Out for Our Salvation

“A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet…

“O Lord, I have 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.
God came from Teman…
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 went pestilence,
    and plague followed at his heels.
He stood and measured the earth;
    he looked and shook the nations…
    His were the everlasting ways…
Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?..
The mountains saw you and writhed…
The sun and moon stood still in their place
    at the light of your arrows as they sped,
    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…
You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors…
You trampled the sea with your horses,
    the surging of mighty waters…

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 deer’s;
    he makes me tread on my high places.” Habakkuk 3:1-6,8,10-19

The prophet’s consternation over the Lord’s punishment and justice resolves in his realization that He went out to indescribable ends for the salvation of His people. Habakkuk describes the varied extent of His wrath, mercy, power, and love in the conquest of His own over history and in ways beyond his comprehension. His resolution is one of absolute trust in this great and purposeful God who will indeed complete His every good intent.

In present observation, even experience, of injustice and cruelty, it is easy to be confused at God’s wider ways, or even that He has control. In the shaking nations as well as personal circumstances, we rejoice in great deliverances, then chafe in plagues sorrow, doubt, disbelief. We experience deep mercy, then suffer deserved, harsh consequences. What might come next, what is He doing, and where do I fix my trust?

Hushing the soul at Christmastime refocuses our perspective to the eternal and real. God sent Jesus out of glory to earth for our salvation. How do I respond to His divine, benevolent effort? Have I ever taken in and wondered at the extent of His reach for me, and the depth of His suffering for me? Have I grown indifferent to His unending love? Has the maelstrom of the world drowned out the music and call of my salvation?

“He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love.” ~Isaac Watts (1719)

Lord, no matter what, help me trust Your ongoing work, pray with sure hope, and rejoice in You, my strength and salvation, to Your glory.