Grace and strength characterizing the righteous.
Palm trees are types of grace. Cedar trees are types of strength. The palm gracefully rises from the plain, and bears a beautiful crown of fruits and leaves. The cedar strikes its roots wide and deep into the everlasting hills, and securely spreads forth its great branches through ages of winters. Perhaps trees were actually planted in the courts of the temple, as they are in the courts of mosques nowadays; but the characteristic forms of palm and cedar are alone required for the teaching of this verse, which will go into this sentence, "They who by daily worship rest their life in communion with God, shall find the secret of unbroken freshness and undying stability."
I. THE BEAUTY OF THE RIGHTEOUS. Observe the distinction between the two "flourishings"—the flourishing of the wicked, and the flourishing of the righteous. The one is wholly a matter of outward, material good; the other is primarily a matter of personal character. The wicked may flourish by reason of what he has; and that can be easily taken from him. The godly man flourishes by reason of what he is; and that can never be taken from him. Against that the "gates of hell cannot prevail." The figure of beauty given in the palm suggests uprightness, gracefulness, gentleness, aboveness, fruitfulness, and secret sources of renewal for its life. If the palm tree was an ideal for a poet, we have a better model than they; we may say, "The righteous shall flourish as did the Man Christ Jesus." And what grace and beauty shone forth from him! It is not enough that we who bear his name are good, we must be beautiful.
II. THE STRENGTH OF THE RIGHTEOUS. Strangely men associate weakness with gentleness; and think beautiful Christly souls are out of place in this workaday world. So the figure of the "cedar" is joined to the figure of the "palm." The cedar is the strongest of all the trees. Not only is there the great grip of the mountain, but the wood is firm and lasting. So we need to have the texture of our souls firm and strong—the strength of our grip of God ever behind and supporting all our beauty of form and grace of relation.—R.T.