Planted to Prosper

Psalm 1:1-6

Happy New Year to all of you! Today, many of us are wondering what kind of year this will be. Well, we will live if we keep doing what we’ve always done—what we listen to, who we walk with, and where we plant our roots. Psalm 1 shows us that there are really only two roads: the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked; the way that is rooted, stable, and fruitful, and the way that is restless, empty, and blown around like chaff in the wind. This psalm is God’s invitation to us, right here at the start of the year, to choose where we will stand, where we will sit, and what we will delight in. Today, as an African American people who know something about storms, struggle, and survival, we’re going to hear how God promises deep, unshakeable blessedness to those who root their lives in His Word.

When you think of planting, no one could explain it better than our ancestors.  Our ancestors understood something about planting.  They worked land they didn't own, planted seeds they couldn't keep, and still managed to survive because they knew the power of good soil and deep roots.  They sang about it: "I shall not be moved, like a tree planted by the water, I shall not be moved."

But today, I'm not just talking about physical planting.  I'm talking about spiritual planting.  Where you plant yourself matters.  What you plant yourself in matters.  And who you plant yourself around matters. 

It's a wisdom psalm that serves as the introduction to the entire book of Psalms, calling readers to choose which path they will follow and warning that where you plant yourself and what you plant yourself in determines whether you will prosper or perish.

1. Particular about the People Around Me

Whose Influencing you?  David says this is who shouldn’t influence you.

· Don’t walk in the counsel, advice, or influence of the wicked

· Don’t stand in the way of sinners.  Be careful not to take the position of those who are sinful or wicked.  Don’t align, have allegiance with individuals who take stances that are unlike God or against God and his way. 

· Do not sit in the seat of those who are scoffers, mockers, or scornful.  These are those who mock God and his way. 

David says, Be careful because there is the progression of Walk, Stand, and Sit. 

What and who is influencing you? 

We are in the World, not of the world.  You cannot be Happy, favored and blessed when you connect with the wrong crowd. 

God has placed us in the world to present Christ to the world, not for us to become like the world. 

1 Corinthians 15:33 - "Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.'"

Proverbs 13:20 - "Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm."

Your company says much about your character.  But planted people are peculiar about who you are yoked up with.  I Corinthians 4 tells us not to be yoked up with unbelievers.  That word yoke means a device placed on animials to do as directed.  How can you be yoked up with someone who is going in the opposite direction as you.  The values are different, their heart is misaligned.  Be careful about the company you keep. 

2. Preoccupied with His Precepts

The text says, “But his delight is in the law of the Lor and in his law shall he meditate day and night. 

We are encouraged to be preoccupied with the word of God.  Don’t allow your attention to be drawn to the world’s counsel and the world’s wisdom. 

Palm readers, Worldly counsel! 

Are you getting advice from someone who doesn’t know Christ?  Why?

David tells us not to, but then says, Instead of getting caught up in the world’s way, delight yourself in the law of God.  Have you fallen in love with God’s word?  God's word ought to be your daily bread because you delight in it.  Because it’s your delight and desire it ought to be your daily consumption.

Psalm 119:16 - "I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word."

Psalm 119:24 - "Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors."

Psalm 119:35 - "Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight."

Psalm 119:47 - "For I delight in your commands because I love them."

Psalm 119:70 - "Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law."

Psalm 119:92 - "If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction."

Psalm 119:143 - "Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands give me delight."

Psalm 119:174 - "I long for your salvation, Lord, and your law gives me delight."

Jeremiah 15:16 - "When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty."

Job 23:12 - "I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread."

A. The One that Delights in the Word.

In contrast with the wicked, David says, “The blessed one delights himself in the law of the lord, and his law does he meditate day and night. "  Can you see the picture?  The contrast?  There are two ways:  Will you align with the world or the wicked?   This is a clear and emphatic statement.  The Blessed One delights, takes pleasure in the law of God.  Law of God, precepts of God, the word of God.  Don’t get caught up in allowing the world’s value system to influence you or dictate your life.  Our lives are a reflection of what has our delight. 

B. The Results of Delighting in the Word. 

He will be like a tree planted by the waters that brings fruit in his season. 

David gives us the image of one who delights in the word of God, with the image of a tree that has been planted along the water banks.  The tree is firmly and deeply rooted underground, and the streams that flow underground nourish and feed the roots, which in turn strengthen the tree and cause it to flourish and produce fruit.  God wants you to be planted

3. Prosperity for those who are Planted.

The text says that those who are planted, their leaf shall not wither, and whatever he does will prosper.  The psalmist says that when you are planted You are always in season.  Leaves wither in the fall and winter.  But even in your fall and winter season, your leaves will not wither. 

This means that no matter what season of life you are always in season.  And thos that are planted prosper in everything they do.  Why is this because their lives are guided and directed by the law of the Lord which is the word of God. 

When you delight in the word you choose the path that God has laid out in his word. 

Because I am planted, I will prosper.  To prosper is to find favorable progress, it means to be successful, effective, powerful. 

God told Joshua the same thing:

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”[1]

David closes this psalm by contrasting the results of the righteous and the wicked. 

The wicked are not like the planted!  The wicked are like chaff. 

Husks of winnowed grain or dried grasses, which were burned or left to blow away in the wind.  Chaff is dried grass that is not connected to anything.  The wind blows it away.  No sustainability, no success, no prosperity, no blessing.  The end of those who are not planted, the wicked, the unrighteous, is destruction. 

The wicked will be separated at Judgment.  They won’t be able to stand or hold their heads up. 

But the Lord knows the way of the righteous.  The word "know" is not just knowledge; it is a picture of intimacy.  God knows, protects, guides, and guards the righteous.  God takes care of the righteous. 

God will take care of you. God will see you through. 

The planted are prosper

The planted are protected

The planted are provided for

The planted are guarded

The planted are blessed

So, settle down and let God bless you and keep you.

[1]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Jos 1:8–9.