Deuteronomy 26:18

18 and the LORD has declared you this day to be a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you should keep all his mitzvot;

Deuteronomy 26:18 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 26:18

And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar
people
Affirmed and declared them to be his special people, above all people on the face of the earth, and that they were looked upon and considered by him as his jewels, his peculiar treasure:

as he hath promised thee;
on condition of their obedience to him, as he did in ( Exodus 19:5 ) ;

and that [thou] shouldest keep all his commandments;
at the same time declared this as his will, that they should observe all his precepts, to which they were laid under obligation by the special favour and peculiar privileges he bestowed upon them, ( Deuteronomy 7:6 Deuteronomy 7:7 ) . The Targums interpret both these verses of the people of Israel choosing and making the Lord their King, and of his being made King over them; and so it respects their peculiar form of civil government, being a theocracy. The Lord's people in Christ are a peculiar people; they are distinct from all people, and are peculiarly regarded by him; they are the objects of his peculiar love, and receive peculiar favours from him; and whom having chosen and redeemed, he calls by his special grace, and witnesses their special relation to him by his Spirit; which grace obliges and excites them to a cheerful obedience to his commands.

Deuteronomy 26:18 In-Context

16 This day the LORD your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances: you shall therefore keep and do them with all your heart, and with all your soul.

17 You have declared the LORD this day to be your God, and that you would walk in his ways, and keep his statutes, and his mitzvot, and his ordinances, and listen to his voice:

18 and the LORD has declared you this day to be a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you should keep all his mitzvot;

19 and to make you high above all nations that he has made, in praise, and in name, and in honor; and that you may be a holy people to the LORD your God, as he has spoken.