I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
The verse is a resolve to take delight in divine statutes and never to forget the word given, joining joy in instruction to faithful remembrance as a willing attachment and a firm choice. Delight and keeping in memory belong together, the one expressing love for what is commanded and the other holding it fast against neglect. It belongs to a psalm that exalts the law, standing alongside walking undefiled in the law, keeping testimonies, seeking with the whole heart, doing no iniquity, keeping precepts diligently, respecting all commandments, learning righteous judgments, cleansing the way by heeding the word, hiding the word in the heart so as not to sin, declaring judgments, rejoicing in testimonies as much as in riches, and meditating in precepts. It is to be learned together with the first fifteen verses as one connected opening portion.
The law is to guide life, and the Word defines righteousness and distinguishes right from wrong and truth from error. Its sacredness stands out at the time when the wickedness of the world has reached the point where interference will certainly come. Delight in the statutes and keeping the word in memory form part of the remedy for wrongdoing. That delight and remembrance are expressed through diligent meditation on the precepts. Reading Scripture with a desire to know God, together with obeying His commands, guards against deception and prevents departure from divine revelation.
The verse was lived out in youth by finding joy in testimonies and statutes, meditating on precepts, treating the ways shown with respect, and letting the word shape choices. When urged by young companions to join their games and sports and frolics, the answer was refusal in favor of this joy and remembrance. The young, including young men and women, are urged to study these words, heed the Lord's way, and cultivate a spirit that desires to follow it. Such study encourages the inward desire to heed that way rather than merely outward compliance.
It is instruction to be set before children so they may grow up to trust and believe in God as their very best Friend. It is to be read with tender and softened hearts and committed to memory as a precious lesson, a jewel of truth from the treasure house of the Word. So treasured, it furnishes for religious training and domestic nurture, a work to be given time above all temporal interests. It is also a prayer for servants to offer continually, revealing a consecration of heart and mind that is asked of all.
The verse is a resolve to take delight in divine statutes and never to forget the word given, joining joy in instruction to faithful remembrance as a willing attachment and a firm choice. Delight and keeping in memory belong together, the one expressing love for what is commanded and the other holding it fast against neglect. It belongs to a psalm that exalts the law, standing alongside walking undefiled in the law, keeping testimonies, seeking with the whole heart, doing no iniquity, keeping precepts diligently, respecting all commandments, learning righteous judgments, cleansing the way by heeding the word, hiding the word in the heart so as not to sin, declaring judgments, rejoicing in testimonies as much as in riches, and meditating in precepts. It is to be learned together with the first fifteen verses as one connected opening portion.
The law is to guide life, and the Word defines righteousness and distinguishes right from wrong and truth from error. Its sacredness stands out at the time when the wickedness of the world has reached the point where interference will certainly come. Delight in the statutes and keeping the word in memory form part of the remedy for wrongdoing. That delight and remembrance are expressed through diligent meditation on the precepts. Reading Scripture with a desire to know God, together with obeying His commands, guards against deception and prevents departure from divine revelation.
The verse was lived out in youth by finding joy in testimonies and statutes, meditating on precepts, treating the ways shown with respect, and letting the word shape choices. When urged by young companions to join their games and sports and frolics, the answer was refusal in favor of this joy and remembrance. The young, including young men and women, are urged to study these words, heed the Lord's way, and cultivate a spirit that desires to follow it. Such study encourages the inward desire to heed that way rather than merely outward compliance.
It is instruction to be set before children so they may grow up to trust and believe in God as their very best Friend. It is to be read with tender and softened hearts and committed to memory as a precious lesson, a jewel of truth from the treasure house of the Word. So treasured, it furnishes for religious training and domestic nurture, a work to be given time above all temporal interests. It is also a prayer for servants to offer continually, revealing a consecration of heart and mind that is asked of all.