But lovely as is this portraiture of a man whose delight is in Jehovah's law, this is not the whole of what is presented here. "In His law doth he meditate day and night." This is the natural result of delighting in it; and by a happy reaction the result becomes, in its turn, a cause of increased and ever increasing delight. The more we delight in God's Word, the more habitually shall we meditate therein; and the more we meditate on God's Word, the more shall we delight therein.
Just as a man's speech or writing is the means or instrument by which he communicates his thoughts and makes known his feelings, so is God's Word the instrument or means by which He makes Himself known. Meditation is the means by which we, on our part, become possessed of that which is made known. In the case of a fellow creature—suppose I find all my happiness in keeping company with him, listening to his discourse; or, supposing him absent, in reading his letters or writings, poring over their contents, repeating them to myself and following out the trains of thought to which they give rise—clearly, in such a case, it is my delight in the speaker, or writer, my admiration of his character or abilities, my sympathy with his thoughts and principles and pursuits, my attachment to himself, which accounts for the delight I have in his writings and discourses. So if my delight is in the Word of God, and if in that Word I meditate day and night, it is because God Himself is known, loved, and delighted in. If it be then the secret of true happiness which is here unfolded to us, what is it but that God Himself alone suffices for the happiness of His intelligent creature, man?
"The LORD is my portion, saith my soul." "Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee." "The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup." Such breathings as these are the expressions of the counsel of the godly. Even as to the means of enjoying Him as our portion, other scriptures are not wanting. "Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage forever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart." Psalm 119:111. "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart." Jer. 15:16. See also Psalm 19:7-11, and the whole of Psalm 119.
The happiness attendant on the character and course of the godly man is described in verse 3—first under the figure of a tree, and then in literal terms. What a picture does the former part present! "A tree"—one of the loveliest objects in creation—a specimen of living beauty. "Planted"—not a wildling growing from seed scattered haphazard by the wind and alighting anywhere, but planted—some skillful eye discerning the suited situation, and some careful hand removing all obstructions to the future growth of the tree thus planted in a generous soil with every advantage of watchful culture that could be bestowed upon it. "By the rivers of water," and not dependent, therefore, on the fitful shower, though profiting by it whenever it falls A river at the roots, this tree is secure from drought. What a representation of the man who depends not for happiness or usefulness on any creature supplies, who leans not on an arm of flesh, but trusts in the living God, and finds all his springs in Him! "That bringeth forth his fruit," and "in his season" too.
So the godly man—active when in health and vigor, patient and resigned when sickness compels retirement, firm when firmness is required, yielding and submissive when it is for God's glory that he should be so—he "bringeth forth his fruit in his season." "His leaf also shall not wither." Instead of any decay in his profession—that which man's eye sees as the leaf in the tree—that profession is sustained in ever fresh and changeless vigor and consistency by the life from which it springs. "And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Such is the literal statement of the blessing from God which attends the godly man.
"The ungodly are not so." Entirely contrasted in character, whatever prosperity they may have for the present, it is short lived, and they themselves like "the chaff which the wind driveth away." Think of the difference between the tree planted by the rivers of water, and the chaff which the wind driveth away! It is only till the judgment that the wicked can be supposed to prosper; but the judgment is sure, and "the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous." They are mingled together now, however different in character; dwelling in the same city, perhaps under the same roof, sitting at the same table, or sleeping in the same bed. But judgment will distinguish accurately between the one and the other. And mark well, there is no hint here of the translation of saints to heaven, such as we are now taught to expect at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. This was a mystery never revealed till apostolic times, when redemption had been accomplished, and the Holy Ghost had come down.
This is our hope as Christians; while on the other hand, the judgment treated of in the first psalm, and throughout the Psalms, is a judgment by which the wicked are removed, and the righteous left as Jehovah's congregation on the earth. It is the judgment of Luke 17:24-37, Matt. 24:37-41, and numerous scriptures besides in which we read of the wicked being taken, and the righteous left. Meanwhile, "The LORD knoweth" (both discerns and approves) "the way of the righteous"; "but the way of the ungodly" (however seemingly successful now) "shall," in the time of judgment, surely "perish."
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