A Tree By The River

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
Or stand around with sinners, Or join with mockers.
But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit in season.
Their leaves never wither and they prosper in all they do. (Psalm 1:1-3).


God puts a priceless premium on His word. He told Joshua that meditating and living by the word would lead to success and prosperity. The Bible says God has magnified His word above His Name. He also promises in Deuteronomy 28 that all kinds of blessings will come upon us and overtake us if we obey His word. The heart of God is inexplicably moved by obedience to His word. God blesses the obedient.

The Holy Spirit is reminding us in this Psalm that shunning sin and wickedness and delighting in God's word would cause our lives to be fruitful. Our lives would be like trees planted by streams of water (the banks of a river). Our leaves would never dry out and there would always be fruit from us. Everything we do would prosper!
The idea is that the power and blessings inherent in God's word would be continually released to uphold, nourish and flourish our lives.

Would you take this challenge of meditating and delighting in God's word? God's word is like a river. If you plant your life by the word of God, you will be like a tree planted by the river. Take God at His word. He is a Promise Keeper.


Prayer: Holy Spirit, please give me the grace to live obediently to my Father's word.
Help me to delight and meditate on it day and night. Amen