Happiness of the Wicked, The

• Is limited to this life.

  Psalm 17:14 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.

  Luke 16:25 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.

• Is short.

  Job 20:5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

• Is uncertain.

  Luke 12:20 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?

  James 4:13-14 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

• Is vain.

  Ecclesiastes 2:1 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.

  Ecclesiastes 7:6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.

• IS DERIVED FROM
• Their wealth.

  Job 21:13 They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.

  Psalm 52:7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.

• Their power.

  Job 21:7 Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?

  Psalm 37:35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.

• Their worldly prosperity.

  Psalm 17:14 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.

  Psalm 73:3-4 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm.

  Psalm 73:7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.

• Popular applause.

  Acts 12:22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.

• Gluttony.

  Isaiah 22:13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.

  Habakkuk 1:16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.

• Drunkenness.

  Isaiah 5:11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!

  Isaiah 56:12 Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.

• Vain pleasure.

  Job 21:12 They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.

  Isaiah 5:12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.

• Successful oppression.

  Habakkuk 1:15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.

  James 5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

• Marred by jealousy.

  Esther 5:13 Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.

• Often interrupted by judgments.

  Numbers 11:33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.

  Job 15:21 A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.

  Psalm 73:18-20 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. 19 How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. 20 As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.

  Jeremiah 25:10-11 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

• Leads to sorrow.

  Proverbs 14:13 Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.

• Leads to recklessness.

  Isaiah 22:13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.

• Sometimes a stumbling-block to saints.

  Psalm 73:3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

  Psalm 73:16 When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;

• Saints often permitted to see the end of.

  Psalm 73:17-20 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. 18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. 19 How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. 20 As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.

• Envy not.

  Psalm 37:1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

• Woe against.

  Amos 6:1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

  Luke 6:25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.

• Illustrated.

  Psalm 37:35-36 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. 36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

• Exemplified.
  
  Israel,

  Numbers 11:33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.

  Haman,

  Esther 5:9-11 Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife. 11 And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.

  Belshazzar,

  Daniel 5:1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.

  Herod,

  Acts 12:21-23 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. 22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. 23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.