The Wicked Man's Hope Perishes at Death

When the wicked man dies, his hope perishes with him. This truth presents two terrible events in human history.

First, death meets the wicked man without waiting for reformation of character. The greatest enemies of Elohim and His universe are overcome by a stronger power than wickedness itself possesses.

Second, hope abandons the human soul. What is dearer to the soul than hope? The soul lives by and through hope. As Shakespeare observed, "The miserable hath no medicine, but only hope." When the wicked man dies, he loses all hope—hope of liberty, improvement, honour, and happiness. He departs carrying nothing away.

The wicked man's entire existence mirrors a child chasing a rainbow on a neighbouring hill. He runs toward it, believing he will grasp it, yet finds it as distant as before. His present situation never yields the pleasure he wishes and expects. If his hopes are deferred, his heart grows sick; if accomplished, he remains unsatisfied, instead comforting himself with another hope. Thus his life is spent in vain wishes, toils, and hopes until death kills at once his body, his hope, and his happiness.

Unlike the wicked, the righteous possess hope anchored not in circumstances but in Yahweh's covenant promises—hope that transcends death itself.