I heard and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress to come upon the people who invade us. I heard and trembled within;Habakkuk had received God’s answer concerning Judah’s judgment through Babylon and Babylon’s eventual overthrow. The vision of the Lord coming in holy power, displayed throughout Habakkuk 3, left him overwhelmed by the certainty of divine judgment. Fear did not arise from unbelief but from recognizing the holiness, power, and justice of God. Jer 4:19 My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!…
Isa 21:3-4 Therefore my body is filled with anguish. Pain grips me…
my lips quivered at the sound. The report of God’s coming and the approach of war shook the prophet physically. Like Isaiah before the throne of God and Daniel after receiving revelation, Habakkuk could not remain untouched by the weight of what God had made known. God’s word exposes human frailty and establishes His authority over kings, armies, and nations. Isa 28:11-13 Indeed, with mocking lips and foreign tongues,…
Ezk 3:26-27 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth…
Decay entered my bones; The terror reached the center of Habakkuk’s strength. Bones represented vitality and stability, so decay within them portrays utter weakness before the Lord. The coming invasion would bring real suffering to Judah, and the prophet did not minimize its horror. Pro 14:30 A tranquil heart is life to the body, but…
Psa 32:3-4 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle.…
I trembled where I stood. Habakkuk remained before God even while trembling. He did not flee from the revelation or deny its fulfillment. Reverent fear became the setting for faithful submission. Dan 10:11 He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man who is highly precious…
Nam 2:10 She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste!…
Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress Habakkuk resolved to rest quietly in God’s timing. The Lord would judge Judah’s sin, preserve His faithful people, and bring His appointed justice upon evil. Waiting did not mean indifference; it meant trusting the Judge of all the earth when immediate circumstances offered no relief. Psa 37:7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him;…
Lam 3:26 It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
to come upon the people who invade us. Babylon would invade Judah as God’s instrument of discipline, but Babylon would not escape accountability for its violence, pride, and idolatry. The Lord had already declared woes against the Chaldeans and promised that their ruthless empire would fall. Habakkuk’s fear therefore rests alongside hope: God’s judgment is certain, and His righteousness will finally prevail. Isa 10:6 I will send him against a godless nation;…
Jer 6:22-23 This is what the LORD says: “Behold, an army…
Persons / Places / Events 1. HabakkukA prophet in the Old Testament who dialogues with God about the coming judgment on Judah and the eventual punishment of the Babylonians. 2. JudahThe southern kingdom of Israel, facing impending judgment due to its disobedience and idolatry. 3. Babylonians (Chaldeans)The invading force used by God as an instrument of judgment against Judah. 4. Day of DistressA prophetic reference to the time of judgment and calamity that will come upon the invaders. 5. GodThe sovereign Lord who reveals His plans to Habakkuk and assures him of His ultimate justice. Teaching Points The Reality of Fear and FaithHabakkuk's response to God's revelation shows that fear is a natural human reaction, but faith calls us to trust in God's timing and justice. Waiting on God's TimingThe prophet's decision to wait quietly emphasizes the importance of patience and trust in God's perfect timing, even when circumstances are dire. God's Sovereignty in JudgmentUnderstanding that God uses nations and events to fulfill His purposes can help us trust in His ultimate plan, even when it involves hardship. The Role of Prayer in DistressHabakkuk's dialogue with God throughout the book highlights the importance of prayer and honest communication with God during times of distress. Hope Amidst DespairDespite the impending judgment, Habakkuk's faith in God's justice provides hope, reminding us that God is faithful to His promises. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Habakkuk's reaction to God's revelation in 3:16 reflect both his humanity and his faith? 2. In what ways can we apply Habakkuk's example of waiting quietly for God's timing in our own lives? 3. How does understanding God's sovereignty over nations and events help us trust Him more fully? 4. What role does prayer play in helping us cope with fear and uncertainty, as seen in Habakkuk's experience? 5. How can we find hope in God's promises when facing our own "day of distress"? Consider connections to other scriptures that speak of God's faithfulness. Connections to Other Scriptures Psalm 46This psalm speaks of God as a refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, which parallels Habakkuk's reliance on God amidst fear and trembling. Isaiah 26:20-21These verses encourage God's people to hide themselves until the indignation is past, similar to Habakkuk's call to wait quietly for God's judgment. Philippians 4:6-7Paul speaks of the peace of God that surpasses understanding, which can be related to Habakkuk's resolve to wait quietly despite his fear. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10Paul's experience of God's strength in weakness can be connected to Habakkuk's trembling yet faithful waiting. Revelation 6:10The cry of the martyrs for justice echoes Habakkuk's anticipation of God's righteous judgment. People Habakkuk, TemanPlaces Cushan, Lebanon, Midian, Mount Paran, TemanTopics Arise, Bands, Belly, Beneath, Body, Bones, Calamity, Crept, Decay, Distress, Entered, Entereth, Enters, Feeble, Forces, Grief, Hearing, Inner, Invade, Invader, Invadeth, Invading, Inward, Legs, Lips, Moved, Myself, Nation, Noise, Overcometh, Patiently, Pounded, Quietly, Quiver, Quivered, Rest, Rottenness, Shaking, Sounds, Stand, Steps, Totter, Tremble, Trembled, Trembles, Trembleth, Troops, Trouble, Uncertain, Voice, Wait, YetDictionary of Bible Themes Habakkuk 3:16 4903 time
5014 heart, human
5137 bones
5163 legs
5164 lips
5977 waiting
6142 decay Habakkuk 3:16-18 5831 depression Habakkuk 3:16-19 4458 grape
8618 prayerfulness Library September 7. "I Will Joy in the God of My Salvation" (Hab. Iii. 18).
"I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Hab. iii. 18). The secret of joy is not to wait until you feel happy, but to rise, by an act of faith, out of the depression which is dragging you down, and begin to praise God as an act of choice. This is the meaning of such passages as these: "Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, rejoice"; "I do rejoice; yes, and I will rejoice." "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations." In all these cases there is an evident struggle with sadness and …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth Spiritual Revival, the Want of the Church
NOTE: This edition of this sermon is taken from an earlier published edition of Spurgeon's 1856 message. The sermon that appears in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 44, was edited and abbreviated somewhat. For edition we have restored the fuller text of the earlier published edition, while retaining a few of the editorial refinements of the Met Tab edition. "O Lord, revive thy work."--Habakkuk 3:2. All true religion is the work of God: it is pre-eminently so. If he should select out of his …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 44: 1898 What a Revival of Religion Is
Text.--O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.--Hab. iii. 2. IT is supposed that the prophet Habakkuk was contemporary with Jeremiah, and that this prophecy was uttered in anticipation of the Babylonish captivity. Looking at the judgments which were speedily to come upon his nation, the soul of the prophet was wrought up to an agony, and he cries out in his distress, "O Lord, revive thy work." As if he had said, "O Lord, grant …
Charles Grandison Finney—Lectures on Revivals of Religion The Highway
"The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places."--Hab. iii. 19. Mechthild of Hellfde, 1277. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 It is a wondrous and a lofty road Wherein the faithful soul must tread, And by the seeing there the blind are led, The senses by the soul acquaint with God. On that high path the soul is free, She knows no care nor ill, For all God wills desireth she, And blessed is His will. …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series) The Believer's Sure Trust. --Hab. Iii. 17, 18
The Believer's sure Trust.--Hab. iii. 17, 18. Though the fig-tree's blossom fail, And the vines should bring no fruit; Though the olive, smit with hail, Cast its foliage round the root; Though the fields should yield no meat, And the herds forsake the stall, In the folds no flocks should bleat At the shepherd's well-known call:-- Yet will I in God rejoice, In Jehovah I will trust, And extol, with heart and voice, His salvation from the dust; He can raise my fallen head, He can all my sickness cure; …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns The Holy Spirit in Relation to the Father and the Son. ...
The Holy Spirit in relation to the Father and the Son. Under this heading we began by considering Justin's remarkable words, in which he declares that "we worship and adore the Father, and the Son who came from Him and taught us these things, and the host of the other good angels that attend Him and are made like unto Him, and the prophetic Spirit." Hardly less remarkable, though in a very different way, is the following passage from the Demonstration (c. 10); and it has a special interest from the …
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching Life of Jerome.
The figures in parentheses, when not otherwise indicated, refer to the pages in this volume. For a full account of the Life, the translator must refer to an article (Hieronymus) written by him in Smith and Wace's Dictionary of Christian Biography. A shorter statement may suffice here, since the chief sources of information are contained in this volume, and to these reference will be continually made. Childhood and Youth. A.D. 345. Jerome was born at Stridon, near Aquileia, but in Pannonia, a place …
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome The Coming Revival
"Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?"--PS. lxxxv. 6. "O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years."--HAB. iii. 2. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me: Thy right hand shall save me."--PS. cxxxviii. 7. "I dwell with him that is of a humble and contrite heart, to revive the heart of the contrite ones."--ISA. lvii. 15. "Come, and let us return to the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us. He will revive us."--HOS. vi. 1, 2. The Coming …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession A Prayer when one Begins to be Sick.
O most righteous Judge, yet in Jesus Christ my gracious Father! I, wretched sinner, do here return unto thee, though driven with pain and sickness, like the prodigal child with want and hunger. I acknowledge that this sickness and pain comes not by blind chance or fortune, but by thy divine providence and special appointment. It is the stroke of thy heavy hand, which my sins have justly deserved; and the things that I feared are now fallen upon me (Job iii. 25.) Yet do I well perceive that in wrath …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety How to Make Use of Christ as the Life when the Soul is Dead as to Duty.
Sometimes the believer will be under such a distemper, as that he will be as unfit and unable for discharging of any commanded duty, as dead men, or one in a swoon, is to work or go a journey. And it were good to know how Christ should be made use of as the Life, to the end the diseased soul may be delivered from this. For this cause we shall consider those four things: 1. See what are the several steps and degrees of this distemper. 2. Consider whence it cometh, or what are the causes or occasions …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life Messiah's Entrance into Jerusalem
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. -- And He shall speak peace unto the heathen. T he narrowness and littleness of the mind of fallen man are sufficiently conspicuous in the idea he forms of magnificence and grandeur. The pageantry and parade of a Roman triumph, or of an eastern monarch, as described in history, exhibit him to us …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 The Unchangeableness of God
The next attribute is God's unchangeableness. I am Jehovah, I change not.' Mal 3:3. I. God is unchangeable in his nature. II. In his decree. I. Unchangeable in his nature. 1. There is no eclipse of his brightness. 2. No period put to his being. [1] No eclipse of his brightness. His essence shines with a fixed lustre. With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' James 1:17. Thou art the same.' Psa 102:27. All created things are full of vicissitudes. Princes and emperors are subject to …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity The Lord of Glory.
1 Cor. ii:8. OUR ever blessed Lord, who died for us, to whom we belong, with whom we shall be forever, is the Lord of Glory. Thus He is called in 1 Cor. ii:8, "for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory." Eternally He is this because He is "the express image of God, the brightness of His Glory" (Heb. i:3). He possessed Glory with the Father before the world was (John xvii:5). This Glory was beheld by the prophets, for we read that Isaiah "saw His Glory and spake of Him" …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory Habakkuk
The precise interpretation of the book of Habakkuk presents unusual difficulties; but, brief and difficult as it is, it is clear that Habakkuk was a great prophet, of earnest, candid soul, and he has left us one of the noblest and most penetrating words in the history of religion, ii. 4b. The prophecy may be placed about the year 600 B.C. The Assyrian empire had fallen, and by the battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C., Babylonian supremacy was practically established over Western Asia. Josiah's reformation, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Habakkuk 3:16 NIVHabakkuk 3:16 NLTHabakkuk 3:16 ESVHabakkuk 3:16 NASBHabakkuk 3:16 KJV
Habakkuk 3:16 Commentaries
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