THEME: THERE IS HAPPINESS IN THE
WORD OF GOD
SUBJECT: WHAT IS YOUR DELIGHT?
By Chris Cromwell
Background Scrip Psalm 1
Text Psalms 1:1,2 “1 Blessed is the man that walk not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is the Law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.”
Key-verse Psalm1: 2a “But his delight is in the Law of the Lord.”
Introduction
We have all sought for happiness in our life. In our expedition for happiness, we have turn to many diverse sources in expectation of obtaining purpose and contentment in life.
Some of us have tried to acquire happiness by venturing down many different avenues such as: obtaining material possession, through relationships, by doing charitable deeds, through fame and fortune, in alcohol and drugs, by living a wild and adventurous life, and even through different religions which also includes a false sense of Christianity.
All of these things are external remedies for an internal problem. In addition, these things may satisfy for an instant but all of these things are momentary solutions and none of these things can show us the way to true happiness, which we can only experience with a relationship with Jesus Christ. Moreover, in our pursuit for happiness, we often compromise our morals and values, which will ultimately leads us further and further away from Him.
This World’s happiness is base on self-gratification and the pride of life, but true happiness is not about self, but to be more precise, it is about pleasing God. When we focus our attention on pleasing God, he over shadows us with his Joy. The Word of God tells us in Ps 16:11 “Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is the fullness of Joy.” Not only will He over shadow us with his joy, but also He will bless us with his Peace. David said in Ps 29:11 “The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with Peace.” In addiction to blessing those who seek him with peace, he will also give them Happiness. The New International Version of Ecclesiastes 2:26 verse tells us “to the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and Happiness.”
Do not deceive yourself; God is the foundation as well as the supplier of true happiness. This is why we must come to know him through his word and engage in a personal relationship with him. Jesus said in Mt. 6:33 that we should “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his rightousness and all these thing shall be added unto you”, and this includes happiness. When we seek God with our whole heart, he causes the promises that are in His divine word to become a reality in our life. Then we can proclaim as the Psalmist said in the text, “that the Law of the Lord is my delight.’ Now the Question is, “What is your delight?”
Study
In our text, we see three characteristics of a godly man who have acquired happiness in his life. In addition, all three strengths came from his love of the word of God. He was blessed because he chose God’s word. He was blessed because he stood on God’s word. He was blessed because he meditated on God’s word. If we want to attain a happiness that goes beyond the grave, we must do as the Psalmist did. We must choose God’s word, we must study God’s word, and we must stand on God’s word. The question is what is your delight.
We will begin this study by first examining the word blessed. The Hebrew word for blessed is called eh‘-sher. This word is defined as happiness or blessedness. Now the definition of happiness is a state of well-being and contentment. If the word bless that is found in our text is meant to be interpreted as happy, then we would be correct to say that his well being and contentment came from honoring God’s word and not partaking in sin. We see this because of his action of not walking in the counsel of the ungodly, and not standing in the path of sinners, and not sitting in the sit of the scornful. These three people are actively participating in sin.
There is joy in keeping the word of God. There is nothing that gives more pieces of mine than to know that you are right with God. If he had studied the word of God, he knows that God hate sin, and that the wages of sin is death. With this in mine, he shuns evil that he may stay in communion with God. When we follow Christ we have the privileged to stand in his presence, and in the presence of the Lord is the fullness of joy. The New international Version words it this way “ You will fill me with joy in your presence.” Joy is a synonym for happiness. Therefore, this tells me that the Lord will cause my well being to remain and my contentment to flourish in Him. In plan words, it means that if I follow the words of God he will make me happy.
Now the Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology defines the word blessedness as the Condition or state of being in God’s grace or favor. These words suggest divine protection, bringing to mind the believers’ trust in Jesus Christ. They know God as the origin of every good thing in both this life and the next. The English word “blessedness” is derived from the root word for “blood” and suggests something that is set aside through sacrifice and in the Bible through Christ’s sacrificial death for sins. Every aspect of the Christian life is embraced by blessedness with no credit assumed by the person experiencing it. It is purely God’s grace.
Now if the word blessed that is found in the text is meant to be interpreted as blessedness than I believe we would be correct in saying because he love the Lord and his law, Father-God has claim him as his son, and as a result of being a son of God He now have the privilege of being in the state of receiving God’s grace or favors. I don’t know about you because whether it happiness being in the presence of the Lord being fill with joy or whether it blessedness being in the state of receiving, God’s grace, it all sound like joy to me. Whether it is happiness or whether it is blessedness I am going to Trust in the Lord. Now the question is what is your delight.
We’ve talk about the meaning of the word eh‘-shar which is translated as bless in this text and we have said that it mean happiness or blessedness. I believe that both happiness and blessedness is implied here in this text. Now we will look at the three strengths that come from the love of God and His word.
The greatest gift that the father-God of heaven gave first man Adam was choice. He did not create him to be a robot, but on the contrary, he gave him freewill to choose whatever he wanted. Furthermore, he set all things before him. However, with the gift of choice came responsibilities. The responsibility was, he now was in control of his own destiny. The Living God of this universe sat before him Life and Death, the chance to live in blessedness and happiness or to live in misery and death. Sometime we do not consider the important of the choices we make.
Sometime we don’t believe that we will reap the consequences of our choices, but I stop by here to tell you that every cause has an effect. We will look at the out come of the first man Adam choice. Father-God told Adam not to eat from the tree in the mist of the garden, which was the tree of knowledge, but from all the other trees, he may eat. I must let you know that the tree of life was in garden, and the tree for the healing of nation was in garden. It came to past One day that Adam was face with a simple decision, whether he should eat from the forbidden tree or not. It looks like he should not have had any problem with making the decision.
Lets look at the fact. He was the son of God who created everything. He had prestige and power, for The Lord God had given him dominion over all his creation. He had plenty of food to eat, and he had an endless supply of the freshest drinking water that ever existed. Moreover, the only job he had to do was till the garden every now and then, and to top it all off he had the finest women that had ever walk the face of the earth, after my wife. She looked so good that all he can say when he first laid eyes on her was, bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.
It shouldn’t have been a problem with making the right decision. Nevertheless, somewhere something went wrong in his thinking. Maybe he forgot to look around and appreciate all that the Lord God had given him. Maybe his love for Eve was greater than his love for God. Maybe he forgot all of his strength comes from God who made both heaven and earth. Maybe he forgot about his other two choices which was the tree of life and the tree of healing, which was a much better choices. Maybe he didn’t think that God meant what he said when he said that you will surly die. Nonetheless Adam chose to eat.
The effect was, the lord kept his word, for Jesus said “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than one title of the law to fail”, so Adam died. And all that came after him died and we have to die. Sometime what we choose in life not only effect you but it effect others. Therefore, we must be careful when making our decisions. The man in the text chose the things of God rather than the things of this World, an as a result he was bless. The bible goes on to tell us, that he was like a tree that was planted by the rivers of water which bared it fruits in his season whose leaf shall not whither and whatsoever he does shall proper. When we choose to follow Christ we receive all the benefits of been child of God. Now the question is what is your delight.
Yes, some things in this world make us happy.
They all end, even if it is at the grave.
Maybe Adam’s dilemma is very familiar to some of you. I know that it is very familiar to me. I don’t know about you all, but I have been in the garden with Jesus as my guide. Him and I walked together and talked together. However, the storm of life came up against me and I stood at my turning point. The right thing to do would have been to call on Jesus, and I know everything would have been all right. I choose to walk in the counsel of the ungodly, which is represented by the influences of this world. I stood in the path of sinners, which mean to do the things the world do, and seek to please myself rather than please God. I sat in the sit of the scornful which is to deny him and his glory. My choices lead me further and further away from him. Can you see the progression of sin? First, I walk under the influence, then I stood or partook of sin, then finally I sat which is to rest or to become comfortable in sin.
That old proverb is true that says a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. But thank God for Jesus. I’m reminded of and old hymn that said, “I was sinking deep in sin far from the celestial shore very deeply stain with in sinking to rise no more, but the captain of the ship heard my despairing cry, from the water lifted me now safe am I. Love lifted me. When nothing else could help, love lifted me. When I grab whole to the hand of Jesus and laid whole to his divine word, my perspective of life changed, and my choices became easier to make. I find great joy in God’s word. Now the question is what is your delight.
Maybe you have made the wrong choices in life and you have found yourself deep in sin and sorrow. I got news for you. There is hope on the horizon. There is a lily in the valley and it is a bright a morning star. There is a rock in the middle of the ocean of life and all you have to do let down your anchor that it may grip the and it will keep you from drifting away. That rock is Jesus. Wait a minute I must tell you about the choices of the last man Adam.
Conclusion
The fist man Adam became a living being, but the last man Adam became a life giving spirit. It was by one-man offence that many died, but it was by one man Jesus Christ that the grace of God and the gift by grace abounds to many. It was by One man’s offense judgment came resulting in condemnation to all men, even so through one mans righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life For it was by one’s disobedient that many became sinners even so by one mans obedience many shall be made righteous. How did this happen? Jesus chose.
