A Study of Hell
Based on Psalm 9:12-20
by
Pastor Suzanne L. Taylor
“When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble” (Psalm 9:12).
An inquisition is stronger then a investigation. Of this, Charles Haddon Spurgeon says, “The Hebrew word doresh, from darash, that is here rendered inquisition, signifies not barely to seek, to search, but to seek, search, and enquire with all diligence and care imaginable.” In other words, it’s to leave no stone unturned that might be hiding a morsel of truth. If you have ever watched the television show, CSI, you will have a sample of what God will do to reach the truth, except, He will know the truth even before He begins His digging. The digging will be for the benefit and to the shame of the offender. God doesn’t work on the politically correct “be nice to the killer, or you’ll hurt his feelings” agenda. He works in righteousness and truth. When He declares a person fit only for the Lake of Fire, even the offender will have to agree the judgment is righteous. You can bet, however, that those people will be begging for God’s mercy, but it will be too late. There is no salvation at the Throne of Righteousness.
The blood God will be inquiring about will be that of the martyrs who died for their faith; for the children who have been killed in one cruel way or another throughout history, and all who were murdered. Be assured, the ones that the Lord will avenge first are the martyrs. They had a choice to die asserting their trust in Christ, or live renouncing Him. They chose to trust in the Lord and believe His promises. They will receive a mighty reward.
There are two judgment seats in heaven. One is called the “Bema” seat of Christ This is where the saints of God will be judged for their good works and will receive crowns that we will toss at the feet of Jesus in honor of Him. “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (I Corinthians 3:10-15).
The second is called the White Throne Judgment and will be held specifically for the unsaved, the lost, and the damned. It is a judgment of sins committed and not washed clean by the saving Blood of Jesus. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works” (Revelation 20:11-13).
In this portion of Psalm 9, David was singing a Psalm that spoke of the judgments to come. And of the inquisitions into the deep things of man’s heart. All that is bad or unworthy of the Lord will be destroyed by fire.
God will remember the voices of those who cry out to Him. He will have mercy on those who deserve it.
Once again, in this psalm, David cries out for mercy during his time of trouble. He’s asking God, in verses 13 and 14, to remove him from the gates of hell to the gates of the daughter of Zion, which is Jerusalem. David yearned to return home. He wanted to sit in the gates of the city and declare the right-ness of God and His mercy. He longed to tell the people all that God had done for him. But he was still on the run for his life. All he could do was plead for the mercy of the Lord to get him home.
In verse 15 we are made aware of the fact that sinners reap what they sew, harvest what they plant, and become the animal snared in the traps they set. As with Haman in the Book of Esther, sinners build their own gallowses. God doesn’t hang them; they hang themselves through their continual rejection of Jesus in their lives. They choose who they will serve, and it’s not God. I really like how Spurgeon states this. He said:
“Drunkards kill themselves; prodigals beggar themselves; the contentious are involved in ruinous costs; the vicious are devoured with fierce diseases; the envious eat their own hearts; and blasphemers curse their own souls. Thus, men may read their sin in their punishment. They sowed the seed of sin, and the ripe fruit of damnation is the natural result.”
Yes, God will pass judgment, but the sinner, by his own will and works, sets his final course. God’s holiness demands a penalty for sin. We either come under the penalty that Jesus already paid, or we pay our own penalty, in hell. The Bible teaches that all who reject Christ will wind up there as well because they belong to the devil. Jesus said, “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels…” (Matthew 25:41).
Higgaion and Selah are two words seen in verse 16 that are not really translated into English, yet with meanings we understand. They mean, meditate and pause. I’m going to try to give you a picture of hell that will revolutionize how you picture it. I want you to have something to “pause and meditate” on about all the lost of this world and their eternal home. I pray it will inspire you all to tell even one more person about Jesus.
What’s missing in hell? Light is not there. How can we know that? We can know by reading God’s Word. He said it several times. Allow me to list the Scriptures I read about it.
1. “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:12).
2. “Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:13).
3. “These (false teachers) are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever” (II Peter 2:17).
4. “These (false teachers) are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever” (Jude 12, 13).
Why is this place of fire, which produces light usually, so dark? Read the following Scriptures to understand.
1. “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved (John 3:19, 20).
2. “The Light of the world will not be there” (John 8: 12).
3. “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (II Corinthians 4:3, 4).
There will be no laughter in hell either. Here is a list of Scripture that tells us what will be there, and be assured; laughter and joy are not present in hell: Luke 16: 23a; Luke 16: 24b; Matthew 8: 12b; Matthew13: 42; Matt.22: 13b; Revelation 14: 11a.
No one in hell is free. They all belong to the same devastation and torment as their father the devil.
1. “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power…” (II Thessalonians1: 8).
2. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20: 10).
The only ones in hell will be satan, his angels and all who served him while on the earth. To serve the devil, you just have to reject Jesus as Savior. There will be no saints in hell and no sinners in heaven, and, yes, I can prove it with Scripture. Read on.
The saints:
1. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47).
2. “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28).
The sinners:
1. “And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:2, 3).
2. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).
3. “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).
Do you have a problem believing that hell is real? I don’t. I believe the Word of God explains it in depth. Hell, in my mind is a literal place designed by God for the devil and his angels. Scripture says so, and I believe it. Some of the everlasting torments of hell will be that people in hell will have their full memory, but they will lack hope. They will recall the laughter of children, but have no joy. They will remember the taste of cold water on a hot day, but have no relief. They will forever play in their minds the opportunities they passed up to be saved, but have no escape from that burning, sulfurous pit called by God The Lake of Fire.
We are blessed who had the wisdom and understanding to accept Jesus as Savior. Scripture says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Romans 5:8-11).
David’s cry, “Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight” (Psalm 9:19), will surely and entirely be answered. God’s judgment is real and everlasting. With David, I cry out, “Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah” (Psalm 9:20).
