WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.000 Just as we have been, I won't preach this at all. 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:08.800 We prefer to save this context 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:11.880 for more inductive Bible study together. 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:13.599 So we'll treat it like that tonight. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:15.880 So we'll walk through the passage, 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:18.960 Habakkuk chapter three, and then at the end, 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:21.920 I'll draw some things together, 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:24.519 make some points of the main idea, I think, 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:26.839 of what's going on here and why it really matters for us. 00:00:26.839 --> 00:00:29.039 So we'll do that towards the end of our time. 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:30.480 So we won't be long. 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:33.240 Habakkuk three, we'll finish tonight. 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:38.000 And before we read it, let me review where we are 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:42.200 and bring us up to the beginning of chapter three. 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:45.719 This is one of the really unique prophets 00:00:45.719 --> 00:00:48.599 in all of the prophetic books of the Old Testament 00:00:48.599 --> 00:00:51.879 because Habakkuk has a conversation with God 00:00:51.879 --> 00:00:53.439 the entire time. 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:55.439 And we really only see that one other place 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:58.679 and it's still not quite that, and that's the book of Jonah, 00:00:58.679 --> 00:01:00.240 where most of the texts of Jonah 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:02.039 is a conversation between Jonah and God. 00:01:02.039 --> 00:01:05.159 But here, we truly have a conversation 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:07.560 between Habakkuk and prayer to God 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:08.799 and back and forth the whole time. 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:10.159 It's different than all the other prophets 00:01:10.159 --> 00:01:13.039 where the prophets are going out and speaking to the people 00:01:13.039 --> 00:01:14.680 and telling the people what they need to do, 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:18.560 how they need to change, but that it doesn't appear like that. 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:21.079 And in chapter one, you'll remember the question 00:01:21.079 --> 00:01:23.480 that Habakkuk raised to God in prayer 00:01:23.480 --> 00:01:27.159 was why is there still evil and corruption 00:01:27.159 --> 00:01:28.640 in the land of Judah? 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:31.560 And we infer that Habakkuk had been praying 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:33.040 and praying and praying. 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:37.799 When are you going to come down and pull out the rot 00:01:37.799 --> 00:01:42.799 that was in the present 600s, late 600s, BC 00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:45.879 that was in Judah, that was ruling Judah, 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:48.680 injustices happening all around. 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:51.519 And then remember God responds and he says, 00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:54.159 I'm going to pull out the rot, 00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:57.799 I'm going to stop this corruption, I'm sending Babylon. 00:01:57.799 --> 00:02:01.519 So wicked Babylon who has been coming from the north 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:03.920 and the east down through the south, 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:08.120 destroying everyone, raiding, it takes over 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:11.039 and destroys Assyria just before Israel. 00:02:11.039 --> 00:02:15.680 And we know that in 597 and in 602 as well, 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:20.680 just before 597, Babylon will come in and attack Jerusalem. 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:26.000 And in 597, they will destroy, 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:28.039 completely destroy Jerusalem basically 00:02:28.039 --> 00:02:30.919 in the temple and everything's in it. 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:35.919 So Habakkuk responds and says, okay, well, 00:02:36.039 --> 00:02:37.120 how can you do that? 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:41.240 How can you be just and deal with the corruption of Judah 00:02:41.240 --> 00:02:45.759 by sending an evil people to deal with injustice? 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:47.879 It seems like that is heaping injustice 00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:51.159 on top of injustice over and over again. 00:02:51.159 --> 00:02:54.159 And so in chapter two, Habakkuk takes his stand 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:57.960 on the watchtower as if he is going to look out 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:03.960 and take God's place of sorts and then God speaks to him 00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:08.960 and God says, I'm not going to overlook any evil. 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:15.079 There will be no injustices left at the end of history 00:03:15.079 --> 00:03:17.800 that aren't met with justice. 00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:19.960 There will be not a single sin 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:21.759 that doesn't get what it deserves 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:24.239 is basically the pronouncement God makes. 00:03:24.239 --> 00:03:29.159 So he says, don't lose heart if justice is slow 00:03:29.159 --> 00:03:34.159 to come to Babylon, be patient because I will 00:03:35.959 --> 00:03:40.039 meet out justice to everybody that deserves it. 00:03:40.039 --> 00:03:42.959 And that's his message to Habakkuk. 00:03:42.959 --> 00:03:45.680 And then we get the very famous line, 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:49.840 chapter two, verse four, the righteous live by faith. 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:52.479 And so the entire theme really of this book 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:57.480 is how to have faith in the midst of injustices, 00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:00.439 in the midst of seasons that seem 00:04:00.439 --> 00:04:02.560 like there's no resolution coming. 00:04:02.560 --> 00:04:05.159 And perhaps there's not in this life. 00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:09.240 Perhaps there will never be justice in this life 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:11.960 for some evil that's out in front of you. 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:16.079 And God says, be patient, the righteous live by faith. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:20.359 Now, before we come to chapter three, just a word on faith. 00:04:20.359 --> 00:04:22.279 Faith is very important, right? 00:04:22.279 --> 00:04:26.560 We know as Christians, we believe that faith 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:29.199 is the instrument of salvation. 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:31.000 What is faith? 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:35.599 Faith, the Westminster Confession, 00:04:35.599 --> 00:04:39.120 the shorter catechism gives you two verbs 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:40.079 to think about faith. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:44.439 Faith is receiving and trusting, right? 00:04:44.439 --> 00:04:49.439 So faith is receiving whatever God says about himself 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:52.480 as true, as right, as good. 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:57.480 And faith is then trusting in that as your hope. 00:04:57.480 --> 00:04:59.079 And that's specifically, of course, 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:01.920 in the object Jesus Christ himself, that's faith. 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:03.319 So the righteous shall live by faith. 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:05.879 This book is about what it means to have faith 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:07.920 in the midst of injustices. 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:10.279 And that faith is receiving whatever God says 00:05:10.279 --> 00:05:12.360 about what's happening in the world 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:14.720 and trusting that he's gonna do something about it 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:16.639 in the end, that's the quality of faith 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:18.520 that's being talked about. 00:05:18.520 --> 00:05:20.639 So lastly, before we read, 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:25.639 God says then I'm bringing five woes to Babylon. 00:05:25.639 --> 00:05:27.800 Five woes are coming to Babylon, 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:30.080 and they will be for their imperialism, 00:05:30.080 --> 00:05:33.319 their colonialism essentially, their indulgence, 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:35.720 how indulgent of a people they are, 00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:38.360 their injustices, he says, their immorality 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:39.560 and their idolatry. 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:42.480 Five reasons that I will destroy Babylon. 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:47.399 Now at the very end of chapter two, verse 20, 00:05:49.399 --> 00:05:52.360 Habakkuk writes, the Lord is in his holy temple 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:54.480 and all will be silenced before him. 00:05:55.920 --> 00:06:00.920 And so that means Habakkuk is now silenced before God 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:05.600 and Babylon will be silenced before God. 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:08.439 Jude is about to be silenced before God. 00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:12.480 Everybody that has done any injustice 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:16.120 will be silenced before the living God. 00:06:16.120 --> 00:06:18.240 And Habakkuk realizes that 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:22.360 and all of a sudden his posture changes and he melts. 00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:26.879 He becomes undone, if you will, like Isaiah chapter six. 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:30.839 And that's what sets us up for chapter three. 00:06:30.839 --> 00:06:32.560 He's melted, he's undone. 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:33.920 And so that brings us to chapter three. 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:35.360 Let's read it together. 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:37.680 A prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:41.680 according to Shiggy Onoth. 00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:44.400 Oh Lord, I've heard the report of you in your work. 00:06:44.400 --> 00:06:46.480 Oh Lord, do I fear. 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:48.720 In the midst of the years revive it. 00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:50.920 In the midst of the years make it known. 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:53.360 In wrath, remember mercy. 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:56.240 God came from Teaman in the Holy Mount 00:06:56.240 --> 00:07:00.639 and the Holy one from Mount Peron, say, La. 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:02.319 His splendor covered the heavens 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:04.600 and the earth was full of his praise. 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:06.800 His brightness was like the light. 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:08.879 Raise flash from his hand 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:11.040 and there he veiled his power. 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:14.960 Before him went pestilence and plague followed at his heels. 00:07:14.960 --> 00:07:16.920 He stood and measured the earth. 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:19.120 He looked and shook the nations. 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:21.400 Then the eternal mountains were scattered. 00:07:21.400 --> 00:07:23.680 The everlasting hills sank low. 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:25.800 His were the everlasting ways. 00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:28.439 I saw the tents of Kushan and affliction. 00:07:28.439 --> 00:07:31.319 The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. 00:07:31.319 --> 00:07:33.920 Was your wrath against the rivers, oh Lord? 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:35.519 Was your anger against the rivers 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:37.680 or your indignation against the sea 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:39.199 when you rode on your horses 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:41.359 on your chariot of salvation? 00:07:41.359 --> 00:07:43.519 You stripped the sheath from your bow, 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:46.120 calling for many arrows, say, La. 00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:47.799 You split the earth with rivers. 00:07:47.799 --> 00:07:50.079 The mountains saw you and writhed. 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:51.560 The raging waters swept on. 00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:53.799 The deep gave forth its voice. 00:07:53.799 --> 00:07:55.759 It lifted its hands on high. 00:07:55.759 --> 00:07:58.479 The sun and the moon stood still in their place 00:07:58.479 --> 00:08:01.399 at the light of your arrows as they sped 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:03.519 at the flash of your glittering spear. 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:05.639 You marched through the earth in fury. 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:08.240 You threshed the nations in anger. 00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:10.240 You went out for the salvation of your people 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:12.560 for the salvation of your anointed. 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:15.120 You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, 00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:18.439 laying him bare from thigh to neck, say, La. 00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:20.039 You pierced with his own arrows 00:08:20.039 --> 00:08:21.839 the heads of his warriors 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:24.279 who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:28.240 rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret. 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:30.399 You trampled the sea with your horses, 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:32.559 the surging of mighty waters. 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:36.559 I hear in my body trembles my lips quiver at the sound. 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:38.759 Rotteness enters my bones. 00:08:38.759 --> 00:08:40.799 My legs tremble beneath me. 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:43.319 Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble 00:08:43.319 --> 00:08:45.359 to come upon people who invade us. 00:08:46.319 --> 00:08:48.039 Though the fig trees should not blossom 00:08:48.039 --> 00:08:49.879 nor fruit be on their vines, 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:51.599 the produce of the olive fail 00:08:51.599 --> 00:08:53.199 in the fields that yield no food. 00:08:53.199 --> 00:08:55.519 The flock be cut off from the fold 00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:57.559 and there be no herds and stalls. 00:08:57.559 --> 00:08:59.719 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:02.759 I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:04.440 God the Lord is my strength. 00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:06.399 He makes my feet like the deers. 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:08.920 He makes me tread on my high places 00:09:08.920 --> 00:09:11.759 to the choir master with stringed instruments. 00:09:12.920 --> 00:09:15.759 All right, so the very first thing here to mention, 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:17.800 and I'm gonna ask a couple of questions 00:09:17.800 --> 00:09:20.200 and I'll live through the silence. 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:22.440 Hopefully somebody will respond to me. 00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:23.960 But the first thing to notice here, of course, 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:27.000 is that he turns and writes a song. 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:29.440 It's a prayer, but it also becomes a song. 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:31.800 It's a song that Israel will sing. 00:09:31.800 --> 00:09:34.520 It's a song that becomes a hymn of Israel. 00:09:34.520 --> 00:09:37.840 We don't really know what Shigia Noth means, 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:41.400 but it's probably somebody that set this to music. 00:09:41.400 --> 00:09:42.640 And you see, of course, at the end 00:09:42.640 --> 00:09:44.560 to the choir master with stringed instruments. 00:09:44.560 --> 00:09:48.440 So this final prayer, this posture of being melted 00:09:48.440 --> 00:09:50.480 before the Lord becomes a song, 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:52.480 a hymn that Israel is going to sing, 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:57.000 that we can sing, I looked to find if this set to music 00:09:57.000 --> 00:10:00.039 and I did find a couple people that had done it, 00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:02.200 but it was old and I can't read music, 00:10:02.200 --> 00:10:04.559 so I didn't really know what it looked like exactly. 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:07.039 But maybe Don could draw something up for us sometime 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:09.039 and we could sing it together. 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:12.440 But if you look down just at verse one and two with me, 00:10:12.440 --> 00:10:13.960 particularly verse two, 00:10:13.960 --> 00:10:16.679 oh Lord, I've heard the report of you and your work, 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:20.679 oh Lord, do I fear, in the midst of the years revive it, 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:23.080 in the midst of the years make it known, 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:25.919 and wrath remember mercy. 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:29.479 Very simple, but any answer is wonderful. 00:10:29.479 --> 00:10:31.679 What is his prayer here? 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:32.959 That's the question. 00:10:32.959 --> 00:10:37.959 What is he praying back to God in response to God here? 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:40.479 And I'll give you a sec. 00:10:40.479 --> 00:10:41.559 Maybe somebody will respond, 00:10:41.559 --> 00:10:43.559 if not, I'll take it on. 00:10:43.559 --> 00:10:57.559 What is his prayer? 00:10:57.559 --> 00:11:01.559 It's prayer of trust, yeah, certainly. 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:03.559 To increase his faith? 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:06.559 To increase his faith, yeah, I mean, 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:11.559 I think that's definitely a subjective aspect of it, absolutely. 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:15.559 But very concretely, what is he praying back to God? 00:11:15.559 --> 00:11:19.119 God's told him I'm about to send five woes upon Babylon, 00:11:19.119 --> 00:11:22.000 but it's gonna take a while, so be patient. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:28.559 And what does he say? 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:31.559 Yeah, absolutely, there's mercy there. 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:34.279 Yeah, and that's a super important point. 00:11:34.279 --> 00:11:36.759 I think the most essential aspect of his prayer here 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:39.159 is he's turning around to God and saying, 00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:43.159 okay, do it, do it, do the justice. 00:11:43.159 --> 00:11:47.759 You say you're going to rain down justice on Babylon, 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:53.719 but first you're gonna end the corruption in Judah with Babylon, 00:11:53.719 --> 00:11:56.919 revive it, make it alive, in other words, do it. 00:11:56.919 --> 00:11:59.679 And it's no different than the Lord's prayer, 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:01.159 thy will be done. 00:12:01.159 --> 00:12:03.519 That's exactly what he's saying, that will be done. 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:07.480 And you've got two twin aspects of God's will being done here 00:12:07.480 --> 00:12:08.679 that are very prominent. 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:12.559 One is the administration of justice through judgment, 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:15.559 that there is a terrifying aspect to this, 00:12:15.559 --> 00:12:18.879 that God will administer justice for the sins 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:22.120 for which people have accumulated. 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:25.079 And at the same time, like you mentioned, he says, 00:12:25.079 --> 00:12:29.120 in the midst of that wrath, remember your mercy. 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:32.959 And so you've got the terrifying justice of God 00:12:32.959 --> 00:12:37.359 being poured out and Habakkuk saying, do that. 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:38.680 Why is he saying that? 00:12:38.680 --> 00:12:39.519 Because he's melted. 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:44.120 He's saying, you're God, I don't get to say. 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:48.840 So do the justice that comes from the being of God, 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:52.080 who is justice in himself, do that. 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:54.680 But in the midst of it, Lord, remember your mercy. 00:12:54.680 --> 00:12:58.360 And of course, he's praying that for himself and his people. 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:01.440 And who is it that receives the mercy of God? 00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:06.440 Habakkuk 2 verse 4, the righteous shall live. 00:13:07.560 --> 00:13:09.760 And what is it that makes a person righteous? 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:12.000 Faith, right? 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:16.480 It's not their justice. 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:19.520 The whole point of the book is that Judah is not just. 00:13:19.520 --> 00:13:21.760 And Babylon is not just. 00:13:21.760 --> 00:13:23.280 And Assyria is not just. 00:13:23.280 --> 00:13:24.560 And Scotland's not just. 00:13:24.560 --> 00:13:26.320 And we're not just. 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:27.760 Our actions are not just. 00:13:27.760 --> 00:13:29.960 We do not get what we deserve. 00:13:29.960 --> 00:13:34.240 But the righteous live because they are made righteous 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:37.200 by faith, by receiving and trusting 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:39.200 in the God who will show mercy. 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:42.720 So that's the first and really the essence 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:44.200 of the first half of the prayer. 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:48.519 And then he steps into this really interesting section 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:50.639 from three to 15. 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:53.480 And this one's a little trickier to answer, 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:56.600 but this is one whole section from verse three 00:13:56.600 --> 00:14:00.240 all the way to 15, really 3B. 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:01.920 His splendor covered the heavens 00:14:01.920 --> 00:14:03.320 and the earth was full of his praise 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:06.159 all the way down to verse 15. 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:08.460 And he's doing something very specific here. 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:12.080 So let me just highlight a couple of verses 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:14.279 and see if you can pick up on it, 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:16.279 on what he's doing here. 00:14:16.279 --> 00:14:18.879 His brightness was like the light. 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:20.639 God's brightness. 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:23.639 All right, so notice that these are past tense verbs, right? 00:14:23.639 --> 00:14:26.120 His brightness was like the light. 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:28.960 Raise flash from his hand. 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:32.639 He veiled his power right there where he was. 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:34.679 And here verse five might give you some clues. 00:14:34.679 --> 00:14:37.200 Before him went pestilence, 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:40.560 a plague followed at his heels. 00:14:40.560 --> 00:14:43.320 Okay, then in verse six, you've got justice language. 00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:45.759 He measured the earth. 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:48.840 He looked and showed, what does it mean to measure the earth? 00:14:48.840 --> 00:14:51.080 It means it's the picture of a scale. 00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:55.519 He put the deeds of the earth in the scale and measured. 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:57.720 And then he determined as the judge 00:14:57.720 --> 00:14:59.679 who deserved his wrath. 00:15:01.319 --> 00:15:02.279 Go down to seven. 00:15:02.279 --> 00:15:06.879 I saw the tense of Kushan and affliction, midian, trembled. 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:08.759 Was your wrath against the river? 00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:10.319 The river's, oh Lord. 00:15:10.319 --> 00:15:12.679 Okay, does anybody have a sense yet 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:16.159 of what Habakkuk is referring to here? 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:20.039 He's taking us, he's actually praying to God 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:23.720 and remembering past events 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:25.600 that he was not a part of that he'd never saw 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:27.440 but that he's only been told of. 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:30.200 What past event is he thinking of here? 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:34.800 The Exodus, yeah, absolutely. 00:15:34.800 --> 00:15:39.800 He's thinking of God's power and wrath 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:45.160 meet it out against Egypt in the Exodus story. 00:15:45.160 --> 00:15:47.519 And that's where he goes in this prayer. 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:50.759 And what were the plagues that went forth 00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:53.399 from God's hand in the Exodus? 00:15:53.399 --> 00:15:54.759 What are those plagues all about? 00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:59.559 The plagues of the Exodus were specifically plagues 00:15:59.559 --> 00:16:02.840 that were directed at the Egyptian deities. 00:16:02.840 --> 00:16:04.679 So if you carefully work through the plagues 00:16:04.679 --> 00:16:06.720 in the book of Exodus, you realize the plague 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:11.199 of the frogs, of the Nile, ultimately of blocking 00:16:11.199 --> 00:16:14.319 out the sun, each of these is responding 00:16:14.319 --> 00:16:17.639 to one of the deities, principal deities of Egypt. 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:20.720 And ultimately the death of the firstborn son, 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:23.560 particularly a Pharaoh, why? 00:16:23.560 --> 00:16:28.160 Because in Pharaoh's household, Pharaoh is a demigod 00:16:28.160 --> 00:16:31.800 and the firstborn son of Pharaoh is a demigod by birth. 00:16:31.800 --> 00:16:36.600 And so God dishes out justice against the gods of Egypt 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:38.639 in the plagues and that's what he's remembering here. 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:43.639 He goes all the way down to verse 11 00:16:43.920 --> 00:16:47.920 and he switches over to a new piece of history. 00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:51.319 The sun and the moon stood still in their place 00:16:51.319 --> 00:16:53.199 at the light of your arrows as they sped 00:16:53.199 --> 00:16:55.599 at the flash of your glittering spear. 00:16:55.599 --> 00:16:57.919 You marched through the earth in fury. 00:16:57.919 --> 00:17:00.240 You thrashed the nations in anger. 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:02.159 This one's a little trickier, but what about this? 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:03.360 This is not the Exodus. 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:06.279 This is a different moment in the history of Israel. 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:08.240 What might this be? 00:17:10.639 --> 00:17:12.960 Yeah, this is the book of Joshua. 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:16.399 This is when God, when Israel was fighting a battle 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:18.640 and God said, well, you need more daylight. 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:20.640 I'm going to stop the movement of the earth. 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:22.680 The sun will stand still for you. 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:26.000 This is what he's referring to here, right? 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:28.920 So he's working through here and talking about the Exodus 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:32.280 all the way through to the Joshua conquest 00:17:32.280 --> 00:17:36.160 and recounting what we call the wonderful works of God. 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:40.080 And the point of it all is verse 13, 00:17:40.080 --> 00:17:42.440 you went out for the salvation of your people, 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:44.640 for the salvation of your anointed, 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:47.040 you crushed the heads of the house of the wicked. 00:17:48.840 --> 00:17:52.440 In other words, God is the warrior, 00:17:52.440 --> 00:17:55.480 is a warrior, the warrior of his people. 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:58.759 He goes out and administers justice 00:17:58.759 --> 00:18:02.440 on behalf of his people, not because they deserve it, 00:18:02.440 --> 00:18:06.320 but because he shows mercy to those who live by faith. 00:18:06.320 --> 00:18:07.880 And so he goes forth. 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:10.480 And so the question then becomes, 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:15.480 why is Habakkuk recounting these great deeds of God 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:17.000 in the midst of this prayer? 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:18.360 What's the point? 00:18:18.360 --> 00:18:22.559 How does it fit in with the overall picture of the book 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:27.200 of what he's recognizing here about God? 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:30.640 What is Habakkuk learning in the midst of this prayer 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:33.160 as he's recounting the wonderful deeds of God 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:34.559 in judgment? 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:39.399 Any thoughts? 00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:47.679 Exactly, he's thinking and saying, 00:18:47.679 --> 00:18:51.200 I know the tales of the past. 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:53.639 I've heard what you've done. 00:18:53.639 --> 00:18:56.240 And I know that as I'm standing here 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:58.919 in the midst of a corrupted land, 00:18:58.919 --> 00:19:03.480 and I'm about to receive the blows of Babylon, 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:06.480 that you are the God who has done what you said 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:08.599 you were going to do every time, 00:19:08.599 --> 00:19:11.759 and you have administered justice on the people 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:14.360 who tried to crush your people every time. 00:19:15.360 --> 00:19:18.400 And how long was Israel in Egypt? 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:22.039 Slaves, 400 years, right? 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:25.720 And so he's thinking, I've seen this before 00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:27.759 in the history of your people. 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:30.480 I know that patience is necessary 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:32.960 in the midst of deep faith. 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:35.519 And so at the very end of this little section, 00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:39.880 verse 16 is the transition to the main point, 00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:41.480 and we'll finish with 17 and 19, 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:44.160 but the transition, he says, 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:48.319 I hear all this. 00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:50.000 I hear what you've done, 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:51.720 and I hear what you're saying, 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:53.480 and my body trembles. 00:19:54.720 --> 00:19:57.440 My lips quiver at the sound. 00:19:57.440 --> 00:20:00.000 Rottenness enters my bones. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:01.519 What's he talking about here? 00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:05.039 After just recounting the deeds of God, 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:07.799 and he's saying, I know what you've done, 00:20:07.799 --> 00:20:08.720 I know what you've liked, 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:11.319 but I'm trembling and rottenness. 00:20:11.319 --> 00:20:13.160 I'm feeling rotten all the way down to my bones. 00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:15.000 What is he talking about? 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:16.599 Why? 00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:18.240 Why is that his response? 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:25.680 His legs are trembling. 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:31.680 He's not the thought, and he's not the thought, 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:34.080 what he's done to himself. 00:20:34.080 --> 00:20:37.480 So I think that there's two things going on here. 00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:39.799 One, sort of a double entendre. 00:20:39.799 --> 00:20:43.519 One, he's melting at the mightiness of God 00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:46.000 and the mystery of God. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:47.680 Absolutely. 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:51.880 So there's a divine oriented posture, 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:55.080 but there's also a historical posture he's taking, 00:20:55.079 --> 00:20:57.079 there's circumstantial posture too. 00:20:57.079 --> 00:20:59.519 There's another reason his legs are shaking. 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:03.599 What has God told him? 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:06.720 What has to happen before justice can ever come? 00:21:08.439 --> 00:21:10.199 Who's coming to the doorstep? 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:13.279 The Babylonians are coming. 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:15.960 So he's saying, I've recounted the deeds, 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:19.960 and I've seen Israel was in Egypt 400 years, 00:21:19.960 --> 00:21:24.960 and you came for them, but it was 400 years. 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:31.759 And you've already told me in this interaction with you 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:36.120 that Babylon is coming, and that that is how you will do it. 00:21:36.120 --> 00:21:40.319 And so he finishes his prayer here and says, I'm shaking. 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:44.240 I feel rotten down to the core of who I am, 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:47.640 because I know what you say is true and good, 00:21:47.640 --> 00:21:50.360 and that means that I'm about to walk through the fire. 00:21:50.360 --> 00:21:52.800 Babylon's coming to the doorstep. 00:21:52.800 --> 00:21:54.600 I'm gonna be here. 00:21:54.600 --> 00:21:55.560 Babylon's coming. 00:21:57.000 --> 00:22:00.480 Many, many will die and be imprisoned 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:02.120 and become slaves of Babylon. 00:22:03.360 --> 00:22:05.960 And so you see, we know that that's what he's thinking of 00:22:05.960 --> 00:22:07.840 because he says at the very end of 16, 00:22:07.840 --> 00:22:12.840 yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble 00:22:15.040 --> 00:22:17.040 to come upon the people who invade us. 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:19.960 So he's saying, in the midst of my trembling, 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:23.720 I will quietly and patiently wait before the Lord 00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:26.119 for the day that justice will eventually come, 00:22:27.019 --> 00:22:31.000 even if it's 400 years, even if I observe it from Sheol, 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:34.440 perhaps wherever he might be. 00:22:36.200 --> 00:22:39.920 All right, so let's finish with this, verse 17 to 19, 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:43.000 because this is really the point of it all, 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:46.319 and really the point of the book in some ways. 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:51.319 So at the very end, ignore the title, 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:55.680 Habakkuk rejoices in the Lord. 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:57.359 Remember always in Bible study 00:22:57.359 --> 00:22:59.480 that those are not part of the Bible. 00:22:59.480 --> 00:23:02.079 Those are, cover those up with your hand 00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:04.680 and squench the text back together 00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:06.819 so that you don't think of it as too much of a break. 00:23:06.819 --> 00:23:10.119 This is still the same prayer and the same song, okay? 00:23:10.119 --> 00:23:14.119 Though the fig tree should not blossom, 00:23:15.159 --> 00:23:17.359 nor fruit be on the vines, 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:19.439 the produce of the olive fail, 00:23:19.439 --> 00:23:21.559 and the fields yield no food, 00:23:21.559 --> 00:23:23.959 the flock be cut off from the fold, 00:23:23.959 --> 00:23:26.979 and there be no herd and stalls. 00:23:26.979 --> 00:23:29.039 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. 00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:31.919 I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 00:23:31.919 --> 00:23:33.679 God the Lord is my strength. 00:23:33.679 --> 00:23:35.639 He makes my feet like the deers. 00:23:35.640 --> 00:23:40.580 He makes me tread on high places to the choir master. 00:23:40.580 --> 00:23:45.200 Okay, so this is where he really gets into the nitty gritty 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:49.240 of telling you how to deal with evil seasons of life, 00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:50.960 where an evil is out in front of you, 00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:53.320 when circumstances are especially evil. 00:23:53.320 --> 00:23:57.360 And by evil, I mean broken, corrupted, 00:23:57.360 --> 00:23:59.160 not what they should be, 00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:01.480 not in accordance with the creation order 00:24:01.480 --> 00:24:02.800 as God intended it. 00:24:02.800 --> 00:24:04.759 Hard things, suffering, 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:07.319 especially that comes about by sin, 00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:09.019 and sin that happens to you. 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:12.839 What he's saying here, very simple, 00:24:12.839 --> 00:24:17.759 is that it is possible to have sustained joy, 00:24:17.759 --> 00:24:22.759 patient joy in the midst of miserable tribulation, 00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:25.759 and never see the end of that tribulation. 00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:31.480 That it's possible to have sustained joy, it's possible. 00:24:31.480 --> 00:24:34.480 And that's what Habakkuk has moved from, 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:36.039 from the beginning of not having that 00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:37.200 at the beginning of the book, 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:40.240 to having it here at the end of the book. 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:43.960 And it's very specific, of course, here. 00:24:43.960 --> 00:24:47.279 He's talking about a very specific type of disaster 00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:48.640 that's about to take place. 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:49.920 What is it? 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:54.920 No more figs, no more fruit, no more olives, 00:24:55.240 --> 00:24:59.360 the fields are empty, the flocks are cut off, 00:24:59.360 --> 00:25:00.920 and there's no more herds. 00:25:00.920 --> 00:25:04.960 Meaning he's talking about utter economic devastation, 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:07.360 economic depravity all the way to the bottom. 00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:10.480 Now we're facing, we're about to, 00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:12.920 it looks like facing a recession perhaps, 00:25:12.920 --> 00:25:16.519 certainly the U.S. is, and perhaps here as well, who knows, 00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:19.920 but we're in the midst of an economic downturn 00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:21.039 to be sure, right? 00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:24.160 And so stuff like this carries more weight 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:25.000 in times like that. 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:26.640 However, however, 00:25:26.640 --> 00:25:31.640 this is, he's talking about utter and total 00:25:32.520 --> 00:25:36.080 economic ruin, starvation, 00:25:36.080 --> 00:25:40.200 no food for anyone if you survive, 00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:42.360 Babylon's initial invasion. 00:25:42.360 --> 00:25:44.640 And there are people all over the world 00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:46.440 that do face this. 00:25:46.440 --> 00:25:48.240 When we read this, we have to remember them 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:51.200 and think that there are Christians 00:25:51.200 --> 00:25:55.840 and non-Christians alike that face total economic ruin 00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:57.679 to the point of starvation throughout their lifetime 00:25:57.679 --> 00:26:00.839 in the 21st century and will, 00:26:00.839 --> 00:26:03.119 like they have in every single century. 00:26:03.119 --> 00:26:06.639 And God is especially preaching and talking to them here, 00:26:06.639 --> 00:26:09.079 but this is for anybody and everybody 00:26:09.079 --> 00:26:12.199 as we face seasons of devastation, 00:26:12.199 --> 00:26:15.240 whether they are economic or emotional, 00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:18.639 and everything in between, whatever they might, 00:26:18.639 --> 00:26:19.480 whatever they may be. 00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:23.240 And Habakkuk says, it is possible to rejoice, 00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:27.640 to have patient joy all the way to the point of death 00:26:27.640 --> 00:26:29.839 in the midst of those seasons. 00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:32.839 Now, lastly, last thing I wanna say and we'll stop. 00:26:36.440 --> 00:26:40.079 You can say, you can read that and you can hear that. 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:44.680 And you can say, especially if you're a believer tonight, 00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:45.599 if you're a Christian tonight, 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:50.599 you can say, look, intellectually, I accept it, right? 00:26:50.599 --> 00:26:51.880 I affirm it. 00:26:51.880 --> 00:26:54.020 I hear it, I see it in the text. 00:26:54.020 --> 00:26:55.560 This is my authority. 00:26:57.200 --> 00:27:01.920 Intellectually, I can put that dogmatic truth 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:06.600 in a category in my theological system and say yes. 00:27:06.600 --> 00:27:11.600 But existentially, maybe if you're honest with yourself, 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:14.400 like when I think about myself, I think, 00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:18.680 if I sit in this season, will I have any joy? 00:27:18.680 --> 00:27:19.600 Can I have any joy? 00:27:19.600 --> 00:27:21.200 Can I grow into joy? 00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:25.600 And it seems like the answer is, it feels like no. 00:27:25.600 --> 00:27:29.319 It feels like it's unlikely to have joy 00:27:29.319 --> 00:27:32.279 in the midst of such devastation and suffering 00:27:32.279 --> 00:27:33.940 and misery in life. 00:27:33.940 --> 00:27:38.940 And I think the only thing I wanna say, 00:27:40.279 --> 00:27:42.080 because we're out of time is this. 00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:47.079 You cannot have it apart from growing into it through the power 00:27:56.720 --> 00:28:00.359 of the Holy Spirit who is the spirit of Jesus Christ. 00:28:01.679 --> 00:28:06.159 And to get there, remember, the righteous live by faith. 00:28:06.159 --> 00:28:10.879 So what he's talking about here is growing into something, 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:15.880 a power through faith, through faith. 00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:19.600 He's saying that this is actually only possible. 00:28:20.600 --> 00:28:23.280 Philippians four calls it a joy that makes no sense. 00:28:23.280 --> 00:28:26.920 That is beyond understanding because it is a power 00:28:26.920 --> 00:28:31.040 that is only through the spirit, spiritual power 00:28:31.040 --> 00:28:33.800 that can get a person to a place like this. 00:28:33.800 --> 00:28:38.360 And of course, in order to receive that spiritual power 00:28:38.359 --> 00:28:43.079 in faith, you've got to walk through, 00:28:43.079 --> 00:28:47.079 you've got to walk with the one 00:28:47.079 --> 00:28:50.359 who is the greater Habakkuk. 00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:58.799 Jesus Christ lost everything, verse 17 tells us about. 00:28:59.919 --> 00:29:04.919 Jesus Christ is the one who saw the fig blossom no longer, 00:29:04.920 --> 00:29:09.640 who cursed it and it died as a sign. 00:29:10.920 --> 00:29:15.560 And he went to the cross, he went to the cross 00:29:15.560 --> 00:29:18.920 in utter devastation and ruin beyond the ruin 00:29:18.920 --> 00:29:22.120 that Habakkuk could ever know, beyond it. 00:29:22.120 --> 00:29:26.759 He suffered the devastation of the wrath of God. 00:29:26.759 --> 00:29:28.840 Everything that God says, I will pour out 00:29:28.840 --> 00:29:32.240 upon Babylon and Judah, he poured it out even more 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:35.640 on Jesus Christ, everything. 00:29:35.640 --> 00:29:40.640 And Habakkuk stands there and has joy in the Lord 00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:42.039 in the midst of utter devastation 00:29:42.039 --> 00:29:45.240 because he looks like Jesus. 00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:48.400 He's a sign pointing to the one that is to come. 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:53.400 And it's only through the power of the devastation 00:29:53.559 --> 00:29:58.319 of the cross that you can have the gift 00:29:58.319 --> 00:30:03.159 of his resurrected spirit to be enabled to grow 00:30:03.159 --> 00:30:05.480 in this way, to have something like this. 00:30:05.480 --> 00:30:10.119 And I think it's a lifetime of steady, 00:30:10.119 --> 00:30:15.119 slow, broken, bumpy walking in and by 00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:18.200 the spirit of Jesus Christ himself. 00:30:18.200 --> 00:30:29.200 And remember that when God says that he will destroy Babylon, 00:30:29.600 --> 00:30:33.360 fully and finally, where do we see it? 00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:36.039 Where do we see that? 00:30:36.039 --> 00:30:39.200 This is my last actually open question to you. 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:40.680 One more time. 00:30:40.680 --> 00:30:50.120 Where do we see the destruction of Babylon? 00:30:50.120 --> 00:30:52.200 It's a multi-layered question, isn't it? 00:30:52.200 --> 00:30:56.000 Calvary, Jesus Christ goes toe to toe 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:59.960 with the Babylonian dragon himself, 00:30:59.960 --> 00:31:02.840 Satan, Christus, Victor, Christ the victor 00:31:02.840 --> 00:31:05.400 over Babylon in the moment of the cross, right? 00:31:05.400 --> 00:31:06.519 Where else? 00:31:08.680 --> 00:31:09.920 Doesn't stop there. 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:13.200 It takes stages of history, right? 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:24.400 Where else do we see the destruction of Babylon? 00:31:24.400 --> 00:31:28.800 Revelation 16, 17, 18, what is the entire image 00:31:28.800 --> 00:31:32.519 of the end of human history is God coming down 00:31:32.519 --> 00:31:35.480 to defeat Babylon, to destroy Babylon. 00:31:35.480 --> 00:31:38.279 See, Habakkuk has always been about something much bigger 00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:39.960 than this moment. 00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:43.359 It's about what we see in Revelation 16, 17, and 18. 00:31:43.359 --> 00:31:45.240 And the destruction of Babylon is the destruction 00:31:45.240 --> 00:31:47.879 of the serpent of Babylon himself. 00:31:47.879 --> 00:31:54.079 Satan, sin, evil, death, drought, the fig leaves, 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:56.480 the figs and the grapes growing no longer, 00:31:56.480 --> 00:31:58.440 that is gone, that is Babylon. 00:31:58.440 --> 00:32:01.279 See, Babylon is the image of evil 00:32:01.279 --> 00:32:03.279 in the whole of the scriptures. 00:32:03.279 --> 00:32:08.279 And the pathway to a faith that can have joy 00:32:09.960 --> 00:32:13.279 in the midst of such misery like this 00:32:14.639 --> 00:32:17.319 is to do what Habakkuk did here. 00:32:17.319 --> 00:32:19.240 He thought about Egypt. 00:32:19.240 --> 00:32:21.000 He thought about Joshua's conquest, 00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:23.839 but we get to think about Revelation 16, 17, and 18. 00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:28.920 Because God has written the future into history for us. 00:32:29.879 --> 00:32:32.599 And so that's part of the process 00:32:32.599 --> 00:32:34.959 of growing in faith and to joy in the Lord, 00:32:34.959 --> 00:32:36.759 even in the midst of hardship. 00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:38.039 Okay, I've gone on too long. 00:32:38.039 --> 00:32:42.000 Let's pray and we'll ask God, 00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:45.000 we'll ask God the Spirit to do this work in our hearts. 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.559 Let's pray, Father, we come now and ask 00:32:49.559 --> 00:32:53.399 that you would do something that is beyond sense, 00:32:53.399 --> 00:32:54.839 that is beyond circumstance, 00:32:54.839 --> 00:32:58.559 that is give us what seems impossible, 00:32:58.559 --> 00:33:02.359 joy in the midst of utter sorrow. 00:33:02.359 --> 00:33:07.079 And so these things feel contradictory at worst 00:33:07.079 --> 00:33:10.199 and paradoxical at best, but we ask for this 00:33:10.199 --> 00:33:14.079 because you promise it and you say that it's real. 00:33:14.079 --> 00:33:17.559 And so we do ask for everybody's heart here tonight 00:33:17.559 --> 00:33:20.839 that they would experience a measure of joy 00:33:20.839 --> 00:33:23.799 in the midst of their sorrows that comes only from you, 00:33:23.799 --> 00:33:26.000 O God, and that for each of us 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:28.039 and for our corporate body at St. Columbus, 00:33:28.039 --> 00:33:31.159 our church family, that we would be marked off 00:33:31.160 --> 00:33:36.160 as a people who do well by joying in you 00:33:36.320 --> 00:33:39.640 and hoping you in the midst of heart things. 00:33:39.640 --> 00:34:04.640 So we ask for these hearts in Christ's name, amen.