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Why Good Things Happen to Bad People

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• Well, let's open our Bibles today, if you would please, to the book of Matthew, chapter 5, and we're going to be looking at verse 45. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 45. So notice, if you would, this one simple verse. Our Lord says, "That you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven. For He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." If you remember last week, I brought a message which I titled "Why Bad Things Happen to Good People." Well, today I'm just going to do the opposite. I'm going to bring a message titled "Why Good Things Happen to Bad People."

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• We could ask this question another way: Why do the wicked prosper and the righteous struggle many times? I can assure you that many Christians have wondered about this phenomenon. In fact, they have asked repeatedly—in fact, they have asked me many times—why is it that God has not struck some of these people down instantly? I mean, God is a God of justice, and God is a God of righteousness. Yet here are these people that are fighting against Him, who hate Him and despise Him, and yet they seemingly are prospering.

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• Now, we understand that each of us deserves death. There's not one of us that has not sinned against God, and one sin is sufficient for death, that is for sure. But when we're talking about sinners in that sense of the word, we're talking about what you and I might refer to as normal sinners. But the ones I'm talking about are sinners in a very unique way. They not only have multitudinous sins, but their sins are of vast magnitude as well. These individuals are those who hate God, who fight against Him and do everything they can to destroy His kingdom and destroy His people.

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• When you think about men like that, I hope that the name George Soros would come to your mind, and maybe even Bill Gates. And just to show you what I'm talking about—and of course there are plenty more—but here's a quote from Bill Gates that was given in 2010, and he was on one of the TED Talks when he said this. He said, "If we do a really good and great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower the world population by perhaps 10 or 15 percent." So that ought to tell you right up front what all the vaccines were about. Now, here's a short article on George Soros.

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• I want you to listen carefully. The title of the article is "The God Who Carries Around Some Dangerous Demons." This was published October the 4th, 2004. The article says, "It seems that Soros believes that he was anointed by God. 'I fancied myself as some kind of God,' he once wrote. 'If truth be known, I carried some rather potent messianic fantasies with me from my childhood, which I felt I had to control, otherwise they might get me into trouble.' When asked by Britain's Independent newspaper to elaborate on that passage, Soros said, 'It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of God, the creator of everything.'"

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• "But I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out." Note that phrase, "since I began to live it out." Those unfamiliar with Soros would probably dismiss the statement out of hand. But for those who have followed his career in socio-political endeavors, it cannot be taken quite so lightly.

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• Now listen to what he said. "Next to my fantasies about being God, I have a very strong fantasy about being mad." Soros once confided on British television. "In fact, my grandfather was actually paranoid. I have a lot of madness in my family. So far I have escaped it." And the answer is, no, he has not escaped it. He's still mad. He's still insane. That is for sure. Now, when you stop and think about exceedingly wicked and vile men, think about the economic destruction as well as physical suffering that has abounded because of Soros and his unbiblical and ungodly views.

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• You have to ask this question: Why has he lived to a ripe old age? Why has God not just simply destroyed him? Think also of the millions that have suffered and died due to the wickedness of tyrannical rulers. And how about the millions who are not only disabled but have died because of Anthony Fauci and his so-called vaccine? And then you have to pause and ask, well, why has God allowed these people to live?

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• And so I hope you remember now that when I'm talking about men like Fauci and men like Soros and Bill Gates, we're not talking about normal sinners. We're talking about men who hate God, who fight against Him.

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• Now, remember in the first message I emphasized definitions. And I pointed out that our definition of bad and good oftentimes varies with someone's worldview or someone's understanding, certainly their interpretation. But many times the definitions of good and bad, right and wrong—wow—those definitions that are Christian and biblical and those that are wicked and evil hold absolutely opposite views. For instance, here's a verse in Isaiah 5 and verse 20 where God says, "Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter."

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• So there are some of us who are Christians who believe the Bible. We talk about that which is sweet. We talk about that which is light. We talk about that which is good. Then there are those who will absolutely take an opposite definition, and they would call our good bad, and they'd call our light darkness, and they'd call our sweetness bitter. So God is talking about these individuals. Now, I told you that there are degrees when we think about that which is bad.

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• There are three main Greek words used in the New Testament that happen to be translated as evil. It would benefit us if we understood these words and actually how they applied. So let me give them to you very quickly. The first word happens to be the word phaulos. We would spell it F-A-U-L-O-S in the English. And the word phaulos literally means that which is worthless, that which is useless, and that which is base and wicked. So the word phaulos would refer to what you and I would call a lazy, indolent, slothful person. So a person that will not work, or a person that will not keep his word, or a person that will not finish a job, we would call worthless. We would call him a phaulos person. Because he's useless, he does not accomplish anything. Now, the second Greek word is the word kakos. We would spell it K-A-K-O-S.

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• And it means—and it refers to—that which is bad in nature, that which is troublesome, that which is injurious, that which is pernicious, and that which is destructive. So we would say the riots were bad, they were destructive, they were bad and evil in and of themselves.

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• Now the third word is the word ponēros. And the word ponēros refers to that which is evil in and of itself. This word is a very interesting word, and it's a very important word. Let me give you a comparison. If I were to use the word theos, which is the Greek word for God, the word theos could just simply refer to any god. It could refer to Zeus, who is a false god; Aphrodite was a false goddess. It just means god. But when you have put the definite article, ho, in front of theos, it's ho theos, it means the God. The one true and the living God. Okay? Now the same is true with the word ponēros. So ponēros means that which is evil in and of itself. But if you put the ho, the definite article in front of it, ho ponēros, it's the evil one. And that's how it's translated in our Bibles, the evil one, of course, referring then to Satan or what we would simply call the devil.

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• Now, we normally think of good and bad in degrees. We say, well, he's a pretty good fellow or he's not so bad. And so what we're doing, we are defining good and bad based upon degrees. But even when you talk about the word phaulos, which is normally that which is worthless and useless, we have to understand that that is a sin as well. Because in Proverbs chapter 6, God says, "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise." What does she do?

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• She puts up her food in the summer so she'll have it in the winter. And of course the lazy is condemned in Scripture, oftentimes called the slothful as well. And here's an interesting thing: the slothful, the lazy, the indolent individuals, they will use even the utmost outrageous excuses not to work. For instance, in Proverbs 22 and verse 13, listen to this: "The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the street."

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• "I shall be slain." In other words, "I can't go out. I can't go to work. I can't accomplish anything because I heard there's a lion on the loose somewhere and he might kill me." Well, we're not going to run into that probably here unless one escapes from a zoo somewhere. But how about Ecclesiastes chapter 11 and verse 4? The Scripture says, "He that regardeth the wind shall not sow," and listen to this, "and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap." In other words, "It looks cloudy, I better not go out and work today. Or the wind's blowing, I better not go sow today. Or it might rain, I better just stay home." In other words, they're willing to use any excuse not to work.

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• Now, even if we excuse and discount the worthless and the useless and the indolent, there are still those that we would call bad, and there are still those that we would call inherently evil and wicked. Now, it's always astounded the righteous that God could ever use the wicked whatsoever. And it's always astounded the righteous that oftentimes the wicked are used to chastise the righteous. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, back to the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk. I want you to see this. If you look in Habakkuk chapter 1 and verse 13, right after the book of Nahum, you come to the book of Habakkuk. Look in Habakkuk 1 in verse 13. Now Habakkuk knew that God was going to use the Babylonians to chastise Judah and Jerusalem. But look at his predicament. Look at what he says in verse 13 in reference to God. He says, "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil." Look at that. "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity."

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• Now, let me explain that. Here's what he's actually saying: "Thou art of purer eyes than to look upon evil condoningly." Or "You cannot look upon iniquity approvingly." God looks upon it to judge it. But He does not approve of it, and He certainly does not condone it. So look at it again: "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity." Now here's the question.

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• "Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously," the Babylonians, "and holdest thy tongue, when the wicked," the Babylonians, "devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?" So Habakkuk understood that Judah and Jerusalem deserved judgment. He understood that they deserve chastisement or punishment. What really got Habakkuk was that God was going to use someone more wicked, more evil than Judah and Jerusalem to chastise them when they were less wicked and less evil than the Babylonians. Now, the truth of the matter is God does use wicked men. God can use a crooked stick to draw a straight line. God did use Nebuchadnezzar. God did use the kings of Assyria.

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• You can read about that in Isaiah chapter 10. God did use Darius. God did use Cyrus. God used wicked men. And let me put it to you like this: Since God is God, God may use whomever He pleases, whenever He pleases, however He pleases, and wherever He pleases, because He is God. And whatever God does is just and righteous. So the question today is, why do good things happen to bad people? Why do good things happen to bad people? Before I even get into the message, what I want to do is lay out the fact and the reality that God is good to all of His creatures. And we have to remember that the wicked are His creatures as well. He created them just like He created the righteous. In our text that we read in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 45, the Bible said very plainly, "That you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven. Why? For He maketh the sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth the rain on the just and the unjust."

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• So the wicked and the good, the wicked and the righteous, both are partakers of God's goodness. They get rain. They get sunshine exactly the way we do. And so here's the truth: God is good, even to those who hate Him and despise Him and refuse Him. So if you look back in your Bibles to Psalm 104, let me just show you the goodness of God in this passage. So if you look in Psalm 104 and let's begin reading there with verse 10. Psalm 104 and verse 10. Look at what the Bible says. Psalm 104 verse 10: "He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills." Now, why does God send springs of water?

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• Here's why: "They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. He," that is God, "watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works."

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• Now look at verse 14: "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart. The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted; where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house."

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• "The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies. He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down."

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• Now look at this: "Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening." And then he says, "O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches." In other words, God takes care of all of His creatures.

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• Now, if you will turn right over to Psalm 107, you will find this same verse repeated four times in this one psalm. So if you look at Psalm 107 and verse 8, look at what the Scripture says: "Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" Skip down to verse 15: "Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" Now skip down to verse 21: "Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" Now verse 31: "Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" Four times in this one psalm God says that men should praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men. And so God is good to all. He's good even to those who hate and despise Him.

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• Now here's another verse. I want you to think about it. We're talking about the goodness of God. In Acts chapter 14 in verse 17 the Bible says, "Nevertheless he," that is God, "left not himself without witness." Look, listen to that: "He did good." Well, how did God do good? "And gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." So God did not leave Himself without witness. The goodness of God is a witness to the fact and the reality that God is God. So it is the goodness of God that feeds and cares for all of His creatures.

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• Now, I want to give you a quote by Thomas Manton. Thomas Manton was an old Puritan. He has a number of volumes I have in my library. But here's what he said on the goodness of God. Quote: "He that is God is originally good, good of himself, which nothing else is, for all creatures are good only by participation and communication from God. He is essentially good, not only good, but goodness itself. The creature's good is a super-added quality. In God, it is his essence. He is infinitely good. The creature's good is but a drop, but in God there is an infinite ocean of gathering together of good. He is eternally and immutably good, for he cannot be less good than he is, as there can be no addition made to him, so no subtraction from him." So God in theology is known as the chief good. God is good in and of His essence.

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• So let me try to answer the question today. Why is God good to the wicked? Why do good things happen to bad people? Well, there's several answers given to us in Scripture. And here is the first one. And I want you to turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 2. And I'm going to give you the first point today. That is: the goodness of God leaves the wicked without excuse. The goodness of God leaves the wicked without excuse. So let's read Romans chapter 2, verses 2 through 6, and we're going to come back and look at these verses. So Romans 2, verse 2: "But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds."

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• Now, you must notice right away that the goodness of God is in the context. He says, "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness." And then later on, he says, "Not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance."

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• Now, first of all, let me deal with this: "The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." The Greek word for "leadeth" there is the word agō, which literally means to guide, to direct, to point the way, to conduct, and simply to bring. So what it is saying is this: it is the goodness of God that points the way to repentance. In other words, based upon God's goodness and based upon the wickedness of the sinner, he ought to repent when he sees God's goodness. That's it. Now.

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• There's a difference between the leading here and the drawing in John 6 in verse 44. For instance, in John 6 in verse 44 He said this: "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." Now "no man can" is a term of ability. No man has the ability to come savingly to Jesus Christ on his own. But now He talks about leading in verse 4. He says, "The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." It directs, it points the way. Moreover, the word "leadeth" here is a present active indicative in the Greek, which means the indicative means it's a truth, but a present active means it's something that is constantly and continually going on.

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• So here's what he's saying. You could say it like this: "Or despisest thou—"

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• "—the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God is continually pointing the way to repentance." Wow. You've heard the old adage. You've quoted it, I'm sure, many times: "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." And so here's the goodness of God leading or pointing and directing to repentance. But here the wicked will not repent.

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• Now, let me show you why. Let's go back to verse 4. He says, "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness."

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• Now the Greek word here, kataphroneō, literally means to condemn, to despise, to disdain, and to think very little of. So the wicked then disdain, they despise, they don't even think of the goodness of God. They don't even think it's worth thinking about. They despise it. They disdain it. And so, literally, the wicked are not thinking about the goodness of God as they should, although the goodness of God is pointing the way to repentance.

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• That's what should be in their life. So, here's the question. Since the wicked—and I'm talking about the exceptionally wicked and vile, I know each one of us deserves death. I understand that. But let's think about these who are exceedingly wicked, who fight against God, who hate God, who will do anything they can to destroy the people of God, the work of God. Why does God not just strike them dead? That would be the easy thing to do, you would think, and we know God is just. But look at this. Of course, you know, if God struck each one of us dead the first time we sinned, there wouldn't be anybody left. But look what happens. Look in verse 4: "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance?" Now, wait a minute. So what happens is this: when the wicked despise the goodness of God and refuse to be led to repentance, instead of instantly smiting them, God forbears a little longer with them. Now the word "forbearance" is the word anochē in the Greek.

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• It means He tolerates them. He puts up with them a little longer. So when they despise His goodness, instead of smiting them instantly, He forbears with them. He allows them to continue to live. And He even allows them to continue to live in their own wickedness, in their own rebellion. So here's my next question. What happens then when the wicked despise God's goodness and also now despise His forbearance? When you stop and think about this, the wicked man normally thinks that if he can get by with something and God does not strike him dead, then God's not going to do it anyhow. Well, when a man despises God's goodness and he despises God's forbearance, if you look in verse 4, the next thing that comes into play is God's longsuffering. "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering?" Now the word "longsuffering" in the Greek is makrothumia. We understand the word makro, it means that which is great, that which is large. Thumia is from the word thymos, which means passions.

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• So it means large passions or large sufferings, so to speak. It literally means to be patient and to endure and to show slowness in avenging wrongs. So God then allows the wicked who despise goodness and despise forbearance—He suffers long with them. So makrothumia then is the quality of being patient and enduring, especially in the face of provocation. Think about it. The Hebrews in the wilderness, God said they provoked Me ten times. Ten times God should have destroyed them, but He did not. Now here's the interesting thing. In the Septuagint—and any time you

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• see, and I'll say it like this, LXX, that's Latin, Roman numerals, for 70. The Septuagint is called the 70 because 70 scholars translated the Hebrew into Greek in Alexandria, Egypt. And by the way, our Lord quoted from the Septuagint and so did the disciples. But in the Septuagint, when you get to the word "longsuffering," it is actually translated from the Hebrew, and the Hebrew words are erek apayim, and it literally means, huh, "long of nose" or "long nostrils." Now, how in the world can the word "longsuffering" be "long nostrils" or "long of nose"?

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• And the answer is this. Because when individuals get angry, when they get upset, when they're ready to fight, when they're ready to do something, the nostrils always begin flaring because they start breathing like this and you can just see the nostrils flare and you know he's getting ready to punch you. But the longer the nose, the more indiscernible the flare of the nostril is. So you can't really tell the anger that's building up. So when God is long nostrils, oh, they are provoking Him. And they cannot see the righteous anger and the righteous indignation that is building up as He suffers long with them and their rebellion and their sin and their wickedness.

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• Now, I want you to note this. Look in verse 4 again: "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." Now look at verses 5 and 6: "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds." Now, look in verse 5: "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart." Now, an impenitent heart is a heart that will not repent. Now, wait a minute. The goodness of God has pointed the way to repentance. But here's the wicked who have an impenitent heart. They do not want repentance. And the reason they do not want repentance is because of the hardness of their heart. A hardened heart is an impenitent heart.

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• Now the interesting thing is the Greek word for "hardness" is the word sklēros. I hope you know that we get many of our English words from the Greek. We get many of our medical terms from the Greek. I suppose probably everyone has heard of arteriosclerosis. Hardening of the arteries, straight from the Greek sklēros, that which is hard, that which is rough, that which is intolerable. So this is what he's talking about: "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart"—towards the goodness of God has no effect on it. The forbearance of God has no effect upon it. The longsuffering of God has no effect upon it because it is a hardened heart.

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• It is a sclerosis. He has a real, real trouble. Now watch what happens. He said, "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." So what is happening? When the wicked then despise the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering and refuse to be pointed in the direction of repentance, their hardened and impenitent heart enables them to treasure up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath. Now here's an interesting thing. The word for "treasurest up" is the Greek word thēsaurizō. We get another English word from that.

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• If I were to ask you, do you have a thesaurus? A thesaurus is a book. It is a treasury of words and synonyms and antonyms. It's a good treasure. I have one on my desk. And I use it quite frequently. So here's what the wicked are doing. They're despising all of this. And it's leaving them without excuse, because now all they're doing is treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath. So they cannot have any excuse whatsoever, because God has been good to them. God has forborne with them, and God has had longsuffering with them. They have no excuse. And all they're doing in despising all this is treasuring up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath.

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• Now, I want you to look if you would please. Here's the second truth: The goodness of God increases the condemnation of the wicked. So he says, in verse 5, "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds." Let me tell you something. In the judgment, God will give you exactly what is due. You will receive the full wrath of God if you have despised His goodness, His forbearance, and His righteousness, because you are absolutely without excuse. Now I told you that this would increase the condemnation of the wicked. The wicked have their portion in this life. I want you to look back in your Bibles if

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• you would to Psalm 17. Psalm 17. I preached on this text many, many years ago. I might ought to re-preach it. But I want you to see this in Psalm 17, beginning there in verse 13, where David is praying against the wicked. And look what he says in verse 13: "Arise, O LORD, disappoint him," talking about the wicked man, "cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword: from men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." So here he's giving us a very excellent contrast between the wicked and the righteous, because the wicked have their portion in this life. But he said, "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness."

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• "I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." Now, when you stop and think about some of these men, they are rich beyond our wildest imagination. And they are. They have whatever they want. They do whatever they want. They go wherever they please. If you get in their way, they'll just run over you. It doesn't bother them. They have their portion in this life.

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• Now, let me give you another two good illustrations of this. Most of you remember that passage in Luke chapter 16, where Lazarus and the rich man—you remember Lazarus was laid at the rich man's gate full of sores, the dogs came and licked him. Well, let me read to you. This is Luke chapter 16, verses 22 through 25: "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." You notice what he said: "Son, remember." You know, I believe that part of God's judgment upon the wicked is they will remember

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• every sermon they ever heard. They'll remember every scripture they ever memorized as a child. They will remember every testimony that was ever given to them. They will remember all of God's goodness. They'll remember all of God's patience. They'll remember all of God's longsuffering and forbearance. But it won't do them any good. It will just torment them throughout eternity. He said, "Son, remember, thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things." You had your portion in this life.

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• Now Lazarus is comforted and thou art tormented. Hmm. How about this one in Luke chapter 12? You don't have to turn there, but you remember that rich farmer. He said, "What in the world am I gonna do?" He said, "My barns are full. I've got more to put in." He said, "I know what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and I'll build bigger barns, and I will say, Soul, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry, for thou hast much goods laid up for many years." And here's what the Scripture says. God speaks to him and He said, "But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" Then He said, "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." In other words, the man who wants his portion in this life, who has it in this life, God calls him a fool because he's not rich toward God.

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• Now, I've been trying to impress upon you the difficulty at times, among believers especially, when they see the wicked prospering and they're suffering. And when you stop and think about the persecution of believers, think about those 70 in the last several weeks who had their heads chopped off by the Muslims because they were Christians. Why? Why did that happen? I want to show you the crowning passage which demonstrates this conflict. I want you to look in your Bibles to Psalm 73. Psalm 73.

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• And we're going to be looking there with verse 1. And I want you to see how the situation is laid out. This psalm is a psalm of Asaph. I hope you know that David did not write all of the psalms. Asaph wrote a number of psalms. Solomon wrote some psalms. In fact, Psalm 72 is a psalm of Solomon. Moses wrote Psalm 90. Most of the psalms were written by David, but not all of them. So, Asaph in Psalm 73 has a problem. Well, what is that problem? Well, look in verses 1 through 3.

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• He says, "Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." Now I want you to note the goodness of God is involved. He said, "Truly God is good to Israel, but as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. Why? For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." Wow. So here's a man who undoubtedly is suffering. And he sees the wicked prospering.

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• And the righteous are hurting. So what moves him, what is it that makes him so envious? Well, let's read verses 4 through 12. Look at this now. He's going to tell you the problem. He says, "For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm." In other words, up until the day they die, they don't have any problems. Look in verse 5.

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• "They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men." They just don't have the problems. They got the money. They got the position. They got the power. And trouble doesn't bother them. Look in verse 6: "Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment." So they're proud. They're arrogant. They're haughty. They're high-minded. Huh? Look at them. You can see them all in the world. Then he said, "Violence covereth them as a garment." In other words, they'd just as soon run over you as look at you. It doesn't bother them. Look in verse 7: "Their eyes stand out with fatness."

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• "They have more than heart could wish." Now, let me tell you something, folks. When you're hungry and when you're doing without and when you have financial difficulties and you're praying and you're living right and doing what's right, it seems like there's no light at the end of the tunnel, and you look around and here's the wicked who ain't God, just prospering to no end. It's troublesome. It's bothersome.

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• He says, "Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish."

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• Now look at verse 8: "They are corrupt," that's how they got a lot of their riches, too, "and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth." They just as soon curse God as you. It doesn't bother them. They will blaspheme man. They will blaspheme God. Then he says in verse 10, "Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them." I'll explain that momentarily. And they say—we're talking about the wicked now—and they say, "How doth God know?"

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• "And is there knowledge in the most High?" In other words, "How does God know what I'm doing? God's not here." They're denying the omniscience of God, the omnipotence of God, the omnipresence of God. "God doesn't know. And if He did know, He's not going to do anything about it." That's according to Psalm 10. But notice, if you would, "How doth God know? And is there knowledge in the most High?"

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• Look what he says in verse 12: "Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches." Wow. That's a pretty good description of the ungodly. Now, I want you to go back to verse 10. He says, "Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them." What in the world does that mean? Well, I want to give you a quote. This quote is found in a commentary by Albert Barnes. I believe that Barnes is correct. That's why I'm quoting him and I'm going to show it to you

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• from other scriptures just momentarily. But listen to what he says: "And waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. Literally, 'waters of fullness'—full waters. The Chaldee renders this, 'many tears flow from them.' The Septuagint, 'full days shall be found by them.' The word rendered 'wrung out' is from the Hebrew, means properly to suck, then to suck out, and to drink. Generally it is applied to one who drinks greedily of an intoxicating cup, and then the one who drinks a cup of poison to the dregs." Hang on. He gives us scriptures there for those. He says, "The meaning here is this"—I want you to get—"the meaning here is that the facts in this case, and the questions which arose in regard to those facts, and which so perplexed them, were like a bitter cup, a cup of poison, or an intoxicating cup which overpowered their faculties, and that they in their perplexities exhausted the cup. They drank it all, even the dregs. They did not merely taste it, but they drank it.

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• It was a subject full of perplexity, a subject that wholly overpowered all of their faculties and exhausted all of their powers." So what he's saying is here is Asaph and those with him who are so totally perplexed that they are like, "We're drinking poison. We're drinking a bitter cup. We can't figure this out. It taxes us to the infinite degree to try to understand why we are righteous and we love God and we're trying to do what's right and we're suffering. And look at George Soros and look at Bill Gates, look at Anthony Fauci, look

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• at all the rest of them. Why is it, Lord? Why is this happening?

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• Now, I believe that Barnes's interpretation is correct based upon the following scriptures. Look at it in verse 13. Look what Asaph says: "Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me."

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• He said, "God, this taxes my brain. I don't understand this. I can't comprehend this." He said, "Have I cleansed my heart in vain? Have I washed my hands in innocency? Should I have not been guilty and corrupt and vile like they were?" He said, "For all the day long I've been plagued. I've been chastened every morning. When I thought to know this, it was absolutely too painful for me." Asaph could not understand. By the way, Asaph was a godly man.

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• He was a singer in the temple. In fact, he was the head of singers. He taught singing. He gave praises to God on a regular basis. And so evidently he was suffering. His family was suffering. Maybe all of the Israelites were suffering. And he looks around and he sees the wicked prospering. Wow. And he said, "When I thought to know this, it's just too painful for me. I can't grasp this. Can't wrap my mind around it."

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• Well, how was it resolved? Well, here's how. Look in verse 16 again. He said, "When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end." He said, "When I went in and went to worship God and He opened my eyes, then I understood their end." Look in verse 18: "Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment!"

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• "They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee." Wow. Look what he said. When he saw their end, when he saw that God would cast them down in destruction, when he saw that God put them on a slippery place—they had one foot in the grave and another foot on the banana peel. That's not all. Look what he said. He would please again in the verse. Verse 20 he said, "As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image." Wait a minute.

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• Hang on. What were the wicked doing to God back in Romans chapter 2? They were despising His goodness. They were despising His forbearance. They were despising His longsuffering. And now God is going to despise them. So those who despise God shall be despised by God. But the problem is this: their despisement was temporary while they were alive. Now God's despisement against them will be an eternal despisement. Wow. So I want you to see how he contrasts the righteous

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• with the wicked. So look in verse 21 again. He said, "Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." Then he asked this question: "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart." Look at this: "and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works."

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• So notice what he said, if you would, please. "I have the Lord. I have salvation. They have the world. They have time. I have eternity." Wow. Let me make some applications. Here's the first one. I hope you know this, but it is a sin to envy the wicked. And it is extremely foolish for a child of God to do so. It really doesn't matter how many planes they have, how many mansions they have, how many cars they have.

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• I read years ago that Arnold Schwarzenegger had seven—what are they called—Humvees? That car, yeah, had one for each day of the week. Different color. And I'm driving a truck with 300,000 miles on it. You see, why would I envy him? I would not envy him. I don't care if he had 20 cars for each day. But notice, the Bible says in Proverbs 3 and verse 31, "Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways." Then in Proverbs 23 verse 17, "Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long." Let not your heart envy sinners.

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• Ah. Let me put it to you like this: You may take the world and you may have the world, but I'll take the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember that song that we used to sing all the time, I suppose? "I'd rather have Jesus than anything. I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold. I'd rather have Jesus than riches untold." And that's true. This is what Asaph is saying in Psalm 73.

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• They have their portion in this life. God is my portion. And when you understand Romans chapter 8, when the Bible says that we're heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, that means whatever Jesus Christ inherits, we inherit. We're joint heirs with Him. So God is indeed our portion. That is a fact. But I want you to understand that those who despise God now in time and history and die unconverted, they shall be despised by God eternally. Because God is an eternal God.

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• Here's the second application, and that is this: This truth should motivate us and encourage us to learn to thank God for His great goodness to each of us. God's given us life. He's given us health. He's given us family. He's given us friends. He's given us possessions. He gives us the ability. Have you ever stopped just to thank God for life, for sleep, for rest? I've often thought when you're young, you think you're going to live forever. And when you're young, you think you can do anything. When you get older, you realize you're not going to live forever. And you become thankful that you can do some things and sometimes anything. I'm just simply pointing out the fact there's so much that we need to be thankful for. Our day should be full of praise to our Lord.

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• I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to one last passage, that's Hebrews chapter 13. And if you will remember, the God our Lord Jesus Christ has made us kings and priests unto our Father. And so we are priests unto Him, and as priests we should have a sacrifice. You say, "But my sacrifice is the Lord Jesus Christ." That is true, but we also have another sacrifice, not the fact that we are trying to go some other way for salvation. You understand what I'm saying when I read the Scripture. Look at it. Hebrews chapter 13, look if you would in verse 15. He says, "By him," that is by the Lord Jesus Christ, "therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." So we are to offer up the sacrifice of praise to God continually. Did you know the Bible says, "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you"? You should be able to give thanks for breath. You should be able to give thanks

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• for health and healing. You should be able to give thanks for anything and everything. We are to offer up the praise to our God through the Lord Jesus Christ continually, giving Him thanks. And I don't know about you, but when I look around and see my own sins and know my own heart that's deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, I can just thank Him that He's allowed me to live all these years and allowed me to have my being. Just stop and think about this. Think about the goodness and the greatness of God allowing you to have your mind when so many people today are losing their minds. Think about the fact that God is gracious to us every moment. "Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" God is good, even to the wicked. They may not acknowledge Him, but we should, and give Him praise continually. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We know, Father, that bad things happen to godly people and good people.

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• We also know that good things happen to bad people. It places them without excuse before Thee, and their failure to repent enhances and increases their condemnation. We should be thankful, Father, just for the truth that You've shown to us. Help us, Lord, to praise Thee for Thy word, knowing that Thou hast magnified Thy word above Thy name. And Lord, we do honor Thee today and give Thee the fruit of our lips and acknowledge everything that we are, everything that we have, everything we ever will be and ever will have is only by Your goodness, grace and mercy, because every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from above, from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. We give Thee praise. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

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• you you

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T23:50:27Z