Two Paths

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither.” — Psalm 1:3

The very first psalm, Psalm 1, is like a doorway into the whole book of Psalms. And it’s about two paths.

“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked,” it begins, “or stand in the way of sinners, or sit with people who make fun of God.”

Notice how it goes: walking, then standing, then sitting. It’s as if someone starts by walking along with people who do wrong, then stops to stand with them, then sits down and makes themselves at home. Bad choices can slowly pull us further and further in.

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord,” the psalm goes on, “and he thinks about it day and night.”

The happy, blessed person loves God’s Word. They think about it all the time.

And then comes a beautiful picture.

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which gives its fruit at the right time, and its leaves never wither.”

Imagine two trees. One is planted right next to a river. Its roots go down deep into the wet earth, and it always has water, even in the hottest summer. Its leaves stay green, and it grows big, juicy fruit.

The other tree is planted in dry, dusty ground, far from any water. When the hot summer comes, its leaves go brown and fall off. It never grows any fruit.

The person who loves God’s Word is like the tree by the river. God’s Word is like water that keeps them strong and growing, even when life is hard.

“Not so the wicked,” the psalm says. “They are like chaff that the wind blows away.” Chaff is the dry, light husk around grain. When farmers threshed their wheat, the wind blew the chaff away, and it was gone. It had no roots at all.

“For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,” the psalm ends, “but the way of the wicked will perish.”

There are two paths, Psalm 1 says. One leads to life, and one leads to nothing. Proverbs says something similar: “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday” (Proverbs 4:18).

Every day, we choose which path to walk on.

Read it in your Bible: Psalm 1; Proverbs 4:18

Dear God, I want to be like a tree planted by streams of water. Help me to love your Word and think about it, so that I grow strong and give good fruit. Help me to walk on your path. Amen.