Trees for God’s Glory
Psalm 104:16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
The Scriptures mention trees hundreds of times throughout the Word of God. The Bible mentions: Palm, Willow, Lign-Aloe, Cedar, Olive, Fig, Pomegranate, Mulberry, Fir, Almug, Sycomore, Juniper, Apple, Frankincense, Myrrh, Teil, Oak, Shittah, Myrtle, Pine, Box, Cypress, Ash, Almond, and the Chestnut. Here in this Psalm the trees are said to be full of sap. The Lord created trees as living creatures upon the face of the earth. These trees were created for the benefit of mankind. They provide shade, shelter, heat, and food for man. Moses records the importance of the tree to man in Deuteronomy, “When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s life) to employ them in the siege.” The trees were even created to give pleasure to man. God created them pleasant to the eyes. The Lord records one purpose of the tree in creation, “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.” The purpose of the tree was to bring forth fruit. God then pronounced the tree, good.
Just as the life of the flesh is in the blood for man, so the life of the tree is in the sap. Without the sap, the tree will die. If a person was to wrap something around a tree, such as a cable or a rope, the tree through growth would eventually expand to where the tree would become choked for sap. This girdling process causes the tree to die. Without the life giving sap, there will be no growth. Without the nutrients from the sap, there will be no fruit.
As believers, we are called trees. We are planted to bring glory to God. John chapter fifteen describes the fruit bearing process of the Christian. It is God intention that we should bring forth fruit, yea much fruit, for His glory. In order to bring forth fruit, we must be full of the life giving sap. What is the sap of the believer? God’s Word is the life giving sap. I am commanded to be full of God’s Word. As this sap flows through me it is able to cause me to bring forth much fruit. (Psalm 1; John 15:7; Colossians 3:16) Neglecting God’s Word in the believer’s life will cause the tree to become dried up and withered. The fruit bearing process will cease. The sap for the believer is also in the strength of the Holy Spirit. (John 15, 16; Galatians 5; Ephesians 6) Being filled with the powerful sap of the Holy Spirit will cause the life to abound in fruitfulness to the glory of God.
Is my life choked out by the cable of this world? Is the sap of the Word of God flowing through me? I must be rooted in Christ, the Word of Christ, so that the power of the Holy Spirit can produce in me much fruit. (Colossians 2; John 15)
From the desk of Pastor David J. Smith