Habakkuk 3

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Habakkuk’s Prayer of Praise

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. Worship is praising God for His holiness and His mercy.

  2. Worship is praising God for His glory and His power.

  3. Worship is praising God for His acts and His anointed.

  4. Worship is praising God for His sovereignty and His strength.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Don’t live life without some “Selahs.”

QUESTIONS

  1. What do both the beginning and ending of this chapter have in common?

  2. What does Shigionoth mean?

  3. When would this psalm have been sung?

  4. What is a doxology?

  5. What should be our response when God answers our questions?

  6. Define “worship.”

ANSWERS

  1. They both have liturgical notes.

  2. It probably has something to do with the liturgy of worship in the temple.

  3. A number of the Psalms were used in the temple courts for public worship. That’s why many of the Psalms have musical or liturgical indicators in their titles. Probably Habakkuk chapter 3 was used for public worship in the temple after the Jews returned from their captivity in Babylon.

  4. A praise-prayer of the Bible.

  5. Prayer-praise-worship.

  6. Worship is acknowledging who God is and what God does, to God Himself with an attitude of praise.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. “In Your wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk’s response to God’s revelation of Himself and His plans was one of submission. When judgment comes into your life, do you remind God of His mercy, and are you responding submissively to His plans for your life?

  2. When Habakkuk saw a theophany (a visible manifestation of God), he was visibly moved. He trembled. Then he praised God for His glory and power. Habakkuk knew there would be hard times ahead, but he rejoiced in the Lord. Do you praise God for His glory and power? Do you look to Him for strength in hard times? Can you say with Habakkuk, in the midst of difficult times, that you will rejoice in the Lord and joy in the God of your salvation?

  3. Habakkuk catalogued a number of acts that God did on behalf of His people. He also prophesied about the coming of the Lord Jesus as Savior and Judge in the end times. Do you praise God for the great work done on the cross for you? Are you praising God for what He has promised for the future?

CHALLENGE

  1. “Selah” means to pause and reflect on what God has revealed. Note the “Selahs” of Habakkuk 3:3, 9, 13. Do you pause and meditate daily on the promises of the Bible? Live life with Selahs!

KEY VERSES

  • “In wrath, remember mercy.” Habakkuk 3:2

  • “The mountains saw You and trembled…I trembled.” Habakkuk 3:10,16

  • “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines…yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:17-18

Habakkuk, Talks, Old TestamentRon ReidHabakkuk 3