Habakkuk Pt.7 Habakkuk prayed for much needed mercy for his people.

Good morning...

In our last lesson together we saw that Habakkuk specifically prayed for the revival of God's people at that time. We looked at some other Bible references regarding revival to see what this word means. 

Learning about revival will help us in understanding what God wants to do in our lives. I suspect that revival is something we all long to see happen in our own lives and within our families. 

Habakkuk also prayed for mercy.

Habakkuk 3:1-2  A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. 2) 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.

The second part of Habakkuk's prayer was for Jehovah to remember His mercy even while He is rightly dispensing judgment upon His covenant people. The Jewish people had sinned grievously against Holy God and were rightly being chastened by their loving Lord. 

Habakkuk knew this but since he also loved the people of God, he interceded for them, pleading for mercy from the God of all grace.

Grace & Mercy go together.

Mercy and grace are closely related. Grace has been defined as God favoring us even though we do not deserve such treatment. Grace is the unmerited favor and love of God which is the source of all spiritual blessings we receive when we are born again (Ephesians 1:1-6). 

God is predisposed to be gracious toward all mankind as long as the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ is preached. Grace does not mean that God no longer cares about sin. Rather, it means that He will save all who call upon Him in repentant faith, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Why? Because the Father is well pleased in all respects with the work of His Son on the cross for us. He is satisfied with the sacrifice of Jesus as our perfect Lamb of God. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ removed the enmity between fallen man and holy God. 

Therefore, Divine grace is God freely giving us salvation complete with rich spiritual blessings which we do not deserve and that we cannot earn. This happens when we believe on Jesus Christ. Grace grants us eternal life through faith in Christ.  

Mercy compared with grace.

Mercy is the other side of grace. Mercy is God withholding His wrath that which we certainly do deserve. Mercy is when God forgives repentant sinners who turn from sin and trust Christ for salvation. 

All people are born sinners because of Adam. All of us deserve the wages of sin which is death and all of us deserve the wrath of God poured upon us for our sins. 

Yet, the Father does not pour out His wrath on us. Why? Again, because He poured out His wrath for our sins upon Jesus Christ when He hung on the cross. Jesus died in our place that we might live unto God through Him. This is why He is responding in grace to mankind today. 

Jehovah's abundant lovingkindness.

Exodus 33:17-19  And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. 18) And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. 19)  And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. 

Notice in this text that Jehovah spoke to Moses that grace is mentioned three times and mercy twice. Grace and mercy are the two sides of God's lovingkindness toward mankind. 

Jehovah is the source of all grace and mercy but the work and person of Jesus Christ is the mighty key that unlocks the flow of grace and mercy to a fallen race. 

There is a special Old Testament word that encapsulates the meaning of God's grace and mercy. It is the word "lovingkindness" and we will look at a few examples to help us fully understand what Habakkuk prayed for.

Psalm 36:5-10  Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. 6) Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. 7) How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. 8) They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. 9) For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. 10) O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart. 

Lovingkindness is a word that refers to the grace of God toward mankind and refers to His abundant mercy and willingness to pardon us from our sins when we believe on Jesus Christ. It refers to the faithfulness of God to keep His promises even when we are not faithful to Him. It refers to the vast love of God that determined Jesus would die for the sins of the whole human race before God created man! (See Acts 2:22-24; 1 Peter 1:19-20 & Revelation 13:8).

The Psalmist declares the excellence of Jehovah's lovingkindness and tells us that repentant sinners run under the sheltering protection of God because of it. Those who come for Jehovah's salvation will be given the best there is in the Father's house. All those with parched, dry, thirsty souls will find sweet waters that satisfy the longing for God in their hearts.  Therefore, the Psalmist prayed for a continual  outpouring of lovingkindness which includes the love, grace and mercy of God extended to us. 

We should glory in His lovingkindness to us.

Jeremiah 9:24  But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. 

Jeremiah gave us something to shout about! We can rejoice and glory when we understand and know God by having a personal relationship with Him through the new birth. 

Jehovah delights in pouring out His lovingkindness upon us when we come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ. He delights in seeing sinners transformed by the new birth into children of God and He delights to call us His sons and daughters. 

Lovingkindness draws us.

Jeremiah 31:3  The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

It is the lovingkindness of Jehovah that causes Him to call fallen humanity to Himself through the faithful preaching of the gospel. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. 

Lovingkindness brings us fresh mercy.

Psalm 1:1  Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

The lovingkindness of Jehovah is why He is willing to blot out or wipe away our transgressions when we confess and forsake our sin. Lovingkindness brings unlimited tender mercy to us because we need it every moment of every day. 

Lovingkindness revives us.

Psalm 119:88  Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.

God's lovingkindness is connected with the reviving work that He promised to do in our hearts. We learned that we will go through seasons in life where we become spiritually run down, worn out or overwhelmed. Lovingkindness motivates God to do a quickening or reviving work in those times of need. See also Psalm 119:149 & 159.

Lovingkindness leads us to praise God. 

Psalm 138:2  I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

We see right away why the Psalmist is worshiping God and praising His name. The first thing on his list is God's lovingkindness. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

The second petition of Habakkuk's prayer is no less important than his prayer for revival. Mercy & grace from God is what we are dependent upon every moment of every day that we live. 

I am afraid that a casual attitude has infected Christianity. One that ignores the powerful blessing of Divine mercy poured out on us because of Jesus Christ. 

Grace and mercy do not make the believer want to live independently from God. Rather, understanding the basis for all grace and mercy we receive should make us run to our Father's arms confessing our sins, increasing our resolve to forsake them and renewing our determination to obey His word. A full understanding of His grace and mercy will cause us to seek His power and help to bring our will into submission to His. 

Mercy and grace go together like a hand in a glove. May we be motivated to learn more about God's grace and superabundant mercy that the Father lavishes on us, because we were born again into His family. 

The lovingkindness of God is a true indicator of His heart toward all who put their faith and trust in Him. Divine lovingkindness should impact our hearts in a way that inspires us to live for His glory and lead us to worship and adore Him all the days of our lives. 

May the Lord lead each of us to expend time and energy to study more about the grace, mercy and lovingkindness of God. That was Habakkuk's prayer. I hope that it is ours, too.

Bob