In Wrath Remember Mercy!
"A
prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. O
LORD, I have heard Thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive Thy
work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known;
in wrath remember mercy."
-HABAKKUK 3:1-2 [KJV]
As
we can see, these words from the prophet Habakkuk are a prayer. They
are the cry of a man whose heart has been moved by the Holy Spirit.
What has the Holy Spirit used to produce this prayer? It was the word
of the Lord. He says, "I have heard Thy speech."
God spoke His word of truth to him in power. He was enabled by
grace to hear, believe and understand things concerning both of
himself and his nation.
This
prayer is the cry of his heart which is now filled holy fear, the
"fear of the Lord" that is "the
beginning of wisdom." What does he pray for? "REVIVE
THY WORK." Such a statement presupposes life! You cannot
revive what has never been alive. This is the prayer of quickened
believers in every age whether it be for themselves or those around
them. Judgment and mercy must both be acknowledged as God's "work."
The Life-giver must be the Life-sustainer! The Church as individual
believers or the whole is prone to fall into a death sleep but for
the life-giving Christ who is Himself the Life.
Sin
which brings forth death brings with it judgment and God's wrath.
Seeing our sin and the sin of the world around us and having heard
God's word, we pray "in wrath remember mercy"!
Mercy is the kind treatment of those who have acted as enemies to
God. Knowing God’s holy and just character, we know judgment must
come upon this world. But we also know that God has purposed to save
a people through the sufferings and death of the crucified Christ.
Judgment is sure to come upon our world but salvation has come also.
The glory of the gospel of God’s grace is that His judgment for the
sins of all in Christ has already fallen on Christ. It is satisfied
by His death.
And
what does Habakkuk’s prayer do but acknowledge God as He describes
Himself in Isaiah 45:21, “a just God and a Saviour.”
God, we beg, cause this saving mercy to be ours in your righteous
Son! We rejoice in the midst of judgment all around us that “Mercy
and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each
other.” Where? In the cross death of Christ! Lord, in the
midst of these years, remember mercy and remind us that Your mercy is
in Christ!
-Gospel report by preacher Gary Shepard
Sovereign
Grace Baptist church of Jacksonville, North Carolina USA
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