Psalms 1:3

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,.... Or, "for then shall he be", c. as Alshech renders the words and the Hebrew "vau" is often used for "then" (q).

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.

And, or for, as this particle is oft used, as ; this being the proof of that blessedness of a good man, which he had only asserted, . By the rivers, i.e. a river; the plural number being put for the singular, as it is , and oft elsewhere. In his season, i.e. in the time of fruit-bearing; which being applied to the good man, notes either, 1. His active goodness, that he seeketh and improveth all opportunities for the doing of good, exercising godliness, justice, temperance, charity, patience, &c., according to the several occasions offered to him. Or rather, 2. His certain prosperity and happiness, as may be gathered from the end of this verse, and the opposite state of the ungodly, ,5; that he shall have the fruit or benefit of his godly life in due time, or when it is expedient for him; possibly in this life, but assuredly in the next life. His leaf also shall not wither; his happiness is not short and transitory, as all worldly felicity is; but fixed and everlasting, like those trees which are continually green and flourishing: or, and (like a tree) whose leaf never withers. Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper; all his actions shall be crowned with success, and a blessed end or effect: see .

Psalms 1:3 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.Ver. 3. And he shall be like a tree] An olive tree, say some, from Psalms 52:8, which is green all the year, saith Pliny; that in Noah’ s flood kept its greenness though it had been so long time under the water; and is, therefore, made an emblem of the resurrection. Others will have it to be the palm tree, from Psalms 92:12, which likewise is always green, and very fruitful. Plutarch saith that the Babylonians make three hundred and sixty commodities of it. The tree whereon the cocoa nuts grow in the Indies is said to be such as wherewith alone a ship may be built, and furnished to sea with food and merchandise. Let it be what tree it will that is here meant, if Plato could say that man is a tree inverted, with the root above and the branches below, and that he is φυτονουρανιον, a heavenly plant, γεγενημενονεκ Dιοςερνος, as another hath it (Homer); much more may we say so of a godly man, that plant of renown, rooted in Christ, and fruited by the Spirit, of a right constitution and righteous conversation, Galatians 5:25. See Jeremiah 17:8 Ezekiel 47:12. Planted by the rivers of water] In locis irriguis, in moist places, where most trees thrive best; understand it of those waters of the sanctuary, Ezekiel 47:12, together with those unfailing influences of grace and consolation that are in him, as a well of water bubbling up to eternal life, John 4:14. That bringeth forth his fruit in his season] There are no barren trees in God’ s orchard, and yet they may have their fits of barrenness, as an apple tree sometimes hath; but they will reflourish with advantage, as those Philippians did, Philippians 4:10 and bear fruit in the right season, Nec praecocem nec serum. Now everything is beautiful in its season, Ecclesiastes 5:11, and it was no small shame to Ahithophel, when it was told him by Hushai, the Archite, Thy counsel is good, but not now, 2 Samuel 17:7. His leaf also shall not wither] Heb. fade, for want of sap or safety from Christ the root; but as the olive or palm tree, semper in suo genere viret vigetque, retaineth its green leaf, and hath for its motto Nec premor nec perimor; so doth the good soul persevere and persist in the profession and practice of the truth which is after godliness, Titus 1:1, maugre the malice of earth and of hell. Of Tylos, an Indian island, Pliny and Austin say, That no tree therein growing doth at any time of the year lose their leaves (Plin. l. 12, cap. 11. Aug. de C. D. lib. 21, cap. 5). Certain it is that saving faith cannot be lost altogether, though it may suffer some decays, Isaiah 6:13.

(3) And he.—Better, So is he. For the image so forcible in an Eastern clime, where vegetation depends on proximity to a stream, comp. Psalms 52:8; Psalms 92:12; Isaiah 44:4; and its development in Jeremiah 17:7-8. The full moral bearing of the image appears in our Lord’s parabolic saying, “a good tree cannot bring forth corrupt fruit, nor an evil tree good fruit.” The physical growth of a tree has in all poetry served as a ready emblem of success, as its decay has of failure. (Recall Wolsey’s comment on his fall in Shakespeare’s Henry VIII.) Nor has the moral significance of vegetable life been ignored. “If,” says a German poet, “thou wouldest attain to thy highest, go look upon a flower, and what that does unconsciously do thou consciously.” In Hebrew poetry a moral purpose is given to the grass on the mountain side and the flower in the field, and we are taught that “there is not a virtue within the widest range of human conduct, not a grace set on high for man’s aspiration, which has not its fitting emblem in vegetable life.”—Bible Educator, ii, p. 179. For the general comparison of a righteous man to a tree, comp. Psalms 3:8 (the olive), Psalms 128:3 (vine); Hosea 14:6 (olive and cedar). Naturally the actual kind of tree in the poet’s thought interests us. The oleander suggested by Dean Stanley (Sinai and Palestine, 146), though answering the description in many ways, fails from its want of fruit to satisfy the principal condition. For, as Bishop Hall says, “Look where you will in God’s Book, you shall never find any lively member of God’s house, any true Christian, compared to any but a fruitful tree.” Probably the palm meets all the conditions best. (Comp. Psalms 92:12.) The last clause, “Whatsoever he doeth, it shall,” &c, is obscure in construction. The best rendering is, all that he doeth he maketh to prosper, which may mean either “the righteous man carries out to a successful end all his enterprises,” or “all that he begins he brings to a maturity.”

Verse 3. Like a tree planted] Not like one growing wild, however strong or luxuriant it may appear; but one that has been carefully cultivated; and for the proper growth of which all the advantages of soil and situation have been chosen. If a child be brought up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord, we have both reason and revelation to encourage us to expect a godly and useful life. Where religious education is neglected, alas! what fruits of righteousness can be expected? An uncultivated soul is like an uncultivated field, all overgrown with briers, thorns, and thistles. By the rivers of water] פלגי מים palgey mayim, the streams or divisions of the waters. Alluding to the custom of irrigation in the eastern countries, where streams are conducted from a canal or river to different parts of the ground, and turned off or on at pleasure; the person having no more to do than by his foot to turn a sod from the side of one stream, to cause it to share its waters with the other parts to which he wishes to direct his course. This is called "watering the land with the foot," Deuteronomy 11:10, where see the note. His fruit in his season] In such a case expectation is never disappointed. Fruit is expected, fruit is borne; and it comes also in the time in which it should come. A godly education, under the influences of the Divine Spirit, which can never be withheld where they are earnestly sought, is sure to produce the fruits of righteousness; and he who reads, prays, and meditates, will ever see the work which God has given him to do; the power by which he is to perform it; and the times, places, and opportunities for doing those things by which God can obtain most glory, his own soul most good, and his neighbour most edification. His leaf also shall not wither] His profession of true religion shall always be regular and unsullied; and his faith be ever shown by his works. As the leaves and the fruit are the evidences of the vegetative perfection of the tree; so a zealous religious profession, accompanied with good works, are the evidences of the soundness of faith in the Christian man. Rabbi Solomon Jarchi gives a curious turn to this expression: he considers the leaves as expressing those matters of the law that seem to be of no real use, to be quite unimportant, and that apparently neither add nor diminish. But even these things are parts of the Divine revelation, and all have their use; so even the apparently indifferent actions or sayings of a truly holy man have their use; and from the manner and spirit in which they are done or said, have the tendency to bear the observer to something great and good.

3. The consequent prosperity of the godly man is emblematically described. As a tree is nourished by constant supplies of water, without which under the burning Eastern sun it would wither and die, so the life of the godly man is maintained by the supplies of grace drawn from constant communion with God through His revelation. Cp. Psalms 52:8; Psalms 92:12; Psalms 128:3; Numbers 24:6. If a special tree is meant, it is probably not the oleander (Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p. 146), which bears no fruit; nor the vine (Ezekiel 19:10); nor the pomegranate; but the palm. Its love of water, its stately growth, its evergreen foliage, its valuable fruit, combine to suggest that it is here referred to. Cp. Sir 24:14; and see Thomson’s Land and the Book, p. 48 f. the rivers of water] Better, streams of water: either natural watercourses (Isaiah 44:4): or more probably artificial channels for irrigating the land. Cp. Proverbs 21:1; Ecclesiastes 2:5-6. and whatsoever &c.] Or, as R.V. marg., in whatsoever he doeth he shall prosper. The figure of the tree is dropped, and the words refer directly to the godly man. The literal meaning of the word rendered prosper is to carry through to a successful result. Cp. Joshua 1:8; and for illustration, Genesis 39:3; Genesis 39:23.

And he shall be like a tree - A description of the happiness or prosperity of the man who thus avoids the way of sinners, and who delights in the law of God, now follows.

3. Rivers of water—The word “rivers,” here, properly denotes lesser or divided “rivers,” such as proceed either from fountains, where moisture is naturally found in the dry season, (1 Kings 18:5,) or