplish His purposes
and promises of love, or execute His threatenings of wrath; for the “kingdoms
of this world” are to become “the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.” (J.
O. Keen, D. D.)
Verse 8
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?
The destruction of forests
We secure dominion over the forces of nature only through
recognition of the laws that govern them. The floods that have made so great havoc in Europe and America
this season are the natural results of violated law.
1. The forests of the hills and mountains are God’s natural check on
the overflow of streams.
2. As a nation we are guilty of violation of this law for protection
of the valleys. The plunder of the leafy wealth of the hills has been most
wanton. The penalty has been visited upon the valleys.
3. The protection must be secured through the dissemination of
knowledge upon the subject, and through the State and national law. Otherwise
the floods will augment each year until they become immeasurable calamities. (Homiletic
Review.)
Verse 9
The bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes,
even Thy Word.
--The prophet’s closing prayer is that God would, in wrath, remember mercy. For
this he is encouraged to hope by a remembrance of God’s past dealings with His
people, which he reviews in a strain of sublime eloquence, lifting up his heart
to God with devout acknowledgment of past help, he exclaims, Thy bow was made quite naked, etc.
Apply
I. To the defence
of God’s people against their enemies. There is allusion to the Eastern mode of
warfare. The bow was taken out of its case, and placed upon the string ready to
go forth on its errand of destruction against those who assailed the servants
of God.
1. The opposition of the ungodly. There has always been a wide
distinction between those who serve God, and those who serve Him not. The latter
have always set themselves in fierce antagonism against the former. But God’s
people have never wanted an avenger in God.
2. The designs of evil spirits. We have enemies in the invisible
world. One arrow from the bow of the Almighty will put to flight the hosts of
Satan.
3. The plague of our own hearts. We often carry our most dangerous
enemies within us. If we allow sin to dwell unmolested within us, we carry
about with us a combustible material. Until you get rid of these, you can have
no abiding peace. The blood of Christ can wash them all away, the fire of the
Holy Spirit can consume them all.
II. The triumph of
God’s truth over every form of error.
1. The abominations of idolatry.
2. The delusions of superstition.
3. The fallacies of human reasoning.
Intellect alone is insufficient to guide us in our search after
truth without some directing power from heaven. But the issue of conflict with
all error is certain. These things will surely be accomplished “according to
the oaths of the tribes,” that is, the covenant of God with His people,
according to His infallible Word. (W. J. Brock, B. A,)
Verse 16
And I trembled in myself.
Horror of God
I. It is an
abnormal state of mind. The benevolent character of God, and the moral
constitution of the soul are sufficient to show that it was never intended that
man should ever dread his Maker or be touched with any servile feelings in
relation to Him. Unbounded confidence, cheerful trust, loyal love, these are
the normal states of mind in relation to the Creator. How has the abnormal
state arisen? The history of the Fall shows this. “I heard Thy voice in the
garden and was afraid.”
II. It is an
unnecessary state of mind. God is not terrible. There is nothing in Him to
dread. His voice to man--
1. In all nature is, “Be not afraid.”
2. In all true philosophy. Things show benevolence of intention.
3. In all true Christianity. The Christianity of Christ reveals Him
as love, and love only.
III. It is a
pernicious state of mind. It is pernicious to the body. Horrific feeling is
inimical to physical health. But dread of God is even more pernicious to the
soul.
1. It destroys its peace.
2. It depresses its powers.
3. It distorts its view.
It is fear that has given men that Calvinian Deity which frightens
the millions away from the glorious Gospel of the blessed God. (Homilist.)
.
I trembled in myself, that
I might rest in the day of trouble.
Trembling into rest
We know things which do tremble that they may rest--the magnet,
the planet, the bird, the heart. Do not regard this text as any melancholy and
prophetic foreboding. It is a wise repression of a too vehement
self-consciousness--the assurance that our labour is not guaranteed by our present
exuberance, but by a wise and thoughtful fear. Wise fear is forethought and
safety. This prayer of Habakkuk grounds the hope of future mercy on the
remembrance of the past; it is the history of a state of humbled feeling, and a
hope from this to rest in the day of trouble.
I. The principle
of fear is excited by the sense of God. Job said, “When I consider, I am afraid
of Him.” When we think wisely and thoughtfully of God we may well tremble. It
is the dictate of natural religion.
II. There is a use
in this trembling which the Holy Spirit recognises. The apostle says, “Knowing,
therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men”; and this is ever the
effect of this. Fear not to paralyse. There is a wise and healthy trembling. We
are often shaken by undefined terrors. There seems nothing to make us afraid;
but the spirit is overwhelmed--all within us sinks. You may tremble beneath
some highly wrought sermon; but this is different to trembling beneath the
Spirit’s touch of power.
III. What is the
issue? Rest in the day of trouble. Holy fear is the guardian of the soul; it
bears us into real life, into a soothed life. This trembling is a sense of the
soul, the vision and knowledge of the soul,--it is all the soul,--it is within,
it is ourselves.
And as we tremble so we rest. Rest in the day of trouble means that a kingdom
of peace is set up in our soul (E. Paxton Hood.)
The prayer of Habakkuk
1. Unfold the maxim which these words contain. Fear, excited by the
threatenings of God, issues in “rest,” followed by the mercies of God. As a
moral proverb only this maxim is susceptible of much powerful and practical
illustration. The maxim presents itself in accordance with the whole Gospel of
Christ.
2. The use which the Holy Spirit makes of the threatenings of the Word--the
sinner is brought to tremble in himself. It was never designed that the
threatenings of the Word should seize on a man with a paralysing grasp. They
were intended to subserve the purpose of solemn and salutary warning.
Threatening preaching is not in general effective preaching. He who trembles
beneath the Spirit’s teaching, trembles in himself. It is an internal shock.
There may be no outward sign. The converted man is one who must have trembled
in himself.
3. The state into which such trembling conducts a sinner. There is a
close connection between the “ trembling” and the “resting.” Let the empire of
Satan be overthrown, and the empire of Christ is instantly set up. “The kingdom
of God is righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” And must there
not be resting then? (Henry Melvill, B. D.)
Verse 17-18
Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, etc.
United prayer for removal of temporal afflictions
We are called in a special manner to humble ourselves before God,
on account of a great national calamity--an outbreak of cattle plague. So far
as we can see, it comes directly from God. Some will say that the remedy is
proper attention to the conditions of the disease, and not humiliation or
prayer. But shall we admit the uselessness of prayer? Shall we say prayer must
be confined to spiritual things? Surely we may ask what we need, “both for the
body and the soul.” We must not ask God to alter the laws of nature, or work
miracles for our deliverance. God does not take away a plague, either from
nations or from individuals, simply because they asked Him to do so. In
relation to such a plague, human endeavour can find appropriate spheres, and
yet room be left for prayer. Our praying, and humbling ourselves before God, is
sure to do us good, if we engage in it with sincerity of heart. (G. G.
Lawrence, M. A.)
Hard times
It is easy to understand how a soul should, in poverty and great
straits, be induced to seek after God; indeed, the goad of want more frequently
drives men to Him than the enjoyment of plenty draws them. There is no doubt
that if, in times of want, either an individual or a nation desires to find
Him, and secure His help, He will hear their prayer and deliver them. We shall
never get forward until we see what Habakkuk saw--that God is our strength, and
that He will uphold us through the trial by which we shall come into the
possession of our purer blessings. No experience is so uniform among the people
of God, as that they enjoyed more of the presence of God in their trouble than
at any other time. But there is more than the experience of the nearness of God, more
than a vision of His glory and grace. There is deliverance out of our straits.
(J. P. Gledstone.)
Man facing calamity
This passage sets down the entertainment which the prophet gave to
a sad prediction. He entertains it with fear, and with faith and confidence. A
sweet combination. These are the two blessed entertainments of any threatened
judgment. A deep humiliation, and a steadfast faith and consolation.
1. The supposition. The strength and comfort of the creatures may
fail us. In their production and breeding there is a great deal of uncertainty.
And also in their use. And the very
being and substance of these natural helps, carry with it this condition, that
they are vanishing and fading. When scarcity and want come as a judgment from
God, then it is extreme and extraordinary, and beyond the course of nature.
God’s displeasure oft breaks out in this kind of judgment. God sometimes vouch
safes a special exemption to His Church and children: but the saints have their share and portion
in these calamities upon divers reasons. The privileges of God’s people are not
temporal, but spiritual. The saints are members of those societies and people
who are thus punished. The servants of God are often contributors to the common
heap of sin that brings down judgments.
2. The resolution. “Although,” forecasts the misery. “Yet,” forelays
the remedy. The piety of the prophet appears in two degrees. Here is the low
degree of the affliction,
and the high degree of the affection. He will suffer patiently and meekly. He
will not only be content with it, he will be well pleased with his condition.
He knows how even to rejoice in affliction. (Bishop Brownrigg.)
The possibilities in the life of a good man
I. The greatest
material destitution is possible to a good man. It is possible for the fig-tree
not to blossom, etc. Man lives by the fruits of the earth. They may fail from
one of two reasons.
(1) From human neglect. It is the eternal ordination of God, that
what man wants from the earth for his existence he must get from it by
labour--skilful, timely, persevering labour. They may fail
(2) From Divine visitation. The mighty Maker can, and sometimes does wither
the fruits of the earth, destroy the cattle of the fields.
II. The highest
spiritual joy is possible to a good man. “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will
joy in the God of my salvation.” “Spiritual joy,” says Caleb Morris, “is a
free, full, and overflowing stream, that takes its rise in the very depth of
the Divine Essence, in the immutability, perfection, abundance, munificence of
the Divine nature. While there is a God, and that God is happy, there is no necessity
that there should be any unhappy Christians.” What is it to “joy in God”?
1. It is the joy of the highest contemplation. The joys of
contemplation are amongst the most pure and elevating which intelligent
creatures can experience. These rise in the character according to their
subjects. The highest subject is God, His attributes and works.
2. It is the joy of the most elevating friendship. The joys of
friendship are amongst the chief joys of earth; but the joys of friendship
depend upon the purity, depth, constancy, reciprocity of love; and friendship
with God secures all this in the highest degree.
3. It is the joy of the sublimest admiration. Whatever the mind
admires it enjoys, and enjoys in proportion to its admiration, whether it be a
landscape or a painting. Moral admiration is enjoyment of the highest kind, and
this in proportion to the grandness
of the character. Admiration of Divine excellence is the sublimest joy. “I will
joy in God.”
III. The highest
spiritual joy in the midst of the greatest material destitution is possible to
a good man. “Although” every material blessing is gone, “I will rejoice.” Good
men have always been enabled to do so. Like Paul they have “gloried in
tribulation,” etc. All things have been theirs. In material destitution they
felt--
1. In God they had strength. “The Lord God is my strength.” “As thy
day, so shall thy strength be.”
2. In God they had swiftness. “He will make my feet like hinds’
feet.” The reference is here perhaps to the swiftness with which God would enable
him to flee from the dangers which were overtaking his country. It is, however,
a universal truth, that God gives to a good man a holy alacrity in duty. Duty
to him is not a clog or a burden, but a delight.
3. In God they had elevation. “He will make me to walk upon mine high
places.” “They that wait upon God shall renew their strength, and shall mount
as on the wings of eagles,” etc. (Homilist.)
Habakkuk’s faith
I. The apprehension
of great suffering any want. Our apprehensions concerning the future are of a
totally different character to the prophet’s. Ours are not national, but
personal and relative afflictions.
II. The expression
on the prophet’s confidence and joy. Here is a very wonderful exhibition of a
devout and holy character. This language of hope and joy is a striking contrast
to three things--
1. The language and conduct of idolaters.
2. The low, dull, heavy feeling of the man who does not believe in
the providential government of God.
3. The faint and feeble feelings of confidence in God which
distinguish many real Christians. (W. O. Barrett.)
On the influence of religion under privations and afflictions
We may learn that nothing should withdraw us from our trust in God
and the consolations of His Divine Word.
I. Cherish a
proper sense of the Divine providence and our own dependent state. Perfect and
unbounded confidence in God, in the wisdom, power, and mercy of God, must be
the ground of all our religious hope.
II. Admire the
cheerful homage of the prophet, and consider some of the practical uses of
adversity.
1. Consider it as opening to us a new field of virtue and of
knowledge.
2. As effectually curing the insolence of pride and the follies of
prosperity.
3. As proving the sincerity of some, and laying bare the treachery
and baseness of others.
4. As teaching us to estimate, as we ought, the many blessings which
the Divine love has showered upon us. (J. Hewlett, B. D.)
The great calamity
I. The Divine rule
is to make an abundant provision for man’s physical wants. The Great Creator
gives him the fig tree, the vine, the olive, the fields, the flock, and the
herd. Observe--
1. The vastness of God’s wealth.
2. His supreme regard for man’s comfort.
II. The good man
recognises the possibility of a total failure in this provision. “Although the fig
tree,” etc. Such a failure is fearful to contemplate.
III. That in the
very face of this great calamity the good man triumphantly confides in God.
“Yet will I rejoice in the Lord.” The wisdom of this conduct is seen in two
things--
1. In the Divine immutability.
2. Great calamities afford scope for the development of great principles.
Trials, if very heavy, kill little men, but make great ones. Just
as an Altantic billow bears the reeling ship aloft, so does the mighty wave of
trouble lift to notice a true son of God. Trials strengthen and develop love
and faith.
IV. That this
sublime confidence is exercised by the good man because he has experienced a
great deliverance. “I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
1. This is a deliverance from the greatest evil.
2. This is a deliverance to the possession of the greatest good.
This man has in him the elements of immortality. He is a King’s
son, and an heir of heaven. Heaven is his future residence, and the universe
his estate. (Homilist.)
A daring faith
I. A mournful
supposition. Every sentence in this verse is pitched in the minor key. Every
symbol is fringed with mourning.
1. The prophet supposes a condition in which he is deprived of the
common luxuries of life. The Jews were a favoured people. God had made special
provision for their welfare. But the prophet foresaw that He who gave these
possessions could take them away. All the agencies of nature and providence
were in God’s hand.
2. The prophet supposes a condition in which he will be deprived of
the common necessaries of life. Some of the fruits of the earth are for
enjoyment, and others for our support. We can do without the former, we cannot
do without the latter. The prophet supposes a time when not only the luxuries
but the necessaries of life might fail, when the tree should be without fruit,
the fields without pasture, and the stalls without herd. It is foolish to brood
over imaginary troubles, and to magnify the evils of life. Fear not only
weakens our strength, but it intensifies our misery. But it is wise to consider
how uncertain all material possessions are, and to fortify the heart against
the probable calamities that may overtake us.
II. A cheerful
resolution. “I will rejoice in God.” How could there be inward joy amidst so
much outward sorrow?
1. This was a Divine joy. “Rejoice in God.” There is a great
difference between a human and a Divine joy. One arises from without, but the
other from within; one comes from the creature, the other from the Creator. If
our joy depended upon our wealth, it might fail; if upon our friends, it might
change; if upon our health, it might be broken. But it depends upon God, and we
know that “He will supply all our need according to His riches in glory,
through Jesus Christ.”
2. This was an experimental joy. It refers to the present, and
includes forgiveness, fellowship, and expectation.
III. A delightful
expectation. “The Lord God is my strength.” That is experience. “He will make
my feet like hinds’ feet.” That is expectancy. The Christian life is both a
service and a hope; an experience and an expectation. (J. T. Woodhouse.)
Faith triumphant in the day of calamity
The text exhibits a season of peculiar distress, and the exercise
of a gracious heart in the time of calamity.
I. A season of
peculiar distress.
1. Such seasons are effected by the hand of God. He is not a mere
spectator, He is the great agent in bringing these things to pass.
2. Such seasons are the consequence of man’s sin. Sin introduced this
and every other misery.
3. Such seasons are designed by Infinite Wisdom to answer some
important end. To manifest His absolute right over all creatures and things. He
claims them all as His own. And He makes it manifest that they are His own, by
taking them away at His pleasure. To convince us of our entire dependence upon
Him for all our temporal enjoyments. Without the Divine blessing, all men do is
ineffectual. To prove to us that earthly comforts are uncertain and perishing.
The design of God, in bestowing temporal benefits, is to help us through life,
not to make us too much in love with it. To lead us to the exercise of
gratitude, when temporal blessings abound, and for the exercise of Christian
graces in the hearts of His people. Now is the trial of their faith, patience,
and resignation.
II. The exercise of
a gracious heart in times of calamity.
1. Gracious souls have a source of joy, when those of the ungodly are
all dried up.
2. This rejoicing in God, in the midst of calamity, is the fruit of
our Divine faith. If the promises were not believed, the soul would not
rejoice.
3. It is a view of the gracious character of God, as a Saviour, that
causes the sinner to rejoice in Him. Improvements--
(1) God can as easily take away the whole of our possessions as part
of them.
(2) You will continue strangers to true happiness, while you remain
strangers to the spirit of the prophet.
(3) In such seasons beware now you endeavour to add to your own
enjoyments at the expense of any others’ comfort.
(4) Let the oppressed poor remember to whom vengeance belongeth.
(5) If you can rejoice in God, you shall soon be in a country where
neither famine nor scarcity can ever be experienced. (T. Hannam.)
The triumph of piety over adversity
Pleasure and pain are the alternate companions of every man
through the journey of life. Surrounded by uncertainty, prudence would suggest
the propriety of being prepared for calamities which cannot be avoided, so as
to contemplate them without alarm, and to bear them with becoming fortitude.
Religion proposes no exemption from sorrow, but promises that support under the
troubles of life, which reconciles the mind to every event. The prophet’s
anticipation of evils proceeded not from a melancholy disposition, but was
intimated to him by the sins of the People,--the complexion of the times,--and
above all, by the Holy Spirit, which dwelt in him.
I. The exposition
of the text. He supposes, in the first instance, the fig-tree to fail in its
accustomed produce. The failure of the vines is the next calamity. Then the
usual supply of the oil-olive trees is cut off. Then the “fields may yield no
meat,” and as a consequence, the “flocks may be cut off from the field.”
Merciful God! In the midst of distress like this, where shall the wretched
flee? The prophet’s ardent soul breathed the trustful language of our text.
II. Reflections
suggested. The text reminds us of the uncertainty of temporal enjoyments, and
of the peculiar felicity of a good man. The text reminds us of the insecurity
of our temporal enjoyments, as it respects the produce of the earth. It is the
privilege of good men not to be wholly dependent for happiness upon temporal
things. Joy in God is the peculiar and the supreme delight of a pious mind. Let
us learn that it is of unspeakable importance that we stand prepared for trials
which cannot be avoided. (S. Lowell.)
Joy in the face of adversity
I. The object of
our joy. Our God in whom we rejoice. He is Lord. Jehovah is both His name and
His description. He is “God of salvation.” He is the God of my salvation. Our
joy is spiritual joy; it comprehends in its object the characters and offices
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in the administration of
redemption. The essence of this joy is complacency in its object. The joy is
nourished and increased by the Spirit, with scriptural discoveries of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And joy in the Lord God of our salvation
hath little in it which is vehement, but much that is operative and practical.
II. Forming
resolutions to abound in this joy. Such resolutions have been formed. Such
resolutions may be formed. Such resolutions should be formed. They are always
formed under spiritual influence. Bold professions are founded on the revealed
glory of God’s faithfulness and all-sufficiency, He is the Almighty God, and
His faithfulness is engaged to support the people of His love and care. These
bold resolutions look out of countenance all the evils that would intimidate
and shake the confidence of God’s people. Of these bold resolutions we have
some eminent and illustrious scriptural examples. Such resolutions are neither
formed nor executed without a conflict. Then suffer the word of exhortation. Be
not surprised that the word is, “Rejoice evermore.” Nothing in the subject
should hinder our joy. And the honour of our profession calleth us to rejoice.
Attend to the following instructions--
1. Be well assured of the solidity of the foundation on which the
joys of faith are built.
2. Seek to attain clearness concerning your interest in the God of
salvation, through union with Christ in effectual calling.
3. Be followers of that which is good.
4. Look to the Lord in the administration of providence, and submit
to His will manifested in it. (A. Shanks.)
Rejoicing in God
Mr. Garrett preached again in the afternoon. The text was Psalms 128:12. Again the preacher drew
several lifelike pictures. He took his hearers to the mansion of the rich, to
the study of the learned, and to the palace of royalty, in search of true
happiness, but found it not. Then we were conducted to a little straw-thatched
cottage, the lowly home of a humble Christian toiler, who had a sick wife and
child and no work
to do. As we approached it, the preacher paused and cried, “Hark! he is
singing. What is it?” Just before we reached the cottage door, the preacher
again cried, “Hark!” We listened, and heard the verse beginning, “I’ll praise
my Maker while I’ve breath.” The effect was simply overpowering. (Memoir of
Rev. C. Garrett.)
Constant joy
Bishop Tucker, on the occasion of his recent visit to Tore,
ordained a native of Uganda who has worked for five years on the edge of the
great pigmy forest. “This remarkable man,” says the bishop, “has been beaten,
imprisoned, put in the chain gang, had his house-burnt down, and all his
property destroyed; and yet he has borne it all with a smile upon his face and
a song upon his lips!” Opalescent men: In ancient times, before men learned to cut
the diamond, the opal was the most fashionable stone, most highly prized, and
most costly. There are not lacking men in modern times who still hold to this
ancient estimate of that beautiful stone. No jewel, in all the range of
precious stones, displays a finer range of splendid colours--the brightest
tints of the rainbow, softened as if seen through a silver haze. As you look at it from
different angles, or as you turn the stone, there come glimpses of the richest
azure, the deepest emerald, the most fiery ruby, yet all of them mellowed by
the opal’s own charm, and very different from the dazzling brilliancy of the
diamond and sapphire. Whence comes this beautiful play of colour that takes its
name from the opal, and is called “opalescence”? It is not in the stone. Hold
the opal up to the light, and it has nothing but a yellowish tinge. Besides,
the colours shift and vary, as the stone is changed in position. Let me tell
you the secret of the opal s beauty. The stone is filled with fissures--minute
rifts in its substance, too small to be seen by the eye, yet not too fine to be
seen by the light. These fissures catch up the light, beat it back and forth
between their sides, and break it up into its constituent colours, very much as
a prism would do. And so the stone, out of what might seem to be a flaw or
blemish, draws its wonderful crown of beauty. Have you ever seen opalescent men
and women? They are all around you, shining with loveliness in many a Christian
home. They are men and women whose lives are fissured with poverty, seamed with
sickness, cleft with some deformity, shattered by blindness, or deafness, or
ugliness; and yet these opalescent Christians make the very shattering of their
body, and the flaws in their fortune, a trap for God’s sunlight They catch in
these clefts of misfortune the rays that come from heaven. They toss them back
and forth and from side to side of their seamed and fissured lives, and lo! we
see them glowing with a beauty far more wonderful than any opal of earth, or
any rainbow of heaven. (Amos B. Walls.)
Satisfied with the best
“I was going down town in a car, one day,” says a New York
merchant, “when I heard somebody cry out, ‘Hallo, Mr. Conductor, please stop
your car a moment; I can’t run very fast.’ The car stopped, and presently there
hobbled into it a little lame boy, about ten or twelve years old. His face told
such a tale of suffering, and yet he was bright and cheerful. He put his crutch
behind him, and placing his leg in an easier position, he began to look round.
A happy smile played over his pale face, he had seemed to take notice of everything.
Presently I got a seat next to him, and had a little talk with him. I found
that he knew and loved the Saviour, and it was this which made him so contented
and cheerful. He told me that the doctor said his leg would never be any
better. ‘Well, my dear boy, I said, how can you be so happy and cheerful?’ His
reply was, ‘Jesus, my Saviour, has sent this trial for me to bear. Father tells
me He would not have sent it, unless He knew it would be best for me. And don’t
you think, sir, that I ought to be satisfied with the best?’ When I said
good-bye to the boy, I thanked him for the lesson he had taught me, which I
shall never forget.”
Yet I will rejoice in the
Lord.
Joy in being in God’s hands
The prophet teaches us what advantage it is to the faithful assembly,
seasonably to submit to God, and to entertain serious fear when He threatens
them, and when He summonses them to judgment: and he shows that, though they
may perish a
hundred times, they yet would not perish, for the Lord would ever supply them
with occasions of joy, and would also cherish this joy within, so as to enable
them to rise above all their adversities. Though the land was threatened with
famine, and though no food would be supplied to them, they would yet be able
always to rejoice in the God of their salvation; for they would know Him to be
their Father, though for a time He severely chastised them. We now perceive
more clearly, that the sorrow produced by the sense of our guilt is recommended
to us on account of its advantage:
for nothing is worse than to provoke God’s wrath to destroy us; and nothing is
better than to anticipate it, so that the Lord Himself may comfort us. We shall
not always escape, for He may apparently treat us with severity; but though we
may not be exempt from punishment, He will give us reasons to rejoice; and then
in His own time, He will mitigate His severity, and by the effects will show
Himself propitious to us. During the time when want or famine, or any other
affliction is to be borne, He will render us joyful with this one consolation,
for relying on His promises, we shall look for Him as the God of our salvation.
We may hence gather a most useful lesson,--That whenever signs of God’s wrath
meet us in outward things, this remedy remains to us,--to consider what God is
to us inwardly; for the inward
joy, which faith brings to us, can overcome all fears, terrors, sorrows, and
anxieties. (John Calvin.)
Religion the secret of contentment
There is nothing here of the exuberance of Oriental imagination.
It is absolute matter of fact, capable of being proved by countless witnesses.
Various lessons are to be drawn from it, but the most valuable of all for these
times is the overwhelming testimony borne by it to the religious nature of man,
and to the high degree of probability of the existence of a God of love who can
inspire such absolute trust in Himself under the most crushing temporal
misfortune. It places the efforts to uproot all faith in God in the light of an
inexpressible folly, not to say of a flagrant crime. Is it not folly to take
away from any man the power by which he becomes able to behave in a more manly
way than he could have done without it? Viewed even from atheistic ground,
mankind at large are all the better for the calm and resigned behaviour of
those who suffer adversity. We go further, and say, it verges closely on
criminal blindness to the interests of humanity to proclaim an atheism which,
if accepted, would leave the souls of the afflicted absolutely without anything
to cling to, without consolation, without hope; worse still, to deprive them of
that conviction by which all the nobler part of their nature is sustained and
called into vigorous exercise. How shall we bear the storm of adversity when it
breaks upon us? Shall we prove our sovereignty over things of time and sense,
or shall we disclose our shame in exhibiting ourselves as their slaves? The
alternative depends upon what is the ground of our daily hopes. Not in Stoicism
is to be found the normal type of manliness under adversity. Contentment is a
virtue of soul which, when healthy, exercises itself in various ways. A great
deal of so-called contentment is nothing more than physical indifference or
mental inactivity. Habit is the parent of such contentment, and where the
habits have been always moderate and temperate, contentment with a small
portion is easy and natural. But the virtue of contentment is something much
higher than this. Virtue is always active; when it is passive it ceases to be
virtue, and becomes only an admirable quality, or enviable habit. Contentment,
to be virtuous, must spring from opposition to our wills and desires, can only
exist in circumstances which are trying and painful. It is our task to show how
certain virtues can best be attained by those who are deficient in them, to
point out by what spiritual forces the native weakness of our nature may be
justified, and what relation true religious faith bears to the necessities of
our lot, and the exigencies of our moral character. I would show, if I could,
whence the blessed springs of virtue can be drawn; to whom we may look for the
light and warmth needful for its birth and fertility. If a discontented man
would fain possess the virtue of contentment, he will never get it by altering
the conditions of his lot, but by the elevation of his soul above them, by
finding, in a will higher than his own, complete and boundless satisfaction.
This virtue is largely begotten and cultured by faith in the living God. But
what is this faith in the living God? It is not merely the assent of our
intellect to certain propositions about God, though it must be such as the
reason entirely endorses. First, it implies the possession of a soul which
cannot be satisfied with earthly good or animal pleasure. He who believes in God hab
a life of conscious existence, of hopes, and fears, and appetites, which find
activity and satisfaction in a purely spiritual region of its own. To such a
soul God is not less a reality than the earth on which the body treads, or the
sun shining in the heavens. Out of this conscious communion with God grow two
important constituents of faith--perfect acquiescence in the Divine will, and a
supreme desire to obey its behests. The former of these is the essence of
contentment. It differs by a whole heaven from the contentment of the fatalist.
No supreme power has a right to demand the assent of man to wrongs and injuries
which are the result of blind chance, or inflicted by caprice, still less to
wrongs which will not issue in final good. But how different must be the feeling
and conduct of man, when the power which seems to crush him is invested with
all the attributes of justice and fatherly love. He promptly surrenders,
because he knows, at least, that there is a higher wisdom than his own which
guides the forces of pain and destruction; more perfect goodness than his own
is the cause of misfortune, and best of all, that a love infinite in its
benevolence, is the impulse from which every motion in the universe has sprung.
This is faith; to see what is invisible to the senses, or to the immature mind.
God does not wish us to bear a single sorrow that we can by righteous means
avert; all He asks is that we will trust in His wisdom and greater love when
trouble comes which we cannot prevent. And if faith consoles us, still more
does it purify and refine us. (Charles Foysey.)
Joy in God
Worldly men do not rejoice in God.
I. Joy in God is
well grounded.
1. Because it is a joy in God considered as the God of salvation. If
a man were found joying in an absolute God, he might well be esteemed foolish;
for he would be rejoicing in the contemplation of a strong and irresistible
enemy. It is in the God of salvation that the believer greatly rejoices. There
is the best of all reasons for holy satisfaction. He perceives in Him justice satisfied,
and truth magnified; he discerns that, instead of fury, there is overflowing
love, and mercy to pardon all his transgressions; he sees in Him omnipotent
power, not armed for his perdition, but engaged to preserve his soul through
faith unto salvation; he beholds eternal faithfulness to be to him a shield and
buckler; he perceives also, that God is omniscient to see all the dangers which
may threaten him, and all-powerful to protect in every case. Who is the God of
salvation? The Triune God, the one God subsisting in three persons.
2. Joy in God is well grounded, because God is on the side of the
believer. This was not always the case. Since he has been justified by the
blood of Jesus, there is no longer any condemnation for him. If God acquits,
who shall condemn? If God defends, who can injure?
3. Joy in God is well grounded, because of what God has done for the
believer. Do we not delight in a deliverer? Here is an unspeakably great
Deliverer; and has He been so at little expense? Following the great
deliverance are many lesser deliverances; both temporal and spiritual.
4. Joy in God is well grounded, because of what God is now doing for
the believer. Do we not rejoice in a healer?
5. Joy in God is well grounded, because of what God will yet do for
His people. He will make all things work together for their good.
6. Joy is well grounded, on account of what God has provided for the
believer, and on account of what He/8 to the believer. He has righteousness in
Him, and also strength, counsel, provision, and promises. And He is the portion
of the believer; a sure portion; an enduring portion; a never-falling portion;
an unchangeable portion; and a satisfying portion.
II. To point out
some properties of joy in God.
1. It is a supernatural joy. It springs not from the world, but is
derived from above.
2. It is a real joy. Earthly joys have no substance. They cause a
momentary flow of spirits, but they only skim the surface of the heart, and do
not take full possession of it. There are degrees in the Christian’s joy.
3. It is a joy which this world can neither give nor take away.
4. It is a joy which is unspeakable and full of glory.
5. It is an everlasting joy. In consideration of the nature and
grounds of joy in God, we invite believers to lift up the hands that hang down.
Be not cast down on account of the trials of life. (A. Ross, M. A.)
Religious joy surmounting temporal adversity
That the world is insufficient for our happiness, who does not
confess, or, at least, who does not feel? The insufficiency of external objects
to furnish the soul with rational fruition or exercise, is demonstrated in the
disappointment of those who have made the acquisition of those objects the
chief study of their lives. Were they ever content? Things earthly are too
fluctuating to be built on with assurance. They want stability, and leave those
who rely on them, in a little while, destitute and spoiled of peace. The
Christian has something more solid and unchanging on which his soul reposes.
Let none imagine that these sentiments were peculiar to Habakkuk, or may be
entertained only by an eminent few among the saints; by prophets, apostles, or
men favoured with special distinctions from above; for there is not a
reconciled sinner at this day upon earth, who, in the exercise of faith, love,
and hope, may not and will not cherish and express sentiments essentially similar. Ye
on earth who have known the Lord, fail not to exercise your souls in the same
way as the prophet. (J. Sieveright, A. M.)
Joy amidst earthly sorrow
The sentiment is--That no extremity of earthly sorrow
should prevent the Christian rejoicing in the God of his salvation.
1. There is implied in the adoption of this truth, a firm belief in
the superintending providence of God. Could we set aside the doctrine of a particular
providence, the circumstances of life would change their character. Affliction
would double her sorrows, and prosperity lose half her joys.
2. There is also implied a well-founded hope of interest in the God
of salvation.
The doctrine of providence would be a poor substitute to perishing
sinners for the grace of the Gospel. Why should the Christian rejoice in God
under affliction? It is not necessary to rob the world of any of its beauty, or
to disparage the happiness it is capable of communicating. But it is the nature
of riches to take to themselves wings and flee away.
1. Consider the sanctifying tendency of afflictions. Sometimes they
are sent for the purposes of trial; to prove the integrity of our principles,
and to bring into exercise our latent virtues. But for the most part
afflictions are corrective, and not for purposes of discipline. They are either
to preserve or to extricate you from danger.
2. Affliction does not injuriously affect our best interests. We live
for a higher and nobler object than worldly wealth.
3. The Christian may rejoice because he knows his afflictions will
have a happy issue. The transitory character of suffering is powerfully
calculated to sustain the mind under it.
4. In every conceivable extremity of woe, God is an all-sufficient
portion. The enjoyment of God will constitute the happiness of heaven.
5. The joy of the Christian in the season of affliction is the fruit
of the Saviour’s mediation. It was in the God of salvation that Habakkuk
rejoiced. It is only in this character that He is an object of confidence and
joy to us. The mediation of Christ is the ground of our hope towards God. But
for His interposition, afflictions would have been unmixed evils. They would
have possessed no ingredient of mercy, nor given any indication of kindness. (S.
Summers.)
Spiritual joy
Spiritual joy does not consist in mere placidity; it is not like
the water, which in fertilising showers descends, and does not depend on our
volition or agency; but it is like the water we draw from the well, there must
be activity and labour. There can be no happiness without thought. Habakkuk
thought of God, of His nature, His moral perfections, His covenant, His
promise; he not only thought of God generally, but in the particular relation
which He sustained to him. “I will joy in the God of my salvation.” I
understand Him in some measure, I feel an interest in Him and He in me. The
mere fact of the existence or benevolence of God cannot make any creature
happy; it is the conviction, the intelligent, deeply rooted, legitimate
conclusion that He is our God, can produce joy. This was the case with
Habakkuk, and must be so with every true believer.
I. True religion (i.e.,
its doctrines, prospects, emotions)
does impart joy. Because--
1. True religion gives decision to the mind. Indecision or
dubiousness is always painful, and painful in exact correspondence to the value
of the object to which it refers.
2. True religion imparts true liberty to the mind. While bodily
bondage is a great evil, spiritual bondage is greater; religion alone imparts
to man the charter of freedom--the moment man receives true freedom he is
happy, and not before.
(1) Freedom from eternal punishment. When we are brought under the
influence of religion, we are led first to perceive our liability to it, and
then to accept of deliverance through Christ.
(2) Freedom from the government of depravity. The moment a man feels
that he is dependent for happiness upon God, he feels desirous to know, love,
and please that Being.
(3) Freedom from the evils of affliction. Afflictions in themselves
are evil, they make a man morose, unkind, bitter, despairing,, devilish: it is only when
applied by God that they become useful to the believer s mind.
3. True religion imparts exercise and expectation to the mind. In
order to be happy, there must be a right end in view--the glory of God; proper
rule to guide--the Bible; and right motives to actuate--love to God and love to
men.
II. The nature of
this joy.
1. It is always pure. When does the soul experience it! Only when it
is pure. This is a question not only of facts but of degrees; not only the pure
mind can be happy, but it is happy in exact proportion to its purity. When is
it enjoyed? When the soul is raised to contemplate holy objects.
2. It is personal and progressive. It is secret, “I will rejoice in
the Lord”; and when seen, seen only in its effects. (Caleb Morris.)
Rejoicing in God
The language is that of faith, hope, patience, and fortitude.
I. The nature of
the Christian’s joy.
1. It is spiritual. Arising from saving knowledge of God: from pardon: from adoption: from the habitual
indwelling of the Holy Ghost.
2. It is satisfying. The Almighty is suited to our capacities;
adequate to our necessity; durable as our existence.
II. The object of
the Christian’s rejoicing.
1. In the perfection of His nature, we rejoice in God.
2. In His works of creation, providence, and grace.
3. In His Word.
4. In His ordinances.
III. The particular
seasons when a true Christian can rejoice in the Lord.
1. In seasons of poverty.
2. In seasons of persecution.
3. In seasons of national commotion.
4. In the season of death. (Homilist.)
The prophet’s joy
1. The sombre background from which the joy of the prophet sprang.
2. The sublime height to which the joy of the prophet leaped.
Habakkuk supposes the loss of all things, and yet he had unwavering faith in
God, and supreme love to God.
(1) We may rejoice in the works of God’s hand.
(2) In the bounties of
His providence.
(3) In the amenities of society.
But the highest joy we can know is to “joy in the Lord.” His
loving-kindness is better than life. (Homilist.)
Christian rejoicing
1. The conditions. “Yet.” In spite of what Habakkuk 3:17 describes--apparent failure
of our efforts for God, or apparent desolation of His cause around us. Deep
reality of such trials. Success is to be sought and prayed for; we are not to
ask for the discipline of failure. But it may come, and in one degree or
another it will, in every deep Christian experience, whether as personal
failure or as a sense of surrounding failure. On its external side the Lord
Jesus Christ’s work partook of the pain of failure.
2. The resolve. “I will rejoice in the Lord.” The will is called up. Believers
“will to do His will” only by His special grace preventing them; but they do
really will, the act of willing is their own. We must not sit down passive, and
wait for a sensible impulse. It will come through our own will when it comes.
Let us, in this spirit, cultivate the habit of holy resolves, as well as holy
desires. It is the joy of personal appropriation, of objective pardon and
peace--“my salvation.” Comp. Micah 7:7 for a rich parallel. The soul,
outwardly tried and tired, goes to Him who is “my hiding-place,” and there is
“compassed about with songs of deliverance” (Psalms 32:7).
3. The result. Not selfish sloth. Some say personal enjoyment of
present salvation is selfish.” On the contrary, it is the spring of deepest
sympathy with souls, and of love-animated efforts for them. Personal joy
compels affectionate work. (Handley C. G. Moule, M. A.)
Cheerful spirits
A woman who had had many sorrows and heavy burdens to bear, but
who was noted for her cheerful spirits, once said in explanation: “You know, I have had
no money. I had nothing I could give but myself, and so I made the resolution
that I would never sadden anyone else with my troubles. I have laughed and told
jokes when I could have wept. I have always smiled in the face of every
misfortune. I have tried never to let anyone go from my presence without a
happy word or a bright thought to carry with them. And happiness makes
happiness. I myself am happier than I would have been had I sat down and bemoaned my fate.”
Cheerfulness:--Cheerfulness
is a duty we owe to others. There is an old tradition that a cup of gold is to
be found wherever a rainbow touches the earth, and there are some people whose
smile, the sound of whose voice, whose very presence, seems like a ray of
sunshine, to turn everything they touch into gold. Men never break down as long
as they can keep cheerful. “A merry heart is a continual feast to others
besides itself.” The shadow of Florence Nightingale cured more than her
medicines; and if we share the burdens of others, we lighten our own. (Sir
John Lubbock.)
Verse 19
The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds’
feet.
Strength, buoyancy, devotion
The expressions are of a highly metaphorical and imaginative
character, but they admit of being brought down to very plain facts, and they
tell us the results in heart and mind of true faith and communion with God. It
is to be noticed that a parallel saying, almost verbatim, the same is that of
my text, occurs in the 18th Psalm. I note that the three clauses of our text present three aspects of
what our lives and ourselves may steadfastly be if we, too, will rejoice in the
God of our salvation. First, such communion with God brings--
I. God to a man
for his strength. The 18th Psalm gives a somewhat different and inferior
version of that thought when it says, “It is the Lord that girdeth me with
strength.” But Habakkuk, though perhaps he could not have put into dogmatic
shape all that he meant, had come further than that, “The Lord is my
strength.” He not only gives, as one might put a coin into the hand of a
beggar, while standing separate from him all the while, but “the Lord is my
strength.” And what does that mean? It is an anticipation of that most
wonderful and highest of all the New Testament truths which the Apostle
declared when he said:
“I can do all things in Christ which strengtheneth me within.” “My grace is
sufficient for thee, and My strength is made perfect in weakness. Ah! do not
let us deprive ourselves of the lofty consolations and the mysterious influx of
power which may be ours. That is the first blessing that this ancient believer,
out of the twilight of early revelation, felt as certain to come through
communion with God. The second is like unto it. Such rejoicing communion with
God will give--
II. Light-footedness
in the path of life. “He makes my feet like hinds’ feet.” The stag, in all
languages spoken by people that have ever seen it, is the very emblem of
elastic, springing ease, of light and bounding gracefulness, that clears every
obstacle, and sweeps swiftly over the moor. And when this singer, or his
brother psalmist in the other psalm that we have referred to, says “Thou makest
my feet like hinds’ feet,” what he is thinking about is that fight and easy,
springing, elastic gait, that swiftness of advance. What a contrast that is to
the way in which most of us get through our day’s work! The monotony of
trivial, constantly recurring doings, the fluctuations in the thermometer of
our own spirits; the stiff bits of road that we have all to encounter sooner or
later; and, as days go on, the diminishing buoyancy of nature, and the love of
walking a little slower than we used to do; we all know these things, and our
gait is affected by them. It is the same thought, under a somewhat different
garb, which the apostle has when he tells us that the Christian soldier ought
to have his “feet shod with the alacrity that comes from the Gospel of
peace.” We are to be always ready to run, and to run with light hearts when we
do. That is a possible result of Christian communion, and ought, far more than
it is, to be an achieved reality with each of us. Of course, physical
conditions vary. Of course, our spirits go up and down. Of course, the work
that we have to do one day seems easier than the same work does another. Unless
that is true, that Christianity gives to a man the Divine gladness which makes
him ready for work, I do not know what is the good of his Christianity to him.
But not only is that so, but this same communion with God, which is the opening
of the heart for the influx of the Divine power, brings to bear upon all our
work new motives
which redeem it from being oppressive, tedious, monotonous, trivial, too much
for our endurance, or too little for our effort. All work that is not done in
fellowship with Jesus Christ tends to become either too heavy to be tackled
successfully, or too trivial to demand our best energies; and in either case
will be done perfunctorily, and, as the days go on, mechanically and
wearisomely, as a grind and a plod. If we live in daily communion with God,
another thought, too, will come in, which will, in like manner, make us ready
to run with “cheerfulness” the race that is set before us. We shall connect
everything that befalls us, and everything that we have to do, with the final
issue, and life will become solemn, grave, and blessed, because it is the outer
court and vestibule of the eternal life with God in Christ. The last of the
thoughts here is, communion with God brings--
III. Elevation. “He
will make me to walk upon my high places.” One sees the herd on the skyline of
the mountain ridge, and at home up there, far above dangers and attack; able to
keep their footing on cliff and precipice, and tossing their antlers in the
pure air. One wave of the hand, and they are miles away. “He sets me
upon my high places.” Communion with God does not, only help us to plod and to
travel, but it helps us to soar. If we keep ourselves in touch with Him we
shall be like a weight that is hung on to a balloon. The buoyancy of the one
will lift the leadenness of the other. Are you and I familiar with these upper
ranges of thought and experience and life? Do we feel at home there more than
down in the bottom, amongst the swamps and the miasma and the mists? It is safe
up there. The air is pure; the poison mists are down lower; the hunters do not
come there; their arrows or their rifles will not carry so far. It is only when
the herd ventures a little down the hill that it is in danger from shots. But
the elevation will not be such aa to make us despise the low paths on which
duty--the sufficient and loftiest thing of all--lies for us. Our souls may be
like stars, and dwell apart, and yet may lay the humblest duties upon
themselves, and whilst we live in the high places, we “may travel on life’s
common way in cheerful godliness.” So we may go on until at last we shall hear
the Voice that says, “Come up higher,” and shall be lifted to the mountain of
God, where the living waters are, and shall fear no snares or hunters any more
for ever. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
And will make me to walk
upon mine high places.
High places
“High places” are
the best things in life and experience. They lift a man up to God.
I. High places of
vision. On a mountain we see more clearly. There are seasons when we get clear
views of Divine truth, when they appear in a new glory. True, the revelation is
made,--it is all in the book. But so the landscape exists. Yet unless your feet
ascend the high places it is as though it were not there. So the revelation is
in the book, but you must get up the mount of vision to see it.
II. The high places
of faith. On “high places” we see things farthest, and so the mount of faith.
Not only is there nothing between you and the distant object, but through a
rarefied atmosphere there is the least possible obstruction. Moses on the
heights of Pisgah saw the goodly land of promise spread out before him. It is a
beautiful type of faith, Gazing upon the land which lies across the “narrow
stream,” a man may take out his title-deeds and contemplate his possessions.
III. The high places
of enjoyment. In “high places” men breathe more freely, so pure and
exhilarating is the rarefied air. So it is with the soul. Drink in the
quickening, inspiring influence of the Spirit. “Yield yourselves to God.” “If
you live in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit.” Be spiritually minded.
IV. The high places
of exertion. On the heights a man can do more than on the low places of
ordinary life. This is an image of spiritual life. God makes a man’s feet like
“hinds’ feet”; that is, He makes the heavy, sluggish mortal into a light active
being. To reach these heights we must climb. God will lead, but we must walk.
If we would be great or high we must bear in mind they must depend on our own
labour. (Homilist.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》