Psalm 1:3 A LIVING TREE

A LIVING TREE

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season Psalm 1:3

In this Psalm verse the Psalmist compares the child of God, you and me, to a strong and healthy tree that has its roots well-watered and bears fruit at the appropriate time. We ought to note at once that the Psalmist is not talking about our physical bodies, for every child of God does not have a strong and healthy body! The Psalmist is referring to our inner being, to our happiness, to what we think, to what we love, to how we feel about other people and things. If our inner being is strong and healthy, we will be happy because God through Jesus forgives our sins. We will evaluate our lives and our world in the light of God’s Word, and we will find other people more important than ourselves.

If we are that way on the inside it will show on the outside and that is the fruit! It will show in our cheerful nature because we are God’s forgiven creatures. It will show in the respect we show other people—parents, teachers, associates, strangers. It will show in the fact that we listen to their troubles and do all we can to help them.

Who is up to a Christian life like that? Because of sin, we are innately selfish, filled with self-love and self-pity. The welfare of other people seldom enters our minds. Because of sin our spiritual tree is not very strong!

The text reminds us that our spiritual tree is weak because it lacks nourishment. Strength comes from the roots, but if the roots are dry, the tree will eventually die. How much we need this encouragement to go to the rivers of water, the living water of the Word of God. It is through this water of life that our Father in heaven sends His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, and to lead us to be kind, tender hearted and forgiving. This is the transformation that we pray for. This is the kind of people we want to be but have not the strength to be by ourselves. This is what it means to be spiritually alive. What a powerful encouragement to read our Bible, and to pray the Holy Spirit to bless our devotion.