Psalm 1:3 – “that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
This Psalm speaks about two groups of people: friends of God, who he calls righteous and enemies of God, who we call godless. The wicked who live in disobedience to God’s law are like the chaff – worthless and without substance – which the wind blows away or they go with whatever comes in their life. They will be punished during the judgment. Lord knows and approves the way of the righteous which is His path; not the road of the wicked, which leads them to perish in Hell.
As friends of God, we are blessed that means fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God. Friends of God do not:
- Do what the godless say – walk as the godless suggest i.e. follow their advice and example
- Go where sinners are – stand in the path with the sinners
- Scorn what God teaches – sit with the people who scoff at God
Instead, they like the Lord and His precepts and teachings. They meditate on God’s law, day and night. They are like trees which are firmly planted (in their faith) by streams of water (in God) so they cannot be blown away by the wind (of the wicked) or washed away because of loose planting (in lukewarm faith). They are fed by the streams of water and therefore yield their fruits (of faith) in due season as prescribed by God. Their leaves do not wither like a short-term gain followed by loss; in fact, in whatever they do, they prosper and thus come to maturity.
We must strive to be like the tree by a river with a continual source of water in Christ that will never wither away because it is always gets what it needs. This tree is strong and stable because it sinks down deep roots in Christ.
We will bear fruits of the Spirit in due season because the fruit comes naturally from this tree, because it abides in a life-source, Jesus. Some get discouraged when their fruit is not immediately evident. We need to wait patiently and obediently until our fruit comes in its season. Trapp said there are no barren trees in God’s orchard.
Brown, dead, withered leaves are signs of death and dryness. We will have “leaves” that are green and alive.
We may not have all things to make us rich and comfortable. But, God brings something good and wonderful out of everything, including tough circumstances, something that will prosper.
If we are constantly needy, it may be a good time to examine if we are planted by the rivers of water or not. We can repent and go back to repeating the words from the Bible, drink the water that God offers to bring us new life, bring our fruit of good works to God, stay strong in faith in times of trouble and thus please God.
