GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. The Lord GODThis phrase emphasizes the sovereignty and supreme authority of God. In Hebrew, "Yahweh Adonai" is used, signifying the covenantal name of God combined with a title of lordship. This duality underscores God's personal relationship with His people and His ultimate control over all creation. Historically, this reflects the Israelites' understanding of God as both a personal protector and a universal ruler, a theme that resonates throughout the Old Testament. is my strength
The Hebrew word for "strength" here is "chayil," which can also mean might, efficiency, or wealth. This suggests that God is not only a source of physical strength but also of moral and spiritual fortitude. In the context of Habakkuk, who is facing national turmoil and personal despair, this declaration is a profound statement of faith. It reflects a deep trust in God's ability to empower and sustain His people through trials. He makes my feet like those of a deer
The imagery of a deer, or "ayalah" in Hebrew, conveys agility, swiftness, and sure-footedness. In the rugged terrain of ancient Israel, deer were known for their ability to navigate difficult landscapes with grace and confidence. This metaphor suggests that God equips the believer to move through life's challenges with similar ease and assurance. It is a promise of divine enablement, allowing one to overcome obstacles and ascend to greater spiritual heights. He enables me to tread on the heights
The phrase "tread on the heights" evokes the idea of triumph and victory. In ancient times, high places were often associated with security and strategic advantage. Spiritually, this can be interpreted as rising above earthly troubles and attaining a closer communion with God. The Hebrew word "bamah" for "heights" can also refer to places of worship, indicating that God empowers His people to reach new levels of spiritual insight and worship. This is a call to live victoriously, trusting in God's provision and guidance. Persons / Places / Events 1. HabakkukA prophet in the Old Testament who dialogues with God about the coming judgment on Judah and the eventual punishment of Babylon. 2. The Lord GOD (Yahweh Adonai)The covenant name of God, emphasizing His sovereignty and lordship. 3. DeerSymbolic of agility and sure-footedness, often used in biblical poetry to describe swiftness and grace. 4. HeightsRepresents places of security and vantage, often used metaphorically for spiritual elevation or victory. 5. JudahThe southern kingdom of Israel, facing impending judgment during Habakkuk's time. Teaching Points Divine StrengthGod is the ultimate source of strength for believers. Just as Habakkuk declares, we must rely on God's power rather than our own. Spiritual AgilityLike the feet of a deer, God equips us to navigate life's challenges with grace and sure-footedness. This agility is a gift from God, enabling us to overcome obstacles. Elevated PerspectiveTreading on the heights symbolizes gaining a higher perspective. In our spiritual journey, God lifts us to see beyond our immediate struggles to His greater plan. Faith Amidst TrialsHabakkuk's declaration of faith comes in the context of impending judgment. We are called to trust in God's strength even when circumstances seem dire. Joy in SalvationThe broader context of Habakkuk 3 is a song of praise. Our response to God's strength should be one of joy and worship, recognizing His salvation and sovereignty. Bible Study Questions 1. How does recognizing God as your strength change the way you approach daily challenges? 2. In what ways can you cultivate spiritual agility to navigate life's difficulties? 3. How can you maintain an elevated perspective when facing trials, and what practical steps can you take to focus on God's greater plan? 4. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's strength in a difficult situation. How did it impact your faith? 5. How can the imagery of "treading on the heights" inspire you to trust God more deeply in your current circumstances? Connections to Other Scriptures Psalm 18:33This verse similarly speaks of God making the psalmist's feet like those of a deer, highlighting divine empowerment and stability. Isaiah 40:31This passage speaks of those who hope in the Lord renewing their strength, paralleling the theme of divine empowerment. 2 Samuel 22:34Echoes the imagery of God enabling one to stand on heights, emphasizing God's provision of strength and stability. People Habakkuk, TemanPlaces Cushan, Lebanon, Midian, Mount Paran, TemanTopics Causeth, Chief, Choir, Choirmaster, Corded, Deer, Deer's, Director, Enables, Guiding, Heights, High-places, Hinds, Instruments, Leader, Makes, Maketh, Music, Musician, Music-maker, Overseer, Places, Roes, Singer, Strength, Stringed, String-music, Tread, WalkDictionary of Bible Themes Habakkuk 3:19 5151 feet
5420 music
5433 occupations
5503 rich, the
7374 high places Habakkuk 3:16-19 4458 grape
8618 prayerfulness Habakkuk 3:17-19 8215 confidence, results Library September 7. "I Will Joy in the God of My Salvation" (Hab. Iii. 18).
"I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Hab. iii. 18). The secret of joy is not to wait until you feel happy, but to rise, by an act of faith, out of the depression which is dragging you down, and begin to praise God as an act of choice. This is the meaning of such passages as these: "Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, rejoice"; "I do rejoice; yes, and I will rejoice." "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations." In all these cases there is an evident struggle with sadness and …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth Spiritual Revival, the Want of the Church
NOTE: This edition of this sermon is taken from an earlier published edition of Spurgeon's 1856 message. The sermon that appears in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 44, was edited and abbreviated somewhat. For edition we have restored the fuller text of the earlier published edition, while retaining a few of the editorial refinements of the Met Tab edition. "O Lord, revive thy work."--Habakkuk 3:2. All true religion is the work of God: it is pre-eminently so. If he should select out of his …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 44: 1898 What a Revival of Religion Is
Text.--O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.--Hab. iii. 2. IT is supposed that the prophet Habakkuk was contemporary with Jeremiah, and that this prophecy was uttered in anticipation of the Babylonish captivity. Looking at the judgments which were speedily to come upon his nation, the soul of the prophet was wrought up to an agony, and he cries out in his distress, "O Lord, revive thy work." As if he had said, "O Lord, grant …
Charles Grandison Finney—Lectures on Revivals of Religion The Highway
"The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places."--Hab. iii. 19. Mechthild of Hellfde, 1277. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 It is a wondrous and a lofty road Wherein the faithful soul must tread, And by the seeing there the blind are led, The senses by the soul acquaint with God. On that high path the soul is free, She knows no care nor ill, For all God wills desireth she, And blessed is His will. …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series) The Believer's Sure Trust. --Hab. Iii. 17, 18
The Believer's sure Trust.--Hab. iii. 17, 18. Though the fig-tree's blossom fail, And the vines should bring no fruit; Though the olive, smit with hail, Cast its foliage round the root; Though the fields should yield no meat, And the herds forsake the stall, In the folds no flocks should bleat At the shepherd's well-known call:-- Yet will I in God rejoice, In Jehovah I will trust, And extol, with heart and voice, His salvation from the dust; He can raise my fallen head, He can all my sickness cure; …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns The Holy Spirit in Relation to the Father and the Son. ...
The Holy Spirit in relation to the Father and the Son. Under this heading we began by considering Justin's remarkable words, in which he declares that "we worship and adore the Father, and the Son who came from Him and taught us these things, and the host of the other good angels that attend Him and are made like unto Him, and the prophetic Spirit." Hardly less remarkable, though in a very different way, is the following passage from the Demonstration (c. 10); and it has a special interest from the …
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching Life of Jerome.
The figures in parentheses, when not otherwise indicated, refer to the pages in this volume. For a full account of the Life, the translator must refer to an article (Hieronymus) written by him in Smith and Wace's Dictionary of Christian Biography. A shorter statement may suffice here, since the chief sources of information are contained in this volume, and to these reference will be continually made. Childhood and Youth. A.D. 345. Jerome was born at Stridon, near Aquileia, but in Pannonia, a place …
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome The Coming Revival
"Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?"--PS. lxxxv. 6. "O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years."--HAB. iii. 2. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me: Thy right hand shall save me."--PS. cxxxviii. 7. "I dwell with him that is of a humble and contrite heart, to revive the heart of the contrite ones."--ISA. lvii. 15. "Come, and let us return to the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us. He will revive us."--HOS. vi. 1, 2. The Coming …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession A Prayer when one Begins to be Sick.
O most righteous Judge, yet in Jesus Christ my gracious Father! I, wretched sinner, do here return unto thee, though driven with pain and sickness, like the prodigal child with want and hunger. I acknowledge that this sickness and pain comes not by blind chance or fortune, but by thy divine providence and special appointment. It is the stroke of thy heavy hand, which my sins have justly deserved; and the things that I feared are now fallen upon me (Job iii. 25.) Yet do I well perceive that in wrath …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety How to Make Use of Christ as the Life when the Soul is Dead as to Duty.
Sometimes the believer will be under such a distemper, as that he will be as unfit and unable for discharging of any commanded duty, as dead men, or one in a swoon, is to work or go a journey. And it were good to know how Christ should be made use of as the Life, to the end the diseased soul may be delivered from this. For this cause we shall consider those four things: 1. See what are the several steps and degrees of this distemper. 2. Consider whence it cometh, or what are the causes or occasions …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life Messiah's Entrance into Jerusalem
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. -- And He shall speak peace unto the heathen. T he narrowness and littleness of the mind of fallen man are sufficiently conspicuous in the idea he forms of magnificence and grandeur. The pageantry and parade of a Roman triumph, or of an eastern monarch, as described in history, exhibit him to us …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 The Unchangeableness of God
The next attribute is God's unchangeableness. I am Jehovah, I change not.' Mal 3:3. I. God is unchangeable in his nature. II. In his decree. I. Unchangeable in his nature. 1. There is no eclipse of his brightness. 2. No period put to his being. [1] No eclipse of his brightness. His essence shines with a fixed lustre. With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' James 1:17. Thou art the same.' Psa 102:27. All created things are full of vicissitudes. Princes and emperors are subject to …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity The Lord of Glory.
1 Cor. ii:8. OUR ever blessed Lord, who died for us, to whom we belong, with whom we shall be forever, is the Lord of Glory. Thus He is called in 1 Cor. ii:8, "for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory." Eternally He is this because He is "the express image of God, the brightness of His Glory" (Heb. i:3). He possessed Glory with the Father before the world was (John xvii:5). This Glory was beheld by the prophets, for we read that Isaiah "saw His Glory and spake of Him" …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory Habakkuk
The precise interpretation of the book of Habakkuk presents unusual difficulties; but, brief and difficult as it is, it is clear that Habakkuk was a great prophet, of earnest, candid soul, and he has left us one of the noblest and most penetrating words in the history of religion, ii. 4b. The prophecy may be placed about the year 600 B.C. The Assyrian empire had fallen, and by the battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C., Babylonian supremacy was practically established over Western Asia. Josiah's reformation, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Habakkuk 3:19 NIVHabakkuk 3:19 NLTHabakkuk 3:19 ESVHabakkuk 3:19 NASBHabakkuk 3:19 KJV
Habakkuk 3:19 Commentaries
Bible Hub |
