209. Blessed like a Tree
Jeremiah 17:7, 8 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
The Bible contains many, many promises of blessing. The condition for receiving blessing here is trust and hope. If you trust in the Lord and your hope is in the Lord you will be blessed. This common refrain induces us to believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit creates and increases our faith upon the very hearing of these words. We hear the Gospel; the Spirit gives faith in the Gospel; we have hope; and we are blessed.
The simile of blessing, used quite often, is that we are blessed like a well-watered tree. The blessed person is like a tree planted by the waters. The person who meditates on and delights in the Word of God is blessed “like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in it season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does he prospers. [Psalm 1:3].” This blessed tree spreads out its roots to the river. Heat and drought will not harm this tree. Its leaf will be green, and it will continually yield fruit.
Most people have seen and experienced the growth and health of a well-watered tree. Those trees that grow near a river or stream look green and alive. It produces leaves and fruit. The Lord uses this common image to encourage us to remain watered with the Word. Daily we remember our Baptism with repentance and faith; daily we spend time with God in the Word; daily we believe the Gospel; daily we commune with the Lord in prayer. The spiritual result will be blessing, health, life, fruit, and growth into the purpose for which we were created and redeemed.
The blessings of trust and hope in the Lord are precious. Hearing the Gospel often and living in the Word daily with repentance, faith and prayer yields such blessing. We have this promise so that we will strongly desire to give the Spirit (the water) an opportunity to work faith and hope into our lives. The tree is you and me; the water is the Spirit; the leaf and the fruit is my outward life. The blessing is life and health and every good. Heat and drought are the parched emptiness of this world. The nourishment of the Spirit sees me through and even strengthens me in times of heat and drought. In all that we do we prosper.