From Sampler to Sower

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3, KJV)

I was reminded of this verse recently while listening to a moving speech by a local educator, warning myself and several of my colleagues about the dangers that Nazism and Communism pose to area youth. His concern was that if we allow the foundations to be destroyed, we have no hope.

I was sorely tempted to include this verse in my post about the Top Six Verses that AREN’T in the Bible, as it seems like this verse is so often used in a Chicken-Littlesque warning that the foundations of Western Civilization are crumbling and if we don’t do something fast, the righteous won’t have a prayer (as if, somehow, the foundations of Western Civilization are the footing on which our faith is founded!).

As much as using it this way seems a bit of a misunderstanding at best and blatant proof-texting at worst, I have to admit there is some room for interpretation in this passage. Using the text the way my educator friend did is not as cut-and-dried out of context as the others on the list.

So I’m giving the verse a post all its own.

Before we go any farther, take a second to read all of Psalm 11, maybe even comparing a couple translations. (Don’t worry; it’s only seven verses long.) Then read the rest.
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I will admit: I love the Psalms.

OK, so maybe that isn’t so shocking of an admission.  It’s about as unexpected as a Miss America candidate announcing she is against poverty and for world peace.  But my love for the Psalms rises from deep inside of me.  I find them most helpful in guiding my prayer.  I love it when I open this centuries old document and find my voice in its pages, crying to God out of the depths.

One of my favorite moments in my devotions each week is when I open the Psalms to see what Psalm I will be living in for the next seven days.  Both of my favorite devotional guides, Job and Shawchucks A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants and Benson and Benson’s Disciplines for the Inner Life feature one Psalm per week.  It exciting to come each Monday morning and see what Psalm it will be this week, because it is always surprising to see the way God speaks into my life through that song.

Well, it usually is. (more…)