Verse 63. - I am a companion of all them that fear thee; i.e. I do not consort with the ungodly or the careless, but only with those who love and reverence thee. It is well to live "separate from sinners" (comp. Psalm 1:1). And of them that keep thy precepts. Obedience necessarily follows on reverence and godly fear.
119:57-64 True believers take the Lord for the portion of their inheritance, and nothing less will satisfy them. The psalmist prayed with his whole heart, knowing how to value the blessing he prayed for: he desired the mercy promised, and depended on the promise for it. He turned from by-paths, and returned to God's testimonies. He delayed not. It behoves sinners to hasten to escape; and the believer will be equally in haste to glorify God. No care or grief should take away God's word out of our minds, or hinder the comfort it bestows. There is no situation on earth in which a believer has not cause to be thankful. Let us feel ashamed that others are more willing to keep from sleep to spend the time in sinful pleasures, than we are to praise God. And we should be more earnest in prayer, that our hearts may be filled with his mercy, grace, and peace.
I am a companion of all them that fear thee,.... Not of the rich and mighty, much less of the wicked and ungodly; but of such who had the true fear of God upon their hearts, and before their eyes; who feared the Lord and his goodness, and truly served and worshipped him; even "all" of these, whether poor or rich, of whatsoever condition, or of whatsoever nation, being no respecter of persons. With these he was a partner in the blessings of the covenant, in the promises of it, in the graces of the Spirit, and in a right and meetness for the same eternal glory and happiness: he went in company with them to the house of God, and joined with them in all acts of religious worship; he conversed privately with them about what God had done for the souls of him and them; he delighted in their company; he sympathized with them in their troubles; and was a companion with them in their tribulation, sorrows, and sufferings, as well as in their joys and comforts;
and of them that keep thy precepts; as all such do who truly fear the Lord; for by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil, and cannot do those things that others do; cannot allow themselves in a wilful transgression of the divine precepts; but, influenced by the fear of God, observe and keep them.
and of them that keep thy precepts; as all such do who truly fear the Lord; for by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil, and cannot do those things that others do; cannot allow themselves in a wilful transgression of the divine precepts; but, influenced by the fear of God, observe and keep them.