It has the title Prayer of Habakkuk but it is also a song and that's made clear in the verse 1 where it speaks at the end of the verse upon Shigonoth. The word Sila which is used in the Psalms occurs a number of times through the chapter. And then the chapter ends with the words to the chief singer on my stringed instruments. And so these words are words of prayer, words of adoration. So it's not so much a request as we have at the beginning of the book, but it's words of adoration onto God, a prayer, yet a song. And we'll read the entire chapter, please, together. A prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, upon Shigenoth. 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. 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. And his brightness was as the light. He had horns coming out of his hand, and there was the hiding of his power. Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. He stood and measured the earth. He beheld and drove asunder the nations. The everlasting mountains were scattered. The perpetual hills did bow. His ways are everlasting. I saw the tents of Kushan in affliction, and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. 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? Thy bow was made quite naked according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word, Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. 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. The sun and moon stood still in their habitation. At the light of thine arrows they went. At that, the shining of thy glittering spear. Thou didst march through the land in indignation. Thou didst thresh the heathen in anger. Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for the salvation with thine anointed. Thou woundest the head out of the house of the wicked by discovering the foundation onto the neck. Selah. 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. Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters. When I heard my belly trembled, my lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness entered into my bones. 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. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall the fruit be in the vines. The labor of the olive shall feel. The field shall yield no meat. The flock shall be cut off from the fold. There shall be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, 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. We'll end our reading there, trusting the Lord will add his blessing to the reading of his own precious truth. We'll turn again in God's Word, please, to Habakkuk chapter 3. Usually in the first Lord's Day of New Year, I bring a message on the motto text that has been chosen for the congregation for the year. And the motto text for this year of 2018 is found in verse 18. Habakkuk 3, verse 18. Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. We'll seek the Lord's face together, please, in prayer. We need the Lord's help as we come to this text of scripture. Let us seek the Lord's face, please. our gracious Father, how we do thank Thee for the unique outlook that Thou dost give to the people of God. And Lord, we pray today that as we come to this text, oh Lord, we pray that our joy in Thee might be increased. Oh Lord, we pray that We will enter more and more into the experience of this prophet of old. May our joy indeed be in the God of our salvation. O Lord, grant that help, we pray, that enablement of the Holy Spirit of God to preach the word of God, we pray in Christ's great name. Amen, amen. The words of this text bring to our attention the very unique attitude of the child of God. For in the verse previous, the prophet considers the worst set of circumstances that could come upon this nation economically, He considers the collapse of the agricultural industry in the land, although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines. The labour of the olives shall fail. The fields shall yield no meat, no food. The flock shall be cut off from the fold. There shall be no herd in the stalls." Surely these words, they outline what could only be described as great economic disaster. And yet the prophet says, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The worldly minded man finds his happiness in the good things the world can give him. His happiness is dependent upon achievement. His happiness is dependent upon abundance or upon the applause that the world might give him. But the Christian is able to say, I will rejoice even when all things seem to be against me. I will rejoice. because of my God. I will rejoice in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. In the early part of this book of Habakkuk, we find the prophet in great anguish of soul. In chapter 1 verse 2, O Lord, how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear? even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not see it." And the prophet here laments then what he might see as unanswered prayer. He had been crying out to God for the Lord's intervention. It seemed to him at that time that the Lord was not hearing, the Lord was not saving, The Lord was not delivering. Habakkuk could look ahead and see that there was coming great calamity for the nation of Judah and what calamity this was going to be. If you look at verse five of chapter one, behold ye among the heathen and regard and wonder marvelously for I will work a work in your days. which he will not believe though it be told you. I will work the work in your days. And it would have been nice if that work that was described here would be a great revival blessing. And there was certainly an element of revival in this, but not as the prophet perhaps would have desired the way he desired. The great work that was to be done is in verse six. For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, referring to the Babylonians, I raise up the Chaldeans. that bitter and tasty nation which shall march through the breadth of the land." And the great work then that was to be done was that the Babylonians were going to come, they were going to sweep into Judah, and this of course then would result in the exile of the people being brought into captivity. Now while the book then begins in this despair, we might say, how long will you not hear my cry? The book ends with this note of great confidence. Now as the book ends in confidence, it's not that circumstances have changed. It's not that the Chaldeans are no longer coming. Really the secret is found in the end of Habakkuk 3 where we have mention made of the hind. Habakkuk 3 in the verse 19, the Lord God is my strength and he will make my feet like hind's feet. And he will make me to walk upon mine high places. Now there are many things that could be said about the hind, the deer, as a picture of the child of God. Now the hind in the high places is sure-footed. And so that hind may have many obstacles in front of it. But it is unable to leap over the obstacles, it is unable to overcome. And so the Christian faces many obstacles, but we are to be this hind in high places. Knowing that overcoming through our great victor. And our sure-footedness is found in the fact that our feet are upon the high places that we are grounded upon. that rock Christ. But then the hind on the high places also speaks of vitality. The hind leaps. We have this idea of swiftness. And surely the swift hind brings to our mind this idea of rejoicing. Which certainly fits in with our text, this idea of cheerfulness. But what I want to emphasize today is that the hind in the high places has perspective. The hind in the high places has perspective. Now you think of the hind in the valley. It may sense lurking danger, but it cannot always see the danger. But when the hind is on the high places, it gets a new perspective. And it is this idea of perspective that I want to take and use to explore this text in verse 18. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. And I put it to you that Habakkuk here was the hound. And at the beginning, he had been in the valley. He couldn't see things in that fuller perspective. The Lord brings him to the high places. And as he gets that new view, he is no longer in despair. But he says, I will rejoice. I will joy in the God of my salvation. He had certainly been in that dangerous valley. But he now had this new perspective. And his perspective was essentially a fresh view of God. For he says, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. And so when he was in despair, it was despair over what was happening and what lay ahead. But as rejoicing then was in his God, his enemies were rejoicing. But their rejoicing would be so short-lived. Towards the end of verse 14, it says, their rejoicing was to devour the poor secretly. And they would take some delight in what was to take place. But the joy of this prophet of God, it was firmly grounded in the God of his salvation. And though then there were still tears, The crisis was still looming. The Babylonians would bring havoc. Yet God's servant could say, I will rejoice. I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. And so we want to think then of the theme, delighting in the midst of disaster. The Christian's perspective of his God, delighting in the midst of disaster. I want to say first of all, as we think of this fresh perspective, the prophet got a fresh sight of God's sovereignty. He got a sight of God's sovereignty. For much of this song, this prayer in chapter 3 is a recognition of the sovereignty of God. And I can't take time to draw out all of this today, but I encourage you to read the chapter again later and see that it is full of references to the fact that Habakkuk had a God who was sovereign. over all of his creation. And so Habakkuk had been seeing the power of sovereign nations. He had seen the power of the Chaldeans. But now he got a fresh perspective that all of those powers really fell into insignificance. Contrast to the great power of a sovereign God. If you look back at chapter 1 verse 7. Chapter 1 and verse 17 rather. Chapter 1 and verse 17. And speaking of the enemy, shall they therefore empty their net? And the idea of empty their net is this idea of spreading out their net to catch. Shall we not therefore empty their net and not spare continually to slay the nations? And this then is speaking of the Chaldeans. They were continuously emptying, spreading out their net to get others, as it were, under their control. They were seeking to slay the nations. Chapter 2 and verse 5, yea, also because he transgressed by wine, he is a proud man. neither keepeth it home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is his death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and keepeth unto him all people. And so as this nation would overcome one people group, it wouldn't be satisfied. It would go on to seek to enlarge its empire further. And its desire then was to be overcoming all the nations. Its desire was to be the greatest of nations. Keeping that in mind then, come to chapter three and the verse six. Chapter three and the verse six. And the he is speaking here of God. God stood and measured the earth. He beheld and drove asunder the nations. God drove asunder the nations. The words drove asunder can also be translated shook. God shook the nations and the everlasting mountains were scattered and the perpetual hills did bow. His ways are everlasting. I saw the tents of cushion and affliction and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. They were truly shaken, but they were shaken by Almighty God. And the great emphasis of this chapter then is this, that the nations have powers, but ultimately those powers really are nothing. They fall into insignificance when we see the sovereignty of Almighty God. If you look at verse 3, the latter part of verse 3, chapter 3, verse 3, His glory covered the heavens and the earth was full of His praise. We can speak then of God's transcendence. God is above his creation, infinitely greater than every part of his creation. Remember how Solomon said, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee. God is over His creation, His glory covered the heavens and the earth was full of His praise. Yet we see what some refer to as the imminence of God. He is everywhere in His creation. The earth was full of His praise. The Lord is in every part of His creation. He is not limited in any way. God is the omnipresent One. Jeremiah said, Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord? Am I not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him, saith the Lord? Do not I fill heaven and earth? And Habakkuk then could say, This is my God. a sovereign God, and even as a nation would seek to be increasing its power, and it seemed that it was. It seemed that the Chaldeans were increasing in strength and in dominion. It seemed their antagonism was being successful. But yet, a Habakkuk could say, My God is the one that is sovereign. If you look at verse 10, chapter 3, in the verse 10, the mountains saw thee and they trembled. As some of the commentators refer to how the Babylonians worshipped the elements and various parts of the creation. Some of them worshipped the mountains. but the mountains trembled before God. Some worshipped the deep. Some worshipped the sun and the moon. Verse 11, the sun and the moon stood still in their habitation. Verse 10 refers to the deep uttering his voice. And it's as if every part of God's creation stands in submission before God. And all of those false gods that the people had in their imagination, they all yielded up as it were before the supreme power. And so would Babylon. Because our God is the sovereign. As we think then again of Habakkuk, as he, in the midst of this doom, as it were, that seemed to be before the nation. And he said, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. How could he rejoice? Because his eye was upon his sovereign God. And he recognized that God was in control. He got a sight of God's sovereignty. But I want to see then, secondly, he got a sight of God's strategy. This is an outworking of what we've just been speaking about, the sovereignty of God. If God is sovereign over his creation, he is bringing his purposes. pass. He has his holy eternal sovereign decree and God is bringing about the fulfillment of that great eternal decree. Now at the beginning of the book, Habakkuk lamented that God did not seem to be answering his prayer. And Habakkuk comes to see then that his particular requests were not being granted because God had another plan. God had a plan far greater than any that Habakkuk had. Habakkuk would have liked that the Chaldeans would have been restricted and restrained. And though he didn't say it, they were restricted and restrained. But Habakkuk was to come and say that God's ways are higher. That it was God's purpose that the Lord would even take the Chaldeans and use them as his instrument. If you look at the end of verse 16, it says there, he will invade them with his troops. And now who are the troops there? It's a reference to the Chaldean army. And yet the prophet says they're God's troops. They're God's instruments. Dirty instruments they were, but they were instruments that God was going to take and to use for his glory and the outworking of his sovereign plan. God then was at work. God had his plan and God was seeing to it that his plan was being outworked. That judgment would involve stripping Judah of her resources. The fruit store would be empty. The animal stall would be empty. How could that be when God had pledged that the promised land was a land flowing with milk and honey? Had God forgotten his promises? If the land was to be stripped of its wealth, how could it be then that God was faithful in keeping his promise? Remember when the people of God were to enter into the land, the Lord had instructed them that they were to go to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. And there was there what we might refer to as a natural amphitheater. that the people could stand on those two mountains. And as they would speak, the words that they would speak would be heard in the other mountain. And so one group would stand on one side. They would speak words of blessing. One group would stand on the other side. They would hear words of curses. That is, the words that they were repeating were showing that sin has consequences. And that was really what was being outworked here. Yes, the Lord had certainly shown in years past that this was a land flowing with milk and honey. And yet, sin has consequences. Sin will take you further than you want to go. And it was God's plan then that judgment would come upon the nation. that they would be sorely disciplined for their sin. And so if we look again at verse six, chapter three, verse six, he stood and measured the earth. He beheld and drove asunder the nations. He shook the nations and the Lord would shake Judah. through the instrumentality of the Chaldeans. There would be that trembling that had been known in Midian among the men and women of Judea. And the Lord then would take the marching army of the Chaldeans And they would be, as it were, a marching army in his hand. It would be the Lord marching. Verse 12, thou didst march through the land in indignation. We read earlier in the book of the Chaldeans marching. Habakkuk now sees. It's really the Lord that's on the march. It's the Lord that is on the move. At first Habakkuk then, he was in great fear over these coming calamities. But he was brought to the high places and he got that fresh perspective. There is nothing taking God by surprise. This is all part of God's divine plan. And so while certainly Habakkuk could lament over that destruction, yet he could say, I rejoice that God is in sovereign control. I'm sure he would still weep. And yet though he wept, he would rejoice. rejoicing in God's purposes. I was thinking in the past week of Eli, I often think of Eli negatively. He seemed to be a lazy man. When we read of him, he was sitting instead of engaging in the work of God's house. He failed to deal with his sons and their rebellion. And yet, you think of the words spoken concerning Eli when Samuel told Eli all that the Lord had revealed to him in the night. 1 Samuel 3, 18, Eli said, it is the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good. We can criticize Eli for those negative aspects of his character, but I wonder if he ever sat and said, It is the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good. Wasn't that what Habakkuk was saying here? He was humble before God. And he said, yes, the nation does deserve this. It is the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good. And in our nation, we could, and sometimes we do, fear what may lie ahead. But may we have this rejoicing. It is the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good. Perhaps, as you think of this stripping that Judah was to endure, that you can liken some of this to your own circumstances. And the Lord perhaps has been stripping you of your business, stripping you of your job, stripping you of your home, stripping you of your respect before others. You're to have that perspective of the hind. What the Lord does, let him do what seemeth him good. The name Habakkuk means embracer. And isn't that what he was doing here at this very point? He was embracing God. He was saying, Lord, what you have planned for me, let me cling to it. He was like Jacob, Israel, after that night in which he had wrestled with the Lord. Remember how he cleaved to the angel of the Lord, and there was then that mention made of how as a prince he had power with God. Habakkuk then was like Israel, like Jacob, now cleaving, embracing God. He had this right. perspective. Now as Habakkuk had this perspective, as he rejoiced in the Lord, he wasn't flippant about it. He wasn't looking at this in a careless attitude, but actually he looks at it in trembling. He was rejoicing and yet trembling before this God at the same time. If you look at verse 16, When I heard, my belly trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness entered into my bones. I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble, when he cometh up unto the people, he would invade them with his troops. And God's servant says here, I tremble. You see, this rejoicing was perfectly compatible with a godly fear of God. And the servant of God then here feared God. You remember how it said of John Knox that he did not fear man because he feared God. He was willing to offend man because he was determined not to offend God. William Gurnall said, we fear man because we fear God so little. And surely Habakkuk here was getting things into perspective. He could say, we have feared the Babylonians too much. Because we haven't feared Jehovah enough. And now then he could say, I fear the Babylonians less. Because I fear God more. He stood in awe before this God. reverential fear, and therefore fearing yet praising. So as he delighted in the midst of disaster, he had got a sight of God's sovereignty. He had got a sight of God's strategy. But I want to say finally, he had got a sight of God's salvation. I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. my salvation. And he was talking about deliverance, even though destruction was on its way. And what havoc was going to happen and yet he was talking about sparing. This word salvation is one that occurs a few times in the chapter. Verse 13, Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for the salvation with thine anointed. Thou went forth for the salvation of by people. If you look back at the verse 8, the verse 8 he stood, sorry verse 8, was the Lord displeased against the rivers, was an anger against the rivers, was a wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation. And these chariots then would indeed bring destruction outwardly. There would be a stripping of things that the nation had held dear. But while there would be that outward stripping, it would be for their good. It would be for their spiritual betterment. In that sense, it was for their salvation. What was going to happen then was for their purifying. for their purging. There had to be this fire, as it were, that the people would pass through. And as Habakkuk contemplated that for himself, he said, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Now, as we take this text then, verse 18, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Now, we are to rejoice in our salvation in the sense of our justification. Now we are to rejoice today that we are adopted into God's family. Remember how the Lord said in Luke 10 20, rejoice because your names are written in heaven. And so we are to rejoice that we are God's people. We are to rejoice that we're not numbered among the Chaldean enemy as it were, but we are in that number of the people of God. And the word salvation here, It is linked to the name Joshua. The Lord's name, Jesus, is the Greek translation of that particular word. And so we could paraphrase these words, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my Joshua, my Jesus, my deliverance through the anointed that we just read about, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our rejoicing then is in our salvation in that sense. But the context here is speaking more of us rejoicing in the Lord of our salvation in this sense of the Lord's refining. God is the God of our salvation, not only in that he has saved us and assured us of glory, but he is still working in us. He hasn't given up on us, despite our unworthiness. He hasn't given up on us despite us praying amiss as Habakkuk had done. The Lord refines us. In that sense then we are to rejoice in the God of our salvation. You remember how Paul talked of that refining process in Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12 verse 11. No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievance. And so Habakkuk would not find any delight in the actual events that were to take place. He wouldn't delight in the stripping away. But what he delighted is in what Paul went on to talk about here. Nevertheless, afterward, It yielded the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. And so the actual process, the actual pruning, the actual purifying, being put in the fire, that is difficult. It is painful. But yet even in that we recognize that it is all for our good, that the Lord is doing this for our sanctification for building up on the things of God. Remember David as he saw the smoke rise from Ziglag. It was as if all was lost. Men were turning against him. It was a moment of great extremity. And yet he could say, or yet it does say, David encouraged himself. the Lord his God. So too Habakkuk. It seemed as if all was going to be stripped away. He encouraged himself. He strengthened himself. He rejoiced his heart in the goodness of God. Habakkuk could see evil ahead. He could see destruction. But he recognised that the Lord out of this would bring great good. I want you to see that this whole scene directs us to Calvary. In the verse 13, Habakkuk 3 verse 13, Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people. even for the salvation with thine anointed." And that word anointed is referring, or is the word Messiah, the Old Testament word for the Messiah, the Lord's anointed one. And so these words not only are directing us in application to ourselves as the Lord's chosen people, but first and foremost to Christ, the anointed one, the one that the Father delights in. the head out of the house of the wicked by discovering the foundation on to the neck, Sela. Again, mention is made of the head in verse 14. And what happened at Calvary? The great enemies, as it were, marched out against Jesus Christ. There was a fulfillment of those words in Genesis 3, 15. There was a bruising. of the feet of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was attacked, as it were, by the enemy in that great conflict. But in that conflict, Christ lifted his head, as was prophesied in Genesis 3, 15, and he crushed, Christ lifted his feet and he crushed the head of the enemy. Satan is an enemy then that has, as it were, a broken neck. He roars against the people of God, but his doom is guaranteed by the work of the cross. Now, as we think then of the great accomplishment at the cross, it is in that light that we can say, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Am I a salvation in the sense of me being a child of God is grounded solely on the work of the cross? My perseverance is grounded in the person and work of Jesus Christ. What are we to do then today? We are, as it were, to get to that mountain, survey that scene afresh. Get that fresh perspective. See that our enemy is indeed crushed. We say, then, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. I will joy in the God of my salvation. Just as we close, I want you to see that these words of our text are words of resolve. God's people are not brought to a place where they say, I'm rejoicing in the Lord. I joy in the God of my salvation. We're not brought to that place accidentally. But we're brought to that place through our own resolve. And each one of us then, before this text, have a duty to meditate over the truths that Habakkuk had been meditating over. And as we meditate over those, we are enabled to rejoice. You see, if we are not brought to be that hind in the high places, then we will not rejoice. Does the fault for that lie with God? Not at all. The fault lies with ourselves, that we have not viewed with that perspective that we ought. And may we then in this new year that we have entered into, may the Lord help us continually to survey as Habakkuk did. And may this be our resolve continually, I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. We trust the Lord will take his word and bless it to all of our hearts.