Hi there,
I thought you may enjoy this, as I did.
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Psalm 1:3
"He shall be like a tree
planted by the rivers of water."
Here, the similitude tells us that the man who meditates in God's word is planted and protected, just as a tree in a garden is cared for as a "tree of the field" is not.
Prov. 21:1
"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD,
as the rivers of water:
He turneth it whithersoever He will" -
ie., The King's heart, as the rivers of water, is in the hand of the Lord
The expression "rivers of water" is in the Hebrew (palgey mayim) ‘Palgey’ means - ‘divisions of‘. Palgey mayim is the technical term for the little channels, or gullies, of water which divide the Eastern garden into small squares of about 12 feet each, for purposes of irrigation. Hence the word is used for any little channel by which the water is distributed or divided, especially the channels which divide up a garden. It is used also of the trickling of tears. In Ps. 1:3 the man who meditates in the law of God is like a tree planted by ‘the palgey mayim‘, (ie., in a garden), where it will have a sure supply of water and the constant care of the gardener! Not left out in the plain to shift for itself: to thrive if it gets water, and to die if it does not!.
These little channels were filled by the gardener with water from the spring, or well, or fountain, which every Eastern garden must possess: and then the water was sent first into one channel, then into another, by the simple movement of his foot: "the land whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and waterdst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs" (Deut. 11:10). The gardener did not deign to use a tool, or to stoop down and use his hands. By simply moving the foot he dammed up one little stream, or by a similar movement he released the water in another. So,
"The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as ‘the palgey mayim’ (are in the hand of the gardner): He turneth it whithersoever He will."
The teaching of the passage then is that just as the little channels of water in a garden are turned about by the gardener by the simple movement of his foot, so the king's heart is as easily turned about by the Lord. "withersoever He wills."
Oh, how full of comfort for ourselves, for our friends, for our children, to know this, and to be assured of it!
"On that night could not the king sleep" (Est. 6:1). A sleepless night! The king's heart turned - the law of the Medes and Persians reversed - and Israel delivered.
Oh, how simple! Let us never again limit His almighty power - for it is almighty power that is required to turn the heart of man. We know how difficult it is to convince even a friend on the simplest matter of fact. But let us remember that the heart of even an Eastern despot is as easily turned by the LORD's mighty hand as the palgai mayim are turned by the simple movement of a gardener's foot.
Dr Bullinger
Praise God!
I thought you may enjoy this, as I did.
-----------------------
Psalm 1:3
"He shall be like a tree
planted by the rivers of water."
Here, the similitude tells us that the man who meditates in God's word is planted and protected, just as a tree in a garden is cared for as a "tree of the field" is not.
Prov. 21:1
"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD,
as the rivers of water:
He turneth it whithersoever He will" -
ie., The King's heart, as the rivers of water, is in the hand of the Lord
The expression "rivers of water" is in the Hebrew (palgey mayim) ‘Palgey’ means - ‘divisions of‘. Palgey mayim is the technical term for the little channels, or gullies, of water which divide the Eastern garden into small squares of about 12 feet each, for purposes of irrigation. Hence the word is used for any little channel by which the water is distributed or divided, especially the channels which divide up a garden. It is used also of the trickling of tears. In Ps. 1:3 the man who meditates in the law of God is like a tree planted by ‘the palgey mayim‘, (ie., in a garden), where it will have a sure supply of water and the constant care of the gardener! Not left out in the plain to shift for itself: to thrive if it gets water, and to die if it does not!.
These little channels were filled by the gardener with water from the spring, or well, or fountain, which every Eastern garden must possess: and then the water was sent first into one channel, then into another, by the simple movement of his foot: "the land whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and waterdst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs" (Deut. 11:10). The gardener did not deign to use a tool, or to stoop down and use his hands. By simply moving the foot he dammed up one little stream, or by a similar movement he released the water in another. So,
"The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as ‘the palgey mayim’ (are in the hand of the gardner): He turneth it whithersoever He will."
The teaching of the passage then is that just as the little channels of water in a garden are turned about by the gardener by the simple movement of his foot, so the king's heart is as easily turned about by the Lord. "withersoever He wills."
Oh, how full of comfort for ourselves, for our friends, for our children, to know this, and to be assured of it!
"On that night could not the king sleep" (Est. 6:1). A sleepless night! The king's heart turned - the law of the Medes and Persians reversed - and Israel delivered.
Oh, how simple! Let us never again limit His almighty power - for it is almighty power that is required to turn the heart of man. We know how difficult it is to convince even a friend on the simplest matter of fact. But let us remember that the heart of even an Eastern despot is as easily turned by the LORD's mighty hand as the palgai mayim are turned by the simple movement of a gardener's foot.
Dr Bullinger
Praise God!
