Habakkuk 3:9

Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. THY BOW WAS MADE QUITE NAKED - i:e., was drawn forth from its cover, in which bows usually were cased when not in use. (Compare Isaiah 22:6, "Kit uncovered the shield.") according TO THE OATHS OF THE TRIBES, EVEN THY WORD - i:e., according to thy oaths of promise to the tribes of Israel (Psalms 77:8, "His promise;" Luke 1:73-42, "The oath which He sware to our father Abraham, that He would grant us, that we, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, might serve, Him without fear"). Habakkuk shows that God's miraculous inter...

The Prophet explains the same thing more clearly in this verse—that the power of God was formerly manifested for no other reason but that the children of Abraham might be taught to expect from him a continued deliverance: for he says that _the bow _of God _was made bare_. By the bow, he means also the sword and other weapons; as though he had said, that God was then armed, as we have found declared before. God therefore was then furnished with weapons, and marched to the battle, having undertaken the cause of his chosen people, that he might defend them against the wicked. Since it was so, we hence see that these miracles were not to avail only for one period, but were intended perpetually to encourage the faithful to look ever for the aid of God, even in the midst of death; for he can find escapes, though they may not appear to us. We now see the import of the text; but he emphatically...

3-15 God's people, when in distress, and ready to despair, seek help by considering the days of old, and the years of ancient times, and by pleading them with God in prayer. The resemblance between the Babylonish and Egyptian captivities, naturally presents itself to the mind, as well as the possibility of a like deliverance through the power of Jehovah. God appeared in his glory. All the powers of nature are shaken, and the course of nature changed, but all is for the salvation of God's own people. Even what seems least likely, shall be made to work for their salvation. Hereby is given a type and figure of the redemption of the world by Jesus Christ. It is for salvation with thine anointed. Joshua who led the armies of Israel, was a figure of Him whose name he bare, even Jesus, our Joshua. In all the salvations wrought for them, God looked upon Christ the Anointed, and brought delivera...

Verse 9. _THY BOW WAS MADE QUITE NAKED_] That is, it was _drawn out_ _of its case_; as the _arrows_ had their _quiver_, so the _bows_ had their _cases_. A fine _oriental bow_ and _bow-case_, with _quiver_ and _arrows_, are now before me; they show with what propriety Jehovah is represented as taking his bow out of its case, in order to set his arrow upon the cord, to shoot at his enemies. It is not the _drawing out_, or _making bare_ the _arrow_, that is mentioned here; but the taking the _bow out of its case_ to prepare to shoot. This verse appears to be an answer to the questions in the preceding: "Was the Lord displeased," c. The answer is, All this was done "according to the oaths of the tribes" the covenant of God, frequently repeated and renewed, which he made with the tribes, to give them the land of the Canaanites for their inheritance. Thou didst cleave

THY BOW WAS MADE QUITE NAKED - The word is repeated for emphasis. Literally, (In) “nakedness, it was laid naked;” the sheath being laid aside and cast away, as Isaiah says, Isaiah 22:6. “Kir laid bare the shield.” Gregory, Mor. xix. 9. n. 54, Compare Augustine in Psalms 59, n. 6.: The bow represents the threat of the vengeance of Almighty God, from which it is at length discharged, if not turned aside; the longer the string is drawn, the sharper issueth the arrow. So then the more the coming of the day of judgment is delayed, the stricter is the severity of the judgment then issuing. So long as judgment is delayed, the bow seems laid up in its sheath. God’s judgments mostly strike suddenly. Psalms 64:7, “as

EXPOSITION HABAKKUK 3:1 Part II. PSALM OR PRAYER OF HABAKKUK. HABAKKUK 3:1 § 1. _The title._ A PRAYER. There is only one formal prayer in the ode, that in Habakkuk 3:2; but the term is used of any devotional composition; and, indeed, the whole poem may be regarded as the development of the precatory sentences in the proemium. (For other hymns in the prophetical books, see Isaiah 24:1, and...

THY BOW WAS MADE QUITE NAKED,.... It was took out of its case, and arrows out of their quiver, and these made use of against the enemies of his people: this is put for all weapons of war; the sword was unsheathed, and all military weapons employed, and the power of the Lord was exerted; or, as the Targum, "the Lord was revealed in his power;'' fighting the battles of his people, as in the times of Joshua: [ACCORDING] TO THE OATHS OF THE TRIBES, [EVEN THY] WORD. SELAH. That is, to fulfil his word of promise, to which he had annexed his oaths, he at several times swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to the fathers of the Israelites, that he would put them in possession of the land of Canaan; and which being worthy of notice, and to be remarked, the word "Selah" is added. So the Targum, "in revealing thou art revealed in thy power, because of thy covenant which thy word made with the...

CHAPTER 3 The Vision of the Coming of the Lord _ 1. The prophet's prayer (Habakkuk 3:1) _ 2. The coming of the Lord for judgment and redemption (Habakkuk 3:3) 3. The effect upon the prophet (Habakkuk 3:16) Habakkuk 3:1. Once more we hear the voice of the man of God in prayer. Shigionoth is the plural of Shiggaion, and is found in the superscription of Psalms 7:1. Its meaning is “loud crying.” The connection with the seventh Psalm is interesting. In that Psalm God appeared to David as the God of judgment, the right

HABAKKUK 3. THE PRAYER OF HABAKKUK. Habakkuk 3:1. Shigionoth: probably plural of _shiggaion_ (Psalms 7:1, p. 373). But LXX reads _n e ginoth_, on the stringed instruments (_cf._ Psalms 4:1; Psalms 6:1, etc.). HABAKKUK 3:2. The poet has both heard of and seen Yahweh's doings in days gone by, and prays Him anew to reveal His saving power to His people. For _yarethi_, I was afraid, read _ra-' ithi_, I have seen (LXX), to be taken with the following words: thus, I have seen Thy work, O Lord. IN THE MIDST OF THE YEARS:...

THY BOW. [Nay] Thy how, &c. NAKED. bare. ACCORDING TO THE OATHS OF THE TRIBES... SELAH. This second "Selah" (see App-66) is to connect the remarkable parenthetic statement with the continuation of the details of Israel's deliverances, which it interrupts, and might otherwise have disturbed. The text of this clause is not "corrupt", as alleged by some modern critics. The oaths are the promises sworn to the fathers or the tribes [of Israel] when still in the loins of the patriarchs. WITH RIVERS. [and the waters gushed out] with rivers. See Psalms 74:15; Psalms 78:15; Psalms 78:16; Psalms 105:41.