Psalms 55:16 - Meaning and Application

The title of this book tells us no more than this: the writer was a prophet, a man who spoke by God’s call and message (Habakkuk 1:1). That is enough. If we know he was truly sent by God, we do not need to ask about his tribe, his family, or where he was born. The book itself is called the burden he saw, which means he was so sure of its truth that it was as if he had already seen it happen with his own eyes.

In these verses, the prophet sadly laments the evil of the times. He is deeply grieved by the sad collapse of religion and righteousness. His complaint to God is a sorrowful one.

1. He says that no one could safely call anything his own. In spite of the strongest laws of right and justice, the strong took what they wanted, even when they had no right to it. The land was full of violence, as it was in the old world (Genesis 6:11). He cries out over iniquity and grievance, spoil and violence (Habakkuk 1:2). In families, among neighbors, in business, and in courts, people acted with force and made little or no conscience of wronging others if it helped them. He does not seem to be speaking mainly of wrongs done to himself, for in evil times those with little to lose often suffer least. But it grieved him to see others mistreated, and he shared the tears of the oppressed. Doing harm to harmless people is a sin in itself, and it is a heavy burden to all who care about God’s people and mourn over such sins. He also says that the wicked surround the righteous (Habakkuk 1:4). One honest person, or one honest cause, may be attacked on every side. Many wicked people may join together to bring it down. Even one wicked person, using many different schemes, can seem to hem in the righteous completely.

2. He laments that the nation was split into parties and factions that kept attacking one another. This is a grief to all who love peace. There are people who stir up strife and contention (Habakkuk 1:3). They fan divisions, widen old wounds, turn people against one another, and spread discord among brothers. They do the work of the accuser of the brethren, Satan. They wake up quarrels that had been sleeping and carefully stir up old sparks hidden under the ashes. Blessed are the peacemakers, but cursed are those who break peace. They make parties and so make trouble that spreads farther and lasts longer than they imagine. It is sad to see evil people warming themselves at fires that are consuming all that is good in a nation, and even adding fuel to them.

3. He says the violence and strife had become so strong that they overran the law and the work of justice (Habakkuk 1:4). Because God did not seem to act against them, no one else would. So the law is slack, silent, and lifeless, as though it no longer had a pulse. Judgment does not go out as it should. Crimes go unpunished, and no justice is done to offenders. Worse still, wrongful judgments are made. If the case reaches a court of fairness, the righteous are condemned and the wicked are declared right. Then the cure becomes a worse disease. The lawmakers did not try to repair the law’s weaknesses or head off the growing danger. The rulers did not carry out the good aims of the laws that were made. Violence choked the stream of justice and kept it from running freely.

4. He says all this was open and public, shamelessly displayed. This evil was set before him, and wherever he looked he saw it. Spoiling and violence are before me (Habakkuk 1:3). The rise of wickedness in a nation is a deep pain to good people. If they did not see it, they would not believe it was so bad. Solomon often complained about the grief he saw under the sun. The prophet would gladly have lived like a hermit, if that would keep him from seeing such evil (Jeremiah 9:2). But then we would have to leave the world altogether. So we should long for that better world where holiness and love rule forever, and where spoiling and violence will never appear before us again.

5. He says he brought this complaint to God, but received no relief. “Lord,” he says, “why do you show me evil? Why have you placed me in a time and place where I must see it? Why do I keep living among such people?” He cries out to God about this violence. He has cried out loudly and for a long time, but it seems that God does not hear or save. It feels as if God does not punish the oppressors or defend the oppressed, as though his arm were too short or his ear too dull. When God seems to let the wicked prosper, it shakes the faith of good people. It can tempt them to say, “I have kept my heart pure for nothing” (Psalm 73:13). It can also harden the wicked, who say that God has abandoned the earth. We should not think it strange if evil is allowed to grow strong and last a long time. God has reasons for both allowing bad men to go on for a while and for correcting good men through their troubles. We may plead with him and speak honestly about his judgments, but we must still say that he is wise, righteous, and good in all things. And we must trust that a day will come, even if it is delayed, when sin will cry out against those who do wrong, and prayer will cry out for those who suffer.