The Pulpit Commentary — Habakkuk — Section 35

hut it should come. Hence he should possess his soul in patience. So should Christians we.it patiently for the coming of the Lord for their fine.I redemption and for the overthrow of e.11 the Church's foes (Je.s. v. 8). The contents of the vision nre narrated in the verses which follow. LEssoNs. 1. The dignity of man, as a being who can converse with God; the con- descension of God in that he stoops to talk with man. 2. The duty and the profit of reflection and meditation; the sin and loss of those who never commune with their own hearts. 3. The simplicity of the Bible a testimony to its divinity; had it been man's book it would not have been so easy to understand. 4. The certainty that Scripture prediction will be fulfilled; the expectation of this should comfort the saints; the realization of this will vindicate God. Vers. 4, 5.-Tlie u11just man and the just: a contrast. I. THEIR CHARAOTERS. 1. The unjust man. (1) Proud or "puffed up" in soul. The heart the seat and source of all sin (Jer. xvii. 9; Mark vii. 21); pride its origin and essence (Ps. x. 4; lii. 7; Prov. X'l'i. 5; Mal. iv. 1). Arrogant haughtiness and self-sufficiency charac- teristic of the carnal heart (Rom. i. 30; Eph. iv. 17). These qualities had marked the Assyrian (Isa. x. 12), a.nd were to distinguish the Chaldean (ver. 5) conqueror. 'l'hey discover themselves in a.11 who oppose or decline from the spirit of Christ (1 Cor. v. 2; Phil. ii. 3; 3 John 9). They will eventually culminate in a.ntichrist (2 These. ii. 4). (2) Wicked or ungodly in life.. His soul, being thus puffed up with pride, is not "upright" or "straight" within him; is not free from turning and trickery; does not in its thoughts, feelings, words, a.nd actions adhere to the straight path of integrity, but loves "crooked ways" and devious roads, a.nd thus turns aside unto iniquity (Ps. cxxv. 5). Again true of the Chaldea.n, whose iniquities---drunkenness, boasting, restless ambition, insatiable lust of conquest, relentless oppression-are specifically enumerated (ver. 5), it holds good also of the natural heart and carnal mind (Jer. xiii. 10; 2 Tim. iii. 2). (3) Rejected or "condemned" by God. This implied in the fact that he is not a. just or "justified" man. 2. The just man. (1) Believing in soul. As pride or trust in self is the 11.Ilimating principle of the wicked, so is faith or trust in God that of the good. Faith the root of all moral and spiritual excellence in the soul. As the proud soul stands aloof from God, the humble heart cleaves to God, as" that which is straight, being applied to what is straight, touches and is touched by it everywhere." (2) Upright in life. As pride leads to disobedience, faith leads to obedience. Hence Paul speaks of " the obedience of faith" (Rom. i. 5), i.e. such obedience as is inspired by faith. The soul t.ha.t trusts God, walks in h.is ways, avoids sin, and endeavours to order his conversation aright (Ps. 1. 23; 1 Pet. ii. 5). Faith a.nrl holiness a.re in the gospel scheme inseparably connected (John xv. 8; Rom. 1ii. 13; Eph. ii. 10; Titus iii. 8). (3) Accepted by God. Paul in Romans (i. 17), and the writer to the Hebrews (x. 38), by quoting this statement from Habakkuk, teach that the "j~st" and the "justified" a.re one--tha.t the just in the Scripture sense of that expression are those legally e.nd spiritually righteous before God. II. THEIR DESTD<""IEB. L That of the unjU11t-death. Though not ,;tatcd, this may be inferred. (1) The soul of which the inward essence is pride and self-sufficiency is destitute of spiritual life, is dead. "Swollen with pride, it shuts out faith, and with it the presence of God" (Pusey); and "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb. x.i. 6). (2) The man who lives in sin is dell.d while be liveth (1 Tim. v. 6)---dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. ii. 1), and so long as he remains_ a stranger to the principle of faith which the breath of God's Spirit alone can awaken ID the unrenewed, ha must continue "dead," i.e. incapable of actions spiritually good. (3) The sinner not accepted before God is of necessity condemned by God; and to be under condemnation is to be "legally dead." 2. That of the just-life. Not necessarily life physical and temporal, because the "justified" die no less than their neighbours (Heb. ix. 27); but (1) life legal and judicial-" he that believeth shall never come into condemnation" (John iii. 18; v. 24; Rom. viii. 1); (2) life moral and spiritual, which Scripture connects with faith in God and in his Son Christ Jesus as a stream with its fountain, as a tree with its root, as an effect with its cause (Acts xv. 9; xxvi. 18; 2 'l'hess. i. 11; Gal. ii. 20); and (3) life indestructible and eternal, this being always o. quality iu;cribcd to the life which the justified man receives through bis faith (John iii. 36; CH, II, 1-20.] THE BOOK 01'' HABAKKUK. 31