Blessed Is The Man
Part I
By Allan E. McNabb

In one sense, blessed means to make happy.  If there is one universal desire of every man, woman, and child, it is to be happy.  Who doesn't want to be happy?

Who Is Happy?
God, through King David, communicates the state of a man who is blessed - happy:  "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its seasons, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper" (Ps. 1:1-3).

David’s Expression of Happiness
David expresses happiness first in the negative and then in the positive.

Happiness is:

1. not walking in the counsel of the ungodly
2. not standing in the path of sinners
3. not sitting in the seat of the scornful.

Notice the gradation of unhappiness expressed here by David.

First, all men are born into this world innocent and without sin.  But through the weakness of our flesh, we all sin (Rom. 3:23).  Those who sin begin by heeding the counsel of the ungodly.  There is ungodly counsel to sin everywhere we turn.  Role models set before our eyes call us to satiate the desires of our flesh.  The ungodly love company - a company of sinners.

Second, those who heed ungodly counsel practice sin and therefore walk in the paths of sinners.  At this point we begin to habitually practice that which is ungodly - it becomes a life style, not a mistake for which we immediately repent and pray for forgiveness.

Third, those who walk in the path of sinners eventually sit in the seat of the scornful.  Darkness hates the light and is therefore scornful of those walking in light.  Those who have hardened their hearts against God are scornful of the righteous and teach others to live ungodly in this present world.

Happiness is a State of Mind
But notice the mental state of those who are happy.  Happiness is a state of mind, not a state of affairs nor a station in life.  Those who are happy delight in the law of the Lord; therefore, they meditate upon it day and night.

Happy People Do Not Delight in Sin
Those who are happy do not delight in sin - they delight in the law of the Lord.  Therefore Christians are taught to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; abhor evil and cling to good; abstain from every form of evil; and avoid evil companions who corrupt good morals.  Christians can not delight in the law of the Lord and participate in sin.  Nor should Christians have the stomach to entertain the thought of evil which is so prevalent in the movies, soap operas, and sitcoms appearing in the homes of people all over the world.

How can a child of God delight and meditate in the law of the Lord while watching others fornicate in a love story on TV or on the movie theater screen?  It is impossible.  These two are diametrically opposed.

The world is being bombarded with ungodly counsel. Some of this counsel is unavoidable, but much of it can be avoided by practicing self discipline.  We are all human, we all sin, we can all improve in service to God.  I would venture to say that each one of us is entertaining a degree of ungodly counsel that could be avoided in our life.  Now having confronted ourselves with this harsh reality, will you do something about it?   If so, you will be happier as you follow in the footsteps of Jesus and not in the counsel of the ungodly.

In this article we learned reasons why unhappy people are unhappy.  These are things we must avoid to live happy and fulfilled lives.

Next week, in Part II of this series, we will go to God’s word and learn why happy people are happy.