Psalms 1:3 - Collection of Biblical Commentaries

Psalms 1:3
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Psalms 1:3
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that
bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not
wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Psalms 1:3
wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. He shall be like
a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth its fruit
in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he
doeth shall prosper.
So we see, first of all, "Like a tree planted by the rivers of
water," in contrast to a tree that is growing out in a barren
wilderness. "Bringing forth fruit in his season." An interesting
thing about unseasonable fruit, it never matures; it never
becomes ripe. You may plant watermelon seeds in August when
you eat your watermelons, and the vine might grow and
watermelons might come on it, but it is unseasonable. It will
never get ripe. It will always be green.
There are some people who never mature, that is, really bring
forth mature fruit. Jesus tells us that the seed planted on
various types of soil result in various developments of fruition.
Some planted by the wayside, immediately is plucked up. On
the stony ground, may grow for a moment, but will never bear
fruit, never develop because it lacks the depth. That which is
thrown among the thorns will grow, but the thorns will choke
out the fruitfulness of it ultimately. The cares of this life,
deceitfulness of riches the desire for other things. It is only that
which falls on the good ground that brings forth good fruit. In
varying degrees, thirty, sixty, one hundred fold. Now Jesus said,
"Herein is my Father glorified that you bring froth much fruit."
Then later on in that fifteenth chapter of John, He said, "You
have not chosen Me, I have chosen you and ordained you that
you should bring forth fruit. That your fruit should remain." And
so as children of God we should be interested in being fruitful,

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bringing forth fruit. And then we should also be interested in
bringing forth fruit that remains, or lasting fruit in our lives.
So often the test of a ministry is the lasting fruit that is brought
forth from that ministry. "So like a tree bringing forth fruit in his
season, his leaf also shall not wither." That is, there is a
freshness to his life, a continual freshness. "And whatsoever he
doeth shall prosper."
Now, what is this man doing? He is meditating in the law of the
Lord day and night. God has given to us the rules of happiness.
God has given to us the rules of prosperity. They are there in
His law. "Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Moses, when he
turned the reigns over to Joshua, said unto Joshua, "This book
of the law shall not depart from out of thy mouth but thou shalt
meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do
according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make
thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success"
(Jos_1:8). Meditate, stay in the Word, the law of the Lord, and
then thou shalt be prosperous, you’ll have good success. So
much the same is declared here in Psa_1:1-6 .
Psalms 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 hath not planted, shall be rooted up:”
Mat_15:13. “By the rivers of water;” so that even if one river
should fail, he hath another. The rivers of pardon and the rivers
of grace, the rivers of the promise and the rivers of the
communion with Christ, are never-failing sources of supply. He
is “like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth
his fruit in his season;” not unseasonable graces, like untimely
figs, which are never full-flavoured. But the man who delights in

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God's Word, being taught by it, bringeth 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. “And whatsoever he doeth
shall prosper.” Blessed is the man who hath 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 are we 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 Ezion-geber; but even here there is
a true prospering, for it is often for the soul's health that we
should 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.
Psalms 1:3
Whither - His happiness is not short and transitory, but, like
those trees which are continually green and flourishing.
Psalms 1:3
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.
The comparison of a man to a. tree is frequent in the Book of
Job (Job_8:16, Job_8:17; Job_14:7-10; Job_15:32, Job_15:33,
etc.), and occurs once in the Pentateuch (Num_24:6). We find it

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again in Psa_92:12-14, and frequently in the prophets. The
"rivers of water" spoken of ( ַּ
‫פ‬
‫ִם‬‫י‬ ָ
‫־מ‬‫ג‬ ְ
‫ל‬ ) are undoubtedly the
"streams" (Revised Version) or "canals of irrigation" so common
both in Egypt and in Babylonia, by which fruit trees were
planted, as especially date-palms, which need the vicinity of
water. That such planting of trees by the waterside was known
to the Israelites is evident, both from this passage and from
several others, as Num_24:6; Ecc_2:5; Jer_17:8; Eze_17:5,
Eze_17:8, etc. It is misplaced ingenuity to attempt to decide
what particular tree the writer had in his mind, whether the
palm, or the oleander, or any other, since he may not have
been thinking of any particular tree. That bringeth forth his
fruit in his season. Therefore not the oleander, which has no
fruit, and is never planted in the East, but grows naturally along
the courses of streams. His leaf also shall not wither.
Compare the contrary threat of Isaiah against the wicked of his
time, "Ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden
that hath no water" (Isa_1:30). And whatsoever he doeth
shall prosper; rather, perhaps, in whatsoever he doeth he
shall prosper.
Psalms 1:3
In the figure of ver. 3 there are revealed three aspects of godly
character.
I. Its variety. The comparison is with a fruit-tree, not of any
particular kind, but one of that large class of trees. The variety
which God stamps upon nature He means to have reproduced in
character.
II. Its Divine culture. The godly man is not like a tree that grows
wild. He is like a tree planted, and that in a place which will best
promote its growth. Godly character is developed under God’s
special supervision and with God’s own appliances.
III. Its fruitfulness. God’s tree by God’s river must be a fruitful
tree. Notice: (1) The words are "his fruit," not any other tree’s
fruit. (2) "In his season." The seasons are different for different
fruits. The latest fruit is usually the best. But, early or late, the

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fruit of godly character is seasonable.
M. R. Vincent, Gates into the Psalm Country, p. 3.
Psalms 1:3
The spiritual plant of God is placed by the running waters; it is
nourished and recruited by the never-failing, the perpetual, the
daily and hourly, supply of their wholesome influences. It grows
up gradually, silently, without observation; and in proportion as
it rises aloft, so do its roots, with still less observation, strike
deep into the earth. Year after year it grows more and more into
the hope and the posture of a glorious immobility and
unchangeableness. What it has been, that it shall be; if it
changes, it is as growing into fruitfulness, and maturing in its
fruit’s abundance and perfection. Nor is that fruit lost; it neither
withers upon the branches nor decays upon the ground. Angels
unseen gather crop after crop from the unwearied, never-failing
parent, and carefully store them up in heavenly treasure-
houses. The servant of God resembles a tree (1) in his
graciousness; (2) in his fruitfulness; (3) in his immobility.
J. H. Newman, Sermons on Various Occasions, p. 243.
Psalms 1:3
To meditate in God's word, is to discourse with ourselves
concerning the great things contained in it, with close
application of mind and fixedness of thought. We must have
constant regard to the word of God, as the rule of our actions,
and the spring of our comforts; and have it in our thoughts
night and day. For this purpose no time is amiss.
Consider:
The picture of the blessed life.
“He shall be like a tree planted,” &c. (Psa_1:3.) 1. The security
of this blessedness. “Planted by the rivers of water.” “Planted”
means firmly planted. “Rivers,” indicate unfailing refreshment of
spirit; the streams of Divine truth and influence. Carnal joys
flourish and wither with changing circumstances, but his joy
abides whose life is rooted in God. “His soul, watered by the
streams of Paradise, knows not the parched season of the

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sunburnt heath.”—Sutcliffe. “By the side of the streams in the
East may be seen trees, at all seasons covered with luxurious
verdure, blossoms, or fruit; whilst at a distance, where no water
is, may be seen dwarfish and unhealthy trees, with scarcely a
leaf to shake in the winds of heaven.”—Roberts. Thus, drinking
supplies from the living streams of God’s truth, our life is ever
strong and blessed, whilst we faint and fade where no such
water is. 2. The manifestation of this blessedness. The godly
man is known by the beneficence of his life. “Bringeth forth his
fruit in his season.” The truly blessed life is a life of beneficence;
and if we delight in God’s law, it shall perfect our individual
character, fit us for the sphere and season in which we live, and
make us a blessing to our generation. “As with a palm-tree, all
that is in it is profitable—leaves, wood, and fruit—so also with
the Christian, all that he does is to redound to the honour of the
Divine name and the benefit of his neighbour.”—Starke. The
godly man is known by the beauty of his character. “His leaf
also shall not wither.” As the foliage of the tree is its beauty and
glory, so shall delight in the law of the Lord give grace and
majesty to the character. In inner rectitude is the secret of all
true and high visible excellence; out of a heart right with God
spring all the poetry and utilities of life. 3. The perpetuity of this
blessedness. The tree by the watercourses abides in bloom and
fruition, and the joy and glory which spring in the heart and life
of the lover of God’s Word are perennial and permanent. Our
scientific gardeners enthusiastically anticipate the day when,
through special culture, all our roses will have evergreen foliage,
brilliant and fragrant flowers, and the habit of blooming for a
greater part of the year. He whose life is grounded in the Divine
truth and goodness, who draws daily vitality from the river of
God’s pleasure, is an evergreen, and blooms all the year long,
all life long, and death itself cannot blight his glory, or destroy
his joy. 4. The universality of this blessedness. “And whatsoever
he doeth shall prosper.” “He shall prosper in whatsoever he
doeth.”—Wordsworth. Deference to the law of God secures
universal prosperity. God’s blessing is on all the handiwork of
the godly, and directs it to blessed and prosperous issues.

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“Oh! the blessednesses” of the man who delights in the law of
the Lord. As we long for the beatitudes, let us put ourselves in
God’s hands. “Planted by the river.” “This is properly used of a
transplanted tree. He is not left to the efforts of nature, but
taken beneath the gardener’s care, and placed in a favourable
soil.”—Kay. “Man is righteous, not by birth or nature, or through
his own power, skill, or activity, but by the Divine agency,
through the means of grace which Divine mercy has established
for us, as a tree planted by an abundant and flowing brook, if
he, like the tree, take up into his own life, from the means
afforded him by God, that which is necessary to his life and
growth.”—Moll.
May God take us from the wilds of nature, graft us into Christ,
nourish us by the influence of the Holy Spirit, and thus shall we
bear our fruit unto holiness, and in the end everlasting life.
Psalms 1:3
like a tree — (Jer_17:7, Jer_17:8).
planted — settled, fast.
by — or, “over.”
the rivers — canals for irrigation.
shall prosper — literally, “make prosper,” brings to perfection.
The basis of this condition and character is given (Psa_32:1).
Psalms 1:3
In Psa_1:3, the development of the ‫אׁשרי‬ now begins; it is the
praet. consec.: he becomes in consequence of this, he is
thereby, like a tree planted beside the water-courses, which
yields its fruit at the proper season and its leaf does not fall off.
In distinction from ַּ
ָ‫נ‬
ַּ
‫טּוע‬ , according to Jalkut §614, ַָּ
‫ׁש‬
‫תּול‬ means
firmly planted, so that no winds that may rage around it are
able to remove it from its place ( ‫אין‬
‫מזיזין‬
‫אתו‬
‫ממקומו‬ ). In ַּ
‫פ‬
‫ֵי‬‫ג‬ ְ
‫ל‬
ַּ
‫מ‬
‫ִם‬‫י‬ ,
both ַּ
‫מ‬
‫ִם‬‫י‬ and the plur. serve to give intensity to the figure; ַּ
‫פ‬
‫ג‬‫ל‬
(Arab. fal'g, from ‫פלג‬ to divide, Job_38:25) means the brook
meandering and cleaving its course for itself through the soil
and stones; the plur. denotes either one brook regarded from its
abundance of water, or even several which from different

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directions supply the tree with nourishing and refreshing
moisture. In the relative clause the whole emphasis does not
rest on ְַּ
‫ב‬
‫ֹּו‬‫ת‬ ִ
‫ע‬ (Calvin: impii, licet praecoces fructus ostentent,
nihil tamen producunt nisi abortivum), but ִַּ
‫פ‬
‫ו‬ֹּ‫י‬ ְ
‫ר‬ is the first, ְַּ
‫ב‬
‫ֹּו‬‫ת‬ ִ
‫ע‬
the second tone-word: the fruit which one expects from it, it
yields (equivalent to ַּ
‫י‬
‫ה‬‫ש‬ֲ‫ע‬ it produces, elsewhere), and that at its
appointed, proper time (= ְַּ
‫ב‬
‫ֹּו‬‫ת‬ ְ
‫ד‬ ִ
‫ע‬ , for ֵַּ‫ע‬
‫ת‬ is = ֵַּ‫ע‬
‫ת‬‫ד‬ or ַּ
‫ע‬
‫ת‬‫ד‬ , like ַּ
‫ר‬
‫ת‬‫ד‬ ,
ַּ
‫ל‬
‫ת‬‫ד‬ , from ַּ
ָ‫ו‬
‫ד‬‫ע‬ ), without ever disappointing that hope in the
course of the recurring seasons. The clause ְַּ‫ו‬
‫הּו‬ֵ‫ל‬ָ‫ע‬
ַּ
ֹּ‫ל‬
‫א‬
ִַּ‫י‬
‫ֹּול‬‫ב‬ is the
other half of the relative clause: and its foliage does not fall off
or wither ( ַּ
ָ‫נ‬
‫ל‬ ֵ‫ב‬ like the synon. Arab. dbl, from the root ‫)בל‬.
The green foliage is an emblem of faith, which converts the
water of life of the divine word into sap and strength, and the
fruit, an emblem of works, which gradually ripen and scatter
their blessings around; a tree that has lost its leaves, does not
bring its fruit to maturity. It is only with ְַּ‫ו‬
‫ֹּל‬‫כ‬ , where the language
becomes unemblematic, that the man who loves the Law of God
again becomes the direct subject. The accentuation treats this
member of the verse as the third member of the relative clause;
one may, however, say of a thriving plant ַָּ‫צ‬
ַּ
‫ח‬ֵ‫ל‬ , but not ִַּ
‫ה‬
ַּ
‫יח‬ ִ
‫ל‬ ְ‫צ‬ .
This Hiph. (from ‫צלח‬, Arab. tslh, to divide, press forward, press
through, vid., Psa_45:5) signifies both causative: to cause
anything to go through, or prosper (Gen_34:23), and transitive:
to carry through, and intransitive: to succeed, prosper
(Jdg_18:5). With the first meaning, Jahve would be the subject;
with the third, the project of the righteous; with the middle one,
the righteous man himself. This last is the most natural:
everything he takes in hand he brings to a successful issue (an
expression like 2Ch_7:11; 2Ch_31:21; Dan_8:24). What a
richly flowing brook is to the tree that is planted on its bank,
such is the word of God to him who devotes himself to it: it
makes him, according to his position and calling, ever fruitful in
good and well-timed deeds and keeps him fresh in his inner and
outward life, and whatsoever such an one undertakes, he brings
to a successful issue, for the might of the word and of the
blessing of God is in his actions.

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Psalms 1:3
The Result
Here the believer, who is not open to sin (Psa_1:1 ), but is
formed by the Word of God (Psa_1:2 ), is compared to a
healthy, fruitful, and enduring tree planted by streams of water.
Comparing a person to a tree is more common, both positively
and negatively (Jer_17:7-8 ; Luk_6:43-45 ). The God-fearing is
“like a tree planted by streams of water”. He did not occupy that
place himself, but was planted there by God. He is “the planting
of the LORD, that He may be glorified” (Isa_61:3 ).
There are also trees that are not planted by the LORD, but have
planted themselves. They claim to be healthy and fruitful, but
they moderate that place, like the Pharisees. They will be
uprooted, as the Lord Jesus says in reference to them: “Every
plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted”
(Mat_15:13 ).
The tree planted by God is not planted just by one stream of
water, but by “streams of water”, plural. We can apply this to
what the God-fearing has received in Christ, such as the
blessing of forgiveness and grace, the blessing of promises
through union with Christ, the blessing of fellowship with Christ.
These and many more blessings are streams of water that come
to us from the Word of God when we are planted by it.
As a result, fruit emerges from the life of the righteous and it is
“its fruit” which he gives “in its season”. Each tree has its own
fruit and produces it in the season designated for that tree, no
sooner and no later. We can think by “its fruit in its season”, for
example, of the fruit of patience in a time of suffering and the
fruit of faith in a time of trial. The reader can add to these
examples. In the life of every believer, the characteristic fruits
for that believer emerge in the circumstances in which he finds
himself.
This also makes it clear that God’s truth is not just knowledge of
facts. God’s truth must be understood in a believing heart. The

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fruit then begins to grow in circumstances favorable to that
particular fruit (Psa_1:2 ; cf. Mat_13:18-23 ) and will become
visible in due time. The fruit is not that which we ourselves have
produced, but the fruit is “Christ in us”. We see this in the Lord
Jesus’ imagery in John 15. Because we abide in Christ, we, the
branches, bring forth fruit (Joh_15:4-5 ). This fruit comes from
the vine and not from the branches. It is the sap of the vine,
which is transformed by the branches into fruit. It is indeed
Christ in us, visible to others.
The point is that we are in Christ and He is in us. Only then do
we “bear much fruit”, for without Him we “can do nothing”
including bearing fruit (Joh_15:5 ). With the Lord Jesus there is
always an abundance of fruit. With us, some fruits dominate,
while other fruits are not so perceptible or even absent. God’s
intention is that the fruit of the Spirit (Gal_5:22-23 ) will
become manifest in fullness in our lives. Paul is a fruit bearing
tree. He writes to the believers in Rome: “I know that when I
come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ”
(Rom_15:29 ).
Then it is mentioned that “its leaf does not wither”. The main
thing about a tree is its fruit. But its leaf is also important,
because it shows if a tree is healthy, even if there is no fruit.
Leaves are a symbol of the external, the visible, in other words,
the confession. The one with whom only the leaf of confession is
visible, without any good fruit, will wither away. But if the Word
of God rules in the heart, the confession will remain ‘green’, full
of vitality. The confession of the God-fearing is in accordance
with his fruit. In what he shows and says, there is no posturing
or hypocrisy. In word and deed his life shows sincerity,
freshness and strength.
The life of such a person is characterized by success. A
successful life of the God-fearing is not determined by the
amount of his bank account or the prestige he has acquired
among men. “Whatever he does” comes from his fellowship with
God. He knows His will, because he continually meditates in His

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Word. He is not after his own success, but his desire is to glorify
God. And he succeeds, because he draws his life force from the
waters of the Word of God.
We see this in perfection in the Lord Jesus. It is His food to do
the will of Him Who sent Him to accomplish His work (Joh_4:34
). And that work He did accomplish (Joh_17:4 Joh_19:30 ).
Because He was guided by His God in all things, the entire will
of God will “prosper”. While to unbelief He is the loser, to faith
He is the great Victor. Soon, when He comes back to earth, this
will also be evident to all creation. Success should not be
determined by immediate results, but should be seen in the
perspective of God’s plans. This applies to our personal lives and
to the world as a whole.
In summary, we can say the following: What richly flowing
streams of water are to a tree planted on their banks, the Word
of God is to everyone who devotes himself to meditating in it. It
makes him, in accordance with his position and calling, always
fruitful in good deeds which he performs at the right time. His
inner and outer life remain fresh and vigorous because of it.
Whatever he undertakes, he brings to a successful conclusion.
The cause of this is the working power of the Word of God and
the blessing that God connects to it. In the Old Testament we
find this beautifully illustrated in the life of Joseph: everything
he does succeeds.
When we think about leaves that do not wither and fall off, our
thoughts go to the fig tree that is cursed by the Lord
(Mat_21:18-19 ). The Lord goes to it and only finds leaves on it
and no fruits. The fig tree is a tree that produces fruit even in
spring. These are unripe fruits from the previous year that have
remained through the winter and ripen in the spring, the early
figs. Because this fig tree has no fruit at all, the Lord Jesus
says: “No longer shall there ever be [any] fruit from you. And at
once the fig tree withered” (Mat_21:19 ).
Prophetically, this fig tree is a picture of Israel (cf. Mat_24:32 ).

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Israel doesn’t bear fruit that the heart of God longs for (Mic_7:1
). As a result, the leaves – which speak of confession (see
above) – must be condemned and wither and fall off. In the
New Testament church we see the same thing with the church
in Ephesus (Rev_2:1-4 ). Because the fruit or first love has
disappeared – love is the first feature of the fruit of the Spirit –
the Lord Jesus must take away the testimony, the lampstand
(Rev_2:5 ).
Israel, however, still has a future. The branch of the fig tree will
soften and the leaves will sprout (Mat_24:32 ). Then the Lord
will find the fruit He so longs to find. That fruit will be brought to
Him by the new Israel, an Israel that He has kept for Himself as
a remnant according to the election of grace. “Then all your
people [will be] righteous; they will possess the land forever,
the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be
glorified” (Isa_60:21 ).
It is clear that in Psalm 1 we find a painting of the faithful
remnant of Israel in the future (Isa_66:1-2 ). The wicked are
the unbelieving part of Israel on whom God’s judgment is
coming (Isa_66:3-4 ).
Psalms 1:3
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
where his roots reach deep down to the hidden reservoirs of
moisture, where he has a never-ending supply of vitality and
power, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, as the
result of a faith grounded deep in the power of Jehovah, which
never disappoints the hopes of the great Gardener above,
Luk_13:7; his leaf also shall not wither, not be affected by
the drought of hostility or adversity; and whatsoever he
doeth shall prosper, with a prosperity at least in the sight of
God, no matter how little the world thinks of his success. Not an
outward good fortune in amassing the riches of this earth counts
in the sight of Jehovah, but the possession of a trusting faith
abounding in real good works.

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Psalms 1:3
How the righteous man is blessed.
a. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water:
A tree by a river has a continual source of water. It will never
wither away, because it is always getting what it needs. If we
are constantly needy, it may be worth examining if we are
planted by the rivers of water or not.
i. This would also be a tree that is strong and stable,
sinking down deep roots. The life of the righteous man is
marked by strength and stability.
b. That brings forth its fruit in its season: The righteous
man bears fruit, such as the fruit of the Spirit (Gal_5:22-23).
The fruit comes naturally from this tree, because it is
planted by the rivers of water. It is abiding in a life-
source. As Jesus spoke of bearing fruit in Joh_15:5, as we
abide in Him. Fruit also has a season. Some get discouraged
when they begin to walk as righteous men, and fruit is not
immediately evident. They need to wait until they bring forth
fruit in its season.
i. “There are no barren trees in God’s orchard, and yet
they may have their fits of barrenness, as an apple tree
sometimes hath; but they will reflourish with advantage.”
(Trapp)
c. Whose leaf also shall not wither: Brown, dead,
withered leaves are signs of death and dryness. The
righteous man does not have these signs of death and
dryness; his “leaves” are green and alive.
d. And whatever he does shall prosper: It isn’t that the
righteous man has a “Midas Touch,” and everything he does
makes him rich and comfortable. But in the life of the righteous
man, God brings forth something good and wonderful out of
everything. Even tough circumstances bring forth something
that shall prosper.

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Psalms 1:3
Had we no other clue to lead to the discovery of the Lord Jesus,
as set forth in this Psalm, than what is here said of him, even
this would plainly unfold it. For who but Jesus is the tree of life!
Who flourisheth but him! Yes, blessed Redeemer, thy people
planted in thee, am! made branches in thee, will thrive in thee,
and bring forth fruit in thee, for thou hast said, because ’I live
ye shall live also.’ But though in thee, and by thee, and from
thee, thy people live and derive all life, and nourishment, and
moisture, and fruitfulness, in due season, yet it is because thou
art the self-existing, life-imparting tree, in the midst of the
garden of Jehovah; and being the same yesterday, to day, and
forever, thou art liable to no fading, nor falling, but art always
blooming, both in blossom and fruit, towards thy people.
Psalms 1:3
Tree. Probably the palm-tree, the emblem of a long life,
Job_28:18 The tree of life is watered by the river of living
waters, proceeding from the throne of God, who is the source of
all grace, Rev_22:1, Luk_21:33, and Joh_4:14 (Calmet) ---
Those who make good use of favours received, are continually
supplied with fresh graces. (Worthington) --- And. In the office-
book a new verse begins here, though not in Hebrew, which the
Vulgate follows. They were not marked by the sacred penman. -
-- Prosper, and be rewarded hereafter, though the just man
even among the Jews might be here afflicted. Prosperity was
only promised to the nation, as long as it continued faithful.
Individuals were in the same condition as Christians. They were
to trust in the promises of futurity, though some have very
erroneously asserted, that there is no mention of eternal felicity
in thee holy canticles; (Berthier) Ferrand says, hardly in the Old
Testament. (Calmet) --- All this verse might perhaps be better
understood of the tree. "And its leaf....and whatever it shall

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produce," faciet (fructum). (Haydock) --- Some trees are always
covered with leaves, like the palm-tree, &c. (Menochius)
II. An assurance given of the godly man's happiness, with which
we should encourage ourselves to answer the character of such.
1. In general, he is blessed, Psa_5:1. God blesses him, and that
blessing will make him happy. Blessednesses are to him,
blessings of all kinds, of the upper and nether springs, enough
to make him completely happy; none of the ingredients of
happiness shall be wanting to him. When the psalmist
undertakes to describe a blessed man, he describes a good
man; for, after all, those only are happy, truly happy, that are
holy, truly holy; and we are more concerned to know the way to
blessedness than to know wherein that blessedness will consist.
Nay, goodness and holiness are not only the way to happiness
(Rev_22:14) but happiness itself; supposing there were not
another life after this, yet that man is a happy man that keeps
in the way of his duty. 2. His blessedness is here illustrated by a
similitude (Psa_1:3): He shall be like a tree, fruitful and
flourishing. This is the effect, (1.) Of his pious practice; he
meditates in the law of God, turns that in succum et sanguinem
- into juice and blood, and that makes him like a tree. The more
we converse with the word of God the better furnished we are
for every good word and work. Or, (2.) Of the promised
blessing; he is blessed of the Lord, and therefore he shall be like
a tree. The divine blessing produces real effects. It is the
happiness of a godly man, [1.] That he is planted by the grace
of God. These trees were by nature wild olives, and will continue
so till they are grafted anew, and so planted by a power from
above. Never any good tree grew of itself; it is the planting of
the Lord, and therefore he must in it be glorified. Isa_61:3, The
trees of the Lord are full of sap. [2.] That he is placed by the
means of grace, here called the rivers of water, those rivers
which make glad the city of our God (Psa_46:4); from these a
good man receives supplies of strength and vigour, but in secret
undiscerned ways. [3.] That his practices shall be fruit,
abounding to a good account, Php_4:17. To those whom God
first blessed he said, Be fruitful (Gen_1:22), and still the

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comfort and honour of fruitfulness are a recompense for the
labour of it. It is expected from those who enjoy the mercies of
grace that, both in the temper of their minds and in the tenour
of their lives, they comply with the intentions of that grace, and
then they bring forth fruit. And, be it observed to the praise of
the great dresser of the vineyard, they bring forth their fruit
(that which is required of them) in due season, when it is most
beautiful and most useful, improving every opportunity of doing
good and doing it in its proper time. [4.] That his profession
shall be preserved from blemish and decay: His leaf also shall
not wither. As to those who bring forth only the leaves of
profession, without any good fruit, even their leaf will wither
and they shall be as much ashamed of their profession as ever
they were proud of it; but, if the word of God rule in the heart,
that will keep the profession green, both to our comfort and to
our credit; the laurels thus won shall never wither. [5.] That
prosperity shall attend him wherever he goes, soul-prosperity.
Whatever he does, in conformity to the law, it shall prosper and
succeed to his mind, or above his hope.
In singing these verses, being duly affected with the malignant
and dangerous nature of sin, the transcendent excellencies of
the divine law, and the power and efficacy of God's grace, from
which our fruit is found, we must teach and admonish ourselves,
and one another, to watch against sin and all approaches
towards it, to converse much with the word of God, and abound
in the fruit of righteousness; and, in praying over them, we
must seek to God for his grace both to fortify us against every
evil word and work and to furnish us for every good word and
work.
Psalms 1:3
Like a tree planted - Not like one growing wild, however
strong or luxuriant it may appear; but one that has been
carefully cultivated, and for the proper growth of which all the
advantages of soil and situation have been chosen. If a child be
brought up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord, we have

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both reason and revelation to encourage us to expect a godly
and useful life. Where religious education is neglected, alas!
what fruits of righteousness can be expected? An uncultivated
soul is like an uncultivated field, all overgrown with briers,
thorns, and thistles.
By the rivers of water - ‫פלגי‬
‫מים‬ palgey mayim, the streams or
divisions of the waters. Alluding to the custom of irrigation in
the eastern countries, where streams are conducted from a
canal or river to different parts of the ground, and turned off or
on at pleasure; the person having no more to do than by his
foot to turn a sod from the side of one stream, to cause it to
share its waters with the other parts to which he wishes to
direct his course. This is called “watering the land with the foot,”
Deu_11:10 (note), where see the note.
His fruit in his season - In such a case expectation is never
disappointed. Fruit is expected, fruit is borne; and it comes also
in the time in which it should come. A godly education, under
the influences of the Divine Spirit, which can never be withheld
where they are earnestly sought, is sure to produce the fruits of
righteousness; and he who reads, prays, and meditates, will
ever see the work which God has given him to do; the power by
which he is to perform it; and the times, places and
opporttmities for doing those things by which God can obtain
most glory, his own soul most good, and his neighbor most
edification.
His leaf also shall not wither - His profession of true religion
shall always be regular and unsullied; and his faith be ever
shown by his works. As the leaves and the fruit are the
evidences of the vegetative perfection of the tree; so a zealous
religious profession, accompanied with good works, are the
evidences of the soundness of faith in the Christian man. Rabbi
Solomon Jarchi gives a curious turn to this expression: he
considers the leaves as expressing those matters of the law that
seem to be of no real use, to be quite unimportant, and that
apparently neither add nor diminish. But even these things are

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parts of the Divine revelation, and all have their use, so even
the apparently indifferent actions or sayings of a truly holy man
have their use; and from the manner and spirit in which they
are done or said, have the tendency to bear the observer to
something great and good.
Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper - It is always healthy; it
is extending its roots, increasing its woody fibres, circulating its
nutritive juices, putting forth fruitbuds, blossoms, leaves, or
fruit; and all these operations go on in a healthy tree, in their
proper seasons. So the godly man; he is ever taking deeper root
growing stronger in the grace he has already received,
increasing in heavenly desires, and under the continual
influence of the Divine Spirit, forming those purposes from
which much fruit to the glory and praise of God shall be
produced.
The character and fate of the lover of the law are sketched in
Psa_1:1-3, and that of the "wicked" in Psa_1:4-6.
"How abundantly is that word Blessed multiplied in the Book
of Psalms! The book seems to be made out of that word, and
the foundation raised upon that Word, for it is the first word
of the book. But in all the book there is not one Woe"
(Donne).
It is usually taken as an exclamation, but may equally well be a
simple affirmation, and declares a universal truth even more
strongly, if so regarded. The characteristics which thus bring
blessedness are first described negatively, and that order is
significant. As long as there is so much evil in the world, and
society is what it is, godliness must be largely negative, and its
possessors "a people whose laws are different from all people
that be on earth." Live fish swim against the stream; dead ones
go with it.
The tender graces of the devout soul will not flourish unless
there be a wall of close-knit and unparticipating opposition

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round them, to keep off nipping blasts. The negative clauses
present a climax, notwithstanding the unquestionable
correctness of one of the grounds on which that has been
denied-namely, the practical equivalence of "wicked" and
"sinner."
Increasing closeness and permanence of association are obvious
in the progress from walking to standing and from standing to
sitting. Increasing boldness in evil is marked by the progress
from counsel to way, or course of life, and thence to scoffing.
Evil purposes come out in deeds, and deeds are formularised at
last in bitter speech. Some men scoff because they have already
sinned. The tongue is blackened and made sore by poison in the
system. Therefore goodness will avoid the smallest conformity
with evil, as knowing that if the hem of the dress or the tips of
the hair be caught in the cruel wheels, the whole body will be
drawn in. But these negative characteristics are valuable mainly
for their efficacy in contributing to the positive, as the wall
round a young plantation is there for the sake of what grows
behind it. On the other hand, these positive characteristics, and
eminently that chief one of a higher love, are the only basis for
useful abstinence. Mere conventional, negative virtue is of little
power or worth unless it flow from a strong set of the soul in
another direction.
"So did not I" is good and noble when we can go on to say, as
Nehemiah did, "because of the fear of God." The true way of
floating rubbish out is to pour water in. Delight in the law will
deliver from delight in the counsel of the wicked. As the
negative, so the positive begins with the inward man. The main
thing about all men is the direction of their "delight." Where do
tastes run? what pleases them most? and where are they most
at ease? Deeds will follow the current of desires, and be right if
the hidden man of the heart be right. To the psalmist, that law
was revealed by Pentateuch and prophets; but the delight in it,
in which he recognises the germ of godliness, is the coincidence
of will and inclination with the declared will of God, however
declared. In effect, he reduces perfection to the same elements

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as the other psalmist who sang, "I delight to do Thy will, yea,
Thy law is within my heart." The secret of blessedness is self-
renunciation, -
A love to lose my will in His,
And by that loss be free."
Thoughts which are sweet will be familiar.
The command to Joshua is the instinct of the devout man. In
the distractions and activities of the busy day the law beloved
will be with him, illuminating his path and shaping his acts. In
hours of rest it will solace weariness and renew strength. That
habit of patient, protracted brooding on the revelation of God’s
will needs to be cultivated. Men live meanly because they live so
fast. Religion lacks depth and volume because it is not fed by
hidden springs.
The good man’s character being thus all condensed into one
trait, the psalm next gathers his blessedness up in one image.
The tree is an eloquent figure to Orientals, who knew water as
the one requisite to turn desert into garden. Such a life as has
been sketched will be rooted and steadfast. "Planted" is
expressed by a word which suggests fixity. The good man’s life
is deeply anchored, and so rides out storms. It goes down
through superficial fleeting things to that Eternal Will, and so
stands unmoved and upright when winds howl. Scotch firs lift
massive, corrugated boles, and thrust out wide, gnarled
branches clothed in steadfast green, and look as if they could
face any tempest, but their roots run laterally among the
surface gravel, and therefore they go down before blasts which
feeble saplings, that strike theirs vertically, meet unharmed.
Such a life is fed and refreshed. The law of the Lord is at once
soil and stream. In the one aspect fastening a life to it gives
stability; in the other, freshening and means of growth. Truly
loved, that Will becomes, in its manifold expressions, as the
divided irrigation channels through which a great river is

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brought to the roots of each plant. If men do not find it life
giving as rivers of water in a dry place, it is because they do not
delight in it. Opposed, it is burdensome and harsh; accepted,
this sweet image tells what it becomes-the true good, the only
thing that really nourishes and reinvigorates. The disciples came
back to Jesus, whom they had left too wearied and faint to go
with them to the city, and found Him fresh and strong. Their
wonder was answered by, "My meat is to do the will of Him that
sent me."
Such a life is vigorous and productive. It would be artificial
straining to assign definite meanings to "fruit" and "leaf." All
that belongs to vigorous vitality and beauty is included. These
come naturally when the preceding condition is fulfilled. This
stage of the psalm is the appropriate place for deeds to come
into view. By loving fellowship with God and delight in His law
the man is made capable of good. His virtues are growths, the
outcome of life. The psalm anticipates Christ’s teaching of the
good tree bringing forth good fruit, and also tells how His
precept of making the tree good is to be obeyed-namely, by
transplanting it from the soil of self-will to that of delight in the
law. How that transplanting is to be effected it does not tell.
"But now being made free from sin, and become servants of
God, ye have your fruit unto holiness," and the fruit of the Spirit
in "whatsoever things are lovely and of good report" hangs in
clusters on the life that has been shifted from the realm of
darkness and rooted in Christ. The relation is more intimate still.
"I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and
I in him, the same beareth much fruit."
Such a life will be prosperous. The figure is abandoned here.
The meaning is not affected whether we translate "whatsoever
he doeth shall prosper," or "whatsoever he shall cause to
succeed." That is not unconditionally true now, nor was it then,
it referred to what the world calls prospering, as many a sad
and questioning strain in the Psalter proves. He whose life is
rooted in God will have his full share of foiled plans and abortive
hopes, and will often see the fruit nipped by frost or blown

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green from the boughs, but still the promise is true in its inmost
meaning. For what is prosperity? Does the psalmist merely
mean to preach the more vulgar form of the doctrine that
religion makes the best of both worlds? or are his hopes to be
harmonised with experience, by giving a deeper meaning to
"prosperity"? They to whom the will of God is delight can never
be hurt by evil, for all that meets them expresses and serves
that will, and the fellow servants of the King do not wound one
another. If a life be rooted in God and a heart delight in His law,
that life will be prosperous and that heart will be at rest.
Psalms 1:3
wither; and (c) whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
(c) God's children are so moistened with his grace, that
whatever comes to them, tends to their salvation.
Psalms 1:3
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of
water,.... Or, "for then shall he be", &c. as Alshech renders the
words; and the Hebrew "vau" is often used for "then" (q). As
Psa_1:1 describe the man who is blessed, this points at his
blessedness, and shows and proves him to be an happy man;
for he is comparable to a "tree": not to a dry tree, or a tree
without fruit, or whose fruit is withered, but to a fruitful tree, a
green and flourishing one; green olive tree, or a palm tree, or a
cedar in Lebanon; to which David compares himself and the
righteous, Psa_52:8; and here such an one is compared to a
tree "planted"; not to one that grows of itself, a wild tree, a tree
of the wood; but to one that is removed from its native place
and soil, and planted elsewhere; and so designs such who are
broken off of the wild olive tree, and are grafted into the good
olive tree; who are planted in Christ Jesus, and in the church,
the house of the Lord; of which transplantation the removal of
Israel into Canaan's land was an emblem, Psa_80:8; and such a

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spiritual plantation is of God the husbandman; whose planting
the saints are efficiently, Isa_60:21. And it is owing to the word,
the ingrafted word, Jas_1:21, which is the means of this
ingrafture, and to the ministers of it instrumentally; some of
whom plant, and others water, 1Co_3:6. Moreover, the happy
man before described is like a tree that is situated "by the rivers
of water", or "divisions" (r) and rivulets of water; which running
about the plants, make them very fruitful and flourishing; see
Eze_31:4; and which may intend the river of the love of God,
and the streams of it, the discoveries and applications of it to
regenerate persons; and also the fulness of grace in Christ, who
is the fountain of gardens, the well of living waters and streams
from Lebanon, to revive, refresh, supply, and comfort his
people, Son_4:15; as well as the graces of the Spirit of God,
which are near the saints, and like rivers of water flow out of
them that believe in Christ, Joh_7:38; to which may be added
the word and ordinances of the Gospel, which are the still
waters, to which they are invited and led, and by which and with
which they are greatly refreshed, and made fruitful. Arama
interprets it of the waters of the law; it is best to understand it
of the Gospel; see Isa_55:1; it follows,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; and so appears
to be a tree of righteousness, filled with the fruits of
righteousness, the graces of the Spirit, and good works; which
are brought forth by him under the influence of grace, as he has
opportunity, and according to the measure of grace bestowed.
His leaf also shall not wither; neither tree, nor fruit, nor leaf
shall wither, but shall be always green; which is expressive of
the saints' perseverance: the reasons of which are, they are
ingrafted in Christ the true vine, and abide in him, from whom
they have their sap, nourishment, and fruit, Joh_15:1; they are
rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith of him;
and so they hold fast the profession of it without wavering;
and whatsoever he doth shall prosper; meaning not so
much in things temporal, of which Arama interprets it, for in
these the good man does not always succeed, but in things

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spiritual: whatever he does in faith, from love, to the glory of
God, and in the name of Christ, prospers; yea, those things in
which he is concerned, that are adverse, and seem for the
present to be against him, in the issue work for good to him: in
short, such a man is blessed with grace here, and glory
hereafter; and therefore must needs be an happy man.
(q) Vid. Noldii Concord. Part. Ebr. p. 308. (r) ‫על‬
‫פלגי‬ "juxta
divisiones"; Musculus, Hammond; so Ben Melech.
Psalms 1:3
And he shall be like a tree - A description of the happiness or
prosperity of the man who thus avoids the way of sinners, and
who delights in the law of God, now follows. This is presented in
the form of a very beautiful image - a tree planted where its
roots would have abundance of water.
Planted by the rivers of water - It is not a tree that springs
up spontaneously, but one that is set out in a favorable place,
and that is cultivated with care. The word “rivers” does not here
quite express the sense of the original. The Hebrew word ‫פלג‬
peleg, from ‫פלג‬ pâlag, to cleave, to split, to divide), properly
means divisions; and then, channels, canals, trenches,
branching-cuts, brooks. The allusion is to the Oriental method of
irrigating their lands by making artificial rivulets to convey the
water from a larger stream, or from a lake. In this way, the
water was distributed in all directions. The whole land of Egypt
was anciently sluiced in this manner, and it was in this way that
its extraordinary fertility was secured. An illustration of the
passage may be derived from the account by Maundrell of the
method of watering the gardens and orchards in the vicinity of
Damascus. “The gardens are thick set with fruit trees of all
kinds, kept fresh and verdant by the waters of the Barady ....
This river, as soon as it issues out of the cleft of the mountain
before mentioned, into the plain, is immediately divided into
three streams, of which the middlemost and largest runs
directly to Damascus, and is distributed to all the cisterns and
fountains of the ciy. The other two, which I take to be the work

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of art, are drawn round, the one to the right, and the other to
the left, on the borders of the gardens, into which they are let
out, as they pass, by little rivulets, and so dispersed over all the
vast wood, insomuch that there is not a garden but has a fine,
quick stream running through it.” Trav., p. 122.
A striking allusion to trees cultivated in this manner occurs in
Eze_31:3-4 : “Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon,
with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of a high
stature, and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters
made him great, the deep set him up on high, with his rivers
running round about his plants, and sent out his little rivers unto
all the trees of the field.” So Ecc_2:4 : “I made me pools of
water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees.”
No particular kind of tree is referred to in the passage before us,
but there are abundant illustrations of the passage in the rows
of willow, oranges, etc., that stand on the banks of these
artificial streams in the East. The image is that of a tree
abundantly watered, and that was flourishing.
That bringeth forth his fruit in his season - Whose fruit
does not fall by the lack of nutriment. The idea is that of a tree
which, at the proper season of the year, is loaded with fruit.
Compare Psa_92:14. The image is one of great beauty. The fruit
is not untimely. It does not ripen and fall too soon, or fall before
it is mature; and the crop is abundant.
His leaf also shall not wither - By drought and heat.
Compare Job_8:16, note; Job_15:32, note. It is green and
flourishing - a striking image of a happy and a prosperous man.
And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper - This is a literal
statement of what had just been put in a figurative or poetic
form. It contains a general truth, or contains an affirmation as
to the natural and proper effect of religion, or of a life of piety,
and is similar to that which occurs in 1Ti_4:8 : “Godliness is
profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is,
and of that which is to come.” This idea of the effect of a life of

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piety is one that is common in the Scriptures, and is sustained
by the regular course of events. If a man desires permanent
prosperity and happiness, it is to be found only in the ways of
virtue and religion. The word “whatsoever” here is to be taken
in a general sense, and the proper laws of interpretation do not
require that we should explain it as universally true. It is
conceivable that a righteous man - a man profoundly and
sincerely fearing God - may sometimes form plans that will not
be wise; it is conceivable that he may lose his wealth, or that he
may be involved in the calamities that come upon a people in
times of commercial distress, in seasons of war, of famine, and
pestilence; it is conceivable that he may be made to suffer loss
by the fraud and dishonesty of other men; but still as a general
and as a most important truth, a life of piety will be followed by
prosperity, and will constantly impart happiness. It is this great
and important truth which it is the main design of the Book of
Psalms to illustrate.
Psalms 1:3
And, or For, he shall be like a tree, &c. — This is the proof of
that blessedness of a good man which he had only asserted,
Psa_1:1. He shall be fruitful and flourishing. By his meditations
on the law of God, his graces and virtues shall be nourished and
increased, and he shall be thoroughly furnished for every good
word and work. The means of grace are those rivers of water
near which the trees of righteousness are planted, and from
these they receive supplies of strength and vigour, but in secret,
undiscerned ways. That bringeth forth fruit in his season — That
is, in the time of fruit-bearing; which, being applied to the good
man, denotes either, 1st, His active goodness, that he seeks
and improves all opportunities for doing good, exercising faith,
hope, and love, piety and virtue, justice, mercy, charity,
temperance, patience, meekness, long-suffering, according to
the several occasions offered him: or, 2d, The issue thereof, the
happiness resulting therefrom; that he shall have the fruit, or
benefit, of his godly life in due time, and when it will be most for
his advantage, possibly in some measure in this life, but
assuredly in the life to come. His leaf also shall not wither — His

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blessedness is not short and transitory, as all worldly felicity is,
but fixed and everlasting, like those trees which are continually
green and flourishing. And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper —
All his actions, being directed by the word, providence and grace
of God, shall be crowned with success in one respect or another,
(for even disappointments, losses, and afflictions, shall work for
his good,) and with a blessed effect or end.
III. The outcome of this happy life. Fruitfulness. “Like a tree.”
This life is rooted well. Its leaf shall not wither. The leaf shows
the character of the tree. The man whose soul is full of truth
and righteousness need not be saying perpetually, “I am a
Christian,” for his walk and conversation declare it. He bringeth
forth fruit in his season. We shall be ever doing good as we
have opportunity. There is an obverse to this picture. “The
ungodly are not so.”
1. As to his life—it is chaff. There is no profit in it.
2. As to his death—it is like a furrow in the sea.
3. After death, he shall “not stand in judgment.” Most of us
have been disappointed in our pursuit of happiness. There is,
however, a right way and a sure way to pursue it. (D. J.
Burrell, D. D.)
The way of the righteous
I. A striking description of the character of the righteous.
Among the evil, as well as the good, there are classes and
gradations. Here we have forgetters of God, overt and habitual
sinners, and settled scorners. How graphically is the progressive
tendency of sin here exhibited! Observe the indication we here
have of the tendency of sin to fixedness. Walking, standing,
sitting; wrong principles, then sinful habits, and last settled
scorn. But the righteous man is not simply one who keeps aloof
from the ways described. His character has its positive side. It is
needful to discriminate with respect to the kind of delight the
righteous man takes in the law. How much there is in the Bible
of valuable history! Its truths and precepts kindle the intellect,
feed the imagination, and commend themselves to man’s

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natural sense of what is true and good. The delight of the
Psalmist is, however, something deeper and other than this. It
is delight in the law as God’s law, and because it is His. It is the
delight of a mind in sympathetic accord with it and with its
Author. Even in the Old Testament saint there was much of this
spirit. Here is the difference between a truly righteous man and
one who is only outwardly so. The latter obeys slavishly, and
against his own will. The former serves joyfully, and in love. The
interest the one takes in the Bible is intellectual; that of the
other is also practical and spiritual.
II. A delightful picture of the condition of the righteous. “Like a
tree.” The tree draws a portion of its nourishment from the
surrounding atmosphere, but relatively this is small. Vastly the
greater portion is taken up with the moisture at its root. Hence
where there is little moisture the life of the tree is feeble, its
growth is slow, its fruit is uncertain, its leaf withers. So it is
doubtless true that the godly man derives material for growth,
usefulness, enjoyment, and moral beauty from whatever
surrounds him. He learns from nature, society, books; he
derives profit and adornment from studies, companionship, and
experience; but for that which is highest and best, whether of
comfort, attainment, or serviceableness to his generation, he is
indebted to revealed truth. It is this which sustains his true
inner life. In Psa_1:3 there is a change of figure. Of the
righteous it is said, “and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
The meaning doubtless is that he shall prosper in all his godly
doings; in the things to which the Divine will and word may
prompt him; in ‘those righteous undertakings by which he is
distinguished. In other ages, if not now, it shall appear that
nought of such labour was lost. It would be a mistake to
understand, by the fruit here spoken of, external works only, or
chiefly. The fruit of the spirit is “in all goodness, and
righteousness, and truth.” It is “love, joy, peace, long suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” First of
all, it is inward, then outward. It would be equally a mistake to
suppose that the leaf, which does not wither, is the symbol only
of the honour and beauty which crown the character of the

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godly. Doubtless it stands for this. But the leaf is also useful.
And that, too, not only in the pleasure it ministers to the
beholder’s eye, or the shade it affords to the passing traveller.
Its benefits may reach very far. “The fresh air we quaff from the
hills has been purified and made healthy for us by the foliage of
the trees, not merely those of our own country, but even the
pines of Norway and the palms of India.” And so the godly man
is blessed in what he is and what he does.
III. A cheering intimation of the happy end which awaits the
righteous. As is so often the case in the Bible, thought abruptly
passes from time to eternity. Indeed, to the eye of faith, these
are one: the latter is but the continuation of the former.
Naturally, therefore, the characters contrasted in the Psalm are
now made to appear for judgment. (Monday Club Sermons.)
Psalms 1:3
Where God is there is no famine. The likeness to a tree is full of
suggestion. A tree is permanent, fruitful, beautiful; its branches
are for refreshment, its shadow is for rest. It responds to the
sun and the rain. It waits for God, and puts forth life at His
bidding. “Prosper.” In no mean or narrow sense, but really and
ultimately If you say that, as a fact, the good man does not
always prosper, remember that you may say the same thing
about God Himself.
An encouraging assurance given. “He shall be like a tree.” Note
the connection between loving the Scriptures and spiritual
prosperity.
Psalms 1:3
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters.
The tree similitude
A beautiful illustration of the perpetual verdure and fruitfulness
of the piety deriving its origin and sustenance from the Word of
God. It is compared to a tree whose roots are refreshed by
never-failing streams of living water, and whose every part is
instinct with the life flowing from its roots. It is the same with

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the piety nourished by the Word of God. As the sap of the tree
imparts life not only to its roots, and trunk, and larger branches,
but also to the remotest twig and leaf, and to the very down
upon the leaf, so the truly godly man’s piety pervades his whole
life, imparting its spirit and character and beauty to everything
he does he is not a religious man in one or two departments of
life, but he is a religious man everywhere. His religion is a
mental habit—a habit of thought, of feeling, of purpose, of
action, of which he never for a moment divests himself. He aims
that not so much as a leaf on his tree of righteous living shall
show signs of decay. The same spirit that actuates him in the
largest, actuates him also in the least transaction of his life. His
religion is not a thing that is put on,—it is the man himself—the
man in the man. Consequently the storm that bows mock trees
of righteousness to the earth, leaves him still standing; the
drought that dries up their streams of life, leaves his still full,
fresh, and flowing. Vigour, verdure, and fruitfulness are his
evermore. His source of strength can never fail. It is the river of
life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, reaching
his soul through the law of the Lord, wherein is his delight and
unceasing meditation. (David Caldwell, A. M.)
Amongst the trees of the wood
The blessed man is like a tree planted by the rivers of waters.
1. Its blessedness does not depend upon its kind. It is not
the cedar of Lebanon of which David is thinking, but any
tree. It is not the tree, but the planting and the place, that
constitute the blessedness. We need not think that we are
the wrong sort. Two kinds of religious people in the world.
There are those who always want to be somebody else: and
there are those who want everybody else to be exactly what
they themselves are. Now the woods need all the kinds of
trees that God has made; and the world wants all the kinds
of people that God has sent into it. Some people are perhaps
very different from what God made them, but He wants us to
be everyone after his kind.

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2. We can none of us afford to make much of ourselves, but
we can all of us afford to be ourselves. I am not much at the
best; but I am best when I am myself. Now, timid soul, the
heavenly Father has room for you.
3. Notice that the tree is planted. It did not plant itself. It
surrendered itself wholly and utterly to the husbandman. He
took it in hand and dealt with it, and that was the beginning
of its prosperity. This utter and whole-hearted surrender of
ourselves to the Lord is the first sign of the blessed life. The
husbandman must have possession before he can do any
planting. Planted, the tree begins to put forth at the one end
the roots that go out and clasp the rocks, and at the other
end the branches spread and leaves unfold, and it drinks in
the rain and sunshine of heaven. It is the fair emblem of the
man of God, rooted in obedience, rising to communion. There
is the man of God; the law of his God is an authority
supreme, that knows no argument, no exception, no choice. I
must and I will grip the law of God. Here is stability, You
know where to have that man. Right is might with him. But a
tree is not all root. Here, laughing in the sunshine, sporting
in the breeze, dripping with the shower, is the branch that
pushes out over earth and up into heaven. The emblem of
freedom. But the branch is always in proportion to the root.
The obedience and the communion keep pace.
4. It is a tree planted by the rivers of water. There is not only
a rock to hold on to, but there is the river to refresh it. Rock
and river, river and rock, this is what the law of God
becomes. They who do not know think of the law of God as
the hard stern voice of thunder, with its “Thou shalt.” But
they who do know cry, “Great peace have they that keep Thy
law.” It is rivers of waters, sweet, refreshing, quickening. So,
rooted in obedience and stretching up into communion, the
blessed man comes to be like a tree; there is stability, and
steadfastness. He knows whom he has believed, and is
persuaded that that will hold though winds may blow and
rains may heat. He bringeth forth his fruit in his season. He

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hath the real spirit for the hour; the very occasion seems to
bring the grace he needs. (Mark Guy Pearse.)
The supremely happy man
We are here introduced to one who is said to be very happy.
“Oh, the happinesses of the man” would be a literal translation
of the Psalmist’s words; and the expression is one indicating
fulness of happiness—more than ordinary joy. It is also to be
noted that the happiness of the man is the first thing to which
the inspired writer refers, and that circumstance is indicative of
the truth stated, that man’s happiness is so great and so
excellent that it must have the first place. The springs of joy
from which he drinks are sweeter far than the sweetest of those
from which others drink. The flowers in his garden have a
loveliness and fragrance the flowers in other gardens never
have. The paths of other men may seem brighter and smoother,
but this is only in appearance. Every difficulty overcome is a
victory won, and adds to his happiness. In what does this man’s
happiness consist? To know the various elements of his
blessedness we must study the picture—carefully note its
several distinctive points.
I. Our attention is directed to the fact that the tree is one
carefully “planted.” The word used by the Psalmist is not the
ordinary term meaning to sow or plant, but the poetical and
much rarer word. The same is found in Psa_92:13 —“Those that
be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of
our God.” The trees planted within the temple enclosures would
be planted with skill and care. This tree also is planted in a
choice spot, and would therefore be planted well. It has sprung
from no stray seed which the wind may have wafted hither, or
some bird carried and dropped where grows the tree. And such
is true of the man who is really happy and most happy. He is a
tree “of the Lord’s right hand planting.” He is the offspring of
wisdom that is perfect and care that is infinite. And this fact
constitutes part of his joy.
II. The situation of the tree must have our attention. The tree

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grows not on some barren waste, but “upon the rivers of water.”
By these rivers I understand the multitudinous and various
overflowings of the Divine grace—the rivers of pardon, peace,
comfort, teaching, sanctification, etc.
1. The plural term indicates also fulness as well as variety of
blessing in constant circulation round about the roots of the
Christian’s life.
2. There is also in it the promise of continuance. If one
stream dries up there are other streams to draw from.
3. Another thought is expressed, namely, freshness. “The
rivers” are running streams. Here there is another element of
the good man’s happiness. He is felicitously situated.
III. The fruitfulness of the tree must next be considered. As
might be expected, the tree bears fruit. By this we are to
understand the man’s habit of doing good. The pronouns are to
be noted.
1. It is not said he brings forth fruit, but “his fruit.” Christian
activity takes many forms, and a man will do most good and
do it best who is no servile imitator of another, but who
works in his own groove, and in the way most natural to
himself. And there is a beauty and gracefulness about work
done after this manner that always adds to its value. The
tree brings forth his own fruit, and the happy Christian does
his own work. The Master gives to everyone his work.
2. Again, the tree brings forth his fruit in his season.
Seasonableness is itself a virtue. Work done opportunely is
the only work done rightly. Here we touch a leading difficulty
in some earnest lives. The question as to when this should be
done, and when that, is the perplexing point. He is therefore
a man led of God’s Spirit, and this leading saves him from
the painful perplexity of not knowing what he should first do
and what next. By this means his work is simplified. His

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duties come to him in natural order—one at a time. God
shows him not only what he must do, but how, and when.
Here is another clement of happiness. A fruitful life is a
happy one.
IV. From looking at the fruit of the tree we turn to its foliage.
This is beautiful, and always so. “His leaf also shall not wither.”
Now if by the fruit we understand a man’s works, by the “leaf” it
will be natural to regard his words. What a man does and says
constitutes his character. Works have a great importance, but
so also have words. “By thy words thou shalt be justified, and
by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” “His leaf shall not
wither”—his words shall not die. “He being dead, yet speaketh.”
Another element of happiness in the good man. The words of his
mouth shall be established, and their influence shall be felt
forever. The tongue is a little member, but how great is the
happiness it may secure for the good man who uses it aright.
And in making others happy one makes himself most happy.
“And all that he does shall prosper.” Here the works and words
are interwoven. It is when the two do interweave and harmonise
that there is prosperity. Note, it is not all he attempts or carries
forward so far and there stops that shall prosper, but “all that
he doeth.” And this is happiness supreme—doing good—by work
or word—crowned with prosperity. (Adam Scott.)
Aspects of a godly life
Three aspects of godly character.
I. Its variety. The figure leaves room for the development of
varieties of goodness. True godliness does not reduce men to a
dead level. The variety which God stamps upon nature He
means to have reproduced in character. It is often supposed
that, by becoming a servant of God, a man loses all his
distinctiveness, sacrifices many of his peculiar modes of power,
and shuts himself up to a comparatively narrow range of
activity; whereas the truth is, that no man ever finds out the
variety of uses to which the human talent and power can be put
until he begins to work under God’s direction.

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II. Its Divine culture. The godly man is not like a tree that
grows wild. He is like a tree planted, and that in a place which
will best promote its growth. Godly character is developed under
God’s special supervision, and with God’s own appliances. Has
God no other means of revealing His will but through a burning
bush or a stunning shock? His modes of revelation are as many
as the characters and circumstances of men, and as varied; and
He does not mean that His lowliest servant shall work under the
shadow of a doubt, whether he is in his place or not. He may
make circumstances, or conscientious judgment, or special
dispensations His messengers, but whatever be the messenger,
the message shall be clear to the open eye and the obedient
spirit—“I have planted you.” And if a man is working and
growing where God sets him, he is always within reach of the
means necessary for his growth and fruitfulness. He is always
planted by rivers of water. Men find these channels in the most
unlikely places, in the most unpromising parts of God’s garden.
In their very work they find something to engage their energy,
quicken their enthusiasm, and develop their power. This is a
mystery to men of the world. They look at the places in which
some of God’s servants are planted, and say it is Impossible
they should bear fruit there. Circumstances are all against them.
There are no capabilities in the place. And yet, amid sickness,
bereavement, scant opportunities, hatred, scorn, they not only
live, but grow, and have something to spare for other lives; yea,
minister to them most richly and effectively. What is more, they
themselves are cheerful and strong, and grow in sweetness no
less than in power.
III. Its fruitfulness. God’s tree by God’s river must be a fruitful
tree. Note
1. It is “His fruit,” not any other tree’s fruit. God gives the
tree its nature, and plants it where it can best develop its
nature, and looks for fruit according to its nature and place.
You are not to waste time in admiring or envying other men’s
modes of power, but to give your whole energy to the

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development of your own mode of power. And if your best is
only a single fruit you can say, God planted me that I might
do that one thing.
2. The words “in his season.” The seasons are different for
different fruits. Some are early, some are late. Moral growths
do not all fructify at the same time or rate. The latest fruit is
usually the best. But, early or late, the fruit of godly
character is seasonable. It will be found that God nourishes
His men as He does the fruits of the earth, to meet the
demands of special seasons; and that in each individual
character Divine graces fructify as the occasion demands:
courage for seasons of danger, patience for seasons of
suffering, strength for seasons of trial, wisdom for seasons of
difficulty; ill short, the beautiful fitness of godliness is no less
remarkable than its fruitfulness. “Shall prosper.” This
suggests the standard of prosperity. It must be measured by
God’s rule, not man’s. I stood last summer in a magnificent
hothouse, where the luscious clusters of grapes were all
around and above, and the owner said, “When my new
gardener came he said he would have nothing to do with
these vines unless he could cut them clear down to the
stock; and he did, and we had no grapes for two years: but
this is the result.” It did not look much like fruit when the
stock stood bare, and the floor was heaped with cuttings; but
the gardener looked over the two years, and saw what we
were seeing and tasting. (M. R. Vincent, D. D.)
A tree sermon to children
Six characteristics of trees.
1. Contentment. I never heard of a tree complaining. They
are perfectly contented with their lot. Did you ever hear of a
maple wishing it were an oak? They have not so much to
make them contented as we have. The Christ-Spirit in us will
make us happy and contented.
2. Health. How many of you have seen an unhealthy tree?
The perfect boy or girl is the one who, like the tree, is

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healthy. We should attend to these bodies of ours. We should
be careful to eat and drink those things which will give us
sound bodies. We need to keep our minds, bodies, and souls
healthy.
3. Roots. A great part of a tree is underground. Two reasons
for this—to hold the tree in its place, and to nourish the tree.
A perfect man, a perfect woman, boy, or girl is one who is
well-rooted. Among the roots which hold us stable and keep
us from falling are—
(1) Good habits formed early in life;
(2) good companions;
(3) good books.
4. Importance. Trees are used in building, furniture, ships,
and as medicine. Their fruit is important. The perfect man is
important to society, to home, to national life. What should
we do without the ideal man and woman?
5. Symmetry. The word means “perfectly balanced in all its
parts.” Some trees have perfect proportions. There are men
who have only attended to physical development; others only
to intellectual development. The symmetrical man is one who
has attended to the development of the mind, body, and
spirit.
6. Trial. A mighty oak is perfect, because it has been tried.
Tempests have swept over it, but still it stands. The perfect
man, woman, boy, or girl is the one who, when tempted and
tried, comes off the victor. Tried, weighed, and not found
wanting, Tried and found to be sound. (Frank S. Rowland.)
A sermon on trees
(to children):—
1. One of the most wonderful things about the trees is the
way in which they breathe. Does it make you smile to think
of a tree breathing? Do you say, “Well, I never thought of

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that before! I didn’t know a tree could breathe.” But they do,
if it does surprise you, and they could no more live without
breathing than could you or If it was not for the trees and
other plants breathing the air would soon become filled with
poisonous gas which would make everyone sick, and soon
cause us all to die. On the under side of every leaf of every
tree, or shrub, or other plant there are thousands of little
breathing holes or mouths. There are some also on the upper
surface of the leaf. These are small openings through the
outer skin of the leaf into the air chambers within, making a
direct communication between the whole interior of the leaf
and the air outside. You cannot see these little mouths with
the naked eye. You have to use a microscope or magnifying
glass, and then you can see them. The famous botanist,
Professor Asa Gray, tells us that in the white lily, when they
are unusually large, there are about sixty thousand of them
to the square inch on the lower surface of the leaf, and about
three thousand in the same space of the upper surface; and
that in the apple tree, where they are under the average as
to number, there are about twenty-four thousand to the
square inch of the lower surface; so that each leaf has not far
from one hundred thousand of these mouths. The trees are
made by God to take out of the air a gas which would kill us
all in a very little while if it u ere allowed to remain; and
having taken it into their trunks they split it up into two
parts, oxygen and carbon, and give us back the former that
we may breathe it and live; while the latter they make into
charcoal, which is used in a thousand ways for our comfort,
convenience, and health. So kind is God in making all things
work together for good unto us whom He so dearly loves.
2. Another great use of the trees is, as we all know, to
furnish food for man. Just think of all the things we get from
them, and from other plants! Not only delicious oranges, and
apples, and pears, and peaches, and all other nice fruits; but
also starch, sugar, spices, oil, tea., coffee, flour, and grain.
All these things are prepared by the plants out of the
elements which they take in from the earth and air. They

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have been so made by God that they have the power to
produce subtle chemical changes in these unpalatable
materials, which they thus transform into delicious food for
man. Says the same botanist above quoted, “Animals depend
absolutely upon vegetables for their being.” The great object
for which the all-wise Creator established the vegetable
kingdom evidently is, that the plant might stand on the
surface of the earth, between the animal and mineral
creations, and organise portions of the former for the
sustenance of the latter. We must indeed see the goodness
and the love of God in the goodly fruits of the trees.
3. Another very interesting branch of our subject is in regard
to the habits or instincts of the trees. Wherever a tree may
be growing, if there is a stream or pool of water anywhere
near it, or a damp piece of ground, it will always push its
roots eagerly toward that. It wants the hydrogen and oxygen
which the water can furnish, and it will have them if it can
possibly get them. In other words, it is thirsty, just as we are
thirsty, and it eagerly seeks for water to drink. For example,
I have read. (Horace Bushnell’s lecture on Life) of a man
named Madison, who had an aqueduct—that is, a sort of
trough made of logs—which in reaching his house passed by
a tree which was especially fond of water, at a considerable
distance from it. Opposite to where the tree stood there was
an auger hole in the log that had been filled with a plug of
soft wood. Exactly to that spot the tree sent off a long stretch
of roots, which forced their way through this soft wood plug,
choking up the passage; “and there,” says the account, “they
were found drinking, like so many thirsty animals.” The same
writer who tells this incident, says “that a strawberry planted
in sand, with good earth a little way off, will turn its runners
all toward that. But if the good earth is too far away to be
reached, it will make no effort on that side more than on the
others.” You can try this experiment if you want to, and see
if it is not so.
4. Then it is wonderful to see a tree exerting its mighty

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strength. For in every tree in your garden at home, and in
everyone that you can see from these windows, and in all the
trees of the forests and on the hills, there is a life principle,
the strength of which is as great as, or greater than, that of
the largest steam engine you ever saw. Why, in the
commonest garden vegetable there is a force capable of
lifting an enormous weight. And if you go down here on the
road a little way, some time, you can see a huge rock that
has been broken right in two by the strength of a little tree
not much larger round than my arm. Some time, years ago,
a little cone lodged in the crevice of that rock, and pretty
soon the rains and the warm sun caused one of the little
seeds in the cone to germinate and grow. A little root ran out
and down into the crevice, and began growing. Soon it had
got as large as the crevice, and touched the hard rock on
each side. And no doubt the grim old rock would have
laughed, if rocks could laugh, and would have said to the tiny
little pine tree, “You insignificant little sprout, you can’t grow
here, for I won’t let you, so you may as well not try.” But the
little tree kept growing, and pretty soon began to press hard
on the sides of the crevice; harder” and harder it pushed,
and twisted round to get a good hold, filling up the whole
space with its insinuating roots. And the rock hung together,
and braced itself, and tried its best not to give way. But at
last one dark night crack it went, and broke in two right in
the middle. And all because of the little tree, which it had
thought so weak and small. A tree has in it this wonderful
power of growth and enlargement. It is always growing,
running up taller and taller, and getting larger and larger
every year. And if it is broken by storms or felled to the
ground it often reconstructs its building, and rears itself
again with all its wonderful ducts, and tissues, and breathing
pores, like to the pattern which it bore before. And all the
trees, so many kinds of which we can see around us in the
forests, though they have different forms and characteristics,
and are put to different uses, still contribute, each its share,
to fulfilling the plans and perfecting the work which God gave
them to do upon the earth. There is no confusion. Each has

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its law within itself, and fills the sphere which God intended it
to fill. (F. H. Palmer.)
The fruit tree and the chaff
The 1st Psalm strikes the keynote of those statutes of God
which are the songs of His people in their pilgrimage. Like an
illuminated initial letter, it presents a graphic picture of the
contrast between the blessedness of the righteous and the
misery of the wicked under the emblems of a fruit tree
flourishing beside a river and of a handful of chaff winnowed by
the wind. Let us look at the picture presented.
I. The fruit tree. This suggests—
1. Stability. It is firmly rooted in the soil. Thus it tells of the
stability of the righteous.
2. Access to a perennial mine of nourishment and
refreshment: “by the rivers of waters.” A river in the East is
an artery of life. A tree, therefore, with its head in the torrid
sunshine, and its feet laved by a perpetual stream flowing
down from some far-up snowy mountain, is one of the most
beautiful images of a righteous man.
3. It yields its fruit in its season. Fruit is that part of the tree
which belongs not to the individual, but to the race. In the
fruit the tree sacrifices its own life for the life that is to spring
from it; converts branch and foliage that would have
remained and ministered to its own beauty, into blossom and
fruit that fall off and minister to the good of others. In no
case does the fruit benefit the tree, but, on the contrary,
burdens and exhausts it, as is clearly proved by the shorter
lives of fruit than of other trees. So the distinguishing
peculiarity of the righteous is self-sacrifice. They have truly
learned that first lesson of the Cross of Christ. They, as He,
come not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give
their life for others.
4. Its leaf shall not wither. This is a remarkable feature. It is

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the old idea of the bush burning and not consumed. In
nature it is only through the fading of the leaf that the fruit
ripens. The yellowing autumnal foliage accompanies the
development of the fruit. By the leaf the tree breathes and
forms its wood from air and sunshine. It is its strength, yea
is itself; for the whole tree is simply a modification and
development of the leaf, as it is most certainly the creation of
the leaf. The leaf, therefore, represents the righteous man’s
life. Not only does he do good to others, but he gets good to
himself. Godliness is to a man’s nature what sunlight is to a
plant. It imparts living greenness and fadeless vigour.
II. The chaff. This is a complete contrast.
1. Chaff is a dead leaf that was once green and flourishing
and full of sap and life. It once performed an important part
in the growth of the plant. But now it is effete and has no
vital connection with the plant. How worthless does a human
being become who has lost his true life by sin.
2. It is driven away. It has fallen from the higher powers of
the organic world and it comes under the power of the
inorganic. And so with the ungodly man. That which
separated him from the mass of creation—the Divine image—
he has lost. But losing this he becomes a mere part of the
creation, instead of having personal relations with the
personal God. The ungodly have no individuality; they live,
move, and act in the mass. The statistics of wrong-doing
illustrate this. You can calculate the average of crimes; the
number of paupers, suicides, and criminals there will be. The
evil passions of men may be known as we know the coming
of an eclipse. And thus the awful lesson is read to us that
individuals when they have sold themselves to sin and so
lose the spiritual life that bound them to God come to be
controlled, notwithstanding all their waywardness, by laws
which apply to mere things in which there is no power to
resist. They pass beyond the sphere of the grace of God into
the passive realms of matter.

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3. All things become hostile to it. What ministers life to the
living tree ministers more rapid decay to the chaff. Which are
we? (H. Macmillan, D. D.)
A tree by the river
It is deeply interesting, in counting the circles of a section of
some old tree, to note the variations, some circles being almost
imperceptible for narrowness, and some so broad that you fear
almost to have counted two as one. As you count the outer
circles, your memory, reaching back to those years, can show a
cause for this difference. The years of drought are the years of
little growth. For the tree, as for our spirits, it holds true that a
man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven.
There are surely seasons when one can make little increase
save under exceptional circumstances, such as those of a tree
by the river side, which shows little variation. It drew supplies
from an abiding source. Precisely this sweet secret it is that
finds expression in the 1st Psalm, “He shall be like a tree
planted by the rivers of water.” They who live near the Lord,
who delight themselves in His law and meditate on it day and
night, are ever growing and fruitful. (Sarah Smiley.)
The oleander
There is one tree, only to be found in the valley of the Jordan,
but too beautiful to be entirely passed over; the oleander, with
its bright blossoms and dark green leaves, giving the aspect of a
rich garden to any spot where it grows. It is rarely, if ever,
alluded to in the Scriptures. But it may be the tree planted by
the streams of water which bringeth forth his fruit in due
season, and “whose leaf shall not wither.” (A. P. Stanley, D. D.)
A believer like a tree
Dr. John Paton, speaking of Namakei, his first convert on the
island of Aniwa, says, “He went in and out the meeting with
intense joy. When he heard of the prosperity of the Lord’s work,
and how island after island was learning to sing the praise of
Jesus, his heart glowed, and he said, ‘Missi, I am lifting up my
head like a tree; I am growing tall with joy.’”

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Constancy in religion
I have read of a waterfall in a nobleman’s garden, beautiful in
its construction, but the water was never turned on unless his
lordship was there. That is like much of the religion existing in
the present age. It is only turned on when there is someone to
see and applaud. Our service must not be kept for mere effect
and display. (R. Venting.)
That bringeth forth his fruit in his season.—
Christian development
This reference to the tree as the image of the good man’s life,
this garden which is thus summoned up before our minds,
harmonises with almost all the early, and certainly with the
closing, scenes in our Bibles. It is significant that the image
which is chosen is not a tree of the forest, but a tree specifically
planted by the water side. The image of the tree of nature—of
the tree in its wild untended state—has been freely used by a
school of thinkers as against any doctrine of human education
whatever. But vegetable life may, under certain circumstances,
gain very considerably by cultivation. Cultivation develops latent
properties, latent powers. It prevents a waste of life, it
economises time in growth. Man is not a tree, but he is like a
tree. He has qualities and characteristics peculiar to himself. He
has intelligence, and no doctrine of human improvement would
be complete which did not provide for the development of his
understanding. He is morally free, he is social; in these things
there must be development. He is depraved, and if a man is left
to himself he will grow in his depravity. Therefore man must be
checked, reproved, chastised. There are points of similarity
between human nature and vegetable growth.
I. Each is gradual The growth of the spiritual life is in the nature
of the case slow, because it consists chiefly in the formation of
habits of faith, hope, love, prayer, inward conformity of the soul
to the will of Almighty God.
II. Each is mysterious. We cannot understand the mysterious

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processes which pass within the soul; we can only see the outer
life, the words and the actions, which are the products of the
feelings engendered by grace. As a tree requires soil, sunlight,
moisture, and space for its proper growth, so the human soul
requires certain ascertainable conditions, without which growth
and development are impossible. I will mention three.
1. The life of the soul should be based upon principles. They
are the soil of the soul. Sentiments, opinions, and views
belong to quite a different strata of mental life from the
possession of principles. Principles—what are they? They are
the basis of truth on which the understanding must lean if
man is to rise to the destined tether of his greatness. The
understanding is the basis faculty of the character, but the
understanding itself must rest on something. And what is it
to rest on if not on sound principles? This is true in science,
in art, in speculation, and in religion. Some principles are
natural. Seeing the difference between right and wrong;
recognising the eternal law of justice and righteousness,
these are natural principles. Some belong to grace, they are
revealed, such as that Jesus is God equal to the Father, and
that Jesus is our Judge. Sooner or later a principle brings
forth its fruit in due season. But you may have long to wait
for it.
III. Christianity must expand. It must expand by love. The
heart is the centre of life. The heart may be corrupted through
being fixed on false objects, or it may be closeted up. Either of
them is a misfortune so great that we can scarcely think less of
it than that it is very ruining to character. Ascertain the object
on which the heart is fixed and you have ascertained the
direction in which moral and spiritual life is moving. One
condition of the development of the soul is the discipline of the
will. The will is the summit of the character, just as the heart is
at its centre, just as the understanding is at its base. (Canon
Liddon, D. D.)
Fruit in his season

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Solomon uttered an axiom when he said, “To everything there is
a season.” The truth is applicable to all God does. As in creation
its mode and time were not anyhow but appointed. And what is
true on the larger scale is also true on the smaller. And to every
individual. Your birth and death are appointed by God. To you
there is a season.
I. There is fruit appropriate to each season. This not only in the
physical world but in the moral.
1. Childhood has its fruits. Like the holy child Jesus you are
to bear fruit by loving, trusting, and imitating Him. In your
baptism you have been given to Christ and are His. He
expects you to bear fruit.
2. Youth has its fruit. St. John speaks of “little children,
young men, fathers.” You occupy the middle position. “I have
written to you,” says the apostle. Young men and maidens,
be sober minded and strong minded too.
3. Old age has its fruits. When the spring is gone, the
summer vanished, how varied and multiplied the fruit of
autumn. And there are fruits not only of season, but
4. Of time. Our Sabbaths, for example, and working days
and days of relaxation also should have their fruit. And there
are—
5. Moral seasons. Conviction—how important this is. It is a
solemn season when God comes near the soul. And the time
of spiritual quickening when the soul longs for more of God.
Seasons of sorrow, of joy, and of temptation, these all have
their appropriate fruit.
II. It is most important that the fruit appropriate should be
borne in its season. For then it is best.
1. Your lifetime—if it bear not its fruit it will never bear it at

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all. How are you spending it?
2. Religious impression—if that pass away, “a more
convenient season” you will never have.
III. For this suitable means must be employed. It is the result
of previously fulfilled conditions.
1. Separation from the ungodly is one of them.
2. Meditation on God’s Word.
3. Hidden supplies of God’s grace, like the water at the roots
of the tree. They flow along the channels of Divine
ordinances, prayers, worship, sacraments. So will you bear
fruit. (Josiah Viney.)
The timeliness of fruitage
A very practical lesson arises from these words. We are not to
look even in Christian life for what is ordinarily understood by
“fruit” all the year round. Upon this point many Christians
disquiet themselves unnecessarily. There is a time for rest, for
recruital, and time spent in legitimate sleep is time made for
larger and harder work. Let the tree be the symbol and image of
our life. It has its season of fruitfulness, but not of fruitlessness
in any blameworthy sense. The tree is part of the great course
of things—a speck in an infinite system, and it keeps all the time
and law of the stupendous universe. So it is with the Christian
heart. There are times of abundant labour, of almost excessive
joy, of hope above the brightness of the sun, and of realisations
which transform the earth into heaven. There are times when
our energy seems to be more than equal to all the exigencies of
life; we can work without weariness, we can suffer without
complaining; we are quite sure that the morning draweth nigh,
and that in the end the victory will he with God. At other times
there are seasons of depression, almost intolerable weariness,
somewhat indeed of sickness of heart, as if a great pain had
fixed itself within us; at other times we know that we are not

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bringing forth fruit to the glory of God or for the use of man,
and in such times we call ourselves cumberers of the ground,
and urge our idleness against ourselves with all the force of a
criminal accusation. The Christian should deal with himself
reasonably in all these things. The year is not one season, nor is
human life one monotonous experience. We are not to be
judged by this or that one day or season, but by the whole
scope and circumference of life. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The influence of religion upon prosperity
1. Piety and gratitude to God contribute in a high degree to
enliven prosperity. Gratitude is a pleasing emotion. The
sense of being distinguished by the kindness of another
gladdens the heart, warms it with reciprocal affection, and
gives to any possession, which is agreeable in itself, a double
relish, from its being the gift of a friend. Not only gratitude
for the past, but a cheering sense of God’s favour at the
present, enter into the pious emotion.
2. Religion affords to good men peculiar security in the
enjoyment of their prosperity. By worldly assistance it is vain
to think of providing any effectual defence, seeing the world’s
mutability is the very cause of our terror.
3. Religion forms good men to the most proper ,temper for
the enjoyment of prosperity. A little reflection may satisfy us
that mere possession, even granting it to be secure, does not
constitute enjoyment. We all know the effects which any
indisposition of the body, even though slight, produces on
external prosperity. The corrupted temper and the guilty
passions of the bad frustrate the effect of every advantage
which the world confers on them. None but the temperate,
the regular, and the virtuous know how to enjoy prosperity.
Prosperity is redoubled to a good man by his generous use of
it. It is reflected back upon him from everyone whom he
makes happy.

Psalms 1:3 - Collection of Biblical Commentaries

Psalms 1:3 - Collection of Biblical Commentaries

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Psalms 1:3 - Collection of Biblical Commentaries