If The Foundations Be Destroyed

IF THE FOUNDATIONS BE DESTROYED, WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?

Text: Psalm 11

Key verse: Psalm 11:3

Proposition: If the foundations be destroyed, the righteous must trust in the Lord, and experience His constant Presence.

Introduction: Tonight we are going to look at Psalm 11, and we are going to answer the question found in verse 3, which is your school theme verse: “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

Context: This is a Psalm of David. The Psalms are really songs that were, and are sung in worship to God. David composed over half of the Psalms, maybe more. Many of them come from his younger years before he was the King of Israel.

David was a man who had a song in his heart even in the worst of circumstances. He was a man who was possessed by God and His Spirit. David certainly was a learned man—one who was probably schooled well, and would have know the success of intellectual knowledge, but David was also prepared in a different school than this one from which you are graduating from today. And truly if you are going to be someone for God, if your are going rise above this world—even if the foundations be destroyed, you must also graduate from this school! It is the school of trusting God, and experiencing His constant presence.

David became King of Israel when he was 30 years old—he was not much older than I am. Yet God did not elevate him to be King because of his physical stature or his winning personality. David was King of Israel because God knew David’s trust was in Him and David was experiencing His constant presence. And so, God entrusted him not only with the Kingdom of Israel, but also to be a type of the Messiah, Jesus Christ Himself. In fact, Jesus took on Him the very Name: THE SON OF DAVID!

David is a man that God used—that is why he is known around the world today. I would venture to say that at any moment in time in the whole earth, even right now as we speak of him, God is using David’s example in other Christian’s lives. Maybe there is someone in India that is reading of his victory over Goliath, or a missionary in Africa leading a congregation in one of his Psalms in worship to God. Certainly at this moment there are God’s ministers right now lifting up the Christ that David so often spoke of in these Psalms.

David knew God well during those 30 years before he was king. It was also 30 years before the Saviour began His ministry, and in that time span we find 3 stages of life for David: We find him as a SHEPHERD in the COUNTRY tending sheep, and learning the presence of God. It was there that he learned to trust God, and he slew a lion and a bear. A little shepherd boy trusted God, and God took that trust and turned that SHEPHERD into a SOLDIER as we see David slaying Goliath, and that is when God took David from the COUNTRY to the COURT of King Saul.

It could have been just great for David to be content in the COURT of Saul, but God had anointed him King in the place of Saul. It was there that you would think David would learn to be the King, but God had other plans. In order to prove David in the school of His presence, God took David from being a SHEPHERD in the COUNTRY to being a SOLDIER in the King’s COURT, and finally to being a STRANGER in the CAVE.

David was hunted by the King of Israel, and here we find a beautiful Psalm written during the this time.

Let us read what David said during probably the most confusing time in his life:

(READ THE ENTIRE PSALM)

1 <> In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?

2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.

3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

7 For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.