Job 20:4-7

DISCOURSE: 470
AGAINST HYPOCRISY

Job 20:4. Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?

PREJUDICE or passion will miserably warp the judgment. It will hide from us what we might know, and cause us to pervert what we do know. Never was this more strongly exemplified than in the friends of Job. Had they calmly considered, they might have comforted him in his affliction; but, by a hasty misapplication of acknowledged truths, they most unjustly and cruelly condemned him. Job had hinted to them the evil and danger of their conduct [Note: Job 19:28.]. And Zophar, irritated at the caution, replies with great severity. His words, however, though misapplied, suggest to us two very important truths respecting sinners:

I. Their prosperity is transient—

Of sinners, some make no profession of religion, and others a false profession. Each of these characters may enjoy, for a while, great prosperity—

[The profane are often exalted to places of dignity and power: they prosper in all their labours for wealth and preferment. They not only despise, but perhaps persecute the godly: they “triumph,” as though no evil should ever happen unto them. This the Psalmist saw with deep regret [Note: Psalms 73:3.].

Hypocrites also frequently are held in estimation [Note: Revelation 3:1.]. They are objects of envy to many an humble and contrite soul. They will boast of experiences which might well be coveted; and even attain considerable heights of joy [Note: Matthew 13:20.]. Their “excellency may mount up to the heavens, and their heads reach unto the clouds.”]

But their prosperity will be of short duration—
[Death will speedily seize upon the most stout-hearted sinner. Then all, which he gloried in, shall come to an end. None of his “pomp shall follow him,” or his “wealth be carried with him.” The hypocrite also shall have a period put to his dissimulation: he shall soon appear in his proper character. The all-seeing God will discover the secrets of his heart. Nor is this time at any great distance [Note: Deuteronomy 32:35.]: in comparison of eternity, the duration of his joy will be “but a moment.”]

Then will they experience a sad reverse—

II.

Their ruin will be tremendous—

The ungodly will in due time be visited for their offences. They will then “perish;”

1. To their own eternal shame—

[Many portions of Scripture appear to us indelicate; but God’s representations of sin are surely just, and well calculated to make us nauseate and lothe it. Such is his description of the ways of sinners [Note: 2 Peter 2:22.]; and such his declaration respecting their end [Note: Compare Revelation 3:16. with the text.]. They will perish under circumstances of disgrace and ignominy. Christ will not deign to own them before his Father [Note: Matthew 10:33.]. The angels will come forth to execute the vengeance of God upon them. The saints would even “thrust them out of heaven” if they should seek admittance there [Note: Luke 13:28.]. The damned themselves will insult them with bitter taunts [Note: Isaiah 14:9.]: nor shall they ever cease to be objects of contempt and abhorrence. This is told us in the plainest terms [Note: Proverbs 13:5.Daniel 12:2.]. Nor, while they retain, as they must, their character, is it possible that their situation ever should be changed [Note: Revelation 22:11.]

2. To the astonishment of all that knew them—

[The question, “Where is he?” refers primarily to the utter extinction of the ungodly; but it may well be considered also as an expression of surprise. The wicked little think where their course will terminate. If the rich man’s request had been granted [Note: Luke 16:23; Luke 16:27.], what reply would his surviving brethren have made so soon as that in the text [Note: They would most probably have exclaimed, ‘Where it he! in hell! lifting up his eyes in torments! Is it really so? We never could have thought it: we had no doubt but that he was happy: he seemed to us as worthy and blameless a character as any: nor had he himself any doubts but that he was going to heaven.’]? The hypocrites also often escape detection in this world. Perhaps they were celebrated, after their departure, as eminent saints. We may conceive that their dearest friends, or their associates in holy exercises, may inquire after them in heaven. What surprise and horror must seize them, when they hear of the doom which the heart-searching God has passed upon them [Note: If a Minister is to have those as his “joy and crown of rejoicing,” who were truly converted by his ministry, we may, not improperly, suppose a degree of disappointment, if he miss those, concerning whom he had entertained the most sanguine hopes. We may suppose him, upon the first discovery, to say, ‘Where is he! What, he in hell! I often feared that I myself should go thither; but who would have ever thought that HE should?’ The Lord grant that this may never be realized by any of us!]!]

Address—“Know you not this?”

Know you not that this has been so from the beginning of the world?

[Does not the word of God assert, that “it shall be ill with the wicked [Note: Isaiah 3:11.Psalms 9:17.]?” Does not the most authentic history in the world prove it to have been so [Note: Where are now the antediluvian scoffers, the haughty Pharaoh, the treacherous Judas, the worldly-minded Demas, the heretical Hymeneus? &c.]? Does not conscience itself testify that it shall be so still?]

If you know, do you not consider this?

[Can any thing be more worthy of our consideration? If we have “but a moment,” should we not improve that moment? Are we willing to perish in this ignominious and awful manner?]
Let us live no longer in the neglect of religion—
[The gratifications of sense can last but for a little time; but the consequences of neglecting God will endure for ever. Surely the care of the soul is the “one thing needful.”]
Nor let us rest in a “form of godliness” without experiencing “its power”—
[It will avail us little to deceive our fellow-creatures. The higher we have been in their estimation, the deeper will be our disgrace. Let us then go to Christ for the remission of past sins: let us approve ourselves to him in future, as “servants that need not be ashamed,” and labour to be “sincere and without offence until his coming again.”]