Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand on my watch, and set me on the tower, and will watch to see what he will say to me… I. THE DUTY OF WATCHFULNESS. 1. This duty arises from various causes which affect us in our outward circumstances, as well as in our minds and hearts. They are our enemies or our friends; such as build up the character of man for good, and lift it heavenwards, or mar it and force it downwards to destruction. The ever-present, active, and all-pervading causes of good and evil, acting upon man's moral and spiritual nature, provide a powerful reason for this duty. For while a man is thus taught his dependence upon God for strength, and is shewn his own weakness in the battle of life, he is at the same time taught to use every precaution against his fees, to guard every avenue of his heart against their influence, and to be vigilant and watchful in all his daily undertakings. 2. But watchfulness as a moral duty may be considered as a recognition of God's laws and government. The man who waits, like Habakkuk, for the Almighty, will see the hand of God everywhere. He recognises God as the watchful Father, noting every tear and hearing every sigh that inspires the watchful heart with hope, and that sheds a bright ray of comfort through the gloom. II. FAITH FOUNDED UPON THE REVELATIONS OF GOD IS AN ARGUMENT AGAINST ALL MISTRUST AND DOUBT OF HIS POWER AND GOODNESS. 1. The answer which God gave to the prayers of Habakkuk was the authority by which he met every quibble of his opponents, and by which he confronted his enmity. 2. A true faith acts on the revelation of God in the life history of Christ, and on the soul's immortality. In the life of Christ, weighted with suffering the most intense, we find a solution to our own troubles, as well as their sanction. Then let us "stand upon our watch." (W. Horwood.) Parallel Verses KJV: I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. |
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