John Calvin Commentary Habakkuk 3:19

"Jehovah, the Lord, is my strength; And he maketh my feet like hinds` [feet], And will make me to walk upon my high places." — Habakkuk 3:19 (ASV)

He confirms the same truth: that he sought no strength other than in God alone. But there is an implied contrast between God and those supports on which men usually lean. Indeed, there is no one who is not of a cheerful mind when he possesses all necessary things, when no danger or fear is impending; we are then courageous when all things smile on us.

But the Prophet, by calling God his strength, sets Him in opposition to all other supports, for he wishes to encourage the faithful to persevere in their hope, however grievously God might afflict them.

His meaning then is—that even when evils impetuously rage against us, when we vacillate and are ready to fall every moment, God should then be our strength, for the aid He has promised for our support is all-sufficient. We therefore see that the Prophet entertained firm hope and, by his example, animated the faithful, provided they had God propitious, even if all other things failed them.

He will make, he says, my feet like those of hinds. I am inclined to refer this to their return to their own country, though some give this explanation: “God will give the swiftest feet to His servants, so that they may pass over all obstacles to destroy their enemies.”

But as they might think in their exile that their return was closed to them, the Prophet introduces this most apt similitude: that God would give His people feet like those of hinds, so that they could climb the precipices of mountains and dread no difficulties. He will then, he says, give me the feet of hinds, and make me to tread on my high places.

Some think that this was said with regard to Judea, which is, as is well known, mountainous. But I take the expression more simply in this way: that God would make His faithful people advance boldly and without fear along high places. For those who fear hide themselves and dare not raise their heads or proceed openly along public roads; but the Prophet says, God will make me to tread on any high places.

He at last adds, To the leader on my beatings. The first word some are accustomed to rendering ‘conqueror.’ This inscription, ‘To the leader,’ למנצח, lamenatsech, frequently occurs in the Psalms. ‘To the conqueror’ is the version of some; but it means, I have no doubt, the leader of the singers.

Interpreters think that God is signified here by this title, for He presides over all the songs of the godly. It may not be inappropriately applied to Him as the leader of the singers, as though the Prophet had said: “God will be a strength to me; though I am weak in myself, I shall yet be strong in Him. He will enable me to surmount all obstacles, and I shall proceed boldly, who am now like one half-dead. He will thus become the occasion of my song and be the leader of the singers engaged in celebrating His praises, when He shall deliver His people from death in so wonderful a manner.”

We therefore see that the connection is not unsuitable when he says that there would be strength for him in God, particularly as the giving of thanks belonged to the leader or the chief singer, so that God’s aid might be celebrated not only privately but at the accustomed sacrifices, as was usually the case under the Law. Those who explain it as denoting the beginning of a song are extremely frigid and jejune in what they propose; I shall therefore pass it by.

He adds, on my beatings. This word, נגינות, neginoth, I have already explained in my work on the Psalms. Some think that it signifies a melody; others render it ‘beatings’ (pulsationes) or ‘notes’ (modos); and others consider that musical instruments are meant.

I affirm nothing in a doubtful matter. It is enough to bear in mind what we have said: that the Prophet promises here to God continual thanksgiving when the faithful were redeemed. For not only would each one acknowledge that they had been saved by God’s hand, but all would assemble together in the Temple and there testify their gratitude. They would not only confess God as their Deliverer with their voices but also with instruments of music, as we know was the usual custom under the Law.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as we do not cease daily to provoke Your wrath against us, and as the hardness and obstinacy of our flesh is so great that it is necessary for us to be afflicted in various ways—O grant that we may patiently bear Your chastisements, and under a deep feeling of sorrow flee to Your mercy; and may we in the meantime persevere in the hope of that mercy, which You have promised and which has once been exhibited toward us in Christ, so that we may not depend on the earthly blessings of this perishable life, but, relying on Your word, may proceed in the course of our calling, until we shall at length be gathered into that blessed rest, which is laid up for us in heaven, through Christ one Lord. Amen.

Commentary on Zephaniah

Calvin's Preface to Zephaniah

Calvin's Preface to Zephaniah

Zephaniah is placed the last of the Minor Prophets who performed their office before the Babylonian Captivity; and the inscription shows that he exercised his office of teaching at the same time as Jeremiah, about thirty years before the city was destroyed, the Temple pulled down, and the people led into exile. Jeremiah, it is true, followed his vocation even after the death of Josiah, while Zephaniah prophesied only during his reign.

The substance of his Book is this:

1. He first denounces utter destruction on a people who were so perverse that there was no hope of their repentance.
2. He then moderates his threatening by denouncing God’s judgments on their enemies—the Assyrians, as well as others who had treated the Church of God with cruelty. For it was no small consolation when the Jews heard that they were so regarded by God that He would undertake their cause and avenge their wrongs.
3. He afterwards repeats again his reproofs and briefly mentions the sins which then prevailed among the elect people of God.
4. At the same time, he turns his discourse to the faithful and exhorts them to patience. He sets before them the hope of favor, provided they continually looked to the Lord, relied on the gratuitous covenant which He made with Abraham, did not doubt that He would be a Father to them, and also looked with a tranquil mind for that redemption which had been promised to them.

This is the sum of the whole Book.