How to Be Happy Forever | Psalm 1
Introduction
Have you heard of “social media envy”?
Not only is it the subject of scholarly research, it is a familiar experience to anyone who uses social media. Social media envy refers to that unpleasant feeling you get when scrolling through social media reminds you that everyone else is happier, healthier, wealthier, prettier, busier, and all-around better at life than you are. It can feel like discontentment with your own life. It can feel like bitterness and resentment toward those whose lives look so perfect.
There are a lot of dimensions to social media envy that would be fascinating to explore, but the widespread phenomenon indicates many people wish they were happier than they are. At one point or another in your life, I’m sure you’ve had a thought like, “If only I had more of ______ (or less of ______), I would be happier.”
Blaise Pascal, a 17th Century French mathematician and philosopher, is famous for stating, “All men seek happiness. This is without exception. … The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.”
Pascal is right. All men do seek happiness. It is the reason anyone does anything at all. But there is a gap between wanting to be happy (which everyone does) and being happy (which few seem to be). How happy are you, really? How content are you? How satisfied are you?
For the next six Sundays, we will be preaching from the Book of Psalms. And the Psalms are full of emotions. In fact, John Calvin called Psalms “An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul,” precisely because the Psalms express all of the emotions we are prone to experience as we live by faith in God through the highs and lows of life. When the Psalmists cry out to God, they honestly express unpleasant emotions like grief, sorrow, fear, and doubt, as well as the pleasant ones like hope, joy, and peace. That’s one reason the Psalms have given language to the songs and prayers of the church for nearly 3,000 years.
Today, we’re going to be in Psalm 1, which is the gateway, the entrance to the whole Psalter. And the very first word in the very first psalm is the word happy (NRSV). (It’s translated “blessed” in the ESV and other translations.) But the Hebrew word emphasizes the state of happiness or contentment. It’s different from the Hebrew word used to emphasize special favor from God.
So what does God say to you about your happiness in Psalm 1 and the Book of Psalms?
Psalm 1
Blessed is the man. who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Happiness
“Blessed is the man.” Or better, “Happy! Happy is the man. That is the very first line in the very first Psalm. As the ESV notes, “The singular Hebrew word for man (ish) is used here to portray a representative example of a godly person.” This line could be paraphrased something like, “See that man there? He is happy.”If you want to be happy, pay attention to that man, because that man is happy!
At first, Psalm 1 almost sounds like those billboard or commercial ads—you know the ones that show really happy, really beautiful people using some product? And the implied message is that if you drink this beverage, wear these shoes, drive this car, you will also be happy like these happy people. Those ads must work because advertisers keep spending millions on them. But we’re all cynical enough to realize those ads over promise and under deliver. Good looks, popularity, and pure bliss, all from a stick of gum? No way.
But Psalm 1 is not a billboard or a commercial. It is a word from God. Psalm 1 is not selling happiness. It’s offering happiness for free and guaranteeing it with a promise from God.
Why did God inspire the Psalmist to write this description of the Blessed Man? Here’s why: because God wants you to be happy in him forever. And here he tells you how!
The Psalms deal with all the realities of life and all the resulting emotions: envy toward the wicked when they seem to prosper, doubt and unbelief toward God, despair that comes from unconfessed sin, suffering caused by relentless enemies, grief caused by the betrayal of one’s closest friend.
It’s all here. But engraved over the archway at the entrance to it all is this line: “Happy is the man.” The Psalms were written for the sake of your joy in God. That is the offer to all who enter here: God wants you to be happy in him forever.
Let me say that a few different ways so it sinks in:
God wants you to be happy in him forever. Do you struggle to believe that God himself wants you to be happy? Of course you want to be happy, but do you know God wants your happiness?
God wants you to be happy in him forever. Maybe you have no problem believing God is good … to others. But your life is a disappointment and you worry God is against you specifically.
God wants you to be happy in him forever. Some of you doubt that. “God doesn’t care about happiness.” Holiness, yes. Moral purity, yes. Strict and reverent religion, yes. But happiness? How could he care about happiness when he never smiles, at least not the way you envision him?
God wants you to be happy in him forever. Some of you reject that. Happiness, for you, comes from money or success or sex or drink. But God is as enjoyable to you as a root canal. The Bible is burdensome, and Christianity is restrictive.
No matter which of those emphases you need to hear, Psalm 1 is for you.It describes how you can be happy in God forever when everyone else is chasing happiness elsewhere.
It’s structured in three parts:
The Way to a Happy Life (vv. 1–2)
The Nature of the Happy Life (vv. 3–4)
And the Future of the Happy Life (vv. 5–6)
I. The Way to a Happy Life (vv. 1–2)
“Blessed [happy] is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1–2).
Perhaps you’ve heard it said that joy and happiness are different. Happiness is fleeting, but joy is lasting, they say. Happiness is external, but joy is internal. Happiness is selfish, but joy is selfless.
When people say things like that, I think they’re trying to make a valid point. There really is a difference between frivolous, fleeting pleasure (on one hand) and deep and lasting pleasure on the other. Joy can differ from joy in quantity as well as quality.
But the difference between cheap, knock-off pleasure and the premium, high-end stuff is not located in the words we use to describe them—whether happiness or joy or bliss—but in the source of the happiness, the object of delight. Someone walking around with a pet rock might have a smile on his face, but the quality of his joy doesn’t come close to the pleasure parents feel in their children.
Who or what gives you pleasure? What do you desire the most? Where are you convinced you will find satisfaction?
The man in Psalm 1 is happy because he knows where happiness is found … and where it’s not. There are two parts to this: avoiding and pursuing. Verse 1 states the negative: The happy man does not walk, nor sit, nor stand with those who reject God and seek their pleasure outside of God. Verse 2 states the positive: The happy man does delight in God’s law.
The need to avoid and pursue is simple to understand. Think of someone in poor health who decides to get serious about getting in shape. Certain restrictions are necessary. Avoid large amounts of cholesterol, fat, and sugar. Cut back on processed foods. Stop smoking cigarettes and limit alcohol. That will make a huge difference. But you can’t get healthy by not eating and drinking. You have to put on new practices: eat more fruits and vegetables, drink more water, eat healthy fats, start walking, get your heart rate up regularly.
Notice who and what the Blessed Man avoids (v. 1): “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.” There is a poetic progression here, from walking to standing to sitting. This seems to indicate three escalating levels of rebellion against God. What starts with thinking like the world, moves to living like the world, and culminates in belonging to the world.
At each level, it’s all about the people you associate with: the wicked, sinners, and scoffers. The question is who is telling you where happiness is found? Who counsels you? Who do you get advice from? Who do you follow and emulate?
John Calvin said about this verse, “The first step to living well is to renounce the company of the ungodly, otherwise it is sure to infect us with its own pollution.” That is not the whole of living well, but it is the first step.
And it doesn’t mean that you are to stop pursuing relationships with non-Christians for the sake of the Gospel. But you know the difference, don’t you? It’s one thing to proactively pursue a relationship with your neighbors, show them hospitality, care for them by asking questions and by praying for them. It’s another thing to build your closest, deepest friendships with people who disbelieve and disobey God.
Who do you spend the most time with? Parents, who do your kids spend most of their time with? Who do you socialize with, eat with, recreate with?
What the Blessed Man in Psalm 1 shows is that friendships are never neutral. You are influenced by your friends, by what they love and value and enjoy, by their humor and their priorities, by their attitudes toward God. And some of you have been lying to yourselves, trying to rationalize the disproportionate time you spend with people who do not love God.
What do you tell yourself? That you’re trying to win them to Jesus? That they’re more fun than the Christians you know?Consider this a gracious warning from God, who wants you to be happy forever: It’s time for you to make changes in your social life. Your soul is at stake.
But happiness doesn’t come from merely avoiding bad counsel and sinful ways. Verse 2 continues, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2). Verse 2 is structured with a common element of Hebrew poetry called a chiasm.Think of it like a boomerang (shape and flight pattern):
A: His delight
B: is in the law of the Lord
B: and on his law
A: He meditates day and night
At the center of the chiasm, which is the point of emphasis, is what? The law of the Lord! That is the Psalmist's way of declaring that God’s law is the only alternative to the counsel of the wicked, and the true source of joy.
Everyone lives by faith, pursuing whatever it is you believe will satisfy and secure. You will either trust the so-called wisdom of those who reject God and pursue pleasure outside of God's law, or you will rely on the all-good, infinitely wise God who made you and knows you.
Psalm 1 means to convince you that God knows (and has revealed) what is best.
That man is happy because he delights in and meditates on God’s Word. Let me be clear. The prescription for the unhappy soul is not merely reading the Bible. Sometimes well-meaning people imply that Bible reading is the answer to everything. “Are you depressed? Just read your Bible more.” “Are you anxious? Just read your Bible more.”
Any literate person can read the Bible … and find no benefit to their soul. But everyone who delights in God’s Word, who reads it and says, “Yes! That is true and right. I submit to that. I believe that. I agree with that. I want that,” will find the way to happiness in God.
There is glory to behold in the Word of God. There is treasure to be found here. There is value to see, sweetness to savor.
As David prays in Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Where does God reveal “the path of life”? Right here in his Law, in his Word.
But what if you don’t delight in God’s Word. That’s why you meditate on it! To meditate on God’s Word is to think deeply about God’s Word. “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands” (Psalm 143:5).Remember, think, ponder! That is the way to see God’s goodness and feel delight.
To meditate on God’s Word means to think about it with a view to doing it: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Josh. 1:8).
The way to happiness is to be right with God by trusting and obeying his Word.
II. The Nature of the Happy Life (vv. 3–4)
“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away” (Psalm 1:3–4).
Verses 3–4 describe the happiness of the man, not in terms of what he has, but what he is. It doesn’t say, “Happy is the man who has $1M, a fancy car, or a beautiful wife.” Rather, it says he is like a fruitful tree, which turns dirt and water and sunlight into something nourishing to others.
Neither do these verses define his happiness by his lack of trouble in life. He experiences all the seasons of life. He experiences droughts and storms. But he is firmly planted and well-watered, and that’s why he is fruitful in due season. Happiness is not dependent on ease and a trouble-free life.
If you’re interested in real happiness here and now, in this sin-cursed world, where tragedies befall you and people wrong you, you need what this tree has: a source of satisfaction and security that will sustain you in all seasons. Anyone can be briefly happy when everything is going your way. What you need is a way to be happy when nothing’s going your way.
The end of v. 3 says, “In all that he does, he prospers.” When you hear that promise, don’t lose the metaphor. This is still describing talking about a fruitful tree. Psalm 1 does not promise material prosperity, wealth, success, and fame. To prosper in everything is to bear good fruit, even when the heat is turned up.
And if that kind of happiness is not enough to induce you to delight yourself in God, then consider the happiness of the wicked.
Verse 4 says, “The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” Psalm 1 does not deny that the wicked may look prosperous and happy (cf. 37, 73). Wicked people do acquire great possessions and achieve great success in the world. But … they are like chaff swept away by the wind.
Chaff is what’s left when grain has been separated from the straw and husks. A farmer without a modern combine could toss it all in the air and let the wind separate it. The heavy grain would fall, but the worthless chap would be swept away. A life full of fleeting pleasures apart from God is worthless and weightless like chaff.
This promise in Psalm 1 has motivated my Bible reading probably more than any other. Many times I don’t feel like reading and meditating on God’s Word. Can you relate? I’m tired. The Bible seems uninteresting. I have other things to do. So I turn my mind to Psalm 1: the man who delights in God’s law and meditates on it day and night is like a tree, firmly planted, well-watered, and abundantly fruitful. And I pray, “I want that! I want to be rooted and established, nourished and satisfied. I want to be fruitful.” Then in faith, I meditate on and delight in God’s Word.
III. The Future of the Happy Life (vv. 5–6)
“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalm 1:5–6).
This is the conclusion of the matter, introduced with that word therefore. There are two paths: “the way of the righteous” and “the way of the wicked.” Everyone traveling on either path is pursuing happiness. But the two paths lead to completely different outcomes.
Verse 5 warns that the future of the wicked is judgment and the end of all happiness.
“The wicked will not stand in the judgment.” “The judgment” refers to judicial proceedings. Picture a courtroom-like setting, with the wicked standing trial. When someone has no argument or defense, we say, “He doesn’t have a leg to stand on.” That’s exactly the sense of v. 5. In God’s courtroom, the wicked have no defense, no alibi. The wicked will be found guilty and cast down in judgment.
What does it mean that sinners will not stand “in the congregation of the righteous”? The Old Testament frequently warns that the one who disobeys God will be cut off: “cut off from his people” (Gen. 17:14), “cut off from Israel” (Ex. 12:15), “cut off from the congregation” (Ex. 12:19), “cut off from my presence” (Lev. 22:3). The wicked will be banished forever from the community of God’s people.
Verse 5 describes the curse on those who break God’s law: they will be cast down and cut off forever. In Hebrew poetry, poetic parallelism adds emphasis to the point. And the point of v. 5 is the certainty of God’s judgment against the wicked. The wicked will not prosper or endure, but will rather be called to account and justly condemned.
As the last line says, “The way of the wicked will perish.” Perishing describes the curse for sin. To perish is to cease, to come to an end. “But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.” (Psalm 37:20). “For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you” (Psalm 73:27).
The happiness of the wicked comes to a permanent end. It may take 20, 30, 80 years, but the joy the wicked find in this life is the only joy they will ever know. For the wicked, their last breath is the last good they will experience. For the rest of eternity they will only know unhappiness, anguish, and misery.
The final plight of the wicked is something we would not know apart from the revelation of Scripture.
And it is revealed here to sober you and keep you from being enticed by the wicked, when people around you look happy and satisfied in their sin.
But for the righteous, their future is an unending future of happiness in God. Verse 6 says, “The Lord knows the way of the righteous.” What does that mean?
There is a close parallel in Psalm 37:18–20: “The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance. But the wicked will perish.”To be known by the Lord, then, is to be protected and preserved forever.
To be truly, deeply happy, you must have both satisfaction and security, otherwise your joy would always be diminished by the thought that it could end at any moment. The righteous are happy because they are known—held secure by God forever.
Gospel
That man is happy! Because he walks in God’s ways, his life bears good fruit, and God will keep him forever.But you might think, “Good for that guy, but that will never work for me.”
Here’s how you can be sure that the same happiness of the man in Psalm 1 is for you. There is only one Man who never walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of scoffers. There is only one Man who ever delighted in and obeyed God’s law perfectly. Jesus is the man to whom Psalm 1 points when it declares, “That man is blessed!”
But Psalm 1 points to Jesus, not only as the happy man, but also as the man who was cast down and cut off in the place of the wicked. Though he was blameless, he suffered the curse for sin so that you, though you have sinned against God, dishonored his name, and broken his laws, could be happy in God forever.
Christ Jesus proves the power of the promise in Psalm 1. Though he was cast down and cut off, he was raised from the dead, and “he is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:3).
That promise is available to you in Jesus today. Turn from your sin and rely on Jesus for your satisfaction and security forever. Let’s pray.