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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
And he shall be like a tree planted --not
a wild tree, but "a tree planted," chosen,
considered as property, cultivated and
secured from the last terrible uprooting,
for "every plant which my heavenly Father
has not planted, shall be rooted up:" Mt 15:13.
By the rivers of water; so that even if one
river should fail, he has another. The rivers
of pardon and the rivers of grace, the rivers
of the promise and the rivers of communion
with Christ, are never failing sources of supply.
That brings forth his fruit in his season;
not unseasonable graces, like untimely figs,
which are never full flavored. But the man
who delights in God's Word, being taught by it,
brings forth patience in the time of suffering,
faith in the day of trial, and holy joy in the
hour of prosperity. Fruitfulness is an essential
quality of a gracious man, and that fruitfulness
should be seasonable.
His leaf also shall not wither; his faintest
word shall be everlasting; his little deeds
of love shall be had in remembrance. Not
simply shall his fruit be preserved, but his
leaf also. He shall neither lose his beauty
nor his fruitfulness. The Lord's trees are all
evergreens. No winter's cold can destroy
their verdure; and yet, unlike evergreens
in our country, they are all fruit bearers.
And whatsoever he does shall prosper.
Blessed is the man who has such a promise
as this. But we must not always estimate
the fulfilment of a promise by our own eye
sight. How often, my brethren, if we judge
by feeble sense, may we come to the mournful
conclusion of Jacob, "All these things are against
me!" For though we know our interest in the
promise, yet we are so tried and troubled, that
sight sees the very reverse of what that promise
foretells. But to the eye of faith this word is sure,
and by it we perceive that our works are prospered,
even when everything seems to go against us.
It is not outward prosperity which the Christian
most desires and values; it is soul prosperity
which he longs for. We often, like Jehoshaphat,
make ships to go to Tarshish for gold, but they
are broken at Eziongeber; but even here there
is a true prospering, for it is often for the soul's
health that we would be poor, bereaved, and
persecuted. Our worst things are often our best
things. As there is a curse wrapped up in the
wicked man's mercies, so there is a blessing
concealed in the righteous man's crosses, losses,
and sorrows. The trials of the saint are a divine
husbandry, by which he grows and brings forth
abundant fruit. -Spurgeon
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