…like a tree planted by streams of water….
START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 1
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OBSERVE:
This Psalm draws the stark contrast between the righteous and the wicked.
He begins by pointing out the contrast of the righteous and the wicked by describing, negatively, what the righteous person does not do. He does not:
walk in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stand on the path of sinners,
nor sit in the seat of scoffers
Pay close attention to the active verbs that are used here. These are very concrete, kinesthetic, physical images — walk, stand, sit.
The first positive affirmation about what the righteous person does comes with a focus on the law. The law of the Lord is touted as the source of vitality for the righteous. The beautiful image is given through a simile, that:
He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water,
that produces its fruit in its season,
whose leaf also does not wither.
Whatever he does shall prosper.
The righteous whose delight is in the law of the Lord receives sustenance, is productive, healthy, and prosperous.
But then once again the contrast is introduced, remaining with the agricultural metaphor. Instead of being like a tree flourishing next to a gushing stream, the wicked are:
like the chaff which the wind drives away.
No doubt these agricultural images would have connected with an agrarian people, who knew what it was in a desert climate to have a bubbling source of water for one’s orchard; and who knew what it was to winnow grain, and to see the useless chaff separated from the wheat and blown away with the wind.
So the Psalmist sums it all up with the final, very direct contrast:
For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked shall perish.
APPLY:
This is an instructive Psalm for dealing with temptation and bad company. Note the concrete physical images — he is warning the righteous against walking in step with the sinner, standing with him, or sitting with him.
Just picture that image! Here’s a guy who falls in with folks who are up to no good (imagine Pinocchio hooking up with the nefarious folks in the famous Disney tale). Before long, he’s not only walking with them, he has stopped — put his life on pause to hang with trouble! Then, even worse, he sits with them! The image that I see is that of someone who has joined the troublemakers, and rather than influencing them for good has become infected by them.
No, says the Psalmist — the righteous person seeks God’s will and moral guidance by searching the law of the Lord. The righteous person who does this will have his/her roots deeply nurtured by the living water of God, and will be fruitful for God’s sake.
RESPOND:
Temptation lures so easily. Just walk with it awhile, and fall into step with it. Then stop and stand with it, and let its honeyed words persuade. Then simply sit and stay with it, and you are stuck in the mud of sin.
The image of walking in the Scriptures is among my favorites — we are told that Enoch and Abraham walked with God. The Israelites were instructed to walk in obedience to God throughout Deuteronomy.
Galatians 5:16 says:
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh.
And again:
If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25).
Walking with God, sending down deep roots into the Living Waters of the Word of God — these are the ways to live the full, fruitful, meaningful life God intends.
Lord, may I walk with you daily; and as I seek your way by meditating on your Word, may your deep waters sustain me. Amen.
PHOTOS:
“Tree of Life Reflection” by Jonathan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.
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