We turn now to God's own and precious word and we read from the Old Testament from the prophet Habakkuk chapter 3. Habakkuk chapter 3 in its entirety. Let us listen to the word of God by the mouth of his prophet. A prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet upon Shigionoth. O Lord, I've 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 Taman and the Holy One from Mount Paran, Sila. 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, and 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, rather 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, and at 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 salvation with thine anointed. Thou woundest the head out of the house of the wicked by discovering the foundation unto 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, 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. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, The labor 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. 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 hind's feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. to the chief singer on my stringed instruments. Dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, it's a good custom to come together on this day to have our yearly prayer day. It is a token that we express our dependence upon the Lord. In this day we think of the season that lies ahead, how we need the Lord indeed for everything that we do. When we do our work, our daily work, our tasks, when the children, when you go to school children, you need the Lord. When you think of our daily provision, our food that's on our tables, we need the Lord. We need the Lord to let it grow. for our life, for our health, for strength, for everything. How we need the Lord when we look around in this world and see what is happening. How we need the Lord when we look at the church worldwide. How we need the Lord and how we need revival. That the Lord would come and make us alive. in such a way that we would experience that the Lord is real for us, that He is glorious, that He is powerful to save His people, to be with us and for us, and that Christ is exalted among His people, and that we would know it. And for that reason, we would like to turn this morning to pray alongside with Habakkuk in his prayer for revival. And we pray that the Lord would make the prayer that he prays real for us this morning. And we would be able, while we listen, while we listen to the Word of God, we'd be able to pray along, to pour out our hearts with Habakkuk. Let's turn to Habakkuk chapter 3, verses 1 and 2. I will read this short prayer, a prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet upon Shigeonath. O Lord, I've 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. So with the Lord's help, we look at Habakkuk's prayer, Lord, revive. First of all, we look at his previous complaint. What we do here is what is the context? Why did he pray like this? Secondly, we look at his pressing request. And then we look at the prayer itself. What exactly does he pray? What does it mean for us, for him? And then thirdly, his prevailing confidence, because there happens something beautiful after his prayer. And so I encourage you this morning to keep your Bibles open as we go. And I will show you certain things out of the book of Habakkuk so that we might have an understanding of what this prayer is all about. First of all, then, his previous complaint. Our text begins with a prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, upon Shidionoth. Now, we don't know much about the prophet Habakkuk. We know he is a prophet because it says here, a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. As far as we know, this is the only three chapters, this short book is the only three chapters that we know about Habakkuk. But here we see then that Habakkuk is a prophet of the Lord, and that he is praying. He's praying in the times of the final decades of the Southern Kingdom, just before the invasion of the Babylonians. And he is then here in this chapter praying a brief, a short prayer, but very intense. And this prayer could be placed along one, the more well-known prayers, the great prayers of the Bible. Think of Solomon's prayer, for instance, during the dedication of the temple. If thy people sin, O Lord, and they return to Thee, hear from heaven that prayer, that great prayer can be placed alongside with the prayer of Daniel. Lord, hear in the times that it is dark. Lord, hear. Lord, forgive. It can be placed alongside that great prayer of Isaiah. Oh, that thou would rend heavens and come down. It's such a kind of prayer. The prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, upon Shigeonoth. This is a musical term, term of musical notation. This word Shigeonoth, it means that this is a kind of song that Habakkuk writes. And probably, we are not completely sure what the word means, but probably it means something like a lament. A lament. And so it begins, oh Lord, I've heard thy speech and I was afraid. And we ask ourselves the question, what speech? What is Habakkuk talking about? And the word speech here, we need to know that it can be translated also as fame. I've heard thy fame. I've heard thy renown. And I was afraid. And this fear of Habakkuk can be translated also as awe. I was in awe, O Lord. It's a mix of fear and awe that comes over Habakkuk as he prays. Why was he in fear? Why was he in awe? And so we need to look at the context. We need to look at those previous chapters because this was not the first cry that Habakkuk made. And as we do so, we turn to the first chapter. And there we read in verse 2, Oh Lord, how long shall I cry and thou will not hear? What was the problem? Here Habakkuk was grieved by the sins of his people. And he describes the problems that his people had. They were straying from the Lord. They were sinning against the Lord. What happened? Verse 2. There was violence. Verse 3. There's iniquity. Verse 3 as well. Verse 3b. There's strife and contention. And what was the reason? What was the reason of this strife and contention? Verse 4. The law is slacked. The law of God was forsaken. Literally, it was paralyzed. It was not functioning in the practical lives of the people. And so what happened when that happens in the lives of people? The result is, also verse 4, injustice, wrong judgment. And it bothers Habakkuk. And he cries out to the Lord, how long shall I cry and thou will not hear? But God comes with an answer. And God comes with an answer that upsets Habakkuk even more. He says, I will send the Babylonians to punish your people. Verses 5 to 11, we see that the Babylonians, in verse 6, we see those are the Chaldeans. The Babylonians, we call them because they lived in the southern part of Babylonia. The Chaldeans. And Habakkuk describes them. God describes them. They are a bitter and a hasty nation, verse 6. Verse 7, they are terrible and dreadful. Their horses are swifter than leopards and they are more fierce than evening wolves. And they come with violence, verse 9. And what also upsets Habakkuk is this, verse 11. They will impute this, his power, unto his God. They are worshippers of idols. It upsets Habakkuk. And he cries out to the Lord and he says, Babylon, Lord, how is this possible? Babylon is even more wicked. We see then that he pleads with the Lord. Are thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One, in verse 12 of chapter 1? O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment? O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction? Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. Thou art holy, O God. How canst thou use a wicked nation like Babylon to punish a more righteous nation? And when Habakkuk looks around what was happening with other nations when they were taken captive by Babylon, he compares that with a dragnet. We will all be taken. We will all be taken as in a dragnet. We will taken captive to Babylon. How is that possible, Lord? In the following verses, we see that. Verses 14 till 16. We will all be taken captive. Lord, how is this possible? In other words, he's saying, no, no, Lord, this is impossible. But what happens in the heart of Habakkuk is not a submissive understanding that God is Lord, but what we see is instead He's demanding an answer. Chapter two, verse one. I will stand upon my watch, I will set me upon the tower, I will watch to see what he, that is the Lord, will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the last sentence especially means I will wait what he will answer concerning my complaint. I'm ready, ready to hear it, what the Lord has to say. He's pointing fingers, Lord, that wicked nation, using his arguments, using even God's holy character, the heart holy. Yes, he's pleading with it, but he's demanding an answer from the Lord. He's demanding an answer from the Lord, not in submission. And God comes with an answer. God gives him an answer. He gives him a vision. And the Lord answered me, chapter two, verse two. And he said, write the vision and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. Chapter two, verse two. The Lord gives him this answer in a vision and he says, okay, children, remember when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he had two tables of stone. And the Lord says, here you have some tables and you need to write something on it, Habakkuk. But you need to write it as big and plain as possible so that even the one who runs will be able to read it. It's as if the Lord is saying, write it upon a big, big billboard so that everyone will see. What does he need to write? Well, the Babylonians are coming. Judgment is coming. And it is for an appointed time. It's a certain time. A set time. And it says in verse 3, wait for it. That means expect it. Habakkuk, it will surely come. It will not tarry. It will come. Don't you think that has troubled Habakkuk even more? But the Lord says this as well. He adds in verse four, he says, well, that Babylon, I know you're complaining about Babylon, and I know that it's a proud nation, a wicked nation. Behold, a soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, but the just shall live by his faith. That's what you need to write on those stone tables. Habakkuk, judgment is coming, but it's for an appointed time and the just shall live by his faith so that everyone might see it. The just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk is devastated. He thinks upon the wickedness of Babylon. And the Lord explains it also, that he understands the wickedness because he inspires him to speak out prophetic woes, to call on doom, a warning of doom upon the nation of Babylon. That's what he gives in the following verses. We see that from verse 5 till verse 17 in chapter 2. Five woes, five woes upon this nation of the Babylonians. It's as if the Lord understand what's the problem with Babylon. He says, woe, because I understand that they are economic oppressors. We see that in verse six. Woe to him that increases that which is not his. How long? Verse 9, a second woe for the same thing. Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house that he may set his nest on high. Abuse of others for personal benefit. That's what we see here. That's what happened among the Babylonians. And God through the mouth of Habakkuk calls his woes upon it. Verse 12, we see another woe. Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood. Yes, I know they are building their cities, and they are using slaves, and they are not careful with them. They are wicked and violent with their slaves. They are slave drivers. I have understood that. But I call my woe also upon them. It's for an appointed time, Habakkuk, They are corrupt leaders. We see that in verse 15. Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink. And then there comes a description, a vivid description of the debauchery that the leaders had. Irresponsible leadership in those days. Yes, Habakkuk, I know they are idolaters. They are, they are, and then God calls His woe in verse 19 upon them to those who say, awake to dumb stone. Their idolatry was success, security, wealth. And yet the Lord says, this nation I'm going to use. I'm going to use for judgment upon my people. I will use the Babylonians for my purposes. It's for an appointed time. But within these walls, there are two verses that really blister up, as it were, shine brightly. Verse 14, two verse 14. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. The Lord is saying, don't you worry. Don't you worry, Habakkuk. I will accomplish my mission. The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea. Don't you worry. And then the second verse, verse 20. The Lord is in this holy temple that all the earth keeps silence before him. Habakkuk, I'm still on my throne. In my holy temple, which was a picture of heaven, I'm still on my throne. I'm sitting there and let the whole earth be silent before me. The glory of the Lord. The glory of the Lord. That is what assures Habakkuk. When we look around in our world, We see tumult. We see judgment going on. And we can look around and we can be like Habakkuk. We can start demanding an answer, Lord, look at this, look at that. Change it! We see nations rise against nations, rumors of war, we see unrest, we see immoral agendas being pushed in our world, we see the culture of death around us, we think about abortion, we think about euthanasia, we think about the lifestyle of homosexuality, which isn't fruitful at all. We think about sex trafficking that is going through this world, And we can do like Habakkuk and say, Lord, Lord, those wicked people. And we can see the punishments raging. Think of Europe, the place where God started the Reformation and worked so mightily. What do we see? Floods of people are invading Europe, and among them are terrorists who will make the people afraid. Why? Europe is gone astray, not fearing the Lord anymore. We can see that. We can see that. And we can fear for our country. We can fear for our country. Recently, the Prime Minister pledged tax money. for his ideological agenda, for his ideas. Free abortion spread over the whole world. And we can say, sinful. How, Lord? Why does thou allow it? Why? And we can cry out with a back up, Lord, I'm afraid. I'm afraid. I'm fearful. Thy judgments, Lord. How long? How long? But let's come a bit closer. Let's take a step closer. We are going through difficult times and some of you are going through difficult troubles and trials. You understand the cry of Habakkuk, don't you? How long shall I cry, Lord, and Thou will not hear? I'm suffering, I'm under this burden. How long will Thy law be slacked, trodden down, How long, how long, O Lord? Thou art the Holy One, the Pure One. But let us also take a step even closer to our own hearts. If Thou wouldst remark iniquity, Lord, who will stand, who of us, with our sins? Who will stand? If we understand something of the plague that rages in our own hearts and the Lord has opened our eyes for it, how sin devastates us, We can say, Lord, we deserve thy judgments. Yes, then it comes in a different tone, a different tone. I'm afraid, Lord. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. Thou canst not look upon iniquity. How long? And so we understand the trouble, we understand the cries of Habakkuk, or don't you? the plague of our sin, the judgment that needs to come. How fitting is then this prayer. How fitting is also the request that he makes in our second point, his pressing request. So God has spoken. God has spoken. Punishment will come over Israel and over Babylon, and the Israelites will be brought into captivity. Yet the Lord showed something glorious. I'm still on my throne. And let the whole earth be silent. Habakkuk received a new vision of God's glory. And the whole earth needs to be silent. What does it mean to be in awe for this majestic, glorious, eternal God? Silence. Reverence. That's what we need. Who are we to speak to the Holy One upon His throne? And who are we to say, what art thou doing, Lord? That's what we see here with Habakkuk. He's overpowered by the sense of God's majesty, by a sense of his omnipotence. And he trembles before the Lord. He trembles before Him. And yet, he breaks the silence with a prayer. He breaks the silence and looks to the Lord as the only one who can send revival, the only one who can send blessing to his chastened people, the only one who, though he sends the rod against their sins, can save them to the uttermost. So the silence is broken. by the prayer of Habakkuk, and he pours out his heart toward God. Habakkuk has heard it. The just shall live by his faith. He has heard the judgments. He has heard about Babylon. And with regard to the circumstance, nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. And so his reason for pouring out his heart is the same. But there's James something in Habakkuk and it's his attitude. His attitude is different than before. When he saw that the Lord is upon the throne and he will complete his mission, he's not swallowed up by his own problems. He's not demanding an answer anymore. But he's swallowed up with who God is, with his glory, with his God's cause. How we need prayer like this, don't we? That we are in awe with God. And so our text begins. It says, basically it teaches us, I'm in awe with God. Oh Lord, I've heard Thy speech. I've heard Thy fame. On the throne, will complete His mission. I was afraid. A mix of awe and fear. I'm afraid. O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known, in wrath remember mercy. Do you hear how he addresses the Lord? O Lord, and then all capital letters, O Jehovah, O our covenant-keeping God, the I am who I am, the one who has shown so often that he provides for his people. that He is present with His people and that He protects them, that He is for them. That is the Lord. That's our God as we call upon His name, O Lord, our God, the one who is present through Jesus Christ, the one who protects us, the one who provides a full salvation, everything needed for life and godliness. We call upon His name, O Lord. And his plea is still, Babylon is coming. Punishment and judgment is coming. But now he focuses, what about Thy people, Lord? Will they be surviving or will they be completely crushed? And so as we look around in the church, what about Thy people? That should be our focus. What about Thy people, Lord? Will they continue to live for Thy glory and for Thy honor? Or will they be crushed? And we pray this prayer personally. What about me, Lord, when Thou would be righteous and judge me because of my sins? Oh, Lord, save me for Thy work, for Thy glory, for Thy namesake, for Jesus' sake. What if Thou would remember my sins? Thou art holy. Thou art just. O Lord, I've heard Thy fame and I was afraid. And we see that it was not just a little bit that he was afraid, because he was here in awe. But verse 16 gives us also, when God has appeared to him with glory, and we will look at that in a moment. But in verse 16, he describes his fear even more. When I heard, my belly trembled, my lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness entered into my bones. I trembled in myself. It's like Isaiah. When he saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, he said, Woe is me! I'm a man of unclean lips. He understands that. It reaches his inner being. It makes him weak. He shakes. He trembles. This glory is God. Do we know something of that? This glorious God, this Holy One, this One lifted upon the throne. Habakkuk continues to pray. He says, Revive thy work. What will become of thy people? O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make known. His focus has changed, hasn't it? From those bad Babylonians. How is the Lord going to deal with it? To revive Thy work. Thy work. It's about God's work. It's about God's glory. Yes, make us alive. Restore us to life. Revitalize us. Give us new energy. Quicken our spirits so that we would serve Thee and fear Thee and love Thee with all our hearts. Remember how he prays it. Revive thy work in the midst of the years. What is he saying? While those judgments are going on, Lord, do this. Do this. Revive us even in the midst when all these troubles and difficulties are going on. Lord, show thyself mighty for thy people. Show thy presence. Show thy protection. Show thy provision. How we should pray this for our church. How we should pray this for our church. Lord, do it for Thy name's sake. How we should pray that for our families, for the coming season, for our country, for the world. Revivals, Lord. Let this earth be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea. Remember thy work. Remember thy name, thy fame, thy glory. In the midst of the year, make known." Still praying about that work of the Lord in the midst of the years, he stresses again, while all these things are going on, show, manifest, make it known. Make known thy glory, thy salvation of the whole earth. Thy salvation, revival. As we listen to this prayer of Habakkuk, is this how we pray? Is this how we pray? What is the focus of our prayers? Is it that we do want the Lord's work to prosper? Or is it, Lord, what I need, my work, my name, my fame, How do we focus on His work, His name, His fame, believing that He is on the throne, not focusing on the circumstances? Because when we start to focus on the circumstances and we are caught up with them, we forget and we easily lose perspective. Lord, continue to work even in those difficult circumstances where I am right now. That's what Habakkuk prays in his travels. And what does it teach us? What does it teach us? Well, that God can send revival in the darkest of times. In the darkest of times. Nothing stands in the way of the Lord to use difficult times for His glory. Nothing. That's what we learn from this prayer of Habakkuk. Lord, revive us in the midst of the years. Make known Thy work in the midst of the years. And then he continues to pray. Remember mercy. Because if thou wouldst not remember mercy, then we would all be consumed with Thy wrath. In wrath, remember mercy. The wrath of God is his feeling of intense displeasure with the wicked. His intense displeasure. The Lord says in Psalm 7 verse 11, the psalmist rather says, God is angry with the wicked every day. That's not what we should have. prayed over us, know in that wrath, Lord, when these judgments are raging and taking place, don't forget Thy character, Thy merciful character, Thy pity upon Thy people, Thy deep love for Thy people, Thy compassion, Thy graciousness. As a father pitieth his son, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. And that's what Habakkuk prays for, Lord have pity. That's the opposite of wrath. We deserve wrath, but have pity upon us. And so what he does in his prayer, he focuses on the beautiful character and the merciful and the gracious character of the Lord. how we need to do that too. When we look to the world, when we look to our country, when we look to the church, when we look in our own hearts, this is what we should pray. In wrath, Lord, remember mercy, because we have nothing that we deserve. If Thou would enter into judgment with Thy servant, in Thy sight, Lord, shall no man be living. No man living be justified. Thou art the holy one. Thou art the pure one, pure of pure eyes than to behold iniquity. O Lord, in wrath remember mercy. And so then, what do we learn from the prayer of Habakkuk? First of all, it's God-focused. It's God-focused. Thy work, thy fame, revive it, Lord. And then he focuses on the character of God's grace and mercy. Secondly, we should learn from his earnestness. He's urgently pleading and crying to the Lord. With passion, he pours out his heart to the Lord. O Lord, twice, O Lord, how we need prayer like that, where we pour out our hearts toward the Lord and that we know we are heard, we are being heard, that we see His glory and that we rest in His glory and His salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. But we see also this wonderful deep humility in the prayer of Habakkuk. Wrath is coming over sin. And sin needs to be judged. And it's as if he's saying, Lord, I don't deserve it. We don't deserve it in wrath. Remember mercy. And we know that the Lord has remembered mercy. Because if we continue to read in this chapter, we see something that God comes a second time with remarkable glory. Remarkable glory. Verses three till seven of our chapter, chapter three, we see that God comes with glory that reminds us of the times that He came down on the Mount Sinai with thunder, with darkness, with cloud, with burning coals, it says. Before Him went burning coals. And His brightness was as the light He drove us under the nations. That's the first picture of His glory. He comes with a cloud and with glory and He chastens and He comes with His glory as in a storm and He chastens the people. The second appearance of God's glory comes in verse 8 till 15 in our chapter. And what we see there is even more remarkable. In those verses, we see that God is depicted as a warrior, one who is mighty to save. Thy bow was made quite naked. That means it's ready to use. Thine horses, thy chariots, they are going to bring salvation, it says. And the deep uttered his voice and lifted up his hands. What is he talking about? What is happening here? What is Habakkuk talking about? He sees something of God's glory in a second Exodus, where God comes and makes the water stand up. The deep uttered his voice and lifted up his hands. In other words, it's opening up and making a way. And God is there to be that warrior for his people, the salvation of his people. And God goes before, what he's saying, God comes in glory and makes a way where there is no way. Habakkuk is concerned about his people. And God shows that in his glory, he makes a path, as it were, through a second Red Sea. Verse 13, thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people. And he does that as a mighty warrior. And that gives us the echoes of that song that was done after the people of Israel had been saved through the Red Sea. They sung about, our Lord is a mighty warrior. And here we hear the echoes of it. God makes a path through the sea. He's a mighty warrior. He is for his people. And he makes a dry path for his people. Then there is something beautiful here. Verse 13b. Thou wentest forth, 13a rather, wentest forth with the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed. How does he save? How does he promise that they will be saved? With his anointed. The word is Messiah. With His Messiah, He will show His mighty arm to save His people. And what does He do? That wounds the head out of the house of the wicked by discovering the foundation unto His neck. In other words, He takes off, He chops off the head of the wicked one. And how the Lord has done that, hasn't He? When I be lifted up, Then he will do that. Now is the salvation of, now is the judgment of the world. Now is the prince of darkness cast out, the prince of the world. He has chopped off the head of the serpent in the salvation through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Messiah, the Messiah makes his people to go on dry land while the judgments are raging. And he fights for his people. He fights for his people so that they can go on dry land. Salvation of his people is sure. There will come, Habakkuk, don't worry, there will come a glorious new exodus. And there will be the anointed one, the new Moses. The new Moses will lead his people through the waters, through the troubles. And how has the Lord fulfilled it in the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, hasn't he? He showed himself a warrior, slaying the head of the enemy. And that is the message that Habakkuk receives, and that settles him down. Have you learned that message? Have you heard that message? Have you embraced that message? Have you seen the glory of the Lord in saving His people through the cross, in making bare His holy arm? Have you seen it? Have you embraced it? That will settle you down. Then you will receive rest for your soul through faith. So finally then his prevailing confidence. What happened after the Lord has promised deliverance? Habakkuk is a different person. He sings. He's joyful. He's confident. And so prayer changes a lot. Prayer changes a lot. Not necessarily the circumstances. But it changes us. It changes us. We found a demanding Habakkuk, Lord, answer. We found him pointing fingers. But here we see him lower to his knees, humbled and dependent, and now also singing, singing of the salvation. And the changes are big. The changes are big. Verse 17, although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines. The labor of the olive shall fail, and the field shall yield no meat. The flock shall be cut off from the fold, and 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 my high places. to the chief singer on my stringed instruments. He sees that the Lord is the one who brings him safe through an ill Red Sea with the promised Messiah. Through the promised Messiah. And his lament is turned into a joyful song. He sings a song of victory on the other side of the Red Sea with the people of old. He's seen the Lord on the throne. He knows Babylon will ultimately be punished. And so we know the Lord will ultimately, righteously judge this world and the wickedness in this world. We know and he knew the Lord will accomplish his mission. He will. He will bring this new exodus to pass, an escape, a way of escape for His people through the Lord Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life, delivering His people. And so He and we can sing. We find that he finds joy and contentment, not necessarily in changed circumstances, but joy and contentment in the Lord. No figs, no vines, no olives, no food from the fields, no cattle in the stall, and yet he sings. He sings. That's what he foresees will happen. No food when the Babylonians come. No cattle. no vines, no olives, no figs. When the people of Babylonians come, yet he does not despair. But he believes and he finds joy and safety in the Lord, not in the circumstances. The Lord is upon the throne. He saves his people through Christ. And how does it, don't you think Paul knew about that when he wrote Romans? the just shall live by faith. And then in chapter 5 he says this wonderful verse, therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have access by faith into the grace wherein we stand and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. That's what we rejoice in. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, patience, experience. So it works endurance, it works experience, that means character, Christian character. Works hope, and the hope makes not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Ghost, which is given to us. That's what happened with Habakkuk. He saw this glory of God. He saw his Lord on the throne and he could rejoice even in tribulations. He says it like this, he will make my feet like the hinds feet and he will make me to walk upon high places. In other words, he makes me to skip over great difficulties, and make me walk on high places. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee." That's what Isaiah the prophet said. That's what he was experiencing. We have another example in Paul's letters, how this life of faith works in difficult circumstances. Think about the letter to the Philippians. Paul was imprisoned. What does he say? Rejoice. And again I say rejoice. It's like he has been reading our text. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. Two times. Rejoice. Joy. What does he say then? Chapter four, be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known unto God, be made known unto God. And what? The peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. Through Jesus Christ, through that anointed one, the Messiah, who makes a way where there is no way. in and of ourselves when he saves his people. Habakkuk changed from a discontent and demanding man to a humble man who prayed, saw the glory of God, changed into one who was content in the situation that he was, a submissive obedience to his Lord. He's an example in these verses of a just man living by faith, a shining example of a man living by faith in the most difficult circumstances. He joys in his Lord, in his God. When we are praying for revival, what do we need? We need the same kind of vision of God. Salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because God has indeed, in wrath, remembered mercy. That wrath is come down upon our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, so that He can give mercy to His people. That's the Gospel. That's what we need to see over and over again. A vision of God's salvation and God's glory in Christ Jesus. As we pray for revival, what do we need as well? We need this humility, bowing before Him, the sovereign ruler of heaven and earth. No, we deserve nothing, absolutely nothing. In wrath, remember mercy. And we need this beautiful, content, trusting faith of Habakkuk. contend in all things with the Lord, whatever the Lord does in our lives, so that we can say, have thy own way, Lord. Have thy own way. Is that what we are looking for with regard to revival? Is that how we pray? Are you living by faith rather than by sight? Are you living by these unseen realities, these spiritual realities of salvation through Christ and the Lord upon His throne? Habakkuk learned it. Habakkuk learned it in difficult circumstances. He was yet joined in the Lord. If you have not yet learned it, I urge you to bow before this Lord and pray, teach me, Lord. Teach me. This kind of faith, real prayer changes us. not the circumstances, not a quick fix, but the attitude toward God, the fear, the reverence, so that we agree with Him, with regard to His judgments, pleading for His mercy. Have you been changed like that? Then you need to joy, join Rabbi HaKuk also in this living by faith, don't you? Are you living by faith? Habakkuk prays for revival in the darkest time as we conclude. Do you think our times are dark? Our times are dark? Join him in this prayer. Habakkuk did not see revival in his day, though he prayed for it. But years later in the book of Ezra we read that there was a small revival. Don't you think the Lord heard, maybe even later, a remnant remained and returned, and Ezra and they had a small revival, though Habakkuk did not see revival among his people. He saw it in his own life. He was a personal example of it. He learned to rejoice and to trust in the darkest of circumstances. He learned to be content with the Lord's ways, rejoicing in his salvation, rejoicing in the salvation through the Messiah. And as we pray then for revival, may it start with us personally when we learn to rejoice in the Lord in all circumstances. in the Lord Jesus Christ, our safe passage on the way, the truth, and the life, our safe passage, our way of escape to the promised land, a greater Moses who defeats our enemies. Yes, we struggle sometimes with them still. But he defeats sin, Satan, and our old self. And what he does is making us examples of what it means to live by faith with this joyful confidence in the Lord. May you do so for every one of us. Amen.