How long shall the wicked triumph?
I. SUPPOSE THEY NEVER DID.
1. Then the devil would be right when he asked, "Doth Job serve God for nought?" He meant to say that men serve God only from selfish, interested motives.
2. Men would want to sin, though from fear they held back. The heart would remain unchanged, character would be the same.
3. The essential discipline and test of the righteous would be destroyed. We are tested when, though we see the wicked triumph, we still cleave to God.
4. The wicked would wax worse and worse. "The strength of sin is the Law."
5. It would be a confession that men cannot be governed by higher motives than earthly gain.
II. SUPPOSE THEY ALWAYS DID.
1. Earth would become hell, because of the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
2. The faith and fear of God would disappear.
III. SUPPOSE THEY SOMETIMES DO. This is the case. And sometimes they appear generally to triumph. Nevertheless, it is not always, nor for long. But the present order avails:
1. To glorify God by the fidelity of his people.
2. To lift them to a higher life.
3. To convince the world of the reality of the faith the believer holds.—S.C.