Pastor Tom Johnson, September 4, 2022
Psalm one is a wisdom psalm. It celebrates the happiness and joy that flows from being rooted in the Word of God. “Oh the happiness…oh the blessedness of those” who do not do certain things. Wisdom helps us navigate this world by avoiding its pitfalls. We cherish and preserve happiness and blessedness by not walking in evil counsel, by not lingering in sinful paths, by not sitting among mockers. It is foolish to walk, stand, or sit as the world does. It is not healthy to follow those around us without reflection. Wisdom calls us out of foolishness. Wisdom rescues us from meaninglessness. Wisdom delivers us from evil. But just like all temptation—anytime the world, our fallen nature, and evil try to seduce us, it is not enough to simply stop engaging in unhealthy behavior. We need direction away from the negative but also direction toward the positive. We need to stop being poisoned but, even more importantly, we need God’s medicine.
Wisdom calls us. But God does not just tell us about wisdom. He leads us to wisdom. He softens our hearts. He opens our minds. And he does so through his Word and his Holy Spirit. “Oh the happiness…oh the blessedness of those” who delight in the Word of God—who meditate on God’s teaching day and night. This meditation can be translated as musing. That is to say, as we reflect on God’s truth, we savor his Word. And we do so day and night. We do so while we live, we work, and rest on our beds. We let the Word of Christ dwell richly within us, as Scripture says. The Word percolates into our consciousness and unconsciousness. We joyfully reprogram our minds by “holding every thought captive to the Word of God.”
We could call this Christian mindfulness. We don’t just clear the hard drive of our brains and remove a harmful virus or malware. We upload God’s operating system and software. This is what our minds are engineered for: God’s Word. This is not just mere work—this is delight. “Oh the happiness…oh the blessedness” the psalmist says, of those who receive the Word, let it ferment and grow in our hearts and minds, and stay connected to the Word throughout the day. We do this when we hear Scripture in public worship, have daily devotions at home, sing hymns and songs in the shower, reflect on God’s Word during our commute, ponder God’s truth as we walk, go on a bike ride, run, or work out. When we relish God’s Word throughout out daily and nightly routines, we have all the time in the world. We treasure it in our hearts no matter what our activity is. We savor it in our minds—whether we are wide awake or sound asleep. We will be “like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; everything we do will prosper,” our psalm says. We are God’s trees planted by streams of water.
We are part of God’s orchard. God is the horticulturist who puts us in a place where we will be nurtured. God uproots us from fallow ground and plants us in fertile soil. The Word of God is living and active. It flows down the rock picking up minerals. The Word seeps and flows through fungi picking up sugars and other nutritious material on its way to our root system.
Most root systems are 50% more extensive than the tree we see above ground. This subterranean network is hidden but essential. Just like the subconscious mind rooted in the Word, so this subterranean delivery of nutrients keeps us spiritually alive. God uproots us from a waterless and word-less wasteland. He plants us exactly where we will thrive and grow. Wisdom tells us to plunge our roots deep into the Word. Joy and praise cause us to spread our roots and branches deep and far.
The first church I served was in El Paso, Texas. I remember flying into that high elevation desert for the first time. All I could see out the plane’s window was what looked like a lunar landscape—no trees—just brown peppered with dry shrubs. I was looking for the Rio Grand River. It’s not that wide of a river so it is hard to see. You find it by the green trees on it’s banks. You see the river flowing out as far as the eye can see. One of the world’s largest pecan orchards is there planted by water that flows from the Rocky Mountain heights.
As God’s trees, we bear fruit in due season. Trees that have been nourished by the Word gather up its strength and resources for a year—maybe several years. The flowers bloom to reveal their beauty. Bees, hummingbirds, and other creatures come to drink the nectar and pollinate to multiply. The flower slowly dies and, in its place, the fruit of the Word rises. This fruit of the Holy Spirit is for the feeding of the nations—all creatures great and small are blessed by this food chain that begins with the trickle of God’s Word flowing from his mountain toward the roots of his trees.
“Oh the happiness…oh the blessedness,” the psalm writer says, of those who are rooted in God’s Word—whose health and vitality do not wither nor decay—who provide encouragement, health, and joy to the world around them. This is not just God’s vision of who we are—an orchard of thriving trees. This is who we are—and whose we are: God’s trees planted by streams of living water.
We are like another Tree God planted—the eternal Word sent from his heavenly throne to become flesh—springing from the root of Jesse—the Tree of Life with the River of Life flowing from him to his garden and orchard. The fruit of this Tree is forgiveness, life, and salvation—for the healing of the nations. From the tree of the Cross we also find the death of death and the end of winter. And from deep within the roots of the earth he rises to bring eternal springtime, harvest, and to make all things new. In a few moments, we will receive the fruit of that Tree—the Body and Blood of Jesus. The fruit of the Gospel heals our souls and strengthens our spirits until that day he takes us from this fallow world and plants us in Paradise. We will enter endless joy and blessedness. We will be planted beside the River of Life that flows from his eternal throne. We will be with Jesus, the Tree of Life forever.
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