Stability and Vitality in the Word | Psalm 1:3–4
3 He
is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not
so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
The stress and urgency of life pushes us in different
directions. Here, though, we see a stout
life in the man eschewing worldly wisdom and meditating upon God’s Word. What can we glean from the contrast of these
two verses?
The text gives us a sense of immobility in verse three—the
righteous is not becoming like a well-established
tree but presently is one. The righteous didn’t start off being by the streams,
but the Lord planted him there. These
waters are God’s Word, and they give the righteous life. Consider Jer 17:7–8, which similarly
describes “the man who trusts in the Lord” as “a tree planted by water, that
sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its
leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not
cease to bear fruit.”
By contrast, verse four shows the insecurity of the wicked. They are not rooted in God’s Word, so the
wind of desire and worldliness carries them as easily as chaff. Even believers, like children, can be driven
about by every wind of doctrine and must become mature in Christ (Eph 4:14–15). As for the unbelievers, Jesus warned, “Every
plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up” (Mt 15:13).
Is your lack of
vitality a sign of spiritual distress? Jesus,
citing the Law, says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4).
He says in John 6:27, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for
the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.” There’s a prosperity of the soul that comes
through Scripture, because the life of the Holy Spirit produces fruit (Gal
5:22–25). The soul in Christ should find
peace.
Do you know Christ? If so, could your stress indicate your lack
of satisfaction with the steams of His Word?
Prayerfully find His Word sufficient and filling, that your soul may
thrive and find stability.
