John Calvin Commentary Psalms 71:15

"My mouth shall tell of thy righteousness, [And] of thy salvation all the day; For I know not the numbers [thereof]." — Psalms 71:15 (ASV)

My mouth shall recount thy righteousness. Here he expresses more clearly what sacrifice of praise he resolved to present to God, promising to proclaim continually His righteousness and salvation. I have often had occasion before to observe that the righteousness of God does not mean that property of His nature by which He gives to each person their due, but the faithfulness which He observes towards His own people, when He cherishes, defends, and delivers them.

Hence the inestimable consolation that arises from learning that our salvation is so inseparably linked with the righteousness of God, that it has the same stability as this Divine attribute. The salvation of God, it is very clear, is understood here in an active sense. The Psalmist connects this salvation with righteousness, as the effect with the cause, for his confident persuasion of obtaining salvation proceeded solely from reflecting that God is righteous and that He cannot deny Himself.

Since he had been saved so often, in so many different ways, and so wonderfully, he commits himself to continually celebrating the grace of God. The particle כי (ki), which we have translated as for, is rendered by some adversatively as although, and explained in this way: Although the salvation of God is incomprehensible to me and transcends my capacity, I will still recount it.

But the proper meaning of the word is more suitable in this context, as nothing should be more effective in kindling and exciting our hearts to sing God’s praises than the innumerable benefits He has bestowed on us.

Although our hearts may not be affected by experiencing only one or two of the Divine benefits, and though they may remain cold and unmoved by a small number of them, our ingratitude is still inexcusable if we are not awakened from our torpor and indifference when an innumerable multitude of them are lavished on us.

Let us then learn not to taste God’s goodness lightly, as it were, with loathing, but to apply all our faculties to it in its fullness, so that it may overwhelm us with admiration.

It is surprising that the authors of the Greek version ever thought of translating this clause as I have not known learning—an error unworthy of notice, were it not that some fanatics in former times, to flatter themselves in their ignorance, boasted that, following David’s example, all learning and liberal sciences should be despised. Even now, in the present day, the Anabaptists have no other pretext for boasting of being spiritual persons than that they are grossly ignorant of all science.