Ver. 1. Now therefore hearken, O Israel— Having laid before them a long train of divine dispensations towards their nation, Moses now calls upon the whole assembly, in the most serious and solemn manner, to consider what influence these things ought to have upon their conduct; and exhorts them to strict obedience; to an exact observance of the statutes, i.e. the laws which concerned the worship of their God; and of the judgments, i.e. all the moral precepts of religion which have man for their object. That ye may live, evidently means, as the next clause shews, may enjoy national peace and prosperity, and not perish, as your fathers have done, in their rebellion. See ver. 3 and chap. Deuteronomy 13:1. Moses, says St. Paul, Romans 10:5 describeth the righteousness which is of the law, that the man who doeth these things shall live by them; and this life was a type of the eternal life which Jesus Christ hath merited for true faith, John 1:17. Romans 13:14; Romans 6:23.
Related Commentaries of Deuteronomy 4:1
Deuteronomy 4:1
1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.