John Calvin Commentary Psalms 66:5

"Come, and see the works of God; [He is] terrible in his doing toward the children of men." — Psalms 66:5 (ASV)

Come and see the works of God. An indirect criticism is made here of that almost universal thoughtlessness which leads people to neglect the praises of God. Why is it that they so blindly overlook the operations of His hand, if not simply because they never direct their attention seriously to them?

We need to be awakened to this subject. These words may receive some explanation by referring to a parallel passage, Psalms 46:8. But their main purpose is this: that the Psalmist seeks to withdraw people from the vain or positively sinful and harmful pursuits in which they are engaged, and direct their thoughts to the works of God.

He exhorts them to this, rebuking their reluctance and negligence. The expression, Come and see, suggests that what they blindly overlooked was open to observation; for if it were otherwise with the works of God, this language would be unsuitable. He next points out what those works of God are to which He wants our attention directed; in general, He wants us to look at the way God governs the human family.

This experimental or practical kind of knowledge, if I may call it that, is what makes the deepest impression. We find, accordingly, that Paul (Acts 17:27), after speaking of the power of God in general, brings his subject to bear upon this one particular point, and calls upon us to descend into ourselves if we are to discover the proofs of a present God.

The last clause of the fifth verse I would not interpret, as some do, as meaning that God was terrible above the children of men—superior to them in majesty—but rather that He is terrible towards them, showing an extraordinary providence in their defense and preservation, as we have seen noted in Psalm 40:5.

People need look no further, therefore, than themselves to discover the best grounds for revering and fearing God. The Psalmist passes next from the more general point of His providence towards humanity at large, to His special care over His own Church, referring to what He had done for the redemption of His chosen people.

What the Psalmist states here must be considered as only one illustration of many which he might have addressed, and as intended to remind God’s people of the infinite variety of benefits with which their first and great deliverance had been followed and confirmed. This appears obvious from what is added, there we rejoiced in Him.

It is impossible that the joy of that deliverance could have extended to the Psalmist or any of the descendants of the ancient Israelites, unless it had shared the nature of a pledge and illustration of the love of God to the Church generally. In that event, He showed Himself to be the everlasting Savior of His people, so that it proved a common source of joy to all the righteous.