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)
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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.
Look very closely at Verse 3: If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
This evening we will find out from this Psalm that If the foundations be destroyed, the righteous must trust in the Lord, and experience His constant Presence.
Before we look at the entire text of this Psalm, first, let us find out what FOUNDATIONS David is talking about.
There are three foundations spoken of in the Bible.
1. First, there is a spiritual foundation, it is the foundation of God that never changes and can never be destroyed! “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever!” (Heb. 13:5).
2. Second, there is a physical foundation: It was God who laid the physical foundation of the earth and universe, and it is only God who can destroy it:
Paul says in Hebrews 1:10, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
Peter speaks of the day when the foundation of the earth will be destroyed:
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
3. Third, there is a civil, or civic, foundation, This is not the physical world which God laid, but the world system which is controlled by man, and these are the foundations that David speaks of here in this Psalm. The only foundation that man has control over is this world system, or cosmos—and it is already destroyed! It has been destroyed by sin. It is ruled by the wicked one.
Paul says in Ephesians 2 that before we were saved we “walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, (Ephesians 2:2 ).
And in Galatians 1:4 Paul refers again to this civil foundation which has been destroyed by sin when he speaks of a deliverance from it by Jesus Christ, “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world.”
And it is “the god of this world [who] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not” who rules our civil society! (2 Corinthians 4:4)
The foundation of Civil society is simply a conglomeration of the hearts of men, and these foundations of were destroyed a long time ago when the Lord said to Adam in Genesis chapter 2:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
And in that day, Adam died, and so did the whole human race!
And now, we are born into this foundation of civil society destroying it with SIN!
David said in Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
And so, we come back to our question: If the foundations be destroyed (and THEY ARE!)
We worship sports stars instead of God, we honor the abomination of homosexuality in our society, we outlaw God from our schools! The FOUNDATIONS ARE DESTROYED!!
what can the righteous do? What can they do, and what MUST they do?
The righteous can trust in the Lord, and experience His constant Presence.
Oh how we must trust God in this wicked age!!
I. WE CAN TRUST THE LORD! David makes a declaration: “In the LORD put I my trust.” If the foundations be destroyed, David says, the RIGHTEOUS CAN TRUST IN THE LORD! A lot of people say they trust or have faith in God, but what really is FAITH?
a. First , we see that FAITH must have an OBJECT. At this moment in time, you are having faith, your either trusting yourself, someone else, or the Lord, but you are trusting. David says, “In the LORD put I my trust” God made you to trust! God created everyone to trust Him, but he wants us to trust him willingly. You alone will stand before God, and on that day, he will not accept that you trusted in a religion, or in a good family, or in yourself. You must trust in Him alone! And so right now, your faith has an object: you are trusting yourself, others, or God.
b. Second, we see that FAITH must have an INDIVIDUAL SUBJECT. You as an individual must put your trust in the Lord! “In the LORD put I my trust.” No one will do it for you. Maybe you grew up in a family that believes a certain way about God. How do you know what they are saying is true? Have you searched the Bible yourself? Have you put your individual trust in the Lord? God does not save nations or families, God saves individuals!
c. Third, we see that FAITH has an ESSENCE, or a SUBSTANCE. “In the LORD put I my trust” What is the essence, or substance of trust? Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” A substance can be felt, handled, and tasted by the senses. The substance of Faith is tasted or experienced through the senses of the soul, that is, through the Mind, the Emotions, and the Will.
i. Though Faith is experienced through the MIND, Faith is NOT Intellectual Knowledge alone, but an UNDERSTANDING of Truth given through an intimate encounter with God’s Spirit: Now this is a frightening realization, but you can know of Jesus Christ and still not have faith. You can have a working knowledge of the Bible and not know God. The Pharisees knew the Bible well, but they did not have eternal life! In John 5:39, Jesus said to the Pharisees, Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. They thought they had eternal life, but all they had was knowledge!
ii. Secondly, Though Faith is experienced through the EMOTIONS, Faith is NOT Indescribable Emotion, but a CONVICTION of or an agreement with Truth given through an intimate encounter with God’s Spirit: You can be moved, experience an emotional high, and still not experience faith. This is a terrifying insight: that you can be moved in your whole being, and not be changed. Emotion is addictive, it is moving, but it is not faith! Faith is the moving of God within you, which may also move your emotions, but Holy Spirit conviction will move your will whether your emotions are moved or not!
iii. Finally, Though Faith is experienced through the WILL, Faith is NOT an act of your will, but a yielding or an abandonment of your will for God’s agenda. It is a EXPERIENCE of and DEPENDENCE on Truth given through an intimate encounter with God’s Spirit. Are you at this moment doing God’s will? Jesus says to many on the day of Judgment “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. “ Matthew 7:21 If you have faith in God your will will be made into His will!
And so the Essence of Faith is to UNDERSTAND and be CONVINCED of truth, and then to EXPERIENCE and DEPEND on that God for daily living.
Let me illustrate it this way: I may understand and agree that Jesus Christ died for my sins, but if I do not experience His presence, and I do not depend on His sacrifice for me, I DO NOT HAVE FAITH!
Do you have faith? Do you TRUST IN THE LORD? Yes, the foundations of this earth may crumble, and the society that we live in may be destroyed by sin. But what can the righteous do if these foundations be destroyed? We can TRUST IN THE LORD! And secondly,
II. WE CAN TURN FROM THE WICKED! (verses 1-2) David says to his so-called friends, “How say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? 2 For lo, the wicked bend their bow . . .” Well, who are the wicked? First let us see:
A. A Definition of the wicked. At this moment you are either wicked or righteous. Now we have a lot of definitions for what is right and wrong, but what I am talking about is your identity—who you are! Are you righteous or are you wicked? Now here is the hard part! The comparison is not with any other person on earth. Even the most wicked sinner can call himself righteous, because he can always find someone who is worse than he is! No this comparison is with God Almighty. Are you righteous or wicked in comparison to him? Another way of saying this is do you experience righteousness in your life 100% of the time, or not? If you do, only then can you call yourself righteous.
The fact of the matter is that we are ALL wicked! King Solomon, who was the wisest man that ever lived beside the Lord, said in Ecclesiates 7:20, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” Paul said, “There is none righteous, no not one!” Again he says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God [or His standard of righteousness].” That means that all of us, everyone of us, are all wicked!”
Well then how can there be hope if we are all wicked and condemned? The answer is found in 2 Corinthians 5:21, For [God] hath made Jesus to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IS FOUND ONLY IN JESUS CHRIST.
Imagine you owed one billion dollars. That would be a debt beyond your ability to pay! And that is where you may be today. You have sinned against God—you have not been as righteous as God is. You have a sin debt!
Now in our story, lets suppose a multibillionaire—out of kindness—pays off your debt. That would be great wouldn’t it? But you still would have a zero balance. Christ paid all your debt, but that’s not all He did!
In our story, let’s suppose this multi-billionaire decides to also credit another billion dollars to your account to the positive. Now that would be a transaction! Here’s the point.
You are only righteous if you are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ! God will only let those who are perfectly righteous into heaven, and none of us is perfectly righteous. Now Jesus has paid the debt for you completely, but His sacrifice is not applied unless you believe and put your trust in Him.
Now are you righteous, or are you wicked? We see the definition of righteous as those who are trusting in Jesus Christ, and those who are wicked are those who are not.
We’ve seen our definition of the wicked, now let us see . . .
B. A Demonstration of the wicked. We see the demonstration of the wicked everyday all around us. They are destroying the foundations of life! But what can the righteous do? We can trust in the Lord, and we can turn from their wicked way!
Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. David is approached with this very counsel. And if we are going to turn from it, we must know what it is . . first:
a. The counsel wicked is PRESSING (Urgent, Forceful, Impulsive) David is appalled at the counsel of the wicked. “How say ye to my soul, Flee?” The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1 says). We live in a day when the wicked are pressing in on society and counseling us to FLEE as a bird to the refuge of the world. They are urgent! They are pressing! If you are going to be happy, you must do it now! Flee, don’t think about anything! Don’t think about God, just flee to this and to that. Everyday it is a new fad to flee to. Everyday it is a new celebrity to worship. This person can give you happiness, that person an give you refuge . . flee! Do not listen to that counsel. Say as David, “How say ye to my soul, Flee?” TURN FROM THE WICKED AND FLEE TO THE LORD!
b. The wicked are also PRACTICAL (Logical, Reasonable) “Flee as a bird to your mountain.” The wicked have their eyes on their own strength! That is why they flee when no man pursueth. They are trusting in themselves! Now if you are trusting in yourself, it only makes sense to FLEE! But when you are trusting in God, nothing in this world makes sense! He wants us to live above the reasoning of this world. Reasonings limit us! Reasonings say, be afraid, don’t tell that person about God, they will laugh at you! But the righteous are as bold as a lion! They are always, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; Yes, we must TURN FROM THE WICKED AND CAST DOWN THEIR REASONINGS!
c. Thirdly, the wicked are PLOTTING. Look at their plans in verse 2 “For lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string” Unless a person has been touched by the finger of God, he is tangled in the plans of the wicked one. You may think you are righteous or religious, but unless you are One with God, you are working for the wicked one. You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do (John 8:44 ). This was a statement of Jesus to the Pharisees who were the most religious people of the time. But I say unto you, that if you have not been made righteous through Jesus Christ, then you are of your father the devil. Every plan you make is part of that wicked one’s plan! But you MUST TURN FROM ALL YOUR PLANS, TURN FROM THE WICKED, AND ASK GOD TO BE A PART OF HIS PLAN.
d. Fourthly, the wicked are PRESUMPTUOUS “That they may privily shoot at the upright in heart” They think that they shoot their arrows privately! That is exactly what this verse says! You may be here and never have considered that nothing you do or have ever done, or ever will do is private. You may be hiding something deep in your heart, but there is a day when it will become public. Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 12, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” And again, Listen to Jesus pleading with us in Luke chapter 12 and verse 2. Turn there if you would ” 2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. 3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. 4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Do you see how Presumptuous the wicked are? They think they shoot their arrows privately! TURN FROM THE WICKED AND FEAR THE LORD!
e. Finally, the wicked are POLL DRIVEN. This point is not directly in the text, but it is implied. All of David’s counselors are surrounding him. All of them are saying the same thing: give in, flee! This is a day when almost everything in leadership in the world is decided by a poll of the majority. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
It must be right if everyone believes it, is the going philosophy. No, IT MUST BE RIGHT IF GOD SAID IT! That is all we need to know. It doesn’t matter what the majority says. Jesus prayed before he left this earth concerning those who had believed on Him: Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth (John 17:17). God’s truth is all that matters—We don’t need to take a poll! You see no one will stand with you on the day of Judgment. You may say, but Lord, my family, my church, the majority said it was right! It will be of no use!
Revelation 20:11-12 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. 12 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,
You must stand ALONE! You will give an account! TURN FROM THE WICKED AND WALK THE NARROW ROAD!
And so we come to verse three and again we hear the question: “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
And we hear the answer from Scripture: The righteous can trust in the Lord, turn from the wicked, and thirdly, finally, and most importantly . . .
III. WE CAN TARRY IN GOD’S CONSTANT PRESENCE! (Verses 4-7) For the one who does not know God, the proposition of thinking about God always, and living in His Presence is a fearful thing. But for the one who trusts in the Lord, it is the only thing that is worth while! Tarrying in God’s presence is called many things in the Bible. It is called:
· Walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16 Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.)
· Walking with God (Genesis 5:24 Enoch walked with God:
· Abiding in Jesus (John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.)
· Being filled (or possessed) by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;)
And so the one who is Tarrying in God’s presence is experiencing God continually, walking with God intimately, LIVING with God constantly, having a constant awareness of His presence, and being completely possessed by Him. When you look at someone who is indwelled by an unclean or demonic spirit, you say they are possessed. They are not the same person—they reflect the being inside them. How much more should we be possessed by the presence of God in us!!
David knew the constant presence of God in three ways, and so must we.
First we must . . .
a. Rest in His Person (verse 4). All that God is should be shown daily in us.
Minute by minute people should see God in us! You see first we must realize that:
· God is Here Look at the words of David in verse 4 “The LORD is in His holy temple.” God’s temple was not where God was confined to, because God is everywhere. He cannot be confined to one place. David says in Psalm 139 “7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
God’s temple is not where God is confined, but where God is manifested! How did the Israelites know where God was? He manifested Himself in various ways: in a burning bush, in a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.
Is God manifested in you? Can God be seen in you? If you are trusting in the Lord, you yourself are called “the temple of God!” “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? “ (1 Corinthians 3:16). Jesus’s name is called Immanuel which means “God with us.” People will always see a difference where God resides!!
But God is not only manifesting His presence which is HERE, God is manifesting His presence in you, which is HOLY!
· God is Holy “The LORD is in His holy temple.” God’s temple is holy. God cannot reside in a place where sin is. God is light in Him is NO darkness at all (1 John). If God is in you, and you are abiding in His constant presence, you not only hate sin, but you have the power not to sin, and sin is uncommon in your life.
Now this teaching scares us because it seems impossible. It is not that you keep yourself from sin, but it should be that you constantly overcome sin through God’s living in you. The Lord said “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). Now you are not able to be holy in yourself. You can try and try and try, and you will always end up falling short of his perfect standard. But yield yourself to God, and you will be holy, because it will be God being holy through you!
Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Romans 6:12-14 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you:
God is holy! Rest in Him and YOU WILL BE HOLY TOO!
So God is HERE, God is HOLY, and thirdly,
· God is High “The LORD’s throne is in heaven.” God is much bigger than you are! He is High in His authority. Do you realize he has authority over your destiny? Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28).
This God Who is HERE, HOLY, and HIGH, is the God who . . .
· God Holds All Knowledge “His eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men.”
We Realized His Person, now let us see His Plan.
b. Rest in His Plan
1. His Plan for the Righteous “The Lord trieth the righteous” (verse 5). It is God’s plan to try you like Gold is tried. You may not understand, but remember, when David was in the cave, he probably did not understand, HE simply trusted! And God calls on us to trust him, because as he tests us he is conforming us to His Son:
Romans 8:28-29 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,
2. His Plan for the Wicked (verses 5-6) “But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.” Hell is a literal place of torment, also known as Hades, and the Lake of Fire. The souls of all unbelievers who die are confined to Hell until they stand before the Lord in Judgment when their souls will be united with their bodies, judged by the Lord for their sins, and cast into the Lake of Fire. The fire is nothing less than literal fire where body and soul will be consciously tormented. Worms will also reside in the body, gnawing and tormenting those there. They will endure the everlasting contempt and abhorrence of the Lord and His people. Every moment will be progressively worse than the previous, and these torments will endure not a moment less than eternity.
Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Speaking of those in hell, John says “Revelation 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night,
Speaking of the kingdom of darkness, Jesus said in Matthew 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Brimstone is sulfer.
248 degrees sulfur melts
482 degrees sulfur turns fierce red
832 degrees sulfur boils
It was this burning sulfur that literally poured out on Sodom and Gomorra, and it is this same fire that will be felt forever in Hell.
Jude 7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
c. Rest in His Pleasure. God wants no one here to go to this place, but as harsh and incomprehensible as HELL is in pain and torment, God is that loving and exhilarating in pleasure in His presence! Look at the last verse.
For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.
God wants to shine his countanence on you! When I saw my daughter Kristen for the first time five days ago, her countanence looked on me and I thought there was nothing sweeter. But there is Someone sweeter, and that is God.
The foundations are destroyed! And what can the righteous do?
If the foundations be destroyed, the righteous must trust in the Lord, and experience His constant Presence.
LET US PRAY.
