Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Habakkuk
Book: Habakkuk
Chapter: 2
Overview:
Habakkuk must wait in
Faith.
(1-4) Judgments upon the
Chaldeans.
(5-14) Also upon drunkenness and
Idolatry.
(15-20)
1-4 When tossed and perplexed with doubts about the methods of
Providence, we must watch against temptations to be impatient.
When we have poured out complaints and requests before
God, we
must observe the answers
God gives
By his
Word, his
Spirit, and
providences; what the
Lord will say to our case.
God will not
disappoint the believing expectations of those who wait to hear
what he will say unto them. All are concerned in the truths of
God's
Word. Though the promised favour be deferred long, it will
come at last, and abundantly recompense us for waiting. The
humble, broken-hearted, repenting sinner, alone seeks to obtain
an interest in this
Salvation. He will
Rest his soul
On the
promise, and
On Christ, in and through whom it is given. Thus he
walks and
Works, as
Well as lives
By Faith, perseveres to the
End, and is exalted to
Glory; while those who distrust or
despise
God's all-sufficiency will not walk uprightly with him.
The just shall live
By Faith in these precious promises, while
the performance of them is deferred. Only those made just
By
Faith, shall live, shall be happy here and for ever.
5-14 The
Prophet reads the doom of all proud and oppressive
powers that
Bear hard upon
God's people. The lusts of the
Flesh,
the
Lust of the
Eye, and the pride of
Life, are the entangling
snares of men; and we find him that led
Israel Captive, himself
led
Captive By each of these.
No more of what we have is to be
reckoned ours, than what we come honestly
By. Riches are but
Clay,
Thick Clay; what are
Gold and
Silver but
White and yellow
Earth? Those who travel through
Thick Clay, are hindered and
dirtied in their
Journey;
So are those who go through the world
in the midst of abundance of wealth. And what fools are those
that
Burden themselves with continual care about it; with a
great
Deal of guilt in getting, saving, and spending it, and
with a heavy account which they must give another
Day! They
overload themselves with this
Thick Clay, and
So sink themselves
down into
Destruction and perdition. See what will be the
End
hereof; what is gotten
By violence from others, others shall
take away
By violence.
Covetousness brings disquiet and
uneasiness into a family; he that is greedy of gain troubles his
own
House; what is worse, it brings the
Curse of
God upon all
the affairs of it. There is a lawful gain, which,
By the
blessing of
God, may be a comfort to a
House; but what is got
By
fraud and injustice, will bring poverty and ruin upon a family.
Yet that is not the worst; Thou hast sinned against thine own
soul, hast endangered it. Those who wrong their neighbours, do
much greater wrong to their own souls. If the sinner thinks he
has managed his frauds and violence with art and contrivance,
the riches and possessions he heaped together will
Witness
against him. There are not greater drudges in the world than
those who are slaves to mere worldly pursuits. And what comes of
it? They find themselves disappointed of it, and disappointed in
it; they will own it is worse than vanity, it is vexation of
Spirit.
By staining and sinking earthly
Glory,
God manifests and
magnifies his own
Glory, and fills the
Earth with the knowledge
of it, as plentifully as waters cover
The Sea, which are
Deep,
and spread far and wide.
15-20 A severe woe is pronounced against drunkenness; it is
very fearful against all who are guilty of drunkenness at any
time, and in any place, from the stately
Palace to the paltry
ale-
House. To give one
Drink who is in want, who is thirsty and
Poor, or a weary traveller, or ready to perish, is
Charity; but
to give a neighbour
Drink, that he may expose himself, may
disclose secret concerns, or be drawn into a bad bargain, or for
any such purpose, this is wickedness. To be guilty of this
Sin,
to take pleasure in it, is to do what we can towards the
Murder
both of soul and body. There is woe to him, and
Punishment
answering to the
Sin. The folly of worshipping idols is exposed.
The
Lord is in his holy
Temple in
Heaven, where we have access
to him in the way he has appointed. May we welcome his
Salvation, and
Worship him in his earthly temples, through
Christ Jesus, and
By the influence of the Holy
Spirit.