“He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.”-{Psalm 1:3}
The Psalmist begins with “Blessed,” it is plural and speaks of Oh the Happiness’s of the man who is known by what he does not do in verse 1. He has Discernment in regards relationships and who not to allow influence, shape his life. Verse 2 he shows what he does instead, His Desire and Delight is in the Word of God, to shape His thinking and living. Verse 3 shows the result of such a pattern of living the Blessed life. This does not mean the person is excused from difficulties, but the Discernment, Delighting in His Word, to Do it, is now followed in this verse with the outcome being Development– Spiritual Development! He uses nature to make his point, to paint a word picture.
PLANTED;
“He will be like a tree, firmly planted by streams of water.”
“Planted,” the Hebrew word means to be “transplant” to take from one place and to deliberately plant! How rich is this for the follower of Christ, we have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and transferred to the Kingdom of His Beloved Son-{Read Col 1:12-14} Transplanted and planted not by our own doing, but by the Graciousness of God! “But by His {God’s} doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,”-{1 Cor 1:30}.
Note, the tree is planted, and strategically so, by streams of water. He is planted, cultivated by an owner, and planted specifically and nurtured, looked out for, and taken care of by its owner. The picture of a tree is one of stability and the tree is standing and has roots that go deep that can withstand scorching heat or storms. This stability for the believer is one of emotional, mental, and spiritual stability in all aspects of life they face, as Paul says in Philippians 4:11, “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” The roots of the tree stabilizes it and so delighting, meditating, and doing His Word does likewise in the spiritual realm for the believer! God transplants us from the realm of spiritual darkness and plants us as it were “in Christ,” God provides for us “in Christ,” what we need to stabilize, nurture, mature us, build us up, and grow us in our faith, and discernment.
He provides for us as the tree which is firmly planted, “by streams of water.” Note the abundance of water provided, not a stream, that trickles but streams- plural, constantly providing for the continual sustenance, well being of the tree! Water is vital for the success, sustenance, and well-being, health of the life of the tree.
“By streams of water” continues to paint this picture for us. “Streams” … means “to divide, split.” The word was used of cutting a water channel for irrigation, or of the land divided by rivers, ravines, and streams. Our word… refers to canals or water courses provided for irrigation.“-{ J.Hampton Keightley 3th}
Streams of water speaks of plenty of supply and waters refresh and nourish, replenish, and the end is to meet the need of the tree so that it can reach it’s full potential. God has given us everything pertaining to life and Godliness… and given us precious and magnificent promises to aid us. -{Read 2 Peter 1:3-4}. The roots of the tree drink deep from the streams of water, and are nourished, and supplied. And so we drink deep from His Word through reading, hearing, and meditating upon it and we are refreshed, the Psalmist says “This is my comfort in my affliction,
That Your Word has revived me.”-{Psalm 119:50}. And He also uses His people to refresh us, “…whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”-{Proverbs 11:25}. We see this in the life of Paul who wrote to Philemon and said he thanked God for him and the life he was living, “For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother….refresh my heart in Christ.”-{Philemon 1:7,20}. Philemon refreshed the hearts of others! The Spirit of God, His Word, and His people are means to refresh the heart!
A word of caution, it takes time for a tree to grow, think of an oak tree, with its sprawling branches and deep deep roots, so it takes time to grow in our faith and maturity, which comes about more and more with our application to His Word, as we nourish our soul with the Word of God. His Word Frees us up;{John 8:31-32}; “Builds” us up-{Acts 20:32}; “Grows” us up-{1 Peter 2:2}; Gives us “Discernment,”-{Heb 5:13-14}; Reveals Jesus Christ to us-{Luke 24:25}. So as we continue in His Word, meditating upon it, delighting in it, complying to it, and should there come times when you do not delight in it, ask Him as He reminds you of His Word to do so, for the more we dig in His Word and do it, the more we find delight in His mercies, His wonders, promises, Himself and the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to bring about transformation in our lives,-{Rom 12:2} and spiritual stability!-{Read Ephesians 4:14}. We are growing as we apply Psalm 1:1-2 to our lives!
Just as the growth of a tree is a process, so too is our spiritual growth is a lifelong process. Paul said thirty years after his conversion, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”-{Read Philippians 3:12}. Note, the apostle John speaks about three stages of spiritual growth, it is a process!-{Read 1 John 2:12-13}. So take hope, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”-{Philippians 1;6 nlt}. And look at this promise for you,”For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”-{Phil 2:13 nlt}. God has begun a work in you, He will not abandon you or His Work, you are growing, and will grow, keep exposing yourself to His provision, and resources of Discernment regarding who will influence, and shape your thinking and His Word being your go to and you will grow like a tree, firmly planted, not unstable but stable, solid, though it sways in the storms it is gripped underneath by the firmness of the root system, and underneath you is the everlasting arms of His love for you!
Rooted In The Word Of God;
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; “-{Psalm 1:2-3}
Rooted In Christ;
What a root system, a foundation, the love of Christ! To the church at Colossee who were trying to have the Sufficiency of Christ and their salvation, Paul writes, “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”-{Col 2:6-7}.
Rooted In The Love Of Christ;
Paul prayed for the believers, “…so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.”-{Ephesians 3:17-19}.
Rooted In Confidence In The LORD;
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord And whose trust is the Lord. “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.”-{Jeremiah 17:7-8}
Rooted in the Word of God, Rooted in Christ, Rooted in The Love of Christ, Rooted Confidence in the LORD!
Here we have spiritual stability and sustenance for the “blessed,” spiritually prosperous ones!
FRUITFUL;
“Which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither;” Note the Root of the tree now the fruit…Dead trees don’t produce fruit, living trees do, and the stable one is fruitful.
The word “which yields,” is a verb, that stresses continual action. It is continually producing fruit, … consider Paul’s words,”And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.”-{1 Thess 2:13}. God’s Word works IN the believer. Working change in the believer. And how does He do this? He does it by His Spirit and through His Word, Peter shared this ” Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.” – {2 Peter 1:5-9}
Fruit is evidence of life. Fruit expresses the life of the tree. What the tree is, it produces! Fruit is visible, fruit is for others to experience it.
The Psalmist says, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”-{Psalm 34:8}.To “taste” is to experience Him and we see it in His “goodness.” That is one evidence of the “Fruit,” of the LORD, His Goodness! And the one who is Blessed in Psalm 1 has discernment, delights, desires, devours His Word in meditating, and as a result is spiritually maturing and fruitful!
This tree that is planted, cultivated, cared for, and provided for, produces fruit, and its leaf does not wither.
PROSPERING;
“And in whatever he does, he prospers.”
The word “Prospers,” literally means, to continually prosper, “prosper, succeed, be profitable.” The root of the word means to “accomplish satisfactory what is intended.” “To advance, prosper,” God promises and fulfills His promise to the one who applies verses 1 and 2 to their life! The one who delights in the Word of God and meditates upon it will seek to live within the boundaries of God’s Word, will, and ways, and is guided, has their thinking shaped by His Word, and lives out Proverbs 3:5-6! He displays spiritual fruit and prosperity, discernment, Godly character, and traits. He prospers us with wisdom, he prospers us within with spiritual likeness to Christ, and the mind of Christ being applied to our circumstances. So often we judge a person by what they have or have not, how “prosperous,” they are material wise, as our main concern and as a result, treat them so. James warned against this type of thinking and doing when he said,
“My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?-{James 2:1-6}.
Judging, and elevating a person in your thinking or lowering them based on their material resources, says more about us, what our value system is, and we have a problem. A Sin problem to be dealt with for we have a false value system! We need to look at how prosperous they are spiritually, in their character, Christ-likeness, and service to others and the LORD. “Growing in race and knowledge of our LORD Jesus!” The spiritually prosperous one deny’s them-self, takes up their cross and follows the LORD Jesus. It is possible to be “poor” materially and spiritually wealthy, and prosperous in spiritual maturity, equally it is possible to be materially wealthy because the LORD has given it and be poor spiritually or prosperous spiritually, depending to how they react to Psalm 1:1-2, as they choose to. The prosperous one in submission to the Holy Spirit will show forth the “Fruit of the Spirit.” -{Read Gal 5;22-23}.
Today we like to think of “prosperous,” in material means, some even teach that God wants you to be “healthy, wealthy and prosperous,” and the whole goal is earthly pursuits rather than Heavenly fruit in the life. Jesus told us to “keep seeking the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.”-{Matthew 6:33.} Paul reminds us “My God shall provide all of your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ.” The writer to Hebrews gives not only a warning but assurance and comfort to those who were suffering, ” Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He, Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?”-{Hebrews 13:5-6}. Contentment, satisfied in the midst of suffering, and difficulties, what a blessing, and what spiritual prosperity. How many people do you know who are “content? ” To be content with little or much Paul said he had learned the secret, “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.“-{Read Phil 4:11-13}. Spiritually content, how wonderfully prosperous was Paul having been brought to that place by the LORD, as he wrote from prison, where he was even opposed by others preaching the Gospel, out of envy, but he did not respond in bitterness but rejoiced because even if their motives were wrong, Christ was being proclaimed! -{Read Phil 1:15-18}. Circumstances were painful, no doubt, but they did not control him or fill his vision, Christ did! And as result he was content with Christ in the circumstances Christ had him in! For Christ was his life.-{Read Phil 1:21}. Christ was his delight and desire-{Read Phil 3:8,10}. Christ was his sufficiency.-{Read Phil 4:11-13.} Christ was his contentment! He was spiritually prosperous, maturing spiritually!
As you grow in grace and knowledge of the LORD Jesus- {Read 2 Peter 3:16} Your soul is Prospering! As someone asks you to give an account of the hope that is within you having observed your life while going through “fiery trials,” that is “Prospering,” -{Read 1 Peter 3:15}. As the Spirit of God produces the Fruit of the Spirit in your life that is Prospering!- {Gal 5:22-23}. The more you consistently Deny yourself and Prefer others for Jesus’ sake, you are prospering spiritually maturing.-{Read Phil 3:3-5}. As you are loving others they are benefiting from your soul prospering!-{Read Gal 6:9; Hebrews 6;10}. Does it mean someone in business prospers? It can in the sense of wisdom, knowing what to do in handling a situation that honors the LORD in the application of truth.-{Read James 1;2-5}.
Prospering of your soul, which benefits others and glorifies God, is true prosperity, that has eternal dividends!
Planted, Fruitful, Prospering!