12. The song now contrasts the condition of the righteous with that of the
graceless. The wicked “spring as
the grass,” but the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, whose
growth may not be so rapid, but whose endurance for centuries is in fine
contrast with the transitory verdure of the meadow. When we see a noble palm
standing erect, sending all its strength upward in one bold column, and growing
amid the dearth and drought of the desert, we have a fine picture of the godly
person, who in uprightness aims alone at the glory of God, and, independent of
outward circumstances, is made by divine grace to live and thrive where all
things else perish. The text tells us not only what the righteous is, but what
he will be; come what may, the good person will flourish, and flourish after
the noblest manner. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. This is
another noble and long-lived tree. On the summit of the mountain, unsheltered
from the blast, the cedar waves its mighty branches in perpetual verdure, and
so the truly godly person under all adversities retains joy of soul, and
continues to make progress in the divine life. Grass, which makes hay for oxen,
is a good enough emblem of the unregenerate; but cedars, which build the temple
of the Lord, are none too excellent to set forth the heirs of heaven.
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