Psa 1:3 | KingComments | STEP | Here the believer, who is not open to sin ( ), but is formed by the Word of God ( ), 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 ( ; ). 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” ( ). 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” ( ). 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 fruit then begins to grow in circumstances favorable to that particular fruit ( ; cf. ) 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 ( ). 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 ( ). 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 ( ) 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” ( ). 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 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 ( ). And that work He did accomplish ( ). 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 ( ). 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” ( ). Prophetically, this fig tree is a picture of Israel (cf. ). Israel doesn’t bear fruit that the heart of God longs for ( ). 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 ( ). 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 ( ). Israel, however, still has a future. The branch of the fig tree will soften and the leaves will sprout ( ). 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” ( ). It is clear that in Psalm 1 we find a painting of the faithful remnant of Israel in the future ( ). The wicked are the unbelieving part of Israel on whom God’s judgment is coming ( ).

‏ 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; Lk 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” (Mt 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 fruit then begins to grow in circumstances favorable to that particular fruit (Psa 1:2; cf. Mt 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 (Jn 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 (Jn 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 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 (Jn 4:34). And that work He did accomplish (Jn 17:4 ; Jn 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 (Mt 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” (Mt 21:19b).

Prophetically, this fig tree is a picture of Israel (cf. Mt 24:32). 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 (Mt 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).