Man’s search for happiness may seem like an impossible quest amidst this often tragic life. His pursuit only leaves him hopeless and in despair but Scripture has the answers. In this sermon on Psalm 1:1–2 titled “Man’s Search for Happiness,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones leads through the first two verses in Psalm 1, and explains how God reveals His prescription for true peace and lasting joy. Far beyond the temporal emotion of happiness, there is a lasting joy that characterizes the life of one who follows God's prescribed plan. By contrasting the two alternatives and discussing the theory and the practice (both the negative and the positive), one discovers the biblical view—that humanity always seeks happiness in the wrong place, and that there is no true happiness apart from God.

What separates Christians from the rest of the world? How can one know for sure someone else is truly saved? Scripture gives many tests of salvation, but few are as vivid as the portrait painted in this passage. In this sermon on Psalm 1:3–4 titled “The Ungodly Man,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains the vast difference between those who are rooted by the river of life and those who will blow away like chaff. Dr. Lloyd-Jones presents five differences between the godly and the ungodly person. These differences are profound and have eternal consequences. Due to sin, people are no longer as God originally created them to be, but instead they are empty and in desperate need of salvation. Listen and discover why unhappiness characterizes the ungodly person and understand the only remedy is found in Jesus Christ.

In light of the emptiness of the ungodly life, how can one become godly, blessed, and happy? How can one truly live the “more abundant life” that Christ came to give? In this sermon on Psalm 1:3–4 titled “As a Tree Planted,” many think they are Christians, but in this inspiring discourse, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones distinguishes the person who is unquestionably “in Christ” from those who merely deceive themselves. No one is born a Christian or can make themselves a Christian. A Christian is the work of God through the work of the Holy Spirit in conviction, revelation, repentance, and conversion. It’s God’s doing and one can only experience the new birth into a new life as the result of the operation of the Spirit. Only then will one experience the happiness God intended for people to know in Him. The true Christian has no need to fear whatever comes in life. The true Christian is like a tree. God is the “Planter” of the tree. He selects the location of the tree so that the tree will bear good fruit, in its season, and without withering.

In this sermon of Psalm 1:5–6 titled “The Way of the Ungodly,” Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones diagnoses the way of the ungodly and then presents the prescription given by God for the ungodly to be remedied. Listen as he lays out the five aspects of God’s future judgment: the fact, the nature, the terms, the thoroughness, and the consequences. It is a dismal future for the ungodly person. They will not stand amidst the congregation of the righteous. Since God’s law sets the standard for humanity, how can anyone meet that standard? There is only one way and only one secret to happiness and blessedness. Only Christ can remove the fear of death and judgment. As the hymn states, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’s blood and righteousness… On Christ the solid Rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.” A person can stand on nothing else in this world or on the Day of Judgment but on the rock of Jesus Christ.