The positive principle and source of the righteous man's life. The law of the Lord is his rule of conduct. It is no irksome restriction of his liberty but the object of his love and constant study (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). True happiness is to be found not in ways of man's own devising, but in the revealed will of God. "The purpose of the Law was to make men happy." Kay. Cp. Deuteronomy 33:29.

his delight The religion of Israel was not an external formalism, but an obedience of the heart. Cp. Psalms 37:31; Psalms 40:8; Psalms 112:1; Psalms 119:35; Psalms 119:97.

the law of the Lord The Hebrew word tôrâhhas a much wider range of meaning than law, by which it is always rendered in the A.V. It denotes (1) teaching, instruction, whether human (Proverbs 1:8), or divine; (2) a preceptor law; (3) a body of laws, and in particular the Mosaic law, and so finally the Pentateuch. The parallel to the second clause of the verse in Joshua 1:8 suggests a particular reference to Deuteronomy; but the meaning here must not be limited to the Pentateuch or any part of it. Rather as in passages where it is parallel to and synonymous with the word of the Lord(Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 2:3) it should be taken to include all Divine revelation as the guide of life.

meditate The Psalmists meditate on God Himself (Psalms 63:6); on His works in nature and in history (Psalms 77:12; Psalms 143:5).

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