[0:00] Good evening, a warm welcome to the service this evening. We're going to begin this time of worship and we'll sing to God's praise. We sing from Psalm 5, Psalm 5 and the first two stanzas of the Psalm, verses 1 to 3, as it's marked in the English.
[0:18] Give ear unto my words, O Lord, my meditation way. Hear my loud cry, my King, my God, for I to Thee will pray. Lord, thou shalt early hear my voice, I early will direct.
[0:31] My prayers to Thee, and looking up, an answer will expect. These two verses we sing in Gaelic to God's praise. We remain seated to sing. And after that, E and A will lead us in prayer in Gaelic, please.
[0:56] And after that, E and A will lead us in prayer. And after that, E and A will lead us in prayer.
[1:15] And after that, E and A will lead us in prayer.
[1:31] And after that, E and A will lead us in prayer.
[2:01] And after that, E and A will lead us in prayer.
[2:31] O Lord, O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer.
[3:01] O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer. O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer. O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer. O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer. O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer. O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer.
[3:13] O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer. O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer. O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer. O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer. O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer.
[3:25] O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer. O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer.
[3:59] O Lord, my God, for I to thee will lead us in prayer.
[4:29] O Lord, my God, for I to Thee will lead us in prayer.
[4:59] ...
[5:29] And you're a good person to think, and be honest about it, and so on you will ask what's happening on the heart?
[5:41] Thank you.
[6:11] Thank you.
[6:41] Thank you. Thank you.
[7:41] Thank you. Thank you.
[8:13] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[8:49] Thank you. Thank you.
[9:21] Thank you. Amen.
[9:53] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. We'll sing again to God's praise.
[10:07] We'll sing from hymn 667. The words on the screen. Approach my soul, the mercy seat, where Jesus answers prayer. Approach my soul, the mercy seat, where Jesus answers prayer.
[10:40] Thereof we fall before his feet, for none doth perish there.
[10:56] Thy promise is my holy plea, with this thy venture high.
[11:12] The call is broken souls to thee, and such, O Lord, am I.
[11:28] The Lord, am I. The Lord, am I. The Lord, am I. I. O Lord, am I. It to be blessed,血, and affiities, and the world Vil cumul.
[11:39] I Myres 때도 Be Thou my shield, a guiding place, a shelter near Thy side.
[12:15] I may my fears like You surface, until it Thou was done.
[12:30] O wondrous love, to lead and die, to bear the cross of shame.
[12:45] A guilty sinner, such as I might be Thy gracious name.
[13:05] If you could turn, please, in your Bibles to Habakkuk chapter 3. Habakkuk chapter 3, just towards the end of the Old Testament, four or five books back.
[13:20] And we'll read the whole of this chapter.
[13:35] A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet on Shegoinoth. Lord, I have heard of Your fame.
[13:46] I stand in awe of Your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day. In our time make them known. In wrath remember mercy. God came from Timan, the Holy One from Mount Paran, Selah.
[14:00] His glory covered the heavens, and His praise filled the earth. His splendor was like the sunrise, rays flashed from His hand, where His power was hidden.
[14:12] Plague went before Him. Pestilence followed His steps. He stood and shook the earth. He looked and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled, and the age-old hills collapsed.
[14:26] His ways are eternal. I saw the tents of Cushan and distress, the dwellings of Midian and anguish. Were You angry with the rivers, O Lord?
[14:38] Was Your wrath against the streams? Did You rage against the sea when You rode with Your horses and Your victorious chariots? You uncovered Your bow.
[14:50] You called for many arrows. Selah. You split the earth with rivers. The mountains saw You and writhed. Torrents of water swept by.
[15:02] The deep roared and lifted its waves on high. Sun and moon stood still in the heavens, at the glint of Your flying arrows, at the lightning of Your flashing spear.
[15:15] In wrath You strode through the earth, and in anger You threshed the nations. You came out to deliver Your people, to save Your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness.
[15:28] You stripped him from head to foot. Selah. With his own spear You pierced his head, when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding.
[15:42] You trampled the sea with Your horses churning the great waters. I heard, and my heart pounded. My lips quivered at the sound.
[15:55] Decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.
[16:06] Though the fig tree does not bud, and there are no grapes on the vines. Though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food.
[16:18] Though there are no sheep in the pen, and no cattle in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
[16:29] The sovereign Lord is my strength. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. He enables me to go on to the heights. For the director of music on my stringed instruments.
[16:46] Amen. And may God bless that reading of his word to us. We're going to sing again now to God's praise. 628 admission praise, the words on the screen.
[16:58] Tell me the old, old story of Jesus and his love. Come on.
[17:13] Tell me all the story, all unseen things above.
[17:32] All Jesus and his glory, all Jesus and his love. Tell me the joy is serving unto a little child.
[17:52] For I am weak and weary, but helpless and defiant. Tell me the old old story, tell me the old old story.
[18:11] Tell me the old old story of Jesus and his love. Tell me the story's story that I may take it in.
[18:31] That wonderful redemption, lost remedy for sin. Tell me the story of death, for I forget so soon.
[18:49] The early to a pouring, thus possibly I may. Tell me the old old story.
[19:08] Tell me the old old story of Jesus and his love. Tell me the story softly, with earnest tones and gray.
[19:28] Remember I'm the sinner, whom Jesus came to say. Tell me the old old story.
[19:38] Tell me the old old story. Tell me the old old story.
[20:00] Tell me the old old story. Tell me the old old story. Tell me the old old story. Of Jesus and his love.
[20:14] Tell me the old old story. Tell me the old old story.
[20:26] God's empty glory is costing me to deal. Yes, and that world's glory is dawning on my soul.
[20:43] Tell me the old, old story, Christ Jesus brings you home. Tell me the old, old story, tell me the old, old story, tell me the old, old story of Jesus that is mine.
[21:15] If you could turn back please now to Habakkuk chapter 3. As we go back there we'll pray. Continue to pray for Shona.
[21:29] I heard Ene praying for Shona in the prayer of the Lord. I never got the full grasp of everything that was being said. But the update this afternoon is that Shona is slightly better today again.
[21:42] Still very confused but she's awake for longer lengths of time. So it's positive, it's a long road. And continue to pray for her.
[21:55] So let's pray as we turn back to God's word. Heavenly Father we thank you for your word. And we thank you that this is the means through which you speak to us.
[22:06] We look around us in the creation and we see a reflection of your glory and your power and your splendor. You speak to us all through your creation.
[22:19] But we recognize that you speak to us more clearly through your word. And we thank you that we have this passage in front of us this evening. And although it's a passage that was written many thousands of years ago in a place far from here.
[22:35] We thank you for the relevance and the application of your word to us in every age and every generation and every place. So open our ears we pray that we may hear what you have to say to us.
[22:50] And Lord we thank you that in every passage that we come to in your word we are pointed to the Lord Jesus. The word made flesh. And we thank you for your son and our saviour the Lord Jesus.
[23:03] We thank you day by day and hour by hour for the grace that comes to us through him. For the cross that he went to to pay the price for our sin.
[23:15] For the old, old story that never gets old. That story of God's love for us and the redemption offered to us in Christ from our sin. So help us we pray to have our eyes and our ears fixed upon and open to the voice of Jesus.
[23:33] And Lord we thank you that you are the God who not only speaks to us but who listens to us. We thank you for the gift of prayer. And for the lessons about prayer that we are taught through Habakkuk.
[23:47] We thank you that as we pray we are able to speak to you and you hear us. We thank you that you help us as we call upon your name as we cry out to you.
[23:57] We thank you that we can find that intimacy with you when we linger in your presence and when we speak to you in prayer. We thank you that we can carry those that we love and those that we care for and are concerned for to you in prayer.
[24:14] And we pray especially for Shona tonight again. We thank you for a positive day on balance. We thank you Lord for the strength, the increased strength from the earlier part of the week that she has just now.
[24:30] And Lord although there is confusion we pray that you would be working, that you would be clearing her mind, that you would be increasing her strength. We pray that you would be pushing back the infection.
[24:42] And Lord that your hand of healing would be upon her. But in the midst of all this especially Lord we pray that she would know your presence, your peace. That she would know that you are with her throughout everything.
[24:55] And we pray on for her family that each one of them would know that you are God and that you are with them. In the midst of all that is so turbulent at this time in our lives.
[25:07] We pray for others Lord that we are aware of in hospital just now. You know their situations, you know the name of each person that is in our mind's eye. And we ask Lord that your hand would be upon them as well.
[25:20] We pray that you would work in each one of our lives as we bow before you just now in this place. We thank you that you know our worries, our anxieties, our burdens, our needs.
[25:32] And we ask Lord that you would meet us at the point of our need. We thank you that you have given us the desire and the opportunity to be here. We pray for those who are not here. Not because they are sick or not because they are tied up with responsibilities for this day.
[25:48] But those who have no desire. Those who would rather sit at home or would rather do something else. We ask Lord that you would work in their hearts.
[26:00] We ask Lord that you would strive with those who may be drifting from you. That you would call them to come back close with you once more.
[26:10] And we thank you that we have that assurance that when we come to you or when we return to you. You will never push us away but you will always receive us. So we pray for any who are drifting from you.
[26:22] That you would draw them back. As we pray that you would draw our nation back. We echo the prayer of Habakkuk. That you would revive your work in the midst of the years.
[26:33] That in wrath. The wrath that we recognize that we are due because of our waywardness and our sin. We pray that in wrath you would remember mercy. That you would have mercy upon us as a nation.
[26:47] Hear our prayers and help us as we open your word. And we ask all this in Jesus name and for his sake. Amen. Habakkuk chapter 3.
[27:03] Habakkuk chapter 3. We've been going through this book for the last few weeks. We're on sermon 3 of 3. I think we'll finish this book tonight.
[27:15] And the question I want to begin with tonight is just that question of who is Habakkuk? Habakkuk. Three chapters in.
[27:27] We're at the end of the book. It's the only book that we have that has Habakkuk's name. His name is only mentioned twice in the Bible. Chapter 1. Chapter 3. But who actually is Habakkuk?
[27:41] And we're sometimes. When we're in these kind of conversations. Whether it's having a cup of tea at the end of the service. Or we're meeting someone for the first time. Very often they'll say to us, well, you know, what's your name?
[27:54] And tell me a little bit about yourself. Sometimes you go to these kind of functions. And there'll be a kind of ice breaking thing. And someone will say, let's all go around the room. Let's just say our names.
[28:05] And a wee bit about ourselves. I hate it. Don't ever ask me to do it. But what do you say when you're asked these kind of questions? Well, you give your name. You maybe say something about where you come from.
[28:16] Which for some of us is straightforward. For somebody like me it's very complicated. It's a bit of a labor intensive question. We might talk about what we do for work.
[28:27] And whether we've got family. Or whether we're teachers. Or whether we are working at sea. Or whatever it is. We give these kind of details. Just to give an impression of who we are.
[28:38] But who's Habakkuk? We still don't know that much. We don't know how old he is. We don't know if he's married.
[28:50] Or if he has a family. We don't know what his hobbies are. We don't know what football team he supports. We don't know what he looks like. We don't know very much.
[29:03] But what do we know? Well, we know three things. And that will be our first three points. We know first of all that he's a man of prayer. And we know secondly.
[29:16] That he's a prophet. We know thirdly. We learn tonight. In chapter 3. That he's a praise leader. To who's Habakkuk? Well, he's a man of prayer.
[29:27] He's a prophet. And he's a praise leader. And so we'll take these three points. As the first three. And then we'll take the final point. And we'll look at the praise.
[29:39] The psalm. That Habakkuk has composed. Because that's what makes up the main section. Within the chapter.
[29:49] So first of all, Habakkuk. He's a man of prayer. Habakkuk the man of prayer. The first verse of chapter 3. Begins with that clear statement.
[30:02] This is a prayer of Habakkuk. That's the introduction. We're going to be led in prayer. By Habakkuk. And what follows in verse 2.
[30:13] Through to verse 19. Is a prayer. So Habakkuk in this little book.
[30:23] He lives out. What the Apostle Paul. Exhorts us to. In 1 Thessalonians 5. 17. Now six or seven hundred years. Before the Apostle Paul.
[30:35] Writes this statement. Habakkuk is living out this exhortation. He prays without ceasing. Because whether we look at. Habakkuk 1. Or Habakkuk 2.
[30:46] Or Habakkuk 3. He's in the posture of prayer. Every single chapter. Or every place that we find him. He is. He's in prayer.
[30:59] Remember visiting a minister. In Loch Karin. Kenny Ban. As many of you will have heard of him. And he was coming towards the end of his life.
[31:10] He's in glory now. And you would go in to visit him. I would go in to visit him. And. You'd have a conversation with him. Where he would speak to you.
[31:21] And he'd answer your questions. But. He was constantly drifting. In and out of prayer. He never really drifted out of prayer. He'd be speaking to you for a minute. But then he'd drift off.
[31:31] And he'd be speaking to the Lord. There was never an amen. He was just constantly in prayer. And if somebody would ask him to pray. You know. After a long time.
[31:42] His wife would say. She'd kind of pat him on the knee. And say. Kenny. Kenny. They need to leave. He was always in prayer. And Habakkuk. He's always in prayer. He saturates.
[31:55] Everything. That is going through his mind. With prayer. When Farrakhar spoke about the holiday club. A couple of Wednesdays ago. He gave us a wee update on.
[32:06] He gave us a few observations. The things that he saw. The games. The drama. The memory verse. The teaching. And what Farrakhar said was. All this stuff. Everything that's going on.
[32:18] It needs to be saturated. With prayer. And that's what Habakkuk was saying. He's looking out on the land. That he's part of.
[32:28] He's looking out. At God's people. He's looking at the state of Judah. He's seeing how far. The people who claim. The name of the Lord.
[32:40] As being the people of the Lord. He sees how far. They've drifted from the Lord. And he's got the news. From the Lord. Of this impending attack. From Babylon. And so.
[32:50] With all the weight of this. And all the anxiety. That's wrapped up in this. He takes everything. To the Lord in prayer. He saturates everything. That's going through his mind.
[33:02] And on his heart. He saturates it in prayer. Because he's a man of prayer. And when you consider.
[33:14] The actual plot line of the book. Somebody used to ask you. What actually happens in Habakkuk. In terms of the story. The events. Nothing really happens.
[33:27] In terms of outward action. Habakkuk. He's burdened for the nation. With a burden that the Lord gives him. He. He prays.
[33:39] That's all that happens. In the book. Habakkuk. When he. He learns about the. The state of the nation. And what's to come. He doesn't stand for political office.
[33:52] To try and bring change. He stands. In the watch time. In prayer. Habakkuk. In the book. And Habakkuk.
[34:03] When he learns. Of. Of the. The Babylonians. Who are coming to invade. He. He doesn't call. On the name of all the powerful people. Of his day. He doesn't call. For a cobra meeting. With all the top politicians.
[34:15] He simply calls. In the name of the Lord. And Habakkuk. As he. Mulls over. The. All that's to come. He doesn't complain.
[34:27] To all his friends. And all his colleagues. He doesn't. Phone around everyone he knows. To lament. All that was going on. And all that was to come. He doesn't take to. To social media.
[34:38] And spill all his worries. And concerns. Over. Over social media. His complaint. His lament. His worries. They're all brought to the Lord. In prayer. It's just Habakkuk.
[34:50] In the Lord. He's a man of prayer. So. Let's not miss. That point. Habakkuk.
[35:00] Was a man. Of prayer. That's what we know about him. And he's an example. To us. Because we are called. To be men.
[35:11] And women. And boys. And girls. Of. Of prayer. Because. Much of what was going on. In Judah. In 600 BC. Is going on.
[35:22] In Scotland. Today. Because. Just as they were. Drifting from God. We are drifting from God. And have been for a long time. So we're in the same environment. Spiritually speaking. And so Habakkuk.
[35:33] Teaches us to pray. And to pray. And to pray. And to pray. He's a man of prayer. Robert Murray McShane.
[35:45] Said this. And I quote. He says. What a man is. On his knees. Before God. That he is.
[35:58] And nothing more. What a man. Or a woman. Or a boy. Or a girl. Is. On their knees. Before God. That's what they are. That's what we are.
[36:11] And nothing more. And we could apply that. To a congregation. And say. What a congregation is. In the place of prayer.
[36:21] Before God. That's what we are. And nothing more. We can have clubs. We can have activities. We can have programs. We can have. All kinds of stuff.
[36:33] Going on. But our primary calling. Is to be people of prayer. So Habakkuk. He's the. He's the man of prayer. The second thing.
[36:45] We see about Habakkuk. Is we ask the question. Who is he is. He's the prophet. He's a prophet. So. And still in verse one.
[36:58] We are told. By way of introduction. This is a prayer of Habakkuk. The prophet. And so. We're given. An explanation. Here. As to. As to. Who he was.
[37:08] What he was called to. By. By the Lord. The word. In the Hebrew. Means that he was a spokesperson. He was a speaker. He.
[37:19] He. He was called. To. To speak out. God's word. And that was his responsibility. That was his calling. That was. What he gave himself to.
[37:30] He's. About like an old testament. John the Baptist. John the Baptist. As we. Think about him. He's. He's. He's never. Drawing attention. To himself.
[37:42] John the Baptist. Is never phoning up. The local paper. And asking him. To come around. And take a photograph. For this big congregation. He's never. Looking for PR. That would draw attention.
[37:52] To himself. And what he's doing. John never spoke. About John. John only. Spoke about Jesus. He never said. Look at me. Let me tell you.
[38:03] What I'm doing. Let me tell you. What I think. Let me give you. My thoughts. On the world. John just spoke. The word of God.
[38:16] Fearlessly. He spoke. The word of God. He was the. He was the last. He was the greatest prophet. Perhaps.
[38:26] His. His greatest line. Is that line. That we find. Where he. Says to. One of his disciples. He. Jesus. Must. Increase.
[38:38] And I. John. Must. Decrease. And when you have a person. Like John the Baptist. Or when you have a person. Like. Habakkuk.
[38:48] Who. He's not thinking. About himself. He's not telling us. About himself. He's not. Always. Drawing attention. To himself. But. It's. It's just speaking. Out God's word.
[38:59] God can use. A person like that. So. In terms of. Application. For ourselves. In a culture. We're in a culture.
[39:11] Which is. Absolutely. Obsessed. With self. Things that. We would have. Shied away from. In previous.
[39:22] Generations. We're. We're all over today. We're in a culture. That encourages us. To. To think. And speak. About self. To lift up self. At every given opportunity. That's our culture.
[39:37] But our mission. Our challenge. The. The example. That Habakkuk. Gives us. To follow. Is. Is that we're to be people. Who think little. And speak little.
[39:49] About ourselves. But rather. We. We take every opportunity. To be. To be. To be speakers. For God. We don't have to have a.
[40:02] A pulpit. To. Be people who. Who. Tell out. The old. Old story. Of Jesus. And his love. To Habakkuk.
[40:15] He's a. He's a man of prayer. Habakkuk. Is. Is a prophet of God. He speaks for God. We're called. To be people of prayer. We're called.
[40:25] To be people. Who will. Not draw attention. To ourselves. But will point. To Jesus. We'll tell people. About Jesus. And. The third thing. We learn here. Is that Habakkuk.
[40:36] Is a. A praise leader. Habakkuk. The. The praise leader. That's the third thing. We. We see about him. And still in verse one. Don't worry. We're going to speed up.
[40:47] The last section. We'll. We'll move very quickly. Through. Habakkuk. The. The praise leader. A prayer. Of Habakkuk. The prophet. On. Shigoinus. We've not got too many boys and girls here tonight.
[41:01] We've got a few. Shigoinus. Shigoinus. Tell me. What. What. What does that mean? Put your hand up.
[41:13] And tell me. If you. If you know what. Shigoinus means. Any guesses? Not a clue. Any of the PhDs here.
[41:25] Going to give it a bash? No. Oh. Kenny. Just joking. The term.
[41:37] Shigoinus. Is a term. That. Nobody knows what it means. Because the more commentaries you read. The more. Clearly you understand. That nobody really knows. What it. What it means. We can.
[41:48] Have a guess. As to what it might mean. That it might be. A tune. It might be a. A note. About the tempo. Of the tune.
[41:59] Or the way this is to be sung. The title. The title of Psalm 7. Uses a similar word. It's. The Psalm is introduced. But as being.
[42:09] A. A. Shigion. Of David. Which is. Not quite there. But it's quite close. So. Shigoinus. Shigion. They're.
[42:21] Thought to be terms. That gives. That gives some kind of musical direction. A kind of musical notation. Whether it's the tune or the rhythm. It's a. A term. That indicates.
[42:33] That what we have here. From verse 2. To verse 19. It's. It's a prayer. Yes. But it's also a poem.
[42:43] It's a song. It's a psalm. And Habakkuk 3. As we step through it. It's. It's. Very personal.
[42:55] As. As many prayers are. But it's not private. Habakkuk chapter 3. And this prayer. This song. It's not something that's been.
[43:06] Stolen. Out of. The. The back of. Habakkuk's journal. As some. Secret page. That he's hidden away in a bottom drawer. No. Habakkuk. It's made clear in verse 19.
[43:17] That he intends. That this prayer. This song. Be sung. Habakkuk says. Pass this on. Verse 19. To the director of music. Give us. Tangs.
[43:28] McKellar. Give us to Adam. Make sure they have it. He says. Bring out my stringed instruments. That's a controversial one. We're going to sing this prayer.
[43:40] This psalm. And praise the Lord. God. So Habakkuk. As he comes to chapter 3. And as he. Composes this psalm.
[43:51] This prayer. This song. He's. He's leading the people in praise. And just two passing applications. Just as we. As we move on from this.
[44:03] The first thing is. Just. Very straightforward. It's okay sometimes. To write a prayer. This is a written prayer. And sometimes it's okay.
[44:16] To write a prayer. This is not. A prayer. That's just. Suddenly. Come. To Habakkuk. We're going to see here. That this is. A prayer. That's come. From Habakkuk. Sitting down.
[44:27] And thinking very carefully. Through salvation history. He's composed. This prayer. Very. Slowly. And thoughtfully. And sometimes. It's okay. To write a prayer. Some people struggle.
[44:40] To. To pray. In an extemporary way. I think. If we're honest. Most of us do. Certainly. I do. And if we're struggling. Sometimes. It's okay. To write a prayer.
[44:53] I remember hearing a story. I think it was a man. In Inverness. If I remember rightly. And. It took him. A long time. To come forward. And profess.
[45:03] His faith. And the reason was. He was terrified. To pray. But eventually. He did profess his faith. And eventually. He ended up. In a prayer meeting. And so. What did he do. When he got to the prayer meeting.
[45:14] Well. When it came to. His turn to pray. He went into. His top pocket. And he took out. A wee bit of paper. And he unfolded it. And he read out. This prayer. In the afternoon. He would.
[45:25] Come before the Lord. And he would ask. For a prayer. In the evening. If he was called on. Or. If there was an open prayer time. Up he would get. And take out his bit of paper.
[45:36] He wasn't hiding it. Behind his. His Bible or anything. He would just. He would pray. What the Lord gave him. Sometimes it's okay. To write a prayer. And the second thing. We can take. By.
[45:46] By way of application here. Is. Habakkuk teaches us. That it's. It's right. And it's important. To sing. Even when we're sad.
[46:02] Remember the. The musical. And there was a song. In the. In the musical. We're singing in the rain. Can't remember what the. The film was. But there was that song.
[46:12] That famous song. Where they're dancing around. On the rooftop. In the rain. With umbrellas. We're singing in the rain. Well Habakkuk. You could say. He's singing in the rain. Things are not good.
[46:24] In Judah. God has. Said. That things are about. To get worse. The clouds. Are about to burst. Things are going. To get darker. And all that.
[46:35] Is troubling. Habakkuk. And we'd expect. To find them. Subdued. Quietly. Troubled. But as the Holy Spirit. Leads him.
[46:45] He sings. He says. To the director of music. Get organized. Get ready. Get out. The stringed. Instruments. Get the people.
[46:56] Into the posture. Of praise. We're going to praise. The Lord. To Habakkuk. He's. He's a man of prayer. He's a prophet.
[47:07] And he's a praise leader. And an application. For us. Maybe the next time. We. Are. Hit.
[47:18] With a. A wave. Of. Providence. And we. We think. One morning. When we're. Facing the day. Everything's just going wrong. Maybe the next time.
[47:29] We're. We're. Troubled. And we just feel. Like everything's going wrong. And we're anxious. And we're. Preoccupied. We're worried about. How we're going to pay. The next bill. We're anxious about our health.
[47:40] Or. About the health of a loved one. We're. Grieved about the hardness of heart. That we see. In someone in our. Our family. We. We feel overwhelmed. By the state of the nation. Rather than going silent.
[47:55] Let's sing. Pick up the psalm. Book on your guitar. Pick up an old hymn book. And sing praises.
[48:07] To God. Habakkuk. The praise leader. Habakkuk. The man of prayer. Habakkuk. The prophet. And finally.
[48:19] We come to Habakkuk. Psalm. And I'm not going to take time. And step through. And exegete. Every verse of. Of this psalm. I really just want to read it with you. The psalm.
[48:30] It divides into. Three. Three sections. Which. Kind of gives us a. Helpful guide on. On how we. How we step through the psalm. The first thing.
[48:42] Habakkuk does. In verse two. Is he makes his approach. To God. He sings. As he makes his approach. To God. That's verse two. And then from. Verse three.
[48:53] Down to. Verse. Thirteen. Habakkuk. He. He just steps through. All the acts of God. All the amazing things. That God has done. And. In the history of the nation.
[49:05] Where he saved them. When he's rescued them. Where he's. He's revealed to them. His wonder. And his glory. So there's the. The approach. To God. And then. There's the acts of God.
[49:15] That Habakkuk remembers. And he finishes up. The. The psalm. With just a statement. From his own heart. As he. Expresses. His adoration. Of God.
[49:26] So the approach. To God. First of all. Verse two. Lord. I have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds. O Lord. Renew them. In our day. In our time.
[49:37] Make them known. In wrath. Remember. Mercy. That's how Habakkuk approaches God. And our approach. Is. Is such a key thing.
[49:49] For those who. Who step on. On planes. This week. The approach. The pilot takes. To the. To the runway. As they prepare to land. Is a key thing. Because if the approach.
[50:01] Isn't right. Everyone on board. Is in danger. Approach. Is an. An important thing. Even in the. The mundane. Conversations. That we have. Day by day. The way that we approach.
[50:11] Each other. Whether it's. Gently. Or aggressively. It determines. The whole tone. Of a conversation. The approach. Is an important thing. And the way Habakkuk. Approaches God.
[50:22] Is. Is something. That we have to note. How does he approach God? Well. He's reverent. He's not casual. He's reverent.
[50:33] As he approaches God. He's in. He's in awe. Of the fame. And the glory. And the wondrous. Works of God. And he says that. In his approach. He looks up.
[50:45] To the. The wonder. And the glory. And he has a sense. Of awe. Of who God is. God is big. And he is small. So there's a reverence. In his approach.
[50:56] And there's repentance. In his approach. Because he comes. Asking for mercy. You only ask for mercy. If you know that. You're a sinner. Who's in need of mercy.
[51:09] And so on behalf of. His people. He comes asking. That God will. Remember mercy. And he comes asking. For revival. He says to the Lord.
[51:20] In the. In the midst of the years. Revive your work. There's a great lesson. For us there. On how we are to come. To God.
[51:30] We're to come reverently. Not casually. Not flippantly. Not full of ourselves. But empty of self. And looking to the wonder.
[51:41] And the glory. Of God. We're to come. With repentance. Because we are sinners. And God is holy. And we're to come. Looking for that.
[51:52] That revival. That reviving. Of our own hearts. In our own island. In our own nation. So we see Habakkuk's approach.
[52:07] To God. And then from verses 2. To verse 15 actually. We see how Habakkuk. He just remembers.
[52:18] The acts of God. And I'm not going to read through all the verses. Time has gone. You can do that later. But Habakkuk is.
[52:30] He's almost like sat down. For an afternoon. He's gone through the photograph album. Of the history of Israel. You know sometimes we'll pull out old photographs album.
[52:41] We'll remember all the things and the events that we've experienced in our lives. And Habakkuk. He sat down and he's gone through salvation history. And he's thought about all the times that God has come to the help and the aid of his people.
[52:56] He's one of the commentators. Boy says. Speaking of verses 3 to 15. These verses deal with God's defense of the Jewish people. When he led them out of Egypt.
[53:08] Through the wilderness. And into the promised land. And you can see all that. In these verses. There's references to the presence of God.
[53:19] The fire and the cloud. As God led them through the wilderness. There's references to the plagues of Egypt. In verse 4. As God unlocked the doors of Egypt. So as people could escape.
[53:31] There's references to the conquest of Canaan. In verse 6. There's references. Verses 8, 9, 10. To the parting of the Red Sea.
[53:42] That amazing miracle. References to Joshua chapter 10. In verse 11. And so it goes on. Habakkuk. He sat down. He's thought through all the acts of God.
[53:53] He's thought back through salvation history. He's thought about how big and how strong and how mighty God is. He's recalled all the gracious saving acts of God from days gone by.
[54:05] And he's not doing this. So that God will be reminded of things that he's forgotten. God knows all this. Habakkuk is remembering all this.
[54:16] Because this is his expression of praise. He's speaking out of a thankful heart. For all that God has done for his people over the years.
[54:33] And yes, there are still problems in Judah. But as Habakkuk remembers all the works of God. The acts of God. He's encouraged.
[54:45] As Habakkuk looks to the amazing acts of God. It's as if the problems in Judah shrink.
[54:59] As his vision of the fame and the glory and the power of God grows. So how do we praise God?
[55:13] When we don't feel like praising God. How can we praise God when it's raining? And when we feel downcast in our souls.
[55:26] What is it that we have to do? Well, we have to lift our eyes from all that we know is wrong. And we have to look to the Lord.
[55:38] Remember who he is. And think about all the things that he has done. We can start in our own lives.
[55:50] From the wee things. That perhaps only we know about. The things that he's done even within our fellowship. Things that he's done in the works of revival.
[56:02] In these communities. In years gone by. We keep going on until we get to the cross. The resurrection. All that he has done in and through Christ.
[56:14] Because as we think about the acts of God. We see so much more than Habakkuk saw. We see Jesus. Who is the anointed one of verse 13?
[56:25] Well, the anointed one is Jesus. Jonathan Lamb, the commentator, says. The word anointed points to the true Messiah, Jesus. Christ.
[56:36] At the cross, the Lord Jesus was our substitute. In bearing God's righteous anger. It was there that wrath and mercy met. God raised Jesus to life.
[56:47] Or to use the language of verse 13. Saved as anointed. So Jesus won the decisive battle. Over human sin. Over all the cosmic coasts of wickedness.
[56:59] What Habakkuk described. In his overwhelming vision. Was finally fulfilled. In Christ. The victory. Of the Lord.
[57:12] So when we're not feeling. Like praising the Lord. We take our eyes off the problem. We take our eyes off. Ourselves.
[57:23] We fix our eyes. On Jesus. There's the approach. To God. There's the acts of God.
[57:34] That Habakkuk remembers. And praises the Lord for. And finally. Habakkuk. In the last four verses. He adores God. There's the adoration of God.
[57:47] And he shares his heart. Habakkuk. And he says. Habakkuk. In the last few verses. He opens his heart. He shares his testimony. And he says. In verse 16.
[57:58] I heard. He's prayed. God has spoken. He said. I heard. And my heart pounded.
[58:11] My lips quivered. At the sound. Decay crept into my bones. And my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently. For the day of calamity. To come. Upon the nation.
[58:22] Invading us. Then there's this. Amazing. Profession. At the end. He says. Though the fig tree. Does not bud.
[58:34] And there are no grapes. On the vines. Though the olive crop fails. And the fields produce no food. Though there are no sheep. In the pen. And no cattle.
[58:45] In the stalls. Yet I will rejoice. In the Lord. I will be joyful. In God. My saviour. The sovereign Lord.
[58:57] Is my strength. He makes my feet. Like the feet. Of a deer. He enables me. To go on. To the heights.
[59:08] To the earth. To the earth. And remember. As we finish. Nothing has changed. In Judah. There is still fear.
[59:22] About the future. There is still. A sense of dread. About all. That is to come. In terms. Of the invasion. Of Babylon. But Habakkuk.
[59:33] Is trusting God. he's praising God and even though nothing has changed circumstantially he has changed his heart has changed he's gone from fear to faith he's gone from worry to worship and I hope as we've stepped through this little book with him we've been guided along that same path we'll pray Heavenly Father we pray that we would indeed be able to take the words of Habakkuk on our lips and that they would come from our hearts as we finish we pray that we would be able to say though there's no money in the bank though there's no prospects of work though there's no assurance of health and strength though all these things are gone though although politically things are a mess although the nation is still a cause of great alarm to us yet we will praise you we will trust you and we will rejoice in who you are what you have done in Christ and what you will continue to do as we wait for the day when Christ returns help us we pray in Jesus name
[61:10] Amen we'll sing to finish mission praise 189 189 in mission praise this is a request I had it two weeks in a row maybe all of you don't know it but some of you know it so those who do know it sing it out loud and we'll play it through once and then we'll stand and we'll sing to God's praise I'll sing in a row in a row in a row and in a row in a row and then we'll do it later later in a row and then we'll sing in a row and then we'll sing in a row then me and then I'll sing and then All His work is purposive,
[62:13] God's years that seeks to hear. All His work is purposive, and the time is drawing near.
[62:27] The air and the air draws the time, and the time will surely be. When the air shall be filled with the glory of God, as the waters cloud the sea.
[62:47] All those knees to the apple's feet, where their effort has dropped, by the mouth of many messengers, reach out the voice of God.
[63:06] Listen to me, Your countenance, you are the Lord still to me. From the earth we reveal the glory of God, as the waters, the sea.
[63:24] We shall march in the scale of the world, with the power of Christ unfurled. But the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus, we shall fight with sorrow and sting, to suffer, come to stream.
[63:51] From the earth we reveal the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea. Amen. Amen.
[64:15] And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit, be with us all now and forevermore. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.