This shows what great blessings good men are, especially those that are
eminently wise, to the places where they live, and therefore how much
to be valued. 1. The righteous are as trees of life; the fruits of
their piety and charity, their instructions, reproofs, examples, and
prayers, their interest in heaven, and their influence upon earth, are
like the fruits of that tree, precious and useful, contributing to the
support and nourishment of the spiritual life in many; they are the
ornaments of paradise, God's church on earth, for whose sake it stands.
2. The wise are something more; they are as trees of knowledge, not
forbidden, but commanded knowledge. He that is wise, by communicating
his wisdom, wins souls, wins upon them to bring them in love with God
and holiness, and so wins them over into the interests of God's kingdom
among men. The wise are said to turn many to righteousness, and that is
the same with winning souls here, Dan. xii. 3. Abraham's proselytes are
called the souls that he had gotten, Gen. xii. 5. Those that would win
souls have need of wisdom to know how to deal with them; and those that
do win souls show that they are wise.