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Good Company, Good Environment

Witnesses to help you keep God's Word. Psalm 119.63, 64

Psalm 119.57-64 (6)

Pray Psalm 119.63, 64.
I am a companion of all who fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.
The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy;
Teach me Your statutes.

Sing Psalm 119.63, 64.
(Leoni: The God of Abraham Praise)
All those  who fear You, Lord, go with me on my way,
all those who keep Your holy Word from day to day.
Around us all the earth declares Your mercy, Lord.
That I might know Your glorious worth, teach me Your Word.

Read Psalm 119.57-64; meditate on verses 63, 64.


Preparation

1. Whom did the psalmist choose for friends?

2. Where did he learn about God’s mercy?

Meditation
We recall that in this stanza of Psalm 119 we’re focusing on what is entailed in keeping the Law of God. Heart and mind devotion, for sure. Careful forethought and ongoing monitoring of our ways. Daily “remembering” the Law. Giving thanks to God. These are all disciplines that can help us continue in the Word and blessings of God.

The psalmist mentions two more: Have the right companions and listen to the witness of creation.

The psalmist was careful to have as friends people who feared God (v. 63). Fearing God is the beginning of all wisdom and knowledge. People who fear God will serve, obey, and love Him. Good company like this can help us to stay in the path of God’s Word, both by their example and their encouragement.

Realizing that the creation bears witness to the mercy of God can also help us in keeping His Word (v. 64). God speaks to us throughout His creation (Ps. 19.1-4), bearing witness to His Presence in goodness, mercy, wisdom, beauty, and delight. We are always in creation, which is always witnessing to some aspect of God and His glory. The more we learn to read the “book” of creation, the more creation will help us in remembering to keep the Law of God.

At all times we must look to the Lord to teach us His Word. Only the Spirit of God can teach us the Law so that we are shaped by His instruction into the very likeness of Him Who kept the Law perfectly, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
As we seek companions who fear God and keep His precepts, we will in turn become useful friends for others, and will be able to fulfill their needs for companions who love and fear God and keep His precepts.

It is a job description which, if lived out by each believer, all would be growing in their faith and the world would reap the bounty of God’s mercy which is everywhere seen and felt.

Barnabas was just such a person. “When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord” (Acts 11. 23, 24).

Onesiphorus was a person we read about twice, briefly. And yet what a comfort he was to Paul!
“The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chains; but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus” (2 Tim. 1.16-18). “Greet…the household of Onesiphorus” (2 Tim. 4.19).

And John. “Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter…” (Jn. 21.7). Was it his abiding faith? His love? His encouragement? His kindness? His tender spirit? There was something about him that was a comfort to our Savior while He traversed the earth that we would do well to emulate.

As John Calvin is quoted in today’s reading: “Such concord is undoubtedly required in all the godly, that they may contribute to each other’s advancement in the fear of God.” It is what we are called to search out in others, and it is what we are to be for others as they search us out.

And the mercy of God, seen in Him and in His creation, is the overarching characteristic He desires to see in us. He has shown us what is good, and what He requires of us: “to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly” with Him (Mic. 6.8).

“For the word of the LORD is right, and all His work is done in truth.
He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD” (Ps. 33.4, 5).

For reflection
1. What can you do to make sure you are a friend who fears God?

2. What do we mean by “reading” the “book” of creation? Give an example from your experience.

3. Why are good companions and a good environment essential for keeping God’s Law?

He does not simply speak of the brotherly love and concord which true believers cultivate among themselves, but intimates that, whenever he met with any individual who feared God, he gave him his hand in token of fellowship, and that he was not only one of the number of God's servants, but also their helper. Such concord is undoubtedly required in all the godly, that they may contribute to each other's advancement in the fear of God. John Calvin (1509-1564). Commentary on Psalm 119.63, 64

Pray Psalm 119.61, 62.
Meditate on the day ahead as you wait before the Lord in prayer. What temptations do you anticipate? Where might you expect to encounter wickedness or opposition to your faith? Commit these situations to the Lord, asking Him for strength to continue in His Word.

Sing Psalm 119.61, 62.
(Leoni: The God of Abraham Praise)
Though wicked ways constrain and bind my hands in sin,
yet I recall Your Word and turn to You again.
By night I thank You, Lord; my voice to You I raise;
for all Your righteous, holy Word I give You praise.

T. M. and Susie Moore

You can listen to a summary of last week’s Scriptorium study by going to our website, www.ailbe.org, and clicking the Scriptorium tab for last Sunday. You can download any or all the studies in this series on Psalm 119 by clicking here.

What is the Law of God and how should we learn and obey it? Two books can help. The Law of God arranges the statutes and precepts of God’s Law under their appropriate number of the Ten Commandments. This book is an excellent tool for meditating on God’s Law and thinking about its application in our time. The Ground for Christian Ethics, on the other hand, explains why the Law matters and how we are to use it. You can order free copies of each of these here and here.

If you find Scriptorium helpful in your walk with the Lord, please seek the Lord, asking Him whether you should contribute to the support of this daily ministry with your financial gifts. As the Lord leads, you can use the Contribute button at the website to give with a credit card or through PayPal or Anedot, or you can send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 360 Zephyr Road, Williston, VT 05495.

Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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