A.C. 612. h ch. i. 18. & xv. 20. 18. 27 I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way. i 28 They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders; i Ezek. xxii. they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters. 29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away. k Is. i, 22. * Or, Refuse silver. 30** Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them. SECTION IX. Habakkuk predicts the punishment of the People for their backsliding. HABAKKUK 160. 1 Unto Habbakkuk, complaining of the iniquity of the land, 5 is shewed the fearful vengeance by the Chaldeans. 12 He complaineth that vengeance should be executed by them who are far worse. 1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. 60 As the prophet Habakkuk makes no mention of the Assyrians, and speaks of the Chaldean invasion as near at hand, chap. i. 5. ii. 3. iii. 2. xvi. 19. he probably lived after the destruction of the Assyrian army in the fall of Nineveh. Habakkuk, therefore, was nearly contemporary with, and predicted the same events as, Jeremiah. Many suppose that Jeremiah and Habakkuk remained amidst the sad scenes of their desolate and deserted land, rather than follow their countrymen into captivity. In the first chapter the prophet expostulates with God on account of the wickedness and violence of the Jews-and the Almighty is then represented as declaring he would work an incredible work in their days, ver. 5.; and that he would raise up the Chaldeans, who should march through the breadth of the land, and possess their dwelling places, ver. 6.; and describes their victories, fierceness, and rapidity; foreshewing the punishment and pride of the victors, their false confidence in their gods, and in ver. 11. the change and insanity of Nebuchadnezzar-he ends by pleading the cause of his countrymen, as more righteous than those God had established for their correction, ver. 13. In chap. ii. is revealed to him in the vision, that the general expectation of those who lived by faith should surely come; though it must tarry the 66 appointed time." He then foretells the destruction of Babylon, which had "spoiled many nations;" and of those evil kings who gathered unto themselves all people, who should then find that their gods of wood, and of stone, had "no breath at all in the midst of them," ver. 19. and "that the Lord only is to be feared in his holy temple." The Talmudists apply this prophecy, ver. 3, 4. to the advent of the Messiah. The temporal deliverance of the Jews from their captivity, predicted in this chapter, may be considered as a type of their spiritual deliverance and restoration. Habakkuk concludes his prophecies with a beautiful prayer, or hymn; which the ancient fathers considered as allusive to 20 LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! A.C. 612, even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! 3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. 4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth for the 'wicked doth compass about the righ-1 Job xxi. 7. teous; therefore * wrong judgment proceedeth. m Jer. xii. 1. 41. 5¶ Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and m Acts xiii. wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 6. 6 For, lo, † I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty + Fulfilled, nation, which shall march through the † breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not their's. 7 They are terrible and dreadful: § their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. n 8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more | fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. 9 They shall come all for violence: *+their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. ↑ Heb. breadths. Or, from them shall proceed the judgment of captivity of these. these, and the Heb, sharp. n Zeph, iii. 3. * th Or, the sup ping up of princes + Heb. the op position of 10 And they shall scoff at the kings, and the shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong their faces tohold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. 11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god. ward the cast. 12¶ Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou Heb. rock. hast established them for correction. { Heb. found ed. 13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them Or,grievance. that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? 14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? 15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch the Messiah: it finishes with a declaration of the prophet's entire confidence in God, which no change of circumstances could affect. It is supposed from the last verse, and from the word Selah being mentioned three times, that this prayer was set to music, and performed in the service of the temple. Habakkuk is cited as an inspired person by the evangelical writers. compare Habak. ii. 4. with Heb. x. 37, 38. Rom. i. 17. Gal. iii. 11. and Acts xiii. 41. with Hab. i. 5. -Gray's Key in loc.; Wells; Patrick. * Or, moving. A. C. 612. them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad. * Or, flue net. 16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, +Or, dainty, and their meat + + plenteous. Heb.fat. o Is. xxi. 8, 11. 17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations? HABAKKUK II. 1 Unto Habakkuk, waiting for an answer, is shewed that he must wait by faith. 5 The judgment upon the Chaldean for unsatiableness, 9 for covetousness, 12 for cruelty, 15 for drunkenness, 18 and for idolatry. 1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the Heb. fenced tower, and will watch to see what he will say || unto me, and what I shall answer + when I am reproved. place. Or, in me. * Or, when I am argued with. + Heb. upon my reproof, or, arguing. p Heb. x. 37. John iii. 36. Rom. i. 17. Heb. x. 38. + Or, How much more. * 2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. 5¶Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people: 6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and Or, Ho, he. a taunting proverb against him, and say, § Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! 7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? 8 Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the rem|| Heb. bloods, nant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's || blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. r Jer. xxii. 13. 9 Woe to him that ** coveteth an evil covetousness to Or, gaineth his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the † power of evil! an evil gain. + Heb. palm of the hand. + Or, piece, or, fastening. 10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. 11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam Or, witness out of the timber shall § answer it. against it. 12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, A. C. 612. and stablisheth a city by iniquity! s Ezek. xxiv. *Heb. bloods. 13 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people 9. Nah, iii. 1. shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves + for very vanity? 14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! 16 Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory. 17 For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. + Or, in vain. Or, by know. ing the glory of 18 What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a "teacher u of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? 19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. Jer. x. 8, 14. Zech. x. 2. shioner of his fashion. 20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: || let all the be earth keep silence before him. HABAKKUK III. 1 Habakkuk in his prayer trembleth at God's majesty. 17 The confidence of his faith. Heb. silent all the earth before him. ing to variable tunes, called Shigionoth. 1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet * upon Shigionoth. Or, accord2 O LORD, I have heard + thy speech, and was afraid: songs, or, O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the in Hebrew, midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy + Heb. thy 3 God came from § Teman, and the Holy One from report, or, thy mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and tor, preserve the earth was full of his praise. hearing. alive. beams out of 4 And his brightness was as the light; he had horns Or, bright coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his his side. power. diseases. 5 Before him went the pestilence, and *burning coals + Or, burning went forth at his feet. 6 He stood and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were VOL. II. A. C. 612. scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. y Josh. x. 12, 13. 7 I saw the tents of * Cushan + in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. 8 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? 9 Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. § Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. 10 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. 11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining rows walked in of thy glittering spear. || Or, thine ar. the light, &c. z Josh. x. 11. Ps. xviii. 12 Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou disdt thresh the heathen in anger. 13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the *Heb. making head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. naked. Selah. 14 Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of + Heb. were his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly. tempestuous. 1 Or, mud. 15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters. 16 When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when Or, cut them he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops. in pieces. Heb. lie. 17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall || fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my a a 2 Sam. xxii. feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon 3. Ps. xviii. mine high places. To the chief singer on my * stringed in 33. *Heb. negi struments. noth. |