“if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3
July 3, 2023
David, the composer of this psalm, is in what seems to be a morally boxed canyon. There is desperation expressed possibly by the King’s friends and/or his enemies as well. There was a price on David’s head. Where could he turn? What could he do? Escape was the advice given. “Here’s a plane ticket, disappear for awhile.” Things were bad, seemingly so bad, there was no one that could be trusted. Think of a Christian living in a drug gang’s territory where the police were corrupted, and the city officials were afraid to do the right thing. Law and order had broken down. There are some believers who are caught in such circumstances. In some measure, our own government is attempting to force Christians to shut up and go away. Let the secularists have their way, according to the protestors. “How dare you challenge the LGBTQ+ agenda.” What can the righteous do? They can keep on doing the right thing before God. We can stand against the evil in society. But there is one thing we must not do, flee to the mountains (11:1). Christian, beware of advice that encourages us to run from our problems. We are not through with this psalm, but for now hold on to this: engage in some serious faith-thinking in order to put problems into perspective (Psalm 11:4-7).
H
“O Lord, I know you are the one to whom I must look when the foundations are shaken. Keep me standing firm in these unsettling times.”