'Happiness is the motive of every man, even those who hang themselves.' So wrote Blaise Pascal the french philosopher. But if we are all searching for happiness, what is true inner happiness and where can we find it?

This Sunday we will take a look at Psalm 1, which tells where.

You can download summary notes of the sermon in English here or in French here.

Or read them below:

The Blessed Life

Psalm 1

We will take a break from Acts over the Summer, and instead look at some songs from the Psalms. The men who wrote the Psalms were writing out of the experiences of their lives. So they express every emotion, but not romantic love, because these songs are about God, not other people.

The first Psalm we will look at is Psalm 1. It is an introduction to all the Psalms. Understand this Psalm and you will understand life.

Right Inputs

Much of modern life is geared around the search for personal happiness. Psalm 1 opens by telling us how we can find that happiness: it is not dependent on your circumstances but on how you see life, on what is most influencing you. True happiness does not come from thinking that is devoid of God, or his purposes: walking in the counsel of the wicked.

But the Psalmist also doesn’t say it comes from living an upright, moral life. Instead, the truly blessed life comes from delighting in and meditating on God’s word: having your whole life influenced by the way God sees things.

As we meditate on God’s word, we see things about God and about ourselves and others that draws out worship and prayer in response.

Lasting Output

The Psalmist defines what a blessed life looks like: he contrasts a tree and a piece of chaff. The blessed life shows itself in three ways:

• It’s rooted: it is not at the mercy of events, it is stable and it endures.

• It’s fruitful: it’s a productive life, lived for God’s glory and others’ good.

• It doesn’t wither. It grows old with grace and glory. It finishes well.

Eternal Significance

In the last stanza the Psalmist looks beyond the finishing line. The one who takes the wring path will not stand on the last day. But the righteous will – he will have the certainty of knowing God’s guidance in this life and the next.

But what for those of us who know we don’t make the grade: who don’t meditate day and night, who know we could never stand in the final judgement. What hope is there for us?

The Ultimate Blessed Man

The Good News is that we can know this kind of blessing, not because we have perfectly fulfilled the requirements of Psalm 1, but because Jesus has. He didn’t just delight in God’s law, he did it; and he died the death of one outside the congregation of the righteous. As we repent and put our trust in him, we are counted righteous in him, and the blessings of his perfect life come to us.

As we understand how much God delights in us, we will delight more and more in Him, and have His word shape our lives. Then we too will be fruitful – living lives that bring glory to God and good to others.