Sermon Tone Analysis

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet,

according to Shigionoth.

O Lord, I have heard the report of thee, and thy work,

O Lord, do I fear.

In the midst of the years

renew it; in the midst of the years make it known;

in wrath remember mercy.

God came from Teman, and the Holy One

from Mount Paran.

His glory covered the heavens,

and the earth was full of his praise.

His brightness was like the light, rays flashed

from his hand; and there he veiled his power.

Before him went pestilence,

and plague followed close behind.

He stood and measured the earth

he looked and shook the nations;

then the eternal mountains were scattered,

the everlasting hills sank low.

His ways were as of old.

I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;

the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

Was thy wrath against the rivers, O Lord?

Was thy anger against the rivers,

or thy indignation against the sea,

when thou didst ride upon thy horses,

upon thy chariot of victory?

Thou didst strip the sheath from thy bow,

and put the arrows to the string.

Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.

The mountains saw thee, and writhed;

the raging waters swept on;

the deep grave forth its voice, it lifted its hands on high.

The sun and moon stood still in their habitation

at the light of thine arrows as they sped,

at the flash of thy glittering spear.

Thou didst bestride the earth in fury,

thou didst trample the nations in anger.

Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people,

for the salvation of thy anointed.

Thou didst crush the head of the wicked,

laying him bare from thigh to neck.

Thou didst pierce with thy shafts the head

of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,

rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.

Thou didst trample the sea with thy horses,

the surging of mighty waters.

I hear, and my body trembles, my lips quiver

at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones,

my steps totter beneath me.

I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come

upon people who invade us.

Though the fig tree does 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,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God

of my salvation.

God, the Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet like hinds' feet,

he makes me tread upon my high places.

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.

Habakkuk 3

 

The

When

of Revival

 

Habakkuk appears on the scene unannounced.

Who he was, and of what family or tribe he was born we are not told.

Neither do we know very much about the time of his ministry.

But we gather from the content of his messages that he came later than Ezra and Nehemiah and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah.

His name is obscure, though there are scholars who tell us that it denotes "ardent embracing" or "wrestling."

There is no doubt that he was a man who wrestled with God.

Time after time throughout his prophecy we find him interceding in prayer and stretching out in faith as he seeks to bring down from the open heaven the revival that his people so desperately need.

In his great prayer, Habakkuk answers the "when" of revival.

He acknowledges several things that are associated with revival:

 

God's Sovereignty

 

"O Lord,… in the midst of the years [revive thy work]."

The sovereignty of God in a spiritual awakening is always demonstrated by the manner of His working.

God is constantly working.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus could say, "My Father is working still, and I am working" (John 5:17).

It is in the very nature of God's activity to continue working until the task is completed.

Only the sinfulness of man hinders the progress of the divine purpose.

But in spite of all that man says or does, God will finish His work.

The Apostle Paul affirms this when he writes: "I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).

When God works in reviving power He does so suddenly

—"God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran.

His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise."

The Holy Spirit came suddenly at Pentecost for we read: "Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind….

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:2,4).

And following this invasion from heaven the glory of God covered the heavens and the earth was full of His praise, for with the birth of the Church, her witness passed from one city to another until the faith of the Church was "spoken of throughout the whole world" (Romans 1:8).

When God works in reviving power He also does so searchingly—"His brightness was like the light, rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power.

Before him went pestilence, and plague followed close behind."

It is significant that when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost we read that He appeared as tongues of fire upon each of the men and women gathered in the upper room (Acts 2:3).

That fire symbolized God's searching ministry.

It is little wonder that the preaching that followed Pentecost convicted men and women so that they had to cry out, "Brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37).

Revival can never come without an exposure of and judgment on sin.

God also works solemnly in reviving power.

Habakkuk illustrates this from the lives of David, Deborah and Joshua.

He recalls how God marched through the land in indignation and trampled the heathen in anger.