January 25, 2026: Yet I Will Rejoice in the LORD - Habakkuk 3:1-19

Greetings UCC Pastor Matt here, missed worshipping with all of

you on Sunday, but we thought it would be beneficial to try and

share from Habakkuk 3 since we missed our final study in our

series. Oh Lord, how long discussing

Habakkuk's journey of faith. And so I thought that I would

try to record for you a brief message, a Bible study of our

passage today. So grab your Bible, grab a

favorite beverage of choice, and just join me for the next 30

minutes or so as we take a look at our third and final message

in Habakkuk. Our theme today is that when we

go through suffering, we must remember to petition God with

our requests, praise God for his might and mercy, and pledge to

God our faithfulness. Let's pray as we get started

together today. God, we thank you so much for

your word. We thank you for Habakkuk, We

thank you for this beautiful study through a beautiful book.

God, we pray that as we go through trials and difficulties

and struggles, as we feel anger and fear and despair, God, I

pray that we would like Habakkuk cry to you.

I pray that you would grow our faith like you did with Habakkuk

so that when we come to the end we can say yet I will rejoice in

the Lord. Please be with us during this

time. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.

Go ahead and turn to Habakkuk chapter 3.

Habakkuk 3 · chapter mention

Just a reminder about where we've been the last couple of

weeks. Week one we looked at Habakkuk's

first complaint and God's first response.

Habakkuk looked around Judah and noticed all of the evil and

violence that was going on. And so he cries out day after

day to God to intervene, to punish evil, to do what is good

and right, and to judge rightly. God responds and and informs

Sabakic that he in fact is going to do just that and that he is

raising up Babylon, the Chaldeans, in order to judge his

people. In Judah Week 2, we looked at

Habakkuk's second complaint where he cries out and says,

God, how could you possibly do this?

How can you use a people who are more wicked to judge your own

people? Surely this cannot be.

And God says, do not worry Habakkuk, everything comes in my

time and I will eventually judge Babylon.

I've not overlooked their wickedness, and they will be

judged accordingly as well. And that brings us now to Week 3

as we look at today, a prayer of Habakkuk, a prayer that

eventually was put to music. This song that Habakkuk writes

is going to demonstrate to us that his faith has grown during

this journey from where he was in chapter 1 to now where he is

now, that he has wrestled with God and resolved to stay

faithful and to trust in God's plan and God's timing.

By way of introduction, let's look at Habakkuk chapter 3 verse

Habakkuk 3 · chapter mention

one together. It says a prayer of Habakkuk the

prophet according to Shagayanath.

So as I mentioned a moment ago, this is a prayer that was

evidently turned to music. As Shagayanath is a musical

term, this word is only used in one other place, in the

singular. In Psalm 7, the word shagayan is

used to describe the tune that's there.

As I mentioned, this is some sort of musical term, although

we don't know exactly what it means.

It may be from Shaga, which is often translated to real or

highlights a deep emotion. And so this term may well

suggest that the song that follows here is one that is

filled with various emotions that are felt very deeply.

And so we really do get a window into Habakkuk's heart, exactly

how he's been wrestling with God, and some of the conclusions

that he's come to. Next, let's look at Habakkuk's

prayer, and we're going to do so in three sections.

First, we're going to look at Habakkuk's petition.

What is it that he asks of God? The second section, we'll look

at Habakkuk's praise as he worships the Lord for his power,

for His Majesty, for his might. And then third, we will look at

Habakkuk's pledge as he resolves to walk faithfully to the Lord

to rejoice in the beautiful plan that God is unfolding.

So again, Habakkuk's petition, praise and pledge.

Let's look first at Habakkuk's petition in verse 2.

It's a threefold petition. Let's read it together.

O Lord, I've heard the report of you and your work.

O Lord, do I fear? In the midst of the years revive

it. In the midst of the years, make

it known in wrath, Remember mercy.

Before his threefold petition notice, Habakkuk says.

I've heard the report of you and your work.

O Lord, do I fear? If you recall, he said he was

going to stand as a watchman and wait to hear from the Lord.

And then he did hear from the Lord, and the Lord responded

with what his plan was for the Kingdom of Babylon, that he

pronounced woes on them, that he was going to judge them.

And so Habakkuk has sincerely listened.

It's a good reminder to us that when we cry out to the Lord that

we actually listen when we say we're going to wait and trust

and wait to see or to hear from the Lord that we actually take

the opportunity to do that. And so Habakkuk has heard the

report and his plan is one that he fears, he respects, he stands

in awe of. And so in light of what God has

revealed, Habakkuk then makes a three fold petition.

He says in the midst of the years, revive it.

In the midst of the years, make it known in wrath.

Remember mercy first, he says, in the midst of the years.

He says that phrase twice. In the midst of the year seems

to be the time between God judging Judah and then God

judging Babylon. In other words, he is

considering those years when Judah is going to be in

captivity. And so in light of that, he

says, revive it, stir it up. He wants God to hasten to be

quick to judge Babylon. He is eager for Judah to come

out the other side, to be relieved from the captivity that

they're suffering, and to be set free from Babylonian rule.

And so he's asking God to shorten that time, to hasten to

be quick to judge Babylon. Secondly, in the midst of this

time period, he doesn't want God's people to forget God's

plan. He wants God to make it known.

This is something that God said in chapter 2 that he told

Habakkuk. Write it down.

Habakkuk himself is one of the ways that God is making His

plans known. He obviously uses the other

prophets as well to make sure that his people know, here is

what I'm doing in your day. And so he wants God to continue

to make His plan known. And then third, a very powerful

statement in wrath. Remember mercy?

I've been thinking about this line quite a bit this week.

What a prayer to cry to God, right?

Even in the midst of righteous judgment, Habakkuk still asks

for mercy. God's judgment of Babylon is in

fact an act of mercy for Israel. It will benefit them.

But ultimately Habakkuk knows that God does practice mercy in

judgment. Praise God for that.

All the way back in Genesis 3, as God is judging the serpent

and Adam and Eve for their sins, he still remembers mercy.

He promises salvation, that the seed of the woman is going to

crush the serpent's head. Think when God destroys the

earth with a flood, yet He preserves.

He has mercy upon Noah and his family and preserves them.

Praise God for a remnant of His people.

We see this throughout the prophets, that although judgment

is coming, God is going to preserve them.

He is going to still enable them to experience His blessing, to

experience His mercy that they would survive, that they would

be able to return someday. Ultimately, praise God that He

doesn't leave us in our trespasses and sins, that He has

chosen to show mercy. And ultimately, he does this

through the gift of his Son, through the salvation that's

offered in Jesus Christ. And so even in the midst of

God's holy wrath, we still see God desire the righteous to live

by faith, to trust Him so that they can experience his mercy

and grace. And that is a beautiful thing.

So that is his petition. Let's move next on to Habakkuk's

praise. Habakkuk's praise is by far the

longest section of this prayer. And I think that right off the

bat, that should clue us into the importance of praise when we

go to the Lord. Is it all?

God do this, God do that, God help me with this, help me with

that, Heal this, heal that. Or do we spend the majority of

the time, as I think we should, offering praise and honor and

worship to God as we communicate to Him?

Do we approach His throne with respect and humility, or do we

go making our demands? And so I think it is significant

that Habakkuk spends most of this prayer in worship to the

Lord. This section that we're going to

look at this praise in verses 3 through 15, We're going to look

at in two sections. First, Habakkuk describes God's

splendor in verses 3 through 7, and then God's incredible power

and judgment in verses 8 through 15.

So let's read verses 3 through 7 together and look at God's

splendor, His glory, His Majesty.

Habakkuk 3 Three. God came from tea man and the

Holy One from Mount Puran, Saila.

His splendor 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.

When pestilence and plague followed at his heels.

He stood and measured the earth. He looked and shook the nations.

Then the eternal mountains were scattered.

The everlasting hills sank low. His were the everlasting ways.

I saw the tents of cushion in affliction.

The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble as we work

through this description of God's splendor.

Just a couple of things to note at the outset.

First, he is comparing through these verses God to the sun, the

actual sun. We'll talk about that more in a

minute. But he also threw out this these

verses is making a reference to Mount Sinai where God made

Israel a nation and gave them laws for them to follow.

And so we'll notice that that Habakkuk is really looking back

to remember a time in his people's history where God

showed up in a very glorious and powerful way.

The other thing I want to mention at the before we dive in

specifically to these thoughts and insights from these verses

from Habakkuk is the word sayla. We see that a couple of times in

this section. This is a musical term.

It means to raise up. It's commonly thought that this

word denotes some sort of change in the actual music.

Think of things like key changes or crescendo, a change in volume

or a change in tempo. We don't know exactly, but it

seems to be that when you come to this moment, this sailor to

raise up that there is a a building in the music, some kind

of musical interlude that then transitions you into the next

section of the song. So let's look specifically

notice in verse 3 says God came from T man and the holy one from

Mount Poran. Mount Poran is the mountain

range, if you will, where Mount Sinai is located and think about

as the nation of Israel. We're leaving Egypt.

To which direction were they going?

Were they traveling to get to team on, to get to Mount Proran?

They were going east. And so this first verse evokes

this imagery of this sunrise as the Israelites coming out of

Egypt are moving to the east. They see the sun coming up and

they see the glory of the sun fill the whole sky.

And so we see here references of light, that God's splendor

covers the heavens, that his brightness was like the light,

that rays flashed from his hand. And so we see this comparison.

The glory of the sun in its majesty is a reflection of God's

own glory in majesty. And we see throughout Scripture

the importance of light. Don't we think of John's Gospel

especially John writes a lot about light.

And John 812 Jesus himself says, I am the light of the world,

that God with his powerful light reveals sin, reveals evil, and

his glory reaches to dispel the darkness.

And so we see His Majesty and power on full display.

We also see pestilence and plague following at his heels.

Again, sort of an idea, an expression of coming out of

Egypt. That's how he offered

deliverance to bring them to Mount Sinai, to bring them to a

place where he stood on his holy mountain.

And so we see references to the sun to light.

We see that God looks at the whole earth and it trembles, it

shakes because of His might, because of His Majesty.

And we also see mentioned here notice in verse 7 the tents of

cushion in the land of Midian. When Moses flees from Pharaoh,

he heads to the east. And actually his wife, the high

priest daughter Zipporah, is mentioned as being both a

Cushite and a Midianite, that again, these areas were around

Mount Sinai. It is actually during this time

that Moses first goes to Mount Sinai and has the burning Bush

encounter with God. And so this mount, this Sinai is

a demonstration, A brief one of God's power, his might, His

Majesty. And we actually see a

description in Deuteronomy 33 that Moses gives to to give

insight into this event here at Sinai.

The second part of Habakkuk's praise speaks to God's power in

judging the nation's. Let's read verses 8 through 15

together. Was your wrath against the

rivers, O Lord? Was your anger against the

rivers or your indignation against the sea when you rode on

your horses? On your chariot of salvation?

You stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many

arrows. Sailor, you split the earth with

rivers. The mountains saw you and

writhed. The raging water swept on.

The deep gave forth its voice. It lifted its hands on high.

The sun and moon stood still in their place at the light of your

arrows, as they speed at the flash of your glittering spear,

you marched through the earth. In fury you threshed the

nations. In anger you went out for the

salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed.

You crushed the head of the House of the wicked, laying him

bare from thigh to neck. Sailor you pierced with his own

arrows the heads of his warriors, who came like a

whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the

poor. In secret you trampled the sea

with your horses, the surging of mighty waters.

God has shown in these verses to be the victor over all the

nations. And you notice the the fear and

the the devastation that we see that none can stand against the

powerful night of God, that this is very real.

But did you notice in verse 8, verse 13, why God does this?

He does this for the salvation of His people.

Ultimately, Christ is coming back.

He is going to judge the living and the dead, all peoples, but

He leads those who would follow Him ultimately to salvation and

to victory. Woe to those who do not live by

faith, but to the righteous who do live by faith.

For those who trust in the Lord, God goes out for the salvation

of His people. This battle scene describes

God's judgment of Babylon in its context, but I think it also

does a great job of pointing us ahead to the victorious coming

of our Savior Jesus Christ. Let me read Revelation 19 verses

Revelation 19:11–16

11 through 16 for us. Then I saw heaven opened, and

behold a White Horse. The one sitting on it is called

faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and

makes war. His eyes are like a flame of

fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name

written that no one knows but himself.

He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which

he is called is the Word of God. And the armies of Heaven,

arrayed in Fineland, in white and pure, were following him on

white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp

sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule

them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of

the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

On his robe and on his thigh. He has a name written, King of

Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus has the victory.

He purchased it in His blood. He is the conquering King.

He is faithful, He is true, He is righteous, and He is coming

for the salvation of His people. He will make all things right.

I know this world is in chaos. I understand that things are so

difficult for so many of us, for everyone around the world.

But look to Jesus. He is our hope.

He is our salvation. And so we see Habakkuk's

petition in wrath. Remember mercy.

We see Habakkuk's praise that God is full of glory and

splendor like the Son, that He is all powerful, and in His

judgment of the nations He also secures the salvation of His

people. And that leads us then into

Habakk's pledge. Habakkuk resolves to trust, to

rejoice, and to follow the Lord. Let's look Everses 16 through 19

together. I hear my body trembles, my lips

quiver at the sound, rottenness enters into my bones, my legs

tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the

day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.

Though the fig tree should 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 take joy in the God of my

salvation. God the Lord is my strength.

He makes my feet like the deers. He makes me tread on my high

places to the choirmaster with stringed instruments.

Habakkuk closes with this pledge.

Because of who God is. Because God is going to judge

the wicked, He is going to save the righteous.

Habakkuk pledges to trust in the Lord.

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. Habakkuk acknowledges his own

trembling at the thought of the coming judgment.

This inevitability can be scary. It can be fearful.

Yet Habakkuk resolves to quietly wait for the day of trouble for

those who are in opposition to God.

Habakkuk recognizes that vengeance is the Lord's, not his

own. Habakkuk also recognizes that

things are probably going to get worse before they get better.

What an important truth for us to remember.

The night is darkest before the dawn.

We understand that in our world there are dark days ahead as we

wait for our triumphant Saviour to return.

He acknowledges that things may be lean, fruit may not grow,

herds may shrink, fields may yield no food.

Yet in spite of that, he will rejoice in the Lord.

Why? Because the Lord is the God of

His salvation. God is the only one with power

to make everything right. He is the only one with the

power to bless and to provide abundance.

He is my strength that allows me to bear up when I feel like

giving up. Wait on the Lord, Notice how far

Habakkuk has come. Look back at chapter one verse 2

where he says, O Lord, how long? How long will you let wickedness

go unpunished? Do something, relieve this

suffering, this agony. Yet here he is at the end.

Even if things are falling apart yet I will rejoice in the Lord.

He resolves to live by faith. Habakkuk goes from being

desperate and fearful to pursuing the Lord.

And ultimately, God makes his feet like the deers and makes

him tread on his high places. As we close with some

applications, it follows our outline for today.

First, petition, bring your requests to God.

Do not grow weary and crying out to God in the midst of sorrow,

in the midst of trouble. Continue to petition.

Continue to offer your everything to the Lord.

Bring your fears, your angers, your despairs.

Bring them to and make your requests known to Him, but don't

forget to praise. Remember to whom we petition is

not some genie, is the God of the universe who is worthy of

all of our worship. Remember to praise Him for His

mighty majesty. Remember to praise Him for all

that He's done for you and for me.

Remember to praise Him for His mighty salvation that is in

Jesus. Praise the Lord, Look back and

praise Him for what He's done in the past.

Look forward and praise Him for what He's going to do in the

future. By praising Him, we focus on Him

instead of our current circumstances.

Praise and then finally pledge. Will you, like Habakkuk, resolve

to live by faith? Will you resolve to rejoice in

the Lord, the God of your salvation?

Will you take joy in the Lord? Will it be your strength through

unimaginable pain and suffering? You can do it.

You can stand up against all of the chaos and the darkness that

this world has because we have our Savior Jesus.

What a privilege it is to be able to be a child of God, to

withstand all of the darkness that this world has to offer.

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will take joy in the God of my

salvation. Let's pray together.

Lord, You are so good to us. We thank you so much.

You truly are all powerful. We ask that in judgment you

would remember mercy. We thank you that you so

graciously loved us so much that you sent your Son to save us

from our sins. We are so thankful for that and

God we pray as we go through life, as we witness or or maybe

experience for ourselves atrocities and horrible

wickedness. God, I pray that the joy of you

would be our strength, that we would rejoice in the God of our

salvation. Please help us.

We pray in Jesus name, Amen. God bless.