Who is really happy?

The Psalm above weas written around 980 BC by King David of Israel. He was really happy: his transgression was forgiven; his sin was covered; the LORD dd not count any iniquity against him and, in himself, there was no deceit.

One can catch a glimpse of his happiness. His world had many elements which are in ours: adultery; murder; war; family division; lies.

Following the surprise resignation of Nicola Sturgeon earlier this week as leader of the Scottish National Party, three candidates have been put forward.

One of them is 33-year-old Chartered Accountant, Kate Forbes. But opposition is growing towards her both within and outside the SNP. She is accused of being “homophobic” and ““transphobic. These accusations imply fear (phobia) and opposition – even hate. And they imply that Kate Forbes may think highly of herself with regard to others.  

 

She made her real position clear in the following statement widely reported in the media. “I believe in the person of Jesus Christ. I believe that he died for me, he saved me and that my calling is to serve and to love him. Politics will pass — I am a person before I was a politician and that person will continue to believe that I am made in the image of God.”

Kate needed to be saved by Jesus Christ, through his death on a cross for her, when he took her place.

Is Kate really happy?

The one in whom she trusts gave his own key-note speech to a huge crowd on the mountain in Galilee around AD 30. He started his address by describing the attributes of those who are really happy. All eight of them start with the word “happy”. They describe true well-being.

 

Real happiness, it seems, starts with being “poor in spirit” and ends in being “persecuted for rightness’ sake”.

And King David maintained, even whilst he was King, “Happy is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”