Happiness (Psalm 1-2)

How to be Happy Living in the World (Psalm 1-2). Psalm 1 is the gateway and introduction to the Psalms. It contrasts the way of life and the way of doom by emphasizing the importance of meditating and delighting in God's Word (Ps 1:2).

Ø  Is there a key to happiness? Or is it a carefully guarded secret known only to a very few special select people?

Ø  What do you think you need to be happy and to avoid unhappiness?

1. What does it mean to be "blessed" (Ps 1:1a)?
• To walk, stand and sit with a person (Ps 1:1b)? How does this affect your thinking, behaving and belonging?
• How does this contribute to your happiness or unhappiness (Rom 12:2)?
2. What does it mean to "delight" and to "meditate" on God's law/teaching day and night (Ps 1:2; Jos 1:8)?
• Why would one do this (Ps 119:97; Dt 6:5; Jn 14:21)?
• How does this happen in your life (Gen 2:16-17)? Make you blessed / happy (Mt 5:3; 11:28-30)?
• What do you daydream about?
3. Where are you planted? What do you thirst for (Ps 1:3)?
• Why is one who is like a tree planted by streams of water happy (Jn 4:13-14; 7:37-38; Rev 21:6; 22:17)?
• How can you prosper (Gen 39:2; Jer 17:7-8)?
4. What are the wicked [ungodly, evil people] like (Ps 1:4)?
• What does it mean to "not stand in the judgment" (Ps 1:5)?
• What is their destiny (Ps 1:6)? Do they think so (Ps 14:1; 73:11)?
• Do they think they are unhappy (Ps 37:35; 73:4-5, 9, 12)?
• Do you understand unhappy people?

Ø  How can you encourage others to walk in the path of righteousness as described in Psalm 1:1-3? Is this the (only) way to be happy?

Psalm 2 (The Sovereign Lord and His Anointed One) emphasizes God's sovereignty and the anointed role of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Ø  What is your understanding of the world? How would this contribute to your happiness or unhappiness?

1. What is the world's attitude toward God (in particular the rulers and leaders) (Ps 2:1-3)?
• What is "anointed" (Ps 2:2) in Hebrew and Greek? [māšîaḥ, christos]
• How does this point to the quiet sovereignty of God (Ac 4:28; 1 Cor 2:8)?
• How does God respond to their rebellion (Ps 2:4-6)?
• What should powerful rich rulers know and do (Ps 2:10-12)? What is their only hope?
2. How does the "Anointed One" foreshadow the future reign of Christ as the Messiah, the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Ps 2:2, Ac 4:25-27; Rev 19:16)?
3. What is His authority and role (Ps 2:7-9)? How does this connect with the resurrection (Ac 1:8; 13:33; Rom 1:4; Heb 1:5)?
4. How do you "serve the Lord with fear" and "celebrate with trembling" (Ps 2:11; Phil 2:12-13)?
5. What does it mean for the nations to "kiss the Son" (Ps 2:12)? Why is this important and significant for our happiness?
6. What do you learn about God's sovereignty and about God's coming kingdom on earth (Ps 2:8; Mt 6:10)? How does understanding this give you peace and happiness? What should you do (Rom 10:9-10)?

"The Bible is the Word of Life. It contains the mind of God and His will for each one of us. That is why the Bible was given to us." - Billy Graham

"The Bible is the cradle wherein Christ is laid." - Martin Luther

"The Word of God is like a lion. You don't have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself." - Charles Spurgeon

"The Bible is not an option; it's a necessity. You cannot grow spiritually strong without it." - Rick Warren

1. "The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection." - A.W. Tozer.
2. "The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian." - A.W. Tozer.
3. "The Bible is not an option; it's a necessity. You cannot grow spiritually strong without it." - Charles R. Swindoll
4. "The Word of God is like a lion. You don't have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself." - Charles H. Spurgeon.
5. "The Scriptures teach us the best way of living, the noblest way of suffering, and the most comfortable way of dying." - John Flavel
6. "The Bible is the cradle wherein Christ is laid." - Martin Luther
7. "God's Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path." - Psalm 119:105
8. "The Bible is the only book whose author is always present when one reads it." - Unknown
9. "The Bible is not the light of the world. It is the light of the Church. But the world does not read the Bible; the world reads Christians!" - Leonard Ravenhill
10. "I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by those who were inspired. I study the Bible daily." - Sir Isaac Newton
11. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." - John 1:1
12. "In the Scriptures, we can find inexhaustible wisdom and guidance for our lives. It is a wellspring of spiritual nourishment." - John Piper
13. "God has given us two books: the Bible and the creation. We need both to know Him." - John Stott
14. "The Word of God is like a map. It tells you exactly where you are and the course you should take." - Charles Stanley
15. "The Bible is the window through which you may see truth, the door through which you may live it." - Charles Spurgeon
16. "The Bible is not merely a book to be studied, but a Word to be obeyed." - John R.W. Stott
17. "The Bible is the mirror of God’s character. In it, we see who He is, what He values, and how He acts." - Tim Keller
18. "The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. It discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart." - Hebrews 4:12 (This is a biblical verse but often cited by theologians and pastors).

	NIV	Robert Alter	Alec Motyer
1	Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,	Happy is the man who has not walked in the wicked's counsel, nor in the way of offenders has stood, nor in the session of scoffers has sat.	Blessed is the man who has determined not to walk according to the advice of wicked people, nor, according to the way of sinners, to take his stand, nor in the seat of cynics, to sit.
2	but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night.	But the LORD's teaching is his desire, and His teaching he murmurs day and night.	To the contrary, in Yahweh's teaching is his pleasure, and in his teaching he meditates day and night.
3	That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.	And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither—and in all that he does he prospers.	Consequently, he is like a tree, transplanted beside channels of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither—and whatever he does, he prospers.
4	Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.	Not so the wicked, but like chaff that the wind blows away.	Not so the wicked ones! To the contrary—like chaff which the wind drives about!
5	Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.	Therefore the wicked will not stand up in judgment, nor offenders in the band of the righteous.	Therefore, the wicked ones will not rise up in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous ones.
6	For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.	For the LORD embraces the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked is lost.	because Yahweh knows the way of righteous ones, and the way of the wicked ones will perish.