This well-known psalm contrasts the blessings that attend those who are obedient to the Lord with the judgment that awaits the ungodly. Though without ascription, it is widely considered to have been written by David, a man acquainted from boyhood with Hebrew culture and the natural environment of Israel.
It is part of the authentic Hebrew scriptures, that body of writing which the Lord Jesus referred to as ‘the Law and the Prophets’ (which Jews call the Tanakh, and which constitutes our Old Testament). Inspired by the Holy Spirit (Mark 6:36), the whole Tanakh speaks prophetically of Jesus (Mark 12:10-11) – including the Psalms (Luke 24:44). The Apostle Paul described the scriptures as “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16).
Psalm 1 opens with a description of the lifestyle of a godly person and its wellspring in the soul: “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night”. Notice that the law is not a burden for such a soul! Notice, too, that David does not say ‘the laws of the Lord’, focussing on regulations and prohibitions – rather, his delight is in ‘the law’, the ‘Torah’: the five books of Moses that range from the Creation account to the prospect of Messiah (Deut 18:15-18; cf. John 5:45-47).
In the third verse David illustrates the resultant blessings of such delight with a word-picture that is inspired by nature: “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water”. For most of us in the temperate climates of the English-speaking world, the most likely image that these words call to mind will be of trees on a riverbank, a common enough sight. Such an image, however, is not what David, from his Middle Eastern experience, had in mind, nor does his Hebrew expression support it.
Divisions of Water
In the land of Israel, trees along a riverbank are a relatively rare sight, with the exception of the banks of the Jordan. Israel’s general climate is characterised by winter rainfall and summer drought, making most of its watercourses seasonal rather than perennial. There are, on average, no days with meaningful rain from April to October. January is normally the wettest month, but even then, there are only a few thoroughly rainy days, usually yielding no more than 70mm (2.8 inches) in total (often less).
Furthermore, much of the landscape is underlain by permeable limestone, reducing runoff to streams even further. Hence, many channels, each known as ‘wadi’ in Arabic, or ‘nahal’ in Hebrew, remain dry for most of the year.
The English phrases ‘rivers of water’ (KJV, NKJV) and ‘streams of water’ (NIV, RSV, ESV) used in Psalm 1 are poor translations of David’s Hebrew. His phrase is ‘palgay mayim’, which literally means ‘divisions of water’. Such an expression runs counter to our experience of streams and rivers, which are normally confluent, with tributaries flowing together. David’s picture is thus one of irrigation channels, rather than rivers, distributing water in his ‘thirsty land’ (compare his experience in verses 1 and 2 of his 63rd psalm).
David’s phrase is ‘palgay mayim’, which literally means ‘divisions of water’
A Dry and Destitute Land
Travelling from Jerusalem down to Jericho is a spectacular experience, descending from some 2,500 feet above sea level to about 800 feet below through an increasingly arid landscape. The desert floor of the Jordan valley is bleak indeed. Hot, dry winds periodically scour the surface and moisture is very limited. Here are the “parched places in the wilderness”, the “uninhabited salt land” and the “heath in the desert” described in verse 6 of Jeremiah 17.
Jeremiah’s Hebrew word translated as ‘heath’ (KJV; ‘bush’ NIV) is a’ra’r, which also appears in Psalm 102 as a metaphor for the impoverished or destitute (the Lord “shall regard the prayer of the destitute [a’ra’r]”).
The 'Sodom Apple'According to Nogah Hareuveni, founder of the biblical landscape garden at Neot Kedumim (between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv), this Hebrew word also corresponds to the so-called ‘Sodom Apple’.1 My wife and I have seen that plant near the oasis of En Gedi: it is a small shrub that belies its appearance.
Its broad leaves appear as opposed pairs, angled as if they were the upturned palms of a person in prayer. Its fruits are green and plump - about the size of lemons – apparently appetising; yet inside are only dry seeds and silky filaments. It seems to be at prayer, but isn’t; it seems to have luscious fruit, yet would satisfy neither a hungry nor a thirsty traveller. The Bedouin call it ‘the cursed lemon’! What a picture of the ungodly of Psalm 1, and of our unregenerate condition!
Life-Giving Streams
Jericho, however, lives up to its reputation as the ‘City of Palm Trees’ (Deut 34:3): a green oasis in a desert place. A short distance from its centre lies ‘Elisha’s Spring’ (see 2 Kings 2:19-22). When I visited in 1984, copious water from it charged along in an artificial channel towards the orchards, where it divided again and again to irrigate a profusion of oranges, lemons and dates.
Elisha's Spring at Jericho, 1950sThis spring is the largest in the Jordan Valley, producing from a hidden source a staggering 1,000 gallons every minute and, as it divides and divides again, wherever the water flows it gives life! Here is a truly striking example of what David had in mind in his phrase ‘palgay mayim’. Maybe in antiquity he had seen a similar sight during his flight from Saul to En Gedi (1 Sam 23:29-24:22). Be that as it may, we find Solomon using the same picture to illustrate the sovereignty of God in Proverbs 21:1: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord like the rivers of water [palgay mayim] – he turns it wherever he wishes”.
Back to David, we find the same picture in Psalm 46, whose fourth verse declares, “There is a river whose streams [palgay] make glad the city of God”. Here in this physical reference to the hidden waters of the Gihon spring of Jerusalem, flowing to irrigate the King’s gardens in the Kidron Valley, we find spiritual assurance that God is a refuge with more than adequate provision for his people in times of trouble.
As it divides and divides again, wherever the water flows it gives life!
Transplanted Trees
Next, we turn to the trees beside these ‘divisions of water’ (Ps 1:3). They are not the mere result of happenstance plant growth, but are PLANTED – that is, deliberately established and positioned. Actually, the Hebrew word here, shathal, means ‘transplanted’ – taken from one place and transferred to another. Here is an indication of the sheer mercy of God, when we are taken from the wasteland of self and sin and, as Paul expresses it, “translated into the Kingdom of his dear Son” (Col 1:13, KJV).
David’s picture of transplanting appears indirectly in the Book of Isaiah where, in the 58th chapter, God promises, “The Lord will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land…You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail” (v11, NIV). It also features in the chapter from which Jesus read in the Nazareth synagogue, announcing its fulfilment in his anointed ministry and message: “…that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, so that he may be glorified” (Isa 61:3).
For a Purpose
So, now we abide, supplied by the streams of living water promised by Jesus in his great invitation: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37-38; cf. Isa 44:3; Jer 2:13).
And we abide where he has planted us – for a purpose. In David’s inspired picture, the trees are neither natural nor ornamental, but rather, fruit-bearing: “bringing forth its fruit in season, whose leaf shall not wither”, whatever the hot, arid conditions may dictate!
Jesus himself spoke on this theme on at least two occasions. Using a similarly agricultural picture, in explaining the Parable of the Sower to his disciples, he said, “The [seeds] that fell on good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). In the Parable of the Vine, Jesus taught that “he who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me [the fount of living waters!] you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Moreover, he says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (John 15:16). Lest we think the last phrase rather odd, as fruit remaining on a tree soon rots, John’s Greek word ‘meno’ (‘remain’) would be better translated as ‘continue’. Even better, as John uses the present continuous tense, as, ‘your fruit should be continual’.
Remember, too, God’s revelation to Isaiah: the planting of the Lord is so “that he might be glorified”. Here is the Lord’s purpose for each one of his disciples – including us.
Not only is David’s first psalm a picture of blessed assurance for the believer, it is a picture of purpose and challenge – a picture given even sharper focus by the words of the prophets and especially by the teaching of Jesus. How do we measure up to its challenge, day by day?
Notes
1 Desert and Shepherd in our Biblical Heritage (2nd ed, 2000), Neot Kedumim, pp69-72.
Unless otherwise specified, all Scripture quotes are from the NKJV.
