Rejoice in Christ the Lord, again
The Spirit speaks the word;
And faith takes up the happy strain:
Our joy is in the Lord. --Anon.

To improve your outlook, keep looking up

Habakkuk 1:1-4
The Bible's School of Prayer

To call God and us unequal partners is a laughable understatement. And yet by inviting us to do kingdom work on earth, God has indeed set up a kind of odd-couple alliance. God delegates work to human beings so that we do history together, so to speak. Clearly, the partnership has one dominant partner—something like an alliance between Microsoft and a high school programmer.

We know well what happens when human beings form unequal alliances: the dominant partner tends to throw his weight around and the subordinate mostly keeps quiet. But God, who has no reason to be threatened by us, invites a steady and honest flow of communication.

I sometimes wonder why God places such a high value on honesty in our prayers, even to the extent of enduring unjust outbursts. I am startled to see how many biblical prayers seem ill-tempered. Jeremiah griped about unfairness (Jer 20:7, 8, 9, 10); Habakkuk accused God of deafness (Hab 1:2); Job conceded, “What profit do we have if we pray to Him?” (Job 21:15). The Bible teaches us to pray with blistering honesty.

God wants us to come to Him with our complaints. If we march through life pretending to smile while inside we bleed, we dishonor the relationship. — Philip Yancey (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Give Him each perplexing problem,
All your needs to Him make known;
Bring to Him your daily burdens—
Never carry them alone! —Adams

The best thermometer of your spiritual temperature
is the intensity of your prayer. —Spurgeon

Habakkuk 1:2
Job 24:1-25

How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? - Habakkuk 1:2

TODAY IN THE WORD
An old saying declares that “out of sight” is “out of mind”—people do not concern themselves with what they cannot see. In our case, however, it is the fact that we lose sight of God that sometimes causes us to think that He doesn't have us in mind. Our circumstances don't always immediately reveal God's purpose. This is especially true when these circumstances appear to favor the wicked. The prophet Habakkuk, who uttered the complaint in today's key verse, wrestled with this problem as he watched the ruthless Babylonians literally get away with murder.

The prophet's question was essentially the same as Job's query in today's reading. In essence, they both asked, “God, if you are as good and just as we know you are, why don't you do something?” Job wanted to know when God would finally set the time for judgment. In exasperation, he lists a variety of situations in which the “bad guys” appear to be winning. Job's question was not without ulterior motives. He wondered why such tragedies had befallen him, despite his righteous behavior, when others who blatantly ignored God's righteous standard seemed to go free. The prophet Habakkuk described the social and political climate of his day and wondered why God would tolerate such wrongs. The answer for both men was not a comfortable one.

In Job's case, the answer was silence. God does not respond to Job's questions until the end of the book. Even then, He does not explain Himself. For Habakkuk, God outlined His plan but warned: “Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told” (Hab. 1:5). Paul quoted this verse while preaching in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch as a caution against the danger of unbelief (see Acts 13:13-52). Faith recognizes that God is working out His plan according to His own timetable. We know that a day is coming when both the righteous and the unjust will be held accountable for their actions.

TODAY ALONG THE WAY- Today's passage and key verse remind us of the need to look at our circumstances through the lens of faith. Not only will those who lack faith have trouble seeing God's hand in the midst of their circumstances, they would fail to grasp His plan, even if He told them. We have an advantage that both Job and Habakkuk did not. We possess the completed Scriptures. The Old and New Testament both warn of a coming day of judgment. Learn more about it by looking up the term judgment using a concordance or Bible software.  (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Habakkuk 1:12
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

 Art not Thou from everlasting, O Lord my God? Thou diest not. Habakkuk 1:12

Note the attributes of God, which are enumerated in these words. His eternity—He is from everlasting; He is the Holy One—of purer eyes than to behold evil; the Almighty—the Rock. Is it not wonderful that mortals should be permitted to put the possessive pronoun before these wonderful words, and claim this glorious God for themselves! My God; mine Holy One.

But the most remarkable is the reading suggested above by the words, “Thou diest not”; “He only hath immortality.” Time cannot lay its hand upon his nature, or death dissolve it. His hair is white, but not with the whiteness of decay, but of unutterable purity. He need not tremble at the summons of man’s great last foe. Unchangeable! The same yesterday, today, and for ever! The death of death! The destruction of the grave! He dies not.

All this is true; but it is true also that in the person of his Eternal Son He died. He laid down his life, though none took it from Him. He bowed his glorious nature beneath the yoke of death. Because the children were partakers of flesh and blood, He took part in the same, that through death He might destroy death. Though He ever liveth, yet He became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.

There are many mysteries like those at which the prophet hints. He holds his peace whilst the wicked swallows up the man that is more righteous than himself. It is the problem of all ages why God should permit it; but whatever be the explanation, it cannot be because He has vacated the throne of the universe, or that his arm is weakened by disease. From everlasting to everlasting He is God.

Habakkuk 1:12-2:4
Waiting For God

They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel (Psalm 106:13).

A friend found it difficult to be patient during a long hospital stay. She was a Christian, but she feared that some sins from her past were too bad to be forgiven. I assured her that when she confessed them to God He forgave her. And her doctors reassured her that her depression would lift and she would get better. Still she found it difficult to wait for the light to break through.

Habakkuk was perplexed and impatient too. First he complained to God about the evils of the Israelites (Hab 1:2, 3, 4). The Lord responded by saying that He would use the Babylonians to scourge them (Hab 1:5-11). Then the prophet raised a new problem—Babylon was more wicked than Israel (Hab 1:12-17). Though frustrated, Habakkuk didn't act rashly. Instead, he showed reverence for God by declaring that he would wait for Him to make things clear. When God spoke to Habakkuk again, He assured the prophet that He would give him the answer. He com­manded him to write it clearly so that he could proclaim it speedily. But He also told Habakkuk that he would have to wait awhile before seeing all the wrongs made right. This delay was a trying experience for Habakkuk, but the answer eventually came, and at just the right time.

When waiting for God to work, we must exercise patience and steadfast faith, leaving matters in His hands. God will reward us for our patience—but not too soon nor too late. —H. V. Lugt (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Patience is a virtue that carries a lot of wait.

Habakkuk 1:13

Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. - Habakkuk 1:13

TODAY IN THE WORD - The story is told that during the Revolutionary War, a minister named Peter Miller had a neighbor who hated and ridiculed him. But when his unbelieving neighbor was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death, Miller walked to the camp of General George Washington to plead for the man’s life. Washington listened to the plea, but said he didn’t feel he should pardon Miller’s friend. “My friend!” answered Miller. “He’s not my friend. He’s my worst enemy.” Washington was so surprised by Miller’s actions on behalf of an enemy that he granted the pardon. Miller took the pardon to the condemned man, and his life was spared.

That’s a wonderful story of grace, and it applies to the life of Manasseh, the longest-serving and most evil king to rule over Judah. It’s hard to believe that Manasseh was the son of Hezekiah, about whom the Bible says there was no king before or after him who did so well at doing right.

It’s safe to say that no king before or after Manasseh did as much evil as he did. Not only was this man Hezekiah’s son, but he ruled with his father as co-regent for about ten years before taking the throne.

Manasseh ruled for a total of fifty-five years, and he did irreparable damage to the nation. God said that because of all the sins Manasseh committed against Him, He would punish Judah with the same standard He had used against Israel and the dynasty of Ahab. Judah would also be sent into exile (2Kings 21:10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15).

The extent and variety of Manasseh’s sins are stunning. He undid Hezekiah’s reforms, and offered his own sons as sacrifices. If there was any form of idolatry to be practiced, or any evil person to be consulted, Manasseh did it. He even set up an idol in God’s temple in Jerusalem. It’s no wonder Manasseh and his people paid no attention when God tried to speak to them (v. 10).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY- It’s hard to imagine that it took as much of God’s grace to save “ordinary” people like us as it did to forgive Manasseh.  (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Habakkuk 1:13
Hiding My Face

I’m a news junkie. I like knowing what’s going on in the world. But sometimes the atrocities of life make me feel as if I’m a kid watching a scary movie. I don’t want to see what happens. I want to turn away to avoid watching.

God reacts to evil in a similar way. Years ago, He warned the Israelites that He would turn away from them if they turned toward evil (Deut. 31:18). They did, and He did (Ezek. 39:24).

The prophet Habakkuk had not forsaken God, but he suffered along with those who had. “Why do You show me iniquity,” he asked the Lord, “and cause me to see trouble?” (Hab. 1:3).

God’s response to His confused prophet indicates that even when evil obscures the face of God, our inability to see Him does not mean He is uninvolved. God said, “Look among the nations and watch—be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you” (Hab 1:5). God would judge Judah, but He would also judge the invading Babylonians for their evil (see Hab. 2). And through it all, “The just shall live by his faith” (2:4).

When world events cause you to despair, turn off the news and turn to Scripture. The end of the story has been written by our holy God. Evil will not prevail.— Julie Ackerman Link

Lord, we praise You for Your displays of power in the
past and Your promises of victory in the future,
for they replace our fear of the world
with confidence in You. Amen.

Don’t despair because of evil; God will have the last word.
 

Habakkuk 2:1
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

I will look forth to see what He will speak with me. Habakkuk 2:1

The prophet had made his complaint in the preceding chapter; and now he climbs the watch-tower, much as the watchman did who waited for tidings of the battle between Joab and Absalom. He looks forth for God’s answer. This, to say the least, is respectful in our dealings with the Almighty. Too often we ask questions, and do not wait for replies; shoot prayer-arrows into the air, without stopping to see where they alight, or what quarry they strike. We are in too great a hurry, to take time and trouble for climbing the watch-tower, and awaiting the Divine reply.

God still speaks to the waiting soul. Sometimes, there is a direct answer to its perplexity; at others, there is the assurance that the vision is yet for the appointed time, but that it is hastening towards the end. O long-waiting soul, dost thou hear those words? Thou hast been standing long upon the watch-tower. Hope has almost died; but the vision is panting in its haste to be fulfilled. If it tarry, wait for it; because it is already on the way. Every throb of the pendulum brings it nearer. The express train is hurrying towards thee, with its precious freight.

How often God’s answers come, and find us gone! We have waited for awhile, and, thinking there was no answer, we have gone our way; but as we have turned the first corner the post has come in. God’s ships touch at our wharves; but there is no one to unload them. His letters lie at the office; but no one calls for them. It is not enough to direct your prayer unto God; look up, and look out, until the blessing alights on your head. When we ask what is according to his will, we receive while we pray.

Habakkuk 2:1-8
Begin With God

"Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith" (Habakkuk 2:4).

Speaking to the graduating seniors of New Zealand Bible College, Brian Smith said, "How well I recall the remark of a senior missionary in India when he was reflecting on the phenomenon we call Hinduism. When you see its temples and hear the throb of its drums and smell the fragrance of its incense, and realize the tremendous hold it has upon the land, your heart sinks. And the consolation I have is this: This too, this mighty construction of religion and faith and worship, will disappear, like all those systems of the past. Where now are the ancient gods of the Assyrians, the Egyptians, and the Romans? Where now Artemis, "great goddess of the Ephesians, she whom Asia and the whole world worships"? These are no more.

As Habakkuk wrote about the powerful Chaldean armies (Hab 1:6), he no doubt despaired over their seeming invincibility. A similar feeling must have swept over European Christians in the 1940s when they saw their homelands overtaken by the Nazis. And today the same is surely true of believers in atheistic countries. But for those who trust God, there is always hope. That's why the prophet Habakkuk affirmed that the just shall live by faith. God's people have the assurance that they will triumph—if not here, then in eternity.

Ungodly philosophies and false religions seem overwhelming at times, but they will not last. God has promised that righteousness will prevail. —D. C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

That which does not begin with God ends in failure.

Habakkuk 2:4-5
TODAY IN THE WORD

“Greed is good.” With those words, celebrated Wall Street whiz Ivan Boesky revealed his basic business philosophy to his class of undergraduate students.

Even to the “Me generation” of the 1980s, Boesky’s unapologetic endorsement of old-fashioned greed came as a shock. But the multi-millionaire got a little too greedy and wound up serving time in prison for using insider trading information to his advantage.

Greed ought to shock us. Its place on the list of the so-called Seven Deadly Sins reminds us that for many centuries greed has been considered one of the sins that have the greatest appeal to the human appetite. Given greed’s place of shame in the Bible, it’s hard to argue with that view.

Today’s text is not really a definition of greed, but gives us a fascinating and sobering look at the nature of greed. Habakkuk was given a hard prophetic message to deliver. God was going to judge sinful Judah by giving His people over to infinitely more wicked conquerors: the cruel Babylonians.

In the process of delivering his message, Habakkuk drew a word picture of the coming invaders. The Babylonians were “puffed up” and “arrogant.” We know what pride does to individuals or to a nation.

But Habakkuk also noted that the Babylonians were “as greedy as the grave.” They were like death, which is “never satisfied.” This is about the best illustration of greed you’ll find. Death won’t stop taking until everyone is in its grasp. We are told in Proverbs 30:15-16 that the grave is one of four things that never says “Enough!”

TODAY ALONG THE WAY - When do you say “Enough”? Most people don’t say it at all. Greed is easy to spot in others but tough to pinpoint in ourselves. Here’s a brief self-test that may help focus the issue. Jot down the three things you want most right now; then ask these questions about each item: 1. Is this a legitimate need or desire? 2. Is this something I want just because I want it? 3. Is the lack of this item standing between me and true contentment?  (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Habakkuk 2:4
Only One Option

If you were to ask several people to draw a crooked line on a piece of paper, no two lines would be identical. There is a lesson in this: There are many ways to be crooked, but only one way to be straight.

The Lord tells us that the righteous person has only one option—to "live by his faith" (Habakkuk 2:4). In the chapter prior to this declaration from the Lord, the prophet Habakkuk had complained about the violence and injustice around him. It seemed as if the wicked were swallowing up the righteous (Hab 1:13).

God responded to Habakkuk by saying that His people were to be "just" and were to live by faith. They were not to be like the one who is "proud" and "not upright" (2:4). A proud and self-sufficient person will rationalize his faults and imperfections. He doesn't want to admit that he needs God. His ways are crooked.

Wickedness seems to prevail in our world. God urges us to live our lives in faith, taking to heart His assurance to Habakkuk that there will be a day of reckoning for the wicked.

The only way to please God now and to be ready for that day of reckoning is to live by faith.— Albert Lee (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)

Lord, grant me grace throughout this day
To walk the straight and narrow way,
To do whatever in Thy sight
Is good and perfect, just and right. —Huisman

The only right way is the straight and narrow way.

Habakkuk 2:14
OUR ONLY HOPE

We should live...godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope.- Titus 2:12, 13

An unknown author wrote, "When I was first converted, and for some years afterward, the second coming of Christ was a thrilling idea, a blessed hope, a glorious promise, the theme of some of the most inspiring songs of the church.

"Later it became an accepted tenet of faith, a cardinal doctrine, a kind of invisible trademark of my ministry. It was the favorite arena of my theological discussions, in the pulpit and in print. Now suddenly the second coming means something more to me. Paul called it world."

From the human standpoint, there is no solution for the problems of the world. Leaders seem to be completely frustrated in trying to deal with the unrest and increasing violence in society. The only complete and permanent solution is found in the return of Christ. When He comes, He will set up His kingdom. He will rule the nations in righteousness, and "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Hab. 2:14).

As we await our Savior's return, let us keep on praying, working, and watching, while "looking for the blessed hope" - our only hope for this world.  Richard W. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

And for the hope of His return,
Dear Lord, Your name we praise;
With longing hearts we watch and wait
For that great day of days! - Sherwood

As this world grows darker,
the promised return of the Son grows brighter.

Habakkuk 2:15-20 
QUIET TIME

Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).

A group of British miners in Australia heard the sweet song of a thrush one evening as they worked. The lovely sound hushed these hardened men into absolute silence. In the stillness their hearts became tender as memories of their boyhood days in their beloved England swept over them. Similarly, when we are quiet, God speaks to us most clearly and effectively.

Stepping into the stillness of a cold winter morning and gazing upon fields and buildings coated with dazzling frost or covered with sparkling snow have been unforgettable experiences. During the night, the silvery frost had come silently, its unseen fingers deftly touching the landscape. Or feathery snowflakes had descended with-out awakening a single soul. The silence of such a moment brings to mind the words of Psalm 46:10:

"Be still, and know that I am God."

I would also think of Habakkuk 2:20

"The LORD is in His holy temple.
Let all the earth keep silence before Him."

God speaks to us during other times of silence as well. Sooner or later we lie sleepless as a result of illness, grief, or anxiety. These can be precious moments of quiet solitude when we tell the Lord we love Him and want Him to speak to us. In the stillness we can learn lessons we'd learn in no other way. We experience a new peace—a fresh sense of His presence. But we need not wait for a sleepless night! —H. V. Lugt (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

The quiet hour is the power hour.

Habakkuk 2:20
August 28, 2005
The Beauty Of Silence
READ: Psalm 62:1-8

Truly my soul silently waits for God. —Psalm 62:1

Written on the wall behind the pulpit of the church we attended in my teens were these words: "The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him" (Habakkuk 2:20). And keep silence we did! All eight of us boys said nothing to one another as we sat waiting for the service to begin.

I loved this quiet time and often succeeded in pushing thoughts about girls and the Detroit Tigers out of my mind. The best I could, I tried to reflect on the wonder of God and His salvation. And in the silence I often sensed His presence.

Today we live in a noisy world. Many people can't even drive without music blaring from their car, or the beat of the bass vibrating their vehicle. Even many church services are marked more by noise than by quiet reflection.

In ancient times the pagans cried out in a noisy frenzy to their idols (1Kings 18:25, 26, 27, 28, 29). In sharp contrast, the psalmist saw the wisdom of silence, because in quiet reverence God can be heard. In the stillness of the night under a starry sky, in a hushed sanctuary, or in a quiet room at home, we can meet the living God and hear Him speak.

The psalmist's words are relevant today: "Wait silently for God alone" (Psalm 62:5). —Herbert Vander Lugt  (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Speak, Lord, in the stillness,
While I wait on Thee;
Hushed my heart to listen
In expectancy. —Grimes

To hear God's voice,
turn down the world's volume.

Habakkuk 2:20
May 25, 2003
Our God Is Marching On
READ: Habakkuk 2:6-20

The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him. —Habakkuk 2:20

In 1861, during the US Civil War, author and lecturer Julia Ward Howe visited Washington, DC. One day she went outside the city and saw a large number of soldiers marching. Early the next morning she awoke with words for a song in her mind.

She was aware of all the ugliness of the war, but her faith led her to write: "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord." She saw, I believe, that in spite of and through all the ugliness, God was "marching on" toward the day when He will right the wrongs of the ages.

The prophet Habakkuk came to a similar conclusion. Chapter 1 of his book tells us how troubled he was when he learned that God was going to punish the people of Judah by letting them be conquered by the wicked Babylonians. In chapter 2, God assured His servant that—in spite of and through all the ugliness and wrongs of history—He is "marching on" toward the day when "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord" (Hab 2:14).

If we believe that God is "marching on," in spite of all the brutal conflicts that mark our day, we will not despair. We can quietly await the final verdict from our Lord, who rules the universe from "His holy temple" (Hab 2:20). —Herbert Vander Lugt  (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

God rules as Sovereign on His throne,
He judges great and small;
And those who would His earth destroy
Beneath His rod shall fall. —D. De Haan

Someday the scales of justice will be perfectly balance

Habakkuk 3:2
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years. Habakkuk 3:2

When we are oppressed with the state of the Church and the world, as Habakkuk was, there is no resource but to turn to God. It is of no use to say to our brother, “What shall we do?” Better at once get into the presence of the Almighty. All conferences with flesh and blood are wasted breath, unless there has been a previous one with God.
Note also the unselfishness of the prayer which precedes revival. We must not pray “Revive my work,” lest the insidious temptation come in of using the stream of God’s blessing to turn our own tiny water-wheels for our own profit. Let us get beyond the narrow limits of our church or section, and ask for a revival of God’s work everywhere.

We do not need a new Gospel, but a revival—a revivifying of the old Gospel. If any preach another Gospel than that which the apostles preached, let him be accursed; he is selling bran for wheat; he is filling cartridges with sand. We want nothing but the Gospel of the Cross of Jesus Christ, proclaimed from lips which have received a new baptism of heavenly power.

Note the time. Not at the end of years, but in the midst. This is a prayer for those in middle life. They are apt to think that their power for service has passed its prime, and that the successes of their early days cannot be paralleled. But let them remember that in the midst of the years God can revive his work, and ask for it.

What an argument! “Remember mercy.” We cannot appeal to merit, but can lay great stress on mercy. Lord, have mercy on thy Church—revive her; and ere the dispensation close, may she arise for one great work of soul-salvation!

Habakkuk 3:18
October 3, 1998
The Choice To Rejoice
READ: Habakkuk 3:1-19

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. --Habakkuk 3:18

When a grief-stricken woman was sharing her feelings, her friend said sympathetically, "Sorrow does color life, doesn't it?" "Yes," the woman agreed, and then added, "but I intend to choose the colors."

In today's Bible reading, the prophet Habakkuk expressed the same intention. Facing the possible loss of crops and livestock, he declared, "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Hab3:18).

The words "I will" revealed Habakkuk's belief that he could choose his response to loss--either to sink into despair or to rejoice in God's redeeming power. His decision to rejoice wasn't a denial of the pain. It was a decision of trust based on the truth that God would remain with him to be his strength and enabler (Hab 3:19).

The choice to rejoice is with us every day. To refuse to choose is itself a choice. It's an unconscious consent to be overcome rather than to be an overcomer. I recently met a disabled elderly woman who exemplified this. When I inquired, "How are you," she replied cheerfully, "Just fine! If I were any better, I'd have to be twins!"

Loss and pain do color life, but we can choose the color--joy! —Joanie Yoder  (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

When rough the path from day to day,
When sorrows fill our eyes with tears,
Our choice to find our joy in Christ
Can soothe our soul and calm our fears. --DJD

When you choose to rejoice,
your life takes on a beautiful color.

Habakkuk 3:14-19
July 1, 2005
Joy—Even In Poverty

Though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; . . . yet I will rejoice in the Lord. —Habakkuk 3:17-18

In the book 450 Stories for Life, Gust Anderson tells about visiting a church in a farming community of eastern Alberta, Canada, where there had been 8 years of drought. The farmers' economic situation looked hopeless. But in spite of their poverty, many of them continued to meet together to worship and praise God.

Anderson was especially impressed by the testimony of a farmer who stood up and quoted Habakkuk 3:17-18. With deep feeling, he said, "Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Anderson thought, That dear saint has found the secret of real joy!

It's not wrong to find pleasure in the good things money can buy, but we should never rely on them for happiness. If our fulfillment depends on material possessions, we are crushed when we lose them. But if our joy is found in the Lord, nothing can disrupt it, not even economic distress.

Yes, those who know and trust the Lord can rejoice—even in poverty! —Richard De Haan  (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Pleasures of earth, so seemingly sweet,
Fail at the last my longings to meet:
Only in Thee my bliss is complete;
Only, blest Lord, in Thee. —Anon.

Happiness depends on happenings;
joy depends on Jesus!

Habakkuk 3:17-19
May 24, 2006
Can We Rejoice?
READ: Habakkuk 3:17-19

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord . . . . The Lord God is my strength. —Habakkuk 3:18, 19

I’ll never forget the question our Bible-study leader asked: “What do you fear would test your faith in God the most?” We were studying Habakkuk 3:17, 18, where the prophet said that even if God sent suffering or loss, he would still rejoice.

As a single woman in my twenties, my answer was “I don’t know if I could stand the pain of losing my parents.” But I told God that day that even when they died I would rejoice in Him. I found out too soon that it’s easier said than done.

A month later, Dad learned he had heart disease and didn’t have long to live. He didn’t know Jesus as his Savior, so I begged God not to let him die without coming to know Him. Not only did he die that year, so did Mom, who was a believer. I didn’t know if my prayer for Dad was answered. I couldn’t rejoice; I wondered if God had even heard my prayer.

As I wrestled with Him about my questions, I experienced the Lord as my “refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). I found hope in the truth that God, “the Judge of all the earth,” would do what was right by everyone (Genesis 18:25).

We can rejoice—when we are rejoicing in the Lord, our strong refuge and righteous Judge. —Anne Cetas  (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Why must I bear this pain? I cannot tell;
I only know my Lord does all things well.
And so I trust in God, my all in all,
For He will bring me through, whate’er befall. —Smith

God tries our faith so that we may try His faithfulness

Habakkuk 3:17-19
January 6, 2005
Undeserved Blessings

God . . . has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. —Ephesians 1:3

Tennis superstar Arthur Ashe died of AIDS, which he contracted from a blood transfusion during heart surgery. More than a great athlete, Ashe was a gentleman who inspired and encouraged many with his exemplary behavior on and off the court.

Ashe could have become embittered and self-pitying in the face of his disease, but he maintained a grateful attitude. He explained, "If I asked, 'Why me?' about my troubles, I would have to ask, 'Why me?' about my blessings. Why my winning Wimbledon? Why my marrying a beautiful, gifted woman and having a wonderful child?"

Ashe's attitude rebukes those of us who often grumble, "Why me? Why is God allowing this to happen?" Even if we're suffering acutely, we must not forget the mercies God pours into our lives—such things as food, shelter, and friends—blessings that many are deprived of.

And what about spiritual blessings? We can hold the very Word of God in our hands and read it. We have the knowledge of His saving grace, the comfort of His Spirit, and the joyful assurance of life everlasting with Jesus.

Think about God's blessings and ask, "Why me?" Then your grumbling will give way to praise.—Vernon C Grounds  (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by. —Oatman

With unwanted burdens come undeserved blessing

Habakkuk 3:17-19
February 13, 2000
Always Thankful
READ: Habakkuk 3:17-19

I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. --Habakkuk 3:18

Perhaps Habakkuk 3:17-19 was an unusual Bible passage to read as our family and guests sat down to a traditional feast of turkey with all the trimmings. But I had a reason for choosing it. Simply to bow my head and give thanks didn't seem to be enough. Compared with the poverty of many of the world's people, I am wealthy.

The prophet Habakkuk was awaiting the destruction of his country by the ruthless Chaldeans, whose army was called by God to punish His people for their disobedient and evil ways (Hab. 1:5-6). He said, "Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls--yet I will rejoice in the Lord" (3:17-18).

Those words made me stop and ask, "Am I thankful to God regardless of what He gives or withholds?" Habakkuk pondered how he would respond to the loss of every material blessing. He concluded, "I will joy in the God of my salvation" (v.18).

Circumstances may change, but God remains the same. That's always cause for thanksgiving. —David C. McCasland  (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

We can give thanks in every trial
And say, "Your will be done,"
For God's at work in everything
To make us like His Son. --DJD

Thankfulness depends on what is in your heart,
not what is in your hand.

Habakkuk 3:17-19
The Smile Of Joy

These things we write to you that your joy may be full. --1 John 1:4

Remember those round, yellow, happy-face stickers that showed up frequently on stationery and postcards? They were often accompanied by the one-word message, "Smile." They implied that you can put a smile on your face as easily as you can put a hat on your head. In a sense, that is true. A good actor can look happy even when his heart is breaking.

Favorable circumstances can also produce smiles. A person with good health, an adequate income, and a nice house finds it easy to look happy. The best smile, though, comes naturally from within. It reflects a joy that remains even when a person has few of life's material blessings. It comes from knowing God, believing and obeying His Word, being assured of sins forgiven, possessing eternal life, and anticipating the glories of heaven. The believer who depends on God for these blessings can smile despite adversity.

In today's Scripture reading, the prophet Habakkuk declared triumphantly, "I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Habakkuk 3:18). Even if everything were taken from him, the Lord would be his strength. He didn't need to "put on" a smile, because the joy in his heart would do it for him. —Richard De Haan —Richard De Haan  (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

A smile can conceal our pain
And lighten our despair,
But trust in God gives inner peace
And joy beyond compare. —Sper

Happiness depends on happenings,
but joy depends on Jesus.

Habakkuk 3:1-19

The Sovereign Lord is my strength, . . . he enables me to go on the heights. - Habakkuk 3:19

TODAY IN THE WORD - Physicist Stephen Unwin recently wrote a book entitled The Probability of God. “I don’t consider anything to be understood until numbers have been applied,” he said. “I have made a career of understanding and analyzing uncertainty and probabilities. Therefore, it seemed obvious to apply these methods to the ultimate uncertainty–whether God exists.” Using something called Bayes’ Theorem as well as other equations, he reviewed evidence from observation and experience in an attempt to assign a mathematically rigorous number to the probability of the existence of a personal God. He concluded that the probability of God’s existence was 67 percent.

Alexander Maclaren's Sermon on...
Habakkuk 3:19 The Ideal Devout Life

‘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.’— HABAKKUK 3:19

So ends one of the most magnificent pieces of imaginative poetry in Scripture or anywhere else. The singer has been describing a great delivering manifestation of the Most High God, which, though he knew it was for the deliverance of God’s people, shed awe and terror over his soul. Then he gathers himself together to vow that in this God, thus manifested as the God of his salvation, he ‘will rejoice,’ whatever penury or privation may attach to his outward life. Lastly, he rises, in these final words, to the apprehension of what this God, thus rejoiced in, will become to those who so put their trust and their gladness upon Himself.

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 as that of my text, occurs in the 18th psalm, and that there, too, it is the last and joyous result of a tremendous manifestation of the delivering energy of God.

Without any attempt to do more than bring out the deep meaning of the words, 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.

I. First, such communion with God brings God to a man for his strength.

The 18th psalm, which is closely parallel, as I have remarked, with this one, 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 farther than that with this: ‘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 ‘He 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.’ It is the anticipation in experience—which always comes before dogmatic formulas that reduce experiences into articulate utterances, of what the Apostle recorded when he said that he had heard the voice that declared, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee, and My strength is made perfect in weakness.’

Ah, brother! do not let us deprive ourselves of the lofty consolations and the mysterious influx of power which may be ours, if we will open our eyes to see, and our hearts to receive, what is really the central blessing of the Gospel, the communication through the same faith as Habakkuk exercised when he said, ‘I will rejoice in the God of my salvation,’ of an actual divine strength to dwell in and manifest itself majestically and triumphantly through, our weakness. ‘The Lord is my strength,’ and if we will rejoice in the Lord we shall find that Habakkuk’s experience was lower than ours, inasmuch as he knew less of God than we do; and we shall be able to surpass his saying with the other one of the Prophet: ‘The Lord is my strength and song; He also is become my salvation.’ 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.

II. The second is like unto it. Such rejoicing communion with God will give light-footedness in the path of life.

‘He makes my feet like hinds’ feet.’ The stag is, in all languages spoken by people that have ever seen it, the very type and 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 light 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! Plod, plod, plod, in a heavy-footed, spiritless grind, like that with which the ploughman toils down the sticky furrows of a field, with a pound of clay at each heel; or like that with which a man goes wearied home from his work at night. 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, our 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. But then my text brings a bright assurance, that swift and easy and springing as the course of a stag on a free hill-side may be the gait with which we run the race set before us.

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. All these fluctuations and variations, and causes of heavy-footedness—and sometimes more sinful ones, causes of sluggishness—will survive; but in spite of them all, and beneath them all, it is possible that we may have ourselves thus equipped for the road, and may rejoice in our work ‘as a strong man to run a race,’ and may cheerily welcome every duty, and cast ourselves into all our tasks. It is possible, because communion with God manifest in Christ does, as we have been seeing, actually breathe into men a vigour, and consequently a freshness and a buoyancy that do not belong to themselves, and do not come from nature or from surrounding things. 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 great 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 pled. ‘Thou makest my feet like hinds’ feet’—if I get the new motive of love to God in Christ well into my heart so that it comes out and influences all my actions, there will be no more tasks too formidable to undertake, or too small to be worth an effort. There will be nothing unwelcome. The rough places will be made plain, and the crooked things straight, and our feet will be shod with the preparedness of the gospel of peace.

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. They that hold communion with Him, and only they, will, as another prophet says, ‘run and not be weary,’ when there come the moments that require a special effort; and ‘will walk and not faint’ through the else tediously long hours of commonplace duty and dusty road.

III. The last of the thoughts here is—Communion with God brings 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’; if we will keep ourselves in simple, loving fellowship with God in Christ; and day by day, even when ‘the fig-tree does not blossom, and there is no fruit in the vine,’ will still ‘rejoice in the God of our salvation,’ He will lift us up, and Isaiah’s other clause in the verse which I have quoted will be fulfilled: ‘They shall mount up with wings as eagles.’ 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. If we hold fast by Christ’s hand that will lift us up to the high places, the heights of God, in so far as we may reach them in this world; and we shall be at home up there. They will be ‘ my high places,’ that I never could have got at by my own scrambling, but to which Thou hast lifted me up, and which, by Thy grace, have become my natural abode. I am at home there, and walk at liberty in the loftiness, and fear no fall amongst the cliffs.

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 bottoms, amongst the swamps, and the miasma, and the mists? Where is your home, brother? The Mass begins with Sursum corda : ‘Up with your hearts,’ and that is the word for us. But the way to get up is to keep ourselves in touch with Jesus Christ, and then He will, even whilst our feet are travelling along this road of earth, set us at His own right hand in the heavenly places, and make them ‘ our high places.’ 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.

Habakkuk 2:4 Faith Life

NO. 2809
INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD’S-DAY, DECEMBER 14TH, 1902,DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON,
ON LORD’S-DAY EVENING, MAY 10TH, 1877.

“The just shall live by his faith.”-Habakkuk 2:4.
“The just shall live by faith.”-Romans 1:17.
“The just shall live by faith”-Galatians 3:11.
“Now the just shall live by faith.”-Hebrews 10:38.

THE fact that these words are so frequently found in the Word of God is a sufficient justification for often preaching from them. There seems to be, among certain preachers and hearers, some sort of question about preaching more than once from the same text; yet it would appear that this is by no means a wrong practice, but a most proper one. Indeed, our Lord Jesus Christ may be thought to have preached the same sermon more than once, for the sermon on the mount contains many passages similar to those uttered by him on other occasions. The apostle Paul imitated his Master’s example when he wrote to the Philippians, “To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.” We need not hesitate to follow such leaders as these.

As the truth contained in our texts is so often brought before us in the Scriptures,-and is revealed at least four times in almost the same words,-we ought to regard it as of the greatest imaginable importance, as indeed it is. A mistake upon this subject would be a mistake concerning life,-for we are told, again and again, “The just shall live by faith;”-and a mistake concerning life is a vital mistake, and will be a fatal mistake to those who make it unless it be corrected and rectified by a power higher than their own. Therefore, we ought to give most earnest heed to that which lies near to the very heart of true religion, and which is, indeed, its very life. To the believer, faith is of the utmost importance. He should endeavor not to lose any of his graces; he should seek, by the power of the blessed Spirit, neither to lose patience, nor hope, nor love, nor any other grace or virtue; still, the root of true religion is faith so he must first of all see to that. If we fail in faith, we shall fail everywhere. I might almost say of faith, with regard to religion that it is like the heart, out of which are the issues of life. If faith be weak, we are weak all over,-for service, for suffering for everything; but when faith is strong, it imparts strength to all the members of the spiritual body, and the whole spiritual manhood is full of vigor. So, my brother, or sister, see thou first and foremost to thy faith. May God the Holy Spirit graciously strengthen it, and may our consideration of these four texts tend to the same end!

First, in time great change from condemnation to justification, these words are true: “The just shall live by faith;” and, secondly, using a very wide term to take in all the rest of our daily life,-in reference to what we have been accustomed to call sanctification,-these words are also true: “ The just shall live by faith.” It is the same life all the way through, and the same method of living that life, namely, by faith.”

I. First, then, In The Great Change From Condemnation To Justification, these words are true: “The just shall live by faith.”

We all need to be delivered from the condemnation, which is our due because of sin. When a man’s conscience is aroused to see the fearful penalty which he has incurred by his transgressions, he cries out for someone to rescue him from the death which looms before him as the result of his condemnation. He begins to seek a way of escape, and he tries all sorts of ways, and runs in them with great perseverance, and earnestness, and self-denial; but he makes a mistake as to every way of escape until he comes to this way, “The just shall live by faith.”

This is the famous text which was the means of the emancipation of the soul of Martin Luther. I have stood at the bottom of the Santa Scala, or holy staircase, at Rome, which is superstitiously believed to be the very one down which the Savior came from Pilate’s hall; I have never gone up those stairs, because no one may go up them except upon his knees, and I would not do that; but I have walked up and down the steps by the side of them. There are certain hole’s cut in the wooden floor which encases the marble staircase, and that wooden floor has been worn away many time by the pilgrims’ knees. There are places cut,-where the priests say that the blood of Jesus fell,-in order to enable the poor votaries of superstition to kiss the spot where the blooddrops fell. I have seen scores of men and women going up that staircase on their bended knees, for they are told that there are great indulgences to be obtained by crawling up those stairs. Luther was doing this, for he had gone to Rome determined to get rid of his sins, if possible; and while he was in the middle of that slavish toil, seeking to gain everlasting life by his penance’s, this text came into his mind,-he had read it in the Bible in the monastery,-”The just shall live by faith;” and, to the astonishment of those who looked on, he rose from his knees, never to go up the Santa Scala any more in that fashion, for he had discovered that which he was looking for, the true way of living; and you know that it was not long before he wanted to tell others of the life and peace that he had discovered. An old monk, who knew something about these truths, but who did not want to have any noise made concerning them, said to him, “Go thou back to thy cell, and live near to God, and do not make a stir.” But God did not mean him to go back to his cell, and he began to speak, and very soon the world knew that a mighty change had been wrought, but it all came, instrumentally, through Luther learning this great truth, “The just shall live by faith.”

If I am addressing any who are trying to procure eternal life by their own works;-if you have mended your ways a good deal, it was time you did so;-if you have obtained a great many virtues to which you were strangers before, I am very glad to hear it, for it was your duty to do so;-but, if you are hoping, by any such means, to put away your sin, oh that some voice, more potent than mine, would speak not only to your ear, but to your heart, and say, “The just shall live by faith”! It is well that you have forsaken the ale-bench, it is right that you have abstained from profane language, it is good that you are honest, it is most commendable that you are seeking to be a comfort to your friends at home, and to observe all the laws of domestic and social life; but if you are seeking, in this way, to obtain eternal life, you will miss the object of your search. It is not so that you can be made just in the sight of God, or that you can secure true spiritual life, for “the just shall live by faith,” that is, by faith in Jesus Christ. You know “the old, old story,” but I will tell it you once again. To obtain life, you must believe in that dear Son of God who came to earth, and took our nature, and took our sin, and was made a curse for us that we might be no more a curse, and died, “the Just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.” Your faith must be fixed on what he did, not on what you can do; and on what he suffered, not on what you can suffer by way of repentance, despondency and distress of soul. You must look right away from anything there is within or about you, or anything you can possibly perform or achieve, to the ransom price paid by Christ upon the cross of Calvary, for you must live-you can live only-by faith in Jesus Christ, for “by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight”

Some, however, place a great deal of reliance in various forms of religious observances, as Luther himself did until his eyes were opened by the Holy Spirit. If that is your case, my dear friend, let me say that it is well that you should attend the house of God, and I am glad that you do; but if you get the idea that you are to be saved because you go so many times a week to the assembly of the saints, you are making a fatal mistake. It is well to search the Scriptures; but if you imagine that the searching of them will save you,-if you think that in them there is eternal life,-you will find that there is something else to be done before you can get that great blessing, namely, coming to Christ that you may have eternal life, for you will search the Scriptures in vain if you regard that exercise as one which merits salvation. It is well that you have begun to pray; but all the praying in the world, if it be relied on as a ground of salvation, is like a sandy foundation for a man to build on. You may weep over your sinful state, your tears may flow until, like Niobe, you are transformed into a perpetual fountain; but salvation comes not so. “The just shall live by faith.” All the devotional exercises in which you can possibly engage, in public or in private, with all the so called “sacraments” thrown in, and all the priestly efficacy of which men dream,-even if there were such a thing in reality,-all this could not save you. “The just hall live by faith.” This is the only way of living that God has ordained for sinners dead in trespasses and sins.

There is a notion more common, perhaps, than either of these two, of salvation by works or ceremonies, and that is the idea of a certain amount of terror of conscience, which is often confounded with true conviction of sin. According to the ideas of some people, this state must be passed through before you can be saved. You must dream about dreadful things at night, and wake in the morning full of horror and confusion, and go about your business in the utmost conceivable despair. So some say, and it is true that there are many who do come to God in that way. I do not doubt that there are thousands who reach the Celestial City by way of the Slough of Despond; nay, how can I doubt it, when I went that way myself? Yet that is not the best way; it is our wandering and blundering that leads us to go that way, for the just shall not live by despondency, but by faith. The just shall not find eternal life through terror and despair; but they shall find it through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. The prophets of Baal were under a gross delusion when “they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them;” but they are equally deluded who think that, by lacerating their conscience, and by endeavoring to make themselves miserable, they shall thereby obtain the favor of God. That is not true, you may even be put into the mortar of conviction, and brayed there with the pestle of the law until you are ground to atoms, and there is no hope left in you; but that is not the way of salvation. “Believe and live” is the gospel precept. “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” “The just shall live by faith.” Do not, therefore, try and set up another mode of salvation, “for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ;” and salvation comes by building upon that foundation, resting and relying only upon him.

There are, no doubt, others who are looking in various directions for salvation, but we may say to them all that it is of no use which way they look,-this way or that, up, down, to the right, or to the left,-until they look by faith to Jesus Christ; but, oh, what life comes streaming into the soul as soon as the eye is fixed upon Jesus! In the case of some of us, the thrill that went through our heart, directly we looked to Jesus, was like a little heaven. It seemed to us as if we were suddenly brought into a new world. To me, believing in Jesus brought such a change in me, at once, that I can only compare it to the experience of a blind man, who, having never seen a ray of light, should be suddenly taken out in the night, set under the sky studded with stars, and then should have an instantaneous operation performed upon his eyes so that in a moment he could see clearly. Oh, how ravished he would be, how astonished, how delighted! How every little star would seem to twinkle for him! How every beam of light would seem to make him glad! He would clap his hands, he would leap for joy in the new sense of sight, and the newly discovered pleasure which it had brought into his life. This is the kind of bliss that comes through believing in Jesus. It is like the discovery of buried treasure; there comes such a flood of delight upon the soul as must be experienced to be understood, for it cannot be described. It does not come to all so suddenly, for some eyes are opened gradually; first they see men, as trees, walking; and, by-and-by, they see more fully; but, however it is manifested, the change that faith works in the soul is truly marvelous. Beloved, he that believeth in Jesus is “justified from all things, from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses.”

He relies upon a perfect atonement that puts away the whole sin of the man’s earthly existence, and he rejoices with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Man, thou wilt die; the sentence already passed upon thee will be executed ere long unless thou believest in Jesus, for “he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” But, man, if thou believest in Jesus, thou canst never be executed for thy sin. For thee, there is no hell; for thee, there is no undying worm, no Tophet, no Gehenna; there cannot be any of these things, for thou hast no sin now. “Thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee.” “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Faith brings life, and liberty, and love, and everlasting joy into the heart; but nothing else will do this.

This then, is the first sense of the expression, “The just shall live by faith;” and many of us have realized it, and bless God that we have. I wish that all in this place did not only know about faith, but really had faith. Oh, that some might have it now, and that, ere this congregation shall break up, each of them might be able to say, “I do believe in Jesus. I repose myself upon him. Sink or swim, I fall into his arms. Come what may, Christ shall be to me, from this time forward, all my salvation and all my desire”! O blessed Spirit, work this faith in every heart here present now, for Jesus’ sake! Amen.

II. Now comes the second part of the subject, namely, that The Whole After-Life Of The Christian, After He Is Made To Live, Is Still By Faith.

Note, first, that the believer, after his conversion, lives in no other way but by faith. No Christian remains a Christian except by still believing. Where we began, there we continue; we looked unto Jesus at the first, and we are still looking unto Jesus. We came to him at the first, and we are still coming unto him “as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious.” We know of no future ground of hope that can be any stronger or better than this nay, we know of no other than believing in Jesus Christ. I beg you, beloved Christian people, try to avoid all attempts to live in any other way.

There are some professing Christians who live upon their devotions. Now, no Christian can live without prayer,-without praise-without feeding upon the Word of God. Nobody ought to attempt to do that; but if any man should begin to say, “Now I can do without faith in Jesus, because I read so many chapters of a morning, and I spend so much time in prayer, and I also attend so many public services;”-ah! my brother, you have wandered out of the right track now, for you are not living by faith. But if you pray in faith, and praise in faith, and read the Word of God in faith, then all these things shall become helpful to your spiritual life; but if faith be left out, all these things shall be but as mere husks which contain no wheat in them whatsoever. I do fear that there are some professors of religion who feel perfectly satisfied if they have gone through the regular routine of the day. I admire habits of devotion; they should be maintained; but if the mere habit is mistaken for living power, and if it takes the place of coming continually to Jesus by living personal faith, you will soon find yourselves in a very strange case. “The just shall live by faith,” and not by these things apart from faith. Faith puts power into them, but they have no living force apart from faith.

There are some other Christians who try to live by their works. They are believers in Jesus, but they have got into such a state of heart that they are happy, and restful, and comfortable, only when they can have a certain amount of activity in the service of God. But if, through illness, or any other cause, they are hindered from active service, they are full of doubts, and begin to think that they are not saved, which proves that they were at least somewhat resting upon their activities. Now by all means, let us be active in the service of our Savior; let us be zealous in good works, for to this end were we called, and this is for the glory of God. But, beloved, if I were to begin to draw comfort as to my soul’s salvation from the fact of my diligence in preaching the gospel, I should be making a great mistake; or if you began to draw comfort from your earnestness in the Sabbath-school class, or if you should rest upon your devotion to various benevolent societies, or upon anything that you do, you would be upon the wrong track altogether. You would be feeding where God would not have you feed. Do all you can do, but live by faith. Serve God with all your might, but never make your service into a prop or pillow of confidence; for, even when we have done all that we ought to do, we are still unprofitable servants; and we must bring our best works, and ask forgiveness for their imperfections, even as there was a sacrifice appointed for the sins of Israel’s holy things. What sin there is even in our holy things, so that they might sooner damn us than save us! Let us put no confidence in them, nor try to live by them as some do.

There are other Christians who live by feeling. Indeed, I have heard some advocate that we ought to live by feeling. Now, a true Christian man cannot be without feeling. God forbid that he should! Feelings of sorrow, feelings of joy, feelings of spiritual depression, and feelings of holy elation,-these are all necessary in their time and place; but to live by feeling, and to gauge our security by our state of feeling, would be truly dreadful work, because our feelings are more fickle than the weather. It is fine just now; but in another half-hour, it may rain. In such a variable climate as ours, we can never reckon for long upon any sort of weather; and as to our hearts, and our feelings, so dependent upon our bodily health, or upon the kindness or the unkindness of our friends,-so dependent upon a thousand little things almost too minute to be observed,-if we begin estimating our safety by our ups and downs, we shall feel lost and then feel saved a hundred times a day. That plan will not do. “The just shall live by faith.” I like to believe in Jesus, when I have the worst feelings, just as firmly as when I have the best of them, and to trust in God just the same when my full assurance in him brims with delight as I did when my soul was emptied by sorrow. Do you think I put that sentence the wrong way upwards? I did not, for it is easier, I believe, to trust Christ in the depths of sorrow than it is when you are high up in your stirrups, and feel yourself to be somebody; for then, almost insensibly, you get away from the sole foundation of your standing by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are some, too, who live very much, even in religious matters, upon their outward circumstances. There are some who, if they become poor, almost give up all profession of religion. They say that they have not proper clothe in which to come to God’s house, and that they do not like to be seen by people who knew them when they were in better circumstances; so that their religion depends upon how many shillings a week they can earn, and that is a very poor concern. But, if we have learnt to live by faith, we shall follow the Lord in rags if he gives us nothing better to wear; and if we have not a shoe to our foot, we shall go after him all the same. Let us be in whatever condition we may, we shall never be worse off than he was; so come poverty, or come wealth; come the lowest possible ebb of outward fortunes; yet, still, if we live by faith, we shall keep close to the heels of the Crucified. God grant us grace to live above our outward circumstances! Remember that inspired message, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Thus, you see that the Christian lives in no other manner than by faith.

And, beloved friend, he lives in all forms of his life by faith. I can only speak, for a minute or two, upon this thought. In one form of his life, the Christian is a child at home with his Father. Well, as a child, he lives by faith, for “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become! the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name’, Our sonship and adoption remain to us matters of faith, and we continually look up to God our Father by faith. As his children, we receive teaching, supplies, food, clothing, and everything, and we receive all by faith. To the child of God, faith is the hand that takes everything from God. I am his child, and I know that he will supply my every need; but faith prompts me to tell him my need,-yea, makes me feel that he knows what I need before I ask him, and so I take from him what he freely gives by believing in him.

The Christian is, next, described in the Word of God as a pilgrim. He is journeying to “a city that bath foundations;” but, all the way there, he goes by faith, he never takes a step heavenward except by faith. An unbelieving step is not a step towards heaven. All the progress that is made by any child of God is due to faith.

The Christian is also described as a warrior; and there is no fighting except by faith, and no weapon of defense like the great shield of faith. No victory is won by doubting; no devil is ever overthrown by desponding. Mistrust of God never yet put to flight the armies of the aliens; unbelief never stopped the mouths of lions, or quenched the violence of fire, or divided the sea, or conquered the land. Point to the wonders wrought by unbelief if you can. All it can show is ruin and desolation; for unbelief is powerless except for mischief. The just, when he fights, must fight by faith, and faith is the victory that overcometh the world.

The Christian is also continually described in the Word of God as a servant. Now, all service done for God must be done by faith. One of the first objects of our service must be to please God, but “without faith it is impossible to please him.” O brothers and sisters, if we always go to our work, as Christians, saying, “I am going to do it by faith,” how differently we should act from what we now do! We sit down, and think of our many infirmities, and we say, “We shall never accomplish that task.” But, sirs, have you forgotten the everlasting arms and the omnipotent might of Jehovah? We observe how difficult the duty is, and how strong the opposition, and so we go to work very mistrustfully; but if, instead thereof, we were to say, “Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain,” we should be sure to conquer. Service rendered in unbelief is like a vessel marred on the potter’s wheel; but as long as faith can turn it round upon the wheel, and fashion it, it will come to something that the Master can use. Thou must believe, for so wilt thou be able to serve. “Trust in the Lord, and do good;” but be sure to do the first thing. The trusting must come before the doing, and be mingled with all the doing, or else it will be a very poor piece of doing indeed.

Well, then, in any capacity in which a Christian is found, he must always be believing. If you have to go home, and go to bed, and lie there for a month and suffer, go upstairs believing that the Lord will make your bed in all your sickness. If you have to go back to a business where everything seems to be going wrong with you, go in faith, and know that he has said, “Bread shall be given thee, thy waters shall be sure.” Or if you are going, next Sunday, to teach a class in the Sunday-school, or going round with your tracts in a district where you have to call upon some ugly-minded people, go in faith. Has not the Lord said, “Certainly I will be with thee. I will bless thee, and help thee “? Then, go in faith. It will change the whole color and tenor of your life if you remember that “the just shall live by faith,” whatever form his life takes.

Very rapidly, let me also say to you that this is the way the just are to live in every case and every condition. The prophet Habakkuk is the one who first uttered these words: “The just shall live by his faith.” I wonder whether he fully understood them himself. It is always pleasant to see whether a doctor takes his own physic, and whether a preacher practices his own precepts. I think this is how Habakkuk understood these words; here is his practical exposition of them, in the last verses of his prophecy: “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 hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.” Why, it is a hymn, is it not?-the hymn of a man who saw the bread going, and the meat going, and the oil going, and everything going, and yet he rejoiced in the Lord. This is what he meant by living by faith,-faith, you see, about fruit,-faith about flocks,-faith about cattle,- faith about fig trees,-faith about everything,-yea, a faith that does without anything,-a faith that can take nothing, and be content with it because it finds every thing in God,-faith under the worst conceivable conditions. This is how the just are to live.

And as they are to live thus at their worst, so should they live at their best,-still by faith. I was told of a friend, who walked with that blessed man of God, Mr. George Muller of Bristol, and who made the remark to him that he thought he had £5,000 balance one year. “Yes,” said Mr. Muller, “God had been very gracious, and we had a large balance.” “And I think,” said the friend, “for some years, you have always had a large balance.” “Yes,” he replied, “we have.” “Well,” asked the other, “do you now, my brother, trust in God just as simply as you did when you had to call the children together to pray because there was no bread to give them for dinner, and God graciously sent you the dinner just at the right time? Is your faith just as simple? Do you walk by faith as you did then?” And that good man said, “Yes, my dear brother, I live by faith now as I did then, only a great deal more so, for I find I have more need of faith now to prevent me beginning to trust in what I have in store.” It is just so; if you are getting on in life, you need more faith to keep you from making a god of what you have, and trusting in it. Instead of less faith in time of prosperity, you will need even more. There are some people, you know, who lean upon God because they have no one else to lean upon. They are like that famous rider of whom Cowper sang, who was-

“Stooping down as needs he must
Who cannot sit upright.”

That is how it is with the faith of these people, and very good faith it is, too; but that faith is even nobler that has some apparent means of sitting upright, that does seem to have something to confide in, yet will not do it because it disdains to have even things visible, of the best and most powerful kind, to rest upon, but will rest on nothing but God. Why, ye props and buttresses, if I trust you today, I may want you tomorrow, and where shall I be then l No; as Abraham said to the king of Sodom, “I will not take from a thread even to a shoe latchet, I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abraham rich,” “so often have we to cast aside what is offered to us, and say,” I cannot and will not have it, lest my heart should, at any time, rely upon those gifts rather than upon my God.” You know how the devil spoke to God concerning Job, “Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the’ land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.” That is what the devil said, but it was not true; yet, in some cases, there is a danger of it getting to be true. We are getting on so well, and the hedge is all around us. Ah! but we must not get to love the hedge, or it will be taken from us. If you love the fields, and the gold, and the silver, and begin to confide in them, you will lose them. “The just shall live by faith,”-faith as much in the summer weather as in the winter cold; see to that matter, O thou who art the child of God!

“The just shall live by faith “in every condition. When he comes to die, he shall live by faith. I recollect what a negro said about his master who was a Christian man. The minister said to the negro, “Sam, is your master dying?” “Yes, sir,” he said, “he be dying.” “And how is he dying, Sam?” “Sir,” said the negro, “he be dying full of life.” That is how a Christian should die, “full of life.” The life of God is within him even to the last. Till he gets into glory, “the just shall live by faith.” Ay, and before he gets there, he shall taste some of the joys of heaven, for living by faith means living in the heavenly; it means getting to anticipate the glory that is yet to be revealed. Living by faith makes us live the life of God; and he that lives the’ life of God must, in some degree, live the life of heaven. Oh, to have it so developed, strengthened, and full-grown that, from this time forth, we may live by faith even to the end!

DISCLAIMER: Before you consult commentaries, sermons or other resources, first consult the Word of God, studying the Scriptures diligently (2Ti 2:15-note) and inductively (See inductive Bible study) in dependence on your Teacher, the Holy Spirit, Who Jesus promised would guide us into all truth (John 16:13).
 

THOUGHTS ON
INTERPRETATION
OF PROPHETIC BOOKS

In regard to the OT Prophetic books such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and the 12 "Minor" Prophets, remember that the most accurate interpretation is derived by applying the following principles:

(1) Read the Scripture literally (unless the text is clearly figurative, e.g., Jesus said "I am the door..." Jn 10:9). If one interprets a text symbolically (allegorically, figuratively, spiritualizing) when that text makes good sense literally, one potentially opens themselves to the danger of inaccurate interpretation, for then the question arises as to who's "symbolic" interpretation is correct and how imaginative one should be in evaluating a "supposed symbol"? Many of the commentaries and sermons on the OT prophetic books unfortunately are replete with non-literal interpretations (except when it comes to Messianic Passages, which are usually interpreted literally). Therefore the watchword when reading any commentary on Old Testament prophecy is caveat emptor ("buyer beware"). Read all commentaries like the Bereans (Acts 17:11-note).

(2) Study the context which is always "king" in interpretation (don't take verses out of context.)

(3) Passages addressed to Israel should be interpreted as directed to the literal nation of Israel and should not be interpreted as addressed to the NT Church, an entity not mentioned in the Old Testament. The promises of Jehovah to the nation of Israel (e.g., see Millennial Promises) remain valid (Jer 31:35, 36, 37, Nu 23:19, Lk 21:33) and have not been passed on to the NT Church because Israel has "defaulted" (See study Israel of God). Remember that while Scripture has only one correct interpretation, there can be many legitimate applications (See Application), and therefore the OT prophetic books are extremely applicable in the lives of NT believers.

(4) Scripture is always the best commentary on Scripture. While an attempt has been made to list resources that adhere to these basic interpretative guidelines, not all the works listed in these collections have been read in detail. Therefore should you discover a resource you feel is conservative and/or orthodox, please email your concerns.

Related Resources:

Inductive Bible Study - Guidelines to Assure Accurate Interpretation

Inductive Bible Study Interpretation of Prophetic Scripture

Interpretative Views of the Revelation of Jesus Christ
Allegorical Interpretation - Tony Garland
Interpreting Symbols - Tony Garland
Basic Considerations in Interpreting Prophecy - John Walvoord