How Happy!

Psalm 1

If you open to the first page of just about any book, you will see an introduction, where the author explains what he is trying to do. Perhaps he or she seeks to inform, entertain, correct, or remember certain things. As he explains his goal, he might also describe his method. A good clear introduction will give you a handy tool to quickly decide whether or not it is worth your time and effort to continue to read.

Psalm 1 is the introduction to the book of Psalms. In these six short verses, the Psalmist will set forth his purpose, indicate his method of achieving it, and give you a reason to be interested. Let’s unpack this introduction.

Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! The first word of this psalm is congratulatory. “Blessed” could be translated “How happy you are if…” The founding document of our country assures us of our right to seek happiness. Television and social media offer us hundreds of ways to promote and enhance our happiness. God placed this hunger for happiness in us, and He can satisfy it.

He first tells us that we say hello to happiness by saying goodbye to the things that impede it. Our holy God separates us from sinful things. There is a downward pull to sin that is expressed in this psalm: first we walk with sin, then we stand in it, then we settle down and sit with it. We not only participate in it, but we also scoff at people who are avoiding it. Paul explains the slide downward very well in Romans 1:28-32…”They don’t see fit to acknowledge God, so God gives them up to…do those things that are not proper….They are people without understanding, untrustworthy, unfeeling and unmerciful….and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.” They both practice sin, and scoff at those who don’t practice sin.

How happy is the person who isn’t a doer of wrong and a mocker of right. That word “happy” is defined as “the condition created by Christ’s indwelling in a person’s heart, which brings fundamental satisfaction in the life of a believer.” (Zodhiates, Key Word Study Bible). A song says, “I can’t get no satisfaction.” That’s why we continually quest for the next good thing, drug, toy, or companion.

The psalm tells us what really satisfies: “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in that law he meditates day and night.” The law of the Lord is the Torah; the first five books of the Bible, which is all that was available in the time of David. It contains the narratives of Abraham and the great heroes of the faith. It contains the account of the exodus, the wilderness wanderings, and the entrance into the promised land that displayed the nature and power of God. It explained the way to approach God, with a humble awareness of sin and the sacrifice that brings forgiveness. To meditate on the law is to carefully consider who God is and what He does. The relationship that grows as we focus on Him satisfies our deepest need for meaning.

A beautiful metaphor comes next: That person will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. The picture before us is one of complete flourishing. This Godward focus is nourishing, like water for a tree. It makes us fruitful; we are making a meaningful contribution to the life around us. God continually renews and sustains us. Wherever life takes us, we thrive. What a power packed promise God gives His child in this psalm!

This introductory psalm ends with a warning: where the godly prosper, the wicked perish. Their scoffing, their self-seeking stroll described at the beginning of the psalm, leads nowhere, bears no fruit, and disappears without a trace.

This contrast between the prosperous and the perishing leaves no third alternative. We either focus on God or we don’t. No one gets to hang back indecisively. Not to put God at the center of life is to reject Him, no matter what other “good” thing we may try to use as a substitute.

How happy is the person who makes God his or her focus. The psalms will help us focus more clearly and increase that happiness. That’s why we will be looking at them for the next couple of months.