We may endeavour to meditate for a time as enabled on this portion of the Word of God in Psalm 119. We shall read again at verses 63 and 64 — “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy; teach me thy statutes.”
We see that the writer of the Psalm, King David, expresses many precious thoughts and we see that he is “a companion of all them that fear thee,” that fear God, “and of them that keep thy precepts,” the precepts of God, or the statutes of God, or in other words, everything that God has enjoined in His Holy Word for us to keep. We see how he acknowledges that “the earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy” and that he expresses a desire “teach me thy statutes.” The Psalmist holds a distinct position and this distinct position is evident here. Of course it is evident in many ways but when we are endeavouring to meditate on this portion of the truth it is evident here in his acknowledgement of the mercy of God, in the circle of friends he has as his companions and also in the desire he expresses — teach me thy statutes Lord. Therefore we shall endeavour to notice three things: His acknowledgement of the mercy of God, the circle of friends he has and his desire “teach me thy statutes.”
We see that the Psalmist has occasion to acknowledge the mercy of God. “The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy.” That is something he desires to acknowledge; the Lord should be acknowledged for the mercy He bestows upon us. Surely it is a good thing we should do so at the commencement of a new year. We should acknowledge His mercy and acknowledge that the earth is full of God’s mercy. Mercy is something that is undeserved; we have to acknowledge that the mercies that God bestows upon us are undeserved mercies, undeserved favours. We do not deserve these mercies. If we take a line of thinking that is of our own making and which is bound to be not in accordance with the Bible, then we take these things for granted. That is what people are doing all the time, they are taking these things for granted and often think that they enjoy these mercies because they made them themselves. When people are engaged in business and work hard and get on, they say, or tend to say, “well, it is my strength and my wisdom that has gotten me these things. I have these things because I work hard or because I am prudent in business.” But if a person has an understanding of the word of God and frames his thinking in accordance with the word of God, he immediately acknowledges and knows that it is God who gives him strength, it is God who gives him wisdom. God favours and prospers him in this thing or that thing. It is right and proper that we should acknowledge God, the giver of all good. The Psalmist is acknowledging this and when we can look back, at the commencement of a new year we have to acknowledge God’s mercy. If he had dealt with us in accordance with our sins, if God should enter into judgement with us we could not stand before Him on account of sin; sin is the abominable thing which God doth hate. It is on account of sin that we do not deserve God’s mercies. “The earth O Lord is full of thy mercy.” Some of these mercies are of a temporal nature and other mercies are of a spiritual nature. Well, what great blessings we enjoy of a temporal nature. You see all the plenty that is being bestowed upon us in this land; the things of nature; the food and clothing we enjoy; the liberty and the freedom that we enjoy. Yet, we tend to take these for granted. We look about us in the world and the greater part of this world is undernourished and underfed. They do not have the clothes that we possess; do not have the means to purchase these things; do not prosper as we do in New Zealand and as others do in other parts of the world. Many people lack these things. What about the liberty we enjoy. People in communist lands, whilst they may have sufficient of the things necessary for this life, do not enjoy the liberty that we enjoy. They are not permitted to move about in their own country without permission and many people are deprived of their liberty and that often for very trifling reasons. The writer Solzhenitsyn, who was banned from Russia and who has written so many books about conditions in Russia, well, all the crime that he was guilty of in the war time was that he had correspondence with a friend in another part of Russia and that was not permitted and for that reason he was banished to slave labour for many years. I forget how long he was in a slave labour camp, something like ten years. Now what atrocious things those are. Those are the conditions that prevail in Russia and yet we have freedom and we have liberty not only to write to friends in another part of New Zealand, not only liberty to go and visit them when we desire to do so, but also liberty to read the word of God and liberty to gather together in proper assemblies around the truth to worship God, to publicly acknowledge God. What an outstanding blessing, what outstanding blessings they are. Now, whatever Russia and other communist lands profess to do publicly, and they do profess that people are permitted to read the Bible, yet the communist regime is against the Bible — it is against Christianity. What outstanding blessings we enjoy when we have all that liberty and we do well to acknowledge God for it. He has placed us in these circumstances. The Psalmist when he was living at that time in the land of Israel 1000 years or so before Christ came into the world, he recognised that “the earth O Lord is full of thy mercy.” He could see what a distinct position they held as a nation. “The earth O Lord is full of thy mercy.” Of course he could look beyond his own nation and see the goodness of God in the earth. He often thought about the beautiful things of nature. “The heavens God’s glory do declare, the skies his hand works preach; day utters speech to day, and night to night doth knowledge teach.” He has regard for nature. When he considers his own nation however, he could also see other mercies bestowed upon them as a nation. What other nation was favoured with the word of God and with the worship of God as the nation of Israel? At that time the Psalmist could look beyond the boundaries of his own nation and what did he see? Philistines, Moabites, Babylonians, Assyrians, and did they have the Bible? They did not have the Bible nor the worship of God. The Israelites were distinctly favoured. They were a distinct nation, a nation favoured by the Most High. That was not just a matter of having classical books such as were written in Greece and in Rome by philosophers. When we have the Bible, the word of God, there we have books given by God, the inspired word of God. That is not just a matter of a natural gift. People talk of a poet being inspired, a painter being inspired. It is a different thing altogether with respect to the word of God. When we think of the word of God and speak of the word of God as inspired, we speak of it as the word that has been given by God himself. The Holy Spirit of God was so present with the writers of the Bible, that when they recorded these words, they recorded the word of God. So what we have here in the Bible is the word of God from Genesis to Revelation given under special conditions and also preserved for us under special conditions, so that now as we are living in the 20th century, we have commenced the year 1980, we have here the word of God from Genesis to Revelation. The Psalmist was aware of that when he is speaking of the statutes of God, when he is speaking of the mercies of God and when he is thinking of themselves as a nation having the word and the worship of God. He full well knew that what they had was given to them by God and that they had these things as a nation. He also knew well that the nations around Israel — the nations occupying other parts of the globe — did not have these things. These things were given to Israel. When he is saying “the earth O Lord is full of thy mercy” what an outstanding blessing he is conscious of. These are the things that are able to make and do make people wise unto salvation by the blessing of the Holy Spirit and that is what he had experienced in his own soul. When he was born into this world he was ignorant of these things and when he grew up he remained indifferent to these things until the Holy Spirit of God blessed that word to his soul and he was made a new creature in Christ Jesus and thus when he is speaking of the earth being full of the mercy of God, he is conscious of distinguishing mercies being bestowed upon them as a nation and being bestowed upon him as an individual. He did not remain in the power of darkness but he was delivered from that darkness, a distinct spiritual mercy that came to him in the sovereign mercy of God. He was a new creature in Christ Jesus and what does the word of God say about a new creature in Christ Jesus? There is no condemnation! There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. Rom. 8:1. When at that time he was looking about him in the nation, he could also see this, that there were others that were born in a privileged nation and who had the word of God and the worship of God and yet they remained altogether indifferent to these things. There is such a thing as reading the word of God and there is such a thing as going to church and yet remaining quite indifferent, but not so with the Psalmist. His heart was in it. The Holy Spirit had enlightened him. The Holy Spirit had quickened him so that as a believer he was holding a distinct position altogether. That is the position of every believer. It is a distinct position, being a recipient of the saving mercy of God, so that he is a new creature in Christ Jesus. Now, when we find ourselves blessed in that way, we have occasion to say the earth is full, “the earth O Lord is full of thy mercy.” There is occasion to acknowledge the mercy of God, to acknowledge His power and His wisdom and His love which is an everlasting love. “The earth O Lord is full of thy mercy.” The Psalmist was holding a distinct position as is evident in their acknowledgment of God’s mercy and it is evident in the circle of their friends. He is saying here, “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.” Well, he was not just making friends with anyone in the world. He is bringing it before us here that his position as a believer is a distinct position that is evident in the friendships he built up. We read in the Bible, “can two walk together except they be agreed?” If people have friends, there must be friendship, there must be things there that bind them together. The word of God says “can two walk together except they be agreed?” There must be agreement between people when they walk together and often in the New Testament we see what the word of God declares about those who hold that distinct position and were being favoured by the Lord in this way to be partakers of the mercy of God. He delivered them from the power of darkness and brought them into God’s marvellous light. The Apostle Peter in writing to believers says, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” That is what is true of every believer. They are a distinct people. The word of God says “a peculiar people,” or as we may say, a special people, a people favoured by the Lord. A people taught by the Lord, by His holy word. Therefore the Psalmist is saying “I am a companion.” He is companion. He is not just on his own. He knows others that are like-minded, like himself and they are his companions. The word of God says “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God, whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” He does not choose his companions from the people of the world. Now he is King of Israel; this man holds a very influential position in the land of Israel, occupying the throne. He was the King of Israel. Does he look for friends amongst the nobles of the land irrespective of what their train of thought is, what their outlook is and how they conduct themselves in the world? No! verily no! “I am a companion of all them that fear thee,” that fear God. I am a companion of all them that fear God. Now, what is the fear of God? It is wrought by the Holy Spirit. By nature a man does not fear God. By nature he has no regard for the word of God. By nature he does not love His statutes and His precepts. By nature he has no regard for God’s holy day. You see, he needs to be born again. The word of God speaks of being born again. But some people say, you can go to church here in Gisborne and the preacher will tell you, you are born again when you are baptised, through the water. That is not the teaching of the word of God. You are born again by the powerful operation of the Holy Spirit of God. That must take place if a person is to enter into Heaven at last. As the Saviour said to Nicodemus, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.” “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Now that is the work of the Holy Spirit, “born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever.” But the Psalmist says, “I am a companion of all them that fear thee.” All who are born again fear the Lord, that is with reverential fear, a fear of reverence. Just as children ought to fear their parents. It does not mean to say that they dread their parents or are unduly afraid of their parents, but it means that they have reverence for their parents and they love their parents. The fear of the Lord is that fear that every true believer has, every person that is born again. It is that fear that is mingled with love whereby they desire to keep God’s statutes and his precepts and they desire to obey his laws and to do his commandments. You see, they do not have that outlook because they dread God but it is because they have the fear of reverence that is wrought in this work carried on by the Holy Spirit, when they were born again. “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.” That is joined together. If a person fears the Lord, if he is born again, his desire is to keep God’s precepts, to walk in accordance with God’s commandments in his secular life and in his life in the church. You see what a distinct position the Psalmist is in. I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of all them that keep thy precepts. They are my friends, they are my companions who are like-minded, who have a love for the word of God and a love for the ordinances of God. I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of them that keep thy precepts. That person keeps the precepts of God whether he is home in the family or in the city where he lives or whether he is in another town where people do not know him. “I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of them that keep thy precepts.”
It goes without saying that this is a matter that applies to the worship of God. The precepts of the word of God have respect to one’s life, to one’s secular life, one’s private life and they have respect to the worship of God. What we do in the worship of God should be altogether in accordance with the mind of God as we have it in the scriptures. We find that the writers of the Bible were very particular about that. They had been favoured by the Lord with positions in His cause, such as Moses, and he had instructions from the Lord to make everything and to do everything in accordance with the pattern that was shown him by God in the mount. God gave him a pattern and all the public worship of God had to be arranged and done in accordance with that pattern and it is recorded of him that “he did all things in accordance with the pattern that was showed to him in the mount.” When Solomon built the temple he did it all in accordance with the pattern that was given to his father David. “I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of them that keep thy precepts.” David was particular in that. He had a love for the word of God. He was a born again man and he showed it in all that he did in the cause of Christ. His desire was to do what is well-pleasing in the sight of God. “I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of them that keep thy precepts.” They are his companions. You see how his position was a distinct position and that he was separate from those who brought in or desired to bring in things that were not in accordance with the mind of God. This is what applies now in the twentieth century. People may say that this way of thinking was good enough a thousand years ago or two thousand years ago, but now we live in the 20th century and they say, we must bring in new things into the church. However, it is the word of God that stands. Therefore, we take a separate stand as a church. Our stand is on the word of God. Our worship and our practice must be in accordance with the word of God. That is why we take a separate stand because all over the world they are bringing in new things. They come with new ideas in the worship of God. Things that appeal to people; things that are attractive to people. This is why we are not affiliated with the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches and that is why we are not affiliated with local organisations of these churches for they are framing their worship and introducing things that are not in accordance with the word of God. You go to other churches in Gisborne, you go to other churches in New Zealand, throughout New Zealand, and you find people, you find ministers there who do not believe in the inspiration of the scriptures. They say, this portion of the word of God, that suits me; that portion of the word of God, we could do away with it, it doesn’t seem to be suitable for the 20th century. That is human reasoning and it is ignorant reasoning. If people reason in this way it shows and indicates they have never been born again, that they have never been taught by the Holy Spirit. It shows that the word of God never had an entrance into their hearts to bring light into the understanding. We read in the word of God “the entrance of thy word gives light, it makes wise who simple are.” For people who do away with the inspiration of the Scriptures, people who introduce things into the worship of God which are not in accordance with the mind of God, they go astray from the precepts of God. David says “I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of them that keep thy precepts.” It’s the precepts of God that must be our rule and our guide in the worship of God. People that come from outside into our church services may say, what! no instrumental music, no stained glass windows, nothing there to embellish the worship to make it more attractive? But what we have to do with is what God has laid down in His word in doctrine and in worship. “God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” What is the worth of a person’s prayer. You find people praying, and they still pray the Lord’s prayer — “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” and at the same time things are introduced into the worship of God which have no authority in the word of God. I am just thinking of what I read in one of the newspapers when I was in Holland three years ago. There was a man there who had visited Scotland and was in one of the congregations of our church in Scotland. He was commenting on the absence of instrumental music and he said, a person may just as well do away with electric light. Now, you see, such a way of reasoning is not permissible and should never be used. I wrote to him to point out that electric light is not an element in the worship of God at all but instrumental music is. Instrumental music is an element in the worship of God. Our stand is on the Bible, the word of God, in doctrine, in worship and in practice. Therefore we cannot have companionship and fellowship with the churches of the World Council of Churches or of the National Council of Churches and that is why we take a separate stand. “I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of them that keep thy precepts.” To hear people pray, “thy will be done,” and then see them introduce things that are not authorised in the word of God, indicates there is something wrong. When we pray “Thy will be done,” then we must go to the word of God to see what the word of God declares; what are the statutes of God; what are the precepts of God. That is why we take a separate stand. “I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of them that keep thy precepts.”
Now we may just notice for a minute his desire, “teach me thy statutes.” We should notice that this is the desire and prayer of this eminent man king David. You know what an eminent person he was and how gifted he was in all spheres of his life. This person was with his father on the farm and he kept the sheep; how able he was in that occupation and how well he acquitted himself. Then you find him fighting the battles for king Saul and how gifted he was in that sphere of work. People were singing, Saul hath slain his thousands but David hath slain his ten thousands. A very able man. At last we find him on the throne of Israel and he was very able there. Yet now we find him saying, teach me thy statutes, teach me Lord. You see what the grace of God, the mercy of God, did for him. He was not only an able man, he was not only a gifted man, but he was a very humble man. He took a very low place at God’s footstool. Teach me, Lord. Now you say, teach him? Look at the Book of Psalms, what a knowledge he had of God; what a knowledge he had of Christ. Oh, you say Christ? but he was living about a thousand years before Christ came into the world. Yet you see how he was favoured, what an insight he had in the truth and what an insight he had into things that were yet to be accomplished. You find him writing about the Son of God that he was to be King and about Christ coming into the world. You look at Psalm 22 how he is describing the suffering of Christ, although Christ was to come into the world a thousand years later. How His clothes were to be shared amongst people and how they would cast lots for His vesture and how the feet of Christ were to be pierced. You find that in the word of God as evidence of the inspiration of the word of God. He knew of Christ and how precious Christ was to him and this Christ is precious to every true believer. “Whom have I in the heavens but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire” but Christ. “My flesh and my heart doth faint and fail but thou art the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” When you read all that David knew and the insight he had, you say, did he need to be taught? But you see the humility that is there. You see the sense of need that is there. “He must increase but I must decrease.” He didn’t take the position at all that he knew everything already. No, his desire is teach me thy statutes and when he is praying that, what he was desiring I believe, is that the Lord would keep these things before his mind. That he would not be left unto himself. He well knew what is in the heart of man. “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.” He desired this favour of the Lord, that the Lord would be with him, and would keep these things before his mind. Now is that not a good desire to have at the commencement of a new year, that the Lord would teach us His statutes, that He would give us a retentive memory and that He would keep these precepts before our minds so that we would not depart from the ways of God as others have departed. Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. I am thinking just now of the history of Scotland, the church history. You see people may sometimes make a shining profession and make great claims, but think now of the man who was an eminent covenanter in covenanting days who signed the covenant. He was a preacher in the Church of Scotland and people could say, well, he is an eminent servant of the Lord. Wait a few years. Later on we find he has been made an Archbishop and became one of the most cruel persecutors that the Church of Scotland knew, Archbishop Sharp is his name. You see what need we have of being taught by the Lord, of being kept by the Lord, of praying teach me, teach me thy statutes Lord. I also believe that David expresses the desire that the Lord would not withhold His Holy Spirit from him; that the Lord would continually give him His Holy Spirit that the word of God would be with power to his soul; that these statutes and these precepts would always be beautiful to him and desirable to him. It is only by the Holy Spirit; “without Thee we can do nothing.” What a need we have of the Holy Spirit therefore and to pray to the Lord, teach me thy statutes. I also believe that he was desiring that the Lord would enable him to make right decisions. That he would have such a knowledge of the statutes and precepts of the Lord that he would be able to make right decisions. Although he is not a Levite and he is not a priest, yet as a believer he has the church of God at heart. His heart was in the church, in the cause of Christ, and it was his desire that he would have clean hands and a pure heart, that he would be kept by the Lord in his situation and position as a believer. Is he not saying, “God is of mine inheritance the cup the portion; the lot that fallen is to me thou dost maintain alone.” Ps. 16:5. It was God’s distinguishing mercy that had brought him to that position of which he could say, “unto me happily the lines in pleasant places fell; yea the inheritance I got in beauty doth excel.” Ps. 16:6. Of course there is this inheritance every believer has, the inheritance that is incorruptible and full of glory, which he must yet inherit at last in the presence of God. What an inheritance the church of God has. Also, what an inheritance every believer has in the church of God, when we have the public worship of God and when we have a way of worship in accordance with the word of God. It is an inheritance that excels in beauty. In connection with it, he has occasion to say,
“I bless the Lord, because he doth by counsel me conduct;
And in the seasons of the night my reins do me instruct.
Before me still the Lord I set: sith it is so that he
Doth ever stand at my right hand, I shall not moved be.”
Ps. 16: 7 and 8 metrical.
Now, you see his desire was that he would not be moved, that he would not be moved away from the distinct position that he enjoyed, from that inheritance that excels in beauty. That was the position in which he was with his companions. I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of all them that keep thy precepts. It was not just as if they had formed a kind of club. People may associate together in a club. That’s a different thing altogether. David and his companions were people who feared the Lord. Each one of them taught by the Holy Spirit, each one of them brought into that sphere of influence in the church of God and his desire was not to be moved away from that position. His desire was that he would have clean hands and a pure heart. It was a duty incumbent upon them as living stones in the building of which Christ is the foundation. That duty is to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace and what a precious privilege that is and that is a duty that the word of God lays on us. “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. The earth O Lord is full of thy mercy, teach me thy statutes.” When we acknowledge the mercies of God, do we not have to acknowledge this great mercy, this distinct mercy, this mercy that distinguishes us from multitudes of others in other lands and in this nation. The Lord has handed down to us this inheritance that excels in beauty in the form of worship, doctrine and practice, foursquare upon the word of God and that is a privilege. I know of no other church in this land that holds to this position, the distinct position that we hold as a church and what a privilege it is for it is in connection with the pure worship of God, that He gathers in His people, that He builds His church. What a distinguishing mercy it is when you think that this inheritance was handed down to us right from the other side of the world so that in the year 1980 we are enjoying these privileges in New Zealand. It was not given to the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand to have. We claim to have what is in accordance with the word of God, the statutes and the precepts that are dear unto us and which we must maintain. That is the duty laid on us in the year 1980. When we find our distinguished position to be on the word of God, what a favour we have, what a privilege we have and it is our duty to carry this on and it is our duty to seek grace, for it is by grace that we stand. We must seek grace to carry this on that it may be handed down to generations following. “I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of them that keep thy precepts.” They are our companions, all them that fear thee and that keep thy precepts, therefore that is what we must pray for, teach me thy statutes Lord, teach me, continue to teach me that we may be enabled to keep the unity, the unity of the Holy Spirit in the bond of peace. May the Lord enable us and give us grace to seek that and to be given to it. May the Lord bless His truth.