WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:09.939 We've had a couple of Sundays of looking at the little book of Habakkuk, so I'll give you a time to find it. 00:00:10.660 --> 00:00:13.720 If you're a veteran at finding it, you'll kind of know where to go. 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:16.359 If you haven't been here the past couple weeks, that's okay. 00:00:17.480 --> 00:00:22.140 Habakkuk's kind of right in the middle of your Bible, a little bit to the right of the middle. 00:00:23.059 --> 00:00:26.960 And it's one of the minor prophets, easy to miss, but I'm sure you can find it. 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:30.500 It's a powerful little book. It's punchy. 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:36.100 If you haven't figured it out, it's kind of like the book of Job boiled down to three chapters. 00:00:36.420 --> 00:00:40.200 It's pretty great. Instead of 40 chapters, you have three. It's a lot nicer. 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:44.079 But Job is very powerful as well. 00:00:44.740 --> 00:00:52.520 Helping God's people deal with disappointment and sorrow and realizing that God is on his throne. 00:00:53.040 --> 00:00:54.460 So, where have we been? 00:00:54.460 --> 00:00:58.359 Well, chapter 1 introduced us to Habakkuk. 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:00.100 He's a questioning prophet. 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:03.280 He's having a conversation with God. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:07.640 He's sending some text messages back and forth to God. 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:12.060 He's saying, hey, God, why aren't you making things right? 00:01:13.299 --> 00:01:14.439 And God responds. 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:17.439 I'm going to make things right, but it's going to get worse before it gets better. 00:01:18.700 --> 00:01:22.700 And then Habakkuk comes back with, but why does it have to get worse before it gets better? 00:01:22.700 --> 00:01:26.400 How can you use worse things to accomplish better purposes? 00:01:26.600 --> 00:01:27.640 How can you do that? 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:32.939 But God doesn't give him a detailed answer, but he does give him a promise. 00:01:33.060 --> 00:01:39.359 He gives him a promise that as he trusts in him, as Habakkuk trusts in God, 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:42.840 he will live through the bad things that are coming. 00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:50.500 And not just live physically, but he will experience true life as he trusts in the living God. 00:01:50.579 --> 00:01:51.840 He'll outlive the judgment. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:53.859 He'll outlive the suffering. 00:01:54.340 --> 00:01:57.980 He'll walk through it with life as he trusts in his God. 00:01:57.980 --> 00:02:03.820 And we know that for us as Christians, it's not about Babylonians breathing down our necks. 00:02:03.939 --> 00:02:08.599 It's about the reality of sin and death that faces us. 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:12.480 And not just sin and death, but eternal judgment and hell. 00:02:14.020 --> 00:02:18.560 And we know that the beauty of the good news is that the same as Habakkuk's good news. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:30.420 As those who put their faith in God trust in him, God delivers them because he delivered up his son to have his judgment poured out on his son. 00:02:31.180 --> 00:02:41.360 And so we who suffer in this life, we walk through life even as we suffer trusting in this good God who delivers us from every suffering, 00:02:41.780 --> 00:02:46.219 including eternal suffering through the one who suffered for us. 00:02:46.219 --> 00:02:53.560 And then in chapter 2, Habakkuk got more details to how God was going to make things right. 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:56.840 How God was going to use evil to accomplish his good purposes. 00:02:57.020 --> 00:03:06.319 And he had an assurance that God is going to bring the woe of the wine of pride on those who drink it. 00:03:07.979 --> 00:03:10.340 And one day, God will make everything right. 00:03:10.340 --> 00:03:16.280 He will soak the earth in his perfect glory, the knowledge of his glory. 00:03:16.360 --> 00:03:17.900 He will satisfy his perfect justice. 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:20.539 One day, God is going to make all things right. 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:25.099 The whole earth is going to stand before the sovereign one. 00:03:25.099 --> 00:03:37.599 And God will speak a word for good on those who trust in the one who was silent on their behalf. 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:42.419 Jesus, who went like a lamb to the slaughter, silent. 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:47.819 He drank the wine of God's wrath. 00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:49.620 He drained it down for us. 00:03:49.620 --> 00:03:54.819 And so we can have confidence, we can enjoy the wow of God's grace, 00:03:55.500 --> 00:04:01.280 knowing that we will one day have a full experience of the knowledge of his glory, 00:04:01.659 --> 00:04:06.879 even as we have an experience of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ in our hearts. 00:04:07.460 --> 00:04:09.060 So that's what we've seen the past couple of weeks. 00:04:09.140 --> 00:04:10.960 It's been a very interesting journey. 00:04:11.060 --> 00:04:13.240 But now we come to chapter 3. 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:16.079 And we're going to see how Habakkuk responds. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:18.240 God's been talking for a long time here. 00:04:18.479 --> 00:04:25.099 Ever since chapter 2, verse 2, God has been speaking all the way up through the end of chapter 2. 00:04:25.240 --> 00:04:30.300 And now we're going to see how Habakkuk responds to this God who's sovereign, 00:04:30.779 --> 00:04:34.740 who brings judgment, who uses evil to accomplish his good purposes. 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:41.219 God's doing all of this, and yet he's interacting with Habakkuk on this personal, gracious level. 00:04:41.220 --> 00:04:47.520 And so how is Habakkuk going to respond to this massive God, yet this personal and gracious God? 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:48.840 How is Habakkuk going to respond? 00:04:49.960 --> 00:04:56.420 How do we respond to this sovereign, yet personal God? 00:04:58.700 --> 00:04:59.620 We sing. 00:05:01.700 --> 00:05:03.340 That's how Habakkuk responds. 00:05:03.460 --> 00:05:04.160 He sings. 00:05:04.960 --> 00:05:06.020 Chapter 3 is a song. 00:05:08.520 --> 00:05:09.600 Let me prove it to you. 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:14.340 Look at verse 1 of chapter 3 and verse 19. 00:05:14.500 --> 00:05:18.260 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet according to the Shigianoth. 00:05:18.760 --> 00:05:24.660 And then verse 19, to the choir master with stringed instruments. 00:05:24.860 --> 00:05:30.080 If you've read through the Psalms at all, those kind of terms will sound familiar. 00:05:30.580 --> 00:05:33.420 These kind of random musical terms, Shigianoth. 00:05:33.420 --> 00:05:40.660 This is a song written to the choir master to be performed on their version of a guitar. 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:43.360 This is a song. 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:44.120 It's a prayer. 00:05:44.660 --> 00:05:51.680 It's a song to be sung to the God who is both sovereign and very personal. 00:05:51.680 --> 00:06:03.720 The God who is beyond our understanding, using evil to accomplish his good purposes, yet intending good all the while and accomplishing that good all the while. 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:04.720 Chapter 3 is a song. 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:07.460 Chapter 3 is a song that we can sing. 00:06:08.460 --> 00:06:14.740 A song of tremendous confidence in the joy-giving power of God's love. 00:06:15.180 --> 00:06:22.240 It's a song of tremendous confidence in the joy-giving power of God's love. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:32.300 Now, I don't know about you, but when I think of being in pain and being disappointed and asking God big questions like Habakkuk is, 00:06:33.220 --> 00:06:34.819 worship is the last thing on my mind. 00:06:35.019 --> 00:06:36.699 Singing is the last thing on my mind. 00:06:36.759 --> 00:06:37.660 My heart's not in it. 00:06:38.259 --> 00:06:39.879 And yet, that's where Habakkuk ends up. 00:06:40.379 --> 00:06:41.180 He ends up singing. 00:06:42.100 --> 00:06:45.900 And I think by the end of this chapter, I think we will too. 00:06:49.579 --> 00:06:50.980 Something's changed in the prophet. 00:06:50.980 --> 00:06:56.319 But this is the prophet who is asking hard questions of God, bold questions of God. 00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:57.200 God, where are you? 00:06:57.240 --> 00:06:58.340 Why aren't you making things right? 00:06:58.580 --> 00:07:01.200 How are you going to use this terrible stuff to accomplish your good purposes? 00:07:01.500 --> 00:07:02.480 Now he's singing. 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:05.160 So aren't you curious to see what happened? 00:07:06.100 --> 00:07:06.480 I am. 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:08.120 Let's jump in. 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:10.280 There are three M's. 00:07:10.840 --> 00:07:12.460 Last year we had three W's. 00:07:12.520 --> 00:07:13.620 Now we have three M's. 00:07:14.080 --> 00:07:17.120 Three M's that are going to help us move through this passage. 00:07:17.980 --> 00:07:19.000 One's in verse 2. 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:22.000 The other is in verses 3 to 16. 00:07:22.699 --> 00:07:24.800 And the last is in 17 through 19. 00:07:25.019 --> 00:07:26.660 So the first M. 00:07:26.899 --> 00:07:28.160 Let's look at it. 00:07:28.220 --> 00:07:31.560 The first M is a plea for God's mercy. 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:34.639 A plea for God's mercy. 00:07:35.579 --> 00:07:36.480 Let's read verse 2. 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:58.360 Here we see Habakkuk's razor sharp logic in action. 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:00.319 He knows what's going to happen. 00:08:01.020 --> 00:08:05.740 He doesn't understand it fully, but he knows that there's going to be judgment coming through the Babylonians, 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:07.439 and it's not going to be pleasant. 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:09.980 He fears God's work of judgment. 00:08:10.139 --> 00:08:13.139 Just cast your eyes across the page to verse 16. 00:08:13.740 --> 00:08:18.180 We get a feeling of how he's handling this news. 00:08:18.180 --> 00:08:33.659 Habakkuk's knees are knocking together anticipating what's going to happen. 00:08:33.779 --> 00:08:34.799 It is not going to be pretty. 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:39.259 It's going to be the most terrifying thing that's ever happened to Israel as a nation. 00:08:39.779 --> 00:08:44.039 It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, and Habakkuk knows it. 00:08:44.579 --> 00:08:45.959 This is what he also knows. 00:08:47.079 --> 00:08:51.339 He knows that God is committed to his promises that he has made to his people. 00:08:52.740 --> 00:08:54.919 Remember what Habakkuk said back in chapter 1? 00:08:54.919 --> 00:08:59.419 Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? 00:08:59.959 --> 00:09:02.059 We shall not die. 00:09:03.299 --> 00:09:06.240 He knows that God's sovereign judgment must happen, 00:09:07.059 --> 00:09:12.259 and yet he also knows that God will not totally abandon those who are his. 00:09:13.419 --> 00:09:17.159 God is sovereign, but he is also merciful. 00:09:17.799 --> 00:09:22.819 He's full of love for those who are called according to his purpose. 00:09:22.819 --> 00:09:24.240 So what's the right response? 00:09:25.259 --> 00:09:26.120 Freeze in terror? 00:09:27.579 --> 00:09:28.539 Shrug in apathy? 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:30.339 No. 00:09:30.500 --> 00:09:30.819 Pray. 00:09:31.379 --> 00:09:31.759 Run. 00:09:32.179 --> 00:09:34.959 Run to the one who is both sovereign and merciful. 00:09:35.219 --> 00:09:38.240 Can you imagine if God was sovereign, but he was not merciful? 00:09:39.479 --> 00:09:40.819 That would be terrifying. 00:09:41.959 --> 00:09:43.919 Can you imagine if he was merciful, but not sovereign? 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:47.659 He'd be good, but he couldn't do anything. 00:09:48.819 --> 00:09:49.980 But our God is both. 00:09:49.980 --> 00:09:57.300 Our God is both sovereign and merciful to bring about his good purposes through evil, 00:09:57.500 --> 00:10:01.300 through judgment, through wrath, through hard circumstances, 00:10:01.300 --> 00:10:04.940 and yet he's able to remember mercy. 00:10:05.740 --> 00:10:10.960 He is able to look upon those who call upon him for mercy and show it. 00:10:10.960 --> 00:10:12.800 But what's the basis? 00:10:13.060 --> 00:10:16.100 What's the foundation for this plea for mercy? 00:10:17.800 --> 00:10:20.160 Do you see that little word in verse 2? 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:24.420 And your work, O Lord, do I fear. 00:10:24.660 --> 00:10:27.759 In the midst of the years, revive it, your work. 00:10:27.980 --> 00:10:30.340 In the midst of the years, make it your work. 00:10:30.460 --> 00:10:31.080 Make it known. 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:34.900 That word work. 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:37.259 God has been doing something. 00:10:37.400 --> 00:10:38.820 God has been up to something. 00:10:39.680 --> 00:10:40.900 All the way from the beginning. 00:10:42.379 --> 00:10:43.780 Way back in the Garden of Eden, 00:10:44.400 --> 00:10:45.840 when the whole drama started. 00:10:46.780 --> 00:10:52.180 The evil, the spiral of sin that Satan and Adam and Eve had begun. 00:10:53.280 --> 00:10:54.120 God started working. 00:10:56.280 --> 00:11:00.140 And Habakkuk knows that this plan involving the Babylonians is part of that work. 00:11:00.139 --> 00:11:03.679 It's part of God's plan, but it's not all of it, and it's not the end of it. 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:06.519 He says, revive it. 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:08.059 Bring it back. 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:08.980 Make it known. 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:14.480 Keep doing your work, God, of redeeming all things for the glory of your name 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:15.439 and for the good of your people. 00:11:15.699 --> 00:11:16.860 Don't destroy your work. 00:11:16.980 --> 00:11:18.000 Don't destroy your people. 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:19.580 Keep your good work going. 00:11:21.179 --> 00:11:24.860 Make yourself known as a mighty and merciful God. 00:11:26.439 --> 00:11:29.759 He's asking God to remember mercy in the middle of the chaos. 00:11:30.840 --> 00:11:33.620 He's resting on the merciful character of God, 00:11:33.699 --> 00:11:35.600 and he knows he can go nowhere else. 00:11:37.019 --> 00:11:41.460 He knows it's a solid foundation to stand on when life is falling apart. 00:11:42.519 --> 00:11:43.460 So that's the first M. 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:46.199 Habakkuk makes a plea for mercy. 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:51.860 Second M is God's majestic salvation. 00:11:51.860 --> 00:11:55.419 God's majestic salvation. 00:11:55.419 --> 00:11:59.159 Now, the sun is not shining right now. 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:06.299 However, when it is, and you're in this room, and you can look back to that stained glass window, 00:12:06.979 --> 00:12:08.120 you should. 00:12:08.120 --> 00:12:11.340 Because it's beautiful. 00:12:11.340 --> 00:12:22.860 There are, I don't know how many colors and intricate pieces of glass that are framed in this patterned yet kind of mixed up, 00:12:23.220 --> 00:12:31.360 beautiful arrangement, mosaic of glass that when the sun hits that, oh man, it is majestic. 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:32.899 It is glorious. 00:12:32.899 --> 00:12:39.620 And sometimes you can't distinguish one piece from another very well, 00:12:39.740 --> 00:12:42.220 but you get the overall majestic effect. 00:12:42.220 --> 00:12:46.740 Well, that's what the next 12, 13 verses are. 00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:51.720 There is a lot that's going to hit us in the next 12 to 15 verses as I read them. 00:12:52.379 --> 00:12:56.660 However, as I read them, I want you to get the majestic effect, 00:12:56.940 --> 00:13:02.000 just like you're looking at that stained glass window when the sun's shining through it at full strength. 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:02.960 Okay? 00:13:03.340 --> 00:13:06.039 So, listen to verses 3 through 16. 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:11.000 Let's catch a glimpse of this majestic God and see what he's up to. 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:13.759 Verse 3. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:20.399 God came from Teman and the Holy One from Mount Paran. 00:13:21.240 --> 00:13:25.120 His splendor covered the heavens and the earth was full of his praise. 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:27.860 His brightness was like the light. 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:31.580 Rays flashed from his hand and there he veiled his power. 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:35.980 Before him went pestilence and plague followed at his heels. 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:38.179 He stood and measured the earth. 00:13:38.519 --> 00:13:40.320 He looked and shook the nations. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:42.700 And then the eternal mountains were scattered. 00:13:42.840 --> 00:13:44.519 The everlasting hills sank low. 00:13:44.879 --> 00:13:47.120 His were the everlasting ways. 00:13:48.539 --> 00:13:50.600 I saw the tents of Kushan in affliction. 00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:53.919 The tents of the land of Midian did tremble. 00:13:54.220 --> 00:13:56.100 Was your wrath against the rivers, oh Lord? 00:13:56.860 --> 00:13:59.919 Was your anger against the rivers or your indignation against the sea 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:02.639 when you rode on your horses on your chariot of salvation? 00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:07.059 You stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many arrows. 00:14:07.979 --> 00:14:09.559 You split the earth with rivers. 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:13.179 The mountains saw you and writhed. 00:14:13.299 --> 00:14:14.979 The raging waters swept on. 00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:16.500 The deep gave forth its voice. 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:18.000 It lifted its hands on high. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:24.139 The sun and moon stood still in their place at the light of your arrows as they sped at the flash of your glittering spear. 00:14:25.080 --> 00:14:27.059 You marched through the earth in fury. 00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:29.059 You threshed the nations in anger. 00:14:29.460 --> 00:14:34.700 You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:42.100 You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck. 00:14:42.100 --> 00:14:48.120 You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, 00:14:48.540 --> 00:14:50.980 rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret. 00:14:51.580 --> 00:14:56.200 You trampled the sea with your horses, the surging of mighty waters. 00:14:56.200 --> 00:14:59.120 What a God. 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:13.580 You catch some pretty cool, brilliant glimpses of his majesty, his power, his glory, his authority, his fierceness, his warrior-like might. 00:15:15.379 --> 00:15:17.780 But there's a lot going on here, so let's ask a few questions. 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:20.440 First, what's God doing here? 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:26.220 Did you notice all the movement verbs in this passage? 00:15:27.140 --> 00:15:28.280 Let's look at verse 3. 00:15:28.780 --> 00:15:29.960 God came. 00:15:30.540 --> 00:15:31.560 Okay, next. 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:32.460 Verse 6. 00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:35.040 He stands to survey his enemy. 00:15:36.640 --> 00:15:37.260 Verse 8. 00:15:37.320 --> 00:15:38.820 He rides on a chariot. 00:15:39.380 --> 00:15:40.140 Verse 12. 00:15:40.220 --> 00:15:41.600 He marches through the earth. 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:42.820 Verse 13. 00:15:42.920 --> 00:15:44.040 He goes out. 00:15:44.620 --> 00:15:45.260 Verse 15. 00:15:45.340 --> 00:15:46.840 He tramples the sea. 00:15:47.280 --> 00:15:49.860 I don't know if you noticed, but God's on the move. 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:51.360 God's coming. 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:55.140 He's doing something, and he's moving somewhere. 00:15:56.560 --> 00:15:57.860 And you better not stand in his way. 00:15:58.140 --> 00:16:00.160 Pestilence and plague are before him. 00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:04.220 All he does is look at the nations, and they shake in their boots. 00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:06.640 That's what God's doing. 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:07.320 He's coming. 00:16:08.200 --> 00:16:09.240 He's on the move. 00:16:09.540 --> 00:16:11.240 Second, why is he coming? 00:16:12.260 --> 00:16:12.700 Why? 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:15.040 What's the purpose for him coming? 00:16:16.400 --> 00:16:17.420 Well, there's one word. 00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:18.300 I wonder if you noticed it. 00:16:18.299 --> 00:16:20.979 It pops up two times in verse 13. 00:16:21.099 --> 00:16:22.079 Once in verse 8. 00:16:23.439 --> 00:16:24.979 Your chariot of salvation. 00:16:25.359 --> 00:16:26.099 Verse 13. 00:16:26.679 --> 00:16:28.599 You went out for the salvation of your people. 00:16:28.699 --> 00:16:30.500 For the salvation of your anointed. 00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:33.299 God is coming to save. 00:16:34.139 --> 00:16:35.039 That's why he's coming. 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:37.259 He's coming to save his people. 00:16:37.939 --> 00:16:40.979 He's committed to his people, and he's coming to save them. 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:48.159 You can read this passage, and you can be kind of freaked out, because God seems really scary. 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:56.360 But the really cool thing is, when you read that word salvation, you know why he's sounding pretty scary. 00:16:56.899 --> 00:16:58.680 It's not because he's angry at his people. 00:16:58.779 --> 00:17:00.940 It's because he's coming to deliver his people. 00:17:00.940 --> 00:17:08.240 The whole passage is a picture of God's intense, saving love for God's people. 00:17:08.340 --> 00:17:19.539 He's coming, and he's going to make things right, and he's going to deliver his people and pour out his holy fury on all those who are opposed to him and to his own. 00:17:19.539 --> 00:17:23.460 But I don't know. 00:17:24.980 --> 00:17:28.740 There's some kind of confusion of, is this something that Habakkuk is talking about? 00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:31.259 God's coming to save his people in the past? 00:17:31.700 --> 00:17:32.940 Is it in the future? 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:36.200 Or is it in the future, or is it in the present? 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:37.240 What's going on here? 00:17:38.619 --> 00:17:43.960 Well, there are a couple of clues that help us see at least that it's pointing to the past in some ways. 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:45.119 So let's look at those clues. 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:47.079 Look at verse 3 and verse 7. 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:52.059 God came from Teman and the Holy One from Mount Paran. 00:17:52.839 --> 00:17:55.159 There's some interesting names there. 00:17:55.299 --> 00:17:56.299 Teman and Paran. 00:17:56.519 --> 00:17:57.980 Why is that important? 00:17:58.079 --> 00:18:01.819 Well, if you were an Israelite living in Habakkuk's time and you heard those two words, 00:18:02.159 --> 00:18:08.240 it would be kind of like for an American hearing the word July 4th. 00:18:08.679 --> 00:18:09.220 Words. 00:18:09.699 --> 00:18:10.460 July 4th. 00:18:10.759 --> 00:18:12.639 Immediately, we think independence. 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:14.079 We think deliverance. 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:16.299 We think freedom. 00:18:17.079 --> 00:18:20.519 Well, that's exactly what the Israelites thought when they heard those terms. 00:18:20.879 --> 00:18:24.220 These were references to the exodus from Egypt. 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:25.960 Deliverance from slavery. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:29.319 Let's look at verse 7. 00:18:29.439 --> 00:18:30.859 A couple of other names pop up. 00:18:32.179 --> 00:18:34.139 I saw the tents of Cushon and affliction. 00:18:34.339 --> 00:18:37.339 The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:38.679 Cushon and Midian. 00:18:38.679 --> 00:18:46.099 These were enemies of Israel that were God used to oppress Israel during the time of the judges. 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:57.480 And that God delivered his people from them through different judges and deliverers that were raised up by God as Israel repented of their sin and came back to God. 00:18:57.480 --> 00:19:04.319 So all of these names are pointing back to God's past deliverance, his past salvation. 00:19:05.360 --> 00:19:07.539 But why is Habakkuk remembering this stuff? 00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:09.819 He's not writing a history textbook here. 00:19:10.140 --> 00:19:12.519 He's naming these names for a purpose. 00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:15.339 And it's this. 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:19.779 It's to remind God's people as they sing in the present. 00:19:19.779 --> 00:19:24.480 All those who are going to be singing this song that Habakkuk has written, 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:28.399 seeing it as a congregation gathered in the temple, 00:19:29.460 --> 00:19:30.619 seeking God's presence, 00:19:31.019 --> 00:19:33.599 seeking to be with their God, 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:39.079 they're singing this psalm and they're remembering how God has delivered them from their enemies in the past 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:43.339 in powerful, unmistakable, miraculous ways. 00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:46.599 He has come to save them in the past. 00:19:46.599 --> 00:19:48.859 And for those who continue to trust him, 00:19:48.959 --> 00:19:52.079 he will come again to save them in the future. 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:56.319 And he helps them to endure hardship in the present. 00:19:57.179 --> 00:19:59.879 They know that he is committed to them in love. 00:20:00.139 --> 00:20:02.719 He will remember his mercy in the middle of chaos. 00:20:02.959 --> 00:20:08.059 And he will display his majestic salvation for them as they continue to trust in him. 00:20:09.480 --> 00:20:11.500 But it was in the future. 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:15.199 But he did come again, didn't he? 00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:21.519 Habakkuk's people were singing this in A.D. 600. 00:20:21.879 --> 00:20:23.139 Sorry, B.C. 600. 00:20:23.819 --> 00:20:27.480 600 years before the coming of Jesus. 00:20:28.299 --> 00:20:29.959 Almost 3,000 years ago. 00:20:30.819 --> 00:20:33.179 But there was a time when God interrupted history. 00:20:34.500 --> 00:20:35.719 God invaded history. 00:20:36.579 --> 00:20:37.980 God invaded time and space. 00:20:38.719 --> 00:20:40.359 But he didn't do it in a way like this. 00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:44.459 Instead, he veiled his majesty. 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:50.240 He clothed and cloaked and hid his splendor. 00:20:50.959 --> 00:20:54.899 He set aside his spear and his arrows. 00:20:56.339 --> 00:20:59.279 He came to deliver his people from their worst enemies. 00:20:59.439 --> 00:21:01.079 Sin, death, and the devil. 00:21:01.079 --> 00:21:08.899 And Jesus, through his glorious suffering, he reigned over the ultimate enemy, death itself. 00:21:09.819 --> 00:21:10.720 He delivered his people. 00:21:10.839 --> 00:21:12.379 He set his sights on his own. 00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:14.539 And he rescued them. 00:21:14.579 --> 00:21:16.879 He was the shepherd who laid his life down for the sheep. 00:21:17.139 --> 00:21:20.079 And he took it up again in majestic salvation. 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:22.299 And by the way, he's coming again. 00:21:23.179 --> 00:21:26.079 He's coming again, but this time his majesty is not going to be cloaked. 00:21:27.339 --> 00:21:28.919 His glory is not going to be veiled. 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:30.319 He's coming. 00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:33.019 And we're going to get the full show. 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:35.299 It's going to be a lot like this. 00:21:35.399 --> 00:21:38.599 This has something to say to us as Christians. 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:42.240 To look forward to God's glorious deliverance one day. 00:21:42.619 --> 00:21:44.659 As we continue to put our trust in him. 00:21:44.660 --> 00:21:50.480 Even in the midst of sorrow and disappointment and hard circumstances now. 00:21:50.900 --> 00:21:53.060 Because God has come for his people. 00:21:53.500 --> 00:21:56.279 And God will come again for his people. 00:21:58.019 --> 00:22:02.600 So, if you go and see superhero movies, I mean, they're cool. 00:22:03.340 --> 00:22:04.740 They come and they save the day. 00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:06.880 But they have nothing on this God. 00:22:08.380 --> 00:22:11.600 He's the God who came to save his people. 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:16.139 Okay, so he's just sung about the God who's coming to save his people. 00:22:16.419 --> 00:22:22.599 But verse 16 reminds us that he's still facing something. 00:22:24.259 --> 00:22:27.000 I hear and my body trembles. 00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:29.259 My lips quiver at the sound. 00:22:29.459 --> 00:22:31.000 Rottenness enters into my bones. 00:22:31.119 --> 00:22:32.839 My legs tremble beneath me. 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:38.740 Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. 00:22:38.740 --> 00:22:41.960 His situation hasn't changed. 00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:44.160 He knows stuff is still on the horizon. 00:22:45.819 --> 00:22:47.099 So how is Abacca going to respond? 00:22:47.220 --> 00:22:48.960 Well, the third M is this. 00:22:50.259 --> 00:22:52.480 The first M, he pleads for God's mercy. 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.880 The second M, God displays his majestic salvation. 00:22:57.519 --> 00:22:58.640 But the third M is this. 00:22:59.079 --> 00:23:00.400 And this hits us right where we're at. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:05.780 The miracle of joy in the midst of sorrow. 00:23:06.280 --> 00:23:09.940 The miracle of joy in the midst of sorrow. 00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:13.880 Let's read verses 17 through 19. 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:19.960 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit beyond the vines. 00:23:20.760 --> 00:23:25.440 The produce of the olive fail, and the fields yield no food. 00:23:26.360 --> 00:23:30.420 The flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls. 00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:34.020 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. 00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:37.100 I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 00:23:37.380 --> 00:23:39.220 God the Lord is my strength. 00:23:39.840 --> 00:23:41.520 He makes my feet like the deer's. 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:44.879 He makes me to tread on my high places. 00:23:47.539 --> 00:23:52.200 This is such a crazy set of verses. 00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:56.700 Let me just put this situation that Abacca just gave us. 00:23:56.900 --> 00:23:58.660 Let me put it in the modern day language for us. 00:23:59.799 --> 00:24:01.480 Even though my family is falling apart. 00:24:02.039 --> 00:24:03.660 I have no friends who care about me. 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:07.259 Even though I had to eat saltines last night for dinner. 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:09.460 Because there's nothing in the refrigerator. 00:24:09.460 --> 00:24:12.500 And nothing in the bank account. 00:24:12.940 --> 00:24:15.539 And I got diagnosed with cancer last week. 00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:17.759 I will still rejoice in the Lord. 00:24:20.140 --> 00:24:21.360 That's crazy. 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:23.880 That is nuts. 00:24:25.960 --> 00:24:30.140 Abacca is painting a dark picture for his readers. 00:24:30.140 --> 00:24:35.800 He's preparing them for the sober reality that they are going to face in not a lot of time. 00:24:36.840 --> 00:24:40.620 Back then and up to about really the industrial revolution 150 years ago. 00:24:40.900 --> 00:24:44.340 Prosperity was based solely on that year's harvest. 00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:46.440 If the fig tree didn't blossom. 00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:47.800 If there was no grape harvest. 00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:48.759 No olive harvest. 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:51.040 If the wheat or the barley fields didn't yield anything. 00:24:51.140 --> 00:24:52.560 If there's no cattle in the folds. 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:53.800 No sheep in the stalls. 00:24:53.799 --> 00:24:56.779 Then you are facing total poverty and death. 00:24:58.079 --> 00:24:58.519 Famine. 00:24:59.500 --> 00:25:00.859 Total economic disaster. 00:25:01.019 --> 00:25:02.039 Everything falls apart. 00:25:02.639 --> 00:25:04.859 We tasted that as a nation not too long ago. 00:25:04.940 --> 00:25:06.299 It was just a tiny little taste. 00:25:06.859 --> 00:25:07.819 We faced some unemployment. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:08.720 And it was hard. 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:10.779 But nothing compared to this. 00:25:12.220 --> 00:25:13.359 Abacca is basically saying. 00:25:13.519 --> 00:25:15.980 If there is absolutely nothing good in my life. 00:25:16.279 --> 00:25:17.059 Nothing whatsoever. 00:25:17.240 --> 00:25:19.039 Then I will still rejoice in God. 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:20.139 And he says. 00:25:20.259 --> 00:25:20.899 The crazy thing is. 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:21.740 He says rejoice. 00:25:22.139 --> 00:25:23.119 Not trust in. 00:25:23.379 --> 00:25:24.200 Nor have faith in. 00:25:24.279 --> 00:25:25.200 Or even be content in. 00:25:25.259 --> 00:25:25.799 Or hope in. 00:25:25.859 --> 00:25:26.480 But rejoice. 00:25:26.599 --> 00:25:27.220 Have joy. 00:25:28.119 --> 00:25:29.480 He has joy in God. 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:30.839 When there's absolutely nothing good. 00:25:30.899 --> 00:25:33.240 And everything bad in his life circumstances. 00:25:33.460 --> 00:25:34.139 That's nuts. 00:25:35.899 --> 00:25:37.420 It's nothing short of a miracle. 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:41.240 What would possess him to say something like that? 00:25:42.500 --> 00:25:44.319 Either he's nuts. 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:46.399 Or. 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:50.720 There's something so solid underneath him. 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:53.939 That not even death and poverty itself. 00:25:54.099 --> 00:25:55.599 Could rob his joy. 00:25:55.980 --> 00:25:56.859 What is it? 00:25:58.759 --> 00:25:59.599 Verse 18. 00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:04.819 I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 00:26:05.839 --> 00:26:06.539 Does that ring a bell? 00:26:06.700 --> 00:26:07.720 What have we just been hearing about? 00:26:07.879 --> 00:26:10.539 God is the one who's coming to save his people. 00:26:11.799 --> 00:26:13.279 But it's not just the salvation. 00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:15.220 It's not just being rescued from hard circumstances. 00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:17.920 It's the fact that God himself is coming. 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:23.000 Habakkuk has just finished singing about this God. 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:25.099 Coming to save his people. 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:26.619 That's committed himself to their good. 00:26:26.700 --> 00:26:27.379 No matter what. 00:26:27.539 --> 00:26:29.940 And that is the source of his joy. 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:32.119 When his whole world falls apart. 00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:33.019 He knows. 00:26:33.980 --> 00:26:36.940 That his God will not abandon his people. 00:26:37.879 --> 00:26:40.200 He will not forsake those who trust in him. 00:26:40.440 --> 00:26:42.339 Even though he has nothing. 00:26:42.339 --> 00:26:43.839 He has God. 00:26:43.980 --> 00:26:45.199 And that is everything. 00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:50.759 Habakkuk knows that he is going to experience really bad circumstances. 00:26:50.899 --> 00:26:51.779 It's going to be nasty. 00:26:53.139 --> 00:26:56.439 He's going to experience pain in every form. 00:26:56.699 --> 00:26:58.639 But he knows that this isn't the end. 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:01.939 He knows that God is still for his people. 00:27:02.259 --> 00:27:04.639 He knows that God is coming for his people. 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:07.980 He knows that God has made promises that he will keep. 00:27:08.980 --> 00:27:11.580 He knows that even if it's beyond this life. 00:27:12.080 --> 00:27:15.660 God will preserve the righteous that trust in him. 00:27:16.620 --> 00:27:20.040 He knows that it's impossible for God to cease to be merciful. 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:23.940 Even when God is flexing his muscles of justice. 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:28.200 He knows that he will still have God. 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:32.359 And he knows that if he has God, he has strength. 00:27:33.579 --> 00:27:36.059 He knows that God will be his strength. 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:37.659 Verse 19. 00:27:38.579 --> 00:27:40.359 God the Lord is my strength. 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:42.940 He makes my feet like the deer's. 00:27:43.200 --> 00:27:45.899 He makes me tread on the high places. 00:27:45.900 --> 00:27:46.100 Jesus. 00:27:47.780 --> 00:27:50.300 I love nature documentaries. 00:27:52.060 --> 00:27:57.400 My wife will tell you that I really enjoy watching Planet Earth by the BBC. 00:27:57.720 --> 00:28:03.140 And there's this one part of this nature documentary where it shows these mountain sheep. 00:28:03.780 --> 00:28:06.120 These massive horns somewhere in the Himalayas. 00:28:06.700 --> 00:28:07.620 And they're fighting. 00:28:08.019 --> 00:28:11.220 These two male sheep are fighting over some female. 00:28:11.220 --> 00:28:18.779 And they're basically hugging little slivers of rock on a sheer cliff as they fight, butting heads with each other. 00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:22.000 They're sure-footed. 00:28:22.500 --> 00:28:25.480 They're able to tread on the high places. 00:28:26.039 --> 00:28:27.579 So much so that they're fighting. 00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:29.380 With confidence. 00:28:31.059 --> 00:28:33.759 If God is your strength, he makes your feet like the deer's. 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:35.279 Swift. 00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:36.140 Sure. 00:28:36.680 --> 00:28:37.160 Graceful. 00:28:37.259 --> 00:28:38.519 As you walk through pain. 00:28:38.519 --> 00:28:48.299 If God is your strength, he makes you able to tread on those tight spots where you barely feel like you seem like you have a foothold. 00:28:48.599 --> 00:28:49.700 He is your strength. 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:53.059 He's the one keeping your foot on that tight spot. 00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:56.740 You might feel like you're tumbling off a cliff, but he is your strength. 00:28:57.220 --> 00:28:59.200 He enables you to walk with confidence. 00:28:59.500 --> 00:29:00.240 Not in yourself. 00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:01.599 Heavens no. 00:29:02.819 --> 00:29:04.579 But in the one who remembers mercy. 00:29:04.579 --> 00:29:08.259 And the one who comes with majestic salvation. 00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:14.659 And the one who causes you to sing with joy when life is falling apart around you. 00:29:14.660 --> 00:29:23.759 So all through the paths of this little book, we've seen how our God can handle our hard questions. 00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:29.320 And not only that, he can turn our hard questions into song. 00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:35.060 But all the way through, I've been wondering if you're asking this question. 00:29:35.059 --> 00:29:39.359 Why does God bring all this about anyway? 00:29:40.899 --> 00:29:47.440 Okay, God can make me have sure footing on the tight spots of my life. 00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:47.879 That's good. 00:29:47.940 --> 00:29:48.480 He's my strength. 00:29:48.539 --> 00:29:48.779 That's good. 00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:49.639 But why does he bring it? 00:29:50.659 --> 00:29:53.980 Why does he cause suffering to happen to those whom he loves? 00:29:54.119 --> 00:29:57.099 To those who love him and those who trust in him? 00:29:57.099 --> 00:30:01.619 Why doesn't he just take us home? 00:30:03.139 --> 00:30:08.240 Why for those who trust in Christ and we're already his, why doesn't he just spare us the hard stuff of this life? 00:30:08.339 --> 00:30:10.699 And just, once we get saved, we're out of here. 00:30:11.919 --> 00:30:13.439 Why does he bring this hard stuff? 00:30:14.679 --> 00:30:18.059 Well, the full answer to that question, I'm not even going to attempt to give. 00:30:18.139 --> 00:30:21.159 But I think Habakkuk 3 is a partial answer to that question. 00:30:22.579 --> 00:30:24.119 Remember, Habakkuk 3 is a song. 00:30:24.219 --> 00:30:24.699 It's worship. 00:30:24.700 --> 00:30:31.380 It's a joyful expression of profound personal confidence in a profoundly personal God. 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:38.600 The God who delivers his own even and perhaps especially in the middle of pain. 00:30:40.100 --> 00:30:45.880 The God who allows them to sing even and perhaps especially in the middle of pain. 00:30:47.740 --> 00:30:50.180 Well, God brings hard things into our lives for many reasons. 00:30:50.180 --> 00:30:53.680 But I think it's the beauty of music arising out of chaos. 00:30:53.860 --> 00:30:55.700 Of joy coming out of sadness. 00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:58.100 Of light coming out of darkness. 00:30:58.400 --> 00:31:04.660 I think it's that that brings him our maximum joy in him and his maximum glory. 00:31:04.660 --> 00:31:08.660 As we walk through the pain. 00:31:09.540 --> 00:31:13.320 But then we see in the middle of the pain that God is sufficient for our pain. 00:31:13.779 --> 00:31:14.779 We start singing. 00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:16.920 He causes us to sing. 00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:19.460 And that brings him great honor and glory. 00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:21.220 And that brings us great joy. 00:31:21.500 --> 00:31:26.779 To know that our God is not only the God who is worthy of praise when things are going really well. 00:31:26.779 --> 00:31:30.259 And worthy of praise at the end of all things when all things are well. 00:31:30.619 --> 00:31:32.779 But even when things are not well. 00:31:32.879 --> 00:31:36.359 He is so worthy and sufficient of our praise. 00:31:37.399 --> 00:31:42.200 So let me conclude by offering us three ways to pursue that. 00:31:42.759 --> 00:31:44.700 Three ways to pursue that joy. 00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:46.299 And they're based right off our three M's. 00:31:46.299 --> 00:31:47.940 So first. 00:31:48.899 --> 00:31:52.119 How do we pursue that joy that comes out of sadness? 00:31:53.359 --> 00:31:56.759 First, cast yourself on the mercy of God. 00:31:57.740 --> 00:32:00.519 Cast yourself on his steady mercy. 00:32:01.579 --> 00:32:03.099 There's an endless supply. 00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:09.759 God is a God who is loving and compassionate and tender toward his own. 00:32:09.859 --> 00:32:13.279 And as soon as his own begin to call for mercy, he listens. 00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:17.720 So cast yourself on the mercy of God. 00:32:18.279 --> 00:32:25.339 Second, remember his majestic salvation in the past, in the present, and the future. 00:32:26.660 --> 00:32:27.819 God has come for you. 00:32:28.779 --> 00:32:30.879 Jesus Christ has come for you. 00:32:32.200 --> 00:32:34.500 To set you free from darkness. 00:32:34.960 --> 00:32:36.579 To open your eyes and your blindness. 00:32:38.500 --> 00:32:40.920 To introduce you into your greatest good. 00:32:41.379 --> 00:32:42.740 Fellowship with the living God himself. 00:32:43.720 --> 00:32:45.019 Jesus Christ has come for you. 00:32:45.680 --> 00:32:46.279 Remember that. 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:48.299 But he's also with you in the present. 00:32:48.960 --> 00:32:52.700 His salvation is with you, available to you right now. 00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:54.740 Through Jesus. 00:32:55.039 --> 00:32:56.139 As you trust in him. 00:32:57.420 --> 00:32:59.579 That song we sang, he is our good, good father. 00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:01.180 That's true for you right now. 00:33:01.240 --> 00:33:02.960 To deliver you right now because of Jesus. 00:33:04.139 --> 00:33:05.960 And he will come to deliver you in the future. 00:33:06.839 --> 00:33:08.779 One day, all will be well. 00:33:09.220 --> 00:33:10.200 He's making all things new. 00:33:10.980 --> 00:33:11.599 He's going to come. 00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:13.619 So he'll make all things right. 00:33:14.119 --> 00:33:16.279 Remember his majestic salvation. 00:33:16.519 --> 00:33:20.939 Get your eyes on that stained glass window of his majestic salvation. 00:33:21.159 --> 00:33:22.759 And three, simple. 00:33:24.759 --> 00:33:26.259 Sing in faith. 00:33:27.839 --> 00:33:29.159 Sing in faith. 00:33:29.160 --> 00:33:31.060 Whether it's you're washing dishes. 00:33:31.060 --> 00:33:31.080 Whether it's you're washing dishes. 00:33:31.940 --> 00:33:32.940 In your house. 00:33:33.580 --> 00:33:34.660 Vacuuming the floor. 00:33:35.500 --> 00:33:36.140 You're at work. 00:33:36.220 --> 00:33:37.300 You're driving in the car. 00:33:38.480 --> 00:33:40.380 You're with your screaming kids. 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:43.160 Or you're here at church. 00:33:43.600 --> 00:33:45.140 And you don't really feel like singing. 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:47.360 Sing in faith. 00:33:48.680 --> 00:33:51.279 He enables you to sing in the midst of sorrow. 00:33:51.279 --> 00:33:56.039 Let me read a brief excerpt to close. 00:33:57.099 --> 00:33:59.279 Written by a guy named Theodore Keiler. 00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:04.139 It's a beautiful little paragraph called God's Light on Dark Clouds. 00:34:04.180 --> 00:34:05.980 Just enjoy this. 00:34:05.980 --> 00:34:12.199 When God leaves a Christian without any trials. 00:34:12.659 --> 00:34:15.119 He really leaves him to a terrible danger. 00:34:15.119 --> 00:34:18.559 In the black forest of Germany. 00:34:18.699 --> 00:34:21.779 A baron built a castle with two lofty towers. 00:34:22.779 --> 00:34:24.239 From one tower to the other. 00:34:24.380 --> 00:34:25.960 He stretched several wires. 00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:29.659 Which in calm weather were motionless and silent. 00:34:30.719 --> 00:34:32.679 When the wind began to blow. 00:34:33.179 --> 00:34:33.659 However. 00:34:34.579 --> 00:34:36.420 The wires began to play. 00:34:36.980 --> 00:34:39.279 Like an eolian harp in the window. 00:34:40.239 --> 00:34:43.019 And as the wind rose to a fierce gale. 00:34:43.019 --> 00:34:46.019 The old baron sat in the castle. 00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:48.360 And heard his mighty hurricane harp. 00:34:48.840 --> 00:34:51.179 Playing grandly over the battlements. 00:34:52.460 --> 00:34:54.300 So while the weather is calm. 00:34:54.380 --> 00:34:55.420 And the skies are clear. 00:34:55.619 --> 00:34:58.880 A great many of the emotions of a Christian's heart are silent. 00:35:00.139 --> 00:35:02.659 But as soon as the wind of adversity. 00:35:03.320 --> 00:35:04.179 And difficulty. 00:35:04.900 --> 00:35:06.259 Smites the chords. 00:35:07.199 --> 00:35:09.059 The heart begins to play. 00:35:10.519 --> 00:35:12.480 And when God sends a terrible hurricane. 00:35:12.480 --> 00:35:13.800 Pain of terrible trial. 00:35:14.800 --> 00:35:18.400 You will hear the strains of humble submission. 00:35:19.059 --> 00:35:20.099 And joyful faith. 00:35:20.880 --> 00:35:22.519 And even happy confidence. 00:35:23.240 --> 00:35:24.619 And holy exaltation. 00:35:24.980 --> 00:35:26.880 Which could never have been heard. 00:35:27.199 --> 00:35:29.719 In the calm hours of prosperity. 00:35:31.480 --> 00:35:32.440 Brothers and sisters. 00:35:32.579 --> 00:35:33.599 May this be true of us. 00:35:34.679 --> 00:35:36.420 May the strong winds of sorrow. 00:35:36.420 --> 00:35:37.219 And disappointment. 00:35:37.519 --> 00:35:39.300 Create beautiful music in our hearts. 00:35:39.300 --> 00:35:43.180 Music that expresses our dependence upon God's mercy. 00:35:44.240 --> 00:35:46.320 Confidence in his majestic salvation. 00:35:46.519 --> 00:35:47.700 Past, present, and future. 00:35:48.420 --> 00:35:50.539 And the strength to rejoice in him. 00:35:50.760 --> 00:35:51.260 And sing. 00:35:51.740 --> 00:35:52.920 All because of Jesus. 00:35:54.060 --> 00:35:54.760 Let's pray. 00:35:54.760 --> 00:35:54.800 Let's pray. 00:35:54.800 --> 00:35:55.800 Thank you, Father. 00:35:55.800 --> 00:35:56.340 Thank you for your good answers. 00:35:56.340 --> 00:35:56.400 Thank you, Father. 00:35:56.400 --> 00:36:10.480 Thank you for your good answers. 00:36:10.480 --> 00:36:12.580 God, thank you for your good answers. 00:36:13.340 --> 00:36:16.960 Thank you for your promise that you will sustain those who trust in you. 00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:20.519 thank you for your promise that you will be our strength 00:36:20.519 --> 00:36:22.900 as we walk on the high places 00:36:22.900 --> 00:36:26.340 thank you God for causing us to sing 00:36:26.340 --> 00:36:28.960 when our hearts are sad 00:36:28.960 --> 00:36:33.039 Father you know every person in this room 00:36:33.039 --> 00:36:34.119 you know their situation 00:36:34.119 --> 00:36:38.460 do that God for your namesake 00:36:38.460 --> 00:36:40.860 and for our good 00:36:40.860 --> 00:36:41.960 in Jesus name Amen