Parade of Prophets: Habakkuk

I Am Working

Wicked hands abound,

While those of the just

hide under ground.

Dark days fear no light,

While those of the sun

cower in forever night.

Are You not at our side?

How long shall our cries

in the shadows abide?

Does not this vex You thus?

In the face of all perversity

the law seems powerless.

My child, I will amaze.

You must believe, I Am working

in the midst of your days.

Habakkuk 1:2-11

Yet the Just Shall Live

Flying eagles

from farther

than earth’s

every corner,

Riding horses

more swift

than charging

leopard cats,

Gnashing teeth

more fierce

than hungry

evening wolves,

They make homes of houses not

theirs.

They make captives of people

like sand.

They come to do violence.

They come to devour.

Bitter and hasty,

Terrible and dreadful,

They want us dead.

Lord, how long

shall we cry out?

Why are the wicked

allowed to torment?

When will their feet

lift off our necks?

Yea, yet the just

shall live by faith,

to you, oh God

we shall cling.

Habakkuk 1 and 2

Those Who See

Behold a world

That carves images

out of wood,

And expects them to awake,

Who makes statues

from stone,

And waits for them to arise,

Who overlays with gold

things on this earth,

with no breath at all,

And listens for them to speak.

Let all the things of this earth

Keep their silence

Before the one true God,

And may those who see

Live by their faith in Thee.

Habakkuk 2:4-20

You Sin

Woe to him

Who builds his house

On Ill-gotten gain.

Though he builds walls

all around,

To protect it

from other evil hands,

The floors in that house

will whisper the truth

To the beams in the ceiling,

and the rooftops

will tell the world

Your sin against your soul.

Woe to him

Who builds a town

On bloodshed.

Though its people

labor to hide the truth,

They weary themselves

in vain,

For the rest of the world

knows it is not of God.

A city built on iniquity

is a raging fire that

cannot be put out.

You sin against God!

Habakkuk 2:9-14

No Matter How Things Look

Bigger than the sky,

On chariots and horses

You ride,

Bow in hand and

arrows at the ready,

Spear all aglitter,

Your glory

is the heavens.

Your brightness

greater than light,

Rays flashing

from your hands,

Beams racing

from your eyes,

You stand above and come

to measure the earth...

Again.

Before the nations startle,

Before the lands tremble,

Before the mountains scatter,

Before the hills bow down,

Before the rivers run away,

Before the seas

to the depths retreat,

Lord, please!

remember mercy,

And spare us

the judgement of your sighs.

Was it the rivers

who angered you?

Was it the sea?

Did the mountains offend?

Or was it Your children?

With salvation held aloft,

You struck the house

of the wicked,

Laying it bare to

a molten foundation.

Though the fig tree

may not blossom,

No fruit may

come from the vine,

Olive oil may not flow

from Gethsemane,

Fields of wheat

may yield no bread,

The flock may be

cut off from the fold,

And no cattle may

stand in the stalls,

We will still rejoice!

In You,

The God of our salvation,

Our strength.

You we will embrace,

And cling to You,

No matter how things look.

We will live by faith.

Habakkuk 3