Sing unto Jehovah, bless his name; show forth his salvation from day (continued)
JOHN CALVIN
our minds have been raised to the discovery of something incomparably wonderful about it.
Psalm 96:4-6
4. For Jehovah is great, and greatly to be praised; he is terrible above all gods. 76 5. For all the gods of the nations are vanities; 77 but Jehovah made the heavens. 6. Strength and honor are before him; power and glory are in his sanctuary.
4. For Jehovah is great, and greatly to be praised. He particularly describes that God, whom he would have men to celebrate, and this because the Gentile nations were prone to merge into error upon this subject. That the whole world might abjure its superstitions, and unite in the true religion, he points out the one only God who is worthy of universal praise. This is a point of the greatest importance. Unless men are restrained by a due respect to it, they can only dishonor him the more that they attempt to worship him. We must observe this order if we would not profane the name of God, and rank ourselves amongst unbelieving men, who set forth gods of their own invention. By gods in the verse may be meant, as I observed already, (Psalm 95:3,) either angels or idols. I would still be of opinion that the term comprehends whatever is, or is accounted deity. As God, so to speak, sends rays of himself through all the world by his angels, these reflect some sparks of his Divinity. 78 Men, again, in framing idols, fashion gods to themselves which have no existence. The Psalmist would convince them of its being a gross error to ascribe undue honor either to the angels or to idols, thus detracting from the glory of the one true God. He convicts the heathen nations of manifest infatuation, upon the ground that their gods are vanity and nought, for such is the meaning of the Hebrew word,אלילים elilim, 79 which is here applied to idols in contempt. The Psalmist's great point is to show, that as the Godhead is really and truly to be found in none but the one Maker of the world, those religions are vain and contemptible which corrupt the pure worship of him. Some may ask, Are angels then to The original word for gods is,אלהיםelohim Dr Adam Clarke, who doubts whether this word is ever by fair construction applied to false gods or idols, reads — "Jehovah is great, and greatly to be praised. Elohim is to be feared above all."
"Ou, idoles." — Fr. marg. "Or, idols."
"Quia Deus per angelos irradiat totum mundum, in illis refulgent Deitatis scintillae." — Lat. "Pource que Dieu jette comme ses rayons sur tout le monde par les anges, des estincelles de Divinite reluisent en iceux." — Fr.