If I take a
moment and sit quietly and think about a stream, one of the images that usually
bubbles to the surface of my memory from when I was very young is of a willow
tree, its weeping branches hanging in a lacy green veil, filtering the light.
There was
one such tree I remember sitting under at the height of day, its speckled green
tempering the sparkle of the stream that flowed past it. As a boy I’m not sure
I was thankful for it, as much as I am thankful as a man for the memory of it.
I discovered
that willows do not produce fruit, an oak tree might have been a better
example. However, my image was of a tree with strong roots, by a stream of
water.
When a tree
grows by a stream, it puts down roots deep into the earth, for the soil is just
right. Not only does the tree get nourishment from the water that flows past
it, the roots it puts down hold the bank together, and prevents serious erosion
of the soil.
In Psalm 1:3
we are given a picture of just such a tree, but this is a metaphor for the blessed
man of verse 1. He is firmly planted1 by streams of water. There is
no weakness here. The tree is strong, firm.
C.H.
Spurgeon points out that this is not a wild tree. This tree has been planted,
“chosen, considered as property, cultivated and secured…”2 By giving
our hearts and minds to the Lord, do we not then belong to Him? We are planted,
as Spurgeon goes on to declare, by streams of Grace, by the promise and by “the
rivers of communion with Christ.” We are watered by no less than the Holy Spirit
with the Mercy of God. And note this, my friends, this a stream that does not
dry up! This is a stream that will always flow. It has an inexhaustible supply,
for the man and woman who delights in the Word of the Lord.
The key here
is that we must make an effort, put the priority above all else that we do, to
meditate on God’s Word. This is, after all, the very first thing the Psalmist
tells us! It is through His Word, that
we enjoy a relationship with Jesus. Just as the stream nourishes, so too does
the Word of God nourish.
Notice that
the fruit does not appear instantaneously, rather, the tree, planted firm and
nourished as it is, “yields its fruit in its season,” nor does its leaves
wither. But why does it take a while for the fruit to appear?
Because the
roots have to grow!
How do they
grow? By the daily meditation on the Word of God! If we neglect the Word, our
roots will be shallow, the tree will not prosper, as indeed the blessed man
prospers in all that he does.
But how does
that look for us in the everyday?
Turn to
Colossians chapter 1 verse 10. Paul is saying here that through prayer and “knowledge
of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,” which the tree gets
from the stream that constantly feeds it, that the believer will “… walk in a
manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in
every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
Planted by
the stream with roots deep into the soil, sunk deep in the Word of God,
nourished by it, then every aspect of our lives is an outworking of our
relationship with Jesus.
Is it any
wonder then, that we, like the blessed man in the Psalm, will prosper in the
ways of the Spirit, bearing all good fruit for the Kingdom? As Paul says
“strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the
attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father,
who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.”
Choosing not
to walk in the ways of the wicked, but being planted by God, known by God,
nourished by His Word, how joyous is the blessed man or woman?
Amen.
1.
The
NASB uses the word firmly to describe the state of planting. Other translations
do not use “firmly” in this verse. I have used it here because it gives an
added sense of the trees strength, which in turn gives us an idea of the
blessed man’s relationship with God.
2.
From
C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David,
Psalm 1. Available online at: http://archive.spurgeon.org/treasury/treasury.php