Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. In this connection there is a peculiar shade of meaning in living by faith. Immediate reference is to approaching trials of an extraordinary kind. There is a vision of national calamity, an impending invasion of the Chaldeans. It is declared that humility is the only upright attitude of soul, in such circumstances: and contrasted with the proud impatience which cannot wait for God, in His appointed time, is the meek reliance of the just man. "But the just shall live by his faith." I. ORDINARILY, THE JUST MAN LIVES BY FAITH. 1. As it is the first act of that new spiritual life which the Holy Ghost produces in the soul. It is that coming to Christ which the Scriptures make anterior to every other gift or exercise of grace. 2. We live by faith, as it apprehends the plea by which the condemnation of death is set aside, or as it is a justifying instrument. We are said to live by that instrumentality which delivers us, and shields us from the operation of death. 3. We live by faith, as it unites the soul in mystical union with the Head, in whom there is all the fulness of life. 4. We live by faith, as it is in the range of its appropriation the highest and best condition of life. 5. We live by faith, as it is a principle essentially indicative of life, active, operative, and fruitful. II. HOW DOES SUCH FAITH SURVIVE IN CIRCUMSTANCES OF EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL? 1. Calamity, that which exceeds the bounds of ordinary affliction. Such as war, famine, pestilence, earthquake. 2. Reproach for the faithful maintenance of truth and holiness. 3. The return of infidelity — extraordinary in that no completeness of defeat can prevent its returning invasion. 4. Another trial is apostasy. Faith is first in order; every other grace in the soul implies the precedence of this faith; hope herself must give up the sure and steadfast anchor, before this inner and ultimate life of faith can be destroyed. (A. T. M'Gill, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.WEB: Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith. |
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