Sermon by Rev. Steven R. Key
Introduction to the Heidelberg Catechism Scripture: Psalm 11 Text: Psalm 11:3 Having reached the end of our systematic study of Bible doctrine following the instruction of the Heidelberg Catechism, we turn right around and begin anew. Sometimes we may wonder why in our Protestant Reformed churches we continue that historic practice of preaching through the Heidelberg Catechism year after year, without any lengthy interruptions, treating the same truths in a circular way. Some would call it tradition. And we will not argue that. It is tradition for the Reformed churches whose confessional roots are deeply grounded in the Heidelberg Catechism. It is tradition, in fact, that has lasted more than 400 years! Think about that! More than 400 years in Reformed churches from Eastern Europe, through Germany and the Netherlands and throughout the United States and Canada, a sermon each week, as much as possible, has been devoted to the instruction found in the Heidelberg Catechism. That is the tradition. Many have thrown out that tradition. And although we may never hold to tradition just for tradition's sake, Scripture itself points us to the fact that there are good traditions, traditions that we ought not let go. So the Apostle Paul, writing for the second time to the Church in Thessalonica, said (II Thess. 2:15): "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle." And in Jeremiah 6:16, we read, "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."We continue to devote one sermon each Lord's Day, with but few exceptions, to the truths developed in the Heidelberg Catechism. Before we turn once again to Lord's Day one, I would have you understand why we continue this practice. There is a good reason. That reason becomes evident from many portions of Holy Scripture, including the text to which I call your attention this afternoon. The truths set forth in our Heidelberg Catechism are the truths which serve as the foundation of our entire Christian faith, and the foundation of the Church. There are those who will argue that the Catechism is a man-made document. And that is certainly true. But if that argument is intended to move us off our course of preaching through the Catechism, it must certainly fail. Even though the Catechism was written by men, the Catechism is an exposition of the truth of God's Word. The Catechism is written in such a way that you who study it will see very clearly that the truth presented is the truth of God's Word. All you have to do is take the time to look at the Scripture passages that are footnoted to each question and answer.
Furthermore, make no mistake, when we preach the Catechism, we are not preaching the fallible words of men, but we are expounding from the Scriptures themselves the infallible truths set forth in the Catechism. We preach the Scriptures, as you clearly understand. But the treasure of Catechism preaching is this: you and I are compelled to face the truth of Scripture as a whole. As we proceed through the instruction set forth in the Heidelberg Catechism the whole counsel of God is preached to us. Because the instruction of the Catechism is the systematic instruction of Bible truth.
And, still more, that Bible truth is the truth of the churches. When you come to this Protestant Reformed Church, where the Catechism is preached and where the confessions of the Reformed churches are maintained, you may know where we stand. A visitor to our churches can be pointed to our confessions, and understand very clearly where we stand. Where a church pretends to adhere to historical creeds, but has in practice rejected them, you cannot know where they stand. They deceive! When a minister who claims to adhere to the Heidelberg Catechism and the other Reformed creeds stands in the pulpit and says that God loves everybody, that Christ died for everybody, that man is capable of doing good, that God desires the salvation of every person, that salvation depends upon man opening his heart to Jesus, and other such things, he is dishonest, a deceiver. Because he opposes the very teachings set forth in the confessions that he claims as his own. Let a man be spiritually honest. If he follows the teachings of Pelagianism and Arminianism, let him not claim to be Reformed. Or, to put it a little more positively: When we claim these confessions as our own, let us know what they teach. When we claim the Bible as our own, as authoritative for doctrine and life, let us know what it teaches, and let us submit to it. Then others will know where we stand. And we ourselves will know where we stand and why we stand there.
The Catechism is foundational to our churches. Which is to say, we stand upon the firm foundation of God's infallible and authoritative Word. The one who hears may not agree. The one who comes under the preaching of God's authoritative Word, might even rebel against that Word, especially when it touches his own sins and sets before his own conscience the demands of God's holiness. The Word of God, after all, cuts like a two-edged sword. But the one who stands before God's truth will not be confused about that which confronts him. We have firm foundations. But we need to know them. We need to confess them. We need to teach them. We need to defend them at all costs. The reason is clearly set before us in the words of Psalm 11:3: "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
I call your attention to this text under the theme:
OUR FIRM FOUNDATIONS
I. THE NECESSARY FOUNDATIONS
II. THE FIERCE BATTLE FACED
III. THE SERIOUS QUESTION PRESENTED
IT IS EVIDENT FROM THE WORDS OF THIS TEXT THAT THE PSALMIST IS LOOKING AT FOUNDATIONS AS A VERY CRITICAL OBJECT.
THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THIS PSALM IS UNKNOWN.
There are a number of occasions in David's life which could be reflected here. It could very well be that this Psalm reflects a time in his life, after his anointing by Samuel, when Saul still reigned. You recall that during that period, while David still served in the king's court, Saul's hostility began to come to the surface. It is very possible that the first verse refers to the advice of David's friends, that he flee until a later time. It could also be that the time refers to a later time, when the persecution was evident as a fierce attempt on the part of Saul to take David's life. It could be written in the context of the time when Saul had 85 of the Lord's priests murdered, because they had taken David in and inquired of the Lord for him and fed him. Those God-fearing priests—bearing in mind what we read in Malachi 2:4-7—were the messengers of Jehovah of hosts, sent to preserve knowledge and to maintain the law of truth. Such a massacre could easily, in David's mind, have caused an earthquake in the foundations of the kingdom. You see, there were some terrible times in David's life, any of which could be reflected in the words of this text.
But no matter what the historical context—and clearly that is not so important, else it would have been revealed—the fact is very clear that David observed the apparent destruction of what he refers to as the foundations. And one thing he well understood: Any sound superstructure must have a solid foundation. One cannot build any lasting structure upon sand, as Jesus makes very clear in the last part of Matthew 7. And if one builds upon a termite infested wood foundation, he will find that over time his whole house will be in danger of crashing down. The foundation of any building is the crucial starting point and that upon which the whole structure stands.
THE QUESTION THAT WE FACE IS THIS:WHAT ARE THE FOUNDATIONS TO WHICH HE REFERS?
The Bible speaks in many places about foundations, most of the references being found in the New Testament. But in several of those references, the idea of the foundations is made unmistakably clear. The Apostle Paul speaks this way in I Corinthians 3:10,11, after explaining to the Church that "ye are God's building," says: "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
Now from David's Old Testament perspective he understood that very truth. When he spoke here, his immediately reference was to the kingdom of God. That was the building to which he refers by implication. It was the kingdom over which he had been appointed by God to serve as the king. That kingdom, even though ruled by a wicked man in Saul (if indeed this Psalm was written while Saul yet reigned), was a kingdom that was established upon the foundation of the promised Messiah. The kingdom was built upon the foundation of God's Word and the gospel which pointed His people to the coming of Christ. Belonging to that foundation were all the Old Testament types and pictures, the shadows of the sacrifices and ceremonies which God had appointed for His people. Belonging to that foundation were the law and the testimonies, the promises to the spiritual children of Abraham. And all those things served as the schoolmaster to lead God's people to Christ, as we are told in Galatians 3:24. So that even from David's perspective prior to the coming of the Messiah, he understood that the foundations of the kingdom were the Word of God, every precept, every word that was written, and everything that God had established as the means to point His people to the Savior. The foundation, in short, is God's truth.
And let us understand, this text applies to us today in the very same way, even though from the perspective of the New Testament fulfillment. The foundation upon which the righteous build is the Rock, Who is Jesus Christ. And therefore, that foundation is the Word of God which reveals Christ to us. So we are told in Ephesians 2:19-22: "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."
When we speak of the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, as the foundation of the kingdom of God in this world, we speak about those Scriptures as that which reveals Christ. Christ Jesus is not someone of man's imagination. His identity is not established by our own ideas and conceptions. His identity as the crucified and risen Savior is revealed in the Scriptures, and throughout the Scriptures. The whole of the Bible reveals Christ to us. When you hear the preaching of the gospel with the ears of faith, the preaching that expounds the Scriptures, you hear Christ the Savior set before your minds. That is what expository preaching does. To the righteous Christ comes in the gospel. You hear Him in every sermon—I say, where the Bible is opened up before you. And you who are His not only hear His voice, but you follow Him, even as He said in John 10. There are those who do not hear Him, even though He is very evidently set before them. As our Canons of Dordt say, That isn't the fault of the gospel, nor of Christ presented therein. The reason there are those who do not hear Him, and who reject the Word that is preached and say, "The gospel that we want, we do not hear," is because they are not of His sheep, as Jesus Himself explained in John 10:26.
Oh yes, the gospel must also be preached unto such as reject it, in order that God's good pleasure might be accomplished even as He said to Isaiah, when He sent Isaiah forth to preach. "And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed" (Isaiah 6:9,10). Isaiah was stunned at that purpose of God. He could not comprehend how such a beautiful gospel could be rejected week after week by those who were privileged with its hearing. And in his shock, he responded this way: "Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the land" (Isa. 6:11,12). That will be the reaction as Christ, the foundation, is set before men. And yet God also gives us His promise. A remnant shall hear, and shall repent, and their holy seed shall receive the inheritance.
SO ALSO TODAY THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST, THE KINGDOM OF GOD, IS BUILT UPON THE FOUNDATION OF GOD'S WORD OF TRUTH, THE REVELATION OF THE GOD OF OUR SALVATION AS RECORDED IN THE SCRIPTURES.
That is exactly the importance of what Paul writes to Timothy in II Timothy 3:14 and following, that very familiar portion of Scripture: "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them: And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works" (II Tim. 3:14-17). And so he instructs Timothy in I Timothy 4:16: "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee." These are the foundations upon which we stand. These are the foundations upon which we enjoy the comfort of salvation. And those foundations include every truth of God. Today, even as in the Old Testament, the foundations include every precept of the Bible. So also today, there is not one jot or one tittle that has passed away. So that you and I must understand that what the Lord said to John with respect to the Book of Revelation applies also to the whole of the Scriptures: "If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book" (Rev. 22:18b,19). And these foundations, the whole counsel of God, as Paul refers to it, is what we preach when we proceed through the instruction of our Heidelberg Catechism.
You and I must know the foundations on which we stand. We must understand their critical importance. They are, after all, foundations. Whether you look at the life of the Church as an institution in the midst of this world, or at the life of your own family, our future depends upon whether or not we have foundations upon which to build. Exactly here is where we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to God for graciously maintaining the foundations in our midst and in our churches. It isn't that we did anything to earn them. We didn't go out and purchase the foundations. In fact, but for God's grace and the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit of Christ in us, we would not even recognize the truth as so important. But the health of our churches and our families is established exactly upon these foundations of God's truth. We must not only realize that, but the reality of that truth must come to expression in our lives! The Heidelberg Catechism is a tool by which the whole counsel of God is systematically set before us. And that truth is set before us in such a way, that it ultimately focuses on our expression of gratitude to God. Why live as a Christian? Why live different in the midst of this world? Because God's truth reveals to us what we are by nature, and from what we have been delivered by the wonder work of God's grace in Christ Jesus. The Catechism very beautifully lays the foundations before us, doing so from the viewpoint of our own experience as those who are redeemed by Jesus' blood.
And by the truth set before us, we come to understand the heart of the gospel and the heart of true biblical preaching. Man is laid low, and God is exalted as the One Who is holy, Who is God alone. As we are led through the systematic instruction of the Bible, we shall be humbled and God shall be glorified. Because the Bible, the foundations of all Christianity, does one thing: It pulls man, you and me, from off our thrones of pride and self-righteousness, laying us in the dust at the footstool of the righteous Judge; and it takes all the glory and bestows it upon God Who saw fit to take us unto Himself by the sacrifice of His own dear Son. That is the heart of the biblical gospel. Those teachings, so prevalent today, which build up man's pride and self-esteem, are no sparks from heaven! They belong to the attacks upon the foundations! The doctrine which is according to godliness, to use the words of the inspired Apostle, is the doctrine of the Scriptures in its entirety. That is what we must maintain as the foundations of our faith, beloved. And as members of this church, that must be our purpose, to know and to defend and to maintain the foundations upon which we may glorify God and raise our families.
We who are confessing members of a Reformed church, and even more particularly a Protestant Reformed church, have in our confessions of faith expressed that we acknowledge that the doctrines contained in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testament, summarized in the Articles of the Christian faith and which are taught here in this Christian church, to be the true and complete doctrine of salvation. Furthermore, we have promised before God to adhere to this doctrine, and to reject all heresies that contradict this truth, also putting this doctrine to practice in a holy walk of life. That was our promise before God. That is the promise that underlies our membership in this church.
And if we profess to hold certain doctrines, and promise to do so, then we must really and honestly hold to them. And although a man cannot promise always to believe as he now believes, nor always to remain a member of the church where he is now a member, the one thing he may and must safely promise before God is this: I will be a faithful and orderly member of this body, as long as I remain in connection with it. And if, for some unknown reason, I come to different convictions, I will contain to walk orderly, not schismatically, subjecting myself also to the government of God's elders. When a man ceases to be able to do that in the church where he is a member, if he is an honest man, he will immediately withdraw his membership.
For, let us understand, subscribing to a church's confession or, as is the case in our Protestant Reformed churches, subscribing to our church's confession as summarized in the Heidelberg Catechism, as well as the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt, is not a mere formality. To say, "I believe this," is a very solemn and serious confession, with very serious obligations. If a man be bound to be sincere in anything, he is bound to be honest to his God, to himself, and to the church in which he is a member. There is no area of life where insincerity and dishonesty is more justly charged with the dreadful sin of "lying to the Holy Spirit" than this one. When there are those who confess that they believe these doctrines, and then walk contrary to them, their sin is as great as that of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.
So we expound the Heidelberg Catechism in all seriousness, and with pointed application to our life. That is how it must be preached. Those who walk contrary to God's doctrine, in opposition to His Word, must be confronted by that Word very pointedly, with the sincere desire on our part that they come to repentance. But if they do not, they must continue to be forced to stand before God's holiness and truth, to the end that their wickedness might be exposed, and they either leave or are put out of the church. The Church of Jesus Christ may never wink at those who by their opposition to sound doctrine through evil speaking or an ungodly life would destroy the foundations which God has laid for His Church. We may never allow such instruments of Satan to rob us of our comfort and of the blessings of God.
THE TEXT PRESUPPOSES A FIERCE BATTLE, A BATTLE WHICH ENDANGERS THE VERY FOUNDATIONS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE WORLD.
THERE ARE THOSE WHO WOULD DESTROY THE FOUNDATIONS.
That is always the case. That was David's own experience, as it has been the experience of the children of God throughout the ages. The truth which reveals Christ is always under attack. David describes the fierceness of the attack in verse 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." The enemy has not overlooked a single weapon in his attempt to destroy the foundation of the Scriptures. With every weapon at their disposal they will make their attacks upon the foundations of God's kingdom and Church. They will privily shoot at the upright in heart. That is, they will ambush us. And the most grievous aspect of such attacks upon the foundations is that the most serious attacks are made by those who pretend to be one with us. That is what David observed. David spoke not of the attacks leveled by the heathen nations round about, although those attacks are also made. But that which caused him and God's Church such grief and danger were the attacks within. And so we also are warned repeatedly in Scripture, and even observe in our own experience.
And those attacks upon the foundations in the Old Testament were attacks upon Christ. Let us understand. That fierce battle waged against the foundations was exactly that battle reflected upon in the vision that John saw and recorded in Revelation 12. While the woman, the Church, travailed in birth, waiting to bring forth the Christ, there stood the dragon, ready to devour the child as soon as it was born. That was the picture throughout Old Testament history, as constantly the evildoers in Israel attempted to subvert the nation, as did the enemy nations round about them. They were attacks upon Christ. That is exactly the focus of all the attacks upon the foundations.
And so it is today as well. Whenever attacks are made against the truth of the Scriptures, and against the preaching of the holy gospel, those are attacks upon Christ. Jesus said in John 15:21,22: "But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin." There are those who are brazen in their attacks upon the truth. They speak evil of God's Word at every opportunity. They twist the Word. Even if they hear the gospel, they twist it and make it a lie. And so Paul instructs Timothy, "Don't even listen to such." "But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker" (II Tim. 2:16,17a). And instead Paul tells the young preacher to maintain the truth. Because the truth which we maintain and preach and teach is not our truth. It is God's truth, that truth which reveals God's Christ. That, as I pointed out before, is the significance of all the holy gospel, of the whole Scriptures.
UNDER ALL THE ATTACKS THAT WE FACE THERE IS ONE THING THAT WILL SUSTAIN US:THE FOUNDATIONS UPON WHICH WE STAND, GOD'S TRUTH.
To depart from the figure of the foundation for a moment, sound doctrine is the armor which God has given us to fight the battle of faith. Our preservation from error, as well as our spiritual fruitfulness, is founded upon the truth of God's Word. Do you know that truth? Do you love it? Will you stand upon these foundations of sound doctrine? In the past century, and with steady deterioration in more recent years, there has been a marked departure from doctrinal preaching. The expository preaching of God's Word has been replaced by a heavy emphasis on psychology and sociology. That has reached the point in our day when the cry among tens of thousands is, "Break down the barriers! Let us only confess Jesus!" But examine the cry. It is in reality an absurdity. For it implies that everyone knows who Jesus is. But let us ask, "Who is this Jesus whom we must confess together?" To answer that requires a doctrinal stand. Is this Jesus God or is he man? Does He still live today? And if so, how does He reveal Himself? When He speaks, does He speak with authority, or with suggestions? Do you believe that He died and rose again from the dead on the third day? What is the effect of His death? Did He die for everybody, or for a definite people? Did He die to accomplish salvation, to satisfy God's justice, to atone for our sins; or did He die to make it possible for men to be saved, if only they will? You see, people of God, it all boils down to this: We must know Him whom we profess to believe. The Apostle put it this way: "For I know whom I have believed." We must be able to make that same confession. And we don't come to that by listening to the opinions of men, but the very Word of God. Sufficient attention is not given in our day to the biblical expression "the doctrine of Christ." That is a serious matter! We read in II John 9: "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son."
The doctrines of the Scriptures are revealed to us that we might know our Savior. That is why I must bring to our remembrance that there is another battle being waged against those foundations, and that is a much more subtle attack by Satan. I refer to the temptation, to which we easily succumb, to take a very indifferent, apathetic attitude toward God's Word and truth. We definitely live in the days of the fulfillment of II Timothy 4:3,4: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."
Dreadful indifference to God's Word characterizes the day in which we live. What characterizes us, and our hearing? Do you have a zeal for God's truth? Or does this indifference toward sound doctrine characterize you? Do you receive the Word of God will gladness? Or are you filled with venom and a despising of God's Word? Still more. Let's bring this right down to the level of our daily application. Does this sound doctrine which is preached to you make a difference in your daily walk? Where there is not the doctrine of faith, the obedience of faith cannot be expected either. And where there is a rejection of God's Word, His curse will give us over to our iniquity. Where there is no consciousness of God's sovereignty, He will not be held in awe. If we do not live in the truth of His holiness, then sin will be viewed as a little thing with us. When our sins are not confronted and rebuked, and the total depravity of man is not pressed home, then pride will reign and self-righteousness. Then everyone else will be evil, except ourselves. Where the work of the Holy Spirit is not maintained in truth, there will be all kinds of departures from God-honoring doctrine. Where the truth of the Church is not maintained, there will be a walk in separation from the body of Christ.
You see, the instruction of our Heidelberg Catechism is much more than intellectual instruction for our brains. It is truth for the warming of the heart and the regulating of our lives before God. Thus we read in Scripture of "the doctrine which is according to godliness." The doctrine of grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world (Titus 2:11,12). That is the importance of the foundations in the midst of this fierce battle that we face. And make no mistake, you show by your life, as I do by mine, what these doctrines mean to us.
THE TEXT CONCLUDES WITH A VERY GRIEVOUS QUESTION, ONE WHICH POINTS OUT TO US THE URGENT NECESSITY OF DEFENDING THE TRUTH OF GOD, THE FOUNDATIONS UPON WHICH WE STAND.
THE PSALMIST POSES THIS QUESTION: "IF THE FOUNDATIONS BE DESTROYED, WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?"
A powerful implication is set forth by that question. The implication is that of the answer that the psalmist knows very well. If the foundations be destroyed, the buildings collapse and become nothing more than heaps of ruins. The righteous can do nothing when the foundations are destroyed. That is, they can do nothing toward restoring those destroyed foundations.
Especially was that the case in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament it wasn't possible to look for a church in which the truth of God was maintained with more seriousness and in purity. There was only one church, as it were. Furthermore, in the Old Testament the people of God were entirely dependent upon the offices of prophet, priest and king. If they wanted to know the Word of God, they couldn't just open their Bibles. They had to go find the prophet. And only the priests could offer the sacrifices. And if the kings did not rule according to God's law, the theocracy simply was not seen. So that all through the Old Testament, whenever the wicked held reign—and if you know Old Testament history, you know that was often—the people of God could only grieve their sorry state.
That is somewhat different for us today. If the church where we are members departs from the truth, and throws to the wind the doctrine of Jesus Christ and the doctrines of godliness; if winds of false doctrine are blowing through the church, and the church has become so corrupted in its offices that Christian discipline is no longer exercised to eradicate evildoers and false teachers, at least there are churches that still maintain the truth and godliness. And even if it requires the tremendous sacrifice of uprooting our household and family, and moving for the truth's sake and for our own spiritual welfare, at least we may flee to that part of the city of God where the foundations are still solid, and where we may establish our families to the glory of God.
But it remains true, if the foundations are destroyed, the building collapses. It may take some time. But as we see in our day, that collapse develops very quickly. And the generations are lost. That is exactly the seriousness of having firm foundations. Where the truth of Scripture is not maintained and loved, where there is no zeal for the Word of God and His truth, where the walk of godliness flows not forth from sound doctrine, there inevitably arise generations that know not the Lord, nor the works that He has done. The generations are lost. God makes that happen. He does. Upon those who reject His Word, He pours out His wrath. That is clearly taught us in Hosea 4:6: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." What a fearsome truth! How critically important we must view the foundations upon which we stand, the truth of God's holy Word.
BUT THIS ALSO IS TRUE, AND HERE IS OUR COMFORT (VS. 4): "THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE, THE LORD'S THRONE IS IN HEAVEN."
For the righteous there is indeed hope. Martin Luther understood that, when from the face of severe persecution he wrote the song "A Mighty Fortress is our God." "And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God has willed His truth to triumph through us....That Word above all earthly powers—no thanks to them—abideth;...The body they may kill, God's truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever."
We read in Proverbs 22:12: "The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor." Jehovah is faithful. He will maintain His truth. Paul wrote to Timothy about the overthrow of the faith of some. But he immediately said this (II Timothy 2:19): "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." The foundations shall always be maintained even until Christ comes again. That doesn't mean that those foundations shall continue with us, i.e., in our churches. We may never take these things for granted. The destruction of those foundations is only too close to home for many of us whose ecclesiastical roots are elsewhere. But even as David lived in hope, so may we, beloved. With your eyes fixed upon Christ, maintain the foundations. Build upon them. And you shall see your children's children, and peace upon Israel. "For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright."
Amen.
Preached: Randolph PRC 6/2/96 (am) Intro to Heidelberg Catechism
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