FollowBy Bill Naron
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 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. (Psalm 1:1-3, KJV)
I absolutely love this verse, and I loved hearing Pastor Martin use it in his sermon on Sunday. I listened to the sermon Monday while my children were taking a nap. Following the sermon, I began to reflect upon this scripture. I was intrigued by the word meditation. When I see this word, the first thing that I think about is being quiet and reflective. But when we look closely at the scripture here, we see that they who meditate day and night become like a tree planted by rivers of water.
It is interesting to me that this is the idea presented by the psalmist. See, roots have this natural ability called hydrotropism, which is the roots’ ability to seek out and grow toward the water for nutrients and sustenance. This was where I found this to be so intriguing. Meditating is not just being in a quiet and prayerful, reflective state; the psalmist seems to be giving us this active meditation, an action that actively seeks sustenance for growth and fruitfulness.
I would say that in this Psalm we are seeing this idea which is like Psalm 42:1, where it says the psalmist’s soul longs after the Lord. See, I believe that while there is an appropriateness to sitting in solemn reflection upon the words of God, there are so many portions of scripture that equate the words of God to our sustenance, relating it to food and water.
The tree in this passage above was not fruitful and did not grow without action—the roots of the tree sought after the water. The root system had to move toward the water in order to draw out nutrients to help the tree grow and bear fruit. In the same way, you and I cannot just sit around and listen to the words being preached. We have to seek out the ways of Jesus. We have to consume the water of God’s Word, allowing it to penetrate into the roots of our lives, into our heart and soul. Meditation in this passage and in most cases is an activity we are called to participate in.
In Deuteronomy we are told to post the statutes of God on our doorposts and to basically saturate our homes and families with them. It is this same idea I feel is present in the psalmist’s mind when he is writing this passage. Meditating on these words is so important, I find rest and I find sustenance in them at all times. The words are on my lips and saturated into my life because I cannot get enough of the water that I am next to. And this is causing me to be transformed from the inside out, allowing our will to be changed from self-serving to God honoring, allowing us to have life that looks for ways to bring glory to the Father. This is the point at which we begin to become like this tree planted by rivers of water, the Word of God that gives life to all. We become fruitful.
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