“Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.” Psalm 1:1-3 (NRSV)
I love this opening Psalm. It just starts the Psalter on the right foot with a proclamation that the way to experience the kind of life everyone wants to live is to delight in the Lord and his law, his instructions, his leadership.
Everyone wants to be happy. From Aristotle on, the world’s greatest thinkers have been of one mind as to the reality that each and every human being wants to experience happiness. There’s a lot of debate about what happiness is, but suffice it to say for this post, that happiness is an experience of a positive and satisfying life.
Psalm 1 teaches that God’s desire is to give us a happy, blessed life, and this life God desires for us is a life of flourishing. The metaphor is that of trees planted by water where they can draw deeply from life-giving waters and grow green and fruitful. In Kentucky, this is a little more difficult to grasp because we live in a place with adequate water supply. Israel is mostly dry. Along streams you can observe a contrast of brown and green. Brown is dry and dead. Green is wet and alive. The person who puts their trust in the Lord and the Lord’s ways is alive, growing, and fruitful for God’s Kingdom. This is a deeply satisfying and fulfilling life, a happy life.