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Faith and God’s Promises, August 24
Habakkuk
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall
live by his faith.
Habakkuk 2:4
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At the time Josiah began to rule, and for many years before, the truehearted
in Judah were questioning whether God’s promises to ancient Israel could ever
be fulfilled....
These anxious questionings were voiced by the prophet Habakkuk. Viewing
the situation of the faithful in his day, he expressed the burden of his heart in
the inquiry: “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!” ... And then,
his faith reaching out beyond the forbidding prospect of the immediate future,
and laying fast hold on the precious promises that reveal God’s love for His
trusting children, the prophet added, “We shall not die.” With this declaration of
faith he rested his case, and that of every believing Israelite, in the hands of a
compassionate God....
The faith that strengthened Habakkuk and all the holy and the just in those
days of deep trial was the same faith that sustains God’s people today. In the
darkest hours, under circumstances the most forbidding, the Christian believer
may keep his soul stayed upon the source of all light and power. Day by day,
through faith in God, his hope and courage may be renewed. “The just shall live
by his faith.” ...
We must cherish and cultivate the faith of which prophets and apostles
have testified—the faith that lays hold on the promises of God and waits for
deliverance in His appointed time and way. The sure word of prophecy will
meet its final fulfillment in the glorious advent of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, as King of kings and Lord of lords.... With the prophet who endeavored
to encourage Judah in a time of unparalleled apostasy, let us confidently declare,
“The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.” Let
us ever hold in remembrance the cheering message, “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.
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Prophets and Kings, 384-388
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