Habakkuk 3:2 - Homiletics

The prayer of an alarmed prophet.

I. THE PROPHET 'S ALARM .

1. Its cause. The report of Jehovah; i.e. the communication received from Jehovah concerning the punishment of Judah and the destruction of Chaldea. Habakkuk not the first man that had been afraid at the hearing of God's voice ( Genesis 3:10 ; Exodus 3:6 ), at the thought of his presence ( Job 23:15 ), at the manifestation of his power ( Psalms 65:8 ), at the contemplation of his judgments ( Psalms 119:120 ). Nor will they who hear the fame of his doings in the past or the announcement of his "judgments to come," as both of these are unfolded in Scripture, fail to be similarly affected. Like the Canaanites before the advance of Joshua and his host, their hearts will melt in them for fear ( Joshua 2:11 ). What excited terror in the breast of Habakkuk was the prospect Jehovah's "report" opened up before him! Though a pious man and a prophet, he was at the same time a philanthropist and a patriot, who could not contemplate without a shudder the decimation of his people or the desolation of his country; and neither can the Christian anticipate without apprehension those chastisements that are promised to himself for correction of his backslidings, and to the Church for her recovery from doctrinal aberration or spiritual declension. It may be better to fall into God's hands, because his mercies are great, than to fall into those of man ( 2 Samuel 24:14 ); but in any case it is a fearful thing to fall for judgment into the hands of the living God ( Hebrews 10:31 ). Again, the fierce whirlwind of retribution, which in the end should throw down the eagle's nest of Chaldean pride and blow up the crackling flames in which its palaces and temples were to be destroyed, raised within him awe-inspiring conceptions of the omnipotence of Jehovah which made him tremble, even though the downfall of Chaldea meant the deliverance of Judah; and so, although the final destruction of the ungodly will be to the saints a cause of rejoicing ( Revelation 18:20 ), it will also inspire them with a solemn awe of the Divine holiness and justice, majesty and power.

2 . Its cure. Prayer. Different from Adam, who, having heard God's voice, ran from God, Habakkuk, in his alarm, betook himself to God. Hiding from God, the custom of sinners; hiding in God, the comfort of saints ( Psalms 143:9 ). Suitable for all times ( Ephesians 6:18 ; Philippians 4:6 ; 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ), prayer is specially appropriate for bad times ( Psalms 1:1-6 :15). In addition to the promise that God will be a Refuge for the oppressed, a Refuge in times of trouble ( Psalms 9:9 ), and to the fact that good men in all ages have found him so ( Psalms 48:3 ; Psalms 91:2 ; Jeremiah 16:19 ), the practice of pouring one's fears ( Psalms 34:4 ) as well as complaints ( Psalms 142:2 ) and requests ( Philippians 4:6 ) into the ear of God seems justified by this, that he who by his judgment causes, is by his wisdom and mercy best able to remove alarms.

II. THE PROPHET 'S PRAYER .

1 . Its fervent. Intimated by the repetition of the term "Jehovah," and by the three short sentences of which the prayer is composed. Souls labouring under strong emotion commonly express themselves in brief and broken ejaculations, rather than in long and polished periods.

2 . Its tenor. A threefold petition.

"'Tis from the mercy of our God

That all our hopes begin."

LESSONS .

1 . That God's voice should excite alarm even in the hearts of good men is no mean proof of the fallen state of mankind generally.

2 . It is a good sign of grace when an alarmed soul betakes itself to God.

3 . The pre-eminence which belongs to redemption over all the other works of God.

4 . The only power that can awaken dead souls or revive unspiritual and decadent Churches is God.

5 . The chief hope of man lies in the mercy of Heaven, not in the goodness of himself.