Habakkuk's prophecy culminates in a powerful psalm of faith, acknowledging God's awesome power and wrath against the nations, yet also His mercy and salvation for His people. The sermon details God's majestic and terrifying judgment upon the earth, symbolized by rivers, seas, and mountains, drawing parallels to Psalm 2 and Zechariah 14. Despite the impending destruction and personal fear, the prophet ultimately finds his strength and joy in the Lord, even when material blessings fail, highlighting the assurance of God's faithfulness and the coming of the Messiah as the ultimate solution and rest.
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The last chapter in the book of Abakab, which is chapter three. And we would like to read from the scripture beginning, if I may, at verse eight, when we have, as we notice in the past study of a week ago, the manifestation of the great coming of our beloved and blessed Lord, coming in power, coming in glory, as he will return to the earth. And that glory, as we have read in verse three of this chapter, we noted it declared his glory shall cover the heavens and the earth will be filled with his praise we cannot but rejoin the knowledge the Lord Jesus is coming back to the earth again and the earth never needed the coming of the Lord more than it does today and I'm sure the hearts of many believers are saying even so come Lord Jesus but in that description which the Spirit of God gives to Abakath, regarding the brightness and the glory of his coming, we find in verse six these words, and we'll read to the end of the chapter.
He stood and measured the earth. He beheld and drove asunder the nations. And the everlasting mountains were scattered. The perpetual hills devour. His ways are everlasting. I saw the tents of Kushan or Ethiopia. in affliction, and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? Was thine anger against the rivers? Was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation? Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word, Selah.
Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. The mountains saw thee, and they trembled. The overflowing of the water passed by. The deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high. The sun and moon stood still in their habitation. At the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear. Thou didst march through the land in indignation. Thou didst thresh the heathen, or the nations in anger. Thou wentest thought for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed. Thou woundest the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck.
Selah. Thou didst strike through with its stains, the head of its villages. They came out as a whirlwind to scatter me. Their rejoicing was asked to devour the poor secretly. Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses. through the heap of great waters. When I heard my belly trembled, my lips quivered at the voice, Rotten ascended into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble. When he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops. Although the thick tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vine, The labor of the olive shall fail, and the field shall yield no meat.
The flock shall be cut up from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like high feet. He will make me to walk upon mine high places, to the chief singer on my stringed instrument. May God add his blessing to the reading of the precious portion of his word today. If you will look upon your lesson sheet, which is page number five, and under the paragraph, the letter E, we will continue beginning at verse eight to recognize from verse eight the prophet is addressing God.
And may I repeat what we have stated previously? so that we shall ever remember the distinction of this prophecy of Abaka. Tis chiefly a dialogue between the prophet and God and God and the prophet. Many, if not most, of the prophecies, they are constantly being addressed, not merely to God on occasion, but particularly to the people of God, to Israel. For may I remind you, The reason that God raised up prophets in Israel was because of their spiritual declension and their spiritual apostasy from Jehovah.
The ministry of the prophets would never have been necessary were it not for the fact the failure of the priesthood to teach the word of God to the people and lead them in their worship and in their service God would That priestly ministry had failed. And then also you find in the relation to the kings of Israel, some of them were good kings, many of them were not. And thus the priesthood, as well as the royal kingly families, were often responsible for the declension of spiritual conditions in the land of Israel. Then God raised up prophets seeking to bring them back to himself.
And most of them addressed many of their words to the nation itself. Not so in relation with Abaka. Abaka's burden is taken into the presence of God. And it's in the presence of God. He is thus given what God reveals to him concerning its purposes. Now we come to the last chapter where we find, as we have followed through the book, in chapter one we learned that he had a burden of faith. In chapter two, God gave him a vision of faith. Now we're in the midst of that which we can call a psalm or a prayer of faith, as he thus quotes these words that are very similar to a psalm of praise.
We repeat again, you have it on your lesson sheet, you find it in the reading, the word Selah, three times occurring, where inference is given to us, like the psalms of old, It is a time to pause and reflect upon what God has said or what the prophet has spoken through him. Now as we look at verse eight, look at your lesson sheet please. I'd like to repeat that paragraph which goes down in its reference to verse number thirteen. This is an address to God and the rivers and the seas and the mountains feel his wrath and in symbol representing the nations.
and gone in the person of his son, he's seen marching in anger through the earth and in his fury treading down the nation. Will you stop for just a moment and turn with me to Psalm chapter two? We have referred to that Psalm in preceding studies, but let me go back with you again to the second Psalm and recognize The reference in this Psalm in relation to the words that we have just read, and may I read those words of your paragraph? The Lord is seen marching in anger through the earth, and in his fury treading down the nations.
Psalm chapter two, verse eight and nine, where we find the voice of God the Son speaking, and saying, Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. May I pause with you to recognize, to take in, if possible, more than we really have done. The terrible... anger of the Lord when he smites the nations, and thus smites them with a rod of iron, and dashes them in pieces like a pastor's vessel.
Can I humbly say, the world is not yet seen, as it will do in a soon-coming day, the mighty wrath of God upon its sinful rest. But the day is coming, and no nation will be spared. Whether it be the nation of Israel, whether it be the nations of the Arabs around them, and the nations of the Gentiles all through the world, no nation will be spared that day of visitation and of the wrath of God. Let me read on in the paragraph that we began reading, and beginning with the word it is a majestic and awesome picture.
that the Spirit of God gives of that coming day of wrath and judgment. But also, while executing wrath and judgment upon the ungodly, He comes in mercy, going forth for the salvation of His people, the God-fearing remnant of Israel. Go down the chapter with me first, as we continue the study. I want you to note, let me read verse eight. We see the reference to the anger of the Lord. visiting even Ethiopia mentioned by name, Midian, the land of the Ambrose, and so on. And was the Lord displeased against the river? Thine anger against the rivers, thy wrath against the sea.
Thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation. May I suggest to you the spiritual significance. Now let me express it again. The spiritual significance when you read the word rivers and see. I don't know if you recall, but in the book of Revelation, and I believe particularly in chapter nine, relating to the trumpet judgment, you will find a reference to the rivers and the fountains of the earth and to the sea, and the visitation of God's judgment in that particular case. Now wherever you read it, the rivers and the sea.
they represent spiritually and figuratively that which the nations are being sustained by in nature and they cover the earth and the rivers that supply and productively produce what they need in the way of sustaining food and so on and the sea which is so typical of the nations of the earth in its spiritual significance God's going to be said please me I say let me give you this thought Linking it up with present day conditions. One of the greatest problems today is pollution. And as you may well know from the recent event of the past few days, the pollution of river, the pollution of water, the pollution of the seas.
Because of man, I was going to say ingenuity, but perhaps you could say his iniquity. And we recognize the pollution of these things. Poisoning. The very sources. Are blessing in life. Naturally speaking. And God's going to visit in judgment. One thing is sure. When the Lord comes in the visitation of his judgment in that day. There's going to be quite an upsetting of rivers. And an upsetting of mountains and hills. And I speak literally. Read on if you will please. We go in. And I want you to know something. at the end of verse eight.
Thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of what? Salvation. May I give you a thought? Now, when you read the word salvation, be careful. Recognize the connotation has a wide range of application. Salvation, the opposite to it, is danger, peril. And it is a white scope of meaning, any peril, any danger. And one can recognize not only the moral and the spiritual dangers, but the physical dangers, if you please. And constantly, in our present day, physical dangers are rising greater and greater to face the human race.
But when the Lord comes, as the prophet writes, He will come riding upon his horses and bringing with him chariots of salvation. Now they are chariots of judgment. They are horses that typify the judgment that he will need out. But may I say it's going to be for the salvation of the earth? The cancer of sin will have spread so greatly, completely, it will need a terrific surgical operation. And that operation is going to be the visitation of God's judgment when his son comes back to the earth. And may I say bluntly, no man, no matter who he is, or body of man, will ever be able to save the earth from its problems that it faces today.
The Lord Jesus alone can bring deliverance. And he will, not only as we know for the church which he shall take to himself, at the rapture, not only for Israel, as a nation under his glory to come, and the nations of the earth in their future blessing, according to his word. Please know, verse nine, thy bow is made quite naked. Thy bow, will you look with me, please, at Zechariah chapter ten. Zechariah chapter ten. I want you to note some words in Zechariah ten in verse four, which we may have mentioned in times past. But here is a statement where we have a title belonging to the Lord Jesus in chapter ten of Zechariah in verse four.
Out of him, that is, out of the house of Judah, as you can prove by the preceding verse, came forth the corner or the cornerstone, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow. Out of him, literally, it should be properly translated, Out of him, the absolute ruler or monarch. Four titles belonging to the Lord Jesus. Cornerstone, the nail, battle bow, and or, as it should be, the absolute monarch. Now, their titles belonging to him, but I just want to note one of them in reference to the words of the backup. Battle bow. Battle bow.
Battle bow. Look at chapter fourteen of Zechariah's lead. Let us link it. Together with verses one, two, and three. For this is a similar time that Habakkuk is writing on, When the Lord will fight against the nations, Behold the day of the Lord cometh, thy spoils shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle. And the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, the women ravished, and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut up from the city. Now, no. Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle?
And please may I state, the Lord himself will do the battling, the fighting on the behalf of his people, and his fighting will be completely justified as well as complete in its destruction against the enemies. Please note verse nine of our chapter in Abaka. Please note. The Bible was made quite naked. In other words, may I suggest, the Lord has never fought for Israel as a nation throughout the church age. Oh yes, we will confess providentially.
He certainly has intervened providentially. But he has never took up the battle bow to fight for them. And the reason is very obvious, lately particularly, they've been doing their own things. And they've done pretty good job in many places. But the day is coming when they'll find he alone can fight the battle and win the victory for them. And the godly remnant will learn that. According to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. And then you read what follows, very typically, of what the Lord does in connection with the rivers and the seas and the mountains.
The whole earth. Thou discreet the earth with rivers. The mountains saw thee they tremble. The overflowing of the water passed by. The deep out of his voice. Lifted up his hands on high. The sun and the moon stood still in their habitation. And at the light of thine arrows they went. and at the shining of thy glittering spear. All of it is one of the most figurative and great descriptions of the Lord going forth to battle against the nations of the world in that day. Remember our prophecy in Joel? Recall in chapter three, God declared he had a controversy with the nations. He would bring them together, and as we read in Zechariah fourteen, he would gather them around Jerusalem at the final end.
And he will go forth and battle against the enemies of Israel and the enemies of the Lord. And one might we say, verse twelve as you have it, thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst crush the heathen, or the nations in anger. But know something upon your paragraph on your lesson sheet which we read, which we want to refer in verse thirteen to. Also, while executing wrath and judgment upon the ungodly, he comes in mercy, going forth for the salvation of his people, the God-fearing remnant of Israel. Verse thirteen, Thou wentest forth for the salvation or the deliverance of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed.
And here we can recognize, well, you go back in the chapter, please. Look at the prayer of the prophet in verse two. As he lifts his prayer of praise and worship, O Lord, I've heard thy speech and I was afraid, O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, and in the midst of the years make known. And note particularly those next four words, in wrath, remember mercy. In wrath, remember mercy. And though Israel is a nation, and the godly remnant that may be in that will be in that day, are experiencing the shaking of the foundations of the earth, God's going to remember them in mercy.
We can go to Psalm forty-six. Psalm chapter forty-six. You have a similar expression in the forty-six Psalms. Just the opening words of the Psalm I would like to read. For this Psalm predicts that same time of great tribulation and the problems and the uproar. And let me please read from verse one, two, three only. God is our refuge and strength of every present out in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, and though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, sea-like.
Now let me give you another figurative interpretation. Wherever you read, we mentioned that you have it here, you've got rivers and you've got the sea and you've got mountains. Wherever you read of mountains, they are so typical of established governments. And may I point out from the reading of those words, when the Lord Jesus comes to the earth in power and glory and fights in battle against the nations, He's going to upset every one of them. Nations are going to be overthrown. Please, can I say, I do it lovingly. The government of the United States will not be a world power when he comes.
Neither will Russia. Name any country. The nations, the Gentile nations are going to be overthrown. The mountains are going to be as it were cast into the sea and into the great day of trouble and convulsion that the world is going to experience. Can I think with you with the words of the Lord Jesus? In Matthew twenty-four, except those days should be short and unlimited, no flesh should be saved. Matthew twenty-four, twenty-one. Beloved, what a day. And the prophet visualizes in his vision before God the doing of all this.
And at the end of verse thirteen, he speaks of God, the Lord wounding the head out of the house of the wicked, and discovering the foundation of the wicked even unto the neck, revealing the ungodliness and the wickedness of the nation. Let me read the paragraph through, please. And you please note at the end the last sentence in your paragraph on the letter E. At the same time, he destroys the ungodly head of the wicked, that man of sin. The one who heads up all apostasy and evil opposition against God. And then follows another sealer. Oh, beloved, what a day it's coming.
And yet, thank God, shall we not indeed rejoice? We shall... be caught up to meet him in the air and not be found in going through the experience of those awful days what a treasure it is to realize the church will not go through the great tribulation and our precious to know your salvation in mind is already assured and our deliverance Let me quote the words of Revelation three ten, that blessed promise the Lord gave to the church of Philadelphia, because thou hast kept my word and so on.
I will keep thee out of the day of trouble that is coming upon all the earth. Thank God he's going to take us out before it comes. And what a comfort. What a blessed consolation. We shall be gathered together to meet him in the air. But may I lovingly state, sad will be the portion, terrible will be the portion of those that elect. Whether they shall be, and we know there will be, for God will in wrath remember mercy, there will be those that will be saved during that period.
But what a time of suffering and danger and even death they will face. But the Lord will finish his work of judgment. Now as we come through verse, let me read if I may, verse fourteen as it goes on to go further relate the power of the Lord against the wicked. Thou did strike through with his slaves, the head of his villages. They came out as a whirlwind to scatter me. One can recognize the prophet is putting Israel in that place. where the nations of the world gather together to scatter Israel, and as a whirlwind to destroy them. And their rejoicing was to devour the poor secretly.
May I state lovingly, and I'm sure you've seen it from the scriptures and other prophecies which we have studied, the consummating power of the Gentile nations, and particularly when headed by the beast and the false prophet from Revelation thirteen. will be for the extermination of God's earthly people. And in their secret desire, please may I say, the secret desire of the nations, and particularly today the Arabic nations, is what? Destroy Israel. I'll tell you very frankly, there would not be so much trouble in the Middle East and trouble for even those who from other nations visit the Middle East If Israel was destroyed.
Because the desire of those Arabic nations is the destruction of Israel. And as time goes on we note from the prophecies of God's word. The desire of the nations will increase. Amongst them all. And let me quote the words of Jesus. Ye shall be hated of all nations. For my name. the days coming, when unitedly, and particularly under the man of sin, when he reigns as the despot and character that he will be in the leading of violence and all rebellion against God in that closing day, their desire will be to destroy.
Well, not only the remnant of Christianity in its profession, but even Judaism. in its profession now please know what the Lord the prophet goes on to say in verse fifteen as he consummates the judgment thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses the nations and through the heat of great waters our beloved Lord figuratively it's a glorious description of that coming day which God will manifest its wrath upon the world, and the great waters of judgment will roar.
Can I go with you to the twenty-ninth Psalm, please? Psalm twenty-nine, which in like manner coincides with what will take place. And let me please note with you the twenty-ninth Psalm, the twenty-ninth Psalm. I'd like to particularly, let me read verse three, and read verse four. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. The God of glory thundereth. The Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. Go down to verse ten for brevity's sake.
The Lord sitteth upon the flood. Yea, the Lord sitteth king forever. And I think of those words which we have read in verse three, I believe. The Lord of glory thundereth. May I state, literally, what thunder the symbol of judgment and power and destruction will come from the voice of the Lord when he utters his voice of wrath in that coming day? Now go back to our chapter in the back, and I want you to note the result with the prophet. In verse sixteen, the effect there. Fear and trembling takes hold of him.
When I heard it, my stomach trembled. He must have had a big stomachache and without question of doubt. But may I add this, what to God you and I would do a little trembling, to realize the awesome, terrible destruction that is coming upon the earth. When I heard my belly tremble and my lips quivered at the voice, rotten ascended into my bones and I trembled in myself. Now please let me say very frankly and emphatically the prophet entered into the experience in a very real and genuine way in his own being and he caused him to tremble.
You know you and I we're so accustomed to reading the word of God and reading of the things that are yet to come we don't do much trembling do we here he is representative of the nation of Israel so to speak which shall as a nation and a godly remnant particularly will have to go through that time of trouble and yet oh can I find rest in that day of trouble can I find rest In that day of trouble, my beloved, the only way they will find rest. Not all the Jews, but the godly Jews will.
The pious, the poor, and the oppressed. They'll find that rest in Jehovah. In him alone, will they find the rest that they need at such a time when the earth is in its convulsions of judgment. under the hand and the power of the Lord. And the prophet prays, oh, that I'll find rest in the day of trouble. Well, beloved, you and I go through days of trouble. Where do you find your rest? Where do I find my rest? Where can I only but in the Lord himself? I came to Jesus as I was, wrote the poet.
Weary one and sad. I found in him a resting place. He has made me glad. Rest. Beloved, it's only in the person of the Lord Jesus. And it will be only in the person of that coming Messiah. May I remind you of what we saw in chapter two. God gave the prophet a vision. And that vision was of the coming of the Son of man, the Messiah of Israel. And he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. And the rest of his heart, in the midst of all that trouble. May I say finally, I know this very, very carefully, and frequently today, more believers in the Lord Jesus that I meet, they are looking for the Lord to come.
and they're wanting him to come. Why? Conditions are getting so. Only the coming of the Lord can meet the needs of our weary, troubled hearts forever. Dear brother, I noticed the other day on the front of his car where the name plate, your numbered plate is often found, he had a name plate there I never saw before. The words were familiar. But on that nameplate, you know what he had? Perhaps today. And they told me every time they passed him on the street in the car, and they recognized each other, he'd see his fellow Christians, and he'd point up.
Perhaps today. Let's rest. Jesus may come today. Rest in the day of trouble. And surely we are finding more and more for our weary hearts and troubled minds. Let me give you the words right from the scripture. The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, for this reason?
comfort one another with these words. There's your rest. Jesus is coming again. And what joy to recognize the believer finds his and her rest. And so the prophet himself figuratively puts himself in the place of the nation of Israel, knowing that in such a time of trouble, where will they find the rest in the promise? He that shall come will come and will not tarry. The coming of the Messiah. And what joy to realize you.
But now let's go on. When he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his truth. Now let's look at the last section, which is the blessed consummation of all of this. Let me read verse seventeen, eighteen, right through to the end. And here you'll find the prop. Please note. You've got your paragraph mark, which is by inspiration divine. And it reveals in this particular portion the song of faith which the prophet sings. May I remind you, look at your lesson, please, first of all. The effect on the prophet, fear and trembling, takes hold of him. The awfulness of the great and terrible day of the Lord prostrates him, and he prays for rest in trouble.
Then, no, faith is triumphant. For faith rests on the vision of faith that the Lord had given him. The personal coming of the Lord, the perplexity that had overwhelmed him at the beginning, is now gone. Though all material blessings fail, he will trust God. The enemy may come in and destroy everything. But Abacchus says, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will join in the God of my salvation. The Lord God himself will be his strength. and sustaining power. And so will it be for the godly remnant of Israel at the coming of their Messiah. So should it be for you and for me today.
Faith is to triumph. Jesus is coming again. But please note the words in your Bible. They're so precious. Emphasize two words. Underscore them. Although. Yet. No matter what. Yet. And as he describes in verse seventeen. the conditions. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, there will be no fruit upon the grapevine, there will be no olive oil on the olive trees, it will fail, the field will not yield their produce, their food, the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there will be no cattle in the stock.
In other words, everything will be calmed. There's nothing, literally, physically, to sustain him. And he says even so. Well, I think of a story I once heard one, my dear friends, preacher friends tell, regarding a dear old saint that went, she had to walk from a place where she lived in the country to the nearby village in Scotland to get her food. And in that old country, many places, they had to walk across a little brook And usually you find, we used to find them in the countryside there. We had what they called stepping stones, you know, to step on, to cross over the brook. And as she came home from the store on one occasion, with her little basket loaded with some groceries that she had bought, spending all that she had at the time in her pocketbook.
And she slipped on one of those stones. And she, as she slipped, all her groceries went in the quick. And in the book they went, gone. for it and then despair she cried I've got nothing left but God Almighty well that's what the prophet means but he didn't use that same complaint though in that same spirit never mind although everything will be gone yet now know verse eighteen I will rejoice in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation oh beloved may I ask Or may I ask it of you and ask it of my own heart.
Where is your joy? Where is my joy? Where is your joy and my rejoicing? Where do you find that? Well, did the Apostle Paul write properly in Philippians chapter four? Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say unto you, rejoice. You rejoice. when everything may be gone I remember reading an incident very lovely one in the light of Hudson Taylor such a saint of God and servant of God that he was and while in China on one occasion he had been away ministering the gospel taking it to a certain region and when he came home he found his wife in tears and he asked her what's the trouble well she said son Hudson come with me and she took him to the flower barrel and she showed him Look, Hudson, we have no food at all.
The flower barrel is empty. What are we going to do? In despair, she said. He looked at her. He said, Darling, I'll tell you what I'll do with you. I'll put my head with your head in the flower barrel, and we'll both sing the doxology. You get the thought? God is left. I will rejoice as the prophet in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. Oh, the joy of knowing. He remaineth. I remember when D.L.
Moody passed away. And of course that dear man of God so greatly blessed and used of God when his passage came. The loss was tremendous. The Christians lost him. We lost him. One of the fellow believers quoted the text from Hebrews one. Thou remaineth. Thou remaineth. Thou remaineth. Please look. If you and I have to live long enough to go through to see even our own nation sink down. Will you still be happy in the Lord?
Will you be able to say, I will rejoice in the Lord? I will joy in the God of my salvation. May I put it to you in this plain way? Don't you expect the government of the United States to take care of you thoroughly? No. Man is a failure. Man is a failure. But beloved, you and I who know the Lord, thank God, we have one, and I think of the words that I think they are found in Zephaniah. He faileth not. And what a joy to know.
How joy is in one who fails not. Many years ago there was a motto, very precious motto. And we found in many places where Christians were. We had one ourselves in our early days, in our home. Jesus never fails. You may think of that old hymn. There's an old hymn by that name, Title II. Jesus never fails. And here you'll find the prophets saying, if everything's gone, there's no figs to eat, there's no olive oil to be produced, there's no food in the field, there's no... cattle amongst the flock and there's no herd in the stall.
We can't even milk a cow. But he says, I'm going to rejoice in the God of my salvation. The God of my salvation. Beloved, we need that joy, don't we? Just to have it in him. And what a treasure it is when you find someone enjoying the Lord. I sat in the home of a dear brother and his wife, Sunday. Listen to many things that they confided to me, relative to their trials and difficulties, but underneath it all, I saw a brother that was enjoying the Lord. Damien fellowship, enjoying him, thinking of him constantly.
And, beloved, that's what we need. To have our mind, thou keep us in perfect peace. whose mind has stayed on thee. And listen to the remaining verse in the nineteenth verse. And no, these are so precious. Oh, how I value those first words of verse nineteen. The Lord God is my strength. The Lord God is my strength. I think of the words of Psalm seventy-three. When the prophet, when the psalmist wrote there. Regarding the fight, he will guide me with his counsel and afterwards bring me to glory. And he declares the fight.
Though my heart and my flesh faileth, yet God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. A little portion in Psalm seventy-three, verse twenty-three to twenty-six. Very precious. And here's the psalmist saying, or the prophet saying in the psalm. The Lord God is my strength. My beloved, may I say very frankly, it's a good thing to depend upon the Lord for all your strength. Get up in the morning, cast it all upon him that may be before you in the day, and ask for the strength of the Lord, and how we need it more and more in the days we live in.
And if you please note how beautiful the Psalm goes on as he says. He will make my feet like hind feet. My, I wish I could run like a hind. Let me quote the words of Isaiah forty, thirty-one. They that wait upon the Lord shall what? Renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Ah, beloved, may I say, we need that strength that comes only from God. Vain is the help of man, wrote one of the prophets, but our strength should be found in the Lord our God and our blessed Savior.
And please know, he'll make me to walk on my high places. I'll not be down in the dumps, I'll be enjoying heavenly things. Walking with him, enjoying in heavenly places, My blessings in Christ. Let me quote Ephesians one three. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Let me say this. The world and the devil can take away from you all your earthly blessings, but they can't take God away from you. And the blessings you got in him.
The blessings you got in him. can't even touch them. They're too far away from the world to get to. They're not too far for you and me to enjoy by faith the blessings we have in him. And thus our feet to be actively walking with him in fellowship and he lifting us up. And may I say frankly, if there's anything that the saints of God need today, it's ministry from the word of God that will lift them up and not knock them down. Lift him up. Lift him up. Lift him up toward the Lord.
Can I say this humbly? Please let me stay. Sometimes listen to some of the radio ministry. Not often. I'm not usually able to do it often. But I often fail to hear ministry that lifts the saints. I hear a lot of ministry that telling them what they ought to do. But what we need is Christ's exalting ministry that lifts the saints to enjoy the Lord more and more. And the prophet comes to that.
And you can find how typical it is of a song to the chief singer on my string instrument. Like the psalmist of old, he sent the psalm to the temple. And the chief singer would sing it in the temple and put it to music. Now let me ask you, who's the chief singer for you and for me? Will you look with me in Hebrews chapter two? Hebrews chapter two, I'd like to introduce to you the chief singer, the chief musician. Do you ever notice? In the Psalms, sometimes you have the expression to the chief musician. And go with me in chapter two of the book of Hebrews, please.
A lovely verse. I want you to read it with me. As we look in chapter two and verse twelve. No. This is about the Lord Jesus. As the context says and saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, and in the midst of the church. Will I sing praise unto thee? Let me tell you something. I don't know when you gather together with God's people to sing the praises of the Lord. Don't look at the fellow that's leading the singing on the platform. The chief musician is the Lord Jesus that should be leading your heart and your praises. He's a good vocal teacher.
You may have a voice like a crow or a nightingale. Matters not. What he listens to is the heart. And don't forget, God did make the crow as well as the nightingale anyway. But here's the chief musician. The Lord. Oh, may I say. I say lovingly, I need his music in my heart. For him to lead the praises of my heart. The joy of my soul. And thank God. As David the Psalmist said, of an instrument of ten strings. Well, you've got an instrument of ten strings, two eyes, two ears, and so on.
Count them up. And just use that instrument to praise the Lord. Now, in summary, please note in summary, let me give you this thought in summarizing our lesson. In chapter one, we found the prophet was grappling with a problem. Faith's great burden. concerned about the condition of God's people, and then concerned about the Gentile nations which oppress them. Then in chapter two, we found him grasping the solution. God gave him the vision of faith. The solution. Oh, that solution. Thank God when Jesus comes, he will be the solution of every problem.
Praise his name. Grasping. Lord. You'll settle everything when you come. Again, when you come to chapter three, you find him glorying in the assurance Jesus is coming again. And what can you and I say? As you think of the words of Jesus in John fourteen, when he said, Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house and many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again.
Can I look at you in the face and say, My beloved believers, we're going to be together in the father's house. I will come again and receive you unto myself. That where I am, there ye may be also. talking to two widows the other day, talking about the conditions of sorrow because of bereavement. And they had spoke of the comfort, the comfort and the blessing that the ones that had gone on were in the presence of the Lord. And we're talking about the conditions down here. I said, Well, I'd rather be there than here. How true. And someday we shall all be there. And as the old hymn says, when the roll is called up, John says, I'll be there.
My. You don't think Charlotte's a place worth leaving, do you? Well, I never felt more desirous of leaving the world than even as it is today. But oh, that joy of knowing. Let me repeat again. What a prophecy. All in the presence of God, a backer, dialogues between himself and the Lord with a burden of faith as he grapples with a problem. And then... God gives him a vision of faith. God give it to us. As he grasps, that's the solution. The Messiah, Jesus is coming. And then he glories in the assurance as he sings this psalm of praise.
Well, may you and I do a little glory in singing the assurance Jesus is coming again, shall we pray? Oh, blessed Father, what can we say? But hallelujah, and bless thee. With the psalmist we would say, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. We thank thee for the encouraging ministry of thy word. Oh, what joy we get, what comfort, what strength. What comfort in the time of trouble and sorrow and grief and pain and difficulty to know the comfort of the Blessed Hope.
And we just pray for the dear ones needing that comfort today wherever they are. And as we look across the whole world, Father, we can't measure the earth like you can. Neither can we measure the earth like our Savior will when he comes. He'll know just what to do. But, oh, how we lift our hearts, that as we view the conditions of today, we will say from our hearts, Even so come, Lord Jesus. Even so come today. Even so come, Lord Jesus, taking thy bride away. Oh, how my heart is yearning, longing for thy returning. Even so come, Lord Jesus.
Even so come today. We ask it in thy precious name, giving thee our thanks. Amen. Lord bless you. I hope I meet you up in the air this afternoon.