Consider the Place of the Wicked

Presented to:

Bethel Chapel Pentecostal Church

Auditorium Sunday School Class

Granite City, IL

17 December 2017

Updated: December 11, 2017

By:

Boyce Belt

Consider the Place of the Wicked

Opening:

• Merry Christmas

• Gifts

• Prayer
• For Your Consideration

Text:

Psalms 37:1-11 (KJV) 1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers,

neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,

and wither as the green herb.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;

so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

4 Delight thyself also in the Lord;

and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5 Commit thy way unto the Lord;

trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light,

and thy judgment as the noonday.

7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:

fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way,

because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath:

fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

9 For evildoers shall be cut off:

but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be:

yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.

11 But the meek shall inherit the earth;

and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Introduction:

In verse 10 of our text the Psalmist David says that when one considers the place of the wicked it shall not be.  This is not the perspective he begins the psalm with.  He starts by warning us not to fret for often at first observation the ungodly appear to prosper in their ways.  The solution called for in this passage is patience, a renewed sense of dependence on the Lord, and new sense of pleasure in knowing Him.^[1]

1. The Folly of Fretting

1. The Prosperity of the Wicked

1. Psalms 73:1-3 (KJV) Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.  2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.  3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
2. Psalms 73:14-15 (KJV) For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.  15 If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.  Asaph handled his doubts correctly; he did not publicize them to other people who might have been disillusioned by them.^[2]

2. The Delay in Judgment

1. Ecclesiastes 8:11-13 (KJV) Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: 13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
2. In verse 7 the psalmist reveals how the righteous must react when the unrighteous prosper in spite of their evil and immoral ways.^[3]

1. Rest in the Lord
2. Wait Patiently

3. The Reward of the Righteous^[4] — Psalms 37:3-6 (KJV) Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.  4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.  6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

1. Answers Their Prayers (vv. 4-5)
2. Vindicates Their Righteous Standards (v.6)
3. A Heavenly Inheritance (vv. 9, 11, 34)
4. Gives Sustaining Help (vv. 17-19, 39)
5. Brings Salvation (v. 39)

2. The Position of the Profane

1. The Enticement of Sin

1. Surrounded by Sinners
2. Pleasing to the Flesh
3. Perceived Results

2. The Temporary Pleasure

1. Hebrews 11:24-26 (KJV) By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
2. The major point of Psalm 37 seems to be that the wicked’s prosperity is short-lived.^[5]
3. The focus of Psalm 73, unlike Psalm 37, is not the brevity of prosperity but rather the author observes that sometimes the bounty of achieved by the wicked does in fact last throughout this life.^[6]

3. The Surety of Judgment — Hebrews 9:27 (KJV) And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

3. The Solution for the Soul

1. A Place of Perspective

1. Psalms 73:17 (KJV) Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.
2. Not until the psalmist entered God’s sanctuary and received a divine perspective on the wicked’s prosperity did he find the answer to the problem.^[7]
3. The solution to such problems is found only in the presence of a God who is both rights and merciful, both holy yet forgiving, and on the basis of His redemptive work on the cross.  The solution is not in this present world but in the resurrection and the world to come.^[8]

2. A Space for Repentance — 2 Peter 3:9 (KJV) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
3. A Baby is Born

1. Matthew 1:21 (KJV) And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.
2. Luke 2:8-11 (KJV) And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Conclusion:

If we evaluate things simply from our limited, earth-bound, human perspective, we will almost certainly become discouraged and filled with despair.  We must have Good’s revealed Word and His Holy Spirit in order to complete our life’s journey in faith and confidence in God’s goodness and justice.^[9]

Next Week: No Class

31 December 2017: Consider God Is Judge

Prayer