WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:12.000 Songs that we play and sing and maybe whistle as we go about our business inevitably reflect 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:25.000 ! the mood that we're in. So when we find ourselves singing, I'm walking on sunshine, Katrina and the waves, it's probably because we're happy. 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:40.600 And when we're humming along, everybody hurts. I REM. Our mood's quite different, isn't it? It's because we're sad or gloomy or feeling the weight of the world around us. 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:50.840 But it works the other way as well because songs can actually change our mood. We can be in one particular mood and then a song is playing or we sing and our mood changes. 00:00:50.840 --> 00:01:00.840 I can sometimes be perfectly happy, taking along fine and then realize I'm a bit anxious and agitated and realize it's because Leonard Cohen has been playing in the background for the last hour. 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:19.840 Chris Stapleton has a song called What Are You Listening To? That makes this point. It's a song about a breakup and he's thinking about the woman and he's playing a song that reminds him of his ex and he wonders what she's listening to. 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:37.580 And he wonders because he wants to know how she's feeling. So he asks, is it a cover band in some college town bar where it's na-na-naz and air guitar? I.e., are you having fun? I'm wondering, are you having fun? Have you moved on? 00:01:37.579 --> 00:01:54.319 And then he asks, or is it something to get you through? Just a sad song playing on the radio station, tears still falling, hearts still breaking because you're hanging on. 00:01:54.319 --> 00:02:05.839 And some songs are like that, aren't they? Songs that you listen to or you sing because you are just hanging on and you sing them to get you through. 00:02:08.180 --> 00:02:18.939 Those kinds of songs are real about how hard things are, but they also offer us hope. They give us something to hold on to as we go through the pain. 00:02:18.939 --> 00:02:28.180 Habakkuk 3 is a song for those who are hanging on. It's a song to get you through. 00:02:29.819 --> 00:02:40.960 It's described, chapter 3, verse 1. We're back here, page 786. Habakkuk 3, verse 1. It's described as Habakkuk's prayer, but you'll see that it's also given musical directions. 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:51.780 It's called Shagionoth. It's called Shagionoth. Is that how you pronounce it? Shagionoth? Shagionoth? Who knows? Shagionoth. 00:02:52.040 --> 00:03:01.260 It has those selah bricks that you see in the Psalms, verse 3, verse 9, verse 13, and it closes with an instruction to the choir master, verse 19. 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:09.240 It's clearly a song. It's a prayer, but it's designed to be sung by the people who we've seen over the last couple of Sunday evenings 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:18.560 are facing the hardest of times. John Calvin says the Shagionoth, like the Shagion of Psalm 7, where David is surrounded by his enemies, 00:03:18.700 --> 00:03:28.960 but he's still trusting God is with him, is, quote, an irregular meter designed for a poetic style marked by strong emotion and agitation. 00:03:29.700 --> 00:03:38.340 The choir master is saying, play it to this tune, and it is a tune that's designed for strong emotion and agitation, an irregular meter. 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:46.260 The music reflects the mood. We're all over the place emotionally. This is the sort of song that you sing. 00:03:46.460 --> 00:03:51.480 We've seen it, haven't we? Strong emotion and agitation are exactly where Habakkuk finds himself. 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:58.140 He opened his prophecy by crying out to God about the violence and the injustice that he sees all around him, 00:03:58.320 --> 00:04:01.340 and the fact that God just seems ambivalent to it all. 00:04:01.340 --> 00:04:10.379 God then responded by saying, nope, nope, not ambivalent, and I am going to send the Babylonians to judge this wickedness. 00:04:11.500 --> 00:04:20.899 And when Habakkuk cries out to him about this decision, he cries out in disbelief, hang on, surely not the most wicked and most intimidating force in the world. 00:04:20.899 --> 00:04:26.199 God replies that he will then judge the Babylonians. 00:04:26.259 --> 00:04:31.959 I'm sending the Babylonians to judge the unfaithful people of God, and then I'm going to judge the Babylonians. 00:04:32.019 --> 00:04:41.379 Last time we saw this five-fold woe, God promises he will dismantle the might of this proud nation in its opposition to the people of God. 00:04:41.379 --> 00:04:52.000 And yet, with all of that, Habakkuk and the righteous who are trusting God will have to wait, and they'll have to endure, 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:56.920 and one of the ways that they will do that is by singing this song. 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:00.219 It's a song to get them through. 00:05:01.159 --> 00:05:06.159 Because this song, and I take the song to be the vision that is promised in chapter 2, 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:10.980 that Habakkuk is to write down for those who come after him, the bit between verse 3 and verse 15, 00:05:12.379 --> 00:05:18.019 it reminds those who sing it about the God in whom they have placed their faith. 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:19.659 You remember chapter 1, verse 4? 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:25.360 When all of this is going on, the righteous will live by their faith, chapter 1, verse 4, 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:27.060 in the God of this song. 00:05:28.379 --> 00:05:36.040 And so singing about him and his works in history will provide the strength that the faithful need to be able to endure. 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:38.860 And here's the title of the song. 00:05:38.860 --> 00:05:42.040 When God came to earth. 00:05:43.460 --> 00:05:45.939 When God came to earth. 00:05:46.660 --> 00:05:47.920 Do you know this song? 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:53.040 Whatever your circumstances this evening, if you feel like you're hanging on, 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:55.100 do you know this song? 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:56.620 Because this song will get you through. 00:05:58.500 --> 00:06:00.460 Habakkuk has heard it, verse 2, can you see? 00:06:00.459 --> 00:06:02.639 And it has sobered him. 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:08.620 And he wants God to enact again the events that this song recounts. 00:06:08.799 --> 00:06:11.239 In the midst of the years, he says, revive it. 00:06:11.599 --> 00:06:13.459 In the midst of the years, make it known. 00:06:13.879 --> 00:06:15.819 In wrath, remember mercy. 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:20.279 He's saying, in our time, revive what you have done before. 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:22.939 Make known what you revealed in times past. 00:06:23.259 --> 00:06:24.240 Do it again, Lord. 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:25.639 Do it again now. 00:06:26.699 --> 00:06:31.800 And it is a song that recounts the activity of God from the Exodus, through the wilderness wanderings, 00:06:32.100 --> 00:06:35.240 to Mount Sinai, the handover from Moses to Joshua, 00:06:35.379 --> 00:06:38.759 up to the point where God's people entered the promised land. 00:06:39.720 --> 00:06:42.280 And as we go through the song and look at it now, 00:06:42.460 --> 00:06:46.280 what we see is that it reveals to us three things about God. 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:47.959 First of which is this. 00:06:48.059 --> 00:06:52.000 It reveals a God of unmatched splendor. 00:06:52.539 --> 00:06:53.939 That's verses 3 and 4. 00:06:55.119 --> 00:06:56.059 Unmatched splendor. 00:06:56.159 --> 00:07:01.059 When God came to earth, he made himself known as a God of unmatched splendor. 00:07:01.139 --> 00:07:04.739 God came from Teman and the Holy One from Mount Paran. 00:07:05.099 --> 00:07:09.159 His splendor covered the heavens and the earth was full of his praise. 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:12.299 His brightness was like the light. 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:16.800 Rays flashed from his hand and there he veiled his power. 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:21.819 Moses introduced his blessing of the people in Deuteronomy 33 verse 2 00:07:21.819 --> 00:07:24.680 in exactly the same way, remembering the same events. 00:07:25.199 --> 00:07:29.819 God is portrayed as coming to the scene of the action from the wilderness region to the south. 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:35.120 Teman is a district of Edom and Mount Paran lies between Edom and Sinai. 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:39.720 It was actually the route that the Israelites took as they journeyed from Egypt to Canaan. 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:45.980 But the thing that is most striking, when the route is described, isn't the route. 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:51.340 It is God's splendor and the radiance as he comes. 00:07:52.180 --> 00:07:55.120 Brightness, rays of light flashing forth from him. 00:07:55.200 --> 00:08:00.160 When God turns up, his glory covers, fills, radiates everything. 00:08:02.060 --> 00:08:05.700 The God in whom the faithful have put their trust is not like any other. 00:08:05.699 --> 00:08:09.219 Marduk, the Babylonian god, is made of metal and wood. 00:08:09.699 --> 00:08:13.300 The idols of those who oppose the people of God are, chapter 2 verse 19, 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:15.539 overlaid with gold and silver. 00:08:16.379 --> 00:08:18.599 Because they have no glory of their own. 00:08:19.019 --> 00:08:22.620 The glory, as it were, has to be tacked on on the outside. 00:08:22.919 --> 00:08:26.180 The brightness, the radiance has to be put on on the outside 00:08:26.180 --> 00:08:28.919 so that it reflects light from somewhere else. 00:08:29.240 --> 00:08:31.639 It has no glory, no beauty of its own. 00:08:31.639 --> 00:08:35.100 The God of the covenant is the center of his own glory 00:08:35.100 --> 00:08:39.279 and radiance flows from his hand to fill heaven and earth. 00:08:42.100 --> 00:08:44.399 As we endure violence and injustice, 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:49.240 in our day as we live through our own experience of divine judgment, 00:08:49.439 --> 00:08:54.980 we must remember that the splendor of the world is always tacked on the outside. 00:08:54.980 --> 00:08:59.879 It might look shiny, but that can only ever be a reflection. 00:09:00.620 --> 00:09:05.259 The idols of our culture that offer us the answer to the problems that we see around us, 00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:10.820 whether it's better education, better policing, better economics, better stuff, 00:09:11.420 --> 00:09:13.840 if they look shiny, it's a veneer. 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:16.740 They have no inherent glory. 00:09:16.899 --> 00:09:19.039 They cannot, therefore, resolve our problems. 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:23.939 We need to go to the God who possesses an unmatched splendor. 00:09:26.719 --> 00:09:28.480 He's the God of unmatched splendor. 00:09:28.539 --> 00:09:34.699 Let's keep singing because he's also shown to have five to ten unrivaled power. 00:09:35.159 --> 00:09:37.360 Unmatched splendor, unrivaled power. 00:09:37.539 --> 00:09:41.299 Before him went pestilence, verse 5, and plague followed at his heels. 00:09:41.659 --> 00:09:42.939 He stood and measured the earth. 00:09:43.019 --> 00:09:45.860 He looked and shook the heavens, shook the nations. 00:09:46.719 --> 00:09:48.539 Then the eternal mountains were scattered. 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:51.079 The everlasting hills sank low. 00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:53.419 His were the everlasting ways. 00:09:54.599 --> 00:09:59.019 Of course, it's supremely seen at the Exodus, particularly with the plagues. 00:09:59.599 --> 00:10:02.039 God acts with unrivaled power. 00:10:03.339 --> 00:10:06.740 He is so great that he measures the earth. 00:10:07.139 --> 00:10:09.639 To God, the whole earth is so small. 00:10:09.719 --> 00:10:13.099 It's like he just needs to take out a measuring tape and hold it up. 00:10:13.100 --> 00:10:19.300 He shakes the nations like a child shakes a snow globe. 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:25.399 Creation, which is so huge to us, so vast. 00:10:25.680 --> 00:10:31.500 One of the things we're told, isn't it, when we get our mental health all twisted up, 00:10:31.580 --> 00:10:35.659 is to get out into nature because the vastness brings you out of yourself. 00:10:35.779 --> 00:10:36.500 That's what we're told. 00:10:36.500 --> 00:10:37.700 And it's great advice. 00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:38.720 It's a good thing to do. 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:43.539 When you get up on an airplane or you stand at the foot of a mountain or you row your canoe 00:10:43.539 --> 00:10:48.080 out into the ocean so that you're away as far as you can go from land and all you can see 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:52.980 is water all around you, you realize how small you are compared to the created world. 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:57.179 You look out of that airplane window and you can see what's going on down there. 00:10:57.179 --> 00:11:00.559 How tiny are you in relation to everything else? 00:11:01.019 --> 00:11:03.699 God holds it all in his hand. 00:11:05.620 --> 00:11:08.459 Saw the flooding this week on the news. 00:11:08.899 --> 00:11:09.839 Floods are no problem. 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:14.739 Snow that grinds everything to a halt in our place. 00:11:15.319 --> 00:11:16.199 They're nothing to him. 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:17.120 Verse 8, have a look. 00:11:17.199 --> 00:11:18.000 Rivers and seas. 00:11:18.419 --> 00:11:24.479 Verse 11, even the sun and the moon, all creation does the bidding of our God. 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:31.360 But do you see, it's not just power over creation for its own sake, but his power over everything 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:35.960 that comes from creation and sets itself up in opposition to him. 00:11:36.539 --> 00:11:40.680 And as I said, Exodus is never far from view here as we read chapter 3. 00:11:41.259 --> 00:11:43.500 God's horses and chariots, verse 8, go through. 00:11:43.680 --> 00:11:49.480 They defeat the Red Sea on leaving Egypt and they rage against the river Jordan to enter the 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:50.220 promised land. 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:52.480 There is the repeated mention of mountains. 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:53.680 Do you see verse 6? 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:55.820 Again in verse 10. 00:11:57.000 --> 00:12:02.220 I think what's going on here is an allusion to God's power over the Babylonian mountain 00:12:02.220 --> 00:12:02.940 goddess. 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:06.480 Ninhershag, apparently she's called. 00:12:06.620 --> 00:12:07.539 The lady of the mountain. 00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:13.279 See, the Babylonians thought mountains were very important and their goddess was in charge. 00:12:14.980 --> 00:12:15.820 Not at all. 00:12:16.539 --> 00:12:18.039 God is supreme over it all. 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:21.279 Then there's the mention of the raging waters and the deep, verse 10. 00:12:23.159 --> 00:12:28.279 So from the mountain goddess of the Babylonians up there, all the way down to the raging waters 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:35.539 in the deep and his power over Rahab and Leviathan, those great sea monsters in Isaiah chapter 51 and 27. 00:12:35.539 --> 00:12:38.959 From the very top to the very depths. 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:43.279 All of these created enemies. 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:44.399 What do they do? 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:46.399 They lift their hands on high. 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:47.879 That's a symbol of surrender. 00:12:48.379 --> 00:12:49.559 We give up. 00:12:49.860 --> 00:12:50.459 Hands up. 00:12:51.459 --> 00:12:52.899 As they accept defeat. 00:12:53.379 --> 00:12:57.819 When God came to earth, he displayed unrivaled power. 00:12:57.820 --> 00:13:04.440 If you remember so much of what Habakkuk was taken up with in the beginning of his prophecy, 00:13:05.920 --> 00:13:10.240 his first complaint particularly was just how powerful the Babylonians were. 00:13:10.560 --> 00:13:14.300 And it was as if God said to him, yep, they really are that powerful. 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:19.000 They took whatever they wanted and they laid it all to waste. 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:25.220 But now he can sing of a God whose power makes theirs look like nothing. 00:13:25.220 --> 00:13:29.440 Nothing more than the playground bully. 00:13:29.700 --> 00:13:34.220 Playground bullies, they can do a bit of damage, but they'll run for the hills when the headmaster comes out. 00:13:35.980 --> 00:13:37.440 The God who made heaven and earth. 00:13:37.560 --> 00:13:39.840 The God who rules over all creation. 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:43.759 He possesses unrivaled power. 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:47.360 And he's on your side. 00:13:49.820 --> 00:13:53.779 If you're living by faith in his son, you belong to his family. 00:13:53.779 --> 00:13:59.839 And all of this power and all of this might is directed towards your love and care. 00:14:01.199 --> 00:14:02.579 Things are hard, yes. 00:14:05.399 --> 00:14:07.319 But God is for you as a father. 00:14:07.819 --> 00:14:13.079 In fact, if we stick with that headmaster and bully idea, now the headmaster is also your father. 00:14:14.419 --> 00:14:15.939 So the playground bully comes in. 00:14:16.139 --> 00:14:17.179 The headmaster turns up. 00:14:17.319 --> 00:14:18.159 He'll run for the hills. 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:21.299 But I imagine what the headmaster would do if he was actually your father. 00:14:21.299 --> 00:14:22.899 Well, that's what it's like. 00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:28.539 And the bully will feel it even more acutely when he acts for the sake of his son or daughter. 00:14:30.539 --> 00:14:33.039 Which is the other thing we see then in the song. 00:14:33.139 --> 00:14:38.519 We sing of a God of unmatched splendor and a God of unrivaled power. 00:14:39.079 --> 00:14:42.159 But he is also, thirdly, a God of unfettered judgment. 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:44.519 Verses 12 to 15. 00:14:44.959 --> 00:14:45.539 Verse 12. 00:14:45.620 --> 00:14:47.980 You marched through the earth in fury. 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:52.519 You threshed the nations in anger. 00:14:53.339 --> 00:14:57.459 You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. 00:14:57.620 --> 00:15:03.740 You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck. 00:15:03.740 --> 00:15:12.960 You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret. 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:18.060 God has gone out against his enemies in the past. 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:21.919 He did so, verse 12, with Joshua's conquest. 00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:23.340 I think that's what's in view there. 00:15:23.419 --> 00:15:25.259 Joshua chapter 10 and 11. 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:29.299 He struck them, crushing the enemy and laying him bare from thigh to neck. 00:15:29.340 --> 00:15:32.120 I think it's a reference to Samson's defeat of the Philistines. 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:33.679 Judges 15, verse 8. 00:15:33.740 --> 00:15:36.019 He struck them hip and thigh with a great blow. 00:15:37.460 --> 00:15:41.480 Verse 14 recalls when God's enemies destroyed themselves with their own weapons. 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:42.620 See that? 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:44.539 Pierced with his own arrows. 00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:52.960 That's perhaps an allusion to Gideon's defeat of Midian when they blew the trumpets and the Lord set the enemy swords against each other. 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:57.720 Or perhaps the Moabite and Ammonite attack on Jerusalem in 2 Chronicles 20. 00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:01.560 Listen to what happened when Jehoshaphat led the people in worship. 00:16:02.560 --> 00:16:03.960 2 Chronicles 20. 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:06.980 They began to sing in praise. 00:16:07.160 --> 00:16:13.680 The Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah so that they were routed. 00:16:13.800 --> 00:16:20.220 For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting themselves to destruction. 00:16:20.220 --> 00:16:27.040 And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:29.320 Wonderful irony. 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:34.379 God judges his enemies in a decisive way, but it is all self-inflicted. 00:16:34.379 --> 00:16:45.439 For Habakkuk, as he sings this song with the image of the rapacious Babylonian horde helping themselves to whatever they want. 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:47.039 Chapter 2, verse 5. 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:50.220 Collecting as his own all peoples. 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:53.539 As he sees the destruction that they cause in front of him. 00:16:54.139 --> 00:16:58.019 He can also envisage this will all come back on their own heads. 00:16:58.419 --> 00:17:01.340 God has done it in the past and he will do it again. 00:17:01.340 --> 00:17:06.000 As the Babylonians capture people on their hooks. 00:17:06.500 --> 00:17:08.960 As they catch them up in their dragnet. 00:17:09.579 --> 00:17:14.200 So the Lord will return his judgment on them in the same unfettered way. 00:17:15.940 --> 00:17:17.140 God is not tame. 00:17:18.360 --> 00:17:19.779 Nor is he mocked. 00:17:21.360 --> 00:17:24.460 When his time comes, when he decides. 00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:27.539 And remember, he will not be late. 00:17:28.039 --> 00:17:29.079 You heard that last week. 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:31.500 He will judge the Babylonians. 00:17:32.579 --> 00:17:37.000 And it will be by singing of this reality that Habakkuk and the righteous get through. 00:17:40.460 --> 00:17:46.619 In James Joyce's Ulysses, Stephen Daedalus, one of the central characters, described history, quote, 00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:49.439 as a nightmare from which I am trying to awake. 00:17:50.019 --> 00:17:52.899 History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake. 00:17:52.900 --> 00:17:59.740 For Habakkuk and for suffering Christians in any era, it is history that will keep us from nightmares. 00:18:00.860 --> 00:18:03.980 Especially the history that is summarized in verse 13. 00:18:04.100 --> 00:18:05.360 Look at verse 13 again. 00:18:05.660 --> 00:18:10.200 The way that God has saved his people and crushed his enemies. 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:13.160 You went out for the salvation of your people. 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:15.100 For the salvation of your anointed. 00:18:15.460 --> 00:18:17.640 You crushed the head of the house of the wicked. 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:21.020 Laying him bare from thigh to neck. 00:18:22.820 --> 00:18:27.220 The song of when God came to earth is a song that gets you through. 00:18:28.340 --> 00:18:32.200 When you sing of God's victories, it changes your heart. 00:18:32.200 --> 00:18:37.980 But I want us to see that this doesn't work like magic. 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:40.380 You can't just sing it. 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:45.960 And as if a magic spell is passed, everything becomes easy and calm. 00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:49.380 You see, Habakkuk sings the song, but then look at how he says he feels. 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:50.700 Look at verse 16. 00:18:50.700 --> 00:18:53.299 I hear and my body trembles. 00:18:53.660 --> 00:18:55.140 My lips quiver at the sound. 00:18:55.380 --> 00:18:57.620 Rottenness enters into my bones. 00:18:58.039 --> 00:18:59.840 My legs tremble beneath me. 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:04.299 The promise of God's judgment is a fearful thing. 00:19:04.639 --> 00:19:06.579 It's a fearful thing even for the righteous. 00:19:06.980 --> 00:19:08.459 It's not that they're going to be condemned. 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:12.019 It's not that God's going to make a mistake and judge one of his children. 00:19:12.899 --> 00:19:14.939 But God is a consuming fire. 00:19:16.500 --> 00:19:18.439 And it is right that we fear him. 00:19:19.220 --> 00:19:20.799 We don't muck about with God. 00:19:22.639 --> 00:19:23.759 Unmatched splendor. 00:19:24.839 --> 00:19:25.720 Unrivaled power. 00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:28.519 Unfettered judgment against his enemies. 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:30.879 You don't muck about with that. 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:32.480 It is right that we fear him. 00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:39.500 And Habakkuk also realizes that in his situation, the consequences of this judgment are going to be painful. 00:19:39.619 --> 00:19:40.539 Look at verse 17. 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:51.720 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail, and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls. 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:57.059 He's saying, I recognize that because of this judgment, there might be no food on the shelves. 00:19:58.299 --> 00:19:59.620 People may starve. 00:19:59.819 --> 00:20:00.779 I may starve. 00:20:01.220 --> 00:20:02.920 The economy might collapse. 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:05.400 He may be destitute. 00:20:05.400 --> 00:20:09.920 And yet, do you see what singing this song does to his resolve? 00:20:10.860 --> 00:20:12.100 He says, I'm terrified. 00:20:12.460 --> 00:20:17.480 I'm shaking from head to toe in the face of this God of such supremacy and majesty. 00:20:18.080 --> 00:20:18.920 Verse 16. 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:24.860 Yet, I will wait quietly for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. 00:20:27.259 --> 00:20:28.880 Everything might go to pot, he says. 00:20:28.980 --> 00:20:29.600 Verse 18. 00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:32.740 Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord. 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:35.900 I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:39.120 His fear is met with faith. 00:20:40.300 --> 00:20:45.300 He knows things are going to be tough, but he is confident that we will come through and come out the other side. 00:20:45.299 --> 00:20:48.039 Because, verse 19, God is his strength. 00:20:48.680 --> 00:20:51.200 God will bring him, verse 20, to the high place. 00:20:52.259 --> 00:20:56.740 Make his feet like deers and make me tread on my high places, meaning place of safety. 00:20:57.240 --> 00:20:58.680 He will take him to a place of safety. 00:20:58.879 --> 00:21:00.700 God will get him through. 00:21:00.839 --> 00:21:04.240 However hard it is, he will come out the other side. 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:08.039 All of that fear, he can meet with faith. 00:21:09.059 --> 00:21:12.319 And it's not just, do you see, grip, heart, and hold on faith. 00:21:12.619 --> 00:21:14.240 But look again at verse 18. 00:21:15.299 --> 00:21:20.079 I will rejoice in the Lord. 00:21:21.659 --> 00:21:26.099 I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 00:21:26.339 --> 00:21:28.599 There will be joy through it all. 00:21:29.220 --> 00:21:30.919 Well, Habakkuk's come a long way, hasn't he? 00:21:32.740 --> 00:21:34.279 Remember the start of his prophecy? 00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:37.519 Fear and frustration at God. 00:21:38.259 --> 00:21:41.460 Angst at the situation and anger at what God was going to do. 00:21:41.460 --> 00:21:43.539 Fear and anger to joy. 00:21:44.600 --> 00:21:47.600 Fear, frustration, angst, and anger to joy. 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:53.200 And I want to tell you this evening that this is a journey that we can all make. 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:57.460 Because God promises the same to us. 00:21:58.460 --> 00:22:01.080 The God of our salvation says, 00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:04.440 I will judge all my enemies, 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:08.940 but I will never leave you or forsake you. 00:22:08.940 --> 00:22:18.820 And that promise, whatever is going on around us personally or at a national level or at a global level, 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:20.360 whatever is going on around us, 00:22:20.539 --> 00:22:25.000 that promise is a cause for joy. 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:27.960 God is in charge. 00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:30.259 That means there are no accidents. 00:22:31.960 --> 00:22:33.119 And he is with you. 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:35.839 How can we know? 00:22:36.259 --> 00:22:37.160 How can we be sure? 00:22:37.259 --> 00:22:38.119 Well, here's the thing. 00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:42.880 Because there was one time when God came to earth that was like no other. 00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:47.660 He didn't come in the forms that he came in this song. 00:22:47.720 --> 00:22:48.560 He came in person. 00:22:50.100 --> 00:22:53.400 He took on flesh and dwelt among us. 00:22:54.320 --> 00:22:57.140 He didn't come in unmatched splendor. 00:22:57.220 --> 00:22:58.820 He came in humility as a baby. 00:22:59.940 --> 00:23:02.080 He didn't come in unrivaled power. 00:23:02.760 --> 00:23:06.280 He came in weakness to suffer and die. 00:23:07.100 --> 00:23:10.460 He didn't come to bring unfettered judgment, 00:23:10.460 --> 00:23:18.120 but to take that judgment on himself in our place in order to bring us salvation. 00:23:20.120 --> 00:23:24.720 When the Lord Jesus came to his people, he didn't find faith. 00:23:25.819 --> 00:23:27.799 He found exploitation and injustice. 00:23:29.059 --> 00:23:32.360 The temple had been turned into a place of commerce rather than prayer. 00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:36.819 The religious leaders of the day would take the very last penny from a widow. 00:23:36.819 --> 00:23:40.500 So corrupt were they. 00:23:41.439 --> 00:23:42.240 The fig tree. 00:23:44.619 --> 00:23:49.000 Verse 17, the fig tree that was supposed to be a symbol of Israel, 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:50.619 that was supposed to be fruitful, 00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:53.220 it did not blossom. 00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:57.539 The flock had wandered away from their shepherd. 00:23:58.980 --> 00:24:02.919 And God came to earth in the person of his son to put that right. 00:24:02.919 --> 00:24:03.000 Amen. 00:24:06.819 --> 00:24:10.099 And as the Lord Jesus trusted that God was his strength, 00:24:11.139 --> 00:24:12.319 verse 19, 00:24:13.779 --> 00:24:15.419 he was taken to the high place, 00:24:15.679 --> 00:24:16.779 not of safety, 00:24:17.779 --> 00:24:19.859 but of the cross. 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:26.159 To bear all of this judgment 00:24:26.159 --> 00:24:28.700 in our place. 00:24:28.700 --> 00:24:30.759 He never sinned. 00:24:30.759 --> 00:24:31.299 He never sinned. 00:24:32.360 --> 00:24:36.779 And yet the Lord Jesus took the unfettered judgment of God 00:24:36.779 --> 00:24:39.120 on himself 00:24:39.120 --> 00:24:41.600 so that you and I would never have to. 00:24:43.940 --> 00:24:46.360 The great day of God's wrath 00:24:46.360 --> 00:24:48.080 that Habakkuk prayed to happen 00:24:48.080 --> 00:24:49.759 in the midst of the years 00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:51.160 has happened 00:24:51.160 --> 00:24:54.279 when God came to earth 00:24:54.279 --> 00:24:55.940 as a savior. 00:24:55.940 --> 00:24:59.140 And in his wrath 00:24:59.140 --> 00:25:01.440 he remembered mercy. 00:25:04.080 --> 00:25:06.460 Such that anyone who puts their faith in Christ 00:25:06.460 --> 00:25:07.720 will receive mercy 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:08.840 and grace 00:25:08.840 --> 00:25:09.559 to cover 00:25:09.559 --> 00:25:11.160 every sin. 00:25:14.279 --> 00:25:16.320 And not only to cover your sin, 00:25:17.100 --> 00:25:20.059 but to keep you in his strength 00:25:20.059 --> 00:25:22.019 all the way 00:25:22.019 --> 00:25:22.919 to glory. 00:25:24.639 --> 00:25:26.740 Even through the final judgment 00:25:26.740 --> 00:25:28.919 that will come on the last day. 00:25:31.059 --> 00:25:32.139 If you're not a Christian, 00:25:33.259 --> 00:25:37.139 when you see the problems that surround us, 00:25:37.740 --> 00:25:38.359 and you look around 00:25:38.359 --> 00:25:39.819 and you see all that's going on, 00:25:40.019 --> 00:25:40.419 and 00:25:40.419 --> 00:25:43.159 when you feel 00:25:43.159 --> 00:25:44.819 in those honest moments 00:25:44.819 --> 00:25:45.960 your own part 00:25:45.960 --> 00:25:48.259 in all that's going on, 00:25:48.259 --> 00:25:50.019 you see the seeds of violence 00:25:50.019 --> 00:25:50.640 and injustice 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:51.559 in your own heart, 00:25:51.960 --> 00:25:53.599 when you know 00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:54.879 that you're not the kind of person 00:25:54.879 --> 00:25:55.799 that you want to be, 00:25:56.900 --> 00:25:58.099 there is an answer. 00:26:00.059 --> 00:26:01.180 His name is Jesus. 00:26:02.740 --> 00:26:03.920 He will forgive you. 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:06.519 He'll forgive you of every sin 00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:07.460 that you've ever committed, 00:26:08.180 --> 00:26:08.539 whatever, 00:26:09.339 --> 00:26:10.460 whatever it might be, 00:26:10.740 --> 00:26:11.839 wherever you've come from, 00:26:12.180 --> 00:26:13.579 whatever your past looks like, 00:26:13.579 --> 00:26:14.759 if you turn to Jesus, 00:26:14.879 --> 00:26:15.500 he will cover 00:26:15.500 --> 00:26:17.059 all of your sin. 00:26:17.879 --> 00:26:19.079 And he will give you the power 00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:20.079 that you need to change 00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:21.179 and he will keep you 00:26:21.179 --> 00:26:23.359 all the way to glory. 00:26:26.639 --> 00:26:28.099 Those of us like Habakkuk, 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:31.779 we're seeking to live 00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:33.319 faithfully for the Lord 00:26:33.319 --> 00:26:35.139 and we see the problems around us. 00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:36.179 We are living through 00:26:36.179 --> 00:26:37.519 the judgment of secularism 00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:38.359 and false religion. 00:26:38.759 --> 00:26:39.699 Here is a song 00:26:39.699 --> 00:26:40.579 that we can sing 00:26:40.579 --> 00:26:41.819 to get us through. 00:26:41.819 --> 00:26:45.000 And I want you to know 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:46.659 that it is because 00:26:46.659 --> 00:26:48.259 of the cross of Jesus Christ 00:26:48.259 --> 00:26:49.679 that we can sing this song 00:26:49.679 --> 00:26:51.019 with even more confidence 00:26:51.019 --> 00:26:51.819 than Habakkuk. 00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:55.839 Because we have seen 00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:58.539 God answer this prayer 00:26:58.539 --> 00:27:00.159 at the cross. 00:27:03.439 --> 00:27:04.480 And that means 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:05.619 that we can take joy 00:27:05.619 --> 00:27:07.200 in the God of our salvation. 00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:09.899 And even more than Habakkuk, 00:27:09.980 --> 00:27:10.740 we can trust 00:27:10.740 --> 00:27:11.900 that God the Lord 00:27:11.900 --> 00:27:12.819 is our strength. 00:27:13.579 --> 00:27:15.059 And even more than Habakkuk, 00:27:15.120 --> 00:27:15.799 we can know that 00:27:15.799 --> 00:27:16.620 no matter what 00:27:16.620 --> 00:27:17.440 because Jesus 00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:18.799 took the judgment 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:19.880 that we deserved 00:27:19.880 --> 00:27:21.319 and got through death 00:27:21.319 --> 00:27:22.180 on our behalf, 00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:25.220 he will keep us safe. 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:28.519 So as we come to the end 00:27:28.519 --> 00:27:29.240 of this really 00:27:29.240 --> 00:27:30.960 short little prophecy, 00:27:31.720 --> 00:27:33.819 here's the message. 00:27:33.819 --> 00:27:37.240 keep trusting God. 00:27:38.879 --> 00:27:40.279 Whatever is going on, 00:27:40.359 --> 00:27:41.339 keep trusting Him. 00:27:41.619 --> 00:27:43.359 The righteous live by faith 00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:45.319 and we can live by faith 00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:48.139 when we sing the song 00:27:48.139 --> 00:27:49.539 of God coming to earth 00:27:49.539 --> 00:27:51.439 because that is what 00:27:51.439 --> 00:27:52.159 gets us through. 00:27:53.679 --> 00:27:54.399 Let's pray. 00:27:54.840 --> 00:27:54.980 Let's pray. 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:54.980