In Psalm 11, Psalmist David was facing some great difficulty. He expresses himself with a heavy burden. Perhaps this was the time that Absalom led his revolt against his father. I don't know. We're not told what the occasion of the Psalm was, just that it is a Psalm of David. ascribed to the chief musician to be sung in the house of God.

He says in the midst of his trouble, in the Lord put I my trust. Not in the Lord I have put my trust, though that certainly was the case. In the Lord put I my trust. Right now, today, in the midst of this difficulty, in the midst of this trial, in the midst of this calamity.

How say ye to my soul, flee as a bird to your mountain? 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." That was the way it was in David's day. That's the way it is in our day. I have no doubt whatsoever, as I observe things, observe what's going on around us, I know that some would say I observe with a critical eye and hear with a critical ear. Perhaps I do, but I've learned to do so by experience.

I have no doubt whatsoever that the news media, the educational system, The political system, the whole religious system of this world, is intended with deliberate effort, at least on the part of Satan, if not on the part of men themselves, to destroy faith. Not just faith, but the faith. The faith of God's elect. The faith of the gospel. The faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. And men and women constantly, constantly, are throwing their errors at those who believe God. Constantly throwing barbed arrows to challenge your faith. Constantly talking to you. Constantly attempting to ridicule and cause you to look silly and to look ridiculous for believing the things you believe.

If the foundations be destroyed, what shall the righteous do? What can the righteous do? David see some calamity that seems to threaten the very foundation of the nation, some trial that seems to threaten the very foundations upon which God's elect in the nation had built their hopes. And David says as he prays and sings to God, if the foundations which the wicked seek to destroy If the foundations which the ungodly at heart seek to destroy, if the foundations be destroyed, God, what can the righteous do? And then he braces himself up.

The Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven. I observe the mess going on in our society. and in our day. And I can't tell you how many times I have reverted to this statement in this psalm and others like it throughout the scriptures in trying to minister some word of encouragement, comfort, consolation to myself and to others. The Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven. He's still in control. It may look like everything's in chaos. It may look like everything's in shambles. It may look like everything is falling apart. Everything is falling in exactly the course God has ordained and God brings to pass everything. He's still in his holy temple.

Read on. His eyes behold, nothing escapes him. Nothing escapes him. His eyelids try, the children of men. They test, they prove, they judge the children of men. The Lord triumphed the righteous. We're going to have our triumphs, one kind or another, constantly while we live in this world. No such thing as a righteous man who is not chastened of the Lord. No such thing as a believer who is not under the Father's loving discipline. There's no such thing as one who believes God, who walks by faith, whose faith is not tried by God's providence. God Almighty proves our faith. He tests our faith. He tries our faith to strengthen our faith and teaches to walk by faith. But read what it says. The Lord triumphed the righteous. Not those who are righteous in their own eyes, but righteous in God's eyes by Christ's imputed righteousness, but the wicked. That's everybody else. And him that loveth violence is so hated. Imagine, imagine what that means. To be the object and the target of God's hatred. No words can describe that.

Upon the wicked he shall reign snares, traps. God'll just take them as in a stare. He'll take them as one who lays a trap for a wild beast to catch the beast when he is least expecting it. God lays a trap and takes the wicked in his trap. And as the result of taking the wicked in his trap, the scripture says here, fire and brimstone and then horrible tempest, indescribably horrible tempest, quick burning coals of tempest. This shall be the portion of their crime. I suspect Ron Jeremiah had this in mind when he was considering his difficulties in the midst of his day, and when he had been lamenting what God and his providence had done, he said, the Lord is the portion of my inheritance. The Lord is the portion of my cup. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul. Therefore will I hope in him. But for the wicked, snares, typists, brimstone, and horrible horrible judgments, this is the portion of their cup.

For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness, his countenance doth behold the upright. Now, I want us this evening to spend a little time together meditating upon this horrible supposition that David gives in verse three. If the foundations be destroyed, if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? We're living in troublesome, troublesome times. Any rational, reasonable man must be concerned about the problems facing our nation and facing the world at large and facing the church of God in our day. I was sitting at the airport the other day and listening to a man chat, a businessman. We were just standing around waiting on the airlines to get things ready for us to board and talking about the circumstances of society. Of course, he was speaking purely from an economical standpoint, and he was saying, well, I'm going to be all right, but I'm worried about my grandchildren and my children. Well, I'm concerned about a heap slight more than my children and my grandchildren. I'm concerned about the glory of God and the truth of God and the kingdom of God. I'm concerned about those things while at the same time being fully aware that God's glory, God's truth, and God's kingdom are perfectly safe.

But I recognize the responsibility that is upon us to care for God's glory, to protect and promote his glory, to care for God's truth, to protect and promote his truth and to care for God's kingdom, to protect and promote his kingdom. The world's economic system certainly appears less than stable. I think that's safe. We have modern sophisticated weapons of warfare, which could annihilate nations in just a few minutes. And there are areas of the world so tense that I wouldn't be surprised at all to see us engaged in a third world war before we woke up tomorrow morning. Wouldn't surprise me in the least. And we haven't, we haven't come near settling the problems that our politicians want us to think or settle. We haven't come near taking care of issues our politicians want us to think or take care of. More than that, some of you have personal difficulties, domestic trials. difficulties which to you appear, at least in your eyes, to be as great as the trials of the world at large. Those difficulties are real.

And the greatest evils of the age are to be found in the religious world. Spiritual wickedness is seen everywhere. It abounds everywhere. Our Lord told us that it would, and it has come to pass. In the professed church of God, heresy abounds. And though among those who profess to believe this book, among those who profess to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, among those who profess to be the children of God, utter heresy abounds. It is not something that you find here and there, it is something that you find literally everywhere. Everywhere scattered, in every denomination scattered, in every professed churches, just utter heresy abounds.

And therefore wickedness abounds in the streets. I have no hesitancy in declaring at all. Romans chapter 1 clearly teaches us that the moral perversion, the wickedness, the abominable things we observe happening in our society, among the people with whom we live, is the direct result of false religion. It is the direct result of teaching men to worship themselves rather than God. It is the direct result of will worship. It is the direct result of Arminian free will works religion. Call it by whatever name you want to call it. We see this moral perversity not causing the judgment of God, but rather evidence of the judgment of God. Men and women, when they would not, worship God and would not honor him as God, God has given them over to a reprobate mind that they should do such things as we observe in our society and in our day.

And if you're like I am, you wonder what's going to be the end? What's the end of this going to be? I simply don't know. I simply don't know. I have no idea. to what lengths the depravity of man shall be demonstrated before God pours out his wrath upon this generation. I had no idea. But just suppose for a few minutes that the most fearful tragedy you ever imagined were actually to come to pass. What would you do? What could you do?

This is the fearful apprehension that David expresses in this supposition in verse 3. If the foundations, the foundations, not the wall, you can replace that. Not the roof, you can replace that. But if the foundations be destroyed, when the foundations are destroyed, everything's lost. When the foundations are destroyed, a ruin has come. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Well, there is something the righteous can and must do. even in the most disturbing trials, even in the most distressing circumstances of life. I want us to look at this supposition from three standpoints, and I will, I'll be as brief as I possibly can, but I want to be crystal clear. I pray God will give me your attention. I believe I've got something that'll help you if you'll enable me to declare it to you.

First, I want us to consider what David says as a question of fear. The psalmist, I believe it. Let me see if I can find it. I believe it's in Psalm 56. Yes, Psalm 56, verse 3. Listen to this. I read this years ago going through a time of difficulty, and I was young enough as a believer that I presumed that fear was altogether incompatible with faith. And I thought, well, if I'm afraid, I can't believe God. But the two things do go hand in hand. We ought not be afraid, but our fear ought to drive us to our Savior in faith. And this is what David said in Psalm 56.3, what time I am afraid. And there are some times when I am. There are some times when I am.

I don't believe I'm afraid of any man's face. I'm not concerned about that. I've gotten over the fear of men. I don't believe I'm afraid of what any man can do to me personally or to my family. I'm not fearful in that sense. But I'm afraid of what I see happening. I'm afraid for our children and our children's children. I'm afraid for you. I'm afraid for our souls.

What time I am afraid, David said, I will trust in thee. So David expresses this thing, if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? Perhaps on his own part, as a question of fear. There are many foundations upon which men in this world rest. Most people build everything around these things, which they think are solid, immovable But the foundations that men build upon in this world are all sand, just shifting sand. Sooner or later, these foundations must crumble. And when they begin to crumble, those who build upon them will crumble with them.

You have read, some of you may be old enough to remember the Great Depression experiences men had when the stock market collapsed and the banks went broke and they lost everything, their foundations were gone and men were jumping out of windows and committing suicide and people just went absolutely berserk because everything they had built for their lives, every ounce of financial, physical, material security which they had heaped up for themselves was suddenly, like that, gone. Just gone. And folks went crazy. they crumbled with their foundations.

Now let me point out a few of them, and let me warn you, don't build upon them, don't do it. The foundation of every civil government will sooner or later be destroyed. Now I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist, but I try to face things like they really are. And I recognize that no nation under the sun will last forever. Not this one, not any other. America, England, nor Israel is invincible. Neither the free nations of the world, nor the communist nations of the world, nor the Islam nations of the world, or any other nations of this world, stand forever as God's representatives. None of them are.

I recognize that there are some signs of utter that ought to be evident to anyone who just looks in our society. We're coming up on our presidential election. Let us not fail to pray for those who are set over us in God's providence, that God may cause them contrary to their nature, that God may cause them contrary to their wickedness, that God may cause them contrary to their unbelief, that God may cause them contrary to their rebellion against him.

And I recognize that having said that, perhaps in God's providence, there are some among the leaders of our nation, political leaders, who indeed worship God. But thus far, I haven't found any. Thus far. I haven't seen any. Don't know of any. I hope one of them will call me and correct me before the weeks out, but I don't look for it to happen.

But when we pray for them, let's not be terribly concerned. Let's not be terribly concerned. Let's not be, let's not be overwhelmed with what's happening around us. The fact is, in our society, justice is perverted, and I see no one rising to correct Justice is a thing of God. It's a matter of righteousness has long been forsaken by every fabric of society around us, the Church of God alone excluded. The laws of our nation are a farce. They're a joke. They're just a joke, an utter, utter joke. Anyone with good sense, if any of our forefathers could have looked ahead. I'm talking about even the deists, the unbelievers, the wicked men who were our forefathers. I recognize there were some godly men among them, but even the ungodly among them, if they could have looked ahead and read how the laws now were established, pretentiously based upon the constitutions they drew up, they'd be horrified. They would have been horrified. Just utterly horrified.

The law of my land are a joke. And not just our land, not every other land as well. And the moral fabric of the nation is being eroded by those very people who ought to be building it up. Men everywhere these days call good evil and evil good. And I'll be honest with you Rex, I don't think they know the difference. I don't think they know good from evil. I think they're utterly, utterly blinded.

It's an interesting statistic that the majority of people in this nation look upon our political leader, our president, and they say he's a man of little moral character, a man who cannot be trusted to tell the truth. But that doesn't affect how he does his job. And I call attention to him only because he happened to be president. It wouldn't matter who was president. It wouldn't matter when men and women presume by majority, by the vast majority, if the opinion polls mean anything, when men and women presume that a man's moral character has no effect upon the way he behaves in a job of responsibility, what they're saying is we have the same kind of character and we wouldn't want you to judge us on that. That's what they're declaring.

We live in a society where any sense of moral understanding about things is based purely upon a man's own opinion of what he wants to do, and that altogether is law. Nothing else, nothing else. These days, people look upon the very most vile corruptions of mankind, those things that that were not even named among the heathen, things that you didn't even find among barbarians, now commonly practiced in our streets, and folks look at it and say, well, don't judge that, don't be hard against that.

If you moms and dads don't take the initiative to speak plainly to your sons and daughters as you raise them, to plainly instruct in not only moral principles, that's not good enough, but to plainly instruct them in that which God in his word demands and that which God in his word demands for us to abide by, you will do your sons and daughters of everlasting destruction rather than doing them good. Don't depend on somebody else to teach them.

The foundation of financial and economical security, why that can crumble like that? I don't even pretend to understand anything about economics. Whether you talk about a national economic situation or the economic situation of your own family, man, that can crumble before you get up in the morning. That can be gone just like that. And yet men build upon the structure of things economically, and they rest themselves upon those things for future peace and future prosperity as though they were going to stand like steel forever.

I've often seen the foundation of trust between friends crumble. David experienced that. His own son betrayed him. His trusted friend Ahithophel betrayed him. Our Lord experienced it. Judas betrayed him. Paul experienced it. Demas betrayed him. Apparently a man who walked with God as far as Polkitech. a man who was gifted to preach as far as Paul could tell, a man who was faithful as far as Paul could tell, but after a while, demons forsook him, having loved this present world.

Many of those who professed to be his friends turned and sought to destroy his name and his character and his reputation. I've known a little of this pain and you have too. All of us experience it. And when friends turn against you. It's a painful, painful foundation to see broken up.

Foundation of domestic tranquility, family happiness at its best, at its best, at its best, will only endure for a little while. The rebellion of a son, the waywardness of a daughter, will bring a loving father or tender mother terrible grief. I have watched with utter horror my friends endure such horrible, horrible pain. Just horrible pain. And those of us who are spared that grief We'll soon see our families crumble to dust. Everyone. Mark's got those two beautiful boys. Soon, they'll either bury you or you'll bury them. Very soon. It's nothing less, friend.

These earthly relationships, dear as they are, Precious as they are, are only temporary. Don't rest your soul and your hopes and find peace just in your domestic tranquility. Thank God for what he gives, but don't rest upon it.

What I'm saying is this, this world and all that it provides, the very best of it, the very best of it, everything we've got here, I mean I mean everything that we lay our hands on and say, this is what I want. Everything that we look at as youngsters and say, this is what I want to see, this is what I'm going after. Everything that we desire for ourselves and for our sons and daughters in this world, everything here is marked to be burned.

Now that doesn't mean we ought to become indifferent, lazy sluggards. It does mean we ought to live with our eyes wide open. And I say to you, children of God, for your sake, for the gospel's sake, and for the glory of Christ, we must learn to look upon this world for what it is. A crumbling clod of earth. No more. A vanishing vapor. No more. soon it must be passed away.

As the foundations of these things begin to crumble, many are sorely vexed and frustrated. Fear and anxiety bring their souls down with pain. But David says when these things happen, if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

So in the second place, I want to try to answer the question and give an answer of faith. What can the righteous do? In the political world, in the economic world, in the social world around us, in the family, everything crumbles. Everything, everything just crumbles. What can the righteous do?

Well, I'll tell you what, when worse comes to worse, righteous men and women, men and women made righteous by the grace of God, men and women who have experienced righteousness by faith in Christ can bear it with holy composure, whatever comes. Job did. Job did.

I'll be honest with you. I've watched some of you and I've watched some of our brethren around the world go through some horrible trials. I mean horrible trials, but I've never seen anybody. I've never seen anybody come close to experiencing what Job experienced. And yet this is what he did. After Job had lost his family, his sons and his daughters, all of them, and lost his health, almost to the point of death, had lost his money, his cattle, and his lands, and was in utter poverty, and at last had lost his reputation, so that men mocked him as a wicked man who pretended to be his friend. This is what he did. He arose and rent his mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground, worship God. He worshiped God. And this is what he said. Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return to her. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this, Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

Suppose the banks collapse. You may lose a little bit of spending money. I hope your treasure is not in the vault. Suppose tragedy strikes your home. I hope you'll not become hysterical. The fact is nothing can harm your father's household. And many of his households only one really can. If these foundations of sand are destroyed, what can the righteous do? We can face it submissively. When great trouble comes, let us seek to honor God, like Eli of old, saying it is the Lord.

He said, folks having a testimony meeting and getting up and saying what they're thankful to God for. You know how a lot of these churches do. Folks pop up and say this, say that. I found this one old gal. She stood up and she said, well, preacher, I'm so thankful the Bible says it came to pass. And she just sat down. He said, well, sister, what do you mean? She said, well, I'm just thankful it doesn't say it came to stay. I couldn't take it if it did. I'm glad the Bible says it came to pass.

Now listen to me. Whatever comes to pass with you comes to pass by God's purpose and by God's hand. By God's purpose and by God's hand. He says, I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things. Jeremiah said, who is it? Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass? Who gives a word? Who gives a command? Who gives an order? And it comes to pass when the Lord commandeth not. Nobody. Nobody. Amos said, shall a trumpet be blown in the city, a word of alarm, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in the city, and the Lord hath not done it? Shall evil come to this city, to this faith, to this nation, to this world, and God not do it? Oh, no. No, no. It came to pass by God's hand.

One that will ever learn to submit to the will of God, and to trust the providence of our heavenly Father, is the Lord. Him do what seems Him good. God give me grace. that I may in all my affairs so acknowledge my Father."

When worse comes to worse, okay, what else we can do? We can anticipate the best. With believers, this is not just to say, folks say, well, I believe everything somehow just works out for the best. No, that's not what we believe at all. That's not what we believe at all. Don't be taken in with the religious and moral sayings of our society. That's not what we believe. Well, I believe everything will work out for the best. Oh, no. I don't believe that. I don't believe any such thing as that. I believe God will arrange everything for the best of his people. Understand the difference? Things don't just, buddy, they don't just turn out for the best. God brings everything to pass. to do that which is best for your soul. Everything. We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. In these troublesome times, I'll tell you what else we can do. We can do what we know is right. Be honest. in your business affairs. Be honest in your business affairs, Rex Bartlett, if it means you've got to close up shop and go dig ditches. Be honest. If you have a hand to spare, do what you can to help your brethren in need. Be faithful witnesses for Christ in these days of darkness and delusion. We can and we must in all things adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

We've been redeemed by the blood of Christ. We've been saved by the free grace of God. We've been justified and sanctified in Jesus Christ the Lord. Our sins put away by his blood, we've been robed in his righteousness. And while we live in this world, in the midst of all the affairs of this world, we must declare to men who God is and what he does for sinners in Jesus Christ the Lord. We've got to do it. We've got to do it.

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? We can, as God enables us, do what righteous men ought to do. And again, though every earth of the foundation is destroyed, we can commune with Christ and learn to be content. Turn to Philippians 4 for a minute. Philippians chapter 4, verse 4. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice. And you can rejoice always if you rejoice in the Lord rather than things. If you rejoice in the Lord rather than in other people. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.

This is what it's saying, let your moderation. The word is gentleness. It's only used one at a time in the whole New Testament. I think it's 2 Corinthians 10, it's translated gentleness, which speaks of the gentleness of Christ. Your unruffled, easy, gentle disposition. Trouble comes, difficulty comes. Let men observe your gentleness. Your moderation, let it be known unto all men The Lord's at hand. He's near you, Baba, in Judaestus is right now. He's at hand. And not only in you, He's at hand. He's God at your elbow. They're at hand. The Lord's at hand.

Be careful for nothing. Quit pacing the floor, biting your nails, and worrying. Just quit. Just quit. How can you do that? Trust the Lord. That's how you can do it. And Lindsay, just to the measure that we trust Him, to that measure, we are careful for nothing. Just to that measure. Does that make sense, Father? You can't both fret and believe. You can't do both at the same time. we must cease from our fretting and seek grace to believe our God.

But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. By prayer and supplication, calling upon God, supplicating the throne of grace, not with murmuring, but with thanksgiving. Not with grumbling, but with thanksgiving. Father, I've got no idea what you're doing, but I know you're doing it. And I give you thanks for your wisdom and your grace and your rule of all things. And I give you thanks for what you bring to pass. And I ask for grace to honor you.

Let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have peace from God by which we are enabled by his grace to live peaceably with one another. Oh, and we have peace, the peace of God. That's peace that rules in your heart. That's peace that makes you ease. That's peace that makes you gentle in the midst of difficulty. The peace of God shall, which passeth understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds. The peace of God shall set a signal, a guard, around your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, Whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. These things are things found and revealed only in Christ Jesus.

Look at verse 11. Now remember where Paul is. He's in prison. Remember what he's doing. He's waiting to die. He's waiting to be beheaded. And it says, not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound everywhere and in all things. I am instructed to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

Now look at verse 13. I can do all things. through Christ which strengthens us. Now that doesn't mean if I want to I can go out and pick up on his cars. That doesn't mean if I want to and I believe enough I can become President of the United States. That talk about faith is carnal. That talk about faith is lastivious. That kind of talk about faith is totally contrary to the faith of the gospel. What that means is just this. I can, through faith in Jesus Christ, looking to him, endure whatever God is pleased to bring upon me. I can do all things through Christ's strength in my name. For he will not put upon me more than I can bear, but he will with the trial make a way of escape so that you can bear.

And the last place, let me give you a reason for our faith. I can't preach this, I'll just give it to you and quit. All that I've seen is much more than mere philosophy. I'm not talking to you about good behavior. I'm not giving you a good counseling session. Though these foundations of sand crumble around us, we must not be moved, for the Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven, and the foundation of God's name is sure."

This book, Foundation Book, God's Word, didn't do us And whatever you find in this book, it's perfect. Whatever promise is given will stand. And when everything else is crumbling around you, the Lord has magnified his word, above all his name, rest your soul upon the book. Not only that, but we as believers have been given and made participators in a family covenant in all things and sure, and it shall not be changed or destroyed. The Lord God made with us an everlasting covenant, and the foundation work of our Lord Jesus Christ, His obedience in death, His blood, His righteousness, His grace shall never lose its power. His blood cannot be shed in vain. His righteousness cannot lose its merit. His grace cannot be rendered useless. His salvation cannot be destroyed, lost, or taken away, not even by Himself. And His promise cannot be broken.

What I'm saying is this. If my sins are forgiven, and He, by whose blood my sins have been washed away, rules the universe, what shall disturb me? When peace like a river tendeth my way, when sorrow like sea billows roll, the Lord God has taught me to say, by His grace He's taught me to say, has He taught you? It is well. It is well. with my soul.

The foundation of God's purpose stands sure. He has purposed the salvation of his people. His name will be sanctified. His will will be done. His kingdom will come. It will be built upon the earth and it will be done on the earth even as it is in heaven. And the foundation of security stands forever. The foundation of the Lord stands forever. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work to you, no matter what comes your way, no matter what in hell or out of hell you have to face, no matter what it is, no matter what what the demons of hell bring upon you. No matter what evil you deal with, he which hath begun a good work in you, Bob, if God's begun it, he will perform it until the day of Jesus.

And we have a foundation hope in Christ, a good hope through grace, which shall never be destroyed. It is as an anchor of our soul, both sure and steadfast. and it holds our souls in peace.

Now, what more can I say? If you want a sure foundation for your soul, come to Christ. Lean upon him. Build upon him.

The Lord God says, Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion a foundation stone. This foundation stone is a tribestone and a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. So he that believeth shall not make haste.

In times of trouble, in times of fear, children of God lean heavily upon the foundation that stands sure. I don't know why God had me bring this message tonight. I believe he did. I have no idea what kind of phone call you got today or you may get before you go to bed tonight. But when trouble comes your way, lean hard, lean hard on the Son of God.

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed because his compassions fail not, and you every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul. Therefore, will I hope in him. Amen.

Let's stand together. We'll be dismissed with a word of prayer.

Teach us, our Father, to trust your wise and good providence in all things. Forgive our sin. We often speak of and think of the moral evil of the ungodly. But we must acknowledge there's nothing more horribly evil than our unbelief. God forgive our lack of faith in Christ.

And yet we recognize that faith is something we cannot muster of ourselves. So we ask that you will be pleased to give us faith. Teach us to trust our God, to lean our souls upon the merit of our Savior and upon the power of your grace the strength of your faithfulness.

I ask for these, my brothers and sisters, that you'll strengthen, comfort, and sustain them. Direct our lives and teach us to be faithful, faithful with you, faithful with things of God, faithful to one another. For Christ's sake, I pray.