A Tree Planted by the Water: What we can learn from trees about spiritual life.

(From a sermon by the Rev. Jeremy F. Simons, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, August 23, 2015)

The very first psalm has this beautiful metaphor for a spiritual person:

“He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, which brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psalm 1:3).

One of the things that people love about living in Pennsylvania is the abundance of trees. The maples, oaks, ash, beech, sycamores, apple trees and cherry, white pine, hemlock, cedars, willow and dogwood that we all see on a daily basis are an important and beautiful part of our environment.

It is interesting how frequently the Word compares people to trees, with hundreds of references in the Old and New Testaments. The Writings say:

“The representative likeness that exists between a fruitful tree and a person who is being regenerated is so great that one may learn from a tree about regeneration, provided that something is known first about spiritual good and truth.” (Arcana Coelestia 5115).

People are also compared with various animals and birds, from sheep and goats, to eagles and doves, lions and serpents. But none of these come up as frequently as trees do, and there is no statement similar to this about any animal – that we can learn from a tree about regeneration. What can we learn about regeneration from trees?

One example of what we can learn is the explanation of the passage above, from Psalm 1, and this similar one, from the prophet Jeremiah:

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river.” (Jeremiah 17:8).

At one level, the message of these verses is so obvious and clear that they hardly need an explanation. But the details of the message do have aspects that are not so obvious, and which tell us about regeneration by comparing our lives with the lives of trees. There is a double comparison in these verses. A person is compared with a tree, and a blessed person is contrasted with the wicked.

Let's look closely. The passage from Jeremiah begins this way:

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17:8)

Another translation, by the British New Church composer C. J. Whittington renders it this way:

“Blessed is the man who confideth in the Lord, and the Lord is his trust.”

The word that has been translated as “trust”, “hope” and “confideth” is the same Hebrew word, referring to the idea that a good person places their confidence in the Lord, relying on Him, believing in Him and obeying Him.

The parallel verses in Psalm 1 expand on this same idea:

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1

Here the Psalmist is describing trust in the Lord.

In Swedenborg's work, The Apocalypse Explained, he notes why the Psalm mentions walking, standing and sitting:

“Here the expressions "to walk," "to stand," and "to sit," are used as following one another. For "to walk" pertains to the life of thought from intention, "to stand" to the life of the intention from the will, and "to sit" to the life of the will, thus it is life's being [esse].” (Apocalypse Explained 687).

In other words, someone who does not walk, stand, or sit in evil ways and intentions is someone who trusts in the Lord. This trust is then specifically described as his delight being the “law of the Lord,” in which he meditates day and night. This is an important addition, because “trusting in the Lord” can be taken as an attitude of passive acceptance rather than a life of active obedience. The Psalmist makes it clear that the Lord is the source of our direction in life. We gain access to Him through His Word and doing as it teaches.

This, then, sets up the comparison with a tree, and gives us an idea about what it teaches us about regeneration. In Jeremiah, the next sentence is this:

“For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river.” (Jeremiah 17:8)

And in the Psalm:

“He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.” (Psalm 1:3)

We find similar imagery in many places in the Word, such as in Balaam’s prophecy in Numbers:

“How lovely are your tents, O Jacob!

Your dwellings, O Israel!

Like valleys that stretch out,

Like gardens by the riverside,

Like aloes planted by the Lord,

Like cedar trees beside the waters.” (Numbers 24:5-6).

The beautiful imagery of a tree by a river is the key to the appeal and brilliance of this whole series.

Sometimes it may seem as though the Word’s persistent comparisons of people with trees are less apt than comparisons with animals would be. Trees lack mobility, body parts such as legs and heads, and anything even resembling free will. But what trees do have are roots. The concept of tree roots is especially valuable as something that teaches us about regeneration. Roots are a tangible representation of something that is intangible with us.

The tree stands by itself as a seemingly autonomous life form. But beneath the surface its roots invisibly form a connection with the moisture and the minerals that sustain it. The tree is beside the river, seemingly apart from it, but its roots join it to the source of its life.

All of us are similarly connected to the Lord as our source of life. But this connection is invisible, intangible, difficult to understand, and easy to deny or simply forget about. We are all seemingly autonomous, standing apart on our own, like a tree. The imagery of tree roots, however, reminds us of our utter dependence on the Lord. We are told that,

“There is one only fountain of life, from which all live both in heaven and in the world… Life from the Lord flows in with angels, spirits, and people, in a wonderful manner.” (New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine 278)

This goes on continually, and,

“Unless the Lord were preserving everybody in every fraction of a moment, humanity would perish.” (Arcana Coelestia 694)

This may be hard to understand and accept on a moment to moment basis, because the appearance of our independence and self-life is so strong. The idea that He is sustaining us every instant can seem beyond us. But we are told that,

“The chief of the wisdom and intelligence of the angels consists in perceiving and knowing that the all of life is from the Lord.” (Arcana Coelestia 4318)

This is why the comparison with a tree is so appropriate and useful. So much depends on a tree’s source of nutrients and water. Similarly in our lives everything depends on our connection with the Lord. The Writings describe this as the issue with atheism:

“People who cut themselves off from the church and from heaven by denying the existence of God close their inner selves on the side of the will and shut themselves off from its positive love.” (True Christianity 14)

It is not something that is apparent to us. The real connection, though, is not so much about our ideas as about what we love:

“The order is this: From the Lord comes everything heavenly… That which is heavenly is love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor. Where there is no love, the chain is broken and the Lord not present. For He flows in solely by way of that which is heavenly, or by way of love.” (Arcana Coelestia 1096)

If we lack this love, then, we compromise our connection with the source of life. Since we have this love by obeying the Lord’s Word, the person who is like this tree is one who loves the law of the Lord, and lives by it. He is the tree, according to the Psalmist,

“That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psalm 1)

And again, in Jeremiah:

“And he shall not fear when heat comes; but his leaf shall be green, And he will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will he cease from bearing fruit.” (Jeremiah 17)

Everything here depends on the stability and reliability of the source. This stability affects three things noted in these verses: our anxiety or fear, our leaves, and our fruit. Each one is important. No one likes to be anxious. Drought conditions cause a lot of anxiety about dying crops and wildfires. Even in a drought, however, a tree planted by a strong river will do well. Similarly, a person who has a strong confidence in the Lord, based in a loving and useful life, is connected to Him. The connection will better enable them to bear up under difficult circumstances, and not be overcome with anxiety.

Just as important as our state of anxiety is the state of our leaves. Are they withered? Are they green? The leaves are the things that a person knows, and the fact that they are green means that they are “made alive by truths” (Apocalypse Explained 481). Our connection with the Lord enables us to recognize the truth, and our trust in the Word as the source of truth gives us access to it.

Then, finally, the fruit, the purpose of this whole process, is the happy result. Trust in the Lord benefits everything. Both the Psalmist and Jeremiah call this person “blessed” but the word “happy” works just as well, being the same word both in Hebrew and Greek. This is how to have a happy life.

Both Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 17 also describe the opposite scenario – the person who is cursed and unhappy. They trust in themselves, or in other people, and struggle like a shrub in the desert, or like the chaff which the wind drives away.

There are numerous other parallels between our spiritual life and lives of trees, but we will mention just one more aspect of the comparison. This is that while it may seem that the things said about trees are just a pleasing illustration, their reality and importance are greater than we would think.

In a passage from the Coronis, we read that people are like trees, and that in the course of their life they repeatedly bring forth the spiritual equivalent of flowers, fruits, seeds, and from them more flowers fruits and seeds, on and on, over and over again. The actions of their life, therefore, surround every person with their own unique spiritual garden – a garden made up from everything that they have thought and done over the course of their life. The passage then says:

“And if you are willing to believe it, that same garden remains with the person after death; he dwells in it, and is delighted daily with the sight of it, and with the use of its fruits. It is such a person who is described in David by these words: He shall be like a tree planted beside the rivers of waters, which shall bring forth its fruit in its season, and its leaf shall not fall.” (Coronis 7)

In other words, the garden is real. It is not just words on a page. The tree planted by the water is there in your life, and becomes visible in heaven.

Finally, the Lord came into the world to create this garden and to raise these trees. We need to trust in Him. He said in Isaiah:

“The LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted; …that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61)

687. And the four and twenty elders, who sit before God upon their thrones.- That this signifies the higher heavens in light and power from the Lord to separate the evil from the good before the day of the Last Judgment, which is shortly to come, is evident from the signification of the four and twenty elders, as denoting the higher heavens (concerning which see above, n. 322, 362, 462); and from the signification of sitting upon thrones, as denoting to be in the act of judging, for thrones signify the heavens, and sitting upon thrones signifies to judge. And because the angels of heaven do not judge, but the Lord alone, and since the Lord arranges those heavens by influx and presence in order to perform judgment therefrom upon those who have been gathered together below the heavens, therefore these words signify that the higher heavens are in light and power from the Lord to separate the evil from the good before the day of the Last Judgment.

[2] That this is the internal sense of these words is clear from what follows in this chapter, and also from what has been said above upon this subject. From the things that follow in this chapter it is plain that the higher heavens are in light and power from the Lord; this is the reason why they fell upon their faces and adored the Lord, and gave thanks that He had taken His great power and entered upon the kingdom, and why afterwards, the temple was opened in heaven, and the ark of the covenant was seen in the temple, this signifying the light there, and the former signifying the power there, from the Lord alone. It is also plain that it means to separate the evil from the good before the day of the Last Judgment, for it is said that "the nations were angered, and that Thine anger is come, and the time of judging the dead"; and afterwards, that there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail, which signifies the separation of the evil from the good, and the sign that the Last Judgment was at hand. Because these are the things treated of, and as the four and twenty elders sitting before God upon the thrones mean the higher heavens arranged for effecting therefrom the Last Judgment, it follows that such things are involved in these words.

[3] From what has been said above upon this subject it is clear that the higher heavens, before the Last Judgment, were brought into a state of light and power, in order that there might be influx from them into the lower parts, by means of which the evil might be separated from the good, and the evil afterwards cast down into the hells, as may be seen above (n. 411, 413, 418, 419, 426, 493, 497, 674, 675, 676).

[4] That a throne signifies in general heaven, and in particular the heavens where the spiritual kingdom of the Lord is, and in an abstract sense, the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, and that this is said of judgment, may also be seen above (n. 253, 297, 343, 460, 482). It is also shewn there, that although it is said of the four and twenty elders that they sat upon thrones, and similarly of the apostles that they should sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, and also of the angels, that they will come with the Lord to judgment, yet it is the Lord alone who will judge. For the four and twenty elders, the twelve apostles, and the angels, mean all the truths of the church, and, briefly, the Divine Truth, from which judgment takes place. And because Divine Truth is meant by these, and all Divine Truth proceeds from the Lord, therefore judgment belongs to the Lord alone. Who cannot see that it would not be possible for any angel to judge myriads of myriads, every one according to the state of his love and faith, both in his internal man and in his external, but for the Lord alone, from the Divine which is in Him, and which proceeds from Him; also, that to judge all in the heavens, and all in the earths, belongs to infinite wisdom and infinite power, not the least part of which falls to finite beings such as angels are, and such as the elders of Israel, and the apostles of the Lord were? All of these taken together, could not judge even a single man or a single spirit. For he who is to judge must see all the states of the man who is to be judged, from infancy to the end of his life in the world, and the future state of his life afterwards to eternity; for in the entire purpose, and thence in each and every particular of judgment, there must be what is eternal and infinite, and this is in and from the Divine alone, for it is the Divine that is infinite and eternal.

[5] In the Word mention is made of walking before God, of standing before God, and, as here, of sitting before God; what standing before God signifies may be seen above (n. 414); and what by walking before God (n. 97). What sitting before God signifies, as here in reference to the four and twenty elders, is evident from the passages in the Word where to sit is mentioned. For in the spiritual world everything pertaining to man's movements or rest signifies things pertaining to his life, because they proceed therefrom. Walking and progressions relate to the movements of man, and consequently signify progress of life, or progress of the thought from a purpose of the will. But standing and sitting have reference to man's rest, and therefore signify the esse of life, from which is its existere, thus they signify causing to live. Therefore to sit upon thrones, in reference to judgment, signifies to be in the act of judging, thus also to judge; from this the expression "to sit in judgment" is used, which means to execute judgment. So "to sit upon a throne" in reference to a kingdom signifies to be king or to reign.

[6] What sitting moreover signifies, in the spiritual sense, is evident from the following passages.

In David:

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, and standeth not in the way of sinners, and sitteth not in the seat of the scornful" (Psalm 1:1).

Here it is said, to walk, to stand, and to sit, because these follow one another, for to walk pertains to the life of thought from intention, to stand pertains to the life of intention from the will, and to sit to the life of the will, thus to the esse of the life. Counsel also, of which to walk is said, regards the thought; way, in which one is said to stand, regards intention, while to sit in a seat refers to the will, which is the esse of a man's life.

[7] Since Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is the very esse of the life of all, therefore to sit is said of Him.

In David:

"Jehovah shall sit to eternity" (Psalm 9:7).

In the same:

"Jehovah sitteth at the flood, and sitteth as King to eternity" (Psalm 29:10).

In the same:

"God reigneth over the nations; God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness" (Psalm 47:8).

In Matthew:

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all his holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory" (25:31).

To sit upon the throne of His glory signifies to be in His Divine Truth, from which is judgment. Similarly elsewhere in the same:

"When the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (19:28; Luke 22:30).

Since angels, also the twelve apostles, and the twelve tribes of Israel, signify all the truths of the church, and, in the highest sense, the Divine Truth, therefore to sit upon thrones does not mean that they themselves, but the Lord as to Divine Truth, from which is Judgment, will so sit; and to judge the twelve tribes of Israel signifies to judge all according to the truths of their church. It is therefore evident that to sit upon a throne, when said of the Lord, signifies to be in the act of judging, thus to judge. It is said a throne of glory, because glory signifies the Divine Truth, as may be seen above (n. 34, 288, 345, 678).

[8] In the Evangelists;

"David said in the book of Psalms, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet" (Luke 20:42, 43; Mark 12:36; Psalm 110:1).

The Lord said to my Lord, signifies the Divine itself, which is called the Father, to the Divine Human, which is the Son. Sit Thou at My right hand, signifies Divine Power, or Omnipotence by means of Divine Truth; until I make Thine enemies the footstool of Thy feet, signifies until the hells are conquered and subjugated, and the evil are cast into them, enemies meaning the hells, thus the evil, and the footstool of the feet signifies the lowest region under the heavens, under which are the hells; for the Lord, while in the world, was Divine Truth, to which belongs omnipotence, and by means of which He conquered and subjugated the hells.

[9] In the same:

"Jesus said, Henceforth shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Matthew 26:63, 64; Mark 14:61, 62; Luke 22:69).

To sit on the right hand of power signifies the Divine Omnipotence of the Lord over the heavens and over the earths, after He had subjugated the hells and glorified His Human. To come on the clouds of heaven signifies by means of Divine Truth in the heavens; for after the Lord had united His Human with the Divine itself, Divine Truth went forth from Him; and He Himself is therein with angels and with men, because He is in the Word, which is Divine Truth, in which and from which is the Divine Omnipotence.

[10] And again:

"The Lord, after he had spoken with them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God" (Mark 16:19).

To sit down at the right hand of God has a similar signification, namely, His Divine Omnipotence by means of Divine Truth; from which it is clear that to sit denotes to be, and to sit at the right hand denotes to be omnipotent.

Because to sit signifies to be, therefore to sit upon a throne signifies to be king and to reign, as in Exodus 11:5; Deuteronomy 17:18; 1 Kings 1:13, 17, 20; Jeremiah 17:25; 22:2, 30; and elsewhere; similarly, "To sit on the right hand and on the left" (Matthew 20:21, 23; Mark 10:37, 40).

[11] In Isaiah:

"Come down and sit upon the dust, O virgin daughter of Babel, sit on the earth, there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans; sit in silence and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for they shall no more call thee mistress of kingdoms; hear this thou voluptuous one, that sittest carelessly, saying, I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know bereavement" (47:1, 5, 8).

The subject treated of here is the profanation of good and truth; for the daughter of Babel signifies the profanation of good, and the daughter of the Chaldeans the profanation of truth; for the reason that the Divine goods and truths which are in the Word and from the Word, are used as the means of gaining dominion. For this reason the Babylonians and Chaldeans regard themselves, that is their own dominion, as ends, and the holy things of the church from the Word as means; thus they do not look to the Lord and His dominion as an end, nor to their neighbour and to love towards him. Come down and sit upon the dust and on the earth, signifies to be in evils, and in consequent damnation. Sit in silence and go into darkness, signifies to be in falsities, and in consequent damnation. To sit carelessly signifies to be in the confident belief that their dominion will continue, and that they will not perish. Not to sit as a widow, and not to know bereavement, signifies to be in no lack of followers, dependents, and worshippers. There is no throne for thee, O daughter of the Chaldeans, they shall no more call thee mistress of kingdoms, signifies that such shall no longer have dominion because of their overthrow and damnation in the day of the Last Judgment, of which this chapter treats.

[12] In the same:

"Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly, on the sides of the north" (14:13).

These things also are spoken of Babel, who is here called Lucifer, and of the lust of his profane love of ruling over all things of heaven; but what in particular is meant by exalting a throne above the stars of God, and by sitting on the mount of assembly and on the sides of the north, will be shown in the following pages when Babylon is treated of; here also to sit signifies to be, and has reference to dominion.

[13] In Ezekiel:

"All the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones; they shall sit upon the earth" (26:16):

This is said of Tyre, which signifies the church as to the knowledges of truth, but here the church vastated, in which these knowledges have been falsified; therefore by all the princes of the sea coming down from their thrones is signified that knowledges of truth shall no more reign in the men of that church, for all sovereignty belongs to Divine Truth. To come down from the thrones signifies from governing, thus not to rule; and the princes of the sea denote the knowledges of truth, and those who are in them. They shall sit upon the earth signifies that they will be in falsifications, thus in falsities; upon thrones signifies to be in the truths of heaven, and to sit upon the earth signifies to be in falsities, since under the lands (sub terris) in the spiritual world are the hells, from which evils and falsities are continually exhaling. The signification of sitting in the following passages is similar.

[14] In Luke:

"Who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death" (1:79).

In Isaiah:

"To open the blind eyes, to lead the bound out of prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house" (42:7)

In Jeremiah:

"I sat not in the council of mockers, and I rejoiced; I sat solitary because of thy hand, for thou hast filled me with indignation" (15:17).

In David:

"I have not sat with men of vanity, nor have I gone in with the hidden" (Psalm 26:4).

In Luke:

That day "shall come as a snare upon all who sit upon the faces of the whole earth" (21:35).

Since to sit signifies to be and also to abide in one state, and pertains to the will, it is therefore said in David,

"Jehovah, thou hast searched me and known me; thou knowest my sitting and my rising, thou understandest my thought afar off" (Psalm 139:1, 2).

To know his sitting has reference to the esse of life which is the will; rising, has reference to the intention therefrom; and because thought follows from the intention of the will, it is added, "Thou understandest my thought afar off."

[15] In Micah:

"Then shall he stand and feed in the name of Jehovah, and they shall sit, for now shall he increase unto the ends of the earth" (5:4).

This is said of the Lord and of the doctrine of Divine Truth from Him, which is meant by then shall he stand and feed in the name of Jehovah; and that the men of the church will be in that doctrine is signified by they shall sit; and that the doctrine of Divine Truth will endure to eternity is signified by he shall increase unto the ends of the earth.

[16] Similarly in Isaiah:

"Shake thyself from the dust, arise, sit, O Jerusalem, loose the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion" (52:2).

This is said of the establishment of a new church by the Lord; that church, together with its doctrine, is here signified by Jerusalem, and by the daughter of Zion; to reject falsities and evils and to be in truths and goods is signified by shaking herself from the dust, arising and sitting, also by loose the bands of the neck, O captive daughter of Zion, bands of the neck signifying falsities, that prevent the entrance of truths.

[17] That to sit is an expression significative of the existence and permanence of the state of an object and of life, is evident from those passages in the Word where the expressions to sit before Jehovah, to stand before Him, and to walk before Him, occur. To sit before Jehovah denotes to be with Him, thus also to will and to act from Him; and to stand before Him denotes to have regard for and to understand what He wills; while to walk before Him denotes to live according to His precepts, thus from Him. Because to sit involves such things, therefore the corresponding Hebrew word signifies to remain and to dwell. Because to sit has this signification, therefore an angel of the Lord was seen sitting upon the stone, which he had rolled away from the entrance to the tomb (Matthew 28:2); and also angels were seen in the tomb, sitting one at the head, and the other at the feet (John 20:12; Mark 16:5). The things that were seen were representative of the Lord's glorification and of introduction into heaven by Him; for the stone which was placed before the sepulchre, and was rolled away by the angel, signifies Divine Truth, consequently the Word, which was closed by the Jews, but opened by the Lord. That stone signifies truth, and, in the highest sense, Divine Truth, may be seen above (n. 417) and in Heaven and Hell 534:3). And because a sepulchre and pre-eminently the sepulchre where the Lord was, signifies, in the spiritual sense, resurrection and also regeneration, and angels in the Word signify Divine Truth, therefore angels were seen, sitting one at the head and the other at the feet, the angel at the head signifying Divine Truth in primaries, and the angel at the feet Divine Truth in ultimates, both proceeding from the Lord, by means of which, when received, regeneration takes place, and there is a resurrection. That to be buried, burial and a sepulchre, signify regeneration and resurrection, may be seen above (n. 659); and that angels, in the highest sense, signify the Lord as to Divine Truth, and in the relative sense the recipients of Divine Truth, and thus, abstractly, Divine truths from the Lord (n. 130, 200, 302). Moreover it is also said that "they sat before Jehovah" when they were in great joy; they were also said to sit when in great sorrow, the reason being that sitting has reference to the esse of man, which pertains to his will and love. That they wept and sat before may be seen in Judges (20:26; 21:2),