We next proceed to notice the remarkable promises in the third verse
of this Psalm--one of the most remarkable and inclusive contained in
the Scriptures:--
"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."
If we could offer to the ungodly a worldly plan which would ensure
their prospering in all that they undertake, how eagerly they would
embrace it! And yet when GOD Himself reveals an effectual plan to His
people how few avail themselves of it! Many fail on the negative side
and do not come clearly out of the world; many fail on the positive
side and allow other duties or indulgences to take the time that
should be given to reading and meditation on GOD'S Word. To some it
is not at all easy to secure time for the morning watch, but nothing
can make up for the loss of it. But is there not yet a third class of
Christians whose failure lies largely in their not embracing the
promise and claiming it by faith? In each of these three ways failure
may come in and covenant blessings may be lost.
Let us now consider what are the blessings, the manifold happinesses
which faith is to claim when the conditions are fulfilled.
I. Stability.--He shall be like a tree (not a mere annual plant), of
steady progressive growth and increasing fruitfulness. A tree
planted, and always to be found in its place, not blown about, the
sport of circumstances. The flowers may bloom and pass away, but the
tree abides.
II. Independent Supplies.--Planted by the rivers of water. The
ordinary supplies of rain and dew may fail: his deep and hidden
supplies cannot. He shall not be careful in the year of drought, and
in the days of famine he shall be satisfied. His supply is the living
water--the SPIRIT of GOD--the same yesterday, today, and forever:
hence he depends on no intermitting spring.
III. Seasonable Fruitfulness.--The careful student of Scripture will
notice the parallelism between the teaching of the First Psalm and
that of our LORD in the Gospel of John, where in the sixth chapter we
are taught that he who feeds on CHRIST abides in Him, and in the
fifteenth that he who abides brings forth much fruit. We feed upon
CHRIST the incarnate WORD through the written Word. So in this Psalm
he who delights in the Law of the LORD, and meditates upon it day and
night, brings forth his fruit in his season.
There is something beautiful in this. A word spoken in season how
good it is; how even a seasonable look will encourage or restrain,
reprove or comfort! The promise reminds one of those in John about
the living water thirsty ones drink, and are not only refreshed, but
become channels through which rivers of living water are always
flowing, so that other thirsty ones in their hour of need may find
seasonable refreshment. But the figure in the Psalm is not that of
water flowing through us as through a channel; but that of fruit, the
very outcome of our own transformed life--a life of union with CHRIST.
It is so gracious of our GOD not to work through us in a mere
mechanical way, but to make us branches of the True Vine, the very
organs by which Its fruit is produced. We are not, therefore,
independent workers, for there is a fundamental difference between
fruit and work. Work is the outcome of effort; fruit, of life. A bad
man may do good work, but a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. The
result of work is not reproductive, but fruit has its seed in itself.
The workman has to seek his material and his tools, and often to set
himself with painful perseverance to his task. The fruit of the Vine
is the glad, free, spontaneous outcome of the life within; and it
forms and grows and ripens in its proper season.
And what is the fruit which the believer should bear? May it not be
expressed by one word--Christliness? It is interesting to notice that
the Scripture does not speak of the fruits of the SPIRIT, in the
plural, as though we might take our choice among the graces named,
but of the fruit, in the singular, which is a rich cluster composed
of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, etc. How blessed to bring forth
such fruit in its season!
IV. Continuous Vigour.--"His leaf also shall not wither." In our own
climate many trees are able to maintain their life throughout the
winter, but unable to retain their leaves. The hardy evergreen,
however, not only lives, but manifests its life, and all the more
conspicuously because of the naked branches around. The life within
is too strong to fear the shortened day, the cold blast, or the
falling snow. So with the man of GOD whose life is maintained by
hidden communion through the Word; adversity only brings out the
strength and the reality of the life within.
The leaf of the tree is no mere adornment. If the root suggests to us
receptive power in that it draws from the soil the stimulating sap,
without which life could not be maintained, the leaves no less remind
us of the grace of giving, and of purifying. They impart to the
atmosphere a grateful moisture; they provide for the traveller a
refreshing shade, and they purify the air poisoned by the breathings
of animal life.
Well, too, is the tree repaid for all that it gives out through its
leaves. The thin stimulating sap that comes from the root, which
could not of itself build up the tree, thickens in giving out its
moisture, and through the leaves possesses itself of carbon from the
atmosphere. Thus enriched, the sap goes back through the tree,
building it up until the tiniest rootlets are as much nourished by
the leaves as the latter are fed by the roots. Keep a tree despoiled
of its leaves sufficiently long and it will surely die. So unless the
believer is giving as well as receiving, purifying his life and
influence, he cannot grow nor properly maintain his own vitality. But
he who delights in the Law of the LORD, and meditates in it day and
night--his leaf shall not wither.
V. Uniform Prosperity.--"Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Could
any promise go beyond this? It is the privilege of the child of GOD
to see the hand of GOD in all his circumstances and surroundings, and
to serve GOD in all his avocations and duties. Whether he eat or
drink, work or rest, speak or be silent; in all his occupations,
spiritual, domestic, or secular, he is alike the servant of GOD.
Nothing lawful to him is too small to afford an opportunity of
glorifying GOD; duties in themselves trivial or wearisome become
exalted and glorified when the believer recognises his power through
them to gladden and satisfy the loving heart of his ever-observant
MASTER. And he who in all things recognises himself as the servant of
GOD may count on a sufficiency from GOD for all manner of need, and
look with confident expectation to GOD to really prosper him in
whatever he does.
But this prosperity will not always be apparent, except to the eye of
faith. When Chorazin and Bethsaida rejected our LORD'S message, it
needed the eye of faith to rejoice in spirit and say, "Even so,
FATHER; for so it seemed good in Thy sight." Doubtless the legions of
hell rejoiced when they saw the LORD of Glory nailed to the accursed
tree; yet we know that never was our blessed LORD more prospered than
when, as our High Priest, He offered Himself as our atoning
sacrifice, and bore our sins in His own body on the tree. As then, so
now, the path of real prosperity will often lie through deepest
suffering; followers of CHRIST may well be content with the path
which He trod.
But though this prosperity may not be immediately apparent, it will
always be real, and should always be claimed by faith. The minister
in his church, the missionary among the heathen, the merchant at his
desk, the mother in her home, the workman in his labour, each may
alike claim it. Not in vain is it written, "Whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper."
VI. Finally, let us notice that these promises are all in the
indicative mood, and, provided the conditions are fulfilled, are
absolute. There is no "may be" about them. And further, they are made
to individual believers. If other believers fail, he who accepts them
will not; the word is, "Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
THE CONTRAST.
"The ungodly are not so."
It is not necessary to dwell at any length upon the contrast. The
ungodly cannot enjoy the happiness of the child of GOD, for they
cannot carry out the conditions. They neither can, nor desire to,
avoid the counsel, the society, or the ways of their own fellows; and
they lack that spiritual insight which is essential to delighting in
GOD'S Word. Instead of being full of life, like the tender grain,
they become hard and dry; and the same sun that ripens the one
prepares the other for destruction. Instead of being "planted," the
wind drives them away; and He who delights in the way of His people,
causes the way of the ungodly to perish.
Blessed Adversity.