And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Tree planted by ... waters - alluded to in Jeremiah 17:8, the prophet thereby sealing the inspiration of the Psalmist. Not accidentally growing there, but "planted" by the heavenly Husbandman (Psalms 80:8; Matthew 15:13) in His electing love (Isaiah 60:21; Isaiah 61:3).
Rivers - palgee; literally, 'divisions:' the Eastern mode of watering trees in a garden being by dividing the water from the cistern or well in the midst into rivulets, to run along the rows of trees, and so, in the absence of rain, provide a constant artificial supply for irrigation.
His fruit - its proper fruit (cf. Revelation 22:2). A special beauty of the believer's fruits of righteousness is, they are not only good in themselves, but also are in season (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11; contrast Matthew 21:19).
His - its.
Leaf - not only the fruit of the believer, but even the leaf has its beauty and its use (Ezekiel 47:12; Revelation 22:2). Even the minor exhibitions of his character are perfect after their kind, and his smallest undertaking is blessed: as explained in the next clause.
Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. So the English version rightly (Maurer and Hengstenberg). In this fourth member there is a transition from the tree to him whom it represents. The parallelism is sufficiently maintained by the correspondence between the image and the thing represented-namely, the godly man. The tree's leaf (in the third member of the parallelism) answers to "whatsoever he (the godly man) doeth," even his most minute and ordinary acts (in the fourth member); "not wither," to "prosper." Joseph realized this picture (cf. Genesis 39:3-4, from which the language here seems to be drawn). DeBurgh prefers, on the authority of the Targum, 'whatever it (the tree) produceth shall flourish.'