It’s not all that complicated. Take some soil, add some fertilizer, throw in some seed, provide a little sunlight, and before you know it little green buds begin to show. Now of course, that may be a little insulting to farmers and gardeners. “There is so much more to it!” we can hear them exclaim . . . and they are right. There is far more to it. I’m not a farmer, but I do know that in order to have a good crop, a person must be aware of soil and seed quality, insects, weeds, diseases, and many, many other things. Nevertheless, in principle, without the countless potential obstacles, growing a garden or farming a crop is about cause and effect: place the seeds in the ground, water them, and God gives the growth.
The Basics
Psalm 1 is not interested in the endless number of challenges to growth. Psalm 1 is about the basics. Take a tree, plant it by an ever-flowing stream, even a river of life, and growth happens naturally. We know about the things that keep us from that stream: wickedness, sin, and scoffing (see verse 1). These are things that keep us in the desert. These are the things that bring death, and they are certainly listed in verse 1. Nevertheless, the heart of Psalm 1 centers on the basics. Life comes by means of Torah – the instructions for living, and keeping our minds in Torah is like setting ourselves beside a slow, steady stream.
We made comments regarding Torah in the previous post. Now in verse 3 we see the Torah’s effect. More than that, as Christians we begin to understand that something more is going on than the law of Moses or even a list of books (39 in the Old Testament and 26 in the New Testament). We see that True Torah finds itself in a Person . . . a Living Person. After all, pen and ink could never give life, but the steady flow of Jesus Christ brings life to all who drink. It is no accident that Jesus uses a similar image when He says,
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
Planted beside the Streams of water
So it’s not that complicated. Jesus is the vine in John 15, but He is also the streams of water in Psalm 1:3. Plant yourself beside Him. Even better, plant yourself in Him. Drink from Him. He promises life and He offers it in abundance.
So now the question becomes, where do you want to be planted? We’ll talk about that issue in our next post.