"He Shall Be Like a Tree"
By John Hendrix
There are many wonderful promises made to people who strive to be righteous before God. For some of these the Bible uses powerful images to help us understand the promises better. One such is found in the first Psalm:
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
(Psalm 1:1-3)
"He shall be like a tree," says the psalmist. The man who avoids bad company and their evil practices, the man who edifies rather than scorns, who loves God's word, reads it and meditates on it continually, this man shall be like a tree.
A tree is used often as a symbol of endurance and strength. This tree in Psalm 1 is even more: due to its abundant water supply, it is fruitful, healthy and prosperous.
I must confess that I have not traveled much in my life. I have not seen the biggest and oldest trees of this world. Yet I have been around many trees that have a rich water supply. I have been most impressed with some of the oak trees in and around the sea where the water is abundant. These trees are tall and strong. They have limbs that are as big around as most tree trunks.
I see these trees and consider the climate in which they live: powerful storms, even hurricanes, pass through from time to time. The storms blow strong, yet the trees remain.
Storms often blow through our own lives. Bad times come: troubles, trials and tragedies buffet us from all sides. Some Christians stand firm throughout the most difficult times, while others fall away. Why is this so? Through their abundant intake of nutrients, some grow strong enough to stand while others do not.
The water source--the source of spiritual nutrition--for the Christian is the word of God.
… as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, (1 Peter 2:2)
If you feel that you are not as strong as you ought to be, return to the admonitions of Psalm 1:1-2, watch your company and spend more time with the precious word of God.
"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you--The sure mercies of David. . ."
(Isaiah 55:1-3)
Reading and listening to the word of God is not enough. The man who would be blessed must love the word and meditate on it "day and night." Time spent studying God's word and thinking about it will turn mere knowledge of what God commands into conviction--the earnest desire to obey; study and meditation gives us the ability to apply God's word to our lives. Without application, our Bibles are merely wood pulp and dry ink. With application, God's word is the means to our salvation.
Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. (1 Timothy 4:16)
God's word is our defense against spiritual sickness and decay. Through contemplation of God's precepts we can keep sin out of our lives:
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11)
Finally, study and meditation on God's word--with the goal of application--is the one thing that guarantees spiritual fruitfulness and prosperity. Jesus said it this way:
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. (John 15:1-8)
By avoiding bad company and their evil deeds, by edifying and not scorning, by loving God's word and continually meditating on it, each one of us can be like a tree--a prosperous and healthy tree--that will withstand the storms of life.