Why do the wicked seem always
to prosper? Both in the secular world and
in the religious world. Why? Why do the wicked prosper
while the righteous suffer? Why is it that ungodly people
live in ease while godly men and women seem to have no earthly
comfort at all. Those facts trouble the hearts
of believing men and women to varying degrees at different
times, but all believers, I'm certain, have some difficulty
with them sooner or later. Many godly people have felt like
David when he saw the prosperity of the wicked. Look at it again
for just a minute in Psalm 73. Psalm 73. It seems that the wicked always
prosper, always increase in riches, power, influence, and happiness. Always. Shelby and I were talking after
watching a little bit of news either late last night or early
this morning, one of the two, I forgot which it was. The news
is so insignificant and, you know, Republicans are fighting
this thing, that and other, and Democrats fighting with Republicans. And I said, sadly, I don't trust
one one bit more than I do the other. She said, none of them? I said, none that I know. Not
one of them. Not one of them. Don't trust
one any more than I do the other. The wicked seem to prosper. The
wicked seem to get their way. And the same thing's true in
the religious world. David said here in Psalm 73,
verse 3, I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity
of the wicked. For there are no bands in their
death, and their strength is firm. They are not in trouble
as other men, neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore,
pride compassionate them about as a call, as a chain. The violence
covered them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness. They have more than heart can
wish. They are corrupt and speak wickedly. Concerning oppression, they speak
loftily. They set their mouth against
the heavens and their tongue walketh through the earth. Therefore,
his people return hither, and waters of a full cup are wrung
out to them. And they say, How doth God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High? Behold, these are
the ungodly who prosper in the world and increase in riches. The wicked prosper, the righteous
are cast down. Virtue usually is dressed in
rags. Godly hearts are usually broken,
weeping hearts. And those who seek the glory
of Christ in this world seem to reap the most of the world's
sorrow, pain, reproach, and scorn. How do you understand such apparent
contradictions? How do you make any sense of
those things? Human reason says Prosperity is the result of diligence,
wisdom, and thrift. Poverty is the result of laziness,
ignorance, and vice. That's what reason says. Human
religion says happiness, health, and prosperity are signs of God's
favor. Sorrow, sickness, and poverty
are signs of God's displeasure. That's exactly what Job's three
friends thought, wasn't it? All human religion thinks like
that. Very often we fall into that
snare. Too often we think like that. Too often we judge things in
just that way. We're all apt to think that God
lifts a man up if he's pleased with him. And if the Lord cast
one down, then he's angry with him. This was the matter that
caused David so much confusion that he said, my feet almost
slipped. My steps were well nigh gone. Turn over to Jeremiah, Jeremiah
chapter 12. David's not the only one who
had this problem. Now I'm talking about great men, great men of
faith. David was a man remarkable for
his faith in God. remarkable for his worship of
God. Jeremiah was a man remarkable
for his confidence in God, bold in declaring the truth of God.
But look here in Jeremiah chapter 12, this prophet of God was vexed
with the very same paradox. Righteous art thou, O Lord, when
I plead with thee, yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments. That's a good way to talk to
God. Lord, I know you're righteous. When I plead with you, I know
you're righteous. But Lord, let me tell you what's bothering
me. Let me tell you what I have going on in my mind as I watch
what you do in the earth. When you send poverty and you
send hunger and you send war and you send darkness and you
send earthquakes and pestilence and disease. Let me talk to you
about your judgments. Wherefore doth the way of the
wicked prosper? Wherefore are they, are all they
happy that deal very treacherously? Thou hast planted them, yea,
they have taken root. They grow, yea, they bring forth
fruit. Thou art near in their mouth. That is God they cuss you all
the time. And far from their reigns. Now, with those things
in mind, let's look at our text. Back at chapter one, verse 13. The title of my message tonight
is Facts, Questions, and Conclusions. Facts, Questions, and Conclusions. The Prophet Habakkuk states two
clearly revealed, irrefutable, undeniable facts. And he raises
some questions. Questions that demand answers.
Questions that necessitate that we draw some conclusions. Back
in chapter 1 verse 13. Thou art of purer eyes than to
behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. Wherefore lookest
thou upon them that deal treacherously? And holdest thy tongue with the
wicked, or when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous
than he. God's prophet saw the wicked
prospering. Not just wicked in a moral sense,
the spiritually wicked, the Babylonian idolaters, those vile, base,
ungodly, barbaric, cruel men. invade the land of Judah, destroy
the city of Jerusalem, destroy the temple of God, and take God's
covenant people, His chosen people Israel, into Babylonian captivity
for 70 years. And he raises a question. He
says, wherefore lookest thou upon them? God, you're of pure
eyes than to behold evil. I know that. You cannot look
on iniquity. I know that. So, Lord, tell me,
why do you put up with these men? Why do you look on these
men? Why have you sent these men?
And holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that
is more righteous than he. As in all other things, so here,
our thoughts are not God's thoughts. Our ways are not His ways. I'm almost 61 years old. I think I've learned a few things.
I'll tell you something I have observed. I have never yet seeing God obviously
do something, that if I had planned it, that's the way I'd have done
it. Not one time. No aspect of my life, nothing
in our family, nothing in raising our daughter, nothing in providing
necessities of life, nothing in the ministry of this congregation,
nothing in my personal life in ministry, Not one thing in 61
years have I clearly seen God do and looked at it and said,
that's just the way I would have done that. Not one thing. Not one thing. God's ways are
never our ways. His thoughts are never our thoughts. Now learn to give him thanks.
that he does things after his thoughts and not yours, after
his ways and not yours. I recall saying to Bill Raleigh,
how old's Tony now? 30? I recall saying to Bill Raleigh
about 29 years ago, that's about when he had the surgery, wasn't
it? What a great privilege God's
given you and Vicki. Wouldn't choose it. You wouldn't
have either. Wouldn't choose it. You see,
they have the privilege of doing something. None of us sitting
here have the privilege to do it. They've had the privilege
of raising one they know is God's elect. What a privilege. I wouldn't
have chose it for you and you wouldn't have chose it. Oh, but
what a privilege. God's thoughts are not our thoughts. God's ways are not our ways. And he always does things his
way. And his way is best. Look at
our text again. Thou art of purer eyes than to
behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. Wherefore, that is, so tell me,
Lord, why do you look upon them that deal treacherously and holdest
thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous
than he? First Habakkuk states these two
facts. Here's the first one. Thou art
of purer eyes than to behold evil. Of course, God is omniscient
and Habakkuk's not denying that. God knows all things. He had
no question about that. God beholds all things good and
evil. He sees all men and all the deeds
of men, righteous and wicked, good and evil. But he doesn't
look upon the sins of men with approval. He doesn't look upon
those things with pleasure, with delight. They're contrary to
his nature, repugnant to his will, breaches of his law, and
soon he will eradicate them. Here's the second fact, irrefutable
fact. Thou canst not look upon iniquity. God wholly righteous, just and
true, cannot look on sin. He can't abide it. He can't tolerate
it. He can't put up with it. Unlike
us, God never gets accustomed to it. Unlike us, God never becomes
tolerant of evil. Unlike us, the evil thing never
becomes all right with him. He cannot. look on iniquity. Thou canst not look on iniquity,
he says. We see this clearly for a couple
of reasons. Turn back to Psalm 5. Psalm 5. The damned in hell scream loudly
and declare to us that God Almighty is too holy to behold evil, a
purer eyes than to look on sin. Look in Psalm chapter 5, the
5th Psalm, verse 3. My voice shalt thou hear in the
morning, O Lord. In the morning will I direct
my prayer unto thee and will look up. For thou art not a God
that hath pleasure in wickedness. Neither shall evil dwell with
thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight. Thou hatest all
workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that
speak leasing. The Lord will abhor the bloody
and deceitful man. But as for me, I will come into
thy house in the multitude of thy mercy, and in thy fear will
I worship toward thy holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness,
because of mine enemies make thy way straight for my face. Look in Psalm 11, verse 4. The Lord is in his holy temple.
The Lord's throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, his eyelids
try the children of men. The Lord tryeth the righteous,
but the way of the wicked, and him that loveth righteousness,
his soul hateth. Upon the wicked, he shall reign
snares, fire, brimstone, and then horrible tempest. This shall
be the portion of their cup. Now watch this. For the righteous
Lord loveth righteousness. God sends men to hell because
he's righteous. Because he is of purer eyes than
to behold iniquity. Of purer eyes than to look upon
iniquity. Of purer eyes than to look at,
to behold, to countenance, to tolerate sin. He won't do that. He's the righteous Lord. He loves
righteousness. Do you hear the screeches and
the screams and the wails of the damned in hell? Understand
that God won't tolerate sin. But there's something infinitely,
infinitely, infinitely above this that demonstrates this fact,
that God is a purer eyes than to behold evil. When the Lord
God Almighty found sin on his son. His son cries, My God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping
me and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime,
but thou hearest not, and in the night, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that
inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our Lord says, this is the reason
you've forsaken me. Because when God made his holy
son sin as our substitute, God in his holiness could not look
on sin. And so the Lord God turns his
back on his darling son, and the son cries, my God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? because he is of purer eyes than
to behold evil. Do you understand this? God's
holy, righteous, just, and true. Now, look at Habakkuk's questions. For the sake of time, we'll take
these three parts of one question. Wherefore lookest thou upon them
that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked
devoureth the man that is more righteous than he. Now, without
question, these words are intended by God, the Holy Spirit, I am
certain, to turn our hearts immediately to look to our Savior of whom
I've just spoken to you. When he was made sin and he cries
out to God, the Lord God in heaven is silent. when he was put to death by wicked
men in our place for the satisfaction of divine justice as our substitute
because of our sins. When God Almighty, by the hands
of wicked men, nailed his son to the curse tree, the Lord God
was silent and turned from him. But here the prophet is asking
also, about his own immediate difficulties in providence, things
that he was facing at the time, the dark, dark, heavy, heavy
strokes of God, his rod upon the children of Israel. What
Habakkuk saw was as disturbing and confusing to him as it was
disgusting. The Chaldeans, the Babylonians,
that reprobate, cursed, ungodly, filthy, filthy, filthy people,
that idolatrous nation. God sends them into Israel to
destroy the nation, destroy the temple, destroy the city, to
bring his own church into judgment and take them into captivity
in Babylon. This was a stumbling block to
Habakkuk. And it's a stumbling block to
many of Zion's pilgrims in this world. The wicked king of Babylon,
Nebuchadnezzar, took the very last king the Jews ever had,
Zedekiah. They slaughtered his sons before
his eyes to humiliate him. And then Nebuchadnezzar had his
eyes gouged out just after he saw his sons slaughtered. Then
he ties him in brass shackles and takes him into captivity
in Babylon. This man, Zedekiah, was the king
of Judah. He was the king of God's favored
people. He was the king of Israel. He
was the king of God's church. He was the king of God's covenant
people. And the man who took him into captivity, The man who
slaughtered his sons, the man who gouged out his eyes was a
pagan, barbarian, filthy man by the name of Nebuchadnezzar.
And Habakkuk says, God, how can you do that? How can you do that? Lord, how can such things come
to pass? Habakkuk understood God did it. Let that be understood clearly.
God sent Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon. God calls Nebuchadnezzar to take
Israel and Judah into captivity. God used Nebuchadnezzar. Habakkuk
understood, God, these men are rods in your hands. He understood
that. Don't ever fail to recognize
whatever comes to pass, God did it. God did it. It's not an accident. It's not
something that sneaked up on God. It's not something that
God had no control of. God did it. He says, I form the
light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things.
You say, I wouldn't worship a God like that. I've been telling
folks best I can. I know you don't. I know you
don't. You worship a stump. You worship
a worthless God. God who has control of nothing.
He who is God rules in heaven and in hell. He rules in light
and in darkness. He rules in prosperity and in
poverty. He rules in pleasure and in pain. He rules in good and in evil. If he sends a bumper crop or
if he sends famine, that's God's doing, altogether his doing.
Not only Well, Zedekiah, with all his faults, a far better
man than Nebuchadnezzar. There were among the Jews many
who truly believed God, truly righteous men and women, people
who loved and worshipped and faithfully served the triune
Jehovah. And yet they too were devoured by the Babylonians.
The idolaters destroyed them with the sword and slaughtered
their sons and daughters. And yet God was silent. God was silent. Gave not a word, not a slight
reprieve in his providence, not a slight sign of hope, not even
a slight sign, not a slight indication, maybe things aren't going to
be so bad after all. God was utterly silent when these
things went on. Apply all of that to Babylon's
spiritual. The same is true. Karl Marx wrote
many years ago that religion is the opiate of the people.
You wonder how on earth can people practice the religions they practice?
How on earth can folks think about praying to a God who cannot
say? How on earth do people imagine
the, how can they concoct the stories they do about religion?
Shelby and I, last night as we went home, I saw a little portion
of that movie, The Untouchables, again. And one of the police
officers in Chicago who was on the take for Mr. Capone, arranged
for the murder of two police officers, a treasury agent and
a witness. And when this police officer
looked out the window, I'm talking about one of their officers.
He was one of the buckety bucks. He looks out the window and sees
his dead companions, his dead fellow officers laying on the
streets. Do you know what he did? He arranged for it. He arranged
for it. He looked at him and he said, he crossed himself and went his
way. Now that was just written in the script. I'm fully aware.
It was written in the script because it's commonly practiced.
Men have an opiate by which they soothe their consciences. It
may be crossing yourself like an idolatrous papist, or it may
be walking to a badness confessional like an idolatrous badness. But
the religion of Babylon is just an opiate. by which men and women
deceive themselves and soothe their consciences, by which Babylon
has intoxicated all the nations of the earth. And that's all
the religion is. And yet this too is of God. Listen to this. There must also
be heresies among you that they which are approved may be made
manifest among you. Why the heresies? Why is it when you flip your
television on and start flipping the channels, try to find something
to see on television that you're not embarrassed to watch with
your wife or your daddy or your son or your daughter? Let's look
at something religious. Try to find something on there. Just flip through the channels,
that religious section, about that long, and pause, and see
if you can find anybody saying anything about free grace. Just
try to find somebody. Try to find somebody who says
something about salvation is of the Lord. I mean, I'm talking
about just the basic, simple things, let alone talk about
God has chosen you from the beginning. Try to find it. But you can go
through those channels. And if you've got one of the
big satellite things, you can get hundreds of them. You can
get religion 24 hours a day all over the world, all over the
world. How come Babylon's voice is heard
so well? God can stop that immediately.
God can stop that immediately. If he is pleased, Rex, he can
do as we often pray. He can turn the tables upside
down and cause the voice of his prophets to be heard just that
way. He can send revival like that as he's pleased to do so.
But why are the heresies abounding? That those who are gods approved
of him before the world began in Christ the Lord, chosen and
accepted of him, redeemed by the blood of his Son, made righteous
in Christ, so that they will be made manifest. Because his
sheep, Merle Art, will not hear the voice of a stranger. They
will not. And when a stranger's voice,
and this fellow runs after that, that guy runs after that, and
this fellow runs that way, and that one runs that way, oh, what's
happened? What's happened? Goats run everywhere. Sheep follow
the shepherd. It's exactly right. That's the
reason God uses such things. Turn to 2 Thessalonians 2. 2 Thessalonians 2. Paul's talking about the second
coming. He says in verse 3, let no man deceive you by any means.
For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away
first. You know what that word falling away is, Mark? It's the
word apostasy. Christ is not coming until there's
a wholesale, universal apostasy of religion from God. And that
the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. Who is he? Who is he? Somebody asked me
last week exactly who is Antichrist. Here he is. Anybody and everything
That opposeth and exalted himself above all that's called God or
that is worshipped So that he as God said it in the temple
of God showing himself that he is God Now if you read the old
writers And I strongly suggest you read the old writers that
were good All of them all the Puritans all the Baptists all
of them would tell you Antichrist is the Pope And you know what?
They're all right. They're all right. Antichrist
is the Pope. You shouldn't say that. Let me
see if I can back off a little bit. Antichrist is the Pope. That fellow over in Rome with
that silly Masonic order uniform on that looks like a woman in
drag or a man in drag, he's the Pope. He's Antichrist. He's Antichrist. But he's not
the only one. He's not the only one. Forum
of false religion and every proponent of free will works religion that
sets man in the place of God Demanding that man be worshipped
as God is Antichrist All of them. All of them. But you don't Verse
5 Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you these
things Now why y'all been out of shape I told you this I told
you this time and time again I told you these things and now
you know what withholdeth restrains that he might be revealed in
his time. For the mystery of iniquity does already work. Only
he who now let it will let he who now restrains will continue
to restrain until it be taken out of the way. And then shall
that wicked be revealed. Whom the Lord shall consume with
the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of
his coming. Even him who's coming is after the working of Satan.
Now watch this. Watch this. With all power and
speaking in tongues and healing diseases and casting out demons
and having visions and a word of knowledge and a word of prophecy.
Is that what it says? It's exactly what it says. With
all power and signs and lying wonders. Rewarding us those who
are the Apostles of Antichrist will mimic and imitate the Apostles
of Christ as we see happening in this day of Pentecostal mania
and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. Oh Now brother
dot he's he's a good man. He's just a false prophet You
ought to you ought to be you ought to say since they say these
fine fellas he just he's just he just hates God that's all
and Deceivableness of unrighteousness. Deceivableness of unrighteousness. That's the religion of the whole
world. In them that perish because they receive not the love of
the truth that they might be saved. Now watch this. And for
this cause Because men are perfectly willing to follow the sorceries
and the witchcraft of freewill works religion and refuse to
hear the truth of God, God shall send them a strong delusion that
they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who
believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Now, don't leave off the next word, but Oh, we're bound to give thanks
to God always for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation. How are we to deal with these
things? How are we to respond to the
ungodliness we see in our world, our community, in our schools,
in our senators, in our congressmen, in our legislators, in our president,
the janitors that work to the CEO in the head office. How do
you deal with it? How do you handle it? Why do
the wicked prosper while the unrighteous suffer? Why do the
ungodly people live in ease while godly men and women seem to have
no ease at all? Why does false religion prevail
everywhere while the gospel of Christ is everywhere trampled
underfoot? We've heard the facts and considered
the questions. Now, let me give you some instruction,
some conclusions that I think will help as we go through this
world. Child of God, in the midst of darkness, spiritual,
social, domestic, personal darkness, political darkness, civil darkness,
and religious darkness, cast yourself flat into the arms of
God's all-wise providence. He who works all things after
the counsel of his own will for our good and his glory, knowing
that the Lord performeth all things for me. All things. the holy, wise, good, adorable
providence of our God. All children of God rejoice in
his goodness, in his providence. Lord, I don't know how you're
working. I don't know what the present,
immediate end shall be. Unlike Habakkuk, you've not told
me this is going to end in 70 years. I don't know what the
end shall be, but I know the end of all things is the saving
of your people and the glory of your name. Give me grace to
rest in that. Number two, remember that this
world is not the place of punishment for the wicked. Wherefore, their ways shall be
unto them as slippery ways in darkness, and they shall be driven
on and fall therein. God set them in slippery places,
and their feet shall slide in due season. David said, Went
to the house of God, and I understood their end. He said, how are they
brought down to desolation as in a moment they're utterly consumed
as a dream when one awaketh so, O Lord, when thou awakest thou
shalt despise their image. A brutish man knoweth not, he
said. Neither doth the fool understand this. When the wicked spring
as the grass and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish,
it is that they shall be destroyed forever. I turn back to Habakkuk
again, chapter 2, verse 8. And remember this, this world is not the place of
our reward. This world is not the place of
our reward. Our God shall reward us at last
with eternal life in Christ. Eternal glory, eternal bliss,
eternal happiness. The believer, often afflicted,
waves of trouble roll over his heart and soul. And those things
are sanctified by God's grace here. But there's another day
coming, a day when the spoiled shall be the spoilers, when the
remnant of God's chosen, his Israel, shall spoil Babylon and
all the nations of the earth. Just as Israel came out of Egypt
with a high hand and they brought everything there was in Egypt
that was of any count, everything, everything in Egypt that was
worth anything. Everything in Egypt that could
in any way benefit them, they brought it out with them. They
spoiled the Egyptians. So we read earlier in Revelation
18, God's Israel shall spoil Babylon. And all the nations
of the earth shall bring their glory into God's holy city, the
New Jerusalem. They came back in chapter 2,
verse 8. Because thou hast spoiled many
nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee because
of men's blood and for the violence of the land of the city and of
all that dwell therein. See, one more text, very quickly,
Isaiah 33. Isaiah 33. Woe unto thee that spoilest,
and thou wast not spoiled, and dealest treacherously, and they
dealt not treacherously with thee. When thou shalt cease to
spoil, thou shalt be spoiled. And when thou shalt make an end
to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee,
now and forever. I have a little more peace most
of the time than most people I reckon. I've read the last
chapter of this book. And there's a day coming soon
when everything and everybody shall bow to the feet of the
son of God and kiss his feet as king and God shall be all
in all. And that's exactly the way I
want it. And that's exactly the way God has decreed it. And that's
exactly the way it should be. And if you catch me wrong tomorrow,
I might not be able to say this. So listen to me now. I'm prepared
to wait. How about you? I'm prepared to wait. Lord, do
what you will everywhere for the glory of your name. the good
of your people, the honor of your son. Amen.