In lauding, the prophet praised God in His majesty and splendor (vv. 3-4), in His terrifying judgment on the nations (vv. 5-12), and in His salvation of His people and of His anointed one (vv. 13-15).
In verses 16 through 19 the prophet declares his trust in Jehovah.
Verse 16a says that the prophet, after hearing the voice of Jehovah, trembled in his place, with his lips quivering at the sound and rottenness entering his bones. Habakkuk’s writing here is quite poetic.
In verse 16b the prophet went on to say that he had to wait quietly for the day of distress, when the Chaldeans, the ones attacking (or invading) Israel, would come up against the people.
“For the fig tree will not sprout, / And there will be no yield on the vines; / The labor on the olive tree will fail, / And the fields will make no food; / The flock will be cut off from the fold, / And there will be no herd in the stalls. / Yet I will exult in Jehovah; / I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. / Jehovah the Lord is my strength; / And He makes my feet like hinds’ feet / And will cause me to walk on my high places” (vv. 17-19a). These verses indicate that in a dark time, a time when there was nothing, Habakkuk trusted in Jehovah.
All these verses seem very good, but for the most part they express Habakkuk’s natural concept, without much revelation of Christ. Even Habakkuk’s concept of trusting in Jehovah during a time of need was natural. There is no comparison between these verses and Paul’s writings. Paul’s concept was different. When he was troubled, he prayed three times, but the Lord told him that He would not remove the thorn and that His grace was sufficient for him (2 Cor. 12:7-10). When Paul was short of food, he did not “trust” in the Lord in the way Habakkuk did; rather, he took the opportunity to fast. In a very real sense, he did not need to trust in the Lord, for he was in the Lord already, and the Lord was in him. Furthermore, instead of trying to keep the law, he lived Christ (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:21a).
Whereas many Christians appreciate verses such as Habakkuk 3:17-19a, we need to be brought into another realm, the realm of Christ. These verses are not according to the divine revelation concerning Christ but according to the prophet’s natural, human, and religious concept. If we are brought into the realm of Christ, we will not appreciate the natural, religious thought expressed in much of the Old Testament. Rather, we will treasure the divine revelation in the Word. Moreover, instead of “trusting” in the Lord like Habakkuk did, we will see that the crucial matter is not trusting but realizing that we are in Christ and that Christ is in us.
In our reading of the book of Habakkuk, we should not appreciate those things that fit in with our natural, religious concept but are not according to the divine revelation. This is why I emphasize the fact that the one matter we need to treasure in Habakkuk is found in 2:4b—the righteous shall have life and live by faith.
More than sixty years ago I read something by Brother Nee which said that it is wrong to pray and ask the Lord to help us. At that time I did not understand what he meant. However, I have learned from experience that the only prayer that gives me joy is this: “Praise You, Lord. You are one with me. Regardless of how weak and poor I am, I am in You and You are in me.” But suppose I pray, “Lord, I still need Your help. I am weak and poor, and I have nothing. I ask You to come in to help me.” If I were to pray in this way, the joy would be gone.
Concerning prayer, we should take Paul as our example, not Habakkuk. Paul did not pray for common things. On the contrary, he prayed that “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17). We all need to have our view uplifted.
The last part of verse 19 says that the song of the prophet is for the choir director, with the prophet’s stringed instrument.