Psalms 1:1

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1 Blessed ['esher] is the man ['iysh] that walketh [halak] not in the counsel [`etsah] of the ungodly, [rasha`] nor standeth [`amad] in the way [derek] of sinners, [chatta'] nor sitteth [yashab] in the seat [mowshab] of the scornful. [luwts]    KJV-Interlinear

1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!    NASB

The word for blessed, ‘esher,’ is in the plural and means happiness's.  And it is fitting that the Psalms begin with this thought and goal of happiness.  For that is the ultimate objective of God for humanity, and for each individual for themselves - happiness.

But this is not just a smile on the face.  It is a happiness that runs much deeper into ones total being.  Deep into the very core of your soul.

Most people associate happiness with things or with circumstances, and as go those things or situations, so goes your happiness.  Like a rollercoaster, your happiness can oscillate wildly when you depend on things that are external to you.

But, when your soul, or the very essence of your being, is constructed correctly, then your happiness becomes an integral part of you, and is not dependent on something else.

That is the objective of God, as He uses doctrine as the building block for constructing the core structure of your life.

The plural of blessed, means the total package of your life, and not just one aspect or another, of your life, and that total package depends on the content of your soul.

By using the negative exclusion, God teaches us that all things negative, all things evil, all things that form human viewpoint, contribute absolutely nothing to happiness, but the contrary, they destroy it.

The ungodly, ‘rasha,’ are those who are morally wrong, unjust, unrighteous, thieves, deceivers, withholders of truth, promoters of lies, he who has no truth in him.

God is truth.  Doctrine is truth.  And he who does not learn doctrine, lacks truth, and is therefore lacking in God, and is therefore ungodly, despite their opinion to the contrary.

Sinners, ‘chatta,’ means to miss the mark, to pass beyond prohibited limits, to transgress, criminal, guilty.  All sinners, which includes us all, are guilty and therefore criminals with respect to Gods perfect expectations.  We cannot live up to Gods standards. We are incapable of that.  However, through Christ, God gives us an opportunity to be lifted up to His level, by obedience to His mandates. 

And those mandates begin with salvation (your one time belief in Christ), and are perpetuated through confession (a repetitive function for maintaining fellowship), and spiritual growth through learning and using doctrine in your daily life (through a commitment to that pursuit).

Sinners do not follow this pattern of life, and therefore never realize happiness as it was intended.

Scornful, ‘luwts,’ means to mock, to deride, scoff, show disrespect, to observe something or someone as beneath ones self.  Scoffers promote their sinful attitude through overt actions.  They can scoff truth directly through antagonism, they can scoff at truth through indifference or apathy, they can scoff at truth through the expression of their own opinion, which they see as superior to truth.

Bible doctrine is truth.  Without it you are nothing more than a scoffer (ignorant of truth because you have not learned it, and do not try to learn it), you are a sinner (guilty and therefore a criminal because you do the wrong things in life), you are an ungodly person (lacking the inner resources that would make you godly – spiritual growth to maturity).

He who is none of these things – ungodly, sinner, scornful, is therefore a valid candidate for happiness’s as designed by God.

God created humanity for happiness.  Every person who has ever lived, desires and pursues happiness.  No one desires misery.  Happiness is the ultimate objective for every person.

The summary of the human effort is the pursuit of happiness.  But unfortunately, people pursue happiness in places where it does not exist and therefore cannot be found – the world.

The ungodly have their counsel and that is their pattern of life, their walk.

The sinner has their resistance to change or repentance, and that is where they stand in life.

The scoffer has their stubbornness, and that is where they sit, unmovable.

To walk, stand, and sit as described by these three characteristics, is to position ones self in an entrenched pattern of life that insures failure.

The ungodly does not listen and is therefore not teachable.  The sinner adds insult to injury by practicing evil practices in their daily life.  The scoffer makes fun of truth and anything that he does not agree with.

Negative volition toward God is progressive.  One bad decision leads to another, leads to another, and so forth.

There is only one God, only one savior, only one truth, and there is only one way to happiness and that way is through learning doctrine and growing up to spiritual maturity.

It begins by stopping the old pattern of life and adopting Gods pattern for success.