There is coming a day when the judgment of God will be meted out on the wicked and ungodly. Although God is not willing that any should perish the wicked are using up the long-suffering of God. There is coming a day, probably not very far away, when they will get their comeuppance. 

To refine gold it is heated to its liquid state, while the impurities are burned away. This process is repeated until all impurities have been eradicated. When the refiner can see his face reflected in the molten gold, he knows that the gold is as pure as it is going to get. Out of the refiner’s fire comes pure, solid gold.

While the refiner is working to achieve this pure gold he is busy skimming the dross from its surface. It is the part of the gold that is cast out and thrown away because it is worthless. The wicked are the dross, the impurities, that are burned away in the refining process.

On the one hand, we should not desire that anybody spend eternity in hell, but on the other hand, we should not be disturbed by God’s coming judgment.

First - If we know Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour then we will not stand in this judgment.

Second - This judgment is the justice of God. He has revealed His gift of salvation, but those who reject it deserve the judgment of God.

The lost will one day be trodden down by God Himself. He will stomp on disobedience. Even the disobedience of God’s own people has brought the swift chastening of the Lord.

God describes what He will do to His vineyard - Israel. 

Isaiah 5:5 ...go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down...

Isaiah 14:19 describes the fate of Lucifer.

Isaiah 14:19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

Isaiah 25:10 describes the fate of Moab.

Isaiah 25:10 For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.

God’s Word promises that rebellious, unrepentant men will reap what they have sown.

Isaiah 63:18 The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.

Luke 21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

Our safety is not dependent on the path upon which we walk, but it is found in the steady hand of the Lord. The temptations we face in life are so many and imperceptible. Their influence is so horrific. Their entrance into them is so deceitful, and our weakness is so great that we can do nothing but pray at every step, “Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe.”

There are two things in life of which we should be wary. First, Great Temptation Without. Temptations can exist around every corner and can be blown in by every wind. Second, Great Corruption Within. It is easy for us to become lazy and not spend the time in God’s Word that we ought to spend. We need to heed the admonition of the Lord, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”

Up, up above the littleness in which I have lived too long,  Above the snares which have so often caught me,   Above the stumbling blocks upon which I have so often fallen,   Above the world, Above myself, Higher than I have ever reached, Above the level of my own mortality:   Nearer to heaven, Nearer to thee, “Hold thou me up.”

I Peter 5:5-7 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

To uphold something is to sustain or to support it. This is the same word that is used as, “borne up” in Judges 16:29.

...Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

When we are weak and we think we cannot stand, it is God who bears us up and upholds us.

Psalm 37:17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.

Psalm 37:24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

Psalm 145:14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

Many people depend on something or someone to keep them going. It may be someone who is a real blessing. A spouse, a parent, a pastor, or a friend. Their advice and counsel may be exactly what you need to hear, but even the best intentions can fail. A person does not have all knowledge or wisdom or ability. They cannot be available all the time. God is able to be our upholder twenty-four, seven, three sixty-five.

When we come to God asking Him to uphold us remember that it must be according to His word. God uses His Word to sustain us through our trials. His Word can uphold us through any affliction, adversity, and hardship.

Usually the friends a wicked man will reject him when he accepts Jesus Christ as his Saviour. His new life makes them uncomfortable and his desires are no longer the same as theirs. Since he has become a new creature in Christ old things have passed away, including his friends.

On the other hand, some new Christians find it difficult to be snubbed by old friends. Rather than keeping the commandments of the Lord, which include being baptized and being faithful to a local church where a new family can be found, he will be influenced by the evildoer. (This may include people who have been saved many years.)

It is impossible to keep God's commandments while keeping evil company. If a man will devote all his life to the Lord he must reject the evil doers of this world.

God’s judgment has been placed on the wicked man and on those with whom he associates. Even pagans believed it was dangerous to dwell under the same roof, or to sail on the same yacht as a profane person. How much more ought Christians be fully persuaded of the danger of being friends with wicked men?

II Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord...

We need to separate ourselves from the wicked or we may damage our testimonies and our usefulness for God. We need to depart from the man who has departed from God.

First, Christ has the strength to be our hiding place. Man made houses and fortresses will eventually fail, but He is the Rock of Ages.

Matthew 7:24-25 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

Second, Christ has the height to be our hiding place. The short houses of man can soon be scaled, but Jesus Christ is as high as heaven. He is Jacob's ladder that reaches from earth to heaven. He is too high for even Satan and the devils. There is no creature who can scale His high walls.

Third, Christ is faithful. A false hearted protector is worse than an open pursuer. Christ is the faithful witness. He cannot be bribed to surrender up any creature that comes to hide himself.

Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God...

Fourth, Christ is diligent. A sleepy guard may betray a castle or a garrison as well as a faithless guard. Jesus Christ is ever diligent and watchful.

Psalm 121:3-4 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

As a Christian we should hate vain thoughts. They build evil devises, and create double minded imaginations. The man with vain thoughts is the man whose mind will change with the wind. They are the thoughts of the man who is unable to stand.

These thoughts are found in the vacant hours. Hours spent without business, without company, and without sleep. They are spent in solitude. They are unprofitable, proud, covetous, sensual, envious, or malicious. They are welcomed by the carnal mind and they are the delight of evil mind. 

The mind focused on God’s Word will recoil at vain thoughts. Although these thoughts will intrude from time to time, they are not welcome and are rejected by the power of God. They become a test of character. Do we love and indulge vain thoughts or do we abhor and pray against them?

We need to learn to hate these thoughts. It is not enough to just dislike them, but perfect hatred is required to overcome evil in our hearts. All our thoughts that are contrary to God’s Word need to be hated.  Even our thoughts of doubt need to be hated.

Vain thoughts are set on trivialities and the inessential. They neither tend to our profit nor to the benefit of others. Since vain thoughts are concerned with childish vanity and foolish conceits, then all their debates, conceits, and musings, are of no value.

Proverbs 24:9 The thought of foolishness is sin...

The solution to vain thoughts is not just hatred, but it is falling in love with God’s law.

It is only after receiving a new heart through salvation that we are able to perform the statutes of the Lord. Our flesh will still tempt us, but we now have the ability to incline our hearts to Him.

Our hearts set the direction of our life. We can incline it to serve our flesh, or we can incline it to obey the Word of God. We have a choice to make. Joshua put the challenge well.

Joshua 24:23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.

Do we have false gods that we worship? Television, sports, wealth, pleasure, etc.? The Israelites that stood before Joshua and promised to put away their false gods and incline their hearts unto the Lord, did not keep their resolve long. 

What is the secret of keeping our commitment to God? How can we have a heart that is inclined to do the will of God? Is it by learning some hidden truth in the Bible? Is there something in the Bible that we are missing?

Hebrews 13:9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

It is through God’s grace that we are able to incline our hearts toward Him. Divers and strange doctrines, mysteries that we cannot identify, some hidden truth we do not know: these do not incline our hearts to God. It is God’s grace that saves  us and gives us a new heart and it is by God’s grace that our hearts follow Him.

We ought to take the time to consider the great inheritance we have in the Lord.

Every Christian needs to be thankful for this great inheritance.

I Peter 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you...

All the tribes of Israel received an earthly inheritance of land, except for the tribe of Levi.

Exodus 6:8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.

Joshua 13:33 But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not [any] inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.

The tribe of Levi was the tribe of priests and received a spiritual, not an earthly, inheritance. In this regard they were a type of us, since our inheritance is out of this world. 

Although we have an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled, there are also rewards that can be earned. There are crowns to be won, and investments to be laid up in heaven’s bank.

Matthew 6:19-20 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal...

It doesn’t take long to realize that life is full of traps and snares. In fact, it is not difficult for a careless Christian to be trapped on a path that is close to God’s plan, but not quite. It is close enough that many would never notice, but in a few moments time slides by and life is wasted. The only way to keep from throwing away life is to stay on the path of God’s Word.

If you desire to be greatly used by God, then keep your eyes on His Word. Paul warned Timothy about the danger of the snares of the wicked.

I Timothy 3:7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

I Timothy 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction...

II Timothy 2:25-26 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

My Grandpa Beals and I used to set animal traps when I was a boy. To keep them hidden we would set the traps just below moving water. Snares are no threat if you know where and what they are. By spending time in the Word of God we can learn the tricks of Satan and through prayer we can obtain the protection of the Lord.

II Corinthians 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.