on my stringed instruments; which were either invented by him, or used by him in the temple, or were his own property: or he sent this prayer or ode to him who was over these instruments, had the care and use of them; and which were such as were to be stricken with the hand, bone, or quill; and are the same that are called "Neginoth" in the title of the fourth Psalm Psa 4:1, and others. Nor is it anywhere else, “upon my stringed instruments.”, To the chief singer on my stringed instruments - To Him to whom all praise is due, through whom we praise Himself, His Spirit pleading in us, for us, “upon my stringed instruments.” He Himself, providing, as it were, and teaching the prelude of the endless song, and by His spirit, breathing upon the instrument which He has attuned, and it giving back faithfully, in union with the heavenly choir with whom it is now blended, the angelic hymn, “Glory to God in the Highest.”. Habakkuk 3:19. So the revelation is in the book, but you must get up the mount of vision to see it. 5. Such rejoicing communion with God will give--, II. And he will make my feet like hinds’ feet] As these do swiftly and suddenly run up to the top of inaccessible rocks, so shall I quickly escape out of trouble and walk upon mine high places again in the holy land; yea, as Jacob, after he had conversed with God at Bethel, lifted up his feet and went lustily on his way to Padanaram, Genesis 29:1, so shall I go lightly on my long journey to heaven; and, having my soul supplied with the oil of spiritual joy, I shall find it made more lithe, nimble, and ready to every good work. A commentary is added to each verse in which the incidents of the time of the Jewish commentator are explained to be the fulfilment of Habakkuk's prophecy. So ends one of the most magnificent pieces of imaginative poetry in Scripture or anywhere else. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments. Psalms 32:7. The second is like unto it. A. Habakkuk describes catastrophic trials. Commentary on Habakkuk 3:16-19 (Read Habakkuk 3:16-19) When we see a day of trouble approach, it concerns us to prepare. Selah His glory covered the heavens, And the earth was full of His praise. 18. And as he seems to have had the beginning of Moses’s blessing in his eye, at Habakkuk 3:3, so in this he alludes to the conclusion of it. The Lord God is my strength, the strength of my heart. He will make, he says, my feet like those of hinds. The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds’ feet. The prophet had in his own, and in the name of all the godly, made a full profession of his faith, and resolution to behave himself with joy in midst of troubles, Habakkuk 3:17,18; now he gives us account on what ground he speaks so, it is not in his own strength he can do it, but it is because the Lord God is his strength. Our prophet, as he partly imitated, and partly transcribed them in this Canticle, yea, in this verse, {confer Psalms 18:33-34} so he concludeth as David many times beginneth, To the chief chanter or music master, or, To him that excelleth in the art of singing and playing on instruments, those holy Levites, whose charge it was, 1 Chronicles 9:33, and for whom he doubted not but God would afford and provide new matter of psalmody, by compassing his people about with songs of deliverance. But there is an implied contrast between God and those supports on which men usually lean. 4. grant, that like thy servant the Prophet, whether fig-trees blossom or withhold their fruit; whether the olives fail, or fields yield their meat; Jesus lives and loves, and will live and love forever. The events that unfold in our world seldom make sense. This is the prophet's direction to the precentor ("chief singer") as to how the preceding ode (Hab 3:1-19) is to be performed (compare Ps 4:1; 6:1, titles). in Psal. Our souls may be like stars, and dwell apart, and yet may lay the humblest duties upon themselves, and whilst we live in the high places, we “may travel on life’s common way in cheerful godliness.” So we may go on until at last we shall hear the Voice that says, “Come up higher,” and shall be lifted to the mountain of God, where the living waters are, and shall fear no snares or hunters any more for ever. John Trapp Complete Commentary. Fig tree not blossom, no fruit on vines. (1-2) A plea for revival. O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid; because of the sad tidings concerning the desolations of his people, which affected him exceedingly. The high places of enjoyment. The high places of faith. ", "He maketh my feet like, hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places;", John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible, Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments, George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers. The Lord God is my strength - This is an imitation, if not a quotation, from Psalm 18:32-33; (note), where see the notes. "Vincunt aeripedes ter terno Nestore cervi." Dried fruit was an important part of winter food. “Yield yourselves to God.” “If you live in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit.” Be spiritually minded. In “high places” men breathe more freely, so pure and exhilarating is the rarefied air. First, such communion with God brings--, I. 2. O, that none may come short of it! Habakkuk 3:19 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. Habakkuk was able to pray with surety, "though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines.. though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food.. though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls.. God's faithful people are enabled to exercise faith in him in the worst of times, and they shall be hid in the day of his fierce anger. I shall escape the fury of the Chaldeans, and sing a hymn of thanksgiving. Even so when at the end of the world all shall fail, and the love of many shall wax cold, and the Church, which is likened to the fig tree the vine and the (Luke 13:6; Isaiah 5:1; Isaiah 21:33; etc. 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. [marginal note,] "Neginoth." “He will make my feet like hinds,” which bound upward through His imparted strength, trod, when scared by alarms here below, flee tearless to their native reeks, spring from height to height, and at last shew themselves on some high peak, and standing on the Rock, look down on the whole world below their feet and upward on high. And he will make me to walk, &c.— And cause me to tread again on my own high places. Habakkuk 3:19, ESV: "GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. Some think that this was said with regard to Judea, which is, as it is well known, mountainous; but I take the expression more simply in this way,—that God would make his faithful people to advance boldly and without fear along high places: for they who fear hide themselves and dare not to raise up the head, nor proceed openly along public roads; but the Prophet says, God will make me to tread on any high places. And He gives him feet that can clamber without slipping, and makes him walk in the high places, within his soul far from strife and trouble. Truly, Lord, thy goings forth have been, in this divine character, from everlasting. The 18th Psalm gives a somewhat different and inferior version of that thought when it says, “It is the Lord that girdeth me with strength.” But Habakkuk, though perhaps he could not have put into dogmatic shape all that he meant, had come further than that, “The Lord is my strength.” He not only gives, as one might put a coin into the hand of a beggar, while standing separate from him all the while, but “the Lord is my strength.” And what does that mean? That is the first blessing that this ancient believer, out of the twilight of early revelation, felt as certain to come through communion with God. Chuck Smith :: Sermon Notes for Habakkuk 3:17-19 ← Back to Chuck Smith's Bio & Resources "DANCING FAITH" I. “He makes my feet like hinds’ feet.” The stag, in all languages spoken by people that have ever seen it, is the very emblem of elastic, springing ease, of light and bounding gracefulness, that clears every obstacle, and sweeps swiftly over the moor. Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages; turning their own arms against them, and ruining the country throughout. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments. Blessed be the Lord for this sweet ministry of thine; and blessed be thy labours. Elevation. One wave of the hand, and they are miles away. REFLECTIONS.—1st, This chapter is called a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet: it is drawn up like David's psalms, and suited for the service of the sanctuary. He confirms the same truth,—that he sought no strength but in God alone. God never explains himself. The first word some are wont to render conqueror. To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient, Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament, The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary, Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Will make me to walk upon mine high places -, To the chief singer on my stringed instruments -, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places, To the chief musician on my stringed instruments. He makes my feet like deer's feet, And enables me to go in high places. For it is not our own and it is our own; not our own, i. e., not from or of ourselves; but our own, since It is in us, yea “He the Lord our God is our strength,” not without us, for He is our strength, but in us. Worthy to be laid up in that Persian casket embroidered with gold and pearl, which he had appeared them. 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