"Blessed is the man, who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked... He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither."
The man, who makes the commitment to delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night, is sustained by streams of life and grace that flow from the Holy Spirit. This life-giving grace endues him and makes him grow, aspiring towards virtue and communion, like the spreading branches of a tree, with its leaves reaching towards the light.
Such a man yields his fruit in his proper season, the season ordained by God. We should not grow discouraged and disspirited because we do not see growth in ourselves, or the fruit of our efforts, because God alone knows the proper fruit for his tree and the proper season for that fruit.
After all, it is not that the follower of Christ merely grows nearby springs or streams of water. No, he is PLANTED by the streams of the Spirit of God, and draws his whole life from the friendship of God.
Lastly, because of the life his receives, "his leaf does not wither." His aspirations to greater and greater growth in virtue and communion are not frustrated, but the Lord carries him by ever-increasing degrees.
From glory to glory we advance, praising the Salvation of our souls: Father, Son and Spirit, now and evermore. Unto ages that never end, we praise the Salvation of our souls. --the Divine Liturgy of St. James of Jerusalem.
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