The Righteous and the Wicked.
By G. V. Kilgore
TEXT: “Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him; for the reward of his hands shall be given him.” Isa. 3:10, 11. Here are two classes mentioned, the righteous and the wicked. The righteous are the people in whose hearts is the law of God. They know righteousness and do right. Isa. 51:7. The wicked are those from whom proceeds wickedness. “As saith the proverb of the ancients, wickedness proceedeth from the wicked.” 1 Sam. 24:13. They forsake the law and do wrong. Prov. 28:4. The two classes are many times spoken of in the Bible. To the former class are promised good things, rich blessings above all other people. To the latter, fearful things are threatened. It is said in the Bible that the righteous shall have good things in possession; that they shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace; and that they shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars forever and ever. Of the wicked it is said that they shall be clothed with shame, and brought to confusion; that they shall hunger and mourn and weep; and, finally, that they shall wail, and gnash their teeth in a fire that shall burn them up root and branch, completely destroying them, so that they shall be as though they had not been. But these two classes have been living in the world together for nearly six thousand years. And, although the great book of God speaks so favorably to the righteous, we see they have been despised and rejected, shamefully abused, and many of them killed. They have suffered the slander and ridicule of the ungodly, and millions of them have been burned at the stake by wicked men. While they have endured such things, the ungodly have prospered in the world, and boasted of their ease and wealth. As it was in the days of the psalmist, so it is now: “Pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness; they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt and speak wickedly concerning oppression; they speak loftily.” How is this? Has the Author of the Bible made a mistake? Has he promised things that he cannot bestow? If the earthly pilgrimage of the righteous were to be taken as an example of their promised blessings, all might well be discouraged. If the church, established by Christ when he was on earth, is the kingdom promised them, they are an unhappy people. Indeed, they would be the most unfortunate of any people that ever lived. Consider how they have been used since Christ was here; yea, and how Jesus himself was used after he had established his church. He was cruelly killed; and his followers, since that time, have been worn out by earthly powers. Is this the kingdom which the prophets of old promised to the people of God? Is this that stone, cut out of the mountain without hands, which was to smite the powers of this world and grind them to powder? I hope not. Yet many learned men teach that it is. But those who have really lived in the kingdom that Christ established by his earthly ministry, have well known that it is not that promised kingdom in which they were to enjoy the blessings that God had promised them. Paul must have spoken the sentiments of all the righteous from Abel to the present day, when he said, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” Paul could well realize this to be a truth. His persecutions proved it. If he endured all his trials merely for the satisfaction of having his own way, and yet expected nothing beyond the comforts of this life, he was certainly a miserable man. Look at his calling: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle.” This was esteemed a very low calling in those days. Jesus was supposed to be nothing but a common Nazarene. Matt. 2:23. And when Paul preached, it was thought that Jesus was dead. Acts 25:19. To be a servant of such a man, and that, too, after he had been disgracefully killed, was not a position to be envied. And to be abused as Paul was—whipped, stoned, and imprisoned—was not at all delightful. Yet Paul counted it a pleasure to be even a servant of this lowly Jesus. He also rejoiced in tribulation. But he knew his reward was not to be realized in this life. He, like all the righteous before him, looked beyond this vale of tears to an inheritance undefiled, which will never fade away. No, thanks be to our God, our hope is not in this life. The pilgrimage of the righteous is only to fit them for their eternal home. The church below, which has been so abused, is not the kingdom in which there was to be fullness of joy. Oh! no. Nor are the righteous the most miserable of all men—far from it. They are the happy people of the Lord, because they have the sure promise of being saved with an everlasting salvation. They are the ones for whom the earth was made. When it is fitted for their abode, it will bloom like Eden. It will be inhabited by none but themselves, and will be theirs forever—a world without end. Then they will delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Then they will shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars forever and ever. Isa. 45:17, 18, 35; Ps. 115:16; 37:11; Dan. 12:3. The wicked may speak loftily and set their mouth against the heavens now; and they may persecute the righteous as the papal power did; but woe unto them hereafter! When the Lord ariseth to shake terribly the earth, “Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him.” They have stained the earth with the blood of saints and prophets, and have oppressed the poor and needy. They have scorned the righteous, and laughed at their prayers. For thousands of years these things have gone on, and to-day the world is filled with evil men. They still exult at their prosperity, and scoff at the religious. They act and talk as though they were independent of God, and were never to render an account. A spiritualist once asked me what good it did me to pray to God. Said he: “What did you ever get by praying? I never pray. If I want any thing I pay for it and get it.” If things were always to continue this way, the righteous would indeed be miserable. What a state of affairs! The innocent killed by the guilty, the honest robbed, the humble oppressed by the proud, the godly scoffed at by the ungodly! If conclusions were to be drawn from these things, the language of the text would have to be reversed. It would have to read thus: Woe unto the righteous! it shall be ill with him; for his troubles are great. But say ye to the wicked, It shall be well with him; for he is independent, because he pays for all he gets! But, no, no; this state of affairs will not always last. The text need not be reversed. It reads just right as it is. The God of Heaven hears the prayers of his faithful people, and it will be well with them by-and-by. “When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.” God has already wrought for his people sufficiently to prove that he cares for them. He delivered the Hebrew worthies from the fiery furnace, and brought out Daniel from the lion’s den. He opened the prison gates, and loosed the bands which held the apostles. They gave him the glory, and he showered down upon them his Spirit, until they were able to heal the sick and raise the dead. That same God still lives, and his promises are yet sure. Praise his holy name! Hear again what he has written: “Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him.” Yes, take courage, righteous man, though you may be oppressed wrongfully, all will be well by-and-by. Lift up your head, discouraged one, the Lord will turn again the captivity of Zion. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake; for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” When the enemies of the Lord rise up to tread down the truth, call on the name of God; for he promises to hear all that call upon him in truth. He will hear their cry, and save them. Ps. 145:18, 19. “Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.” Ps. 37:34. The promises to the righteous are many, and the reward offered them is great. The name of the Lord is greatly to be praised for such promises. There is that city that is prepared for the faithful. Its light will so far outshine the sun of the new earth that it will be as light in the city at midnight as at noon-day. Rev. 21:23–25; Isa. 30:26. The psalmist says, “Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God.” Indeed, it must be a lovely place. Its walls are beautiful jasper, and its streets are pure gold, like unto clear glass. Its foundations are precious stones, glowing with brightness, and sparkling in the light of God. All of its gates are pearls. They will shine with resplendent brilliancy, and never grow dim. Precious and beautiful colors mingle together in those walls and foundations, presenting more lovely pictures than the brightest rainbow we ever saw. In the midst of those golden streets is the tree of life, whose fruits perpetuate immortality. There, too, is the river of life, whose waters are pure and free. The throne of God will also be there. And before that throne, on a sea of glass, the redeemed hosts will stand, when they are gathered from this earth to reign with Christ a thousand years. They will raise their voices and touch their harps to praise him who saved them. There will be the persecuted of this earth, made free from sorrow and care, happy and joyful in God—Abraham and his seed all together. Oh! what an assembly—the church of the first-born! Think who will be there: people whose greatest delight it has been to honor God and make all around them happy. Not an ill-natured being in all that crowd! There will be men that we read about in the Bible—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel—all the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles. Those who fell under the cruel hand of the papacy, and those who get the victory over the beast and his image, will be there. What a scene, to see all these people meet! The Bible says that tears shall be wiped from off all faces, but it does seem as though tears of joy would be shed as these people greet each other, when they know they are saved together for eternity. Those who were acquainted on earth will recognize each other at first sight (for Paul says, “Then shall I know even as also I am known”). But when we of this age see the sages of old shake hands together, we will have to be told who they are. Then what joy actually to gaze with perfect sight on such men, to hear them talk, and to talk with them. My heart leaps when I think of such things. There these people can see the angels that ministered unto them, that blessed them when they glorified God, that lifted them up when cast down with trials. But the loveliest of all to look upon will be the Lamb of Calvary. To him the saved of all nations will ascribe their salvation. Had it not been for him, not one of them would be there. But there they will be. They will behold his face in righteousness. Worthy, worthy, is the Lamb! Praise him forever for his loving kindness! A meeting like this will be held every Sabbath and every month. “From one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.” “The ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads.” Those shining mansions will ring with music more sweet than our earth has ever heard. Bright seraphs will swell the song. Not only will the city be filled with praise to God, but all this earth is to be full of his glory. Num. 14:21. All these things are promised to the righteous. And they will not be like scenes of this life, which soon pass away, but they will be forever—as long as God lives. Truly, we can say to the righteous that it shall be well with him. But we are required to say, “Woe unto the wicked.” And this we must do, or his blood will be on us. Wicked man, hearken. There is a day coming that will reveal to all evil-doers that it would have been better for them to have done God’s will instead of their own. Hear what God says: “Remember this, and shew yourselves men; bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure; calling the man that executeth my counsel from a far country; yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” Remember the former things of old. What things? Why, the judgments that came upon the transgressors of old—the flood, the fires of Sodom, the plagues of Egypt, the earthquake that swallowed Korah and his company, &c., &c. The Lord says, Remember these things, and bring them to mind again, O ye transgressors. Men that rejected the counsel of God that was given through Noah perished in the flood; those who laughed at Lot’s warning were burned in the fires of Sodom; and all the people that opposed the counsels of God in the days of Moses were destroyed.66 Think of these things, sinner. All those wicked people found that they made a great mistake in choosing their own ways instead of the ways of the Lord. So will all evil-doers of to-day find the same. When God calls from a far country (from the place where Christ has gone, Luke 19:12) the man that will execute his word, then all the wicked will have to acknowledge that there is none like the God of the Bible. They will wish they had hearkened to his counsel. Christ is this man that executes the counsel of God (John 5:27), and he is coming to take vengeance on all the ungodly. 2 Thess. 1:7–9; Jude 14, 15. Can you not believe these things, sinner? All the prophets of God have foretold that awful day. All the other judgments of God were foretold, and they came. Prophets, living hundreds of years apart, and in different nations, some in prisons, and others banished to distant isles, have seen in vision the coming of the Son of man. And all describe him and his work in the same way. Could this have been done by collusion? Not at all. Besides this, we have the words of the apostle Paul, who tells of the coming of Christ, with all the angels, in flaming fire, to take vengeance on all liars. Paul declares that he did not learn what he taught from man. He says, “For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” “Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother. Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God I lie not.” Gal. 1. Now this is enough to prove to any sound mind that what is said in the Bible of things to come is not of the device of men, but is of the Spirit of God. Here Paul declares, before God, and in face of the Judgment, which he firmly believed would come and destroy all liars, that he preached for three years before seeing any of the apostles. And after that, he was with Peter only fifteen days—not long enough to hear a common course of lectures. Now the question for the skeptic to settle is, How did it come that Paul preached exactly in harmony with all the rest of the Bible writers? The only answer is found in Paul’s own words: “By the revelation of Jesus Christ.” This same Jesus revealed to the prophets of old, scenes of the future and final Judgment, declaring that he would tread down the wicked in anger and with fury. Seven hundred years before Christ, Isaiah saw this mighty Conqueror coming, robed in red garments, and asked, “Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?” And the answer was, “I have trodden the wine-press alone; and of the people there was none with me; for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.” Isa. 63:3, 4. Ninety-six years after Christ, John saw the same, and said, “He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood,” “he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” Rev. 19:13–15. In this scripture John says the armies of Heaven followed him upon white horses at this time, as he came to judge and to make war. About nine hundred years before John saw this vision, Joel saw a representation of the same armies, and declared that “the appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.” Joel 2. He heard the Lord roar from on high, and utter his voice from Jerusalem. Chap. 3:16. Jeremiah, two hundred years later, heard the same exactly. Jer. 25:30. I might present many scriptures to the same effect, but space forbids. Who can doubt these harmonious testimonies? Sinner, that awful day will surely come. It will be so dreadful that even “the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.” The mighty man! Men that have fought in battle unarmed, that have not been frightened at the shock of armies and the din of war, that have faced the enemy in the rage of fight, will shrink at the fearful scenes of that day. The raging of mad nations, the shrieking cries of frightened millions, the loud noise of falling cities, the clashing sounds of dreadful thunder, and the crackling of mighty flames of fire, will be awful to hear. But that will not be all. Jeremiah says, “All the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth,” shall drink the indignation of God. Isaiah says there will be “a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together; the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.” But above all that great noise, the voice of God will strike terror to the heart of the sinner. The earth, yes, and even the heavens, will tremble at the sound of his voice. With his armies he will march through the land in indignation; and not a sinner will be left, but all will be destroyed and the land left desolate. Hab. 3; Isa. 13. That day will burn as an oven, and consume the wicked as stubble. Mal. 4:1. The anguish of the sinner in that day can scarcely be imagined. But God has plainly warned him, so that he cannot cast reflections upon God who shall inflict the punishment. Read Zech. 14:12, and you will understand what kind of punishment to expect if you, dear reader, are fighting against the cause of God. When that plague falls on the sinner, all hope for salvation will be gone forever. Oh! that sinners could be made to feel that such a day is really coming, and that those who profess the name of Christ might depart entirely from iniquity! In that day there will be no intercessor. Isa. 59:16–18. Who could be saved without an intercessor? The least sin unpardoned then will bar any one from entering the city of God above. For the Lord will say, when his intercessions are over, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22:11, 12. The line will be struck, in a few years, between the righteous and the wicked. On which side will you be found, my dear brother or sister? Cast your thoughts back upon the course you have been taking, and, if you decide to continue in the same way, you can tell something about how it will be with you when that line is drawn. But do decide to press on toward the kingdom. Weigh well your words before speaking. Think of your deeds before doing them. Pray for presence of mind in this work. Confess past wrongs. In doing these things the Lord will bless us, and save us among the righteous. Let us hasten to prepare for the coming of the great day, in which God will render to every man according to his deeds.