399. God Remembers Mercy
Habakkuk 3:2 O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
When we hear the speech of the Lord it will make us afraid. The Lord thunders the Law convicting us of sin, guilt and condemnation. True fear comes at first when we are face to face with God. After the thunder comes the gentle and refreshing rain of the forgiveness and love of God. The second reaction after meeting God is amazing comfort and relief, He tells of love and grace.
The prophet here is bold enough to petition the Lord to revive His work and make it known in the midst of the years. God’s work is to create and recreate, redeem and restore. This is what the Lord does. The Gospel is His proper work. The Law that thunders was His alien work. “Reviving” is the work that God is about. In the very middle of things, when we need Him the most, we ask Him to come, hear our prayer and do His work. And He does.
We ask the Lord to remember mercy in the midst of the wrath of God. We suffer the wrath of God under the curse because of our Fall into Sin. This is life; this is the problem; this is the “midst of the years.” Wrath is the common experience of all human beings. We suffer the wrath of God against sin, although we don’t think of it that way and we don’t know why it’s happening. Sin is real. Wrath is real. Life is hard. But in the midst of it all God remembers mercy. Thank God, for without mercy we are all doomed without hope. But with God there is mercy, and He will not forget it. We look at the cross and we hear the gospel and we are reminded that God will remember mercy for us.
This year (2020) seems to be one of those “years.” During this time the Lord will hear our prayer and revive His work. We can be sure that the promise is true and real: the Lord will remember mercy. “God, be have mercy on me, a sinner.” And He will. He remembers me; He remembers mercy. I am the one who needs a reminder, that God will remember mercy.