Are the Foundations Destroyed? (Psalm 11:3)

 Are the Foundations Destroyed?

“if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3 ESV)

Let me give you a little context for this critical question. The psalmist begins with the strong words: “In the Lord I take refuge.” It’s the statement of a person who fears the Lord, and therefore is not afraid of a great many other things. Immediately following this assertion of faith, he answers those who have been giving him advice. The advice is “Flee like a bird to your mountain, for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.” They are saying, “David, you are in great danger, and you need to take adequate safety measures.” “Flee to the mountains.”

According to the translation in our text, the critical question, “if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” - is a question posed by doubters; by safety seekers. It is as if they are saying, “we are outnumbered, and therefore we are in trouble. The foundations are destroyed, and all is lost.” We must be quick to notice that this attitude stands in stark contrast to David’s opening statement of faith: “In the Lord I take refuge.”

Perhaps you remember the story in the Book of Acts later in Paul’s ministry when he purposed to return from Asia to Jerusalem. He stops at the house of Philip in Caesarea, and Agabus (there’s a name for your next baby boy) graphically prophecies that, if he goes, he will suffer danger and persecution, and there is no indication that this is a false prophecy! Here is Paul’s reply: Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!” Paul might have, like David in Psalm 11, begun his statement like this: “In the Lord I take refuge.” 

Has the true church in our time (all those that believe the Gospel) “fled to the mountains?” Have we substituted prudence for faith and faithfulness? Have we adopted a safe approach, purposing to offend no one with the truth, forgoing mission in order to live out our faith privately? Have we come to accept that “the foundations are destroyed?” We must remember what Scripture teaches us. Our foundation is God and the Gospel. Jesus is the cornerstone, chosen and precious, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” Therefore, like David and Paul, let’s not flee, but follow our God faithfully, wherever He leads.

Is God in Hiding? (Psalm 10:1)

 Is God in Hiding?

“Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1 ESV)

Psalm 10 begins with this troubling question: “Where is God when we need Him most?” The description of the problem is given through verse 9 - “the wicked.” And then in 10 and 11, we have a restatement of the troubled heart of the psalmist:

¹⁰ The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.

¹¹ He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

Has God indeed hidden His face? Is He unaware of our troubles? If our answer is “yes” to these questions, then our faith must cease; our praise be silenced; our worship be extinguished. Thankfully, in this psalm, throughout Scripture, and in life, the answer is “No.” No, God has not hidden His face; God does indeed know your troubles.

It is a mystery to us why God allows what He does. He allows a lot. He even seems to use what we would regard as “evil” things to produce good ends. Even our own sins, as we battle them, confess them, crucify them - even this battle He uses for our strengthening and seasoning. He leads us through many wars of attrition to love Him more than anything else. God is not hiding; He is working. God is not unaware; He is carefully, lovingly executing His plan for His child and His church.

It seems, then, that when God wants to improve His children and His church, then there must be trouble. It must be this way. No, we don’t go looking for trouble. But when it comes, we must accept it, even embrace it, and purpose not to waste it. That is, let God work it out in our lives and in our assemblies.

Perhaps we could pray a prayer that ascended from Richard of Chichester (1197-1253). He was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, but rejected by King Henry III. He therefore ministered without financial support, but persisted anyway. Here is his prayer:

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits which thou hast given me,
for all the pains and insults which thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,
may I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly,
and follow thee more nearly. 

Notice that his attention is directed at Jesus’ “pains and insults” rather than his own. And notice that we may know clearly, love dearly, and follow nearly, because God is already doing this for us.

Removing God’s Armor (Job 40:2)

Removing God’s Armor

“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.” (Job 40:2 ESV)

We are familiar with atheists who preach against the idea of God. But it is not atheists most in view in this verse. Those in view are those who have some acquaintance of God, who know who He is and of what He is capable - and they resent it. They would be people who would begin to deconstruct God so as to remake Him according to a more comfortable model.

But what we know is that God is not comfortable for us. The finite is not comfortable with the infinite. The one who measures a lifetime as up to about 100 years is not comfortable with the eternal God. We who are keen to exercise our wills are not very open to the idea that the script has been known long before we were born. Once we really begin to think about the One, True, Living God, we become uncomfortable.

Sometimes, we begin our deconstruction unknowingly. We are quite sure that God fully appreciates our democratic principles, even though we know full well that there will be no “election day” in heaven. We expect that God will respect our carefully laid plans, only to find that the train tracks have been twisted to uselessness even before they are laid out. We study and we discuss and come up with theories and systems of theology, only to find that God does not read the same books that we do. 

And so we, like Job, are brought up short. We have to stop making declarations about the Almighty, and just pause - be quiet - wonder - and be lost in wonder - at this God who is greater than we imagined.

Now this talk about God being uncomfortable does not mean that God is not able to comfort. Quite the opposite. Because He is sovereign, and eternal, and all-knowing - because of these things He is able to comfort us. He can tell us for sure that He’s got it handled; that our enemies are not so great as we imagined (bigger than us, for sure, but not near so big as God). He can point to life beyond pain and sanctification without a shred of sin. A lesser being could not offer such great comfort, since He would be in lesser control.

In Job 40, God goes on to speak of Behemoth and Leviathan, great creatures of land and sea who are armored so as to make them invincible. God challenges to have our best go at deconstructing this armor. But to break down the armor of God, the solidity and immensity of His being, that’s way beyond us.