Psalms 73 & 37

<p>For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ <a href="https://www.douglasjacoby.com/ps73/" target="_blank"><strong>website.</strong></a></p><p><strong>Review</strong></p><ul><li>In the first three lessons, we studied psalms highlighting God's will, word, and nature.</li><li>The fourth lesson explored a healthy double-focus (directed both inward and outward).</li><li>As we sat in our last lesson, Darkness, the world is a place of self-interest. It can get to us, especially if we aren’t focused. We can find ourselves at the brink of ruin even in the midst of the assembly (Proverbs 5:14).</li></ul><p><strong>Drifting</strong></p><ul><li>Hebrews 2:1. When we aren't paying attention to the Word -- when we lose focus -- we drift.</li><li>Why is it important not to drift? We can end up in some scary places. Rejecting counsel, we may be attracted to money, sex, popularity, fashion -- everything the world has to offer.</li><li>And we become good at rationalizing our sin.</li></ul><p><strong>Psalm 73</strong></p><ul><li>The psalmist begins to drift when he looks at the lives of those who aren't putting the Lord first. (They aren't necessarily anti-religion; they just don't get why God would care about their behavior.)</li><li>He begins to feel that his faith is futile.</li><li>He has drifted to a dangerous place, and is saved from this perilous trajectory once he enters the sanctuary of God -- perhaps a visit to the Temple?</li><li>Only from the vantage point of holiness, from a spiritual perspective, does he grasp their final destiny. Sooner or later the bubble will burst.</li><li>He realizes that, without such a perspective, he remains on the level of the animals.</li><li>Fortunately, he has regained his perspective -- an eternal one.</li><li>At the end of the psalm, having regained his balance, he feels confidence to stand up for God, "to tell of his deeds."</li></ul><p><strong>Psalm 37</strong><br /> </p><ul><li>Drifting may originate in envy, false comparisons, and fretting (vv.1, 7, 8; see also Proverbs 2