John Calvin Commentary Romans 11:33

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!" — Romans 11:33 (ASV)

Oh! the depth, etc. Here, the Apostle first bursts into an exclamation, which arose spontaneously from a devout consideration of God’s dealings with the faithful. Then, in passing, he checks the boldness of impiety, which is accustomed to protest against the judgments of God. Therefore, when we hear, Oh! the depth, this expression of wonder should greatly serve to subdue the presumption of our flesh. For after having spoken from the word and by the Spirit of the Lord, being finally overcome by the sublimity of so great a mystery, he could only wonder and exclaim that the riches of God’s wisdom are deeper than our reason can penetrate.

Whenever, then, we engage in discussion about the eternal counsels of God, a bridle should always be set on our thoughts and tongue, so that after having spoken soberly and within the limits of God’s word, our reasoning may finally end in admiration. Nor should we be ashamed if we are not wiser than he—who, having been taken into the third heaven, saw mysteries ineffable to humans—and who yet could find in this instance no other purpose than to humble himself in this way.

Some translate Paul’s words this way: “Oh! the deep riches, and wisdom, and knowledge of God!” as though the word βάθος was an adjective. They take riches to mean abundance, but this seems strained to me, and I therefore have no doubt that he extols God’s deep riches of wisdom and knowledge.

How incomprehensible, etc. By different words, according to a practice common in Hebrew, he expresses the same thing. For he speaks of judgments, then he adds ways, which mean appointments, or the mode of acting, or the manner of ruling. But he still continues his exclamation, and thus the more he elevates the height of the divine mystery, the more he deters us from the curiosity of investigating it. Let us then learn to make no inquiries about the Lord, except to the extent that he has revealed himself in the Scriptures; for otherwise, we shall enter a labyrinth from which retreat is not easy. It must be noted, however, that he is not speaking here of all God’s mysteries, but of those which are hidden with God himself, and should only be admired and adored by us.