Nuggets in Habakkuk Part 3 - The Earth Full of the Knowledge of God

Well, we begin our worship by singing to God's praise. We're going to sing in Psalm 139a.

It's page 180 of the psalm book, Psalm 139a. We're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 10.

O Lord, you have examined me. You know me through and through, my sitting, rising.

All my thoughts afar are known to you. We'll sing from verse 1 to 10 to God's praise.

O Lord, you have examined me. You know me through and through, my sitting, rising.

All my thoughts afar are known to you.

My going out and lying down are plain before your youth.

Before I speak a word, O Lord, it is well known to you.

You have me in the highly fold. You lay on me in your hand.

Such knowledge is too wonderful, too high, too understand.

Where can I from your safety?

If I should be free, or from your presence go?

If to the heavens you are there, or in the depths below,

If I should take the wings of dawn, and fell beyond the sea,

Then also you would be my guide, Your right and holding me.

Let's bow our heads together in a word of prayer. Let us pray.

Our Father in heaven, as we come to worship you today,

we thank you to be able to lift up our voices in singing to you and giving praise to you.

We are reminded of your goodness to us in these words that we have sung,

that you know us in every way, you know our every need,

that you are there for us, Lord, no matter where we go in this world,

that we have the promise of your presence.

And we thank you that there's so much comfort in that,

and that we would know, Lord, that whether we are here worshiping,

whether we are in our homes, in schools or workplaces,

wherever we go through the week, even when we travel to different places,

that you have promised, Lord, that you will be there for us,

that your right hand will hold us.

And we do thank you, Lord, for every way that you bless us day by day.

We thank you for all the things that we enjoy in life,

the friendships we have, the families, our Sunday school and creche,

and tweenies and explorers and toddler groups and all of these things that are there for our young people

and the YF and the youth club that starts this week again.

Lord, we pray for all our young people involved in these things,

that there will be a sense of togetherness in it, sharing with one another,

and above all knowing your goodness to us in it as well.

And we thank you, Lord, that your word speaks to us in all of these things.

And remind us of Jesus today, remind us of how much we need him

and how much we are to love him, for he has loved us.

And may your word be blessed to us in all that we do.

So we ask it all with forgiveness of sin in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now, before the young ones go out, I just want to say a wee word to you today.

I'm sure many of you already know where I live.

I stay up in Plasterfield, and it's a lovely part of the town to stay in.

And we've got lovely neighbours up there.

And very often we engage with our neighbours.

Sometimes over the wall we'll speak to our neighbours,

just say something to them in the passing.

And on the whole, things are good.

But the last couple of weeks our neighbours have,

I don't know if it's the weather, or there's a hot sun or what it is,

but they've been going a little bit crazy.

They've been jumping our wall.

And there's one little one, short legs.

He's getting a little bit tubby as he gets a wee bit older,

and he got stuck in the fence this week.

And we had to go and help him.

Now, I think you're thinking I'm talking about somebody.

It's not.

It's something.

It's an animal.

It's the lambs and the sheep next door that I'm talking about.

Don't be mistaken that it's somebody else.

But these neighbours, we enjoy seeing them out the back window and over the wall.

But it's just they've been so lively the last wee while.

And they've been coming into our, jumping our wall.

It's amazing to think they're just little lambs,

and yet they're jumping the wall and coming into our garden.

Our sheepdog is hopeless.

He just looks at them as if what we're supposed to do.

But then we have to go and catch them and put them back over the fence,

so they go back to their mothers.

But they've also got a good shepherd who comes and checks on them as well.

And it's a full-time job because the older they get, the more lively they get,

and they get more adventurous.

And I'm sure many of you had this experience in the last few weeks

with lambing and keeping looking after lambs.

You find lambs just going to strange places.

They'll go and try and get into any situation.

They'll go and try and climb through anything

and find their way always into trouble so often.

And they have to be helped back.

They have to be rescued.

And there's a lovely verse in Scripture that speaks about this.

Last week we thought of how the good shepherd looks after his sheep.

And even if there's one missing, he goes to find them.

But here's another verse that reminds us of the care that the shepherd has,

especially for his lambs.

It says in Isaiah 40, verse 11, a chapter that speaks about God's comfort,

Isaiah 40:11

God's goodness to his people.

And he says this,

He tends his flock like a shepherd.

He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart.

He gently leads those that have young.

It's a beautiful verse that reminds us of the care that God gives to his people.

We are like sheep.

We're like lambs.

We're always doing the wrong thing, going into the wrong places,

and even getting stuck in stupid places.

But we thank God that we have a shepherd,

one who looks after us, who holds us in his arms, who carries us closely.

And it's a wonderful thing to see a shepherd doing that for his lambs,

picking them up, gathering them, helping them, taking them back to safety.

And that's what we have in Jesus.

One who looks after us all, and who cares for us in that wonderful way,

and who loves us in such a wonderful way.

So may we all know that tender care of the Lord as our shepherd.

And we're going to say the Lord's Prayer together now.

Amen.

Our Father, which art in heaven.

Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

We'll again sing now to God's praise.

We're going to sing in Psalm 115, in the Sing Psalms version, page 152.

Psalm 115, we'll sing from verse 1 to verse 9.

Lord, not to us, O not to us, to your name be the praise, because your love and faithfulness endure, O Lord, always.

We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 9 to God's praise.

For not to us, O not to us, to your name be the praise, because your love and faithfulness endure, O Lord.

Why do the nations question us?

Where is their God they say?

Her God, O Lord, always.

Our God, O Lord, always.

Their God, O Lord, always.

Their God in heaven high, and over all, O sweet.

Their gold and silver images are crafted carefully, but they have hearts which shall not speak,

And God's which shall not see.

Their noses have no sense of smell, Their ears can hear no sound.

They have no feeling in their hands, Nor can they hope around.

Although these idols do have throats, No word can they proclaim.

Their big curse, their worshipers will all become like them.

O house of Israel, place your trust, Upon the Lord alone.

He is the mighty help and shield of all who are his own.

Their jest small access,nai gives you the mel�is of the world.

It's if God is with angels.

Well, these two are the things that time they pray about.

We will see you in a while.

We will think that from this episode of the Old book for all.

chapter 2, taking up our reading at verse 6. Habakkuk chapter 2, and reading from verse 6.

Habakkuk 2 · chapter mention

We're following on from where we finished off last week, where we were thinking of

the righteous shall live by his faith, as we have in verse 4. Now we read on into verse 6.

Shall not all these take up their taunt against him with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,

Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own, for how long, and loads himself with pledges?

Will not your debtors suddenly arise, and those awake who will make you tremble? Then you will be

spoil for them, because you have plundered many nations. All the remnant of the peoples shall

plunder you, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities, and all who dwell in them.

Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm.

You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples. You have forfeited your life,

for the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond.

Woe to him who builds a town with blood, and founds a city on iniquity. Behold, it is not from the Lord

of hosts, that people labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing. For the earth

will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink. You pour out your wrath, and make them drunk in order to gaze

at their nakedness. You will have your fill of shame instead of glory. Drink yourself, and show your

uncircumcision. The cup in the Lord's right hand will come round to you, and utter shame will come

upon your glory. The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, as will the destruction of the

beasts that terrify them. For the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities, and to all

who dwell in them. What prophet is an idol, when its maker has shaped it a metal image, a teacher of lies?

For its maker trusts in his own creation, when he makes speechless idols. Woe to him who says to a

wooden thing, awake, to a silent stone, arise. Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,

and there is no breath at all in it. But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence

before him. Amen. And may God bless that reading from his word. And again, unite your hearts in a word

of prayer. Let us pray. Lord, our gracious God, as we continue in our worship at this time,

we thank you for your word. And even in the challenges of reading it and trying to understand

what you are saying to us, we recognize our need of the help of your spirit to be with us.

As we open up your word, Lord, that you will give us understanding of how it applies to our own lives

today. When we read of these many woes in this passage, we see so many things that are,

we think maybe just for Habakkuk's day, but help us to see that your word is applicable

today as it ever was. And we pray, Lord, that you will come in your power, that you will come in your

glory, that your glory will fill the whole of this earth, that the world will be covered with the

knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea. And we thank you that your word goes out

with power. We thank you for every way that you are reminding us again and again how your word is

active and powerful to save. In the midst of all the chaos of our world, we thank you that as your

word is preached, it is powerful. It is able to convict and to convert, as the psalmist says.

And we pray, Lord, for your power of your spirit and your word to bring life, bring life to people and

nations and this world as a whole, that we would see your restoring power, that we would see your

power in bringing peace where there is war and peace where there is tragedy, peace into the hearts of

this world and in the large-scale things. But also, Lord, when we think of our individual lives and

our individual circumstances, that you are able to bring peace to us. The psalm that we sang in,

Psalm 139 reminded us of that knowledge of us. It is so intimate and personal that we cannot sit or

rise without your knowledge of us. And may we take comfort in that, even as we pray for others,

that you are able to be with them where they are, that you are able to meet their needs more than we

can, and that you are able to provide the grace that is always sufficient. And we do pray,

Lord, in this day for those particularly who mourn and grieve at this time in our own congregation,

Lord, in our own community. And far and wide, Lord, we pray for the comfort of your spirit to be with us.

You are the great comforter who comes alongside. And Lord, we remember that in the midst of the world

in which we live, that there are always these trials that will come our way. That there are always

these days when we can, like Habakkuk, ask, how long, O Lord? But yet, O Lord, help us to live by faith.

Help us to trust in you. Help us to lean upon you for all understanding and wisdom, for we do not have

it of ourselves. And help us to be, O Lord, a people who pray your will be done, even when your will is

hard and difficult for us to go through or to understand. We thank you, Lord, that in all things

that you have a plan and a purpose. So, Lord, help us this day to commit ourselves into your care and

into your keeping, and help us as we commit others to your care and keeping as well, that they would know

your nearness. We think of servants of the church who have been called home even in this past week,

and the families who mourn their passing. We remember the ministry of Neil Shaw, the various

congregations he was ministered of, and so many sermons he preached. So many times we even hear his

voice presenting the Psalms and marvel at the beauty of it. And we thank you, Lord, for your help,

and strength to him over the years. And we thank you, Lord, for the great comfort and assurance

that he has now come to rest in the Lord. We pray your blessing on his family at this time,

that you will comfort and uphold and strengthen them. We remember, too, O Lord, the family of Reverend

Ian Morrison. It seems just such a short time he was in ministry, and sometimes it is hard to

understand these things. And yet, O Lord, we thank you for his love of Christ and his love of people.

And we pray that even in his short ministry that there will still be a blessing from it,

that people who heard and knew him, Lord, would be blessed by his ministry and continue to be blessed

going on. We pray for the congregation there in Oban in their loss and that sense of dismay maybe at this

time. We pray, Lord, that you will surround them and uphold them and be with them, journey with them

through these days, Lord, and remind them that you are the Lord who is shepherd to his people.

So, Lord, we commit families and friends of these men to you. And we pray, Lord, for your comfort over

us as a people in these days ahead as well, Lord, to know your goodness to us. As we even think of

the General Assembly starting tomorrow, we pray for the week ahead for all your people who gather there for

the meetings in these coming days, Lord, we pray that it will be for your glory and your good, that we will

not get distracted by different things, but that we will keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, that we will look to him

who is the author, the perfecter of faith. We pray for Bob Ackroyd as he comes to conclude his time as

moderator and Reverend Carl McLeod as he takes up that role. We pray for them and pray your blessing on

them and your strength towards them. And we thank you in all things that we have you as our Lord and as

our God, the one to call upon, the one who is near to help, the one who is able to bless. And we just

commit ourselves into your hands now, O Lord, that you will draw near to us as we seek to draw near

to you, as we ask all things confessing our sins anew. May you pardon us, Lord, for all our iniquities

and cleanse us as we ask it in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, and for his glory. Amen.

We'll again sing to God's praise, this time in Psalm 135 in the Scottish Psalter.

Page 425.

We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 6.

Psalm 135, page 425 at verse 1.

Praise ye the Lord, the Lord's name praise his servants. Praise ye God, who stand in God's house

and still

Lord's name praise his servants.

In the courts of our God, make abode. We'll sing from verse 1 to 6 to God's praise.

Praise ye the Lord, the Lord's name praise his servants. Praise ye God, who stand in God's house,

in the courts of our God, make abode. Praise ye the Lord, for he is good, and to him praise his servants sing.

Sing praises to his King, because it is a pleasant thing.

For Jacob to himself the Lord, give choose of his good pleasure,

and he hath chosen Israel for his peculiar pleasure.

Because I know as you in thee, the Lord is very great,

and that our Lord above all gods in glory hath his seat.

What thing so ever pleased the Lord, but in the heaven did he,

and in the earth, the seas and all the places he had been.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, we can turn back to our reading in Habakkuk chapter 2, and we're going to look at this

Habakkuk 2 · chapter mention

section from verse 6 down to verse 20.

We come to our third part of our study in this book of Habakkuk, where we've been looking at

different verses that we find throughout it that we can really call the nuggets of gold

that you find in the midst of a challenging day for Habakkuk, and even in the midst of our own day,

we see the relevance of these nuggets today as well.

And so far, we've looked at two different verses as we found them.

First of all, in chapter 1, we were looking at how, excuse me, we see God has a plan,

even as Habakkuk was crying out, how long, O Lord, will you not hear me?

Yet we see in verse 5 where he says, for I am doing a work in your days that you would

not believe if told.

We saw how there was this mysterious way that God was working, ways that we could not understand,

even if he was to tell us.

And Habakkuk was seeing this in his own day.

He was going to see how God was going to work in a way that would seem to go completely

against the way Habakkuk would want it to work, or the way the people would want it to

work.

And yet God is saying, I have a work.

And this work was to bring a nation upon them, a nation of wicked people, the Chaldeans, or

the Babylonians, as they're also known, a nation that was against God and against God's people,

and who would bring much devastation.

And yet how God was bringing them upon them with a purpose to judge and to restore.

So then last week we were looking at, well, how are the people to live in those days and

at that time when things were so difficult?

Well, in the midst of the attack they were going to come under, they were to be a people

who were to live by faith, as we saw in verse 4 of chapter 2.

But the righteous shall live by his faith.

Live by faith, waiting and watching for God in the midst of everything that was happening,

and with a warning of a choice of how to live, either like the puffed up, as it says in verse

4, with no thought of God, or to live by faith.

Well, today we come into another section here as Habakkuk and God are interacting with one

another.

And it's this section where you see this passage full of woes.

And what makes a difference in our lives when we are to live by faith?

When we think of the mysterious providence of God in different ways of life, what gives

us hope in the midst of it all?

Well, we come to this nugget that we're going to look at today, which is verse 14 of chapter

2.

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover

the sea.

This is the nugget that we're looking at today.

This is the hope that we can have in the midst of all the chaos that's around us.

It wasn't just a hope for Habakkuk and his day.

It's a hope for ourselves today as well.

That the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover

the sea.

But in order to see the wonder of this hope, we need to see it in the midst of the darkness

of the day.

And what we see is Habakkuk here telling us of these woes.

Woe to him, it says throughout this section.

And there's five of these woes.

Imagine reading your own obituary.

You say to yourself, that's not possible.

In order to have an obituary, the person must have passed away.

So how is it possible to read your own?

Well, in 1867, it's said that the Swedish chemist, Alfred Noble, he awoke one morning,

and as he opened up the newspaper, there he saw his own obituary.

It's obviously shocked to see it.

And as he read it, it just shook him.

It said, Alfred Noble, the inventor of dynamite, who died yesterday, devised a way for more people

to be killed in a war than ever before.

And he died a rich man.

There's different versions of maybe what was said.

But it shook him.

And what had happened was the newspaper reporter had made a mistake.

It was Alfred's older brother who had passed away.

But the reporter had heard it was Alfred, and he knew about Alfred.

He was famous for the invention of dynamite.

He'd obviously made a lot of money out of it.

And this was the obituary that was written for him.

And it got Alfred to think, is this the way that he would want to be remembered?

Alfred, as developing a means of killing people and making a lot of money out of it.

And so he sought to do good in the world.

And he set up what is known as the Nobel Peace Prize,

which gave a prize to people who were able to come up with ways of helping people

instead of causing chaos and destruction.

Well, what does an obituary have to do with what we're looking at today?

Well, what you see as you go through this section, verse 6 down to verse 20,

is this word, woe.

And these five woes that are spoken of here,

the word woe can also be translated alas.

And what the word is used for so often is speaking of someone who is dead.

For example, in 1 Kings chapter 13 and verse 30,

1 Kings 13 · chapter mention

there there is an account of a man of God who died.

And a friend came to bury him.

And it says in verse 30,

he laid the body in his own grave.

And they mourned over him saying,

alas, my brother.

So that is the same word as we have here.

Alas and woe are the same word.

And the same word that we have here.

Alas, my brother, his brother who had died.

And so woe would normally be used in that sense of someone who had died.

But the prophets like Habakkuk and others,

they used these words, woe or alas,

speaking to people who were alive.

But because of their sin,

because of the way that they were living their lives,

as one writer says,

they are already as good as dead

because God has given his verdict against them.

And so as we read these woes in this passage,

yes, it is speaking to people who are alive,

but it's almost like an obituary.

Woe to you in the midst of all that you have done.

You have died in your sin.

And it reminds us of the way Paul writes to the church

at Ephesus in Ephesians chapter 2.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

Look at the way he speaks to the people there.

It's like an obituary.

You were dead in the trespasses and sins.

You are dead in your trespasses and sins.

You are dead without Christ.

And so there is an obituary for us.

But as Paul goes on to say,

but God, being rich and mercy,

because of the great love with which he loved us,

even when we were dead in our trespasses,

made us alive together with Christ.

By grace you have been saved.

And so in this passage,

what we're going to see is these woes,

the woes of condemnation.

But in the midst of that,

we're going to see a confirmation.

Confirmation that God is one who still gives hope.

And then thirdly,

and just very briefly at the end,

we'll see the comfort that that gives.

And so the first thing we want to see is,

as we think of the wonder of that verse 14,

the earth being filled with the knowledge

of the glory of the Lord

as the waters covers the sea,

we think first of the condemnation

and these woes.

Because in order to see the beauty of the gospel,

we have to see the darkness of sin.

And as we've noted already in Habakkuk's day,

it was a dark time.

That is where Habakkuk's cry came from in verse two.

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help

and you will not hear?

Or cry to you violence

and you will not save?

There was devastation around him.

Devastation nationally and internationally

as we've seen.

That is where the cry for help came from.

And what makes ourselves feel a sense of injustice today?

What makes you feel a sense of anger

and long for God to change things?

What makes you come to God with that cry of Habakkuk?

How long will I cry for help?

And you will not hear.

It's likely that the things that make us angry

and feel a sense of injustice

are the very things that Habakkuk is telling us of here

in these five woes.

And what we are reading here is these woes,

this word of condemnation,

that we are dead in our sin,

but that God is going to deal with these sins

and the sinners behind them.

The five ways,

the five ways of condemnation that will come.

It's about seeing the judgment of God

on those who feel confident in their ways,

confident in their sin,

like the Babylonians would be,

like other nations in the Old Testament

who you read of,

the Assyrians who came

and tried to destroy God's people.

But God is saying,

I am at work,

as we have seen earlier in chapter one,

in ways that you would not believe

if I was to tell you

that God is still at work.

And the condemnations that we see here

are just like the ones

that we can think of today

in our own world.

We think of the things that make us angry,

the sin that we see around us,

and we just want God to take action

while he is saying,

I will.

Unless these people change their ways,

then they are dead

in their trespasses and sins.

And what do you see?

We see these five woes,

and I just want to touch on them

just briefly so we see what they are.

In Habakkuk 2, verse 6 to 8,

Habakkuk 2:6–8

Woe to him who heaps up

what is not his own.

There's this woe against aggression.

Habakkuk saw it in his day

with all these nations invading

and taking what was not their own.

And they did it in a devastating way.

And we think of the world

in which we live today.

And you think of the way people

live their lives with no thought of God

and who just take what is not their own

and by any means.

You see it in so many different ways,

whether it's through times of war

and invasion,

or see it in just corporate greed.

You see it in people,

what we call modern-day slavery.

We think slavery is something in the past.

It's not.

It is still there today.

People who are modern-day slaves,

they've paid pennies or nothing at all,

led captive,

away from families,

away from friends,

and put to use.

Why?

Because of people's way of aggression.

People who want to heap up

what is not their own.

But God is saying,

Woe to them.

I will deal with them.

Then in verse 9 to verse 11,

Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house

to set his nest on high.

There is this woe against covetousness.

People who just want to get richer.

And again, just forget about anybody else.

Just look after number one.

No care or concern for others.

It's just,

How much can I amass in this world?

Whether it's houses or cars or money,

whatever it is.

Well, God is saying,

Woe.

Woe to him who gets evil gain

for his house to set his nest on high.

Again, there's no thought for God.

Verse 12 to verse 14.

Woe to him who builds a town with blood

and founds a city on iniquity.

Again, you see here just this wicked way,

this way of violence,

this way of bloodshed,

this way of gain

by this acts of war and terror.

The things that Habakkuk saw on his day

that we see in our own day as well.

And we can cry like Habakkuk,

How long, O Lord?

How long are you going to allow this to go on?

But again, it's by living by faith

in the God who works in mysterious ways

that we see they will be judged.

Woe to him who builds a town with blood.

The wickedness of man's heart will be judged.

They are as good as dead

unless they repent and turn.

And you see in verse 15 to verse 17,

Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink.

You pour out your wrath and make them drunk

in order to gaze at their nakedness.

Again, there's woe against humanity.

The way people deal with other people.

It's prevalent in Habakkuk's day

and you think of it in our own day as well.

You think of human trafficking.

You think of people being put into lives

of prostitution.

You think of all these wicked things

in our world where life is not precious.

Where people are just a commodity to be used.

But God is saying,

Woe.

Woe to them.

I will not allow this to go undealt with.

The Lord will deal with it.

And then the fifth one.

And you see in verse 19,

Woe to him who says to a wooden thing,

Awake!

To a silent stone,

Arise!

Woe to idolatry!

Woe to those who worship anything

apart from God!

Now you think of the first four

and you say,

Well, I don't fall into that category.

That's not something

that my heart is inclined to.

But you can almost guarantee

that we all fall into the trap

of idolatry in different ways.

Idols were common in Habakkuk's day.

Every nation had their gods

made of silver and gold

and wood and stone and all sorts.

And they were worshipped

in the place of God.

You think of when Moses

was receiving the Ten Commandments

on Mount Sinai.

And the people were saying,

Where is Moses?

He's left us.

He's gone.

Let us make an idol to worship.

And they made a golden calf.

How quickly they changed.

And how easy it is for us

to put something

in the place of God.

Idolatry is worshipping

or being more devoted

to anything other than God,

as someone put it.

And we can have to guard

our hearts against this.

John Calvin once said,

The human heart

is a perpetual idol factory.

We are making idols all the time.

Things that we put

in the place of God

and worship more than God.

But the Lord says,

Woe.

Now, Habakkuk, in his day,

as the people were hearing this,

they should have stopped

in their tracks

and started to think,

What does this mean for me?

And the same is true

for ourselves as well.

It should make us stop

in our tracks

and look at the world

in which we live,

but also look in our own hearts

and ask,

Are we part of the problem here?

Is my heart away from God?

Am I not trusting in God?

As we saw the last time

in chapter 2 there

when we were thinking

of the righteous

shall live by faith.

The other way was

to go away from God

and just to live

puffed up in self.

Is that the way

that we are living?

We have to guard ourselves

because there is condemnation.

There is death

if we continue in sin.

But what of hope then?

Where does hope come

in the midst of these woes?

Well, that's the nugget

that we see in verse 14.

And that's the wonder

of God to us,

as his people.

For the earth will be filled

with the knowledge

of the glory of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

In all that is wrong

in the world,

we are reminded here

that God's great purpose

is to make his glory known

throughout the whole of creation.

And we have to see this verse

not just as one stand-alone verse here,

but a confirmation

of God's redemptive work

throughout the Scriptures.

because it's not the only place

we read these words

or words very similar to it.

Numbers 14, verse 21.

Numbers 14:21

But truly, as I live,

and as all the earth

shall be filled

with the glory of the Lord.

God speaking there

to his people.

Again, there's the people

in Moses' day

who were in the wilderness

and they were grumbling

against God.

They were moaning at him

for taking them

out of Egypt

and into this wilderness

where they saw it

in their own eyes

as suffering,

almost like Habakkuk's cry,

How long are we going

to be here, Lord?

But God is reminding them,

I've got a purpose.

I am taking you

to a better place.

I am leading you

along the way.

And he gives them

this assurance

as the earth shall be filled

with the glory of the Lord.

And then later on

in Isaiah,

Isaiah 11,

Isaiah 11:1

verse 1 and 2,

there it says,

There shall come forth

a shoot from the stump

of Jesse,

and a branch from whose root

shall bear fruit,

and the Spirit of the Lord

shall rest upon him,

the Spirit of wisdom

and understanding.

And then later in verse 9,

it says,

They shall not hurt

or destroy

in all my holy mountain,

for the earth

shall be full

of the knowledge

of the Lord

as the waters

cover the sea.

So again,

Isaiah is speaking there

of the wonder of this,

the wonder of God

and his glory.

And who is Isaiah

speaking about there

in verse 1 and 2?

There shall come forth

a shoot from the stump

of Jesse.

He is speaking about

the Messiah,

the Lord Jesus,

who is coming

into this world.

The only way

our condemnation

could be dealt with

was for him

to take it for us.

As the hymn writer says,

In man of sorrows,

bearing shame

and scoffing rude,

in my place

condemned,

he stood,

sealed my pardon

with his blood.

Hallelujah!

What a Savior!

So there is woe,

there is death,

there is condemnation,

but then the glory

of the Lord

that will fill the earth

is Christ himself.

in my place

condemned,

he stood.

And the earth

will be filled

with the knowledge

of the glory

of the Lord.

Isn't it a marvelous

thought that

when you think of

just what that means

for us,

Psalm 19 says,

The heavens declare

the glory of God.

But there is so much more.

The glory of God

is so linked

with the presence

of God.

And God's sending

his word out

across the lands,

across the world,

that it might bring

healing to nations.

And the wonder

of how God did it.

As Jesus himself

came into this world

in John 1, 14,

what does it say there?

The word became flesh

and dwelt among us,

and we have seen

his glory.

Glory as the only son

from the Father,

full of grace

and truth.

We have seen

his glory.

The glory of God

filling

the world

with the knowledge

of God.

And Habakkuk

was given a message

for his people

in those days,

and it's the same

in our ministry

today as well,

to make the glory

of God known

to the people

around us.

To know it ourselves

first and foremost.

And his word

gives us

this confirmation.

That the glory

of the Lord

will fill

this world

as the waters

cover the sea.

There's a depth

and a breadth

to it.

The knowledge

of the glory

of the Lord.

We don't know

but just a taste

of it just now.

but God

is filling

the world

with more

and more

of it.

It's amazing

when you think

of this image

of just the whole

world

being filled

with the glory

of God.

I was over

on the west side

on Thursday evening

and as I was

going over the mirror

you could see

that there was

a thick mist,

a thick fog

on the west side.

You could see it

and then all of a sudden

you're coming into it.

And I was over there

for a time outside

and there was no

getting away from it.

It just surrounds you.

It's all around you.

And you can almost see it

just rising on the ground

and off the lochs.

And you think just

of that image

in a sense

of the whole world

being filled

with the glory,

the knowledge

of the glory of God.

The Spirit of God

moving

throughout this world.

The Spirit of God

bringing life

to people

who are dead

in a way

that we're surrounded

by this glory.

There's no getting away

from this glory.

Romans,

as Paul writes

and he speaks

of being left

without excuse

because the glory

of God

is seen

all around us.

No hiding place.

It's awesome

to behold that.

That God

is speaking

to us.

As we are dead

in our trespasses

and sins

that we might be alive.

How blessed

Habakkuk was

to have these nuggets

of gold

in the midst

of everything going on.

And how blessed

we are

that there is

God's mysterious ways

that we are to live

by faith

and that there is hope

that the earth

will be filled

with the knowledge

of the glory

of the Lord.

Again,

Paul writing

to the Corinthians

says this,

For God who said,

Let light shine

out of darkness

has shone

in our hearts

to give the light

of the knowledge

of the glory

of God

in the face

of Jesus Christ.

He has made

his glory known

to us

in the face

of Jesus Christ.

What a precious

Savior we have.

John Newton

in his old age

he loved his Savior

and he loved

to preach

about his Savior.

And he was

old and frail

and going blind

but he still

loved to preach.

But he had an assistant

who would come up

with him

to support him

and to help him.

And as he was

preaching

one Lord's Day

he said

to the congregation

Jesus Christ

is precious.

And then he

repeated it again

Jesus Christ

is precious.

And the man

who was with him

supporting him

he said

you've already

said that

thinking he was

just losing

his way.

And he said

yes

I've said it twice

and I'm going

to say it again

and he lifted

up his voice

and bellowed out

as loud as he could

Jesus Christ

is precious.

That is the knowledge

of the glory

of God

that Jesus Christ

is precious.

And is he precious

to you?

You when you realize

that your obituary

is here before you.

You when you think

you are dead

in your trespasses

and sins

but by the grace

of God

you can be made

alive.

And isn't there

comfort

in that?

When we think

of the confirmation

that Habakkuk

has in the midst

of all of the woes

that there is

this confirmation

that the earth

will be filled

with the knowledge

of the glory

of God.

Habakkuk

writes

with challenges

to the people

but these nuggets

they give comfort.

When you think

of sorrow

and sadness

when you think

of these woes

what better blessing

than to know

the great comfort

and comforter

that is God

and his word.

and when we think

of what his word

says

when we think

of the condemnation

that we are under

ourselves

because of sin

what does the glory

of God

mean for us?

I want to finish

with these words

of Romans 8.

What does it say

in verse 1?

There is therefore

now

no condemnation

for those

who are in

Christ Jesus.

There is no

condemnation

when you are

in Christ Jesus.

The woe

has been dealt

with

because in my

place

condemned

he stood.

And what does

Romans 8

go on

to conclude

with?

From verse 35

it says

who shall

separate us

from the love

of Christ?

Shall

tribulation

or distress

or persecution

or famine

or nakedness

or danger

or sword?

All of these

things that we see

in the woes

of this passage

as it is written

for your sake

we are being

killed

all the day

long.

We are regarded

as sheep

to be slaughtered.

No

in all

these things

we are more

than conquerors

through him

who loved us.

For I am sure

that neither

death

nor life

nor angels

nor rulers

nor things

present

nor things

to come

nor powers

nor height

nor depth

nor anything

else in all

creation

will be able

to separate us

from the love

of God

in Christ

Jesus

our Lord.

Nothing

can separate

us

when we know

that there is

no condemnation

when we are

in Christ

Jesus.

Christ

Jesus

is a

fulfillment

of this

verse.

The earth

will be filled

with the knowledge

of the glory

of the Lord

as the waters

covered

the sea.

The glory

that has been

made known

in the face

of Jesus

Christ.

We have

these woes

these words

of death

really

to make us

see the wonder

and the beauty

of the gospel

to see the

darkness

of sin

and to see

the only way

out

is to know

the glory

of the Lord

and the glory

that is

Jesus Christ

a precious

Savior.

Do you

know

this

comfort?

Well come

and put

your trust

in him.

Be in

Christ

Jesus

because then

there is

no

condemnation.

Let us

pray.

Our

Father in

heaven

we do

praise you

for your

wonders

of your

grace

and the

wonder

of your

word

and your

glory

that goes

throughout

the world

and we

pray

Lord

to know

more

of it

that we

will

see

your

glory

and

know

the

wonder

of

salvation

through

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and faith

in him.

We ask it

Lord

confessing

our sins

before you

that we

might not

be condemned

but know

the wonder

of no

condemnation

for those

who are

in Christ

Jesus

as we

ask it

in his

name.

Amen.

We'll

conclude by

singing

to God's

praise in

Psalm 57

Psalm 57

from

verse 9

down

to the

end.

Among

the

nations

Lord

to you

I will

give

praise

among

the

peoples

of

the

earth

my

songs

of

you

I'll

raise

great

is

your

steadfast

love

which

reaches

to

the

sky

your

constant

faith

on

S.O.

Lord

extends

to

heaven

high

above

the

highest

heaven

so

God

exalted

be

and

over

all

the

earth

below

display

your

majesty.

We'll

sing

these

three

stanzas

to

God's

praise.

Among

the

nations

Lord

to

you

I

will

give

praise

among

the

peoples

of

the

earth

my

songs

of

you

I

raise

great

is

your

steadfast

love

which

reaches

to

the

sky

your

constant

love

and

faithfulness

and

faithfulness

O

Lord

extends

to

heaven

high

above

the

highest

hands

O

God

exalted

thee

and

over

the

earth

may

know

display

your

majesty

after

the

benediction

i'll go to the main door

we'll close with the benediction

now may grace mercy and peace from God father son and Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore

amen