John Calvin Commentary Psalms 116:5

"Gracious is Jehovah, and righteous; Yea, our God is merciful." — Psalms 116:5 (ASV)

Jehovah is gracious. He now comes to point out the fruits of that love about which he spoke, setting before himself God’s titles, so that they might serve to preserve his faith in Him. First, he calls Him gracious, because He is so ready graciously to provide assistance.

From this source springs the justice He displays for the protection of His own people. To this is added mercy, without which we would not deserve God’s aid. And as the afflictions that overtake us frequently seem to preclude the exercise of His justice, it therefore follows that there is nothing better than to rest in Him alone, so that His fatherly kindness may engross our thoughts, and no voluptuous pleasure may steal them away to anything else.

He then applies the experience of God’s kindness and fairness to the preservation of the simple—that is, those who, being guileless, do not possess the necessary prudence for managing their own affairs. The term, translated simple, is often understood in a negative sense, referring to inconsiderate and foolish people who will not follow sound advice.

But in this place, the term is applied to those who are exposed to the abuse of the wicked, who are not sufficiently subtle and circumspect to elude the snares laid for them—in short, to those who are easily taken advantage of. In contrast, the children of this world are full of ingenuity and have every means at their command for maintaining and protecting themselves.

David, therefore, acknowledges himself to be like a child, unable to provide for his own safety, and totally unfit to ward off the dangers to which he was exposed. Thus, the Septuagint has not improperly translated the Hebrew term with the Greek τὰ νήπια, little children.

The point is that when those who are vulnerable to suffering have neither the prudence nor the means of securing their deliverance, God manifests His wisdom toward them and interposes the secret protection of His providence between them and all the dangers by which their safety may be assailed. Finally, David presents himself as a personal example of this fact: after being reduced to the greatest straits, he was, by the grace of God, restored to his former state.