From Lament to Song
Pastor Tan Thai · May 6, 2018
This sermon, based on Habakkuk chapter 3, traces the prophet's journey from lament over adversity to a song of praise to God. The central focus is the declaration of faith in Habakkuk 3:17-19: even when everything is lost, the righteous still rejoice in the Lord, for the righteous shall live by faith.
This sermon was delivered on Sunday, May 6, 2018, based on Habakkuk chapter 3 — the final chapter of the prophetic book. The pastor reviews the background: the prophet Habakkuk lived in the final days of Judah before Babylon destroyed Jerusalem (586 BC). He had raised two major questions to God about His silence in the face of wickedness and about His use of a more wicked foreign nation to punish His chosen people. After receiving God's answer, Habakkuk wrote chapter 3 as a prayer-song in the Shigionoth style, addressed to the chief musician to be played with stringed instruments.
A key theological argument in the sermon is the unity of God across the Old and New Testaments. The pastor explains that God is not two different beings — one harsh in the Old Testament and one merciful in the New. Scripture is clear: 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever' (Hebrews 13:8). God's punishment of both His chosen people and the nations flows from His love and His holy justice. He always gives time and opportunity for repentance, but when the appointed time arrives, there is no more opportunity — as Paul wrote: 'Now is the day of salvation!' (2 Corinthians 6:2).
The sermon emphasizes that a person's true character and genuine faith are revealed in adversity. Habakkuk, knowing with certainty that disaster would come upon Judah, trembled throughout his body — yet his heart remained calm as he waited on the Lord. This is the portrait of the righteous living by faith: not denying painful reality, but trusting in the almighty God.
The climax of the sermon is Habakkuk 3:17-19 — the most specific and moving declaration of faith in the entire book: 'Though the fig tree does not blossom, and there are no grapes on the vines... yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.' The pastor uses the story of Benjamin Franklin reading this passage to Parisian intellectuals, and the story of pediatric oncologist Dr. Ray Bartfield, to illustrate the power of genuine faith in the darkest circumstances.
The sermon closes with a practical call: God can change circumstances, but what He desires most is to change the heart and faith of the believer. In any situation, believers are called to live by faith like the prophet Habakkuk — not because circumstances are favorable, but because God is the eternal source of strength and the Deliverer.