[Prayer]
O LORD, I have heard thy report,
And fear moved deep through the frame.
Revive the work in the midst of the years;
In wrath remember mercy again.
[Theophany I]
God comes from Teman, the Holy One from Paran,
Glory covers heaven, praise fills the earth.
Brightness breaks like light from hidden power,
Pestilence and burning move before his path.
[Refrain]
He stands, and the earth is measured;
He looks, and the nations are driven.
Ancient mountains scatter,
Everlasting hills bow low.
[Verse II]
Rivers writhe beneath the chariot,
Sun and moon stand still above.
Arrows flash across the darkness,
Salvation marches for the people he loves.
[Chorus]
Though the fig tree shall not blossom,
Though no fruit is on the vine,
Though the olive labor fails us,
Though the fields yield no supply,
Though the flock is cut from pasture,
Though no herd is in the stall,
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD my strength,
The God of salvation over all.
[Bridge: Trembling]
I heard, and my belly trembled;
My lips shook hard at the voice.
Decay entered bone, my steps lost rest,
Yet waiting became my choice.
[Theophany II]
He went forth for the people's salvation,
Struck the head from the house of the proud.
The sea received the trampling horses,
Deep waters lifted their voice aloud.
[Final Chorus]
Though the fig tree shall not blossom,
Though no fruit is on the vine,
Though the olive labor fails us,
Though the fields yield no supply,
Though the flock is cut from pasture,
Though no herd is in the stall,
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD my strength,
The God of salvation over all.
[Outro]
He makes my feet like the feet of the deer,
And leads me on the heights without fear.
Habakkuk 3: The fields remain empty when the song begins
Habakkuk 3 turns the argument into prayer and gives the prayer a musical frame. Habakkuk has heard God’s reply and remains afraid, asking for renewed divine action while pleading that wrath remember mercy. The poem then recalls a divine appearing so great that ancient mountains bow, waters yield, nations tremble, and even sun and moon stand within the imagery of saving power. The march is explicitly directed toward the salvation of God’s people, not toward destruction for its own sake. Yet Habakkuk’s confidence does not erase his body’s fear or the material losses he can imagine. Fig, vine, olive, field, flock, and herd may all fail. His rejoicing begins with those losses still in place, locating strength in the God of salvation before the final line returns the prayer to stringed instruments.
