Years ago, at the founding of our nation, Thomas Paine wrote: “These are the times that try men’s souls.”  That was certainly true of those revolutionary days – but I believe it is also very true today.  Our souls are being tried, as this nation, which had a foundation on a belief in God and objective truth, is running madly away from God and His truth.

We have seen that in the recent controversy over Chick-fil-A.  What is amazing is that it should even be a controversy!  All Dan Cathy said to the Baptist Press in an interview was that he was “guilty as charged” at believing in a Biblical view of the family.  He didn’t say he hated homosexuals.  He didn’t say they refused to serve homosexuals.  All he said was that he was guilty as charged at believing what the Bible says about the family: that is it!  And yet in the upside-down world we find ourselves in, in America today, this is somehow “controversial”!  Three mayors, of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, have said they would oppose any Chick-fil-A restaurants from coming to, or expanding in, their cities – because of the personal opinion of the owner!  It is an incredible double-standard.  Are they going to examine the personal opinions of EVERY business owner, to make sure they are “proper”?  And who is going to decide what the “proper” opinions are?!  We know the answer to that: the “politically correct” opinions which say that you must “tolerate” every immoral activity of the gay and lesbian alliance – and “tolerate” to them means “support” – or you yourself will not be tolerated by them!

But what this points out is the depths to which America is sinkng.  It is reminiscent of what David describes in Psalm 11:

I.  The Times That Try Our Souls

In Psalm 11, David was in a time of trouble.  It says in :2, “The wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.”  It is then that he says in :3, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

David lived in a time when the righteous were being persecuted, “shot at”, by the wicked, and in which the very foundations of morality were being shaken.

We find ourselves in similar circumstances today:

—  Dan Cathy can’t even say he is for the Biblical standard of one man/one woman for marriage without being persecuted in the media?  That is his big crime?

— The government is now in the process of forcing everyone to participate in a health care program that supports abortion and elements which violate their religious convictions.

— virtually every new show that comes out on television or at the theatre has homosexual characters in it; every interview promotes their lifestyle.  More and more states are affirming “gay marriage”, and opinion polls have shown a dramatic shift in opinion in favor of homosexual marriage – for the first time in American history, polls are showing that more support it than oppose it!

— On the other hand, many Americans are not even bothering to get married today.  USA Today reported that couples living together outside of marriage have increased by 25% in just the last 10 years!

— births to unmarried mothers have increased over the last generation from 5% in 1960 to over 30% by 1995 – and it continues to skyrocket!

These are FOUNDATIONAL things: marriage, the family, our children – these are the basic moral fabric of our country, and these foundations of righteousness in our nation are being destroyed.  These ARE times that try men’s souls; what CAN the righteous do?  We need to remember what the next verse says:

II.  The God who is on the throne.

You can almost imagine a sound of “panic” in :3, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”  “What are we going to do?!  What can we do in times like these?!”

Verse 4 answers with a calm: “The Lord is in His holy temple”.  In the midst of the “panic”, :4 says, “Calm down; God is on His throne!”

Those who hate God and despise His ways think they are succeeding in rebelling against Him, but Psalm 2 “He who sits in the heavens laughs …”.

The best thing we can do in “times that try men’s souls” is to remember that “The Lord is in His holy temple” – and LOOK to Him; and CALL OUT to Him.  That’s what David was doing in this Psalm; and that is what we should do, too.

It was gratifying to see that Chick-fil-A’s all over our nation were flooded with customers last Wednesday, supporting the Cathy family’s stand for traditional marriage.  CNN reported that lines were long, food courts were packed, traffic snaked around the drive-thru’s of Chick-fil-A’s – and do not mistake me, I am GLAD for it!  I think it is a strong statement that the people of our country made for traditional values and freedom of speech.

But it would make an even BIGGER impact on our nation if the parking lots of our CHURCHES were full for worship services and prayer meetings; and if the worship services and prayer meetings of our churches were full, and there were lines to get into our church meetings!  THEN we would be on our way to a 3^rd Great Awakening in America!  We need to look to the God who is on His throne!

III.  David also saw that the times he was living in were a TEST:

:4b-5 “The LORD tests …”

David knew that part of what he and others of God’s people were experiencing was a “test” from the Lord.  Would they be faithful to follow Him in days when the very foundations of righteousness were crumbling?

We who are alive in this “modern era” are facing a similar test.  How will we respond to the crumbling foundations?  Will we capitulate to the declining standards, or will we hold our moral ground?   Are we going to cave in to the pressure to be “politically correct” – or will we remain committed to be BIBLICALLY CORRECT!

But we need to understand that being “Biblically correct” does not just mean “holding the right opinions”, but DOING the right things; being personally committed live godly lives ourselves:

— it means having the commitment to Biblical living in our own personal morality: be faithful to your husband or wife.  Lead your family to have godly standards in what you watch, listen to, and do.  Don’t just OPPOSE the homosexual agenda; actively LIVE the Biblical agenda!

— it means being faithful to SERVE God in this ungodly society.  Reach & teach & care.  It means being a good SS teacher: not just one who carries the title, but the kind who reaches out, who is not content with “us four and no more”, but who visits prospects and invites them to come; who studies and prepares the word of God to be taught on Sunday, and who loves and cares for people in a day when, because “the foundations have been destroyed”, as Jesus said, “the love of many will grow cold.”

One of my nieces wrote on her Facebook page the other day: “It doesn’t matter who we elect, what we really need is for millions of Americans to start living their faith.”  Now, I DO think it matters who gets elected – we shouldn’t minimize that.  But her main point is right: what is more important than just who we elect is that millions of Americans get right with God, and start following His commands.

And it is not just the “people out there” who need to get right, too – it is US, the Christians of America.  They did survey not ago which indicated that the average American Christian “tithes” about 2.5% of their income.  The standard of God’s word is 10%.  Now, I will be the first to tell you that money is not our biggest problem – but as has often been said, money is a barometer.  Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  The fact that American Christians are only giving ¼ of what God commands is just an indicator of a  more widespread problem: we are probably only praying ¼ as much as we should do, and only witnessing ¼ as much as we should, and attending church ¼ as much as we should, and serving ¼ as much as we should, and going out of our way to care for people ¼ as much as we should – and on and on.  The money is just “the tip of the iceberg” that indicates that we as American Christians need to get right with God ourselves.

Last Wednesday was a neat day in America, as millions of Americans went to Chick-fil-A and made a statement for Biblical values.   A pastor friend of mine wrote on his Facebook page last week: “Now if only those who proclaim to be Christians would take the gospel as seriously as we take our chicken sandwiches, perhaps we’d see some real revival in our nation.”

That’s what we need: a real revival, a real re-commitment from God’s people.  In these “times that try men’s souls”, let’s call out to the God who is on the throne, and ask Him to help us to recommit our lives, and to turn our nation back to Him.