‘O YHWH, I have heard your report,
And I fear, O YHWH, your work,
In the midst of the years, renew it,
In the midst of the years make it known,
In wrath remember mercy.
As Habakkuk considers what he has heard from YHWH about what He is going to do, he is filled with awe and trepidation. But nevertheless he prays that YHWH will continue to carry it through and bring it about in the eyes of all creation, so that all may see it. One thing, however, he pleads, and that is that in exercising His wrath, God will remember mercy.
Thus the righteous man is living by faith (Habakkuk 2:4), no more questioning God's will. He admits his fear and awe, but still prays for the fulfilment of His purposes. Let God bring about His will, only, in His wrath, let Him remember mercy. We too must learn to have such confidence in God, even when we cannot understand. His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts not our thoughts. And we must recognise that in the end it is He Who knows best.