Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.
The three yearly feasts kept up communion between God and His people and preserved the face of religion in the nation. One week only was festival, yet their solemn preparation before and serious reflection afterward amounted to observance of the whole month; thus the ceremonies themselves became the means by which God's truth took root in their hearts.
AI summary
Commenting on Deuteronomy 16:1-17
Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God,.... The feast of tabernacles still spoken of: in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: the city of Jerusalem: because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy increase, and in all the works of thine hands; both in the increase of their fields, vineyards, and oliveyards, and...
in all the works of thine hands . . . rejoice--that is, praising God with a warm and elevated heart. According to Jewish tradition, no marriages were allowed to be celebrated during these great festivals, that no personal or private rejoicings might be mingled with the demonstrations of public and national gladness.