He Gave Us Prophets: Literary Analysis Of The ProphetsSample

Prayers of Praise: Habakkuk 3

Just as the Psalms have many examples of praise to God within them, the prophets also used this form of expression to speak words to the Lord. Usually they offered praise to God because of His great covenant blessings. When the prophets would see what good things God was going to do, they would come to Him with praise. The praise of God occurs in many prophetic books. It was a very important theme to the prophets. We’re going to complete our look at the book of Habakkuk by noting the praise of God that appears at the end of his book.

As we’ve already seen, most of the book of Habakkuk deals primarily with the prophet’s laments and God’s responses to his laments. But the last chapter of the book shifts from lament to praise. After God had promised that he would destroy the Babylonians for their severe treatment of God’s people, Habakkuk offers a wonderful praise to the Lord. What kind of praise do we find in Habakkuk? Throughout the prophets, two themes take center stage in the praise of God. When the prophets honor the Lord with praise, they praise Him for His judgments and for His blessings. When we look at the third chapter of Habakkuk, we’ll see that he also followed this pattern as well.  In Habakkuk 3:11-12, the prophet says these words: 

Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear. In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations. 

We see here that the prophet honored God with praise for His ability to strike the nations and to destroy them in judgment. 

This interconnection between judgment and blessing brings us to the second focus of prophetic praise. The prophets often praised the Lord not only for His judgment, but also for the many blessings that He gives to his people. For example, the prophet Habakkuk stated explicitly why he praised God for His power in judgment. In Habakkuk 3:12-13, we read these words: 

In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations. You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. 

Habakkuk saw that one day God would judge the wicked and so deliver the nation of Israel and restore the house of David. Habakkuk saw these things, and he praised his God for His judgments.