Habakkuk 3:13
Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah. Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.
Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people is the declaration that God goes out to save His people and to save with His Anointed. His appearing is an act of deliverance in which He comes to bring salvation to His people and to cause righteousness to reign. At the same time the wounding of the head out of the house of the wicked is judgment upon the wicked, bringing destruction and defeat upon them. In that day of the Lord He destroys the wicked while He acts for the salvation of His people.
As a prayer recalling God's mighty acts, the promise sustains confidence and hope of deliverance despite judgment and hardship. It assures that God will act in His appointed time, so that His people can rejoice in Him even amid hardship. The same going forth to save His people and to defeat their wicked enemies was illustrated when the Lord Himself fought for Israel in Joshua's battle for Gibeon against the Amorite kings. He marched through the land in indignation and crushed the heathen in anger, and gave the entire enemy host into Joshua's hand before evening. That rout was completed by great hailstones sent from heaven and by holding the sun and moon still. The halted sun and moon and the defeat of the enemy stand recalled as signs of God's intervention for His people.
The vision belongs to Christ's glorious appearing, when He comes to deliver His people. It describes the day of the Lord amid great distress and devastation before Christ's appearing, a time of trouble from which the saints will escape.