Matthew Henry Commentary Habakkuk 1:1-11

"The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. O Jehovah, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save. Why dost thou show me iniquity, and look upon perverseness? for destruction and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up. Therefore the law is slacked, and justice doth never go forth; for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore justice goeth forth perverted. Behold ye among the nations, and look, and wonder marvellously; for I am working a work in your days, which ye will not believe though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, that march through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves; and their horsemen press proudly on: yea, their horsemen come from far; they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour. They come all of them for violence; the set of their faces is forwards; and they gather captives as the sand. Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a derision unto him; he derideth every stronghold; for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it. Then shall he sweep by [as] a wind, and shall pass over, and be guilty, [even] he whose might is his god." — Habakkuk 1:1-11 (ASV)

The servants of the Lord are deeply afflicted by seeing ungodliness and violence prevail, especially among those who profess the truth. No one hesitated to do wrong to their neighbor. We should long to go to the world where holiness and love reign forever, and no violence will be before us.

God has good reasons for His long-suffering toward the wicked, and for the rebukes the righteous endure. The day will come when the cry of sin will be heard against those who do wrong, and the cry of prayer for those who suffer wrong. They were to notice what was happening among the nations through the Chaldeans, and to consider themselves a nation to be scourged by them.

But most people presume on continued prosperity, or believe that calamities will not come in their lifetime. They are a bitter and hasty nation, fierce, cruel, and bearing down all before them. They will overcome all who oppose them. But it is a great offence, and the common offence of proud people, to take glory to themselves.

The closing words give a glimpse of comfort.