昨天我們談及一個真理──為甚麼不敬虔的人會處於顯要的位置，是因為那是神的安排。詩人接著繼續說神不單興起不敬虔的人，也令他們衰敗：「使他們掉在沉淪之中。他們轉眼之間成了何等的荒涼」（詩七十三18-19）。這一雙把他們提到高峰上的手，也將他們拋進深淵。為甚麼神的行徑會這麼奇怪和神秘？

其中一個原因是，神要藉此告訴我們那些選擇不與祂同行的人，他們的道路是多麼不可靠和不安全。這也解釋了為何我們會經常看到一些顯要但不敬虔的人，例如受人讚賞的電影明星，會突然從地上消失。這些人的腳就是站在滑地上。這幾節經文亦令人想起希特勒（Adolf Hitler），以前世界上的人都懼怕他，但是現在他不僅已經離去甚至幾乎被人遺忘了。

詩人說：「使他們掉在沉淪之中，他們轉眼之間成了何等的荒涼」，他實際上是敬虔地驚嘆罪人的傾覆是多麼突然和完全。神讓我們看到那些一直拒絕祂的愛和恩典的人，他們的生命雖然有片刻的光輝，但卻很快就離去、被人遺忘。所以當你在思考世界問題的時候要記得這一個事實。有時我們會以為神好像沒有在掌控宇宙，實際上祂的手一直在掌握人類的事情。

We touched yesterday on the truth that the reason why the ungodly are set in eminent places is because God arranges it. The psalmist goes on to say that not only does God raise up the ungodly, but He also brings them down: "You cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed..." (Psa. 73:18-19). The hand that led them up to the top of the slope is the hand that also casts them down. Why does God act in this strange and mysterious manner?

One reason is that God is able to demonstrate how unreliable and insecure are the ways of those who choose not to walk with Him. This explains why we so frequently read of some prominent godless person, such as a film star whom everyone is acclaiming, being suddenly removed from the face of the earth. The feet of such people were set in slippery places. Some reading these lines will remember how everyone stood in dread of Adolph Hitler. He had the whole world frightened, but now he is gone and almost forgotten.

The psalmist's words "You cast them down...how suddenly are they destroyed" are really an exclamation of godly wonder at the suddenness and completeness of the sinner's overthrow. God makes a spectacle of those who persist in rejecting His love and grace. They make a splash for the moment of their lives, but after that they are gone and soon forgotten. Keep that fact before you as you look out upon the world. It may sometimes seem as if God is not in control, but in actual fact His hand is ever upon the helm of human affairs.