16. I will delight myself in thy statutes. In this verse delight follows meditation, of which it is the true flower and outgrowth. When we have no other solace, but are quite alone, it will be a glad thing for the heart to turn upon itself and sweetly whisper, I will delight myself. But there is no delighting ourselves with anything below that which God intended to be the soul’s eternal satisfaction. The statute-book is intended to be the joy of every loyal subject.
I will not forget thy word. Men do not readily forget that which they have treasured up, that which they have meditated upon (verse 15), and that which they have often spoken of (verse 13). Yet since we have treacherous memories it is well to bind them well with the knotted cord of I will not forget.
This verse is molded upon verse 8: the changes are rung on the same words, but the meaning is quite different. The same thought is never given over again in this psalm. Something in the position of each verse affects its meaning, so that even where its words are almost identical with those of another the sense is delightfully varied.
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