“Renewable Energy: Rooting for Yourself”
Psalm 1
Barb and I have discovered that where we plant a tree in our yard makes all the difference in whether or not it grows into maturity and productivity. This is so because some of our yard is good soil and some of it is thick clay; good soil works well for growing trees while clay does not. Psalm 1, similarly, is all about establishing roots in good soil.
The Psalmist paints a portrait of two lifestyles and the corresponding results. He establishes the fact the in life THERE IS A GREAT DIVIDE. The Continental Divide is an amazing place. At the Divide, raindrops can fall to the earth just inches apart but end up in oceans in opposite ends of the world. Where the rain drop falls makes all the difference in where it ends up. So it is with life; EVERY ACTION WE TAKE HAS CONSEQUENCES FOR WHERE WE END UP. The Old Testament is filled with this teaching. Deuteronomy 28 & 29 is the most explicit. God told the Israelites that if they would live a certain way, follow certain patterns of living, they would experience blessing and abundance. But if they did not live that way or follow those patterns, they would lack blessing and abundance. So the Psalmist concludes (6) “For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” THE ROADS WE WALK, THE RULES WE LIVE BY, THE SOIL IN WHICH WE PLANT OURSELVES ALL DETERMINE OUR FINAL DESTINATION.
Let’s look more closely at the teaching of the Psalmist. (3) “Whatever he (the blessed man) does prospers.” THERE IS A POSITION OF PROSPERITY. It is seen throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Genesis records the account of Joseph’s life. Even though Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, separated from his father, and imprisoned for doing the morally right thing we nevertheless read that “Joseph…prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.”(Gen. 39:2) Prosperity has to do with influence. Deuteronomy 28:11: “The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity – in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground…” It has to do with abundance for living. Jeremiah 17:6 tells us that the person who depends upon himself “Will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity (‘good’) when it comes.” It has to do with goodness. Similarly, Ps. 84:11: “For the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” It has to do with abundance and blessing.
So in Psalm 1 we find a strong connection between blessing and prosperity; in fact, they are interchangeable “Blessed is the man who…Whatever he does prospers.” And the word ‘blessed’ is plural: literally the Psalmist wrote that ‘many are the blessings upon the one who…’ PROSPERITY IS NOT RELATED TO WEALTH BUT TO WELL-BEING. PROSPERITY IS SPIRITUAL – IT PERTAINS TO THE SOUL. Prosperity is not primarily wealth, or money, or status, or popularity, or fame, or success; rather, prosperity has to do with a person’s wholeness – with a state of abundance, goodness, blessing, health, and security. Prosperity is spiritual – it pertains to the soul.
The second noteworthy feature of this picture of prosperity is that PROSPERITY COMES FROM A CENTRAL SOURCE. Psalm 1:6: “For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous…” How does He do that? Again, from the account of Joseph: “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.” Consider Moses’ words in Deuteronomy 28:11: “The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity – in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground…” The same chapter, verse 63: “…it pleased the Lord to make you prosper…” Jeremiah wrote (17:5-7): “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes…But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”
But how do we gain this state of prosperity? The Palmist shows that THERE IS A PATH TO PROSPERITY. Psalm 1:2 – “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.” To prosper we must have deep affection for and pay diligent attention to the law – the words, will, and revelations of God. This is precisely what Jeremiah told the Israelites (6:16): “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” The ancient path, the good way, was the law. The Psalmist says, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD…” The blessed prosperous man DELIGHTS IN THE WORD OF GOD. The year after I met Barb I was in Central College in Pella, Iowa. I had placed a picture of her on my desk. Every time I sat down to study or write a letter, her image was there. I thought about her, delighted in her, renewed my commitment to her. That picture of Barb kept her in my mind and ultimately kept her in my heart. Keeping the Word of God in focus will keep God in our hearts.
The Psalmist continued, “…on his law he meditates day and night.” MEDITATE ON THE WORD OF GOD. Meditate is a very figurative word. It pictures a cow chewing her cud. I’ve read that the cow has several compartments in her stomach. She can go out in the morning, graze on the grass when the dew is on it in the cool of the day. Then when it gets hot in the middle of the day, she lies down under a tree and begins to chew the cud. She moves the grass she had in the morning back up and now she masticates it, she goes over it again. That is how we are to meditate. We must not only meditate on God’s word at specific times of the day but what we read should be interwoven with the business and conversations throughout the day. We are to carry the words with us all day long. As the ancient scholar Jerome taught on this verse he said we must exercise day and night on the Lord. Some people are fitness buffs – they would not think of missing their daily work out. How are you when it comes to daily focusing on the Word of God?
Then the Psalmist said, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water…” This tree and water imagery would have been extremely meaningful to a wandering nation like the Israelites. Spending years in the desert lands they knew the vital, life sustaining importance of water. For a tree to bear fruit in those conditions there had to be a constant supply of water. But the Israelites also understood the spiritual imagery – to be planted by the water meant to PUT YOUR ROOTS DOWN DEEP INTO THE SOIL OF GOD. It was God from whom they drew their principles and upon whom they made their decisions; His Word was the charter by which they organized their lives, the constitution by which they lived. Through these roots flowed the rivers of grace, mercy, and forgiveness; it was to receive refreshment and renewal for living life.
Yet we must not miss the fact that in the Psalm THERE IS A PERSONALITY OF PROSPERITY. Psalm 1:3: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” First, prosperity is composed of PRODUCTIVITY. “…which yields its fruit in season.” When blessing is needed the prosperous person has an abundant supply and shares it. She is a constant blessing to others. As Leslie Brandt, in Psalms Now paraphrases this verse: “As the tree yields fruit, so his life manifests blessing for others. His life is productive and effective.” PROSPERITY IS NOT A MATTER OF HOW MUCH WE EARN BUT HOW MUCH WE SHARE, NOT HOW MANY GIFTS WE POSSESS BUT HOW MANY WE USE, NOT HOW MANY BLESSINGS WE RECEIVE BUT HOW MANY FLOW THROUGH US. Prosperity is productivity.
The second characteristic of prosperity is: STABILITY. “…whose leaf does not wither.” The prosperous person does not wilt in the heat of life, does not succumb in the midst of battle, does not give up in the middle of trials. Rather, because she has great strength, she BEARS FRUIT AND BLOOMS AT ALL TIMES AND IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. There will be patience in suffering, faith in the times of trial, humility in the time of prosperity, courage in the face of temptation, strength when difficulty arises, and witness when opportunity knocks. In other words, there will always be a ready supply of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – which just happens to be the fruit of the Spirit! The prosperous person is not conformed and chained to the accidents and misfortunes of life, but melts and molds the accidents and misfortunes into means of grace. Prosperity is stability.
The third characteristic of prosperity is: SERENITY. “Whatever he does prospers.” Those who are prosperous have an inner peace and security, a DEEP CONFIDENCE AND TRUST THAT GOD WILL USE WHATEVER THEY OFFER AND EXPERIENCE FOR GOOD. They see with their souls, not their eyes. The creed of the prosperous comes from Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, and who have been called according to his purpose.” The song of the prosperous is “It is well with my Soul.” All things which transpire are not good, but they are ultimately used for good in the divine purpose of God. As Morris Inch wrote in Psychology in the Psalms, “The Christian seldom understands the specifics or sees in detail the extent of God’s working, but he knows the joy of communion, and the confidence that life is a gratifying discovery of God’s purpose.” Prosperity is not a matter of what happens to us but what we do with what happens to us.
But there is one other significant element to the Psalm. The Hebrew word for man is not the neutral gender that allows us to replace it with the word ‘person.’ It refers to a specific male man. And when we realize that there is only one person who could ever live out this Psalm perfectly, we come to understand that THE PSALM IS POINTING AHEAD TO JESUS CHRIST. It is He who lives in perfect communion with our Father, He who delights in the Word of God, and He who prospers in all his ways – even, ultimately, in His death. And it is only in Jesus Christ that we can live this way. It is only as we put our roots firmly into Jesus Christ that we can rest in prosperity. So while we delight in and meditate on the Word of God, we do so only so we can come to know Jesus better and to deepen our relationship with Him. TO BE FILLED WITH THE WORD OF GOD IS TO BE FILLED WITH JESUS. Jesus said, “If you abide (continue, dwell, remain) in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (Jn. 8:31-32) “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (Jn. 15:4-8)
Is it any wonder Jesus issued that great invitation (Mt. 11:28-30)? "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah by saying HE IS THE ROAD, HE IS THE ANCIENT WAY TO REST AND PROSPERITY. HE WAS FULFILLING THE PSALM, AS HE IS THE LIVING WATER OF LIFE. Paul wrote (Phil. 3:4-8) “I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ…”
ARE YOU WILLING TO DISCARD EVERYTHING TO GAIN JESUS CHRIST? M. Scott Peck, in The Road Less Travelled wrote that he spent much of 9th summer on his bike. About a mile from house was a road with a very steep hill that ended with sharp turn at the bottom. One morning he was riding down the hill and felt the gathering speed to be ecstatic! Applying brakes and ending it seemed cruel so he tried to negotiate the curve at high speed. Here are his words: “My ecstasy ended seconds later when I was propelled a dozen feet off the road into the woods. I was badly scratched and bleeding, and the front wheel of my new bike was twisted beyond use from its impact against a tree. I had been unwilling to suffer the pain of giving up my ecstatic speed in the interest of maintaining my balance around the corner. I learned, however, that the loss of balance is ultimately more painful than the giving up required to maintain balance.” Are you willing to give up whatever is necessary to delight in and meditate on Jesus? Are you willing to discard everything to gain Jesus Christ?
Every action you take and decision you make has consequences for where you end up. Jesus is waiting to fill you with ever living water that never runs dry. But you must root for yourself – no one else will plant you. You must choose the soil for your life. You must choose it every day. All I can say is this: “Blessed is the man (whose) delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Begin right now to root yourself.
