Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly,
Or stand in the way of sinners,
Or sit in the seat of pestilence;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And on his law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree planted by streams of living water.
Who is this “man” the Psalmist talks about? It is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Man. He it is who has entered the world and faced all its enticements and yet not succumbed to their evil. He is the second Adam. The First Adam was a man of the earth (1 Cor. 15:47), who went the way of the ungodly; but the Second Adam chose instead the law of God. The First Adam was the first in a long, long line of sinners; but our Second Adam was born in the way of sinners and yet did not succumb to the enticements of sin. The First Adam sat in the seat of pestilence, which spread to all—and the disease that spread was false doctrine, the lies of Satan, which “spread like a canker,” as the apostle says (2 Timothy 2:17); but the Second Adam is the only One who has not been trapped by this great line of sin. He alone can set us free from the dominion of sin and heal this deadly pestilence.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the one who delights in the law of the Lord. He is in the law, but not under it. Those under the law are slaves to the law, but the one who is in the law does not need the letter of the law, but obeys its true purpose. He meditates on it by day—which means in the good times—and by night—which means in the hard times.
And this Lord Christ is that Very Wisdom of which the Scriptures speak (Proverbs 8), who assumed our nature. He is the tree which brings forth life, like a spring of living water—the one who stood and said on the last and greatest day of the feast, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37). And those who live in him will bring forth fruit. By the sending of the Holy Ghost to the Apostles, and by the confirming of their faith in Him, and their mission to the world, He made the Churches to “bring forth fruit.” “His leaf also shall not fall,” that is, His Word shall not be in vain. For, “all flesh is grass, and the glory of man as the flower of grass; the grass withers, and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord abides for ever (Is. 40).
And whatever he does, he shall prosper” that is, whatever that tree shall bear; which all must be taken of fruit and leaves—both words and deeds.
Or stand in the way of sinners,
Or sit in the seat of pestilence;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And on his law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree planted by streams of living water.
Who is this “man” the Psalmist talks about? It is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Man. He it is who has entered the world and faced all its enticements and yet not succumbed to their evil. He is the second Adam. The First Adam was a man of the earth (1 Cor. 15:47), who went the way of the ungodly; but the Second Adam chose instead the law of God. The First Adam was the first in a long, long line of sinners; but our Second Adam was born in the way of sinners and yet did not succumb to the enticements of sin. The First Adam sat in the seat of pestilence, which spread to all—and the disease that spread was false doctrine, the lies of Satan, which “spread like a canker,” as the apostle says (2 Timothy 2:17); but the Second Adam is the only One who has not been trapped by this great line of sin. He alone can set us free from the dominion of sin and heal this deadly pestilence.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the one who delights in the law of the Lord. He is in the law, but not under it. Those under the law are slaves to the law, but the one who is in the law does not need the letter of the law, but obeys its true purpose. He meditates on it by day—which means in the good times—and by night—which means in the hard times.
And this Lord Christ is that Very Wisdom of which the Scriptures speak (Proverbs 8), who assumed our nature. He is the tree which brings forth life, like a spring of living water—the one who stood and said on the last and greatest day of the feast, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37). And those who live in him will bring forth fruit. By the sending of the Holy Ghost to the Apostles, and by the confirming of their faith in Him, and their mission to the world, He made the Churches to “bring forth fruit.” “His leaf also shall not fall,” that is, His Word shall not be in vain. For, “all flesh is grass, and the glory of man as the flower of grass; the grass withers, and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord abides for ever (Is. 40).
And whatever he does, he shall prosper” that is, whatever that tree shall bear; which all must be taken of fruit and leaves—both words and deeds.
No comments:
Post a Comment