The Character of the Wicked

Text: Psalm 10

 

I.         Is there any doubt that wicked people live in the world?

            A.        We see the evidence daily in our news.

            B.        We have direct contact more often than we could wish

            C.        And then we wonder, as did the Psalmist, why doesn’t God do something about them? - Psalm 10:1

II.        The character of the wicked

            A.        He preys on those weaker than himself - Psalm 10:2

                        1.         He does so because of his pride.

                                    a.         His world revolves around himself

                                    b.         The weak, the poor, are easy victims because the wicked man never sees the world from another’s viewpoint

                        2.         If the poor becomes caught in one of his traps, well, it is his own fault for not being careful

            B.        He boasts of his desires - Psalm 10:3

                        1.         He takes pleasure in getting what he wants - Philippians 3:18-19

                        2.         And he thinks others should get whatever they want

                        3.         But what God wants is not a consideration

                        4.         He never considers that you can’t take things with you from this life - Psalm 49:16-20

            C.        God doesn’t enter his thoughts - Psalm 10:4

                        1.         It is not that such men are atheists, denying that God exists, but they are atheistic in practice

                                    a.         They make decision without consideration of God

                                    b.         Nor are they interested in pleasing God in any way.

                                    c.         In other words, God isn’t real to the wicked

                        2.         They have no fear of God - Psalm 36:1

                        3.         Such happened in the Gentile society and it is wide spread today - Romans 1:21

                        4.         Once again, the cause is pride. The wicked have no interest in bending his will to another

                                    a.         By ignoring God, they can do as they please

                                    b.         There is none that they would accept to tell them they are wrong

                        5.         Religion is seen as foolishness - I Corinthians 1:18

                        6.         Their brand of wisdom doesn’t accept God - I Corinthians 1:21

            D.        He appears to prosper without consequence - Psalm 10:5

                        1.         He doesn’t seek toward higher justice - Proverbs 24:7

                        2.         He doesn’t attempt to understand - Psalm 92:5-6

                        3.         He doesn’t see God’s justice because he doesn’t look - Isaiah 26:11

            E.        He doesn’t think he will fail - Psalm 10:6

                        1.         He doesn’t think about the end - Psalm 49:10-12

                        2.         He sees tomorrow as just a continuation of today - Isaiah 56:12

                        3.         He believes himself to be safe - I Thessalonians 5:3

            F.        He is a foul-mouth liar - Psalm 10:7

                        1.         He doesn’t say what he thinks - Psalm 12:2-4

                        2.         He starts from childhood - Psalm 58:3

                        3.         May they be caught in their pride - Psalm 59:12

            G.        He attacks the weak in secret - Psalm 10:8-10

                        1.         Jeremiah found it wide spread - Jeremiah 5:26

                        2.         Micah wondered if there were any righteous left - Micah 7:2

III.       Because the wicked doesn’t see immediate consequences, he thinks there are none - Psalm 10:11

            A.        He thinks that God doesn’t care, that He doesn’t notice - Psalm 73:11-12

            B.        But they don’t understand God - Psalm 94:3-11

            C.        The delay emboldens them to greater sins - Ecclesiastes 8:11-13

            D.        Sin deceives the sinner - II Thessalonians 2:9-12

IV.      God will execute justice - Psalm 10:12-18

            A.        God will avenge - II Thessalonians 1:4-8

V.        Knowing the deceitfulness of sin, we must ever be vigilant - I Corinthians 10:12

            A.        We need to ask ourselves if Satan is leading us down the path of wickedness.

            B.        It doesn’t happen overnight, but step by step we move further into sin

            C.        Let us be vigilant that we don’t fall into the trap