John Calvin Commentary Psalms 119:129

"Thy testimonies are wonderful; Therefore doth my soul keep them." — Psalms 119:129 (ASV)

Thy testimonies are marvelous. I have given this translation to avoid an ambiguous form of expression. The Prophet does not simply mean that the doctrine of the law is wonderful, but that it contains high and hidden mysteries. Accordingly, he declares that the sublime and admirable wisdom which he found contained in the divine law led him to regard it with reverence.

This point must be carefully noted. The law of God is proudly despised by the great majority of humanity, primarily when they do not properly appreciate its doctrine. They also fail to acknowledge that God speaks from His throne in heaven, intending that—with the pride of the flesh humbled—He may raise us upward through the understanding of faith.

We also gather from this passage that it is impossible for anyone to keep the law of God from the heart unless he contemplates it with feelings of reverence, for reverence is the beginning of pure and right submission. Accordingly, I have said that many despise God’s Word because they think it inferior to the acuteness of their own intellects.

Indeed, many are led to erupt more boldly into this heaven-defying contempt out of a vain desire to display their own cleverness. But, although worldly people may flatter themselves with that proud disdain of the divine law, yet the commendation which the Prophet pronounces upon it still holds true: that it contains mysteries which far transcend all the understanding of the human mind.