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A Tree Planted by the Rivers of Water, Psalm 1:3

An old tree grips the rocky bank of a stream with its roots, its crown full and green, beneath the image the Psalter chose for its very first page.

Roots in the riverbank

The trunk is thick and twisted, splitting into several strong limbs that carry a wide, rounded canopy of yellow-green and olive leaves. At the base, pale roots spread over the ground and curl around mossy boulders, reaching toward the water.

The stream runs from the hills in the background, spills over a small ledge of stones in a white froth and flows past the bottom of the picture. Soft hills and a few bushy trees fill the distance under a light sky. The verse above is set in brown handwriting: “he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water”.

Why does the Book of Psalms begin with a tree?

Psalm 1 is the doorway to all 150 psalms. It contrasts two ways of living. The blessed person does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly; instead, as verse 2 says in the King James Bible, “his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Verse 3 then shows what that looks like from the outside.

The full line continues: “that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” The Hebrew word behind “planted” suggests being transplanted on purpose, and “rivers of water” can mean irrigation channels. In a dry land, a tree beside a channel was one someone had chosen to put there. By contrast, the psalm compares the wicked to chaff, blown away by the wind.

Jeremiah 17 uses almost the same picture for the person who trusts in the LORD, a tree whose roots go down to the river and who does not fear when heat comes.

For a pastor or a baptism

Pastors, teachers and elders often receive this verse, since meditating on Scripture day and night is their work. It makes a thoughtful gift for an ordination, a pastor appreciation Sunday or a retirement from ministry. For a baptism, the tree beside the water speaks for itself. Its greens and soft blues suit an office, a library or a quiet reading room. Some also give it to a graduate or a young couple, as a picture of the steady, well-watered life the psalm describes, one that keeps bearing fruit year after year.

Read Psalm 1 and what it means