Commentary on Psalms - Volume 3 - Bible Study Guides

Comm on Psalms (V3)John CalvinThe cause to which this is to be attributed is just our not sufficiently apprehending the dreadfulcharacter of the vengeance of God which awaits the oppressors of the Church.18. And let them know that thou art, thy name Jehovah. It is not the saving knowledge of Godwhich is here spoken of, but that acknowledgement of him which his irresistible power extorts fromthe wicked. It is not simply said that they will know that there is a God; but a special kind ofknowledge is laid down, it being intimated that the heathen who before held the true religion incontempt, would at length perceive that the God who made himself known in the Law, and whowas worshipped in Judea, was the only true God. Still, however, it must be remembered, that theknowledge spoken of is only that which is of an evanescent character, having neither root nor theliving juice to nourish it; for the wicked will not submit to God willingly and cordially, but aredrawn by compulsion to yield a counterfeit obedience, or, being restrained by him, dare not breakforth into open outrage. This, then, is an experimental recognition of God which penetrates not tothe heart, but is extorted from them by force and necessity. The pronoun , atah, thou, is emphatic,implying a tacit contrast between the God of Israel and all the false gods which were the productof men’s invention. The prayer amounts to this: Lord, make them to know that the idols which theyhave fabricated for themselves are no gods, and in fact are nothing. The despisers of God mayindeed shun the light, and at one time may overcast themselves with clouds, while at another theirmay plunge into the deep and thick shades of darkness; but He pursues them, and draws them forthto the knowledge of himself, which they would fain bury in ignorance. And as the worldindiscriminately and disgracefully applies his sacred name to its own trifling inventions, thisprofanation is corrected when it is added, thy name Jehovah. This implies that being, or really tobe, is in the strict sense applicable to God alone; for although unbelievers may attempt to tear hisglory to pieces, he continues perfect and unchanged. The contrast of which I have spoken, must bekept in mind by the reader. A nation has never existed so barbarous as not to have worshipped somedeity; but every country forged particular gods for itself. And although the Moabites, the Edomites,and the rest of these nations, admitted that some power and authority belonged to the God of Israel,yet they conceived that this power and authority did not extend beyond the boundaries of Judea.Thus the king of Syria called him, “the God of the hills,” (1 Kings 20:23.) This preposterous andabsurd division of God’s glory, which men make, is disproved by one word, and all the superstitionswhich at that time prevailed in the world are overthrown, when the Prophet attributes to the Godof Israel, as well the essence of Deity as the name; for unless all the idols of the heathen arecompletely abolished, he will not obtain, alone and unshared, the name of Jehovah. Accordingly,it is added, Thou alone art the Most High over all the earth; a statement which is worthy of ourmost careful attention. The superstitious commonly think it enough to leave God his name, that isto say, two or three syllables; and in the meantime they fritter away his power, as if his majestywere contained in an empty title. Let us then remember that God does not receive that honor amongmen to which he is entitled, if he is not allowed to possess his own inherent sovereignty, and if hisglory is obscured by setting up other objects against him with antagonist claims.211