If the foundations are torn down, what can the righteous do?
“The foundations” represent the moral, legal, and spiritual orders of society. When righteousness is distorted, truth is despised, and authority serves evil, it seems as though the whole structure is collapsing. Then a natural question arises: “What can the righteous do?” This is an expression of human helplessness, yet the next words of the Psalm show that the fall of earthly foundations does not mean that everything is over. Human structures can be shaken, but the Lord’s throne remains firm. The believer cannot always immediately restore a collapsed social order. Yet he must continue to speak the truth, live in righteousness, pray, and not join with evil. When great changes seem impossible, faithfulness even in small deeds continues to have value. The fall of human foundations does not remove God’s authority and does not release the righteous from his calling.