The Wisdom of Happiness – Part 3

Posted by on December 2, 2012 under Front Page Posts, Sermons

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Happiness Is . . .

Is it a warm gun?  Is it a warm puppy? Is it a pursuit that is the American Dream?

The “Happiness Is” meme began with Charles Schultz in Peanuts.

The word “happy” is used frequently in the Psalms.  It is also translated as “blessed” or “fortunate.”  The formula is similar to our current meme:  “Happy are those who ____________.”

There are odd examples of the “Happy are . . .” formula in Psalms, but there are three frequent statements.  Happiness is a result of 1) Following God’s Way, 2) Knowing How to Worship, 3) Trusting in God.

The benefit of these three is not reserved for the future, rather there is a present benefit as well.  So, happiness includes refreshment, contentment, security, thriving and flourishing.  Things go well for the happy.

Following God’s Way – Psalm 1, 94, 112, 119, 128

  • Psalm 1 – There are two ways: God’s way and the way of wickedness.  God’s way leads to the sort of happiness that is a state of blessing from God.  The way of wickedness is cynicism and scorn.  The wicked are suspicious and angry.  The wicked are arrogant and set in their ways.  They are stubborn.
    • The happy ones are like fruitful trees and they flourish.
    • They prosper; not for their own sake but for the sake of God’s purposes.  They bear fruit in season, which benefits all of us.
    • How did they get that way?  They meditated on God’s ways “day and night.”  They delight in God’s law!  It is internal and external.

     

  • Psalm 94:12 – God’s way endures.  The anxious way of the wicked who seek power and abuse others will not endure.  So we are happy when God teaches us a better way.  Trying to succeed at life according to the rules of a broken world leads into a pit of despair and depression.
  • Psalm 112:1– The happy delight in God’s way.  It is a pleasure to follow in God’s way.  It isn’t grudging.
    • If you are resentful about following God’s way, then there’s a problem.  Either, 1) you need to turn something over to God [we will get to this in a moment] or 2) what you are resisting and begrudging isn’t really God’s way.  It is probably traditionalist baggage, meaningless custom, or the attitudes of others that you are owning as God’s Way.  You will not be very happy if you are trying to meet the expectations of others above God’s expectations.
  • Psalm 119:1 – Happiness is learning God’s way.  Not just avoiding sin, but doing right and doing it wholeheartedly.  We are usually happy to help when we know that we are contributing to the goodness of all in God’s name.
  • Psalm 128:1-6 –  This is an expression of flourishing and the younger generations are blessed and happy to have the older ones model this way.  Leaving a legacy of happiness through walking in God’s way.

Other Psalms are specific about what the righteousness of God’s Way looks like:

  1. Psalm 106:3 – Happy are those who observe justice
  2. Psalm 41:1 – Happy are those who consider the poor and weak
  3. Psalm 32 – Confessing sin and letting go of deceit. Holding it in is not healthy.  The benefits are gladness expressed in worship and confidence.

Knowing How To Worship – Psalm 84, 89, 146

  • Psalm 89:15 – Happy are the people who know the festal shout.  Worship involves doing what God has commanded, but it also involves a heart-felt response to God’s majesty.  There is a place in worship for emotion.  A history of reducing worship down to a few basic elements has drained it of passion and power.  In this Psalm, there is no reduction.  The worshipers are happy and they know how to cheer for God’s team.  They walk in the light of his countenance.  That means that God is happy with them.  Day and night there is a worshiping joy.  The festal shout is a response to God’s steadfast love and faithfulness.  Joyous praise is a response to God’s awesome might.
  • Do we know the festal shout?  Would we shout it even if we knew it? I know of people who have been “shushed” because they shouted “Amen!” in worship.  They were told that they were distracting the teacher.  Hello?  I was the teacher.  I was looking for an “Amen!”  Not only are the “shushers” quenching the spirit and dampening the festal shout, they are speaking for me without my permission.
  • Too often we get so consumed about the production of worship, that we forget the festivity!  Why are we so concerned about clapping or not clapping? Both are appropriate.  Anxious concern about controlling how everyone else responds in worship has nothing to do with the heart of worship.  Happiness in worship has less to do with the style of worship, but everything to do with the attitude.  The proper attitude for worship begins with God and there are many appropriate styles in response (see John 4).
  • Psalm 84 – See how there is an attitude and emotion – a desire – to be in the house of the Lord and to find favor with the Lord and draw strength from the worship of the Lord.  Singing to the Lord is both the result of happiness and the source of happiness.  Happy worshipers turn a valley of sorrow and weeping into a place of springs and sources of life.
  • Is worship the Valley of Baca (sorrow)?  Then we need more happy worshipers – not more sermons or different songs. A happy worshiper is one who desires to be in the house of the Lord – just a doorkeeper even!  Why?  Because there is great strength that comes from trusting in God and feeling secure in his house.

Refuge – Trust in God – Psalm 2, 34, 40

  • Psalm 2 – Trust in God rather than human politics.  We just survived a long, bitter campaign season and no one seems any happier on either side.  Why?  Because our security will not be found in earthly politics.  Our trust is in the LORD of all creation.  Our security and refuge is with the one who rules from heaven.
  • Psalm 34  – When you place your trust in the Lord, you find out that he is good.  We are unhappy when we see evil gaining against what is right, but trust in the Lord puts that in perspective.  There can be happiness because trust in the Lord leads to flourishing.  A commitment to the evil and broken systems of this world will end up in destruction and despair.
  • Psalm 40 – Trust in the Lord is dependence on him.  He is the source of deliverance from those things that drag us into the pit.  There are stories among us that must be told.  We should find ways for those who have been delivered from God to tell their story.  Tell others of the happiness that results when God has delivered us from hopelessness, addictions, fear, worry, and loneliness.

Happy are those who can tell the good news of what God has done!