Hang Him On It!

"Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not destroy his resting place; For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Or the LORD will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him. Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked; For there will be no future for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out. My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those who are given to change, For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin that comes from both of them?" Proverbs 24:15-22 (nas)

Today we look at another reason why God allows the ungodly to have success - to illustrate by contrast the horror of an eternity without God. I was reading how Spurgeon, one of the commentators, commented:

"Eternal punishment will be all the more terrible in contrast with the former prosperity of those who are ripening for it."

The seeming joy and splendor of the successful and prosperous ungodly will be cast aside by God more awful. You will no doubt remember the story of Haman, who prepared a gallows (for hanging criminals) for Mordecai but finished up by being hanged upon it himself. The ascent to the gallows was an essential ingredient in the terror of the sentence: "Hang him on it!" (Esth. 7:9).

Those who are wicked are being raised up so that all might see how great their fall is. A preacher tells how he read the story of the rich man and Lazarus, in Luke 16, to a group of young people who were hearing it for the first time. He stopped at the part where Lazarus lay at the gate, the dogs licking his sores, while the rich man ate in splendour in his house, and said: "Which would you rather be, the rich man or Lazarus?" With one voice the young people shouted: "The rich man." He then read on, and after telling the story of how both died and the rich man was in torment while Lazarus was carried to Abraham's side, he asked: "Now which would you rather be?" This time they responded more quietly and soberly "Lazarus."

That is the truth the psalmist saw as he sat quietly in the sanctuary of God.

"— for the evil man has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out." (v. 20)

Lord, those who have believed and were baptized ought to thank You for

the SALVATION they have and pray for those who do not possess the

same gift we all have. Personally, I ache for those who are being

risen high in their sins where we will all see their wicked

deeds. I pray that they will come to realize their own

ruin and change giving adoration and worship

to You for You have given us all Your Son,

Jesus!

In Jesus' Name, Amen!